Hey, hey, heys! I am back! I am ready to bring you guys the next chapter! I would have had it done sooner, but I was caught up by school, my laptop was being a little of a jackass to me, and I was stuck on writers block for this with a touch of laziness. I am very sorry for that. Anyway, as I said, I got the next chapter for you, even if it is a filler. It introduces a beloved character and I bet this chapter will tug on your heartstrings just a smidge :3 Alright, I'm gonna quit talking now! Let's get this chapter rolling!

Disclaimer: Never owned Blue Exorcist. Never have, never will.

Chapter Six: The Loyalty for a Master

Ribbons and Sake are the Keys

"Yo! Open the freakin' door! I'm dying out here!"

Yukiko sighed but smiled, standing up from her seat at her work desk and walked to the door. Pulling it open, she was greeted by the site of her older sister walking into their shared dorm with an arm-load of boxes and a plastic bag on top of the pile. Dressed in her white tank top, dark blue shorts and black slip-ons, her long black-blue hair tied in twin tails. Her sister would have looked cute, had it not been for the tired expression on her face.

"Hot day?" Asked Yukiko, dressed in a light green T-shirt with white shorts and white socks, hair tied in a ponytail.

"Hot enough to boil a dozen eggs, bacon, and hash browns on the street," Muttered Rin, dumping all the boxes on the floor and picking up the plastic bag. "Everything at the store in the East Wing was sold out, so I had to take the bus to the city to go get everything, then get back here to pick up your teacher supplies. Everything's in there, Yuki." She sighed, sitting on her bed and dropping the upper-half of her body forward to get her face in front of the electric fan.

"Well, thanks for getting me my stuff." Chirped Yukiko, giggling as her sister blew her lips at the fan to make an airplane noise.

"M-hmmm . . ." Rin hummed, her tail slipping from the confines of her shorts and waving it in lazy contentment. Yukiko giggled again and took a seat at her desk, placing her chin on her propped hand.

"Anyway, you bought that mineral water bottle I told you to get me, right?"

Rin froze faster than water in the Arctic, gulping when her baby sister's smile deflated to a frown.

"A-About that . . . I-I guess the water bottles looked invisible in this little coolers they had at the shop and they were having a sale on the ice pops because of the hot day and all . . ." The frown deepened and Rin gave a weak chuckle to back herself up. "U-Um . . . Sorry?"

"Its fine," The black-haired teacher huffed, shaking her head and turning her attention to the papers on her desk. "I'll buy myself one later. Just eat the twenty or so ice pops you bought with my money."

"No one likes a downer, Yuki," Stated Rin, already nibbling the tip of one of the ice pops from the bag. With no response sent back at her, Rin gave a glare and rummaged under her bed, pulling out a copy of her school-issued textbook, True Cross Exorcists: Behind the Sabers and Incantations. After a long stretch of silence, Rin suddenly threw her book at the floor, nearly breaking the spine. "This blows!"

"What now?" Sighed Yukiko, reeling back when her sister thrusts a page in the book, listing the ranks of exorcists.

"Look at this! According to the book, an Exwire is only one bar above Page! One bar! What kind of jacked up shit is that?" She placed the book back on the desk with vengeance, crossing her arms and her legs above her chair. "I swear, things are going to be different when I become a Knight. I'll go on all the missions I want and no one's gonna tell me otherwise. I'll get to do what I want, fight what I want, and no one will be calling the shots for me. Just wait-"

"It isn't like that at all, Nee-chan." Yukiko interrupted sternly. "And just who said you were going to become a Knight?"

"W-What?" Dark blue eyes widen at the pair of obedient ones. "But K-Konekomaru said-"

"Whatever his opinion of your skills was only that; an opinion," Yukiko sighed and turned fully to her sister. "Rin, don't you see that in every battle you have, you're just rushing into it or using your body as your own shield? You'll end up killing yourself one day, even with your fast healing abilities. This is why I and the Order agree that you are not ready to take on missions before you learn to control your powers. If we let you out then, then Satan's power will take over you."

"What the Hell are you talking about!" Shouted Rin, furious of her sister's lack in faith in her. "So what if I charge through and use the power? So what?! It's helped me kick ass dozens of time and its helped me protect a lot of people! You too, Nee-chi! I'm doing what dad would want me to do!" She yelled.

"Is that what you think?" Yukiko stood up, her voice grave and angered. "Is that what you think father would want? For you to recklessly go out there and kill yourself like that with the powers that killed him?!" The younger sister shook her head. "No way! That isn't what he would want at all! Father gave his life up for you to protect you from Satan's wrath, to keep you away from the powers you were given! But now, since that's exactly what happened, you're doing the complete opposite of what he would want! I bet he would roll over in his grave if he saw how irresponsible you are acting!"

