Walk me through the Valley
Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of Kazue Kato. I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
Chapter Twenty-Five: The Left Eye
Notes: Well, I've figured out how I want to incorporate Shima's story-line from the Illuminati arc. If you haven't read volume 12 yet, spoilers ahoy. If anyone cares Yunokawa is the guy with curly blond hair, sunglasses and a goatee. I'm guessing he's a doctor since he's one of the Exorcists involved in the scene following Shura telling Bon's mother that she's going to leave some doctors to treat the wounded. Also Shiemi's eyes are blue in the manga and green in the anime, in this story...
Cautiously Rin slipped out of bed and eased the door open just a crack. After glancing up and down the hallway to make sure no one was watching, he snuck toward the stairs. Clinging tightly to the railing he made his way downstairs to the kitchen. As soon as the kitchen door closed behind him he felt better.
He peered into the depths of the refrigerator then checked out the pantry. Once he had a feel for what ingredients he had on hand Rin sat down at the table and started thinking about what he wanted to make. 'Something basic, not too challenging… A curry,' Rin decided. He took some meat out of the freezer and started it thawing in the microwave while he piled the vegetables on the table then sat down again and started chopping.
"What are you doing out of bed?" Izumo demanded.
"I've been stuck in bed for a week!" Rin protested. "I'm bored out of my mind. And I'm feeling better, I think once I get moving around a little everything will fall back into place." he hesitated. "And I can't stand just lying in bed thinking about how I should be with Bon. I know Angel and Lightning said they've got everything handled, but… I should be there."
"No you shouldn't," Izumo disagreed. She reached up and put her hand on his forehead. "You don't feel cold anymore," she admitted.
Rin leaned into her touch for a moment, then pulled back with cheeks lightly flushed. "I don't end up outside of my body every time I close my eyes either," he said. "I just get tired a little too easily."
"You still look pale as a sheet," Izumo said. "You shouldn't give them the satisfaction of seeing that they hurt you."
Rin stared at Izumo with confused incomprehension.
"I suppose this is better than you running half way across campus," Izumo decided. "But if you're not going back to bed, I'm going to help you. I'm not going to let you exhaust yourself into a relapse. Sit down and tell me what to do, I'll do the standing and running around."
The two of them quickly fell into a comfortable rhythm. Thirty minutes later they heard the front door slam and feet pounding up the stairs. Then Bon shouted, "Rin, where the hell are you!"
"Kitchen!" Rin shouted back. "How'd things go."
Angel, having waited in the lobby, made it to the kitchen before Bon. He picked Rin up and threw him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. "You have doctors orders to stay in bed," Angel stated as he precipitously hauled Rin back upstairs.
Bon smirked and push himself against the wall as they went past.
"Put me down!" Rin protested.
Angel dropped him on his bed. "Stay put," he ordered.
"I'm feeling better!"
"Well? What happened?" Izumo demanded. "You didn't come just to put Rin to bed."
"Everything went exactly as planned, naturally," Angel stated. Then he frowned. "Immediately afterwards I received urgent summons to Yemen. I had planned to formally introduce the two of you to the Brigade this week, but that will have to be delayed. Don't get in trouble while I'm away. It shouldn't be too hard since I've removed you from the normal Exwire rotation. You shouldn't expect to receive any missions unless there is an emergency situation."
In the street outside of an apartment building that had suddenly developed a massive coal tar infestation Shima followed Shiemi from one groaning body to the next. 'Being knight to a doctor was a pretty sweet deal,' he thought. His duties mostly consisted of staying well off the frontlines and watching Shiemi's back while she worked.
"Yunokawa-sensei!" Shiemi called as she used the back of her arm to wipe sweat out of her eyes. "The fungus has gotten to the lungs, what do I do?"
The older doctor shook his head. "Move on to the next patient."
"No, there has to be something!" Shiemi protested.
"Move on before your next patient is beyond help as well," Yunokawa told her harshly.
Tears running down her face, Shiemi did as she was told. And Shima decided maybe he didn't like this job after all.
Further down the street several exorcists were interviewing the Warden of the Deep Keep, a middle-aged Exorcist named Todo. "It all b-began when someone s-stole the left eye of the Impure King from the Deep Keep. I pursued a masked man here with an elite force from the Keep but he used a child as a shield. Now he's h-holed up in that building."
