Chapter Text
“Look out!”
You ducked, nearly completing a full somersault in the uncomfortable way you rolled across the floor. Bullets pierced the air where you’d just been, and from somewhere you heard an ungodly scream. It was nothing compared to the foul curse that left your lips. “Watch it, Yamada!”
As usual, the Dragoon ignored your exclamation in favor of reloading. Warning bells suddenly sounded in your head, and you sharply twisted to the side, narrowly avoiding the staff which slammed into the ground beside your head. The impact shook the earth around you, causing it to splinter and crack. You jumped back from the ravine forming at your feet and frantically felt the ground for your sword. Grasping the handle, you grabbed it just in time to meet another swing.
“Don’t break it!”
You scowled, a bead of sweat running down your face as you tried to push the staff away. “I’m using the blunt side!” The staff unexpectedly pulled back; the sudden shift of weight made you stumble, nearly directly into its next swing. “Anytime you want to help!”
Another round of shots sounded from somewhere behind you. “I’m a little busy!”
The staff swung at you again, and you ducked, rolling under and behind it in an attempt to gain some space. Your foot crushed through something solid, and you glanced down to find yourself ankle deep in a mole. The goblin twitched, but was quickly stilled by a sharp swipe of your sword. Despite the gravity of the situation, you grimaced.
The chanting which had been steadily echoing in the background continued, and you saw the staff begin to shake. Taking advantage of its momentary distraction, you looked away from the possessed relic and towards the clearing you and Yamada were guarding. There, hands pressed together and resting on her knees, Sato didn’t pause in her aria despite the horde of incoming demons. Considering that most of them were goblins, with the exception of a few ghouls, it wasn’t the most intimidating sight, but Yamada seemed to be keeping busy; you eyed a rat which nearly made it to his pant leg before being blasted away.
Sato must have reached a crucial section in her aria, because the staff suddenly switched its focus. Soaring past you, it made it a full foot towards her before you managed to deliver a solid whack with the flat edge of your longsword. With the hit, it was as though you had reminded it of your annoying existence; with an air more menacing than you’d ever imagined an inanimate object could possess, it turned towards you. You’d expected another attack, you didn’t expect for it to suddenly drop, shooting down to pierce the ground with a resounding crack.
The ground splintered once more, and you stared in disbelief. A huge, black cloud rose from the earth.
“Fuck.”
The swarm of locust descended upon you with little hesitation; you shielded your eyes, hacking fruitlessly at the air around you. You could barely hear Sato anymore through the deafening noise of hundreds of wings. Cursing repeatedly as you fought your way through the mob, you struggled to gain your bearings in regards to the relic.
A sharp strike hit you across the back of your head, and that was no longer an issue.
“Fuck!”
The smack had been forceful enough to make you stumble forward; you fell, the cloud moving with you, and barely caught yourself from knocking squarely against the ground. A sharp pain flared in your wrist, and you came face to face with the goblin-rat trying to scurry up your sleeve. In what was an action fueled more by human response to killer rats than your training, you frantically shook your hand, forcefully launching the lower-level demon into the distance beyond the swarm. You sliced your hand against the blade of your sword, and smeared the blood across your palm.
“Come out, you little shit!”
A fine mist poured out from the bloody pattern, swirling in the air around you before materializing as an annoyed Sylph. The air demon shot you a dirty look, opening its mouth to release a sound like grating metal. You barely flinched. “Yeah, yeah, I know!”
This didn’t seem to satisfy it; it frowned, swiping at the horde of locusts to momentarily disperse them then turning back to you. Another horrific sound, and you rolled your eyes.
“Look, I know we left things on bad terms, but I’m about to be beaten to death!"
Your familiar let out a noise surprisingly close to a human scoff. You opened your mouth to retort, but were cut off by its shriek as it surged towards the remaining insects. The scream hit them and they withered, dropping to the ground while twitching with disorientation. A wave of relief washed over you, and you let out a whoop.
“Yes!”
The Sylph swerved around, and let out another shriek. Stumbling back, you just barely missed the swat aimed at your head. “No!”
