Chapter two: "Wound Up"
What.
The hell.
Did you get yourself into?
Eyes opened to the small classroom before you, you watched the sources of the yelling you heard from down the hall fall to silence and slowly turn their attentions toward the door- where a very irritated Yukio stood desperately trying to compose himself.
His shoulders were tense with irritation, his hands clenching into fists. Aggravation rolled off of his skin as he raised one hand to push his glasses up, light bouncing off the clear glass for only a second as his eyes locked on his students. "Whats the meaning of this?"
The tallest boy, one with dark brown hair and a blonde streak down the center, was the first to speak. He shook himself off the two shorter boys restraining him and glanced at the trio you were a part of curiously before speaking. "Ah, teach'! We were just-"
"I don't want to hear excuses, Bon. What did Rin do?" Yukio interrupted, sighing quietly. He regained his regular composed posture, but you had noted the rising anger enough to know making him angry was not something you wanted to do. Who knew what could have happened...That tiny flash you'd witnessed was frightening!
"What? Hey, why do ya' assume I did something!" the other boy being held back asked, unceremoniously yanking himself out of the hold on him and turning toward Yukio with a spin of fury. His ice cold glare flared up behind his sapphire eyes, his dark raven hair swaying in the wind of his movements. He began to yell, but stopped as his eyes landed on you,"I didn't do a- Oh, who's that?"
"Don't change the subject! We heard you fighting from down the hall.." Yukio growled, walking over to his desk with a sigh. "Can any of you follow through and do what you're told at least once?"
"Sorry Mr. Okumura..." the boy called Bon sighed and walked back to a seat, sitting beside two other boys- who were studying you.
The first was a boy with salmon colored hair, a dreamy look flooding his facial features. The second was a more reserved boy with red glasses and shaven gray hair, but he only glanced at you with a curiousness.
The dark haired boy- Rin, you thought- followed the same seat as Bon as Yukio demanded he sit down.
The thought about turning and leaving crossed your mind more than once in the few short moments you'd been inside the classroom but Mephisto was standing in the doorway blocking the exit.
Damn. There went that plan.
Cursing inwardly you forced your self to turn back around and face Yukio just as he had gestured toward you. A sigh passed your lips but you went to the front of the room anyways and glanced at the small group of students in the class. None of them were too exciting... There was an odd kid in the back with a puppet but you hardly considered that exciting- more odd than anything else.
"Now then..." Yukio took a breath and turned to you with a gentle smile. "What do you think, Miss ( )? Should we just let them off with a warning this time?"
"Uh...Sure." Why the hell was he asking you?! You just got here! It's not like you knew what the punishment was...But you still didn't want to be a part of it!
"Good choice. Everyone, this is our newest cram student attending- (F. Name) (L. Name). She'll be attending classes with us from now on." Yukio smiled and turned to you, "Go ahead and pick a seat."
With a nod you walked off to an empty table off to the side, taking your seat.
Actually, you'd assumed the class would be much larger...But six, seven people? Wasn't that terribly small? What about the exorcists of the future? Who would take the places of the ones that were dying by the minute...?
Was this world diminishing that quickly?
A feeling on unease settled down into your bones, stitching under your skin. It bubbled down into your stomach and you fidgeted in your seat. Such a small class for such a big world..No wonder Mephisto wanted you to join- there was hardly anyone here to take the places of the fleeting numbers of exorcists! Could it be because of the worlds disbelief in demons? Or their willingness to turn their attentions away from the unknown? You couldn't help but ponder the possibilities while Yukio babbled about at the front of the class..In all honesty, you should have been paying attention but you couldn't help it! This class was so tiny- it made you wonder...
"Hey there~" a voice called and you snapped out of your wandering trance, turning to see the owner of the voice.
It was that salmon haired boy near that 'Bon' from earlier, standing beside your desk and grinning down at you confidently.
"Oh, yes?" you blinked up, a little lost. A quick glance around told you the class was over and most of the students were packing up for the day.
You'd spaced out for the whole class.
The whole class.
You lazy bum.
You scrambled to get your things together, stuffing your notebooks and pencils into your school bag as the pink haired boy talked, his voice smooth and cheerful. You listened to him as he spoke, slightly enjoying the sound of his voice. It wasn't that bad, actually, it had a nice tone to it. So smooth and comforting. And his brown eyes and the way they shone with an admiration for the world, as if he was truly seeing the beauty in everything. It was quite admirable- not that you'd tell him such, though. You did just meet him and all...Actually, you hadn't even met him! Or did you?
