Chapter 6: Tachibana Rin

The door to HOMRA flew open with a loud crash as Misaki burst through them, looking extremely determined and a little pissed off. His abrupt entrance startled the few customers that were left seated near the door, but he chose to ignore their stares as he strode angrily towards the back of the bar.

Just as the doors were about to swing shut, they were yanked open once more by a concerned-looking Shouhei. An exhausted Kamamoto was bent over just behind him, his hands resting on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"Oi! Yata-san!" Shouhei called, drawing a few more irritated stares as he hurried into the bar and began maneuvering between the drunken patrons to catch up to his commander.

Misaki slowed when he reached the bar-top, glancing left and right as if he were looking for something.

Kusanagi looked up from the far end of the bar where he had been in conversation with Mikoto. He cocked an eyebrow at the fuming teenager. "S'matter, Yata-san?" He asked, his Kyoto accent just noticeable.

Misaki spun on his heel as Kamamoto and Shouhei approached, searching the far corners of the bar. Not finding what he was looking for, he turned back around.

"Where is she?"

Kusanagi's eyes flicked to the other two who were also searching the room. Then, his eyes drifted over to Mikoto, who had paused with his glass halfway to his lips and was now eyeing the boys from where he sat.

"Tachibana-san? Wasn't she with you?"

Misaki continued to search the bar, distracted, so it was Kamamoto who answered for him.

"We sort of…lost her."

Kusanagi set down the glass he had been holding and placed both hands flat on the bar, his eyes narrowed behind his tinted glasses. "You lost her? Our newest member?"

"She sort of, eh, took off..." Kamamoto mumbled under Kusanagi's heated gaze.

"Took off?" He repeated, dropping his voice low in attempt to control himself. "She's a girl. You can't let her run off alone. At NIGHT. She's practically be helpless-"

"Believe me, she is not helpless," Shouhei muttered.

"Ah, Misaki-san, you forgot your board here today!" A voice called from above them, and they all looked up to see Tatara leaning over the railing, smiling down with Misaki's skateboard under his arm.

Misaki still seemed irritated, and replied, "Didn't need it today…"

Tatara came down the steps to lean up against the bar next to all of them, setting the board on the counter – much to Kusanagi's dislike. After noticing their expressions, his smile slipped from his face. "What's with faces like that?"

Misaki's head snapped up to look at Tatara. "Ne, Totsuka-san, did you see Tachibana-san come through here?"

"Tachibana-san?" Tatara looked surprised by the question. "Hai, I saw her hurry down the stairs from her room about ten minutes ago. Kusanagi, King, didn't you see her pass by?"

Kusanagi shook his head, while Mikoto simply frowned.

"I figured she was meeting up with you three again," Tatara continued. He looked thoughtful for a moment. "Almost didn't recognize her. If it weren't for that blonde hair of hers… She moves so fast, though, through a crowd- Oi, Misaki-san!"

Misaki took off towards the upper level flats, taking the stairs two at a time. He raced up to the second floor, and noticed immediately that Rin's door had been left wide open. When he reached the threshold, he could see that her room was completely disheveled. The sheets on her bed sat in a pile near the wall, and the bag she had brought with her sat open on her bed. Some of its contents had spilled out, most likely from when she had rifled through it, and Misaki couldn't resist peeking at it from where he stood.

Bandages and antiseptics were the first things that he noticed, along with a few t-shirts and two pairs of pants that were thrown haphazardly onto her pillow. A manila envelope was tucked inside the bag, and Misaki's hands itched to open it. However, he resisted, and turned sharply out of her room to head back to the first floor.

As he descended the last set of stairs to the bar, Shouhei's voice carried up to him.

"-fell backwards. It was insane! I haven't seen anyone move so fast-"

"And it was like she could bend over backwards! You should have seen Fushimi's face." Kamamoto interrupted, chuckling at the memory.

Tatara leaned over to Mikoto and whispered, "She's a bit reckless, that one."

The Red King cracked an eye open and cocked an eyebrow. "You're one to talk," he murmured back, but his voice carried a teasing note.

Kusanagi nodded knowingly at Kamamoto. "Ah, is that why Yata-san is so irritated?"

"No, that's not why!" Misaki interjected, as he jogged down the last few steps. "She just… called me an idiot," He grumbled. When he caught sight of Tatara and Kusanagi's poorly concealed grins, he exploded. "Oi, it's not funny!"

