Chapter Twenty-Five

"I'm home!" Masamune called, letting himself and Rin into the house.

"Masamune-sama, welcome home," Suzume greeted them right away as she bowed. She noticed Rin and smiled, "And Rin-chan, it's good to see you as well."

"Hello, Suzume-sensei," Rin smiled back.

"Ah, Masamune-sama, you're back." Kojuro appeared from behind Suzume as he smiled wearily and said, "I'm glad. We need to go and meet your moth-"

"Sorry, Kojuro," Masamune interrupted. He avoided Rin's suddenly suspicious gaze as he said as apologetically as he could, "Can't right now, Rin's here," he grinned innocently as he gently pushed her ahead. Kojuro's expression changed to alarm but his master shot him a quick glare to 'shut up' before he could say anything. Rin took several steps before glancing back, obviously suspicious of his evasive behavior.

Masamune noticed so he grinned and said, "I'll be up soon; I need to get something first."

Rin wanted to say something but she knew he'd probably just evade her so she said slightly harshly, "Fine." She stomped slightly to show she wasn't happy and Masamune smothered his laughter.

When she was out of earshot Kojuro finally burst out, "But Masamune-sama, you knew your mother was coming today, why did you-"

"It must have slipped my mind," Date lied casually. He shrugged as he lined up his shoes against the wall and Kojuro sighed wearily. "What? I forget things too, you know."

"You know that isn't true in the slightest."

Masamune shrugged again, "Oh well, the woman can walk. She has two legs that aren't broken."

"That isn't the point, Masamune-sama!" Kojuro groaned. "You know she can be rather…" he struggled to find a non-offensive word to use.

Masamune rolled his eye and filled in, "Crazy? Evil? Controlling? All of the above?"

"Masamune-sama…"

"Relax, Kojuro. She'll be fine. Just keep her busy in town for a few hours, I already promised Rin I'd spend some time with her. Besides, the woman will have me all break, she won't mind missing out on just one day."

He began walking off and Kojuro called desperately, almost wailing, "But Masamune-sama!" Masamune ignored him and he sighed irritably. He shook his head disapprovingly and muttered, "That boy…"

Suzume laughed beside him as she said in his defense, "It's fine, Kojuro-kun. I'll go meet with Yoshihime-sama and do as Masamune-sama asked for you."

She went to the closet near the door to grab her coat and put it on but Kojuro stopped her. He placed a hand on her shoulder as he asked anxiously, "Are you sure? You and I both know that Masamune-sama did this on purpose to avoid meeting with her today."

Suzume nodded as she gently brushed him off. She laughed softly as she said, "I'm sure. She likes me more than both of you two put together anyway, so I'm sure she won't mind my company rather than his." Kojuro sighed heavily and Suzume looked back at him. She asked, "What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "It's nothing… I only wish Masamune-sama wouldn't make such reckless decisions. He knows his mother's temper better than anyone."

Suzume laughed again as Kojuro helped her put on her coat, "Yes, well… He is young, so give him time. And besides…" she stared at the door thoughtfully, "I suppose I would be rather afraid of her as well if I had their sort of history…"

"Mm… Well…" Kojuro still looked worried but soon shook it off. He smiled and kissed Suzume gently on the forehead. He smoothed the back of her hair as he cautioned, "Just be careful."

He was a full head taller than Suzume so she had to stand on the tips of her toes just to kiss the tip of his nose teasingly, "I'll be fine," she promised. "It's not like she'll bite my head off or anything, that's too messy of a job for her."

She laughed as she opened the door but as soon as she took a step out she lost her balance and practically fell face first. Kojuro caught her by the arm and pulled her back to safety as he said with a laugh, "I meant about walking on the streets with snow around. Compared to them, Yoshihime-sama is the least of your problems."

Suzume blushed now as she laughed nervously, "I-I'll be fine." He let go of her as she held her arms out to the sides to hold her balance. She took a few unsteady steps forward like a newborn just learning to walk before calling over her shoulder, "I'll give him an hour or two to prepare himself, but just let him know that he's going to have to see her today whether he's ready or not."

"I hope you aren't just using me to avoid doing any duties," Rin told Masamune as soon as he entered the room. She crossed her arms as he closed the door with a sigh. He didn't answer her and Rin's glare narrowed. "Masamune!"

She backed him against the door and he held his hands up in surrender. He grinned ruefully and reassured, "Of course not. I just wanted to spend time with you before I left for break."

He grabbed her chin to tilt her head but she brushed it away as she backed off. She crossed her arms again and stared at him to the point of being almost creepy.

"What?" he asked with an amused laugh, "You know, you're going to get wrinkles with an expression like that all the time."

She scoffed, "It's what happens from hanging around you all the time."

He shrugged as he sat down at his kotatsu and started pulling papers out. "I don't know what you're talking about because I happen to be the walking Fountain of Youth for your information."

Rin finally laughed when she joined him. She sat to his left and told him, "You're a headache."

