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 Twenty-Six: Kyoto Bound
"Rin, are you sure you're up to this?" Bon asked as they packed their bags for the trip to Kyoto.
"If you leave me here I will find a way to sneak after Nagatomo and Tsuzo," Rin replied warningly. A part of him wondered if he shouldn't be doing that exactly. But then Bon, Izumo and Koneko would be going off to face whatever was in Kyoto without him and that wasn't good either.
"You would get in trouble the moment I turned my back," Bon said.
"We should talk to Mephisto before we go," Rin announced tangentially. "Maybe he can get word to Amaimon, he'll want to rescue Shiemi, and Shiemi wouldn't let him leave Shima behind."
"You're right about making sure Amaimon knows," Bon agreed. "I'd hate to be the guy standing between him and Shiemi."
"I- I think maybe he'll be able to find her because of their bond," Rin said hesitantly. "He knows a lot more about this demon stuff than I do and I'm pretty sure I could find you anywhere if you were in trouble because we promised to protect each other."
Bon looked startled. "When? Oh. That counted as an oath? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way."
"Don't be," Rin replied as he dialed Mephisto's number. "I think the soul-stealer would have won if I hadn't have had your oath to hold on to."
Rin's call connected and he spoke to Mephisto for a few moments then hung up. "He says he doesn't know what he'd do without us to think of obvious things," he reported wryly. "I'm guessing that means he already told Amaimon."
Konekomaru stuck his head in the door. "It's time to go, we don't want to have to rush to the train. Too much exertion could cause a relapse."
"I'm better!" Rin exclaimed forcefully.
"The doctor said demon healing doesn't work on soul wounds," Konekomaru replied sternly. "It's not like the other injuries you've suffered. You have to take it easy. The only reason I'm not trying to talk you out of going is because I don't trust the Order."
"I hadn't thought of that," Bon said scowling. "Godain and Mana aren't bad, but they're firsties and they're not us. Tsuzo and Father Nagatomo are looking for Shima and Shiemi. Angel's in the Middle East. That just leaves Mephisto and, well… I really wish I knew how you fit into his long term plans. Then I'd know how much to trust him. Yeah, it's best you're coming with us."
"Feeling much better," Rin repeated.
The three boys met Izumo downstairs and started for the train station.
When they arrived Mahiro looked past them as if expecting one more person to come running up late. "No word of Renzo yet?" she asked.
Konekomaru shook his head. "Not yet."
Mahiro sighed. "The True Cross has cars three and four reserved, you should find your seats," she said. To herself she said. "I just keep hoping we get word before I have to tell his parents."
Bon put a hand on her shoulder. "I'll do it, Aunt Mahiro," he said. "Shima was here because of me."
"He and Shiemi are going to be okay," Rin told her with conviction. "They're strong and his sister and Father Nagatomo and- and my brother will find them before anything can happen."
Mahiro stared at Rin curiously. "You are right; we should keep a positive outlook," she said after a brief hesitation.
As soon as the four of them entered the Exorcist's car, a hostile silence descended. Izumo and Bon returned the Exorcist's unfriendly looks glare for glare while Rin quietly sank into the first seat. He scrunched down so that not even a hair on his head showed over the back of the chair.
Izumo touched the summoning papers in her pocket and a moment later Mike and Uke appeared. They took in the situation with a glance then sprawled across the row of seats behind Rin's creating a barrier between the Exwires and Exorcists.
"They're not worth paying attention to," Konekomaru said quietly as he, Bon and Izumo took the seats nearest Rin's.
"I know," Rin said but he didn't look up.
A while later Mike glanced over his shoulder. /Not all of them are committed to shunning you,/ he told Rin. /But they won't step forward. It's nothing to do with you, just pack-thinking: If they go against the group to stand up for you, mightn't they end up without the pack's support as well?/
/Don't bother with the weaklings,/ Uke added. /The ones who don't fear the group may be persuaded, but these sheep aren't worth winning over./
/Thanks guys,/ Rin sent back. /I don't care about them, I just worry… I guess I worry about the same thing. About the Order not supporting my friends because they're my friends./
Uke gave Rin a canine smile. /Don't worry; you're making a better pack than theirs anyway. Between the pack forming around you and the Order pack, we would choose your pack for our little sister… Not that she asks us./
The Tokyo exorcists were met at the train station by a representative from the Kyoto Office and immediately swept off to the Ryokan where the injured Kyoto exorcists were recuperating. "It's my mother's inn," Bon explained quietly to Izumo and Rin as their van wound through the streets toward the ryokan.
