By the time they returned to the monastery, Kyodo already had a large box with a suit ready for Rin to take. Rin protested, saying such a thing wasn't needed for a part-time job interview but ended up taking the suit anyway at the priests' insistence.

"Jeez…" Rin grumbled as he pulled on the jacket over the button-up shirt. He finally pulled the tie out of the box and stared at it perplexed. He pulled it around his neck and wrapped it around, tried knotting it, pulled it apart; trying again, he somehow ended up with it stuck over his forehead.

"Argh!" He let out a frustrated growl, tugging it off and messing up his hair in the process. "How do you even put this thing on!?"

Ryuuji snickered meanly as he watched Rin struggle, his arms and chin resting on the back of the chair he was straddling. "Havin' a little trouble there?"

Rin flushed and threw the tie at him with a glare. "Fine then, if you're so good, you do it!" He growled accusingly.

"Hey!" Ryuuji growled back as the tie hit him straight on. He snatched the thing off his face. How hard could it be…? he wondered then, shooting the other a superior smirk as he slung it over his neck.

A few minutes later, he admitted defeat.

"How the hell do ya freakin' tie this?"

Ryuuji looked ridiculous. His casual outfit consisting of ripped jeans and a black tank top looked at odds with the rumpled tie around his neck. He quickly tugged on the mess of a knot he'd made, unraveling the tie before throwing it back at Rin.

Rin caught the tie with a triumphant smirk. "See? Not as easy as ya thought, huh?" His tone was teasing but he knew he still had a problem. He sighed and decided to roll it up and stuff it in his pocket. "Whatever. It's easier like this. I'll just say it's like… smart-casual… or somethin'," Rin muttered, adjusting the jacket and the collar of his shirt. "Whaddya think?"

"Looks fine to me." But that didn't mean Ryuuji was the best person to ask. He told Rin as much. "Maybe we oughta ask one of the priests. 'M sure they know how to do it," he suggested.

Rin shrugged vaguely. "I guess," he muttered before he sighed and glanced at the time. "Well, I guess 'm off." He fidgeted with the hems of his jacket.

"Smile," Ryuuji reminded him sharply, shaking his head a little as he got up to his feet. He picked up his jacket and slung it over his shoulder before replacing the clip holding up his hair with a baseball cap. "No need to be so nervous. Just relax."

"You know why 'm so nervous," Rin shot back under his breath, but still, he flashed Ryuuji an exaggerated smile before sighing and walking out of the room with him, a neutral expression on his face. The two of them headed down the stairs and walked through the chapel where Shiro was speaking to one of the priests. He turned and smirked when he saw Rin as Nagatomo walked past them.

"Kyodo let you borrow that?" Shiro grinned and Rin was already scowling.

"Yeah. 'S for the interview," he muttered resentfully.

"And the necktie?" The old priest had a knowing smirk.

"I-It's faster without it!" Rin stammered red-faced, his spine straightening.

Shiro snorted and shot a glance at Ryuuji before holding out his hand. "You just don't know how to tie it, do you? Come on, I'll show you. Close the top button and raise the collar."

Rin flushed slightly but grudgingly pulled out the tie from his pocket and did as he was told. Shiro took the tie and put it around Rin's neck as the shorter teen lifted his chin and watched his father's hands attentively.

"Man, you're only growing up physically," Shiro remarked under his breath as he began the process. "You were so cute when you were little, going 'papa, papa' all the time." He chuckled softly.

"That was like ages ago!" Rin protested with flushed cheeks, looking away. "I'm grown-up now, alright? You're embarrassing me!"

"Grown-up?" Shiro gripped the tie and looked around exaggeratingly, "I don't see any grown-ups around!" The old priest looked at Rin through the corner of his eyes and laughed boisterously as Rin objected loudly.

Shiro put a hand on Rin's forehead and pushed him back, causing the smaller teen to stumble a few steps. "If it's that embarrassing, show me how much you've grown!"

"Don't look down on me!" Rin growled as he pulled down his collar and adjusted the completed tie, "I'll prove it to you that I can do it myself!" He pointed accusingly at his father. "Open your eyes wide and look!"

"That's not how the saying goes." Shiro smirked, unimpressed.

"Shut up, shitty old man!" Rin snarled under his breath and shoved his hands into his pockets. "C'mon, Ryuuji…" He practically stomped his way out of the monastery. Though he seemed to be fuming, gone were all the nervous lines from his face and the tense shoulders. He seemed more focused and concentrated on the task ahead, a new, determined fire in his eyes.

Ryuuji followed after him quietly.

You really weren't kidding, huh? You've got a good dad…

Watching that exchange made something in Ryuuji's chest tighten. He was… surprised; not completely, not after having heard those words for most of his life. Hearing and seeing it were two different things though. Ryuuji had thought the blinds had been taken off yesterday. He thought he'd gotten a glimpse of the priest's true face last night. He had, kind of. But that didn't mean that was all there was to the older man.

