01 – Introductions are a pain

Middle First Class exorcist Okumura Yukio, like many, had his secrets- things he didn't dare to tell anyone for various reasons. His largest, most important and well-kept secret, for instance, was his blood relation to Satan and the speculated 'ninth prince of Hell'.

Having no demonic traits whatsoever, most would simply believe him to be the average exorcist- at most being considered a prodigy of great skill by fellow co-workers and his superiors. Really, there was no way for anyone to be able to tell that his father by blood was none other than the King of Gehenna.

His brother, on the other hand, had inherited both the blue flames and demonic nature of their birth father- thus leading Rin to have been raised in mostly in Gehenna while he himself had been bought up by one Fujimoto Shiro to become an exorcist.

Strangely, the whole 'living in two different realms' thing didn't prevent the siblings from seeing each other. Rin's ability to go from Gehenna to Assiah whenever he so desired made it practically impossible to keep the demon anywhere for long periods of time unless he himself wanted to be there.

His brother was both free-spirited and rebellious, after all.

Sighing at the thought of Rin, Yukio made his way down the halls of the Cram School. When he had told Rin that he would be moving onto True Cross Academy grounds, thus making it near impossible for his brother to be able to visit him, he had expected Rin to be devastated. Maybe even cling to Yukio and beg him not to go in an act of childishness.

But no. All Rin had done was shove a finger up his nose while giving Yukio a bored look, saying 'I see. Well, have fun!' as though the two weren't going to be separated for a good half a year- which was much longer than the two usually were apart.

The lack of care had bothered- no, angered Yukio. How was it that when the two were going to truly be split away from each other, his brother didn't seem to care? Did Rin really not understand that he could no longer to come and bother Yukio whenever he felt like it? (Not that Yukio didn't enjoy his visits. . .)

But still. . . was he really that expendable to his brother?

Yukio was forced out of his lonesome thoughts as he collided with someone, stumbling a little with a look of surprise at having not noticed the other student? standing in the middle of the hall, looking at a sheet of paper that most likely had directions scribbled over it. "I'm sorry-"

"The heck- oh! Yukio!"

Yukio froze, being able to recognise the familiar voice anywhere. Taking another, closer look at the other person confirmed his suspicions. It was his brother.

. . . His brother who looked much more humanoid than usual, lacking any demonic features and wearing the student uniform of True Cross, a sword –the Kurikara, most likely– wrapped in a sleave and slung over his shoulder, and seemed to be extremely uncomfortable with his attire.

"Eh?" Was the only noise Yukio could make, his mind struggling desperately to come up with an explanation as to what he was seeing. "Nii-san. . . ?"

Rin just grinned at him, as though there was nothing off about the current situation. "Yeah!"

"Wha- how- why are you-" Yukio stumbled over his words, eyes widening. "Nii-san! You need to get out of here- Mephisto probably already knows you're here!"

"Don't worry," Rin reassured, pulling out an object that Yukio instantly recognised as one of the headmaster's master keys, "Mephisto already knows I'm here- he let me in."

"Why?" Yukio asked, unbelieving of his brother's words.

"To get to class." Rin stated matter-of-factly, twirling the key around his finger before adding; "Duh."

"Eh?" Was all Yukio found himself able to say.

"Yup," Rin crossed his arms, nodding proudly to himself, "got the thumbs up from the old man to become an exorcist and Shiro figured it'd be a good idea."

"EH!?" Yukio almost shouted, looking around the empty hall before moving closer to Rin. "Satan let you. . . ?"

Rin nodded, "yeah."

Yukio narrowed his eyes. "Really?"

Another nod.

"Why wasn't I told anything about this?"

"Dunno, I guess Mephisto wanted to see how you'd react if I just showed up here."

Yukio pinched the bridge of his nose. "Mephisto isn't here at the moment, Nii-san."

Rin blinked. "You didn't know? He's always watching~" He said, waving his arms mysteriously.

"That's not even nearly as creepy as you were trying to make it." Yukio stated dryly.

"Tsk, damn."

Sighing, the younger stared at his brother in suspicion. "Nii-san, why are you trying to become an exorcist?"

He could have sworn that there was a pained expression on Rin's face, but as soon as it was there it was gone- replaced with the idiotic grin he was so used to seeing. "'Cause I wanted to!"

Sighing once again, knowing that Rin wouldn't give him a proper answer, Yukio asked; "So, what were you doing standing around in the corridor- shouldn't you be in class?"

Rin scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I'm lost."

Yukio gave his brother a blank look. "Did Mephisto give you directions?"

"Yeah," Rin waved a piece of paper around with a frown, "but I can't find the right room! Mephisto sucks at drawing maps."

