Chapter 15: Lost
"Rin, please get down from the wall, it's not safe."
Rin pouted but did as his brother asked and hopped down from the wall he'd been walking along with Kuro.
The brothers and familiar were out for one of their daily walks around the campus, as Rin couldn't exactly be kept inside all the time.
Yukio frowned when his phone rang, the caller ID indicating that the call would have to be private.
"Rin, stay where I can see you." Yukio instructed his brother, walking a short distance away.
Huffing, Rin began to wander around, making sure not to leave Yukio's line of sight like instructed.
Playing with Kuro for a bit, Rin quickly grew bored, deciding to leave the familiar to his own devices as he wandered further away while still remaining in Yukio's sight.
Kuro moved to follow Rin, only for his nose to catch an enticing scent.
Following the scent, Kuro was amazed to find a whole cooked fish just lying there, begging for the familiar to eat it.
Before Kuro could question why a cooked fish was just lying on the ground, he was already digging into the delicious meal, happy to have something so yummy after Yukio had subjected him to nothing but canned cat food.
Unaware of Kuro's distraction, Rin continued walking until he came to a stop to look at the scenery.
Scratching his neck, Rin's fingers met with two different strings of the necklaces he's been given. Pulling at one of them in boredom, the stone Coraline had given him popped out from under his shirt.
The stone had yet to prove itself to be anything more than a stone with a hole in it, but Rin still kept it because that Exorcist lady had given it to him with the promise that it would help, and Rin didn't think she was lying.
Holding the hole up to his eye, Rin looked around through it, the world looking no different.
But then Rin caught sight of something peering from around the corner of a wall before quickly pulling back.
Lowering the stone, Rin cocked his head at the wall, wondering what he'd just seen.
Gazing back at Yukio, Rin found him still involved in his phone call.
So, making sure that he still remained in Yukio's sight like he was told, Rin walked forward so that he could see what was around the corner of the wall.
"Daisuke!" Rin's voice became strangled at the sight of his friend, preventing his exclamation from reaching Yukio's ears.
"Hi, Rin." The young boy waved.
Rin didn't think as he pulled the boy he hadn't seen since their rescue into a hug.
"I missed you." Rin cried.
They pulled apart just before Yukio looked at Rin to check on him, so to the older boy it looked as if Rin was just standing there as he waited, Daisuke still around the corner and thus unseen.
Fooled into thinking nothing was wrong, Yukio took his focus off of Rin, though still kept his brother in his sight.
"I missed you too." Daisuke said to Rin. "But now we can be together again."
"Really? Dad find you?" Rin asked hopefully.
"You're dad?" Daisuke's face scrunched up in confusion. "No, Mami found all of us. Saved us from the people who kept us apart."
Rin's hope dropped like a stone.
"You need to come with me, it's not safe for you here." Daisuke told Rin.
Rin took a step back from his friend, realising that he was still firmly under Mami's sway.
He also took notice of Daisuke's poor state of dress and that his friend looked rather sick.
"Daisuke, I'm safe here, with my family." Rin told his friend. "Mami is the dangerous one."
"Mami is the only one who cares for us and who can keep us safe." Daisuke argued. "The monsters followed us back from the city and they're waiting to take us again."
Rin shook his head, unable to understand why Daisuke could believe such a thing.
"Mami's the monster, did you not see her become that thing and attack everyone. And she's the one who took us to that city in the first place." Somehow, Rin was finding the strength to speak in full sentences.
Daisuke frowned.
"Mami's not a monster, just because she looks like that. She says that it's all a big misunderstanding and that the people who took us from her aren't willing to understand, just attacking her. She's just trying to look after us."
Rin's heart clenched as Daisuke explained his view.
The explanation sounded so temping to believe.
That Mami was not truly evil and that everything was a result of the adults not stopping to listen to each other, that he could be with both Mami and his family once the misunderstanding was cleared up.
Rin gripped his sleeves tightly as his mind was filled with confusion, battling with what he should believe.
