Disclaimer: Shuffle! and all characters therein are owned by outside companies and I claim no ownership of any of them.

Shuffle! Hope

The ticking of the clock echoed like footsteps in the quiet classroom. Each and every student's eye was focused on the clock, as it slowly ticked away. Summer break was just a minute away. Rin gripped the edge of his desk. Itsuki was sitting on the edge of his seat. Sia's eyes darted back and forth between the door and the front of the class, where Anthony stood, just staring at the class. Watanabe actually had his feet on his chair, had Rin seen him he would have been more cautious. The second hand continued to thunder throughout the classroom…

"I have an announcement!" Anthony yelled, his hands behind his back. He walked from behind his desk, opening the door. He smiled, "I want everyone to have a good summer break…"

Some of the students smiled, others looked surprise. Anthony's face than froze in seriousness.

"But the last person out of this room will write a twenty-five page report about what chemical procedures they will be experiencing during the summer. Due Friday"

"WHAT?!"

The bell rang, and they were off, Anthony's words ringing in their mind. Watanabe launched himself over Rin, his face slamming into his desk. As he landed, however, there was a pencil that was precariously placed in front of the doorway. The wall didn't see him coming. The door almost exploded from its hinges as the students flew out of the classroom, almost trampling each other.

Anthony began to walk out of the room, waving to Watanabe's embedded body, "Nabe-san, I'll see you in a week."

A painful voice answered him, "Y-Yes sensei…"

Outside the school, Mayumi stretched her arms to the sky, smiling and sighing a great sigh of relief, "Summer break! It couldn't have come soon enough!"

Itsuki bent down, glancing interestingly at Mayumi, "And it hasn't yet."

Mayumi's eyes furrowed, staring evilly at Itsuki, "No one asked you."

"Rin-kun, what do you got planned for this weekend?" Kaede asked as she walked by his side, Nerine and Sia on his other side.

"Um, actually Kaede-chan, I was just planning on just working and um…well, I can't lie to you, I'd like to spend some time alone Kaede-chan."

Kaede frowned, looking a little disappointed, "Oh…ok…"

Rin held his hand to his face, "Sorry Kaede-chan. Besides, we have all summer to spend time with each other."

This seemed to brighten Kaede up, as she smiled and nodded, "Uh-huh!"

"Kaede-chan!" a melodious voice called out. A shadow overcast the group as Kaede began to turn around.

Rin froze, time itself froze. A thousand thoughts ran through his mind.

"Kaede's going to be attacked! Who is it? Itsuki's in front of me, so who would be… no he wouldn't!"

Rin took a chance, with lightning speed he swung his bag behind him and felt it connect hard with a face. Watanabe's went flying in the other direction, a stream of blood trailing on the ground.

"Dammit! You can't just go around jumping on people like that, especially ones you don't know well!" Rin yelled at him, Watanabe didn't respond, his leg twitching.

Kaede laughed nervously, she had only met him a couple times but he was a very hands-on person. She was glad that Rin was there to protect her.

"Geez…" Rin said, "I can't wait till someone locks you up you lecher."

"Rin-kun, don't be angry just because he's accepted the beauty of the female body in a more open fashion than you have," Itsuki came in.

Rin smacked him alongside the head, "You stay out of this. Last thing this world needs is another you," Rin turned around, glad to get away from Watanabe. He stopped, as he saw a tall god with black hair and thin glasses, similar to Itsuki's except slightly rounder, as he leaned against the wall of the school gate, talking idly with Sia. From a distance, he could see Sia laughing and seeming to be very interested in what they were talking about. She looked over to where Rin and the others were standing, as she excitedly raised her hand and waved everyone over.

"Rin-san! Come here Rin-san!" As Rin began to walk over, he could have sworn the god scowled. But Rin passed it off…jealously perhaps?

"Hey. Sia-chan." Rin said as he walked up waving, "Who's this?"

"Rin-san, this is Gyouji Bernshaw. He's a senior in Nadeshiko's class, the art club's president, and he's from the Realm of the Gods," she turned to Gyouji," Gyouji-san, this is…"

"Yes…" he said, pushing his glasses up, stretching his hand out reluctantly, "Tsuchimi Rin, you're quite the talk of the school."

Rin wasn't use to such a greeting, but he grabbed Gyouji's hand and shook, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Same," he said. Rin could not help shake the feeling that something was wrong with this guy. "Sia-san," Gyouji said, breaking Rin's thoughts, "Perhaps we could walk to a nearby café and you can tell me a little bit about what you're planning on painting over break."

