Satan's American Son

Chapter Three

A Helping Hand

Blue Exorcist is owned by Yazue Kato and Funimation. I do not own any other mentioned properties.

I lost track of how much time had passed since that weekend. But in that period of unknown time, a new student had joined the cram school. A young girl by the name of Shiemi, I couldn't remember her last name, but she seemed very taken to Rin.

As of right now, we were waiting for Yukio to hand back our recent test scores. I did alright I guess, with a score of 83. At least I did better than my brother, who only got a 2. A real shock to me, having helped him every night with homework.

When Suguro went up for his, cockly turned and showed Rin a score of 98. Almost perfect! But this was done just to infuriate the young demon. I don't know why, but they had been at each other's throats all day and this was almost the breaking point. If Yukio and Bon's friends hadn't stepped in, I'm pretty sure that I would have keep Rin from killing the guy.

It didn't help that after class, Ryuji continued with verbal abuse outside the classroom when it was just Shiemi and the rest of us. This resulted in Rin in saying something that hurt her feelings. Once I had calmed her down and assured her that Rin didn't mean it, I literally had to drag Rin away so we could make it to our next class.

"What the hell man!? Why did you take me away from that?!" Screamed Rin.

"Because," I explianed as I continued to drag him by the collar, "you're a son of Satan and with that comes a lot of strength humans don't have. If you two were to go at it, you would slaughter him and then the Order will not only kill you, they would come after my ass as well! I don't know about you, but that that doesn't sound very fun!" I chastised angerly, keeping my voice low enough to avoid being overheard.

"So," Cooling off and adjusting Arati's, my sword, strap on my shoulder, "are you going to behave?" I asked coldly. When Rin remained silent, I gave him a little shake and asked again, "Are you?!" He nodded.

Standing him up, I took a breath and continued, "Good, that last thing we need is a reason for the Order to hunt us down like a couple of rabid dogs." I said calmly. Rin looked away. Grabbing his shoulders, looked him in the eyes and said, "Look, as your brother, I have to watch your back. But if you can't watch mine, we both go down. So, follow my example and let whatever insult that is thrown at you just roll off and keep calm." my voice gentle, fatherly almost.

"I'll try." he said quietly.

Satisfied, I gave him a small smile and continued to our class. "You know," Rin began to say, "you're really scary when you're angry."

"Oh, most people like me are. Push us past the breaking point and we become far more scarier than Satan can ever be." I warned, "And just so you know, that wasn't even close to the end of my fuse." There was something satisfying about hearing Rin gulp in fear. "Don't worry, it takes quite a bit to get me to that point." I assured, smiling without a care in the world. I think Samuel's rubbed of on me a little.

Our next lesson dealt with learning a demon's movement patterns using Leapers. Shiemi and Izumo did alright, but then our teacher called down Suguro and Rin for their turn. Getting a bad feeling, I talked the instructer into letting me go down there by saying that Mephisto had tasked me with keeping a close eye on Rin. Leaving Arati, or divine fire, next to Kurikara and slid down the basin wall, coming to a stop behind Bon.

"What are you doing here?!" They asked in unison, much to their annoyance and my amusement.

"I thought it would go quicker if we did this in groups of three." I lied.

With that, we were running like hellhounds fleeing a holy man to stay ahead of the giant frog demon. I easily pulled ahead thanks to training, but I was surprised to see that Rin easily kept close behind me. Suguro, bulkier build and not a runner, brought up the rear. And I must be a seer or somthing if my bad feeling hadn't turned out to be justified. With hearing sharper than a human's, I heard a growl of frustration from behind and heavier than usual step. I looked over my shoulder to see Bon aiming a flying kick at Rin, intending to knock him over. Acting quickly, with my next step, I used an unnoticable flame to help propel myself backwards into the angry teen. With a shove, the both of us were on the ground.

Being the first up, I jumped to deck the Leaper in the nose and give Suguro enough time to make a run for it. My plan got so far as hitting the demon, but the professor had enough of our antics and pulled the giant frog back to it's starting point. With that crisis averted, another popped up. Those two had started yelling at each other and it was about to turn ugly. While the a few others slid down to stop the fight, I got inbetween the fighting teens and kept them arms length from each other. Easier said than done, considering Rin's demonic strength.

"Knock it off! You're acting like children!" I directed mostly at Rin, who had ignored my earlier advice.

"Shut up!" They shouted in unison and proceeded to punch me in the face.

Taking a couple short, steps back in recoil, I let my head lower to were my bangs covered my eyes. With a crazed, demonic grin, I wiped the blood from my mouth and nose and practically growled, "Be glad I have such a long fuse," my lips dropping into a frown, "but continue to push me and you'll regret it."

