A/N: This chapter has an alternate title.
That title is: You'd Better be so Happy You Cry Rainbows.
Because seriously, it was getting to be MAJOR CRUNCH TIME and I still had a lot more to write. Fortunately for me (and all of my lovely readers), some grades in my school took a class trip. On Monday, I had the first three periods free. Because I did not have my computer, I outlined the rest of the chapter.
Imagine my surprise that, the next day, I not only had the first three periods free but my only class was a 45 minute session of Sport. What does that mean? GET HOME EARLY. I'd also taken my computer with me to school, forseeing the free time I was bound to get, and I wrote. I wrote during those three periods (three fourty-five minute periods and one fifty minute break) and I wrote when I got home. May I say Mad Ninja Writing Session?
Because it was.
(coughs)
Other than that, I haven't started the next chapter and don't know where to start. My lovely sister, if you are indeed reading this we need to have a Major Brainstorming Session sometime this weekend. I do not have school Monday, so I could probably chat late into the night. On my end, that is.
Also, my stats are ridiculously high. Seriously, thank you so much. As I have told one reviewer already, the 'Legacy Stats' page of my fanfictions was my drive to write, and it made me giggle very, very often. Because I was that giddy I had so many reviews/hits/favs/alerts. To all of you that have done one or more of these things, thank you.
I've inserted a new character into this chapter and hope my characterisation is correct. I'm a little leery, but will do my best.
your new fan: ...My good lord, you make me so happy. And flattered. And and and...(blushes)
I hope you continue to enjoy the story as much as you have now.
Explainations are below the chapter. Enjoy!
*EDIT 7-22-14: Fixed the title from Deishi to the correct form Deshi using this really cool tool that Fanfic now has called the...transfer button? Anyways, it eliminates the need for me to hunt things down.
Chapter Three: Sensei und Deshi
(Teacher and Apprentice)
.
I'm really not that hurt, Rin thought to himself grumpily as he laid sideways in bed, a bandage wrapping around his head and covering the gently throbbing bump of pain. Really. I don't need bed-rest, I need to practice more!
Last night, Fujimoto had refused to let Rin even walk, which Rin thought completely unnecessary as it caused everybody to worry too much. It didn't matter that Rin was so dizzy that everything he saw was hazy. It didn't matter that his father had pulled out the key to the church and used that instead of taking the train because he wanted to be home as fast as possible—even if it was frowned upon to do so in such a public, normal place. It was only a bump on the head! It was nothing!
Rin scowled at the wall and clenched the hand holding the sheets. I'm only hurt because I couldn't protect myself well enough. I'm only hurt because of me, because I didn't take my training seriously enough.
Slacking so that he could make his father and brother a nice meal at the end of a hard day was excusable at the time. Last night, though, when he saw his father's anxious face as he checked for injuries and his brother's worried, teary expression, he realized that this was no game. This was serious, and he needed to be serious about his training in return.
Yukio rarely cried anymore. His father rarely looked anxious. Rin did not want to be the thing causing those expressions. He wanted to be able to destroy whatever would make them.
The nine-year-old gritted his teeth in self-loathing and determination.
He would get stronger. He would protect his family, protect those happy faces and make the worry and fear and sadness only a memory.
Rin owed them all that much. And if it meant that he had less slack time…then it would be worth it in the end.
That's why, the moment he heard his father and brother leave the monastery via key to go to the Japanese Headquarters, he pulled the covers away and stood. He then fought through the sudden onslaught of black spots in his vision and slowly but surely made his way to the practice room as quietly as possible.
The first and only warning the clergy remaining in the church had of Rin's practicing was the locking of the door to his special room.
"Woohoo! I won again! Take that, yer four-eyed overly-serious genius boy!"
Fujimoto grinned a little at the sight of his first student dancing around his adopted son, who was scowling up a storm.
"Yer owe me ramen tonight!"
The smile slipped off his face slightly as Yukio's irritated face didn't disappear when he stood. Instead, it only deepened and turned darker than ever.
"Hey, hey, why aren't yer sayin' anything, scaredy-cat?"
"Shut up," Yukio said darkly, eyes shadowed.
Shura jerked back a little, surprised, and Fujimoto stepped forward, his tone sharp. "Yukio!"
Shura's surprised expression changed as something flashed in her eyes and she suddenly turned sly. "Aaaaaah, have I already gotten under little scaredy-cat-chan's skin?"
"I said," Yukio growled, glasses flashing as he brought his head up and aimed his pistol at the older girl, "SHUT UP!"
Before he could pull the trigger, Fujimoto had wrenched the BB gun from his son's grasp and stood between both students.
"Yukio," he said sternly, looking down at the suddenly surprised but still angry eyes of the nine-year-old, "you never, ever point a gun at an ally. Do you understand me?"
Before the boy could give an answer, he turned to Shura, eyes sterner than usual and dark behind his tinted glasses.
"Shura, please don't needle Yukio today. Something happened at home."
She blinked a couple of times, but sighed and twirled her demon-slaying sword so that the flat edge lay on her shoulder. "Sure thing, Shiro."
Fujimoto looked at the sword as though he'd never seen it before, and after a long moment, looked back at Shura. His expression turned calculating.
The woman leaned forward and waved a hand in the Paladin's face. "Yo-hoo, Shiro, everything okay? Have yer finally lost your marbles?"
Yukio moved to see his father's face better, and followed the man's gaze to Shura's weapon. "Father, what…you have known that the wo—Kirigakure-san has always fought with that sword, right?"
Fujimoto's eyebrows furrowed even as Shura twitched at the formality before he seemingly came to a conclusion and nodded slightly. "Hey, Yukio, why don't you practice another round? I need to talk to Shura about something."
The nine-year old looked at his father curiously as he accepted the BB gun. "Father? What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Fujimoto said, smiling down at the boy and ruffling his hair. "Just have an offer to make."
Shura shifted her weight to the opposite hip. "Hey Shiro, what d'yer have planned? Am I in trouble or what?"
Fujimoto stepped around the woman and simply gestured for her to follow. He walked down a ways, shoulders hunched a little as he thought something through.
The twenty-year-old looked down at the boy next to her. "Did he drink this morning or something?"
Yukio glared up at the woman. "Of course he didn't."
Shura looked at him doubtfully, and cocked an eyebrow at him.
"…but I don't know what he's doing, so don't ask me." The boy admitted, ducking his head a little, his voice dropping into a mutter.
"Oi, Shura! Leave Yukio alone and come talk with me!"
"Okay!" Shura called back before mashing her fist into Yukio's hair, giving him a noogie and knocking his glasses slightly askew. "See yer later, four-eyes!"
She dodged his initial punch and ran off, laughing and thumbing her nose at the boy before she caught up to the Paladin.
