(Lizzy S.)
Slowly, very slowly, consciousness returns to me. Wait, why am I asleep? And why do I hurt? My eyes flutter open, but for a moment I can't actually see anything through the pain I feel. Finally, it begins to subside, and I look around. I don't know where I am, but I manage to spot Yukio lying on the ground. I breathe a sigh if relief and, ignoring the immense pain, haul myself over to him. "Yukio, are you okay? I think something happened," I say, and put a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't move, and for a moment panic over takes me again. I press my hand to his throat and feel a pulse. Thank God, he's just asleep. Now, where are we? And why aren't we home? I push myself to my knees and force myself to stand from there, wobble a bit, then stabilize. My shoulder still burns and I wiggle out of my shirt to see why that is.
On my arm is a mark. A dragon, I think. It seems more like a brand than a tattoo, but I don't know how I would have gotten either. I frown in confusion and sigh. "Great. How did this happen?" I mutter to myself. I put my shirt back on and wince at the pain, which is unlike anything I've ever felt. Casting a glance back at Yukio, I walk away to find a vantage point where I can get a good view of out surroundings.
I finally find a tall tree and climb it - maybe not the best idea ever, given my condition. After several minutes, I reach the top and look around. The sight takes my breath away, for vile reasons.
Before my eyes is the border of Shinjitsu, my own kingdom. The land is in flames, everything is burning. Nothing spared... My breath catches in my throat and my head spins. Even from here, I can hear my people screaming, can feel the minds of the demons pursuing them.
Rage fills me, like nothing I've ever felt before, and I jump from the top of the tree. My demonic power is the only thing that keeps me from dying right then, and I shake off the impact effortlessly. I go back to where I woke up and retrieve Kurikara. I will not leave my people to die, not without dying before them! I draw the sword and allow the flames from within consume me. My power is unbeatable, and I will use it to punish whoever has done this to my people.
I throw the scabbard aside and charge toward the border, my unnatural speed taking me faster than any human could keep up with. When I encounter obstacles in my path, I simply bound over them. My power is as great as that of the Demon Kings, perhaps even greater, and I will use it as I see fit to aid in destroying these demons that have thought to take my home from me. They will pay. They will all pay!
I finally reach the nearest town and charge in head first, incinerating anything in my way. By the time I stop fighting, the whole place has been leveled, with barely any sign that a village once stood here. The smell of blood suddenly attacks my sensitive nose. I gag on the awful smell, choking and coughing violently.
Smoke also fills the air, finding its way into my lungs. I start to choke even more, till a hand covers my face and pulls me back. This person is strong, but there is no way they can fight against me. I try to struggle, but this strangely familiar grasp refuses to loosen. What?!
The person drags me away most of a mile, back over the border, before letting go. "Rin!" a familiar voice exclaims sternly. I frown, trying to place it. "Rin, you can't go back there. It's all wrong, and I know you hate it, but something has happened and we need to regroup with each other and come up with a plan, not charge in the way you tried to," the voice continues. I turn and stare at the speaker. A boy, my age, with disheveled brown hair, blue-green eyes behind spectacles, and three spots on his face. He looks like he's struggling to hold it together, a sense I haven't gotten off of him in a really long time. The rage that caused me to charge in the way I did dwindles away, leaving me nothing more than an empty husk. I feel so powerless all of a sudden. I silently wonder why.
"Yukio," I croak after a moment of trying to speak. "What happened here?" I ask. My brother grimaces and looks at the ground.
"Rin... If you don't remember, maybe I shouldn't tell you," he answers, his words spoken in the tone of reasoning that I hate so desperately. I glare at him forcefully, trying to pull up the rage I felt earlier, with little success.
"Yukio. Tell. Me." I say. My twin looks away again, trying to avoid my gaze, but when he glances back at my face, he heaves a sigh.
"Fine, Rin. But don't say I didn't tell you this was a bad idea. Your mind probably blocked the memories because they're so traumatic," he tells me, sounding less superior than usual and more like a tired sixteen year old. I feel guilty and put an arm around him.
"Thank you. But we should probably get out of here first. Come on," I say and pull him away from the ruins of our kingdom. He sags against me as we walk, until I'm supporting him almost completely. That has me worried. What could possibly be so bad that it has him this exhausted? Yukio is the one person I know who can strategically assign his reserves of strength and stay alive in a battle for days.
