BEELZEBUB'S P.O.V

"HOW COULD HE FAIL?!" Lucifer's words have done nothing but shake the very core of Gehenna with their booming fury. For what feels like an eternity, his shrieks of rage have crumbled structures, decimated landscapes, and killed anyone who's dared to get close enough to be within sight of him. This loss is immense, and yet, he's angry. Our brother is dead- killed not even by an exorcist. I never would have imagined that he would perish in such a way.

So why can't Lucifer bring himself to mourn? Does he truly believe that our nephew is worth more than the sibling we ruined villages with? Does Rin Okumura matter more than our youngest brother? Why can't he just take his vision away from Assiah's domination for a few moments? A day. An hour. A second! Anything to prove to me that I'm not so worthless to him as he's already made me out to be.

Or, perhaps that's it. Am I just a pawn? Was Leviathan? Do either of our lives matter to him and Satan? Perhaps not. And perhaps I'm beginning to see that their cause and my own are separate entities altogether. If I am a pawn, so be it. Even a pawn can claim the king.

~

RIN'S P.O.V

"So everything's alright? You're not hurt?"

"I'm fine, Yukio. We beat that demon fair and square- no flames involved!" I chirp, tapping my foot against the wooden flooring beneath me whilst Yukio bleats away on the other end of the line. After Levaithan happened, it's been all hands on deck with making sure everything gets back to normal. Which, considering how the damn demon flooded the entire town, wasn't as difficult as it seemed.

I don't really remember a whole lot before I passed out on that roof. But, from what I did see, Levaithan kinda just... Exploded. Soon as the electrified water dropped on him, he seemed to totally melt. And, with his death, the water completely drowning the town just collected itself into a twister that rose skywards, before it disappeared. Like it was never there. But, there was one weird thing.

Something I don't really know how to describe. Maybe 'cause I'm a bit too scared to even talk to anyone about it. And it's pretty worthless sitting up in my head; I'm not smart enough to figure out what I felt when he died. But ah well- I guess I wasn't ever meant to know, because that's when I blacked out. When I woke up again, the sun was in the sky, and Deku was making a big ass fuss over me.

"I'm sorry I was so harsh on you." Hold up. That's new.

"Wait... Really?! Did you really just say that?"

"I know it sounds rich, coming from me. But I should've put more faith in you. The fact that you managed to help those UA students best a high tier demon proves I haven't given you enough credit."

"Yukio, this is super out of character."

"Trust me, I know." We both chuckle, my tail softly thumping on the floor under my bed. This is nice. If a bit weird. Yukio never praises me, and I mean never. Any time I ever do something close to being right, he'll pick out what went wrong and focus on that. So-

"Hey, you sure you're alright?"

"Wha- Of course!"

"It's just... Well you never do this. Yukio, if something's up-"

"-Nothing's up, Rin. I guess I just wanted to do right by you for once," he sighs. And there it is. The tired voice, coming through strong as ever. The voice I'm so used to hearing, it's weird when I don't. I mean, I can't say I blame him for being exhausted, but something just doesn't feel right. I can't help it. I have to ask.

"Did you feel something? The day you left, and we beat that demon- did you feel something when it died?" There's silence from his side. For a moment, I wonder if the phone's gone dead, until I hear him let out a breath we both know he was holding.

"No. I didn't feel anything," he eventually mutters, tone colder than it was mere seconds ago. Right. Why would he feel anything? It's not like- Well I don't know if I did or not. I'm sure I didn't. No, I was just... Glad it died. "Why? Did you?"

"No."

"You answered that pretty quickly."

"Because I know I didn't."

"Rin, what happened?"

"Nothing! Jeez, get off my back! I'll call you later." I shouldn't have hung up then. I shoulda stayed on the phone. I guess it just proves I'm lying to myself. When Leviathan died, something in me went. I dunno what, but it felt like part of me went dark. Like it died with him.

I swear, I nearly hit the ceiling when there's a tap on the door, my fingers barely able to gather up my tail and stuff it town into my boxers before someone pokes their head into my room. "Kaminari? Ah... Hey. What's up?"

"Uh- Well... We were all thinking of going out for sushi after class later. You wanna come? I know it's a bit weird to bring your teacher, but I mean you're our age so we just thought-"

"-Wha- I'm not your teacher. That's my brother's job!"

"I don't see your brother anywhere." Crap, he's right! I'm... I'm a teacher! Oh man, now I feel super old! This sucks! "So... Sushi?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah. I guess I'll tag along," I hum, arching a brow when he doesn't just up and leave right then. "You good?"

"Yeah. It's just- I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Well you can come in. You don't have to stand by the door." I can't help but chuckle under my breath when he lets out a small squeak of embarrassment, quickly shuffling into the room and shutting the door behind him with a pink glow to his cheeks. "What's up?" Patting the floor space beside me, I shuffle up to give him room, wincing at the awkward position I have to take to avoid sitting on my own tail.

Thankfully, he doesn't just stand there like a lemon. Eventually, he inches over and plops down next to me, our shoulders briefly touching. When they do, a small spark jumps from his to mine, and I let out a startled yelp.

"Sorry! My quirk's been on the fritz since we took out that demon," he mumbles, anxiously scratching the inside of his arm. It looks red- like he's been itching it a lot lately. With a concerned frown, I wrap my fingers around his fizzing hand and pry it away from his forearm.

"You shouldn't keep itching."

"A-Ah, yeah... Habit, I guess." He's being quiet. Like super quiet. Don't get me wrong, I haven't known these guys long, but he never came across to me as the one to stammer and stutter and struggle to get his words out. "Is your shoulder okay?"

"It was only a little zap, it's-"

"-No, I mean from catching me. I heard it crack. I thought you'd broken it, but you seemed fine when you woke up." Shit. Oh shit, nope. No. Can't have this talk with him. He's noticed how quickly I healed that break. Gotta change the subject. Or, y'know... Bullshit my way outta it.

"I thought I'd banged it up real bad too. According to the doc, it just dislocated. I think he said the crack was what I woulda heard when it reset itself." I don't do doctor talk, I know that was appalling. Shut up. But, thankfully, Kaminari seems to believe it, the golden-haired lightning boy bobbing his head into a small nod.

"Well I'm glad you didn't get hurt too badly helping me," he mumbles, twiddling his thumbs. As he does, small currents seem to jump between the gaps, and the hairs on my arm closest to him stand up from the static. "I just wanted to say thank you."

"For what? I wasn't gonna let you fall."

"For believing in me. These guys don't really trust me with my quirk that much. If I use a voltage that's too high, I short-circuit and go all stupid."

"Well... We all start somewhere. From what I saw, you did real good."

"I- Yeah. I was real proud of myself; even after I used a voltage that high, I didn't go dumb. I was fine. That never happens."

"Maybe I've got the magic touch."

"Maybe," he chuckles, eyes finding my own. In the sun, the little flecks of amber in his otherwise-golden irises manage to break the surface. Like little lightning flashes.

And then he looks away, turning his eyes down to his sparking fingertips, getting up in a fluster and pushing his lightning-bolt streak out of his face. I don't miss how he's keeping his back to me, and I wish I knew why. Unless... No. He's not blushing. "Anyway. Sushi. After Class." And then he's gone, quickly closing the door behind him.

"Sushi after class."