Chapter 28: Between Now and Tomorrow

I'm thankful that this fic is finally getting somewhere.

Shiemi sniffled from her position on the floor, feeling tears well up as Paku gave her a shy wave before she continued after Izumo...Leaving Shiemi all alone once more. She tried to smother the crushing feeling rising up in her heart, but it was hard to when her ankle throbbed like an angry reminder of her complete failure as a person. She enjoyed being around the guys in her class, but they were so rowdy that she felt overwhelmed and smothered by just how bright and loud they could be. Only Yukio seemed to really notice her, and that was because he had promised to tutor her.

All she wanted was to make a single friend and stop taking up so much of Yukio's time. She would have thought Izumo and Paku would be easy to get along with since they were all girls, but instead she made a complete fool of herself.

"So lame."

Shiemi really had to agree.

The blonde stopped, inhaled, and then exhaled. She couldn't keep crying over every little thing, she had to be strong! Even if it was hard, even if it was embarrassing, she had to keep trying!

Shiemi stood and immediately fell with a yelp.

And apparently being strong also meant limping herself home on a hurt ankle. She had absolutely no idea where the nurse's office might be in the school's overly long hallways, so it would be faster to head home and treat herself. Or at least that's what she told herself as the limped down the hallway, using the wall as support.

"What's wrong with you?"

Shiemi jumped at the sudden voice, and very nearly fell again. She would have if a hand hadn't grabbed her shoulder and hoisted her back to her feet as if she weighed nothing. Nervously, Shiemi looked back to see Rin's scowling face staring intently at her ankle. Suddenly something warm brushed where she was lightly holding her foot, and she yipped.

At her feet the demon cat she recognized as Rin's familiar meowed loudly and rubbed against her ankle again. Shiemi winced.

Rin huffed and casually nudged the cat away with his foot as if it wasn't a powerful demon, "I can see that she hurt herself, so stop making a racket, Kuro."

Shiemi tugged at the arm still in Rin's firm hold. He wasn't hurting her despite the casual strength she'd seen from him, but it still made her feel a bit trapped all the same, "I'm fine, I'll head home!"

"On that?" Rin frowned even harder, somehow. He looked so much like a scolding parent that Shiemi ducked her gaze away from him, "No, Yukio would be mad if I let you do that to yourself. Come here."

"What are you-! R-Rin!"

Shiemi very quickly realized that taking her eyes off Rin was a terrible, horrible, very bad idea. Without really knowing why or how, she was very suddenly in his arms like…like…like-

While the girl's brain stuttered and struggled to process what just happened, Rin took the opportunity to start walking, Kuro chirping happily at his heels, "What, I can't have you walking! And this way you can't run away."

It took much longer than it should have, but Shiemi finally realized exactly what was happening. Rin was walking around holding her like a…like a b-b-b-

Shiemi stopped her traitorous mind from finishing that cursed thought. She couldn't stop Rin from carrying her if he really wanted to, but that didn't mean she had to like it! So she buried her burning face in her hands, listing off all the correct plant names Yukio had taught her before her mind could try and betray her with terrible thoughts again.

So, of course, she didn't see the understanding pass over Rin's face, or the look of shame that he didn't quite manage to suppress. It only lasted for a moment before something dawned on the teen and he smirked.

Shiemi nearly screamed when she was moved again, and suddenly she found herself slung over Rin's shoulder. Like a sack of fertilizer. She wasn't quite sure what to think, and instead settled for the only thing she could reasonably do right now:

"Rin!"

Rin cackled.

Yukio thought he was going to have a quiet day to himself, for once. Rin had left to do something-or-other with Kuro, Bon had declared that he would handle his friends on his own for once, and he had finally gotten a chance to see Shiro for the first time in weeks. It had been brief and unplanned visit mostly consisting of his father presenting him with the completed paperwork for Kuro to remain Rin's familiar indefinitely and to replace the temporary form he had been given before. It was something that had long been finalized and everyone who needed to know had been informed already, but having an official document on hand in case someone pressed the issue was useful. Since Kuro wasn't a summon, he was far more dangerous if he ever went rogue and typically considered too dangerous for a typical Exwire, much less a Page. But apparently it was easy for Mephisto to have those regulations ignored entirely.

Really, it could have been emailed to Yukio, but it was clear that Shiro had used it as an excuse to visit a "prodigy Tamer".

