AN: Because we all wonder what happens in Mephisto's office when we're not looking.

I'm a slow updater ;_; Sorry for making you all wait, but at least the chapter is long-ish! I hope that makes up for everything!

Thank you so much for all the reviews :D They really mean a lot to me, and I'm glad that you're all liking the story so far. Hopefully I can get some action into the next chapter. If not, well it'll come around eventually. ;A;

And now I present... Chapter 2!

Dance With the Devil

Chapter 2: No You Can't, Dumb Amaimon!

Yukio hurriedly made his way through the crowded halls of True Cross Academy; he was going to be late for his meeting. Even though he had left with plenty of time to spare, he had still somehow managed to make himself late.

A few moments earlier he had been casually strolling down the halls, thinking to himself, when he was suddenly attacked by a group of fan girls on their lunch break. They insisted that he take all of the bento they had made for him, even though he had told them a million times before that he had brought his own, and practically piled the boxes of food into his hands, despite the fact that he had ever-so-politely declined their offer. And now here he was, holding enough bento to feed the academy's entire population—and late for his meeting.

He sighed to himself and placed the boxes down onto the floor, and rummaged through his pockets for his dorm key. He couldn't carry the bento with him to the meeting; that would be odd, not to mention the food would probably spoil by the time it was over. He unlocked the door and made a dash to the kitchen, where Ukobach was happily preparing today's dinner for him and his brother.

The tiny imp-demon turned to glance up at him from a bubbling steel pot, and gave a quizzical stare after seeing the boy piled high with bento boxes.

Yukio dropped the load onto the table with a grunt and quickly wiped the sweat off of his forehead. "Ah… Ukobach, I'm sorry, but could you please put these in the fridge for me? I don't really have the time right now—"

"—Pardon my interruption, but would you pass me that pink box over there? I haven't had my lunch yet."

Yukio spun around to face the man, instinctively readying his hand above his pistol. Instead of a demon—well, not the type of demon he had in mind—what he was facing now was a rather exasperated looking Mephisto, sitting on a bench with his hands folded against his forehead. The demon rolled his tired eyes up to gaze at the exorcist, and tapped his foot against the floor.

Yukio cleared his throat and reached back to retrieve the pink bento box. "Y-Yes, of course," he complied, grabbing the wooden handle and then setting the box down on the chairman's table. He fixed his glasses afterwards, calming himself, and then said, "Sorry for being late, Sir Pheles, but I was… held up."

Mephisto wordlessly reached down with his right hand and untied the pink cloth around the boxed lunch; something seemed off about his usually teasing self. He popped the lid off of the top, revealing an ample amount of rice and the infamous octopus-shaped sausage, and positioned the matching pink chopsticks between his fingers.

With a mouthful of rice, he said, "Aren't you popular with the girls, Mr. Teacher?"

Yukio smiled halfheartedly and leaned against the wall. Nope, He's the same as always.

Mephisto pushed the half-eaten bento aside and gestured towards the bench opposite of his, signaling for Yukio to sit. His lips curved up into a mischievous grin and he asked, "Is our little Rin progressing?"

The exorcist sat opposite of the demon and clasped his hands together on top of the wooden table, looking down at them. He thought of Rin's progression in simultaneously lighting candle wicks with his flames, and how he had been training his body to withstand more physical force. His brother had also been taught more about Demonology during his private lessons, but he didn't seem to grasp knowledge as quickly as hands-on experience. In truth, Rin had progressed since arriving at True Cross Academy—not as much as they'd hoped, but it was still something.

"The progression is slow, but he's better than before," Yukio responded, keeping his sight directed at the wooden table top. "He's better in controlling his flames and strength, but other than that… Well…" Other than that, they hadn't really made any notable progress. Rin still commonly received marks under ten percent on his tests, much to the dismay of his teachers.

"And how are you two progressing? I hear that the love between siblings is the most important in the world," Mephisto exclaimed, raising his finger with teasing wide eyes.