"So, Shiro, what's up?"
Fujimoto shook his head. "Somewhere a little more private. Maybe one of the classrooms?"
Shura stopped short before skipping ahead of Fujimoto, causing him to come to a sudden halt. She pressed up against her mentor and winked. "Oh, yer wanna play? What a naughty man!"
He fought back the blush rather valiantly, Fujimoto thought, and managed to pat the woman on the head in a fatherly manner. "I'm sorry, Shura, but that's not what I had in mind. You'll always be that little waif I found out in the middle of nowhere, right?"
"You're no fun," Shura pouted as she stepped out of Fujimoto's way, allowing him to turn the corner and go down the stairs. "So, what d'ya want me for?"
"I'd like you to do me a favor, that's all," he trailed a hand along an ancient banister as the steps changed from metal to old, creaking wood.
"Hah?" Shura said, steps lighter than his. "Usually, you're the one asking me d'yer have enough food and have yer beaten that prissy boy Angel up again and is yer apartment okay, d'yer need to stay over at the church tonight and that kinda stuff. Yer don't ask me can yer do me a favor, it's always can I do yer a favor. So, what's the deal this time?"
Fujimoto stepped off the stairs and began to walk down the elaborately painted hallway that housed the classrooms for the cram-school students. "You know I've got another son, right? Not Yukio—his elder twin brother, Rin."
Shura twirled her demon sword a couple times. "Yeah, yer've talked 'bout him a couple times. Yer know, how he gets into trouble and tries to beat people up. Sounds like a real punk."
"He's not a punk," Fujimoto protested as he stopped right next to the next classroom. "Here, there shouldn't be anybody in here. We'll talk further inside."
"Whatever yer want," the woman sang as she followed Fujimoto into the room, closing the door behind her.
The classroom wasn't often used—just enough so that there was only a thin layer of grime on the desks—and had fallen into slight disarray. There were a few chairs in the back that were broken or fragile, and the shelves were stuffed with ancient papers and broken or outdated exorcising items; a splintered wooden crucifix, a Turkish evil eye with chipped paint, and there was a broken string of prayer beads hanging from a roll of paper that looked slightly modern.
"You don't have to sit if you don't want," Fujimoto said, "but I'm going to take this not-very-dirty armchair and use it."
A few pats of the cushion changed Fujimoto's mind as dust billowed off the furniture in dense clouds. He coughed awkwardly before leaning against the chair gingerly.
Shura grinned even as she moved away from the dispersing haze of dirt. "Wonderful choice, Shiro. I think I'm standin', 'kay?"
The Paladin coughed a few more times as he finally extracted himself from the dust, deciding against touching anything in the room. "Good with me."
They stood in silence for a short while before Shiro pulled out his wallet and opened it. He carefully took out a photo and passed it over to his student.
Fujimoto stood in the middle of the picture, grinning that ridiculously huge grin of his and ruffling the hair of the boys standing in front of him. Yukio, on the left, was easily recognized in his nice polo shirt and casual slacks, but the other boy was one she didn't know. His head was tilted up at his father as he scowled, one hand up and gripping Fujimoto's hand and the other loosely clutching a schoolbag. He was dressed in a rumpled T-shirt a size too big and jeans that were stained with dirt and grass. His sneakers looked well-worn and the laces a little frayed. There was a nasty looking bruise on the upraised arm and there were bandages covering the knuckles on both hands.
"That's Rin, huh? Looks like a punk to me. He's got the expression 'n everything."
Fujimoto sighed and reached out to take the picture back. "He's not a punk—in fact, he rarely hits back."
"So he's a wimp."
"Nah, he's the wall of justice. You know, the thing that stands between the innocent and the evil—it's just that he keeps getting in trouble if he hits back, because he's a very strong boy."
The boy in the picture caught her eye at that point, and she peered at him closer. Fujimoto's hand halted, and then fell back down to his side as Shura examined the photo once more. Something about the eyes and the hair disturbed her, and there was also what looked like a cord hanging around his neck.
"The kid," she murmured, "What's he like?"
"…he's a very strong-willed boy," Fujimoto started, "and probably as adamant about protecting Yukio from others as Yukio is about him. He doesn't like to see innocents suffering and has trouble restraining himself from lashing out at those who have done wrong. He's a kind boy, Rin."
"And why is he involved in this? He doesn't even know about the world of exorcists, does he?"
Fujimoto's nervous chuckle said everything.
Shura's palm hit her face and she let out a sigh. "Why? I understand Yukio, as he can see the damn demons, but why the brother? If he's involved, shouldn't he be learning how to be an exorcist?"
"That's the problem," Fujimoto said. "Shura, can you promise me to keep quiet about all of this?"
She looked at him with eyes narrowed. "How serious is this secret?"
"Very."
Fujimoto's eyes didn't lie. Shura searched for the joking twinkle, but didn't find it. She looked for the upwards curve at the corners of his mouth, but they weren't present.
Everything about the man screamed exactly how serious this all was.
"I'll keep it," she swore, keeping in mind that this was the man who saved her, that this was the man she trusted the most. More than all the Vatican, more than anybody else in the world. Whatever this secret was, she trusted that Fujimoto had good reason for keeping it.
The man searched her eyes, gaze intense. "I'll trust you," he said softly.
Shura leaned against the teacher's desk, picture loosely held in one hand as she returned her sword to the seal on her chest.
There was a brief pause before Fujimoto began. "Rin is a very special boy—how special is what I'm going to tell you very soon. I've raised him since he was moments old and have taught him to control and protect himself since he was six—a year before Yukio. However, Rin cannot be known to the Vatican."
The woman looked at Fujimoto incredulously. "What? The only reason for that would be because he's something taboo, something so taboo he would have to be—"something dropped in her stomach. "Yer—You are not telling me this."
Her using 'you' instead of her customary 'yer' was a testament to how serious she was being, and Shura could tell by the look in Fujimoto's eyes that he both acknowledged and appreciated it.
"I am." Fujimoto stared directly into her eyes, and she saw no regret. "Rin is the son of the god of demons."
Her mouth opened slightly, and she whispered the name in shock. "Satan…" She looked back at the picture, at the blue sheen in the hair and the fire-blue eyes and the scowl on his face.
Fujimoto nodded. "Yes."
"Then…isn't Yukio his son too?"
"Yukio was weak in the womb," the Paladin explained, "and so the demonic powers didn't transfer to him. Rin, being so much stronger, inherited them all."
"Then why does he know about this world?" Shura exclaimed, mind racing at the horrible possibilities. "Why hasn't he been kept in the dark, if not outright… You know what happened nine years ago!"
"Three years ago, about ten years too early," Fujimoto said, "Rin manifested the flames. He was placed in a life-threatening situation and they woke."
