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The Dreamer's Persistence

Oneshot

Rin immediately sat up on bed, heaving. It was dark and cold in his room on that autumn morning. It was 2:54 am, as his alarm clock showed on his bedside table — still more than five hours before the usual time he wakes up.

But Rin was very much awake. Wide eyed, he tried to gather his thoughts and calm down. Something warm was against his arm, just under his blanket, and Rin heaved a sigh of relief. It'd be none other than his brother, still asleep that early in the morning.

"I guess I'd been worried for nothing," Rin whispered, moving the blanket so that his brother's face wouldn't be covered by it. And that was when Rin saw that it was just his pillow under the blankets, warm with his own body heat.

Rin froze with realization.

"Yukio...!" Rin called helplessly, jumping out of bed. Rushing to Yukio's bed just opposite his, he pulled off the blanket there, only to find out that his brother wasn't in there.

"Yukio! Yukio!" Rin continued calling while looking around the room. He searched under the beds, in their cabinets, under the desks, even in the drawers: there wasn't a sign of Yukio. Rin finally rushed out the door, still calling for his twin, until Rin's eyes tried to adjust from darkness to the brightness of the brightly lit dorm kitchen.

"Ah, Nii-san," Yukio said, calmly placing his cup of coffee on the table with papers on his other hand. "You're up on an unusual hour. What's the mat — eh?"

Yukio didn't manage to finish his question when Rin jumped on him, scattering the paper works.

"YUKIO!" exclaimed a teary-eyed Rin, hugging his twin childishly. "I thought you were gone..."

"What's up, Nii-san?" Yukio shifted slightly so that the chair he was sitting on wouldn't go out of balance. He was still exhausted from a mission. He managed to go back to the dormitory minutes before midnight. With his coat unbuttoned halfway and necktie loose, he decided to rest with a hot drink while checking the papers of his students in cram school. He had been at it for almost two hours when Rin woke and found him.

He looked at his older brother who was in his night clothes and dark hair dishevelled from sleep. Yukio chuckled. "Did you have a nightmare, Nii-san?"

"S-Shut up!" Rin yelled. But he still held on Yukio.

Yukio patted Rin's head. "It's going to be alright. It's just a dream."

"You don't know about it," Rin insisted. He remembered that part that woke him, making him cling tighter on the other lad. "It was dark... But I hate the cold and ashes more..." Rin's fluffy-tipped black tail swayed from side to side before curling against Yukio's leg.

"Promise me, Yukio," Rin continued saying. "Promise me that you won't leave me alone."

A smile formed on Yukio's face. "Alright, Nii-san."

[That morning in the old Boy's Dormitory...]

"Yukio!"

The door of the bathroom burst open and Rin entered with a grin on his face. He got his toothbrush and proceeded on brushing his teeth beside Yukio. The younger boy was gargling and rinsing his brush.

"Aren't you up early, Nii-san?" Yukio washed his face with water and some soap. Later drying his face with a towel, he went to change from his night clothes to his school attire.

Suddenly, Rin was beside him again, also changing to his uniform. The twins went to the kitchen for breakfast.

"You can have this... and this... and this..." Rin said, choosing from some of his side dishes and piling them up on Yukio's plate. The same went for the one in their packed lunches.

"But Nii-san, I thought you like them," Yukio said, pointing at the food Rin placed on his plate.

"Of course!" Rin said, his tail swaying merrily. "So you should really enjoy eating them. They're the best!"

[At the cram school corridor...]

"Yukio!"

The said boy pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. "Nii-san, my class with you is over. You should go back to your classroom and continue on your other classes."

Rin pouted. "But History is really boring! I'll only fall asleep."

"You shouldn't cut classes, Nii-san," Yukio said. "You want to be an Exorcist, right?"

"You're going on with that argument again," Rin countered, his wide mouth showing his fangs. "Listen. I'm more of a physical activities person."

"I know as much as you've told me loads of times." Yukio sighed. "But that doesn't change the fact that you should learn in classes offered by the curricullum."

"Can't you make it slide just this time?" Rin asked.

