It was a beautiful day when Sir Pheles was to collect him from the monastery and his apprehension was palatable. On the positive, he would finally begin his training as an exorcist. On the negative, his father was dead and his brother had just up and left without a word.
His father was gone, dead, and he was given little reason why. He was overpowered by a demon, or so they said. Yukio couldn't wrap his head around how his father the paladin was overpowered by a simple demon in his own monastery.
It wasn't fair to say he knew nothing. That was something and he didn't believe it to be entirely false. There was something he wasn't being told, something to do with Rin. Shortly after his brother disappeared, he listened through the closed kitchen door and heard Rin's name spoken harshly. Fearing the worse he waited for a moment but heard nothing more.
The last he had seen of his brother was his rain blurred figure knelt by their father's gravestone shortly after the funeral.
Yukio had pulled out his phone and dialed the emergency number their father had insisted was put in his phone and when Mephisto Pheles appeared his brother was long gone.
He had only ever seen the man but once. He was in his second year of middle school and it was later than he should have been awake, but he had made his way down the stairs for a drink only to find a clown sitting across the table from his father.
All he knew of him was that he was an Honorary Knight of the Order and the headmaster of True Cross Academy.
But regardless of what he did and didn't know, one thing remained true – and it lingered and lingered and lingered – the man that had raised him was dead.
Fujimoto Shiro was dead.
Fujomoto Shiro was dead and he didn't understand why.
He stood on the curb dressed in uniform with nearly all his possession at the academy all that remained was the worn school bag slung over his shoulder. The bag contained his two most precious items, a pair of inscribed guns that Kyodo had given him after his father's service with the message that Shiro would have wanted him to have them.
He was familiar with the weapons. He remembered his small hands wrapping around the grip at his father's encouragement. He had never been allowed to fire them, but it was with those guns that his father taught him to appreciate the art of firing and filled his mind with visions of a life fighting evil.
As far as Yukio was aware, he was one of the few that had been born with a mashou and had always been aware of demons. Shiro had not wanted to risk introducing him into the world of exorcists at such a young age. Instead, he told stories and perfected his stance. So, that if the time came, he would be able to protect himself. He never told his father, but Yukio always imagined he grew stronger so that he could not only protect himself, but his brother as well. His brother who was never to know of the training less he get unnecessarily involved. Less he get hurt.
Rin didn't have time for demons anyway, his time was already well consumed by kendo practice. Shiro encouraged Rin to join classes to help curb his baseless aggression and it had been quite successful. Rin needed to focus on his competitions and leave Yukio to keep them safe.
A tacky pink limousine pulled up to the curb and he could just barely make out the sound of someone speaking inside.
The door was flung open.
"Ah! Okumura-kun, please sit."
He slid into the hideous vehicle to see Sir Pheles with a phone to his ear gesturing for him to wait a moment.
"It is ultimately your decision. We will speak later, outoto," his tone allowed for no argument and after a moment he snapped the phone closed.
"Where is my brother?" Yukio asked.
"What makes you think I know?"
Yukio glared.
And Sir Pheles laughed.
"Your brother will be meeting us at the school. Don't worry, he'll be there for your speech," he smirked.
They sat in a tense silence until the vehicle pulled up to the prestigious entrance of True Cross Academy.
"I'll see you after the entrance ceremony, Okumura-kun~"
If he hadn't already toured the school, Yukio would have felt the inclination to gape. Even the floors were greater than anything he had ever stepped foot on.
He took a breath and, as he walked to the podium to give his speech as Freshman Representative, his eyes trailed over the crowd up to the balcony. His eyes never found a familiar figure. So, with an inaudible sigh he steeled himself and did his best to squash his disappointment. He hadn't even told his brother about the speech. It seemed there were a of things he hadn't told Rin.
But despite his best efforts, the feeling followed him throughout the tour and until he was out of the building where he was met with a small white dog.
Curious, he followed the dog to a concrete bridge before the dog stopped suddenly and Sir Pheles took its place.
"What are we doing here?"
"What is anyone doing anywhere, Okumura-kun?"
Yukio's eyes narrowed but before he could respond, a key was thrust into his face.
He took it gingerly, "What's this for?"
"Why, Cram School, of course!" and with that he jumped over the railing and onto the ground below leaving Yukio to grumble as he scrambled down the rocky side.
"From here on you will be a Page, the first step to becoming an exorcist. While regular classes do not start for two more days, exorcist cram school begins today.
"Put this key in any lock and it will be available to you." The demon swept an arm out to gesture to the old metal doors behind them.
Hesitantly – and with a healthy bit of skepticism – Yukio turned the key in the lock and opened the door.
"First Years are meeting in classroom 1106"
Despite Sir Pheles' insistence of tagging along, Yukio located the classroom without assistance and entered with the confidence that he was where he was supposed to be.
