Hello! I'm back! And this time, I'm not going to depress you guys! So, this follows the big showdown with Satan in the last few episodes of the Anime. Enjoy :)
Life was finally settling down again. Classes resumed, which meant I took on my duel role of teacher/student again, and so did my babysitting duty of my elder brother. It has been two weeks since Assiah was almost destroyed by Satan. All the students seemed to have adjusted to the onset of my demonic powers rather well, except Shura. I haven't really seen her since Rin brought me out of the possession.
I got up off the side of the bed and went to wake up nii-san. Kuro was curled up by his head sleeping soundly when I shook my brother. Rin shot up, sword in hand, and scanned the room in panic. He's been a little on edge since the battle.
"Yukio? What time is it?"
"Time for school, nii-san." He yawned, his sharp eye teeth prominent and his tail extending above his head. He and I have taken the tail situation much differently, since people know he's a demon Rin parades it about whereas I choose to keep mine concealed. I looked out the window at the descending clouds, looks like it could rain. When I looked back at my brother he was passed out in the same position he used to stretch. I smiled and adjusted my glasses, thank god my brother is alright.
"Wakey Wakey RIN!" Shura shouted from the hallway. She was wearing a crop top shirt at least, but the same shorts, neck tie and exorcist jacket. Rin spazzed out and fell off the bed dropping his sword on Kuro.
"Ouch, Rin!" Kuro screeched, though I imagine Shura only heard a cat mew.
"Sorry Kuro. My bad," he admitted sheepishly. "What the hell was that about Shura?"
"That's miss Krigakure to you, how many times do I have to tell you that kid," she asked in her normal condescending tone. "You have my class first, don't be late." She turned and sauntered out, not even acknowledging me.
"Geeze. What's up with her?" Rin asked, gesturing to the door.
"I don't know, nii-san. Seems like the same Shura to me."
"She didn't even look at you, man. Or call you chicken."
"Maybe the battle hit her hard."
"You're oblivious four eyes." I looked at him questioningly but he shrugged and put on his school uniform. It bugged me the rest of the day, what Rin meant by that. Rin's next class was the one Yukio taught, and he was late. Of course. He walked in stiffly, and wouldn't look at me.
"Rin Okumura. Why are you tardy?"
"I was talking to another teacher." He handed me a slip, still not making eye contact and sat down next to Shiemi. He leaned over to her and said something I couldn't hear but whatever it was it made Shiemi blush and look at me.
"Anyway, now that everyone is here," I glared at my tardy brother, "Let's begin."
After class he took Shiemi's hand and ran from the room.
"Shit." I mumbled, preparing myself for my next group of students to come in.
When classes concluded I departed straight from campus to go on a mission. I texted Rin to let him know I wouldn't be heading straight to our dorm and used one of my keys to access the mission location. It was an infestation of coal tars in a local public school. Many students were coming down with lung infections and specialist after specialist scanned the school and found no source of the illness. In desperate time, people look to God, and that leads to exorcists. We were sent in a group of three, one to cover each sector of the school. It was myself, Mr. Tsubaki, and Shura.
Mr. Tsubaki was already there when I arrived.
"Hello Mr. Okumura." He greeted me.
"Hello. How are you?"
"Recovering. Do you know where Ms. Krigakure is?"
"No, why would I?" He straightened his posture abruptly.
"N-no reason," he stuttered. He looked away from me, ending the conversation with body language.
"Hey! I'm taking the top floor, Tsubaki you take the lobby." She didn't acknowledge me at all, just waked on up the stairs. I pinched my nose, what is her problem?! I went to the lower left wing, and just let my flames engulf the damn parasites. I did the same with the right side. I was done before Tsubaki even made a dent.
"Want help?" He nodded and the room exploded in brilliant blue for less than a second and was instantly cleared.
"Let's go to the basement since we finished first and try to locate where they are getting in."
"You go there, I'll head to the roof. Call if you need help."
"Okay!"
I walked up the stairs Shura had gone up and up the faculty staircase. I went straight to the pipes the shot out of the building, shooting quick bursts of flames down them. The main pipe was my last target, I did the same quick shot down it when coal tars exploded out of it.
