When in Gehenna

The Hunt

At first, the peoples of Gehenna were reluctant to test out the new treaty.  The first to go to Assaiah were the Fae races who were dependent upon the human's belief and imagination for their continued existence.  Slowly over the next couple months, more Fae and Demons began to travel between Assaiah and Gehenna, growing more confident and bold as the tentative peace continued to hold.  Although there were a few on both sides who acted out, they were swiftly dealt with by the proper authorities.  A few of the humans had also expressed interest in visiting Gehenna, and Satan, Oberon, Titania, and Mahb were all open to the idea.

Rin found himself back in Assaiah three months after the meeting with the Vatican.  He and Amaimmon had been sent to retrieve a rogue demon who had fled to Assaiah.  The demon's name was Tanos, and he belonged to the Water King, Egyn's realm.  The kappa had murdered a family of water sprites and managed to flee before the demon enforcers could find him.  Rin and Amaimon were supposed to capture Tanos before he could cause any serious damage among the humans.  If the kappa did cause problems and was caught by the Vatican, then they would be the ones to deal with the rogue demon.

The duo was once again greeted by Mephisto.  However, this time Yukio was also in the room.  He was one of the exorcists who wanted to visit Gehenna, in order to spend time with his brother.  Shiemi wanted to go and see what plants existed in Gehenna that weren't available on Assaiah.  There were a few other exorcists who had been chosen to be part of the first group of humans to visit Gehenna, but Rin didn't care enough to learn any of their names.

"Big Brother.  How have you been?" Rin greeted Mephisto with a polite bow.

"Little Brother, Little Prince, it is an honor to have you here again.  I have been doing well.  How have you two been getting on?" Mephisto returned the bow with a slightly deeper one, openly acknowledging Rin's slightly higher social standing.

  "We are doing well Big Brother.  Father sends his regards, and hopes you will be able to find time to visit.  Rin's birthday is coming up, and there is to be a grand ball with attendees from every demon kingdom and both the Seelie and Unseelie courts." Amaimon entered the conversation, having joined Rin in his bow of greeting to the Demon King of Time.

"Let him know that I will try my best to be there for the ball.  Fortunately things have calmed down a lot since the peace treaty was formed.  I should be able to make it with no problems." Mephisto smiled fondly as he remembered Gehenna, the place he was born and raised.

"We will.  Now then, why is Mr. Okumura here?" Rin turned his attention to Yukio, coolly assessing his twin.

"I volunteered to assist you in travelling Assaiah and smoothing the way if problems arise with other exorcists." Yukio's voice was quiet and uncertain.  As he spoke, he prayed that Rin and Amaimmon would allow him to accompany them.  It had been three months since he last saw his brother and he was desperate to get to know him better after their disastrous last meeting.  

"The Vatican would feel more comfortable about having two high-ranking demons such as yourselves roaming around Assaiah if you had a trusted exorcist of good repute with you.  Hopefully you will find what you came here seeking within the next few days and then you will be able to return to Gehenna."  Mephisto calmly stepped between Rin and Yukio, trying to get Rin to agree with Yukio's presence on their hunt.

"Fine.  But he is not to interfere with us.  We are here on a mission and I intend to fulfill it." Rin leveled a hard gaze at Yukio, warning him not to test Rin's patience.

"Good.  Now then, is everyone ready to go?" Mephisto smiled happily as he spoke.

"Yes, let's get on with it.  This is getting boring." Amaimon whined in his usual monotone.  Yukio was surprised when Rin laughed at the Demon King of Earth and nothing bad happened.  Although he was slowly coming to terms with the apparent relationship between Amaimon and Rin, Yukio couldn't help but fear the emotionless demon and didn't understand why Rin seemed to enjoy his company so much.

"All right.  Let's go find a Kappa." Rin's voice became hard and steely as he prepared himself for the hunt that would follow.  He was determined to capture this Kappa or die trying, and so far all he knew was that the Kappa would most likely travel to a marshy place with a fair number of people passing by each year.  

Yukio lead them to the nearest swampy yet inhabited area he could thing of, figuring that it was as good a place as any to start their hunt.  Although they were unable to find Tanos, they did come across a couple of Fae who had seen a kappa heading south.  Rin and Amaimon seemed to share a silent conversation before they both began heading south, weapons at the ready to be used against whatever was waiting for them.  The hunt was on, and Rin and Amaimon always won the hunt.