"How much further?" Konekomaru asked breathlessly.

"Not that far. Maybe another 20 minutes." A smiling older man told him. The bald teen couldn't help but sigh in frustration and as he took his next step he tripped and fell. The ground was approaching quickly and he braced himself for pain.

"You ok Konekomaru?" The monk boy looked up to see a mildly concerned Rin Okumura holding him by the collar of his shirt. Rin pulled the boy to his feet.

"Thanks Okumura." He said embarrassed. Rin smiled and dusted him off, not forgetting to pick up the boy's fallen glasses.

"You want a ride up?

"On your back?" Konekomaru asked and Rin laughed at him. "No, I mean on Kuro."

'On me?' A small Black cat said as it hopped off Rin's shoulder.

"No it's fine Okumura I should do this myself. You haven't even broken a sweat."

"Well that's me. You're not as strong as I am. But you're smarter than me. Use your brain."

Konekomaru looked up at the path and back at Rin and rubbed his head with a red tint on his face.

"I'd like a ride please."

Rin smiled and looked at the black cat who seemed to be annoyed at his request. In a matter of seconds the small Black cat turned into a large demon. It was about as big as a small house. The cat grabbed Konekomaru by his collar with its teeth and threw him onto his back and started to race up the mountain path.

"You're too nice, you should have just let him struggle. I mean, what kind of an exorcist can't even climb a mountain." Izumo said As she came to stand beside Rin with labored breath.

"Do you want a ride?"

"You already sent your taxi ahead."

"I meant on my back." Rin said and Izumo blushed at the thought. "What no way!" She said as she started to stomp up the mountain path.

"Ok then suit yourself." Rin said as he ran a few steps ahead of her. It didn't take long for her to call out to him.

"Wait!"

When he turned around he saw Izumo standing there with an embarrassed hue on her face.

"I want a ride." She said softly. Rin walked up to her with a confused look on his face and his ear poked out in her direction.

"What was that Eyebrows?"

"I said I want a ride!" She exclaimed and Rin laughed as he crouched in front of her. She hesitantly climbed onto the boy's back and noticed how firm his muscles were. As she put her face into his back she took in his scent and was reminded of that night she wore his shirt to sleep. She didn't know why she did it and she washed it the next day and told him it was because it stinks, but that wasn't true. She liked how he smelled.

"Hold on Eyebrows."

As Rin dashed up the mountain with Izumo on his back he thought back to how he got here. It's been 2 weeks since the Exwire exam and summer break was on the horizon. To everyone's joy they all passed the exam, even the two who didn't do anything. Mephisto rewarded their dedication with missions but really they were just odd jobs. Rin was lucky enough to sneak his way on a mission with Yukio. Something to do with their father.

That's where he got his second familiar, weirdly enough another cat. Kuro was his father's familiar, who Rin found out was the paladin. He wondered what else about his father he didn't know. When he learned Yukio got to take missions with the old man, he couldn't help but feel jealous. It felt as if he missed out on something valuable. It was the feeling you got when someone told you a joke but it's not as funny because you weren't there.

He wasn't an exorcist and he wasn't there and now that he is one his father isn't here and he never will be.

Rin was now heading to a mountain village with his two classmates Izumo and Konekomaru. They were tasked with gathering aloe as there has been a strange increase in ghoul type demon attacks. This was a routine chore for the true cross order and the village was aware of their purpose here. Their chaperone was someone Rin had never seen before. His name was Nadeshiko Yasumi. He was a Middle First Class Exorcist. His Meister was a doctor and only a doctor. The guy was nice. Rin didn't get any weird feelings from him and he kept a perpetual smile on his scared face. He was well built, probably the biggest guy Rin had ever seen and he showed it off by having the sleeves cut from his Exorcist jacket. Under his jacket he wore something like a nurse's uniform.

Rin was annoyed with this stuff. He wanted to do real missions or at least train so he could get stronger but here he was going to some mountain village to collect aloe plants.

"Rin! Izumo!"

His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of calling him and Izumo up. As Rin made it to the top of the mountain he was surprised at what he saw. From their position they and a birds eye view of a large green forest. A medium-sized village was placed in the middle of the forest and two other villagers were in the forest as well. The village was bigger than he thought it was gonna be.

"Wow it looks better than I thought." He said. As they walked through the village several of them greeted with a smile and a handshake. Rin guessed he did these missions often. What surprised him though was how the people did the same to him and the others. A lady even handed Konekomaru a pack of rice balls.

