~Rin's POV~

I woke up the following morning rather early. I looked over my shoulder at the sleeping Yukio.

"He's still asleep…" I mumbled. "I should probably just make a quick breakfast for myself-" My stomach growled in response. "Maybe a bigger breakfast… I'll leave Yukio something, too. It's the weekend, so I can spend all day in my room and no one will notice." I said excitedly to myself, getting up quietly and tip-toeing across the cold, wooden floor.

Just as I closed the door, facing it, I turned around and was suddenly faced with a familiar woman in her bikini top.

"Where were you yesterday? You were supposed to train with me!" She hissed.

"Shh, Shura! Yukio is asleep!" I said in a hushed voice, and she looked at the door for a moment and nodded, hushing her own voice.

"Where were you yesterday?" She said, still slightly angry.

"Yesterday?" I asked.

"You missed training yesterday!" She said, even angrier at my response.

"Oh… sorry. I was kind of dazed and I decided to talk a walk to clear my mind… I guess I forget. I got home at about midnight last night." I sighed, rubbing the back of my head, hoping she would believe it just as Yukio had… or seemed to have.

She seemed slightly doubting but then seemed satisfied with my answer, nodding. "Well, we're gonna be training today, so get yewrself ready." She decided with an air of finality.

"What? Today?!" I said in a sudden outburst, still careful to keep my voice low.

Shura seemed slightly surprised at my outburst. "Why? What's wrong with today?"

I realized what I had just said and quickly came up with an excuse that was kind of the truth, in a way.

"You see… I had plans, some stuff I was hoping to get done today, since it's the weekend n' all."

Shura also seemed to believe this one. "Oh. What about tomorrow?"

I rubbed my forehead again, absentmindedly, the pain quickly preying on my eyes again. "Sure, tomorrow would be fine."

Shura seemed happy with this answer. "Hey, kid, since I'm here… Would ya mind makin' breakfast for me? I hear yewr a great cook, but I haven't really gotten a change to eat your food, other than at camp, but I was drunk n' all, so I don't really remember how it tasted."

I was taken aback by the answer, but I quickly nodded, placing my façade mask carefully, grinning my normal happy-go-luck-idiot smile. "Sure, Shura." I headed over to the kitchen and quickly began to make some eggs and bacon for Shura and Yukio and a few pancakes for myself [since they wouldn't take as long as the eggs and bacon]. The pancakes were finished a little while before the eggs and bacon were. I set one plate of eggs and bacon in front of Shura, left one on the counter and sat down the with the plate in pancakes on the table. She noticed the difference in food and the extra plate I had set on the counter.

She sighed and we both said our thanks and began to eat.

Finally, Shura broke the silence. "You're not normally up at this hour. Any particular reason you are?"

I swallowed the piece of pancake in my mouth. "I had a headache, so I guess it woke me up – but it's gone now, and I don't feel tired, so I'll just take a shower after this and get ready and everythin'."

She didn't seem completely satisfied with this answer, but merely sighed, not pushing the matter.

This is one of things I liked about Shura. She doesn't push it if it's clear that the person does not want to talk about it… but she is likely wondering why. Well, as long as she doesn't pry. I sighed inwardly, feeling the intense, mildly painful pressure building up behind my eyes.

It appears that she is working on it, I should check the progress later.

Finally, Shura spoke again. "What's the extra plate for?" She gestured to the bowl on the counter.

"I'm planning on heading out early, so in case I'm not here by the time he wakes up, I'll just leave a note for him on how long to heat it up."

"Really? Why are you leaving so early? I thought you said it was because of a headache?" She pried a little bit, making me think twice about how she knew how to back off.. but I suppose she has a point – those are contradictory statements. Good thing I DO have an excuse for that.

"Well, the things I want to do don't have to be done at any specific time, but I'd preferably get them all done today, since tomorrow I have to run out later in the day anyway, so I can give myself the time to do what I wanted to."

"Ah." She nodded, finishing up. "Well, you're cooking has certainly lived up to what I've heard, if not more. If only you put this much determination into your studies-"

I interrupted her. "Yukio's already said that." I said, hardly holding back a laugh.

"Well, that little four-eyed chicken is definitely smart enough to realize it. Well, since I had cleared my schedule to train with you, and now I'm not, I have a day off, so I will go enjoy it." She rubbed the back of her head, leaving the dorm.

I nodded, finishing my own pancakes and writing a note for moley four-eyes.

'Left to get some things done. Just reheat it in the microwave for about 3 minutes. Anyway, see you later, Yukio. -Rin

I read and reread the note, wanting to make sure it sounded believable, before heading to the 'expanded room', making sure to lock the door behind me. I wanted to make sure Yukio wouldn't hear me playing, after what happened last time, so I threw a few select items into my school bag after emptying it, deciding to go outside.

I took my violin, my sketchpad, a full box of sharpened pencils, and a half-finished notebook, swinging the backpack over my shoulder along with the Kurikara.

"Oh, right." I suddenly remembered something . "I should check the progress." I rushed to the bathroom, looking into the mirror. Instead of the normal self I remembered,

My eyes were completely and utterly black, save for small, white, lightly glowing dots in the middle that looked like endoskeleton eyes, with black cracks going up, over my eyebrows and forehead and down my cheek. The lowest crack was about halfway down my neck.

"It's slow, but it's coming along." I ran my finger over one of the cracks, slight pain coming from them, but most of the pain was behind my eyes. "I know the others can't see it, so I suppose I have no reason to worry…" I sighed, leaving the bathroom and leaving the dorm, heading to the second-to-lowest level of True Cross Town and sitting on one of the apartment building roves, taking out the violin and beginning to play a quick and jumpy piece, echoing around me, but not quite loud enough to hear. I felt some of the uneasiness in the pit of my stomach leave as I progressed deeper into the song, my mind drifting off.