Ok so this is a new chapter!

Thank you all for your reviews/follows/favorites!

I would just like you all to know that I also cried as I wrote the last chapter, so I made you all suffer with me! Sorry. But here is a new chapter! That's sooooo long! It took me forever!

Anywho, real quick

"hi" = regular

'hi' = thought

"hi" = demon speech

Onto the chapter!

The classroom was silent the next day. The air was tense even before everyone else arrived. In the back of the room, Suguro sat with tension running through his body with Shima trying to act normal besides him and Konekomaru fidgeting besides him. Izumo showed no reaction to the tense room when she arrived, only taking her seat with an air of indifference. When Shiemi entered, she moved to go to her normal seat, and, after hesitating, sat down in it.

Now they were just waiting for the twins.

Time seemed to drag on as they all waited for the inevitable moment when the two would enter the classroom. The air around each of them was so tense that it could be cut through with a knife. Shiemi and Konekomaru kept glancing nervously at the clock each watching as the clock ticked closer to the time class would begin. Everyone save for Izumo and Takara tensed as the doorknob turned.

"Oi! Four-eyes! I'm back!" Shura called as she opened the door to the classroom, only to find no teacher and tense students. She'd been off on a seperate mission for a while and coming back to this caused her to worry at what had happened while she was gone. She looked around, trying to figure out what it was exactly that happened, trying to get a clue from the body language of the students before her. "What'd I'd miss?"

"Nothing."

Shura just kept herself from jumping at Yukio's voice coming suddenly from behind her and turned around to glare at him only to pause at the look in his eyes. Her eyes than moved to Rin, who she hadn't expected to be so quiet (but he was and it wasn't a good quiet either), only to watch as his eyes seemed to stare past her and into the classroom before him. Shura subtly moved out of his way and watched as Rin entered the room and the reactions that followed.

As Rin entered, everyone else looked to him and watched him with different expressions. Many of them were weary, ready to flee at any moment. Only Takara and Izumo seemed to look at Rin the same as usual. When Rin moved to sit next to Shiemi in his usual seat, she took notice as Shiemi seemed to stiffen even further and turn her gaze away from Rin, yet at the same time, she was biting her lip and twirling her fingers, as if unsure of her actions. The half-demon paused at her actions and, after hesitating a moment, turned and sat at a different table, further away from everyone else.

Shura turned her gaze back to Yukio's, an unspoken question in her eyes. Yukio only looked her in the eyes and she knew that if she had to take a guess at what happened, she would be spot on with her assumption. Moving out of Yukio's way and further into the classroom to take her own spot, Shura continued to watch in silence.

Yukio taught the class as normal, but Shura could see where there were changes. Konekomaru kept shooting Rin worried glances, as if Rin was going to spontaneously combust on them. There was no occasional banter between Suguro and Rin, the latter keeping to his notes and refusing to speak during the whole class.

Izumo seemed the same at least.

By the time this class ended and the others had some free time between this one and the next class, Shura felt the tension herself. Yukio told them he needed to go check out a few things he needed for the next lesson in the supply room incase they needed him or, if they left the classroom during this time, then he would be back in a few minutes. Yukio shot a look at his brother as he left, no doubt worried about leaving him in here. Of course, that didn't matter as after a few seconds after Yukio left the room, Rin swiftly stood up and made his way out of the room as well. Shura could physically see the way the others relaxed in his absence.

Shura let the silence that followed settle for a few seconds before she broke it nonchalantly. "So you all know the big secret then, huh?"

"W-What do you mean?" Shima asked once everyone got over the shock of her words.

Shura rolled her eyes at them. "I'm not an idiot, I can see the difference in how you're all acting."

"Well, how did you expect us to act?!" Konekomaru asked, "I-I mean...you know what he is!"

"Are you going to give us a speech too?" Suguro asked, looking towards her with a raised eyebrow.

Shura shrugged and hopped off of her seat on one of the desks. "I'm not gonna say anything." 'I don't have the right to since I reacted in a similar way when we first officially met.' Shura shook her head to shake the thought away and sighed. "Besides, I'm sure Four-eyes already said everything that was needed to be said. Ah...I'm gonna go get a drink. See ya in a bit, kiddos." With that she left the room as well.

Once again it was quiet before Izumo stood up from her chair.

"Kamiki?" Shiemi asked, looking towards her.

"They have the right idea about getting out of here for a few minutes." Izumo sighed. "Honestly, I can't take anymore of this. You're all being stupid." With that she was gone as well. Those left sat once more in silence.

Rin clenched his fists, fighting back the emotions he was feeling in regards to the day. He didn't know why he was reacting like this, he'd thought he'd gotten all of his sorrow out last night. He knew what he would see when he came into day, knew that they would all have looks of terror, and he had told himself that it wouldn't affect him or his chance to become an exorcist. He told himself he would be fine, he was used to people fearing him.

So why was he still fighting back tears?

"You're not gonna spontaneously combust on me right? 'Cause, I thought we'd worked on that emotional stuff already and I'd hate to backtrack and add that to the current chaos."

