Hello, my Fallen Ones! I have no excuses, but 23 is already started if that helps? If anyone wants an OC in the story, feel free to send 'em!
Disclaimer: I do not own Blue Exorcist!
Warning: Suicide baiting. Mentions of Murder. Manipulation. Yukio being a dick in general.
"Talking" 'Thinking' Satan/Demon/Familiar Talking "Animal Transformation/Inner Demon Talking" 'Mind Reading' [Texting]
~Yukio's POV~
"Where the hell did he vanish to?" Yukio grumbles to himself as he grades papers.
Cram school has already been out for well over an hour, nearing two, and there has yet to be any sign of Rin in that time. Yukio is starting to get annoyed at this point as he nitpicks another paper.
Wasn't he going to talk with the airhead? A cocky voice answers in the Dragoon's mind.
"Yeah, but how long does it take to be told no?"
'How do you know they were turned down? The girl doesn't seem to be the brightest of the humans in your class. Stupid kids probably got themselves turned,' the voice of Pride snarked.
"Not even she is that stupid," Yukio huffs before slamming his pen on the table seconds later as he jumps to his feet. "Dammit! Yes, she is!" He starts gathering his guns and bullets as he curses, trying to ignore the previous King of Pride cackling away in his head. "Of all the idiots that could have been attacked, it just had to be the one with no self-preservation. If she has vampire blood in her system, I'll kill him myself."
You stupid humans don't have the technology to heal her. One look at her and you'll know. Stolz taunts with a hum. You sure you don't want to wait until lessons? Make an example of them both?
Yukio pauses with his hand on the door handle, considering before he shakes his head. "If I check now, it'll give me time to plan how to do so without making myself look bad."
Oh, thank Satan, I got a competent host to guide. Pride tsks. As you were.
The slight tingling…noise? feeling? whatever, that Yukio had come to associate with Stolz's presence specifically cut off, and Yukio sighs now that he is finally alone with his own thoughts. He hates having a demon just existing in his head, but he does appreciate that his was at least courteous enough to let him know when he was listening in.
He leaves his room, closing the door behind him as he starts back to the building that holds the infirmary. He hasn't actually visited yet, not wanting to deal with his annoying students more than necessary, but he was there for the incident so he at least has a good idea of what Shiemi should look like. He enters the building and makes his way to what he thinks is the correct infirmary, but just as he's about to pull out the key to the cram school, his phone chimes in what he recognizes as the class group chat tone.
Yukio debates with himself momentarily, but eventually his inner teacher wins out, and he pulls out his phone to check what they might need after school hours.
He's equal parts glad and furious that he checked once he unlocks the screen.
[CatMonk: This is Anri. We met b4, Im Sloth and care a lot less if u know what my sin is. Shiemi is healed + Koneko is finally resting. The Lust idiots r arguing w/ each other which isnt as funny as it sounds. Anyway borrowed the phone 2 tell u 2 convince Rin 2 get a better blood source cause every1 has been way 2 passive. Talking 2 u Yukio. This is ur callout post. Idc if some1 donates, u take turns, or u get him 2 accept a completely willing human from a Lust Village. Make it a field trip 4 all I care but hes 2 new 4 bag blood.]
Yukio sees red and starts typing furiously until he suddenly can't and he realizes Shima has muted him at the same time Izumo mutes Bon.
"Why that little!"
Did those mortals just dare to silence you?! Stolz scoffs in the Dragoon's mind, only infuriating him further.
The teacher glares at his phone, trying to play with the group chat settings before remembering he was removed as admin a few months prior during a different argument with his brother when Izumo wanted silence.
A few curses slip past his lips as he follows the conversation. He can understand Izumo's desire for another girl, but not under these circumstances! She was supposed to be better than this!
"Like hell, we're making a field trip out of this!" He growls. "Bon isn't supposed to be the one with common sense, you fools!"