The moment Bon stepped into the Ryokan's entry way everything stopped, people dropped what they were doing to come welcome him home. Rin stared at his aria in surprise, he'd known Bon was important to people here, but hearing it and seeing it in action were two different things. Rin's second huge surprise came when the slight, traditionally beautiful innkeeper who'd greeted them so graciously turned out to be Bon's mom and torn into her son mercilessly over his dyed hair.
Once he was done being scolded Bon pulled Rin forward. "Everybody, this is Okumura Rin. He's going to be my knight… So you can all give him a hard time about watching out for me along with Koneko and Shima." Rin looked ready to panic, Bon sighed and whispered to him "That means treat you like family."
"Where is Renzo anyway, slacking as usual?" a young man with dark hair and a strong family resemblance to Shima asked.
Bon took a deep breath. "Juuzo, where's your father? I need to talk to him," he said.
All traces of teasing disappeared from Juuzo's face. "Dad's this way," he stated.
Mahiro steered Rin and Izumo toward the other exorcists. "Why don't you two help with the injured," she suggested leaving Bon and Konekomaru to follow after Juuzo. As the three of them left the entryway another young man with dyed blonde hair fell in with them.
Nagatomo eased the order's van over broken concrete to pull alongside the van that had been transporting Shiemi and Shima to the Academy Hospital. "At least they left a clear trail to follow." He gestured to the riotous swath of wild flowers and saplings forcing their way through the asphalt on Tokyo-Gaikan Expressway. The unnatural growth started at the van's rear door and led south.
"Do you think it's a side-effect of being possessed by Gaia?" Tsuzo asked as they got back into their own van.
"I don't know," Nagatomo said. The van bumped along over the buckled pavement and rich new-growth. "Shiemi-chan should have died within seconds of being possessed. That is the only known side-effect of possession by a demon that powerful: death."
"Not the only one," Tsuzo said as a small smile briefly crossed her face. "You might call Rin a side-effect of his mother being possessed by Satan."
"Yuri was special," Nagatomo said flatly. "She went to Aokigahara with a team of fourteen exorcists. Thirteen burned out bodies were found on the edge of the forest a few days later. But Father Fujimoto said the flames didn't hurt her at all."
"Maybe Shiemi-chan is special too," Tsuzo suggested.
"The road's getting better," Nagatomo commented as he accelerated a bit.
A short while later the swath of vegetation petered out altogether.
"The effect wore off?" Tsuzo speculated.
"Or they were picked-up by someone," Nagatomo worried. He pulled over to the side of the road and walked back to the point where the unnatural growth ended to look for signs of another vehicle pulling over.
Tsuzo's phone rang. She listened for a few moments then her face turned grey. "The other team found the thieves' van about fifty kilometers further down the road. We're to check the bodies, see if…" Tsuzo trailed off, unable to continue.
"This is bad," Shima remarked as he trudged along the Arakawa River's bank carrying Shiemi piggy-back.
Shiemi leaned over his shoulder. Her bare feet dangled over a foot off the ground. "I'm too heavy," she worried.
"Not in the slightest," Shima disagreed gallantly. "Shiemi-chan is like a feather. But I think I'm getting blase, it's been five miles since I last got a nosebleed."
"I'm sorry I'm so much effort," Shiemi apologized.
"Well, we couldn't have you turning all our highways into gardens. The commuters might stop and smell the roses and then where would we be?" Shima replied.
"Thank you," Shiemi told him sincerely. "I'm getting you in so much trouble: We ran away from the Order and I'm sure your family is worried. But you're still helping me. It was my promise but I would have already failed without your help."
"You're so sweet, that's the only reason you don't know anything about skipping out on authority figures," Shima said. "Me on the other hand, I am an expert at skipping classes, evading chores and leaving detentions long before the allotted time has been served. I'm happy to put my ill-gotten experience to use for Shiemi-chan's benefit."