From behind your familiar, you caught sight of Yamada. He’d lost ground; now standing at least a foot closer to Sato, he was struggling to hold back both the unrelenting mass of lower-levels and the staff which seemed determined to reach the exorcist behind him and beat her to death. Sticking up one hand, you jerked uncomfortably at the shoulder as you were roughly hoisted into the air.
“A little gentler next time!”
The Sylph chattered back to you, gnashing its teeth as it transported you over the goblin-infested ground and towards your coworker. You dropped beside Yamada just in time to catch the staff’s powerful strike across the hilt of your sword. You swore at the pain in your fingers, and stepped on another mole.
“Goddammit!”
“Do you mind?” he snapped, sidestepping the ghoul that lunged towards him. “We’re trying to invoke his power, not encourage blasphemy.”
You kicked away another rat, and mourned the state of your boots. “I’m asking him to damn it, how is that blasphemous?”
He moved and you leaned back to allow him to shoot in front of you. Out of the corner of your eye, you could see your familiar weaving in and out of the horde, shrieking and wailing as it stunned the demons. Behind you, you caught a second of Sato’s aria.
“...Then the Lord said to Moses, “Pharaoh’s heart is unyielding; he refuses to let the people go-”
“How far into Exodus are we?” you yelled to the man at your side.
“Just about at the plagues,” he answered, “hold on, this is about to get worse.”
Before you had a chance to ask what he meant, the entire cave began to violently shake. Even the demons paused in their onslaught to take cover from the quake, falling back as rocks began to fall from the sky. Immediately, your familiar took to the sky above you, stretching itself out to form a sort of barrier. Your eyes shot upwards, and you blanched at the sight above you.
“Why the hell is the sky falling in on us?”
“Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand toward the sky so that hail will fall all over Egypt-” he recited, breaking off as another quake shook the earth beneath you. “Just be glad we already passed the frogs and locusts.”
You grimaced at the memory of the horde of frogs which the staff had initially spat out at you. Yamada glanced up at the Sylph. “How long will she hold that?”
“As long as I can concentrate,” you shot back, eyes wildly scanning the area around you, “which might become an issue. Look!”
In front of you, a huge wall of something was steadily rising. As it approached, you huffed a bitter laugh. “Please tell me that’s water.”
The wave crashed into you with a roar, the three of you only kept in place by the shields you quickly erected. The liquid rushed past, a stream of it splashing across your face. A rivet ran down into the corner of your mouth, staining it red.
Yamada shot you a glance. “Not water, I presume?”
“I’m going to kill the Vatican for sending me on this mission.”
Suddenly, you felt the hair tickle against the back of your neck. “Cover your ears!” you snapped, ignoring the shocked look your coworker shot you.
“Are you crazy? The shields-”
“I know about the shields, cover your ears before they burst!”
By now the wind had strengthened, blowing forcefully against your face even as you struggled against the sea of blood, almost as though it were being drawn into a breath. Realization flashed across his face, and he sprung into action.
At the exact moment that he clapped his hands over his ears, subsequently ducking behind you as his shield dropped and the blood rushed into the space where he’d been, the Sylph let out a piercing scream, expelling the air it had gathered in its enormous lungs. The waves of air raced past you, colliding violently with the sea of blood. For a moment, the two elements struggled, but you began to see the liquid be pushed back. A disbelieving laugh left your lips.
“It’s working!”
A huge piece of hail sailed towards you, knocking the sword out of your hand and into the ocean of blood. You cursed. “Shit!”
“...Now the Lord had said to Moses, “I will bring one more plague on Pharaoh and on Egypt-”
“Almost there!” Yamada yelled, reloading his gun in one smooth motion. “Just a few more seconds!”
Something like a laugh left your lips. “What are you going to do, shoot it?” You gestured towards the mass of blood which had come to a stop only a few feet from your barrier. “It’s recharging for another attack!”
Just then, a loud, groaning sound echoed throughout the cave. Like a bad omen, the blood began to seep into the ground, the sea diminishing until it was little more than a puddle.
“Yamada?”
His ammunition clicked into place. “Yes?”
Eyes never leaving the staff, you continued to speak. “Which plagues do we have left?”
A slight frown came over his face, his brow furrowing. “Locusts, gnats, frogs, hail…” he muttered, the seconds of inaction ticking ominously by, “boils, blood, death of the firstborn-”
Every trace of light abruptly vanished. “...and the plague of darkness.”
