Hey guys! I am so sorry for the long absence, I love this story and it hasn't left my mind for over two years since posting! I jut had some personal issue that I think we all know, can give you a hard time creatively. But i'm back! With loads of ideas!
I own nada.
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Chapter 11: Let It Flow
The class on scripture recital and Aria skills had been as dull and boring as she had expected. The teacher had predictably assigned a boatload of homework centered on memorizing certain passages from holy scriptures that probably had more words than there were people living on earth. It wasn't homework Chio was looking forward to completing that was for sure. What was more annoying was Rin's absence, Shura was apparently training him to better manage his flames privately.
Now she was dragging herself from what should have been her gym class in search of him, Tsubaki-sensei had ended up leaving early and dismissing them before anything had really happened so she essentially had nothing to do. Normally she'd have spent her hour in class and gone home, waiting for the boys to arrive shortly after. But Rin and Yukio had been staying behind to train more and more often, making them later to come home.
Chio was about done with that, and was now dead set on finding them and spending her free time with them rather than by herself. She pulled out her phone and sent Rin a quick message asking where they were. Almost immediately, it buzzed indicating he'd replied. He must be pretty bored to be replying that fast. Chio wove through the halls on his instruction, and eventually came to a gym area within the halls of the cram school, inside Rin sat across from a trio of fast-melting candles alight in blue flames.
"Hey Rin, what're you doing here?" she called out.
Rin looked up to her like she was a godsend, probably bored shitless from whatever he was doing.
"I'm training. Shura wants me to be able to light the candles on the outside, and keep the middle one unlit. It's really boring, and REALLY HARD." he whined, clutching at his head.
"Is this to help you control your flames? What's so hard about it?" she asked curiously.
It wasn't meant as a jab at his ability, she was genuinely curious. Her powers tended to work more on mental command and didn't manifest as physically as Rin's did, this was partly because she had no flames or demon attributes that were so extreme and partly because she had always had relatively good control. She was interested to know if somehow the answer to Rin's issues lied in his mind like hers had.
"It just is! No matter what I try, they take over. It's pointless." he muttered, brushing the melting candles aside into a pile of their goopy brethren.
"Now you see that's your problem, it's not that the flames are too strong, it's that you believe they are. If you think of them as some uncontrollable force that is impossible to rein in, you'll never gain control. You have to believe yourself capable, don't be afraid." Chio said firmly.
"But I'm not capable, the best I can do is prevent them from burning through skin. They still consume everything else. How am I supposed to make them light some stupid candles." He said dejectedly. It was a shame really, that such an immense power had to be managed in such a short time. maybe if Rin had less pressure and more time, he could achieve things quicker.
"You're a real idiot you know that? What did I just say to you? I said, if you believe yourself incapable you will be. You're too emotionally connected to your powers, stop raging and just focus on controlling them. You know being too emotional corrupts focus and makes you make mistakes. If you calm down and separate your feelings from your thoughts, you'll find it easier." she exclaimed.
"How do I do that?" he asked.
"You have to practice, whenever you start getting worried or angry or overexcited, just stop and try to think straight. Use your head and not your heart. Once you have full control, you can let your heart be involved in the decision making process again." Chio said simply.
It was a concept she had been introduced to at an early age by her parents, who now that she came to think of it, were probably preparing her for her inevitable awakening by doing so. Chio had stuck to it like glue, even more so after their deaths. However Ume had always strayed from it, letting her emotions get the better of her and her desires cloud her judgment.
"I don't know if I'll be able to do that…" Rin trailed off hopelessly.
Chio gave him a look of sympathy, before an idea struck her.
"I have an idea, if you could bear with me?" she said. Rin nodded, a look of eagerness and ambition coming over him.
"When I was little, my parents would have me meditate and practice relaxation techniques so I wouldn't get overcome by my feelings and desires in fights. If you want I could teach you now so you can practice yourself?" she suggested.
It was risky to delve too deep into what her childhood had consisted of, if she told anyone too much, they may become suspicious of why she had been made to learn such things in the first place.
"Yeah let's do it!" Rin exclaimed with an enthused clap, interrupting her musings.
After a moment, Chio nodded, she was surprised he was actually interested seeing as he was such a fidgety and impatient person. Taking a seat across from him, she took a deep breath.
"Alright, do as I do. First close your eyes. Take a deep breath. Focus on the feel of the ground beneath you, and the air around you." she said. Flicking one eye open, she watched her pupil follow her instruction.
