A few days later Yukio decided to check in with the Doctor about his brother's condition. He had a pretty good idea of how the older Demon was recovery-wise, but wanted an outside perspective. He found the man speaking to- "Sir Pheles, I didn't expect to see you here" he said in surprise. His older half-brother turned to look at him with an over-exaggerated smile, "ah, if it isn't young Mr Okumera, I was just asking the Doctor for updates on you and your brother. I didn't expect to see you so soon" the pink-loving Hell King exclaimed as he walked over. "You're looking well, if I may say so, and, before I forget-" The King of Time lent down close to Yukio's ear, "welcome to the family my dear boy" he whispered so that the humans nearby couldn't hear. The brown-haired Demon narrowed his eyes, as the head of True Cross Academy stood up again, "it's not everyday that someone defies Satan's possession. You really are quite remarkable, both you and your brother" Mephisto complemented him. Yukio clenched his fists, "you saw. You saw everything that that monster did to Rin and you never once thought to interfere? You could have saved him easily!" the young man growled angrily, teeth lengthening slightly due to his rage, as blue flames flickered around his palms.

"Ah, ah, ah, I wouldn't be so quick to anger if I were you. You've only just awakened as a Demon, and I'm sure you know just how hard it was for your Older Brother to control his flames," the older Demon tapped Yukio's fist with the tip of his umbrella, drawing his attention to them. The Exorcist tried to calm himself, but that only made the blue flames shrink slightly, instead of disappearing. "Having trouble? Now that your Demonic blood has awakened, it seems that your power is not simply an extension of your brothers, but your own. I can't have you burning down my School now, so I'll make you something to seal your power into later. For now though, I suggest going somewhere to cool off before you hurt someone. Ta ta now!" Mephisto called as he walked away, Yukio growling at the Headmaster's retreating back, before he began to make his way out of the Hospital and into the still acrid air of the outside world. Once outside, Yukio took in the sight of the city around them, or what remained of it anyway. Fires were still burning everywhere, and the Demon could make out, not only the scent of burning fuel, ash and Demons, but burning human flesh as well as other death too.

He shuddered, his enhanced sense of smell was a curse it seemed. After finding a secluded area, where he couldn't set fire to anyone or anything, Yukio held out his hands and breathed slowly and deeply. Then he tried to draw out his flames. Nothing happened. He tried again, closing his eyes and visualising his brother's flames. Blue, raging, deadly. But also kind of peaceful and calm when they were just floating around him. It was strange, he found himself somehow both scared and in awe of those demonic flames at the same time. Maybe it was because he was now a demon himself, but whatever the reason, Yukio found that he was no longer scared of the Hell Fire like he had always been. The comforting warmth that now rested inside him due to them, also made him reconsider that notion. The blue flames were a part of him now, and hating them would get him nowhere. He had to move forwards. Suddenly Yukio felt a warmth and tingling sensation around his hands. Opening his eyes, the brown-haired Demon looked down at his palms, to see blue flames gently flickering around his fingers.

The younger twin stared at them in fascination, watching how they moved and bent whenever he moved his hands. Staring at them now, so docile and calm, Yukio could imagine how his Mother had found these flames beautiful. When they weren't turning people to ash at least. The Exorcist clenched his hands into fists, causing the flames to burn stronger due to his emotions. Noticing this, he tried to calm himself down. The blue flames slowly diminished, but they didn't disappear completely. Yukio frowned at them, who knew this was so hard- no wonder Rin had struggled so much. "Mr Okumera?" a nervous voice called from behind him. Without thinking he turned to the voice, seeing Konekomaru standing there, "yes?" he asked. The small Monk flinched back, and Yukio realized that he still had blue flames burning around his hands. "Oh, sorry," he replied, and managed to extinguish the flames by imagining them fading away. Yukio cleared his throat and adjusted his clothes, "yes?" he asked again, a little gentler this time, seeing how his student was obviously shaken.

The small Monk shook his head, then spoke, "Rin has woken up, but it was only for a moment, the other Doctor wants your opinion" he began, but Yukio was already moving before Konekomeru had even finished speaking. Rin was finally waking up!

Blue Exorcist

Yukio and Koneko made it back to Rin's hospital room just as the Doctor was checking the Demon boy's vitals. Shiemi, Shima, Izumo and Bon were all in the room, watching nervously. Yukio gasped as he entered, eyes widening in joy and relief when he saw his older Brother with his eyes open. He looked mostly out of it, but he was still awake. Suddenly, the dark blue-haired Teen turned to look at his twin. He smiled sleepily at him, "hey Yukio, how ya doin' lil' bro?" he slurred slightly. Suddenly the guilt stabbed at Yukio again, and he gasped as though he had been physically injured. The Half-Demon stumbled back, paler than usual. "Yukio?" Rin muttered in confusion, reaching out to him with one hand, but before he could say anything else, Yukio turned and ran. "Yukio!" the older boy yelped, trying and failing to get out of the bed. "Hey! No, you can't get up yet!" the Doctor exclaimed.

