A/N: This is a one-shot. But if you want more there will be more. It could eventually turn into a ship if you guys want it to.
"Here's what could've happened if Bon wasn't such a fucktard"
Enjoy
Ryuuji's eyes were dead serious, and Rin just stared back blankly. "If you want to kill yourself by jumping in front of a Leaper, then go ahead. But I won't be part of your stupid suicidal plans." The half-demon said, waving a hand in dismissal. "Tch!" was all the answer he got from the taller teen, who stood from his sitting position and slid into the practice field once again, where the Leapers were leashed and caged. The one loose from its cage directed its attention towards the intruder, its frog-like eyes latching themselves onto him. Suguro stepped into its reach, standing strong. "I will not let the likes of you walk all over me, Okumura. I'll be the one to defeat Satan!" He announced powerfully, the Leaper not budging from its place.
Rin watched as the others started to mock the young man, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes showed no emotion, just utter indifference. They laughed at his goal, like hyenas circling a weakened prey.
And then it happened.
Ryuuji's iron-strong will faltered, cracking under his classmates' laughs and mockeries, and the Leaper's pupils shrunk. It jumped.
And so did Rin.
He was faster, skidding to stop himself right in between Ryuuji and the Leaper. The students gasped. The Leaper had its mouth closed around the half-demon's abdomen. The latter's midnight blue eyes shifted down to meet the frog-like creature's judging gaze, and, without wavering, he stared down at it like it was a piece of trash obstructing his view. The demon, recognizing Rin's hell-bent will and demon blood, cowered back with high-pitched distressed shrieks.
Silence took over the room as he stood still in his place, fists balled up at his sides. Ryuuji stared wide-eyed at the other's back before him, mouth slightly agape. The Leaper… it'd run away like it had seen death itself, right back into its cage.
How?
How could he have failed so badly when Rin had shown such dominance? His eyes followed his saviour when the latter started walking out of the training field, emitting neither comments nor mockeries.
If he'd at least said something idiotic, or douchy, like the others had, and not been so… respectable.
He was going to have to pay for that later.
-o-
Rin stood under the hot water stream, both hands against the tiled bathroom wall. He didn't bother to leave any hot water for his twin, since he'd gone on yet another mission to God knows where against God knows what. He just wished he'd be safe and stopped trying to act so cool all the time.
He sighed, staring down as his tail wrapped itself around his ankle. He still had yet to get accustomed to that part of the deal. It was bothersome to have it around his waist all day, twitching and stirring. He liked to imagine the look on the others' faces if he suddenly whipped out his tail in the middle of class like it was nothing. Oh the hate he'd earn. Wait, he'd probably get killed on the spot. Suguro and his groupies would make quick work out of him, as he'd learnt earlier from the two talkative students that they really had a grudge against his old man.
He stepped out of the shower jaw clenched, clearing his mind of impious thoughts about kicking everybody's ass.
He walked around the abandoned building a little, ate dinner, brushed his teeth and went back to the cold room. He'd forgotten to close the window earlier, and now the freezing night breeze was freezing him to the bone. He closed it beating himself up mentally for being such an airhead, and when he'd closed the curtains his gaze dropped down on his desk. If Yukio was there, he'd tell him to get working, his nasty four eyes watching over him like a vulture. He stuck his tongue out for no one to see, and went to sit on his bed with a huff, head full of thoughts about the day's events.
He'd really saved Suguro's ass from the Leaper earlier, despite him behaving like a tool around him. He didn't think the guy was bad; quite the contrary, he had the same goal as him and looked to be pretty clear of mind. Rather than seeing him as a rival he'd have preferred to see him as an ally… But that was clearly out of the question now, wasn't it?
He turned the light off and dropped flat on his back on his bed, staring at the bunk above. He stretched his hand out in front of his eyes, fingers grazing against the wood.
Old man…
A sour feeling invaded his chest at the thought of his heartfelt father, and his arm dropped by his side.
A knot formed in his throat when he thought about the last words he'd said to him. Why did it have to be something so terrible? And now on top of it all he was a demon… Guess he deserved it, for behaving like such a jackass towards the man who'd taken care of him and raised him.
A loud knock was heard at the door. "Who is it?" he shouted, startled. No answer came, but the door was flung open. "Okumura." Said Suguro's low baritone voice. Rin shot upright, oblivious to how humid his eyes looked, and gave the man an incredulous stare. "What in the name of fuck are you doing here?!" he exclaimed, not worried the slightest about all the noise he was making. Suguro's clenched fists tightened even more. "I… I came here to thank you." Rin's brows rose like he'd just seen Mephisto wear normal clothes. "Come again?" Suguro crossed his arms on his chest and jerked his head to the side, averting his eyes from the smaller male. "I'm not saying it again. And I also came here to settle things with you." Rin frowned. "What do you mean?" Suguro came back to looking at Rin dead in the eyes. "Let's have a duel. Whoever wins get to kick Satan's ass to the moon." The half-demon looked over the taller male, his brows still slightly furrowed, before dropping back down on his bed. "I'm not disposed to deal with your tantrums right now, it's late," he said in a weaker voice than what he'd planned. He'd almost sounded broken. Of course that rooster had to show up right when I'm thinking about depressive shit. The taller teen stared down at Rin's back, torn between insulting the crap out of him and asking him if he was okay. He'd sounded almost… sad just then.