"Push all the thoughts and concerns out of your mind with each breath outwards. Try to feel your power inside you, find the source and just feel it. Don't try to do anything with it yet." she continued.
Rin did as she said, and she allowed herself to fall into pleasant synchronized breathing with him. It was kind of nostalgic to do this again, after gaining complete control of her own abilities her need to mediate and relax herself had waned to near non-existence.
"Once you find it, just allow yourself to bask in it for awhile, feel the heat of it like a fireplace." murmured Chio. Rin didn't reply, focusing on her guidance completely.
For awhile they sat like that, basking in the glow of their own powers. It must have been at least ten to fifteen minutes or so before she heard Rin's breathing really slow down, signaling that he had reached the point she wanted him to.
"Now let your power start flowing through you from it's source, only a little bit. If it tries to take over, push it back to where it came from and continue to breathe deeply until you are back basking in it's energy like we once were." she said.
After a few minutes, she heard Rin's breathing increase slightly and sure enough he gave out an abrupt sound of frustration and smacked the floor. Chio didn't need to look at him to know he was probably scowling and grumbling at his first failure.
"What happened?" she asked, not opening her eyes.
"I felt it flowing through my body, but then it sort of started to pulse and I thought-I thought I might accidentally set something on fire. Once I started thinking that I lost control so I just let go." he said.
"Where did you go wrong?" she asked calmly.
"I-I didn't stop soon enough did I?" Rin mumbled.
"No. You were doing fine, but you lost your focus and became afraid, instead of pushing it back you flipped out and here we are. Next time, just keep your head clear and push it back. Overworking yourself is the equivalent of losing control with this." Chio explained.
"So it's like weight lifting kinda? You take on a little more each time to build up your tolerance until you can do it without really thinking about it at all?" he pondered out loud, a thumb and index finger cradling his chin while his fluffy tail scratched his matching hair.
"Yeah. Kinda like that. If you can do it without really thinking about it you basically have complete control. Now try again." she commanded.
They gave it a few more attempts, Rin stumbled a few more times before eventually settling into a goodish rhythm of meditation that didn't burn out when he freaked out. Yukio and Shura strode in shortly after this, looking surprised when the saw Rin sitting peacefully on the floor like he was. By this time, Chio had ceased her own meditation in favor of doing some light homework.
"Chio-san? Nii-san? What're you doing?" Yukio asked, looking at them in confusion.
"Jesus Yukio, we are quite clearly sacrificing each other to the flying spaghetti monster, what does it look like?" Chio said sarcastically, not looking up from her work. She received no response from her bespectacled teacher, however Shura sniggered from beside him which made Chio smirk.
"I taught Rin to meditate so he can control his flames better, stop being so loud or you'll disturb his mellow flow." Chio said exasperatedly, nodding in Rin's general direction.
Unfortunately it was too late for this, as Rin had already begun to pull out of his meditative state.
"Yukio? Oh, when did you show up?" he asked, looking surprisingly composed for once.
"Only just now, is it true Nii-san? Has Chio-san taught you to meditate?" the younger Okumura asked.
"Yeah! It really works Yukio, I already feel like I know my power better than before. I think if I do this often enough, I'll be able to light the candles without setting you on fire in no time!" he said excitedly, his fluffy black tail swishing behind him.
Yukio and Shura exchanged a skeptical glance, which quickly annoyed Chio. Couldn't they see he was progressing? Were they skeptical because she had taught him? Shura cocked her head to the side, before striding over to the candle sack and pulling three out. She set them down in front of Rin expectantly, before returning to her place beside Yukio.
"Light them." she said.
Rin gave her a troubled look, and Chio already knew the outcome. He wasn't going to be successful. Rin was still too scared of his abilities to confidently try and light those candles, he would need far more meditation practice before he could respond to a test like this.
"Hey. You just said you felt you knew your powers better didn't you? Remember how it felt to be in control." Chio said, eyeing her friend determinedly.
Rin gulped, before staring the trio of wax cylinders down. His tail straightened and curled as he concentrated, and just before he was about to try, he took a deep calm breath much like those he took during his relaxation before.
In a flash, the two candles on the outside burst into blue flames. The flames engulfed the entirety of the candles rather than just the wick, melting them to a whitish-clear goop almost instantly. Chio sighed, she had known he wouldn't succeed, but it still sucked that he hadn't.
It was still progress though right? All the candles in the used pile behind him were torched and scorched beyond recognition, not a single one remained unburnt. This time the center candle was fine, but the others were destroyed. Well, the flames from the other two had scorched the sides of it a little, but hey.
