Yukio!? Sheimi!?"

"No way!" Kuri said. "New Exorcists!? I didn't know."

"There was no reason for you to know," said Yukio

"I can't get any sense from those two...!" Shima thought.

"We meet again, Rin," says Sheimi.

"Sheimi!" he thought.

"In my ominous dream, someone said to awaken the vessel. So you... Who on earth are you!?"

"A dream?" Yukio said. "So, you sense it too. The dreadful premonition. The crisis of ruin."

"If you know something, tell us!" Kuri said. "What's going to happen from now on!?"

"Make no mistake. We have no intention of fighting together with you." Yukio said.

"Then you're not... allies?" Rin asked.

"I don't remember saying we were allies." Yukio said.

"Wait!" Bon said. "Are you chasing after this Lucifer guy too!? What does he want!?"

"We've never spoken," Sheimi says. She began to play her violin.

"Sheimi!?" Rin thought. Music filled the air.

"My head is splitting..." Bon said.

"These two..." thought Shima. "Oh man...! Could these two bring about our ruin!?"

"Wait!" Rin called. "Are you going to lead us to ruin!? Answer me!"

They were all knocked to the ground by two attacks.

"The exorcists..." Kuri thought. "Attacked us...!?"

Xxx

"I don't know if I should talk about them," Bon said. "Originally, the Illuminati wasn't supposed to be here. Like the Paladin, they have a different duty and jurisdiction. They're supposed to be far away. We weren't supposed to run into them."

"More exorcists besides Rin...!?" Kuri thinks.

"They're stuff of legend, veiled in mystery. But it seems that they really exist. I don't believe it. They've appeared. There must be some state of emergency..."

"State of emergency..." Shima says. "An invasion? Or is it something else...!?"

"If that's true... Why did they attack us?"

"They aren't enemies!" Kuri said. "They're allies!"

"You have no reason to say that," said Bon. "They attacked us. Just like enemies do."

"That's some greeting," said Shima.

"For whatever reason," Bon said. "they made it clear they're not allies. If they come to attack us again, we'll have to fight them."

Rin lay in bed. Kuri was asleep next to him. He held Kuri's hand. "What do those two want!?" he thought. He was a ruined city around him. A wave of water loomed overhead.

"A tidal wave!? What happened here!?" A shadowed figure stood atop a devastated pillar. "Who are you?" Rin said. "Are you the vessel?"

Rin and Kuri opened their eyes. "A dream!?"

"Rin..." Kuri said. "Did we just have the same dream!?"

"That dream..." Rin says. "The vessel..."

Xxx

Kuri sat in the park. "Rin's late," she said. "Looks like rain. Bad weather. Since then I haven't seen them. Sheimi and Yukio..." Two hands covered her eyes. She turned around. "Rin?" She saw Yukio behind her.

"I was taking a detour from my route home," he said. "You drew me here." He turned and ran away.

"Wait!" Kuri called. "Yukio!" He stopped. "Are you our ally? Another exorcist like Rin? Why won't you tell us anything?"

"I wanted to meet you while you knew nothing," Yukio said. "Kuri..."

"Yukio..."

He held her face.

"Kuri!" Rin said.

"The prince appears," said Yukio. He ran away..

"Kuri," Rin said. He held her. "What's happened? Did he do anything to you?"

"No... It's not that. It's not that..." She rested her head on Rin's chest, her eyes watering. "Why am I crying..." she thinks. "It's hard..."

Rin hugged her.

Xxx

"Want some coffee?" Rin asked.

"Sure," said Kuri.

They drank their coffee in silence.

"I wonder what Rin thinking about," Kuri thought. "Is he mad about me and Yukio being together...? But I couldn't help it. Yukio as the enemy again..."

"Rin!" she said. "Umm. I..."

"H-Hey Rin!" Shima called as he burst into the room. "I was going to meet you at the door, but you're already here!"

Kuri and Rin were silent.

"Have you been fighting?" Shima asked.

"N- No!" Kuri said.

"Rin looks angry, Kuri.", Shima remarked.

"Huh?"

"What did you do, cheat on him?"

"Cheat on him..." Kuri thought. "Is that what he's thinking? That I cheated on him..."

"Shima," Rin said. "What did you come here for?"

"Well, I wanted you to help me with my project."

Shima pulled on Kuri. "Don't go. You need to help me too. 'Kay?" He unwrapped his cup-shaped piece of clay on the table.

"What are you trying to make with the clay!?"

"A cup."

"A cup?" Rin says. "Why?"

"We'll need lots of supplies! Go to the store, Kuri!"

Kuri left the store grumbling. "So why did it have to be me...?"

She entered Rin's apartment. "I'm back! I brought some ice cream too."

She smiled as she saw Rin working with Shima on the clay.