"It was to protect YOU!"

"I don't need protection! Quit treating me like a baby!"

"That's what you are, fore-eyed bitch!"

"Say that again! I dare you!"

"Four-eyed, know-it-all, whinny, moley-faced BITCH!" Rin struck her hand at her sister in fury, her fingertips barely grazing her forehead yet striking Yukiko's black glasses clean off her nose. The two sisters gasped, the glasses flying in the air before crashing on the ceiling, broken piece of safe glass and black lenses falling to Yukiko's forehead, the broken frames resting right were they were.

There was a pause. A very short one, before Rin let out a burst of laughter, giggles racking her body and making her fall flat on her back.

"H-Holy cr-ra-hahahahah!" She threw her head back and held her stomach as her ribs began to hurt. "Th-Th-They landed wh-wha-hahahaha where they should la-la-la-hahahahahaha la-landed! Ah man, I'm g-gonna friggin' piss my shorts! Hahahahaha-"

"And just what the Hell is funny about it, Nee-chan?" Growled Yukiko, blue eyes turning as demotic as Rin's in demon form. Rin clamped her mouth shut and braced herself for her sister's anger, before the sound of a vibrating phone cut through the mad atmosphere. Instantly, but with a frown still on her face, Yukiko picked up her cell phone from her desk and answered it.

"Okumura speaking. . . I see . . . Well, my father said this day would come soon, I just didn't imagine so soon . . . Yes . . . Yes, I understand. I'll be there as soon as I can." She hung up her phone and walked over to the closet, pulling out her school jacket.

"W-Was that about a mission?" Rin asked with a small breath, her tail beginning to wag in excitement.

"Yes. And no, you cannot come," The tail landed with a light sound on the floor, but Yukiko paid no heed as she tied on her boots and walked over to her desk, pulling out a new pair of glasses from a stock she kept and returning to the closet to grab her suitcase and a round container. "I'll be back in a few hours or so. Just stay here and study. Ittekimasu!" She called after, leaving the room with the slam of the door.

Yukiko walked as fast as she could to the South gate of the school, nodding to the two exorcists who were guarding the area with yellow police tape around the area. Yukiko pulled a badge out of her breast pocket.

"Okumura Yukiko, Intermediate-exorcist, First-Class," She stated, the guard nodding to her before she stepped over the tape.

"Okumura Rin, Exwire, no class." Yukiko balked and spun around, glaring when Rin stepped over the tape with her sword sheathed to her back and dressed in her school blouse, black pants and blue bow.

"No way!" Yukiko placed her hand in front of her, stopping Rin. "Just why are you here?"

"Just here to make sure you don't break your second pair of glasses," Her older sister shrugged.

"I don't need your help!" Yukiko shouted, red and annoyed. "I told you to stop treating me like a baby! I can take care of myself! Go away!" She shouted.

"Tough shit," Rin giggled, sticking her tongue out. A rumbling grow was let out behind them, and the other exorcist led the both of them to the outer gate.

"Kuroko, the Cat Sith that guards the South gate has gone completely berserk on us," Explained the exorcist. "She's been acting this way since this morning, when she attacked two of the patrolling officers here. Fortunately, we were able to aid them both without their injuries becoming fatal. We've set a blockade for everything area around this perimeter." The three of them were met of the sight of large and glistening fangs and angered green eyes.

The demon stood on top of a large green road sign, her black fur bristled and large twin tails flowing like water. Two huge demon horns were upon her head and she was growling like a lion. The exorcist went to assist the other members and the twins stood back, shocked. And that's when Rin heard it. That's when she heard the exclaim.

"You liars!" The voice screamed, close to pain and enraged. "You're all liars!" Rin could feel her heart beat like a drum, and her blood suddenly felt warmer. She could hear the voice, but see no one shouting. She couldn't tell where the sudden voice had come from.

"So what caused her to act this way?" Rin looked at saw Yukiko talking with the patrollers, one being treated for a wound on his arm. "Any ideas?" Asked the younger Okumura.

"I guess she heard us talking about Lord Fujimoto and how he passed away," Sighed one of the men. "It was our fault for bringing it up, but we couldn't imagine that she would take the news this badly." The officer shook his head.

"What's going to happen to Kuroko?" Asked the second officer.

"We'll handle her, I promise you," Yukiko gave a small smile. "Saddening to say, we might have to take down Kuroko if things go out of hand."

