Disclaimer: Ao no Exorcist/Blue Exorcist belongs to Kazue Katou. May Yang, Quian Li Yang and all the new demons are invented by me.

I would like to thank Poisonsnake23 for beta-reading this chapter and making some suggestions/corrections.

Chapter 12 - Like sun after the rain

Once the exorcists are all aboard the Shinkansen, Yukio briefs them all again on their mission, "...and that's all... We'll be arriving to Kyoto in about 35 minutes, so relax till then." as he's done, he walks toward Rin's seat, "Rin... can you come with me for a second? There's something I need to tell you."

"Huh? Sure."

Rin stands from his seat and follows him. Before leaving the car, Yukio launches a glare at May. After a few seconds, Renzo stands from his seat too.

"Where are you going?" Konekomaru asks him.

"The toilet. I'll be right back." Renzo smiles.

Rin and Yukio walk into an empty car. Yukio stops in the middle of the corridor and starts staring outside the window.

"So... what did you want to tell me?" Rin casually asks as he's about to reach Yukio's side.

"...I found out that I inherited Satan's power too." Yukio simply states. Rin freezes on the spot, "That's what I've been hiding from you and from everyone else all this time."

"...What...?"

"Back when we were sent to Kyoto, last summer, that's the first time it manifested. That was when I found out about my power..."

"So you... Hold on... I was supposed to be the only one who inherited Satan's blue flame! Father Fujimoto told me that you-"

"I didn't inherit Satan's blue flame. The power I possess... is different."

"Different? What do you mean? What is this power?"

"After I awoke to it, I decided to run a few tests to try to figure that out on my own... But as I was in uncharted territory I managed to learn very little about it. Then, back in Aomori, I got injured and was hospitalized. And after that I had to focus on the preparations for the exams... So up till a week ago, I wasn't sure. But now I fear... it may be something even more powerful than your flame. It could be something really dangerous... That would explain why Father didn't want me to know the truth. He knew the real extent of this power."

"We can't risk that... Yukio must never know!"

"Yukio..."

"I can't keep hiding this anymore. So, I made a decision... After this mission, I'm going to resign from my exorcist role... and give myself up to the Order."

"You... Hold up! When they found out about my power, they threatened to kill me! If, by any chance, they find out that your power is really that dangerous, they-"

"They could execute me right away."

"Then..."

"It's all right... If I'm bound to become a threat for humanity, I'd rather die."

"You can't be serious... You're not serious, are you?!" as the words are spoken, Rin catches a familiar glare in Yukio's eyes. The same he gave him back when Rin asked that same question to Yukio. And in that moment, Rin realizes that what Yukio's been telling him so far may all be part of a plan of his, just like at that time. He lets some of the tension that's been building up inside him get loose, before staring back at Yukio with a knowing smirk. Yukio flashes him back a small smile, "That's right... It's your fate. So you're the only one who can determine its course..."

After a while, Rin walks back to re-join his friends. Yukio stays in the empty car a little more, Renzo taking the opportunity to show up.

"Quite the creative way you came up with to let him in on your secret..." he starts off. Yukio turns to look at him slightly, "Man, you really are a genius..."

"Thank you."

"And since you are that smart, I'm sure you can guess what that declaration just now will lead to."

"Yes... I do." Yukio smirks and, the moment after, he walks outside the car.

Renzo grabs his phone and starts dialling a number, "...Looks like the pressure got the best of him, in the end... He's gonna turn himself in to the Order after this mission."

"...Did it sound like he was serious about it?" Todo, on the other side of the phone, asks him.

"He sounded dead serious... If we don't act soon, it could be too late."

"I see..." Todo smiles, "Well, I was already planning to drop by one of our Japan research laboratories today... I'll take the opportunity to pay our dear Mr. Okumura a visit and have a nice talk with him..."

January 18th - Kyoto

The group reaches its destination and goes to the Kongo-Shinzan to meet with the Myodha exorcists.

"Renzo! Long time no see!" Juzo teases his brother.

"Hehe..."

"Ryuji!" Tatsuma greets his son.

