~Rin's POV~

Pent up frustration fueled my run through 'THAT' part of town. It's just strange to feel so helpless in a matter. It feels like a bucket of magma inside my chest being tipped every time anger and helplessness are combined.

It's not fair. It's not my fault! I had no say! I never ASKED for this!

My foot went flying into the side of the now-dented-and-airborne-trash can.

But it won't last.

"It's just not fair!" My fist flew into the wall and my foot found another trashcan. I huffed, and continued walking through the god-forsaken streets of homeless people, beggars, dealers, druggies, and everything in between. A lot of them were watching me, seeing as I was wearing the expensive uniform of the Academy. Some of them, I could tell were thinking of ways to pickpocket me, from the looks on their faces, and their snide comments to each other. Some looked at me in pity, for what might happen to me if I stayed too much longer. I could protect myself, but I didn't want to come home with scrapes and a possibly-ruined uniform. Others looked at me in hope, for that I would come out fine or that I would come and donate to them. The rest just completely ignored me, which I was totally fine with.

I kicked the door to an empty building in, the rotting wood and hinges causing it to fall off with only a small amount of force.

"Y'ello?" The echo of my own voice came back to ring in my ears.

"Guess he's not here." With a short turn on me heel and a few strides, I turned the corner and walked down a different street.

"Where is he?" I started to become frustrated again. Not for the same reasons as before, but because I was given a time and unspecified place in the slums to meet up with the person I'm looking for.

It's not some random guy I bumped into in the middle of the street. Well, at first it was, but we kept meeting up and bumping into each other until we were... not quite friends, but not acquaintances either. It's like a friendly co-worker, or business partner kind of relationship. I began to scan my surroundings for the brown-haired, brown-eyed, slightly-purple-tuxedo, dark purple dress shoe-wearing, tall, muscular man with a bit of stubble on his chin. A quick glance at my watch told me that Yukio would be headed to the dorm soon. Yukio and I had a little deal; I would stay in the dorm until he came back from his extracurricular after-school activities, so I could tell him where I was going before I left. Even if I left a note, he would still worry. Some part of me tried to convince itself that he was just worried for my well-being. The other part of me told me it was for the well-being of the others. Wouldn't want a powerful demon running around with nobody knowing where they were, would we? Anyway, I had to be back at the dorm in about 40 minutes. Yukio would be back in about 50.

Right then, there was some shuffling behind me, as though there was somebody walking briskly towards me. With a glance over my shoulder, I immediately recognized the man as the one I had been looking for.

"Lance! Finally!" The foreign name rolled awkwardly off my tongue. Lance was an immigrant, but had never bothered for a name change. It wasn't too hard to say, anyway. If I said it too many times, though, I would easily confuse myself. Though, I guess that's no surprise to anybody else.

"Sorry I'm late," was his strange-sounding response. He spoke Japanese fluently, so it wasn't his words that were off. It was just his foreign accent that made the pronunciation sound off. I could understand it, most of the time, but sometimes it threw off the accent so much that I couldn't understand what he was saying.

"Care to tell?" He flashed me a smirk.

"Not in the slightest." Sigh. Typical Lance.

"So, are we going to get down to business or not? I honestly doubt it. With your tardiness, we've no time to go anywhere except drive around for 40 minutes." I shifted over into a different 'type' of speech I had been working on. It wasn't very different than that I normally spoke, there were just a few added conjunctions.

"Oh, yes, I suppose you are right. To the car, then."

After a few minutes, we were seated in Lance's Smart Fortwo Cabriolet. He was currently trying to make the car start; sometimes he had some trouble with it, as it he would have to turn it on and off several times before it would actually stay on. Eventually, though, he managed to get it to stay on, went into reverse for a few meters, made a u-turn, and a left turn right after that.

"Is this why you were late? You couldn't bring your car into the slums?"

"Nah. Some of the streets are too narrow. And I would've had to ditch it somewhere to keep going; not something I would want to do."

"Ah."

I whistled in appreciation as to how well the car was running in comparison to how it was sometimes. "So, when it is going down?"

"In 2 or 3 weeks."

"2 or 3 weeks?"

"Patience, Kuwaemasu-san(1). A believable act like the one your trying to pull off doesn't come just like that." He removed his left hand from the steering wheel to snap his fingers for emphasis, then returning his hand back to the steering wheel to merge onto the highway, only to get off on an exit on the other side of the highway about 5 minutes later.

