Summary:
Rin gets the demon equivalent of the shovel talk. Someone's gotta defend Amaimon and Mephisto's honor against Rin's human tendencies and it might as well be their older brother. Ambrosia makes her debut in class. Lightning is a bit too interested in Rin for Mephisto's tastes. Also, Mephisto's not looking so good as his body continues to deteriorate from holding the Gehenna gate closed for so long. Rin gets to play mother hen. Rin is thrilled.
Notes:
I'm gonna have Rin drag Mephisto kicking and screaming into a relationship. At least Amaimon will get to enjoy Mephisto's suffering.
Something I'm wondering about. How much of what Mephisto can do is something Amaimon (and the rest of the demon kings, possibly Rin too?) can do when it comes to the whole finger snapping thing? Like, we see in the anime/manga Amaimon snaps his fingers to start the rollercoaster ride in the amusement park (and lights up the rest of the park too while he's at it). Plus he poofs the comic books into his hands too. But I haven't seen him use the ability since, or how often/like Mephisto does. Is Mephisto just a show off? I'm gonna make it a thing the demon kings can do for reasons, kay?
Song of the Chapter: I Feel Like I'm Drowning by Two Feet
Also, I thought I'd share the playlist I've been listening to while writing this. I went ahead and compiled a list of songs that either reminded me of Rin, Amaimon, and Mephisto (and any combo between them), or seemed to be them talking to one another, and some that just fit the theme (really wishing we had amv's for aoe like the Naruto fandom has tbh).
Guess which songs apply to which characters :D
You can find it on spotify under "Incandescence" if you search for it! (I think. I usually use Pandora so I'm not sure how to make shareable playlists lol)
"Amaimon!"
Rin cried out as he was separated from the others, grasping at air as he fell into the literal hole that had opened in the floor beneath their feet. The last thing he saw was Amaimon's face, a mixture of fear and anger in the snarled roar that followed him down.
He landed with a dull thud, choking a cough out at the impact, body stunned and disorientated by the total darkness of the room he'd found himself in.
A blink, and his eyes shifted into their more demonic slit-pupiled form as they adjusted, blue flames appearing on his head to give him a better idea of where he was.
Where he was looked like a cell and a sinking sensation settled in his gut that had nothing to do with the fall he'd taken.
The cell lit in a blinding light and Rin hissed, covering his eyes at the shock as he raised Kurikara in defense of what he couldn't see.
Black spots cleared from his vision in a flutter of lashes and Rin froze.
Because there was Lucifer, demon king of light, standing just a few feet away and Rin knew how outclassed he was.
"Hello, Rin."
His voice was perfectly genial, and his face Rin now saw without the hawk-like mask from before looked like it could have been from a painting, but Rin sensed something lurking just beneath the placid expression that told him to be extra cautious.
"What do you want?"
When his question got him narrowed eyes and a slight frown from Lucifer, Rin swallowed.
"I see you take more after Amaimon than Samael in your manners," Lucifer sighed, coughing, and Rin winced as his hand came away with flecks of blood staining it.
Still.
"Huh?"
Those green eyes pierced him and Lucifer examined him as if from under a microscope.
"You carry both Samael's and Amaimon's claims on you," Lucifer continued, causing Rin to flush because, once again, his relationship was apparently out in the open to any demon that cared to look and he still couldn't sense what they were talking about at all.
"Amaimon's loyalty is hard to come by, yet he has given it to you." Each of Lucifer's words was stated as if he was accusing Rin of something. He just couldn't figure out what, yet, and the sense that he was being cornered grew.
"Did you know he has remained neutral in the countless years I and Samael have had our opposing sides in our conflict despite every effort on both our parts to sway him?"
Rin widened his eyes because no, he hadn't known that about Amaimon and his mind flashed back to him telling Lucifer in no uncertain terms where to shove it, because Amaimon had decided to side with Rin, whichever path he chose.
"Yes, you see now." Lucifer frowned at him with what looked like disapproval heavy in his gaze. "I hope you show the care that loyalty demands."
Many had given Rin that look before, the one that said they were disappointed with him, found him lacking in some integral way he just couldn't figure out no matter how hard he tried. He was more than used to it. Rin glared, hackles rising at the implication in Lucifer's words.
"I didn't force him to join me," he snapped, "or manipulate him into it. Maybe that's where you guys went wrong."
"It's in our nature," Lucifer said as he cocked his head, apparently unable to understand why he shouldn't apply force and manipulation to get what he wanted.
"And," he said before Rin could speak, green eyes narrowing further, "Samael does nothing but manipulate. Assiah, Gehenna. Both worlds and every creature on them are his toys. His to choose whether they are destroyed like vermin or kept like amusing pets."
The reminder about Mephisto's ways made Rin flinch, though he found himself grinding his teeth around a welling anger at the way Lucifer talked about him that wouldn't calm.
"Yet he shows worrying tendencies towards you that I can't understand." The first signs of actual emotion appeared on Lucifer's face. A confused disdain at whatever 'worrying tendencies' he had seen in Mephisto when they'd interacted that he was for some reason attributing to Rin's influence.