Yukio nodded, furrowing his brow. "I'll continue to protect nii-san in my father's stead. However…" He raised his head and gazed at the chairman with skeptical blue eyes. "What are you really planning to do?"

"Like I've said before, Mr. Teacher, I am attempting to bring peace for both humankind and Assiah," he responded with a smirk. It was obvious that the man knew much more than he gave away—one of the reasons why people were untrusting of him.

"…I'll take your word for it."

Mephisto snapped his fingers and grinned. "Excellent! But I didn't call you here to discuss my plans for the near-future."

Sliding his glasses further up his nose, Yukio inquired, "Then what exactly is this about?"

The chairman's grin widened, causing Yukio to feel slightly uneasy, and he turned his mischievous gaze towards the window. The teacher shifted his gaze to the window as well, wondering what that aloof clown was looking at.

Nothing, as usual.

"There is something in my office I need you to take care of," Mephisto murmured. "You could call it… a personal request." He leapt up from the table, twirled his parasol, and cheerfully exclaimed, "Well, time's a-wasting! Let us continue our meeting in my office!"

Yukio heaved himself off of the bench and followed closely behind the clown of a chairman. "Is it really necessary?" he asked, dreading a walk back to the main building.

Mephisto laughed heartily and pranced across the school grounds, twirling around like an idiotic ballerina. "Wouldn't you know that there are things words simply can't explain?"

Meanwhile, in a class in the main building of True Cross Academy…

"Kyaaa! Did you see Yukio-senpai today? He was so cute!" Misa, a student of class 1-B gushed to her friends. Crowded around her were the usual members of Yukio's fan club, all talking about said person. "He even accepted the bento I made for him!"

Lunch had just ended a few minutes earlier and the teacher was not yet in class, so obviously the students would be chatting loudly with each other instead of studying. In the front of the class, a group of delinquent students were drawing cartoons on the chalkboard, while in the back an otaku clique was having a discussion about the latest dating-sim release.

"I haven't beat it yet. It's so hard to make the main girl fall in love with you because her stupid friend is always around!" Hiro, a slightly overweight gamer, complained. He clutched the gaming console in his hands and flipped through the scenario's options, trying to choose the most reasonable one.

"It's no use!" Kohaku, his otaku friend, agreed. "I've tried every option in that scenario and I only end up losing love points. If you ignore her friend even once, she gets pissed off!"

The two boys turned to look at their third member, a surprisingly handsome and fit brunette boy, and asked simultaneously, "What do you think, Senri?"

The green-eyed student kept his gaze directed at the screen, pushing a few buttons on the game-pad; it seemed as though he didn't hear either of them call him. Keeping his usual nonchalant expression, he turned the console towards the two boys and pointed to the screen, which had an image of a smiling pink-haired girl with the words 'The End' on the bottom in an elegant script. "…I just beat it."

"Woah, seriously?" Kohaku cried, gripping Senri's console in his hands. A look of disbelief was plastered across his face as he beheld the image. "He actually beat it—and it just came out yesterday!"

"Senri's a gaming god!" Hiro gasped, stealing the console away from his friend to have a look. "How did you do it?"

Senri blinked with his empty hands still clamped around an invisible gaming console. "My PXP…"

"Oh right, sorry."

Yukio's fan girls glared at the otaku group in the back of the glass; they were annoyed with them. Amaya couldn't take their chatter anymore, and bravely stomped to the back of the classroom. She slammed her hand on one of their desks.

"Don't you talk about anything other than games, you otaku?" the brunette yelled, annoyed.

Kohaku jumped up from his seat, pointing a finger at the blonde girl accusingly, and countered angrily, "Don't you talk about anything other than Yukio-senpai?"

"At least Yukio-senpai is real—unlike your double-D pixel women!" Misa retorted, waving her arms at the group.

"You girls don't even have a personality as three-dimensional as our double-D pixel women!" Hiro yelled, shaking his console at the crazed fan girl.

