Chapter 13: Cram school
Author's note: I've noticed that I keep flip-flopping between Rin being seven and eight, but according to the start of my story, he is meant to be eight. And I'm too lazy to go back and correct if I wrote the wrong age in the prior chapters.
"…and that is how you end up with six."
Yukio watched from his bed as Miss Brook gave Rin his first proper math lesson since he was rescued, or at least tried to. With Rin's recent selective muteness, lessons were going to be even slower than they would have been before.
But, hopefully, Miss Brook would also be able to help Rin with his recent trauma.
With her therapy training, the teacher was able to step in as a temporary therapist until the Beldam case was finally dealt with. At which point, the family would be able to work on finding a therapist for Rin who was better qualified for his unique mind and trauma.
Yukio could only hope that they'd be able to get the proper help Rin needed soon, which seemed like a far off hope with his father telling him about how the case had been silent for the past near-week, with no further kidnappings or sightings, and the team only able to continue narrowing down locations.
As it was, with her training, Miss Brook backed up Coraline's hypothesis for Rin's silence, adding that the young boy had likely been verbal just before Mami had lured him out, and so subconsciously associated him being verbal with him almost being taken from his family again, leading to his muteness to prevent it happening again.
"So, do you understand?" Miss Brook asked her student.
Rin wrinkled his nose before hesitantly nodding, not sure if he fully understood the problem.
"It's okay if you don't get it yet, Rin." Miss Brook easily picked up on Rin's body language. "I won't be mad."
Rin exchanged his nod for a shrug.
"Okay, why don't you try solving this problem, and see if you can understand. Don't forget to use the bears if you're stuck." Miss Brook said, pointing to a collection of small and colourful plastic bears.
Rin picked up the big whiteboard marker and held it to the whiteboard in front of him as he began to work out the math problem he had been given, moving around the plastic bears. While Rin's fine motor skills had recovered enough for him to hold a pencil, his smaller handwriting was barely legible, so he used a whiteboard to allow him to write bigger until his handwriting lessons fixed that issue.
Once done, Rin presented his white board to his teacher.
"Hmm." Miss Brook looked at the answer. "Correct. I knew you could do it."
Rin smiled slightly at getting the answer right.
Miss Brook then looked at the time.
"It seems that our lessons are over for today, little man." She told her student. "I'll see you again tomorrow. But while I'm gone, I want you to try these five problems. Okay?"
Rin watched as Miss Brook highlighted five math problems, offering her a thumbs up.
Yukio got up from his bed and walked with the teacher to the door.
"Anything to relay?" Yukio asked.
"Just keep being there for Rin for now." Miss Brook told the older brother. "Help him with his homework and encourage him."
"What do I do about Rin's silence?" Yukio asked, wanting Rin to be able to speak regularly again as soon as possible.
"It's going to be slow." Miss Brook said simply. "Rin's going to have to grow his comfort zone and how much he's willing to say, it's unlikely to come all at once. If you remember any songs that Rin liked to sing, try playing them to encourage him to follow along, act positively when he does speak, and do not let any disappointment show if he doesn't speak."
"Okay." Yukio said. "Thank you."
Once the teacher had left, Yukio sighed and looked over to his brother, who was already looking around for a manga to read.
"We should probably do your homework first." Yukio suggested.
That was always how he did things, completing homework as soon as he returned home from school so that he was still in that working mindset and wouldn't waste time on it later, time that was better used for Exorcist training.
Rin turned to look at his brother like he was insane for such a suggestion.
"It means that you don't have to do it later, and it's not even that much." Yukio tried to reason.
Rin didn't drop his look.
"Fine." Yukio rolled his eyes. "I guess you can have a break. But I don't want you to complain about doing it later."
Rin smiled in victory and went back to his manga.
As much as Yukio preferred his method, he had to acknowledge that not everyone worked like him, especially not a child half his age.
Later, Rin was helping to prepare dinner under the very close watch of Yukio.
Yukio himself was not doing the cooking with Rin, but rather a small demon named Ukobach was, even though the demon was even smaller than Rin.
The stove spirit would constantly shoot glares at Yukio throughout cooking, which Yukio would just ignore. It was partially because the older brother was encroaching on his territory and getting in the way, but also because Yukio had almost shot him on their first meeting.
When Yukio had entered the kitchen a few days ago in search of his wayward brother, the only thing that had stopped his immediate exorcism of the demon via bullet had been that Rin was in the way, with a grin on his face as he cooked.
In Yukio's defence, no one had ever mentioned the little demon being stationed in the dorm's kitchen.
It had only been Rin's refusal to step away from the demon when told and then Mephisto appearing to explain that Ukobach was his familiar and in charge of cooking the brother's meals that stopped things from getting messy.
Though, Yukio suspected that the headmaster hadn't told them of the stove spirit to begin with because he'd known how the brothers would react and wanted some amusement, only stepping in before things could get deadly.
In the end, it was safe to say that Yukio and Ukobach had got off on the wrong foot.
And neither were particularly motivated to correct it to the right foot. The only reason they were around each other at all was for the sake of Rin, and also because Yukio didn't trust Ukobach not to poison his food in some way as payback for almost shooting him.
