After a long hiatus, that is now over, here is the latest chapter. It's a SUPER long chapter to make up for my absence. I was originally going to keep stalling a lot longer, maybe even give up on it, but a couple things inspired me. One was this author ranting about Okumuracest and yaoi in general, calling people who like it sick disgusting bastards, and how it shouldn't exist and blah blah blah. I immediately stopped reading her story, even though before that it hadn't been half bad. After that I started writing a little again, hoping to prove what a sick disgusting bastard like myself can do with her writing. So what if I have less than a tenth of her reviews. Take this, bitch. Twincest is WINcest. Anyway, the second thing that inspired me was an amazing review that warmed the cockles of my heart from Elroye. Thank you so very much, you're partly to blame for this chapter! :D This is for you! Are you still keeping watch, lol? That being said though, I think it sucks. Everyone's so OOC… Well, scroll down a little and see for yourself.

Disclaimer: Everyone's OOC, so it's obvious I don't own Blue Exorcist.


The sound of the hear-rate monitor flat-lining filled the small, dim, plain white hospital room. It wasn't very loud, but in the otherwise silent room it was like having a train, a rock concert, and blowhorn all at the same time in one room. The significance of the noise didn't help either.

It was a heart stopping. It was a life ending. It was a goodbye without words. It was the agony of so many people. All from just one little tone.

Well, for most people it was.

Slowly, oh so slowly, Okumura Rin became aware of his own consciousness. It came to him in waves. Then, he became aware of sensation. The very first thing that he felt was pain. All over. But worst of all, was that his chest- it felt like he was on fire. It burned, ached, stung, and throbbed all at once, but most prominent of all was the burning. It felt hot; too, too hot.

He tried to move, to get away from the burning, the fire, but he couldn't move. At all. It was like his body was weighed down. He couldn't even attempt to lift a finger, it was so heavy. It was then that he heard the heart monitor; with a pop of his ears he could hear things again. He hadn't even realized that his hearing had been somehow impaired before, he'd been so concentrated on the pain.

What is that? Make it stop. Make it stop! It's too loud! Rin wanted to cover his ears, but he couldn't, because he still couldn't move. And the burning… the burning was only getting worse. It doubled. Tripled. Quadrupled. Again. Again. Again. Again and again and again until-

With a gasp, Rin shot up, trying to get air in his lungs, but they weren't working, and he sputtered and tried and tried and everything was too bright on his suddenly open eyes and-

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Calm down! Lay back down!" suddenly, Yukio was at his side, trying to calm him down by squeezing his hand and rubbing his back soothingly. Rin looked back up at his twin, fear and confusion clear in those deep blue eyes, and tried to take in air again. He was gasping, but this time it felt like some actually got in his lungs, allowing him to breathe.

"It's okay, nii-san. Relax. I'm guessing your organs are slowly coming back online one at a time, so don't rush things. It'll all come back." As if confirming his suspicions, the monitor beeped once, then again, and again at a rapidly increasing pace until it was that of a racing heart. There was a sharp, crippling pain so intense Rin wanted to cry out in his chest, making him lose some of the much needed oxygen. Apparently, Rin's heart was back and beating with a vengeance. Lucky him.

If he thought about it, he would think how odd it was, coming back to life like this. He was hyperaware of every little thing his body did, from each breath to every heartbeat, and how he could move now.

Yukio watched his brother very closely. Rin appeared disoriented; his deep blue eyes unfocused and flitting everywhere. They blinked rapidly, trying to focus. His heart was beating away, which he was happy about, but it was beating way, way too fast. Especially considering how not even two minutes ago it hadn't been beating at all. Rin was pale, sickeningly so. His skin was cold to the touch. Frankly, he looked like he was still dead. He was shaking, as if he felt as cold as skin was. His breathing was still erratic, his lungs still getting used to taking oxygen in so suddenly.

"Nii-san, you need to relax." When there was no answer, Yukio started to grow worried. "Nii-san? Look at me." Nothing. "Can you hear me?" Still nothing. Rin gave no indication that he could make sense of what was happening around him. "Come on, nii-san. Talk to me!" Going into doctor mode, Yukio grabbed some instruments form his bag and started checking Rin over. He shined a light into the deep blue eyes, and they seemed to respond to it and not as erratic. The pulse was still too fast, as was his breathing. All his injuries seemed to be almost healed, no change there.

"Nii-san, it's me, Yukio. Can you understand what's going on?" At the word 'Yukio' Rin's head turned to look at his twin. His eyes seemed a little glazed over, but this time they held a hint of recognition. "Nii-san… Yes, that's right, I'm Yukio, your twin brother." Rin stared, and as he did so, his breathing slowly started to stabilize to something more normal.

Seeing how disoriented Rin was Yukio started to grow worried. "Nii-san, do you remember who I am? Who you are?" Rin stared blankly. "You're Rin, and I'm Yukio. Do you remember that much?" At Yukio's name, Rin's eyes opened a little wider. Yukio saw this, and decided to use it. "Yukio, your little brother." He pointed at himself. "Yukio, Yukio, Yukio, Yukio, Yukio." He repeated his own name over and over, and each time Rin's eyes grew a little less cloudy and more focused.

