Part 1: Don't trust me
Thunder roiled in the darkening night sky as their weapons clashed, the two sparring teens too focused to exchange words—only blows.
Cerulean flames reflected in Moriyama Shiemi's eyes as she quickly summoned a shield of entwining undergrowth. Despite the added aid of Nii-chan, her spritely green familiar, Shiemi was beginning to feel the effects of the long, difficult fight. Her figure visibly drooped with weariness and fatigue, but still she persevered through the shear will to become stronger—and, well, that added bonus helped to motivate her…
Meanwhile, Okumura Rin grinned, enjoying himself. The blonde was getting better. That's a certainty, Rin thought. She no longer ran pointlessly about the terrain in a futile attempt to escape his blue fire. She held her ground now, occasionally sprinting or leaping away from the untamed energy of Satan's spawn.
As of the moment, she was desperately holding up against his flames, and he instantly recognized that she was wearing down. Rin may not have been book-smart, or even common sense-smart for that matter, but he was aware enough in battle to take notice of certain things, especially when it came to friends. And right now, Rin knew that since the blonde was no longer daring to counterattack as she'd tentatively ventured to before, that must mean she was nearing the end of her limits.
"So much the better for me!" he cried.
After all, it was all a matter of time for him. From the very beginning, Rin knew that the would-be Tamer couldn't beat him at her current level. Don't get me wrong, he silently amended, suddenly ashamed of his egotistic thoughts, she's still a great sparring partner. Shiemi's really strong. In fact, she's held out longer than I expected…
He respected Shiemi deeply, for even though she was running off the last dregs of her stamina, her protective shield was a complex pattern of hardy wood that did not burn nor break easily, and Rin silently praised her for this. However, that alone wouldn't cut it should Rin actually decide to use his Kurikara sword.
And, well, that was precisely what he planned on doing. Why drag this out any longer than it had to be? It was only a matter of time, and after all, he shrugged, this was just a practice fight in order for them to do just that—practice in order to get stronger. And it had been a great workout.
"Time to cut it short though." Rin's deep blue eyes flashed mischievously and he reached behind him to draw his sleek blade, just as the first few drops of unheeded rain began to fall. He gripped the weapon in full preparation to swing.
A breathless gasp was abruptly heard in the distance, but not by the two Exwires. The lone figure, hidden in the dark atop the clock tower, had been previously sitting dully there, bored out of his mind as he observed the fight below. But now, the persona leaned forward rapt with attention and sudden piqued interest at the prospect of the Kurikara sword being drawn from its sealing scabbard. The single-membered audience sat on edge and bit his thumbnail anxiously as he watched sapphire flames bloom on the silver blade glinting in the moonlight.
The sudden echo of the clock tower's ending hour toll startled Shiemi from her concentration on Rin. But then she hastily returned her attention back to her surroundings once she realized she had no idea where Rin even was.
"Shiemi, sorry!" She heard a voice shout, and the poor girl raised her head in surprise to witness the previously missing boy hovering in the sky feet above her head, the glare of his blue inferno finally registering in her mind at the last minute as he came crashing through the air towards her.
Too shocked to move, Shiemi sat there stupidly, unable to dodge as her barrier shattered uselessly around her. Rin's brute strength and heat from the flames easily rendered it to ashes. When these flakes fluttered in the wind that washed about her, the would-be Tamer then realized the lost hope of winning the battle.
In that same moment she accepted it with great sportsmanship and honor, knowing that she would only get stronger from the loss. Shiemi sighed in disappointment. All the same, she had lost the bet, and now it was time to pay up the consequences. She thought back to the conversation she'd had with the demon boy previous to the duel.
"R-Rin," she'd stuttered nervously, refusing to avoid eye contact with aforementioned boy. She blushed, in spite of the fact that Rin's back was to her.
Shiemi had gathered up the courage to attempt to improve her fighting skills at last. Enough was enough. She had decided after a few too many defeats on her side in recent battles with relatively low-grade demons to do something about her weaknesses in order to be able to fully participate in fights. Shiemi wanted to be able to back up friends and not sit in the background uselessly while they did all the fighting and protecting.
Despite her trepidation at asking Rin for help, she'd figured he'd be the best person to train with—she hadn't known anyone too well to have them assist her in this way. Besides, everyone she did know who would take the time to train would go soft on her.
Rin had turned to look at her in pleasant surprise at her utterance, giving her his full attention, a light of curiosity sparking in his royal blue eyes. He hadn't seemed to take notice of her inner turmoil at that moment. "Shiemi? What is it?"
