A/N: I know it's been a while since I've updated, so here's a quick recap of last chapter! After entrusting Rin's sword/heart to Mephisto, Shiro leaves the office. Amaimon comes in and swipes away the weapon, unsheathing it. Rin, back at the Moriyama house, suddenly bursts into blue flames. And now, let the chapter begin~!

Chapter 4- Transition

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Mephisto shot into action, freezing time to take the weapon out of his younger brother's hands. Throwing it into the cuckoo clock he summoned, the demon king snapped his fingers, allowing time to flow freely once again. The King of Earth blinked at his now empty hand, gaze fixed to the principal.

"…Where did the sword go?"

Mephisto sighed, reaching into the glass jar on his desk to fish out a handful of colorfully wrapped lollipops, placing them in the demon's hands. "Take these and go somewhere else. Anywhere else."

"But you didn't answer my question—"

"Go." He interrupted, peridot eyes narrowed to slits.

Without another word, Amaimon slithered away, stuffing one lollipop in his mouth while putting the rest in his coat pocket. He took his own infinity key and opened the door, sending his brother a final, lazy wave before walking out the door.

Once the demon had left, Mephisto reclined in the chair, placing a gloved hand to his forehead. "Finally, that nuisance is gone…" He muttered, returning his gaze to the stack of paperwork on his desk.

"What nuisance?" A cheery voice said suddenly, belching out a loud laugh. Mephisto winced at the sound of the door slamming shut, a hard frown pressed against his lips.

"Shura, what a wonderful surprise. I almost forgot it was time for your report."

"Yer avoiding the question, clown. Who's been botherin' ya besides, well, me?"

He sighed. "No one. I am just an old demon who talks to himself sometimes."

A look of confusion passed the woman's violet orbs. "Eh? Never pegged ya for the sentimental type."

"I'm not."

Shura laughed again. "Damn, yer really in a bad mood. Does it have anythin' to do with ol' Fujimoto? I saw him on his way out of the Academy. Perhaps you two are havin' a lover's spat."

The demon king pretended to look scandalized, clutching at his heart dramatically. "My dearest Shura, surely you know that you are the only one for me~!"

She grinned widely. "Heh, there's the clown I love to hate!"

Giving a curt nod, Mephisto motioned for the woman to sit down and give her report. Inwardly, however, he thought to Amaimon. Whenever his younger brother became interested in something, he would pursue it, relentlessly. Even if it died.

Opening the front door of the cottage, Rin found his twin at the door. The brown-haired man gave a small smile, brushing past the youth to Shiemi, who was currently absorbed in dusting away the fallen petals from the arrangement of flowers in the room. She startled the moment Yukio pressed a gentle hand to her shoulder, nearly hitting the man with the broomstick.

"Ah, Yuki-chan! I didn't see you there, sorry! I was just cleaning up the cottage." She apologized, dipping her head down in a polite bow.

Yukio waved it away, showing the blonde a piece of paper. "It's alright, Shiemi-san. I'm actually here to pick up Rin. Starting tomorrow, he'll be a student at True Cross Academy."

"W-what?!" Rin spluttered, eyes widening.

The bespectacled man nodded. "It's been decided by Sir Pheles, headmaster of True Cross. He's already forged school transcripts for you. You're now my older brother who was home-schooled by our adopted father, Shiro Fujimoto."

"So is Rin going to go to cram school with us?" Shiemi piped up, putting the broom to the side. Her tone was hopeful, but her exuberance went away with the man's frown.

"No. He's still too much of a…" he paused, looking for a proper euphemism for 'threat,' "variable for the Order to handle. He'll need to hide his powers, as he is doing now. Rin may join cram school after he's proven himself capable of normal interaction with humans."

This caused a grin to spread across the young half-demon's face. "Heh, no worries! I've been reading lots of manga; I know how to act to my senpai's and kohei's!"

"…Shiemi-san, has he been reading Shoujo manga, by chance?"

"Y-yes." She fidgeted, the hem of her skirt suddenly becoming more interesting than the conversation at hand.

"I had a feeling something like this would happen. Take this, nii-san, and read it tonight." He handed the man a book with a yellow cover, the glare of his glasses covering his eyes.

"Hmm?" He took it, reading the title carefully. "Japanese Culture for Dummies? What the hell?!"

"I actually got it from Sir Pheles. He said it was a good start for those unaccustomed to Japanese traditions."

Rin glowered at his younger brother before suddenly remembering the incident from the day before. "Oh, speaking of which, Yukio, do ya know why my flames suddenly showed up? It only lasted for a bit, but I'm worried it could have alerted some of father's servants."

The bespectacled youth furrowed his brows in confusion. "Sir Pheles didn't mention anything about that. I know that he has kept your sword, but other than that, I'm afraid I haven't been given many details. We'll just have to be extra careful and keep an eye on your flames."

Yukio let out a sigh, seating himself at one of the benches. He had enough of dragging his brother through the immense courtyard, allowing the half-demon to gape at everything. The young half-demon had gawked at anything that moved (and even things that didn't), managing to cause the entirety of the school body at present to openly stare at him. He just hoped that the students would assume Rin was a foreigner and lose interest; which would be a safe assumption, if Rin didn't feel the need to shout every time he saw something even remotely interesting.

"Hey, who's this clown?" He yelled, pointing to a golden statue.

"It's Johann Faust V, the man who runs this Academy."

