You and Rin walked down a set of steps after being instructed to go to your dorms to prepare for next week's classes. You and him stayed together a majority of the time.
"Hold up, where the hell is the dorm? No one told me jack!" Rin exclaimed. You put a hand on his shoulder.
"Calm down," you said. Something nudged your ankle and you looked down. A small, white dog stood in front of you. Your eye twitched.
'... is he serious?' You thought.
"A dog?" Rin said. You let out a quiet sigh. The dog grabbed Rin's pant leg and spun him around, running a few feet forward. He looked back as a sign for you to follow him. You and Rin looked at each other before running after it. It made you chase him outside of the school and all the way to the outside of the city. The dog climbed onto a lamp post. You and Rin stopped. With a poof and pink smoke, the dog turned back into Mephisto.
"Pardon me..." He said, "It wouldn't do for the School's Director... to be prowling the grounds for no reason."
"So you disguised yourself as a dog," you said.
"Eh!? You knew?!" Rin exclaimed. You looked at him and tilted your head at him.
"It was obvious."
"... oh... it was...?"
You just patted his head gently. Mephisto held up a key and threw it at you. You caught it easily.
"That key can access the cram school anytime, through any door," Mephisto said.
"Cram school?" Rin repeated. Mephisto hopped off of the post.
"A cram school for training exorcists," he explained, "You will attend high school at this academy, but after classes, you will train at the cram school to become a page. In other words, you will be studying exorcism as an exorcist-in-training."
"So we need to balance school and exorcism," you spoke.
"Correct," he replied, "Your high school classes don't begin until next week, but cram school starts today." Mephisto walked towards you two.
"You're fully prepared, I hope?" He leaned forward near your faces.
"Sure I am," Rin replied, for once in his life, serious.
"Well, I have nothing better to do, so sure." You shrugged.
"I do have one warning for you," Mephisto said, sticking his finger in Rin's chest. "You must keep that you're the son of Satan confidential." You saw Rin clench his jaw.
"You might be able to explain the ears, teeth, and tail, but flames are a definite no-no. Kindly control yourself."
You slid yourself between them.
"Don't worry, everything is under control," you said.
"Fine!" Mephisto turned and jumped onto the short stone wall. "Now then, shall we?" He jumped off the wall.
"Hey!" Rin ran up to it and looked over. You followed after him, but calmly. Mephisto stood on the ground below you.
"I'd like you to try to open one of these doors with that key," he said. You nodded.
"Sure." You swung your legs over and jumped down. Rin followed suit. You landed on your feet, but Rin wasn't as graceful. With a roll of your eyes you helped him up.
"Geez, watch yourself," you said. He just gave you a nervous laugh. You turned towards the door and put the key in the lock. With a turn, the sound of a heavy lock unlocking resounded. You pulled the door open and looked inside. A large, colorful hall greeted you.
"Holy shit..." Your voice echoed. Rin followed close behind you.
"Wow!" He exclaimed.
"The first years will be using Room 1106," Mephisto said, "Let's go." You and Rin stayed behind him. The hall was long. Who knows how many doors and rooms were built into it. He stopped in front of one.
"Here we are," he said, "Just so you know, I will be observing the class today."
"Uh no... I'm getting nervous," Rin said. You whapped him on the head and hooked your arm around his neck.
"Calm down! It'll be fine," you said, "Just be yourself." He looked at you for a moment before smiling and nodding.
"Eins, zwei, drei," Mephisto said, snapping his fingers. A pink cloud emerged before dissipating soon after. The dog has made a reappearance.
"All right then. Let us go," his tiny voice said.
"Wait, a talking dog?!" Rin exclaimed.
"You're going to become an exorcist, aren't you?" Mephisto asked, "Isn't that why you're here right now?" You frowned. I'm not here to become an exorcist. I'm here... for another reason. Your eyes went over to Rin.
"Alright!" You pushed him. "Let's stop stalling!" You grabbed the door handle and pushed the door open, gripping Rin's hand in yours. You walked into it, letting him go. Looking around, you noticed how the classroom wasn't as nice as the high school's. It was sort of messy. Everyone turned to look at you. The bell rung.
"I'm Rin Okumura. Nice to meet you," he spoke behind you, putting on his 'cool guy' act. You didn't bother to introduce yourself. You had a feeling they didn't give a shit about who you were. You and him walked over to a shared desk and chair, and sat down.
"Huh... what's up with these guys?" He grumbled.
"Calm down," you said, "They probably have exorcism on their minds. Don't let it bother you." He just pouted. Mephisto popped up from below.
"They're exorcists in training, here to learn, just like yourself," he said, "Some of them have yet to receive their Temptaint. Whereas others have already been afflicted."
"Then why are they here?" You asked, "How can they fight demons if they can't see them?"
"That's a question only they can answer," he replied. You turned your gaze away. Speaking of questions. Ever since you walked in here, that person has been watching you. Sitting at the back. Grey hoodie on. What's their deal? Are they watching us? No one should know what you are. Mephisto may have a suspicion, but nothing you've done should warrant that. Through your thinking, the door to the class opened.
"Ah, it seems that your instructor has arrived," Mephisto said. You looked up. Holy shit.
"Pleased to meet you," he said, "I'm Yukio Okumura, your instructor."
"YU-YUKIO?!" Rin stood up and spit out his exclaim. He just smiled at him.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Yukio Okumura, a new instructor teaching Anti-Demon Pharmaceutics."
"Pleased to meet you!" Tamaki said from behind you.
"Please to meet you..." The meeker girl followed.
"How do you do!" Shima exclaimed.
"What the hell, Yukio?" Rin said.
"Is there a problem?"
"Wh-what do you mean is there a problem?! The question is, what's your problem?!"
You sighed.
"Rin, calm down please," you said.
"Although I'm actually the same age as you all, I've been studying exorcism since I was seven, and finished all of my courses two years ago," Yukio said. At that, your own eyes widened. He didn't tell me that... or couldn't he?
"So, just to be practical, I'd appreciate it if you called me 'Sensei' in this class."
"Since you were seven... you're kidding, right?" Rin asked. Your hands clenched underneath the table.
"He's the youngest in history to have earned the rank of exorcist, and a genius in the field of Anti-Demon Pharmaceutics," Mephisto said.
"Is there anyone who still hasn't received a Temptaint?"
You grabbed Rin's wrist. He looked down at you, surprised by the strength of your grip. Normally, you'd gently hold his wrist. Looking at you closely, he could tell you didn't like not knowing. Grabbing onto him was a way to calm yourself without making a scene. He sat back down.
Ja ne!
{Ruby Red}