With half an ear Shima listened to the Exorcists making plans to recover the Eye while he continued to watch Shiemi cry as she worked. The child's mother interrupted the planning to plead with them to rescue her son. Shima shook his head as one of the Exorcists coolly told her to prepare for the worst; it was clear to anyone with ears that they'd already given up on the boy and that recovering the Eye was their main priority.
Shiemi finished her most recent patient and walked over to the group around Todo. "We'll help," she said.
The dark haired woman who had been interviewing Todo looked at Shiemi and sighed. "I'm not sending an Exwire up against someone who was able to break into the Deep Keep."
"I won't fight him," Shiemi said, her chin coming up stubbornly. "When he's busy with you, we'll rescue the little boy."
"I hate to say it, but from what Warden Todo said, the kid's already dead or as good as."
"You can't know that!" Shiemi exclaimed. "You can't just give up before you even try! Shima-kun and I will stay out of the way, I promise. But someone should be going in for that little boy!"
The woman glanced over at the boy's mother and grimaced when she saw the look of renewed hope in the mother's eyes. "Alright, you two can go, but don't get in the way. The last thing we need is more people injured."
When she looked back from the two Exwires, Todo was also pulling on a hazmat suit. "Not you too," she exclaimed. "You're in no shape for this."
"I'm responsible," Todo replied. "I've taken the antidote. I want to go."
Shima smiled at the dark haired woman as he started pulling on his own hazmat suit with a show of reluctance. "Looks like we're going to be the sane ones," he said. "I don't want to go, but I'm her knight. Where she goes I go. What do we call you?"
"Intermediate Exorcist First Class Imai."
"Well Imai, lets see if we can get the Eye and the kid without anyone getting hurt," Shima replied.
"I'm ready!" Shiemi exclaimed.
Imai turned to Todo. "Could you keep an eye on them? You are hurt…"
Todo smiled kindly. "I won't slow you down. I just couldn't look myself in the mirror if I stood by and did nothing while your team dealt with my mess.
Inside the building the coal tar infestation was so thick that they darkened the air. The building looked more like a dungeon than an apartment complex. As they searched the building Todo explained about the Eye and it's history. And somehow while he was talking the three of them became separated from the other exorcists.
"I- I think I see him," Shiemi gasped suddenly.
Shima turned and saw the masked man holding the boy clamped against his chest. For a moment Shima could have sworn he felt the kidnapper's harsh, unrelenting grip himself. Shima gulped when he noticed a flask containing the Eye of the Impure King in the masked man's other hand, he wondered how good the hazmat suit really was. He glanced at Todo, the Senior Exorcist seemed frozen by indecision. Then Shima took a deep breath and stepped out in front of the other two.
"Three to one odds aren't so good," Shima pointed out. "Why don't you let the kid go. I can see he's hurt from here. The pretty one is a doctor, she's not going after you while that kid needs her. And me? I'm her knight, it's my duty to watch her back. Also I'm the lazy type, not likely to go above and beyond. I'll just stand here between you and her we'll get along fine, you want the door we want the kid."
It was impossible to read anything from the mask man, but he wasn't releasing the child.
"Okay, so that still leaves this guy," Shima continued gesturing to Todo with a shrug. "But he's old and he's already hurt. He's probably going to collapse at any moment. I'd take my chances if I were you."
Suddenly a cloud of blackness exploded from the masked man. Shima saw the flask drop and dove for it. The child hit the ground with a small whimper. Where the blackness had touched him, the boils on the child's skin multiplied, swelling grotesquely in seconds. Shiemi ran to the boy and dropped to her knees beside him.
"It'll be okay, Ren-chan. I've got you."
Shima frowned and shook his head to clear his ears, he could have sworn... Then he breathed a sigh of relief when he saw the flask cradled safely in his hand.
Across the room Shiemi stopped, she stared down at the little boy helplessly. "No," she said, her voice filled with despair. "No!" she repeated. "NO! I won't let him die. Amaimon! Gaia! Help me! Please! I won't let him die."
