Notes: You would not Believe the amount of procrastinating you can do when you're avoiding writing (Incandescence) by writing up a whole new fic :~)
Update! You would not BELIEVE the amount of procrastinating you can do when you're avoiding writing(this fic I s2g) by ignoring everything to watch/read a shit ton of Danmei omfg :~) I'm so sorry in advance bc there's still a part two to this thing to post lmao
Song of the Chapter: R U Mine by Arctic Monkeys
Water rushed around thrashing limbs while iridescent scales flashed in the glow of the various pearls lighting the otherwise dim space. A dark trail of red stained purple by the depths scattered when a fin sliced through the space.
"Ah!" Fangs snapped and found flesh, sinking deep into the meat of a bared shoulder, the water swallowing the cry so only the two forms heard it echo as they twisted in the hollowed den.
"Mine," Rin hissed into the deep rents he worried in Amaimon's muscle.
His claws traveled the expanse of the heaving flanks in his grasp before latching to the back of his neck, tangling in the long strands of his green hair, as his other hand went to the opposite shoulder to bare his throat further to Rin.
A gasp broke free at the move and the tail twined to Rin's coiled with crushing force, only encouraging the slick slide of their hips together.
Bright pain flashed into a scattered starburst across his nerve endings as Amaimon gave as good as he got. His own claws wound through Rin's hair, collecting the billowing strands of blue trailing through the churning water around them and tightening in a punishing grip.
Rin let a broken moan loose, hips juddering as he chased the high of the pain mixed with pleasure brought by every bite and claw that met his skin.
"'maimon," he sighed, mouthing the name to the lips he'd captured.
With each nip to the parted lips, more blood drew forth, the metallic flavor sending his pulse ratcheting to new levels.
"Hah," Rin panted, then arched further to Amaimon. The slick gathered between them, smearing up over their bellies until Rin used the hand not gripped to the back of Amaimon's head and reached down.
"Rin," Amaimon said in a breathless cry of his name, eyes squeezing shut so only the blue glow from Rin and the pearls illuminated them in the dim space. His hips pulsed into Rin's hold before he came in a stutter, the white, viscous fluid coaxing Rin into his own climax until their release mixed in the water.
They shuddered against each other as they sank in a daze to the seafloor of the cave, frozen in their twined state.
Time drifted past them, Rin pressing into the crook of Amaimon's neck and feeling the flutter of gills fanning to his cheek. He was too comfortable to move just then, the post-release fugue compelling him to cling as long as Amaimon would let him until he got bored and shook him off.
Not that Amaimon couldn't also idle away the time curled to Rin just as happily, but he had been in the middle of tearing through a swarm of deep sea beasts when Rin had interrupted. Despite their violent mating, he'd likely be back to the hunt before too long.
But, before either of them could break apart, a change in the ocean current alerted them to another encroaching presence.
"Earth king. My prince," the voice announced as they came into view.
Ash gray eyes scanned them, and the crook of lips curved into a smile that said their owner was both enjoying the sight and envious.
"Iblis," Amaimon said with a rumble in his chest, unamused at the interloper.
"Don't give me that look, Amaimon," Iblis said around a purr as she swam closer in flicks of her red, envenomed fins.
"Father sent me, my prince," she nudged her tail to Rin's, prodding him until he groaned and loosened his hold around Amaimon.
"You're being summoned." She waved her hand, clearly done with the subject and unwilling to explain further.
Disengaging from Amaimon, Rin sighed, annoyed because he'd been hoping Amaimon's bloodlust hadn't been sated just then and he'd be willing to tear into Rin next instead of whatever unfortunate beasts he found out in the ocean who couldn't hide fast enough.
Iblis picked up on it and her smile widened to bare the points of her fangs. "If you're done, then?"
A snort sent bubbles into the water as Amaimon swept the translucent eggs from his rubbery green scales to settle them on the cave floor.
"Fight me," he declared more than said, and Iblis' grin split across her face to reveal the rows of serrated fangs there.
"Gladly."
"Bye," Rin said in a grumble, extremely put out that he'd lost the rest of his time with Amaimon.
He huffed and swam from the cave, just catching Amaimon exiting with Iblis. He saw as he drew his hand up, the ocean floor following until the entrance was hidden, clutch protected from other curious predators who might want a bite of royalty.
It was time to face his father and see what he wanted.
His path took him through the outskirts of the territory Satan resided in where Amaimon had been. He swam past various mer who bowed their heads in his wake, some shyly waving back when he smiled their way.
The castle emerged from between spires, looming above everything.
Rin took the direct route into the throne room, just catching a glimpse of Egyn's eyes before the cuttlefish mer mouthed a 'Good luck' at him and vanished.
Totally unhelpful. Rin rolled his eyes and entered.
"Brat," Satan said in greeting from the throne he lounged on.
"Old man," Rin said with all the respect he could muster. Which was none. Not when Satan was an even bigger brat than he claimed Rin was, anyway. He should lead by example if he wanted Rin to be respectful!
"I'm sending you on a long trip," Satan said, flicking a clawed finger upwards in a way that had Rin's gaze narrowing.
"Where?" Rin said because he already knew he wouldn't be getting out of it. Though it came at a strange time, considering.
"You're going to collect someone and bring them back." For some reason, Satan didn't seem thrilled with the prospect.
Rin sighed, arms crossed as his fins idly drifted through the water. "Which sea?"
"Not sea," Satan said. "Land."
"Oh." Rin blinked, rearranging things in his head. Though why he was being sent to get someone like that he still didn't understand. "Are they like mom?"
"Tch, no," Satan said with a scoff. "The opposite. He's a real weirdo and traded his fins for legs. Not permanently, but who would want to exist in that state?"
Definitely a weirdo, and the opposite of Yuri, who had been a sea witch who stole herself some fins that enabled her to join Satan and the rest of the kings when the humans hadn't accepted her courtship to the emperor of the eight seas.
"Why?" Rin scratched at the scales on his cheek, not really caring but asking anyway. It was probably someone who thought they could outswim Satan's reach and needed to be taught a lesson.
As part of his duties, Rin got sent out as Satan's representative, though mostly it was because Satan was more interested in Yuri than running a kingdom.
"The weirdo is hiding from his responsibilities. So you're going to bring him home," Satan said, stabbing a clawed finger towards Rin.
In Rin's unasked-for opinion, he already had enough on his hands with the seven currently around.
Satan didn't care about his complaints though, already continuing. "His name is Samael, though who knows what strange name he's taken up on land–probably something stupid."
The name "Samael" was already a mouthful and Rin didn't think he had any real shot of remembering it right anyway. He didn't need a name, though, he'd find his errant king and make him come home one way or another.
As if mirroring his thoughts, Satan finished with his directives. "Bring him back so he can do his part in furthering the line. He's avoided it for long enough."
"Yeah, yeah," Rin sighed and left with a half-assed salute.
He had to find Amaimon again. He'd have tried one of the others but Egyn had made himself scarce and he didn't want to go to Lucifer when that would also mean dealing with what was bound to be an agonizingly long experience listening to him talk about anything but the information he actually needed.
Astaroth was off sulking somewhere, his mother and Azazel were out exploring some ancient ruins, so the only options were Iblis and Amaimon.
Perfect. Rin hummed with a smile and set out to find which kelp field Amaimon had devastated with Iblis while he'd been gone.
His path took him to their last location and then he just followed the trail of destruction.
Underwater vents lay toppled to the seafloor, the plumes coming from them rippling the water between the rubble.
He found them still locked in their play fight. Blood already seeped from the scores along their scales while they tore into each other with dagger-like claws and fangs bared to wedges.
Admiring the brutality for a moment, Rin waited, content to watch until he decided he'd enjoyed the sight long enough and launched himself into the fray with a laugh. He accepted the flashing claws that caught him, returning with his own play jabs.
Their actions threw muck up from the seafloor, obscuring Rin's vision as he strained his senses and tried to anticipate the next strike from either side.
Amaimon barrelled out of the murk in a billowing cloud, Rin's only warning the gold gleam of his lantern eyes and wild grin as he tackled Rin back into a waiting body. The fight ended with Rin straining between two bodies and fangs sunk into his shoulders to keep him in place.
"That was short," Iblis said, breathless as she let Rin free from her hold.
"You didn't use your flames," came Amaimon's pouting follow-up.
