Amaimon stood right by the door of the infirmary, trying to get past Mephisto, who's body remained still by the entrance, blocking his way.

"Amaimon, she hasn't recovered. It's best if you just give her some space."

"I need to see her now." The demon king growled, but his recently sustained injuries impeded him from pushing past his brother.

"Later, alright?"

"No."

The demon king of earth stood unwavering, insisting on seeing Emi right then and there. Mephisto let out a frustrated sigh, green gaze locking annoyedly with Amaimon's blue one.

"Listen carefully. Emi is under observation. They found a high amount of an abnormal black substance inside her body, and it reacts adversely to anything related to Gehena. That means, if you go in there, you're going to hurt her." Mephisto explained slowly, as if talking to a child.

"The doctors are trying to clean the black substance out of her system. Until that process is done, none of us will get close to her. Understood?"

Amaimon's fists tightened at his sides, feeling as if he was stuck in place. The last memories he had of Emi were her pale complexion, the coldness emitted from her body, and the visible streaks of black matter floating in the air around her as he raced with her to True Cross Academy. He only needed to see her one time, and perhaps he'd stop feeling like Emi was slipping through his fingertips.

However, the last thing he wanted was to hurt the one he loved. And so he swallowed his growing desperation, forcing it down from his throat to his stomach, as he accepted his brother's words.

"How long until I get to see her?" He mumbled, containing his anger.

"I don't know how long the process will take. I'll keep you updated." Mephisto answered with a sigh. It pained him to see Amaimon in such a distressed state.

"Fine." The green haired one grumbled, crossing his arms at his chest and stomping his way towards the closest wall. His back pressed against it, anchoring him in place as he turned his head towards the floor.

"What are you doing?" A confused Mephisto arched an eyebrow at his brother.

"I'm going to wait here until I can go in."

The sigh escaping from Mephisto's lips was even louder this time, laced with a touch of frustration.

"You're supposed to be dead." He reminded.

"Well, dead is the only way you'll get me to move." Amaimon stood his ground, gaze defiant, almost deadly as he turned his head to look at his brother.

Mephisto murmured a few incoherences under his breath, and despite the frustration quickly growing in his stomach, he sympathised with the distressed demon in front of him.

Emi was an important person to Amaimon, Mephisto could see.

Giving in to Amaimon's wishes to remain there, Mephisto snapped his fingers, materializing a chair in front of him.

"You have to transform into your animal form. That's the only way I'll allow it." He warned.

Amaimon's eyes shone for a brief moment, relief washing over his features. Without a second to spare, his body was engulfed in a thick veil of smoke, and as it dissipated, a small, green hamster emerged.

Mephisto chuckled under his breath, shaking his head as he reached down and allowed Amaimon to crawl inside his sleeve.

"Let's just hope things end soon." He said with one last sigh, taking a seat and beginning his wait.

Little did he know, hope could be a dangerous thing.

~~~~~

"Rin, I can't let you go." An annoyed Yukio battled with his brother, both Okumuras unyielding inside of their dormitory.

"Mr. Pheles ordered me to keep you in the room at all costs. Don't make this harder than it needs to be."

Rin gritted his teeth, anger boiling up inside him as he tried to knock Yukio out of the door frame so he could escape.

"Emi was found, she's in critical contition, and you don't want to see her?!" He growled.

"We're just going to get in the way." Yukio reasoned. "She needs medical attention, not people flocking toward her."

Emi's familiar, Ryoku, a violet colored dragon that was the size of a human but could transform into the size of a three-story house, watched irritably from the corner. The twins' exchange had gone on for over an hour.

"Silence. " he puffed, rendering the other two mute. "Both of you need to stay here. You shall exit when the order is given."

Rin groaned in opposition, but ultimately recognized that he could not win against both of them. Emi needed to be cared for, and if what Mr. Pheles said was true, Rin would only hurt her by going over there. His only option was to remain in place, whether he liked it or not.

But as the sun, that had once shone bright above the clouds, started making it's descent behind the mountains, Rin did not know how much longer he could wait.

~~~~
Short, but I wanted to keep updating as a thank you to all the support!

You guys don't know how incredible you have been. You have put up with my millions of disappearances. I'm so grateful for all the support this story has, and all of those who comment and vote on it.

Thanks for reading, and stay safe <3