Hey guys! :) You know what makes me laugh? When someone says, 'please update'. It makes me laugh with ANGER BECAUSE OH MY GOSH YOU GUYS I'M UPDATING EVERY SINGLE DAY. I DONT EVEN KNOW HOW MUCH CLEARER I CAN GET. UPDATES. EVERY SINGLE DAY. I DON'T CARE IF YOU ASK PLEASE OR NOT. IF ONE MORE PERSON ASKS ME FOR ANOTHER UPDATE I'LL SCREAM.

Kapeesh? You want updates? You WAIT UNTIL TOMORROW.

Okay. Rant over. Comments at the end, like usual. I'm eating a bagel so hopefully the cream cheese won't fall on the keyboard. Enjoy chapter 6. :D

Every Yukio had to admit that Mephisto looked pretty bad. The cell was smelled dank, the walls coated with a thin layer of slime. Water dripped from the ceiling; perhaps one of the water pipes had cracked from age and no one had bothered to fix it for a while. Dark mold grew in the corners but the chains that bound the ex-headmaster to the wall were polished to a shine. Holy metal never rusted and never broke to a demons influence, just as it bound their powers and took away their extreme strength and regenerative abilities.

Mephisto himself was covered in bruises that couldn't heal, no doubt from the many interrogations for answers he would not say. He gaudy garb had been replaced for a simple gray shirt and pants, though it desperately needed a wash thanks to the blood stains and grime from the wall. Yukio could just make out the raw, red skin beneath the manacles, yet for all of the damage Mephisto had, his gaze was piercing as he stared at Yukio, his lips twisted in a cruel smile.

Yukio swallowed hard. Shura had been forced to wait outside, but at the moment, he really wished she was here beside him.

Not, he reminded himself, that it made a difference. In his life, efficiency had always been a priority over comfort, and now he drowned those childish emotions in a wave of determination. He wouldn't be leaving this cell without the answers he wanted.

"Why do you call me here?" Yukio asked, his voice a deadly calm. His arms were crossed over his chest, his hands just brushing against the holsters of his guns. It wasn't that he needed the protection, but it was nice to know that, if Mephisto suddenly went mad and attacked, he could put a bullet in the demon's knee, to stop him, and then brain, to kill him if needed, before Mephisto could take another breath.

So, he asked himself again, what are you afraid of?

Oh yeah.

Not a dang thing.

Mephisto suddenly laugh; a hoarse, rattled sound that echoed on the stone walls. Yukio clenched his jaw to keep from cringing. "I called you," he said slowly, deliberately, "because I need your help."

Years of trained kept the surprise from ever reaching Yukio's eyes, though his fingers twitched on the hard leather on the hilt of the gun. "You need me help." It was a statement, not a question.

"Yes," Mephisto hissed. Any trace of Mephisto the headmaster was gone; in his place was a demon, chained to a wall and backed into a corner, desperation laced in his voice. Yukio could hear an echo of Rin's voice; the sudden change inside of his brother when fighting, as if he was constantly trying to hold himself back, to stop the momentum of each swing of Kurikara, his demon blade.

And then there was that incident in the forest. The blue fires, scraping the clouds as it decimated the trees to ash. Rin, mad, jumping through the air. Desperate.

Yukio pushed those thoughts aside and hardened his heart. It wouldn't do good to think of his brother now. The sentiment made him weak, and he couldn't be -

"Your eyes changed," Mephisto pointed out. He was smirking again, arrogant in defiance against the chains that held him. "They were determined before, but now they just seem . . . soft."

Yukio's blood went cold - he noticed. But of course he did. Demons were disturbingly good at that, always finding your weakness and exploiting it. Yukio liked to think that he was strong, on the outside as well as internally, but at the end of the day he realized that all he had become was a kid over his head. Responsibilities? He hated them, hated them with everything he had.

Rin had always been a responsibility as well. One of the many and yet, no matter how many times Yukio had wanted to strangle him, losing his only living family member - Satan not included in that count - into Gehenna . . .

His fist was flying before his brain caught up. He blinked, the white in his vision disappearing, and stopped his hand moments before it properly introduced itself to Mephisto's cheek. The demon's violet eyes were wide with surprise, but then he smirked again.

"That's better," he whispered.

Yukio grit his teeth and took a step back, hands shaking. He messed up; he knew he did, knew that any second at least a dozen exorcists will be in this room in a moment. He turned to the door -

- and Mephisto added, "I think you need my help as well." Yukio glanced over his shoulder towards the ex-headmaster. "Why don't - " he added with a grin, " - we help each other?"

And the door slammed open.

