"..."

He was doing his best to ignore her gaze but it was hard to pretend that he couldn't feel her murderous eyes staring a hole into them as their teacher continued his lesson. Eiji risked a glance at her and soon regretted it as one Rin Kurenai had a scowl on her face that made it clear they would be having words later. It was times like these that he missed his abilities, just dominating his way out of trouble when it became necessary. He failed at trying to distract himself by paying attention to the lesson (for once), looking at the clock and practically begging it to hurry along. He didn't know why he still came here-

That was a lie. He did know.

Being a hated villain was a lot easier than his current role. While he certainly didn't miss it, he did appreciated the simplicity of it now that he had some distance and time to reflect on past events.

War was a lot simpler than peace.

"Honestly! We had plans, Eiji!"

"Rin, I-"

"No, I don't want to even hear it! You always do this, it's infuriating. Sena is your sister and I love her too but you can't just spend all of your time with her and neglect me!"

The dark haired teen stared across the table at his beautiful companion, gulping nervously before taking a bite of his burger and deciding that perhaps silence was his best option at the moment. When Rin got going like she currently was, she wouldn't stop for a while.

"Do you realize that this is the first time that you and I have hung out together without Sena or Iyo in almost a month? You can't just play favorites, you idiot."

With a humph, she dipped her fries into her ketchup, eating them and glaring at Eiji. He'd gotten better at dealing with her after all of this time but he would never be able to fully handle her, that was something he would readily admit. He stared at her pouting pink lips, a slight flush coming to his cheeks as he recalled their last private outing a while back at her place, the feeling of those aforementioned lips coming back to him in a flash.

"...You're thinking about something perverted again, aren't you?"

Her question brought him out of his recollection, the boy himself clearing his throat with embarrassment at being read so easily by her.

"N-no…"

"You're a terrible liar. I'm your…"

The two stared at each other, cheeks tinted with a rosy pink as the conversations of the other customers in the restaurant reached their ears, the latest top 40 hit playing through the speakers. A minute of silence passed before Rin finally regained enough of her composure to speak once more.

"...Anyway, the point is that I know you too well by now. When are you going to stop lying so much?"

"I don't lie that much," he retorted.

"Oh? Then why did you lie last Thursday?"

"That wasn't a lie!"

"You said we would go then but then you cancelled, even after we both planned ahead two weeks. And for what? To help Sena do her project for school?"

"It was due the next day and it was such a big project. I had to help her," Eiji offered weakly, eliciting a sigh from Rin.

"She's a student just like we are. There's a fine line between helping and babying. She can barely breathe without you being around her. Besides, her grades are better than yours. You're not actually helping her, you're just the labor."

"As blunt as ever," Eiji murmured under his breath, earning a sharp look and narrowed eyes from Rin. She took a sip of her cola before continuing, her voice strong but with just slightly less bite this time.

"Eiji, do we not matter to you?"

"Of course you do! All of you do!" he answered quickly.

"Then don't forget about us, alright? I get it, especially with everything that happened with you and Sena in the past. That's why I don't press the issue but we have our limits. If you're going to be a King, you have to take us all into consideration."

He was about to point out that he wasn't a King anymore (if ever) before wisely taking in the atmosphere of the conversation and deciding to have another bite of his burger. That was something he'd gotten better at, understanding the mood and not being so self conscious. He was still more oblivious and naive than any of them liked but dealing with this situation had definitely helped his growth and maturation. That didn't mean he was a finished product but progress was progress.

"How about Thursday, then? We can go right after school, if you want."

"You sure you'll be able to get away from Sena long enough for that?" she asked with a roll of the eyes.

"Come on, Rin. I'm trying here," he groaned.

"Try harder. You've canceled on me twice of late and I'm sick of it, Eiji. Convince me why I should believe anything you say."

"Rin Kurenai, I promise you that this Thursday upcoming, we will go there after school. Just you and I, no one else. No Iyo, no Sena, no one but you and me. If I break this promise, you can kill me in the most painful way you like."

The two stared at each other, a silent battle ensuing and a moment of silence between them before Rin gave another short exhale.

"...I do have that new katana at home that I've been wanting to try out."

He didn't know why he liked her so much.

Tongues danced together in a fiery embrace as their mouths meshed together, Rin's arms wrapped around his neck as he walked her back against the brick of the restaurant, the side alley empty. With Rin, it always felt like this. Like this dangerous flame that he should avoid but that he couldn't help but want to touch and possess. Some leftover habits from his short stint as a king, perhaps. He was more ravenous with her than with Iyo or Sena. With her, he didn't feel the need to be so well behaved. Rin made him want to give into his base desires and she knew all too well the effect she had on him. It was like a never ending battle for supremacy between them with neither side particular about the victor, if they were honest.

