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Things happen in the field, it’s just the way it is when you’re doing something as dangerous as the Exorcists do. Accidents happen, and they’re largely unavoidable. You can do everything right and still get hurt.
Though, in hindsight, sending a group of students and their student-aged teacher to deal with something this huge was a bad idea. Not that anyone would come out and say that.
They’re on a mission, one that is supposed to be easy, because it’s Yukio and the Exwires. Unfortunately, it’s quickly apparent that it will not be easy. The demon is huge, at least seven feet tall and built like a sumo wrestler. Yukio tries not to let his worry show, schooling his expression to the best of his ability.
“Alright, we need to be careful. Don’t get too close, those-” He gestures to its massive claws. “Are going to slice right through your- Rin!” Of course it would be Rin to rush ahead without listening. Yukio’s attention is instantly drawn to him, because Rin doesn’t understand what he’s getting himself into. Yukio starts running.
And good thing he does, because if he hadn’t he wouldn’t have been there to shove Rin out of the way of one of those claws as it swipes at him. The long nail goes through Yukio’s abdomen, deep, like it’s merely paper. The force of it throws him several feet away. Hitting the ground knocks the wind out of him.
Briefly, he thinks, he blacks out, and when he wakes up he can’t make himself roll over. Everything feels so heavy, and his vision is still spinning. Hus has to get up, though. The Exwires still need his help. He’s the most advanced person here, and he is still their teacher.
The wound in his side spits blood between his fingers as he stands, and he nearly collapses forward.
“ Gah,” he says, pain briefly making his vision go white. He sees the demon ahead of him, being held back by Suguro and Rin. He raises his pistol, fighting his shaking hands as best he can. His shots are messy, off center and thus less effective, but he manages to avoid hitting any of his students. The demon goes down with a thud.
His strength ends exactly here, his gun dropping from his hand as his knees buckle. It really speaks to how bad the wound is that he can’t keep himself on his feet for more than a few seconds. It’s all he can do to hold himself up and force himself to roll onto his back. His grip weakens around the injury. The snow is cold and wet beneath him. Shock is a very real concern.
“Yukio!” Rin shouts from somewhere he can’t see. He hears his brother’s hasty footfalls crunching through the snow.
“C-call,” Yukio stutters, fumbling to retrieve his phone from his pocket with his slick, red fingers. His loose grip fails him, and the phone falls to his chest. He feels blood in the back of his throat, indicative of an internal injury. That isn’t good at all.
“Hey, Yukio.” Rin leans into his view, eyes wide with concern. “What do we do?” If he were in any less pain, Yukio would roll his eyes.
“Ph- ha- one,” Yukio says, wincing audibly when someone presses on his wound. “ Ah!” He can’t help crying out as they put more pressure. “Call- help.” Rin’s mouth makes an ‘o’ shape as he grabs Yukio’s phone, unlocking it entirely too quickly. Yukio should probably set a different password.
“Yukio, stay awake,” Shiemi orders. It’s always a little funny to watch her try to be assertive, but it’s especially amusing now, what with the furrow of her brow and the tears beading along her waterline. Or, maybe not funny. “Just keep your eyes open.” He knows this already. He’s a doctor, for goodness’ sake.
“Mm-huh,” he agrees. Rin is talking frantically to someone on the phone. He sounds angry but Yukio can’t really make out the words.
Yukio knows better, he does, but keeping his eyes open is getting hard. He’s so cold, and so tired, and he knows that being asleep is less painful than being awake. When his eyes slip shut and do not open, he doesn’t fight very hard.
“We need an ambulance now!” Rin shouts into the phone. He can’t remember the last time, if ever, he’s felt such a deep, rending terror like this. Yukio’s blood is sinking into the snow, warm enough to melt it, and his eyes haven’t opened since they closed a moment ago. “Hurry!” He knows they’re on their way, they told him so, but Yukio is running out of time very quickly. He’s cold, and Rin can’t help but think of Yukio’s namesake.
If Yukio dies here, now, he’ll be gone. It’s a stupid, irrational hope that floods through Rin, the idea that if they get here quickly enough, Yukio will be saved. His chest is hardly moving, breath soft, hardly enough to fog in the cold air.
“Yukio!” Shiemi cries, looking as terrified as Rin feels. She pats Yukio’s face frantically, tears from her eyes rolling down his cheeks. Suguro, positioned at Yukio’s side, hands held against the injury and turning red because of it, looks more scared than Rin’s seen him look before.
Thankfully, Yukio doesn’t stop breathing before the paramedics get there. They shout orders at all the kids, pushing them out of the way with an urgency that Rin appreciates.
It’s a blur from there, people moving, people shouting, Yukio being whisked away with an Oxygen mask over his face. They don’t let Rin into the ambulance, they said they need space, they tell him.
Yukio nearly dies. His heart stops and he nearly dies on the way to the hospital. But he survives, because for as weak as Rin has always seen him to be, Yukio is strong and he is a fighter. He fights and he pulls through. He won’t be throwing himself into a fight for a long time, but he’ll be ok.
The Exwires all crowd around him in his hospital bed, shouting about how glad they are he’s ok. Their enthusiasm puts a deep frown on Yukio’s face, which puts a smile on Rin’s. Maybe, just maybe, he should stop underestimating his little brother.
He won’t, but maybe he should.