Cough Syrup

She'd only just settled the baby down for his nap—it seemed the little bundle of joy was one of those affectionately needy children and screamed the walls down whenever she so much as glanced away from him. Guanyin had always been convinced that she was long past the days of staying up late and nappy changing, that as a Grandmother she'd only have to cuddle and offer advice based on her own experience.

The aging woman swallowed a lump in her throat as she glanced at one of the many pictures of her late daughter, smiling brightly as she always did at her from within her frame, before casting her watery gaze to the flicking tail sticking out from the crib. She was torn between her devoted love for her Grandson, embedded deeper within her each time he peeked his eyes opened and giggled happily at the sight of her, and the gut wrenching angst that consumed her whenever she caught sight of the baby's demonic traits – traits which were only symbols of the reason her daughter was no longer with her.

Eventually she pulled herself away from the all too engaging bundle, mind set on taking just a few moments to herself while the infant slept soundly for the first time in days, turning on her heel to walk out of the pastel coloured room when her heart stuttered out of a combination of shock and fear.

He was sat rocking in the nursing chair, hat off and sitting in his lap out of respect, holding up one of the many overly cute stitched softs toys she had spent the day entertaining her Grandson with between his thumb and forefinger. The demon's face was a perfect carving of reserved amusement seemingly taken with the floppy eared bunny as his eyes refused to focus on her until he was done examining it.

The chill in the air sent shivers down the nape of her neck as soon as his forest green orbs were fixed on her. An all too warm smile made her hazel eyes harden, a protective aura was obviously radiating from the human since the purple haired demon held up a hand to calm her.

"Now, now. Can't an old friend drop by to offer his congratulations and express sympathy for a tragic loss without being met with such hostility?" His words were like freshly spun silk, soothing to the ear and almost too convincing.

"They can if they were actually friends and here for such a reason." Despite Guanyin's old and fragile appearance the tone in her voice was the same as it always was, politely fierce and calm despite the situation.

They'd only encountered each other on very rare occasions, even rarer were the times when they were alone but this was the first time the Demon Kings eye's hadn't flitted down – attempting to be subtle – from her face. It was obvious why and the reason had her face pinching with anger.

"I thought it would be obvious that since I'm retired, I also retired as the wielder of the staff—you have nothing to gain from me anymore, Mephisto." It was sad to see someone always so willing to fight for her territory turn to reasoning instead, but humans, he had come to learn, were very fragile things especially when it came to the matter of losing someone they loved.

He didn't even bother with a poker face, he knew all too well of the events that had led up to this aging human caring for a new born, but the troubling plans of his brother was not a matter he had come to discuss.

"I've come to make a proposal. You may not wield it anymore, but the staff still very much belongs to you until you find another to follow in your footsteps. I'm offering you piece of mind – fail to find your successor before your time here expires and I'll be more than happy to take the staff from your possession and …look after it."

Something inside her snapped when he finished speaking, a thousand profanities and angry words flashing in her mind all directed at the coy looking demon and her eyes narrowed. It wasn't a surprise he would want the staff, after all many demons did, and she had been prepared for many years for another Demon King to attempt to take it. What infuriated her, however, was the timing of his proposal.

She followed as his forest green eyes trailed over to the cot, lingering for only a brief moment before focusing back on her, and her lined face hardened.
"Don't put up pretences with me. It's a funny coincidence how you've had all these years and yet you chose to come now the boy has been born…"

"My dear Guanyin, you misunderstand. It's no coincidence at all."

****

A bored sigh escaped his lips, face wrinkling with frustration as he watched other children his age walk down the pathway on their way to school. Dressed in what looked like uncomfortable stiff shirts and shorts that cut across the knee. They all looked ridiculous.

Rei would do anything to be able to look that ridiculous.

Despite his Grandmother being kind enough to allow the 7 year old (he'd stopped adding on days to his age because he was far too mature for that now) to sleep-in if he wanted to, the blond would still wake up in time to watch the friends he could've had go on their way without him.

It never went unnoticed that her Grandson was prone to going stir crazy, though it wasn't as though she kept him locked up day and night. They would go out and she enjoyed watching him play in the park with other children his age; Rei was such an engaging boy that it didn't take him long to find a friend to play games with. The trouble was getting him to leave afterwards.

She knew it was unfair that he was growing up without a single solid friendship, Guanyin didn't even want to focus on the strained relationship with any other family member except herself, but she was a female whose heart never ruled her brain. She was more than aware that whilst the blond troublemaker disliked it, it was for his own good.