"I didn't finish eating," she managed to get out against his mouth, giving a soft mewl as Eiji dipped his head to her neck and kissed it briefly before sucking it firmly.

"No marks, you idiot. We still have school the rest of the week," she urged in a breathy tone, internally making a note to tear him a new one afterwards. She both loved and hated him when he was like this. Confident and assertive about what he wanted, throwing caution to the wind and going after everything he desired. He was also a moron with tunnel vision, though. Last time, she'd thought Sena was really going to kill her when she'd seen marks he'd left behind during a rather intense study session.

He was a stubborn fool but he was her stubborn fool.

She bit her lower lips as his hands went to his belt, the metal clasp coming undone. She was dripping with anticipation the moment that zipper was pulled down, the sound like an erotic prelude of what was to come. She bit her lower lip as his black trousers and underwear were lowered, Eiji working a hand underneath her skirt and pulling her panties to the side. She looked into those intense blue eyes of his that she swore contained some remnant of an Order, lifting her legs up and wrapping them around his waist.

"Dominate me, Eiji," she begged, eyes smoky with lust as she felt him knocking at her entrance. The bulbous head of his member slipped past her nether lips, slowly working its way to her innermost depths, his sizable manhood giving her slick channel that all too familiar stretch that she had become addicted to.

She didn't bother trying to muffle her voice, her moans ringing out as Eiji thrusted, hands underneath her hiked up skirt and kneading her supple backside, his face buried into the crook of her neck. It was more carnal pounding than sensual lovemaking but Rin didn't mind. The fact that he could be so honest and just let loose gave her a sense of smug elation. With Iyo and Sena, Eiji made more of an effort to be considerate and more often than he'd admit, hold back, something he was still working on improving about himself. With Rin, there was less inhibition, be it with words or their rendezvous.

He was like a beast that didn't need a chain around her.

A loud cry left her as he angled his thrusts to hit that spot that made her toes curl within her shoes, their lips meeting once more in a frenzied and passionate waltz. She hated that he had this power over her. Everytime she thought she had him under control, he would find a way to break her composure. Rin Kurenai wasn't the kind of girl to have back alley trysts with her boyfriend, at least that's what she liked to believe. Yet here she was, the back of her uniform getting dirty while her body rode the waves of pleasure to an impending orgasm.

She moans loudly against his mouth as her mind spins and body shakes, her sensitive mound quivering as her climax spilt forth, clenching around his swollen shaft and causing the owner to bury himself deep within her and mirror her reaction. His hot seed shot forth within her, the heat giving her a feeling of completeness as they stayed still in satisfied, finding comfort in the embrace.

They were normal teenagers for once in their lives. Not Orders who had to fight and kill and survive. Just a boy and a girl that were still in the throes of youth, trying to figure out their place in this new world.

"If I get pregnant, Sena will kill you."

"...Not funny, Rin."

"I wonder what she'd say if she knew why you were going to be late tonight," she mused playfully, giving him a cheshire grin that screamed mischief. The orange of twilight flirted with the indigo of evening as moon and sun made their usual rounds. The two walked down the road towards the home that Eiji shared with Sena, their earlier tension now sufficiently diffused.

"...If I go down, you think you're getting away unscathed. She'd kill you right after me," he pointed out. "Actually, I think she might blame you for corrupting me and get rid of you. I might get away clean," he considered, causing the girl at his side to blanch at his reasoning. She hated when he was right.

"What kind of boyfriend lets his sister kill his girlfriend?!"

"The kind that's had said girlfriend try to kill him before...more than once."

"You're a petty guy. Remind me why I'm with you again," Rin grumbled.

"Because we're both masochists who can't stay away from each other," he replied, causing both to pause in the middle of the straight and fail to stifle their laughs for a moment before bursting out into laughter on the spot.

It wasn't perfect and they didn't expect it to be. The situation in and of itself was an unusual one but none of them were exactly normal now. Memories of those bygone times still played in their minds, unbidden and unwanted. Nightmares of blood and the fallen haunted them still, their ghoulish cries cursing them all. Yet they continued onward, their journey slow and destination still shrouded in a haze of uncertainty, but no longer allowing the shackles of their past to restrict them. They had a future now. They simply had to continue the trek forward, and they would.

Together.