Everyone had retreated back into the monastery, the evening chill suddenly getting too cold to stand around outside. Yukio was the last to tear himself away, still staring at the spot the Gehenna Gate had been less than an hour ago. Shiro eventually had to pull him to his feet and guide him inside.

Nagatomo and the other priests made their way to the kitchen to start brewing tea for everyone. Once the tea was served the priests returned to the kitchen sat talking between themselves about the recent events. Leaving Shiro, Yukio and Mephisto to talk in private. As much as they wanted to be a part of it, Rin was their family as well, they knew it was better to give them privacy in this matter.

Mephisto planted himself in the nearest chair, crossed legs and humming to himself as if the worst hadn't just happened. He casually picked up a slice of cake that had been laid out on the table and started delicately munching on it. Yukio sat grinding his teeth in frustration, fists clenched against his legs. He glared at the demon in front of him, how was he so relaxed?!

Shiro's shoulders slouched, slowly walking over to the nearest empty chair and carefully lowering himself down with the aid of his walking cane. He sat staring at the ceiling with a vacant expression for a few moments before moving his eyes down towards Mephisto, noticing how relaxed he was with this situation sent a slither of irritation through him.

He leant forward folding his hands on his lap. "What now?" He asked tentatively. "You must have some clue as to what Satan's got planned? What's going to happen to Rin?" He looked at Mephisto expectantly, hoping he had some sort of back-up plan for this situation. But there was no sly smile on his face, no inkling that he had something up his sleeve.

Mephisto looked relaxed, yes. But that could be a mask for anything. The Demon was good at hiding things when he wanted them to stay hidden. Shiro tensed a little when he finally spoke.

"As I said before, I had not anticipated Satan's arrival and for Rin to willingly let him in was even more of an unpleasant surprise." He frowned. "But from what Iblis said, Satan doesn't want him as a vessel."

"You mean he doesn't just want Rin's body for himself?" Shiro asked, sparing a glance towards Yukio who had been quietly stewing in his grief or anger he wasn't sure.

"No. It seems his plans have…changed. Amaimon first mentioned it and I wasn't too sure, but then I heard Iblis re-iterate it to Rin himself. Even Satan himself stated he would release Rin back in Gehenna. So, I can only conclude Satan has changed his plans, and no longer wants to use Rin as his vessel. So that means he has other means to get one and wants Rin for some other reason." He gave Shiro a knowing glance.

Shiro remembered all too well. Where he was 'created'. What he was born to be, bred for the simple purpose of being a demon's vessel, in that nightmare place. It made his skin crawl at the thought of these sort of experiments still taking place somewhere in the vast world. But he couldn't speak of such things in front of Yukio or anyone else.

"So, if he doesn't want to use Rin as a vessel then what does he want him for? Why take him?" Shiro stared at the demon.

"If Satan manages to get a vessel of his own strong enough to contain him and managed to sway Rin to his cause… we will have to contend with two demons who can wield the blue flames of Gehenna."

Shiro studied Mephisto's features for a moment, there was no inkling of mischievousness like there usually was, as if all this was part of his plan. He had not foreseen this happening. If they didn't find a way to convince Rin to come back, things were going to go terribly wrong for Assiah. He turned to Yukio who was unnervingly quiet, putting a hand on his shoulder. Yukio flinched from the touch.

"Are you OK?" Shiro asked calmly.

"It's my fault." He croaked; his voice was as low as a whisper. "It's all my fault. If I hadn't said those things, he might've… he wouldn't have…" Shiro pulled him into a hug.

"It wasn't your fault Yukio. We all made mistakes. Truth is this could have all been avoided if I had been able to tell him the truth from the beginning." He glared at Mephisto "If I had told you both together, we wouldn't be in this mess." He paused for a moment before releasing Yukio.

"What's the plan now? What are we going to do? What CAN we do?"

"Well with Rin back in Gehenna, he is now beyond our reach. I can't send Amaimon back there, Satan would surely make him pay for leading Rin out in the first place." He stood lost in thought for a few moments.

