When in Gehenna

The Blind Refuse to See

*As promised, here is the other chapter for this week!*

"The boy still refuses to see the truth" Lord Aldin's voice broke the silence that had held since Yukio's departure, each member of the delegation lost in their own thoughts.  "Even now, after being shown the truth, he still wants to get his brother back.  All I could see in his mind was a determination to return Rin to the mortal boy he used to be.  He wants to find a way to reseal your powers so that he can pretend you never left and once again ignore your demon heritage."

"That does not surprise me.  He was always very black and white in his views of the world, and especially in his views of me.  Although I know he cares for me, I can no longer be the brother he remembers.  I have a new family that fully accepts me, and people who look up to me.  There is no room for turning back, only looking forward.  The day I accepted Mephisto's offer to leave Assiah was the day I broke any remaining ties with Yukio and the others I left behind.  Rin Okumura is dead, and there is nothing he can do to change that."  As Rin finished speaking, Miri gave him a clinging hug and Amaimon put an arm around him.

Slowly, the group broke up and retired to their various beds.  As Rin and Amaimon settled into their shared room, Rin couldn't help but think on the differences in how Yukio had treated him and how his Big Brothers treated him.

"You know Amaimon, looking back, it is obvious that Yukio stopped trusting me when we were very young.  I remember when we were in primary school and every now and then Yukio would give me these strange looks.  I didn't think anything of it at the time, but now I know that he was watching me with mistrust, waiting for me to mess up and get into another fight.  Before school, he used to look up to me and we would do everything together.  However, the older we got the more time he would spend off with Father Fujimoto and the less he would tell me.  Although he kept telling himself that he was training as an Exorcist in order to help and protect me, I know that he was actually preparing to protect the world and his family from me.  When he said that I should have died instead of Fujimoto, he meant it.  Some part of him still blames me for the Paladin's death.  I never realized how coldly he treated me until you showed me how brothers should act.  Amaimon, I am glad to be your Little Brother.  Thank you for showing me what it means to be accepted and loved for who you are.  Without you and the others, I wouldn't be alive today."

"Of course Rin!  You are family, and family is supposed to stick together and watch out for each other no matter what.  I don't understand how humans can hate and abandon their own kin.  And they call us the evil ones." Amaimon's constant monotone helped Rin to center his thoughts and drift off to sleep, secure in the knowledge that he made the correct choice all those years ago.  Although he knew tomorrow would bring more challenges and confrontations with the Cram School, Rin also knew that Amaimon would stand beside him and help protect him.

*The Next Morning*

Yukio woke up at his usual time, bright and early.  Upon reaching the kitchen, he was shocked to find Rin, Amaimon, Puck, and Miri cleaning the kitchen while Titania, Aldin, and Dirk sipped cups of tea and coffee in the dining area.  The scent of bacon still permeated the air, although the food had been cleared away.  As he watched his brother, Yukio was surprised to notice a familiar black cat that he had not seen since his brother left two years ago.  Kuro was sitting by the sink, pawing at the bubbles created by the dish soap as he meowed to Rin. Rin and Amaimon both seemed to be listening intently to Kuro, and would often respond to the black demon.

"Good morning everyone.  When did Kuro show up?" Yukio was standing awkwardly in the doorway, trying to figure out how to approach his brother.

"Good morning Yukio.  From what I can gather, the Cat Sidhe arrived sometime in the night and curled up at the foot of Rin's bed." Titania nodded cordially at Yukio as she continued to sip her tea and read the book in her hand.  

Yukio continued to fidget in the corner until Mephisto burst into the dorm.  He was carrying a piece of paper and wearing his usual flamboyant outfit.

"Good morning everyone!  It looks like you all managed to resist the urge to kill each other last night! I bring the latest missive from the Vatican on the arrangement of your meeting."  As Mephisto spoke, he nodded to everyone and approached Titania, holding out the paper in his hand.  Titania took it, and began to read the letter out loud:

"To the delegates from Gehenna:

Greetings.  We hope your stay in Assiah has been tolerable.  As was mentioned before, we are regretfully unable to make the assigned meeting today, but hope you will be able to reschedule for two days time.  Until that time, please enjoy the hospitality of Mephisto and True Cross Academy.

We offer our sincere apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused.

Sincerely,

The Vatican order

"Well, that was certainly condescending," Titania commented as she finished reading the letter aloud.  "So how shall we amuse ourselves today?"

"I want to sit in on the Cram School!" Puck was quick to respond to Titania's question, his eyes dancing with mischief.

"Rin, do you want to go to the Cram School too?  It looks like today's lessons should be fun.  Besides, you can show them how much you have grown and improved." Amaimon was hanging onto Rin's arm as he spoke, perfectly aware of the way Yukio had tensed upon hearing about the potential visitors to the Cram School.

"Sure, since you seem to want to go." Rin smirked at Amaimon's antics and allowed the older demon to drag him back upstairs in order to prepare for the day.  Although Miri wanted to join the boys, Titania decided to take her shopping instead.  Dirk decided to join them, as there was safety in numbers.  Meanwhile, Aldin had finished his tea and placed the empty cup in the sink before stumbling his way back upstairs, muttering about morning people and the unnaturalness of being up during the day.  Soon, Yukio and Mephisto were the only two left in the kitchen.

"So, how is it seeing your brother again?" Mephisto sat down at the now empty table, pouring himself a cup of coffee in a mug that he seemingly conjured out of thin air.

"He is different, but I know the real Rin is in there somewhere, and once I find him things can go back to normal." Mephisto frowned slightly at Yukio's reply, but sipped at his coffee before responding.

"You are deceiving yourself.  The young demon you see before you is the real Rin.  The boy you are remembering was insecure, lonely, and lost.  He hated himself, and you want to bring that back.  Have you lost your mind?  Are you truly so selfish that you place your own wants and happiness above your brother's?  You will lose him forever, and yet you will never understand why.  Good day, Mr. Okumura."  Mephisto popped out of the room with a sad shake of his head.

Yukio was lost and confused at Mephisto's words, but he quickly shook off his mood as he began to scrounge up breakfast.