Chapter 1-4 have been revised. Highly advised to reread

Chapter 5: Kinship, Revealed

A low growled rippled through her throat as she realized she had screwed up. She had gotten too riled up by her argument with Yukio that she began to disregard her surroundings. This was one of the situations she wanted to avoid. That was the whole point of revealing their kinship herself. As she locked eyes with the teen, the corners of her mouth tugged down from dissatisfaction. But the sound of Yukio asking what happened coming from her phone dragged her from her silence.

"Well," she stressed the word as she started, but was more preoccupied with quietly observing the exwire for any specific negative reactions. The most prominent reaction she saw was obvious confusion. And really, could she blame him? The poor kid was almost always kept in the dark about all these secrets?

"I'll call you back," she brusquely told the youngest, pressing the end button without listening to his reply. While she pocketed the phone with one hand, she scratched her head with the other, wondering what to do. With no other way of seeing a better ending, she decided to be blunt.

"So yeah, we're related. Half-siblings specifically – but I'm sure you can guess that connection," she explained in a deadpan manner, exasperation written all over her face.

Rin was pulled from his shock-induced stupor by her flat-toned words. She watched as he seemed to try to process the whole matter. "But you're a demon…" he lamely said, pointing at her.

She took one quick step towards him before immediately giving him a sharp hit against the back of his head. "You idiot. Satan. Damn, I didn't expect you to be this clueless," she responded harshly.

He glared at her as he held his head, insulted by her words. "Hey!"

"You're not his first child, believe me." Belial grabbed the lapel of his school jacket, leaning in slightly as she looked him in the eye. "I am," she said in a low, near dangerous tone.

Eyes widening from her declaration, Rin swatted her hand away, jumping back. Cautiously he reached behind him to grab Kurikara. The demoness before him straightened herself and raised her hands up, signaling she meant no harm. "Relax. Take it easy. I really am with True Cross, despite heritage. Like you, I also would love to – how did Mephisto say you said it – ah, 'kick Satan's ass.'" She couldn't help but widely grin as she recalled those words.

With a hand still on her sword, he watched her warily, "How can I trust you?"

She raised a brow and smirked, lowering her hands before placing one on her hip. "Many would say to never trust me, but your future is in my best interest. So you could say I'm clearly on your side.

"We could go to various people. Most Upper Class exorcists and above know of me. Yukio is one of the few exceptions. Oh, Mephisto's another one, of course!" She nearly laughed at Rin's displeased face at the mention of the demon's name. "Call Yukio. While he's not too particular of me, he'll have to tell you now. Though the fact that you remember me from when you were little should be good enough," she paused, waiting for him to relax.

And while he did let go of the sword, he didn't fully relax.

She heaved a sigh and dropped her hand from her hip, throwing both hands up in the air in exasperation. She carefully walked over to him, placing a hand on his head. "Listen, Rin. I wouldn't have played with you when you were a child if I planned to attack you from the beginning. If I weren't on your side, I would have killed you long ago," she stated calmly despite how close she was to snapping due to her impatience.

She smiled fondly at him, a rarity to come from her. "Can we go eat now?" she changed the topic. Belial gave a low chuckle when Rin's stomach answered her question, the boy lightly flushed by the timing.

~{*o*}~

"I do believe I forgot to give you my real name," the white-haired woman began. Having finally settled at the small restaurant she had chosen and ordered, they continued their talk. They had aimlessly (in her mind) chatted on the way, and during then she had come to the conclusion that he hadn't changed much since he was a child. Though it truly blew her mind on how drastically different he and his younger brother were. It really did seem like Yukio was the older one.

Rin blinked, confusion crossing his face. "Real name?"

"Now, now. You can't seriously think I'd just give out my name to children," she chided him. "As I said before, only Upper Class exorcists really know who I am." Once she saw the curiosity in his eyes and that there few around to hear her, she continued, "I'm Belial."

Her face feel however when she noticed the lack of recognition from Rin. Reaching forward, she soundly hit him on the top of his head with her closed fist. "Don't tell me you weren't listening to my lesson today!" she scolded him loudly.

The half-demon cursed, holding his head once more. "You taught us about yourself!?"

She sniffed, tilting her head up proudly. "Of course. And for future reference, if I see you are not paying attention in my classes, I will only hit harder." He yelled her, indignant about her threat. "Anyways, since you didn't pay attention, do so now." Rin slouched in his seat, but immediately perked up when food arrived. The older sibling simply sighed and decided to let it go for now. "You know what, never mind. Do you questions or something?"

