AN: Jeez, these chapters just keep getting longer, I just hope that that is what the people who read this actually want or in the least, don't mind. :P Ohh and I didn't really mention before but obviously their 'relationship' needs a lot of building so that will have to be somehow included soon, just not in this chapter, sorry!

Chapter 3:

Standing by the school's gates was beginning to bore Rin; he had chosen to leave the only copy of manga with him in his rucksack for later on in the journey. Instead he had once again resorted to peeling paint, only this time off of the old school gates, having been texted saying he needed to wait there by Mephisto earlier that day. Rin's actions drew an uncharacteristic chuckle from the equally bored Amaimon.

"Please don't start singing One Direction again; I don't think my ears can stand it." His voice consisted of an amused yet serious tone as Amaimon tilted his head to look at the other male whose gaze was also focussed on him, forgetting the flecks of black paint that previously interested Rin.

"Just 'coz my singing is too awesome for you." The false arrogance lined Rin's voice as he grinned back. He had better get used to Amaimon sooner or later otherwise the next week would be a living hell for him, for the both of them, literally!

The exchange of looks was interrupted by the sound of crunching footsteps upon the gravel that covered the seemingly endless driveway that lead to the True Cross Academy. Both of the teen's heads turned to see the school's head teacher Mephisto taking his time to strut down the drive, coming to a stop around a meter in front of Rin and Amaimon, leaving room for him to swivel his patched up pink umbrella around a pristine gloved finger, his other hand was used to tilt his uniquely styled top hat as a sign of greeting to the two.

The gesture reminded Rin that he had forgotten to pack a hat to protect him from the moderate glare that shone from the sun at this time of year. Hopefully he wouldn't need it since of their journey to the Daemon Caves was through dense forestry areas, plus he didn't have the space in his bag nor the time to go back to the dormitories, especially when Mephisto now stood before him.

Still keeping his distance from the lethally sharp ended umbrella that continued to spin upon Mephisto's finger; Rin pushed up off the gate he was leaning against during his period of boredom, not wanting to seem rude to the head teacher. It wasn't that he cared for people's opinions of him, but he didn't want to destroy the chances of going on other missions just because of his lack of respect and deemed appropriate mannerism.

However, Amaimon made no move to show he had acknowledged his brother who was now looking at him expectantly. Mephisto only remark to that was: "A simple hello would suffice." Amaimon didn't rise to the comment, his mouth staying in the semi permanent straight line. The only change in emotions for him was when he was pissed off or pissing someone else off; either way, it normally ended in bedlam. Mephisto being the person who stood there and watched the chaotic events unravel around him.

It was now nearing 2:30, since Mephisto had taken his time to arrive at the gates; Rin had become anxious to set off. Only because he knew that the sooner they left, the sooner they would return, allowing Rin to read his beloved manga and cook in the comfort of the dormitory's kitchen with Ukobach as company. The kitchen dwelling demon was being left in charge of cooking the meals for the other occupants whilst Rin was absent.

Rin giggled quietly at the thought of his friends having to endure Mephisto's cooking instead; the action drawing a blank expression to be thrown at him by Amaimon who was glancing over his shoulder at the sobering demon, his head tilted in a dog like manner.

Mephisto chose this moment to clear his throat louder than what was natural, dragging the two younger demon's attention back to his flamboyantly dressed self. Ignoring Amaimon, he took a step closer to Rin, the umbrella stationary in his hand. His eyes bore into that of Rin's blue ones as he spoke: "Now that you have finished acting like a mentally deranged human, per say. I would appreciate it if you left the Kurikara in Shura's and my care whilst you are gone?" His voice held no hint of a questioning tone, the seriousness shocking Rin until realisation hit: without that katana, his flames were limited, subdued to a much smaller portion of their original power.

Finding the question to be irrational and forgetting about being polite, Rin instantly opposed the idea. "How the hell can you expect me to leave the Kurikara with you when you know I'm not strong enough without it?"

"You are only checking the Caves for a reasonable solution to the strange movements of lesser demons in that area, not getting yourself into any other situations in which you are requested to fight using your blue flames. Also, you have Amaimon travelling with you so any problems that arise can be sorted by him, and that doesn't mean you go around looking for problems." Mephisto explained; his voice calm and emotionless along with his facial features. Rin, however, was the opposite; his face contorted with anger as he fought he urge to grab his superior by the collar, the boiling rage engulfing his body.

