So, just found out that I have a third test this week to tack onto the two I already had. That's wonderful. Anyway, studied a lot today, but I had a lot of fun this weekend! There was a festival on campus and I basically ate everything. Thank goodness I have a high metabolism hahah or else I would DEFINITELY not have been able to walk into my dorm... xD

Anyway, that's all I have to say. Relatively fast update this week - I'm so pumped for this second arc, like you guys have no idea. I have a beautiful ending lined up and everything.

Enjoy chapter there's-too-many-so-I-forgot-sorry!

Yukio stared at the sky, the dark, distant sky that eluded his grasp. Heavy rain tumbled from the clouds above in fat drops that bounced off of his black umbrella.

For some reason, he almost wanted to close the umbrella and let the rain pound at his face. But logic won out over emotion, so he put his head down and continued to walk.

It's easier to feel terrible when the world is just as awful. Maybe it was because he sympathized with that dark sky, or maybe it was because every heavy drop or rain hitting his umbrella seemed to beat his soul. Regardless, his mood was foul when he walked into the Vatican.

"You're here," Shura stated.

Yukio shot her a dark glare, and decided to say nothing as opposed to a string of insults that included the words obvious and you didn't give me a choice.

"So why did you call me?" he asked as he shook out his umbrella, but it came out more as a demand. Crystal orbs splattered on the cold tile in a dizzying fashion.

Shura pursed her lips in distaste, but didn't comment on Yukio's attitude. She had learned early that there was nothing that she could do when he became like this.

So she only sighed and dropped a news. "I have evidence that the students of your class are trying to open the Gehenna gate," she stated.

The news had the effect of a nuclear bomb. Yukio glanced up at her, his turquoise eyes wide, and for the first since . . . forever, it felt like, there was a small spark in those azure depths. Though, they vanished a moment later in favor for dull stone. Ever since he got back from Gehenna - a trip that Shura in no way approved of, and let everyone involved know in either violent or semi-peaceful terms - he was this way. It was as if he was half of his soul there.

She didn't want to think of whether that was just a metaphor, or if it could be entirely possible.

Unease twisted at Shura's gut.

"You can't help them," she told him gently. "It's dangerous."

Yukio's eyes narrowed. "Dangerous?" he whispered, then opened his mouth to say more. However, he closed it a second later and with a final dark glare, turned and walked back out into the rain. The door slammed shut behind him.

Shura watched him go, half in despair and half in hope. She knew that the kids of his class would never be able to open a gate, but maybe - maybe - if Yukio helped, they could.

He just needed a push in the right direction.

With a faint sigh, she turned to walk in the opposite direction when she saw something dark on the floor. She scowled as she picked it up.

He forgot his umbrella.

. . .

Bon, Konekomaru, Shima, and Izumo stood in their cram school classroom, their eyes focused on the little Tar demon hovering inside of the glass char they had trapped it in.

"This is stupid," Izumo finally stated and she hefted her backpack back over her shoulder. "I'm leaving."

Bon glared at her. "We haven't even done anything yet."

"We've been staring at the same demon for five minutes!"

A vein throbbed in Bon's temple. "Well - !"

"You guys!" Konekomaru exclaimed. "I get that we're all really stressed, but we have to do this together. All of us." He shot a meaningful glance at Izumo.

Izumo bit her lip, then finally sighed. "Whatever," she mumbled, and wandered back to the group. Shima watched her approvingly, and Bon elbowed him in the stomach with an annoyed look on his face.

"Let's do this . . ." he muttered, then began to read the words written on the paper he had previously prepared for the group. The scrawled marks and runes that encircled the coal demon began to glow red amidst the chants.

. . .

Shiemi sat by the window, her gaze unfocused at the gray world outside. Her garden was in bloom, and bright flowers of any shape and size sprung up from the fertile ground. Broad, emerald-green leaves collected the water and lazily let them slide to the ground. Some of the rain pooled in the leaves to create ponds fit for the bees and butterflies that would flutter when the sun would come back out and warm the ground.

It was a day created for a tragedy. Which was strange, Shiemi thought, because Rin hadn't disappeared on a rainy day. She distinctly remembering the sun shining that day; it was one of the most beautiful of days, and she had been looking forward to studying in her garden. Yukio would come tutor her later that day, but she would have the entire afternoon to herself.

