Emotional Devastation Ahoy

A/N Or not, YMMV, after all :D Introducing: Generic white-haired anime pro-tag, horn nubs(!), judgmental human friends, Mephisto being bad, and Rin being worse. Amaimon suffers once again, the poor thing.

This is it, you guys, the chapter I've all been waiting for is nigh :D If you haven't read up to the recent chapters in aoe you may want to… not read this one? I guess? lololol It will be full of manga spoilers (the following chapter, too) :D

The problem for poor Amaimon in this particular chapter is that he has the unfortunate ability to draw on Rin's demonic side, where, ironically, Mephisto draws on his humanity.

And I can't tell whether Rin's little horn nubs are actual horns, or, like, pre-horns stuck under the skin, somebody help me out here bc the curiosity is killing me D: Also, I need to know for… scientific purposes :D

Rin was more comfortable than he'd ever been in his entire life.

His mind was still waking up in increments, but his body instinctively knew where he was, surrounded by the familiar scents of Mephisto's bedroom and knowing he and Amaimon were nearby somewhere.

The covers were warm, and Rin wriggled further into them, content to drift back off before he fully awakened.

Something traced along his jaw and his nose twitched at the sensation, turning his head into the touch with a sigh.

A wet heat slid down his neck and Rin felt his body shiver when it cooled in the air, brows furrowing as he began to pull himself out of sleep.

The warm cocoon of blankets he'd been wrapped in was being tugged off him and Rin reached out with a clawed hand to drag it back with a tired grumble only to find his hand gently pushed aside.

That wet heat was being mouthed down his chest, then, and Rin fought against the lethargic undercurrent keeping his eyes closed as awareness pressed with increasing insistence.

He managed to crack one eye open just as he was enveloped, warm suction sending a jolt of adrenaline right to his heart and he came awake with a gasp, trying to shoot up in the bed only to find himself held down to the pillow under his head.

Rin's eyes fluttered as an inadvertent moan left him, back arching as he tried to push into the mouth over his length and discovered he couldn't move his hips either, left to pant at both the surprise and pleasure winding through his body.

"Are you awake, now, Rin?"

Rin opened his eyes fully, having clenched them shut without noticing and looked up to see Mephisto smiling down at him.

"Wha?"

His mind still hadn't caught up, flush rising to his cheeks as he stared at Mephisto without comprehension.

"Not quite yet, then," Mephisto said, smile turning sly as he leaned over to tease Rin into a slow kiss, running the pads of his fingers along Rin's jaw to follow up to the points of his ears and back down again.

"Mmf!" Rin tried to question around the kiss, hips twitching in the hold on them as another slow pull over his length sent a shudder straight through him.

By the time the Mephisto released him Rin was breathless, limp against the bed and staring, openmouthed, up into the demon's green eyes.

Mephisto let his gaze slide away in a deliberate move from Rin's to skim down his body and Rin followed, clenching his teeth together to cut off the squeak that wanted to come out when he saw what had woken him up.

Amaimon paused in his ministrations when Rin met his eyes from where the demon had been leisurely tonguing at his length to smirk at him, licking his lips and watching the way Rin tracked the movement with smug pleasure.

"Amaimon is going to apologize for the way he tricked you yesterday, Rin," Mephisto said against his cheek, the demon's hair tickling where it brushed at his skin.

"Oh," Rin croaked out, unable to look away as Amaimon drew his mouth up along him in a measured drag against his skin that had Rin trembling in anticipation

His heart pounded in his chest and his stomach tensed as Amaimon took him down just as slowly, mouth stretched and tapered tongue winding in twisting patterns of pressure and he still wouldn't let Rin move like he wanted to.

Rin whimpered, shooting a helpless glance back at Mephisto only to find the demon focused on what Amaimon was doing with possessive eyes, as if he was contemplating jumping the earth king where he lay.

The thought of seeing the two demons together sent a shuddering breath through Rin, drawing Mephisto's attention to him and making Rin lick his lips, finding he really wanted the other to kiss him again.

"Mephis-"

Rin's request was cut off and he smiled into the kiss Mephisto dropped onto his mouth, reaching up to bring him closer and feeling a purr rumble in his chest.

He gasped into the demon king's mouth as Amaimon decided to stop teasing, pulling away to moan and dropping back to the mattress, body weak at the intense sensation.

Mephisto shadowed him down, sucking bruises into Rin's chest until Rin could figure out how to move his arms again and brought them to the demon's hair to fist there.

His tail convulsed under where it was trapped beneath his body and Rin groaned in frustration when he tried to lift his hips to free the trapped appendage and Amaimon still wouldn't let him move.

"Amaimon, please," Rin managed to beg, unable to see the demon with Mephisto in the way, though somehow that just made what he was doing all the more intense, the shameless noises in the otherwise silent room teasing his ears and making him blush at how dirty it all sounded.

Amaimon paused over him and Rin felt desperation begin to burn in his bones, biting at his cheeks to cut off the frustrated whine trying to force its way past his lips.

The sound broke loose anyway when Amaimon let a deep purr rumble through his mouth, vibrating around Rin and sending electricity singing along his nerve-endings until Rin tensed, body pulled taut like a string, and came into the demon's throat with a long groan.

Mephisto untangled Rin's fingers from his hair, letting his hands fall limp to the bed as Rin trembled in the afterglow.

Amaimon withdrew from his position, mouth leaving Rin with a wet pop that had Rin blushing again, doubly so when the demon gave a satisfied lick to his lips, eyeing Rin from lowered lashes.

And then Mephisto pounced on Amaimon, hauling the earth king into a domineering kiss and pressing their bodies flush together next to Rin's legs.

Mephisto growled into the kiss as Amaimon bit until he drew blood, rubbing his chest against the silk robe Mephisto was wearing in a sinuous glide of his body.

Rin propped himself onto his elbows, a buzzing building in his ears and mind going numb as he watched the display.

Mephisto got his hand around Amaimon's length, running a tight grasp over it until Amaimon moaned into his mouth, reaching forward with his own hand to tug Mephisto out of his robe to reciprocate.

Rin's mouth went dry, breaths coming fast and shallow in his chest as the two fell against each other, their kiss turning sloppy and erratic and their movements becoming more frantic with every passing second.

Amaimon was the first to give out, coming with a cry in Mephisto's hand, his own stuttering its pace until he could recover enough to resume, twisting around the other demon's length with renewed focus until Mephisto followed suite with his own cry, slumping to rest over the smaller demon and shuddering there.

Rin's mouth moved wordlessly as he tried to think of a way to convey exactly how hot the sight of the two demons together was and failed to think of anything, wishing he had a way with words like Mephisto did, or at least Amaimon's blunt approach to things.

"God, I could watch the two of you forever," Rin mumbled, eyes wide as he imprinted the way they intertwined with each other into his memory.

The sound of his voice had Amaimon opening his eyes to glance at him out of the corner of them, gold glinting as he registered the words.

Mephisto drew his head away from Amaimon's shoulder to give Rin a considering look.

Rin just sent them a wide smile, eyes crinkling closed, before dropping back to the bed with a whump, "thanks, guys. Apology accepted."

He was joined a moment later by Amaimon, turning his head to nuzzle into the demon's neck with a contented sigh.

"Going back to bed already? And after Amaimon worked so hard to wake you up?"

Rin cracked an eye open to see Mephisto cocking his head at him, arms folded in mock exasperation.

"It's winter break," Rin delivered, closing his eyes again and moving more firmly into Amaimon's arms, "I'm not getting up unless someone forces me out of this bed."

"Mmm," Mephisto breathed against the back of his neck as he settled along Rin's back, "I think I can live with those conditions."

With Mephisto's blessing, Rin got back to enjoying his well-earned lazy day.

The days he spent with the two demons went a long way in allowing Rin to cool his anger towards Yukio.

It was a still an awkward affair when he made it to the train station to meet with the rest of the exwires to go to the wedding happening the next night and Rin was sure everyone noticed the way he and Yukio weren't really acknowledging each other.

But he didn't want to ruin something like a wedding for his friends, so he forced himself to smile until he'd tricked his mind into a better state, spending the train ride catching up on how their breaks were going.

"Ah, Rin," Shiemi turned to him, frowning as she looked for something that wasn't there, "Ambrosia isn't coming?"

Rin shot a glance towards Yukio, darting away before his twin could notice and smiling at Shiemi, "nah, he didn't want to be somewhere surrounded by so many people for so long. It makes him uncomfortable. Plus, I'm not sure how well they'd take another demon showing up, I'm still surprised they like me enough to invite me."

Bon snorted from where he was sitting across from them, "they like you fine, idiot. Although you're probably right that the wedding isn't a great time to introduce Amaimon to them."

They made it, heading up to Bon's home, the inn being the only place that had any space available for their group with the amount of family members already arrived.

And Rin didn't have time to worry anymore, swept into the chaos of helping prepare food and other miscellaneous last-minute tasks, the energetic spirits of the people around him doing wonders for his mood until he was genuinely happy.

It felt like no time at all until he was collapsing in his seat beside Konekomaru, Bon, and Yukio, dressed for the wedding and watching Mamushi be led down the aisle.

He wasn't the only one not hiding tears at the beautiful ceremony.

When it was over, Rin looked around to find Yukio, blinking to notice him already gone. He found Shiemi instead, "hey, uh, you see where Yukio wandered off to?"