"Alright, that's it," Rin growled, unable to take any more of the backhanded comments whose purpose he still couldn't understand, "I didn't exactly throw myself at those two. I didn't ever ask them to interfere with my life."
"But," Rin's eyes twisted into flames, baring his fangs at Lucifer to make sure he got his point across, "Mephisto and Amaimon are mine and I don't give a damn what you think about it."
Lucifer reared his head back and Rin thought he was about to get demolished for pissing him off, but wracking coughs began to overtake him until he knelt to the ground, blood splattering the tiles beneath his feet.
"I see." Lucifer panted around bloodstained teeth, shaking at the pain his body was in but still sounding calm and Rin had to marvel at the control he showed.
"I'll take my leave, then. Thank you for speaking with me."
And Rin was left alone in an empty room, Lucifer vanishing in a sudden absence of light that had him blinking to adjust.
He didn't have time to contemplate the weird exchange for long. The lights turned on and he was besieged by the twisted remains of one of the experiments and he had to escape the cell so he wasn't forced to kill the poor tortured human.
Then he didn't have the luxury of worrying about anything except the mission, putting the conversation out of his head to think about later.
Izumo was safe. They'd managed to save her from her body's rejection of the Inari fox demon's possession, is what Rin kept telling himself.
The bitterness of defeat still ate at Rin. Because Shima was a confirmed spy, had almost gotten Izumo killed for the organization he'd been a part of before since he even joined the cram school, having been a spy the whole time Rin had known him.
He watched their backup move in to secure the area. His part of the mission was over and now there was nothing left to do except head home and back to classes.
Izumo was safe.
That would have to be enough this time.
After the chaos died down, Amaimon had gone, not wanting to be around a bunch of annoying exorcists. His words, not Rin's. He'd been frantic in Rin's absence, tearing up parts of the base to find him until he'd escaped from the cell. But once everything was over and he was assured Rin was okay he'd left using a transportation key.
Things were out of Rin's hands now and all that was left was to head back to the academy.
Then another breath-stealing punch came when they were approached later by Shima's family.
Apparently, they'd been approached by Mephisto himself to enlist Shima as a spy in the Academy in the hopes he'd be picked up by the Illuminati so the Order could keep an eye on their movements.
In other words, Rin felt like screaming, because when Mephisto had said they'd be operating under the assumption that Shima was a spy, he'd known full well that he was. His spy, in fact.
Yukio eyed him from his bed when Rin curled up in his own under a piled-up mess of blankets.
"You...okay, Rin? It's only nine o'clock. It's a little early for you."
His question just made Rin curl up tighter, mumbling something about being tired, and Yukio didn't pry. He drifted off into a fitful sleep, wondering how his confrontation with Mephisto would go.
Rin yawned, sending a sleepy 'good morning' over to Yukio as they got ready for classes.
They separated, Yukio to teach and Rin to head to his first class of the day, not looking forward to seeing anything related to math or its problems but forcing himself to go anyway.
He'd just reached the hallway to the classroom when his heart skipped a beat.
Amaimon.
His scent came from somewhere nearby, and Rin couldn't help the excitement that raced through him at the thought of catching sight of him around school.
It seemed to come from his first class, and as Rin walked into the room, he almost fainted, giddiness overwhelming him and a grin making his cheeks ache.
"Ambrosia!"
Because there was Amaimon, sitting cross-legged on the desk in front of the one Rin was assigned to and making his way through a bag of chips.
And he was dressed in the girls' school uniform, short skirt, black tights and all.
Instead of the horn he usually had on his head, his hair was back up in a messy bun, choker around his neck, and make-up applied to mask his masculine features without being as heavy as it had been on the festival night.
Rin remembered, then, that Amaimon was now signed up for classes as Ambrosia Faust, niece to Johann Faust, and would be joining Rin. The thought sent another rush of happiness through Rin, suddenly looking forward to classes the rest of the year, no matter what subject they were.
At his entry, Amaimon looked up, and Rin saw the faint un-tensing in his eyes and posture at no longer being alone, surrounded by humans. Not that anyone else would be able to pick up on it, Amaimon exuding an air of menace that kept the other students in a wide circle from him, terrified at the obvious danger.
"Ah, Rin!"
The call of his name made him glance up, a little surprised that his professor was talking to him with such relief evident in his voice when usually he addressed Rin with resignation at his terrible grades or irritation when he caught Rin sleeping in class.
"It seems you know our new student, Ms. Faust." The man trembled as Amaimon's eyes snapped to him at being mentioned and he hurried on, "Why don't you sit next to her and make sure to answer any questions she might have."
When he caught the professor's muttered, 'so I don't have to,' at the end of his request, Rin's eyes narrowed.
But Rin just smirked, loving how having Amaimon here was already having perks. It all worked out in his favor to be responsible for him in class. He definitely wouldn't be complaining and hoped it was the same in all his other classes.
"Sure thing," Rin chirped, turning his back to the professor to head over to Amaimon, lips widening at the answering smirk on his face. "I'm happy to help Ambrosia with anything she needs."
Amaimon's pupils slivered at Rin's light words, clearly imagining what he could help him with as Rin walked up to where he sat on the desk.
