Hey guys. Well, something happened yesterday that made me pretty upset, so sorry for not updating (Ghostboy23 . . . I've literally said over and over again that I'll update when I can. I have no idea where you got the idea that I was quitting the story, so let me put your fears to rest. I'm not. And as for when I'll update, I don't even know myself, but I will when I can, but for heaven's sake please don't whine at me. Please.)

Anyway, my yesterday was pretty bad. Usually things don't get to me, or I tough it out and make it through all right, but there are some things happen in life where time just stands still for a moment as you watch on in complete disbelief. Yeah, that was me last night. Long story short, I got verbally attacked as I was helping my brother with his essay, and that made me upset so I argued back, and then mi padre threw a wallet at me to shut me up. Yeah, it was pretty bad, but we made up so no worries. We even walked the dog at the lake today and everything was totally fine, and our relationship has gotten much better over the years, but that doesn't make it hurt less even if he missed.

Sorry by starting off on a really negative, kinda depressing note. On a positive note, I texted two of my best friends last night, and they were both really supportive and super sweet about it; one offered to ride his bike over with ice cream, and the other is just a rock that I can rely on no matter what. I'm really blessed to have them around hahah :D So, simply put, don't worry about me. I'm a tough little bugger :) and besides, my dad and I made up, so there's no problem at all. And besides, I leave for school Tuesday morning. There's absolutely nothing to worry about. :)

But Higekimaru, thanks for that review. Read it this morning, actually; you sent me to tears, and that doesn't happen often! :) And believe me when I say that you'd be surprised what you're capable of. You're much stronger than you look; just keep your head held high and think positive thoughts, and you can do things you never thought possible. Thanks for being awesome :D

Anyway, extra-long chapter for the wait and rant. It's a brotherly-love chapter because I'm not in the mood for blood, guts, and gore. More emotional-based; all that pressure that's been building up is starting to crack.

(PS - if anyone is going through a rough family life, please feel free to talk to me about it. I've walked through hell and back, so I completely understand what's up, and I get that asking for help might be the toughest thing at all. But hey - I'm a friend before a writer, so please come to me even if you've never reviewed or talked to me before. I don't bite! :) )

. . .

Angel's POV

. . .

Angel sat in the corner with his sword resting on his knees. Usually he could hear the sword's voice; the dang thing had always been so snotty and sarcastic, but it had never failed to bring a smile to his voice or bolster his courage during the heat of battle. She had always been happy to do what he asked, and got surprisingly jealous from time to time.

But right now, all he could hear was the candle-flame flicker on its wick and the faint breathing of everyone in the room.

Yet he couldn't hear her.

Caliburn, he murmured in his mind, where are you?

But she remained as silent as the stone around them.

. . .

Amaimon's POV

. . .

For not the first time, Amaimon thought about how pissed off - or amused - Mephisto was going to be. It could go either way.

As he leaned against the wall, the scenario played over and over again in his mind. They would go home - with or without Rin, it didn't particularly matter to Amaimon - and Mephisto would be waiting in his office. Amaimon would first eat some candy, because Mephisto always gave him some, and then say that a pink-haired half-breed insulted Satan and lived.

There the scenario split into two paths.

The first was that Mephisto would blink, then lean back in his plush violet armchair and laugh. How amusing, he would say, that a hybrid would fight against the King and win. That would be the end of that, and the image evaporated in Amaimon's mind.

The second would be that Mephisto would get angry. Angry that they met Satan in the first place, angry that they risked it all against the strongest demon in Gehenna.

What they would risk, however, Amaimon didn't really know. He didn't really care to know, either. People were stupid, and demons were even stupider. His brother was smart, though. Smarter than everything but Satan. If Mephisto had been smarter than Satan, he wouldn't have been kicked out of Gehenna.

Or maybe, Amaimon thought, that was his plan.

He tossed his new hypothesis over and over again in his mind. He scowled at the thought, wrestled with it, and argued with it besides he leaned his head against the wall and closed his tired eyes.

Yeah, he decided, very firm in his belief that Mephisto was the smartest of them all, being exiled to Assaih was Brother's plan all along.

. . .

Raziele's POV

. . .

Raziele sat on the ground with his back pressed against the stone wall, his breathing slow and even despite his heart tearing away at his chest. Beside him, Rin lay on the ground like a dead thing. The only thing that proved he was alive was the faint rising and falling of his chest and the faint moans that periodically escaping his lips.

That was too close, Raziele thought, bringing his knees closer to his chest. He stared at the floor in complete incredulity. I'm alive.

I fought Satan and I'm alive.

His chest vibrated with a low chuckle, and suddenly he threw his head back and laughed - simply laughed and laughed and laughed. His canines glinted pale in the firelight as the walls echoed from his raw mirth.

Ever since way back, from the moment he was dragged to Gehenna, he had wanted to die. Every waking moment he had devised new ways to kill himself - attack a King, tick off Hades in the prison, stop eating. And yet every single time he couldn't go through with it.

He would attack a King, then run away with everything he had.

He had made Hades furious in prison and had the scars on his back to prove it.

He had stopped eating, but Agni had found him in some gutter and force fed him until his mouth bled. He had let her do it, too. Let her drag him back from the verge of death because, in his final moments, he realized he didn't want to die.

It was almost funny. He had no reason to live - well, he hadn't until now. Rin suddenly came to Gehenna, naive and downright stupid, and yet he unwittingly brought Raziele an entire new life. Not one he crawled in the underground like a rat, but one on the surface where he could learn to hope and dream that, one day, he'll find that small blue lake in the green hills in Assaih one more time.

It was his dream.

The laughter stopped as Raziele, tears budding in his eyes, slowly bowed his head to the floor.

