Chapter 3: "One step at a Time"

A Few Days Later:

The hallways were quite after school. Typically they'd be buzzing with the noise of the class rooms- but this was after school and no classes were running anymore. There was a student here or there scampering about, but as you made your way to Mephisto's office, the activity dwindled down.

And now that you were in his office...

Silence.

You squirmed in your seat as you fiddled with your sketch book and kneaded your eraser in your hands. There was something missing in the picture but you couldn't put your finger on it. A scowl painted on your face as you glared at the half finished drawing and you almost let a big sigh slip out of your lips- but stopped yourself just in time. Without knowing what you were doing- and focusing on his own work- Mephisto surely would have pegged the sigh off as an attempt to annoy him. He would have been wrong but seeing where you were now you already knew he wouldn't listen to you.

You silently set your sketch book to the side and instead picked up one of the mangas Mephisto had on a bookshelf nearby. He'd told you they were his private collection and you were allowed to read them if you so wished- but at first you hadn't even spared a glance at them. Now that you'd spent almost two weeks in his damned office, they held more interest than before.

You had to admit, they weren't that bad. Actually...You dared say they were enjoyable- but you'd never admit it to Mephisto.

"Dear (Name), have you given up on your drawing already?"

Speak of the devil...

You raised your head and glanced Mephisto's way, curiosity and caution swirling in your (e/c) eyes. "For the moment...Why?"

"Does one honestly need a reason to ask his daughter about her drawings?" he asked and raised a thin purple eyebrow in curiosity, but the mischievous gleam in his eye told you he had a reason.

"Only if that 'one' is you. You always have a reason." you shrugged and eyed your sketchbook.

"How observant. I suppose in this case you're correct." he sighed and rested his bearded chin on his folded hands, his eyes locked on you as he spoke. His voice wasn't cocky or confident like it usually was and instead you found it was void of his usual tone- his voice was softer as he spoke. "I only wanted to ask a favor of you...I notice you draw quite often and you have an certain finesse for it. Its not a skill many have and I must admit that seeing you work with such a talent is admirable...Perhaps you wouldn't mind teaching me some tips of the trade sometime?" he asked gently and you froze, nearly dropping the manga in your hands.

"You want..You want me to teach you to draw?" you asked with a stunned voice.

"Well, only if you so wished and if I move my schedule around to set some time away for it..It doesn't have to be a big event, just a few tips from an experienced teacher to a simple student." Mephisto shrugged and leaned back in his chair. He picked up a paper and begun to read it, tapping a pen to his chin as he did so.

"I...Sure. I'll teach you...Its not that hard."

"Really?" Mephisto glanced up, his usual look of amusement having returned, "Fantastic~! I'll be sure to set aside some time to be taught...But for now, lets go see what we have for dinner, hm?"

Mephisto stood and you followed suit, trailing after him. He hummed softly as the two of you walked and even whistled for a little portion of the journey, twirling his umbrella on his finger as you made your way down the hall.

"Now then, come along, (Name)." He sang and unlocked two big double doors to reveal a huge room filled with paintings and velvet curtains. The chandelier glistened with golden flames and hung above a small table big enough for two people.

Immediately you were too stunned to move but as Mephisto waltzed forth and pulled out one chair, glancing towards you, you snapped out of your shock and took the seat.

"T-Thank you.." you muttered and twisted to look around the room, "This is...A pretty big room for just one small table..."

"Well, it is better fitted for a grand table for dining parties, but I had it rearranged so it would be more suitable for just the two of us." Mephisto smiled and sat across from you as you waited, "My dear, what is it you wish to eat? I can have anything your heart desires made up in the best of time." he smiled and with the flicker of anticipation in his eyes, he leaned forward.

You scrambled to think of something appeasing to eat- but struggled to focus on your preferences from being put on the spot like you were. "U-Uh, I'll...I want...Pancakes."