I've … taught him to control and protect himself since he was six…
"You sealed them, didn't you?" Shura said with quiet certainty. "You sealed his powers, his demonic appearance. That's why he looks so normal. That's why he looks human."
"He is human," Fujimoto rebuked. "He is so human that some human beings look like demons."
"And the thing around his neck?"
Fujimoto looked surprised for only a moment. "It's a pendant carved with runes for protection and to conceal his flames—in other words, it acts as a stopper. It makes sure that when Rin is very, very emotional, the flames are either unnoticeable or not there at all."
It was quiet for a moment while Shura digested all of the information. "What did you seal his powers in?" she asked softly. "It can't have been that necklace—it would have to be something stronger, something more ancient."
"Kurikara."
Her mouth dropped open. "Kurikara? You stole a sword—a demon-slaying sword—from those traditionalist monks?"
"It was strong," Fujimoto explained, "and was used to housing demonic flames. It was the best choice."
Everything was suddenly clear to Shura. "And you called me in here because you want me to teach him how to use it, don't you?"
Fujimoto nodded.
"You're going to throw him at me because he's a demon child?" Shura's voice raised and she had to keep herself from crumpling the picture she had been given. "You're going to trust me with the development of such a dangerous kid? I can't do that, Shiro, and you know that! I was raised by demons! I don't know how to make a kid grow up right—my own childhood was screwed up!"
"Shura!" Fujimoto said sternly, "Hear me out. I am not throwing him at you. He will remain at the church with me and I will spend time with him. He needs to learn how to use a weapon, though!"
"Why not a gun?" Shura argued hotly. "Why not his fists, why not have him become an Aria?"
"Rin is not made for a gun. He does not have the calm, nor the calculating mind that Yukio has. Rin is also most certainly not Aria material—I tried to have him memorize a couple easy, all-purpose verses. An hour later, he wasn't any closer to knowing them than he was when he started. And his fists…" Fujimoto trailed off.
"Yes?" The photo crinkled a little in Shura's grasp, her control slipping for one small moment.
"I took him out last night," Fujimoto admitted, "to Nagano. There was a goblin nest in an abandoned warehouse about two blocks south of the train station, and the city does have a butchery relatively close by. I didn't want anything to go wrong, so I planned to take care of it, and Rin needed to have a practical mission. Yukio's already been on several, so I felt it more than about time."
"You took the son of Satan out into public and let him loose on some hobgoblins," Shura said dryly. "I'm sure it all went well. I'm assuming he used hand to hand and the flames, right? Oh, really smart, Shiro."
"He didn't use his flames!" Fujimoto snapped. "He had the pendant on the entire time. And yes, he did use hand to hand, and I took him during 'prime time'. There shouldn't have been any problems, but I hadn't counted on the local gangs causing trouble, if only indirectly."
Shura's eyebrows raised.
"They…they had the carcasses of birds nailed over the doorway," Fujimoto said softly. "Rin saw it first, after punching the first goblin far enough away that I had time to draw my weapon and destroy it. Rin doesn't like seeing the suffering of innocents, I've told you that. And with some of the birds, it was very clear they'd been nailed to the wood while still alive. You know how goblins are about rotting blood."
"Did he go berserk?"
"No," Fujimoto said. "No he didn't. But he was absolutely upset—he was crying and wondering why he should be protecting people who did those sorts of things. It got bad enough that the flame started to manifest itself. I was lucky—I was able to clear out most of the demons quickly and set him straight. Once he'd calmed down enough, though, the Queen came out. Rin is a child—he did very well for having no prior real-time experience, but he did not have enough reach. He was hurt, Shura. He didn't break any bones, but his head slammed against the wall and he's got a bit of a concussion."
Fujimoto was quiet for a moment more, his eyes shadowed.
"Shura, I don't want Rin to be in such danger again, but I know it's going to come. I know that he's going to be hunted by both demon and human, and so I want to ensure his safety the best way I can. He needs more reach—he needs to be able to protect himself, with not only his body, but with a weapon. You know me—I may know the basics of sword handling, but they are subpar and it is most certainly not my area of expertise. You may not be the best swordsman out there, but you are at least Mid-Meister level, even if you only became an exorcist recently. Also, I don't have the time to teach Rin full-time; I barely have enough time for the basics as it is. I've been getting more missions lately, and there's been talk of me teaching a class for the cram-school. I need help, Shura," Fujimoto looked at the woman.
Shura had never seen Fujimoto, strong, unwavering Fujimoto, look so lost and at his wits end. She hated this Fujimoto. She hated this imposter, this man who was unable to keep the world on his shoulders and look like it weighed nothing.
"Shura, please. I'm human, I need help. Can you—will you help me?"
I'm human.
Somewhere, in all the trials Fujimoto had gone through and come out laughing, through all the problems he'd solved single-handedly, Shura had forgotten that Fujimoto was only human and wasn't all-powerful. She had forgotten that Fujimoto wasn't some sort of angel come down to earth from heaven, wasn't a god. He was human, she realized as she looked at him, his eyes silently pleading with her.
She argued with herself. The son of Satan was undoubtedly dangerous, but he was a boy. He was a demon, but he'd been raised by Fujimoto. He'd been taught to protect himself, but wasn't able to do it properly.
Shura sighed and looked at the picture again.
Inside that scowl, she saw something like acceptance and happiness. In those glowering eyes, there was joy. And, she reasoned, a boy who grew horribly upset by the sight of the tortured and did his best to make sure that they were not hurt couldn't possibly be too bad.
"I'll meet him."
Fujimoto grinned a little.
"But! I'm going to evaluate him. I'm not promising to take him on, I'm only seein' if he's worth my time."
The man's grin grew wider. "Mah, it's good enough for me! I'll even call out for the best ramen tonight, okay? You can stay for dinner! Sagaru-kun and Hideki-kun are gone on a mission for the next couple of days, and Jiborou is seeing family tonight. We've got room at the table!"
Without another word, he brushed by her, whistling all the way to the door with a spring in his step. He opened it and very nearly skipped out of the room.
"Ah…" Shura's mouth opened and closed before she huffed and muttered, "I didn't agree to that, yer perverted old geezer…"
She looked down at the picture one last time and grinned a little before she pushed off the desk and literally skipped to the open door.
"Shiroooooo, yer forgot yer precious picture!"
Shura nearly ran into Fujimoto when she exited the room, and she stumbled to a stop with one hand on the doorknob behind her.
"Honestly, Shiro, why do yer have to be so—"
Fujimoto held up a hand, and it was only then that she saw him holding a cell phone up to his ear.
"…for fifty minutes? Why didn't you call me earlier?"
