It's so hot...
It's no good.
I should eat this up before it melts.
Now this is what summer's all about!
Hey there, Kuro!
I'm back.
Nice work out there.
That cat's been like that lately, hasn't it?
It doesn't eat, and it keeps ignoring us.
Yeah, I know.
It's pretty smart,
so it might have noticed something already.
So, what happens if that familiar...
...finally finds out its master is dead?
It might hear you.
Sorry about that.
I didn't think it was within earshot of us.
In any case,
it'd probably revert to being a wild demon if it found out.
If that happens, then without a doubt...
Black Cat
The Tenth Story
Welcome back.
The shop near here wasn't carrying this anymore,
so I had to go to the store at the back instead.
It sucks how hot it is here.
This 'high-class' academy should start putting in some air conditioners.
Right?
There's nothing we can do.
This place is too old for that.
And besides, we don't really need air conditioning around here.
Electric fans should be enough.
But still...
That aside, Nii-san...
Where's the mineral water I asked for?
Oh, sorry.
I totally forgot.
Well, I forgot all about it because...
Because it's transparent!
Do you want one of my Gori-Gori ice pops?
You got two of those instead?
Forget it, I'll just buy one myself later.
What's with you?
Man, today's a Sunday, but I'm stuck at home doing homework and theme reports!
I finally became an Esquire after all that,
but in the end, it's no different from being a Page.
To add more to that, it's shown here that Esquires are ranked pretty low.
What's your ranking in this chart?
I'm a middle class Exorcist.
Middle class, middle class...
What's this?!
You're not much of an Exorcist yourself, are you?
I don't want to hear that from you, Nii-san.
How long does it take for someone to reach the highest rank, Paladin?
I want to do some missions so I can quickly go up the rankings.
The Paladin rank is given exclusively to a single Exorcist.
It's not something that just anyone can attain.
Besides, they won't let you take missions that easily in the first place.
Huh?
Nii-san, you often disobey the orders you're given.
You can't even complete the simplest errands you've been tasked with.
That much is clear.
Hey, take that back!
And another thing...
That fighting style of yours relies too much on Satan's power.
Try to restrain yourself from drawing your sword every chance you get.
No matter how fast of a healer you are,
you can't let your body keep taking hits in battle.
If you keep that up,
it won't be long
until Satan's power finally destroys you.
What's wrong with using it?!
It should be fine since it saved me in the end, right?!
Quit lecturing me like our old man did,
especially since you almost lost back then!
This is for your own good, Nii-san!
Father would've told you the same thing.
I'm sure that's he rolling over in his grave
worried sick about you.
That damned old man isn't that sensitive towards me!
'Damned old man'?
How much longer do you plan on acting like a brat?
Grow up already!
Well, you're the one trying to act cool by pretending to be so mature.
Don't get all cocky on me just because you can make
hearts pop out of Shiemi's eyes with your smarts!
Huh?!
What does Shiemi-san have to do with this?
I never get cocky,
and I definitely don't make hearts pop out of her eyes!
Yes you do, four-eyes!
You're wearing glasses already, and yet you still don't see that?
You dumb four-eyes!
Dumb?
I don't want to hear that from someone who can't even manage to run a simple errand at his age.
Wai-
You're still going on about that?! How stubborn!
It's the same thing with your fighting style.
You lack skills and knowledge, so you only rely on brute strength.
Put that brain of yours to work!
What was that, four-eyes?!
It's a miracle!
A miracle just happened!
This isn't something you should be laughing at!
Yes, it's Okumura.
Yes.
I'll head there right away.
Did you just get a mission?
This doesn't concern you.
He has a lot of spares in there!
I'm Okumura Yukio, a middle first class Exorcist.
Okumura Yukio
Middle First Class Exorcist
True Cross Academy
Japan Branch
We've been waiting for you.
As for me...
I'm Okumura Rin, an Esquire.
Nii-san!
I told you not to follow me!
I was worried about the second pair of glasses you put on.
You're not making any sense!
I don't have time to deal with you right now!
Go home!
Like that'll happen.
This way, please!
Bring me up to speed.
The south gatekeeper Cait Sith, Kuro, is on a rampage.
We've currently set up a kilometer-wide perimeter around the gate.
Liars!
You're all liars!
Are you all right?
What happened?
Kuro suddenly grew big and began to attack us.
We were having a conversation about Father Fujimoto's death
and it probably overheard us.
I'm sorry.
What will happen to Kuro now?
There's no need to worry.
We, Exorcists, will vanquish it.
Vanquish it?
What do you mean by that?
And what's that thing got to do with our old man's death?
That thing...
True Cross Academy City
That Cait Sith is Father's familiar.
The old man's?!
What's a Cait Sith anyway?
It's a type of demon that resembles a cat.
The Japanese ones are unique in the fact
that their tails split into two when they live long enough.
That Cait Sith was once worshipped as a guardian spirit of sericulture.
In exchange for clearing workplaces of rats,
it was enshrined and given respect.
