Chapter 3:

Flame

"Shiemi! Where are yooouuu?" Rin screamed. He heard his own echo in response. Damn, where could that girl be? Rin thought as he searched the school grounds. He soon ventured into town because he had exhausted the area around True Cross Academy. Suddenly, Rin felt a vibration in the ground. Huh? An earthquake? Something caught his eye that made him turn his head to the right. In the forest, a fortress was rising into view. W-what the hell? What is that? Rin thought as he stared at citadel. It was then that Rin realized he was the only one staring at the sight. Am I the only one who can see this?

"Hey," Rin asked as he stopped a citizen," do you see that over there?" Rin pointed to the direction of the stronghold.

"Hmm? Is there a balloon or something in the air? Sorry, I don't see anything. If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend." The man said as he walked away.

Damn, then I am the only one who can see this! Maybe Shiemi's there! I've got to hurry! Rin assumed as he started for the forest.

Near the Citadel

Rin was nearing the grounds of the fortress. Rin took the chance to see the details of the castle. It was a dark shaded castle with a Gothic architectural theme. Demonic gargoyles stood in their place at the towers with eyes that followed your every move and the flying buttresses, arches, and vaults curved and twisted. Stained glass windows were shaded so that light could not come in so easily. It wasn't your fairy tale type of castle. The only thing that seemed decent about the castle was the verdure. Delicate and bright flowers scattered as far as Rin could see. They trailed up the walls of the castle, en-strangling the architecture. It was as if they were slowly taking over the demonic atmosphere they gave off. As if trying to change them. What is this place? Rin thought as he started to walk towards the castle again. That was when he saw a figure standing in front of the gate. It seemed to have been waiting for him. As Rin came closer, he observed that it was actually male. Green shades in his hair, with a point at the top. He adorned himself in strange clothing, tattered at the bottom. Who the hell is this guy? Rin stopped in front of him.

"Who the hell are you?" he shouted.

"Ah, brother. I've been waiting for a long time." he spoke.

Rin raised an eyebrow. "Brother? Who are you?" he asked once again.

"I'm Amaimon. The Earth King. We're brothers, you know. Older brother and Father kept talking about you, so I came to see what was so special about you. You don't look like much of a threat, though. Your powers are concealed in the sword right?" he stated as he pointed to Kurikara.

Rin ignored much of what he said."What do you want from me?" Rin yelled. He was losing his patience. I have to go look for Shiemi!

"I want to play, brother." he requested flat out.

"I don't have time to play. Go play with that damned father of yours." Rin said as he started to walk away.

"Oh, so you don't care about Moriyama Shiemi?" Amaimon questioned. "That's too bad. What do I do with her now?"

"WHERE'S SHIEMI?" Rin shouted with ferocity as he turned around. Blue flames emitted from him for a few seconds.

Rin swore he saw a small smile on Amaimon's face for a split second.

"I studied about human culture and folklore. Let's play a game called Sleeping Beauty. At the top of this castle, Moriyama Shiemi awaits in slumber. She will only wake up to the kiss of her prince. Whichever one of us reaches her first and wakes her up, wins." Amaimon explained.

Rin's face turned bright red. "K-Kiss her? W-W-What the hell? Why do we have to kiss her?" Rin asked with embarrassment.

"Wait, what do I get if I win?"

Amaimon stared at him blankly as he said, "If you win, I'll come back another day to play more games. If you lose, we continue this game to the end."

"...So I lose either way..." Rin pouted. "I still have to save Shiemi, so let's do this...huh?" Rin looked around. Amaimon disappeared.

"You're slow, brother. The game already started." said the echo of Amaimon's voice.

"DAMN IT!" Rin yelled as he ran to the castle's door.

Inside the Castle

As soon as Rin stepped in, he knew this would take more than a while. The castle's lobby was quite the sight. An elaborate gothic chandelier hung in the middle, the wax of its candles melting off and dripping on the ground. The area had a dark glowing aura, with red sparks appearing and disappearing. The furniture had an elegant, yet threatening look to them. It must have been due to the spikes on the arm rests. Paintings hung on the walls, perhaps ones that portrayed myths about demons. There was a lone piano at the side, adorned with skulls at its feet and draped over with black lace. ...This place doesn't exactly say 'Come on in!' does it... Rin thought to himself. Setting everything else aside, the real problem for Rin was that there were 12 doors to choose from...and some had mysterious noises coming from them. Gah! Let's just open all of them and see what's ahead. Let's start to the one on the far left! He nodded to himself for reassurance and headed to the door.

