So I actually can't remember if I posted the original of this on here before, but here it is again, fresh and (somewhat) new. This is purely self-indulgent for my own headcanons about Yukio and Shura's friendship bc it's something I adore and want more of. Enjoy and drop me a comment, they fuel my writing!
"Are you kidding me?" Rin shouts at his brother before raking his eyes up and down Shura, gesturing at her as he assesses her critically. "The Vatican sent this chick to the Academy to make sure I don't demon out on everyone? What the hell can she do that you can't, Yukio?"
Yukio and Shura look at each other from across the small den of the apartment, Yukio standing close to his brother just in case things get ugly and he needs to throw himself between Rin and his fellow exorcist.
Not that Yukio thinks Shura can't defend herself, she could still kick his ass ten times over, but he'd rather not have a fight break out that he's certain will leave Rin incapacitated and his apartment in ruins.
He sees Shura narrow her eyes at his brother.
"Look here, kid," Shura begins, crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow, "I'm just here to do my job. As long as you don't behave like the obvious brat you are we won't have a problem."
Yukio throws Shura an Are you serious? look, knowing she is just trying to rile his brother up by patronizing him in such a way. And if Rin's flushing face is anything to go by, it's working
Rin's jaw twitches as he clenches his teeth and takes step forward, clearly ready to fight. Yukio throws his hand out to grab his brother's shirt collar, yanking him back.
"Yukio, you seriously don't see a problem with this?" Rin demands, rubbing where his shirt cut at his throat. "Why aren't you saying anything?"
Yukio tries to steel himself against his brother's icy tone. He can see Rin's already sharp teeth beginning to elongate into fangs and his ears growing pointed as his anger escalates.
He can see Shura move into a more defensive position; crouching a bit with her hand at her chest, ready to summon her sword if needed.
Yukio closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, trying not to snap at his brother and make things worse. He looks at Rin again, and notices blue sparks are beginning to spout from his clenched fists. He hears Shura shift closer to his brother, and knows he has to act fast.
Yukio glances quickly between Rin and Shura, knowing that by answering Rin's question he is unintentionally choosing sides.
He gaze locks onto Shura's magenta irises and he shakes his head slightly to tell her to back off. The hand hovering over her chest relaxes, if only slightly, but doesn't move from its place as Yukio takes a couple of cautious steps toward his brother.
He chooses his words carefully as he starts trying to explain why a scantily clad woman with a strange tattoo running down her sternum and the ability to summon weapons through her breasts is currently standing in his den.
"Rin," he begins, and nearly cringes at his tone; it as if he's trying to calm a spooked animal. "The Vatican sent her here because she's an experienced exorcist, higher ranked than me, and one Dad trusted. She is more equipped to handle this type of situation than any of us."
"And what kind of situation is that, Yukio?" Rin bites out.
Yukio firmly holds his brother's venomous glare. "One where anyone else would have been too afraid to hear us out and gotten rid of you on the spot with no questions asked. Just like the Vatican wanted."
Rin's eyes harden at Yukio's bluntness and Yukio knows he is hurt. He wishes there was something he could say to make the situation better, but at this point he sees nothing to gain from lying to his brother.
Rin surprises Yukio with how quickly he pushes past him, shoving at his shoulder roughly. Yukio notices the blue sparks coming from his brother's fists are beginning to morph into flames.
Yukio hears Shura whisper a few words and doesn't need to see her to know she's wielding her sword.
Rin bravely elbows past her despite being inches from her weapon, Shura glaring at him as he grabs a jacket hanging on a hook by the door.
"What are you doing?" Yukio asks exasperatedly, approaching his brother, but stopping in his tracks when he sees the absolute betrayal in his twin's glare. He backs off.
"Getting out of this god-forsaken apartment," Rin shoves his arms through the jacket sleeves, opening the door roughly.
"Rin, it's midnight!" Yukio yells after his brother, but Rin is undeterred, slamming the door shut as he exits.
The loud bang leaves a piercing silence lingering throughout the apartment. Yukio looks at Shura and sees her eyes are wide in surprise at his brother's outburst.
She whispers a few more clever words and her sword disappears back into its place.
Yukio looks at her before dragging a tired hand down his face, "You really shouldn't have drawn your sword on him like that. He isn't a threat to either of us."
