Hello everyone! This is my first time writing something for Blue Exorcist so I'm pretty excited. :) Anyways, tell me if you guys would like me to continue this or not, I'll be trying to uploading the story weekly, mostly during weekends, however, if I can, I'll do so sooner. I have 5 chapters written out, so that should make things faster. ^^
Summary: Rin didn't mean to eavesdrop that night, but he was only a child, no more than seven years old. And yet, this slight event had only made his life a complete mess. A mess he didn't know how to get out of on his own. One he wouldn't dare want to involve others in.
I don't own Ao No Exorcist.
Enjoy!
Note: The twins are 7 years old.
Rin Okumura, as happy as he seemed, envied most kids his age. Especially these last few days.
The reason being that for some reason, Yukio has been going to Cram School. Shiro and his brother had said they were extra lessons so the smarter child could learn things that were more advanced. But Rin was smart enough not buy that bullshit. And Shiro probably knew that much.
Nevertheless, it was like some silent agreement was made. One where they agreed to pretend he didn't know they were lying. And so that meant Rin had to stay silent. But not only that, it meant that the surprisingly elder twin would have to walk home alone. Because for him to attend to those 'extra lessons' he had to go to a whole other school.
And that's why the aggressive yet harmless seven-year-old had to walk home in silence. Because he was alone.
If he had to guess, he was pretty sure it was some sort of plot so that Yukio would stay away from him. However, it didn't add up. At least, not the way it was supposed to. But Rin just shook his head, he was better off not thinking of these things.
He just wanted to get home. Fast.
Clutching his schoolbag, he ran as fast as his short legs had allowed him, only to realize, a little too late, that he didn't recognize where he was going in his haste.
Mentally scolding himself, he tried walking down random streets, only to realize he seemed to be getting further away from the monastery rather than closer. Stupid, stupid me. He bit the inside of his gums, one of his random habits when he was in a sticky situation.
However, what creeped him out most was that there were some rather weird not to mention sketchy people surrounding the place, most of them were dirty, others looked at him strangely, however, regardless of that, Rin knew this wasn't somewhere for a child his age.
He turned around, maybe he'd be able to find his way back to the school one way or another? But before he had the chance to do so, he felt someone pulling his hair. A sudden dread filling his stomach, "Ow! Watch it!"
The man who lifted him up snickered, he looked dangerous, and that was never a good sign. But there was something peculiar about him. More specifically, he had ears, tails, and fangs. Cosplay?
"Hey, kid." He called, before delivering a blow to Rin's stomach, causing the latter to start coughing. "Why don't we play a few games, huh? How 'bout it, just me n' you." He grinned. One that gave you chills down your spine, the malicious intent obvious. It only made Rin resist all the more, "Let me go! You bastard!"
Usually, his injuries were known to heal pretty fast, and he never really thought he needed it all that much. At least, not until now. His stomach ached, and the crash against the wall was definitely not something he's received every day.
He snickered, "Aww, did that hurt?" He sent a kick to Rin's side, one much worse than the previous punch. "Well, you should prepare yourself, because it's only going to get worse from now on."
He kept hitting the poor child, leaving him with the hope that, soon enough, he'd leave him once bored. "'Cmon, aren't ya going to fight back?" He sounded bored, and this only gave the older Okumura hope.
But whatever light had been there soon disappeared once he saw the… The creature taking out some sort of pocket knife. It was then he knew, if he didn't try to fight back, he'd die, he'd die before he could ever prove himself to both his father and brother. He'd never be able to find out about his true family. He wanted answers, maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, he'll get them.
Rin clenched his fists at his side, he felt something burning inside him, demanding to be released. He heard footsteps, approaching him. The creepy, dangerous and not to mention arrogant grin on his face. Once more, he grabbed a fist-full of Rin's black hair, nearing the knife towards him, mercilessly about to stab him.
And soon enough, Rin saw nothing but vivid shades of blue as he exploded into bright, azure flames.