Sia thought for a second, "That sounds fine, just let…ah! That's right. Dad needs me to cook dinner for him tonight! Then I believe we're heading straight to the Realm of the Gods after that, he's so persistent about spending more time with me." She said, giggling at the last part.

"Oh, why is that Sia-chan?" Rin asked curiously, not noticing that referring to her as -chan upset Gyouji, "You live together, so why would he be so worried about that?"

Sia was startled, then laughed nervously, "Well, haha, it's because I'll be going off to college soon and…you know all that stuff…" is what she said. "I can't tell him it's because my stupid dad thinks I'm going to get married to you soon," is what she thought.

"Very well then," he said, sounding disappointed, "At least allow me the honor of walking you home."

"Well…" Sia said, thinking aloud. Before she could finish her train of thought…

"Gyouji-san!" A yell came from behind them, on the other side of the street. Everyone looked past Gyouji to see a group of gods standing in front of the store across the street.

"Just a minute!" Gyouji yelled back, he turned around and looked at Sia, "Please ignore them, I made plans with them earlier but I'd much rather…"

"No!" she said forcibly, "You made a promise to them so you go hang out with them." She turned him around and started pushing him out of the gate.

After a short distance, Gyouji stopped resisting and faced Sia again, "I understand, I understand!" He bowed, "Have a good weekend Sia-san." And with that he was off, Sia waving politely.

"Bye bye! I'll see you over break!" She sighed, merrily turning around back to her friends, "Now then, Nerine-chan, Kaede-chan! Shall we go!"

"S-Sia-chan…" Nerine said worriedly, Sia looked at her with a confused look, "Um…I don't know how to say this but…" She looked at Sia, "Please be careful around that man."

"Eh?" Sia said in surprise, "What do you mean?"

Nerine blushed, feeling embarrassed, "Well…it's his attitude towards…people not from the Realm of Gods. He actively avoids them. Besides…his family…"

Sia smiled, "It's ok Nerine-chan! I'm sure he's just shy. As far as his family goes, they've retracted all statements from several years ago. They don't oppose the union anymore."

Rin and Kaede blinked simultaneously, Kaede speaking, "What do you mean oppose?"

Nerine looked back to her, pushing her hair back, "Well…you know how in this world, the human world, even though we live in relative peace in this city, there are many factions outside of here who are greatly against humans, demons, and gods living together. Some of it is fear, some of it is greed, some of it is a strong sense of individuality, but all of it is discriminatory, and in some cases even racist."

Rin thought about it, nodding, "You're right…there are many groups, especially in other parts of Japan and America, who don't like the idea of demons and gods living in this world."

Nerine agreed, "Well it's the same in our worlds as well," she looked at Sia, who was looking sad to hear about such things, "Neither of our races know why Kaimon happened, or what caused it…but despite our overall similarities…humans are humans, demons are demons, and gods are gods. And there are a lot of people who think it should stay that way." A distraught look overcame the group's faces, some showing a glint of curiosity, "Gods and demons have lived in peace for the most part because of our history together. This is still an infant development, what we're in right now. But I'm getting off track…."

Sia interrupted, "In the Realm of Gods, there is sort of, guess you can call it a hierarchical system. There's my father, who is the Lord. And under him are the services of well-reputed nobles and families, who each maintain a certain part of the government or land."

"Kind of like the Edo era?" Itsuki asked.

"Similar, but not exactly the same. Anyway, Gyouji, the Bernshaw's…they've been less than keen to the other races. When demons and gods first came into contact with each other, their ancestors were the leading opposition of trying to establish any relation between the two races. In short, they were a power behind the power of the Emperor. Years passed and they fell out of grace, and our two races have been in relative peace since then. But…eleven years ago…"

Shin, dressed completely in Emperor garb, looked down at a piece of paper, standing in front of him was a god, dressed in an exquisite suit of armor, with long red hair, stood at attention. "What is this?" Shin asked.

"Sir, it's an order to place a battalion of soldiers at the entrance of the Kaimon gates."

Shin looked gravely disturbed by this request, "And what purpose would they be there for?"

"Sir! To ensure that no humans trespass into our world and to crush any human force that would try to forcibly enter their way in here!"

"…They did it again. Thankfully, my father was a caring man, and immediately stopped any resistance against the alliance of our races. A few years later, after much communication between our worlds, they realized the folly of their ways and apologized for all statements made."

Rin looked at Nerine when she finished, disturbed, then looked at Sia, "Is this true Sia-chan?"

Sia nodded, "For the most part. But like I said, they apologized for their statements and now backs the union of our races. Besides, even if there are members of the Bernshaw family that would oppose it, they do not represent the opinion of the family, nor of the other members. Gyouji being one of them."

