©DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLUE EXORCIST! IT IS OWNED BY KAZUE KATO!

CHAPTER THREE

It was low and quiet yet despite that, the voice filtered through the air, cutting through the silence like a hot knife to butter. A tiny gasp was sucked through rosy lips as Shiemi's pulse spiked in startle. It took her a moment to process the voice and her eyes widened once she did. She whipped around, her breath catching in her throat once she was faced with familiar blue eyes. Blue eyes that were staring at her in equal surprise.

"Rin…" The name escaped her lips in a gentle whisper and Rin blinked.

"Shiemi…what are you…why are you here?" He asked.

The look of shock on the blonde girl's face slowly ebbed away until it eventually turned into something softer as her eyes turned glassy.

"I'm so glad." She spoke quietly. Rin's brows pinched in confusion, mouth opening to speak before he was stunned into silence—the sight of tears streaming down her face causing his eyes to widen in alarm. He quickly came over to Shiemi, worry filling him, "Are you okay?" Shiemi stared at Rin once he was in front of her, nodding slightly in response. "Mm-hm." She hummed, a wavering smile coming across her face. "I'm alright."

Yet Rin found that hard to believe as the stream of tears became quicker. "Shiemi you're crying!" He panicked, his hands are raised but he didn't know what to do with them. "Why are you crying? Is it your wound?" He gazed at the medical tap around her forehead.

"I'm so relieved."

'Huh?'

Rin paused, tilting his head in confusion. Shiemi lifted a hand to her chest, resting it over her bosoms as her gaze lowered, eyes closing. "I'm so relieved." She repeated.

"About what?" Rin questioned, lowering his arms to his sides. A sob tore from Shiemi's throat and before he could process it, she was hugging him tightly.

"What the?" He choked out. He could feel her body trembling against his own. Tentatively, Rin slowly brought his arms around her, gently holding her as she cried. One arm wrapped around her back while one of his hands settled atop of her head.

'Wow.' Rin thought, fingering the fair strands, 'She's so soft. Her hair is soft too.' He froze, letting the hair fall from his fingertips.

'Stop being weird Rin. This is Shiemi and she's crying!' That thought made him steel his self-control, chiding himself for touching Shiemi so carelessly. Hell, if she wasn't crying she wouldn't even be touching him right now! He gripped her shoulders firmly before he pulled her away from him.

"Hey." He spoke. "What's wrong with you?"

Crap. Be gentler Rin. Gentler!

"I-I mean." He hurried to elaborate, "Why are you crying?"

Her big green eyes blinked at him, and Rin couldn't help but notice that the tears didn't deter from her pretty face. She looked so sweet and innocent…

'Someone so innocent shouldn't be with someone like you.' A thought was hissed out and Rin clenched his jaw. He focused on the ache in his mouth to ignore the sting in his chest and stared at the blonde female.

"What are you so relieved about that you're standing here bawling your eyes out?" Rin questioned. Shiemi's eyes lowered so that they were focused at Rin's clavicle instead of his eyes. It was silent for a moment before she sniffled, tugging on her sleeves.

"You." She said softly. Rin's brows shot up underneath his bangs, her reply stunning him.

"Me?" He echoed. "Why?" Shiemi reached up to rub her eyes, sniffles escaping her. He still didn't get it did he?

"Two days ago," Shiemi began, "back in the training room. After I came to, I realized how hurt the others were and yet you weren't anywhere to be seen." Her voice shook slightly as she remembered, "I asked where you were and Suguro told me that you were heavily injured and in some type of ICU. He looked so upset that I could only fear the worst!" Cries poured from her lips as she squeezed her eyes shut, hands fisting the uniform. "I couldn't stop thinking about you. I couldn't stop picturing you in pain or hurt and bleeding…the images wouldn't go away. We couldn't see you, we couldn't visit you. I didn't know if you were okay…"

Her hands went to wipe at her eyes but instead of clearing tears, the balls of her hands rubbed into the sockets as if she was trying to physically rid herself of the proclaimed mental images plaguing her. The cries leaving her were heavy. However, they weren't necessarily sad. This was because she felt other emotions overwhelming her. Relief being the most prominent but also fear and remorse were clouding her head as she spilled out the words.

"I n-needed... I needed to know if you were okay…" Shiemi hiccupped, "…That's why I'm so relieved…to see you standing here…Rin-"

No more was said as Shiemi was suddenly snatched up into strong, warm arms. She blinked rapidly in startle before she felt the shaking of Rin's body. "Rin?"

"Please don't cry." He shuddered, his voice barely over a whisper. "Please don't cry for me."

Shiemi's eyes widened. What? She twisted the back of Rin's shirt, squeezing the fabric in her hands as her heart seem to drop into her stomach. What?

"Don't cry for someone like me."

