Claustrophobia - Blue Exorcist

Chapter 2: Breathe

Rin clutched to his younger brother's shirt and sobbed harder. He felt like the walls were closing in on him. His breathing became worse. Yukio noticed it immediately.

"Rin you need to try and calm down. You need to stop crying." Yukio said. His voice was calm but inside he was freaking out. It didn't work.

"Rin," Yukio said soothingly. "Focus on my voice okay?"

He gave a slight nod.

"Shiemi, is there any water in your bag?" Yukio asked.

She nodded and got a bottle out.
Okay, we have water, that's good. Yukio thought. He realised his brother had stopped crying but his breathing had not improved.

He moved Rin off him and sat him up so they could talk. He placed firm hands on the demon's shoulders. "Rin, you're hyperventilating. Just look at me okay. Focus on my voice and keep trying to steady your breathing. Forget your surroundings. Just look at me."

It seemed to work. Yukio grabbed the bottle of water and uncapped the lid. He poured some into his brother's mouth.

After he was certain his brother's breathing was stable, he pushed him back into his warm chest. "Try to sleep."

In a matter of seconds the teenage demon fell asleep. Yukio sighed with relief.

"You should try to sleep too Yuki." Shiemi smiled.

"Maybe just a nap," He trailed off as he closed his eyes.

***

Shiemi had always thought Rin was so strong. That he didn't have any fears. She watched the twins. It felt like hours had passed since they fell asleep. She checked the time. 4:25 pm. They'd been trapped in there for about an hour now. Bon and Izumo should have noticed something was wrong. Unless they were trapped too. Rin groaned. There was discomfort in his face.  She glanced down at his hands. The blood had dried on his scraped knuckles. She then noticed something startling. He was digging his finger nails into his left wrist which caused it to bleed.

"Rin! Wake up!" Her shout awoken both brothers.

Rin's breathing hitched. Yukio looked at his brother with great concern. He grasped his wrist, making Rin wince. He couldn't take it, he had to get out. He pulled his arm out of Yukio's hand. He put both his hands to his head and began digging his nails in. Everything was a blur. All he could hear was noise.

"Shiemi!" Yukio shouted. "Start banging on the door! Shout as loud as you can! We need to get him out."

Shiemi got up and did as she was told. She prayed someone would hear her.

Shit what should I do? Yukio thought.

He pulled Rin's hands away from his head. Tears spilled from the older Okumura's eyes. Not this again. This time Rin did not listen. His fear over took him. Breathing became harder. He felt his brother holding his hands. He heard him shout his name.

Rin didn't have the energy to sit upright any longer. He painfully fell on his side.

"Rin!" Yukio cried.

Everything went black.