Disclaimer: IA WNOA OTHINGNA (Pig Latin this time!)

When they walked into the room, Rin prepared for the worst. He expected them to be mad, or scared, or... something. What he didn't expect was for Sheimi to come right up and hug him.

"It wasn't your fault, Rin" she said. He looked around at the others, obviously confused.

"She's right, ya know" Ryuji said, as Sheimi let Rin out of her hug.

"I..."

"Nii-san, none of that was your fault" Yukio said.

"But... You said..." Rin protested.

"I didn't mean any of that. I was just... upset" Yukio said, looking down. A few of the others shot him a confused look. They decided, though, that they had already intruded on the Okumura's privacy enough for one day and left whatever Yukio had said to stay a secret between brothers.

"But he's dead, and he died because of me. You said it yourself" Rin said.

"But did you forget what you said?" Yukio asked.

"Huh?"

"You said you wanted to be strong. That you were going to defeat Satan so no one else would die because of you. You can't do that if your sitting here, feeling sorry for youself"

"That's a little harsh, Yukio" Shima muttered.

"And Rin" Ryuji said. He walked over and hit Rin over the head.

"Owww! Hey! What was that for?"

"What did I tell you at the training camp?" he asked.

"You-"

"I said we are your friends, Rin, and that you don't have to do everything by yourself"

"Then why'd you hit me?" Rin asked. Ryuji hit Rin over the head again.

"'Cuz I also told you not to forget it! And you keep forgetting!" he yelled. "This is like, the third time! How many times do I gotta say it?"

"And Rin, you're not alone in this" Konekomaru said. "If you forgot, our temple was attacked by Satan. We all lost relatives that night. We understand how it feels to lose someone to Satan"

Rin was starting to feel warm inside. This really wasn't what he had been expecting. Not that he was complaining.

"We're here for you, Rin!" Sheimi said "After all, would Shiro have wanted you to beat yourself up over what happened?" she asked, paraphrasing what Rin had said to her about her Granny.

"He..." Rin said "No, he wouldn't have"

"Exactly. No one blames you, you idiot. No one but yourself" Izumo said

"Rin, we all know it wasn't your fault" Sheimi said. The others all nodded. Many "We're you friends" and "We're here for you" 's were said. Rin just needed a shoulder to cry on, and they were all offering theirs. Rin finally smiled.

"T-thanks, guys" he said. He was smiling, but he could feel tears building up "I..." he tried to make a sentence, but couldn't put what he wanted to say into words. Tears started rolling down his face "Thank you, guys"

"No problem. That's what friends are for!" Sheimi said.

"And don't forget it this time" Ryuji added. Shima and Konekomaru nodded and smiled in agreement, and Izumo looked less cold than usual. Yukio's face still seemed impassive as ever, but he was smiling, just barely noticeable unless you knew him well enough. And Rin was smiling, crying and smiling. "Thanks guys" he said again. The moment was interupted when the stove beeped behind him, reminding him of what he was doing before they walked in. "Oh! G-guys!" He said, sniffling. "I was making something before you c-came in. Do you want some of it?" A choir of "yes" 's came from the group.

"What are you making?" Sheimi asked. Rin smiled wider.

"Sukiyaki!"

The rest of the day, and eventually night, was spent with fun, games and laughter as Rin had snapped out of his bout of depression and was back to being himself. They all stayed up late, exchanging stories from their childhoods, like Rin's first crush and how the Kyoto trio used to steal cucumbers from the garden. It ended up getting so late that everyone ended up staying over for the night (Sheimi's mother flipped out when she didn't come home that night. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere except school and missions for weeks). Everyone was pretty much asleep on their feet the next day. Rin ended up failing a test in math, but it didn't matter to him. He had friends who would always support him, through thick and thin. Maybe Ryuji could help him study for his next test? Rin has friends he can rely on, and this time he won't forget.

Friends are the family you choose.

Aaaaaaaand I'm done! My story is done! Wow! Please review and tell me what you guys thought! I really hope you liked it, and I'm really happy I got such a positive response from this story! At this point, I have 63 followers, 40 favorites and 45 reviews. That is 63 followers, 40 favorites and 45 reviews more than I thought I would have. I would honestly go and thank each and every one of you personally, but that would probably come across as incredibly creepy so I won't. But it's the thought that counts! I love you guys, and I really hope you liked the ending! Thank you for reading!

- Lew-chan :D