"Oi… Okumura, what the-" "Just leave me alone!" The taller teen jolted at the sudden scream, taken aback by the sudden flood of emotions pouring out of the blue-eyed teen. His eyes still trained on the other's back, he found himself unable to move, at a complete loss for actions.
That's when he heard it.
The faintest, slightest of sobs.
His eyes widened.
"Rin, are you… crying?" he asked in disbelief, even oblivious to the fact that he'd just called the teen by his name. His question was completely ignored though, as the shorter teen recoiled even farther under his blankets. Ryuuji wasn't too sure of what to do, really. He was familiar with sadness, sure, he'd been through a lot himself and knew well what a person needed in those situations, but… that was Okumura, over there. Ferocious, goofy, ecstatic, beaming and inexhaustible Rin Okumura.
What was bad enough to reduce him to such a weakened lump? Slowly, he approached the bed and sat on the edge of it, reaching out to touch Rin's blanket fort. "Hey…" a groan was all he got. "Hey I said!" he snapped, yanking the fabric towards him so he could finally see the other's face. The sight struck him.
The teen's nose was reddened; it was noticeable even though the only light provided was the moon's, and his eyes shinier than usual. Suguro frowned. He didn't like the turn that things were taking. "Tell me what's wrong." The other glared angrily through teary eyes. "Like hell!" he shouted, his voice broken from holding back his cries. Suguro rolled his eyes. "Look, I won't ever offer my help to you again, so tell me right now or I'll leave you back to your lame-ass crying." The half-demon scoffed. "It's not like you of all people would care anyway." Suguro glared at the teen. "It's not because I see you as a rival that I have no respect nor human empathy for you. It's only normal that I put aside our feud when you are literally crying before me. I'm still a person capable of emotions." Rin sniffled, returning Suguro's glare, before faltering and slowly sitting up. "I was just thinking about stuff. Okay?" Ryuuji scoffed amusedly. "Ain't that big news." Rin shot him a deadpan glare, clearly not amused by the comment. "You wanna know or what."
Suguro raised his hands in defeat. "Fine, fine. I was just trying to cheer you up a bit." Rin sighed and his gaze dropped to his hands. "I was… I was just thinking about my old man." Suguro remained silent, a bit curious to hear about the boy's mysterious backstory. "The last words I got the chance to tell him were so hurtful… I was so mad. For stupid reasons. I can't stop beating myself over it… It's just all my fault. If I hadn't… If only I had listened!" Ryuuji frowned. "Hey, calm down. Don't get all reeled up now. I'm sure your old man will forgive you if you apologize." Rin stared at the other teen's face, detailing his features to detect some kind of mockery in his expression, but found none. He was serious.
Rin smiled. "Yeah, wouldn't that be nice? To just tell him."
Ryuuji's eyes widened at the sight of large teardrops streaming down Rin's pale cheeks, slightly gleaming in the darkness. "Oi, oi, Okumura…" the smaller teen just buried his face in his hands and wept silently against his will. The last thing he wanted was to show that kind of weakness in front of chicken-hair…
But before he could even start thinking about how he'd get bullied for that a thousand years, a strong arm was both hesitantly and cautiously holding his shoulders.
"What's wrong?"
It was no more than a whisper, but it warmed Rin's heart to know that somebody actually cared, despite the awkwardness of being hugged by another guy, which all in all was pretty comforting. "My dad's dead. It'd be kinda hard to apologize, y'know." Ryuuji stared at what he could see of the other's face, startled. His dad was dead? And he obviously hadn't had the occasion to have an emotional goodbye. It had to have been something brutal and unexpected for him to have such regrets about his last words to his father.
He rubbed the other's shoulders thoughtfully. "I'm sure he didn't leave with hard feelings. You know… Well, I am not pretending to say I knew your dad but, if it's the man who raised you I'm pretty sure he loved you 'till the end and knew you returned the feeling." Rin sniffled but didn't say anything. He decided to let a moment pass without saying anything. "If you don't mind me asking… how'd he die?"
The half-demon shifted slightly. "Satan killed him."
Ryuuji's heart dropped like a deadweight.
He's just like me.
