Chapter 11
"Today is a perfectly ordinary day in the fabulous country of Japan. Nothing unusual is happening, and everyday life for all, common people and exorcists, is running perfectly and smoothly, just how it should. Ah, what a wonderful day this is. For all this wonder, though, I can't help but fell a little bit bored with it all. What do you think Amaimon?" Mephisto ranted.
Amaimon, in his hamster form, just squeaked happily. He found Mephisto's hat to be a fine playground, so long as he was trapped as a rodent. And, as a rodent, he didn't really care about how the humans were doing. As a demon, he didn't really care either. There wasn't much difference.
"Right you are!" Mephisto exclaimed, as if Amaimon had answered an affirmative. "Today needs a little bit of excitement. Why don't you and I go have a look around and see what we can mess with, hm? Of course, you aren't allowed to go off and destroy my property this time. And don't do anything that could get the humans to kill each other."
As a rodent, Amaimon felt that the lecture was unnecessary. It wasn't as if he could do anything, anyways.
"Ein, zwei, drei-" Poof! "You know, I almost enjoy taking this form. It makes walking around seem like so much fun! It's more enjoyable, and I can go unnoticed so easily. Oh, but the school day has just finished. That means that the only place I can go for some fun is the cram school. Now Amaimon, don't go attacking Okumura, this is class time, and you aren't even supposed to be here in Assiah anyways. At least, as far as the exorcists know..." Mephisto laughed a little in anticipation. He was very much looking forward to his walk around the cram school. He hoped to be able to find someone to mess with. Humans are the most amusing playthings, after all.
He decided to first take a peek in the Anti-demon Pharmaceuticals class. Their very special youngest exorcist was teaching the class, and he is always a fun subject to tease and play with. He took a glance into the classroom and found himself a very interesting sight. There he was, the supposed cold person that he is, letting a tear fall as he writes on the board. Well now, that's definitely something that he could make use of. Crying and, what is that, he smells a little bit off. The younger Okumura is starting to smell a little bit like his older brother, or at least, how his older brother has smelled recently. Now just what could be going on? Mephisto smiled knowingly. This looks to be a very promising trip.
He wandered over towards the exorcist training area. He knew the older of the Okumura twins would be there, since he wasn't in class, and he's always an amusing subject. Really, he always says the funniest things, and it's just too easy to toy with his mind. Not to the point of being able to posses him, but it's fun just to watch his confusion. It's quite hilarious to watch.
Just as he was rounding a corner, Mephisto walked in to something. Something thin, tall and round. He let out a "Hmph" as he was knocked over by the larger object. He looked up to see that the object he had walked into was none other than the student he was looking for. Rin Okumura.
"Oh, sorry Mephisto. I wasn't looking where I was going." Rin apologized, then he began to walk away.
"Oh? Yes. I'm sure you're very sorry." Mephisto paused and let Rin take a few more steps. "Just why aren't you in class?"
Rin froze, then turned to speak to the demon. "I'm training with Shura today. I'm trying to master my flames so the Vatican won't kill me in six months."
"Oh? You are now. Then why is it that you aren't in the training room, lighting your candles, hmm?" Mephisto asked.
"I just needed to clear my head." Rin replied.
"Oh, I see. That could be a problem, trying to use your powers while your mind is all fogged up by those simple human emotions of yours. Somehow, walking around helps your mind?" Mephisto asked, trying to bait the boy.
"Yeah, moving takes my mind off of stuff." Rin answered.
"Stuff? Like what? Like your brother? Didn't you notice?" Mephisto asked. Rin's shoulders tensed.
"That he smells different? It's barely there. Nothing to worry about." Rin replied. His shoulders relaxed again.
"I would say that it's nothing that you should worry about, but he's starting to smell just a teensy weensy little tiny bit like you, my boy. Is that something you should just dismiss so easily?" Mephisto purposely omitted that the smell only reminded him of Rin's recent odour.
"There's no way that Yukio's becoming a demon! He'd tell me! I'm his brother, and he'd trust me with information like that!" Rin shouted.
"Oh? Who said that he was turning into a demon? I just said that he's starting to smell a little bit like you. Just one small smell on top on his usual smell, just like you. The difference between you two is, that the smell attached to you is a lot stronger." Mephisto replied ambiguously.
