Yukio gritted his teeth as the blue flames washed over him, but they were just warm - they didn't even singe his clothing. When he cracked his eyes open a moment later, all the demons were gone.

Spinning around, he did a quick assessment. Masaki was lying on the ground, but Konekomaru and Bon were attending to him. Shiemi and Shima were helping Izumo to her feet. Everyone looked pretty banged up, but they were alive. Yukio was stumbling towards Logan, crying out his name.

Rin was standing a short distance away, looking horrified.

As for the goddess, she was moaning quietly on the ground, smoke curling off her in great waves. It was a wonder she had even survived.

Yukio kept his gun drawn, cautiously approaching his brother, "Rin?"

"Yukio...did I...did I kill him?"

Rin was trembling like a leaf, face pale and sweaty. He rushed forward just in time to catch Rin before he fell to his knees.

"He can't die...he'll heal, right?"

Yukio was pressing her ear against Logan's scorched chest, tears leaking from the corner of her eye.

"His heart isn't beating," she choked out.

Rin felt his own heart stop, but Yukio gripped his shoulders and looked in his eyes, "This isn't your fault, Rin, you were under Iha-naga's spell..." but his words weren't comforting. It had been Rin's flames that killed him.

"But we thought Logan-san had died when Yuki shot him in the head, and he came back from that?"

Shiemi had appeared, Nii perched on her shoulder. Yukio merely shook her head, "That was different...I don't think he can heal from something like this..."

Shiemi's face scrunched up in determination, and she began listing off medicinal plants to Nii, who sprouted thick green leaves with a small chirp. But even as she expertly applied the medicine to his wounds, everyone knew it was too late. The mutant was dead.

Rin clenched his teeth, bowing his head. Tears began to drip from his chin. Yukio's hand was still resting on his shoulders, and he could feel the sobs wracking his brother's chest. He could feel the pain, the guilt - he felt it as well. He kept replaying the past two nights over and over again in his mind, thinking what he could have done differently. How he could have saved Logan. He was supposed to be a prodigy, an exorcist - but he had been next to useless in this mission. If Rin hadn't broken free of Iha-naga's control at the last minute, they would all have been dead.

The sound of Bon clearing his throat behind him broke the sorrowful silence.

"Okumura-san, Misaki is really injured. We need to get him to a hospital."

Yukio pushed his glasses up and stood, once again adopting a professional air, "Right. I doubt we can get a signal up here. Some of us will have to go down the mountain and try to contact someone."

"And what about the prisoners inside the mountain?"

"When help arrives from the Order, we can rescue them."

"What about the heart fragment?"

Yukio felt his facade slip a little. That little shard of darkness had started this all. Everyone's eyes fell towards Iha-naga, but her hands were empty.

"She doesn't have it...Logan has it." Rin rasped. Indeed, clutched between Logan's stiff fingers was the fragment. It no longer emanated such strong miasma, and the darkness that had been rolling off it like smoke simply pooled in the palm of his hand.

"I guess Iha-naga was working a spell to activate it..."

"That's correct," a soft, lovely voice suddenly washed over them, soothing and kind. A beautiful woman was floating above Iha-naga's charred body. Her flowing hair was shining in the early morning sun, her face kind and gentle, her body robed in a flowing pink kimono that faded into the air. All around her floated the bright blossoms of the cherry tree, carrying with them the familiar sweet scent of spring.

"Konohanasakuya-hime!" Yukio cried, lifting her head from Logan's chest.

"Thank you, all, for helping me reclaim the mountain. I will have to talk to the gods, especially Okuninushi, regarding this event."

The gentle goddess' eyes fell upon Logan, "The immortal one - he was the only one who stop Iha-naga."

"Because he was immune to the shard's miasma?" Shiemi asked.

"Touching such a powerful object would have killed any normal man. I am indebted to him. Perhaps this will show my gratitude."

She gracefully waved a hand over Logan, whose eyes suddenly popped open. Gasping like a man who had just been drowned, he sat straight up and looked around wildly. His wounds had vanished, even the deep burn in his shoulder. In fact, everyone perked up - their wounds suddenly healed.

"What...what the hell..."

"Logan!" Yukio cried, tackling him in a hug.