Of course, the pink one is only focused on girls. Oh, guess he made twin-tails jealous. Stolz chuckles, enjoying the drama of it all. Anri isn't lying like you think, though. She's always been scarily protective.
"I don't give a damn if she is or not. I'm not letting any more demon scum into my cla- oh this bitch," Yukio scoffs at remaining muted.
He switches to his DMs with Rin.
[Dr. Spectaclys: You just can't stand not being the center of attention can you?]
[Mr. Snyde: huh? what are you talking about?]
[Dr. Spectaclys: The class chat, you idiot. Always dragging others into your messes. Now Anri has taken it upon herself to brainwash the rest of the class into helping with your new demonic diet, and being subjected to visiting a Lust Village to find you another brainwashed idiot to taint them more.]
[Mr. Snyde: ...they want to go with?]
[Dr. Spectacyls: For some reason, but besides the point. Why do you always have to drag others into your fuck ups? She's claiming the bags aren't enough?]
[Mr. Snyde: ...is this about Father again.]
Yukio glares at his screen with a sneer.
[Dr. Spectaclys: It's definitely a good example. Now you plan to drag a complete stranger into another one. Real great.]
[Mr. Snyde: hey! no! no one else needs to get involved! the bags are enough!]
[Dr. Spectaclys: Anri says otherwise.]
[Mr. Snyde: ...okay so my throat feels like a desert most of the time but it's fine!]
[Dr. Spectaclys: Until you kill someone else, right?]
Yukio watches as the typing bubble appears and disappears repeatedly and it only makes him more annoyed.
He's probably fighting with Ala- I mean Ren for control, Stolz huffs.
Yukio is too pissed to even notice the name slip. "Doesn't even have the self-control to keep hold of his own body. Pathetic."
Finally a new message pings.
[Mr. Snyde: what do you suggest i do yukio? im doing my best here.]
"Excuses," Yukio tsks.
[Dr. Spectaclys: I've told you before haven't I?]
[Mr. Snyde: i thought we were past that…]
[Dr. Spectaclys: It's what I'd do with your track record. Seems to be the only way you'll stop dragging people down with you. Now since I'm too late to save Shiemi from you, I have papers to grade. I'll see you in the room whenever you finish the pity party you're undoubtedly about to throw.]
Yukio goes offline with that final sentiment and returns to their room to finish his tasks.
He's probably overly critical in his grading, and, eventually, it ticks to 3 AM and he finally has to call it quits for the night. He stretches as he leans back in his chair, rubbing his tired eyes as he sighs before he looks to the side. He has to blink a few times for his eyes to adjust from looking at bad handwriting under a cheap desk lamp for hours, but ultimately, he ends up scowling anyway.
A glance at his desk clock tells him it's nearing 3:30 AM, and yet his idiot brother hadn't snuck into bed.
"Where the hell is that idiot?" Yukio scoffs into the empty room, checking his phone for messages.
Nothing.
"Dammit, what did he do now?" He growls, calling his twin immediately.
He doesn't even bother with pleasantries when the call clicks through. "Where the hell are you?"
"He's with me, baby brother. Sleeping in the other bed," Anri yawns on the other end. "I didn't want him near you until necessary."
Yukio bristles at her words. "Who are you to decide that? Put him on the phone."
"Why? So you can mess up his already fragile mental state more?" She hums quietly. "No. He's getting some much-needed sleep, and I saw the messages you sent him. You better not have been implying what I think you were, by the way."
"That is none of your concern," the half-demon clips.
"Yukio," she warns.
"Tch, he's a demon. So what if I di-"
"So are you!" Anri growls, uncharacteristically angry. "And he's your brother, you absolute ass! How fucking dare you insinuate he do such a thing!"
"What do you care?" Yukio snaps back, pissed as hell that this practical stranger was daring to lecture him.
"Because he's my brother too, you dick! And unlike you, I actually care about my family!"
"He destroyed our family!"
