I'm so tired. Went out to eat lunch with my little brother and grandparents, and then out to eat with my family, grandparents included, for dinner. (Since my family just got back from the trip, it's been soooo busy at my house) It's like, I don't even want to move anymore. I just want to lay down and sleep for twenty four hours straight. I could probably do it, you know. Or at least I could try.

Anyway, this is a SPECIAL CHAPTER. Why? Because it's chapter 10! (and yes, I made this up just now). That means this chapter is a bit longer AND has Yukio and Rin's POV. :D Isn't that awesome? I promise it's not because, er, I ran out of things to say about Yukio and needed to squeeze in another scene of Rin before the next chapter. That's not, uh, that's not it at all.

Ha. Hahahah. Ha.

. . . let's just get one with it. Enjoy chapter 10 :)

Yukio POV

Yukio stared at the demon, astonished. He recognized Amaimon from the forest, when he was trying to kill his brother, but then again Rin was trying to kill him as well. That was a rough night, one that will probably be burned into his memory forever. After that, the demon just seemed to . . . vanish. No one knew where he went, and whenever he asked Mephisto about it, the ex-headmaster would only smirk and say not to worry about it.

Yukio worried.

Half of him worried if someone saw this, that they would get the wrong idea from Amaimon suddenly grabbing his arm, or what was Shura thinking. The other half was morbidly curious; why would a demon, and a King of that, ask for his help?

Thankfully, Shura took over. There was a flash of purple light as she pulled his sword out from the tattoo between her, yes, breasts. Amaimon's eyes darted to the blade, but before he could move Shura had him pinned onto the ground.

The demon didn't even fight back.

"What do you want?" Shura growled. Sunlight gleamed off the edge of the blade as it pressed against Amaimon's neck, kissing the skin.

"Your help," he explained. His voice was devoid of emotion.

Yukio frowned. "What kind of help?" he asked. Shura glanced at him, her eyes wide with disbelief, but Yukio silenced her with a wave of his hand. He was feeling particularly murderous at the moment, though no one would be able to tell past his calm facade.

Amaimon flicked his eyes to him. For a moment, they betrayed the demon's emotions; worry, nervousness, and a hint of fear, before they blanked. "Mephisto," he said, turning back to Shura, who was still on top of him. "They locked him up."

Annoyance flashed in Shura's eyes and she put a bit more pressure on the sword; scarlet beaded on the edge. "We know," she practically snarled. "Why do you care?"

At that, Amaimon blinked in surprise. Why did he care? Why did he care about Mephisto, anyway? "I don't know," he said. "I just do. I want to get him out."

Yukio frowned. So did they . . . but could they trust a demon? Familiars were one story. Izumo's familiars were okay, and even he had to admit that Shiemi's familiar was kind of cute. Kuro was Rin's familiar, and the poor thing slept all the time now on his bed, curled up in Rin's coat.

Yukio bit his lip; so much was at stake, so much riding on his shoulders. Rin's life. The lives of all involved. Finally, his promise to his father, the promise where he swore he would take care of his clueless older twin.

Those were worth fighting for.

"Shura," he muttered, eyes blazing with determination, "let him go."

Shura spun, mouth open in shock. "Huh?!"

"Let him go," he repeated. "We can trust him."

"We can . . . Have you gone mad?" she sputtered. More blood beaded on the blade and ran down Amaimon's neck, but the demon didn't react. Shura didn't seem to notice. "This is a demon. Worse, he's a demon king. He could be in league with Satan, or - "

"That doesn't matter!" Yukio shouted, his temper flaring, but he quickly swallowed his anger. He was tired; that was it. He was tired so he had less control. He took a deep breath. "That doesn't matter," he said again, a bit calmer. "If the de - if Amaimon can help us get Mephisto out of jail, then we're one step closer. If there's a problem, we can deal with it them." His hands automatically brushed the hilt of his gun, the smooth leather comforting against the soft pads of his fingers.

Shura's eyes narrowed dangerously, and she turned back to Amaimon with a look of murder. Then finally, she sighed and stood up. Amaimon blinked in surprise. "I need a drink," she hissed under her breath, then put her sword away and sauntered off.

Rin POV

"This is the kitchen?!" Rin exclaimed, his tail twitching in excitement beneath his shirt. It was just about the most amazing thing he had ever seen, not to mention the biggest kitchen ever. Pots and pans lined the wall, gleaming in the artificial yellow light, while the stainless steel countertops practically shined. There could easily be nine sinks, thirteen refrigerators, and even more dish washers. Different dried herbs hung from the wall, spicing the air with a homely scent, as a warm fire blazed in an open oven. Different potted fruit trees were growing in the corner; apples, oranges, lemons, avocados. Rin hadn't given it much thought, but he didn't think that stuff could actually grow here.

Even better: No one was here.

Raziele laughed. "It's awesome, right?" he said, pulling off a shiny pan off of the wall. He gave it a few swings, as if it was a weapon. "Be careful of Agni; she's in charge of this kitchen."

Rin shot him a sideways glance as he simultaneously opened the refrigerator. "Why?" he asked, then noticed a slice of cake tucked in the corner of the fridge. He practically drooled as he pulled it out.

He heard Raziele laugh at his expression. "Well, that's because - "

Thwack.

A sudden sharp noise startled Rin and immediately put him in fighting mode, especially after the encounter with Satan and Xavier. Holding the slice of cake protectively against his body he spun, closing the refrigerator door with his foot as he ducked behind the counter. Raziele was on the floor, wincing, two pans lying down next to him.

