A/N: I honestly don't know where I'm taking this, but I was asked if I would do a full-length story with these two so...here we go. If you're looking for a fluffy story, this ain't it.

Title: The Devil's in the Details*

Author: Moi Fah

Genre: General/Angst

Topic: Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)

Universe: Manga-based

Pairing(s)/ Character(s): Shiemi/Amaimon

Feedback: If you feel so moved...it's much appreciated!

.Prologue.

/And the devil be done for the rest.../**

He hated flowers.

They were pointless aspects in the domain over which he ruled. Why they continued to be bundled in with his power over earth bothered him to no end...even Astaroth, the low-class so-called King of Rot, had chided him about it until Amaimon had been forced to beat him within inches of his life; face stony with disdain as his right fist delivered a flurry of punches in rapid succession to the others face. He didn't bother killing him back then...that would have taken too much energy for an opponent that wasn't any fun to begin with, and he did still need some kind of entertainment while he was in Gehenna.

As one of the high ranking kings of Gehenna, the sons of Satan, they were all assigned an aspect, an element, that they would rule over and preside over. Albeit, the negative side of that element. There were no fields of flowers or meadows in Gehenna, nor did he have any desire to care for them. Nothing like that would survive long in the miasma. In essence, they were ugly. While in Assiah, he could sometimes hear the cries of a burning forest or dying foliage taking its last breath but it did little to move him into action or strike a cord with the devil. It's just what he was after all, a demon. Instead, his domain ruled over the very earth itself, dirt, soil, sand, mud...all of these pieces woven together to create a mighty force. If he'd truly wanted to, he could have possibly challenged some of his brothers for their titles, just as Astaroth did his own many times, but simply found he lacked the motivation to do it.

And with as much time as he had spent in Assiah lately, that option of challenging them was no longer even feasible. The longer he stayed here, the weaker he was going to become, especially since his younger brother, Rin, wasn't allowed to use his flames whenever he pleased. Sort-of brother didn't seem to possess any of Father's flames at all despite all his knowledge and prowess with his guns. And if he dared to kill anyone in Assiah at all, Mephisto was sure to make good on his promise of killing him. Older brother was much stronger than he was.

If it had been up to him, he would have simply gone back to Gehenna as soon as possible but with the destruction of his host by younger brother, he'd become chained down to Assiah. True, he could have chosen any other human host, he was certainly powerful enough to take a new one, but he'd actually grown particularly fond of that one. Having to wait out the repair in the body of a rodent wasn't exactly pleasant, obviously some idiotic idea thought up by his older brother who found it hilarious but necessary, since in that body, he could do no harm and was easy to keep an eye on.

Now that his host was available for use again, he could freely travel back and forth between the two worlds if he wished.

This host...he hadn't really given much thought about it before, other than the idea that this was only one he wanted to use for awhile...had to be over 1000 years by now. He couldn't remember who this body had belonged to or what they'd been like as a normal human. As the years went by, the body began to adapt more and more to his liking until the once black hair had turned a dark green color, the teeth straightening themselves out into fangs, the ears growing into points... It was true that he hadn't exactly treated this host in the best manner despite it being his favorite; he hardly ever slept, seeing it a pointless human action, which caused dark circles to appear under his eyes. And since he didn't choose to express his emotions visibly with this host, whenever he did, it actually made his face hurt somewhat.

But, at least he had control over it. A lesser demon like Astaroth...that was funny. When the so-called King of Rot had finally chosen a human host to possess, he ended up being exorcised from it almost immediately. And with the strain that first-time possessions cause on humans (if they managed to survive it, of course), it would be awhile before he ever got back into Assiah. But that was boring...everything was boring. He was so tired of lingering here just waiting for something happen. He was sure that if he waited long enough something interesting would happen soon...maybe he could somehow trick Rin into going full-demon? Then they could fight again.

It was in his nature to fight, mainly, the need to destroy and the need to kill. Sometimes the urges were easy to suppress, other times not. Older brother often remarked that he wasn't very motivated, something he knew to be true...but it didn't take too much to get him interested in something, it just took the right thing. Fighting a strong opponent and taking them down was one way. It was one reason he was still in Assiah, right? For the chance to fight his younger brother again.

Sometimes though, that need, that constant nagging at the back of every demon's mind, would take over and he would kill aimlessly. He'd done it plenty of times before. It was only a matter of time now that he was back in his human host before that need arose again. He supposed he'd just have to slip off back to Gehenna and kill something...or maybe...Mephisto said he wasn't allowed to kill people, but he didn't say anything about plants. What lot of good it would do him had yet to be seen, but since he'd absentmindedly wandered into this garden place, he may as well take out his frustration somewhere. Besides, he'd grown tired of staring at these ugly flowers.