So, Yukio kept to the role of supervisor as Ukobach led Rin through cooking their meals.
"Done." Rin said brightly while grinning, which warmed Yukio's heart.
No matter Yukio's feelings about Ukobach, the stove spirit did seem to be good for bringing his younger brother more out of his shell through their shared cooking, which was creating the comfort zone for Rin to be able to speak again that Yukio had been told about.
Allowing Rin to ladle out the freshly cooked meal onto their plates, Yukio sat down to enjoy the food.
In that moment of enjoying Rin's food, his younger brother looking so proud, Yukio could see the light of the horizon, that the family would be able to recover from what Mami had done to them.
Provided that there were no more complications.
Yukio shouldn't have jinxed himself.
"Come on, there's got to be someone you can call in." Yukio pleaded into his phone.
"There really isn't." The voice on the other end of the phone informed. "Everyone else is too busy or injured, and we're not able to get another Exorcist from the Order in at such short notice."
Yukio huffed angrily.
"And I'm busy too. I have my brother to look after. I can't just leave him at the dorms for an hour." He said.
While theoretically, Yukio could call in someone to take care of Rin for an hour, even drop him off with the headmaster if he was really desperate, it was impossible for Yukio to actually do so thanks to Rin's mental state.
Rin may have become livelier in the past week, but he still clung to Yukio, often unable to withstand Yukio being in a different room, let alone across campus.
"The lesson isn't going to deal with anything dangerous, and the kid knows about demons. So, you could probably bring him along with you." The voice on the other end suggested.
Yukio wished that they were talking in person so that he could glare at them.
"You mean take my eight-year-old, traumatised by a demon, brother to a class of teenagers that I teach about demons, and expect him to be able to sit through it for an entire hour without disrupting the class?" Yukio said to try and make them realise how stupid their suggestion was.
"Yep, I'm sure it'll be fine. So, I'll say you're coming in. Bye." The person on the other end said quickly before hanging up.
"Wha-you-ba-" Yukio gritted his teeth to stop himself from swearing where his brother could hear.
Redialling the number only went straight to voicemail.
So, Yukio was left with two options, either stay in the dorms and leave his students with no teacher or bring Rin along to his lesson and hope that nothing went wrong.
…
"Do not touch anything." Yukio stressed as he led Rin into the classroom.
Rin looked around the room in both awe and disgust.
Awe for the size of the room, disgust for how dirty it seemed.
"I know it'll be hard for you, but you'll need to behave as I teach the class and not interrupt me or any of the students." Yukio told his brother. "I'm likely already going to have to spend the first ten minutes answering why you're here, so we'll already have less time to teach with."
Yukio took the bag he had packed for Rin, filled with drawing supplies and manga to hopefully keep Rin busy for an hour, and placed it on one of the desks he knew would be free during lesson.
"Teach?" Rin's voice was almost a whisper as he cocked his head to the side.
"Yep, I teach stuff like what plants and stuff are good against stopping nasty demons." Yukio said.
Rin already knew about Yukio being a teacher, but the fact was probably only just sinking in for Rin as he finally got to see the classroom.
"Help." Rin stood up straight, going over to the teacher's desk.
"You want to help me?" Yukio questioned.
Rin nodded.
"Well, I don't think you'd be able to help with much." Yukio rubbed the back of his head.
Rin pouted.
"But I'll see what I can do." Yukio added, unable to bare the disappointment on his brother's face.
Rin's pout turned to a smile.
It was then that the classroom door opened, signalling the arrival of the Cram students.
"Yukio, I thought you were off for a while." One of the students, with blond hair and dressed in a kimono, said.
"There were some complications with my sub and so I had to come in." Yukio explained.
"Wait, is that a kid?" A boy with dyed hair questioned.
Rin was quick to hide behind Yukio as attention turned to him.
Yukio sweat dropped and wondered how Rin expected to be his assistant if he was too shy to be around the other teens.
"Sensei, why is there a kid here?" The teen directed his question towards his teacher.
"Maybe he's a new member of the class." A boy with pink hair joked.
Yukio sighed as he prepared himself for the questioning.
"Everyone, this is my younger brother, Rin. Due to personal reasons that you are not privy to, he is under my personal supervision and care. But since I was given no choice about coming in today, he will be joining us for class." Yukio explained.
The group of teens blinked in surprise, not realising that their teacher had a brother.
"Hello, Rin." The girl in the kimono bent down to be at Rin's level. "I'm Moriyama Shemi. It's nice to meet you."
Rin blushed and continued to hide behind Yukio but stuck out a hand for the girl to shake, which he then quickly snatched back.
"So adorable." Shemi smiled.
Shemi then stood up straight an went to her seat, followed by a girl in pigtails, who designated the young boy as not worth her time.
"Hey there, I'm Shima Renzou." The pink haired boy introduced.
"And I'm Miwa Konekomaru." A bald boy in glasses also introduced.
Rin waved at the boys, then looked at the teen with the dyed hair, who was standing and not looking at him.
