Chapter Seven

~ooOoo~

Yukio had almost wanted to ignore Rin's question. It had been completely random and not associated with any clan business. Had it been anyone else he would have continued as if they hadn't spoken until they caught on that he wasn't interested in anything unprofessional. But as always the tiny raven was the exception. The entire past week had him thinking like Shiemi: that the small boy was more than some source of information. Learning now about his true identity had almost made him laugh out loud in slight disbelief. It had become obvious to him over the past week that Rin was somewhat...innocent.

Innocent seemed like the wrong word considering the fact that he now knew for a fact the raven killed people often and brutally and yet that was how the blue eyed teen appeared. Things that should be regular to teenagers and children were completely foreign and new to younger teen. It amused the brunet to watch his azure eyes widen and shine in excitement while his soft lips would widen into a small smile or little "o" of amazement with each new game and story they introduced to him. How his tiny frame would literally shake with excitement when they sat together to watch movies.

The younger teen would get so into the things they watched that he would yell advice to the characters and ask questions constantly during the films. They would all at some point to answer his inquisitive curiosities but eventually after one too many someone (usually Bon) would snap at him to shut up and pay attention. Rin would always pout while clutching a pillow before getting completely absorbed again and the cycle would start again. The raven's childish personality was so well hidden beneath layers of masks fabricated for different audiences; the stuck up outcast for school, the cruel leader of a clan, and an open and friendly teenager when trying to trick them. It was astonishing to think of all the roles the raven had been given to play and yet somehow remained so soft.

Rin's gentle expressions and movements when with Shiemi were always affectionate and slightly sad. The raven always spoke kindly and was warm with everyone else in their group. The younger boy almost seemed content when he was with them; drowsy movements and reactions after a day at school and the quick cat naps he would take before helping the small blonde cook dinner or work on his homework with either him or Shima.

Yukio had been ashamed of his own response to how close Rin was getting to the others. It shocked him to feel the acid jealously every time the blue eyed boy would laugh at one of the pinket's silly jokes or hang casually on the other boy's shoulders

What was more astonishing to Yukio was his reaction to Rin's presence. He had urges he hadn't experienced before for another human being. Often he found himself reaching to touch him and had to pretend to move the blue-eyed boy's hair from his eyes. Only to be left completely captivated by the feel of the silken hair, so soft and shining blue black in the light.

The brunet was able to admit to himself that he was attracted to the younger boy physically. But then again who wouldn't be? The raven's features and body were perfect in a tiny, delicate, and feminine way. And now, only after a week of knowing the blue eyed boy had fascinated with his complex personality. This meeting had only proven that although Rin would insist he was cold and unfeeling he was led by his emotions. All the raven had done since becoming the Okumura clan leader was efficiently wipe out those who had earned his revenge. Yukio found himself wanting to ease the pain he had seen reflected in the azure eyes when speaking of his need to kill Mephisto.

Yukio watched as Rin seemed to collect himself after hearing his question about his dreams. The boy stepped closer and tilted his head to meet his eyes squarely. The brunet found himself being drawn in by the trust and fear in the younger boy's eyes. He realized at that moment that he was extremely glad he had the younger boy's faith and that the other boy was going to be honest with him.

"I...I used to make sweets with my mom. When I was done with all of my studies with my sitter, Shiro we would go to the kitchen and pick random recipes from the book. It made me happy to see the two of them smile while eating and we would have little parties every night with the three of us. I...I miss nights like that; full of laughter and life." The younger boy took a deep breath and seemed to be holding back tears from the pain of remembering the happy memories, if the way his azure eyes shined were any indication. Yukio resisted the urge to wrap his arms in comfort around the slender boy and watched the boy continue to speak with a sort of helpless feeling in his stomach.

"When I cook I can almost forget that earlier my hands were covered in blood and the harm I caused with them. I remember my mother's smiling face and how light her laughter sounded. If my life could have been different then I think it would be like when I'm cooking or when I'm with... you." The raven's creamy white skin flushed delicately as he finally avoided meeting Yukio's gaze and let his flickering eyelids hide his brilliant eyes. The brunet was disappointed he would no longer be able to study the boy's enticing orbs but was able to admire his long lashes and sweet face blushing in embarrassment.

