Ch. 2
Our trip to New York was set for the summer. In the meantime, there was still daily life to contend with.
~
Rin woke up late on Monday, as usual. Stretching her arms above her head, she listened to her mother moving about downstairs. A single clock chime came from the family's clock, one Rin knew indicated the half-hour mark. Glancing out her window, Rin judged it must be about 1:30; the sun was not quite overhead and she could hear the squawks of well-fed seagulls, fresh from pestering restaurants for scraps.
Rubbing her eyes, Rin left her room and stumbled into the bathroom. Blinking away the last of her sleep, the half-demon surveyed her reflection. Her short brown hair was tousled from leaning against her wall and her clothing was more than a little rumpled. With a grin, Rin reached for her toothbrush and scrubbed both her fangs and back teeth. The minty taste of the toothpaste awakened her taste buds and her stomach rumbled. Rin spat out the toothpaste and splashed water on her face, not bothering with soap. She'd spend most of the day outside; she could bathe properly later. The half-demon studied her hair again and raked her claws through the light brown strands. Good enough!
As for her clothing, well, a few tugs on her sleeveless shirt and the dark red material didn't look too bad. Rin tightened the small belt that kept the slit garment from slipping out of her knee-length shorts. There, she was ready!
As she might have guessed, her mother was in the kitchen, having her second lunch-time cup of tea. Her dark curly hair was loose around her shoulders and she was garbed in a light lavender dress. She looked up from her book as her daughter entered, her lips curved in a loving smile.
"There you are, Rin! I was wondering if you wanted me to make you a sandwich."
"Thanks, but I heard seagulls outside. You know I can't resist."
Miranda Trotter chuckled, looking back at her paperback. "That I do, dear. Just try not to get feathers caught in your hair again."
"Hey, I can't help it if they struggle! I'll be back in a bit, but I'll probably go out again later." Rin opened the kitchen door leading out onto the beach when her mother's voice stopped her.
"Are going to... to see him?"
"Hai. Probably." Rin didn't need to look over her shoulder; she knew the expression on her mother's face all too well.
"Give him my love," Miranda said softly.
Rin nodded. "I will, Okaa-san. See you later."
The sand was warm under her bare feet and there was only the hint of a breeze over the ocean. Spreading her wings, the half-demon ran a few paces, then jumped. Within seconds, she was soaring through the clear blue sky, the world of humans far below her.
Rin flapped her wings, shooting through the air like an arrow from a bow. Ahh, this was where she belonged. To hell with walking; Rin may not have been a full bat demon, but she was born to fly!
Ahead, Rin could make out a few dark smudges. Clearer too was the angry squawk of seagulls fighting over some last scrap of bread or meat. One particularly large bird, its feathers creamy white, left the flock and flew towards the half-demon. It was but the work of a moment for Rin to clamp her jaws around the gull's neck and with one expert snap, she had lunch!
Banking around, Rin flew past the dunes and landed in a small grassy field, its center dominated by a large hill. While still technically her family's property, plenty of people walked through this meadow or had picnics here. Rin's mother and stepfather never seemed to mind; Rin herself didn't care so long as said people stayed away from the top of the hill. And considering what was up there, most people did.
Landing at the edge of the hill, Rin dropped the seagull and walked to the center of the hill. Kneeling down, Rin eyed the small wooden structure; a shrine painted red and black, its roof etched with the image of a bat in flight, circled by kanji. Rin eyed the symbols with a practiced eye. Tomoko Kurosaki. Beloved husband and father. He gave his life so that others would not suffer.
Rin's eyes narrowed. Her mother had chose the epitaph and she had chosen wisely, in Rin's opinion. But the words went unremembered and unappreciated. Indeed, most of her neighbors didn't speak of Tomoko unless they absolutely had to and even then, they often looked afraid to do so. So much for the kind demon who had given his life for them.
"Hello, Father," Rin said. "Mother says hi too. She wanted me to give you her love. But you probably already knew that." Rin paused, unsure of what to say. "James's birthday was last Saturday. He's six now and I took him flying again. He's in school now, so I decided to visit you."
No response came from the shrine. Rin hadn't expected one, but even after so many visits to her father's resting place, the silence still felt so heavy. What she wouldn't give just to hear Father's voice again, to feel his powerful wings wrapped her, to know that she was safe so long as he was around. But no, Father was gone. He'd been gone for twelve years and wishing wouldn't bring him back.
Oh well, she might as well get on with her day. Standing up, Rin bowed to her father's shrine and then backed away until she'd reached the place where she'd placed the seagull. Only then did she retrieve the dead animal and turn away, striding down the hill and flopping onto the grass.
With her claws, Rin stripped the bird of its feathers and sank her fangs into its thick neck. The gull's body was still warm and the taste of the fresh meat was nothing short of exquisite. The hungry half-demon tore the flesh from the gull in gulps, but took her time picking the bones. Though hollow and easy to crack, Rin always enjoyed chewing on the bones of the seagulls she ate. Hey, it kept her teeth in good shape!
