Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist!

Yes…. I know… I haven't updated in forever. I have a habit of starting new stories and leaving my other ones. I started writing a Vampire Diaries story – I had a sudden inspiration – as well as a Twilight story…. I know... I'm lame… but whatever.

Moving on… I finally closed the poll. I was open for a long time and here is the result (much to my surprise):

Mephisto - 19

Bon – 14

Amaimon – 6

Shima – 1

Poor Shima… no one wanted him!

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Emphasis

~X~

Something hit Rin in the face; her eyes snapped open and she practically screeched, attempting to jump out of her bed, only to get all tangled in her comforter and land on the ground with a loud thump. She lay on the ground, wrapped in her comforter, groaning in pain and massaging her sore face.

"What the hell…" She mumbled tiredly, blinking her eyes and rubbing the sleep from them.

"Rin-chan…"

Rin looked up to see Yukio standing there. His arms were crossed and he was holding a rolled up newspaper. "Y-you… Y-Yukio!" Rin spluttered. "Why did you do that?!"

Yukio sighed in irritation. "When I came home late last night, you were dead asleep and none of your homework had been done."

Rin bit her lip. 'Shit…' She thought. 'I didn't get up to do my homework…'

"Rin, you have –" Yukio began.

"Save your lectures, Yuki-kun." Rin cut him off right away, getting to her feet. "I'll do my stupid homework!"

Yukio frowned, though he didn't attempt to continue with his lecture. "Good," he said. "I'm going to head to the bathroom. I trust you can handle yourself for an hour or two… right, Rin?"

"Yes, yes, yes," Rin snapped, pushing past her brother. "I'll be fine. Go get clean. You stink."

Yukio gave her a stern look before gathering his bathing supplies and leaving the bedroom, making sure to close the bedroom door as he left.

"Now I have to do my homework…" Rin grumbled to herself. She grabbed her over-the-shoulder bag from where she'd tossed it last night and pulled out her homework, setting it all out on her desk. "This is going to be torture…"

Rin quickly rummaged around in Yukio's desk drawers until she found a pencil. She then sat down with her pencil in hand, sleeves rolled up, and a look of determination on her face. She had a long list of questions to answer from the lesson on various demons they'd learned about in class the other day, as well as a pile of books – from all her cram school classes – which she was supposed to read for an upcoming quiz.

Just looking at the pile of books made Rin grimace; she didn't want to read any of them. They were all children stories and that didn't sit well with Rin. She wanted to be an Exorcist – she didn't have time to waste reading silly children stories. And to make it worse, the books all looked utterly boring. She picked up one of the books, reading the title: Bible Stories for Children.

'This is ridiculous…' Rin thought, as she reluctantly opened the book, beginning to read the first few pages. Right away, she was already annoyed. These stupid books were not what Rin needed to become an Exorcist. No, she needed in-the-field and real-life action to succeed.

Not wanting to prolong her torture, Rin simply skimmed through each of the books, reading and memorizing what she deemed to be important; within no time, she was done with all the books. With the books out of the way, Rin flipped through her workbook until she found the homework questions from yesterday.

She read the first question…

How do you identify a lower-class demon?

Rin stared at the question, blinking repeatedly.

"Come on, Rin! Think! You know this one!" Rin said to herself, closing her eyes, trying to remember the answer. But all Rin could think of was a complete blank.

'I hate my life sometimes…' Rin groaned, smacking her head on the desk. 'I just wanna read manga! But I'm pressing my luck here… Yukio will be sooo mad if I don't do this!'

Rin quickly wrote down N/A in her messy scrawl… and from there, Rin only answered the questions she kind of knew how to; when she came across a question she didn't know the answer to, she'd simply write down N/A.

Within an hour, Rin was done all her homework… or at least sort of done. Grinning happily to herself, Rin stuffed her homework into one of her desk drawers and stood up, stretching.

"Finally! I get to relax and read manga!" Rin announced to herself. She grabbed a bag of chips she'd hidden away in her desk and snatched a good action/romance manga from Yukio's desk.

