A New Day

Only a few hours had past and Reiji had long entered the dorm. Upon entering said dorm, Reiji had decided to have a look around. Honestly, this dorm was a bit smaller than he thought it would be. This abandoned dorm wasn't exactly in the best condition, at least from he could see, especially from the outside. He barely had any room… Of course, it was big enough that it took some time finding his room, as there were many rooms, but luckily his stuff had already been brought into his room. When he found his room, he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Finally, he could get some rest. It would certainly do him some good.

The white-haired boy sighed before plopping onto his bed and closing his eyes as he did his best to relax. He only managed to get about an hour's worth of sleep before a some kind of weird sensation came over him. Reiji had a feeling that he wasn't alone anymore and it wasn't because of the presence in his head, although, he still wasn't quite used to it being there. No, Reiji swore that he was hearing voices from a distance… one of them was a familiar voice.

Astaroth could feel a new presence in the building and it was beginning to make him feel restless as the sensation of familiarity swept over him. The Demon King had a feeling that this was the presence he was looking for, after all, he could easily identify other demons. So, he would have to persuade his host to get up and check it out since he couldn't take over and do it himself.

Hey, idiot, what do you think you are doing? Hurry up and wake up! Can't you hear that we have company? Astaroth pressed, I know you are curious… You recognize one of those voices, don't you?

Despite being curious, Reiji didn't want to waste the effort of getting up. He had only got one hour of sleep and quite frankly, he was extremely crabby. However, he could feel just how insistent the other consciousness was and he knew it wouldn't stop bothering him until he did what it wanted. The teen sighed and finally got up to check out was going on.

As he got closer to the sources, he could hear the differences in each voice. Each one was very distinct from the other and while one was soft and quiet, the other was loud and obnoxious. Of course, Neither he nor Astaroth were interested in the quiet one as nothing seemed out of the ordinary with him. However, since he was closer, the thoughts of familiarity had been confirmed. This particular voice definitely sounded like that brat that he bullied before coming here. If Astaroth could physically grin, he would. There was no doubt it. The presence he felt was indeed the presence of the Young Prince he had been sent to retrieve.

"Uhm… Who the hell is out there, you better show yourselves or else," Reiji called out as he slowly as he completely stepped outside of his room and looked around curiously, not having bothered to turn on the lights prior to this, "Answer me dammit! Are you my dormmates?"

The twins hadn't been too far from the white-haired boy and they had stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of someone calling out to them. It was funny, last they knew they were the only ones staying here. Maybe they were hearing things? Apparently, what they thought was wrong. Both had been looking around and when Yukio had found the source, he tapped Rin and pointed forward. It was apparent that Yukio had no idea who this other male was but Rin recognized him right away.

Rin wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, but he was good at recognizing faces and sometimes names. There was no doubt in his mind that this was Reiji Shitatori. It made sense that he would be in this school, since he had mentioned before that he was going to be attending True Cross Academy. However, what he didn't expect was to see Reiji in the dorm.

"Well if it isn't Reiji, what the hell are you doing here?" Rin asked and raising an eyebrow, "I knew you were enrolled here but last I knew, it was just supposed to me and my brother here. How did you manage to get in here?"

Astaroth couldn't help but snicker as he watched the half demon through his host's eyes. If only he could just finish his mission right here and now… Either way, he was relieved to have located his target so soon.

Oh, Mephisto, you fool. You led me straight to the Young Prince. But this was far too easy… What exactly are you planning to do with him, brother? Oh well, nothing will stop me from succeeding this time, the boy is mine.

If Reiji would have heard what Astaroth said, he would have most likely been confused. However, the male was currently too distracted to even notice and/or care at the moment. Reiji raised an eyebrow as he stared back at Rin, almost as shocked as the other was. Now that he saw the face, he most definitely knew it was Rin. That was something he didn't want to get into at the moment, though.

