A/N: Hello everyone! I firstly wanted to say that my cancelled exams have been sadly rearranged, so chapters won't be coming out as frequently as they used to. I hope I still manage to sustain your interest though! ;) To explain something in chapter one: Daedal means artistic. So I wanted to say that the Vow Rin and Neuhaus have tattooed on their arms is more like a black bracelet with many lines entangling with each other. Ok? Oh and yes, this story follows the anime and not the manga. It is moving to a different kind of angst and not rape, but I will do some more fan-service on that part in the chapter after this one! ;) Enjoy!

At nine, Neuhaus knocked on Rin's door. He didn't expect him to come to him that night, so he thought it might be better to pick him up. He'd bet his life that Rin was still sulking about what happened in the yard. And for his disappearance the day right after they did it. Okay, what did that kid want anyway? What did he, himself want…?

Rin opened the door. Yup, he was sulking. "Can I help you with anything?" He folded his arms across his chest and leaned right, on the doorframe, frowning.

Neuhaus sighed. "Put that immature act aside. Come with me." He grabbed him by the arm, gently. Rin couldn't push it away. He knew he would be punished for what he said in front of everyone this morning. He didn't care. Neuhaus pulled him out, but Rin was stopped by Kuro's voice.

"Rin! Rin, don't go with him!" Kuro had attached himself to Rin's left leg, trying to drag him back in. "I don't trust him! He's dangerous!"

All Neuhaus was hearing was a constant meowing, but he could clearly see the cat's intentions. Rin though, was the only one who understood Kuro's words. He bent down, kneeled and patted Kuro at the head, trying to calm him down. "Don't worry, Kuro. I will be fine." He smiled at him. He knew he was lying through his teeth of course, but what was new…

"You're lying to me Rin!" Kuro meowed intensely, and Rin's eyes widened. Before he could reply, he felt Neuhaus' hands softly grabbing his arms and lifting him up.

"Don't worry kitty." Neuhaus said to Kuro. "I won't hurt your boss." He ran his hand up and down Rin's arm, almost intimately. Rin seemed so vulnerable at that moment…

Kuro hissed. "Don't touch Rin!" He meowed angrily and threw himself at Neuhaus' leg. Animal intuition or whatever it might have been, Kuro felt that Rin was endangering himself by being near that man. And thus, he also felt the need to protect him no matter what the risk might be for him, so he bit him hard. Kuro, even in his tiny form, still was a demon and he still had much more power in his jaws than normal cats. His fangs passed through the fabric and sank in the flesh. Neuhaus didn't even move in recognition, even when blood started running out, he stayed and looked at Kuro expressionlessly.

Suddenly, Kuro was seized and pulled away by familiar hands. "Kuro!" Rin brought him near his face. "What are you doing there?" Rin was angry! Kuro's ears fell and he seemed crestfallen. Why was Rin angry at him? He was only trying to protect him, he didn't understand…

Kuro had indeed angered Rin. Why did he bit Neuhaus? He didn't remember his cat being a rabid animal sharing biting left and right! He had hurt him for nothing!

All of a sudden, he realized what that meant. He held Kuro in his arms to protect him and slowly turned to face his teacher. He was still expressionless and had nothing to comment, staring at Rin. Rin started trembling. The worst thing was always to not know what's coming for you. Kuro noticed Rin's change of behavior and got scared too, hiding in Rin's arms. Rin wanted to make excuses for Kuro, but what could he say about a cat and be taken seriously? "He… he was just trying to protect me…" He said, but it didn't elicit a reaction out of Neuhaus. Rin let Kuro down. "Go!" He ordered him. But the cat was still hesitating. It was afraid, but it didn't want to leave Rin alone… "NOW!" He almost stomped his foot on the floor. Kuro shot out of there immediately. Neuhaus observed him disappearing by the corner of his eye, and then turned his attention back at Rin.

Rin stepped backwards until his back met the wall. Neuhaus walked towards him until he was standing right in front of him. He raised his hand.