Besides the people Rin noticed the village was surprisingly well kept, the buildings weren't run down or dusty like he thought a secluded area would be. Another thing Rin noticed was the air. It felt more pure than anywhere else he's been, but it also had something weird in it.

'Hey Kuro, do you smell that?' The cat looked around confused.

'What is it?'

'I don't know, it smells kinda sour.'

"The people here are very…welcoming." Izumo's comment interrupted Rin's conversation.

"Yes this is just the way they are. Ever since I've been coming here some 10 odd years ago." Yasumi said, his smile ever present.

"So where are we going anyway? Where are we getting this aloe?" Rin asked impatiently.

"Be patient Rin. Right now we're heading to an inn, we need to rest for a while. We'll get the aloe tomorrow."

Just as he said this they arrived at the only inn the village had. It didn't even have a name. As they walked in they were greeted by an old woman. She was of average height and she had a very warm smile. Her face held very few wrinkles and she had a smoking pipe in her mouth.

"Ahh Yasumi back again."

"Yes miss Komiko. Two rooms please."

"I'm guessing the young couple will share." She said pointing at Rin and Izumo who's eyes widened. The girl started to stutter out her words while Rin tried to think of something to say.

"No, we're not a couple." He said simply while his face was rapidly turning red. Izumo jumped off his back quickly and her face was a deep crimson.

"I would never!...We would never be!... We would never be a couple! He's an idiot!" The old woman laughs at the girl's reaction.

"I used to say the same thing about my husband." Izumo looked like she may pass out after that comment while Rin just stood there quietly."


Pst. Izumo."

Izumo was awoken by a familiar voice and she opened her eyes to see Rin infront of her face. Her eyes widened and she flew up into Rin's head.

"Oww! What was that for." Rin quietly exclaimed and Izumo glared at him in the dark.

"Why are you in my room?!"

"I had something to talk to you about." Rin said, rubbing his sore forehead. When Rin got a good look at the girl he nearly had to pinch himself to focus. Izumo slept in form fitting shorts that showed off her legs. Her chest was covered by a simple shirt and Rin could tell she had on no bra. Her hair was out of its usual style and was let down showing off its beauty. And to top it off the way her eyebrows twitched in anger made her look all the more adorable to Rin.

"This couldn't wait until morning!?" Izumo asked, annoyed. The fire in her voice broke Rin out of his trance.

"Well I've kinda been putting this off for awhile now." Rin said blushing, scratching his cheek. Izumo's expression immediately changed from annoyed to anxious.

"I just wanted to ask…well… if you would be my…" Rin paused nervously.

"If I could be what?" Izumo asked with her face lit a flame. Her heart was rapidly pumping into her ears and she didn't know if the blood was making her light headed or the atmosphere.

"I wanted to know if you could be my tutor!" Rin said quickly. When Rin looked at her again he saw all the color was drained from her face.

"I know this might be asking a lot but I know you're really smart and I don't really study well by myself. I would ask Bon but I don't think he would be a good tutor so thought of you. Now that I'm thinking about it, Konekomaru might have been a good choice too but I already decided to ask you. So I was just-" Rin was interrupted by a foot flying into his face.

"You bastard!"

Rin got up with a shocked look on his face. He knew Izumo might have an adverse reaction to being his tutor but he didn't expect her to be like this.

"Calm down, I was just asking." Izumo started to throw pillows and anything she could get her hands on at the befuddle boy in her.

"What's this?"

Izumo stopped her attack when she noticed a distinctly purple garment fall on Rin's head. Rin grabbed the purple fabric with two fingers and raised an eyebrow when he saw what it was. Rin was holding Izumo's bra in his hands. He locked eyes with a stunned Izumo and his eyes shifted from her to he bra 10 times in a second. He dropped the bra in fear and backed away with a red face.

Neither one of them said anything for a prolonged period of time before the red eyed girl regained her bearings and jumped on Rin with her eyes basically on fire.

"I'm gonna kill you!"

Rin screamed in terror and grabbed her arms as she tried to choke the boy. "What's your problem? I just wanted you to be my tutor?!" Rin exclaimed as he sat up so he was face to face with Izumo.

"You played with my heart!" Izumo screamed with a shameful red covering her face. Rin looked confused as she continued to attack him but then his eyes widened in realization. But before he could say anything the door to Izumo's room burst open and Konekomaru was standing there with a worried look on his face.

