When in Gehenna

The Missing Link

Yukio woke up the next morning, intending to drag his brother out of bed. As he began the usual routine of pulling off Rin's covers, he was shocked to discover an empty bed. Yukio quickly began searching the dorm for his wayward twin, but after a thorough sweep of the building he began to worry. He quickly made his way to Mephisto's office.

"Yukio, to what do I owe this great pleasure?" the annoying voice of his boss grated on Yukio's ears.

"Rin is missing. He wasn't in the dorm this morning, and he isn't in school. His Vatican watchers don't know where he is either. Do you have any idea where he could have gone?" Yukio's voice grew in volume as he began to panic.

"He is gone, and you will not be seeing him again anytime soon. This was a choice your brother made of his own free will, and I promise that he is perfectly safe." Mephisto sounded almost bored as he gave Yukio this information, ignoring the boy's growing anger.

"What do you mean, I won't be seeing him? Why would willingly do something like this to me? What about his dream of becoming and exorcist?! Where exactly did is my brother?" Yukio was looking at Mephisto with hatred in his eyes.

"It really is none of your business. I have no idea where exactly the boy is, but I am certain he is safer there than he was here. He was given a choice by one of his brothers, and I was powerless to interfere until it was too late."

"What do you mean it is none of my business? Rin is my brother! There is no way he would ever leave without telling me first. He cares about me too much for that."

"It is your own fault that he left without telling you. Did you know that demons can sense emotions? When Rin released his flames to battle Amaimon, he awoke more of his demon heart. Ever since then, he has been able to hear every negative thing his so-called 'friends' have said about him, and he has been plagued by the fear, hatred, and contempt all of you have been feeling towards him. He knows that you still fear him and don't trust him, and he knows his classmates refuse to accept him. After everything else that has happened, the boy was going to crack under the pressure. You have no right to even call him your brother." For the first time, Yukio saw Mephisto's anger and contempt. His hard words had at first made him defensive, but as he replayed the last few days, Yukio began to feel ashamed.

"Why didn't he ever say anything?" Yukio was almost in tears.

" Because he believed that you had every right to feel the way you did. Honestly, nobody could ever hate my brother more than he hated himself. Now he is with people who will do everything in their power to help him overcome his self-loathing. You will never be able to hurt him again, and I would be very careful of any demon king you come across. Most of them are not forgiving towards those who hurt their younger brothers." The warning in those last words was clear. Yukio left the president's office with a slower step, and made his way to the class he was teaching.