That would have been even more fun. Rin sighed and let his head drop to Iblis' shoulder. "I can't this time. The old man sent me on another fetch quest. I just came to see if you guys had any information."
A quirked brow met him from Iblis, Amaimon waiting for Rin to continue as he settled back on his hands with his tail draped over his lap.
"Do you know anything about a Samuel? Sam-iel? Sam-"
"Samael," Iblis cut in with a laugh, sounding deeply amused while Amaimon's lips curled in a wry grin.
"Look for the man who has to be at the center of the web and you'll find him," she said, idly trailing a finger to Rin.
"He'll have amassed a hoard of useless things wherever he is," Amaimon added.
"Things and people," Iblis scoffed. "He loves humans and their inventions."
"It's about time you brought him home," Amaimon said with a grunt, scowl on his face and arms crossed. "He's been gone too long."
"Infuriating grin, smug attitude–you can't mistake him, really," another trace of claws accompanied Iblis' words. Rin thought she might be trying to convince him to stay a while longer.
He'd have considered it if he didn't want to be done as soon as possible so he could get the current breeding season over with.
"He's likely using a disguise, so you'll have to draw him out some other way," Iblis said as he pulled away.
"Thanks, guys," Rin said and began to head toward the channel that led to the nearest inlet.
Luckily, there were only so many places for their kind to hide. They had to be near the sea, the call was impossible to resist for long. And unless that Samuel guy had learned to ignore it or brought the sea to his den, Rin doubted he was too far inland. You just had to follow the trail of sea salt.
Maybe while he was on the surface Rin would bring back some gifts for everyone.
Quickly, then he was dragging his errant claim home where he belonged.
The sun warmed his skin through the wooden blinds of his window and Mephisto yawned, a wiggle of contentment starting his morning routine.
Already he could hear his servant moving through the room and smell breakfast on the tray he'd brought. The scent of delicate pastries and rich black tea wafted through the room and brought him from the bed in a spine-popping arch with a yawn that bared his now mostly harmless fangs.
"You have a meeting with the lords today, sir," Belial said at his side where he'd moved after finishing preparing for Mephisto's awakening.
"Excellent," Mephisto purred, eyes shuttering as the beginnings of a smirk scrawled over his features.
His morning passed quickly, Mephisto having been looking forward to the finalization of a monthslong battle of wits over trade routes and acting as an advisor to the ruling families of the kingdom he'd decided to reside in for the time being.
Well, he snorted as he entered the prepared carriage, a battle of wits on one side and a cat toying with a belligerent mouse on the other.
This particular belligerent mouse he was scheduled to meet today had puffed himself up with his own importance and never once realized Mephisto could pop him like a hot air balloon and leave him plummeting to the earth whenever he tired of playing.
Lucky for him, Mephisto was far from tired.
The carriage drew to a halt and he allowed Belial to open the door and assist him down as all the lords had taken to doing. Then he strode towards the ostentatious manor, the guards at the gates bowing and allowing him to pass, which he did with a wide grin.
Their shivers at his passing were from how he looked in the impeccable suit he'd chosen to wear that day no doubt and not the wariness his presence inspired, surely.
Blue eyes caught his as he entered the office he'd been directed to, they narrowed in a glower beneath blond bangs that gleamed with the silken sheen of a thousand expensive hair products. As expected of the one he dealt with today.
"You're here," Arthur Auguste Angel nearly spat, clearly hoping he'd renege on the deal and save him the pleasure of his company.
"Ah, Arthur, wonderful to see you're in such good spirits today," Mephisto purred.
He made himself at home in the gold and white study, accepted the grudgingly served tea, then began the process of taking his opponent apart piece by piece until he'd gotten exactly what he wanted.
A half-hour later and he smiled pleasantly while Angel fumed and stacked the signed contracts.
"Always a pleasure, Arthur," Mephisto said with a pleased hum. "I'll see myself out then. Unless you'd like to spend a little longer together celebrating these new agreements?"
"I have better things to do than spend my day with a lowly servant of the kingdom," Angel said with a sneer as he left Mephisto without another word to find his own way out.
Well, let it never be said Mephisto remained where he wasn't wanted. He kept his smile genial as he returned to his carriage and accepted Belial's assistance back into it.
"Returning home, sir?" Belial asked.
"No," Mephisto said, his smile sliding into something more natural. "I'm in the mood to celebrate. Let's go into town."
If Angel wouldn't join him in celebration, then he would just treat himself–maybe to one of the new plays happening, or new imports to add to his collection, for instance. He settled in for the ride, pulling out one of the novels he'd been partway through and giggling at the passage he started.
Soon, the sounds of human activity rose past the walls of his carriage and Mephisto glanced out the window where the landscape sped past. Various yelps and screams as they dove out of his path had a light chuckle escaping under his breath, delighting in the way they scurried on quick feet.
They'd just neared the town center, everyone dodging the oncoming death on four hooves as the horse team barreled past, when Mephisto caught sight of one person ahead who hadn't gotten the memo.
"Stop the carriage," Mephisto commanded, leaning further to peer out the window as he took in the visage of the person just now looking towards the carriage screeching to a halt right before it would have bowled him over.
Windswept strands of long white hair tinted blue by the cloudless sky and the vivid hue of his eyes. Eyes that met Mephisto's through the part in the blinds of the carriage as though he just realized he was there after apparently wandering around town like a tourist who'd never seen a city before.
Fascinating.
He rapped on the carriage door and Belial opened it for him, Mephisto pushing out so that he could speak. "You look like you're new here. Why don't you join me for the day, hm?"
Gesturing, he drew back into the carriage, beaming at the narrowed stare he'd recognize in any corner of the world.
A much more fun game had landed itself in his lap than he'd had this morning. Not that he wasn't also entertaining running as an option on the table still.
It would all depend on what information he uncovered from his new guest of honor.
Mephisto watched the piercing stare bore into him as he slipped his hand over his grin and settled back in his seat, legs crossed so that they just brushed the ones across from him with every slight motion of the carriage.
"My name is Johann Faust V," he said, lips curling up past the points of his gloved fingers where they rested. "But you may call me Mephisto."
"And what may I call my esteemed guest?"
Rin stared and tried to understand the strange human who had invited him into his carriage.
"Rin," he said slowly, giving the name his mother had told him to use on land amongst the humans. "Rin Okumura."
He'd just begun orientating himself on land after drying himself off and shifting his fins to legs. The sights and scents of the world bombarded him after so long interpreting the ones beneath the waves, but he still knew the ones that would lead to civilization where he could begin his search.
"Those clothes of yours," the man–Johann? Mephisto? What kinda of names were those–said when Rin's silence went on long enough. "They're quite outdated."
Twitching began under Rin's eye. "What of it?"
"Well, I just so happened to have been on my way to the marketplaces," Mephisto said, glancing at his gloved fingers and staring up at Rin beneath his lashes. "I feel terrible about almost running into you, so why don't I take you out to buy you something new? My treat."
Somehow, Rin didn't think he felt too badly about it.
But, "Fine." It wasn't like he had been far along in his search as it was, and if this guy wanted to show him around town and buy him things then he wouldn't be complaining.
Silence sat heavy in the carriage, Rin staring out the window but feeling the intent stare on him the entire time. He was used to stares on him, had grown up with them all his life in some form or another, but there was something about the green eyes watching him that had his skin itching.
Shifting from Mephisto sent Rin's nerves sparking when it brushed their knees together and his attention was forced away from the sight of the landscape he couldn't help being interested in. It had been a while since he'd been on land! And while it was no kelp forest or reef, the newness made him want to explore.
Mephisto humming drew his gaze to see he'd been pinned by a green-eyed stare again. "If I might ask," he said when he had Rin's attention. "What were you searching for?"
At Rin's stiffening body, he tutted and explained. "I could tell by the way you had your eyes peeled, unless I'm mistaken and you were simply a lost tourist?"
Technically he was both. Rin hid an internal grumble, admitting, "I'm looking for someone."
"Oh?"
He almost regretted sharing that information, but he wasn't going to be taking it back so Rin shrugged.
"He's promised to me and I'm going to bring him home." Better than trying to explain the intricacies of mer court politics to a human. He had to keep it simple or risk letting something slip. Rin didn't want to have to eat the first human he ran into, or who ran into him–whatever.
