Chapter 4: Found
The boy in the pod looked the exact same as when they had last seen him, not having aged a day and still wearing his school uniform.
"Rin?" Yukio said in disbelief, touching the pod as if he could somehow reach his brother inside. "He's still breathing."
Shiro said nothing, only continuing to stare at his child sealed away in the pod.
"He's been here all this time, ever since he went missing." He eventually said.
"We have to get him out of there!" Yukio said.
Shiro put a comforting hand on his son's shoulder.
"We will." He told him
Despite the now personal stake in the case, Shiro knew that he had to keep a level head and stick to the plan, even though he wanted nothing more than to cut the pod open himself and hold his child again.
"We'll get you out safely." Shiro said to his son in the pod, placing a hand on it.
Rin gave no indication to being aware of him, or anything for that matter, continuing to sleep on.
It was painful waiting for reinforcements to arrive and then planning it out, but Shiro and Yukio weren't highly trained Exorcists for nothing and waited. Another scan of the demon's den confirmed that there were only six pods with living children inside, including Rin's, and analysis of the pods showed that all of the living children were being kept in a coma-like state with the pods providing what their bodies needed to stay alive.
"It's keeping the kids alive as food storage." One of the Exorcists who had arrived concluded.
Honestly, none of them knew what exactly the demon was doing, but they did know one thing thanks to the analysis of the pods.
The children wouldn't be harmed in removing them.
They would probably cough up the liquid that surrounded them and was possibly in their lungs, but they wouldn't need it once they were removed from the pods.
So, an Exorcist was stationed at each pod with a knife in hand, ready to cut them open and take the children out of the cave to where a medical tent awaited them, and the rest of the Exorcists, including Shiro, were stationed around the fleshy mass, ready to attack, as the demon was most likely going to attack as soon as they touched the pods.
"All right, on the count of three!" Shiro called out, getting nods of confirmation. "One…two…three!"
The Exorcists at the pods brought down their knives…
And all hell broke loose.
The children cried as the world outside turned chaotic, a storm raged so hard that it broke apart buildings.
"Mami, what's going on?" Emi begged.
"Nothing to worry about." Mami smiled, drawing the curtains as if they could somehow block the destruction going on outside.
But Rin could see how strained her smile was.
"We're all safe in here." Mami continued.
"But what if we get blown away too?" Jun asked.
"This building is strong, it can withstand." Mami placated.
"I'm cold." Daisuke shivered.
"Let's all huddle around the fire then." Mami said.
The children all gathered around the fire, which had grown weaker as the storm outside raged on, clutching each other for comfort with Mami at the centre of the cuddle pile.
"Feel the warmth of the fire and know that you are safe." Mami told them as she hummed her lullaby.
They fell into a state of content as Mami's voice echoed around the room, happy to believe that all that existed was the inside of the room.
But the storm grew louder, drowning out Mami's singing, and the fire grew dim, allowing the cold to creep in again.
"It's not fair." Rin heard Mami sharply whisper.
"Mami?" Rin asked, turning in her hold to look at her.
Mami turned to smile at him.
"It's okay my little angel." She said.
There was a loud crash as the building shook, causing the children to whimper.
"I'm scared." Rin admitted.
"Shh, it's alright." She comforted him. "It's alright." She repeated to everyone.
The building shook again, causing Mami to frown.
"I want you all to close your eyes, like we're going to sleep." She smiled desperately.
Despite their fear, the children all did as told, clinging tightly to each other.
"Remember, we are a family." Mami's voice drifted over them. "We will always find each other, I will always be there to love and protect you. So, sleep, and I will find you again."
Mami then began to sing her lullaby as the storm raged harder.
The building around them then exploded and they were whisked away into nothingness.
Shiro looked down at his son, gently cleaning off the goo from the pod Rin had been encased in. Yukio sat opposite him, holding one of Rin's hands in both of his own as if his brother would disappear without a trace again if he let go.
The fight against the blob-like demon had been easier than expected, it had been a challenge at first, but once the children had been taken away it had fallen easily under salt and holy water. It had been like an over-sized low-level demon.
