Work Text:
“I would like everyone to begin memorizing the first four verses of Psalms. Please be ready to be tested over them by this Friday.” Yukio said.
Bon snorted. “Okumura? Learn an aria? That idiot couldn’t learn four words, and he definitely couldn’t learn four verses.”
“Oi! Don’t talk crap, you jerk! I bet I could learn the first ten lines!” Rin shouted.
“Bullshit! You couldn’t learn that in a month!”
“What? You scared I’ll memorize it faster?”
“Like hell you will!”
Yukio sighed as he watched the two boys argue. He was fairly certain Rin couldn’t memorize the aria, and he hadn’t been expecting him to. Making Rin read and speak in front of the class would be cruel and unusual punishment as it stood; his dyslexia often made it too hard and the added pressure of classmates made it twice as difficult. Yet, Yukio decided to stir the pot. Maybe a little healthy competition would make Rin more confident in his ability to read and memorize material.
“That’s enough.” Yukio said.
Bon dropped Rin from the chokehold he had him in and trudged back to his desk. Rin rubbed his throat as he settled into his own seat beside Shiemi, who smiled at him.
“Normally, I wouldn’t encourage this behavior. Exorcists must work as a team, building each other up and tackling problems together. However, other exorcists are also your rivals. They are supposed to push you to overcome obstacles. So, in order for you two,” Yukio gestured to Bon and Rin, “to become better, I am giving you a challenge.”
“Ah, cool! Let’s do it!” Rin exclaimed, eyes wide.
Yukio smiled. “You will both learn the first ten lines of the aria. Whoever can present it correctly Friday will have bragging rights indefinitely.”
Rin nodded excitedly, eyes shining. He was going to win. Maybe if learned this chant, he could learn more. He could be an Aria, like Shiro. How cool would that be?
****
As soon as he got back to the dorm, Rin promptly hit the books. Yukio believed he might be able to memorize an aria better than Bon. How could he not be motivated? He stared at the page, trying to make the words stick.
It was only a moment later that they began to swim and twirl, becoming unintelligible gibberish.
Rin growled. This wasn’t fair! Everyone else in the class was good with weapons and smart. They could read without a problem and remember information.
No! Don’t get mad, it only makes it worse. If you calm down, the words won’t get so messy, Rin thought, you can do this. Yukio thinks so. And you need to shove it in Bon’s dumb smug face. . Taking a few deep breaths, Rin began trying to make sense of the words again.
****
“Man, Bon, you're really into this, huh?” Shima teased.
Bon glared at Shima for a moment from the corner of his eye. “I’m going to beat Okumura by a landslide.”
“Okumura-kun has a lot of trouble with this kind of thing. You could learn that by tomorrow. There’s no reason to be worried.” Konekomaru said.
“I’m not gonna underestimate him. He’s an opponent. I can’t be lazy.”
“Okumura-kun can barely read.”
Bon turned to Konekomaru, frowning. “Don’t make fun of him for that.”
“I-I wasn’t. Sorry.”
Bon closed his book. “It’s fine. I’m going to go to the library to study for a while. I want to have half of it memorized by tonight.”
Shima and Konekomaru watched Bon leaved, sharing a look of confusion. Shima was the first to shrug. Bon had always been rather competitive. Winning was likely the only thing on his mind right now.
****
For the rest of the week, everything was tense. Bon could be seen around campus muttering to himself and scribbling notes, avoiding all contact that might interfere with his memorization. Rin, on the other hand, had his nose buried in a book, his fingers moving along lines of text that were beneath a sheet of transparent blue plastic. When Shiemi had asked him about the plastic, Rin cheerfully said that it made the words a bit easier to read. That was about as much as anyone got out of him the entire week.
When Friday finally rolled around, the showdown was looming like an impending storm. Everyone was awaiting Bon’s inevitable victory. Konekomaru had heard him recite verses one through fifteen without aid the night before. There was no way he would lose.
Yukio had everyone else recite the assigned verses first. It was painstaking; no one cared about memorizing it for themselves. All the attention was focused on Rin and Bon’s battle.
“Let me go first, Yukio!” Rin shouted.
“You're pretty upbeat for someone who’s never been able to read out of a book.” Kamiki said.
Rin’s smile faltered at the jab, but he quickly put it back in place. He had worked hard. He deserved to have his moment, didn’t he? Yukio gave a soft smile.
“Of course, Rin. Is that okay with you, Suguro?” Yukio asked.
Bon simply nodded. Yukio nodded at Rin. Standing tall, Rin began to speak.
“Blessed is the one how, I mean, who, does not wake...uhm, walk...in pets - wait, no, step - with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners kate...no, take, I - shit!” Rin snapped.
Kamiki snickered from her seat. Rin couldn’t even get through one verse. Yukio shot her a look, but it didn’t get through. She continued to laugh. Rin felt his cheeks heat up, his eyes stinging. He wouldn’t cry. He knew better. He had done this to himself.
“Oi! Shut up, Kamiki! Okumura did a good job!” Bon growled.
“I could barely understand him. You can’t use a broken aria.” Kamiki argued.
“That ain’t his fault!”
“If he can’t even memorize one line, why should he be an exorcist?”
The words were enough. Rin grabbed his sword and walked out of the room. Kamiki was right. What right did he, an idiot who could barely read or spell, have?
“Rin! Come back here!” Yukio called.
“Let him go! He shouldn’t even be here!” Kamiki called.
“Shut up!” Bon yelled, “We aren’t done, Okumura! I didn’t give you all that help just to watch you quit! How are we going to defeat Satan if you walk away?”
Rin felt a smile tug at his cheeks. He hadn’t expected Bon to admit that he had given him help while studying the aria. He turned to look at Bon, seeing the embarrassed look on his face. It seemed that he hadn’t meant to admit it either.
“Get your ass back in here. I need to recite it and beat you.” Bon mumbled.
“Only this time! I’ll win next time!” Rin promised.
Bon smirked. “In your dreams, Okumura.”