It's almost time for me to go back to class, but I managed to get this done. The idea had been in my head for a while. Now I can give it life.

Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Blue Exorcist or Fairy Tail. I only own the concept.

Let's begin!

Many didn't realize it, but Rin was more emotionally fragile than he let on. Everyone thought he was strong and would laugh it off or get angry if he couldn't take it. In reality, he was just as emotionally vulnerable as anybody else. It just took a lot to reach his limit.

And now, he'd hit that limit.

Too much had happened in a short time. One minute, Rin was in the forest on a training assignment, laughing with his friends around the campfire. The next, his friends discovered his secret, and they didn't take it well.

Rin had finally known what it was like to have friends, and it made him happier than he had been before. Now, he had lost all that, and the loneliness hurt ten times worse than before. It was like he was drowning, and either no one saw it, or they just didn't care.

Rin didn't quite remember when he got back to his room. He remembered leaving to find the other Exwires. He had gotten into a fight with Suguro, and… hurtful words had been said. Yukio had come in, stopping the argument. After that, it was a blur.

He must have finally lost his cool and run back to his dorm. He vaguely remembered people, probably Yukio, Shura, or both, knocking on the door, trying to get him to open up. Eventually, it stopped, and he was left alone.

At some point, Rin got up and moved to his bed. Once he laid down, the dam burst. He started crying, and he couldn't stop. The last time he broke down like this was when his father died.

At some point, he knew Kuro was there, too. By then, he didn't care.

Eventually, the tears slowed, and he fell asleep. It was a restless sleep, but at least he had calmed down. When he woke up again, it was already dark out. Yukio wasn't there. He looked around and noticed that Kuro was asleep next to him.

Taking a deep breath, Rin decided to go for a walk. He needed some space. He slung Kurikara over his shoulder and looked for his shoes and jacket.

The movement must have 'roused Kuro because the Cait Sith got up and walked over to him. "Rin, where are you going?"

"Outside. I need some air."

"Are you sure you don't need more sleep? You slept most of the day, but you still sound tired."

Rin looked over at his familiar and smiled, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "No. I've been cooped up all day. I need to get some fresh air."

Kuro hesitated but then asked, "Can I go with you?"

Rin thought about it, then nodded. "Okay."

Kuro climbed on Rin's shoulder, and they headed out. He didn't leave a note for Yukio. His brother probably wouldn't be back until morning, and he'd be back by then.

The duo walked for a while, taking random directions. There was a full moon out, so there was plenty of light. They kept going until they found a park area with benches and a lake. Rin sat down to enjoy the peace while Kuro went to explore.

Now that he was outside, the night air was helping his nerves. It was calm and soothing, and there was a gentle breeze. He'd have to remember this place if he ever needed time to himself again.

Rin became sober again at that thought, knowing that would happen often in the future. Now that everyone was avoiding him. He should have known this would happen if the secret got out.

"Rin?" He looked up to see Kuro sitting in front of him. "Are you okay?"

Rin sighed before he shook his head. "No, not really."

"Did something happen with the others?"

"Yeah…. They… They know my secret… and they didn't take it well."

"Oh."

Rin lowered his head, his bangs falling over his eyes. "I don't get why it hurts so much. I've been alone before, and I didn't care. Now, it feels even worse."

"You still have Yukio." Kuro pointed out, trying to cheer him up.

"No, I don't. Ever since the old man died, Yukio doesn't act like my brother anymore. It's like we're strangers now," Rin confessed, his body shaking as the emotions piled up. "He still blames me for Dad's death."

'And deep down, I blame myself, too.' He added silently, starting to cry again.

Kuro wasn't sure what to say to comfort his master. He had never seen him like this before. Shiro had always been so calm and collected, so this was unfamiliar to the Cait Sith.

But before he could try anything, he felt a strange wave of power. Rin must have sensed it, too, because he stopped crying and jumped to his feet. He had his sword at his side, right hand on the hilt.

"Rin, did you feel that?!"

"Yeah, I felt that."