Now, here they were, tending to the children as the sun was setting, to make sure they were in a stable enough state to move out and take them to a proper hospital, helping the unconscious bodies throw up all of the pod goo that had been inside them and cleaning them off.
"Dad." Yukio said quietly. "He's actually here, isn't he?"
He sounded like the young child who had asked where his brother was all those years ago, rather than the hardened Exorcist he was now.
"Yes, he's here." Shiro confirmed.
Granted, the child before him could have easily been a demon who had taken on the form of his son, but Shiro knew that this was the child he had spent eight years raising.
"One of them is waking up!" The heard a shout.
They turned to see one of the other children starting to stir, their arms and legs slowly moving.
Shiro and Yukio were then distracted by a groan coming from beside them, looking down to see Rin also stirring.
"Rin?" They both cried.
Shiro cradled Rin's head as the young boy shook it and forced his eyes open.
"Whe…where…?" Rin struggled to speak, looking up at the two figures above him though his squinted eyes. "Mami?"
"Rin, do you think you can open your eyes properly for me?" Shiro asked gently.
Rin groaned but tried to open his eyes further.
"Bright." He complained, his arm moving uselessly beside him to try and cover his eyes.
"Yukio, turn down the lamp." Shiro instructed his son.
Yukio turned to the gas lamps that were hanging near to make up for the sun being almost gone and turned the gas valve until they were almost out, darkening their area of the tent.
"Is that better, Rin?" Shiro asked.
"Yeah." Rin mumbled, managing to open his eyes fully with a bit of effort.
Rin struggled to sit up but was too weak to, barely able to use his arms, let alone coordinate them into helping him up. Both Shiro and Yukio helped Rin to sit up slightly when they saw what he was trying to do, supporting his back with their hands.
"Who…who are you?" Rin looked up at Shiro and Yukio questioningly.
Both men felt stabs of ice in their chests.
"Don't…don't you recognise who we are?" Yukio asked desperately.
Rin looked at Yukio and Shiro, his face scrunching up in the same when he used to when trying to do his homework.
"You look familiar." Rin concluded. "But I can't remember who you are." He said, clearly frustrated. "I know that your both important, but I can't remember why. I'm not meant to forget."
Rin began to cry, tears making their way down his cheeks unobstructed due to his arms being too weak to wipe them away.
"Hey, hey, it's alright now." Shiro comforted, pulling Rin to his chest. "It's alright if you don't remember, it has been a long time since we last saw you."
"A long time?" Rin said quietly to himself as he pushed into the comforting warmth. "Like before the city?"
Shiro and Yukio looked at each other, both questioning what the 'city' was.
Rin looked up at Shiro, managing to reach his hand up to clumsily touch the man's glasses.
"Before the city." Rin repeated, a fresh batch of tears making their way out of his eyes. "Daddy?"
Shiro let out a stuttering sigh of relief at the word.
"Yeah, Rin, it's daddy." He said, hugging Rin.
Rin clumsily coordinated his arms to try and wrap around Shiro as he cried.
"You're here." Rin sobbed. "You're finally here."
"I'm sorry that I took so long to find you." Shiro apologised to his young son, holding him tightly as if he would disappear again.
It took a while for Rin to calm down, but his sobs eventually petered off, though he clung to Shiro's sleeve tightly.
"I'm glad I'm out of that city." Rin mumbled.
"What city?" Yukio asked.
Rin looked up at Yukio and his face scrunched up again before he answered the question.
"It's where I've been. We were all brought to the city and couldn't escape, and the monsters hunted us." Rin explained. He then gasped. "Wait, the others!"
Rin attempted to get up but proved too weak flopping back down on his bed.
"Don't stress yourself Rin." Shiro told him. "It's alright, the other children are here too."
Shiro helped Rin sit up further so the boy could see his friends in their own camper beds, all of them were awake now, some sitting up like Rin and others opting to say laying down.
Rin sighed in relief when he saw them all.
"We all escaped." He smiled.
"Hi, Rin." One of the children waved at him, their movements a little more coordinated that Rin was currently capable of.
