Shiemi was running away from a group of zombies until she tripped over her own two feet. The zombies were closing in. "Burn it up!" Rin yelled and set the group of zombies on fire with his blue flames. Rin put his sword back in its sheath.

"You save my life. Thank you so much!" Shiemi said to Rin, and he smiled proudly.

"Oh, hey, I just did what anyone else would do." Rin said.

"I knew you could do it, Rin!" Paku cheered.

"You're the one true exorcist among us all!" Izumo said.

"So cool~"  [Y/n] muttered while staring at Rin with stars in her eyes. "Well, I don't know about all of that..." Rin said.

"We weren't sure how to thank you, but..." Konekomaru said.

"Please, eat to your heart's content!" Shima said while holding a pot of Sukiyaki. Rin cheered and danced around, happily.

"Okumura! Okumura!" The teacher called. "Huh? Sukiyaki!" Rin yelled. He had been asleep throughout most of the class. "If you don't intend to pay attention, you're free to leave anytime." The teacher said.

"'S-Sorry." Rin muttered and wiped the drool from his mouth.

"Now, then..." The teacher said and continued the lesson.

[Y/n] felt like a hole was being burned in the back of her head. She turned to her left to see one of her classmates was glaring at Rin. His hair was dyed, and he had piercings with giving off a rebellious aura. He looked sort of...cool.

Then, [Y/n] noticed Rin fall asleep again. "Okumura!" The teacher yelled. 'Idiot...' [Y/n] thought.

The next class was Demonology, and Rin was still asleep. "What is the lowest-level demon related to the King of Rot, Astaroth?" The teacher asked.

"Okumura!" He yelled.

"Oh! Um...Well, I've never seen one..." Rin said while scratching the back of his head. "It's a Coal Tar! One of them is right next to you." The teacher said, and [Y/n] sighed.

Soon it came down to Anti-demon Pharmaceutics which was Yukio's class. "All right, I'm going to hand back your quizzes. Shima." Yukio called. "Yes." Shima said and got up from his chair.

"Please review the questions you missed. Be thorough." Yukio said.

"Sure thing." Shima said.

Rin noticed Shiemi's smiling face. "Why are you so sparkly?" Rin asked Shiemi while [Y/n] sat between them.

"Because I know I did well!" Shiemi said.

"Oh! Your family is pharmacists, huh?" Rin asked.

"Yes, specializing in exorcism-related products. So you could say it's my strong suit..." Shiemi explained.

"Moriyama." Yukio called.

"Y-Yes!" Shiemi answered and stood up. Turns out, Shiemi got a 41. Rin laughed. "And you said it was your shtick!" Rin said, mockingly, and [Y/n] pushed him out of the seat.

"Okumura." Yukio said, and Rin received a 2.

"Pfff!"

[Y/n] tried to cover up a laugh. Rin glared at her. "I think I have an ulcer." Yukio commented.

"Suguro." Yukio called, and Suguro stood up. "I could get a 2 even if I tried. It's because you keep fooling around with that girl. You make me sick." Bon said, and [Y/n] confusingly pointed at herself.

"Huh?" Rin questioned.

"Excellent work, Suguro." Yukio said, and Suguro stood proudly while showing his grade. It was 98.

"Wh-What the hell? No way! How could a guy like you get a 98?!" Rin yelled.

"What did you say? Listen, I came to this cram school because I'm serious about earning my exorcist qualification!" Suguro yelled, and Yukio nodded in agreement.

"Everybody here is studying hard to become exorcists! Someone clueless like you...should get lost." Suguro continued.

"Wh-What? Who do you think you are, rooster-head? You may not believe it, but I'm trying to be an exorcist, too!" Rin argued.

"Seriously! But you're always dozing off in class!" Suguro yelled, and Shima and Konekomura held Suguro back. [Y/n] and Yukio held Rin back.

"Calm down, Bon." Konekomaru said.

"We're in class, Bon." Shima said. "I've never even seen you pay attention to any classes!" Suguro yelled.

"I'm an in-the-field kind of guy! It's hard for me to be chained to a desk memorizing stuff!" Rin yelled back.

"Suguro, you're absolutely right! Go on, tell him off some more." Yukio said, and [Y/n] nodded.

"Right in the ego..." [Y/n] muttered. Rin pushed them off. "Whose side are you on, anyway?" Rin asked. "Let's see, whose side do you think?" Yukio asked, and he handed [Y/n] her quiz. "Well done, Fujiwara." Yukio said.