There were three boys on the far side of the room that obviously knew each other and the same went for the two girls sat near the front. In the back of the room was a rather odd figure whose face was obscured by a deep black hood and a blond boy with a puppet.
He nodded a greeting to the girls and sat in front closest to the door.
Fifteen minutes later the instructor was still not present and his classmates had started to whisper amongst themselves.
The girl with purple hair and odd eyebrows stood abruptly, "If our teacher can't even bother to show up, why should I sit here?" murmurs of agreement followed her comment.
Startling the room into silence, the door was swung into the wall with such force it rattled the blackboard.
"Good question! I'm honestly surprised anyone is still here! I would have left ages ago."
He knew that voice.
Rin entered the room dressed as the child of an exorcist and a punk with his heavy coat with the rolled up sleeves and chains hanging from his belt.
But what really caught his attention was the sword on his hip and barely contained violence in hiseyes. Rin had always been a something of a wild child possessing an air of violence that he could never shake.
With his hair shaggy poorly concealing an unfamiliar point to his ear and nails shaded black,
Rin looked less like a delinquent and more like -
A demon.
His brother was a demon.
"Nii-san?"
Instead of acknowledging the obvious question, Rin's eyes narrowed into slits as he glared at the headmaster who had sat himself on the desk.
His brother hissed something too low for him to make out and Sir Pheles paused before giving him a smile that was impressively dodgy for a dog.
"I'll start by saying that I didn't volunteer to be here but – " he shrugged "- the guy who was supposed to be here was called out. So you're stuck with me, for today."
He clapped, "Now that we've gotten that over with, my name is Okumura Rin, Middle First Class, and today I will be supervising your induction into the Order."
"Nii-san?"
"But you're the same age as us!" the girl with the odd eyebrows exclaimed.
"Yeah! How are you any better than us?!" the menacing guy from the back followed.
Rin smiled.
"Great thoughts everyone!" he chirped. "To begin, yes, I am the same age as you but that does not mean I am not better than you," he cocked his head slightly, his voice remaining chipper, "I began training when I was seven and worked my ass off to get to where I am today."
"Rin-chan is the youngest exorcist to pass the qualification exam. A genius in swordplay," Sir Pheles whispered sounding almost proud.
"What?" his brow furrowed. Rin had been training for as long as he? Why wasn't he allowed to join the Order? Why hadn't anyone told him?
Rin dropped the smile and eyed the room seriously, "You don't have to do anything more than tolerate me as long as you follow my instructions.
"Now! Who here doesn't have a mashou?"
Yukio turned slightly to see the girl next to the girl with the eyebrows and the guy with the hoodie raise their hands and, for the life of him, Yukio could not fathom a decent reason as to why they were in the cram school.
Rin pulled out a vile from his coat pocket, "Apparently this classroom isn't actually in general use," he made a disgusted face, "but it is home to several hobgoblins."
"Is that alright?" asked the eyebrow girl's friend.
Rin waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry about it. This," he held up the vile," is rotten pigs blood and in small amounts will allow you to safely receive a mashou.
"Those of you who need to, please come to the front."
Yukio fears he doesn't know anything at all.
Chapter 1: Fractures
Rin is four years old the first time his flames manifest – not that he remembers. Yukio was stuck in bed, the kitchen was empty, and he wasn't tall enough to use the stove. Ultimately, as it is with four year olds, his frustration overwhelms him and the stove top explodes just as Shiro enters the room.
He may not remember the incident but he remembers looking up at smiling, bizarrely dressed, man who placed his hat on Rin's head and told him to call him Aniue.
Mephisto or rather Samael, became something of a fixture in Rin's life after their initial meeting. By way of stories he taught Rin of Assiah and Gehenna and of the Seven Demon Kings sired by Satan himself.
When he was seven, and against his father's wishes, he was introduced to the komaken Kurikara and he was told the truth. His flames were much stronger than Kurikara could hope to contain and, eventually, he would overwhelm the komaken.
But that wouldn't be for years yet.
It was Shiro's idea to put him in kendo and, while it did little to curb his temper, he progressed at an astronomical rate.
At ten he was introduced to Shura and immediately expressed his distaste with her attire. She was unamused but agreed to help train him.
When he was thirteen, Shura tattooed a storage seal on his left wrist and he was given Kurikara.
By fifteen he was a Middle Class Exorcist.
….
"You've been training him?! This entire time?!" Rin shouted; he and Shiro were the only ones present in the chapel.
"Rin, please," Shiro tried to placate.
"He should've been able to live a normal life! You –" The candles in the chapel burned blue.
"He had a mashou, Rin!"
The silence was deafening and Rin felt the air woosh out of his lungs.
"What? Who?"
"It's more than likely he was born with it, Rin. It's no one's fault."
"But you didn't tell me. Does Aniue know?" he shook his head violently, "Of course he does," he turned to Shiro, "Why didn't you tell me? Does he know about me?"