Feeling happy, Rin seated herself on her bed, opened her bag of chips, and began reading the manga.

~X~

Tears fell down Rin's cheeks, dripping onto the pages of the manga she was reading. "H-how can t-this s-s-s-tory be s-so sad? I-it is so tr-tragic!" She hiccupped, attempting to wipe away her tears.

Suddenly, the book was snatched from her hands.

"Rin-chan!"

Rin looked up to see Yukio standing next to her bed, holding the manga she'd been reading. She hadn't even heard or noticed him come back into the room.

"Hey! Give that back!" She exclaimed, wildly waving her arms. "I wasn't finished reading it!"

Yukio crossed his arms. "Don't spill weird juices over my manga." He then gave her a serious look and added, "And how are your studies? Did you read the books? And have you done your homework?"

"Stop worrying, Yuki-kun… Of course I finished all the homework!" Rin snapped back, hoping that Yukio wouldn't check her homework. She gestured to the pile of books she'd been assigned to read. "But… what is up with these books? They are all children's stories!" She rose to her feet – her tail swinging back and forth – and walked over to her desk, slamming her hand down on the books. "This is a joke! I feel like you're making fun of me!"

"I'm not making fun of you… it's just suited for your intelligence."

"What!" Rin exploded, glaring at Yukio and gritting her teeth. She refused to be treated like an idiot. "Damn you, moley four-eyes!"

Yukio looked at her, the light reflecting off his glasses. "I thought stuff like this would be easier for you to understand."

Rin growled at him, annoyed. "You know… have you ever taken into account I'm no good at sitting at a table studying?!" She demanded angrily, waving her arms around.

"That hadn't crossed my mind…."

Rin crossed her arms. "I can't just study. I'm not good at it."

"You want to become an Exorcist, right?"

"Well, yeah…" Rin nodded her head, biting her lip.

"Then you have no choice but to study, Onee-chan. It is unavoidable. And since you have free time now, you will be reading those books." Yukio told her, heading over to grab his jacket. "I have no doubt you didn't read them properly."

"Are you going somewhere?" Rin questioned, ignoring what her brother had told her. She instead watched as Yukio slipped into his Exorcist uniform.

"I received a request, and I'm going shopping while I'm out." Yukio said, walking past her and over to the door. "I don't think it will take long."

"A 'request'…. Does that mean an exorcism?"

Yukio nodded his head.

Rin smiled and skipped over to Yukio, latching onto his arm. "Take me with you!"

Yukio twisted around to look down at his sister as she clung to him. "What?!"

"Won't it be much more educational for me than burying my nose in books? I mean, after all, I'm no good with staying still and studying. I have ADD and ADHD, remember Yukio? I can't just sit still and learn!" She said, her tail waving back and forth in excitement.

"But you're still a Page." Yukio said. "You don't have any authorization for actual combat on that level."

"Isn't it too late to worry about authors and zations, and stuff like that?!"

Yukio twitched a little. "I said 'authorization'… not 'authors and zations', Rin…"

"See!" Rin said, tightening her grip on Yukio. "I need some in-the-field action. Besides, I've already fought a demon before, remember? Who gives a damn about getting… authorization or permission?"

"That's true…" Yukio sighed. "Fine then, but just to observe."

Rin smiled at Yukio and released him from her death-grip. "That's what I thought!" She said happily, heading over to her uniform and stripping in front of Yukio without a care.

Yukio quickly averted his eyes, not wanting to see his sister naked. "However," he said to her, "you have to pay attention to what I tell you. And don't act on your own, either!"

"Gotcha!" Rin said happily as she finished changing. She grabbed her sword, slung it over her shoulder, and hurried over to Yukio.

Yukio held up a rectangular-shaped key with jagged edges. "This is the key to the supply store." He explained. "It's one of the keys that only Exorcists can carry."

"And you got one? That's surprising… I wouldn't trust you…" However, Rin trailed off, seeing the glare Yukio was giving her.