Shiemi bit her lip, frowning as if considering whether she would speak or not, "um, Rin. Is there anything wrong between you two? It's just, I haven't seen Yuki talk to you once this whole time and…"

Rin flinched, dropping his chin, of course he'd been noticed, though hopefully it had just been Shiemi and not the others, too, "we had… an argument after the party. I was staying with Amaimon the whole time until I saw him again at the strain station."

Shiemi looked at him with sad eyes, reaching forward to draw him into a hug that Rin found himself shuddering against, not realizing how badly his twin's avoidance was hurting him until just then.

"I don't know how to reach him anymore, Shiemi," Rin whispered, voice breaking and tears burning down his cheeks into her hair, "he won't talk to me, and he's got this scary look in his eyes that won't go away, and I can't do anything about it."

"Oh, Rin," Shiemi murmured, her own voice thick with tears, "he'll come around. He has too. Maybe I can talk to him when we get home."

Rin sniffled, pulling back to give her a watery smile, "I always though you got him better than I did, you know. But I don't want to put everything on you to solve, either. You shouldn't have to fix our messes."

"He's my friend, Rin, too," Shiemi said, voice firm, "and so are you are, and I don't want to see either of you like this. So, let me help."

The relief her words sent through him made Rin feel guilty, knowing the challenge she was going to be facing in his stead and still not wanting to stop her. Because as it was, he was at a dead end and couldn't see a way out. If Shiemi wanted to wade into the turbulent waters to drag Yukio from them, then he wouldn't dissuade her at this point, he didn't have the energy to fight anymore.

"Thank you, Shiemi," Rin brought her back into a grateful hug, tension fading a bit at the shared struggle.

And then someone turned the TV on, having heard about a major explosion in the city at the Ikebukuro Station and there was a cyclops demon attacking.

Rin was still aware enough to see Yukio enter back into the room, Bon and Shima trailing behind him looking wary. But he didn't have time to wonder about it as Yukio was gathering them together, letting them know Shura had summoned them back to the academy to deal with the sudden influx of demonic activity they were seeing.

Yukio was taking a key to get on the frontlines quicker while they had to take the next train back to the academy. And somehow Shima also had a key that he was using to go do "spy stuff" as he said, causing Rin to glare because he still could not understand why they let the blatant spy off so easily when they couldn't be sure of his allegiances at all.

Rin moved down the train aisle a bit later, feeling a knot of tension returning.

Bon was already at his laptop and Rin walked by him, letting the other exwire work at whatever it was he'd probably been tasked with by Lightning.

But his name being called by the other had him stopping, a little uneasy at the somber look he received.

"Hey, there's something I gotta talk to you about," Bon said, holding his eyes over the screen of his computer, "not right now, but soon. Does tomorrow morning work for you?"

"Uh, yeah, sure, Bon," Rin mumbled back, anxiety racketing up even further as Bon just nodded and went back to his work.

Someone pulled up their phone and Rin could see updates on their social media about what some were calling a prank on people in Tokyo. Because some people could see the cyclops attacking the station and others couldn't. Then someone found another video of exorcists in action and Rin watched Shura take down the cyclops with help from General Jack Frost, summoned by Lightning to boost her sword and allowing her to unleash a devastating finishing move on the demon.

He shared worried looks with the other exwires as conversation in the train cart amongst the unaware civilians focused entirely on the situation they were heading into, fidgeting in his seat with the building tension.

They made it off in a rush, heading out onto the streets outside the academy station and began to head back to Rin's dorm to await instructions.

Rin was drawn up short as he saw an entourage of high-level exorcists moving past them, and Lighting, carried by his scruff in the hand of a truly massive giant of a man.

"Lightning!"

The exorcist looked over at Bon's cry, smiling without care at the worry in his apprentice's tone, "ah, looks like they caught me sooner than I expected. I probably won't be back for a while but keep working on that report for me, okay, Bon?"

They watched with helpless faces as the exorcist was carried away, though with nothing to do they had no choice but to keep heading home.

True to his word, Bon was already in the lounge working on finishing the report as everyone sat to eat a quick dinner Rin prepared in the dorm's kitchen nearby.

Besides preliminary reports of what was happening on the news, there was nothing left to go on and, with dinner finished, they decided to call it a night. Though Shiemi ended up heading back to her house and Izumo back to her dorm, the others didn't want to leave, not knowing when they'd be called on and not wanting to be alone just then.

It was snowing, and Rin could only wonder if Yukio had anything warm to eat, wherever he was.

When Rin made it down to the kitchen early the next morning, Bon and Konekomaru already had the TV on the news. Rin blinked to see Mephisto as a guest speaker, the demon being called in as an "expert" on the situation. The irony of it had Rin cracking a smile to see the demon get to enjoy being the center of attention.

Then Bon sighed and looked up at him, closing his laptop with finality.

"Rin, I think I should talk to you now."

Not liking the foreboding tone in his friend's voice, Rin nodded and left the kitchen to follow Bon into the hallway.

"I kinda don't know if I should tell you this," Bon began, rubbing at the back of his head and avoiding Rin's eyes.

"It's about your brother."

"Rin!"

They both flinched at the yell, turning to the door to see Shiemi looking like she'd run the whole way there as she panted for air.

Rin started to go over to her when her head shot up, tears in her eyes and red faced.

"It's Yuki!"

They moved to the cafeteria out of the hallway, Shiemi accepting the mug of tea Konekomaru brought her and sat at the table to collect herself.

The story came out then, Bon speaking first while they waited for Shiemi.

Yukio had pointed his gun in Bon's face, demanding answers about what the investigation was that he and Lightning had been working on, and what they knew about the mystery of he and Rin's birth.

Rin froze, panic clipping his heart as he heard that, flashing back to the conversation they'd had the night of the party and knowing the story was true.

Izumo had arrived in the middle of things, staring in shocked silence while Bon relayed what had happened at the wedding.

"Yuki," Shiemi spoke up, then, drawing Rin's attention as he stared in morbid fascination, feeling his world crumbling as he wondered what news she would deliver.

"He told me he's all alone, without friends or family," her voice broke, new tears building in her eyes as she clenched them closed at the memory, "I got so angry. I tried to tell him it wasn't true, but I think I messed up and he ran out."

He'd had it.

Rin bolted, feeling his body steam in the winter air as he made it outside into the snow, flames hissing just beneath the surface of his skin and fangs elongating in his mouth.

Yukio.

No more letting his twin hide. He was going to drag whatever was up with him out if it was the last thing he did. He-

He didn't know what he was going to do.

Rin ran, though he didn't know where he was going, exactly, heading towards Shiemi's house through the city where Yukio's last known location was to track him from there.

"Hey! There's been gunfire- a shooting- at that government press conference just now!"

Rin's attention was pulled to the open-air restaurant he was running by, seeing the crowd of regulars staring at the TV screen at whatever was on it.

"Who was shot?"

"Wasn't it that guy from the Knights who kinda looks like a clown? It looked like the bullet hit him right in the forehead!"

Rin was on top of the bar and in front of the screen in the time it took him to process those words, feeling a broken sound leave his throat as he saw a view of a stage, unable to find Mephisto anywhere on it but the black form of an exorcist crouched to the side and behind the podium gave him a good idea of where the demon was.

And a group of exorcists restraining his brother on the floor with the words "suspected shooter apprehended" flashing across his vision in a pulse of red.

"Where is this?" He snarled behind him at the people, irritated at him for blocking their view.

"The, er, Japanese Prime Minister's residence, kid."

Rin was gone, surprised shouts following him as he raced to find a way to the train station, feeling like he was hyperventilating as concern for Mephisto and anger towards Yukio bit into his mind, feeling his vision tunneling.

That was when the atmosphere changed, and he stumbled, heart pounding as a wave of miasma filled the air.

His eyes were sightless as he tried to comprehend what he was feeling, something was pressing at his chest and he couldn't breathe, fully in the throes of a panic attack.

That was when the sounds of fear began around him and he looked up, eyes widening as the people near him were staring like he'd grown wings and horns, fear in their gazes.

"Is that a monster?" Someone whispered.

Others began taking up the epitaph, and Rin felt ambushed, turning in place and finding nowhere to go.

They could see his demonic features, pointed ears and fangs suddenly visible to them and he realized what the cause of the miasma was. They might not have noticed them regularly, but he'd let his fangs down and his eyes slit, and his ears must have elongated in his anger. All that was missing was his tail.

The Gehenna gate had been released from Mephisto's hold.

Rin bolted, needing more than ever to see the demon king and assure himself that he was okay and not dead. He could take a few bullets. He knew he could. But logic wasn't ruling him at the moment.

He'd made it to a crowd of people, police keeping them away from the news van reporting on the situation and Rin was about to just hop over the whole knot before he saw the military convoy being let through and caught sight of Shura in one of the trucks.

He was at the window in seconds to Shura's shocked face, though she rolled it down and had the driver stop show she could talk with him.

"Where's Mephisto!"

His question stopped her short.

"You, you mean Yukio?" Shura corrected, looking at him with a strange expression that Rin couldn't place.

"Him too," Rin growled, feeling his fangs drop down again, sensing that his twin was somewhere nearby, probably even in the back of the truck Shura was in.

His flames licked harder under his skin.

