Yukio had not slept the entire night. He had passed the time watching Yuma sleep. The older boy had only woken up once during the night. He complained about being in pain, but had said there was nothing Yukio could do. Yukio felt helpless, like all the times he was in trouble and needed to rely on Rin for support. Except this time, he was the one in the position to help, but couldn't. Out of the two scenarios, this was worse, even though Yuma seemed to know exactly what to do in this situation.
In the end, Yuma had gone back to sleep. His face had gone completely pale, and it was almost like he had passed out rather than actually fallen asleep.
Yuma's Meister choices had been well thought-out. He had considered his strengths and weaknesses, choosing the precise skill set he would train for based on that. It was quite a contrast to Rin, whom Yukio suspected only wanted to be a knight so that he could use his blue flames to fight. When Rin drew the Koma sword, he was no longer Rin Okumura, Yukio's twin brother and son of Shiro Fujimoto. He was Rin Okumura, son of Satan. Yukio would never admit to it, but that thought scared him. He had spent his entire life killing demons, even knowing that his brother was one. If Rin allowed his demonic side to consume him, then Yukio feared he would have no choice but to kill his own brother.
He had spent his life trying to protect Rin. But he couldn't protect Rin from himself.
Yuma stirred, drawing Yukio back to the present moment. His eyes opened, and he rubbed them seemingly instinctively.
"You're awake?" he asked. "Have you been up the whole night?"
"Yes," Yukio said. "I couldn't sleep. I am okay though. I don't usually sleep much anyway."
Yuma shifted on his bed so that he was sitting upright. "What time is it?" The question prompted Yukio to check the watch he was still wearing.
"Just after six," Yukio stated. "Yuma, are you‒"
"Would you like some breakfast?"
Yukio was a little taken aback by the interruption. He shook his head. "I should go and check on Nii-san," he said. "Then I have to prepare today's lesson, then go to normal classes, then Cram School..."
"Will you be eating among all that?"
"Of course. If he's awake, I'll have breakfast with Nii-san."
"Good," Yuma said.
It was astounding how Yuma had been the one who was unwell the previous night, and all he could think about when he woke up was Yukio's welfare. Was he eating? Was he sleeping? It was kind of sweet to have someone care that much.
"What about you?" Yukio asked. "Are you okay, Yuma?"
"I have a bit of a headache, but I think I might be a bit dehydrated, so that doesn't surprise me."
Yukio stood up, finally having an opportunity to be of use. "I will get some water," he said.
"Oh," Yuma said. "You really don't have to‒"
Yukio left before he could argue. He took a while to find which cabinet held the water glasses, and by the time he had actually gotten the water, Yuma was standing there. Yukio set it on the bench in front of him. "If you're not well enough to come to class, I will bring the work you missed to you this afternoon," he said.
"I wouldn't worry about it. I will be in class. You should go check on Rin. I'll be fine from here. I promise."
When Yukio got back to his own room he found Rin fast asleep, snoring lightly. The chances of him waking even if Yukio shook him were slim to none, so Yukio began working on his lesson. He heard Rin move behind him, but the older twin didn't wake. Yukio saw a slight glimpse of his brother's tail and sighed.
He had needed to be so careful since Rin's awakening. He could not say or do anything that even remotely hinted at his brother's condition, nor could he do anything to set Rin off in case he revealed his blue flames out of anger. This was easier said than done because Rin was temperamental. In addition, Yukio had realised that Rin was scared, even if his brother had not realised it himself. If the secret ever came out, there was a chance the Order would decide to kill Rin, and there would be nothing Yukio could do to prevent it, shy of killing Rin himself.
In a way, Yukio hated having to be this way with Rin. Protecting his brother, who was impulsive and aggressive by nature, was a difficult task, and one Yukio had always done without question. Rin had always demanded attention from others, while Yukio had fallen by the wayside on multiple occasions. In a way, part of what had made him bond so closely with Yuma was that the boy was his friend, and not Rin's. It was selfish, but that was how he saw it.
"Y-Yukio?" Rin muttered groggily. "You're back?"
Yukio had not even noticed his brother wake up. "Yes," he said.
"You didn't come home last night. Where were you?"
"Didn't you get my text?" Yukio asked. Had he even remembered to send it? He was supposed to tell Rin he was staying in Yuma's room.
"Eh?" Rin murmured, leaning over himself to check his phone. "Oh yeah…" he was reading the message for the first time. "You were at Yuma's. Why?"
"It's none of your business, Nii-san," Yukio said.
Rin screwed up his face. "Aww, don't be like that."
Yukio ignored him. He was trying to prepare his lesson for Cram School. He didn't have time to satisfy Rin's curiosity. If only his older brother was as curious about what he was learning at Cram school as he was about Yukio's whereabouts the night before. Yukio would probably die of shock.
"Oi! Four-eyes! You listening to me?"
Yukio was hit in the face with a pillow. His glasses were knocked clean off his face and into his lap. Yukio growled.
"I'm busy, Nii-san," he said. "Leave me alone."
Rin huffed, but thankfully didn't throw anything else. Yukio placed his glasses back on.
"Why do you like him?" he heard Rin ask.
"Yuma?" Yukio asked. He stopped his work and turned to face his brother. "Because he is driven, focussed. Unlike some people I know." He raised his eyebrow at Rin's scowl. "He's kind and serious and he's strong, in his own way. Why don't you like him?"
"I don't not like him," Rin argued. "I hardly know him. At school, he kind of keeps to himself. He doesn't really talk to us."
"He's shy," Yukio said. "And maybe a little intimidated. There are some big personalities in that class. Yourself included, Nii-san."
Rin thought about this, or at least he seemed to. "He doesn't really have a lot of friends, does he?"
Yukio shook his head. "Not really. Everyone his own age is a year above him in school. He didn't know anyone when he came to True Cross, I don't think." Yukio sighed. He slid off his bed as his stomach began to rumble. "Would you like some breakfast?" he asked Rin.
His brother nodded slowly. "Sure."
Yukio handed his pillow back to him. "Try not to throw anything else at me, Nii-san."
Yukio and Rin sat down to breakfast. The meal had already been prepared. It was something Yukio did not spend a lot of time reflecting on, but now he wondered if the same mystery chef that they had never seen also cooked Yuma's meals, or whether it was a different person for a different floor. He made a mental note to ask his friend about it later.
Rin was clearly not thinking about where it came from. He was shovelling the bites of food into his mouth desperately as though it would be taken from him if he didn't finish quickly. Yukio sighed, looking at his lesson plan.
The second Rin was finished he stood up, abandoning the tray. "This was nice," was all he said before he stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Yukio in the dining area alone.