The duo looked around. They could still feel the energy, but they were all alone.

Suddenly, a bright, golden light lit up the area around them. Kuro freaked out and jumped into Rin's arms.

"Rin! Something's happening! I'm scared!"

"Don't worry, we'll be fine." Rin tried to reassure his familiar, but even he was panicking a little inside.

The light was slowly getting brighter to the point the duo had to shut their eyes. Rin couldn't see what was happening, but it felt like a force was trying to tug him along as if to lead him somewhere.

As quickly as it came, the light faded. Everything was quiet and still.

But Rin and Kuro were no longer there.

(Earthland, Continent of Ishgar, Kingdom of Fiore, The forest south of Magnolia)

Cutting through a forest to return to Magnolia was a group of two boys, a girl, and a strange cat.

Lucy, Natsu, and Happy had just finished a job and were on their way home when they ran into Gray, who was going the same way. After they filled each other in on what brought them to the woods, they were about to get moving again.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared behind them.

"What's going on?!" Lucy asked, surprised.

Natsu and Gray both got into fighting stances while Happy hid behind Lucy.

When the light died down, the group saw a boy around their age lying unconscious. He had messy, jet-black hair with pale skin and slightly pointed ears. As far as clothes went, he was wearing some kind of uniform and was carrying a sword in a red sleeve on his back. Next to him, also unconscious, was a strange-looking cat with black fur, two tails, and small horns on its head.

"Who the heck is that?" Natsu asked, not letting his guard down.

They heard a groan as the boy started shifting, opening blue eyes as he came to. Huffing, he pushed himself up and looked around.

"Where am I?" He asked, looking disoriented.

"Are you okay?" Lucy asked, taking a step closer.

Rin turned and looked at the wizards before eyeing them warily. "Who are you?"

"That's what we were about to ask you," Gray said.

The newcomer looked at them a moment before slowly getting to his feet. "Rin Okumura."

"I'm Lucy, and this Natsu, Gray, and Happy," The blond explained, gesturing to her guildmates. "We're from the Fairy Tail guild."

Rin blinked, confused. "What's a guild?"

There was a brief silence before Natsu, Lucy, and Happy gave a loud cry, "WHAT?!"

"You don't know what a guild is?!" Natsu asked, shocked.

"Calm down, guys," Gray said. "He might be from a continent where they don't have guilds."

"What do you mean, Gray?" Happy looked at him.

"Oh, yeah, I read about that," Lucy understood. "There are some parts of the world where magic isn't practiced regularly, so they don't have guilds."

She dug into Natsu's bag and pulled out a map, showing it to Rin. "Do you see your continent?"

The half-demon looked at the map briefly before shaking his head. "No, I don't see Japan anywhere."

"Well, do you know how to get back?"

"I don't even know how I got here."

"Then why don't you come with us to Fairy Tail?" Natsu suggested.

"What?" The newcomer blinked, surprised.

"It's cool. We don't turn our backs on anyone." Gray smiled. "Plus, Gramps might be able to help you figure out how to get home."

Rin was silent for a moment, thinking the situation over. Knowing he didn't have anywhere else to go, he agreed. "Okay."

"Alright, let's get moving!" Natsu said, ready to go.

Suddenly, Rin sensed a presence behind them. Before he could react or warn the others, everyone was caught in an explosion of sand and dirt. When the dust cleared, the group found themselves in a crater.

Rin bounced back quickly, shaking off the sand as he got up. "Everyone okay?"

Lucy coughed slightly, on her hands and knees in the sand.

"What now?" Gray groaned, buried up to his chest.

"Happy!" Natsu cried, sand spilling out of his mouth.

Realizing the blue cat was gone, Rin remembered his own cat and saw he was gone, too. "Oh no, Kuro!"

(Elsewhere)

"Help me!" Happy groaned.

He and Kuro were tied up by their paws on a stick over a pile of firewood. They were surrounded by another group of wizards, a motley crew consisting of a goblin-like creature, a pair of twins, a guy with an orb, and an oversized chicken. They all looked ravenous, which was understandable since they had been in the woods for several days.