They had shared a laugh over that. The idea of Rin being considered a prodigy-anything was funny, even if the teen probably could be considered just as smart as Yukio, if he actually applied himself. Shiro hadn't been able to stay long enough for Rin to return, sadly, but it had been nice to talk for even a brief moment.

"How is that brat doing, Yukio? He's not getting into too much trouble, right?"

Yukio frowned, remembering how strained his father had seemed. It was obvious he wasn't getting enough sleep, and stress seemed to roll off him in waves. Yukio had asked, and even he wasn't supposed to know whatever had happened, it was easy enough to convince his father to at least tell him a little bit. He already knew that there was a war taking place for the throne of Gehenna (a war that Rin was going to eventually be used in, like a pawn, like a puppet-!) even if it hadn't fully broken out, so what was one more secret? Besides, he should know if only to keep Rin in line, right?

"But that's the problem: Mephisto was so sure that Iblis would have made a move after Lucifer refused to take Gehenna. He hasn't made a move, but he's too ambitious to have given up. He's planning something, something big, and all we can do is prepare ourselves. All we do is prepare for an attack that hasn't happened for years now, and all the while demon activity keeps rising and keeps draining our resources."

Yukio had wondered if Iblis had decided to wage a war of attrition, but Shiro had reassured him that Mephisto was sure that that wasn't Iblis' style. He, lacking the flames of Satan despite being a fire demon, had too many things to prove and too big of an ego to not take center stage- at least, according to Mephisto.

Samael, another arrogant demon who had already been wrong once before about Iblis, Yukio privately noted. And he wasn't exactly-

The door to the dorm was kicked open with a loud enough bang that the walls shook. Yukio took a deep breath, steeled himself, and hoped that the door hadn't been broken by his careless brother.

"Rin, how many times do I have to…tell you…"

As expected, Rin stood tall in the doorway, looking almost proud of the rather pitiful creak the hinges of the door made as it closed with a worrying stutter. And over his shoulder was Shiemi, who was doing her absolute best to curl into a tiny ball despite her position. She whimpered a bit at the sound of his voice.

"What have you done?"

"She twisted her ankle," Rin stated as if that excused everything he had done, and strutted over to the table Yukio was using, "So you should fix her up," Rin set Shiemi on the table, effortlessly manhandling her and sitting her on the edge like a particularly red-faced doll and pointed sharply at her, "Help her."

"Just because I patch you up from your stupidity doesn't mean that I'm an actual doctor yet, Rin." Yukio sighed, but he was already by Shiemi's side.

The girl hadn't moved her hands from where they covered her face the entire time Rin had maneuvered her, probably hoping that he would get bored and wander off. While Rin's attention span wasn't quite that bad (school notwithstanding) at least she didn't seem hurt, just embarrassed beyond belief at how she had been carried, and probably seen by the entire school. She sat there, stiff and probably a little traumatized by Rin being…well, Rin. Which meant being utterly bull-headed and overwhelmingly insistent with whatever he had decided to do. When he rested a hand on her shoulder, she finally peered up at him shyly through her fingers.

Rin huffed, "Well, are you going to help her? Or do I have to carry her all the way to the nurse's office?"

Shiemi squeaked and scooted away from Rin as best as she could, "I-I told you that I'll be fine! You didn't have to bother Yukio for me!"

"Oh, I don't think it's a bother for him, right?"

Yukio felt annoyance bubble up and stepped between the two of them, "I already told you, I'm not your personal doctor, Rin. And I think that you've done enough for today, so please leave."

Rin gave Yukio a look that, for some reason, made him feel like an idiot. Like he had missed something glaringly obvious, but he had no idea what, and his brother's next words were too cryptic to make the look make sense, "That's not what I was talking about, but ok…"

"Leave."

Rin stared at him with one of his unnervingly unreadable gazes. Yukio could never get used to the feeling of being studied so intensely by his usually flighty brother, but he had learned to stand his ground. And so he stood tall enough to not appear weak, but loose enough to not seem stiff and fake. Rin's too-blue eyes glanced back and forth between him and Shiemi a couple of times before a rather self-satisfied smirk pulled his lips apart.

"Ok!"

And Rin winked at Yukio before sauntering out, in such a pleasant mood that Yukio felt almost cheated. Rin didn't like following orders, even Yukio's, and seemed to enjoy being difficult just for the sake of it. He had expected for there to be a lot more resistance, but instead, he seemed satisfied and left.

He shook his head. He really didn't understand his brother sometimes.

