Rin sprinted through the woods at breakneck speeds while running alongside Flor as he pulled the ridiculously heavy cart behind him. Bon continued his chant to keep the Peg Lantern immobilised while Shiemi kept pumping fuel into it. Koneko and Shima both intercepted and defeated any demons who got close to the cart while [Y/n] kept a lookout from atop Flor's back and shot down any demons that started getting close. The strategy was working perfectly. As they neared a cleaning, a faint whistle quickly grabbed [Y/n]'s attention. Following the sound with his eyes, he looked up and saw that someone had set off their anti-demon flare. His eyebrows furrowed in concern as he wondered if it was Takara or Kamiki. And if they were okay.
"Who do you think tha-?" He was cut off and was quickly pulled from his concern as the cart came to an abrupt stop, sending him tumbling off the top of Flor's back. He hissed in pain as hit the ground with a 'thud', awkwardly shifting his weight to avoid landing on Sema and hitting himself. Grunting in annoyance, he rubbed his head, muttering out a string of curses toward the demon that suddenly stopped his run. From the corner of his eye, he could see that Bon was holding his face and glaring at Flor. It seemed like the sudden stop caused him to go face-first into the stone lantern.
"What happened? Why did we stop?" Koneko asked, stepping toward the group from behind.
"What are we gonna do about this?" Rin asked, pulling [Y/n]'s attention toward the river in front of him. Pushing himself to his feet with a huff, he grabbed Sema and made his way over toward Rin and Shima, who were looking down into the river.
"Oh holy hell!" Shima panicked, paling as he looked down into the river below him. [Y/n] raised an eyebrow in confusion before stepping up beside him. "Look down! There's tonnes of them!" Shima squeaked, his face turning pale as a ghost. [Y/n]'s gaze shifted as it moved toward the source of Shima's fear and, when he saw it, he grimaced. The river below was completely filled with small centipede-like demons that were crawling and twisting all over each other. [Y/n] would admit that the sight disgusted him but he still thought that Shima was overreacting a bit. They seemed harmless from where they were standing anyway. "Oh. My. God. I think I'm gonna piss myself." Shima forced out, shaking on the spot as his knuckles turned white from the intense grip he had on his staff.
"Maybe you'd feel better if you did. You never know." Rin suggested, earning a small chuckle from [Y/n]. That was, of course, because he thought that Rin was joking. But he wasn't. He was seriously suggesting that Shima should piss himself to relieve the stress. [Y/n] deadpanned.
"Don't suggest that." [Y/n] ordered, gently hitting the top of Rin's head with the underside of his fist, causing Rin to let out an embarrassed breath while scratching the back of his head.
"He's right, Okumura. Once someone pees their pants, that's it. Game over." Konekomaru added, sounding way too serious for [Y/n]'s liking. The Dragoon sweatdropped as he awkwardly glanced between Koneko and Rin.
"I'm slightly concerned that you have such a strong opinion about this."
"Bon?" Shima questioned, pulling everyone's attention to the male who just stepped toward the group, still muttering his Aria verses as he walked. [Y/n] raised an eyebrow in confusion as he watched Bon take Shima's staff from his hands and step closer to the river. As he crouched down, Bon began awkwardly and ineffectively stabbing into the mass of crawling bugs with the staff, causing Shima to shriek in horror. "What the hell are you doing?!" [Y/n] shook his head with a shallow sigh as he watched the stupidity unfold before turning to his right, suddenly noticing the old and rickety bridge that connected their side of the centipede-infested river to the camp's side. Taking a step toward the wooden structure, [Y/n] noticed that it was covered in pieces of paper with a particularly complex seal on them. His eyebrows furrowed curiously as he studied them, not recognising the incantation at all. So he had no idea what else was being sealed here. But he knew that something certainly was. And it was strong.
"Something else is being sealed here." He called out, immediately gaining the other Exwires' attention. They all looked at him in confusion until Koneko stepped forward, studying the seals that decorated the bridge.
"He's right." He agreed, although he didn't know what the paper was protecting them from either. The group all stared at the bridge nervously, realising that between its poor structure and the fact that it was sealing something away, they couldn't risk bringing the heavy cart across it.
"Alright, I have an idea." [Y/n] announced, crossing his arms over his chest as the others all turned to him. "One of us will take Shiemi across to the other side and then we'll release the lantern and let it chase her. Once it reaches the other side, Koneko will seal it in place again." He explained, pointing toward Shiemi and then to the other side of the river before ultimately finishing on Koneko. Bon and Konekomaru seemed on board with the plan, Shima was just happy as long as he didn't need to get near those centipedes, Shiemi looked a little nervous and Rin looked sceptical.
"You wanna use Shiemi as bait?" He questioned, not entirely sure if he was on board with the idea. Shiemi also seemed a little agitated by the thought. [Y/n] just flashed him a smile before putting a reassuring hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Relax, you'll both be fine." He assured, patting Rin's shoulder reassuringly. Immediately, the demi-demon's face turned white as a ghost.
