Long Short Disclaimer

-Rated T for swearing, violence, probably gore descriptions.

-Story will deviate the Supernatural plotline and possibly Blue Exorcist's plotline about mid-season 4. In saying that, this will cover both canon Supernatural and Blue Exorcist episodes/chapters, just with the additional characters/information.

I : Parallels

"I think you'll find it interesting."

"I think you're going to have to do better than that to convince me, Sir Pheles" was the cold retort, as he shoved the boxed DVDs into the taller man with a grumpy look.

He, however, merely laughed, and pushed it back toward the (much) younger exorcist. "Demon's honour" he said smugly, tapping his nose. "You'll definitely find it interesting. You might want to watch it with your brother, as well. In fact I highly recommend it— it's one of those stories that promotes…ah…sibling bonding."

"It doesn't look like it" Yukio grouched, glancing at the gritty, grimdark box. "And I prefer not to watch media that involves what I do for a living, besides."

A title like Supernatural couldn't mean anything else.

"Alright, I have a proposition then. If you watch this show, I'll fix the heating and cooling in your dormitory. How does that sound?"

"…It makes me a lot more wary of whatever this is about…" Yukio murmured, before sighing. "Fine. I'll watch this, and you install a thermostat. That works. And reaches our dorm."

"You say it like I'm the type of man who'd only install it on the first floor. I'm hurt" Mephisto chimed, before flashing a shark-like grin. "Agreed, Professor Okumura. Do tell me if you like it— the dream-based episode in season 3 is a particular favourite of mine."

He smirked again, turning on his heel and walking off— leaving Yukio feeling confused and rather anxious, because for some reason, that comment felt loaded.

Like it was somehow relevant in a way he wasn't yet aware of.

…

"I've heard my classmates talking about this!" was Rin's reaction to seeing the set. "I actually kinda freaked out at one point 'cause they mentioned demons. Godaiin and I nearly jumped outta our skins, but as it turns out they were talking about this show."

"I knew it" Yukio muttered, breathing out his nose. "Pheles is definitely plotting something with this."

Especially when the demon had gone out of his way to install a fairly large TV and DVD player in one of the unoccupied rooms, complete with a comfortable couch, blankets, and a popcorn maker. Like he was enticing them.

"Well, we just have to get through it, then next year summer won't be a problem at all, right?" said Rin, undeniably excited about the prospect. "Although…is it a horror, or an action show? The cover looks kinda creepy…"

"I'd say it's a mix if it involves demons in some way" Yukio mused. "Do you have homework?"

"No."

"Are you saying 'no' because you want to watch this show?"

"No."

"So you'll go to bed early and not finish it?"

"No-gh, wait— damn it four-eyes."

…

Neither Okumura was particularly fazed by horror at this point, but both had grabbed a blanket out of past experiences and habit. Rin had popcorn, but Yukio had denied the offer as Rin munched away.

As the intro played, Yukio became more and more sure this was a giant, very long prank they would have to see through to the end, and was going to make him (if not Rin) very, very miserable in one way or another.

"I think Mephisto's fuckin' with us."

"I agree."

The lure of a thermostat was too good to resist, though, so they continued through, and gradually became a little more relaxed— though the end of the episode murdered that entirely.

They looked at each other silently, swallowing, wordlessly questioning if the entire series was going to be like this, and wondering if a thermostat was actually worth it.

…

In the end, they did sit through it. Rin seemed a little more at ease— he seemed to enjoy the interaction between the Winchesters, and immediately drew parallels between himself and Dean and Yukio and Sam, which Yukio disagreed to without saying exactly why.

There were times Yukio would have to pause and leave the room for a moment, often during a particularly harrowing monster scene. While he was ok with the memories most of the time, seeing similar scenarios to things he'd lived and barely survived was triggering waves of panic and stress he had to breathe through. And as time went on and these moments became a little more frequent, the reasoning behind Yukio's disagreement on the parallels became more clear, especially once the incidents with Sam started.

While Yukio was booksmart, polite and tall, the way he had lived his life, what he'd been through, what he'd seen…it was closer to Dean. Dean, the normal, powerless sibling, struggling to understand what was happening to his brother while trying to do as he'd been trained and taught to do— protect him.

After the first episode of season 2 they took a break, because Rin had ended up distraught and Yukio wasn't far behind.

Honestly, they wanted to quit. Not because it wasn't a good show— it was an excellent show, in fact— but it just hit too close to home too often. There had been episodes that would have Yukio close to having a panic attack (although he never said so.)

So they took a break.

For about a week after they stopped watching, Yukio had vivid nightmares about it, where he was in Dean's shoes as his family was torn apart around him.

He'd wake up in cold sweat, hugging himself, and brokenly— stupidly, actually— remembering that for the first episode of season 2, he hadn't been able to relate to Dean, that for all their parallels they weren't always the same.

It was Rin who their father had sacrificed himself for.