"Izumo what's wrong-!" He stopped what he was gonna say when he saw the position the two of them were in. Izumo blushing red in her pajamas while straddling Rin's lower half. While the black haired teen was inches away from her face.

"What's going on here?" Konekomaru asked with a devious tone of voice. The bald headed boy was surprisingly sadistic at times, particularly with Shima.

"This isn't… it's not what it looks like Konekomaru!" Rin exclaimed while Izumo seemed to be frozen in time. "Yeah what till I tell Bon and Shima."

"What you can't tell them, they would never let me hear the end of it!" Rin didn't get to say anything else as walked in behind him and an urgent look on his face.

"Kids I heard screaming-" he stopped mid sentence much like Konekomaru had. He eyed the scene with surprise. "I'm sorry to interrupt Rin-chan, Izumo-chan." He said as he walked away with Konekomaru following him. The bald monk's face showed none of the deviousness Rin had just seen as he and their escort talked about what they had happened.

"Two faced blad brat." Rin said quietly as he looked at the frozen girl in his lap. He let go of her hands and grabbed her face and made her look at him. "Hey Eyebrows, you okay?"

Izumo snapped out of her stasis and when she noticed what Rin was doing her shocked expression was overtaken by anger. "Bastard!" She landed a clean punch on Rin's face that sent him flying into a wall.


It was midday tomorrow and Rin was standing in front of the inn with a black eye. Next to him was a seemingly steaming Izumo and Rin seemed to be afraid of her. Konekomaru and Yasumi just stood there looking confused at the two of them.

"Ok let's all forget about what happened last night. Today we'll be getting the aloe. There are three different villages here, all of us will be going to one each. Rin and Kuro will go north. I will stay here While Izumo and Konekomaru go west. Any questions?"

"How come we're splitting up?" Konekomaru asked. "Because we need a lot more aloe than usual and we don't want to take all of it from one forest. The aloe here is special and is a staple of this place. It would do harm to drain one forest of it." explained and the students nodded. Yasumi gave each group three baskets to fill up with aloe while he himself kept three.

"Ok, go on."


It took a little longer than Rin thought to get to the next village. By the time he got back to the others the sun might be setting. The village didn't look too dissimilar from the other one but the people were different. Some of them just stared blankly at Rin as he walked through the village while others greeted him with a smile. He also smelled that sour smell from yesterday here too, but it was a little stronger this time.

He decided to ignore it though as he headed to the forest, he had three baskets to fill up with aloe and Kuro didn't necessarily have opposable thumbs.

"Ok let's get started." He said enthusiastically even though he would rather be training or slaying demons right now. As he picked the aloe Kuro tried to help him and he did for a while but the black cat was last and went to sleep after the first hour. It took Rin maybe two or three more hours to finish filling up all his baskets.

"Phew, that was a hassle." He said as he looked up to the darkening sky. The sun was just beginning to set as he finished. He kicked Kuro in his side and the cat jumped up in fright. 'Aaa what is it Rin?!' Rin shook his head at his familiar. Both of the cats in his care were a handful.

"Come on, I'm finished."

Rin picked up two of the baskets and put the last one on his back as he and Kuro made their way back to the village road but as Rin was nearing his destination his nose was assaulted by the sour smell.

"Ugh it's here again!" Rin said, covering his nose and coughing a little. Now that he could finally get a good whiff of what the sour smell was Rin found it familiar. "It smells like those ghouls." When he said that, his eyes widened immediately. "Sulfur! Ghouls!" Rin ran onto the road and his fears were confirmed as a lone woman was being attacked by a zombie.

"AAAAAAAA!"

Rin immediately dropped the aloe and put his hand on his sword but something grabbed him. He turned his head to see another zombie holding his arm. Rin was about to get out of the grip but another one grabbed his leg and dragged him to the ground. He was quickly swarmed by a horde of them and he was drowning in the sour smell.

'Rin!'

Kuro screamed and grew bigger and tried to swipe the zombies away but there were too many of them. Rin was struggling to breathe under all the bodies and he could feel the trying to bite into his flesh.

"GET OFF ME!"

