Chapter I

Sleep

The scrawling of a pencil on paper added an almost soothing effect to the surrounding air in the two-person bedroom. The young genius, and also secret Exorcist, wrote furiously in one of the many notebooks he kept within arm's reach. He shifted between reading the textbook on the left of his desk, to scribbling down whatever information he found to be important. Sitting back slightly, the young teen, known as Okumura Yukio, tapped the top of his pencil against his chin, in deep thought about the current material set before him.

One of his assignments required a decent amount of reading for a quiz the next day. So it was only natural that he burry his nose in a book for the rest of the evening – like any normal, hardworking student would.

And of course, the other occupant of the abandoned dormitory was nowhere to be seen. He wasn't at his own desk stationed on the left side of the room, and he wasn't even in his own bed, reading the mangas stolen from the younger of the two. Yukio recalled how his twin had lazily slumped into their shared room not too long ago, head hung low as he dropped his schoolbag to the floor.

He was late arriving home from school. Even Yukio was settled in before his brother walked through the door.

After noticing the raven-haired male had entered the room, Yukio had turned back to his work, flipping a page over in his textbook as he said, "You're home unusually late, Nii-san. Did you have to stay after again?" Rin had given a solemn nod and kicked off his shoes, stalking his way towards his bed. Yukio had raised a brow at his brother's peculiar mood, watching as he sat himself down on his bed, then lay on his side. "I don't see how you could be so tired, Nii-san. You were in bed by seven last night."

Facing away from the prying eyes of his younger twin, Rin just half-shrugged his shoulders, opting to close his eyes instead. He feigned sleep then, breathing deeply in and out, not bothering to change out of his uniform or even get under blankets.

With the massive amount of books needed for studying, the upcoming tests and quizzes, and the absolute need to prepare for tomorrow's lesson, Yukio was not in the best of moods. The heat accumulating in the bedroom from the mid-June weather only succeeded in raising the blood pressure of said teen.

After all, why should he have to work so hard to maintain his grades, yet his idiot brother gets a free ride; the damn bastard never even had to lift a finger to get into the Academy!

"Nii-san," Yukio's voice broke into the silence, "it is only five-thirty in the afternoon, and you have homework to do. If not in your other classes, then only in mine; did you even look at tonight's assignment?" A lethargic hum answered the brunet's question, though the older twin did not make any further movement or sound. After a few moments, Yukio sighed heavily. "Nii-san, you haven't done any of my assignments all week – you are failing my class. I can only imagine your grades in your other classes. Are you trying to flunk out, or are you really this incompetent?" The insult was meant to draw a reaction out of the raven-haired teen, though still, none came. He just merely lay on his bunk, unmoving and stiff. You could barely register the slight rise and fall of his body with each breath he took.

This silence treatment was really getting on the Exorcist's nerves.

Who did Rin think he was?

Of course Yukio didn't want his brother to fail, and it hurt him a little every time he had to enter an "F" into his grade book. Rin wasn't doing all that great before, but nowadays, he seemed not to care; as if the consequences were nonexistent. Rin was always like that, though.

"You really want to fail don't you?" The four-eyed teen asked. And when his twin refused to answer, he stood from his seat and stormed over to the lazy male. Crossing his arms in front of his chest, he questioned, "Are you even listening, Nii-san?" He reached out an arm and grabbed his brother by the shoulder, flipping him onto his back. Yukio could've sworn his elder flinched at the contact, but pushed that thought aside. There were more important things to discuss.

Staring into blue irises, Yukio noted their cold and steely demeanor, void of any emotion. They seemed almost lifeless, or just uncaring.

The silence blossomed throughout the entire bedroom – you could almost hear Yukio's patience snap as he waited for Rin to respond. And finally, after what felt like hours, a weak voice cut through the tension. "I'm tired, Yukio," Rin spoke. His sentence was short and quiet, like he didn't have the strength to give any more of an explanation.

Which made his reasoning even worse. "You're tired," the taller of the two repeated harshly, his face scrunching into an insulted grimace. "Do you have any idea how much work I have to do every day? Not only do I have to study for my classes – just like you do – but I also have the responsibility of teaching students – like yourself – about the fundamentals they'll need when they're older. What I teach them now could mean the difference between life and death in the future; their lives are basically in my hands, which is the responsibility of every staff member at the academy." The glasses-clad male fisted the fabric of his twin's shirt and pulled forward. Rin's body arched a tad as he was forced close enough to his brother to see the fire burning in his eyes. "And when you have that kind of responsibility hanging over your head, then come and talk to me about being tired."

And with that, Yukio all but shoved Rin back onto his bed. A tiny whine escaped the short teen when his body collided with his mattress once more. He did not move any further, nor did he make a sound. It was like he was silently protesting against his younger brother's words. Rin obviously wasn't ready to give in.