"We didn't tell him anything."
"We? Was I the only one who didn't know?"
Shiro sighed and nodded.
"I would expect this from Aniue, but not you," Rin's voice was low. "I get why you raised me this way. I know I never had a choice. But he did, he did, and you took it from him!" the flames expanded bathing the whole chapel in blue.
"Eventually it wouldn't be safe for him anymore! You know this, Rin. He had to be prepared."
"Eventually. We still had years when you started training him. You may not have had him inducted, but you still took away his childhood.
"You're supposed to be our dad, what kind of dad turns his sons into soldiers?! Not a good one as far as I'm concerned," he spat.
"Enough," Shiro's voice was cold. "I have made many mistakes with you and Yukio, but I do not regret teaching you how to protect your-"
Shiro suddenly doubled over, "No! Rin you have to run!"
"Tou-san? What's wrong?!" He took a hesitant step forward.
"Go! Rin! Get away from me!"
He was being possessed. The Paladin of the True Cross Order, his father was being possessed.
Shiro straightened and looked Rin in the eye, "My son. How I have longed for our meeting."
"Satan," Rin whispered wheeling back and falling to the ground.
"Haaaaaah! Just kidding! I came all the way out here to see you, be happy about it!"
"Get out of him!"
"Don't worry. This body won't last long anyway," Satan ripped off several of Shiro's fingers a crazed grin marring his father's face.
He didn't have a sword. Why didn't he have a sword?!
Satan began to chant, the blood from Shiro's hand to pouring unto the wooden floors that Rin suddenly remembered he was supposed to help mop earlier that day.
He looked down at the plain band covering his left wrist.
He did have a sword.
"Gehenna Gate! I am the only one powerful enough to create one!"
Satan grabbed Rin by his collar and began to drag him towards the gate.
"I created you out of boredom but now I realize it was a masterstroke! Part Assiah, part Gahenna. You are strong enough to be my vessel!"
Rin slid the band off his wrist and chanted under his breath, "Slayer of Karura, holder of Heart, fire fights fire."
He was going against the plan. The plan to wait for his power to overwhelm the komaken then absorb his Heart into his body. It was the only way to keep him from being irrevocably tied to Kurikara and he was. Going. Against. The. Plan.
Without a thought other than survival, he unsheathed Kurikara and was consumed by blue.
Satan just laughed, "You can't burn me with my own flames!"
Rin swung around slicing through Shiro's arm watched it fall in slow motion as he took a defensive stance. "You've got one thing wrong, bastard. These flames are mine!" His body moved as he had been bred to move and as they fought time blurred and all he was an enemy.
Blood burst from the demon's lips as he fell and as he fell Rin tore apart the Eye of Gehenna.
A demonic scream pierced the air and Shiro's body was his once more.
"Rin," Shiro gasped for air, "Rin, I'm sorry."
"To-tou-san?" his voice cracked and shook. He dropped to his knees beside his father. "Tou-san!"
It was then that the monks came rushing in beaten and bloody to find Rin hunched over the Paladin's body, a white knuckled hand wrapped around an unsealed Kurikara.
The scene that met them was horrifying and though they were exorcists, and though they had witnessed terrible death, it did nothing to prepare them for the fall of their friend, the fall of the Paladin.
"Rin! Rin, what happened?" Nagamoto placed his hand on the teen's shoulder shaking him slightly and causing Rin to jerk his head and bare his teeth. Monk then watched Rin's face crumble tears pouring from his eyes.
"Tou-san… Tou-san. He apologized. He apologized but it was my fault. It was my fault."
Nagamoto crouched beside the crying teenager, "Rin, what happened?"
"He. He was possessed."
"What? How – " At the realization and the room grew still.
At Rin's face and the state of Kurikara, they all understood.
"Where's Yukio?" Rin asked his face turned downwards and his free hand clutching Shiro's bloody shirt.
"He's out, but he should be back soon."
Rin took a shaky breath and pushed himself to his feet still clutching Kurikara. He whirled around and addressed the men with steeled eyes.
"Lock down the chapel, Yukio can't know what happened here."
"He's going to ask, Rin-kun. Fujimoto-san was his father too. He deserves to know," Izumi argued from where he stood several steps away.
"Like how he deserved to have the old man train him?" Rin shook his head slightly, "No, not yet. Just tell him he was killed by a high level demon."
"He's not going to believe that and you know it."
Rin looked the Nagamoto in the eyes, "Yukio doesn't need to know that his brother killed his dad."
"Rin, this isn't – " he tried.
Rin narrowed his eyes at the Paladin's right hand daring him to speak. The man was higher ranked then him and had no real reason to comply but Rin's resolve was unshakeable.
Nagamoto sighed and ran a slow hand down his face. He gave Rin a pointed look, "Fine. But when this comes to bite you in the ass – and it will – you, alone, have to deal with the consequences."
