Hi guys! Welcome to my first story! I finished watching the anime a few days ago, which gave me a lot of insight about Yukio's character. There was a lot of subtle hints throughout the episodes hinting to his desire to 'belong', which I decided to incorporate into my story. The first few chapters will feature Yukio's past - when he is training to become an Exorcist. Please let me know what you guys think! The first official chapter should be posted later this week. Thanks for reading. -helpwhatiswrong


STOP, PLAY, REWIND

P R O L O G U E


The rumors followed him like a dark cloud.

Okumura Yukio closed his eyes and he walked down the lavish underground hallways of True Cross Academy. It was his third year attending the nightly cram school, yet the rumors never seemed to cease.

He could feel the student's eyes on him. Their judgment and prejudice against him was reflected in their gazes.

"There he is again."

"Just because he's the Paladin's son doesn't mean that he can become an Exorcist at such a young age."

"Unforgivable."

Yukio knew that he shouldn't take the older students remarks to heart. He knew that deep down, the older students weren't cruel. But, at the tender age of twelve, their words struck a chord in his heart and made him feel utterly alone.

It wasn't always like this, of course. At first, the older students welcome his presence and treated him like their own younger sibling. However, once he began to show his natural adaptability to the things he learned in class, the older students began showing a very different side of themselves to him.

"How disgusting." Yukio flinched, thinking that the cold words were directed towards him. "Can't you guys do anything better than make fun of underclassmen?"

Yukio slowly opened his eyes and turned to see a brown haired girl pointing an accusing finger at the older students. The older students conveyed a look of shock on their faces, "What are you talking about, Mayuri-chan? We're just fooling around." One of the students replied with a light tone.

"Oh right, and I'm just fooling around when I tell you guys to get lost." Mayuri replied with the same light tone along with a smile.

The older students hesitated, not sure whether to take her words seriously. Mayuri narrowed her eyes, "I said, get lost." The students flinched at the tone of her voice and immediately went into their respectively classrooms.

Meanwhile, all Yukio could do was stare at Mayuri in shock. They never exchanged more words aside from a single greeting. They weren't friends, merely acquaintances, so it didn't make any sense to Yukio that she would stand up for him.

"You'll have to excuse their behavior, Yukio." Mayuri suddenly spoke, turning to face the younger boy. "Sometimes, their heads are caught so far up their asses, they forget their manners."

". . Why did you help me?" The question came out faster than Yukio expected. The boy then covered his mouth and lowered his head in embarrassment.

Mayuri blinked," It wasn't for any particular reason." She admitted, with a small smile tugging on her lips. "Should I have stayed out of it?" She took his silence as a 'no'.

Yukio flinched as Mayuri reached forward to muss his hair. "It's okay to accept help sometimes, Yukio."

"I'll see you in class."

Those five words were so simple in their own nature, but so comforting to Yukio. For the first time since he stepped foot on campus, Yukio felt acceptance.