The usual fond smile crossed her lips as she cleared her throat, stepping into the kitchen to capture the child's attention. A light chuckle escaped at the sight of him jumping in surprise from his spot at the window.

"Grandma I made breakfast!" He declared, beaming a toothy grin in her direction as he proudly gestured to two white bowls on the table – a selection of small cereal boxes and milk next to them that offered a choice between the sugar coated children's cereal he was, safe to say, addicted to all the way up to the usual "boring" bran flakes she often opted for.

"Oh, you certainly know how to spoil your Grandmother, Rei. Thank you." The fair haired woman said sincerely, tilting her head slightly to fondly watch his face light up with pride, another laugh filling the room as she took her seat next to the most important thing in her life.

Their day to day life was a set routine; something they both found comfort in. After braiding the small segment of hair, something he never sat still for, she would coax him to concentrate for a few hours teaching him a variety of subjects. It was odd that an activity they both disliked was the one thing that revitalized her completely; Guanyin knew he disliked learning Maths and found any art subject to be very boring but it was when they moved onto the subjects he actually enjoyed that her heart leapt.

Watching Rei talk animatedly about a new book, discussing his favourite character or his face crinkle as he attempted to pronounce a new word was a highlight in their home schooling, but it was when they would discuss History that she knew she had his attention. The fair haired tail would stop twitching and settle behind him, his eyes would burn with restrained excitement, and there was never a cease fire of questions.

This love of Literature and History was combined at bedtime, yet another set routine, when he would pester her with those all too large eyes and an adorable pout – Rei really knew how to wrap you around his little finger. Every night without fail she would tell him a story taken from one of the many books they'd come to collect over the years and every night without fail he'd curl up to sleep, ears twitching from the excitement of a dream, feeling content and loved. Nothing in this world had ever made her happier.
Naturally, being creatures of habit meant that neither of them was prepared to have their routine torn apart.

****

The air was crisp, the night sky full of grey clouds that would no doubt be the source of a downpour later that evening. Despite the chilling breeze not a single inch of his white ensemble made a sound and that included the softly fluttering cape behind him. When he didn't want to be caught, you weren't going to catch him. It was as simple as that.
The large house itself was lit up, orange glows from nearly every window illuminated the otherwise empty street, and he knew despite how quiet it was the humans inside were bustling around in panic – he was there for the same reason they were, after all.

Instead of walking up the steps to the door to be greeted like any other unannounced house guest the white-clad Demon King made his way along the side of the house, moving in stealth with the shadows without even meaning to – if he was ever to be seen it wasn't as though it would cause any sort of falter in his plans after all. His lips were pulled into a subtle yet still eager smirk, there were very few opportunities to cash in on his deals that were worthwhile these days but he had been waiting a little too long for the human female to die – longer than he cared to wait when his prize was something so delightful, after all.

Slipping in through one of the many side doors—the lock wasn't even considered an obstacle—Mephisto made his way through the brightly lit but empty hallway. Footsteps clicked against the wooden floor as he made no attempts to disguise them, eyes focused solely on the door ahead of him.

In the next few moments he was done. Everyone was too busy running around worrying about the old woman to be concerned with checking on their prized possession and wrongly claimed family heirloom. Gleefully twirling the golden staff between his fingertips before hiding it away within his cloak, the Demon King turned on his heel and once again walked out of the door – he had to make sure there were no mistakes after all. He was counting on the foolish humans to believe that whoever had taken the staff hadn't forced their way in.
It was as the purple haired male was making his way back down the street, as undisturbed as though he wasn't there and hadn't just stolen an ancient artefact with magical properties that even demons longed for it, that the first drop of rain fell down. His umbrella was up; blocking the droplet from touching his hat without a moment to spare, just as the heavens opened and the downpour began.

It was there. In the dead of night, a mere shadow within the wall of rain, he waited to claim his real prize and it was as his fingertips brushed over the cool metal of the staff that he knew he wouldn't be waiting long.

****

The text blurred on the worn page. Each letter and line merged together as his eyes struggled to take in what he'd attempted to read 5 times already. It was strange, considering how any story concerning the ancient English tale of Camelot enthralled the boy, but not unsurprising given the circumstances.

While his bedroom door was open by a few inches and various shadows kept walking past, no one disturbed the blond, and no one had done so in days. They had no real reason to; his Grandmother was the only one who cared enough to check up on Rei, after all, and she was in no current state to be worried about him.

