Demons and Ghosts, Hell's King and King of the Dead

Odd Auras and Tired Demons

Rin yawned, stumbling around the restaurant, trying his best not to trip and drop trays.

Lizzy had her hands on her hips in the kitchen doorway when Rin came back, eyes droopy and body swaying.

"Hey, Lizzy," Rin yawned to the adult. "What'cha need?"

Some customers near the kitchen turned their heads to watch the conversation.

"You're tired." Lizzy pointed out the obvious.

"No, I'm not," Rin denied, but he yawned again, betraying himself.

"Sure," Lizzy drawled in a doubtful manner. "Kid, did you go back to bed after I came into your room?"

"...Yes?..." Rin replied uncertainly.

"Is that 'Yes, I went to bed immediately after you left the room' or 'Yes, I went to bed at three in the morning after you left the room'?" Lizzy asked, brow raised, waiting for his reply.

Rin rubbed his eyes. "Second one."

Lizzy stared at him before sighing and dropping her hands from her hips, expression softening.

"Do you know why I came into your room last night?" Lizzy asked.

"Not really," Rin replied.

"You screamed, Rin. Did you know that?" She asked softly.

Rin went rigid. "I did? I don't-I didn't think I did. My dream-I wanted to scream, but I couldn't. I couldn't have screamed."

"You did, kid. Are you sure you're alright? Your scream, it scared me. You sounded like..." Lizzy trailed off.

"I was dying," Rin finished.

Lizzy nodded, concern clear on her face. "You can take a break. Go back to the car, take a nap."

"No!" Rin rushed. "I'll be fine, honest. I'm not going to let a little nightmare and lack of sleep stop me. I'm an employee, and it's my fault I didn't get enough sleep."

Lizzy frowned, but gave a dejected sigh. "I'm going to lose this argument, aren't I?"

"Count on it." Rin smirked.

"...Get back to work, kid. Don't push yourself too hard, though."

Rin grinned cheekily, fangs glinting.

__________________________

"I can't believe Rin works at Eclipse!" Tucker said in disbelief.

"Me neither." Danny laughed. "Hey, Sam. Why didn't you tell your parents that Rin was the one who made their 'unbelievably delicious, high quality dinner'?" Danny repeated what Sam's parents had said.

Sam shrugged. "They would have had a fit, and despite the fact that it was delicious, they would have told the staff it was garbage. If something's made by someone they think is lower than them, they'll flip their shit, no matter how good it is."

"That's sad." Tucker shook his head in disappointment.

"I hate them." Sam scowled. "They try and control me, make me into something I don't want to be. On top of that, they insult everyone who is lower than them! I hate what they did to Rin! Honestly, I'm surprised he was able to keep calm."

"Calm?" Danny chuckled. "You think he was calm? I could hear his heartbeat, his hands were practically shaking, trying to refuse ripping his notepad apart, and most likely your mom."

"Oh yeah," Tucker snapped his fingers. "I forgot you could do that."

"Still surprised he managed to hold back." Sam shrugged.

"Anyway," Danny changed the subject. "I need to make another visit to Clockwork after school. Thankfully, it's Friday. If I don't get back before curfew, can you cover for me?"

"No problem, man," Tucker responded, "Though, why another visit so soon?"

Danny scratched the back of his neck. "To be honest, I have a gut feeling about something. What, I don't know."

Danny hesitated slightly, as if he wanted to say something else but held back.

"Danny?" Sam coaxed, "You have anything else you want to get off your chest?"

"I don't want to worry you," Danny sighed.

"We'll be fine. You don't have to do everything on your own," Tucker told him.

Danny ran a hand through his hair. "I don't want you guys to panic or do anything rash, alright? It's probably just some paranoia."

"We get it, Danny." Sam huffed. "Go on."

"When we first ran into Rin," he started, "His aura felt...off."

"Off?" Tucker sucked in a breath. "What do you mean 'off'?"

"I mean, his aura didn't feel human, but at the same time, it did. There was a human aura, but it was also coated with an inhuman burning sensation of some sort, the feeling of danger, and slight malevolence, but the malevolence wasn't evil. It was more...lost? Confused? As if it was only there to warn off something Rin wasn't accustomed to. I'm not sure I can explain it. You'd have to be a ghost or halfa to understand, I guess. It's complicated, even for me," Danny explained.

"That's...unsettling," Tucker replied.

"Maybe it's nothing. Besides, Rin might just have something left over from a supernatural encounter. He hasn't done anything wrong yet, so we have no right to accuse him of anything," Danny said, "Though his aura is off, his heart is kind. He's experienced rather horrible things, and he's suffered, but his intentions and thoughts are far from malicious."

"We're not going to accuse Rin of anything, but it might be best to keep tabs on him," Sam requested.

"I don't want to stalk him." Danny frowned.

"We won't. We'll just make sure to keep an eye out for anything unusual that occurs around Rin."

"Okay," Danny reluctantly agreed. "If you ever have another close encounter with him, act normally. He's done nothing wrong, and I don't want us to make him feel uncomfortable or feel like we're going to shoot him the moment we lock eyes."

"Got it," Sam and Tucker chorused.

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"Oh, Friday!" Rin sang, "Honestly, Lizzy, I love cooking and everything, but even I need a break."

"How are you awake? You were stumbling around like a drunk zombie just this morning." Lizzy scrutinized the demon.

"It's a mystery," Rin whispered.

It wasn't, really. Rin had just given himself some temporary fire power, literally. He temporarily used his flames as energy, but once he stopped, he was just as tired as he would have been had he not used them at all.

This meant that once he stopped fueling himself with his flames, he'd pass out in half a second.

"Hey, Lizzy?" Rin asked.

"Yeah?" Lizzy replied.

"I'm going to pass out in 3...2..." Rin counted down.

On the one mark, Rin's body went limp, and he flopped onto the seats.

Lizzy stared at him through the rear-view mirror. "You've got to be kidding me."

Rin was not, as his soft snores gave it away.

Lizzy turned her attention back to the road, a fond smile on her features. "What am I going to do with you?"

Chapter Seven complete! Bye my doggies!