"I mean I'm...uh happy with all of you of course. I-I need to stop talking now." Rin's face was now flushed completely strawberry red and held a slender hand over his face as he twisted his body to face the door.

Yukio chuckled. It almost seemed impossible but the most feared clan leader in Japan was stuttering and acting so shy. The raven was constantly proving that although he had a lot of experience with the underworld he was undoubtedly inexperienced with dealing with his more affectionate feelings. Finally, giving up resisting his own urges the brunet ran his right hand thought the raven's messy locks tilting the head back while wrapping his left arm around Rin's slender waist and pulling him closer.

The young clan leader looked nervously into his own green eyes; the confusion because of the older teen's actions seemed to radiate off the young raven's surprisingly revealing and vulnerable expression; he frowned slightly with a furrowed his brow a slight tilt of his head.

The young genius couldn't help but laugh out loud as he finally let go of his restraint. It was truly troubling to always be checking your natural responses to someone and so the brunet just did what felt natural. He pulled Rin closer, gripping his soft hair tightly while enjoying the feel of the silk draped around the smaller body. Yukio grinned lightly as he lowered his own head to brush his lips against the trembling ones beneath his own.

He left out a husky chuckle, "I'm glad I make you happy. You really are so sweet Rin, which is so unexpected after all you went through."

The blue eyed boy not only looked perplexed but also affronted. Yukio decided that before the dangerous clan leader stabbed him for what he might consider an insult he kissed him...Deeply. He took his time enjoying the soft feel of the others mouth before asking for entrance with a soft nip of his teeth. When Rin slowly opened his mouth in a quiet whimper he swiftly explored the warm entrance with his tongue. He tried to be gentle but the kiss quickly turned aggressive and dominating reflecting his earlier frustrations. Restraining oneself for too long always had consequence; it would seem Yukio's was that he would accost the poor boy. For some reason the brunet could not bring himself to regret what he was doing as he started to dig his fingers deeper in Rin's hair. The younger teen's body was pliant and willing against his and the raven kept making tantalizing moans each time their tongues met. The feel of the smaller and softer body against his own made and the provocative and the almost submissive response he received made him feel almost...possessive.

Yukio was dazed in a sort of a desire fueled fever, deciding it was time to end the kiss before the blue eyed boy actually disembowelled him; he broke the increasingly sloppy and hot kiss. With a groan, he loosed his grip and lifted his head slowly. A string of saliva connected their mouths, broken only when Rin jerked his head back at sight, looking completely baffled and embarrassed. Before the younger boy could speak the brunet jerked him forward and nuzzled his face against the soft black hair and muttered softly against the silky strands.

"So happy...And I can't even think why you give me so much joy."

The azure eyed boy snorted softly and spoke with a confidence dripping from his words, "Why do you have to explain it? Just accept your feelings and be happy because we're lovers now...right?"

The question at the end showed how doubtful and nervous the younger boy really was and clearly expressed how Rin really felt at the moment; Yukio found it all extremely adorable.

The brunet pulled back to look into the others face with a small grin. "You're right..." Yukio now new if he was going to have to take it slowly with the younger and less experienced boy but was blindingly happy with the raven's declaration that they were lovers. It was a word that stated that Rin belonged to him as much as he belonged to the younger teen.

The raven's cheeks were dusted with pink and his full lips were pursed and deep red from the kissing. His head was inclined downwards so his bangs covered his face like a black screen and his eyelashes were lowered so he could avoid looking at him. Azure orbs would quickly dart to his face and cause the pale face to flush darkly before darting down and giving the younger teen to gather him before looking up again.

Rin leaned on his tip toes to give him a soft peck on the cheek. "Try to sound a little more confident." With a wide and catty grin the small raven gave him a small wave as he headed for the door.

