©DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN BLUE EXORCIST! IT IS OWNED BY KAZUE KATO!

CHAPTER FOUR

'It looks like rain.'

The thought floated through his head as he stared out the window, taking in the dark grey clouds that filled the sky.

A yawn creeped up on him and Rin felt his eyes fill with tears. Apparently lack of sleep was starting to get to him. He rubbed his eyes and turned his attention to the front, where the teacher was droning on and on about the subject. Rin half-heartedly copied down some of the equations on the chalkboard but found himself unable to really focus on them.

His thoughts were clouded with memories from the last few days. Specifically memories from the evening before—when Shiemi had come to the dorms. After bidding her farewell, Rin had gone straight to the washroom. His mind was racing a mile a minute as he stumbled into a shower stall, clothes on and everything.

The water may have been too hot to be comfortable at the time, and the whole room filled with steam not even ten minutes in, but Rin hardly took notice. Ragged breaths left through his chapped lips and his mouth felt dry. He leaned against the wall, embracing himself with his nails digging into his ribs as he squinted against the water.

He was shaking—he noticed the way his knees wobbled and he soon found himself sliding against the wall, until his bum hit the floor, legs tucked against him loosely. His hair clung to his face and neck and he blinked away the water that would gather in his lashes. The uneven pattern of his breathing didn't lessen and he tilted his head back against the wall, trying to breathe through this stuffy atmosphere. His eyes dulled as the thoughts in his head took over.

The amount of time that he stayed in there for was unclear. He was roused from this stupor by a nudging to his side and a gentle voice breaking through the abyss of thoughts he was lost in.

(Rin?)

He vaguely remembered what happened after; green eyes filled with worry, a warmth enveloping his mind, fatigue washing over his body, loosening the tension that had him so tightly wound up. The water had been shut off and he was faintly aware of holding something warm and familiar, burying his face in the soft black coat.

Eventually though, he somehow made it back to his room and stripped off his wet garments. When he awoke this morning, he was naked and curled up under the thin sheets of the dormitory bed with Kuro tucked under his chin.

The familiar wasn't asleep and it's voice echoed quietly throughout his mind once they realized that he had awoken.

(Rin?)

He had given a soft grunt in reply and that was the end of the conversation. He lay there with Kuro for a while longer until his alarm went off and he got up to get ready for school.

Rin supposed his attitude this morning could be described as 'muted'. He was never really a morning person to begin with, but as he got ready, Yukio seemed to take notice of his soft demeanor and hesitantly asked if he was alright. He thought about it for a second before answering,

"Yeah, I'm okay."

The conversation dropped after that. His thoughts were patchy but at least his head was clearer. All through his first couple of classes he had been lost in a haze where he didn't…feel much. The best way Rin could describe it was that it, was as if his emotions had been set on 'low' and he kind of just cruised along pokerfaced.

The sensation eased up and Rin was gaining a bit more energy as the day continued but he wasn't sure if that was a good thing; the thoughts that overwhelmed him last night returning.

Which brings him back to now. His brows pinched as he propped his head in his hand, feeling irritation bubble within him.

He tried to ignore it; choosing to look around the room, out the window, at the teacher—anything that he hoped would grab his attention.

Yet nothing worked—

"I didn't know if you were okay."

His breathing hitched in surprise. Oh, Hell no.

"I needed to know if you were okay…"

His chest felt tight and his throat felt weird as he heard the crack in her voice.

"I'm so relieved…"

'Stop.' He begged quietly, his hand moving to hold his face. He squinted, glaring through his fingers as the feeling in his throat increased, tightening.

How pathetic is it that he can't even control his thoughts?

Control?

Everything. Was always out of his control.

Why was shit always out of his control?

Why?

Rin tried to clear his throat but he found it to be useless and he felt tiny beads of sweat form above his brow.

Screw this.

Rin raised his hand and when the teacher called on him, he asked to use the restroom. Heaven only knows what she saw when she looked at him because she stood quiet for a second before allowing him to leave. Rin closed his book and hurried out the classroom. Once he was out, he let out a gasp, holding the wall for support that he didn't receive from his shaky legs. He took a moment to gather himself, wiping a hand across his face and through his bangs. The cool air of the hallways helped soothe his flushed skin as he navigated through them.

