Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Exorcist.

Amaimon frowned. He stuck his hand into his left pocket, and then into his right—but to no avail. Both were empty. The horror washed over him in waves, because if this meant anything, it was that he had run out of candy again. Last time this had happened, he had simply gone to his older brother's office, and stolen from his not-so-secret stash. Mephisto had since then locked everything up, and kept the key on his person at all times so that when he had a craving, he could simply reach for what he wanted.

He would not be able to steal Mephisto's candy this time, at least, not without avoiding major punishment. It seemed he had no other choice but to buy some of his own. He was sucking on his last lollipop, and if he did not get more soon, he was certain he would start showing signs of withdrawal in but a few hours.

And that was never a very pretty sight.

Thankfully, he knew of a little candy shop that would have everything a sugar-addict such as himself could possibly need. Behemoth hot on his heels, he started to jog.

Most students that attended True Cross Academy were not aware that there was a secret cram school for exorcists attached to the campus, nor that there was a special, little shop for exorcists to procure their supplies. What they did know, however, was that Johann Faust, their rich and powerful chairman, had opened a candy shop not a few days after having been given his position.

Of course, they had no idea that Johann Faust was really an alias for the demon Mephisto Pheles, who just so happened to have an addiction for all things sweet.

Amaimon was one of the most frequent customers to visit the candy shop, second only to his older brother. He usually tried to buy things in bulk, but it rarely lasted no longer than a few days. It had been a while since his last visit, since he had been traveling all over Japan in an attempt to understand just why Mephisto loved the place so much.

He continued to chew on the stick, even after his lollipop had been finished, trying to keep the flavor of cherry in his mouth. All he could taste anymore was paper. Relief flowed through his veins when the shop finally came into view, though, and he slowed down to a comfortable speed-walk. He appreciated for a moment, the sign that said in bright, pink characters, Moriyama Candy, reveling in the familiarity of the place.

The bell rang as the door opened, and he gazed in expectantly, but it was not the usual, elder woman that sat behind the counter. Amaimon could see the resemblance between the girl and the woman that usually watched the shop, but that was the last thing on his mind. He should have made the connection sooner, considering her name was the same as that outside the shop.

"Welcome to Moriyama Candy, how can I help—"

It was then that she looked up and met his surprised gape, and the words she was supposed to recite died on her lips. It was the first time she had manned the candy shop in a while, but she had never imagined that the other aspect of her life, the exorcist part of her, would follow her so quickly to one of the few places she considered out of bounds.

Terrorized by the memories of when she had last seen The Earth King, she shrieked, before falling off her stool and knocking herself unconscious.

Bewildered, Shiemi opened her eyes to come face to face with a hobgoblin she easily recognized to belong to Amaimon, and squealed when realizing that it was sitting on her chest, drooling all over her. She scrambled to get Behemoth off her, but he did not budge until its master snapped his fingers.

Shiemi gathered what strength she had to look in the direction the sound had come from, feeling uncomfortable by how close it had seemed. She should not have been so surprised to see him crouched down next to her head, in the process of unwrapping what looked like an orange lollipop. He popped it into his mouth, then dropped thirty-five yen into her open palm.

"It's been a while, my bride," he commented, watching with indifference as she attempted to shuffle away from where he had bent over to check if she had fallen dead. Humans were such fragile creatures, after all, and it would have been unacceptable if the girl had died before he could buy his much needed sweets.

Her face turned a violent, tomato red at his greeting, and she struggled to find the right thing to say. "Don't...don't call me tha-that!" She stuttered in embarrassment, managing to pull herself behind the rows of candy jars. He stared at her through the glass, quirking his head in confusion. Had he said something wrong?

"Customers aren't supposed to be behind the register," came a disappointed sigh from the back door, now ajar. "What in the world are you doing over there, Shiemi?" Her mother asked.

"Ah, Moriyama-san," Amaimon waved with a dull expression, turning slightly as he did so. "I needed more supplies."

She shooed him to the other side of the counter, picking up the stool Shiemi had knocked over when falling, shaking her head as she did so. When Mephisto had at first requested she opened a second shop to sell sweets to students (or rather, to himself), she had resisted the idea, but the thought of Shiemi interacting with more people her age had seemed like a good idea. While it was a lot of work to keep two shops running, Mephisto at least had been kind enough to create a key portal between the exorcist shop and the candy shop she ran closer to the main campus. Clearly, though, Shiemi was not doing so well with it yet.