"Fuck OFF!" They all exploded in tiny bursts of flame and I sent a long, hot surge of power down the shaft.
"So the cool finally breaks huh, Yukio?" I turned around and saw Shura standing by the opening I came from. Without another word she ducked out. I stayed on the roof for a few more moments, collecting my composure before I went back down to deal with that woman.
In the lobby I saw only Mr. Tsubaki.
"Where's Shura?"
"Ms. Krigakure left already, said she had some last minute supply pick up for her classes tomorrow."
"Well, it would appear the source was down one of the pipes on the roof, a large surplus of them attempted to evacuate from that area but I terminated all of them."
"Good. I didn't see many in the basement so I guess we're done here."
"Alright. See you Mr. Tsubaki." I waved behind me as I walked to the door, entering the key to Rin's and my dorm.
"Hey Yukio!" Rin yelled as I walked in the door. "Come here will ya?" I followed his voice to our room. I was surprised to see Shiemi in our room.
"Hi Shiemi, what are you doing here?"
"Rin asked for my help Yuki!"
"Help with what Rin?" I was almost afraid to ask.
"Getting your chicken ass to talk to Shura. You haven't spoken to her since she yelled at you for not telling anyone you were showing signs of having Satan's power. She's been your friend for eight years, and it's just damn weird to listen to her bitch about you. If I defend you she kicks my ass if I don't she kicks my ass."
"Knowing you nii-san, you probably just insult her no matter what you say."
"Give me some credit dammit!"
"I'll give you some when you show me you have something other than air in your head."
"You know if it wasn't for me Satan would've kept using you like a puppet, I think I have something in my head!" He knocked on it for effect and ended up hurting himself. Oh Rin...
"Rin stop it," Shiemi said. "Yuki, Ms. Krigakure cares about you. You're like a brother to her, you guys grew up together, just talk to her okay?" She pleaded. I pushed my glasses back on my nose and sighed.
"I'm sensing I don't really have a choice."
"Success!" Rin and Shiemi shouted, giving each other a high five, and Shiemi giving Rin a kiss on the cheek. Rin shoved me in a chair while Shiemi rustled about in the closet.
"What are you doing? You said talk-"
"Shut up four eyes. You will do what I say or I will burn you! I should do it anyway since you freaking SHOT ME!"
"How long are you going to hang on to that nii-san? I was possessed by Satan, you can hardly say it was ME who shot you."
"It was YOU who shot me with tranquilizers you mole face!"
"Would you calm down Rin, Yuki was going through a lot, you guys love each other." She pulled out a teal plaid shirt and black pants, "How about this, Rin?"
"Alright, Shiemi!"
"What is that? Why can't I just wear my exorcist's uniform?"
"Because you need to loosen up dammit. I'm letting you keep your glasses so count your blessings four eyes."
"Why would I need to lose my glasses to go speak with Shura?"
"Oh Yuki.." Shiemi sighed. Rin ushered me into one of the empty dorm rooms to change but I could hear him and Shiemi's voices through the wall. They sounded excited about something, but I couldn't quite tell what they were saying.
I looked in the reflection, what's wrong with my glasses anyway...
When I walked back in the room Shiemi feigned fainting and Rin was not amused with her oggling me instead of him.
"Alright Yukio, go get her!"
"Why is this necessary Rin?"
"No questions! Just go." He gave a wide, toothy smile and pushed me out the door.
I had no idea where Shura would be, her excuse to Mr. Tsubaki was that she had class work to do so I went to her classroom first. I knocked on the door, "Shura?"
"What are you doing?" She said from down the hall.
"Looking for you."
"I'm here. What do you want chicken?" My eyebrow twitched at the comment, and I noticed she was scrutinizing my outfit. "You look different in street clothes."
"You look different in clothes." She had the crop top on again, which concealed much more of her than her usual bikini top.
"I have stuff to do believe it or not," she walked right past me, her pink hair glinting in my peripheral vision. Out of sheer instinct I grabbed her wrist and turned her around.
"What's your problem, Shura? You haven't spoken to me since that night, you've hardly acknowledged me at all. What, is it different now that I'm a demon too? You never shut out Rin this way, so what is it?!"
