Hi! Sorry it took me so long but this one just didn't want to be written. I started it 8 days ago and only just now finished it. I also happened to rewrite it a few times cause I hated the direction I was going. Anyway, I apologize for any miss-characterizations in here but there are several characters present and so its hard to keep up with them all. Hope ya'll enjoy my latest chapter!=^-^=

BTW I have some new cover art by djanubis! Isn't it awesome!=^-^=

Ch. 6 - Stranded Plus One

Suguro didn't respond for a moment as if he was spaced out. As Rin began to raise his hand to get his attention the teen suddenly grabbed him by his shirt. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!?" He shook him back and forth a bit as he yelled. Rin responded only after he stopped shaking.

"I don't know! I just know we're not in Japan anymore!"

"Then where the hell are we!?"

Rin pulled his shirt away from his classmate and answered in an agitated yet calm tone. "All I know is that we're in some ninja village called Konoha in some place called The Land of Fire."

Suguro furrowed his brow at the information. "Ninja village? Are you kidding me?"

"That is enough! You children are trying my patience!" Both of the boys turned to see the enraged older man pull out a gourd of some kind. "This nonsensical drivel has gone on long enough!" He motioned to the younger man who pulled out a matching gourd. All attention turned from the arguing teens to the two exorcists who rushed Rin and his cat with the now opened gourds. Rin flinched as both he and Kuro were covered in what seemed to be water.

"Hey!" He yelled angrily as he tried to shake off some of the water. "What's your deal!?"

Kuro stood up and did his classic all over shake which only made Rin wetter. "I don't need a bath!" He then started licking his paw and patting the hair on his head back just like any cat would.

"I think its high time you guys took a hike." Commented an angry Naruto. These guys were seriously getting on his nerves and have, so far, only proven they're jerks.

The older man glared at him. "As a ninja of the village of Konoha, I'm sure you know better than to stand in our way."

"Yes but I do believe there is a time and place for such things." Started Neji as he took a handle on the situation. "Perhaps we can settle this with the Lady Hokage?"

The older man seemed rather displeased by the proposition and simply glared at the young man. He looked ready to decline when his gaze suddenly shifted back to Rin. His face grew fierce as he pointed. "You see!? This is the beast you defend!" They all turned to see Kuro standing on Rin's head with his back arched and hissing. His pupils were constricted as he bared his fangs and he jumped off the boy's head.

"Kuro?" The cat gave no sign of acknowledgement as it further approached the priest.

"Finally showing your true colors are you, beast?" His cocky smile as he pointed his staff only lasted a few moments before Kuro transformed. All but two of the on lookers were in shock and awe as the cat suddenly grew several times in size.

"Kuro!? What are you doing!?" Rin cried out but Kuro once again ignored him.

"Holy…." Lee started as his surprise mimicked many of the others. Akamaru barked at the large cat as he took a stance by his partner Kiba who was gaping in amazement. It was short lived though, as they adjusted rather quickly to the change. There are plenty of summoning creatures far larger than this one, they just didn't expect the cat to grow is all.

"What's wrong with him?" Naruto asked as he grabbed Rin by the shoulder.

"I'm not sure…. He was fine a minute ago!" The cat sidhe glared at the trio and let out a low roar as it slowly continued its approach.

The exorcists now felt they had bitten off more than they could chew as they gazed up at the monster they had riled. "Now you see what a monster this demon truly is!" He turned to the one wearing the mask. "We must act now! No more holding back!" Kuro interrupted the man by leaping at him while still baring its fangs. It caused the man to stumble back only to be even more surprised when the demon fell short and flat on its stomach.

"Calm down, Kuro!" While several of the ninja had made moves to stop the cat's charge, no one was as effective as Rin and all he did was simply grab his friend by the tail. The jerk it caused didn't move Rin an inch, much to the surprise of those around him aside from Bon who know how strong he was. The cat turned and hissed at him as he began to pull against the boy's monster strength. "Damn it, Kuro! I said cool it!" He swung to the side and Kuro lost his balance and fell over shaking the ground under him.

"What the hell…?" Suguro just didn't have the words for just how fast this had gone south.