Kusanagi simply held up his hands in mock defeat, still chuckling to himself.

Shouhei flashed a grin, but added seriously, "Yeah, but she seriously sort of lost at Nihon's. I don't even know what happened."

Kamamoto nodded soberly, "Yeah, one minute she was fine helping us knock 'em down, and the next she was practically lighting this guy up."

"Yeah," Shouhei bobbed his head in agreement. "She freaked after seeing – what was it – that necklace?"

As Shouhei and Kamamoto continued to share their exploits with their superiors, Misaki swung his bat over his shoulder and snatched his board off the countertop. He managed to take two steps away from the bar before Kusanagi called over to him.

"Ah, Yata-san, where are you going?"

Misaki glanced over his shoulder, frowning. "Out to find Tachibana-san," He responded. Muttering under his breath, he added, "And to beat some fucking sense into her."

Kusanagi seemed to wave him off. "Let her be. She'll come back when she's ready." Misaki faltered for a moment, so Kusanagi pressed on. "C'mon, sit down. Chitose will be back soon with some ramen. Otherwise head up and get some sleep. I'll be closing the bar in a couple minutes."

After a brief pause, Misaki let out a huff and turned back around to find a seat at the counter. Tatara clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry, Misaki-san, she'll come home soon enough."

Everyone besides Tatara seemed to freeze for a moment; shocked that Tatara was already using the word 'home' so soon. They all peeked up out of the corner of their eyes at Mikoto, waiting to see his reaction.

The Red King simply lit a cigarette, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply before nodding his head once in agreement.

This was it. Her last one…. Probably.

Rin lit up another cigarette, inhaling the sweet nicotine for a moment before blowing it out her nostrils. Three other butts littered the gravel next to her, the ash from the tips blowing across her sneakers from the wind.

Cars raced by in front of her, completely oblivious to her small form curled up near the top of the underpass. She knew they probably wouldn't see her from this angle, and even if they did no one had ever stopped before. This place was familiar; this cold, cement underpass had been the one she had slept under for months up until only a few weeks ago. Even the stench of rotting garbage was familiar. While her street rat days were gone for now, Rin had a habit of coming back here when she needed to clear her head.

Rin lay on her side, her head resting on her uninjured arm while her other hand picked weeds from between the stones in front of her. She took another drag from her cigarette, sighing at the warmth it filled her with which contrasted with the cool breeze that passed through there. The cars passing on the highway above her head were deafening, almost enough to drown out the thoughts that were racing through her head.

Almost.

She sat up til she was resting on her elbows, ignoring the sharp pebbles that were digging into her skin. Her other hand had been clenched in a fist since she left HOMRA, and she finally let the silver chain slip from her grasp onto the dirt below.

It was a very thin chain, so delicate that it looked as if the slightest tug would snap it; which was exactly how Rin had acquired it in the first place. It had been after she had been tailing him for two weeks, and Rin had noticed a woman accompanied him almost ninety-percent of the time. After two weeks of not knowing anything about him except his appearance and the building he would slip into at night, not to mention she hadn't eaten in two days, Rin knew it was time for her to make some sort of move.

She had stumbled into the woman, who was clinging to that black-haired bastard like he was her lifeline, and had apologized profusely. In the slight chaos from the scene she caused, she had managed to hook her thumb under the bracelet and snap it off the woman's wrist without her noticing. Rin also forced herself to shake his hand in apology, and had managed to pickpocket his wallet and his watch as well.

When the couple had turned and left, Rin had flipped through his wallet, memorizing every detail about his identity she could find. As she had stared at his license, his name had burned itself onto the back of her eyelids: Takashi Yamaken.

As straight faced and cheerful as she could, she had called back to them, shouting that he had dropped his wallet. He had jogged back, smiling in appreciation and thanking her for returning it. She had tried her best to smile back at him, but Rin was fairly certain she had only managed a grimace.

She had planned on pawning both pieces of jewelry. Rin had needed the money, badly, but something about the silver bracelet made her pocket it. Perhaps it was to inspire her to hunt down Takashi Yamaken with a burning vengeance. Mostly she found that it felt like a huge weight, burning a hole through her bag every time she carried it, knowing she was no closer to answers than she was six months ago. It was a constant reminder to keep trying and to keep her from sinking back into the life she had been living. Homeless. Dirty. Drunk. Alone.

