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"Rin-kun, again?"
Yukio picked up his pace at the sound of their teacher's voice. Opening the door to the classroom, his lips twisted into a tight frown at the sight of Rin standing in front of a shattered vase. It was the one that was usually on their teacher's desk, he recognized.
Aside from Rin and their teacher, the classroom was completely empty.
"Sorry, sorry," Rin apologized, "-it wasn't on purpose. My elbow bumped into it."
Their teacher frowned at him, before heaving a long sigh. "Alright. Just get a broom and clean it up."
Yukio's frown deepened as he stepped into the classroom. Rin caught his eye with a faint grin, waving at him before he went to fetch the broom from the supply closet in the back. Their teacher turned towards him, greeting him with a smile.
"Oh, Yukio-kun," she said, "-what is it?"
Yukio's eyes darted towards the broken vase, which Rin had already begun to sweep up. He bit his lip, for a moment entertaining the idea of asking her if she'd actually seen Rin break it... but after a moment of consideration, he decided against it.
Rin had already owned up to it, and there was no one else here. He couldn't imagine Akiho-sensei breaking the vase herself.
...things just tended to break around Rin sometimes anyways.
"Hino-sensei asked me to give these to you," he said instead, offering her the printouts he was carrying, "-he said they're for the assembly next week."
"Thank you, Yukio-kun," Akiho praised him, "-you're such a good kid."
The smile he gave her was forced, but she didn't seem to realize that. Listening to their teacher praise him while scolding Rin in almost the same breath never ceased to annoy him. Even the ones who tried to act like they didn't play favorites couldn't help but make it clear that they definitely had one.
...but it never bothered Rin, so he tried not to make a big deal out of it.
"Akiho-sensei! I'm all done!"
Akiho turned on her heel, her smile much more faint. She was not one of the teachers who tried to pretend she didn't play favorites- but she was far from the worst. At least she'd believed Rin when he'd said it hadn't been on purpose.
...he couldn't say the same for all of them.
"Good," Akiho nodded, "-throw it out for me, okay?"
"I'll help you, nii-san." Yukio offered.
"Nah, it's fine," Rin said, "-I can manage on my own. Thanks, though!"
Yukio frowned as Rin tied up the trash bag and ducked out of the classroom. Akiho sighed as he left- then abruptly realized he was still here, and forced a fake smile of her own onto her face. Yukio just nodded at her and took that as his cue to leave.
"Oh," he heard her remark as he left, "-who opened this window...?"
Shutting the classroom door behind him, Yukio made his way down the hall. Rin had said he didn't need his help, but he still found himself making his way towards the dumpster anyways. Rin had just chucked the bag inside when he arrived, and greeted him with a friendly wave.
"Yo! Thought you'd go to the library or something."
"I was planning to," Yukio smiled, "-but I got stopped by Hino-sensei on the way there."
He could have just said no when he'd asked for help, he supposed- but above all else, he needed to be a good student. A good student didn't refuse a teacher when they asked for their help, even if it wasn't one of their own.
It was fine. There was still plenty of time left until recess ended.
"What about you, nii-san?" Yukio asked. "What were you doing back in the classroom?"
"Me?" Rin blinked. "I, uh... forgot something. Yeah!"
Rin nodded, his grin particularly unconvincing. Yukio just arched a brow before he sighed- every once in awhile, his brother got like this. He'd leave out details and sometimes outright lie, but there was never any malice behind it. If he was being honest, Rin could be a little odd- when he was younger, he had a tendency to talk to things that weren't there.
He didn't do that anymore, but the reputation had stuck.
He hated it. Rin was a little weird, but if they just gave him a chance...
"Don't worry though," Rin quickly said, "-I found it! Oh right! Can I come with you to the library? I want to finish reading that manga from the other day!"
Yukio just cracked a genuine smile. "Sure. I don't mind."
"Yes!" Rin cheered. "C'mon!"
He let his twin grab him by the wrist and drag him down the hall to the library. A passing teacher scolded them for running, which Rin blatantly ignored- even as Yukio had to fight the urge to grind in his heels to stop him. It was fine- as long as he was being pulled along by Rin, no one would think he was the one misbehaving.
(...he envied Rin, sometimes. He didn't have to try so hard to be perfect.)
He heard the commotion before they turned the corner.
