For as long as I could remember, I'd never been alone...
Well, by demons, I mean.
As a little girl, there was always something or someone with me, even if I couldn't see them, I could sense their presence. Fear wasn't something that I ever associated with them, of course. In fact, I was happy with them as I considered them my only friends. They protected me, played with me, and watched over me when my parents couldn't be bothered to. My entire childhood was full of demons and spirits while being ignored by my human parents in favor of my younger sibling when she came along.
It didn't take long for me to start toeing the line between this world and the next. My days were a blur at that time—like a waking dream. Strange things occurred, as did dangerous accidents. It wasn't my demonic friends' faults, of course, but they could only do so much as, for some reason, they weren't exactly in my world. They were...in-between. I could only see and touch them when I was in that haze. Prior to that, I could only hear and speak to them. None of that scared me, though. Humans did.
People would whisper about my odd behavior; some would hurt me to stop it, including my own mother. She hated it the most. My spirit friends didn't like it. They wanted to save me, but they couldn't pass through to my body. So they resorted to what they could do...
They began to mess with my head. They made my weak, child mind so befuddled and hazy—trying to forcibly keep me in their world—that I had a difficult time discerning reality from fantasy...
Until the accident.
To my muddled mind, the car was stopped. I hadn't any clue, until I stepped out...
.:Timeskip:.
I awoke with a start, my heart in my throat and my eyes wild with panic. It took a moment for me to take in the somewhat-familiar surroundings of Mephisto's office before my rapid breathing began to slow down.
"Did the human have a nightmare?"
I turned to glare weakly at Amaimon who sat next to me on the couch. I must have fallen asleep waiting for Mephisto to finish some anime show he was watching on his laptop.
"What's Gehenna like?" I didn't bother to answer his question. My own inquiry seemed to have floored him as the Demon King of Earth lapsed into stunned silence. I was determined to get an answer, however.
"Gehenna?" Mephisto's voice drew my attention to his desk. I ignored the fact that he wore his pink kimono with chibi girls printed onto the fabric and nothing else. "What's with the sudden interest, Kitten?" he purred, an eager glint in his green eyes.
"Curiosity," I half-lied. There was no need to tell him about the unusual dreams which had started back up after seeing the mark on his back. He had to have known I saw it—he may have even done it on purpose to allow me to witness it—he was too smart and manipulative to do or say anything carelessly.
Mephisto narrowed his eyes at me, clearly not believing my words. His brother, however, had no such reservations and dove headfirst into his own personal recollection of home. Ignoring Mephisto's hard stare, I gave Amaimon my undivided attention. It had only been a week since Mephisto had brought me to his mansion to live—again—and had even taken over my education and pulled me from other classes. Despite all of this, he'd grown very distant. Of course, he wanted to win the bet, so I couldn't hold it against him. That did mean, however, I'd gotten close to Amaimon since humans were social creatures and they were, currently, the only two I had any contact with.
"It's a fun place sometimes, but really boring most of the time," the sweets-loving demon popped another sucker into his mouth. "Not many to play with. So weak."
I raised my hand up to stop him when I figured he'd just talk about all the fights and strong demons he'd encountered. Amaimon was all about proving himself to his elder siblings and, perhaps, even his father, Satan. I didn't blame him for his desire to garner attention for his power. I, myself, had done similar things to squeeze out a few words of approval from my uncaring parents. They'd dote on my sibling, but ignore or criticize every accomplishment I'd achieve. It wasn't until recently I'd realized how ridiculous the notion was to please others rather than simply be myself and be proud of my own endeavors.
"I meant: how does it look?" I rectified my previous question. A vision from last night's dream filled my mind's eye and I barreled forward into greater detail, uncaring as to the possible repercussions. "Red mist, no sun, red moon, uneven terrain, and...a palace? Black towers, I think, with a moat of blue flames?" I described as well as I could. The building had been far enough away that I hadn't gotten a good enough look at it before waking that morning, but those flames stood out. The elegant spires of the castle, too, had been stark against the pale-red moon in the crimson sky...
