DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything. Everything except my imagination and OC belongs to Kazue Kato and the rightful owners.

Hello, Goodbye

She felt like something was clawing at her, tearing herself in two from the inside.

Though she knew staying here would only bite deeper into the scars, she couldn't bring herself to lift herself away from the door. Everything was shaking. Every muscle strained and stung as the chill of the air conditioner caused goosebumps to rise on her skin. There was no way she could move anywhere like this. Besides, she couldn't even if she wanted to. For all she was concerned, there was nothing even left in her body.

Through the fingers over her ears, she could hear Shima calling for her, and her body tensed. "Takahiro-kun-"

"Don't bother." Bon cut him off. "Just let her. And would you stop calling her that already?" She cringed at the sound of her new reference to him. No. That wasn't what she wanted. This was all so… wrong.

"What I just saw… was that all real?" Konekomaru asked, voice shaking, and his face appeared in her mind, and she clawed her fingers into her wig and crushed her knees to her chest. "Takahiro-kun… really doesn't have a face? Then how can he still see?"

"Hell if I know!" Bon snapped. "Anyway, 'he's' been lying to us the whole time, and her name is Murakami Chiho! Stop using that name like she's your friend. Okumura's no different!"

Why did the silence have to be so loud?

She was sure it had never been so thunderous.

I want to die, she chanted over and over again, toes curling from the pent-up frustration. I want to die already.

"B-Bon, Koneko-san, calm down a bit, yeah?" Shima gently chided, obviously uncomfortable at having to speak through this. "Let's just… not talk about that right now. Bon. There was something else you wanted to say to Koneko-san, right?"

Suguro heaved out a huge sigh before continuing. "Yeah. Yeah, I did." There was a quick pause- was he bowing like he did that time before? "…Forgive me."

Another pause followed, though this time it didn't seem as though it was out of unease. More of just… taking it in.

"What are you apologizing for?" Konekomaru asked, a bit of a teasing tone working its way in though it still cracked.

"It's my fault you guys got injured." He begrudgingly gritted out. "I could've done more against that Amaimon bastard, and... I could've stopped this from happening."

"Well, you're right. We're not going to be happy if you don't look out for yourself more." The shorter boy replied, and she uncurled herself slightly seeing as how she'd momentarily been forgotten.

"More importantly…" He pushed on after Bon's second apology. "What you said about the Koumaken… is that true?"

Koumaken? The name probed at her dazed memories, trying to pull it out into the open again. She placed her palms back on the floor and pressed her ear against the door when she finally remembered. The sword Rin was using… why would he have something like that?

"Yeah… there's no doubt about it." Bon continued, voice lowering. "Ever since I was a kid, the head monk was always showin' me photographs of it."

"Okumura-sensei also said that it was, didn't he?" Konekomaru asked, sounding unusually serious.

"Konekomaru… What do you think 'bout all this?" She could almost hear the frown in his words, and her hand curled into a loose fist. Of course… she, Rin, and Yukio weren't the only people suffering from the revelation. Why was she being so selfish? All of this had obviously taken a toll on everyone.

"What do I think?" He repeated before pausing and letting out a sigh. "I'm confused. What about you, Bon?"

"I…"

"Your eyes are be-autiful!" A delighted squeal erupted from the other side of the door, and Chiho quickly drew her ear back. "Man, with such a pretty nurse as you, it'd be worth breaking my ribs just to be hospitalized!"

"E-Eh?" The poor woman.

"I swear," There was a pause, and she heard the distinct sound of a hand being grasped. "Someday I'll be hospitalized. So just wait for me!"

The girl couldn't help but snicker despite the situation. That dumbass.

Her smile soon faded, hugging a knee to her chest and bumping her forehead against it. A sigh leaked out of her. How did this happen…

"Shima, would you shut yer damn mouth for a minute?!" Bon snapped, that crease between his eyebrows most definitely prominent again.

"Ah, Bon, Koneko-san, it's bad! The quality of the nurses here kick ass-" He was cut off by the sound of something hitting his head. "Hey, what'cha do that for?! But seriously, it's bad!" His tone suddenly turned urgent, and Chiho unfolded herself to listen properly.

"Something's happened to the head monk."

"The head monk…?"

Oh… she remembered then. That's right. The three of them are from Kyoto. Angling her head, a frown touched her blank features. What could have happened now? With another sigh, she instinctively jammed her hands into the pockets of her sweatpants when something cold poked at her fingers. Confused, she closed her fingers around it and pulled it out into the open.

She had never wanted to cry so hard.

Shaking, she hugged the bottled clover tightly to her chest.

Tell me what I'm supposed to do…

It took her two days before she was confident enough to return to the cram school classroom, and even then, her knees were shaking beyond belief and her palms were coated with cold sweat, making it incredibly difficult to hold onto her crutches properly. She couldn't put too much weight on her bad leg yet, and she cursed how crippled she felt.

She took a deep breath in through her nose and let it out slowly, trying to keep her heart from starting an earthquake from how loud it pounded. The dark hallway felt like it was closing in on her, and her fingers inched towards the knob. She was already an hour late for class, was there any point in even going?

I can do this, Chiho repeated to herself over and over again. I totally got this. I just gotta walk in there like nothing's wrong. She gave a reassuring nod to no one in particular. Everything's the way it usually is.

Her hand twitched and drew back, realizing how wrong she was. No. Nothing was like the way it usually was. If this were a normal day, Rin would be here beside her, walking with her from history class and punching each other's arms until they went black and blue. Her leg wouldn't be trailing behind her and she wouldn't be sweating so much and her heart wouldn't be threatening to rip out of her chest. When she opened the door, she would see bored yet happy faces turning to them when they entered and took their seats together. If this were a normal day, everyone would be around her and accept her, and Yukio would be smiling too as he taught the class about different herbs, demons, and occasionally smack a book down in front of his brother whenever he fell asleep.

She'd taken those days for granted, and if only she knew how precious they would be to her.

She allowed just a moment of vulnerability, tipping her head down and letting out a shaky breath. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she bit down on her lip and grabbed the doorknob. Do this. She commanded herself, holding her breath tight in her throat.

The second she turned it, a sudden wave of déjà vu struck her. On the first day, it was like this, wasn't it? Mephisto was in his dog form, and she'd been so nervous just to enter her classroom. Still dressed in a hoodie and slacks, shaking, only to find the classroom quiet and empty, with broken cupboards and old wood filling the corners. As the door swung open, it almost seemed as though nothing had changed at all.

Several heads turned to her, and she tried her best to seem emotionless. She knew she was late, but there wasn't even a substitute in the room. Her blood thudded deafeningly loud in her ears, her footsteps and crutches seeming to echo through the silence that had suddenly infected the air with her arrival. Chiho flicked her gaze away from them and towards the floor right away, and she almost wished somebody was whispering something from the intense quiet burning into her skin. Even if she didn't look, she could feel the eyes staring at her.

Her chair seemed to squeak too loudly as it scraped against the floors, and she still trembled when she sat down, regret beginning to churn inside her.

Why did I even come? Pretending to look busy, she resorted to drawing stick men armies in the margins of her notebook to give her fidgeting hands something to do. There's only another half hour until class. I should have just skipped again. When Shiemi turned around for just a brief second to look at her, she glanced away, the lead of her pencil snapping under the pressure she'd abruptly put on it. I hate this.

A relieved sigh escaped her the second the Kyoto trio started quietly talking amongst themselves again. Finally their focus wasn't on her anymore, but the room still seemed so empty without him. Quickly she brushed him aside, focusing on their conversation for now.

"Bon." Konekomaru began, voice soft in the quiet. "Have you gotten in contact with Okami-san and the head monk yet?" Again with the head monk… what happened to him?

"Nope." He bluntly answered, triggering a look of disbelief from the other two. "Bon-"

"I brushed aside my family's objections, and came here prepared to never go back! That's why." He shot back, sounding as if there was something else he wanted to say but bit it off at the last second.