"You're right Sia-chan…" Nerine said, looking depressed, "But still, I want you to be ok. Just please promise me you'll be extra careful."

Sia stared into Nerine's eyes, her eyes slightly shimmering, "Nerine-chan…"

Rin placed his bag behind his back, "Sia-chan," she looked at him, "I don't doubt your ability to trust other people, that's a beautiful quality in you. But…" "Eleven years ago…he would have been five or six…eleven years is a long time to teach a child to hate" "I can't ask you not to trust him, but I can ask you to take extra care of yourself Sia."

Sia looked like she was about to cry she was so happy, such great friends. She wiped her eyes and looked up at Rin, "I will Rin-san. I promise. But you guy's don't have to worry about anything. He's really a nice guy, he's very sweet to me. He can be a little overbearing, but…Rin-san seems to know what that's like," she said smiling, and peeked behind Rin's back, "Huh…where'd he go?"

Some ways down the street, while Watanabe was far away from any recognizable classmates, he flipped out his phone and pressed a few buttons. He held his bag over his shoulder, as a faint ringing could be heard on the other end.

"Hello, yes this is, um, Ichigo. Yes, I need information on a Gyouji Bernshaw." He said into the receiver.

"…"

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, yes that Bernshaw. Send the information to my address. Bye." He shut the phone off, as he got closer to Gyouji and the group hanging around him. As he walked past an abandoned alley, three garbage cans placed next to it on the sidewalk, he stopped. He looked curiously into the alley, his head darting back and forth. "Yoo-hoo. Anyone in here?" No answer. He looked at Gyouji, then into the alley. He shrugged, and continued to follow the group.

Minutes later, Sia, Nerine, Kaede, and Primula were walking the same sidewalk, nearing the same alley. They talked about dinner plans for the coming weekend and plans for the whole summer, all four girls smiling and giggling at certain parts of the conversation. As they were about ten yards from the alley, a tall demon with long gray hair stiffly walked out of it. His face was slender and downright gorgeous, his broad shoulders seeming to encompass the entire width of the sidewalk. He wore a black suit, showing almost no other color at all, and in his hands he carried a large, thick cloth, almost like a coat. His other hand grabbed the belt of his pants, appearing as if he was holding his pants from slipping down. The four girls froze in their tracks as this giant walked by them giving them a quick glance, and then continuing past them. They all turned around, as they watched him walk away. People passed them on the street, uncaring, as they stood in frozen silence.

Nerine was the first to break the silence, "Who was that?"

SCENE CHANGE

"Come on Sia-chan!" Nerine yelled outside her house. It had been several days since school let out, and they were more than anxious to do what they had planned for today. Sia leaned far out the window, waving to Nerine.

"Just a minute! I'm almost ready!" She yelled, a big smile on her face.

Nerine pouted, she didn't want to wait any longer. It had been three days since they've seen or heard from Rin and she was getting lonely for him. Nerine fidgeted, she wore her best spaghetti shirt and tight-fitting pair of jeans for this occasion, and Sia was taking too long, she almost thought about leaving without her.

"I'm leaving without you!" Nerine yelled.

"Eyyaah! I'm coming out! I'm coming out!" The door to her house slid open and Sia bounced out, wearing a bright yellow summer dress, her cleavage exposed for the world to see. Shin stepped out as Sia trotted down the path to the road.

"Sia-chan! Don't you think that outfit is a bit inappropriate?!" He yelled. Sia looked back, she puffed out her cheeks in anger.

"Dad!"

Shin then motioned his right hand near his waistline and with his left hand imitated pulling down the collar of his shirt, "This is Rin-dono, Sia-chan! Fight with everything we got!" The lawn chair connected his forehead with precise accuracy.

Nerine blushed and held her head in her hands, Sia clenching a fist and the veins in that and her head bursting.

"Dad…." She growled angrily. She ran to Nerine's side and grabbed her hand, dragging her out to the street, "C'mon! C'mon let's go!"

"Not so hard Sia-chan!"

As they neared Rin's apartment, Sia placed her hands behind her head and stretched, groaning while she did, "Mmmm-ahh! I can't wait to see Rin-san! It's only been three days but it feels like forever!"

Nerine smiled and nodded, "I know, my heart still flutters every time I see him."

Sia smiled wide too, jumping at Nerine and wrapping her arms around her and tickling her sides, "That's not fair! Sia-chan loves Rin-san as much as Nerine-chan does!"

Nerine burst out with laughter as Sia's fingers found every sensitive spot on her stomach, "No-o-o-o! Sia-chan! Stopp it!"