The room lapsed into a discomforting silence. Even Mephisto's laptop had gone quiet as he'd probably muted the anime he'd been watching. Amaimon was the one who, ultimately, broke the silence.
"You've been there before." He got extremely-close to me, face screwed up in concentration while his long claw poked me in the cheek. "You're only human, aren't you? How'd you get to Gehenna?" As he shot off question after question, the younger demon continued to touch me and explore my body for any hint of demonic attributes. I was forced to slap his hands away when they tried to remove my clothes to search for a tail.
"That's enough, Amaimon!" Mephisto's irritation was clear to see in the twitching of his right eye. He got to his feet and circled around the desk, only to stop next to the couch. Getting to eye level with me, his emerald gaze stared, unblinking into mine, as if searching for any hint of a lie. Suddenly, he smiled. "You certainly are full of surprises, Mana!"
I blinked up at him before showing my displeasure at his ever-growing mystery with a huff and a pout.
"I'm never going to get a straight answer out of you, am I?" I spoke to myself more than the two demons in my presence. Amaimon's lips twitched while Mephisto just smirked darkly. I ignored both as I got to my feet and stretched. Mephisto only stopped me when I began walking away.
"And where do you think you're going?" the violet-haired director demanded in a dangerously-low voice.
I flicked him a careless look, not worried about him or Amaimon hurting me anymore as I'd unwittingly began to trust them during my short stay in this world. Still, that didn't mean I liked being cooped up 24/7. Most of the time, neither demon would allow me to leave their sight unless I bathed or needed to use the toilet. The other rare times they did leave—probably to go toy with Rin Okumura—Mephisto put a spell on the place that kept me locked in. The place was huge and held every commodity available, but...it was still a gilded cage...
And I wasn't going to find answers within the home of the demon who was keeping secrets from me...
"Out," I latched onto Amaimon's arm with a whine, brown eyes pleading with Mephisto. "Amaimon can come with if you're worried about me running off or something! I just want some fresh air and to see my friend..." Rin's worried blue eyes from the day Mephisto had whisked me off filled my mind. I hadn't seen nor heard from him since. Amaimon had let slip, however, that their youngest brother had broken the door to Mephisto's office when he'd learned that I'd been pulled from the cram school. He'd sworn to keep bothering Mephisto every day until he let him see me. He must have stayed true to his word, because the school director was always irritated every time he started on my personal lessons in the afternoons...
"Humans are strange creatures, brother," Amaimon remarked as he settled his free hand atop my mess of white hair. "They do get sick if they don't see their friends, you know. I don't want Mana sick." I stared up at him in surprise, not expecting the King of Earth to actually take my side on the matter, nor to care much for me. Sure, I'd grown fond of the green-haired demon, but I always doubted such feelings could possibly be reciprocated by the violent male.
"Tch! Fine, go ahead," Mephisto growled icily. I could see the flash of anger as his eyes glanced at me before quickly moving away. The abrupt turn of emotion from him startled me. I was used to irritation from him when it came to his brothers—Rin especially—but never outright hate. Particularly when such negativity directed itself my way.
Once again, I was forcibly reminded that these were demons and what had transpired a week ago meant little to him. To be honest, I couldn't be sure of what it meant to me either. I barely knew Mephisto, even with watching the anime and spending a small amount of time with him. Mystery shrouded him like a well-worn cloak, and he had earned the title of "Trickster", after all. With his silver tongue and centuries of cunning, it was little wonder that he could have put on a grand performance. His true self remained safely hidden away in the shadows, as did whatever heart he may not even possess.
A master of this game of chess he was playing.
That begged the question of who he was up against... Was it really Satan? Or someone else? Or was it all for his own amusement? It must get rather boring to have such a long life. You could only stay entertained for so long...
