Chapter Text
Rin is still reeling. That is the only explanation.
The Old Man dying, demons being a thing, him being the son of one, the abduction attempt, coming to True Cross, Mephisto in general, the school itself, the exorcist cram school, moving out. He is summarizing hard, but he is at least aware that a lot has been going on in the last 48 hours.
To be honest, he really shouldn’t be complaining. He is lucky Pheles has given him a chance instead of following orders (even if his manner of acting seemed to indicate that the latter was something he rarely partook in). The eccentric man had given him the short story so far. Dad had entrusted him to make sure he was taken care of and remained human and he had decided to follow through on that promise instead of informing the big wigs that he was a danger.
The headmaster had picked him and Yukio up after the funeral, loaded Kurikara in the boot despite Rin’s protests and had his personal driver take them there. Let it not be said that despite his overall weirdness, the man wasn’t efficient.
Still, the last few days must be catching up with him, because there’s no way in hell (or Gehenna, apparently) that the entrance announced as their teacher is Yukio. And he must truly be hallucinating if he’s seeing a bikini-clad babe walking in hanging off of his shoulder. Seeing Satan possess the Old Man must have done something to his eyes.
“I’m Yukio Okumura, middle first class exorcist, and I will be your Anti-Demon Pharmaceuticals instructor.” Okay, either there’s something messing with his ears too or someone missed a whole lot of explaining throughout the years, and if it’s the second he’s not playing dumb any longer.
“Yukio!” His walk towards his twin is interrupted by something cold pressing against the hollow of his throat. Miss Bikini, with a sword she has pulled out of god-knows-where (is that disrespectful now that he knows that demons and all of that are real?) looks just about ready to turn his neck into a human kebab.
“Rin Okumura,” and the way she pronounces his name like she’s tasting rat poison is not a good sign right now, “if you know what’s good for you, you will stand down.”
He looks back towards the rest of the class, the reactions are fairly mixed. Chicken Comb and his Two Musketeers, Rosy and Baldie, look more confused than anything. Eyebrows has her namesake so high up it can barely be seen under her hairline. Brunette sitting next to her is covering her mouth but she’s still obviously gaping.
Will he use their real names when he learns them? Well, that depends on how fun they make it to annoy them. Where was he? Oh yes, hot bikini lady holding him at swordpoint.
“Am I making myself clear?” As if seeing his smartass comment coming she puts a little more pressure behind her weapon.
“Crystal.” His feet walk him backwards towards his seat in the classroom, Yukio resuming introductions as he finally sits down.
“My colleague here is Shura Kirigakure. She’s an upper first class exorcist and will be serving as a sort of escort for your class. Treat her with respect.” He signals towards the woman as the sword disappears into her chest- excuse me, what?
“Now, today’s class will simply be an initiation, for lack of a better term. Those of you who don’t have a masho will receive it before the end of the class.”
As his older brother begins to explain the method they will be following, Rin keeps two questions in his mind. Who is that woman and why does it feel like he’s being kept out of the loop again?
Sadly for Rin, the theoretical lesson on masho is long and he barely understands half of it thanks to the little summary Mephisto gave him before it started. On the bright side, only Rooster and Brunette (Suguro and Paku respectively) are missing their own masho so the rest of the class is short. He prepares to ambush Yukio for a little game of twenty questions as he begins to dismiss the class, but the Sword Lady stops him.
“You almost forgot something, Yukio.” Her eyes are focused on Rin as she says this and he doesn’t like it one bit. “Direct orders from Mephisto, remember? You have to do it.” Well that’s not ominous at all.
“I remember telling him that it was dangerous if we-” Yukio’s fighting spirit seems to have completely left him the second she glares at him. “There has to be another way.” A shake of her head and he finally caves.
He doesn’t expect to have his sword taken from his side so fast he barely sees it. In a blink, the red-wrapped blade and its blue sheath are passing hands from Kirigakure to Yukio.
“What I’m going to say may not leave this room. No matter your opinion, you are not allowed to share the information you are about to learn with anyone outside this classroom. It is only for your own safety that Sir Pheles has decided you be made privy to it. Am I clear?” Rin finds himself too shocked to answer but the rest of the students agree with different levels of confusion and enthusiasm.
“Rin Okumura, your classmate and my twin, is the child of Satan. He was the only one to inherit his demonics powers and the blue flame. He has chosen to join the True Cross and become an exorcist. However, were he to step out of line, he will be swiftly taken care of.” He feels his body go numb at the coldness in his brother’s tone during that declaration. No warmth, no worry, just facts. “Kirigakure will be shadowing your class and keeping a watchful eye on Rin. She has orders to act if he ever threatens your safety.”
His would-be killer gives him a scowl with a matching hateful glare. She’s probably waiting for the moment he makes a mistake and she gets to kill him. Yukio probably senses the questions coming and stops them with a metallic ring.
Five seconds. The rising murmurs of doubt and anger behind him turn to silence in the five seconds he’s covered in blue flames before Kurikara is sheathed again.
“That is all.”
Rin chases after Yukio the second he leaves the classroom, hearing the beginning of a shouting match behind the closing door.
“What was that about?” Rin isn’t usually one to be angry at Yukio. Annoyed, sure. Jealous, maybe sometimes on the inside. The thought of hurting his younger brother in any way never really crossed his mind. It is surprising how hard he has to clench his fist to avoid doing just that.
“Mephisto told us that the class should know about you. It will make it easier to explain any issues as well as Shura’s presence in the classroom.” Just like before, his tone feels almost machine-like. Cold and indifferent despite the circumstances. “I argued with him at length but in the end this was the course of action that was decided upon. Start unpacking, it’s getting late and I would rather our room not be messy before we go to sleep.”
“What’s the whole point of the sword and the bag and everything then? Wasn’t it meant so I wouldn’t be up in flames everywhere I went?” It’s not like the weight is any issue, but its shape on his back is far from comfortable and the restriction to his movement is annoying.
“Apart from Sir Pheles, only those in that room are aware of your parentage. The sheath should keep the secret from all other exorcists in the academy.” Yukio attempts to reassure.
“Good, now only the people I will interact with on a daily basis will hate me. Lucky me. And besides, what do you mean ‘your’? In case you forgot with all the lies you and the Old Man told me, we are twins.”
“I am not the one who got Dad killed.” The yell leaves the room back in silence.
He feels trapped, like he’s back in the storage room under the altar back at the monastery. Nothing makes sense and the whole world wants him dead and the only thing he can focus on is trying to stop the fire that threatens to explode out of him from doing so.
“Satan had always wanted to have him, but he was too strong. The only way he could have was if something broke down his mental defenses. Truly disrupted his emotions.” It had been a long time since he had heard his twin scream, but apparently he was on a roll. “Dad died because of you, trying to protect you, and you couldn’t even listen to his last wish and leave Kurikara in its scabbard. He was the best exorcist out there and you killed him!”
The world is numb for a moment. Did he? Was it his fault that he died? What did he even-
Don’t ever pretend to be my father again!
The sentence echoes in his mind over and over.
He doesn’t get much sleep that night.