Oh my God! Rin thought and raised his arms to protect his face, clenching his eyes shut. He was still trembling. It was true, nothing had changed… He was so angry, he wanted to scream out, but instead he could feel tears itching at the back of his eyes. Soon, they were leaving trails on his cheeks. This was so unfair! For what sins was he being punished? For being born? He just wanted somebody to love him for who he was, and then he could go on living! There were times he doubted even his brother and his friends, but with Neuhaus he had shared the outmost expression of love and now it hurt more… this…

Neuhaus observed him well. Rin was still very much afraid of him. Not that he shouldn't be. Then what was that constrictive feeling in his chest? He held Rin's hands and guided them down. Then he bent and took Rin's face in his hands, kissing him on the cheek, gathering his tears. Rin sighed in appreciation and finally opened his eyes a bit. He loved that warmth and affection. He slightly opened his mouth, inviting Neuhaus to kiss him there. Soon, they were engaged in a fierce kiss, Rin's hands wrapped tightly around Neuhaus' back and Neuhaus' hands around Rin's waist. He just didn't want to let him go. Ever.

When they broke the kiss, Rin leaned into his embrace. "I missed you…" He whispered, feeling safe again. He didn't miss the abuse of course; he missed those rare moments of lovingness. Neuhaus ran his fingers through Rin's hair. Rin's hair always smelled wonderfully. Unwillingly, he broke their embrace, but only to guide Rin into his own apartment. When they got in there, he kissed him again.

Rin moaned. He didn't know what would happen, but he was determined to get the best out of it. Neuhaus wanted to say: 'I missed you too' but he restrained himself. Instead, he guided Rin towards the bed. When they both fell on it, he told him: "Listen Rin, I'm tired and I haven't gotten any sleep those past two days. Tonight we're just going to sleep here. Okay?"

"Eh?" Rin felt weird. Not exactly disappointed – he wanted to believe so –, not exactly thrilled. He still got the intense desire to get up and start dancing conga though. "Okay!" He grinned and wrapped his arms around Neuhaus once again.

"I have the slight suspicion you're not listening to me." Neuhaus sweat-dropped.

"I am!" Rin protested happily and kissed him again. Neuhaus laughed a bit, and Rin did too. After a while, Rin was sleeping quietly in Neuhaus' arms, under the covers. Neuhaus was looking at Rin's sleeping face. It was time to make some important thoughts.

All of this had started off quite terribly. Just a couple of weeks ago. And now, he couldn't imagine his life without Rin, but the boy only had seven days left, or maybe less. Rin was a demon. Satan's son. The Vatican had unofficially asked for his extermination. And yet, Rin had made Neuhaus feel alive again. He had to admit that he hadn't seen anything evil upon him… He could have done many things to destroy the academy if he really was satanic. What he had seen, now that he was closer to Rin than anyone else, was genuine generosity, affection, optimism and kindness. The possibility of Rin being a goodhearted young boy suddenly didn't seem so bottomless.

And that, on the spur of the moment, opened his eyes. He felt sick. A wave of nausea took over, and he got up, trying not to wake Rin up. He scrambled towards the bathroom, feeling the intense need to throw up. He had raped a boy! He had raped and tortured a young boy, who had nothing to do with his personal drama! He had raped him, repeatedly! And just the other day, he fucked him, and now they were under the same sheets! A boy!

He grabbed his head and collapsed on the floor, unable to comprehend any of these. It was like reality was abruptly revealed in front of his eyes, and he couldn't cope. What was he doing those past few weeks? Why wasn't he seeing anything? He tried remembering Michelle, his wife. He used to be normal! He used to have a family, he used to play with his kids after work! He had a boy and a girl… How would he feel if they have lived on to be fifteen and then some old man at his age seduced his boy? He knew that what happened to them was terrible, he knew it was Satan's deed, but what did Rin have to do with all of this? Rin had been raised by the Paladin, Fujimoto Shirou. What if he really wasn't evil at heart? What did he do to him?

He was getting a terrible headache. No. He was just delusional. There was no way the person that carried Satan's genes was good! He was just growing soft because… because he was attracted to him! There was no hiding from it now. What had gotten into him? He didn't remember himself being a sick, homosexual pedophile! So why did he feel so good when fucking a fifteen-year-old boy? And it would be nice if it was just a fuck! He wanted to be near him, wanted to kiss him, wanted to hold him, never let him go!