"W-Wait, what do you mean 'you both'?" He shrieked, pulling his shoulder away as he looked [Y/n] up and down.
"You're gonna carry her across." [Y/n] replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
"Why me?!" Rin refuted, looking around the group to try and understand why he was the only viable candidate. [Y/n] deadpanned as he raised his hands.
"Because Bon is chanting," He started, pointing to their tall friend who was still muttering his Aria verses. "Koneko has to seal it again," He continued, gesturing toward the bald boy who was preparing to write the new sealing incantation. "I'm gonna keep guard in case any demons get close," He added, holding Sema up for emphasis. "Flor is bringing the cart across," He pointed to Flor, who had picked the whole cart up in his mouth and was looking extremely annoyed by the whole situation. "And do you honestly think that Shima could make it across a bug-infested river while Shiemi's thighs are pressed against his cheeks?" He finished, staring straight into Rin's eyes with the most blank expression possible while Shima put his thumb up.
"He's right. I'll die before I make it across." Shima agreed, tears already streaming down his cheeks. Everyone else sweatdropped at the sight.
"Now's not the time to entertain your libido!" Koneko snapped, shaking his head in annoyance as he pushed Shima toward the bridge to cross with him and stand guard. Flor was right beside them as he carried the cart across. Once they had the cart all set up, [Y/n] moved to stand beside Bon while Shimei awkwardly let Rin lift her onto his shoulders, the latter immediately muttering out a string of curses as Shiemi awkwardly pulled and yanked at his hair in an attempt to maintain balance. [Y/n] could feel his grip on Sema tighten as his knuckles began to turn white. He hated that he was thinking what he was thinking. But the sight of Rin's flushed and blushing face squashed between Shiemi's thighs pissed him off a lot more than he wanted to admit. He was lucky it was dark or the others might see the death glare he was trying and failing to hide. "Everyone ready?!" Konekomaru asked, turning back and pulling [Y/n]'s attention back to the task at hand. Shaking his head, he tried not to think about it. Now was not the time to be getting jealous like a lovesick schoolboy.
"Yeah!" [Y/n] called back, sending Konekomaru a thumbs up as Rin stepped into the river with Shiemi, immediately crushing a load of centipedes underfoot. [Y/n] and Bon shared a nod before the Aria ceased his chanting and pulled the talisman off of the lantern.
"Alright, giddy-up!" He yelled as the lantern immediately roared to life, its eyes landing and locking on Shiemi while Rin sprinted through the river with her, seemingly very annoyed by Shiemi's attempt to provoke the demon. As the demon got closer and closer to the other side, Rin picked Shiemi off of his shoulder and threw her just out of the lantern's path. When Shiemi landed in a nearby bush, the lantern landed right in the cart where they hoped it would. Flor immediately hopped on his hind legs in an attempt to hold the stone demon down while Konekomaru slapped the talisman onto it and began his chant. After a few very long seconds, the lantern's excitement subsided and it slipped back into sleep.
"Nice work!" [Y/n] beamed as he and Bon laughed and high-fived before running across the bridge to the others. He saw Shiemi getting back to her feet beside Konekomaru, who was still chanting to keep the demon at bay, and Shima helping Rin out of the river. As the rest of the group gathered together, Rin let out a sigh of relief.
"Well, now that that's over with-" He cut himself off as he tried to lean on the side of the bridge, completely forgetting about what they had learned about it. The moment Rin put his weight on the structure, it immediately began to crumble. Everyone froze as the bridge collapsed in on itself and crashed into the water with a splash large enough to shoot water into the air. Before anyone had a chance to react, four tentacle-like appendages shot out of the water and wrapped around each of Rin's limbs, lifting him into the air and restraining him.
"Rin?!" [Y/n] screamed as he watched his friend get vaulted up off the ground by whatever was in the water. Moments later, his curiosity was answered as a gigantic purple-winged Chuchi with multicoloured eyes, pale green fur and sharp fangs emerged from the depts. "What the hell is that?!" [Y/n] yelled, grabbing Sema off of his back.
"It's a giant Chuchi! It's probably the lord of this forest!" Koneko explained, frantically looking around in a panic. Shima looked ready to cry at the sight of the beast while Bon and Shiemi looked nervous and scared. [Y/n] gritted his teeth as he tried to think of what to do. Rin couldn't use his fire and [Y/n] was probably the only one with enough firepower to even hurt a lord, let alone kill it.
"Don't worry about me! I'll catch up with you after I kick its ass!" Rin called out, trying and failing to look like he had the situation under control. No one looked like they agreed with his plan. "Everything's cool! Just go!" He added while the others all shook their heads.
"That son of a..." Bon started, growling under his breath as he glared up at his bound friend in annoyance. "You're always doing that!" He barked angrily, earning an awkward and apologetic laugh from Rin in response.
"My bad..." He apologised, a sad smile crossing his face as he tried to gain some semblance of control over the situation.