It was confusing; made him feel all tangled up. It was hard to stay angry at Rin's dad after seeing that gentle, affectionate teasing. It reminded him of…

No, Ryuuji told himself firmly, refusing to go down that path again. No point in lookin' back. What's done's done. I gotta—I've moved on.

He tugged on the brim of his hat, drew a quiet breath, and pushed it all back. Looking at Rin's back reminded him of his own determination.

One step at a time. It was a thought that applied to both of them.

And no matter how complicated life could be, how complicated people could be, knowing that they had each other made it all easier to bear.

The interview had gone by well enough. Rin was given a uniform and a nametag with Okumura quickly written on it and thus, his trial period began.

Rin tried his best. His first task to move several large boxes to the front of the store had been a somewhat success. However, on the very last box, he'd messed up horribly, dropping it on his boss'—a short but fierce woman named Momoi—head. Rin had gotten scolded and was forced to clean up the mess he'd made.

He tried to make up for it by making quick work of collecting the carts outside in the parking lot, but even that had had disastrous results. A wheel hit the curb, causing the long line of carts to burst into a tangled mess and of course, with Rin's luck, his boss ended up being in the middle of it all. Rin got scolded again.

He was then moved inside where he broke a faucet in an attempt to fill up the mopping bucket, and when doing the actual mopping, he slipped and knocked over the dirty water, spreading it on the floor and causing several of the patrons and a couple workers to fall on the slippery floor. He was scolded once more.

Rin ran a hand over his face as he quickly moved to dry up the large puddle of dirty water he'd made. His hands were shaking and his shoulders were tense again. He was going to mess something else up, he just knew it.

Ryuuji watched all this from a distance. He tried to seem discreet, browsing through the aisles for something to buy, picking up a bottle of gel along the way as he kept an eye on Rin. His stomach turned as he saw his friend struggle through his tasks, and he winced every time he saw him get scolded.

Yikes… Ryuuji thought as he watched his friend practically curl into himself as he mopped the floor with quick, rough movements, surrounded by an unapproachable aura of misery.

He couldn't hold back anymore. He had to do something.

He cleared his throat. "Uh, hey! Sorry ta bother ya. Was, uh, wonderin' if ya could help me with somethin'?" He raised his voice slightly to catch Rin's attention, beckoning him close with a tense smile as he took advantage of the fact the other employees were out of earshot.

Rin looked up at Ryuuji's voice and stared at him before nodding quickly and placing his mop against the wall. "Y-Yes, what can I help you with, sir?" he called out as he trotted over, but by the time he was close enough, he was whispering fervently. "I'm not gonna get it... This is a disaster...!" He struggled to seem calm to any onlookers.

"Dude, calm down," Ryuuji hissed at him quietly, resisting the urge to smack some sense into him physically. "You freakin' out ain't gonna help anythin'. Just breathe. An' don't be so rough with things!"

Ryuuji had gotten a glimpse of how strong Rin was yesterday when they were messing around, but witnessing the stunts Rin had pulled today left him with his mouth hanging open a couple times. How Rin held back all the time was a mystery Ryuuji couldn't grasp. On the other hand…

"Look, I'm kinda gettin' why yer havin' so much difficulties. Useful as yer strength is, it makes things tough too. But you didn't hurt me yesterday, 'member? You jus' gotta relax. Don't try so hard. Just be yerself," he told him firmly.

Rin swallowed audibly and tried to take Ryuuji's words to heart. He focused on the time they'd spent together last night. How even through the roughhousing, his best friend had somehow gotten out unharmed. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, doing his best to release the tension in his shoulders.

"R…Right. Okay…" Rin gave a resolute nod, even though his hands still had a slight tremor. "I'll do my best…" He glanced around before he gave him an award-winning smile and bowed quickly. He then headed back to the mop to finish cleaning up.

Be yourself. Be yourself. That shouldn't be hard, right? Rin did his best to concentrate on the task at hand. Once he was done, he took the mop back to the closet in the back of the store. He closed the door and sighed tiredly.

"Having some trouble, new kid?"

Rin turned to see one of the lady workers standing at a small grill, making sample noodles. A glance at her nametag showed her name to be Kijita. He smiled a bit and gave her a tired nod.

"Well, come on. Here, you can try this." Kijita offered him one of the samples and Rin moved to accept it. However, once he put the noodles in his mouth, the taste was bitter enough to cause his lips to screw up.

"Ah…" She sighed knowingly. "I figured. Boss bought a lot of these because they were cheap, but they don't seem to be selling."

Rin stared at the grill and moved his tongue around in his mouth. Without prompt or really thinking about it, he knew what it needed. Be yourself. "Um…" Rin began, glancing up at the woman. "Could… I try cooking it?"