"Pancakes?" Mephisto asked and his eyes widened as he repeated your request. "Anything you can imagine and you ask for pancakes?" There was no denying the shock in his voice and from the looks of it, you'd really caught him off guard.

You nodded sheepishly and groped the air to catch the words running rampant through your head. "I..Mom, used to always...Make the best." you looked down at your hands and fell silent, realizing what you had said and to whom. A flash flood of worry swept you in its grasp as you panicked. Had you really just said that? What would Mephisto think? Your eyes nearly bugged out of your head with the shock you'd brought upon yourself but it soon faded into an emptiness.

Tears threatened to march down your cheeks at the thought of your mother but you fought the feeling from bubbling over. Emptiness enveloped you in its chains and the sinking feeling you'd been fighting off started to drag you further down into its embrace.

No. You wouldn't cry here. Not now. Not in front of Mephisto.

"Very well then.." Mephisto said softly and turned to a tiny demon to give the order. When he was finished, he turned back to you and snapped his fingers.

Following the action, his top hat, jacket and umbrella floated over to a coat rack near the doors and a tea cart appeared beside the table. It was filled with all different types of teas and some snacks but you didn't spare it a second glance. Instead you forced yourself to remain calm and push away the sadness you felt ripping at your bones. You tried to imagine flying, tried to imagine being miles up and away from your body but the chains of depression held you down tightly. It was as if they were slowly pulling you into the ground, digging you a grave with the sharp pointed thoughts of longing and loss you constantly felt.

It took you a minute but eventually you collected yourself and glanced back up at Mephisto just in time to meet his eyes. There was mild amusement in his eyes, but it wasn't as fiery as usual. Instead it shared the stage of his green eyes with an emotion you couldn't read- but it was soft and calculating, almost lethargic in a way.

Upon meeting your gaze, Mephisto leaned back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap. His virescent pupils studying you with a great deal of curiosity. You fidgeted under his gaze and eventually looked away, unable to contain the blush on your face.

"You loose something over here?" you asked sarcastically and threw a playful glare his way.

His eyelids lowered onto his glistening eyes and his smirk returned, the flame of amusement once again taking the stage of his glass garden eyes. He leaned forward again, his chin resting on his intertwined hands patiently and he gave a short, hardy laugh. "Always full of surprises, (Name). Never a dull moment...How has school been going? And your exorcist training?" he asked, his voice oddly thoughtful.

"School's been fine. My training is the same as always, nothing new to report." you shrugged and unfolded your napkin into your lap, smoothing it across your legs.

"Have you decided what Meister category you wish to go into yet?" Mephisto reached for a cup of tea, gently stirring in some sugar as he spoke.

"Well...I have thought about it but I'm still not sure whats the best fit...I don't really think I fit in with any of the categories..."

"You'll find your path soon enough, worrying will only cause you unneeded stress."

You nodded and thought for a moment...What category were you going to go into? You knew you could have a Meister rank in each of the five categories- but which one would be your main?

You could wait until the taming trials to try your hand at a being a Tamer. That wouldn't be so bad- and there weren't many exorcists who could tame demons these days!

And being a Doctor would certainly help in some fields- the fatal wounds of demons were nothing light and knowing what to do to help those hurt would be an extra bonus...

You didn't know scripture very well so Aria was out of the question...

Guns weren't your thing either, so being a Dragoon wouldn't really help anyone much..And you didn't have a sword like Rin to fight demons with- so being a Knight would only prove to be more useless...

But you could learn to use a sword or a gun, at least. So if you failed in being a Tamer and couldn't get the proper antidotes down, you had something to fall back on...You didn't really enjoy the though of being an Aria, though..It could be helpful but you didn't really see yourself doing that kind of thing.

"Definitely not an Aria though..." you mumbled and Mephisto glanced up, smirking over his cup as he focused his eyes on you.

"I didn't ever satiate the though of you ever pursuing that path." he chuckled and for a minute, you let yourself smile back at him.

"Neither did I."