"The usual, I imagine?" She asked.

He sat down at the small bar set up, nodding his head. "I would also like to have something for here as well." Behemoth hopped up onto the stool next to his, snorting loudly as he did so. Shiemi watched the entire interaction with shock, not sure exactly how she was supposed to react. Did her mother not realize that he was a demon king? That he was very dangerous?

What did she think when she saw the drooling hobgoblin sitting next to him? Shiemi's eyes widened when it occurred to her just what her mother must have thought at seeing a customer with a low-level demon. That he was just another student at the exorcist cram school, and that the hobgoblin was his familiar. Shiemi had mentioned that there was another prospective tamer in the group of exwires, but she could not remember if she had told her mother that it was a girl who could summon twin byakko.

"Shiemi, get out from over there!" Her mother chided, before adding, "You can at least help by offering the chairman's brother some of this week's special."

Then she had gone into the storage room to get whatever Amaimon's usual was. She was alone with him again, and she was scared for her very life, but her mother's wrath at being disobeyed was not something she particularly wanted. She knew he was staring at her, but she crawled across the room on all fours, before reaching the bar.

"Would you like to try our coconut flavored sherbet?" She asked, staying below the counter.

He was quiet for a moment, before questioning quietly, "What are you doing?"

A pair of bright, lively, green eyes peeked up at him. That was a very good question, to which she did not know the answer. She had no idea what she was doing, besides hiding from him, and she hardly knew the reason. Though he had in the time they had met before, he was not showing any malicious intent right then, and it appeared that her mother knew him fairly well. Apparently, he was quite the sweet-tooth, if he was a regular customer.

It worried her that he was visiting the shop, but if he did not plan to hurt her, there was no purpose in giving him poor service. If anything, it would just get her in trouble.

At last, she stood, straightening her colorful kimono as she did so. "You aren't going to kill me, are you?"

She was surprised by her own audacity. He blinked at her for a few seconds, as if he were actually thinking it over, before he replied with a smooth, "No." She would not be of any use to him dead.

Why that gave her peace of mind, she did not know. It would not be unusual for a demon to lie, but for some reason, she believed he was telling the truth. With a sigh, she tried to smile, but knew her lips were quivering anxiously instead. "Okay," she whispered.

He pulled the lollipop-less stick from his mouth, at last giving her an answer to her original question. "I would like two coconut sherbets, and your company."

Now, Shiemi has been forced into doing plenty of awkward and uncomfortable things in her life, especially after she had entered the cram school. Shy person that she was, she still had a difficult time watching either of her mother's shops. While attending school had certainly helped improve her timidness, she was still not completely cured. With time, she was certain she would learn to get along with other people more easily.

However, as much as she wanted to make friends in her quest to become less shy, sitting down to sherbet with the demon that had called her his bride did not sound appealing to her at all. In fact, if she could have gotten away with it, she would have summoned her familiar to create a distraction, then run as fast as her legs could carry her. Unfortunately, even if she did do that, Amaimon would probably catch her with very little effort, and the consequences for running away from an important customer, as deemed by her mother, would not be pleasant.

As hard as she was trying to give good customer service, she could not get over the fact that he had ordered something for her as well, and that he actually wanted her to sit with him. She could hardly refuse, with her mother undoubtedly listening in from the back room. Shiemi realized belatedly what this must have looked like to other people. A...date.

Shiemi felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and she turned away from him. The last thing she wanted was for Amaimon to see her blushing face; he would assume she was thinking something inappropriate. It bothered her more what her mother must have thought, hiding in the back room, intently listening to the silence. She may have felt out of sorts before, but now it was ten times worse. All she could be thankful for was the fact that he was too busy eating sherbet to read her facial expressions. If he had been looking at her face, he probably would have been able to tell what she had been thinking; Shiemi knew she was horrible at keeping her emotions hidden.