"And you're a pill," he said back.

She stuck her tongue out now. "Leave me alone, jerk."

"You started it," He laughed now as he suddenly ruffled her hair and brushed him off with mock annoyance. Rin dug out a pen to write with and after staring at her paper blankly began chewing on the end of the pen thoughtfully, a habit she had developed since entering high school and Masamune watched her from the corner of his eye before starting his own work.

They went about doing their own work and filling questions out for a good twenty minutes before Masamune spoke up, "By the way… About this break…"

Rin looked up from her work. Date had stopped writing and was staring at his work somewhat hostilely. She asked a little uncertainly, "…Yes, what about it?"

"Well… You know how I'm going away for it and won't be around to see you, right?"

Rin nodded, "Yes, I know. You told me a while ago that you were leaving to visit farther north from here." He nodded so she asked, "Are you visiting someone important?"

He hesitated before answering a little tentatively, "Er… Sort of… But what I wanted to talk to you about was that I'm not actually sure how long it's going to take."

Rin raised an eyebrow questioningly as she set her pen down. She said, "Oh… So… You don't know when you're coming back?"

He shook his head. "The minimum will be for our entire break and the maximum being about a month total."

"Oh… I see…" Rin said quietly. "So it'll be just like when you're away for the summer wars…"

"Yeah, it'll definitely be like a war…" Date muttered darkly and reflecting his mother's usual artificial behavior.

"Hm?"

"Nothing." Masamune sighed as he ran his hand through his hair and suddenly looking stressed. He turned now to look at her and smiled wearily. He promised, "But I'll call you whenever I can, so don't start cheating on me with Sanada Yukimura too soon."

He ruffled her hair again as she laughed and admonished, "Leave him alone, Masamune. Yukimura-kun is a perfectly nice guy if you would only stop fighting with him to see that."

Masamune rolled his eye, "If he's a 'perfectly-nice-guy' then my right eye isn't missing."

"What are you talking about?" Rin teased, "Katakura-san isn't missing at all."

Masamune laughed but Rin suddenly realized something. If he was heading north and she was visiting home down south in the country, would their calls still be able to connect? She knew there weren't many cell phone towers where she lived, at least, not since she'd been there, and she was planning on staying there for most of her break too…

"Um… Masamune?" she asked slowly.

"Mm?"

"Are you… Certain you'll be able to call me from where ever you are?"

Masamune looked at her in confusion as he said, "Yeah, so long as it can reach a cell phone tower. Why?"

"N-no reason…" Rin lied. She had picked up her pen again and was scribbling something down but Masamune grabbed her hand to stop it.

Rin looked up to meet his eye as he asked again more seriously, "Why?"

She bit her lip, "W-well…" she sighed and looked away, "The thing is, I'm going away for the break too…"

Date let go of her hand as he asked, "Oh? Where to?"

Rin chewed on her lip harshly now. "I… I'm…" What is my problem? She wondered, Why can't I just tell him that I'm going home? It's not a big deal.

"Rin?"

"I'm going somewhere with Kasuga-chan," Rin suddenly lied.

"Oh?" he asked again.

Rin nodded, "We're going south for a little and I'm not sure if I'll be able to reach you."

He laughed at her concern now and promised, "Don't worry, it'll be fine. Cell phones have pretty long ranges these days, so I'm sure you'll be okay where ever you are."

"Ah, I'm glad," Rin smiled. He's right, she assured herself, everything will be fine. Besides, I'm sure there's been some change since I was there last…

"So, where are you-?"

Masamune started asking his question when there was a knock on his door and Kojuro's voice called, "Masamune-sama."

"Hold on," he told Rin. Date stood up to open his door and asked, "What?"

"Phone call."

"Put it on hold, I'm busy."

Rin could see Kojuro's tall frame from in front of Masamune and Kojuro glanced back at Rin, who quickly looked away. He said somewhat sensitively, "But it's…" He shared a look with Masamune that Rin couldn't see, nor comprehend, but Masamune seemed to understand because he sighed and turned to Rin. "I'll be right back," he grumbled.

"Take your time," Rin waved.

He was closing the door again but just before it shut he had hissed, "Why is she calling now?"

Rin wondered, 'She'? A business partner?...Rin shook her head. Never mind, forget it. It's probably nothing.

She opened her bag to look for a pencil but she froze when her fingers brushed against a box. Jackal's gift, she immediately thought, a cold sweat breaking out.

She pulled the box out of her bag now to stare at it grimly. It was only slightly longer than the palm of her hand and just about as wide. It was wrapped in a sort of brown paper and tied with a red bow, as if Kanon were mocking her.

Rin held her breath. She told me that I'm supposed to open this when Masamune is around but… She squeezed her eyes shut, That's more than enough of a reason not to. If I'm going to do this, I'd better do it while he's away. I don't think she'll really know…

She opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with," she said aloud. She began unwrapping the paper carefully. It revealed a single, thin package and at first she was confused. What on Earth was this?