Licking her lips, Rin leaned back against the grass and closed her eyes. Perhaps she'd take a quick nap now and be fresh for some real flying later tonight. Of course, she didn't have to sleep; Rin was more than content to just lay here and savor the isolation.
Unfortunately, said isolation was shattered by the sound of high-pitched laughter and light footsteps. Sitting up, Rin sniffed the air and groaned. Not them!
Sure enough, a troop of girls Rin's age spilled into the meadow from the town side. All of them were clutching books and backpacks; obviously, the schoolgirls had decided to take the shortcut home today. Rin gritted her teeth; how lucky for her.
One familiar girl with curly blond hair and delicate features spotted Rin and halted, her blue eyes widening. Rin stared back, taking in the girl's pastel sundress, patent leather shoes, and blue hair ribbons. Next to Angie Williamson, Rin knew she looked particularly scruffy.
She didn't give one damn!
"What are you doing here?" Angie spat, perfect brows furrowing.
"I was enjoying the peace and quiet," Rin answered. "Guess that's over." She sneered at the other three girls, noting the uncomfortable expressions on their faces. One of them, a dark-haired short girl, dropped her eyes entirely. What a shock.
"Well, then, perhaps you should be going," Angie replied hauntingly. "Goodness, I'd like to know what gives someone like you the right to be here."
Ahh, a battle of wits, was it? This should be interesting. Rin stood up, stretching her wings.
"Well, Angie, that would be the Demon-Human Treaty of 1870." Pausing to regard her enemy's stunned face, Rin continued. "You see, a year after the Boshin War in Japan ended, an agreement was made between the emperor and the major demon lords. They agreed that in return for the demons not randomly attacking humans, each major demon family would be given specific territories to rule and govern. The treaty also allows demons to settle in human territories so long as they abide by human laws. And with Japan open to foreigners after the war, the treaty was eventually amended to allow demons to settle in foreign human territories as well."
The girls gaped at the young half-demon, their eyes bulging. Rin grinned at Angie, exposing her fangs.
"Aww, what's wrong, Angie? Did they not teach you that in school? Oh, you're probably still working on colors, right?"
"You... you... I hate you!" Angie's mouth was clearly working faster than her brain.
"Oh trust me, the feeling's mutual. Do tell, Angie, do you still throw rocks at people who outshine you?"
"You... you... monster! That's all you are!"
"At least I'm not a total bitch!" Rin shot back.
"And you have a filthy mouth!" Angie shrieked, striding back to her friends.
"Better a filthy mouth than a filthy personality!" Rin shouted back, waving. Chuckling, she was about to leap back into the air when she heard one of the girls off in the distance.
"Be right back. I have to ask her something. My mum's orders." Rin paused. Well, well, this was new. Folding her arms, Rin waited as the short girl re-entered the meadow and stopped short a few feet away from the half-demon.
"Well, Abby, what does your mother want?" Rin asked. Abby Williams fidgeted, looking down at her shoes.
"Oh, I get it. You had something to tell me, but you couldn't act like you wanted to talk to me. Nice." Rin rolled her eyes as Abby began to stammer.
"Look, Rin, what Angie said, she-"
"-meant every word. I'm not new to this, you know."
"Look, I just wanted..."
"Abby, save it. We're not friends, we're just neighbors. Unless you have something important to talk about, you can just trot on back to your alpha with your tail between your legs."
Abby's face flushed. "I was just trying to help! You don't know what it's like, knowing that if you say the wrong thing to someone, they'll turn on you in an instant!"
"Like I care."
"Well, I do. Not all of us can just waltz through life without worrying about others!" Abby shouted as she too turned away from Rin. The half-demon watched her neighbor vanish down the well-worn path before taking flight. Humph, whatever. If Abby wanted to live her life on the whim of another, that was her problem. And besides, just because Abby's mother was friends with Rin's mother didn't mean the girls had to go out of their way to be nice to each other. Abby had made that clear a long time ago; Rin had simply followed suit.
Feh, what was she worrying about those stupid girls for? She had to get home! Putting on a burst of speed, Rin spotted her house and dropped out of the sky just as Henry's car came to a halt in the driveway. Together, Henry and James emerged, the later with a huge smile.
"Rin! You're back!"
"How was that for an entrance?" Rin asked returning James's enthusiastic hug.
"I think my heart skipped a beat," Henry answered, but the grin on his face was a dead giveaway.
"Well, fine, I'll pay the doctor's bill." James giggled and took his sister's hand. Rin allowed her younger sibling to pull her toward the house, where their mother was waiting on the front porch.
"Want to see my work from today, Rin?"
"Sure. Lead the way." Rin sighed; giving up afternoon flying hours in order to have James show her his schoolwork?
She was fine with that.
~
Looking back on it, I would've gone out of my way to be nice to Angie and the others if it could've prevented what happened next. As it is, I'm just grateful I was wise enough to spend that much time with my family.