Sorry! I kept getting error messages when I tried to submit the document, (it's not my fault! I had it done on Friday!)

~Grace~

"What time do you think it is?" I asked. Rin was quiet. I poked his cheek, "Did you hear me?"

He nodded but didn't open his eyes. He was exhausted. As soon as we'd gotten back to my room at the academy—finally resuming classes after so long was strange but I welcomed it—he'd collapsed onto my bed. I considered moving him, but he looked so comfortable that I'd resorted to sitting on the edge of my bed. Somehow he managed to sprawl out so completely that his head ended up on my lap.

I leaned my head against the wall behind me and sighed, "I'm not a pillow, you know."

I thought he was asleep due to his silence, but he then mumbled something, "You smell nice. I missed it." I felt my cheeks light up and then suddenly had an urge to touch him, to comfort him.

"I missed you every second," he said as I reached for him. I slid my fingers across his forehead and he sighed. I couldn't resist weaving my fingers in and out of his hair. I traced the curves of his face: his lips, his eyes, and his slightly pointed ears. I'd gone soft, but that didn't seem so bad anymore. If it meant that I could be with Rin like this, I'd rather be soft than my tough self. I'd been tough…but lonely. This was a thousand times better.

"That feels nice," he said sleepily.

"Mm-hm," was my only response. I leaned forward to get a better look at his face. His ears were a reminder that he was a demon, but I didn't mind. He was my demon, after all. He looked so innocent when he was sleeping; very different from how he looked when those blue flames were billowing around him. My hair brushed his cheek. He smiled and reached up, taking the lock and twisting it around his finger. He opened his eyes slightly and stared at me. I stared back.

"Thanks," Rin said, covering his eyes with his arm. He clutched my hair tightly in his hand.

"For what?" I asked, a bit worried.

"For not hating me," he said, his voice cracking. I sighed and reached forward. When was he going to figure out that I loved him more than anything? I took his arm and pulled it away from his face. He looked up at me, his eyes shining and his expression desperate.

I put a hand on the side of his face and brushed his cheek with my thumb. I smiled and tilted my head to the side, "If you keep talking like that, I'll kill you."

He froze and then smiled, "Sorry. When you were gone, I just sort of…lost it." I sighed and nodded. We were silent for a moment. He looked away for a moment, staring at the wall. When he turned back to me, in a quick, fluid motion, he grabbed me and trapped me between his arms. He pinned me against the wall and stared at my face. I placed my hands, hesitantly, on his chest. His eyes flicked between mine as if he couldn't choose where on my face to focus his attention. He finally chose; his eyes hovered over my lips.

I slid my hands across his chest as he kissed me. I smiled against his lips, "You're such an idiot." He didn't stop kissing me. Instead, he ripped off his shirt. I froze and stared at him. We'd been dating for a long time now, but not once had I seen him like this. He was breathing heavily, which only made his defined muscles that much more beautiful. I reached out to touch him and traced the lines on his chest. He shivered and grabbed my wrist. His fingers crept under the hem of my shirt.

Slam. The door flew open. I then experienced the most embarrassing moment of my life. Rin was frozen in his position, (about to rip off my clothes). Mikael stood in the doorway, his hand still on the knob. We made what seemed to been unending, awkward eye contact. His face turned bright red and I doubt mine could have gotten any redder. "I…need to tell you something. When you're…done." Tap. Click. The door shut again.

~Mikael~

My heart was pounding. I covered my face with my hands and shook my head. I'd just seen something that I…really shouldn't have seen. Rin was…Grace was…I shivered and pressed my forehead against the wall. I paced back and forth, trying to figure out where to put my hands. I swung them back and forth and shoved them in my pockets nervously.

I turned when the door opened, somewhat relieved to see Grace. My heart twisted a bit when I noticed that she looked evidently flustered and unkempt. Her hair wasn't quiet in order and her clothes were crumpled and lopsided. Her face was pink and she wouldn't meet my eye. "What did you need to tell me?" she asked.

I cleared my throat, "Your father wants to see you."

She looked up, surprised, "Now!? It's late!"

