Title: Hellspawn
Chapter: 1/?
Characters: Rin, Shura, Yukio
Genre: Drama, Angst(?)
Summary: "Nothing did scare him like what she said."
Disclaimer: I own nothing, it's purely fan made for fun... or tears.
Warning: Anime!ver, probably OOCness, a lick of one sided RinYukio if you squint. Fic as seen on my tumblr, be aware x3
A steady, quiet rumble sounded outside Old Male Dormitory situated in True Cross Academy. The sky was dark and weather only seemed to be getting worse with each passing minute.
On that particular chilly spring night, Rin Okumura slept silently, completely lost to the world; unknowing that his beauty time was going to be cut short pretty soon.
As it happened, young esquire mumbled something under his nose scratching at his exposed belly while another – much louder, closer rumble loomed outside. The storm was quickly approaching now. Not only few minutes later lock located in the boys room clicked and the door went ajar hurriedly. A tall, busty woman -badly battered- strode inside with fast, hard steps.
"Okumura..!" she snapped, breathing heavily. She seemed soaked though and through as few droplets were still sliding down her worn-out face. To add to the bizarreness of the situation, she was badly bruised and one could tell that she wasn't happy to wake an young esquire. However without a beat, she reached for a sleeping beauty and shook him up.
On the Rin's side, his heightened senses kicked in just then and his blue eyes flew open, hand reaching towards his Kurikara and ready to strike whomever the person was. Only by her pure, fast reflexes woman wasn't hit on the head by sword's handle.
"Shit, Rin-kun!" the woman snarled, stepping back and glaring towards young male. Through slightly ajar doors a flash came in and surrounded her silhouette. "Calm your tits, it's only me."
Rin now partially awake and still only barely aware of his surroundings, sighed tiredly before taking a look at his companion with a groan. "What are you doing here?" he asked, suddenly realising it's still middle of the night. "What the hell, Shura?!"
Woman -Shura- gnawed her teeth together and huffed. There was a visible cloud of damp anger around her, she clearly wasn't happy to be put in this situation. Ever. "It's not as if I had any choice in the matter, Okumura" she spoke calmly, huffing a bit – her chest moved erratically as if she was still out of breath.
Now glaring Rin could only snap back at his teacher-in-ranks. "Still, it's middle of the night... Yukio's not here, as if anything he should be with...-" At sudden realisation, he perked up, fist clutching his sword in hand. "Damnit, Shura! It's Yukio, isn't it? Something happened to him? Speak!" he demanded, swinging his legs from warm bed. Before Shura answered he stood up, hands clenched at his sides and eyes narrowing dangerously.
Upon that Shura gulped silently, nodding solemnly. "Just hurry, we don't have time to lose."
Her words were delicate, too delicate. Without a second thought, Rin sprang into action. Just barely minute later he's got his school pants, shirt and jacket on, all ready to go. He was putting his Kurikara on his back when Shura – silently – mentioned to him to move. Not before long they both walked through still open door.
The sensations that welcomed them outside were that of a raging thunderstorm. Big, wet drops splattered mercilessly instantly on the top of their heads, soaking them in a just few seconds. Almost ground breaking rumble boomed above them, a quick flash following it.
"What happened?" asked timidly Rin, who stood outside his once-dorm door. He kept his steady gaze on redhead woman while she fiddled with closing it. Only when the lock snapped into a place, she frowned. However even with a darkness surrounding them, he could see deep worry etched on her face.
"It's bad..."
Shura started then steadfastly ahead, head held high, her shoulders tense. There were a very visible bruises on her body – one quite large on her left thigh, going purplish already. All over she looked as if she went through hell and back. Her face was marred with scratches and few smaller bruises, dirty from sweat, rain and sand. Only then Rin understood the seriousness of the state she was in.
"How bad?" he prodded, however he kinda had an idea what's happened.
Shura snapped, fists clenching at sides. Dark cloud seemed to hide her face from the view, not that darkness of the night didn't already. "He lost it, Rin."
It was like a bucket of ice cold water. He shivered and stopped, staring at his companion's silhouette. She kept on walking unwavering, there was however a slight kink when her left leg touched a ground with every step. That was a clear sign of a pain, pain she hid from him.
"We can't get through" she continued, not bothered by his sudden halt in step. "We tried. I tried... It's just not enough."
Shura's words were quiet, way too quiet. In all months -a year really, now- he never heard her speak with such detached tone. It sounded wrong on his ears and this worried him greatly, so he finally took his cue and darted after her. With few fast, squelchy steps he reached her side. By now, he was frowning too, angrily but still.