For several minutes Shiemi was silent. Then she said quietly. "I must be inconveniencing you terribly. You're flirting with me, normally you talk to me."
Shima pouted. "My flirting is so bad that girls take it as a compliment when I don't flirt? Ahh Shiemi-chan is so mean."
Shiemi shook her head so violently that Shima could feel her body swaying with the movement. "Oh no! You're very good at saying what's nice to hear… But I like hearing what you actually think."
Shima stumbled and nearly fell. "Wow, um, I think you're flirting with me now. I don't think anyone's ever told me that before," he replied.
Shiemi stammered denials until Shima laughed. "I do like that you talk to me," Shiemi insisted, her face red.
"Okay," Shima said as if coming to a decision. "You asked if my family was worried 'cause I took off. They're going to be mad I'm not following Bon around like I'm supposed to, but they don't worry about me. I've got a ton of older brother, I'm the backup's backup. My oldest brother died protecting Bon and I. My parents were so proud of him for saving Bon and they always tell me how I gotta live up to Take's memory. But me? I don't actually like Bon enough to die for him. So, yeah my family's not gonna be happy with me for abandoning Bon, but scew 'em. I'm where I want to be."
Shiemi tightened her arms around his shoulders and buried her face against the back of his neck. "I'm sorry," she whispered wishing she knew what to say to take the hurt away.
Tsuzo's hands shook as she put on the hazmat suit.
"You don't have to-" Nagatomo started to say. But she shook her head and pulled on the hood.
Once the two of them were protected they climbed into the thieves' van and started searching the fungus infested, boil covered bodies for identifying marks. The infestation had progressed much further than with the victims at the complex. They barely looked human anymore.
Nagatomo held back from saying that none of them were small enough to be Shiemi, it was a good sign but it didn't guarantee that Tsuzo's younger brother wasn't among the dead.
One by one they pulled the bodies out of the van's shadowy interior. When the last mask was removed to reveal silvered hair above boils that simply swallowed up the eyes and nose, Tsuzo sat down on the side of the road and buried her face in her hands. "I have never been so glad for Ren's ridiculous pink hair," she whispered. "If not for that hair of his there would have been a couple of them that could have been him."
She looked up and Nagatomo saw tears of relief running down her face through through the clear face shield. "Ren's not in there. He's still out there somewhere, we've just got to find him."
"Why don't you ask Kinoshita-san if she has anything for you to do."
Rin sighed and turned away, he'd already spoken to half the Exorcists who'd come up from Tokyo and none of them had anything for him to do. Apparently even changing bedsheets was too sensitive a task to trust the son of Satan with.
Izumo paused as she carried a tray with a pot of medicinal tea from one sick room to the next. "If they don't want your help, the hell with them." she said.
"I should check with Kinoshita. She hasn't told me to buzz off yet," Rin said uncertainly.
"Seriously," Izumo said. "You're trying to do them a favor. If they don't want your help then the high and mighty Order Doctors can empty the bedpans themselves because I'm not doing it."
"I can't just give up," from Rin's tone, it seemed that was exactly what he wanted to do."
Izumo sighed. "Remember that you're sick too. When you get tired of putting up with them, go upstairs and get some rest."
Ten minutes of being shuffled between Exorcists later, a harsh hand landed on Rin's shoulder. He was spun around and found himself confronted by the blond Kyoto exorcist who'd followed Bon to hear about Shima earlier. "You're not welcome here," the blond exclaimed. "Bon doesn't need you, he's got Renzo. We don't need any demon interlopers."
"Kinzo!" Bon shouted as he came down the stairs along with Juuzo. "That's enough."
Juuzo grabbed Kinzo by the back of the collar and pulled him back. "I apologize for my brother, sometimes he forgets his manners," he said. Rin noticed that he hadn't refuted anything his brother said.
After they'd left Bon turned to Rin, "Juuzo and Kinzo are just worried about their brother," he said.
"Yeah," Rin said dully. "It's okay."
"Introducing you as my knight while Shima's missing was a screw up," Bon apologized. "I'm sorry. I told Yaozo-san it was our own fault because we all declared as Arias so we weren't paired together. He won't hold it against you."
Rin gave Bon a small forced smile. "I think I'm just gonna stay out of everyone's way for awhile."