"I'm so happy, Ambrosia," Rin repeated, standing so he was almost touching the crossed legs on the desk, enjoying how everyone seemed to be holding their collective breaths as he got so close to the dangerous new person in their class.
The ball stayed in his court as Amaimon propped himself back on his hands, staring up at Rin as if asking him what his next move would be. So Rin smiled down at him and leaned over to claim his mouth in a kiss.
He thought one or two people may have collapsed at the sight, the professor sputtering something about PDA in school, which Rin happily ignored to keep kissing Amaimon.
A last slide of their tongues together and Rin pulled back to see Amaimon's pupils dilated in pleasure at having Rin stake his claim in front of everyone. That accomplished, Rin brought a hand up to Amaimon's shoulder, giving it a reassuring squeeze before moving to sit at his desk like things were business as usual.
Once the professor was able to begin teaching again, the rest of the class passed in a blur. Rin spent the time tracing his eyes over Amaimon's body in front of him, feeling a low purr going through him and knowing he could hear him by the way his pointed ears twitched back at the sound.
Finally, the end-class bell rang and Rin was already up and moving to Amaimon's side, hooking his arm through his and pressing against him as they exited the room ahead of all their petrified classmates.
Purring began in Rin and he nosed at Amaimon's neck, closing his eyes as he inhaled, happy to let him lead them to their next class. Well, Rin felt a laugh try to bubble up, who knew if he was in all his classes, or if he even knew where to head next. Rin was okay skipping the rest of the day if it meant he got to spend it with Amaimon.
Actually, now that he had Amaimon there-Rin opened his eyes as he made his request, careful not to use Amaimon's real name in case there were any nosy exorcists were around.
"Hey, I've been thinking, Ambrosia," Rin watched gold eyes flick down to meet his, "can we play together sometime? Like I thought you meant the first time?"
Amaimon stopped, a visible shudder going through his body as he turned, eyes dark with excitement, on Rin. "I thought you didn't want to?"
Just seeing his clear excitement sent energy buzzing through Rin as he quickly responded, "As long as we're not trying to kill each other I think it would be fun. We should today after school before I have to go to cram classes."
A wide, toothy smile met him, Amaimon obviously approving of his idea before he looked away to glare at their surroundings.
"How much longer do we have to stay here? I'm already bored."
His scowl had Rin giving him a dry grin. He'd wondered how long it would take Amaimon to start complaining about the tedium.
"You can always just do what I do to pass the time and sleep through the boring parts."
It didn't seem to make Amaimon feel any better as he let an irritated puff of air escape his mouth to move the stray strands of hair in front of his eyes.
"Rin! Ambrosia! Hi!"
Interruption came in the form of Shiemi. Rin turned to smile at her as she approached alongside a frowning Izumo, who'd probably been dragged up to meet them, though, given the way she kept glancing at Amaimon, Rin wondered if she might have come more willing than her frown suggested. For curiosity's sake.
"Hiya, Shiemi. Hey Izumo. What's up?" Rin said once they got close. Amaimon was back to watching with a blank expression.
"I saw you with Ambrosia and wanted to introduce her to Izumo since she didn't get a chance to meet her at the festival," Shiemi said, her smile bright in the face of Amaimon's expressionless face and Izumo's scowling one.
"Great idea, Shiemi." Rin turned his own grin to Izumo, leaning back into Amaimon. "Izumo, this is my girlfriend, Ambrosia Faust. She's Amaimon's daughter and Mephisto's niece. Ambrosia, this is my friend, Izumo."
Amaimon didn't change his lack of expression and Izumo didn't lose her scowl, both of them giving each other suspicious looks before nodding, apparently deciding that was good enough.
Long-suffering looks passed between Rin and Shiemi before they giggled at the other two's ridiculousness, giving it up as a lost cause before heading to their next classes. He found Amaimon did, in fact, share all the same classes as he did and wondered if he would thank Mephisto for the meddling before or after he got his retribution.
Finally, the bell rang to let them out for the day and Rin shared an excited grin with Amaimon as they took off to find somewhere to play.
Rin let out a whoop, laughing as he sent another swath of blue flames into the boulders Amaimon brought up to stop him.
He fell through the air to cut the stone into rubble, already launching himself at the retreating form of the other demon.
It made perfect sense why Amaimon had wanted to play with him like this now.
Getting to let loose on the careful control he kept on his flames, to be able to fling himself into a fight knowing his opponent could more than keep up, was exhilarating.
Kurikara came down on Amaimon's claws, sparks flying when the two forces met and Rin found himself flung to the side with a heave of his arms.
His torqued body mid-air to land in a crouch, and Rin bared his fangs in a wide smile as Amaimon came at him again.
A fist slammed into the ground and Rin didn't react in time, stumbling on the shaking surface and slipping down when a gaping crevasse opened beneath his feet.
Before he could react, Rin fell, hand reaching to grab at the wall when instead he felt his descent stopped with a sharp jerk on his arm, looking up to see Amaimon had caught his hand in his to keep him from dropping to the bottom.
At the look on Amaimon's face, Rin gave a sheepish smile and Amaimon hauled him back up to safety.
Rin found himself flat on his back with an excited earth king trying to burn the rest of his adrenaline another way.
