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Part 1: What happened to Rin Okumura
Shiro caught the flaming demonic infant with the tip of the Kurikara sword, finally pinning the thing to the ground. The demon spat and howled and shrieked. Behind him, Yuri wailed, crying for her demonic spawn, for the child of Satan. It pained Shiro to hear her like this. But that thing, the little imp, had just killed over two hundred of the Order’s best exorcists. And it wasn’t going to stop until it was the only thing alive in this room. So Shiro pressed the sword down. The infant shrieked, the sound hurting his ears. The flames started to flow away from the imp’s body and into the sword, as if it were absorbing Satan’s power into it. Shiro didn’t hesitate, taking advantage of the opening and driving the sword into the small and soft body of Yuri and Satan’s first born child. The thing’s eyes went wide, blood gurgling out of its small mouth. The flames faded to a wisp, then went out. The child’s body went limp and silent. It was dead. Yuri’s wails grew louder. Shiro felt for his friend, his love, but it was for the best. Besides, she still had one child left, one that wasn’t a murderer and a threat to the entire world. Probably. Yuri would hate him for killing her child, but it was for the best. It was for the best. He had to do it. There was no other option.
“My, my, you actually killed it.” Mephisto said. Shiro glared at the demon. He didn’t spend much time with the demon, but for some reason he looked actually genuinely shocked. Only a little though. The expression was replaced by the demon’s usual smug expression quickly enough, as if the surprise had never been there. Maybe it had just been Shiro imagining it. He was the King of Time after all, there wasn’t any way for him to be shocked. He already knew what was going to happen. “Well done, Fujimoto.”
Shiro didn’t respond. He pushed past to go to Yuri. She needed his help now more than ever. Even though he was the one who just killed her som.
Rin Okumura: Age at Time of Death: 26 minutes
Part 2: What Happened to Shiemi Moriyama
Somehow, Shiro was now responsible for raising Yuri’s surviving child, Yukio. He didn’t think he was the best option, or even a good option, for any of this. Still, he did his best. Raising a child was hard. Really hard. It was only due to a support network of those who knew what actually happened on the Blue Night that Shiro was able to actually function. It really does take a village. After that night, Shiro returned the Kurikara sword to the Myoda temple. After he had finally gotten settled with Yukio, that is. The temple was also still recovering from that night. Shiro quietly handed the sword over to the new head priest, Tatsuma Suguro. The man was disappointed to hear what Shiro had used the sword for, but didn’t push or lecture. A lot had happened since they had last seen each other. They had both changed in that short amount of time. Shiro left quietly and without being seen.
Yukio was an anxious and fearful little boy, always jumping at shadows. It wasn’t long before Shiro realized it wasn’t the shadows he was scared of, but the demons that lurked inside them. Shiro resolved to teach him how to defend himself, so he wouldn’t be so scared. Yukio was clever and learned quickly. At five years old, the boy was begging Shiro to allow him to enroll in the True Cross’s cram school. Shiro put his foot down at that, saying Yukio had to wait until he was older. The boy pouted and huffed, but Shiro stood firm. He didn’t want Yukio to have a childhood like his. A child soldier. Still, he occasionally brought Yukio along to classes and supply runs.
The first friend that Yukio ever made was the shy daughter of the woman who ran the supply shop. Shiemi Moriyama. The girl was just like Yukio, in a way. And by that Shiro means shy and anxious. The girl ran the first time she saw Yukio. The boy cried at that, but once Shiro explained that she was just afraid of new people, Yukio made it his life’s mission to befriend the girl. She was what made Yukio interested in becoming a doctor. The Order still used herbal remedies for demonic injuries and illnesses as modern medicines were still unaware of the existence of demons. So to become a doctor within the order meant learning a lot about all the various kinds of plants and their uses. And if there was one thing Shiemi Moriyama was good at, it was plants. So Yukio learned everything he could about plants, sneaking textbooks out of Shiro’s room when he thought he wasn’t looking, so he could have something to talk about with Shiemi. Shiro thought it was cute.