As Rin entered the bathroom, he loosened his tie but the choking sensation persisted. Frustration growing, Rin fumbled with the garment before pulling it off entirely, as well as undoing the first couple of buttons of his shirt.

He felt confined.

The boy stripped off his uniform jacket; haphazardly draping it, along with his tie, over the sink near him. Rin undid a few more buttons. His face felt warm and his head was starting to ache.

He headed over to the sink and turned on the tap, setting the water to its coldest before scooping a generous amount into his hands. The feeling of the icy water hitting his skin was refreshing and brought immediate relief. Rin rubbed at his eyes vigorously before sliding his hands up into his hair, pushing his bangs back and out of his face. He gathered some more water in his hands and ran them through his hair, the droplets running along his neck and down his chest and spine causing goosebumps to rise on his skin from the chill.

He was tempted to just dunk his whole head under the sink but that would be a pain to deal with afterwards. Instead, Rin continued to splash his face as the tension he felt slowly eased bit by bit until he could think clearly once more.

A quiet exhale escaped him as he slowly dragged his hands down his face before reaching out to turn off the faucet.

"Ow, shit."

Rin froze at the sound of another's voice. He recognized that voice. Rin turned his head in the direction of the bathroom entrance just as a familiar head of pink hair entered his line of sight. Renzou jumped at the sight of Rin standing at the sink, staring back at him.

"Okumura!" He gasped, "Frikken Christ! You scared me!" He places a hand on his chest in emphasis as he lets out a breath and Rin takes notice that his other arm is in a sling.

"Your arm…" He trails as a memory comes back to him—

"…Konekomaru and Moriyama both have minor concussions and Shima had a dislocated shoulder…"

—and he blinks. "…is that from the demon attack a couple days ago?"

Renzou mimics the action in confusion. "Huh?" He looks at his arm in realization, "Oh! Oh, yeah, yeah! Um. I dislocated my shoulder."

Rin's brows furrow at Renzou's tone. He almost sounded…dazed?

"You okay man?" Renzou asked, "You look kind of roughed up."

Rin was made acutely aware of how he must look in that moment and he frowned. He placed a hand on his neck as he replied, "I'm fine."

Renzou blinked slowly before his expression scrunched up. "You're wet." He pointed out.

"Uh…" Rin squinted in bemusement, "…yeah, I am." Renzou suddenly looked as if he realized something and quickly headed over to the urinals. Rin assumed that was the end of the conversation and try not to let the disappointment creep into him as he began to straighten out his shirt and button it.

"Glad to see that you're okay though." Renzou said as he relieved himself, causing Rin to pause.

"Uh, no offense." Rin began, "But I thought you weren't talking to me?"

There was a moment of silence before soft laughter echoed throughout the bathroom. "Ah, that's right." Renzou zipped himself up and headed over to the sink. As he started tying his tie, Rin stared at Renzou for a moment. Something seemed….off about him.

"What?" Renzou questioned as he turned off the faucet, tossing Rin a confused look. "Is there something on my face?"

"Aren't you scared of me too?" Rin accused flatly, suspicion getting the better of him.

Renzou chuckled lightly, drying his hand on his pants, "Me? No, I wouldn't say that…" He tilted his head in consideration, "…I suppose it's more so the fact that I hate troublesome things."

Rin scoffed, "You hate troublesome things?" He slipped on his jacket, "Talk about lame."

Renzou let out an offended noise, "Excuse me? Did you just call me 'lame'?" He placed his hand on his hip. "I'll have you know that I am the epitome of cool, thank you very much."

The hearty laugh that left Rin, set off a spark of annoyance in the other boy. "What's so funny?" He griped.

Snickering Rin pointed at him, "You! Hate to break it to you, but dude, on my list of cool people you rank below Kuro."

Renzou grasped at his chest, letting out a scandalized breath. "How dare you?!"

"Wait." Rin snickered dryly, "On second thought, you don't even make the list."

"You're terrible!" Renzou cried, feeling wounded. Rin shrugged, "Can't help the truth."