Moaning broke from Rin as Amaimon ground their hips together, already hard over him, and his mouth was claimed in a rough kiss.
Another exchange of breath and Amaimon brought his teeth into things, Rin discovering his fangs elongated in response, hissing as he tasted blood and letting a growl rumble through his chest.
They didn't waste time, Amaimon freeing Rin and himself from their clothes to get the needed contact.
He panted into Amaimon's mouth as he moved their hips together in a rhythmless slide of heated skin, bringing his legs up around the waist over his to encourage Amaimon to press harder.
Rin came with a low cry, head dropping back as Amaimon kept going for a few more moments before finishing too.
"Mmh," Rin sighed as they lay next to each other on the hard ground, winding down from their exertions until they could breathe normally.
The uncomfortable sensation of cooling liquid on his stomach made him sit up, grunting at the effort of moving just then.
His movement had Amaimon squinting up at him as if wondering why he was moving already before he brought his fingers up to snap and Rin found they were both cleaned and clothed.
Huh. Rin blinked down at himself, tugging at his clothes before a thought occurred. "Wait, you can do the same thing Mephisto can?"
"We all can," Amaimon sighed, letting his head fall back to the ground as if it were old news he imparted on Rin. "Mephisto just adds too much flash for the humans. He thinks it's funny."
"Oh man, that's so cool," Rin grinned, contemplating his own hands. "Hey, do you think I can do it too?"
Amaimon shrugged. "No clue."
Ok, he'd asked for that. Rin pouted but realized Amaimon probably really didn't know, considering Rin was a bit of a unique case as far as half-demons went.
"Wait," Rin shot up, "What time is it? Yukio's gonna kill me if I'm late again!"
"Who cares what he thinks," Amaimon said in a grumble.
At Amaimon's put-upon look, Rin just grinned, knowing he was annoyed at having his fun interrupted.
Still, they headed back, Amaimon pressing him against the side of a building to drag him into one more heated kiss before they reached the school proper and he left to do whatever it was he did with his free time. Rin was a bit curious about that, figuring he'd ask Amaimon later.
They had time, after all.
His legs practically floated Rin into class, a good mood making him feel like he was walking on clouds and he found himself smiling at nothing in particular.
"Woah, you're in a good mood, Rin."
He turned his smile to Bon, who'd been the first to acknowledge him when he'd entered the classroom.
"It's because his new girlfriend is in all his classes," Izumo huffed in irritation from over where she sat next to Shiemi, who beamed, saying how happy she was that Rin was getting to spend time with Ambrosia.
"Really? That's great, man," Bon gave him a thumbs up.
"Who's Ambrosia?" Konekomaru asked, being the only one who hadn't met her yet.
Rin gave the explanation he'd given to everyone else, watching Bon and Koneko's eyes widen as they learned about Ambrosia being Amaimon's 'daughter.'
It made Rin feel a ridiculous amount of joy just to talk about Ambrosia with his friends, already thinking about the day he could clue them in on who she really was so he wouldn't have to hide.
A voice interrupted.
"Oh, man. Can't you guys tell? Our buddy, Rin, is glowing over here because he's getting some hot demon tail, obviously. Congrats on beating me to the punch on that, by the way, Ambrosia's a babe. A bit short in the chest department but boy does she have legs for days if you know what I mean."
The conversation fell into silence as Rin turned at Shima's entry into their class.
"Hey guys," Shima grinned, rubbing the back of his head, "miss me?"
What followed was a serving of holy retribution heaped on their friend turned spy, no mercy shown as he felt the brunt of their wrath.
"Ah, please, let's not bully Mr. Renzou any further, everyone."
At the request, Rin jerked around from where he'd been apologizing to Izumo for getting a bit carried away with his flames and burning all Shima's clothes off, vengeance forgotten the instance he heard that voice.
Mephisto sat in dog form in front of the downed Shima before poofing back to himself to address the stunned group.
Conflicted emotions tore Rin apart, his mind scrambling to figure out what he should feel towards Mephisto. He didn't know what he felt, given what little he knew about Mephisto's true intentions and future schemes. The talk with Lucifer had shaken Rin, and he couldn't ignore it any longer.
Despite it all, there was something about being in Mephisto's presence that soothed him and Rin had to resist going over to bury his face in his chest and surround himself with his scent.
Getting to work things out with Amaimon had gone a long way towards calming his anger towards Mephisto, too, but he knew he still needed a chance to talk with him alone before he could feel settled.
Judging by the glance Mephisto sent him, he already knew what ran through his head.
Rin blushed when that look turned into a sly smile as Mephisto took a deep breath through his nose, realizing he must have been very aware of how he'd spent the past hour with Amaimon.
"I've got a troublesome guest from the Vatican waiting for me and unfortunately I'm going to have to cut this reunion short so I can take you all to meet with him."
In a blink, Shima was snapped awake and re-clothed by Mephisto and another blink found them in his office.
Yep, he was blushing again. Rin found his eyes glued to the infamous desk he'd become intimately acquainted with the last time he'd been in Mephisto's office. He could even see the claw marks he'd left in the wood.
The heated look in Mephisto's green eyes from where he stood just a foot away from Rin, a hint of a fang showing in his smirking mouth, told Rin he knew exactly where his thoughts were.
