Rin watched from the kitchen table as Yukio was pacing the hallway in his Exorcist uniform. Rin couldn't help but chuckle. "Yukio calm down, your going to give yourself an ulcer." Rin jabbed.
Yukio switched his pacing and entered the kitchen, now going back and forth to the kitchen counter to the hallway entrance. "What if something happens? What if you need something? What if you get attacked?" Yukio asked. Rin pulled his breaks and wheeled in front of Yukio's path, watching as Yukio turned around and abruptly came to a stop in front of him.
"Yukio, chill. I'm going to be fine, but you are going to be late. Get your ass going. If I need help or something happens I have your number and I have my sword. It's all going to be fine." He reassured and Rin could tell it worked, watching as the tension lift off of Yukio's shoulders. He nodded.
"Right. Sorry Rin." He walked around Rin and reached for the suitcase on the foot of the stairs and the umbrella next to the coat rack. He paused at the front door before turning to peak his head through the kitchen door frame. "Anything Rin. Don't hesitate." Yukio demanded. Rin just shooed him away with his hand before turning back to his manga.
Yukio took that as his cue and left the dormitory. Once it was clear to Rin that Yukio was gone, he released the biggest sigh of his life, sinking into his wheelchair. His head resting on the back of it, making him glare at the ceiling. He thought Yukio would hover over him for the rest of his life, but he was glad Yukio was finally getting back to his job. A smile hinted on Rin's mouth before he straightened back up and started reading once again.
The classroom was lively as ever, the Kyoto group's talking circle and Izumo listening in, shooting snide remarks every once in a while. Takara just remained in the back not saying anything. Shiemi was in her usual spot, reading a medical book. When the door opened, all the chatter died down and was replaced with silent shock.
Yukio came in with his suitcase and walked up to the podium, placing the suitcase on the desk. Suguro noted that Yukio looked awful. He had a hint of bags under his eyes and the way he strode in, Suguro noted that Yukio nearly swayed where he stood.
"Sorry for not coming in earlier, class. But I am back and ready to continue." He opened his suitcase and pulled out the book. "We will be lea-"
Suguro cut him off, standing from the bench, catching everyone's attention. "What are you doing here?" He hadn't meant for it to come out how it did, but it was out there nonetheless.
Yukio pushed his glasses up, looking over at Suguro. "I'm returning to my teaching. Now if you will just st-"
"Has Rin woken up?" Izumo was the one to cut him off, her voice clearly sounding worried, but her face trying hard to not give away too much.
Yukio sighed, putting the book down. "Rin has awaken yes. He is back at the Dormitory. He will be back soon. That is all you need to know, now open your books to the lesson of the day." He said. Everyone decided to drop it, relief flooding into most of them. Suguro didn't understand why he was feeling so relieved knowing Rin was fine.
Halfway through the lesson, Yukio's phone rang, sending some of the students in a loop since Yukio never had the sound on his phone on during school. He excused the interruption and pulled it out of his pocket, seeing it was Rin. "Excuse me for a moment Class." He said, walking to the door, answering it as he exited. "Yes Rin?"
When the door closed, Suguro and Izumo seemed to have the same thought since both of them shot up and ran for the door. Shima and Shiemi followed, but Koneko and Takara stayed put.
"This is a bad idea." Shima whispered, but was shushed by Izumo.
"Rin do not leave the house, I don't care if we are out of fish. I will stop on the way home." A pause. "Rin don't you dare, I will suspend you to the top level if you even think it." Another pause, probably Rin yelling back. There was a sigh. "If Shura goes with then that is fine. I don't want you going alone. You are still wanted by demons and in your state you can't defend yourself." There was a very long pause before Yukio spoke. "Rin… Please don't do this. You know as-" He was cut off, but abruptly started up again. "Rin i'm not doing this with you right now. Keep your sword with you but avoid altercations. Have Shura push you then if you don't trust yourself. I don't want you to do anything reckless." He finished.
This pause seemed to stretch on and the ex-wires thought he had hung up, until his voice echoed the hall. "I guess. If you can grab some shampoo as well, I can help you take another bath if you want to wash your hair. We also need to change your Catheter when I get home. Go shopping. We will discuss this later. I have to get back to teaching."
