Chapter 3:

Catnip Tea

Amaimon sat on the floor, nibbling happily on the sour candy in his tiny paws. It was indeed explosively sour, but to the little earth demon, it was hardly a problem to consume. He continued squeezing into the half empty box, pulling out a drop of candy one at a time until, after he had gotten well into the motions, the sudden assault of a fountain pen came crashing down on his head. He was struck senseless, falling over onto his back like a dead bug. Hovering over him was the annoyed face of the time demon, his arms folded over each other on the desk.

"Need I remind you, Amaimon, this isn't a lunch break, it's a punishment. Return to your cage."

"Just a little longer. There's only three left." Before he could push his way back into the box, he was lifted unceremoniously up from the floor. The scenery became that of a hellish prison cage made entirely of bars and a freshly filled water dispenser that hung next to his wheel. His beady eyes affixed to the bottle as Mephisto locked the cage in his wake, and the sudden nature of his aching tongue dawned on him Amaimon quickly scrambling over to take a long drink of water.

Mephisto sighed, sitting back down in his chair and he watched his younger brother quench his thirst until the bottle was surprisingly half empty. He balked at just how much water Amaimon had managed to drink in one sitting and frowned, realizing he would need to refill it soon. Perhaps that would be useful to him. His sly smile grew as he put a hand to his chin in thought.

"On second thought," he paused as he got to his feet. "Why don't you finish these up?"

"Really, brother?!" Amaimon's attention returned to his brother, hopping up and down excitedly at the news.

Mephisto rounded the desk, picking up the now tattered box and carefully procured one of the remaining lemon drops from inside. He smiled, bemused, as he dropped the little hard candy between the bars and watched as Amaimon caught it with ease, nibbling on it to his heart's content. Indeed, with the speed at which Amaimon ate, the candy was soon gone and Mephisto dropped the second to last candy inside where it landed with a clatter in the center of the cage. With a squeak, he rushed forward, grabbing it up and continued his assault. Unbeknownst to the Earth King, his elder brother smiled with an unordinary amount of wickedness as he watched him devour the candy only to be pelted with the final piece. He crumpled the then empty box up, tossing it nonchalantly over his shoulder and into the trash bin next to his desk where it landed inside perfectly. Soon enough, Amaimon was lying on his back once more, huffing and puffing from his full belly. In no time at all, he scrambled to his feet, attacking the water dispenser for the last of its contents.

"Aaaaaaaaaaah. It's empty."

"Oh, dear me! You seemed to have worked up quite the thirst. Mind if I borrow this?" Mephisto unlocked the cage and reached inside, sliding the bottle loose. "Don't worry, I promise to bring it right back. It'll be filled to the brim!" He let loose a mischievous laugh as he closed the cage door and exited his office, giving Amaimon a final farewell and departed.

The time passed as Amaimon stood in silence in his little cage, staring ahead blankly at the wall. It had been a long while since he had moved and a random glance at the clock revealed that a few hours had passed since his brother's departure. Amaimon finally moved from his spot to look out the great office windows down onto the True Cross campus. The sun was at its highest and the first vestiges of day class students were beginning to appear. Students were milling about, to and fro, as both exorcists and exwires gathered to their respective classes. He sighed, realizing the eccentric headmaster had become involved in something else and began to grow tired as well as bored.

Boredom killed.

It was inevitable. Whenever the Earth King had become bored, terror and destruction followed in his wake. He would rather be entertained with something new and exciting rather than sitting in his cage all night. Even his favorite hamster wheel posed no interest to him and he sighed a second time before deciding to make his escape.

Mephisto's hamster cage was no ordinary pet prison but a prison made specifically for beings of Gehenna. Squeezing through the bars would be useless as would chewing through them, for the steel this cage was constructed of was near indestructible even for a demon. He was no mere lower class demon though and he challenged the cage, launching himself against it with whatever force he could muster. It did nothing more than toss the cage around on the surface of the desk and with one last bit of effort, he finally dashed forward, ramming the door.

He'd done it! He was both enthralled and surprised as he went sailing through the air and hurtling towards the hardwood floor. It all happened so fast that he curled instinctively into a ball before bouncing to an eventual stop. When his stomach ceased turning and the room stopped spinning, he uncurled, looking up at his surroundings.

Despite how high he felt he had fallen from, he was no more than a few feet away from the large office desk and he surveyed his surroundings just as he had done earlier that day for any sign of his brother. A final glance at the cage door confirmed his suspicions: Mephisto had left it unlocked. He was used to his brother's coy jokes and tricks and accepted it as something the demon king cooked up for his own amusement. Amaimon wondered just how amusing things would be when he discovered he was no longer present and he willed himself to get back at the headmaster when he returned. For the time being, he was determined to find some food and some entertainment.

Amaimon squeezed underneath the office door, surveying the hallway ahead and rushed forward in his search for food. Several maze-like hallways later, and he still had made no progress finding his way around. He thought about things a bit, stopping to gather his thoughts. He knew the campus well, having toured it several times over with is big brother. He sighed, releasing his tension and moved on.