Senri sighed and rubbed his forehead as the two groups continued bantering with each other across the classroom, yelling insults and sarcastic remarks. The otaku group had never gotten along with squealing fan girls, and it was pretty obvious they never would. Senri stood up from his seat, deciding that was enough arguing for the day, and placed a hand on Amaya's head.

"I'm very sorry… We did not mean to offend you. If you would like, we can resolve our differences over dinner," he said smoothly, gazing at her with irresistible emeralds. A background of moe-sparkles appeared around his face; an effect that no one knew how the boy produced.

"So moe…" Hiro thought aloud, watching the scene with fascination.

Amaya spluttered at the sudden interaction and became red-faced. "N-No, it's okay really! I think we went a little too overboard…" Flustered, she ran back to her seat, which was now surrounded by girls staring longingly at Senri.

"Senri-san is so good-looking… If only he paid attention to something other than video games," Harumi sighed, placing her head in her hands.

Misa nodded in agreement, but crossed her arms and replied, "But Senri-san is only second-place compared to Yukio-senpai."

"Agreed," concluded all of the other fan girls.

Suddenly, the classroom teacher burst through the door, panting heavily and hurriedly making his way to the front desk. He dropped a stack of books on the table and immediately chased the delinquents away from the chalkboard, then swiped the eraser rapidly across the black surface.

"Good afternoon, class! I apologize for being late, but I had to take care of my Kitty!" the teacher cried wistfully, falling into his chair.

"Is this guy really fit to be a teacher?" Misa mumbled discretely to Amaya.

"I don't even think that's allowed," Amaya responded quietly, shaking her head.

The teacher shuffled through the stack of books on his desk, pulled out a file wedged near the bottom, opened it, and clicked his pen. "Yes, yes, now who would like to read the poem they wrote for homework last night?" he asked, looking around the class.

Surprisingly, one of the delinquents raised his arm and said, "I'll read my poem, sensei."

The teacher smiled and clapped encouragingly. "Wonderful! We're off to a good start today!"

The boy stood up from his seat and held a slip of paper in his hand. He cleared his throat loudly, turned to face Harumi with a smirk on his face, and read:

"Roses are red

Tulips are black

Why is your chest

As flat as my back?"

A moment of silence ensued after he had finished.

"…Pfff!"

Everyone in the simultaneously broke into laughter, save for a very embarrassed Harumi. She narrowed her eyes and glared daggers at the delinquent, while the teacher literally smacked his forehead against his desk, regretting his decision to let a delinquent read a poem that he wrote.

"That's not funny Kouta! And whatever, you have a lumpy back!" Harumi yelled defensively, holding up a fist towards him.

The teacher sighed exasperatedly and commanded the two teens to sit down. "Alright everybody, settle down. Let's be serious now—I'm grading you on this. Any more volunteers?" Another delinquent raised his hand. "…Besides you guys."

Senri failed to pay attention to the class and continued playing on his game console, not even noticing the outburst that had just taken place. The teacher realized that the teen was playing video games during class and, being annoyed at how Senri was never paying attention, asked, "Senri-san, why don't you read your poem for us?"

Senri, with his eyes glued to the screen, responded politely, "Sorry, but can you wait until I reach the save point?"

"Read it now."

The otaku ran his fingers through his hair and put the console down hesitantly, then reached into his pocket and pulled out a neatly folded square of paper. With half-lidded eyes and a background of accompanying moe-flowers, he read:

"The fountains mingle with the river

And the rivers with the ocean,

The winds of Heaven mix forever

With a sweet emotion;

Nothing in the world is single;

All things by law divine

In one, spirit meet and mingle,

Why not I with thine?"

He then promptly refolded the paper, placed it back in his pocket, and returned his attention to mashing buttons on his gaming console.

"Senri-san…" Amaya squealed, hiding her head in her hands.