He screamed and his body erupted in blue flames and blew the zombies off him and were burned up. He quickly pulled his sword out and ran to the woman being attacked and cut down. He quickly turned to her and she was in shock at what just happened. "Are you okay?" The woman flinched away from Rin and Rin hesitated as memories of his childhood replied in his mind. Thankfully the woman calmed down and Rin helped her up. "Thank you." She said and Rin nodded. "Can you tell me what happened? I'm an exorcist." Rin said and the woman nodded.

"My husband and I were on a walk when he started to act strange. The next thing I knew he was attacking me- and he- he's gone!" The woman cried and collapsed into Rin's arm's. Rin held her tightly as he looked at the corpse of the man he had cut down. He felt guilty. "I'm sorry."

"You don't need to apologize, you saved my life its just he- and our daughter." The woman jumped from Rin's arm's with a shocked look. "I have to go my daughter, she's in the village, they could be getting attacked." The woman said as she ran off and Rin followed her although he didn't wait for her and ran into the village faster than she did.

His eyes widened as he made it to the village and his sword almost fell from his hands in shock. The village was burning and zombies were everywhere. Rin recognized some of them as people who were staring at him when he arrived. The woman came up behind him and was horrified at the sight. Her home was turned into hell.

"My daughter." She said as she tried to run Tino the chaos but Rin stopped her. "Wait! You could be hurt or worse. I'll go. What's your daughter's name?" The woman seems conflicted but she chose to trust Rin. "It's Mikan." Rin nodded and gripped his sword tightly.

"Kuro protect her and anybody I send over here." Rin said as he ran into the village, cutting down zombies and burning them as he looked for a particular girl. Rin helped a lot of people looking for Mikan and Kuro was crushing any zombie who got too close to them.

"MIKAN!"

"OVER HERE!"

Rin turned the corner and found a pre teen girl running from a group of zombies. Rin immediately sprung into action.

"HELLFIRE SWORD SCHOOL: FLAME DANCE!"

Rin dashed past the girl and as the names suggested danced through the crowd of zombies and cut them down. This technique was great for large groups and dodging attacks. As Rin finished off the group he ran to the girl who was out of breath. "Are you okay?" The girl answered him with stars in her eyes and amazement.

"That was amazing, Nii-san, you cut them all down just like that." She said mocking sword slashes. Rin sweat dropped at the girl's enthusiasm in this situation. "Come on, your mom's looking for you." He said and the girl hurriedly followed Rin.

"Is she and my dad ok?" She asked and Rin made a face at the mention of her father. "Your mom is fine. Your dad…" Mikan seems to understand what he was implying. She was old enough to know what death was. Tears welled up in her eyes and she fell to her knees. Rin kneeled down in front of her and put a hand on her head. "I know how you feel. I lost my dad too. But you have to get up, your mom is worried about you." Rin told her softly. The girl wiped her eyes profusely but her tears wouldn't stop.

"Can you carry me Nii-san? My legs won't work." She asked and Rin smiled and put her in his back. She cried the whole way back to her mother and the rest of the village and Rin didn't stop her. Once the older woman saw them she broke free from the crowd and rushed to Rin.

"MIKAN!" She screamed and the girl jumped from Rin's back and ran into her mother's arms. "Mommy. Daddy's gone." She cried and her mother cried with her. "I know sweetheart but Mommy's here and she isn't going anywhere ok?" The little girl nodded in her mother's chest and Rin watched. He was happy he was able to help them like this. And as he watched the girl embrace her mother he idly wondered what that would feel like. What would his mother's embrace feel like?

Rin shook those thoughts away now wasn't the time. "You guys have to get off the mountain. Kuro you go with them to make sure they're ok." Rin said.

'What about you Rin?' Kuro asked worriedly. "I'm gonna go and check on the others. Mr. Yasumi is the same rank as Yukio so he should be fine but I need to check on Konekomaru and Izumo." He said as he turned to leave.

"Thank you Nii-san!" Mikan yelled to him and Rin gave her a heartwarming smile before he took off at top speed.


Izumo and Konekomaru were doing fine at first. They had filled up their baskets and were making their way back to the village but then a group of zombies appeared in the forest and started to chase them.

"Run faster badly!" Izumo yelled at Konekomaru as he was falling behind. "I'm… huff huff… trying!" Konekomaru yelled back. He couldn't keep this up, they were running uphill and weaving through trees. It was so tiring. His eyes winded as inspiration flashed in his mind.