"You dumbass! I'm gonna help you, like it or not!" Bon snapped, causing Rin's awkward smile to drop as he looked down at the other in shock. Unsure of what to do, Rin stayed in shocked silence while the others gathered around Bon to help save Rin. "Shima! Give me your K'rik!" Bon ordered, holding his hand out while his pink-haired friend nodded in agreement.
"Here you go! Just be careful with it, 'kay?" He ordered and Bon nodded, turning back toward the Chuchi.
"I'll cover you!" [Y/n] assured, raising Sema and pointing toward the giant moth. The second that Sema's barrel was pointed toward the Chuchi, the giant demon let out a horrifying shriek that roared throughout the forest. All of the Exwires quickly covered their ears in an attempt to block out the noise. But that was the wrong thing to do. In the split second that the roar stopped, the sound was replaced by a thunderous chorus of buzzing. Before anyone had time to react, an entire swarm of Chuchi emerged from the depths of the forest. And every single one of them had their sights set on [Y/n]. "What the-?!" He was cut off as he was violently assaulted by hundreds if not thousands, of tiny blood-sucking moths that circled, swarmed and flanked him.
"[Y/n]!" Konekomaru screamed as he watched his friend disappear into the cloud of flapping wings.
"Where the hell did they come from?!" Shima shrieked at the sight while Shimei and Bon looked horrified. Rin immediately started to pull at the demon's tentacles that were restraining him, trying and failing to free himself in a panic as he lost sight of [Y/n] within the swarm.
"Get off of me, little shits!" [Y/n] screamed, desperately trying to swat the bugs away. He couldn't just mindlessly shoot with Sema since he couldn't see where the others were standing. He let out a near-bloodcurdling scream as one of them latched onto his neck and started to bite and suck. At the sound of his master's pain, Flor barreled toward the Chuchi.
"Get away from him!" Flor screamed telepathically as he opened his mouth and released a powerful howl of demonic energy toward the swarm. As the bugs were blasted away, [Y/n] suddenly reappeared, looking beyond haggard from all of the bites that were left on him. The [h/c]-haired boy panted heavily before dropping to his knees, his whole body shaking from what he had just experienced. While the other guys stood on in a mix of shock and relief, Shiemi rushed toward [Y/n].
"Nee! We need to help him!" She exclaimed as Nee nodded frantically, hopping off of her shoulder as he started to produce all of the necessary medicinal plants from his body. [Y/n] let out a shaky 'thank you' as the feeling of having the Chuchi all over him was starting to fade. His brief moment of respite was very quickly cut off when he heard the giant Chuchi roar again, alongside Rin's panicked voice.
"Don't eat me, ya damn bug!" Rin screamed as the tentacles holding him slowly began lowering toward the giant's mouth. [Y/n] growled as he pushed himself to his feet.
"I'm so sick your ugly ass!" He yelled, grabbing Sema from the ground and pointing it toward the spot on the demon's face where the tentacles came out. "If you're really that hungry then eat this!" He exclaimed as all of the stress, annoyance and anger of what had just happened boiled over and poured straight into Sema, creating a hugely powerful blast of energy that caught the demon at just the right angle to cleanly decimate the lower half of its face without getting anywhere near Rin. As the monster's mouth was eviscerated, the Chuchi screamed in agony and Rin was freed as he fell very unceremoniously back into the bug-infested water.
"Holy shit! That was awesome!" Shima exclaimed, pale-faced and very nervous at the sight of what his classmate was capable of. Koneko and Shimei nodded in agreement while Bon just stood there, frozen in shock and staring at his panting and exhausted friend.
"Bon! Now!" [Y/n] screamed and Bon snapped out of his shock, nodding in understanding as he grabbed one of the talismans from the bridge off of the ground and threw it into the air. As it began to float down, he reeled his arm back and threw K'rik with all of his might, impaling the talisman in its path and blurring itself right in the middle of the Chuchi's forehead in an explosion of light and energy. As the giant demon fell back into the water, Bon recalled K'rik back to his hand. Bon and [Y/n] rushed over to the edge of the lake reaching to pull Rin out.
"That's all we can do, so get moving!" Bon yelled and [Y/n] nodded in agreement, fully aware that the demon was in no way, shape or form, dead yet. It was way too dark and they didn't do nearly enough damage to half that kind of regeneration.
"You seriously need to stop worrying me like that!" [Y/n] scolded as he and Bon helped Rin back onto dry land. Rin looked between his two friends for a moment before letting out a small sigh.
"Sorry." He apologised, quietly but sincerely, a sad smile crossing his face as he looked up at [Y/n] in understanding. "That attack was huge. I knew that you were worried but-"
"Save the mushy stuff! We'll talk about it later!" [Y/n] cut off the would-be-heartfelt moment as he grabbed Rin by the wrist and started dragging him back toward the cart with Bon in tow. "Flor! Grab the cart!" [Y/n] screamed and Flor nodded as they took off running alongside the cart with the others. The demi-demon was beyond confused for a moment until he turned back to see the giant Chuchi emerging from the water, almost regenerated and definitely very pissed. Rin paled at the sight as he and the others sprinted into the dark woods ahead.
