"Hey! Are you sure that you should be running around like that? You're still really weak from blood loss!" Konekomaru called as he and their friends followed after the struggling indigo-haired Demon. "I have to go after him Koneko, he is my brother after all!" Rin replied, hurrying as fast as he could towards the front doors. "And you're just going to hobble your way their, IV stand and all?!" Bon cried incredulously. The older twin turned to the taller boy with a snarl, making him freeze in his tracks, "you're the one who made him run off in the first place, so you have no right to even speak to me at the moment, got it?" he demanded with a dangerous glare. Suguro shivered, but held his ground, "I didn't say anything that wasn't true" he replied. "Okay, enough!" Kamiki exclaimed, stepping in between the two boys, "you can have your alpha-male contest later! But it's true that it was your fault that Mr Okumera ran off, so back off Suguro!" the purple-haired girl cried, making the taller boy look away with a huff.
She turned back to see Rin heading towards the front door of the Hospital. Everyone's eyes widened, before the other Exwires hurried after their friend, "what are you doing Rin?!" Shiemi cried. "What does it look like I'm doing!? I'm going after my Brother!" Rin replied, a little softer than before. "Uh, are you going to walk there? Last time I checked, the only vehicles on the roads were emergency vehicles. There aren't any Taxi's or anything else" Shima pointed out. The Demon froze with his hand on the door, before breaking out into an embarrassed sweat, rubbing the back of his head with the hand without the drip in it, "right, I forgot" he replied, turning back to his friends. Almost everyone also sweat-dropped at the boy. Their was an awkward silence, before Koneko stepped forwards, "come on Okumera, let's go find the nearest door with a keyhole" he said, gesturing with his hand. "Thanks Koneko, you're a real friend!" the boy replied gratefully, as the two walked off. "Wait for me!" Shiemi called, running off after them, Shima and Izumo following at a walk. Bon was left alone at the entrance. He sighed deeply, "damn it, why do I always do this?" he muttered.
Blue Exorcist
Rin slowly walked out of the door of the house across the street from the Monastery. He winced at seeing all the damage around the area from the Demons that had been attacking everything. Luckily thanks to the repaired wards around the building, the church had been safe from most Demons nearby, making it the perfect Sanctuary for many of the people of the city, a lot of whom Rin could see camped outside on the front lawn. Walking up to the gate, the half-Demon barely managed to remember that touching a gate with powerful Demon-repelling Wards on it was now a very bad idea. "Damn it, how the Hell did Yukio get inside?" he muttered to himself, half-scowling at the gate, knowing that the only reason all of the people within it's perimeter weren't killed by attacking Demons was because of the very wards he now cursed. He paced back and forth before the gate, wracking his brain to try and figure out how to get inside without either burning his hand off or breaking the gate.
Eventually he gave into his frustration, clutching his head and growling, "I can't think of anything damn it! what am I supposed to do now!?" he cried. However, thankfully a familiar face showed up, "it's you mister!" a young girl's voice called. Looking up, Rin saw a small girl, around 6, maybe 7 years old. The boy smiled down at her kindly, "oh hey, you're okay. Yui, right?" he asked gently, crouching down so that he could be closer to her level with the gate between them. Yui nodded, but then noticed the tail swaying lazily behind him, beginning to look scared. Rin realised the problem a second later, looking back at his tail. After a moment's thought, he steeled himself, "hey Yui, you wanna hear a secret?" he asked in a stage whisper. The girl's fearful look morphed into more of a curious one, "what secret?" she asked. "You know how those mean fairies were bothering you before? Well, it turns out that my brother and I are good fairies, and we fight the bad ones to protect people like you and your parents. Our Dad was one too. Pretty cool, right?" he asked with a grin. He felt bad lying to the little girl, but it was mostly the truth after all. "Really?" Yui asked softly, eyes shining with a bit of awe. Rin nodded, "yep!" he replied cheerfully. The child's eyes strayed to his tail again and she suddenly looked nervous again, "your tail, can I touch it?" she asked carefully. Rin jolted slightly, but kept the kind smile on his face.
"Sure, you just have to be really gentle, okay? And put your hand through the bars, because the fence will really hurt my tail if it touches it" he explained. Yui did as requested, and Rin moved his tail close to the child's hand. Slowly, gently, the human girl began stroking the fur, making the Demon jolt for a whole new kind of reason and he bit his lip hard. 'I knew that they were really sensitive, but not like this!' he thought, resisting the urge to squirm and giggle, as a barrage of sensation shot down his tail and up his spine, 'holly crap, this tickles really bad! And here I thought that I only had to worry about pain from my tail!' Rin squeezed his eyes shut, "o-okay, that's, e-enough now, okay?" he asked desperately. Realising that she was making the 'fairy' uncomfortable, Yui withdrew her hand, making the Demon boy sigh in relief. Tucking his tail back under his shirt, he stood up, "so, do you mind opening the gate for me Yui? You can close it again right after, okay?" Rin asked. The small brown-haired girl nodded, "okay" she replied, pulling the gate open, allowing the indigo-haired boy to enter at last, "thanks, I owe you one, okay?" he asked with a grin, as the little girl closed the gate behind him, "I'll see ya later!" Rin called, waving as he ran up to the front door.
