Sweet Like Candy

Interlude 1

Mephisto waltzed down the clean white hallways, swinging his umbrella idly, though making sure not to hit any nurses or doctors rushing by with equipment or gurneys holding patients. The True Cross Exorcist Hospital was organized and neat unless major incidents happened, like the one that took place a day ago.

Many injured Exorcists were being brought in, some still being dug out of rubble from collapsed buildings. Others were being treated for severe second to third-degree burns from fires resulting from the Seraphim self-destructions that happened all around the barrier. Really, all this work was tiring him out and Mephisto found that his host would need to rest soon–light food and a couple days rest in bed, he figured. He had to be careful when he overextended his power. His host couldn't take heavy food or alcohol after using so much power and pushing the body's limits. Really, he should already be resting.

Yet, there was still so much left to do. His host was beginning to protest, but he pushed the limits with his power, slowing the process. He'd deal with it later.

As for now, he was on his way to make sure Shiro had finally vacated his bed in the hospital for another unfortunate soul to occupy.

As he'd expected, the man was doing surprisingly well for someone who'd woken up in the middle of the Campus Town Borders being bombed to high Hell. Mephisto would have gotten to the ExWires sooner had it not been for his explaining the past few months to the previous Paladin who had finally awoken on his own. He'd never be the exact same as he used to be, but he still seemed to be mostly intact in terms of physical health and abilities. His psyche was mostly unaffected aside from concern for his adopted children. Shiro always had been a tough one.

Mephisto had neglected to tell the twins of their adoptive father's awakening–he needed them to retrieve Izumo and possibly bring back Shima, if they could. It would give him the opportunity to explain that Renzou Shima was also his spy. A double agent playing the long game so he always came out on top.

Somehow, Mephisto didn't think the students would take anything other than more insult from the information. Double spies were not very popular because they allowed two different sides of one war to use them so easily and almost always ended up dead somewhere along the way. People could stand that fate being chosen by the spy themselves even less.

What a complicated world they lived in.

Mephisto had sped up the rest of Shiro's physical healing so he could hopefully get back to at least being a Senior Exorcist, if not take his position as Paladin back. Shiro was a very valuable game piece and the Time Lord wouldn't let him go until the piece couldn't be fixed anymore. Though, he sometimes wished he and Shiro could be friends. After all the Demon King and done to him, though, Mephisto knew it was much too late for that. His world wa sa lonely one, but he loved his games too much to ever befriend someone instead of using them.

A shame, Shiro would have been a lovely friend to have. There was a very short period in time where the man had been part of a friend group(made up of Yuri, Shiro, and her two friends Jenny and Rick. Sad how they'd all turned out, eh?). Shiro had just been warming up to being part of a group that wasn't just tasked with killing demons. Then Satan possessed his twin brother's body and everything went downhill from there. An unfortunate existence.

Mephisto entered the hospital room just in time to see Shiro putting on his glasses and hanging his Exorcist pin around his neck once more. He looked much better in a black t-shirt, military-style cargo pants, and an open exorcist jacket with fingerless gloves than he'd ever looked in that stupid cassock. Mephisto had had the pleasure of burning that article of clothing as soon as the doctors cut it off the man when they rushed him into surgery months ago. If Shiro was to be around him so often once more, he would have to at least look good, because thee was no way he wouldn't be giving the Time Lord shit 24/7 after he'd explained everything eh done to the kids.