"Dad..." and Ryuji exchange a knowing smirk with his father.

"Four-eyes..." Juzo greets Yukio.

"Juzo... Are your squads ready?" Yukio asks him.

"They are just as planned. Here're the maps." Juzo smirks at him, handing him a folder, "All right, time to get going... See you later!" and Juzo and Tatsuma walk away.

"Huh? Where are they going?" Renzo asks.

"Demonic activities have been registered not only in this area but even in the surroundings... The Myodha main squads will deal with the strongest demons, while we will support them by getting rid of the minor ones. To do this, we're going to split into groups of two... Suguro and Miwa... Kamiki and Okumura... Shima and Takara..."

"What?! Me and him?... You serious?!" Renzo complains, turning to look at Takara.

"...Me and Yang." Yukio concludes, "Now, take these maps." and he hands one map to each pair, "Each one of these maps is different. Follow the route traced over them to reach the location you've been assigned to go to... Got it?"

"Yes, sir..." Rin ironizes, staring at his and Izumo's map.

"Then let's get moving!" Yukio declares.

Yukio and May are walking toward their destination. At a certain point, they spot a couple demon's active in two different areas.

"I'll take care of the demons over there!" May tells to Yukio.

"Be careful..." he tells to her.

May smiles at him and takes her leave.

Upon their arrival to their location, Izumo and Rin find no demons waiting for them. Rin starts looking around the area.

"Huh, where're the demons?" Rin wonders. But Izumo doesn't say nothing, "...What's going on?"

"She should be arriving here in a few minutes." Izumo states.

"...She?" Rin asks confused.

In that moment, a noise coming from behind some of the nearby bushes is heard. Rin and Izumo simultaneously turn toward it.

Yukio reaches an open area and, as soon as he steps into it, he recognizes the same place where he met with Todo, months ago. He walks to the center of it and stands still for a few moments.

"My, my..." Todo walks out from behind a nearby tree. Yukio turns to face him. "And here I thought you and I were the same... I really truly believed no one in this whole world could understand my feelings better than you..." he stops a couple meters away from Yukio, "That anger... that comes from realizing just how weak and powerless you are compared to them..."

"When I was little... I looked up to Rin."

"That pain... while struggling to get even close to what they were..."

"But... at the same time, I was... always..."

"That sense of frustration... that comes from realizing how useless all your attempts were..."

"...always... so frustrated."

"That hate... toward yourself... That unbearable hate..."

"But more than that... I hated myself for being small and weak... The one I really hate is myself!"

"Yes... I experienced it too... just like you... I let it run through my veins... Eat at my sanity... to the point... it hurt... And then... I started asking myself... 'Why am I doing all this?'..."

"There must be more I can do."

"I have to find out."

"I need to re-create the phenomenon they exhibited."

"So I need circumstances that make me fear for my life."

"You must... do this. I must..."

"'What was that I really wanted?', 'What is... that I want?'... 'I want to be...'"

"I want to be..."

"'...stronger than them.'"

"...stronger than my brother."

"...You were walking my same path... so I was sure it was just a matter of time before you reached my same conclusion... but, in the end, you chose to stray from it... What a shame... Yukio Okumura."

"You're right... We were the same..."

"...So are you telling me that you found a better way to cope with your hate?"

Memories of Rin's and May's smiling faces crosses Yukio's mind.

"...At one point, I decided... that I was done hating myself."

"...I see..." and Todo raises one of his hands to summon a flame. Yukio pulls out one of his guns and the two start fighting. At first, Yukio manages to counteract Todo's flame attacks. But, in the end, one of them hits him, sending him to the ground. Todo jumps over him, "What a real shame..."

Numerous noises are heard all around the surroundings. In that moment, Rin jumps out from behind a bush, sword unsheathed. Todo swiftly dodges his blow. Rin lands in the middle of him and Yukio.

"You bastard... Stay away from my brother and don't ever get close to him again!" Rin shouts, his eyes burning with anger. Todo stares at them and realizes what's going on.

Todo smirks, "So, in the end, you told him, huh?" he asks Yukio, but the teen doesn't answer.