Yukio took the paper from his brother, ignoring Rin's protest while pushing up his glasses, reading the note over. "Or maybe you just can't follow directions properly, Nii-san," he said, "this is quite well-drawn."

"Shut up." Rin grumbled, snatching back the paper before setting it on fire with his power, blue flames quickly incinerating it before dying out in the palm of his hand.

"Nii-san!" Yukio exclaimed in horror, anxiously looking around, scanning the area once more to make sure that they were still alone. Which, thankfully, they were. "Why did you-"

"Fire demon rule number one," Rin begun, arms crossed in triumph, "burn the fuck out of anything that pisses you off!"

It was a horrible excuse, but Yukio was willing to play along. Expertly drawing one of his guns, he fired a round that just barely missed Rin's head, smiling kindly as he said; "Exorcist rule number one: Don't let idiotic fire demons burn innocent pieces of paper."

"Y-yeah," Rin stuttered, backing away slightly, "w-well I'm just going to go. . . find my classroom. See ya Yukio-"

"Wait, Nii-san." Yukio cut in just as Rin turned to walk in the opposite direction. "It seems that we both need to go to the same class."

Rin halted, confusion written all over his face. "But I thought you were supposed to be teaching. . ." He trailed off, eyes going wide.

"Yes, I am a teacher." Yukio clarified, knowing that his brother had connected the dots.

"No way!" Rin exclaimed, grinning from ear to ear in excitement, "that means that you're one of my teachers, right? Right!?"

Yukio nodded, smiling at the other's enthusiasm.

"Yay," his brother cheered, "I get to see you teaching!"

"True," Yukio agreed, "and this does mean that I can make sure that you don't do anything too stupid, Nii-san." You were raised in Gehenna, after all. He added silently.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing," Yukio reassured half-heartedly, "we should probably head to class- we're already late."

Rin grumbled but followed as Yukio led the way towards their shared destination, the younger smiling worriedly as he did so. While Yukio was indeed relieved that he would be able to see Rin more often, he couldn't help but be concerned as to how his brother would fair in the world of exorcists.

Rin couldn't stop grinning excitedly as he followed Yukio into the classroom. Looking around, his excitement only grew as he took in his surroundings. Wooden desks built to fit at least three people each were placed neatly in the room, a teacher's desk at the front and a chalkboard behind it.

So this was an exorcist classroom! Having been taught almost everything he knew by his older half-brothers and father, Rin had never been to any kind of school before –not like there were many schools in Gehenna anyway, demons had other ways of learning–. Although he couldn't help but wonder if it was common to only have five students.

Finding people who want to become exorcists must be tough, Rin realised. It was probably like trying to find demons willing to actually work in Satan's castle- a great opportunity to gain respect amongst fellow demons yet not many willing to risk enraging his father.

"I'm sorry that I'm late." Yukio spoke, snapping Rin out of his musings as his brother addressed the small class.

"Sensei," a girl with purple hair –Eyebrows, Rin's mind dubbed her– called out from her place near the front of the class, hand raised as she spoke, "who's that?" She gestured at Rin.

"Ah," Yukio blinked, "I forgot about him."

Rin glared, arms crossed. "You forgot about me!?"

Yukio ignored him, continuing. "This is a new student," he turned to Rin, "would you care to introduce yourself?"

Rin blinked. Introduce. . . ? How do people in Assiah introduce themselves? He furrowed his eyebrows, bringing a hand to his chin in thought. Is it the same as in Gehenna?

"Remember Rin, first impressions are important. You need to display your power, show that you'll take shit from no one. Crush their hopes- their dreams! Burn their fucking hands!" – His father had taught him in his early childhood, laughing maniacally as he did so.

A quick glance around the room told Rin that no one had damaged or scared hands. So no- it seemed that introductions in Assiah were different. Was it a different part of the body that was supposed to be harmed? Besides, he couldn't use his flames to do anything even if he did know where to aim. Did that mean that he had to play the underling rather than the superior?

Was he really willing to do that? Even after his father had specified that doing so would be shameful?

And it seemed that the whole class was looking at him impatiently now. One pleading look at Yukio told Rin that the younger brother had realised his predicament, but was unwilling to assist. Why? He had probably told Rin about Assiah introductions at some stage and Rin had most definitely ignored him.

Yukio was probably finding the situation amusing in a twisted, revenge-like way, hidden behind his kind smile- a smile that really didn't seem all that kind in Rin's opinion at the moment.

Rin 'tsk'd' quietly at his brother's betrayal, attention once again on the rest of the class as he attempted to figure out what to do.

After another good minute of being clueless, Rin noticed a pink haired –Woah, pink hair was natural in Assiah too? Cool!– mouthing something to him.

Na. . . ? Rin squinted. Name. . . ?

