A.N/: I'm soooooooooo sorry for the long wait!.

Anyway, I'm not going to keep you so just go ahead and read (and enjoy)!

Chapter 12

Rin hadn't bothered taking an umbrella in his bag this morning and now he suffered the consequences: He was completely drenched in freezing cold water, running under the heavy autumn rain. He didn't have the key for the Exorcism shop like Yukio did. Exwires couldn't have it, though he was pretty sure Shiemi possessed one since she lived there. That would explain why he hadn't bumped into her on his way to her house.

Rin didn't care in the least about the rain right now. He had to go find answers, that was his only goal. He was a bit less confused than before but still needed to talk to Shiemi. She did kiss him after all…

Hope wasn't lost, if she returned his feelings then he could be by her side again! The corners of his mouth turned upwards at the thought, rain drops drawing the line of his lips and running down his chin. Then he remembered how broken she looked when he didn't say anything back to her after her short kiss. A spark of determination flickered in his cobalt blue eyes again. 'We have to fix all this once and for all.' He thought, speeding up through the curtain of gray rain.

The Moriyama's shop soon came into view. Rin lifted up his gaze to admire the ancient Asian styled house, still running right ahead of him on the long bridge that linked the shop to the rest of the academy.

He finally stopped running when he reached the entrance of the exorcism shop after climbing up the slippery stone steps leading to the door. He caught his breath in a few minutes as he was protected from the rain by the porch. His heart starting beating madly in his chest when he looked up and faced the imposing wooden door in front of him. 'Ok, deep breaths…Calm down…Oh, who am I kidding? What am I gonna do!?' He started panicking, shaking his head back and forth and throwing away a few drops of water from his hair. He slowly raised his trembling hand to the door. 'Knock.' He ordered himself. 'Come on, just knock already!'

And so he did, scolding himself right afterwards for being so stupid as he waited for someone to answer. First there was silence but then a small voice behind the door called out a feeble "It's open".

Rin recognized Shiemi's shaky voice. 'She's been crying all this time?' he wondered silently before reaching for the door handle to come in. The door creaked a bit as he closed it behind him, facing away from the counter of the shop were Shiemi was probably seated. When he turned around he briefly saw her puffy wide red eyes before she turned away to hide her face. He figured his theory had been correct since she briskly wiped away the few stray tears left on her cheeks. Rin settled his gaze on her.

"Shiemi…" The words came and went out of his mind and he couldn't decide on which ones to pick.

"What are you doing here…?" She inquired in a small shy voice, still looking away from him. She had tried to sound mad but had obviously failed.

"I… I came to get things straight." Rin said a little bashfully. He inspected her carefully, especially her eyes. They were usually so full of life…Now she looked blue and heartbroken. 'Apparently I wasn't the only one suffering all this time…' Rin summoned up his courage and for once swallowed his pride as he lowered his head and let his bangs hide his slightly pinkish cheeks."Shiemi…I'm sorry."

She lifted up her eyes in surprise, searching his own but unable to find them. Rin continued before silence could settle between them.

"I'm sorry for all these terrible things I said…I really didn't mean any of it…" He shut his eyes tightly then reopened them slowly and added bitterly "But, you probably won't buy that…"

This time silence would have engulfed them completely hadn't it been for the hard rain pounding loudly on the roof. Rin was lost in thoughts, knowing he couldn't really do anything besides wait for her to shoe him out of her house in the beating cold rain. He knew it was a lost cause, that she would never return his feelings. What could a demon like him possibly expect? Rin closed his eyes again, suppressing a sigh as he listened closely to the sound of the rain. He hoped it would somehow ease the searing pain in his chest… He knew she couldn't possibly like, or even less love him but…He just had to let her know.

When Rin reopened his eyes he noticed Shiemi standing up and walking to the other side of the counter, in front of him. She was still looking down, biting her lip and holding tightly onto the long sleeves of her kimono. She eventually looked at him when he took a deep breath to gather all his courage.

"I love you."

Her eyes widened as Rin shyly ruffled his bangs and averted his gaze. He gave her a small honest smile. 'This is where it ends…But somehow, I feel lighter.' He thought, staring at Shiemi's utterly bewildered expression. Now that this was off his chest, it felt as if a weight had been lifted. However, he knew what was left to do as he caught her eyes one last time before turning around to walk towards the door.

Suddenly Shiemi realized what he was about to do and reached out a hand. "Wait!"

He stiffened for a second then slowly turned to her with confusion written all over his face.

Shiemi gulped and put her hand on her heart. "I…" She started.

