A.N. Another shout-out of appreciation to the reviewers! I'm so glad everyone has been enjoying this! Onto the third chapter: Greed.
Yukio had been pinching the bridge of his nose for a long time, an action that greatly illustrated his frustration. His class had failed to meet his expectations for a second time, and while the results this time were better in terms of resistance turnout, he couldn't deny that the chaos that had taken place was far worse. The true source of his frustration didn't lie in the past, however; his mind was grinding away at deciding which sin would be the least tumultuous and easiest to resist.
As for the class, they were seemingly pensive with a common task shared amongst them of staying quiet and staring forward; except, of course, for Suguro who was taking many quipping jabs at Shima for the behavior the pink-haired boy had displayed.
"Come-on, I get it. Just quit already," Shima insisted dejectedly. He let out a drawn sigh when Suguro snickered.
"No way, man," Suguro jested while playfully elbowing his pal. "You were so miserably desperate and pathetic."
Rin had wanted to join in on the teasing, but he had decided it best to not draw attention to himself, else someone bring up what had happened between him and one currently beet red nightshade-haired girl sitting in the furthest corner seat of the room. The blonde sitting next to him certainly wanted to bring it up, but she was far too coy to do such a thing.
Suddenly, Yukio's voice stole the class's attention. "We'll be moving on," he informed. "Greed shall be next."
Rin sighed in relief. Greed wasn't such a terrible thing, he thought as he peered around the classroom; in fact, he was certain not one of his classmates was greedy. He was broken from his reverie upon a shockwave blowing past him. It seemed Yukio had already begun the ritual.
"Hey, teach!" Suguro called out. "Any words of advice?"
The teacher grimaced. "I fear my words will only fall on deaf ears, but if you insist," he began while pushing up his glasses, "then my advice is to remember what is most important to you other than material possessions. Keep those things in mind but do not covet them excessively."
As the test proceeded, Yukio found his frustration slowly slipping away. The class was actually doing a swell job! Greed seemed to be no match for any of the students—not Suguro, not Konekomaru, not Shima (well, maybe Shima), not Rin, not Izumo, and certainly without even the slightest, smallest atomic-level speck of a doubt, Shiemi. Definitely not—"Shiemi?!" he called out in bewilderment. The coy blonde next to his brother was struggling immensely, and not even a moment later succumbed to Greed's temptation.
Shiemi suddenly stood from her seat and grabbed Rin by the collar of his shirt. "Mine!" she claimed, tightening her grip on him.
"What?" Rin questioned.
Without receiving a response, the girl dragged him from his seat over to the Cursed Temple trio. She grabbed Suguro by the collar in a similar manner. "Mine too!" she declared before turning to Shima. Her eyes narrowed on him, but then darted between her two hands. Without anything else to grab him with, she leaned in and bit the pink-haired teen at the shoulder.
"Wh-what the?!" Suguro spat out.
Shima, on the other hand, fist-pumped. "Eat your taunts, Suguro! Shove the darn things down your throat!" He laughed, insinuating Shiemi's aggressive biting with her liking him or something.
Through clamped teeth, Shiemi mumbled, "Also mine!" and was now eyeing the last of the Cursed Temple trio. She could do the math—she had enough limbs left to grab him and the girl that was gawking at her from the room's furthest corner seat. Her foot reached out and pressed against Konekomaru's thigh. "Mine, mine, mine!"
"Shiemi, what the heck are you doing?" Rin asked in a slightly agitated yet greatly confused tone. He had one eyebrow raised.
Yukio answered for her, informing everyone, "She's been possessed by Greed. It would seem her greed is strongest in social possessions, or friends, if you will."
The greedy blonde turned to the front of the room after hearing a new voice. She suddenly released all four of her 'social possessions' and while grinning rushed towards the owner of the voice before grabbing him and cuddling against him. "All mine!" she declared triumphantly. "My number one!" she said, holding up the hand of her newest possession. Her mischievous grin suddenly disappeared and replacing it was a glare towards the rest of her classmates.
Rin folded his arms over his chest and huffed, glaring at the scene. "'Number one,' huh?"
Yukio had no words. His face was red and he was, quite literally, petrified.
A female voice that had been unheard from since the previous test spoke, trying to remain nonchalant. "I don't mean to interrupt your moment, but this guy back here is really starting to freak me out."
Everyone but Yukio and Shiemi turned around to look at Izumo who then directed their attention with her finger to a boy who sat in the back of the room, his head drooping and shoulders slumped. The boy was giving off dark murmurs.
"…Everything, I'll own it all. The world…Hell…the souls and bodies of every living and dead being…" A silent yet wicked cackle escaped the puppet guy's lips before his sock puppet's mouth began to move.
"Together, Takara, we will watch from the throne in Araboth as we smite these lowly humans whose significance is beneath infinitesimal."
Loud and obnoxious cackling erupted from the puppet guy's mouth.
Izumo turned towards the rest of her class. "See what I mean?" Her classmates nodded.
"Well this one's a dud," Suguro called out. "It had such good premise too."
Upon overhearing Suguro's remarks, Izumo, with her hands on her hips, accused him, "Oh you're enjoying all this, are you?"
"Of course I am!" he replied. "Seriously, aren't any of you?" He suddenly elbowed Rin. "Come-on, I know you are too. Remember what happened to Shima last time?"
Shima frowned. "Not again!"
Rin smirked and was about to reply when Suguro spoke first with a finger to the chin of his thoughtful visage. "Oh yeah, and then you and Izumo…"
The girl in question went beet red and vehemently growled at the pompous jerk while the demon boy simply lost his smirk and became quiet.
No longer amused by the happenings of Greed, Suguro began the Aria verse to destroy it, as the teacher whose responsibility that should be was too busy being an object for a touchy-feely Shiemi.
A.N. Four sins remaining. I almost wanted to do something with Shima in this chapter, but I figured I'd give the poor chap a break. Thanks for reading and, like the previous chapters, I hope you enjoyed it and laughed!