Renzou paused, taking in the situation before he found himself letting out a laugh. One that grew in volume and intensity, bordering on hysteria. Rin stared at him warily as he shook his head.

"You make this so difficult." Renzou admitted, scratching his cheek. "But to be fair, I am pretty hopped up on pain meds right now…"

"What the hell are you talking about?" Rin asked. Renzou giggled.

"Here I was, trying not to get involved with you but I ended up talking to you like normal. I mean, you kind of make it hard not to talk to you, Okumura." Renzou admitted giving Rin a slanted grin. He let out another laugh, "In fact, trying to avoid talking to you has been way more troublesome." He shook his head again at the thought, pink locks swishing about. "Talk about irony."

Rin rose a brow in surprise. "Wow. Um, so you're gonna...talk to me?"

Renzou shrugged, wincing at the ache from his dislocated shoulder. He gave a pained smile, "Guess so." He gently massaged the joint.

"What about Suguro and Konekomaru?" Rin inquired. A quiet scoff escaped Renzou. "Those two need to relax. Everyone's way too serious." He muttered.

"Kind of hard to relax around someone you're afraid of or hate." Rin provided weakly, messing with his hair, setting it back to normal. He starts heading to the exit; he's been in here too long.

Renzou frowned, following. "They don't hate you Okumura."

Rin's brows furrowed slightly. "Could've fooled me." He replied quietly, "Suguro seems pretty hateful."

"Pfft." Renzou rolled his eyes, "Oh, he's just angry. But it's not like he doesn't care, ya know?"

He receives no reply and Renzou exhales softly. "He was pretty shaken after the whole demon incident ya know? He's been in a weird mood ever since."

Surprise overtakes Rin as he registers what was said. "What do you mean 'mood'?" He asked cautiously. Renzou shrugs helplessly before letting out a curse at his shoulder.

"Listen man, my class is this way. I'll see you around." Rin gives a small wave as Renzou goes down an adjacent hall and is left pondering. He heads back to his class and left with new thoughts festering through his mind.

*.*.*

She was looking out across the sea of students when she spotted him. He was sitting on the fountain wall, picking at his lunch.

Anxiety had her pulse pumping as she struggled to work up the courage to walk over to him.

'He looks lonely.' the thought made her brows furrow. Of course he did. Why wouldn't he? She hadn't properly spoken to him until yesterday, after all. Even then, she had been nothing short of a blubbering mess.

She started forward in his direction before pausing and turning heel.

He was alone. She left him alone. She left him alone and she didn't freaking realize.

She was so caught up in her own feelings that she didn't realize her friend was suffering.

She headed in his direction before turning back once more, twisting her fingers unsurely.

Friend?

Could she really call herself his friend?

She looked over in his direction, her expression pained as guilt stabbed through her.

"Don't cry for someone like me."

"I'm fine."

'Bullcrap.' She was mildly surprised by the hostility she felt as the memory from the day before resurfaced.

'You're not fine Rin.' Once more, Shiemi began to walk in his direction. She didn't stop this time and maneuvered her way through the crowd, her eyes trained on his figure. He didn't seem to notice her as she neared.

"Rin?"

He jumped slightly and his gaze snapped over to her in surprise.

"Shiemi." He said simply, his expression relaxing somewhat.

She shuffled unsurely. What should she say?

"Hi." She gave a nervous smile, wincing internally.

"Hi?" Rin stretched the word, his face scrunching in confusion, seeming caught off guard.

'Way to be awkward, Shiemi.' she chided herself mentally. She gestured to the fountain.

"Do you mind if I join you?" She asked.

Rin peered at her, his expression cautious. "Go ahead." He replied after a moment and she took a seat next to him. They sat in silence.

He coughed.

She kicked a pebble.

Tense, awkward silence.

He took a bite from his yakisoba.

She sniffled.

What was this?

Her nerves were fried as she fought to think of something to say. Unable to come up with anything, she snuk a glance at him. He looked...angry?

Why was that?

"What the hell is with this awkwardness?!" Rin exploded.

