Of Death and Demons

Chapter 11- Stories Of The Past

Rin, Ratio, and I sat around a table in Ratio's room.

"Misaki, tell us exactly what happened." Ratio said.

"I woke up, my window was open and it wasn't when I went to sleep. I heard a noise near my closet, where the sword was. A small girl, maybe eleven, had my sword in her hands. I tried to stop her but she's fast. I got a look at her when she stopped in the window. Her eyes and hair were gold. Before she fell out of the window she said, 'I'm returning this to it's owner'." I said.

Ratio and Rin looked at each other.

"I know what you're thinking, but no. No, she would not betray me like that. I may not have seen her in years but she still has loyalty to me." Rin said, scowling.

Ratio sighed. "Rin, I hate to tell you this but Inari has been missing for a week. I told her about Misaki over here and you being the one wanting to go after her. She left my office and I haven't seen her since. Besides, Misaki's description matches Inari. Rin, I know it hurts to think about it, but at the very least we need to make sure she's alright." Ratio said. Rin looked unhappy but didn't object anymore.

"So, who's this Inari?" I asked.

Rin stood up and left, shocking me. Rin was usually calm but I had never seen him like this.

"Poor Rin, he keeps losing people he cares about. First mother, then father, and now Inari. He must fear losing you too. I should tell you who Inari is before you run into her, I have no doubt you will. Inari is very important to Rin, that will make this battle all the harder. If you face Inari with Rin nearby, he will not know what to do. Inari, is a fox demon and Rin's familiar. Inari is Rin's version of your Rokura. Before you ask, I know you saw her as a human instead of a fox. I can teach Rokura to take a human form too if you'd like. But, I'm very concerned that someone else has the demon sword. If they were to draw the blade, your demon powers would be released." Ratio explained. He stared at his hands thinking.

"What is Inari to you?" I asked. Ratio looked up at me in surprise.

"You said you knew Inari. She must mean something to you, if she's Rin's familiar she must have been summoned a long time ago." I continued.

"Yeah, I wasn't around her a lot but we knew each other pretty well. When Rin first became a teacher, she taught with him but, she decided she didn't want to anymore. Rin set her free in a way and sent her to me. She's been working for Brightcross for a long time. She always pissed me off by drawing on every paper I received or sent. Her silly, what do they call'em, chibis everywhere."

Wait, did he say chibis?

"She was in the cram school yesterday. One of her drawing was on a note Rin left on the door to a classroom." I said quietly.

Ratio stared at me intensely. I met his eyes and his gaze softened.

"You're quite a beautiful girl." he said after a moment.

My cheeks immediately became warm.

"You're different than what I thought you'd be. You're kind and care about everyone, you want to protect everyone. Never, in all my years could I have thought.... Too bad it seems I've already lost this battle." Ratio sighed.

"What do you mean?" I asked in confusion. Ratio laughed softly.

"Let's see if you can put this together yourself. Rin spared, saved, and protected you, I don't know how many times. He gave you his soulstone, meant to be given to people you trust completely. And here's your biggest hint, Rin threaten to cut my head off because I joked about you." Ratio said.

"Rin...cares about me that much? But how does that mean you've lost the battle?" I asked.

"You idiot, you don't even pay attention to yourself. You don't notice how every time Rin is near you, your face turns red. Let me guess, your heart starts racing and all you want is for time to stop, so you can stay in that moment forever. Am I right?" Ratio asked.

I looked down at my hands on the table. He was so right, I did notice those things. I cared about Rin and he cared about me. This was making my brain hurt. Ratio put a hand on top of mine and looked me in the eyes.

"Go get some sleep, you have school tomorrow. I know the sword is stolen but we need to act normal, no one must know about that sword. We'll talk tomorrow, hopefully Rin will have calmed down by then." he said.

I nodded and left the room. I was about to head to my room but I went the opposite way, towards the roof. I walked onto the roof but didn't see Rin.

"I guess you found me."

I turned to see Rin sitting on top of the door, his knees pulled up to his chest.

"I heard the story. I came to see if you were alright." I said.

I climbed a small ladder and sat next to Rin. He turned his head away, refusing to look at me. I saw a small shine on his cheek. Rin was crying. I pulled his face to look at me and put both hands on his cheeks. I wiped away his tear, smiling gently.

"I know this is hard Rin. We will get that sword back with as little conflict as possible. Everything will be alright, Rin." I said.

"You must think I look weak, crying like this." Rin said.

He looked away but I still held his face.

"Of course not, crying doesn't always mean you're weak. Sometimes it means you've been strong for too long. You can cry as much as you want, Rin, I'll be right here." I said.

Tears started streaming out of his eyes. He held onto me, his head on my shoulder, crying. I gently stroked his hair and let him cry.

*****

"Misaki, wake up, time for school." Harumi's voice woke me.

I got up and changed into my uniform, rubbing sleep out of my eyes.

"What was going on last night?" Harumi asked.

I yawned and replied, "It's nothing, just a misunderstanding."

'We need to act normal, no one must know about that sword' echoed through my head.

"Let's go grab some breakfast." I said. Harumi nodded and we headed to the dining hall.

"Yo Misaki, you got a present over here." I heard Ratio say as we entered the room. My eyes widen as I saw the blue box I loved so much.

"Poptarts! I didn't even know you could get these in Japan. Who got them?" I asked excitedly.

Ratio motioned to Rin standing by the wall, avoiding my eyes.

"What are poptarts?" Haruki asked.

"It's like...a pastry with filling. This one's brown sugar. Have some."

I said opening a package. I broke off pieces and handed them to everyone.

"American food is weird, but good." Izumi said.

I walked over to Rin. He looked away avoiding my eyes.

"You still feel weak for crying last night, aren't you?" I asked.

He nodded.

"And you don't want me to think you're weak?"

He nodded.

"Is that why you're trying to avoid me?"

He nodded.

"How stupid are you?" He looked at me in surprise.

"As if I would think you're weak. And thank you for my gift."

I stood on my tiptoes and kiss Rin's cheek. I went to join the others as they started leaving for class, Rin following slightly behind me.

~~~~~

A / N - Okay, I know I usually post on Saturday but since my friend just started reading this (and to make up for forgetting to post), I decided to post another chapter. So.....enjoy. And I didn't leave with a cliffhanger this time Marshy. ; P