"What, you didn't hear? Okumura's been stayin' with that priest, ever since he was a little kid. An' you know what they say about-"
...
...
...
Shiro sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. "...Dammit, Rin."
A rubber ball soared up, then bounced off the ceiling and fell back into Rin's hand.
"Will you at least tell me what happened?"
Up, and down again. "None'a your business."
"Like hell it's not." Shiro crossed his arms. "You could have been in real trouble, Rin. Jail wasn't out of the question. Do you understand that? Does that even register in your mind?"
Lying on his bed, he paused to catch the ball before answering. "I'm not sorry."
Shiro's eye twitched. "Don't be an idiot," he said forcefully. "You know you can't keep getting into fights like this. And don't say it wasn't a fight since they both went down with one punch, because that's not what I mean," he added quickly.
Rin scowled at the ceiling. "Get outta my room."
"You do this on purpose, don't you?" The priest threw his hands up, shaking his head in amazement. "I swear, Rin, you'll be the death of me one day. Why does trouble follow you the way it does?"
The ball flew upwards again.
A beat of stillness passed, and the toy fell once more. "...Look. Just- just tell me why you hit them. Please."
"What do you care, old man?" Rin sat up, glaring. "It doesn't matter, alright? Forget about it."
"It..." Shiro trailed off, staring at him. "Listen to me. If you don't hear anything else I say, hear this. What you do, what you say, the way you treat people, it-" his voice shook, and he stopped. "It matters, child. Don't ever think it doesn't."
He move towards the doorway, placing his hand on the frame. A voice made him pause. "Wait."
Rin opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something. He looked down at the ball in his hand, then coughed. "They just called me a loser. Lost my temper. No big deal."
"Really?" Shiro stepped back into the room, an incredulous expression on his face. "I've heard people say much worse to you, Rin. I highly doubt that-"
Something in his look shifted, almost too small to notice. Rin's head snapped up. "What?" he said quickly.
Blinking, Shiro turned away. "Nothing. I, uh-" An uncomfortable silence filled the gap, and he struggled to find his words. "It must be difficult, dealing with people like that. I want you to know that I understand."
Face red, Rin fell back onto the mattress. "Whatever," he grumbled. "Just leave me alone already."
He sighed again, but nodded and left the room. Rin tossed the ball above his head.
[]
I'll admit, I wasn't expecting another chapter to worm its way out of this one. But a review pointed out a pretty cool idea, so here we are.