Son of Satan, Child of Heaven
Disclaimer: I own diddly squat.
AN: So here's a challenge idea I had for Blue Exorcist. Now before I detail it I just want to warn the readers. I don't know if you've read my profile but I'm a Christian through and through, and this story reflects my beliefs. I know not everyone on this website feels the same way I do so if this idea isn't your cup of tea please turn back now and I've also gotta implore you not to leave a flame saying how stupid I am or any other kind of negative comment. It's a free website and I'm free to express my beliefs, but at the same time I respect other people's decisions in life so I won't judge them. Now, onto the description of the challenge.
This happens after the battle with Amaimon where Rin's heritage is revealed. When Rin was in the depths of despair a few nights later, he decided to do something he hadn't done in years. He gets onto his knees and utters a prayer to God from the depths of his soul. Little does Rin know, he was waiting for the moment where Rin swallowed his pride and asked for help. God then calls Rin to the area between this life and Heaven, and meets Father Fujimoto's spirit. Fujimoto explains to Rin that thanks to his humility and the purity of his soul, God has decided to cleanse Rin of his blood ties to Satan. The reverend explains that God has gifted Rin a small portion of his power to replace the ones Satan implanted in him, and can now use them to fight the forces of Gehenna.
The way I see it, Satan was cast out of Heaven because of his pride and arrogance, believing he could take God's place. When Rin shows that he is not above asking the Creator for help, and that all of his intentions had been for the sake of others, it shows Rin is nothing like his 'father'. Of course, Satan's powers bind him to Rin, so the only thing powerful enough to completely expel them without killing Rin was for God to give him a portion (tiniest possible) of His power, driving out Satan's influence. This of course gives Rin a slight change in looks. He still has the tail, though it's now pure white instead of black (because I've always thought the tail was a cool look for him) and the flames, instead of being Satan's blue, are a pitch black (Amatarasu) that can easily slay those whose hearts are filled with evil, yet only feel warm to those with good intentions.
Also, Rin no longer has the horns of fire nor the elf ears, but instead has angel wings whenever his power is unleashed. And the Koma Sword is instead replaced by a sword made purely of the black flames (the Sword of Eden) and he can also materialize an impenetrable shield (the shield against Satan's flaming arrows). These powers and Rin's severed ties with Satan will drastically change many points in the story. No real plan for pairing, just keep it believable and NO HAREM! Again, this is a CHALLENGE people, so I have no intention of continuing the story beyond this opening chapter. You want to see more? Take up the challenge or find a friend who'd want to do it. Also, if you do want to do the challenge please either PM me or ask in the review section. Any who, on with the sample chapter!
True Cross Academy (Rin and Yukio's Room)
Rin rolled over in his bed, trying and failing to fall asleep. His mind was a whirlwind of emotions at the moment, all going back to the last few days. Though in truth, things had been messed up way before then, when he found out his heritage. Now, thanks to that jerk Amaimon, all of his classmates in the Exorcist Cram School knew his secret. Bon was madder than normal, Shiemi seemed to get upset every time she looked at her, Izumo seemed indifferent as always, Shima and Konekomaru seemed to flinch every time they made eye contact, Shura was as mysterious as ever, he felt as if Mephisto was playing him along like a puppet, and it felt like Yukio was becoming more and more of a stranger with each passing day!
'When did everything get so messed up?' Rin thought glumly, 'Father Fujimoto's dead, Yukio's like a completely different person, and all my friends hate me. Now I've gotta pass the Exorcist Exam or risk getting executed! I-I honestly don't know how much more of this I can take!' he ended desperately, his eyes dangerously close to spilling tears.
'I wish- I wish Satan never gave birth to me! All I wanted to do was live a normal human life and look out for those I care for, but ever since that evil bastard came into my life it's all been going downhill! I can't keep this up by myself!' the teen thought in despair.
Finally having enough of the dark thoughts getting the better of him, Rin did something he hadn't really done since the night Fujimoto died. He got out of his bed, and bowed his head in prayer.
"I don't know if you're listening God, or if You'd even want to hear from someone like me, but please, I need Your help! My life is spiraling out of control and I can't do a thing to stop it. This is all becoming too much for me Lord, so please give me the strength to go on! I want to protect those who I call my friends, those who I love, but they can't even look at me anymore! I'm begging you, Lord, to help ease this burden that has been placed on me. And please deliver me from Satan's grasp! I'm nothing like him, I want to be like Father Fujimoto! Please Lord, help me. In Your Son's name we pray, Amen," Rin finished with a sigh. Feeling drained all of a sudden, the inheritor of the blue flames crawled back into bed, put up his covers, and fell asleep.