"Let's go see my little brother, Mana," Amaimon slipped his hand into mine and yanked me toward a door. Taking out the Infinity Key his brother of Time and Space gave him, he inserted it into the lock and turned. Just before we were about to step through the magic portal, Mephisto made sure to utter one last little threat.
"Don't let her out of your sight, Amaimon."
"Of course not, big brother," the Earth Demon responded in his monotonous voice. With that reassurance, he pulled me in closer to his side much to my embarrassment and Mephisto's chagrin if that frown was anything to go by.
I shook my head at the director's obsession with keeping me within arm's length at all times, unable to comprehend his complicated mind. Whatever he had planned for me—besides the obvious—I'd do well to discover quickly. Maybe the key lay in my memories? I'd been having some very intense ones lately, especially concerning demons in my childhood. Ever since that car incident, though, I'd never had another encounter with them...not that I recall, I mean. Then again, until these recollections began, my entire childhood prior to the accident was a blur. That was to be expected, of course. I had injured my head. I still had a faint scar near my hairline where the skin had split...
We came out into some woods...
Some very familiar woods...
Wait...
"Uh. Amai-kun?" I ventured forward a little bit only to be yanked back into a hard chest. Rolling my eyes, I allowed myself to be ensnared by the demon's protective arms. "How much time has passed outside of my room at Mephisto's?" I didn't want to think he had cheated on his bet, but...I wouldn't put it past the trickster...
"Ah. You are smart!" Amaimon praised, but, for some reason, his shocked tone irked me. "Brother knew you'd find out eventually, but was hoping to win the bet first. It's been three months."
Silence.
"I'm going to kill him..." I grumbled under my breath, but Amaimon still heard me with his demonic hearing.
"I don't think you can, but it would take him out of the game..."
My eyes widened at that, catching wind of a lead. Craning my head back to look up at him, I gave my best innocent puppy-dog look.
"So who all are in the running now?" I chose my words with care. If I outright asked what the game was, there was a chance he wouldn't tell me. If I acted like I already knew about it, then I could piece it all together on my own.
"Well, most of our brothers don't know about you yet, and Father said he doesn't want you to go to a regular demon. Big brother—the one you call "Mephisto"--made a foolish deal so he may lose soon," the Demon King remarked in a thoughtful tone of voice. His teal-colored eyes dropped to my face, a small grin pulling at his thin lips. "Don't worry. I'm safe. I only want to play with my little brother." With that, he released me so that I could take a step away and turn around to face him.
"Why are you nice to me, though?" I couldn't help but ask.
He looked surprised for a brief second before reverting to his neutral demeanor. "Brother told me to." His gaze moved past me before he suddenly leapt into the trees and disappeared.
I, meanwhile, felt something cold pierce my heart, but pushed the discomfort aside. I wasn't sure if I should believe him or not, but he was a demon and I was a human. What would be the benefit of being my friend?
Slapping my hands on my cheeks, I shook off such ridiculous thoughts. I needed to stop living my life this way—always thinking the worst of, not only myself, but of others and how they treat me. Since when did Amaimon ever really listen to Mephisto, anyway? And Mephisto was a mastermind, but I still considered him my friend. I may be a masochist and an idiot to place any trust in them, but I would lay down my life for Mephisto, Rin, and Amaimon. As crazy as the past couple weeks have been, it had been fun and they had taken care of me...
Although, they had kidnapped me in the first place!
"Ugh! Whatever!" I huffed aloud, stomping my way through the brush. It had been eons since I'd been in the forest, but I traversed the landscape with relative ease, avoiding poison ivy and any animal scat. Soon enough, I found the clearing I'd been searching for. Somehow, I hadn't gotten lost and even managed to discover the camp in this vast forest without a clue where they had set it up.
I chalked it up to Amaimon guiding me through his territory...
"Who's there?" a shout sounded on the other side of the brush—one I perked up at as recognition shot through me.
"Rin!" I called out in a tone that was far happier than I intended. For me, it had only been a week, but I greatly missed my only friend.
