ITS A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE READERS!!! An actual update! I've found myself with a bit of free time and I figured that as my Christmas present to all of you I'd give you all this long anticipated update! So Merry Christmas, Happy late Hanukkah, Happy early Kwanza, and a blessed Holiday season to you all no matter what you're celebrating! Anywho, happy reading! I hope you enjoy!
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Rin PoV

We made our way back to the dining hall to finish the meal we had just left sitting on the table and to discuss what we were going to do about this Lucifer guy, since we were all in agreement that something obviously needed to be done.

"Well, should we tell Mephisto?" I ask when nobody else is giving any ideas, "He might have some idea of how to take care of it."

"I thought the same thing," Yukio answered, "I stopped by his office after I got Aoko safely to her dorm, but he wasn't there. I forgot to go back when you came in and dropped the whole Suguro situation on us. I'll go back tomorrow, but I think we still need to have some kind of plan tonight. What if he comes back for her in the middle of the night?"

"I could stay here for the night," Suguro suggested, "I'm a light sleeper so if there's any commotion going on in her room, it'll wake me up!"

"What the he**, man!" I yelled, "You're not staying in her room you perv! Quit trying to put moves on her!"

"I'd sleep outside her room you idiot!" He retorted, "It was just a suggestion. Someone's gotta keep that creep from getting to her tonight!"

"Oh, you don't need to worry about that," an unfamiliar voice entered the conversation. We looked up to see Lucifer standing in the doorway to the dining hall. The three of us shot out our seats to shield Aoko which strangely elicited a wicked chuckle from the black-winged demon, "Come, now. Is that really how you welcome guests? I'm not here for the girl. Not yet, that is. I'll still be taking her as my bride, eventually. I always get my way in the end, you know? However, I do enjoy a good bit of drama first! So I propose a game!"

"We're not playing any game of yours, Lucifer!" Yukio denied the twisted offer.

"Aww! But I worked so hard on it! And you haven't even heard the rules yet!" The demon king whined, "Hear me out, so I leave you alone with your sister and her secret, but I'll present you with a challenge every so often! I have plenty of minions and underlings that would love to catch a glimpse of the Sons of Satan, let alone face them in combat! So they're my team and your team is the four of you here."

"Huh," Suguro sighed, " 'cuz that seems fair."

"I don't believe I said it would be," Lucifer sneered, "I've never liked playing fair. It's much easier to win when you play by your own rules! Which reminds me, here are the rules! Rule number one: Your team is your team, you can't make any additions along the way! It's you four and you four only! Rule number two: if you fail any one of the challenges, you lose, and I get the girl! Rule number three: You are not allowed to refuse any of my challenges! If you do, you lose, and I get the girl!"

Aoko's eyes grew wider with every new "rule". I could see the anxiety behind her expression. The idea of the game terrified her, almost as much as the penalty for losing. Her face showed more than just worry, she was truly afraid by the demon king's challenge, and I wanted to fix that, if I even could.

"How exactly do we win?" I asked, cutting his rule list short.

"Eventually, if I run out of minions for you to fight, you will face me," He smirked, "IF you manage to beat me, you'll win and I'll leave the girl alone, but that's only IF you beat me!"

"So all we have to do is fight you and a bunch of low level demons?" Suguro asked him.

"Well if you would let me finish my rules!" Lucifer sighed, "Rule number four: if any one of your little classmates finds out about the game or about her little secret, you lose, and I get the girl!"

My jaw dropped to the floor. I looked around to see shocked looks on everyone else's faces too! Especially Aoko, who was pale as a sheet with widened eyes and a quivering lip. I could tell that most of this was scaring her already, but this really got to her. She was now on the verge of tears and everyone saw it. Suguro's expression quickly changed from shock, to anger, to determination.

"We won't do it!" He screamed, "We're not playing your game! It's just wrong! She's not some prize to be won, Aoko is a person! So, we won't do it!"

Aoko flashed Suguro a faint smile that he didn't see since he was so focused on Lucifer.

"Oh, did I not mention the most important rule? Rule number six: if you refuse my game, you lose. and I take her now," Lucifer brushed the hair out of his face to reveal his other eye. He stared us down as his eye shifted from a soft gray to a piercing blue. And I mean, literally piercing! His glare felt like an arrow. I grabbed my chest and fell to the ground. Both Yukio and Aoko hit the floor at almost the same time, but somehow Suguro remained standing.

"What are you doing to them?" He yelled frantically.

"Oh this?" Lucifer chuckled, "It's just a little obedience technique I've learned throughout the years! Think of it like a dog whistle, but for weak demons. It causes them just enough pain that they don't put up a fight. It's also a great way to keep my underlings in line, you know? But that's besides the point! The point is, they're all out of commission at the moment. Do you really think that you could take me all on your own? You, an exorcist in training, one on one versus a demon king! You don't stand a chance! So, you still wanna reject my game offer?"

"Stop it!" He screamed, "Whatever you're doing! Stop it! We'll play your stupid game, just let them go!"

"Deal," I could hear the satisfaction in Lucifer's voice, "Then I will see you all at the first challenge!"

I could hear his excessively high heeled boots click on the floor as he began to leave, "Oh yeah, and the effects should fully wear off in a few minutes. They'll be fine. For now." With that he clicks his boots all the way down the hall until he's out of earshot.

"You... Idiot..." I struggle to say through the slowly receding pain as I pull myself onto a chair.

"What was I supposed to do?" he defends, helping Aoko back up onto her chair, "You were all defenseless and I'm an aria! I can't very well fight alone, let alone a demon king! He'd have taken her right here and now! At least this way we have some time to think."

"He's right... Rin," Yukio manages as he struggles to pull himself back up. He took a deep breath as he settled back into his chair, "We need time, and if it takes fighting some lower level demons to buy us some, then that's what we'll have to do. One thing's for sure though: we're gonna need Mephisto's help."