Evening, readers! Well, it's evening where I'm at but that is not the point ^^' Here ya all go, another chapter featuring the daughter of Satan. We're almost drawing close to the end, my friends (Which is both a good and sad thing since I enjoyed working with this story). But you know what? The ending isn't the important thing of the story. It's about what you read from the first chapter to the last and enjoying it. Or at least that's how I look at it ^_^

Ahahaha, moving along~ I hope you're all having a good time for the up-coming holidays, which will hopefully mean that I will have more breaks from school to get onto more writing. Also, please keep in mind that the switches between scenes are followed as what happened in the anime, due to how the full story featured in this chapter is told chronologically. Thanks and enjoy!

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

Chapter Eleven: The Wager of Satan's Daughter

Better to be Feared than Loved, yet Better to be Loved than Forgotten

The heavy heartbeat of a gavel echoed through the room, witnesses of the court coming to silence.

"The court will now hear the case of Mephisto Pheles, Precept of the Knights of Japan of True Cross." Announced the judge of the bronze-plated room, old and ancient from times of guilty cases and exorcisms. Not a single face held emotion, all eyes directed at the frozen figure trapped in the middle of the room. "I, Kimoth Kymowad, Chief Justice of the Order and Arthur Augustine Angel, the current Palladian, will carry out the interrogation." The old judge cast his eyes to Mephisto, the purple-haired chairman looking bemused in the dead-quiet room. "Presiding are the Grigori, Advisors to the Knights of True Cross."

Every member of the most highly-respected gathering of the Vatican perched with a golden table before them, every last one of them hidden beneath heavy robes and headdresses.

"Sir Pheles," Addressed the first of the Grigori, stiff and straight forward. "Let's get straight to the point; this creature I see before me is the daughter of Satan, yes or no?"

Haunting green eyes looked over to Rin, caught in the tirade of her own flames frozen around her. Mephisto smirked mischievously at her disheveled and animalistic stance, feeling proud at this peek of demotic nature. "That, she is, your honor. I simply cannot hide the truth no longer."

The room was sent in a uproar, the occurrence unknown to Rin as her comatose trapped her mind in darkness, her very heart screaming for freedom.

The room was uncomfortable with silence. The students taken on the camping trip with Yukiko, hurt and exhausted, were treated in the infirmary of the academy. Despite the nurses suggesting they all head to bed early, none of them dared to close an eye, refusing to gain any further rest until their questions were explained.

And all these questions were directed at their teacher, the brunette eerily quiet for the longest time. And then, she spoke.

"Fifteen years ago," Yukiko hesitated, wringing her hands together as her class stared at her. "My older sister, Rin, was born. Her mother was human. Her father was Satan. And because of this, she had inherited his blue flames."

"U-Um," Konekomaru interrupted, raising a shaky hand. "I-I don't mean to pry, Yukiko-sensei, b-but you and Rin-san are twins, right? Does that mean you possess the same power?"

Yukiko shook her head. "No, I didn't inherit them. I have to get examined for it every day, though," She crossed one of her legs over the other, repeating the same position until sighing, giving up on trying to calm her tense form. "As far as I know, I am still human."

The noise dimmed down when a member of the Grigori, a feisty and sharp woman, called for peace.

"To clarify, Yuri Egin, Junior exorcist, second-class, gave birth to Satan's daughter, but it is also recorded that Shiro Fujimoto slayed her with the demon sword, Kurikara. Now you're saying that report was false?"

The old broad's fact didn't kill the glee in Mephisto's tone. "Yes. The fact is that two children were born, but only one of them obtained the powers of Satan. And that child is the one before you," He presented Rin with a grace, addressing her as if her royal status was above all things holy. "She would have become a demon, had I not seal her powers, her demotic heart, in the demon sword, Kurikara." He explained.

Yukiko picked up said blade, resting it on her lap as she unsheathed the base of it, noting a few of her students flinched at the metal gleam, eyes trained for any signs of the blue sparks they saw a night ago.

"Eventually, my sister's power became too great for Kurikara, and her control over her own flames dwindled away from her," Dark blue pools reflected off the demon sword's fang, guilt filled within them. "Before the occurrence, precisely three months ago, Rin had no idea who she was, why she felt so different from others. And even now, right when she's finally getting use to her powers, they took her away." She sucked in a breath, her hands trembling as they they gripped at the demon sword. "They took my sister away."

"Does this mean you don't know what they'll do with her, sensei?" Shiemi asked.

"Depending on the verdict, they might decide to execute her," Yukiko muttered, Shiemi crying out in fright. "According to Sir Pheles and my father, if Rin ever lost control of her flames, to the point of danger of anything close by, then there will be no way to return my sister to the person she was before," Her eyes darkened, dense and with dread. "She'll become a demon and it'll all be over by then."