He stared for a few minutes, unable to think of anything smart enough to be worth saying, until Rin spoke again. "I guess that's just the way that bastard is. There is so much people around me who hate him, and with reason, but why do I…" Ryuuji's gaze was fixed on the other, he didn't even think about it anymore. "Why do you what?" he insisted, his voice a mere whisper. Rin looked like he'd said something he really, really shouldn't have. "Okumura, why do you what." He insisted, his voice returning to its usual dryness. The smaller teen whispered something he couldn't make up. "What? " he asked, determined on getting his answer.
Rin looked up at him, his eyes filled with so many emotions at the same time that he thought it a possibility that he might just burst, his face paler than ever and his nose scrunched up in a wild frown. "Why does HE have to be my father!" He shouted suddenly, making the larger teen jolt. While processing the information, Suguro stared at Rin's face.
It made way too much sense.
The pointy ears and teeth, why he'd gotten into the academy under Mephisto's order even though he obviously was shit at studying and knew nothing about exorcism…
"Fuck…" he backed off a little, unaware of the curse that escaped past his lips. Rin's glare didn't desist, the menace of tears still imperceptibly present. "Go on," the half-demon spat. "Fuck off, run away, I don't give a shit!"
Ryuuji was paralyzed. He had no idea what to do. Rin didn't look like he meant him any harm… if he truly was Satan's son and had wanted to kill them all he'd already have done it… instead he was crying the loss of the human who raised him, obviously sensible to emotions and attachment. He was hurt, and even worse than that; he was alone. Rin just continued to glare. "What are you waiting for, you dumbass? Are you too busy hating me for what I am, just like my own fucking brother?!" Those words just clicked something into Ryuuji's brain and he suddenly, reflectively, slapped Rin across the cheek. Hard.
Now the half-demon's head was sideways, his obsidian bangs hiding his eyes from Ryuuji.
"I- You didn't even give me the chance to say anything! Of course I'm surprised, you just told me you're motherfucking Satan's son! But I didn't suddenly start to hate you more than I already did because I found out who's your dad! You didn't choose him did you? So stop acting like a victim! You're pissing me off!" Rin looked at him, baffled, his cheek now reddened. A tear had formed at the corner of his eye from the strength of the impact, making Bon feel a slight pang of guilt and mentally curse his reflexes. He grabbed Rin's shoulders. "Since when do you know." The smaller teen kept his glance sideways, visibly completely calmed down by Ryuuji's outburst. "Just before I came here." Ryuuji remained silent for a while, contemplating what he'd just learnt. Okumura had lost his adoptive father and found out his dad was the Devil, just before coming to True Cross. "How the fuck did you manage?" Rin just looked puzzled. "What?" Bon shook his head in disbelief. "How the fuck did you manage to remain so cheerful all the time? Overall… overall, you're kin to everyone. You praise and look up to others. I'd expect that, after all the shit you've been through before coming here, you'd be too busy wallowing in your own pain to even notice who's besides you." Rin looked downwards, wiping his nose with his finger thoughtfully. "It wouldn't do me any good. I have to focus on the living to keep going, not on what isn't there anymore. I can't stay stuck in the past, but I can't completely erase it either. I mean, no one can change their past neither where they come from. I know that. That's why I know I'm fucked. Look, I'm a demon." As an emphasis, his tail suddenly poked out of the sheets and swirled around lazily. Bon just stared blankly. "Wh- YOU HAVE A TAIL?!" he exclaimed, his brain simply overloaded with information. Turned out that, for starters, Okumura was Satan's son, he was way smarter and wiser than he'd expected, and he had a tail.
Rin just stared at him mockingly. "You're being a little slow in the head." Bon crossed his arms. "Yeah? What if I told you I'm Bouddha's son. And that I had wings. Tell me you wouldn't be surprised."
The smaller teen shrugged. "I think I'd just laugh my ass off." Ryuuji sighed and rolled his eyes.
There was a small silence, during which RIn's eyes saddened again, his focus coming back onto what had started his night. "Now that you know everything, can you please go? I need to be alone right now."
The freezing wind howled outside, a chill running down both teens' spines. "I'd rather not," the other answered, "I'd die of hypothermia, and besides, being alone is the last thing you need right now." Rin stared sceptically at the older male. "So what are you going to do?"
He inhaled deeply. Okumura was in a state he was regretfully way too familiar with, and in those cases he knew exactly what to do, and how to soothe his aching heart, however cheesy that may sound. He closed his eyes, faking annoyance, and pushed the boy over closer to the wall to completely sit on the bed, and then proceeded to wrap an arm around the other's slimmer frame. "Just once. Got it?"
Rin managed a slight thankful nod before his throat knotted and tears came back welling up in his eyes, blurring Ryuuji's empathic expression.
"Just let it all out." Were the last words whispered that night.