As soon as Kurumao's body reformed in Gehenna, the guise of a sweet young woman faded away, and her true form shown through. Her previously white hair turned a deep blue, fairly similar in color to Rin's, and her eyes turned a muddled brown, the shade similar to that of mud. A tail whipped out from under her dress, and a crown of water formed on her head. She marched down the hall of the castle she had materialized in briskly and confidently.

"Ah, my younger brother, you weak-minded fool, I never imagined that it would be so easy to get you to agree to my offer. I hadn't realized how much the death of the girl had weakened your mind. You even shook my hand, not even realizing the peril you had just brought upon yourself." She laughed lightly, the sweet, high sound echoing through the halls. "I cannot wait to be the puppeteer to such and interesting plaything. Your sanity, already so close to falling, just needs a little nudge and it will be off of the edge; the scars on your arms have already proven that."

She marched down the hallway until she was greeted by large black doors. She pushed them open, the hinges oiled so well that not even one squeak was heard. It was a throne room that she was walking into; as she continued down to the large, black marble throne, she waved her hands. Several water naiads ran after her in full armour, as if to protect her from an unseen force. When Kurumao sat in the throne, the naiads fanned out in a semicircle in front of it and bowed.

"What do you need, your majesty?" One of them squeaked. She was a servant, and smaller than the rest, for at fifteen years old, she was many millennium newer to the world than the others.

"Get me a cup of coffee," she demanded. "And don't spill it again. You don't want to have to go through Branding again, do you?"

Similar to whipping, Branding was a type of torture reserved for water naiads. Rather than using an ordinary whip, the punished would be bound at the wrists and ankles with holy water-doused chains and then whipped with red-hot barbed wire. It was generally reserved for killers and others who broke the law, but the girl always had gotten on Kurumao's nerves.

"Y-yes, ma'am! O-of course!" The girl hurried off, her feet slapping the ground as she went. Kurumao's gaze turned to a water naiad in silver armour rather than the deep blue of the rest. She was her advisor, and had much of Kurumao's trust.

"So... Kurumao," she said jokingly, as if the she found the woman's name amusing, "how did the mission go?"

"Don't bother using that horrid alias here, in my own castle. You can simply call me by my true name- Queen Egyn, Demon Queen of Water." She waved her hand, sighing. "Of course, the name must be upheld in the presence of Rin Okumura, but here... Here we are safe. As to how the mission went, it was a complete success."

"Wonderful. My majesty, if you do not mind my asking, what do you plan on doing with the boy? Your father would be unhappy if his only daughter caused harm to his youngest son."

"What of it? My father's opinion means nothing to me. As to what I plan on doing with him..." A twisted smile crossed onto her face as she told the woman her plan.

-|°•°•°•°|-

I woke up gasping for air, having dreamed of killing the girl. Her screams haunted my sleep still, and it made me feel as if I should cry, but my tears refused to flow anymore. Deep down this scared me; had I really already moved on? Then, another thought overwhelmed my mind: had Shura recognized me? Would I walk into cram school the next day and get arrested, or even killed on the spot? I glanced at the alarm clock next to me, and sighed. Four-thirty in the morning. That was the fifth time I had woken up that night, and I doubted that I would be able to get any more sleep.

Yawning, I stretched and got out of bed. As I took my shirt off from the night before, the summoning papers that Kurumao had given me fell out of my pocket. I threw on clean clothes and stuck them in my pocket without second thoughts. After getting dressed I stumbled into the kitchen, looking for anything to eat. I searched through the kitchen until I found a box of cereal, and dumped some into a bowl along with some milk. A moment later I cursed, realizing that the milk I had just poured into the bowl hadn't been milk at all, but some of Yukio's coffee creamer. I ate the cereal anyways, ignoring the foul taste the creamer had left in my mouth.

As I ate, I wondered how I would get through the school day. I had promised Yukio that I would go to school and act as normal as possible, which probably included sitting in the seat I used to next to Shiemi. I may be able to do it, but... All of a sudden, I remembered Kurumao. She had promised that she would help me. Since I was already awake early, I could go into a spare room and summon her. Yukio would question who she was, but I trusted that she would be able to help me out. I quickly finished my cereal, cleaned the dishes, and ran off into the building.

-|°•°•°•°|-

When I got to an empty room, containing nothing but dust and dampness, I pulled out a summoning paper. I closed my eyes, and said the incantation the girl had told me to use;

"Return to me, Goddess of Darkness, and fill my heart with your shadow."

As soon as the final word was spoken, a draft filled the room and the air went cold. Kurumao formed in front of me, and as she saw me, a smile played across her lips.

"I see you have finally called me. You want help, correct?"

"Yeah... I was hoping you could... Help me with school?" All of a sudden, something occurred to me. "How will you do it, anyways?"

Her smile widened, and became almost wolfish in nature. "You will see, my young prince. In time. I will have much fun with you..." I barely caught the past part, as she had said it much quieter, but it alarmed me. Have fun with me? What was she planning? All of a sudden, Mr. Neuhaus had said in Summoning Basics: 'If a summoned demon does anything that hints at it wanting to cause you harm, especially if they were just summoned for the first time, rip up your paper immediately.'

"Yes, quite a bit of fun, in fact..." She started to laugh, and I pulled out the paper that I had summoned her with. I attempted to rip it, but it had suddenly become much heavier, as if it had turned to stone. I could not damage it. My alarm had apparently shown in my eyes, because Kurumao began to laugh harder. "You foolish boy! You are now my own personal plaything, and marched willingly into my arms."

"What did you do to the circle?" I cried, panic and anger bubbling up inside me. Why didn't the paper rip? What was happening?

"Well you see, you used the circles that I gave you, correct? Yes, that's what I thought you would do. They were created from a special enchantment that activates when any demonic entity is summoned with them. They then harden to indestructibility, leaving the summoner at the demon's mercy. You walked right into my trap, my prince, and I will make your life utter hell. I can't wait to see who you hurt next. Maybe that boy Ryugi? Or that blonde girl, Shiemi? You are my pawn, Rin Okumura, and I will play you until you wish you were dead."

I paled, and backed into the wall. "You... You..." I sank down the wall, and put my head in my hands. "What do I do now..?"

A/N I'm sorry I haven't been updating as often... 😅 I have ideas, I just get distracted. Sorry about that! I'll try to publish one to two chapters a week, since my winter break just started and I will have more free time. Sorry again!

I thank those who have voted for my book! I appreciate your support! <3

-ThatLilMarshmallow