A/N: Hi, sorry for such a long update. I've been swamped with family and school started recently, and again, I am still trying to get back into the swing of these things. So, I am so sorry if my updates are slow. However, I was home with a cold, twice now, so I figured while my sick ass is home, I'd finally update my story. I am a grade A procrastinator, I'm sorry guys.


"Yuuno?"

Icy pools glanced up at the noirette. The pale teen smiled meekly. He knew this would happen, yet he certainly didn't stop himself from coming not after leaving Gehenna, betraying Satan and instead, he ran to the academy.


"Mephisto!"

Emerald optics blinked curiously until he saw the young teen storm into his office, his hood flying down from his cloak. Yuuno slammed his hands down on the glossed cherrywood of the headmaster's desk. His cheeks were flushed. He wasn't used to the daylight, and running out in it only made him more exhausted.

"Enroll me into the cram school." It wasn't a question, no "please" in his sentence. No, it was a demand.

"No."

"What? Why?" He asked. Mephisto sighed, shaking his head. He leaned forward, elbows propping against the desk. His chin rested on his purple clad hands, looking up at the young demon. "You'll cause destruction, and I've had my share in fixing this academy in the past."

Yuuno frowned, his brows furrowing. "I can't go back though. He knows I'm gone, and if I go back now, I'm just going to be tortured!"

"Tragic isn't it? But, I can't help you, now, if you don't mind, I have work to do." But, just the King of Time was turning in his chair, a choked gasp escaped Yuuno.

The young demon gripped onto the back of his neck and his knees buckled. Collapsing, his limbs began to spasm. Raising a brow, Mephisto looked down at the teenager. He got up from his desk and walked over to the noirette.

"Tell me, why'd you sneak into the file room?"

Yuuno trembled, his legs still spasming and he looked up at the older demon. He inhaled heavily and kept his hand on the back of his neck. His icy pools looked watered, his teeth gritting. "Because someone's here that I need to see!" He whimpered, a burning sensation upon his neck. It hurt so much, it felt like he was going to faint.

"Oh? Perhaps your brother, Ryuki?" Upon seeing the glare and upon the raven's aquamarine eyes, a wicked grin grew upon Mephisto's pale lips. Walking over to the young man, the headmaster crouched down, settling himself in front of Yuuno. "Alright then, you'll attend the cram. but only the cram, attending the school already this far in, it's too much of a hassle."

Yuuno raised a brow, the burning and spasms dying now. "What?"

Mephisto scoffed, leaning back in his chair. "Be grateful, I could have let you go back to Gehenna and rot."

"No, that's not what I meant." He began to explain himself, "I meant why, why are you letting me stay with you?" The younger man slowly got up from his spot on the ground.

"Simply because you seem of good use." The headmaster looked up at the teen. "Satan sees you as a puppet, his and only his, whether he'll come for you is up to him, and if he does, hopefully you can decide whether to be prepared to send him back and be free, or continue to be his doll." A chuckle escaped Mephisto's lips, "And if you can protect your brother, or simply watch him die."


The young teen's jaw tightened at his experience with the headmaster, throwing a glance at him. This was just another game to Mephisto, something Yuuno knows he's prone of doing. Aquamarine pools glanced back over at his older brother, still seeing that pained and distraught look upon his face.

Hesitantly, the younger twin took a small step forward, stepping down from the small leverage in the front of the room by the podium. His boots clicked quietly along the tile with each little step he took to Ryuki. He could notice, his brother was trembling, and he was so very close to his breaking point of crying.

"Ryuki…" Came his soft voice in a whisper. Yuuno's gloved hand slowly reached out to touch his brother's cheeks, only to have the elder flinch away.

A frown formed upon the noirette's lips and he slowly took his hands away, placing them by his sides. "Listen...whatever you're thinking, Ryuki, I am real, I'm standing right here, right in front of you." Yuuno looked down at his brother and he leaned over the desk, his hands pressing onto the table. "Do you not believe your little brother?"

"No!" A choked shriek escaped the smaller boy's lips and he covered his mouth immediately. The older twin shook his head, his tears managing to escape and run down his pale cheeks. The raven slipped away from his desk and immediately turned to the door, rushing out.

Rin shouted after his ward, "Ryuki!" The young Knight glowered at the older demon. Before he could chase after Ryuki, his twin was already rushing out the door to go after him.


Ryuki's feet kept going, his legs picking up in speed the further he got away until he got to the end of the halls. Bending over, the ex-wire placed his hands on the top of his knees and he took in heavy pants. Catching his breath and his head a mess, the young demon didn't hear the steps behind him until he heard the familiar voice.

"Ryuki!"

Slim shoulders stiffened and his head whipped back to look over at his younger brother rushing after him. His cheeks were flushed as he ran and Ryuki's chest hurt, as if his heart was throbbing. Even now, was his brother still so frail as to when he was a child?

"Ryuki please, listen to me." The younger of the two took in a few deep breaths before beginning to speak. His words still came out choppy anyway, "I know...this is sudden and all but...you have to believe...me. I am here and I am...real. You could...feel me when I touched...you, even if you flinched away." Keeping his hands to himself now, Yuuno's brows furrowed and he glanced down at his brother. "And I'm sorry you could never find me… I didn't have much of a choice but to be where I was..."

As Yuuno kept talking, his words began to grow faint, muffled in Ryuki's ears. His eyes were too fixed on studying his little brother. He had sharp teeth, though it wasn't completely abnormal, his eyes were, at least his pupils were. Swallowing thickly, his heterochromatic eyes glanced up to the other raven's ears. His stomach twisted in knots, and it was suddenly hard to breath. A soft hitched breath escaped the older twin's lips.