He gave one last glance at the boy he had watched grow before motioning for the monks to leave the chapel. "We're going to wash up but we'll be back."
Rin closed his eyes and took a deep breath. There would be time to morn after the chapel was cleaned and Shiro's body was cremated.
….
What Rin considered the most important affair was the private funeral that included only Rin, Yukio, and the monks. Fittingly, and with a tinge of the surreal, it was raining. The monks left collectively with only Nagamoto and the twins left behind. With a frown, the man placed his hand atop the headstone and closed his eyes briefly before turning away.
Dropping his umbrella, Rin knelt at the base of the stone allowing the rain to wash over him plastering his hair to his face and his clothes to his body. Yukio stood behind him and Rin lingered until Samael was in sight and left without overhearing a word of their conversation.
There was a second ceremony that could argue was of greater importance than the family affair that was held within the main headquarters in the Vatican. It involved the Grigori, the Branch Heads, the Arc Knights, and several higher level exorcists that were known to be close associates with the deceased Paladin.
Despite Nagamoto's insistence, Rin had no plan or desire to attend the event. He found it thoughtless and knew his father would have hated the formality of it all.
But Samael made a point of dragging him along.
"It is important for you to show solidarity with the Order. Now that you lack the protection that Shiro's position provided, you will be closely monitored. The Order is aware of your status as a half demon and while we can easily play off the changes in your appearance, it is pivotal for your patronage to remain unknown – trusted exorcist or not."
During the proceedings he and Samael stood off to the side while Nagamoto was granted a seat. Samael had been a part of the Order for nearly 200 years and Rin was a known associate of Shiro, but half-human wasn't human and speciesism ran deep.
Rin figured the ceremony was for ceremony's sake and while, on some level, he understood that maybe other people deserved to give their farewells but it didn't change the fact that it was mostly a bunch of stuffy old men waxing poetic about a man they barely knew.
After the funeral, if anyone were to search for him, they would find Rin sitting on the floor of Samael's office definitely not hiding from Yukio
"Did I kill the old man?" he asked abruptly breaking the silence of the room.
The scratch of Samael's pen ceased and Rin could hear him set it on the desk. Without opening his eyes he just knew that the demon had laced his fingers and was giving him that look that he gave when he wanted Rin to think.
"Do you think you killed Shiro?" the demon returned.
Rin liked to think he knew Samael as well as was possible, as well as he really needed to. For instance, there were several things that he knew to be truth.
Samael was fascinated by humans, Japan in particular, and if he had his way he would never return to Gehenna. And, also, he cared deeply – in whatever twisted way a demon could care for a human – for Fujimoto Shiro.
Rin didn't know how they met, and would never ask, but after years of watching them interact and hearing them complain about each other he knew Shiro, in the least, considered him a friend.
"I tore him apart."
"Ah. But did you kill him? Do you truly believe Shiro was still alive when you did so?"
When he could no longer shake the image of him plunging Kurikara through his father's chest, Rin opened his eyes to see that Samael was indeed giving him the look.
"If he was in anyway conscious, do you believe that he would have allowed Satan's mutilation or his opening a Gehenna Gate?"
"Aniue…"
"But regardless of what we believe to be the truth, while you are a demon, you are also human and you will be haunted by what happened that night. And there is nothing I can do to help you, outoto. You will have to learn how to move on before it destroys you."
Rin brushed away any tears that had formed before they fell. He did this to himself and to Yukio. Even if had not physically ended the life of Fujimoto Shiro he had been the catalyst of his demise and that was something that he accepted. No matter what Samael said, he killed his dad.
He sat for a moment pressed the heels of his hands against his eyes breathing slowly before laying back against the carpet.
Rin could feel Samael's eyes on him as he laid there but when he looked the demon had returned to his work.
….
"You better not tell him anything, Samael," Rin growled into the phone. He stood off to the side partially shadowed by an overhang outside of the main auditorium where the first year class would soon be inducted and where Yukio would be giving his speech.
Rin was proud of his twin. While he fought with blood, sweat, and tears, Yukio excelled in school free from darker obligations – or so Rin had been led to believe.
If Rin had a choice in the matter, he wouldn't be caught near the academy much less wearing the uniform but Samael had given him the stipulation that if he was to remain near Yukio he was to attend school. He didn't get it but he had reluctantly agreed after futilely trying to glare the demon into submission.
"The truth will be revealed sooner or later, Rin."
"Then it better not be by your hands," he snapped.
"If you had a choice, he would never know."
"If I had a choice, he would have never been trained! If I had a choice, the old man would still be alive! I know I don't have a choice but that doesn't mean it can't wait."
"The consequences may be severe if you wait much longer."
Rin sighed running his hand through his hair in agitation, "I just want him to be innocent for a bit longer…"
"It is ultimately your decision. We will speak later, outoto."
Rin closed his phone and slipped into the crowd headed into the auditorium.
