When in Gehenna

A League of Their Own - The Other Side

The cram school students couldn't believe what they were seeing.  Amaimon and Rin were moving faster than their eyes could trace, only visible during the moments they came clashing together.  Even Shura, who had wandered over, was stunned.  Even if the others didn't see it, she and Yukio knew that if any of the demons they had defeated had fought like that, Exorcists would have never stood a chance.  Shura suspected that most of the high-level demons she had fought in the past, including Amaimon, had been holding back most of their power.  The real question was: Why?  Why would they allow humans to defeat them for so long?  If demons really were the monsters that the Vatican had always taught them to be, why wouldn't they have taken over long ago?

Yukio, however, came to the conclusion that the demons must be getting stronger.  He decided that he would need to train even harder in order to continue protecting Assiah from demons.  His hand curled around the handle of his gun as he stared at his brother.  He would also have to find a way to show his brother that demons were still the enemy.  Now that his brother knew how to fight and could control his flames, he would be a much more effective tool against the demons that invaded Assiah.

Once Amaimon and Rin left, Yukio turned to the class.

"Well, now that we have all seen what they are capable of, it is apparent that we will need to train even harder.  I expect you all to put forth your best effort in training class."

Kamiki was the first to speak up. "You saw what those two were capable of and you still think we have a chance of beating them?  This was a friendly spar, and they were hardly serious.  Imagine what they must be capable of when they are actually invested in a fight!  It is obvious that Amaimon was holding back when he fought Rin all those years ago.  In fact, I would guess that most higher level demons we have come across were holding back!  The Vatican is full of idots if they can't see it!"

"Watch it, Kamiki!  You can't speak about the Vatican like that."  Bon was quick to defend the order of the Exorcists.

"Really?  Because the Vatican did so well the last time a demon seriously went up against them, or don't you remember the Blue Night?  From what I have gathered, it sounds like Rin and his group are here to try and make a deal of some sort, and the Exorcists are fools if they don't try and find an agreement!"

"But demons are too dangerous to trust!  Who knows what they will do if we start offering them any deals.  After all, we all know that Satan wants to take over Assaiah." Koneko joined the debate.

"And what proof do we have, besides the fact that everyone knows demons are evil and can't be trusted?  Knowledge everyone gained from the Vatican and their agents." Kamiki was beginning to warm up to her topic.

"Are you forgetting about the Blue Night?  Satan destroyed our temple and killed countless priests and exorcists for no reason!" Bon angrily retorted.

"Actually, there was a very good reason for Satan's actions"  The familiar voice of their principal broke into what was quickly becoming a heated argument.

"And what reason could possibly justify the deaths of so many?"  Bon's voice was cold and challenging.  The students noticed that Yukio had paled at Mephisto's comment, but didn't think much of it.

"Simple.  He was trying to save his wife, the mother of his unborn twins.  You see, Satan fell in love with a woman named Yuri.  She was the daughter of the current leader of the Vatican and a gifted tamer.  However, she questioned the Vatican's hard stance on demons.  Satan heard about her, and found a host that was strong enough to allow him to visit her for a time.  She became pregnant and they began to plan a way for her to travel to Gehenna so they could be together and safe.  Unfortunately, her father caught wind of her visits with Satan.  After putting her on trial and finding her guilty of fraternizing with demons, he sentenced her and her unborn children to death by fire, despite the fact that she was almost nine months pregnant.  As the flames began to lick at her feet, she called to her love to save her.  Satan was able to hear her plea and sought a vessel that could hold him long enough to save her.  After he finally found a host, he took her from the pyre and transported her to a cabin in the woods before the body he was using burned out.

As soon as he returned to Gehenna, he ordered his sons and upper level demons to go to Assaiah and bring Yuri back to him.  Sadly, before they were able to find her, Fujimoto, the current paladin got to her.  He honored Yuri's last request and took in her twin sons, Yukio and Rin Okumura, hiding Rin's demon heritage and concealing the twins from their father and his demons." Mephisto's words left everyone shocked.  They could hardly believe that the Vatican had covered up the truth behind the massacre of the Blue Night.  If the story was true, then this changed everything.

"That still doesn't excuse Satan's ruthless actions!" Yukio almost yelled at Mephisto.  "He should have stayed  in Gehenna where he belonged and none of that would have happened.  Yuri and all the other casualties would still be alive, and Father Fujimoto wouldn't have had to die!"

"And you and Rin would never have been born." Shiemi said sadly.

"Besides, this is all in the past so you can't change it.  All you can do is keep moving forward.  Now, if you will excuse me, I have places to be.  Eins, zwei, drei!"  Mephisto disappeared in his usual cloud of purple smoke.  

The exorcist students stood contemplating for a few more minutes before Yukio snapped them out of their dazes and told them to get to class.  After they left, Yukio headed off to the exorcist training room and began methodically shooting targets, increasing the difficulty to the highest level after his warm up and failing to keep up, his anger making his shooting slower and his aim more sporadic.

***Note: I plan on going back and rewriting the chapters to include Kuro.  I still can't believe I forgot one of my favorite characters!  Unfortunately, this will probably take awhile, as I don't want to interrupt the weekly chapter releases.