"Hi." Rin tried to wave back but could barely shift his hand from Shiro's sleeve.
Yukio wasn't shocked by Rin's inability to move, if his brother really had been in that pod all the years he'd been missing, his muscles would have fallen out of use and atrophied.
"Rin, why don't you introduce us to your friends?" Shiro coaxed.
"Oh, right." Rin said. "That's Jiro." He managed to lift his arm up enough to wave in the general direction of one of the boys who were sitting up. "Emi…Kiki…Daisuke and June." He waved in the general direction of each of the children before his arm flopped back down, no longer able to find the strength to lift it.
Rin then frowned. "Wait, where's Mami?"
Shiro and Yukio looked at each other.
"Who's Mami?" Shiro asked as he looked back down at his son.
"Mami's the last member of our group, the one who takes care of us. If we all made it out, she should be here." Rin was beginning to become panicked as he looked around, hoping to spot said girl on one of the beds or standing guard outside the tent like she would when they moved hiding places back in the city.
The other children, having overheard Rin, also began to panic.
"Where's Mami?"
"Why isn't she here?"
"I want Mami."
They began to cry.
"Calm down now." Yukio tried to calm his brother. "Maybe it's just that we haven't found her yet. We'll send in a team to have a look."
It seemed to work as Rin began to calm himself at the prospect of the professional-looking men searching for Mami.
"But they were the only kids alive in the pods, there's no one left alive in that cave." One of the Exorcists said aloud before he could stop to realise what he was saying and who he was saying it in front of.
Predictably, this only served to distress the children even more, causing them to sob wildly and beg for Mami to come and comfort them.
"Idiot! Think next time before you speak!" The Exorcist was chastised by another who hit him over the head for good measure.
"It's okay." Yukio tried to placate again. "There might be another room in the cave that we didn't find, and your friend could be in there."
It wasn't working this time as Rin and the children continued to cry.
The crying came to a suddenly stop when one of the children called out.
"Mami!" They cried, smiling widely as they looked out of the tent.
Everyone turned to where the child was face, spotting a young lady walking down a hill towards the tent.
"Mami!" The children stopped crying at the sight of the girl.
"There was another girl in there." One of the Exorcists gasped. "How could we miss her? Quick, grab a blanket for her."
Shiro frowned as he analysed the girl heading towards them, dressed in an indistinctive school uniform and her eyes obscured by her hair, walking calmly towards them with no issue.
"Stay where you are!" Shiro ordered before anyone to leave to help the girl towards the tent.
"Fujimoto-sama?" The exorcists questioned, turning towards him.
"Dad?" Yukio asked.
"How is she able to walk when the other children are struggling to move?" Shiro asked rhetorically. "And how come we didn't find her with the other children? Something isn't right here."
All but the children quickly went on guard at Shiro's analysis, realising that the danger wasn't over like they had thought.
Mami drew closer to the camp, the Exorcists hesitant to attack until they knew for sure that she was a danger. As she got closer, they began to hear her saying something, repeating words over and over.
"My children. Give me back my children." They were eventually able to make out her saying once she came close enough.
"Miss, can you please stop where you are." One of the Exorcists spoke up. "We'll get you help, but we need to make sure you're safe first."
Mami didn't stop walking.
"You ruined it. You took my children from me." She said.
"Mami, hurry up!" Rin called, unaware of the mounting tension.
The other children chimed in with their own calls, all impatient to be with Mami again.
"Rin, you need to be quiet right now." Shiro informed his son gently.
"Why?" Rin asked. "I want Mami."
"They need me." Mami said. "And you took them from me. How dare you take them from me!"
As Mami drew ever closer, the adults took notice of her limbs becoming longer, her skin cracking as she began to outgrow her clothes.
"She's a demon." Shiro gritted his teeth. "Yukio, take Rin and run." He instructed his older son.
"Wait, you're Yukio?" Rin stated up at his brother, having only just realised who the other male attending to him was. "But you're so much older."
"Not now, Rin." Yukio said, picking up his brother.