By the end of the week, Yukio asked Rin to continue it with him. He needed to see it through. He needed to understand what Mephisto had been saying.

"Don't you ever do that."

Yukio glanced over, as season 2 drew to a close. Rin's expression was firm and slightly angered, looking at his brother.

"Don't try and bring me back" he said, and Yukio's heart jumped into his throat.

"I thought you were Dean" he croaked, trying to be humorous to make light of it, and Rin grimaced, turning back to the TV.

"No" he said, pulling his blanket up higher. "I'm not. And you know it just as well as I do. If we were them…I'd be Sam. I'm the freak, after all— always was."

He sighed. "So, I'm telling you. If I die, don't even try it. Don't even think about it."

"I won't…

-but it's because I'm not going to let you die" Yukio said quietly, but his tone was sharp as a dagger.

Rin didn't respond for a few minutes, the credits rolling to a close and going silent for a moment.

His next comment made Yukio's stomach twist painfully, his heart sinking like a stone with the truth of it.

"…You really are Dean."

In some ways, he really was.

Rin actually had to leave the room during a few episodes, when Dean was suffering. While Yukio stayed, his previous anxieties had never left him, and now it was worse—now they were struggling not to draw parallels or imagine future scenarios. And this season was short.

The episode Pheles had mentioned was getting closer.

Yukio spent the whole thing on edge, uncertain of the episode's direction but dreading its outcome, and the moment he saw the second apparition of Dean he knew it was going to be bad.

…but nothing really could prepare him for that, not at this point. Not when they'd drawn these parallels. Not when his own eyes had done their world's equivalent of the same thing.

This is what you're going to become.

He felt sick— he could actually feel the bile rising up in the back of his throat, burning uncomfortably as he covered his mouth and sunk into the back of the chair, pulling the blanket up. A part of him just wanted to cry, but breaking down that far would be too obvious. Too painful. And too much for him to do while he was here, watching this with his brother.

"This isn't going to happen to you, ok?" Rin said, looking over to him. "You didn't sell your soul, and you're not going to. So you won't end up in Hell. It's not going to happen."

Not like that. Not the same way. But…

"And if it did, y'know you could rely on me, right? 'Cause I'm a bit worse off than Sam after all."

"Right" Yukio whispered, and Rin made an uncharacteristically anxious expression for a good few minutes, before pouting his lower lip.

"Did you ever try on pink panties?"

"They were baby blue with lace" Yukio whispered without skipping a beat, successfully breaking the tension as Rin spluttered, half laughing and half in shock, not sure whether to believe him.

…

Yukio had that nightmare that night, his own version of it, and he woke up with his cheeks wet and his throat hoarse with a scream that was still vibrating off the dorm walls.

Rin had woken up, looking over at his brother and sighing. "I think we need to quit watching."

"But…the thermostat?" Yukio whispered, and Rin grunted.

"Not worth waking up to your screaming, Yukio" he muttered, shoving his head in the pillow. "We'll…finish the season, and give it back to the clown."

"…Alright."

They did so. Yukio wasn't surprised when they failed at keeping Dean out of hell, not in the slightest. And while a part of him wanted to know, a stronger part didn't.

It was the same part of him that had let him avoid his blood tests for as long as he had.

Rin, however, was noticeably upset. "Maybe someday we'll finish it off…when it's a bit less close to home."

When I'm not bothered by the idea of becoming a demon?

He didn't voice that question, of course— instead he shrugged, packed up the DVDs, and headed to Pheles' office.

…

"Not even worth a thermostat?" Mephisto said slyly, as the box set was shoved into his chest.

"No" said Yukio sharply. "We reached the end of season 3."

"Ooh, you didn't even get to meet Castiel. A true shame" said Mephisto, taking the box set. "I commend you for sticking through the dream episode, however."

Yukio glared at him, saying nothing. He knew that Pheles knew, or else there was no way he would've said such. He opted to parse it over, instead going for a question.

"Does Dean turn into a demon while he's in Hell? I'm not going to watch it again, so I don't care about spoilers."

"No. He experiences quite a bit, but he comes back human" said Pheles, pulling out a PSP as he sat down at his desk.

Yukio exhaled, closing his eyes for a moment.

"No…Dean doesn't properly get demon powers until season 9, which just finished. Well, he becomes a demon, more or less, after a lengthy and angst-inducing process of it."

Yukio's eyes snapped open to see Mephisto smirking from behind his PSP. "It's kind of ironic. The one who more or less had the powers from childhood ended up normal, and the human protective brother became more or less a demon. I did tell you it was an interesting story, didn't I?"

Yukio tried to swallow most of what he wanted to say about this, because Mephisto still controlled his salary, was his guardian, and was a powerful demon to boot.

But he'd done this on purpose, and he knew it, and there was only one thing appropriate to say at this point.

"Son of a bitch" Yukio muttered, walking out of the office as Mephisto chuckled.