Rin couldn't help the snort that came from him in response to the words, his eyes moving up to look at the exorcist leaning besides him against the wall, a drink in her hand.

"Right," Rin croaked out. "Because you have so many problems right now."

"I mean, I do," Shura replied but she shot him a look as she continued. "But I think you have more at the moment."

Rin let out a bitter laugh. "I always have problems. Tend to cause them too." The second part was whispered, as if he hadn't intended for Shura to hear him but she heard it nonetheless.

Shura frowned. "Hey-"

Rin cut her off with a shake of his head. "It's fine, really. I mean, we already knew how people would react to knowing about me. I mean, isn't that the reason why we kept it hidden in the first place? Really, it's not that big of a deal." He gave Shura a brittle smile. "I'm fine."

Shura was quiet for a few seconds, her eyes moving over the younger boy's face. She could tell easily that he wanted to scream, to cry and lash out in anger. There's no doubt that he did that whenever this happened, but she knew her kid. He was always so full of emotion, always wearing his heart on his sleeve. This had to be torture to the kid. To have the people he thought were his true friends be ripped away from him because of something he couldn't control.

Shura sighed. God, why did she come out her anyway? She wasn't any good at comforting people, outside of just giving them drinks that is (something she knew Yukio would kill her for if she decided to do such a thing). She'd told herself she was just making sure he didn't blow up, but deep down she knew that wasn't the case.

"You're not fine, kid."

"What are you talking about? Of course I'm fine! I got over it last night!"

'It's still so very fresh then.' Shura couldn't help but think sadly, her eyes softening slightly at that thought. "No, yer not kid, and don't try to lie to me."

"Of course I'm fine! When you tried to kill me I was fine-"

"You didn't know me as well." Shura broke in, straightening herself to face Rin head on. "Not as you do them. Kid, look, its ok to not be fine-"

"But I am!" Rin cried, but she heard the crack in it nonetheless. "It's nothing! I'm used to this so I should be fine, right?! I was fine when you beat me and tried to kill me, I was fine when Neuhaus tried to kill me! Hell, I was fine when YUKIO wanted to kill me! So I'm FINE!" Water began to slip down his cheeks.

'But you're not fine kid. I doubt you ever even took time to process the things you just said.' Shura thought sadly. Taking a deep breath to steel herself for what she was about to do, she stepped forward.

Rin was busy trying to force his tears back once more so he didn't even know the other had moved until arms wrapped around him and pulled him to her chest, his head resting against her shoulder. The half-demon froze, too overwhelmed and shocked to speak.

Shura gave another sigh and placed her hand on Rin's head, as if silently encouraging him to cry. "Look, I'm not gonna promise you that everything will be ok. I can't promise that they'll have a change of heart like I did or that they'll even stop looking at you with fear." A sharp, choked sob came from Rin and Shura could tell he was gritting his teeth to keep the cries back. "But, what I will tell you is that you've got me and Yukio on your side for sure. The two of us will always be here for you, alright? You're not alone, kid." At those words, she could tell she broke through slightly. Her shoulder grew wet but she dare not move or draw attention to it. Rin trembled in her arms and if she knew her students, she knew he wanted to do more than cry. He wanted to scream and cry and destroy, but he couldn't do that here.

After a few seconds, his cries died down once more and Rin pulled away from her, wiping his eyes.

"Ew," Shura joked as she tried to dry off her shoulder getting a small laugh from Rin. Encouraged by that, she continued. "By the way kid, this never happened, got it? There was no hugy, emotional thing between us, ever."

"Sure, sure, whatever you say." Rin laughed, a smile coming onto his face.

"I mean it kid. You try to tell anyone, and I'll be coming after you. I will make training hell for you!"

"It already is! I still don't count you as a real teacher!"

"Oi!" She smacked him on the head, getting a cry of protest from the other. "Fine!Then the minute you let that tail free, I'll be pulling it if you ever tell anyone, you hear?" 'Shit, I said the wrong thing.' Shura paused when she noticed the smile dim on his face.

"Heh, I think you'd have to still leave that at training. I doubt I'll ever be able to not hide my tail, not if it makes them uncomfortable or they decide to...you know…" Rin trailed off, the idea of the others wanting to attack him not even something he wanted to voice out loud. Then he seemed to catch what he said and started to panic. "Not that I think their bad or anything! Just...you know...if I ever scare them too badly or they don't look where they're going-since they won't want to be around me you know-then I don't want it to get hurt or anything!"

"Please, I bet you've sat on your own tail many time!"

"OI! I don't need a comment from you, ya old lazy woman!"

"Who are you calling old!? Just you wait brat! Next lesson, I'm helping out and you'll see I can teach!"

"Yeah, regular classes!"

"Fine, you want something different for training? Fine! No candles today! I'll show you!"

Rin's eyes lit up. "Wait, really?! No candles?"

"Sure, as long as you pay attention in my class today!"

"Fine, I will!"

"Good! Prove it then!" Shura smirked as she began to head back to the classroom. Rin seemed to hesitate for a moment, knowing where they were going, but eventually moved to follow as he couldn't back down from a challenge.

