Prologue

"I'm back, father."

In front of the grave, Yukio Okumura stood. A shadow loaned over the forsaken words on the stone. "Sorry, I'm late…" he murmured forcing a smile. "Please, try to forgive me but it's not so easy to be a parent."

The silence was the only answer.

"You know that very well after all, right?" There was a note of sadness in Yukio's voice. "You know? When we have decided to name him after you I was hoping that he would turn out to be like you. I was a dreamer, he is just like him."

Slowly, he knelt down. The flowers previously brought to the stone had wilted, becoming just remnants of something that once was. "I didn't buy new flowers, I'm sorry."

In Yukio's fingers, the crushing of the petals smoothly faltered and became nothing but dust. A wind swept away all that was around him. "I hoped to be the strongest one" He wanted to cry, but he couldn't be weak anymore. "But I feel like I'm nothing without him, sometimes."

He was looking for forgiveness, but his father was dead almost seven years ago and nobody could cancel his sins anymore. "I'm sorry, father. I wasn't strong enough to protect him, at the end."

The silence answered again.

"Dad! Dad!"

Yukio turned around trying to smile. "What is it?"

"Dad, I took them for Gramps!" A child with dark hair and blue big eyes looked up at him with a proud smile on his face. He was holding some wild flower in his tiny hands. "I didn't know him, but he had my name so he had to be awesome!"

Yukio smiled sweetly ruffling the child's hair. "You are a good boy, Shiro. Say hello to your grandfather now, okay?"

The boy nodded placing the flowers in front of the white grave. "Hi, Gramps! I'm Shiro Okumura, I'm five years old and I want to be a great exorcist just like you when I'll grow up!"

Yukio's heart skipped a beat but he didn't say a word.

"Dad said you were the most awesome exorcist in the world and you were a very good dad. You know? My dad is very good, too! So watch over him from the heaven, please" The child turned around to face his father. "It is okay, dad?"

Yukio nodded. "Yes, Shiro. Come here, now."

The boy obeyed taking his father's hand. "The sky is so far away, dad. Could Gramps really hear me?" Shiro asked walking out of the cemetery with his young parent. Yukio just nodded without turning around again.

"We were afraid you were dead…" Shiemi murmured drying away some tears and sitting on the couch next to her old first love. Yukio looked out of the window. "The city is almost desert…" he commented.

Shiemi nodded looking down at her feet. "This city is just a fortress now. It will never turn back like it used to be."

Yukio nodded sadly taking her hand in his. "How are you, Shiemi?" She wasn't a girl anymore, she had turned into a beautiful woman during the last four years. She smiled happily. "I'm always the same, Yuki-chan."

"The others?"

"They are fighting somewhere near Kyoto, they are trying to protect their city but they come back when we need them here."

Yukio smiled. "I'm so proud of you, everyone."

"Izumo lives still here in the city, but she has a mission right now."

Yukio nodded absently. "Do you see Shura again?"

Shiemi nodded. "She is looking for you, we will inform her of your return, Yuki-chan. Sorry, but she was really worried for you but she didn't want to demonstrate that. She has the right to know where you are, now."

Yukio nodded again. "It's fine. I need to talk with her and I don't think I will leave soon."

Shiemi widened her eyes. "Really?"

The young man nodded. "This is my house, this was his house. My son is born here and this is the only safe place I know. I'm tired to run away, it's dangerous now and I'm not so stupid to think that I can protect my son all alone and…" Yukio made a pause looking at Shiemi's face. She was crying.

"Welcome back, Yuki-chan" She said with trebling voice. Yukio smiled. "I'm back."

The room's door open suddenly and Mephisto came in with Shiro in his arms. "Look, there is your daddy!" he said a little too happily but he wasn't the same Mephisto anymore. No hat, no coat, no strange clothes… he looked like an ordinary person.

"Dad!" Shiro ran in Yukio's arms. "Uncle Mephisto is creepy!"

Yukio kissed his son's forehead. "Try to be patient, okay Shiro?" The child nodded looking up at the blond woman next to his father. Shiemi forced a shy smile. "Hi Shi-chan."

The child hid his face against Yukio's chest shyly. Yukio laughed brushing his hair. "Don't be shy, she is just an old friend of mine."

Shiro watched her a second time but Shiemi's smile was disappeared. "He really looks like him."

Yukio sighed deeply placing his son on the pavement. "Love, go with uncle Mephisto, okay?"

"Yes, yes!" Mephisto came closer taking the boy's hand. "I don't like you" Shiro said coldly.

"Shiro be gentle" Yukio said.

"Don't problem! He is just you-know-who's son. Let's go to the kitchen we can try to look for chocolate or something else."

The old demon and the boy left the two friends alone and Shiemi tried to recompose herself. "He is really a beautiful child, Yukio. Well… he is his parents son, he couldn't be ugly."

Yukio smiled proudly. "Thanks…"

"He makes some questions, sometimes?" she asked seriously. "It hadn't to be easy to explain everything to a child."

Yukio lowered his gaze, it had begun to rain outside. "I've made him see my brother's photos. I wanted him to know his other's parents face… so, he know he was a boy but it isn't strange for him, yet. It was worse explain to him about his tail and power."

Shiemi nodded. "It wasn't easy for both of you, I guess."

"I tried to do my best…"

"Sure!"

"…It just would be better with Rin."

Fell the silence in the room. Only the stars knew of Rin and Yukio until that day of six years ago, but not even God or the devil knew the extent of their relationship. Yukio and Rin loved each other, loved each other so much that they could never put it into words, loved each other so much that they never had to tell each other because both automatically knew. They were just so much in love with each other that, after all their sins, they had give birth to a little miracle.

"Usually, someone will move on" Yukio's voice was trebling. "Did you see my son, Shiemi? I love him, he is my life, he is the only thing I have in the world! But every minute of every day I look at him and I see… I see…"

For the first time after four years of sadness and regrets, Yukio Okumura cried.