Chapter Text
“Are you ok, Rin?” Yukio asked, keeping his gun trained in the direction that the two demon kings had vanished in but allowing his eyes to glance toward his brother.
“Huh? Uh, yeah, hey, Yukio, what is going on? What are those explosions?” His ears twitched when another boom reached them but even with his sword drawn, he could not see what was happening.
“In a moment. First, I want you to be honest with me. Did they do anything to you?”
“Huh? No! No, they…” Rin frowned. “They just talked with me. It was weird.” His eyes trailed down to his sword.
“They just talked? About what?” Yukio finally turned to fully fact his twin. He looked him over, noting a few streaks of blood, nothing large, that may have come from now fully healed scrapes. Most likely from the tree branches, Yukio rationalized, but Kuro would have tried to avoid whatever stray branches he could. Wait-, “Rin, where is Kuro?”
“We got separated.” Rin replied. “Shit, is he a part of whatever is happening?! We were attacked by some lizard looking things, I think? But, all they did was tackle him before I got dragged away by something. Then those guys showed up to talk.”
Yukio was positive the demon kings set that up. But to just talk to Rin? “And all they did was talk to you? About what?”
Rin hesitated, his eyes flicking down to his sword again.
“Rin-?”
“It doesn’t matter. What matters, right now, is whatever the hell is happening over there!” He pointed to the sound of gunfire.
“Rin, whatever they said-!”
“It was a lot, ok?!” Rin snapped, flames flaring and frustration building. “I’m still trying to wrap my head around it, but I can’t do that when there’s a fight happening somewhere out there and I have no idea where everyone else is! I’ll tell you, alright, but not now.”
Yukio was silent as he took in his brother’s words. As much as he wanted to push him and know why there seemed to be such a conflicted look on his face, he also knew Rin enough that if he kept pushing this would divulge into a shouting match and Rin would run blindly into the forest towards the battle.
Taking a deep breath, Yukio said, “Alright. But you are telling me everything later. Demon kings are nothing to ignore.”
Rin glared and a hint of his sharp teeth showed from where his lips pulled back. “You don’t think I know that?”
“Right.” An apologetic look flashed across his face briefly before it settled. “About what is happening. When we brought you all out here, we suspected that something like the situation at Mepphyland would happen again, so Shiro was on standby in case Amaimon got any ideas. All of that commotion is most likely from him.” He frowned. “We didn’t account for two other demon kings though. With them, the number of demons attacking increases, and I’m worried that even with our precautions your classmates are being overwhelmed. Honestly, we did not anticipate being separated like this.”
“Then we need to get back there!” Rin started moving in the direction of the explosions, but was stopped by a hand on his arm. Turning back he found his brother preventing him from moving forward. “Yukio-!”
“I want to get back to them just as quickly as you do.” Yukio cut him off, part of him put off when the blue flames actually grew uncomfortably warm beneath his hand when Rin growled at him. “But I can’t have you rushing in there without a plan, especially since you’d most likely reveal yourself to the group if you go in there. Or did you forget about the flames currently covering your body?”
“I-!”
“I know you want to help them, but I don’t want you to take any unnecessary risks.”
“Amaimon is over there right now and it doesn’t sound good. If you want me to just wait it out, you can think again!”
“Shiro is with them right now, and he’s the paladin. As long as those other two demon kings didn’t go join the attack, he, Shura, and the other exorcists on standby should be able to hold them off until Amaimon gets bored. And considering the amount of noise he is making, I’m sure more reinforcements will be coming soon. So my concern right now, is you and you running in there without a thought on how people might react to seeing your flames. Shiro may be paladin, but he can only do so much when multiple people see you surrounded by Satan’s flames! Just think for one moment!”
Rin scowled. “I don’t need to think! I know that I want to go help them!”