The two men then took positions next to the demon and clapped their hands together. "Begin!" Shouted the master and both he and the masked exorcist began to chant. The priestess took the branch in her hand and threw it onto the demon and the reason became clear as Kuro opened his eyes and began to squirm. For whatever reason he couldn't move and that only seemed to make him angrier.

"What are they doing!?" Rin then made a move to stop them before Suguro cut him off.

"That's a chant for restricting the movements of a demon, it won't hurt him." He then raised a hand to his chin. "I'm surprised though, to be able to hold Kuro like that even though their purification salt and holy water had no effect." He then pondered it to himself for a moment before turning to see Rin with an angry expression. "Okumura?" The boy's anger seemed to be uncommon for him. Suguro had seen him angry countless times but this time seemed different. He just couldn't put his finger on it but it was.

Rin stormed up to the older man and grabbed him by his robe without a word. "Unhand me child!" With the chant interrupted the priestess had to step in and take her master's place. The older man pulled at his robes to be released from the boy's grasp. "I said let go!" Rin glared daggers at the man before flat out slugging him on the spot. The man quickly fell, unceremoniously, to the ground with a groan.

"Okumura!?" Suguro ran up to his classmate and grabbed his shoulder. "What do you think you're doing!?"

"They were asking for it!" Rin yelled in response.

Upon seeing his master attacked, the younger priest stepped forward to counter attack. "What are you doing, boy!?" As he made his move, Rin grabbed his arm to pull him closer and slugged him too, breaking the wooden mask in the process. The man was now gripping at the splintered mask due to several pieces of it now drawing blood from his face.

Naruto was next to step in as he grabbed Rin's other arm. "What's gotten in to you, Rin? Stop it!"

Rin let out a frustrated growl as he pulled his arm away. "Back off! These guys don't deserve to be protected!" He then walked a couple steps towards the old priest who was trying to stand up and grabbed his robe again.

"Let me go! Demon child!" He yelled in fear as he continued to tug at his robes and save himself from another agonizing punch from the boy.

"Why don't just get the hell out of here then!?" He then threw him hard to the ground where the priestess came to his side along with the other man.

Almost half of his mask had broken off with two gashes clearly visible on his cheek. He also had a strange tattoo on his forehead which was partially still covered by the mask. "Come, master, let us retreat for now." The older man nodded as he wiped the blood from his face and the man threw down what looked to be a small ball. A cloud of smoke appeared seconds later and once it dissipated the trio was gone.

"Bastards." Rin mumbled under his breath as he turned to Kuro. The large cat sidhe was beginning to stand again as it knocked the branch off its back. It shook a moment before it started to growl again. Once it turned its head, both Naruto and Bon, who were the closest aside form Rin, took steps back. Kuro set his eyes on his fellow demon and bared his teeth. "I told you to chill!" He then charged at him and slammed his forehead into the cat's in a skull shattering head butt. Kuro's vision became fuzzy as he fell back into a sitting position.

Suguro's agape expression was shared by several others with Tenten holding her own head at the thought of even trying that. "Just how hard headed are you, Okumura?"

"I doubt it can even be measured." Came a grumble from behind them.

"Another one?" Questioned Kiba as he watched the serious young man step out of the doorway while adjusting his glasses.

"And just who might you be?" Asked Neji as he stepped forward.

"Mr. Okumura!" Suguro then made his way over, leaving Rin behind.

"Mr. Suguro, I apologize for taking so long, but finding this door took me awhile. What exactly is going on? Mr. Miwa told me you found Kuro and chased after him."

Bon nodded. "Yeah, Rin apparently sent him to find someone." He then turned back to see Rin rather spaced out in place and Kuro seemed to be doing the same. "Rin?" He walked over and waved a hand in his face. The boy snapped out of it and quickly noticed his brother.

"Yukio!?" His next movement was almost super human as he ran up and hugged him. "It feels like it's been so long! I even miss you yelling at me." It was rather odd considering how angry he was just a moment ago. Rin then looked to see Yukio glaring at him and instantly let go. Yukio quickly regained his composure and adjusted his glasses. "Yukio…?"

Yukio crossed his arms before speaking. "I'm waiting."