Rin was boiling, struggling to keep his heart from jumping out of his chest and fighting with his thoughts. He kept repeating 'Don't get your hopes up. Don't get your hopes up. Don't get your hopes up…' over and over in his mind. Finally she spoke and Rin told his brain to shut up, holding his breath.

"I…I don't understand!"

Rin blinked twice as a voice at the back of his mind mocked him 'I told you not to get your hopes up!'

"Why?" Shiemi went on, trying to find some confidence by clenching her fist on her heart.

It was Rin's turn to give her a wide eyed stare. Shiemi finally found her courage and blurted out:

"Why do you love me!?"

"Wha…?" Rin was completely puzzled now. "What do you mean why?"

"Yeah! You're strong and confident…You're courageous too, and you can do anything you set your mind on! I'm so weak…Why would you fall for someone like me?" She shouted as if he was crazy to feel this way about her.

He blinked again in confusion. He couldn't answer that, honestly he had no idea about his feelings just a few weeks ago. Why he loved her? There was just something about her…As she kept staring, almost glaring at him he figured he needed to find an answer quickly.

"Well err…" This wasn't going to be the most romantic speech ever, but maybe it was worth a try. "I…You know you always do this thing with your hair?" She tilted her head, not understanding his point. "When you fix your fringe, you know? Well I like that and…"

Judging by the look on her face she was either really confused or not convinced at all, maybe both. Rin felt a sweat drop running down his forehead. 'Come on, you can do better!' he encouraged himself.

"When you take care of your garden you always have that special smile on your face, like you were the happiest girl on earth. I'm almost jealous of your plants…" He blushed a deeper shade of red and tried to shake it off before continuing in a louder voice, obviously more embarrassed with every word. "And every morning when you greet me! You know, I miss it now but I really liked it when you beamed at me like that…"

Shiemi's cheeks were slowly turning pink as Rin continued his speech more fervently, almost scolding her. "I don't think you're weak! You're the one to give me courage every time I'm in a bind so don't say that! You're much stronger than you think!" He made eye contact to persuade her before calming down slightly. "And you…I don't know how you do it but… You always manage to soothe me when I'm angry or sad… What's your secret?" He asked with a light chuckle. He scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "I have many more reasons…These are just a few…" His mind was screaming at him for this lame bluff since he already had had a hard time formulating all these arguments. They were all truth though.

Shiemi just kept staring a few more seconds before she lowered her head slowly, seemingly deep in thoughts. Rin's eyebrows furrowed slightly 'Did I say something wrong?' he wondered, clueless. The annoying voice at the back of his mind couldn't help but answer: 'No, you're just that bad at cheesy lovey-duvey stuff'. The half demon kept in a sigh as he realized how true that statement was.

Shiemi couldn't help but be shocked at the sincerity his words held. It wasn't the most poetic declaration of love there ever was but to her it was more than enough. She had never even imagined Rin-or any boy for that matter- would ever say such words to her one day, and as she repeated them over and over in her mind she felt her heart beat faster, fluttering in her chest.

"Rin!" His name spilled out from her lips before she could even formulate the thought of what she was going to do.

The teen jumped slightly as she broke the silence so abruptly. His blue orbs a little wide as he stared back into Shiemi's green ones. Her cheeks were a dark pink as she suddenly shut her eyes tightly.

"You…You are such a nice person Rin…"

Rin's mind was ranting again 'It's gonna be over in less than 2 seconds! You're gonna be in the Friend-zone again pal! You shouldn't have gotten your hopes so high! Yukio's right, you're a true idiot!' and so on. He wanted nothing more than to make his brain shut up but his feelings got tangled with his thoughts and it was way too hard to sort them out right now. He just kept the same mildly surprised expression as he waited for Shiemi's next words, unable to move even his little finger, unable to breathe.

"You're like my model, I've always admired you since the day we met. Sometimes I wish I could be like you…You give me my courage too…" The corners of her lips slightly turned upwards as she walked slightly closer to him, so that no more than a meter separated the two.

"…Before, I would never have been able to tell you all that, and even less…"

Shiemi took his hand. Rin's eyes fell on her fingers interlacing with his then trailed up the length of her arm and finally met her eyes again. Her rosy lips parted again…

"…Now I can tell you, I love you."

If Rin's eyes were a bit wide before, they were just like saucers now that Shiemi had finally managed to confess. The same went for Shiemi's cheeks as they took a deep crimson tint. Rin's mind was now silent, as if the annoying voice was completely flabbergasted and speechless. He would have shot it a 'serves you right' hadn't he been in the same state right then.

