Title: Fragile
Author: Sage SK
Date Started: 1/16/12
Date Finished: 1/16/12
Genre: Family

Comments: Short story based on a one-on-one RPG. And because my beta reader, Kristen Sharpe, double dog dared me to.

Yukio gazed at his expression in the mirror with a mixture of contempt, fear and quiet understanding.

Contempt, because he still wasn't used to the idea of having elongated fangs, pointed ears and, of all things, a tail.

Fear, because he didn't know if he could ever get used to the idea of calling himself Satan's son when for years the one who carried that title was Rin. For years he had been considered 'human', 'normal', the complete opposite of his less-than-normal twin brother.

Quiet understanding, because now he understood why Rin was so clumsy. Yukio gazed at the doorknob on the ground, the three pairs of broken eyeglasses on his table, the cracked keyboard in front of his computer... He balled his hands into fists, trying to come to terms with his newfound strength. He had always taken pride in the fact that he was the gentler, more patient twin. But, it was getting incredibly hard to be that now. Now, when he was unwillingly breaking everything he touched.

"Hey, it's getting late."

Yukio turned to see Rin standing in the doorway, already dressed for class, much to his surprise. "Uh... right," he said. "Just getting a few things finished here."

Nodding, Rin bent down to tie a shoelace, then spied the broken doorknob next to him. Frowning, he picked it up and eyed it curiously. "Do we have termites?"

When he didn't get a response from his brother, Rin caught sight of all the other broken items in the room. Then, he noticed Yukio's tense shoulders, the way his hands were shaking, the way he was standing...

"Still not used to it, huh?"

"It's nothing I can't handle," Yukio replied tersely. Because he wasn't about to let this ruin everything he trained for. He wasn't going to give into the fear. He wasn't!

Rin held back a smirk. "Alright. Anyway, if you're ready to go, I'll go get our lunches."

Nodding, Yukio took in a deep breath as Rin left. There wasn't anything he could do to change things. If his optimistic brother could overcome this, so could he. With a soft sigh, he gathered his belongings and went to meet Rin in the kitchen.

"Hope you're not working late," Rin said as he handed Yukio his bento. "I'm making sukiyaki tonight."

Yukio managed a soft smile. "Alright."

"Also, here." To Yukio's surprise, Rin gently placed an egg into his right hand.

"An egg?"

Rin now looked at his brother seriously. "I expect to see it in on piece by the end of the day. And, no cheating by going to the cafeteria for a replacement. I'll be able to tell."

"Nii-san..."

"Just humor me, Yukio." Rin turned to walk out. "I'm sure you can handle a little challenge like that. See you tonight!" With that, he was gone.

It didn't take long for Yukio to figure out what his brother was trying to do. Anybody else would've scoffed at the very idea of carrying an egg around all day.

But, embarrassing as it was, humor Rin is what he did. For the rest of the day, Yukio kept the egg in one hand, concentrating on his teaching and at the same time concentrating on not gripping too hard. The only time he ever let it out of his sight was when he went out for target practice.

And, by the end of the day, just as promised, he returned home with the egg intact.

Rin looked up from his cooking as Yukio set it down on the counter.

"So? Anymore broken doorknobs?" Rin asked, reaching for the egg.

Yukio couldn't help but chuckle. "No. This actually helped. Thank you, Nii-san."

Grinning, Rin tossed the egg up and down in one hand. "I knew you could do it, little brother. Now you get to test with chopsticks." Then, without missing a beat, he proceeded to peel the egg.

Eyes wide, Yukio barely managed to sputter, "You boiled it?!"

"Well, yeah." Rin smirked cheekily. "I needed one more for dinner."

End