"So, we have to wait? He was there for two weeks and look what's happened to him! If we just leave him there who knows how far gone he'll be next time! Are there are no other demons you can send to infiltrate Satan's…fortress?" He yelled with an erratic wave of his arms.

"Castle, actually." Shiro rolled his eyes; of course, it was a castle. "Demons can come and go as they please. Rin will most likely be kept in special quarters in close proximity to Satan himself. Guarded only by those loyal to Satan. Which was why I used Amaimon in the first place. He was a neutral pawn, loyal to Satan but also loyal to me, but now sending him back to Satan wouldn't end well. I still need him and cannot risk his vessel." Especially given the amount of pain he suffered from his previous one, he thought to himself before continuing.

"There is also the issue that, Rin chose to return to Gehenna. He was desperate enough to allow Satan brief access to achieve this. Even if I were to send someone after him to relay a message, do you really think he would return?" Shiro lowered his eyes. Rin had looked so angry and hurt, would he really subject himself to that again?

"And with his demon half so steadily breaking through Rin's subconscious, I'm sure Satan has plans to use that to his advantage."

"What do you mean by that?" Yukio finally spoke up; looking so broken-spirited. Shiro looked from Yukio back at the demon in front of him.

"What I mean is, dear Yukio. The next time we meet young Rin, he may be a completely different person. And a possible threat to Assiah." Yukio blanched; he had possibly ruined his last chance at getting Rin back.

Shiro put his head in his hands, rubbing away the tiredness of his eyes. He'd been home for less than twelve hours and already everything was going wrong. He let out a tired sigh.

"OK." He paused thinking carefully about his next words "Are we going to inform the Grigori? They are already aware of the circumstances of my injuries, yes?" Mephisto nodded.

"Yes, it was a task enough to sway their suspicions after that incident. Angel was quite vocal as usual. And of course, was named your successor should the worst happen." Mephisto said, avoiding the initial question.

Shiro gritted his teeth in frustration. Once word got out about Rin that would be the end. They'd already picked his replacement regardless of if he was dead or not. But if Rin was a threat then he might have no choice than to inform them of the whole story.

"Mephisto, are you going to inform the Grigori about Rin?" He stared at the demon quietly awaiting an answer.

"It would be a wise decision. If Rin is truly going to be a threat, we need to be prepared. He can move freely between the realms and has use of Satan's blue flame—" He was suddenly cut off by a door slamming down the hall. They looked around to realise Yukio had disappeared.

Shiro sighed, he would need to talk to him privately later. Mephisto continued where he left off.

"Unfortunately, if we tell them there will be a high possibility, they will try to kill him. We do not know for sure that he will be a threat, and there still might be a slight chance we can bring him back."

Shiro looked shocked for a moment "So, you're saying we should wait?" a shred of hope lifting him up.

"I don't want to assume he is an enemy until he has proved otherwise. We don't want to make mistakes again, do we?" He narrowed his eyes at Shiro.

Shiro's breath hitched at Mephisto's words "No, we don't. I want him back. I want him safe from that monster."

"Preferably before he thinks of that monster as his Father…" Mephisto spared a glance at Shiro to see the hurt in his eyes. "If we can capture him and keep him separated from Iblis, we may be able to clean up this mess."

"Why only Iblis?" Shiro looked confused, wasn't Astaroth another threat?

"Because it seems he has bonded with her more than the others, he has developed a trust in her. She will be able to sway his decisions." Now that Shiro thought about it, it made sense. Iblis was the one doing all the whispering to Rin, and he had looked relieved at the sight of her. Even their flames had reacted to one another.

"Anyway, I have to go and make sure my new house guest hasn't destroyed anything in my absence. I will have them relieve and send Kuro, for your protection. You should also think about what you want to do with the Koma Sword." His eyes glanced down to the sword laid on the floor where Shiro had dropped it previously. Shiro had forgotten all about it.

"He can't be re-sealed, can he?" Mephisto didn't respond but Shiro took it as a no. Would Rin even want to be re-sealed, he said he was grateful to…him, for breaking the sword in the first place.

