Anonymousooc: I have absolutely no idea what to do with this…. Do I just delete these in the future? I’ve never received anon asks before, especially not on my personal…. Will delete later?
Suguro nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Though sometimes real life makes it difficult to enjoy something…. Depending on the story, I can get pretty pissed off at father figures in manga when they do things my own dad does.” He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed a little. “Understanding why he did those things helps a little now, but sometimes it’s still hard to separate myself from all that anger I felt before….”He bent down to look at some titles on the bottom shelf. “I’ve been meaning to read Akira. For some reason I just hadn’t been able to yet.”
Yukio smiled over at Bon, although in the back of his mind, he wondered if he had ever related his own life that that of a character’s in a manga or anime. Nothing really stood out as relate-able in regards to the father that had died protecting his brother, and there was certainly nothing in the world that could accurately sum up his feelings regarding Satan, his true father. Perhaps he had felt moments of jealousy at just the image of a happy family drawn onto a page, but…
“Akira is good, you should pick it up sometime. Hopefully there won’t be much going on now in terms of missions, so you’ll have some free time at least.” Yukio’s eyes scanned around the bookstore, wondering if there was anything he needed to get for his own studies. When he couldn’t come up with anything, he decided to just finish the train of thought he had lost himself on.
“…It’d be nice to have a few weeks of peace before the next series of chaotic events makes its way over to True Cross Academy. It seems that, wherever there are Exorcists, trouble enjoys showing its ugly face and posing a threat to all mankind. It gets tiresome after a while,” Yukio murmured while pushing up his glasses, his arms folding across his chest.
“Yeah. It’s about time we all had a break….” Suguro listened to what Yukio had to say about Exorcists and trouble and … he couldn’t help wanting to do something to help cheer Yukio up. He didn’t know what he could do about it, but he suddenly looked rather sad. Or maybe not sad, but … Yukio had always been the more serious twin, but he looked more demure than before….
And why did that word conjure up images in shoujo manga art style of Yukio being a really shy bishie?
It was a good thing Suguro kept many of his thoughts to himself. That would be embarrassing to share.
He stood up, looked at the books at his eye-level, found Akira Vol. 1, and pulled it off the shelf.
“In that case, I’ll buy it.” He gave Yukio a smile. “You want to get anything to eat while we’re out? I’ll treat if you want.”
Suguro listened as Yukio told him about Rin’s choice in manga. And it made him grin.
“Well, if he ever tries to poke fun at me for it, I have a comeback now~” He laughed a little. Rin didn’t really seem like the type of person who would make fun of him for it. But it was a way of showing Yukio that he wasn’t going to use that information to torment Rin. Maybe tease him a little, but since he more or less did the same thing, it would be fairly hypocritical of him to do much else.
“Mysteries are good, too. I just don’t read much of them. For some reason, it’s hard for me to get into a lot of them.” Suguro then had an idea. “Are there any you’d recommend?”
Turning his attention back over to the boy in front of him, Yukio pushed up his glasses and cracked a bit of a smile. “Well, I generally just read the manga that’s published in Jump Square every month. I never really have time to spend collecting or reading up on new manga…”
As he trailed off, Yukio began going through a list of the manga and anime he has seen and read before. “A few I’ve read or am in the process of reading are Persona 4, Katekyō Hitman Reborn!, and Akira.” He shrugged.
“Sometimes it’s easier to live vicariously through the actions of a character, though. I’d much rather be slaying the hollows from Bleach rather than the demons from Gehenna. Somehow it always seemed much more interesting. At least there’s a realm of shinigami that go out of their way to protect humans in that story… we’re just stuck defending ourselves, hoping that our skills and training will protect those who don’t know about demons.”
Suguro nodded. “Yeah, I know what you mean. Though sometimes real life makes it difficult to enjoy something…. Depending on the story, I can get pretty pissed off at father figures in manga when they do things my own dad does.” He rubbed the back of his neck and laughed a little. “Understanding why he did those things helps a little now, but sometimes it’s still hard to separate myself from all that anger I felt before….”
He bent down to look at some titles on the bottom shelf. “I’ve been meaning to read Akira. For some reason I just hadn’t been able to yet.”
“I thought that’s what I was doing by not telling you, but then you got all offended about that! It’s not that you did a shitty job, it’s that you got hurt!” His migraine was getting worse with the yelling. “You’re my friend and I love you and I just want to help you because what’s going to stop him from trying it again!?”
Then … there were two of Rin, and he knew it was because he hadn’t gotten much sleep and the migraine wasn’t helping either, so he just held his head in his hand, hoping the blurry vision would improve. Because he didn’t think he’d be able to allow himself to fall asleep again, at least not while that nightmare was still fresh in his mind….