Yukio stuck the key into the dorm-room door and unlocked it. The door opened to show a long, concrete bridge that lead to a small-looking house or shop of some sort, which was surrounded by plenty of trees…

~X~

Rin followed Yukio onto the bridge, feeling amazed. She hesitantly looked over the edge and gasped, quickly moving into the center of the bridge, away from the edges where she could possibly fall. Dying wasn't on her list of things to do. "T-this is so h-high!" She exclaimed, running to catch up to Yukio. "Hey, Yuki-kun, that key is kinda like a warp-zone, huh."

"This academy is a very important place for the Order of True Cross." Yukio glanced back at Rin. "So the Principal has used his power to set a maze of amulets and barriers to ward off higher level demons."

Rin nodded her head, thinking about Mephisto. "I see… So, then he's not just some creepy, whacky clown dude."

Yukio shook his head at hearing Rin say that, but continued on with his explanation, "You can avoid those traps and visit the world outside the academy if you have the keys."

"Ah… I understand."

Yukio said nothing more on the topic, seeing as how they arrived at the bottom of the stairs which led up to the shop. There were plenty of green bushes on either side.

"Well, I'll go buy the supplies first." Yukio said, glancing at Rin. "You wait here."

Rin crossed her arms. "I want to come with you."

"Only Exorcists can enter the store. I won't be long." Yukio started walking up the stairs, leaving Rin standing there.

Rin rolled her eyes in annoyance. 'That's bullshit!'

Yukio stopped suddenly. He turned around, looking stern, and pointed a finger at Rin. "Don't wander off! And don't touch anything!"

"Just hurry up!"

Yukio sighed and turned around, continuing to walk up the stairs.

Rin glared at his retreating figure. She scoffed. "Damn! He keeps treating me like I'm just some brat! 'Don't wander off! Don't touch anything!'" She mocked Yukio's tone of voice. "He acts like he's my mother or something!" She watched as Yukio entered the shop at the top. "Screw him! One day, he'll be asking for my help…"

Rin turned on her heel and began to stalk away. However, she came to a stop, noticing something out of the corner of her eyes. There was another stone staircase, but this one led to an iron gate at the top.

'Yukio will probably kill me for this…but who cares…' Rin thought as she began walking up the stairs. She reached the iron gate and stopped in front of it.

Beyond it was a beautiful garden. It was full of all different sorts of flowers. It was colorful and breath-taking. Within the garden, Rin spotted a girl with short-blonde hair kneeling on the ground. It looked like she was tending to some flowers.

Rin slowly reached up to touch the gate, but she quickly pulled her hand back when she was shocked by it. "Ouch!"

The whole gate seemed to flash blue. The gate began to creak – falling off its hinges – and went crashing to the ground with a loud bang. The girl looked up in surprise, finally taking notice of Rin.

"Um… I didn't do… It just broke!" Rin panicked, blushing in embarrassment.

However, the girl only looked at Rin with a look of disgust and fear. "D-demon! The warding gate…"

"Warding?" Rin quietly gasped to herself. She looked at the broken gate and added in a murmured voice, "Oh crap… did it react to me?"

"Don't come in!" The blonde-haired girl began to panic. "Demon!"

Rin was beginning to get annoyed. She didn't like being called a demon. "Demon this and demon that! I'm not a demon or anything!" She entered the garden, stomping angrily over to the girl. "Don't make assumptions!"

"Stay away!" The girl cried out, trying to crawl away. However, she only collapsed onto her face.

"H-hey…"

"I told you to stay away!" She tried crawling again, but only ended up collapsing once more.

"C-can't you use your legs…?" Rin questioned.

The blonde girl looked back at Rin. "What…?"

Rin slowly and tentatively moved over to the girl, kneeling down beside her. The girl flinched slightly, but didn't try to scramble away from Rin. "Your legs…" Rin spoke softly, gesturing to them. "Are they hurt or something?"