"M-Mana?" His face poked through the bushes, lighting up on sight of my undoubtedly-sweaty and leaf-strewn self. "What are you doing out here?" he demanded with a grin when I jumped into his arms, excited. He pulled me into the clearing where the others had heard the commotion. They gathered around us with questions of their own, making my shyness at their presence hit me full-force. It hadn't helped with Mephisto and Amaimon keeping me cooped up and cut off from them. My anxiety had grown worse, it would seem.
I squirmed out of Rin's hold, face burning a beet-red. "I--I..." My throat squeezed tightly with nerves. Only Yukio seemed to notice my discomfort right away as he'd come over, as well. I had a feeling that he knew at least a part of the reason why, but there was still a curious glint in his blue-green eyes.
"That's enough, everyone," he ordered in a strong voice, acting more like an adult in his twenties than a teenager like them. "Miss Feldman, will you help me and Miss Kirigakure prepare the tests? Everyone else, get back to setting up camp." He left no room for argument as he walked away, his hand at my back to guide me to the center of the half-finished chalk circle at the edges of the clearing. Throwing an apologetic smile back at Rin, I noticed that my friend did not look happy at the avoidance of his question.
"So who's the pretty chick?" an unfamiliar voice drew my attention forward. Sitting beside a collection of beer cans was a full-figured woman with blonde-tipped red hair pulled up into a ponytail. Her skimpy clothes—a bikini top several sizes too small and a pair of short shorts—made me blush darkly in embarrassment for her. The intricate tattoo emblazoned in a line down her front only served to draw the eye to her large breasts, tone stomach, and long legs.
I was beginning to feel self-conscious standing so close to such obvious beauty...
"This is Mana Feldman, a former student of mine. And this is Shura Kirigakure, an exorcist, First Class," Yukio made the introductions for us. Her magenta-colored eyes narrowed as they studied me. It felt unsettling to be in her presence as she gave off an aura of dominance and perception. My skin prickled at her gaze, but I remained as calm as I could, taking the silence of the moment to study my surroundings. Mephisto and Amaimon were nearby, I knew that. If I remembered correctly, this was the camping trip that would end in disaster. As much as I wanted to prevent Rin from getting hurt, I knew that it was the Director's way of strengthening him, too.
My chocolate-brown gaze found Rin struggling with propping up a tent for the boys. The canvas toppled over him right when he thought he was done, provoking laughter from the others.
"I just don't get it," Shura's voice slurred, already showing the signs of her drunken nature. I turned back in time to see her right up in my face. With a startled yelp, I took a step back, my body hitting Yukio's who steadied me.
"Get what?" I couldn't help but ask, curiosity getting the better of me. A whimper escaped me when she started lifting up my arms, hair, shirt, and so on, as if searching for something. What was it with these people and touching me?! It was as if they never heard of the proverb—"keep your hands to yourself" or had any sense of personal space!
Yukio saved me before things could get really awkward.
"Miss Kirigakure!" He stepped between me and the voluptuous exorcist, pushing his glasses up his nose. I went to search my own face for my pair of spectacles when I realized they were missing. I hadn't worn them for a couple of days...but it only occurred to me right now that I could see things quite clearly despite their disappearance.
"I'd appreciate if you don't assault my students."
"Hn? But I thought you said she was a 'former' student," Shura teased with air quotes to emphasize "former". The smirk on her face when Yukio's stern expression faltered seemed to ease the tension away. "Whatever. I still don't see what Mephisto is so obsessed over. She looks like a normal girl to me. Maybe a bit shy, but that's it."
She said all this under her breath and after she'd walked a good distance away. Somehow, despite that, I still managed to overhear her.
'Obsessed?' I thought to myself, confused by the notion that anyone could be interested in me. What part could I possibly play in Mephisto's plans? Even if I knew what the Demon King of Time ultimately desired, I highly doubted I was any more than a passing amusement for him... Although how my social awkwardness and lack of communication skills could possibly be any entertainment to the immortal was beyond me...