The gate that had blocked his way did little to hinder him, a spell of that caliber wasn't enough to keep him out. Touching it felt like the pricking of a pin, and with a flick, he'd shattered the gate and sent it flying. That's really all he'd done before coming to a stop in this garden...what was so important here that demons were not allowed inside? Something, or someone, important must be here; his Infinity key that he often abused had brought him here in the first place.

Oh right, he was going to destroy this place...surely no one would be upset over some ugly flowers. With an outstretched hand, he firmly gripped the stem of a flower. He was more than strong enough to rip a measly bloom from its roots, but he was prolonging it, squeezing the stem of the thorny flower until his hands bled and until he could feel the aura of the thing slowly withering away. At this, a strange feeling arose in the air...this entire place was terrified of him now.

"Please, stop it!" Something grabbed his arm and tried to pull, but failed due to inferior strength. "Please, please don't do that. This is my special garden that grandma and I-ah!" With a girlish yelp, the voice jumped back in surprise and tried to stand their ground. "You're...you're...but why are you here?" Oh yeah...he did know this girl, it just took him a minute to remember, that was all.

"Oh...hello wife."

The girl blushed and yelped again, slightly covering her face with her hands...all it made him do was cock his head to side in confusion. She was so strange.

"Please don't call me that! I'm not the wife of anyone!" she shot back, voice trying to remain strong and not clouded with fear. Had he come to fight? Or kidnap her? Maybe she should try and run? Or maybe she should try to contact Yukio or Rin somehow...wait a minute, that was right! Yesterday, Shima had taught her how to write some sacred sutras up and she'd left them tucked into her obi. Quickly grabbing one, she held it up in front of her face and yelled, "Demon begone!"

She waited for something to happen...even a little popping sound would have been better that filled the silence that followed then. Shiemi Moriyama cracked an eye open, only to see the emotionless face of the Earth King, Amaimon. She remembered him alright, he'd kidnapped her and used her as bait to trick Rin into fighting him. He'd hypnotized her (in a sense) to where she had no control of her body, unable to do anything but sit and watch as the events unfolded around them...even sitting through that fake marriage ceremony...it made her stomach hurt to think about it...

Without much thought, he seemed to amble up towards the paper before looking it up and down. Voice as bereft of emotion as his face, he replied, "That character here...you wrote it wrong." Her eyes widened and she turned the paper back over...darn it, he was right...now these things were useless! Why hadn't she noticed this earlier? She was really in trouble now.

"So...just why are you here?" she asked, face turned towards the ground...it was hard to look at someone who constantly stared you down with that kind of expression. Shiemi couldn't really tell what he was thinking, not that she was great reader of people anyhow...

"Hmm...I guess I just got bored."

"Bored?" she repeated in disbelief...so he hadn't come here looking for a fight? "Are you...are you lost?" she ventured...how did one of the 8 kings of Gehenna get 'lost'?

"Not really. I was using my Infinity Key and it brought me here." he demonstrated by pulling the key from his pocket with his bloody hand and presenting it to her. He could only have gotten that from one person...or maybe he'd stolen it, she wasn't sure. It was hard to concentrate on how he'd gotten the key when blood was dripping right in front of your face.

"You're bleeding..." she remarked quietly. It had taken all that she had not to freak out and demand him to be still so she could heal him. She wasn't fond of the sight of blood and wasn't really a healer but she knew her stuff in a pinch. If there ever was a case of turmoil, it was now...should she try and fix him up? Honestly, he was a demon, and that kind of wound would be considered minor even for a human so...was he even feeling the pain in his hand right now? Besides he was a demon, right? He was the 'bad guy' so...

He didn't say anything, merely turned his never ceasing gaze to his hand, casually shrugging it off without much thought.

"I know I shouldn't but...you did get hurt in my garden. And I don't like the idea of blood being spilt ever, no matter the cause. Nii-chan, can you get me some herbs from my room? I'll need some bandages too so I can stop the bleeding." The little Greenman spirit popped his head out from her short but thick blond locks, most likely having hidden himself in fear from Amaimon's power. Happily chirping his name, he disappeared with a poof.

So she had a Greenman spirit...those things usually didn't last long in Gehenna. They were small and pretty weak, sure, they had their tricks and all, but against a stronger opponent it just didn't matter. He'd killed a few of them in his own time just for fun, mostly the adult ones since they proved more of a challenge. They were technically his 'kin' so he was allowed to do that, right?

While the girl waited, she crouched down in a sitting position with her knees tucked underneath her. "Can you...sit down?" She thought she'd try asking instead of demanding him...she really didn't want to make him angry, not with what he was capable of. Wordlessly, and without batting an eye, he sunk down in front of her like a cat on its haunches until they were on eye-level, mindlessly bringing his thumb nail up to chew on the end of it. It was a bad habit, after all, he needed his claws to fight but...

