A.N/: Thank you so much for reviewing/following/reading this story! I never expected it to get so much attention!

I guess this chapter is a bit more 'light hearted' since Rin was so depressed in the last ones. Beware though, this one includes a hungry Kuro, a very angry/tsundere Rin and pancakes.

Chapter 6

The next day was Sunday, meaning there was no school and Rin was allowed to sleep in the whole morning. So, of course you could tell he was shocked when he was woken up by the sound of the doorbell. He cursed/mumbled something in his still half asleep state and buried himself under the covers, thinking the person at the door would just go away but they didn't. Every few minutes the bell's ear-ripping sound would be heard and at some point Rin just had had enough.

He sat up in his bed grumpily, knowing that he would have to go to the door since Yukio wasn't there at this unholy hour of the morning ("I have to go to an important meeting for the student's representatives" he had said last night.).

"What time is it...?" Rin mumbled sleepily as Kuro jumped off the bed and started babbling about breakfast.

Rin looked over at the alarm clock beside his bed and his eyes grew as wide as saucers.

7:43 a.m.

"HOLY SH**** !"

The bell rang again and that was the last straw. Rin stormed down the stairs of the empty dorm he shared with Yukio not minding in the slightest the small Cait Sith following him and crying out something about food. He practically dived downstairs as the bell sounded again and again and again…and when he finally reached the front door, he literally slammed it open without a care in the world and began shouting:

"WHY FOR F***'S SAKE DOES ANYONE COME AT THIS GODAMN HOUR ON A FREAKING SUNDAY MORNING!? WHAT IN THE UNHOLY NAME OF MEPHISTO…!" He inspected his surroundings and saw no one in front of him which resulted in his temper rising higher if possible. DUDE WHAT THE F***! DAMMIT! SHOW YOUR FACE YOU FILTHY BASTA…!"

Rin stopped mid sentence when his eyes finally landed on the source of his misery. A girl, platinum blonde hair, peachy pale skin, blue and pink kimono, transfixing green eyes… 'Shit!'

"Good morning to you too…" She sighed rubbing her forehead, probably from the pain the door caused when he violently jerked it open. She lied on the ground before the stone steps of the dorm.

"Damn, Shiemi I'm so sorry!" Rin started freaking out.

"It's okay, you opened the door so fast that I fell… My head hurts."

"Let me see." Rin offered his hand to pull her up. It was the least he could do after his mad rant. She took it but he pulled –not so accidently- a bit too hard and she collided with his toned chest.

She didn't pull away immediately for some obscure reason (maybe the shock?) and let her hand rest on his stomach. Only she expected to feel cotton or a fabric of some sort…Not strong tensed muscles behind fair skin. That's when she realized he was shirtless and pulled away rapidly.

"Ri…Rin!" She exclaimed, blushing crimson red.

The boy stared confused before realizing where her gaze was directed. 'Daaaaaamn!'

"Err…Just come in, I'll go put something on!" Rin smiled sheepishly.

As soon as he had led her to the cafeteria of the old abandoned dorm he ran up the stairs, put on whatever shirt he could find and brought Kuro downstairs with him to grab some breakfast.

Shiemi was seated at the table closest to the kitchen counter but he noticed a big box on it.

"Err what's that?" He asked still a bit embarrassed by what had happened a few minutes ago.

"It's Yukio's supplies. He said it was important he got them fast so I brought them this morning as soon as I could. Is he here?" She explained with still a little rosy tint on her cheeks.

"Ah, stupid four eyes…" Rin sighed leaning against the counter. "He went to some meeting this mornin', said it could take some time…"

"I see…"

The silence that followed was so heavy, they both wanted the ground to just swallow them so they would disappear. But unexpectedly, they broke the silence at the same time:

"I'm sorry!" They stared into each other's eyes in surprise. "Me first! No me!" They had spoken in perfect synch again. They stayed motionless for a second before bursting out laughing.

"Man…" Rin said when he finally managed to catch his breath. "I'm sorry I started shouting like that, I didn't expect you to be at the door." He scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "How's your forehead?"

"I'm fine, it's just a bruise. I'm sorry for waking you up so early too." She apologized.

"Don't worry about it." He assured her though he struggled to stifle his yawns.

"Rin!"

The boy turned to Kuro who just jumped on the table where Shiemi was seated.

"Rin! I want pancakes for breakfast!" The little black Cait Sith exclaimed licking his mouth.

"Right! Have you eaten breakfast yet?" Rin nodded towards Shiemi who was staring at Kuro with that 'he's so cute' look all girls had for pets.

"Ah! Actually I haven't…" She focused her attention back to Rin.

"Do pancakes sound good?" Shiemi nodded enthusiastically and he smirked.

After about twenty minutes Rin presented a plate of magnificent pancakes covered with maple syrup and various red berries on top.

Shiemi –and Kuro- gaped at the immense pile Rin had made. "Wow! This looks delicious Rin!" She exclaimed with glitters in her eyes.

The chef smiled proudly. He had decided he would learn how to bake pancakes a few weeks ago since it was so simple and now it was coming in useful!

"Take some before Kuro eats them all." He said.

"Yeah, she'd better!" Kuro grinned from ear to ear, just like a Cheshire cat.

Rin laughed heartily at that as he took some pancakes for himself after Shiemi had helped herself. Even though she was so small, she was known among the Exwires to be a big eater. She took at least ten of Rin's pancakes and finished them with ease, even taking more afterwards! Rin made fun of her for it and she scowled at him, which made him laugh in turn. He was happy to spend some good time with her like that, and if she was too, it couldn't be any better.