The cold-grey clouds grumbled restlessly, and no more than seconds later, heavy rain was dragging out of the vapor. The thunder boomed, breaking any silence and if Rin was home, he would've yelped at each strike of lightning, shaking in the arms of his adoptive father and Yukio, hoping the storm would pass soon.
But the problem was that Rin wasn't home, he hadn't come home at the usual time, telling Yukio he had something to do—probably a fight—which is why everyone was so worried. Not to mention it was common knowledge that Rin absolutely despised storms.
Yukio kept glancing out the window every two seconds, hoping to catch Rin on his way home to the church. Injuries or not, he just wanted him to come home. Alive.
The younger twin was taping his fingers on the dining table, "Father," His hands were slightly shaking, fearing the worst, "Do you think Rin will be alright?"
Father Fujimoto, the twins adoptive father, has always been good at giving advice to others, seeing it was part of his job. Sadly, he couldn't really say the same when it came to himself. "Of course," He smiled at Yukio, trying to ease his tension, "Ya know Rin, he's always an energetic bundle of joy, he wouldn't give up on us." Yukio nodded, assured, the darker thoughts pushed in the back of his mind for just a while longer.
Although Rin was quite an energetic kid, people loved him for just that, the raw energy he gave to others was, simply put, beyond compare. Although he was rather violent for kids his age, he never fought without reason. He was the complete opposite of his genius-brother, however, they complimented each other perfectly. They always had each other's backs, no matter what. And Shiro couldn't be any prouder of his two sons. He'd risk his life to protecting them if it meant they'd be alive and happy.
His responsibility as a father outweighed any of his duties as an exorcist, not to mention Paladin. So when he started seeing just how scared Yukio was being able to see demons, he started teaching him—alongside Shura—to become an exorcist. He never wanted it to come to this but he wanted to teach him how he could fight his demons. And not only his but also Rin's.
Suddenly, a loud creak resounded through the house, and Yukio knew this meant the door opened. In the blink of an eye, he jumped out of his seat, running towards the entrance, "Rin!" Shiro got up smiling, happy to see Yukio so excited. He was walking to the front door, and only started to run when he heard Yukio's worried voice raising, "What happened to you!?"
Indeed, the sight was bad, The older child leaned against the wall, covered in scratches, bruises, and many wounds. He was clutching his side and winced whenever he tried to move. But when he saw the worried expressions of his family, he put up a smile, "Don't worry Yukio, m' fine," to prove his point, he got up, and stretched, "See? It's just a couple of scratches and bruises here n' there."
Yukio only sighed, he knew his brother well enough to know he just didn't want them to worry, "No." He said, making Rin look at him with wide-eyes, his smile faltering. "You're not alright, I don't know where you've been but you have to get treated, Nii-san!" Rin clutched his sides once more, trying hard not to groan at the pain, "Guess I don't have much of a choice."
Fujimoto got the first-aid for Yukio and soon, the younger brother started treating his wounds based on what he's learned in the Exorcist cram school. However, Rin had no idea about this, hell, he didn't know demons existed. "Wow, Yukio you're so amazing, when did you get this good?"
Although, as proud as he was of what he's learned during his training, he couldn't tell Rin the truth, not yet. No matter how much he wanted to. "Ah, well," Rin's eyes narrowed, almost as if he could tell he was going to lie, "I've been studying about it recently, dad also got me a few books." And although both kids knew that Yukio hadn't exactly lied, it wasn't the whole truth either. But Rin let it slide, he wasn't one judge, and he knew, if Yukio or his father lied to him, they had a good reason to.
Rin winced when Yukio started cleansing his wounds with alcohol. "Ow, ow, be gentle!" Yukio only shook his head, "It's your fault for being so reckless."
The sapphire-colored-eyed child pouted, "B-but it's not—" He was about to protest until his younger brother cut him off "You say that all the time, you should know that we're worried about you, you should be more mature about these sort of things." Yukio continued bandaging his brother, focusing as if his life depended on him.
"Don't forget 'm the older brother though!" Rin reminded, which only made him smile.
Yukio smirked,"Nah, I bet they just made a mistake ."