"…Yes, yes, good as usual." The teacher ground his teeth and reluctantly wrote an A in Senri's column; that student was always showing him up. His grades were good, he didn't get into trouble, but he was always playing video games and never paying attention to the lessons. How in the world did he get good grades?

"Anywho, next is…" Oh finally, a student that was actually respectable. "Izumo-san."

The red-eyed girl stood from her seat and held a sheet of paper in her hand. "Yes, sensei." Just as she was about to speak, a large quake rocked the classroom, sending students crashing onto the ground and even splitting one of the chalkboards in half.

Panicking, the teacher hid under his desk and cried, "Earthquake, take cover!"

Izumo gripped the window sill and instinctively reached for the white slip of paper in her pocket. Wait, she couldn't summon her familiars in a regular classroom, what was she thinking? Resorting to normal non-exorcist methods, she hid beneath her desk and placed her hands over her head. She knew that this was not an ordinary earthquake because in the brief moment she had looked out of the window, she had noticed none of the other buildings were shaking. This was most definitely the work of someone else.

Or rather, the work of a demon.

"Oh my, how bothersome this is," Mephisto commented from beneath a hallway table. Yukio had his arms wrapped around the little terrier, having forced them to both take shelter from the falling debris beneath the wooden desk.

"There weren't any earthquake warnings this month," Yukio noted, squinting his eyes to prevent specks of dust from flying into his eye.

The chairman twitched his ears and said, "Well let's go, shall we?" He hopped out of the exorcist's arms and padded down the hall, lazily wagging his stubby tail. "You're not afraid of demons, but worried about bricks, Mr. Okumura?" he teased, noticing how Yukio was still huddled beneath the desk.

Yukio gave him a flat stare and responded, "Unlike you Sir Pheles, if I get hit by a large chunk of ceiling I'll probably die."

Mephisto let out a sigh and continued to trot down the hallway. "Whenever you're ready."

"Sir Pheles!" Yukio cursed, watching the little dog jump up the stairway just a few meters ahead.

Having rid himself of Yukio for a few moments, Mephisto quickened his pace and began running towards his office. He could tell right away that the earthquake was all Amaimon's doing. You're such a handful, brother. Taking care of siblings is such a chore. He came to a halt in front of the large white door and mumbled, "Eins, Zwei, Drei." With a puff of smoke, he reverted back to his lovely, demon self.

"That's bad! If you do that again, I won't play with you anymore!"

"But I can't get it right, can't I kill someone? It's quite frustrating."

"No, you can't, you dumb Amaimon!"

"Please don't do that. …Ah, that's mine, give it back!"

"Wah!"

A slight tremor shook the floor.

Mephisto hit his palm against his forehead and listened to the conversation with disbelief. How could he have forgotten that he had also ordered Amaimon to stay in his office? Not knowing what to expect, he turned the handle and swung the door open, revealing what could possibly be one of the most bizarre sights he had ever seen.

"Master! Welcome back!" Cross exclaimed cheerily, waving at him.

"Brother, we were just playing a game. Do you want to join?" Amaimon asked with the usual deadpan expression, holding up a paper crane in his left hand.

Mephisto rubbed his eyes and asked curiously, "I say… What is all this?" Decorating his office were hundreds of white paper cranes, most likely made from the documents that were in his desk, crammed and piled into every nook and cranny of his room. He wondered how two demons could manage to make such a large amount of origami—and in less than half an hour at that. Perhaps he could make a profit off of such ability.

"Master, we were seeing who could make the most cranes before you came back," Cross explained, flashing the baffled demon a toothy grin. She had her long tail wrapped around the ceiling fan, and swung back and forth with one of Amaimon's overly large lollipops in her hand.

Amaimon looked up at her from the ground, reaching with his free hand for the stolen sweet as he jumped. "Pyon…" he said, creating his own sound effect as he took another leap. He swiped his hand through the air, attempting to grab the lollipop from her hand. Just as it seemed as though he would grab hold of it, Cross moved her hand away and Amaimon landed on the ground empty-handed once again.