"Huh? Yuki, what's going on?" Rin asked, confused. "Just what does that cat demon have to do with dad's death?" She wanted know, though she was still hanging onto that voice she heard.

"That is a Cat Sith. Demons like her can possess cats. She, like most Cat Sith in Japan, are able to gain a split tail when their strong enough. She in particular was the guardian of silkworms a long time ago, in a old traditional part of Japan. She was around to keep away mice and other vermin that would bring harm to the silkworms. People loved her for that. They made a shrine after her and everything. But as silkworm breeding died out, people began to forget about the guardian. And when her home was destroyed, that's when she became a demon," Yukiko told, shifting her gaze to Kuroko. Rin was looking at the cat demon, too, feeling remorse for her. To be forgot and to have your home destroyed had to be one of the worst things out there.

Kuroko growled and swatted her paw at the exorcists, growling when multiple shots of holy water-filled bullets and grenades were fired at her. She pounced forward and rammed a truck their way, everyone barely jumping out of the way as the vehicle slid through and tipped over the bridge of the road. She recoiled and hissed, her twin tails waving in the air with her rear raised and her body bowed, a way to protect herself and a perfect pouncing position.

"You liars!" The voice came again, as angry as before. Rin could hear it, and it made her heart pang with sadness. She saw no one else disturbed, so she guessed she was the only one who could hear it. "You're all liars! LIARS!" Screamed the voice, Rin darting her eyes to Kuroko.

"Yuki-"

"Not now," Her younger sister bantered, before turning to one of the exorcists. "Have you tried everything? Holy water? Silver? Everything?" She asked.

"Yes," Confirmed one the exorcist. "We've shot her with a few tranquilizers, too. They should tire her out for a while but they won't last for long."

"Yukiko, this could be like the last time . . ." One of the female exorcist suddenly said. "You remember, don't you? You were an Exwire back then, but-"

"Yes," Yukiko nodded. "I remember."

"Remember what? What are you guys talking about?" Asked Rin.

"It was a few years ago, before I entered the intermediate rank," Yukiko explained. "Strange things were happening at the shrine of the guardian of the silkworms. Father took me and a handful of Knights to investigate it. A Cat Sith was behind the whole thing. That Cat Sith, to be exact," The glasses-wearing Okumura gestured to Kuroko. "But when the time came to take care of her, father, given the rank of Palladian, had taken care of the whole thing."

"Th-The old man was a Palladian!?" Rin exclaimed, taken aback. Fujimoto had become the most respected and highest ranked of all the exorcist. He was practically a legend with that title. She had no idea that her foster father had such a respectful title.

"Afterwards, father made a contract with the demon and gave her the name, Kuroko, and she became his familiar." Yukiko explained, her smile turning sad. "Poor thing. She must've been heartbroken when she heard that father died."

"Once a demon, always a demon!" One of the exorcists spat. "She was bound to turn into this! We all knew this would happen one day, right?" He asked everyone, getting a few solemn while the other turned away.

"Father was actually prepared in case this happened again," The youngest teacher informed, holding up the container she bought.

"Yukiko," Fujimoto handed the container to Yukiko, surprising the young Exwire. "I've made this in case Kuroko, my familiar, would revert back into her demon form. I'm giving this to you in case something ever happens to me." He explained. The container felt heavy in Yukiko's hands, and she looked up at the white-haired man.

"Father-"

"I trust you, Yukiko," A large hand patted her head, and Yukiko closed her eyes. "If something does happen to me, just know that I love you and Rin. And I know that the both of you will make the right choice if and when the time comes."

Yukiko opened the container and revealed a silver jug sealed with a dark blue material around top.

"It seems to be a modified hand-grenade. More advance than the ones we usually use and a lot more sturdier." Yukiko sighed, ridden with something that could be pain. "Best guess is that this is special medicine sealed with the cloth of the silkworms, something from Kuroko's birthplace. It could stop her . . . And kill her in the process."

"Wait, what?!" Rin shouted, shaking her head.

"Everyone, I ask for all of you to stand back," Yukiko ordered. "This medicine could be strong enough to give us all side-effects. Please," Slowly, everyone lowered their poised guns and they backed away, Rin and Yukiko left a few feet away from the Cat Sith.

"Shut up! Don't talk about things you don't know or understand!" Rin snapped her head, right where the voice had come from, and her demotic-slit eyes met Kuroko's, green eyes blurring with tears leaking at the corners. Rin could see it. She could see the demon's pain. The lost she felt for the death of her master. "Shiro is not dead! He's stronger than all of you!" It was Kuroko who was screaming. It was the cry of her loyalty. "Shiro would never die! He's going to come back! He going to come back for me and take me home! Our home! I won't believe you when you say he's dead! I'll kill any of you who say that again! You're all nothing but liars!" She screamed. Suddenly, Rin's eyes widen with an idea.