"For what?" Asked the confused brother. "For you to tell me where the hell you've been the past few days! When you just up and disappear I'd expect you could give me some sort of excuse." Rin's smile quickly fell at the prospect of having to try and explain things again, but he complied. A few minutes and a short explanation later, Yukio now had a fair understanding of where he currently was. He let out a sigh. "And it took you this long just to figure out to use the cram school key?" He then began shaking his head in a disapproving manner.

Rin seemed a bit frustrated by the gesture. "It's not like I could've used it before. I didn't find Kuro again until this morning."

"Yeah, you should cut the guy some slack." Comment Kiba, seemingly out of nowhere. "Anyway, now that you've had and explanation, I think its high time we got one." He said as he gestured to the other confused ninja around him.

Neji nodded in agreement as he stepped forward. "Yes, I do believe that is in order, and also this key." He held up the cram school key. "What exactly is it?"

Yukio raised a brow. "That is a dimensional key given to cram school students so they can enter the cram school through any door." He then pointed to the already open door. "As you've no doubt figured out."

"And this True Cross place?" The jonin inquired.

"I can only assume you're referring to True Cross Academy which is where the cram school is. It's a large school located in Academy Town Japan. The cram school is for Exorcists in training to enter the Knights of the True Cross." He then turned back to his brother after his halfhearted explanation. Truth be told, he wasn't taking any of this as serious and only had getting Rin home in mind. "Anyway, Rin, you need to get back to the Academy before the Vatican finds out you've disappeared. You too, Mr. Suguro." He motioned for the two of them to head towards the door.

Rin suddenly remembered a little something he forgot to mention. "Um, Yukio?" He started with a sheepish expression. "I can't go back right now."

Yukio responded with a dead look accompanied by a matching silence. "We don't have time for this, Rin." He then grabbed him by the arm and turned back towards Neji. "I need that key back please." He had his ready smile on as the teen handed him the key with a wary expression. He quickly took it and pulled his struggling brother towards the doorway by his arm.

"Look, Yukio….. I really can't….. let go!"

"And the minute I do, you'll run off somewhere again. No I think I'll keep hold until we reach the class." He had a determined smile on his face as he turned back and then quickly forward again. "Let's go, Suguro." The teen nodded in compliance and followed behind. Unfortunately, Yukio just didn't give Rin a chance to explain himself properly and so was rather surprised to feel the sudden stop after crossing the threshold of the doorway. He raised a brow as he turned back to see what the hold up was only to see Rin frozen in place with his hand just outside the door frame. "What?... Come on, Rin."

He pulled again and got no ground at all much to his own surprise. He let go and allowed his hand to fall back to his side. "I told you, man….. I'm stuck." He raised his hand back up in a pose to bang on a door but when he went to try it stopped right at the threshold without a single noise. Yukio turned to observe the phenomenon up close and just couldn't derive just what was causing it. It was as if some sort of barrier were in place but it only effected Rin. How is that possible?

"Just what's going on with you? First you disappear randomly and now you're stuck by an invisible wall that only seems to exist for you." He nodded his head as he crossed his arms. "You must've pissed off a god of karma or something. Can't say I'm surprised."

Rin turned to his supposed friend in a comedic pitiable state. "That's so mean, man! What did I do to you?"

"Regardless, this is a problem, Rin. If you don't come back soon, chances are you're going to end up back on the Arch Knight's hit list and I can already-" He was cut off by the door suddenly slamming shut.

An angry middle aged man who looked like a shop keep was holding broom with one hand on the door. "And just what're you doing in my storage shed eh!? You kids better get outta here!" He shooed them away with a few swings of his broom and they all promptly relocated to what looked to be a park like area.

"RIN!" Kuro came barreling after them in a panicked state.

Rin turned to his friend with a worried expression. "Kuro!? Are you okay?"

The cat quickly jumped into his arms and looked up at him with tears in his eyes. "You left me behind with the broom!"

Rin rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, man….. I was in a hurry."

"Hey is he… okay?" Kiba asked warily. He wasn't too sure about the cat after he grew large and went on a minor rampage against those priests.

Rin wasn't all that sure himself and so he turned back to Kuro. "So…. Are you alright? You kinda went a bit crazy back there."

Kuro looked at him in confusion. "But I didn't do anything. That man just swung a broom at me!"

