Chapter 1: Mate, where are thou?

Mephisto looked at his paper in slight annoyance. Why did Rin have to be so difficult? Mephisto observed the dark haired boy before him: Rin glared him down with intense eyes, one corner of his lip pulled up in a grimace to show a pointed fang.

"I'm not going to look for a fucking mate," the teen protested sullenly.

"Okumura-kun, you have no choice in this manner," the purple-haired headmaster sighed as he placed the paperwork down. He carefully laced his fingers together and rested his chin on them before he continued. "All demons have a mating season that they must go through. When they're about to go into the season, they send out a scent for all the other demons to know that they're ready and mate-less. You've been giving out this scent for a while now, and that's why so many high level demons are attacking you."

Rin shifted slightly at this. Six times this week he's been attack by demons when he'd left the safety of the school grounds. What's more, twice in the last week he was almost raped by them.

"I don't want a mate," Rin snarled.

"Okumura-kun, you need to have sex once with a demon of a high class status," Mephisto said with another sigh. "The only other option is to sleep with someone that has enough power to protect you from other demons. Only then will you not be targeted."

"I'm not having a one night stand." Rin said adamantly.

Mephisto shook his head and then handed him a pure black binder. "This is a collection of every mate-less male and female demons, including half-demons, within in the Order. Choose your top five and we'll talk about if they're right for you."

Two hours later, Rin sunk down on the couch with a heavy sigh. He and Mephisto had researched all the available demons, but not a one fitted. There was one important detail that kept them finding the perfect mate: the flames. All the demons that they searched through were flammable and Rin didn't want to hurt his mate during sex, whoever the mate might be.

"Okumura-kun, you should get back to Cram School," Mephisto said." I'll call the head of Demonic Mating and Pregnancy and see if there are any new demons that have been added."

With a nod, the eldest twin left the headmaster alone. Mephisto brought out his pink cellphone and dialled the direct line for the demon in charge of the Demonic Mating and Pregnancy.

"Doctor Koyobashi here," a male voice answered after the third ring. It was soft and sweet like honey, a voice that had many gush over. But to the headmaster, it was the worst voice he'd ever heard.

"Daichi, I need to know if any more demons have been added to the mate-less profile," Sir Pheles said.

"Mephisto! You call me and I don't get a 'hi', 'bye', or even 'go to hell'?" Dr. Daichi Koyobashi chuckled.

"Go to hell," Mephisto snarled. "Now, are there new demons or not?"

"So feisty," the doctor teased. "But no. New demons joining us exorcists are rare."

"Call me when a new ones joins" Mephisto ordered snappily before hanging up.

The demon put his phone on his desk just as Amaimon in his hamster form walked up to him. Amaimon originally inhabited a 5ft 7, teenage boy's body, but after a fight with their little brother Rin, he was forced into a body of a hamster to recharge.

"What's wrong Anuie?" the green hamster asked.

"Finding a mate for our little brother is troublesome," Mephisto admitted as he rubbed his eyes.

"Why don't you call her?" Amaimon asked.

Mephisto looked down to Amaimon with one of his green eyes in alarm. "You can't be serious."

Amaimon shrugged, which looked kind of cute in the chubby, hamster form. "Why not? Didn't she help us find mates?"

Mephisto thought for a moment before he agreed. "Fine. She just might help us."

Mephisto brought out a key with a rainbow design on it, put it in his third drawer in his desk and turned it. A satisfying click was heard and Mephisto pulled the drawer open. It was empty inside except for a single golden denarii – an ancient Greek coin. Mephisto grabbed the denrii and opened the window, letting the rain from outside create a rainbow in the light of his desk lamp.

"Oh Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, please except my offering," Mephisto said as he tossed the denrii into the rainbow. The coin disappeared and he knew that Iris had accepted the offering.

"Show me Aiko," the demon demanded.

The rainbow shivered for a moment before a woman's face appeared. Every time Mephisto saw her face, his heart skipped a beat.

"Loki, it's been a while," the blonde haired and green eyed woman said in slight amusement.

"I no longer go by that name," Mephisto replied. As he did so, the woman's appearance changed so that she now had curly black hair and honey-brown eyes. "I'm now Mephisto Pheles."