Checking that the coast was clear he scurried down the banisters, hiding behind the posts as students passed and he waited until further openings presented themselves before moving ahead. Soon, he was on the first floor where dozens of pairs of feet shuffled past him like clumsy ogres searching for a fresh kill. He steeled himself before charging into the oncoming traffic, darting back and forth between legs and sneakers before he made it across to the other side. Amaimon silently congratulated himself before he scuttled along with the crowd, sticking close to the walls. By some miracle he ended up in the cafeteria, the smell of many kinds of foods catching his nose. Oh, how he wanted to savor all the different flavors he smelled. All he needed to do was—

It was useless. His powers were suitably drained from him, ensuring he would not be able to change back of his own volition and he pouted internally at the thought he wouldn't be able to eat all he wanted. Perhaps if he had some nourishment, he would be able to at least replenish some of his energy and regain his more human form. Yes. That was a perfectly reasonable plan. Now all he needed to do was….

Kuroneko made his rounds around the cafeteria, attending to his usual duty of snatching up fallen morsels from unsuspecting student's plates. It was the only source of entertainment the demon had while Rin was away for day class. Much to his chagrin, no one seemed to have dropped anything and the black cat whined at his growling stomach. He'd definitely rip Rin a new one when he got back.

Then he saw it: live prey.

Amaimon's tiny legs kicked as he tried and failed to climb up one of the cafeteria tables only to fall and roll haphazardly to the floor.

It had been hundreds of years since Kuro had been called upon to get rid of a rodent infestation and the memory of the hunt was enough to get him back into the game. Surely if Rin saw how useful he was outside of battle, there would be no way he could resist giving him a second helping of food to congratulate his hard work.

That was all the push he needed.

Kuroneko hissed at the demon rodent, his back arched and his fur on end as he attempted to threaten the furry creature into submission. He gave the attempt several tries, garnering the attention of several shocked students in the process. Amaimon watched the cait sidh with interest, obviously curious about its nature and allowed Kuro to press forward without a single reaction.

Kuro had expected the little demon to flinch and turn away in an attempt to escape but grumbled exasperatedly at the hamster's lack of a response and gave up, collapsing onto his stomach, tucking his paws neatly underneath himself. His eyes lidded with annoyance, the two then mere inches from each other.

"Tryin' to be brave, huh?"

""I'm just trying to find something to eat. I'm hungry."

"Huh? You can talk?"

"Yes," he replied simply before turning away again to search for a new way up.

"Don't act so big! You're not that tough! I can take you out with one paw!"

"So?"

"So?! Don't you know who I am?"

Kuro poked at the little hamster with a paw, astonished by its lack of fear. Amaimon didn't budge as he was patted down by the cat and simply sat, staring at the beast.

"Well, aren't you gonna run?"

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm cat, duh! It's my job to get rid of pesky rodents like you, so you better watch out!" Kuro puffed out his chest proudly, a determined grin on his face to match even Rin's.

"Oh, I see! Cat and mouse. It's a game, right? I love games! I'll play with you, then." He stood as high as his stubby body would allow him before taunting the demon cat, "Nah, nah, can't catch me!" Amaimon then took off at high speed, darting between an oncoming crowd of students and leaving the cait sidh in his wake.

"Huh?! Hey! Wait up!"

Despite his lack of knowledge at the room's layout, Amaimon found incredible ease in his navigation of the cafeteria. Due to health regulations, his brother had refused to bring him along and he often spent time wondering what kind of new and unique flavors lied within. Now that he had finally gotten to see the place for what it was, he instead found himself being entertained by a demon cat. Despite his hunger, his need for excitement was finally being sated and he forgot all about his attempts to steal a meal.

The sound of screams and yells rang out all across the cafeteria as students jumped up and out of the way of the two demons, sending food and dishes flying across the room. Kuro looked at the chaos around him oblivious to the fact that he and his prey were the origin of it.

"Aw man!" A plate of octopus flew through the air as a terrified school girl jumped into her chair to escape the little hamster that ran past. "I coulda ate that!"

However, as Kuro took a long dive for the little demon that was mere inches away, his face was met with the hot rebuff of spilled tea, the cup landing squarely on his head. He slid to a stop with a distressed yowl as he attempted to rid himself of the obstruction to his vision. Several curious students crowded around to examine the cait sidh who appeared to be nothing more than a normal black cat, many, young girls who wanted to pet and hug the little demon. As the cup was removed from his wet fur and his vision restored, he stared with wide eyes as his prey and playmate stared at him from just in front of the cafeteria doors.

"Looks like I win. That wasn't very fun though. We should play a different game some other time." With that, Amaimon escaped out of the cafeteria doors and down an opposite hallway until he found a doorway leading outside to the campus.

"W-Wait! Don't leave me like this! These girls are too rough, and they brush my fur the wrong way!" Kuro whined, attempting to wiggle out of their grip, but his struggle was in vain and he gave up, allowing the group of girls to carry him off to be bathed.

As the Earth King vaulted down the steps, he was met with the nagging sensation that he was being followed, and before he could stop to survey his surroundings, he froze as his world suddenly went black.

"Gotcha!"