"Hmpf," Rin huffed, "You may be smarter but, I'm still stronger!" Something suddenly seemed to flash in his brother's eyes, which didn't go unnoticed by Rin, and he instantly took back what he said; "Then again... I don't think that makes me mature." He groaned, "How are we so different?"
"I dunno," Yukio replied. "But that's why we complete each other so well!" At this, both brothers grinned.
"True, we'd make the ultimate duo! Like in those shounen mangas!" Rin mused and played around with the idea in his head for awhile, imagining the two of them defeating demons or some other supernatural creatures. Yukio—more realistically—thought of Rin becoming an exorcist, just like him and father. In fact, he mentally noted to ask father later tonight, right now he was almost done with Rin's wounds.
Finally, putting a Band-Aid on the last cut, Yukio gleamed, once more proud of his job well done."There we go!" He's always wanted to test his newfound knowledge with Rin, in fact, one of the reasons he's wanted to become a doctor was so that he could help his brother.
"Anyways, now that you're all patched up," Yukio closed the first-aid kit given to him "Mind telling me about what happened for you to come so late at night? You even missed supper!"
The pitter-patter of the rain outside was still present, however, it wasn't the heavy downpour from before, instead, it was simply light rain, without any thunder. Rin glanced outside, noticing how the moon and the usually bright stars were hidden behind the ash-grey clouds.
"Well," Rin started, trying to come up with some sort of excuse, or at least, find some way to tell a plausible lie while getting a bowl of rice with chicken from the fridge. "I kinda ended up walkin' at the wrong side of the neighborhood, ya know, the one dad told us not to go in?" He put the cold rice and chicken in the microwave, setting the time.
Yukio was suspicious, he noticed that he was looking at his feet, and his back was facing him, avoiding eye contact. He knew his ticks, same as how Rin knew his. "It just all went downhill from there…"
The microwave beeped, signaling the food was ready.
"Anyways," This time, Rin had a grin on his face, the evil kind, "Dad told me that you've been having fun with a red-head girl named Shura~"
"Oh, God." Yukio groaned, immediately forgetting about any earlier suspicions. "Please don't get the wrong idea."
The older-twin held back a chuckle. Oh, how he loved to tease his brother. "Pft, of course not. Dad explained to me that you two are only flirting but are definitely very compatible." Rin's grin only grew wider when he saw the disgust in his brother's eyes.
"Ewww, that hag's eleven years older than me." At that, the older brother finally burst laughing.
"You actually called someone a hag! Wait till I tell dad 'bout this!" At this point, Yukio's face was a deep red, as he tried—but failed—to scare his brother with a murderous glare. "You wouldn't."
"Oh, I would," Rin said, before digging into his food.
And the timing couldn't be any better when Shiro decided to enter the room at that moment, only to see a very red Yukio glaring at his older brother who was pigging out on his food, as if oblivious to the dirty looks.
"Dad! Dad!" Rin jumped out of his chair, his mouth still full of food and a few rice grains around his lips. "Guess what Yuk—" But before he could even think of finishing his sentence, Yukio covered his twin's mouth with his hand, as he finally gulped down the chicken.
"Mfhm!" Rin said, trying to speak but nothing was really coherent, which only confused the Paladin.
"I-ignore him! He's just a little energetic now that he's back home, hahaha." Yukio said, laughing nervously.
Fujimoto only laughed at the twins antics, "Rin, isn't it time for you to go to bed?" He asked when he finally got out of Yukio's grasp.
The elder twin groaned. "Aw, come on dad, it's only ten o'clock."
"You need energy for tomorrow, besides, you have school, don't you?" He ruffled his hair before shooing him off to brush his teeth, the kid only muttering a grumpy "Fineee."
But seven-year-old Rin reallllllly wanted to know why Yukio didn't have to sleep yet. So he hurried to brush his teeth after flossing—just like his dad reminded the two boys—and leisurely made his way downstairs since, although he would never admit it, was very tired.
His hand was on the doorknob when suddenly, he heard his brother's voice coming from inside and thought better of it.
