Okay, I am a bad person. Just to let you all know. And to clarify: I'm too lazy to care that it doesn't exactly follow the manga, my mind came up with the idea, not the details... So the plot follows the original to the point where Yukio get on the helicopter with Sima, everything beyond that is just my imagination. Also, I ignored what happened to Rin then (sorry?).
I don't own anything. Which is as sad as always.
And English still isn't my first language, so I'm terribly sorry for all the mistakes. If (when) you find them, please help me correct them.
That being said - enjoy!

He thought the day when he defeated Satan would be the best day of his life.

He was wrong.

That day even started wrong. He woke up with a gasp from a nightmare – or, more accurately, from a memory. He dreamt of his little brother leaving to join Illuminati again. Leaving him on that horrible day. So much time has passed, but he couldn't help but feel guilty. Why couldn't he realize sooner something is wrong with Yukio? Why didn't he press harder to help him? Now it's been weeks since he last saw him. They've been trying to find the Illuminati facility – he, Shiemi, Kamiki, Koneko, and Bon – but so far they discovered nothing. Shura wanted to help them as well – help Yukio – but she was forced to return to the Vatican. After people had started seeing demons, every exorcist had their hands full. Chaos and fear took their toll everywhere.

He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. Hello, another day of guilt and pointless searching! What was the point of all of this? How could they achieve anything without help if they had tried for so long with no result? It would be a miracle if they did – and he had to admit he was starting to lose faith. He couldn't even bring himself to get up.
But soon he was forced to. His dark thoughts were interrupted by Shiemi, who opened the door to his room without knocking and ran inside.

'Shiemi! What are you doing!' he exclaimed, turning red when she saw him still sitting in his bed.

'Sorry to wake you up, Rin, but we think Bon found something!' she said quickly, avoiding his gaze and blushing as well.

He was up in no time, pulling trousers on and running after her down the corridor. He felt like in a dream. He was almost afraid of feeling so much hope again. Could this be it? The miracle he so long waited and prayed for? Could they finally find Yukio and bring him home? With head swirling with a thousand thoughts, he sprinted to the room they were always meeting in. Everyone was waiting for them as they ran inside, trying to catch their breaths.

'We know where they are', was all Suguro said. And it was all Rin needed to hear to believe again.

He looked at their faces. Koneko had a smile on his face – Rin knew it was because he was hoping they would get back not only Yukio but Shima as well. He still believed the spy was secretly on their side, even after everything that happened. Bon had his brow furrowed, obviously already trying to figure out a plan of how to carry out their illegal mission. His eyes were focused and clear, scanning the maps on the table. Kamiki looked almost as bored as always, but after months they spent with her as a friend Rin could see she was excited too. Her shoulders were tense in anticipation and she seemed ready for action. And Shiemi didn't even try to hide a wide, hopeful smile.

'See, Rin? I told you we would find them!' she said happily.

'Whoa, slow down… We're not there yet.' He tried to remind himself he couldn't let himself simply believe and jump into action. They needed a precise plan; it felt like something Yukio would have done, so it seemed a good thing to do. And every plan starts with facts. 'Where do you think they are?' he asked Bon to have something to start with.

'Here', the teenager answered, putting his finger on the map.

It didn't look good. What Suguro was pointing at looked like a fortress. But they knew that it wouldn't be easy from the beginning, so no one was really surprised seeing the location.

'How did you even find out they are there?'

'By collecting a lot of data. And believe me, it was really an awful lot. Koneko did most of the work, of course, you know he's a brilliant strategist. And we're still not 100 percent sure this is it, but that's the most probable place. All the signs suggest this is the Illuminati base.'

'Soo...' Kamiki hovered over the map as well 'are we really going to do this? It's not only against Mephisto orders, but it could kill us. Literally. And we don't even know if they want to be saved.'

'I'm not going to leave my brother there. And even if he doesn't want to be saved, I will save him anyways. I have to make things right.' Rin knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't care.