"No those priests. You just charged them out of nowhere and weren't listening to anything I said." Rin corrected only to receive a confused expression back.

"But… I didn't attack anyone… What are you talking about?"

"Wait… what?"

"What's wrong Rin?" Queried Suguro as he saw the look of confusion on the boy's face.

"He says he has no idea what I'm talking about."

"Really, Rin! I remember being mad cause they threw water on me and then I woke up with that human trying to hit me with a broom."

Rin scratched his head. "But you transformed and attacked them."

"Yeah and Rin had to knock you out." Concurred Suguro as he assisted Rin in his explanation. He then paused a bit as he raised a hand to his chin. "Come to think of it though, you went a bit crazy too."

The demon in question raised a brow. "Me? What do you mean?"

"Well I know you were mad at them over Kuro, that I get, but they weren't actually hurting him. I think you went a bit over board when you hit the old man even if he was a jerk."

Rin scratched the back of his head as he thought about. He then turned to Bon with a slightly guilty expression. "Yeah… I guess you're right." He then took another moment to think. "Maybe if I see that guy again I can apologize? I wasn't really thinking when I did it to be honest." He wore a sheepish expression as he said the last part.

Bon simply looked at him like he couldn't be serious before shaking his head. "Okumura…. I really think something's wrong with you." Rin gave him a clueless expression which sort of matched that of Kuro.

"I don't know about you guys but this is really confusing to me." Tenten started. "I mean I just got back from a mission and suddenly people are walking in from places I've never heard of."

"Truly an interesting development indeed." Lee stated as he crossed his arms. "This True Cross sounds quite exciting. Could you tell me more about it, Rin?"

Rin turned to the eager ninja. "Sure I guess. Ummm…. It's a huge city with different schools in it and…."

"True Cross is a single school within Academy town. You can find a school for almost anything there. True Cross Academy by itself is just a prestigious school for those are relatively well off, but you don't have to be rich to go there. The Cram School we go to is just a piece of it and is run under the Knights of the True Cross, an organization for the exorcising of demons the world over." Suguro stated, unsurprised at Rin's lack luster answer to begin with.

"Yeah." The teen agreed as he pointed to Bon.

"Anyway, we need to go and get Mr. Okumura back here. He's probably waiting for someone to reopen the door." He then held out his hand. "Can I borrow your key?"

Rin looked at it in confusion. "What are you talking about? Yukio took me key remember? Just use your own." Suguro froze at that moment and his eyes went wide. "What's wrong?"

"Tch…. I don't have mine…." He then raised his hand to his head. "Damn it…. I left it in my bag which I gave to Shima." Only seconds later did his self-loathing get interrupted by a muffled laugh from Rin. The angry teen glared at him. "And just what the hell's so funny!?"

Rin couldn't hold it in any longer as he held his stomach with both arms. "You're stuck here with me!" He pointed a teasing finger at the boy who shouted back defensively.

"I'm sorry if getting stranded wasn't on my mind when I went chasing after your damn cat, and he bit me by the way!" Rin just continued to laugh at the angry teen as if they weren't truly stranded for the time being.

Yukio stared at the door with surprise on his face. The slamming of the door really was rather sudden so he couldn't be blamed for his reaction but it was a bit more than that. Now he was finally letting the true magnitude of the situation hit him. Rin was still…. Where ever he was and now he didn't know how to get back. "Wait…. Mr. Suguro should have his key right? He should be able to open the door back."

He decided to wait a few more minutes but the longer it took the more he thought about it. Surely it shouldn't take so long. If Bon really did have his key then he would of reopened the door back by now. He then let out a sigh as he turned down the hall. "Damn it, Rin…" He muttered under his breath. Why does this have to happen now of all times? Rin's already in enough trouble as it is. He continued down the hall as he gathered what he knew about the mysterious location.

And end. Now Bon is stranded with Rin and Yukio is building up more stress by the minute. He'll be greying before he hits 20, I can feel it. Anyway, I apologize again for the OOC-ness this chapter may contain and hope my next one meets your standards. I hope ya'll will give me a bit of feed back on it though, how you thought it went, what you hated, that sort of thing. Reviews will definitely help me improve as a writer. Oh and do ya'll like the cover art? I certainly do.=^-^=