Walk me through the Valley
Disclaimer: Characters and premise are the property of Kazue Kato. I'm just borrowing them for a little non-profit fun.
Chapter Nine: Old Acquaintances
"Man, I am going to miss you working in the cafeteria next term," Shima declared sitting back and patting his belly as the Exwires finished their lunch. "There's no way any of us could afford to eat like this if we didn't get to eat your 'mistakes' for free."
Rin grinned. "It was really great of Itamae to say I could take a break and eat with you guys before starting the dishes."
"I'll miss our afternoon study hall next term," Shiemi declared. "I'll be the only one of us who isn't a regular student at the Academy again."
"I don't miss sitting in lame boring classes at all," Rin said. "I learn way more from Itamae than I ever did in class. Maybe Mephisto'll let me homeschool with you instead of going back."
Izumo scowled. "Not if he wants you to graduate," she said crossly. "You always slack off if you don't like a subject."
"It's true," Konekomaru agreed apologetically and Bon nodded. "You do everything short of covering your ears and shouting 'la-la-la can't hear you' when we try to get you to pass the Aria segment of Exorcist Exam's basic competencies. Itamae-san only has to teach you a subject you love. Speaking of which, your cooking 'mistakes' are better than the food in most restaurants."
"Seriously," Bon agreed. "Once we get posted to Kyoto I'm going to have to watch my mom or she'll try to steal you for the Ryokan." He made a disgusted face. "She and Dad were always trying to get me to take over running the Inn for Mom instead of being an Exorcist."
"No way!" Rin exclaimed staring at Bon with wide eyes. He couldn't picture his Aria as anything else.
"Just cause my dad's lazy, doesn't mean I am," Bon complained, scowling bitterly. "Sometimes I think he merged us with the True Cross just to get out of his responsibilities."
Rin winced.
"The Myodha head priests have led our religion and have dealt with demons in the Kyoto region since the Heian period," Konekomaru explained. He glanced at Rin and hesitated for a moment then continued. "We lost a lot of people to the Blue Night and afterwards our temple lost followers, we didn't have the manpower or the funds to see to our responsibilities. That's why Bon's father invited the True Cross in. But the True Cross ultimately answers to the Pope, so he also divided the Myodha's exorcists from our religion. Ossama is still the head of our religion and not a member of the True Cross. Shima's father is an Upper First Class Exorcist in the True Cross and the head of the Kyoto branch."
"Bon's parents may want him to run an inn, but the rest of the Myodha want him to succeed his father," Shima added. "And Bon wants my dad's job… Which would be a disaster."
"My grandfather did both," Bon muttered.
Konekomaru sighed. He turned to Rin, "Bon's not kidding when he threatens to break the alliance between the Myodha and the True Cross. If he really does try to do both, he'll either have to break the alliance or he'll merge us completely with the True Cross."
The bell rang announcing the end of lunch break. As the Exwires packed up Rin grabbed Shima's arm and pulled him aside. "I need your help with something," he said.
Shima looked curious. So did Izumo, who was standing off to one side waiting for Rin to walk her to class.
"I gotta talk to these two girls," Rin explained. "Help?"
Shima grinned, "I am definitely your man."
Izumo spun on her heel and stomped off. Rin watched her stalk away with a puzzled expression on his face. Then he shrugged and turned toward the dishes that were waiting for him.
On his way back to the school kitchen Rin saw Shiratori Reiji in the alley behind the cafeteria. The blond boy was in the middle of breaking a coal tar's tail. Shiratori held the little thing up to get a better look at it's expression as it shrieked in pain.
Rin grimaced, as he'd told Godain coal tars were the flies of the demon world, but then he'd never liked seeing Shiratori rip the wings off flies when they'd been in grade school either. Before Shiratori really noticed that he had been observed, Rin grabbed Shiratori's arm and twisted it behind his back, forcing him to drop the little demon. The coal tar scurried away to lick its wounds.
Slowly the Shiratori glanced up and grinned predatorily as he recognized Rin. "Same old Okumura, always out to spoil my fun."
"Yeah, your idea of fun hasn't changed much either," Rin replied warily. He let go of Shiratori and stepped back a few paces.