"That might be true, but I have a bad feelin' about this." Shima's brow furrowed. "I haven't been able to get in touch with my family since yesterday."

"Me either." Konekomaru stared down at the desk. "Could it be that maybe the head monk even…"

Bon's frown heightened, and he finally grumbled out, "I'll… think about it."

At that moment, footsteps started echoing outside the open door, and the heads in the room turned towards it. "Ah, the teacher's finally coming back-"

Shima was cut off by Mephisto waltzing into the room as if nothing was wrong, and Chiho caught herself grasping onto her wrist. She let go right away, refusing to let herself succumb to the urge to spear his face with a dagger.

"Hello, Exwires!" The principal brightly greeted, in his usual white suit and ridiculous top hat. "Congratulations on everyone achieving the right to participate in a real mission on the other day's test."

Her grip tightened around her pencil, gnashing her teeth together. Yes, as you sat back and did absolutely fucking nothing. If we hadn't gotten permission I would have stabbed you by now with all the bullshit we went through that night.

"And so," He went on. "As congratulations to those who earned the right to participate in a real fight, I want you to join the expedition to Kyoto!" Mephisto pulled off his top hat, and a shower of pink and purple confetti rained down on him.

Everyone's eyes seemed to widen.

Kyoto? Her lips softly mouthed the words, not seeming to process the words properly. What's even happening there?

But before she could ask a single question, the principal simply waltzed right back out of the room, leaving everyone twice as confused as before he had even come.

"YUKIO, YOU BASTAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!"

Needless to say, she didn't wake up to the most pleasant of surprises the next morning. Her window had been wide open, letting in a bit of a breeze and lots of morning light, but a scream of frustration was not what she was expecting to hit her ears in the first moment she woke up.

FUCK-!

Shooting up out of bed, she scrambled from the blankets and cringed upon her rear coming into contact with the hardwood floors. Soundlessly hissing and rubbing her tailbone, she turned to her digital clock: six thirty-seven AM. Why the hell was he yelling around at this time? For all she knew, he could oversleep until ten minutes before classes started. She stormed over to the window, fuming in her pajamas. The sun had just finished rising, casting a warm morning light over the buildings.

Rin, fucking hell, I swear to god if you-! As she stuck her head out the open window, her thoughts were cut off there.

If she looked a bit harder she could see him, sitting cross-legged on that one spot on the roof they'd talked before. His tail was out in the open, seeming to wave in concentration like a dog's. Kuro sat in his lap as he glared at something in front of him. Melted puddles of something sat all around him wherever there was room to walk- were those candles? For a minute she stared in shock, momentarily forgetting her vow to never get involved with him again. Had he… melted those?

Kuro bounced off his legs and carefully stepped around a few puddles before staring right at Chiho and letting out a meow, and Rin turned his head as well.

"Ah!" His face brightened as if everything was normal, and he lifted a hand. "Oi, Chiho! G'morn-"

He was cut off by the sound of her window closing as she ducked back inside without a word. She was going to be a ghost from now on again, what was she doing, strutting up there like nothing was wrong?

Jesus, I'm so stupid. She rubbed her face with an exasperated hand and sighed, pressing her back against the wall. Never again.

"Ya know, I ain't seeing much progress at all, kid." A new voice, though muffled, rang through the other side of the glass. Recognizing it, she slid the window back open a crack. Is that…

"Huh? Shura?!" Rin yelled, confirming her suspicions while he stood up. "Geez, you found me, huh? Even though I was planning to train intensively in secret…!"

"Pshh. Nah, I always knew you were comin' up here to train anyways." He waved it off and pulled himself up the ladder. As usual, he was dressed in an open dress shirt and slacks. Dammit Shura, would it kill you to put on some goddamn clothes? She leaned on her right leg as she watched, feeling her left start to sting a bit.

"Seriously?" Rin groaned in defeat.

"'Course I did!" Some sort of book flew out of the Exorcist's hands and right into the teen's face, causing him to stagger back as he peeled it off. "The hell is this?" He flipped it open, but they were too far away for her to see exactly what it was he was looking at.

"You're gonna be heading to Kyoto, so you better be prepared."

Her heart skipped a beat, all the air leaving her body. Kyoto? Nearly pressing her face against the glass, she tried to focus in on their faces. No… no, that can't be right. Rin's going to Kyoto with us?

Chiho almost tore the curtains from tugging them together so harshly. Throwing herself into bed, she exhaled loudly and curled back up into the blankets.

Why won't you just give me a break?

Her head popped out just so she could look at the clear blue water pearl sitting on her desk. It had shriveled and died back to its tiny, dry form.

After a few more days of packing, preparing, signing forms, and vaccinations, the following week the Exwire class and several Exorcist teachers piled onto the train for Kyoto. Honestly it was the first time she'd ever gone, having skipped out during the middle school field trips. For the boys, it would be normal, and there was so much she wanted to ask, but she'd seen how they were looking at her. She wasn't going to risk that again.

The girl trailed at a safe distance behind the Kyoto trio, treading lightly so they wouldn't hear her footsteps. She'd abandoned her crutches, refusing to give them the satisfaction of helping her with a leg that had almost healed. There were already crowds of people herded on the seats, most of them holding brochures and tucking away their luggage. She assumed most of them were going away on vacation as well.

Turning away from the smiling kids in the row next to her, she briefly opened the brochure, pretending to look it over so she wouldn't look like she was bored. Maybe I should have just stayed at True Cross. It would be easier if I were away from everyone, but… A small breath left her nose. Even if she wanted to, she doubted Mephisto would allow that. Plus, all that talk about the head monk… From what she'd heard, it was a pretty big issue right now for the Academy to be called in. Being noticed wouldn't be a problem either, since she was going to be completely invisible all over again. Yeah. She tried to convince herself that she wasn't going for nothing. Plus Shiemi's here, so I have to make sure she's okay. Yeah, this is alright. I'm doing the right thing, surely. The doors in front of the boys opened, revealing a new room with most of the seats empty. If she remembered right, this was where they would be sitting according to Yukio's instructions.

Picking at the patch on her arm, she stretched her sore shoulder the best she could. She'd made sure not to overdress, wearing only a few layers consisting of a lighter summer hoodie, a tank top, and dark jeans with a pair of sneakers. This look worked for her. It wasn't like she had anyone important to see.

Not anymore, at least.

The students in front of her stopped, nearly making her bump into Konekomaru. What- She peered around their shoulders to see Rin's face in one of the front seats, and her skin crawled from the unwanted nostalgia. At this point it hurt to even look at him.

But his face just split into a smile. "Oh, hey! I'm glad you guys are lookin' alright!"

There was no response, and she cringed, pulling her hood further down over her face.

"Hey, have you heard of the Kyoto Tower?" He obliviously went on. "Tell me if you've got any other recommendations on where to go when we get to Kyoto!"

No… no, don't you get it? She bit her lip, burning from second-hand embarrassment. You can't just go off talking like we're friends anymore…

"Bon!" Shima called, a warning edge to his tone.

"You mustn't!" Konekomaru added; if there was one thing that hadn't changed, it was the two boys' endeavors to keep Bon from losing his head. And judging from what they were saying, he was pretty damn close to it right now.

"I… I know that!" Bon sharply said, pushing his shoulders forward and storming right past to sit down in the row of seats behind him. The two behind him quickly followed.

Rin stood up, surprised and still clueless. "Konekomaru?"

Said boy simply stared down at the ground and joined Suguro. Shima trailed behind but sat down anyway. "Koneko-san, that's too direct…"

"H-How can you act so normally?" The bespectacled boy demanded. "What are you going to do if he suddenly goes berserk again?" At this, she glanced around the seats he had put his luggage on; it didn't seem as though the Kurikara was there at the moment, so… technically it was impossible, wasn't it? She hastily flung off the thoughts. Why was she trying to defend him, even now?