Rin looked devastated for a minute, but once he noticed the centre candle was actually sort of okay, he looked overjoyed. Unfortunately this wasn't a permanent thing, as the flames from the two burning wax piles either side of it spread over and melted it completely.
"A slight improvement, but you still lack control Nii-san." Yukio said rather coldly, seeming to completely disregard his brother's feelings of accomplishment. Chio wanted to slap him in that moment, couldn't he see he was only restricting Rin by confining him to one method of control for his demon power?
"A slight improvement is better than no improvement at all Yukio." Chio bit. Shura caught the malice in her tone before either Okumura twin did, and gave her a knowing look.
Being the only one in the room who knew of her true power and past, Shura had easily put two and two together to make four and figured out that the methods of meditation Chio had shown Rin were designed to help a person control their demonic powers.
Therefore, it was natural to assume the methods were transferable to Rin, as he too was part demon.
"Chio has a good point there Scaredy-Four-Eyes." Shura said candidly, before turning to stare down at Rin. "You know what? I'll make a deal with you kiddo. Keep up your meditation and all this crap for a week and if you improve after that then I'll let you attend some more of your regular classes again."
Rin looked excited at this opportunity, and immediately began nodding in agreement.
"But you have to really keep at it, no slacking off. In case you hadn't noticed, you still destroyed the candle in the middle, so you're still a risk." Shura added sternly, kicking at the lump of hardening wax in front of him.
"I will, this stuff is way more fun than homework anyway. You can help me some more right Mayami-Sensei?" Rin asked jesttfully.
Up until this point Chio had been watching with bated breath, hoping for Rin to be allowed a chance to explore meditation as a method of control for his flames, and now it was being offered up on a silver platter. Of course she would agree to help...later.
"Definitely. But not anymore tonight, I have to get back and finish my homework. Maybe tomorrow?" she suggested.
"Sure thing, I'm gonna master this meditation stuff." Rin said.
Chio had no doubt he would give it his all for maybe the first three days, but she'd need to bear down on him after that so he didn't lose focus. She gave them all a parting smile before making to leave, however Yukio stopped her.
"Chio-san, it's pretty late now. Are you sure you don't want to wait around so we can all leave together? It'd be safer that way."
Chio was by no means afraid of the dark, nor was she concerned about any possibility of attack. Being well versed in self-defense and combat since childhood, she was confident no harm would come to her. Being part-demon didn't even factor in.
"I'll be fine Yukio. I'm sure my performance in gym class is proof of that." she said, trying to exude the confidence she felt.
Yukio smiled. "I have no doubts about your fighting ability; I was merely concerned about any demons giving you trouble."
"I'm sure that won't be the case. Besides, I'm armed." she said, patting her side where a gun was strapped to her belt beneath her hoodie.
If only he knew. Lower class demons would leave her be as soon as she pulled her staff on them, as for the middle ranged crap, that was easily dealt with. Besides, higher class demons could rarely make it onto campus with the barriers surrounding it. Amaimon and Gale had been the only ones to get in so far, and both of them had assistance anyway.
Yukio was still looking hesitantly at her.
"They'd just be providing me with target practice. Don't be such a worry wart Yukio. I know you want this homework anyway, if I stay it'd be your fault I couldn't turn it in…" she teased. At this, the boy finally relented and let her go. Shura was looking on with amusement on her face, clearly well aware of the needlessness of Yukio's badgering. Rin gave her a wave before making to start another period of meditation, and with that she was off.
Once Chio navigated her way back out to the colorful hallway of the cram school, she used her key and found herself on the street she had entered from. It was a lot later than she had expected. The skies were long past their sunset stage, now a dark royal blue as the pitch black night sky took over. She could hear crickets chirping and the air was cooler. Hearing a rustling in the distance, she set off quickly towards the dorms.
It would be quicker if she cut behind some of the older buildings.
Despite saying she was unafraid just moments earlier, she really didn't like the thought of being ambushed. Chio really couldn't be fucked to deal with it.
After ten minutes of silence, she regained her cool and slowed to a less urgent pace. All she could hear were her own feet colliding repeatedly with the cement beneath her, which was oddly comforting. When she got home she'd take a bath, maybe meditate some more for old times' sake. Feeling her phone vibrate, she pulled it out of her skirt pocket. She had two messages. One from Yukio and another from…Amaimon?
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OMGGGG so yeah, chapter 11 is here! More tomoorrow cause I can't stop now.
R+R if you don't hate me fro screwing around with this for 2 years lol xxxxc