"Miss kamki the trees! Knock down the trees!" He yelled and Izumo caught on to his plan. She quickly summoned Mike and Uke and ordered them to cut down the trees behind them. The job was accomplished with ease and Konekomaru's plan came into fruition as the trees rolled over and crushed the zombies chasing them. The ones who weren't killed were stuck or hindered by them instead.

"I guess you're not completely useless." Izumo said and Konekomaru pushed his glasses up with a small blush. They quickly made their way into the village where they saw nobody. Nobody alive that is. Bodies littered the streets of the village and not a sound was made. As they walked through the streets the smell of rotting flesh attacked them and they scrunched up their faces.

"Do you think Mr. Yasumi and Rin are okay?" Konekomaru asked. Izumo scoffed. "Mr. Yasumi is one rank below upper class. He should be fine."

"And Rin? He's alone." Izumo scowled at nothing. "He's not alone, he has Kuro. And he isn't gonna lose to some zombies." She said heatedly and gripped her arm tightly. "We should be worried about ourselves." Izumo said as she pointed to a group of zombies in the distance. Konekomaru took a fearful back step and his foot stepped on something solid. He looked down and saw a hunting rifle in the hands of a deceased man.

He picked it up and checked the bullets. He had what seemed to be two clips left on the stock of the gun. And if Konekomaru remembers correctly this gun's magazine size was about 10. That meant he had at least 25 bullets to use counting the five already loaded. As he looked at the quickly approaching zombies he steeled himself and started to chant.

"What are you doing?" Izumo asked nervously as she backed away slightly. Konekomaru finished his chant and fired the gun. The kick back was intense for him and he was sure his shoulder would be bruised if he survived. Izumo was amazed as the bullet pierced through severely of the zombies and killed them. "It's a chant Bon had been memorizing to enchant bullets."

"Wow, you're actually pretty smart." Konekomaru blushed again, he wasn't used to these compliments from people outside of his group. Izumo took up the vanguard with her familiars and Konekomaru supported her from a distance with his rifle. As they fought the number of zombies we t down but more of them started to come from behind and neither student noticed. Konekomaru was grabbed from behind by a zombie and he dropped his rifle in fright. He tried to get free but the zombie was stronger then him.

"Miss kamki!"

He screamed and Izumo turned around to see him being swarmed by zombies. She tried to help him but she was preoccupied by the group in front of her. "Konekomaru!" She screamed but she couldn't get to him. Tears started to well up in the boy's eyes at the thought of his death but in one move the zombies were gone.

BOOM!

All Konekomaru felt was a strong gust of wind fly past his face and he felt the restriction on him he released. He opens his eyes to see Mr. Yasumi with a smiling face and a smoking fist. "I hope you're alright young miwa."

"Mr. Yasumi!" The teacher wasted no time in engaging in battle with the ramming zombies and Izumo and Konekomaru were surprised to see him blow away all the zombies with just his fists. "How did you do that? I thought you were a doctor."

"I am, I took a position that boosts my already amazing strength by ten fold." Yasumi explained. "But that kind of stimulus has to put strain on the body right?" Yasumi chuckled at Konekomaru's concern. "Yes but as a doctor I know the human body and I know how to mitigate such things. And my physic isn't just for show." The two students were amazed at his fighting style; they had never seen someone battle this way before.

"Now let's go, we have to meet up with Rin." Just as they were about to head to Rin the forest burst into flames.

"What's going on!?" Konekomaru asked in fright. "This isn't good."


In the forest Rin was running from a group of zombies, he was fine cutting down a few at a time but then they started coming in droves and the area was crowded for him to swing his sword. But as he was running a wall of fire appeared in front of him and quickly started to spread throughout the forest. Rin skidded to a stop and his eyes bludged as he turned around to see the crowd of zombies on his tail.

"Man this isn't good." He said as he drew his sword. He looked at the tree and cut them down to make more space for his swings. Just as the first few zombies got to Rin two white foxes burst from the flames behind him and pushed the zombies away. From the hole they made his comrades appeared. "Rin!" Konekomaru and Izumo shouted in joy. Yasumi came next and he blew away another group of zombies with a punch. Konekomaru shot a few in the head much to Rin's surprise and Izumo used Mike and Uke to handle the rest.

"Guys you're okay!" Rin said hugging Izumo and Konekomaru. "Get off me you idiot!" Izumo yelled in his grip, a faint blush coloring her face. "Aww come on Eyebrows you know you're happy to see me." Izumo stayed quiet but she did pry herself from his hold. "I gotta say Konekomaru you looked pretty cool with that gun." Konekomaru looked nervous from Rin's complement. "You think so?" He asked, embarrassed. "Yeah totally. I think you could be a dragon and an aria." Rin praised him more and Konekomaru laughed nervously.

