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Chapter 6

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"Man, I don't get what we're doing wrong. This squid looks so damn good," Rin whined, looking down at the grilled squid he was holding. His familiar, Kuro, climbed onto his shoulder with an excited purr.

"They sure smell tasty! Rin, can I have one, please?" the familiar pleaded.

"They're for sale. Sorry, pal," Rin chuckled, making the cat hang his head in defeat.

"Hey, is that him?" Shima asked. "That's your new familiar, the Cat Sith, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I figured I'd bring him 'cause they said it was a mission," Rin frowned.

"Ha! Mission my ass! They said we were coming to the beach to collect seaweed for demon-warding potions. Crap, they got us working retail, man," his pink-haired friend sighed.

"Did you know this snack bar and the place we're staying at, both of them belong to old sideburn's missus?" Rin explained, looking back to the shop they stood next to.

"This blows so hard...Bon and Koneko are in Tamagawa to hunt for Baryons. I'm starting to think those guys are the real ones who got the best deal," Shima whined as he watched two girls exit the store and walk towards the water. He sighed. "We're not gonna sell jack today unless we get a hot girl to stand by the grill." Rin gave him a confused look.

"How come Izumo's not out here suffering with us? Least they could do is suck it up for an hour...But I guess she's not what you'd call a team player, is she?" the blue-eyed boy fell back onto a towel he had laid upon the sand and stretched his limbs.

"Uh, excuse me?"

Kamiki almost seemed to teleport in front of them, a pool float in hand and a cover-up over her swimsuit.

"What's your problem? I helped you grill those squid, didn't I? Besides, I'm not really the kind of girl who works retail," Kamiki huffed before turning around and walking away.

"I – I guess you have a point...don't worry about me! I already went swimming, so have a blast!" Shima called to her.

"Oh, don't worry. I will," Kamiki didn't spare them another glance and kept on walking towards the ocean.

"Yep, that's our girl..." Shima sighed and hung his head. As both boys sighed, Rin's sensitive ears perked up.

"What do you mean you're out?!" Miyuki snarled in the face of the poor man handling the snow cone stand.

"We ran out of ice...I'm sorry, Miss," he cowered under her red-hot gaze. She took a deep breath, frost peeking out from the hand that rested against the snow cone cart.

"Check again," she smiled unnervingly. The man hesitated before opening the cart and gasping at the fresh block of ice.

"How did..." he muttered, eyes shifting upwards to look at Miyuki again, only to find her being dragged away by Rin.

"Are you crazy?!" he hissed in a hushed voice.

"No, I'm hot and cranky," her eyes narrowed judgingly. When her gaze moved to the cat on Rin's shoulder, her face lit up. She reached for Kuro, "Cute cat."

"Where did you come from?" he asked, handing his familiar over. Kuro purred happily as Miyuki rubbed his belly with gusto.

"I was buying snacks and a swimsuit since I've never been to the beach before, and this douchebag had the nerve to tell me he was out of ice," she glowered at the older fellow, who quickly jumped to hide behind his cart.

"You've never been to the beach before?" Shima asked, eyebrow raised in surprise.

"You're focusing on the wrong part of that sentence, Pinky," Miyuki huffed. Her strawberry-blonde classmate leaned into Rin's ear while she was occupied with the cat.

"Man, we could sell a lot more squid if she would sit by the stand!" he whispered. Rin's eyes lit up as his mouth twisted into a fanged grin.

"Hey Miyuki, would you — "

"I'm not going to sit here and help you sell squid," they were instantly shut down.

"But why?!" Rin put on the best pleading puppy-dog eyes he could and handed a squid to the girl. She stared at it, face scrunching at the smell.

"Uh, no thanks...I can't eat hot food. I'm not even supposed to be in the heat for long," Carefully, she handed it back to the boy. He gave her a puzzled look. While Shima turned his back to man the grill, she nodded towards her hands. Rin's eyes widened at the sight of the icicles she formed on her fingertips, making her hand look like a claw. As soon as it was made, it began to melt.

"You're a snow woman...Right, sorry," he mumbled, sheepishly scratching the nape of his neck. She let the icicles fall from her hand and melt on the hot sand.