In any case, Mephisto seemed to have reached a conclusion, eyes brightening with his understanding, though what he understood Rin wasn't sure.
"Ah, your betrothed," Mephisto said in a chirp, hands coming together as if thrilled by the concept. "You're in luck. I know everyone who's anyone in this kingdom and quite a few outside of it, so it would be my honor to help you track down your beau."
"Wait, what?" Rin started, blinking in bemusement as he tried and failed to pick apart the reasoning. Wasn't this too helpful for a stranger?
"Unless you don't want my help. Just say the word and I'll be out of your pretty hair." Mephisto said carelessly like he didn't really care and he hadn't just gone completely out of his way for Rin.
"Pretty?" Rin muttered, brows drawing as his feelings of bafflement increased.
A beaming smile met him and refused to waver at his squint.
"Although," Mephisto kept on, "You may want to procure the services of a barber in town, at least to trim that up and get some hair pieces to tie it back, it's no fun trying to walk with hair that length when the wind picks up."
Rin tugged at the hair that, now that it had dried, reached down to his waist. He was sure he didn't remember the few humans he'd met acting like this the last time he'd been on land with Yuri as a kid. It had been so long ago though that things were a bit fuzzy.
"Ah! We're here." The words interrupted his thoughts and he looked to see they'd reached the marketplace, a hive of activity, sights, smells, and sounds that buffeted Rin as he tried to parse them and couldn't.
His ears rang, but Rin just peered closer to some of the stalls selling food that made his mouth water. He loved cooking, but generally he ate things raw in order to accommodate the environment. Cooked food had to be prepared above water or in caves specifically meant for that purpose. Though he'd learned to cheat and use his phosphorescent flames to heat things too.
"Hungry?" Mephisto broke in.
A hand pressed to Rin's and he startled before letting Mephisto guide him from the carriage and to the stall where cooked meats hung from hooks and skewers.
"Yeah," Rin felt himself saying, gaze locked on the meat and saliva pooling in his mouth.
A chuckle drifted from Mephisto but he didn't even care, too absorbed in the display. He had to learn how to make these things if it killed him.
But before he could reach out and take the food in front of him, the steely-eyed man behind the counter coughed and held out a hand. "Money first."
Money? Ah. Rin remembered humans liked their currency and dug through the pouch of it he'd brought with him where it hung inside his overcoat layer. But, just before he could drop it into the waiting hand, Mephisto pressed his fingers to Rin's and pushed them back towards his chest.
"That's a bit more than you'll be needing for this, Rin," he said and paid with his own currency. "Allow me."
As they walked away, Rin glanced up at Mephisto. "Why isn't my money good here?"
"Oh, it's very good, too good, in fact," Mephisto said with a laugh. "You'll want to keep those hidden, wouldn't want you getting robbed on your first day in the city."
They were the shiny gold coins that humans liked to keep on board their ships which, when sunk as they so often did, made for fun places to explore at the bottom of the sea. Rin had collected a few souvenirs from various shipwrecks, though he hadn't thought the currency would be so out of place.
"Huh, ok," Rin said, then tore into the kabobs he'd gotten, nearly moaning at the flavor and ignoring the juices running down the corners of his mouth. His fangs snapped down over the stick and cracked the thin wood. Rin spat the thin stick to the side and went back to devouring the food until he'd licked all traces away with sweeps of his tapered tongue.
"If one didn't know better it would seem as though you've never seen food before," came the sly comment from Mephisto.
He didn't know if it was meant to imply anything but Rin wasn't completely ungrateful so he let it slide with a "Thanks for the food."
Mephisto kept up a conversation the entire meandering way through the city, playing tour guide to Rin as he pointed out various places and information about the people who lived there.
Despite himself, Rin couldn't help the interest that grew in the things he saw. He'd never really paid much attention to the humans and their lives before, despite the things Yuri would tell him of her past life on land. She just held so much interest in the sea that her old life hadn't had much draw anymore.
And the one time he'd been on land…
Repressing a shiver, Rin kept himself focused on the present.
"Here we are, the best place in town to get a trim," Mephisto said and gestured to the ornate building they'd stopped in front of. "In you go~"
"Is my hair really that weird?" Rin said, walking in anyway as he tried to figure out why everyone kept looking at him on the streets.
A smile slid over Mephisto's face, showing just the points of his dull human teeth, and he reached to take a section of Rin's hair to rub between his fingers. The proprietary touch made Rin frown, but he allowed it.
"You're a vision on land, an Aphrodite on her shell," Mephisto purred, his motions slowing as he caressed the hair in his grasp. Rin's breath stuttered, gaze narrowing on Mephisto and caught in his stare that had become hypnotic, until, with a laugh, he broke it and dropped his hold.
"Or you would be if this didn't look as though you'd crawled out of the sea and forgot to wash the sand and salt out after."
"Ah," Rin coughed, fighting the heat in his cheeks as he realized the salt had been making his hair a bit itchy. It wasn't his fault he'd forgotten! He didn't have to worry about these things beneath the waves.
"Never fear, you're in capable hands," Mephisto said as he waved Rin over to a waiting man who immediately got to work when Mephisto spoke.
It made Rin's hackles rise to have a stranger at his back, but Mephisto's presence where he sat across from Rin helped some, allowing him to keep his flinches to a minimum whenever the sharpened shears came too close to his throat.
"Keep it long," Rin said when the man suggested some of the current styles he'd seen on the streets that he refused to consider.
In the end, Rin rose from the chair with his hair detangled and unsalted, split ends trimmed off, and styled into a complicated braid he would have knotted his fingers into if he'd even attempted it. It would be hell to try taking out after, he knew.
He grinned at himself in the polished metal mirror, flicking the ends of the braid in satisfaction.
"Thanks," he chirped at the man, getting a short bow in return.
Again, Mephisto seemed happy to pay, having become Rin's benefactor somehow, and he resumed the tour that wound up with them at a clothing "boutique," whatever that meant.
There were way too many frills. Rin scowled as Mephisto held up one of the gold-laced jackets to his body and shoved it down. "There's no way this is in style."
"Too much?" Mephisto said in a way that had to be mocking. "I just had a meeting with a man wearing much the same, though his was customized by the top designers in the country."
"Too much," Rin said, firm.
"Pity," Mephisto didn't look like he knew the meaning of the word, "but the customer is always right in matters of taste."
His hand slid over the sleeve of Rin's current jacket, not making contact, but causing his skin to tingle at the phantom touch anyway.
"I believe blue would suit you," he said, a low rumble in his chest. "A royal blue."
"Er," Rin trailed off, ears twitching where his hair hid the pointed tips. Was that a reference? Did he know? But how was that possible?
He watched as Mephisto selected several more things for him to try, which were much less floofy, thankfully. He couldn't think about why Mephisto would go through the entire day like he had if he suspected Rin's identity.
"Try these," Mephisto said, looking more excited about getting to dress Rin up like a doll than he was to get out of the salt-worn clothes he'd dragged up from the same shipwreck he'd gotten the coins from. It was almost proprietary.
"There!" The final tie slipped into place and Mephisto patted Rin's chest, smoothing over the folds where they lay. The heat of his body burned through the thin fabric in distracting ways. "Perfect, wouldn't you agree?"
Enthusiastic nodding came from the shop owner, Rin glancing down to see the silky blue material where it wrapped to his body.
It did look good.
Another flurry of movement and somehow Mephisto had gotten several more outfits and underlayers and more ordered that would arrive when finished that Rin didn't understand the point of before they left the shop and the now very happy owner.
"That's enough excitement for one day, wouldn't you say?" Mephisto said as he led them back to the waiting carriage with the driver Rin hadn't actually gotten the name of.
"Since you don't have anywhere to stay, you're more than welcome at my manor until we can track down your promised one."
"And can we eat again?" Rin said, already wondering when he'd get to try more of the foods of the human world.
Chuckling came from Mephisto, but Rin didn't care, more than happy to ignore the humor at his expense if it meant he got more food.
"Yes, Rin, we can get more food," he said, a fond quirk to his smile as he settled back into the carriage, legs once again pressed to Rin's in that distracting way.
A decision came to Rin, then, the longer he thought about his task and the mysterious man who had given his aid. There were ways to trade legs for fins, and if Mephisto kept teasing Rin the way he was then he would be taking him back to the sea along with his claim.
He hoped he kept teasing.