The breath left your lungs in a whoosh when something heavy suddenly smacked into your chest, knocking you over backwards. A flurry of blows came down upon you, beating against the front of your arms as you tried to shield yourself.
“Sato!”
“...and he would not let the Israelites go out of his country!” she exclaimed, finishing the aria with a flourish of her folded hands. The assault on you stopped as suddenly as it had begun, a deafening cry echoing from directly beside your ear as the demon was forced from the relic. The dark cave was illuminated with a flash of light, and then all was still. After a second, Yamada struck a match and peered down at you.
Lying on your back, breathing heavily, you directed a glare at him when he casually plucked the staff from where it lay on your chest. “I’m fine, thanks.”
He turned it over in his hands, then looked over his shoulder. “The relic is intact.”
“Thank God for that,” you snarked, “wouldn’t want anything to happen to the stick.”
The barest hint of a smile flashed over his face; you accepted the offered hand, and hoisted yourself up. Turning to where your familiar floated, you sent it another look. “You couldn’t have intervened when the ghost was whacking the shit out of me?”
The Sylph chirped in response, a vaguely pleased look on its face. You stared wearily at it. “I thought not.”
A hand clapped on your back, Sato appearing with a grin. “You were great, L/N! We should use you as a punching bag more often.”
“Sure, laugh it up.” Despite your words, a smile crept onto your face, turning into a wince at the ache across your chest and forearms. “I’d better get promoted for this.”
“Not until you stop mouthing off at staff meetings,” Yamada chimed in, wiping off the barrel of his gun, staff strapped securely to his back. You stuck your tongue at his back before turning to your familiar. Meeting its expectant expression, you gave it a tired wave.
“Ok, go ahead.”
With another, slightly less grating chirp, the air demon vanished. You watched it dissipate, grabbed your sword from the ground, then moved to face the group where they were watching you. As you began to trek towards the exit, Sato skipped alongside you. “How come it does that?”
“Does what?” You carefully stepped over a pool of blood.
“Well,” she began, “normally, Tamers must have full confidence in themselves to be able to control their familiars.”
“So?”
“So, yours vacillates between direct defiance and obedience.” The other woman barely batted an eye at walking through the filth. “I saw it take a swipe at you.”
Grumbling a bit, you dabbed at the crusted blood on your palm. “She’s just got an attitude, that’s all. I’m still in control.” Then, the rest of her words hit you. “Wait, you managed to see that even while you were in full scripture-mode?”
“She had her third eye open,” Yamada joked, and Sato lightly punched him in the arm.
“Some
of us pay attention to what’s going on.” Her gaze switched back to you. “L/N, you got hit pretty hard across the head. You should go to medical when we return.”
A grimace flashed across your face. “Ah, it’s fine, damn thing just caught me unawares. Nothing a good night’s sleep won’t fix.”
The look she shot you in response was thoroughly unimpressed. “Like the last concussion you got?”
“That was completely different!” you protested, “I slammed full-force into a haunted statue of Buddha, I heard mantras nonstop for weeks afterwards.”
She rolled her eyes before stepping out into the fresh air. “Yeah, right up until you passed out in the middle of your class. You’re going to medical if I have to escort you there myself!”
“Fine!” you exclaimed, wiping your bloodied boots on the grass before stepping into the car. “I’ll go to medical as soon as we return, I promise. When did you become my mother?”
“Don’t worry, Sato,” Yamada called from the driver’s seat, “she’s this grouchy with everyone.”
“Say that to my face, Yamada.”
His deadpan expression met yours. “You’re that grouchy with everyone.”
“I’m not grouchy!” His expression didn’t change, and you settled back into your seat with a huff. “I just don’t need people smothering me.”
“Grouch,” he teased, turning the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, somewhat drowning out the sounds of your bickering as he pulled onto the road and back towards the direction of True Cross Academy.
“I must say,” Dr. Sagami later remarked, clipboard in hand as he entered the examination room, “I’m surprised to find you here of your own will, Ms. L/N.”
You suppressed the urge to say something childish. “Yes, well, I just need you to look me over so that I can get Sato off my case. She thinks I got hit bad enough for the risk of a concussion.”