It then began to co-exist with the humans who enshrined it.
Sadly though, sericulture was eventually abandoned as time went by...
...and the Cait Sith's role as a guardian spirit was forgotten.
After that...
When its home got torn down...
It finally turned into a demon.
Now!
Gotcha!
It's no good.
It didn't work!
Liars!
You're all liars!
Liars!
Is everyone all right?
Okumura-kun!
We've already tried holy water, silver bullets, and holy wine. Nothing's working!
It hasn't exposed its true form yet, so Arias won't be effective against it either.
We've tried to slow it down by shooting it with tranquilizers,
but it recovers quickly after each shot.
Have you heard anything about Kuro from Father Fujimoto?
Yukio-kun, you were part of the mission on that day, right?
I was.
That day?
Yukio-kun was still an Esquire then.
In a construction site near a certain village,
some strange phenomena occurred.
The locals feared that they had been cursed,
so they called some mystics for help.
However...
No matter who they turned to, the problem always stayed the same.
Eventually, they turned to us, the True Cross Knights, as their last resort.
The person who directly handled the rogue demon...
...was the Paladin, Father Fujimoto.
What's this? I should be able to do this by myself.
It was amazing how he was able to tame that demon without harming it.
That old man...
...was a Paladin?
Who would've thought that...
After my father named it 'Kuro',
he made it his familiar, and assigned it as a gatekeeper of this Academy.
In the end, it's still a demon.
After it loses its master, all it can do is go wild again.
My father prepared something just in case a situation like this would arise.
If Kuro goes rogue because of something that happens to me,
please use this.
This is one of my special concoctions.
Use it to put Kuro at ease.
It looks like a specially customized grenade.
It's probably something that can kill Kuro.
We're saved!
I don't know how effective or dangerous this grenade is though,
so could you please let me do this alone?
Liars!
You're all liars, because Shiro is the strongest!
Need any help?
I should be fine, since all I need to do is throw it.
All right then, we're going to take cover in the back.
Everyone, fall back to the gate!
Shiro can't die!
Shiro will come back!
He'll come back!
I see.
Nii-san...
Please fall back also.
There's a chance that this might harm you as well.
Are you really going to kill it?
That's right.
There's no Exorcist in this Academy skilled enough to control that demon.
We don't have a choice other than killing it.
Shiro will be back!
I won't die until then!
Hurry up and get out of here, Nii-san!
Wait!
What is it?!
It just looks sad.
You don't need to kill it.
How do you know that?
I don't really understand, but...
It's something like a telepathic link between us demons.
Even if that's true, I can't just turn my back on this.
Let me try to reason with it first before you kill it!
Reason with it?
It'll be all right!
I won't draw my sword.
Like you said earlier...
I'll try not to rely on Satan's powers, and fight using my head!
Hey!
Nii-san!
I'm Okumura Rin!
I'm Shiro's son!
Shiro's...
Shiro died already.
Nii-san!
He's dead.
Liar!
I don't believe you!
He died already!
Lies! Stop lying!
He really DID use his head!
You...
...loved the old man too, right?
Wasn't that the reason you were so sad?
I'm the same as you.
Let's try to get along.
Nii-san...
You...
...used to like humans, right?
Aren't you just sad because they forgot about you?
Let's be friends.
I've got some pretty good catnip here for you.
Shiro!
Can't I see you one last time?
Shiro!
Did you really die?
So, what do you think of Okumura Rin?
I don't think I can make a decision from just that.
He didn't really put up a proper fight.
I see.
He's been like that since the beginning.
All he's good at is getting pissed.
Don't you just want to make him fight more seriously?
I do.
But before that, I'll need to learn more about this 'Japan' that you love so much.
How impressive.
Remember, don't use that eternal key I gave you just to do some mindless sightseeing.
Sure.
See you later, then.
Will it be fine?
It should be.
He seems pretty interested in this, after all.
Sorry for the wait.
Hey there!
It really likes you.
What'll happen to it now?
Well, I managed to put in a good word for it, so it can stay as your familiar from now on.
The gatekeeping duties for the South gate will be assigned to another familiar.
Hey, that's poison!
This smells like Shiro's presents for me!
It says that it smells like the old man's presents.
This is catnip.
It's catnip!
It's catnip from Shiro!
Give it to me!
Give me Shiro's gift!
What is it?
Now that I think about it...
Father wouldn't have wanted this cat killed.
Somehow...
That old man showed me just how awesome he is.
I-I didn't say anything!
Delicious!
Let's make a toast!
To Kuro and our old man!
You shouldn't do that, Nii-san.
That's not something humans should drink.
Why not?!
We're just pretending anyway.
Come on, just play along for the memories.
Don't drink it, okay?
Well then, cheers!
Cheers!
You idiot!
It's awful!
Shiro's catnip is so...
...delicious!
It's summer!
Next Episode
It's the ocean!
Swimsuits!
It's time for flirting!
I love the ocean!
The Demon of the Deep Sea