Opposites attract

Apology

"It's sooooooo hoooottttttt!!!!!!!!" Rin moaned and groaned as he dragged himself behind Aria. They were on a mission together, at Yukio's request, to hunt for a demon eating souls of children. Yukio, as did the other teachers, wanted Aria to forgive the boy for what happened. The girl didn't care that she had died. She was devastated for the loss of Amaimon.
"Yeah I know, but let's get this over with quick so we can get back." Aria, too, was hot. She was trying to put up a strong front but she felt as if she were melting. She'd always preferred the cold anyway. Aria was about to scream in frustration due to heat exhaustion, when she spotted a dead child a few steps away. "Rin..." She pointed towards the kid as Rin looked over.
"I'll keep a look out for the demon while you put the soul to rest." Rin placed his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Don't. You have no control over your demon self and I don't plan on dying again." Aria replied dryly and summoned her heaven's scythe.
"Do you have to keep bringing that up? I said I was sorry!! What do you want from me?!" Even though Aria said she'd kill him, Rin didn't believe that. He knew Aria was too kind, too sweet and good hearted for that. Regardless, the boy tried everything he could to have her smile again.
"Just keep an eye out for the demon ok? Do not release your blade Rin." Aria crouched down next to the child. She clasped her hands together and began to pray. "Heavenly father hear my plea. Grant access to heaven for this child that has passed. I bless his soul in your name, amen." Just as Aria finished her prayer, she heard Rin call out to her.
"ARIA BEHIND YOU!" Rin ran towards her but it was too late. The demon swiped at her and Aria let out a shriek.
"Rin you idiot! You were supposed to have my back!" She placed her hand on her lower back where the demon swiped her. She bled slightly but only because her angel powers were already at work on healing the wound.
"S-sorry! I didn't see it! It appeared out of nowhere!" Rin ran to her side and examined her wound. "Y-you're already healed?!"
Aria nodded. "I'm fine. I think this demon is a Mazakim. it was probably the one who killed the child and is after his soul now. We gotta stop it!" Aria took a swing at the demon with her scythe but it was fast. It quickly jumped out of the way and tried to take another swipe at her with its horrid claws. Aria stayed next to the child. Rin pulled out his blade and he was surrounded by blue flames. "What the hell Rin! If you lose control I won't hesitate to kill you!"
But he didn't. Rin had been practicing with Shura in controlling his demon self. So far, he had not yet lost himself. As Rin fought with the demon, Aria started to pray again. She dismissed her blade and closed her eyes. "Holy father, hear my voice. Please grant me the strength to protect this child's soul from harm. Let my holy aura envelope him and destroy any demon that might try to take him." With that, a beautiful glow enveloped Aria and the dead child. As the soul was coming forth from the kid, the Mazakim lunged at her with all its might. The demon was blocked by the holy light, it acted like a barrier and bounced its energy right back at him. Aria's eyes remained closed as she spoke. "Rin! Finish it off! I can't attack while I'm healing souls!"
Rin sliced the demon in half and with a loud wail, it disintegrated into nothing. Satisfied that it was gone, Aria unclasped her hands and opened her eyes. "What the hell was that?! What did you do?!" Rin asked as he put away Kurikara.
"It's something I've been working on with Yukio." The girl bent down to inspect the child again.
"What?! That bastard! He doesn't help me with training!" Rin crossed his arms over his chest in annoyance.
Aria smiled at him but then realized she had and immediately stopped. She wanted to appear strong and still angry with the boy. Deep down inside though, she missed Rin. His smile, the way he'd do stupid things to make her laugh but nothing he could do or say now would bring Amaimon back.
"Yeah well, it's something I have to talk to Mephisto about. It's a new class of exorcist I want to propose to him. So far I think I'm the only one who can accomplish it." She said as she gently cupped the child's soul in her small hands.
"New class of exorcist huh? What do you call it?" Rin calmly walked over to her.