Rin tried to force himself to calm down; it wasn’t really Bon’s fault, and it seemed his friend was in a pretty bad condition, so yelling at him was probably not helping anything. He didn’t want to deny Suguro the right to be worried about him, of course… he just didn’t like to be told what to do like that, and he didn’t like to be judged, and even if that wasn’t what his friend was doing, it still felt like that.
“You can overcome Satan by sheer willpower,” he said, his voice dropping low again in an attempt to keep himself from making Suguro’s headache even worse. “Remember the Leapers? It’s kind of the same thing. Just a lot stronger… but yeah, emotions make all the difference in the world.”
He plopped down on the ground again, and this time, the look he gave his friend was one of worry. “I really think you should go home and get some sleep. You look like crap. And I’m not saying that to insult you, I swear.”
Overcome him by willpower? That made sense - that’s what happened with the Leapers after all - but if that was the case, why did Rin have to get shot? Rin seemed to have all the will power in the world….
But he didn’t voice any of this because Rin was right. He really needed sleep, and he knew very well he looked like crap. And he didn’t want to upset Rin again, especially when he was too tired to think straight.
“You’re right….” Suguro sighed and forced himself to his feet. He teetered a little bit, but regained his balance. He could make it home and get into bed just fine. He at least thought he could. Or was just telling himself that. But he was going to manage it, regardless.
Suguro groaned as he failed to find his migraine medication. Looks like he’d have to wait it out….
He looked up at Rin when he asked him why. Why … ? He groaned again and ran his fingers through his hair.
“There’s just gotta be a better way to free someone from possession. I know you and Yukio did what you could at the time - and I haven’t had any luck yet, so for all I know you did the only thing anyone could do, but I just can’t feel right until I find out for myself. And I’m kind of hoping to come across something that could help us figure out how to get rid of Satan entirely…. I didn’t mention it before because one, you’re behind on work as it is and two, you kind of hate sifting through books in the library but you would want to help, and about four hours into searching I wished I had help but….”
Suguro no longer knew if he was making any sense, and his head was hurting even worse.
“I dunno, I don’t even know if the words on the page in front of me make any sense right now, I’m so tired….”
For a second or two, Rin found himself completely speechless. A better way to free someone from possession? What? Well, sure — the way he had come up with was rather shitty (even if in the end everything turned out to be okay, he had still nearly died), but what the hell did it matter now?
“Can’t feel right till you find out for yourself?” he repeated, and he was surprised himself to find that his voice was saturated with bitter sarcasm. “What, are you that upset that we left you outta things?” Quite honestly, he didn’t want to feel angry again; Suguro was his friend, after all. But he just couldn’t help it. Maybe it was because the two of them were so alike, that Ryuuji sometimes just irritated the hell out of him. But what the other was doing right now, it somehow felt unbearable. “Think I did a shitty job? Well, guess what, I know that by myself! But what the fuck does it matter now?!”
His hands clenched into fists; he concentrated on unclenching them, but then his teeth gritted together, and he could barely relax his jaw. What was Bon trying to accomplish? And anyways, why did he just go and decide stuff like that on his own?! “No, I don’t wanna help you with it.” He ran his fingers through his hair, trying his hardest to just calm down. His head was still swirling, and Suguro didn’t look any better. “I don’t even want to think of it, dammit! I nearly died, for fuck’s sake, can’t you give me a break?!”
“I thought that’s what I was doing by not telling you, but then you got all offended about that! It’s not that you did a shitty job, it’s that you got hurt!” His migraine was getting worse with the yelling. “You’re my friend and I love you and I just want to help you because what’s going to stop him from trying it again!?”
Then … there were two of Rin, and he knew it was because he hadn’t gotten much sleep and the migraine wasn’t helping either, so he just held his head in his hand, hoping the blurry vision would improve. Because he didn’t think he’d be able to allow himself to fall asleep again, at least not while that nightmare was still fresh in his mind….
Wait. What? Why was - ?
“No, I didn’t shoot him, I wasn’t even there, Rin told me and - !”
Then it clicked.
Angel hadn’t known until just now.
Suguro’s eyes widened as he realized this. Shit! What had he done?
“L-look, I don’t know the details! All I know is that the exorcism was a bullet to the chest and that it really hurt him! Rin heals really fast and well, though, so if it had been anyone but Rin it probably would have killed them! And there has to be a better way to exorcise people than that, right!? Even if it is Satan!? I just want to help protect my friend!” Suguro felt like he was digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself. But what would be really bad if Rin got into trouble - ! “It - it’s not Rin’s fault, he was trying to protect Yukio!”