Rin starts casting his flame on him. Todo jumps all around the field to dodge them, making it hard for Rin to reach him.

"I humbly beseech thee to grant my request... Uke! Mike!" Izumo calls for her familiars as she walks into the field. The two byakkos start attacking Todo, "Limit his movements!" she orders them.

They obey and together, with Rin, they manage to corner Todo. At that point, Rin intensifies his flame attacks till Todo absorbs a large amount of them.

"I see... So this was your plan... You wanted to lure me into a trap... I should have expected it from you..." Todo comments, in between one attack and another, "But you still disappoint me..." at one point, one of his attacks hits Uke.

"Uke!" Izumo screams.

"If you were planning to use this trick again... you should've thought things through better..." and one of his attacks manages to hit Mike too.

"You..." anger starts building inside Izumo.

"Making me overheat by absorbing your brother's flame is a good idea, I'll give you that... But how are you going to counteract Karura's regenerative ability this time? I checked the weather forecast before coming here... and it looks like rain won't come to your aid today..." Todo notices that Yukio is staring at him with a calm expression, like he's got something in his mind. When Todo is almost reduced to ashes, Yukio reaches for the other gun in the holster on his back, "Oh... That's right... You got those Naiad bullets..."

"Actually, we got something even better..." Yukio declares with a smirk, aiming both of his guns at Todo.

In that moment, May steps into the battlefield too. She and Yukio start shooting water bullets at him. Rin interrupts his assault and steps back. Todo's body slowly melts and one of his arms drops to the floor. Todo uses his remaining hand to pull out from his shoulder one of the bullets he's been shot with.

"Bullets blessed by the Sea Dragon King... The Azure Dragon... That Mr. Yang... he never mentioned how he got that demon... So, he inherited it... and after his death..." Todo lifts his gaze to stare at May, "Looks like you win this time..." and he turns to smile at Yukio, "Mr. Okumura."

"...and that's all... We'll be arriving at Kyoto in about 35 minutes, so relax till then." As he's done, he walks toward Rin's seat, "Rin... can you come with me for a second? There's something I need to tell you."

"Huh? Sure."

Rin stands from his seat and follows him. Before leaving the car, Yukio launches a glare at May. After a few seconds, Renzo stands from his seat too.

"Where are you going?" Konekomaru asks him.

"The toilet. I'll be right back." Renzo smiles.

As Renzo leaves the car, May stands from her seat. She hands one folder to each of the three exorcists left in the car: Izumo, Ryuji and Konekomaru.

"What's this?" Ryuji asks.

"In those three folders, you'll find all the details regarding our upcoming mission at Kongo-Shinzan... The real details..."

"Huh? What do you mean?" Ryuji wonders.

"Why just three folders? What about Shima's and Okumura's?" Konekomaru asks.

May doesn't answer. At this, Ryuji rushes to open his folder. Konekomaru and Izumo open theirs as well. They start reading their respective contents.

"This..." Ryuji's eyes widen.

"...That's the real objective of this mission..." May states.

"It's not over yet." Yukio declares.

Tatsuma, Juzo and his squads, Ryuji and Konekomaru step in and start chanting a sutra. Todo recognizes it and realizes that their real plan was to exorcise the Karura under his control.

"Hahahah..." he laughs while dropping to the ground and, in the end, Karura is exorcised. Todo's body reverses to his human form, "Let me ask you one last thing..." and he turns to face at Yukio, "...How did you feel in that moment?"

"...I felt..." Yukio lifts his gaze to stare at the sun, "...reborn."

Todo smiles.

The Myodha squads are ready to restrain him and walk toward him.

"So I guess this is the end... I admit my defeat..." Todo declares, "Go ahead!"

At his words, a shot is heard from the distance. Todo gets hit by the bullet, which pierces him right through the heart, killing him. Everyone turns toward the source of the sound and find a guy dressed in the Illuminati uniform. It's Lund. As soon as he's spotted, he flees away.

"Get him!" Juzo orders one of his squads.

