Rin and The Kitsune

Hiding In Plain Sight

Ichika POV: 

Two months. Two months. I've been hiding in Rin's dormitory for two months. None of the other humans have seemed to notice and I've been able to walk almost freely around the campus. I've been doubting what the older kitsune told me about this place - that it's someplace where demons go to die. Most of the students here can't see demons and the ones that can don't seem to pay very close attention to their surroundings. 

The adults are a little trickier to avoid but they're oblivious to me just like the students. At first, I thought it was just my being sneaky but now that I've watched them a bit, I think they just feel so secure in this school that they don't think that demons could possibly get in here. In reality, it was difficult for me to get past the barrier, I used an old spell I learned to make a hole in it, but it's not like it's completely secure. 

Humans just get cocky sometimes is my best guess. Maybe if they weren't so cocky and didn't think that they made a foolproof barrier then maybe they would figure out that I'm here. But hopefully, that doesn't happen until after I've secured a safer place since I kind of like not having to worry about getting killed. 

"Uhh." I stretched my paws out in front of me, my body feeling like stone from sitting for so long. I've been waiting for Rin to bring me my lunch on an uncomfortable boulder for the past half hour but he hasn't shown yet. I would have gone and looked for him but a group of obnoxiously loud humans, girls possibly from their uniforms, deciding to camp out a couple hundred feet from where I'm sitting. So now I'm trapped and have to wait here and listen to them talk in ridiculously high voices about how cute some guy's butt is.  

I flopped back onto my stone and tried counting clouds to keep my head from exploding or some other horrible thing. One, two, three-oh dear Satan, would you shut up? One of the students started squealing about how they had a crush on the Butt Guy in the most earsplitting voice I ever heard and I think this time my head really was going to explode. 

"Oh. Dear. Satan." I bumped my head against the boulder just so I would have something to distract my head from its impending doom. This is worse than Gehenna. At least there you can attack the things that annoy you. "Rin better get here soon or I'm going to kill him; after I get my lunch.

"Chibi!" Well, speak of the Devil spawn. I forced my numb legs to stand up from the boulder and gave Rin a withering glare from where I stood. He had the audacity to be late, which he promised wouldn't happen again, and even called me that annoying nickname which I specifically told him not to. I'm going to kill him. 

Rin dodged around the group of obnoxious students, who by now were getting ready to leave, and ran over to me. He looks tired, the bags back under his eyes and his tail droopy, but also happy, that stupid little grin of his on his face that makes his whole face shine brighter than the sun. My anger wavered for a second, torn between being kind to tired Rin who most decidedly deserved it, or staying angry with him since he broke his promise. 

Definitely some of the last but maybe with a little of the last too. Just for politeness's sake. 

"Chibi.." Rin bent down to catch his breath and clutched his knees like he wouldn't be able to stand up without them. I glanced down at his face, my strange fascination with him still not over. His cheeks look red from running and the redness stands out greatly from his pale cheeks. His thick, dark hair is hanging in front of his face and shields his pretty eyes from me. His lips look soft and plush, the perfect kind for - nooo, I'm stopping there. Better not to let this fascination grow anymore. 

I looked over to a fern that was near my boulder. These weird thoughts I've been having toward Rin have been getting more.. out of hand recently. They've been going places that I don't think count as fascination. I know that these aren't the kind of warm feelings that I normally have towards a friend but I'm not very skilled in this part of life, so I'm just going to let them be and hope they go away. That's worked for all the other times I've had weird feelings towards my other friends. Most of the time. 

Uhh, this is going to make my journey so much more difficult. "Chibi?" I looked back to Rin, completely unaware of anything he might have said. "Uh, yeah?" I tried to sound like I was listening but my voice wavered slightly when I said it, giving me away. Rin set the bento boxes he had in his hand next to me on my boulder and then gently ran a hand through the fur between my ears, sending a little shockwave down my back. 

I don't know whether I hate it or love it when he does that. It's become a little habit of his and whenever he does it, my body feels like it's going to melt. It's very different from all the other weird feelings I get; those ones are mostly sick feelings,  while these ones are much more fun. 

"You want to eat Chibi?" Rin ran his hand through my fur one more time, making my whole body feel like it's boiling. "Y-yeah." Rin cocked an eyebrow at me but luckily didn't say anything about my inability to speak, thankfully; I too flustered to think of a response and don't want to lie. It goes against my personal morals. 

Rin handed me my bento box and opened it for me, ever so polite. I sat back down to eat mine while Rin opened his and broke his chopsticks with the same enthusiasm he has whenever he eats. We share the same love for food. It was nice learning that I'm not the only one who finds some form of fun in eating tasty food. 

I started eating my food but watched Rin while he ate his. Right now my fascination wasn't as.. weird as it was before but more of just amazement at how he can go from being tired and beat down to being excited and jubilant. It's like he takes off one mask and puts on another. It's a skill I don't see in many people, especially someone as unfortunate as him. 

He's such a strange person. I swallowed down the last of my rice balls and licked my lips to get rid of any excess rice. I hate having food on my face. I glanced away from Rin and looked over at the empty field next to Rin and me; now that those obnoxious students left, it looks so much bigger and so lush. It might be fun to go roll around in. 

I flicked my gaze back over to Rin and considered asking him if he wanted to go roll around in the grass. It might help him let go of that mask he holds so tightly and relax a little but it could also get me spotted since this is a somewhat open area. Well, it is kind of a childish activity and Rin probably needs to do some studying or training and not waste time playing the grass. I shouldn't have even thought of asking him in the first place, it's really dumb if I think about it for a minute. 

"You want to go play in the grass?" I snapped my gaze back over to Rin and blinked a few times as I tried to form a response. I'm not used to someone being able to read me so well, it almost feels like it's violating my privacy. I guess I clutch to my mask too. "Yeah." My voice sounds unsure and shy but Rin still looks at me with the same kind gaze that never leaves his face.

 Rin gathered up both of our bento boxes and set them together next to my boulder, apparently not caring where they go. I smiled involuntarily at his carelessness and didn't try to suppress it like I used to. The time I've spent with Rin has made me more comfortable with taking off my mask. 

I followed Rin as he leads me over to the field, his tail wagging and curling with happiness and his tired eyes glowing. It's almost hard to remember that he's a child of Satan. We didn't walk very far out in the field, to keep others from seeing me, but it was still beautiful just the same. The grass feels soft and lush under my paws and feels vastly different from the ground in Gehenna. This could almost seem like Heaven. 

I glance over at Rin, crouching down to help a ladybug over a rock with a delicate gentleness. Especially with him.