"Have you finally learned your lesson?" Mephisto asked the strung-up Amaimon. The Earth King struggled to nod stiffly. Hopefully the Time Lord would let him out of the pocket dimension if he pleased him enough. The dimension was cold and dark and damp. He much preferred blistering heat over freezing cold.

"Yes, Samael." He rasped. The King of Time gave a sinister grin.

"I will give you one more chance to observe Rin Okumura. You have access to the Academy and the Okumura Dorm. If I hear of any trouble from you, there will be much worse punishment than this." Poison-green eyes flashed dangerously and the splintered, bloody spears receded. The Demon King snapped his fingers and they were both back in his office.

Amaimon lay on the ground, bloody and battered, rasping out uneven breaths.

"Oh, do bathe yourself, Amaimon. And don't get any blood on the floors, I don't need an investigation in my home." He waved the younger Demon King away and sat back behind his desk to continue doing paperwork so he could finish his anime by dinnertime.

The Earth King left the room, hobbling to the bathroom to wash up before hunting down Rin Okumura.

§~•~§~•~§

"I really don't get what's so amazing about Rin. He has Satan's flames, yes, but he is just a wild beast. No manners. Doesn't even know who his own people are." Amaimon grumbled sourly. He'd cleaned up and let his body heal for a week. He'd also repaired his clothes once he gained back enough power to snap things the way he wanted. He wondered briefly if Mephisto ever regretted teaching him to do that.

Amaimon made his way to the Okumura Dorm to see if Rin was there. Maybe if he asked to play first and Rin said yes, he could get away with crushing the boy as revenge?

"Hmm, I wonder how long it's been since our first fight...." He muttered to himself. Had Rin gotten stronger in the time Amaimon had been imprisoned?

It would be nice to have more of a challenge than a feral beast overpowering him with sheer heat and anger. Maybe Rin had learned how to stay in control instead of losing himself to the flames so easily. Rin was the one who'd burned down a section of Mephisto's precious school campus, yet Amaimon got imprisoned and tortured for punching the Time Lord in the face once. Life was full of injustices.....

§~•~§~•~§

Rin was quietly humming to himself as he tossed the vegetables simmering in the skillet. He moved over to the meat and stirred it to cook the remaining raw parts. This was a vaguely Western dish, but with yakisoba added to it. He wondered if Yukio would be home to eat it with him, then dashed the thought. Yukio was never home even when he could be, so why would he show up today? He'd been avoiding Rin like the plague for weeks now and Rin hated that he'd gotten used to it so quickly. A childhood lacking a real family prepared a person for a lot, it seemed. Rin had hoped he'd never have to feel like this again, but he shouldn't have been surprised. Life wasn't exactly kind to Rin, if the past almost-sixteen years were anything to go by.

Nonetheless, Rin always made enough food for two people and Kuro. He usually took the leftovers to school the next day and shared with the Kyoto trio and the girls. They all sat at a table together and shared their food. It was nice to have variety. Not to mention Godaiin was actually rich, so when he started sitting with them, they each got a bite or two of the five-star food the school served, though Godaiin usually said he liked Rin's food better. Always made Rin blush. It had been months and he still wasn't used to gratitude or compliments, but compliments from someone who made him feel like a regular person and not like Satan's Bastard Child made him feel fluttery inside.

Rin could tell his friends were worried about him having so much food to share every day, but they still hadn't said anything, so he didn't either. They didn't have time to deal with his problems and that was okay. They had their own much busier lives to attend to outside of Cram School and missions as a team. It wasn't like Rin wasn't experienced in this scenario anyways, it wasn't as bad as it could be.

Just as he was about to turn to tend to the yakisoba, he felt a shiver run down his spine and grabbed a kitchen knife out of the block, whipping around to see–

Nothing.

He frowned,but slowly turned back to the noodles, mixing them up a bit before startling as something grabbed his tail. He yelped and twisted around with a knife ready, pulling his tail out of the grasp to see none other than Amaimon, Demon King of Earth, almost childishly looking at him with mildly surprised eyes.