Until finally, they looked at Yukio, really looked at him. As if he were seeing him for the first time, almost. Rin opened his mouth and by the way his lips moved, he was saying Yukio's name. except, nothing came out. Rin opened his mouth and tried again, only to have the same thing happen: nothing.

"Rin, are you aware of what's going on now?" Yukio asked. Rin's eyes were almost back to normal, but they still held a whole lot of confusion and a little bit dull. It was probably fatigue. After thinking about for a whole minute, Rin nodded. Yukio found it a little odd that the thing that triggered Rin's memory and brought him back to reality was his own name, Yukio, but didn't think about it too much. He didn't really mind that fact, and there were more important things to think about.

"Hm. I guess your brain needed some time to come alive as well. That might explain why at first you were unresponsive and disoriented, and couldn't remember anything. The rest of your body may need to do the same thing, including your throat. That's probably why you can't talk right now." Yukio concluded. Rin slowly nodded, still kind of looking like he didn't understand it all, or he wasn't quite all there yet. But it was something.

Suddenly, the door burst open and a man in a white lab coat stepped in, followed by a nurse. It was one of the doctors that were associated with the Knights of the True Cross. They stopped in front of Rin's bed and stared at him with shocked expressions on their faces, like they couldn't believe he was actually alive.

"He's… he's awake… he's alive." The doctor said, not bothering to hide his utter disbelief. The nurse looked the same. Yukio cleared his throat to catch their attention.

"I know it's hard to believe, but despite what you originally thought, he did survive. Like I said he would. So let's keep it that way, and get a full check-up to make sure he's alright." The doctor nodded.

"Okay, let's start with a physical examination." The doctor went to Rin's bedside and pulled out his stethoscope. Suddenly, Rin got a very bad feeling from that man. A feeling in his gut told him NOT to let that man near him; that he was dangerous. Rin backed away from the doctor as he could while still staying in the hospital bed.

Yukio frowned. "Come on, nii-san. He needs to get a look at you." Rin shook his head, and then suddenly started coughing violently. The doctor tried to get a better look at Rin, but he backed away even more, until he was almost falling off the bed. The look he gave the doctor clearly said get away from me.

"Nii-san!" Yukio rushed to Rin's side. After another moment or so, Rin stopped. He opened his mouth to try and talk again. This time, it worked.

"I don't… want him… to touch me." Rin coughed a little more.

"I'm sorry, but all the other doctors are too busy right now. You know how many casualties and injuries we've had recently due to the increase in demons. Not to mention we're understaffed as it is due to budget cuts." The doctor said.

"Then Yukio." Rin said, then cleared his throat like it hurt to talk a little still.

"Huh? Nii-san, I may be a 'doctor' as an exorcist, but I by no means have a medical license. Let the doctor see you. Don't be difficult." Yukio frowned.

"Yes, Okumura-san, I really must look you over. To be sure you're okay, we need to run some tests, too. I mean, you were dead." The doctor frowned as well, and a bit of sweat was visible on his brow.

"No. If there's no one else, then Yukio. Or else it's not happening." Rin crossed his arms in defiance like a five year-old.

Yukio sighed. He knew that look. He'd known it practically his whole life; as long as he could remember. "Doctor, he's not going to budge. I may not have a medical license in the real sense, but I do know what I'm doing. Please let me give him the physical examination."

"I really would prefer to do it…" The doctor trailed off. He was started to look a little frazzled. That didn't inspire the most confidence in Yukio, and it strengthened his decision to do the check-up.

"I assure you I can handle it. I've had the necessary training."

"I insist." The doctor said with more force than what was polite.

"No, I insist. Rin will NOT let you touch him if he doesn't want you to. So it's best if we get this over with as soon as possible right? And didn't you say you were understaffed? So you can go to someone else's aide while I work on Rin. A win-win situation, wouldn't you say, doctor?" Yukio said politely with a small smile on his face. But Rin could tell that that smile was as fake as could be. Yukio only used fake politeness when he was irritated, but wanted something.

"…Fine." The doctor said with a scowl, knowing that he couldn't find any flaws to argue with in Yukio's logic. He gave a glaring, pointed look at Yukio before walking out of the room and slamming the door harshly. The nurse followed quickly behind him, leaving the two Okumura twins alone once more. Yukio just smiled politely, and sighed with relief when they were both gone.

There was something about the doctor Yukio didn't like; he had a suspicious aura about him. He'd have to keep an eye on that doctor while Rin was in the hospital. "I can see why you didn't want him to touch you…" Yukio said quietly.

Rin nodded. "I got a bad feeling from him. He's creepy."

"Okay, well, let's get started. I'll take your vitals first." He took Rin's blood pressure, pulse and respirations. They were all a little too high for his liking. "Nii-san, you need to relax." Yukio chided.