"That priest knew what he signed up for when he brought you two home. It may have been more apparent in Rin from the start, but by the time he was unsealed, your demon blood was already licking at the surface. Either one of you could have caused that, so quit pushing all the blame to Rin, you walking inferiority complex."
Yukio hears the smoke alarm go off and realizes his flames were dancing across various parts of his hair and skin. The laughter on the other end tells him Anri can hear it too and he bristles further even as he takes a calming breath. "I'm not weak like my brother."
"Sure, that's why the smoke alarm is going off, right? Go to bed, baby brother, and get your attitude in check. He'll see you on Monday."
Before Yukio can even respond, the line clicks, ending the call and pissing him off further. He's suddenly very glad Mephisto materialized them stronger phones as he fights not to throw it, knowing he would crush it otherwise.
He manages to calm down enough to hide away the most demonic of his features, and uses his Exorcist key to take him to headquarters.
He needs a mission.
Monday~All POV
Rin hadn't returned all weekend if the still-made bed was of any indication, but then again, neither had Yukio. By the time Monday rolls around, Yukio is pleasantly sore and tired due to spending the last two days cleaning out a Blood Bar in a completely untargeted fashion and is now feeling rather relaxed by the time he strolls into his class after normal classes let out.
This calm mood quickly vanishes, however, when he opens the door to find Izumo standing at his podium with a folder and a look of business, Kimiko next to her as obvious support.
'Tch, what, does she think I'm going to attack my own student? I'm not my brother.'
No, look closer, Stolz speaks up. See how the purple one's hands are shaking? Envy can control emotions. Kimi is probably giving her a demonic confidence boost or something.
'Great. Chances of being able to overpower their combined wills?'
You have been a demon for barely a few months. Maybe in a few centuries assuming you live that long.
"...Explain?"
We haven't had half-humans as clan leaders before. We don't know how your life span is affected.
"Isn't Kimiko a half-demon?"
Yes but she's half-witch. She's from when there were issues of the witches helping the humans fight against us so Father wanted someone without this weakness. Came with some other -in my opinion completely not worth it- complications, but she's immune to witch magic.
'Fantastic. Let's get this over with then,' Yukio internally sighs before smiling politely.
"Good afternoon, Izumo. Can I help you?" He takes note of her looking to Kimiko and fights to not roll his eyes; Stolz's suspicions are confirmed when the other half-demon puts a hand on the other girl's shoulder and the Tamer visibly relaxes.
'Does contact make it stronger?'
Yes, but I didn't feel her increase her power output. I think this is just one of those weird human things.
'Do you mean support?'
Yeah, that thing.
"Um, Sensei?"
Yukio blinks himself back into focus when Izumo finally speaks up. "Yes?"
He watches as Izumo takes a deep breath, probably meant to steal herself.
"So Shima and I went to the infirmary this weekend to meet with Konekomaru and Shiemi -who looks exceptional now by the way- to catch them up on the conversation with Anri, and you and Bon have been outvoted four to two."
Yukio tries to hide how his eye twitches. "How did you manage that when Konekomaru is terrified of demons?" He asks in what he hopes sounds like concern.
"Given that our class has increasing exposure to demonic allies, he has apparently chosen exposure therapy. Also, according to Kimiko, these villages actually have more humans than demons. Point is, they are on board, so, with Kimiko's assistance, we spent the rest of the weekend compiling possible villages based on age range. Pheles-Sensei has already approved it as a field trip and has offered his jet for faster travel or in the event we need to go overseas. All it needs is your stamp and suitable dates, and I urge you to keep in mind that this is not only a safety precaution but also a one-of-a-kind learning experience for us."
'She's trying to manipulate me,' Yukio bristles.
Oh, definitely.
His displeasure at her ending statement is evident to everyone watching and Izumo sighs. "Now I owe Kimiko lunch. This is a chance to save someone from a demon village?" She tries instead, a little disappointed that her teacher's pride was more important than their education.
