Wow, it's been too long! I'm sorry I haven't updated in a while; school is a pain and a competition I'm entered in has slowed down my writing progress quite a bit... but here it is, and Chapter Ten is still a work in progress. So I hope you enjoy!

~EmmyTheTurtle

Chapter Nine

~ Blue Flicker and the Feather ~

Another week had passed. Suddenly it was too cold to wear singlets and shorts. Jeans and light coats were all the more fashionable. Tempus found that she enjoyed furry coats more than hoodies. Rin was more curious about why their father hadn't told him about Tempus before. When Tempus wasn't with Amaimon or doing homework or having small lunch dates with Shima, she would spend with Rin and Yukio if he wanted to join in, which was often rare.

Today, Tempus sat with Rin at a local café, eating some delicious brownies. He munched on some chips while he spoke. "Tempus, I'm curious. You've lived there your whole life… did you…"

"No, I didn't. I can't – it's impossible."

"Why's that? You're more… demonic, than I am."

Of course, no one paid attention to their chat.

"Rin, it's not like that. I had a human mother too, you know."

"What… happened to her?"

"She died giving birth to me." Tempus didn't get into the details of how Gehenna had basically destroyed her mother's body and soul before being devoured by demons. She doubted Rin wanted to hear about that.

"My mother died giving birth to Yukio and me too…"

"That's what happens when he has kids. Mothers can't survive childbirth."

Rin lowered his head. "How long did it take you to… master it?"

"Seven years. My childhood basically."

"Gehenna… I don't know how you survived."

"I have my brothers. They protected me when Father wasn't around."

Rin lifted his head. "Grab your brownie, let's go somewhere different!"

He took her to his room in the old boy's dorm. Yukio was out on a job. Rin sat on his bed and pointed to the chair. "Tempus, why didn't you tell me?"

"Figured you'd suspect the worst…"

"Which is?"

"Kill you to gain Father's… trust, I guess. But he doesn't expect too much of me."

"Then why didn't you just stay in Gehenna?"

"You make it sound like a bad thing."

"No… but, Tempus, you would have tried killing me last night if you didn't. Look–" he lifted his arm to show the small scar her burn had left "–Nothing has burnt me like that before… not even holy water."

"It just stuns people… like us. It stings a lot, but…"

"We recover quickly." Rin sighed. "I never want to think of myself as a demon, but when I saw you… with the flame…"

"You panicked?"

"No, I was surprised. I've never seen someone besides Satan that had so much control over it. Can you change its temperature at will?"

"Yeah. It's not a difficult task. I'm pretty sure you can too."

"There was one time… but, when Yukio was possessed, my control slipped and I was back at stage one… lighting candles."

Tempus smiled gently. "It's hard at first, but come on. Where are these candles?"

Rin pulled out two large bags from underneath his bed and placed threw candles on the ground. "To gain some sort of control over my flame, Shura told me to light the centre candle and not the outer candles. For a month or so, I couldn't do it properly. Can you show me how to do it without trying?"

Tempus tilted her head and blinked once, lighting the middle flame instantly. It took no effort on her part, but Rin was transfixed. "Whoa… how did you…"

"It's quite simple, Rin. Here, try one candle first." Tempus blew out the candle and placed it in from of him. "Now focus your flame on the candle. Simply the tip, nothing else. If you light the floor beside it, you're pretty close."

Tempus moved his body to face the candle evenly and lowered his head to the candle. "Now try."

Poof. It lit up perfectly. Tempus smiled. "You aren't that bad."

"So it was just my posture?"

"Probably. Have you completely… lost it when you're fighting?"

"Twice. Both times I was… I was fighting Amaimon."

"He's a challenging foe… Rin, did you hurt anyone?"

"No… but, I could have. I had no idea what was going on until I came back, a lot like last week… how is your wound, anyway?"

"It's fine." In fact, it wasn't. The wound hadn't healed at all. Tempus had thought to have Yukio look at it, but she decided she would keep it covered and clean unless it got infected. Certain movements hurt too much, which restricted Tempus' combat abilities.

"Have you ever lost control?"

Tempus nodded. "When I was little. My brothers described me as a tantrum-throwing baby demon. I burnt down half of my home."

"Wow… but you were a kid. I mean now."

"No. I've mastered the flame… I think."

"You don't know for sure?"

"If you're not Father, you can never be sure."

"Satan?"

"Yeah, Satan… I guess I should start calling him that more often." Tempus stood up and picked up her bag, wincing slightly. Rin didn't seem to notice and lifted a candle, squinting at it. "Have fun with your candles. Bye."

"You're leaving?"

"I'm meeting Renzo-san."

"That's new," Rin said, referring to Tempus' new way of calling Shima by his first name, Renzo. "Are you two an official couple now?"

Tempus made a small nod and smiled shyly. "Yeah…"

"Well, good luck to ya. I'll just be here with no life and my good sword here." He patted his sword and smiled brightly. Tempus left to her dorm room using their key and changed into a beige coat, dark jeans, her red vans and a grey singlet in case the temperature rose, which is what it seemed to be doing in recent days. One day it would be hot, the next day it would be cold. Still nice enough to have an ice-cream or a hot chocolate (Renzo had shown Tempus what chocolate was… he was shocked when Tempus admitted she'd never tried one)

Tempus used the key connecting to the Cram School and closed the door behind her. These keys are amazing. Her phone buzzed suddenly. Pulling it out of her pocket, she saw Renzo's smiling face in the screen. It looked like he'd been trapped inside, with the way he was pressed against the glass on a window. It had been a good idea of his. Tempus had done the same thing in his phone. "Hey…"

"Sup! I can see you, you know."