“Don’t you understand, you could die, Rin! Or worse! And I’m not talking about fighting Amaimon, I’m talking about if the Grigori gets their hands on you! And it won’t just be you in trouble. Shiro, Shura, and even myself are going to be affected just as much because you were supposed to be killed but you weren’t!”
And even though Yukio didn’t mention it, his words tied into Iblis’ and Egyn’s from just moments before. If Rin goes to fight, who is to say he won’t die the moment he swings his sword at Amaimon. It’s cut through demons before, but at the same time those were much lower level than a demon king. Something inside him instinctively wanted to curl around his sword and never let anyone see it, keep it safely tucked away and flare his flames to keep others out. He could sheath it, but then he couldn’t see (he’s always so cold when he does that), and then he can’t fight and keep his friends safe, but if they saw his flames and he got captured he can’t keep them safe either. He would get Yukio and Shiro and Shura in trouble!
(But Suguro liked him despite knowing his secret. Maybe the others would too?)
“Rin?” His brother’s voice broke him from his thoughts. Coming back, he noticed that he had brought his sword closer to his body, fingers twitching like they did not know what they were supposed to do, what direction to go. He wanted to fight, to protect his friends, but if he did that he could break his sword or put people in danger. “Are you ok?”
Outside of when he had spontaneously lost his vision, Yukio had never seen his brother so rigidly frozen before. His expression had been so conflicted, the very tip of his tail lashing in time with the twitches of his fingers, ears, and lips.
“I…”
“What…what did they tell you?” He was guessing, but Yukio couldn’t help but feel that something during that talk he had with the two demon kings played a role in whatever was running through his brother’s head right now.
“It’s….” Another explosion made him flinch. “It’s nothing. We should really go help.”
He didn’t move.
“Rin, what did they say?” Yukio pressed and Rin told him. Yukio listened and he couldn’t deny that a part of him grasped onto the warnings voiced by the two demon kings with an unrelenting grip. More things to concern, more things to worry about as his brother was continually thrown head first into this world Yukio has grown up with, one new issue on top of another. His only way of seeing the world now connected with the concern of leaving that very thing open to those who would seek to harm him.
But another part of him couldn’t help but doubt. “Are you sure they aren’t lying to you? Trying to scare you into turning to them?”
“They could be but…” Rin tightened his grip on Kurikara. “I…I really don’t think they were.”
“Alright,” Yukio took a deep breath. “Maybe we’ll bring it up with Shiro. He was there when your demon side was sealed, after all. For now, we’ll start heading back. Until we get close enough to camp or we find Kuro, you can keep your sword unsheathed to help navigate the woods. Once we get close enough, I want you to seal it and to only bring it out if the situation is dire enough, understand?”
“What counts as dire enough?”
“Rin-!”
“No, I get it, I get it.” Rin relented. “Understood.”
With one last look towards where Iblis and Egyn had vanished, the two turned and ran towards the camp. Their weapons were held at the ready as they sprinted, and the occasional low level demon was exorcized as it lept towards them, agitated from the battle happening within its woods. Glancing up through the trees, Yukio took note to see that Mephisto seemed to have moved closer to the camp, though whether this was because he was up to something or caught sight of the now no-longer-missing Rin, Yukio did not know.
“Rin! ” They both tensed but Rin relaxed quicker as the familiar voice of Kuro rang in his ears.
“Kuro!” He exclaimed and turned to see the cat sidhe jump out from the bushes to land next to them. Yukio could easily see the numbers of burns and scratches that made up the demon’s body.
“Are you alright?” He asked.
“Kuro?”
“I’m fine. Some stupid lizards separated kept me from getting back to you, Rin, but I eventually scared them all off!”
“Ah, that’s good. If you’re ok, do you think you can carry us back to camp? It would be faster.” Rin asked. “We need to go show those demon’s who they’re messing with!”
“ Of course! Let’s do this! ” Kuro knelt down to allow Rin and Yukio to climb onto his back, Rin in front with Yukio behind him. As they settled, Yukio tapped him on the shoulder.
