Looking back, he still can't figure out how this happened to him. A horrible play on his human side that only a demon would exploit. Wrapped in her arms, her warm breath against the side of his neck as she whispered sweet things to him, his mind questioned why he was even questioning what had happened. She was beautiful and everything he'd ever wanted in a mate. She understood him like no one else did and being with her, no one would think differently about him. It was just... what he was supposed to do... right? But there were signs, signs that ate at his inner human side, that reminded him of the real situation he was in. Her tail, much like his own, was wrapped possessively around his thigh and her arms and legs, wrapped around his waist and neck in a tight embrace. Though he may have found himself inadvertently her lover, there were signs that he'd been manipulated into such a position and that the truth of their love affair was nothing more than an extreme possessive behavior. And, there was the biggest elephant in the room, the one he couldn't miss, the fact that he was no longer in Assiah and that he'd traversed the plane between worlds, willingly.

She shifted her weight on his lap so her purple eyes were staring uncertainly into his own, a frown on her porcelain face. "Rin, my love. What is wrong?" She moved her one hand down, twining her fingers between his own where they rested against the top of the bed. She brought their entwined hands up to her mouth where she kissed the back of his hand. And there it was, the weight pulling him down and the birth of this weight in his stomach. The black band around his finger that anchored him to Gehenna like a prisoner.

He'd been tricked, manipulated by the woman on his lap. She had lured him from Assiah to Gehenna by her beauty and passion and before the veil had been lifted from his eyes to realize what he had done, he found himself wed to her and next in line for the throne of Gehenna, a true demon prince. What had he done?

He swallowed, forcing a smile onto his face as he turned his sapphire blue eyes towards her. "Nothing's wrong. I was just... thinking."

She smiled at him, leaning in to plant a kiss upon his lips that made Rin feel cold. "We should be celebrating, my love! We are finally free from those exorcists and we can be together like we've always wanted to be! We can do anything we want here!" With a growl, she used the majority of her weight to push him back on the bed and, on instinct, Rin's heart sped up as she loomed above him, blonde hair surrounding their faces like curtains but no matter how his body reacted, he felt sick and cold when she touched him. This wasn't love, this was a lie. She was his prison guard and anything he did against her, would only bring harm to himself. His father had played his cards on getting him here and he'd been shackled by her chains the first time he'd laid eyes on her. No matter how beautiful she was or willing towards him she was, he felt sick being near her.

As she bent and kissed him again, her tail snaking up under his shirt, he closed his eyes as the memory rushed up to him, of the first time Iza had come into his life and tore down all his walls.

-NINE MONTHS EARLIER-

"Rin... Rin! Rin Okumura!" There was a slam against his desk and he jolted upward to sleepily blink into Yukio's glaring blue eyes, wiping the slight drool from the corner of his mouth.

"Now that Rin has decided to join us, I'd like to introduce a new student."

Beside him, Shiemi nudged him with her elbow, looking worried. "You've been sleeping a lot more, Rin." She said. "Is everything okay?"

Of course, in typical Rin fashion, he'd blown off Yukio's homework and had spent most of last week goofing off but it was only a matter of time before Yukio caught him and, the last four nights, he'd spent awake until his homework was finished. A mild punishment, Yukio had put it, which left Rin to find sleep whenever he could, even if that meant in the middle of class.

"Yeah, I'm fine!" he said, throwing on a smile and leaning back in his chair. "You know, hard exorcist training has been keeping me up at all hours. Nothing I can't handle though!"

Shiemi looked awed which only did wonders to boost his own ego, even if it had been a lie. He turned his attention back towards the front of the class where Yukio was turning towards a girl as she entered the room.

At first sight, the new girl was like an angel, long blonde hair that curled on the ends and sparkling amethyst eyes. Her skin was the color of porcelain and even the slight reddening of her cheeks was enough to make her entire appearance appear demure and adorable. Immediately-whether he realized it or not-Rin sat higher in his seat, a grin spreading across his face. It wasn't often there were girls in the exorcist classes, let alone pretty ones.

"This is Iza Sekai and as of today, she'll be your new classmate." Yukio turned to her with a smile and waved to the near empty classroom. "Take your pick of the seats. It's not a really big class but we're grateful to have you."

She smiled appreciatively at him and moved quietly down the short dais to the seats where she walked past Rin and slid into the seat behind him. Rin couldn't help but turn his nose towards her scent as she past, finding that the smell itself seemed to jumble his mind and had him turning in his seat to look at her. It made his heart pound and the temperature in the room to skyrocket. He grinned like an idiot at her as he held out a hand towards her.

She grinned shyly back at him but took his hand very gently.

"I'm Rin!" he said. "Rin Okumura, the best student in here-"

"-oh please! Everyone here knows you're the one bringing this class down!" From across the room, Ryuji glared at Rin from his seat.

Iza looked back and forth between them but smiled at Rin nonetheless and even giggled. "It's nice to meet you, Rin. Maybe someday, if I need help, you can tutor me?"

Ryuji snorted in disbelief but Rin's smile widened even further and turned back around as Yukio started class.

Beside him, Shiemi frowned, giving Iza an odd look before looking back at Rin worriedly.

After class, Yukio informed Rin he had a special case he needed to see to before returning to the dorm and advised Rin to get his homework done before he returned. Frustrated, Rin spent the entire walk back to their dorm in an angry rant against his twin. He wasn't a desk student. He learned better in the field and sitting aimlessly for hours on paperwork loaded with information that didn't seem to dwell in the deepest parts of his retainment only pissed Rin off. He shoved open the door of their room and collapsed, backwards, onto his bed, letting his bag fall to his feet. as he stared up at the ceiling. How was he going to be able to defeat Satan by sitting around pushing papers? At this rate, Ryuji was going to beat him to it.

Curling his hands into fists at the thought, he reached for his sword and stood up, ready to leave and find Yukio when there was a soft knock at his door. He froze, hand tightening around his sword. No one visited them here except Mephisto and he didn't knock.

He walked to the door and opened it, surprised to find Iza standing shyly on his doorstep.

"Wha-" he began, surprised at how she knew where he lived.

She lifted a hand and placed it in the middle of his chest, pushing him back into his room as she let herself in. She closed the door with her foot and pushed Rin down into his desk chair. The demure smile she'd held in class was replaced by a real, true smile and her eyes sparkled with excitement. This was certainly a completely different girl than the previous one he'd met and he couldn't help the sudden increase in his heart beat.

"I've been so excited to meet you, Rin Okumura!" she said excitedly, clapping her hands together, her purple eyes shining. "There's no one else in the world like us!"

Confused, he opened his mouth to ask what she was talking about when, before his very eyes, a long black tail dropped from beneath her shirt and swayed uncertainly behind her. Rin stared at it, hardly daring to breath. She-she was half demon like he was?

She moved closer to him and Rin forced his eyes upwards to her face, mouth hanging open, unable to find words. Again, she wore a shy expression but her eyes still sparkled with excitement. "I came to True Cross seeking you out. I was hoping you and I could learn to overcome what we truly are and help the exorcists. Mephisto seems to think this is a fascinating idea and told me to tell you that we're supposed to teach other."

Rin didn't care who's idea it was for her to seek him out or what it truly meant. She was standing right before him, someone who could understand him and someone who wouldn't judge. And to make it better, she wanted him to teach her, to be with her, and she was the epitome of beautiful.

"Please, Rin, please say you'll help me! Help us!" she reached her hand out to him, a desperate look on her face and Rin seemed to move on autopilot, grinning up at her as he took her hand. "I'll teach you anything you want to know, Iza!"