You couldn't remember.
"I was wondering, since you're new here, if you knew your way around? If not, you could always come with us and we could show you around~" the boy beamed, offering you a hand as you stood, "Or if you do, you could come hang out with us just cause'!"
You glanced at his friends waiting by the door, the boy with the raven hair- Rin, you remembered-, the tall tanned one called 'Bon' and the shorter one with shaved gray hair...You don't think you got his name- or this guys name either..
"Uh...I don't know who you are.." you pointed out and the boy laughed.
"Ah, how stupid of me! I'm Renzo Shima! Enchanted to meet you~"
You took his hand and shook it, giving a small smile in return. "Its nice to meet you as well. I'm (Name) ( )."
"So are you gonna' hang out with us?"
"Uh...Sure!" you nodded and Renzo cheered, walking over to the others and beckoning you along.
"Check it out guys, I got the new girl to chill with us!"
"Ah, awesome! I'm Rin Okumura!" the raven haired boy beamed, grinning happily as you gave a weary smile back, "And this is Konekomaru Miwa.."
The short, gray haired boy he had put his arm around looked like he was going to argue against Rin's introduction, but let it go and bowed his head towards you. "Nice to meet you!"
"You too!"
"And this is 'Bon'-"
"I can introduce myself!" Bon snapped at Rin, glowering at the black haired boy, who threw his hands up in defense and shrugged, "I'm Ryuji Suguro, it's a pleasure to meet you."
The tall tanned boy bowed and you nodded back, noticing now that he had tons of piercings in his ears. With that dyed hair and those piercings- and don't even forget about that fighting attitude with Rin- you'd immediately noted him as a rebel type but such didn't seem to fit very well right now...He was so polite and nice.
"Ah, nice to meet you all! I'm (Name)! But, if I may ask, if your name is Ryuji, why do they call you Bon?"
"Ah, its," Ryuji's face flushed with the hints of a blush on his cheeks, "A nickname, is all."
"Ahahah, we've called him that since he we were little!" Renzo chuckled, leaning toward Ryuji in a teasing mannor, "But I guess you could say he is our little 'Bonbon'~"
"Knock it off, Shima!"
"Oh, but aren't you a bonbon? Frozen on the outside and always so elegantly serious?" Shima teased further and you stiffled a giggle- Ryuji was getting so flustered.
"Shut up! That's not why you call me that!"
"You guys are still in the class room, you know..." Yukio sighed, speaking suddenly from behind Ryuji.
Ryuji lowered his voice and the anger washed from his face. "Ah, sorry, teach."
"Whatda need, Yukio? Come to hang out with your big bro?" Rin laughed and you raised an eyebrow.
"You're only older by a few seconds- don't think of it as a head start- and no, you're just in the way of the door."
"Big bro?" you asked, glancing from Rin to Yukio.
"Oh, Rin and Yukio are fraternal twins. Rin's the first born." Konekomaru clarified and your eyes widened in surprise.
"Really? Wow, I would have thought Yukio was older! I mean, he is teaching and he seems much more mature.."
"Hey! That's rude!" Rin objected but his anger was only met by laughs as the group you had joined wandered out of the classroom.
Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all...
"Finally.." you sighed and flopped onto your bed. It had taken you a while, but you'd finally unpacked and moved into your permanent quarters- a section off the girls dorm that was closer to the cram school. You'd spent a little time in class picking up the students names and studying but it wasn't all that difficult...It was just like school work but more demon related.
You closed your eyes and sighed again, taking a deep breath. This certainly wasn't where you expected to be a week ago..A week ago you would have thought you'd have a job by now! Hell, you would have never given your 'father' a second thought if it hadn't been for that doofus!
Who did that anyways? Showing up in the middle of someones life just to come and change it. Drastically, you might add, considering you had to leave your home and the people you cared about.
What kind of life would you lead now? Would becoming an exorcist really be what you'd do? You barely knew a thing about it! Sure, you could see demons, but if one attacked you you would know what to do! You hadn't studied as long as the other kids in the class had and you didn't have their drive for it...
So what business did you have in that damn school?
The looming dread of the situation hung above your head and for a minute, you felt the crushing tension you'd avoided lock your limbs. You wanted to stop moving, wanted to just sink into the earth below you and forget about everything...you wanted to sleep and dream of nothing more than the happiest memories you had...