The girl blinked, looking at Rin. "I-I… I can't walk…"

Rin nodded her head. "I see…"

"Umm…" The girl muttered shyly. She gestured to what she was working on. "Do you think you could help me, please?" She then quickly added, "Just for a bit. I'm… umm… having trouble…"

Rin's first instinct was to say "no". After all, this girl had accused her of being a demon, something which she didn't like. However, Rin also knew that if she refused, she would only end up feeling guilty later. So, she shrugged her shoulders and agreed. "Sure, I'll help you," she said, rising to her feet and taking off her sword and blazer, setting them aside. "What do you need help with?"

The blonde-haired girl slowly crawled her way back over to where she was working. She handed Rin a shovel. "Could you please dig me a hole?"

"No problem," Rin nodded her head, setting off to work. Within no time, Rin had successfully dug a deep hole while the girl had mixed something into a bucket. The girl then began emptying the contents of the bucket into the hole.

'It stinks! It is making my eyes water!' Rin thought, watching as the girl finished pouring it.

The girl must've noticed Rin's expression because she spoke, "It is fertilizer made by mixing cow manure and water." She smiled lightly. "I'm not good at digging deep holes like this. Thanks for helping me!"

"'Thanks for helping'. First you call me a demon, and then you make me work for you!"

"I'm sorry. You just surprised me earlier." She held out her hand. "Let's make up. I didn't realize what a nice person you actually are."

"Oh! Okay… I guess I don't mind making up…" Rin mumbled in embarrassment. She took the girl's hand, shaking it.

"I'm glad!" The girl said happily. "Oh! I just realized… I never introduced myself… I'm Shiemi Moriyama. What's your name?"

"R-Rin Okumura," Rin mumbled, still blushing.

Just then, something dawned on Rin. She stared at the hand she was holding. 'She mixed cow manure with that hand!' Rin thought, pulling her hand away, trying not to look rude. Shiemi, however, didn't seem to notice.

"This garden is really pretty." Rin told her, looking around the garden.

Shiemi smiled sadly. "This garden used to be my grandmother's. She taught me a lot of things here… but she died this winter in an accident."

Hearing this, Rin looked over at Shiemi. Memories of Father Fujimoto flashed across Rin's mind like lightning, and it took all her self-control not to jump to her feet and take off.

"I'm sure she's gone ahead to the Garden of Amahara."

Shiemi had spoken so softly, Rin almost didn't hear it. "The Garden of Amahara… what is that?"

"It's a place where God has gathered all the plants and flowers of the world." Shiemi explained. "I know it's just a children's story, but if the Garden of Amahara really existed, you could find all the grass and flowers and trees there. I would really like to go and see it…" Shiemi trailed off and looked at Rin, her face turning red. "I must sound like an idiot…"

Rin shook her head. "No, no, no. You don't sound like an idiot," Rin reassured her. "I'm sure if the Garden of Amahara really exists, it is a beautiful place. Don't ever doubt that."

Shiemi smiled shyly at Rin.

"Rin!"

Rin's head snapped up. She saw Yukio standing on the steps leading up to the house. Standing behind him was a large, tall woman. Yukio sighed in annoyance and began walking over to Rin and Shiemi, the woman following. "What are you doing here?"

"Hey, Yukio!" Rin grinned, waving to her brother.

"Yuki!"

Rin looked over at Shiemi, confused. Yukio never let anyone but her call him "Yuki"… yet Shiemi was using the nickname. Feeling very confused, Rin gestured to Shiemi. "Do you know her?"

"Yes. She's the daughter of the owner of this shop. I come here often." Yukio told his sister. He glanced at Shiemi, smiling. "Hello, Shiemi."

"H-hello," Shiemi said, blushing.

Rin's eye twitched. It was obvious to her that Shiemi had a huge crush on her brother. From the moment Yukio had arrived, Shiemi's attention was now solely on him, something which annoyed Rin a little. She and Shiemi had been getting along great, but then Yukio shows up and steals the spotlight.

"This is my older twin sister."