Rin peeked over [Y/n]'s shoulder to see that she got a perfect score. "What?! H-How?!" Rin questioned. "I expected nothing less from Eno's daughter," Yukio said.

"Really? Legendary Eno Fujiwara?" Konekomaru questioned, and [Y/n] slowly nodded. "That's so cool!" Shima cheered. Then, the bell rang. "That's all for class, today." Yukio said.

"What's up with that guy? So he's smart?" Rin asked while he, Shiemi, Yukio, and [Y/n] sat the courtyard of the high school.

"Ryuji Suguro? He's quite the prodigy. He's attending this school on a scholarship, just like me. From what I hear, he's the heir to an honorable and historic temple in Kyoto." Yukio explained.

"That's why they called him, 'Bon'" [Y/n] said while putting the hood of her cloak on her head.

"Oh, so he's a little rich kid." Rin muttered.

"He's an exceptional student, an accomplished athlete, and he's extremely attentive in class. At the very least, he works harder than you, Rin." Yukio said, "You should follow his example, maybe clones his mind, if possible."

"Clone his whole mind? That's a bit too far..." Rin mumbled.

"Well, I have another class to teach...Don't be late for your P.E. class, you three." Yukio said, and [Y/n] nodded.

"See you later." Shiemi said. There was an awkward silence. "S-So, Shiemi, what class are you in? I mean, in high school, not cram school." Rin said.

For some reason, [Y/n] felt a sting in her chest when he said her name. 'What's...wrong with me?' [Y/n] thought. Shiemi shook her head.

"I'm too shy for that...I barely went to classes in junior high..." Shiemi said.

"Hey, I hardly went to class in junior high, either. I just didn't fit in there, see..." Rin said and awkwardly laughed.

"That's sad..." [Y/n] commented, causing Rin to glare at her. "I don't really belong in this cram school, do I?" Shiemi asked.

"Huh? Why?" Rin questioned.

"Well, my goal isn't really to become an exorcist. And I'm not smart like Suguro..." Shiemi said.

"Well, sure, having a brain like that doesn't hurt...But I think the world's better off being filled with different kinds of people." Rin said.

"Well! Well! Look at the two love birds. Oh, and a third wheel." Suguro said while walking in the courtyard with Shima and Konekomaru.

"The hell we are, and [Y/n]'s not a third wheel," Rin said. "Then what are you? Just friends? Huh?" Suguro asked.

"She's...not my friend..." Rin mumbled. [Y/n] glared slightly and pushed him into the water of the fountain. "Shiemi's my friend...stupid." [Y/n] said.

"She talks?" Shima questioned. Rin and Suguro glared at each other.

[Y/n] tugged on the sleeves of her P.E. uniform jacket. She didn't what to risk her cloak flying off and getting damaged, so she had to wear a tracksuit. The pants fit right, but the jacket was a bit big on her, leaving her to have sweater paws.

[Y/n] sat curled up with her sword next to her while watching Suguro and Rin have a race. "Okay, class, this is not just a footrace, understand? The goal is to get you conditioned to demons' movements! Try to pin down the Leaper's movements!" Tsubaki-sensei announced.

"Bon's a pretty fast runner, so good for that kid for keeping pace." Shima said.

Suddenly, Suguro kicked Rin in the back, making Rin slide on the ground. [Y/n] felt that familiar squeeze in her chest as the Leaper got closer to them.

'Am I...worried for that moron?' [Y/n] thought.

Tsubaki-sensei pulled the demon away. "What do you think you're doing?! Are you trying to get yourselves killed?!" Tsubaki-sensei yelled.

"Oh, yeah? Then how about dying right now?" Rin yelled at Suguro.

"Bring it on! I dare you!" Suguro yelled, and the two began to fight.

"Idiots..." [Y/n] muttered, picked up her sword, and went to help break up the fight with Shima and Konekomaru.

"Hey! Hey! We're in the middle of class! Seriously! I can't believe either of you!" Tsubaki yelled while he and [Y/n] held Rin back.

"Suguro, would you come with for a second?" Tsubaki-sensei asked.

"Yes." Suguro said and followed the teacher after shooting Rin one more glare.

"What's with him?" Rin asked. Shima chuckled.

"Sorry about that. Bon is so serious, he can be really inflexible. Since he did get into this school with huge ambitions..." Shima said.

"Ambitions...?" Rin repeated.

