Rin was tired.

He needed something to allow him reprieve from this endless cycle. It was monotonous and he was sick of it.

But Satan was right there.

He was so close to coming through that Rin couldn't leave.

He'd thought about going through himself to confront the Demon God, but through better of it. If he got trapped in Gehenna, that'd be bad news for Assiah if Satan's plan was to attack.

Fox Form and all the familiars and warriors in his arsenal weren't enough this time. This time, he'd need his trump card. But it wasn't a trump card unless it did something effective that lasted long enough for them to come up with a plan of attack to rid Assiah of the problem at hand. He'd been here for who knew how long.

Almost every one of the Exorcists he'd originally been deployed here with were dead and no new ones had come in in two months. Their numbers were low and sections of the base were abandoned, collapsed and taken over by demons. They'd lost the Hospital wing and several deliveries of supplies they desperately needed. The base was low on food, people, and morale. They were losing.

His four comrades who'd need dubbed the Elite Team on the base were the last defence for whatever was left if the base. The other Four were currently protecting the base from the demons at their door.

Rin was the Weapon of the Order. His job was to give Humanity a fighting chance in this war. He was failing at the one job he had.

He came up with a decent plan as he ate a quick meal before going back into battle. He'd put it into motion the next day. This one was almost over. He needed to tell those that were left and get as much rest as he could for this plan to work.

§~•~§~•~§

He'd only gotten five hours of sleep, but it would have to do. The other Four of the Elites had given him their rations to make up for it.

This was the best shot he had at this.

As his Demon Warriors fought off demons around him in a dome while he made his way to the Gate, he gathered his power and energy. He pulled it all into him and forced it into the smallest ball of power he could force it into. Wild, unruly powers hated being contained and would bite back at the user for doing it to them.

Rin wondered if he'd even survive the blowback from this.

Probably not.

He wished he could've seen how everyone back in Japan was doing before this, but life had never given him a Get Out Of Jail Free card before, so he'd just live with it. He'd miss his brother, and his friends, and Godaiin.

He made it to the Gate. It writhed within it's boundaries, swirling masses coming from it in swarming batches.

Rin pressed the power harder into the ball and felt it finally push back.

In a second, the world was turned a bright, brilliant blue. It was beautiful. He'd never appreciated the beauty of his flames. He appreciated them now, while he was still conscious.

His body felt like it was being ripped apart and turned into ashes at the same time.

He blacked out.

§~•~§~•~§

"He's back."

The text message had Godaiin bolting out of his classroom with no regard for what the teacher was yelling at him.

He saw Suguro and Konekomeru in the same hallway a few doors down. They all ran and met up with Shima, Shiemi, and Izumo as they went. They arrived at the True Cross Exorcist Hospital where Yukio had instructed them to go on the way there.

Yukio looked up at them when they arrived panting in the doorway to Rin's room. He'd used a key from Mephisto to get here. He didn't have much time to be with Rin before he had to go back to the Illuminati base and tie up loose ends now that Rin had solved their Gate issue.

Rin laid in a crisp white cot. He was in comfy-looking black clothes–a cotton long sleeve shirt and cotton pants with slippers. He was out cold and had a nasal cannula giving him oxygen. Two separate IV's in the back of his hands gave him fluids and morphine. It was worrying, but better than a full breathing mask and machines attached to him. He had bandages all over him. He looked like he was sleeping peacefully, but that didn't hide the dark bags under his eyes or how pale he was compared to before he'd left. He looked like he lost a few pounds, but not enough to be too concerning.

"They almost didn't find him. They said he was half buried in snow and demon corpses right next to the Gate." Yukio told them. He was holding one of Rin's hands.

"What about the Gate? Did he close it?" Suguro asked. "He didn't close it, but he did something. The Gate can't seem to spit out any more demons. One of the Exorcists that survived at the base said Rin exploded and everything stopped. They kept an eye on the Gate until they were rescued." Yukio continued.

Godaiin was sitting in a chair next to Rin, opposite Yukio. Rin's hair was much longer and spilled down over his shoulders in inky black locks. One lock was solid white from roots to ends. If he looked at it long enough, it seemed to be blueish white. Rin looked older and incredibly tired. Godaiin knew the conditions over there were horrid and they were reflected in Rin's appearance.

"More reports just came in, you guys won't believe this!" Lightning walked in waving papers with a grin. "What?" Izumo frowned.

"The Gate is eating itself! The blue flames around it are eating into it and the Gate is reacting weirdly and eating itself from the inside out! It's creepy, but so interesting!" Lightning explained excitedly.

"Huh. So this guy really did it." Suguro looked down at Rin with new respect.

"He destroyed the Gate. He didn't need to, but he did it all on his own." Konekomeru sighed.

"Yeah, but what did it cost? He must have given everything he had left in him." Shiemi pointed out. They stood in solemn silence, even Lightning.

"I can try calling to the Nine-Tails." Izumo suddenly spoke. They all looked at her questioningly. "I'm still connected to it by heritage. I can try calling out to it to wake him up. If she's still there." She explained.

"Please," Yukio spoke up. "Try."

The girl nodded and stepped forward. She placed a hand on Rin's forehead and closed her eyes, concentrating. They all held their breaths.

What do you want girl?

Is he still there?

I wouldn't be here if he wasn't, be more specific.

Is he strong enough to come back to us?

Maybe. I'm not sure. I can attempt waking him, but he hasn't gained much energy since the stunt he pulled. Took all I had to hang on to stay in this body and even more power to keep him alive through that.

Thank you, O Great Nine-Tailed Fox.

You're welcome, girlie.

Izumo pulled her hand back, blinking.
"Nine-Tails will try. I don't know if it'll work. He's pretty drained, guys." She told them.

They waited with baited breath before finally, a groan from the teen on the cot.

He blinked his eyes open and winced at the bright white lights. Konekomeru turned them off. Daylight lit the room decently enough for them to see each other. Rin opened his eyes.

"'M I home?" He mumbled. Yukio threw his arms around his twin with a choked sob. Godaiin wasn't any better, he was holding Rin's hand to him, muttering "Oh thank God."

"Yeah buddy. You're home." Suguro answered with a wide grin. Rin hummed in response.

"Do I have to go back?" He asked next, more coherent.

"Nah, you solved that problem on your own, buddy." Lightning answered. They all jumped, having forgotten he was still there.

"Waddaya mean?" Rin mumbled, confused.

"Dude, your flames are eating the Gate! It went nuts and started eating itself too! You saved us!" Shima chimed in.

"Oh." Was all Rin said. Yukio snorted.

"That's all you can say?" He laughed.

"Pretty sure half m' braincells left with that blast." Rin admitted. This time, Godaiin laughed.

"You don't have to go back. You can rest easy for a while with all your friends. You massively fucked over the Illuminati's plans." He told the teen proudly.

"Huh. So even someone like me can have friends. That's unexpected." Rin hummed, thumb absently tracing Godaiin's knuckles.

Godaiin felt the familiar flutter of butterflies in his stomach and this time, he welcomed it. Suguro patted him on the shoulder and winked at him when Godaiin turned to look at him in question. When he turned back, Yukio was smirking at him knowingly.

Rin's friends were gonna be the death of him.