Chapter 26: Classmates

When you try and write a serious chapter, re-write one part 5+ times, then scrap it and throw in some nonsense instead because there'll be plenty of drama later. Also I'm sick of this chapter and kind of just want to blow through cannon,

AKA Satan unintentionally ruins Bon's dramatic introduction chapter by virtue of simply existing. Not that that's anything new.

Classes were progressing smoothly enough, even if the Exorcist ones were so boring Satan wanted to skip them all together. But that would be leaving Yukio all alone in an Exorcist stronghold, so he would put up with them, as tedious as they were. Most of the information they were covering in the first couple of days was so basic Satan could recite it in his sleep, while the rest was outright wrong. Some of it was clearly the Exorcists misinterpreting demon behavior, but at least part of that had to be due to the fact that they had a grand total of two teachers for half a dozen different subjects. Sideburns had grieved for his free time with his "kitten" enough times that Satan realized just how shorthanded they were, to the point that Kaoru was stuck teaching everything but summoning and Aria-related classes. Their other teacher, Igor Neusomething looked equally displeased that he had been drafted to teach something beyond his specialty and seemed to serious dislike Satan. And Satan meant both himself as Rin and the Satan the Exorcists had been at unofficial war with for a couple thousand years now.

He was the primary reason Satan refused to leave Yukio alone for even one class. Sure, Igor's general distaste for him seemed to stem from the fact that Satan made a piss-poor Aria for obvious reasons (the chants couldn't really hurt him, but they felt wrong on his foreign tongue) but that didn't mean he was going to take any chances.

Now if only Yukio would let him sleep through class. Yes, he could just move, but the boy had scarily accurate aim and a poker face that would do Satan proud if it hadn't been used to reassure him that no, Yukio really didn't know where all his knives kept vanishing to, honest, don't you trust your brother?

Damned puppy-eyed brat.

The only even remotely interesting thing that ended up happening was when another girl suddenly started attending class, bringing the classroom's size up to the grand total of nine students, and even that excitement was short-lived-

The girl, blond and looking incredibly uncomfortable in the school uniform's short skirt, was a timid thing who could hardly raise her voice, "Um…Um, are you Yukio Okumura?"

Yukio was kind enough to humor the weak girl, "Yes I am. Shiemi, was it?"

"Yes! Since I decided to become an Exorcist, Mr. Fujimoto told me that you might be willing to, ah, help me adjust?"

Satan, busy playing with Kuro all throughout the girl's introduction, perked up just enough to roll his eyes, "He's already trying to set you up, huh?"

Shiemi's face turned bright red and she sputtered, "S-Set up?! I'm sorry, I'm not- I can't-!"

"Please ignore him, Shiemi." Yukio said airily, and no one would ever know that he was pressing a pen to Satan's thigh in a clear threat, "My brother doesn't have the filter most people do, and so he says whatever he can think of. I'm sure that Mr. Fujimoto just wants me to make sure you stay caught up with the class, right?"

"Y-Yes! Exactly that and nothing else!"

If she kept nodding that fast she was likely to pass out, Satan noted and leaned forward just enough so he could catch her scent better. She was naturally strong for sure, filled with spring strength that reminded him a bit of Yuri's summer fortitude. Almost surely a future tamer with the way her energy swelled and beckoned him (however incompatible it was), but she was such a small thing that would probably be consumed by whatever she tried to contract with.

"Whatever. It's not like she's good enough for you anyway."

Shiemi shrank away at his words, the perfect image of a wilting flower and doing everything in her power to reaffirm his thoughts on her.

Yukio sighed, "You're hardly a good judge of romantic partners, considering how you literally scare girls away. And would it kill you to try and get along with the class a bit more?"

"If they can't handle me at my worst, then they don't deserve me at my best…or whatever that phrase is."

"…You're going to be alone forever, Rin."

The annoying teacher cleared his throat to force silence before anyone could get into another argument, "I know that a new classmate is exciting, but we're already behind! Please sit down, Ms. Moriyama."

"Right!"

It probably wasn't fair, Yukio mused, but Shiemi was forced to take her first test that very same day. Mr. Tsubaki had noticed and offered to let her sit out the test, but Shiemi has adamantly insisted that she would like to "become part of the class" as soon as she could, confident in her ability to do well on a demon pharmacology test. And now, from what little Yukio could hear, she was probably regretting it. He could practically feel the stress rolling off her in waves from where she sat directly behind him, her mummers growing more and more worried.