"What happened?! I thought you guys killed it!"
~*~
The group finally came to a stop as they finally lost the giant, blood-sucking bastard somewhere within the forest. Panting heavily, the Exwires took their moment of reprise as a chance to catch the breath that they desperately needed.
"I think it stopped chasing us..." Konekomaru forced out between breaths, still shaking from both the shock and the physical exertion.
"Oh thank god.." Shima agreed, shaking his head as he tried to get the memory of the giant bug out of his head.
"Hey, Suguro, [Y/n]..." Rin started, gaining both males' attention as they turned to him. "Thanks a lot." He thanked, offering them both a small smile. [Y/n] just waved him off.
"I'm gonna start charging you for this..." [Y/n] joked, his hands on his knees as he bent over trying desperately to catch his breath. Between the running, the shock, the Chuchi swam and using Sema, he was definitely the worst off amongst the group. And everyone could see it. Rin especially felt horrible for making [Y/n] exert himself even more than he had to in his injured state.
"I was just paying you back is all." Bon replied, earning a confused look from Rin.
"For what?" He asked, genuinely confused by what Bon meant.
"I did it because you saved my life once before." Bon explained, reminding everyone of the reaper situation back during their first week or so of class. "I did it because you want the same thing I do; to defeat Satan. And because you had the guts to admit it in front of everyone." He continued, looking down at the dirt as he thought back to that day, and how it completely changed the way it made him view Rin. [Y/n] let a small smile cross his features, glad to see how far they had both come.
"Yeah... Well..." Rin started, awkwardly looking away as he tried to organise his thoughts. "I guess a moron like me just doesn't really think too hard before saying stuff like that." He finished, letting out a sigh as he looked down toward the ground. Everyone got quiet for a moment, trying to think of what to say. Just as [Y/n] was about to step forward, Bon spoke up again.
"I don't think you're a moron." He replied, making Rin turn to face him with a shocked expression. "But still, you're being stupid if you think you can take everything on by yourself!" He yelled, turning to look straight into Rin's eyes while the other stared back at him, completely taken aback. "You've got friends! Don't forget that!" He finished confidently, a look of pure determination and sincerity in his eyes. Rin just continued to stare at him, wide-eyed and shocked, as the rest of the group started to gather around them.
"There you go, Bon! Couldn't have said it better myself!" Shima laughed, crossing his arms as he offered Rin a closed-eyed smile.
"He's right, you can definitely be an idiot when you want to be but you're not stupid." [Y/n] chimed in, putting his hand on his hip as he smirked, looking between the two. Rin just continued to wordlessly stare at the Dragoon as he gestured around at the rest of the group. "We're here to help, so let us. We already know I'm no slouch in a fight but the others are no pushovers in any sense of the word either. Hell, just look at how well we all worked together moving the lantern." He explained, pointing toward the Peg Lantern before motioning back toward where they had started.
"If you're gonna take Satan on, you're definitely gonna need some help." Konekomaru added, smiling widely as he looked between Rin and Bon.
"I'm a wimp but I've got your back." Shima promised, putting a hand on his head in embarrassment. "Of course, if there's gonna be bugs involved, I won't do you much good..." He added awkwardly, letting out a nervous laugh. [Y/n] smirked as he leaned closer to Shima's ear.
"You know, Beelzebub is the Demon King of Insects." He teased, causing Shima to immediately go pale-faced as a horrified look took over his face. [Y/n]'s bellowing laughter and Bon's snickers were heard through the forest while Shima started violently shaking on the spot. Rin still just stood there, overwhelmed and dumbfounded.
"You shouldn't scare him like that, [Y/n]." Konekomaru scolded, shaking his head as the laughter died down. "But still, we were seriously lucky that you were with us." He added with a sigh, causing [Y/n] to raise a brow in confusion. "This is the second time that you've had to jump in to save Okumura. It's almost starting to become a trend." Koneko explained, reminding everyone of what had happened back during the Exwire Authorisation Exam. [Y/n] scratched the back of his head sheepishly, trying to brush it off while everyone agreed with Konekomaru.
"Well, it's a trend that I appreciate." Rin replied, stepping forward as he gave [Y/n] a bright smile, gratitude written all over his face. [Y/n] smiled back, letting out a small chuckle. Before he could respond, however, Bon stepped forward.
"Maybe but I doubt that he appreciates having to jump in between you and dangerous demons just to save your ass!" he scolded, slapping Rin on the back of the head while yelling at him to be more careful and stop putting [Y/n] in dangerous situations. Rin desperately tried to dodge the onslaught of well-meaning slaps and punches while the others all just watched on, laughing at the free entertainment. After a couple of minutes, Rin moved to hide behind [Y/n] and Bon just sighed. "Alright, everyone back in position!" He yelled, gesturing for everyone to get back to their respective spots. Everyone else nodded in agreement and started making their way back to their spots. Just as [Y/n] was about to start walking back toward Flor, he felt a soft tug at his wrist. Turning around, he saw Rin giving him a look that he couldn't really describe.
