"I've got good news, and I've got bad news," Shura said straight after walking into the office she and Rin shared at True Cross. She had a wad of gum in her mouth and a lengthy paper-wrapped object in her grip, which she transferred between hands as she took off her coat. Without asking which Rin wanted to hear first, she kept talking.
"Good news is I found a demon sword." She waggled the object in her hand. "Bad news is it's basically the only one in existence without a living owner." Coming forward, Shura dropped the paper-wrapped sword in his lap.
Starting, Rin sat up to catch it before it fell to the floor. Even through the paper, he could feel the slight buzz of energy the thing was giving off. He looked up at Shura.
"Where did you get it?" he asked.
She blew a bubble. "Okinoshima," she said. "In Kyushu."
"Isn't that like—"
"A sacred island only accessible to the shrine's priests? Yeah." She went to her desk and flopped into her chair, kicking her feet up and crossing her ankles. "That thing was a pain in the ass to get, so you'd better be happy with it."
Blinking, Rin looked down at the object in question. He gently set it on the desk, then untied the twine around the paper and let it fall loose. Inside was a katana in an unassuming wood scabbard, blue paint etched with a simple swirling pattern, like clouds. He was no expert on swords, but this one looked super dated and super out of use. In good condition, just…old.
He stood up to unsheathe it. The sword came free of its scabbard with an airy swish. It was light in his hands, lighter than Kurikara, and the hamon down the length of the steel was feathery. The demonic energy seemed latent, almost like it was sleepy.
"That is Aokaze," Shura said. "I had to put the fear of god into those damn priests to get them to part with it." Chuckling, she rose and came to examine the blade alongside Rin. "Luckily the news that I needed it to keep a Satan sire from setting the whole world on fire was pretty convincing." She titled her head to the side. "What do you think?"
Rin gave the blade a test swing. "I don't know," he said. "Do you think it will be strong enough?"
Shura blew and popped another bubble. "Who can say? We don't know how powerful your kids are gonna be. If they even inherit the blue flame." She held out her hand for the sword, so Rin passed it over.
"That's true," he said.
"Kind of a moot point anyway," Shura said. "Either the sword is strong enough, or it's not. We don't have any other options."
"Besides trying to convince a living exorcist to part with their blade, murdering one of those exorcists for their blade, or attempting to bind a demon to a new sword in a crazy ritual."
"Right."
Rin sighed. He watched as Shura took a couple of swings, then sheathed the blade and passed it back to him. He frowned at the scabbard, but he wasn't disappointed exactly. Just uncertain. There were a lot of variables at play here. If one of the twins inherited the blue flame, they'd have somewhere to put its demon heart. But what if both of them did? What if the blade wouldn't hold up? Kurikara had done fine with Rin's until he'd been a teenager, and had stayed together ever since he'd unsheathed it that first time. Maybe that would be the case here. But then that raised the question of whether or not he and Daphne wanted to make the decision from the get-go for their child to live as a quarter-demon.
"Looks like you just took a wild ride down a thought spiral," Shura said. "Spill."
Rin lifted his gaze from the sword to her face. "Let's say this blade is perfect. It can contain a demon heart without any problems."
"Okay."
"Do we keep it sheathed forever and give Shiro or Easter a chance at a normal life? Do we unsheathe it straight away so that they grow up knowing demons? Or do we leave it sheathed, but give them the choice later if they want to open it or not?"
"Huh."
Shura mused for a moment, folding her arms across her chest.
"Which would you choose for yourself?" she asked. "If you could go back and do it all again?"
About a thousand emotions flooded Rin all at once. Which would he choose for himself? He thought of all the suffering Yukio had done alone—having demon sight since he was a baby, training to be an exorcist while he was still a kid. He thought of all the pain and confusion suddenly coming into knowledge of demons had caused him, and not just knowing demons but learning that he was one. He thought about Fujimoto—his old man—how he'd died protecting Rin, and that thought struck deepest of all. If Rin had known…if Rin had been prepared…maybe he wouldn't have been able to do anything, maybe Fujimoto still would have died at Satan's hands, but maybe Rin would have been able to save him or changed something.
"I'd want to know," he said. "I'd want to grow up knowing."
Shura nodded. "Seems smart," she said. "I don't think you or Daphne would be able to keep it secret for long anyway. You wanna have to hide your tail in your own house?"
Rin hadn't considered that. How had he not considered that?
"Holy shit, Shura, my kid could have a tail."
Snorting, Shura smacked him upside the head. "Of course, dum-dum. Your kids could have tails."
