Chapter 29, Distant.
"She's been avoiding me," Pheles spoke thickly as he thumbed through some files, not bothering to look up at the young man seated in front of his desk. "My sources tell me that you went into the hall to talk to her after everything last week—would you mind telling me what that conversation entailed?" he asked, glancing up from under dark, tired lids.
Yukio shifted in his seat. The man before him seemed unlike his usual self, as he enfolded himself sluggishly into his work; he was noticeably somber as of late. "I only told her the truth, Sir."
Pulling a file, he began flipping through the pieces of paper. "The truth about what, exactly?"
The young teacher squirmed inside. "About Rin and myself. She knows what every other student does." There was a pause as both of the men sat in silence. Yukio waited for a response which never seemed to come, while taking in the slumped figure before him as it concentrated on the papers vacantly. Was it possible that she meant that much to him? Yukio couldn't help but to wonder. "I wouldn't take it so personally, Sir Pheles. She's been distant with everyone." The words just started falling out of his mouth. Maybe to cover up what he had done. Maybe as a sort of make-shift way to console what appeared to be someone hurting. "Everyone has been avoiding Rin, but I don't think she has even been in the same room as him since she found out. She barely even speaks during our tutoring sessions—perhaps she's just in shock, is all."
Dreary green eyes moved up from the paper gradually until they met with the serious face of Yukio. It made sense to him finally, in a roundabout way, that the events which took place could have affected her enough to cause her to estrange herself; he frequently misunderstood the fickle emotions of humans. She had stopped coming to the mansion, she turned the other way when she saw him, she stopped returning phone calls—and if what Okumura was saying was true, then she was doing similar things with everyone, completely alienating herself. If such was the case, he thought, he must make a greater effort to comfort and reassure her to try to bring her back, as lately he found he couldn't think straight.
Letting his strained pupils fall back down at the file in his hand, his gaze rested on a date. It was a long shot. "Her birthday is coming up very shortly, perhaps we should get everyone together."
A cool breeze rolled in noiselessly through the cracked window, sending a shiver up her body as she dozed through one of the most satisfying nights of sleep she had since everything happened.
The days, and especially the nights, since the forest incident had been torturous for her; the events that had taken place replayed in her mind, like a shark circling her in a dark, stormy sea. She had unknowingly began to remove herself from the group of friends, only coming to tutoring sessions with Yukio where she would brush off most attempts he had at small talk. Shiemi had tried to reach out to the girl to ask her about how to deal with Rin being a demon, but had no such luck when it came to a reply. She had quickly fallen callous and unfeeling, or perhaps feeling too much at one time, as she walked through her University and Cram courses like a zombie. She dove into her studies, and yet she couldn't concentrate; she had no indication as to why she was continuing to try so hard. Maybe, because it was something to immerse herself into, to distract her from the emptiness she felt. Though, thoughts of dropping out of the exorcist cram school program wracked her brain every night that she spent alone, lying awake in bed, staring at the cold hard moon that hovered in the sky like a lightbulb that wouldn't go off no matter how hard she shut her eyes.
She wasn't alone; everyone was feeling this empty sense of betrayal, and a disordered anger which had no direction in which it should go. There was nowhere to relieve it. It was just there, lingering, pulling down on everyone. Everything felt like a lie, especially to the girl.
Pheles, thinking that she was just a tad traumatized after being attacked by a demon, and learning that her classmate was also a demon, tried multiple times to get back on her good graces. He would have little tokens or gifts delivered to her, and on a couple occasions he had managed to see her in person and deliver it himself—be it a new tea for her to try, or even that thing that she had been talking about wanting for months but never having enough money to blow on it. They were always met with the same expression had he delivered the item himself; a warm smile, hiding hollow eyes. They ended up being piled on the table in her dorm, where she could barely make herself look at them.
After a few of these exchanged seemingly getting nowhere, flowers started being sent anonymously to her classes throughout the day. They started off as small, single flowers, until they became extravagant, monstrous bouquets. Her classmates would ogle, and question who the secret admirer could be – and although she knew the face, she didn't have a name to call him. All she knew was that there were still parts of her which longed for things to return to the way they had been before. Ignorance is bliss, sometimes.
On the orders of Pheles, the group of cram school students banded together to plan a party. Not specifically for her birthday, as it would not be on the girl's actual birth date, and it would be too obvious. It was to be a surprise, and to get everyone's mind off of the gloom that had befallen the exorcists. It was to be just fun, games, drinks, music, in a calm and enjoyable atmosphere – anything to lighten the mood. The class set up a rendezvous, where Yukio would have the girl meet him for tutoring in one of the large classrooms, and then they would bombard her, not giving her the option of leaving before a genuine smile spread across her face.
And so, it went according to plan; she went to the classroom, thinking she was to meet her instructor for a new lesson, only to be shocked when she opened the door to find her classmates hollering, laughing, and dragging her inside for the festivities. She had to admit to herself that the sentiment was rather charming, and perhaps she had been too boorish, too in her head, so she tried to enjoy the time with friends. After all, it wasn't their fault that she was feeling such a way – she figured, she should make more of an effort to let them know how much they did mean to her. Lining her stomach and liver with drinks, she felt much more open, able to feel again, laugh again, if only for the time being. And the deeper she got into each bottle, the more she was able to open up to Pheles, who followed her like a lost puppy who was too proud to admit he was indeed lost.