After realizing his attempts were futile, Amaimon casually strolled over to the wall and flicked a switch, which set the ceiling fan in motion. He and Mephisto watched as Cross was sent spinning through mid-air, crying out in protest and begging for them both to stop the "torturing session."

"Someone help! This is a scary thing!" Cross cried pleadingly as she made another round through the air.

Mephisto shook his head and winced as Cross was thrown from the rotating blades and sent crashing into a picture frame. Amaimon simply stared and licked his lollipop, which he had somehow retrieved in the midst of all the commotion.

"I'll have a discussion about this with you later," Mephisto mumbled, sparing his brother an annoyed glance.

"Hmm…" Amaimon hummed, pretending not to hear.

Mephisto placed a hand on his brother's shoulder and looked out into the hallway, where the echo of angry footsteps could be heard. He tapped Amaimon's head three times with his parasol and said, "Eins… Zwei… Drei!"

"Brother…!" Amaimon protested, but disappeared in thin air before he could continue.

"I'll deal with him later. Right now, let's take care of you, agreed?" the chairman laughed, gripping the limp tail of an unconscious Cross and setting her upright on the floor.

"…Mrph?"

"Oh my." Mephisto quickly dusted her off and reverted his office back to its previous, non-vandalized state. He then pulled the cat-like hood of the sweater he had previously made her change into over her head to conceal her face, hid her tail beneath the seams, and moved her dazed body into one of the velvet chairs. Lastly, ever-so-casually, he retrieved a cup of tea from his desk and took the seat beside hers, sipping the drink as if nothing had happened in the first place—just in the nick of time, too.

Yukio rounded the corner of the doorway, somehow unscathed by Amaimon's tremors, although he did seem rather miffed at being left alone in a crumbling hallway. He straightened himself up, fixed his glasses and, maintaining his professional attitude, asked, "So what is it I need to take care of, Sir Pheles?"

Mephisto set his cup of tea down onto a porcelain plate and gestured to the hooded girl sitting beside him. He smiled with satisfaction as Yukio's blue eyes widened understandingly, staring at her with confusion. "If you would, I'd like you to take care of her for me."

Yukio shifted uncomfortably and frowned ever-so-slightly. "Wouldn't one of the teachers or dorm advisors be better suited for this?"

"That would be the case. However, she will not yet participate in regular or cram classes, but requires special training in… exorcism." Or bluntly, everything in the world.

"An apprentice exorcist?" the teacher guessed, thinking that would be the most logical case.

Mephisto laughed and placed a hand on Cross' head, running his fingers through the grey fur on her hood and rousing her from her slumber. "You could call it that, if you want." He leaned closer to the demon and added in a voice so quiet, only she would be able to hear, "Don't speak yet, or else you will ruin the show."

Cross nodded slightly and kept her mouth closed, despite not knowing the event that was currently taking place.

"What is this exactly?" Yukio demanded, tired of games.

Mephisto paused briefly before grinning at him, and took another sip of tea. "My, my, aren't you impatient, Okumura-sensei?" he responded teasingly, flashing his green eyes. Yielding no response from the exorcist, he sighed and placed his drink on the desk, then brushed the cat-like hood away from the girl's face, revealing the dreaded set of pointed ears and Rin-like facial qualities. "Say 'Hello onii-san,' won't you?"

Cross rubbed her eyes and yawned heavily, revealing two rows of sharp, white fangs. She stretched her arms, causing her fur-tipped tail to involuntarily slip out from beneath her sweater, and flashed a toothy grin towards Mephisto. "Master, I had a nice nap!" she exclaimed, not noticing the shocked boy standing a few feet away from her.

Mephisto gave her a flat stare and placed a hand on her head, turning it towards Yukio. A pregnant pause ensued as Cross and Yukio had a standstill with each other; Cross blinking at him in awe and Yukio staring at her in shock and disbelief. Cross became immensely curious at the new visitor and instinctively began walking towards him, wanting to get a closer view.