A Few Days Later:

"What about this?" Mephisto asked, holding up the paper he was drawing on to show you his work.

"...You're hopeless." you deadpanned and frowned.

"How cruel!" his face grew tight and his eyebrow twitched in annoyance as you sighed. You lifted your own drawing and started at it for a minute, tapping your pencil on your cheek in thought. It was alright, nothing too special. Just a little doodle of Mephisto in his terrier form.

"Well, its obvious you don't have the skill- but you can have this one if you want." you mumbled and offered him the drawing.

He glanced at you shortly before taking the paper and studying it. A smile cracked across his face and his gaze flicked up to yours with a wicked radiance. "You haven't even scratched the surface of how utterly adorable I am in that form."

"Hey, I'm not the one who drew a lake that looked like a firetruck, buddy." you giggled and Mephisto's eyebrow started twitching again.

"It was a landscape from Gehenna!"

"Sure it was."

"You just aren't fond of the more abstract kinds of art-" he started but as a knock at the door sounded he stopped. "Pardon me..."

He stood and walked over to his desk, sitting down in his chair. "Come in."

"Sir Pheles, quickly! There's a demon attacking one of the dorms!" A teacher stormed in, rigid with adrenaline.

"A what? How did it get through the wards?" Mephisto asked and stood up, brows furrowing in confusion.

"We're not sure, but there are some students who locked themselves in one of the bathrooms to try and escape it. We've got exorcists already on the case but we fear there may still be some demons lurking about the building."

"Right then, lets go. (Name) stay here-" Mephisto started toward the door but you yanked him back an inch, tugging on his wrist.

"You said I had to stay 'by your side'! Besides, this will give me the chance to see the different Meister categories in action!" you argued and Mephisto's face flashed with anger before he sighed and shooed you in front of him, impatience written on his face.

"Fine, but stay by my side and don't wander off. This could be dangerous for an exwire like yourself."

You nodded and followed after Mephisto and the teacher, a little bit excited about seeing exorcists in action- you'd seen class examples before, but nothing as serious and raw as this!

The air was heavy with a tangible negativity as you approached the door. Teachers and some exorcist students were clumped up in tiny groups before the building, but most of them raised their heads as Mephisto walked towards them.

"Sir Pheles-" Yukio started but his eyes fell on you for a moment, confusion swirling in his deep teal pools. It passed as he focused back on the matter at hand- but his curiosity was already detected.

You couldn't really blame him...Mephisto was never accompanied by any student and certainly not when arriving to a scene like this. You wondered what story Mephisto would spin for him and others later on- or if he even realized it was odd to have you by his side. Without knowing the connection between you two it would seem out of place in the eyes of others. And you could tell most of them had taken note of it, their curious glances were hard to miss.

Ignoring everyone else for a minute, you looked up at the dorm building. It had taken on a sickly purple and gray glow, you could see the outline of an almost invisible smoke, shimmering over the bricks. A deep voice echoed in the sounds of fire and a cackle disguised itself in the crackle of fire.

"This..."

"We have reports on it..It seems to be just a few ghouls running about- but there are at least two middle classed ones that we've seen- we're not sure if there are any else."

"Have you already sent others inside?"

"Yes, they're clearing it out as we speak." Yukio turned to the building and frowned as mist poured out of one of the open windows. "Ah, it seems they found one."

Following after the mist, a blur of movement jumped from the window- surrounded by clumps of coal tars. It shifted into a figure- one moving too fast for you to recognize- and landed just before a group of exorcists, a booming roar erupting from the beast just as it landed.

Exorcists immediately jumped into action, weapons being drawn and tamed demons being summoned as the Aria's begun reciting scripture- and none of them even flinched when more demons spewed from the windows. The demons rained down with the the glass, shattering the barely visible screen around the dorm as they leaped toward the concrete street.

"What? There weren't that many before!" Yukio exclaimed and drew his guns out, jumping into the action.

