Okay, I've come up with an idea. Everytime I get harassed by some low life with NO life I'm going to post a new chapter to Pink Exorcist. You guys think you're SO clever, don't you? Well guess what, you're actually helping me. You're contributing to my traffic stats and my review count. And the fact that you're trying so hard to make me feel horrible is actually really amusing! Keep it up I could use a good laugh! Finals have been so stressful and it's so much fun watching you fail at being mean!
As for my regular fans, I hope you guys enjoy these little gifts. It's going to vary between extra chapters and little oneshot Omakes. I on the other hand have to get started on more chapters! I'll see you guys soon!
Sakura was assaulted by moth demons the moment she stepped foot out of the circle. She swatted them away, trying to stay on the path. She jumped into the trees to try and evade them but the moths kept up. Sakura quickly bit down on her thumb, drawing blood. Her hands flew together and created a series of signs. She came to a stop on one of the tree branches and slammed her hand down.
"Summon!" She shouted. Smoke surrounded her and a small slug appeared. It was orange in color with a red stomach. "Hey there Kyoko," Sakura greeted. She picked up the slug and continued her run through the forest. "Mind helping me? I'm having a bit of a pest problem."
"Of course," Kyoko agreed. She crawled onto Sakura's shoulder and began spitting acid at the demon moths. "If I may ask, what are we doing?"
"Short answer, we're doing a bell test," Sakura told her.
"Where are your teammates?" Kyoko asked.
"They decided that it's every man for themselves," Sakura answered. "I told my brother to give me a call once he figured out the true purpose of the drill. We'll see if he does." She jumped up and tree and came to the top. She looked around and saw a bright blue light coming from the distance. "There he is. Can't believe he used his flames already. I just hope no one saw him."
"Okumura…just what the hell was that?" Suguro asked. Rin looked away from Shiemi's unconscious form. "Are you going to answer me or what?"
"Please tell me he didn't see that." Rin pleaded in his mind.
"What happened to Moriyama? Is she okay?" Suguro noticed Shiemi's state.
"Uh yeah, I think she's fine," Rin nodded, turning back to the blonde girl. "She's unconscious though."
"Hey, turn off that light already," Suguro said, looking at his discarded flashlight. "The moths are attracted to it."
"Oh, uh, right," Rin nodded. He grabbed the flashlight and quickly turned it off. "I guess he didn't see it."
"Yeah so anyway, do you know what that blue light was just now?" Suguro asked. "It happened so fast and it was so bright that I couldn't get a good glimpse at it."
"Who knows," Rin said quickly. "I couldn't get a good look at it either." "Guess he didn't see that it was me. Thank god for small miracles." "So, what are you doing over here?"
"What am I-? I came to help her you dork," Suguro huffed.
"Aren't you the one that said we couldn't help each other?" Rin asked.
"Shut up! After that scream who wouldn't come running!" Suguro shouted.
"Easy there big guy," Rin laughed. "Everything's cool. I can take care of her."
"What are you going to do with her?" Suguro asked. Rin placed Shiemi's arm around his shoulder and grabbed her waist.
"Simple, I'll just take her back to the camp and then come back here," Rin answered.
"You cocky little brat," Suguro growled.
"What can I say, it's part of my charm," Rin chuckled.
"Mmm…Rin?" Shiemi muttered, waking up.
"Shiemi! You're awake!" Rin smiled at her.
"Ni!" She gasped. She dove forward and grabbed something off the ground. "Ni…." She cried as she held up two pieces of torn paper.
"Calm down," Suguro sighed. "As long as you have your magic circle papers you can summon him over and over."
"That's right!" Shiemi gasped. She grabbed her bag and dug through it. "That's strange, they're not here. I wonder if they fell out when I got attacked." There was a rustle coming from the bushes. A figure jumped out and Rin leaped into action.
"Get down!" He slammed his sword against the attacker's staff. The attacker flipped over them and landed on the ground. Suguro grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him up, revealing Shima. He had his flashlight in his mouth.
"Shima!" Suguro yelled at the monk.
"Hey Bon," Shima greeted. He took his flashlight out and looked around. "What's everyone doing around here? Are you guys hanging out?"
"What the hell are you doing here? And turn that damn thing off," Suguro hissed. Suguro clicked the button on his flashlight and turned it off.
"Well, this horde of moths covered me up and after that I sorta don't remember anything," Shima chuckled
"Typical Shima," Suguro sighed, letting go of him. A musical ringtone cut through the forest and Suguro reached into his pocket, pulling out his phone. Another ringtone joined in and Shura took out his phone.
"It's Konekomaru," Suguro told them. "He's found a lantern!" He turned the phone to show them the message. "I can't do this alone. He's asking for help."
The group stared at the giant stone lantern in shock.
"Yeah, there's no way you could lug this thing back to camp all by yourself," Shima said.
"This thing is a lantern? It's huge!" Rin shouted.