Rin shrugged, he couldn't help it. Dying was stressful.

Next was the more physical stuff. Yukio checked Rin's reflexes (by which I mean he used more force than necessary when checking Rin's knee-jerk reaction, causing Rin to cry out and call him a bastard four-eyes). "Okay, can you stand up now?"

"Sure." Rin leaned over and swung his legs over the side of the bed, mindful of the IV inside his arm. He tried not to move too much; his chest was still throbbing a bit, as was the other parts of his body that had recently started working again.

When Rin's legs hit the ground they didn't stay there, however. He stumbled, like he had no control of his legs at all; they were like jelly, completely useless. When Yukio saw Rin's legs weren't going to support him at all, he dashed to Rin's side and caught him just in time before he fell.

"Looks like your legs need some more time before they're back to normal. Are you okay?" Yukio asked, concerned, still holding onto Rin so he wouldn't fall.

"I'm fine. I just can't feel my legs at all. But I could move my hips, though." Rin clung to Yukio tightly, afraid of what would happen if he let go. He really hoped his legs would start working again soon; as far as he knew they were the last thing that needed to come back.

"Okay, let's just lean you up against the bed. Hold onto the railing tightly." Yukio propped Rin against the bed, but half supported Rin with his own body when Rin still clung to him slightly. He sighed, but still got on with the check-up. He looked Rin's whole body over, but paid special attention to the damage done to the half-demon's chest. A nasty, jagged scar existed over where the hole used to be. Despite how healed it looked, the wound was still pretty fresh, and Yukio suspected it wouldn't take much for it to reopen, despite the scar-like tissue covering it up.

"Nii-san, you have to be very careful of your wounds or they may open up again. Don't move around too much." Rin scowled, but nodded. Yukio was the doctor here, and though Rin would never admit, he did know best. And besides, he didn't quite trust that railing; the bed looked pretty darn old. Yukio needed to help hold him up if he was going to make him keep standing.

There were other small wounds, such as cuts and bruises from the battle, but those were practically healed already due to Rin's accelerated healing. Other than that, Rin was okay. Yukio helped put Rin back in the bed when he was done. He noticed Rin shiver once, so he covered him up with the thin blanket on the bed.

"What's the last thing you remember?" Yukio asked as he sat in a chair next to Rin's bed.

Rin frowned, deep in thought. He seemed to stare blankly into space for more than a couple minutes, absolutely silent. It was always something serious when Rin was quiet, and by the way his brows were furrowed Yukio could tell that he was confused by something. "Don't hurt yourself trying to think too much." Yukio couldn't help but add.

"Shut up mole face! It's just… weird. It's too hard to remember, or something."

"What do you mean by that?" Yukio asked, leaning forward in this chair. He unknowingly furrowed his brows in the exact same way as Rin.

"The memories are there, I think, but it's like I can't get to them. They feel all fuzzy, like they're… covered up or something. I can't see them clearly, they're too damn blurry!" Rin clenched his fists and glared at the wall as if it had been the one to hide his memories from him.

"Then what IS the last thing that's clear?"

"…I think it might be you loading up your guns before we went into the forest. But the whole day's a little hard to see…"

Is this normal amnesia, or something else? It's not completely uncommon for a person to have problems remembering what happened to them after an accident, but this just doesn't feel right. Could it have something to do with all those flames that surrounded him? Yukio sat there thinking and theorizing, only coming back to reality when he heard his brother's voice.

"So, what did I miss? What happened that I don't remember? How long have I been out anyway?" Rin asked, wincing a little as he laid all the way back in his hospital bed. It wasn't a very comfortable bed, but Yukio could tell Rin was getting tired anyway by the way he kept blinking his eyes.

He must really want to know what happened if he doesn't want to sleep for once. So Yukio decided he'd tell him the truth; as much as he knew of it, at least. Which wasn't much.

"Well, it's a long story, and there's still a lot I don't know myself…"

"Hey, I got time." Rin grinned, and Yukio proceeded to tell Rin what he knew.


"NII-SAN!" Yukio screamed as he watched his brother get a hole punched straight through his chest. He watched his brother vomit up pints of blood. His own brother- no, not just his brother, but his twin- was dying before his very eyes and all he could do was watch. Oh, how he wanted to run straight to the red demon that had just done that to his brother and pump his full of holes. He wanted to make him suffer. But he couldn't. All he could do was watch. There were too many demons in his way, and one had even started spewing acid from its mouth, right in the direction Yukio wanted to go most. It was a wonder he'd even had a view of the fight at all, through the mob of demons; though they had quickly obstructing his view once again when more came out of the woodwork.

When he couldn't see his brother anymore, Yukio couldn't take it anymore. He HAD to get through all of these demons RIGHT NOW, or his brother would die. Not even a half-demon would be likely to survive that injury without immediate medical attention. He started firing his guns rapidly, barely even looking to see if he hit anything. He just wanted these demons out of his way. Through all the gunfire, he didn't even realize he was screaming. Now, his mind was blank but for one thought: Rin. All of his exorcist training went out the window when he's seen his brother supposedly die before his eyes.