"Oh my God…" He whispered, in horrifying realization. "I'm falling in love with him!" And that meant that he was falling for his own trap! He wanted to torture Satan's son and he fell in love with him instead! Of course… Of course Rin was demonic, that was the proof! There was no other way he'd fall in love with a boy! The demon was just toying with him that was all! He had to end this. Soon. Now!

He got up, stepped out of the bathroom and started searching through a bag he was keeping under the couch. He didn't need much time to pull out a dagger. It was pure silver, specialized in slaying demons. He clenched his fingers tightly around it. "Don't let the Vatican down. You have a week." The Paladin's voice was ringing inside his head. That's right. What he was about to do wasn't just for him. He was given a task he had to fulfill. His lips had dried up. He licked them unconsciously, as he was gathering up his courage. He had to do it now, before he got too attached to the boy. He got up slowly, and then headed towards his room.

Rin was peacefully sleeping inside the red sheets, completely unaware of the danger. Neuhaus neared him carefully, he didn't want to wake him up. It would be infinitely more difficult if Rin was looking at him with his big, blue eyes when was about to kill him. Maybe he would even cry… Plead… Beg… His hands were shaking. He couldn't help but picture Rin doing all of those things. He raised the dagger above Rin. He had to finish it with one blow, so Rin wouldn't suffer… or open his eyes to see who was killing him. But his hand was trembling so much, he couldn't keep it stable. Rin seemed perfectly beautiful, lying on the side… His black locks were adorning his face, his pale, white skin was unmarred, his pink lips inhaling and exhaling softly… He remembered that he had tried doing this before. Before all of this started, but Yukio had saved him. Now Yukio wasn't there. And so many things had changed since then…

He lowered the dagger. He wasn't emotionally prepared for this. The kid had dug his way into his heart and it wasn't easy to just toss him out. He would first distance himself from him, let his feelings grow cold. He had a week. He turned and got out. He desperately wanted to lie next to Rin and hug him one last time, but that wouldn't help detach from him.

"So, let me get this straight." The next morning, Mephisto put down his newspaper and looked at Neuhaus over it, pondering. "You want one week's leave?"

"Five days, actually." Neuhaus clarified. "I have some business I need to take care of. I want exactly five days, starting tomorrow."

Mephisto raised his eyebrows, like trying to say 'what's that business you have to go to that I don't know anything about.' Mephisto just had to know everything about everyone. "That's not like you." He was intrigued. "But I guess that since you've never taken a leave before, you have the absolute right to do so." If something was going on, it would be very interesting. He signed some papers nearby. "You're ready to go."

"Thank you." Neuhaus bowed and walked away.

Rin threw himself into the class, having already lost the first two hours. "I'm sorry! I forgot to set on the alarm clock! I'm sorry!" He kept on apologizing. The truth was, he hadn't of course taken the alarm clock with him when he slept over at Neuhaus, and the damn teacher never woke him up! The bed was so warm and the sheets felt so good, Rin forgot that he had school and he decided to have a long lie-in, assuming that Neuhaus would wake him up when necessary. After a good couple of hours of extra getting lazy, he realized that Neuhaus wasn't in the apartment and that it was Tuesday, he had classes to attend! Neuhaus was so going to hear it from him at night…

"Now this feels like Okumura's old, dawdler self." Bon commented. "And I was wondering what was wrong with you those past few weeks."

"Bite me, it just happened!" Rin barked at him, irritated. He scanned the classroom with his eyes. "Where's Shura?"

She appeared behind him, yawning, still dressed in her pajamas. "Sorry I'm late kids. My bed insisted that I should stick with it some more." And she yawned again. Rin almost fell on the floor.

"See? You don't have to worry. You're not the only loafer around here." Kamiki informed him, clearly disapproving of Shura's behavior.

