Aahhhh, emotional clashes are the best to write about.
Ain't going to lie, today was a disappointing day. My friend slept over last night and we had a lotr marathon, which was awesome, and then we were taking a small trip out of town for the day. It was her idea on-the-spot, and I'm not really a spontaneous person and had a bad feeling about it, but whatever. I want to be the type of person who can roll with the punches, so day-trip, bring it on! Or so I thought. I'll save you the details, but she was oddly quiet and didn't really want to talk, and when she did she told me about her college classes and how she thought that she failed two (which shocked me - I'm really studious, so I'm more of a Yukio in that regard than a Rin hahah) and then talked about herself the rest of the time. Basically, it was an uncomfortable trip. I'm sensitive to that type of stuff, so I'm still feeling the effects. Bleh. Ain't gonna lie, it might affect the chapter, but in a good way. :) A lot of in-depth analysis in this one!
But enough of me, because that's boring! Here's the next chapter - Enjoy!
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Yukio's POV
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A strangled cry ripped out of Yukio's throat as he threw himself out into the hallway. He didn't know what he was doing exactly - all of his training pointed more to guerilla warfare, especially against a stronger opponent - but his mind had emptied the moment he had seen his brother unconscious in the King of Gehenna's arms.
At least, Yukio hoped that Rin was unconscious. The other option was too painful to think about.
He ran forward, his breath coming in ragged pants. Everything seemed to move in slow motion; the fire didn't flicker but seemed to wave back and forth, his footfalls too slow, too slow, much too slow. He had once thought that he had hated his brother. In fact, he declared it to a certain human who had pushed him to the cracking point.
In this moment, however, Yukio couldn't imagine hating his brother. He loved him too much for that, and against his will, the happy memories ripped through him like a lion clawing them out of his heart.
Snowflakes on their noses. Snowmen in the yard. Holding hands on their swings and trying to see if they could use their momentum to pull the other one up.
Flashed burned in Yukio's eyes, or maybe what burned were the unshed tears. All of the emotions buried deep were beginning to crack open, crack open in relief that he had finally found his lost brother and fury that he found Rin, malnourished and half-dead, in Satan's arms. More memories spilled out from the chasm in his chest.
Yukio crying. Rin standing in front of him with arms outstretched, arms that seemed much too small to Yukio now, but his impossibly large heart had made up for his size.
Another memory. A darker one.
Walking in the playground alone, heading towards the small pond in the corner. Rin, a slightly older Rin, sitting on the shoreline throwing stones into the water all by himself. A couple of kids walked up to him, pushed him in the water, called him names that Rin retorted. Yukio felt frozen in confusion and astonishment; astonishment that Rin was being bullied worse than he was, and confusion as to why his legs wouldn't move to help his older brother.
Not this time.
Another wild cry escaped Yukio's lips and, the edges of his vision red, tried to ram his fist as hard as he could into Satan's face.
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Raziele's POV
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Raziele stopped in his tracks the moment he heard a scream. It had a hollow sound to it, like it was here but at the same time wasn't, then decided to follow it. He began running in a different direction now, his breathing rhythmatic.
Chances were, Satan was the cause of that scream.
Thinking clearly for the first time since the Pit, he realized just how difficult it was going to be to get Rin away from Satan. Without help, Raziele had no doubt in his mind he was going to be killed.
As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Raziele frowned and his running slowed. Why am I trying so hard? he wondered, staring at the palms of his hands. Why am I trying so hard for someone else?
Now that he thought about it, it was a strange thing, but the want to help that burned in his heart was undeniable. Maybe it was Rin's naivety that he displayed when he had first showed up in Gehenna, or maybe his ridiculous sense of right and wrong that he pushed onto everything, including Xavier when he was beating up Sophiel . . .
. . . and speaking of which, Xavier was deaf now.
Raziele blinked.
Xavier was dead.
He had forgotten up until now. Raziele quickly reminded himself that he didn't care in the least and continued to head down the hall, but strangely, he did. He cared a lot.