Shiemi jumped in startle as she looked at him. He looked frustrated as he chewed his food aggressively. She blinked rapidly as she processed what he said.

"Well its not like you tried to make it any better!" She snapped, surprisingly vexed and flustered. Rin's brows disappeared behind his bangs as he stared at her, taken aback.

"How was I supposed to?" He fired in response.

"I don't know!"

They were staring each other in the eye, expressions tense. Suddenly Rin let out a sigh, scratching his head roughly.

"Seriously, what's wrong with you?" He muttered. Shiemi pouted as she deflated. "Nothing." She murmured. She stared at him quietly for a moment.

"I'm just...you..." she struggled for words. "…You seem upset Rin." she spoke gently, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

He paused. Then he set his sandwich in his lap as he gave her a confused smile.

"What are you talking about?" He laughed lightly, his voice wavering a bit. "I'm alright."

"I mean…" Shiemi trailed as the memory from the day before came once again.

"Are you sure?"

He seemed to pause, not replying right away. She chewed her bottom lip gently as she waited but it seemed like he wasn't going to speak as he fiddled with the wrapping of his sandwich. She wrung her hands out anxiously.

"Rin?" She inquired quietly, her voice failing.

"I…" Rin paused as his brows pinched. He was staring out over the campus now.

"...I am upset…" he admitted stiffly. "...I'm upset over a couple of things." His leg began bouncing as he spoke. "But it's nothing major— I just need to f-fix it. Then everything will be okay."

Shiemi frowned in concern. "Fix what?"

"What I messed up." Rin muttered.

She wanted to press. She really did. But the look in his eyes stopped her from doing so. It was a strange look. So instead, she asked how his day was. Rin looked grateful for the topic change and slowly began to ease up as he explained and for the rest of the break they stuck to light chatter.

*.*.*

"Cancelled?"

Rin blinked. His light colored irises shrinking, eyes wide with surprise.

"That's what I said." Izumo replied with a flat look.

His school day had just finished and Rin had been on his way to cram school when he noticed the herd of students surrounding the entry way. In his confusion, Rin had tried to see what was going on but he eventually asked one of the students nearby—whom happened to be Izumo.

Apparently Cram school was cancelled today.

"Why?" He questioned. Izumo crossed her arms loosely as she tilted her head to one side.

"Haven't you heard?" She inquired lightly, "There's a demon loose on campus and all Exorcists are on the lookout. I suppose that includes the Exorcists that teach Cram School."

"Demon?" This was news to him. "When did a demon get loose?"

Izumo squinted at him before her expression relaxed in realization. "Around the time you were unconscious. It attacked Shura."

"Woah." He gasped, "Is she okay?"

Izumo nodded and turned to the crowed, "They're letting out an official notice, I think, because it was so sudden that Cram school was cancelled."

A dark brow rose, "How do you know all this then?" He asked innocently.

Izumo shrugged, "I ran into Mr. Okumura not too long ago and he gave me a heads up."

Well, that makes sense. With Yukio being an Exorcist/their teacher and all.

Rin let out a sigh. Well who was he to complain? Today had been exhausting and he was ready to crash. Popping his spine, Rin stretched and lugged his bag over his shoulder.

"Free afternoon?" He said lightly, "Guess I'm heading back to the dorms. See you tomorrow Eyebrows." He smirked as red colored the small girl's cheeks, her eyes widening, before he turned about and begun to stroll away listening to her sputter.

From the corner of his eye, Rin saw a familiar face. Or rather, three familiar faces. He looked over in the direction and saw the Kyoto trio speaking amongst themselves. Suddenly, Ryuji's gaze caught his own and Rin froze. Apparently, Ryuji did something similar because Renzou and Miwa followed his gaze.

Rin swallowed audibly before lifting his hand, giving a wave as his lips curled at the corners in a small grin. He didn't stick around to see their reactions and turned his eyes forward once more, a new purpose in his walk. The feeling of his heart beating soundly in his chest spurred Rin on, and he felt fried.

He did it.

Okay.

Alright.

Not too bad.

He tried to hold onto the silver lining but the feeling of doubt creeped up on him unexpectedly and he was torn between the desire to have seen their reaction and the decision to just keep walking. He let out an unsteady breath.

