Sorry for the long wait, but here's the update! Let me know what you think :)
- Laurissa
Chapter Seven
"And that's pretty much it," Rin concluded, spinning around in the chair a couple times. He stood up, pulling down the cuffs of his shirt as though he were preparing to leave. "Obviously I'm not going to tell you everything that I went through-that would take too long and frankly, I just really don't care what happened anymore."
Rin was able to see me? It was my suffering that led to his downfall as well? I stared at my brother with wide, blank eyes. Why is it always my fault? For years I've trained and trained, but when it comes to the important things, like family, I can never protect them. Images of my smiling brother and father flooded my mind, but the joy was clouded by the fact that I could do nothing to save either of them. I was brought back to the present by Bon's large hand squeezing my shoulder tightly. I blinked several times and regained my composure.
I am a prodigy exorcist, I reminded myself sternly. You don't have the privilege to allow your emotions to gain the upper hand. I admit, though, the last three years took a major toll on me-I didn't take in or respond to my surroundings because my thoughts were so overwhelmed by my emotions. It is also true that Rin made me angry whenever he made his stupid comments-but that was before he entered Gehenna, so it doesn't really count.
I recalled the first lesson that Shiro taught me. "To be an exorcist, you can't only leave behind your fear; you need to abandon all of your feelings or that fear that terrorizes you will return. However, it is important to never forget that feeling, always remember it, because it is a reminder of the reason you have chosen this war, the fight to protect the things you care most about."
Rin may have suffered, but I know that he is still in there and wants to return, I reminded myself. I made a mistake these past three years by brooding, but I don't intend to disappoint Rin or Father again. I closed my eyes and took three, calming breaths.
"Well, I've had enough of this bullshit for one day," Rin muttered under his breath. He turned to the weak Mephisto, all of the amusement and sarcasm drained from his face. "I'm starting to get fed up with your reluctance and our father is as well. I suggest that you just accept your punishment and get it over with however long it takes. This isn't something you can avoid-I can't kill you, but if I'm given the go-ahead I can easily just drag you back to hell with me."
He turned to address us, a scowl set on his face. The grim appearance made him appear much older than the age of sixteen in which he was frozen at. Even though my body is technically older than his, he really did look like the older brother right now. He gave a tight smile and began to walk towards us. Everyone moved back but myself; and then I noticed that Shima had yet to move either. His eyes were wide; but he wasn't scared. I was stunned that Shima wasn't the first to cower away; let alone remain standing before the possible threat head on.
Rin also took notice of his action; this version of him was very observant. He raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, Shima, I didn't think you had it in you; I figured you'd run for the hills the moment you saw me."
Shima's voice was surprisingly cool and levelled-not the high, nervous tone he commonly used. I turned around to see him-I had only regained my 'senses', as they called it, for a short time and my former students attitudes still managed to catch me by surprise-and his eyes. "A lot has changed, Rin. If the story you say is true, you should understand."
I was stunned to see Rin look away so Shima could not see the pity on his face. I looked hesitantly at Shima; was what happened to him really that bad? Even the others seemed surprised by this. Rin walked forward, passing me without a single glance. He rested a hand on Shima's shoulder and I couldn't help but notice that there was no malicious intent in his action. I was slightly envious that Shima managed to bring affection out of Rin while I only brought out the negative things in him, but I wasn't going to cry about it. Rin always did irritate me before and now I seem to be returning the favor.
"Yeah, a lot has changed," Rin whispered. I looked at him skeptically; he sounded genuinely upset by this. He recovered after a moment and pulled back his hand, as though surprised that he was acting in a touching manner. He began to walk away, his shape fading into the shadows. "I've had enough of this place. I'm going to talk Father, I want out of this world and I'm willing to do whatever it takes." He stopped just before he completely disappeared from our view. "Why are you even trying to save him? All of you treated Rin like a burden; you pitied him because he killed the Old Man and was forced to inherit these abilities alone and although you stopped viewing him as a threat to the Vatican, only several of you really accepted Rin for who he was. Why do you really want to bring him back and make him live through that again?"
He's just trying to make us feel guilty, I told myself, and although I couldn't see his face, the heartache in his voice was painful to hear.
"Whatever, just forget that I said anything," Rin said. He was shaking his head as he disappeared into the shadows.
"At least he's not an idiot like before," Izumo announced once she was sure he was gone.
Everyone, including me, gave her an unbelievable look.
"Yeah, well I'd rather have that Okumura over this guy any day," Bon replied who was helping Mephisto stand.
"Mephisto, you need to tell us exactly why Rin is trying to get you," Konekomaru said, his voice wavering like always.