"Is it a stone lantern?" Shiemi asked.
"Close, it's a peg lantern," Suguro corrected. "It waits in the night for someone to come light it. Once it's lit it starts moving around. It eats living things for fuel, and it especially likes girls. The only way for it to stop moving is if it runs out of fuel or the sun comes up."
"When I saw the lantern I realized that we got the purpose of this drill wrong," Konekomaru smiled.
"Yeah, looks like we're gonna have to help each other after all," Suguro growled out.
"Wait a second Bon, weren't you the one that said we couldn't help each other out?" Shima asked with a smirk.
"Look, I didn't know what he meant when he said there were only three slots available!" Suguro shouted.
"He's got a point, Mr. Okumura never actually said three people," Konekomaru said.
"Whatever, we're in this together," Suguro sighed. "Does anyone know Kamiki and Takara's phone numbers?" Everyone shook their head.
"I try to get Izumo's all the time but she keeps turning me down," Shima sighed.
"I can call Sakura," Rin said, fishing out her phone.
"But she told us to stay out of her way, remember?" Shiemi reminded him.
"She did, but she also knew that we were going about this drill the wrong way," Rin pointed out. "And she told me to give her a call if I ever understood the true purpose. I'm calling her, whether you like it or not." He held his phone to his ear and waited for his sister to pick up.
"Yes Rin?" Sakura asked.
"Teamwork," Rin answered.
"Good job, you figured it out," Sakura said. Rin could hear her smirk. "Now who told you?"
"No one!" Rin replied quickly. His sister sighed deeply.
"Put Suguro on," Sakura ordered.
"Wh-What makes you think I'm near him?" Rin asked. His companions looked at each other in confusion.
"Rin, put him on right now or I'll rip your tail off," the pinkette threatened. Rin gulped and sighed. He held it phone out to Suguro.
"It's for you." Suguro looked at the phone in confusion and slowly took it.
"Hello?" He asked.
"Who told him?" Sakura asked. "How'd he find out the purpose of the drill? I'm not saying he's an idiot, but he's not all that bright either."
"Konekomaru found one of the lanterns and texted us for help," Suguro answered. "The only way to get the thing back to camp is for us to work together."
"Looks like my little brother isn't the only one doing some learning," Sakura teased.
"Don't taunt me," Suguro growled.
"Whatever," Sakura muttered. "Just get started on getting that thing back to camp, I'll meet up with you as soon as I can." Suguro was set to reply but was met with a dial tone.
"She hung up!" He shouted, glaring at the phone. He growled and handed the phone back to Rin. "She said that we should get started on heading back to the camp and that she'll meet up with us as soon as she can."
"Um…I've come up with a formation where the five of us can take it back to camp," Konekomaru announced. The five of them quickly got into formation. Rin was at the head of the cart while Suguro, Shima and Konekomaru surrounded it. Shiemi sat in the cart with the lantern. Konekomaru placed a seal on the lantern and turned to the group.
"Alright, this seal is going to keep it from moving once it's lit. Bon will recite the corresponding scripture since he's already got it memorized. Before we light it we'll need to gather some Chuchi to feed it. And we'll need a constant supply to keep the light from going out, that's Moriyama's job. Once the Chuchi show up, Shima and I will be the ones guarding Moriyama from their attacks. Finally the one with the most horse power and strength will pull the cart, that's Okumura's job." Shima took out a match and lit it.
"You guys ready?" he asked. They nodded and he tossed the match in. "Ah! Here they come!" he twirled his staff to push them away while Konekomaru chanted. Rin tightened his grip on the front of the cart and began pulling it. The others had to jog lightly to keep up.
"Wow Rin, you're really strong," Shiemi said in awe.
"What planet do you come from?" Shima asked in shock.
"You ain't seen nothing yet," Rin growled.
"Who's that?" Shima asked, seeing the rocket explode in the sky.
"It could have been Kamiki, Takara, or Sakura," Shiemi reasoned.
"No way! Not Sakura!" Rin rejected. He came to an abrupt halt as he saw a bridge in front of them. Suguro, not expecting the abrupt halt, ran straight into the peg lantern. Impressively he didn't stop chanting the scripture.
"What happened?" Konekomaru asked.
"What are we going to do about this?" Rin asked, pointing at the old and destroyed bridge. Shima let out a shriek.
"Oh holy hell no! Look down! There's hundreds of them!" He shivered when looking at the river. Instead of having water, it was filled with insects crawling over each other.
"I'd say there were thousands," Rin corrected. That didn't do anything to make Shima feel better.
"Oh my god…I think I'm gonna piss myself," he whimpered.
"Do it, it might make you feel better," Rin told him. "You never know."
"Okumura, don't say that to him," Konekomaru scolded. "Once someone pees their pants that's it, game over." Suguro grabbed Shima's staff and shoved it into the swarm of bugs.
"What the hell are you doing?" Shima yelled in horror.