The group thought at that word. Catheter? Why would Rin need a Catheter? Was the thought that passed their minds as they made it back to their seats. A moment later, Yukio walked in and continued the lesson. Silently everyone agreed to follow Yukio home to see Just what was happening.
After Class everyone followed Yukio home. They stayed a good distance away as to not blow their cover. They watched as Yukio stopped where he stood and waited. They kept their distance until they saw why Yukio had stopped. They watched as Rin and Shura were crossing the street. But what caught them off guard was that Rin was in a wheelchair, his tail wagging behind him. Shura was pushing him, bags in her hands. They came to a stop next to Yukio and the group stalked closer to hear better.
"We got the fish." Rin said, a smile on his face.
Yukio looked over at Shura. "I thought you would beat me home. Why did it take so long?" He asked.
Shura straightened up, putting a hand on Rin's shoulder. "Rin wanted to go around town. Yew can't blame him. Being cooped up in that dorm would drive anyone crazy." Shura explained. "We were careful." She added, seeing Yukio's face had fallen into concern.
"Shall we get home? Ukobach wanted to make sashimi for dinner." Rin explained, wheeling himself a few blocks before needing assistance. The others that were tailing them, couldn't believe what they were seeing. When they got closer to the Dorm, they spotted Shiemi who hadn't come with them, jog toward Rin from the opposite side of the street. She was carrying a basket of herbs and some other bottles in her arm.
"Yukio! I brought the stuff you requested!" She shouted.
"Oh thank you Shiemi." Yukio said, grabbing the basket from her.
Shiemi looked over at Rin with a smile. "Hey Rin, how are you feeling?" She asked. The ex-wires felt a little betrayed seeing that Shiemi knew Rin was awake but failed to tell any of them… Though given the circumstance they could understand why.
"I'm doing fine. Would you like to come in for dinner? I could use some help cooking, considering." Rin looked down.
Shiemi beamed. "Of course! I would love too!" They made it to the dorm and watched as they disappeared into the door.
They all came out of the shadows and Suguro clenched his fists, before angrily walking towards the door. Koneko shot forward, grabbing onto his arm, trying to stop him. "Stop we can't. He is still the Son of Satan." Koneko begged.
Izumo scoffed at that. "So what, he is still Rin. there are plenty of half demons running around."
"But not… Satan's half spawns." Koneko shot in. Suguro gritted his teeth before turning and walking away from the dormitory. He wasn't sure what he was even planning on doing if he did walk into there. The only thing he knew was he needed time to think this through. He glanced over his shoulder to see the rest of them silently following.
Rin cooked dinner with both Ukobach and Shiemi before serving it. They joked and complained during the meal. Shura, of course got drunk and was making fun of Yukio which didn't end that well. Rin the entire time thinking and dreading the fact he was about to go back to the cram school. He didn't mind going back, anything was better than seeing the inside of the dormitory. But he feared what the others would do knowing he is.. Well… paralyzed. Rin shook the thoughts out of his mind and decided to live in this moment, enjoying the good before the bad starts to settle in.
A few days passed and Rin was in uniform, thanks to the help of both Shura and Yukio. He was excited but also a giant nervous wreck. He was able to move around by himself, slowly gaining back some muscles, but he was still not used to the long distances. He made it to the front door to see both Shura and Yukio arguing about something that Rin could only hope wasn't about him. He was done having everything be about him. He just wanted to go back to being invisible to everyone.
Kuro jumped onto Rin's lap, lying down on him. Rin glanced down and started petting Kuro. He was just happy Yukio told him he could bring Kuro for "helping" reasons. He just wanted RIn to have extra security and Rin didn't argue one bit. They left the dormitory, Shura stomping off in a huff while Yukio just rubbed the bridge of his nose. Rin remained quiet, wheeling behind Yukio as he kept looking around, realizing it was starting to get into the colder seasons. It had been almost a month since he had returned to school and in that time forgot just how much season change in that amount of time. He has noticed it would get stormy or the wind would send a chill through the dormitory, but to actually be out in the cold made him realize just how much time had passed.
