AUTHOR'S NOTE

Been thinking. Just inhuman power wouldn't have earned Rin the title of a "monster" amongst the other children.
After all, he was just a kid back then, with his powers still in developement. So it has to be something else, or so I think.
This one's my take on what *could* have happened.

Yes, lots of angst involved again. ;)

Age of the brothers: Around 8 years.

Update: I claim copyright on the word "shuffly". Wtf did you think, brain xD?

Yukio sighed.

How could nii-san be so excited about this trip? It was just a boring old train headed to grandma's. Nothing special at all.

He looked up to his father, hoping he would say something to calm Rin's antsy behavior, but the exorcist just smiled. The man was looking forward to the trip as well, even if he didn't show it like nii-san - which would've been disturbing to say the least. Father never had been one for losing his calm. Sometimes Yukio wondered if they were actually his sons. Then he'd think and realise their father had been training a lot and worked on himself. That's why he was this strong. Father was .. father. But as for Rin, Yukio wasn't so sure. Everything about him was different; his temperament, his hair, his eyes. He was a lot stronger than Yukio, even ignoring the fact he was older.

Then there was the times when Rin didn't really act his age, unlike Yukio who always seemed aged beyond his physical appearance, if you asked father.

Today was such a time and Yukio had the same unwelcome feeling in his stomach he always had when there'd be trouble later. Father had laughed it off, told him to stop worrying and dragged them to this train station anyway. Usually it helped when father said it was alright; he was right most of the time. Today, it didn't. If anything, the boy had become more nervous and had started fidgeting.

"What is it, Yukio? You still worried?", father asked and Yukio nodded.

"Don't be. Everything will be fine. Every day people travel by train and only very rarely, if ever, anything happens."

"That's not it...", the boy whispered.

"What is it then?"

"I.. I don't know."

"Then don't worry about it. Sometimes people fear the unknown. But the unknown is just like a friend you haven't made. Be open and friendly and the outcome will be just fine."

"It's not the unknown.. I think it's about nii-san."

"Your brother?", the priest asked, his voice suddenly less cheerful. In the past, Yukio had, almost always, been right about his brother. It was as if the kid had some kind of sixth sense for this, but it only worked in terms of his brother, sadly. If it at least helped him too to avoid trouble, he wouldn't be bullied all the time. Now that Fujimoto thought about it, Rin really shouldn't stand this close to the edge..

"Rin, come here. Don't play over there", he finally called, relieving Yukio and making the older brother frown.

"I'll be careful!"

"No, I don't like this. Please come over here."

"Bwuh, okay", Rin turned around and was about to follow father's command, when he felt something slip beneath his feet. His eyes grew wide for a second, then he fell. When the ground didn't catch his fall, he cried out in shock.

In total, he fell one meter and a half, before the rails met his back, leaving him stunned for a moment.

In the distance, a honking sound could be heard. The train was coming. Yukio felt the feeling return with interest and grabbed father's hand.

"Rin! Get out of there!", the man called, unable to do anything else. He couldn't leave Yukio standing and scared; also, if he jumped down there to get Rin, not only he might be unable to save the boy but leave Yukio an orphan. So he called out to the older brother, who still hadn't answered..!

The train got closer; it was in sight now. Rin, mind a muddled mess, sat up, only slowly realising where he was and when he did, he was scared. He stood on wobbly legs, tried to climb back up on the pathway, saw his father reach for him, stretched his hand out - then a force hit him from the side. He heard father scream his name, a sound that faded out more quickly than it should. Also, everything got dark all of a sudden. The force now dragged him along, shoving and pulling at the same time, before it let him go, pained all over. Fathers voice, calling something. Yukio was crying. He'd recognise that sound anywhere. If he just could see...

Felt like an eternity until sirens of an emergency car broke through the darkness surrounding him. It got silent so suddenly Rin wondered if he was only dreaming.

"It's a miracle. I've never seen anything like this"

Who was this man? Not father. And certainly not Yukio. Rin opened his eyes to the blinding white hospital room he found himself in. Yay, he could see again! He was on a bed, despite being unable to remember when he'd gone to sleep. Something dripping from a balloon into a tube.. what the, it was attached to his arm! He wanted to pull it out, but found he was too sleepy to move. Also, everything hurt. Not the kind of hurt you get when you fall, but the kind you get the day after. Dull. Throbbing. And worse than everything he knew. Must've been one nasty fall..

A weird mask was on his mouth and nose, leaking gas. Was this what made him so sleepy? He heard a shuffle next to him and looked to that side. Yukio sat on a chair, sniffling and tears streaming down his face. When he noticed Rin had woken up, he jumped to his legs and ran out of the room, only to return moments later with father behind him, both wearing a look mixed from the aftermath of the shock and a weird kind of hope.

"Rin!", father called, grabbing the boy's hand. It was cold, so he held it in both of his, warming it.

Behind him, a doctor came in, two nurses in his wake. He had a syringe in his hand. Rin hated syringes and decided he didn't like this doctor either. He tried to glare at him, to keep him off. It worked on the kids in his pre-school class. But when he was in pre-school, he wasn't bedridden and sleepy. So it had almost no effect on the white-bearded man who turned to talk to father.

"Not only he survived, but look at this..", the stupid white-beard said, holding something to father, who took it and, surprisingly, actually gasped. Rin growled and the elder men looked at him. The doctor was positively pale, father less so.

"He always was a fast healer..."

"But this is ridiculous. Yesterday every single bone in his body was shattered. Today there's no trace left. He's as good as new."

"Does that mean he can come home?", Yukio asked, his hands now replacing father's.

"No, we need to do a few more tests. Tomorrow, possibly", doctor said, trying to sound professional, but you could hear he was shaken. Rin secretly grinned about that. Let syringe-wielding doctor be scared. Yukio seemed down though, his wet eyes focused on Rin. He didn't like that. His voice wouldn't listen to him though, thus he only grinned at his brother, who blinked twice, then returned the smile with his own. Father watched that and just shook his head over his two boys, then followed the doctor outside to talk some more.

They were gone an awfully long time. Father came back alone, but he was smiling.

"Come on Yukio, Rin. Let's go home."