Lord.

Lordy lord.

Today was just an emotional rollercoaster wasn't it?

He pursed his lips and continued on until the dormitory was in his sight. He shuffled in through the front entrance and let out a sigh once he was inside; leaning against the doors as relief pooled out of him.

Yukio should be home late if he was really held up by all this Exorcist stuff so that gave Rin the entire building to himself for who-knows-how long.

Rin pushed himself off the doors and began his journey upstairs. Once he gets upstairs, however, he stopped in his tracks.

A prickling feeling shot up his spine and a sense of dread pooled in the pit of his stomach. A whisper. Right up to his ear, in a quiet, haunting tone. His blue eyes darted around, a wild look in them. What was that?

The hairs on his body stood as goosebumps formed; the temperature seeming to plummet where he stood. He scanned the area. What was that?!

More noises. A strange, inhuman groan. Rin whipped around but found no one there. He took a step back in surprise at the fog that was steadily gathering at his feet.

"What the?"

The fog was quickly growing, rising up to his knees. His instincts were screaming at him to get away immediately and without hesitation, Rin broke out into a sprint down the hallway. The spot where he stood froze over in a layer of ice. Rin darted down multiple halls, trying to get away but the fog was close on his heels. It was as if it was coming from every direction! Panic was swelling within him and he ran up a staircase. However he was stopped before he could reach the top by the fog as it cut around him, trapping him.

As Rin panted, he felt a biting cold sensation on his shoulders, akin to hands grabbing him. His eyes widened as it traveled down his torso. "Don't touch me!" He screamed as he burst into flames; the fire gently lapping at his body, basking him in its familiar warmth. The fog retreated from around him and he scampered to the top of the stairs, looking around and trying to spot his assailant.

'A demon?' Rin pondered as he looked around. 'Just what-' A startle noise left him as stepped back, cold enveloping his face. His flames flickered, before disappearing. His footing slipped and Rin gasped as the floor beneath him disappeared.

The air was knocked from his lungs as his back made contact with the ground, stunning him. Pain surfaced in his chest and Rin panicked. He couldn't breathe—

He rolled over onto his hands and knees, coughing and gasping as he greedily sucked in the much needed oxygen. There was a pounding in his skull and the pain in his chest—it wouldn't go away—

An inhuman groan cut through the ringing in his ears. Rin looked up and his eyes widened as fear took hold of him.

Down the hall, stood a tall malformed being, perched on all fours. It's faceless head peering his way, with a mouth full of teeth and saliva. It crawled slowly, as a lion would while hunting its prey.

Quaking, Rin scrambled to get up. He looked around wildly, searching for his goddamn sword—

There!

It was caught between the banister of the stair rail and he ran over to it. He heard the snarl the demon let out before the pounding sound of its footsteps as it barreled towards him. He pulled the sword free and just managed to turn around to block the attack of the demon, yet the force of the tackle threw him onto his back and he gasped in pain. Through the dots gathering in his vision, he struggled to keep the demon at distance with the sword as barricade.

Being this close was way more terrifying as he got a look at the demon's mouth up close and personal. He blanched at the rows of teeth as spit drooled onto his face and chest.

"Holy shit!" He cried out as he held off a snap from those jaws. His heart was pounding and his breathing was erratic and panicked as the blood rushed to his ears. Summoning all the strength he could, he shove the demon off of him and watched as it skid back some yards, crashing into a wall. Rin quickly pushed himself to his feet, vertigo making him almost topple over once more.

He steadied himself on the sword, gasping, keeping his eyes trained on the demon as it recovered. It sprinted at him and this time, Rin was ready for it as he ducked to the side. He stumbled before bracing himself for a third attack and swung his sword at the demon, hitting it across the face. If only he had time to unsheathe it—

He was tackled again. This time, the force of it smashed them through the wall he stood against and he felt winded once more. Debris and dust spread through the air and he struggled to breathe. He blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision and was faced with those monstrous jaws.

He was frozen, his sword lost and he was pinned.

