A/N: I lost access to my old account where my very first fanfic I have ever written was. I took a hiatus after a huge incident in my life, and was really wanting to continue where I had left off. My only option at this point was to start over and publish on my new account so I can continue this story! I have been having so many new ideas for this, and I am super excited to implement them now! First and foremost, I do not own Ao No Exorcist or any of the characters. Pff, like I'm brilliant enough to create such gold. Secondly, this is my very first fanfic. I do want to take the time to introduce myself and say hello! This fic is based on characters from Ao No Exorcist and may contain spoilers from the manga and now (finally) season 2 of the anime. I have been planning this fic for over a year, so I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to read and leave a review! It would mean the world to me :) If not, it's no biggie. Not like I can tie you to a chair and force you, right? Anywho, I'm very excited to get this show on the road, so sit back and relax. I intend this to be a pretty long fic, so hopefully you will be in it for the long haul!
I.
With a loud THUD, Yukio Okumura dropped a manilla folder onto the desk in front of his older twin brother. Rin Okumura stared with wide blue eyes as he took in the sheer size. It had to have been at least 600 pages of paperwork within. His eyes shifted between the folder and his brother, disdain clearly pulling at his lips. Yukio responded with a raise of his eyebrow as he gestured for Rin to open it and read the content inside. Mumbling to himself, he flipped the first page open glanced at the top. 'Haniko Murashima- 87-reports Jikininki sighting'. Rin returned his gaze to his brother. "All this in one file? Tch, you really work too much."
"It's really not that much compared to other reports. That's besides the point," the younger twin flipped a few pages and stopped on a map. "This older gentleman lives in a secluded area around Kiso. He just so happens to run a small cemetery, and as of late has been having issues with a Jikininki," he paused to make sure Rin was following. Seeing the clueless look on his face, Yukio continued. "It's is a ghoul-typed demon. It preys on dead bodies, but can become greedy enough to start to prey on the living. It builds its home in cemeteries. They are better known as graveyard ghouls."
"Graveyard ghouls are weak against silver and heavy firearms. Their fatal verse is also known to be apart of John," Ryuji "Bon" Suguro cut in. Rin turned his gaze to his other classmates sitting amongst the cram room. Shima and Konekomaru nodded in agreement with him. Izumo sat a little farther away looking almost uninterested. Shiemi, on the other hand, was nose deep in the pages of the folder. "This should be a piece of cake. We have dealt with bigger problems and have even taken on more powerful ghouls than something like this. I'm getting a little irritated by the level of these missions recently," Suguro crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair a little.
"I understand that. You of all people know we have to do what is given to us. Not every job is as enjoyable as others," Yukio paused as Rin scoffed. He cleared his throat and began again. "This should be simple. We go in, we get out," He looked at his twin. "That means following instructions. There shouldn't be any issues. If I have to fill out one more report on why things went haywire, I will make sure we won't be picking up missions until further notice. Do you understand?"
Rin stood up immediately, knocking his chair over behind him. "Why do you only look at me when you say that?" Which prompted a look from Yukio that read 'Do I really need to explain myself?'. Rin shrank his shoulders and turned to pick his chair back up, sitting in it with a heavy sigh. "Fine. So when are we leaving?"
"Four a.m. on the dot. That will leave us plenty of time to set things up once we get there. We will meet at the front and take a bus up there. It's a long trip so bring something to keep yourselves' out of trouble," Yukio yet again shot a glance at Rin. "Shiemi, I assume you will be packing snacks?" Shiemi gave a quick nod as her face gleamed. "Let's try to make it edible this time," he tried to joke, the gleam immediately disappearing off of her face. "It looks as if we are out of time for today. Get your things packed and make sure you eat a hearty breakfast. Don't be late."
The next morning Rin stood at the front of True Cross Academy alongside his brother. Fog still settled over the street and you could barely see forty feet in either direction. The silence was unsettling. Rin rocked back and forth on his heels while he rubbed his hands together and breathed into them. It was unusually cold considering it was summer. Yukio glanced at his watch and mumbled impatiently to himself. The others slowly appeared one by one, all with the same expression of death on their faces. The last one to stroll in was Shiemi, who seemed to be more than excited.
"I packed us all Sukiyaki!" Shiemi proudly raised the bags in her hands, receiving small grunts of appreciation from the other Exwires. Loud screeching of breaks emerged from the silence as a bus finally appeared through the low visibility. Paint chips were falling off of it and it reeked of gasoline and burnt rubber. It came to a sudden halt in front of the group and with a loud creaking, the doors opened. They filed in, taking their seats and giving each other space. Each one wanting to have room to sprawl out their legs and take a nap for the rest of the morning.