"It's fine," the Yuki-Onna shrugged. She noticed the beads of sweat rolling off of Rin's face and held her hand out to him. "I can cool you off if you want, though."

"Really?!" his eyes grew wide as he took her hand. She interlaced their fingers and exuded some gentle coolant through her palm. "Your hands are so cold! It feels good!" he gasped like a dumbfounded child.

"I wonder why?" Miyuki spat cooly. She stood there, surveying the crowded beach while Rin unconsciously laid his head on her shoulder. While his eyes sparkled with amusement, Miyuki furrowed her eyebrows. Usually, she'd be annoyed by this but, this time she didn't mind.

She found it funny that most people would be so terrified of her that they wouldn't dare get any closer than five feet. However, Rin didn't have that fearful glint in his eyes.

After a good five minutes, she managed to pull herself back down to Earth, "Alright, that's enough."

Rin shook his head as he was yanked out of the trance he put himself in. Cheeks reddening, he backed away from his classmate.

"Sorry! It's just you're like a — "

"If you call me an icebox one more time, I'll freeze your organs."

Instantly, the half-breed blanched. "Noted," he nodded sharply. Clearing her throat, Miyuki avoided eye contact with him by pointing towards the hotel they were staying in.

"I'll be freezing my hotel room if you need me," she explained with anawkward smile.

"Do you, uh, want some company? It's not like I've got anything going on here," he offered. Shima glared at him for a moment, causing him to char the squid he was frying. Miyuki hesitated.

"I don't think that's a good idea," she hummed, eyes glancing at the startled pinkette. When her cardinal orbs returned to Rin, she could see the disappointment in his face. She mentally reprimanded him for looking so pathetic then quickly reminded herself that this was her boss's son.

She let out a curt laugh, "These imbeciles need someone more...capable to be here if something were to go wrong. Can you handle that, Flame-brain?"

"Who're you calling Flame-brain, Ice Queen?" Despite his flushed face, Rin gave her a challenging grin. Miyuki couldn't help but scoff at the comeback. She shook her head then gave the azure-eyed boy a half-hearted salute.

"Call me if you need anything, dumbass."

With that, the Yuki-Onna walked away and began making her way down the beach. Rin watched her form fade until she was out of sight. Scratching his head, he turned towards Shima.

"Does she always leave you confused or is that just me?" he furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. His pink-haired classmate chuckled and shook his head.

"That girl is a total mystery to everyone, my friend," he confirmed.

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Miyuki let out an exasperated sigh as she finished drawing an altered pentagram on the ground. Her scarlet eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Alright...let's try this again," she mumbled under her breath while glancing down at the book she sat on the floor next to her. She took the blade she found and brought it up to her hand. Right as she did so, the door to her hotel room slowly opened.

"Hey, Miyuki, I got bored so I wanted to see if you needed...any...help...?"

Rin's eyes widened when he saw Miyuki slice through her palm. He nearly gagged and had to turn away as the crimson liquid dripped onto the pentagram.

"Come on..." she bit her lip in anticipation as it glowed. The circle pulsed for a second, searching for whatever she was trying to summon. Rin watched with shocked yet intrigued eyes.

Once a minute or so had passed, something appeared in the middle of the circle, followed by a large puff of smoke. Miyuki's ruby eyes lit up as she waited for it to dissipate. Her face fell when she noticed all she had summoned was a small imp. It let out a short yet high-pitched squeak once it saw her.

"M'lady..." the creature let their guard down instantly. "You aren't going to find her this way." Miyuki looked down so that her eyes were shadowed by her bangs. Even though she tried her best to hide it, Rin and Aliza could still see the tears welling up in her eyes.

"I know, Liza, I just-" she took a shaky breath and clenched her fists, "I just hoped she would be there. I keep thinking that maybe someday if I reach out to her, she'll appear." A pathetic chuckle slipped through her detection.

"Every demon knows who you are, M'lady. The last Yuki-Onna. You are responsible for carrying on the legacy of those before you," Aliza gave the girl a fanged grin.

