I'm baaaaaaack! :D God, school has been awful, but I'm back and with a lovely new chapter for you all. Enjoy lovelies!

~EmmyTheTurtle

Then

First Meetings

Autumn

Eight Months Ago

"Our mission is to secure a demon which has secluded itself in a temple in the fishing district of True Cross." Shura flicked the paper over to check the location. "Ugh, I hate fish."

"Shura," Yukio muttered, "What sort of class is it?"

"It's kin of Amaimon, that's all we know. Witnesses have described it as… well, feline. A young boy with cat-like qualities."

"Similar to Kuro?" Yukio offered.

"Similar, but no, they're not the same species of demon."

Yukio adjusted his glasses. Had he really expected anything different? Shura never did her research, nor did Mephisto ever give much information on missions like these. Perhaps Yukio should have a word with Mephisto about that. He quickly put it on his mental To Do list and reloaded his gun. It was currently ten in the morning. It was time to leave. According to witnesses, the demon became active during the night. It would take at least three hours to get to the fishing district with the traffic, and creating a secure plan to catch the demon would take until sundown. Of course, Yukio had already devised a plan after speaking to the witnesses to came into the office.

He would attract the demon's attention while Shura and the others would wait for him at each exit of the temple where it hid. When the demon tried to escape, each exorcist would use a passage to trap the demon in a pentagram of sorts. A simple mission, given the demon wasn't powerful.

"Alright, let's move out."

The drive was quicker than expected. Expecting the exorcists, the fishing district had organised a clear road to make way for their arrival. It was midday when they arrived.

"Ah, you're here!" a young boy cried and began to wave down an elderly man. "Gramps is gonna tell you everything."

"We used to leave fresh fish at the altar for what we hoped was for a deity we believed had brought us good weather and fine fishing," the old man said, his sun-bitten face dark and wrinkled. "When we realised there was a demon living within the temple, we suspected it to be quite docile. Then… three young fishers were dead, their throats torn out."

Yukio considered the information. Docile demons (rather known as friendly demons like Ukobach) normally remained docile until someone tried to destroy what they cared about, or if it was their home (for example, Kuro went berserk when the old temple he lived in was destroyed). Perhaps the teenage boys had antagonised the demon? "Were there any witnesses to the attack?"

"The two boys, but unfortunately, they won't be able to answer your questions."

Damn it…

"Set up the barriers. We catch the demon tonight."

"Alright, alright… do we kill it?"

"No… no… we don't kill it."

Why not? Yukio thought, arguing with his words. It's a harmful demon. Any harmful demon should be terminated?

His thoughts went to Rin, who was probably skipping his tutoring class.

That's why… that's why. He doesn't mean to hurt people… maybe it's the same for the demons…

The day progressed as Yukio planned. Given that it was believed the demon was nocturnal, Yukio suspected it wouldn't realise the trap being set. It was nearing sundown when the group gathered at the entrance of the temple, going over the plan a final time. Then, all that was left to do was wait for the demon to appear.

It was pitch black when the demon appeared. Yukio sat by the offering as the small figure made its way down the columns holding the temple in place. From the poor vision Yukio had, the pointed ears and elegant tail made him assume it was female.

"Who are you?" the demon demanded, quickly assuring Yukio that the demon was male. Not female. "Why are you here? Are you an exorcist?"

"Yes, I am."

A low hiss rose from the demon's throat. "Get away from me. You're gonna kill me, aren't you?"

"No, we're just going to… to…"

The demon was silent for a moment. "You're kinda cute, for a human."

Yukio's stomach twisted. The demon was flirting with him. "I – what?"

The moonlight illuminated from the demon's pale skin. Pale blonde hair that almost looked white in the dark, with black-tipped ears that twitched here and there, sensing the movement around him. Wearing a pair of lanky pants and shirt, Yukio could see the outline of scars along the demon's arms. What were they from? The demon looked young, perhaps like a fourteen-year-old boy. It was difficult to determine its age. "You're staring at me. Why're you staring?"