"A small, sardonic smile graces Shura's lips and she rolls her eyes. "I wasn't about to do anything to hurt him, four-eyes. You know that was for show more than anything. He needs to realize not everyone is as gracious as I am when it comes to sparing his life." Something flashes in her eyes before she continues. "But at the same time, you saw him fight Amaimon at the amusement park; you saw him lose control. I just wanted to be safe," she finishes with a shrug, as if drawing a demonic sword on his demonic brother is no big deal. To her, maybe it isn't.
Yukio sighs before turning his back to her. "Still..."
He begins to trudge his way to his bedroom, hearing Shura follow behind him. He sits down on the bed and takes off his glasses, hooking them on his shirt collar. He drags a hand down his face.
When he looks up at her, Shura is leaning against the doorframe of his room and Yukio can see a small smirk tilting her lips.
"What could you possibly find funny about this?" he asks her, closing his eyes as he rubs his temples.
He can hear the smile in Shura's voice when she replies. "Oh, nothing about this is funny, four-eyes, I'm just thinking about how different the two of you are. And how Fujimoto sure was right when he told me your brother was amusing."
Yukio removes his hand from his face to raise an eyebrow at her as she walks over and leans against the wall opposite him.
"He's got a temper, that's for sure." Shura continues, and her smirk keeps growing. "He certainly doesn't care that I outrank you and could kick his ass into next week if I wanted to."
Yukio shakes his head, sighing. Out of everyone, she would be the person to find something humorous in this situation.
Shura leans forward as she grins at him. "He's got guts I've never seen in you, chicken."
When she sees his face remains miserable, that he's not even getting outwardly irritated at her comment, she walks over to nudge his shin with the toe of her shoe to make him look at her. "C'mon, don't be so glum. Things aren't as bad as they seem, Yukio."
"How the hell am I supposed to feel, Shura? Things are as bad as they seem. People are out to kill my brother!" he snaps at her, and she raises her hands in a submissive gesture.
"Hey, hey don't get mad at me, I'm just doing my job." She hops up on the bed next to him, kicking off her shoes and nudging her shoulder against his. "I'm just here to keep an eye on him and report back to the Vatican if things get shitty."
Yukio rubs his forehead and closes his eyes in frustration. "We both know that's not the only reason you're here. Rin knows it too, and I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to downplay this situation."
He can almost hear her rolling her eyes in response.
"I'm not trying to 'downplay' this, four-eyes, I'm trying to make you feel better," she tells him with a bit of irritation in her voice, "Although it may be what the Vatican ordered me to do, and God knows I'll get hell for disobeying later, I'm not looking to kill your brother. Right now I just want to help you keep an eye on him. You need to face the fact that you can't protect him all the time on your own."
Yukio grits his teeth at Shura's words, not willing to admit just how true they are. In the last couple months, Rin has become more and more frustrated with himself. He hasn't been doing very well in his classes, and trying to keep up appearances, trying to seem more human, in front of his peers is no doubt exhausting. On top of that, a strange woman has appeared out of nowhere with the order to kill him if he ever turns into the monster he's truly afraid he will become. Yukio can't really blame Rin for losing his head and needing to get out for a while.
Yukio takes a deep breath and rests his elbows on his knees in order to bury his face in his palms, discouraged by just how right Shura was.
He shoves his fingers in his hair and begins to tug on the strands, but another calloused hand grips his and pulls it away. "Stop it four-eyes, you're gonna go bald," she smirks, but he can see the underlying softness in her eyes.
He almost chuckles at her lame attempt at lightening the mood.
He thinks about Rin, as well as Shura's previous words as he sighs deeply. "You're right, I'm sorry."
He groans in frustration and takes another deep breath in an attempt to calm his rapidly beating heart. "I get it, I really do, it's just been a crazy few weeks."
She nods in understanding. "You need to realize you can trust me with this, Yukio. I realize it's a foreign concept to you, but you're not on your own anymore." Shura roughly grabs his fingers as they goes back to fiddle with his hair. She glares at him and doesn't let go of his hand this time, trapping it between both of hers.
She looks down at his fingers, fingers far too scarred and calloused to belong to a fifteen year old.