"Rin," Shura drew his attention back to her, face resigned, "I don't think Yukio will be coming back."

That stopped Rin cold as Shura told him exwires and lower-class exorcists were being ordered to stay on standby in their quarters.

"And, Rin," Shura dropped her gaze, voice coming out in a disbelieving whisper, "Yukio may have inherited Satan's flames. He's being taken to get tested."

The last brick crumbled, and Rin felt like he'd been the one shot that night.

"Go home, Rin," Shura ended, already turning to sit back in her seat.

"Wait!" Rin shouted, voice almost a roar as his flames came out in a quick burst of blue light throwing Shura's face in a startled relief as he grabbed at the door on the window, hand crunching through the metal there at his loss of control, "where's Mephisto?"

"Rin!" Shura gasped, pulling back from the door and eyeing the damaged he'd done, "he was brought back to Faust Mansion, he's there. But why do you want to know so bad? You're scaring me, kid."

Rin was gone, darting back through the crowd to Shura's yells for him to stop.

The mad dash for the mansion passed him by, flying through a blur of streets to yelps from people he brushed through until he took to the roofs.

He'd given up on pretending to be human for the night.

Rin hopped the gate to the mansion, pushing open the door and making for Mephisto's room without hesitation, unerringly knowing where the demon was.

He passed Belial in the hall, ignoring the way the demon eyed him with a wariness in his stance, backing away like he was dangerous.

Rin had the last door open and shut in the next heartbeat, focus zeroing in to the still form on the bed in the darkness of the room.

He stood over the bed, unable to remember moving, but now that he was there, he found he couldn't move at all.

Mephisto was unconscious, not dead, that much at least registered. But he didn't know what to do with that revelation, stuck in indecision, claws flexing with every twitch of his hands.

He wanted to scream, he wanted to cry.

He wanted to kill Yukio. He didn't.

So, he stayed there, trembling and panting short breaths that left him feeling like he wasn't getting enough oxygen until his lungs ached.

"Rin."

And Amaimon was there, though he hadn't approached, staying at the door to the room and watching Rin with the same wary eyes everyone else seemed to have around him that night.

"He's gonna be okay, right?" Rin said, voice scratching out of his throat, feeling like his heart was too tight behind his ribcage.

Amaimon gave a slow nod, still not moving from where he was.

Rin let out a wounded sound, not understanding why the earth king wasn't next to him.

"Amaimon, why are you over there?"

It was just like before, at the shrine.

"Why are you avoiding me again?" Rin felt himself ask, head dropping forward and bangs falling to shield his eyes as anger at Yukio and the whole situation twisted its thorns through his skin.

When Amaimon just froze by the door, Rin's lips pulled back over his fangs, startled to find that they had filled his mouth without him knowing.

"Come here, Amaimon."

Was that his voice? Rin had never heard it sound like that, a sibilant hiss that was more like a snake before it struck than anything human.

Whatever it was, it got Amaimon to finally come over to him, so he didn't think about it too hard.

He was about to pull Amaimon into his hold when the demon reached his side only to find him sinking to his knees by the bed, neck arched back as if it was an offering to him.

Rin was on the exposed throat before he knew what was happening, fangs closing around it as he pressed Amaimon to his body in an aching embrace.

He didn't bite, just breathed as he shook against the demon, letting his wild emotions rip through him while he came undone.

It was Amaimon bringing his clawed hands up to cradle his head that finally broke the spell and Rin gasped, sitting back to stare at the earth king in total confusion at what had just transpired.

"Your eyes," Amaimon explained once he'd ascertained that Rin was himself again, "they warp when you're no longer in control. It's dangerous to approach you when you're like that."

"I," Rin gulped around his dry throat, "I didn't know that."

He slumped down, staring at his hands on his knees as he felt shame burn through him. That he'd made Amaimon scared of him, or at least cautious, like he might hurt the demon, dug into his mind.

"I'm sorry," Rin mumbled out, voice faint, as he closed his eyes, the shame growing further until he curled over his lap.

He froze as Amaimon shifted forward to press a kiss to his hair, lingering there.

"That human twin of yours didn't shoot him," Amaimon began after a while, wrapping his arms over Rin's shoulders.

"What?" Rin breathed, pulling away to look into Amaimon's eyes, hope trying to push its way into his heart.

"Mephisto told me to let you know. It wasn't him."

The gasp of relief that left Rin's lungs had him swaying in Amaimon's hold, dropping his head to the demon's shoulder and clenching his fists at his coat.

"I have to get him out of there," Rin spoke, voice low, the realization hitting him as he remembered what else Shura had let him know about Yukio. About being tested for Satan's flames, like she already knew he had them.

Amaimon sighed, "Mephisto said you would say that, too."

"Mephisto should have dodged," Rin growled, glaring at the still figure on the bed.

Amaimon just looked at him and Rin had the sinking suspicion that Mephisto once again, had known something like that was going to happen.

Movement came from the bed then, and Rin was up and leaning over it to watch Mephisto crack open his eyes as the demon woke.

"Who did it?" Rin found himself hissing again, swallowing the noise and shaking his head to force himself calm.

His anger only got a wry smile from the demon and the blankets shifted as he brought his hand out to rest it on Rin's cheek, despite the shaking in the limbs from the exertion.

"I have my suspicions," Mephisto said instead of answering, brushing his claw just under Rin's eye when his non-answer caused it to twitch in aggravation, "you shouldn't concern yourself with that. The truth will come out eventually, but you have more important things to worry about than me."

"No, I don't," Rin grumbled, averting his gaze to press his cheek further into Mephisto's palm, not wanting to see the knowing look in the demon king's green eyes.

"I believe you brother needs you more than I do, or have you given up on him, finally?"

Rin glared at the dig. Mephisto knew he'd never be able to give up on Yukio and it was a cheap shot to remind him of that.

"No," Rin sighed, releasing his anger and bringing his hand up to Mephisto's, "I need to get back to the others and see if they'll help me rescue him. I'm glad you're okay."

"Go, then, Rin," Mephisto said, "I need to speak with Amaimon. I'll be sending him along to help you."

Rin nodded, closing his eyes and breathing in the demon king's scent, letting it calm him further as he prepared for what was ahead.

He opened his eyes again, lips quirked in a smile as he leant down to place a kiss on Mephisto's head like a benediction, right over the bandage where the bullet had hit.

Rin got up, the demon's hand trailing away from his face and dropping to the bed.

Amaimon stood aside as he passed, face blank as if unsure what he should do. Rin let a wide smile form, the fact that the ruthless earth king didn't know how to handle emotions at all still absolutely hilarious to him.

His smile threw the demon off and Rin went up to him to press a kiss to his cheek, "I'll see you later, then, right?"

Amaimon looked to Mephisto as if lost, although at the other demon's tired smirk, he turned back to Rin and nodded, letting out a short noise of affirmation.

He left the two to make their plans, heading home to make his own.

"Amaimon."

Amaimon forced himself to look away from where Rin had exited, heart thudding in his chest because he could not understand why the younger demon hadn't tried to rip them apart for their clear deceptions yet and it was making him feel panicked.

Especially knowing what was to come.

He knew how he would react if he'd discovered such machinations against himself.

But Mephisto was already moving onto the next stage of his plan, outlining how he anticipated events to play out and making a script for Amaimon to read that was way too over-dramatic where Amaimon would prefer to just kill the annoying humans in his way and be done with things.

"You know very well how Rin would take you slaughtering helpless humans in his sight," Mephisto chided, causing Amaimon to grumble, because, yes. He did know.

Mephisto snapped, bringing a stack of the invisibility coats out to give to Amaimon for the humans, which Amaimon snapped away to pull out later.

He was heading for the door, almost at it when a sound from Mephisto brought him up short, turning back to look at the elder where he lay in the bed.

"Amaimon," Mephisto's eyes watched him, expression grave, and Amaimon had to resist clenching his fists together at the unease the tone made him feel.

"Be careful."

With that foreboding farewell, Amaimon left to catch up to Rin.

"Foolish humans. Can you feel it? The air is brimming with the madness of Gehenna."

Terrified gasps echoed his words from the pitiful humans below him.

Amaimon read from the script Mephisto had made, with the barest inflection, not understanding the other demon's need for theatrics at all.

"While Samael is weakened, the king of earth shall bring chaos to Assiah."

"Waa hah hah haha!"

"Ha."

Amaimon sighed, watching the humans scatter like ants, fleeing from his presence and leaving the area free for the exwires to sneak in.

He couldn't see them, but he smelled them well enough, and they eventually gathered around him, dropping their hoods so they were visible.

"Rin and Yukio escaped!"

Izumo had spoken, relief evident in her voice.

"We've gotta get out of here, too, before they realize what happened and catch us," Bon ordered.

"I'm going after them," Amaimon was already turning away, ignoring their shouts and leaping to the railing far above. He hoisted himself up to the connecting walkway leading outside to the long terrace where he knew the twins were headed and ignored the smell of the spy coming from a hidden alcove to dart down the corridor.

He made it to see Rin facing off with his twin, snarl rising to his lips at the expression on the worthless human's face.

He could hear Rin pleading, voice desperate, until a blinding light appeared and Amaimon sensed Lucifer's work bringing the military copter to their location.