Oh. . . OH! That would make a lot of sense, humans didn't have the same healing abilities that demons did, nor the same violent traditions. So they skipped the show of superiority and just gave their name? Rin almost slapped himself for having not realised it sooner.

Sending the pink-haired teen –Pinky– a thankful look he straightened up confidently, speaking; "I'm Rin."

Pinky bought a hand to his forehead, groaning as a slapping sound resounded throughout the room at the action.

What? Had he misread Pinky's lips? But Rin had been so certain that the teen attempting to help him had mouthed 'name'! Crap, what do I do now? He was back where he had started-

Pinky was trying to get his attention again, mouthing words once more. Last. . . Last name. . . ? It took a moment for the silent words to click into Rin's mind.

That's right, humans had last names, didn't they? Well, so did some demons- if title counted, that is. But 'Crowned Prince of Gehenna- Rin' probably wouldn't be the best thing to say in a room of aspiring exorcists.

Well shit, what was he going to do?

Thankfully, it was at that moment that Yukio seemed to decide to stop watching Rin's dilemma silently- finally! Rin would have to thank his younger brother later.

"This is Okumura Rin," Yukio introduced, gesturing to him with a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes.

Thank you, Yukio. Rin inwardly thanked. "Yeah, what Yukio said!" He said, grinning confidently. So he had to go under the same name as his brother now. . . Cool.

Yukio gave him a blank look. "Please call me 'Okumura-sensei', Rin."

Rin blinked at the use of his name, it being unusual for Yukio to call him anything other than 'Nii-san'. Does this mean. . . Rin thought, practically bouncing on his toes in excitement as he nodded, that this is Yukio's 'teacher mode'!?

"Sensei," an unimpressed voice called out from near the back of the room, "why is there a new student at this time of year?"

Rin looked towards the speaker, a delinquent-like teen with brown hair and a blond strip going down the middle –Pissy, Rin's mind supplied– that sat in the space between Pinky and a timid-looking boy with a shaved head –Baldy? Yeah, Baldy fits–.

"Rin is here under. . . special circumstances." Yukio explained. "As such he will be joining you all as a fellow Exwire even though he has had no previous education in the art of exorcism." Seeing that Pissy was about to complain, Yukio added; "Please don't bother, Suguro. Both Sir Pheles and the Paladin himself approve of Rin being here."

That got Pissy- no, Suguro to back down, simply opting to glare daggers of disgust at Rin. Rin blinked, what's this guy's problem. . . ?

After a moment of silence and the glaring not letting up, he couldn't help but think that Suguro would get along well with his father should they ever meet- the two had the same type of glare. Although admittedly the human's held much less of a 'shit we're all dead' feel to it than Satan's.

"Yuki-chan," a blond haired girl sitting alone at the desk closest to the front of the classroom started somewhat timidly, "are you and Rin related? You have the same family name. . ."

A busty blond. . . Calling Yukio 'Yuki-chan'. . . Hadn't Shiro told him and teased his brother about her before? What had they said her name was again. . . ? Shima? No, that wasn't it. . .

"Yes, Shiemi-" Shiemi! That's it! So she's in my class too? Awesome. "-Rin is my brother."

"Really!?" Shiemi –and everyone else for that matter– seemed surprised by the revelation. Really, Rin couldn't blame them- he was well aware that he took after his father even in the looks department whereas Yukio looked like a male clone of their mother.

At least according to what Shiro had said, that was.

Rin grinned, slinging an arm over Yukio's shoulder. "Yup, but technically I'm the older one." He said, pointing to himself with his free arm.

"Rin," Yukio begun slowly, voice a little too calm, "please treat me as though I am your teacher while we're in class."

Rin shuddered, letting go as Yukio's glasses shadowed his eyes in an eerie manner. "Y-yeah," he blinked, "but how am I supposed to treat a teacher?"

"Are you a complete moron?" A now familiar voice at the back of the room snapped, the owner of said voice standing up.

Rin looked at Suguro, confused. "Huh?"

"Are. You. A. Moron?" Suguro repeated through clenched teeth and Rin's eye twitched in attempt to restrain his anger. Angry demons were never pleasant demons, after all, and Suguro was successfully angering a demon- an extremely dangerous one at that.

"What's that supposed to mean!?" Rin snapped back, clenching and unclenching his fists as he ignored the violent bloodlust and demonic instinct building up inside of him. He took back what he had thought about the other getting along well with Satan, his father would burn Suguro the moment they met.

. . . If Rin didn't do it first, that was.

"It means exactly what I said, or are you just too much of a moron to figure that out-"

"I hear that you got into a fight within the first ten minutes of class, that's impressive!"