"I really do appreciate it." Rin announced softly, offering [Y/n] the most sincere smile he could muster. "And everything else you've done for me." He added, genuinely grateful for everything his friend had done in the time they'd known each other. It meant more to him than [Y/n] understood. [Y/n] froze for a moment, slightly taken aback by the sudden gratitude. After a moment of composing himself, he let out a deep breath, cocking his head to the side as he returned the smile Rin gave him with his own.
"It's no problem at all." [Y/n] replied, a faint blush dusting over his cheeks that he was extremely grateful that the dark forest was hiding. "You've done a lot more for me than you realise too." He admitted shyly, scratching the back of his head as he looked away with a nervous laugh. He thought back to everything they had been through, and how he wouldn't have traded any of it for anything. With a content smile on his face, [Y/n] turned on his heel and started slowly walking toward the cart. With one last glance over his shoulder, he saw Rin following behind him. "Thank you, Rin."
~*~
"Congrats, guys, you all made it back in one piece." Shura congratulated in a bored tone as [Y/n], Rin, Bon, Shiemi, Shima and Koneko all finally arrived back at camp with their Peg Lantern still lit. It was a long and horrible night for the most part but the exercise was thankfully over. All of their eyes went wide when they noticed that Kamiki and Takara were already back with their own lit lanterns.
"What the hell?! How'd you guys finish the mission on your own?!" Bon yelled, looking between the two tiny and frail-looking Exwires who had both somehow delivered the giant stone lanterns back to base before they did.
"I just made my familiars drag the lantern back." Kamiki shrugged, confirming [Y/n]'s earlier assumption from the text he received. With the amount of work that Kamiki makes them do... sometimes [Y/n] felt sorry for Mike and Uke. He also decided not to voice his own thoughts when he silently commented that he and Flor probably could have made it back on their own too. "Takara got here first though." She scoffed bitterly, turning away in annoyance. Everyone turned to the little ginger boy in shock.
"It took them this long with all that help?! Wow, what a bunch of losers!" Takara mocked, as usual, using his puppet to speak. An irk mark appeared on the side of [Y/n]'s head.
'Cheeky little shit...'
"What's wrong?" Rin asked worriedly, suddenly pulling [Y/n]'s attention toward Shiemi, who was gripping the back of her neck while her face scrunched up in pain. Before he could ask if she was okay, Shura suddenly spoke up.
"Hang on..." Shura started, a sudden flash of worry in her tone that immediately alerted [Y/n] that something was wrong. He turned to his cousin with a curious look as she glanced around at the group. "Is this it? Everyone's back?" She asked as everyone slowly nodded in agreement, confused by her question. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "None of you gave up?" She asked, watching the others all shake their heads to confirm they were all still participating.
"Wait..." [Y/n] let out a nervous breath, suddenly realising two things that Shura definitely noticed too. The first was that Yukio wasn't with the rest of the group. And the second, that he probably went after whoever set off their safety flare. But... "If we're all here, then who set off the bottle rocket?" He asked, causing everyone to go wide-eyed as the realisation of what he and Shura meant finally set in. The atmosphere immediately turned tense and the tension could be cut with a knife as no one dared to move or speak, trying to figure out what to do next. Until suddenly...
"Woohoo!" A familiar voice cheered from above, causing everyone to look up in panic.
"[Y/n]! Get down!" Flor screamed telepathically as he barreled forward, slamming into [Y/n], Rin and Shiemi and sending all of them flying back just in time to narrowly avoid the surprise visitor as they landed on the ground, crushing the dirt beneath them and kicking up dust in the process. As the dust cleared, [Y/n]'s eyes went wide in horror at who he saw.
"Amaimon?!" [Y/n] shirked, looking at the demon king standing before him holding a golden chain that connected to a muzzled demon that looked like a huge Hobgoblin with a weird colour scheme. From behind him, he heard the familiar sound of Shura summoning Fang from her chest.
"Don't just stand there!" She scolded, as she stepped forward.
"Shura?!" Rin exclaimed, catching Shiemi as she began to lose her balance, still hissing in pain from whatever had been hurting her.
"Go get them, Behemoth!" Amaimon yelled, relating the muzzle and letting the Hobgoblin sprint toward them. Everyone panicked as the demon set its sights on Bon and Konekomaru, drooling in hunger. Both of them just stood frozen in fear, unable to move. Snapping out of his shock, [Y/n] clasped his hands together.
"Flor!" He yelled and his familiar nodded in understanding.
"On it!" Flor replied, immediately putting himself between the boys and the demon as he dug his claws into the ground below. Behemoth shirked as he tried and failed to push Flor back, the Split Wolf smirking in response. "I'll show you who the alpha dog is around here, puppy!" Flor sneered, trying with all his might to push Behemoth back, but barely managing to move it an inch.
