Hey, folks! Sorry this took so long- it took me ages to figure out what the heck I wanted to do with this chapter, and a bit longer to find the time to actually do it. Hurray for college, right? Right? Anyone? No? Anyway, I am at long last satisfied with the final chapter to this fic- one of my better ones, in my opinion- and did anyone notice I made a happy fic?! It has a good ending! This is practically unheard of!

STORY RELATED STUFF: So a couple people commented on the amount of time it took for revenge to happen. A lot of that time was trouble figuring out who exactly was doing torture. Also, on the fact that Bon was still in exorcist classes- I actually did the math to figure this out. From what I can figure, Yukio started training when he was seven, right after Father Fujimoto found him on the playground, and didn't get certified until he was 14 or 15. That's seven or eight years of training. Even if he was in school, keeping it a secret from Rin, and going at a slower rate than ordinary, older students might, I figure that's got to be at least four or five years of regular training. He's able to study at home- and the guy who's teaching him is the freaking Paladin and his dad to boot. Which means Yukio can study whenever he wants (let's be real here, Yukio doesn't need to spend all his time studying for normal classes; the kid's a genius, and Rin's not interested in studying at all, much less in looking over Yukio's shoulder), has great access to resources, and a great teacher.

Random thought- For anyone who likes AMVs, there's a hilarious one featuring Mephisto in Friend like Me. It cracks me up every time I watch it.

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"Do not lie to us, Mephisto Pheles," the Grigori on the left says softly, manicured fingers tapping impatiently on the arm of her chair. "Tell us what you know about the attack."

"Me? Lie?" Mephisto gasps, clutching his chest in horror, "How could you possibly accuse me of such a thing? I would never lie to the illustrious leaders of the Vatican!"

"Tell us what you know, Faust," The Grigori on the right snaps irritably, and Mephisto plays into the smile he really can't hide.

"Of course I'll tell you what I know," Mephisto declares, bowing low. "I know that the entirety of Gehenna is in an absolute uproar, for one. Now that their Young Prince has escaped his captors and his imprisonment has come to light even here in Assiah, they are entirely displeased with the Vatican. I suspect it will not be long before you have a full scale war on your hands."

"Explain," The Central Grigori says coolly.

"There's nothing to explain," he says, blinking. "Did you think that nearly two decades' worth of torture inflicted upon one of the highest-ranking demons- and an infant, at that- would go unnoticed and unpunished?"

The Grigori shift restlessly, though they say nothing for a long moment. "Are you suggesting-"

"I am suggesting nothing," Mephisto says dryly, "I am telling you. The attack on that research laboratory was only the beginning."

"Did you have anything to do with it? Do you know who attacked the facility?" The Grigori ask, clearly disconcerted.

"Me?" Mephisto asks, drawing back.

"You."

"No, I was not the one who destroyed the sadists you call researchers," Mephisto waves his hand dismissively, a glint in his eyes. "As to the one who did, I can only say I'm sorely disappointed with them."

"You know who it was?" The Grigori on the right asks, just as the one on the left presses,

"Disappointed?"

Mephisto only shrugs and smiles mysteriously to the first question, though he chuckles at the second, sniffing haughtily. "Of course I'm disappointed in them. There were clearly bricks cohesive enough to show where the foundation had been."

The Grigori stare at him, stunned.

"Oh, and our treaty has been officiallyterminated. Kidnapping, torturing, and experimenting on royalty is a direct violation of the terms."

"What are you talking about?" The Left Grigori demands, leaning forward in her chair, clearly restraining herself.

"I mean," Mephisto says slowly, as though talking to a small child, "That there is perhaps half of a soul between the lot of you, and the rest is nothing but rot and disease. Please consider our alliance terminated and yourselves banned from True Cross."

"You can't do that!" The Grigori on the left shouts, losing her temper and shooting out of her seat. Mephisto simply laughs.

"Can't I? I run True Cross. You should know that, as per your banishment, Keys will no longer work for you."

"You would banish every exorcist from the grounds of True Cross?" The center Grigori asks, a challenge in his voice.

"Of course not," Mephisto scoffs, waving his hand dismissively, "I won't have to. Simply anyone on True Cross grounds who believes that the torture of small children is acceptable and tolerable behavior."

"What are you saying, Faust?" The Grigori almost growls. "Are you trying to start a rebellion?"

"Oh, no," Mephisto says, smiling widely, "Not at all. I'm not starting anything."

All three Grigori twitch as one.

"On that note, I have an assembly to attend, and you have a riot to deal with." Mephisto waves a hand amicably as he descends the stairs from the platform in the center of the large chamber and walks out. Not a soul moves to stop him.

He hums cheerfully as he continues on his way.

"Hey, Mister!"

He pauses, turning to face the scowling man. "Yes?"

"You know where these Grigori guys are?"

"Just down that hallway, take a left- it'll be at the end of the hall," Mephisto explains, pointing. "Have you heard what they did to that poor child? I saw it on the news just this morning."