He scheduled playdates for the two of them as often as possible, usually in the Moriyamas’ garden due to Shiemi’s anxious nature and unwillingness to leave said garden. She did come over to the monastery once or twice, but not for long. Still, the two both seemed to have a good time when it did happen. Yukio was over the moon to show Shiemi his room and every single room in the monastery, including the inside of Shiro’s bedroom and closet, to his eternal bafflement. Shiro never understood children, so maybe this was normal? Both of the older Moriyamas, Shiemi’s mother and grandmother, assured him that it was. Children apparently have no sense of boundaries. Shiro was just happy his kid was normal despite the circumstances. Although maybe Shiemi Moriyama wasn’t the best example to compare his child to, but whatever.
The two didn’t see each other all that often, since Shiemi was homeschooled and not always up to visits from Yukio. And despite Shiro’s best efforts, the shy girl was Yukio’s only real friend. Yukio was smart but socially awkward. This led to kids picking on him at school, but it wasn’t bad enough that Shiro felt the need to make him change schools. Yukio once asked to be homeschooled, but Shiro encouraged him to try to make friends. While he didn’t ever want to invite any of his school pals over to the monastery, Yukio did apparently have a consistent group to eat lunch with, which Shiro considered to be a win. Shiro knew he wasn’t the best role model, but Yukio seemed to be a relatively normal kid. He was a bit odd at times, yes, but Shiro was never really sure if it was because of his demonic sire, or due to Shiro’s bad parenting choices, or if the kid was just plain weird. Still, mostly normal was something to celebrate in Shiro’s opinion.
When the kid was fifteen, he enrolled at True Cross Academy with top marks and finally joined the exorcist cram school. Shiro may have teased him a little on the first day of class, since he was the pharmaceutics teacher for the cram school and the class’s homeroom teacher. Now that Yukio was living on True Cross’s campus, he was able to visit Shiemi more often. Shiro still urged him to make friends among his classmates, including in both his regular classes and his cram school classes. From what Shiro could tell, Yukio got along well with the other cram school students. All in all, things were going well. Shiro believed life was finally starting to go his way.
And then Yukio came to him crying. Shiemi was dead.
You see, a few months ago Shiemi’s grandmother died while working in the garden. Shiemi was completely crushed and refused to leave the garden since, not even returning to the house some days. Eventually Shiemi fell ill and lost the ability to walk. Yukio mentioned it to Shiro worriedly at dinner, how the girl was starting to push him away and refuse his company. Shiro reassured him, saying that she just needed some time to grieve. He promised he would go and check on her himself. Both Shiro and Yukio were busy that time of year with exams and the winter holidays, so neither was able to find the time to go and visit the girl. How Shiro wished he had made the time.
None of the doctors could find anything wrong with Shiemi’s legs. It was as if she had just lost the will to walk. Shiemi’s mother begged an exorcist to come and check on her daughter, to make sure this wasn’t the work of a demon. Again, Shiro made excuses, saying he was too busy. He was incredibly busy, but a simple visit wouldn’t have even taken very long. A low level exorcist, one who had graduated just last year, was sent to check on the Moriyamas. The exorcist determined that no demon could get past the enchanted gates that surrounded the garden, so Shiemi’s illness could not be the work of a demon. And that was partly true. The gate’s enchantment was powerful. Very few could force their way past. But a very small and sneaky demon might be able to wriggle its way in undetected…
And so, Shiemi’s health decreased day by day. Yukio went to visit often, but was often turned away. He was worried about his oldest friend, of course, but just figured she needed more time to herself. He was accepted into True Cross Academy and the cram school. He was elected as the freshman class representative. He was taking advanced classes as well. Yukio didn’t have much time for personal activities and that unfortunately included visiting Shiemi. It seemed that the only one advocating for Shiemi’s health was her mother. And unfortunately her pleas and shouts seemed to fall on deaf ears and echo out into the void.
And then that day came. Yukio came to the supply shop as usual, on a short break from his studies. He pushed open the door of the shop, only to find it empty. He looked around, and eventually found Shiemi’s mother in the lush garden, standing above a freshly dug grave. Shiemi’s name was engraved on the stone at its head. Shiemi’s mother didn’t say anything to Yukio. She just gave him a look, silently judging. Yukio couldn’t find words himself. They stuck in his throat, forming a lump. He just stared in shock. Tears filled his eyes and clouded his vision. Then he turned and fled the garden, running as fast as he could.