Shura looked at the man's face curiously, noting the mixture of worry, frustration and exasperation. His brow furrowed suddenly and his tone grew sharper.
"There's no more noise? Can't you break in?" Fujimoto listened for a moment before groaning and muttering, "Of course the wards come back to bite me…Yes, I have an extra key. Wait a bit, I'll be there in a few. I've got to get Yukio. See you in a bit."
The cell phone snapped shut and Shura immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"Rin decided that he needed to practice even though I told him to stay in bed," Fujimoto said, "and he locked the practice room from the inside." He began to walk quickly up the stairway.
Shura hurried after him. "Yer said something about wards?"
"The room is where Rin can practice with his ability without anybody knowing. It's warded to the rafters and the room, if locked, cannot be broken into. My key is one of two—Rin has the other one. It's the only way to get into the room if locked."
"This kid is really not sounding too good. He's got no sense of where to stop," Shura pointed out.
Fujimoto gritted his teeth and ascended the last few steps. "He's never been good at that, unfortunately."
The Paladin strode purposefully around the corner and towards Yukio, who'd stood up from where he'd been sitting on a bench when he saw the man. "Father?"
"Rin's being stubborn," Fujimoto said shortly as he passed the boy. "We need to go home."
Yukio immediately followed his father, cutting in front of Shura. "Is Kirigakure-san coming with us? What has Rin done?"
Fujimoto halted before the entrance door and pulled out one of his keys. "Yes, she is. As for the second question, Rin has decided he needs to practice."
He then stuck the key in the lock and turned it before pressing down on the handle. A few steps later, they'd crossed into the church.
Shura whistled at how clean it looked. "Nice place, Shiro."
The Paladin ignored her, and pulled string with two keys on it from under his clothing. One she recognized as Kamikakushi key, but the other was unrecognizable.
"Fujimoto-san?" a voice called out from deeper in the house, and a balding man poked his head around the corner. "Thank God you're here. We've been talking to Rin, but there hasn't been a single sound. The door feels a little hot too."
Fujimoto cursed, and Shura grinned as Yukio blanched a little. "Alright. Why didn't you stop him?"
The man turned around and began walking in the direction he'd come from. "To be frank, Fujimoto-san," he said, "we didn't know he was up and about until he'd locked the door."
"I swear," Fujimoto muttered, "I need to tie him to the bed if I ever want him to get any good amount of rest."
Shura looked down at Yukio as they followed the first man. "This's happened before?"
"Father was pretty mad when he found out Rin had been practicing with his flames to the point of getting sick," Yukio explained as they turned right and saw the clergy members hovering in front of a door in the hallway. "That was when we were six—when Rin first found out he could control the fire. Rin told Father that the only reason he'd stopped was because there had been talk of taking Rin to the doctor, even the hospital."
Fujimoto barked out a command and the clergy made a path for him, pressing against the walls of the hallway to give him room. The Paladin raised the key and inserted it into the lock, turning it right. He raised his free hand and turned the doorknob left before pushing the door inwards.
The room was bathed with a flickering, soft blue light. In the center there was a ring of candles, and in the middle of them a figure sat, noticeably drenched in sweat and breathing heavily. There were several melted candles in the very corner of the room—nearly a mountain of them. The entire scene was softly reflected by the polished wooden floor, and Shura had to admit that it added a quiet atmosphere that dampened the feelings of instinctual horror and fear in her.
The ring of candles had every other wick lit—some of them were too high and were visibly melting the wax, others were barely lit, and some even didn't have a wick lit but the candle itself. But one or two had nicely-sized flames burning right where they needed to be.
Fujimoto stilled for just a moment beside the wooden door, but when he saw the slowly spreading red on the bandage around the boy's head, he acted.
He strode purposefully into the room with its paneled wood walls and high ceiling made of holly, the sound of his footsteps causing the boy's head snapped up at the sound of the steps. The flames were out of control for a few moments—a few long, long moments—before the boy's back stiffened and the fire slowly but surely started to disappear.
"Rin!"
The nine-year-old turned around bit by bit, shoulders hunched a little as he faced the wrath that was his father.
Shura knew the stance Fujimoto had fallen into—she had, herself, experienced it a few times in her youth. She did not blame Rin for being apprehensive.
"Rin, what did I tell you to do?" Fujimoto squatted before the sitting boy, a hand on each knee and tone saying that he meant business.
Rin muttered something incomprehensible.
"Speak up."
"…stay in bed."
"And why," Fujimoto said lowly, "didn't you do that?"
The nine-year-old was quiet, gaze averted to the right so that he didn't have to look at his father's eyes.
At Shura's side, Yukio spoke up. "Rin…"
Rin looked at his brother, and Shura could see the guilt that washed over the boy's face at the sight of his little brother's worried, troubled expression. She watched him look back at his father and saw the guilt deepen for a few seconds.
"Rin, tell me."
Suddenly that guilt was gone, replaced by stubborn determination. "I don't want to."
"Ooh," Shura muttered, "wrong answer."
Instead of blowing up at the boy like Shura expected, like he had when he had looked after her for those few short years, Fujimoto sighed before rocking back on his haunches and sitting. In another, much smoother motion, he'd drawn a surprised Rin into an embrace.
"You've got some fire on your shoulder," he said quietly, and brushed at it. Shura was all ready to shout at him and call him an idiot, but the fire didn't burn him. She even saw Rin's face turn sheepish before the flame disappeared. She closed her open mouth and stared at the pair contemplatively, one hand absentmindedly restraining Yukio from joining his father and brother on the floor. She felt the boy quiver underneath her palm on his shoulder and spared only a moment to pity him before turning her attention back to the middle of the room.
"Now, Rin," Fujimoto continued, his voice a little sterner than before as his hand raised up and apparently brushed against the bloody bandage, "will you tell me why?"
Rin looked down at the floor before glancing up at Yukio and then back down at the floor. Shura suddenly felt like she was intruding on something, but couldn't bring herself to leave.
"…'cause I'm not strong enough."
There was a sigh from one of the clergy members behind Shura, a sentiment that echoed in the tensing and untensing of Fujimoto's back. "Rin, don't think that. You can't push yourself like that—you're hurt."
"The only reason I'm hurt is because I couldn't stop it from happening!" Rin burst out, flames suddenly dancing through his hair and along his back. "I'm not strong enough! I slacked off and didn't practice properly 'cause I wanted to make a meal for you, and it was fine then! But then…then you looked all worried and Yukio looked sad and everybody looked scared 'cause of me, and I don't want that to ever happen again! I don't want to make you feel those things ever again so why…" he trailed off, "why are you so unhappy now?"
Shura felt her heart go out to the boy and cursed her inability to keep herself in check when it came to cute little boys with determined expressions and well-meaning intentions. Yukio didn't know how many times she had stopped herself from squeezing the breath out of him, and she meant to keep it that way.