A tiny locket hung in the middle of the silver chain, engraved with a swirling pattern that surrounded a six-pointed star. She had seen it tattooed on the wrists of some of the men the day Ayami-

Rin sighed to herself, refusing to think of that day. Then, she dug her hand into the back pocket of her jeans where she had stored the necklace from that Yakuza gang member. She stared down at the identical engravings, her thoughts racing as to why Yakuza members would carry a rival gang's symbols. It made no sense. It felt like every time she searched for answers, she only came up with more questions.

With a frustrated sigh, she buried her head in her knees, letting the sounds of cars passing all around her numb her brain. The wind blew her blonde hair around her face and legs, and she peeked out from beneath the tangles to glimpse the tips of her sneakers.

How was it that she found herself here? In three days she found herself breaking half the rules she had set with Ayami. She was smoking again; she joined HOMRA and the Red King…

Rin could almost here her past self haughtily dismissing HOMRA to Ayami. They had been downtown when Ayami had first caught sight of the red clansmen. Rin remembers seeing Kousuke and Eric in an alleyway.

Ayami had pointed to the two of them when she saw one of their hands burst into pink and red flames. She had stared, open mouthed, and wanted so desperately to go over and ask if she could "touch their fire".

Rin had scoffed at the very idea. "Never in a million years. They're a street gang, Ayami." She had eyed them from across the street, muttering under breath. "HOMRA punks."

She had never imagined that six weeks later she would be lost and alone in the world, and would end up crawling to the Red King for protection and a home. Rin's throat suddenly felt raw and swollen as she tried to swallow down the tears and sobs that threatened to escape her.

She missed her sister. Desperately. Each day that went by was hard and painful, and she felt awful that her time spent with HOMRA was already lessening that pain. No one should replace her sister. She was never allowed to forget. God, what would Ayami say if she could see her right now, a member of the gang she had once openly insulted?

Rin punched the ground next to her in frustration, yelping when the jagged stones bit into her knuckles and sliced them open. She closed her eyes, cradling her injured hand to her, and if she tried hard enough she could hear Ayami's concerned voice.

"Onee-chan, don't cry!" She could hear that high-pitched voice like it was coming from right beside her. It felt so real, and Rin wished so hard that it were. She could practically feel her little sister kneeling next to her, petting her hair and staring at her with wide, blue eyes. "It'll be alright!"

Slowly, her sister's blue eyes bled into crimson, and Rin found herself thinking of Anna Kushina. The little HOMRA girl was so soft-spoken, and although she looked out of place amongst all these rough men, she somehow seemed to fit in. Yet, Rin wasn't sure if she was able to look the little girl in the face without cringing and thinking of Ayami. They were so different, yet so alike, and Rin fought with herself on whether she should embrace the girl or not. She thought of Anna's smile and the way the little girl had gazed up at Mikoto. Growing up with all these men, perhaps she could offer her some form of female support…even if she wasn't the best role model herself.

Rin glanced out at the horizon, noticing the thin strip of sunlight had now risen even higher. It was sunrise, and she still hadn't slept yet. The stiffness was starting to set in her body, and she took a moment to take inventory of her injuries. The cut from Saruhiko's sabre had clotted and dried, looking much worse than it actually was. The wound on her forearm must have opened again, noticing the darkening stain. Her shoulder ached from where Misaki's bat had hit her, and her knuckles continued to ooze blood from the under the scraped skin. She looked more than a little worse for wear, and all she wanted for in that moment was sleep.

Rin looked around at her surroundings, contemplating for a split second just curling up and sleeping where she was. It wasn't as if she hadn't done it before. But after glancing back out at the sun rising on the horizon, she pushed herself to her feet and began the slow walk back to the HOMRA bar.

For the first time in months, Rin had a bed, and there was no way in hell she was going to pass that up.

Author's Note: You guys have left such wonderful reviews! I really appreciate every one of them, especially those who keep coming back to review it. Makes me so happy! (And holy cow did I need those reviews after watching Episode 6! My heart hurt so much after that! *rolls over into ball*) Cannot wait for next week's episode! Anyway, let me know your thoughts on this chapter!