Rin was entirely taken aback by the thought. Apparently, he hadn't really put together what having part-demon children would mean. They could come out looking like him. Soon, he might not be the only one. A stupid smile spread across his face. If they had tails, he'd make sure they grew up comfortable in their own skin. And proud. He'd spent way too long embarrassed of his demon form and he'd do his best to keep his kids from feeling that same way.
"I guess the next problem is finding a second sword," Shura said. She went to her desk and sat down.
Nodding, Rin put Aokaze back on the paper and wrapped the katana up. "What's it gonna be? Bribery, murder, or dangerous ritual?"
Shura hummed a moment. "I mean, murder is definitely the easiest option."
Rin laughed. "And bribery's the least risky."
Shaking her head, Shura sat up in her seat, turned on her computer, and got ready to work. "I don't know, Rin," she said. "I think we're gonna be hard pressed to find an exorcist willing to part with their blade."
Daphne looked up from her desk in her classroom when a knock sounded on the open door. It was Rin, arriving for lunch. She smiled at him and stood up, rising slowly to her feet so she wouldn't get dizzy. As soon as she was upright, Rin offered her a strangely shaped package.
"What is this?" she asked as she took it from him and set it down to untie the twine.
"Aokaze," Rin replied. "A demon sword Shura found. For one of the twins."
A rush of excitement flooded Daphne and she slipped the paper free. The katana was beautiful, simplistic. Its energy was light and airy. She unsheathed it and swung it through the air—forgetting for a moment that this was an English classroom and anyone could have walked in.
"What do you think?" Rin asked, smiling.
"Let me see."
She shut her eyes and focused on the push and pull between Assiah and Gehenna, seeking out the spirit of the blade. It was small and dim—uncultivated or perhaps used to not being disturbed. The spirit drew away from her, indignant like it wanted to go back to bed. She opened her eyes. Rin had his eyebrows raised.
"Could do with some exercise," she chuckled.
"You didn't bond it, did you?"
Shaking her head, Daphne laughed outright. "I can't just bond any blade I want," she said.
Rin half rolled his eyes. "You've bonded four blades, one of which doesn't even belong to you, so forgive me for making assumptions."
She sheathed Aokaze and set the sword down on her desk, taking Rin's face into her hands so she could give him a peck on the lips. "I'm glad you think so highly of me."
Rin laughed. "I still can't believe you agreed to be my wife."
She kissed him again. "The best decision I ever made."
They smiled at each other for a moment before Rin spoke again.
"What do you think we should do about finding a second blade? Shura says that's the only one without an owner."
Daphne had started wrapping Aokaze back up in the paper, but she paused, looking up to frown. "Really?"
Rin nodded. "I guess. Shura would know. She had to manhandle a bunch of priests to even get that one."
Daphne pursed her lips in thought. Creating a new blade was absolutely out of the question. The ritual was ancient, and dangerous, and hadn't been completed successfully for hundreds of years. And with things in Gehenna the way that they were, she wasn't particularly keen to tempt fate by disturbing them further. That, and attempting to bind demons by man-made means was something she would never touch again once this living nightmare with their spirit was finished. So they'd need to find a Knight willing to give up a demon sword.
"I think if we start with, like, the really old exorcists first, we might have more luck," Rin said. "You know, they've already got one foot in the grave, what do they need a sword for?"
Daphne looked at him. "We don't need to ask anyone," she said.
"Well, we can't just take it by force, Daph."
"No, I mean, we don't need to ask because I have a blade. Right here."
She drew Castor and Pollux, bonded Pollux to the back of her hand so she could draw Helen of Troy as well.
"Three, in fact."
Rin stared at her. "Daph."
She looked at the blades in her hands—their inscriptions, their harsh silver surfaces, their squared tips. They were as much a part of her as her own soul. They shared her body in a similar way as her own children. She smiled, thinking of the parallel. She carried two sets of twins: Castor and Pollux, and Shiro and Easter.
"You're really willing to do that?" Rin asked.
She nodded. "Of course."
"But, these—they…they're your blades, Daphne. Giving one of them up would change everything."
She smiled, carefully sheathed the swords one by one in the back of her neck.
"Lots of things are going to have to change, Rin," she said. "If giving up one of my blades is what it takes to keep my children safe, I'll do it. No second thoughts. No regrets."
When she looked at him, she found his eyes had filled with tears and his bottom lip was trembling. She laughed, taking him into her arms.
"You're the most amazing person I think I've ever met," Rin said, letting out a little sob against her shoulder.
Daphne smiled, kissed his cheek. "And I still can't believe you agreed to be my husband."