"I should return it to Oshō in Kyoto. We did steal it after all." He picked it up and looked at it before turning back to the demon as he walked towards the door.

"Farewell Shiro. Till next time."

Shiro remained silent and nodded in response. Mephisto let himself out and Shiro sat alone in silence for a few moments before burying his face in his hands again. Rin had been so close and had slipped through his fingers… just like Yuri.

"I messed up, Yuri…I messed up again…"

Yukio sat in darkness, with only a faint light filtering in through the window from the moon illuminating various elements of his room at the Monastery. He had silently excused himself from the conversation between his Father and Mephisto in the other room the moment the mention of reporting to the Grigori what had happened surfaced. Silently cursing to himself all the way to his room.
He had thought they wanted to save Rin, not have him hunted down and possibly killed. But when Yukio thought more about it, wasn't that the option that made the most sense. Sir Pheles had said he might be a threat; he wouldn't be Rin anymore. But how was that even possible? Even after everything that happened earlier that night, Rin had still tried to protect his family, protect him. He had still been Rin. Could Satan really change him so much?

He looked around, having not been here for the last two weeks. His side of the room was empty, with only sheets laid on the bed, all of his belongings now at the dorm. He'd brought only a small bag, left on the floor, of essentials and clothing he'd brought with him to last the weekend.

His gaze moved over to his brother's side of the room. Not as messy as he had remembered, the priests must have tidied it up. He looked at his brother's empty bed. The one he would probably have been sleeping in right now if they hadn't messed everything up… There was a bag on top, the one his Father had packed for Rin the night he was taken. It was left untouched, still full of Rin's belongings.

Yukio slowly stood and moved towards the bag, opening it and pulling out the clothes, carefully examining each one before putting them away into Rin's closet. He pulled out the white jacket he had worn the morning of that fateful day, unwashed with dried blood still on it from his fight in the morning. He held on to it as he sat on Rin's bed, holding it to his face trying to take whatever lingering scents of his brother might have been left behind after two weeks. He shouldn't have said those words, he should've just run up and embraced his brother. Instead, it was his fault he went back, his fault he let Satan use his body. A knock on the door made him jump, pulling him out of his thoughts abruptly. He quickly stuffed the jacket back into the bag.

"Come in" he called towards the door.

The door opened slowly with a creek; Father Fujimoto entered with a tired smile on his face. Yukio could just barely make out his face in the dim light, but he could tell it was forced, he was exhausted. Shiro walked in, closing the door behind him, walking stick in hand making a thud on the wooden floors with every step he took. He suddenly noticed how Yukio had been sat on Rin's bed rather than his own, bag open next to him. Yukio looked at the bag, seeing his father looking at it confused.

"I was just putting his stuff away…just in case." He was kidding himself really, he knew his brother was gone, even more now that he did before. But just wanted to hold on to that shred of hope that he might forgive them and come back home.

Shiro sighed "Even if he did come back…Mephisto would come to claim him, we wouldn't be able to go back to normal." He moved to sit with Yukio on Rin's bed, putting a hand on his shoulder. Yukio tensed causing Shiro to frown.

"If he comes back the Vatican will kill him, won't they? You're going to tell them, aren't you?" His voice was even and quiet but his body was shaking. Shiro moved his hand off Yukio's shoulder and folded his hands in his lap. He stared at them quietly for a few moments, he'd still not gotten used to missing his fingers from one.

"We're not going to tell them, at least until we're sure what his intentions are going to be. Mephisto said he might be a threat, but if we just go and treat him like one and nothing has changed…"

"We'd drive him away all over again." Yukio interrupted; Shiro nodded in response.

"What worries me is if he is a threat and we're not prepared for it…but I'm putting faith in Mephisto that he has a plan for that… he always has something up his sleeve."

"Do you really think Rin will change?"

"He's hurting right now and lost. We lied to him and it came back to bite us…" Yukio looked down disheartened "But Rin is Rin, I don't believe he will change." Shiro tried his best to give Yukio a convincing smile. He moved to get up slowly moving back towards the door.