And there was the spy, beckoning to the twin with his offer to join the Illuminati, and the rest of the exwires made it to the roof to witness it. Their cries of dismay at the betrayal they should have seen coming only made Amaimon scowl at the naivete.

When the twin pulled his guns on Rin, Amaimon almost snapped and destroyed him, damn Mephisto's plans anyway.

His claws dug into the concrete of the building beneath them, gauging crumbling rents into it when Rin went down, three shots to his head, his throat, and his heart.

That that creature would even dare-

Amaimon forced his fangs back, taking a calming breath through his nose and drew his claws out of the concrete with a final frustrated growl.

But Shiemi was moving to run to Rin and Amaimon wouldn't let the girl get in the way. He didn't trust the damn twin not to shoot her, too, and Rin might never forgive him if he let his good friend get hurt when he could have stopped it.

He jumped down, reaching out to grab her shoulder and making her cry out in surprise.

"Hey, what gives?" Bon shouted at him.

Amaimon kept a steady grip on Shiemi as she looked up at him with tears in her eyes.

"But why?"

"You can't stop them now," Amaimon tried to put as gently as he knew how, "nothing can stop this now."

It was just in time to see Rin rise again, blue flames surrounding him as the attack triggered his instincts and he released his heart from its scabbard to bring down on his twin.

That damn spy turned his own black flame attack on Rin, only to miss pitifully, prompting Rin, in his enraged state, to tackle the fool and deliver a punishing blow that knocked him back into the wall behind him.

That left him free to turn back to his real target.

Rin broke his heart against the twin flames in his brother's eyes, the pieces shattering to the ground around him.

Excitement and dread speared through Amaimon's chest as a new presence entered the field.

Satan, their Father was here.

He felt Shiemi tremble in his hold and instinctively pulled her behind him, unable to take his attention away from where Father's voice came from, drawn to the power unlike any he'd ever felt before.

Except for Rin's.

Father spoke to the brothers, and Amaimon caught the words but they passed through his mind in a hazy buzz of energy that had him swaying, hypnotized, as a wide grin pulled itself across his face.

Such unbelievable power.

"Please, you have to stop them!"

Amaimon shook his head free of the effect, turning to see Shiemi had brought her hands to his arm as she pled with him.

A chorus of angry agreements came from the other humans but Amaimon didn't pay them any attention, looking into Shiemi's eyes as the smile fell from his face.

"I. Can't."

"Bullshit, you can't!"

Amaimon snapped a glare to Bon at his accusation.

He didn't have time to put the human in his place as their focus was turned back to the twins.

That spy was prodded awake and the human twin turned to leave with him, Rin fallen to the ground before them and watching, helpless, as he was given one last word from his traitor of a brother to be left without a backwards glance as they disappeared into the copter.

Lucifer's power echoed again and left, only the noise of the wind whipping around where its blades had been was left to fill the deafening silence.

"Rin!"

The humans darted around Amaimon, and at Shiemi's insistent tugs, he released her, too.

"Stay back!"

Amaimon's eyes widened at the cry from Rin and he vanished to appear in front of the stupid humans, arms thrown wide to halt their advance towards the demon.

"Get out of our way!" Bon had the nerve to shout at him, fury in his eyes, "how could you just sit there while Yukio did that to Rin? What kind of shitty boyfriend are you?"

Then Rin groaned, collapsing to the ground behind him before his body snapped upwards again, back arched, pulled taut like he was being electrocuted as his flames consumed him.

Amaimon didn't turn to look, narrowing his eyes at the stubborn humans just sitting there, watching the dangerous flames.

"His demonic heart was sealed in that sword," Amaimon hissed, jerking his head to where the broken pieces littered the ground, "when it broke the rest of his flames returned from Gehenna to his body."

He watched his words register with them, horror eating at their expressions as they watched Rin's body begin to blacken and smolder at the intense flames consuming them.

"What's going to happen to him?" Konekomaru whimpered.

"If his body can't take the perfect flame," Amaimon finally turned to see Rin looked more like a burning corpse than anything alive and his face shuttered at his next words, "he'll die."

"What?" Bon breathed out, rearing back at that, before spitting out, enraged, "this is your fault! You let this happen to him, you bastard!"

Amaimon's eyes contracted, snarl erupting on his face.

How dare-

He leapt away, retreating to a tower nearby.

Any further interaction with the human would only make him react and if that happened he'd more than likely kill him- and Rin, if he survived, really would never forgive him, then.

Amaimon watched the flames dwindle until they disappeared, Rin's body a charred husk falling to the ground and felt like maybe his own heart might join it there.

He rubbed at his chest, not understanding the unusual feeling twisting in it that he'd never experienced before and not liking the sensation in the slightest.

Shiemi approached the fallen form, kneeling down and getting the soot laying around it on her coat.

And then…

Rin's heart, surrounded by his blue flames and the most beautiful thing Amaimon had ever witnessed in all the countless years of his existence, appeared to hover over Rin's body.

He was alive.

Amaimon had a moment to enjoy the revelation, watching the chunks of charcoal fall away to let new skin show through, burnt away by the fire until Rin was left whole and untouched.

Alive.

The young demon's hair had gone white, his eyes, when he opened them, were the dangerous warped form Amaimon had only seen when the other was fully demonic.

The sight of them had Amaimon's hackles rising, wary as he realized something wasn't right.

The foolish humans crept closer and Amaimon felt fear enter his heart.

He couldn't react in time.

Rin exploded, blue flames rising in a wide pillar around him to disappear into the clouds above until Amaimon lost sight of them.

The humans were surely dead, Amaimon turned his eyes down from the spire to search for the remains of Rin's friends, dreading what he'd find and how he was going to explain himself to Rin when he came back from this.

Shock struck him.

A wall of trees, fully grown into a forest had appeared between Rin and his humans.

And Shiemi had created it.

She was…

If that was true…

There was nothing he could do about it then.

Rin was advancing on his friends.

Amaimon wouldn't let him.

He leapt down, dropping into the path of the inferno, just hearing the surprised cries of the humans behind the wall of trees as they saw him come between the two.

He couldn't pay them any attention even if he'd wanted to.

Rin was watching him and Amaimon was caught in his gaze.

"Amaimon! I'm so happy to see you!"

That statement, delivered the way it was, made Amaimon shiver in terror, motionless where he stood like prey before a predator as Rin smiled at him.

The face that usually stared at him with such adoration was a façade now, and Amaimon could only watch as it twisted, the sinister being beneath it rising to the surface.

"Play with me, Amaimon."

That wasn't a request.

Amaimon took off, heart pounding an erratic rhythm against his ribs as he heard the demon follow after.

It was a cruel mimicry of the day they'd stormed Lucifer's labs. When he'd been so sure Rin would punish him for his betrayal.

That was nothing compared to now, with Rin calling out behind him to stop, come back.

Play with him.

He'd felt shades of fear then, at the lab, soothed over when Rin had finally caught him, and he realized the other hadn't wanted to punish him at all.

Except this time Amaimon was sure he didn't want Rin to catch him. He didn't think he would survive the encounter.

The cat and mouse game pushed Amaimon to his limits, breath coming in harsh gasps out of his exhausted lungs, body screaming at the force he put into it. He was getting tired.

He could feel Rin getting closer.

His demonic features had come out, control failing him as fear bit at his heels, urging him ever faster to escape the creature in his shadow.

Amaimon made it to an abandoned construction site, leaping and dodging through the holes in the building, not knowing how close Rin was anymore as he came out into the empty courtyard in the middle and looked around for an escape.

Fire drove him down to the ground and he screamed.

"Caught you, Amaimon!"

Amaimon couldn't respond, mouth open in a choked cry.

Rin had a hand around his neck, pressing in with unhurried pressure until Amaimon gagged, feeling his throat creak as it threatened to crush under the force.

"Let's play, now, Amaimon."

Amaimon's vision had black spots in it, but he could see the sadistic delight in Rin's warped pupils.

Rin released his throat and Amaimon retched out heaving breaths, body trying to heal the damage done to it.

He froze as Rin dropped his head to his neck, shuddering in an absolute panic under the demon.

"Mmm, you smell like fear, Amaimon," Rin looked up at him, long tongue coming out to lick at his lips, "you smell like mine."

Rin laid his palm flat over Amaimon heart, smiling that false smile again.

Amaimon screamed, smelling sizzling meat and not understanding why until he realized it was his body that was burning under Rin's gentle touch.

His voice gave out before Rin decided to stop.

He thought he'd blacked out for a bit before he was shaken awake, blinking bleary eyes wet with tears that sizzled and evaporated in the intense heat Rin was giving off when they tried to track down his cheeks.

He found his head tugged up by his hair as Rin made him look down his chest to see what had been done to him.

"I hope that doesn't heal, Amaimon," Rin said against his ear, "I want everyone to know you're mine."

A blackened patch of oozing flesh in the shape of Rin's hand laid over his chest. He could see the white of his bone poking out where the flames had melted straight through the muscle.

"You don't look like you're having fun, Amaimon."

Amaimon flinched violently, trying to jerk back in Rin's hold and finding he couldn't, hair held tight enough that he felt strands rip themselves out of his head at his frantic movements.

"What's the matter, Amaimon?" Rin cocked his head when he heard his cries of agony, "I thought you liked pain?"

Amaimon found himself flipped onto his stomach, gravel biting into his open wound and bringing another torn scream to his lips as his writhed on the ground.