Shiemi gasped, and looked at Rin then at Yukio. "But you look like you're the older one!"

"In truth, I'm more the older one. She's only the older one in name."

"What! Screw you!" Rin glared at her brother, crossing her arms.

The woman standing behind Yukio – Rin assumed this woman must be Shiemi's mother – was beginning to grow impatient. She finally spoke, "Shiemi. Yukio-san would like to take a look at your legs."

Shiemi looked flustered and slightly irritated. "Mom! I haven't been infected by any demons!"

'Infected…' Rin thought, looking between Shiemi and her mother.

Yukio kneeled down in front of Shiemi. "Don't worry, Shiemi-san." He spoke with a soothing and convincing voice. "This is all just a precaution. If I don't find anything in my examination, then there's no need to do anything. I just need to be certain." He smiled gently at her. "Will you let me look?"

Shiemi nodded her heard slowly, and tried to move into a position to straighten her legs. Rin immediately leaned over and helped the blonde girl, and then she quickly moved out of the way so that Yukio could examine her legs. Yukio gently took a hold of Shiemi's right leg, pushing her kimono up far enough so he could see her leg. Rin peered over Yukio's shoulder to see what was going on and nearly gasped. Shiemi's leg looked as though it was covered in roots and vines.

"Shit…" Rin mumbled to herself. She looked over at Yukio to see his expression becoming one of worry and concern.

"Roots."

Rin's brow furrowed in confusions. "Roots." She said, looking at Yukio. "What do you mean?"

"It's a Temptaint," Yukio explained, lowering Shiemi's leg back down and fixing her kimono. "This is most definitely the work of a demon."

"B-but…" Shiemi spoke is a shaky voice, hardly believing it.

"Then is Shiemi –" Shiemi's mother began.

Yukio shook his head. "No, she's not possessed." He stated, cutting Shiemi's mother off. "This isn't a demon that is capable of possessing a human." He looked around the garden at all the flowers. "This demon has possessed a plant somewhere in this garden. Maybe a Dökkálfar, a Greenman, or an Ent." He narrowed his eyes. "Some sort of low-level demon that possesses the vegetation and has reached a crack in Shiemi's heart through her legs… Its real body is somewhere in this garden."

Shiemi looked down. 'No…'

"Shiemi-san," Yukio looked Shiemi in the eyes. "Demons usually talk to people to find a gap they can take advantage of to enter. You must have talked to one… Do you remember something like that?"

Shiemi shook her head. "I haven't… I haven't talked to a demon…"

"Shiemi!" Shiemi's mother burst out suddenly. Rin looked at her in surprise. "You must leave this garden immediately!" She stepped closer, now standing beside Yukio who was still kneeling in front of Shiemi. "All of this isn't worth destroying your health!"

'This isn't going to be good…' Rin thought. She could see that Shiemi was about to explode.

"Don't talk like that about the garden!" Shiemi snapped. Just like Rin had expected. "This garden was Granny's treasure! And now it is mine!" Shiemi looked down, gritting her teeth; after a few more moments, she finally looked back up at her mother. "I hate you, Mom!"

"Shiemi –" Rin began, but stopped when she saw Shiemi's eyes roll back into her head. The blonde-haired girl swayed and fell to her side on the ground.

"Shiemi!" Her mother cried, rushing to her daughter's side.

"Shiemi-san!" Yukio shouted. He grabbed her wrist to feel for her pulse, sighing in relief when he found it. "I think she's fine. She just needs her rest."

Yukio pulled Shiemi into his arms and stood up. As did Rin and Shiemi's mother.

Rin quickly grabbed her uniform jacket – pulling it on – and her sword.

"Follow me," Shiemi's mother said.

They followed Shiemi's mother to a little cottage-like warehouse at the edge of the garden. Shiemi's mother opened the door and entered it, Yukio and Rin following in behind her. At the back of the room, there was a bed. Yukio placed Shiemi on her bed, pulling the covers up around her so she could rest.