"No. You should go back to your classroom."

"Just this once, Yukio..."

Yukio's glasses glimmed. Suddenly, he ran to the nearest door, inserted a key into the lock and made it turn, and was gone to the other side in a flash.

The Exorcist teacher grinned at his victory.

"No, Yukio. It won't work on me this time."

Rin was still behind him.

[Back in their dormitory on an evening...]

"Yukio!"

"What are you doing here, Nii-san?!"

"Let me wash your back for you."

The brothers were in the bathroom. Yukio had been soaking in the tub of hot water when Rin burst into the room.

"There's no need, Nii-san. I can wash myself."

Rin joined Yukio in the tub, still grinning. "But it'll be easier and faster if I'll be the one to do it. Leave the job to me!"

"No, thank you. I'm finished anyway." Yukio prepared to leave the bathtub when he slipped on his footing. He cursed at his inability to see properly when he doesn't have his glasses.

Rin caught him safely, smiling triumphantly.

"I told you so," he said, almost darkly. "Leave the washing to me."

"So you're not too happy about it, huh? On the fact that your older bother is too clingy on you?"

"Yes, Sir Phe — wait, what are you doing here, Sir? And how did you know what I was thinking?"

Mephisto Pheles licked the colorful swirl lollipop he held on one hand, twirling his umbrella on the other. He and Yukio were basking under the afternoon sun on the rooftop of the building where Yukio decided to hide himself.

The demon clown just smiled. "Judging from your sighs, your and your brother's attitudes these days, as well as your possible reason for being here in this secluded place all by yourself, I can already see what's the problem. Don't underestimate my observation skills, Okumura-sensei." He chewed on a piece of his lollipop. "So... what are you gonna do about this, sensei?"

"I don't really know..." Yukio admitted, staring at the sunset.

"Eins, Zwei, Drei!" Mephisto said, snapping his fingers. That instant, a comical jail, ropes and chains appeared before them. "Why don't we catch him with these?"

But Yukio shook his head. "I'm sure it would only make Nii-san more anxious."

"Then..." Mephisto snapped his fingers again and a small bottle of pills appeared. "Let's make him sleep with this!"

"No, thank you, Sir Pheles," Yukio said, smiling. "I know Nii-san will eventually tire of it and return to what he usually does. In the meantime, all I have to have is patience."

"Oh, I see." In puffs of smoke, the jail, ropes, chains and bottle disappeared. "Good luck to you then."

Rin opened his mouth wide to bite on the big piece of roast beef when he realized that he was outside under the night sky of twinkling blue stars. The moon was behind the clouds and everything seemed to be taken in by the darkness. It was cold too. Rin hated both the dark and the cold. He yelled angrily.

Suddenly, everything brightened. He finally felt warm too. After all, blue flames wrapped his body with a comfortable heat. It spread all around him like a ripple on a still water, eating the darkness away.

"N-Nii-san..."

Rin looked around. He heard that familiar voice clearly but everything was just blue fire. He ran here and there until he tripped, falling face first on the flames that didn't hurt him.

A disturbing smell of decay hit him. Everything was burning, turning all into ash.

"Nii-san..."

Rin looked up. Right in front of him lay Yukio, burning with Rin's own blue flames. The older twin rushed to his brother but Yukio already crumbled to cold lifeless ash...

[...]

"Yukio!"

Rin finally woke up, fear clouding his wits. He was on his own bed, in his own room. The moment he opened his eyes, he saw Yukio's sleeping face inches from his own.

He hugged his younger brother, grateful to feel Yukio's warmth and calm rhythmic breathing. In a while, Rin was able to calm himself.

He whispered, smiling, "Thank you for not leaving my side..."

[The next day...]

"Yukio!"

Yukio sighed. "Here we go again..."

A/N:

Yes, there are loads of line breaks. And... how many times did Rin call out "Yukio!"? (grin)

I'm slightly uncomfortable in uploading this. I think this is the first Rin and Yukio oneshot I made so there's noting much new in this fanfic. Oh well, it's here. :)

Thanks for reading! Reviews are sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!