When they made it back to the class, Rin had to fight down the renewed emotions once more and looked away from everyone else as he took his new seat. He noticed Izumo walk in a few seconds after him, but focused on ignoring the weary air of the classroom. He was so focused that it wasn't until the chair besides him scraped against the floor did he notice that Izumo was beside him and taking a seat.

The half-demon stared at his classmate in shock, his mouth hanging open. He stared for so long that Izumo turned to him and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Is there something you want?"

"Ah! N-No! It's just….why are you sitting h-here?"

Izumo shrugged. "I wanted a different seat. Here looked like a good place to sit."

"B-But...beside...me?"

"What, you think I care about your whole," She waved her hand at him. "Half-demon thing? You know there are lots of other half-demons in the world right? Hell, there's a lot in the Order even. You're not that special, sorry."

"Even...Even though I'm...you know?" Rin didn't want to say it, not when anyone else in the class could hear.

Izumo just gave him an annoyed look. "I just said I didn't care. Weren't you listening? Honestly, you're all so stupid." She shook her head before huffing and looking him dead in the eye. "Look, I don't care who your father is, ok? You're still the same stupidly loud classmate of mine who somehow knows how to cook yet struggles in math."

For a second, Rin didn't know what to say. He was silent as he looked Izumo back in the eye. Then, he smiled.

"Awww! I knew you cared!"

"Shut up!" Izumo hissed, turning her flushed face back to the front of the classroom.

Rin didn't stop smiling.

Over the next few days, not much changed in terms of acceptance. It still hurt Rin to go to cram school and find everyone still looking away, but at least he new Izumo had no ill will towards him. It continued into the weekend and while Rin was hanging out in the dorms with Kuro (Yukio having gone on a mission that he refused to take Rin on no matter how much he pleaded with him), when there was a hesitant knock on the door. It was so quick and soft that Rin thought he had imagined it at first. However, it was soon followed by another, this one not as soft but still quick.

Sharing a look with Kuro, Rin made his way to the front door, the cat sidhe at his heels. A third knock rang out by the time he made it there and Rin tried to listen with his advanced hearing if there was anything distinct about the person there. He could hear the shuffling of feet and soft mumbling so he called out.

"Hello?"

A high and familiar squeak met his ears and Rin closed his eyes in resignation at the thought of the other behind the door. "U-Uh...hi...Rin…" Shiemi's voice trailed off.

Letting out a sigh as he closed his eyes, Rin called through the door to her once more, sure that the other had no desire to see him. "Yukio isn't here at the moment. If you'd like, you can leave him a note or I can let him know you stopped by."

"O-Oh…" Her voice squeaked out.

"It was nice of you to drop by. If you want to come back later, I'm sure he'll be here then. Or I'll just tell him you stopped by and he'll contact you." He took a shaky breath. "Still, I'm sure he appreciates the visit. It...it was nice to hear from you again, Shiemi. Again, I'll let Yukio know. Uh...b-bye."

Rin moved his head away from the door from where he had been leaning against it, fighting down his emotions once more. God, it had been a week already, he should be over it! He looked down when he felt Kuro rub against his leg, a soft smile coming onto his face at the action.

"Come on, then." Rin said to Kuro, motioning back into the dorm. As he went to walk away from the door, Shiemi's voice stopped him.

"W-Wait!" A shout came, much louder than how she usually spoke, causing Rin to freeze in place. Another knock, much louder than the other three, came and Shiemi spoke again. "Rin, wait! Please wait!"

Rin hesitated a moment before moving back to the door. "Yes?" He called, swallowing a lump in his throat. "If you have a message I can-."

"No!" Shiemi cut him off. "No! I...I don't have a message for Yuki…I…."

"Shiemi?"

"I came to see you!"

Rin jumped from the words, not just because of the volume that they were spoken at but also the words themselves. Him? She came to see him? 'Why?' That thought wouldn't stop playing in his head.

"...Shiemi?"

"I...Rin, can you please open the door? I...I want to do this without something between us...please?"

"Uh...sure…" Rin mumbled dumbly as he opened the door, still trying to process the conversation itself. There, before him, stood Shiemi with a basket full of plants. She was fidgeting and shuffling, nervous no doubt. She kept trying to look at him only to look back at the ground in embarrassment, a flush to her cheeks.

"Umm…." Rin continued. "What...what did you want to...talk about?"

"..."

"Shiemi?"

"I"M SORRY!" She cried, making Rin jump once more at the volume.

"Wha-, Shiemi?"

She sniffled. "I'm sorry, Rin. I'm so, so sorry for how I was treating you! I...I was scared and I didn't know what to think and...and I was mad that you lied to me b-but I understood why you did it but I still feel so sorry for how I treated you and for thinking that way and...and for hurting you and I'm sososorryRinwillyoupleaseforgivemeevenifIdon'tdeserveitand-!"

"Hey, hey, breathe, Shiemi!" Rin fretted, noticing the way she worked herself up. "I can't understand you when you talk like that!"