"That's Suguro Ryuuji, but we all just call him Bon." Renzou introduced for his friend.
Rin continued to stare up at Bon.
The older teen looked cool, with his large build and coloured hair, and he had a nickname as well, which had to mean something.
Rin came out of hiding to wave at him.
"Sensei, this kid isn't going to get in the way of our learning is he." Bon turned his attention to Yukio instead of greeting Rin back, causing the boy to drop his hand and pout.
"I've told Rin to behave." Yukio offered.
"Come on, Bon, you've got to say hi." Renzou prompted his friend, having noticed Rin's pout.
Bon just tsked. "I'm not going to waste my time on some kid who's already interrupting things by being here." He said.
Okay, Bon was no longer cool in Rin's eyes, he was now a jerk.
And since he had now judged Bon as a jerk, Rin felt no guilt in kicking the teen in the shin.
"Agh!" Bon cried out, almost falling over from the force of the strike.
Rin's kick wasn't as strong as it would have been thanks to still recovering from muscle atrophy, but his natural advanced strength made sure the kick still hurt.
Renzou laughed at his friend's pain.
"Serves you right for having that attitude." He said.
Bon glared at his friend, and then shifted his glare to Rin, who was quick to hide back behind Yukio for safety.
"Rin, what have we told you about hurting people." Yukio scolded his brother.
He had to fight to keep the smile off his face though, both because Bon was given retribution for acting like his brother was a burden, and also because the kick meant more of Rin's original personality was shining through again.
"Come on, let's get to our seats." Bon grunted, dragging his friends past their teacher and to their desks, Renzou still laughing.
"Right, with that delay out of the way, we can get on with the lesson." Yukio said.
Rin spent a little longer hiding behind his brother before emerging, given work sheets to hand out to each student, making sure to glare at Bon as he handed over the worksheet, the older boy returning the glare.
After Rin had handed out the worksheets, there wasn't anything else for him to do, so Rin was sent to his seat, which he decided to take next to Shemi, much to the girl and Yukio's surprise.
For the first half of lesson, things went smoothly, Rin occupied by his drawing and manga.
But in the latter half, the young boy began to become restless, fidgeting in his seat and losing interest in his manga.
Just as Yukio was ready to call a break so that he could take Rin into the hall to run around and work off energy, Shemi stepped in.
"Hey, Rin, do you want to know what this herb does." The normally shy girl asked.
Rin stopped fidgeting and turned his attention to Shemi and her work.
"It's used in a power that's useful in banishing spirits." Shemi told the boy. "When I was younger, I didn't know that other ingredients were needed, so carried it around in my obi to keep myself safe. I had to stop when I kept leaving it in my clothes, so they got stained with the plant and it got stuck to them when they got washed."
Rin laughed slightly at the story.
"And this one…" Shemi continued on.
Yukio sighed in relief as Shemi managed to keep Rin engaged enough so as to not disturb the class, the girl staying as quiet as she could as she told Rin about the herbs alongside stories to do with each. Rin still fidgeted and would eventually need to move, but Shemi's distraction thankfully worked until the end of class.
"I can't thank you enough, Shemi." Yukio sighed once class had ended and the other students left. "I didn't mean for you to become a babysitter and be distracted from your own work."
"It's fine." Shemi shook her head. "I saw that Rin-chan was getting bored and talking with Rin actually helped me get used to the actual names of plants."
"Well, thank you anyway." Yukio bowed. "Hopefully, this won't happen again."
"I was nice to meet Rin-chan though." Shemi said.
"…see Moriyama-san again." The two teens looked down at the voice.
"What was that, Rin?" Yukio questioned, wondering whether he had actually just heard a full sentence from Rin.
Rin curled in on himself slightly at the attention, biting his lip.
He then took a deep breath and let it out.
"Can I see Moriyama-san again?" It was quiet and Rin looked slightly pale after saying it, but it was a full sentence.
Yukio smiled widely at Rin's accomplishment.
"Of course you can see Shemi again." He said, before realising that he had to get Shemi's say in the matter. "Uh, that is, if you're fine with it."
"Oh, I'd love to see Rin-chan again." Shemi smiled. "Maybe you get tell me about some things next."
Rin smiled in return, bouncing his feet slightly.
"Anyway, I have to get back home." Shemi said, leaving.
Yukio smiled after her as she left.
He should have known that Shemi's kind and caring personality would be able to help Rin.
Rin looked at his brother's smiling face, then to the door that Shemi had just left through.
"She your girlfriend?" He asked quietly.
Yukio was distracted from Rin's second sentence after so much silence by turning red because of the words.
Author's note: Please comment
I'm glad people liked the brotherly interactions of last chapter, and now I'm sort of sad that I can't give you more. But, unfortunately, things start picking up again next chapter, so not much room for brotherly interactions when we have plot to get through and a story to end.
But look at it this way, the sooner this story is over, the sooner I can ready the manga in full, and the sooner I can write that Madoka crossover story I'm planning that promises to be big.
And maybe reading the manga will inspire some more simple stories with some (platonic) brotherly love in them.