"Holy shit! Sir Pheles' abilities are always so dramatic. Like magic!"
An unknown voice coming from the door behind sent Rin jerking around. A second later the smell hit him and he wrinkled his nose in disgust. Did this guy not shower?
"Hi, I'm Lewin Light," the man said in introduction, hand coming up to scratch at his dark, tangled hair. "Nice to meet you all!"
At his friend's exclamations, Rin learned the unkempt foreigner was actually an arc knight known as Lightning, right hand to the Paladin and an unparalleled expert in chants and summoning. Bon seemed taken with him already and Rin was reminded that his friend was an aspiring aria, making Lightning something of a celebrity in his eyes.
"Wow!"
-And Rin found his nose assaulted as Lightning got in his face.
"Are you Rin Okumura? Satan's kid?"
A deep shudder went through Rin as his personal space was invaded, Lightning rubbing his stubbled cheek against Rin's like a lion marking its territory, taller body shoved hard over his and hand coming up to grab the back of his head so he couldn't escape like he very much wanted to.
"I've always wanted to meet you."
There was something weird about the way Lightning said that, Rin decided, and, now that he was up close, he could see under the shaggy fringe to a penetrating stare that made Rin feel like he was being dissected alive.
His body and mind recoiled at the assault. A whimper escaped Rin's mouth and panic began to well up as he tried to extricate himself from the hold and couldn't, Lightning's strength more than his without bringing his demonic powers into things.
Why is he-?
Through the white noise rushing in his ears, Rin caught the sound of a low growl, too soft for human senses to pick up on, and he found himself tugged back and behind Mephisto.
He fought through the strange inability to breathe, chest squeezing around his lungs until Rin grew lightheaded. Lightning just looked up with a suspicious smile on his face, studying the way Mephisto had reacted with unusual interest even as he was met with teeth bared in a grin that only just pretended at being friendly.
"Why don't we try to stay on track, hmm?"
Rin could have kissed him right there for getting him away from Lightning, edging further away behind Mephisto.
"Ah, right, right," Lightning gave a laugh, the sound artificial somehow. "Take a seat, everyone."
They complied, moving to the couches and chairs set around a coffee table in the center of the room. Although Rin sent a distressed look to Mephisto at having to leave his protection and sit anywhere near Lightning again.
By the way Mephisto grit his teeth together through his smile, eyes darkening as Rin went to join the others, Rin could tell he wasn't happy about the arrangement either.
"We're here to discuss whether or not Shima can be trusted. And you, as his close friends will determine that," Lightning began, voice cheerful despite the topic of conversation.
"And, if he isn't," the smile on his face turned cruel, "then we torture him to find out what he knows about the Illuminati."
A shocked silence met Lightning's statement.
Rin let out a heavy exhale, looking at the nervous grin on Shima's face and not knowing how much of it was real.
"That's obvious," he said, leaning with his elbows on his knees to stare Shima in the face, seeing the hopeful expression there, "we can't trust him at all."
He ignored all the gasps at his declaration from the other exwires, ears perking as he heard from the one voice he was waiting for.
"Oh? That doesn't sound like you, Rin."
His flat stare turned to Mephisto. "It's your fault he's not trusted. He is your spy."
Mephisto's mouth twitched in a smile. "Very astute of you."
Rin pushed a long breath through his nose, feeling a headache coming on.
"He's got a point!"
The outburst had Rin blinking up at Izumo as she began her tirade against Mephisto. He'd apparently kept the secret of her little sister's location from her when he'd known about it all along, only revealing the location to her after the last mission.
With Izumo's accusations, the floodgates opened, each of the exwires declaring the ways in which Mephisto had manipulated events in their lives, including the impure king mission, and all the way back to asking Yukio to test Rin with the hobgoblin attack on his first day of class.
Then Yukio leveled the greatest charge, looking almost manic as he shouted at Mephisto.
"And the biggest mystery is why you allowed the bastard son of Satan to survive!"
Bastard son of Satan. Rin's heart dropped at the way Yukio phrased his demand for answers, words ringing in his head, an echo of the day he'd discovered what he was.
It hurt.
He knew Yukio wasn't the biggest fan of demons, had taken becoming an exorcist as almost a punishment, but this was just another one of the many times Yukio directly included Rin when he spoke about demons like they were a curse word.
Evil.
Wrong.
Rin dropped his gaze from Yukio's accusatory face, barely hearing as Mephisto described how they were his precious pawns, essential in the fight against Lucifer.
Yet another thing to bring to the table when he cornered Mephisto later.
Because…
Heat burned in his chest and Rin scowled, seeing how Mephisto caught his gaze, though he didn't bring any attention to it.
He did not like being thought of as just a pawn in Mephisto's games.
"Ahaha I can see why Sir Pheles isn't trusted around here!"
The laughter grated at Rin, transferring his irritation back to Lightning, whose voice was starting to bother him now, though he had no idea why it would.
"But we've digressed from the point. Which is whether Shima can be trusted."
"Please, guys!" Shima turned panicked eyes on them and Rin still couldn't trust a single word out of his mouth or even the expression on his face but…
"I trust him."
