A boy lay kneeling in front of a simple marble tombstone. The choppy locks of that bent head shone brightly like an uncut sapphire gem. In stark contrast, the locks fluttered lightly in the cold breeze, seeming to be as soft as a feather. He seemed to be the only other person in the cemetery at this unfavourable timing. Curiously, Oz decided to take a few steps closer. He had been expecting an abandoned graveyard, a quiet place that he could seek solace in for a few moments. That had been the reason why Oz had chosen to venture here ahead of Gilbert and Alice. He had been searching for tranquility.

Suddenly, a streak of silver caught his eye. It had been the salty pearl of a tear sliding its way down the cheek of that lonely boy. Oz jolted. The boy was crying? Quickly, Oz caught himself. This is a cemetery, a place where people visit their lost loved ones. Crying is a commonality. However, the significance of tears struck Oz deeper than he thought it would. Oz, whose memories spoke of all the lonely nights he had cried himself to sleep and rocked himself to comfort, empathised too deeply with crying. Oz watched silently as the boy mouthed a prayer of respect and placed a single white flower down on the equally white stone.

Seeing no harm in approaching him, Oz took a measured walk forward. The boy stood up, and his hair fell away from his eyes to reveal deep blue eyes that spoke of an endless ocean. With a sharp intake of breath, Oz called out, "Excuse me, onii-san?"

The blue-haired, blue-eyed youth jumped while whipping around to capture Oz in his sight. Perhaps unconsciously, he shifted his right leg slightly behind and stabalised his posture. Battle instincts, Oz's mind whispered. The boy's eyebrows furrowed adorably, and his expressions rearranged itself in to a baffled one. "C-Can I help you?" he asked.

Oz heaved a quiet sigh of relief. The boy did not reject him outright. "Ah, you see, I'm looking for someone!" He pulled a rose free from his pocket, and proceeded to describe Gil vibrantly. Of course, I do not need to look for Gil. He will find me sooner or later. The side of his mouth pulled up in a sly smile that he tugged wider in to a full blown, sunny grin.

"Oz!"

Damn it. Gilbert wasn't supposed to come so quickly. Maybe he jinxed it with his little lie. With a disappointed glance at the boy, Oz turned to meet Gilbert. "Ah, Gil. Seriously, where did you go?" Oz murmured grudgingly. "Weren't you the one who wandered off?" Gil retorted while thrusting his battered old fedora on to Oz's head. Oz shot him a reproachful look, asking him not to pursue the matter. Gilbert raised an eyebrow at this. Luckily, he understood that this was neither the time nor the place to question Oz, and chose instead to apologise to the surprised boy. "I'm sorry for the trouble my master may have caused you."

The boy blinked nervously, a little awkward around these queer strangers. "E-Eh? No..."

Oz jumped in hurriedly. He still hadn't gotten the boy's name. "I haven't introduced myself, haven't I? Oz. Oz Vessalius." He offered a hand as a sign of open friendship. A fuzzy flutter made itself known in the crevices of his stomach, a physical manifestation of his hope that the boy would take his hand with a smile. "Rin. Okumura Rin." He shook Oz's hand firmly as his expression softened in to a cheerful grin.

"Gilbert Nightray," Gil nodded in recognition. "Thanks for your help, once again."

Oz roved his emerald eyes over Rin's lean but strong frame, hoping to memorise every nook and cranny of his body. He wanted to be able to recognise the boy at first sight if he saw him again. There was something mesmerising about Rin. Maybe it was how broken Rin had seemed as he hunched over that marble gravestone, or how sad he looked as he cried that tear that Oz was sure he had been holding back for a long while, or simply how adorably hopeful his face and responses had been when he talked to Oz. Yeah, it was probably the last one. Flashing the last bright grin, Oz slung his arm in to the loop of Gilbert and tugged him away. He had a feeling he would be seeing Rin again sometime in the future.

"What happened there?" Gil questioned suspiciously.

"Nothing!" Oz chuckled, "Just someone I'm interested in."

His childhood friend was taken aback, but held back any further questions. It would seem to be in his best interest if he didn't question his master's motives because he wasn't very sure it was something he wanted to be involved in. "If you say so, Oz."

"Rin, was it? The one at the cemetery?"

Oz smiled pleasantly. Indeed, what a lovely surprise. "R-Right." Rin mumbled, averting his eyes immediately. He had that frantic, caught-in-the-headlights look. It was almost guilty; he had been caught doing something wrong. The question was what? Rin's quick dart of those ocean-blue eyes back at Oz and then away again was enough to give Oz the answer he wanted. Rin had been thinking about him. Oz's smile twitched wider.

Rin inhaled deeply before speaking curiously, "Oz Vessalius, yeah? What are you doing here?"

"Ah, I'm here with Pandora," Oz replied easily. He took the chance to hop on to a nearby parapet wall. With an air of comfort, he swung his legs gently. "Pandora?" Rin inquired. Oz focused carefully on to the object of his long-term interest, "You haven't heard of Pandora?" "Nah. I don't read the news or anything." Rin replied. Oz noted that as an absent-minded action, he played with the frayed hems of his navy zip-up jacket. "Mm. It's a government organisation in public. However, it kind of has a hidden special job as well."