"Naw, these days I play with demons," Shiratori disagreed. "You saw it yourself, right? If other people could see 'em they'd thank me." He gave Rin another lazy smile. " 'Member how everyone always used to call you a demon? If you didn't know, it meant they'd rather you just didn't exist. I make demons go away… eventually, when I'm done playing. They ought to call me a hero."
Shiratori straightened and sauntered over to Rin. Rin raised his chin and held his ground even as the other boy invaded his personal space. Shiratori reached out and brushed Rin's hair away from the point of his ear. Rin flinched, in the back of his head he realized he was waiting for Shiratori to transform into a demon again.
"I heard that brother of yours flunked out," Shiratori remarked as he took a flask out of his pocket. "And you're working in the kitchens, guess you're finally starting to figure out your place."
"You heard wrong. Yukio's doing a foreign exchange with another True Cross Academy," Rin replied. "And do you really want to get into this? I mean I don't see three or four guys standing by to try and hold me down for you."
Shiratori threw the contents of the flask in Rin's face. Instantly Rin was overwhelmed with the familiar sensation of holy water burning away the demon in him. In his head he heard Yukio saying "Every minute I'm with you I sense the evil in you and it makes me want to lash out at you. Being near you makes me sick."
Distantly he heard a scuffle and someone shouting. Then he was being hustled in the kitchen and his head was shoved beneath a tap. 'Itamae,' Rin realized.
A door creaked open. "You can't treat me like that! Do you have any idea who my parents are?" Shiratori whined.
"You stay put," Itamae ordered giving Rin a small pat on the back as he stepped away from the sink. "Punk, I don't give a damn who your parents are. Get the hell out of my kitchen while you still have the option of walking out."
"My parents-"
"Let me tell you a secret," Itamae interrupted. "If the only noteworthy thing about you is your family name that means you are nothing more than a leech feeding off of your parents' accomplishments. Now, last chance to get out under your own power."
"I'm a student here, you're just the help," Shiratori declared.
"Ukobach, could you take out this piece of trash while I see to our Rin-kun?"
'Shiratori never had been particularly smart,' Rin thought as he heard a heavy tread and knuckles cracking like gunfire. There were a few bangs and crashes and Rin was fairly sure that the last bang he heard was the dumpster lid behind the kitchen slamming shut.
Itamae sat Rin on a stool and examined the damage. "Looks like he got a pretty good shot on your eyes," the chef worried.
Rin smiled reassuringly, "It's no big deal, I'll be healed by morning."
"I'd feel better about that if your eyes were focusing," Itamae replied.
"Okay, maybe the day after," Rin admitted. "I have gotten holy water in my eyes before. No worries. But -um- well, he was telling the truth about his parents. They've got more money than they know what to do with and they don't mind funding his grudges. I don't want you to get in trouble for me."
Itamae snorted. "At the top of my game I was requested by the Emperor himself. If that useless brat wants to play influence games with me he'll be in so far over his head that the Mariana Trench will seem like a puddle in comparison."
Rin was silent for a few minutes then he asked. "Do you miss it?"
"Hell no," Itamae replied immediately. "Sometimes you make a bet precisely because you're going to lose it. Come on kiddo, let's get you home."
"You don't have to walk me home," Rin protested when he realized Itamae meant to do exactly that.
"Sure I don't," Itamae disagreed, putting a supportive, guiding hand under Rin's elbow.
Rin squinted fiercely. "Really, I can see… big stuff anyway."
"Mmm-hn." Itamae continued guiding Rin all the way back to the Old Dorm.
Shiemi was in the first floor lobby reviewing her study plans for her Doctor's Meister with her mentor; an older woman who's greying hair had been pulled back into severe bun. Shiemi gasped when she saw Rin's burned face and unfocused gaze. The older doctor appraised him coolly. "Looks like you've got a pop-quiz on your hands," she said to Shiemi. "Well? What treatment do you recommend?"
Shiemi took a deep breath. "A compress to treat his eyes," she decided. "Eyebright, Chamomile and Spotted Alder… No, that's Witch Hazel, not safe for Rin," Shiemi corrected herself. "I'll substitute Marigold?"
The older woman nodded.
"Fresh would be best, I've got them in my greenhouse," Shiemi exclaimed as she was running toward the stairs.