It looked like he really was going to have to insist on helping her. Especially if his dad was counting on him, and Rin would just have to deal with it. In fact, it was probably

Unsurprisingly, Rin was the first to finish and turn in his test. No matter the subject, without fail, Rin would always be one of the first to turn his test, chronically allergic to the idea of checking his work. And, as was becoming more and more common, the moment Rin sat back down he took the chance to nap. Yukio knew just how beneficial a power nap could be, but he really had to wonder just how much sleep Rin was actually getting.

As Yukio turned in his own test, he spotted Ryuji, or Bon as he liked to be called, glaring over the edge of his own test at the sleeping form of Rin. Yukio was still getting a read on the class as a whole, but he could already tell that Bon was a hard worker, despite his honestly punk appearance. He clearly kept both his body and mind sharp and was the undisputed best Aria in the class already. And so, to see someone like Rin seem to not take anything seriously while still coasting along on average to decent grades…

Ah, it looked like Yukio was going to have to make sure Bon didn't get in over his head when, twenty minutes later, Bon, once again, paraded up to Rin's desk and happily showed off the results to his demon pharmacology test the moment the teacher stepped out for a 'break': a 100 to Rin's 81. And sure, it wasn't close to how neck-in-neck their scores sometimes were, (Rin had almost gotten a perfect score on their first demonic studies test, missing points only for misspellings) but it wasn't as if Rin had done particularly bad either. Rin looked deceptively passive and calm, watching as Bon went on his little rant about work ethic, doing nothing but staring and not even trying to interrupt. But it was the calm before the storm, and Yukio could see Rin drawing in like the sea before a tsunami, slowly coiling up to lash out with his own vicious words.

"…And maybe if you would spend less time talking shit about others and just looked at yourself, then you would actually-"

It was about there that Yukio could see when Rin had had enough, "See, that's great and all, but Ryuji….No, Bon. Yeah. Bon-bon," Ryuji squawked and Shima nearly choked holding back laughter. Even the usually quiet Konekomaru looked a bit amused at that. Well, they could laugh while Rin was still playing nice, but Yukio had seen him rip apart Shiro often enough that he knew what was coming, "See, I'm not your disapproving father, or those people who laughed at you when you were a kid, or that one girl you couldn't ever impress, or whatever deep-rooted and I'm sure oh-so tragic backstory you have. I'm just guy, some punk who's opinion honestly shouldn't matter this much to you that-"

Yukio cleared his throat, a firm hand on his twin's shoulder pushing him back into his chair, "Rin, that's enough."

"I'm just behind honest." Rin justified without malice, and Yukio knew, that while he may have been aiming to hurt, he could have done much worse, "This guy keeps trying to prove how great he is, and it's disgusting how he doesn't even realize how pathetic it looks. How do you think the people who did even worse on this test than I did feel, huh?"

Behind him, Shiemi, who had been cringing away from Rin's mean words shrank back away for an entirely different reason, trying to hide her mid-40s test to her chest. Paku grimaced at her own 85, a sharp contrast to Izumo's 96. Even Shima laughed nervously at his 75 when Bon looked at him in horror.

"Shima, if you were struggling I would have gladly helped you!"

"Ahaha, I mean, it's not like I'm training to be a Doctor, so it doesn't really matter…?"

Rin huffed, picking Kuro up from the floor and started petting the cat, like some sort of cliché villain, "Learn to read the mood a bit better before you start trying to get into a pissing contest."

Yukio saw the chance and took it before a real fight could break out. Now that Bon was cowed for at least the moment as he realized his blunder, he could try and fix things. "While I think Rin always goes about these things in a too-direct manner, he is right- you can't expect everyone to always be at your level or to share your feelings, Ryuji. However, in the interest of keeping things amicable between classmates, I think the two of you should apologize to each other."

Rin sneered before Bon could even open his mouth, "I didn't do anything wrong, so I'm not saying sorry. Of course, I'm not going to hold your ego over your head or anything, so I won't let you die at least, Bon-bon."

"You-!" Bon shouted, and Yukio had only a moment to grieve the death of all hopes of a properly collaborating class, "You really are just some brat! Why are you even here? Everyone else is here because they're serious about being Exorcists, but you don't even try to apply yourself!"

"I'm here because Yukio is here so I can keep an eye on him. Why, does your reason tie to why you're so obviously insecure?"

"I'm going to kill Satan for what he did on the Blue Night!"

It was silent as everyone stared at Bon with wide eyes. His friends didn't look too surprised, but everyone else needed a moment to process such a bold claim. Kill Satan? But how was he supposed to do that when Satan was…

Rin sputtered for a long second, almost choking, and then nearly fell out of his chair with laughter, "Ahahahaha! That's great, you've actually got a sense of humor there!" The dead silence and Bon's growing rage made the other teen blink, "Wait, you're serious? You're actually serious!? 'Kill Satan'? You?"