N-No," The blonde shook her head as she whimpered, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "Y-Yukiko-sensei, you can't let them do that! She's y-your big sister, and you act as if you don't care about her dy-"

"I never said that!" Shouted Yukiko, her students taken aback by her outburst, tears forming in her own eyes. "I don't want my sister to die either, Shiemi-san. But even if I could stop them from executing her, what good would that do? Day by day, my sister's powers are growing more out of control because she's relying on her demon instincts more than her human ones. She would never be able to return to the Rin she was three months ago." She placed Rin's sword on her lap, holding back the stinging water in her eyes. "Especially since her sword, the Kurikara, was cracked."

"Kurikara was cracked?!" Bon exclaimed, receiving a shocked look from his teacher.

"Ryuji-kun, how do you know the sword's name?" She asked. "The only ones to know it are I, my sister, and a selective others. How do you know its true name?"

Bon sighed, looking at Yukiko as his eyes turned into a bronze-brown. "It was a sacred treasure that was a part of my family's temple. Everyone back home knows about Kurikara." He informed as Yukiko's eyes dropped to the weapon.

"Hey, Bon," Shima interrupted. "You think that if we bought it to the Yoshikunis, they'd be able to fix it up?"

"What? Who are they?" Asked Yukiko.

"They're a family of swordsman who ancestors forged Kurikara. There's only one of them left, though." Bon said.

"Do you think they would be able to fix Rin's sword?" Asked Shiemi. Bon looked away, raking his fingers through his two-toned hair and biting the inside his cheek.

"I. . . I don't know. . ." He lied.

"He means n-no," Everyone snapped their heads in Konekomaru's direction, surprised to see that he was glaring at the bed sheets he was tucked in and shaking his head. "Are you even listening t-to yourselves?! Fix the sword? Th-That's crazy! It can't been done!" He shouted.

Shiemi gasped. "B-But if we don't, Rin-"

"She's the daughter of Satan, why would you worry about her?!" Shouted Konekomaru, hyperventilating as he remembered the flames that killed his parents on the Blue Night Massacre. As much as he respected Rin from a long time ago, his respect gave away to fear, witnessing what had happened to his classmate when her demotic nature was revealed only fanned the flames.

Yukiko stood, holding Kurikara to herself. "I understand that you're all scared. Really, I do. I know that all of this is truly terrifying. But. . ." Her breath quinked, her knees buckling under her as she sat on the ground and bowed her head to the surprised temple-natives. "I-If there's any way to save my sister, then I need your help! Please, I'm not asking this as an exorcist, or as a teacher. I'm . . . I'm pleading to you as a friend, as a little sister who wants nothing more to save her own flesh and blood. Please. . ." Her voice dropped to a shy of a whisper, desperate and begging. "Please. . ."

"Sir Pheles, you admit to assigning Shiro Fujimoto to raising the girl in secret," Drawled another member of the Grigori, soft and gentle out of the others. "My question is, why? Explain yourself."

Never one to drop a beat, Mephisto drew a deviant grin, bowing his head to the powerful gathering.

"To use her as a weapon against Satan, of course," Chuckled the chairman of True Cross, stirring another series of gasps from those present in the courtroom. "A weapon for the Order to use in order to fight against Satan, once and for all."

"A weapon against Satan?!"

"That's monstrous!"

"He's lying!" Shouted Angel, standing from his seat and pointing to Mephisto in accusation. "I advised the court to think twice before believing this swindler! Ladies and gentlemen of the court, have you already forgotten what Pheles is? Lies are stock and trade to him, his underground business and black market! Surely you can't believe the rubbish he's proposing!"

"Ugh, I've had enough of all this moping and whining," Grumbling and standing from his seat, Isamu crossed his arms at the trio, looking very annoyed. "Come on, are you guys going to take us to this Yoshikuni person or what? If you guys are just gonna be sitting on your asses all day and not even bother to help when the going gets rough, then who needs you?" He rolled his eyes, walking briskly to the door. "I knew you guys were always cowards."

"Kamiki. . ." Shiemi whispered in surprised.

Shima bit his lip, looking in between his friends before sighing. "I really don't think we have a choice here. . . Bon?" He asked, watching his old childhood friend fighting his own inner demons.

Who he saw Rin as from before the camping trip and after the camping trip completely struck his mind. He could remember her for her loud and happy nature, a struggle within everything she did and a smile in her voice whenever she felt accomplished. But he could also remember her dangerous demon side, the one that could slice him in half without any remorse. Was that really something worth risking for? Could he honestly deny all that had happen to him because of demons and save the spawn of the cruelest one of all?

That answer was made as the class (minus Konekomaru and Takura) stepped out of a random door and found themselves homeward-off in Kyoto, the small town they were in quiet and sunny.