The facility boasted high ceilings that – while aesthetically pleasing – did nothing to curb the cacophonous den that assaulted his ears. However, he could say that the room had good acoustics as Yukio's voice carried across the hall.
He couldn't help but grin as he listened to Yukio's speech. He couldn't help it; he was so proud! He knew Yukio was speacking but he hadn't known he was the First Year Representative! Though looking back, why else would a first year get the opportunity?
His phone vibrated near the end of the ceremony and he flipped it open without fanfare – not many people had his number after all.
[Meet SR 1500]
Rin grimaced. The number was unknown but that didn't mean he didn't know the sender.
Without bothering to respond, he shoved the phone back into his pocket, with more force than was strictly necessary, and slouched further into his seat remaining in the position until students were called to file out of the building.
He couldn't help but gape as his class was led through the school. He didn't know much about architecture, or anything, but he knew it was over the top, especially for a school that wasn't like a college or something. If he were to be honest, though, Samael designed the school, of course it was ostentatious. The demon's very existence was outrageous. So, how could anything of his design be anything but?
At the end of the tour Rin fished out a ring of keys and opened himself a door to the cram school. He made his way down the hallway and stopped before a marked door pausing only briefly before opening it with a scowl.
Despite the antiquity of the facility, the staff room for the cram school was surprisingly modern. It lacked technology, yes, but it was set up the same as the rooms he had been reprimanded in when he was a kid.
"You're late," the sole person in the room commented without looking up from his work.
"What do you want Neuhaus?" Rin snapped his hand automatically resting on pummel of his sword. The man had made him uneasy since their first meeting and, even if the man didn't have a major vendetta against Satan, he was creepy.
"You're needed in 1106."
"With the First Years?" with Yukio.
The man set down his papers and stood, "You need to administer the mashou. There are a couple students this year without."
Rin honestly found it utterly ridiculous how people who knew nothing of demons, who had never even seen them, had the nerve to up and decide to dedicate their lives to them. He frowned, "Why can't you do it?"
"I was called on a mission that I should have left for ten minutes ago," the man gave him a pointed look.
And that was the end of that argument. Rin knew better than to argue about obligations to the Order especially against someone who was technically his superior.
Rationally, he recognized that his dramatic entrance was wholly unnecessary but he was pissed. He felt it justified since he really didn't want to be there and he really didn't want to see Yukio.
"Good question! I'm honestly surprised anyone is still here! I would have left ages ago."
"Nii-san?" At his brother's question he made a point to glare at the familiar dog on Yukio's lap. He knew Samael was just there for a show.
He looked around the room.
Yukio was sat closest to the door.
There was a weird puppet guy, weird hooded guy, and a girl with tiny eyebrows who sat next to a plain looking girl who was probably her friend.
Pretty unexciting until his eyes reached a group of three.
There was a punk with a blond stripe in his hair and a ridiculous amount piercings that he was pretty sure was Suguro-san's son, he had seen pictures of him when he was a kid but they had never met, and next to him was a short bald kid with glasses. By themselves he found them wholly uninteresting but the pink haired guy in the aisle seat was pleasantly familiar.
Rin resisted the urge to allow his gaze to linger.
He continued to speak and at each syllable that left his mouth, he could see their faces grow more and more incredulous.
"Yeah! How are you any better than us?!" the punk followed.
It didn't matter, he knew it didn't matter. No one his age had ever given him any respect even when he kicked their asses in training. He didn't need their respect. How could he have even had the slightest idea that after all he had worked for, after everything he had been through, that he deserved any respect. Of course it was preposterous. Besides, he wasn't there for them. Maybe he was enduring this for Yukio but even if not, it had nothing to do with him.
"Those of you who need to, please come to the front."
Plain girl was first and he had her hold out a hand. On her open palm he placed several drops of the blood. A hobgoblin appeared almost immediately and barely gave him a second glance before digging his teeth into her flesh and flying off in fear. The girl pulled back and Rin ignored her squeal of pain as he promptly wrapped her hand.
When he dismissed her, weird hoody guy stepped up immediately offering his hand. Rin looked critically at the offered hand critically and raised his eyebrow.
The held had callouses that matched his own. Callouses gained from hours upon hours of wielding a sword. Why was someone with that much experience traipsing as a Page?
Rin preformed the rite, though he doubted the necessity, but otherwise said nothing. Heavy thinking wasn't his forte. He would ask Samael later.
"Alright then, that's all for today. Feel free to go, just be here same time tomorrow for your first real class."
He leaned back against the teacher's table and waited for the room to empty. Though he desperately wished otherwise, he knew Yukio would stay behind to talk.
"Hey, Okumura-sensei!" Renzo practically sauntered up to him. Rin grinned, his first actual smile since before the old man's death.
Renzo bumped his shoulder, "So?"