Misinterpreting her actions, Yukio pulled out his gun. "What game are you playing at?" he nearly growled, pointing the weapon towards the girl.

Panicking, Mephisto ran from his seat to place his hands on Cross' shoulders. "Don't get worked up now. She isn't going to harm anyone." Yukio glared angrily at him, and placed a finger over the trigger; he was seriously thinking of firing. "Mr. Teacher, don't go assuming things!"

Cross, curious as she was, grabbed the end of Yukio's pistol and looked into the bullet hole with fascination. "Wow! It's really dark—and what's that silver thing in the back?" she exclaimed, effectively ruining the dramatic tension in the room.

Yukio watched dumbfounded as the girl prodded around his pistol, carefully avoiding hand-to-hand contact with him. "…I am at a loss for words," he resigned, sheathing the weapon after realizing the non-aggressive nature of the demon.

Cross blinked and looked at his now empty hand and mumbled sulkily, "I wasn't done with that yet…"

Mephisto, relieved that the tension was broken, returned to his seat and crossed his legs. "Shall I explain the situation to you?" he asked, gesturing to the empty seat beside him. Yukio complied and sat down in the ornate chair, much to Cross' dismay. She frowned and leapt up to the ceiling, hanging from the fan by her tail once again.

Yukio vaguely wondered if Rin was capable of hanging from his tail like she was.

"Firstly, it would be better if this information was disclosed between the two of us—" Cross blinked. "—pardon me, the three of us." Mephisto took a break to sip his tea, and rolled his eyes to Yukio. "It would be most convenient," he added, noticing how skeptical Yukio seemed to be of this whole matter.

Hesitantly, Yukio agreed and waited for Mephisto to continue his explanation.

"I'm only going to explain this once; if you don't hear anything, I won't listen to any of it," he said, watching as Cross dangled from the ceiling fan, eavesdropping on their conversation. "Anyhow," he continued, "The girl you see here is, in fact, the world's first living artificial demon!"

Yukio arched his brow. "Artificial demon?"

"Yes, yes, artificial demon. Meaning, she was created by people in Assiah, and not born as a natural demon in Gehenna. But to be more precise, she is a fraternal clone."

"And the person who she was cloned from—"

"—is your brother, Rin." Mephisto confirmed, nodding with satisfaction. "Which also means that she is Satan's daughter. However, she does not possess Satan's flames—only his appearance. Isn't that tragic?"

"But why would you develop another one of Satan's spawn?" Yukio couldn't fathom the reasons behind bringing the child of the most hated demon willingly into the world.

"Ah, that my friend…" Mephisto paused for dramatic effect and took a sip of tea. "…is because Rin was originally going to be raised as a human, and you did not possess any of Satan's powers. But think of the possibilities! If we could replicate Satan's power and use it against him, the exorcists might have a chance of bringing themselves out from the defensive position and into the offensive. It would be an opportunity to bring down Satan himself."

"Not only that, but by creating a clone, we could make the mindset of the demon to that of which we desire. In other words, we could create non-resistant demon. Her immediate purpose is to become a weapon for the exorcists to wield against Gehenna."

Yukio listened to the explanation intently. It was true; by cloning demons, they could create an army that would obey them without any resistance. "But it was unsuccessful because she can't use her flames," he added, now understanding the situation.

Mephisto nodded in response. "Precisely! There is the possibility that her flames will activate, once given enough time. That is why I am asking you, who has already had the experience of caring for a son of Satan, to watch over her."

"HOWEVER!" he pointed to the exorcist, a smirk on his face. "You must not let anyone see her—don't even let them know she exists! Understand?"

Of course, he just had to make things more difficult. "…I understand." Yukio rose from his seat and began heading towards the door. "However, you had better increase my pay for looking after both her and nii-san."

"Nii-san," Cross repeated as she jumped down from the ceiling fan, landing with a dull thud behind him.