"That's why I'm here," The man scowls, motioning to a group of people behind him, all wearing badges and vests. "You aren't in with this lot, then?"

"After that? I would never," Mephisto declares, shaking his head. "I just finished terminating my… agreement with the Vatican, in fact."

"Good thing, mate," the man says, nodding. "I try to keep away from this sort of group, myself. Bunch of self-righteous bastards."

Mephisto nods and steps lightly down the hallway, resisting the urge to skip as the sounds of angry shouts ring in his ears like the sweetest music he can think of. He owes Shiro a good bottle of whiskey for what he did to that lab, and maybe a few other things besides.

But what would be appropriate thanks for something of this magnitude? Well, Honey Honey Sisters memorabilia certainly couldn't go amiss, and who didn't like good chocolates? Perhaps tickets for a weekend at that resort Shiro had mentioned a few weeks back, as well…

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"Young Master," the demon says, bowing, "Your realm would have you return."

Rin pulls his hat a bit lower and motions for the demon to rise from where he is kneeling on the ground and they begin walking slowly along the paths in the park, as they have done several times before.

This is not the first time Astaroth has visited him, nor will it be the last. And he'll admit, the idea is tempting. The idea of being treated as the royalty he, by all accounts, is? Being able to relax in the knowledge that he lives under the protection of the strongest demons in Gehenna is an idea that he can never simply dismiss.

Yes, he would miss S- his father and Yukio; and yes, it would be very different from living here in Assiah- but he wouldn't have to constantly watch his back for exorcists on the hunt. He wouldn't need to live in fear that he would wake up being tortured. He wouldn't have to wonder if his water had been purified or any of the many, many other things he'd spent his time here thinking about.

On the other hand, though, he would miss his father and Yukio, the first people to treat him like one. He would miss Bon, too- his grumpy best friend who tended to scowl but was fiercely determined to get justice for Rin. He would miss Bon dragging him out to meet his friends and the way everyone teased him as though he were one of their own.

He would miss cooking, and living here, and he would miss the monks. He would miss sukiyaki.

The corner of Rin's mouth tilts upward a bit at that thought, and he huffs a quiet laugh.

"No," he says at last. "No, I like it here. It's… nice."

He quietly didn't mention the fact that if he left, he would be living with the most powerful demon in Gehenna. Which would, in turn, make him a target. Despite his lack of formal schooling, he'd payed attention when his brother or father or Bon told him stories about science or history. Many of which involved assassinations of royalty.

"Your father wishes to meet you," Astaroth says. "He would have his son at his side."

Rin raises an eyebrow at that. Satan is his biological father, true, but Yukio is his brother. Does Satan not consider Yukio his son because of the lack of flames?

"I would not be opposed to visiting at times," He says, finally, "Or is there something preventing that?"

"No, my lord,"Astaroth says, "It can be arranged for you to come and go as you will."

"I'm not signing up to be the Demon Lord or anything, am I?" Rin asks warily. He will always be wary of trusting people. Especially when those people are demons known for their treachery.

"No, my lord. Any duties you take upon yourself will be clearly defined beforehand. Your father has waited many years to have you at his side, and has no wish to do anything that would dissuade you."

"Okay, then."

And they part ways.

In truth, Rin knows that he would not be perfectly safe as the Lord of Hell's son- he is no fool, and members of royal houses have always been subject to assassination. Even if other demons respected his position, the humans certainly wouldn't. Accepting a station as the next ruler of Gehenna would paint an even larger target on his back than he's already got, and he's only ever wished to live his life in peace.

No, he will never accept an official role in Satan's house, though he bears his father no ill will. He simply prefers to avoid the attention of the masses, to fight from the shadows where he will not be seen as easily.

No, he will stay in Assiah, and he will continue to hone his abilities. He will stay here and fight. That's what They had wanted, after all. They'd wanted him to fight, to know what he could do.

They would learn soon enough. They had created a weapon, after all, and no weapon is meant to sit idly by in the midst of war.

The researcher he found never even realized he was there.

"You got the leeks, right?"

"Of course I did," Bon rolls his eyes lightly at his teacher and friend, "Did you get the right meat? We all know you can't cook to save your life."

"It's what was on the list," Yukio says, wrinkling his nose.

"You sure?" Bon squints doubtfully at the meat in Yukio's bag, but shrugs. The guy actually got the right food for once. Yukio only frowns at him, but Bon just chuckles- it isn't nearly as intimidating as it was in his first year with no idea what he was supposed to be doing. Yukio frowns harder.

"Let's just go, there's still a bunch of stuff we need to get ready."

"Yeah, like the Christmas cookies," Bon snarks as he checks his phone for messages. They all take every opportunity to remind Yukio of that attempt at a 'birthday' cake. Izumi already has the balloons, and Shiemi and Konekomaru have managed to pull together a cake. Shima had grabbed gifts, and Father Fujimoto was probably still doing whatever it was he'd said he needed to take care of. Something about looking into a lab in Poland that hadn't been shut down when it was supposed to be.

"Will you let that go already?" Yukio throws his hands up in the air and groans.

"Never," Bon grins.