She tries not to think about the childhood neither one of them had as she speaks. "I know trying to be the brother you want to be to Rin as well as his superior must be difficult."
She shifts a bit on the bed, resting her chin on his shoulder. "I would tell you to try to give yourself a break, but we both know that won't happen."
Yukio exhales a laugh from his nose. She's right after all.
"It's difficult to draw the lines between the different relationships you two have with each other," Shura continues, "Brother, instructor, peer, and now potentially someone who will have to incarcerate him if he loses control one day. But you're only one person, Yukio, and you can't possibly think you can do all of this on your own," she tightens her grip on his hand and lowers her voice to a murmur, "You need to let up on some of the pressure you're putting on yourself. You need to share it with someone else for a change."
Yukio sighs before responding to her. Of course she's right. Trying to find everything he needs to be to Rin right now is something he's struggling to do. Sometimes he's not sure which role he needs to take on in order to handle a situation properly, and he constantly worries he will make the wrong choice.
They sit in silence for a few minutes, before Yukio speaks up.
"I do trust you, Shura," Yukio mutters reluctantly, resting his cheek against her hair, "And you know… if you had visited the Academy under any other circumstances, I may have been able to say I was happy to see you."
Shura snorts in a very unladylike manner, breaking the tense atmosphere almost immediately. She pokes his side playfully and laughs when he jumps.
"You mean you're not happy to see me?" she asks in a wounded voice, "What the hell, four-eyes, I thought we had something special."
The smile she has on her face almost makes him forget the all the different fears that have built up in him these past weeks. She was always really pretty when she smiled.
He allows himself a small close-lipped smile before laying down on his back, releasing her hand to cross his arms under his head. "It really has been a long time, hasn't it?"
Shura makes a noncommittal sound in the back of her throat as she lays down next to him, her own fingers intertwined on her bare stomach.
A wave of nostalgia hits Yukio as he remembers when he was younger, when Fujimoto had trained both of them together.
Even when she was a teenager she had been obnoxious, poking fun at him until Fujimoto had to break up their fights, which almost always got physical. She always knew how to push his buttons, and in turn he would usually go after her with his tiny fists. She would only laugh at his attempts to fight her, fueling his little eight year-old rage even more.
As they got older, the more they trained, and the more Yukio was able to hold his own against her. They began to spar more for fun as he grew, but every once and a while she would push him over the edge with her mocking jokes. He was never able to win, but he wasn't the only one sporting bruises by the time she had him pinned.
It always baffled him when Fujimoto would tell the two they would make a great team of exorcists one day because of how well they fought together.
Your competitiveness against each other is something that will benefit you both greatly. he used to tell them. You will grow stronger and you will know the other's techniques, strengths, and weaknesses. You will know where and when to cover them. To fight against one another, to learn and grow together, is something you two should learn to cherish.
And over time, he did, not that he would ever admit it to Shura. They had grown up together, had become stronger through their training together. They learned each other's strengths and weaknesses in both mental and physical abilities. They each know how the other fights and thinks during battle and know it's a priceless advantage not all partners are privileged enough to have.
Although it had been a couple years since he'd seen her, Yukio knows he wouldn't want to have any other person fighting by his side.
Yeah, they kind of did have something special.
"For what it's worth," her soft voice breaks his train of thought, "If I hadn't come here because the Vatican forced me to, I might have been happy to see you too."
He exhales a brief laugh from his nose and turns his head to see she's now flopped over on her stomach, staring thoughtfully at his profile with her head resting on her folded arms.
"What?" he asks.
She moves her shoulders in a shrug. "I don't know, I was just thinking about your brother. He's a good kid, I can tell," she reassures Yukio, "He cares a lot about you, or else he wouldn't have gotten so angry. I can tell he's going to try his hardest to become the best exorcist he can be. He doesn't want anyone to think he's like the demons we fight, and he's not," she pauses, "He wants to make Fujimoto proud."
Yukio tries to ignore the sting of tears in his eyes at the mention of his father, willing them not to spill over onto his cheeks. He takes a deep breath, trying to push down the combination of sadness and pride he feels in chest and being both Fujimoto's son and Rin's brother.
Shura notices his distress and reaches to grab his hand, playing with his fingers in her own way of trying to comfort him.