After some more hours passed, they all walked into the arena they were usually taming demons. There, they saw six beautiful, large ones that looked like antelopes. The only difference was wings on their sides and three pairs of eyes instead of one. Around their neck was a chain that held them on the ground and prevented them from going anywhere. Still, they were very impressive. Shima and Rin couldn't help but whistle. Nobody noticed the cage across them, which was covered by a large piece of clout.

"They are called Spheres." Neuhaus told them as he was stepping in front so they could see him. Rin was so dashed by them that he forgot he was sulking at him again. Neuhaus continued: "They are usually harmless, unless they go on a rampage along with their flock. They may have wings, but they can't use them a lot. They are very cowardly, especially when they come across their worst predator." He neared the covered cage, and grabbed the clout. "The Shark-Lizard." He pulled it down.

The class' blood froze in their veins. The Spheres started trying maniacally to escape, creating a great ruckus. The demons Neuhaus had just revealed were exactly what their name suggested. They had the head and the torso of a shark, but four green legs and a tail like a lizard's. They were downright ugly and hideous. There were three of them inside the cage, cutting circles, occasionally biting the bars with three rows of razor-sharp teeth, not hiding their displeasure for being locked up, especially with food in front of them. Shiemi took refuge behind Rin, trembling.

"As you can imagine, you wouldn't want to find yourselves unprotected in front of them." Neuhaus casually stated. "The Shark-Lizard is extremely vicious, with unbelievable power in its jaws, and an appetite that knows no boundaries. It has a killing fetish. Like normal sharks when it can't eat anymore, it will throw up and start all over again." Shima had started growing pale, so had Konekomaru. "It can be found both in ground and sea water. When tamed, becomes a perfect killing machine." He clapped his hands three times. The Shark-Lizards immediately nested down. "It's obedient only when the tamer is near, so they need lots of attention. I heard that two of you have already been qualified as tamers, so you'd better take good notice of it." He looked at them. He saw only Kamiki, looking at them with interest. "Where is Moriyama?"

Rin sighed and stepped at the side, revealing a trembling Shiemi. "H-here, s-sensei…"

What to tell her? "…Consider the possibility of signing up for Doctor as well, okay?" She nodded, still frightened. She didn't like the idea of taming those things. Neuhaus turned his back at them and continued: "I had to show both of them to you today, because we won't be having any lessons the rest of the week. I have to go away for five days… A little less enthusiasm would be fine Renzou, I can still see you." He added, when Shima shot his fist up the air from happiness at the prospect of less studying hours. Rin was left speechless. He'd leave? Again? To go where? Had he done something to piss him off? No way…

Suddenly, Tsubaki-sensei appeared in the class, running. "Neuhaus-sensei! Mr. Pheles says you have to meet him immediately! He has called everyone in his office!"

"I'll be right there." Neuhaus responded. "I'll be back soon." He turned to his students. "Touch any of the demons and I'll kill you." He left. Everybody thought it would be fine if he didn't seem so serious when saying things like that.

Soon, they found ways to pass the time. Rin was playing with Shiemi a game of words; Bon was talking with Kamiki about the different classes of exorcists and their pros and cons, while Shima was bragging at Konekomaru, outside the cage of the Shark-Lizards. "You see, I found this the day before in the library!" He presented at Konekomaru a circle with symbols upon a paper. "Cool huh? I copied it! …I wish I understood what it was about…"

"You copied a magic circle without knowing what it does?" Konekomaru raised his eyebrow.

"Oh, it was simple, so it mustn't do something so great… It was saying something about freedom and emancipation in the book, but didn't exactly describe…"

"It might be dangerous, give it to me!" Konekomaru grabbed the paper.

"No, it's not!" Shima dragged it back, and it got torn.