With a frown, Yukio exchanged a glance with Rin- who just shrugged his shoulders. All of their classmates were gathered outside of the classroom- and their teacher was with them. They were all staring inside and whispering to themselves-
-and he didn't miss the way some of them turned to glance at Rin as they approached.
"It was probably him, right? He broke Akiho-sensei's vase yesterday."
"Yeah, but..."
Yukio had to bite down on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything, as Rin just peered into the classroom. He joined him, briefly taken aback by what he saw. Their desks had all been turned over- it was like a small storm had blown through the classroom.
"Whoa!" Rin exclaimed. "Everything's flipped over, haha!"
Yukio swore he heard someone behind him click their tongue- but when he looked to see who it was, they'd already turned away. His frown deepened, glancing up at their teacher- and something in his gut twisted when he realized she was looking at Rin too.
...sure, they lived close enough to the school that he could have snuck over here, but she couldn't honestly think Rin would do something like this, could she?
Akiho caught his gaze and smiled at him, clapping her hands and stepping forward. "Okay, everyone. Let's all put the classroom back together, okay?"
That got her a half hearted chorus of agreement. Yukio paired with Rin, since it didn't seem anyone else wanted to. They flipped the desks back over together- even though it was something Yukio could manage alone. He'd just... rather not have people find out about his strength, if he could help it.
He definitely wouldn't be playing any school sports.
(It was fine. He preferred indoor activities anyways. Rin was the outdoors type- even when his health had been a lot worse, he'd still spend all his free time outside.)
"Phew!" Rin wiped some sweat from his brow. "That's a workout first thing in the morning, huh?"
Yukio laughed. "You sound like Kyodo-san, nii-san."
"Good!" Rin beamed. "That was my imperial of him."
"Impression," Yukio corrected, "-and it wasn't very good. You need to make a voice to go along with it, I think."
"Really?" Rin tilted his head. "Mm, that sounds hard."
Yukio chuckled to himself as Rin did his best to imitate the priest in question. He wasn't very good at it at all- but that didn't stop him from giving the other priests a whirl while he was at it. He only stopped when their teacher cleared her throat and made it clear that class was starting, so they needed to be quiet.
Yukio ducked his head, a little ashamed at needing to be lectured.
(Rin just grinned, unbothered as always.)
"Did you hear?"
Yukio bit his lip, and forced himself to ignore the whispering. These past few days there had been all sorts of strange incidents happening around the school- and usually, Rin was always somewhere nearby when they took place. Thus far, nobody had outright blamed him for the incidents, but...
...they sure did like whispering about it.
"Something wrong?"
Yukio flinched, glancing up at Rin. He just beamed at him- completely ignoring the giggling pair whispering behind them. There was a part of Yukio that wanted to pivot on his heel and make them shut up- but he fought back the urge, and the rising tide of anger it threatened to bring with it.
Getting angry was the last thing he needed to do.
(He knew too well what his temper was like.)
"No," Yukio shook his head, "-nothing."
"You sure?" Rin tilted his head. "You can tell your nii-chan anything, you know!"
Yukio cracked a smile, but it was one that didn't quite reach his eyes. He could tell Rin a lot of things, but there were some things he just had to keep to himself.
"Yeah," Yukio nodded, "-if anything comes up, I'll be sure to."
Rin just grinned, chattering away about the cooking lessons father had started giving him instead. He'd started out trying to teach the both of them- but if he was being honest, Yukio didn't think he liked cooking all that much. There was just too much variance.
(What did golden brown even mean?)
Rin had gotten really into them, though- which seemed to take their father by surprise. But the man had just shrugged and rolled with it. He'd given up on trying to coax him to join them at some point- not that he particularly minded.
"Dad says he's letting me help make dinner tonight!" Rin said. "What do you want? Fish hamburger steak? That's your favorite, right?"
"Yeah," Yukio said, "-that sounds good. But can you really make it, nii-san?"
"I can!" Rin said, then added, "...probably!"
Yukio laughed in spite of himself- which just made Rin's grin all the wider. In response, he felt his own smile turn far more genuine- forgetting entirely about the rumors.
It was fine. They would catch whoever was actually pulling the pranks soon, right? When they did, Rin's name would be cleared.
(He doubted anyone would apologize, though.)
"Sorry, Yukio! I left something in the classroom!"
Glancing over his shoulder at Rin with a frown, he opened his mouth to say something- but Rin was already running back towards the school building before he even got the chance. For a moment Yukio just stood there- before he heaved a long sigh.