"How did you learn to cook so well? You never got to explain…" Shiemi asked after they had finished the last of the delicious pancakes. She was caressing Kuro's chin as he purred and rolled on his back since his belly was so round that he couldn't support himself on his little paws anymore.

"Yukio and I used to live in a monastery where none of the priests knew how to cook, so one day I decided I would learn."

"You're such a great cook! I wish I could bake stuff like that…" Shiemi mused now scratching Kuro's round tummy.

"Thanks…"He blushed slightly but a glint of determination soon flickered in his cobalt blue eyes. 'It's now or never…' he thought clenching his fists under the table. "You know, maybe I could teach you…If you want…" he lowered his head as he felt his cheeks grow warmer.

"You could?" She asked eagerly. Rin nodded. "That would be great!"

"Really? You want to?" Rin couldn't believe it. He was overjoyed to have an opportunity to spend more time with her. He smiled widely like a kid who had been promised some chocolate.

"Yeah! Then I'll be able to cook something great for Renzo!"

Rin's face fell. 'It's for him. She wants to learn how to cook for him.' He lowered his head to try and hide his eyes behind his bangs. He got his hopes up too high and now he paid the consequences. 'I'm her friend, nothing more. It'll have to sink in.'

"Rin?" Shiemi asked worriedly seeing his mood had considerably darkened after her last comment. He lifted his head back up and gave her a forced smile.

"We'll arrange something. But you'll have to follow my every order!" He warned her.

Shiemi giggled and put her hand above her head in a salute. "Yes captain!"

Rin chuckled lightly. She brought her hand back down in a flash since Kuro complained loudly that she wasn't scratching him anymore. When she got back to work on his belly he started purring again to show his delight.

"He's so cute…" Shiemi let that comment slip without paying attention but the Cait Sith mewed in appreciation before opening an eye to gaze at his master.

"This girl is nice Rin, is she your mate?"

Rin –who had been in the process of drinking some orange juice- spit half of it out on the side in shock and almost choked.

"Rin, are you ok?" Shiemi turned to her best friend, surprised at his sudden reaction. She –unlike Rin- couldn't hear demon's voices.

"It's okay..." He stopped mid-sentence to cough a few times. "…Don't worry"

Silence engulfed them after that. Rin tried not to stare at Shiemi while she was still patting Kuro but as she did so, her mind seemed elsewhere. She decided to share her thoughts after a while.

"Rin, can I ask you something?"

The boy looked over at her again and noticed her gaze downcast and the rosy tint on her cheeks, probably from embarrassment at what she was going to ask. Rin braced himself before replying.

"Shoot."

"Have you…ever had a girlfriend?"

Ouch. Answering that would hurt his pride as well as embarrass him greatly. But what did he have to lose? He trusted Shiemi and honestly didn't think she would go and repeat a personal conversation like that to anyone.

"No, never. Why do you ask?"

"Really? Not even one?" Shiemi seemed truly surprised by his answer.

"Nope…Why are you looking at me like that?" He blushed tomato red as she stared at him in disbelief.

"It's just so hard to believe, you seem just like the kind of boy girls like."

It was Rin's turn to stare disbelievingly at her. "You really think so?"

"Yeah, I mean you're kind, funny and from what I saw earlier…" She blushed at the memory of his fine muscles. "…Rather athletic too…"

At this point Rin was far worse than a tomato. 'Does she really think that about me!?' Even though he was extremely flattered and would treasure these words forever in his mind he waved it off and mustered the courage to finally ask:

"Why do you wanna know?"

Shiemi lifted her eyes up and met his to try and convince him better even though it sounded stupid to her. "I wanted to know if you could tell me about relationships, you know…How it works when you're with someone…" She was too embarrassed to withstand his intense gaze anymore so she turned her head to the side. "Renzo's my first boyfriend ever…"

"I'm sorry I can't help." Rin sighed apologetically, scratching the back of his head.

"Don't worry about it." She gave him a small smile. "Just one more thing…" 'Come on Shiemi, ask him! Just ask him the dumb question' she encouraged herself. "Since you didn't ever have a girlfriend, I suppose you…You never kissed someone, did you?"

'Damn, just when I thought this couldn't get any more awkward.' Rin cursed in his mind. He looked back into Shiemi's eyes and it was just like the other day back in the corridor behind the pillar. Time stopped, and he only saw her and her pleading green eyes. She looked as if she was asking him a favor by telling her about past experiences. He couldn't refuse her that, not with that 'sad puppy' look on her pretty face.

"No, I've never kissed any girl." 'Though I wish I could right now.' He added in his mind.

"Me neither."

Rin stared at her in confusion so she explained better. "I haven't kissed Renzo…And I'm not sure I want to yet…"

The half demon couldn't help but be glad to hear that. Holding hands and embracing were already bad but kissing would be way worse to him, he wouldn't be able to stand it.

"It's okay, I'm sure he can wait."

"I hope so…"She lowered her head in thoughts before she remembered something and stood up. "I'm sorry, I have to go. My mother asked me to come back ASAP to help her with the shop, she'll be so mad if I stay any longer."

"Tell her it's my fault if she starts yelling at you, that I made you wait on the doorstep." Rin stood up as well.

He accompanied her to the door and waved back at her when she said goodbye. Even when she was gone he couldn't help but think about her and their awkward conversation. He only found one solution to his problem at this unholy hour on a Sunday morning:

"Come on Kuro, let's go back to sleep."

A.N/: To those who wondered about Renzo only using Shiemi to get to Izumo well...It's part of the truth. He thinks she is cute so he doesn't mind dating her but he is nowhere near as in love with her as Rin is! That was just to clarify things a bit.^^

Next chapter will have a very jealous and frustrated Rin... So stay tuned!

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