"Happy to see your okay young Rin." Yasumi said, giving Rin a hard pat on his back. Rin flinched in pain but held in his cry. "Good to see you too. But can you tell us what's happening." He said breathlessly.

"I don't know. But it seems to be an organized attack of some kind." Yasumi theorized. "But why here? Why not attack the academy or something?" Izumo added. "Maybe the target wasn't at the academy…" Konekomaru said thoughtfully. As the fire continued to burn around them the group thought hard at what could be happening.

"The aloe. You said losing it could be bad." Rin said as he looked around at the burning forest. "Maybe they want to destroy the order's supply."

"Yeah they did go for mine and Miss Kamiki's baskets earlier." Konekomaru said. "But zombies are mindless creatures, they only want to feed on humans." Izumo reasoned.

"A Necron." Yasumi said abruptly and Konekomaru gasped. "A nec-what?" Rin asked, confused and Izumo raised an eyebrow as well. "A Necron is a middle to upper rank demon with the ability to control the undead." Yasumi explained. "If a Necron was controlling the zombies it would make sense how they were able to put the aloe above their craving." Konekomaru added. "But why would this demon be doing this?" Izumo questioned.

"It doesn't matter, we can think about that after we exercise it." Rin said, gripping his sword tightly. "Where can we find it?" Yasumi put his hand on his chin in thought. "A Necron isn't particularly strong on its own, it's danger is from its ability to control. It also has a range of control. So it would have to be someplace centered so it could reach all three villages and also be hidden."

"I saw a place like that. It looked like a lake or a waterfall. It was near all three villages." Konekomaru said. "Yes I know that place." Yasumi said. "Ok let's go then, lead the way guys." Rin said with enthusiasm. Before they could set off they heard fast approaching footsteps over the raging fire. Everyone got red for battle when a black mass flew into Rin's chest.

"Kuro!" He said excitedly. 'I got them down safe Rin and another group too.' Kuro proudly told him as he rubbed his head into Rin's chest. 'Good job buddy and you're just in time, we're about to put an end to this.'

Kuro transformed Into his giant cat form and everyone hopped on his back. "Everyone be prepared, as I said a Necron isn't all that strong in it's so it will be guarded." Yasumi warned them and as he said there was a large number of zombies and animal ghouls surrounded around an entity.

It was an ugly looking demon, goat horns protruded from its head and it had a long nose. Its eyes were red and it's mouth had Sharp teeth. It was particularly big, maybe the size of a large dog. It's body was covered in white fur and it's hands and feet held claws. "Let's do this!" Rin said as he jumped from Kuro who had landed and rushed into the zombie crowd. Yasumi wasn't far behind and Mike and Uke were there too.

"HELLFIRE SWORD SCHOOL: CHERRY BLOSSOM RAIN!"

Rin stabbed his sword into the air multiple times and zombies were set ablaze in pink flames. Yasumi pummeled his opponents with his fist while Mike and Uke weaved through the crowd tearing apart the zombies. Konekomaru fired shots from behind Kuro, his aim wasn't perfect but there were so many enemies it was hard to miss.

"I'll make an opening!" Izumo said as she started to chant. It was the same one she had done against the ghoul during the test. Once she was done Mike and Uke cyclones in a straight line right to the Necron. The zombies unfortunate enough to be hit with the attack were torn to ribbons by their Sharp teeth and claws. Rin wanted no time and dashed through the parted zombies before they could close and made it to the Necron.

"HELLFIRE SWORD SCHOOL: FLASH FIRE!"

As the name suggested, in a flash Rin appeared behind the Necron and the demon was cut in half and disappeared in a burst of pink flames. Rin put his sword away and turned to see the zombies had collapsed as did the animals. Rin ran over to Izumo and Konekomaru with his hand out in a high five. "We make a good team, guys." Konekomaru eagerly high fived him while Izumo seemed reluctant at first. "Oh come on Eyebrows." Izumo said and her hand met Rin's and she had a slight smile on her face.

"Good job students, you all were amazing!" Yasumi said as he pulled them all in for a hug with a bright smile on his face. "Th-an-ks." They all struggled to breath under his grip. "This Necron seemed to be middle rank. If it was upper we could have had a real problem on our hands."