"How'd we get here so fast?" Asked Shima, cupping his hand over his eyes to keep the sunlight out of them.

"The key I have," Yukiko replied, showing the golden trinket in her grasp. "It can be used on any door to travel anywhere, so long as it has a religious area." She lugged Kurikara's sleeve higher on her shoulder and looked expectantly at Bon. "Lead the way, Ryuji-kun." She said, the eldest of her students grudgingly leading the group out of the town and to a small shack that was a little in the woods. As they walked closer to the door, a young girl stepped out of the shack and looked up, smiling when she saw them.

"Ryuji!" She exclaimed, running up to the startled Aria-in-training when she hugged his middle. As everyone stood in shock, Yukiko silently counted her blessings.

'At least Nee-chan didn't come to see this. I think she would have burned the whole forest down to separate these two.'

"Anyone up for seconds?"

"Yes, please!"

Laughing, Rin refilled everyone's bowl of stew, taking her seat and smiling as her friends and sister ate happily, stories and compliments thrown to Rin going all around the blazing fire, the crickets and cicadas chirping in the night air. As leaned to her side and accepted the arm that wrapped around her waist, nuzzling herself into Bon's side and closing her eyes. Bon swooped his head down, and Rin held back a shiver as he whispered.

"Rin . . . I love-"

The campfire burned out, Rin gasping as her friends and sister vanished along with the fire, the night cold and dark as she stood alone.

"Guys? . . . Guys?!" She exclaimed, gasping as something crept through the shadows of the forest and aimed its haunting eyes at her. Thinking quickly, the demon princess ran to her sword and gripped its handgaurd, determined to pull the fang out of the earth. A typhoon of flames shot out of the sword and Rin screamed as the fire burned her, catching on her clothes. She wailed in fright, throwing her head back as she saw nothing but Hell's deadly flames.

Outside of Rin's nightmare, she remained still in the crystalized flames, the court amok with more arguments before the gavel pounded once more.

"No one argues with the fact that we view demons as our enemies. However, what we've learn from them over the years has been proven useful," Stated the gentle Grigori member, folding her hands on the table. "It would seem with what we've learn have proven a counter-measure in what we've developed."

"Even so, none of them are able to dispel the suspicious treachery of Sir Pheles." Said the older member.

"And yet, we must remember that he has been serving the Order for the past two-hundred years," Reminded a younger male Grigori. "Surely that is enough reason to belive him."

"This demon conspired with Shiro Fujimoto to raise the daughter of Satan!" Angel argued, angered that the court seem to be falling more into favor with the smirking chairman. "That's act is undisputable!"

The rally of good and evil was bought up again, everyone's arguing sending vibrations along the frozen cage of the demon princess.

Kurikara was not going to be an easy sword to fix. According to the girl, the young descendant of the Yoshikunis, they needed a steel matter that was infused with spiritual power. And since she didn't carry it, nor could she forge it since the ritual for doing so was never record, the group had went off to an old temple that supposedly had old nails that could be made of the same metal they needed.

The groups had paired off, Yukiko and Bon venturing inside while the others scouted the permitted for anyone, since it seemed that the temple was empty when they got there. Bon and Yukiko had spilt up once they were inside, in order to cover more ground.

Bon walked into one of the old rooms, looking side-to-side for anyone or anything that could be of use. Even as he walked, he could tell that something was amiss, the temperature too cold for his liking and the quiet air too unsettling.

'What's wrong?' A voice taunted at him from behind. The temple child turned and bulked at the statuette of a monk, its polished face laughing at him. 'You want to kill Satan, don't you?' The voice chuckled, its laughter echoing as Bon prepared a hand sign to defend himself.

'What on earth are you doing?' A voice purred at Yukiko, the younger of the Okumura twins drawing out her gun and pointing it at the golden priestess statue looking down at her. 'Why are you risking your life to save a demon?'

'Don't lie to yourself,' Scoffed the monk statue as Bon muttered the start of an incantation. 'I know what you're feeling.'

"You don't know nothing." Bon growled, glowing at the unmoving face as a purple miasma cloud flew around it.

'Be honest with yourself, boy. Why would you go as to lengths to save the spawn of Satan? She is your enemy, a succubus that will only lead the world to suffering,' Hissed the frozen monk. 'You know that the world would be better off without her. You must toss aside whatever "feelings" you have for her. After all, she lied to you about who she really was. What's to say that whatever she's told you, her feelings and character, are nothing but lies as well?'

'Are you sure you want to save the daughter of Satan?' Chuckled the statuette, laughing as Yukiko's hands began to shake, the bullets in her gun clicking together. 'Blood may be thicker than water, but it is also the blood of future innocent lives that bitch may kill in time to come.'

"You demon!" Yukiko swore, aiming the barrel of her gun.