Aiko chuckled and she gave off a sweet smile. "So Mr. Pheles after all these years, why are you IMing me now?"

"I need that favor you owe me," Mephisto said. He then narrowed his eyes as he scrutinised her. "Damn it woman, choose a form and stick to it! You're giving me a migraine."

Aiko, who now has straight black hair and mocha-brown eyes smiled but did stop her transformations. "What do you need me to do?"

"I have a new little brother, and he's half-demon," Mephisto explained. "He's getting close to his mating season and I need to find a demon that can't be burned easily."

Akio seemed to think for a moment and then she smiled as she clapped her delicate hands together. "I have the perfect person in mind. He can't get burned at all," she said. "Buuuuuuuut..."

"What's the catch?" Mephisto sighed, rubbing his temples.

"He's not a demon," Aiko admitted. "True, he's my lover's son, so he's only half-human, but he doesn't have a demonic drop of blood in him."

Mephisto thought this over for a moment. "He can't get burned? At all?"

"Nope," Aiko shook her head. "He can control fire, a gift his Father gave him at birth. Most likely he'll not get burned by your Father's blue flames."

"Where can I find him?" Mephisto asked.

Aiko smiled. "I'll send you to his home" she answered.

The woman then waved her hand over the image in the rainbow and Amaimon squeaked in alarm when his brother disappeared from his seat.

"Will you go out with me?" Leo Valdez asked the daughter of Apollo.

Her sky blue eyes widened in surprise. Her siblings snickered and when she glared at them, the Latino knew this would go bad.

"I'm sorry, Valdez, but you're not my type," the girl replied with a small smile of apology, curling a lock of blond hair round her finger nervously.

Leo mentally flinched, feeling the sting of rejection, but he forced a smile. "It's cool," he said. "I'm sorry to trouble ya."

The girl just shrugged and went back with her siblings to the basketball court where they continued to play. The demigod Latino turned aside and put his hands into his black, baggy pants. He knew he should have asked Piper for some dating advice, but he'd been determined to do it alone. He thought he could finally get a girlfriend and no longer be the seventh wheel, the one reject without a partner.

He immediately headed to Bunker Nine, but stopped in his tracks when he remembered that his siblings would be there awaiting the news. Nyssa had told everyone that he had a little crush on another demigod and everyone had pressurised him into to asking her out. They probably expected him to come in with his arm around his newly acquired, pretty girlfriend. But since his mission had failed, he didn't want to face his siblings. So instead he made a little detour and went into the woods.

He walked past a slightly charred tree and he smiled sadly as memories came flooding back. It was the spot where he had met Festus for the first time. The naiad of said charred tree seemed to recognize him and she glared at him until he was well out of her sight. Even though it shouldn't have, that raised his spirit just a little bit.

He didn't pay attention to where he headed, and somehow he ended up in front of Zeus's fist, or what's left of it. The last time he was here, he was tracking down Buford and he'd got chased by the wine god's followers. He shivered at that bad memory, but he didn't turn around. Perhaps coming here was a good place to clear his head. It was a cursed place, after all, and the way things were going lately, he seemed cursed to never find a girlfriend.

"Hello little boy," said a strangely-accented voice from behind him.

Leo jumped in fright and turned around to see a weird looking man that he'd never seen before. After staring at the man for a few seconds, he tilted his head to one side in confusion. Is the circus in town or something? he thought.

The man was about six foot four, towering over Leo even from a few yards away. His eyes were forest green and his hair was purple. He wore a white top hat and he had a flowing white cape trailing behind him, as well as a white suit with baggy pants. His skin was ashen and his ears were pointed like an elf's. He had purple gloves and a polka-dotted acute around his neck, and his pink leggings were stripy and his shoes were dark red. When the man smiled at him, Leo could see the fangs protruding from his gums.

"I'm going to guess that you are Leo Valdez," the man said as he observed him. "You do fit the description. About fifteen, a midget, looks like a Santa elf."

Leo snarled, offended at the description – clearly this stranger didn't realise how handsome he was. "Who are you, and how do you know who I am?" he demanded.

The man swept his arm down as he bowed and smiled. "I am Mephisto Pheles, and I have come from Japan for you."