A brilliant green light enveloped Shiemi. Her eyes rolled back in her head as she levitated.
In her mind's eye she stood in a vast forest teeming with life. "Supplicant, there will be a cost for what you ask." the voice came from no-where and everywhere. The power behind it shook the giant trees and made the rocks tremble.
Shiemi covered her ears and cowered on the forest floor. "Please," she whispered. "He's just a little boy. Please help me save him."
Shima watched expressionlessly as Shiemi floated before them, her eyes focused on something only she could see. "Your guy, he didn't have to do that," he stated quietly.
"So you figured it out?" Todo remarked.
Shima scowled. "An unbreachable Keep suddenly suffers a break-in and the guy I get my other orders from happens to be the warden? It wasn't hard. I gave you both an out; he didn't have to hurt the kid more."
"Guilty conscious?"
"No," Shima replied, his voice hard and cold. "Just wondering about the quality of organization I signed on with."
Todo shrugged. "Good help is hard to come by. He should have taken the Eye with him, it won't take long for someone to realize it's a fake."
Shima tossed him the flask. "In that case you'd better make sure it disappears before anyone else turns up."
Todo smiled and quietly secreted the flask in his coat.
Shiemi opened her eyes, they had changed from blue to a deep, endless green. Staring into them Shima could almost see moss and leaves shifting in an unseen breeze, he didn't see Shiemi in those eyes.
Not-Shiemi leaned down and rested her hand against the boy's face. The boils withered to nothing. "Take him," She ordered in a voice that reverberated with power.
Shima hurried to pick up the child then followed not-Shiemi out of the building. Todo trailed along behind them. Once they were outside not-Shiemi walked slowly toward the injured. The doctors took one look at the girl, glowing with power and moved defensively in front of their patients.
"It's okay!" Shima shouted. "She cured the little boy. She's going to help."
The boy's mother broke free of the crowd and ran to Shima. At the sound of her voice the boy stirred. He sat up. "Mama?" he called. His mother pulled him into an embrace laughing and crying.
"See, she's one of the good guys," Shima called loudly.
The green light surrounding not-Shiemi spread to cover the injured. As with the boy, their boils withered away. "The fungus is still within them," not-Shiemi informed the Exorcists with cool certainty. "I have only reversed its growth, turning it back into spores. If you treat them quickly there will be no casualties."
Then she collapsed. Shima caught her before she could hit the ground. Her eyes fluttered open after only a second, they were still green, but they had Shiemi's kindness in them again. "I have to go," Shiemi whispered. "Gaia- I promised."
"Okay," Shima said with a slight nod of his head. "I'll take care of it. Trust me."
When Rin walked into the general assembly meeting Konekomaru gave him a worried look but before he could say anything Rin firmly stated, "I'm feeling better everyday."
"We walked over with him," Mana volunteered and Godain nodded. "In case he fainted," he added.
"A guy passes out once and no one ever lets him live it down," Rin complained.
They spotted the other three first year Exwires taking seats on the other side of the hall. Then a few minutes later Bon, Izumo and Ito joined them.
Konekomaru pulled Bon aside. "There was an attack on the Kyoto Field Office last night," he warned quietly. "No one was killed, but there were a lot of injuries. Your father collapsed."
Bon looked alarmed.
Konekomaru waited a moment, but Bon didn't ask for details so he moved on. "Aunt Mahiro asked Sir Pheles for reinforcements on behalf of the Kyoto Branch."
"Where are Shiemi and Shima?" Rin wondered. "They should be here right?"
"There was an emergency call for doctors early this morning," Mana told him. "I think they might still be on that mission. Maybe this is related?"
At the front of the auditorium Mephisto took the stage. "Two days ago we received word from Yemen that the Impure Princess had been revived," he began without preamble. "Yesterday, an attempt was made to steal the Right Eye of the Impure King, which was successfully repelled by our Kyoto Branch. In the early hours of the morning, the Deep Keep was breached and the Left Eye of the Impure King was stolen."
The auditorium exploded into worried exclamations.
Mephisto held up a hand for silence. "The Paladin and his personal unit have been dispatched to Yemen. I fully expect that the situation there will be under control shortly. We are investigating the theft of the Left Eye and will be sending reinforcements to Kyoto. The field office's combat strength was severely sapped by the first attack. At this point our top priority must be the safety of the Right Eye.
