With his new and blossoming relationship with Mephisto and Amaimon, Rin knew Yukio wouldn't like it and would likely say something about it. In which case, Rin would've avoided his younger twin the best he could.

But he didn't really need to. Whoever was in charge of distributing missions was giving Yukio an unfair amount of missions to go on. He was a student in advanced classes, and he was also a teacher on top of being an exorcist. Yukio was turning into a stiff-collar before he was even 16 and it was really sad.

It sucked to be Rin's brother right now because Rin's reputation held absolutely no weight in terms of convincing anyone of anything in the Order and actually dragged him down. If he could, he'd march up to whatever douchebag didn't take note of people's lives outside of Exorcism and either give him a tongue-lashing worthy of Bon's mother or just punch them and tell them to stop being such a dick to minors.

He didn't know if his trash reputation reflected on Yukio, he desperately hoped it didn't. That would just give him more work to do....

The day Yukio finally found free time to get pissy and bitch at Rin about his relationship with Mephisto and Amaimon was about three weeks after the relationship became a thing and he'd first seen the trio in the bath at the Dorm.

"You need to stop seeing them, Rin." Was the first thing Yukio said to him. Three weeks since they'd talked aside from Yukio snapping at him to pay attention in a classroom and the first fucking thing he said was that Rin needed to end the one thing that made him happy.

'He's stressed. He hasn't been around, he doesn't see how happy they make me. It's not his fault.' Rin soothed himself, taking a deep breath so his tail would stop the violent lashing it wanted to do in the air behind him. He looked at Yukio evenly.

"No."

"What?" Yukio was starting to look like he'd eaten a slice of lemon. "No. I won't stop seeing Amaimon and Mephisto." He repeated. He felt the scathing words before he heard them.

"Rin. I don't care how happy they make you now, as soon as the Grigori finds out about your relationship with them, they'll execute you for sure. Or, they'll take advantage of it and set new parameters for your deal." Yukio growled. Frown lines wouldn't be far behind if Yukio kept that ever- present glower on his face.

"I don't care anymore! My life sucks! I hit rock bottom and barely made any way up over this past year! I have people that make me happy and you want me to cut them off because you don't approve and just won't admit it?! Stop making excuses! You hate it when I'm happy! That's the bottom line here!" Rin crossed his arms. It was now a conscious effort to keep his tail from lashing the air violently.

"I don't hate it when you're happy! I'm trying to protect you and you keep doing reckless shit that completely undermines that!" Yukio gaped.

"Again, I never asked to be protected! I can hold my own now! And there isn't a single thing that I've done that doesn't have a good reason behind it! The Order wants me to lay down and take it, but I told them I'm not their bitch! You keep telling me things and I listen to you, but it just keeps hurting me! So why am I still listening to you?!" Rin snapped back.

"Because I'm your brother and I care about you! You are sleeping with heartless demons who don't actually care about you! They like you for sex and your power and that's all! They don't love you like I do!" Yukio told him, frustrated.

"No, they don't! Because you don't love me!" Rin finally yelled back.

They stood there, Yukio with his eyes wide in shock and Rin looking at his little brother with tired eyes. It felt like they'd switched places in that moment. Rin was tired and done and Yukio was the surprised one for once.

"Yukio....I love you." Rin said softly. "You're my little brother and all we have left of our family is each other. But I don't think you really remember how to look at me and see your brother instead of your burden."

"The fact that I still love you despite that doesn't mean you can take advantage of my love for you to tell me whatever you think is right just because you think you have to be an adult and treat me like I'm some naive little kid with no common sense. If you can't stand to be around me and my shit, then stay away and just live your life easier without me for a while." Rin suggested gently. "Make friends. Find people that will support you like Mephisto and Amaimon support me. Focus on school. Get yourself a life, Yukio. Live your own life. Stop trying to control mine." He gave a bittersweet smile, blinking back the tears pricking at his eyes.

Was this Rin cutting himself off from his brother permanantly? Yes. It didn't have to be, but he had a feeling that it would end up that way if he left it up to Yukio, which he was.

"Rin, you can't...." Yukio seemed at a loss for words, almost confused. But behind that confusion was hope. A hope that rose to the surface the more Yukio thought about what Rin had just told him to do.

"Some," Rin swallowed around the lump in his throat. "Some people just don't work well together. We've endured a lot of our own trauma for fifteen years, always so far away from each other, always so different from each other. It's not our faults, but it's time for us to separate. Maybe one day we'll be able to have a normal conversation after a while of not being around each other. Okay?" He explained, still smiling. It was a shaky smile, but it stayed there. Tears wanted to spill, but he wouldn't let them.  He had to be strong in case Yukio broke down.

"I....Okay. Okay. So what will we do about living situations?" Yukio finally agreed after a long silence.

"I can just move into Faust Manor. You can live in the regular Boys Dorms or maybe even an apartment of your own since you don't have to pay for two people anymore. Mephisto can just say he's guarding me, which he kind of is, in a way. Is that okay?" Rin decided.