His white eyebrows raised. “Indeed? What was it this time?"
“A staff.” After a moment of silence, you grudgingly elaborated. “Across the back of the head, and on the chest and arms.”
He took in this information without comment, noting a few things on the paper. “Any residual pain?”
“Uh, yeah,” You tried to think of a spot where it
didn’t
hurt, “pretty much anywhere I have nerves. Look,” You sent him your most convincing expression, “can’t we just make this simple? You do your basic scans and checks, and I solemnly promise to let you know if I start seeing ghosts in closets or monsters under the bed.”
“These are the routine questions. And,” He peered through his glasses at you, “as far as brain damage goes, hallucinations are the least of your concerns. Think more along the lines of migraines, seizures, significant memory loss.”
You grimaced a little. “Well, I’ll let you know about those too.”
Over an hour later, you trudged out of medical, a proverbial cloud over your head as you glared at anyone who dared to cross your path. “Check in again tomorrow,” you muttered, “need to monitor for lasting damage. Damn those sycophants.”
“I don’t believe that’s quite what that word means, my dear combat instructor, but I applaud your creative instinct.”
Whirling around, you came face-to-face with a mass of purple. “Director!” you exclaimed, voice tinged with something sweetly sarcastic, “To what do I owe the pleasure?”
Mephisto met this with faint amusement. “Just passing through, Ms. L/N.” His gaze drifted to the white bandage around your head. “That’s quite an injury you’ve got there; nothing serious I hope?”
You smiled at him through gritted teeth. “Just a flesh wound.”
“Good!” Moving past you, he called the next words over his shoulder. “I wouldn’t want anything to happen to my star teacher so close to the school year.”
“Up yours, clown,” you muttered, fully aware of the demon's acute hearing ability. You trudged to your room feeling slightly less malice towards the doctors and a lot more towards the self-important peacock strutting around the halls behind you. He’d known that you’d wanted to quit teaching after last year and switch to something more involved with field work, and what had he done? Given you a glowing recommendation; so glowing, in fact, that the Vatican had refused to let you transfer on the grounds that they couldn’t justify ‘depriving True Cross of such an effective teacher’.
Well, you darkly thought, we’ll see just how effective you could be now that you were stuck here for another year. Closing the door to your bedroom behind you, a part of you noted that you should technically be working on your mission report. About three seconds later, you collapsed onto your bed. Work could wait until your brain felt a little less like it was trying to pound its way out of your skull. Shutting your eyes and willing your aching head to let you rest, you gradually drifted into a deep, exhausted sleep…
His brow was furrowed, his lips set in a frown as he surveyed the paper in front of him. His hands, wrapped in bandages and scarred many times over, turned the pages methodically. From an outsider’s perspective, the lone man seemed to be completely unaffected by the buzz of the teacher’s lounge around him. Instructors passed by, talking and occasionally laughing, but his gaze never once lifted from the page. Only occasionally did he pause, hand straying towards the pen at his side to make a note in the margins.
On the other side of the room, a young woman placed change into the coffee machine. Two beverages later, she tucked a folder under her arm and balanced the two cups alongside a pen and stack of attendance slips. Heading towards the counter where the packs of sugar lay, she passed by the couches.
“Hey, Yasutake!”
Startled by the call of her name, she whirled around. The hot coffee sloshed out of the overfilled paper cups at the sudden movement and, much to her horror, directly onto the man at the edge of the couch. He jerked away from the scorching liquid, an annoyed sound leaving his lips even as she began to profusely apologize.
“I’m so sorry, Neuhaus, I mean Mr. Neuhaus Sir, I didn’t mean to do it, I’m so sorry, let me get you a napkin-”
“It’s fine.” The two words were stony, and did not help to ease her distress. Rising from the couch, he grabbed a napkin himself, ignoring her blathering while he dabbed at the spot on his jacket. After a few excruciating seconds of this, she retreated, face flushed red with embarrassment as she ran away from the intimidating summoning instructor. He didn’t immediately return to his spot, instead choosing to work at the stain a bit longer before dropping the napkin in the garbage and seating himself, however this time on the side further away.