The paladin took a stride towards Bon. If glares could burn, there would be smoke in the air. This was bad. This was very, very bad, and Arthur knew that very well. “Satan was here? On this very campus?” His voice wavered with anger. No one told the Vatican, of course they didn’t! This branch was the most….he couldn’t even finish the sentence. “And would you care to tell me who decided not to report this?” There was no semblance of amusement, there was no threat. It was a cold, yet simple question. But he had more.
How many knew about this attack? Shura surely did, that was clear. It was obvious that she had been there and was hiding something, but this? And Rin had been injured as well, hadn’t he? The bullet, of course! And how did the younger Mr. Okumura fit into this? Were the fools at this branch as ignorant as to truly believe that this would go under the Vatican’s radar? Even if he wasn’t here, it would be have been discovered. In fact, he did wish someone else had discovered this. There was too much involved with this, too many how and wheres and whys, and Arthur was coming dangerously close to just lashing out. His eyebrows creased with thought. This was…this was just too much. There were far, far too many questions, and answers seemed no where in sight.
“I - I - !”
Suguro was too exhausted to know whether or not he should answer Angel’s questions or not - but his own confusion about the matter was getting the better of him, and really he just wanted answers just as much as Angel did, though he had different questions. Angel had to be able to help him, right? So maybe he should tell Angel? He was getting the feeling that Rin would be angry at him - and maybe not just Angel, but Shura as well - but he just had to know if there was a way to fight off Satan better, a way that none of them knew at their current ranks. There had to be a better way!
“Yes, Satan was in the area! I don’t know if it was here on campus. I don’t know the details, but I do know that Yukio had been possessed, the Gate had been reopened, Rin did … something to take Yukio’s place, and to save Rin, Yukio shot him in the chest to get Satan to let go of him! I don’t know if anyone else was involved. I only know what Rin told me! But I do know that none of it is Rin’s or Yukio’s fault. You can’t think that they wanted that to happen when they hate Satan’s guts! Right?”
Ugh, whatever, he was not awake enough for this attitude. But he’d have to put up with it.
“Right. My apologies, Mr. Angel. I - ” Great, now he was feeling a little nervous. Angel might have been kind of a prat, but he was still high-ranking and important in the exorcist world and he really, really needed honest information about this and … . “I know what happened with Rin and Yukio recently, and I was wondering if - if you could help clear up a few things for me….”
He hoped he wasn’t ruining his one chance at getting this. His mind was all foggy and befuddled due to lack of sleep, and he probably looked like a train had run him over or something - what did that look like? No, Suguro, focus. Focus!
“Was shooting Rin in the chest really the most effective way to get Satan out of Rin?”
The boy was clearly exhausted, possibly delirious, and he looked worried. Not the best combination, Angel thought. Bon also looked just a tad annoyed, but the paladin didn’t notice that. “I suppose I could help,” he mumbled under his breath, his tone clearly conveying that he wanted nothing to do with helping him. There were bigger issues, there were headaches to deal with.
“Was shooting Rin in the chest really the most effective way to get Satan out of Rin?”
Arthur’s eyes narrowed. “Excuse me, but did I just hear you say that Satan was in Rin? And that you shot him?” All annoyances flew aside, and everything seemed to click in his mind. Shura’s injuries - she truly was a fool then, to try and fight off the god of demons! And the way that the demon child had winced…No wonder everyone was hiding something. Arthur’s hand instinctively reached for caliburn, which he held so tightly his knuckles turned white. Force of habit, he managed to think through the thoughts parading through his head. This was no mistake, no delirious ramblings. Everything pointed to it being true.
“Explain yourself. This instant!”
Wait. What? Why was - ?
“No, I didn’t shoot him, I wasn’t even there, Rin told me and - !”
Then it clicked.
Angel hadn’t known until just now.
Suguro’s eyes widened as he realized this. Shit! What had he done?
“L-look, I don’t know the details! All I know is that the exorcism was a bullet to the chest and that it really hurt him! Rin heals really fast and well, though, so if it had been anyone but Rin it probably would have killed them! And there has to be a better way to exorcise people than that, right!? Even if it is Satan!? I just want to help protect my friend!” Suguro felt like he was digging a bigger and bigger hole for himself. But what would be really bad if Rin got into trouble - ! “It - it’s not Rin’s fault, he was trying to protect Yukio!”
It was only a few moments after he woke up that Rin came running into the room. Shouting. Which made the migraine worse. His eyebrows furrowed, and a vein in his forehead twitched. But he tried to not lose his temper - he had been doing remarkably well at it so far….