Yukio had somehow managed to blast a hole through the wall of demons, allowing him to see where Rin had been. He saw Rin's sword embedded in the red demon and suddenly the two of them went up in flames; blue flames. Satan's flames. He was sure the demon's screams could be heard throughout the whole forest, but right now he didn't pay them any mind. Right now, he was concentrating on his nii-san.

"Okumura!Okumura!" Yukio heard Suguro shouting. That wasn't a good sign. Neither was hearing a child's screams. His anxiety level went up.

"Nii-san!" Yukio yelled out. There was no answer. "Nii-san, can you hear me?" Still no answer. Thinking a little clearer, Yukio cursed under his breath. He grabbed his last resort from his tool belt, a grenade. He hoped he wasn't close enough to his brother that he'd be effected to, but he had to take that chance. If he wasn't dead yet, he would be soon. So with that, Yukio pulled the pin on the grenade and threw it.

There was a bright flash, and demons were disintegrated. After Yukio removed his arm from shielding his eyes, he was pleased to see that most of the area between him and his twin was clear. He wouldn't have much trouble getting to him if he acted quickly. As soon as he saw that, Yukio took off at a dead sprint towards where Rin lay on the ground bleeding and still emitting blue flames.

"Nii-san! Nii-san! Can you hear me?" Yukio shouted as he knelt down by Rin as soon as he reached him. He took his pulse to see if he was even alive, and it didn't look like he'd be for long. It was dangerously slow. The kind of slow that meant only minutes left, if that. When he realized this, Yukio couldn't stop the few tears that had burning his eyes for a while now from escaping.

Suguro and the child from the last mission were leaning over Rin's bloody and blue body. The little boy was curled up in a ball sobbing, while Suguro was sure no stray demons came near. When he saw Yukio coming near he said quickly "I'll go get help. They're might still be some back-up somewhere! I'll take the kid with me." He stood up and gave Yukio one last look. "We'll save him. You'll see!" He grabbed the sobbing child's hand and ran off as fast as he could.

Yukio wished he could believe him.

"Nii-san! NO! I WON'T let you leave me!" Yukio's breath hitched as a couple more tears made their way down his cheeks. He took off his think exorcist's coat and applied pressure to the gaping hole in Rin's chest, but he knew it wouldn't be enough. The hole was too big and too much blood had already been lost. His brother's blood immediately soaked through the shirt and made its way onto his hands. If Yukio would have paid attention, he would have seen that the ground beneath him was red with blood as well, and his knees and legs were now sticky with the warm liquid.

His brother was going to die. No matter what he did.

"No, don't you DARE leave me alone, you IDIOT!" Yukio shouted. But it was useless. The flames that had been surrounding Rin went out suddenly as their master's heart beat its last. Yukio was now touching a corpse that would soon grow cold and stiff. He had failed to protect the only family he had left.

Yukio didn't know how long he sat there kneeling on the ground in front of Rin. His mind was completely blank now, not even thoughts of his brother ran through his head. It was just empty. The pain was too much and his brain had forced his mind to clear itself of all thoughts. Otherwise, a nervous breakdown might occur in the very near future. The only thing that snapped him out of it was something flickering in the corner of his eye. Something blue.

A blue flame.

The small blue flame that originated by Rin's chest, right where the hole was, grew larger. As Yukio looked closer, he could see the flame was actually INSIDE Rin's body. It grew bigger and brighter and he could have sworn it spread further into Rin's body, where he couldn't see. It helped prove his theory when he touched Rin's arm and it was hot; much hotter than a normal human body, especially one that was dead. The flame that he could still see poking out of Rin's chest spread further, and with a sudden flash of light Rin's entire body went up in blue flames. Yukio had to quickly take a few steps back, it was so hot.

"Nii-san!" Yukio shouted, concerned. The flames of Satan had never hurt his brother, but there was always a first time for everything. Although, the flame had been concentrated in the hole in Rin's chest, which probably meant it was trying to heal it. But why would it try to heal his brother's body if it was already dead? It's not like he could come back to life… Could he?

So Yukio sat there for a long time, just watching his brother's body surrounded in blue flames to satisfy his curiosity. If there was even the slightest chance his theory could be true, he had to try. And right now, he couldn't move his brother since he was currently on fire. He'd just have to wait there with him. He noticed that the flames were slightly different than in the past; they glowed with a blue light that he had never seen before. He wondered what it meant, but dismissed it. He had bigger problems than that right now. Like… hadn't he just been surrounded by demons?

Yukio looked around in a frenzy, just now remembering his predicament. But to his surprise, there were hardly any demons in sight. There were only a few hiding out in the edges of the clearing behind trees. The grenade must have taken out more than he thought, but it still shouldn't have taken out that much. Frowning, Yukio looked down again, but kept his guard up all the while cursing himself for lowering it in the first place and forgetting where he was and what he was supposed to do. He saw the flames again, and that gave him an idea. The demons must have been scared of the blue flames, the mark of Satan himself. It was one of the few things that could kill them easily.

