I let out a long sigh as I looked past my brown hair and at the large town. Nothing was familiar and everything was in Japanese. I had moved to this town from the United States in a study abroad program and I was supposed to be attending True Cross academy. I was supposed to live somewhere near the campus of the school and supposedly I would be meeting the headmaster soon.

It was the start of the school year, so that made it easier for me as there would be a lot of new people instead of me trying to fit into a school where everyone already knew their way around. My mom helped me with choosing and paying for an apartment that was supposedly not too far away from the school.

As I reached the address I was looking for, I saw that the apartment was similar to some town-homes that were common in the states. It had a nice little porch and seemed to have a fairly good size to it. I had been mailed the key before I even arrived in Japan, so I had to fish through my bags to find it before I could get in.

As I found it, I let out a long sigh of relief, glad that it didn't take me too long before I unlocked the door and entered the apartment. It was already furnished and seemed like a fairly good place for me to stay for the time that I would be attending True Cross Academy. It took me a few hours to get settled in before I decided to look around at whatever shops or places were near me.

As I exited the apartment, I noticed that there was a small forest behind it. I felt like there was some kind of force compelling me to go into the forest, my adventurous nature getting the better of me. The forest was similar to those that were in the mountains in my home state of Colorado, and it made me feel a bit more at home.

There was what seemed like a small path that led from the entrance of the forest to somewhere deeper within, and I decided to follow it so I would have a clear way to get back out if I got disoriented in the trees. It took around half an hour of walking before I reached what lay at the end of the path in the heart of the forest.

There was a broken down shrine covered in graffiti that stood among large and overgrown plants. Within it were many stone tablets and a place to leave offerings. It made me sad to see the poor state of the shrine and I felt a bit of anger in my heart for the people who left it to rot. Even if I wasn't a very spiritual person, I still didn't approve of the neglect of the shrine.

Next to the shrine was a small river that looked like it was filled with trash and there were hardly any fish in it. The blatant disrespect to the nature around the shrine was enough to compel me to want to fix it. I bit my lip, seeing that some parts of it would be easy to fix and I could scrub off the graffiti and put a new finish to the wood of the shrine.

School would be starting in a few days, and I would be bored with nothing to do, so I decided that I would make the shrine my little pet project. I would do my best to fix it up and looking for materials to repair it would allow me to get to know the local people and the locations of local shops better. With a nod I mentally agreed to do my best as I got to work pulling the weeds back from the structure.

~~~Time skip! Two days!~~~

The basic structure of the shrine and the new wood finish was finally done and it had no sign of the previous graffiti that marred it. I had fixed and replaced any of the rotting wood on the structure and I cleaned up any old scraps that had been on it. I had fixed the roof of the shrine and trimmed back the wild plants that grew around it.

The larger plants had been smothering a beautiful flower that reminded me of a rose, so I decided to put it in a pot to try and revive it at my house. I also had set to work cleaning the garbage and filth out of the small river, which now flowed quietly beside me, clear of any human trash. I also cleaned the surrounding area as there were bottles and all manner of trash near it.

I refurbished the faded stone tablets that had been inside the shrine and had painted in the carvings with black ink to make them easier to see. While I was painting the carvings, I noticed it was a very old form of Japanese. From the bit I understood, it talked about the offerings often put on the shrine and how they tended to be sweet things and fine sake.

With that in mind, I got the finest Sake I could afford and I made a few sweets and put them in jars that could be sealed. I didn't know what kinds of sweets that people may have offered back in the day, but I did the best I could with what I had. I used one of my own pillows that had a nice silk covering on it to be in the center of the shrine.

The shrine was almost completely fixed now, as I had set out the sweets and poured a bit of sake into a saucer, setting the jug next to the cup. I still felt like something was missing to the shrine, though I had no idea what and I began to get annoyed as I stood back and looked at it. The faint sound of footsteps behind me broke my concentration, and I looked over my shoulder.

A man was walking up the path. He wore a white and pink suit, a top hat, and he had deep purple hair. In his hands, he held an umbrella that looked more like a parasol instead of an umbrella that was made for rain. "Hello there, I assume you are Kiame then?" I was surprised as he called me by name before I turned to fully face him, bowing my head slightly.

"Yes, I am Kiame. May I ask who you are?" He seemed amused as he raised a single eyebrow at me. "My name is Mephisto Pheles, though most know me as Mr. Faust, the headmaster of True Cross Academy." I was surprised by this as my eyes widened slightly. "M-Mr. Faust, I didn't know that you were visiting today, I would have been at my apartment to meet you had I known."

He simply grinned and waved it away dismissively. "Worry not. I found you just fine. The only thing I wish to know right now, my dear, is why you are out here and not at home?" I grinned sheepishly and turned to look back at the shrine, a warm smile pulling at my lips as I took in the mostly finished product of my labors.

"Well… I decided to explore the forest my first day here… and I found this shrine. It was falling to pieces and I felt mad that it had been left to rot… so I've been fixing it the past few days. I'm not a very spiritual or religious person… but I couldn't stand seeing the shrine in pieces. Even if I do not believe fully that there was ever a spirit present in the shrine, to let it fall apart is simply disrespectful."

Mr. Faust grinned at this and tilted his head, looking at the shrine. "Hm, do you know who this shrine was intended for?" He asked lightly, twirling his umbrella in his hands as he walked closer to the structure, the grin ever present on his face. "Kind of… I'm still getting used to Japanese Calligraphy, and the calligraphy on the tablets is very old, so I could only make out a few things…"

I let out a soft sigh as I looked over the structure. "From what I could make out on the tablets, the shrine is dedicated to some kind of powerful spirit of the Earth… 'The Earth King' I believe he was called. Like a King of all other Earth spirits that dwell in the land, and the common offerings given to him were sweets and sake. I don't know what kind of sweets, so I just brought whatever sake I could afford and whatever sweets I could make."

I chuckled and shook my head. "I can't believe how disrespectful people were to this shrine… it was covered in graffiti and surrounded by trash… it took a while… but I think I got all of it. At least that stream is clean now… and it doesn't look like a garbage dump anymore… Though I feel it is still missing something. I just don't know what."

I sighed and rest my hand on the shrine, looking at what I had put in it as Mr. Faust looked over the stone tablets. "The shrine is indeed intended for 'The Earth King' but he was considered to be a demon. Are you still happy you fixed the shrine?" I chuckled and nodded at his question, running my fingers over the now smooth wood.

"Yes, I'm still happy I fixed the shrine. A demon to some is a God to others. Besides, everything deserves respect… even a demon or a shrine built for a demon." I paused for a moment, letting my gaze rest on the shrine before I turned back to Mr. Faust. "Anyway, was there something you needed to talk to me about, sir?"

He nodded and held out what looked like a packet of papers. "This is your orientation packet. I would like it filled out and returned on your first day of classes. The rule book is also in here so please make sure to read over it and learn the rules of True Cross Academy." I accepted the packet from him and nodded, bowing my head.

"Thank you Mr. Faust, I will have the orientation packet done." He smiled and lightly gripped the rim of his hat with his free hand. "You may call me Mephisto if you wish. I look forward to seeing you at school, Ms. Kiame." I nodded and was about to walk back down the path to my apartment before I paused at the shrine, smiling slightly.

"Earth King, if you are there and can hear me, I hope you like your refurbished shrine and I hope you have a good day." With this I turned on my heel, picking up the small potted flower and walking down the path, waving over my shoulder at Mephisto as I walked away. "Have a good rest of your day, Mephisto!" He smiled and waved back as I walked out of sight.