"And those people who took us kept us apart." Daisuke continued to argue. "You wanted to see us all again too, right? But they wouldn't let you?"
Rin shook his head, he hadn't been allowed to see his friends since the hospital.
"But Mami came and saved us all, so we can be safe together." Daisuke said. "We can all be together again now."
"The others." Rin mumbled.
Daisuke nodded frantically.
"They're all waiting for us, just over there." Daisuke pointed down the hill. "I was told to come get you."
"There." Rin looked longingly towards where his friends supposedly were.
"Yes." Daisuke said. "Come on, they're waiting for us."
Rin's heart skipped. He could finally see his friends again.
But then Rin remembered Yukio before he could take a step to follow Daisuke.
"Wait, I need to tell oniichan." Rin said.
Daisuke's hands flew to Rin's mouth before he could call out for his brother.
"No!" Daisuke said urgently but quietly. "He's one of them. The people who took us. If you tell him, we'll never be able to see the others again, they'll keep us apart forever."
Rin's voice froze in his throat at the prospect.
Rin looked over to his brother, who was still distracted by his phone call.
"Come on, they're waiting for us. Don't you want to see them again? We've all missed you." Daisuke continued to plead. "Just a little bit down the hill and we can all be together again. Don't you want that."
Rin nodded.
He really wanted to see his friends again, to see if they were alright with his own eyes.
And if he called out to Yukio, Yukio would call for the other adults and then Rin wouldn't be able to see the others again.
"J-just see." Rin came to a compromise, forcing himself to speak. "Need to stay."
He would go to see his friends, to see that they were all there. But he wouldn't go with them.
Daisuke nodded, though looked sad.
"Okay." He said. "Come on then."
Looking back at his brother one last time, Rin followed after Daisuke.
From on top of the wall above the children, a black cat watched with narrow eyes.
…
Bon, Renzou and Miwa were walking between classes when they spotted Rin and another boy walking down a hill together.
"Huh, I didn't know there was another kid here." Renzou commented.
"Rin seems to look better, considering how upset he was yesterday." Miwa noted. "Though, I would have expected Okumura-sensi to be watching over him."
"He's probably not far." Bon dismissed. "We need to get to class."
"Hey, I'd say making sure that children are alright would be a viable excuse to be late." Renzou said, though followed his friend towards their next class regardless.
Not even a minute later, the students came across Yukio, who was looking around frantically.
"Have you seen Rin?" Yukio asked as soon as he saw his students.
"Uh, yeah, just over that way with that other kid." Renzou answered, pointing back to where Rin and the boy had been.
Yukio's eyes widened.
"Other boy?" He asked. "The only child here is Rin."
The three students quickly went into alert, realising that the situation was more dire than they originally realised.
Yukio didn't waste anymore time with talking, racing off in the direction Renzou had pointed.
Forgoing their class, the three students joined Yukio in chasing down Rin and the unknown boy.
…
Rin came to a stop as Daisuke continued walking.
"Come on, just over here." Daisuke goaded his friend.
For some reason, Rin felt an icy feeling in his chest at the thought of taking another step, like stepping out of bed when there was something hiding under it.
Fiddling with the stone the Exorcist Lady had given him, Rin hid it back underneath his clothing, feeling it settle reassuringly alongside the charm Yukio had given him when he'd left for True Cross.
…
The four teenage boys ran towards the edge of the protections around True Cross, trying their best to find Rin.
"How could those kids have gotten so far?" Renzou panted.
The time that passed between seeing the children and meeting with Yukio should have not allowed the children to have gotten so far way. Meaning that demonic forces were likely at play.
"I think I see them!" Bon shouted, spotting some shapes in the distance and increasing his speed.
"Rin!" Yukio yelled at the top of his lungs, hoping his brother would hear him.
…
Rin almost turned at the faint call of his name, only for Daisuke to yank him around.
"Look!" Daisuke said excitedly.