"Due to the efforts of Exwire Moriyama Shiemi, all who were injured in the attack on the Deep Keep are well on their way to recovery," Mephisto continued. "Initial reports indicate that Exwire Moriyama channeled the power of the Elder Gehennan known as Gaia to seize control of the demon fungus used by the perpetrators of the theft of the Left Eye. Ewire Moriyama collapsed after healing the last of the victims and was being sent to the Academy hospital for observation when she and her knight-partner Exwire Shima Renzo went missing. The Exorcists escorting them were found passed-out enroute; we have yet to ascertain the cause of their lapse of consciousness. The warden of Deep Keep, Senior First Class Exorcist Todo Saburota also vanished this morning shortly after the thieves made good their escape. Teams have been dispatched to track both missing parties.
"Your assignments have been posted on the boards," Mephisto concluded. "Please make haste to report to your mission commander in this time of crisis. I thank you for your support."
As soon as Mephisto left the stage the Exwires joined the general crush around the boards as everyone hurried to learn their assignments. "First Year Exwires have clean-up duty on an infested apartment building," Ito reported. "Oh joy."
"They're sending us to Kyoto," Rin said. "We should be going after Shiemi and Shima."
"I see Tsuzo and Nagatomo are on the retrieval team," Konekomaru disagreed. "They'll make sure Shima and Shiemi come home safe. Bon and I should check on our families, half the Kyoto Branch are Myodhan."
"Oh, right," Rin deflated. "I'm sorry."
Bon squeezed his shoulder. "You're just worrying about Shiemi and Shima. So am I."
Lots of Notes this time out: I've been rereading the Kyoto Arc and it's making me very conscious of the timeline in AnE and of the differences in the manga and anime timelines. In both Rin's parentage is discovered by the Exwires during summer-break, in the Anime their next interaction with him is the Gale arc which happens as Fall term begins. Since the Exorcist Exam does not happen in the anime the Egin arc takes place before Dec/Jan (before Rin's 6 months are up). In the Manga the Kyoto arc follows the trial within a few weeks and the start of Fall Term coincides with the Seven Mysteries Arc. It's still early in Fall Term during the Illuminati arc.
By blending the Manga and Anime timelines, I've ended up with the Kyoto arc occurring a full year after Rin's parentage comes out. So it stands to reason that word's spread a lot further; everyone in Kyoto already knows that Rin's father is Satan. It's not common knowledge that he has the Koma Sword though.
Also with the Myodha leader binding Karura to them through secrecy, lies and suspicion it seems like there are going to be a LOT of things that the Myodha's leaders know but are hidden from the rank and file. Misinformation as a way of life and Bon is too straightforward of a person to catch on. Maybe Konekomaru is more in the know because he's the Miwa Head or maybe just because he's more tactically minded than Bon, still I don't think he had full knowledge going into the Kyoto arc, he just has a better feel for the real Myodha power structure than Bon does.
Sidetrack: I disagree with the manga's take on leadership and that Konekomaru is a better leader than Bon because he's more tactical. Bon is still the person setting the objectives for the Kyoto trio, he's the one with the grand plans. Konekomaru is better at figuring out the best way from getting from point A to point B, but Bon is the one who decides that they're going to point B not point Q. Thus Bon is the leader and Konekomaru is the tactician.
Anyway, between Mephisto, Shiro and the Myodha it seems extremely common, if not an on-going theme, in AnE to have distinct differences between the real story, what's known and what's publicly admitted. A theme of necessary, well-intentioned lies and their consequences and that it's not as simple as 'honesty is the best policy'.
With regard to Kurikara's theft, Tatsuma certainly knew where it was since he gave it Shiro. Yaozo and Bon's grandfather would have know Shiro took the sword, although not that Tatsuma willfully surrendered it, and I assume Hojo Umabami also knew. Shiro, Bon's Grandfather and Tatsuma knew the sword was empty when it was stolen (Mephisto probably also knew), but the general Myodha population distinctly does not know that. I'd guess that Grigori thought the sword was an object of power to use to kill a demon rather than a vessel to contain a demon's heart. It also seems like Yaozo and Umabami probably didn't know that the sword was empty even if they are just below the Head Priest in the Myodha hierarchy. Tatsuma knew but wasn't supposed to know until he inherited his father's position.