It was then that he noticed the exorcist that had accompanied them on this mission, Maki. He'd forgotten about her. She was keeping back any small demons that came this way, though there weren't much. She was acting as a body guard, and for that he was grateful. He'd have to thank her, but right now he didn't think his voice was strong enough to say anything.

It was about one more hour before the first section of the flames started to die out. The flames covering Rin's head fizzled out and left just enough room for Yukio to safely check the pulse in Rin's neck. He did so hesitantly, afraid of what he might find. If there was no pulsing beneath his fingers, then he didn't know what he would do. It would truly mean that he was alone in this world, and it had partly been his fault his one and only brother had died. He shouldn't have let him charge off alone. He shouldn't have let him use his flames so much in the first place. He should've been stricter.

Taking a deep breath, with his hand shaking, Yukio stuck his two fingers to Rin's neck to check for a pulse. He waited. He waited some more. He readjusted his fingers. Tried again. Waited.

There was none.

"DAMMIT!" Yukio shouted at the top of his lungs. That was it. His brother was dead. Thanks to him. He had caused his one living relative to die. He was… alone. "No, come on, you can't do this. You can't die on me! You're too stubborn to die!" But alas, for all his shouting, Rin's body didn't move. The flames just kept on burning and covering his body.

No.

No, this couldn't be happening. His brother couldn't be dead. That just wasn't possible. If he was dead, why were the flames still there? Yes, they had to try to be healing. The must be. They HAD to be. It just must take some time, that's all, and that's why there was no pulse yet. Yes, that was it! Yukio clung to the last bit of proverbial string he could grasp and held onto it tightly. Too tightly, some might say, with an almost abnormal level of obsession. He needed it, for his sanity. It was his last hope. His brother's last hope. If his nii-san was taken away from him, he would truly have nothing left in this world.

It was another two hours or so before back-up arrived. In that time, it had begun to rain, so when Shura and any other exorcists that could be spared ran into the clearing Yukio and Rin were soaked. The flames covering Rin's body had been reduced to the hole in his chest and his lower body. Rain did nothing to demonic flames, so Yukio knew that wasn't the reason why the flames weren't as intense as before; they must just be done healing those areas they weren't at anymore. Yes, that MUST be it.

"Four eyes! What's going on? Why is Rin lying on the ground? Why is he covered in flames? Why are you covered in blood? Why are you just standing there, getting soaked and looking like shit? Where are all the demons?" Shura shot question after question at Yukio, and it irritated him. Especially the way she called him four eyes; it reminded him of Rin.

"Will you shut up? I'll explain what happened later, but we need to get him out of here now. The demons had been scared of the flames earlier, but soon they'll sense that there's not a lot left and come for him again. Help me get him to a hospital."

"But-"

"Just DO IT!" Yukio shouted. At this point he didn't care that he wasn't being professional and he was acting like a child. He just wanted to get out of the rain and make sure his brother would be all right. Because he HAD to be.

"… I don't know how to tell you this… but Yukio, he looks dead. Beyond help. And like he has been for a while." Shura said quietly, which showed how serious she was being at the moment.

"No! He's not! Well… maybe right now, but I don't think he will be later!" when he saw Shura looking at him as if he'd just started spontaneously doing the chicken dance, he clarified. "The flames! They've always healed him before, and I think they're trying to do that now. Before, his entire body was covered in them and I couldn't get close. Now it's only the hole in his chest and his lower body. I think the parts that don't have flames on them anymore have been healed. There's a good chance that my nii-san could still come out of this, if the flames can do their work properly. So let's get him out of here and to a hospital. NOW."

Shura looked like she wanted to argue some more, but when she heard Yukio utter one word with such desperation in his voice it made her reconsider. The proud, strong, and strict Yuki o was actually saying PLEASE to her, whom he hated? Maybe the apocalypse was coming or something. But really, what harm could it do to take Rin to the hospital? The worst that could happen would be Yukio going crazy when he finally realizes his brother is dead for good. Or Rin's body might be used as a puppet by Satan, and that was what the flames were for. Or… Okay, a lot could go wrong, but when was she a pussy that didn't take chances?

"Please." Yukio whispered just barely loud enough for Shura to hear.

Shura sighed, took, a deep breath, paused, then sighed again before giving her answer. "Fine. But you're taking ALL the responsibility for whatever happens, do you hear me?"

"Yes!" Yukio said, already starting to lift his brother in his arms. The exorcists that had been standing in the background followed, including Maki, as Yukio and Shura headed out of the clearing.

"…And don't get your hopes up." Shura said just as serious as before, looking Yukio straight in the eye. Yukio averted his gaze quickly, but she saw him nod, so she was satisfied. Yukio carried Rin all the way to the van the exorcists had arrived in and put him inside. Just before they left Shura thought she heard him whisper a 'thank you' to her, but it was probably her imagination. At least, that's what she would say if the subject ever came up again.