It was then suddenly, that he felt an ice cold sensation along his backside, making him freeze in place. It traveled up his neck before it grazed the shell of his ear. A voice sounded. It was the same voice from before; quiet whisper that invoked a deep fear within him.

'Why are you here?'

His eyes widened tremendously as the feeling in his muscles weakened, the icy sensation enveloping them. Rin sagged to the floor as his arms gave out. He couldn't focus, his mind felt cloudy.

'Why?'

Suddenly the demon leaned back and Rin watched in horror as its physical form began to morph and change, bone structure rearranging and shifting. Skin losing its ashen look and appearing more colored and textured, teeth retracting and moving as its jaw became smaller. More…human. Sharp and defined, accompanied by full cheeks and pale lips. A strong nose formed and thick brows grew over a pair of light blue eyes with vertical slits for pupils, tinted red. Dark locks fell over their forehead and framed their face and long pointed ears that sprouted from the sides of their head.

He couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Eyes identical to his own stared back at him apathetically. Rin forgot how to breathe.

It was him.

Pinning him to the ground was a carbon copy of himself.

"What the fuck?" He whispered in terror. The demon sat back on it's (his?) haunches, observing it's new form with interest. Rin's limbs felt like cold dead weight, much to his frustration, and he found that he could barely lift a finger. It pissed him off impossibly so, as the demon sat there straddling him, looking at features that weren't even theirs.

"Get off." He tried to demand, though his voice was weak and it came out more like a plea instead. "Get off of me! Get off and take off my fucking face!"

Blue eyes looked down at him and Rin was beyond creeped out. He could see fangs poking out from behind it's lips as it parted them. Suddenly, it leaned forward and Rin flinched.

Something touched his cheek and he realized, much to his alarm, that it was a god damn hand.

Rin couldn't help the tremors wracking through his body at the simple action. This…this thing had him overpowered, had him pinned, had his face. Just what the hell did it plan to do now?

It's thumb stroked along his face and the squeak that left him was weak and startled. Was it possible to be dizzy with fear? Because Rin could feel himself teetering on the edge of being sick.

'Why?'

Wait…wait?

Rin blinked to clear his head as a chill shot through him once more at the voice and he could see something change in the demon's gaze. What?

"RIN!"

The sound of his name rang through his ears and the demon's head snapped up, eyes narrowing and a snarl leaving it's throat as it bared it's teeth. A shot rang out through the air and the demon jumped off from him. As it scurried further away, Rin watched as its appearance reverted back to it's normal grotesque state. Multiple gunshots were fired as the demon dodged them before retreating.

Rin was faintly aware of the sounds of others' voices through the ringing in his ears—orders being called and multiple footsteps charging along the floor. Rin felt the adrenaline leaving him, exhaustion overtaking him and his eyes slid shut as he shivered. He felt drained.

"Rin!"

Suddenly it was if the ice began to thaw out as warmth steadily returned. The cold was nothing more than a cool feeling grazing the surface of his skin now as he felt his body being shaken roughly. It forcefully pulled him into awareness; the action of blinking his eyes felt heavy and slow as if awakening from a deep slumber. A blurred figure appeared in his line of vision that slowly came into focus to reveal the sight of his brother. Yukio was staring down at him with a look of distraught, panic clear in his aqua eyes.

"Rin! Rin can you hear me? Please answer!"

"Yukio?" The question came out as a soft murmur, his voice barely above the volume of a whisper. The relief on Yukio's face was immediate, his eyes closing as he let out a shaky breath. Confusion bloomed within Rin as he tried to sit up.

"What – ah – what're you doing here?" He was sore right now in multiple areas and he was sure he would feel it in full effect later.

Yukio assisted him in sitting up. "Shura, she – she was alerted that you used your flames. She called in some reinforcements. What happened here?"

"Demon." He groaned out as he leaned into Yukio, his body aching. "Demon." He repeated dazed.

"Stay awake Rin. Are you hurt?"

Rin buried his face into Yukio's shoulder, tucking his head under his chin. He felt Yukio tense in response. Images of the demon's transformation flashed across his mind's eye and he flinched.

"Is he okay?" Shura.

"I–I don't know." Yukio. "He hasn't responded yet but he seems pretty banged up."