I looked them in the eyes and got different reactions from them both. Rin shrank away, well aware of what I might be capable of, while Bon took a few steps back as though he ran across a powerful demon. Unbeknownst to all but a few, this was an apt analogy. Straighting and taking a few calming breaths, I climbed out of the pit and faced the teacher and other students with blank, neutral expression while the other two still looked slightly shaken.

"Mr. Suguro, I'd like a word with you. Alone." called Mr. Tsubaki.

The two walked about fifteen feet away from the group, but I was still able to make out bits and pieces of there conversation. From the sound of it, Bon was going to be more suspicious after today. I might not be able keep my true nature secret for as long as I hoped. While this was going on, there was a second dialogue that caught my attention and for different reasons.

Miwa was telling Rin why Ryuji was the way he was, I would be lying if I said my heart didn't shatter at that moment. As it turns out, those three were victims of the second Blue Night. Bon, being the son of the head priest of a 'cursed' temple, had suffered the most grief. Having fallen pray to verbal abuse myself, I could empathise with him, if only a little. Looking at Suguro with new eyes, I could now see similarities between him, Rin, and myself. Then I heard it, his reason behind becoming an exorcist.

He wants to kill my father, God of Gehenna, Satan.

Now, I hate him just as much as anyone else, hell if I had the shot at killing him I'd take it, but a human defeating Satan is almost impossible. It is a goal to admire and would explain why Ryuji works so hard at the cram school and his other studies. But this means, that if I were to reveal myself as one of Satan's children, there is a high chance of being shuned by him and the others. I don't want to go down that path again, even if I had someone else to walk it with me.

But if there was something between us, more than friendship, would I risk it?

Any thoughts devoted to this question were soon interupted by the ringing of a cell phone and the abrubt departure of Mr. Tsubaki. Aww great, that bad feeling's coming back.

Yet another shouting match broke out not two seconds later, from what I heard from my spot against the wall, Bon was challenging Rin to a bet. If one of them could touch the Leaper and walk away unharmed, it would prove that they were serious about becoming an exorcist. Thankfully, Rin declined.

This angered Suguro into doing something stupid, I grew restless as I watched him disappear into the basin. I would have stayed put, but Izumo's insults made me begin to pay more attention to the Leaper. Then, as I heard him yell back, I found uncertainty in his voice. Looking around, I found a sharp bit of metal and grabbed it. Taking off at full speed, I watched, as though in slow motion, as the demon readied to pounce. With a leap of faith, I sailed towards the large frog and with a downward slash, cut it's main artery, snapping the metal from my hands, and pulled the teen from the demon. But that didn't stop it. "As your prince, I command you to stop." I shot telepathicly, thinking my status in Gehenna would stop any attack. Preparing for the worst, I wrapped my arms around Ryuji as a parent would to protect their child.

I heard something behind me come to a stop and it sounded heavy. Chancing it, I looked to see the docile form of the huge frog as it bled out. Relieved beyond words, I loosened my hold on the freightened teen in my arms. In his moment of weakness, I saw more of Bon in those tear filled eyes of his than he might reveal in a life time. For a moment, no matter how brief, there was a mutual understanding between us and a feeling that I couldn't identify, not even in myself. All I knew was that things would be different between the two of us. As much as I didn't want this newfound closeness to end, the blissful moment came to a crashing end as sounds of Rin and the others' approach hit my ears.

"You know," I cooed, standing, "you'll need to stay alive to defeat Satan," holding out a hand, "I can help with that." giving him a warm smile.

Wiping his tears, Suguro reached out and accepted my offer of assistance. Whether just to get up or to watch his back, I was unsure. As the others swarmed us, awarding me with praise that I was to modest too accept, I was almost certain I heard the distinct click of gun safety off by the exit.

The next day, the entire class was silent as Bon entered and passed Rin's seat. He apolgized by handing Rin a hairclip to help him study and walked over to me, directly behind the young demon. I could see a new warmth in his usual cold, brown eyes.

"Thanks for saving me yesterday and," his face started to turn pink, "I would really appreciate if we could hang out sometime." Turning away slightly in his embaressment. I-is he asking what I think he's asking?! My eyes widened slightly and face growing warm.

"S-sure, why not." I said, barely able to form the words. "Just let me know when and where to meet and I'll be there." Trying to look the guy in the face.

"Alright. Thanks again." His face getting redder by the second, he went to his seat and buried himself into the wrong textbook for this class.

Well, I'll have to end it there for now. You'll just have to wait to see what happens next. Show your support for this series by typing your thoughts in the box below. Until next time, hasta la pasta!