Chapter Text
He had just wanted to help damnit. He had only tried to kill the demon possessing Konekomaru, not the actual Konekomaru. Alas, no one trusted him anymore, not after the whole disaster with Amaimon. They thought he was dangerous now. A dangerous, rabid monster. A demon.
He had only wanted to protect them. He was always trying to protect them, but of course everyone was afraid of him now. His intentions, however good they might have been, were inconsequential. The only things anyone paid attention to these days were his fangs, his tail, his horns. Demon, they whispered. Demon, demon, demon.
Everyone was scared of him now, so Rin just gave up.
The teachers disliked him, so he stopped showing up to class.
Shura looked at him with such disappointment that it made his chest ache. Not fear at least, they both knew she could beat his ass without breaking a sweat, but the distrust in her gaze was apparent. She watched him like she expected him to loose control at any moment. He stopped showing up to train with her too.
Yukio only spared the occasional glance at his twin, but even that was enough to convey the message.
"I did not expect anything more from you, yet you have still managed to disappoint me."
That stung even more than simple disappointment would have. Maybe that was the whole point.
The exwhires were scared of him, that was plain to see, maybe even terrified. They were always looking at him anxiously, always expecting him to attack. Their stares made his skin crawl. In the end he opted to avoid them.
He had tried to be positive at first, he really had. Loneliness had been a constant companion when he was growing up, especially after Yukio suddenly matured and started spending most of his time with father Fujimoto. This wasn't any different. Only it was completely different and he knew it. Now, the memories of friendship and camaraderie were fresh in his mind. His friends had given him what he had been craving all his life and then abruptly took it away.
He was too aware of the hole they had left behind. The once familiar loneliness was now choking him, draining him, making all of his attempts at happy thoughts useless. Eventually, he gave up on the hope that they would return. It was simply easier that way.