But that her world broke it half. It just crumbled . . .

. . . the doorbell suddenly rang.

Shiemi blinked in surprise, then slowly sat up. Her body was sore from being in the same position for hours, and she stiffly walked to the door.

"Coming!" she said in false cheer. Her mother had gone out on an errand, leaving her in charge of the shop. Business was slow in the rain, so she had locked up early, but she needed the distraction.

She opened the door with a smile. "Hello!" she said, "welcome to . . ." she blinked, and her smile slid off of her face. "Yukio?"

Yukio stood in the doorway. Rain silently trickled down from his wet hair and into his face, where it ran from his eyes like tears. He had a dazed expression on his face, as if he didn't know where he was or why he came here. As if waking from a dream, he suddenly noticed her standing in the hallway, and color darkened his cheeks.

"I . . ." he said, unsure of himself.

But Shiemi stopped him by opening up the door further. "You can come in, you know," she said with a soft smile.

Yukio bowed his head and walked in, his boots leaving puddles on the floor. He didn't seem to notice until he was halfway in the room, where he stopped suddenly and stared at his feet.

"Don't worry about it!" Shiemi laughed. It sounded forced, but she had perfected her laugh over the years. No one, not even her mother, could tell the difference. Only one had been able to, just one, and she was buried in the garden outside.

Now there wasn't anyone left in the world who knew the entire her, and not just her mask.

Yukio still had the dazed expression as she handed him a white towel. He glanced at it for a few moments, as if he wasn't sure what it was, before his hands tensed.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

Shiemi felt her smile slip, but she managed to keep it up. "For what?" she asked. "You haven't done anything wrong."

Yukio, for the first time since he came, truly looked at her. At first he looked confused, but then he just smiled. A mocking smile. A smile that made Shiemi recoil from her very being, but she stood strong.

"I abandoned him," he whispered. She had to strain to hear him. "I just left him there, and now . . . and now he's . . . !" His voice had gotten louder as he went, and Shiemi squeezed her eyes shut.

When she opened them again, her arms were wrapped around Yukio. It was strange; though he was much bigger than she was, he somehow fit perfectly in her arms.

"You didn't abandon him," she whispered. She felt Yukio tense, but continued, "You love him. You had to leave, because if you didn't, you wouldn't be able to find a way to truly save him. So it wasn't that you left him," she said again, then pulled away to look at Yukio's face and smiled. "It was a promise that you would bring him back."

Yukio blinked, then looked towards the floor. His hands were trembling slightly, and Shiemi took them in her own.

"I bet that Rin only gets himself in so much trouble," she added with a faint smile, "is because he knows that you're there to get him back out."

Yukio bowed his head. A small glass orb fell to the ground and, like glass, shattered. Shiemi felt her eyes burn and, before the tears could fall, embraced Yukio once again.

The only word she could thing of for this moment was tragic.

The rain continued to pound on the windowpane.

So I realized that I had pretty much no Shiemi parts anymore . . . so, here you go. Meet the darker side of Shiemi, and speaking of dark, the exwires are up to no good . . .

THE PLOT THICKENS *dun-dun-duuuuuuuun!*

Next chapter is all in Gehenna, and I'm thinking of sneaking in some Satan POV. ;)

Stay awesome everyone!

Rand0mSmil3z

Comments:

optimustaud: :D Thank you!

siris: Hahahah seriously?! xD that's actually pretty hilarious!

ScarletRose88: I'm definitely going to check out as much as I can before I have to come back home. :) The National Museum definitely sounds amazing! And anyway, I've been dying to ask (and sorry if this sounds ridiculously touristy)... is there really such a place as P. Sherman 42 Wallaby Way, Sydney? xD

Dowgma: Bringing pride to my country right there :P Nah, I'm actually conditionally accepted since I'll be exceptionally young for study abroad (Heck, I'm young for a college freshman!), but I'll be less of a tourist and more of a traveler :) And I'm glad you're liking the story so far! :D I have a whole thing planned out. I'm so excited to actually write it down xD

PS - ONLY ONE MORE REVIEW TO 300! :D we're so cool you guys