"If Strix were here he'd be surprised by how mature you sound. Much different than the discord-loving imp that used to light things on fire and throw firecrackers at other demons," Miyuki couldn't contain her laughter. The thought of her old friend made the moment bittersweet.

"Strix would be proud of the fine young woman you've become," Aliza snickered. The imp's laugh somewhat resembled a hissing cat. Miyuki stayed quiet for a long while. "What happened was not your fault. Strix pushed you too hard. He should've known that He Who Shall Not Be Named had ulterior motives."

"How can I not blame myself, Liza? I killed him. Not exactly the best way to treat a friend," Miyuki averted her eyes. Her shoulders tensed up again when the door to her room let out a small squeak. She shot the intruder an icy look as Aliza stood on all fours with their back arched like an angry feline. The end of their tail began to spark up with vibrant flames like a firework.

"Sorry to, uh, interrupt...but I wanted to see if you needed any help with whatever you were doing." Rin awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "I guess you've got everything under control."

Aliza looked towards Miyuki with narrow eyes, "Who's this?"

"I was just about to say the same thing," Rin frowned.

Miyuki rubbed her temples to soothe the headache she could feel coming on. "Rin, this is Aliza. Aliza, Rin."

"Hi?" Rin waved at the small imp who had approached him. Aliza sniffed the lower half of his legs as they circled his body. They stopped in front of his feet then flashed their razor-sharp teeth.

"It's an honour, my young prince," they bowed deeply. Rin gasped and Miyuki's lips curled into a slight smile.

"How did you-" "Thank you, Aliza, for everything you've done for me," she gave the imp a quick pat on the head. Aliza grinned so widely that their white eyes were forced to close. Before anything else could be said, Miyuki ran her foot across the pentagram. Her imp friend disappeared in a puff of smoke with a dumbfounded Rin watching from the sidelines.

"What just happened...?" he asked in a hushed voice. His head jerked to the right when he heard Miyuki mumble something to herself. She was on her hands and knees, using a towel to clean up the blood and magic circle supplies. Her expression was dull yet somehow more melancholic than normal.

"Are you...ok?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" she asked coolly. There was a moment of silence between the two. Rin gently grabbed her arm and pulled her up to her feet.

"First of all, you're crying. Second of all, you're shaking like a leaf," he chuckled sheepishly. Miyuki's eyebrows raised in surprise as she touched her face and, sure enough, she felt tears fall from her eyes and turn to small crystals on her cheek. They were quickly wiped away.

"It's nothing to fret over so just go back outside and enjoy the beach," she tried to push Rin into the hall but he grabbed the door frame just before he was out of her room completely.

"Come with me. I know a place where you can clear your head," a hopeful smile spread across the fool's face. Miyuki opened her mouth to object but found that no sound came out. She shut her lips tightly and gave her fellow half-breed a curt nod. His smile grew instantly.

"Fine."

"Alright, let's go!"

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"Aliza and Strix had always been with me in the same way a king has his court. I cared for them, which was hard for me to do. Strix was a bit of a pompous bastard sometimes but that particular night I was having a rough day and I snapped," Miyuki explained simply. She shoved her hands into her pockets and unconsciously measured her steps out of pure boredom. When Rin didn't talk for the longest time, she smirked. "Have I scared you away, yet?"

"N-No, I'm just surprised you were friends with actual demons. I figured every one of them was just evil and wanted to kill me," he shrugged. Miyuki chuckled at that.

"Actually, some of them, like Strix, swear off their fiendish ways. It's not unheard of but it's not too common, either," she looked up to the evening sky, a single crow flying overhead.

"Next question," Rin quickly changed the subject, walking beside his demon friend. "What are you?"

"I'm a demon," Miyuki put simply as she blankly stared at the road before her. "A Yuki-Onna to be specific," she clarified.

"I know you can control ice and stuff," Rin raised an eyebrow mid-sentence, "But you look human like me. So, I'm guessing one of your parents were human?" he asked. Miyuki's steps delayed and she became hesitant.