"I told you that Yukio is not becoming a demon. He would tell me." Rin said, angry now.
"Just like you told him? Think about it, my dear boy." Mephisto said before walking away.
"Tell me what you mean, Mephisto!" Rin yelled.
"Ein, zwei, drei-" Poof! "Taataa, now!" Mephisto winked as he pulled a key out of his white coat, and left the confused young exwire behind. That certainly was an amusing trip. He'll have to bother his young teacher soon, the next time he gets bored. It's funny, really. The only big question left, is why do the two brothers both smell like blood?
At least Shura isn't asking about it. She's not prying, she's trying to be respectful, and you know, that actually feels kind of nice. Knowing that someone is willing to respect my business. I thought she'd be a lot worse, pushy, or something. I'm glad to know that she can be nice like that, but if she really knew, I don't know what her reaction would be.
I'm just glad that there's one person that I don't need to tell. She never has to find out. It'll be better that way.
"Hmph!"
Did I just walk into something? Oh, crap! It's Mephisto! Shit! "Oh, sorry Mephisto. I wasn't looking where I was going." I apologized. I went to walk away, but Mephisto started speaking.
"Oh? Yes. I'm sure you're very sorry." Mephisto paused and let me take a few more steps. "Just why aren't you in class?"
I froze. At least I don't have to lie about anything. I turned to speak to him. It's always polite to look at the person you're talking to. "I'm training with Shura today. I'm trying to master my flames so the Vatican won't kill me in six months."
"Oh? You are now. Then why is it that you aren't in the training room, lighting your candles, hmm?" Mephisto asked.
"I just needed to clear my head." I replied. That's none of his business.
"Oh, I see. That could be a problem, trying to use your powers while your mind is all fogged up by those simple human emotions of yours. Somehow, walking around helps your mind?" Mephisto asked. What the hell does he mean by "silly human emotions?" I mean, I've wished before that I didn't have to feel them, but it's not like I can help it.
"Yeah, moving takes my mind off of stuff." I answered. It's definitely none of his business.
"Stuff? Like what? Like your brother? Didn't you notice?" Mephisto asked. I felt my shoulders tense. I did notice that he smelled different today, but I can't quite place it. It's a familiar smell, though.
"That he smells different? It's barely there. Nothing to worry about." I replied. My shoulders relaxed again. If it was something important, Yukio would have told me. I'm his big brother, after all.
"I would say that it's nothing that you should worry about, but he's starting to smell just a teensy weensy little tiny bit like you, my boy. Is that something you should just dismiss so easily?" Mephisto said. There's no way. Yukio can't be a demon. He didn't inherit the flames. That should be my burden, and only mine! Yukio's the good one.
"There's no way that Yukio's becoming a demon! He'd tell me! I'm his brother, and he'd trust me with information like that!" I shouted. That had to be a lie. Yukio is far too good a person to become a demon.
"Oh? Who said that he was turning into a demon? I just said that he's starting to smell a little bit like you. Just one small smell on top on his usual smell, just like you. The difference between you two is, that the smell attached to you is a lot stronger." Mephisto replied ambiguously.
"I told you that Yukio is not becoming a demon. He would tell me." I said. Mephisto was really starting to piss me off.
"Just like you told him? Think about it, my dear boy." Mephisto said before walking away.
"Tell me what you mean, Mephisto!" I yelled.
"Ein, zwei, drei-" Poof! "Taataa, now!" Mephisto winked as he pulled a key out of his white coat, and left to go to off to God knows where. Well, I suppose he would know. He's the one who made the key system, after all.
Why does he have to do stuff like that? He just pisses me off, giving complicated and ambiguous answers to everything! There's no good reason for him to do that! We're supposed to be on the same side, for fuck's sake! Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd say that he's just doing that for fun. Damn him...
I stormed back into the training room.
"Hey, it doesn't look like yer walk helped ya much." Shura commented.
"It worked I got my mind off things. But I ran into Mephisto and now he's saying things that really piss me off! He's saying that Yukio's starting to smell like me, and I know there's no way that Yukio's turning into a demon. I mean, he'd tell me if he was. That jerk's just trying to piss me off!" I ranted. It felt kind of good to shout it out.