The little angel kissed the soul and whispered, "Have a safe journey." It disappeared shortly after. "Well, I call it Sentinel. The main focus of this class, is to provoke enemies and distract them by taking all the damage. The Sentinel only has to protect themselves because the provocation draws all nearby enemies to them. The others in the group can freely attack the enemies without fear of backlash. However, so far only I can accomplish it. Since my angel powers are like a free buffet to demons, they are naturally attracted to me and won't leave. They will stay, trying to devour me and ignore anything else. My healing is also rapid enough to keep me alive. I can heal myself and protect those around me. I can do it long enough for my team members to attack and kill any threats." She sighed. "It seems however, you were too strong for me. You concentrated your demon energy in a single blow to the heart. Anyway, I still need to work out the bugs of this class."
Rin clenched his hand in a fist. "Aria, please, I'll do anything for you to forgive me. I'm so sorry. There's not a day that goes by that I don't regret what I did to you."
"But you don't regret killing Amaimon." She replied dryly and glared at the boy.
"Well, no. I was defending myself from him." He seemed dumbfounded.
"Argh!" She rolled her eyes at him. He was right and it frustrated her. She had no reply to that because honestly, he was just protecting himself. So she did the only thing she could think of at the moment and stormed off.
"Arrriiiaaa wwwaiiiittt!!!!" Rin called out to her as he ran to catch up.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Aria was slumping in her seat while she and the time demon were driving around the city in Mephisto's pink limo. "Oh my dear, stop being so melancholy about this whole situation.~" He tapped her on her forehead with his right index finger.
Aria merely grunted in annoyance. "How can you say that? Don't you care about what happened to your brother?"
Laughing, the demon responds, "Not really, no."
Aria glares at him. "You're a cruel beast."
"You really think so?" She didn't turn to face him. Instead, she looked out the limo's tinted windows. They drove past her favorite ice-cream shop. Aria remembered how Amaimon loved going there. She let out a soft sigh.
"Have you heard anything from Raphael?" Aria suddenly asked the purple-haired demon after a moment of awkward silence.
"Mmmm.... Perhaps. Depends on who's asking!~" The girl narrowed her eyes at him. This was so like Mephisto. Always treating everything like a joke. A game where only he ever won.
"I'm asking! Tell me what you've heard!" She was losing her patience.
"What does it matter? It's not like you'll be leaving with him." Mephisto stuck out his tongue at her.
"Stop the car." Aria stared out the window once more. The limo pulled over next to a candy store and the girl was about to get out when the demon stopped her.
"And where are you off to?" Mephisto had his hands crossed over his chest.
"I don't have time for your games Mephisto. If you won't tell me what you found out from Raphael, then there's no point in me being here." The demon only smiled at her.
"Relax will you? You know, you've been very rude and moody lately. If it was anything of importance I would have told you. Now sit back down and let's continue our little search!~" Mephisto tapped the glass window and motioned for his limo driver to continue. Aria slumped back into her seat and sighed again. She couldn't stop thinking of Amaimon. She held the little hamster Mephisto had given her, in her hands and ever so gently stroked his little furry head.
"Why do I have to go? I won't have anyone to hang out with." Aria continued to stare at the hamster, too afraid to look up at the demon.
Mephisto only smirked and rested his head back on his seat. "Oh come now!~ The festival will be fun! Besides, I'll have a surprise for you at the end of the day! Aren't you excited?~"
"Not really." She rolled her eyes at him.
Mephisto looked over at her. "Why not?" She didn't reply. Sighing, the demon snatched the little hamster from the girls' hands. She gasped in surprise but said nothing. She stared at him with urgency, as if worried he would kill the little thing. Mephisto placed the hamster on his shoulder and the little guy started nibbling on a lollipop. "Aria, I can't say much now but..." His eyes seemed to hold some sort of emotion that she couldn't put her finger on. Sadness? Caring? No, Mephisto wasn't like that. "Amaimon is fine." The demon gently pet the little hamster.
"How do you know that?" Aria looked out the window again. It had started to rain.
"Listen," He placed a hand on her shoulder but she didn't move. "Amaimon only lost his host body, not his life." That got her attention. She quickly turned to him and he smiled again.
"Where is he?!" Her eyes filled with pleading and anxiousness, Mephisto had to look away. That look she gave him made him feel uneasy. She was starting to grow on him and he didn't like it. He knew eventually, he would have to give her up. Whether it be to his satanic father or to Archangel Michael, he didn't want to become attached. Mephisto had explained the same thing to Amaimon and warned him about it. Howevr, Amaimon had already fallen in love and Mephisto knew he could do nothing about it at this point. Perhaps that wasn't such a bad thing though. Perhaps it could be used to his advantage.