"I'm not sure about where my father is but I think my mother is in Gehenna. That's why I keep trying to summon her. It never works, though," she aswered in a slightly hushed voice. This was an uncomfortable conversation for her to have, given that there was still much to be learned about her parents. She'd much rather be wasting away in her room.

"Who's Kaiya?" Rin followed up, realizing he was bad at making comfortable conversations.

"She was the woman who took care of me in the orphanage," Miyuki said while looking back up to the sky. She let out a soft and short chuckle.

"So you're an orphan?" Rin asked with a sigh of relief. The noirette at his side looked over to him, surprised by his reaction. "I was raised in a church...The priest who raised me was killed when I found out about my powers. He gave me this sword then sent me here with Yukio," Rin explained simply. Miyuki let out a brief laugh.

"Even if it's unintentional, it seems someone has to die for us to find out who we truly are," she looked down at her hands, eyes softening. Rin stared at her softly for a second. He decided not to ask her about what trauma occurred in her past. Instead, he pointed to an arcade they were about to pass.

"In here. Come on," he grinned. Miyuki raised an eyebrow.

"What is that?" she asked with uncertainty-filled eyes. Rin couldn't help but laugh.

"Have you seriously never been to an arcade before? They're awesome," his fanged smile made Miyuki unconsciously blush. She gnawed on the inside of her cheek as she sceptically gazed at the door.

"I'll be the judge of that...Let's get this over with," she grumbled. Rin intertwined his fingers with hers and held her hand as he hastily pulled her inside. Neither of them noticed once they entered the building.

Miyuki's eyes grew wide as her senses suddenly became fully alert. The sound of video games, buttons being mashed and conversations reduced to mere muffles filled her ears. She looked around the poorly lit room filled with screens and lights, an odd sense of wonder swelling in her chest.

Rin smirked as he gently tugged Miyuki in the direction of the games, "This one is always fun." The Yuki-Onna looked at the name printed on the side of the machine.

"What is a Pac-Man?" Miyuki furrowed her brow in confusion. Rin pointed to the small yellow ball moving along the screen

"That's him. You have to collect these little dots and all the fruit in order to win the game and pass to the next level," he explained while putting a token in the machine. He moved the joystick around smoothly, dodging ghosts and collecting dots. Miyuki watched him move through the first three levels with ease.

"What are the coloured things?" she asked.

"They're ghosts. If they catch you, you lose a life. Get caught three times and it's game over," Rin let his little character run straight into a ghost to show what he meant. The game made a loud noise, indicating that he had died. He notice Miyuki jump at the sound and unconsciously grab the loose part of his jacket's sleeve.

"Why would you do that?" she asked, genuinely perplexed. Rin nodded towards the machine.

"To show you what happens. You try," he stepped aside so she was now standing in front of the game. Her hand hesitantly touched the joystick. She bit her lip as the round restarted and slowly but surely she began to traverse the map. Her face was so determined as she collected two out of three fruit but her eyes grew wide when the ghosts began to get faster.

"Rin, help!" she snapped, now cornered by both the blue and pink pixels with eyes. Rin snorted in a poor attempt at containing his laughter. Still smiling, he put his hands over hers and led her out of the sticky situation she got herself into. When they got the last fruit, Miyuki's face lit up. She turned towards Rin, an uncharacteristically sincere smile plastered on her face.

"We did it!" The two of them laughed together as the winning animation and the top players flashed across the screen. No one had ever seen this side of Miyuki before and Rin felt as if he was seeing an exotic animal for the first time. He picked up the tickets they won then followed her to another game.

"What's this one?" she pointed to her next machine of interest.

"That's one of my favourites! You look at the arrow on the screen and you step on the same one down here," Rin pointed to the platform with coloured arrows that was attached to the game.

"Oh...It's like a weird matching game?" she asked. Rina nodded. He inserted some money into the game then held his hand out to her.

"Come play it with me. We can start easy," he smiled charmingly. Miyuki stared at him for a moment, sceptical of whether she should or not.

"Okay, but if you try anything I will freeze your limbs and shatter them," she grumbled as she took his hand and got up onto the platform. Rin chuckled nervously as a bead of sheepish sweat rolled off his temple.