As your lungs drowned with the heavy air of sadness, your eyes burning with the brink of tears, you tried to compose yourself. The day wasn't over yet and you'd been told by Yukio that Mephisto had requested to see you after class...No one needed to see this, especially not Mephisto. He'd probably try and pull some sarcastic bullshit out of his ass and offer you a hug or something. Whatever! He could take his 'paternal instincts' and go straight to Hell!
Errr. Wait... You weren't sure if Gehenna counted as Hell.
"Same difference..." you muttered to yourself and huffed.
Willing yourself to stand and revert to the mask of irritation, you shoved your feelings to the back of your mind. Never would Mephisto see you upset, never would he know. You couldn't allow it...
Knocking on the door to his personal office, you waited for only a moment, but it was long enough for you to feel the wind in the shadows. The eyes of someone watching, waiting, peeling your skin back layer by layer.
"H-Hello?" you asked, trying to sound stronger than you felt. "If anyone's there, knock it off! This shit isn't funny.." you growled and turned in a circle, slowly scanning the room.
There.
You could have swore the shadow moved before your eyes, the glistening of eyes shinning beneath the layers of darkness. Whoever it was freaking you out like this was going to pay for it! So help you-
"My, my...(Name), who are you talking to?" Mephisto asked, opening the door and letting the light of his personal office shine in the hallway. The shadow you could have swore was there was gone now, the light showing nothing but an empty wall.
"Nothing..." you muttered and turned back around, casting a glare over your shoulder towards the shadows. "Absolutely nothing..."
"Well then, come in. We must discuss your allowance." He sighed and opened the door a little wider, letting you pass by him.
You didn't see the smirk and amused look he gave to the shadows, however, or the knowing look he tossed back to them before shutting the door.
A Month Later:
You sat by yourself in the sunlight, doodling away on the homework you had finished quite a while ago. It didn't matter much, it was a simple worksheet, but still...
The tiny scene of a seascape brought up bubbles of sadness in your thoughts. The warm air. The wind blowing through your hair as the smell of salt drifted around you. Cold water dancing around your body as you swam in the oceans deep caress. Nothing could compare to the beach in summer...And every year you went with her..
"Hey, (Name)!" someone called from a distance.
Twisting your torso, your eyes scanned the almost empty school yard until you found one of your classmates- and newest friends-, Rin Okumura, approaching you with a small white terrier trailing beside him.
"I wonder what he's doing here..." You muttered to yourself, but waited for him to get to you. "Ah, yes, Rin?"
"Hey! What are you doing all the way out here by yourself?" he asked and glanced around, "Both school's have been over for a while..."
"I like to be by myself..." you mumbled and glanced away from him. "Its easier to do work."
"Whoa, you've got all your homework done already?" Rin asked amazed by your hard work, "I haven't even started mine!"
"Good grades take hard work. To get the best options available to you, you have to work your hardest...Not that you don't." you quickly added seeing his face fall a little. Just as you had begun to think of an apology you realized that you had misunderstood. It wasn't in sadness but awe.
His dark blue eyes had settled onto your paper and scanned the drawing. Embarrassed, you froze, unable to cover it up now. What was so special about it? It was just a doodle...He really didn't need to look so awestruck by it!
"You can draw too? Sweet!" he beamed and sat down next to you. "Do you mind if I take a look?"
"Uh- no...Not at all." you handed him the paper. At least he hadn't caught you with your sketch book...Then you would have been mortified.
"Ohh, the detail is really nice...You're super talented!" Rin complimented and flashed you a big grin.
The white terrier gazed at the paper as well and you could have swore there was a mischievous gleam in the dogs eyes. He reminded you of someone...Those odd eyes and that strange pink bow around its neck.
"Thank you..."
"Haha, no problem. The only real talent I have is cooking! But seeing other peoples talents is nice...Its like a gateway to who they are!"
You wanted to tell him he was wrong, but another thought washed away your argument. Your eyes were drawn to his shirt- and something moving inside it.
"Uh...Don't freak out...But I think you have something in your shirt..." you whispered and Rin looked down to where your eyes were and laughed once he saw it.
"Hahaha! No, don't worry, it's just my tail!" he assured and before you knew it, he lifted up his shirt and a long, black tail with a tuft of fur at the end unraveled from around his torso.
"Errrr...Normal humans don't have...tails." you stated but it was more to yourself rather than to him.