"I'm not–"

"Yes you are. You're wondering where I got these scars, yeah? Well," the demon's figure changed slightly, growing in size, taller than Yukio. A sly grin appeared on a thin, narrow face with cunning golden eyes that glowed in the darkness. His clothing now fit him perfectly. He looked like a young, very handsome man. "I'm a lot older than I look, Yukio Okumura."

Realising Yukio had completely fallen for the demon's trap, he lifted his gun and fired, aiming for its head. Swiftly, the cat-demon shot to the right and moved towards Yukio, reaching out with clawed fingers. "Yukio Okumura, you're slow. Come now, you don't think I'm going to kill you, do you? We haven't been properly acquainted; it'd be rude to kill you." The demon flipped back and bowed. "My name is Neko. I am the last of my kind, so I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't kill me."

Yukio fired again, injuring Neko's shoulder. Neko cried out and his body changed again, growing smaller and child-like. "That hurt, Okumura!" he screamed and jumped up into the pillars, scuttling across the framework and out a window.

We didn't have that area covered!

"Everyone!" Yukio shouted. "The demon is escaping!"

As Yukio ran outside, he felt a heavy weight bring him to the ground. "Which people? Those exorcists I knocked unconscious at each exit? It's pretty easy to predict you exorcists. You always have the same plan."

Yukio felt dread fill his stomach. "What are you doing–"

He cried out as Neko's nails dug into Yukio's arms. "It doesn't hurt that much, Yukio. All I want is a small kiss."

"What?"

"Just a peck. Nothing too intimate. I promise."

"No–"

Despite how wrong it was, despite his unparalleled hatred was for demons like Neko, he felt the need to return this small kiss. Neko's mischievous childish face, which was obviously much older than he looked, smirked and pressed his lips to Yukio's.

Oh, how Yukio melted feeling his lips pressed against Neko's.

Neko's body changed again and when they parted lips, his narrow golden eyes glowing in the light, Neko pulled away and smirked again, putting a long, elegant finger to his lips. "Well, well. That certainly lasted longer than I expected. I'm guessing you enjoyed yourself?"

"Don't – don't say that," Yukio snapped, furiously rubbing his mouth, trying to remove the taste of Neko's sweet lips from his mouth. "That… that was nothing."

"Oh, was it? I thought we had a connection." He laughed at his own joke. Neko glanced down to face Yukio's companions. "Well, they should wake up soon enough. Let's do this again sometime, okay? I'll find you, but keep this in memory of me." Neko flicked his fingers in a flirtatious movement. "Chao!"

And he was gone.

"You let him escape?" Mephisto asked, lifting a thin eyebrow. "I had expected him to play games, but not to escape completely, Okumura. I expected better from you."

Yukio lowered his head. "I'm very sorry, Mephisto. It won't happen again."

"I'd expect it will. Tell me, where did you get the hickey from?"

"I – what?" Yukio put a hand to his neck. When did he…

I'll find you, but keep this in memory of me.

"Ah, so he's found a love interest. I'd recommend you stay away from that demon, Yukio. He's dangerous; not the dangerous you'd expect."

Yukio nodded sharply and turned, closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Mephisto clicked his fingers. "You can come out now, Neko."

Neko's body was that of a young man. His voice was as soft as velvet. "'Dangerous'? You're too dramatic, Mephisto Pheles."

"I do what I can, Neko. After all, if you're so interested, why don't you go after the boy? I'm sure he'd love another hickey." Mephisto's voice dripped with sweet sarcasm. Neko smirked. Yukio would soon find it his sexiest quality. That smirk would make him fall to his knees and beg for Neko's sweet love.

"I'll make him see just how wonderful pleasure can be," Neko snickered and leapt out the window, disappearing into the forest below.

Mephisto chuckled to himself and sipped his coffee. "Oh, how delightful this play shall be. I look forward to the twist at the climax."

An evil French laugh would be appropriate, no? Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this short and sweet chapter and another should be back any day/week now :) I hope you're all having an awesome morning/day/afternoon/night and I'll read you next time!

~EmmyTheTurtle