Mephisto laughed heartily and waved a slip of paper in the air. "Oh, of course! Here is one-hundred yen for your efforts. One-hundred yen items are fascinating!"

"Isn't that a little too cheap?" Yukio muttered, refusing to take that small of an amount of money. Heck, he had another mouth to feed!

"Well, fifty-yen things are wonderful as well…"

Yukio swiped the hundred-yen note from the chairman's hand and grumbled, "I'll take it…" then strode out of the room in a dignified manner with an enthusiastic Cross following closely behind.

"Bye Master! I'm leaving now!" she announced cheerfully, swishing her tail.

Once the two siblings had left, Amaimon made a reappearance in the seat next to Mephisto, stuffing his mouth with a bag of chocolate-chip cookies. Mephisto snatched one of the snacks from the bag and placed it in his mouth before informing his brother, "You know, you're going to have to pay for ruining my precious Academy."

"I know," Amaimon responded, staring blankly at the door ahead. "What should I get this time?"

Mephisto thought for something that was absolutely essential for him to have. "Oh! Why don't you go and find me a matching set of Honey-Honey Sisters zori? The pink ones are quite rare!" he suggested, snacking on another one of the cookies.

Amaimon widened his eyes and stared at his brother, cookie crumbs decorating his mouth. He swallowed forcefully, still managing to keep a blank expression, and protested, "Ah, brother that is even more difficult to find than the Honey-Honey Sisters yukata. I would have to use a website such as E-Bay to find it."

"But I must have the complete set. I'm looking forward to wearing it."

"Brother… you're an evil!"

Cross skipped happily behind Yukio, obediently keeping her cat-hood over her head and tail tucked properly away. The entire walk from the main building had been silent; she had no idea how to communicate with humans, and Yukio had no idea where to start a conversation with her—not that he was keen on doing so. Many times he had opened his mouth to say something, but would immediately close it shut after seeing the demon's big, blue eyes intently staring at him.

Like the eyes of an owl, Yukio thought with a shudder.

Cross was used to silence—being brought up in isolation and everything. Besides, this was a happy kind of silence, wasn't it? She tilted her head up toward the sky, watching a group of crooning pigeons fly overhead. She unknowingly came to a halt, fascinated at how the creatures could effortlessly fly through the sky. She wanted to do that too—it looked like a lot of fun. Maybe this person called "Nii-san" could teach her how to later.

After the flock of birds disappeared behind the clouds, she noticed how far ahead the man had gone, and quickly ran after him. "Nii-san wait, wait! You forgot about me!" she cried, panicking at the thought of being left alone in a strange place.

A spike ran through Yukio's veins after being called "Nii-san." It was so unusual; he had been calling Rin "Nii-san" his entire life, and now suddenly being called the older brother… He shook his head. So strange.

"Sorry," he apologized, half-forcing smile onto his face. "I got carried away thinking about… work."

Cross blinked. "Work?" she asked, baffled by the term. She had heard her guards complain about coming to "work," and how boring "work" was. Oh, maybe this person had to guard people too! "Nii-san, you guard people like me as well?"

Yukio continued walking to his dorm, thinking of how to reply. Well in a way, yes, that was part of his job; he had to protect his brother, a demon like her. And in a way, no, he exorcised demons and taught people about exorcism. "Well… I guess sometimes it's like that," he admitted, not making eye-contact with the girl.

"Is work boring?" She attempted to match Yukio's brisk pace, jogging in order to keep up with him.

Yukio smiled more naturally now, slowly easing away the awkward tension between them. "It can be sometimes, but because my work helps people I don't mind it at all. There are times when work is fun, too." Seeing the smiles on people's faces after he had rid them of their demons made it all worthwhile.

Cross widened her eyes in realization. "Nii-san…" she gaped. "…You are very kind!"

Yukio looked down at her, and couldn't help but laugh at the blatant fascination on her face. "We hardly know each other and you're already saying things like that?"