Shiemi Moriyama: Age at Time of Death: 15 years
Part 3: What Happened to Konekomaru Miwa
The Impure King was revived in the middle of the night. No one was asleep of course. Everyone was still on edge from the Right and Left Eyes of the Impure King being stolen. It was thanks to Sir Mephisto Pheles taking charge and erecting a barrier around the mountain that the situation didn’t get any worse. The Impure King was frozen in time and it allowed the exorcists of Kyoto time to create a more permanent barrier. Under the careful instructions of Mephisto, a powerful magic barrier was created around the mountain and would prevent the Impure King from spreading. However, it was rushed and imperfect. It was difficult and expensive to maintain. Not only that, but spores would occasionally leak through. They called it the Kyoto Plague. Modern medicine struggled to keep up. The Kyoto branch of the Order shared their herbal remedies to those that accepted, but people still died. Not everyone trusted the remedies, as they had not been approved by the official governmental bodies that regulate drugs in the country. They instead clung to modern medicine which was slowly catching up.
The Kyoto Plague spread quickly through the city and the neighboring areas, but due to its source being locked away behind the magical barrier, the plague didn’t manage to spread very far past Japan. Many who were in Kyoto at the time of the Impure King’s revival fell ill. Seemingly a little under half the population fell ill overnight. A quarantine was quickly called and those going in and out of Kyoto had to have all of their belongings and clothing disinfected and sanitized to kill any lingering spores.
Thankfully, those that survived it were immune. But not everyone survived. Most of the exwire class fell ill. Ryuji Suguro, Renzo Shima, Konekomaru Miwa, and Yukio Okumura all fell ill. Izumo Kamiki and Nemu Takara were the only two in the class who weren’t infected. Yukio doesn’t remember much from that time. He spent most of it in a feverish daze. He remembers seeing his father by his side, his lower face covered by a cloth mask. His father held his hand, urging him to stay strong, to fight the infection. Yukio was often sick as a child, he was no stranger to illness, but this was by far the worst one yet. But like always, he managed to pull through. He didn’t see his father much during his recovery. As the Paladin, he had many responsibilities. And with the revival of the Impure King in such a populated area, and the barrier that was constructed to contain it, the general public was finally learning about the existence of demons. Yukio learned that while most citizens tried to evacuate before the quarantine fell, news crews were invading the city. Everyone wanted to talk to Paladin Fujimoto, who was the head of the clean up of Kyoto City. He ended up spending more time in front of a camera than actually directing exorcists and volunteers. The only reason he didn’t allow himself to be dragged out of the city for endless interviews and speeches about the world’s sudden awareness of demons was because of Yukio, who was still too weak to leave his bed. The other exwires eventually began to recover as well. Except for one.
Yukio vaguely remembers it, in the fog of his fever. His cot was laid out next to his classmate’s. He remembers Konekomaru’s cough growing weaker and weaker over time. He remembers doctors rushing to his bedside, his own cot being dragged out of the way to make room. He remembers someone crying as they finally gave up, and pronounced the time of death. And all Yukio could do is watch helplessly as his classmate, one of his new friends, succumbed to the same illness he had. Unable to move, barely able to breathe, wondering if he will be next.
Konekomaru Miwa: Age at Time of Death: 15 years
Part 4: What Happened to Izumo Kamiki
It was during the school festival during their second year at True Cross Academy. In the midst of the celebrations, strange lights suddenly filled the sky. They hung there like the world's most ominous disco balls. They twinkled silently in the sky like low hanging stars for several minutes. People stared, pointing and murmuring. Some assumed it was a new kind of special effect made for the festival. Others were more on edge, distrustful of the unknown after the global reveal of demons.
And then they exploded.
Screams of terror echoed throughout the city. Those wandering the streets were forced to duck and take cover as rubble from buildings rained down from above. Terror filled the crowds as they pushed and shoved against one another, fighting to escape the impending stampede. A second wave of terror rippled through the once joyful crowds as flocks of demons suddenly invaded the borders of the city. Dark shapes filled the sky, blotting out the stars themselves. True Cross City had been a safe haven against demons, the creatures seemingly avoiding the place all together. But now the walls of that safe haven had been fractured, allowing the hordes to take roost among them.
Yukio was among the student staff working at the festival that night. It was all he could do to not be trampled by the stampeding crowds. Still, he did his best to calm his fellow students and carefully direct them to safe exits. Once the festival grounds had been cleared, it was almost two in the morning. Yukio all but collapsed into his bed. The next day, he and the other exwires were directed to inspect and repair each and every protective seal in the city. With the work divvied up between them, it still took several days of nonstop work just to find which of the magical seals had been broken that night. And somehow, in all the chaos of the disaster, it took a full week before Izumo Kamiki was reported missing.