"What special job?"

Oz laughed. "I'm not sure I'm allowed to tell you. However, I'll take in to consideration that this is an exorcist academy. Doesn't really fall in to normal spectrums." Oz gestured ambiguously with one hand, while he utilised the other to swing his body over the wall so that he faced the world outside of the academy. Miles of untainted foliage and pure nature greeted him. Oz, who had become accustomed to a darker mood and heavier responsibilities, felt enlightened when he faced clean scenery. It was a world untouched by destruction or pain. It was the world they were all fighting to protect. "We contain beings known as Chains, which comes from the Abyss. We also capture their Illegal Contractors, who are the ones who enabled these Chains to enter our world." Oz summarised.

"You work for Pandora?" Rin asked. It was an understandable question. Oz and Rin looked around the same age. Maybe Oz looked a little younger, but it was not such a substantial difference that people would assume Oz was a working adult. "I guess you could call it that. I'm actually twenty-five years of age, you know!" Oz threw out the information bomb light-heartedly.

"T-T-Twenty-five?!" Rin practically flew off the seat. His eyes bugged open and his jaw dropped like a rock. His arms flailed helplessly and his legs seemed a bit uncoordinated. A glance at Rin's ridiculous position had Oz cracking up immediately. "Hahahaha!" Oz's laughter was like bells resounding in the empty corridor. As the laughter poured relentlessly out of his throat, his stomach started to ache and his lungs started to gasp for more air. Indeed, tears did spring to his eyes, and Oz thought that maybe this was what it meant to laugh until his stomach was going to split open. Rin's indignant pout at Oz's blatant amusement did nothing to stopper his guffaws.

"Aha... ha... heh." Oz choked back the last few giggles. Rin rolled his eyes, "How was I supposed to know? You look nothing like twenty-five!" Oz smiled, "Okay, okay. I just wanted to see your reaction-" He winked, "-and darn, was it worth it!"

A ruby flush spread through the tips of Rin's pointed ears to his cheeks. Oz absorbed the adorable image fully. He had a strong urge to whip out a camera to imprint that face forever in his album but resisted, for he knew Rin would not appreciate the notion. Oz settled for reveling in the cuteness of the moment. "It wasn't that funny," Rin informed him curtly.

"Calm down. I was merely joking." As a show of good faith, Oz slipped a perfectly bloomed rose out from his vest pocket. Tapping the beautiful flower against the back of Rin's hand twice, Oz lifted it and tucked it neatly behind Rin's ear. Silently twisted those dark yet soft locks around the trimmed stem, Oz smiled gently. He finished the job before leaning back to enjoy the view. Rin clearly had an awkward relationship with the rose. He was more used to being rough and sudden, yet he had been presented with a delicate object that he wasn't sure how to approach. It seemed a pain for him to avoid touching the rose but he did. The wine-red rose provided a complimentary contrast to Rin's sapphire hair. It also emphasised the blush still evident in his cheeks. He looks... "Wonderful." Oz praised with a bright smile.

Rin opened and closed his mouth a few times, as if he were unsure how to continue the conversation. Finally, when he had decided on what to say, someone cleared his throat distinctly behind the duo. They turned to face no one other than Rin's younger brother, Yukio. The male in the higher position raised an eyebrow at the adornment in his elder brother's hair. Rin noticed the pointed look and hurried to remove the flower, but remembered to be gentle. Oz was more than a little upset to see the rose leave the boy's hair. It had looked adorable there.

"May you be Mr. Oz Vessalius?" Yukio asked.

Oz nodded politely, "Yes. May I know who's asking?"

"Okumura Yukio. I'm a teacher here. I was asked that you be informed the others are resting in the waiting room, and lead you to join them." Yukio replied promptly.

Oz blinked, "Okumura?" He looked curiously between Rin and Yukio. "Yukio's my younger brother." Rin told him, grinning with some amount of pride. "Ah... I see the resemblance." Oz smiled, before leaping off the parapet and brushing himself off. "I think I need to go find the others right now. See you soon, Rin!" Oz engulfed the latter in a tight hug before dashing off. Rin reeled backwards, both in surprise and in pleasure. A warm, comforting emotion erupted in the depths of his chest. Blushing, Rin stared blankly at the leaving back of the other boy.

"Nii-san?" Yukio shook him out of his trance. His raised eyebrows was rising even higher right now which probably signified his suspicion rising equally high. Before Yukio could clarify the string of events, Rin shouted out an excuse, "I'm going to head to class!" and run off.

Nope. Rin was not going to discuss his relationship with Oz with Yukio just yet. He couldn't. Not when he wasn't even sure what that strange emotion was or where the happiness portion was coming from. How could he explain something he didn't even understand himself? Oz's smiling face flashed briefly in his mind. Rin shook his head to dispel the image. He was getting way too obsessed with Oz.

Author's Note:

Although it's getting a bit more plot-drived, I cannot give you guys the assurance of constant updates. :( I hope the fluff can sustain you guys for the time being. Here's the first chapter in Oz's point of view which I believe someone requested. What do you guys think of the chapter?

R&R?

[Rin]