'You know that I am not the one you need to defeat. It is your sister,' The voice chided. 'What use is she to this world if all she knows is how to kill? What use is she to you if all you feel is nothing but hate for her? After all, hasn't she been the scorn of your family? Isn't she the reason why you are tired, constantly trying to be the best at many things in order to be the daughter she could never be?' The voice held a vicious smirk. 'Isn't she the reason why you no longer have a mother or father?'

Yukiko gasped sharply, knees turning into water as the accusation struck her in the heart.

'Why try to save that miserable little welp? Because you are smitten with her? Is it lust you are after?' The monk's voice coiled itself Bon, taking away his air of reason as its eyes glowed a deep red. 'She will drain you alive and betray you in a heartbeat. After all, she is the daughter of the very demon who destroyed your temple. Do you not remember the ridicule and humiliation your family name has suffered? Why not give in and simple let her rot into her own downfall? Let her feel the pain and suffering you had dealt with so long.'

"She . . . She deserves to . . . S-Suffer?" Bon wheezed, his own voice far away as he dropped to his knees, his mind taken from its own sanity as miasma wrapped around him.

'Just let the Order execute her, and it will all be over,' The voice purred in Yukiko's ears, trapping her to the floor as it took away her thoughts of saving her sister, slowly hypnotizing the teacher. 'No more worries. No more pain or strife. You will be free from the ball and chain that bitch has had on you ever since you were born . . .'

"Yukiko-sensei!" Throwing the door open, Shima threw a fuda throw the air, hitting the cloud of death that circled Yukiko. Gasping, Yukiko bought herself to her feet and swung around the statue, cocking her gun as she glared at the statute.

"You're wrong," She breathed, her stance powerful and dominating as she readied herself. "My sister is not what I'm afraid of. I'm afraid that I won't be strong enough to protect her." She gulped, smiling at the memory of her, Rin, and Fujimoto enjoying a day together, the twins bringing back flowers to their foster father in order to make flower crowns. "I want to be strong enough to protect those I love! I want to protect my sister till my last breath!" She fired off a round of bullets and they hit the statue in a graceful sweep, a scream ripped from the golden monument as miasma flew right out of it.

Yukiko took a step back, falling to her knees and panting as she clasped her gun. Despite her exhaustion and hurried breath, she felt as if a hundred pounds were lifted from her shoulders.

"That dumbass!" Kicking the door wide open, Isamu threw out his hand and sent out his familiars. "Be gone, demon!" He shouted, the fox spirits jumping back when the force field around the statue and the student bounced back. Regaining his mind, Bon gasped and narrowed his eyes slowly at the possessed statue.

"You wanna know why I want to save her?" He growled, his voice caught in a vicious whirl of emotions, Rin's declare of defeating her father echoing through his ears. "Every day in class, she keeps telling me that she wants to become an exorcist to defeat Satan! It's the craziest bullshit I've ever heard since she's his daughter! I didn't get the chance to ask her why. And if she dies before I can know, I'll never forgive her!" He placed his hands in a prayer, his hearts of hearts roaring. "I'll be damned if that's the last thing I ever felt for her! Because what I feel for her. . . What I'll always feel for her . . ." He held back his wit, the winds of change whirling all around him. "Will never flatter. Satan's daughter or not, I will always be in love with Rin Okumura!" He shouted, chanting a banishing sermon, a screech ripping through the statue as the demon was exorcised. Bon collapsed on his feet, heart pounding as Shiemi ran over to make she he wasn't injured.

Isamu rolled his eyes skyward. "Finally! It's about time you admit it, moron!"

Back in the court of the Vatican, Angel refused to give up his argument, stubbornness evident in his eyes as he counter-attacked.

"He planned to betray the Order and destroy it from within!" He shouted pointing up at Mephisto's perch. "There could be no doubt about Mephisto's treachery!"

"Even so, the Order has never had a weapon that's been powerful enough to defeat Satan and his armies." Spoke the young male Grigori member, his eyes switching to Rin from under his hood.

"The magnitude of this decision was unprecedented," Sighed the oldest member. "An error in judgment could lead to the end of the Order. . ." His voice trailed off as the room suddenly began to quake, people standing from their seats as the chandeliers from above began to saw away spill the candles they held.

Mephisto looked around him, chuckling with an annoyed brow raised to his hairline. "Anima-chan never liked losing easily. . ."

"I shall see what's going on." Angel said, running down from his post with Shuichiro hot on his heels, the both of them summoning their swords.

"Sir Pheles, is this your doing?" Asked the old Grigori member. Mephisto tilted his head and grinned lazily, white teeth glittering with a fang-like pair.

"Surely you jest, my lord," He chuckled, twirling a piece of his hair with a clawed finger. "Why on earth would a sabotage my own hearing? Having that said, why don't we take this golden opportunity to test the potential of Gehhena royalty?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" Asked the soft-spoken Grigori member.