"It's urgent," I said, "I'll see you there." With that I practically ran away. I wasn't feeling too good about myself. I'd just barged in on something I shouldn't have barged in on. It was way too awkward for me to be comfortable.

~Rin~

I'd ended up coming with her. Grace was the only one who had been called, but her dad had probably assumed that I would tag along. If not, I would just leave. I knew that Grace was now the 'Immortal Princess'. That made her one hundred times as important as I was, but I figured it couldn't hurt to go along.

"Father?" Grace asked, worry in her voice, as we entered the room. Grace's dad was sitting at a long table. Leoric, Elijah, Kain, and Yukio were also gathered around the table. There were three more seats open. I followed behind Grace and took my seat beside her. There was a heavy silence. I was waiting for someone to speak, but no one did. I've never been very patient. "What is it?"

"I was going to wait to tell you this, but the situation has changed," he replied. He looked to each of us. I shot a questioning look towards Yukio, but he just shrugged. Just then, Mikael entered the room and stood beside Rin's dad. Wasn't he going to sit down? Also, why did it seem like this guy always knew everything before I did?

"I don't mean to pry, but what exactly is the situation? We have our princess, what else matters?" Elijah asked.

Grace stiffened, "You've forgotten about Scarlet!"

Elijah smiled charmingly yet coldly, which should have been impossible. "You mean the demon? What about her?"

"I have a knife! A very large one!" Grace growled. She reached for her boot, but I took her hand. She stopped and looked to me. I shook my head.

"Are you done?" asked Grace's dad. She slowly nodded, as did Elijah.

"This is indirectly related to Scarlet, the demon that is being abused by Satan," he said. He looked to Grace, "When you returned to us, your very existence was in danger. You'd been poisoned."

"What?" Grace demanded, leaning forward. My muscles tensed, an overwhelming urge to grab Grace and never let her go, always protect her, welled up inside of me. I suppressed it. I doubted that Grace's dad would be very appreciative of such an act in the middle of the important meeting.

"By whom?" Yukio asked. I glanced gratefully to my brother and then returned my attention to the subject at hand.

"By Belrthmo," he replied. We were quiet. By bel…what?

As if taking the words from our mouths, Kain asked in his deep, baritone voice, "Bel-what?"

"Belrthmo," he repeated, "A weapon designed by Satan himself. A demon. A monster."

"That…breathing thing?" Grace asked. God looked up and stared at her.

"You saw what it looked like?" he asked.

"It grabbed me," she said and shivered. I rested my hand on hers and she clutched it.

He shook off his worry and spoke again, "Scarlet is a well known demoness. She has lived a long, long time. Her exploits have been recorded throughout history. She is Satan's most prevalent servant. That is why she won't kill her. That is also why he's most likely entrusted her with something."

"She's the only one who will be able to destroy Belrthmo. Now, she is in danger."

"That's quiet a large expanse of information to take in all at once," Elijah said. Kain grunted in agreement.

"That's not all. Judiyah, her apparent acquaintance, has returned to Gehenna, intent on rescuing her from Satan." Grace squeezed my hand tighter, obviously worried about her friend. She was the princess, though. She couldn't show weakness in that position. "His presence will aggravate the situation, and Scarlet could end up destroyed. Satan's sons have betrayed him in the past," he glanced at Yukio and I, "And now it has happened again. He is most likely in a rage. I can't let Scarlet be killed. You cannot understand how devastating Belrthmo would be if it were to be released. Caelum, Assiah, and Gehenna itself would be endangered. We can't let it happen."

"What are you saying?" I asked.

Yukio answered, "Isn't it obvious? We need to go to Gehenna and destroy this demon. It's the only way. In order to do so, we'll need to receive Scarlet. And we need to do all this quickly, before Satan's anger reaches the breaking point."

"You do realize that such an act would mean war? That Assiah could potentially be destroyed anyway, maybe even Caelum?" Elijah asked.

"I understand," God answered, "But the only way we can win is if we fight."

We were quiet, taking in what we were going to do. "This is intriguing," Elijah said with a subtle and delighted grin. He seemed to be a sparkly, he-she on the outside, but on the inside he was evidently a sadist. War was never good…never.

But we didn't have any choice at this point.

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