Sia closed her eyes, continuing her assault on Nerine, "Give me Rin-san!"

Nerine couldn't stop laughing, "Eyahh! Never!" and with that, she pulled Sia's hands off of her and ran ahead of her, Sia puffing out her cheeks and running after her. They ran a good ways, laughing and drawing attention to themselves all the way to Rin's house. But they didn't care, they were in love with a man. A man who, even after nine years, made them the happiest in the world.

They stood outside Rin's building, looking up at it as they regained their breath.

"It's been a while since we've been here, hasn't it Sia-chan?" Nerine said. Sia nodded, indeed it has been a while since these two, since any of the girls, visited Rin. They used to visit a couple times a week after he moved in, but eventually that slowly devolved into a couple times a month, and by May they hardly ever visited him at all. That's not to say they never saw him, he was always there at school and, up until just a few weeks ago, was always happy to be around them. And every morning he would ride by their house to deliver their newspaper and it after school if he wasn't on a date with Asa he would find time to do something with everyone. Now that he felt better since a few weeks ago when Asa broke up with him, they could continue on their normal lives…and perhaps, as they both wished with all their hearts, lead a somewhat different life.

Sia looked at Nerine as they started walking up the stairs, "Hey Nerine-chan, why didn't Kaede or Primula come with us today?"

"Well…Primula came down with a summer cold yesterday, and Kaede was going to stay home and take care of her. She looked really upset though, I think she really wanted to come." Sia agreed, as they continued to walk up the stairs. "Hey Sia-chan…is it alright for us to be visiting Rin-sama like this? I mean, I think he still wants to be alone for a while. He…he really loved Asa-sempai, it's going to take him a while to get over her."

Sia thought about it, a saddened look crossing her face, "I know Rin-chan…it hurts, but first and foremost, we're his friends. We're his fiancée's second, there's still a chance that…that he might not fall in love either one of us." They stopped at the stairs, both of them looking each other in the eye, "But we can't be happy unless he's happy. Right?"

Nerine smiled, sniffing a bit to hold back her tears, "Yeah…"

"And as far as Rin-san is concerned, we're only going to be here for a short while. We have needs too!" She said triumphantly, raising her fist in the air. Nerine followed suit, as they walked to Rin's door and knocked on it.

SCENE CHANGE

Rin sat on his bed, surrounded by darkness. The only light came from the rims of his windows where the curtain couldn't reach. He stared up at the ceiling. It was times like this where the pain started to increase tenfold. He didn't know what it was that made it worse. The room, the loneliness, or maybe just that he has time to think about it. Whatever the reason, it only seemed to hurt more. He leaned his head back and covered his eyes with his hands, a small stream of tears running down his cheek.

What did I do? What could I have done better? Could I have done anything better? These were just a small amount of questions that ran through his mind. His breathing stifled, he was going to do it again today.

The knocking of his door woke him from his daze. Wondering who it could be, he waited on the bed.

"Geez, I'm in no mood to deal with him right now," he said to himself, wiping his eyes. He had been in his room for the last three days, it was only a matter of time before he would show up.

"Rin-sama! Are you home?!" A gentle voice called out to him. In a flash his eyes bolted open as he stumbled for the door, tripping over his kotatsu and landing hard on the floor.

"Ow…" he said, grabbing his shin.

"Rin-san! Are you ok?! Did you fall?!" Sia's voice chimed from the other side of the door.

"Wha-Sia too?" he thought.

"J-Just a minute!" He yelled out, rubbing his shin, he painfully got up and limped his way to the door. He realized that he'd been crying for the last couple hours, and quickly wiped his eyes, hoping he could pass it off as tears of pain. He opened the door, greeting them with a smile.

"Hello Rin-san(-sama)!" The two girls greeted him with a big smile.

"Hello Sia-chan, Nerine-chan. What brings you he-" he stopped, Nerine was mere inches from his face.

"Rin-sama…have you been…" she was about to finish before Rin jumped back, waving his arm.

"N-N-No! I just hit my leg on the table, that's all, really." Rin said defensively, quickly turning around and sympathetically hobbling to his bed, "So what brings you two here anyway, it's not like you to come without calling."

As Rin walked away, Sia and Nerine looked at each other worriedly, there was no fooling these two. Nerine then gave Sia a hard stare, looking straight into her eyes. Sia was confused for a moment, then her eyes brightened up, her mind connecting with Nerine's. She nodded, and Nerine, still looking serious, nodded back. They rushed in and Nerine pulled out the top drawer of Rin's dresser, immediately closing it, her face red.

"Eh-heh…wrong drawer…" And with that she continued to look through his clothes.