"Because you're hurting yourself," Fujimoto said quietly, rubbing the boy's back and calming the fire into nothing, "because we're worried you'll push yourself too far and then make your injury worse."
Rin was quiet for a moment before he looked down at the floor and muttered something, blushing as he did so.
"Huh? What was that?"
Shura had to strain her ears to catch what the boy next said. "…but that's how Jump heroes always get stronger."
Fujimoto's back shook as he laughed a little before he hugged the boy tighter to him. "Rin, those are fictional characters. Life isn't a Jump manga, right?"
Rin nodded into the man's shoulder, looking absolutely vulnerable at that moment. If it weren't for the small flames in the boy's hair, Shura never would have taken him to be the son of Satan.
"I'm not saying don't work hard," Fujimoto said quietly, "but sometimes you need to rest to make sure your body recovers. Sometimes your body needs as much rest as it does training. Do you understand me, Rin?"
"…yeah." Rin's thin arms came around to hug Fujimoto tightly. "I got it."
There was silence for a moment before Rin raised his head and looked straight at Shura with a question in his eyes.
"Um…Dad?"
"Hmm?"
"Why is there a woman in a bikini here? Is she…" Rin jerked back out of Fujimoto's embrace and wrinkled his nose at the man. "Eeeeeeeew, don't tell me you're going to go all smoochy with her! Ech!"
Shura turned her head to the side and started laughing, her frame shaking as she did so. Yukio looked at his brother like he'd gone mad.
"Rin!"
The woman sank down to the ground and held her aching gut as her laughter increased in intensity, eyes squeezed shut with tears leaking out of her eyes.
"Rin, no, I'm not going to 'go all smoochy' with Shura. She's my student, my first student. She's about twenty years younger than me—no."
"But then why is she only wearing a bikini?"
"Oh my gooood," Shura wheezed out, squinting an eye open and looking at the pair looking at her—Fujimoto had turned around while her eyes were closed. "Oh god Fujimoto, yer never told me he was this funny."
Fujimoto raised his eyebrows at her, and then chuckled a little. "Yeah, he's a barrel of laughs. Sorry I forgot to tell you."
"Soooooo, Dad, why's she here?" Rin attempted to stand but immediately swayed to the right and stumbled, a hand coming up to hold his head. Yukio crossed the distance quickly and supported his brother before his father could do more than latch onto Rin's left hand.
"This is why you don't push yourself after an injury," Yukio scolded before putting Rin's right arm around his shoulders. "It hurts, doesn't it?"
Rin's mouth grimaced in pain as his eyes squeezed shut. "Dad…answer…"
"Oh! That's right!" Fujimoto let go of Rin's hand and laughed. "If she agrees, that's going to be your Kendo instructor! She came over to evaluate you. And for ramen."
Yukio's jaw dropped. "Th-That annoying woman is going to be here? To teach Rin how to use a sword?"
"Scaredy-cat, I haven't given an answer yet," Shura drawled, "so relax, it isn't for sure just yet."
Fujimoto looked at her, a question in his eyes.
"But," she continued, grinning predatorily at Yukio, "I've decided to give your twin a chance once he's feeling better."
The younger twin's face fell noticeably, and his expression turned gloomy. "Why? What have I done to deserve this?"
The elder twin's face was a knotted mass of pain, but he still managed to speak as Yukio hauled him out of the room. "What's so…wrong with her teachin' me?"
As they exited, Yukio shook his head mournfully. "If you really become her pupil, you'll know."
"Ah. Yukio, wait." Fujimoto said. "Rin, where's your pendant?"
Rin managed to pull an arm up and flop his hand in the general direction of the object in question. "Corner."
Fujimoto stood and retrieved the necklace before he walked over to Rin and put it around the boy's neck. Shura looked at the pendant before grinning to herself.
If she did train the kid, she was going to have fun with it, she thought as Yukio, having refused any help from the clergy members, continued to drag an exhausted, migraine-ridden Rin to their room.
"Any idea when he'll be better?" Shura asked casually, sitting up against the wall and wiping a few tears out of her eyes.
Fujimoto raised his eyebrows at her from his position at the door. "I know that glint in your eye, Shura. You interested?"
"Maaaaaaaaybe~," she shrugged, "More importantly, when will he be better and when is my ramen going to be here?"
"Maybe Tuesday, but he has school this week."
"So what? I want a day with him—just me and him, quality time together!" She grinned and then stood, staggering over to Fujimoto and supporting herself against him. "And I want pork miso. Two bowls, got it?"
Fujimoto sighed, making Shura grin even wider.
If nothing else, this was due to be entertaining.
Come Saturday morning, Rin was excited for training—this did not mean that he was a little leery of his new teacher.
When Shura had started looking incredibly thoughtful after hearing about Fujimoto's decision to make Rin wait until the weekend for evaluation, he had told the woman that "You are not pulling Rin out of school any day of the week. Understand, Shura?"
Apparently, Shura listened to his father. Rin could completely understand that, as Fujimoto was the Most Awesome Person On Earth (and sometimes the scariest). However, that didn't mean she wasn't prone to finding ways around what the Paladin said.
For example, Rin had seen her several times around the school, observing him from behind corners and peering through the classroom window at him. Not only that, but he often got this horrible, hair-raising feeling that somebody was watching and he had the sneaking suspicion that it was her.
Rin sighed and sat up in bed, throwing back the covers and swinging his feet over the edge of the bed. He yawned widely, scratched the back of his head, and then looked up.
Two huge purple eyes stared into his.
"GYAAH!" He screamed, lashing out with his legs and scooting backwards with his arms. "What the HELL?"
The woman threw back her head and laughed, hands on hips. "Hah! Yer didn't even hear me coming! I made sure to step on those creaky floorboards outside your room, too! What a promising apprentice you're turning out to be," she drawled, a strange light in her eye.
Rin wondered for a moment what creaky floorboards before his mind whiplashed back to the fact that The Woman was in his room and was in his face and had scared the living daylights out of him.
"YOU!" he screamed and leapt out of bed, pointing a finger at a nonchalant Shura. "What kind of person are you, sneaking up on people and…and disturbing them from their rest!"
"Admiiiiiiiiiit it," she snarked, taking a step back and turning around to lean against the bedroom wall, "yer were scared."
Rin felt him mouth pull itself into a snarl. "Was not."
"Was too!" Shura chirped cheerfully before sticking out her tongue.
"Was not!"
"Too!"
"Not!" The boy stomped his foot and glowered at the woman, face getting redder and redder by the moment.
The woman cackled and laughed at him. "Was toooooooo~!" she sang gleefully, appearing to relax even more against the wall.