"Well, this was decided by the higher-ups." Shima sighed, taking a seat next to him anyway. Avoiding their frantic faces, she briskly walked past them the best she could and chose an empty row near the back of the room. From here she should be nice and invisible.

No one else spoke for a few minutes until Izumo stepped in, holding a patch on her arm. Shima's face brightened right away, but her attention turned to Rin for a brief moment rather than him.

"Ah, Izumo-chan!" The pink-haired boy grinned and pointed to the row beside him. "Wanna sit over here?"

Putting on an unamused look, she dropped herself into the chair next to Rin's, surprising all of them.

She… isn't she like them? Why isn't she scared?

While Rin stared at her, dumbfounded, she shot him a pointed look. "What?"

"Uh, nothing…" He stuttered back.

"Is everyone here?" A cheerful voice asked over the PA. "The train will be departing soon."

As the train began to rattle, shake, and then pull forward, Chiho hugged her arms to her chest, suddenly feeling freezing. Not just because of the air conditioning, but maybe from the lack of security. In just a few days, everyone who had meant anything to her had slipped right out of her hands. Why did she do this to herself?

"Murakami-san."

Jolting out of her curled-up position, she snapped her head up to see Shiemi standing there with a shy smile on her face. When was the last time anyone had actually called her that? She quickly looked away, not wanting to let her see her face again.

"Sorry for disturbing you. But most of the seats are already taken." She tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear and smiled gently. "Can I sit with you?"

Again, she realized. She's doing it again. Comforting me when no one else did.

Chiho bit her lip, trying to reconsider. It wasn't as if everyone was on good terms with each other at the moment, but… Letting her sit down seemed easy enough. Shiemi could read her body language well. She could definitely leave her alone if she saw that she needed to.

She nodded stiffly in response, and the blonde's face brightened as she sat down next to her. For the next couple minutes neither of them said anything, but Chiho could practically feel the sweat seeping out of her palms. Now what?

As they rattled forward on the tracks, Shura stepped out of a room and put his hands on his hips. He didn't seem too different from usual, besides the fact that his Exorcist jacket was wide open, as usual, and was wearing nothing underneath it.

He cleared his throat. "A'ight, attention please! I've been forced against my will to be the captain of the reinforcement squad this time 'round."

But here you are. Looking like you're about to go to a strip club.

"I'm Kirigakure Shura! Let's work together on this." Throughout his little speech, he played with his ponytail with a hand. He turned to a staff member. "Alright, so first things first. Satou-kun from the Intelligence Division, I'll leave explaining the current situation to you."

"Ah, yes." The man said, standing up in his chair. "On July twenty-second at approximately one twenty PM, the Left Eye of the Impure King, which had been deemed a part of an extremely dangerous demon and sealed in the Saishinbu of the order's base, was stolen by someone. It was discovered that former director of the Saishinbu, upper second class Exorcist Toudou Saburouta, had a hand in the matter, but… we do not have any leads as to what his intentions were and who his accomplices were, and thus we are still investigating."

Who cares? She bitterly thought, gnawing the inside of her cheek to give her mouth something to do. If this whole Left Eye thing is gone, can't you just send out some dogs to pick up the scent? It belonged to a demon; somebody should be able to track it down. She leaned back in her chair, looking out the window. Are you telling me this is what I came all the way out here for? What a joke.

"Yeah, that's basically it." Shura nodded, putting his hands on his hips. "And at the exact same time, the inner recesses of the Kyoto Branch Office far out in the west also came under attack by someone." At this, Chiho turned her head back to him. "This time, they screwed up and the crime was thwarted, but what they were aiming for was the Right Eye of the Impure King."

Who even is this king? Must've been one hell of a whackjob if he couldn't even keep his eyeballs intact.

"Excuse me!" Again, Izumo was the one to ask the questions. "What is this 'Right Eye' and 'Left Eye' of the Impure King? We never learned this!"

"Ahhh, right, right, this demon isn't considered a major one. My bad." Shura let out a huge yawn, waving towards another teacher. "Well, the stories we hear of it aren't exactly all flowers and butterflies. So, about this "Impure King"… I'll leave it to you, 'Demon History Lecturer'. Adachi-sensei, if you would."

"What?!" One elderly man seated near the back burst out before wiping his glasses and standing up to clear his throat. "Y-Yes. In the last years of Edo, around the fifth year of the Ansei Era… The "Impure King" was an upper class demon, considered to have caused the spread of fevers and epidemics… and was also believed to be the root of over forty thousand deaths."

She shivered a bit. Christ… Is it too late to turn the train back around?

"The "Right Eye" and "Left Eye" were said to have been removed and taken by a monk named Fukaku." Adachi went on. "Although they are simply eyes of a demon, they give off a strong miasma. They are extremely dangerous articles, never to be handled."

"In any case, the enemy's intentions are still a mystery." Shura twirled his ponytail with a finger before draping it back over his shoulder. "But one thing's for sure; they're trying to do something with the "Left" and "Right" Eye, and it ain't with good intentions. There's a chance that the Kyoto Branch Office, which protects the "Right Eye" might get attacked again. We have to prevent the same failure we had with the "Left Eye" from happening again."

So… we're just watchdogs? Tch. They could've asked some actual Exorcists to do this, not some group of kids still on the bottom of the food chain if this is so important.

"In other words, our mission this time is the nursing of the injured Exorcists at the Kyoto Branch Office and reinforcing their now-weakened security. Exwires will be helping out with these." I knew it. "That being said, let's work hard together, everyone! That way you'll be a lot less of a pain in the ass on my part." A few confused voices arose from the chairs before Shura dropped himself into his own and completely turned off in a matter of seconds, snoring away. Chiho only wished she could do the same.

She let out a sigh, trying to let her seat swallow her whole while she shoved her hands in her pockets. This seriously sucked. First everyone finds out about her, now Rin is stuck with them, and to make matters worse, she has to work with everyone to nurse a bunch of bed-ridden Exorcists that will probably see her face at some point or another.

Why did I even come? And more importantly… She glanced at Shiemi out of the corner of her eye. The blonde was flipping through a brochure, though she looked somewhat distracted. What am I supposed to say now?

The girl zoned out for a bit, letting the train rock her into some sort of comatose state. Bits and pieces of stray conversations flowed in and out of her ears as her cheek fell to her shoulder. Suddenly she felt exhausted.

"Aren't you afraid of me?" A familiar voice asked, though it seemed too far away for her to register it properly.

"Hah, you?" Another scoffed. "I'm not scared of you or anything. You probably don't know this, but there are tons of people in this world who are related to demons by blood. Better yet, most of them are Exorcists."

"R-Really?!"

"It's common knowledge. Almost everybody knows that."

"But… then I…"

"In other words, the only thing that is a problem about you is the fact that you're the son of Satan. The Order itself hasn't killed you yet."

She tried her best to block out the topic once she realized who was talking, but listened in anyway. Chiho was still confused about why The Grigori or whoever they were decided to let him live in the first place. But then an image of her daggers in the ground next to his head surfaced and she felt nauseous, so she pushed the idea as far away as possible.

"It doesn't know if letting the son of Satan become a part of the Order will be a boon or a bane either. That's all there is to it." Izumo calmly finished, matter-of-fact as always. Suddenly Chiho felt stupid for not noticing that earlier. "So there's really no need to go blowing everything out of proportion like an idiot."

"Eyebrows…!" She had a feeling Rin's eyes were sparkling as he breathily said so.

"E-Eyebrows?!" Izumo shot back in shock.

"You're actually cheering me on…" He went on, sounding completely awestruck by her. "I knew you were a nice girl after all!"

"H-Huh?! Wait a second!" She defensively cried. "How the hell did you reach that conclusion! You're wrong! More importantly, what the hell is up with this "Eyebrows" thing! My name is Kamiki Izumo!" How the heck was Shura still asleep through all this? However, due to the volume of her argument, most of the people in the room had turned their attention towards them.

