Beyond The Rabbit Hole
Chapter 4~
"Tell me why he's here again?" Chess demanded, as he pointed to an all too relaxed Akira munching on chips on the floor.
"Because Rin's stupidity is ridiculous and if you have to explain anything to him it's better if I'm here to translate everything for him." The teen spoke, before Rin threw his pillow at his friend.
"Oi! I resent that! Take it back!" Rin demanded, as Akira chuckled.
"I'll take it back when you pass that history test." The teen replied, as Rin groaned and flopped head first onto the bed.
""You two done now?" Chess asked, as Akashi fiddled with the edges of his sleeves and missed the two of them nodding. "Go ahead Akashi."
At that the teen stumbled a bit, before he managed to calm down and look between them.
"Alright, well you already know Chess isn't a demon and he's not a normal cat." Akashi hesitantly started, as Chess muttered something under his breath and the teen threw him a look. "He's a Cheshire cat and that hole I summoned was the rabbit hole to Wonderland."
Almost instantly a dumbfounded look appeared on Rin's face, as Akira sighed and ran a hand over his face.
"Ever heard of Alice in Wonderland, Okumura? It's that stupid children's book where the girl falls into a rabbit hole and end up in a whole different world." Akira spoke, before Rin perked up.
"Oh, that one!" Rin exclaimed, as Akira smacked himself in the forehead. "So you summoned him from the book?"
"Uh, no. Wonderland is a different dimension." Akashi spoke, as Rin looked at him in confusion. "Like Assiah and Gehenna are two sides of a mirror, Wonderland is like that."
"He means that like Assiah and Gehenna are two separate world, so is Wonderland." Akira explained, as Rin nodded in understanding. "Idiot."
"So what else can you summon?" Rin asked, totally ignoring Akira's insult.
"That, my boy, is a secret." Chess cut in, as he floated upside down and created wisps of smoke in the process. "Only the keepers can know the secrets of Wonderland."
"Keepers?"
"Yes. They're demons who guard the gate to Wonderland with their being." Chess explained, as he floated down onto the white-haired half-demon's head. "Your father is a keeper."
"That's a lie. Dad said he locked Wonderland's connection to him years ago." Akashi frowned, as Chess chuckled and shook his head.
"No keeper can lock themselves from Wonderland. When you become a keeper you become the gate itself."
"Now I'm confused." Akira muttered.
"It means Akashi is the gate to Wonderland and can summon or allow anyone in and out of Wonderland." A voice spoke, as the four of them turned to see Yukio standing in the now open doorway.
"Correct!" Chess spoke, as his tail swayed behind him.
"It also makes since why those demons were after you." The brunette spoke, as he looked at the smaller. "If your father 'locked' Wonderland off, then it obvious why they want you. They want you to open the gates to Wonderland for them; permanently."
"But I can't do that."
"Not unless you died."
Silence fell over the room, as the teen stared wide-eyed at the brunette. His fingers digging into the sheets, as Chess's tail brushed against his shoulder in reassurance. Rin turning to stare at him in surprise, before he saw the pain he was in and his gaze fell to the floor. Akira frowning at the exorcist, before he picked up the bag of chips and tossed them onto the desk.
"S-so if I had died-"
"Then the demons would've made it into Wonderland." Yukio spoke.
"Why the hell would they even want to go to Wonderland?" Akira challenged, as the lot of them turned to him. "All that's there is a bunch of locked p badies and a bunch of harmless creatures."
"There's the Red Queen's army." Rin spoke, as Chess frowned. "What?"
"Those fools have become long since useless. They're just a bunch of mindless foot soldiers."
"The Jabberwocky." Yukio spoke, as Rin looked at his brother in utter confusion.
"The Jabber what?"
"The Jabberwocky. It's a huge dragon." Akira spoke, as he frowned and looked at Chess. "I thought Alice killed it though?"
"Not everything stays dead, my dear friend." Chess teased, as he floated off the teen's head and glided around.
"Jabber wouldn't obey them, though." Akashi spoke, as he got a few weird looks from everyone in the room. "Jabber only obeys keepers and the Red Queen."
"That may be true, but who said this enemy is after something that belongs in Wonderland." A voice spoke, as the turned to see Mephisto sitting on one of the desks.
"Oi! When did you get here, you stupid clown?!" Rin demanded.
"Uncle Mephisto, what do you mean?" Akashi asked, as Rin stared at his in shock.
"U-Uncle-?"
"It seems your father was fighting a very powerful demon a few years back, just before he disappeared." Mephisto spoke, as he ignored Rin's sputtering. "And when your father disappeared, so did the demon."
"So you think the demons that were after Akashi, were under this demon?" Akira asked, as the Headmaster nodded.
"However, until I gain more information, we have no ideas what these demons are really after. Nor what happened to your father." Mephisto spoke, as he turned and glance at him. "However, I suggest you actually try and keep your powers back this time till we find out."
"Sorry, Uncle."
"You as well, Nii-san. You could've lost control and-"
"Oh, shut up four-eyes. I know what I'm doing." Rin muttered, as Mephisto disappeared in a cloud of pink smoke.
"You let your flames out in the middle of class, Nii-san. Not to mention you could've burned Akashi-"
"OI said I know what I'm doing!" Rin all but screamed, as he roughly stood up.
The room falling silent, as Yukio stared at his older brother for a few moments, before he turned and stomped down the hall. Rin's breathing heavy and pure rage in his eyes, till Chess whistled in amusement and Rin snapped out of it. The teen slumping onto the bed like dead weight, as Akira looked between the two of them and threw a notebook into Rin's lap.
"Well, don't just sit there, you've got a history test to fail tomorrow."