Amaimon avoided making any form of eye contact with the two, not wanting to annoy Rin further with his unneeded involvement in the currently one sided argument, not that he was interested in how Rin felt about the matter. He also stayed away for the fact that Mephisto would instantly include him at any giving moment if believed that he was needed to keep the argument in the track of his own will. Instead, he took up the action Rin had been involved in only five minutes earlier: peeling the paint off of the gates much to his older brother's obvious dislike. All the time Rin and Mephisto continued on with their heated disagreement.

A vicious glint shined in Mephisto's emerald eyes, a clawed finger soundlessly tapping the handle of the umbrella, and yet his tone of voice still remained emotionless; each individual action noticeably infuriated Rin further. He just wanted his head teacher to understand that he needed the Kurikara with him at all times. The old man himself had told Rin that, just before Satan had possessed him, then murdered him in cold blood. An idea suddenly formed in Rin's mind: why couldn't he use that special key to lock away the blade but still access it, as long as there was a way to when needs be.

Relaying the idea to Mephisto, Rin crossed his fingers behind his back hoping that the demon would agree, if not Rin was seriously considering the idea of grabbing the other man and shaking him until he forfeited. Sadly, he knew Mephisto would never let him get away with that; but it was worth a shot.

To Rin's luck he went on to say, "Good idea, you're finally using your head, I see." A smirk stretched across Mephisto's face even though Amaimon continued to tune out of the conversation.

"Eh... I've always used my head, just some times more than others, stupid demon." Rin attempted to defend himself but ended up trailing off nearer the end.

Mephisto placed a hand upon his chest, faking offence: "Stupid demon? Don't forget, you are a 'stupid demon' as well. A 'stupid demon' that I have chosen for this mission, I could have easily asked someone else though..." Rin knew this was just Mephisto trying to put him in his place but played along with it, secretly hoping that the threat was only that of an empty one, not that he could particularly change his mind now.

"Fine... so how would I access the Kurikara given that the mission involves us trudging through a god-damn forest for most of the time?" Rin had found a problem within his plan and knowing Mephisto, he would have some form of an answer. Mephisto always did; just not always agreeable ones at that. Judging by Mephisto's reaction; the older man had already thought about the situation but had decided to keep quiet which again, annoyed Rin.

Instead of answering straight away, Mephisto removed a silky white glove to reveal long blackened nails that sprouted from the end of his pale fingers. Snapping two together, an intricately decorated oak box appeared on his outstretched palm, making Rin step back in surprise. Before Rin could question him about the little magic trick, Mephisto spoke, addressing him: "The specific containment of the Kurikara does not matter, so long as there is enough room to place it in through the opening and pull it back out..." Mephisto paused to check that the other demon was following the lengthy explanation. "As long as you are in possession of the key and this box, you can just reach in and drag the blade out by the handle and put it back in the same way: like Mary Poppins." At the last line Mephisto grinned, hoping that the mention of a movie would hold some interest for Rin; make him remember the information for a slightly longer time, since it was quite a well known film that Rin seemed to have watched before, based on his expression.

"Urgh... sounds simple enough." At this, Rin reached out and grabbed the small wooden box, trying to mercilessly stuff it into the side pocket on his rucksack, but to no avail due to the difficulty with the sizes. Amaimon stared aimlessly at the demon still involved in the process of forcing the box into the pocket, not bothering to move a single muscle to help.

Once Rin had finally shoved the item into the tightly packed bag that was now slung back over his shoulder; Mephisto uncrossed his legs and said: "I'm guessing that you've managed to pack everything you will most likely need for going on the mission, anyway, I'll let you get on your way. Have fun!" Before Rin could say anything back, he had transformed back into the snowy white dog with a simple: "eins... zwei... drei..." and began to trot away in the direction he had first appeared in.

"... Have fun? I'm stuck with you for the next week!" With this said, Rin pointed at Amaimon, an accusing glare aimed in the same area.

Amaimon didn't even glance in Rin's direction upon hearing the remark; instead he continued to look up at the blossoming cherry tree that stood in front of him, the branches slightly above head height. Amongst the pastel pink petals and dark, bark covered branches sat Kuro who was mewling away at the green haired demon, immersed in conversation. Seeing his familiar there talking to Amaimon caused numerous questions to pop into Rin's head: why was he there instead of at the dormitories, why was he talking to that other demon and how come he hadn't said anything to Rin himself?

The same accusing look was now thrown at Kuro who had flinched slightly upon acknowledging his master's presence. "Traitor..." the word came out as a faint whisper through Rin's pursed lips. The cat's eyes widened after hearing it, scrambling down the side of the tree and sitting inquisitively by the teenager's feet, his ears twitching. His eyes starred into that of the teen's blue ones, begging for forgiveness that he knew was inevitable.