Yukio runs toward Todo's body, needing to verify if he's actually dead. He reaches for his only wrist and checks for his pulse.

"...He's dead." Yukio confirms.

"I see..." Tatsuma says. All the exorcists gather around him, "But we were able to free Karura from his control... and this was our main objective. Okumura..." and Yukio stands back to his feet, turning to face him, "We couldn't have done it without your help... On behalf of our Myodha sect, we thank you... Good job!" and he smiles.

"Thank you..." Yukio bows at him.

Rin is watching the scene as he remembers what happened earlier.

Upon their arrival to their location, Izumo and Rin find no demons waiting for them. Rin starts looking around the area.

"Huh, where're the demons?" Rin wonders. But Izumo doesn't say nothing, "...What's going on?"

"She should be arriving here in a few minutes." Izumo states.

"...She?" Rin asks.

In that moment, a noise coming from behind some of the nearby bushes is heard. Rin and Izumo simultaneously turn toward it.

May shows up from behind a tree.

"I'll be going..." Izumo says, and she heads away.

"...What's happening...?" Rin, confused, stares at May.

"Yukio told you about his power, didn't he?" May asks him. Rin's eyes wide in shock. Deep inside, he had convinced himself that everything Yukio had told him on the train was made up for the sake of whatever plan of his. But the moment he hears May's words, he realizes that at least one thing was actually true, "The Illuminati knows about it too... and they're after him." Rin's shock grows even more.

"How... How do they know?" is all Rin manages to ask.

"Saburota Todo, one of them, was present at the moment Yukio's power manifested for the first time... He's the man who's been assigned to recruit Yukio." May explains, "The Order is planning to capture Todo. That's one of the objectives of this mission. And in order to get Todo to show up, Yukio has offered himself as a bait." and May keeps explaining the rest of the plan to Rin, who listens carefully to her words.

"...Why didn't he tell me about this?" Rin asks, at the end, anger replacing his initial shock. His hands turn into fists, "Why didn't he tell me about his power earlier? What the hell was he thinking?!"

May stares at him for a long moment, "...In the end... he chose to tell you... Isn't this the most important thing?" and she smiles at him.

Rin sighs, releasing some of his tension, "...Forget it, after this is all over and done, I'm gonna punch some serious sense into that hard head of his... That's my duty as a big brother, after all."

Rin starts walking toward Yukio, tightening one of his hands into a fist.

"Yukio."

As Yukio turns, Rin punches him hard in the face, sending him to the ground. Everyone is taken aback and just stare at the scene in silence.

"Don't ever... do it again." Rin says, once he's calmed down a little.

Yukio stares at him for a long moment, "...I won't." and he smiles. Rin offers him a hand to help him up. Yukio grabs it and as soon as he's back on his feet, Rin throws his other arm around his neck, pulling him into an embrace. They stand like that for a while, "...And I'm done hating you as well..." Yukio whispers into his shoulder.

"What?" Rin asks, but Yukio doesn't answers and just embraces him back.

The group heads back to the meeting point, where they find Renzo and Takara waiting for them.

"Hey, guys! Welcome back! What took you so long?" he waves at them.

"Renzo! Glad to see you made it back alive!" Juzo ironizes.

"Why does everyone think I'd die?!" Renzo screams.

"So you're going back to Tokyo this same evening?..." Tatsuma asks Ryuji.

"Our job here is done..." he answers.

"Well, before you do, at least let me treat you and your friends to a lunch at our Inn." Tatsuma offers.

And they go to Toraya. As soon as they arrive, they find Mamushi waiting for them at the entrance.

"Juzo!" she greets him.

"Your hero is back!" he declares with a smile. He reaches her and kisses her in front of everyone.

May looks at them with dreamy eyes and Yukio notices it.

"W-What are you doing?! Everyone is watching!" Mamushi screams in embarrassment.

"Where's the problem? We're married!" Juzo retorts.

"Ryuji!" a woman calls to him.

"Mom..."

"Rennnnnnzooooooo!" Kinzo screams, as he jumps out of nowhere to kick Renzo's back, sending him a couple meters away.

