It was early the next morning. You and Rin were brushing your teeth together. Both of you looked dead.
"Good morning," you two heard Kamiki say, coming down the steps. You both turned.
"Hey," you two said at the same time.
"'orning'!" Rin said through his brushing. Kamiki walked up next to you.
"Listen..." She said.
"Hm?" You hummed, turning to face her.
"Don't you dare tell anyone that I was crying yesterday," she said. You furrowed your brows.
"Huh? Why would I tell?" You asked.
"Just promise you'll keep your mouth shut!" She exclaimed quietly, a blush coming to her face. You stared at her for a second before turning your head.
"Your business is yours," you said before nudging Rin next to you. "Promise you won't tell."
"Geez, chill already," Rin replied, "I won't tell!" You grabbed a cup filled with water and rinsed out your mouth.
"Here!"
You glanced at her. She was holding up your shirt which was neatly folded. She was looking away from you, blushing.
"Thanks..." She said quietly. You grabbed it from her wordlessly. "If you hadn't come, who knows what would've become of Paku and me... I am grateful for that, at least." You looked at her.
"Yeah, it's no problem," you replied, placing it on the sink. You noticed the clean smell coming off of it. "That's what friends do."
"Frie--?!" Her face exploded in red. "Wh-who said we were friends?! I was only thanking you! Nothing more!" You smiled at her slightly.
"Now, now, don't get your dick in a twist," you said, waving.
"Good morning!"
You all turned to see Yukio, already dressed, standing on the stairway.
"Mr. Okumura..." Kamiki said.
~
Yukio, Kamiki, and Rin were in Paku's room. The aforementioned was suffering from a fever--a result of the demon attack the day before. You stayed outside, leaning against the doorway. The door opened and Yukio and Rin walked out. Walking down the hall, you were in between them.
"How's Paku doing?" You asked.
"Better," Yukio replied, "She just needs a few more days of rest and she should be back to normal."
"Well that's good," you said.
"So what's up with that demon that attacked yesterday?" Rin asked.
"I'm investigating its entry route and whereabouts," Yukio replied, "It was an above-intermediate level Naberius." You hummed. Naberius?
"Didn't you say this school was protected by demon-warding charms?" Rin asked.
"So you actually remember? Very impressive!"
"Tch... you're mocking me again..."
"You're absolutely right about that, but... occasionally, that kind of demon slips inside. So we've got to remain vigilant."
You slipped behind Rin and opened a door, grabbing him.
"HEY--!"
You threw him in the room and held the door shut, even through its rattling and banging and yelling.
"Y/n, what are you doing?" Yukio asked, surprised at your sudden action. You looked at him.
"I have an idea of where the demon came from," you said seriously, "And I think you do too."
~
You were in a class with a professor whomst name you didn't know.
"The majority of demons have lethal passages known as Fatal Verses..." She said, "Specific words or phrases that will unfailingly cause their death. Arias are professionals who are able to identify and recite these Fatal Verses!" You looked down at your book and skimmed through the pages, half-listening.
"Now then, would someone recite the passage I assigned for homework? Ms. Kamiki?"
You glanced over at said girl. She didn't seem to be listening.
"Ms. Kamiki, is something the matter?" She asked. Kamiki then snapped back into it and stood up.
"I-I'm sorry. Um..."
"It's Te Deum, dear, from where we last left off."
"Ri-right!" Kamiki took a breath in. "Day by day we bless Thee. And we praise Thy name... Praise thy name forever, and world... and world..." You glanced over at her.
"What's wrong, dear?"
"Uh... um... I don't remember," Kamiki replied.
"Oh my... Ms. Kamiki, I must say this isn't like you!" The professor then looked at you. "All right, Ms. L/n, will you take over?" You sighed and stood up.
"Sure." You looked blankly in front of you. "Day by day we bless Thee. And we praise Thy name forever: and world without end. Vouchsafe, O Lord, this day: to keep us without sin. Have mercy on us, O Lord: have mercy on us. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us: as we have hoped in Thee. O Lord, in Thee have I hoped: let me never be confounded."