How utterly delightful.
Mephisto traced his eyes over the newly clean-cut figure Rin made and hid a purr of pleasure that wanted to form behind a careful smile.
Now, framed in blue silks and velvet pants contained by new leather boots, with his hair twisted into an intricate braid perfect for trapping between his fingers, Rin made a charming sight. It was just a pity he'd rejected the more lavish styles, though he couldn't see Rin wearing them the same way dear Arthur did.
A pretty package waiting to be unwrapped all the same.
He hummed one of the new songs he'd heard at the last play he'd attended and wondered if Rin might like to join him at the next.
Their path took them past the tight cluster of apartments and into the larger estates that ringed the city. Tall walls and ornate gardens began to sprawl on either side, letting the scents of roses and other seasonal flowers drift through the air.
It would be something Rin had never experienced before.
"If you'd like we can tour some gardens," Mephisto said when he noticed Rin's nose twitch as if trying to place each scent. "Who knows, with luck your betrothed will be hiding amongst the flowers."
His comment earned him one of Rin's now familiar glares that said he knew Mephisto teased with his words. But at the guileless smile he wore Rin softened, gaze returning to the window as he shifted.
"Are there animals in the gardens too?" Came the unexpected question.
Mephisto blinked, then let his grin melt into something charmed. "Some of them. We'll add those to our list, hm?"
Sunlight highlighted Rin's returning smile, the first true one he'd given Mephisto since he'd fallen into his path, and he couldn't tell which was brighter, the smile or the sun.
Truly, a dangerous individual.
The manor came into view and Mephisto made a silent wager with himself over how long he could keep Rin's attention before his quest captured it again.
And he had many, many things to district Rin with.
If the estates they'd passed before had seemed massive, they had nothing on the one they neared now.
A gleaming metal gate closed behind them, the road leading to the manor long and winding and the grounds wide. Plants had been shaped like animals, fountains and pools fit between them with paths that drew his gaze as he wondered where they went and what else they hid.
It made him want to explore in the same way the canyons and cave systems did in the ocean.
"Woah," Rin said when he turned to see the elaborate manor they pulled up to. "Is this all for you? Do you get lost in here?"
Laughter left Mephisto at his questions, but Rin was too focused on wondering how he'd find his way around what looked like a maze.
"Come, Rin, let me give you the tour then we can eat, yes?"
More food? Rin perked up, curious to try more of the things humans ate.
There were so many things he'd caught just exploring the market, he could only imagine what else existed.
Rin decided that even if Mephisto was hiding something he wouldn't eat him for the betrayal, not after he'd gotten so much out of the deal so far.
Nodding to himself, Rin allowed Mephisto to lead him through the giant doors. The inside of the manor was if possible even more incomprehensible. A million doors and halls going in all directions and each filled with decorations he couldn't tell the purpose of besides clutter.
"What is all this stuff?" Rin asked, half horrified, half morbidly curious. Was that a shrunken head? He knew Amaimon liked to keep the skulls of his most challenging fights to let the seagrass grow through but he didn't think humans enjoyed those things.
"I'm glad you asked!" Mephisto said, and to be fair, he did seem happy at Rin's interest in his collection.
It was interesting. Rin had never heard of half the things crowding out display cases and shelves, and while history had never really been his thing, learning about the world above water was making him want to see more of it for himself.
Maybe he could take a detour through some of the locations Mephisto talked about in his hunt for his soon-to-be claim. If Mephisto came with him then he could tell Rin more about the things he saw, too.
"And here's where you'll be staying," Mephisto said as he held a door into a room for Rin.
Inside, a bed with layers of soft covers and more pillows than Rin thought one person needed took up the biggest focus. Another door sat to one side and a large lattice window allowed the setting sun to paint the room in a golden light.
"Your bathing chambers are through that door," Mephisto said, indicating said door as Rin tried to understand what a "bathing chamber" was. "If you need assistance call on Belial and he will take care of your needs."
Rin would rather Mephisto took care of his needs, but he would accept his head servant's assistance in his place.
"Now, I'm sure you're hungry again," Mephisto said as he directed Rin from the room again.
He was hungry, the earlier food barely an appetizer. Rin let Mephisto's voice wash over him as he glanced in open curiosity at all the things they walked past and debated on if humans would be as interesting as mer to really play with or if Mephisto would prove too fragile.
His thoughts broke when they came to another room, this one with a desk overlooking a large lattice window and bookshelves lining the walls.
"We'll start here in the study–no need to dine in the formal room." Mephisto sat at the desk, already ringing one of the bells attached to strings nearby.
A servant came in and quietly accepted Mephisto's request, then left just as quietly.
"I'm sure you'll be wanting to begin your search right away, yes?" Mephisto leaned back in his chair while Rin dropped into the cushy chair opposite the desk, testing the strength of the wood. So many chairs he'd seen in the ocean but the wood broke easily if he slammed into it, or slammed someone else into it.
This chair didn't even creak when he pressed at the arm. He let his gaze slide over the large, high-backed chair Mephisto sat in and he thought it would be even sturdier.
"Yes," he said, eager to see if Mephisto would actually be able to help him or not. "I need to find him."
"Him, hm?" Mephisto said, brow raised and his gloved fingers steepled on the desk. "And do you have any details to help begin our search?"
Rin stared at the gloves and Mephisto's put-together appearance and thought he could use a little roughing-up.
"Yeah," he said, fighting to recall the little Iblis and Amaimon had been able to tell.
"He likes people and collecting useless stuff–and he's gotta be at the center of attention. Smug, insufferable grin," Rin rattled off as he counted the traits off on his fingers and tried to remember anything else.
"Oh," he paused, seeing the twitching grin on Mephisto's face. "And he'll be close to the sea."
A long pause followed where Mephisto exhaled a slow breath through his nose before replying.
"I see. And is there a name or any physical description besides 'insufferable smile' to go off of?" The twitching in Mephisto's smile continued. "You have just described most of the upper-class members of society, you realize?"
Had he? Rin cocked his head, then blinked and added, "His name is Samuel–er, Samael."
That stilled Mephisto from his twitching and the smile widening on his face. "A unique name, and not one I've heard spoken by anyone in court here. Are you sure?"
Of course he was sure. Rin nodded.
"He's in disguise," he said as an afterthought. "Maybe he changed his name, too."
The unnatural stillness bled away and Mephisto rocked in his chair as if amused, head bobbing to Rin's words. "A fair assumption, though if I may ask, why is your betrothed hiding?"
Good question. Rin snorted and slumped in his chair, idly picking at the fabric of the arm as he answered. "No clue, but I'm gonna find him and bring him home."
"So you've said," Mephisto grinned wryly before beginning to drum his fingers to the desk.
"You've given me a tricky little puzzle to solve," he drawled after a while. "But, I'll be more than happy to put you up until we can hunt down this person."
"Thanks," Rin said as his pulse thrummed at the renewed hunt and he rose from the chair. "Let's go."
Instead of standing with Rin, Mephisto laughed. "Patience, Rin. Or did you want to skip your meal to hunt?"
He waved a hand. "If your betrothed has been absent this long, I'm sure he's not going to be disappearing if you don't begin immediately."
That was probably true, and Rin really wanted more of the human food. He sat back slowly, gaze pinned to the door as if compelling the servant to move faster.
"Patience," Mephisto murmured in repetition, voice low and eyes hooded when Rin met them as the sight drew him from his coiled position. Teasing again.
The door opened while he was trapped in Mephisto's gaze and snapped Rin free.
Scents pulled him towards the trays the servant set to the desk and Rin thanked the man, saliva pooling in his mouth again. One looked like the meat he'd had at the market, crispy skin seasoned and the juices pooling beneath in a way that had his fangs extending.
Some plates smelled sweet, something Rin struggled to parse at first because few things tasted sweet beneath the waves. His only reference was the one trip he'd taken with Yuri.
Other plates had some green plants, both cooked or uncooked, with sauces drizzled over them he considered but ignored in favor of the meat. He already reached for the first mysterious item on the plates, ignoring that they burned his fingers to touch as he sank his fangs into the giving flesh and groaned in happiness at the flavor.
A sound from Mephisto had Rin darting his gaze to see him wincing.
"Ah," he began, delicately taking some of the metal things set beside the food and waving them to take Rin's attention. "It seems we'll have to teach you something of current court etiquette if you're to mingle with the nobles in your search."