"The demon is draining her energy through her legs." Yukio stated as he, Rin, and Shiemi's mother left the little cottage-like warehouse. "If we don't stop it soon, her life may be in danger."

Rin stopped outside as they were leaving, looking up at the cottage-like warehouse. "Um…" She looked over at Shiemi's mother. "Moriyama-san, if you don't mind me asking, but why does Shiemi sleep out here?"

"Her grandmother lived in this little warehouse." Shiemi's mother explained. "After she passed away, Shiemi moved in here and hasn't left since. It's almost like she wants to be a part of the garden." Shiemi's mother began walking away, Rin and Yukio following her. "That was also when her legs started deteriorating… she's just like her grandmother, who had bad legs as well."

"Does this garden have to do with why you're fighting?" Yukio asked. "Even now, her grandmother seems to be the only thing she's thinking of."

"That might be it…" Moriyama-san whispered sadly, walking up the steps to the house. She entered the house, leaving the back door open for Yukio and Rin.

~X~

Once they were all inside the house, Moriyama-san gave Yukio and Rin cups of tea and settled down with her own.

"I'm no good as a mother, and just as bad as a daughter." She told them both. "Shiemi's been frail ever since she was little… and so she never went to school. And I… I was always so busy with the store, so her grandmother took care of her. Shiemi got very attached to her. I always found that very enviable…" Shiemi's mother shook her head. "It's too late for me to try and act like her mother."

"That way of thinking is perfect for a demon." Yukio said right away. "They take advantage of the weakness in people's hearts…."

Rin tuned Yukio out and set her cup down. Both Yukio and Moriyama-san were immersed in their conversation, so she quietly exited the room, heading for the back door – the one they'd come in through – which led to the garden outside. Rin stepped out the back door, making sure to shut the door behind her.

Due to her newly-improved eyesight – thanks to her demon heritage – Rin easily spotted Shiemi within the garden through the darkness. She was holding a watering can. Rin sighed and shook her head, heading down the steps into the garden. She wouldn't allow Shiemi to harm herself.

"Shiemi, what the hell do you think you're doing? You should be resting, not doing gardening at this hour." Rin spoke as she reached Shiemi.

Shiemi stopped watering the flowers in front of her and looked up at Rin with a surprised look. "Your mother is really worried." Rin told her, watching as the blonde-haired girl set down her watering can.

"She's being really mean to me." Shiemi shouted.

"You're being childish and irritating!" Rin shouted right back at Shiemi. "Can't you see your mother just wants to protect you?!"

Shiemi shook her head furiously, wiping at the tears which were starting to form in her eyes. "Why…. Why are you taking her side?! She's the one who's being irritating… trying to stop me from protecting this garden!"

Rin clenched her fists and looked around. To her left were some plotted flowers. Mumbling angrily under her breath, Rin stormed over to the flower pots and picked one up, smashing it on the ground.

"W-what are you doing?!" Shiemi cried.

Rin ignored Shiemi and picked up another flower pot. She smashed it on the ground.

"Stop that!" Shiemi shouted desperately, crawling over to Rin and tugging on the bottom of her shirt. "Stop! Please stop!"

"This has gone on far enough." Rin told Shiemi, making her gasp in shock. "Why are you doing this to yourself? Staying in this garden, even though it is making your legs stop working… and your health bad?! Huh, Shiemi, why?"

Tears once again filled Shiemi's eyes as she clutched onto Rin's shirt. "If I had returned sooner…" Shiemi's grip on Rin weakened and she let go. "If I had helped her with covering the grapes instead of going out…" She was shaking now. "Granny… Granny wouldn't have died… It is my fault she died… and that is exactly why I'll protect her garden!"

'She's…' Rin thought, falling to her knees in front of Shiemi and reaching out for the blonde-haired girl, pulling her into a tight hug. Shiemi began crying. 'She's just like me… trapped by her past, blaming herself.'