"Mr. Yasumi, what are we gonna do about them?" Konekomaru asked, pointing to the pile of corpses. "Well these weren't regular zombies. These people have been dead for a while, probably dug up from graves. We'll have to bring in the order for clean up." He explained grimly and the others attitude dwindled. "Is there anything we can do?" Rin asked. Yasumi put a hand on his shoulder. "We already did everything we could, we exercised the demon and saved as many people as we could. Now it's up to them to move forward."

Rin gritted his teeth but he nodded in understanding. This was their first mission as an exorcist and he already saw it wasn't always easy. He saved people sure but he also destroyed the bodies of their loved ones, many people from the village will have to go to empty graves now. He could see it affected Konekomaru and Izumo too. Though the girl hid it well.

"Now we need to put these fires out so we can save the forest."

"I have an idea for that." Izumo said. Her idea involved Mike and Uke transforming into a large tarp and Kuro flying them over the forest with large amounts of water. It worked perfectly though the foxes weren't happy with their part of the plan.

Over the next few days the group had decided to stay and help clean up what happened. The village people were devastated at the losses they took, but they were on track getting better. When Rin wasn't using his strength to do heavy lifting he was playing with Mikan and her friends. Her mother thanked him for that as she wasn't sure her daughter would be alright with the loss of her father.

Now though they were getting ready to leave as they had suites to return to back home. "Am I gonna see you again Nii-san?" Mikan asked sadly and Rin put a hand on her head in an attempt to cheer her up. "Of course you are, I'll visit you in promise. I'll even cook for you again." The girl cheered and Rin smiled happily. "I can't thank you enough Rin. You are a great young man and your girlfriend is lucky to have you." Her mother said and Rin raised a confused eyebrow at her before her looked to where she was and saw her staring at Izumo who was being harassed by some kids for her eyebrows.

"Oh no she's not my girlfriend. I can't really have one anyway…" Rin said, mumbling the last part. He knew as the son of Satan he couldn't do things like date no matter how much he wanted to. Someone being involved with him in that way would only damage their lives. He realized that especially after what happened with Neuhaus, the people who hated him would hate them and that would put them in danger.

"Rin, love is meant for everyone, even if you don't believe it." The woman pulled Rin in for a hug and whispered into his ear. "Even for the son of Satan." Rin pulled away from her in shock but she continued to look at him warmly. "You knew?" He asked, afraid of her reaction. She giggled into her palm. "Of course those blue flames are hard to mistake. I don't know how you came to be but I do know you are a very kind young man no matter what." She said and Rin nearly cried at the woman's kindness. He idly wondered if this feeling of warmth was something only others could invoke.

"Thank you."


"And that is my report." Yasumi was standing in front of Mephisto Phellus and another older man. He had short gray hair and eyes and a goatee to match in his face. His exorcist coat was draped over his shoulders and beneath was a high collared button up shirt. On his waist was a sword and his thigh was equipped with a pistol.

"I see that is troubling." Mephisto said, his eyes never giving away what he was thinking. "And what do you think Yushi?" He addressed the man standing off to the side. The man sighed. "It is troubling but it also lines up with what has been happening around the order. The king of Astaroth seems to be planning something."

"Or the king of rot himself is making a move." Mephisto said, sounding almost amused. "And Yasumi. What did you think of the son of Satan?" He asked. "He was kind, very compassionate, if I could say. He played with children, helped out whenever he could and cooked meals for the elderly. He's a far cry from an evil demon." Yasumi describe with a smile.

"And his abilities?"

"I would say he has the combat abilities of a middle class exorcist. The other students were also amazing. Young Miwa is a great thinker and is a good shot with a rifle. And young kamiki also has great teamwork with her familiars." Mephisto smiled widely behind his gloves hands. "That's great, it seems we have a good batch this year."

"What should we do about the ghouls?" Yushi asked. "It's doubtful that they will make a big move like this again. The deaths from them have come to a complete halt. Just keep your investigative unit hunting." Mephisto ordered and the two left his office.

"Well little brother, it seems you are on the right track to be a savior. Let's see what happens when we put a fork in your road shall we." He giggled under the moon light peeking in through his window. "I love the human world, it really is the perfect sandbox. Let's see what the humans choose to bet on. Themselves or a demon."

"Or will they realize the two are one and the same." His laughter was joyful but his eyes were mischievous.