"Oh, uh, yeah...heh...Well, you see...Everyone else in the class kind of already knows- and since you're new and all you haven't really gotten the chance to see me in action!" Rin scratched the back of his head and passed back the paper to you.
"See you in action?" you raised an eyebrow, but the innocence and friendliness on his face was clear- this must have been something he'd honestly forgotten to tell you about.
"I'm, uh, the son of Satan." he gave a nervous chuckle and your eyes widened. "Well, Me and Yukio are, since we're twins. We both have some powers from him, blue fire, pointed ears and teeth- and our tails and claws!" Rin clarified and glanced down at you sheepishly. "But we can't tell anyone outside of the Cram School...Others kind of freak out...Being related to the God of Demons frightens a lot of people- so I understand if you're scared- but I promise you I'm nothing at all like Satan!" he assured, a wave of uncertainty washing in his vast ocean blue eyes.
Sons of Satan?
...Half demons...Your teacher and classmate were half demons- like you.
"Scared?" you asked and Rin nodded as he met your eyes- but his cautiousness soon faded as soon as he saw the intent look in your eye. "Why the hell would I be scared of you? You're still Rin, I've just learned something new about you!"
Yeah, you learned something alright...You learned you weren't the only one with a demon for a parent...But if Mephisto knew about Rin and Yukio- would he let you tell them about your secret? I mean, what harm could it do? They were almost exactly like you- probably stronger because of who their birth father is and having actually inherited powers- but other than that...
"Awesome! Normally everyone is scared- but I'm glad you aren't!"
"..I know what that's like, I've been in a-" you started, but as soon as you begun to speak, the small white dog had yanked the paper out of your lap and was running off with it. "H-Hey! Give that back!"
Both you and Rin immediately stood up and begun sprinting after the dog. Your eyes locked on the tiny being as it dashed out of your reach, your fingers just had barely grazed the ends of its white fur as it evaded your reach.
Rin leaped forward to try and snatch the dog from the ground, but just as he did the dog made a sharp right turn and instead Rin's face smashed into the ground.
Immediately you stopped chasing the dog and went beside Rin, kneeling beside him.
"Oww..." you heard him grumble through the dirt as he picked himself out of the earth and shook his head to rid of the debris.
"Are you okay?" you asked and scanned him over for any injuries. When he gave you that stupid, wide grin again you sighed in relief and returned a small one. "Yeah, I'm fine! Don't worry about me! But where did that dog go? Making off with your homework like that...Damn that Mephisto.."
"Mephisto?" you asked and eyed Rin carefully. You hoped your posture wasn't laced with the concern you felt tumble beneath your skin..But you couldn't fight the chill of realization from making your skin shiver.
The stars were in your favor this time and Rin was clueless to your change of attitude as he nodded and stood. He combed through the school yard with his eyes and searched for the white furred dog. "Mhm, Mephisto's a demon who can turn into a small dog- don't ask me how though..." Rin shrugged and turned back to you. "I'm not sure what interest he'd have with your homework. He's kind of strange like that sometimes." Rin shrugged and you sighed.
"Its fine...I'll just ask him for it back later. Thank you, Rin! I'm sorry you got hurt trying to help.."
"Don't sweat it! I like helping others out! Plus you're my friend so you get top priority on the help list!"
"Friends, huh?" you smiled gently before meeting his eyes, "Well, I'm glad to have you as a friend, Rin! You should head back to the others, though...I have to go get my homework."
"Alright, see you tomorrow, (Name)!" Rin waved and ran back off the way he originally came.
With Rin out of sight, your smile and positive posture fell.
Who the fuck did Mephisto think he was, tricking you like that? He could have at least told you he could turn into a dog! Not to mention an adorable one...But that wasn't what mattered here! He'd known about Rin and Yukio and hadn't even told you! Not to mention he stole your homework!
You set off sprinting towards his office, forgetting in your fit of anger that you had a key to get in directly. It didn't matter much, though, you could blame him further for making you run!
'Stupid Mephisto!' you thought to yourself as you stormed in his office. Just as you gulped in air, preparing to scream in his face for tricking you like that, you stopped.
He wasn't here.
"Where the hell did that bastard go?" you growled and glared around the office to finding nothing but emptiness to fuel your agitation.
You stormed back out of the office, the door slamming behind you and stomped to your dorm quarters. You had searched his quarters, the Cram class rooms- even that fucking regular school! You found no trace of him and whomever you asked hadn't either.