The group jumped back as they heard rustling from the bushes. Sakura jumped out of them and threw a few kunais at some Chuchi.
"I hate these damn things!" Sakura growled.
"What is that thing on your shoulder!?" Shima shrieked, pointing at the slug.
"Excuse me, 'thing'?" Sakura hissed. "Kyoko is not a 'thing'! She's a slug!"
"Hey guys, be careful! The bridge is sealing something here," Konekomaru warned them.
"What took you so long?" Rin asked his sister.
"In case you forgot I entered the forest in the opposite direction," Sakura sighed. "I ran into some trouble with these damn moths so I had to take a little detour. So what's with the hold up?"
"The bridge," Rin answered, pointing to it. Suguro tapped a notebook to get their attention and they gathered around it.
"I know how we can cross," Sakura read from the notebook.
"Alright, how?" Rin asked. Suguro flipped the page of the notebook, revealing a set of pictures.
"Oh, I think I know where this is going," Konekomaru commented.
"Konekomaru and I will take the cart to the other side. The bug swamp is shallow so…I'm gonna walk through it?" Rin read in disgust.
"Once we're there I'm going to wait with the talisman," Konekomaru continued. "Meanwhile, Shima is going to wait on the other side with Moriyama on his shoulders."
"Then Bon's going to remove the talisman and unseal the peg lantern and then I'm gonna carry Moriyama on my shoulders." Shima sounded absolute giddy at this point but then it quickly changed to fear at the next part. "Through the bug swamp to the other side!"
"After that the peg lantern will go after its favorite food, which is Moriyama. It'll follow them to the other side and Konekomaru will seal it using the talisman," Sakura finished. "Hey wait! Where am I in this?" Suguro quickly wrote something down and showed it to her. "I came up with it before you got here, oh okay."
"Man, your drawings are epic," Rin smiled.
"I have to applaud the fact that he's still chanting and hasn't messed up," Sakura said. "That takes a lot of concentration."
"You want me to walk through that bug swamp while my head is being squeezed between Moriyama's thighs?" Shima asked with a nervous laugh. "I'll die before we make it."
"Shima, this isn't the time to entertain your libido," Konekomaru scolded.
"Alright, then I'll carry her," Sakura sighed.
"Wait, you're going to carry Miss Moriyama?" Shima repeated nervously.
"Get your head out of the damn gutter," Sakura huffed. "Besides, two women have a better chance of not only attracting the peg lantern's attention, but keeping it as well."
Sakura stood up shakily, trying to keep Shiemi steady.
"It's so high," she whimpered.
"We'll be fine, just stay still," Sakura said.
"My mistress will make sure no harm comes to you," Kyoko assured her.
"A-Alright," Shiemi said, nodding her head. Sakura slid into the bug swamp and wadded through it a few feet.
"They're popping," Shima shuddered.
"We're good to go over here!" Konekomaru announced.
"We're set here too," Sakura announced.
"Alright, get a move on," Suguro shouted, removing the seal. The lantern demon let out a yawn as he moved.
"Oh peg lantern!" Sakura called, getting its attention. "There are two lovely young women right over here! Come on over!" The peg lantern let out a yell and chased after them. "Hang on tight," Sakura told Shiemi as she started running.
"Over here!" Shiemi called.
"You don't have to tease it!" Rin shouted from the shoreline. The peg lantern sped up.
"Kyoko," Sakura said.
"Yes mistress," Kyoko replied. She crawled onto Shiemi's arm. The peg lantern was right above them. Kyoko spat acid onto it, knocking it off course. The lantern soared through the air and slammed into the cart. Konekomaru slapped the seal onto it.
"Kan!" The peg lantern stilled, calming down.
"We did it!" Sakura and Shiemi cheered. "I was really worried for a moment there."
"There was no need, you were never in danger." Sakura laughed.
"Thank you for keeping me safe," Shiemi said with a smile. Sakura smiled back at her and approached the edge of the bug swamp. Rin reached out his hand and pulled Shiemi onto the land.
"Hey Sakura, grab on, I'll pull you up," Shima suggested.
"I'm fine," Sakura told him. She climbed up the edge and dusted off her skirt.
"Oh umm, do you want Kyoko back?" Shiemi asked. Sakura looked at the slug on Shiemi's shoulder and shook her head.
"Nah, I think we're good here. Kyoko, you can go. Give Katsuya my regards," Sakura said.
"Yes mistress," Kyoko nodded. Shiemi's shoulder was covered with smoke. When the smoke disappeared the small slug was gone.
"Well, now that that's over with," Rin smiled, placing a hand on the bridge's arc. It shifted under the touch. The bridge fell back, collapsing into the bug swamp.
"Rin!" Sakura screeched in anger.
"Behind you!" Shiemi warned. Tentacles wrapped around Rin's leg and arm and hoisted him into the air. A giant demon moth was holding him captive.