They walked for a while in complete silence, both looking ahead, thinking. When it became too much for Rin and he turned his face towards his companion, she spoke slowly with bangs hiding her face from the world.
Nothing did scare him like what she said.
"There was a moment... Just for a second I thought... I thought... That it's not Yukio any more."
Suddenly the heavy rain that kept on pouring didn't seem so cold on his skin. Quite the contrary, it felt somehow soothing and alluring to him now because with that one statement he fell into the darkest corners of his mind.
A snippets of that time, from many months before filled his eyes. The great blue flames, burning. His younger brother consumed by Satan. Yukio's plea... His smile and then... Shot. Red, red blood spilling from his wound.
Back on earth, Rin found himself staring at Shura with fresh tears burning his eyes, standing limply. That memories, they still burned and still hurt. Even after months of that event. The mixture of his emotions put him on a roller-coaster, he was furious, sad and afraid at the same time.
"What?" he finally snapped, his brows furrowed, his fang glistening in the storm. "You can't say that... that..." He couldn't say it. It couldn't be real. Shura bested him on it though.
"He's possessed by Satan?" There was a mirthless laugh on Shura's side and a very cold chill running down Rin's spine. "No, he's not in his butterfly-mode... Yet."
"How..?" he asked, heart plummeting in his ribcage. It just wasn't possible, was it? They destroyed the Gate, they kicked Satan's ass back to Gehenna. Then how..? "I don't understand" he snarled, still glaring at Shura. She shrugged it off, just like her a bit too long fringe.
"Don't get me wrong here, Okumura" she stated then with hard, cold voice she rarely used, glancing at him. "But you don't know a squat about the things me and scaredy-cat are up to most of the times. I personally think it's better that way, you are still mastering the control over your demonic side..."
Baring his teeth, with tail swinging angrily, Rin grabbed onto Shura's arm and stopped them, glaring at her. Hard. "What's that's supposed to mean? And what is that got to do with Yukio and Satan?!"
Shura barked back, tiredness finally clearly visible on her face. "Listen here... It was just a simple mission. Nothing much, just a clearing of bunch of a rogue demons on the loose" she spoke, almost shaking from anger. Her eyes seemed on fire from all the emotions that swirled in her. "We weren't aware that the Gate was open nearby..."
Rin's eyes went wide, face going slack.
"So as you see, it has everything to do with them. Because frankly only you can get through that brother's of yours thick skull and snap him out..." she thrown into his face, brows furrowed angrily. "I can't even get close to him... He's... gone."
"Don't" Rin warned, tightening his grip on her arm. "He's not. He's just... lost a bit. I'll get him back" he said but his voice betrayed him, being soft and wavering.
Shura smiled bitterly, noticing his slip. "Of course... you need to. You're his other half."
This time, he nodded and let go of her. "Exactly" he stated with fake confidence. "Besides, I saved him once before, didn't I?" he declared, his lips quivering. For once in his life his words sounded so gallantly false even on his own ears. Still, he needed to believe. However if the chance was that Yukio was too lost already... No, he couldn't think such things.
"Yes, that you did" Shura cut Rin's thoughts mid-way, with something akin to reminiscence in her eyes. "I'd really appreciate if you did it again, just so I can beat scaredy-cat's ass myself. Again."
At that Rin cracked a smile. He nodded, but he didn't really want a repeat of the past. "So let's go! Where is he?"
Shura sighed deeply, looking briefly towards sky and then mentioned towards it with a nod. Rin followed her gaze and his eyes widened at the white-ish hue in the horizon. He didn't spot it before, but it was way too bright to be it middle of the night. Another loud rumble cut through the silence, however rain seemed to loose on it's heaviness. In his mind's eye however everything seemed to be sketched in black-and-white, as if the view was torn straightly from artist's book.
After moment of contemplation Shura spoke, sighing tiredly but pointing with her thumb ahead nonetheless.
"Over there, we need to move."
With that she -even in her battered shape- ran ahead into darkness, towards the light in the sky. Dumbfounded a bit, Rn could only shout after her fast moving figure.
"Hey, wait! Wait!"
At first, there was nothing but darkness, hollowness of the place he ran through. All that reached his ears were the sounds of their steps and steady pour of the rain around them. Then there were little things like a quivers of the leafs on the wind, a crack of the tree branch above his head, a squeak of a squirrel darting away in scare.
The place they were in, he couldn't recognize. It still didn't change the fact that he easily reached Shura's side in no time, running along with her through thickness of the woods.
After few long moments, a bright flash and loud crash, there was a visible brightening of the vision before their eyes. They were closing in to the place now. Just as Rin haphazardly tried to jump ahead into clearing he saw they were approaching, Shura grabbed at his black jacket, tugging him to a stop with silent eyes.