“Seal your flames.”
“Eh?! Are you sure I need to? I mean, we’re still away from camp and Kuro is hurt-.”
“That was the deal Rin. Besides, we’ll get there much faster on Kuro.”
“I…Fine.” Rin growled but did as his brother said. He slid the sword into its sheath and shivered both as it felt like heat was leached from his body and the world fell back into almost darkness. Now, his only light was Kuro beneath him and the occasional bug or demon that floated across his vision.
“Everyone ready?”
“Let’s go, Kuro!”
“Hold on! ”
Wind rushed past his face. He shouldn’t be so taken aback by this. This was how he normally saw the world. This is what he saw when they first headed out, but after his discussion with Iblis and Egyn, he wondered if this was all he would see now? Would he no longer have the moments of almost full sight?
Was he prepared to risk giving that up? To never unsheathe the sword and give up his near sight, or continue to open the seal and possibly risk something much worse?
Rin growled and cursed those demon kings for pushing these thoughts onto him and then just leaving. He didn’t need them pointing out the obvious about how important his damn sword is, he didn’t need them making Yukio more overprotective, and he definitely wasn’t going to just sit back and let their words take away the one good thing to come from these damn flames!
(That didn’t take away the fear of the sword, his heart breaking, but maybe if he ignored it then it would go away.)
The twins noted that much of the initial noise seemed to begin dying down the closer they got to the camp. Not necessarily a sign the fight was over, but at least Amaimon wasn’t crushing every tree or piece of earth as much as before. In fact, Amaimon wasn’t anywhere insight as they cleared the tree line, only Shiro, Shura, and a handful of exorcists just outside the still intact circle where the rest of the class was huddled was in sight.
However, seeing the circle, Yukio cursed when he realized he forgot to factor it in as they rushed back.
“Shit!”
“What?” Rin asked only to be cut off by one of the exorcists shouting.
“There!” Gunfire erupted around the three, but it did nothing to stop Amaimon who suddenly swooped down and grasped Rin by the back of his shirt to drag him off of Kuro.
“Got you!” He cheered, pulling Rin into the trees with a smile. “Why were you hiding? We were supposed to play today.”
“What the hell are you talking about?! Put me down!”
“Hmmm…” A bullet came just too close to them making Rin shout and Amaimon frown. “Ah, they’re so annoying. I played with them before, but they aren’t as fun. I should really just get rid of them all so we can play.” He paused. “Unless they add an extra challenge.”
Rin felt it when he was placed down on a tree branch but he couldn’t see anything other than who he assumed was Amaimon in front of him. Below, he could hear the others shouting in response to his sudden capture. And, really, he should be more scared, but the first emotion that run through his head was anger because-
“What the hell is with you guys grabbing me today, huh?!” He growled and kicked out towards Amaimon with the hopes of kicking the demon king off the tree. “I’m sick of it!”
“Maybe you shouldn’t be so grabbable then.” Amaimon replied while dodging the attack.
“What the hell does that mean!?” He swiped at Amaimon again only to miss.
“Ah, yes! Get angry! That makes this more fun!” He tilted his head. “Though, it might be easier if you unseal your sword.”
“Maybe I don’t want to!”
“Why not? It will make things much more interesting. Here, let me help you.” Amaimon reached to pull the sword from Rin’s grasp and Rin was quick to curl his body around it. He bared his teeth and he could feel the way his flames sparked out as small tendrils of flame in response to his emotions, his anger, frustration, and fear. Part of him urged to pull the sword just to show Amaimon just who he was messing with, but the other side of him rang with a reminder how Amaimon could damage the blade his heart , but that only seemed to further fuel the raging emotions in his chest that were kept at bay by the very seal in his hands.
Just as Amaimon was about to graze the sheathe with his fingers (fingers that Rin was sure were at risk of being bitten off), he was forced to pull back when a sword swiped through the air where the demon king had just been.