Everything happened in the blink of the eyes. An explosion was heard, the cage of The Shark-Lizards shot open as the lock was destroyed. Shima and Konekomaru screamed and ran, as all three of the demons were lashing. Before anyone could understand what was going on, they had attacked the Spheres, tearing their necks apart. Blood was dripping plenty on the ground, the rest of the Spheres were desperately trying to escape that awful fate, but they were bound down to suffer it, the others writhing in agony, everybody was screaming from fear, the blood of the Spheres was smeared all over their clothes, the tail of one Shark-Lizard hit Shiemi and threw her on the wall, her head almost cracked open and blood starting running down her temple, Rin lost it, blue scorching flames erupted and filled up the place mercilessly. Neuhaus heard the noise and ran immediately back in the arena, only to meet hell itself waiting.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Rin in his demon form, blue flames everywhere, the Shark-Lizards out, the Spheres slaughtered, each and every one of his students covered in blood and Shiemi lying down, unmoving, the blood painting her blond locks. Son of Satan… son of Satan had brought hell. "ENOUGH!" He roared, and clapped his hands. The Shark-Lizards sat down immediately. His voice brought Rin back too. His flames disappeared and he returned in his human form. Neuhaus ran towards Shiemi. Luckily, she was still breathing. Poor girl, you got too close to him. He couldn't help but think. She slowly opened her eyes. He picked her up. "Are you okay? I take you to the infirmary now."

"I'm okay, I'm okay…" She whispered. "It doesn't hurt that much, I just got scared…"

"Shiemi!" Rin ran towards them, but the glare Neuhaus shot at him had him petrified. He didn't think… He didn't think that Rin was responsible for this, did he? If he did… If he did, Rin was dead!

"I'll deal with you later." He told him coldly, and then turned away, with Shiemi in his arms. Rin wanted to call at him, tell him that he didn't do anything, but the words wouldn't come out. He fell on his knees, he couldn't comprehend how everything had just crashed into million pieces from one moment to another. Behind him, Bon and Kamiki were both worried and still scared, while Shima and Konekomaru were looking at each other, terrified. It was clear that Neuhaus was blaming Rin. They could walk away. Nobody saw them. Nobody knew what happened. If they told, they would one hundred per cent get expelled. But if they let Rin take the blame…

Neuhaus took Shiemi to the infirmary and stayed with her until the doctor assured him that she was alright and she wouldn't even need stitches. He didn't ask her what happened, he didn't want anyone to tell him that. He knew. He saw. If he wasn't such a coward, and had killed Rin yesterday, as he should have done, nothing of this would have happened. He would do it today. After what he saw, it shouldn't be that hard as yesterday night. When he'd see him, he would know.

He opened the door to get out, only to face Shima and Konekomaru. "What do you want?"

In his room, Rin was sitting at the edge of his bed, looking emptily at the front. Now he was sure that God hated him for being Satan's son. He hadn't done anything, yet, he'd die. He had ordered Kuro to go minutes before. Just sitting there and waiting for his fate… Like the Spheres… Exactly like them. Why couldn't he just die at the spot? There were times he wished that.

The door opened slowly and Neuhaus walked in. Rin looked straight into his eyes. "I didn't do anything." He told him. That was all he had to say, that was all he could do. "I didn't."

He felt like dreaming when Neuhaus bent and hugged him tightly. "I know." He told him. "I saw the surveillance cameras."

Rin shot up and hugged him back. He couldn't take any more commotion, he couldn't cry, he just cherished the moment. Something told him that Neuhaus would never believe him if he didn't see it with his own eyes through the cameras, but that didn't matter. He hugged him even more tightly.

Neuhaus laughed a bit. "What, you thought I would just accuse you without making sure first?" Yeah I did. But they had to come and I had to watch the cameras to make sure. No way can I blame Rin now. It was just so unfair. Each day Rin was proving that he was a nice person; Neuhaus had to get away from him as soon as possible. "Rin, you can't lose yourself every time one of your friends gets hurt. You threaten the rest of them."

"I know, I know…" Rin rubbed himself further in his arms. "Oh my God, thank you, thank you so much!" Someday, someday he would come to trust him, that was all Rin wanted. They remained hugged for another couple of minutes, and then Neuhaus broke the hug.

"I have to go." He told Rin, and kissed him on the forehead. "I'll be back in five days." And with that, he turned and left Rin alone. It was the last time he would show him affection, he had decided up on that.

My God, thank you! Rin thought and fell on his bed, exhausted by the long agony he suffered. Sleep came and took over him soon enough, dreamless.