Shiemi gulped as he stared and turned her gaze back down towards the ground, hands situated firmly in her lap. His gaze was...she couldn't help but feel a heat rise to her face in embarrassment. Why did he insist on staring like that? She was very nearly close to asking but before she could open her mouth, Nii-chan reappeared with her requested items.

"Are you...going to let me help you?" she asked demurely, honestly not sure how to word her question. The Earth King continued to stare at her, silently, before taking his hand away from his mouth and lowering the green fabric that covered his arm. Shiemi was surprised to see him do this, but even more so by the fact that his skin looked like any normal human's save for a scar or two here and there; scars most likely won from battle...had some of these been caused by Rin during their fight? The only thing that appeared inhuman about him was the length and color of his fingernails...or maybe they were claws. She briefly recalled what his demonic form, his true form, looked like when he'd come after Rin for the second time. He'd grown a tail (or maybe it just mutated...Rin had a tail so then his 'brother' must have had one too), and his arms grew much larger and appeared reptilian in nature. But right now...he was mostly human.

"Nii..." the little Greenman seemed to whisper, breaking Shiemi out of her own staring trance. When she realized she'd been staring back at him, she blushed and turned her gaze to the ground, wordlessly cleaning his wound and dressing it. When finished, she'd tried to force a smile but even that proved too difficult...forget even looking back at his gaze. She wasn't even sure what to say because everything seemed silly or dumb-sounding, just like the act of bandaging his wound. He was a demon, a full-blooded one so he wasn't the same as Rin...what would people do if they found out she'd helped a demon, the Earth King, one of Satan's sons? The same pain in her stomach from earlier resurfaced.

"I'm...I'm sorry..." she whispered, slowly, eyes trained at the blades of grass below her, "but you'll have to leave now. If my mother finds out you here, she'll call for one of the stronger exorcists to come and fight you. I don't want any fighting to happen here..." But he hadn't heard that last part as the demon quickly jumped to his feet.

"Will they send my younger brother? I've been waiting a long time to fight him. If they do, I'll just wait for him here." he replied simply, casually unwrapping a piece of candy he'd pulled from his pockets.

"No please, I don't want any fighting to happen here! This garden is a special place for me and...and...no one is going to harm it!" she shot back, fear still abundant in her mind. That little blip of confidence faded fast under his gaze. "And please, don't hurt Rin either. He's one of my friends."

"Hm, so I guess you are important to younger brother in some way then."

What had he meant by that? He couldn't have meant to take her hostage again?

There was a moment of silence as the demon cocked his head to the side, "Okay wife, I'll leave for today." And in the blink of an eye, he'd disappeared.

Climbing to her feet, Shiemi quickly glanced around to see if she could spot the demon but he vanished, seemingly for good. With a heavy sigh, she dropped her hands by her sides and hung her head. How exhausting...they'd barely talked at all and yet she was drained. But...now what? She'd have to tell her mother sooner rather than later about the gate, but should she tell Rin and Yukio about Amaimon's visit? Would they go and hunt him down for a fight knowing he was still here in Assiah? And what would they think about her if she told them that's she'd bandaged the demon up? True, he was a demon, but he honestly didn't seem like a bad person...not with that innocent-sounding tone of voice and his childish actions. Was he really a bad guy...? No, of course he was! He hurt Rin and her other friends, he'd kidnapped her and put her in a trance! And to top it off, he had no qualms about attacking the True Cross Order head on. He was dangerous.

With another sigh, a trait unbecoming of someone like her who always appeared happy a majority of the time, she set the bandages aside and went to retrieve her gardening equipment. Even though he hadn't quite pulled the flower from its root, or even off of its stem, the thorny flower now hung limply...a few strands of stem away from being effectively bifurcated. It was almost a little scary to see, and even more terrifying to think about. Just would why a powerful demon like him settle for destroying a single flower in a garden full of them? It didn't really make sense...grabbing a pair of clippers, she snipped the stem in half and laid it in her basket.

It wouldn't be long before this flower began to wither so she supposed she'd have to dispose of it. The flower wouldn't keep well much longer, not in this state.

"And just where have you been all afternoon...not causing more trouble I hope?"

"Of course not brother...I just met with someone interesting, that's all."

A/N: Ah, symbolism. Again, I really don't have much of an idea of where I'm taking this only I don't do fluffy moments and stuff so it definitely won't be that. Got a vague plot I'll work on and an ending I've like to strive for but that's about it.

*The devil's in the details is a saying that refers to a catch or a hidden element in the details of something. Pretty fitting for this story then, I'll say. It originally came from the saying 'God is in the details', which also expressed the same idea that the details are important and should be done thoroughly.

**And the devil be done for the rest...is a modified line from Treasure Island's pirate shanty/song 15 Men on a Dead Man's Chest. The actual line is 'had done' rather than 'be done', and basically means that the devil is the one to blame for any and all bad things that befall us.