"Right, I'm sorry!" Shiemi said once more after she took a deep breath, though her eyes were still watering. "Again, I'm so so sorry Rin! I...I brought you fresh fruits and vegetables from my garden and the store as an apology but I know a simple gift will never be enough for what I did and-!"

"Breathe, Shiemi!" Rin cried once more, once again calming her down. Once she had calmed down once more, Rin sighed but gave her a smile with a shake of his head. "And, Shiemi, you don't need to ask for forgiveness-."

"-Huh?-"

"-I already forgave you."

"..." For a few seconds, the blonde froze, her eyes focused on Rin. Just when Rin was about to ask what was wrong, Shiemi's eyes teared up and she launched herself at Rin who quickly caught her.

"Whoa!"

"ThankyouthankyouthankyousomuchRin!" Shiemi cried into his arms.

"Hey, hey, it's alright." Rin tried to comfort her, but he was just as awkward as Shiemi had been not but a few seconds ago. From the ground, Kuro stared up at the two with a smile, glad that his master was happy.

When Shiemi calmed down enough to pull away, Rin grabbed the basket and motioned her inside. "How 'bout you stay over for dinner. I'll cook us up something with these and that way you should be able to see Yukio as well."

Shiemi could only nod as she followed him inside.

When Yukio came home that night, he found Shiemi and Rin talking and laughing in the kitchen over a delicious home cooked meal.

The next bond that was fixed happened in class one day quite suddenly after about two weeks from the original discovery.

"That's it! I can't take it anymore!"

Everyone jumped at Shima's cry, turning to look at where he and slammed his pencil down on his desk instead of working on their worksheet. Before Yukio could question his student, Shima stood up from his seat and made his way to where Rin was sitting besides Shiemi and Izumo. Everyone stared at him as he walked up to the half-demon and placed his hands on the desk there.

"Shima, what-?"

"I gotta know man." Shima said, looking Rin dead in the eye.

"Uh...what do you want to know?" Rin asked, leaning back slightly from the sudden closeness of the other.

"How did you get all the ladies to come to you, man?! You even got Kamiki to sit next to you!"

Silence.

"..."

"Huh?!"

"Excuse me!?"

"Come on man!" Shima cried, slinging an arm around Rin's shoulders. "Tell me your secret! How'd you get them to like you so much!?"

"Wait, Shima, it's not like that!" Rin cried, flushing just as much as the two girls besides him.

"Don't lie to me man!"

"I-I'm not!"

"Get out of here you pervert!" Izumo shouted, hitting Shima on the head.

"OW! Kamiki, why?!"

"Because we don't want you over here, idiot!"

"Oh come on, you know you like me!"

"Like hell I do!"

"See what I mean, Okumura? She can be so mean! What is your secret?" Shima moved his head so that his left ear was facing Rin. "C'mon, you can even whisper it to me."

"There's nothing to whisper about!"

Yukio only allowed it to continue due to the smile on his brother's face.

"Okumura." The teacher called.

Rin got up from his seat and took the graded test from the teacher. When he reached his seat once more, he looked down at the paper and gave a moan in response to the grade on it.

"Seriously?" Izumo asked as she looked at him. "Did you even try to study?"

"Yes I did!" Rin shot back with a huff. "I just don't get this stuff!"

"I mean, it looks better than your other grades, so that's good." Shiemi tried to supply helpfully but Rin only sighed.

"That was just me guessing lucky. It would be a lot worse if this hadn't've had multiple choice on it and true and false." Rin grumbled, placing the test back down. "It doesn't seem to matter how much I study, it just doesn't stick."

"Maybe you need a different method then for it." Suguro spoke up surprising the trio. He had followed Shima over when the pink-haired boy came to look at Rin's grade.

It's been four weeks since they discovered that Rin was a half-demon and in that time Suguro had sat back and observed the way Rin was acting. He knew he couldn't be so quick to trust, not like his other classmates. After all, demons were known for their trickery and deceit. Only Konekomaru seemed to be thinking like he was. However, as the days passed and he watched the way Rin interacted with the others, he saw no evidence of trickery or ill intentions. The half-demon acted as he always had with the acception of interacting with him and Konekomaru. Even on missions and practical lessons, Rin did was as self-sacrificing as ever even to the point that, no doubt for their own comfort, he refused to use his flames. Sure occasionally he'd put to use his strength or the fact that he could understand demons, but he never once dared to use his flames. The few times they really even caught a glimpse of them was when he got so excited in battle and they reacted to that emotion.

Rin hasn't even let them seen his tail since that first day.

Seeing as the other hadn't changed in the slightest despite the fact that they all knew his big secret now, then Suguro couldn't help but start feeling guilty for the way he was treating his friend and wanted to try to fix it. But, the thing was, he didn't know where to start. Until now that is.

"Bon?" Rin blinked up at the other suddenly besides him in shock. He took notice of Konekomaru saying a little ways behind Suguro, but he didn't comment on it. Obviously the other was still scared of him.