"I am so sorry about my brother, Shiemi." Yukio called out as he grabbed his medical kit (always on hand, just in case), "Usually he isn't this bad, but when he gets an idea in his head, there's not much I or anyone else can do to stop him."

Shiemi shook her head, still flustered but looking better already, "It's fine, it's fine! I wasn't scared." Yukio raised a brow and she flushed, ducking her head to mumble, "Well, I wasn't that scared…I didn't think he was ever going to hurt me, but it's a bit frightening to get carried around like that…"

"Don't worry, I'll be sure to have a long talk with Rin about little things like personal boundaries." Not that there was a high chance that that would change anything, but he had to at least try to do something before his brother unintentionally got a sexual harassment charge filed against him or something equally ridiculous and headache-inducing, "But he was right- you shouldn't walk on this much for the next couple of days if you want it to recover in time for the training camp. What caused this anyway?"

Shiemi refused to meet his gaze, looking anywhere but him, "I…I tripped! I'm just so clumsy, you see…"

"Shiemi, you're a really bad liar."

"But I really did trip!" The blonde insisted, "I was just trying to catch up to Izumo...and…"

Ah, now he could start piecing together a picture, "And she just left you there when you fell? That's pretty harsh."

"I mean…" Shiemi fumbled, picking at the hem of her kimono.

"Though really I'm more shocked that Paku would just leave you. She was with Izumo, right?"

"Yes, but how did you know?"

"Just a guess, since she and Izumo stick together a lot." 'Like a lost dog' Yukio barely resisted saying. No, Shiemi didn't need to know the dark and judgmental things he thought about some of his classmates, "I guess I'm just disappointed that she didn't help you…Is that too tight?"

"No…"

There was a slight waver to her voice, and she looked nervous.

"Is something wrong, Shiemi?"

She shook her head, smile forced, "No, my ankle just hurts a bit! I need to go home and rest, right?"

Yukio knew when someone was hiding what they were feeling, and Shiemi was far worse at it than Rin had ever been, "Yes, yes you should…If something is bothering you, you can tell me, you know. We're friends, right?"

"Ah…" Suddenly Shiemi was staring at him, garden-green eyes huge with obvious shock. He wasn't sure what he had said that was so strange until the next words slipped past the blonde girl's lips, barely a whisper, "F-Friends…?"

"Are we not …?" Had he misread their relationship? She seemed like a nice girl, so surely she would want friends and not insist on lone-wolfing it like Rin did.

"No! No, it's just…" Shiemi blushed and played with the hem of her sleeve, and mumbled, almost silently, "I've just…never had a friend before…"

"Hey, asshole!"

Satan rolled his eyes at the familiar voice. And right when he was in a good mood, too.

"What is it, chickenshit?"

"At least Bon finally has some good company…"

Ryuji glared at him, pissed off as always, and stormed right over to him, leaving his lackeys to trail behind. Konekomaru looked exasperated while Renzo just looked amused. Hell, the pink-haired bastard gave him a thumbs-up for some idiotic reason that probably only made sense to himself.

Satan's view was obscured as Ryuji decided to invade his personal space. For some reason the boy hadn't realized that his superior height wasn't the least bit intimidating to Satan when really it just made it easier for Satan to sucker punch his vulnerable stomach. Or take a pot-shot at his crotch and end whatever fight might start in seconds. There was no such thing as a fair fight, after all.

Ryuji, ignorant to Satan's casual thoughts of bodily harm, growled at him, "I want to know exactly what the hell you think you're doing with Shiemi? Everyone's been talking about you carrying some blonde girl in a kimono around like you own her, so I want to know what the hell you think you're doing! And what did you do with her anyway!"

"She twisted her ankle, so I took her to Yukio so he could help her," And maybe things between them would…progress. Or they wouldn't, and Satan would have to give up on pairing the two of them together. They made a cute couple, she was nice, and, most importantly, Shiemi wouldn't even think of using Yukio. So, she was, by definition, perfect in his books. But love was tricky, destructive if done poorly, and it took time.

Yukio, thankfully, didn't seem prone to throwing himself at the first pretty face that was even slightly nice to him.

Konekomaru spoke up, skeptical, "Shouldn't you have taken her to the nurse instead?"

Satan missed when the kid had been outright terrified of him, "Maybe, if I was a simpleton like you. But Yukio is perfectly capable of tending to Shiemi all by himself," And they needed time alone to talk, hopefully about their feelings, "Don't forget that he does the best on the Doctor tests than any of you ever will. That includes even you, bonbon."