Fine. He'd just find them both seats, he guessed.
Following the rest of their class into the auditorium, he took one of the seats on the end- making sure to leave a space next to him for Rin. Their teacher noticed, but she just sighed when he told her that Rin had forgotten something in the classroom.
He'd be back soon. He was sure of it.
...except Rin never turned up to the assembly.
Yukio frowned, furrowing his brow. Had he decided to skip it? He could have at least told him, instead of making up an excuse. He didn't mind covering for him... even if it wasn't really what a good student would do. It was what a good brother would do, which was usually a little easier for him to manage.
(He just wanted to be good, not...)
It was Hino-sensei who came to collect their class- not their own teacher. Yukio frowned a little at that. He'd noticed her duck out of the auditorium a few minutes ago with another teacher and the vice-principal. He hadn't thought anything of it at the time, but...
"Whoa, look at that!"
Yukio blinked, looking up. His classmates were pointing up at the windows on the third floor of the school building- and at the sight of them, Yukio froze.
They'd been shattered.
Yukio felt an anxious knot twist in his stomach. Quickening his pace, for a moment he let himself forget to be a good student as he hurried past the rest of his class and up the stairs to the third floor. Students had already begun to gather there- mostly the older kids who actually used this floor. He shoved his way past them-
-and came to a dead stop, feeling something cold in his chest.
Why? Why was Rin here?
His twin didn't seem to notice him. There was a dented metal bat clutched in one of his hands- and dimly, Yukio recalled that one of them had apparently gone missing from the storage shed the other day. His arms and hands were covered in cuts, with one long gash on his right cheek- presumably from the broken glass. There was a dark bruise forming on one of his legs- almost like he'd gotten into a fight.
...but there was no one else with him.
It was just their teacher and the vice principal, demanding answers from him- all while Rin stubbornly stayed silent, glaring at the floor. It was covered with broken glass, and-
...huh? It was covered in broken glass?
Yukio felt something hot bubble in his chest. Didn't they realize it? He didn't understand what had happened, but there was no way Rin could have done this. The glass was proof!
"Wait!"
Rin blinked, glancing over at him in surprise. "Yukio?"
"Nii-san didn't do this!" Yukio insisted. "Look at the glass! If he broke the windows, most of it would be outside the building, not inside!"
Akiho and the vice principal exchanged a look, a tight frown on their teacher's face- and abruptly, Yukio realized that they probably had realized that fact.
"Yukio-kun," Akiho said, "-I know you want to defend your brother, but..."
"This is the third floor, young man," the vice-principal said, "-and there's no one else here. I'm afraid no one else but your brother could have done it."
Yukio grit his teeth, feeling the heat in his chest rise. He could hear the students behind him start to whisper, mumbling to themselves about this being proof that Rin was the one behind all the weird pranks lately. Had his reputation really spread to the older students too? They'd never even met him!
"Always heard he had a screw loose," he heard one of them whisper with a laugh, "-guess it's true."
"That doesn't mean-!"
"Yukio-kun," Akiho cut him off, "-go back to the classroom, please."
Yukio clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms. They weren't even going to listen to him?
"Tell them, nii-san," Yukio said, "-tell them it wasn't you!"
If Rin would just say something, then maybe...
"Yukio-kun," Akiho's tone was more stern this time, "-this doesn't involve you. Go back to the classroom. There's no need for you to get yourself into trouble too."
Yukio took a step forward, the fire in his chest so hot that it nearly burned. So that was it? They were just going to force Rin to take responsibility because it was easier? They couldn't do that! It wasn't fair. He should-!
"Yukio!"
Yukio looked over at Rin, who flashed him a broad grin.
"It's fine," he said, "-thanks!"
He felt the bubble of his anger pop, leaving him frozen in place. What had he been about to...? The knot of anxiety in his stomach tightened, the cold creep of guilt crawling up his spine. He'd been about to lose his temper. He couldn't do that.
(He couldn't let himself.)
In the end, Rin was lead away by the vice-principal. Akiho looked at him with a slight frown on her face- and somewhere in the back of his mind, he couldn't help but wonder if he'd tarnished his good kid image in her eyes. His stomach twisted even tighter at that thought- and at the hot flare of guilt that came with it.
He hadn't even done anything wrong. He'd just pointed out the obvious.
Numbly, he let her lead him back to the classroom. He could hear the unsubtle whispers of his classmates as he found his seat- but they weren't talking about him.