"That was perfect, Ms. L/n!"
Shiemi and Rin clapped for you like seals.
The bell rang and the professor was the first to leave, like always.
"Amazing..." Shiemi said, "That was incredible!" You sat back down.
"Now, now, it's not hard," you replied.
"Wow! You're smarter than I thought!" Rin added. You deadpanned at him.
"The hell you mean by 'you thought'? You thought I was dumb?" You tilted your head. "You don't need to be smart to memorize something."
"But anyone can just memorize something," Kamiki said. You glanced at her.
"Huh? Weren't you unable to memorize the passage?" You asked.
"I-it's not that I can't memorize it! I just choose not to!" She quickly defended, standing up. "Arias are completely defenseless while they're reciting, so they have to be protected by their party. They're nothing but a burden!"
"What the hell?!" Suguro inserted himself into the argument, quickly standing up. You sighed and removed yourself from the conversation. Picking fights was not something you enjoyed doing. "Are you seriously trashing an aspiring Aria to his face?" He walked around the desk and Kamiki met him at the front of the class.
"I'm so scared!" Kamiki mocked, standing in front of your desk. "Go on, hit me if you want!"
"I could never stand you in the first place!" Suguro said, meeting her. "Don't make fun of other people's dreams!" He slammed his hand on the desk in front of you. It startled Rin who was reading the book next to you. You glanced up at the two of them. How foolish.
"Oh... you mean your goal of 'defeating Satan'?" She inquired, "What a joke... what else can I do but laugh?"
"Yeah? Then how about you?" Suguro asked, "What's your purpose in becoming an exorcist, huh? Spill it!" You looked at Kamiki, eagerly awaiting her answer.
"Purpose?" She repeated, "I've never told anyone else what my purpose is. Since I'm not an attention seeker like you!" Blinded by anger, Suguro grabbed Kamiki's shirt.
"Why, you...!"
Kamiki raised her hand to slap him away and you stood to diffuse the situation. However, as she swung, Suguro dodged and her hand smacked you across the face. It didn't hurt. You looked at the two of them. Rin cowered behind his book.
"If you two are gonna get physical, do it somewhere else," you said, swiping at your cheek with the back of your hand.
"All right, settle down!" You heard Yukio's voice say. All of you turned to see him trying to keep his composure together. "That's enough already."
~
You and the rest of your classmates were shoved in a room with bariyons on your laps. You sat between Rin and Kamiki. While the others were huffing and groaning, you simply closed your eyes and controlled the demon, subtly. It wasn't as heavy as the others. Rin and Suguro got into another biting argument next to you.
"It's called collective responsibility," you heard Yukio say. You opened your eyes to see him standing in front of you. "The objective of this boot camp is not only to 'bolster your academic skills,' but also for you to 'cultivate friendship'." He pushed up his glasses.
"I'd rather die than get chummy with these jerks!" Kamiki said from your side.
"I'm afraid you're going to have to learn to get along," Yukio said, "An exorcist cannot go into battle alone!" That silenced them. You were already quiet. Man... what a rowdy bunch of bitches.
"To maximize each other's skills, compensate for shortcomings, and fight in parties of two or more are basic procedure," Yukio explained, "In actual combat, such bickering could plunge you into life or death situations. Seriously reflect on that..." He looked at his watch.
"All right, I'll be gone for about three hours on a minor assignment. However, due to the incident with the ghoul yesterday, I'm taking extra precautions and locking all of the dorms' entrances, and applying a powerful demon-warding charm."
"Locked?" You repeated, raising brow. "How are we supposed to get out, then?"
"There's no need to leave," Yukio replied, "I'll be back in three hours. Until then, I want you all to get along and cool off." He smiled at all of you. That deceptive sweet smile. He left no later after that. You sighed. Thanks, Yukio.
Ja ne!
{Ruby Red}