"Good morning everyone!" Yukio raised his voice slightly to help get the young Exwire's attention, Mumbles were all he received. "I hope everyone had a decent breakfast. I also hope you took it upon yourselves to do a little studying," His gaze shifted to Bon, Konekomaru, and Shima. "I'll be looking for you guys to be able to recite its fatal verse. I have armed myself with bullets with silver deposits and if things go bad, I will be there to take over. I have the utmost faith in you guys. Rin!" He yelled at his brother as he seemed to have dozed off. Rin quickly jumped up trying to act as if he was awake the whole time, wiping drool from his mouth with his sleeve. "I need you to keep a level head here. It's a simple job and I don't need you screwing things up. You are to only use your flames if we absolutely need them. Not like telling you this will do any good since you never listen anyways.."
"Hey, I do listen!" Rin interjected. "You just never let me do anything."
"Kiso has a small population, We don't need to be worrying them with your blue flames. Then you surely would be hearing it from the higher ups. Would you, just for once, humor me and not cause any trouble?"
"Can't promise anything," Rin crossed his arms and leaned his head against the window, trying to make out the scenery through the unusual weather. 'How strange,' he thought. 'There's never this much fog this time of year… Maybe it will clear up once the sun shows itself'.
The bus shuddered and screeched as it slowed to a stop. Rin slowly opened his eyes, taking a moment for his eyes to adjust. 'Oh yeah. Kiso. Are we already here?'. He stood and raised his arms above his head, stretching out his back. The others seemed to be waking from much needed naps as well. Placing his forehead against the window, Rin tried to make what was outside but could barely see. "What time is it? And what is with this weird weather?"
Yukio glanced at his watch and then back out the window. "It's two. We are definitely here….but something feels very strange." The bus doors creaked open and they slowly filed out. The fog was thicker and the visibility was down to ten feet at most. Floating amongst the fog were mass amounts of coal tar. Rin was the last to step down from the bus and buttoned up his coat, letting out a quick sigh which you could see in the frigid air.
They stood in the middle of a cobbled road which looked like it needed a lot of maintenance. There wasn't much to see other than where the road led to and a big gate at the entrance of the town. It was eerily quiet for the main part of Kiso. Yukio pulled out a flashlight to try and help navigate and led the group forward. As they made their way through the center, more buildings were coming into view. It almost seemed as if nobody was living here anymore. The doors were shut and the shops weren't open for the day. A lot of them looked worn down and seemed as if they hadn't been well maintained in quite a while. "What the hell…," Yukio muttered. He continued to lead them up a path towards the location of the old man's secluded cemetery.
"Is it just me or does the air seem to be getting heavier the closer we get? Not to mention these coal tars are getting ridiculous," Rin swatted a few from his face.
"Ugh quit your complaining. That's all you do," Izumo's eye was visibly twitching.
"For once I agree with her. It's not helping anyone's morale Rin. Just shush for once, wouldya?" Bon chimed in as well.
"All of you need to shut it. We are here," Yukio ended it as fast as it had started. The group came upon a run down hut and in the back you could barely make out decrepit headstones. "Keep your guard up," he stated as he wrapped the door three times with a fist. The door slowly opened, inviting them entry even though they didn't quite see who had opened it. The twins made it through the doorway with the others behind. "Mr. Murashima?" The younger one called out. "My name is Yukio Okumura. I am a middle-class exorcist here with a few exwires to help with the Jikininki?" There was only silence in return until Rin had spotted slight shuffling in the other room. He quickly walked over with his brother in suite.
Sure enough, standing in the next room was a hunched over figure. It was hard to see in the light, but the silhouette seemed that of a man of poor stature who was having trouble maneuvering around his own home. Yukio guided his flashlight in that general direction, giving more visibility to the man. His movements were odd to say the least. It was almost as if the man was having trouble remembering how to use his own body. He was stiff as a board as he shuffled around. "Mr. Murashima?" Yukio repeated with a slight shake in his voice. The figure's head slowly started to turn as the rest of his body remained in place.
"I'm pretty sure normal humans can't do that…" Rin stated as the head finally stopped and was completely backwards upon his shoulders. Yukio's light rested on the contorted face. His eyes were non-existent and blood was pouring from the sockets. His ears were pointed and fangs hung from a crooked smile.
"Hello sons," a wicked voice arose from the man's throat. It almost sounded as if a hundred demonic beings were speaking in unison. Yukio immediately pulled out his cell phone and began dialing numbers frantically while telling the others to get the hell out. Blue flames spontaneously burst in the doorway, keeping the young exorcists from leaving. A laugh boomed from deep within the man, sending chills up Rin's spine. He quickly reached for Kurikara and unsheathed it, drawing his own blue flames.
"I've come to take you home. You don't have Shiro protecting you anymore. Stop avoiding what you truly are."
Bon quickly drew his bazooka from his back and shot it towards the possessed Mr. Murashima. This bazooka was always the first resort in battle, hoping to stop it by exorcising demons before the battle gets too severe, With another laugh and a simple flick of his wrist, Satan sent Bon flying. He landed with a loud CRACK as blood spurted from his mouth. His hand came up to the center of his chest and he wrapped it around a sharp piece of wood that had impaled him. He let out a cry of pain and his eyes widened as he tried to pry the wood from his own body.