She stared then at the bowl of melting sherbet he had persuaded her into accepting, and felt suddenly trapped by the situation she was in. No matter what she did, it was not going to end well. If her mother found out that one of their best customers was a demon, she would be devastated. If she tried to run, her mother would kill her, and Amaimon would catch her anyway. If she did nothing, she was still stuck where she was, utterly helpless.

Amaimon finished his coconut sherbet at last, setting the bowl in front of Behemoth for the hobgoblin to lick clean. He then turned to Shiemi, immediately observing that she was anxiously chewing on her lower lip. His gaze was drawn to her still full bowl of sherbet, and he frowned.

For a horror-filled moment, he wondered if she was one of those rare, unusual people that did not like sweets. If that had been the case, he would have broken off the marriage right there, and asked for a divorce. Before he could begin to spiral downwards with this thought, though, he forced himself to think otherwise.

No bride of his could possible not like sweets.

Ah. It occurred to him then what it was that had to have been bothering her. The whole concept of being his bride. She was much younger than he was, even though his appearance was that of a teenager. In reality, he was hundreds of years older than she was. Perhaps she was not ready to be married?

They had already traded vows, though, even if it had been forced on her side. By human standards, they were bound together as man and wife, from what he knew. Or as demon and wife, since he was technically was not a man. He sighed, looking at her again. She was turned away from him almost completely.

"Shiemi-san," he said at last. Her name sounded strange, rolling off his tongue, and Amaimon was not yet sure if he liked it. She looked at him at last, her entire face pink. For some reason, the look she was giving him made Amaimon feel flustered, and a moment passed where his mind went completely blank. He struggled to speak, not sure what he should say, until he commented on the first thing that caught his attention. "Your sherbet turned into soup."

She gazed down at the bowl for a short time, before breaking out into laughter. It happened so suddenly that it somewhat startled Amaimon. She pushed aside the bowl, giggling, "You're hobgoblin can have it, or something."

"His name is Behemoth," Amaimon corrected quietly, watching as the hobgoblin practically jumped on the counter to get to the proffered sherbet-soup. He was even more stunned when she continued to giggle as Behemoth slurped from her half-full bowl, as if she were entertained. At length, he could not help but to ask. "What's so funny?"

She rested her forehead against the counter, not wanting him to see her face when she replied. "I am. I get worked up about the silliest of things, like sharing sherbet with this weirdo-demon that calls me his bride. Sometimes I think the sorts of fears I have are pointless."

He had been about to ask her what sort of fears she had, and why she thought him to be strange, but found the opportunity slipping from him when the glass door to the candy shop opened, and a bell chimed to indicate the arrival of a potential customer. The voice actually grated on his ears when it called, "Oi, Shiemi! Are you going to help me study today, or what?" Amaimon did not need to turn to know it was Rin that had just walked in. Though he was much more curious about the girl sitting beside him at the moment, he could not let a chance to see his younger brother's disturbed expression pass him by.

At the sound of Rin's voice, Shiemi had shot up in her seat, and turned to look in his direction, and he was not sure why that bothered him so much.

"Hey, Otouto," he greeted Rin with a smirk. The younger demon visibly flinched at his presence, so close to the girl he seemed to care about. It was such a shame she was already claimed.

Rin gnashed his teeth in his frustration, before he growled, "What are you doing here?"

He could not help it. Rin made it so easy for Amaimon to tease him. He leaned back against the counter, casually wrapping an arm around Shiemi's shoulder, as if he had every right to do so. "I could ask you the same thing," he said offhandedly. "I thought humans were generally taught that it was bad to steal your own brother's woman. Weren't you raised as a human? You should know better."

Rin could not believe it, and it showed clearly on his face. He would have never expected to be scolded by a demon. Amaimon gave him a distorted grin of satisfaction, before he hopped off the barstool, and helped Shiemi down from hers, just to bother him even more. His younger brother was proving himself to be exceedingly amusing, in more than one way. Just to add the cherry on the top, he leaned down slightly to brush his lips against her brow, and muttered only just loud enough for her to hear, "I'll see you later, Shiemi-san."

As much as Amaimon was tempted, he was certain Mephisto would tug on his tail later if he started a fight with Rin. He would wait until he had his older brother's permission before attacking again. Although, he had never really tried inflicting psychological damage. Perhaps having Shiemi as a bride could prove even more useful.