Yukio watched him with comfortable warmth spreading through his body but had to stop and focus for a moment. Suguro-sama was expecting a report of some kind explaining at least the vague details of their plans to attack Mephisto's clan and yet if he stayed any longer he wouldn't be able to control what Bon said to the others. The last thing he needed was for the blonde streaked teen to try and turn them against Rin when they would be working with him.

"I guess we'll have to meet tomorrow to discuss actual plans, eh?" The brunet looked up slightly relieved when the young clan leader asked him the question he would have eventually had said once he had gathered his thoughts together. He nodded his head slowly as the younger teen made his way to the door.

The raven's bright giggle as he left had the brunet smiling softly as he ran his fingers lightly over his cheek and the door shut with a soft "click."

oOo

Amaimon watched his brother open one of the many letters and documents stacked on his mahogany desk. Biting his nails the green eyed watched Mephisto with dazed eyes. His brother wore his usual completely white suit with a pink tie dotted in white circles, his hair was a dark purple that gradually got lighter and his eyes were an unusual yellow colour. Both brothers had bags under their eyes courtesy of their habit of staying up late for days while working; much like tonight.

The man's hawk like orbs absorbed the written words with barely suppressed glee and the younger brother sighed knowing that was a sign of days spent formulating plans and gathering information. He glanced at his own hand after feeling a faint twinge and was surprised to notice he had bitten his finger badly enough for blood to freely drip in thick rivets down his hand and onto his shoes.

The younger brother was crouched like a gargoyle on the edge of one of his brother's overstuffed armchairs and watched with detached fascination as more and more of the crimson liquid splashed against his black books, splattering against his pants and the seat. Amaimon heard and annoyed tsk and looked guiltily up at his brother.

"What have I told you Amaimon? If you want to bite something, eat candy. Don't stain my furniture." Giving the younger brother one last stern look, Mephisto turned back to the paper in his hand with a faint smirk.

"Are you interested in knowing what this letter says, little brother?" The golden eyed man's voice had lost its irritable edge and was now warm and jolly. Amaimon could care less what was on the paper. He followed the orders he was given and did whatever his precious brother bade him to do, be it killing, stealing, or anything in that spectrum. And rather than feeling sick about his duties, the younger brother quite enjoyed them and let his older brother deal with all the thinking and planning that needed to be done. However, Amaimon also knew his brother wanted him to be curious and wanted a chance to brag about whatever brilliant plan he was cooking up.

And so with a faint "curious" cock of his head he asked, "What is it brother?"

The smirk on Mephisto's face turned to a smug grin, "It would seem that the new Okumura-sama is holding a meeting and I'm invited! It seems that Suguro-sama from Kyoto will be going and the main purpose perhaps of the meeting is...land division. Oh~How exquisite."

The older man almost seemed to purr as his prior lazy position on his seat turned to an almost attentive and greedy stance above the seemingly innocent paper lying on his desk. "I haven't been in one of these since the foolish former Okumura leader had tried to establish peace across Tokyo. Oh my, oh my, this is truly a delight another foolish leader for us to kill."

The purple hair man seemed lost in his own thoughts and fantasies of the future, "I have been trying for such a long time to lure that bastard out, and I'm so glad it finally worked! But he must be one of the old idiots that were close to that damn former soubon. NO one else would be foolish to try this again after the failure ten years ago,"

Mephisto seemed to realize something and with a childish giggle he continued, "Then again, they don't know it was me back then or right now. Hmm, but don't you think they would at least be a bit suspicious?"

Amaimon opened his mouth to answer but his brother continued without giving him a chance to utter a syllable. "Never mind, I can't expect everyone to be as smart as myself."

This made the younger brother grin, "Really? But he seems to be smarter than you. I mean you don't even know who he is yet."

Mephisto's faced seemed to transform into a demonic scowl as he glared at Amaimon. Completely unaffected by he's brother unique form of pouting he stood up and walked towards the door.

"Where are you going, brother dearest?" The younger brother shivered at the almost sugary sweet tone his brother used; he knew now he had gone too far. His brother only called him 'dearest' when he was absolutely furious.