Itamae sat Rin on one of the sofas then walked over to the Doctor. "He's not classroom assignment," Itamae said quietly but with a dark look.
"Of course he is," the Doctor said. "They're an Exwire team. I would be negligent if I passed up an opportunity to evaluate how she functions in her role." At Itamae's disapproving look, she added, "I would have stopped her from treating him with Witch Hazel. Moriyama-san's treatment will speed his healing quite nicely. So far the only thing I'd grade her down for is forgetting an analgesic, but the demon-boy doesn't seem particularly bothered by pain."
A few moments later Shiemi all but flew back down the steps. She was carrying a mortar and pestle, using it as a basket for her herbs. Amaimon followed her carrying a bowl of steaming water.
While Shiemi ground the herbs into a paste Amaimon sauntered over to peer at Rin, "So you found a way around the oath you gave Big Brother?" he asked without any real curiosity.
Shiemi froze.
"No, um, I was ran into this guy from my old middle school," Rin stammered guiltily. "I guess he wanted to see if the old rumors about me being a demon were true."
Itamae shook his head at Rin's minimization of the situation.
Shiemi's shoulders relaxed. She spooned some of the paste from her mortar into a cloth, then folded it up and soaked the compress in the water, "Lay back," she told Rin pushing him flat and placing the warm compress over his burnt face and eyes.
"Does your greenhouse have any Valerian?" the doctor suggested.
"Oh!" Shiemi's hand flew to her mouth. "Oh Rin, I'm sorry!" she exclaimed. Before she could go for the herb Nii-chan handed her a pungent root. Shiemi smiled at her familiar gratefully then handed the root to Rin. "Chew on this for a bit," she instructed.
A short while later the potent herb sent Rin into a deep slumber.
"What trouble did you get Rin into?" Izumo hissed glaring at Shima. The Exwire's group class had started fifteen minutes earlier and there was no sign of either Rin or Shiemi.
"Young lady, do you have some more pressing concern than passing my class?" Professor Shiku asked disapprovingly.
Izumo scowled. "Yes, that prevert took Rin to talk to some strange girl and now he's missing!" she announced.
"Hey!" Shima protested. "I haven't seen Rin since lunch. Get a grip on your jealous fantasies."
Izumo flushed hotly. "I know what I heard," she insisted.
"Shiemi's missing too," Konekomaru said. "Rin might not worry about being tardy, but Shiemi would."
"If you're not going to pay attention to me, what are you even doing here?" Shiku snapped.
"Honestly I'm not sure," Bon replied. "Rin and Shiemi are missing, we should be out looking for them not sitting around here." He got up and walked out. It didn't take long for the rest of the Exwires to follow him.
"Before we jump to any conclusions we should check the dorm," Konekomaru said.
Bon nodded, "Even if they aren't there, we might find some clue about where they went."
"You two know it's not my fault, right?" Shima asked. "I told Rin I'd help him talk to some girl, two girls he said, but I haven't seen him since lunch."
"It's probably the girls with a masho that he was supposed to check on," Bon reasoned. "He said it went pretty well when he talked to Godain. Talking to the guy went pretty well anyway; I guess Rin was worried he'd hate him on sight or something; but Godain's not doing so good. He basically told Rin he couldn't take seeing demons anymore."
Izumo glanced away guiltily.
Nagatomo spotted them as they hurried across campus. "Aren't you guys supposed to be in class?" he asked as he intercepted them.
"Shiemi and Rin are missing," Bon said.
They arrived at the dorm a short while later to find Rin sleeping on a sofa with Shiemi studying nearby. Amaimon was perched on the back of Shiemi's chair peering at her book over her shoulder.
"You two worried us sick!" Bon exclaimed.
Shiemi glanced at Rin and put her finger to her lips. "In the kitchen," she whispered. Then went to change the compress over Rin's eyes.
Izumo turned pale at the sight of Rin's burnt face. "What happened?" Bon demanded.
"She said hush," Amaimon announced herding everyone into the kitchen.
"How did Rin get around his oath to Sir Pheles?" Konekomaru asked once they were in the kitchen.
"He didn't," Shiemi then repeated what Itamae had told her.
"I offered to kill this Shiratori-person for her," Amaimon said once Shiemi finished. "She wouldn't let me," he pouted.