"Well, I'm not so sure that Yukio would tell ya if he was becoming a demon. That's just not the way he is, the four-eyed chicken that he is." Shura said. I won't let myself believe that. "And did Mephisto actually say specifically that Yukio was becoming a demon? If he didn't, then he's probably just tryin' ta mess with yer head. And it seems that he's doing a pretty fine job." Shura leaned back in her seat, putting her hands behind her head.
"He couldn't have meant anything else! There's no other reason that Yukio would suddenly start smelling like I do. No reason that some other smell would suddenly be attached to him! I mean, he moved out of our room yesterday, and since there's no one else in the dorm, he can't smell like any other person!" I yelled. Yukio could not be a demon. "The only other way for him to have a smell attached to him, if he isn't around any new people is if it's his own bl-" What was I about to say?
No way. No way in fucking hell. No way in fucking Gehenna either! Yukio could not smell like blood. He's not injured, and he didn't scrape himself when he tripped in class earlier. But there's no doubt about it, now that I think about it. That smell was definitely blood. I've smelled it on myself enough over the past month to realize that. I guess that means that Mephisto knows too. Fuck, that means he knows about both of us! Fuck! Fucking damnfuck!
There is no way that Yukio would ever cut himself. Ever. But, I guess he thought the same thing about me too. But Yukio's good. He's pure, clean, and far too smart for that. I'm the stupid one who has to rely on things like knives, rocks, plastic, and razors to keep myself in check. Yukio's way too strong for that. He would never ever do that. But if he did, at least it didn't smell any worse than a paper cut. For that I'm relieved, but still, if he did try-
"Rin? Hellooo~" Shura said, waving her hand in front of my face.
"Huh?" was my smart reply.
"Yer spacing out pretty bad. What's up? You were saying that Yukio is smelling like blood now?" Shura asked.
"I-I didn't say that!" I defended.
"But you were about ta say it. Then ya started spacing out. Let it out, tell me what's up." Shura said, almost demanding.
"That's none of your business. It's no one's business. Just me and Yukio." I replied quietly, staring at the floor. I really need to break that habit.
"Wrong. It is my business. If I'm on a mission with him, I need to know what's going on with him, and that he's gonna have my back if I need it. Same for every other exorcist out there. We don't go into battle alone. We've always gotta know that our partners are gonna have our backs. Tell me now, what's up with Yukio!" Shura demanded, harshly this time.
"It's no big deal. It only smelled like a paper cut." I said.
"If that was the whole story, ya wouldn't have spaced out like that." Shura probed. She stared at me. I knew that she wouldn't stop until I gave her a satisfying answer. Unfortunately, I didn't have any good lies.
"I was just worried. What if he was... You know... sometimes when people are upset or something... they kind of... um... maybe use a sharp object and make themselves bleed?" I said nervously. I really didn't want to say cutting.
"And why would you think that first?" Shura asked. She sounded a little sad when she said that. I wonder why? Then she stood up and walked over to me. She put her hand on my shoulder and made me look up at her. "Ya know, everyone goes through hard times. We all cope with it differently. There's no such thing as the wrong way to deal with it, but some things are generally healthier for ya than others." Shura stood up and stretched her arms above her head.
"Go home, kid. You're too stressed out. Go to bed, get some rest, and get your mind out of whatever gutter it's stuck in right now. You're stronger than that. I've seen ya, and I know it. I believe in ya kid, and I know that ya need to hear it more than anything. Get some sleep and come back feeling better tomorrow. Ya still look like shit, and with what's in yer brain, it's no wonder ya can't do yer training right now. Buck up, mister. You've done harder things just not hurtin' yerself for a night. This should be a cinch, right? Get some rest. That's an order, ya hear. I don't wanna hear that ya've disobeyed me, you got it?"
"Yeah, I understand. And, thanks. It really means a lot." I said. I guess it wasn't too big a leap. She figured it out, but she's not asking why. She's just leaving it alone and telling me to feel better. Why's she being so nice? Why's she saying just what I need to hear? A demon like me doesn't deserve this. "I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Miss Shura."
I put my key in the nearest door, and turned it. I walked through and made my way back to the dorms. I still had another half hour or so before Bon would be back. I guess I can use the time to take a nap or something, like Shura said. I did have a pretty shitty sleep last night. A nap. Doesn't sound like such a bad idea. Maybe everything will make more sense when I wake up.