Almost barely pausing with his food, he asked, "Why did you stop seeing me? I mean, you were seeing Yukio."

"Hmm, sorry about that," she apologized, placing her elbow on the table and leaning her cheek against her fist. "It was a precaution. We weren't positive if your demon powers would awaken if you continued to stay around a demon prince. It was rather frustrating," she admitted, "seeing as you and Yukio are the only brothers I can genuinely tolerate." She began to eat slowly, watching with a slight smile as the boy thoroughly enjoyed his food.

"Wait, we have more brothers…?"

She slyly smiled. "Don't get me started. It's a wonder how they're considered more 'tolerable' than my son, considering many dislike him."

Rin's eyes nearly popped out of his head when she mentioned a son. "You have a son?!" he yelled, not noticing the looks others were giving him.

She almost choked on her drink at his shocked reaction. She had said the statement so off-handedly that she wasn't expecting it. "Yes, yes. I'm sure you'll meet him soon enough. He has an unfortunate habit of appearing when people, especially me, least want him to. Look-wise, he's a little older than you. But enough about that." She waved her hand, dismissing the topic.

Several questions began to circle in Rin's mind at this new information. Just how old was she? "The dad?" he hesitatingly asked.

"Not important. I picked a suitable demon, one from the second King's kin. I needed an heir, that's all. Hey- don't look at me like that," she saw how he didn't hide the fact he was judging her words, "demons as you should know, can be cold-hearted. The idea of family? Well, for me, I never understood it until Shirō took you two in." She shrugged.

That was where she let the discussion end, turning it to less revealing topics. While she had wanted to tell him that they were related from the get go, she didn't feel like going into the details about others. She was certainly a hypocrite by saying they all left him in the dark while she herself withheld information from the teen. She simply thought that he needn't know; at least for the time being, what she knew didn't concern him.

The rest of the evening she made sure to take a subtle control of their conversation, letting the boy fill her in on the years she had missed. She wasn't surprised to when she heard things from the boy that Shiro had left out. Some of the topics referred to the time he was toddler and when she would visit. Despite knowing it would happen, she couldn't help but feel disappointed that he barely remembered her visits.

But overall, she had called the night a success. Even with the little hiccup of how Rin had learned of their kinship, she knew she was able to gain most of the teen's trust, if not all – just as she had hoped to do by the end of her first day there.

~{*o*}~

Late into the night, Mephisto looked up as the sound of the door opening and closing was heard. It really was a familiar sight (though it had been so long ago), seeing the demoness simply stroll into his office of the Academy. He watched, eating a cheap cup of ramen, as she shed the dark trench coat she wore, revealing her apparent change of outfit, and threw herself onto the armchair that faced away from him. Clearly not caring that he was there, she continued taking off some of her clothes, ridding herself of her shoes and unpinning her hair. Running her hand through her ashen hair and putting her feet up on the coffee table before her, she sagged into the armchair, only the top of her head showing to him.

But he had noticed the subtle stiffness in her walk, despite the clear-as-day smug smile on her face. "And how was your first day, Miss Swartz?" he asked, a near mocking tone lacing his question.

There was a few seconds of silence before Belial moved, looking over her shoulder at him. Without a word, she fluidly moved from her seat and towards him. She rounded the desk before seating herself on it just near him, crossing stocking-covered her legs and leaning back against her hands.

Raising a brow, she asked, "As a teacher? No different than when I mentored Gavin in South Africa." She shrugged, using a hand to smooth over the short dress she wore. The night was eventful for her, for as soon as she finished with Rin, she went around gathering her own needed intel. After all, she had her own goals, not just helping Mephisto's as well.

She didn't even bother to hide her smirk as she saw the other demon admire her current look. Belial leaned towards him, her smirk turning into a dangerous smile. "Now that I'm here and have established myself," she reached one hand out, grabbing on the material of his yukata (she was so used to his eccentric personality that she often completely overlooked what he wore), but not tugging at it, "you better explain what you're planning finally." Her hand relaxed, her open palm resting against his chest. "Well?"

And with that, they fell right back into their old routine – the scheming duo that could even unnerve the Order. Because, ultimately, who could trust two powerful demons?