"Rin…You're not saying anything…" Shiemi started, a bit scared of whatever was going on in the teen's troubled mind.

Rin seemed to get out of his reverie at the sound of her voice. He shook his head and blinked twice. Still unsure, he pinched his forearm and let out a pained 'ouch!'

Shiemi was utterly confused by his behavior. "Rin?"

'I'm definitely not dreaming…' Rin thought as he rubbed the painful tingling spot on his arm. Though he couldn't help but ask: "Is this really real?"

Shiemi was still a bit embarrassed and dumfounded but nodded. Rin stared at her a few seconds more.

"You mean, really REALLY real?" He still wouldn't believe it.

Shiemi giggled at his disbelieving expression. She was usually the clueless and shyest one out of them two, but it seemed today was her turn to clarify things. She stepped closer to a still wide-eyed Rin and rested her forearms on his chest shyly. This was all new to her too after all… She felt him shiver slightly at her touch under his clingy wet shirt before looking up into his eyes.

Rin quickly got the message and blushed crimson red as he saw her leaning up even closer to his face. 'This is way too good to be real…' was the only thought that crossed his mind as he bent his head down slightly to meet her lips in a rainy - but warm - kiss. They both closed their eyes as their minds became entirely blank. Rin's arms soon encircled Shiemi's waist and lightly pulled her closer. The lack of experience made them breathless quickly, but every time they parted for a short second they quickly leaned in and kissed again, wanting more of this so sweet yet still so new and unknown feeling that took over their minds.

Eventually, they had to break apart. Shiemi rested her head on Rin's chest and he embraced her gently. Their hearts were almost as wild and loud as their now running minds.

Rin's went like this: 'Oh my God, either I'm dead or I'm dreaming. There's no other explanation. But I'm too young and too handsome to die! Then it's probably a dream. But this felt…So great…Shoot! What if I'm a crappy kisser? Hell no! Anyways, too bad ladies, but Rin Okumura is no longer single! Or in the dream world at least…'

Shiemi's was more like: 'I just kissed Rin… I just kissed Rin… I just kissed Rin… Oh my Gosh, I just kissed Rin and it was my first real kiss!'

Rin couldn't make the smirk on his face disappear as Shiemi buried her head in his chest in embarrassment. 'I could get used to that…' he thought. However the young girl soon realized something that should have been totally obvious to her from the moment he walked into the shop.

"Rin, you're soaking wet!" She exclaimed, pulling out of his embrace to take a better look at him now that she had realized this fact. 'How could I miss that?' She incredulously asked herself.

Rin looked over at himself, still unable to help smirking. "Yep, I am."

"You must be so cold!" Shiemi pointed out, inspecting him as well. Drops of water dripped from his dark bangs and onto his face, running down his cheeks like tears, though the fact that he was smirking made it quite obvious that he was rather happy and proud of himself. His clothes were completely drenched as well, his white shirt clinging to his body and making his abs show through a bit.

"Come on, I'll give you some tea to warm you up!" Shiemi gestured for him to follow her into the Moriyama's house and to the living room before he could notice the bright blush spreading over her cheeks. "You can stay in front of the heater too, it'll dry up your clothes a little. I'm sorry there are no men's clothes here…"

"It's okay." Rin simply replied as he sat down on a cushion near the coffee table.

"No, I mean…You'll catch a cold or some bad flue! I don't want…" Shiemi worked herself up, gazing at him with worry in her eyes.

"Shiemi," The smirk on his face widened a bit more. "I'm already quite warm…Thanks to you."

Shiemi blushed a dark red at this comment and Rin let out a hearty laugh. It had been so long since the last time he laughed like that… Soon Shiemi joined him and they were together, laughing like idiots in the Moriyama's living room. After a while when they stopped laughing, Rin followed Shiemi's advice and positioned himself in front of the radiator, taking his uniform jacket and his tie off. His new girlfriend gave him a small amused smile as she rested her head on his shoulder to "warm him up a bit more". Rin chuckled at that, it seemed she wasn't so shy around him anymore. He had been right, now it was all over…Only, in a happier way than he had thought.

A.N/: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I think I made Rin somehow too calm here...

Anyway, I'm going to make you suffer a bit more since IT ISN'T THE LAST!

I'll try to post it soon but know that I haven't even started it yet...-"

Thanks a lot to all of you who reads/favorited/reviewed/follows this story again! Remember I read all your reviews!^^

Those who hated Renzo for what he's done to Rin & Shiemi will probably lik the next chapter...