Without turning to confirm his thoughts he quickened his pace, "Just going to walk my dog. He must be getting lonely."

Although his brother did not respond, Amaimon left knowing without a doubt that if he had lingered for even a second longer his brother may have actually killed him. His feet hit the pavement with a dull thud and as he took a moment to survey his brother's large grounds he popped a lollipop in his mouth. He walked with a slight slouch but perked up at the sound of rapid thuds.

Amaimon was significantly happier at the sight of his precious dog heading towards him. Behemoth was a large mixed breed dog weighing over 200 pounds of muscle and was cross between a German shepherd and a wolf. His coat was completely black and he wore a thick silver collar that had skulls dangling from it and bright yellow eyes that seemed to shine demonically in the dark. The youngest brother ran his hand in the midnight black fur and clipped on his black leash. Behemoth briefly nuzzled his hand affectionately before trotting next to him while adopting a slightly more menacing air as they left Mephisto's compound. There was a lot of open land between the mansions on the street so Amaimon decided to take a short cut through one of the woods.

The moonlight gave everything a soft glow and he was enjoying the peace when he heard a harsh growl rip its way through Behemoth's throat. Amaimon glanced at his companion that was in an alerted posture.

He looked up sharply at the direction that was bothering the mixed breed. He couldn't see anything worth all the hostility but he trusted Behemoth's sharper senses more than his own and continued to watch the trees and shadows for any sign of life. And then a figure seemed to detach its self from a shadows, the younger brother watched as a very voluptuous woman's figure distinguished itself from the shadows.

"Tut, tut~ Can't you control your mutt?" A sultry voice mocked softly. Once Amaimon recognized the voice he felt his body relax and reached out to Behemoth to calm him down. The dog relaxed only slightly; his body remaining tense and he watched the shadowy woman closely with sharp glowing eyes but stopped growling and bearing his sharp teeth.

"Well, he could always smell a conniving bitch and never really liked them. It has nothing to do with control." He tone was bored and he watched as the woman froze slightly before releasing a husky laugh.

"That's not nice, Broccoli." Amaimon gritted his teeth at the sadistic glee in her voice and snapped. "Do you have anything to report or are you just trying to waste my time?"

Behemoth reacted to the anger in his master's voice and released a soft growl while taking a protective step in front of the green haired man. Amaimon gave his a soothing pat as he watched the woman shift uncertainly before once again retaining her cocky stance.

"Yes, I've been watching the brat like you wanted but have yet to see anything of interest to you, let alone a reason for you wanting to keep this little mission from your dear big brother, Mephisto."

"I don't pay you to know why I want to know things, I pay you to watch people and give me the information I want. Now, how is Rin doing?"

"The brat usually doesn't seem in any way threatening even with his connections to the Okumura clan. Which is disappointing; I thought they taught their children better. Anyway he is still getting pushed around by the bigger and stupider kids. Only recently he seems to have made some friends with a group of kids that transferred to the school."

"Friends?" Amaimon repeated the word dully as she continued with an amused grin.

"Oh I can see why you're jealous he is such a beauty and yes, I said friends. He spent the entire week with them and often headed home with them so why the interest?"

The green haired man was such a daze he answered instantly. "He's the only survivor in a massacre my brother organized. I always have been fascinated to see how that would affect a child who use to be so innocent. I want to see him explode with hate but he grew up to be rather calm and disinterested in people and his surroundings didn't he?"

"Oooh, that's very true. Well that's all I have to report, I'm off."

"Wait! Where is his latest art work?" Amaimon was finally able to snap out of his previous funk and spoke sharply causing Behemoth to bark as if supporting his master.

"Oppsie! I almost forgot! Here's the copy." From somewhere behind the shadows and trees a canvas was pulled out and left against the trunk of tree. The woman disappeared as she seemed to melt back into the surrounding darkness.