Rin watched Bon stand to stare down at his childhood friend, leading the charge as the rest of the exwires declared their trust in Shima.
Finally, Rin sighed, giving his answer, "I won't let him get tortured. I trust him too."
That was the signal Lightning was waiting for. Laughing and standing as he let them know he'd been planning on letting Shima leave the whole time. He let himself out with a cheery reminder that he would be sending confidentiality agreements for them to sign based on Shima's situation.
His breath left on a shaky exhale at Lightning's departure, glad he was gone and feeling his body relax by a hair.
"Well, that was a delight, as always, from Mr. Lewin," Mephisto said in a humorless twitch of his lips. "Professor Okumura can I count on you to tell Miss Kirigakure about the matter discussed here?"
Yukio nodded, that dangerous, unhinged, look still in his eyes that scared Rin to see, ramping up whatever was causing the tension in his limbs until it shivered out of him in intermittent spasms.
"You're lucky to have such friends, Mr. Renzou," Mephisto continued, smiling at Shima.
"Oh yeah, that was a pretty rough situation, huh guys?" Shima laughed, hand rubbing at the back of his head in exaggerated relief.
"I'll leave you all to get reacquainted with each other, shall I?"
With that, Mephisto waved the exwires out the door. "Except you, Rin. I'd like to request a word with you."
"About what?" Yukio asked, the glance he shot between them as pointed as his voice.
The look in Yukio's eyes made Rin wince, but he waited to see what excuse Mephisto would use this time to keep him behind.
"Ah, I'd just like to ask Rin how my favorite niece's first day at school went," he said with a slight curve of his mouth in the face of Yukio's suspicion.
Rin perked up at that one, realizing he could use the excuse himself if he ever wanted to escape to Mephisto's place, then realized what escaping to Mephisto's place required, namely, his forgiveness. Or acceptance, more like.
"Sure." Yukio narrowed his eyes, though in the end he was forced to accept Mephisto's words.
"See you later, Rin."
"Yeah, see ya."
His steps faded after the door clicked shut and Rin slumped into the couch, rubbing his hands over his arms in an effort to comfort himself with the touch. The whole encounter had left him unstable and panic still squeezed at his heart, finally able to acknowledge it now that everyone had left.
It took several long moments of Rin staring at nothing before he came back to himself in the room. The silence continued until Rin looked up, seeing Mephisto waiting in his seat at his desk for him to make the first move.
There were a million ways Rin could open with, starting and ending with all the things he was angry at Mephisto about.
But…
"I really hate that Lightning guy," Rin muttered, head bowing down again as the memory of being touched sent a wrenching pain through his chest, revulsion making him shake as he gave a choked off sob, not understanding why he was so affected by what had happened, just knowing that he there existed a deep sense of violation that wouldn't leave.
He turned, desperate, back to Mephisto.
"Please get him off of me."
Rin closed his eyes as he was folded into a protective embrace, bringing his arms up to clutch at the suit Mephisto wore and letting out a shaky exhale, finally releasing most of the tension in his body.
"If he wasn't such an important piece in my plans I would have killed him where he stood before he could have even entertained the thought of touching you."
Instead of the horror such a statement might have caused, a piece of Rin recognized that it comforted him to hear Mephisto threaten violence for his sake. Rin pressed his forehead harder into Mephisto's chest, breathing deeply as he came down from the panic he'd been in and allowing himself to just exist, cocooned in his presence.
But a strange scent hit his nose, then, and he pulled back, frowning.
It smelled like the scent of decay and he was brought back to his interaction with Lucifer.
"Mephisto, why do you smell like you're rotting?"
A hum left Mephisto and he just continued to stroke at Rin's hair, setting his chin down on his head.
"There's nothing you can do to help with that particular problem, I'm afraid."
At the avoidance of the question, Rin frowned, but parried with one of his own, "I met Lucifer at the Inari Shrine again."
Mephisto tensed at that, pulling back to watch him with narrowed eyes.
"What did he say?"
"Tell me and I'll tell you." Rin quirked his lips up at the twitch his words caused.
Turnabout was fair play, after all.
"Well played, Rin," Mephisto said with a rueful smile. "Alright. There is an artificial Gehenna Gate that the Illuminati is trying to open. I have stopped time around it to prevent it's widening further, however, it is only a stop-gap and my body is paying the price. There are a few months before I will be forced to release it and demons will flood the land."
"Now, your turn."
Rin stared at the revelation he'd just been handed. The insight into one of Mephisto's ever-spinning circles reminded him that the stakes were never higher in the games being played.
"He told me Amaimon's been neutral the entire time you two have been at war and that I should show his loyalty the care it demands," Rin offered, keeping his eyes on Mephisto in the hopes that he could clarify what Lucifer had been getting at.
"He also said you were showing worrying tendencies and for some reason, it sounded like he was blaming me for them."
The confusing words from Lucifer still frustrated Rin, a growl fighting to rise as he admitted, "I don't know why he told me, or what he meant by any of that."
He startled as Mephisto began to laugh, chest shaking against his and Rin glared, not seeing what was so funny.
"I'm surprised you didn't recognize what was happening, it's most certainly a human tradition, not a demon one." Mephisto grinned down at him.