Rin growled, "that's my brother!" he yelled, but his body was refusing to cooperate. Bon scoffed and stood, "I'll go get 'im, you stay here and rest, okay Rin?" the punk-like Exwire asked, moving to leave the room. "Thanks" the other boy's voice called from behind him, making the taller boy turn to look at him from over his shoulder. "Don't mention it. It's what friends do, right?" he asked. Without waiting for a response, the Exorcist-in-training left the room to find their Teacher. After he left, Shiemi looked down sadly, "poor Yuki, he's been really torn up over everything that happened. I don't think he's slept at all since you were brought here either, or at least I never saw him sleep whenever I came to visit." The blond girl explained. Rin frowned deeply, staring at the door, 'Yukio' he thought, clenching his fists tightly.

Blue Exorcist

Yukio ran through the hospital, before his legs gave out and he collapsed against the wall. The brown-haired teenager panted, clenching his teeth, 'why did he smile?' he thought, as memories of Ernest's ritual to open the Gahena Gate once again flashed through his mind. 'Why did he act like everything was normal between us?' he remembered his brother's screams of agony as he coughed up blood, 'doesn't he know what I did?' he remembered Rin's glare as he was tied to that X-frame, 'why doesn't he hate me?!' Yukio thought, tears streaming uncontrollably down his face, before he finally collapsed to the floor, tail hanging limply behind him, 'I betrayed him, Dad, MYSELF! I DON'T DESERVE HIS FORGIVENESS!' just then, before the younger Demon's self-hating thoughts could continue, a familiar voice called out from behind him, "hey! Mr Okumera, wait up!" Turning, Yukio found Ryuji Suguro running up to him. "You're pretty fast Sir, almost lost you their" the brown and blond-haired boy said.

"Suguro, what are you doing here? You should be with Rin, he needs his friends at the moment" the Teacher asked with a carefully blank voice. "No, that's where you should be. You're Rin's younger Brother. He needs you the most right now. But more importantly, Rin wants you there. You might have heard him with your enhanced Demon hearing or you might not have, but after you ran off, that idiot immediately tried to get out of his Hospital bed and go after you. He was so worried about you that he would have fought the Doctor off to go after you if his body hadn't still been so weak. You are twins and all the family you both have left. At least when my Temple was destroyed, my Dad survived, but your Dad is dead, and your Grandfather was a Bastard. You need each other, now more than ever so don't be a coward. Go back in there, talk to Rin, and sort all this crap out! If you don't, you'll regret it later!" the punk-dressed student demanded.

The Exorcist clenched his fists and eyes tightly. Memories of Rin from years past flashed through his mind.

(Flashback)

Little Yukio shyly tied his wish to the Tanabata tree. Suddenly Rin popped up behind him, reading his wish, "hey! You wanna be a Doctor when you grow up?" the older boy asked. Yukio looked down with a blush on his face, "uh, I guess" he replied nervously. The younger twin lowered his head so that his eyes were hidden by the shine of his glasses, beginning to tremble, before- "that's great!" Rin exclaimed in excitement. Yukio looked up, surprised, "that's awesome! If anyone can be a Doctor, I know you can!" Rin replied with no trace of worry at all. "You really think so?" he asked. His brother placed both hands on Yukio's shoulders with a wide smile on his face, "heck yeah, I think so!" the indigo-haired boy replied confidently. Yukio smiled at his older Brother gratefully, "thanks!" he exclaimed happily.

(end flashback)

"But I can't!" Yukio snapped furiously, making Suguro flinch back. "I was the one who captured Rin for that asshole! I was the one who let him torture my Brother! If it had been you, would you be able to face Miwa so soon after betraying him?!" he snarled. After a moment of stunned silence at his Teacher's sudden anger, the punk-dressed student glared at the boy, "sure I'd feel guilty about whatever had happened! But I know that ignoring the issue and refusing to talk to him about it, wouldn't help either of us!" now both boys were yelling at each other, drawing more attention from around the hospital. "Besides, it's not guilt you're feeling, it's fear!" Bon cried, making Yukio flinch back as though he'd been punched in the face. "I-I-" he stuttered, eyes wide. "You're scared of facing Okumera after what you did! Scared of, not the fact that he might resent you- but the thought that he might actually forgive you! He's your twin brother, but despite that fact, you're too afraid to accept the fact that might not hate you for what you did!" the student yelled. Yukio clenched his fists, "shut up" he growled. "You don't believe that you deserve any forgiveness, so instead of facing your brother, you run away, abandoning him when he needs you the most!" Suguro continued. Yukio bared his fangs in warning, "shut up!" he yelled.

"You're no Excorsist, you're nothing but a coward!" Something snapped inside the young Demon's mind at that, remembering just how scared he always used to be as a child. "I SAID SHUT UP!" He screamed in fury. Blue flames exploded from his body, expanding out in a wave. Suguro's eyes widened, and only a hastily chanted verse protected him from being burned to a crisp. When the Hell flames died down, his Teacher was still standing there with wide-eyes that were filled with horror. Before anything could happen, Yukio's face twisted with self-loathing and he turned and ran down the hall in the opposite direction. "YUKIO!" a familiar voice cried from behind him. The blond and brown-haired teenager turned to see Rin hurrying down the hallway with his drip covered in blood bags. The older brother's face twisted in a furious rage when his eyes locked onto the taller boy, "what the Hell did you say to my brother Suguro?!" he demanded as he moved towards him. But the human teenager was too shocked by everything that had just happened to reply.

Rin growled, moving passed the frozen boy, determined to find his younger brother.

To Be Continued