"Back off, mutt!" A sharp whistle pulled everyone's attention back to Shura before the campfire behind them suddenly burst ablaze before twisting and morphing into the form of a white snake, similar to those that Shura summons with Fang.
"A-A snake?!" Kamiki shrieked, stepping back as the snake hissed loudly and threateningly. As the flame around the snake grew larger and larger, Flor used the shock to slam into Behemoth and knock it back, just outside of the barrier that Shura and the girls had set up earlier. The moment Behemoth was out of bounds, the fire from the snake expanded in a giant cross that spread out into a circle, covering the diameter of the camp and sending both Amaimon and Behemoth flying back as the flames roared through the sky.
"An absolute barrier?!" Bon exclaimed as the flames died down, looking at Shura in a mix of awe, amazement and bewilderment.
"Yep. Everything inside the magic circle is safe and everything outside is repelled." Shura explained, stabbing Fang into the ground as she looked around. "You guys should be safe here for a little while." She remarked casually, as if thinking of something else entirely while talking. Turning away from the group, [Y/n] immediately rushed over to Flor, who was limping back toward him. Holding off Behemoth must have taken more out of him than he realised, especially since [Y/n] was still injured and exhausted so he couldn't channel as much energy through him.
"Flor! You're the best, you know that?!" [Y/n] praised, grabbing Flor's face and rubbing the fur on his cheeks.
"Well, you could definitely say it more often." Flor replied tiredly, letting out a deep breath as he tried to keep himself stable. "I think you should unsummon me." He announced and [Y/n] held his breath. He knew he was right but the timing was terrible. "You won't last much longer in your current condition if you use me and Sema." Flor explained, giving [Y/n] a small nod in his own silent way of saying he knew [Y/n] would be safer with Sema for the time being. Letting out the breath he had been holding, [Y/n] nodded, taking the paper from his pocket.
"Right. And thanks again." He thanked with a small smile, earning one back from his familiar as [Y/n] tore the bloodied summoning paper in half, sending Flor away in a puff of smoke. The moment Flor disappeared, [Y/n] felt the strain of keeping him summoned disappear, giving him the slightest bit of comfort.
"That's all great but what about that guy?!" Kamiki shrieked, bringing everyone's attention back to the demon who had attacked them.
"Yeah, Miss Shura, is he supposed to be part of our training?" Konekomaru asked, clearly either having not heard what [Y/n] said when he appeared or choosing not to believe it. Shura remained silent, putting her hair into a tight ponytail.
"And don't you think that he's a little tough for us to handle?" Shima added, nervously looking out in the direction that Amaimon and Behemoth had been sent flying.
"Didn't you hear [Y/n]?" Shura replied, shooting a look toward the two boys asking about the training difficulty. "That was Amaimon." She said plainly, picking Fang back up from the dirt. The entire class went wide-eyed at the announcement of who their opponent was. "The training's over for today, this is a real fight. We have to get ready for Amaimon's next attack." She declared, looking around at the Exwires as she tried to formulate some kind of plan.
"Amaimon?!" Everyone but Rin, Shiemi, Takara and [Y/n] shirked at the news of their opponent, staring at Shura in horror.
"Do you mean one of The Eight Kings?! The Baal?! The King of Earth?!" Kamiki asked, panicking as she stepped toward their teacher, refusing to believe what she had just heard. "That Amaimon?!" She exclaimed, expressing the entire group's concerns while Shura looked far too casual about it for everyone's liking.
"Uh-huh." She replied calmly, thring around to pick up a container of holy water from behind her. "And, since he's one of the big guns, you Exwires don't stand much of a chance on your own against him." She remarked, doing absolutely nothing to inspire any kind of confidence in her students whatsoever. "Everyone, gather around. I'm gonna give you guys a dose of some triple C concentrated holy water." She ordered, gesturing for everyone to step closer.
"But why-" Kamiki started but got cut off when the holy water was thrown directly into her face. "Does he wanna fight us...?"
"Yeah, this has gotta be some kinda-" Shima, much like Kamiki, was cut off by similar means. "Kinda joke..."
"You sound way too-" [Y/n], like the others, was quickly silenced. "Casual about this..." He finished, wiping some water from his eyes as he glared at his cousin in annoyance. Just as Shura turned toward Rin and Shiemi, she stopped in her tracks.
"Whoops. That was close." She clicked her tongue, pulling back the container she was about to splash on the pair, silently remembering that Rin would definitely react to the holy water. His mind flashed back to the fight on the roof when Rin got hit with a holy water grenade. He gulped silently at the thought. "Woulda gotten ugly if I winded up pouring some on you." She announced, loud enough for literally everyone to hear before turning to Konekomaru and splashing him. [Y/n] immediately sweatdroped as he felt a pit form in his stomach.
'Could she be any more obvious?!' [Y/n] thought to himself, silently cursing out Shura for her lack of subtlety.
"In the beginning, god created the heaven and the earth." Shura prayed quietly, making a cross-motion with her hands before putting them on her hips and looking toward her class. "Alright, you guys are good until the holy water dries. No matter what happens, the damage shouldn't be too bad." She shrugged, once again, giving no one any confidence. As she finished up, Bon pointed toward Rin.