"Nerine-chan! What are you…oof!" As he was about to ask her what she was doing, Sia jumped on him, pinning him to the bed, "S-Sia-chan!"

"Rin-san!" She yelled, cradling his chest, Rin seeing right up to her striped panties, "We cannot allow you to spend another minute alone today!" Rin realized there was nothing he could do, as Nerine rushed back and forth looking for a pair of pants. He looked up again, and realized that Sia's round eyes had slanted, and she stared at him with a devilish look, "Of course, if you want US to be alone all you need to do is say the words…" she bent down, her chest rubbing against his face, "…and I can get her out of here."

"Nerine-chan!" he yelled, Nerine looked at Sia, or rather Kikyo, smothering Rin with her chest. Her face exploded with color…Rin's windows just exploded.

"Pretty obstinate aren't you?" a charred Kikyo asked Nerine, glaring at her. Nerine just glared back, until finally Sia's eyes returned to normal. She raised her fist and bopped her head, sticking out her tongue, "Sorry. Now then…" she stood up, Nerine and Sia looming over Rin. They through a mess of clothes on him, Sia pointing, "Get dressed, you're going on a date with us."

"Eh?!"

"No buts!" Nerine added. Rin sat in silence, his mouth gaping wide. Both of these women stared down at him with secret anticipation. There was no way he could get out of this…even if he wanted to. He bent his head down to conceal his smile.

"Alright alright…I'll get dressed." Immediately Sia and Nerine's face brightened up, each clasping the others hands, a slight squeal escaping their lips. "But…" he stood up furiously, "I'm not getting in dressed in front of you two!" He yelled, pointing at them. Startled, they ran out the door, Sia stopping right outside the door looking in. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Don't be long Rin-san!" And she disappeared behind the closed door. Rin stood there for a second, the clothes lying limply in his hands. He began to cry again…but for different reasons…and it felt good.

SCENE CHANGE

Nerine and Sia smiled as Rin emerged from the building, wearing traditional jeans and a T-shirt with a button downed shirt over top of that.

"You two sure are good at dressing yourselves," he noted, looking them over as they blushed, "But be sure never to pick an outfit for me again please," noting that his was not the clothing they had picked for him. Nerine blushed brighter, as Sia pointed at her grinning wide.

"Rin-san, she chose the clothes, not me, she's the one with bad taste."

"That's mean Sia-chan!" Nerine yelled, only getting more embarrassed, "Besides…if I'm to become Rin-sama's fiancée I need to be able to pick out an appropriate dress attire for when he wakes up for the morning to go for…" she stopped, realizing who was in her presence. But he just smiled at her, Sia and Nerine were going out of their way to make him feel better, and he already felt like he could take on the world. They could talk marriage up and down the street and he wouldn't be bothered by it in the least. Nerine smiled up at him.

"So…" he said, "What do you want to do today?"

"Well…" Sia said.

"We hadn't really planned on it," Nerine interrupted. A expression of shock came over Sia's face, Nerine just gave it away. She sighed.

"Yes Rin-san, this was kind of a last-minute thing," she said humbly.

"Well…" he said, scratching the back of his head, "How about we start with something simple?"

SCENE CHANGE

Sia and Nerine stared intensely into Flora menu, Rin sitting across from them smiling nervously. He knew what they were looking at…and the problem that would arise.

Love Love Tropical Juice, where one "chuu's" it together with their partner…a drink made for two…split among three.

"Hey…Rin-chan…" Sia whispered nervously.

"Yes…Sia-chan…" Nerine answered nervously.

"What are we going to do…?" They both whispered simultaneously.

"Um…" Rin said, hoping they'd hear him, they didn't.

"Should we split it between us?" Sia said.

"But you're supposed to split it between two people," Nerine said.

"Should we decide who drinks it with Rin-san," Sia said.

"But…that's not very fair to the one who doesn't get to," Nerine said.

"I know…" Sia said.

"I wonder if they realize I can hear every word they say." Rin thought

The waitress walked up to their table, a tiny purpled-hair girl wearing the same Anna-Miller-esque outfit that men loved to watch, "Are you ready to order?" She said with a large smile.

"No!" Sia and Nerine yelled. They both looked at the waitress, who began to sweat, then at Rin.

"Rin-san!" Sia yelled, pointing to the Love Love Tropical Juice, "If we get this…!"

"Who will you split this with?!" Nerine said, finishing Sia's sentence.

"Well…" Rin said nervously, scratching his head, he knew there was a right answer to this somewhere, "Isn't it obvious?" Sia and Nerine shook their heads, "I'll split it with both of you."