The toes of her shoes were barely grazing the floor and her spine was curved back at an odd angle, but she hardly took notice. Because Rin's words were all she could focus on. He released her after a moment or two, his hands resting on her shoulders and Shiemi found herself staring directly into Rin's eyes. Deep in those hues of blue, she could see it. The bouts of melancholy that was usually tucked away, hidden safely from outsiders to see. She could see the pain he felt, the pain that she heard in his words.

Her voice was lost to her. She couldn't figure out how to work her mouth and form the letters in that moment.

Rin gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze before letting go completely. She felt a strange distance between them that wasn't there before. His lips curled upwards in a small smile but she could see the sadness that tinged it.

"I'm fine okay? Just worry about yourself. Everything is alright." The words were painful to say but Rin needed to get them out. She was supposed to be resting yet here she was crying over him…she didn't need to worry about him.

"Come on." Rin spoke softly, "I'll walk you out."

Her throat felt inexplicably tight.

Rin took gentle hold of her jacket at the wrist as he started walking, encouraging her feet to move. She followed and he let go but all she could do was stare at him.

They weren't too far from the entrance. Just a few hallways and some stairs and they were at the doors. Rin opened the door for her and they stopped right outside of it, Rin's hand on the door to keep it from closing. The evening air was cool, a gentle breeze blowing every so often. Shiemi found herself gazing into Rin's eyes once more. The sun was setting and shadows were casted over his face, his blue eyes appearing lighter and almost translucent as the gentle light reflected off them.

"G'night." Rin said, "I'll see you tomorrow in class, okay?"

With that farewell, he gave a small wave as he turned around and Shiemi felt her hand reach out but her voice failed to follow; she was silent as she watch him disappear into the dormitory building and the door close shut behind him.

Left standing there alone, Shiemi stared with wide eyes at the doors as his words danced through her head.

"Don't cry for someone like me."

"I'm fine."

'Why?' She thought, 'Why are you saying that when you look like you're about to fall apart?'

She took a slow step forward, her fingertips touching the door. The cold metal burned against the skin of her forehead through her bangs that was clear of bandaging as she leaned her head on the door. Her green eyes peered intently at the brown coloring of the rusting door handles as she suddenly felt cold.

Why did everything feel so wrong now?

*.*.*

Rose colored eyes stared at the sky. Rather than being its usual blue, many hues were painted across from the setting sun. Shura exhaled lightly, shifting her footing as her feet started to ache. She stood bent over, resting on the windowsill with her chin in one hand, gazing outside in hopes to get her thoughts together. Yukio had come up to her earlier today after his lesson. He looked troubled.

"Shura!"

The curvaceous woman turned in the direction of the call, watching as Yukio quickly walked over to her.

"What do you want Four-Eyes?" She questioned once he was close enough to hear. He gave her a pointed look at the nick-name and she supplied him with a lopsided grin in return.

"May I talk to you?" He asked. She rose a brow in wonder, "Sure." She took a step, signaling for them to walk and talk and Yukio followed suit.

"What's eating at ya?" She asked. Yukio was frowning as he fiddled with the folder in his hand.

"Well," He began, "for starters, I would like to know something. Do you know why the demon in the training room suddenly went wild?" She shook her head in response. "No. But Mephisto has been stewing over it for a while. He thinks that there might be a connection between that and with the demon that attacked me."

"A demon attacked you?" Yukio blinked. When had this occurred? Shura blinked as she realized that she had failed to tell him of the incident. "Oh." She scratched her head, her fingers digging into her wild locks. "Well, the same day the demon went wild. Same time too I think."

"What!"

The exclamation startled her slightly. She watched as Yukio let out a breath, lifting a hand to his face and rubbed at his forehead, pushing his bangs back slightly. "Okay," He spoke. "Start from the beginning. Tell me everything that happened that day."

"Mmm." She hummed, "Well firstly, we had a schedule change that day—which explains why we were in the training room to begin with—and I had the class learn to tame a Hirrus. However, I was told that Rin wasn't to participate so I sat him out."

"Wait." Yukio interrupted, looking at her suddenly. "You mean, you didn't personally take him out?"

She narrowed her eyes at him, "No. Why?"

"I assumed that you kept Rin out because you didn't want to risk having him injected with the venom." Yukio confessed. "That's the only reason I could fathom."

"Then you're right on the money." Shura replied, causing a frown of confusion to appear on his face. "That's basically what Mephisto told me. He didn't know how Rin would react due to being Satan's kin. Whether it would trigger another fiasco like with Amaimon or not, he was unsure. But he didn't want to test it, considering how hard the higher-ups are breathing down Rin's neck already."

"I see."

Shura spared a glance at her right forearm. It was wrapped from her elbow to her palm and lay on the windowpane, hanging out partly. Her fingers had turn cold from the cooling temperature. The demon had appeared suddenly while she was in the breakroom. It had startled her. It was one she wasn't familiar with. The demon had a humanoid shape, tall and grotesque. It only had a mouth full of sharp teeth in multiple rows and long, sharp claws for nails. She originally mistaken it as a type of Ghoul. She went to attack, only to be shocked when it moved ridiculously fast. She tried to block instead as it attacked and this continued for who knows how long. Her stamina was being tested and she couldn't find a chance to attack. At one point, the demon broke through her defenses and latched onto her arm with its mouth. The feeling of the teeth digging into her flesh and bone had her reeling with pain. She was thrown through the wall and sustained a couple minor injuries due to that. But despite that, Shura had gotten up. Yet the demon had run off and was nowhere to be seen.