His Grandmother had been bedridden for almost a week after her collapse, and the news hadn't come back as good. It had been over 3 days since he had last gone to her bedroom to visit her but that didn't mean there was a single moment the 7 year old's mind was at peace.

It made no sense to him that in a family full of Healers, both by human and exorcist standards, there was not a single thing any of them could do to save her. When the fair haired woman had first sat the boy down, she had taken a while to explain her illness in a simple way so he could follow without scaring him, but even then he could see the pain in her eyes.

There had been short lived moments of anger; had she sat down and taught him the basics of medical work the same way every other child in the family was taught perhaps he could help more, followed by prolonged bursts of forced positivity. Rei had even gone as far as to offer her things such as pain killers, bandages and cough syrup since in the few and far between times he'd needed "medical attention" those were the things offered to him. His Grandmother had merely laughed fondly at him, thanking him but declining his offer all the same.

It was a frustrating time for the child. Wanting to help the one person in the world he loved more than life itself but being powerless to do so – it was a pain both him and his Grandmother knew a 7 year old shouldn't have to go through. Yet he had done his best; bringing her breakfast and reading her bedtime stories, as though he was now the carer and she the child – keeping their routine no matter how warped they had to make it so it would work.

Another shadow passed by his door and his grip on the worn out book tightened. Rei had been trying to lose himself in the pages, trying to distract himself from the guilt clutching to his chest. Their routine had completely crumbled away the day he had stepped into her bedroom and had his eyes opened to exactly how ill his Grandmother was. Even as an adult Rei would never be sure if her transformation from rosy-cheeked Grandmother to dull-eyed skeleton was an overnight occurrence or something he'd simply been blind to in his childlike quest to avoid the truth.

A whimper escaped his lips—when he'd started crying again the blond wasn't sure—as tall shadows passing in the hallway openly discussed how they didn't think she'd make it through the night in sombre voices. It was all the push he needed to drop his precious book and slip out of the room, moving with the now fading shadows and into the dimly lit room.

The sight in the bed was not the same as it was the last time he'd been there. It was worse. The sheets were crumbled, half tangled around her far too skinny legs and half on the floor, and her clothes were all but falling from her frame. The once wise woman, who only ever spoke words of love and kindness, was now twisting in her bed muttering gibberish.

Diligently he sat on the chair pulled up by her bed, moving past the unnerving thoughts of assuming the papery skinned female wasn't his Grandmother and he'd made a mistake, and glanced at her through watery eyes. Not a single thought had flown through his young mind, not a movement was made by either party, but in the next instant he was crying.

Instead of continuing her gibberish and twisting Guanyin paused and very slowly reached out her frail hand, snatching his hand up roughly and pulling him closer.

His green eyes, still wet with the unshed tears yet to fall, went wide, and while the grasp on his hand hurt, Rei waited with baited breath to see what she would do next. Her babbling resumed, pausing in places to glance at him with a hard look.

"You're not listening to me!" Her voice, raspy and aged, snapped causing the child's mouth to fall open. There was nothing to listen to; she wasn't making any sense to him.

"Of course I am." He lied flawlessly and unlike every time throughout his life, she seemed to believe him and happily went back to talking. Her voice even and tone happy, as though she were having a real conversation, and Rei nodding in the appropriate places to prevent an outburst from her again.

Rei wasn't sure how long he'd been sat there but eventually he was squirming in discomfort. Tears rolled down his cheeks out of guilt because he simply didn't want to be sat there any longer, listening to her ramble about nothing and watching her struggle to breathe. He hated himself because he didn't want to comfort his beloved Grandmother in her last moments. It was the only time she'd ever needed him the way he'd always needed her and he couldn't do anything.

It was as he sat there, hand still being squeezed by his slowly tiring Grandmother, that clarity dawned on the frightened child. He didn't have the power to heal her and nor was there a single person in the family who could; after all the hazel-eyed female was the only one who could use the staff that could cure any and all ailments. The very staff he'd often visited whilst she slept, that still managed to make his heart race for unexplainable reasons, because he couldn't resist its call.

Perhaps, he reasoned with his hopeful childish logic, the staff would help him to help its master and make her better again. Despite the fact Rei's thoughts had often drifted off on the thought of finally holding the cool golden staff in his hands this was the only time he longed to have it for unselfish reasons.

"Grandma…" His own voice came out raspy, the tears still wet on his cheeks despite the fact he'd now stopped crying, cutting off her mutterings. While she stopped speaking her dull eyes were unfocused, the hand clutching his was surprisingly strong for something that looked so fragile, and even with his strength Rei struggled to get her to let go.