Sia and Nerine blushed, it was almost obvious the way he said it. Their heads snapped at the waitress, both of them pointing to the giant drink in the middle of the menu.

"We'll take this!"

The waitress continued to sweat profusely, "Y-Yes…of course…."

The drink could not have come any sooner for Rin. For Nerine and Sia it took forever. The drink must have sat on the tabletop untouched for a good two minutes, the three of them staring intently at it. A drop of sweat ran down Rin's cheek.

"So uh…who's, going to take the first sip?" He asked, gulping.

Sia and Nerine gulped too, this was proving to be more difficult than originally thought. Nerine grabbed the straw, making the first move. She slowly put her lips on the straw and gently sucked in. Sia looked at her in distraught, Nerine had made the first move.

"Mmm! It's delicious!" She said suddenly. She took the straw again and began to sip some more of the drink.

Rin sighed a breath of relief, he was glad somebody broke the silence. He reached out as well and took a big sip of the drink as well.

"You're right this is good!" He exclaimed, looking up to realize that Nerine had a large blush across her face. Her lips began to pucker about to form a word. The Love Love Tropical Juice is commonly referred to by the store its customers as…

"Chuu…" Nerine said softly. Rin gasped and pulled back, his face as red as hers. Nerine held her face, looking down at the ground. Rin looked at every possible angle at the store, trying to overcome the awkwardness. Sia pouted.

"No fair!" She yelled, waving her arms in the air, "Rin-san no fair! You have to 'chuu' with me too!" Referring to it as 'chuuing' only made Rin blush more, as Sia took in a deep breath and began to drink from the second straw on her side of the glass. She looked up at Rin, the corners of her mouth forming a smile. She closed her eyes and giggled, Rin still blushing. He bent down, looked the other way and putting the straw into his mouth and sucking. He and Sia held it for a lot longer than he and Nerine, finally pulling apart after a good ten to fifteen seconds of drinking.

"Gyahh!" Sia squealed, "I 'chuued' with Rin-san!"

Rin smiled, using his hands to motion to lower her voice, "Shh! Not so loud Sia-chan."

"Rin-chan, your turn." Sia said, smiling at Nerine. Nerine shifted her shoulders, feeling embarrassed about ruining the moment last time, until Sia spoke up again, "Unless you want me to take your turn."

Nerine gasped, quickly placing her lips to her straw again and drinking, Rin already knew he was going to be in for a long and enjoyable day.

SCENE CHANGE

Rin, Nerine, and Sia walked down the street, having leaving Flora several minutes earlier. The rest of the drink had been pretty eventful, Sia and Nerine practically pushing each other when it was their turn. Rin figured he had drank more than half of the drink himself, and felt like he was going to explode. But near the end, all three were sharing at the same time, laughing about school and Shin's crazy attempts to woo Rin for his daughter. Back on the street, Rin continued to laugh with Sia and Nerine, who stood on opposite sides of him.

"I'm glad that didn't turn out to be awkward the entire drink," Rin said, attempting to make a joke.

"Mm! We should just relax like we did near the end the rest of the day," Sia said, reaching out and grabbing Rin's arm, "Right Rin-chan?"

"S-Sia-chan!" Nerine yelled, following in suit. Rin just laughed nervously, these girls have completely forgotten about Rin's earlier request, not that it mattered, he was among two of his greatest and dearest friends in the world, loving them, although not quite the way they imagined it, was something he was more than happy to do.

"Hey I know," Nerine said, "Let's go do some karaoke!"

"That sounds like fun, what do you think Sia-chan?" Rin said, looking at Sia who had her face turned away from them.

"Oh um…sure sounds great." Sia said, thinking something completely different.

"Damn" she thought, "If it was just me and Rin-san we'd have already been at the karaoke, but…" she looked at Nerine who was talking ecstatically to Rin, "I can't compete with her at karaoke." Tears began streaming down her face that she hid from them, "I'm doomed…"

The three stopped at the door, a "Closed" sign hanging off the glass. Nerine looked immediately disappointed, Sia faking hers, smiling on the inside.

"What do we do now…?" Nerine asked, sounding immensely depressed. Sia felt a pang of guilt and looked at Nerine, who was looking down into the ground. Sia sighed.

"It's ok Rin-chan!" She said enthusiastically, grabbing hold of her hands, "I know of another karaoke place. It'll take us a while to get there and we'll have to take the train, but it's a really great bar with lots of songs!"

Nerine's eyes widened with joy, "Really?! Is that ok Rin-sama?"

Rin nodded, "Of course, there's still plenty of day left, and if I'm thinking of the same karaoke place you are Sia-chan, we'll have plenty of time to go there and get dinner."