When Rin's eyes opened, he found that he wasn't in his dorm room anymore, but in a place that was oddly familiar. With a great sense of nostalgia, Rin recognized the place as the park Father Fujimoto would take him and Yukio to when they were kids. However, the park felt…better for some reason, like any imperfection it had ceased to exist. It gave the teen a sense of relief and happiness that he hadn't felt for a long time coming. "Well, at least my dreams are nice," Rin said contently.
Suddenly, he felt someone loop an arm around his neck and pull him into a tight headlock. "What th-?!" Rin exclaimed as he felt the air suddenly leave his lungs. With a heave, Rin broke away from his assailant and turned to get ready to fight, but suddenly felt his whole body go numb when he saw who had grabbed him. Rin's eyes went wide and his face paled, causing the man before him to laugh.
"Bwahahaha! Oh man Rin; you should see the look on your face! I haven't seen you make a face like that since I caught you trying to hide the sheets after you wet the bed!" the man joked while looking at Rin's stunned face.
"H-how's this possible?! I saw you die!" Rin shouted out in shock after a few moments, finally allowing his brain to process that Father Shiro Fujimoto, the former Paladin and both Rin and Yukio's guardian, was standing before him alive and well. Now that Rin got a closer look at him though, Rin could see subtle differences about this Fujimoto. For one, he seemed younger somehow, his wrinkles nearly none existent. Also, his body seemed to have a mesmerizing glow about it, almost like watching a firefly.
Fujimoto smiled, and this one was filled with warmth and compassion that Rin had missed seeing in the last few months. "It's true my time on Earth has reached its end, Rin. But now my second life, my True life, has only just begun," seeing Rin's confused face, the Reverend sighed, "Come on Rin, surely you've listened to enough of my sermons and lessons to at least have an idea of where you are, huh?"
Rin squinted his eyes in confusion before looking around at his surroundings once more. He again noted that while it was very similar to his childhood park, it still felt more…perfect. Also, he could hear a gentle breeze and the swaying of plants, but no people or animal sounds could be heard. The gentle serenity, the sheer beauty of the surroundings, Father Fujimoto alive and well, the happiness he felt, all of it put together made this place feel like…Paradise.
"N-no way!" Rin stuttered out as comprehension dawned on him, looking at his adoptive father in eyes filled with shock. "A-am I in H-Heaven?!" he asked, barely daring to hope for a confirmation.
Fujimoto smirked and gave a nod of his head, causing Rin to gasp. Then, a sudden thought entered his mind that caused Rin to feel a rising sense of panic. "W-wait! Does that mean I'm d-dead?! Oh no! This happen!? I had too much to do back on Earth! What about my friends?! What about Yukio?! Oh man, is he gonna be so mad at me…!" Rin continued to babble until Fujimoto came over to him and bonked him right over the head, causing him to yelp in pain as a large bump formed.
"IDIOT! Do you remember dying?! No? Then you're not dead!" the former Paladin scolded before calming himself and continuing, "Anyway, you're not technically in 'Heaven,' this is more of an in-between point from Earth to Heaven. Some tend to call it Purgatory, but it's not really a place where you wait to be judged, more like a place where you can communicate with Heaven without actually dying."
Rin nodded a bit, seeing as that made sense in a way. "So why am I here?" he asked.
Fujimoto gained a more serious look, yet still seemed happy and at peace. "You see Rin, when you made that prayer; you admitted your own fears and forsake your pride. Those facts, along with how you've openly renounced Satan and have only used your powers have fully gained His attention," the priest explained.
"Who's He?" asked Rin.
"I am He," a voice that seemed to both boom and whisper at the same time echoed through the area. The two turned to the source of the voice and Rin couldn't help but gape. Striding towards them was a figure that seemed to be cloaked in Light. Calling the Light white would be an insult to the Light, since it seemed so much purer than that, draped whiter than new fallen snow around the figure. Rin couldn't quite make out the face, since the light surrounding Him was so bright it blocked His face from view. His clothes, while shimmering in the Light, seemed to flow and ripple like water around Him.
As the Man stood before the two, Fujimoto went down to his knees and gave Rin a sharp jab with his elbow, causing the boy to get onto his knees as well. "W-who are you?!" Rin stammered, as he could feel the power rolling off of the Man. It almost reminded him of when he first met Satan, yet where his powers felt cold and angry, the Being before him now gave a near indescribable feeling. It was like, all the good in the world and then some were radiating off of this Man.
"Good." The Man nodded, pleased as if Rin passed some unknown test. "You should test every spirit."
"Who are you?" Rin repeated, firmly this time.
"Who am I?" And Rin could have sworn he saw a slight smile crossed the Man's face in the bright Light. "I am before. I am after. I gave My life for you before you were born." He gently breathed the words. "I Am."