The last time he had seen Rin, He wasn't exactly in the best of moods. That wasn't something he wanted to think about though because he honestly didn't like it when he got pissed because of what happened last time. From what he could recall, Rin had done something to set Reiji off. The moment that he had gotten pissed something happened that he couldn't remember, perhaps it was because he blacked out. Of course, that wasn't the only time it had happened. In fact, it happened twice but he didn't know why. Either way, that was something he wanted to avoid, so he was going to do his best to remain calm.

"Okumura-kun, it's been awhile hasn't it? Nice to see you after such a long time," Reiji said with a soft smile, "You must be the other tenants staying in the dorms, yeah? Mr. Pheles had mentioned that there would be a few others staying here."

Reiji paused for a moment as he took the time to look over at Yukio. He didn't recognize Yukio at all but he had an idea as to who he was. The white-haired male could only assume that this boy was Yukio Okumura.

"The Principal said that I was allowed to stay here, after all, you have no idea how hard it is to find a place to stay. The only vacant dorm was this one so he stuck me here, but don't worry about me, okay?" Reiji sighed as he shook his head at the two, "I won't be a problem but don't think that you can get rid of me so easily. So… I take it this is your brother, Yukio?"

At first Rin didn't want to respond to the question. The whole fist fight that had happened last time with Reiji was over the fact that Reiji had talked trash about Yukio. Maybe nothing would happen though? Surely after all this time Reiji was better person? Still, that didn't stop him from wanting to punch him in the face. Rin did manage to keep his composure, though.

Reiji felt agitated due to the fact that Rin didn't even say a single word to him. Well, that was certainly a great start to a conversation, wasn't it? He took a deep breath before speaking up.

"Look, Rin, I'm sorry for what I had said about your brother before, Okay? I swear, I'm not that kind of person anymore," Reiji replied, still annoyed at the fact that he was practically ignored by the other, "Ever since that I've wanted a clean slate. What I said back then wasn't right and I shouldn't have even said it. The last thing I want to do is make enemies in the academy, especially with you."

Rin breathed a sigh of relief at Reiji's response. It was nice to know that someone like Reiji could change, however, the young half demon didn't know if he should believe him or not. At the moment, it was hard to tell what was going to happen from here, so there wasn't much too go on. Reiji's words did seem at least somewhat genuine, though. Then again, did he really want to start anything with Reiji? What if that demon was still around? No… Astaroth was gone, right?

"Hey, man, don't worry about it alright? Just don't let me catch you pulling that kind of stunt again, got it?" Rin replied before sighing and rubbing the nape of his neck, "If you really have changed then I am sure that we won't be having any problems. Anyway, yes, this is my brother Yuko. Yukio, I'd like to introduce Reiji, Reiji Shitatori."

Yukio honestly had no idea what the two were even talking about. Obviously, something had happened between the two of him that he didn't even know of… Then again, Rin never really opened up about these kind of things, especially when it came to fights. When it came to the fights, Yukio had no idea who his twin fought with or what it was about. The only thing he did know was that there had been some bastard shooting pigeons that picked a fight with Rin, or vice versa.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Reiji, is it?" Yukio replied brightly as he smiled at Reiji, "I'm not entirely sure what you two are babbling on about but it's in the past, so I am sure we can just move on, right? As long everyone here is friendly with each other, there shouldn't be any problems. However, I am surprised that Mr. Pheles let someone else stay here, he certainly didn't tell us. In any case, it's always nice to have some company, right Rin? I'm sure none of us will have an issue with sharing, will we?"

Reiji could see an obvious difference between the two twins. Rin was an obnoxious kid who seemed to have some kind of violent streak but apparently did have some soft spots. Nice to know. However, Yukio seemed to be the polar opposite. Yukio was way more mature than Rin and smarter, too. Everyone did have their bad sides, though, so there was probably more to Yukio than he could see.

"Well, it's very nice to finally see you in person," Reiji said as he mimicked Yukio's smile (though it wasn't all that genuine), "I promise that I have intention of being a bully anymore, like I had said, all that is in the past. Really, all I came here for is just to learn and it would kind of be pointless if my parents wasted money if I didn't do just that."