'And Shima is there too, we have to get him back. He is our friend and we cannot leave him', added Koneko.

'And you want to get inside the Illuminati fortress, which is for sure heavily guarded, find Yukio and Shima even though we don't know where they are, and get them out despite the fact they might not want to go anywhere, and all this without getting discovered because we are terribly outnumbered? Am I getting this right?'

'Yup.'

'Uh-huh.'

'Pretty much.'

'Eh...' Kamiki sighed heavily. 'Then at least let's die together, you idiots.'

Everyone grinned, knowing very well that despite her harsh words she wanted to help as much as they did. There was hope in all their eyes'. Finally, after weeks of pointless searching, they found something! This could be the day they save their friends and everything goes back to normal. It was hard not to smile thinking about the bright future, and it was such a strange and odd feeling after so much time of sadness and numbness.

'So let's go on a secret mission to save our friends!' Rin exclaimed, throwing his fist high in the air and then hesitated, looking at Bon. 'Just… how are we gonna get there?'

As it turned out, the best way to go on a secret mission was by train. At least this time. They all sneaked out the Academy, bringing everything they thought would be necessary – Rin's new sword, Kamiki's and Shiemi's summoning spells, Bon's gun. It was all just a precaution because they really hoped they wouldn't have to fight. They knew they were no match for a whole well-trained organization of soldiers and exorcists. Still, the weapons made them feel safer.
After a few whiles in a public transport and a few more wandering through the thick woods, they finally spotted the building. It really looked like a fortress. Tall, thick, stone walls and small windows… If it weren't for modern alarms and gates, they would have felt like in the middle ages. They looked at each other with doubt in their eyes. Was it really a good idea?

'Okay, standing here will gain us nothing' Bon said gruffly and turned to face his friends. 'Do you remember the building plans I showed you? We're going in through the cellars, then split into two groups.'

'Bon and Izumo go west.' continued Rin. 'Me, Shiemi and Koneko go east. That way in each group there's a fighter and an Aria.'

'A future Aria...' whispered Koneko miserably.

'Don't worry Koneko, you'd do great! And it's just in case. We're not planning to fight, just to grab them and run!' grinned Rin.

'If we were to fight anyone, it would probably be them.' Kamiki's eyes were hard. Rin opened his mouth to say something, to deny, but Bon sided with Izumo.

'Don't forget that Yukio did shoot you' he reminded.

Rin paused, and then let his shoulder drop. His eyes were glued to a ground beneath his feet.

'I know' he said, his voice was small and quiet. 'It really wasn't something I thought he could do. He was behaving a little… off for some time, but I never realized how bad it was. So–' he continued, looking up at each one of them, 'if he is still like that, then you have to be careful. It doesn't change the fact that I want him back and to make things right – but you have to think of your safety first, okay? Don't let him do something stupid and hurt you. Leave him to me.'

'It'll be alright, Rin' whispered Shiemi soothingly. 'You'll see.'

Rin looked at her for a while and then smiled widely. 'Yeah, of course! Sorry for the stiff part, I'm not usually the responsible one, so I'm not very good at this. I'm better at being optimistic, so listen closely: we're getting them out tonight!'

Everyone cheered quietly, nodding their heads and wishing luck to each other. Their eyes were stern and sure. Rin looked at them with amazement. They were such good and loyal people, ready to risk their lives for the ones they considered friends. How did he become a part of such an extraordinary group? He considered himself lucky to be a member of their little family – because that was what they've become. A family. And the family didn't leave its own behind, no matter what.

He looked at them once again, steadying himself. He would do anything to protect them – and he knew each one of them thought the same. Unity and trust were their strength. And together they could accomplish anything. And with that thought, he marched forward to face the fate.

Thank you for reading, I hope you liked it. And please review - it means the world to me. Like really, I want this to be a three-chapter story but right now I have no motivation to continue, I hope publishing it will help. Love you all!