The next time Rin spoke, it was with such a sincere tone it almost touched Chiho, who was sitting several rows behind him. "Thank you, Izumo."

There was a moment of quiet in which the violet-haired girl struggled to pick out the right words, but came out in a shrill sentence: "Don't address me without the proper honorifics!"

Chiho almost laughed. Her words and actions were totally contradicting each other at this point.

"I-I just-!" She stuttered before getting a hold of herself. "I really hate cowards who say things like "I'll defeat Satan!", or that we're "friends" when all they know is to run away at the most crucial of times… After just spouting some pretty words!"

Hey, that's going a bit too far… She turned to Shiemi, who had bitten her lip and was staring at her lap. Awkwardly unsure of what to do now, Chiho just put a hand on her shoulder, and the blonde smiled weakly at the gesture.

Bon abruptly stood up looking like every vein was going to burst from his face. "Who're you callin' a coward, huh?! You've got guts to be spitting out all this bullshit just 'cause we kept quiet!" Oh, right, they were actually quiet for once. She did a double take of his trembling frame. Well… not anymore.

"Hmm," Izumo mocked a thinking tone, not skipping a beat to jab him back. Was she expecting it all along? Probably. "What would you call yourselves, then? I'm drawing a blank."

Having his last fuse burned out, Bon exploded.

"YOU BITCH!"

And in less than three minutes everyone was sitting in a row on the floor with demon rocks on their laps.

Fuuuuuuck, She gritted her teeth, trying to pat the weight in her lap away but failing. Not this shit again… I wanted that to be the last time! The blood circulation in her legs was cutting out again, and the people in front of her seemed to be in just as much pain from what she could see. After Shura had woken up, he'd grabbed all of them by the collars with hell flaming in his eyes and threw them to an empty room in the back of the train like a bunch of ragdolls.

"You guys all get," He breathed, sweating as his face went blue and set the pebbles on their laps. "The Baryon punishment."

"Why are we all taking collective responsibility again?" Izumo flatly asked.

"I told you all to cooperate and put your strengths together, didn't I?!" Shura snapped, pointing at all of them accusingly. "I shoulda known you brats would end up bursting my arteries sometime today. Askin' you guys to work together would be a tie between suicide and licking your elbows." He growled. "Cool off here-" He pointed towards the carpet. "-until we reach Kyoto, got that?" As he made his way towards the door, he glanced over his shoulder and glared at them so fiercely a volcano must have erupted somewhere in the world. "And no matter what happens, don't fucking wake me up."

And with that being said, he left.

Christ, he even had them prepared… She gritted her teeth and rubbed what little free space was left on her legs. She most definitely would've went for the light switch to revert them back to their pebbled forms if her knees weren't about to rip through the floor.

"What even is this, déjà vu?" Shima spoke up after a moment of quiet. "The last time was also because of a quarrel between Bon and Izumo-chan, wasn't it?" He laughed a bit as he said so, lightening the mood by just a little bit. "Wow, we haven't changed at all, have we?"

"Tch." Bon turned his head away.

"You're noisy." Izumo spat back.

'Don't address me without the proper honorifics!' Chiho mentally mocked her irony.

"More importantly…" Konekomaru mumbled before suddenly bursting out. "Why did Sensei leave Okumura-kun like that?! If anything happens, it'd be dangerous!"

All heads turned to the shorter boy in shock. Usually he was quiet and careful about his actions, but… She wished she could see his face, and yet at the same time she didn't. Seeing him like that would hurt her too.

Konekomaru… what's gotten into you? Chiho felt like she'd been slapped somewhat. Well, that's true, but his sword isn't… She cut herself off. Now was no time to be defending him for whatever reason there was.

"Koneko-san, calm down…" Shima chided as always. Rin also angled his head to him, looking more surprised than hurt. "Konekomaru…"

An air of unease filled the room for a few seconds before a grumbling sound hit their ears. She had to glance around for a minute before realizing what exactly was going on. With a loud groaning noise, Konekomaru's Ghost Stone had somehow leaped right out of his lap, and a collective gasp left the students as they watched it bounce up. How had it just suddenly defied gravity?

What the shit-

Everyone turned just as the boulder came into hard contact with Shiemi's back, triggering a short scream out of the blonde as her stomach met the floor. Her own stone rolled off her lap while she was pressed against the carpet. She managed to lift herself up on her elbows, but no matter how much she pushed, the rock wouldn't give way. S-Shiemi!

Rin was the first to cry out: "Shiemi!"

"M-Moriyama-san!" Konekomaru followed suit, and Chiho attempted to shuffle over to push it off her. How the hell did that just happen? Oh god, how do we get her out? She grunted in exertion, cheeks going red.

"I-I'm okay!" Shiemi squeaked.

"Something old and powerful was residing in it, that happens sometimes!" Shima hurriedly tried to explain. "You must've woken it up earlier, Koneko-san!" The students scrambled to their feet, shoving off the Ghost Stones the best they could.

"Shima, help me get this off." Bon ordered and stepped over to Shiemi, who was still pinned to the ground. The two boys bent over and somehow managed to slip their fingers under it, but when they actually started lifting their faces began to turn an alarming shade of blue. It didn't lift an inch.

"Aaaahhhhh, I give up, I give up, my back's gonna break!" Shima choked out.

Chiho irritably rolled up her sleeves and tucked her fingers under the stone as well despite the looks she got. Are you kidding me? Come on…! But that didn't work either. What the hell was keeping it stuck there?

Rubbing her sore fingers, she looked to Konekomaru when he started speaking again. "W-We've got to call Kirigakure-sensei!"

"But he said not to wake him!" Bon argued, kneeling down and trying to shove the demon off from the side. "I dunno 'bout you, but I enjoy stayin' alive." Shudders went down Chiho's spine at the sight of him being woken up again.

"If I remember correctly, the only way to deal with Baryons is by incinerating them at a high heat." Shima noted and pulled out his staff before angling the tip above the stubborn boulder. Her hand lightly touched her right wrist. So I guess my daggers won't do anything here… and using that move would be too risky, what with her body being stuck to the rock and all… "Hang in there a little longer, Moriyama-san!"

He brought down the staff as hard as he could, but it just created a hollow tap without any reaction from the rock.

"It's too hard!" He shrieked, heartbroken. She reached over to pat him on the back before remembering his face that day in the hospital, and shrank away.

"No good, huh…" Bon sighed.

"Leave it to me!"

Heads turned to the back of the line to see Rin with a determined smile on his face, and her gut twisted. Shit… don't tell me you're gonna try to burn the thing off with those flames! She bit her lip. Doesn't anyone just have a lighter around?

"Huh?!" Suguro glared fiercely at the raven-haired teen right on cue, but Rin just pushed past him and towards the rock and started lifting. "Ugh…!"

Just pulling isn't going to get you anywhere, it gets heavier the harder you pull on it. She let out a sigh as well, glancing away from him.

A sudden whoosh of air snapped her attention back the moment she looked away, and she spun back to see his tail flicking out of his shirt and a large explosion of teal surrounding him and engulfing both him and Shiemi.

Déjà vu punched her across the face, and her stomach twisted and churned at the sight. She remembered those burning trees, his frantic yells, the wild eyes that no longer recognized humans. The eyes that didn't remember her. But how? He didn't unsheathe his sword!

A shrill shriek pierced her ears and her body lurched forward upon remembering how to move. SHIEMI!

Time slowed, and the distorted voices of her classmates seemed to echo in the room.

STOP IT! She wished she could've screamed as she instinctively grabbed his wrist and yanked him away, momentarily forgetting the embers flaring around him. The second she made contact with him he spun around in surprise, and her hand snapped back right away. S-Shit! She stumbled backwards and rolled up her sleeve, inspecting her palm.

But no burn marks were left. It didn't even hurt.

What was the warm sensation lingering there instead?