"No, don't do that... Stop... Nope!" Rin desperately attempted to use his hands as a way of blocking his view of the familiar, eventually admitting defeat since each time he succeeded, the cat would move his head ever so slightly so that he had a clear view of his master's face once again. Getting bored of the game, Kuro decided to grow into his original form, towering over Rin with his sorrow filled eyes bearing down on the now much smaller demon.

For the second time that afternoon Rin stepped back in surprise, his eyes darting around frantically for any sign of students or teachers who would be able to bear witness to the unusual situation. Giving up on trying to avoid Kuro's apologetic looks, Rin placed his two hands back into his trouser pockets and took a step forward towards the cat like demon who was now smiling down at him knowingly. "Little bugger, you're forgiven. Just get back into your smaller form before you end up smashin' something, not that I would mind, it would seriously piss off Mephisto."

Kuro shrank back to a roughly reasonable size and launched himself onto the boy's shoulders causing an amused chuckle to come from Rin as the cat purred with a satisfied tone. Rin spoke again to the cat resting on his shoulder: "um... aren't you supposed to be back at the dorms since Yukio is going to be watching you for me?" The cat yawned and stretched his front paws, his needle like claws pawing at the black shirt that hung loosely on Rin's noticeably scrawny frame.

"But Rin, why can't I come with you?" The question struck a blank for Rin; he hadn't been told he could take anybody nor had he been told he couldn't. A grumbling sound emanating from Kuro's stomach caught Rin's attention though.

Knowing that bringing his familiar could be considered a factor causing a distraction for him making the mission take longer than needed, he tried to let Kuro know in the simplest way possible, not quite honestly portraying his thoughts: "Because you need someone to give you your food, I promise I will bring you back a big bottle of cat-nip sake though." He paused checking the cat's agreement to what he was saying, to his astonishment he was met with an excited look and Kuro's two tails swishing deliriously, tickling Rin's ear with soft stands of fur. Rin was expecting a slightly different response, one which included Kuro in a strop with him.

This is the result of mentioning a bottle of cat-nip sake: Rin realised.

Reaching into his trouser pocket, Rin pulled out his phone flipping it open to check the time. He was shocked to see it was already closing in to 3 o'clock signalling that he and Amaimon probably needed to get going if they wanted to get a fair distance and have time to set up camp. Shoving the device back in his pocket and turning his head to face Kuro: "I'm sure Yukio will give you a tin of tuna once you get back" He suggested, hoping that his reasoning would be to the cat's liking.

"Yep!" The black and white cat chirped jumping down from his master's shoulders. Rin then took the time to look over at Amaimon who seemed to have been speculating the whole event; he also appeared to have known it was time to leave as he was standing slightly slouched by the gates, sucking on an unwrapped lollipop that he held with one sharp nailed hand.

Without another thought and a sudden burst of energy Rin shouted "Let's do this shit!" and set off running, grabbing the world-weary looking Amaimon, dragging him along by the collar. With not even a single hint of disdain he sprang up, grabbing the top of the gate and using it to power his pivot into the air; all with the other demon still in tow.

A soft thump sounded as Rin landed on his feet; having released the other man's collar in mid flight, he used his outstretched arms to keep the little balance he had. The same could not be said for the now extremely irritated Amaimon who had not had the chance to gain any form of balance and ended up in a writhing lump on the dry earth. Rin however found the whole situation to be quite comical, laughing when a muffled moan originated from Amaimon.

Pulling himself up and dusting his clothed off, Amaimon scowled at Rin: "Why couldn't you have just opened the gate like a normal person and saved me the trouble that caused?" His face still held no hint of an emotion other than the look of pure annoyance that was aimed straight at the retreating teenage boy.

"That wouldn't have got the reaction from you that I just got then." Rin yelled sprinting off down the dirt track searching for some cover before the other man launched his ever impending attack. Unlike the response Rin was expecting, Amaimon slowly walked down the path he had just disappeared down, kicking up clouds up dust and small fragments of rock with each heavy footstep, the trail leading closer and closer towards the Akuma no Dokutsu. Towards their new fate...

AN: Wow... well that was kind of boring but this chapter is late so I'll upload it and probably change it when I have time and some idea of what to write.

The next chapter may not be up for nearly two weeks since I have some important exams at school at the moment that is seriously taking the piss! Why did I choose German as a GCSE? TTATT