"It was one of Mesphisto's rules if I was going to stay here." To watch over Yukio went unsaid.
Renzo gave the younger Okumura a once over out of the side of his eye and dropped his voice while putting his back to him.
"Rin, I heard what happened. I –"
Rin shook his head lightly. "Not now. We can talk later tonight."
"Where?"
He grimaced, "The Old Boy's Dorm."
Renzo placed a hand on his shoulder briefly, "See ya later, Okumura-sensei."
"Friend of yours?"
Rin suppressed the urge to groan and shrugged. He really didn't want to have this conversation.
"I've worked with his brothers before."
"Huh," Yukio rounded the desk to face him and Rin knew Samael was giving him the look.
"Just come out and say it, Yukio."
"How long, Nii-san?"
"How long what? How long have I been an exorcist? How long have I been a demon? How long has this been kept from you?"
Some part of him recognized he was being more aggressive than strictly necessary but another part of him blamed Yukio for Shiro's poor decisions. Part of him wanted Yukio to feel the same pain he did, the same hopelessness, the same betrayal.
"We're the kids of a human and an Upper Level demon. You were sickly and born human. I wasn't. When we were four years old, the powers I inherited from our father," he spat the word, "began to overwhelm the seal placed on me for and for our safety I was taught to control them."
"Then why didn't you look like this before?"
"What? Like a demon?" Rin gave a sardonic laugh. "The day the old man died, the stress caused this," he gestured to his person. "If it hadn't happened I would have stayed how I was," he was lying. He knew he was lying. Samael knew he was lying. But he couldn't tell Yukio the truth. He couldn't. At least not yet.
Yukio didn't need to know that Rin wielded the powers of Satan. That Rin had long since accepted he was Satan's son and he didn't need to know that he considered the second highest ranked Demon King as family, that he called him brother.
No, there was no reason for him to know.
"Even though I started training young, I didn't get my certification 'til a couple years ago. And I didn't know you had a mashou and I didn't know you were being trained. The old man promised you would be protected. But he lied and now he's dead."
"How, nii-san? How did he die?"
Rin frowned and looked down at his ratty shoes. Samael had offered to replace them countless times, but they were comfortable and the first thing he had ever bought with his own money.
"Please, Rin. No one will tell me the truth," he stressed the last word in desperation.
He toed the ground twice before looking Yukio dead in the eye.
"The old man and I had a disagreement that left us unprepared for an attack. A demon took him down."
There, he shot Samael a look. He couldn't be accused of anything more than being vague.
"…oh."
Rin found the silence that followed to be incredibly depressing but refrained from commenting. Yukio had every right to mourn the loss of the man that raised them.
Samael hopped off the desk.
"That is enough of that. It about time for you boys to wander about until you find your dorm," the demon winked. "Eins. Zwei. Drei," he counted before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
Rin watched Yukio flounder slightly as he looked down at the spot where Samael stood mere moments before.
"Can he do that?"
Rin shrugged, "It's his territory." He said in way of an actual explanation.
Yukio still looked to be at a loss, although he was obviously trying to hide his confusion. Rin pushed open the door making to leave, "You comin'?"
….
Rin knew it would be gross.
But the Old Boys Dorm was filthy, disgusting, and, at first glance, decrepit.
He was not pleased and he just bet that the old clown was taking great joy in his reaction.
Yukio appeared to be equally displeased.
They stood on the bridge leading to the building looking up at it in all its glory.
"Why?" though it was a question Yukio's voice was deadpan.
"…let's just go inside," With great reluctance, Rin trudged through the doors ,without sparing the building another glance, and with Yukio only lingering a moment longer.
The sigh of pure and utter relief Rin released when they stepped entered the building was nearly orgasmic. It was still filthy but nothing that couldn't be managed and definitely not as terrible a picture as the outside depicted. The dining hall needed to be mopped but other than that it was acceptable and the kitchen.
The kitchen.
The kitchen boasted the equipment of a professional restaurant. And. It. Was. Pristine.
He may have drooled and Yukio may have laughed at him.
Their room was also surprisingly clean with clear windows and made beds and their stuff neatly put away.
Rin unbuckled his sword and collapsed onto a bed while Yukio sat in the closest desk chair and waited.
"Why are we living here and not anywhere else?"
Rin sat up with a groan and ran his fingers through his hair nervously.
"Well, when I came my… inheritance. It changed more than just my eyes and ears."
"And?"
"And…" Rin unbuttoned his coat and slid off allowing it to rest behind him on the bed. He then started to unbutton his shirt.
"Nii-san, what are you-"
He shucked his shirt and allowed his tail to uncurl from where it was previously wrapped around his torso.
"I see…" Yukio adjusted his glasses and Rin just waited. Waited for judgement. Waited for his brother to actually say something.
Yukio continued to consider him and Rin could feel sweat forming.