A flare of blue flames and his clothes were burned off his body, the fire scalding his skin until it was boiled with third-degree burns and Amaimon froze at the sheer agony roasting his nerve endings away, uncontrollably shaking and eyes unseeing, unable to even scream, as he waited for Rin's next move.

"I wonder, If I pull off your tail, will it grow back like a lizard's?"

Amaimon let out a moan of pure terror, renewing his struggles to escape.

A hand grabbed his hip and the searing fire was back where his skin had been trying to heal. Amaimon shrieked, eyes rolling in his head as he was reduced to an animal pain.

He collapsed.

Everything went black.

"Oh, Rin."

The sounds of Amaimon's screams had tapered off.

"What have you done?"

Mephisto stared down, feeling something almost like regret. He'd never once in his long life and all his years of lying, manipulating, and killing without remorse, experienced such a thing and he didn't know what to do about it now.

Amaimon had fallen comatose under Rin, the poor creature unable to handle the torture his body had just been through.

His words had attracted the newly awakened demon's attention away from his unmoving prey.

The smile that was turned up at him was cruel and so unlike Rin's usual bright expressions that Mephisto wanted to claw it off his face.

"Mephisto," that false voice crooned, turning away from where he'd been pressing at the burned mark he'd left on Amaimon's hip to crouch before Mephisto, tail lashing behind him in a sinuous wave of blue flames.

"Amaimon won't play with me, Mephisto," the demon pouted, though his lips twitched, smile threatening to return, "make him play with me."

Mephisto just shook his head, voice soft, "no, Rin. Amaimon will not be playing with you tonight."

That brought a twisted scowl to the demon's face at having been denied.

It disappeared just as fast, as capricious as the wind.

"Will you play with me, Mephisto?"

The demon crouched lower to the ground, getting ready to pounce as the flames of his pupils moved in slow patterns, hypnotic in their effect as if trying to lure Mephisto into a false sense of security.

"No, Rin," Mephisto said again.

The demon toppled playfully to his side on the ground, rolling to expose his belly to Mephisto.

Were he a lesser demon the display would have drawn him in immediately.

Which is what the little beast wanted.

When he didn't move in for the bait, the demon upped the ante.

"Mephisto," the voice crooned again, "I want you. You're mine, aren't you?"

The demon's hips raised, back arching off the ground and neck stretching to reveal the pale column of his throat as his arms extended towards Mephisto to beckon him down into the deadly embrace.

"Let me have you, Mephisto," the demon moaned, stomach stretching in a play of muscles that begged to be touched, "I want to reach into your ribcage and eat your heart. Let me?"

Mephisto almost shuddered at the possessiveness, realizing with a sudden clarity what a true horror Rin was as a demon. This couldn't be allowed to go on. He had to bring him back.

"Rin."

The focus in those eyes when he said the demon's name, the stillness that overcame the demon's body as he prepared to attack, Mephisto ignored both.

"Look at what you have done to Amaimon, Rin. Amaimon, who is yours. You once told us that you didn't like hurting others, that you didn't know how. Look and see how you've left him."

The demon's eyes were drawn back to where Amaimon lay, uncaring apathy in his eyes as he surveyed the earth king's broken body.

Mephisto almost thought his words had failed when the demon just quirked a vicious smile down at the evidence of his work.

The demon brought his eyes back up to Mephisto and opened his mouth to respond.

His breath choked off, eyes widening as an internal battle raged behind them.

His mouth gaped open, half snarl, half gasp, until something changed behind Rin's eyes and he blinked them in rapid flutters.

There he was.

"Mephisto?"

Rin looked at him without comprehension, total trust in those bright blue eyes that Mephisto wanted to flee to avoid.

Then Rin turned back to look at Amaimon and a long keen left his throat, the sound echoing through the hollow tomb of the construction site as Rin realized what he'd done.

"Amaimon!"

Mephisto felt his lips curl down at the devastated wail coming from Rin that grated against his ears, finding he didn't like the sound of it at all.

He didn't get a chance to do anything about it as it cut off, Rin collapsing in an exhausted heap to the ground and his flames guttering out until it was just his beautiful heart floating above his chest left to light the area.

Mephisto sighed, a long breath that trailed into the cold air, closing his eyes.

He turned to Belial. The demon arriving behind him to stand back, awaiting his orders.

"Bring them," Mephisto waved his hand, "We'll return to the mansion."

"Yes sir."

Mephisto didn't look back again, snapping his fingers and depositing the group into his room.

Belial carried Amaimon to the bed first, laying the earth king over the canvas sheet he'd put out to prevent the demon's blood and fluids from his still healing burns from staining Mephisto's nice duvet.

Rin was next, set under the covers, body whole and unscarred from his awakening.

"Leave us."

And Mephisto was alone.

He gave one last long look at the bodies in his bed before turning to head out to the balcony.

Rin woke slowly, the comforting scents of Mephisto's room surrounding him. He snuggled further back into the warm covers, content to stay there, cocooned in a sense of safety and protection, for as long as he could.

He could smell Amaimon there, too.

But…

Something was wrong.

Rin felt his nose twitch.

It wasn't just Amaimon he was smelling, but Amaimon's blood.

Lots of it.

Rin forced himself to wake up, blinking bleary eyes as he tried to search out why he was smelling so much blood.

He turned his head on the pillow to where he could feel Amaimon's presence in his mind.

Everything came back to him in a rush.

The earth's king's sleeping face stared back at him, skin cleared of the burns that had been inflicted on it, demonic healing having done away with the damage in the time they'd been out for.

There was still a faint hint of the palm shaped burn on Amaimon's chest where Rin had placed it with such gentleness while the demon had screamed.

The bloodstained canvas Amaimon was resting on was the source of the alarming scent of the demon's blood that had woken Rin up.

Panicked breaths began stuttering out of Rin's throat at the sight, little hiccups bubbling out until he was crying, shaking against the bed.

He couldn't move.

He wanted to run. He wanted to reach out to Amaimon and take him in his arms and never let him go.

He couldn't, afraid of what he'd done to the demon and afraid of what might happen if he touched him again.

Amaimon's brows furrowed and Rin realized his cries had woken him up.

He tried to stifle the sounds, not wanting to see the fear he remembered causing in the other. The fear he'd delighted in, the possessive need to create it in the earth king the only thing he'd been able to focus on.

He'd loved the power he'd held over Amaimon.

But he couldn't stop his sobs at that point, the effort only making him cry louder. Messy tears soaked the pillow beneath his face and ran down his heated skin in wet trails until his head was throbbing and his throat was sore.

He curled into a fetal position, hiding his eyes against his knees to avoid witnessing Amaimon once he'd fully woken.

A clawed hand pressed into his hair, carding through it in soft movements as Rin froze, cries breaking off at the unexpected touch.

"Why are you crying?"

The question broke Rin's heart and he felt another sob tear its way out of his throat.

"Rin."

"I hurt you!" Rin gasped out, curling further into a tight ball and trembling there, wishing he could disappear.

"You did."

The confirmation had Rin heaving, ribs aching at the pain, as he felt sick with himself.

Amaimon moved to gather him into his arms, the demon enveloping him in an embrace and a purr rising out in a calming measure.

"Why did I do that? I hurt you and I liked it. Why did I hurt you?" Rin breathed, unable to understand what had happened to make him attack Amaimon like that.

"We did that to you, Rin. It wasn't your fault."

Rin jolted in Amaimon's arms, flinching away from the demon as if he'd discovered he'd hurt him all over again.

He fell back, moving to the edge of the bed to stare at Amaimon in horror.

"What?"

Amaimon watched from where he'd left him, blank-faced and chest healed of the remainders of the burn mark.

Rin felt like he could still see the imprint there, a permanent stain in his mind.

"We knew your brother was going to abandon you."

Rin flinched again at the reminder, a hurt whimper leaving his throat because he'd lost his twin and he still didn't know why.

"We knew about the flames of Father in his eyes. And that if you struck with your heart, as you did, the force would shatter the sword containing it and you'd awaken fully."

The last nail in the coffin came down.

"We knew it might kill you."

Rin could feel tears running down his face at the revelation, wounded sounds leaving his lips as he looked up at Amaimon with wide eyes.

"Why?"

The broken question was the only thing he could think of to respond with and Rin searched Amaimon's empty expression for any hint of a reason.

"Because it's part of Samael's plan, and we're all just pieces moving on his board."

Rin felt his teeth clench in sharp, sudden pain against the harsh sob that wanted to escape, a choked sound coming out instead. And he found himself curling up again.

His hand was at his chest, claws gauging into the skin there to try to rip out his heart, the physical ache better than the emotional one slicing through him.

He'd worked his claws in up to the first knuckle, eye's glazed at the pain of it and feeling saliva running down his chin, making no effort to swallow as he panted in agony.

"Stop it! What are you doing?"

His claws were yanked from his chest, blood following them in spurts and he realized he may have hit something vital in a human body.

He was gathered back into Amaimon's arms, the demon leaning down to clear the blood with his tongue before it could reach the sheets, staining the demon's skin when he gave up and clutched him to his chest until his healing could kick in.

"Why do you always hurt yourself?" Amaimon growled out, "I told you it wasn't your fault. You should be hurting us for betraying and deceiving you. Not yourself!"

Rin just moaned into the demon's collar, the words only making him feel worse.