Rin wouldn't go soft on me, Shiemi had thought. Rin would understand and take it easy enough on her, but challenge her without holding back too much. He was the only logical person to ask.
And, well, Yuki-chan's busy off doing errands and a mission or two.
She'd flushed a deeper shade of red at the thought of Yukio. Shiemi was shy, and she constantly cursed herself for being so, but that hadn't deterred her desire to get stronger. So she had pursed her lips stubbornly in rebellion at her abashed nature and bowed her head abruptly in order to hide her strained expression.
"I want you to help me get stronger! Will you train with me?!" Er, she hadn't meant to shout, but she was just so caught up in her feelings she didn't really notice.
Rin had stared at her in amazement, but had soon enough found himself smiling gently at her. "Sure."
The blonde's head had perked up at that, and she'd met his eyes at last. She had squeaked at the expression she'd found that appeared soon afterwards on his face.
"Of course," Rin had added. He was going to feel terrible for doing this later, but for now Rin had wanted to have some fun with this while he was at it. "There is a price."
"H-huh? W-what price is that? I can get you some herbs for cooking or something…if that's what you want…" Shiemi had stammered, confused.
"Nah, as tempting as that is…I want to make a bet."
"A bet?"
"Yeah. If you win, you get to take me to the carnival. But if you lose…" An ominous look had unexpectedly loomed over his face. "Then you have to give me a foot rub."
She'd shivered at the words, but it wasn't so bad a proposition. After all, it couldn't be so terrible to massage someone's feet. And Rin's couldn't possibly be too horrible…
Of course, it would be so fun to take Rin to the carnival and eat cotton candy and ride on the amusement park rides…
It hadn't really occurred to her that the rascal probably set it up so that he got an award either way. However, Rin had made the deal so that it was a more pleasant award to share the fun between them should she win and so Shiemi'd overlook that fact. Besides, she'd always wanted to go to a carnival while there were other people around, but she couldn't possibly go alone. And anyways, had she known what Rin's plan was, or heard his guilty thoughts, she would have forgiven him with ease. She was mostly in this for the training…
"Well, it would've been nice to win and go to that carnival, but that's okay. I got a lot out of today's fight," the girl bespoke to herself. "I hope his feet aren't that terrible."
Just as she was wearily brought back to reality and wondering where on Earth Rin had gone, she had the bad luck of looking up too late and spotting the white-shirted chest that quickly pinned her back to the mud. They each grunted in pain at the fall that had them tangled in each others' limbs.
"Ouch…"
"Ow…"
Shiemi felt the uncomfortable sensation of sinking into the ground, the mud staining her clothes and getting her filthy head to toe. The blonde was slightly irritated that Rin should have caused this dilemma, but she was prepared to forgive him just the same (as always). After all, it was an accident, right?
Too easily these idle thoughts slipped away when she realized their close proximity, and all the penalties that came with that fact, such as the way her senses oddly tingled, hyperaware of his very presence.
His chest pressed against hers, and Shiemi could feel his heart hammering against her own frantic one. Her breathing increased dramatically; it seemed as if his chest was crushing hers now, but strangely, she didn't mind...
She shook her head forcefully at the insane thoughts, her skull knocking into something. It was then she noticed how his bare arms boxed in her head—and how one of his knees happened to land in between her legs when his knee brushed hers in response. This pose made her blush. Usually, just the idea of someone being so close down there would make her squirm quite uncomfortably, but her limbs were trapped, and she couldn't move.
The blonde felt warm breath on her face that made her shiver peculiarly. Rin's face was so utterly close to hers. She could see every detail in his dark sapphire eyes and count the black lashes, graze his expressive lips—
She was blushing even more heavily then, her mind scrambling for her to say something, something. Something to divert the awkwardness of their positions, to get rid of the blushes that steadily consumed both of their faces in a rush of full comprehension of the situation.
"R-Rin…?" Shiemi finally managed to stammer out, somewhat frustrated that her voice came out so weak and choked-sounding. Not that she could help it. Her hormones were screaming at her, something she had rarely, if ever, experienced before. The girl's eyes widened slightly at wonderment for her emotions—that her instincts wanted for Shiemi to stay this way beneath the dark-haired Exwire, staring up at his blue eyes and take in his natural scent of musk, the sweet odor of ashes and something all-together good that she just couldn't really name. She wanted to stay that way forever beneath him. However, these thoughts were not rational, and not only that, but she felt the stiffness of her friend's muscles above and panicked slightly at the probability that he was uncomfortable with their closeness in a way she wasn't—that he didn't like being near to her like that at all. In order to confirm this suspicion, her eyes searched his face for any hint that affirmed her despairs.