The prospect of that thing finding the Exwires had sent her into a panicked sprint back towards the training arena. Upon arrival, she feared she was too late as she took in the chaos of the room.

However, it was later revealed to have just been the Hirrus. The relief was immense but overshadowed by the horror she felt by the state the students were in. Especially Rin.

Rin. She will never forget the image of him lying on the ground in a bloody heap, unconscious. She knew she should have taken care of him immediately. Why hadn't she just ignore what he said? He had gotten a full pump of venom and he suffered for it—his body had begun failing on him and they hadn't realized soon enough. Not until Surguro took notice. He had heard Rin's short scream.

God, it was nothing but discord.

The medics were all over the place. More had to be brought out because of Rin's condition. Shura demanded explanations from the only conscious students; Surguro had went into panic and Kamiki was shaken terribly. They explained the situation and the one thing that Shura couldn't figure the Hell out was why Rin hadn't protected himself.

His flames never came up once in conversation and she found his sword back where she sat him on the sidelines, still in its case.

"That's an issue?"

"Of course you idiot!"

Shura closed her eyes. The exchange back then when Rin had awoken still worried her. What had been going through Rin's mind? What had he meant when he said that? She hoped with all her might that it wasn't what she thought because that only brought more questions. Questions that she feared the answers to.

Everything started to catch up with her—his haggard appearance that had accumulated over the past month was still fresh in her memory. She began to backtrack as she realize the nosedive his mood had taken. He still acted like himself but she saw how hard on himself he had become. Every moment he failed to do something right, he grew unexplainably angry with himself. Shura had assume that to be part of his newfound determination to prove himself. But now she wasn't so sure. The woman feared what went on inside his head when no one was around. She knew the kid was more vulnerable than he let on but just how much had everything affect him?

The deaden tone he had when he spoken to her—when he said those frightening words—how comfortable he appeared to be with the thought of death. It terrified her.

"Rin." The murmur slipped out from her full lips, her eyes opening. "What is going on with you?"

"Dear me." A familiar voice sounded, "What's with this serious look of yours?"

She spared him a glance before looking outside once more. She didn't feel like dealing with this clown. If he came to bother her, then Mephisto can go shove off.

"What do you want?" She replied quietly.

Mephisto rose a delicate brow. "Is it so wrong for me to ask what troubles you?"

Shura's brows furrowed in vexation, her face scrunching up slightly. "Yes." Mephisto let out a small laugh, leaning onto his cane lazily. His tiny green irises stared silently at the young woman as a grin curled onto his features. "Well, you have me there." He spoke, "Hmm, but just this once…" He held up his index finger for emphasis.

"…I will honestly listen."

Shura turned to stare in mute surprise at the principal. He was serious. She could tell. Twisting the fabric of her jacket sleeve in her uninjured hand, Shura turned around and lean back against the window.

"It's about Rin." She confessed after a minute of debating in silence, "I'm worried for him."

"Really?" Mephisto purred, "What for?"

Shura's frowned, "I've noticed some things about him recently. He doesn't seem very…"

"Happy?" Mephisto supplied. Shura blinked as she considered the word before realizing it was what she had been searching for. "Yeah, actually." She spoke. Her eyes narrowed a bit. "So you've noticed?"

The demon king let out a snort, "This is my school and he is technically under my care. It would be odd if I didn't." Shura had to admit that he had a point. Mephisto turned to look out the window. "I'm not quite sure about the reasoning of his lack of happiness however. I assume it's a hormonal thing of a teenager. A lot has happened to him recently so it's no surprise that he may feel depressed." He spoke as his expression turn solemn. Shura didn't reply, instead choosing to look out the window once more. The sun had set lower and night was fast approaching. A soft exhale escaped through her nostrils.

"But if there is something that strikes you as especially odd about Rin, then by all means feel free to keep an eye on him." Mephisto said suddenly after a couple minutes of silence. Shura rolled her eyes to the side, glancing at the principal in her peripheral vision before turning her eyes to stare ahead of her once more.

"I suppose I will."

Hello, my dear readers.

Here's is the third chapter of Break Down. I know it's a little short compared to the other ones and I'm not too pleased with that. I haven't been feeling well recently due to these intense migraines, so everything has been like a blur. But I got this sudden inspiration based on two songs that I was listening to: "Night of the Damned" a Vampiric piece and "A Vampire's Heart" by Peter Gundry.

Since you guys want this to be a multi-chapter, I have to work out the kinks in this story because like I said before- it was originally supposed to be a one-shot. But I hope you all enjoyed this one! I will try to get the next one out soon as I can!