"You've been there before Rin-san?" Sia asked.

"Yes, with Asa-san…" he stopped in mid-sentence. He'd been having such a good time that he almost forgot about her. Was that a bad thing? A frown came over his face as he stared off into nowhere. Then he felt a large pinch on his right cheek.

"No frowning," Nerine said as she continued to pinch his cheek, "Today you're not allowed to frown, you have to be smiling and happy as long as you're around us." She let go after she finished, Rin rubbing his cheek in pain.

"Ok Rin-chan, I understand, I never knew you were so violent," he said laughing, Nerine pouted.

"That's not nice Rin-sama!" She said, trying to contain her laughter. Her and Rin began to walk away, laughing, as Sia stood on the stairs leading into the closed karaoke bar, her hand on her hip.

"Rin-chan sure has changed since I first met her," Sia thought, thinking back to when they had met years before through their fathers. They were immediately friends even though they both harbored strong feelings for Rin. "She's stronger, more courageous around Rin-san, and so social at school." She sighed, "Alright! That just means to win Rin's heart I'm going to have to do better than my best! Just watch me Rin-san!" She clenched her fist. She was going to give it all she got, and Rin was going to fall in love with her. Even if it meant she was going to have to share him, she would have Rin fall in love with her. Her round eyes slanted, a devious look coming over her face. She wasn't alone either. She sprinted to Rin and Nerine, grabbing Rin by the arm and dragging him away from her. Nerine yelled in surprise, and chased after them, Sia laughing the entire way.

SCENE CHANGE

Watanabe leaned against his door, a large stack of papers in his hands. He read over each line word for word, a serious look on his face. He switched pages, placing the last one behind the rest and continued reading. He tapped his foot on the ground.

"Bye Rin-san! I'll talk to you later and tell you when we're going to the beach!" Sia's voice chimed from downstairs. Watanabe looked up and started rustling through his pockets for his keys.

"Bye Rin-sama! Father says you're allowed over at our house anytime," Nerine yelled back. Watanabe could hear footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Haha! I'll take him up on his offer soon!" Rin yelled back.

"My father misses you too Rin-san! He won't stop moping around the house!" Sia's voice came up.

"Bye Rin-chan! Bye Sia-chan!" Rin yelled down to them, in full view of Watanabe.

"Bye bye!"

Rin walked down to his room, glancing up at Watanabe, "Oh. Hey there. Haven't seen you in a couple days?"

"Mm-hmm…" Watanabe grunted, his mind elsewhere. He looked up and towards Rin, who had already found his key. Watanabe turned the knob of his door after inserting the key, "You look like you had a good day."

A big smile appeared on Rin's face, "Yeah…Nerine-chan and Sia-chan came from nowhere and dragged me all over the city today. It feels like forever since I had so much fun. We went to the Flora café, then to karaoke but the one near here was closed, so we had to take a train to another karaoke bar. The bar was a scoring bar, so we all had a contest. I lost of course, with a fifty-one. Sia did well with a seventy-five but Nerine got a ninety-one, there really was no contest. Anyway, I ended up paying for dinner and we just walked around looking to see if there's anything we could…" he stopped, feeling embarrassed, "Sorry Nabe-kun, I seemed to have been rambling, I hope I didn't…" he stopped again. Watanabe was staring at him, smiling. Sure, he's smiled before, he smiles all the time but not like this. A gentle smile, no signs of hidden meanings or scheming, almost…warm.

"That sounds…fun…Rin-san." He said, continuing to smile. His eyes bolted open, and coughed, turning the other way, "So um, I'll see you later. I'm tired, so I'm heading to bed."

Rin blinked, he was still a bit flustered about his smile, "Sure, sounds good. Hey, what're those papers in your hand?"

"Nothing," Watanabe said quickly, hiding them. With his face still turned away from Rin, he took a step into the doorway, and stopped, "Hey…Rin-san…" Rin grunted, acknowledging his question, "Could you call me Nabe again? Not many people call me that so…"

"Yeah sure." Rin said. A smile came over Watanabe's face.

"Thanks. Later." And with that he stepped inside and closed the door.

Inside his room, he leaned against the door, the pamphlet of papers on the counter next to him. He rubbed the temples of his forehead, closing his eyes in stress, "What's wrong with me?" He stood there for a second, before shaking his head, then slapping his face. He picked up the papers again, flipping through the pages quickly before finding the one he wanted.

