In the past week alone, Rin was attacked by two Nabarius, two different times. And he knew just where they came from. In fact, it was pretty obvious where they came from. On the plus side of one of those attacks, he passed the ExWire Exam no problem. And without using his sword for anything more than beating a demon back once or twice, too.

He'd cornered the Tamer teacher and  threatened him with his knife and the man freaked out, blabbing about how anything related to Satan needed to be eradicated, but not making anothe remove to carry that plan out with the knife pressed to his throat. So much for Exorcists having the guts and strength to stand up to demons.

Now, they had to do Summer tasks as ExWires. Rin insisted on following Yukio to see the problem at the South Entrance of the Academy and Yukio knew he couldn't stop his twin, so he let him come. It ended up being Shiro's old familiar throwing a hissy fit.

"Lemme handle this before you try poisoning it." Rin walked towards the screaming cat on the road.

"Hey, cat! I'm Shiro's son." He started. The cat stopped screaming to look at him.

"Shiro's...son? Shiro had kittens?" He repeated. Rin nodded.

"He's dead. Shiro is dead and there's nothing you can do about it." He said bluntly. He thought he could hear Yukio facepalming behind him but he wasn't sure.

"What?! No! Shiro will never die! He can't!" Kuro cried.

"Stop being stupid! Humans die within a hundred years and demons live forever. That's our reality, Kuro! Get over it and move on!" Rin growled. Kuro stared down at him in shock.

"He's gone." Rin repeated softly. "But if you want, you can stay with me. I probably won't die anytime soon with the demon blood in me."

The cat sith wailed, slowly shrinking until he was a regular cat with two tails and horns on his head. Rin opened his arms and Kuro jumped into them, nuzzling his chest as he cried. Rin sighed and walked off. Yukio looked at him in question.

"Guess he's mine now. Could always use a Partner in Crime, I guess." The older grumbled. Kuro would be a good utility if he ever needed to run away from the Order. If Rin stayed, the demon could be useful on missions in the future.

Yukio smiled and went to start the paperwork so Rin could have his new familiar. Maybe Kuro could get Rin to open up more. He vaguely wondered if the cat would be something like a therapy animal for Rin.

§~•~§~•~§

"Oh man, have I been waiting for this! Summer has been really boring. Being an ExWire sucks!" Shima complained. Rin sighed. Same old whiny Shima.

"Aw, quit complainin! I had to chase Bariyon with Tomagawa for days!" Suguro snapped. "I had to clean up coaltars and clean the Leaper's cage." Konekomeru sighed.

"Hey, what about you, Okumura?" Suguro looked up at the teen laying on the second platform of the statue above them. Rin peeked one eye open to look at him. He decided he'd mess with the teen, just to watch his face turn red like a cherry like it always did.

"I got a familiar." He answered.

"What?! There's no way!" Suguro exclaimed.

"Hey Yukio! I got a familiar right?" Rin called to his twin. "He better be your familiar if all the paperwork I had to do has anything to say for it!" Yukio called back.

Rin smiled smugly as Suguro fumed. "Why dontcha summon him then?" He challenged.

Rin snorted. "Because I don't have to prove anything to you."

"You can't just spout some bullshit and have your brother in on it too and expect us to believe it!" Suguro snapped.

"How are you called a genius, but so childish?" Rin sighed.

"Who's childish?!" Bon growled. Rin got down from the top tier of the base of the statue–reminiscent of the fountain–and got close enough to Bon's face that their noses were nearly touching.

"Exactly who I just said: you."

Suguro fisted his hands in Rin's shirt and pulled him down from the statue. Rin swung himself around and intertwined their fingers, pulling the boy's arms around himself. "What the–let go of me you freak!" Bon cried, trying to untangle himself from the shorter boy. Rin untwisted them and pulled Suguro down to eye level by the collar so they were nose to nose again.

"What is your problem?" He hissed. Bon's cheeks tinted pink as he struggled to sound dignified with his response. "I can't stand guys like you who sleep in class and never pay attention! You're an insult to anyone with an ambition." He answered. Rin arched a brow. "I haven't failed any tests so far. And it's not like you don't have any problems either." The boy pointed out.

"The hell does that mean?!" Bon demanded. Rin let him go, rolling his eyes.