"What do you think you're doing?! You could've hurt me pretty badly, you know!" Renzo screams back from the ground, massaging his head.

"Huh? What are you whining about? It's not like I killed you." Kinzo innocently asks.

"...What's this?! A conspiracy against me?!" Renzo cries out in defeat.

"So, what about oroshi mochi? You like it?" Tatsuma proposes.

"Can I help with it?" Rin offers.

"Sure thing, follow me!" Tatsuma invites him.

"I can help too!" Konekomaru offers.

"Me too." Izumo offers.

Yukio and May look at each other, share a smile, and go join with the others.

January 18th - True Cross Academy, Japan Branch

The group travels back to the Academy and Yukio goes to report to Mephisto.

"...Unfortunately, in the end, the Myodha squad couldn't capture Todo's accomplice." Yukio concludes.

"Oh, that's okay... Considering our main objective was to evaluate the effectiveness of the use of the Ancient Scriptures as a mean against the demon eaters and we got a positive result, this mission can be considered a success..." Mephisto smiles, "As unfortunate as it is that we couldn't restrain Mr. Saburota or his accomplice, let's look at the bright side... In less than one month we managed to take down two of the Illuminati's most dangerous pawns... That's a great result... All we can do now, is just wait for Lucifer's next move..."

In that moment, Mephisto's phone rings, "Yes?... Yes... I see." and at the end of the call, he hangs the phone up, putting on an amused smile, "Speak of the devil... The Ikebukuro station has just been shut down because of the sudden appearance of a high-level demon... Mr. Okumura." and he turns to face Yukio, "I want you on this case... Oh, I know you're just back from a mission, but we're currently shorthanded and all our manpower is-"

Yukio sighs, "That was an order, right?... So, whether I like it or not, I don't have a choice, do I?" he asks Mephisto and Mephisto smirks at him. Yukio turns to walk out of the room. As he's about to reach the door, he stops, "...That black flame... was just an illusion you created?" he asks Mephisto, without turning around.

"...That's right." Mephisto admits with a smile.

"And... my eyes were as well?" Yukio asks, this time slightly turning toward him. Mephisto's smile turns into a smirk, and Yukio finds his confirmation in it. Yukio reaches for the door's handle in front of him. Outside the room, there's Lightning.

"Hey, Okumura!" he greets him.

"Lightning..." Yukio lowers his gaze and walks past him. Lightning stares at him till he reaches the end of the hallway. As soon as Yukio has disappeared from his sight, he walks into Mephisto's office.

"What's that about his eyes?" Lightning asks him.

"Oh, right, before I forget... Thanks for your help with that blue eyes effect..."

Lightning turns and finds Takara standing in one corner of the office.

"It seems I'm not the only one who was watching this show!" Mephisto states as he looks at Yukio and the moment later, he turns to look at Takara, who's standing behind a tree. As soon as Yukio's eyes turn back to normal, he walks away from the battlefield.

"...Takara..."

"I see..." Lucifer states, looking Yukio straight in the eyes, "Todo was right. You are interesting." and, in the room nearby, Takara is using his puppet to create the blue eyes effect.

"...and your puppet."

As Yukio is jumping off the building, Takara summons a puppet which knocks him unconscious before he touches the ground and has it create a huge crater right under his body.

"At first..." Mephisto explains to Lightning, "...instead of using some fancy trick, I thought about letting him access some of his real power... But then... I changed my mind."

"You wanted him to become aware of his demonic side? Why would you take a risk like that?" Lightning asks him.

"I never took any risk." Mephisto smirks.

Lightning stares at him for a long moment, "Of course not..." and he smiles, "...it was all part of your plan... And Mephisto Pheles would never do things the easy way." he concludes and walks out of the office. After a few moments, Takara walks out too. As soon as he does, Mephisto's phone rings again.

"Amaimon... Yes... Tonight... You have my permission... Proceed." and he hangs the phone out. He stands from his seat and walks toward his office's window. He starts staring at the view outside, his hands joined behind his back, "That's right... An hellraiser like me will always choose the most amusing way to get what he wants." he says to himself.