"What was happening?" Rin said with a pout, knowing he'd missed something obvious.
"You've just had the dubious honor of receiving the first shovel talk ever given in demonic history," Mephisto laughed again, "and by Lucifer himself!"
"Shovel what?" Rin asked, not enjoying being laughed at but liking hearing the sound from Mephisto.
Actually, Rin narrowed his eyes, this may have been the first time he'd ever heard Mephisto laugh. Not snicker, not cackle, or mock, but laugh with real humor not hidden behind a facade.
Rin determined to make Mephisto laugh like that again as many times as he could.
"I suppose you've never been on the receiving end of one before," Mephisto chuckled, pressing a kiss to Rin's head. "Our dearest older brother was merely threatening you into taking care with my and Amaimon's hearts. Very dutiful of him, I must say."
"That's what he was doing?" Rin yelped out, "I thought he was insulting you guys or something. It made me really angry!"
"I told him I didn't give a damn what he thought, you and Amaimon are mine," Rin growled at the remembered exchange, gripping at Mephisto tighter as if to make his point.
His declaration just made Mephisto laugh harder, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes.
"Oh, I can only imagine the look on his face," he said between gasps, bringing his head down to Rin's shoulder. "It must have been beautiful."
The reaction had Rin grumbling at Mephisto but a twin smile form on his face at the contagious quality of his laughter.
"Yeah, well, it's none of his business anyway," Rin resolved, tilting his head up to let it rest on Mephisto's shoulder as he glared at the ceiling.
"Ah, I can't recall the last time I had such a good laugh. Thank you, Rin," Mephisto said, beaming down at him.
"I think I'm the one who's supposed to be getting cheered up, not you," Rin huffed out, realizing his anger at Mephisto had evaporated.
He was pulled into a soft kiss, Mephisto carding his claws through his hair to massage the areas of tension Rin hadn't realized were still there.
"You're right, Rin. Please allow me to make it up to you."
That sounded good. Rin hummed his pleasure, leaning into the soothing touches, though a worrying thought made its way to his mind. "Are you okay though? Isn't your body in pain from holding the gate closed?"
Mephisto pushed him back on the couch, nosing at his throat. "This body of mine is in constant pain. I have only slowed my degradation, as being the king of time allows me to do. Were it not for that ability, I would be in the same state as Lucifer."
His revelation saddened Rin as he brought his arms up around Mephisto's shoulders.
"But wait, is Amaimon degrading too?"
One of Mephisto's fingers wound up at his lips, a request for silence.
"Amaimon has found and possessed his perfect body, he will no longer suffer degradation. But hush now, you're not supposed to be worrying about these things while I'm trying to apologize to you."
Rin laughed, pulling Mephisto up into a kiss.
"Okay, I won't worry about you two right now. No promises about after."
"Good."
A sigh left his mouth as Mephisto ran warm hands down his stomach, reaching to unbutton his uniform and expose his chest.
Mephisto trailed his tongue down the revealed skin and Rin shivered at the pleasant tingles the action elicited, head falling back and eyes closing to get lost in the sensations.
A snap of Mephisto's fingers and their clothes vanished to reappear folded on the chair next to them.
"Amaimon says when you do that it's because you're being flashy for humans and he doesn't get why you bother," Rin pointed out, opening his eyes as he teased Mephisto.
"Amaimon will get what's coming to him next time I see him," Mephisto promised, a smile on his face and growl in his voice and Rin almost felt bad for the Amaimon-but not too bad, at least, not if he got to watch them again.
He let out a breathless moan as teeth scraped over his chest and his body was weighted down by Mephisto's, hands coming up to grab at his hair and press him closer. Rin arched into the hips above his, trying to increase the friction between their bodies and whining when Mephisto pulled away instead.
"Humans believe patience is a virtue, you know," Mephisto teased back as Rin growled at the lack of contact.
"Lucky I'm a demon, then," Rin responded, reaching to grab Mephisto's hips in his clawed hands to try bringing him back to his previous position.
"Ah," Mephisto tutted, not allowing himself to be moved, "I believe you'll want to wait for this."
Rin pouted again but settled back down to see what Mephisto would do.
His patience paid off and he was treated to the sight of Mephisto's tail unwinding from his waist before it disappeared behind him and Rin felt his mouth go dry as he realized what he was doing.
"Do you know?" Mephisto panted as he thrust his own tail into his entrance. "Amaimon is the one who showed me this. He's quite creative, that one."
There wasn't anything Rin could say in response to that, letting out a strangled sound as he watched Mephisto shudder over him and a flush rise to his pale cheeks.
By the time Mephist finished, Rin had begun shaking almost as much as him, the anticipation of what his reward was going to be sending his pulse skyrocketing.
A helpless groan left him as Mephisto grabbed his length and positioned himself above it, sinking down until Rin was completely enveloped in the tight heat and fighting not to immediately begin pushing up into it.
Mephisto smiled down at him, enjoying the look on his face.
When he finally decided to move Rin found his hands at the legs straddling him, claws biting into the skin of Mephisto's thighs as he rode him in slow, teasing motions of his hips.