Rin gave a confused look. "Really? What's with his outfit then? Even I know that his clothes are outdated."

Just as he spoke a white dog appeared from behind the statue, giving a high-pitched yelp.

"Oh, cute!" He grinned, picking up the dog. It barked, licking his face. The blue-haired boy cradled the animal to his chest, petting its soft white fur before looking up at his brother expectantly. Unbeknownst to the teen, the dog was giving a sly grin, the smallest of chuckles emanating from its chest.

"So, is he a stray or something?"

Yukio's face darkened. "Uh, nii-san, that's actually—"

"Hello, Rin Okumura~!" The dog barked, hopping out of the boy's arms.

"W-what?" He asked incredulously, looking at Yukio. "Do dogs in Assiah talk? I never read any books about that, ya know, minus the ones for children."

His younger twin sighed, motioning for the pair to follow him to the nearest door. "That's because he is no dog. Sir Pheles, let's go to your office."

"Woof~!" He barked, letting the bespectacled youth open the door with one of his infinity keys.

Once situated inside the office, the white dog hopped onto the chair, disappearing in a puff of white smoke. In its place was a man with dark violet hair and forest green eyes.

"Greetings, my little half-brother~! I am known as Johann Faust V in public, but you may call me Mephisto Pheles. It's a pleasure to see you again." He winked, startling the boy.

Rin's expression paled. "B-but I… and you licked… and…"

This brought a chuckle from the principal. "Yes, I wanted to thank you for the petting. My fur gets particularly itchy sometimes."

He then turned to Yukio, ushering for both of them to take a seat. Sitting on the pinstriped armchairs, both youths looked at the demon, with Rin rubbing at his cheek angrily and Yukio with a hint of worry.

"Now, the Vatican is unaware of your existence, Rin Okumura. In reality, none of your other brothers, besides me, of course, know you exist. You were taken as a baby from my friend, Shiro Fujimoto. From what Yukio has told me, you were imprisoned somewhere, keeping your identity hidden from everyone minus Satan."

The navy-haired teen nodded, "Y-yah, the old man kept me in an abandoned castle. There were only about three servants that I saw. But why did he want me hidden?"

A sharp grin broke against the clown's face. "Because you are going to be his greatest asset! Your birth was no mistake; you were born for a singular reason."

"Which is…?"

"Heh, I wonder myself sometimes~" He deflected the question, handing the boys a check.

"Having Shiro and I as benefactors, you two should do well enough with expenses. I've paid for your tuition, Rin, and also your room and board. Classes have already started, but with Yukio as your brother, you should be fine!"

"But I haven't even had an education until now!" Rin blurted, feeling the urge to hit the fancily dressed demon right in his mocking face.

Mephisto gave a sharp grin, wiggling a finger patronizingly. "Now, now, little brother, it isn't polite to attack someone you've only just met. Which reminds me," He pointed to the youth's tail, "You have absolutely no knowledge of demon etiquette. It's almost shameful."

"Why, you—" He struggled against his younger brother's grip, almost tempted to burst into blue flames.

This caused a cacophony of laughter from the violet-haired demon. "I look forward to seeing your growth as both a demon… and a human. Goodbye, Okumura twins~!" He gave a small wave as Rin was lead out the door, a string of curses escaping his lips.

The door closed loudly behind the pair just as the grin on Mephisto's face slipped away. His gaze turned to the rafters, peridot eyes narrowed.

"Amaimon, I know you're there."

Falling from the ceiling, the Earth King rolled silently onto the carpeted ground. He blinked apathetically at his older brother before sticking a lollipop in his mouth.

"So, he's the owner of that sword. I didn't know I had a younger brother."

The King of Time and Space sighed. "You weren't supposed to. But, now that you do know, I could use your help."

"Hmm?" He tilted his head to the side, biting against the cherry lollipop.

"I need you to test him. To determine if Rin Okumura is truly worth protecting."

Perched on the roof of his new home, Rin gazed longingly at the bright city lights of True Cross town. He pressed his chin to his knees, a long sigh escaping his lips. Even if he had only been at the Moriyama residence for about a week, it had felt more like a home than Gehenna ever had. His thoughts drifted to a certain cherubic blonde as he frowned, turning his gaze to the right. From this angle he could barely make out the roof of her house which had barely escaped from the thick foliage of trees that surrounded the property.

Despite finally being reunited with his brother, he couldn't help but miss the petite woman's company. She was always so happy, so full of life. So unlike what he expected an exorcist to be. Glumly, he thought of his job at the fast-food restaurant. She had encouraged his endeavor there as well, once he had promised it would not jeopardize his identity. And so far, it had gone well enough, although he was unsure if Yukio would allow him to continue working at the place.

Lying against the dark colored shingles, Rin's thoughts drifted to Gehenna. A cold breeze caused him to shiver. He didn't want to think what Satan would do if he managed to bring him back.

"Rin? Are you alright?" Yukio's voice suddenly called out, peering through the window.

"U-uh, yah! I'll be down in a sec. I just couldn't sleep." He called back, taking one last glance at the immense campus of True Cross Academy. Maybe this place could be a home, too. A place he wanted to protect.

A/N: Next chap expect more brotherly bonding for Rin, Yukio, Mephisto, and Amaimon! And perhaps another visit from our silver-haired paladin as well as some educational lessons from Yukio XD Thanks again for all the reviews/follows/favorites, you guys rock! Anyway, I'll see ya next chapter!

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-Isis