Ryuji made an angry…something. Satan was pretty sure it was supposed to be an oh-so intimidating growl, but it came off more as 'choking-cat' than anything else. He probably had some 'clever' retort ready, but Satan was acutely aware of the eyes on him.

His hand disappeared for a second before the glint of a switchblade caught the light. He heard the trio next to him gasp and shout at the sight of the meager weapon like he had just pulled a six-foot longsword out his ass, but Satan ignored them, "Besides, we have a bigger problem to worry about."

"What!"

"Whoa, where did you get a knife-?"

"The hell are you doing!"

Konekomaru screamed as the knife missed his ear by only a couple of inches. The blade flew between him and Renzo with unerring accuracy and, behind them, someone yelped as the blade scrapped a shoulder.

They whirled around just in time to see a black-haired boy run away, nearly tripping over his feet as he fled.

Satan saw familiar blue-green eyes and huffed, "I hate spies."

Ryuji trembled with obvious rage, and Satan had just enough time to sigh before the taller teen exploded and started screaming, "What the hell was that!? Did you just really throw a knife at a student?"

"He's been spying on me this entire year. I think he got off pretty easily."

Konekomaru frowned, shaking a bit at the near-miss but more intrigued with the strange turn of events, "Rin, you have a…a stalker? Shouldn't you report this to the principle?"

Satan barked out a humorless laugh. If only this kid knew what Samael could be like- he would probably find the entire thing amusing and Satan was set on avoiding him as much as possible. Just because he hadn't recognized who Satan was at their first meeting didn't mean he wouldn't catch on, however ridiculous it seemed.

Renzo whistled, long and low, "Wow, a spy? Pretty crazy that anyone would be interested in you. Guess you're pretty popular, huh?"

"Next time I catch him spying on me like a fucking creep, I'm going to kick his shit in."

Renzo laughed nervously.

"Were they immortal?"

"That's a hard question to answer, but, in the end, they really weren't. They were born, they lived, and they could die, but only when they were ready to. Nothing could kill them except themselves, when they finally had their fill of life."

"So, does that mean…?"

Lucifer stared in the mirror. Acid green eyes watched him in turn, as impassive as ever. Idly he rubbed at the long-healed needle wounds on his neck, checking himself for any defects. Soft skin that didn't flake away, healthy blond hair that didn't fall out in clumps, even the cuticles on his nails grew without flaw. It had been months now, but it still felt strange to no longer feel the pain of existence. A primal part of him missed the affirmation of his struggle, but it would be foolish to allow himself to fall into decay once again.

Without a doubt, Gedouin had outdone himself. It wasn't perfected yet, but Lucifer had little doubt that the man would find a way to make the effects of his Alpha Elixir permanent soon enough. Lucifer had never intended to use the Elixir, but Iblis had been…difficult to control. Even when their goals didn't overlap, Iblis was still needlessly reckless and head-strong and refused to wait until Lucifer's plans had completed before enacting his childish coup. Honestly, he had been waiting thousands of years, what were a few more to beings like them?

Lucifer dressed himself slowly, watching as his skin was hidden by fabric once more. Once, even the brush of the finest silks sent fire dancing across his broken and chipped body, but now it was a pleasant feeling. Pleasant, but only temporary like everything else was.

Like even father had eventually been.

Yes, Iblis and his other brothers could have this world and do with it whatever they pleased. Lucifer had no love for flowers that would one day wilt, no need for a family that would soon kill itself now that father was no longer here to keep them in line. He may finally have a body, he may finally have the freedom he always desired, but none of it mattered in the end. Nothing did, and that was something he just couldn't stand.

No, it was his duty to pick up the mantle that his father had forgotten over the eons. Maybe he had grown weary and made the mistake of resting, maybe he really had lost something to cursed eldritch creatures he had hunted, or maybe he simply lost hope. The cause did not matter, the reason did not matter, only the results mattered. Only the future mattered.

And so, Lucifer would move on, move forward, and discard finality.

"Don't expect a huge overarching plot, nor for this story to actually go anywhere significant."

A little less than 2 years later (has it really been that long? Wow) and I think I can officially eat my words. I hope everyone is ok with heavy divergence from canon, because that's what you're going to get soon. I can't say exactly how things are going to change since I clearly have no control over this story anymore.