"We're finally going to get some real protein." One twin drooled.

"No berries for us tonight." The other twin added.

"Meat!" The chicken man squawked.

"Our future holds a feast." The other male said.

Happy was shaking fearfully, which didn't go unnoticed.

"Wow…"

"Look at him shaking. Geez." The twins spoke, finishing each other's sentences.

"Relax. You're gonna be in our bellies soon enough, so there's no reason to be scared." The goblin said.

"Actually, I'm not shaking like this because I'm scared," Happy admitted, making the goblin glare at him. "I gotta use the bathroom really bad."

The other wizards all looked at him funny.

"I can't hold it much longer, and I betcha it's gonna make me taste weird."

"Who cares?" The goblin responded, not buying it, before looking at the chicken. "Now, cook him."

"Meat." It responded, summoning fire from a magic staff.

"I'll take mine medium, please." The guy with the orb requested.

"Hey, I'm serious! It's gonna make me taste funny! I just know it will!" Happy stressed.

But before either side could do anything, there was a sudden poof of smoke that startled the renegade wizards. The wood from their barbeque pit flew in different directions along with Happy, who screamed as he landed in a nearby tree.

When the smoke cleared, they found an awake, angry, and bigger Kuro snarling at them with blazing green eyes. "What's the big idea?!"

"Holy–!"

"What is that?!" The twins gasped.

"Who cares?! We take it down, and we'll have even more to eat!" The goblin responded.

"Don't even try it!" Kuro growled, ready for a fight.

"Hold it right there!" A voice called from the ridge behind them, revealing the wizards and exorcist had found them.

"Happy!" Lucy called down.

"Thank goodness! Now, I'm not gonna taste weird!" Happy sighed, stuck in a tree.

"Pipe down!" The goblin snapped.

"Kuro, you alright?" Rin yelled to the Cat Sith.

"Rin! These guys tried to eat me!" Kuro called up to him.

"No kidding, what does Cait Sith taste like?"

"That's not funny!" The demon snapped at his master.

Lucy gave Rin a weird look since she couldn't hear Kuro, but the others ignored it.

"That's our friend you're trying to roast, buddy! Sorry, but you guys are gonna have to make other plans for dinner!" Natsu said, cracking his knuckles.

"You're all wizards, aren't you? What guild are you with?" Gray asked.

"I'm not tellin'," The goblin sneered before giving the others orders. "Get 'em!"

The other four wizards leaped forward on the attack.

"Gray, let's do it," Natsu said.

"Alright, but don't go telling me what to do," Gray responded.

"Got room for one more?" Rin asked.

Natsu smirked at him. "Sure you're up for it?"

"Worry about yourself, man," The half-demon smirked back. "I can fight."

"Then follow our lead," Gray instructed.

With that, the boys sprung into action. The twins set their sights on Natsu, each attacking with a sai. However, the pink head was able to slip through the gap between them. At the same time, Gray and Rin jumped up and over the swing that Chicken-Man took with his staff.

The goblin punched the ground beneath him as a golden-brown magic circle appeared. "Sand Bomb, go!"

Sand started to swirl around him as Natsu moved to attack the rogue wizard. The pink-head's pupils dilated as he found himself surrounded by walls of sand, trapping him in a sphere.

"Natsu!" Lucy cried.

"He's fine! Go and help Happy!" Gray ordered.

"Right!" The blond responded, running to the cat as Gray jumped back into battle.

The twins returned for round two, but their sights were on Gray. Meeting the duo halfway, the dark-haired boy knocked the first twin's sai away before kneeing him in the jaw. He then twisted around and kicked the other boy's weapon. Finishing up, he jumped over him and gave him a backward kick.

"Help! Lucy's gonna eat me!" Happy cried as Lucy tried to untie him.

"Shut up, cat!" The blond snapped.

However, their arguing got the attention of the chicken man, making them flinch in fear. The rogue wizard gave an angry squawk as he held his staff up threateningly, getting a scream from Lucy.