"You're a loose cannon, you can't just leave people alone to fend for themselves even if they don't want your help, and you point out everyone else's insecurities to seem big and tough when really, you're just hiding your own issues. You're not helping anybody. You're just annoying." Rin listed easily. Shima and Koneko were sweating. Luckily, before things got heated, the girls finally showed up.

Shiemi was finally wearing something that want a kimono. It was actually the True Cross Academy girls' uniform. Rin silently applauded her for following his advice. And she looked cute in it too. Shiemi was thick and curvy. How the fuck did she hide that figure?

Yukio greeted them and told them what they were supposed to be doing after recovering from his near- aneurism at Rin catching him staring somewhere he shouldn't have been. "The ghost of a child is haunting this place, so the park has been shut down for today. Can anyone tell me what a ghost is?" Yukio informed. Izumo raised her hand as always.

"A ghost is a spirit unable to pass on. They are held back by something they wanted to do or never accomplished. They do similar things to what they were doing before they died." She announced.

Yukio nodded. "He has only done petty things, such as skirt flipping and arm pulling. Our job is to exorcise him so the park can open back up tomorrow. Now, we will split up into teams." Yukio began calling names for partners, but Rin wasn't listening. He was wondering how the fuck a child died after flipping a skirt.

He heard his name and Shiemi's, so they set off on their own in a random direction. She started walking weird and he raised an eyebrow. "Shiemi, what are you doing?" He asked. She turned around to reveal a red face with puffed up cheeks. Rin laughed– she looked ridiculous.

"I'm trying not to smile so I don't look dumb." She huffed.

"Shiemi, don't listen to Kamiki. You can do whenever you want. And right now, you look pretty dumb. You looked better before. Kamiki's just a jealous, bossy bitch." He said.

"You know, for the longest time, I wished I could go to an amusement park, but when I was little, I was too shy, so I never did. But I think the present is a good time! So next time, I want to come here to play, not for a mission!" Shiemi mentioned. Rin hummed.

"Sounds better than sitting around in the dorm all day. I'll come with you." Rin said.

"Y-yeah?! Thanks!" She cheered.

"I can't stand Yukio. A park is a good place to lose him if he keeps following me around like he keeps trying to do." He added, getting a giggle from the blonde.

The sound of crying rang through the air. Rin sighed and they followed the noise to the carousel that had started running on its own.

"That's unusual." Rin muttered. They saw a little boy sitting on one of the horses and wailing. Rin groaned. He couldn't stand kids. They were annoying, always needy, and thought they were entitled to everything. Kinda like Suguro, actually.

"Oi, when are ya gonna stop bleating, brat?" Rin growled.

"Rin! Don't yell at him!" Shiemi scolded him. Suddenly, the kid flew over to Shiemi, still bawling.

"I...I...I was sick for a really long time....mommy and daddy promised me that if I got better, they'd take me to this amusement park one day. B-But I died....and now I can't play with anyone!" He sobbed. Shiemi pet the boy's hair, soothing him. Rin rolled his eyes. So loud and messy.

He'd been a simple child as he grew up, doing most things himself, quietly minding his own business and just doing what he wanted. He hadn't needed Daddy's attention all the time like Yukio, who'd been a huge crybaby.

"I see. You must've been lonely huh?" Shiemi sympathized.

"Shut up, Hag!" The ghost got a good feel of her chest and then flew off, leaving a shocked Shiemi and a mildly surprised Rin behind.

The blonde snapped out of her shock quick. "Oh! There he is!" Shiemi ran off, giving chase after the ghost. Rin stayed behind. He wasn't chasing that little urchin.

He was calling Yukio to report the ghost's location when something tugged on his sword. He held fast and pulled it back down reflexively, bringing the person who was pulling it to the ground. Some guy who looked like a wannabe K-pop idol with weirdly styled green hair and ripped clothes was looking up at him, surprised. Rin could only think one thing: "The fuck?"

"Hello. I am Amaimon." The stranger greeted, getting up. He stuck out a hand, but Rin wasn't buying it for a second.

"Yeah, no, I'm not shaking your hand. Why were you trying to take the sword?" Rin questioned.

"I want to play." Amaimon answered simply. Rin raised an eyebrow.