"You're such a pansy, four-eyes," she mutters, her cheek pressing against the mattress causing her words to come out a little slurred.
He holds up their intertwined hands, gesturing at them with a tilt of his head. "I don't think I'm the one who's gotten soft," he tells her, humor sparkling in his eyes for the first time in weeks. "I didn't know you cared so much, Shura."
Shura only shakes her head as she lets out a 'hmph," but doesn't let go of his hand.
They fall into a comfortable silence, and after a few minutes Yukio notices Shura's fingers have stilled on his. When he looks over to her, he sees her eyes are drooping dangerously with sleepiness. He flicks her nose before she can fall asleep completely.
"What the hell?" she sits up quickly and rubs her face, glaring at him.
"No way," he tells her, sitting up as well. "You are not falling asleep in my bed, get up." He points to the door.
A smirk slowly creeps onto her face and he knows something mischievous is coming.
"But Yukio!" she whines, and she heavily throws her arms around his neck, leaning all of her weight onto him. "It'll be just like back when we were training! Remember when Fujimoto made us share beds when we were out on missions? We were always so cozy!" She emphasizes as she tightens her arms around his neck and shoves him into the mattress.
He quickly rolls over and grabs right under her ribs, tickling her so she will loosen the grip she has around his neck. He slips out of her hold and pins her down by her forearms.
"Now that," he begins, and she wriggles underneath him, trying to escape. He rolls his eyes. "That is a complete lie. From what I remember, your favorite things to do were shoving your cold-ass feet against my back and stealing all the blankets. No way."
She smirks from beneath him and elbows him off of her. "C'mon four-eyes, what kind of exorcist are you to kick your partner out onto the streets!" she pleads with him dramatically, even throwing a hand over her face to punctuate her theatrics. "Who knows what could happen to a dainty, helpless girl like me at night! You can't do that to me, Yukio!" She starts to fling herself back at him, but he manages to dodge her attack as he jumps off the bed.
"What bullshit," Yukio mutters, bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.
He hears Shura let out a boisterous laugh. "What was that, four eyes?"
"You're insufferable," he tells her, and her grin almost blinds him.
She knows she's won.
"Fine," he rubs his forehead, "Fine, you can stay." He cringes, waiting for her to shout victoriously.
She lets out a loud whoop, throwing herself back down on the mattress. He throws a pillow at her, which of course she catches before it can hit her face, and he pads over to the bathroom connected to his room.
"I'm going to shower," he tells her, his tone warning her not to do anything that could burn the apartment complex down. "Don't hog all the blankets," he warns.
The mischievous glint in her eyes makes him hesitant to leave her alone, but she snuggles down into the blankets before dismissively waving a hand at him. "It's okay Yukio, just go. I'll behave, promise." She makes a cross over her heart to punctuate her point, but her smile is still impish.
He looks at her, contemplating, before finally deciding it wasn't worth the energy to argue. He gives her one last no-nonsense look before closing the bathroom door and starting the water.
He showers quickly, still paranoid that she could be doing something to his room, like preparing some kind of prank or rearranging the meticulous order of his things just to piss him off.
When he finally dries off and exits the bathroom, he sighs in relief at the sight before him.
She's curled up in a ball under the blankets and the sound of her deep breathing fills the room.
He tiptoes quietly around to the other side of his bed, sitting down as softly as he can so he doesn't disturb the tranquil beauty that is Shura sleeping.
He shakes his head and briefly wonders how he's going to explain the sleeping woman in his bed to Rin in the morning. Right now he doesn't know what he could say to make everything better, but he hopes to God his brother will have cooled off by the time he gets home and will be willing to listen to him.
Yukio thinks back to what Shura told him. It really is difficult to be both a brother and instructor to Rin, but she seems confident he will be able to manage without unintentionally making things worse. He prays she's right.
Shura lets out a soft groan in her sleep and shuffles around a bit under the blankets, causing him to look at her cautiously, before she stills and he relaxes again. He reaches out slowly to push her fiery bangs away from her face, revealing features finally unmarked by a smirk or scowl. He sighs.
"I am trusting you here, Shura. For the first time since Dad died, I'm trusting someone else with Rin's life. So please," he adds quietly, "don't make me regret this."