"Tell me..." His voice got lower and it held more sincerity than before. "Do you honestly love my brother?" He looked at her now, just as she turned away in embarrassment. Aria was too shy to answer the question verbally but she slightly nodded. "I'm sure you know, a demon and an angel can never be." Mephisto placed a hand on top of his umbrella's handle.
"I don't understand, why is it wrong?" Aria whispered and she could feel her face grow intensely hot. She just admitted to Mephisto she loved his brother.
"This is what I love about you Aria, you always try and see the good in everyone. Even when there isn't any." Mephisto was staring straight ahead. He didn't to see her expression or the pain that was probably evident in her eyes.
"Don't say that. There's always good and bad in everyone. Just because Amaimon is a demon doesn't mean he's all bad." She was staring at him and he could feel it. It made him uncomfortable.
"Really? How well do you know Amaimon? You have yet to see what he is truly capable of, my dear." Mephisto spoke softly but continued to stare dead ahead.
Out of the blue she said something that took him off guard. "What I said to Rin was wrong, I shouldn't have said I wanted to kill him." She turned her gaze out the window once more.
"Oh?" He raised a brow in curiosity and glanced in her direction. She rolled the window down, allowing the smell of the rain relax her.
"I was angry. I said those things because I let the anger and pain of losing Amaimon consume me. Now that I've had time to actually think things through, that's not what I want." Mephisto pushed the window button on his side of the seat to close Aria's window and she gave him an annoyed glare.
"You're getting my upholstery wet." He returned her glare with an annoyed look. "Shura informed me of your wings being tainted black. I believe it's because of this hatred you're holding against Rin. If you don't let go of it, it shall stain your purity and I don't know what will happen to you then." He lied. Mephisto knew exactly what would happen but he wasn't going to tell her that. Not yet anyway.
After a few minutes of awkward silence, she hesitantly spoke. "Yes, I love him." The girl started fiddling with her hands and was blushing furiously. This time, she directly confessed her love to Amaimon's brother.
"If Micheal heard you say that, he'd have a perfect excuse to kill you. Though, he probably has one already. Your very existence is interpreted as a sin by him and others like him. This love you feel for Amaimon is a disgusting abomination, in Michael's probable words..." Mephisto gently rubbed the little hamster's back.
Aria continued to fiddle with her hands as she spoke. "You know, sins changes people. Sin begets sin but I, I still want to believe, I wanna believe in the heart, the heart that feels the sin and feels the regret afterwards. It shows that light has not yet been abolished in one's heart."
Mephisto looked shocked. "Where did you hear that?"
"In a dream I had the night after training with Miss Shura. It was the day I killed those demons she let loose on me for training. I couldn't sleep because of the nightmares I keep having, of when I died. All I see are Rin's eyes right before he drives his sword into me. I felt the pain running through me and everything seems to be in slow motion, but, before I die, I always hear a male's voice say that to me in a whisper and then I wake up."
Mephisto relaxed a bit and allowed himself to recline in his seat. "I'll tell you what I said to your father the day he fell from grace. A strong will can stir the heart, but a will too strong can cut off the hearts visibility. Apologize to Rin and let go of this hatred completely."
"Did you know my father? Was he one of the fallen?" She gave him a look of utter sadness. Her warm, honey eyes beginning to fill with tears that she forced back.
Mephisto pated the girl's head gently. He motioned for the driver to stop in front of a luxurious looking store. "Let's go find you a nice kimono hm?~" He always did that. Always avoided questions he truly didn't want to answer.
-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-
There was confetti everywhere seemingly lining every inch of the city. The music was thick in the air, followed by people's laughter. Everyone in attendance was enjoying themselves. Aria was walking the streets trying to find Mephisto. One second he was next to her, yammering about simpler times and fallen snow and god knows what else and the next, he was gone. She thought maybe he had gone into a nearby shop but he was nowhere to be seen. If she hadn't been daydreaming of a certain greedy demon, maybe she wouldn't have lost him.
"Ugh! Stupid Mephisto! Leaving me out here alone! I'm gonna get lost!" Aria frantically searched for the demon but couldn't find him.