"What the hell?! Why are you in my Dorm?!" Rin growled, grabbing a second knife with his tail and brandishing it with his other hand. Amaimon blinked owlishly. It appeared the boy had gotten faster since he'd been locked up.

"Do you always dance when you cook?" He asked, ignoring the questions. Rin's face flushed red and he growled once more, tail raising the knife threateningly as he ignored the heat in his cheeks.

"Why do you care? And don't touch my tail, damnit!"

Before he could properly react, Amaimon was pinning his hips to the counter with one hand and grabbing his tail with the other, putting the knife back in the block. Rin froze and they stood there, staring at each other for a moment. Gleaming gold stared into deep sapphire-blue. Then the Earth King seemed to snap out of the trance they were caught in and looked away.

Amaimon studied the tail in his hand. He ran a claw lightly against the grain of the fur and Rin let out a bitten-off sound. Amaimon looked up in interest and spun Rin around, melding himself to Rin's back. He sniffed the side of the teen's neck and goosebumps broke out across the boy's skin.

"What are you doing, you creep?! I'm trying to cook here!" Rin groused, throwing an elbow up and catching the Demon King in the chin. Amaimon growled, but backed down at the much deeper growl from Rin in response. He didn't want to be blasted by blue flames at point-blank range, thank you. His current host was a special case and there were none left like it in the world.

"You shouldn't keep your tail out in the open. You'll get captured and mated as soon as you step out of this place's barrier." He told the half-demon.

"But it's uncomfortable to keep it wrapped up in my shirt!" Rin groaned. This was the second Demon King to tell him to keep his tail hidden!

"Wrap it around your waist, like a belt. Humans aren't looking for a tail, so they won't even notice." Amaimon instructed. He let go of the tail and Rin carefully looped the appendage around his waist, conveniently through his belt loops.

"There. Second, don't bare your fangs unless you want to start a fight. And you already know about the importance of a demon's heart." The Earth King added. Rin rolled his eyes at the impromptu lesson on manners. Then an idea came to him–Amaimon wasn't doing anything dangerous or threatening yet(just being weirdly handsy, but Rin didn't think he meant it suggestively) and Rin was bored and lonely. He needed to socialize with someone other than the cat, otherwise this empty dorm would drive him crazy. He swore he heard voices and saw things move in the dark when he tried to sleep in his and Yukio's empty room.

"Hey, are you gonna stay here?" He wondered.

Amaimon stared at him, caught off guard by the random question. "I have been given another chance to examine you by Mephisto." He responded.
"Why?"

"Because there's enough food here for two, maybe even three people and I have no one to eat with." Rin answered honestly.

"What about the other humans who tried to fight me for you in the forest?" Amaimon recalled.

"They're all doing their own things–no time for me anymore." Rin answered like it didn't bother him at all–it must have been something he was used to. Amaimon could've sworn Rin looked sad for a second before schooling his expression back to it's normal scowl as he stirred the food in the pan on the stove(Amaimon had observed him for the last week and deduced that he had what the humans called "resting bitch face," similar to his tall friend).

"And that other human boy? Your kin?" Amaimon questioned.

Rin barked out a laugh. "Yukio? Please, he doesn't really do anything but avoid me these days and then yell at me when we happen to run into each other, much less eat with me every day." He rolled his eyes.

Amaimon frowned. "He doesn't treat you like kin? I thought that's what humans do with their siblings?" He cocked his head to the side.

"Yeah, well, most do. Just not Yukio. He doesn't like me very much because I'm Satan's son and completely ignores me everytime I remind him that he is too. I mean, I don't really blame him, I'm not a big fan of myself either, but still. Find a better reason to hate your brother, at least. Am I not even worth that?" Rin grumbled. The Demon King tightened his grip on the teen.

"That is....so backwards! In Gehenna, you are the Crown Prince! You are heir to the throne! You are important!  How dare that human treat you like waste?!" Amaimon insisted, another growl rumbling in his throat. That insolent human boy didn't know what he spoke of! Rin was the Crown Prince, a position most wished they could have! If Rin wasn't so powerful, many would kill for the position.