When Yukio finished telling Rin what had happened , Rin had such a puzzled expression on his face it was almost comical. Yukio had left out the bits about him crying and basically freaking out, but added in any bits before the fighting had started that Rin couldn't remember.

"So does any of that ring a bell?" Yukio asked hesitantly.

Rin shook his head. "Nope. It's still the same as before, all fuzzy and stuff." He yawned nonchalantly.

Yukio sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He had a massive headache right now. Not to mention he'd been up since the night before the mission, so he was tired to say the least. Rin's yawning didn't help at all.

"How long have I been out anyway?" Rin asked, interrupting Yukio's fantasy about getting a good night's sleep for once in his life.

"I think it's been two days since you were admitted to the hospital." Which meant he hadn't had any sleep in over three days. Lucky him.

"Whoa, really? That's a long time! I bet you haven't had any sleep in over three days, then huh?" Rin shouted loudly, making Yukio's head throb even more.

"How'd you know?" Yukio asked, confused and once again furrowing his eyebrows.

"I know you stayed up almost the whole night the day before the mission getting work done and preparing for it. I wake up sometimes in the middle of the night and see you working. And knowing you, you haven't left my bedside at all, which you said was two days ago."

"Huh. I guess you can use your brain sometimes." Yukio said with wide eyes. It kind of surprised him how much his brother knew of his habits, though it shouldn't since they were twins and were together pretty often.

"Shut up! And I was going to…" Rin trailed off and huffed.

"You were going to what?"

"Nothing! It doesn't matter anymore, since I'm not going to let you!" Rin crossed his arms and turned his back to Yukio. He even stuck his lower lip out a little. Suddenly Yukio didn't feel so bad about his childish behavior a couple days ago.

"Tell me, nii-san." Yukio said with a small smile on his face, amused. It reminded him of when they were younger, with the way Rin was acting. Plus, not that he'd admit it, but it felt really good to hear his twin's voice again. Just a couple days ago he thought he'd never hear it again. Seeing his brother acting childish like usual was, for once, the best thing he could ask for.

"No!"

"Even if I say please?"

Rin thought about it for a moment. "…No. Your crime is too great for such a simple word." Rin sounded so serious it made Yukio smirk.

"Oh well… I guess there's nothing more I can do…" Yukio smirked some more as he left the bait there. Rin hated it when he gave up on finding out his 'secrets' or 'surprises' when they were kids. It had actually been a game of theirs. Now was no different. As Yukio leaned back in his chair, he couldn't hold back a long yawn.

Rin frowned and looked like he was in deep thought. When Yukio yawned again, his scowl grew and he shouted "All right! I give up! I WAS going to say that if you were tired, I would oh so graciously let you lay next to me in the bed since it's pretty big and I doubt you're going to go home soon even if I told you to." He huffed again when he finished.

"THAT"S what you were going to say?" Yukio chuckled. Yes, that sounded exactly like Rin. "Thanks, but I'm fine. Your injuries, except for your chest, seemed pretty healed already, so you probably won't have to stay here much longer. You may even be able to leave tomorrow. Plus, it's against hospital policy."

Rin stared at him for moment before saying "Who cares about crap like that? Are you sure you don't want to? You look like shit. I think you're going to keel over any second."

"I'm fine…" Yukio's act was disturbed by him emitting another loud yawn that he just couldn't hold back any longer. Proving that yawns were contagious, Rin yawned almost immediately afterwards.

"Oh, come on. I won't be able to stay awake much longer anyway. And I bet that the nurses won't come here in their rounds anytime soon after how 'polite' you were to the doctor." Rin snickered. "Plus you're a light sleeper and will wake up if you hear footsteps or something, if you're that concerned about people seeing."

"I don't know…" But he did feel pretty tired… and the chair wasn't all that comfy… Yukio could feel his resolved crumbling.

"It's either here or I will FORCE the nurses to kick you out and make you go home." Rin narrowed his eyes.

"Ugh, all right, all right." Rin smirked triumphantly and moved over in the bed to make room. Yukio turned the lights out and crawled in awkwardly. Rin fell asleep almost immediately, but Yukio stayed awake a little longer just listening to his brother breathe and the beeps on the monitor that surely meant his brother was alive. That, paired with the reassuring warmth of Rin's body helped lull him into a deep sleep.


Rin received quite a lot of visitors during his stay at the hospital. Much more than he ever would have thought. Though he only stayed one more full day and was discharged the morning after that, in that one full day they just kept coming. Yukio had said that he hadn't been allowed visitors in the time that he was "asleep", so that must have been the reason for the long line.

Rin's first visitors of the day were his classmates. Izumo, Konekomaru, Shiemi, Shima, and Suguro showed up early in the morning, just a little bit after Rin had finished his horrible hospital breakfast. It made him want to go home and cook. He was a little bit surprised to see all of them, especially at once, but he was more surprised about the unexpected guest that accompanied Suguro.

Rin was just laying in his bed, admittedly restless, and Yukio was sitting in a chair reading a book when a loud "Nii-chan!" filled the room as the little boy from before ran into the room straight for Rin.