"...And I can't explain it right now, but I promise you—"

"You died that night, didn't you?" Ryuki's voice finally broke through, and he finally met his little brother's eyes as he cut him off. "You died, right? You had to… I suffocated you...and mom and dad."

Slim shoulders slumped and the taller teen glanced down at the marbled floor. "Ryuki—"

"Answer me!" He shrieked. The smaller boy trembled, tears threatening to spill past his eyes once more. His hands tightened into fists and he grit his teeth. "Did you die?!"

Yuuno stayed silent and Ryuki was beginning to wonder if his brother would ever answer him. Slowly and hesitantly, the demon nodded.

Guilt sank into him more, and Ryuki's voice cracked. "Then why are you here? Why...are you alive?" He shook his head and his voice raised again, "It doesn't make sense! Why are you still alive?! Wasn't it enough that I had to suffer with the guilt of you dying along with our parents?! Wasn't it enough that every time my guardians went looking for you, they came up empty handed, leaving me hopeless?!"

Trembling hands gripped tightly onto his brother's uniform and he yanked him down. "Why are you here, Yuuno?"

A grunt escaped the younger twin's lips and he whispered. "Ryuki...I think you and I both know well…" He let out a small breath and hesitantly reached up, placing his gloved hands on top of his brother's still trembling ones. "...Yes, I'm a demon. Yes, I died that night. Yes, I know it was cruel of me to show up almost ten years later after killing me and having no idea where I am while my body was nowhere to be found." Hesitantly once more, Yuuno reached up and he brushed the curly tresses from his brother's face and he looked at his strange eyes. "I was...brought to Gehenna, my corpse and soul, and...I was resurrected. I've been living down there since then. I only recently snuck out and found out...you're here. And, I wanted to see you."

A pained laugh escaped his lips and he shook his head. "Now that I say it...it sounds selfish, really. But, I did want to see you, and I know this isn't the best time to come, especially on your birthday where you probably had plans...but I at least wanted to see you once more."

Ryuki shook his head and his head bowed. He gripped tighter onto his brother's shirt and he pressed his forehead to his shoulder. "That's...so unfair. I've wanted to see you too, you asshole." His small frame trembled more and he sniffled. "I've been begging that each time they came home...that you'd be with them, even when I told them to stop looking for you. I was...hoping that one day maybe they'd bump into you."

"I know," Yuuno cupped his cheeks and he smiled meekly, "I know. But I couldn't come until now. Even now is dangerous. I left Gehenna to be up here. I left because I wanted to see you, Ryuki."

Those haunted heterochromatic pools stared up at him, thick brows furrowing. "Does Satan…?"

"Know? Likely, yes, I'm his...pet, you could say. It's awful, Ryuki, you wouldn't want to live in that hell that I have, ever since we were little." His neck burned, "But I took a risk, I took a risk because my love for my brother runs deep."

As if that twin connection still inflicted them, Ryuki's small hand reached up, those callused fingers running along the pentagon on the nape of his neck. Long, wavy locks were brushed aside and Yuuno couldn't help but give another pained smile.

"I should have died with you…" He whispered.

Immediately, a strong, rough hand gripped at his brother's arm and Yuuno yanked it away. His icy pool pools narrowed. Something fierce showed in them, something territorial even. "No, you shouldn't have. Because what if he only took me and left you? What if I was doomed to that fate to never see you again? What if he brought you and didn't bring me? You'd still be living that hell of me being dead, and it'd be true. I wouldn't be coming back, I'd be dead, Ryuki. I'd be dead for good."

The young demon dipped his head, his curly locks falling in front of his face. The smaller male leaned over, pressing his face to that thin frame. He was too thin, so different compared to him already. He even felt cold like a corpse. The observation made him shudder. He felt the itch on his nose, the sting in his eyes and Ryuki shook his head. No, he wasn't going to cry again. He wasn't little anymore. He felt a thin arm wrap around his waist and give a tight squeeze. A grunt escaped the noir's lips and he gripped tightly onto the back of his brother's coat.

"I don't expect you to be ready to be around me so easily." Yuuno's voice came through now, soft and quiet, just like he remembered as kids, "So, despite it's our birthday, I want you to have fun with your guardians, and slowly… Slowly, we can work on this, okay?"

A slow nod finally came from the smaller twin and taking a deep breath, Ryuki had the will to lift his head up and step back from his brother. He looked up at those cold eyes and he brushed his bangs from his eyes. A small smile came from those rosy lips, though sad, and Ryuki nodded. "Okay."

"Ryuki!"

Jolting, the smaller twin whirled around, hearing the thudding across the tiled floor. "Ren!" And there he was, his large, white bengal tiger familiar, hurtling toward him. When the animal skidded to a stop, Ryuki's smile managed to widen more. He reached up, petting Ren's muzzle and he gave a light nuzzle against the scruff under his jaw. A low purr came forth from the large feline.

"I'm okay now, Ren. Sorry if I worried you." He mumbled.

"Rin told me to run after you after you left like that. He's likely giving Mephisto hell." A snuffle came forth from the large tiger and he gave his master a light headbutt.

A chuckle came forth from the small raven and he scratched under his familiar's chin. His hand halted as soon as it started, and Ryuki received a large paw on his head, an irritable gesture asking him why he had stopped. A grunt escaped his lips and the ex-wire turned around.

"Yuuno, sorry—"

He was gone by the time Ryuki turned around.