Kijita looked at him and her expression changed. It was warm and when she handed him the spatula, she was smiling. "No harm in giving it a shot."

"Thank you." Rin put the plastic fork back in his mouth, giving it another taste, this time concentrating for a moment. "Um! Could you get me some green onions, soy sauce, and a green pepper?" The woman stared at him and Rin straightened up. "Please!"

Kijita blinked before nodding and heading off to retrieve the requested objects. Once she returned, Rin got right to work. He moved expertly, pouring just the right amount of sauce and slicing the vegetables. He maneuvered the spatula on the grill, mixing everything perfectly.

It wasn't long until the hall was radiating a wonderful smell and customers began gravitating towards the grill, murmuring expectantly. Rin's face was flushed with a smile and he, with his coworker's help, began plating the samples as he got on to cooking more.

Finally, the first sample was picked up by a housewife. Rin couldn't help but pause, staring at the woman as she tried it. His chest loosened with relief as her eyes immediately lit up.

"Oh my goodness!" she cried. "This tastes wonderful!"

Encouraged by her lavish praise, more customers stepped forward, grabbing samples. They were soon cleaning the table faster than Rin could cook. Kijita was already advertising the sauce and the people who had already tried it were bustling to buy a bottle. Rin was shouting out into the crowd, calling the attention of the customers even if the smell already did that on its own.

It wasn't long before their boss caught the bustle of the crowd and she moved over with a fierce look in her eye. Rin gulped loudly and froze in terror as she picked up a sample and tried it.

There was a long silence. Even the customers seemed to be holding their breath.

When Momoi looked at Rin next, she spoke with a stern tone. "Staff meetings are at 8 AM every morning. Do your best from now on," she said before walking away. Rin blinked twice and it wasn't until Kijita gave him a congratulatory slap on the back, crying, "You got the job! Good going, new kid," that a bright smile enveloped his face.

Ryuuji! Rin's eyes were already searching around for the familiar face. Had he seen?

Yes...! Ryuuji thought as he heard the news. The moment he met Rin's eyes, a broad grin instantly spread across his lips.

"Knew ya could do it!" he said once they were outside. The taller teen hooked his arm around the Rin's neck and tugged him close as pride and relief battled it out in his chest. He ruffled the other's hair lightly. "So freakin' proud of ya."

Rin laughed, his face flushed red with relief. He pressed a hand to Ryuuji's chest as his hair was messed up and sniggered out loud, too happy to protest. "Thanks!" He smiled up at his friend earnestly. "I'm really glad ya came with me. I probably couldn't have done it withoutcha."

"Dork," Ryuuji huffed exasperatedly. "Have a lil more faith in yerself, will ya?" He let go of the other with a bit of a push, tilting his head towards the store afterwards. His grin had yet to fade away. "Go on then, get back in there. I'll head back to yer place an' tell everyone the good news."

Rin grinned brightly and nodded. "Okay! I'll be home in a couple hours." He waved to Ryuuji, watching him go before going back into the store to continue his work. However, he wasn't inside for more than a few minutes before he passed by the window to watch a small girl chasing after a scarf that was blowing away in the wind.

"Give it back!" she cried, "please!"

Rin acted on instinct as the scarf got closer. He ran outside the store, snagging the pink fabric from the air. "Here you go." He smiled and bent down to hand it to her. But the girl didn't smile. In fact, she seemed to be staring at the scarf in fear. Rin furrowed his eyebrows as the wind picked up, tugging the scarf in his hand…

But there was no wind.

Something flickered in his vision and Rin had to blink several times before he could make sense of it. A little… something… A monster, it had to have been. It wasn't like any animal he knew. But before he could stare at it any longer, the monster yanked the scarf out of his hand and ran towards the store.

"H-HEY!" Rin did the one thing he thought to do and ran after it. But as he ran through the aisles chasing the scarf and the monster, no one seemed to notice the tiny thing. They all just stared at him, running through the store… Rin didn't have time to think about it. It wasn't long before the monkey-looking monster climbed up several boxes and started hopping on them, making the display teeter back and forth.

The girl was there at the bottom. When had she followed him in!?

The tower was falling.

Rin ran forward and dove over the girl, not thinking for a moment as the display collapsed. He winced as boxes and cans hit his back as he tried to curl protectively around the small girl. But even after it had all settled, and a woman was shrieking as she ran up to them, the girl was knocked unconscious.

"Yui!" the woman cried out, holding her daughter.

Rin wasn't sure what happened after that. He didn't see the monster again. His nametag was ripped off his uniform. After being forced to give back the apron, Rin hurried out of the store, hugging his jacket close with the tie open around his neck. He was breathing too hard, remembering Ryuuji's smile as he told him how proud he was. He thought of the fact that he'd gone back to tell the priests the good news.

How was he supposed to go back now and tell them that not minutes after Ryuuji left, he got fired…? And he didn't even know what he did.

What's wrong with me?!