"Damn him...Fucking tricking me and then running off...I hope he's fucking proud of himself." you grumbled as you kicked off your shoes- swinging open your bedroom door and stuffing them under your desk. You turned quickly to throw you bag on your bed- but instead of landing with a soft thunk- it instead landed on a paper carefully laid on your bed.
You pushed your bag off the paper and picked it up. Sure enough, even from a distance you knew what it was.
Your homework.
"You've really disappointed me, (Name), I hope you know that." a very familiar voice sighed from behind you and you turned quickly on your heel to come face to snout with the very same terrier you'd been chasing earlier.
"Mephisto! What the hell is your problem-"
"I don't understand why you're using such foul language and yelling at me..You're the one who was going to tell Rin about our little secret." he sighed and with a puff a smoke he was transformed back into his regular form- white jester suit and all. The only thing missing was the smirk and amused look he usually wore- now he looked strained, a little tired and actually disappointed.
You refused to let yourself feel guilty about it.
"You don't know that! You didn't even let me finish what I was gonna' say to him!"
His eyes met yours with a knowing look- but as previously stated, it was not a positive one. Instead, he seemed a little more angry at you. "Yes, I do. He was talking to you about his father. The only thing you could tell him that would even be remotely related to that subject is about me- and I had forbidden you to do such a thing. Are you really trying to betray me and sever my trust in you, (Name)? I expected better from you..."
"What fucking trust?" you growled, your hands balling into fists as you took a step forward. "You call this trust? You call trying to find common ground with someone else betraying you? You didn't even tell me there were others like me! Not to mention you had to rely on tricks to eavesdrop on my conversations with my new friend because you didn't trust me! Isn't telling your daughter you can turn into a small dog something you could trust her with? Or how about telling her she's not the only one who's half demon? Apparently not! You don't even know what I was going to say to Rin and you jumped the gun because you didn't trust me, Mephisto!" you hissed and your eyes lowered to slits as you talked- while Mephisto hadn't changed his facial expression once. Not even a flash of remorse.
'Stupid jester! You really piss me off!' you thought to yourself.
"Just-Just leave me alone! Go do some of that 'important business' you're always going on about!" you huffed and slammed the paper onto your desk, turning away from Mephisto.
He made no effort to leave though and instead you heard him step towards you, pulling out your chair and sitting himself in it as you stood.
"I shall go no where unless I wish to, not to mention you haven't received your punishment yet." he sighed tilting his head to the side as you turned quickly, your body burning with the heat of rage.
"Punishment? For what? I did nothing wrong!" you snapped and glowered down at him.
His expression didn't change, his eyes were still bleak and briefly annoyed, the typically vibrant green now dull with dissatisfaction. He crossed his arms over his chest and tapped his chin in thought, staring at the ceiling as if he were contemplating.
"I could ground you and keep you in your room, forcing you away from your peers- but that seems a little harsh, doesn't it?" he sighed and tilted his head to the other side now while you boiled with silent rage. "Hmmm, I've got it! After school you'll be at my side and accompany me with my work. You'll sit with me in my office and dine with me, after which you will then return to your room for sleep...Only I may relieve you of this punishment and it should commence for...Three weeks."
"Three weeks? That's ridiculous!"
"Four." he stated and for a minute, the flash of amusement and smirk was on his face, the shadows darkening. You had a feeling he was daring you to argue further and that he liked upsetting you like this- waving this punishment over your head.
Instead, you stayed quiet, biting your tongue.
"Its settled then. Your punishment starts tomorrow after you're done with your classes- oh, and I'd bring some things to do, the work I have to do often requires my full attention- and I don't need you to be bothering me while I'm working. You'll need to be quiet and busy yourself...Perhaps it'll give you time to think on exactly how you came dangerously close to spilling the secret- and even then you might learn to value the promises you make to others. Well then, I'll bid you adieu. Toodles~! "
With that he stood and slid the chair back in its place, smirk and amused look back on his face as he brushed by you. You cast one last glare as he waltzed out of your room and you could have sworn he let out a chuckle.
With internal screams unable to be held back, you threw yourself on your bed angrily and stuffed your face in your pillow.
It was going to be a very difficult month...One month, spent by the side of Mephisto.
'Are you sure I can't go where you are, mom?' you thought and sighed as you closed your eyes and hoped to wake up from this nightmare.