Chapters 1-4 have been revised. Highly advised to reread

Chapter 2: A Trust Never Found

The white-haired demoness heaved a heavy sigh, a defeated look marring her appealing features. Her face was carefully cradled in the palm of her hand as she sourly looked across the table from her. Shirō Fujimoto looked pleasantly amused by her distress and laughed when she let hand slip and slammed her forehead into the table.

"Oh, shut up," she groaned out, her tone clearly showing her irritation with him.

He grinned at her, chuckling at the irony of the situation. "Belial, I never expected you to be bothered by the fact that someone fears you." He had to admit that while he still had some reservations about the demon in front of him, it was this kind of reaction that calmed his nerves about her letting her have some contact with the twins that were under his care.

After all, this woman was no lowly demon. While she didn't have the title, she was the King of Evil.

She titled her head to the side; cheek pressed into the hard wood, and looked up at him. She pouted, her cheeks dusted red from being flustered. "I have two half-brothers now. As you are so well aware of, they are wonderfully adorable - perhaps the only ones that I will like. One of them is completely terrified of me. I know, it's because he received a temptaint at birth, but am I truly that terrify to look at?" she asked him, picking up her head enough to rest her chin against the wood. "How can I not be bothered by that?" she whispered, closing her eyes.

The Paladin in stunned silence, surprised by the near vulnerable state she presented him. Often times she never cared if a person feared or hated her; most times it seemed as if she relished the negative feelings that were thrown at her. Even when they had first met, he had a distinctly negative attitude towards the woman who had laughed and merely brushed him off.

It was interesting how two children could change person view on things. But before he was able to think any more of it or answer her, a high-pitched yell sounded.

"Beriaru! (1)"

The demoness' mood immediately perked up at the sound of the little voice. Sitting up and turning towards the doorway, her face split into a large grin. "Rin~" she cooed as the four year old attacked her legs with a hug. With ease she grabbed him underneath his scrawny arms and lifted him up. Blue eyes sparkled at her as she hung him in mid-air. She looked over him once before tightly hugging the boy close to her. "Rin, it's Be-li-al~ Not Beriaru," she tried to correct him.

She childishly stuck her tongue out at the exorcist when she saw him smirk at her. Redirecting her attention back to the young child, she situated him onto her lap, listlessly running her hand through his messy black locks. A rare, genuine smile appeared upon Belial's face as she looked down at her brother. "You're growing so much. I bet you're getting stronger too!"

He grinned at her, excited by her compliments. "Of course! I'm gonna be stronger than both of you!" he boastfully claimed, puffing his chest out in pride.

Behind her prideful smile, she inwardly smirked at his words. When his true nature was awakened, there would be no doubt he would be strong. Even now at his young age, he was stronger than most humans older than him. She had heard of the chaos he could cause with his violent temper; something she was greatly proud of because it was inherited from her. "Of course you will," she agreed with him, a sly smile replacing the soft one she wore moments ago. Looking towards her brother's caretaker, she asked, "Don't you agree?"

Her true meaning was as clear as day to the Paladin. He shook his head, grinning at the boy. "Maybe stronger than you, but it'll take him a long time to surpass me," he joked, noticing the surprisingly playful glare she threw at him.

Rin shook his furiously, trying to argue with his foster father. "Nu-uh! I'm so gonna beat you!"

Sensing the childish argument that would happen between father and son, she decided to steal the child's attention to prevent wasting time. She let her fingers run gently through his unruly hair, and the boy turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Rin, you do know what to do with the strength that you have, yes?" She smiled at the wide, blue eyes that looked at her, expecting her to answer.

Knowing what she was getting at, Shirō finished for her. "You use it to protect the things you love."

She cynically thought of their words. For her, being a demon and given her nickname as "the angel of hostility", to say this to Satan's son, it was honestly ridiculous. Demons used their power for personal gain or just for senseless, merciless acts. It was hypocritical of her to say things like this, but she knew they were needed for the process. Father Fujimoto planned to raise him as a human, Samael planned to use him as a weapon. She knew Rin would never stay 'human', but for him to be aware of his use of power, to acknowledge his demon heart but not immerse himself, it was needed that he keep his humanity, especially to have any chance against their father.

"Like protecting Yukio!" Rin gave an example with a grin.

"Exactly!" Belial was glad he had easily understood their meaning. She subtly changed the topic to the aforementioned brother. "And speaking of little Yukio, where is he?"

The dark-haired boy looked to the doorway he had gone through a while ago and back to the adults. "I'll go get him!" he told her before sliding of her lap and running out of the room.