"So, how is it going to go down, Kuwaemasu-san? A fire? Electrocution? Drowning? Murder?"

"Mm... I was thinking more along the lines of suicide. Purposely stab the wrong side of the chest, where there would be heated blood packs on the inside of the shirt, so there would be so much blood they wouldn't be able to locate the source of the injury. Afterwards, somebody would 'steal' the 'deceased body'."

"Good plan... How long did it take you to come up with that?"

"Not very long, for certain... reasons." Lance gave me a sad, knowing smile.

"It'll still require practice thought. And a high-pain tolerance level, seeing as how a real injury would have to be made to continue the blood flow."

"I don't care. As long as it's done." Lance shrugged to this, and I checked my watch again.

"We have to go back to the dorms. Yukio's going to be back in about 10 minutes."

"Don't worry about it, we'll be there in time."

"...You've been detouring to the dorms this whole time, haven't you?"

"Yes!" He said happily, and I couldn't help but grin at this. A little less than 10 minutes later, Lance pulled up in front of the dorms, just as Yukio rounded the corner. As soon as he saw us, he began running.

"Ah, shit... He's gonna bombard me... with so many... fucking questions..." I rubbed my temples, practically feeling the pain of the oncoming headache from the barrage already as I slammed the door. Just as Lance began to pull away, he grinned and called back with a wave,

"Later Kuwaemasu-san!"

"Don't call me that!"

"Whatever!" I could hear him laughing as he got farther and farther away.

Yukio finally reached me and threw me against the wall, holding me against the wall by the shoulders. "What's going on here? Who was he?" As soon as my head connected with the wall, the headache really began.

"Watch it." I growled out of instinct, rubbing my head, accidentally scaring Yukio.

"Who was that guy?"

"None of your business, Yukio." It came out as a growl again, but was quieter. Yukio, having been startled even more, cautiously reached one hand towards his belt, hardening his expression.

"Don't bother with the gun." With a small shove, he was trying not to fall back a few feet away from me.

"I'll be on the roof, if you need me." Before Yukio could respond, I had left.

11 Days Later

~Yukio's POV~

I couldn't help but stare at the body in front of me, so covered in blood that we couldn't find the wound. He was grinning. He was still alive. He was grinning at us while we returning looks of horror and desperation.

"...Why?" was all I could say as I rushed around, trying to find some way to stop the blood spewing all over his chest, while Shiemi searched for his sword. If his sword unsheathed, his demon regenerative abilities would kick in, stronger than usual, and that would be enough to save him, right? He didn't bother to answer, but slowly turned his gaze on me.

Despite that he is slowly dying, his eyes are remaining in focus. He's hardly faded in, yet, he is fading.

"Please hold on a bit longer!" Cried Shiemi from the other side of the room. Finally, a response came forth from his lips.

"No." He shook his head slowly. "This is too good a fate." I immediately understood his grin.

He's happy to go.

Shiemi realized it, too. The other exwires weren't here to see this. Shiemi just came over with some of the supplies I ordered from the Exorcist Shop a few days ago, and she came inside to have some tea. Everything was fine until I heard a startled 'yelp' from Kuro and a loud crashing noise, as though something large had been knocked over.

I called his name once.

Twice.

Thrice.

No response.

I thought he was toying with me. That he was just playing around with Kuro, even.

An "I'm coming up there!" came out of my mouth, and I went into our room, when I first saw it.

"Shiemi! Bring the herbs! Quickly!" came bellowing out of my mouth as I began to search for the wound, but I couldn't see anything except red.

Everything was too red to really see him.

The floor was red.

My hands were red as I tried to stop the bleeding.

His clothes were red.

It was sickeningly red.

It was scary.

Here we are now, Shiemi searching for the sword and I still trying to search for the wound so I could treat it as quickly as possible.

"I'm sorry!" Shiemi had stopped looking, knowing he was too close to death for the sword to make a difference. She began sobbing furiously and gripped his hand. Both of us knew any chance of survival was a long shot, but I was still trying. Shiemi, still crying, lifted his hand to her face and held it dearly. At this, he frowned.

"Shiemi, please don't cry." His voice gently urged, as his hand weakly cradled the right side of her face, wiping away a few tears with his thumb. She opened her eyes, tears still falling.