"Why, we are under siege, my lady!" Mephisto said with a laugh. "And I believe that the only one who can protect us in the spawn of Satan! Who, of the ladies and gentlemen of the court wishes to bet the outcome of this test? Will Rin Okumura become the savior of Assiah in the name of the Order? Or will she rule as the blue-flamed Queen of Gehhena, under the iron fist of Satan?!" He looked to all the spectators with a wild grin, power-hungry eyes dancing with green flames. "Wouldn't you like to see with your very own eyes?"

As if Mephisto had ring-lead the whole thing, Angel and Shuichiro flew through the doors of the court chamber, unceremoniously landing on the floor as a wild and high-pitched laugher shrieked the room. Witnesses of the court stood and ran from their seats as the Queen of Earth prowled into the room in a armor of clay and stone in her shape and form, only as large as a temple. Anima's ears were enlarged and pointed like her fangs, her hair a wild mess as her horn stuck out, her animalistic eyes zoning in on her frozen sibling.

"I found you~" She crackled, laughing insanely as she pawed closer to Rin. In one false swipe, she threw her stone claws to slice her step-sister into ribbons, her mud-made hand countered by the crystal Rin was frozen in. With a frustrated scream, Anima pounded her large fist against the ground, the marble floor cracking under Rin sending her prison to the floor. It shattered into glittering particles and Rin flew to the ground, her long black hair haloing around her head as she laid still.

"The polls are closing in!" Mephisto laughed, throwing his hands everywhere. "Time to cast your vote! Yeh or neigh?"

"You fiend!" Angel coughed, gripping his torn and bleeding arm as he staggered to his feet. "You knew fully-well that this would happen! This was all a ploy! You knew that Satan's spawn would attracted another demon!"

Mephisto rounded his silted-pupils to the current Palladian, looking coy and berating the blonde. "I can honestly say I have no idea what you are badgering about. Instead of over-analyzing the situation, shouldn't you be protecting the Grigori and not pointing your lying little finger at me?" He chuckled, relishing in the look of hatred spat at his way.

"Enough, Sir Pheles," Unfazed and calm as ever, each Grigori member sat where they were as Anima swore she would kill them soon. "I do not care if this is a ploy or not. Eliminate that demon at once!"

Mephisto looked back at them, gentlemen's grace within him as he bowed to the gathering.

"As you wish." He purred, snapping his fingers for the next cue.

Anima gripped at the ground near Rin and ripped it into the air, the girl's body flying through the air like an old toy. As she began another fall to the ground, someone jumped on one of the stretched and broken chandeliers and swung the whole thing around, catching Rin and landing on the ground.

"Okumura!" Bon cursed as female student in his arms refused to wake, her eyes sealed shut by the nightmares that raged inside her.

"You little. . . I'll kill you, too!" Anima roared, charging after the two. Acting fast, Bon picked up Rin and leaped her away from the stone princess, power-sliding across the floor in front of her sister. One by one, the other students of Yukiko's class ran in, Isamu charging in with Kurikara in his grasp. He swung his body over a boulder and hurled the weapon over to Shima, the pinkette throwing the weapon to Bon and Yukiko like a boomerang.

Yukiko caught it and drew out the blade, praying as she rested the demon's fang on her sister, the point of the sword close to slitting Rin's throat.

"Rin. . . Please . . ." Yukiko prayed, whimpering as nothing happened. In a scream, she cried for her sister. "Please! Wake up, big sister!"

The coat of Satan's flame appeared all at once, Yukiko and everyone else in the room gasping.

"The flames . . ."

"They're as bright as they were that very night!"

True to the Grigori's word, the royal-blue flames of Hell spouted from Rin's body, lighting her up like a wild bonfire.

Yet deep within Rin, she could not see the surprised faces or her own flames. All she saw was a deep, dark fog of confusion, her body lying on cold, weightless nothingness.

'Where am I?' She wondered, her mind drifting into oblivion. 'I can't see anything . . . I can't feel anything . . . There's nothing here at all. Am I. . . Dead?' She asked herself, gasping as something warm thumped in her chest, it's throbbing giving movement to her limbs, assisting her hand to grip at her chest. Thoughts of the light beyond life fled Rin like the wind. She knew. 'No . . . I can feel it . . . That's . . . That's . . .' Her vision blurred away from the fog. She had awakened, opening her eyes to the world of the living.

She flew to her feet, surprising everyone as her eyes opened with a docile glint, red filling the sclera of her eyes.

