Demons and Ghosts, Hell's King and King of the Dead

Flashbacks and War

"How is this possible?!" Yukio screamed.

Satan stood there, blue flames surrounding him, long white hair and bright blue eyes. He grinned psychotically. "Assiah may not be able to handle my power, but there are loopholes to bend the rules a bit."

"Bastard!" Rin charged, swinging his sword wildly in rage.

Satan dodged easily. "Reckless. You're weak. You're so weak, you can't even control your demon side, your own heart. These flames are a candle compared to mine. Your power is locked, son, and you'll never defeat me."

Satan kicked Rin, sending him flying through trees, grunting as he landed and rolled.

Rin got up with a new determination. "You killed my father, asshole! You're nothing to me! You're only a demon who helped in giving me life! My dad was Shiro Fujimoto! Screw everything! I swore that I would defeat you! If that means killing you, if that means sacrificing everything, then so be it!"

Yukio gasped in realization. "Rin, no!"

"What's that idiot doing?!" Bon asked in a panic.

Shura stared, eyes wide. "He's going to take his heart back."

"Wait, but then he would have to-" Shima stopped himself.

"Break his sword," Izumo finished.

"Last time he did that, he lost control! He couldn't tell friend from foe!"  Konekomuru gasped.

"In theory," Mephisto grinned behind them. "when Rin breaks his sword, he always tried to push away or control the flames. By rejecting them, he showed fear of them, which made his fear take over. When he tried to control them, they refused to listen. The simple fact is, unless it is accepted, it can not be rejected."

"What's that supposed to mean, clown?" Shura snapped.

"It means that unless Rin accepts his flames, he can not control them." Mephisto laughed.

"Does the moron know that?" Bon asked.

Mephisto just laughed and disappeared.

They turned their attention back to the battle as Rin stared Satan in the face.

"I'm not a child anymore! I've trained, I've worked hard for this, and I won't let it all go to waste!" Rin heard their conversation. He knew what he had to do.

Rin lifted his knee and jerked the flat side of his blade onto it, snapping it.

A flood of blue light surrounded the area, blinding everyone for a moment. Once it cleared, everybody gasped at Rin.

He still looked like he usually did when he unsheathed Kurikara, but his red pupils were slitted, irises jagged at the edges. His nails became claws and all of his teeth became pointed, while his normally sharp canines became even more prominent.

His flames glowed brighter than ever, and his eyes held a great deal of determination and braveness.

"Am I weak now, bastard?! Come and get me!"

Rin jolted awake, gasping as the memory vanished.

That day was still clear and fresh in his mind. It was the first time he'd actually felt whole, complete.

That day was when he'd defeated Satan, became King of Gehenna, and become more powerful than ever. It was the day he'd taken his heart back.

It wasn't all good, though.

That day, people had also died, exorcists and innocent bystanders.

Teachers, students, children, dwindling each second as they all fought on.

Rin remembered their screams, watching as they were all killed in front of him. Rin remembered the blood, the fear, and the trauma.

Rin had been through war, a bloody war. They all had.

Kuro meowed quietly next to him. "Rin? Are you okay? Was it a nightmare again?"

"No, Kuro," Rin assured the Sith Cat. "It wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory. A memory of the war. It was just a part of it. I'm glad I didn't see anymore."

"Oh, Rin," Kuro whimpered, "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Rin said, "You were there by my side, fighting along with me. It's over now. We don't have to worry about him anymore."

"I wish you didn't have to suffer, Rin." Kuro felt tears threaten to fall.

Rin saw this. "Me, too. I wish none of us had to suffer. I wish none of us had to go through the aftermath. There was so much bloodshed, so much death."

Rin looked Kuro in the eyes. "I know you have nightmares, too, Kuro. I've seen you thrash around sometimes."

Kuro gave Rin a sad smile. "We all have nightmares about it. It's just the way it is."

"I know, Kuro." Rin stroked the demon. "I know all too well."

__________________________

Lizzy didn't ask Rin what had happened or why it had.

She knew, anyhow. Rin blamed himself for his dad's death.

Lizzy's heart clenched at the thought. Whatever that boy had been through was not pretty, nor was it joyful.

The mystery that was Rin kept getting bigger and bigger by the minute.

She yawned and made her way through the halls, but paused beside Rin's door. She could hear him speaking.

"It wasn't a nightmare. It was a memory. A memory of the war. It was just a part of it. I'm glad I didn't see anymore."

Lizzy froze. The look in Rin's eyes, the look she'd gotten a glimpse of many times before. It looked like a soldier's, someone who's seen war, because he had been in a war.

What war, though? It would have been all over the news.

Lizzy's thoughts were cut off again by Rin's voice, and when he spoke, she realized she missed some of his musings.

"Me, too. I wish none of us had to suffer. I wish none of us had to go through the aftermath. There was so much bloodshed, so much death."

Lizzy's eyes burned as she hurried away, down the hall and into her room, closing the door quickly and quietly behind her.

Her hands found their way to her eyes to wipe away the tears. "Oh, Rin. What's happened to you?"

She looked over to her desk. A picture sat there, one she'd taken when he wasn't awake. She knew he would have whined if she had taken a picture of him with him noticing.

When she'd first looked at the photo, he looked cute and peaceful.

Now, as she looked closer, his face was guarded, alert, and ready to face anything that were to attack him as he lay, asleep. The peaceful facade was just that, a mask. Where he was supposed to feel safe, he felt vulnerable and bare.

Lizzy's hands shook as she turned the lamp off. Her tears dried to her face as she closed her eyes.

'Who are you, Rin Okumura?'

Chapter Twelve complete! Bye my doggies!