Rin felt weak in the knees at this and he almost wasn't able to ask his next question, "W-what do you want with me, Lord?"
He felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, one that he could feel a hole in the palm, and Rin relaxed at the touch. "I have heard your plea, and have seen your life. It has been decided that I will free you from the grip Satan has on you. However, because Satan's powers are a part of you, it was necessary to bring you here so I could remove them personally. Before I do so, I must ask you this: would you still fight against Satan without your abilities to wield the Blue Flame?"
Rin gained a resolute expression on his face and said with complete confidence, "Of course I will!" He could see Father Fujimoto give him a proud look out of the corner of his eye at this.
"Good answer," said the Man and he placed a hand on Rin's chest. "Go forth and be well, for once you were the son of Satan, but now you are a Child of Heaven!"
With that, the surroundings started to fade to white. Before everything faded completely, Rin heard Father Fujimoto say, "Good luck, Rin! And tell your brother I said goodbye!"
Then, Rin felt his body nearly explode in warmth!
Rin and Yukio's Room
Yukio was awoken when a bright light suddenly shown from his brother's bed. Squinting his eyes, Yukio tried to look through the light and saw Rin dead center, seemingly floating on top of his bed with an expressionless look on his face. Leaping over to where his brother was, Yukio called out in concern, "Rin?!"
Suddenly, the Koma Sword sprung from its sheath on the other side of the room and floated on top of Rin. The boy's looks took on the appearance he had when his powers were unlocked, but for some reason the blue flames that sprung up seemed to be forced from his body. With a large cracking sound, the sword suddenly broke in two, and the room was filled with a light so intense, Yukio not only closed his eyes but also covered his eyes with his hands. "RIN!" Yukio screamed out as a wave of energy washed over his brother's form.
Scene Break: Mephisto's Office
The headmaster of True Cross Academy's head snapped up with a jerk at the sudden tidal wave of energy that washed over the school. It didn't feel demonic in presence though, it almost felt…
"Oh my," the man smirked as he popped a few sticks of Pocky into his mouth idly, "Now this makes things very interesting now, doesn't it? I can't wait to see how this all turns out!" Mephisto finished with a joyful laugh that seemed to echo through the room.
Scene Break: Gehenna/Hell
Demon's scurried away as a sudden powerful blast of blue fire exploded in the middle of a dark abyss. A deep, demonic voice could be hear wailing over the roar of the flames that destroyed anything in its path whether it was demon, damned soul, or even simple rocks.
"RRRRAAARGH!" the voice of Satan howled for all in his domain to hear. "DAMMIT! I was so close! You'll pay for this, Rin Okamura! I swear on all my power you will BEG me to kill you after I get my hands on you, you ungrateful brat!"
The nearby demons stayed silent in fear of invoking their master's wrath, the flames burning all the more intense in the dark nothingness.
Scene Break: Rin and Yukio's Room
The light faded, and Yukio's sight started to return. What he saw shocked him. "Rin? Is that you?" he whispered.
Rin knelt in the middle of the room, a ring of ash circled where he kneeled. His appearance was not what it once was. His face was largely the same; however his ears no longer were long and pointed like an elf's, just normal human ears. His eyes had a golden glow to them instead of the blazing blue they once had. Also, instead of horns made of flame, it almost looked like his hair had white wings poking out of the sides. Rin's tail was still there, but instead of coal black it was snow white. Finally, what looked like two wings made of black flame sprouted from his brother's back, covering his shoulder.
In Rin's hands, Yukio noticed that instead of the Koma Sword, there appeared to be a katana made entirely of black flame, from the hilt to the blade, and seemed to expel soothing warmth from it. Finally, around his right wrist there was a small band that had a charm in its center that was shaped like a shield with a cross in its center. Rin stood up and looked over at his brother, giving him a wide smile. Yukio noticed that Rin's expression seemed more mature now than it had just earlier that day, and was radiating calmness from it.
"Of course it's me, Yukio," Rin spoke, "And I'm feeling better than ever!"
AN2: So here's my Blue Exorcist idea! Not exactly my best writing, but I feel the idea has much potential. Whenever you read a Blue Exorcist story talking about Heaven in any way, it is usually a female character who's the child of an angel or something to be a love interest to Rin. I wanted to change that around a bit. After all, both Rin and Yukio were raised in a Catholic church and there are multiple Christian themes in the story (i.e. Crosses and Satan are Christian concepts), so this is my way of broadening the idea in the series.
I was also partially inspired by the film Heaven is for Real that I watched recently (great film btw) and wanted to get this up. Not exactly comfortable with some of this writing because I tried to do all the scenes justice but for some reason the words just didn't come to me easily. Hopefully whoever adopts this does a better job than I did. Any who, here's the latest challenge and I hope you all enjoy!