Le Chapter Three

"Aw man, what the hell?" Rin exclaimed as he looked at the time on his cellphone. "That idiot should've been back by now!" The half-demon growled, a vein popping on his forehead. He had spent a good hour making dinner and his new roommate just so happened to not show up. The food was cold, the apartment was dead quiet, and Rin was pissed.

A second later Rin found himself worrying. Ryuji had left a note saying he was on a walk. Unless he always took so long he might've gotten lost or something. Rin snapped his fingers. That had to be it!

After cleaning up his kitchen mess and grabbing a coat, Rin was off. The neighborhood was fairly large so he could understand how someone new to the area might've gotten lost, though he would've expected Ryuji to have a better sense of direction—especially because he was an exorcist.

After walking several blocks Rin took to running. It was freezing outside and his stomach was growling like crazy. I should've eaten before I left, Rin thought, wincing. He hadn't eaten because he had been planning to eat with Ryuji, you know, to be polite and everything.

Rin was running so fast he didn't even see the pair in front of him, and ended up collided head-on. Jumping up and brushing himself, Rin extended a hand. "Hey, sorry about that. I'm looking for someone and I didn't see you."

The man who grabbed Rin's hand was of average height and possessed pink hair. Probably dyed, Rin thought, wrinkling his nose. He seemed to be around Rin's age, and wore the coat of an exorcist. With a smile, he shook Rin's hand. "It's alright, we weren't paying attention either."

"We're also looking for someone as well," said the other, who also seemed to be an exorcist.

Rin nodded, beginning to feel unnerved by the pair. More exorcists? He thought. I haven't used Satan's power even once, so why are they here?

The exorcist with pink hair grinned. "My name is Shima Renzou, and this tiny guy here is Miwa Konekomaru. We're looking for a friend of ours who's staying with someone in this neighborhood." He held a hand inches above his head and squinted. "He's a brute, about this tall, and glares all the time.

"Blond streak that makes him look like a skunk?" Rin asked.

"Yeah," said Konekomaru, nodding. "With piercings?"

"Tons on both ears?"

"Yeah," Konekomaru and Renzou said in unison.

"Oh, why didn't you say so? I'm looking for Ryuji too!" Rin was relieved. He thought Yukio might've screwed up on something or he was to be excicuted despite not having used Satan's power. "How do you guys know him?"

Renzou laughed. "Childhood friends, I guess you could say. If you're the one he's staying with then you must be Yukio's older brother, Rin, am I right?"

"Yeah," Rin said with a smile. "You talk to my brother a lot?"

"A bit, he was one of my cram school teachers back in the day. Man, that feels like it was decades ago! Doesn't it, Neko?" He nudged Konekomaru, who looked slightly nervous. "Well," Renzou said suddenly. "Now that we've introduced ourselves it's time to look for Bon."

"Bon?" repeated Rin. "What the hell is a Bon?"

"Oh, you don't know?" asked Shima, a cheeky grin spreading across his face. "Ryuji didn't tell you about the little nickname we gave him? Geez, and I thought he liked it."

"We came up with it a few years before cram school," Konekomaru explained. "I forget how, and I kind of don't want to know how." He shuddered, pushing his glasses up. "We were such sick kids back then."

"I like it," Rin said, completely serious. "It sounds cool and really fits him."

"Ah, you think so?"

"Guys, we've gotten off track! We need to find Bon."

"Hmm, Neko is right. Let us go."

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Ryuji had intended for his walk to last maybe twenty minutes, and after it, dinner, a shower, and then to sleep. He didn't consider the fact that he was unfamiliar with the area and because of that thought he got himself lost.

"Of all times," he growled through gritted teeth, shivering from the cold. In the dark you could hardly tell the apartments apart from the outside. With no idea whatsoever on where to go, he cursed under his rough breaths.

"Man, anything would be better than sitting out here," he grumbled, deciding to stay put. Some said that if you stayed in the same place you had a better chance of being found. Normally that applied to children but Ryuji decided that it was better than nothing, even if it was slightly degrading. So what now, he asked himself, feeling more and more annoyed as minutes passed.

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"Dang, I had no idea that he had his nipples pierced. Sounds like it would hurt like hell to me." Renzou tilted his head, smiling in an amused way. "I think he mentioned it once or twice but I had no idea he'd actually follow through with it."

"Yeah," agreed Rin. "I was kind of surprised but at the same time it was just a weird night so, you know, I had my mind on other things."

"So Rin," Renzou said suddenly. "Have you seen him naked yet?" The odd question earned him a horrified look from Konekomaru and a disgusted glare from Rin.

Rin looked down at his feet, face turning red. "No, why…do you ask?"

"Well…" Renzou stopped walking and leaned over to the flushed half-demon. "He's kinda big down there, if you know what I mean. When I first saw it I had to look twice to make sure it was real."

"And you're telling me this, why!" Rin exclaimed, throwing his hands in the air.