Izumo hadn’t even been at the festival that night, so there was no reason for anyone to suspect something had happened to her. And since the only other girl in the cram school, her friend Noriko Paku, had dropped the exorcist course, she was left without a roommate. In all the chaos, no one was able to check up on her. She simply faded to the backs of people’s minds. Of course, her friends had been texting and calling her to no avail, but it was known that Izumo was an exorcist in training. And all of the other exwires were seen working tirelessly along with the licensed exorcists to repair the damage from the attack. All of her teachers and classmates assumed her missing class was a result of her needing to work. Each of her friends just assumed she was too tired to respond back. Noriko Paku once stopped by her dorm, and knocked on the door for several minutes straight. She only stopped when another student came out of their own dorm room to stop the noise. They told Noriko that Izumo must still be out. That she must only be coming back very late at night and leaving very early in the morning, because they haven’t seen her at all. Plus, Izumo wasn’t the most social person. It was common for her dorm mates to not even notice her comings and goings. And so Noriko left. She was worried about her friend of course, but there was nothing she could do.
It was when the exwires finally returned to regular classes that someone finally noticed Izumo was missing. Noriko returned to Izumo’s dorm room brimming with anger and worry, with Ryuji and Yukio as backup. The two much stronger boys kicked down their classmate’s door, only to find it already unlocked. Izumo’s room was a complete disaster. When the authorities were called, they announced that a struggle had occurred. Someone had taken Izumo Kamiki and she had put up a fight. But since everyone else was at the festival at the time she was taken, no one heard her screams.
There were no leads as to where she could have gone or who could have taken her until the town of Inari was suddenly wiped off of the map. The Ninetailed Fox suddenly appeared and laid waste to the small town, killing all of its residents and reducing all of its buildings to rubble. It wasn’t ever confirmed, but it is suspected that Izumo was one of the casualties of the massacre of Inari. Izumo was descended from a long line of priestesses in Inari, dedicated to the kitsune and keeping the Ninetailed Fox sealed inside of the Inari temple. However, when Izumo was young her mother suddenly disappeared. Reports show that the Illuminati had begun construction of a secret base in the town around that time as well, so someone was eventually able to put the pieces together.
The Illuminati were the ones behind the attack on True Cross City on the night of the festival. That was the same night Izumo was taken. And reports show that the Illuminati had some interest in the Ninetailed Fox, considering their presence in Inari and its closed temple. So it was easy to assume the connection as to who had taken her and where she had been taken too. And considering how thorough the destruction of Inari was, it was also easy to assume that Izumo Kamiki had perished along with the rest of her village.
Part 5: What happened to Ryuji Suguro
Tatsuma Suguro went missing the day the Impure King was revived. Considering the situation, it was assumed that he was killed by the demon before Mephisto was able to trap it. Analysis revealed that the revival took place at the old Myoda temple. The epicenter of the disaster. There was little doubt that Ryuji’s father was anywhere else. The question was if he had a hand in reviving the Impure King, or if he tried to stop it. After everything, Ryuji couldn’t shake the idea that his father may have been the traitor that Mamushi Hojo claimed he was. Of course, she was missing too. As was Saburota Todo. No one who was known to be involved in the Impure King’s revival was available for questioning, so Ryuji was left in the dark.
The aftermath was chaos. The existence of demons was now known globally. People were attempting to flee from Kyoto in droves. And to top it all off, the barrier that was created to contain the Impure King was imperfect. A quarantine was put into place by the Japanese government to try and slow the spread of the Kyoto Plague. Ryuji was one of many who got sick. Thankfully, his symptoms weren’t as bad as some of the others. However… Konekomaru Miwa and Yukio Okumura were some of the infected who got extremely sick. The two were bedridden for much longer than both Ryuji and Renzo.