Rin frowned and cracked down on the bone he'd been gnawing on, tonging the marrow free. "Etiquette?"
Another wince came as Rin swallowed the now-ground bone.
"Yes," Mephisto indicated the metal things next to Rin. "Court etiquette is crucial to moving within those circles, and, as it seems like your betrothed is likely someone of influence, you'll need to learn the steps."
"Ok," Rin said after considering the idea. It couldn't be that hard to learn human etiquette and if it made it easier to find his claim he would do it. He crunched down on another bone and blinked as Mephisto tapped a finger to the desk to get his attention.
"First things first, you're going to have to learn how to eat."
How to eat?
"Here," Mephisto pressed a square of fabric that had been sitting on the table into Rin's hand. "Clean yourself. This will be your first lesson."
Later, after a truly baffling experience in which Rin learned the metal bits were called "utensils" and the fabric a "napkin" and that he was apparently expected to use both instead of his hands to eat, Rin found himself in another room as Mephisto explained the things he would need to learn.
"Eating correctly is only the beginning, I'm afraid," he said, hand coming up to pat his shoulder while he paced. "You'll need dancing lessons, sword fencing, court titles and when to use them. How to bow and to which people. How to sit, of course, and bearing in general. The process of a tea and coffee service. Royal precedence, too. Ah–what else?"
His head rang with all the lessons he'd need to pick up, half of them forgotten.
Except…
"Sword fencing?" Rin said, knowing that one just because Yuri had described them to Rin the one time he'd been on land so he knew to avoid the humans carrying them at all costs.
He really, really wanted to learn to use a sword.
"Just in case manners fail and you need to defend yourself," Mephisto said as if Rin weren't perfectly capable of defending himself with claws and fangs, let alone his flames.
But, if all that would really help, he would at least have learned something interesting on land, even if the rest sounded boring.
"For now, a bath and sleep would be in order, I think.
That ended his night, Rin finding himself back in his room with a reminder that he just needed to ring one of the bells if he wanted something.
The servant, Belial, arrived accompanied by a cart holding a variety of things Rin couldn't place as he stared into the bathing chamber with furrowed brows. What was he supposed to do here?
"My pr-sir," Belial said, getting his attention with a gesture.
"Uh," Rin scratched at his cheek, "what do I do?"
Belial didn't comment on his lack of knowledge, moving to the bath to twist one of the knobs and soon hot water began to fill the massive tub that could have fit at least five others.
Five others or–Rin squinted that was definitely big enough for his tail to fit too.
Were all tubs this big?
Still, the water looked inviting after so long not in it and Rin gladly stripped from the clothes he'd just gotten that day.
He let out a soft hiss of pleasure as he stepped down into the tub, ignoring his instincts telling him to change as Belial came to add things to the water while Rin settled.
"What's all that?" Rin said, curious about the little brightly colored flowers and other things going into the bath. They smelled good, but he wasn't sure that they were the same as the things used to cook with. Though they might be and he wanted to know if he could see how the food was made next time.
"I'm preparing a scented bath to make it more calming, sir," Belial answered, adding drops of oil next.
Did humans all do these things for every bath? Rin sniffed to catch the unfamiliar scents and decided he liked them, trailing a finger through the oil pearling on the surface.
His long hair was bound in a twist to the top of his head and pinned in place while Rin was distracted. The touch tensed him as he adjusted to the new weight piled there. Belial's hands scrubbing him down with a sponge in the next moment froze him further until he gave a mental shrug and allowed the servant to clean the rest of the salt from his body.
"That was relaxing," Rin said with a nod of thanks after he was helped out of the tub, not that he was sure why he needed the help, but his new limbs were a bit shaky after so long in the hot water so he didn't shake the touch off.
The unfamiliar touching continued as Rin stepped from the tub while Belial dried and dressed him in sleep robes–their purpose confusing him because who needed robes to sleep in–before combing his hair. A finishing twist put the strands into a new, simpler braid.
"Enjoy your rest, sir. I will come for you in the morning for breakfast," Belial murmured again, bowing as he left.
Soft covers slipped over Rin's body when he dropped onto the massive mattress that was big enough for at least three people. He kicked his legs, feeling the strange sensation of fabric against skin and shivering in delight. It wasn't as good as waves against scales but good all the same.
He drifted, already anticipating what other strange things he'd experience before his task was accomplished.
When he blinked awake next, sunlight warmed his eyes, a stream from the part between the curtains that widened with Belial's quiet motions.
The man had come in with a knock and proceeded to help Rin into another of his outfits, this one a deeper blue with white edging and a scarf he itched to tug at.
"Can we eat now?" Rin asked, his curiosity beginning to edge into boredom as he fidgeted.
"Yes, my–sir," Belial said, that same pause in his address as before that Rin shrugged at, more concerned with the food he would be getting than whatever Belial was supposed to call him.
"And Mephisto will be there?" Rin asked as they moved down the many winding halls.
At Belial's nod, Rin smiled, toothy and head bowing forward. His pupils slivered beneath his lidded gaze as he thought about how his stay with the helpful man would go.
"Ah, all refreshed I see," Mephisto said when they entered an ornate room with a long table Rin wasn't sure was necessary for just two.
His gaze traveled the various plates already laid out and a sound of delight escaped Rin. He bound the rest of the way to the seat next to Mephisto and reached for the nearest plate, already salivating around his fangs.
A hand on his wrist stopped him and Rin sent a confused frown Mephisto's way.
"What are you doing?" he said, fingers curling with the unspoken threat.
Tutting answered him, though instead of releasing his wrist, Mephisto pressed until it settled on one of the utensils beside Rin's plate.
"I see we'll have to have some more remedial lessons before you can make an appearance in society."
Rin's brows furrowed. He knew dining etiquette, he'd just learned it last night, though it was wholly different to mer practices. Whoever couldn't defend their own meals didn't get any. Claws and fangs were acceptable and if your fighting involved someone bigger and stronger, then you had to be ready for the consequences or learn to fight dirty.
Given Rin was used to eating with his kings or Satan, he mostly just had to deal with Amaimon's claws sneaking things from his portion. Yuri kept things civil in comparison to the rest of the empire because of her human upbringing, but she'd integrated with mer society wholeheartedly in the decades since her arrival.
"Yes," Mephisto drew Rin's attention back, "We'll begin again with the cutlery and go as you eat, hm?"
His thumb brushed to Rin's pulse where it beat slow and steady. Rin flexed his fingers again and imagined Mephisto engaging in mer etiquette. It was too bad his nails looked too delicate to do any real harm, Rin would have liked to see him with claws.
"Ok, fine," Rin said. He sat back and stared at the hand still on his. "Teach me again."
"Wonderful!" Mephisto chirped and took his hand away. Rin hid a grumble at it but tried to pay attention as Mephisto picked up his own metal piece before launching into an explanation of everything on the table.
"That's so much," Rin said, glaring at the fork in his hand as if it had insulted him personally. "What's the point?"
He stabbed it to the meat–a breakfast sausage, somehow different from the sausage they'd had at dinner but equally as good–Mephisto had gestured for him to take, mollified somewhat.
"This will become second nature the more you use it," Mephisto said in a wave of his hand. He ate with the other, Rin's pupils slitting at every dart of his tongue to the food. Though the glimpses weren't obvious unless you looked, which Mephisto had coached Rin on as it being "improper" to chew with your mouth open.
But Rin still caught the occasional hint of pink, the sight almost as tantalizing as the meal.
Amaimon and Iblis had taught Rin to take what he wanted, but Azazel had taught him teasing could be just as enjoyable, and Lucifer, despite being so boring about it, taught Rin a bit about the fun he could have playing the long game and of worship.
Patience wasn't his preference, but Rin was going to be staying with Mephisto for as long as it took to find his claim. And when he did, Rin thought it might be fun to see if Mephisto would enjoy learning the finer points of mer etiquette after Rin convinced him to take his own fins.
If Rin had any say in things, he would be coming home with two claims.
"I'd like to introduce you to Miss Shura Kirigakure," Mephisto said with bright cheer and a gesture to a woman watching Rin with a raised brow over a cool smile. Her eyes swept down Rin in clear appraisal, but he couldn't tell what she thought.