"Stop making your mother worry…" Rin whispered softly, pulling away just enough so she could look at Shiemi. "You can do that, right?" Rin smiled at her new friend. "Besides, isn't looking for the Garden of Amahara what you really want to do?"

Shiemi's eyes widened.

"Would your Granny want to keep you here instead?" Rin continued on, her voice getting more serious.

Shiemi began crying even more, shaking her head. "No… she wouldn't…" She cried out, clutching Rin's arms for support. "I've been so stupid! And now my legs won't even move anymore!"

"Leave it to mean!" Rin said with determination. "I'll chop all these roots to pieces if I have to."

Someone cleared their throat. Rin looked up to see her brother.

"Sorry to interrupt such a moment between friends…" He said, not looking sorry at all.

"Yukio…" Rin stated in embarrassment. She hated whenever her brother saw her having girly moments. "How long have you been there?"

Yukio ignored Rin's question, though he did smile. "Our opponent is a small fry." He said. "We'll deal with it quickly. You'll be able to use your legs again, Shiemi-san. The rest is just a matter of your heart's resolve."

"Yuki…" Shiemi said softly.

"Unforgivable."

Rin was taken aback. She looked around, trying to locate the owner of this new voice.

"You've broken the promise."

"Yuki-kun… is that the demon?" Rin asked.

Yukio nodded his head, looking around as well. "Yes, it is."

"Unforgivable!"

Suddenly, the ground underneath Shiemi began to crack. A huge root sprouted up from the ground, taking a hold of Shiemi. The root was covered in leaves and flowers, with Shiemi in the middle.

"Shiemi!" Rin shouted, launching herself forward, trying to grab the blonde-haired girl. However, Rin was hit back by a huge root, sending her crashing into the ground beside Yukio.

The flower-demon began laughing maniacally. "Now we shall be forever one!" It shouted as flower petals sprouted out around Shiemi's head, making her part of the flower-demon even more. The demon's eyes opened, rolling around crazily and glaring at Yukio and Rin. "We shall remain in this garden forever until we die!"

Yukio reached down and quickly pulled Rin to her feet.

"You crazy, flower-thing!" Rin shouted, straightening herself with Yukio's help.

"It's using Shiemi-san as a shield…" Yukio pointed out. "Rin-chan!"

Rin glanced at her brother. "Yeah?"

"Could you give me a hand?" Yukio said. "Please help me?"

Rin smiled, a blush spreading across her cheeks. The moment had finally come! "C-could you repeat that once more?"

"I already told you!" Yukio snapped. "I need your help!"

Rin laughed, removing her sword from her shoulder. "I guess I have to… after all, you're the younger one…" She removed Kurikara from its red covering. "And since you asked so nicely…" She drew the sword from its sheath, her blue flames erupting all over and spreading across her body. Her tail uncurled, becoming loose and free. Her pointy ears twitched and she grinned in excitement, showing off her sharp teeth.

"Are you a demon, too?"

"Don't compare me to you, you stinking weed!" Rin growled, charging forward. The flower-demon quickly moved out of Rin's way, dodging her attack. Rin swirled around gracefully, swinging down with her sword, but came to an abrupt stop when the flower-demon used Shiemi as a shield.

Rin pulled back and moved around, trying to get behind the flower-demon. However, it was able to keep up with Rin, turning at every angle she turned, using Shiemi as a shield and stopping Rin from swinging her sword each time.

"What's wrong? Can't hit me? You'll have to hit the pretty blonde as well!" The demon taunted.

"Yuki-kun, what the hell do I do?!" Rin shouted, flipping out of the way of the flower-demon.

Yukio pulled out his gun, levelling it right at the flower-demon… right at Shiemi. "Stand back, Rin-chan." He ordered. "I'll have to just shoot them both."

Rin glared at her brother. "Hey, Yukio!" She shouted angrily. "You can't do that… you'll hurt Shiemi!"

"You're bluffing!" The demon shouted. "You wouldn't hurt her!"

"Is that what you truly think?" Yukio gave the flower-demon a smug look, getting ready to pull the trigger.