"Grandma don't worry, I'm going to be right back…I promise, just wait for me and I'll make everything better…" Shifting from his seat to the ground he turned to glance at her, skeleton face crinkled in both pain and sadness – she didn't want to be left alone. The small boy clutched at the sheets not wanting to acknowledge how scared she must be, after all the fair haired woman was too smart to not know she was dying, because he knew he wouldn't find the courage to leave her if he did.

"I love you….I – I um…" He swallowed hard, the burning sensation causing a blockage in his throat stopping anymore words from coming out. Despite having a plan, a flawless one if it worked, the crushing sensation was back on his chest every time his mind moved towards the door behind him. The skin on his face was numb to the feeling of tears running down his cheeks and chin, there was no rhyme or trigger to when they would start, and hazel eyes met with his own with tears to match.

Still sniffling, chest heaving as though he was the one with the collapsed lung, Rei diligently tucked the sheets around her. Smoothing her flaxen locks, matted and tangled, down so her bun looked more sophisticated like it usually did. At some point she'd complied and settled down into the bed, eyes closed and breathing shallow and Rei leaned forward to place a kiss on her forehead – happy to leave her resting and return quickly rather than seeing his Grandmother in a distressed state.

Emerald eyes lingered on the resting form once more from the doorway; his hands clutched into knuckle-white fists before he turned on his heel and ran from the room as quickly as his small legs would carry him. The young half demon didn't need a clear mind to make it to his destination; the pull between him and the room he was banned from was strong enough to guide him.

Rei burst dramatically through the chamber's door, the first time he'd entered the room without cautiously sneaking in, and looked around eagerly. His ears and tail, which were perked and twitching eagerly with hope only seconds beforehand, fell down in despair at the same time the child's knees gave out beneath him.

Knelt on the floor the blond gaped ahead at the now empty case, the same case which would have many copies of his fingerprints from the years he'd pressed against it, too shocked to make a sound. His hope shattered as his now wide eyes dried up, the realisation sending him beyond tears.

The sullen boy stayed in his place out of shock, tail lying unmoving on the floor behind him, and clutched the smooth wooden floor out of despair. In fact, Rei was sure that's where he would've been found had the motivation to go back to his Grandmother's side not pushed him up, clasping at the tiny shred of hope that someone had thought of the same idea and was now currently trying to heal her.

Much slower than his trip there Rei made his way back to the room, visibly shaking from being faced with a dead end he couldn't talk his way out of, unsure how exactly he could face his Grandmother empty-handed even though he knew she wasn't in her right mind to expect anything. While he knew it was more a figment of his imagination the blond would've sworn the hallway leading to the door, which he'd left open in his haste, was slowly growing colder with every step he made towards her room.

The pale skinned boy ignored the feeling raising the hairs on the back of his neck, but somewhere deep down he knew what he was walking into wasn't going to be a good sight. Not that Rei assumed seeing his ill and dying Grandmother would be something to look forward to. He pushed open the door, icy cold to the touch, and stepped inside the same dimly lit room as before.

Only this time it wasn't the same. The bed was still neat, sheets tucked perfectly around her unmoving room, and the room was silent. His ears twitched, longing to hear her speak in gargled gibberish and straining to hear her breathe, and his body began to quiver uncontrollably as though he was literally shaking with fear.

Not a word left his lips as Rei made his way forward, eyes never wavering from the form resting in the bed. His mind racing with lies as he tried to calm himself down; she was just sleeping, everything was going to be fine.

She wasn't just sleeping and in the second he admitted that it felt as though his very world shattered. The child's chest grew heavy and throat burned as the feelings overwhelmed him, reaching out to grab her hand as he had done so many times in the past to seek comfort. The hand that was now limp but still warm made no movement to grasp his tightly and Rei immediately withdrew his own in a flinch, tears dropping from his wobbling chin onto her open palm.

He was too young to know or care that his thoughts revolving the loss of his Grandmother were selfish; she was his world and now she was gone. He was hurting. He was left alone. He needed her. It never once occurred to the 7 year old that her passing was a good thing as he stood there at her side grieving for his loss, she was at peace and no longer in pain.

Chest heaving and eyelids puffy, his soft blonde locks rested next to her own flaxen ones on the pillow, his body half standing and half lying on the bed next to her as though he had no more energy left to stand. Every time he'd come close to calming himself down the thought rattled around his head that she was gone and simply stirred up the seemingly never ending supply of tears. He was too young to know how to cope with such a loss by himself, too sheltered to deal with the grief and shock.

