IQ Exorcist

Part 6~Shiemi

"Good morning, strange boy who, for some reason, I agreed to follow." Rin waved, chuckling at his little joke.

"Good morning, Okumura."

"Please don't call me that. Rin is fine." Rin waved his hands in a light chuckle. "Let's go?"

Toyoji nodded, waving for Rin to follow him around the school. He pulled out a different key,

"I swear if you drag me to school, I'm leaving."

Snickering slightly, Toyoji covered his mouth. "No, nothing like that. It's a different key that lets me move around so I can get home without setting off the traps Sir Pheles has laid out." Toyoji motioned for Rin to walk through the door, coming out the other side and walking along the high bridge to the strange building. "Shiemi? Are you here?"

Gently pushing open the gate, Toyoji looked around the garden, shuffling worriedly.

"Shiemi? Where are you?"

"Yoji!" Jumping out from the side, Shiemi grinned brightly. "You're back." Shiemi stayed on the floor, her legs not working.

Toyoji nodded as he approached her. "I brought a friend. This is Rin Okumura." Toyoji waved behind him as Shiemi's eyes sparkled.

"Okumura? As in Yukio's brother?"

Toyoji nodded. "He is in my class and agreed to look at your legs."

Rin sat in front of Shiemi, unsure of what he was doing. Toyoji carefully shifted Shiemi's weight, pulling her legs out front and letting Rin see them. Large veins covered her legs, like vines wrapped around her and keeping her in place.

"What is that?" Rin ghosted his hand over the leg, tilting his head in confusion.

"That's what I want to know," Toyoji announced, glancing at Rin. "You agree with me, right? This isn't some other illness. This is a demon."

Twitch. Rin chucked out everything that was in his bag. He began scribbling on the whiteboard, flicking through the various pages in the exorcist's encyclopaedia of all demons. His eyes kept flickering from the whiteboard, to Shiemi's legs, to the book and back to the whiteboard.

"Yoji? What's going on?" Shiemi pulled at Toyoji's sleeve, a worried look in her eyes.

"I... I have no idea." Toyoji contemplated snapping Rin out of it, but that look in his eyes did not make him want to.

"Yoji!" Bringing Toyoji and Shiemi's attention away from Rin, the lady rushed into the garden. She smiled, tackling Yoji into a hug. "It's good to see you've returned. You've been leaving us without another word. How dare you just leave when your family needs you."

Lowering his head, Toyoji scratched the back of his head. "S-Sorry mum. I brought a friend," Toyoji stated lamely, pointing to Rin.

"He doesn't look like the type you should be hanging out with."

"He's Yukio's older brother."

"Really?! Oh, I miss Yukio. He is a really dependable lad."

"I know." Sighing, Toyoji lowered his head, flinching when he noticed Rin had stopped writing. "You okay, man?"

"There is a demon in here."

Screeching, Toyoji jumped back. "W-What?!"

"More specifically, a dekalp. It's not usually that deadly, but if it's tricked and possessed a human, then it will be violent." Rin lifted his head, a dark glint in his eyes. "We need to remove it before it completely takes over Shiemi."

"And how are you planning on doing that," Toyoji asked timidly.

Rin shrugged. "I have no idea. I'm theoretical."

"Shiemi! Yoji! Get out of this garden right now! Your grandmother cared for this place, but there's no use ruining your health over this damned garden!"

Shiemi shook her head. "Mum... Don't say that... This was grandmother's treasure! I hate you, mother!"

Rin blinked as Shiemi lost her consciousness, falling into her brother's arms. "Right... I'm not sure what you want from me now, so... can I go?"

~~~

Toyoji sighed as he tucked his sister in. "After grandma died, Shiemi moved in here and soon lost the ability to walk. I was so scared for her, I tried to get Yukio to see reason, but he didn't. Thank you for not ignoring us, Rin."

"You shouldn't thank me for that. I just did what you asked of me."

"You're really smart. I wouldn't have been able to do that."

Rin rolled his eyes. "Yeah, you would. Just approach it like a puzzle and think outside the box."

"I'm terrible at puzzles."

"Maybe when your sister is feeling better, I could teach you. It would be nice to have a friend."

"Sure." Toyoji smiled brightly, standing up. "But I'm not sure if she will ever get better."

"We could always drag the demon out."

"What do you mean?"

"That demon lives in plants. If we set fire to the garden, it'll have to show itself to survive."

"Don't be so ridiculous... would that work?"

Holding up his hands, Rin backed out. "I have no idea. Like I said, I'm theoretical only."

"It's not the worse idea." Walking past Rin, Toyoji entered the garden.

"Wait... are you actually going to set fire to the garden?!"

~~~

Pouring the gasoline over the garden, Toyoji stood up.

"Can I just say this is the stupidest thing anyone has ever tried to do. Ready?" Lighting the match, Rin and Toyoji retreated to a safe distance.

"Do it."

"No! Stop!"

Shiemi's shout came a second too late. The match hit the flammable liquid, and the garden was on fire. Screeching, the demon burst out of the ground, reaching out for Shiemi.

Rin slid to the side, swinging his sword around like a baseball bat and hitting the demon back into the fire, watching it burn.

Walking to the side, Toyoji turned on a tap, holy water spraying out of the sprinklers and finishing off the demon and fire in one fell swoop. "I say that was successful."

Shiemi reached down into the ash, her eyes watering. "The garden..."

"So successful," Rin scowled, sitting by Shiemi. "Sorry about your garden, but maybe this is a chance for a fresh start. You blame yourself for your grandma's death, but I don't think she would want you to live like this. Stop worrying about the past and move forward." Rin nudged Shiemi's side as he stood up. "Now, I have to go before Etsu starts ripping out the school looking for me. See you on Monday." Rin patted Toyoji's side as he left.

Shiemi smiled, slowly pushing herself to her feet. "Thank you, Rin."

~~~

"This is Shiemi Murayama. Your new classmate," Yukio announced from the front of the class, making Toyoji flinch.

"P-Pleased to meet you," Shiemi shouted, gripping her book slightly. She shuffled to her seat next to Rin and Toyoji. "Rin!"

Blinking, Rin glanced between the two siblings. "What are you doing here?"

"Yeah, Shei, what are you doing here," Toyoji asked a little too sweetly.

"Mr Okumura had the president let me enrol. This'll be fun. I'm a big scaredy cat, so I came here to toughen up!"

Snorting, Toyoji rolled her eyes. "I'm surprised you made it this far."

"Don't be so mean, Yoji! Besides, someone set my garden on fire, the thing I've been working on for the last year is gone."

Stumbling, Toyoji could not think of a comeback for that.

"Well, welcome Shiemi," Rin greeted, smiling before turning back to the front, sighing when he realised this was one of the days Yukio was teaching. He hated learning from Yukio, but it would be worth it.