Wh-What just-

"What the hell are you doing?! Stop!" Bon shouted furiously, latching onto his shoulder tightly. Rin let out a yelp, and the stone began to rattle as the blue flames clung to its sides. With a ear-shattering shriek, it bolted up again and shot across the room, away from Shiemi. A path of teal streaked along with it, and the seats on the entire left side of the room began to flicker. In mere seconds, an entire half of the area had caught ablaze, glowing a bright blue.

Chiho staggered away from the chairs right away. S-Shit, now what?!

"The seats caught fire!" Shima shrieked. "This is bad! We've gotta call the Exorcists now!" He turned, getting ready to run into the room in front.

"W-Wait!" Shiemi cried and picked herself up from the ground. "Let's not make a big fuss out of this! Rin didn't go berserk… These flames are…" She didn't finish and tipped her gaze to her feet. Shiemi... she's not burnt at all either… Chiho glanced around the room hurriedly. Is there no fire extinguisher anywhere around here?!

"These flames can be put out with holy water, right?" Izumo seemed perfectly calm as she turned to Konekomaru, but he was too stunned to give a proper response. She whipped out her summoning paper from a pocket of her shirt in an instant. "Uchimochi, come forth!" The same misty white aura fluttered out of the circle and materialized, but there was only one fox spirit rather than two this time.

"My, my." The byakko tilted its head to the side when it caught sight of its master. "What have you only called me out today for?" She wasn't sure if it would feel it, but Chiho had the sudden urge to pat it on the head.

"Get out the sacred wine and put out those flames!" The maroon-eyed girl sharply ordered. "It isn't holy water, but it's worth a try." That's actually… pretty smart. She had to hand it to her; Izumo was good at thinking fast as well.

The small spirit gave a bit of a huff. "You're really using the byakko any way you please, aren't you…"

Ignoring the snide remark, she slapped her hands together and began to chant. "Take an arashine into your hands and cleanse it. Take a nigoshine into your hands and purify it." The Byakko spirit began to twirl and its slim body took on a triangular shape. "To make eight servings of sacred wine at the peaceful sound of Yahirade-" An opaque, white liquid filled the large bowl-like structure the fox had created and angled itself over the flaming chairs. "Hear me, God! Ama no Oomiki!" With a sharp finish, the dish tilted and splashed onto the seats, and Chiho shielded her face with a sleeve as the sour smell of wine and sake infiltrated her nose.

When she looked back up, it hadn't seemed to do much. The smoke still rose and spread across the ceiling, but the flames looked as though they had been tamed a bit. It was smouldering now.

Just what are those flames made out of? She took a small step forward, looking over them carefully.

"W-Well, the seats have turned into cinders…" Shima awkwardly noted before craning his neck around him. "More importantly, the baryons are gone… where'd they go?"

"Bon!" Rin suddenly burst out, making her jump as he stomped forward and grabbed said teen by the collar of his shirt. He looked furious for some reason, every vein seeming to pop out of his face with his teeth gritted. "Why'd you get in my way?! I had everything under control!"

"What do you mean, everything under control?" Suguro shot back defensively, grabbing his wrist tightly.

"Have some faith in me!" Rin pushed, raising his voice to an awfully high volume she'd never heard him use so loosely. She shrunk back against the seats, wondering if she should just risk her life and get Shura anyway. Just listening was painful to her ears.

"…Faith?" Bon repeated in disbelief before his face twisted in rage. "How could I?! Sixteen years ago, followers of my temple died in those flames." He started to use his taller stature to his advantage, looming over Rin like an infuriated predator and Chiho thought for sure they were going to start punching each other again.

"Those blue flames can kill people!" He barked angrily, bringing his face to an intimidating proximity. She bit her lip hard. A storm was brewing, and both of them were going to back down at this point. Why, how did this happen… "My grandfather, Shima's grandfather and oldest brother, Konekomaru's father!"

This time it was Rin to get stung, pain reflecting in his eyes as his grip on his collar loosened somewhat. Guilt emanated from him, and for a moment she wondered if maybe now they would stop, but her heart sank the second Bon's mouth opened again.

"After having such terrible things done to my family, how the hell am I supposed to have faith in you?!" Even though the words weren't even directed at her, it still felt like a slap in the face. She had no idea what they'd been through the entire time. But even so… why did it have to come to this? Her lungs seemed to have shrunken, making it twice as hard to breathe.

There was a long pause in which the pressure threatened to crush the room to bits; then, Rin gritted out with regret lacing his tone: "That… must have been horrible…" His voice raised harshly, another slap in the face. No one dared to speak now. "But, so the hell what?! That has nothing to do with me!" She had to push down the urge to step behind him and pull his wrist back, but remembered that's what she would have done if this wasn't happening right now.

The angry words resonated in her mind for a few seconds- it may have been an excuse, but it had a ring of truth to it. He was the son of Satan. Everyone knew that now. He had no excuse for that, and didn't try to deny it. But even so, wasn't he raised in a human world just as everyone else was? Her memory flickered back to the stories he'd told her- from his birthday to why he would cook to what Fujimoto Shiro had inspired him to do. Even if Satan was his father… that didn't necessarily mean Rin was the cause of all the hatred.

Right?

"B-Bon!" Konekomaru called, looking quite terrified himself.

As usual, he ignored him. "That's right…" He growled. "You said you'd defeat Satan, didn't you?"

"You heard right." Rin snarled back, baring his canine-like teeth. "So don't you go lumping us together." Everyone bristled and stepped away when small embers began to rise on his shoulders and forehead.

Despite the fact that she needed to tear herself away from him, her lips still parted as her foot slid across the carpet. Rin-

"AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!" When a scream rang through the air, she flinched and drew back. The next time she turned, Konekomaru had ran forward and pulled on Rin's sleeve with an arm, trying to pry him off Bon. "Stop it! Get away from Bon!"

Rin's eyes widened in both shock and hurt when he saw that his hand was trembling on his sleeve. Of course he was. Being treated like a total beast… it was only natural he would react this way.

"You too, Bon! If you still consider us family…" The shorter boy went on. "Then stop acting on your own! Please!"

"Konekomaru…" Bon quietly said, having forgotten about Rin for the moment. As for the half-demon, his grip had almost completely slipped off his collar and had turned to Konekomaru in bewilderment.

"If anything were to happen to Bon, we wouldn't be able to show our faces at the temple ever again!"

"B-Bon, above you!" Shima broke in frantically, pointing above his head.

Time slowed, and everyone turned to see a gray blur heading straight for his skull.

Her mouth fell ajar, and she reached blindly just as another blur zipped through the atmosphere and latched onto the top of a seat.

Whipping around, Shura's ponytail fluttered and settled back down on his shoulders almost elegantly as the boulder split into a million pieces and fell to the floor.

"Geez." He spat, slinging his sword across his shoulders. That seemed to be a habit of his. "You guys can't even take on a small fry like this?!"

Her mouth opened and closed, trying to spit out words that wouldn't even come. What- but you just-

She gulped down any insults and stared at her feet in humiliation. Useless again, but somehow this time she had to depend on him to come and save the day.

Nice to see you too.

"When the real deal comes along, you guys plan on spoutin' off like that, too?" His voice raised to a stinging shout, making her draw back. "You'll die!"

The room fell silent, and faces turned to the ground.

"We will soon arrive in Kyoto." The too-calm announcer's voice rang over the PA. "Passengers alighting here, please ensure that you do not leave any belongings behind in the train."

"Get your stuff." Shura gruffly ordered, lowering his arm to his side. His magenta eyes flashed ominously as he spun on his heel with his ponytail chasing after him. "We're leaving."

The trip to the cabin where they would be staying was mostly uneventful; when they weren't inside some kind of transportation the heat was sweltering hot, so just sitting in the air-conditioned bus was so refreshing she wanted to cry. She reached into her pocket to fish out a handful of peppermints that surprisingly weren't melted yet, so she popped a few into her mouth and sucked furiously to give her mouth something to do rather than bite herself.