“Stupid nightmare about the stupid research in the stupid library about stupid Satan,” Suguro grumbled. He pulled his bag up from the ground and dug through it for his migraine medication. He did put it in there, right? He was too tired for secrets. Honesty took less brain power.
On one hand, it was a relief that nothing serious was happening. Rin’s shoulders relaxed, but he reached for his sword, flinging it over his shoulder just in case anyways. On the other hand… “Research? What? About—…”
He fell silent as he realized that was most likely the answer for his earlier question. But why the hell would Suguro do research on Satan? Was this about what Rin had told him the day before? What was the other trying to accomplish? It was already over anyways. Satan was gone. Though eventually, he would most likely attempt to come back… especially since the twins’ mother, Yuri was now around… but he would still need someone as a gate, wouldn’t he? Yukio had been the one last time, but it wouldn’t happen again, not if Rin could help it.
“… Why?”
Suguro groaned as he failed to find his migraine medication. Looks like he’d have to wait it out….
He looked up at Rin when he asked him why. Why … ? He groaned again and ran his fingers through his hair.
“There’s just gotta be a better way to free someone from possession. I know you and Yukio did what you could at the time - and I haven’t had any luck yet, so for all I know you did the only thing anyone could do, but I just can’t feel right until I find out for myself. And I’m kind of hoping to come across something that could help us figure out how to get rid of Satan entirely…. I didn’t mention it before because one, you’re behind on work as it is and two, you kind of hate sifting through books in the library but you would want to help, and about four hours into searching I wished I had help but….”
Suguro no longer knew if he was making any sense, and his head was hurting even worse.
“I dunno, I don’t even know if the words on the page in front of me make any sense right now, I’m so tired….”
He was only vaguely aware that Rin was laughing at him, but the wood felt nice and cool against his cheek, and as Rin spoke up, he started slipping into dreamland regardless…..
He was back in the library, and the books seemed to have multiplied since he was last there. He kept pulling book after book off the shelves, trying to find some semblance of useful information in taking down Satan. But the more he pulled off, the less relevant they became, to the point where he realized he was pulling down cookbooks. Frustrated, he threw it down to the floor.
It landed on its spine and fell open, the pages flipped open to a rather strange recipe. Suguro ignored it for a while as he threw off more and more useless books off the shelves. Then the picture in the cookbook caught his eye. Eyebrows furrowed, he went over to it and examined it.
His eyes widened as he saw that it was a picture of him, done up like a roast pig.
“What the - ?!” Suguro yelled.
“Shhhhh.”
Suguro froze, then turned around - and all he could see were blue flames.
“Don’t want to alert the others, do we?”
Suguro bolted upright. “AUGH!” He looked around at his surroundings, panting. He - he was still at Rin’s. There were no flames. No Satan.He sighed in relief and put his head in his hands. Another migraine. Shit.
Bon didn’t seem to be reacting, and Rin raised an eyebrow. Was his friend falling asleep? “Oi, Suguro…” No response whatsoever. He knelt up on the floor, leaning towards the other boy, but seeing that he had fallen asleep in a matter of two seconds, it didn’t take much longer for Rin to realize that Ryuuji must have been really tired. Rin was still more than curious about what his friend had been doing that had left him in such a state, but seeing that he hadn’t gotten the details the previous evening, he probably wasn’t going to get them now, not at least until Suguro himself wanted to share. The striped-haired boy could be so damn stubborn… but, then again, it wasn’t like Rin had much room to speak about stubbornness.
Deciding to just let him rest for a while, Rin got up from the floor with a yawn and a stretch, and left to make some tea. He was almost down at the dining hall of the dorm when a sudden yell echoed across the walls, and Rin gave a startled jump. What the hell…?! He turned around without a second thought, racing up the stairs in the direction he had come from, thinking of the many possibilities. Demons…? He silently cursed under his breath as he ran — he had left the Kurikara in the room with the sleeping Suguro. Dammit…
He burst through the door with a yell — only to find nothing but his friend still sitting on the floor, holding his face in his hands. “What the… What happened, Suguro?!”
It was only a few moments after he woke up that Rin came running into the room. Shouting. Which made the migraine worse. His eyebrows furrowed, and a vein in his forehead twitched. But he tried to not lose his temper - he had been doing remarkably well at it so far….
“Stupid nightmare about the stupid research in the stupid library about stupid Satan,” Suguro grumbled. He pulled his bag up from the ground and dug through it for his migraine medication. He did put it in there, right? He was too tired for secrets. Honesty took less brain power.