"Rin?" Her silvery eyebrows pulled together in distress.
Rin quietly looked down at her. He wasn't quiet out of calmness, that was for damn sure. He was spinning, his mind all jumbled and confused at the situation on their hands. At her timid voice he managed to gain the rationality to make himself move away from her.
Goddammit! He had just made things incredibly awkward for them. And poor Shiemi—the girl had been trapped underneath Rin like a prisoner who wanted nothing more than to escape his clutches, and he had just sat there like an idiot. She was probably disgusted with him now; it was obvious from the way she had stood up so fast and stayed as far away as possible from him. Her nervous fidgeting rang true on his conscience, and he guiltily scratched the back of his head, at a loss for words, those of apology or comfort escaping him, and he damned himself for this.
"Erm…" he muttered, not sure where to start or how to express himself.
An awkward silence passed between them, both unwilling to express in words what had just taken place. It tormented the poor boy, really. It killed Rin to see that the girl he cared for was uncomfortable in a way he was not, and altogether it made him feel horrible and foolish in a way he'd never felt before.
"Rin, you idiot! You cheated!" Shiemi's words took him by surprise and he stared at her, confused.
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"You cheated! You're so mean, Rin!" she accused, pausing for deep breath. "You're supposed to train me, not overpower me! Hmph!" The petite girl huffed and crossed her arms, turning up her nose for emphasis.
Rin, still overwhelmingly confused to speak, simply stared at Shiemi, his creased eyebrows pleading for understanding at her unexpected behavior. He searched her face for any sign, any clue, to what she was talking about. The only result was the stubbornness that he so loved hardening her eyes, the angry checkmarks for eyebrows conveying frustration, and the slight flare to her nostrils, all obvious indicators of her suddenly bad mood.
But then what caught his gaze was the way one small corner of her mouth turned up in a good-humored smile and the obvious wink she aimed at him.
Rin let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding in. She was distracting him and perhaps herself from the prospect of discussing the unwanted subject of their fall, and he gave a gentle grin in return. She softened at the expression, which made his chest feel funny.
He ignored the sensation, smirking playfully. "I really wanted that foot rub. Ha, better prepare yourself for the fungus down there."
She sniffed haughtily and a discontented expression shown on her usually sweet face. "But I really wanted to go to the carnival! Come on, Rin! That's no fair!"
The dark-haired Exwire laughed smugly at her comment. "It's not my fault I won the bet. And well, I already agreed to going to the carnival with you before this, so that option wasn't valid anyways."
"But aren't you the one who suggested it…?"
He snorted, pouting irritably. "Yeah, so? Calling me an idiot?"
"Huh…?" She seemed at a loss for words.
Good humor returned to Rin at this display, and he steadily took notice of the rain that had long before drenched them both.
Shiemi followed his gaze and glanced down at her soaked self, moaning, or rather whimpering, at the tragic state of her school uniform.
"My mom is going to be mad at me…" she said dejectedly as she reached into her pocket and searched for her key that "magically" bridged her home to the school. "Oh no!" she exclaimed, tears welling up thickly in her eyes. "I must've left my key at cram school!"
"That's okay, I have mi—" His sentence was cut off as he felt around in his back pocket for his key, but found to his dismay that it wasn't indeed there. So then the dark-haired teen began to turn his jeans' pockets inside-out, only to find them empty as well.
What the hell? I knew for a fact that they were in there before!
"Yeah, never mind. I lied. I lost mine too I guess. Shit," he sighed angrily. "Guess you could always wait in my dorm," Rin added half-heartedly, the cold precipitation already ruining his mood.
"Oh, could I? Would that be okay, Rin?"
The Exwire started slightly at this, but then shook off his surprise at gazing into her blue-green orbs and finding that she was desperate. He grinned at her then, and they trudged heavily in their wet clothes to his empty dorm room, which was on the opposite side of the campus.
The mysterious figure followed.
Disclaimer: Ao no Exorcist (Blue Exorcist)-Kazue Kato
Hey guys. So. Here it is. I put it back online after finally editing it a bit. Though now, it's not a one-shot but more a series of parts (chapters really) that fit together...basically just cut apart the original one-shot and put them into bits and pieces to post one at a time so it's a little cleaner to read. Also, I tried to tone down my purple prose style. I still need to work on my superfluous sentence writing, but otherwise I thought it decent enough to read and be able to follow along now. Thanks for reading and please review!