It was Sunday. Rin's only day off. And of course they made him do what the other human Exorcists could have easily done at three in the fucking morning. But because he was a demon and technically their slave, they made him do their dirty work.

Rin had gotten used to the life he had, but sometimes, it still pissed him off how petty the Order was. He finished the mission and went back to bed for the hour and a half he had left before school started.

§~•~§~•~§

"Alright, so who can tell me what plants are used for disorienting ghoul type demons!" Yukio questioned. Suguro raised his hand. "Yes, Mr. Suguro?"

"Sage, Lavender, and Spearmint." He answered. "Correct. Here's a harder one: What plants attract demons?" Yukio challenged.

The class thought. "Uh...Cloves, Sweet Allysum, Honeysuckle, Peony, and Flowering Crabapple." Suguro listed. Yukio smiled. "Don't forget Jasmine and Phlox." Kamiki added. "Are you trying to steal everybody's thunder?" Suguro asked. "No, I'm just giving the information you failed to deliver." She snarked. Yukio sighed. Not this shit again....

"Class is still in session, quiet please." He said, even though it probably wouldn't do anything.

"You callin' me dumb, Kamiki?" Bon growled. "And what if I was? It's not my fault you forgot part of the answer." She shrugged, smirking. Yukio rolled his eyes. These first years were seriously five year olds.

"I didn't forget. I just didn't see the need to include them since they're less common in terms of use!" Suguro yelled. "B-Bon, please, calm down." Konekomeru tried. It was useless.

Suguro got up from his chair and so did Kamiki. "Ooh, I'm so scared! What, are you going to hit me again?" Kamiki teased. "I will if you don't shut your trap, bitch!" He answered. "Ooh, there he goes." Shima snickered.

"Maybe you should shut your trap for once. It'd do wonders for this fucking class and their ears." Rin grumbled. He'd apparently come in the classroom sometime during the argument. He always seemed to pop up at important times.

"When the hell did you even get here?!" Kamiki shrieked. She was seriously beginning to think he was magic or something! Rin grinned, flashing his fangs. He usually did that as a warning. It worked like a charm.

"Why is it that you argue in almost every class? Sit your asses down and pay attention, brats." He sneered. Without another word, they sat back down and the lesson continued.

§~•~§~•~§

"Hey Rin, care for a drink?" Shura sidled up to him with an open bottle of vodka.

"I'm underage." He argued plainly. She snorted. "One day you'll be able to. So how's the four-eyed chicken doing?" She wondered. "He's good. I drop by his class every so often. Usually when I hear yelling. Two students that argue over literally everything because they're equally matched in book smarts." Rin groaned.

Shura laughed. "Heard you were teaching a kid who wants to be a Knight. Thought you didn't make friends." She teased. "I don't. I just train him. He's a lazy one though... reminds me of myself as a first year." He told her.

"You were lazy once. I kinda miss that. Felt like you still had some freedom left if you could be lazy and still somewhat pass classes. Now, everything sucks and you're kept on a leash." She sighed.

"It's okay. It's not so bad. I just wish I could sleep more often. And go to the beach. That'd be nice too." He gave a half-smile. "And I'm still glad I met you. Despite you're drinking habits, you're a decent person to be around." He snickered.

"Oh, I'm only decent? Not great? Wow, thanks for that." She rolled her eyes.

"But seriously, I'm trying to get Mephisto to help me. I can break that curse. You can be free, Shura." He turned serious.

"Rin, stop. There's no way to stop it. Besides, he won't get what he wants. So just drop it. I chose this for myself." Her voice hardened.

"No, you didn't. You weren't given a choice, just like I wasn't. But you have a chance. I won't let you die an early death because your ancestor made a shit deal with a demon!" He didn't want her to go out like this. Because it was wrong. She didn't have a choice. But her predicament was fixable, unlike his and he'd be damned if he didn't take the chance to save her.

And a selfish part of him didn't want to lose the only person left besides Mephisto that knew Shiro.

They separated eventually and Rin didn't sleep very well that night.

§~•~§~•~§

"He wants your brother." Shima said quietly. "Yeah? Why? His amazing ability to be a bigger prick than Mephisto?" Rin snorted. "No. Because he's immune to the blue flames. And he's wicked smart." Shima answered.

Rin shook his head. "He has book smarts, but his street smarts are severely lacking. Even if Yukio goes with you to the Illuminati Base, he'll never actually join you. He's too selfish to fight for a cause that isn't his own and too scared to really get in with Lucifer after being stuck with Mephisto for years." Rin told the teen.

"I figured as much, but I have to try. I didn't choose either side for a reason." Shima sighed.

"That's fine. We all live to either love or hate the choices we make. Hopefully Yukio will make a choice he doesn't regret for once." Rin shrugged.

"He's your brother, shouldn't you be more concerned?" Shima wondered.

"In first year, he shot me three times–in the head, the throat, and the chest–with lethal bullets that could've killed me. He'd pulled his gun on me twice before that over the course of First Year. I was delirious and my instincts told me to attack the thing trying to kill me, so I did. He broke my sword and therefore my seal and I had to go through a whole shitshow of a mental breakdown and a massive Identity Crisis in which I was literally split between two people–a human and a demon. I had to choose. I chose both and combined them. It hurt a lot and Yukio didn't give a single shit how bad that crisis hurt me mentally, emotionally, and physically." Rin explained. Then he softened, just a bit.

"It took me a long time to realize that he didn't deserve the love I was giving him. I was alone in this from the beginning, I just didn't want to see it. Yukio disowned me shortly after, so legally, he's a really an Egin, my mother's surname. I'm the only Okumura. But everyone already knew him as an Okumura so he still goes by it. He seems satisfied by not being related to me legally, so to each their own, I guess." He finished.

"Ah. I know my family loves me, but it really doesn't feel like they love me. Feels like they loved Takezo and hold onto me as if I could replace him." Shima admitted.

Rin turned to him. "Lemme tell you something: Family is not blood. Family is who you love, Shima. Remember that."