"Dad…who is Yuri?" Shiro froze in the doorway, avoiding Yukio's eyes as they bore into him. "Satan said we look like her, was she our mother?"

Shiro frowned, wishing her name had never cropped up. Yukio had already been curious about his mother and the circumstances of their birth. Now Satan had spoken so freely of her in front of Yukio it was going to be even harder to sway him. But he couldn't say anything, he was forbidden.

"Sorry Yukio, I can't talk about it right now."

"But—" Without letting Yukio get out another word he left the room and closed the door. Hurried thumping moved down the hall until another door slam and silence. Yukio sat there in shock; he was still avoiding the subject after everything that happened? Even after Satan had blatantly said the name and implied they were her sons, Father Fujimoto still wouldn't talk about it.

Yukio pushed the anger down, it wasn't the time for it, there had been too many bad things about the night and he just wanted to forget it all and pray he woke up to his brother's snoring in the morning. He laid back on Rin's bed, not even bothering to pull the covers over himself, he was asleep within minutes of hitting the pillow.

Shiro had hurriedly left the room at the mention of Yuri and fled to his office. He hated this, keeping Yuri a mystery from him, from them both. All the lies between them just seemed to be tearing his family apart. How long would it be before Yukio despised him as well…

He moved to his desk, setting himself down in the large armchair. Pulling out the Kamikakushi key from around his neck, he inserted it into a nearby drawer at his desk. A key for hiding things…

He opened the drawer and stared at the one piece of paper inside, the only thing he kept. He couldn't - no wouldn't part with when everything else of her was destroyed.

He picked up the paper and turned it around to look at it – A photo. A photo from a wedding long ago. Three people stood in the photo, two males and a female. One was Shiro himself looking disgruntled and moody, obviously wondering why the hell he was there with these idiots. The other male, the groom, short spikey light brown hair, face happy and flushed with drunkenness – Rick. And the third, the woman, looking like a happy hysterical drunk. Gripping hold of both their necks in a tight hug, he could feel the enthusiastic energy radiating off her just from the photo. Her dark brown hair stuck to her face – dotted with moles just like Yukio's – Yuri.

He scrunched up the photo in his hand as he fought back the tears. He put the photo back into his desk, locking the drawer back up. One day he would be able to share this with them, show them how beautiful she was. Even at the end, she was smiling…

"Urgh, can't you at least be honest with me here at the end?" She pouted before giving him a gentle smile "See ya!"

How he wished he had held on to her. Wished he hadn't let her sacrifice herself to that…monster. He'd tried to save her, and when he failed, he'd tried to make up for it. Taking in the twins as his own. But he was still failing her. He'd lost one to Satan and the other was slowing seeping away from him, he could feel it.

Tiredness eventually took over in his grief, falling asleep at his desk.

"Goodbye, Shiro…"

Sir Mephisto Pheles, Honorary Knight of the Knights of the True Cross. The headmaster of True Cross Academy. Also known as Samael, King of Time a Demon King of Gehenna. Had been sat mulling over a chessboard for the better part of the past two weeks, wondering why his plans had all gone awry even more-so than usual.
He had tried to correct the timeline, to put things back how they should be for his plans. Albeit with a few changes where Rin was concerned having had the sword already broken ahead of time. But getting Rin out of Gehenna had turned out to be the easy task compared to the events that followed. He hid in waiting for either Rin to calm down and re-join his family or more likely, lost control, so he could then step in and confine him. Then he could've brought him back to himself. But nothing ever goes smoothly…

His plan had been for Amaimon to get close to him, befriend him in his own strange way. But the fight had put him out of commission and Satan had apparently kept them separated for a while. He hadn't counted on Iblis being the one to get close to him. His trust in her led to him opening up, letting Satan in to take them back to Gehenna. Spurred on by the fact he wanted to escape before he lost control of himself – protecting his family.