"That's it . . ." She whispered.

"Hey, that means you too, Nee-san," Yukiko said to Rin. "I have no idea what this medicine will do. If it does kill Kuroko, then I don't want you anywhere near either."

"So that's it?" Rin asked. "Y-You're actually gonna kill her?" She gulped.

"Yes. Rin, I know how you feel about this after hearing everything. Believe me, I don't want to do this as much as you do," Her younger sister said honestly, her eyes a little misty. "But I don't see any other way to handle this. With the way Kuroko is now, it's for the best."

"Shiro will come back!" Screamed Kuroko, barring her fangs and throwing her tails on the road, creating small craters. "Until he returns, I won't die! You won't kill me, you liars!"

"Rin, get going," Yukiko warned, pushing her sister behind her. She raised a brow when Rin stepped to the side and shook her head.

"Nee-chi, no," She shook her head again. "Maybe she needs someone to talk to her, someone to hear her out. I have some sort of feeling she needs someone to talk to."

"And just how do you know this?" Asked Yukiko.

"I guess you could call it demon-to-demon telepathy," Rin scratched the back of her head and shrugged. "The point is, I know she just needs someone to talk to. Someone who understands." She explained. Yukiko gave her a look, one filled with a bit of sympathy and doubt.

"Nee-chan, even if that will calm her down, we cannot leave her like this. And if you fight her-"

"Hey, whoa! I said nothing about fighting!" Rin defended with a small grin. "I won't pull out my sword or anything! I'm just gonna talk with her. I-'ll-I'll," Her grin turned into a soft smile with hers and Yukiko's previous fight rewinding in her mind. "I-'ll do what dad would want." She sighed. Yukiko's mouth dropped, and she could only close it when Rin slowly made her way forward, one foot away from Kuroko.

The cat demon growled at her, insulted that the small human stepped in her presences. Her claws dug into the ground while her eyes turned a darker shade of green. Everyone watched, and waited for Rin's next move.

"Hey!" Rin suddenly shouted.

"Don't yell!" Yukiko warned with worry. Rin ignored her.

"My name is Okumura Rin!" She shouted. "I'm Shiro's daughter!"

Kuroko gave a surprised look, tails rose in place. "Sh-Shiro's . . ."

"My father is dead!" Rin shouted, unafraid.

"Rin, don't-" Yukiko pleaded. Kuroko narrowed her eyes at the demon girl.

"You're lying! Just like the rest of them!" She shook her large head, foam seeping out of the cracks of her fangs. "Shiro is not dead!"

"He is!" Rin screamed, loud enough to each across the South bridge. "Shiro Fujimoto is dead!"

"YOU LIAR!" Kuroko screamed, charging forward without another thought. "I WON'T BELIEVE YOU! I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU FOR TELLING THE WORST LIE EVER!" Rin met her dead-on, their heads bashing together and Kuroko toppling back. Rin stood in place, yet her face now looked neutral, a trail of blood leaking out of her nose. She wiped it away before walking over to Kuroko, the latter looking up at her when she kneeled down and moved aside the fur on her neck, a blue material wrapped loosely around Kuroko's neck. Two charms on were attached. The True Cross Exorcist pin and a licenses with Kuroko's name on it.

"He gave you this, didn't he?" She asked softly. "He gave me something like it," Her free hand undid the ribbon in her hair and she showed it to the cat demon. "It's made of the same silk of the silkworms you protected a long time ago. Daddy gave it to you . . . Because you were sad then, too. And the reason for all of this . . . You're sad that he's gone now, huh?" She lowered her body and wrapped her arms around Kuroko's neck, nuzzling her head to her fur. "I'm sad, too. But that doesn't mean we have to be sad alone," She sat up, her hands cradling the Cat Sith's muzzle. "So let's be friends and not be sad. OK?" She asked, smiling gently.

"Shiro . . ." Kuroko suddenly whispered, her eyes flashing once, before they became wet. "Shiro . . ." Her voice became rasp, and she soon began to tremble. Her time and sweet memories with her beloved master rushed into her mind, and they drove her to weeping mess. Before Rin knew it, she was holding a tiny black kitten in her arms, a blue ribbon tied around her neck. The now tiny Kuroko whined and yowled sadly, crying into Rin's blouse. "He's really dead . . . Shiro is gone . . ." She cried, mewling sadly.

