AnEx: Midori Oshoku: Chapter 8

Elsewhere in the Academy, Rin Okumura sat in a classroom, as per usual, staring blankly around. Kimiko, although shaky, had made a quick recovery with the aid of the True Cross Doctors. The first thing she had asked about was Ryuu; upon hearing what had happened to her, she was frantic, almost having a fit. Rin had been there to reassure her that Mephisto would be able to use some smart-mouth talk and an extremely high record of ''camp-o-meter'' to keep a student from being killed. She had calmed after the others comforting her, yet she still trembled whenever Ryuu was mentioned.
Although both Ryuushin and Mephisto had returned, there still hung an air of unease in the air. Rin recognised it to be simillar to when he had revealed his demon side, yet this was... different. They had known Rin was different somehow, but Ryuu had seemed almost normal.
''Rin,'' Yukio sighed, swatting his bother across the head. ''Could you at least try and look like you're paying attention?''
''Sorry,'' Rin mumbled, shaking his head of his thoughts and getting by the rest of the lesson taking as many notes as he could from Yukio's lecture -- he had a feeling that he had misheard a little, since ''Swarms of bellend cheerios'' made absolutely no sense to him as he re-read everything.

During lunch break, Rin, Yukio and Kimiko sat together, none of the three seeming to have much of an appetite.
''I have a question,'' Rin finally broke the silence that had hung over the three for some time now. Kimiko and Yukio looked up at him as he continued, ''How come Ryuu's flames aren't blue?''
''What do you mean?'' Asked Yukio as Kimiko trembled. Rin shrugged. ''Well, we've always known that demons with flames... well, they always have Satan's flames. Satan's flames are blue, but Ryuu's...''
''They were black and green.'' Yukio finished, Rin nodding. The younger brother adjusted his glasses in thought before turning to Kimiko, ''Do you know anything about it?''
Kimiko simply shook her head. ''N-no... They've always been like that. I just figured that maybe it was because she had different parents to Rin.''
''All demons are born of Satan,'' Yukio sat pondering. ''Yet the mother can vary. However, the flame colour always resembles Satan's... And with all demons born of him--''
''All flames are blue?'' Rin interrupted. Yukio frowned lightly, yet nodded. ''Yes.''
Silence fell over the two brothers as Kimiko shifted uncomfortably. After a short while, she suddenly blurted out, ''Do you know what happened to Ryuu?!''
The pair looked up, then at each other. ''All I know is that Mephisto and her were taken by that Paladin guy, then came back here a couple of days ago.'' Rin shrugged. Kimiko shifted again, ''I know that. I meant, do you know what happened with the Paladin?''
''They might not, but I do.''
The three looked around to see a white scottish terrier sitting on the wall beside Rin, staring at them with bored eyes. Rin frowned, ''Oh look. It's the clown.''
''Classy.'' The dog replied curtly. He then turned to Kimiko, ''you've known her a while. Do you know why her flames are the colour they are?'' The terrier stared at her as she shook her head. He sat back on his haunches, looking to the three in turn.
''To put it simply, she is a normal demon -- the offspring of Satan -- yet, she is ill.''
''Ill?'' Kimiko repeated, fear in her eyes. The terrier nodded solemnly. ''A corruption runs within her blood. It's been slowly eating away at her self control since birth, and eventually, she will be turned against everyone around her.'' He paused a while to let this sink in before continuing, ''it is this corruption that turns flames that should be blue, to green and black. A green corruption, blackening soul.''
''So... she's a danger?'' Yukio asked slowly. The terrier rose again and nodding slightly. ''To an extent.''
''What do you mean, 'extent'?'' Rin cut in before his brother could. ''If she loses control and turns against us--''
''The taint itself is demonic in nature.'' The dog spoke calmly, despite the nature of the situation. ''We have Doctors working on possible cures, and something is bound to come up. For the time being, I have assured the Vatican that an eye will be kept upon her at all times.''
''Just like Rin.'' Yukio leant over to ruffle his brothers' hair, who scowled in response. The dog made a laughing like sound, ''I suppose so. Now, if you'll excuse me,'' the terrier leapt down from the wall and bounded out of sight, leaving the trio to think upon what had been said.
''Well, Kimi,'' Rin said slowly, ''I guess that answers your question.''