"What about Okumura? Arent you gonna splash him with some?" He asked, a mix of confusion and concern lacing his voice. [Y/n] and Rin both flinched at the question, desperately hoping Shura could pull something out to distract him.
"Yeah..." She started, turning away from the group. "He's sorta allergic to holy water. So..." She shrugged, trailing off at the end while [Y/n] screamed internally at how much she was not helping the situation.
"Allergic to holy water?! I've never heard that one before!" Bon snapped, looking between Rin and Shura while frantically pointing. Rin was very clearly panicking and Shura was being absolutely no help. Acting quickly, [Y/n] stepped forward.
"Some people have a rare reaction to it when they're exposed to their temptaint as infants. Newborn development, and all that." [Y/n] stated, trying his absolute hardest to make his lie sound even somewhat believable. The others looked at him in a mix of confusion and disbelief while Rin started frantically nodded in agreement, making something up about how he got his temptaint when he was just born because a demon was in the delivery room, et cetera, et cetera. Some of the others seemed to somewhat believe it but Bon seemed especially unconvinced. "It's really rare, though. So..." He shrugged, trailing off at the end the exact same way that Shura did just moments before. Kamiki sweatdropped at the sight.
"I see the family resemblance now..." She muttered out, looking between the young man and the woman. [Y/n] immediately whipped his head back toward his classmate with a horrified look on his face.
"Never insult me like that again." He ordered, the very thought of that comparison making him want to hurl.
"I heard that!" Shura snapped from where she was sitting, sneering at her cousin's little drive-by insult. At the mention of family, Rin's eyes immediately went wide.
"Wait! Has anyone seen Yukio!?" Rin panicked and Shura nodded, sitting herself down on the ground.
"He was sorta getting in the way so I sent him off somewhere." Shura replied causally, stretching herself out and gesturing for Rin to come closer. As he did, the rest of the group huddled up around the former campfire. [Y/n] watched the others all try and fail to call their parents or the teachers for some kind of help or backup but no one managed to get through. Off to the side, [Y/n] saw Rin talking with Shura while Shiemi was standing by herself, still holding the back of her head in pain. [Y/n]'s eyebrows furrowed in confusion when he realised that he hadn't seen Nee since they arrived back in camp. Did she unsummon him the same way he did with Flor? Maybe she was also running low on energy.
"Go on, take it!" His train of thought was cut off when he heard Shura from behind him. Turning around, he saw Shura holding Rin's Kurikara sword while pushing it into his hands. Rin began stuttering, shocked by his weapon's sudden appearance. "Aww, come on, what's the matter? You wanted it so bad, here it is~" Shura teased, pushing the sheathed blade against his face mockingly.
"Hold on! You said you didn't want me using my power in front of anyone! 'Don't be flaming up'! Remember?!" Rin snapped, way too loud for his or anyone else's own good. [Y/n] immediately paled when he realised they were having this conversation way too close to the others, even if they were distracted by their phones.
"Shut your trap, kid, you sparked up even after I warned you. You can't hide anything from me!" Shura mocked before she began howling with laughter. Absolutely nothing about their conversation was even slightly hiding the 'secret' that could get them imprisoned or killed.
"How about you take your own advice..." [Y/n] started, stepping up behind the pair. Rin and Shura turned in surprise toward [Y/n]'s sudden appearance just in time for his fist to come crashing down on each of their heads. "And keep your voices down, you idiots!" He whisper-screamed, pushing both of their heads down as he crouched beside them. Rin rubbed the top of his head while Shura just rolled her eyes in annoyance. "There's no way in hell that the others aren't already suspicious of him after the holy water stunt so can you please keep it down!" [Y/n] snapped, glancing back at the group behind him and silently letting out a breath of relief when he saw that they hadn't moved any closer to them.
"I thought you told them about the infant thing to get them to stop questioning it?" Rin asked, tilting his head to the side in confusion while [Y/n]'s eyes rolled to the back of his head. Literally only he wouldn't find what [Y/n] had said back there suspicious.
"That was all bullshit. I was talking out of my ass and I'm like ninety per cent sure that most of them didn't believe me in some capacity." [Y/n] replied, with a shake of his head, trying to think of what any of them could do or say to deal with some of the suspicions that the others likely had.
"Anycrap..." Shura started, pulling both boys from their thoughts as she picked up the Koma Sword again. "If you're gonna put the hurt on someone, how do you expect to do that without your flames?" She asked, looking Rin in the eyes as he tried to think of what to say, still obviously hesitant to use his fire in any capacity.
"I guess I-"
"Amaimon's the King of Earth, pal." She cut him off, smirking slightly as his mouth hung open as he tried and failed to think of a rebuttal. "He ain't no bottom feeder. Stop thinking about it. Take it." She ordered, pushing the sword against his chest. Rin still didn't move, obviously very conflicted. [Y/n] let out a small sigh, reaching to take the sword from Shura. The other two eyed him in confusion before he took one of Rin's hands in his own, opened it, and gently placed the sword in the palm of his hand.