Rin just sighed. "Listen, if my status in Gehenna mattered in Assiah, I'd care. But it doesn't and I'm probably going to be executed soon anyway, so it doesn't matter." He ended the discussion.

Amaimon was trying to keep himself from finding the Monastery where Rin grew up, digging up that old priest Fujimoto, and spreading his ashes in the city dump after making rubble out of his shrine. That damned poser had raised Rin as a meek human boy and given him rules he had no right to give. Rin belonged to Gehenna. By now, he'd be a Demon King and have his own territory and throne next to his father if he'd grown up as a demon in the mirror world. Satan's only son deserved to be loved by his people even more than Satan was(because honestly, that guy was a shittier ruler than he was a person in general).

Amaimon didn't think of the younger twin as Rin's equal and surely not something as close as a brother to Rin. More like a setback. And Satan had never acknowledged the second boy as his son anyways, so Yukio could shove it. Rin was Satan's only child and he was something beyond comprehension because there was no being in either world like him.

The Eight Demon Kings were not Satan's children. They were exactly what Satan was–Egos, concepts created by humans and given form. None of them were actually related at all, but because that was too complicated for most humans to fully grasp(and demons needed humans to exist for their worlds to be balanced), they called each other siblings around the humans so their tiny little minds wouldn't break or have a spontaneous meltdown and tender them all catatonic. Though, it was easier for humans who were able to perceive and even fight demons to grasp the concept.

"You deserve more." The Earth King mumbled in the teen's ear. Rin could almost see the scowl on the Demon King's face.

"Yeah, well, no one can help me now, so could you please just sit and eat with me?" Rin requested in the same quiet voice. He felt a nod against his shoulder and expected Amaimon to go sit and wait for him to be done with the food, but the Demon just kept holding him, tucking his chin into Rin's shoulder comfortably.

It felt nice to be held, even by someone he'd considered an enemy. Even Rin's friends had never been this close to him physically. Rin wondered if any of them even considered that he might feel lonely even with them being around him. No one wanted to touch the Son of Satan and he was scared to hang on his friends more than he did in fear of them misunderstanding his intentions and pushing him away. He wouldn't be able to take that–going back to having no one he could even talk to or visit when they were busy. Even with them too busy for him now, it was still better than the old days when he had no one to be there for him.

When the food was done, Amaimon kept an arm around Rin's waist as he plated it and called Kuro down to eat(the cat was skeptical of Amaimon's presence, but figured Rin's food would be a worthy last meal if the Earth King killed them both after dinner). Amaimon then sat across from Rin and they ate in an awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to do with the other's presence.

"So uh....how are classes going for you since you enrolled on Monday?" Rin wondered. While Amaimon was healing, Mephisto had enrolled him in his academy to keep an eye on his favorite game pieces. "Good. They're all easy." Amaimon answered simply.

"Damn, I wish I was that smart." Rin grumbled, a sour look overtaking his expression.

"Hmm. I wonder if sealing away such a big piece of you as a living being limited your information intake as well as your power. Have you always struggled in Academics?" Amaimon wondered. Rin nodded.

"I suck at school, but I can fight better than anyone I've ever known. Even you." Rin sighed. Normally, that would've been insulting to the Earth King, but the way Rin said it made it sound more sad than offensive.

"If you won against me, you should be proud of that. Why do you not value victory over a more experienced opponent?" Amaimon cocked his head like a confused cat.

"Victory only means something to humans when they say it means something! Until then, you're left in the dirt." Rin snarled–a rare thing for him to display. Amaimon wished he could see more of it. Rin was too docile and compliant. He needed to be angry over how he was forced to live his life! This was no way for him to live. His friends should have kept supporting him until he was confident in his own power and personality. Instead, they'd just let him be the way he already was and then went on their merry fucking way like they'd helped him or something.

