Chapter 18

Miyuki sighed as she sat on the roof of the boy's dormitory. The party was still happening but a few people, including Mika, had left. Thoughts of the day's events filled her head as the cool October's air blew around her. Her hair flew around her face like vultures swarming their prey.

Miyuki knew that if she was the right age, she'd probably be walking to the store for a bottle of wine or something. Hell, maybe she'd get some anyway. She could just use her powers to...No. She needed to get herself together. She had abandoned her mission, so she had to act good, right? Her mission...

Capture Rin and bring him back to Gehenna, that was her objective. That was why she was here in the first place. Part of her wished she had stayed or just never unlocked her powers. Once upon a time, she was jealous of Amaimon's Assiah visiting privilege. She smirked at the thought.

'Look where that got him,' she closed her eyes. She didn't know where the cone-headed freak was. Was he dead? What happens after death? Is it different for demons? It's gotta be...

All the questions gave the Yuki-Onna a headache. She took a deep breath, the crisp air filling her lungs.

"It's kind of cold...Are you sure you should be out here?"

Miyuki raised an eyebrow, opening her eyes. She knew who was approaching so she didn't look. Rin walked over, standing next to her as he studied her facial expression.

"Are you really going to ask me that?" a smile played at her lips. Rin chuckled sheepishly.

"I guess it is kind of stupid...considering...Ya'know," he scratched the base of his neck. Miyuki kept staring at the sky as he sat down next to her.

"Why are you out here?" she asked.

The boy next to her shrugged, "I could ask you the same thing." He looked up at the night sky as the silence grew between them. After a moment, Miyuki sighed.

She pointed towards a group of stars, "I think that one is Aquarius." Rin raised an eyebrow as he followed her line of sight and connected the stars like a puzzle. He creased his eyebrows.

"I don't see it," he pouted. Miyuki smiled.

"Do you even know what Aquarius looks like?" she asked, giggling lightly. Rin paused.

"It's...It's the crab, right?" he asked. Miyuki was silent, worrying Rin. His fears flew away when she burst into a laughing fit.

"Seriously?" she giggled as she whipped a tear from her eye.

"Constellations aren't really my thing," Rin shrugged. Miyuki shook her head.

"I can tell," she snorted. Rin tried to frown but realized he couldn't so he simply smiled. He moved his gaze to Miyuki as she sat up. He was caught off guard when she returned his stare.

"You never answered my question. Why did you come up here?" she asked. Rin couldn't remember why he wanted to come to the roof. He didn't think he even had an excuse.

"I...I just thought you looked like you needed someone to talk to," he made one up. Miyuki sighed through her nostrils.

"Thanks. Everything's stressing me out...Mika, the thing in the forest, the Vatican's decision to give us up to Mephisto, me seeing my parents in some weird after-life dream sequence thing..." Rin's eyes widened at her words. The Yuki-Onna chuckled.

"I know how it sounds..." she sighed as she closed her eyes and laid back down. This time, Rin followed her actions. He laid down beside her.

"I've been wanting to ask you something," he said. Miyuki raised an eyebrow.

"Shoot," she said. Rin hesitated.

"Back when we were finishing off Amaimon...He called out to you. It was like he knew you," he said. Miyuki furrowed her eyebrows.

'He...He deserves to know that much...'

"It's because he does."

Rin's eyes grew wide. His jaw dropped as he sat up, "Seriously?!" Miyuki shut her eyes and faced the ground.

"When I first found out about my powers, Amaimon showed up. He trained me, basically," she felt better knowing she wouldn't be keeping this a secret anymore. Rin was silent as he clenched his fist.

"Did you help him?"

"What?"

"Did you help him? At any point did you help Amaimon?" Miyuki's eyes opened at Rin's question. She thought back...

"I...I saw him at Mephisto's theme park. I saw him a-and I didn't stop him..." Miyuki's voice cracked. She quickly sat up and turned to Rin, who has furrowed his eyebrows.

"I promise, I didn't know he was going to attack!" the raven-haired girl said tearfully. Her head dropped as she put her hands on her knees.

"I-I thought he was going to-" "Stop."

Miyuki braced herself for Rin's wrath. Instead, she got a hand on her shoulder.

"Remember when I was arguing with you over going into the classroom?" Rin asked. Miyuki nodded.

"You never finished your sentence," she sniffled. Another breeze blew through and Rin could see Miyuki's blue horns peak through her strands hair. He wondered how he didn't notice them at first.

His eyes then moved back to hers. She was waiting for him to snap but it never came. Rin sighed. Wanting to say something and needing to say it are two different things but they felt the same to Rin at that moment.

"I was going to say that you're one of the most beautiful people I've ever met," he said. Miyuki stopped breathing and became still. She stayed that way for a while. The roof began to freeze over slowly. Rin noticed this and began to speak again.

