Ch. 30

The smoke had stopped.

Dusky twilight was upon the world and the moon was rising, but Rin didn't bother looking up at the sky above her. Instead, the half-demon's attention was focused on the front of her home.

Or rather, what had been her home.

Oh sure, the house was still there, even if the front of it was slightly scorched. But as far as Rin was concerned, what had made this house a home was gone forever. The wicker chairs that had covered the porch, the potted plants her mother had so lovingly tended, and the faded welcome mat were all gone. The windows of the house were dark and Rin knew that if she were to press her face against the glass, she would see nothing but empty rooms and barren walls.

Really, it was as though no one had ever lived here at all.

"My, what a change and not a happy one."

The young half-demon didn't even blink as Ladahlord appeared on the empty porch. The sorcerer shook his head as he peered through the polished glass at what had once been a happy home.

"It's better this way," Rin said, kicking the sand at her feet.

"Oh, is it now?" Ladahlord turned his attention to the daughter of his old friend. Only eleven years old and already the gangliness of youth was fast leaving her in favor of lithe limbs brimming with sleek strength. Her wings were now large enough to wrap around her entire body and Ladahlord could see the bony spikes that lined the membranes were sharpened to deadly points. But it was the expression on Rin's face that tugged at the sorcerer's heart; the half-demon's eyes were narrowed as she stared up at the top floor window and her mouth was set in a grim line that was broken only by the points of her freshly-grown adult fangs.

"Hai." Rin gestured to the damaged house. "This happened because of me."

"I think it was a trio of local troublemakers who was to blame for this, Rin."

Rin growled, her expression turning grim once more as she looked back at her former home. "No one else thinks so. The kids who did it probably got off scot free!"

"Oh ye of little faith!" Ladahlord chuckled, his brown eyes sparkling by the light of the rising moon. "I assure you, the judge who heard the case of the would-be teenage arsonists was not amused. In fact, he found the idea of a group of hooligans setting off fireworks at the house of a well-to-do family with a young girl and a year-old baby to be a very serious matter."

"... you were the judge, weren't you, Ladahlord oji-san?"

"Haha, nothing gets past you, Rin, my dear! Yes, I oversaw that particular case and believe me, those boys quickly learned they were in very hot water."

The half-demon snorted, folding her arms. "Bet they thought they weren't gonna get in trouble."

"Well, they tried playing the whole 'mischievous schoolboy' angle, but I daresay their teenage smugness quickly got in the way of any boyish impishness they might have had. Their parents disagreed, of course, but I read them the riot act as well. By the time I was done, they were ready to send their boys to the Tower themselves!"

"Did they get sent to the Tower?"

"No. But they will be spending the next two years doing hard labor instead of going to fancy schools. Instead of trying to burn down a house, they can find out first hand what it means to build a home that lasts."

"Not having a half-demon in it is a good first step."

"Rin!"

"It's true!"

Ladahlord fell silent, turning his own gaze to the blackened front of the empty house. The sorcerer felt his own brow furrow as he remembered the faces of the teenage boys before him in court earlier in the day. As he told Rin, neither the boys or their parents had thought much of what had been "a harmless prank." Just how setting off fireworks on someone's porch could be considered "harmless," Ladahlord didn't know. What he did know was that it was sheer luck that the damp wood of the porch meant there had been more smoke than flames when the fireworks sparked to life, but enough fire had survived long enough to cause some damage to the house. While that could be fixed (and paid for by the guilty parties' families), what could not be so easily repaired was how Miranda and Henry had felt about continuing to reside in the house.

"I still can't believe they went this far," Miranda, her voice raspy with smoke and tears, had told Ladahlord two days after the incident. "If the wood hadn't been damp or if the smoke had reached the nursery..."

"This isn't the first time the neighborhood children have damaged the house, though," Henry reminded her, his arm around his wife's shoulders. "Remember all the rocks through the windows or thrown at your door?"

"Yes, but those stopped once you and I got married."

"The notes didn't."

"The notes I can handle; I burn the wretched things in the oven before Rin can see them."

"Rin doesn't need to see taunting notes to know what people think of her."

Henry had been right, of course, Ladahlord reflected. Rin knew all too well what people thought of her and that had led to the half-demon's painful decision.

"They left already." Rin was still staring at the house. "Mother and Henry keifu-san and James-chan. They left earlier today when everyone else was out shopping or at work."

"Yes, I know. And they made it to their new home in Dover safely. As far as their new neighbors know, they're a family of three."

"Good."

"Your mother and step-father would disagree."

"Maybe. But James will be safe. And Okaa-san won't have to worry about getting rid of any nasty notes anymore."

"Still, I think she'd prefer having her daughter. And I've no doubt young James would prefer to have his sister."

"It's not like I'm leaving forever. Just... for now."

"For now, your mother is going to have to pretend she never had a daughter or was married before. For now, Henry won't be able to honor the demon who saved his life. And for now, James won't grow up with a big sister."

"If it means my family won't have to worry about people throwing stones through their windows or setting fire to the porch again, then I'm fine with that." Rin sighed, turning her face away from Ladahlord. "I wish I didn't have to go away either, but this is the best way I can protect my family. The best way I can protect James."

Ladahlord stared at Rin for a moment before shaking his head with a sad smile. "Ah, Rin, you are very much like your father."

"Really?" Rin looked up at Ladahlord, her expression suddenly hopeful.

"Oh yes. I've no doubt he'd want you to stay with your family, but I also know he'd understand perfectly well why you've decided to leave."

Father didn't chose to leave; he had to sacrifice himself or other people could've gotten hurt."

"True, but it was still Tomoko's choice. And he made what he believed was the right choice, even if it hurt him to do it. Do you feel that way about what you're doing, Rin?"

"Hai," Rin sighed. "I don't want to leave, but I know my family will be safer if I do. And I'll come back one day. I just don't know when."

"Give it till you're eighteen and James is eight. By then, Miranda and Henry will have established themselves in Dover and hopefully know who they can trust with their family history. And with you being an official adult and living away from your family's home, it'll seem more like you're coming to visit than taking up a permanent residence. Chances are people will still be wary, but less so than if they think you're moving back home."

"You think that'll work?"

"I think it could."

"Okay. They I'll come back when I'm eighteen. Will you tell Okaa-san that for me?"

"Yes I will. Just like I told her I'd help escort you to Japan."

"I know the way to Japan, Ladahlord oji-san!"

"Indeed you do. But perhaps you'd like to make a few detours first?"

"Detours? What kind of detours?"

"Perhaps to a few places I went with your father?"

"Really?" Rin's face split into the first proper smile Ladahlord had seen on the half-demon in quite some time.

"Of course! Come, Rin, let's see where the night takes us!"

Together, the half-demon and the sorcerer set off down the beach. A soft wind bid them farewell as it brushed over Rin's ears and Ladahlord's long jacket. The same wind blew softly around the town of Dover where, in his new nursery, on-year-old James Henry Trotter slept peacefully as the ocean breeze caressed his cheeks and hair.

And that same wind gently rustled the branches of an old peach tree, making the barren twig rustle like the sound of a bat's wings as it took flight into the endless sky.