At some point Rei had moved to the point of silent tears and the occasional choked whimper and his ears managed to pick up on quickly approaching footsteps giving him enough time to push himself from the bed and attempt to dry his face. It was while the blond was wiping under his chin with the back of his sleeve that he overheard voices talking down the corridor, Rei could only hope his relatives would understand why he hadn't gone to fetch them upon his discovery.

"I'm telling you the lying little prick stole it!" A ferocious voice barked out through the night, echoing down the hallway so sharply it resembled a roll of thunder.
"It was there this evening and the last person I saw leaving the room was him! He's always going there; I've always said the monster was created to steal it." The voice growled again, effectively drowning out whoever he was speaking to.

It didn't take long for it to dawn on Rei exactly whose voice it was, the rough man who would often catch him and drag him home. His Great-Uncle had always been suspicious of him, to the point where none of his lies ever worked, and Rei was fairly sure had it not been for his Grandmother the older man wouldn't have had a second thought of using physical punishment on him. He truly frightened Rei.

His fair haired tail curled around his torso, the split end tying itself up in knots as his heart began to thump hard against his chest. Slowly he stumbled backwards, blind without his usually swishing tail to guide him, and fell back into the chair in an attempt to press himself as far away from the seemingly growing number of voices just on the other side of the door.

The child was shaking so hard the wooden chair was rattling against the wall it rested against; logic would surely dictate that such a small body couldn't cope with so many fluxing and strong emotions. That such a young mind couldn't handle the crushing grief followed so quickly by overwhelming terror.

In his mind he was faced with another dead end; his Grandmother was dead, so there was no one to prevent those in the family against him from striking out, and they sounded so furious there'd be no way he could deflect them all in his current state. Rei couldn't even pretend he didn't know exactly the conclusion they'd already jumped to, even though for once he really was innocent, and there was no way for him to prove he hadn't taken the family heirloom. After all he was only a 7 year old child against a gaggle of adults ready to roast him alive at the stake.

The metaphor made him shudder. With the way they felt about the staff coupled with the way they felt about him Rei wouldn't put that possibility past them.

As though by a horrible coincidence another ferocious voice tore through the building, the sentence butchered in places by a clap of thunder just outside the rain soaked window but still clear enough for Rei's sensitive ears to pick up on the key words.

"…Kill Him……Not here….to protect him. Then we'll find…..the staff." The almost too calm voice reasoned, persuading the family members to join him. The proposal was met with a resounding "yes", much louder than any noise the weather outside could hope to produce.
Terrified, he rocked in place, hand reaching out instinctively to grasp the growing ever-colder hand of his late Grandmother. He needed her, he needed her and she wasn't here anymore to protect him. It wasn't fair; after all, she had promised him so long ago that she would always be around for him.

"Please….Please Grandma. You promised. Please get up, I need you," he mumbled into his knees, hiccupping in places so his words sounded even more like gibberish than anything she'd said whilst lying in the bed. "I'm scared now," the blonde squeezed the lifeless hand tighter, "I need you to protect me please."

****

Even through the silvery veil that was the rain falling down from the starless night sky Mephisto made out his form with ease. Being a Principal for a High School meant the Demon King often forgot that human children started out even smaller than they were when they attended his academy, but there was no mistaking the tiny shadow moving ever closer was the very thing he'd been waiting for.

Despite the fact he'd been out in the rain for longer than he'd like to have been, his white suit was still crisp and dry, and despite the gale-force winds, not a single hair was out of place either. He looked immaculate, as always. However his proud view on his appearance was not a shared opinion; in the tear stained eyes of Rei, he looked like an odd clown, one that he was in no mood to laugh at.

In his rush to escape whatever his family had planned as punishment, and in his haste, had forgotten to grab anything to shelter his tiny frame from the weather, choosing instead to spend the last spare seconds to place another kiss on his Grandmothers forehead, before he'd climbed out of the window.

Needless to say his blonde hair, a dark straw colour due to the rain, was plastered to his head in a matted fashion, and his thin clothes were soaked through and sticking to him like a second layer of skin. His teeth were chattering, the tiny but slightly too sharp canines biting into his bottom lip by accident on occasion, and cheeks flushed from how frozen his body felt from the ice cold rain water.

His feet came to a natural stop in front of the very tall and strangely dressed man when he didn't move out of his way, or at all, for that matter. The way his eyes, a shade of green similar but duller than his own, stared at him was very unnerving but after the night he'd been through, Rei was beyond numb to anything else that could be thrown at him.