The way Mephisto's hips circled over his was hypnotic, stomach stretching and shifting in a mesmerizing play of muscles that had Rin panting at the sight of.
As his gaze roved Mephisto, Rin could see the blood-stained patch of gauze on his shoulder where he was rotting and he frowned at the sight, rubbing soothing hands over his thighs and wishing he could do more.
"I believe I told you not to worry about what you can't change, Rin," Mephisto said, accenting his words by picking up the pace and causing Rin to moan, throwing his head back at the suddenness.
"Ah! Why can't you just-hah-ah-" Rin tried to get his thoughts in order, finding it almost impossible with the ever-increasing speed and thrusting up to match it as much as he could.
"-Just let the gate open?" Rin groaned, hands tightening on Mephisto's thighs and drawing blood.
"What?" Green eyes widened in surprise and then the pupils dilated as Rin brought his bloodstained claws to his mouth to lick the blood off them with the point of his tongue, his own eyes half-mast as he focused on tasting Mephisto.
"Why not?" Rin demanded, then, holding Mephisto's gaze. "There's already exorcist schools around the world that know how to handle the bad demons. If they teach everybody else then it won't matter if everyone knows about demons. We wouldn't have to hide."
"And you won't have to rot like this," Rin finished, bringing himself up and wrapping his arms around the body over his as he glared into Mephisto's stunned face.
The changed angle hit the sensitive point inside Mephisto, shocking a groan out and making him shudder against Rin.
Rin didn't let him respond, flipping Mephisto onto his back on the couch and thrusting into him, hands at his hips to keep him there until Rin could bring his tail into play.
Glazed eyes tracked Rin's black-furred tail as it slipped around his length. Rin held it there, loose, not giving him the pressure he needed, only teasing him with the sight as Rin looked down at him with the same impassive face he'd worn while watching Mephisto take Amaimon just a few days before.
But Rin waited for something and Mephisto groaned again when he realized what the it was Rin wanted from him before he would continue.
"Please, Rin."
Good. Rin smiled and Mephisto didn't get a chance to think anymore as the tail tightened and stroked at the same time as Rin thrust into him, pushing him into the couch with the force of his movements.
Seeing Mephisto come undone was one of Rin's new favorite sights, he realized, right next to watching Amaimon, even better when it was him doing the undoing.
The tight pressure, heat, the muscles clenching around him as Mephisto let loose all those delicious noises Rin had been hoping he'd make, had Rin groaning his release into Mephisto, head dropping as he worked his tail over him until he followed suit with a shattered gasp.
Mephisto's chest heaved, hair mussed against the pillow he laid against and eyes dazed as Rin slid out, making a mess on the couch cushions beneath them.
It took Rin's attention and he laved his tongue over the mess on Mephisto's stomach to clean him as he'd done for Rin the last time, returning previous favors and enjoying the twitches every pass of his tongue elicited.
He didn't get as far as he'd like before Mephisto recovered, pulling him away and into a heated kiss.
"You are a treasure, Rin," Mephisto panted against his mouth, green eyes capturing Rin's as he looked at him with something like awe.
"I always thought you were a little draconic." Rin grinned into the possessive kiss he found himself in again.
When he was finally freed, Rin settled over the body under his, relaxing and knowing Mephisto could take his weight, though he was careful not to touch the area around the gauze. He nosed at Mephisto's neck, breathing in their mingled scents and dragging his tongue over the pulse, enjoying the hitch of breath in his ear.
"But seriously, why can't you just let the gate open?"
Mephisto brought a hand up to run through his hair and Rin purred at the feeling, letting his eyes close to the ministrations.
"You'll have to trust this is another part of my strategy that I will have to maintain to keep everything moving as planned," he admitted finally, pressing his hand to Rin's head.
His answer made Rin glare into his neck, holding his hand over his heart to feel its reassuring beat.
"Fine. I don't have to like it, though."
At his grumble, Mephisto let out a quiet laugh. "No, you don't have to like it."
"And," Rin said, propping himself up to look down into Mephisto's eyes, "I want to cook for you."
Mephisto blinked at his out-of-the-blue request.
"You want to what?"
Ducking to replace his hand, Rin laid his head back down on Mephisto's chest, letting the heartbeat he found there echo through his ear. "I want to cook a meal for you. It's what I do best and it's something I can do for you, even if I can't help any other way."
Understanding came to Mephisto, then, and Rin found himself pressed further against his chest in a hug, "I see. Although, trust me when I say you do many other things outside of your formidable cooking abilities that I find quite helpful."
"Hmm," Rin didn't bother responding to the compliment, snuggling further into the embrace as he began to doze off.
"I suppose we'll discuss how Amaimon's first day of class went at a later point, hm?"
"It went awesome," Rin mumbled, closing his eyes and giving up on staying awake.
Mephisto smiled, letting the heat of Rin's perpetually warm body blanket him and coiling his tail around Rin's where it draped over the side of the couch as he, too, drifted off to sleep.
End Notes:
I keep thinking, TBOE, one of these chapters you're gonna run out of different ways for these three to sex each other up, and then the moment to write the scene comes and the muse, she comes too :DDD
Have I mentioned how excited I am for the later chapters? I'm really excited for the later chapters :D