Bitterness and loneliness were all Rin had to cling onto now. Everyone that was supposed to love him had left him and the people that said they were his friends were leaving him behind too. They'd go on to be successful people and great Exorcists and Rin would fail his Exam and be executed and no one would remember him in a few years time. His friends might realize they'd forgotten to look out for him, but he couldn't be mad at them for it whenever he thought about it. They had lives that would be a lot easier without being friends with the Son of Satan. They were making futures for themselves. Rin had no future.

He was brought out of his thoughts by lips pressing to his. His eyes widened, but he didn't pull away. The lips left his and he stared at the Demon King with wide eyes.

"What's wrong?" Amaimon wondered.

"Y-You....Why?" Rin asked, dumbfounded. Didn't this guy want to kill him?

"Kissing is something humans like to do. I thought if I kissed you, you wouldn't be upset anymore." The demon explained.

Well, he's not exactly wrong.....

"Uh....T-Thank you." Rin thanked, blushing profusely.

"Hm. Your body temperature spiked. I can feel it from here." Amaimon noted, raising a clawed hand to cup the half-demon's face to feel the heat. Rin only blushed more and averted his gaze to see Kuro avidly watching the drama unfolding. Amaimon frowned. Had he done something wrong? He reached out with his other hand and turned Rin's face back to him.

"Are you mad?" He wondered. Had he offended Rin? He really hadn't meant to this time. He'd spent plenty of time around humans, but he preferred eating their foods and desserts and treats rather than interacting with them. Maybe he'd gotten his interpretation of their actions wrong? Should he ask Mephisto for clarification? Ugh, but then the Time Lord would tease him for it for the rest of eternity, and he was such a blabbermouth! He'd tell everyone.

"No!" Rin yelped. "Uh....I mean, no. Just.....No one likes me like that." He said, fixing his eyes on the horrid tie Amaimon wore with his mix-and-match outfit, cheeks still burning. It was embarrassing having to explain this to his enemy, who he'd invited to eat dinner with him because he was lonely.

What a life.

"I-I don't blame them, but it's really....really lonely." Rin cursed himself for not even being able to say a full sentence without messing up when he was flustered like this.

"Why wouldn't anyone want you? You have plenty of the qualities humans prefer." Amaimon pointed out.

"I'm really not that great. And it's not that simple." Rin muttered, seeming to withdraw into himself, pulling away and hunching his shoulders, expression closing off into a frown.

Amaimon didn't like it when he did that. He made himself look small and weak. Pathetic. Alone.  Nothing a Crown Prince should be. Nothing Rin  should be.

Amaimon hopped up onto the table and slid across to sit next to Rin. He tucked himself into Rin's side and wrapped his arms around the boy securely. Even though the teen didn't move or say anything, his body temperature spiked again, just slightly.

"You should never cower. You're stronger than anyone here. You could topple their whole society and you're the one who's afraid? You're not weak. You don't submit to humans." Amaimon told him seriously.

"And if I do?" Rin murmured dejectedly.

Amaimon turned his face to him to look into his eyes. "Don't." He said firmly. He leaned in to capture the half-demon's lips a second time and Rin hummed in pleasant surprise. He broke away and looked away from the Earth King. Amaimon frowned.

"Don't do that." The teen muttered.

"Don't do what?"

"I don't need your pity. Leave me alone if that's what you're here for." Rin answered.

"I'm not pitying you. If I was pitying you, you'd be dead. A life as miserable as yours isn't worth living." The Earth King said honestly.

Rin snorted out a surprised laugh at the blunt honestly. Amaimon pulled him back into a kiss and this time, the teen let him.

"I'm angry." Amaimon spoke against Rin's lips when the kiss ceased.

"Why?" Rin questioned and carried on kissing him.

"You have nothing. Humans tell you that you're not allowed to live free because of how you were made and you just accept it? It should be the other way around. You should not allow them to condemn you. They can't control you. You're stronger than they'll ever be." The demon replied, kissing him again.
"You've been mistreated for so long that you don't know what to do when someone  isn't hurting you. The humans don't deserve what you give them, Rin. They never will."