Mephisto looked at him and then us like we were stupid. "Is it really not that obvious? To the other demons I'm looked at as a traitor which makes me a potential threat. That's all-"
"No, it's not," Konekomaru interrupted. The others looked up him, puzzled, but I believe that he has the same idea that I've been suspecting. "What you're saying is probably true, but there's something else that you're leaving out."
Mephisto looked surprised and then smiled. "I forgot that you had a smart brain in you, little Exorcist. Although, I don't know whether or not this is true, I believe that the true purpose of my capture is for the other demons to see if they can really trust Rin as a demon, but they must trust him greatly already."
"Why's that?" I asked, finally able to get some real answers out of him.
"Well, the only one who could really oppose Rin would be Satan himself, but I think Okumura's abilities have already surpassed his expectations. They seemed to have trusted him enough to let him back here around all of you."
"Is there really no one who can stop him?" Shiemi asked.
Mephisto had to paused for a moment to think. "Well, I wouldn't quite say stop him, but slow him down, possibly."
"Who?"
"That would be-"
Mephisto cut his words short. His eyes widened momentarily before his expression became irritated. "And here he is now," he muttered. Everyone turned to see the tall figure entering the room. "Long time no see, Lucifer."
Lucifer? I thought, more tired by these turn of events then shocked or scared. Just how much trouble have we all gotten into?
Everyone stepped back as the new face looked down at us. He was very tall, probably around 6'7", with straight brown hair that almost reached his shoulders and brilliant red eyes. He gave off a very similar aura to Rin, so it was easy to believe that he could be his rival.
"Traitor," Lucifer greeted coldly. He walked towards him, completely disregarding us on the sides. "We got a call from Okumura; apparently he's not doing his job right considering you're still here."
"Well, I'm trying to at least give him a run for his money," Faust replied. He didn't seem to like Lucifer, but he didn't appear to outright hate him either.
"You're sticking up for that brat?" Lucifer asked as though he were surprised. I could easily deduce that this new face did not like my brother.
Mephisto smiled lazily. "I've always favoured the underdog, you know that. Besides, if Rin were directing his malice at me, wouldn't that make him a wonderful demon?"
The other face scoffed. "Demon? He's a human who's lucky enough to be recognized by Father."
"Oh, do I hear jealousy?" Faust mused.
Lucifer gifted him with a sharp look.
I was shaking my head, Mephisto really doesn't know when to keep his mouth shut, does he?
"I can say that I respect him more then you, though," Lucifer admitted, even though it looked quite difficult for him to do so. "He knows where his allegiance lies; he doesn't try to fool himself with thoughts saying that he can belong to both Assiah and Gehenna with no consequences. For that, I will respect the little runt."
"You believe his allegiance is only to Gehenna?" Mephisto nearly fell over from his laughter.
"What are you talking about Pheles?" Lucifer asked sharply, curious as to what was behind Mephisto's words.
"The boy may believe that he has become a demon and left behind his humanity, but simple observations show there are things happening behind the scenes, things that Rin himself doesn't even know." Mephisto explained, there was a light in his eyes that wasn't there before.
Lucifer glared at Mephisto. He definitely didn't trust Faust, but he seemed to be pondering what his captive was saying. "We already know that the boy has two sub-consciousness; his demon and human nature both fighting for control over him."
Mephisto waved the statement. "Of course, we all already know that, I'm talking about the nature that is controlling him in particular."
Everyone's eyes turned to Mephisto. I don't know what else he could know with what little information we have, there's no way he could have come up with another theory that fast.
Faust waited for our reactions and then rolled his eyes. "You really don't know?" It were as though he could read our thoughts. "Most of you just saw the biggest piece of evidence just a few minutes ago."
We saw it? I asked myself, confused. What is this crazy demon talking about now? I closed my eyes for a moment, and quickly reviewed everything that Rin said while he was here. It took a little longer then I thought, but I believe that I came up with the same conclusion that Mephisto was ready to explain.
"Little Okumura has figured it out," Faust smiled, noticing the realization in my eyes. He looked to the others and his smile fell. "Do you really need me to spell it out for you? Why I choose to surround myself with idiots is beyond me-anyway, we have already discussed the matter of Rin having two consciences and that one is always in control of the other, making the other the sub-conscious. However, even if a persons sub-conscious isn't in control of that persons actions, it's still there; witnessing and listening, living a life but he can't control it. Does that much at least make sense?"
No one looked confused, so he continued.