And so, the five days passed. Shiemi got out of the infirmary and she was thankfully fine. Shima and Konekomaru never told the others what exactly had happened, but they were just grateful to get away with it. Rin couldn't help but notice that his life without Neuhaus was far freer from pain, fuller of potential and laughter, and yet something was missing. It wasn't sex. Rin never felt the need to be this intimate. Just… something… That's why when he learned that Neuhaus had returned, he went and met him at nine without hesitating, as it was already prearranged.

"So?" Neuhaus asked him when he walked into the apartment. "What happened when I was gone?"

Something in his voice felt colder than usual, but Rin shrugged it off. He turned his back at him – bad choice, as it was proved to be later. "Nothing special." He told him, grinning. "But you should have been from one corner and see Shura when she came drunk in class! She started tossing around the tests and dancing, Izumo almost had a heart attack!"

"Just the usual then." Rin could feel him nearing from behind.

"Yeah…" He ran a hand through his black hair. "Listen, I missed-"

He never finished his sentence. He felt suddenly a string wrapped tightly around his neck, pressuring it. He struggled, but he started suffocating, regardless of his tries to free himself. "What are you doing?" He let out, terrified, choking. This was a nightmare, it couldn't be real, it couldn't… His back was pressed tightly against his teacher's chest, trying to hold the necessary resistance for the string to go deeper and strangle more quickly. Rin was crying out, dipping his hands on his neck to grab it away from him, but it was futile.

"Tasked by the power of The Vatican, I'm vanquishing this demon." He heard him saying. His whole body was overcome by horror, this was the chanting done when exterminating a powerful demon, most importantly, a half-demon. He'd seriously kill him? "May the God find the power in his greatness and accept your tarnished soul…"

"N-Neuhaus…" Rin managed to choke out. "Stop…"

Neuhaus continued with louder voice. "…May God also find a way to forgive your sins and grant you peace. In his infinite kingship all the demons shall burn and disappear." Tears ran down Rin's cheeks and fell on Neuhaus' hands, as he was holding both ends of the string. Neuhaus' voice grew even louder. "Honor thy Father, he who rules all Heaven, may his wish come true in both heaven and earth, protect our lives and… forgive our sins…" Rin had gradually stopped putting up any actual resistance. He stopped thrashing and his voice lowered. His head was so close to Neuhaus' face, he could smell him, his aroma was filling his nostrils like a drug, Rin… Rin… Rin smelled of white roses. Only now had Neuhaus realized. "…as we forgive…" Rin's hands fell down, abandoning the try to free himself, "…the sins of our brothers…"

It was too much. Neuhaus let Rin go. He wanted to feel more of those white roses. He couldn't… He couldn't. Rin fell down choking and coughing, his hands at his neck, where a bruised line had appeared. It hurt, he couldn't think, he couldn't move further. Neuhaus let himself collapse on his knees on the floor. The rest of the prayer came in to his mind and he grabbed Rin, straddling him, pushing his hands away and wrapping his fingers around the bruised neck. He had to finish what he started. Rin screamed, kicked and thrashed, but to no avail.

"Neuhaus!" He got to yell before his neck was pressured violently once again. He grabbed Neuhaus' hands, trying to remove them, no such luck.

" …And oh please Father, don't ever let us sink into temptation." His expression hardened for one moment, but now he was facing Rin. He had forgotten how soft his neck was. He had filled it with kisses many times. That neck, those lips, those eyes… The silky black hair that smelled of white roses… The body he had taken against his will… Rin…

Rin's eyes widened. His neck had stopped hurting. He could breathe again, but that wasn't what made him that surprised. Above him, Neuhaus was crying.

He was shocked but still afraid. Tears were running down the only eye his teacher had left, filling up his face. "Oh Rin…" He sobbed. He pulled his hands away from Rin's neck and hugged him, lifting him up into a sitting position. "My cute Rin…" He embraced him tighter, crying louder at his shoulder, and with his body twitching, like he was mourning. It took a while for Rin to stop being afraid and hug him back, caressing him and trying to calm him down. This was madness… Was that what they called passion?

Neuhaus couldn't help but think only one thing. He had failed to kill Rin. What would happen to the boy now?