"Dad," The rain had started pouring again, and the sound of thunder boomed once again, and Rin had to do everything just to hold himself back from staying quiet and avoid pissing his pants. "Why can't Rin also become an exorcist?"
An exorcist? Yukio's going to be like dad an be one of those people who pretend demons exist but only really give advice? He couldn't really imagine that. After all, Yukio always told him his dream was to become a doctor.
But then again, he remembered what that... That thing showed up and cornered him in the alleyway, almost taking his life with some sort of metal pipe. Rin was screaming, crying, tried escaping, until suddenly, flames burst. And he knew it wasn't normal, but he didn't know how to tell his father anything about this either.
And then he remembered what it said, it was so creepy, calling him "Young Prince" and yet, he was still in some sort of daze of how, and what where those flames, he only faintly heard his voice as he ran away, "They're all lying to you, they don't care about you, young prince!"
Thinking about it still sent shivers down his spine, he decided maybe he should go sleep, or maybe this was all just a dream itself, whatever. And he was about to go to his shared-room with Yukio, he really was, but what his father said next wasn't easy to turn a blind eye on.
"Yukio," He sighed, "You didn't forget, right? Rin's Satan's son."
And at when he heard those words, the elder Okumura just froze.
Satan? But-but dad said I was human! Rin didn't get it, not one bit. And what-he-know-considered was-probably-a-demon's voice echoed in his head. "They're lying to you, they don't care about you, young prince!"
Was it possible? No. He had to keep listening, maybe there's more to this.
"Aren't we twins though? Doesn't that mean I'm satan's son too?" Rin had the same question running through his head no to mention a billion more, but most importantly, he was trying to hide and push away any doubts he had at this moment.
"You are twins, Yukio, but your mother was a human, and because of your body being weaker, you couldn't inherit the powers, but Rin did, which makes him only half-human."
"But... I have faith in Rin! I know he's still more than just half-human!" The elder twin's palms were sweaty his feet were shaking, and as much as he was happy about what Yukio said, he was scared.
"Rin's my son, just like you, I love you both more than anything no matter human or demon, if I didn't you two wouldn't be here now, would you? So believe in me when I say I trust him and want to protect him too."
At this, Rin smiled, however, still taken aback, and decided it was time to go back up to bed, completely forgetting what he came here for in the first place. In the end, maybe sleeping would help him get over it.
He walked up the stairs as fast as he could without making much noise. He loved his family, but he also wondered what the hell was happening. He just couldn't grasp it all. The son of Satan, exorcist, demons, and not to mention the secrets his family keeps.
All in all, his day was a mess, hell, he felt like a mess. His seven-year-old mind was too confused as he crashed on his bed, silent tears slipping, his hands covering his ears from what seemed to be numerous voices echoing in his head. He wrapped his arms around his small, shaking body. His breathing was heavy, and snot was leaking down his nose from all the crying.
And yet, as if some sort of miracle, in the middle of all the sobbing, all the voices and thoughts, Rin felt his eyes getting heavy. And before he knew it, he fell into an uncomfortably dreamless sleep.
The next morning, Rin woke up with a surprisingly high fever, there was no way Shiro could deny his son was ill. He was immensely worried, after all, even if the child rarely got sick thanks to his demonic heritage, he was still human. Not to mention, he was his son. He promised Yuri he'd protect him and his brother.
In fact, Yukio was just as worried about his twin brother. He even asked if he could stay with him — which Shiro refused telling him he still had to go to school. Rin smiled seeing how much they cared for him. But it didn't change how awful he felt.
He wasn't angry at them, it was more like he was frustrated. Frustrated this wasn't a dream. Frustrated that, his own life felt like a lie. That his own family lied to him. Wasn't he supposed to be able to trust them?
He didn't know what to do anymore. Not only that, he wasn't sure what was and wasn't real. This whole time he had grown up believing he was older, and so, had to protect his beloved sibling. But really, at this rate, he's the one being protected. It felt like a part of him had been ripped away.