"Would you please assist me, Miss--" Yukio began to address me in that annoyingly-formal way once again until I cut him off.
"Mana," I stated in a forceful manner. "Call me 'Mana', Yuki-kun. Please?" I begged in my naturally-quiet voice, blushing at how childish I sounded. Luckily for him, he relented.
"Alright, Mana."
With a bright smile, I followed closely after him to the surrounding woods. Apparently, the three lanterns were already set up. What Yukio had me do was find good places to hide some talismans so the students could control the huge demon once lit, all the while trying to squeeze out info from me.
"Are you nervous around the other students?" Yukio questioned, his glasses glinting in my direction as I steadied myself on a low branch to put some slips of paper on a beam.
"Uh...well, I am shy and distrusting of others..." I admitted before slipping down the rough trunk of the tree I had used as a booster. "One on one is alright, but I don't like large groups."
To be honest, I didn't know if I should say that Sir Pheles had rearranged my education all on his own, without my consent. I doubted it would go over well if any of the faculty—much less, students—learned that their boss had usurped a student. Like Rapunzel in her tower...
I just didn't need a prince on a white horse to whisk me away to "happily ever after". If one ever did try to come along, I'd probably choke him with a poison apple for calling me a "damsel-in-distress"… Or feed him Mephisto's demon-flavored oatmeal...
"Well, I hope you've been keeping up on your studies. You were my top student...or you would have been if the kanji didn't confuse you..." the brown-haired teen chuckled at my look of dismay.
"Thanks to your tips, Yuki-kun! I've been studying and Mr. Director is an amazing teacher!" I praised, realizing what I said only after I said it. Heat flared in my cheeks as I knew that the subject of my compliment had just overheard.
His ego just got inflated more... Perfect. I was not looking forward to the gloating and consequent piles of homework being dropped atop my head. That had been school days this past week. As busy as he was, Mephisto had still managed to squeeze in some lessons in the afternoons. The rest of the time, I'd get homework and reading assignments. Because of my lack of understanding kanji—something I was too embarrassed to tell Mephisto about and he clearly hadn't known--I'd been pulling triple the workload than a normal student as I had to look up ones I didn't know.
"I do know a couple thousand kanji now, give or take..." I muttered as I thought about the late nights and early mornings. I thought I would have plenty of time to attempt to win the bet with the purple-haired demon, so I'd taken advantage of his cold indifference to my presence to soak up as much knowledge as I had the chance to. I had no clue that the conniving jerk had sped up time outside of the room I'd been staying at.
"Two-thousand? That's quite a feat, Mana. I'm impressed," Yukio gave his congratulations, clearly not expecting a foreigner to memorize such a complicated writing system so quickly. I did use some tips and tricks I'd found online. And I had already known a handful by heart, having taught myself off and on through the years.
"You've no idea," I breathed out in a sigh, referring to my week of hell over his three months of bliss. I waved him off when he gave me a questioning glance. "Anyway, how have you been with your classes?"
He looked startled when I asked him that. It occurred to me that, maybe, people tended not to ask him that. His maturity level did surpass that of his classmates and even many adults. No one thought to question him as he seemed so put together and, somehow, on a whole other level from them. I greatly respected the teenage boy myself, but I'd had it pounded in my head to always think of others first and foremost.
I really didn't think that was a good thing, but it did help in this occasion, at least.
"Things have been going well. It takes some time to get used to balancing schoolwork with teaching, but I think I've got the hang of it," he grinned, his eyes closing from the size of his smile. "My brother, however..." he gave a sigh, shaking his head at the concept of Rin and homework.
"Him and studying don't exactly go hand in hand, huh?" I mused, finishing his thought for him. At his nod, I giggled. "I'll try to help out as much as I can. Sorry for being MIA for so long. Time just slipped away..." I spoke the last sentence a bit louder, letting a certain someone know that he'd get an earful out of me in the future. It probably wouldn't do a thing to yell at the demon that could so easily end my fragile existence, but it sure as hell would make me feel better.