"The clown figured it'd be best if I was away from normal students just in case, ya know? And he figured it would be better if we weren't totally separated but if you don't want to stay with me, we could ask him and you could room elsewhere and," he babbled nervously.
Yukio raised his hand then smiled, "Nii-san is nii-san."
Rin could have cried in relief.
He actually might have. Just a little.
…
It was dark and Yukio was asleep by the time Rin made his way outside to meet Renzo.
He stopped at the edge of the bridge looking across to where Renzo was partially shadowed. He took off at a dead sprint and launched himself into Renzo's arms burying his face in the crook of his neck.
At any other time he would have been embarrassed but his world had fallen apart and Samael… was a demon.
"It's been a while," Renzo whispered.
Rin rain a hand across his damp eyes, "I missed you."
"How are you holding up?"
Renzo maneuvered them so they sat leaning against the railing and slung an arm over Rin.
"One second everything was fine and the next…" He gave a broken laugh and the dam broke.
"It's my fault, Renzo. The clown doesn't think so but I killed the old man."
Renzo waited.
"We were arguing, ya know? Yukio was supposed to be safe. He was training him. Sure, he wasn't inducted but he was fighting."
He curled into Renzo's side.
"I told him. God. I said a good father doesn't train his kids to be soldiers."
"Everyone was told he was killed by an Upper Level demon…" Renzo's eyes widened minutely.
Rin gave a dark chuckle, " Yeah, an Upper Level Demon.
He shook his head firmly,"No, no. Satan. It was Satan. They said the old man was the only person in Assiah strong enough to withstand his possession."
"And he could, Renzo. He did."
"Rin…"
"The clown said there was no way he was still there when I killed him," Rin looked up to meet Renzo's eyes tears streaming down his face, "But he was! He said he was sorry! I had just jammed my sword into his chest and he apologized to me."
Rin felt Renzo's arm tighten around him as Renzo pressed him against his chest.
"I couldn't tell Yukio," he said between sobs. "I couldn't. How am I supposed to tell my brother I killed our dad?"
"I'm sorry, Rin. I'm so sorry," he whispered into Rin's hair.
He had trusted Shiro and he trusted Samael, to an extent, but he had known Renzo for years and he was undoubtedly human in a way that the others lacked even Shiro. Because, the sacrifices the sacrifices Shiro was forced to make to gain as much power as he wielded made it inevitable that something would be lost along the way.
….
Renzo was surprised but mostly amused when Rin entered the classroom. His indignant scowl and thuggish gate was familiar. Familiar because he's fully aware that Rin could act like a civilized being if he truly wanted but only when he wanted too.
He met Rin when he was eight and Fujimoto Shiro brought him around to introduce him to Renzo's brothers. It was never said outright, but Renzo suspected that Fujimoto-san wanted Rin to made connections with people of his generation and he and Renzo were the same age. Renzo sometimes wondered how Rin would have turned out if Fujimoto-san had never brought him around. He always felt the rambunctious family atmosphere was good for Rin.
They had clicked almost instantly and had been close ever since. As such, he had long since known Rin was the child of an Upper Level demon despite his human features and, amongst exorcist families, it was common knowledge that a half-demon wouldn't necessarily take on the traits of their demon parent at birth if at all. However, it was also known that under great periods of mental or physical duress, it was possible for the recessive traits to consume traits of physical humanity.
Besides that, he knew that, for whatever the reason, it was inevitable that Rin would grow into his inheritance, as he had liked to refer to it, and that was that. As far as that was concerned, there was no problem.
His problem was in fact, the fact that Rin had been directly involved in the death of the former Paladin. Someone who, it seemed everyone was forgetting, was his dad.
Throughout the class – did it really count as a class? – he kept glancing over at the guy he assumed was Yukio. The guy honestly looked lost and bursting to say something but was reserved enough to leave it until later.
Rin ignored him completely and Renzo wanted to sigh. But if he sighed than both Bon and Neko would look at him funny and maybe ask what his problem was and that would've been a pain.
After Rin preformed the mashou rite, something he honestly didn't understand, and after his classmates began to file out he waved away his friends. Once everyone but Yukio was gone, he sauntered up to Rin.
"Hey, Okumura-sensei!" Rin's previously withdrawn face was split by a smile – Renzo counted that as a success.
When he got close enough, Renzo bumped his shoulder against Rin's, "So?"
"It was one of Mesphisto's rules if I was going to stay here." To watch over Yukio went unsaid.
Renzo gave the younger Okumura a once over out of the side of his eye and turned his back to Yukio.
He dropped his voice, "Rin, I heard what happened. I –"
Rin shook his head lightly. "Not now. We can talk later tonight."
"Where?"
He grimaced, "The Old Boy's Dorm."
Renzo placed a hand on Rin's shoulder only lingering for a moment and hoping Rin understood the gesture.
"See ya later, Okumura-sensei."
While he expected it, he wasn't entirely pleased to see that his friends had waited for him outside of the classroom.