Konekomaru was the first to fall ill, followed by Yukio. Ryuji and Renzo spent their days helping to attend to the sick, being run ragged by chores and busy work. It was no wonder that their bodies finally gave out and caught the disease. Ryuji and Renzo weren’t placed in the same room as the other two. The beds were separated based on severity. Still, they were close enough to be woken in the middle of the night when doctors rushed into the room. Ryuji forced his sick and tired body out of bed, hoping and praying that it wasn’t one of his friends. He got there just in time to watch the doctors pronounce Konekomaru dead. It was the first time in a long time that Ryuji cried. The doctors pushed him out of the room, saying he was disturbing the other patients. He returned to his cot. Renzo was still fast asleep. Ryuji cried himself to sleep, shoving his fist in his mouth to muffle his sobs.
Renzo didn’t believe him at first when Ryuji told him the next morning. He stormed into the room where the critical patients were kept, demanding to see Konekomaru. By then, his body had already been moved and cremated to prevent the plague from spreading further. Renzo had to be forcefully bound to his cot to get him to calm down. Ryuji sat by his bedside silently for the rest of the day.
Yukio Okumura eventually recovered, but the doctors said he would likely have complications for the rest of his life. Scars from the blisters, diminished lung capacity, frequent headaches and sinus problems, and a weakened immune system. Ryuji and Renzo, so long as they got enough rest and took the prescribed medication, would likely be able to recover completely with no lasting side effects. It sucked being stuck in bed, not able to help or do anything at all. But the faster they recovered, the faster they could go back to helping. The only upside to this whole thing is that those who caught the infection once were seemingly immune afterwards.
They were stuck in Kyoto for a while after that until the Japanese government decided they weren’t going to spread the plague to the rest of the country. And then… they just went back to class. Like nothing had happened like Ryuji hadn’t just lost one of his closest friends, one who had been there his entire life, one who was like a brother to him. It was utterly jarring, looking over to where Konekomaru used to sit, only to find empty space. Renzo took it hard as well. Konekomaru was his roommate which meant for the rest of the year, Renzo had a dorm room all to himself. For the first few nights, he ended up crashing in Ryuji and Yukio’s dorm. He claimed he wasn’t used to sleeping by himself. Even at the Myoda temple, the boys had always shared a room. So to suddenly be alone like that… Ryuji was glad, relieved that his roommate was willing to let his surviving childhood friend sleep on the floor of their dorm.
But after a few days, Renzo went back to sleep in his assigned dorm room. And after that… Renzo seemed to grow more and more distant. And suddenly, his closest friend was making excuses to not hang out. And suddenly, Ryuji was spending more time with his antisocial roommate than his best friend. And suddenly, it had been over a month since he had last hung out with Renzo. And when they did hang out, Renzo was… stand-offish. Withdrawn. Moody. Ryuji tried to help, but was only met with pushback. So he figured Renzo just needed some time to himself, to process the grief. And yet, Ryuji caught himself thinking and wishing that he would just get over it already. So that he would come back.
The last time Ryuji saw Renzo in person was when they graduated. Renzo stood next to him, grinning, and hugged him. They celebrated graduating and becoming exorcists together. And then Ryuji went back to Kyoto. And Renzo didn’t. And Ryuji realized that the last time they had actually hung out together was forever ago. The last time he had texted Renzo was at the beginning of their third year. And Renzo had made an excuse to not hang out. And that was that.
On his eighteenth birthday, only several days after graduating, Ryuji was appointed as the Head Priest of the Myoda sect. His father was dead, there wasn’t any doubt in anyone’s minds, but Ryuji had been underage when he died, so they had elected to wait until he was older. And the Order had appointed him to the Kyoto branch upon graduation. It was as if the universe had already decided his fate and everyone knew it. Ryuji knew that this would happen, that he’d one day become Head Priest, but… he’d hoped he would have time to explore the world a little before he was stuck. Ryuji never felt that way about his duty, but now it felt like he was trapped. Unable to choose, unable to decide anything for himself. Ryuji had once taken comfort in the fact that his life was predetermined, and he was proud to do his duties. But donning the robes of Head Priest, the same robes his father once wore, it felt like he was being chained and shackled in place. Forbidden from leaving, from thinking, from doing anything that wasn’t already predetermined for him. Like he was just following a script. It was a suffocating feeling. And watching what happened to Renzo Shima, Ryuji finally understood why he was always so desperate to leave home.
Part 6: What happened to Renzo Shima
Renzo Shima died the way he lived. On live television.