"WAS N-"
Rin found a slender hand, calloused from using a sword, placed gently over his mouth. He stiffened. A quiet, breathless moment later, there was the rustle of clothing and a breath by his ear.
"Was too, scaaaaaaaardy," she whispered, before she suddenly stepped away from him lightly and leaned back against the wall, staring at him contemplatively.
The boy blinked a few times and then gathered his wits. "Jerk, I was not scared!"
"Suuuuuure," she drawled, pushing herself off the wall and turning around to sashay out of the room. "Kid, once yer done with breakfast, meet me in yer trainin' room. We'll see how good Fujimoto's kid really is."
She lifted a hand in the signature I'm cool and I know it wave as she turned the corner, leaving Rin standing in front of his messy bed, arm still limply extended and mouth open slightly.
Rin narrowed his eyes. There was no way he was losing to that woman.
That morning, Rin wolfed down his breakfast with even more gusto than normal, not even tasting the customary meal of rice and fish. He chugged the tall glass of milk in huge gulps, barely avoiding choking on it because of his experience with holding his breath for long periods of time. Whenever they went swimming in school, which admittedly wasn't often, he would have a silent competition with the other boys to see who could stay under water the longest.
Rin was rather proud of the fact that he always won.
The driving force behind his hurry that morning wasn't only the fact that he was eager to show Shura that he was good enough for her—it was the images in his head, pictures of himself wielding a huge sword, one of those cool European ones, and making sure that no shadowy being attacked his dad or Yukio. He would leap heroically in (because heroes always showed up at the last possible moment) as the situation seemed dire, and then he would defeat the evil guys and his father would praise him and his brother would admire him and he'd be so cool.
Or, he thought as he nearly ran to the room, pulling the key to the room out of the pocket of his shorts, it'd be cool to have a katana. Like the samurai!
In his excitement, he fumbled with the key in front of the door before he managed to jam it into the lock, turning it as he pushed down on the brass handle. He pulled the key out as he entered the room and pushed it into his pocket when he stepped around the heavy oak door, nearly buzzing with excitement.
Shura was nowhere to be seen, and he blinked in confusion as he shut the door behind him and flipped on the light switch.
"Kid, yer have some poor observation skills." A voice came from his left, where the open door had been, and he jumped out of his skin for what seemed to be the second time in less than an hour.
"J-just what do you think you're doing?" he blustered, trying to calm his furiously beating heart down and narrow his wide eyes. "And who says I have bad obser-observation skills? Honestly, d'you have nothin' better to do than sc-stalk people? You kept creeping on me at school!"
The woman raised her eyebrows and shifted her weight to her right leg, jutting her hip out as she placed her hip on it.
"Hoo? Yer saw me? I wasn't really trying, but those teachers don't take well to seeing their students being spied on so I had to be a little careful, y'know." She chuckled a little, and something like amusement flickered across her face.
Rin screwed up his face into a scowl and crossed his arms across his chest rebelliously. "What're we doing?"
"Ah," she said, looking down at him with a slightly predatorial grin. "I thought we'd play tag. I'll be it first, if yer want."
The boy narrowed his eyes at the perceived insinuation. "Why're we playing tag? That's a kid's game."
"'Cause it's a test and I said so," she drawled. "So, like I said, I'll go fir—"
"No!" he interrupted. "If it's really a test, then I'll go first! You're testing me, not yourself, right?"
She smirked at him, and at that moment he really hated their height difference. He hated the sense of being mocked and seen as inferior, he absolutely hated it. "Whatever yer want, kid."
"I'm not a kid!" he snapped as he moved to take off his necklace, as he usually did within the room. However, Shura intercepted one hand, easily leaning to cross the distance between them.
"Leave it be for now, 'kay?"
He looked at her in confusion, but let his hands drop and left the pendant lying underneath his shirt.
"Okay!" She chirped and spun around him to skip into the center of the room. Once she reached it, the woman turned and looked at him, holding up one finger. "Rules now, okay?"
Rin nodded and crossed his arms across his chest once more. "Fine." Despite his short tone and defensive posture, he was nearly trembling with excited energy.
"Rule one: No hitting or physical attacks. Good?"
I don't need to hit her to beat her, Rin thought as he nodded.
"Rule two: If yer flames come out, we stop. 'kay?"
Rin was slightly confused with this, as his flames never ignited with the necklace on. If they did, he would have to be very very angry, and he suddenly got a sneaking terrible feeling about this 'game'.
"Rule three: We stop when I say stop. No objections. That's all, yer understand?"
Despite his new misgivings about the whole situation, Rin nodded and readied himself, shifting into a stance that would allow him to launch himself at her easily.
Shura's smile grew even more predatory at the action he took, and she seemed to relax even more, which confused him. "Okay. Ready?"
Rin's legs tensed and he focused on her.
"Seeeeeeeet," she drawled, shifting her weight in a way that looked totally unprepared for any sort of attack and looking at the ceiling.
He narrowed his eyes at the action, clearly able to read it for what it was. She didn't take him seriously.
"Goooooo!"
The boy took off, attempting a straight approach even as he noticed that she didn't even move out of the way. Even though he was confused, he didn't stop or hesitate.
"Once you commit to something, you can't hesitate. If you stop, if you wonder if what you're really doing is the right thing once you've committed, it makes it more likely for you or somebody else to be hurt,"
Rin snapped his arm out and lunged, trying his best to keep his weight even so that he could draw back if need be.
"This doesn't mean that you should charge headfirst into something," Fujimoto said as he adjusted Rin's balance so that he could move forward and backward easily, "because it is equally as important to be able to retreat a step if the demon attacks unexpectedly."
His fingers touched nothing but air, even though only a second before there had been the solid form of a stomach. A black flash caught his eye and he spun to the right, where Shura had dodged so fast he hadn't been able to track it.
Rin halted and looked at her, eyes wide. "How'd you do that?"
Shura only sniggered and rocked back on her heels, hands behind her back childlishly. "Another secret," she sang, and sprang to her toes the moment Rin twitched in her direction to dodge.
It soon became a pattern, the lunging and the barely dodging, and Rin became more and more frustrated the longer the 'game' continued.
On the nth time Rin missed the woman, he growled and narrowed his eyes even further. His actions became less controlled and driven out of more rage than calculation.
Rin was never good with calculating a fight, but when he had a more level head than usual he tended to be able to analyze a fight better.
At the sight of the snarling face and the furious movements of the boy, Shura smirked and opened her mouth.
"Is this really all yer can do?" she asked as she dodged a sharp jab at her thigh, swinging around and turning her back to him in a gesture that was absolutely provocative. "Is this all Fujimoto's kid can do?"