"It's okay, I can tell!" she grinned, wagging her tail out of habit. Her eyes nearly popped out of their sockets when Yukio immediately stuffed her tail back under her sweater to prevent anyone from seeing it. "H-Hey! Hide your own tail!" she protested, flinching away from him.

Exhaling his relief at no one seeing her tail, Yukio offered her a stern glance. "Please make a better effort to hide your tail… There would be trouble if anyone saw, understand?"

"Yes nii-san, sorry…" she apologized, dragging her feet across the pavement. She disliked being scorned; a reason for why she was nearly one-hundred percent obedient—kind of like a lapdog.

Yukio rummaged through his pockets and fished out his dorm key. He unlocked the doors of the building and walked inside, holding them open for the new resident. "Well, I guess you'll have to stay here for now, even though it's a boy's dormitory…" he announced, sliding his specs further up his nose. "My brother and I are the only ones who live here—besides Ukobach. You'll have to be careful not to be seen by Nii-san."

"I'm excited!" Cross exclaimed, zooming into the dormitory at full speed.

"She wasn't listening at all…" Yukio sighed, pulling the door shut.

The adventurous demon made a sharp turn through the nearest doorway, entering the dorm's famous dining area. Known for its pleasant aromas and tasty consumable meals—all courtesy of Ukobach and Rin—it is a popular place for Yukio's fan girls to look at through the window.

The room was brightly lit, occupied by rows of spotless tables and red chairs, but the walls were dirty and old, worn from beige to brown over the countless years. Behind the dining area lay the stoves and counters used for cooking, and still stirring a large, steel pot was Ukobach.

The imp looked back with a glare at the intruder, raising the wooden spoon to point at her. Cross skidded to a stop at the kitchen's doorway, sniffing the air and drooling over the tasty aroma coming from the pot.

"Uwah… It smells really good here…"

Ukobach jumped off of his step ladder and angled his tiny body towards her, frowning with disapproval at her unauthorized entry. "You're not allowed to cook here. Wait outside!"

Cross widened her eyes. Demon telepathy!

"I don't know what cooking is, but that smells really good!" she gasped, pointing to the bubbling pot with her finger. Her stomach growled loudly, reminding her that she hadn't eaten for the past two days, and sent her reeling to her feet. "So… hungry…" she choked, over-dramatizing her hunger.

Ukobach rubbed the back of his head and stared at the demon on the ground. Well, the stew was ready, and he did need someone to try it for him. Plus, the girl didn't even know what cooking was, so there was no threat there…

"Do you want to… eat this?" Ukobach asked hesitantly, reaching for a glass bowl on the counter.

Cross groveled on the floor and clutched the fabric over her stomach dramatically. "Hungry…!"

The imp spooned some of the stew into the bowl and hopped down from the counter to stand in front of her. He cautiously held out the meal with his hand and, after smelling the food right below her nose, Cross immediately sat up and took it from his grasp. She happily thumped her tail against the ground and opened her mouth wide.

"Let's eat!"

"Wait! You can't eat it like that!" Ukobach said, placing his huge hand between her mouth and the bowl. He quickly retrieved a spoon from the dish rack and handed it to her, much to her confusion. "You have to eat it with this, or else you'll waste a large amount."

The hungry demon stared dumbly at the silverware, not knowing what it was or how to use it. She twisted and turned it, amazed by how it caught the light, and asked "What is this for?"

"You use it to scoop up the stew. Don't you know that?" Ukobach replied, now realizing how clueless the girl was.

Cross shoved the spoon into the bowl, accidentally creating a small crack in it, but managed to catch some of the potatoes and pieces of meat. She widened her eyes in wonder and brought the spoon closer to her mouth, but quickly realized that she couldn't eat with a hood over her head. She promptly pushed the hood back, revealing her face to a now very startled Ukobach.

Ukobach's jaw dropped and he took an involuntary step back. "Rin… You've turned into a girl!"

"Now that the opening act is complete..."

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