"Don't you dare laugh at me, I'll do it!"

"Pff, yeah, good luck with that." Rin laughed again, dismissing Bon like he was an unruly child, "First, you'll have to…ah, well, actually be a threat?"

While Yukio was glad his brother had remembered at the last second that Satan's disappearance was supposed to be classified, this wasn't exactly a smooth save. Bon growled lowly at that and for a second it looked like a fight was going to break out on the spot. So Yukio stepped between them, holding up his own test (a perfect 100) so everyone could see it, "Since it appears that some of our classmates are behind, wouldn't it be best if you, Izumo, and I helped to tutor them, Bon?"

Izumo scoffed, loud and clear despite being on the other side of the room, "You really are determined to try and make everyone play nice? It's annoying and pointless to try and make idiots to try and get along."

"Regardless of what you think, you're only guaranteed to fail if you never try." Yukio said calmly, swatting down Rin's hand before he could flip her off without even looking. He pulled out the relevant books and notes and laid them on the table, "If anyone would like to copy my notes you're free to do so, though I think we'd all be better off setting up study sessions. Our workload isn't exactly light, so it might be difficult to balance our normal studies and Exorcist studies otherwise."

Rin grumbled but obediently began to look over exactly what he had gotten wrong on his test, ignoring the comments about how "whipped" he was. Comments which quickly ceased when Yukio smiled in a way that was frankly terrifying at the Bon-bon trio (a nickname he would only use in the safety of his own mind), "Well, Bon, aren't you going to help your friends?"

It was a loaded question and they both knew it, but Bon complied with a grumble, roughly dragging Shima into his chair and pointing out every single thing he had gotten wrong. Konekomaru followed with a laugh after a second, all while the puppet-handed boy kept to himself.

And now for the problem case…"Shiemi, I'll help you personally if that's alright?"

From what he could tell, Shiemi was skittish and nervous around so many people, so Yukio did his best to smile as disarmingly as he could. For some reason, her face flushed bright red and she nodded, clutching her test in front of her. Her words were more of a squeak than anything, "Y-Yes…"

Rin groaned, and Yukio ignored his brother's melodramatics.

"Whatever." Izumo muttered, but Yukio could see her pointing out to Paku what she had gotten wrong and why as he sat by Shiemi.

Mr. Tsubaki was turning an interesting shade of red, Yukio noted from where he sat patiently on the side, watching the drama unfold that was their physical education class. Really, he should have expected this considering the 'presence' his brother had. Usually, it was a good thing, but in some cases…

"Rin Okumura, whatever you're doing, stop it!" The teacher shouted, futilely.

"I'm just looking at it!" Rin, the only one still in the pit, shouted back, looking away from the suspiciously still Leaper demon. And…nothing. Easily three times his size, and yet it refused to move the moment Rin had looked at it. "It's not my fault it can recognize its betters! And what kind of shitty exercise is this anyway?!"

"Detention!"

"What the fuck for?"

"For your foul language! I've warned you to at least tone it down enough times already!"

"Oi, you don't need to take it out on me that you aren't getting enough time to screw your girl!"

"You-!"

Renzo whistled, low and appreciative at the shouting match that would delay class for at least ten minutes if past experience was anything to go by. "Wow, Rin really is something else…" It took guts to cuss out a teacher like that. A lot of people would think he was just being foolish, but considering how casually he was taking everything…

Konekomaru nodded, eyes wide. "He isn't scared at all being so close to a demon, huh? Well, he does have a Cat Sídhe as a familiar."

Kuro meowed appreciatively, tails flicking happily as he watched the Leaper below carefully, just in case. Whereas Kuro could respect how strong Rin was, the Leaper was weak and terrified by him instead. Or at least, Yukio assumed that was what was going on, but he doubted the rest of his class would understand. Once it had become clear that the Leaper wasn't going to chase Rin, he had been forced to sit out the exercise until everyone else had completed it- a task in and of itself considering how much Rin had protested the idea of Yukio being left alone near a demon. And then he had been quickly shoved into the pit where a hopefully near-berserk Leaper would finally chase him.

Of course, the demon had stopped dead not ten feet from the teenager, and it hadn't moved since. Yukio knew Rin didn't need the experience, but he wasn't about to explain that his brother had been hunting much more nimbler demons such as ghouls ever since he was ten.

Bon was more confused and frustrated than impressed. Ever since Rin had shown up, things had started making less and less sense. He had wanted to prove he was better than Rin, but that was kind of hard to do when any chance of that happening had evaporated. "Leapers are supposed to attack if they sense any sort agitation or you break eye contact, but that guy is seriously pissed off and isn't paying attention, and it isn't doing a thing."

