Chapter 7: Tinder and Flame

Expect as many tone shifts as people Satan has set on fire.

It took Satan approximately seven years of his new life to meet his first true threat to Yukio.

Oh sure, he hated the shitty priest on a fundamental level, but the man was at least determined to protect Yukio and too stupid to see who Satan actually was, so the Paladin got a begrudging pass. There'd been other annoyances over the years, but they'd been nothing more than petty bullies who wouldn't actually seriously hurt Yukio even if they had the chance to. Not that Satan would let even that minor of a threat stand, mind you. They were lucky his fire was mostly sealed or he'd have branded that lesson into them more than he had. Demons were even less of a problem and instinctively fled from him, and by proxy Yukio, without knowing why. Any that got too curious he destroyed.

But this threat was...

Unexpected.

The woman looked nice enough. She was pretty, with a face that was attractive enough to be considered desirable, but not so perfect as to be unapproachable. A softness graced her limbs in all the right places, making her look gentle and loving, while still beautifully curvy. Overall, the ideal of a young mother.

Satan also knew she wasn't that boy's mother.

Hand in hand, the young raven- haired boy Satan vaguely recognized from class hummed happily as he skipped away with the stranger. The boy, whose name Satan hadn't bothered to remember, was someone in his class who had something or other messed up in his head that made him too nice. He would walk up to anyone and everyone and casually declare his love for them and would beg to play or for attention in general. There was nothing terribly wrong with him, but the general over affection grated Satan's nerves. However, Yukio liked him and the two got along, so Satan would tolerate the boy.

Weak demons swarmed the woman, gathered around her in a corrupted halo, and gleefully fed from the dark emotions rolling off of her in waves. Her intentions were easy to read; her black heart spread bare before his eyes. She was wicked with a withered husk beating in her chest, and planned to use the child that unconditionally trusted her until his body collapsed. Depraved, twisted things awaited the boy that would surely utterly destroy him until death took him, be it by injury or his own hand. He would be lucky to die quickly, but would likely sob till his grave.

Satan continued to walk away, ignoring the unfolding tragedy. What did he care what happened to some brat that wasn't Yukio?

Except…

What if that had been Yukio?

Yukio wasn't slow like the idiot child casually holding hands with his doom, but things could happen. Usually kidnappings weren't so…clean, and force could be used if someone was uncooperative. Satan hadn't cared about the abductions that had been taking place last week in the city, but seeing one happen before his very eyes reminded him of the bits and pieces he'd heard. They were both children around Yukio's age, with dark hair and unusually bright eyes. If there was a preferred target, then, if there was even a hint of a chance of future danger, then Satan would completely and utterly crush the threat.

"Hey!" Satan shouted, and he felt pleased when the woman froze in fear, "Where're you going?"

The boy smiled, still unable to understand, "Rin, hi! Have you met this nice lady?"

"No. So…Where're you going?"

"Oh…" The woman looked caught off guard that she'd been called out. It probably hadn't ever happened to her, what with her looks and friendly superficial presence that wouldn't lead anyone to doubt her. But she saw he was (physically) a child and plastered a motherly smile on with flawless precision. "I'm just buying lil' Satoru here ice cream."

The demons around her buzzed excitedly and Satan met her bright green eyes. They were warm and friendly, and anyone else would have missed the way her eyes assessed him, picked him apart. She was judging him for some desirable trait and Satan hid his own intent behind his own wide eyes. Maybe it was because he and Satoru looked similar, maybe it was because he wasn't nervous around her like any other child with common sense and decent parents would be, or maybe it was the simple chance to scoop two children up in one go. Whatever it was, she found something she liked, and, with poisoned kindness, "Would you like some?"

Satan imagined turning the woman into a red smear and smile brilliantly, "That sounds great!"

The woman, fool that she was, held hands with her doom.

Satan sighed and absently used one of the pencils from his bag to pick the flecks of blood from under his fingernails. Despite his initial thoughts, the kidnapper lady hadn't been that bad. After his gracious host had shown him to her home and her giant of a partner in crime, she'd been generous enough to let him have some of her spare children's clothes when his had gotten dirty with her blood. She'd even given him some of her prized perfume to cover up the smell of blood and her burned flesh. How thoughtful!

Satan snickered wickedly, mood light and airy from his recent stress relief. Sure, the annoying priest would probably wonder why he had new clothes and smelled like "Summer's Bliss" (humans had the strangest names for things, honestly), but nothing the fool could say would bring his mood down. The evidence was long gone, burned to ash by pretty blue flames, and it'd be easy to make an excuse for his late arrival. It'd all been worth playing a fool for a while; not only had he gotten a chance to relieve some stress but he'd also eliminated a potential threat to Yukio very, very, thoroughly. He'd only needed a single look at the children in cages to know he'd made the right choice in being proactive.

When he'd finished having fun with the two victims, Satan hadn't felt the need to kill the weak kids on top of everything else. He wouldn't get nearly the same rush when his enemies couldn't at least pretend they had a chance. Some of the brats might talk, sure, but no one would believe them. They were all terribly scared children who'd be babbling nonsense about demons thanks to a quick burned Temptaint, until they either wised up and quieted or were thrown into an insane asylum.

After all, there was no way a seven year old could possibly overpower two adults three times his size, much less rip off that bear of a man's arm. The clawed open chest cavity would forever baffle them, and the lady's legs must have been bashed with a sledgehammer with how many pieces her bones were in. How and why the two bodies were charred black would probably be the main mystery detectives would discuss in vain for weeks.

Nails clean, Satan checked his appearance one last time before he entered the monastery. Flawless by seven-year old standards. The wards made his skin prickle for the first time in years and the demon frowned. So maybe he'd overdone it and let a little too much of his demonic power bleed into his body, so what? He didn't really care; anything to protect Yukio, but it might set off the priest. It was already going to be an ugly enough argument since the bastard didn't like it when he stayed out after dark. Satan, however, knew he could take care of himself and didn't listen to any rules except the sparse ones he set for himself. He'd come and go whenever he damn well pleased.

Oh well. He'd just say he lost track of time playing a game with some new friends.

He'd absolutely slaughtered them, so it'd been a real good time.