Not long after Rin questioned Yukio about not having come to the premises of the small American-styled bar and restaurant, said young man arrived. Rin was in the kitchen at the time, as the dinner rush required an efficient, quality cook. Oftentimes, Rin would work the kitchen during rush while Etsu- a luck demon having taken refuge in Japan- and shortly after would leave the kitchen and begin working the bar or the floor, depending upon whom else he had to work with. Seeing as Matsuri was on today, he would work the floor.
Isamu, having taken the restaurant over after it began failing due to low income, had made a small beginning headquarters of sorts. The benefits he reaped were slow-coming, but proved effective, as all the members of the Vera Proelium- a weak joke within a joke, as Latin was once the official language of the Catholic church and 'vera proelium' translated to 'True Fight'- were able to make a living and profits funded the organization.
As Rin walked out of the kitchen, the order pad was passed to him from Etsu. She had already switched her apron for a cooking shirt- which she threw over her current attire of a winter dress- and had waved Rin away from the kitchen. Walking out on the floor, Rin cursed at her mildly in a demon tongue, causing Matsuri to snicker quietly. Not many people insulted Etsu- Rin barely ever got away with it- as she didn't respond well. Once she was well-acquainted with someone- especially people like Rin and Anfisa, who always meant their insults as a somewhat backwards compliment- it became near commonplace.
"I didn't get the back corner table," she had already begun working, "Can you get them?"
Nodding, Rin walked out from behind the bar. It wasn't often, but occasionally they would get large parties, hence why they had a large table in a corner able to seat over eight people, which was currently full to near capacity. The faces he was met with, however, caused him mild shock- though he passed it off with a nervous smile- as he took their orders. Predictable, given what he saw most of them purchase at the cafeteria when he used to work there.
"So," Yukio adjusted his glasses in a way he once had when he was younger- pushing them up by pinching the sides of the frames- and saw Rin relax, "This is where you work?"
Nodding, Rin ran their drink orders back to the kitchen, saying something to the bartender once before they saw him disappear for several moments. Despite the American influence, many of the exwires noticed the clear Japanese elements of the restaurant. There were markers of the recent festival still hanging, among other things.
Rin came back carrying a large tray with their drinks. It was strange for some of them to eat in an American-styled restaurant, but they did not comment as Rin took their orders.
"Rin," as the boy had turned, Yukio had called out to him, "Do you get breaks here?"
The question was one regarding Rin's general welfare in this workplace. He already worked late- many nights not returning until after one in the morning. Rin, unbeknownst to Yukio, managed to complete his school assignments during the hours there were no customers, often sitting at the bar to do so.
"Yeah," Rin said, making a motion to the bartender, "I'll check with Matsuri and see if he'll let me take my hour after I bring out your meals. If I do, he has kitchen duty and Etsu works the floor, but it might not be an issue. We don't get a lot of people until about ten o'clock, and even then it's a small crowd."
Yukio had not intended for Rin to lose today's break, but could not stop the boy as he disappeared into the kitchen and walked back out to the bar. Both he and Matsuri began arguing in the same foreign language Yukio had heard from Rin multiple times to date. It had become just as common as though Rin was speaking plain Japanese, though Yukio could not understand a word of it. Rin had not offered to teach it, nor would Yukio ask.
As he came back with their dishes, they saw Matsuri disappear into the kitchen as the girl they assumed to be Etsu took the bar, and- when the occasional person sat down- the floor. Rin had sat down and was interacting with Shura, as the other exwires did not know what to make of Rin's current work situation.
"If it's too much trouble for Matsuri," Yukio looked back to his brother, "You don't need to sit with us."
"You kidding?" Rin chuckled softly, "Matsuri could care less. Just so long as I don't take another break tonight."
"You two were arguing-"
Rin turned to the speaker- Bon- and shifted, not noticeably uncomfortable, but enough that there was suspicion as to his demeanor, "We were debating."
"What?" Bon seemed to take up his position of creating an antagonistic friendship between himself and Rin, "What could a brainless monkey like you debate?"
At the familiar attitude, Rin breathed a little more freely. He was still tense, that much was clear, but he could tell that some things had yet to fully change against him. Continuing the conversation, Rin's own level of discomfort increased to a level noticeable by even a complete stranger as Isamu entered the building, his eyes meeting Rin's in a rare show of his powers. When any of his espionage agents seemed to be in company of the enemy, he would often use some of his illusionary abilities in an effort to gain his allies attention without attracting others.
"I gotta go," Rin set a small fire in the corner of the kitchen- just out of sight of most everyone but his brother, "Etsu set something on fire again."
As Rin walked away, Yukio decided against commenting on his brother's odd behavior, instead observing as they left what Rin was doing at that moment. He was speaking with the guard from his test. While Yukio couldn't remember her name- though it began with an 'a', he knew- he knew something was wrong. Rin seemed to know the danger of associating too deep with the Vatican and its guard. It was truly worrying, but Yukio could do nothing.
Deciding to at least watch out for his brother, he searched for an excuse to stay until two, as he had heard Rin mention to Matsuri he would work an extra hour that night, prompting Matsuri to worry about him leaving at the aforementioned time.
Yukio, however, found no such reason. As such, when Rin arrived home near three in the morning and Yukio heard him speaking with someone, he knew something was very wrong. Rin was nervous, as well as concerned.
"I can't abandon the job," Rin's exasperated tone was cut off by a harsh voice on the other end.
It was several moments before he replied, "I will do what I can, but I have to follow orders if I'm going to get what you want. It's not going to be a short-order job."
Yet again, the voice- calmer this time- spoke. Yukio could not hear what it said, but Rin had felt the need to reply with the same foreign tongue he had used to speak with Matsuri. Some research had confirmed its origin to be from Gehenna, though there were no known speakers outside of small groups of ancient practitioners, and even then few knew the context and meanings of each of the words. The only way he had found it at all was through a series of words he found written down on a piece of paper. He couldn't translate them, but he had compared the runes to various demonic and ancient languages, finding the right one after hours of searching. The rarity of those who remembered the language, much less those who knew even the small scraps of it, was remarkable. Fewer than a hundred were known to use it, and none were known to still speak it.
As such, it was all the more worrying that Rin knew not only what he was saying, but could calculate how to use this language for his own means. Looking at his pacing brother through the slightly open door, Yukio walked back to his room, a hefty weight bearing on his mind.
Rin was very aware of his brother having heard the discussion, exactly why he made sure to speak as though a friend or a tutor was trying to convince him to do something he didn't want to do. Looking at his brother's door, he debated trying to talk to him.
Deciding against it, he quickly walked back to his room to continue reading the Secondary Setzic. Isamu had required him to read the Ancient Setzic- a long read with language far more archaic than he thought he would ever see- and was now requiring him to read the Secondary.
It was almost like school, but more obnoxious.
It would be many more hours before he went to sleep, Kuro's half-asleep, worried mewl prompting him to hide this particular book away behind a stack of manga. After all, the Vatican would not take kindly to the idea of him holding onto something of demon origin, much less something explaining a version of demon law.
[CHAPTER END]