"You look so sad Rei. Tell me, did something bad happen?" His smug voice cooed out softly over the constant patter of the rain hitting the pavement. It caused the hairs on the nape of Rei's neck to stand on end in a way the weather hadn't when he heard his name tumble from the strangers lips.

Bloodshot eyes darted upwards in surprise and fear as he stuttered out a sentence the older male could only assume was asking how he knew him; it was hard for even him to hear over the chattering teeth.

"I'm a very old friend of your Grandmother's. I was so sorry to hear she'd passed away." Again the man's voice was soft, attempting to reach out and comfort Rei's obvious distress – it only did the opposite.

"She died little over an hour ago, how did you know that?" The boy hissed in fury, his canine tearing at his lower lip as his spoke through his constantly vibrating body, both tail and ears turned up and stiff in anger and distrust. While such an appearance in a small child would, for lack of a better word, freak out most, it seemed to only cause the stranger to chuckle.

"I'm the person she entrusted the staff to." He was bending the truth only slightly but a deal was a deal and Guanyin was the one to agree to the proposition all those years ago, even if it was her attempt at preventing him from trying to take her Grandson – his nephew – as well. He took almost a little too much pride and glee from having this plan pan out so perfectly, "two birds with one stone" as the human saying went.

"Well, you'll have a hard time looking after it." Greedy eyes, rich as emeralds, stared defiantly up at him in such a manner it caused the King to raise an eyebrow in curiosity. Before he could even voice his question the child continued, unprompted.

"I had to leave…they would've killed me for sure if they found me with it." His voice broke from the emotional strain—being brought up in such a human environment had made the child soft, and while Mephisto followed, he was still confused.

The plan had been simple enough; take the staff as per the agreement placed 7 years ago, then wait for Guanyin to die. Wait for the family, proud and protective fools they were for something only a handful had the potential to use, to discover that the staff was missing and to blame the boy causing him to either run or be exiled. Collect the child and have both in his possession.

Just to be sure, a gloved hand slipped smoothly by his side, searching in his cape for the cool metal that had been there last time he'd checked. A matching look of confusion appeared on both faces as they stared at each other; Mephisto wondering where the staff was, Rei wondering why he was talking to an oddly dressed stranger when he clearly should've ran off to find the first normal adult he could.

"Who are you?"

"How did you get the staff?"

Both questions rang out at the same time, tones blurring and words overlapping, and still they continued to stare over the great height between them. Rei was the first to crack, reaching under his clinging shirt to pull out a long golden chain with a pendant attached. He could tell straight away the mysterious man knew exactly what that pendant was, but he couldn't read his reaction to this revelation.

"It just appeared, around my neck when I asked for help." He began, numb hands stuffing the chain back underneath, feeling that if he at least spoke through the events with someone – even a stranger – they'd at least make sense to him.

"I was scared. My Grandmother had died, the staff was missing…" He cut off, tongue licking instinctively at the wound on his lip as his mouth hung open. Mephisto could almost hear the pieces clicking together in the child's mind and made no effort to deter him from landing on the truth.

"You took it!"

"Of course I did. I already told you it was mine to take once she passed away." He replied curtly whilst rolling his eyes subtly—he really did hate having to repeat himself.
"You! You're the reason she died! You're the reason I couldn't save her…you're the reason they were going to kill me-"

"Old age is the reason she died; humans have such a small life span after all. You wouldn't have been able to save her with the staff; even if it has chosen you to wield it, the Caduceus does not grant life—it merely heals. Thirdly, and listen to me well, they would've killed you anyway, guilty or not. You're demon spawn to them; they fear you and your potential. You've been locked away and sheltered because that's all your Grandmother could offer you. She's gone now, Rei, and it's time to move past that life and step into the one you should've had—the one I can offer you." Mephisto toyed with the end of his goatee, ignoring the puffed out cheeks of annoyance on the child's face from being interrupted, but he really couldn't be bothered to spend any more time waiting.

"How do I know I can trust you?" The blonde's arms were curled around him in a bid to keep what little warmth his body had left, eyes glued to the ground because he was confused. It wasn't as though he'd had a solid plan when he'd opted to run away, after all.

The umbrella which had been keeping the top of his pristine hat dry tilted forward smoothly in his hand, moving slowly to cover the small boy from the rain, as he leant forward slightly to address his question.

Mephisto replied in his usual smug tone, a slight mischievous twinkle in his eye and a playful upturned smirk on his face, "My boy, from what I've learnt, it's I who should worry about trusting you."