Suguro raised an eyebrow at Rin. "What? You didn't think of a different way to study? You realize not everyone studies the same way, right?"

Rin bristled. "Of course I know that! Don't you think I've thought of that?"

"No, I don't think you have."

"Oi!"

Suguro shook his head and put his hands on his hips. "After school today, I'll come with you back to your dorm and maybe, just maybe, we can find something that works for your monkey brain."

"Hey, who are you calling a monkey, ya rooster?!"

"Rooster?! At least I don't need help coming up with different ways of studying!"

"Oi! I didn't say I needed help, damnit!"

"Well obviously you do!"

"Do not!"

"Do to!"

The others watched on with different degrees of joy towards the interaction. Off to the side, Konekomaru watched them with weary eyes.

They were in the middle of another training session, though this time they were to learn how to use the holy water grenades to their advantage in a fight or to avoid the explosion and, in Rin's case, the water that came with it. The reasoning behind Yukio and Shura having it as training rather than a normal mission was because they wanted the students to grow somewhat comfortable with the weapon and, if any misshapes happened, then they'd be able to quickly contain the demon and take care of any injuries that occurred.

Yukio and Shura watched from an observation deck as the students danced around the demons on the floor of the practice room. They could tell a few of the students like Shiemi and Konekomaru were hesitant in throwing the grenades. In truth, they had all been hesitant at first, but after Rin repeatedly yelling at them for it and throwing his own grenades, Suguro and Izumo were quick to take action with Shima followed closely behind. From there, they moved well, easily each taking their own shots at the demons while those affected by holy water like Rin or familiars watched themselves in terms of the fight.

It wasn't until the demon made a lunge at Konekomaru, who was in the middle of a chant, that something serious happened.

"Shit!"

"Miwa! Watch out!"

"Gah!" Konekomaru just cried as the demon rushed at him, knowing he would have no time to move. At that moment, multiple grenades were thrown at the demon hoping to push him away but at that same moment, Rin rushed forward, being much faster than the others, and tackled Konekomaru out of the way. As he did, the grenades exploded, soaking Rin's back with the water and causing the other demon to cry out in pain, it's clawed hand swiping reflexively and just nicking the lower part of Rin's back.

Moved away from the creature, Rin let go of Konekomaru rather quickly, believing the other wouldn't like him touching him for very long, and asked, "Are you alright?"

The bespectacled teen stared at Rin in shock for a few minutes before stuttering out a reply. "Y-Yeah."

Rin nodded, "Good."

As he turned around, no doubt to go back into battle, Konekomaru noticed the small amount of blood soaking his back along with the wet cloth with steam coming off of him. "Ah! You're hurt!"

Rin paused, looking back at the other in shock for a moment before smiling. "I'll be fine. I heal quickly, remember?"

"But-!"

"I'll be fine." Rin said again, reaching out a hand to tap his back. Konekomaru could help but notice the way pain flashed in his eyes and they way he seemed to stay away from where he'd gotten scratched. "See? Already healing."

"But, Okumura-!"

"Come on, we gotta beat this thing!" With that, Rin ran back into the fray.

Glancing up at his teachers, Konekomaru couldn't help but notice the way Yukio was watching Rin a bit more closely, no doubt wanting to say something but knowing that unless Rin couldn't get back up, he had no reason to interfere right away. However, Konekomaru noticed that Rin didn't seem to be moving as quickly anymore. Sure, it didn't look like any new wounds were appearing on him but he couldn't really tell from his position. What he could tell was that Rin wasn't moving as swiftly anymore and that was no doubt causing whatever water he'd be able to avoid before hit him even more.

Konekomaru could tell he wasn't the only one who noticed either. Suguro was shouting quite strongly now for Rin to get out of the way once he threw a grenade, his quick mind easily noticing the difference in his teammate. Rin would just growl back that he was fine, still moving as if he wasn't affected by the attack beforehand. At one point, Rin was too slow to avoid an attack and was swept away by a clawed hand once more with a cry. He smashed into the ground and just as Rin was about to get hit once again, Konekomaru was quick to use a chat to pull up a shield before Rin. Not close enough to touch him, but enough that The demon was stopped by the holy shield.

Rin flashed him a grin but as he moved to get up, he hissed, more smoke coming up from his back. Of course it was just his luck that he had fallen into a puddle of holy water caused by one of the many misshapes at the start of the fight.

"Stop!" Yukio called as the demon was quickly pulled back by it's chains and the teens were safe from its attacks. He and Shura made their way down to the students and Yukio to join the others where Shima and Suguro had pulled Rin from the puddle.

Rin was hissing as he was sat down, the others making sure his back didn't hit the ground. "Hsss….owowowowowow."

"Hey, it's gonna be ok, Okumura. Your brother's here." Shima said, keeping his hand on Rin's shoulder but making sure it was on a dry spot of the shirt.

"Rin, I'm going to need you to take off your shirt." Yukio said, beginning to open the medical pack they had just for this. Shiemi and Izumo had rushed off to grab some of the towels they had on the sides so they could all dry off afterword (assuming they all came out of this soaked).