This is going to be one hell of a party.

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A little more than two years later

"You-!"

Rin turns and blinks at the short, thin man pointing at him. "Me?"

"You're a demon!"

Rin frowns slowly at the man. He doesn't like being called out on that, and frankly, shouting it out in public is just rude. Lots of people have demonic heritage of some sort or another. He says as much.

"Most people aren't sons of the Devil himself!" The man snarls, pulling an exorcist's gun from his holster.

Rin does the sensible thing.

"GUN!" He shouts as loud as he can, bolting for cover. "HE'S GOT A GUN!"

The pandemonium that erupts is instant- people screaming and running for cover as the exorcist charges at Rin, shouting furiously. "Demon! I'll kill you!"

Rin doesn't give him a clear shot, just keeps ducking around corners in the market, dodging between stalls as he shouts a warning to the civilians. Once he's out of sight, he ducks down and circles to get behind the asshole, who's still shouting for all the world to hear. All it takes is a nice shot from a taser (supplied by a kindly old stall keeper who tells him 'do get that awful man to stop yelling, will you dear? He's disturbing my dear Pansy') and the man goes down twitching. Her smile is missing three teeth when he hands it back to her, and Rin doesn't think she ever even moved, much less stopped petting her dog.

"Now what was all that about?" One of the stall owners asks, scratching at his beard. "You do somethin' to this guy?"

"Hell, no," Rin snorts. "I try to stay away from crazies."

"Good on you, son," the beefy man says, nodding his approval. "There's lots of folks as aren't that sensible."

A lot of the owners around here have taken a liking to Rin, and they've known him since he started going out after getting free. Their kindness really did a lot to help him recover from his imprisonment. He's never taken up the offer for friends from the carpenter, though.

It doesn't take long for the police to arrive, take statements, and haul the guy off. Rin might have to show up at a trial, but he's done that several times already. It's no longer the same rush of terror that they'll believe him they'll put me back in the lab I'm going to die that it used to be.

No judge has ever considered the idea that he might be a demon out to destroy the world. Generally, when they look at his file (twenty-two years old, kidnap victim of insane cultists- it doesn't say much more than that) they give him a solemn look and say he's done damn well.

As he goes his way, he picks up some good meat and vegetables. Maybe they'll have a stir-fry tonight. Or stew, Yukio had mentioned last week that it'd been a while. Pie for dessert, definitely, but what about a side-dish? Ooh, bacon wrapped water chestnuts!

Rin forced a grin and pushed back the fear that threatened to boil over. He would go start dinner, talk to one of the guys as he worked. Cooking had always helped cheer him up.

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Omake- set between Bon's befriending Rin and this chapter:

"Is everyone in their civilian clothes?"

Yukio eyes the group as they all nod. Not a one of them looks like a stereotypical exorcist. Good.

"I'm going over the rules one last time, just to remind you. If you hurt my brother, I will kill you. If you put him in danger, I will kill you. If you give him a panic attack, there's a very good chance he will kill you- I suggest you don't give him a panic attack."

"Uh, what would give him a panic attack?" Izumi asks, looking distinctly disturbed.

"Good question," Yukio nods. "As Bon has found out, splashing him with water- even in play- will give him flashbacks. Don't even think the word 'monster.' Try not to make sudden moves toward him. In short, stay calm, stay quiet, and stay polite. Rin does his best, but he was hurt badly and for a long time."

"What happened, if you don't mind telling us?"

Yukio frowns at Shima for a long moment, his lips pursed.

"Does blood make you who you are?"

"'Course not," Shima laughs, blinking at Bon. Bon glances at Yukio, who nods.

"Rin's got some demon blood in him, and when he was a kid some psychos got hold of him," Bon says grimly, and every face in the group pales.

"They didn't." Izumi snarls. Shiemi looks like she's going to throw up, and Konekomaru is unsteady on his feet.

"They did," Yukio confirms. His face is pale and hard the way it always is when he thinks about Rin's imprisonment.

"Well, then," Shima breaks the silence, "It's a good thing he's got friends watching out for him now, isn't it?"

And they all grin at each other, fire in their eyes as they form an unspoken pact.

When they reach the little church where Yukio was raised, the guys clap Rin on the shoulder and the girls give him quick hugs as they enter, grinning at his surprise.

"You ever have a problem, you call one of these guys," Bon says looking him in the eye and jerking his thumb at the group behind him. Every single one of them gives him a firm nod. Konekomaru hands over a slip of paper with all their phone numbers on it.

Rin gapes at them, and Yukio nods when he looks over.

"You-?" He asks hoarsely, and Bon shrugs.

"They're good guys, Rin," he says. "I trust them with my life."

Rin glances warily at the group, pulling cups and chips and sodas from plastic bags as Shima and Izumi argue over what movie to watch (it's between Space Jam and Princess Bride), and then he grins and relaxes.

When Rin knocks Shima for his bad taste and declares they're watching Men in Black two seconds later, that's when Bon and Yukio finally grin at each other. This was probably the best idea they've ever had.

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