That struck Rin as odd; hadn't he been playing with only one before?

"Raziele!" screeched a high pitched voice. Shivers ran up and down Rin's spine as he slowly shuffled to Raziele. He was propped up on his elbows, holding the pan with one hand. The side of his head was bruised and bleeding a little, but he hardly noticed. Instead he smiled wide.

"Why, it's nice to see you to, Agni. You look gorgeous today, as always."

"Oh, stop that, you flirt," the high-pitched noise said again. "I'm not going to give you another apple." Rin dared to poke his head from behind the counter; a rather large - no, humongous woman was standing in one of the aisles, her meaty arms crossed over her oversized . . . chest. Rin tried not to flush. She was wearing a bright red chef's uniform with a flower-printed apron, which folded about a hundred times as she reached for the pain on the floor. Rin ducked behind the counter, heart hammering in his chest.

Raziele made his best pouting face. It was impressive. "Agni, you hit me in the head with a pan."

"Accident," the woman, Agni, shrugged. "Your head happened to be in my trajectory."

But Raziele didn't give up; instead he smiled and, after getting to his feet, took her hand gently in his and kissed it. "Did I mention you look gorgeous today?" he asked, his pink eyes dancing. "Absolutely stunning. Red is certainly your color."

Agni blushed almost as bright as her red hair. "Stop it," she said, turning away. "Fine, take an app - " Suddenly her red eyes flared as she spotted Rin on the floor, piece of cake in hand. "Who are you?" she asked darkly.

Rin's mouth went dry as his brain fumbled for words. It was too late, however; if you asked him his name, he probably wouldn't remember.

"That's my little brother," Raziele stated. "He's new here, so be nice."

"He's new?" One of Agni's delicate, overly arched eyebrow raised even higher. Suddenly she made an exasperated sound. "Of course he is, and the poor thing is covered in blood. And skinny. Too skinny."

And then Rin found his voice. "I'm not skinny," he said indignantly, getting to his feet. He tried to hide the piece of cake behind him. "I'm fit."

Agni's frown deepened and, behind her, Raziele furiously shook his head no. "You. Are. Too. Damn. Skinny," she stated. "Can you cook?"

"I'm a great cook."

At that, Agni sighed. "Never trust a skinny cook," she said, then turned away towards one of the refrigerators. "You sit on the counter. Yes, that one, you twig. Sit there. Eat the slice of cake. Raziele, take your apple."

"Yes ma'am," he said cheerfully. He practically danced across the kitchen for his apple, but not before throwing Rin a quick thumbs up. Rin grinned at him between mouthfuls of cake, feeling a bit more at ease. But not cake, he realized, but pie.

He never had lemon meringue pie before. The gooey yellow pie was covered in white, slightly glazed fluffy cream-stuff. The fluffy stuff was sweet and melted on his tongue, and the yellow goopy stuff was tart at first, but had a sweet aftertaste. He kinda sorta fell in love with it.

"How is it?" Raziele asked, a green apple in hand as he sat on the counter beside Rin. Agni was cooking on the stove; the pan she was using hissed and sizzled when she added green pepper to her concoction.

"Ith's rea'y 'ood," he mumbled back, his mouth full. It was the last bite; he swallowed and felt a bit sad that it was gone. It was the best thing he had in a while.

Raziele laughed at Rin's dejected expression. "Don't worry," he grinned, patting Rin's head, much to his annoyance. "We can come back anytime; maybe, one of these days, you can cook something."

"Really?" Rin asked, eyes sparkling, but then he caught sight of Raziele's wound and frowned. "Does that hurt?" he asked. "Your head."

Raziele blinked, like he was surprised, then shook his head. "Nah," he replied, "I've had worse. Besides, it was my fault; I forgot to duck," he added devilishly.

Rin only scowled. Did that happen often? he wondered. "Has anyone died here?" he asked, half joking, half morbidly curious.

"Yep," Raziele replied, kicking out his legs. "See that fire over there? The one in the hearth?" Rin nodded. "Agni once caught someone stealing her bread, so she told him that he should cook like one and stuffed him inside. She also . . ." He blinked, catching himself, and scowled at Rin. "Stop upsetting yourself and relax," he said, giving his more-or-less adopted little brother a shake. "I won't let anyone hurt you."

Rin smiled at him, but it felt a bit fake now. He wanted to believe in Raziele. He really did, but that was a big promise to make. "Thanks for, you know, defending me back there," he quickly said before he lost the courage. "You know. Against Satan."

Raziele's eyes widened slightly, and the he smiled; a sad, sad smile that Rin didn't understand. And then it was gone. "Of course," he grinned, ruffling Rin's dark hair, and teased, "I would look bad you died while I was the escort."

*phew* the chapter is done. So, how did you guys like the 'special chapter'? :D Should I try this every tenth chapter? Please let me know!

And you guys, it makes me really happy when you say that you like one of my OC's (Popularity-Contest wise, Raziele is winning. Completely winning. Like, no contest type of winning.) :D

Comments:

Thunber: No, you haven't, but I love you too! I'm so happy that you like it!

Crystal di Angelo: Aw, that sucks. I'm sorry. But your grammar has certainly improved for some reason! :) (and I wanted an older brother too hahah but being an older sister is perfectly fine with me. Protecting the little sib? Pssh. Got that covered.)

gabstergirl: You have no idea hahah Thank you!

Next chapter has a twist; it's Raziele and Rin's POV. Satan is going to make good of his threat of isolation.