"Don't even try to move it! You'll cause more damage! Shiemi, do what you can for Bon!" Yukio nodded his head in Bon's direction and swiftly put his phone back. Pulling out his pistols, he took aim and shot with no hesitation. Two bullets landed in the enemy's face, dead center right between the eyes. With his crooked smile widening, Satan turned immediately in Yukio's direction, his eyes alit with blue flame.
"You. You are a disgrace to my name. Come here so Daddy can reprimand you!."
"Yamantaka, now would be a good time for your help," Shima called out as his flaming, four-armed ox-beast familiar appeared behind him. Yamantaka shoved Yukio out of the way just as Satan began to lunge for him. The familiar, eager to be fighting, let out a blast of black flames that was quickly extinguished by blue.
"Nii-chan we need elderflower!" Shiemi summoned Nii-chan with her summoning papers and had made her way over to the impaled Ryuji. "Just hang in there Bon," She stated through trembling lips as she tried her best to gather her composure. With gentle hands she applied the aloe plant to some of his wounds, but he was losing blood in surplus amounts.
"You think you guys can actually stand up to me? Me? A God. You are puny. You are nothing," Satan spat as a forked tongue protruded from his mouth. Licking his lips he raised his hand, bringing blue flames upon Yamantaka's entire body, disintegrating the beast. "I'm offended that you fight with such weak attacks. Are you underestimating me?" Satan was now completely immersed in blue flames. Skin was starting to fall off as blood began pouring from his ears and nose.
"Eat shit!" Rin yelled from behind his father, coming down with incredible speed, sword clad in blue flame. As if timed stop, Satan turned and grabbed Kurikara by the blade and threw it from Rin's hands. In the blink of an eye, Satan had a hand wrapped around Rin's neck, keeping him suspended from the ground. "Tsk tsk. Such a pity. I was sure my spawn would have been more impressive than this. We will have to rectify that," He licked his lips, malicious intent easily visible. He raised his other hand and in one movement that was almost untraceable, shoved it into Rin's chest. Blood seeped from Rin's mouth as he gurgled in pain. He frantically tried pulling at his father's arm until he could no longer keep his eyes open and his body went limp,
"Rin!" Yukio screamed out and he unloaded the rest of his clips into Satan. Again, a laugh of what sounded like thousands of demons in unison bounded from his chest. He raised his hand and Yukio fell to his knees. It almost felt as if there was a heavy weight bearing down on top of his shoulders. 'What is this feeling? I can't move!'. Sweat dripped down into his eyes as his mouth hung open. Yukio could not get a single word out as he watched Satan take a few steps back towards the darkness. Something was moving on the ground. Focusing in, it seemed to be rotting hands reaching up from the ground. No, not just hands. Limbs. Full dismembered bodies. There was a chanting in his ears that was suddenly getting louder as the heap of limbs also grew. Yukio didn't know if the other's could hear it or not. With a sizeable shaking of the ground, what seemed to be a gate appeared out of the crawling amalgamation. His insides screamed as all he could do was sit there and watch as Satan disappeared into the gates of Gehenna holding his older twin brother. It took what felt like eternity for the gate to finally disappear and the weight felt like it had lifted off of him.
"Rin! Rin!" He continuously cried out until you could no longer make out his brother's name through his tears. At that moment in time, several exorcists came in through the front to see the mess that lay before them. Bon was incapacitated from the amount of blood loss. Several medics came in to evaluate the group and extract them from the house. Others were already evaluating the scene. Bon was immediately taken to be treated while everyone else gave their statements as best they could. Everything was moving in slow motion. 'I let this happen. How did this happen?'
It had been a week since the incident in Kiso. Yukio slowly ran his fingers over his brother's desk in their dormitory. Rin's possessions laid there as they were, untouched. With a heavy sigh, he sat on his twin's bed, clutching the sheets between his fingers. 'I wish I hadn't been so hard on him. I wish I…'. There was a sudden knock on the door. Yukio quickly stood and rushed to open it, hoping someone might have had news on his brother.
"I know now is not the time, but I have some news," A calm voice stated through the doorway. Yukio's eyes widened as he met the gaze of a tall man in white and purple. "I know right now you probably want to find your brother, but we've come across something that needs your attention," he stepped past Yukio and entered the room. Yukio clenched his fists, trying to not let his disappointment show. 'I don't have time for this..'. "I think this might interest you. It's really quite funny consi-"
Yukio raised a hand to cut of his speech. "It better be goddamn important Mephisto."
"We've come across a young girl. A nephilim. I need you on this one."
A/N: Oh goodness. I don't even know where to begin. Or even what to say. Meh! Just stick around for next week!