"Please don't kill me, Mr. Chicken–!" She started to panic but stopped when Rin intervened.

While Lucy and Happy made a getaway, the exorcist-in-training took a page from Gray's book and opted out of using his flames. While not formally trained in hand-to-hand combat, Rin gave the chicken man a well-placed kick, his enhanced strength knocking him onto his back.

"Okay," Rin said, looking around. "Three down, two to go."

A few feet away, Gray was squaring off with the guy with the orb, waiting for him to try something. Magic gathered into the man's object, causing it to glow a bright lavender color before…

"I see someone special, but the stars point to great trouble with water and women." He said.

"You tellin' my fortune?" Gray asked, annoyed.

"You're kidding, right?" Rin sweatdropped.

The dark-haired wizard quickly ended the fight by elbowing the fortune teller in the face, knocking him out.

"He's not using magic," Lucy breathed, amazed by his strength. "Wow."

"Why is he in his underwear?" Rin suddenly asked, noticing that Gray was stripped down to his boxers.

"Put some clothes on!" The blond cried.

"Crap!" Gray cursed.

"Where'd these brats come from anyway?" The goblin wondered aloud. Suddenly, his sand sphere burst apart, making him flinch at the explosion.

"Uh, oh." He muttered as Natsu landed in front of him.

"Jerk! Now I've got a mouth full of sand, and it's all 'cause of you!" The pinkette growled, spitting some out. He brought his fists together, and a fiery orange magic circle appeared. "Fire Dragon Iron Fist!"

Natsu jumped forward with his hand engulfed in flames and punched the rogue wizard hard enough to cause an explosion.

"Wow." Rin breathed, amazed by how Natsu looked so at ease using his flames.

Once the dust cleared, the nefarious five were tied to a tree to keep them from running off. With the battle done, Rin finally had the chance to check on his friend.

"Hey, Kuro, you alright?"

"I'm okay," Kuro assured his master, changing back into his small form.

"Don't ya think you might have gone overboard, Natsu?" Gray asked.

"So what if I did? I got the job done, right?" The fire user argued.

"Grow up already! You're an embarrassment to the guild!"

"What? Shut up!" Natsu snapped as the two of them got in each other's faces.

"These two are worse than you and Suguro," The Cait Sith commented, taking his usual spot on Rin's shoulder.

"Lulla–"

"Huh?" Rin glanced over at the goblin, thinking he had said something.

Lucy heard it, too, crouched down beside the goblin. "What's Lulla?"

"Lulla… by… it's…."

He had gotten the attention of Natsu and Gray, who stopped fighting to hear what was up.

"Huh?"

"Lullaby?"

Before they could get more details, moving shadows snuck up on them for a surprise attack.

"Watch out!" Rin called, sensing the attack. He was able to dodge this attack, but the others weren't able to.

"Incoming!" Happy gasped as they were knocked off their feet.

However, it seemed whoever or whatever it was wasn't interested in them. The goblin whimpered in fear as the other wizards started shaking when a giant shadow hand appeared beneath them.

"Should've known that we hadn't gone far enough!" One of the twins whimpered as the shadow hand's fingers closed.

Suddenly, the rogue wizards were pulled into the shadow along with part of the tree. Then, it left as quickly as it came.

"What was that?" Lucy asked as the group got up.

"Who was that?" Natsu added.

"Well, whoever it was, they're fast. I can't even sense their presence anymore." Gray said, none of them aware of the figure escaping through the trees.

"But what could this mean?" The pinkette wondered.

"Lullaby…" The blond repeated what one of the wizards had said, thinking it was vital information.

The demon duo looked at each other and then in the direction everyone else was staring. Rin had a feeling that regardless of how they got there, his life was about to get flipped upside down again.

Well, that's the first chapter.

For those who aren't sure where this is starting, it's taking place after the forest training incident in Blue Exorcist and right before the Lullaby Arc in Fairy Tail.

Rin's going to be in for a heck of a ride.

Until next time, read and review!