"Whoa! What're you doing here, kid?" Rin asked, startled as the kid hopped onto his bed.

"He's with us. Well, me, since I've been the one taking care of him since the mission." Rin looked up to see Suguro and the rest of his classmates walking into the room. "Hey kid, don't run ahead of us!" Bon walked over and bopped the kid on the head.

"Owww. You're a meanie!" The kid whined as he held the new bump on his head.

"You wanna see a meanie?" Suguro bopped the kid on the head again. "That's for shouting and disturbing the other patients!"

"Owww! Nii-chan, he's hurting me!" The boy pouted and looked up at Rin.

"Me?" Rin shouted and pointed at himself. "You're calling me nii-chan?"

"Yes! You're my nii-chan from now on." The boy said matter of factly.

"But- But why ME?" Rin asked, exasperated. As far as he knew, this kid hated him. The last time he remembered seeing him he was screaming at him, calling him a monster. Not the kind of thing you do to someone you supposedly think of as your big brother.

"Because you saved his life." Suguro interrupted. "I heard that you had lost most of your memories about that day, but you got injured saving him, and me, from a demon. So we both thank you, I guess." Suguro said the last part gruffly, not wanting to show his true feelings as always.

"Yup!" The little boy chimed in. "Thanks for saving my life twice! I'm sorry about the mean things I said to you before. Will you forgive me and be my nii-chan?" He looked up at Rin with big eyes that sparkled with admiration.

Oh no. I've seen that face on Yukio a long time ago. Crap, how can I say no? thought Rin. "Well, I guess, but I don't even know your name. Or remember saving you. And no problem. Any time." He rubbed the back of his head, embarrassed.

"My name's Sora! And YAY!" He jumped and hugged Rin tightly across his waist, careful to avoid touching his still bandaged chest.

Wow, such a 180. I didn't think that kid would ever stop screaming at me that one time, and now… huh, he's actually kind of cute. He reminds me of Yukio as a kid. Rin smiled lightly and hesitantly patted Sora's head, much to the kid's delight who giggled. When he touched Sora's head, a brief image flashed through his mind of a red demon heading straight for the unsuspecting child. Then, he heard the child screaming and he thought he saw him leaning over him, tears streaming down his face. Suguro was next to him. But after a second the images were gone and with a blink he was back to looking at the little boy in the hospital room. After a moment he realized everyone was staring at him.

"You zoned out there for a minute, Okumura. Is everything alright?" Konekomaru asked hesitantly, as if he were afraid to say anything. Is he still scared of me?

"Oh, uh, I think I was just remembering something. I saw this red demon guy going after Sora, then I heard him screaming as he looked down at me, crying. Did that happen?"Rin asked, hoping that it did so that it would mean he was getting some memories back. He really did want to remember what happened that day; it was bugging him to no end.

"Yup." Suguro nodded his head. "After that I took the kid and called for help. Sure took its time getting there, though."

"Oh, okay. Hopefully that means I'll get more of my memories back." Said Rin to no one in particular.

"I'm sure you will, nii-san, in time." said Yukio.

When Sora heard Yukio call Rin 'nii-san' he looked over at him with wide eyes. "Is he your brother too?" he asked loudly.

"Um, yes." Yukio said, not quite sure how to answer or what this kid wanted with him and his brother.

"Oh." Sora said hotly and then shot Yukio a glare that was way beyond his years. He grabbed Rin's arm and clung to it tightly, as if to say mine.

Yukio raised his eyebrow and looked to see if anyone else had noticed their little exchange. It appeared that no one had, since they were all talking amongst themselves. He glanced back at Sora, but the boy was looking around innocently, as if nothing had happened. Brat.

After that Rin's classmates stayed for another hour or so, just chatting and keeping Rin company. He was happy that they'd showed up, it proved they were really his friends. Maybe they weren't so scared of him now after all. It was nice to just hang out and talk for a while. Shima kept trying to make him laugh, Suguro tried to keep all of them under control, Shiemi made some unidentifiable potions in bright colors that were apparently supposed to make him heal faster, Konekomaru engaged in small talk, and Izumo criticized everyone. Just like normal.

When they left they all waved goodbye one by one until Suguro was the only one left. He muttered a quick "Thanks." Before glancing at Sora and waving goodbye to him. Sora waved back and smiled. When Suguro was almost out the door and Sora wasn't following him, Rin got confused.

"Hey, wait, didn't you forget something?" Rin called to Suguro.

Suguro shook his head. "Nope. The Headmaster said to take care of him until you woke up and then leave him here with you."

"What? Why?" Why was everything so confusing today, dammit?

"Dunno. See ya." Suguro waved again before walking out the door. Rin and Yuko were left, dumbfounded, with Sora smiling.

The next visitor was Shura, who stopped by about a half hour after the others had left. She seemed astounded, but relieved, that Rin was alive and well. The entire time she was there she yelled at Rin for getting himself killed, but they could both see that she wasn't really mad.