"Where are you?"

"Look your left… no, too far to your left. I redid my hair. It's all pink again! See me now?"

Tempus saw Renzo and smiled. He wore a bright orange jacket and black jeans, making him stand out like an orange.

She walked towards him and he hugged her tightly. "You didn't waste your time getting here. Ready to go? Movie night together?"

Tempus nodded and held his hand as they walked. Renzo put a beanie on his head and handed Tempus a beanie. It was brown with a little bear face on it. "I had some free time today, so I got you this. I got a little raccoon so…"

"It's cute. I love it." She put the beanie on her head and they walked towards the bus stop holding hands. They spoke about the strangest things Tempus had never thought was a possible topic of conversation. She was hardly aware of the admiring stares they received from lonely singles wondering around them. When they reached the bus stop, the bus had just arrived. Knowing that people on the bus would want a nice quiet ride home, Renzo showed Tempus some of his music, which to her delight she loved. He said it was called 'dubstep', a techno music that had gotten popular in recent years. When they reached the shopping district where the cinema was located, Tempus noticed a young woman sitting outside of the cinema, holding an empty can of tuna and a sign: Getting cold, getting hungry – spare a girl some cash?

Tempus glanced at Renzo who glanced at the homeless woman and handed her some yen. "It'll make her feel better."

She placed the yen into the can and the woman beamed up at Tempus. "Thank you. Care for a little chat too?"

Renzo and Tempus sat down for a little while and spoke with the woman. They spoke about politics for a little while and about homelessness, which sounded as if it was hard to overcome living alone with no family to take you back. Tempus hugged the woman before leaving for the cinema with Renzo. People gave her very strange looks for doing so, though no one questioned it.

The movie playing was a strange horror movie, a Japanese translation of the movie: 'Evil Dead'.

It was the dumbest thing Tempus had ever seen, particularly when the girl cut her hand off and the part when blood rained down from the sky. Someone screamed out something about Mother Nature and her monthly cycle and the audience burst into uncontrollable laughter, including Tempus and Renzo.

It was around nine when the movie was finished. Now it was a case of getting something cheap to eat for dinner. Renzo took her to a small take-out shop where they bought some sukiyaki and some noodles. Tempus at the sukiyaki with a fetish. "This is delicious."

"Rin loves it too… he cooks it for us all the time."

"Really?" Tempus said, wiping her face. It was freezing outside. The homeless woman had disappeared. Everyone was beginning to board the bus to go home, though Tempus and Renzo weren't moving just yet. They were still eating.

"Yep," Renzo said, handing her a napkin. "Say… we are a thing now, right? We sure about this? I mean… I don't want it to be like I'm just using you…"

"You worry too much, Renzo-san."

"Huh?"

"First of: We're a couple unless you don't want to be. Secondly: what makes you think you're using me?"

A look of relief flooded through Renzo's face and he smiled. "I'm not sure… I thought you thought that… if you know I'm a flirtatious person."

Tempus began to laugh. A gut-wrenching laughter that made her bend over, holding her stomach. "I know about that! It doesn't matter to me that much, you know. Hell, you're the first boyfriend I've ever had…"

"Really? I mean… you're far too beautiful not to have been noticed."

"Where I lived, no one was as funny or cute as you."

Renzo blushed and he took the empty sukiyaki out of her hands, throwing them into a bin and grabbing her waist, holding her close. "I'm glad you think that. Personally, no girl I've seen is quite as special as you."

The last time someone had even been this close to Tempus was when she'd almost broken her arm. Her father had held her close, attempting to heal it. Unfortunately, a fire isn't designed for healing. Amaimon had healed her wounds, though it was the last time anyone had held her. No one had ever kissed her before either.

It had been sudden, so sudden Tempus gasped slightly with surprise. Renzo's lips were warm against hers, though comforting warmth that sent a shock of energy through her body. She felt her heart race faster than anything she'd ever felt before. Her stomach felt light and fluttery, as if her entire being could float up into the clouds and disappear. She wasn't sure how long it lasted, though it felt like hours. When he pulled away from her lips, Tempus felt woozy.

She staggered back and Renzo caught her waist, pulling her up. He looked just as flustered as Tempus felt. "That was something… huh?"

"We should… head back to the dorms."

"I'll see you… tomorrow, then?"

"Yeah… tomorrow…" Tempus turned away and pulled out her keys, opening the door to her room where Kamiki and Paku were waiting. When Tempus closed the door, Kamiki was instantly sitting up in her bed.

"How did it go?" Kamiki asked. When Tempus did nothing but change into her nightgown and collapsed into her bed, she snickered. "Pretty well then, I'm guessing?"

"Better than 'pretty well'… we kissed."

*Gasp* Yes they did! A little smooch was required! If you're wondering why I didn't pair Tempus with someone else other than Shima, it's because of this: Shima is a flirty person and he's proud of it, but he doesn't get as much attention in the manga or the anime, which only made me wonder whether he was lonely or not. At first I'd planned to pair Tempus and Rin, but then I though: "Ew, no. That's like incest. No." So Tempus x Shima was born. And they're calling each other by their first names. Is that a big step...?

Anyway, I've also changed the cover photo for the FanFiction. As it progresses, the cover photo will change based on the situation they're in.

As always, positive and constructive criticism is gratefully appreciated and negative/useless comments are not. Thank you and have a lovely morning/day/afternoon/night!

~EmmyTheTurtle