"That sounds nice." Yukio admitted. "I don't know if I could live on my own in an apartment...." Yukio trailed off, unsure.

"I'll talk to Mephisto at dinner. Do you wanna come?" Rin offered. He already knew the answer, but it still never hurt to ask in case Yukio would surprise him.

Predictably, Yukio shook his head. "No, I have quizzes to grade." He sighed.

"Good luck with that." Rin snorted. Yukio shrugged and left to attend to said quizzes, but he looked like the weight of the world had just been lifted off his shoulders. Rin took out his keyring and used the one that took him directly to Mephisto's office.

As soon as the door was closed behind him, he slid down to the floor and curled into himself, knees tucked against his chest as tears streamed down his face in hot trails down his cheeks. The headache that had been building from him holding them back dissipated as he gasped for air and cried his eyes out on the floor of Mephisto's office.

This wasn't a good place to sob about his family issues. Someone could come in at any moment and see the son of Satan crying on the floor like a baby. Rin didn't care at the moment. His heart hurt. It hurt so much. He wanted to have a family, it was all he'd wanted for so long. And yet, as hard as he tried, he couldn't control other people's emotions or what they thought of him.

All he knew was that his birth father drove away everyone who could've been his family. Rin's mother couldn't take birthing the fucking Antichrist and died from the strain. Rin had demon qualities even while human and grew up with no friends because of it. Satan murdered Shiro trying to get to Rin. Yukio couldn't stand Rin because in his eyes, Rin was a demon who could turn on them and kill them all, but also an absolute idiot who couldn't tell a sword from a sewing needle. Mephisto had mentioned Rin's trouble in academics being related to having half of himself sealed off his whole life, so now he had to use his days of no sleep just to study and finish homework and all his super smart friends were way ahead of him and leaving him behind. He had no one. He was Nobody, with Nothing, from Nowhere.

Everyone who was supposed to love me left me.

The cold shivers that broke out across his skin at that realization were so sudden that they hurt. Loneliness and misery stabbed through him and he crumpled even more, curling in even tighter. Rin couldn't even find it in himself to be angry. He was just sad. So, so sad. It blindsided him how much this hurt and he felt like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs, his breathing getting heavier as he cried.

Hands settled on his arms and pulled them away from his face. The scent of pine filled his nose as he was moved and he relaxed, breathing slowing some. Rin looked away so the Earth King didn't have to see his blotchy red face covered in tears and snot and all contorted.

Amaimon only pulled the half-demon into his arms to let him sob into his shoulder. Rin was usually a silent crier. The only time he made any sound when he cried was when it hurt deeper than just a few minutes of tears and a runny nose. This time was loud, gross sobbing.

He was shifted back and a kiss was pressed to his lips. It was tender and he melted into the embrace more. A clawed hand tangled in his hair as the kiss deepened before they separated. Rin opened his eyes to see Amaimon's expression still unchanging, but his body language comforting. Amaimon pulled Rin back up against him and snapped.

They ended up in a bed that smelled like Amaimon and Rin guessed they were in his room in Faust Manor. Amaimon laid down with Rin tucked against him. He placed tiny little kisses on Rin's cheeks. They were soft, the barest of caresses, and Rin whimpered at how gentle they were. The Earth King ran his claws along Rin's scalp lightly, sending pleasant shivers across his body. Goosebumps rose on his skin and his tail finally settled in the bed next to them.

"What made you so sad?" The Earth King wondered. Rin took a few calming breaths before talking.

"It's something that's been happening for a long time. It's just finally ending." Rin shook his head, tucking it back into Amaimon's neck.

"Isn't it good when things are finished?" Amaimon asked.

"Sometimes. But this was something that's been hurting for a long time and I just ignored the hurt so I wouldn't have to face the end. I finally got sick of my brother giving me shit for being happy and doing things myself. So I let him go. I won't attach myself to him anymore. He can go do whatever he wants without me in the way. And I can keep doing whatever I want. And I know I should be happy....." Rin tried to explain.

"But you held onto it for such a long time even though all it did was hurt you and it hurts when you let go because you were the one trying the hardest to make things better." Amaimon finished, grasping what Rin was saying. He'd taken to spying on Yukio to see if what he was doing was hurting Rin, but all he did was missions, schoolwork, and making lessons along with grading work. He must have been hurting Rin while Amaimon was being punished by Mephisto. He was apparently in that pocket dimension for a long time in Assiah. It had been months since the forest.

He sighed and pulled the covers over the both of them. "I'll give you candy when you wake up. For now, sleep. Humans usually sleep after they cry." Amaimon told Rin. Rin snorted.

"I'm not a little kid, I don't need consoling with sweets." He grumbled.

"So you don't want candy when you wake up?" Amaimon questioned.

".....I didn't say that....." Rin mumbled as his eyes slowly fell shut and his breathing slowly evened out until he fell asleep. Amaimon let a rare smile slip onto his face. Well, it was more like his lips tilting slightly upward, but it was still something more than his usual bored-looking expression. He placed a kiss on Rin's forehead and then realized that he didn't need to do it since Rin was already asleep.