"What did you want from Okumura-sensei?" Neko asked and Renzo nearly snorted at how seriously the guy called Rin sensei. In any other circumstance, he wouldn't be able to imagine Rin in any position of authority over anyone but if it was Mephisto's doing then….
"That guy 's our age! Why should we have to call him sensei?!" Bon was outraged, it was amusing.
"He is a senior exorcist, Bon," Renzo pointed out and Bon proceeded to grumble all the way to their dorm.
"What did you need to ask Okumura-sensei?" Neko asked when they returned to their room several hours after dinner.
They lay on their beds and Renzo turned slightly to face his roommate.
He hummed and waved his hand dismissively, "Nothing important, really. It's just not every day that someone that young has rank."
Neko just nodded in acquiescence.
"Mind if I turn off the light?"
At Renzo's negative the room was plunged into darkness.
He waited for Neko's gentle snores before flinging back his blankets and sneaking through the door thanking the heavens that it didn't creak.
After more running than he had really been prepared for, he found himself on the edge of the bridge leading to the Old Boys Dorm. He leaned against the pillar catching his breath and waiting.
It wasn't long before Renzo met Rin's eyes from across the bridge.
And then Rin was running.
And Renzo caught him.
Rin wrapped his arms tightly around him and Renzo happily reciprocated. Rin had always been physically affectionate when able and while he wasn't, Renzo had never begrudged him for it in the least.
"It's been a while," he stated the obvious. It had been several months since they had met and Renzo had been forbidden from taking a train to see Rin after the Paladins death. He cursed the inconvenience of not having magic keys.
He, of course, knew what the loss of the Paladin meant for the Order but he also knew what it meant to Rin. Not only was the Paladin his father, he was also the man who trained him, and the biggest buffer between Rin and the higher ranked exorcists. He didn't know what would happen to Rin's status as an exorcist now that he had come into his inheritance. He figured it would be a pain but, when the time came, they would cross that bridge.
"I missed you," Rin mumbled into Renzo's neck.
They ended up on the concrete leaning against the railing of the bridge Renzo's arm wrapped tightly around Rin's shoulders as he spoke.
Fujimoto Shiro was possessed by Satan. Rin defeated Satan. Renzo couldn't begin to wrap his mind around how powerful Rin would have to be to manage the feat. But for the time being, he ignored that in favor of thinking of it as how Rin felt he killed his father.
So when Rin confessed to not telling his brother the truth, Renzo just let him cry into his shirt.
He knew Rin.
He like to think he knew Rin very well.
Rin was a horrible liar. No, Rin was a successful liar but terrible nonetheless. Not because he couldn't but because it destroyed him.
Renzo frowned. If he hadn't happened to be there, would Rin have ever talked anyone? No, he knew the answer to that. Rin never let anyone help him less he become a burden. Though they had always been close, it took years before Rin would come to him naturally. Years before he would speak before asked. He might have spoken with Mephisto Pheles. Renzo knew Rin was as close to him as one could get to a demon though he didn't know why. He probably spoken to him but the demon was a demon and there was only so much he could understand.
Renzo knew, he knew, that Rin's secrecy was going to bite him in the ass because things like that don't stay hidden forever and if the nature of the former Paladin's death was the only thing Rin was hiding he would eat his K'rik. But he couldn't say anything as much as he wanted to, as much as he wanted to prevent whatever was to come, he couldn't. He had no right to comment on secrecy. So, silent he remained.
It was extremely late or, rather, very early when Rin shook him awake and gave him a hand up.
"See ya later," he waved before making his way back to his dorm.
"Oi! Renzo!" He turned at Rin's call. "The pink suits you!" Rin's grin was blinding.
Renzo rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed and ended up watching Rin's figure disappear into his dorm.
The next morning at breakfast he sat with Bon and Neko.
"You snuck out last night," Neko stated casually in between bites.
"Wha-What?!" Bon looked back and forth between Renzo and Neko. "Really? Where did you go?"
"Ah, nowhere special, I couldn't sleep – new place and all – so I took a walk," he defended.
"Long walk, huh?"
"I guess?"
Neko addressed Bon, "He left shortly after lights out and didn't return until nearly four this morning."
Renzo short Neko a challenging glare but then tried to laugh the situation off.
"I bet he went to see someone," Bon scoffed, "Did you go meet up with someone?"
"What's with this line of questioning?"
"Wow, Shima. We just got here and you already found a girl. I'm not sure if I should be impressed or disgusted."
"Yeah… Met her at the entrance ceremony," he lied.
"What class is she in?" Neko inquired.
"…I didn't ask."
Both his friends shot him looks of disbelief.
"Fine, if you don't want to tell us, don't. But if you get caught I'm not covering for you," Bon decided.
Renzo just smiled, "Wouldn't ask you to."
He wasn't sure what he would ask them for.