"Hi," Rin said. He shifted in the new outfit Mephisto had commissioned for him, one of many the tailor had sent over the next day. Was she here to help with the search? Rin wasn't sure he wanted any more humans around him, not when he was busy with Mephisto.
"Cute," Shura said and brushed her hand through her cropped red hair. "But I'm not sure he'll survive lessons with me, sir."
Rin's nose wrinkled in affront. "Hey!"
"I've got more important things to do than train some brat, you know," she scoffed, ignoring Rin's growl.
A clap and Mephisto interrupted his response, bringing their attention back to his widening smile. "Wonderful! You're both getting along already."
What was his definition of getting along? Rin's glare transformed into confusion, glancing at the woman to see resignation on her face. He realized he would probably have to remember her name because of whatever plans Mephisto wanted them to get along for.
"Is she going to help?" Rin said with crossed arms.
Her muttered "brat" had his ears twitching until Mephisto coughed and began his explanation with no sign that he recognized the tension at all.
"Shura here will be your swordplay instructor," Mephisto said, flicking his fingers to indicate the sword at her hip.
Immediately, Rin's gaze focused and his earlier trepidation abated.
"Cool," Rin breathed. He'd seen so many on the sunken ships, but most were already rotting away and if Yuri hadn't explained what they were to him–that they were a dangerous weapon he should watch out for if he were ever on land–he wouldn't have given them a second thought.
"Can I have my own sword?"
At Mephisto's nod, he couldn't help the cheer, looking as if his promised sword was somewhere in the room.
"Not yet," Shura said, a sigh blowing her bangs back from her forehead. When Rin's mouth opened for argument, she raised a hand. "We start with practice swords and if you can last five minutes against me I'll consider letting you use a real one."
That was fine, he could do five minutes. Though Rin thought if she could see the fights he got into and won without any swords, she'd stop underestimating him so much.
Although–Rin's frown reformed, turning back to Mephisto. "Why can't you teach me?"
If this was training humans had to learn then that would mean Mephisto should also know it.
"I'm flattered, Rin," Mephisto purred, getting an eye roll from Shura.
"Shura is a capable instructor, however–" he halted another of Rin's objections– "I will be assessing your progress when we meet up at the end of the day."
Rin perked up, nodding. That was better. He could show Mephisto just how much he'd learned and maybe the display of skill would convince him to accept his claim.
"After your sword lessons, Belial will tutor you in the various court conversational etiquette basics–" Rin felt his mood deflate at the boring-sounding lesson– "followed by your dance instructor, then a break for lunch with me and a display of your skills, and then you'll go to your last tutor for calligraphy."
He didn't know what calligraphy or dancing entailed, but he hoped they were more like sword practice than dining etiquette
Shaking his limbs out, Rin pushed the thoughts aside for the more immediate present, pulse beginning to pick up in anticipation of a fight.
"I'll leave you both to it, hm?" Mephisto nodded while Rin reached for the practice sword with a widening grin.
"First things first," Shura said, then swatted Rin in the thighs while he yelped at the sudden attack, unsure if he was supposed to respond or not. "We practice our forms and starting position."
Rin narrowed his eyes and prepared himself for the long haul.
"Again!" Shura snapped, her sword following with another sting that Rin had long grown numb to after hours of feeling its corrections.
His limbs shook, though not from exhaustion. The promise of bloodlust sang in his veins after so much build-up. Each slow example of a form, each repetition, nothing like an actual fight, but whose promise had him clenching his sword tighter until Shura swatted at his fingers to loosen them again.
"Ok," she said when Rin thought he'd explode with the slow pace. "You're not too horrible at this. Not great, but you're a natural so that shouldn't last nearly as long as some of the other brats I have to teach."
"That's it?" Rin nearly growled, a pout twisting his lips at not getting the release he wanted from a good fight.
"You're really a glutton for punishment, huh?" Shura laughed, shaking her head as she clipped the practice sword back to her belt and went to ring one of the bells to summon a servant.
"Fighting is fun," Rin said in explanation, though he thought that was basic knowledge he shouldn't have to explain, but clearly it was different for humans.
"Hey," Shura shrugged and tugged her uniform jacket on, "if you want to continue, you'll be seeing Mephisto later anyway."
The pulse that had been cooling flooded through Rin again as he remembered Mephisto's promise.
They would be fighting later. He'd told Rin to demonstrate what he'd learned.
Heat coiled in his body, only tempered by Belial's arrival to direct him to another room to bathe after his exertions. The heat of the water only roused it further, as Rin happily stripped from the restrictive clothing to step into the water, steam wafting around his body.
He couldn't seem to ignore the interest Rin's thoughts and the tease of a lesson had roused, gaze dropping before shifting aside beneath his dark lashes while he directed Rin to sink into the tub.
Rin watched Belial continue his duties, licking his lips in a slow slide in appraisal of the stoic servant.
It would be a good reward for his patience throughout Shura's lesson.
When Belial reached to begin scrubbing Rin down, he struck, taking the wrist in hand and pulling until Belial gasped, tripping into the water and Rin's lap.
"My pr–ah–Sir!" Belial cried out, sputtering as the water drenched his black suit and dripped from the equally dark strands of his now ruined hair. It dropped onto fluttering lashes and down his cheeks that had flushed the moment Rin shifted him to straddle his hips.
A soft moan left his lips instead of any words as Rin ground up to the clothed body, hands directing his hips down to meet each rough movement.
Soon, he had Belial joining his motions, shoulders bunched and hands gripping the tiled edges of the tub on either side of Rin. His head hung, eyes closed, and panting in desperate breaths, still trying to be quiet like his presence wasn't fully noticed already.
Fire stoked from Rin's core at the sight, his length hardening in interesting ways he wasn't familiar with, much different than the way his mer body reacted but equally as good.
Though, missing from the coupling was the threat of violence, Rin's blood singing for it until he latched his teeth to Belial's bottom lip and bit, drawing a harsh cry.
"Ah!" Belial arched above him, hips jolting in Rin's hold and sending water over the sides of the tub.
Rin laughed and lapped the blood he'd won free from the abused mouth, before taking pity on the servant and dragging his hands to his ass and kneading. His actions brought a new obstruction to his attention. The clothes were still in the way.
He lifted Belial despite the whimpers his lack of contact drew out, tearing down the pants to release his length and peering at the sight of it bobbing in the rippling water.
The head looked like a painful shade of purple-red, leaking from the tip and bringing Rin to press the pad of his thumb over it in curiosity only to get a deep moan torn from Belial's chest that he tried to stifle with a fist over his mouth.
"Come on," Rin said around a grin and jerked Belial back into his lap. "Don't hide your voice. It's not fun that way."
Humans were strangely shy. How did they ever get anything done if they were too busy blushing about every touch? It must have been the etiquette thing holding them back.
Another bite at the line of skin over a collarbone broke more soft cries free. He thrust to the length pressed to his, a quick pace that Belial gave into with a groan, trembling like he would shake apart around Rin and eyes still squeezed shut even as he tilted his throat in clear submission.
At the sight, Rin bit the offered column of skin, his teeth bruising but not tearing through because he knew humans were more breakable and he didn't want to kill the servant when he'd been so helpful.
His pleasure sparked through him at the sight of the marks he'd left and Rin let his own moans freely fall from his mouth, licking over the darkening bruise before clamping his teeth down on Belial's jaw and coming.
Sharp jerks of his hips to Belial's sent the man over his own edge, heated length sliding to Rin's belly where he rutted and his release swirling in the water between their bodies.
"Ah-ah-ah." The sharp little gasps brought Rin to nip more lines into the bared throat, a pleased hum purring through him at a satisfying end to the first lesson.
He sank back against the tub and allowed Belial free, sated and relaxing into the water.
"Please, sir," Belial managed with a last heavy breath to collect himself. "Allow me to change the water so we can finish your bath."
Oh yeah. Rin blinked at the reminder. They had been supposed to be getting him clean.
A shrug and Rin went through the motions, content as Belial drew a new bath and left Rin to get into it while he got a change of clothes.
Composed again, except for the red marks blossoming on his skin he couldn't hide, that was. Rin smiled, accepting the hands in his hair that still shook with the aftershocks of their coupling.
It had lessened some of the roiling fire in his veins, but some still simmered at what was coming around the corner and Rin luxuriated in the feeling with a hum of pleasure.