This time Shiemi didn't offer to sit next to her, so everyone hunched over in their seats and waited for the ride to end. Nobody else was on the bus since it was specially reserved for the Japanese branch, and the air was stagnate with things waiting to be said. The Exorcists boarding along with them did little to ease the tension, either.

"Oh… oh man… it's heavy… the atmosphere here is so heavy!" Shima mumbled from behind his hands. He wasn't one for these situations, after all.

She tugged her hood down in front of her face and leaned her head against a window, watching the world blur and pass by. Maybe this was the universe's way of punishing her? First it takes away everything, then it gives her everything, a peaceful life and friends, and then it takes everything away again. How much longer would this go on for?

When the bus finally rolled to a stop, Shura and a line of Exorcists were the first to get off.

Though he had been yelling just a few moments ago, Shura greeted the woman standing at the front with a bit of a flirtatious smile as he whipped out his certification license and badge. He gave a small wave. "Yo! The party from the Japan Branch of the True Cross Order has arrived!"

You… what're you so chipper about? She mentally spat at him.

"Oh, thank you very much for coming such a long way." The woman bowed deeply at the front of the inn. It had a wide fence and narrow opening covered by a rural-styled curtain. "I am the Okami of this Toraya Ryokan. The whole place has been booked out for the duration of your stay, so please do make yourselves at home." A calm smile graced her features, complimenting the dark bun on the top of her head and her red and orange kimono. Though she was clearly quite aged in her years, she still held an air of a distinct beauty to her. "Now, this way, please." Moving aside from the doorway, she gestured further inside the cabin, and the Exorcists were the first to enter in a single file line. The students followed shortly after.

When they stepped in, the first thing she took in was the rural-styled décor of the entire cabin. It looked as though it had barely been changed at all over the years since it was built, and it still maintained the classical sliding doors, antique pictures, pots and lucky items scattered on the walls. It gave a familiar, home-like feeling to it. She wasn't sure if her sense of smell was quite right, but a scent of cleaner and… fresh paint?

"Bon!" A voice cried from the end of the hallway.

"It's Bon!" Another joined in, and she turned to see a small crowd of guests with their bags in hands and huge smiles on their faces. What, they know each other?

"You're finally back, huh?" One man with narrow eyes and a strange, lopsided smile greeted him cheerily. "Welcome home!"

Rin blinked. "Eh?"

W-Wait… this inn… is Suguro's house?!

"Konekomaru and Renzou-kun are here, too!" A woman clasped her hands together and grinned from ear to ear.

"Ah, Okami-san! Call her out here, Okami-san! This is definitely worth celebrating!"

Bon shot up straight in a panic and waved his hand frantically. "D-Don't! This ain't no homecoming! I just happened to be assigned to come back 'cause a' my work as an Exwire and-" He seemed to realize too late that time was running out, because nobody seemed to be listening. Instead everyone in the lobby scrambled about, calling wildly for whoever the owner of the lodge was. "H-Hey, listen to me! Hey!" Wait, what? What's going on?

A familiar face peeked around the corner before stepping out into the open.

"Ryuuji?!" The woman who had led them in just moments before stood there with a mix of confusion and surprise on her face. She definitely didn't look overjoyed, and an invisible fist punched Chiho in the stomach.

WHAT?!

"You…" Her eyes shone with tears for just a split second, and Chiho thought she was going to burst out sobbing and hug him. How are they related?! Good God, I demand to see a birth certificate.

"You actually went and dyed your hair, huh?!" The soft atmosphere nosedived in half a second and was replaced by one of pure fury, and Chiho's skin crawled at the eerie change. "You wanna turn into a chicken or something next?!" The flames were almost visible at this stage.

C-Chicken?! W-Well, now that you mention it…

"You sure have guts, setting foot in this inn again!" She pointed a finger at him accusingly, and it took all she had not to burst out laughing. Someone like Bon being scolded by his own mother… it was just golden. "Didn't you say you were going to go study? HUH?!"

Bon's face was flushed, almost comically so as he spat back: "Li- Like I said, I just happened to be assigned to come here to help as an Exwire! And what the hell d'you mean, talking about chickens?! This hairstyle shows my determination! Determination, y'know!"

"What determination?! Then in your opinion, for what purpose did I birth such a handsome son?! I didn't spend four hours of my life in agony trying to get your head out after you almost killed me! This is unforgivable!"

Shima's face swelled up like an inflating balloon and hid his snickers back with a fist. "Pfft! I just knew he'd get it for his stupid hair."

"Uh… what's going on?" Izumo mumbled from the back. The rest of the students continued to stare blankly at the surreal scene unfolding in front of them. Chiho's own head was full of question marks too.

"O-Okami-san," Konekomaru awkwardly broke into the argument with Shima at his side, both of them stepping forward. "It's me, Konekomaru. It's been a while."

"Hey there, Okami-san." Shima greeted and ruffled the hair at the base of his neck. "Long time no see." Surprisingly enough she didn't even seem to bat an eyelash at the sight of Shima's bright pink hair. Then again, he wasn't exactly her own son.

"Ah, Neko-chan! And Renzou-kun, too!" The woman broke away from the scolding fit to face them, face suddenly warmed again at the sight of them. "You're finally back! It's good to see that you're both well…" She let out a sigh and put a hand to her cheek with a disapproving shake of her head. "It must have been tiring protecting Ryuuji! Oh, you have my sincere thanks."

"Don't make it sound like they were protecting me!" Bon snapped, face flushing a second time.

"Oh, dear, how rude of me!" She suddenly turned to the group still standing by the entrance as if she'd just noticed them. "The rest of you must be Ryuuji's friends from cram school!"

Chiho fidgeted a bit upon being called his friend. That's not exactly the case right now…

But she just put on an inviting smile and bowed. "Pleased to meet you. I'm Ryuuji's mother." This time the fist came back to give her a right straight in the gut, but it doesn't make her keel over twice as hard as it did the first time. So they really are related…?

"Stop that!" Bon growled, cheeks an interesting shade of fuchsia.

"M-Mother?!" Rin burst out. His jaw was completely open in shock. "This person is Suguro's mom?!"

"Yep, this Ryokan is Bon's family home." Shima smiled and filled in for him, but he shrunk back after a sharp glare from Bon; probably a reminder that they were supposed to stop talking to each other.

Rin's face twisted in confusion. "…Eh? But isn't Bon's home the temple that got destroyed?" Chiho had to swallow the urge to hit him upside the head. That's not a topic you can just bring up out of nowhere!

To her surprise, Suguro's mother just smiled and waved it off. "That's right, even though our temple couldn't hold out, I still managed to take over this Ryokan, which was my own family home." She paused to tuck a strand of chestnut hair behind her ear. "The temple neither earned much from the tourists nor had many danka, so a side business was essential to begin with."

I had no idea… I thought the family temple would be pretty popular with the people who lived here.

"A-Ah, is that so…" Rin scratched his cheek.

"I was wondering why they called you Bon-Bon, turns out you really were the Bon-Bon of a Ryokan…" Izumo scoffed and hid her smile with a hand.

"I can hear you, Kamiki!" Bon exploded and gritted his teeth.

"Okami-san," A voice rang in from around the corner, and everyone turned to see Shura standing with a wrapped box of something; was it chocolates? If so, it was a miracle it hadn't been melted into a puddle of stickiness by now. He gave her a charming smile as he presented the box to her, and Chiho flinched upon seeing the Mephisto-coloured pattern on the wrapping paper. There was no way Shura would go along with that, so he must've been forced to take it with him. "Thank you in advance for taking care of us for such a long time. This is just a small token of our gratitude." Shura adjusted his hands so that his were resting on the tops of her own, and she could've sworn that was a vein popping out of Bon's forehead just then.

"Oh, no, no, we're truly grateful for the continued patronage of the True Cross Order." A humble tone left her as she accepted the box. Was that a tinge of pink on her cheeks just then?