Astaroth was getting rather irritated at this point. How long was this boring conversation going to carry on? He could certainly care less about the Young Prince's twin brother, that's not what mattered. Though, he did find his host's blatant lies hilarious. Since he had been in his head for so long, he knew Reiji, possibly more than Reiji knew himself. No one ever really changes, EVER. Still, it would at least be fun tempting his host.

Are you fucking blind? Can't you see that they are obviously lying to you right now? They could care less about how good you believe you are. Speaking of which, you do know that you are no better than you were before, Astaroth muttered, though practically grinning as he would only continue to tempt his host, Rin is most likely still angry at you, so how can you be so damn stupid?

It soon became apparent that Astaroth was being ignored and he didn't like that at all. Astaroth hated being ignored and he certainly wouldn't take that from Reiji, so he pressed on.

Don't you dare fucking ignore me! I know you, boy, more than you might know about yourself. Deep down, you know that I am right.

Reiji was doing his best to ignore the constant nagging going on inside his head but it was getting incredibly hard. It was obvious that there was no escaping this other consciousness. Why did it insist on saying these things? Hell, he didn't even know what was going on in the first place or where this voice had come from.

Will you just shut up already? There is no way they could be lying to me, I'm sure of it. Sure, some part of Reiji didn't believe that or maybe it was the voices influence planting seeds of doubt in his head. Reiji shook his head. No, he didn't want to believe that. Rin is an honest person. Hell, he was even being honest when I was starting shit with him. Reiji shook his head but continued to smile, as if keeping up appearances to make sure the twins didn't think anything was going on.

Once more Astaroth found himself being irritated. Despite how perfect this host was, he certainly was annoying and naïve. Still, that wouldn't stop Astaroth from doing what he needed to do. Eventually he'd get what he wanted, all he needed was to continue push and influence his host.

Did you really just tell me to shut up? For someone who claims to be so smart, you sure are naïve as hell. No matter, you know that you can't trust a word that comes out of that boy's mouth. What did you call him… Oh yes, a demon?

Rin wasn't as stupid as he might appear, in fact, he could see right through Reiji's little was something that was bothering Reiji but the young half demon knew that he wouldn't spill the beans. It was probably a wise move not to ask, as there was a chance of the other snapping at him, but that was a risk he would be willing to take.

"Of course, I don't mind sharing," Reiji replied quietly, though keeping the smile on his face, "Besides, it might be fun, yeah?"

Rin cleared his throat before speaking up, "Say, Shitatori-kun, is something wrong?" He asked, slightly concerned, "It seems like something might be bothering you."

The half demon wasn't going to say it out loud, but he could sense that something was indeed wrong. There was something else that he was missing, too but he couldn't quite pinpoint what. Maybe he would find out somehow, but not now.

At first Reiji didn't catch what Rin said, as he was continuously ignoring the voice in his head, who was only getting louder and louder as time passed. However, he did manage to respond with a nod. He wasn't someone who openly shared things, so obviously he wasn't going to tell Rin the truth.

"Of course I'm okay, what makes you think that I am not?" Reiji inquired as he rose an eyebrow at the twins, "I'm sorry for being rude but I think I need to just go get something to eat, so if you'll excuse me…"

Without any sort of warning, the white-haired teen started to walk away at a rather fast pace, trying to create as much of a space as possible. Perhaps if he got away from Rin he would be okay? After all, it did seem like the other consciousness was more active with the blue-haired teen around. This was the only way he would find out.

Yukio could only look at Reiji with confusion. See, he wasn't like Rin and he couldn't tell that something was wrong. Well, he did have some idea but it wasn't anything complicated. If anything, it seemed like the other teen just had a headache, something easily remedied. So, with that in mind the younger twin followed Reiji, soon being followed by the elder one.