"Hey." Shura. Much closer. "Rin? Are you okay? Rin!"

Rin let out a moan, "Gimme a minute. Head hurts." Despite saying this, he pulled away from Yukio as he peeled his eyes open. Shura was kneeling down next to them with hard eyes, expression worried.

"Are you with us?" Shura questioned gently. He gave a quiet confirmation. He jumped as he heard gunshots echo in the distance and looked around frantically.

It was a mess.

Debris and concrete were everywhere and the hole in the wall was enormous. But Rin ignored that in favor of looking for his sword.

"Sword." He gasped out. "My sword?!"

Shura's eyes widened, "Where is it?"

Rin gripped his chest as he coughed, "Dropped it after I was smashed through the wall." He looked around again, "Over there." He pointed over by the stairs on the other side of the hole. Shura went to fetch it and returned it to him.

"The d-demon…" He stammered, clutching the sword (still in its case, thank god), "…it's got – it had – my f-face."

"What?" Shura said.

"What do you mean?" Yukio asked, his voice tense.

"It changed and looked like me!" Rin hissed. "What the hell is going on?"

His question went unanswered as Shura swore and stood up. "Yukio, take him to Mephisto. I'm gonna help the others try to catch that thing."

"Got it."

As Yukio helped him stand, Rin saw black creep along the edges of his vision and he sagged against his brother.

"Sorry." He muttered, "Sorry. I'm really out of it."

"You look like you've seen better days." Yukio said lowly as he helped Rin shuffle along. "Are you hurt?"

"Not hurt exactly…" Rin started, "…just really sore and achy from getting my ass kicked." He shivered. "I also feel…drained."

"I can imagine why." Came the reply. Rin shook his head.

"N-No. It's different from usual. Like, the energy has been sapped right out of me, kind of."

"What? Was the demon capable of absorbing energy?"

"Hell if I know." Rin muttered, "Will you tell me what's going on?"

Yukio frowned, "Well. I'm not too clear on the matter, myself." They stopped at a door and Yukio pulled out his dimension key. He unlocked it and they stepped through. Rin looked around and noticed they were now in the administration wing of the school.

"A demon slipped through the barrier a couple days ago and Exorcists have been ordered to find it and contain it. We have no idea what it is and the only one who has gotten a close look at it was Shura but based on her description, we have no files regarding them." Yukio explained, his tone tight with irritation.

"That's weird." Rin spoke.

"To be frank, it's kind of pissing me off how we're running in blind like this." Rin snorted lightly in response. He pulled himself from Yukio's hold. "I think I can walk on my own now." He took a few test steps.

Yukio stared warily before nodding and they continued their journey until they found themselves standing in front of the doors to Mephisto's office. Yukio knocked.

"Come in."

They entered and were greeted with the sight of Mephisto sitting at his desk, filling out forms. He looked up and his lips curled into a smirk once he saw them.

"Ah~" He mused, resting his chin in a gloved palm. "Okumura brothers. To what do I owe this visit?"

Hello dear readers.

I am terribly sorry for the long wait. These past months have been an emotional rollercoaster for me, and I honestly just needed some time to myself to work things out.

I've also been working on this chapter for quite some time actually but it never felt right and I ended up scrapping many ideas as result. But I've developed a flow and now have an idea on where this story is going.

Also, thank you? Like, really?

The amount of attention "Break Down" has received blows my freaking mind and I continued to flush in awe as I receive a notification that someone has favorite, followed, or reviewed/commented on this story. Seriously guys, thank you. I've been out of the writing game for some years and lacked confidence in my skills (and I still do since I'm rusty af) when I first posted this, but the amount of positive feedback this has received spurs me on. So once again, thank you to everyone who has read this. I truly and honestly mean that with every fiber of my being.

Also, as a little easter egg, I would like to know if any of you guys can guess what the species/name of the demon is (it's quite actually a thing that exists, though they aren't really demons irl) before the next chapter, based on the clues I have given throughout this one. If you have an idea, please list it in your comment/review down below. Just so you guys aren't completely bored while waiting for the next chapter.

Next chapter coming out as soon I can!