Shimei shifted nervously from where she sat, "I guess that means Rin is really strong and confident, right?"

A feminine scoff, "Or an idiot who's so stupid the demons are just smart enough to not eat him, lest they catch his idiocy."

Yukio, so used to the chaos that was Rin butting heads with reality and logic, had pulled up a list of Arias to study until things cooled down. With disinterest he glared at Izumo, hardly giving her a second-long look before going back to his work. "Rin is anything but stupid, and it would show if he bothered to check his work more. Even then, I have no doubt he'll be the top of the class in any practical fields because he's just that strong." Despite his words, Yukio smiled fondly to himself.

Paku smiled with just a touch of strain, "You really do, uh, respect your brother, don't you, Yukio?"

"You don't have to try and sugar-coat it, Paku." Izumo huffed, looking down her nose at Yukio like he was a pest, "I thought the brother-complex thing only went one way, but it looks like it's a two-way street. Before you know it, they'll be doing disgusting things together."

With a snap, the notebook closed, "I don't like what you're implying, Ms. Kamiki."

"I'm just calling it like I see it: your brother is way too attached to you for it to be normal. We've only had class for a week and he hasn't left your side, and you just keep encouraging it!"

And that was the problem, wasn't it? What had once been a constant comfort had become an annoyance at best, and the prelude to a serious problem in the future. 'Attached' wasn't a strong enough word for the way Rin would practically lose his mind if Yukio was even slightly uncomfortable…"I know what you're talking about, and I'm doing my best to try and let Rin know that he doesn't need to protect me anymore…"

It was more like dependence.

Izumo, however, wasn't finished, "Yeah, well you're doing a pretty terrible job at it. It's pretty obvious he'd do anything for you, and I do mean anything. That's not good, you hear? One day he'll…Well, whatever, who cares."

Yukio felt the bubbling anger drain out of him quick enough it left him dizzy and light. He could feel the other's hackles rising on his behalf, could feel Shiemi grow more and more worried behind him, but he hadn't grown up with an emotionally damaged brother (when and how it happened, Yukio didn't know, but now that he was better read he was sure that was what was wrong) and not learned to read someone's true intent, under a mask.

Yukio, instead of lashing back, smiled. "You're just a bit kinder than you like to let on, aren't you, Izumo?"

Izumo's face turned red so fast it was amazing she didn't pass out from it, "Wha…What are you-"

Ah, but it would seem Yukio was just a bit cruel in his own way, and he couldn't stop himself from pressing his advantage just a little bit more, "You're a bit like my brother in that way, you know. Both of you don't-"

"No!" Izumo shouted, sharply standing and pointing accusingly at Yukio, "No, you are not comparing me to that moron!"

Rin's head snapped up to glare at the shouting, "Oi, twin tail bitch, what are you saying to Yukio!?"

"T-That's none of your business, you brother-complex freak!"

"Whore, I will hang you by your pigtails!"

"Get mauled by a demon already!"

"You-Sonofa-!" Whatever Rin had been going to say was cut off as the Leaper finally decided to attack him. The move was so sudden that Mr. Tsubaki didn't have time to react before it landed…exactly where Rin had been a second ago. But the teen had leapt to the side, caught the Leaper's collar, and swung himself so he sat on its back. The Leaper, of course, immediately began to struggle, but Rin had managed to secure himself to it with an arm looped under its collar, while the other…

Yukio hadn't been scared when the Leaper had attacked, but his heart seized when he saw Rin reach for the sealed sword he had finally convinced his brother to carry around and protect. Was he going to draw it in a fit of irrational anger, was this how everything would end, to a low-level demon?

Of course not, because for Rin to draw the sword he would have had to actually feel threatened. And a demonic frog the size of a car clearly wasn't going to faze him after he had scoffed at Astaroth. No, instead Yukio felt his blood pressure rise as he watched his brother use a sacred demonic sword as a crude club to beat the struggling Leaper upside the head. Repeatedly. An excessive amount, really.

It wasn't until the Leaper stopped trying to throw him off that Rin also stopped, slinging the sacred sword-turned-beating-stick over his shoulder with a grin. "There, now was that so hard? Now be good, damn it." He noticed his audience and frowned, "What?"

Even Yukio wasn't mad when Mr. Tsubaki finally jerked the Leaper's chain back, sending Rin into a spectacular faceplant as his mount was swept out from under him.

Izumo watched the teen shoot to his feet and start swearing up a storm at the teacher…again. "I take it back, Rin isn't an idiot, he's mentally retarded. He fell on his head a lot as a kid, didn't he?"

Yukio's silence as he stood to help treat Rin's bloodied nose (almost surely broken, but something like that couldn't heal overnight) was all the answer they needed.