Yukio walked up to a door by the mall and put his key in it, opening the door to show the familiar cram school hallway. Pain pulled at Rin's heart as he watched the hallway slowly stretch on, making him sick. Yukio stepped into his view, making his head slowly clear a little.
"Are you sure you can do this?" He asked.
Rin gulped and shook his head, not willing to risk saying anything in fear of throwing up. He gripped the metal on his wheels and pushed past Yukio making his way down the hall. But that faltered fast the closer he got to the classroom. He started to slow and when he finally made it, a lump formed in his throat. He couldn't explain why he was feeling this way. Maybe because they were the cause of his depression or the fact they were not so subtle at hiding their disdain for him.
Yukio came to a stop next to him and placed a hand on Rin's shoulder, trying to comfort him, but Rin shook it off. "Just open the door." Rin whispered. Yukio nodded and reached for the door knob and opened it, the noises on the inside dying down. Yukio stepped around Rin and walked into the classroom. He started talking.
Shura appeared behind Rin and dipped down so that she was close to his ear. "It may take some time, but they will come around." Shura whispered. "Are yew ready?"
Rin stiffly nodded, not realizing the deathgrip he hand on his pants as Shura rolled him in. Instantly Rin felt sick. He wanted to leave. His eyes automatically scanned the room to see all of them were eyeing him. He spotted Koneko's eyes, but they didn't look for long as Koneko tore his eyes away, suddenly finding his desk interesting.
Suguro looked like he was ready to murder him, Izumo was a little shocked, Shiemi was worried and Shima was just kind of… there. Takara continued to sit there with his hand puppet.
Rin swallowed thickly as Shura stopped him in front of the class, before straightening up and folding her arms. "Rin is back and I ask that you help him catch up on what he has missed." Yukio finished.
Rin looked up at both Yukio and Shura who nodded before Rin went back to observing the area. What everyone wasn't anticipating was Suguro got up robotically and made his way to Rin. Panic rose in his stomach, something Rin hasn't felt in a long time, watching as he made his way over to him.
Suguro grabbed a fistfull of Rin's Shirt and lifted him from the chair, fully suspending in the air. Shura jumped forward trying to get Rin free but the grip Suguro had was almost like it was meant to be a lifeline.
Suguro ignored the protests, as he said the one thing that's been on his mind since this happened. "Why were you there that day? Why didn't you defend yourself you slimy Demonic Bastard?!" He snapped, angrily.
Rin was scared. He didn't understand why he was, but he felt utterly helpless because he couldn't fight back. It must have been written on his face, because Suguro took one look at him before his face contorted into shock.
"Let me go." Rin whispered, though he meant for it to come out bolder than it did. He felt pathetic as he looked anywhere but Suguro's face.
Suguro did as he was told, forgetting the he pulled Rin out of a wheelchair. He released Rin and watched as the wheelchair scooting back until it hit the podium. Rin held out his hands, able to catch and brace his fall. His breath hitched, panic and relief battling in his body as he looked up at everyone, who had the same look on their faces. Pity.
Pity for the boy who couldn't defend himself. Pity for the Bastard Son of Satan that sat there on the floor, unable to even walk. Pathetic.
Rin gritted his teeth together, straightening up so he wasn't a huddled mess on the floor. Rin could feel tears well on the corner of his eyes, before he saw Shura's shadow stepping in front of him, blocking Suguro's path. He blinked up at her before he noticed Kuro trying to comfort him. "What the hell is yew'r problem, Ryuji?" She snapped. "You could have seriously injured him!"
"I-" Before he could say anything, Yukio was next to Rin, his wheelchair back behind him, the brakes now down. Yukio bent down, put his arm under Rin, picking him up bridal style before helping him back into the chair. Suguro watched as Yukio placed Rin's feet in their correct rest before it dawned on him. It was so clear yet Suguro seemed to miss it. He felt so… stupid.
"Are you… paralyzed?" Suguro asked, the words making his mouth go dry as they left.
Rin's gaze met his and he couldn't help but notice the pain and tears in Rin's eyes, making him flinch. "No shit." Rin said, before turning his wheelchair around and heading for the door. "I'm going home." Rin whispered before disappearing out the door.
A/N: Thank you guys for the kind words! I feel so loved with this story! I hope you guys are enjoying it!