"Hmmm..." Mephisto's features grew darker, the shadows on his face intensifying as he watched on. You could have sworn his eyes took on a tint of red- but as you tried to justify such thoughts, a demon came barreling toward the three of you.

"Get back!" you heard someone yell but you froze in place, eyes locked on the misshapen demon leaping toward you. It oozed an acidic liquid and the ground hissed in protest as it absorbed the impact of the demonic secretion.

"(Name)! Move-" someone yelled again.

The demons paw shaped legs pounded and shook the earth it grazed. With each slap of its feet on pavement your heart pounded, silencing as its feet raised from the ground. Your brain tried to force your body to move, tried to make its waves will you to shift your position- but the fight was faulty. Fear silenced the voice in your head and bound you to the ground, locking you in your soon to be grave.

"(Name)-" another voice called- but it was too late to move, too late to be saved.

With a snap the demon plucked you from the ground as it would a flower between concrete slabs. Air tore at your skin and the sense of gravity left you as the demon carried you away. The light of the dorm and street faded away as you were carried through the dark sky. The stars flew past your eyes, trying their best to lift you away from the beast- but the secreting acid that burned your skin warded away their intended help.

Your skin felt like a layer of ice as you were thrown out of the demons hands, the air whipping around your body like tiny needles. Your body smacked against a tree and your head smashed against the bark. A metallic taste filled your mouth and air filled your head, feather light thoughts drifting out through a crack you were almost positive had just separated your skull.

You forced yourself to look up at the demon only a few feet away, its jowls slipping off at the edges as it growled.

This was some type of Ghoul, right...? It must be decaying...

You fought the migraine that had begun to pound in your aching body and you forced yourself to stand, falling here and there and shaking as you did so. You gripped at a low branch to support yourself, eying the demon with a great deal of fear- and anger. What did this demon want with you? Out of everyone there, why you?

"What the hell do you...Want with me?" you hissed and the demon growled in response, its sulfurous saliva dripping as it started to slowly walk towards you, its body tense.

A malicious sense overcame you and you couldn't help but growl back, glaring at the demon as it leaped toward you. Its body made contact with yours and you were thrown back once more- your back scratching against the abrasive bark of the tree as you were pushed away from it. Your head slammed into the earth as you fell back and you winced in pain, hissing in protest to your body's newly made injuries. One eye was forced to open as the demon loomed over you, its paws pressed against your shoulders, crushing your collar bone at its ends and making it almost impossible to move.

Its decaying face leaned towards yours and the acidic spit dribbled dangerously close to your head. The ground it touch decayed quickly and you heard the sizzle of poison seep into the grass. You glared up and lifted your other eyelid, meeting the demons beady gaze with your own ice cold glare.

"RrrrAggg!" the demon howled and its head flung back before it threw it back down, aiming for you.

"Go to hell!" you screamed and tried to fling your hands in front of you, a forced muscle memory reaction in times like this. They landed on the legs of the demon, however, and its sticky skin was rotted to the bone. Your head turned to the side and your eyes squeezed shut as you braced for the snap of teeth around your skull- but it never came.

Confused and bewildered, you snapped your head forward to find the demon frozen in place- and none the happy about it. You squirmed out if its reach and rolled away from it quickly- just in time enough for its bite to eat the air your body had occupied mere seconds earlier. The pounding of your heart reminded you that you were alive and shock awoke the adrenaline in your veins, unlocking your limbs from the pain and fear just enough for you to move them. You jumped out of the demons next lunge and gasped in anticipation. Sure, you'd had adrenaline highs before where things got slower- but that demon had stopped! His mouth was just about to feast on your brains and it had ceased all movement, like it was stuck- Or frozen! There was no way adrenaline could ever do such a thing- no matter how much adrenaline was being pushed through your veins!