Before she left, Shura muttered "Wow, never woulda that it'd actually work…"

"Thanks for the vote of confidence." Yukio said dryly. Rin nodded his head in agreement.

"Hey wait- that means you thought I was dead for good, didn't you? That's SO mean!" Rin shouted.

Shura smirked. "Hey, you gotta hard head, brat, so all's well that ends well. Now I expect you to be back in training in three or four days!" With that, she walked out.

"No way!" Rin wailed. Yukio sighed. With the noise level in this room, they were going to be kicked out before Rin was officially discharged.

After Shura, the next visitor to Rin's hospital room was none other than Mephisto Pheles himself. He strode into the room with such arrogance and pompousness that it had the effect of a hundred trumpets announcing his impending arrival.

"O-ku-mu-ra-kun~ 3 " Mephisto sang as he entered the room. Rin suppressed a groan and Yukio's eye twitched once. Sora laughed at their faces; he'd met the headmaster once before and knew how he could be. But to him it was funny, so it was okay.

"Mephisto, what are you doing here?" asked Rin. "Don't you have a lot of headmaster/clown business to take care of?"

"Yes, I am so busy it makes me weep- BUT I've taken time out of my oh so busy schedule to visit one of my favorite students! You should be thanking me!"

"Sure. Are you done now?" said Rin, crossing his arms. He was restless since the nurses wouldn't let him walk around except to go to the bathroom, and irritated. This hospital was whack.

"Of course not! See, I came here on business too!" Mephisto waved a hand across his forehead dramatically. "I need to talk to you about our friend Sora-chan here."

"Sora? About what?" Rin asked, confused. Yukio put the papers he'd been grading down and sat up in his seat, giving his full attention. He'd had his suspicions about the child.

"You see, the reason Sora was in the forest the night you met him was because his poor parents had been killed by demons. His whole town, actually. There were only a few survivors. Sora was one of them, because his parents distracted the demons while he ran. He told me he ran into the forest because he knows it very well and used to play hide and seek in it with his friends."

"Is all that true, Sora?" Rin looked down at the child, whose brown eyes were a little watery. He nodded and dug his face into Rin's chest. Rin was a little surprised, but held him close. The kid really looked like he needed comforting, and he'd gotten used to doing it with Yukio, long ago.

"Now, he wasn't supposed to be in the forest a couple days ago, during the mission. The Knights of the True Cross had taken him into temporary custody since his parents had been killed by demons and thus he knew of their existence. He told us it had been a red demon- the very one you killed, one of the demon kings. Somehow Sora overheard from one of the exorcists that a red demon had been spotted in the forest area, thus the reason for our mission there, and so he stowed away in one of the vehicles the exorcists were using to get there, hoping to get revenge. We had no idea, until he jumped out of the vehicle and it was too late. Alas, you know how that turned out." Mephisto sighed, what else, dramatically.

"No offense, but what does that have to do with us?" Yukio asked bluntly, not caring that he was interrupting Mephisto.

"I was trying to build suspense!" Mephisto grumbled at Yukio, but then continued. "Well, otherwise than that Sora has taken an obvious liking to your brother here, but you guys have more in common than we originally thought. And since he has no other living relatives and his parents were allies of the True Cross, we decided you two would be perfect for the job."

"The job? Of what?" Yukio asked. He did NOT have a good feeling about this…

"To take care of Sora! He's a half-demon just like you, Rin! How fun! 3 "


So that was it. Pretty craptastic, right? Yeah, that'll show her :rolls eyes: anyways, just because it sucked, doesn't mean I don't want you to review! Please, please, please, please, review! I ask you that from the bottom of my cold, tiny, almost nonexistent heart. I would seriously appreciate it. Tell me what you think of the chapter, honestly… please don't be mean though. I can be a bitch, but I have feelings too. Sometimes. BTW, I know I didn't do Shura's dialogue exactly right, but I was too lazy the first time I was typing it, and when I looked this over before I posted it I still didn't feel like going back and hick-ifying it. Sorry if that bothers you, but I don't really give a rat's ass about Shura. She annoys me, so she won't be a big part of the fic. And yes I know, the part of Rin coming back to life doesn't make a whole lot of sense, but bear with me. It's Satan. It'll be explained a bit more in the future. There will be repercussions, believe me.

SO, WHAT DID MEPHISTO MEAN EXACTLY BY 'TAKING CARE' OF SORA? WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO RIN NOW THAT HE'S COME BACK TO LIFE? WHEN WILL SATAN MAKE ANOTHER APPEARANCE? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY, WILL RIN AND YUKIO EVER DEVELOP NAUGHTY FEELINGS FOR EACH OTHER? ALL THIS, AND MORE, WILL EVENTUALLY BE ANSWERED, IN THE NEXT INSTALLMENT OF BABY. THE FLAAAAAMEEE!

Sorry about that, been watching too much DBZ lately. Sorry about the super long and pointless authors notes. I'm just in a ranting mood. Okay, I'll shut up for good now.