Shiemi knew that because of her upbringing, and her natural timidness, she could be rather ignorant about some things. She had never been on a real date, had never been kissed by a boy, and had never really even thought about such things before entering the cram school. Well, at least, that was if she did not include her bewildering encounters with Amaimon.

When he had left so suddenly with Rin's arrival, he had kissed her on the forehead. No one but her grandmother had ever really done that to her before then. That had not been the last time she had seen him, though. Seven times he had appeared at the candy shop, and each time, he had ordered two of whatever that week's special was, and then had asked if she would join him. After he finished, he would simply stare at her while gnawing on his thumb nail.

Sometimes, he would talk to her, but the most of the time he did not say much of anything. Whatever the case, whenever he left, he would always stoop down to press his warm lips against her forehead, then say he would see her again later. If she was not already so desperate and confused and frustrated, Shiemi probably would not have considered asking for anyone's help.

There was really only one person she knew that could explain just what he was doing with her, and Shiemi was hesitant to ask for her help. Izumo was smart though, and she was certain that she would know more about boys than she did. So, Shiemi found herself gathering up what little courage she could, before knocking on her dorm room door.

She waited a few seconds, before it opened. It was Paku that stood on the other side, however, and Shiemi smiled, glad to see her old classmate again. "Hello, Paku-san! Is Kamiki-san here?"

Paku gave her a strange look, as if confused, before opening the door fully to let her in. "Is this about exorcist-stuff?"

Shiemi paused for a second, looking around the dorm room while thinking of a proper answer. "Well, no," she said, before conceding, "Yes. Kind of. I think."

Izumo was sitting cross-legged on a bed, a mess of textbooks surrounding her. "What is it?" She asked bluntly, having no patience to be polite about it. "I'm busy here."

Shiemi nodded her head, fumbling with the sleeve of her kimono. "Well, you see, I was hoping you could help me with something, Kamiki-san. It's sort of important."

Izumo slowly breathed out her nose, trying not to rip off the girl's head. "Okay, fine," she grumbled. "It has to do with exorcisms?"

"Not exactly. Well, it might. It has to do with...boys."

There was a long silence that followed this statement, before it was Paku that had started to giggle. Izumo still did not respond to this; or rather, she could not respond to this.

"I don't know much about that." Izumo admitted quietly, frowning with dissatisfaction.

Paku smiled though. "I know a little about boys. Maybe I can help."

Shiemi then found herself spilling every detail of what had happened between her and Amaimon, including their first encounter on the camping trip when Rin's true identity had been revealed. Paku took everything she heard at face value, but as she went on, Izumo's expression turned from surprise to horrified. She knew better than her best friend what the consequences of involvement with a demon-especially one as highly ranked as Amaimon-were.

When Shiemi had said it was about boys, Izumo had assumed she would be talking about Okumura Rin, considering how inseparable the two of them seemed at times. It would have seemed natural if Shiemi had feelings for him, and that would have been bad enough, knowing that Rin was the illegitimate son of Satan. At least the Vatican had accepted Rin to test his usefulness as an exorcist. Amaimon was an entirely different subject, however. He was one of the few demons considered to be untouchable to exorcists, since he was much too powerful to fight against. She had enough of a heart to be sincerely concerned for Shiemi, knowing how bad her current situation could become if action was not taken.

When she was finished, Shiemi felt throughly exhausted, as if she had never really spoken so much before in her life. Both of her willing listeners sat motionless for a few moments, before at last, Paku asked the fateful question. "Moriyama-san, do you like this Amaimon guy?"

Over the next few days, Shiemi thought long and hard. The question Paku had proposed should have been easy to answer, and yet, it was not. She knew what the answer should have been, but that was not necessarily what she was thinking. Shiemi should have said no, in the most authoritative, honest tone she could muster, and she had been about to do this, before it suddenly crossed her mind.

Amaimon had never really done anything particularly cruel to her. In fact, she knew that he was trying to be nice, in his own awkward way. Something about his clumsy attempts at courtship was appealing to a graceless person such as herself, though. He did not know what he was doing, and was probably unaware of what his actions said to her, but she was not much different.

So, she could not do much more but wait for the next time she met him. Maybe, seeing Amaimon again would help her decide what it was she wanted for herself from him.