"W-What?!" Rin squaked, eyes wide. "I-I'm sure we don't have to do that!"

"Rin."

"Okumura, now is not the time to be an idiot." Suguro huffed, shooting the navy-haired boy a glare that was joined by Yukio's, Shura's, and many others if he was being honest.

"I will make you take off all of your soaked clothing by force if you don't cooperate with me, Nii-san." Yukio threatened. To be honest, the entire backside of Rin was soaked and Yukio would love nothing more than to strip the painful clothing from his brother, but he also knew he could only make Rin cooperate with so much before resorting to force-something that he really didn't feel like doing.

At first Rin stared at his brother in shock before realizing he was serious."Fine, fine!" Rin complied, shooting a nervous look around that lingered on Konekomaru before his arms shifted painfully as he tried to take off the clothing with his burnt hands without help. When other's moved to help, he was quick to shoot them glares until they backed off. Right before the shirt came off, there was a quick dark flash behind Rin before he took it off, revealing a burnt back and shoulders. The burns seemed to stretch across his entire back and up his neck and below the edge of his pants, across his shoulders and down his arms and sides. They were at different states, some horrible to look at while others were almost done healing and everything in between. One thing that stood out among the burns was a gash across his lower back that seemed to have started healing only to look worse in the deeper parts. There was also something red sticking out on a black thing at the bottom of Rin's back, but the half-demon blocked it with a towel.

"Shit," Yukio cursed, quickly grabbing a towel and began to gently attempt to dry his brother off. "Do you know how much water got into the wound?" He asked his brother. There was no doubt the liquid had made its way into the open wound, no doubt the cause of the worsened state, but Yukio was hoping that the cut occurred the time he hit the water this time.

"It's probably been hit a lot." Konekomaru spoke up. "He got that back when he saved me."

"Nii-san." Yukio sighed but they could all hear the underlying worry and concern.

"I thought it would heal before I got back in the fight." Rin weakly defended.

Yukio shook his head. "You know as well as I do that holy water slows the healing of other wounds since your powers will be focused on healing the wounds caused by the water." Of course, if he used his flames, then the water would have been dealt with quickly as it took a very strong concentration of holy water and a whole lot of it to douse Rin's flames long enough to keep them from fighting back and dealing with the water and wounds.

But Yukio knew Rin would not dare use his flames in front of the others. Not when he just got them back.

Once he had him as dry as he could get him, Yukio began to cover Rin's burns with a special salve he made for Rin, spreading the ointment over as much as he could.

Konekomaru was watching them finish up when he suddenly remembered a specific part of Rin that they had not addressed in this, the other's too focused on the wounds to remember at the moment, especially since it wasn't a...usual part of the human body.

"You're tail must be hurt too, right?" He spoke up, making them all look at him.

"Ah, thank you, Miwa." Yukio said before turning to Rin. "Nii-san."

Rin shook his head, his eyes watching Konekomaru and the other's wearily. "It's fine, Yukio. It's not that bad! Plus, since you just helped the other burns, I'm sure it will heal even faster!"

"Rin, your tail being hurt isn't something to take lightly." Yukio said, holding out his hand for the appendage.

"He's right, kiddo." Shura spoke up, joining Yukio in giving Rin an expectant look.

"I-." Rin's eyes flashed around nervously once more and soon they other's caught on why he was so hesitant.

"Oi, you know we're fine with it, right?" Suguro said, raising and eyebrow at the other and getting words of agreement from the others as well. Rin looked at each of them once again before letting his eyes settle on Konekomaru.

'Oh, that's right,' Konekomaru thought with a heavy heart. 'I haven't been very welcoming about that, have I?'

Taking a deep breath, Konekomaru gave Rin the most sincere and apologetic look he could as he spoke. "It's ok, Rin. I'm fine with it and you need to get looked at before anything bad happens."

Rin blinked his shiny eyes before nodding and letting his tail move out from where he'd been hiding it with his leg. Everyone took a harsh breath at the sight of the navy appendage, the poor fur burnt and dull, some spots even missing the fur all together. It was covered in deep burns and the tip was matted with blood. At the base of the limb, there was a cut below the previous one, and there was no doubt that the wound had caused a great amount of pain with how sensitive demon tails were.

"Oh, Rin." Shiemi breathed out, tears in her eyes.

Yukio grimmanced at the state of the tail, his hands hovering over it as if he wasn't sure where he should touch it. Swallowing, he tried to dry the tail off with the towel, apologizing to his brother before he began. Everyone flinched at the reaction Rin had at the touch, his own eyes flashing as he tried to keep himself from reacting. His instincts called for him to attack Yukio, to push him and all of them away so he could go off and wait for his wounds to heal, but Rin knew that Yukio was just trying to help. At one point, Yukio touched a burn that had gone down to the bone and Rin couldn't help the growl that came from his throat, using everything he had to keep himself from snapping at his brother. He noticed the other's flinch at that and wilted a bit, knowing he was no doubt just scaring them even more.