"Noted."

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"I still can't believe we got enough points for it!" Miyuki squealed, holding up a stuffed orca high above her head. Rin couldn't help but laugh at how innocent and wholesome Miyuki seemed when she was having fun. It was like meeting a completely different person.

"I didn't realize we played three thousand points worth of games..." he scratched the back of his head nervously, "Yukio's gonna kill me."

"Rin, you have to commit. This is our son now," Miyuki abruptly spun around and shoved the whale into his hands. "His name will be...Chibi."

"Seriously?" Rin scrunched up his face, receiving a deadly glare from the Yuki-Onna. "Chibi it is," he swallowed the lump that formed in his throat.

"Now you only get him on weekends," Miyuki reached out to grab the whale, only for Rin to pull it away from her at the last second. She frowned. "Rin Okumura, give my back my son, now."

"And I am saying no," he grinned cheekily. Miyuki huffed, a sign that he should start running. That is exactly what he did.

Rin ran down the street with Miyuki chasing behind him. She came close to catching him a few times but he somehow managed to evade her. When she found herself back at the hotel with Rin leaning on the door tauntingly, she snarled.

Lunging forward, she managed to catch the door handle with her hand. Rin toppled backwards and into her room while she followed in suit. A curt, breathy laugh escaped her lips as she landed on top of him. She pinned his wrists down and wrapped her legs in his to keep him from moving.

"Ha!" she said breathily, "I...gotcha." The room was silent for a moment, the only noise being that of their laboured breaths. Less than six inches from each other's faces, they stared at each other.

"That's cheating," Rin frowned as he tried to wiggle his way out from under the noirette, only to realize she had him pinned. She giggled. The shaking of her shoulders caused her hair to fall and drape onto his chest.

"I'm just using my environment to my advantage. Strix's Combat Lesson number twenty-six," she smiled mischievously. Quickly, she shifted her body until she was sitting on top of Rin's abdomen. She plucked the whale from his hands with a sly "thank you" then gazed at it fondly.

"He's rather cute, don't you think?" she chortled, failing to remember she was still sitting atop Rin. He smirked devilishly before sharply turning over, causing Miyuki to fall to the floor. Once their roles were reversed, Miyuki's eyes grew wide. She felt her cheeks heat up as she took notice of their position. Rin's head was right beside hers now.

"Never let your guard down. Rin Okumura's Whale Retrieval Lesson number one," he said in a tone that sent shivers down Miyuki's spine. She had a suspicious feeling that he didn't know how his actions were being perceived. Miyuki didn't say anything for the longest time. "What? Are you done playing?"

Miyuki parted her lips to answer but instantly forced them into a fine line instead. She let out a small sigh as she gently pushed Rin off of her and stood up.

"You should go. I'm sure Shima's getting worried by now and I don't want to keep you too late," her words were cold but her eyes conveyed a hint of sadness hidden deep away. Rin knit his eyebrows together.

"You're not alone, you know You have me and the others. Don't be afraid of letting people get close to you," he spoke quietly and with a soft smile.

Miyuki narrowed her eyes, tightening her hands into fists as she watched him stand. Rin didn't know what she was thinking, thus he couldn't decide what else to say and kept it at that.

"I used to think that wanting to protect people is what makes us normal...Connected us to the rest of humanity...But once that's put in danger and taken away from you...What's left to keep you from being a heartless demon just like all the others?" Miyuki's scarlet eyes fell to the floor.

"Miyuki..." Rin frowned. She paused for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. Slowly, her fists loosened and she took a step closer to Rin.

"Thank you for today. It's been a while since I've enjoyed myself this much," she mumbled, wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He said nothing as he stood their for a moment, completely shocked at her sudden vulnerability.

"What are friends for?" he chuckled briskly. His arms came up and wrapped around her back, pulling her in by an inch or so. Her face was buried in the crook of his neck and she clung to his neck tightly, as if she would slip away at any moment.

"Friends...Yeah. That sounds nice," she closed her blood-coloured eyes. Hayami Miyuki, the Last Yuki-Onna and infamous killer, could now proudly declare today the best mistake she ever made.