Demon attacks are becoming more frequent these days as more and more people are able to perceive them. A news crew is recording one such attack when Renzo Shima, famous and beloved exorcist celebrity arrives on the scene. He waves to the crowd with a smile and jumps into battle with his signature weapon. The demon is massive and destructive, but Shima is faster. He dodges and weaves and launches flashy spells one after another at the beast. It roars loudly, shaking the camera. What the civilians don’t notice is that although the spells Shima uses are big and flashy, they aren’t doing much damage. An experienced exorcist would have realized that Shima was only using low level spells that are quick and easy to fire off. But although Shima was charismatic and the face of the Order of the Knights of the True Cross, he wasn’t all that skilled as an exorcist. He was simply average. But people trusted him and looked up to him. Only the ones that didn’t actually know him, that is.
You see, the past few years, Renzo had been growing distant from his family and childhood friends. The more popular he became, the less he wanted to associate with those he had grown up with. It had mostly started when his childhood friend, Konekomaru Miwa, died of the Kyoto Plague. He started to become more closed off and secretive than usual. By the end of their second year at True Cross Academy, he had stopped hanging out with his friends regularly. He was always too busy to go out to eat with Ryuji or study with Yukio. His roommate during their second and third years, Nemu Takara, said he was barely there, sometimes staying out overnight. Ryuji tried reaching out, but was pushed away at every turn. By the third year, Ryuji no longer bothered to invite Ryuji to study sessions or to just hang out. Once they had graduated, Renzo never stepped foot in Kyoto again. That in itself wasn’t surprising, Renzo was always the type to want to leave home and forge his own path, but it still hurt. It hurt Ryuji that his oldest and closest friend wanted nothing to do with him anymore.
The only times Ryuji ever really saw his old friend was on television. Shima was always smirking at the camera, his teeth a blinding pearly white, his every word carefully planned to keep the people hooked on him and his charm. To wash away the worries of the people, to assure them that everything was under control. That if they just looked at him, and nothing else, they wouldn’t notice the world descending into chaos around them. He was a shining bright light for the future. But the problem was that it wasn’t the end of the tunnel light, the light that says the end is near. It was more like the headlights of a moving vehicle, and the audience were the deer about to be struck and killed. He gave off light that blinded everyone who looked at him instead of casting out the darkness that lurked in the shadows. But Shima was always smiling. So Ryuji forced himself to ignore the other signs written all over Shima’s face, the ones that only someone close to him would recognize, the ones that told of stress and exhaustion.
Ryuji was stuck in Kyoto since graduation, and Shima seemingly refused to enter the city, but he would often hear about Shima from other exorcists who had run across him. From what Ryuji was able to gather, Shima was an asshole. Sure, he could be a jerk when they were kids, but it had apparently only gotten much worse as an adult. He was shot tempered, dismissive, and overall blunt. He was always in a rush, always disrespectful, and only ever seemed to be in a good mood when he was in front of an audience. He was a celebrity first and exorcist last. Shima would take credit for the work of others and proclaim his greatness to the cameras, but behind the scenes he was bitter and cruel. Ryuji wondered where he went wrong, what he could have done to help Renzo, to help him be truly happy with himself, to be someone that people could actually look up to. Ryuji blamed himself for his friend’s anger. If only he had done better, or anything really, to get Renzo to open up.
The last time Ryuji saw Renzo in person was during their graduation ceremony. The last time Ryuji saw Shima alive was on TV, of course. He hadn’t expected Shima to die that day. No one did. It was just like any other day. Sure, the demon was a little bit stronger than usual, but an attack that was broadcast on live television would receive immediate attention from the Order. Backup would arrive soon, and Shima only had to hold out until then. As usual, the spells cast from Shima’s K’rik were loud and bright and flashy, suited more to dazzle and amaze the audience than to actually deal damage to the enemy. Ryuji watched, bored out of his mind. This was just a typical fight, not something to get interested in. And then Ryuji noticed it. Renzo’s face. For the first time in five years, Renzo wasn’t smiling. He looked afraid.
Renzo dodged and weaved, firing off less and less spells as the fight continued with no signs of backup. He grew slower each time, barely managing to get out of the way a few times. The crowds of civilians screamed as Renzo was struck, throwing him across the street. The bystanders pulled him back to his feet and pushed him forward. Shima gave his award winning smile, and jumped back into the fight. It was clear, he didn’t want to be here, but he could leave. He had no choice. It wasn’t the demon that was stopping him from retreating, but the people he was trying to save. They would tear him apart if he fled. But the demon was going to kill him if he stayed.