"Why?"

Amaimon looked at him. "I want to see how powerful you are. So you'd be willing?" He asked excitedly, even though his expression didn't change much.

"Sure, why not." Rin shrugged. If this guy wanted to fight, then fine. There was nothing fun to do on this mission anyway, maybe fighting this guy would liven up his day.

Rin didn't wait around, he immediately charged with a right hook to the jaw to distract the demon from the left hook that caught him in the ribs. Amaimon coughed briefly before swinging at Rin and missing. Rin was good at hand-to-hand and with enhanced strength, senses, and durability, he wouldn't go down easy. He didn't need weapons. If you wanted to hang around the streets without getting your shit stolen, you had to know how to defend yourself.

Rin slipped his knife out of his sleeve and stabbed Amaimon in the side with it. The demon cried out in surprise, but that definitely wasn't enough to take him down. He leaped away, onto the giant statue of Mephisto. Rin jumped up easily and swiped at him, only for the demon to jump onto a nearby rollercoaster called Go To Hell. Mephisto must have thought he was hilarious.

Rin shouldered his sword and jumped to join the demon in the coaster. "Rin, over here!" Amaimon teased. Rin huffed and climbed through to the other side of the coaster. Then he tackled the Demon King and got in a couple of good punches before being thrown off.

He grabbed onto the beams and climbed up to the top of the track, where Amaimon was waiting. "Rin, over here!" The demon called again. He then proceeded to hit Rin so he fell straight through the structure of the rollercoaster. Rin groaned and spat some blood to the side. There were definitely some sizeable bruises on his back.

"You are interesting. I can see why Mephisto and Satan have paid lots of attention to you." Amaimon admitted, reaching for the sword once again. But it moved from his grasp and Rin pommeled him in the stomach with it instead, throwing the demon off of him. Then Rin threw the sword down to the ground far below and decided to just use his knife for the rest of the fight.

He swiped and managed to slice a few cuts into Amaimon's expressionless face. Rin glanced at the ground below and saw Shiemi about to be buried in falling debris. He used the small reserve of flames he had outside the sword and burned it before it got to her. Yukio would get him in trouble if he let someone die on his watch when he was perfectly capable of saving them.

"Pay attention to me!" Amaimon smashed his ribs in with a harsh kick and Rin choked on blood and bile riding in his throat as he fell over the side of the coaster. Amaimon was on top of him, doing his best to turn Rin's ribs into bone powder inside his body until they reached the ground, where he was slammed down harshly and probably got a concussion.

"Well, you were fun to play with for a short time, but you're still pretty weak. I don't understand why Satan and Mephisto like you so much." Amaimon yanked the knife out of his leg and ran.

Rin stayed collapsed on the ground, choking up blood and bile. Yeah, he'd way underestimated that guy, but technically, he'd won since Amaimon bolted.

"That was really somethin'. How'd you fight him without the sword?" Yamada had apparently been watching.

"Don't need a sword. I can....handle myself....with a knife." He answered, his breathing obstructed by the most-likely crushed ribs in his chest. He faintly heard Yukio shouting for him, but his vision blanked and he was out cold in the dirt.

"Doesn't look like you handled yourself." Yamada pointed out.

"Man you're slow, Yukio. I thought I'd have to step in!" Yamada sighed. Yukio narrowed his eyes. The rest of the students arrived to the scene soon after him. Shiemi sat on the ground to tend to Rin since Yukio seemed busy dealing with her classmate.

Shura had pulled her hoodie off, allowing her....voluptuous chest freedom from confinement. The boys ogled at her chest while she conversed with Yukio and Tsubakki. "Well, I'll be takin' this guy to Vatican headquarters. He was fighting a Demon King, so I'll have to question him." Shura said.

"U-Um, Kirigakure-san? I don't think he's able to do anything right now. He passed out and has multiple severe injuries that need to be treated." Shiemi spoke up.

Rin was, in fact, covered in dirt and blood. His uniform was ripped in several places and there were multiple smaller wounds that hadn't healed.

"Oh. Yeah, that looks pretty bad. I guess I'll take him to the infirmary first." Shura muttered, picking the boy up and slinging him over her shoulder like a sack of flour.

She found a door with a lock and left the rest of the class at the amusement park.