The frown from before deepened, and he continued his work, hands returning to their former positions as though nothing had happened…
Eyes opening, you groggily stared at the ceiling. When you checked your watch, it read four AM, meaning that you’d slept through the night. Choosing to lay in bed a little longer in the hopes of alleviating the persistent pain at the back of your skull, you shut your eyes, memories from your dream gradually drifting back to you…
Your eyelids popped open. “What the fuck?”
Staring at the toaster oven with vacant eyes, you waited for the muffin you’d bought to heat up. You’d continued with your work despite your injury, refusing to let it or weird dreams disrupt your schedule; there was less than a month left before the start of the school year, and, as much as you were dreading it, you needed to finalize your lesson plans.
“Uh, L/N?”
You glanced to the side. “Huh?”
Yamada stood there, giving you an odd look. “The toaster is done.”
“Oh.” Looking back, you realized that he was right; you hadn’t even noticed yourself zoning out. “Huh.”
He stayed in place, watching you as you plucked it from the oven and began to peel back the paper. You took little notice of him, and quickly crammed a big bite into your mouth. A few seconds of silence passed while you chewed.
“Are you alright?”
Pausing, you slowly swallowed before blinking at him. “What?”
His steady eyes remained on your face, his expression unwavering. “You spent a full minute staring at the oven, and you look like shit.”
“Gee, thanks-”
“Are you sure you should be working with your injury?”
You swallowed your irritation at the question. “I’m fine.” Another second passed, and you stifled a yawn. A wave of drowsiness washed over you, likely causing the loosening of your tongue which occurred directly afterwards.
“Have you ever had a dream about a coworker?”
He paused. Looking from your bleary eyes to the bandage around your head, he seemed to be wondering whether the injury you’d sustained had been worse than he thought.
“What kind of dream?”
You rolled your eyes at the implication in his tone. “Give me a break. No,” Another yawn, your next words coming out somewhat incoherent, “it was really weird, just like a basic scene out of real life. Like I was standing there, you know?”
“I see,” he responded, the tone of his voice making it clear that he didn’t know, “do you think it has anything to do with you being smacked across the head?”
Waiting to answer, you popped the late bite of muffin into your mouth and thoughtfully chewed, your brow furrowing. “Don’t fink so,” you murmured, voice becoming clear once you swallowed, “the doctors told me to look out for headaches and stuff, not dreams. Still, I wonder what made my brain think of it.”
He shrugged, then popped his head to the side as something diverted his attention. “Here’s that teacher’s aid I was telling you about the other day.”
You turned to follow his gaze, and your eyes landed on a girl who looked awfully familiar. “The one who you think is so fantastic?”
Nodding his head, you could tell he was barely listening to you. “I’ll introduce you to her-”
“Oh, that really isn’t necessary-”
“Hey, Yasutake!”
Deja-vu hit you like a truck as the young woman spun around. The coffee in her hands followed the same trajectory as in your dream; you watched in a daze as it landed squarely on the man you hadn’t even noticed was sitting on the couch. The aide’s eyes widened in horror at the same moment her target let out a hiss.
“I’m so sorry, Neuhaus,” she exclaimed, pulling back a step away from him, “I mean, Mr. Neuhaus Sir, I didn’t mean to do it,” Rocking forward again, she seemed torn between trying to help and keeping her distance before ultimately deciding on the former, “let me get you a napkin-”
“It’s fine.”
Even you winced a little at his steely tone; the reassurance was spoken through gritted teeth. You would not want to be on the receiving end of it. A flash of pity hit you as you watched the younger woman stumble over her words before awkwardly running out of the lounge, but it was quickly overshadowed by the feeling of What the fuck just happened?
Distress flashing across his expression, Yamada followed after her, leaving you by yourself as you stared at their retreating figures. They disappeared from view, and your gaze slowly slid to the man who had just seated himself on the opposite end of the couch. You barely reacted when one of your neighboring coworkers leaned in towards you.
“Poor kid, she’ll be avoiding him until the year’s over.”
They waited a few seconds for some sort of acknowledgement, then sent you an odd look when you failed to react at all. You were in a stupor, eyes fixed on where Neuhaus was seated. They waved a hand in front of your face.
“You with me, L/N?”
You didn’t shift your gaze when you spoke, the words slow and unbelieving. “Something really freaky just happened to me.”