When he at last entered the candy shop again, Shiemi found herself feeling strangely self-conscious. She was wearing a kimono again, the color of soft lilac and burnt orange making her eyes look even more green than usual. One thing was certain-Shiemi was aware that she had been putting more thought into her wardrobe lately.

He had given her a short look of appraisal, which had only made her flush in embarrassment, before he had made it obvious that he was going to sit at the counter, as usual. At seeing their customer, Shiemi watched from the corner of her eye as her mother automatically went to the back room to get his order. Shiemi hurried around the register though, her zori clacking against the tile flooring as she practically stumbled to get to him.

"Actually, Amaimon-san," she mumbled, taking one of his hands in hers. "I was hoping you could come with me for a minute."

He looked down at her small hands, wrapped daintily around his, and so warm and soft against his skin. Amaimon then met her gaze, both uncertain and shy. There was something about her that just screamed delicate human, but it did not make her repulsive to him as it should have. Finally, he nodded his head, gently clenching his fingers around hers.

"Kaa-chan, we'll be right back!" She called as she ran, pulling him along, out the door.

And she continued to run, until she was out of breath and they had traveled almost half-way across True Cross' enormous campus. He wondered why she would exert herself so much, when they had not even gone to a place that was completely private. There were high school students prowling the area, and he was already getting strange looks. She had taken them to a courtyard, with benches and grassy areas with tall trees. Once having regained her breath, she led him to a nice, shady spot where there was a small chance of being overheard.

Amaimon watched her in slight astonishment as she took off her zori and tabi to stretch her toes out in the grass. Even more shocking, she sat herself down, unconcerned that it was possible she get grass stains on her clothing. Bewildered, he crossed his legs as he sat, still holding her hand. Her entire face was a faint reddish hue, and he wondered if it was because of the run, or because they were sitting so close together.

"There's something I need to talk to you about," she said quietly, looking into his eyes.

He tried to understand just what her expression meant. "What is it?"

She tried very hard to not start hyperventilating. Shiemi could not remember ever having been so nervous in her life, not even when she had forced herself to go to the cram school for the first time. He was probably going to be mad at her, but things could not continue as it was. Slowly, she exhaled.

"Technically, we're not married."

She watched, not sure how she should proceed, as he froze. While his expression became immediately withdrawn, she could sense his aura fluctuating with panic and hysteria. Unfortunately, his distress brought about something she had not counted on; the earth beneath them trembled and she could hear subtle cracks deep below.

She squeezed his hand, though. "Not legally, anyway. There were no witnesses, no one to sanctify the marriage, and..." This only seemed to make matters worse, so she stopped where she was going. There was no point in giving him anymore grief. Behemoth started to growl at his master's alarm. "But!" She tried to calm him, her voice rising, "that doesn't mean that it has to be like that forever. If you want."

The entire world seemed to stand still in that moment. He stared at her with such an intensity that she almost fell right onto her back, but she did not look away. Shiemi was not exactly sure why she had said it, and it took her a moment for the implication of her words to strike her. This was not what she had planned. She had never really had formed a solid strategy for talking to Amaimon, but it had suddenly just come out of her.

"Are..." He paused for a moment. "Are you giving me permission to pursue you?"

She laughed anxiously. "I think I am." And it was then that she finally knew the answer to Paku's question. Maybe she was not exactly enamored by Amaimon at the moment, but if he played his cards right, and she gave him the opportunity, there was a very good chance of him making her fall very much in love with him. Her heart leapt in her chest at this realization.

Shiemi had been about to tell him that she would have to lay down a few rules on how he could proceed (she did not want him teasing Rin anymore), but his grin was so overwhelming, she did not have the heart to say anything. She had never understood why he had given her so much attention before, but now it suddenly made sense. He may not have recognized it until it was beyond hope, but she could see now that he had fallen for her before she had gotten the chance to return those feelings. Whatever the case, it did not matter what sort of rules she had wanted to put in place, because she had not been given much of a chance to tell him anything. Next thing she knew, he had tackled her to the ground, and the last thing her lips were going to be doing was talking.

AN: My second fanfiction for Ao no Exorcist is finished. Much shorter than the one I wrote before, but hopefully it was still worth reading. :D

All feedback is appreciated. :)