~~~Mephisto P.O.V.~~~

I waved as the young brunette walked away before a small grin pulled at my lips. It was clear the woman did not have a temptaint or she would have noticed the few hobgoblins that poked and shuffled around the shrine curiously. "Brother, come see what that young human has done for you." I looked towards the trees as my younger brother, Amaimon, walked forward.

His attention was immediately grasped by the sweets she had left for him and he began snacking on them. "Did she say why she did it and where she got these sweets? They aren't half bad." He asked with a bored tone as he continued eating the sweets. "She said she was angry at what had become of your shrine so she fixed it. She was also the one who made those sweets and left them for you."

He paused for a moment and raised one eyebrow, slightly interested by the strange behavior of the human woman. "Does she not know this is the shrine of a demon king?" I chuckled and nodded. "Indeed. I told her as much. She said a demon to some is a God to others and that your shrine deserves respect regardless. She also hopes you have a good day and you enjoy the fixed shrine."

He made a soft sound in the back of his throat, drifting off into thought as he ate. Indeed, young Kiame was a strange human. Not many would take the time to fix a shrine and be impartial to the fact it was a shrine to a demon, or to go as far as to wish the demon well without even knowing for sure if demons existed or not.

My attention shifted to a group of smaller hobgoblins that were prodding at something on the ground. As I moved closer to see what it was, I noticed that it was a phone. It was likely Kiame's and I assumed that she would want it returned to her. As I retrieved the phone from Amaimon's kin, he seemed to snap to attention.

"Is that one of her belongings?" He asked with a flat tone and I nodded, turning it over in my hands to examine it. "Behemoth, return it to her." He ordered simply and the hobgoblin that usually remained by his side reached up for the phone in my hands. I gave it to the lesser demon and he bounded away in the direction of Kiame's apartment.

Amaimon continued to snack on what Kiame had left for him before he stopped, looking at the Sake she left behind. He picked it up and inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of the bottle. "Enjoying the scent of the Sake she got for you?" I asked lightly, amusement clear in my voice. To my surprise, he shook his head, taking another deep inhale of the bottle and closing his eyes.

"I like the scent… but it is not the Sake's scent… it's her scent… it's on the bottle and the sweets and this shrine… I like her scent." I raised my eyebrow at his behavior as he took another deep inhale, his pupils growing and expanding until they almost consumed the color of his eyes. This kind of behavior was not typical of my younger brother and it was interesting to watch him react to her scent.

"You know, Amaimon, she does live close to this shrine. Within walking distance, actually. I'm certain she wouldn't mind if we visited her. Just make sure she can see you and I will introduce you to her.' His eyes shined oddly at this as he gazed up at me before rising to his feet, clearly wanting to see her again. What an interesting turn of events this has become~