Rin cracked open the first door. It was a lone hallway that was dimly lit. Something sparked at the end of it. Let's not go this way, Rin thought as he closed it shut. As Rin motioned for the second door, it opened by itself. Rin prepared to unsheathe Kurikara. He stopped when he noticed it was just a small hob-goblin. It scurried away as it caught sight of him. Well that was disappointing, he thought to himself. Rin opened the second door. ...Another hallway! Rin opened doors three, four, five, and six. All hallways. When Rin opened door seven, he came upon a spiral staircase. All right! Finally! he thought as he ran up the stairs.

When Rin reached the top of the stairs, he saw only a door. He opened it to find himself walking into a large Colosseum.

"JUST HOW BIG IS THIS PLACE?" Rin shouted as his voice rang throughout the whole area. That was when he heard a rumble, and then a quake in the ground. A large demon emerged from the darkness. It charged immediately towards Rin.

"Shit!" Rin cursed as he withdrew Kurikara. His ears extended, tail was revealed, and blue flames encircled him. Rin charged towards the demon and slashed it with a power swing. It let out a sharp cry as it fell. It disintegrated into black ash and disappeared into the air.

Rin put Kurikara back into its scabbard. "That was easy!" Rin said with relief. Rin spotted the exit on the other side of the Colosseum. "There's the exit!" he exclaimed. He started for the door then felt the ground starting to shake again. Rin reluctantly turned around. About 15 more of the same demons were now charging towards him. Now that's just great, he thought as he unsheathed Kurikara once more. Rin slashed a few of the demons and then surrounded the area in blue flames. They cried in union as they turned into dust.

"This power... is just like father's. No wonder they're so interested in you." a voice rang through the area.

"Amaimon! Where are you?" Rin shouted to the air.

"You're going to lose, brother~." Amaimon teased in his ever so monotonous tone.

"Damn it!" Rin said as he sprinted towards the door.

At the top of the castle

Amaimon has been waiting for a while. He came here as soon as the game started.

"I'm bored again." he said to himself.

He looked over to the sleeping Shiemi. She looked peaceful as she slept with a smile draped on her face. Too innocent, too pure. Amaimon walked over to her side and started to stroke her hair. It was soft and it smelled of flowers. Amaimon then stared into her face. Her cheeks were rosy pink, her skin fair and smooth. Amaimon subconsciously lowered himself to be closer to her face. Their faces were now a few inches apart.

Shiemi's dream

Wherever she looked, it was covered in beautiful flowers. The Garden of Amahara... Shiemi thought to herself. The garden radiated with a beautiful white glow while the flowers accented it with their bright colors. Little ponds were scattered around with an occasional waterfall. Shiemi walked while holding her breath. Grandma... I'm here, Shiemi thought with a smile on her face. Flower petals gently drifted by as she walked towards a tree. Shiemi then noticed a figure standing by the tree. Curious, she decided to question it.

"Hello," Shiemi said, "do you live here?"

The figured turned towards her. It did not speak.

"U-uhm, I'm Moriyama Shiemi. My grandmother always told me stories about this place...so I wanted to visit it. I don't know how I got here though..." Shiemi tried explaining to it.

"This is my kingdom." it spoke.

Shiemi's face lightened up "Eh? Really? I wish I could live here!" Shiemi exclaimed.

The figure shook its head. "I'm the only one here, so I get lonely and bored." it explained.

Shiemi smiled. "I can play with you."

The figure looked at her, "You'll play with me whenever I want?" it asked.

"Of course!" Shiemi replied with joy.

The figure smiled and then turned around to walk away.

"H-hey! Where are you going?" Shiemi cried out.

It continued onward until it disappeared into thin air. Shiemi's vision then became blurry.

Back into reality

Shiemi felt herself regaining consciousness. Was that dream real? It felt so real, she thought to herself. Shiemi soon realized a presence extremely close to her, touching her. Shiemi opened her eyes. Amaimon was right in front of her, kissing her.