"Japan?" Leo echoed, even more confused. He was Latino American and had Greek roots, but he had nothing to do with Japan.

"Correct," the man called Mephisto Pheles said. "And from I hear, you're having trouble finding a mate."

"I'm not looking for a mate," Leo snapped, feeling heat rise to his cheeks in embarrassment.

"Perhaps that is the wrong word," Mephisto mused for a moment. "Rather, I meant that you are having trouble finding a girlfriend?"

That hit the mark and Mephisto knew it. Leo fidgeted for a moment, pulling wire from his magic tool belt and fiddling with it a while before Mephisto continued. "One of your gods has sent me to you. You see, I have a younger sibling in need of your, ah, assistance, and your goddess says speaks highly of you."

"Let me guess, Lady Aphrodite sent you," Leo sighed wearily.

At this Mephisto shrugged. "I do not know of her real name, and I couldn't care less. She owes me a large favour, and she had chosen you to be my sibling's mate."

Leo spluttered in alarm and his eyes widened at what the clown man said. He didn't care who this goddess was? Did he want to get struck down by her vengeful wrath? What's more, Aphrodite had arranged a hot date for him with this weird guy's younger sibling?

"Let me get this straight," Leo said, twirling his piece of wire in his hands. "So if I go with you, I can get to date your younger sibling?" He grimaced as he pictured a female version of the Mephisto. "What if I don't like her?"

"If you don't like Rin, then I'll help you find a new… girlfriend," Mephisto said. Leo raised an eyebrow on the hesitation on the world girlfriend. "But you have to stick by Rin's side for two months before you decide to go out officially and all that."

Leo thought about this for a moment and paced up and down. This guy was offering him a relationship specifically set up by the goddess of love herself. It was Mephisto's sister, true, but a girl nonetheless. He smirked to himself. Am I so desperate for a girlfriend that I'll make deals with shady-looking weirdos? Eventually, he nodded. "Deal."

Mephisto smiled broadly at this and walked up to him. He grabbed his shoulder and said, "Now, let's see if your goddess will keep her end of the bargain and send us to my home."

A sudden golden light covered them both and Leo felt slightly queasy. He shut his eyes and when he opened them, he looked at his surroundings in awe.

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto," the Latino gasped.

He was no longer in the forest of Camp Half-Blood but in a room that looked like it belonged to a child. It was filled with all kinds of dolls-sorry- action figures, stuffed animals and body pillows with cutesy anime girls on it. In the middle of the room was the biggest bed the demigod had ever seen with a canopy over the top. Facing the bed was a plasma TV that almost took the whole wall, and that was saying a lot considering that the room was as large as the entire Big House.

"Welcome to my house, young Valdez-kun," Mephisto said. His words sounded odd to his ears, but Leo couldn't figure out why.

"What is this room?" Leo asked. He then slapped a hand over his mouth in surprise. He'd spoken in a different language, the same as Mephisto was using.

"This is my bedroom," the man answered. "And you're speaking Japanese, young boy."

"But I don't know Japanese," Leo protested.

"And that is why your goddess and I have placed an enchantment on you. As long as you're on academy grounds or with one of my students, you'll be able to speak Japanese."

"Cool" Leo replied a little uncertainly.

The door from behind Leo opened with a great thud and the Latino turned to see another teenage boy there. He had short green hair that was styled into a spike and he was in clothing that could be described as punk.

"Anuie, who is this boy, and where did he come from?" the teenager asked, pointing a clawed finger at Leo.

Mephisto sighed deeply and faced the teenager. "Amaimon, I have asked you time and time again not to just barge into my room. Knock first, little brother!"

"Woah! Little brother?" Leo asked he looked between them two. The only similarity between them was that they were both dressed like freaks.

Mephisto nodded. "This is one of my brothers Amaimon." He then turned and answered his brother's questions. "This boy here is Leo Valdez, Rin's potential mate. Now, watch over him while I go get Rin from Cram school."

"Yes Anuie," Amaimon nodded as Mephisto walked out of them room.

Amaimon reached into his pocket and grabbed a lollipop when Mephisto turned at the last second and gave him a welcoming smile.

"Welcome to True Cross Academy, Valdez-kun" he said