"I can't," Rin gasped out, gripping at Amaimon's arms and shaking, "I can't hurt you again, please don't make me."

Amaimon reared back, though he didn't let Rin go, lips trembling and pupils slivering as if Rin were scaring him. Rin whimpered at the thought.

"You stupid, impossible demon," Amaimon hissed, "we deserve it! We deserve your rage and anger and your retribution for what we've done! Not your tears!"

Rin was hyperventilating against him and Amaimon let out a wretched groan at the sight, pulling him into a tighter hold as if to keep him from quaking apart.

He'd had enough of Amaimon's pain.

Something seemed to shift in Rin.

Then he stopped shaking, breath coming out in a long exhale that had Amaimon freezing against him.

He looked up at the demon, seeing the apprehension in his eyes and frowned.

When he spoke, he made sure his voice was firm, locking his gaze on Amaimon's and not letting the other escape it.

"I won't."

"What?"

Rin put his hand over the Amaimon's heart where he'd burned it, feeling the flinch run through the demon and hating that he'd been the cause of it.

"I won't hurt you."

It was Amaimon's turn to suffer panicked breaths, staring at him like he was incomprehensible.

Rin brought his arms up around the shaking demon, tucking his head into the other's neck until he felt them abate.

Amaimon returned the embrace, hesitation in his slow movements as if he didn't know whether it was a trick or not.

Rin gave him the time he needed.

"I told you already," Rin began when he thought the demon had calmed enough, "if you're angry at me, we'll talk it out. If I'm angry at you, we'll talk it out. Just don't run from me and I won't run from you."

Amaimon let out a desperate sound into his shoulder and Rin just let his mouth curve into a sad smile, rubbing the demon's back until he got through it.

"Are we good?" Rin ran his fingers in soothing circles on the vertebrae at Amaimon's neck, tracing his way over each knob of his spine to ease the tension stringing through them.

A nod came from the demon and a firm kiss was mouthed into his jaw instead of words, telling Rin all he needed to know.

Rin pulled back, smiling at Amaimon's helpless expression, leaning forward to press his own kiss to the demon's mouth before pulling away.

"I'm going to go talk to Mephisto now, okay?"

Amaimon could only nod again, words failing him as he watched Rin get up and leave the bed, to head out to the veranda where he sensed the demon king was hiding.

After grabbing a striped robe that had been laid out on the chair next to the bed, Rin stepped out through the open glass doors, finding Mephisto leaning against the stone railing overlooking the city.

In the dark of the night sky it was easy to see the small fires that had erupted throughout the area, sirens wailing in the distance as the chaos of the Gehenna Gate opening and people's exposure to demonic presences increased with every moment.

Mephisto was bundled in his own robe. The thick black material would be making his bruised eyes seem darker in the night, Rin knew, if he'd just turn to face him. The demon had his usual pink polka-dotted scarf wrapped around his neck and Rin realized he must be cold.

It was strange. Where before his body had still reacted to the cold in some ways, now Rin didn't feel it at all, even with the bitter winter winds teasing his hair and blowing through the thin fabric of his robe.

"Mephisto."

He watched the demon's careful non-reaction to his name.

"The broken pieces of the Koma sword are in an appropriate place and your friends are all safe."

Rin smiled at the avoidance of the real issue. It wasn't just Amaimon who was allergic to his feelings, it seemed. Or maybe Mephisto just didn't want to face the consequences of his actions.

"I knew you'd take care of that," Rin offered him anyway, allowing the deflection.

Mephisto turned, propping his head on his hand with his elbow resting on the railing to finally look at Rin, though he didn't betray any of his thoughts on his face. The demon's eyes were as bruised as Rin had suspected they'd be. Mephisto looked exhausted.

Rin's eyes slid to the bandage still on his forehead.

"Are you okay now that you released the gate?"

That prompted a slight widening of the demon's eyes and Mephisto reached up with the tips of his claws to peel the bandage off, revealing pale, un-injured skin there.

"Good."

Mephisto quirked a frown at him, letting the bandage float away in the wind, "I'm still healing. This body is not quite recovered yet."

Rin nodded, content with that knowledge. As long as the other wasn't degrading like he had been anymore.

"You… have spoken with Amaimon, yes?" Green eyes narrowed, flickering to look into the room behind Rin where he'd left Amaimon in the bed.

"You mean you didn't hear all that?" Rin smiled, teasing, until Mephisto's peeved expression made him let out a soft laugh, shaking his head.

"We talked, yeah," Rin said, voice wry.

"I see."

Rin felt his lip tug up at Mephisto's caginess.

"You let me hurt him, Mephisto," Rin cut to the chase, moving on from letting the elder demon stew.

The demon king leant back against the railing, as if to prop himself up for the beating he was about to take. Rin wanted to smirk at him but, also, he figured Mephisto deserved what was coming so he let him suffer a bit longer.

"I wanted to hurt you, too, you know," Rin added, eyeing his black claws, which, that was weird, he'd never had those before, even when they'd come out in his previous berserk modes. Something to consider later, but, "I'm glad you didn't come over to me when I called you. I wasn't planning anything nice."

He saw the demon's pupils sliver, wondering if it was a pulse of fear or something else his words had created to cause the reaction. You could never tell with demons, the weirdest things turned them on.

"You could have stopped me at any time," he continued when Mephisto didn't respond, "you could have even told me what would happen if the sword broke. Though I get the feeling you were waiting for it to break, probably even at that exact moment against Yukio."

"Everything you've said is true," Mephisto admitted, cocking his head at him, "have I hurt you enough, yet? Is this the final straw? Where are your limits when it comes to how much abuse you will take from me before you break like your sword?"

"Hah!" Rin laughed, harder, even, when Mephisto glared at his response, not understanding where the humor was coming from.

"It's like you told Amaimon at the festival, Mephisto," Rin let a giggle leave his lips at having to tell the demon something that seemed so simple to him, "you said you could never have anticipated the way these events would play out when you set things in motion all those years ago."

Rin smiled further at the demon's confusion, "you're trapped in your own schemes just as much as we are. I think you might be hurting yourself more than anything else at this point, actually."

"Ah, that is-"

Mephisto blinked at him, mouth dropping open in his surprise, "I don't know how you remember these throwaway comments we make to keep bringing them back to bite us when we least except it. That you're not doing better in your classes is astounding."

"My classes aren't important," Rin shrugged, "you and Amaimon are important."

Was that a blush on Mephisto's face? Rin hid another laugh. He'd have to compliment the two surely demons more often if he'd always get such fun reactions from them like that.

"And after all the money I've put into your education," Mephisto grumbled, bringing a hand up to hide his face. Rin could see a glint of green where the demon king was still eyeing him from between the cracks in his fingers.

Time to end it, then, Rin was getting tired of having the two demons be afraid of him.

"You know, this whole awakening as a full demon has some pretty nice perks I can think of right off the top of my head," Rin murmured, letting his lids drop, expression sly as he grinned at the suddenly wary Mephisto.

"I can see my claim on you now."

Mephisto froze, hand still over his face as he took in Rin's meaning.

When the demon's hand dropped Rin could see his words had had their intended effect.

"Can you, now."

"Yep," Rin drew the answer out, running his gaze up and down the other's body in a deliberate move, "I had no idea for the longest time what you guys were talking about. I thought it was a scent thing and I was really pissed I couldn't sense it."

He heard a rumble building up from the other's demon's chest.

"I haven't told Amaimon about that yet," Rin added, scratching at his cheek, head upturned in mock consideration, "I think I'm gonna go back to him now and let him know."

He turned to leave and found himself pulled into a rough kiss that had his bare toes curling into the tiles beneath them.

Rin smiled into the kiss, pulling Mephisto closer to him and digging his fingers into the demon's wind-chilled hair.

"You look cold, Mephisto," Rin said, then gasped as his throat was attacked next, pressing his body up along the taller demon's and shoving his perpetually warmed hands beneath the black robe to drag over the bare skin there, "I don't wanna be cheesy, but I think I know a way to fix that."

Mephisto groaned into his neck, dropping his head to his shoulder, "you're terrible. I've never been so tormented in my life until I met you."

"Even with Amaimon?" Rin laughed, pulling away and darting over towards the room grinning back at Mephisto's disgruntled face and twitching hands at finding him gone from them.

"Yes," the demon king glared, "even with Amaimon. Congratulations. He's had over a thousand more years to perfect the art."

"I'm an innovator," Rin responded, hand on the glass door.

That was when he turned and saw his reflection in the glass and blinked, peering closer in utter confusion.

"What the hell?" Rin yelped, tugging at his hair that had somehow turned white since he'd last seen it, "is that me?"

And were those horns on his head?

Mephisto had made it over to him while he'd been distracted by poking and prodding himself.

"Just noticed, have you?"

Rin saw the wavy smirk in the reflective surface and pulled his finger out of the corner of his mouth where he'd been examining his fangs.

It was his turn to blush as Mephisto wrapped his arms around him and slid his hands into the open front of his robe, all mirrored back at him from the glass.

Still, "I think my tongue is longer, too. Look!"

Rin let his mouth fall open, watching Mephisto's eyes in the glass as his tongue lolled out between his fangs. Yep. Definitely longer.

There was a black clawed finger pressing into his mouth a moment later and Rin let his tongue curl around the digit to draw it in, eyes never leaving Mephisto's.