His plans once again had been thwarted by Satan. It was certainly a timeline he had not foreseen. Which complicated things further. But what was Satan planning? He still needed a vessel but no longer planned to use Rin. Had Lucifer's research already made headway this early? Surely not, certain events still hadn't occurred…

A crunching sound above him followed by crumbs falling onto the chessboard in front of him drew him out of his thoughts. He looked up with a scowl, his mouth twitched at the corners, to see Amaimon hanging from a chandelier on the ceiling, a bag of chips in his hands. With Satan knowing of Amaimon's involvement in Rin's escape from Gehenna it wasn't wise to send him back, so now Mephisto was stuck watching over him and his appetite for junk food.

"Amaimon…could you do that someplace else?" He gave him a threatening grin; Amaimon flinched.

"When will I get to play with Otouto again?" He let out a disappointed whine. Rin had promised he would play with him again if he showed him out of Gehenna. Then he disappeared, going back to where Amaimon couldn't follow to play with him anymore without risking his vessel. He was now bored, stuck watching his brother stare at a chessboard.

"I'm sure we will be seeing our youngest brother again soon Amaimon. Father won't keep him hidden away for long."

"I hope he is more fun to play when with he comes back, I like it when he's violent." He crunched down on another chip, more crumbs fluttered below.

Mephisto rolled his eyes in response.

Monday soon rolled around, the next school week started and Mephisto was sat in his office at the school when there was a knock at the door. He set down his pen and ushered the guest in.

"Come in." He sat back in his chair; hands folded on his desk. He grinned at the newcomer.

A boy, in a True cross student uniform, stood in the doorway his short-lived confident demeanour shattered in the face of the eccentric headmaster. He shuffled his feet nervously when he was stood directly in front of the man's desk. Man? He wasn't really sure about that; he gave off the same creepy vibe as the monster's he'd been seeing the past two weeks. But he'd helped him when he still couldn't remember what exactly happened, his friends had been useless in their explanations. All he remembered was a fight with that Okumura kid. Who, when he had tried to find out what happened from him, had conveniently disappeared.

"And how can I help you, today?" Mephisto said in a predatory tone. Bringing the boy back out of his thoughts. This was the only person that had offered him any sort of explanation as to what happened and why he was now seeing these monsters – demons. Something about being possessed and a…taint? He made an offer to teach him to fight them…

"Your offer…I want to accept—" he mumbled nervously before getting cut off by the headmaster standing abruptly clapping his hands together. It made him jump in surprise.

"Splendid! I will make the preparations immediately. You will have a little catching up to do though, having missed the first week of classes – are you sure you can handle this extra work load?"

The boy nodded, a determined look in his eye.

"I will remind you, take heed what you learn, if you slip up into your old ways again there will be no second chances." He narrowed his eyes at the boy in front of him sending a chill down his spine.

"I swear, I can change. It won't happen again… I don't want it to. That's why I'm doing this." His fists clenched by his legs. This seemed to please Mephisto enough. Learning of his possession and what he had tried to do to Rin Okumura seemed to have shocked him enough to push him on this path.

"Fine, I will have your class schedule sorted for you and your first class at the cram school starts this evening. You will not be the only new student starting late – so do not worry."

The boy exited the room, closing the door behind him. Mephisto leant back in his chair.

"Time to start playing some new pieces."

Back in Gehenna, a pair of warped blue eyes opened.

Hello, I'm back!

Bit of a filler more than anything, but I wanted a chapter not focusing on Rin for a change. So that will be next chapter - I was overly inspired by demon!rin's appearance in the latest manga chapter, but I want to wait till next month's chapter before posting as The blue night is officially starting in the manga!

Special thanks to:
Kiboeme
Nightmare-Taichou
Nina-Chan202
Wrenbird

For all their suggestions and ideas! I've been making notes for the next few chapters so will hopefully kick my ass in gear.

Also Ithurt2life for the constant poking to update .

I want to make a new image for my fic, so I will be working on that soon.

Hopefully you enjoyed the new chapter. Obviously new character coming... you can probably guess who.