"Gyouji Bernshaw…" he muttered, as he pulled an apple out of the refrigerator, "Fifth generation, father Shoji Bernshaw, mother Kaori Bernshaw, junior to a half-sister and oldest of three sons. Was a gifted artist since the time he could pick up a pencil, son of a military family so he's trained in hand-to-hand combat." He flips the page over, raising his eyebrows, "Black belt in Muay Thai, kid's not bad. Let's see, let's see…was ranked fourth in his class before transferring blah blah blah….ah here we go." He sat down on his bed, crossing his legs and taking a bite of the apple, "Pictures of our little god personally attending his fathers speeches for the destruction of the Kaimon Gate." He held up several pictures to the light, the younger face of Gyouji hiding behind his father as he stands a podium. "Father died of natural causes whn Gyouji was elevn, and being too young to claim responsibility of the Bernshaw House his uncle took over. Immediately after that the Bernshaw family retracted all statements the last Head publicly announced," a big grin ran over his face, "I bet our little Gyouji was pissed." Watanabe quickly turned around, lying on his stomach and spreading the papers over the bed further, "But here's where things get interesting. As the Bernshaw family is one of the top heads of the God's nobility they are immediately inclined to present their eldest son or daughter on an omiai to the son or daughter of the Lord of the Gods. But! When the time for had come for the Princess of the Gods to begin her appointed meetings with the sons of the heads of the God's four years ago, without even looking at other possibilities, the Lord of the Gods announced that his daughter was bethroed to be married. Bethroed to a human that she had met four years earlier while her father was on a peace mission to the Realm of Humans. 'My daughter's happiness comes first!' he exclaimed to the Gods. 'I have done research on this Tsuchimi Rin and he is more than acceptable to be the husband of my beloved Lisianthus!' Amazingly, all heads of the family humbly accepted this offer, even the ones whose sons awaited an omiai with Lisianthus. They knew right away the Princess of the Gods was in love, even at such a young age and none of them were cruel to try and prevent that. But…almost immediately after this announcement Gyouji was suddenly transferred to the infant Verbena school that promoted the cohabitation of humans, gods, and demons. Since then his grades have plummeted and even disappeared from sight for a matter of months for bad behavior." The grin widened on his face, "Now the question is…did he forge his mother's signature or did he not need to?"

SCENE CHANGE

As the sun began to set on a outside café, a black-haired god sat, his glasses sliding smoothly down his nose, only to be pushed back up. He leaned back in his seat, a phone placed to his ear.

"These stupid humans are good for something," He said into the phone, "Their perversity has given me an idea on how to control this whole situation."

"What are you going to do Gyouji-sama?" A male voice asked him over the phone.

"All in due time. Right now we have to bide our time a little longer. It was easy to stroke her highness' pathetic ego to join the Art Club, it was mere luck that that disgusting human Tsuchimi would be dumped by that filthy half-demon and he would sink into depression. Too bad he didn't kill himself."

"If I may Gyouji-sama?"

"Go ahead."

"Why did you wait three years before making your move on Tsuchimi Rin?"

"For starters, I could live the rest of my life without having to touch that piece of filth. My original plan as deigned around the downfall of Tsucimi Rin, but every time I saw him I wanted to puke. Temper runs short in my family, hard to believe, but I couldn't afford to blow my cover by beating the living hell out of that human. The other thing is that I needed an alibi. That's where you and the others come in Nagatsuki-san. I trust you all are up to the task."

"Gyouji-sama, if you're thinking what I think you are, then I personally implore you to let me be first." They both chuckled.

"Very well then, it's settled." He looked up, across the street was Sia and Nerine happily walking home together, "I can't stand them, any of them. Once I'm Lord of the Gods there won't be any reason for such trivial matters as 'peace talks' or 'compromises'. We're Gods, and we'll take our place in this world, in all worlds, as our name suggests." And with that he turned off the phone. He set his chair down, and turned his head to a tall demon that was looming near the edge of the café. "So stranger, you enjoy listening in on other people's conversations?"

The demon didn't say anything. His long gray hair blowing in the wind. He stared at Gyouji, his face giving off no emotion whatsoever. The two just stared at each other.

END

I still need an answer related to the mom question from Chapter 3, so please if you have any clue as to their whereabouts I'll be ecstatic to know about them. Please leave reviews for any reasons if you will, I enjoy reading what people have to think about my stories.

I would also like to apologize for a few things. First of all, I've been making Primula fairly non-emotional the last couple chapters even though she is able to feel now. When she appears further in the story she will be more emotional. Second thing, was that I gave the impression that Rin's apartment's door led directly outside. Upon review of his apartment in the story, it actually leads towards a hall. I tried to incorporate that halfway through this chapter, and I will remember so from now on. If there is any other small detail that I am forgetting or I am rewriting incorrectly, please let me know. I look forward to your comments.