Rin's eyes widened as his friend came into view, all of them.
Distantly, Rin noticed that they all looked unwell in some way. June in particular looked as if she wasn't present in her own body. But Rin was too distracted by finally seeing his friends again too let it stop him from walking forward.
"Rin!"
"It's great to see you."
"Come here!"
The children greeted Rin as he walked towards them.
A figure emerged from the shadows behind the children, looming over them with a gentle smile on her face that stopped Rin in his tracks.
"Mami." Rin whispered at the sight of the demon.
"Rin, my little angel." Mami smiled, arms open wide.
Despite everything, Rin wanted so desperately to run into them.
"Come home, now. We're all waiting for you." Mami temped.
"Yeah, come on."
"Let's go, Rin."
"Mami's going to take us home."
The other children added to the temptation.
Rin started to move his foot, though whether it was to go forward or backward he didn't know.
"Rin!"
The young boy startled, turning to see his brother and three students running towards him.
"Stop!" Yukio shouted again. "Come away from them."
Rin was just inside the protective wards around True Cross, meaning that Rin was still safe from Mami grabbing him despite being so close to him. All Yukio needed to do was grab his brother.
Unfortunately, while Mami was unable to cross the barrier, her children had already proven that they could.
Just as Rin blinked, as if coming awake from a trance, and moved towards Yukio, several of the children lunged forward and grabbed onto Rin, pulling him back and out of the barrier.
"No!" Yukio cried out, going for his guns.
But it was too late, as soon as the children had pulled Rin across the barrier, Mami grabbed him along with the other children, shifting into her demonic form with a triumphant grin on her face.
Yukio raised his guns at the Beldam, not hesitating in firing.
"Hey, there are kids in the way!" One of Yukio's students protested.
With Yukio's skilled aim, the bullets passed by the children and hit Mami, the Beldam winced slightly but otherwise looked unbothered by the bullets now that she had Rin in her hold, like the bullets were nothing more than small stones thrown at her.
The students tried their best to help Yukio, but they were unfortunately all Arias, who had no idea what type of demon Mami even was to attempt a fatal verse.
So, the teens could do nothing but chase Mami as she ran off with the children.
"Oniichan!" Rin cried out for his brother, struggling in Mami's hold.
Rin's enhanced strength almost allowed him to pull free, but he was still only a child and Mami was now feeding off him again, meaning that all the Beldam needed to do was tighten her grip.
The teens ran as fast as they could, but they were no match for the demon, Rin's cries for help fading into the distance.
"Damn it!" Bon grunted when he realised they'd lost the demon. "I can't believe we let a child get taken right in front of us like that. I should have known something was wrong."
It was unclear to the three students whether the other children were also victims, or demons in the form of children to trick Rin, considering that they grabbed him.
"Rin." Yukio muttered in shock, unable to believe that he'd let Rin be taken from him just like that.
He'd only looked away for a minute, and they were supposed to be safe within the wards of True Cross.
"Hey, man, we'll get him back." Renzou was the one to try and comfort.
"We should alert the other teachers." Miwa suggested.
The students had to take Yukio's phone from him in order to call the teachers, as Yukio was in no state to do anything, trying hard and failing to not break down.
It was just like that day, seven years ago, all over again.
…
Author's note: Please comment
This is one of those chapters where it, if I was putting effort into making a full story, would be longer and with more detail, rather than what you got. As it is, I'm honestly surprised that the wordcount is as high as it is for this chapter, considering that the entire chapter plan was "characters go out, Rin finds Daisuke, Daisuke lures Rin away, Mami takes Rin".
I actually had to go back and write Kuro into this chapter, as I'd forgotten he existed for some reason. That's also why he wasn't in the last chapter, I honestly forgot that I'd put him with Rin.
Anyway, I don't know how many chapters the story will have left, it should be at least two with the fight against Mami and then the wrapping up of everything in the final chapter, but I don't know whether the tracking down and fight against Mami will take up more than one chapter or not.