"What would your older brother say if you harmed one of his students?" Konekomaru reminded Amaimon.
The Earth King shrugged. "Special circumstances. I didn't make an oath to Big Brother, he just said he'd hurt me if I did, but he probably wouldn't hurt me badly if I had my priestess' blessing." He looked to Shiemi, she shook her head resolutely.
"You said the boy's name was Shiratori? Shiratori Reiji?" Nagatomo asked frowning.
"He's one of the kids on campus with a masho," Bon said. "You know him."
"He and Rin have a history," Nagatomo said, his voice tight.
"Rin didn't say anything," Bon said with a frown.
Nagatomo took a deep breath. "Rin's temper was always a huge concern for us at the monastery. Looking back, I realize most of it was over normal things for a child to be upset over, although it never seemed normal given Rin's strength and for those of us who were aware of his parentage… We worried, we saw signs," he sighed. "We did everything we could to discourage Rin from fighting with other children. When he was ten Rin suddenly turned sullen, he didn't stop getting into fights but he stopped trying to explain. I think he decided that we didn't care about his reasons, so he stopped trying to defend himself, he just took his penance and carried on."
Bon frowned.
"Shiratori Reiji moved into the area about that same time," Nagatomo continued. "It was hate at first sight between him and Rin. The Shiratoris were well-off and respected, Rin had always been considered a trouble-maker at school. The fights between them went on for a few months, with Rin getting more and more serious punishments from his teachers, even from us, but nothing stopped the fights. Rin broke Shiratori's arm at one point, he had fairly good control over his strength by then so it probably wasn't an accident. After that Father Fujimoto started getting suspicious that there was something really wrong, but Rin wouldn't talk to us."
"He didn't think you'd believe him," Shima guessed.
Nagatomo nodded regretfully. "Then one afternoon Yukio ran home from school, he told Father Fujimoto that Rin and Shiratori were going to fight again, that Shiratori had been hurting a puppy. Yukio had told us before that Shiratori did bad things but no one really heard what he was saying until then, the Shiratoris were a respected family. Father Fujimoto went back to school with Yukio, he and one of Rin's teachers found the two of them and the puppy." Nagatomo stopped for a moment and looked away. "The puppy was dead, it had been skinned alive before someone, probably Rin, took mercy on the poor thing and broke it's neck."
Izumo put her hand over her mouth.
"Rin was throwing up blood when they found them, trauma induced shock. He threw up so violently that it ruptured blood vessels in his throat. It was nearly a month before Rin could keep much of anything down and he had horrible nightmares, he was so upset about the puppy. Father Fujimoto said when they found them Shiratori was just standing there watching and smiling while Rin was all but choking on his own blood."
Shiemi's eyes watered. "Could I just maim him a little?" Amaimon asked hopefully. Shiemi shook her head then dropped her gaze to the floor before Amaimon could see the lack of conviction in her eyes.
"Shiratori's parents hired a lawyer who tried to suggested it had been Rin who tortured that puppy, but even with Rin's reputation no one believed it. Not when he was so obviously traumatized by what had happened. Shiratori ended up spending the following year in a psychiatric ward, not that it did any good. When he came back the only thing that had changed was the teachers didn't side with him anymore. Instead they just ignored his and Rin's fights altogether."
"So this Shiratori is a sociopath who has a personal problem with Rin and now he knows Rin's a demon," Konekomaru summed up.
"We're going to have to do something about him," Bon decided. Before Amaimon could offer his preferred suggestions Bon added, "No killing, no maiming, but could we get him expelled?"
"Not tonight," Nagatomo said. "Tonight, let's get Rin up to his bed and let him sleep off his injuries."
Bon sighed. "Yeah, I got it." He walked back into the lobby and picked Rin up. "Someone get the doors for me." He said. Then with a tiny hint of a smile he added, "Rin's not all skin and bones anymore, this is harder than it was last term."
Notes: My impression from the end of the Kyoto Arc is that Bon's father is actually the ultimate authority within the Myodha but the True Cross Order and Bon's generation aren't aware of that. The kids are probably kept in the dark so they have less to lie about when they're getting trained. I get the idea that when the Myodha invited the True Cross in there was less of a transfer of power than the True Cross thinks there was.