"(Name), watch out!" Someone called and you turned to see Yukio and some other exorcists rushing around you. With your attention on the others, you had taken your eyes off the demon- and you heard it leap towards you, the sound amplified. The brush of its feet on the brash, like metal grinding on metal, unpleasant and humorously demonic in nature. Your (e/c) eyes flicked to where it had pounced and was sailing in midair, once again time having slowed down due to the adrenaline you had pumping under your skin, but rolled away once more as guns shot off, bullet flying toward the demon. You hit the ground a little harder than intended, accidentally pounding your head the wrong way against the dirt and making your teeth chatter as your jaw slammed shut.

With a howl and scream the demon dissipated, burning away from this world, vanishing from thin air. A shaky breath you hadn't known you needed was drawn from your lips and you closed your eyes, thanking whomever was responsible for getting the others there when they had. Your body slumped in the release of the tension you had held, its movements more sore and natural, coming down from the adrenaline rush you'd received prior to the death of the demon.

"Are you alright?" Yukio called and you opened your eyes to see him leaning over you, scanning you for any immediate injuries.

"Yeah...Just a few minor injuries...Nothing more than a few scratches- I hope." you sighed and took the hand he offered you to help you stand. "I'm glad you got here when you did...I'm not sure what would have happened..."

The frown on your face was heavy and now that you'd realized what happened, you felt embarrassed. You'd just come face to face with a demon and were frozen in place...You hadn't even really tried to defend yourself! Your mind had gone blank and everything you learned had been thrown out the window..

You could have died...

"Come on, lets get you checked out and then we'll ask about what happened..." you didn't pay attention to who was talking now, your head hurt too much for you to focus, and let them lead you wherever.

Disappointed in yourself at your own stupidity, you barely payed attention to what anyone was saying now and instead tried to focus on what happened. The demon...It had stopped, you were sure of it...

"And follow the light..." the doctor instructed and you obeyed, following the light he flashed in your eyes. "Hmm, well, it seems you've suffered a minor concussion..Its nothing major however, by the looks of it. Some rest will do you good."

"Thanks.." you muttered and looked back at your hands as the man turned away from you. You hadn't paid much attention to who it was..but now that you think about it..

You glanced up, feeling dizzy and slow as you did so, to find none other than Yukio having nursed you, his face intent and serious as he put his tools away. Oh, that's right. He was the one who led you to your room and patched you up.

"Yukio...Yukio." you called, forcing yourself to focus on what happened. You had to tell someone, you had to tell them so you could remember later..

"Hm?"

"The demon, Yukio...It stopped. Not by itself...like it was frozen. It..It stopped, Yukio..."

"Wow, that concussion might be worse than I thought..You need to get some sleep, (Name)...You should be alright to sleep here, I brought you to your room but its best not to be moved with a concussion and focusing will be hard for at least a few hours. School will have to wait a day or so as well, just to make sure you're fully healed and healthy before your return."

"But Yukio-" you reached out for him, the importance fading. You had to tell him, why wasn't he listening? "It was stopped!"

"We can talk more about it later- there no use in trying to information with your brain still rattled...Don't worry, alright? Once you're feeling better-"

"No, you don't understand-" you sighed, but it was already a mute point. Your focus was fading and he knew it just as well as you did.

"Look, I promise I'll listen and help you work through it tomorrow...But for now you need sleep. You're no good to tell your story if you can't even focus on it...So rest."

"...You're right..." you nodded and laid back down, pulling the blankets around you. "Sleep is good..."

"Goodnight, (Name)..." you heard Yukio chuckle before you drifted away from reality and into sleep.

AN: Wow, I just realized I haven't been doing any authors note for this story. Oops. Ah, well, better late than never, yeah?

Anyways, I'm Viri (ViridescentCrow- Viri for short!) and I'm really glad that you all are enjoying the story thus far! This is my first time writing for Ao No/Blue Exorcist so I apologize in advance for any OOC characters, I am learning so please bare with me!

Thank you all for taking your time to read this story and for writing your wonderful reviews! I hope this story will further offer you entertainment and enjoyment. ^u^

As always, have a wonderful day/night!

Viri