Rin sighed, following Mephisto through the hallway of the boys dorm, listening half-heartedly as his much older half-brother sarcastically complimented on his most notable 'achievement' of the day.

"He pissed me off," Rin muttered under his breath.

Mephisto halted in his steps, spinning around overdramatically with an amused smirk. "Yes, well, it's a good thing that you didn't end up doing anything that could end up revealing you, dear younger brother. That would get both myself and Shiro into quite a bit of trouble."

"I know. . ." Rin rubbed the back of his neck, giving Mephisto a sheepish look. "I'll make sure that no one finds out."

Mephisto nodded, spinning around once more and continued his walking. "So, how is that form treating you?"

"Its fine, I guess. But. . ."

"But?" Mephisto pressed.

Rin sighed. "My tail is uncomfortable." He admitted after a moment of contemplating whether or not to tell the other.

Mephisto laughed. "Have you tried curling it around your chest?" He asked, but obviously not willing to wait for an answer as he continued; "That's what I do, and it's the best option other than not hiding it at all!"

"I see. . ." Rin nodded, "I guess I'll try that, thanks."

Mephisto's smile widened as they stopped in front of a door. "Now, are you ready to meet your roommate?"

"'Roommate?'" Rin repeated, confused.

"Yes," Mephisto begun, "here at True Cross the students share a room with one other. We do try to set it up for aspiring exorcists to be roomed with each other- so I'm quite sure that you've already met the person behind this door," he gestured to the door he was referring to, "as such, please do your best to keep your tail hidden at all times."

Rin gulped, staring at his half-brother. Mephisto was getting some kind of sick amusement from the situation, obviously knowing something Rin did not if the expression he wore was anything to go by.

He had already met the person he would be roomed with? But he had only met five other exorcist students that day. Two of which were female and most likely wouldn't be living in the male dorms. . .

. . . Unless 'Boys Dormitory' was actually just a misleading name and the place was actually some kind of experimental mating facility to find students with hidden potential and have them reproduce with together in order to create stronger exorcists? He had heard of demons doing that, so why not humans?

That didn't seem quite right, though, and Rin hadn't seen a single female since entering the building- then again he hadn't exactly seen any men either. Perhaps it was late in the evening that the experiment took place?

No. . . That wasn't it either, the dorm didn't seem like the kind of place that would work well for that type of project. . . So that meant that the person on the other side of the door was male. But who?

Rin, still uncharacteristically deep in thought, vaguely noticed Mephisto knock on the door.

If it was a male then that meant that it had to be either Shima, Konekomaru –as he had learnt that their names weren't 'Pinky' and 'Baldy' earlier that day– or. . .

The door opened and a recognisable voice spoke; "Huh? Wha'd'ya want? I'm tryin' ta study- ah. . . You!"

Mephisto gave a triumphant smirk as the two teens froze at the sight of each other.

. . . Shit.

Ten Years Ago: Gehenna- Satan's Castle

Satan answered his phone almost as soon as the catchy, yet stop-it's-so-fucking-annoying sound of the ringtone he had used specifically for a certain Paladin begun to play.

"Yo. How's it going?"

"What is it?"

". . . You suck at conversations. You know that, right?"

"Shut up."

"See! You don't even deny it!"

"Fujimoto. . ."

"Yes?"

"What do you want?"

"A hug."

". . . I'm hanging up."

"Wai- no- I need to talk to you!"

"About what?"

"Rin!"

". . . Start talking."

"Is there any specific reason that when Rin met Shura today, he tried to burn her hands off?"

"Huh, what are you- Oh, that! He actually did that? I taught him how to show his superior rank- wait, what do you mean he 'tried'?"

"Shura beat him up!"

"Shit. Well, that does explain why he looked like crap when he came back."

"Satan. . ."

"What?"

"What else have you been teaching Rin?"

"Ah, I told him about the whole 'experimental cross-bread mating facility' thing that happened a couple of hundred years ago."

"For the love of- he's only five!"

"So?"

"That's way too early to be taught about the 'birds and the bees'."

"Crap. It is?"

"Yeah!"

01 – Introductions are a pain: End

Note: I was going to make this chapter longer, but ended up being lazy and decided to cut it in half. So yeah, anyway, the Exwire exam has already happened in this- just without the whole Neuhaus-getting-demons-to-attack-Rin thing, 'cause Rin wasn't there and such. Also Shura and Takara aren't in the class, given the fact that the purpose they served for being there in the manga is nonexistent in this story. So yeah.

Alright! Thank you to everyone who reviewed/faved/followed- it's a major motivation for me to write this story. Again, if anyone has any advice on writing romance, then I'd love to hear it, as I do wish to put my best effort into this story and I'm not used to writing for pairings.

I hope this chapter was enjoyable to read.

'Till next time! - ef07