Spending time with Rin was changing him. He was getting used to doing meaningless things like kissing Rin on the forehead or cuddling him like he was now. It wasn't so bad to put in the extra effort since he liked Rin. He wanted to please Rin and Rin liked human things.

But Rin showed much interest and satisfaction at some demon things too. He liked the demon version of marriage. He liked some Gehennan foods that Belial made on Mephisto's command sometimes. He liked befriending the lower-level demons around. He liked Mephisto's shortcuts and Amaimon's abilities to create tunnels under the school to get around if he didn't want to teleport. He liked Mephisto and Amaimon themselves.

And the more they told him about Gehenna, the more he liked Gehenna, the idea of going to Gehenna and being a part of it. Amaimon wondered what his domain would be. A powerful force like Rin couldn't just be the Crown Prince of Gehenna. He had to have a domain, a territory of his own. It would be an injustice if he didn't.

Amaimon wanted to see Rin at his strongest. He wanted to see Rin surrounded by the bodies of his enemies on the battlefield. He wanted to see Rin triumphant and powerful and confident in his own abilities to win a difficult battle. He wanted Rin to be what he should've grown up as–unafraid, unapologetic, unwavering, unbeatable. Rin should've grown up untouchable, but he'd been touched and hurt by so many people growing up as a human around other humans instead. Humans destroyed each other and absolutely annihilated anything that wasn't something they could control.
If anything, Rin was unfortunate and his beginnings were unfair.

Amaimon was rambling on in his mind and didn't notice Mephisto slip into the room until he pulled the covers up and laid down behind Rin, sandwiching him between the two Demon Kings. Amaimon's gaze met Mephisto's and the Time Lord smiled knowingly.

"What are you thinking so deeply about, Amaimon?" He wondered quietly in German. A clawed hand met his and intertwined their fingers on Rin's hip under the blanket. "I want him to love Gehenna. I want him to rule Gehenna and be stronger than anyone. He's so weak now, but he can be much stronger. Much better." The Earth King answered in the same language.

"Ah, yes. Alas, the same thing stands in the way of that as it does everything: Humans. He was raised as one, such a good boy. Not the Perfect Catholic Boy his twin used to act like, but more of a Rebel With A Heart Of Gold stereotype. Very sad." Mephisto mused, grinning.

Amaimon hissed quietly, narrowing his eyes at the older Demon. "You did this to him." His hand tightened around the other. Mephisto sighed. "Yes. Because one can't be a perfect ruler if they are totally human or totally demon. You need a mix of both. I didn't wish to torture the boy so, but after seeing all the timelines with him still existing as a half-demon, this is the best I could give him." Mephisto explained patiently.

"What do you mean?" Amaimon wondered suspiciously. "I've seen many scenarios. Rin has always been a favorite of mine since I began to see him in my timelines. But there are several that have already ended or are doomed to disappear in just a few years. And they all depend on how Rin grows up. In one, he is raised by Satan and knows nothing but what his father has taught him. When he turns nineteen, he will have helped the Illuminati build a successful Gehenna Gate big enough to fill Assiah with demons and teraform Assiah to be like Gehenna. The Earth will implode in on itself when the worlds are merged and a black hole will be all that is left of Gehenna and Assiah." Mephisto recalled the horrid timeline with a grimace.

"In another, he is thrown in the dungeon by his father and raised by the forgotten prisoners there. He is often tortured by the warden and lives down in the damp darkness for around six thousand Gehennan years and by the time he would be sixteen in Assiah, he breaks out and escapes to Assiah. He developed several mental disorders including PTSD, Paranoia, Dissociation, and Reactive Attachment Disorder. He doesn't know how to process Assiah, but eventually finds his way to you and I. Unfortunately, he's so weak and so scarred by his childhood that he can only ever bring himself to wander around True Cross for a very long time. When he finally thinks he is ready to face his father, he fails spectacularly and succumbs to Satan's pull and Satan absorbs his soul and becomes the Dictator over both Gehenna and Assiah. Those are just two of the several failed timelines I've encountered. Trust me when I say that Rin needed to grow up the way he did to become what we all need." Mephisto's tail twined around Amaimon's and the Earth King shivered, nodding. He hesitated, but then leaned over Rin before he could change his mind. The Time Lord knew what he was doing and met him halfway.

They kissed over Rin in the dark, warm and cuddled up together under the covers in the soft, large bed. Before things got too exciting, they separated. They didn't want to wake Rin when he needed as much peaceful rest as he could get. Most of his sleeping hours were plagued by nightmares and Rin almost never slept because of it. The only way he looked as good as he did was because of both his spectacular healing factor combined with how young his soul was. He didn't have eyebagd like Mephisto always did, but if you looked at him long enough, you could see it.

They settled in and let sleep take them as well. They didn't need it, but their host bodies would certainly appreciate it.