"Over here Yukio! C'mon!!" Then she heard it, Rin's voice. She turned around to see said demon running down the street, with his twin following suit. Yukio held onto a bag filled with water and a goldfish, whilst Rin was balancing a tray of Takoyaki in one hand. Aria tried to sidestep out of the way but it was too late. Rin was running too fast to stop and he only noticed the girl at the last second. BAM! The demon boy ran right into the little angel. The Takoyaki falling from the tray onto the girl and staining her new kimono.
"Ahhh sorry, sorry!!" Rin was profusely apologizing, though he hadn't realized it was Aria yet.
"Nnggghhh... It's ok Rin." Aria was rubbing her head. Realizing it was Aria who he bumped into, Rin quickly stepped back in surprise. He held his hands up in defense. "Relax I'm not going to hurt you." Yukio offered the girl a hand and she graciously took it. "Thanks." Dusting herself off, Aria started to blush in embarrassment. "If you don't mind, Rin can I please speak with you, in private? It'll only take a moment." Rin looked to Yukio, who only shrugged, and then nodded.
They walked a few paces away, to where Yukio couldn't hear. Aria was feeling extremely nervous. She couldn't find the words to apologize to the boy. She felt a knot in her throat and thought herself pretty pathetic for not just outright saying she was sorry.
"So, what's up?" It was Rin who finally broke the silence.
"Um, I just..." She stared at the ground, her hands trying to rub off the Takoyaki stain off her kimono.
"Sorry for your kimono...." Rin rubbed the back of his head.
"It's alright!" She quickly replied and gave a nervous laugh but remained silent again, unable to put into words her apology.
"Well Aria, if you have nothing to say then I guess I'm gonna go. Yukio and I are gonna meet up with Shiemi and I don't want to keep her waiting." Rin was about to turn and leave when she spoke up.
"Wait! Rin..." She was so nervous. How could she apologize to him when a few weeks ago she vowed to kill him?
"Yeah?" He was becoming impatient.
"I just wanted to say, I, I...." Her face was tomato red that her anxiety had her stammering. 'C'mon Aria just say it!! Don't chicken out!! Say it!!!' she mentally argued with herself.
"Right well...." Rin was turning to leave again.
"I'm sorry!" She finally managed to blurt out. Her heart was hammering away at her chest threatening to break loose. Rin looked at her confused. "I'm sorry for... what I said... about wanting to kill you... it's not true... I was just angry. I realized what happened wasn't your fault and it's not fair for me to blame you." There she finally said it. She looked up at Rin waiting for him to laugh at her or possibly yell but he never did. Instead he had a huge smile on his face. That giant goofy smile she had come to love. He rubbed the back of his head and replied to her.
"Well, took ya long enough!" She was the one confused now. "I was really worried you truly hated me Aria. To be honest, I was pretty depressed about it. There were nights where I couldn't even sleep!" He chuckled.
"Does this mean that we're friends again?" She meekly asked but mentally slapped herself. How could she ask that?! After those aweful things she said to him, why the hell would he want to continue being friends?!
"Friends? Hm, I don't know about that...." His response didn't surprise her. Aria, unfortunately expected it. A tiny part of her honestly thought that by apologizing, surely he'd want to be friends again. But who was she kidding? Of course he didn't want anything to do with her anymore. Rin suddenly held onto Aria in a tight embrace. "We never stopped being friends stupid!" It felt as though a huge weight was lifted from her. She smiled and rested her head on Rin's firm chest. She sighed softly and hugged him back gently.
"I'm so sorry Rin..."She whispered. "And thank's for not making this weird. I was worried you hated me..." She mumbled but Rin only blushed and closing his eyes, he gently stroked Aria's curly locks.
"Hmph, gone just a few weeks to recover and you move in on my woman in a heartbeat." Rin and Aria separated their embrace quickly at the sound of a familiar voice. From atop a nearby roof, down jumped Amaimon. He landed next to them and graced his little brother with a deathly glare.
"Amaimon?!" Aria was in shock. There he stood, arms crossed over his lean, muscular chest and lollipop in his mouth. Amaimon crushed the candy between his molars and spit out the lollipop stick, hitting Rin with it in the process. Rin merely glared at him as he watched Amaimon place a protective hand around the girl.
"Little brother, we have a score to settle." Amaimons golden eyes burned with fury.