Everyone around stood in shack. Rin, the first to be calmed down, smiling and held Kuroko to her, petting the demon's ears and murmuring soft words. Everything seemed alright.

"Ah . . ." Electric-blue eyes were filled with slight surprise from the third-story window, clawed fingers in the shape of hand binoculars.

"So," Mephisto turned to his guest, the both of them seated in a private room with leather chairs. "What do you think of our youngest sister, Anima-chan?" He asked, watching as his sister's pet Hobgoblin scamper around the girl's feet. Anima picked up the hyper-active creature and played with his paws.

"Honestly, I can't say," Anima shrugged. "I haven't seen her actually fight or anything, so I don't see what's so amazing about her."

"Indeed," Mephisto agreed, tipping his large top hat. "But more to the fact, are you interested in fighting her? Think you can bring out the full potential father had given her?" He asked.

"No problems there," Anima nodded, placing Behemoth on the ground. "But before I do any of that, I think I'll do a little more research on Assiah and so a little exploring." She informed, standing up and straightening her coat.

"Very well," Mephisto reclined in his chair. "Just remember that I didn't give you the Infinity Key just so you could take a little vacation around here. Remember to do as your big brother says." He reminded. A weight was sat on his lap and his sight was greeted by Anima's dark blue eyes, soft lips pressing on his forehead lovingly.

"But of course, Aniue." She purred, picking herself up from his lap and walking out of the room with the wave of the hand and a tug at Behemoth's leash. As soon as she was gone, the chairman turned to his other guest resting in the shadows.

"Are you sure we can trust her?" Asked Igor asked, stepping out of the dark spot of the room.

"Of course we can," The purple-clad demon nodded. "Anima is an excellent fighter. She didn't get the title, "Earth Queen," for nothing." He pointed out. "I've peaked her interests, so there is nothing more to do than sit back and watch."

Igor only nodded silently, having nothing more to say.

Kuroko purred as she rubbed her flank along Rin's thigh, sparking a small giggle from Rin as she and Yukiko sat by the steps of their dorm. It was close to nighttime, but there was enough light in the sky to give a breathtaking sunset of gold, orange, and purple.

"She really seems to like you," Commented Yukiko with a smile. "It's a good thing I wrote her up as your familiar then. It'll make things much more easy," She nodded, not noticing that Kuroko was batting her paw at the round container she had. "They'll use another familiar at the South gate and-" Kuroko meowed and batted at the container insistently.

"It smells like a gift from Shiro!" She cried out.

"Hey, she says there's a gift from the old man in there." Rin translated. Yukiko blinked and uncapped the container, pulling out the silver jug and untying the soft blue seal, long enough to reach from her wrist the her elbow. Yukiko pulled the cap off it and sniffed at the contents, blinking in shock.

"This is Silver-Vine Sake . . ." She said.

"Silver-Vine Sake!" Kuroko mewled and ran around happily. "That was the sake Shiro made for me all the time! Let me have some! Let me have some! Please, please, please!" She cried out with glee, causing Yukiko to giggle.

"Huh? It's that funny that Kuroko's begging?" Rin asked with a raised brow. Yukiko shook her head, cooling down her laughter.

"No, it's just . . . Now I know that father would never want to hurt Kuroko," She reached into her suitcase and pulled out a pan she would use for salt circles, laying it down on the ground and pouring half of the sake into the pan. "He . . . He loved her too much to do that . . ." Yukiko smiled fondly. The two sisters watch their newest pet lap up her favorite drink, content and well. Rin looked up and blinked when Yukiko tied the blue ribbon from the jug around one of the loops of her ammo belt.

"Looks good," She said, her sister turning a little pink but smiling none the less. Rin looked back at Kuroko and smiled as she petted her back, provoking a purr. "You know, daddy was a pretty cool guy . . ." She whispered, tears welling up in her eyes.

"Rin?"

The girl in question looked away, blushing and furiously wiping at her face.

"I-I said nothing! Shut up, Yuki!"

Yukiko stared at her, before giving into a giggle as her sister turned more red. Kuroko lifted her head from the dish and mewled happily, licking her lips. She was happy. She was glad.

All was content for the while.

To Be Continued…

Alright! Another chapter down! That was really fun! Even if it was a filler, you had to admit that it was rather sweet. Alright, we are close to the Rin vs. Anima battle! I hope you are all ready for it! Until then, please make sure to review! It'll help me out and get me to work on the next chapter! Thanks for reading and I'll see you all next time!

This is me saying, Peace!