"Sorry." He growled through clenched teeth. "You...You d-don't hav-AH-have to stay."

"What?" Shiemi questioned, her gaze becoming confused.

"What do you mean, Okumura?" Shima spoke. "Of course we want to be here. We won't leave you to suffer alone."

"I-I'm GAH! I'm scaring you guys!" Rin replied, clenching his fists as he tried to hold himself back, but that really only succeeded in breaking open the burns on his hands.

"Hey, that's not what-" Suguro began at the same time Shiemi reached forward.

"Wait, Rin, don't-" She began as she reached for his hands to keep him from hurting himself, only to recoil when Rin snapped at her.

"Don't touch me!" He pulled away at that, irritating his wounds, but those were nothing compared to the way his tail flicked in reaction to the emotion. The appendage moved in a reflex to protect itself and Yukio took his hands away in time to avoid the flicker of blue that occurred around the tail as instincts pushed Rin to protect himself.

As Rin huddled into himself, soft flames flickering across his form as Rin fought with his instincts to reign the flames back in (Yukio knew they could be much bigger without the sword open in cases like this. Hell, even unconscious Rin's flames could range from soft to explosive), Yukio took notice of the way the other students flinched back.

"I recommend you leave us for the moment-"

"How bad is it?" Suguro broke in, making Yukio stare at him. If he was being honest, he thought they would've backed away from his brother, but it warmed his heart to see them staying without a trace of fear on their faces, or-if it was there-it was so small it didn't matter. "I mean, we know its bad, but how bad is it exactly? Can he heal?"

Yukio let out a sigh. "He can but it will take a long time before that happens, and by long I mean much longer than it usually does. He'll be in a lot of pain."

"There's a 'but' in there." Izumo spoke up confidently, her chin jutting out with it. "The way you're saying this makes it almost invisible, but I can tell you're not including something."

"Yuki?" Shiemi pressed.

With a glance at Shura for her thoughts, she just shrugged before motioning toward Rin. Letting out another sigh, Yukio spoke. "There is a way for him to heal faster, but...I doubt he'd want to do it."

"What is it?" Shima asked.

"His flames, and more specifically his demon half, when not held back by the sword being sheathed can actually help him out a great deal, especially with healing. I've seen it before. He was sprayed with holy water, a high concentration at that, and was stabbed in the side within a few seconds of each other and stab wound healed up within a few seconds once the blade was removed. All that remained was the blood on his shirt."

Shiemi let out a squeak at the reminder, remembering when she had thought Rin had been injured and had placed the healing salve on his side. She felt a bit silly now.

"So...he has to use his flames?" Shima asked, want to confirm what was just said.

Yukio nodded. "Basically. He doesn't have to do it now, of course, but I'd prefer it since you all already know his secret and there's no risk of anyone else finding out right now. I mean, he could wait until we reach the dorm but I would prefer it if he did it now, for his sake more than anything. Of course, I can't make him." Yukio added on when he saw Suguro's face. "It has to be up to him. It's his sword and flames after all. If needed, we could draw the sword, but I'd want his consent first."

"No." Rin's choked voice came from where he was sitting, gaining everyone else's attention. He was glancing at them through his bangs as he panted through the pain and discomfort. "I...I'll be fine."

"Rin-" Shiemi started only to be cut off by Konekomaru.

"No, you'll use your flames." He said, holding back the shiver he felt as he said that. "We won't run away, if that's what you're worried about. We...we just want you to feel better."

Rin swallowed, watching them. "You're sure?"

"Okumura, if you don't use your flames right now, I will hit you." Suguro threatened, but they all knew he wasn't serious about that. Still, it got a laugh from Rin.

"Well?" Izumo asked, raising an eyebrow at the other. With a nod at Shura, who currently held the sword as Rin didn't want to have it on him during training, she pulled the sword out and unsheathed the blade. Blue flames lit their way across Rin's body, making him and the other students gasp. His classmates couldn't help but keep their eyes on the blue flames for when they weren't causing chaos and destruction, they were quite a sight to see. Not only that, but the way Rin's features seemed to become more noticeable with the unsheathed blade was fascinating as well.

Rin himself sighed at the comforting feeling of the flames. When he first got them, he never saw himself getting used to them, but he did and now he almost always relaxed into their warmth, feeling protected by the blue heat.

Yukio found himself sighing in relief as Rin's wounds began to heal. It was still slow going, but thankfully the holy water they had been using wasn't that strong of one, so it didn't matter that much that it had gotten into his wounds. The only reason the wounds had been so bad in the first place was because Rin hadn't been using his flames the moment they got past the point what his weakened healing could do for him, and from there is just continued. The puddle definitely hadn't helped much.

Once the wound's were barely noticeable, Shima spoke up. "Wow, you even have little horns, huh?" His voice held humor and amusement in it and Rin shot a good natured glare at him.

"Look, I didn't choose that part."

"I think it's cute!" Shima dramatically gushed. "Really adds to the demon look you have."

"I'll show you demon!" Rin growled, but they could all see the joy in his eyes. However, they all cried out when Rin jumped after Shima, seemingly having forgotten that his flames were still out.