"If you'll follow me, sir," Belial said when he'd finished drying and clothing Rin as if Rin couldn't do it himself. He hadn't thought humans were this touchy, not like the mer pods where it was common to see them draped in tangles of fins and tails.
What was the truth then? Were humans shy or not?
His thoughts wandered until he realized they'd arrived at a room with floor-to-ceiling shelves lined with books.
"That's so many," Rin said, wide-eyed. "Does he actually read all these?"
Who had time for that? Rin had a basic understanding of reading and speaking their language, Yuri having used her magic to build a curriculum for him outside of the mer collection of knowledge, but it was hard to focus on reading when he'd rather be doing other things.
It was even harder to focus when Belial began instructing him in "court etiquette."
The sheer amount of rules to memorize had his head spinning within the first five minutes and contemplating pinning Belial to the shelves to get him to stop talking within ten.
Rin resisted, knowing it would just end up with him having to do it all over again when Mephisto inevitably quizzed him on what he'd learned.
He could show Mephisto what he'd learned, alright. Rin scowled and grumbled, fighting the pout that wanted to form as he learned about all the different ways to bow to people depending on their rank and his.
Horrible. Rin was going to die before he even made it to Mephisto.
"Hey," he started when he thought his brain was actually melting from his skull. "Where'd Mephisto find Shura and everyone here? Like does everyone here work for him?"
It had seemed more like Shura was doing a favor but Rin couldn't tell with humans who belonged to who.
A pause answered Rin and he glanced up from the desk he'd sat at for what felt like forever, wondering what he'd said wrong.
"Miss Kirigakure and those like her all come to my master for much the same reason," Belial began after a minute, dark eyes turned to the side. "It's not my place to say, apologies, sir."
"Huh, ok," Rin said, frowning but not pushing it. Who was he to say why humans kept the secrets they did? Maybe he'd find the answer during his lessons.
Lessons continued and Rin groaned, head touching the desk as he mumbled into the wood grains. "Can we stop now? I've learned so much."
Surely that was it?
"Of course, sir," Belial said, relinquishing Rin from his torment.
"Yes!" Rin cheered as they left the library.
Freedom! He was going to complain so hard to Mephisto when they had lunch because there was no way half those things were even real rules humans memorized.
A bright smile replaced Rin's pained expression, lightening the further from confusing lessons and closer to eating with Mephisto he got.
The scents he was slowly familiarizing himself with hit him as they rounded a corner and Rin hurried to the doors, though he had to pause to let Belial open them for him, hiding a pout at another etiquette thing that only got in his way.
"Ah, Rin," Mephisto said, snapping a book shut around a piece of paper he must have been using as a placeholder, and scanning him as if he'd changed from the last time they'd seen each other. "And how were your lessons?"
Rin allowed Belial to pull out a chair for him across from Mephisto at the small table where something several sweet-smelling meats and other things he didn't recognize were already set. His pout came out in full on his face and he didn't resist slumping in his seat, an arm thrown over the back of the chair like it was the only thing preventing him from slumping to the floor.
He stole one of the small things off a plate and ate it to soothe himself while Mephisto raised a brow.
"Etiquette lessons suck," Rin said without preamble.
"Not to your liking, I see," Mephisto tutted as if disappointed by his lack of interest, though the sly gleam to his eyes said he maybe enjoyed Rin's suffering.
"No," Rin answered bluntly. "Are you sure this will help me find him?"
"Oh, without a doubt," Mephisto just nodded along as he gestured for Rin to use the utensils as if he'd forgotten again. "I'd say you're on the right track already."
"Patience, Rin," a hand on Rin's shocked him from his next grab at the dishes and he registered the undercurrent to the tone as if it vibrated through the touch. His skin prickled, instincts perked, only to stifle a growl when nothing came from it and Mephisto moved back.
"Show me what you've learned then," he waved a hand at Rin, expecting a performance, clearly.
Fine. Rin snorted and sat straight, wiping his hands in the delicate way that didn't waste any movements he'd been shown and moving to use the utensils instead of his fingers.
When they talked, Rin used the right forms of address, though Mephisto had to correct him on a few as he brought up various nobility like they were gossiping.
"Your next instructor, Lady Kamiki, comes from a long line of established priestesses," Mephisto said as if Rin should know what a priestess was. Maybe she was like a witch like Yuri? "They excel at dances and have taught many up-and-coming lords and ladies of the crown when they're not performing their duties at their temples."
"Did she teach him?" Rin asked, already wondering if she was the connection he needed to find Samael and drag him out of his hiding hole.
"Your betrothed?" Mephisto sighed as if disappointed at Rin's single-minded focus. "Unlikely, she's the newest priestess in line, and just barely out of her own lessons, but never fear! She's a master of the art. You're in excellent hands."
Damn. Rin scowled and tried not to be too frustrated by the closed avenue.
His day wasn't completely ruined, though. Rin could still salvage things with the promise he'd extracted from Mephisto.
"I still have to show you what I learned today," Rin said idly, letting his claws glance over the now-empty glass he'd been drinking from. He could see Mephisto's reflection in its surface and the way his pupils pinned, even if his expression showed exasperation.
"Well," came the drawl Rin ignored to watch Mephisto's eyes. "I had the pleasure of watching your humble beginnings with Miss Kirigakure and you've just displayed some of the etiquette lessons Belial has coached you in, so I'm not sure what else you have to show me."
What else Rin could show him, huh? He smiled in a flash of fangs, gaze hooded beneath his lashes as he rose.
"You promised," Rin said as he stalked around the table. Humor shadowed him along with a crackling energy he could see mirrored in the line of Mephisto's body as he leaned back in his chair.
"I'm not sure I'll be satisfied with your progress after such a short lesson," Mephisto purred, getting another flash of fangs and a snort from Rin when he finally stood above him, nearly touching.
"How are you gonna know if you don't try?"
Rin held one of the butter knives in his hand, letting it tumble between his fingers until, in another careless flick, he held it to the waiting fingers Mephisto brought up to stop him from pressing the edge to his throat.
"Fine," Mephisto said with a sigh as if greatly put upon by Rin's request. Like he hadn't asked Rin himself to come to him earlier. "I can see you won't be happy until I humor you."
At his acceptance Rin let the hidden smile break over his face and he dropped the knife to the table. His other hand already pulled at Mephisto's to bring him up.
"Awesome! Let's get the swords," Rin said, dragging him from the room down one of the halls he thought might bring them to the ballroom.
Laughter huffed behind him but Mephisto didn't try to hold Rin back and they eventually found their way to the place Shura had guided Rin through his first lesson.
"Will you have enough energy to complete your lessons the rest of the day?" Mephisto's question earned him a baring of teeth as Rin flashed him a wide smirk and finally released his hand, though the claws he let scrape to the delicate skin over blue veins and the pads of Mephisto's fingers were fully intentional.
"If you're too scared to play then just say so," Rin said with a cocky tilt of his head he'd learned from Amaimon worked great to goad him into playing, not that he ever really needed much prodding on that front.
"Well, if you insist, who am I to refuse?" Mephisto said, eyes shuttering and sighing as if truly put-upon. But Rin saw the flash of his irises beneath his lashes and went for the practice swords against the wall, nearly vibrating with anticipation.
His veins built with a steady pulse thudding through them as he faced Mephisto, swords in hand, and crossed them in another show of human etiquette he understood to be similar to mer posturing before a fight.
"Begin," Mephisto purred.
Rin threw himself forward with a sharp grin, not waiting for the word to finish rumbling from Mephisto's chest. Their blades slid together as Mephisto allowed Rin closer, teasing him with his scent and the fabric of his clothes just brushing by Rin.
Another step and Rin turned, but Mephisto stepped with him and his strike missed again.
Again, Rin brought his blade back in a swipe, just catching the edge of Mephisto's collar, tantalizingly close to his throat where Rin tracked the flutter of his pulse.
"Are you sure you paid attention during your lesson?" Mephisto said, his mocking tone pulling Rin's smile wider and only encouraging his assault.
"Just let me know when you get tired," Rin shot back with a thrust of the blade towards the chest he saw expand with every controlled breath through Mephisto's lungs.
"I believe the point of your lessons was to teach you correct form," came the rejoinder, a flick of Mephisto's wrist directing Rin's blade down and forcing him into a stumble. "If you're going to just blindly swing away, I'm not sure you'll gain much."