In front of Rin, an unfamiliar silhouette appeared, hands poised to no doubt be holding a sword while tails of flames waved off from the main form as though indicating long hair or a flowy outfit. He was quick to chase off Amaimon with more attacks.
“Rin!” The half-demon jolted when the familiar silhouette of Shura joined him up there in the tree. “Damn, kid, why do you have to be such a trouble magnet?”
“It’s not like I asked for it!”
“Calm down, kid, you’re sparking and that is the last thing we need right now.” She hefted him up by the arm. “I’m gonna bring you down, and then Yukio is gonna lead you and the rest of you kids away from here, ok?”
“Wait, Shura-”
“Here we go!” Wind rushed past his face as weightlessness hit him again before his feet touched the ground.
“Damnit, I want people to stop dragging me everywhere!”
“Rin, over here!” Yukio shouted over the renewed fighting, and Rin turned to where he could see his twin waving through the mass of flaming people. At the same time, Kuro made his way back to Rin and the two of them weaved through the battlefield to make it to the back of where the exorcists were holding up a line. There, he could see his classmates standing with Yukio.
“Rin! Are you ok?” Shiemi asked as she came up to him. “Are you hurt? Do you need Nee-chan to grow anything? Maybe-.”
“I’m fine, Shiemi, really.” Rin said as Yukio began to guide them away from the battle.
“Why do you always seem to attract the most issues, man, geeze.” Shima huffed.
“It’s not like I ask to be grabbed!” Rin growled.
“No wonder Okumura-sensei is stressed all the time.” Suguro groaned.
“But why do you think Amaimon showed up?” Konekomaru asked as the group came to a stop outside of a small building in the park, most likely a rest stop or something of that nature for anyone journeying through the woods. “What reason does a demon king have to come after our group? How did he even get inside True Cross to begin with?”
“Those are all questions we will be looking into.” An unfamiliar voice said. They turned to see a tall man with long, blonde hair coming towards them with Shiro, Shura, and another number of exorcists behind them. “My name is Arthur Auguste Angel and I am an Upper Level Exorcist. I will be joining Paladin Fujimoto and Exorcist Kirigakure in investigating this matter. While we will be speaking with you each individually, any information of why you believe three demon kings showed up within these woods tonight would be helpful.”
“T-Three?!”
“What the hell do you mean, three?!”
He nodded. “Yes. Paladin Fujimoto was wise in having extra men stationed nearby should something occur, as we have the report of the Demon King Amaimon being near your group before. However, we had a few warning sigils go off that told us two other demon kings were within the vicinity of your group, though it was lucky that they never got as close as Amaimon did.”
“Do…do you have any idea why so many demon kings were around, sir?” Konekomaru asked.
Shiro hummed. “Nothing substantial as of yet. There are a few other people we’ll be checking with but right now it seems like it may have just been bad luck on your parts.”
“Yes, though, something more sinister may be going on here, which is why we want to talk to each of you for your perspective of the night.” Arthur added. “This is especially important since not only were there three demon kings tonight, but one of my men swore he saw a bright blue flame during the night.”
“A-A blue flame?” Shima asked.
“You mean…you mean…” Konekomaru couldn’t get the words out of his mouth.
“Like Satan?” Izumo finished. “You mean someone saw Satan’s flames tonight, too?”
Arthur nodded. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. It was only one of my men, though, but I have no reason to doubt him.” His eyes trailed over to Rin for a moment as though analyzing him where he stood.
“Which is why we said we’re going to talk to each of you.” Shiro said. “Why don’t you kids go sit, gather your thoughts, and drink some water. We’ll come talk to you all in a little bit, alright? In the meantime, Okumura Yukio, come with us, please.”
Yukio nodded. “Of course.” He looked at his class with a small, reassuring smile that did nothing for their nerves before he followed Shiro and Arthur off to the side.