Yukio turned stern eyes on his brother. "You will fail my class." Yukio warned his brother in a cold tone. "Don't mock everything I stand for by claiming that you are tired. You have no idea what 'tired' is." And without another word, the Exorcist stalked back to his desk and sat down. He resumed his work without skipping a beat, although his rage must've been pulsing through his veins at an extreme rate.

Rin shifted his eyes from his disgruntled brother positioned at his desk to a random spot on the ceiling of his bunk. His body stayed limp and lethargic and his breathing went in quietly, just as it went out; although it picked up in speed slightly after a few moments. Rin's ocean-blue orbs glazed over and became moist with the bat of an eyelash. His fingers twitched at his sides, his lips pulled down at their corners. And with one more blink, all the light had left his eyes.

"A-Alright, Yukio," Rin muttered, almost breathlessly. "I'll it…" His soft voice trailed off, his body rising off the mattress into a sitting position. Yukio swiveled his eyes to their corners, merely glancing at his twin, before he set his eyes on his own work again. The raven-haired demon slowly rose off of his bunk, muttering as he did, "I'm just gonna use the bathroom first. I'll be right back." And he stalked towards the bedroom door.

It was almost like he was dreading the trip.

The young exorcist didn't utter a word in response. He merely flipped the page of his book and uncapped his highlighter.

After a few minutes, Yukio brought an elbow up and onto the desk, and supported his head in his hand. His scribbles became fast and erratic with every passing second. His current thoughts made it very difficult to focus on his studying. Yukio flipped through a few more pages, becoming angrier by the second. Why can't Nii-san just understand, the teen mentally sighed with a twinge of aggravation. Why can't he understand how important this schooling is? If he wants to prove to the Vatican that he is not a threat then the best way to do that is to become educated. He's going to need to act logically in the blink of an eye when danger presents itself, not swing his sword around like a maniac! He needs to be smarter than that!

Yukio exhaled a long sigh, placing his pen in the crease of his book and sat back in his chair. He placed his arms behind his head and stared at the clear blue sky just outside his window; it was almost a cousin to the color his twin sported when he transformed into that feral beast. Closing his eyes for a moment, Yukio pictured that dangerous identity Rin took on when times became peril. I just wish he could see how much I care about him.

Blue irises peeked out from under eyelids and resumed their gazing at the clear sky. Not a cloud in the sky; just the occasional bird or two flying by in the distance, going about their leisurely life, unaware of the cruel passing of time or responsibility or the – "What the hell was that?" The young genius started. Without any warning, an unknown object had fallen past the window, momentarily blocking out the sun, before disappearing out of sight.

Yukio scrambled out of his seat and all but pressed his face against the glass of the fixture as he tried to find out what the strange entity was. Anxiety prickled the tips of every nerve in Yukio's body when his fingertips touched the ledge of the window pane and yanked upwards. It was like an atom bomb went off in Yukio's stomach as he gazed upon the body on the ground, a bit of blood seeping from unknown wounds. "Nii-san!"

Scrambling away from his desk, the teen sprinted down the old dormitory's hallways, occasionally stumbling because of his socks on the wooden floors. His heart was racing, along with the million and one questions going through his mind; all ending in "what happened?"

Throwing the front door open, Yukio ran to where his brother lay. Rin's eyes were closed, lips parted slightly, and blood was seeping from under his head. At first, the only thing Yukio could do was stare. His face portraying utter horror at the sudden sight of his brother immobilized. Yukio wanted to speak – he wanted to say something, but his voice was lost.

His eyes scanned his brother up and down, finally stopping when he noticed the socks on his brother's feet. Backtracking, Yukio remembered how his twin had ignored all tradition and stalked into their bedroom in full uniform – shoes included. Yukio looked up to the top of the dormitory. He noted how one part of the old building was a floor higher than the rest, and then he shifted his gaze back down to his twin.

It didn't take long to figure out what happened.

No shoes on and falling from the roof.

For the first time in his entire life, the secret doctor forgot all of his training and had no idea what to do. He could only look on as his brother bled out onto the concrete. It wasn't until that blood started seeping into Yukio's pants did he finally remember the cell phone in his pocket.

He seemed to be in a daze as he called the specialized unit for help, explained their location, and clicked the phone close. The medical personnel being dispatched would come specifically from the academy's own clinic.

Yukio's head was fuzzy, and he felt like he wanted to puke everywhere as he gingerly touched Rin's neck with two fingers; he felt a slow, rhythmic throb under the skin. Sirens could be heard in the distance while Yukio sat on his knees, examining how Rin's arm was bent at an unsightly manner under his body.

He sat, unmoving, all the way until the special paramedics arrived to further assess the situation.