"You have no idea how hard it was to talk Rin out of breaking into the Director's home and bring you back. Even Mr. Faust, himself, had to calm him down." He paused here, a sheepish smile on his face while his hand came up to rub the back of his neck. "Of course, that didn't stop my brother from going to the president's office every day since. I'm pretty sure this camping trip was made to stop him for a few days..."
The shock barely registered in my mind as we finally headed back to camp. Hearing how Rin had tried to make sure I was safe felt like an unusual story to me. Yes, he was my friend, but I'd never had a friend like that before. At best, I had acquaintances in my life who wanted the shy, loner girl to listen to their stories about themselves, tell them they were amazing, and do whatever they said. That had been my experience with the few people I had let inside my hard shell. Never had I expected to be graced with someone who actually valued my friendship—as limited as it was.
Rin Okumura was definitely something, wasn't he?
When we got back to the clearing, Shura pulled me down on the ground next to her. Yukio started explaining the objective of tonight's test to my old classmates while Shura started a drunken conversation with me. Although I could tell she was still trying to pry information out of me, not that I blamed her. I'd be suspicious, too, if my superior suddenly took a peculiar interest in a complete stranger and became seemingly-possessive.
'Mine.'
I flinched at the ghostly voice piping up in my head. It was one of the same ones from the days right before I'd been taken to this world. It wasn't until recently that I'd begun to place it with its owner.
Mephisto Pheles—aka, Samael, the Demon King of Time and Space.
It was a memory. Something from my memories, anyway, but I couldn't remember the full thing. His voice sounded different now, somehow, which was why I hadn't put two and two together for so long.
"Are you shacking up with the president?" Shura blurted as soon as the others were out of earshot after having taken off into the woods.
I coughed on my water, just having taken a sip of it. It took me a minute to clear my airway before I could answer, face tomato-red. "No, of course not!" My denial was strong even though my voice shook. It wasn't like he didn't have that in mind, but I had no intention of letting that happen...maybe... "I do like him...but, no," I accidentally spoke aloud, slapping my hand over my betraying mouth when I realized.
"Ooh! So you like him, do you?" the red-blonde cooed with that shit-eating grin of hers. Her breath reeked of booze, making me wrinkle my nose in distaste as she hooked an arm around my neck. "What do you see in the guy? Seriously? He's one weird dude, if you ask me," she went on a tangent, all the while poking my searing-red cheek like that would provide her an answer. Suddenly, her tone took on a more-serious edge. In a more-steady voice, the exorcist female gave me a hard stare. "He's dangerous. Be careful, Mana-chan." With the blink of an eye, her dark face broke out into a drunken giggle, erasing all hint of the warning she'd uttered.
I cocked my head at her attitude, but disregarded her words. I already knew just how deadly Mephisto Pheles could be, but I could not quell these feelings growing rampant inside of me. Even if it killed me, I'd like to let these emotions loose rather than bury them deeper. Besides, I'd have to do it sooner or later. I still had a younger sister waiting for me to come back home...
'I wonder if I should tell them how old I actually am?' I thought, not missing the honorific the seemingly-older woman had given me. She was only twenty-six, I believe, so we weren't all that far apart in age. Mephisto, of course, knew how old I really was, but had insisted I attend the high school anyway so I could learn to protect myself in this world. According to him—and everyone else—I appeared much younger than my true age. Similar to how Mephisto looked quite young despite his centuries of life...
With my memories resurfacing, I was beginning to question if I was fully-human...