Another chill blew in through the window, causing her to shiver just a bit. She wrapped her arms around a warm pillow and nuzzled into it deeply, not ready to wake from such a magnificent slumber. Maybe it was the alcohol that had let her sleep so soundly, maybe it was the slow and steady release of the negativity that she was holding onto for the couple of weeks; but she hadn't slept so well since before the forest camp, and she tried as hard as she could to revel in how wonderful sleep was.
It wasn't until she heard a faint chuckle that her eyes snapped open, and she realized that whatever she was snuggling into was definitely not a pillow.
Backing away, she noticed flesh, and as her orbs drifted upwards, she saw Mephisto – his head resting against his knuckles, gazing down at her with deep, green eyes. A jolt ran up her spine, and she bolted away, skidding across the mattress.
"Why so alarmed?" he asked, tucking his robe in to close up the gap where his bare chest had been exposed.
Her eyes darted down to her own body, and she let out a sigh of relief to see she indeed had clothing on. If she didn't remember coming here after the party, who knows what happened. "W-we didn't…" she stammered, suggesting the rest of her question with her eyes.
He laughed at the implication as he sat up. "No, I'm afraid not. I wouldn't take advantage of a drunken girl," he assured her. "We just cuddled a bit."
A rosy dusting kissed her cheekbones, and he couldn't help but to admire her beauty as her tussled hair fell around her face and shoulders. Something about her being so guarded made him pine for her even more.
"It was nice," his voice trailed off while his eyes searched her face for something – anything. He cleared his throat. "I've missed you."
A silence fell between them as they looked one another in the eyes from two opposite sides of the bed. There might not have been that much space between them in reality, but in that moment, it felt like a vast ocean separated the two. It was true that she missed him as well, but how could she possibly say that? Her lips tugged at one another as words were on the tip of her tongue, but they wouldn't open up to the man miles away, right in front of her. Taking notice of the uncertainty which plagued her, he began to move across the bed slowly while keeping his eyes on hers, ready to stop if he felt her pull. He struggled to breathe as he swam such a great distance towards the fortress on the other side. And as he got within reach, he slowly brought up his arms, placing them on her shoulders lightly. He tried to look her in the eyes, but she wouldn't meet them. Instead, she quivered beneath his touch, recoiling with skepticism, and he knew there was nothing else he could do in the moment; he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. He could feel her jaw clatter against his neck as the emotion rose within her belly like the fire of a dragon trying to protect its hoard of treasure.
"I won't let anything happen to you," he whispered, burying his face in her hair.
And then, despite how well she had reinforced it, despite how many layers of cement she had applied, the dam broke, and her emotions spewed as she clung to the man for dear life. It seemed pointless to try to keep him out. Whoever he was, she didn't want to care as much as she had. A large part of her just wanted things to go back to the way they were; just wanted him. But there was still something, maybe the logical, the reasoned part of her, which tried to tell her to push him away. But her heart wouldn't listen, not anymore, not after being this close once again. He had won.
Pulling her head up by the chin and wiping away the beads of tears which cascaded down her cheeks, he pressed his lips to hers tenderly, silencing whatever fears and doubts lingered within her.
"Shall I draw you a bath and have breakfast started?" he asked softly, wiping a lone tear that had escaped from her glistening eyes. She let out a halfhearted laugh and nodded, and he responded by scooping her up into his arms and carrying her to the extravagant bathroom.
She watched him quietly as he ran the water and added bubbles for her. Once it got full enough, he walked back over to her, and slowly began unbuttoning the wrinkled uniform she had fallen asleep in. His fingers carefully made their way down as the shirt parted, exposing her breasts. He tried to play off his interest, and looked back up to her face for approval to keep going. She was pink, but didn't protest; his hands continued down the buttons until the shirt was completely open. He let out a wary exhale as he slipped it off over her shoulders, trying not to draw attention to how much of her body he was taking in. He moved to her skirt, unzipping it from her hip, and clung to it before it could slip to the ground. Kneeling, he brought the skirt down himself, straining to keep his attention on the task. The fabric fell to the marble floor, and he paused for a moment as he stared at the uniform on the ground, fighting the urge to look up. Slowly, he touched her calf, and traced the outline of her leg all the way up to her thighs. His fingers wrapped around the top of her single stocking, as the other must have come off during the night, and he gradually pulled it down, exposing the supple skin beneath it. As he dragged it down, she brought up her leg so that he might pluck it off of her toes, her knee brushed up against his hair. He paused, letting his face fall into her with a sigh as he closed his eyes, wrapping his fingers around the leg she had offered him. There was nothing more he wanted than to take her in completely.
Grazing his hands along the edges of her figure as he stood, he met her face with his, enfolding his arms around her back as he kissed her deeply. She stopped, placing her hands against his chest before it could go too far, and he pursed his lips as he looked down, nodding slightly, understanding that she had just let him back in.
The two parted, and before he shut the door, he caught a glimpse of her bare figure stepping into the bath, her long hair cascading down her back.