Konekomaru spoke up, looking more than embarrassed. "Well, Renzou is…a big pervert."

"That explains a lot."

The odd group continued to walk, this time cloaked in silence. Rin was trying to un-see the things Renzou had told him about while the pink-haired exorcist beamed. Konekomaru just trudged along behind them. Several more minutes passed and they grew closer to Ryuji's location. Konekomaru was the first to spot him.

"Bon!" he ran over and threw his arms around the brute, hugging him happily.

Ryuji blinked. "Neko…? What are you doing here? I thought you and Renzou were on an assignment."

"We got back early so we decided to drop by." Renzou gave a wave. "Are you treating Rin well?"

"As well as I need to," Ryuji muttered, glaring slightly.

"Understandable! So how about taking us back to a nice warm apartment, Rin?"

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It had only taken a matter of seconds for Renzou and Konekomaru to make themselves at home in Rin's apartment. Ryuji sat quietly as his pink-haired friend talked excitedly to Rin, telling him old stories and, of course, twisting the truth to make them heart-pounding. The time where Konekomaru fell asleep while playing hide-and-go-seek became a matter of life and death and a tornado sped towards the search party—and Rin was buying every word.

Ryuji smirked. He's so gullible it's kind of sad, which is funny because that's exactly what he looks like. Extremely gullible, or maybe, he's just innocent... Ryuji shook his head. Naw, I bet he's a closet pervert.

"Go on Bon," Renzou yelled across the room. "Tell Rin here about the time we heroically rescued the shaking Konekomaru the top of the old tree!"

"Wait, why are most of these stories about me?" asked Konekomaru, looking slightly surprised. "And that was you who was stuck in the tree."

"Oh yeah," Renzou laughed nervously. "I had forgotten."

"Or maybe you just wanted to impress Okumura," Ryuji said with a raised eyebrow. He wasn't jealous. Definitely not. "Have you got a crush on him or something?"

"He's not a tall, curvy girl with large breasts, so I guess not."

"Right Renzou, I'm sure that's it."

"Oi, quit it Bon! You're gonna make me blush!"

The four continued to talk until the clock struck midnight, signaling that the two exorcists had stayed long enough. They refused the room Rin offered and left, leaving Ryuji and the half-demon alone. 'Bon' as Rin now called him headed to the bathroom for a shower and Rin himself went to bed. The apartment was now completely quiet except for the sound of running water.

Despite the fact that Rin was worn out, he just laid there and stared at the ceiling instead of falling asleep. His eyelids drooped a few times but other than that nothing happened. Twisting and turning, he struggled to find a comfortable position. Nothing worked. He sat up, rubbing his eyes.

A glass of water, he thought. I'll just get a glass of water…

Creeping down the hall, he passed the bathroom. Inside he could hear Ryuji pulling back the curtain and drying himself off. The dark-haired teen flashed back to his meeting with Renzou and Konekomaru. He's kinda big down there, the exorcist had said with a grin. Rin gulped, wondering if it was true.

He and Ryuji were bound to see each other naked. Yukio wasn't going to return for a while so that multiple showers and such, on both sides.

I'm thinking about that too much, Rin thought, continuing his journey to the kitchen. I just need to get my drink then go to back to bed. It'll just take a minute…

"What are you doing up?"

Rin turned and faced Ryuji, who was wearing nothing but a towel tied around his waist. He looked down at his feet, wondering what the punk might say if he knew that he was being thought about oddly. "J-just getting a drink," Rin said, whistling. He shuffled to the kitchen awkwardly, with Ryuji following behind him.

"Hey," Ryuji said. "Do you have anyone I could wear? I think Renzou took the rest of my clothes as a joke." He swore under his breathe. "I bet coming here and taking my clothes was the bastard's whole plan. That would explain why he and Konekomaru didn't want to stay here."

Rin nodded quickly, pulling out an extra cup. "I might have something for you, I mean, if it'll fit but it might not if you know you've got a…" His face flushed red as water was poured into each cup. "Not that that's a bad thing or…anything but I just hope I…" He jumped when Ryuji put a hand on his shoulder. "What, what is it!"

Ryuji took a step back. "Just calm down, you're creeping me out."

"Oh? Sorry, but can't you just re-wear your own clothes?"

"Hell no, that's just gross!"

"Come on and be a man."

"You be a man and just give me some clothes! I'm freezing over here!" He took a sip of his water. "And what's with all the stuttering? Have you got a stomach full of butterflies for whatever stupid little reason?"

Rin walked away with a huff. "Geez, forget I said anything. I'll get you something to wear."

"Thank you, it's about time."

A/N: Early update for you guys because I finished this pretty fast. I was going to make it longer but I wasn't sure what to write next. I hope Renzou and Neko turned out okay, they ended up playing a pretty big part in this chapter and probably will in the story in general. My mom gave me her old thesauraus so my writing should improve after I study that a bit lol. Thanks for all the support. Now to spend the night watching New Getter Robo and Basilisk. -loves mecha and samurai anime-