"Shut up," Rin snarled, sweating and panting, his surroundings lost to the overwhelming need to catch the woman who might be his teacher. "Just shut up."
"Did yer think that yer could really measure up to your father? He's the Paladin, yer know. The strongest of them all."
Rin growled and had to force himself to keep his hands loose, to stop them from tightening into fists. "I know."
"And Yukio? He's the kid known as the 'genius exorcist'. Yer brother, he's the youngest to ever achieve the status of Esquire."
The boy snuck a foot out and barely missed Shura's boot, which made him make a strangled noise. To make matters worse, the woman literally lept over his bent body, handspringing and landing on her feet before assuming a nonchalant, bored position.
"Yah, this is all yer've got? Yer think yer can protect them, protect Shiro and four-eyes? That's bull," she said, looking through the boy who had frozen in the middle of the room. "That's worthless dreaming, yer know. The way yer are now…yer dead in my world, kid. Did yer think that yer were good enough to impress me? Like hell, kid. Like hell."
Shura turned around, ponytail swinging behind her, and Rin, angry and furious and tired and hurt, moved faster than he had all practice, leaping at the woman.
She simply sidestepped and let him crash to the ground a few feet from the wall opposite the door. "Wow," she drawled, crouched a little more than an arm's length away from him, "Yer worse than Yukio is. That's saying something."
Rin's eyes widened and then narrowed angrily, and he started to shake.
"Hooooo? Yer mad? Sad? Angry that I'm telling yer the facts? This is the hard truth, kid," she said coldly, standing and turning once more. "I've had enough. You're nothing, even worse than your four-eyed genius brother who couldn't catch a slug if it were moving through molasses."
His breath hitched, and he propped himself up and tilted his head just enough to see that swaying, swinging ponytail.
"Every creature has a weakness, Rin. Even people."
Rin narrowed his eyes, rocked back onto his haunches, and lunged.
"…even worse than your four-eyed genius brother who couldn't catch a slug…"
By the time Shura heard him moving, suspected the suspicious quiet, he was already in motion, hand outstretched.
"Don't call me weak!"
By the time Shura turned and moved out of the way, his hand had already managed to fist itself around her hair.
"Shi—" Shura started to say, her hand reaching back to grab the top of her ponytail and prevent the inevitable pain.
"And don't insult my little brother!" He continued, his eyes widened in fury and blue flames flickering over his hair and trailing down to the hand that was clutching the woman's hair.
Underneath all of the anger and frustration, there was the dim sense of victory—he'd caught her.
Once her eyes caught sight of the blue fire feeding off of Rin's anger, Shura knew it was time to stop this game and have a little talk. Sure, the kid still had some lingering strength issues, but they were mostly resolved—no need to pick at that wound more than she already had. Her problem was with how quick Rin was to anger, and if it was truly wise to teach him. While it was somewhat admirable that the thing that pushed him over the edge was how she'd started to insult his brother as well as him, it still wasn't healthy. Anger clouded a person's vision—she knew this very well. A strong fighter was one who didn't let that anger dim their judgment. A dangerous fighter to partner up with was one who did let it happen.
So Shura turned and let her hair slide over her shoulder before bracing herself for the impact that was sure to happen.
Rin was so surprised that he'd let go of her hair, his eyes still wide but not so angry and the flames on his head sputtered out with the onslaught of confusion. Something like understanding flickered in his eyes as he suddenly processed the situation a split second before contact, and Shura couldn't see his face anymore.
The impact caused her to slide a foot back to accommodate for the sudden force moving her body backwards. His head had slammed into her gut, and it was all she could do to keep herself from retching all over him.
That didn't stop her from dropping him to the ground and bending over the boy to cough onto the floor.
It took what seemed like forever for the coughing to stop, and her arms quivered with every heave that wracked her body.
"Hey? Hey, boo—Shura-san, you okay?"
At least he didn't call her 'Kirigakure-san' like his brother did, that little snot.
Shura waved him off with one hand. "All…good," she wheezed out before flopping onto the floor. "Looooord, your head is hard."
She heard him hesitantly back up a few steps and looked up at the kid, who was staring down at her in horror.
"Don't look like that, yer didn't kill me. I'm made of sterner stuff than that, yer know?" Shura groaned as she sat up and leaned back on her arms casually before crossing her legs. "C'mon, get down here. We need to talk."
Rin was hesitant for a bit, but sat down across from her. She could see some of the anger returning to his eyes now that it was clearer she was alright and he hadn't managed to send her to the hospital.
"I'm talking to yer plainly now," she said shortly, "no insults, no nothing. Why should I take on a snotty little brat like yer?"
The boy's eyes narrowed and he snapped back, "Why does it matter to you? Why are you even asking? After all, I'm nothing."
Were she not facing the kid, Shura would have allowed herself to wince. She had forgotten that she was dealing with a nine-year-old boy who was still developing, not a teenager or an adult that could brush it off easily.
But she didn't wince. Instead, after inwardly panicking about what she was supposed to do, she finally settled on the option that she felt would work the best.
"It's because I respect your dad," she started, "and he asked for it. But I'm not going to take on any student because somebody I respect asks me to—in fact, if it weren't Fujimoto, I wouldn't have even considered it. In the end, Rin, you're the one who makes it possible or not. Now. Why should I take you on as my deishi, my apprentice?"
Sincerity. Many kids could sense how sincere a person was, especially since people tended to underestimate them, and Shura was honestly riding on that, hoping against all hope that Rin would understand and not succumb to his anger.
If he remained angry, she would be forced to look at Shiro's disappointed face when she told him that she would not take Rin under her wing.
Rin opened his mouth angrily, and for a heartbeat Shura thought that he would lose the opportunity his father had managed to coerce her into offering.
And then he shut his mouth, looked contemplative, and bowed his head in thought.
The next few moments were silent, but for the light breaths each took.
Slowly, Rin turned his hands palm-up and appeared to look at them. "I…" he continued, "I just want to make sure others don't get hurt. I wanna protect them. Not just Dad and Yukio…others. Like Jiborou-san and Kidomaru-san and everybody else at the church. Like that little girl Dad and I saw in Nagano, even the..." he choked a little on the words but kept going, "those birds. They've done nothing wrong, they don't deserve to be hurt…if anything or anybody tried, I'd…I'd wanna be there to protect them.
"And when I got hurt and saw everybody all sad from it, I want to protect them from that too, which means I gotta be able to keep myself safe. I want to keep others from feeling that way too—if it's there, I wanna be able to stop it. The danger, I mean. And I've…I've been thinking about that night. After Nagano, I mean. And if Yukio came home that hurt or if even Dad came home that hurt, I'd be mad and sad and worried, just like they were. So…"
Rin raised his head, and the determined eyes he wore made something tingle down her back and widen her eyes a little.