Finally, we arrive back where we started. I sheathe the sword and sit cross-legged with it across my knees, waiting for Yukio to begin. He takes several deep breaths before he's ready.
"Alright. Let's get this over with," he says shakily. He hesitates, then shakes his head. I hear his thoughts in my head. 'I can't do this. I can't tell him. You have to! You already told him you would, and you know he'll be angry with us if we don't tell him the truth. Besides, I'm sure you've piqued his curiosity by now, the way you're broadcasting our thoughts.' Startled, Yukio looks up at me, notices the way I'm staring at him. He removes his glasses and rubs his eyes, a pathetic expression on his face. His guard is completely down, I realize. That's bad. I'm about to say something when he speaks first. "Okay, I'm ready. I'll tell you now," he says. I almost tell him doesn't have to, but his demon was right; I am curious now. I nod, and he swallows. "You-" he stops almost as soon as he began, his voice choking. "This wasn't your fault, Rin!" he exclaims suddenly, staring directly into my eyes. His own eyes are filled with tears, and an expression of pure misery covers his face. I blink, taken aback by the display. It's been several years since my brother was this emotional. I scoot forward a little and take his hand in mine.
"Yukio, it's going to be okay, I swear. Whatever happened that I don't remember, I'll always be here with you. That isn't going to change anytime soon, okay?" I say. Yukio stares at me for a while, tears spilling out of his eyes and streaming down his face. Then he scoffs.
"You know, Dad said something similar to me when we were kids. And you know what? He's dead now; he broke his promise!" Yukio shouts. I stare at him, my heart beating hard and fast against my chest.
"W-What? He's... dead? How-What? I don't understand," I protest. I still don't remember anything, but Yukio looks like he's been through Hell. Literally. I frown as something finally clicks in my dazed brain. Flames... My country is in flames... Blue flames! Satan? Here?! It takes a moment, but I finally realize what has happened. I killed my father, didn't I? I caused his death by attracting the attention of Satan. Yukio nods, able to hear my thoughts the same way I heard his earlier.
"Yes." He answers simply, and I can tell he's answering both the spoken and unspoken sentiments. "He's gone, and the kingdom has been overthrown. Our subjects will probably all be dead within a month, if not sooner. There's nothing we can do about it, so we're better off looking for some place where we can pretend we're normal peasants and live out the rest of our lives in relative peace," he says plainly, all sympathy vanished once more. Now he's back to being the cold, heartless, stone-like person I've grown used to. Not my brother. I stare at him, then make up my mind.
"Show me," I order. He shakes his head, refusing, but I lunge and shove him to the ground, pinning him by his shoulders. "Show me, and I'll let go," I tell him. He struggles, but can't escape, and relents. Images flood into my mind of everything that's happened.
The argument I had with Dad. Him slapping me. The look on his face when he realized what he'd done. Blue flames consuming him the way they do me. Satan's mad laughter. The Gehenna Gate that allowed hundreds of demons into our heavily protected lands. Satan trying to drag me through the Gate. Dad taking control back, claiming me as his son. Killing himself to protect me. I destroy the Gate, but the damage is already done; demons flood my home, attacking anyone they can. I scream and flames flood the room, burning everything around me. Yukio puts up his arm to protect himself. The flames spread further, and I'm clearly not in enough control of myself to keep from hurting people. Yukio runs from me, trying to save any one he can from my un-tethered power.
The rest flashes by too fast for me to register; Yukio can't handle going back over his horrible recollection. I store it all away in my mind for later, but one thing has become clear to me. I hate to admit this, but Yukio is right; we have to run. I stand and hold out my hand to him. "We need to leave. We'll salvage what little we can, then we'll become refugees. Are you ready for this?" I ask as he takes my hand and I pull him to his feet. He shakes his head.
"No," is his response. Fair enough. I nod my understanding and collect the few things either he or I managed to grab before we left. Our eyes meet for an instant, then we both look away.
As we begin our journey, I realize what this dragon on my shoulder means. It represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins. And now it represents me. I am the Sin of Wrath.
Things will never be the same, but as we walk away together from the ruins of our kingdom, our home, one thing is seared into my mind.
No matter the cost, I must never use this rage inside me to hurt others.