"Bon wants to defeat Satan, he's studying to become an exorcist." Shima said. The image of Eno's corpse on the floor of their temple popped into [Y/n]'s mind, and she touched her eye-patch.

Shima chuckled again. "See? Makes you laugh, huh?" Shima asked.

"Huh? Was that supposed to be funny?" Rin asked.

"It's not..." [Y/n] added.

"Huh?"

"That's true. Bon is so intense because he's determined to restore our temple, which fell to ruin because of the 'Blue Night'. " Konekomura said.

"'Blue Night'...what's that?" Rin asked. "What, you've never heard it? You're one of the rare ones, then..." Shima said.

"The Blue Night happened 16 years ago when Satan massacred the world's most prominent clergymen." Konekomaru explained.

"Massacred?" Rin repeated.

"According to our own priest, on that night 16 years old...one by one, the exorcists suddenly started bleeding all over, then died spouting blue flames from their mouths." Konekomaru continued.

"Blue flames being the symbol of Satan. Our priest, who was still in training at the time, huddled in a corner until dawn since he was unable to stand. After that night, our priest finished training and took over the temple. But people were spooked that so many monks died on the same day, so they stopped coming, including parishioners...The next thing you know, people were calling it the cursed temple." Shima explained.

"Both Shima and I are apprentice monks at Bon's temple. We followed him to the exorcism cram school, hoping it would help restore the temple." Konekomaru said.