"What-?" he asked, demanding answer.
"The Gate is still open" Shura commented, her eyes darting around and then stopping to the west of their position. "We need to close it..."
Rin shrugged her hand off himself. "First we need to get through to Yukio. I won't close his soul in Gehenna nor I want Satan roaming the streets wearing him like some weird onesie."
Shura pondered his words in silence. Single rain drop splattered on her nose and she blinked. "We're screwed..."
That stunned Rin and he retailed instantly, all fired up and ready to take out his sword. "There's two of us, don't be stupid" he snapped, his demonic tail swinging. "I'll go for Yukio, you take care of the Gate, easy."
Upon hearing that Shura almost laughed. Almost. "It's not that easy. How I am supposed to know that you actually managed to bring scaredy-cat back in time?"
Rin blanched, suddenly feeling self-aware of his idea. "Well... Uhm... Ugh..."
Shaking her head tiredly Shura sighed. "We'll give each other ten minutes then. I hope you'll manage in time, because I ain't stopping in closing the Gate."
Rin did what he only could do, he nodded solemnly. "Good, ten minutes is a lot of time. I'll reach him in five."
Shura's eyes hardened at that. "He knocked out our whole team, almost got me" she stated sultry. As a response she got a full-view of a dark tail with a fluff at the end.
"But now, I'm here. I'll bring him back..." Rin smiled confidently, reaching for his sword. Once he had it in his hand, he sobered. "Also I have this, I think I'll be able to stop his flames with it."
"Are you serious?" asked Shura, befuddled.
"Yeah."
"This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard" she concluded, bewildered. "Even coming from you."
"Oy!"
Then she sighed, they didn't had any other way but to try. They could at least give it a shot, what was the worst that could happen, right? "Okay then, Okumura. We'll roll with it."
Rin's face split into a smile. "R-really?" he asked excited, his tail flailing about. One could think it was first time anybody agreed with him on something.
"Yes" she added, wincing a bit. Her left hand reached towards her thigh. "We don't have any other ideas how to put out Yukio's flames anyway."
"Great, let's go then!"
Upon hearing Rin's chippier tone, Shura reached for him but it was a futile thing to do as he wasn't there any more. Growling a bit under breath, she clasped her hands upon her bosom muttering incantation and took out her sword. Without looking back, she ran to the west, where the Gate was located.
Ten minutes.
They had ten minutes.
Hopefully, Yukio would be back by then and Shura will close Gehenna's Gate.
As if anything was that easy.
Well, it never was. Rin strode gallantly into the clearing they've seen, and stopped his mouth hanging open at the sight before him. Oh how astonished he was to learn that there was a lake. Even more surprising to him was a view of his younger brother in these sizzling blue flames, standing effortlessly on a middle of it, back facing him. If not for the ugly situation he found Yukio and himself in, Rin would say the view was beautiful.
Thunder shook the ground around them, rain kept on soaking every participant of this unusual occurrence. The place looked calm, eerie even. With a look around however the illusion of peace and beauty was easily dispersed leaving the traces of the fight clear in the rain. Few people were scattered around, knocked out cold but alive nonetheless. Maybe it was for the better they were unconscious.
"Oy, four-eyes!" Rin shouted into the sky, as loud as he could. He needed Yukio to come to him, not the other way around. "Yo, spotty-spot! I'm calling you!"
At that Yukio's posture changed, his shoulders tensed. Then he slowly turned around to stare at intruder.
"Rin..." he murmured, in trance.
Rin smirked. "I've come to kick your spotty ass, four-eyes!"
Yukio's eyes squinted. "You won't."
"Huh?"
"Because I won't let you."
The blue flames flared around, giving off a shine to the lake. Rin frowned, with his fang outside his mouth. He wasn't sure what but something was off about Yukio. There wasn't any trace of Satan's insanity but otherwise there wasn't any trace of his younger brother either.
It seemed as if complete stranger stood before him, staring with blue-red eyes...
"Tch" he snarled, narrowing his eyes at the demon. "Ya know I'm getting all fired up when you don't listen to me, four-eyes."
Yukio -or demon-to-be- cocked his head sadly. "Don't, nii-san. He's waiting for the right moment."
At that Rin's eyes went wide, scared. The situation was way too close to the one from months ago. "He's..?" he repeated, his hand on Kurikara's handle but unmoving.
Yukio nodded his head, finally turning side-ways towards his brother. He was smiling but the smile was forlorn and broken. "It's all my fault, nii-san. I should have known there's going to be Gehenna's Gate nearby but I didn't check."