They were talking about Rin. It was always Rin.
(...even though he was the one who had something wrong with him.)
Shiro took one look at Rin and heaved a long sigh.
When he'd first gotten the call from the twins' school, he hadn't believed it for a second. Rin could be a equal parts impulsive and mischievous, but breaking the windows? That didn't sound like the kid he knew. Rin might look like his father, but it couldn't be more obvious how much he actually took after Yuri.
No, if anything...
"So," Shiro said, "-you want to tell me what actually happened?"
Rin just glared at the floor. The school nurse had treated his injuries- which were thankfully minor. The cut on his cheek wouldn't even require stitches, though it might still scar.
...he'd also been suspended for a week.
He suspected the punishment would be worse, if they could actually prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Rin was the one behind the broken windows. Still, getting suspended for a week in third grade wasn't exactly setting the kid up for success- though academics had never exactly been his strong suit. That was more Yukio's thing.
He let out another sigh. If someone had told him that the kid without demon blood would turn out to be the bigger troublemaker, he wouldn't have believed them.
"Rin," Shiro said, "-look at me."
He'd asked for a moment alone with his son, which the vice-principal had obliged. Better to talk about this sort of thing away from those who wouldn't understand.
Rin frowned, but slowly looked up at him.
"So," Shiro asked again, "-what actually happened? I know you didn't break those windows, kiddo. What did?"
"...don't know," Rin frowned, "-it was one of those things."
Shiro hummed. Yep, that was the answer he'd been expecting. Rin had been able to see demons since he was a baby- but he'd never been scared of them. Heck, it would probably be easier if he was- instead he'd grown up interacting with them just like he did with humans. At the very least, the kid had the sense to be able to differentiate the more friendly ones from the dangerous ones, but...
...he couldn't ignore them. That was the problem.
"A demon?" Shiro asked. "What kind?"
Rin's brow furrowed. "It looked like a weird monkey."
Like a weird monkey? Shiro put a hand to his chin, thinking it over. Something told him he wasn't talking about it literally looking like a monkey, so...
...a goblin, maybe?
"It's not my fault!" Rin yelled. "It was messing around and pulling pranks!"
"I never said it was, kiddo," Shiro ruffled his hair, "-so? You picked a fight with it?"
"Yeah," Rin nodded, "-I couldn't let it keep messing around."
Yeah, he figured. The problem with Rin was that he didn't think before acting. He'd gotten into several fights already that way- by yanking weak demons off of people without a second thought. Given the type who usually ended up being clung to by that kind, it almost always devolved into a fight.
"You know," Shiro said, "-you could have just told me about it."
Rin turned his head away, refusing to look at him again. Scratching his head, Shiro heaved a sigh. What was he supposed to do in a situation like this? Even if he scolded Rin, he doubted it would have much effect on this stubborn brat.
"So," Shiro folded his arms in front of him, "-did you win?"
Rin blinked, looking back up at him- and then flashed him a wide, toothy grin. Shiro huffed. A third grader beating up a goblin? He might just have the talent to become an exorcist.
Hm? Wasn't that actually a good idea?
If he couldn't stop Rin from picking fights with demons, he could at least teach him how to deal with them more effectively. It would be much better than letting Rin get hurt every time he couldn't ignore a demon- he'd gotten off easy this time, but it could have been much worse, he knew. He wasn't sure what Yuri would think about the idea, but...
...actually Yuri would probably be very pro-not let Rin get himself killed.
"Okay," Shiro said, "-if you're going to find that much trouble on your own, why don't you learn how to fight them properly?"
Rin's brow furrowed. "You mean...?"
"Yeah," Shiro said, "-I'm asking if you want to become an exorcist, Rin."
His occupation wasn't exactly a secret from either of the twins, but Rin was the only one that actually believed it. Yukio just lightly rolled his eyes whenever he brought it up.
Rin stared at him for a long moment- and then jumped to his feet, his eyes practically sparkling. "Really? I can become one?"
"You sure can!" Shiro ruffled his hair. "That is, if you want to."
"Yeah!" Rin grinned. "I do!"
"Then it's settled," Shiro said, "-as long as you promise to tell me about things like this instead of trying to solve them on your own."
Rin's smile dampened a little, but eventually he nodded.
