When in Gehenna

Words Better Left Unsaid

*Hey, I know that I sort of left Rin hanging, but I wanted to get this part out of the way first, so I don't have to switch between Rin and the exorcist class later on.

The class could tell something was wrong as soon as Yukio entered the room. His eyes were glazed, as though his mind where somewhere else. Everyone looked at each other, waiting for someone else to speak first. Finally, Shiemi broke the silence.

"Um, excuse me professor Okumura, but is something bothering you?" Her timid voice pulled Yukio from his thoughts as he realized he had arrived at the cram school classroom. He had been debating whether or not to tell his students about what had happened to Rin, but he decided to wait until they asked him about it.

"I am fine, I was just thinking about something. Now, let's get started on the lesson. . ."

As the days passed, nobody mentioned the missing student. Yukio began to be more irritated with his pupils, until a month after Rin's disappearance, when he finally decided to confront the class.

"Have any of you even noticed Rin Okumura's absence?" Yukio accusingly asked his students at the beginning of class.

"Huh, oh yeah, I wondered why it was so quiet and peaceful in here." Suguro jokingly said to his two close friends.

"He has been missing for a month, and none of you even cared enough to see if he was okay. I have asked the headmaster here to explain what happened with him, since I am not sure I understand completely myself." Yukio moved to allow Mephisto the center of the room.

"I have decided that the only way to help you all understand Rin Okumura is for you to see the memories that have been haunting him. After you have seen ALL of the memories, I will explain what has happened to the boy." With that brief explanation, Mephisto spoke his favorite words and the class was suddenly transported into the memories of a young child with blue-black hair.

The first memories shown to the class were all similar. The child would get into a fight in order to protect someone or something from a bully. Each time the fights were broken up, Rin was called a demon or a monster by the parents of the other participants. While his opponents were coddled and kissed better, Rin was given dirty looks, and then went home to be lectured and punished by his guardian. Everyone could feel the pain and anger Rin felt every time he was called a demon.

Next, Mephisto showed them all what happened when Father Fujimoto died. As Shiro told Rin the truth about his heritage, everyone felt his confusion, shock, and despair. After all those years of being called a monster, he had been given proof that he was the thing he had denied being for so long. The hurt Rin felt as he discovered the deception he had been a part of was overwhelming, and came out in the words that would change his life forever. When Yukio treated Rin so coldly, both after the funeral and on the first day of class, everyone saw his confusion and loneliness. Seeing the situation from his twin's point of view, Yukio regretted the way he had acted and the things he had said. Unfortunately, there was more to come.

"Now, as you have all seen, Rin never had any friends. He grew up alone and a social outcast. You were the first friends he had ever had, and he fought with all his might to hide his heritage from you, in order to keep the bond you had created together. However, when Shiemi was in danger, Rin's desire to protect himself was overcome by the need to save a friend, and he revealed his flames, risking his life in order to save one of his friends. After being put on trial and barely escaping the death sentence from the Vatican, he was grateful for the help you all had given him. Then, you began to ignore and spite him. I am not going to show you everything, since you know what you said to and about him, but I will show you the atmosphere he was living in before he left." Mephisto revealed the last memory, and everyone was in tears as they felt the hatred, contempt, fear, mistrust, loathing, and disgust that had all been aimed towards Rin.

"How did he handle that for an entire week?" Shura was the first to get her voice back as the classroom came back into focus.

"He is a demon prince, and far stronger than any of you have ever given him credit for." Mephisto's reply was curt.

"Was all that emotion really from us?! I can't believe it!" Konekomaru was surprisingly the second to speak up.

"Human emotion is a powerful, vile thing. The worst part is, most of the time you never think past yourself to see the potential consequences of your feelings and actions. You constantly hurt each other without even realizing it." there was a surprising amount of venom in Mephisto's words. "Now, I will explain again what has happened to Rin Okumura. First, I want you all to know that the Rin you knew is gone, and you will never see him again. If you do see Rin again, it will not be for a long time, until he has had a chance to fully heal, and he will be a very different person. One of his brothers offered Rin a chance to leave everything behind and start over, somewhere he could be loved and accepted, and Rin agreed. Before he was given this choice, he was seriously contemplating ending his life. Unfortunately for you, the demon kings are not very forgiving, and rarely forget. They are also very protective of their younger siblings. I would suggest the greatest caution if you ever run into one again. If you thought Amaimon was bad, imagine what his older brothers must be like." at the conclusion of his speech, Mephisto vanished, leaving only a cloud of pink fog behind.

For the rest of the semester, the cram school class was subdued, but eventually they returned to their normal actions, although Rin was missed by all, and the guilt of the words they should never have said refused to leave completely.