Rin's face twisted in pain and sorrow for his brother. The younger one was still blaming himself for what happened, he was still fighting it alone. And he -Rin, being the big brother- asked him not to bear it all alone. But Yukio didn't listen, he never did.
Not able to hold it in any more, Rin snarled with tears spilling silently in-between raindrops, down his face. "Y-Yukio! You stupid, stupid idiot! I told you to come to me every now and then, why you didn't! I asked you to!"
Yukio however seemed completely unfazed by his outburst, he just stood with face blank in blue flames. "I'm... kinda holding him off, you know." There was a silent crack in his mind, and his hand reached to his temple. "Gack!"
Rin at that finally pulled Kurikara from sheathe and familiar flames sprang to life from within him. His partly demonic ears, fangs, tail and claws, now took appearance of those worn by fully pledged demon. Two blue flamed horns resided on his black hair.
Only then however Rin realised that his brother also changed, even more than the first -and only time- he's seen him in demonic form. Yukio just as him had two horns flaming on his head, his ears seemed even pointier than his own, he's even got a very similar lengthy appendage that was shining blue at the end while moving rhythmically to the sound of his heartbeat.
Yukio's eye twitched and he snarled loudly, now both hands digging into his short dark locks. At that Rin did what would every brother do and darted towards him, not thinking much of it. He was in the middle of the running on the lake when Yukio threw his one, open palm ahead of himself to stop him.
"Stop! Don't come any closer, nii-san! He wants you to come... Don't, please... Don't!"
Yukio's words stopped him instantly. With Kurikara in hand, his tail twitching angrily, Rin stood still. Only his blue eyes were taking in the picture before him, and he inhaled slowly.
"Yukio?" he asked, teeth almost snapping together. "Yukio, fight him! Push him out, you can do it! You fricken' DID IT BEFORE!"
There was a chuckle coming from Yukio. "I'm trying, it's not as easy... Maybe if, you close the Gate..? NYAHHHH!"
Enormous burst of the blue flame blasted Rin out his place and he actually skidded on the water, stopping only when he scratched at lake's surface with his demonic claws. Even then the burst was still coming out from Yukio, his flames swirling around in different shapes and just for a second Rin thought he saw the same shape that still haunted his dreams.
"YUKIO!" He scrambled to his hands and feet, jumping ahead towards his brother. He didn't care about world and certainly not himself. Because in his mind, heart and soul, he felt that without Yukio there wasn't Rin. If one of them were going to fall, then the other would do too. He crossed the distance between them in a record time and before he knew he was reaching with his free hand towards Yukio, soon after crashing their bodies together in a hug.
Younger male kept on screaming horribly, almost tearing at his hair and only with first touch of his sibling he snapped his eyes open, tears visible on his stricken face.
"Go away, nii-san!" he shouted into his brother's back, his eyes wide and terrified. "You're not helping!"
Rin however didn't budge but squeezed them harder. "I don't care, four-eyes. I'm not doing this for you."
At that Yukio seemed lost. His blue-red eyes then narrowed dangerously before he actually could home-in a strike. Rin stepped aside in an instant, tsked and smirked.
"Now, now, little one... You need be quicker than that."
"Nii-san!" growled Yukio, his teeth getting sharper. "Do you have a death wish?!"
He pondered for a second and then smiled. "Only if you have one, Yukio."
"Huh?"
At dumbfounded expression of his younger brother he almost laughed. He looked so confused and angry at the same time. He looked ridiculous.
"The thing is" he spoke, smirking in his big-bro mode. "Shura said something about us being two halves of a whole and I think she might be right. That's why, Yukio... No matter what, I'll always be with you."
There was another crack in young exorcist mind and his eyes got bit cloudier. When he spoke again his voice was different, mutated as if it wasn't one person speaking but many, many more. "What if he wants to die? Will you die with him?"
Stunned speechless, Rin gazed hypnotized at the swirl of the blue flames that burst around them. When it finally stopped, he saw the thing that froze the blood in his veins. The butterfly-shape on Yukio's back was almost mocking him, sizzling painfully with bright blue light.
Fresh sprout of tears gathered at his wide-opened eyes. A very ugly feeling spread through him when he couldn't take his eyes off the sight. It wasn't supposed to happen. His brother's face shouldn't take on that horrible, devilish expression that it did. Was it something he said? Why did Yukio stopped to fight? Why now? Why..? A million desperate questions filled his mind while his eyes took in the view before him. Because in that moment he knew it wasn't Yukio standing next to him but something way sinister and deadly.
As if on cue Yukio's face twisted into a wicked smile, and he looked at him with sickening pleasure. "Hello dear hellspawn of mine, I hope you enjoyed your short life..."