"I meant everything I said and I still do."

Rin lifted up Miyuki's head. Her teary eyes were glistening and not just because of the moisture from her tears. The Yuki-Onna thought about Amaimon for a moment. Then, her mind went back to her mission.

'Don't...Don't get close...'

The ice around the two spread faster and Miyuki's hair rose into the air. She furrowed her eyebrows as her tears fell down her cheeks.

"I don't need your pity," she suddenly turned hostile. Rin narrowed his eyes as she gave him a steely-eyed look and bared her sharp canine teeth. He had already figured out the problem.

"You don't have to be afraid of letting people in. You won't get hurt...at least not by me," he grabbed her icy hands. She flinched but wasn't able to separate herself from him.

"We're special but you are amazing," Rin said. Miyuki wanted to push him away, afraid she'd hurt him if he got to close. The thing was, he had figured it out. He knew what she thought. No one ever knew...

"Rin...Please don't-" "I'm not gonna sit here and listen to you talk crap about yourself. You might have once worked with Amaimon but that doesn't make you a bad person," Rin held her hands tighter.

"You shouldn't talk about things you don't understand," Miyuki wanted to spit the words at him but it only came out like a broken mumble. Rin huffed, furrowing his eyebrows a bit.

"Then no more talking."

Abruptly, Rin leaned forward. Miyuki's eyes shot open. She felt her face grow hot. Rin was an idiot but, at the moment, he seemed to know what he was doing. He was leading her. The way his lips moulded with hers made Miyuki feel pure bliss. She was being calmed. When Rin backed away, he had a surprisingly serious expression on his face.

"You don't-" "No more talking," he insisted. Miyuki bit her lip when he backed away again. He was so...sure of himself.

The whole roof was iced over and snowflakes fell from the sky as the sudden drop in temperature hit Rin. Miyuki wrapped her arms around herself as she shut her eyes tight. Suddenly, spikes of ice erupted around the two teens.

"What the hell was that?" Rin jumped. Miyuki sighed.

"I needed a way to relieve myself...and I didn't want to hurt you," she mumbled softly. Rin's eyebrows creased as he got an idea. He pulled out his phone and began scrolling through an app. Miyuki watched as he turned the phone around and showed her the image.

"Remember this? Shima sent it to me. After that trip and the talk we had, I realized how much I care for you. I didn't want you to be alone and I hated how sad it made you."

The photo was the one Shima had taken when Miyuki was trying to snatch the fried squid from Rin's hands. It made Miyuki's face redden. She remembered the conversation they had on the beach that night. The place which her mind went to wasn't somewhere she'd want to visit again. Back then, there were many questions she didn't have answers to. Now she did.

"You've stuck with me since the beginning and you understand me more than any of our friends. I really do love you," Rin admitted. Miyuki's heart sank at his words. If only it was that easy...She hadn't heard those words in a long time. At least, not aimed at her.

"You don't know what you're doing," Miyuki warned. Her powers were so out of control and linked to her feelings that she was unconsciously creating layer upon layer of snow and ice.

The Yuki-Onna took a deep breath. Rin stared at her as she crawled towards him, climbing over his figure when he leaned back. She cupped his face in her hands and stared directly into his sapphire eyes.

"That mouth of yours is going to get you into trouble if you keep trying to run into danger," she muttered roughly before meshing her lips into his. Her hair blew in the wind, strands briefly hitting Rin as he widened his eyes. She was definitely the better kisser.

"Woah..." was all Rin could say when they parted. Miyuki smiled sadly as she retreated into her previous position.

"I love you..." hot tears rolled down her face as her voice wavered.

"But I can't do this...I can't do this to you," she whispered, unable to speak any louder. Rin frowned.

"Stop worrying and let yourself be yourself," he advised but Miyuki didn't listen. She simply shook her head and stood up.

"I'm sorry, Rin...I'm really...really...sorry," as the girl sniffled and ran away, she quietly repeated these words. Rin couldn't bring himself to chase after her. After a moment of sad silence, he heard shouting coming from inside the building.

"What the hell?!"

"Miyuki, wait!"

The demon spawn ran downstairs and into the room where the party was held. He found Suguro, Shima, and Yukio with their legs encased in ice and frozen to the ground. He caught a glimpse of Miyuki's raven-coloured hair as she continued running.

"Miyuki-" "Let her go, Rin. I don't know what happens but she looks like she wants to be alone," Yukio suggested. Rin's expression fell into one of sadness and confusion.

"What happened between you two?" Shima asked. Rin went quiet, turning to look out the window. Miyuki was still running, her steps leaving a trail of ice and sleet behind her. The teen boy sighed.

"I...honestly don't know..."