When in Gehenna

A League of Their Own

Amaimon led Rin into the Cram School classroom, noticing that they were the first to arrive.  Knowing full well how much Yukio hated watching him interact with Rin, Amaimon pulled Rin into the desks in the center of the front row in the room.  He then proceeded to monopolize Rin's attention so that he wouldn't get nervous.

"I can't wait for the physical training class!  It has been awhile since we were able to fight each other.  Of course, we will have to hold back so we don't hurt anyone or destroy the school, but it will still be fun." Rin could pick up on the subtle excitement in Amaimon's voice.

"Yeah.  Not to mention how great it will be to see everyone's faces once they see how good I've gotten.  Bon probably won't believe it, or he will try to find a way that I could have possibly cheated."

"Dad would skin us alive if we ever cheated, even in practice.  After all, knowing how to fight many different ways with many different enemy types will most likely save our lives one day." Amaimon recited the last sentence like a lesson that had been drilled into his head.

"Teacher said that so many times! I think Mephisto must have always tried to cheat, since none of the rest of us ever tried anything, but we still kept getting the same lecture." Rin smiled fondly, remembering his training and how Amaimon was most often his sparring partner.  On the rare occasions when they had fought together in team battles, Rin and Amaimon always won.  People commented that their moves flowed together and they seemed to almost read each other's minds, since they rarely spoke out loud in those matches.

"I have to agree with you.  I couldn't really see any of the others trying to cheat the training.  So what do you think. . ." Their conversation was interrupted by the entrance of Bon, Shima, and Miwo.

"Hey Rin!  Are you starting exorcist training again?  I should warn you that we learned a lot over the past two years.  You probably won't be able to keep up." As Bon spoke, Kamiki entered the classroom and rolled her eyes, having caught most of his words.

"I am not rejoining the cram school.  Big Brother and I are simply visiting today since the Vatican is unable to meet with us yet.  Amaimon wanted to visit the cram school, and he brought me with him" Rin turned back to the front of the classroom as he finished speaking.

"Um, Rin, I um wanted to apologize for what happened when I was um possessed by that demon." Miwo's voice was quiet and unsure.  Rin could tell that he was still afraid of the Son of Satan, but that he also felt bad for what had happened.

"It's fine.  That was years ago and I can hardly remember it now.  Besides, all you did was get possessed.  The demon, your classmates, and my brother are far more at fault in that incident."  Rin's voice held no hint of malice or anger.  He simply shrugged off the incident that had changed his life, as if he hardly expected any better from humans.  The rest of the class who were involved in the demon incident all felt guilty at the reminder of their actions.

Everyone slowly and silently filtered into their seats.  A few minutes later, Yukio entered and walked to the front of the room.  After pausing and staring at his brother, who seemed to be passing notes to Amaimon, Yukio returned his attention to the entire class and began the day's lesson.

Rin was quickly bored with the material.  Today the class was discussing demons under the King of Rot.  As the students began listing the strengths and weaknesses common to the kin of Rot, Rin couldn't help but roll his eyes.  Although a fair amount of what they said was accurate, there were enough inaccuracies on the board to enable most Rot demons to fake their death to the  exorcists and lay low until they left the area.  None of the big weaknesses made it on the list, and there was nothing there that would work against Astaroth himself.  

At the end of the lesson, there was a pop quiz on strategy.  Rin and Amaimon each finished quickly and left the room, not allowing Yukio to do anything besides watch their retreating backs as Amaimon grapped Rin's hand and began dragging him off, the two chatting happily in Demonic.  

The next class for the day was physical training.  Once again, Rin and Amaimon were the first ones in the large space set aside for the gymnasium and training center.  They got to work stretching out and then ran a few laps around the room.  Finally, they got into their ready positions and began to spar.

As the other students neared the gym, they could hear noises that indicated a fight.  Kamiki peeked around the corner of the door with apprehension before relaxing and fully entering the room.  She was soon enthralled by the sight before her, and as the other exorcist students joined her, they couldn't help but gape either.

Rin and Amaimon were moving at speeds barely visible to the naked human eye.  They appeared to be fairly well matched, and used a variety of fighting styles.  Neither demon had a weapon drawn, and although the blows they traded were clearly painful, there were no open wounds or visible bruises on either man.  As they fought, they traded words in the demonic tongue.  

"Can you see their faces? You would think they had never seen anybody spar before."

"Yes.  This was totally worth coming to the cram school today."

"Oh, skunk hair looks angry."

"Of course he does."

"And look, Yukio must have heard something.  Be careful, he looks ready to give you another lecture."

As the two finished their match, they reached forward and shook hands, acknowledging that the bout had ended in a tie.  Before anyone could react, the duo swept out of the room and vanished down the hallway.