After picking it up and reading the side though, she froze.

Kanon had left her an unopened box of condoms, the kind you could buy easily at the local convenience store. JACKAL! She almost shouted out loud before catching herself. She put a hand over her mouth.

I can't believe she sent this to me, Rin thought in horror. Why, why, why did she send this to me?! What the hell does she even think I'd-?! Is this what she meant by teen sex tapes?!

Why, next time I see her, I'll-

"Hm? Rin, is something the matter?" Date asked coolly from behind her. She hadn't heard him open the door but he was coming back from his phone call and Rin fumbled with the box. Masamune sat back in his seat as Rin tried desperately to hide it.

"N-nothing," she stuttered, "Nothing at all!"

"Are you sure?" Date asked, unconvinced. His eye had caught sight of her gripping onto something even as Rin shook her head furiously. In one effortless swipe, he had the box. He read the side and looked at it silently as the color drained out of Rin's face. He looked back at her.

And then he smirked.

Suddenly, the color erupted back in Rin's face and somewhere in Antarctica a glacier melted.

Back at her shop, Kanon had set down the bottle of sake she was drinking and laughed loudly, the sound breaking through the quiet room. Motonari looked over at his sister curiously and asked "Is something the matter Ane-wei?"

She looked over at him with a grin and said, "Nope, nothing at all." she looked out her window into the sudden flurry of snow, "It would just seem that dear Rin-chan has finally opened the little present I gave her, and I don't think she's too pleased about it."

"Oh?" her younger brother looked at her curiously. Even though he was used to her mischievous tricks, he was never truly able to figure out the reasoning behind any of it.

Kanon picked up some papers from her desktop and began skimming the writing with an amused smile. She said casually, "I hope that when you find a girlfriend, Motonari, I can have as much fun with her as I can with Rin."

Motonari shot her a mixed look of irritation and curiosity as he said calmly, "Don't be ridiculous."

"Hey, you're going to have to sooner or later if you want to continue the family line." Her younger brother only rolled his dark eyes as Kanon laughed and she leaned over to ruffle his hair teasingly. She looked out the window once more until her amusement faded away and she returned to her papers once more.

"So, I take it you're finally ready to take up my last offer?" Masamune broke the silence as he shook the box provocatively.

Rin swiped it back and practically shouted, "It wasn't me, damn it! Kanon-sama did it! She gave it to me and said to open it the next time I was with you!"

"Sure, sure," he said nonchalantly, shrugging. He smirked and then added, "I just had no idea you were so eager. If you wanted to do it, I'm glad you came prepared. Don't worry, it only stifles the fun a little."

"Shut up," she finally said, punching it into his forehead, her face still beet red.

He only laughed and with a grin teased, "That's not where you put it."

"Do you want me to punch you?!" She glared and let go of it, pulling away to sulk. She was already planning exactly what she'd tell Kanon the next day.

It fell into his lap and as it did, a sort of rattling sound was emitted. He picked it up to study it carefully. "Huh," he shook the box a little and something rattled inside. "Maybe they aren't really condoms at all."

"Can you not say it so casually?!" she yelled, still refusing to look at him. The room was still about 100 degrees over the natural room temp because of Rin's body heat.

He laughed as he opened it. A rock slipped out and he studied it.

"What is it?' Rin grumbled.

"A rock, but it has something written on it," he squinted slightly at the handwritten kanji on the other side.

"What?"

"Truth." Rin turned to him for a translation and he repeated in Japanese, "Truth."

Rin blinked in surprise and asked, "What does that mean?"

He shrugged. He stared at the box thoughtfully and suddenly he smirked. Rin stared at him and said suspiciously, "Hey, you. What are you smirking about? You're kind of creeping me out."

He laughed as he said, "Well, I was wondering whether you still wanted to have sex even though you didn't actually bring con-"

Rin's face turned even redder as stood up abruptly and shouted furiously, "You jerk!" She started packing her school bag and steamed, "Study time is over. I'm going home." She finished her job and started heading for the door.

"Riiin," Masamune called, standing up and grabbing her wrist. He pulled her back against him even though she looked about ready to kill him and he teased, "At least kiss me 'good-bye' if you're just going to leave and break my heart."

"You have no heart," Rin grumbled as her face turned red.

He laughed as he petted her head. He teased, "Maybe because you stole it?"

Rin couldn't help but laugh now as she rolled her eyes, "Quit being so cheesy, it's creepy."

They laughed together as Date finally resolved, "Fine, but I'll walk you to the bus, okay?" He let go of her but held her hand and she sighed.

"You never give up, do you?" she asked.

He smiled, "Would you like me to?"

Rin shook her head 'no' furiously before clutching the back of his shirt and pressing herself into him. She matched her actions in a tiny voice, "No…"

Masamune laughed as he stroked the back of her head and kissed her forehead gently, promising against her, "Then I won't."

A/N: I'm going to Hell.

- Jackal