Ryuji watched in horror as Renzo pulled out his final and most desperate move. He summoned Yamantaka, the demon passed down through his family line. The attacking demon was one of rot, and shied away from Yamantaka’s black flames. Renzo smirked, starting to relax, thinking he had finally gained control of the situation. And then Yamantaka turned to look at his summoner. Ryuji watched in horror, as he realized what was happening. He watched, as Yamantaka declared Renzo to be weak, to be unworthy of his power. It happened in slow motion, almost, as Yamantaka tore Renzo apart, burning each screaming piece to ash and cinder. It was only then, once Renzo’s death was assured and broadcast live to the entire country, that more exorcists arrived and put down the rot demon.
Ryuji heard Kinzo Shima scream from across the building. Yamantaka goes to the youngest Shima upon the death of his previous master. None of the Shima siblings had children yet, hell none of them were married, so Kinzo Shima was the one to inherit the demon. It must have been a shock for the current youngest of the Shimas. Still, Ryuji didn’t move. He felt like his ears were ringing. He had just watched his best friend die on live television and there was nothing he could do about it. Was this his fate? To watch everyone he loves die?
It was later that Ryuji began to hear rumors that those exorcists who cleaned up the scene after Renzo’s death could have gotten there in time. That they had waited for something bad to happen, so that Renzo could be knocked down a peg. To teach him a lesson. Some of the rumors say they didn’t mean for him to die, they just wanted to humiliate him after everything he had done. Others say that they wanted him dead, and that they, the gossipers, were glad to see him gone. That he was a stain on the exorcist community, a blight, an embarrassment to his family and employers. Ryuji pretended he didn’t hear them. He was suffering enough already, mourning the loss of his friend. Besides, people could think what they wanted to. He wasn’t Renzo, he couldn’t sway people’s opinions with a wink and a pretty smile. Ryuji didn’t enjoy the spotlights like Renzo did, nor could he command his people with such confidence. But maybe that was a good thing. Because it was Renzo’s love for the spotlight that led to his death. And so Ryuji was quiet.
Renzo Shima: Age at Time of Death: 22 years
Part 7: What happened to Yukio Okumura
Upon graduation, Yukio took over his father’s position as the cram school’s pharmaceutics teacher. Due to his physical condition, he was unable to go on most missions as an exorcist. So he was confined to the classroom. But it was fine. Yukio was fine. He couldn’t go on missions himself, but he could train the next generation. He would still be useful. Besides, after the Impure King incident and the existence of demons was revealed to the world, the cram school had a lot more students. In fact, Shiro Fujimoto was still a teacher, he just taught the adult exorcist classes instead of the ones for those enrolled at True Cross Academy. Yukio was also in charge of teaching the basics of demons and exorcism as an elective in the main Academy. This was its first year being offered and it was incredibly popular. Yukio had a class every period, and then had to rush to get to the cram school after regular classes ended. It was nothing he wasn’t used to. This is how it was when he was still a student. He was able to manage, despite his health.
One day, while running late to class, Yukio collapsed on the ground, his lungs burning from his light jog. He was quickly taken to a nearby hospital. The doctors figured that he had just exhausted himself and needed to rest. So he was given fluids and a cot in the hallway. The introduction of demons to the world had led to an increase in demon related injuries, as well as injuries of all kinds due to demon attacks. There was also an increase of demonic related illnesses. And to top it all off, it was winter. Flu and cold season. So the hospital was busy and no one wanted to waste time on the guy who worked himself to exhaustion. But a few days later, he wasn’t getting any better. In fact, he appeared to be getting worse. A multitude of tests later, it was revealed that Yukio had the flu. A common virus, and it was the season for it. But with his compromised immune system and the late response from the doctors, it was bad.
Yukio Okumura didn’t die from anything dramatic, no big battle or terrifying demon. It wasn’t the kind of death he had imagined for himself. He didn’t die to help or protect people. He didn’t die on the battlefield or from some untreatable illness. It was a simple and common disease. One that killed people every year, sure, but one that could have been treated had it been caught earlier. If only Yukio hadn’t brushed off his symptoms and ignored them in favor of work. If only the doctors had done more, looked further into his condition.
Shiro Fujimoto outlived his only son, holding his hand as he died.
Yukio Okumura: Age at Time of Death: 23 years