When she heard snickering, she shot a vicious glare at the male across from her. When he refused to stop, she crossed her arms defiantly and tilting her head up. "Seriously, what's so damn funny?" Despite asking this, she had an idea why.

"To think you're capable of saying something so human." He watched as the demon's face twisted into a grimace, clicking her tongue at his words. In the background they could hear Rin was talking loudly for his brother to join them.

Despite her reaction, she begrudgingly had to agree with his comment. She rolled her shoulders and leaned into the table. "Shove it, alright?" she said harshly. "You can irritate me surprisingly well, ya know? Damn good thing the boys calm me, or I'd be smoking again to take the edge off." She slumped back into her chair, pinching the bridge of her nose, but didn't apologize for her tone.

Dropping her hand, she continued on with another topic. When her ears picked up the pitter-patter of the twin's feet as they made their way to them, she looked at the Paladin with a neutral face. "Not sure if you know, I'm being transferred the South African branch. You better raise my brothers well," she said the latter as she pointed at him, as if threatening him.

~{*o*}~

When he heard that incessant, unfortunately familiar whistling, Yukio sighed. The moment he heard it, he knew she would try her damnedest to disrupt his work when she would appear. It was only ten minutes before he would have to go to the cram school class, with their new teacher.

But it seemed like she had come earlier than he had hoped.

The door opened and the well-known demoness strutted through, scanning the bored with an almost bored expression. When her golden eyes locked on the younger exorcist, she flashed him a sly grin and made her way towards him. "Well hello, Mister Okumura," Belial mockingly greeted him with a shallow bow, her arms open.

"Hello, Miss Swartz, I see you easily jumped back into your old routine," the younger sibling greeted back tersely, barely sparing her a glance. He continued working on his papers, despite her obvious peek at his work. He was aware of what was formulating in her mind.

Leaning against the desk, she poked him lightly on the cheek and clicked her tongue. "Now, now; I've told you before to neither be so formal nor bother with that fake name of mine when we're in private. Honestly," she said with fake dramatics, "I'll never under you Japanese and your need for distancing." She gave a short laugh, amused by the hard look he gave her. "I'm merely kidding. Calm down," the demon told him, waving her hand dismissively.

Knowing it would be impossible to get rid of her now, he sighed once more. Massaging his temples, Yukio asked, "How was the South African branch? Or did you transfer again?" He decided to start a small, simple conversation with her.

Belial snorted. "I think you mean did they move me again?" she retorted, not bothering to conceal her displeasure. "South Africa and the nearby branches proved entertaining," she said with a half-shrug, a cunning look in her eyes. Yukio knew very well what she was talking about. "They moved me to South America, primarily Venezuela and Colombia, about six months ago." She wrinkled her nose at the memory. "Not too bad, interesting in its own way." She grimaced, her eyes flitting over the room before looking back to him.

"What should I be expecting from these kids?"

"Many of them are smart," he answered, "but Rin tends to be the biggest problem. Other teachers say he doesn't really pay attention. Sometimes the students get into arguments with one another."

She nodded, understanding. A grin lit up her face, pointed canines showing. "Should be fun, exciting. And how is that trouble-making brother of ours?"

Yukio slowly stood from his seat after finishing his work, answering her while doing so. "I suppose you'll find out in a few minutes, right?" He smiled at her, but she even it wasn't very sincere.

As he rounded the desk, she smirked. "Deflecting my question, are we?" With a sharp-nailed finger, she tapped her chin in wonder. "Think he'll remember me? You know me because I sometimes visited the branch when you were training to become an exorcist. Him, well, I haven't seen in years."

Checking the time, he realized it was close enough to go early. He motioned to the door and she eagerly followed. "Was the reason why you came back Rin's awakening?" he asked, looking forward as they walked. It was far too suspicious for the woman to come now. He knew they were planning something.

She smiled at the almost accusing tone. "Now, now; no need to get skeptical of me. I was specifically requested by Mephisto to come back to the Japan Branch. As to what he's doing, it's anybody's guess and you know it," she lied, pointing a finger at him. "Plus, I truly wanted to see my adorable half-brothers once more," she mockingly cooed, slowing her pace to walk behind him instead of next to him.

When he didn't respond, her smile widened to a grin, a predatorily look taking over. "Still not trustin' me, huh?" she quietly said, low enough so that he didn't hear.

"Good."

~{*o*}~

"Class, this is your newest teacher."

"Good evening, I am Bell Swartz."

The class of exwires looked in surprise at the woman in front of them.

(1) In most languages, Belial stays Belial, so she's just used to it being pronounced that way. Beriaru is the Japanese Romanised version of her name.