"Maybe," Rin jerked from his stumble, swiping at Mephisto's ankles only for him to dance back, "you should just teach me and I'll pay more attention."
A flurry of movements from Mephisto forced Rin to retreat until a step too far and Rin slammed to the wall he found himself cornered against. He tilted his head, gaze heated beneath lowered lashes and breaths slipping past his bared fangs. Mephisto's blade rested beneath his chin, the blunted edge a promise of danger Rin wished he could loose, unable to really be satisfied with the poor substitute for claws and fangs.
Still, "That was fun," he said, pushing into the blade and closer to Mephisto until the heat their play fight had risen under their skin burned between them, a scant inch the only separation.
"Indeed." Mephisto held the blade for a few more moments Rin could count in his baited breaths.
The blade fell away and Rin's lips twitched in a frown, not nearly ready to stop yet.
"Time's up, Rin," Mephisto said, breaking the spell their brief play had begun to cast and Rin drew from the wall with a sigh, fangs receding into a more human form.
"Such disappointment," Mephisto glanced back with a sly quirk of his lips, collecting their swords and placing them on the racks. "One would think you're going to be denied ever touching a blade again instead of regularly practicing during your stay here."
That was true, Rin could admit. But now that he'd had a taste of this kind of play he didn't want to lose it. Inevitably, he would return to the sea with his claim and leave the human act behind.
"You should come with me when I return home," Rin said the non-sequitur. They wouldn't be able to use swords in the water but Mephisto was fun, and the banter between them had Rin wanting to sink his fangs in deep just to see if he'd reciprocate.
A soft hum came from Mephisto as he rang the service bell to summon Belial before speaking. "Won't your betrothed care that you've replaced him?"
Unlikely. Rin snorted. "No. He won't care."
"And how can you be so sure when you've never met him?" Mephisto said, head tilting as he cast a faint, unreadable smile at Rin.
"He won't care, it's not in his nature." Rin shook his head resolutely, not bothering to try parsing what Mephisto might be thinking. Though Satan was possessive and jealous of any attention Yuri might pay others besides him, no mer was truly monogamous and every now and then she could coax Satan into accepting another into their den for play.
Their conversation was interrupted by Belial's arrival and Rin left to go to his next lesson. Dancing, Apparently.
"Your next lessons will be in the grand ballroom here," Belial said as he opened a set of massive doors to an even larger room.
Another ballroom? Rin boggled at the concept of needing not just one, but two massive rooms. Did Mephisto just host a lot of parties? What was the point?
More of the elaborate decorations drew Rin's eyes until they landed on the person standing in the center waiting.
Her gaze pinned him in place, a sneer curling over her lips beneath dark bangs and eyes that carried a maroon hue in the light as she huffed like they'd been late.
"This is him?" she said as she adjusted the delicate gloves on her hands like she looked for dust that wasn't there.
"Er, hi," Rin started, trying to understand if he was supposed to apply human etiquette to humans who didn't use it themselves.
"Well, let's get this over with," she said imperiously, waving a hand to bring him forward. "I am Lady Izumo Kamiki and I'll be your dance instructor. Give me your hands."
"Is this like sword fighting?" Rin said as he accepted a pair of gloves and put them on. An apparent necessity to dance.
They danced beneath the waves but he didn't think it was the same thing as the humans did. For one, how could they mimic the movements of fins through the water without either?
"Pft! You are new," Izumo snickered and Rin fought a glower. He knew he was new, ok? It wasn't like he was planning on hanging out on land until this situation.
"I'll lead the first time, and then teach you how to lead," she said, taking his hand to place them on her shoulder and his other in hers.
Dancing, it turned out, was kinda like sword fighting in that Rin had to watch his footwork and he liked it infinitely more than etiquette lessons.
"This is fun!" he chirped, watching a hint of pink rise on Izumo's cheeks while she took him through another repetition of the steps they'd been practicing. "You're really good at this, Izumo."
"It's Lady Kamiki, to you, Okumura," she snipped back, though she didn't stop their dance.
"Ok, Lady Kamiki," he said, wondering at the million forms of address and adherence to them the humans practiced. Where they had Satan as the emperor of the seas, Rin the prince, and the kings who ruled the eight parts of the sea, then the lords that had power beneath the kings, and finally their individual kin, humans seemed to have a hundred times more, nevermind the various forms of address that changed depending on the person. It was such a complicated system he wasn't sure how anyone remembered it all.
"Uh, wait," he said after a few moments when they switched to let him lead. He twirled Izumo out and brought her in again, asking, "Why doesn't Mephisto tell me to go by titles when I talk to him?"
A scoff answered him as Izumo rolled her eyes and directed him to the next steps of the dance. "Whatever game Sir Pheles is playing isn't any of my concern. I'm here to teach you dancing, not guess at his mind."
That was probably the easiest way to deal with someone like Mephisto, Rin figured. There wasn't a point in trying to outplay him at his own games when Rin would rather burn straight through to the heart of the matter.
"I'm going to dance with him after," Rin determined. Then maybe he could pick up his wooing attempts and convince Mephisto to come home with him–after finding fins to trade for legs. It was rare, but there had to be some mer who wanted to live amongst the humans and wouldn't mind trading.
"Good. Keep him on his toes," Izumo said with a wry grin. Not that Rin understood the phrase.
A final whirl, a bow, and the lesson drew to a close with Rin preening at how well he'd done, even if Izumo was a reluctant praiser.
"That was pretty good for a first try, right?" he said while she sniffed and took his gloves back.
"It'll do," she allowed, ringing the bell to summon Belial again. Rin idly wondered if she would like to play with him too after one of their lessons. His blood didn't pump as much as the actual play fights he'd had with Shura and Mephisto, but their dance was more than enough to stir his interest. The only question was if he could overcome Izumo's apparent tetchy attitude. She wasn't worse than Egyn when he was in one of his moods, though, so Rin thought it would be fine.
He hummed, rocking on his heels in anticipation of a fun after-bout play with one of his new human friends.
The door opened to allow Belial to enter and Rin waved at Izumo with a last cheerful goodbye before heading to his next and last lesson for the day. It was calligraphy, not that he knew much about it, the equivalent to human written works for mer documented through song or voice and magically inscribed into the crystals they used in almost every facet of their lives. The human way was just so inefficient. It was required, though, and if Rin had to guess, guaranteed to be as painful as the etiquette lessons.
Rin wrinkled his nose and tried not to show too much aggravation. It wasn't like Belial controlled what strange things Mephisto deemed necessary for Rin to catch his claim, so he wouldn't take it out on him–unlike a certain biological progenitor of his who was still learning how to control himself even after years of behavioral lessons from Yuri.
It might be nice to see if he could learn how to cook the amazing foods he'd been eating, though. Would that be considered a useful skill to track down his claim?
Well, even if Belial had no say in his lessons, Rin wasn't above asking, and he could always pester Mephisto if he didn't have an answer.
"Belial," Rin said, drawing it out with a grin as he stepped to the side and ducked his head. "Can someone teach me to cook? I want to learn how to make all that stuff we've been eating."
A raised brow answered him, but after a moment, Belial let out a soft cough and nodded. "I shall let Sir Pheles know you wish to add it to your rotation."
"Great!" Rin cheered, already re-energized despite the earlier encroaching boredom.
Flashes of what he'd make went through his head as they neared another tall door in the seemingly endless halls of the manor, Belial opening it for Rin and letting it close with a soft click.
Rin began to thank him when his eyes caught the next tutor who already stood at a writing desk by latticed windows. The man's body was haloed by the setting sun so Rin had to squint passed the glare to catch any details.
The picture fully formed as his eyes adjusted.
He inhaled a sharp breath through his teeth. A beat passed. Rin exhaled with a whoosh that came as if punched from his gut.
His voice tumbled out tremulously from numbed lips, but it stretched across the room, hanging in the still air like he'd shouted it.
"Yukio?"
He's alive.
End notes:
This uh, spun Wildly out of control I knew the second I stuck Rin going back as a child to the surface and being forced to flee for Mysterious Reasons~ that I was going to have to stick a back story in there somewhere.
And then my brain kept noodling about where Yukio and Shiro were this whole time and the rest of it was born 😔✌️
This was supposed to be done for mermay 2023 lmao
I hope u guys enjoyed it, I swear, I'm going back to Incandescence once this one is done 😂