A disappointed sigh fluttered the ends of my snowy-white bangs. My thoughts had turned to the fact that if I did have other genes mixing through my blood, then they were quite passive. Other than looking younger and seeing demons—honestly, the latter was probably from Amai-kun—everything about me screamed "human". My strength was undoubtedly on par with Shiemi, as were my speed, coordination, and meek nature. I had brains—like Yukio—but lacked talent in every area but art. I could draw a summoning circle, no problem, but had zero luck in calling forth a familiar. About the only headway I was making in the form of being useful in battle was swordplay. Mephisto had been teaching me. I still had a long way to go...
A whistling sound caught my attention. My eyes spotted the firework soaring into the sky from a random spot above the trees. Night had already fallen while I'd been absorbed in my thoughts. I watched Yukio and Shura have a small fight about who would go first, and, as expected, Yukio lost. Being the more-responsible of the two, the brown-haired twin ventured off into the woods. I hesitated for only a second before taking off after him, stumbling a bit from sitting so long.
"Hey, where are you going?" the drunken woman called out, ready to chase after me.
"To help Yukio!" I tossed over my shoulder without a pause in my step. Shura didn't bother to stop me after that. Why would she? I wasn't one of the students, so I wasn't her responsibility. Not bothering with a flashlight—as I recalled the demon moths attracted to the light—I sprang along the path with quick steps, careful not to ensnare my foot on a root. Despite it being pitch-black, my eyesight proved better than it had in years as I could easily make out tree trunks and bushes that blocked my path. I'd have to speak with Mephisto about such improvements once I returned. There were quite a few things to discuss with him, it would seem.
Gunshots rang out ahead of me, letting me know I was close. I was about to break into the grove Yukio was fighting demons in when a pair of arms ensnared around my waist. Before I knew it, I was in the treetops. I clung to Amaimon's neck when I did the bad thing and glanced down, burying my face into his shirt. Mephisto floated somewhere nearby as I heard him growl.
"Scared of heights, I see," the violet-bearded demon observed. He only chuckled when I gave him a glare from my spot in Amaimon's arms.
"Only when I'm suddenly up in the treetops without any warning!" came my sharp reply. A whimper left me when the green-haired demon holding me decided to shift my position. Now, I was held horizontally—bridal style—with legs dangling over his arms. This action only served to bury my face deeper into Amai-kun's neck, shivering lightly at the loss of control I felt. Climbing trees had been a favorite pastime of mine as a child, but it was when I relinquished that control of standing on a sturdy branch next to the trunk that really gave me the jitters.
Or maybe I really was, simply, scared of heights...
"What's with that face, Brother?" Amaimon's voice rumbled against my ear, but I made no move to see what he was talking about as I didn't want to risk looking down again. "Is that jealousy I've heard about?"
Jealous?
"Shut up! Get on with it, Amaimon!" Mephisto snapped, voice full of irritation.
The Earth Demon King wasted no time in heeding his elder's order, speeding over the forest at an incredible pace. All thoughts I had about Mephisto and his possible feelings vanished at the terrifying feel of freefalling. I knew he still held me securely and all, but I'd be damned if this didn't have the sensation of a rollercoaster ride!
After what felt like forever—to me, at least—we finally stopped...and then dropped like fifty feet...
After struggling to swallow my heart back down my throat, I managed to peel open my eyes. We were at the edge of the camp, Amaimon's toes just short of the protective circle. Behemoth had, sometime along the way, accompanied us and was, now, panting heavily on the end of his chain. The large hobgoblin garnered the attention the demons had been seeking. All of my fellow humans—plus one half-breed—looked our way. Rin's face went from shocked to about twenty shades of red...
"Mana?!" he screamed with such fury that even I jumped, startled. Amai-kun was quick when he jumped back upon his youngest brother's advance, releasing Behemoth to deal with Shura—the only one who could potentially pose a threat to the ensuing battle.
Did they seriously just use me as bait?
What I was expecting even less than that? Amaimon replaying the scene from the anime almost word for word, but with me instead of Shiemi...
And he kissed me. In front of Rin and Mephisto, Amaimon, the Demon King of Earth, planted one right on my unexpecting mouth...
Fuck me...