Chiho let out a low whistle. So even the older ladies go for him. No, or maybe it's the other way around? It's like his life mission is to flirt with every visible female in one way or another.

"Hey, you guys." Shura took a step back and pointed a thumb over his shoulder. "I've already exchanged greetings with the chief, so I'll be heading straight out to help out at the Branch Office." He turned back to the woman. "I'll leave half of the doctors here, so please have them take a look at those that are wounded."

She nodded. "Yes, thank you very much."

"And…" Shura's brow furrowed and then his face brightened when he seemed to have remembered something. "Oh, yeah. Suguro, Miwa, Shima." He turned to look at them over his shoulder. "This is the first time you've been back in a long time, yeah? Go 'round and say hi to your relatives, alright?"

There was a bit of a stunned pause from the trio before Shima nodded. "Yes… okay."

Chiho popped another peppermint into her mouth. Are they gonna put us to work right away, then?

Shura seemed to have gotten the point across, because he then proceeded to point at the remaining students one by one. "Moriyama, Kamiki, Takara, Takahiro, Okumura, you guys will follow Yunokawa-sensei over here and assist him as he treats his patients." The red-haired man put a broad hand on the shoulder of the teacher with curly hair and rectangular spectacles. "I know we've just arrived, but work hard!"

Yeah, yeah. Suddenly a foul feeling soiled the determination she had, turning her lips into a frown. I don't even know what the point of this is anymore…

"Yes!" Shiemi and Kamiki sharply said before Shura turned to jab a finger at Rin.

"Rin!" He barked. "Don't go causing any trouble! Believin' in you here."

"Huh?!" Rin's jaw dropped again. "Just like that?!"

"Hey hey hey, this is a form of training, too." Shura winked and raised both his hands in a stance that feigned innocence.

"You sure about that?!"'

Yeah, Chiho heaved out a sigh. Trouble seems to follow you wherever you go.

Yunokawa-sensei led the group down a long hallway and into a room that smelled strongly of bitter herbs and a faint scent of incense and sweat. When he opened the door, the first thing to appear in her vision was rows and rows of people of all ages lined up all along the floors. Tossing and turning, sweating, groaning, some of their faces were going red.

A stone settled in the pit of her stomach as it tried not to overturn. What the hell… happened to these people?

"There's a ton of people in here…" Izumo noted.

"There are still another fifteen or so people even further in." Their instructor grimly said, and Chiho gulped. Fifteen didn't seem like that big of a number, but with this many people already stricken with illness, it was fifteen more patients to treat, feed, and provide shelter for. This wasn't going to be easy. "These are those with relatively less severe Spirit Wounds."

W-Wait, but shouldn't we be treating those with more serious injuries first…? She lurched forward a bit to look at her teacher, but he didn't seem anywhere near joking. Several doctors in their black Exorcist coats were already getting to it, injecting vaccinations and mixing herbal concoctions. This epidemic looked more serious than she'd thought, and she scolded herself for thinking it wasn't a big deal.

Yunokawa-sensei led them back into the hallway for a moment. "Well, for the time being you guys can bring the medicinal tea for treating the poison over from the kitchen." He pointed a finger to a room just a few feet away from the first one, which must've been the kitchen. "When you see that any of the intravenous drips are running out, bring over a pack of anti-bacterial intravenous solution from that box over there." He jerked his chin over to a pile of labeled boxes just outside the doorway.

The students nodded and took off, and Chiho took in a deep breath and rolled up her hoodie sleeves. Time to get to work.

At first it was awkward to keep rushing in and out, but eventually she managed to pick up a steady rhythm. She made sure to never make too much noise on her feet, so she could easily slip in and out of the bustling kitchen whenever she needed to. Each large tray she hoisted in held about five or six cups of hot herbal medicine, so not spilling it took a bit of effort, but the room wasn't too far away from the kitchen. It was best for her to find her own little section of patients to treat so she wouldn't have to keep moving the tray around and risk spilling hot tea on someone's face by accident. Before she knew it she was actually working up a bit of a sweat. It never seemed to end.

The most difficult part of it all was actually helping the patients get the tea down. No matter who it was, anybody would be slightly put off by the sight of a silent, hooded figure trying to shove a cup of tea down your throat. She wasn't even sure how many of them could still read from a screen in their blurry conditions, but she just kept the same note saved onto her phone after she would gently shake them awake, or just to show them if they already were:

[I'm here to help you. I have herbal tea.]

A few people blinked in surprise but nodded, so she would gently put a hand under their heads and lift the cup to their lips. She was shocked at how fast her heart was pounding; she didn't think having to help someone drink a cup of tea would be so nerve-racking or require so much focus. After they were done, she'd nod and pull the covers back up to their chests.

It was strange. She hadn't known it could feel so nice to help people, especially when they smiled at her when she was about to leave.

"Wait," One pale-faced man had breathily called before grabbing onto her wrist and nearly giving her a heart attack. "You… what's your name…?"

An eerie chill ran up her spine, and she carefully removed his hand. What had he been thinking? Did he think she was disgusting? Scary? Or was he just curious as to why she hadn't spoken?

But rather than typing out an answer for him, she just shook her head and lifted a single finger to her lips.

"Takahiro-kun!" Yunokawa-sensei called after about half an hour of this process. "Take the cups back to the kitchen and then go out to the garden to gather five stalks of Hypericum!"

Chiho wiped the sweat from her brow and nodded so he could see. Trying not to use up so much stamina, she whisked the tray back to the steaming kitchen and flew out the door to the garden, ignoring the dull stinging in her left leg.

She had no idea why she was running back and forth so frantically all of a sudden. Maybe it was because working hard like this kept her mind off of her current dilemma.

It's okay. She'd halfheartedly convinced herself. It's okay whether I live or die, whether my body is breaking or not. It's okay to die. But until then… I'll help whoever I can.

Keeping up a light jog, pants escaped her open lips and her legs whirred to a stop when she saw Shiemi standing outside the garden gates with her back facing her. Stumbling back a bit, Chiho pressed her back against a wall rather than facing her. Shiemi… was she also sent out for herbs?

"Nii-chan, come out," The blonde meekly called, and then it dawned on her that she was probably looking at her summoning paper. But nothing popped out like it always would. Chiho realized then that it had been a while since she'd seen the Green Man perched on her shoulder. If she remembered correctly from Neuhaus's lessons, wavering as a Tamer could be fatal in a battle situation. What happened? Was it maybe because of the incident with the moths that shook her until she couldn't summon anymore…?

Chiho's gaze tipped down to her feet. It was sweltering hot out and she wanted to rid herself of her stupid hoodie, but she couldn't do that now. Could she go over and talk to her? After all, she had been the one to reach out and sit next to her on the train, and… Christ, why was she so goddamn indecisive? She slapped a palm against her face to try to pull herself together. Making a decision, she sucked in a breath and stepped out from around the corner to approach her. Her chest felt tight with something she couldn't identify, but she was definitely terrified. But… she wouldn't push her away, right?

Shiemi was so absorbed in thought that she didn't notice her until she patted her shoulder twice. She spun around with wide eyes. "W-Who- Oh, Takahiro-kun… A-Ah!" She shook her head quickly, putting the hand with the paper in it behind her back while waving the other apologetically. "I-I'm so sorry! I-I mean…" She gave her the smallest of smiles, though she could tell Shiemi was still hiding something behind it. "Murakami-san…"

Chiho flinched at being addressed in that fashion, but she knew she was just trying to be sincere. She held up a hand to signal patience and typed a message onto her phone.

[What are you doing?]

"O-Oh, I was just-"

"Outta the way!" A sharp voice cut the conversation short, and without turning she already knew who was rapidly approaching.

Shiemi jumped a bit and spun to see Izumo already behind them. "A-Ah, Kamiki-san!" Her cheeks were stained with an embarrassed pink. Chiho lightly touched her own; would they ever be able to turn that colour again?