"Hey, wait, hold up!" Yukio shouted as he walked faster in attempt to catch up to Reiji before finally doing so and he simply smiled, "If you have some kind of headache I can help you, after all, I do have some Doctor skills. So, will you let me help you?"

"Look, as much as I appreciate your offer, I'd rather be alone. So, would you just take the hint and leave me alone?" Reiji snapped as he temporarily glared back at Yukio before shaking it off and sighing, though he was extremely annoyed by their persistence, "Er… What I mean is, that I don't need your help, I'm sure I'll be fine after I get some grub. Thanks anyway, Yukio."

The sudden change in attitude caught Yukio off guard. The last thing Yukio wanted to do was start anything and Reiji was obviously just as stubborn as Rin was. No matter, Yukio could always offer his services later. After all, they were going to be staying in the same dorm from now on.

"Hey, if you are hungry I could always fix you up something," Rin offered, though it was obvious that he was annoyed by the way Reiji had spoken to his brother but didn't do anything about it, "I just happen to be one mean cook."

Man, they sure are annoying, aren't they? You know what you should do? You should just let it all out, I mean, I certainly wouldn't blame you if you did. They do kind of deserve it, right? It would make you feel so much better, don't you feel it, too?

The voice was right, it would make him feel better but he didn't want to act on it. No, instead he was just going to accept Rin's offer. Who was he to turn down free food? He stopped and smiled back at the boys before nodding, completely ignoring Astaroth.

Are you really going to fucking ignore me again? You are such a pain in my ass, you know that? Soon or Later you'll know that I am just trying to help you, I guarantee you. Well that was a total lie. After all, Astaroth was only using the teen.

A few days later

Right about now, Mephisto was probably laughing at Astaroth because still hadn't been able to fully possess his host. Really it was all Reiji's fault. His host was always too damn calm, no matter how much he pressured him. Apparently, Reiji's will was much stronger than Astaroth had previously assumed. Oh, how he could practically see Mephisto's reaction… Damn him, playing games with his own brother.

Meanwhile, Reiji was dealing with issues of his own. First there was the fact that the twins were gone a lot, but he didn't know why or where but he didn't necessarily need to care, right? In fact, whenever he was alone he felt more at peace but there were a lot of times where he couldn't focus on anything, which lead to bad grades in school.

What made it even worse was the fact that Reiji couldn't really focus on the classes. See, Reiji was a smart person but it was hard to focus when there was that voice in his head being constantly loud. There were several occasions where the voice would try to plant ideas in his head or mess with him enough to get a reaction out of him. Something told him it would be bad if he got angry too...

One thing he did begin to notice, though, was that wherever he went he would always what he could only describe as a small black bug. It was almost as if it was attracted to him but why? The teen first saw them when he arrived at the True Cross Academy. However, it wasn't just that. He was seeing all kinds of things…. Odd and strange creatures floating about, and some even directly stared at him. Reiji had no idea why these things were happening to him. Why were these creatures here and what even were they? Unbeknownst to him, it was all because of Astaroth, they were Astaroths Kin, in fact. The Okumura's didn't even see it either, as far as Reiji could tell anyway…. Was he going crazy?

This was beginning to be an issue for him but there was nothing he could do about it… There was no one out there who could help him or was there? There was one chance he could take, the Exorcist school. Yes, he was far more observant and there are things that couldn't be hidden from him. For instance, he did know there were exorcists here and he also knew that Mr. Phele's himself was one… Maybe this was the only way. So, Reiji decided he would talk Mephisto when he had the chance.

Astaroth hated the idea of having to be around exorcists. It even put him at risk for discovery if he wasn't careful. Still, maybe this would only help him? Reiji thought that by making this decision, he was going to save himself but no he wasn't. No, this just might be the opportunity Astaroth needed to get him where he wanted him to be.

|Sorry this took so long to update but here it is. As always, there are probably things that need fixed, so let me know if you spot any (though no one ever does.) Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the thing.|