"Yukio!" Shura called, and while at least thirteen other exorcists ran towards Mephisto, she was running towards him, her eyes wide with concern. "Are you all right? He was talking too low that we couldn't hear it over the cameras. What did he say to you?"

Yukio quickly glanced at the other exorcists; a few of them were staring at them, curious. "He said that he wanted meat buns in his next meal," he stated. They all frowned and, disappointed for such an answer, turned away. He could head Mephisto's laugh.

"Meat buns?" Shura frowned, unconvinced, but understanding lit in her eyes when Yukio gave her the look. "Ahhh . . . meat buns." She nodded knowingly.

Meat buns. A code word that Shura invented a long time ago when she wanted to talk to him in private, usually about upcoming missions. Usually it began with, "Hey. I brought you some meat buns," and when he followed her to wherever, the conversation ended with, "and a machine gun, if you have one, would be best."

If Rin ever knew about the code, he probably would have laughed. Yukio knew that he had once upon a time, mostly out of disbelief that such a stupid couple of words could actually be taken seriously. Yet, right now, Yukio couldn't imagine a time when he was more serious.

He stalked up the narrow, dimly lit stairs with Shura following. Within moments they were back at his dorm. Yukio pulled off his long coat and threw it on the floor; it landed with a hard thunk. It was reinforced with steel and weighed a bit. Shura glanced at it with distaste; she had never been one for extra protection, as clearly shown by what she wore.

"So, what did he say?" Shura demanded, sitting down on the rolling chair. Yukio sat on the bed, rubbing his temples; he had gotten a headache. "And don't say meat buns or I'll punch yah."

"He needed our help," Yukio stated, "and knew that we needed his. For the Gehenna Gate," he clarified.

Shura blinked at him. "He knew about that? But we just - "

"I don't know how he knew," Yukio snapped, then took a deep breath to control his temper. The lack of sleep was affecting him. "And now isn't the time to worry about it. How should we break him out?"

Shura shrugged. "Loop the video, use invisibility cloaks, and go from there?" Yukio only stared at her, and she visibly bristled. "What?"

He shook his head. "Nothing. That . . . That might work." The realization stunned him more than the actual idea. This might actually work. For the first time in a week he saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and what a beautiful, beautiful light that was.

"Great." Shura got to her feet with a groan. "Well, I'll talk to you tomorrow. My heads feels fuzzy."

"Did you drink some more?" Yukio demanded.

"Correction: I didn't." She smirked at him, then yawned. "Anyway, I'm gonna go to bed. You should too. You look awful." And before Yukio could reply, she had slammed the door shut.

Yukio blinked, then sighed and leaned back on the bed, his head on the pillow. Kuro was on Rin's bed fast asleep; it was eating less and didn't move around much now, though it did meow pitifully during the night. Kuro was Rin's familiar but hadn't disappeared; tomorrow, Yukio vowed to tell the cat what had happened.

And also . . . thank Shura for helping . . .

But he had already fallen asleep.

Kuro is back and, though not quite ready to kick butt, is almost there. The plan to break out Mephisto is in the works and ladidadidada. I don't have much else to say about that except that it's Rin's chapter tomorrow. To all of you whining about when he'll meet Satan, hold yer horses and calm yourselves down. It'll happen and when it does, you may-or-may not thank me. On the other side, a lot of you guys want Rin to stay in Gehenna, you little demons. Make Rin, terrified out of his mind, be stuck in hell?

Why not?

:3

Don't even worry. As the summary states, he had a civil war to start. He's gonna be sitting there for a loooong time. Take a few guesses at why (and don't say 'for the sake of the plot'. No. I'm gonna tell you right now, that's not the reason, and when the reason is finally out there you all are going to freak *i hope* :D )

Comments:

Crystalwolf96: You have a twin! That's awesome. I'm gonna let you know right now that I don't, so I might get the twin-stuff wrong at times. Um . . . Think of it more like that it's like Yukio feels a hole because his twin brother is stuck in hell, not because they're like half of each other (because these twins are so different it's incredible) :) Does that help?

Call Me Rinny Tin: Well all right Rinny Tin. :D And thank you for the compliments and read the top.

Dowgma: My novel is fantasy-adventure and if I explain it, it'll sound stupid D: Ummm I'll write the teaser-thing once I'm done, and when I do I'll send it to you all right? :) Sorry. And yes; hell is a fantastic place to write about and don't even worry! I try to be really good at character personality (emphasis on 'try' haha) and so they'll all be explained. And I upload whenever. And Yukio and Shura's half will come to play later and it'll be awesome. And thank you very much xD

Hartanna: You recognized her?! :D but shhhh I don't think other people did. And everything in this fanfic will be explained so that it makes sense. :)

Jenniyah: Thank you. I try hahah :D