'My heart?' Rin wondered, unsheathing Kurikara as Anima screamed and threw a punch at her, the attack deflected and slicing away the rock-carved fist. 'It . . . It's beating so loud . . . That means-'

"I'm not dead . . . Yet!" With a wild battle cry, Rin braced her sword at her shoulder and charged forward, climbing up and over Anima's armor. With her teeth baring fangs, she threw her sword down and struck through the armor in a collision of stone and flames. The stone cracked and caked beneath the touch of the sword. Rin thrusts the blade and struck Anima in the abdomen, a banshee's cry torn from her older sister's throat as she was engulfed in Kurikara's flames.

"No. . . NO!" She screamed, her clothing and body burning away into smithereens. "I never lose. . . I NEVER LOSE! NO . . . ANINUE, SAVE ME!" She cried as she turned into nothing, balls of fire falling and burning out on the floor.

"F. . . Finally." Panted the demon princess, taking in her last breath of air before she fell to the ground.

"Rin!" Bon caught her before she hit the ground a second time, placing her down gently and cupping her cheek. "Rin. . . H-Hey, Rin, wake up-"

"Stand back!" Bon was thrown off Rin by the butt of Arthur's blade, the Palladian glowering as he stepped over Rin's unconscious form, his sword poised over her neck. "It's time a cut the blood lines of Satan, once and for all." He growled.

"Stand down, Angel." Ordered the soft-spoken Grigori.

"We have already decided to take on the proposal of Sir Pheles," Rasped the oldest member.

"Whether she becomes the savior of Assiah. . . Or whether she destroys it," The young male member sighed with the decree. "We have no choice but to wait and see. . ."

Regrettably and begrudgedly, Angel complied, removing his sword from Rin's neck in defeat.

As spoken once by an insane, honeymoon-phased teacher at True Cross once said, word traveled around the academy fast. Mephisto had informed his faculty members of the academy that they had the daughter of Satan in their grasp, warning them to be careful with teaching her. The uproar had not been a pleasant one but Mephisto left them all to be slack-jawed and bickering as he left the faculty lounge, swinging his odd umbrella.

"Sir Pheles!" Running after him was Yukiko, keeping in pace with him as they walked down the hallway together. Is it true, about what you said about my sister? Do you really think she has the potential of be the savior of Assiah?" She asked.

"I have no choice but to believe it," Mephisto said, twirling the umbrella's handle on his finger. "It's the only way to convince the Vatican of the value of Rin-chan's life."

That didn't place Yukiko at ease. "It's a reckless wager."

"The Grigori issued two things that we must abide or follow by any means possible." Her older brother smirked. "First, we must make sure that she passes the Exorcist-Authorization-Exam, in six months' time."

Yukiko gasped. "Impossible-!"

"Second!" Mephisto raised one finger in the air, ignoring Yukiko's furrowed brows. "To safeguard against potential flare-ups, we must keep her under twenty-four hour surveillance. And by "we", I mean you, sensei." He chuckled, patting Yukiko's head as he looked down on her. "Along with Kirigakure-sensei." He added.

Yukiko sighed, shrugging the hand off her head. "Now that's impossible."

"It seems that way, doesn't it?" Tilting his head like a naïve child, Mephisto swung his step and returned to walking, chuckling behind him. "Life is impossible, Okumura-sensei. But then again, no one said that it wouldn't be."

Yukiko gritted her teeth together and stood there stiffly as the sun painted down into the horizon, turning the sky into an orange wild-fire.

"You need to be careful with it now on, OK?"

The girl's words repeated in Rin's mind, her back to the moon as she sat on the window sill of her room, carefully holding the refurbished demon blade on her lap. Sleep far from her mind, the rascal of a student turned it at another angel, Kuroko looking at Rin's actions in puzzlement.

"I don't think I'll be able to fix it again if it ever gets cracked again, or worse," The swordswoman had spoken to her an hour ago, smiling as she handed over Kurikara from her last inspection. "The sword was very difficult to forge with the material your friends bought me. I don't think it can be fixed twice, so I really want you to be careful, Rin-chan. Why, a demon sword shouldn't be used to hold a demon's powers in the first place but . . . If that's the way you want to use it."

Rin huffed and lied back, pressing her hands flat against her face, she breathed in and gave a shaky sigh, thumping her head once against the glass of her window. As nice as the words had been, her week had not gone well. As if a switch had flicked in her life, all the friends she thought she gained at True Cross were now against her (with the exception Shiemi and Isamu.)

Bon and his friends avoided her like the plague. While Shima seemed to be the most easy-with-it of them all, Bon and Konekomaru couldn't stand to be in a five-foot radius of her without one of them visibly tensing, as if they were ready for her to attack. What felt worse out of it was whenever fear appeared in Konekomaru's eyes whenever she approached him, or the warning looks Bon sent her if she tried to speak to him. Just what was their problem?