"Bon's got a lot on his plate. You can say he's driven. So try to cut him some slack, okay?" Shima asked while smiling. "Boy from the Cursed Temple, huh?"' Rin muttered.

~~~

Next, it was the Izumo, Shiemi, and [Y/n]'s turn to exercise with the demon. [Y/n] was well ahead of the group until she noticed Shiemi was falling behind and the demon was getting closer.

"Shiemi..." [Y/n] muttered and turned around. [Y/n] was able to catch Shiemi before she tripped again. Tsubaki-sensei stopped the demon.

"How many times are you going to trip, Moriyama?" Tsubaki-sensei asked.

"I'm sorry!" Shiemi said. "First of all, why are you the only one in a hakama?" Sensei asked.

"Um...these are the only clothes I have that are good for spots." Shiemi said.

"That outfit was fashionable about 100 years ago, you know that? Next, Shima and Yamada!" Tsubaki-sensei said. The three girls walked towards the ladder and climbed up to where the other students were waiting.

"You were pretty fast out there. Good job." Rin said with a smile and held his hand up. [Y/n] tilted her head slightly and slowly raised her hand. Rin gave her a high-five.

[Y/n] looked down at her slightly stinging hand. It felt nice to have someone there to finally encourage, instead of bringing her down.

[Y/n] seemed to have a bright, happy aura around her. Rin smiled a bit while glancing at the girl. The tracksuit made her look so small and cute in Rin's opinion.

"[Y/n]..."

"I'm tired." [Y/n] muttered. She was back to her blank self.

"Huh?"

Suddenly, someone's phone rang. "Whose cell is that? In the middle of class?" Suguro questioned.

"Hello?...This is he..." Tsubaki-sensei said on the phone, "What's the matter, Honey?...Y-You mean right now? You really are a handful, my cute little kitty!" Tsubaki said and hung up, "Listen up! The rest of this class will be a study hall!"

"Huh?"

"Listen to me! Normally, the Leaper is a docile demon, but he has the annoying habit of reading people's emotions and attacking. Until I get back, you're not to go down tot he field, and you're to stay out of the range of the Leaper's chains! Got it? All right, that's it for me! I'm on my way, my cute kitty!" Tsubaki-sensei rambled and rushed off.

"Did you hear that? He said, 'my cute little kitty'." Shima said.

"And a study hall, for a P.E. class?" Izumo asked.

"Is that even allowed?" Paku asked.

"What the heck? And he calls himself a teacher? I thought that True Cross Academy was a sacred place of learning where the highly motivated gathered...And the students aren't any better, either!" Suguro yelled. [Y/n] sighed along with Shima.

"Oh, come on! You need to shut the hell up! How do you know that I'm not motivated?" Rin asked.

"I can tell by the way you act in class! You're some spoiled rich kid getting special treatment, aren't you?" Suguro asked.

"That's...a bit immature." [Y/n] said.

Suguro glared. "Shut up, Fujiwara! Your mom was probably got you here!" Suguro said, and for the first time, the whole class witnessed [Y/n]'s blank face slowly turn pure rage.

Rin's arms wrapped around [Y/n] as he held [Y/n] back from charging at Suguro.

"Don't you dare act like you know me and my family! I don't care what I promised my mother, if you talk about her again, I swear I'll end you!" [Y/n] growled while glaring.

"If you're telling me you're motivated, then why don't you prove it?" Suguro asked.

"Prove it? How?" Rin questioned then Suguro pointed at the Leaper.

"With that! If you can touch it and return without getting attacked, you win. A Leaper will look into your eyes, and try to read your emotions. Fear, anger, grief, jealousy....whatever it sees, you're dead if you waver and look away. Because that's when it'll attack. If you're trying to be a true exorcist, you wouldn't lose control of your emotions over a scrub like that. If you make it back here in one piece, It'll be glad to acknowledge that you're serious about this!" Suguro explained, "Of course, I'll give it a shot, too. Naturally, I'll win. What's it gonna be? Make up your mind!"

"Huh, interesting. Sure, I'll do it." Rin said, and [Y/n]'s grip on Rin's wrist tightened, "Is that what you thought I'd say? Dumbass. I'm not doing it! What if I get killed by accident?"

[Y/n]'s heart began to race, and she felt light-headed from the blood rushing to her face when she realized Rin was still holding her. "And besides, I have the same ambition as you. No way am I gonna risk my life over something petty like this!" Rin said and let [Y/n] go.

Suguro glared at his friends. "You told him, didn't you?" Suguro asked, and his friend nervously looked away, "Ambition, my foot! You're just spooked, that's all!"

"Say whatever you want." Rin said, and Suguro glared.

"Damn! Every last one of you...making fun of me. Every one of you...why don't you try to fight!? Aren't you bitter? I'm gonna do it. You just stand there and watch." Suguro said and slid onto the field. "I'm gonna become a real exorcist and defeat Satan!"He announced.

There was a silence, and Izumo laughed. "Jeez...what is he saying, that he's going to defeat Satan? What is he, a child?" Izumo questioned.

"P-Please, don't say that. Everyone has a dream that they should follow." [Y/n] spoke.

"Oh, the doll finally speaks her mind," Izumo said, smugly.

Suddenly, the demon roared, ready to attack Suguro. Rin and [Y/n] both jumped into action. [Y/n] pulled Suguro out of the way, causing her eye-patch to fall off.

Rin and [Y/n] stood side-by-side to stop the demon. When in the Leaper looked into their navy blue eyes, it instantly stopped.

"What do you think you're doing? Are you a moron? Listen up, and listen closely! We're the only ones going to defeat Satan! Stay the hell back!" Rin announced while [Y/n] covered her left eye with her hand.

"Listen, you're the moron! What if you got killed. And don't copy my ambition." Suguro said.

"Huh? I never copied anything. I'm the original." Rin said. "You both are morons..." [Y/n] muttered.

"Why'd you save me? You threatened to kill me." Suguro said and picked up her eye-patch. [Y/n] was flustered a bit by the question. She honestly didn't know.

"I..I-I have no people skills at all." [Y/n] muttered.

"Huh?"

"B-But...I really thought you were cool. Let's defeat Satan together." [Y/n] said and held up her hand to Suguro.

Suguro blushed a bit. "S-Sure..." He said and gave [Y/n] a high-five. Rin was a bit jealous while watching the little scene.

~~~

During the break period, Rin set a stack of textbooks on the desk. "What's going on, Rin?" Yukio asked. "I'm studying, Yukio, studying!" Rin said.

"Huh? Is this some kind of bad omen?" Yukio said. "What's that supposed to mean, Four-eyes?! Anyway, this hair really gets in the way." Rin said. Suguro walked into class and stopped in front of Rin.

"What do you want? Did you come to mock me, too?" Rin asked.

"I didn't get a chance to tell you both yesterday..." Suguro muttered and glanced at [Y/n], who was sitting next to Rin. She looked up from the book she was reading.

Then, Suguro blushed. "Thanks." He said. [Y/n] eyes widened a bit. 'Cute.' [Y/n] thought, and Suguro handed Rin a hairpin.

"I use this to keep my hair out of the way when I study at night. You can borrow it." Suguro said.

"This is creepy...maybe it's a bad omen." Rin said. "What's that's supposed to mean? You big ape, I was being sincere." Suguro yelled.

'Morons...' [Y/n] thought, but she couldn't help but smile a little.