"It" Can't be Helped (Revised) | ♾️ | Blue Exorcist

6

What I thought was going to be progress turned out to be a ruse. I sneered at the cardboard katana in my hand, tapping it on the ground a few times. Not too hard, however, or I could break the tip. I rolled my eyes at the weapon and glared at Shura, who had a matching katana poised. "Why the hell did you even give me the Kurikara back if you were just going to rip it away when we got here?"

She shrugged, dropping her stance and tossing the cardboard sword in the air, letting it twirl a few times before catching it. "I didn't give you the sword, I was just letting you hold it for a bit. You got hyped for training, which was my intention." She pointed her practice sword at me, an incredulous look in her eyes. "Did you really think I'd give it back to you so easily? Are you dense?"

I groaned, "you're evil, you know that? Have you ever been nice to anyone?" I shook my head and leaned against a nearby wall. On the other side of the room, my academy jacket and tie were hung up nicely. It became typical for me to undo the top two buttons of my dress shirt during these lessons, too. Shura told me she'd tolerate it for now, but that I'd have to learn how to move around in an Exorcist jacket at some point. I had to scoff at the thought, not having a single viable reason why the Exorcists decided to work in something so immobilizing.

Shura seemed to ponder my words, a thoughtful look crossing her face. I gawked at her, "You actually have to think about it??"

She rolled her eyes at me, but she sat for a few more minutes and ended up shrugging. "We all have a weakness that we'd rather not show. Mine may be kindness, who knows?" I scoffed and she tossed the cardboard katana in the air again. Our lessons together could be spar after spar, or we'd spend most of our time bickering. I had a feeling today's would be filled with the latter.

"That's a shitty weakness, and you know it." I couldn't help the chuckles that escaped me at the thought of Shura being nice.

She glared at me, "Pray tell, what is a good weakness, Einstein? Kryptonite?" She scoffed, "kindness can become a weakness when someone else takes advantage of it." My chuckles died, my mood turning somber. Pink eyes assessed mine, "what about you, kid? What's your weakness?"

I blanched, "how the hell am I supposed to know? I'm only fifteen."

Shura shook her head, her long hair falling over her shoulders. She tossed the sword around a few more times, her lips forming a thin line. "I knew my weakness far earlier than that," she sighed and stopped toying with the sword. When she looked at me next, her gaze was stony. "To me, it's obvious what your weakness is."

I hummed, and echoed her words from earlier, "Pray tell."

"It's that little brother of yours." She took a few steps forward, closing the distance between us. "You'd do anything for that brat, wouldn't you?" Her eyes flashed down, "Tell me, what happened to your hand?"

I flinched, but I figured she'd ask at some point. "I cut myself while doing the dishes. That's all, everyone is overreacting."

Her expression shifted, and I saw anger flash in her pink eyes. "Bullshit. Yukio shot you yesterday because you lost your cool."

Groaning, I shoved myself off the wall, readjusting the toy sword in my grip before giving her a glare. "How would you know? You weren't there. And I had control of myself, but Suguro had it coming to him." My resolve faltered, however, as I remembered my bloodlust during the fiasco. I sighed, running my free hand through my hair. "If you were there, you would've understood. He was an ass, saying horrible things about me. I got pissed, you're right. But anyone else would've reacted the same."

"Oh, please!" She snapped. "First of all, that Chicken isn't as good at lying as you are, I shook the answer out of him after our meeting the other night. He looked lost the entire time." She took another step forward, invading my personal space. I felt my skin prickle at her proximity and I took a step back, my spine hitting the wall behind me. She took the invitation to close the distance between us, her eyes swirling with indignation. "And despite how hard you try, RIn, you will never be human. So, you're incorrect. No one else would've reacted the same way you did. No one else would explode into a ball of flames and try to attack a classmate." I tried to swallow the lump that was forming in my throat. "But you're correct on one thing. I wasn't there. The only evidence I have is what another Exorcist told me. And no matter how you explain yourself, an Exorcist's testimony will hold more weight. You're the son of Satan, and history is what we see you recreating."