The younger waited until Behemoth visibly relaxed before walking to the painting and flipping it around to see his oppression's beautiful creation. He gasped quietly at the beauty of the painting of a demon made of flames. The brush strokes and colours were so vibrant and perfect but he knew that the original was probably hundreds of times better. Amaimon wanted to sink into the picture, he wished desperately to know what the young teen had been feeling and thinking while he worked. He would have paid any price just to watch the other. Grabbing the frame he walked quickly while tugging a reluctant Behemoth along. He wanted to get home quickly to add the newest piece to his collection and take the time to study it.

oOo

Rin paused at the restaurant's door. His face felt flushed and eyes seemed bright. He carefully fixed his kimono which Yukio had slightly pulled off with his tight grip and ran a shaking hand through his hair. The raven was deliriously happy to know the older teen didn't hate him and how he had accepted his rather bold declaration that they were lovers.

The young clan leader felt his face start to burn as he remembered the feeling of the harder body against his own while large hands gripped his hair tight enough to cause pain that was overshadowed by the pleasure at the feeling of the muscle exploring his mouth. He quickly laid his cold hands against his flaming cheeks. Rin took a step to his car but paused as he remembered his mask; he would need it to hide his embarrassingly red face and because Izumo would be angry at him for being so irresponsible.

With a deep sigh, the raven turned sharply on his heels and headed to the dining room he had just vacated with determined steps. He was determined to act as normal as possible so he wouldn't lose one of the few friends he had gained in the past week. The others may take some time to convince and forgive him but the blue eyed boy was happy to know that he had at least one ally from the group.

Rin pulled the sliding door open almost harshly and winced at the loud bang it caused. He peered into room and was relieved to find it empty. Yukio must have left through a different door giving the raven a thankfully empty room, he almost skipped as he went in to grab his mask. He swiftly held it against his face and tied the strings with difficulty. The azure eyed boy struggled for a few minutes but eventually he accomplished his mission and left with a grin hidden by the mask.

Shura gave him a lazy smile as he slid in the backseat. The red head waited patiently for him to settle comfortably before signaling Igor to drive off by hitting the back of the front seat with the hilt of her katana.

"How did it go? Does he hate you? Does he blame you?" Her husky voice was a mocking coo and her ivy green eyes were alight with an emotion the raven couldn't easily identify. He watched as she leaned back with her legs crossed and head tilted forward hiding most of her face with her bangs. Rin remained silent for a minute longer choosing to watch the moon outside the window. He would have taken off his mask but he knew his face was still flushed with happiness and now his only goal was avoiding the older woman's almost merciless teasing.

"He...he and I are friends...I believe." The raven kept his voice completely cool and body completely relaxed which was at odds with how joyful he felt.

Rin raised his mask slightly to reveal his sly grin and purred, "We should celebrate our success later. Does sake sound good?"

"Nya, ha, ha! When does sake not sound good? I'm famished since we didn't eat at the restaurant; I deserve some good service for all of my troubles!" Shura's whole position changed; her body was relaxed and loose while her head was thrown back as she laughed.

The car settled into a comfortable silence; both watched the inky black sky dotted with the numerous amount of stars. The calm was only broken when the green eyed women spoke gently and without any notes of teasing or mockery, "Are you happy?"

Rin laid his hand against the cool glass separating him from the breeze he could see shifting the leaves on the trees they passed, "Yes, I finally got what I wanted but also feared most in the world."

The raven watched the older woman in confusion as Shura shifted her own mask to finally cover her face fully. The red head's shoulder's shook silently and her voice sounded huskier, "That's good, brat."

The azure eyed boy watched the red head with warm eyes before saying with all the affection he felt for her at the moment, "I love you too, Nee-chan."

She barked out a shaky laugh and her voice only wobbled slightly as she snapped, "Idiot! I never said anything about caring about you!"

Rin only shook his head and drawled, "It's okay to cry. You are a girl, ya know."

"How dare you! Sexist pig! Who was the one who taught you everything you know?!" The raven was pleased to see her previously emotional state transform into a heated pout. He finally released an easy laugh and spent the rest of the ride laughing at the older woman's antics.

Edited-08/21/15

This is also when I lost BakemonoShoujo. Thanks for all your support and beautiful suggestions.