A soft sigh left Akashi, as he rolled over in bed and fiddled with the sheets covering him. Ever since Rin had snapped at his little brother the lot of them silently worked on homework and helping Rin study, till Akira had to head back to his dorm building. By then Rin had gotten them both dinner from Ukobach, and by the time Akashi finished Rin had fallen asleep surrounded by his sloppy history notes. All of which Akashi had picked up and tucked away in Rin's backpack, before he collapsed in his own bed. Since then he had been tossing and turning trying to fall asleep.
He was still worked up over the conversation they had had, and what worried the teen the most was what Yukio had brought up. The single lone fact that if he died at the hands of the enemy, then the gates to Wonderland would permanently stay open and everything would break free from the gates. And the only reason he was still alive, and the gates were closed, was because Rin had saved him. And without Rin he'd be dead.
Just at the thought, Akashi couldn't help but curl into himself and bury his face into the pillow under him. His entire body shaking, as his tail tightly wrapped around his waist. A few moments of agonizing silence washing over him, before he turned over and felt his chest tighten.
"R-Rin, are you still asleep?" Akashi softly called, as he carefully sat up.
Not even a noise leaving his roommate, as the teen carefully got out fo bed and walked over to the older's bedside. The smaller finding Rin tangled up in a terrible mess of sheets and his tail hanging over the side of the bed, as he carefully reached over and gently shook the male. It taking several moments, before Rin stirred awake and sleepily looked up at him.
"Akashi, what'd you need?" The teen sleepily asked, as the smaller chewed on his lower lip.
"I…I…" In the silence the smaller's hand dropped to his side and Rin sat up.
"Akashi, what's wrong?" Rin pressed, the teen a little more awake then before.
"I-It's nothing." The white-haired teen spoke, as he turned back to his bed and Rin grabbed his wrist.
"It's not nothing if you woke me up at two in the morning." Rin spoke, as the teen's eyes widened and he looked at the clock.
Had he been awake for the last four hours tossing and turning?
"It's really nothing." The teen finally spoke, when he got control over himself and tried to walk back to his bed. A move that failed as Rin held tightly to his wrist and the teen jerked back. "Rin-"
"Remember what I told you yesterday?" Rin asked, as the teen turned toward him and he saw the serious look on his face in the dark. "I'm here if you ever want to talk to me. I'll listen, even if it's two in the morning."
A heavy silence fell over them, before the smaller nodded. Rin giving him a smile as he pulled him toward the bed and scooted back to give him room. A gesture that had the younger crawling into his roommate's bed, as Rin gave him a smile and gently ran his fingers though the younger's white hair. Something that put Akashi at ease, as he leaned against the touch and laid his head against Rin's pillow. An even bigger smile making it's way onto Rin's face.
"Now, tell me what's wrong." Rin quietly demanded, as the teen opened his eyes he hadn't realized were closed and stared at the older.
"I…I'm…scared." Akashi muttered, as Rin stared at him for a moment.
"Scared? Scared of what?" Rin asked, as he sat up a little.
"O-Of dying." Akashi spoke, as Rin's features fell. "I…If I die, then those demons will get to Wonderland. Anyone could get to Wonderland, and I can't let that happen. I mean, I was overpowered by a small pack of demons. What'll happen when it's a bigger pack, or they attack me when I'm weaponless? Chess can't fight them off alone if I can't fight with him, and Jabber can't take on so many enemies at once. I…If they get ahold of me I'm as good as dead."
In the silence that followed the teen wipped the tears forming in his eyes. The teen next to him gently running his fingers through the yougner's hair, as he gazed down at him. The older pulling him close the next moment and pressing him against his chest, as the smaller dug his fingers into his roommate's shirt. Rin holding him tightly against him, before he buried his face into the others white hair.
"They won't get ahold of you, Akashi. I'll make sure of it." Rin softly spoke, as he rubbed the teen's back as he started softly sobbing. "They won't be able to lay a finger on you, because they'll have to get through me first."
"B-but they could kill you." Akashi spoke, as he looked up at the older with a panicked look in his eyes. "This is my fight and I can't let you get hurt for my-"
In that moment Rin gave him a soft smile, before pressing his lips softly against the younger's. The act instantly quieting the other as he stared wide-eyed at the half-demon, before melting into the kiss. His tail swaying happily behind him, before Rin's brushed against his own and their tails intertwined. Their intimate moment only lasting a minute or two, before the older pulled away and gave him a reassuring smile.
"Your fight is my fight." Rin softly spoke, as he gently caressed the younger's cheek.
A small nod left the white-haired half-demon, before Rin pulled him close. The two of them cuddling up against each other, as Akashi traced small circled and swirls against the sheets. The action calming him, while Rin softly rubbed his back and reassured him through his touch.
"Rin."
"Yeah?"
"Thank you."
In the moments after Akashi fell asleep beside the older. A soft smile making it's way onto Rin's face, as he placed a gentle kiss on his roommate's forehead and couldn't help but softly gaze down at his new crush.
"Your welcome, Akashi."
Scarlett: *waves* Hey my cute little fans! I'm here to drop off another chapter!
Rin: *pouts* finally.
Scarlett: *sends him a glare and shuts him up*
Akashi: Can we have another battle soon? I wanna fight with Chess again
Scarlett: Maybe, we'll have to see how this turn out
Akashi:...*pouts* fine
Scarlett: *looks ta camera* Anyway, here's the new chapter! otakugirl251, you know the drill! Enjoy!
For more information and Updates about my fanfictions, coming straight from me, visit my author page and look under the Progression and Important Information section. I have updates about my current Ao no Exorcist fanfictions and a new ones that are going to be posted in the future.
Rin and the gang do not belong to me. They belongs to Kazue Kato.
Akashi, however, belongs to otakugirl251.