Rin shook against him. "I can kill dozens of them with one shot of flames. That's not fair, Amaimon." He tried to explain.

"No, what's not fair is them knowing you'd never do that and then treating you like you already have."

Rin grumbled at losing the argument before kissing him again. He wasn't ready to turn his back on everything he'd ever known, and that was fine. He'd need more time. Time for Amaimon and hopefully Mephisto to wear down his resolve. Time to make Rin into the royalty he should be.

Amaimon absently noted that Rin was actually a pretty good kisser for someone who was so lonely. He mentioned it to the teen and got a laugh in response. "I can tie cherry stems with my tongue." He said in explanation.

They sat there, trading kisses and whispering things against each other's lips. Amaimon thought he liked Rin's breathless little laughs the best.

§~•~§~•~§

He's pathetic." Amaimon sighed woefully. He was back in Mephisto's office.

"Well yes, he was raised by humans, what did you expect? The whole set of manners a Demon Prince should have?" Mephisto scoffed.

"No, I mean he's miserable. He has no fight in him. And he's all alone– none of his kin have stayed by his side." Amaimon explained frustratedly even though his expression didn't change.

"What do you mean? He has friends." The Time Lord said. Amaimon shook his head.

"No. He's very alone. He even asked me to eat with him because he was lonely and had no one to eat with. We were enemies once!" Amaimon growled. "And yes, his manners as a demon don't exist, but that seems miniscule compared to his numerous other problems." Amaimon reported.

"So what do you want me to do about it?" Mephisto asked slowly. He had a feeling the Earth King wanted something from him.

"I want to teach him about Home. He has no idea of the life he could have. The life he should have. Maybe if we teach him, he will come to us willingly." Amaimon suggested.

"Why are you suddenly so invested in this, Amaimon?" Mephisto asked suspiciously. "I thought you wanted to kill him?"

"He is nothing right now. We can make him everything.  He will be grateful to us and he'll owe us personally. If he favors us, we'll be the first ones he runs to for anything. We'll have power and we'll be safe from him if he ever realizes we're no better than the others." The Earth King insisted.

He knew how Mephisto worked. The Time Lord liked having something to gain from a task that could be difficult. Amaimon did  want Rin to have power and favor him so he wouldn't get obliterated like everyone who stood against the boy would one day, but there was something else he wanted– he wanted Rin's touch.

All he'd seen in the forest was a feral, out of control demon boy. The son of Satan lost to his flames because of his insecurities and inexperience.

But he'd observed Rin at school over the past week,  and then he'd seen Rin tonight. Rin was....much  sweeter than he'd ever expected. He was raised to be soft like humans even though all he'd ever done was fight other humans when he was growing up. He was alone and resigned to death simply because the life he currently had wasn't worth living. It was pathetic and unbecoming of a Prince of Gehenna.

And....it was so very sad to watch. Amaimon wasn't good at emotions and sad was a very complicated one. It made his chest ache. He hadn't seen anything good in Rin until he'd started kissing him and listening to him talk about any random little thing. Until he'd held the cute little half-demon and had the teen relaxed and pliant and warm against him. And now he wanted more of that touch.

Rin's gentle, but calloused touch that cupped his face so carefully in a way Mephisto never had. That held onto him like Mephisto never had. Like he wanted to hold on rather than just leave as soon as he was done using Amaimon for whatever he wanted.

The King of Time loved games. He loved being rough and wrecking Amaimon in place of the humans that irritated the Time Lord day and night. Amaimon loved it too, but now that he'd had a taste of having Rin, he wanted to see how far it could go for them. Would Rin want him? Would he want Mephisto? If the King of Time wasn't included in their play, he'd get jealous and take Amaimon away from Rin and that just wouldn't do, so he'd have to make it work or deal with keeping his distance.

Amaimon decided to visit Rin again soon to get his answers.

$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

Edited 3/3/22: God damn I miss writing this story. I know I really need to work on it's sequel, but the sequel has different vibes from this one and I don't know how to continue with the different vibes. Maybe I should try editing the sequel to fix it and get it to sound the way I want it to.