"It has nothing to do with you being a demon." She responded shortly.
"Then what is it? I'm not a mind reader Shura."
"Clearly. You're blind to everyone but yourself.." she mumbled.
"All I try to do is protect the people I care about!"
"Some job you did! You almost devastated all the people that care about you!" she screamed at me.
"What are you even talking about?" I was so lost. What was she going on about?
"You are so selfish. You are a child! You act all mature and old but you are just a scared little child!"
"Shura would you calm the hell down and explain what's got you so upset? I've never seen you like this. I didn't know you could have a reaction to something that wasn't laughter."
"I'll laugh when I shove your four eyes mole faced head in a toilet."
"Shura..." When I said that her angry expression softened and she took on the look of a hurt kitten.
"Yukio... Do you have any idea what you would've done if you'd shot yourself to get rid of Satan?" She whispered. Was that what this was all about? Really?
"I would've saved Assiah from being engulfed by Gehenneh."
"You would've destroyed your brother. He would've been so messed up if you killed yourself. You would've left him with no family, no security, left him with nothing! You would've abandoned him just like Shiro!"
"Shiro didn't abandon Rin!"
"He abandoned me!" She shouted.
"I thought this was about me hurting Rin."
"Rin's not the only one who cares about you dumbass. Did you ever stop to think there was a reason I put my life on the line so Rin could try to save you? Do you think it was for him? Do you think I'm that selfless?"
"If it wasn't for Rin why did you do that? Why didn't you just kill me, it would've been easier."
"No. It would've been horrible! We love you four eyes. I've known you since you were a child, do you think I'm so cold as to not care about you at all?"
"You were always so mean to me."
"I was trying to make you stronger! That's all you wanted, you wanted to protect your brother and I was trying to help you do that. But you never saw that, you never saw past your own problems and your own misery."
"I just didn't want anyone to get hurt... I didn't think there was another way to get Satan back in Gehenneh.."
"You're just like your father."
"That's not a bad thing."
"Shiro abandoned me and tried to dump Rin's ass on me! If Rin hadn't punched the shit out of you.. You would've abandoned me too, left Rin to me. You and Shiro are the closest people I have to family, but neither of you even thought twice about leaving me by myself! I thought you would care about what you were leaving behind but you didn't!"
"Of course I cared! It's the reason I made shooting myself even an option... You think I wanted to leave my brother?"
"What about me? Your students. They make connections to you, what if they found out they're teacher killed himself, Shiemi, she worries so much about you and Rin, do you even care? Do you care that she worried herself sick, came to you injured and unarmed to try and help you snap out of it? Do you care I risked my life on a plan I didn't think had any chance of working?"
"Of course I cared. It drove me crazy to have you guys getting hurt over me. Seeing you burned and Shiemi hurt when Rin pulled me out... It was horrifying. Everything I tried to prevent was laid out before me, a horrid nightmare was my first vision back in this world."
"You apologized to Rin for what you did, you said you were sorry for worrying Shiemi, but did I get shit? No. I wanted you to get out as much as Rin did..."
"I'm sorry Shura..."
"Don't just tell me what I want to hear." Suddenly, the way Rin and Shiemi were behaving made sense, why Shura was making such a big deal about about my stunt.
"Shura, I'm sorry I didn't think of you. I'm sorry I made you feel like you were getting abandoned again, that I almost took away your last piece security," I took a step closer to her. For once she didn't have anything to say to me. In all my years as an exorcist I've never done something so scary, never been so nervous, never taken such a crazy chance. I kissed her. "I'm sorry I didn't realize you loved me sooner."
"So those glasses actually do let you see something," she smiled lightly, putting her arms around my neck as I kissed her again, wrapping my arms around her small waist.
"I love you too, Shura."
"Yes!" Rin shouted. "Yukio got a girl!" He came out clapping emphatically, then he threw his arm around Shiemi.
"I'm so happy for you Yuki," Shiemi said smiling.
"I'm happy too," Shura said softly. I took her hand and squeezed it gently.
"I'm not going to abandon you, Shura."
So.. that's all folks :)