"I'm the problem. . ." Rin muttered, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her chin there. "They hate me. . . Because of what that bastard, Satan, did. He killed important people of their families. . . And now they're blaming it all on me. It's bad enough that they're avoiding me, but now Yuki and Shui-chi-chi (she at least managed to get a laugh outta making-up a nickname for Shuichiro) got me in these special classes and now they expect be to be an exorcist in six months." She grabbed the nearest pillow she could find, scrunching it in her grip. "This isn't fair . . . I didn't want this . . . None of it!" He threw her head into the pillow and screamed in rage, all of the emotions muffled by fake feathers.

Pulling away, Rin chucked the pillow across the room, not giving a damn as it knocked over a pile of textbooks and flew open her window. Rin sighed, noticing that Kuroko was shivering at her side.

"Sorry, I'm just so angry and confused . . ." She sighed, standing up and walking over to the other window to close it. Another cold wind flew right by Rin and she made double-checked then, gasping as caught the glint of familiar glasses.

"Konekomaru!" She screamed, eyes widening in disbelief as she saw the sickly boy's body covered head to toe in raven-black wings, a birds skeletal skull glaring at her. "What the. . . How the . . ." She shook her head, anger flooding her heart instead. "Let go of him!" She roared, grabbing her sword and scaling out of her wing as the demon took Konekomaru higher into the sky.

"Nee-chan!" Rin back-treaded as Yukiko, Bon, and Shima ran out of the door to the stairs, meeting them as they watched the bird glide at them with anger, Konekomaru within its grasp.

"Mind telling me what the Hell is going on?!" Rin snapped, running along with the group as the bird made a swoop for an attack, missing by a hair.

"A demon took possession over Miwa-san!" Yukiko explained, pulling her sister back as the bird missed them again. "It feeds off the fear of a person's heart and takes control of their body until the mind no longer exist! If we don't do something," The brunette cursed, filling her gun with more holy-water sealed bullets. "We could lose Miwa-kun."

"Konekomaru!" Bon and Shima yelled in unison, unable to help out their friend as he screamed to be let down.

Rin gritted her teeth, trying to think of the best way to get the boy down. She looked at her sword, an idea popping into her, a risky one at that. Running forward, she got herself away from the others and ripped Kurikara from its sheath, roaring as her flames bought out her demon form.

"Rin, what the Hell are you doing?!" Shouted Yukiko, the next of her bullets barely grazing the demon's steel-tough wing.

"You know damn-well what the Hell I'm doing!" Rin shouted, eyes focusing on the black blur in the sky. "I'm saving Konekomaru's life!" She ran forward, ignoring the exclaims from her shocked audience, and digging her heels into the ground, a warning growl emanating from her throat before she called out. "Konekomaru! Just let go! Don't worry, I'll catch you!" She promised, hoping her words would weave through the web of lies and fears that Konekomaru's heart was trapped in.

Konekomaru opened his eyes, scared and frighten as Rin looked at him pleadingly, her arms wide and ready to catch her. The catch did not look safe, every inch of skin covered by ravenous hot fangs that could burn him alive. And yet something deep within him told him to fall. To just let go.

And with a gulp and a cry, he did. And the second after that, he was taken into Rin's arms and carried gently to the ground, the raven demon screaming as it was destroyed by one swoop of Kurikara. Rin pulled away from him and wheezed, falling forward and caught by Yukiko before her face met the floor. Bon and Shima crowded him, helping him sit up as the initial shock and fright flowed through him. His eyes prickled with tears as Yukiko helped slip Kurikara back into its sleeve, keeping her twin on her feet.

"Are you OK?" Yukiko asked, worrying her bottom lip as Rin panted and tried to hold herself up, sweat gathering in her brow and her chest pumping for air.

"I. . . I'm good," Rin sighed, trying to stray her voice away from panting. Exhausted, both physically and mentally from trying to take full control of her powers, but Rin was good, patting herself on the back for not losing into her own madness. She had saved Konekomaru, too. Which felt even more accomplishing and more relaxing to her pounding heart.

"R-Rin . . . Rin-chan. . ." The mentioned turned, gasping and smiling sadly as Konekomaru began to cry, looking regretful. "I'm . . . I'm so sorry! I . . . I treated you s-so . . . A-And you just . . . I'm so sorry!" He sobbed. Rin sighed and closed her eyes, nodding as she quirked a soft smile.

"Hey, no hard feelings, right?"

It was bright and crisp the next morning, Summer knocking on everyone's door as the grass began to turn greener and not a single cloud was able to mess up the sky. And suddenly feeling like the early riser, Rin got up earlier than her sister and decided to take Kuroko with her on a walk.

With the Cat Sith clinging on her shoulder, Rin walked around before the sun even made it past the horizon. Humming lightly, she looked around and spotted someone standing by the bus stops, the shaved-head completely uncanny. Curious and just being the morning person she was that day, Rin tip-toed behind the boy and kicked him behind the knee, toppling him to the ground.