He wasn't in any kind of competition with his brother. No. But he knew his family cared deeply for him, even if he was starting to doubt their loyalty, he believed they had their reason. They must have. And just as much as he might have doubts, he too cared a lot for them, more so than he actually showed.
In fact, that was the exact reason when his father announced he'd be off to do some important business — which he guessed was probably something related to his job as an exorcist — he didn't hesitate to search in Yukio's stuff and try to find out all he could about exorcism.
He was surprised to find so many books related to the subject. As much as the books were well-hidden, Rin knew his brother well enough to guess where he'd be putting important things like this. Seeing no more than around twenty minutes had passed, he started browsing through the books. His thirst for knowledge growing for the first time in so long.
He never really was one to read. In fact, excluding his shounen-mangas, he never did. He barely even studied. However, this was an exception, and surprisingly, he found himself going through this with ease. He went through the subject with little to no difficulty too.
It felt great, but before he knew it, it was time for him to start cleaning up, putting every book where he had found it. He went back to his soft bed. He was exhausted, yes, he didn't find what he was searching for, and yet, he had this undying motive. He wanted to not only fight with his brother like they had talked about last night, but also protect him. Protect him with every single ounce of strength he had. Just like Yukio was doing for him.
As he smiled to himself, he heard a knock on his door, shifting in his bed, he noticed his father, Shiro, looking rather tired. However, once he saw Rin's worried face, his problems had seemed to melt away. He approached his child and ruffled his already-messy hair. "Are ya doin' any better?"
He hid any sort of weakness with a tired smile, "Definitely! I can't wait for Yukio to come back home!" It's true that in fact, he was rather impatient to see his brother. He felt rather guilty for going through his things and simply wanted to see his brother smile.
Unaware of whatever Rin may have done to keep himself busy, he smiled fondly, glad his sons were getting along just fine. When they were first born, Shiro was worried they wouldn't get along, seeing as they are two completely different beings.
"Uhm," Rin hesitated, "Dad, can I ask you something?" He wanted to ask about the past, his family, he wanted to ask about Satan. But he didn't know if he should.
"Of course you can." He smiled fondly and seemed curious about what the-seven-year-old wanted to ask.
By now, Rin pretty much regretted it, he was fidgeting uncomfortably. But as he opened his mouth to confess about what happened yesterday, his door slammed opened and Yukio came in looking breathless.
"I—Is Rin okay?" Yukio's warm, caring eyes were enough to make Rin want to tolerate twice the pain he had to deal with. In fact
The elder-twin gave him a wan smile. "Of course I'm fine." As much as he and his brother were complete opposites, they had a unique bond, and it made them inseparable.
Yukio sighed, relieved. "That's good. I was worried ya know."
The elder twin scratched the back of his head. "Sorry 'bout that," He gave him a sheepish grin. "I didn't mean too… I guess I'm just really unlucky." He laughed, although it didn't feel the same, Rin still had doubts clouding his mind. He bit his tongue, he was never good at deceiving others.
Yukio, almost as if sensing his brother's worries, shook his head furiously "Nuh-uh! If that were the case dad and I wouldn't be here, would we?" He gave a small, yet sincere smile, one he only showed to his family. His real family.
Rin's eyes lit up, content to see that, as always, his younger brother was right. "I never thought of it like that! Thanks, Yukio!" Grinning at his brother's newfound energy, Yukio went to put his stuff back and Fujimoto said he'll be getting some soup for the two kids.
The night was spent full of laughter as Yukio talked about school and Rin suddenly remembered about the pile of homework he hasn't done. The priest joined in, and soon enough, everyone in the monastery was having a good time. Being with each other, and chattering without worries, unaware of any dangers, of the event that had occurred last night. The same event that would be the catalyst concerning many future events. Both good and bad.
And yet, that didn't seem to matter. It was Friday, and everyone was tired, especially the two twins. And so, somehow, somewhere in between all the excitement, Rin felt his eyes starting to feel heavy as he let out a yawn before falling into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Completed: May 1st, 2018
Word Count: 4249