"So if you won't teach me, then I'll do it myself!" Rin stood and looked down at her, trying to seem bigger and more capable than he really was. "I'll figure out a sword myself, I'll make sure that those I treasure and those who've done nothing wrong and…and even those who have done something wrong…I'll make sure that they're kept safe!"
He looked down at her with those determined eyes and with those determined, high-reaching words and some resolve within her broke.
She always did have a softness for those kinds of people.
Shura let out a soft breath even as Rin sucked in more air to continue on his rant.
"Hey, hey, you're good now, kid. Think that's enough of a break? Wanna go on? I heard that your forms need work—yer know, footwork's important with swordsmanship. Yer gotta be able to balance yerself, so we can work on that next."
The woman stood and snickered to herself at the astounded face Rin had on, his rapidly blinking eyes and his mouth open and ready to defend himself.
Once she stood up though, his face fell into a more natural grin even as his eyes narrowed in anticipation.
"You're on!"
That night, an exhausted Rin nearly slept in his food several times, the only thing saving him from having rice on his face being the presence of his younger brother at his side, pulling him up and away from the meal even as everybody else laughed. Eventually, Yukio gave up and dragged a boneless Rin to their room.
"I'll have to leave some food out for him," Jirobou said gaily as he and the other clergy member present, Yasu, cleaned up the table. "He's bound to get up sometime around midnight—do you want me to leave it on the counter, Fujimoto-san? And sit down, we've got it. Go talk to Kirigakure-san about Rin's training."
Shura twitched.
Fujimoto sat down into the chair again, having half-risen from it with the intention to help the others. "That would be good, thank you. If he doesn't get up, that's fine—we can put it back with the other food if it's wrapped before being set out. You know how rice gets when refrigerated."
"Sure thing, Fujimoto-san," Yasu said politely before he carried all the bowls into the kitchen. "Jirobou-kun, you wash and I'll dry and put the dishes away."
"Why does it have to be me?" Jiborou whined, disappearing into the kitchen after Yasu.
The last thing Shura heard before the door was shut was Yasu explaining how he had seniority and that was final.
Fujimoto broke the short silence. "So…how did it go?"
"Yer kid's got some temperamental problems," she drawled. "His flames came out during training even though the necklace was on."
He started, worried, but froze at the look on her face. "…what did you do to him?"
"Well," she started out, leaning back in her chair and tipping it onto the back two legs, "we started off with tag and I teased him into finding out where his frustration-levels lie. Yer know, the thing that pushed him over was me insulting his little brother. Can see now, but it was a bit surprising at the time."
Shiro did not look too amused. "And?"
"We talked it over after he grabbed me by the hair and he impressed me enough that I decided to keep training with him. He's pretty quick for his age, yer kid. I mean, he caught on real fast with the balance thing—have yer worked with him on it before?"
"Yes," Fujimoto said, "but not often."
Shura shrugged. "It makes sense, I guess. Kid's technique is rough—I'm going to be putting him through more hand-to-hand before he even touches a practice sword. Kicks and punches are pretty damn important in a fight, yer know."
"So…you're taking him on?" Fujimoto asked and winced as the legs of Shura's chair creaked. "Please stop doing that."
She pouted, but sat properly in the chair once more. "Yeah, yeah, but I got a couple conditions first."
The Paladin blinked at her before waving a hand at her to continue.
"First! I want food every day I'm here. I'm gonna work that kid into the ground, yer got it? Second: I want to pull him outta school when I need to. Gonna take a page outta your book and take him out on a few missions—if they go late, there's no reason for him to go to school and sleep there instead of in his bed."
"I'm not too keen on that idea…"
Shura flapped a hand dismissively. "Rlaaaax, gramps, yer too uptight about this! Rin could be as dumb as I am and still be able to make a living! I mean, lookit me!"
"…I don't plan on enlisting Rin in the Exorcist Corps."
The woman froze and leaned forward. "Then how the hell is he supposed to live? I mean, yeah, he's Satan's kid, but still!"
"At this point," Fujimoto raised his voice just slightly—they didn't want Yukio or, while unlikely, Rin overhearing—, "I cannot see Rin as being able to survive in such a world. Not when, even nine years later, people are still smarting about the Blue Night. If circumstances change, if things settle down or I have no other option…maybe. But now, the answer is an absolute no."
An awkward, heavy silence settled over the table, and Shura dispelled it as best as she could with a shrug. "Okay, fine. I'll try not to take him out too often, and it's not going to start very soon anyways—only after he learns some kendo. Now…" she smirked.
Her grin grew wider at how slightly nervous Shiro looked.
"As my third and final stipulation, I want beer! Beer for every meal I'm here and for snacks in between!" she crowed and leaned back once more in the chair, making the legs creak.
"Absolutely not!" Fujimoto squawked. "I am not having you teach bad habits to my children—that's the reason I gave up smoking!"
"Doesn't matter~" Shura sang, "I'm of age and I can do it legally, and there's no way I'm not giving something like free beer up! Or…" she let the chair down with a thump and leaned across the table, "do yer really not want Rin to get his schooling?"
Fujimoto ground his teeth.
Shura smirked at him, looking like a cat that had just eaten the canaries in the birdcage.
"I," Fujimoto said shortly, "will supply three cans of beer every day you are here. Whether you choose to have them all with one meal or one with every meal or whatever is up to you. But for God's sake don't get drunk in front of them!"
Knowing very well that her tolerance for alcohol was incredibly low, Shura nodded happily. "Got it!"
The very next day, right after she got drunk during Rin's light practice, Fujimoto banned her from beer unless it was after dinner and out of the boys' sight.
A/N: Holly is symbolic for these things: Purity, Strength, Logic, Level-headed thinking, Focus, Power, Protection, Healing.
Oak is symbolic for these things: Truth, Knowledge, Protection, Intuition, Observation.
I've bolded the things I think are most important for Rin's training...Obviously, they were chosen mainly for the 'protection' aspect, but they also included some other aspects I appreciated. For example, Willow also has protective qualities, but they're more...feminine, shall we say. Fertility, cycle of life, luck, et cetera.
What else should I explain...Well, Shura. Shura is legal to drink-in Japan. She also speaks with 'yer' instead of 'you', something I debated about putting into the story before giving in due to characterization. You've probably already noticed that she doesn't use 'yer' all the time-your, you're, and the times she's really serious. At least, that's how I'm viewing it...
I hope that I've managed to capture Shura adequately, but feel like I took liberties with her personality-mainly, the weakness for determined kids.
Well, that's it! Until the next chapter, whenever it may come. I have a two-week break the end of October/Beginning November, so I hope I'll have some writing time then.
Thank you so much!
Updated September 9, 2011.