Yukio raises an eyebrow, almost curious of what they could have bet on, but he has to sigh as he weighs the options. 'If it gets back to the higher-ups that I had the chance to save someone from one of those villages and refused, I would undoubtedly be chewed out. If I save someone from there, though, and unbrainwash them from Lust, I could be even better than Father.'
He internally groans. "...Let me rearrange the syllabus. If they can help you narrow things down to people who would be able to keep up with classes, it would surely make things easier."
Kimiko chuckles as Izumo basically deflates in relief. "All of the villages could easily lap your top honors students and have been playing with Lust children since the fledglings could control their thirst. They'll keep up just fine." She smirks at the annoyed teacher, patting Izumo on the back. "But we can specialize, yeah."
Yukio's eyes narrow at what he perceives as a taunt but nods nonetheless. "I should have answers tomorrow. Now if you could both go to your seats, we can start cla-"
His patience wanes even further when the door slamming into the wall cuts him off.
"Why the fuck did I just get word from my second-in-command through Anri that a nerdy-looking gunslinger wielding Pride's flames took out an entire perfectly-legal-as-a-kink-establishment- Blood Bar mere hours after throwing a bigoted temper tantrum and suicide baiting his own twin?!" Ren roars, eyes blazing red and currently in full control of Rin's body.
The shocked gasps behind him remind Yukio of his other students, and he feels his tail twitching underneath his clothes in annoyance.
'Alright. Just remain calm and composed so he'll seem irrational,' Yukio decides.
"I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh really? So after getting chewed out by Anri for yelling at Rin about his frieee-" Red eyes dart to the class and the majority nod. He chooses to ignore Bon flipping him off. "Yelling at him for his friends wanting to help him and implying that he should kill himself over the new dietary issues, you're going to tell me that you didn't then go take a mission that specifically targeted Lust clan members? You're going to tell me that was another clan leader? Because newsflash asshole, only clan leaders and their direct subordinates use weapons and only Pride has purple flames so try again!" Red flames were flickering in his hair.
Turquoise eyes narrow in a warning.
Not even I ever managed to piss him off that bad. You messed up, Little Dragon, Stolz dares to chuckle, making Yukio internally growl.
"I can't exactly turn down a mission assigned to me just because Rin happens to be the leader of them," Yukio huffs, choosing to try dancing around the other accusation.
"Bullshit! We both know you're high enough rank to choose your missions! You're just redirecting your hatred, but unlike you, I actually care about my family and will be avenging them...Starting with your precious reputation by the looks of it." The demonic side slowly smirks as he notices the looks of horror on everyone's faces.
The young teacher raises an eyebrow, not even bothering to look at his class. "I highly doubt my students are dumb enough to believe the word of a demon over that of their teacher."
"You keep forgetting you're a demon, too, buddy. Of Pride at that. Most of your powers revolve around lying. They have even less reason to believe you than me. You can force your will onto others, act as a lie detector, are a supernaturally gifted liar, don't show fear or weakness, and can read others' weaknesses like an open book. Powers that can seem lame and boring, but can easily get you out of a fight, and, when revealed, make you very hard to ever believe again," Ren smirks wickedly.
Yukio can feel his eye wanting to twitch in annoyance as they glow purple, Stolz's voice echoing alongside his. "That is none of your business to be sharing!"
"Oh, but it is. You killed my own so it's only fair I kill something important to you. And there is nothing more important to a Pride demon than their image," Ren snickers.
Yukio dares a glance behind him to see even Bon looking at him in disgust and bristles, already ready to kill when he hears Ren's voice echo through his mind.
'In fact, I'm so sure of this, I'll even help blondie a bit more. Rin's too soft for Gehenna anyway.'
Yukio growls now and before even he can process it, he has the smirking Lust leader pinned against the wall by his throat. "I should have killed you when I had the chance," he snarls quietly.
