Yukio, you poor, damaged, conflicted boy, who can't even trust a mirror to reflect the truth back at you...I love how introspective your Yukio is here, the same way he is canon, how certain he is that despite the metaphorical 'tearing' out of his heart, he just 'knows' that Rin is 'worth it', all that pain of balancing his duel identity, the professional, rigid exorcist and teacher who should protect everyone from the power Rin wrecks, against the brother who's desperate to protect the only family he has left against a world that firmly wants Rin dead. It's worth it all and 'then some,' even if he brutally acknowledges that he's 'often the only one who knows this.' Which just makes the weight harder to bear.

I also like how despite the fact that this fic mainly swirls around the inside of Yukio's head, we get glimpses of how Rin sees through the cracks, how he presses forward, nudges against his brother's facade with a 'Let loose, Sensei' and forces a promise from Yukio with words he can't refuse or rebuke: 'On the old man's soul.'

And yet when it counts, when Yukio's nightmare starts 'blossoming' into reality within this universe you've woven, out comes the last three brutal lines to drive the final nail into the coffin:

Against everyone's better judgment, you whisper a secret, a lesson, an age-old memory:

I will not fight my brother.

And you rip the world apart.

There's something very powerful about the way you've written these lines and I love it.

shit. this was amazing
if you have the time or want to, you should write more of these or a sequel

Wow. This is one beautifully written what-if (Rin was just a little less human and Yukio was just a little less of a good soldier).

Heartwrenching! Lovely...

This is beautiful and deserves much more than a single review! That last line, UHF! So beautiful! I can't get over it man, it was short n sweet, but it hit hard. I love the almost incest but not quite love they had, it could be seen as Romance or just plain brotherly love, n was cute as hell. Sad too. Anyways, loved it!

This is so well written! I love your writing style. It's so descriptive, yet vague. I love it. It's so deep.