Raziele's fist clenched into a tight fist. He knew that he shouldn't care; he despised Xavier's guts. Hell, he was the demon who had killed Xavier's girl way back when to get even, and Xavier hated him for that. Their entire relationship was built on how much the other hated each other, and yet Raziele wasn't happy that Xavier was no just a lump of meat basking in his own blood.
No . . . for some reason, he was sad, and with a start Raziele realized exactly why.
Raziele had, from the moment he came to Gehenna, been beaten, abused, neglected, abandoned, and verbally cut down from day one. Xavier had done the same thing, but he had done so as an equal. If he kicked the young Raziele, he would taunt the young half-breed until Raziele kicked back. He had been the person who had taught Raziele not to take a beating on the ground, but to take it punching and kicking. He taught Raziele how to fight back.
His death was sad, but to Raziele, not realizing just how Xavier had been helping him until now had been the saddest thing of all.
No.
Raziele slammed his fist against the wall; the pain kept him running.
No.
I will not grieve over him. Xavier was dead, and Gehenna was better off for it. So Raziele continued to run.
He could hear a faint gurgling sound a couple walls over and followed the sound. His sensitive hearing also picked up Satan's maniacal laughter, and his running unintentionally slowed. Fear tightened his stomach, but it was nothing new and he ignored it. Instead, he focused entirely at the task at hand and turned the corner, his muscles tense underneath the ratty clothes he was wearing.
And he froze.
Satan was holding Rin with one arm like the he was weighed little more than a doll. With his other hand he was choking a human soul. The amount of hate in the human's eyes kept Raziele rooted to where he was. However, the hatred wasn't directed at him, it was directed at Satan.
Raziele, now unsure what to do, took a quick step back to hide behind the wall. He had expected a demon or something, sure, but definitely not a human soul. A part of him wondered how it got here in the first place, but in the end he decided that he didn't care. Let Satan take out his rage on the human; it didn't affect Raziele in any way. Better the human than himself.
That all changed in a moment.
"Gi . . . give . . . !"
"I can't hear you!" Satan screeched.
"Give . . . m - me . . .!"
Satan's laughter bounced off of the walls. "Louder!" he shouted. Shivers ran up and down Raziele's spine as he pressed himself against the wall.
What came next cut through Raziele like no blade ever could.
"Give me back my brother!" the human screamed, and a gunshot resounded in the hall.
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Rin's POV
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A single ribbon of light broke the darkness. Rin stared at it, uncomprehending. Noises came from the light, noises he didn't want to listen to. A shout, harsh laughter, a single gunshot, a harsh scream that was all too familiar.
Yukio.
Rin's eyes widened and he sat up.
Yukio's in danger.
His lips bared in a growl as his teeth elongated. A single thought cut through his mind.
I have to help him, he thought, and blue fire erupted in the dark.
Well, all done! GEEZUM that was a painful chapter to write! I had three pages of Satan's POV, but I reread it and it just a pile of crap. No, worse than just a pile. It was like an entire field of crap so, naturally, I deleted it.
Anyway, thank you for all of the reviews last chapter! :D They were amazing and I'm not ashamed to say that they got me through today. You're all such the nicest people! Thank you for that! I wasn't going to have a Rin POV, but I thought that I can give you a little teaser of the next chapter as a thank you ;)
Comments!
Janazza: I actually had no idea I had written a cliff hanger until I reread the chapter! Sorry! (but you have no idea how happy I am that you like the story enough to freak out over it. Thank you for that!)
Clarity in Scarlet: Yeah, Satan is a complete *bleep* to write about. It's awful. I'm working on it, but it's terrible.
Crystal di Angelo: Thanks! Satan is really tough to write about, so I'm happy that you think that he's portrayed well! :D It's rough!
tsukinopen: Yep! In the anime Satan really did love Yuri, so maybe he can love the Yuri inside his sons as well.
mummy okumura: hahahahahahah I would say sorry, but if I get a reaction like that, I'm really not! :D :D :D and oblivion . . . omg. It's. So. Good.
Animegirl426: Thank you!