"Do it. We'll just come back with an even bigger grudge," Ren taunts, completely unafraid. "And you'll be all alone when we do, with not even your students to hide behind."
"I'd have the other exorcists."
"Wow, I thought Pride was supposed to be smart. Did you learn nothing from Jacob's Ladder? You're nothing but a tool to them. Nothing more than a demon they had the opportunity to brainwash at a young age so effectively that he'd go so far as to kill his own twin in their name. They were going to kill the priest too if he hadn't promised to raise you two against us. Even if Dad didn't kill him, the Vatican would have for growing to care about you two. You're nothing but a pawn to them. You really think they'll risk their soldiers against the entire Lust clan for one pathetic half-demon?"
Yukio suddenly feels a weight on his arm and realizes that he had a clawed hand raised when he looks down to find a white shrine fox hanging from it.
He pauses for a moment before speaking more evenly. "Izumo."
"Stop attacking them, and I'll call him back." Izumo challenges shakily as she all but clings to Kimiko for support.
"Insolent brat!" Stolz snarls before Yukio can stop him."You dare talk back to me?"
"Shut the hell up, you old coot," Kimiko scoffs, rolling her eyes. "Yukio, let them go."
Yukio narrows his eyes before glaring at the fox hanging on his arm. "Let go."
The fox clamps harder but soon starts visibly shaking slightly and making sounds of pain as their jaw flexes. Mistress told me to stop you, and the older one sneaks us treats. The fox's voice whimpers in Yukio's head. Please stop.
"Let go!"
The fox shakes more and Kimiko speaks up again. "Oh my Satan, just let Ren go!"
Yukio actually feels teeth scrape his arm and tsks in annoyance as he lets Ren drop to the floor, fox falling soon after. He glares down at Izumo in distaste as she runs to kneel beside her trembling familiar.
"What did you do to him?!"
"Your fox is of the Pride clan and disobeyed not just a higher up, but the leader himself," Ren rasps, sitting up. "Got yourself a loyal familiar there."
"Is he okay?" She asks in a way that does nothing to hide her concern.
"Yeah, just let him go rest, and he might even have a surprise for you next time he's summoned."
Izumo gives one of the fluffy ears a scratch as she lets the fox poof away before glaring at Yukio. Or she planned to if he was still standing there.
Her eyes widen in shock as she looks between the remaining demons. "Where-"
"A 'strategic' retreat," Kimiko huffs, rolling her eyes. "Ren, go manipulate the teachers. I'll tell Mephisto to ready the jet. I think it's field trip time. Yukio can just come back to a new student. Everyone, go pack your bags. No passport required," she decides with a clap of her hands before she's typing at her phone. "Be back in an hour."
An announcement that, under normal circumstances, would be met with excitement is instead met with a tense atmosphere as the students take the obvious out and silently hurry out of the room to pack.
The two demons left in the room almost feel bad for them, but one of the brothers had to go down, and Ren was right; Rin is far too soft for Gehenna.
Yukio dug this grave, it was time to lie in it.
"Hey, yeah, Phisto?" Kimiko hums when Mephisto finally picks up the call. "Yeah, Pride blew a fuse so we're moving up the field trip to diffuse the situation. Yeah, ready your jet. I know damn well you keep it full. K, see you soon." By the time she's off the call, Ren has already vanished for his little mind control mission, and Kimiko sighs.
This was becoming too easy.
That's all for 22! Once again if anyone would like to send in an OC to be the person from the camp feel free. Can be any sex, race, or gender just has to be the same age group. Provide name, age, pronouns, and any background info you want.
If desired they can also be either Bon's soulmate described in an earlier chapter (will have a bickering kind of rivals type relationship) or Shima's other soulmate (poly relationship with Izumo and the OC dating Shima but just being either friends or indifferent with each other).
Also, should I upload to Ao3, too? All my other stuff is already over there.
Chapter 23 is already started so send stuff in on either Tumblr or Twitter to VampyrSutton. See you soon~