"With that, we know that Rin's sub-conscious from several years ago experienced everything that Rin felt, saw and heard, so we can conclude that his demon nature was also raised human. Besides the fact that Rin has developed a very large superficial ego and has become slightly homicidal, you can all admit that he still has that trait that just makes you irritated with him like the previous Rin. In conclusion, this may not be the same Rin that you knew before, but he was raised around the same people and most likely even grew to care for them in his own way-that's why he hasn't hurt any of these humans."
"So why is he trying to kill you?" Shima asked bluntly.
Pheles seemed to turn pink, to my surprise. "Well, most of my conversations with Okumura in the past only seemed to infuriate him, so I doubt that he was particularly fond of me."
Shima made an expression saying that he could understand that.
"So why is Rin like this now?" I asked, aloud. I kept my voice calm and collected even though it was on the verge of trembling.
Mephisto smirked. "So you didn't get that far, Yukio?"
I cast him a cold glance.
"Well, my little exorcist, the Rin that we have seen in the last day or two was born out of the anguish of the previous Rin. Your brother Rin was in too much pain that his demon side took over in order to stop that torment, but human Rin was then too weak to regain control." Mephisto added. "And lucky for him too."
"Lucky?" Izumo asked in both disbelief and surprise.
Pheles raised his eyebrows at her and then turned to look at Lucifer. "If the boy were to regain his humane conscience, what would have been your immediate action?"
"I'd kill him," Lucifer stated without missing a beat. "Simple as that."
Izumo, her eyes wide, swallowed nervously. "Point taken."
Without even touching Faust, Lucifer threw Mephisto against the wall and seemed to hold him there with some invisible force. A powerful aura blew off of Lucifer and nearly knocked me off of my feet. I could easily understand how this demon could rival Rin's abilities as my body continued to tremble without my consent. I could see the others regretting coming here today but I respected the fact that they didn't cower and run away.
"Faust, are you telling me that Okumura is also a traitor?" Lucifer asked directly, his red flames burning around him brightly.
Mephisto glared at him with an unimpressed look. "Were you listening to anything I said at all? The boy has no idea about any of this, as of right now, he is only loyal to Lord Satan."
Lucifer laughed, but his eyes remained cold. "So if the boy had a reason to appose the other demons, he would return to normal?"
Mephisto took a moment to ponder what his brother had said. "Not exactly, he could still oppose Satan but still maintain his demonic nature. He would need to go through something extremely emotional in order to regain his previous self."
Lucifer had a sick smile on his face. "Emotional? I think I can come up with something." He turned to look at me, his grin spreading, appearing even more wild than before. I knew what he was planning before he even acted on it. This new terror was even capable of subsiding the shuddering from my previous fear. I didn't bother resisting, I had a feeling that if I tried to fight back I would only annoy him and he'd just kill me on the spot. His hand wrapped around my throat tightly, his claws piercing my neck but not enough to break the skin-overall, it was a very awkward position. Lucifer laughed . "How do you think that boy will react when he sees his human brother lying dead on the floor?"
That idiot! I thought. Looking at Mephisto, I knew that he was thinking the same thing.
"Lucifer, I suggest you stop what you're doing," Faust cautioned carefully. "This won't bring out the result that you're expecting."
"Like I would listen to a traitor," Lucifer scoffed. He raised his hands, the sharp tips of claws glistening in the light. The others shouted at the demon to stop, but none of them had the strength to actually step forward and do something. I couldn't blame them though, they aren't stupid, after all. Lucifer could just snap his fingers and we would all be dead, they know that and aren't going to try and kill themselves over something they aren't powerful enough to accomplish.
I closed my eyes and braced myself for the worst, but it never came. Instead, a strong wind passed by and a crash echoed off of the wall behind me. Even if I wanted, I couldn't open my eyes, the dust clouded and irritated them, but I was still able to hear.
"I-I ma-made it," A breathless voice said. It sounded tired, like it had just run a marathon. I was too stunned to move. Rin...saved me? I heard him stand, already regaining his composure. He seemed to be walking towards me and rested a hand on my shoulder, just as he had with Shima only a few minutes earlier. I opened my eyes slightly, expecting the previous Rin I knew, my brother Rin, but instead the demon still stood in his place-only this time he was furious. His blue flames were blazing around him but they weren't burning me, instead they felt warm to the touch. Lucifer may be powerful, but seeing my brother as he is now, so angry that he was trembling, I don't think anyone would be able to rival him.
Rin straightened his back, his lips were tight and his eyes were narrowed. The dust cleared around Lucifer and he stared at my brother, actually shaking in fear. Rin wiped some dust from his face and turned to his prey. "I'm going to teach you to never touch my brother again."