The possessiveness there had Rin shivering despite no longer having the ability to feel cold.

He sucked at the finger, licking the pad of it with the now tapered point of his tongue before drawing back to release it with a wet sound.

The other hand at his hips squeezed and Rin felt claws needle into the skin there.

"You've listed out everything but the most obvious change, Rin" Mephisto hummed, hips rubbing against his from behind.

"What?" Rin asked, a little breathless at the teasing movements.

"Your beautiful demon heart is out."

Rin looked down at his chest, the glowing blue flames of his heart floating there.

"Yeah, I don't-" Rin furrowed his brows, "I don't actually know how to put that away yet."

Mephisto inhaled into his hair, another rumbling growl coming from him, "I'll help you with that later. Let's keep it out, for now."

"Okay," Rin stuttered, not quite understanding why it seemed to entrance the elder demon so much, but he'd work with it anyway.

He felt Mephisto's growing interest and poked a claw into the arm at his chest, "hey, if anyone is getting rewarded tonight it's Amaimon. He's the one that keeps getting beat up."

Mephisto glowered at him from over his head and Rin smirked, "actually. I think we both deserve something nice from you."

So saying, Rin reached behind him into Mephisto's robe to find the base of his tail and tugged, hearing the ragged moan that came out of the demon's mouth as he let him go in surprise.

Rin bolted back inside, making a flying leap for the bed and startling Amaimon badly, the earth king hissing like a scalded cat from beneath the covers he'd been hiding under, bloody canvas already disappeared from sight.

"Amaimon!" Rin knelt on the bed, smiling at the gasping demon staring at him with wide eyes, "I've got horns now. And my hair is white. This is so weird!"

"Also, I just tugged Mephisto's tail and left him outside, so I don't know how happy he is right now," Rin added with a guileless look, dropping down onto his stomach with his chin in his palms and letting his tail wag behind him under his robe so just the tip of it peaked out by his feet.

Amaimon whimpered up at him and Rin grinned as he felt the presence of the other demon king looming over them behind his back.

He reached forwards to grab Amaimon's hand where it curled into the blanket by his chin, bringing it towards his lips and pressing a kiss to the earth king's knuckles.

"I told Mephisto," Rin said, letting his breath ghost over the demon's trapped fingers, "I can sense my claim on you now."

A hand stopped his tail from its slow motions and Rin smiled from under his bangs, keeping his eyes locked onto Amaimon's as his robe was pushed up along his legs to pool at his lower back, the bed sinking with another body.

"Rin has suggested that I owe the two of you an apology, Amaimon," Mephisto breathed into Rin's ear, body a heavy weight over him and thumb rubbing at the tip of Rin's now white-furred tail.

Rin took a moment to enjoy the pleasure tingling though the furred length, tilting his head to press his lips to Mephisto's jaw and still holding Amaimon's gaze out of the corner of his eyes.

"I think," Rin hummed, bringing his attention to where he was turning Amaimon's hand in his, "that it's Mephisto's turn to be tied up and at our mercy. Right, Amaimon?"

Amaimon had stopped breathing, pupils lost in the gold of his irises at this point, and Rin was afraid he'd broken the poor demon.

He knew how to fix him.

"Mephisto," Rin began, his voice a light command, "I want you to lay back against the pillows for me, 'kay?"

Mephisto slid away from his body, letting his tail go with one last long pull over it that Rin melted into, purr coming from his chest and grip tightening over Amaimon's hand.

He waited for the demon king to settle before sitting back onto his knees, robe falling into place around him and releasing Amaimon with a long, teasing smile.

Rin shifted to face Mephisto, enjoying the sight of the elder demon sprawled over his own covers, purple hair fanned out on the pillow under his head and an answering smile on his face.

He moved to straddle the demon's hips, leaning down to caress his lips in a slow slide of his mouth, one hand dropping to Mephisto's waist to knead there and the other rising to his neck.

When he sat up, it was to see a light flush across Mephisto's sharp cheekbones and to reveal he'd stolen the pink silk scarf from the demon's neck.

"Raise your hands above your head, Mephisto," Rin said, bringing the scarf to his nose and inhaling the scent there, eyes half-mast as he watched Mephisto move to obey.

Amaimon chose that moment to reboot, poking his head up out of the covers with a disgruntled pout on his face.

"Joining us, Amaimon?" Rin cocked a smile at the earth king.

"Yes," Amaimon grunted, dropping his chin to Rin's shoulder and trailing his black-clawed hands down his chest to pluck at the tie at his robe.

"Why are you still dressed?" Amaimon asked, voice a complaint as he undid the tie, tugging it off and tossing it aside to let Rin's robe fall open.

"Ah," Rin glanced down at Mephisto, "because he's still got his clothes on."

Mephisto frowned at that, eyes flicking down his body, "I'm still not healed, Rin. You may not want to see what's under here."

Rin tilted his head, reaching to touch the black tie holding Mephisto's robe closed.

"Don't think I haven't noticed you hiding under your clothes or in the dark the past few times," Rin narrowed his eyes when Mephisto averted his gaze, "actually, I think you've been trying to hide yourself ever since the festival. The last time I saw you was in your office when I traded you for the information."

Mephisto's face just tightened at the observation.

"You're vain, Mephisto. Has anyone ever told you that?" Rin teased, slowly undoing the knot and parting the robe to reveal the demon's body to him.

The signs of degradation had spread since Rin had last seen them on the demon's couch. Now, instead of just being at his left shoulder, they traveled down his sides, one patch going over his hip to end at his thigh.

And the sickly-sweet scent of rot hit Rin's nose, then, freed from the confines of the robe to the open air. He had a strong suspicion that if he hadn't been a demon with their peculiar sense of smell, he would be gagging.

Once again, luckily, he was a demon, Rin decided, instead letting the point of his claw press just beneath the demon's bellybutton at the start of the trail of hair there between the coils of the demon's tail.

Amaimon snickered at Mephisto's irritated growl, "he's right. You are vain."

Mephisto made to sit up, probably to teach Amaimon a lesson in manners, but Rin stopped him with a hand on his chest, pressing down and leaning over.

"Hands above your head, Mephisto," he whispered into the demon's pointed ear as he intertwined their hands together, raising them until they were where he wanted them.

Rin bit at the tip of the ear as a sharp reminder not to move. He ignored Mephisto's heated gaze to bring his attention to where he'd trapped his hands with the silk scarf.

A moment later he neatened the poofy bow he'd made of the scarf with a discerning eye, surveying his work with satisfaction.

"I don't know how many of those you have, because I see you use them on like, everything you own," Rin remarked, arms crossed as he looked down at the demon, "but you're not allowed to move from this position or break that, no matter what. Got it?"

"Mmm, as you wish, Rin," Mephisto hummed, arching his hips to rub up against Rin's in a slow roll.

Rin grinned at his assent and ground his hips down over the other's, sparks lighting through his nerves at the friction.

"You know," Rin gasped as Amaimon bit at his neck and Mephisto surged against him, "it's too bad Christmas is over, I like having you wrapped up like a present."

"The bow is a nice touch," Amaimon agreed, gold eyes glinting.

"Next year I'm tying one of you up in a big red bow and leaving you for the other to find," Rin determined, "no idea who yet, but I'll just have to see who's earned it most."

"Actually," Rin reached behind him to grab Amaimon's hips and press them harder to his, feeling the demon's length slide alongside him and gasping as heat started to build up in earnest, "you should thank Shiemi for this idea. But I've decided to celebrate your new birthdays and our anniversary on the day of the festival so that means two times a year I get to unwrap someone."

"I love the way your mind works, Rin," Mephisto said, breath hitching in his chest as his Rin smiled down at him and dragged out one more slow movement of his hips over the demon's that had both of them shuddering before he got off and sat to the side, though Amaimon let out a sound of protest at the loss of contact.

"Amaimon, this is his apology to you, remember?" Rin prodded, sliding his hand up Mephisto's arm where he sat next to him.

"You're right, I forgot," Amaimon's lips curled over his fangs in a wide smile as he poked his clawed fingers at the other demon king's hips, tugging him into a better position.

Instead of pushing into Mephisto immediately, Amaimon brought his tail around, watching the way Rin and Mephisto tracked it when he let it glide up along Mephisto's leg, just tracing the sensitive skin of his inner thigh.

Mephisto's pupils were wide in his irises, unable to see when Amaimon let his tail dip down to press at his entrance but shuddering when it teased there.

Amaimon spread Mephisto's long legs apart to get better access, keeping his eyes on the other's as he toyed with him, rubbing but not breaching and letting the anticipation build until Mephisto looked ready to kill.

"Amaimon," Mephisto growled, body twitching at the effort of holding still and hands clenching at the scarf.

"You've done way worse to us, Mephisto," Rin murmured at his ear, tracing a claw at the demon's throat and feeling the vibrations there, "I don't know if I've told you, but turnabout's fair play."

In the distraction Rin had caused, Amaimon plunged his tail into Mephisto, twin moans coming from the demon kings while Rin just smiled into Mephisto's hair and watched the expression on Amaimon's face.

Amaimon once again decided to torment Mephisto, tail moving slowly enough that Mephisto couldn't adjust, demonic healing kicking in and making sure the tightness remained the same.

