Shima was torn. What was he supposed to do? Spywork was fun. It kept him on the edge of his seat and it kept him alive. Working for both sides kept him safe.

But the son of Satan standing over him wouldn't allow him to be on two teams. He had to choose one. If he chose the Illuminati, Rin would undoubtedly kill him. The teen was sharp and knew how to get around, so Shima had no doubt Rin would find him and kill him while no one else realized what was even going on, just to make it personal.

Or, he could join the trashy Order. But Rin would be fighting their battles. He was strong. Strong enough for Satan's flames and strong enough for the Nine-Tails. Rin was a cruel person, yet somehow a beacon of hope. Rin would keep them all safe.

'The Order is weak, but I make them strong. The Illuminati is strong, but I'll make them weak. Mercy is bittersweet, but good for living.'

Those are the words Rin had whispered. They were wise words and Shima wondered who'd told Rin that, because he didn't think the boy could come up with that on his own.

In other words, if Shima joined the Order, Rin would treat him like a comrade and he'd be safe with risk of dying in bloody battle one day. If Shima chose the Illuminati, Rin would hunt him down and kill him, and it would be a quick, heartless death. If he chose to run from both and be neutral, he would surely live, as long as he could stay hidden properly. But he'd never be happy again if he had to always be on the run, always looking over his shoulder.

Geez.

"I....I....choose.....Rin." Shima decided. "Good choice." He could hear the smirk on Rin's face as he patted Shima in the shoulder.

There was no Order or Illuminati in this choice. He chose Rin, death, or neutrality.

"Wait, what?!" Suguro cried.

"I see. Very well. Renzou Shima will henceforth be studying to be an Exorcist in the Order of the Knights of True Cross under my jurisdiction. He will no longer have contact of any kind with the Illuminati." Mephisto announced.

"But hold on a minute!" Izumo put her hands in a time out sign. "What the hell does he mean?! This isn't some romance novel, this is real life!" She told them.

"Exactly, Ms. Kamiki. This is real life. I may be his legal guardian, but I have no control over Young Rin here. He's a wild card–I'm simply lucky he prefers my side. If you side with him, you live. If you side with the enemy, he'll come for you with no mercy. If you go neutral, you're safe, but not allowed to interfere in the war effort at all. Mr. Shima is smarter than I thought." Mephisto explained slowly, as if she were a toddler.

"Hmm. Very interesting! I like where things are headed here! I think I'll stick around to snoop a bit more." Lightning laughed. He walked over and threw an arm around Rin. "So how does that demon blade work?" He wondered. Rin glared at the man. He didn't like being touched and this man stank. Why were these creepy men after him all the time? First Todou, now this Lightning guy.

"It seals the main power reserves of my flames. I can still summon them without it though." Rin answered. "Cool! So do you have any specific abilities besides pyrokinesis? I heard something about the Nine-Tails earlier."

Lightning was like an obsessed fanboy. "It seems I can contain the fox. I took it from Tamamo." Rin revealed.

"Took it? As in stole it? Why?" Lightning wondered. Rin leveled the man with a deadpan.

"Because she was dying. What was the point of saving Izumo if she lost everything important to her? She'd lose her will to fight and she'd be dead weight. And the Nine-Tails gives me more power. Win-win." Rin said simply.

Izumo was bristling over where she was standing. She felt a hand on her shoulder and saw Yukio standing there. "Don't mistake his intentions. We had a man who raised us, but because Rin was so independent, he was neglected as a child. Dad never tried very hard to show Rin he cared. Rin grew up seeing things differently than everyone else. Now, he has people who care about him and worry about him. He doesn't fully understand that you care, so he uses logic to explain things he did when he himself might not know why he did them." Yukio had a regretful smile on his face. He'd been neglectful too. He'd thought Rin was a hopeless case. But he'd been proved wrong. Now, Rin had people to care for him and fight beside him, even if he didn't think he needed them.

Izumo only nodded in understanding.

§~•~§~•~§

While Rin was resting in his dorm room, Yukio and the others ate food. It was takeout they'd ordered since no one wanted to try their luck in the kitchen.

"Thank you all for taking care of my brother. Even you, Shima. It may have been self-preservation, but it still means something to me that you stayed to fight with him." Yukio thanked them. "Woah, teach, no need to get so sappy on us!" Shima laughed.

Yukio flushed. "Rin never got attention. Probably the worst case of child neglect there could be without abuse or malnourishment involved. If he wasn't so independent as a kid, he probably would've been a miserable child. Dad paid attention to me and trained me as we grew up. Rin stayed alone for a long time. It's honestly sad for me to realize that giving up on him and hating him for being how he is is not the way things should've gone. It's hard for him to feel anything emotion-wise, let alone understand them. We let him be alone and learn how the world works all by himself in a place that was always miserable. It's good that he has positive people surrounding him now." Yukio admitted.

"Oh, don't beat yourself up, Yuki! You're still a good brother! You take care of him now. Now is when he needs it the most, during all this fighting." Shiemi tried to cheer him up.

"Yeah, you may not have laid down a good foundation, or even a foundation at all, but depending in the materials we build him up with, he can still be strong." Konekomeru put in.

"What Koneko means is that if we're all here for him now, even after a terrible childhood, he can be strong. And not just power wise." Suguro chuckled at his friend's red face.

"I'm in it for his cooking." Shima said. They all laughed and the weight on Yukio's shoulders lifted some.

§~•~§~•~§

Upstairs, deep in his sleep, Rin had no idea people were trying to help him. Maybe he'd see their efforts one day.

Maybe not.

But for now, he had to deal with the nightmares filled with bits and pieces of that long lost memory, the one that started it all.

He always saw the same things and felt the same things until he woke up in cold sweat. He wished he could see more, but there a part of him that he kept deep down inside. The part of him that was terrified of those horrifying creatures coming for him in the darkness, waiting fur him to wake up.

It was irrational and completely out of character, but every time he stated too long into the darkness of the room, he'd pull his blankets over his head and wait until it was hit and stuffy under the covers to come back out abd try to fall back asleep again. He rarely succeeded.

Rin hoped he could remember what had happened. He'd never been curious about it until now, when he'd had a glimpse of the incident that changed his life. Now, those broken pieces of memories haunted him day and night.

Rin clenched his eyes shut again and rolled over, trying to fall back asleep.