He had almost lost everything. He had fought against Satan, and Satan could have ended everything . . . and Rin had no idea that he just saved his life.

Raziele drew his legs closer and hugged him tight, then buried his head into his kneecaps. Tears began to wet the thin fabric.

I'm still alive.

. . .

Yukio's POV

. . .

Yukio ignored the raving mad pink-haired demon in the corner and instead focused on his brother, a brother that looked painfully close to death.

"Rin?" he dared to breath, slowly stooping to kneel beside his brother. Rin's dark hair was limp against the cold stone, and his eyes were closed. His expression was a cross between peace and pain; maybe acceptance, Yukio decided.

"Rin?" Yukio whispered again. He reached forward and put his hand on his brother, then lightly shook him. "Rin?" he said again, then time a little louder. Panic tinged his voice. "Rin? Rin - !"

"Whut?" Rin rolled his head towards him, his eyes fluttered open. Now Yukio could distinctly see just how much weight Rin had lost; his cheekbones were distinct against his pale skin, and flecks of blood stained his face. His upper lip was stained scarlet from his nose, and the corners of his mouth was flaked with what looked like rust.

Yukio blinked, his throat going tight. "A-are you all right?" he asked. A stupid question, even to him, but it needed to be said.

Rin watching Yukio for a moment, the firelight dancing on his skin, when he suddenly smiled. A crooked smile with his upper incisors just barely showing . . . a very Rin-like smile. "Yeah," he mumbled, then rolled over again to get on his feet. However, as he started to drag his upper body off the ground, his arm went out on him.

But Yukio would never let him fall.

"I got you," Yukio said, his arms underneath Rin as he hauled his brother to his knees. Rin leaned heavily on Yukio with his head on his brother's chest, eyes half closed, simply content to listen to his heartbeat.

"Thanks," Rin mumbled. Yukio gingerly placed him against the wall and sat down beside him, letting Rin lean on Yukio's shoulder. The hybrid closed his sapphire eyes. "Haven't seen you in'a while..." Rin whispered.

Yukio turned his gaze on the ground, his eyes wide and lips pressed in a thin line against his emotions. "Y - yeah."

Rin coughed. "Thanks f-for coming t-to get me." His voice was a hardly a whisper. It was clear that he was exhausted, but he was fighting against the will of his body with everything he had.

Yukio squeezed his eyes shut. "O-of course I'd come," he choked out. "I . . . I don't call you brother just because I like to, you know."

It was a joke, of course. It was just something stupid that slipped out of Yukio's mouth without thinking. But Rin looked up at him in surprise - his eyes looked too big for his face somehow - and suddenly smiled. Then chuckled. Then laughed.

And Yukio could only stare as his eyes pricked with tears he dared not shed. "R - Rin, I . . .!" I promise that I'll come for you.

But the words got stuck in his throat like chunks of ice freezing him to his core. At the time, he hadn't known the reason why he couldn't spit it out. Maybe it was because he was too emotional. Maybe because the relief of finally finding his brother was almost too much. Maybe he was just cowardly.

But he had never forgotten that moment where he couldn't choke out those words, and it took months for him to realize the reason:

He shouldn't make a promise he couldn't keep . . .

. . . and he had no way of keeping that one.

Rin's laughter faded and left him grinning. "I know," he whispered, and Yukio realized that he didn't have to say anything. The smile slowly left Rin's eyes. "I know," he said again. The smile slipped off of his face. "I know. I know. I know," he continued, repeated those two words over and over again, until silent tears slipped from the corners of his eyes like dewdrops on a fragile petal.

Yukio swallowed. "I - I'll bring you back," he said. "To Assaih. Shiemi is waiting, you know. And Bon, and Konekomaru, and Shima, and . . . and . . . Izumo . . . !"

Rin's thin arms were crossed over his arms and he was biting his lower lip, bruising the already torn and scarred skin. "I . . . I want to go back," he whispered. Another tear fell to the floor.

Yukio nodded, turning to hold his brother close. A hug, one that had been long overdue. "I know," he whispered. He could feel Rin shaking against him; small tremors that Yukio felt Rin's internal agony was his own. Yukio closed his eyes. "I know."

"I don't want to stay here a - anymore." Rin's hand clenched against Yukio's shirt. "I - I can't. All the fighting, killing, there's so much b - blood!"

Rin's voice raised the farther he went on, and Yukio's eyes widened as he worried - for the very first time - if Gehenna had changed his brother in some way. If - no, when - Rin did get back to Assaih, would he be the same when he left?

The answer was immediate. No - no, of course he wouldn't be. He had already spent months in Gehenna. How could he?

The thought nearly broke Yukio's heart. He had always thought that Rin was annoying, and had wanted to strangle him on more than one occasion, but he preferred that Rin over this broken one that leaned against him.

But at the same time, it was nice to know that Rin would chose Yukio to lean against when he needed it. It was nice to feel wanted, even if he had to sink all the way down to Gehenna and risk his life as an exorcist to do it.

Yukio closed his eyes and rested his chin against his brother's head, and decided that it was all completely worth it.

*NOT a yaoi chapter, for heaven's sake people. Sorry, but I refuse to read that stuff and pictures of yukioxrin downright disturbs me. That' just plain incest. Yuck. No, this is BROTHERLY LOVE. Innocent, fluffy, hugs and stuff.*

Anyway, chapter over. Next chapter is, I have to say it, goodbyes. I won't say any more.

Have an amazing week you guys, and continue being awesome. :) Thanks for all of the really nice reviews, by the way! I'm really lucky to have you all as readers!

Stay awesome,

Rand0mSmil3z