Mephisto was trembling, hips trying to push up into the tail but unable to as Amaimon raised it back, gold eyes molten with the heat of them as he watched his victim get more and more desperate beneath him.

Rin ran his fangs down the delicate skin of Mephisto's arm, watching the play of muscle there as the demon king fought to keep them pressed to the pillow and not around Amaimon's throat.

It wasn't enough- for either of them, and Amaimon wasn't known for his patience. Rin could see the moment the earth king was done with the teasing.

But instead of pulling his tail out, Amaimon hiked Mephisto's legs up and shoved in right alongside it, letting out a hiss at the tightness as Mephisto gave a loud groan at the sudden force, head dropping back to the pillow as his eyes squeezed shut.

Rin shivered at the sight of the two, feeling his pulse pick up when Amaimon began thrusting into Mephisto, nearly pressing him in half with his hands tight around the captured thighs, digging red lines into the skin.

Mephisto growled at the pain, fangs lengthening in his mouth and chest heaving as he fought against moving like he wanted to.

Rin saw all this, the way Amaimon's eyes seemed to glow in their intensity, the way Mephisto lost control of his appearance, long ears wedged into the pillows, tail locked in a quivering loop around his waist, each slam of the earth king's hips rubbing his hardened length against the coils.

And he waited.

Amaimon released into Mephisto with a snarl, turning his head to lap at the trails of blood he'd drawn down the other demon's thighs around gasping breaths before sinking his teeth into the tender skin there, drawing a twin snarl of pain from Mephisto, who'd almost lunged to attack the other for it.

Rin pressed him back with a hand on his chest, rubbing a clawed thumb over the thudding heartbeat.

"It's my turn for my apology, I think," Rin said as Amaimon pulled back, letting Mephisto uncurl from the uncomfortable position he'd been in.

Amaimon tried to control his panting, drawing in a long breath as he looked into Rin's eyes, and then froze.

"Your eyes are warping, Rin," the earth king said, face shuttering as if wary again.

"I know."

Rin watched the shiver go through Amaimon at his acknowledgment, feeling another under his hand from Mephisto, too.

"I can feel the change now," Rin added, bringing his body out of where he'd been laying over Mephisto to move to Amaimon's side with leonine grace, pressing a fang-filled kiss to the rapid pulse of the demon's neck.

"It's my turn, Amaimon," Rin breathed into the wet patch he'd laved against the earth king's throat, hand reaching down to splay over Mephisto's thigh next to his entrance, Amaimon still inside him.

Mephisto was still hard, intermittent tremors running through his frame as Amaimon slid out with a hiss, allowing Rin to take his place.

But, despite the anticipation of Mephisto's expression, the demon canting his hips to give Rin better access, Rin just bowed forward over his knees until he had his cheek resting on the trembling muscle of the demon king's thigh.

Mephisto's eyes widened, pupils slivering as Rin opened his mouth to expose dangerous, needle sharp fangs within inches of the delicate skin there in a silent warning not to move.

He let out a shuddering breath when Rin let his tongue out to wind around the base of his length.

Rin brought his hand up to grasp the top of the length, keeping it in place while he ran light licks of his tongue to the root, pulling back a bit to suck a bruise into the skin next to his thigh as Mephisto tried to get more pressure and was unable to with a frustrated sound that was music to Rin's ears.

"Keep your hands there, Mephisto," Rin murmured a reminder, breath ghosting along the trails of saliva he'd left on the demon and eyelids half-mast over the glowing blue fires of his irises.

At the growl that came from the demon Rin decided he'd teased enough, raising his head over Mephisto to let his mouth full of bristling fangs hang in another casual threat, watching how it made Mephisto suck in a startled breath, body freezing while Rin stayed there, suspended.

Rin gave a shuddering roll of his neck and forced the fangs back until just the regular ones remained, hearing Mephisto's breathing start back up again.

By then Amaimon had made his way to where Rin had been next to Mephisto's head, the demon's gold eyes spearing into him, though Rin didn't meet the gaze, keeping his full attention on Mephisto.

He let his tongue fall out, winding it around Mephisto before pulling it off again in a twist, tasting the pre-come there and humming in pleasure.

"Did you know," Rin finally spoke, breaking the stillness as he pinned his eyes on Mephisto's to see how his next sentence would affect him, "I've been teaching myself how to do what you and Amaimon can do?"

Twin intakes of hissed breath reached his ears and Rin smiled, knowing he'd done his job.

He didn't give either of them any more time to process his words, getting his mouth around Mephisto's length and taking it down in one fell swoop until his nose pressed to the demon's taut stomach.

The sound he got from the demon king made him groan around Mephisto, taking tiny breaths through his nose as he gave himself time to adjust to the intrusion.

The first long drag of his mouth had Mephisto arching his back, trying to push further into Rin's throat and once again unable to as Rin kept him in place, anticipating the instinctual reaction.

His jaw was already aching, spit slicking his lips and the angle uncomfortable for him, but it didn't even matter when he looked up to see the way Mephisto was coming undone with every pass of his mouth.

Mephisto was heavy in his throat, so much different from the objects he'd used to practice with and so much better too.

Rin pulled back to look at Amaimon, releasing with a wet pop to as Mephisto gasped, frustration blazing in his eyes.

His voice, when he spoke the earth king's name, was rough, throat raw from his efforts.

"Amaimon, will you help me?"

Amaimon let out a helpless moan through his teeth at that request, crawling over until he could bring his mouth to Rin's, tasting Mephisto on his lips before unwinding their tongues and fisting a hand in Rin's white hair, guiding him back down to take Mephisto into his mouth again.

The first push of Amaimon's hand against his head shoved him down an inch and Rin forced himself to relax as he was pulled back up, the sharp pain stinging where strands of hair were being tugged only adding to the whole experience.

He could feel Mephisto tightening and knew the demon was close.

He jolted, letting out a muffled whine when Amaimon decided to start running a hand over his tail, the sound causing Mephisto to twitch in his mouth before the purr forced from the rough drags to his tail had Mephisto coming against the back of his throat with a shattered gasp.

Rin swallowed, managing to capture most of the release before he had to push himself off to cough to the side, still unable to handle to sensation like the other two could.

Amaimon mouthed at his spine, running warm hands up his shaking sides while he panted at the exertion until he could squint up through the tears in his eyes at Mephisto.

Rin smiled a deeply satisfied smile to see the demon king exactly where he'd left him, arms stretched above his head and chest heaving as he came down from his release.

Then he was toppled onto his back and found Amaimon in his lap, the demon already swallowing him down.

Rin gasped at the wet suction around him, head knocking back into the mattress and hands coming to grab Amaimon's hair, moaning at the sudden heat.

Amaimon didn't waste time teasing, and Rin pushed up without regard for pace or rhythm, eyes rolling back in his head as he came with a cry.

Sated, Rin stretched in a sinuous roll of his body over the twisted covers beneath him, pleasant buzz humming through him as Amaimon sat back up.

But he had one last thing to take care of before he could rest, so Rin twisted onto his stomach and crawled back up to where Mephisto lay, dropping to the demon's side to nuzzle into his neck.

"Will you release me now, Rin?"

Rin peeked up from under his bangs to catch the green of Mephisto's eyes watching him.

"Hmm," Rin pressed his teeth to the Mephisto's neck in a mock bite, "I don't know, I kinda want to see how long you can last like this."

"Demon," Mephisto hissed, though Rin detected a hint of delight hidden in the word.

But he wanted Mephisto's hands on him more than he wanted to torment him further, so he propped himself up to gently pick the knot out of the bow and free the demon from his bonds.

He was already curled around Mephisto by the time the demon had enough feeling back in his limbs to wrap his arms around him, drawing him closer to his chest.

Amaimon lay on Mephisto's other side, tugging the blanket back over himself until only the top of his head could be seen.

"I hate the cold," the earth king grumbled, glaring at where the glass doors had been left wide open to let the chill air in.

Rin snickered, pulling the blanket the rest of the way over he and Mephisto, "I'm so glad I don't have to deal with that anymore."

"You make a very convenient space heater, Rin," Mephisto said, snapping his fingers to shut the door and turn the lights off.

"You're welcome," Rin stuck his tongue out at the demon before settling down with a contented sigh.

Rin could still see the lights from the city through the dark glass, knowing some of them were probably fires from demonic attacks or accidents caused by people who'd just discovered they could see the malevolent beings.

He also knew he had to have a very important talk with Mephisto soon about some things he'd rather not talk about at all.

But everything could wait until morning, he would be enjoying the peace for as long as it would last.

Well, here you go, thus ends the longest chapter yet for this fic (44 pages omfg). Probably because I'm punishing myself for not fitting everything into 10 chapters like I wanted :D Still one more to go and then I'll be waiting until the new aoe chapters come out to see where they're taking the story so the main plot of this fic is pretty much done and I can finally catch up on all the sleep I've not been sleeping :D

Buuuuut I have side stories planned for all the behind-the-scenes stuff for this fic that didn't make it into the main one. I'll put those into Incandescence Sides where I get to write such fun things like: Mephisto teaching Amaimon to dance for the festival! And all the other Amaimon/Mephisto scenes that Rin missed out on witnessing! POV changes to see how Mephisto was actually feeling about Rin and Amaimon teasing him at the party! Maybe a future flash to that one-year anniversary red bow surprise Rin promised! And other fun things!