Author's Note: You wonderful, wonderful reviewers. I just want to hug you all. I'm sorry you had to wait so long for the next chapter! Family emergency came up so I've been a little out of touch with the world for the past few days, but I'm back now and ready to write! This one is a little bit shorter, but I promise the next one will be longer!

Chapter 10: The Shirt

Rin felt like hell.

Every inch of her felt heavy, as if her bones were made of lead. She woke with a burning fever and covered in sweat, her clothes clinging to her like a second skin. However, Rin felt as if she had been doused in a bucket of ice. She shivered under her covers, trying to bury herself in them to find warmth. Simply turning her head seemed to sap all of her strength. With a groan, she rolled over to face away from the window, and, for a moment, her heart leapt into her throat.

Hidden partly in shadow, Rin could just make out the shape of a person in a chair only a few feet from the head of her bed. As her heartbeat slowed and she let her eyes adjust in the moonlight, Rin could finally begin to make out a familiar shade of chestnut hair and a set of headphones.

Misaki was sitting in a straight back chair with his head tilted back. With his eyes closed he looked as if he was sleeping, but she could make out the slight bobbing of his head signaling he was simply enjoying his music.

As soon as she shifted, his eyes snapped open and locked on her. Yanking his headphones down to his neck, he leaned forward. His eyes were filled with concern as he hovered next to her.

"Hey, y'alright?"

Rin was about to open her mouth, but a chill ran through her entire body and her teeth began to chatter.

"J-j-just c-cold," she shivered.

As if without thinking, Misaki reached forward and placed the back of his hand over her forehead.

"You've still got that fever," he murmured.

Summoning as much energy as she could, Rin pushed herself up into a sitting position. The thin strap of her tank top slipped down her shoulder, but she didn't have enough energy to care. The blush spreading over Misaki's cheeks, as well as his averted gaze, went unnoticed.

Pulling the blankets up to her chin in an attempt to keep herself warm, Rin asked, "Eh, what happened?"

Still unable to directly look at her with his blush still in place, Misaki spoke to her blankets. "We followed you to the warehouse."

At Rin's surprised look, Misaki scoffed, "What, did you think nobody noticed you sneaking off every evening?"

Rin frowned at her bedspread, ignoring his tone. Flashes of men burning beneath her fingertips played in her mind as if she were rewinding an old videotape, and yet she barely remembered committing such gruesome acts. She bit into the inside of her cheek to mask the look of horror that was threatening to slip onto her face.

"You had already burned the men inside, but you were already long gone," Misaki spoke quietly. He looked slightly uncomfortable, as if he was struggling to find the right words to say. "You're not the first to lose yourself in it – we've all struggled with it from time to time – but Mikoto-san had to extinguish you before burnt yourself up." Scratching his head, Misaki finally looked her in the face. "You didn't even seem like you recognized us. Where the hell were you?"

Rin didn't move as her heart began to beat rapidly in her chest. She remembered why she had felt completely detached from her crimes. The sound of the gunshot and Ayami's face clouded her mind, and Rin's blood seemed to turn to ice.

"I'm cold…" she whispered.

Ignoring his question and his proximity, Rin pushed her covers back and slid her legs over the edge of her bed. Pushing herself off, she managed to take three unsteady steps towards the dresser where her clothes were kept before she her knees began to wobble. Rin heard a chair scrape back, and felt Misaki's arms catch her as she collapsed into his arms.

"Oh hell," she mumbled. Her arms shook from all the energy it had taken to get her this far, but Misaki's firm grip around her waist made her grit her teeth and stretch out her hand once more to snatch the first piece of clothing off her dresser top before finally crumpling into his arms.

Rin was so ashamed and humiliated at how weak she felt, that she couldn't even look up at him to offer her thanks. This was much to his relief, however, since Misaki felt as if his entire face has flushed red. After realizing the state of her dress and the fact that he could feel her bare skin beneath his fingertips, Misaki was blushing so hard that the even the tips of his ears were tinged crimson.

"What the hell are you doing?" Misaki spluttered as he tried to help her back to her bed. Rin was being rather uncooperative about the whole thing, however. Half shamefully clinging to him, half pushing herself away as if she were fine, their slow progress was only adding to his annoyance.

"I said I was was cold," Rin growled, her patience wearing thin as she began to break out in a sweat from her effort. She was dizzy and cold, and this argument was just as exhausting as her attempt at walking. Practically falling into her bed, she pulled the shirt over her shoulders, sinking into its welcoming warmth. It was the same shirt that Tatara had given her weeks ago, and she purposefully "forgot" to return it to him.

At Misaki's silence, she glanced up at him to see he was staring at her with the most peculiar expression on his face.

"Why are you wearing Mikoto-san's shirt?"

Rin froze. When she didn't respond, Misaki simply frowned and looked away.

Resting her head against the wall, she closed her eyes. "I feel so tired, but I just can't fall asleep."

"Maybe you shouldn't go walking around when you're feeling sick," Misaki snapped back.

Rin cracked an eye. "You know, you don't have to keep me company here. I didn't ask for it, and I am perfectly fine with you leaving," She retorted.

Growling in frustration, Misaki pushed his headphones back onto his ears and closed his eyes, ignoring her.

Rin crossed her arms and let out a huff before closing her own in an attempt to fall back asleep. However, sleep did not seem to come to her, and after a moment of silence her curiosity got the better of her.

"What are you listening to?"

His response was automatic, and only added to her bad mood. "You wouldn't like it." However, he passed his headphones over without another complaint. It was some hip-hop band that was completely unknown to her, but she wouldn't say she hated it.

"It's not bad," She said, passing his headphones back.

Misaki held up his hand and shook his head. "Keep 'em for now. I've been listening to it all night."

Rin paused, and after a moment she scooted over to the far side of her bed. Misaki frowned in confusion at what she was doing, but his eyebrows shot into his hair when she patted the spot next to her.

"C'mon. We'll share them."

With wide eyes, Misaki stuttered, "H-how can we share them? They aren't earbuds! They're not meant to be shared!"

Rin cocked an eyebrow. "I can hear it perfectly fine if it rested on your shoulder," she replied, speaking slowly as if she were talking to a small child. "Speaking of which, you really should turn your volume down. You're gonna go deaf, Yata-san."

"I can't sit in the same b-bed as a girl," Misaki stammered, stumbling over his words at the mere thought. "Especially someone in your…condition," He added as his face flushed as red as a tomato.

"You're such a wimp," Rin sighed, but there was a mischievous glint in her eyes. Sure enough, Misaki begrudgingly rose from his chair and climbed in next to her, making sure to keep his legs and feet above the covers that she was snuggled under. After placing the headphones on his shoulder, Rin leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes.

They sat in silence as Misaki's mp3 player shuffled through song after song. Rin's shaking and shivers faded after some time, and both of their breathing became more relaxed. It caught Misaki by surprise when he felt something solid and heavy slide down to rest against his shoulder, and he looked down to see Rin lying against his side fast asleep. Her damp hair was plastered against her neck and the side of her cheek from sweat, and he pushed it off to let it breathe. Her eyes fluttered at his touch for a moment, but her breathing remained even as she dreamt.

Misaki's eyes drifted to the baggy shirt she was wearing, and he couldn't help but wonder how on earth she had come by wearing Mikoto's clothes. A thousand scenarios seemed to flit through his head at once, most of them sewn with a small seed of jealousy he didn't even know he had, but after a few seconds he leaned his head back to close his eyes as well.

Because despite Rin wearing the Red King's shirt, Misaki was fairly certain that he was the first guy to lie in her bed.