"Wow! Shima! Look, look! It's great!"

"Yep, we finally finished it," said Rin.

"Shima..."

They saw him asleep on the floor. They laughed.

Kuri put her arms around Rin. "Rin... I'm sorry. For being like that with Yukio..."

"I believe in you, Kuri."

"When you were together with Sheimi, I got really jealous. It was stupid."

"I was full of jealousy too," Rin said. "Jealous of that guy. But I'm sure there was a reason for it. He always looks at you in that way. I think those two have hard circumstances."

"Yeah," said Kuri. "Yeah, I guess, Rin."

"Yukio's painful sorrow spread..." she thought. "I'm crying for no reason."

Rin held her. "We don't need to wake Shima up. If you want to stay here, that's okay." He held her and kissed her.

Shima peeked out from under her blanket. "Looks like they've made up." He had been pretending to be asleep so as to give Rin and Kuri a chance to talk and clear things up.

Xxx

"Bad rain clouds..." Kuri thought. "Like they're coming out from this building." She entered the Infinity building.

"You're the visiting student, Kuri, right? Junior high is on the 13th floor. Please go to the 9th grade science class."

Kuri went into the science room, where Yui was waiting. She stood next to a glass case with a black swirl of matter inside.

"You're here," Yui said. "Kuri."

"What's that?"

"Isn't it pretty? This is a miniature replica of the cosmos. I made it for a science experiment. It's the Black Dream Hole. Lotto-san?"

"I feel like I'm being sucked in..." Kuri thought.

Kuri looked at the case. "I wonder if that's a hologram," she thinks. "This black hole... I've never heard of it." Yui leaves to go do something while a camera mounted on the ceiling focuses on Kuri.

Lucifer looked at the image of Kuri in the pool of water. "I feel extraordinary power coming from the surface of the water," she says. "That power... Could it be... A vessel? She came by herself."

"My Lord. I am the leader of the science class, Bidou Yui. Leave it to me. It was clear from the beginning that the other two would fail. By my system, I will obtain the vessel. The master will certainly be pleased."

"The vessel..." said Lucifer. "It must have such strong energy." He gasped as the image in the pool vanished.

The camera lens was shattered as Kuri threw a pen into it. She ran out into the hallway. A sign by a stairway read, "Underground Laboratory. No entry." Kuri rushed down the stairs.

"Yukio!" Sheimi called, as she saw him running.

Kuri opened the door that read, "No entry." Eyes shined in cages all around the room. "An animal research lab!?" she said. "Another door!?" She read the sign on the second door. "Danger!?" She looked through the window on the door. "I don't believe it! Those are... the monsters that attacked us!? Then this must be the enemies'..."

A hand grabbed her shoulder. "Going to class, Kuri-san?" Yui asked.

"Oh no!"

Other students surrounded her. "In this class, I will take your soul. We'll start the utilization."

"What!?" Kuri thought. "What's she talking about!?"

"We're also interested in that utilization," Yukio said.

"Yukio!? Sheimi!?"

"Seize them!" Yui said to the students. "Take all three of them to my class!" They were dragged upstairs to the science classroom. "The operation has just begun!" Yui said. "The nanorobots in my program will go forth from human bodies into their souls. Through my system, I will sacrifice the souls to our master Lord Lucifer! I will sacrifice the empty bodies as vessels to our compatriots! It will be glorious!"

Kuri knocks the students around her away.

"You fool!" Yui said. "This is the 13th floor!"

Kuri jumped and landed in the swimming pool outside.

Yukio and Sheimi jumped out after her.

"Don't let them escape!" Yui said. "Go after them!"

"What's the big commotion!?" Lucifer said. "Don't let the valuable vessels escape!" she said. "The spirits are together! Get them!"

Yukio and Sheimi hid in a tree.

"We can't stay in the Infinity District anymore," Yukio said.

"You're right," said Kuri.

Yui jumped to the ground. "Where are they!? Find them!"

"You're doing needless things!" Kuri said.

"An exorcist is no match for me!" Yui snapped and the two began to fight.

Kuri gasped. "My body's..."

"Heh heh. Does it hurt? The nanomachines extracted from my program cut into your body and dissolve it! All that will be left is the soul of your beautiful spirit!"

"My body won't move...!" Kuri thought. "No..."

"Now, to our master!" Yui said. "Sacrifice the strong, beautiful spirit!"

"Kuri!" Rin called.

Rin stopped as he saw two figures before him. "Yukio!? Sheimi!?"

Yukio lifted his guns, using them to attack and defeat Yui.

Kuri fell to the ground.

"Kuri!" Rin ran over.

Yukio and Sheimi ran away.

"Wait!" Kuri called. "Yukio! Sheimi! They came to save me...?"