So even though the Koma Sword had no real significance to the Myodha, Tatsuma would be obliged to try to get it back from the True Cross because of the public perception that it's important. I'd assume that the Myodha would at least ask for the sword back when they joined the True Cross. Shiro was acting on orders when he stole it, the True Cross knows he had it at one point but I'd assume that Shiro claimed the sword was lost (or that he told the Grigori that he threw it away in disgust after using it to kill an infant). Which means the True Cross could honestly tell the Myodha leadership that they don't have the sword anymore. The Myodha power structure is not big on open/honest dialogue with their followers so they keep it to themselves that True Cross ever had the sword. Which leaves Mamushi open to being manipulated and deceived by Todo, because having leaders who regularly lie to their followers has drawbacks.
Anyway, I ended up constructing a timeline for the various flashbacks and info drops about the past. Please let me know if I made any significant mistakes or if the website I use for biographical data has errors. I'd rather consciously chose to diverge from cannon diverge just because I've forgotten or missed things.
Timeline:
Year 0 April: Yuri gets pregnant
April ~ July: Shiro cures the Myodhan illness and gets the Koma Sword
July: Shima is born
Aug: Bon is born
Sept ~ Dec: The Vatican tries to burn Yuri / The Blue Night / Konekomaru's Father, Take, Bon's grandfather and Michelle Neuhaus die, along with many others.
Oct: Izumo born
December: Rin and Yukio are born / Yuri dies
Year 1: January: Konekomaru is born / his mother dies
March: Shiemi is born
~+10 years: the Myodha merge with the True Cross
+10~12 years: Juuzo and Mamushi attend the Academy / Mamushi subverted by Todo
+14 years: Izumo's mother goes nuts
+15 years: Shima joins the Illuminati after he decides to attend the Academy but before classes start
Divergence between Anime and Manga: In the anime Egin ordered Yuri's execution while she was still pregnant. She escapes with Satan's aid. Mephisto just happened to have the Koma Sword (yeah right) when he and Shiro located Yuri and her newborns. In the manga Shiro was sent to retrieve the sword, he believed it would be used to kill Satan's child, so presumably in the manga there was at least a plan to wait until Rin's mother gave birth before trying to kill her children. Is it correct to say that we don't actually know what triggered the Blue Night in the manga? It's only the anime that has confirmation that it happened while Rin's mother was pregnant, because of Satan's efforts to rescue her?
Assumptions: Shiro apprehends Yuri around June and her pregnancy is discovered. Mephisto orchestrates Shiro being sent after the Koma Sword; obsentively because they need it to kill Yuri's children but Mephisto always planned that it would be used to seal the baby's heart. It might not have been known that Yuri was having twins.
The Blue Night happened late Nov ~ early Dec. Yuri sustained injuries during the attempt to execute her, Konekomaru's mother was injured during Satan's rescue of Yuri, they both hold on long enough to give birth but die shortly afterwards.
'Head of the Miwa Family' carries actual duties, it's not just a ceremonial title. While Konekomaru's immediate family is dead, he does have extended family of which he is expected to assume a leadership role. Because he's been head of the Miwa practically since birth he has a regent who is holding his place until he finishes school.
Planned diversion from Cannon: Take dying on due to the Blue Night. Shima's thought about "I can't even remember Take" struck me as him feeling like he should or is expected to remember the older brother who died protecting him, but if Take died on the Blue Night then Shima couldn't have been more than 6 months old (unless there is a big difference in the Blue Night timeline between Manga and Anime). It would be completely irrational for him to expect to remember his brother. People do hold irrational beliefs at times but for this story I'd rather it wasn't a completely irrational expectation. I'm going to say Take did not die in the Blue Night, he died protecting Bon and Shima from some random demon when they were around three. Young enough that Shima wouldn't have clear memories of Take but old enough that it would be possible that he might have scraps of memory that could be dragged to the surface to make him rethink certain beliefs that he holds about his relationship with his family.