"Whoa! I'm sorry, man!" Rin apologized sheepishly moving around to help Konekomaru up. She grabbed his glasses and paused, noticing something.

"Wait . . . These are total fakes. Hey, Konekomaru, why-" She stopped all together when she saw his face, jaw dropping as the dots connected and her mind clicked. "You . . . Aren't a boy?"

"G-Give those back!" Squeaking, the temple child hid their face, whimpering. "Why . . . Why did you have to find out now? Of all times when I'm leaving?"

"Leaving? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa . . . Whoa." Rin settled with, waving her hands. "Slow down here. I'm still trying to processes the girl's face I saw on your face just now." She shook her head, having no better idea than to sit on the ground and pat the spot next to her. "Sit, sit. We got some serious talking here to do. Starting with your gender."

Sighing in defeat, Konekomaru nodded, sitting next to Rin, bowing his or her head. "Alright, I'm actually a girl. Are you happy now?"

"More shocked," Rin replied, still trying to take in the whole think while Kuroko rested on her lap. "OK, so we established that you're really a girl. Question is; why are you hiding that, Konekomaru?" She asked, earning another sigh.

". . . When my parents died on the Blue Night, I was left as the only heir to my family. Afraid that my bloodline would die out if I were married off, the monk who took me in disguised me as a boy, constructing these glasses to help hide my gender more," She rested her arms on her curled-in knees, tilting her head. "It's dangerous for a girl to be alone and in exorcist training, as you probably know. I kept my real gender hidden so that no trouble would come to me . . . But look what happened. I get possessed by a demon and was nearly killed by it. I . . . I even avoided you, when you've been nothing but nice to me. "She wiped her eyes, sniffling. "But I let my jealousy get the better of me."

"Jealous?" Rin pointed out herself, looking bewilder. "Of me? Konekomaru, why of me?"

"Bon and Shima like you a lot," Konekomaru admitted sadly. "You like the same things they do and you all know how to fight really well. And you're so bold, out-spoken, not afraid to take risks. You're even brave enough to declare Satan's death by your sword. Then there's me . . ." Konekomaru bit her lip, resting a hand on her shaved head. "I have to hide who I am all the time. I can't fight well or be brave or talented like the others." She bunched up her shoulder bitterly. "Why am I telling you this, anyway? It's none of your business. Besides, I bet you would say I'm useless, too."

"Whoa, back up!" Rin pointed one finger in the air. "Repeat what you just said."

Konekomaru blinked in surprise. "I'm useless-"

"Further back, Neko-chan."

"I-I have to hide-"

"No!" Groaning, Rin held back her hand from face-palming herself. "What you said before, about it being none of my business. Konekomaru, it is my business. It's my business to know what's on your mind and what's troubling you. 'Cause believe it or not," She smiled, rows of pearl-white teeth sparkling in the twilight. "I consider you to be my friend."

The girl in disguised gasped, shaking her head with doubt.

"N-No way! You're lying-"

"No, I'm not! I'd be really sad if you left!"

"But after that demon caught me! It tried to corrupt my mind and make me kill you!" Konekomaru shook her head, shutting her eyes tightly. "Who's to say that won't happen again?!"

"True but," Rin tilted her head and gave another smile. "Back there, when you let go and fell, you trusted me, right? You had faith in me and I had faith in you." He smile turned goofy. "Um, friendship works that way, right?"

Konekomaru stared, her mind clicking the pieces together as she nodded back, understanding where Rin was getting at.

"Koneko!" Rushing in, their classmates came in and surrounded the two girls, Bon and Shima ahead of them all. "Geez, don't scare us like that. We found your bed empty with all your stuff gone and we thought you left for good."

"Good thing I stopped her before she could." Rin giggled.

"She, who?" Asked Shima.

"Konekomaru," Rin paused, a sweatdrop rolling down her forehead as she looked at the beat-red monk child. "You didn't tell them you were a girl, did you?" She asked.

"You're a girl?!"

"We took baths with a girl when we were little?!"

"Guess not."

True Cross was greeted by another morning. An emotional-turning and crazy when at that. Then again, since when was there never any surprises early in the morning of this mysterious part of Japan?

To Be Continued…

Was that chapter so confusing with all the events and sudden twists that hardly made senses and wracked around your brain so much that you find yourself with vertigo and/or nausea? Oh, you bet your sweet aunt it did. But enough about your relatives. Honestly, guys, I don't know why I'm suddenly talking about aunts and nausea. Maybe it's pretty late from where I'm at and I should probably be getting some sleep since I got school tomorrow. Well, on that note, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Did anyone else notice we just flew by three episodes? That's something, huh? Well, please make sure to drop a review! I need to go catch some sleep and get ready for school and all. See you on the next update and I hope you had a good read! Bye!

This is me saying, Peace!