"Please don't be sad." He gave her a gentle grin, and then turned his head to look at me.

"Don't let me see you cry, either," he joked, another smile forming on his face. I didn't see how that was funny in any way. When seeing my reaction, a frown replaced the grin, yet again.

"Look after them all... Please?" The demon regenerative abilities he possessed, even without the sword, were drawing out his death for an awfully long time, but it was clear he wouldn't make it, by his closing eyes and sleepy expression.

"Okay..." I gripped his hand with both my hands. "I'll do it. I promise." Another grin spread across his face.

"Thank you." His eyes closed, and he fell still.

Rin is dead.

Following Day

~Rin's POV~

Here I am, laying in a coffin, pretending to be dead, at my own funeral that was held at the monastery where I and Yukio had grown up in. Nearly everybody gave a testimony, from the clergymen to Yukio to the students, and even Mephisto said a few words.

"He had a noble goal, and one that will definitely be remembered and attempt to be fulfilled throughout the years. Let this be an example to us," he cast a look at the section where the exwires and Yukio were, "to always give a chance, and then, a second chance, and more chances beyond that." With a curt bow he finished and sat down. The last one up was Lance, who walked up to the open coffin on the stand and placed a small box inside, before beginning his testimony. In case you are wondering, I could tell it was him by the voice I heard when they began speaking.

"Now, I don't know any of you, nor any of you I, but Rin was a dear friend of mine. Now that he is gone, it feels like a special something is missing from my life." He was following the script perfectly. I just hope he hurries up... this position is stifling and making me restless.

"I understand many people disliked him for his... position. Even though my job requires me to know which weapons best affect demons, I could not help but be friends with him. The title given to him by everyone around him just did not match his personality. The cheeriness that practically radiated off of him told a different story... yet, some people could not see that." This script is sounding longer now, but it's nearly over. I just need to stay in place.

"When I received news that he had deceased, taken his own life, no less, I could not believe it. He seemed so happy on the outside. It seems as though he did a good job in pretending to be happy. My only hope for him is that he found what he was looking for in death." He turned around and bent over the coffin, and I felt a small vibration as he placed a box alongside me in the coffin. I barely cracked my eye open, to see Lance grinning discreetly at me; I knew they had believed it. Then, he gently closed the coffin.

"Finally!" I exclaimed silently, opened the box to reveal an oxygen tank connected to a mask, then to strap the mask to my head and turn the valve, careful to check the regulator first. I felt the coffin be lifted up and carried, as the ends were constantly being moved up and down. Eventually, the coffin stopped moving, and was suddenly lowered until it hit a surface with a thud. I could hear a repeated shovel sound effect from above me, and about 2 seconds after each sound effect, something would hit the roof of the coffin above me. All I could do was keep breathing and wait. Lance said he'd come about 3 hours after the funeral ends. There were about 4 hours on this.

Before I knew it, I found myself drifting into a sleep.

"Wake up!" I felt something cold suddenly hit my face.

"Wah!" I jolted awake, to find that I was in front of Lance on the ground, by the monastery. From what I could see, the dirt in the grave had already been put back, so I could only assume that the coffin had been reburied already, with the tank nowhere to be seen.

"You fell asleep in the coffin."

"Well, no shit, Sherlock." Sometimes, Lance used this expression around me, and it didn't take me long to figure out what it meant.

"Don't be rude. Come on, before one of the clergymen find us." I suddenly realized we were still in the cemetery.

"Oh right! Come on, let's go!" I immediately hopped to my feet, and Lance immediately took off, with me in tow. Before I knew it, we were driving away from True Cross Town, to far, far away.

Of course, this isn't goodbye forever.

Lance and I both knew that very well.

Like I said, getting most of my stories out. I think I'll start updating weekly, unless it's a new story, or it's a finish update. Don't worry, it's probably a lie. I'll probably find myself updating every 2 or 3 days.

(1) Kuwaemasu is the Japanese translation of the English word 'Add'. People who know anything about the playable characters in Elsword probably know what that even means. It's not really a crossover, though, because it's not totally based around the game. I can't tell you what is similar though, since Idon't wanna give ya'll spoilers.

Das vedania!

Haven't said that in so long.

OH! That reminds me.

I die a little inside when I don't get reviews . Please review! I take constructive criticism!