The demon recoiled a bit in shock.

"Maybe it is so… and maybe it isn't." Yukio grinned.

Rin shouted, "Yukio!"

"Well then… which one is it?" Yukio mocked, his finger hovering over the trigger.

"You filthy Exorcist! As if you'd shoot!" The demon roared, pulling back and getting ready for an attack.

Yukio pulled the trigger. Rin gasped, watching as the bullet went flying, hitting Shiemi directly and also hitting the flower. The demon released its hold on Shiemi, sending her flying.

"It let her go!" Yukio shouted. "Go, Rin-chan!"

Rin immediately sprang in action. She jumped into the air, bringing her sword up, and slashing down on the flower-demon right through the middle. The demon screeched as it dissolved and died. Rin landed on the ground, sheathing her sword and spun around to see Yukio catch Shiemi.

"Yukio, damn you!" She shouted angrily, running over to him with the intention of punching his glasses right off his smug face.

Shiemi's eyes slowly opened. She blinked them in confusion, looking around. Her green eyes finally landed on Yukio, who was holding her. "Yuki…"

Rin came to a sudden halt in front of Yukio. "W-what…" She mumbled in confusion, looking at Shiemi. The blonde-haired girl was alive and perfectly okay-looking.

"What a relief." Yukio sighed. "And the roots are gone from your legs. Do you want to try standing?"

Shiemi shook her head, clutching onto Yukio's jacket. "N-no…"

"It's okay now. I promise you." Yukio reassured her. He carefully lowered Shiemi to her feet, helping her keep her balance.

She gasped in shock, clasping her hands together. "I'm actually standing!" She exclaimed happily, now laughing. She couldn't believe it!

"Shiemi!" Her mother came rushing into the garden.

"Mom…"

Rin rolled her eyes, smacking Shiemi on the back of the head. "Go talk to her," she whispered to the blonde. "You need to apologize to her. If you don't, you will only regret it later."

Shiemi nodded her head and slowly walked over to her mother. Rin and Yukio both watched as Shiemi apologized to her mother and hugged her tightly, tears flowing down her cheeks.

"That's sweet," Rin smiled, and then she glanced at Yukio. "So… what the hell did you shoot her with?"

"Nutrient capsules."

Rin glowered. "And you didn't tell me about your plan, because…?"

"It needed to look real." Yukio told his sister.

Yawning tiredly, Rin stretched her arms over her head and began walking towards the now-broken gate that led out of the garden. "C'mon, Yuki-kun, let's go home. I'm tired…"

~X~

The Next Day…

Rin blinked in shock as she stared up at the front of the classroom where Shiemi was standing. 'What the hell is she doing here?'

"This is Shiemi Moriyama, our new student." Yukio introduced her.

"Ni-Nice to meet you!" Shiemi said, bowing politely.

Yukio smiled. "Go take a seat, Moriyama-san."

Shiemi walked down the aisle, shaking as she went, and took a seat beside Rin.

"Ummm…" Rin scratched the side of her head, feeling very puzzled. "Er, what are you doing here, Shiemi?"

"After what happened to me… I thought I'd train to get stronger at Cram School." Shiemi declared proudly to Rin, trying not to look nervous. "And Yuki-chan agreed… I mean Okumura-sensei."

Rin frowned, placing a hand on Shiemi's shoulder. "Hey, you're shaking. Are you sure you can do this?"

Shiemi smiled. "This is all because of you that I'm here. You gave me the courage. Thanks a lot!"

"I…" Rin blushed. No one had ever thanked her for doing anything like this. "I didn't really –"

Shiemi cut Rin off, looking to the front of the room with a loving expression. "I also wanted to see Yuki-chan as a teacher!"

Rin face palmed. 'It is always about Yukio!'

~X~

I wanted to skip the Garden/Shiemi episode, but I also wanted to start building a friendship between Rin and Shiemi!

Anyways, that's the chapter. I'm not making any promises for steady updating, though I won't give up on this story!