Once there, he knocked, hoping that one of the Excorsists that he knew was their and would let him inside. Thankfully, his luck seemed to be holding strong so far because it was a familiar face that greeted him from the other side of the door. "Rin! Welcome home!" Izumi exclaimed cheerfully, happy to see the boy they all thought of as a younger brother was safe. "Hey Izumi, long-time no-see. Is Yukio here?" he asked, though he already knew the answer. "He got here a few minutes ago, but, um, he seemed, different-" the red-haired young man hedged, trying to be delicate, but knowing full well what was different about the younger Okumera twin. Rin sighed deeply, "yeah, that's a- really long story. I'll tell you guys later, but right now, I just wanna talk to Yukio" he replied, shoulders sagging with exhaustion, but eyes still full of determination. "Of course, come on in" Izumi agreed, stepping aside to let the half-demon in, but Rin hesitated, "it's not gonna burn me if I go inside now, right?" he asked warily.
The young man shook his head, "of course not, don't worry" Izumi replied. Steeling himself, Rin stepped inside his childhood home for the first time in a year. When he did not, in fact burst into the kind of flames that would actually burn him, the Indigo-haired Exwire relaxed momentarily in relief, before steeling his nerves for the battle ahead. Following the Exorcist through the halls brought back both bittersweet and full on painful memories, but he pushed through it. Rin knew that, no matter what, he had fix things with his brother once and for all today. Because if he didn't, he may very well lose Yukio for good, and that would utterly break him. Izumi stopped in front of a very familiar door, one that made his heart beat rapidly in fear. The memories from the last time he stood inside this room assaulted him, but Rin shook them away, "are you sure he's in here?" he asked softly. The other man nodded solemnly, "he is. Ran in here when he arrived and hasn't left since" Izumi replied. Sighing deeply, the young Demon looked back to the door, "alright then" he replied, reaching out and pushing it open.
Blue Exorcist
When Rin entered the room where Service was normally held, and the room that their Father had died in, he grit his teeth to keep his mind from conjuring unwanted memories. Looking around, he found Yukio sitting on one of the benches, head bowed. Sighing, the older of the two slowly walked over and sat next to his brother. There was a moment of silence between them, one that seemed to stretch on. Rin twitched impatiently, but he knew that Yukio would need the silence to gather his thoughts. Eventually, the brown-haired twin let out a deep sigh, one as heavy as the silence of the room, "I never even thought about it before," Yukio began quietly, Rin listening intently. "I knew that you felt guilty for what happened to Dad, but I never realised exactly how crushing that kind of guilt could be until now" he muttered. The younger boy looked up at the spot that had been burned into both their memories, the spot where their Father had died, the light bouncing off his glasses helping to hide the emotions in his eyes.
"Now though, I-" Yukio began, before cutting himself off and clenching his fists, trying to keep those emotions under control. Rin stared sadly at his twin, before letting out a deep sigh, "Yukio, I think it's time I told you the whole truth about that day. You deserve to know everything that happened. A-a-and, if you s-still hate me after that then- I'll accept it without, any complaints" he said shakily, taking a deep breath to calm himself down, but he knew that reliving those memories would be far more painful than anything else he had endured so far. The brown-haired Demon frowned, "You don't have to do that-" he began, only to have his brother cut him off, "yes I do, you deserve to know the whole truth more than anyone else" Rin replied, before steeling himself and beginning to explain that day in much more detail. Yukio didn't interrupt, instead listening to his brother with such an intense look on his face that you might have mistaken the occasion for a mission briefing. Finally, after Rin finished, Yukio stared over at the spot Father Fujimoto had died in with a serious look on his face, "I see, so that's why you wanted to become an Exorcist so badly then" he replied.
He looked down and let out a deep sigh, "Rin, can I at least apologise for everything I said that day at True Cross without you refusing to accept it?" the young Exorcist asked softly. "Only if you stop being an idiot and blaming yourself for what happened with Ernest and Satan. Neither of those things was your fault. You were manipulated and then possessed. You fought back and won and then we defeated and ran that bastard off. Yeah, maybe he'll come back, but this time we'll be ready for him. And when he does, both of us with destroy him together. Right?" Rin asked. Yukio grimaced, "I don't know if I can forgive myself so quickly Brother. I'm still haunted at night by images of you chained to that X-frame, screaming in agony and coughing up blood," he shuddered, "I just- I don't feel like I deserve it. I promised both myself and Dad that I would protect you, only to be the one who put you in that position in the first place," he clenched his fists and put his head in his hands, "if it weren't for me, you never would have been tortured!" the brown-haired Demon let out a sob. The older twin sighed, "man, you're so stubborn Yukio!" he moaned.
Yukio said nothing as silent sobs wracked his form. Rin sighed, "you know, you really are a troublesome little Brother" he added, before reaching over and grabbing his twin, pulling him into a hug, "it's okay. Even if you can't forgive yourself yet, I'll be right by your side, waiting for the day that you can" the Indigo-haired teen assured. As Yukio cried into his Brother's embrace, Rin said nothing and simply accepted the fact that his twin needed time. One day, things would get better, he was sure of it.
To Be Continued