"Wait, Rin!" Yukio cried, worry in his voice as his brother tackled the pink-haired male. They all cringed, waiting for the cry of pain, but it never came. All that came from Shima was his laughter as he attempted to escape Rin's grasp.

"Ah! Stop, stop! Uncle!" He laughed as Rin gave him a noogie.

"Nii-san?" Yukio called, turning Rin's attention to him. All Yukio did was point and that was when Rin and Shima realized that the latter was touching the half-demon's flames and nothing was happening.

"Huh?" Rin gaped in confusion.

"It's warm." Shima mumbled, allowing the flames to curl around his hand. Soon, Shiemi was moving forward to pull him into a hug, exclaiming how happy she was that he was all healed now. Shura then took her own turn to hug the boy, claiming it was her training that had helped the boy control his flames like this, to which Rin protested. Of course, everyone took a chance to touch the flames, though some were more subtle like Izumo and Suguro. However, after a few moments of celebrating, Shiemi spoke up.

"Oh, Rin!" She cried, looking down. "Your poor tail!"

Sure enough, the fur, though grown back, was still matted and dirty. Even though the flames healed, they never really did anything about the mess made unless it was something against demons.

Rin let out a frustrated groan at the sight but was cut off by Izumo pulling him up. "Alright, off to the shower you go."

"Huh?" He replied stupidly.

Izumo rolled her eyes. "We're all gross and sweaty, you especially. We all need to take a shower. After that, we'll deal with the tail."

"Huh?"

"Seriously? Honestly, you can be so stupid. Obviously we don't want to hear you complaining the rest of the day about your tail being matted, so we'll help you unmatt it after we shower."

"Ah, no, its fine." Rin stammered. "I'll handle it."

"Please. Unless it was food, I wouldn't trust you with something like this. You'll just tear out all of the matts instead of doing it nicely, thus giving us more complaints to hear about. Just let us do it." By us, she meant her and Shiemi.

"Uh, I mean, Yukio can do it though, if you're worried. He's done it before."

"I believe that." Izumo replied. "But I'm sure Mr. Okumura will be busy cleaning up for us."

"It's true." Yukio said, seeing where she was going with this. She was trying to extend an olive branch for all of them, but his brother was still worried about scaring them all away. "You've made quite a mess."

"See?"

Rin sighed, giving in. "Alright."

"It's ok, you could always trust me with it!" Shima spoke up. "I'm very good with hair."

"No." Izumo stated, without looking at him.

"What? Why?"

"Because I don't trust your pervert hands to do a good job." Izumo said.

"It's decided then!" Shura cut in, gaining their attention by closing the sword with a clack. Obviously, Rin couldn't go walking around with his flames out. Tossing Rin his sword, Shura laughed. "Now off you go! You all stink!"

They made their way to the showers where Rin attempted to get out the knots, but it just wasn't working and his tail was still extra sensitive in the freshly healed spots. Once everyone was done and back in the classroom where they waited for their teachers to return, Izumo brought out a comb she had ready for whenever she had to shower at the school. Motioning for Rin to sit down, she held her hand out.

"Well? No one is going to come in so you have no way of getting out of this." Rin opened his mouth but Izumo continued, cutting him off. "I know you didn't get the knots out in the shower. Now give."

Sighing when he realized he wouldn't win this fight, Rin offered her his tail ever so gently. Izumo held it softly and began to work at the fur. Shiemi sat on the other side of Rin where she shushed him whenever he let out a grunt from the pulling of a particularly stubborn knot. She would also hand Izumo a wet towel to make sure the fur stayed nice and wet for this.

The other guys sat around them making pointless chatter. At some point, Rin began purring from the soft combing of his tail and that brought the attention of the others to him.

"Oh my god, you're purring!" Shima called out with a laugh.

"I am not!" Rin attempted to protest but the rumble in his chest said otherwise.

"I was wrong." Suguro said making everyone look at him questionably. "He's not a monkey. He's a cat. Who would have guessed with the way he jumps around?"

"Who are you calling a cat?!"

"I don't know, Bon," Konekomaru spoke next with a hum. "Some cats can be very energetic, especially young ones. And, compared to most demons, Okumura is quite young."

"That is very true."

"Oi! Don't call me a kitten, asswholes!"

"We never said you were a kitten. You said that yourself." Konekomaru defended with a smirk making Rin growl and his tail flick. Izumo flicked in arm in response to that.

"Ow! Why'd you flick me!?"

"Don't move your tail."

"I can't control it!"

"Sure you can." Shiemi helpfully supplied. "You can move it very well since you were able to hide it for so long."

Ring gasped. "You traitor!"

Everyone burst out laughing and outside the room, Yukio and Shura smiled.

So that was that! This thing was 16 and a bit pages long! I didn't think it would be that long! Also Takara is just...takara I don't know what you want from me. I know who he is, but like, I also haven't really read the manga either so...yeah.

Anywho, hope you enjoyed that.

Feel free to comment or anything else.

Until next time! :D