"Whoa, there - I'm fine."

Rin looked towards Kono-hana, "But...how? I killed him?"

"I am the goddess of life, Rin Okumura."

"Konohanasakuya-hime?" Masaki had stumbled to his feet, his wounds apparently healed as well, walking towards the goddess with shining eyes.

"My faithful servant - I am in debt to you as well, of course. I owe everyone so much, for the trouble I have caused. If I had been more prepared, or paid more attention to my sister, none of this would have happened."

"What about the prisoners?" Okumura demanded.

"They have all been returned to their rightful place. With her injuries and her source of power gone, I can take care of Iha-naga. I promise she will never return to wreak terror again. Now, I have much to repair - I only hope it's in my power. Now, I will return you to the shrine with Masaki. You can contact your exorcist friends from there."

The goddess raised a hand, but Yukio jumped to her feet, "Wait!"

"Yes, child?"

"This is...this is my fault. I shouldn't have run away. I was supposed to be your servant, to help you...and I abandoned everyone...aren't you angry?"

" Your bloodline destines you to be a priestess, but you chose your own path - just as everyone must. Everyone has to make their own desetiny," her eyes flickered towards Rin, "And I would never fault you for that, Yukio. Besides, you did help me, when we needed you most."

Yukio nodded, eyes watery, then bowed respectfully. The goddess bowed back, smiling, then waved her hand. The landscape seemed to twist and blur around them, and the strange sensation of floating through the air seized everyone.

"I meant what I said, Rin Okumura. Your bloodline destines you to be the Prince of Gehenna - but you make your own destiny. Take care that you choose the right path."

The word's didn't seem to be spoken aloud - they only rang in Rin's mind. Before he could respond, the world around them snapped back into place. They found themselves back at the Asama shrine in Kawaguchiko, trying to catch their balance.

"Masaki-sama!" someone cried out. Two young priests rushed over to Masaki, blabbering questions nd exclamations. They had been in a cave, captured by Iha-naga, then suddenly they had been back in the shrine, unharmed. While the priest tried to calm his proteges, Logan approached Rin.

"Thanks for not killing me, kid. I knew you had it in you."

Rin glanced towards the floor, "But...I did kill you. If Kono-hana hadn't come, you would still be..."

Logan frowned, "But at the end there, you didn't burn me up."

Rin rubbed a hand across his face, trying to get rid of the tears still lingering on his cheeks, "It wasn't good enough, though."

"Hey, Rin, look at me."

Rin tensed his shoulders but looked up at Logan, who clapped a hand on his shoulder.

"Shut up."

Rin's eyes popped open in surprise, but Logan didn't give him a chance to talk.

"Stop beating yourself up. You saved everyone, you defeated the goddess, you broke her spell. Not a lot of people could have done that."

"But I-"

"You did good. Now can you stop whining and just accept the damn compliment?"

Rin grinned involuntarily, but he still couldn't shake the guilt weighing down his shoulders. No matter what Logan said, Rin had still killed him. He hadn't been strong enough. If he had just broken the spell earlier...

"Christ," Logan sighed, then looked into Rin's eyes, "Look, I felt it, okay? I know you did too - when I stabbed that bitch and nabbed the heart piece, we were connected."

When Rin didn't respond, Logan continued, "You wanna know why you couldn't break free of her spell sooner? You still think you're all alone. But you have people here who love you, kid. Your friends, right? I'm pretty sure that blonde chick has a thing for ya. And your brother, he cares about you a lot. You're not alone..." Logan's thoughts trailed off. He wasn't alone, either.

After Jean died, he had abandoned everyone. Maybe it was time to head home.

His mind snapped back to the present when Rin responded.

"But I'm not really the same as them...I'm a demon. I'm dangerous."

"Don't be so full of yourself, idiot. Have you seen these claws? Have you seen your brother with a gun? Everyone has a dangerous side...everyone is a little bit of animal. You're not as special as you think."

"Everyone - come on. We're going back to the Academy. Masaki - I'll be back with some members of the Order later, I'm sure," Yukio had used his keys to open a door back to True Cross and was waiting impatiently, eyeing his brother.

"Thanks," Rin said half-heartedly to Logan, then hurried through the doorway.