"I got sent here to gather medicinal herbs too." Izumo huffed, putting her hands on her hips. "Move." Chiho shot her a glare the best she could, but Shiemi just moved out of the way to open the gate anyway. "S-Sorry!"

Regardless, the three of them entered with a bit of an awkward silence as they started to bend down to carefully pluck the plants from the hot soil; that is, until Izumo decided to speak up again.

"Anyways, what is it?" Her tone was sharp and blunt as usual, but it was good to know that she hadn't been very alarmed throughout everything that was going on at the moment.

"Eh?" Shiemi's head perked up in surprise, and Chiho listened intently since there wasn't much else she could do.

"Weren't you about to say something just now?" The maroon-eyed girl sighed while bundling a bunch of thistle-like flowers into her arms. "If you've got something you want to say, hurry up and say it."

Well, since you asked so nicely. The hooded figure silently scoffed and pulled a stalk by the roots. The sun beating down on her back wasn't helping with the layer of sweat already building on it, and she picked up the pace so she could hurry up and go back inside. Not that it was much cooler, but still. This hot weather was going to drive her insane.

"I…" Shiemi softly spoke and raised her worried eyes to meet Izumo's. She looked… almost in pain. Chiho's pace of gathering plants slowed considerably. "I just want to be of help to everyone. But at the rate I'm going, I'm just getting in everyone's way no matter what I do." Her emerald eyes were full of guilt, and her gaze fell to the herbs clenched in her hands. "At this rate, when my friends are in trouble, I won't be of any use. B-Because I'm… just so unreliable…" When tears began to well up and her voice began to choke up, the remaining two girls simply stared in astonishment. And in less than a second, fat tears were rolling down her cheeks. "A-And Rin and Yuki-chan wouldn't t-tell me anything, e-even though it was s-so important…"

Both Chiho and Shiemi dropped their herbs to the dirt. H-Hey, hold up, don't tell me you-

"UWAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" A shockingly loud wail rattled the air, and the sniveling blonde slapped her hands over her face as she crouched to her knees. She could've sworn something had just been thrown through the window next to them, but she was barely even paying attention. Soon her bawling were the only thing she could hear in the garden.

Without thinking, the girl had rushed to her side, awkwardly rubbing her trembling back since she hadn't the slightest idea what to do when it came to this.

But according to all the high school chick flicks, this always worked. Yeah. Yeah, this would be fine.

Biting down on her shaking lip, Shiemi raised her flushed, tear-stained face to look at Chiho through her shining eyes.

Chiho tried to give what she hoped was a comforting smile. H-Hey, it's gonna be okay, d-don't cry. Alright?

Silence.

"UWAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

The girl flew away from her, scrambling back on her rear and legs like a crab. F-Fuck, what'd I do?! Ahhhh shit, did plan A not work?

"This is so frustrating!" Shiemi sobbed, hiding her reddened face. "I just w-want to become stronger!"

"You know," Izumo huffed and put her hands on her hips, matter-of-fact as always. "I really am amazed by you! You're already strong, or should I say… you're completely shameless!"

Chiho questioned whether she should shoot her down for saying something in such a condescending tone, but then wondered if what she was saying was really a bad thing. It wasn't as though she was lying.

The blonde slowly lifted her face back up from her hands. "M-Me?"

"To think I actually have a friend like you…" She went on, keeping strong eye contact the entire time. "I mean, you can say something totally lame without feeling the slightest bit embarrassed! You are as shameless and bold as a weed!"

That's kinda harsh… But for whatever reason there was, the tears were cleared away from her cheeks.

"A weed…" She softly echoed.

"Hey." Izumo heaved out another sigh. "If you're gonna cry again, please don't."

"I…" Shiemi looked down at the dirt under her. "I love weeds…"

W-Wait, what?

Izumo communicated this for her with a blink and a "Huh?!"

After slapping her cheeks twice, Shiemi smiled brightly and wiped her eyes with her wrist. "Thank you, Kamiki-san! I'll do my best, just like the weeds do!"

While the purple-haired girl stared, dumbfounded, some sort of silent laugh shook Chiho's body.

Seriously, what is that… But, She turned to see the cheerful girl back to her usual self, humming and gathering the herbs she'd dropped before rushing back into the room. At least she's feeling better. Well, I better get back to it too… Chiho brushed the dirt off her knees before standing back up to retrieve the stalks she'd dropped from Shiemi's outburst.

"Hey, you."

Jerking in surprise, Chiho angled her head towards Izumo again mid-step. What? She still had more to say? Her maroon eyes were curious, quiet, and perceptive as they trained on her. Something about the look she got sent a shiver down her back. W-What?

"I know about what happened to you."

Silence coated the atmosphere as the words slapped her and sunk into her brain. Huh? What did she mean by that? Her palms broke out into a cold sweat, and she turned so that she was facing Izumo entirely.

W… What are you talking about?

"You were attacked by a demon when you were younger, and you don't have a face or a voice anymore. That's why you hide it under a hood and never speak, and you were pretending to be a male student so you could disguise yourself easily. Am I right?" Her classmate's eyes don't leave her for a second, unwavering and somewhat cold. But worst of all, she's completely convinced that what she's saying is right.

The world felt like it was melting under her toes. Her knees went weak and her fingers began to quiver. When she lifted them in front of her, she stumbled backwards when she saw splatters of ruby red blood appear for a second before reverting back to being smudged in dirt.

"Kirigakure-sensei told me what happened. I never knew any kind of demon could do something like that."

She wanted to move. She wanted to hurry and run, to get away from the piercing gaze locked on her, but she was completely immobilized. Every drop of blood in her veins had frozen to ice.

"Hey." Izumo took a step towards her, her usual cold front cast aside. "Can I see your face? I'm curious." When her feet started to come closer, an electric jolt shocked every nerve in her body, causing her to jump and stagger towards the fence behind her. The dirt seemed to have turned into quicksand, swallowing every movement of her legs and dragging her down until she fell on her rear again. Through her blurring vision, her classmate looked like she was towering above her mercilessly.

Chiho's lips parted, gasping for air as she turned over on her side and pushed herself up. Her nails clawed into the soil as she tried brushing aside the herbs, looking for somewhere, anywhere to hide. The blood was pounding in her ears so hard it felt like her head would burst.

"Are you really that scared? Haven't you looked like that for years? What's wrong with me seeing your face?" Izumo's voice sounded like it was echoing from a million miles away, and when she blinks she can see the flames engulfing her hand and the plants she'd reached into. She draws back as if she'd been shocked, but there are no burns on her palm. Why… Why, what's happening?

"Or is it that you're afraid of yourself?"

Her breathing cuts off.

"That's pathetic. If that's what you came all the way to this Academy for, something this little is something you have to accept! Where's your sense of determination? Do you even want to be an Exorcist?"

Stop it, She wanted to scream. Stop! Shut up! What the hell do you know?!

Rolling over on her stomach, her heels dig into the earth as she launches herself from the ground. Completely abandoning the torn herbs on the floor, she bolts out of the garden and towards the bathroom while ignoring the calls of the teachers and nurses that melt into the background. Walls and doors and people materialize out of nowhere and she bumps into them repeatedly, smashing against corners and running into the wallpaper. How is she moving? Where are her legs taking her?

She runs and runs and runs until she slides open a door revealing a small row of bathroom stalls. Her sweat-slicked fingers slip off the locks multiple times before it finally clicks into place.

Her racked body lurches and hunches over a toilet as the itch she hadn't felt in days returns all too suddenly.

The murky water inside is dyed a deep crimson red.

A/N: Hi.

FAQ: Why haven't you been updating recently? It's almost been three months...

A: because i'm a piece of shit

a piece of shit that got addicted to basketball anime over spring break

oh and by the way thanks for over 100+ on practically everything i love u guys i hope you find 20 bucks on the ground tomorrow

i'll write a proper AN next time

but yeah i love u

feel free to write a review

bye