Bon watched Rin wander off with a worried look but before he could go after Rin one of the doctors shoved a stack of blankets in his arms. "Distribute these among the patients," the doctor ordered, turning Bon toward the sickroom.
Rin slipped out the back door of the Ryokan. He slumped despondently on the steps, absently he started scratching at his wrist. A few minutes later a bald, rotund monk who smelled strongly of alcohol sat down beside him. "What are you thinking about so seriously?" he asked putting a hand over Rin's and stilling his fingers.
"Nothing much. Wondering if it's possible to become a familiar. It'd be nice, just disappearing until someone needed you, no hanging around getting in the way and making everyone uncomfortable," Rin sighed.
"All this work to be done and you have nothing to do?" the monk asked.
"No one wants my help," Rin snapped. He turned and offered the monk his hand along with a twisted grin, "Hi, I'm Okumura Rin, if no one's told you yet, Satan's my father."
"Suguro Tatsuma," the monk replied taking Rin's hand easily.
Rin's eyes popped open and a surprised smile lit his face, "You're Bon's dad? You don't look anything like him!"
Tatsuma frowned playfully. "There's a resemblance between Ryuji and I. You meanwhile, definitely have Shiro's smile." He pulled a furoshiki out of his robe and wet one corner in a nearby fountain. He started dabbing at the raw skin stretching from the back of Rin's hand to vanish under the cuff of his shirt.
"Just when I think I've finally got that beat," Rin muttered, looking away.
"Bad habits have a way of sneaking up on us when we're feeling down," Tatsuma replied with a shrug. He wrung out the furoshiki then wrapped it around Rin's hand.
Rin squirmed in embarrassment. "You knew Dad?" he asked.
Tatsuma nodded. "If not for Fujimoto Shiro I doubt I would have Ryuji or his mother today. I find I have frequent cause to think on him despite our relatively brief acquaintance."
"Really?" Rin asked eagerly.
"The Myodha's historic duties have long caused us to be exposed to a particular demonic malaise. Torako's pregnancy made her particularly vulnerable. Your father happened to be in the area." Rin flushed as it occurred to him that Shiro had probably been there to steal the Koma Sword. "He taught us some of the True Cross' demon pharmacology which was quite different from the traditionally cures that had been failing us. Torako recovered and we were blessed with a healthy child."
"I didn't even know Dad was the Paladin until after he died. I really didn't know anything about demons or Exorcists or anything," Rin said. "I knew people came to him for exorcisms, I thought it was all nonsense. Still I could see he was helping 'em, that it wasn't just some con. But I thought it was a trick he used to get gullible people to listen when he gave advice." Rin spread his hands helplessly. "He was my dad but sometimes I'm not sure I ever knew him at all."
"Even if you didn't understand all the details you knew your father helped the people who came to him," Tatsuma said. "What is more important? To know the exact details of what he did for them or to know the intention behind his actions? Why don't you tell me about him?"
Rin shrugged. After a few moments he started talking.
Bon poked his head out the door hours later. "There you are," he said to Rin. "Dinner's on, come eat." Rin nodded, Bon let him go ahead then glared suspiciously at his father. "What are you up to old man?"
"Your knight looked like he needed someone to talk to, I thought I'd take the chance to get to know him." Tatsuma replied gently.
Bon's scowl darkened.
"You're very protective, are you certain he's your knight not the other way around?" his father asked.
"There's no one I'd rather have with me in a battle," Bon stated firmly. "But when it comes to the day-to-day stuff Rin's raw." He turned his dark look toward the sick room and the Exorcists there. "Izumo noticed what those jerks were up to. They make me want to beat 'em all over the head until they finally get it: Rin's not the enemy," he practically growled.
"Tsu-chan's reports about him have been quite favorable," Tatsuma said. "And after speaking with Rin-kun myself… Well, I find I quite like the boy."
Bon nodded. He knew how the clans worked. The family heads would be quietly disseminate Tsuzo's information about Rin, and naturally, his father's comments would be weighed in as well. When the senior members of the families started evaluating Rin as a resource instead of a threat the younger members of the Myodha would start warming up to him. "It still sucks that everyone looks at how they can use Rin before they ever bother to think about him as a person."
Tatsuma didn't disagree with his son.