"Trust her, Rin." [Y/n] said softly, gently closing Rin's fingers around the weapon as he offered the other male a smile. The small blush of embarrassment that [Y/n] had was nothing compared to the cherry red colour of Rin's face as he frantically looked back from his hands to [Y/n]'s face and back. From the side, Shura smugly wiggled her eyebrows and snickered. An irk mark immediately appeared on the side of [Y/n]'s head at the sound of her laughter. "She's an insufferable alcoholic idiot but she's good at what she does." He commented, shooting a quick glance at the older woman, who immediately began cussing him out. Rin remained silent, staring down at his hand in a mix of shock, amazement and... something else that he couldn't describe. But he knew that, whatever feeling that was, it felt incredible and terrifying at the same time. Before he had a chance to organise his thoughts, Shima's voice rang through the air.
"Moriyama?" The pink-haired boy questioned worriedly, pulling everyone's attention toward the blonde girl. "Where are you going?" He asked as everyone noticed she had started walking toward the edge of the barrier.
"Shiemi?!" Rin called out, getting to his feet beside [Y/n]. There was no response. Shiemi just kept walking forward, swaying side to side like a zombie or someone put into a deep trance.
"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Shura panicked as the girl got closer and closer to the barrier. "Somebody stop her!" She screamed, taking off as she and the two males started sprinting toward Shiemi before it was too late. As they began to get close, Shura noticed some kind of strange lump on the back of Shiemi's neck where she had been having pain earlier. The lump was slightly discoloured and was wriggling around and moving under her skin. "What the hell?! That's a parasite!" Shura panicked, immediately understanding what had happened. Just as they were about to catch up with her, she passed through the safety of the batteries. The moment she was outside of the safe zone, Amaimon hopped down from a nearby tree, pulling her close to him. The other Exwires all immediately panicked as [Y/n] and Rin stepped forward.
"Let her go!"
"Shiemi!"
"What did you do to that girl!?" Shura immediately stopped both boys in their tracks by holding Fang up in front of them. She glared down Amaimon as he cradled Shiemi's head in his hands.
"Oh, I just had a female Chuchi lay an egg inside her. That's all." he replied casually, stroking Shieni's hair as she laid against his chest, her eyes completely unfocused. "It took forever and a half for it to hatch but, now that it's nibbling on her nervous system, this young lady will do whatever I tell her to." He explained, running his pointed nail along Shiemi's cheek as he stroked her like some kind of pet. [Y/n] was absolutely disgusted by what he was seeing.
"Sick bastard..." [Y/n] sneered, glaring at the Demon King as he desperately tried to think of something to do. In his current condition and with the distance between them, there's no way he could fire a shot precise enough to only hit Amaimon and not Shiemi. Before he had even a second more to consider his options, Amaimon picked up Shimei and leapt into the air with her in his arms.
"Get back here, Conehead!" Rin screamed as he immediately took off after them, sprinting into the forest without a second thought.
"Hey, you idiot! Come back here!" Shura yelled as she started following after him with [Y/n] hot on her heels, silently glad that her cousin had managed to convince Rin to hold onto the Koma Sword.
"Dumbass!" [Y/n] cursed as he gripped Sema in preparation. As they started to catch up to him, Behemoth suddenly leapt out from behind a bush, its sharp fangs pointed straight toward Rin. Shura immediately shot forward, blocking Behemoth's attack with Fang.
"Go get him I'm right behind you!" She ordered, her eyes darting in the direction that Amaimon and Shiemi went before she put herself between Behemoth and her students. Wordlessly, Rin nodded and took off after his half-brother, ignoring Bon's yelling for him to come back. [Y/n] felt his stomach drop as he watched Rin disappear amongst the foliage, a horrible feeling forming in the pit of his stomach. Shaking his head, he turned to his cousin.
"Shura-"
"Yeah, I know, get going!" She cut him off with a smirk, knowing exactly what he was going to say. She knew him well enough. "Don't want your boyfriend getting hurt, right~? So go protect him like the big strong man you are~" She teased, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively as she let out a quick chuckle and rolled her eyes. Despite how irritating she could be, [Y/n] really did appreciate her in times like this.
"I really do hate you sometimes, you know that?" He joked, a small, hearty laugh escaping his lips. Shura shrugged in response.
"Tell me about it when you both make it back with the girl." She replied, clicking her tongue playfully while [Y/n] nodded in understanding. Dropping the smile, Shura locked eyes with [Y/n] her gaze and tone serious and warning. "Keep your finger on that trigger and don't hesitate against Amaimion. Remember, Sema feels everything you feel." She advised and [Y/n] immediately nodded in agreement, understanding better than anyone what both Amaimon and Sema were capable of. And, with that, he took off into the forest after Rin, Amaimon and Shiemi, completely ignoring the others' calls for him. No matter what, he'd protect them.