Good. This could work. He would need to contact Mephisto and see if there was any way to get Rin enrolled in cram school- and if there was any way he could squeeze him in as a teacher. If Rin was going to learn how to become an exorcist, he'd prefer to teach him himself. He couldn't imagine the kid would make a good Aria, but maybe a Tamer like his mom, or even a Knight or a Dragoon...
...he might like Osceola's workshop, come to think of it.
"Okay," Shiro said, "-your teacher got your things from your classroom, right? Grab them and let's head home."
"What about Yukio?" Rin asked.
"Yukio," Shiro said, "-didn't pick a fight with a goblin, so he has to finish class."
"Oh," Rin frowned, "-too bad."
Shiro laughed, ruffling Rin's hair again. From the sound of it, Yukio had tried to argue in Rin's defense without much success. He was probably worried about him- but he didn't think he'd have much luck in getting him pulled from class for the day. Well, at least it gave him enough time to come up with some kind of a cover story.
Yukio couldn't see demons, after all- ironic, really.
"Oh, that's right," Shiro said, "-speaking of Yukio-"
"-keep it a secret, right?" Rin finished. "Yeah, I got it. I don't want Yukio to be scared."
Glad to see that lie was still holding, Shiro thought.
"Good," Shiro nodded, "-now go back to glaring at the floor or something. I have to pretend to be mad at you now."
Rin just snickered.
"Nii-san!"
Yukio threw the door open with probably more force than he intended. Rin glanced over at him from where he was lounging on the couch with an ice pop- probably not the sight he expected to be greeted with, given the expression on his twin's face.
Heh. He should have someone take a picture.
"Yo, Yukio! Enjoy the rest of school?"
Yukio just let out a long sigh, hanging up his bag by entrance. Rin grinned, digging his toes into the couch as Yukio plopped down next to him. He had that expression on his face that he got whenever he was thinking about something complicated.
"...you got suspended."
"Yeah!" Rin said. "Isn't it great? I don't have to go to school for a whole week!"
Yukio's lips twisted in a tight frown, clearly dissatisfied with that answer. Well, he kind of figured- school was Yukio's thing, not his. He wasn't good at academics, and he didn't exactly have any friends- everyone tried to keep their distance from him cause they thought he had a screw loose or something.
...he'd gotten good at ignoring it, but it kind of stung, honestly.
"...does it hurt?" Yukio asked.
"Hm?" Rin blinked- then glanced down at his bandaged arms. "Nah. Didn't even need stitches!"
"Oh, Yukio's home?" Shiro asked. "Welcome back! Want an ice pop?"
Yukio's frown deepened- but eventually, he nodded. Shiro handed him one, which he kind of glared at before he unwrapped it and shoved it into his mouth. It was kind of like he was immune to brain freeze or something. It was kind of cool!
(Heh. Cool.)
"What happened, nii-san?" Yukio asked.
"What do you mean?" Rin asked.
Yukio just gave him a long look. Rin frowned, kicking his feet as he glanced up at Shiro. Yukio wasn't supposed to know about demons and stuff cause they might scare him- which he got, sort of. There were some pretty scary demons out there!
"I heard someone breaking the windows while I was in the classroom," Rin said, "-so I went to check it out and got into a fight. They got away before the teachers showed up. I stole their bat, though!"
It wasn't even a lie, really. That was pretty much what had happened! He was just... leaving out the part where the real culprit had been a demon.
"And you didn't think to tell the teachers that?" Yukio asked.
Rin shrugged. "They wouldn't believe me anyways."
Yukio's brow furrowed. He could tell he didn't fully believe the story- but he seemed to accept it with a frustrated sigh.
"Next time," Yukio said, "-just get a teacher, nii-san."
Rin hummed, before nodding. "Okay! I will!"
He doubted a teacher could do anything about a... what had dad called it? A goblin? It had been dancing around on their teacher's desk and everything, and she hadn't even noticed it. Despite messing around at the school for a little over a week, he was the only one who could actually see the thing.
...honestly, he hadn't meant to fight it. It just kind of happened? It was breaking the windows with a bat! He couldn't just ignore that!
But hey! It had all worked out in the end. Dad said he was gonna teach him how to fight demons and stuff! Being an exorcist sounded super cool. Like a hero or something! He could protect everyone from bad demons and stuff. Maybe he could get a cool sword or something? Grinning to himself, he took a bite out of his ice pop-
-and instantly regretted it.
Ugh. Stupid brain freeze.