"Take the children and get to safety, the rest of us will handle the demon!" Shiro instructed the Exorcists attending to the other children.
An Exorcist picked up a child each while the remaining ones formed a line between Mami and the children with Shiro.
"No! What are you doing?" Kiki asked.
"Why are you taking us away from Mami?" Daisuke cried.
"Mami!" The children called out for the demon.
"Let me go!" Rin demanded, trying to struggle out of Yukio's arms but not doing a very good job.
"I can't do that Rin, she's dangerous." Yukio told his brother.
"She's not dangerous." Rin protested. "She protected us back in the city."
"She's a demon, Rin." Yukio stated. "Look!"
Yukio lifted Rin so that he brother could look over his shoulder as he and the other child carriers ran away, giving the young boy full view of what was happening.
"No, my children!" Mami cried out as if she was in pain. "I won't let you take them!"
Mami bent forward violently as four giant, spider-like legs burst from her back, lifting her body off from the ground, her face detaching slightly from her head like a cracked porcelain mask, hair becoming tangled like barbed wire.
"Mami?" Rin whispered as he looked at the person who had taken care of him for half his life.
"What is that thing?" One of the exorcists exclaimed.
None of them recognised the type of demon facing them.
Rin and Yukio did not get to see the fight between the Mami-demon and the Exorcists as the had quickly disappeared into the trees, everyone piling into a van once they exited the forest and driving towards the nearest hospital.
"I don't understand." Rin said in shock as he lay in his brother's arms. "Why did Mami become like that?"
"That's because she is a demon, Rin." Yukio repeated.
"A demon?" June piped up.
"We'll explain it to you all later." Yukio managed to postpone. "After we've made sure you're safe and cared for."
"Is dad going to hurt Mami?" Rin asked.
Yukio didn't say anything, he didn't know what to say.
Rin frowned at the lack on answer.
They arrived at the hospital and the children were quickly taken inside, given showers to remove the rest of the pod goo that still stuck to them, and then put in beds while nurses and doctors preformed tests. Thankfully, apart from their weakened muscles from disuse, the children were healthy with no other apparent issues.
Yukio was sitting at Rin's bedside when Shiro arrived. Most of the children, including Rin, were asleep at this point, so Yukio joined his father outside of the room.
"How is Rin and the others?" Was the first thing Shiro asked.
"They're fine." Yukio answered, much to Shiro's relief. "They'll need a while to get used to moving again, especially Rin, but the doctor said it shouldn't be anything permanent with enough physical therapy."
"That's good." Shiro sighed.
"The demon?" Yukio asked.
"Unfortunately, it got away." Shiro frowned. "It was much stronger than what we've usually faced, and nothing seemed to be especially effective on it. Then it suddenly got weaker, I think because you got the children far away enough, meaning its strength is tied to them. When it realised it was losing, it managed to disappear off a cliff."
"So, it's still out there and it could come back for Rin and the others?" Yukio said.
"I've no doubt it will." Shiro said.
Yukio tightened his fists at the thought of the demon taking his brother again.
"Have you made your report yet?" He asked.
"Not yet, but I'll have to. It's going to lead to a lot of questions though, we have no idea what type of demon we're dealing with and I don't want the children questioned until they're more emotionally stable." Shiro replied.
"Do you think someone else could file it? I think Rin would prefer it if we were both there when he wakes up again." Yukio tried.
"Unfortunately, I'm the leader of the mission and the Paladin at that, they'll be expecting the report from me. I'll try to get it done and sent before Rin wakes up." Shiro told his older son.
"Okay." Yukio said. "I'm staying with Rin."
"I know you are." Shiro smiled. "I'll phone home to ask someone to bring you a spare change of clothes. And try to get some sleep yourself." He added.
"Thanks, dad." Yukio said.
They both went back inside the room where Yukio retook his post beside Rin while Shiro gave the young boy a kiss on the forehead before leaving to get his report done as soon as possible.
Author's note: Please comment
I hope I managed to handle the twist reveal with Mami alright, I tried to add enough hints in the last few chapters but that weren't obvious, though I know at least one person picked up on what was up with Mami.