The 9th

Guilt

Me realizing that this book has almost no out of story announcements: *surprised pikachu face*

Shima turned the van onto a shallow trail, the tops of trees clanking on the roof.

"I'm so totally going to die," Shima whimpered, feeling the killing intent behind Astaroth's glare. He looked into the mirror, "Listen, man, it isn't my fault! It's the branches, go take your anger out on them!"

Astaroth took his words into account and opened the van door.

"Dude, wait- what are you doing?"

Shima was ignored (again) as Astaroth nimbly climbed onto the top of the van and set up a barrier. All of the branches, bugs, leaves, and sticks that would have caused any noise turned into a pile of mush. As the King of Rot, something like this was simple. 

Shima sighed from inside the van, very, very, thankful that Astaroth's wrath had been directed somewhere else. He could slowly feel minutes of his life returning to him. His eyes drifted in curiosity towards the mirror, he stared at the sleeping demon.

Rin's breathing had evened out over the drive, his chest rose up and down softly. His skin looked deathly pale, seeming whiter than the bandages that covered the top half of his body. His hair was still in it's usual bun but the outrage of the last fight had let some hairs loose. 

Shima internally flinched as he studied the scars that poked out from underneath the bandages. It had been his people who had done that to him, it had been the humans he once would have trusted with his life. 

Rin's tail twitched and Astaroth immediately crawled back inside the van, leaving a small button from Shima's shirt to hold the barrier in place. 

Shima returned his eyes to the road and tried not to think about the princes.

------

Shima stopped the van in front of a tall house.

"Kamiki, can you get the stretcher? I think it's still in the garage."

Kamiki didn't look at him as she stepped out of the car still upset about the tsundere remark.

Shima sighed and went to open the side door for Astaroth.

The demon prince dented the open door with his hand and glared at Shima as he stepped out of the van.

Astaroth's eyes widened and he gripped his ankle in pain.

Shima held back a laugh and gave Astaroth a smug smile, "Never had that happen to you before? Those ankle sprains hurt. It'll go away in a few minutes."

Astaroth smoothed out his face after hearing Shima's remark, he had fully thought that the ankle of the body he borrowed had been broken.

"Human bodies are so stupid," he growled out.

Kamiki walked out of the garage with the stretcher spread out in front of her.

Astaroth moved back into the van to lay Rin on the stretcher, this was something he had seen before.

A fire had once broken out in one of the districts and Astaroth arrived there to personally punish the criminal, he had seen the eldest child be set on to a stretcher and wheeled away. It hurt his heart to see the younger siblings cry.

Astaroth's heart stopped hurting later when he discovered after trying to console them that they were crying about their lost toys and not the sibling that had basically raised them.

Rin was set gently on the stretcher and Astaroth held Shima's shoulders as he lightly stepped down.

He sent the pink-haired menace a glare as he felt his shoulders shaking in hidden laughter.

"You know," Shima said when Astaroth's first foot hit the ground, "it only happens sometimes. Very unpredictable. If you jumped down a second time it might not happen."

Astaroth still didn't jump. He slid his other foot down and bounded after Rin.

Shima was left outside to close the doors.

-----

Astaroth sat on his haunches next to Rin, absolutely refusing to leave his younger brother's side. He had been tasked by Iblis to watch over Rin.

That and he was already planning to never let the dark-haired boy out of his sight again. The visit's to the monastery wouldn't continue until Samael had been caught.

It wasn't like Rin had any reason to continue returning to the monastery again, both of his pals were dead and it was likely that the others would be killed if Rin talked to them as well.

Astaroth gently pushed a strand of hair out of Rin's face.

His poor brother. Subject to the wrong end of favoritism as a child, bullied at school, forced to see his only remaining friends barely twice a year, ruler of a kingdom before his one-hundredth birthday, chained to fight in a ring-like a wild dog, tortured.

That was one of the most traumatic backstories of all of the brothers.

They liked to have little competitions over their backstories, they had all moved on. It no longer hurt them.

A king had a special talent- they could become apathetic.

They never used it much, or at least, the seven of them didn't. Samael used it around the clock.

Whenever they had one of these conversations they all turned apathetic. It was the best they could do to protect what remained of their mental states.

Astaroth refused to become apathetic at this time, even though it hurt so much to see his little brother like this. He had sworn long ago to protect his two younger brothers. He was the big brother.

What kind of big brother was he if he let his siblings hurt so bad?