It didn't take long for Mephisto to return to his office. A simple cry of ''Eins, zwei, drei!'' was all it took; not that it even required those words. Brushing himself down after transforming back from his dog form, he glanced around before spotting a figure standing by the window, their back to him. A devious grin spread across his lips as he silently crept over to them, throwing his arms around the unsuspecting demon and hugging them, earning a startled cry in return.
''Mephisto!'' Dark eyes stared up at the laughing man, narrowing at his expression. ''When did you get back?''
''Just now.'' His own eyes sparkled with excitement as he managed to calm down enough to speak. ''Have you been at the window the entire time?''
''Perhaps,'' she looked back through the glass towards, Mephisto noticed, three people sitting on a wall together. For a short while, the excitement in his eyes died down. ''Watching your friend, Ryuu?''
''I'm worried.'' Ryuushin said simply. Mephisto nodded, releasing her of his hold as he stepped back, snapping his fingers three times. ''Eins, zwei, drei!'' He said brightly, glancing at Ryuushin. ''Would you care for some tea?''
''Tea?'' She turned to look at Mephisto, curiosity in her eyes. ''What... is a 'Tea'?''
Mephisto stared blankly at her. ''You don't know what tea is?'' Upon her shaking her head, Mephisto raised an arm to point at the door. ''Get out,'' he stared incredulously at the girl. Before she could make another move, however, he held a cup out to her. ''Try some,'' his excited grin returned, ''you might like it.''
Ryuushin peered suspiciously into the cup before lifting it to her nose, sniffing. Satisfied that it wasn't poisoned, she then brought it to her lips and tilted her head back, drinking a little. She blinked, looking over at Mephisto, who was drinking from his own cup.
''Not bad,'' Ryuushin licked her lips, finishing the cup quickly, not even seeming to feel the burn. Just as she wondered what to do with the now empty cup, Mephisto casually flicked it away with the finger of one hand, catching it in the other and placing it behind him with his own, approaching Ryuushin and placing his hands upon her shoulders. He leant forwards and, before Ryuushin could react, gently bit her ear -- with his fangs. Yelping, she flailed her arms as Mephisto smirked, jumping back.
''What was that for?'' Ryuushin cried exasperatedly; Mephisto simply held a hand to his chest, laughing for all he was worth. Ryuushin leap forwards with a half-growl, only for Mephisto to disappear in a puff of smoke, re-appearing behind her. The younger demon stood, twitching, her tail flicking back and forth. ''Damn it, Mephy.''
''What's wrong?'' He called out, bouncing about his office. ''Can't catch me?'' He laughed merrily as Ryuushin tried and failed to swipe out and catch him several times, eventually resorting to simply trying to chase him down -- when she could see him, anyway. It was a miracle they didn't destroy the office while they were at it. It was some time before the two stopped, but Mephisto had decided to stop his running and tackle Ryuushin, causing the pair to fall to the ground.
Mephisto, still laughing as he lay beside Ryuushin, watched as her tail flicked lightly beside her. Following his gaze, Ryuushin lightly tapped Mephisto's head. ''Is my tail that interesting?''
''I was just thinking, is all.''
''About my tail.''
''It's extrodinarily fluffy!''
With that, the elder demon pounced on Ryuushin's tail, which flicked out of his way to avoid being crushed. Mephisto reached out to gently grasp it -- earning a yelp from the owner all the same -- and held the end up to better look at it. The tail itself was black in fur colour until it reached the tips, where it merged into a green. He ran a finger along the fluffy end before releasing the tail.
''You must get really bored if that kind of thing interests you,'' Ryuushin sat up, staring blankly at Mephisto. He shrugged, ''with a brother like Amaimon, things get bland around here. I've missed good company.'' Ryuushin paused a moment before prodding Mephitso's chest. ''What about your tail? Is yours as interesting as mine?''
A hand was pressed against Ryuushin's eyes; irritated, she tilted her head back to bite it. ''Ouch!'' Mephisto cried, yanking his hand back. When Ryuushin looked down, she noticed a thick, purple tail resting beside Mephisto, flicking occaisionally. He held his hand to his chest, as if cradling a newborn child. ''That hurt,'' he pouted; his tail promptly lifted, the fuzzy end flapping in Ryuushin's face.
Once she was free of any form of tail to her face, Ryuushin sat glaring daggers at Mephisto, who was glaring back. They sat for a while like that before Mephisto slowly extended his hands to Ryuushin's cheeks, forcing her to look at him.
''You should know,'' his voice had a tint of seriousness to it as he spoke, ''that from now on, someone must be watching you at all times.'
''What? What for?'' She froze up. ''Is it.. because of what happened--?'' A finger to her lips hushed her instantly. ''Have you ever wondered why your flames are the colour they are? You know that Satan's children possess blue flames, do you not?'' As she slowly nodded, Mephisto continued. ''Yours is different because your body is ill. Within your blood runs a corruption -- no, within your soul. From what we can see, it's been with you since birth... it's eating away at your self control. Soon, you will not be able to be responsible for even your thoughts.''
Ryuushin looked as though tears were ready to fall from her eyes at any moment. Mephisto's finger removed itself from her lips as she asked, ''will.. you kill me?''
''No,'' Mephisto spoke softly, smiling. ''I won't kill you, nor will I see anyone else kill you. I'll watch over you, make sure you don't kill anyone else. We'll find a way to fight it.'' Brushing her hair from her face, he leant forwards to gently kiss her. Upon breaking it, he flashed her a thumbs up and a charming smile. ''Letting you wipe out the population isn't nearly as fun as it sounds.''
''Nice to know where your priorities lie,'' Ryuushin murmured, yet smiled all the same.