Author's Note: I absolutely love that you all are so interested in Rin, SO here you get to find out a little back-story about her sister, Ayami. Let me know what you think! Also, if anyone feels like following my project k tumblr feel free. Tumblr tends to tide me over until the next episode of K comes out: .com.

Chapter 9: Consumed

The sound of the safety being released on the gun seemed to echo in the room, and Rin's eyes locked with the little girl's for a moment. She stared into those watering grey eyes, overwhelmed by the protective feelings that were rising up inside her. The barrel was pressed against the base of the child's skull, and the man's grip never wavered. He stared at Rin, challenging her with his eyes; daring her to find out who would be faster.

It seemed that both of them were feeling over confident that day.

Without warning, Rin dashed forward as fast as she could, throwing her entire body weight into the man's side. He was a lot more solid than he looked, and slamming into him felt as if she were throwing herself at a cement truck. However, he stumbled back from the force of her blow, and for a split second Rin allowed herself a tiny smile of victory.

But as the two of them tumbled backwards, Rin's heart sank as the explosive sound of a bullet being released from its chamber sounded behind her. As if in slow motion, Rin turned her head in time to see the little girl's form slump forward onto the ground, her dark hair fanning out around her. Rin had less than a second to process the scene, but she didn't need any more time to know what had happened. She had seen it before, and once again she had been powerless to stop it.

Bright blue eyes and white-blonde hair flashed in front of her eyes, and for a moment Rin felt the loss of her sister all over again. Her eyes widened as the raw pain burned through her body like acid, but she swallowed down those thoughts until her mind was wiped completely blank.

A strange stillness seemed to fill her in those few seconds, and her body seemed to move of its own accord. Using their momentum as they fell, Rin twisted herself so that she could slam the man's face down onto the floor. The force of her blow caused his nose to break as it connected solidly with the concrete, spurting blood, and in those few seconds her hand snaked out to snatch the gun from his loose grip. She tucked it into the waistband of her jeans without a second thought. It served no purpose to her, not today.

Grasping the back of his head by his hair, she raised the man's bloody face before smashing it back down against the concrete. A second sickening crunch sounded and the man let out a moan of pain, but Rin could no longer hear him. It was as if the world around her had become muffled. Red tinted the corners of her vision as she smashed his face one last time into the ground before climbing off of him, her sneakers speckled with droplets of blood.

The whole scene had taken, at most, a few seconds, and distantly Rin recognized the sound of guns being drawn and pointed at her. Another image of a little blonde haired girl in a blue dress flashed across her vision, this time much clearer, and a strange sense of detachment seemed to settle over her. Flames crackled around her body, distorting her vision and illuminating everything in a pinkish glow, but Rin no longer saw the warehouse in front of her.

Long blonde hair whipped in the wind in front of her. Her sister's' hand had a firm grasp on her wrist, yanking Rin down until she was stumbling half-bent over behind her.

"Ayami," She laughed, only sounding slightly exasperated. "We still have some time before the train leaves, no need to rush!"

"Hurry up, onee-san!" A high-pitched giggle fluttered back to her, and Rin couldn't help but smile at her sister's excitement. It had been a while since she had made enough money to take the two of them on a trip.

Rin's leg hooked underneath one of the warehouse men's, yanking his foot out from underneath him. Her hand was on his face in an instant. His screams were muffled, but in the back of her mind she could recognize the fear in his eyes as he stared wildly into her cold unseeing ones. His fingernails clawed at her hand, raking deep tracks into her skin, but her fingers never twitched. Rin's hand ignited, the man's face held tightly in her grasp. Flames swelled around him as his skin began to bubble and crack beneath her fingers, his screams of agony echoing in the room.

Rin felt Ayami's fingers slip from her own as the little girl dashed impatiently ahead, too full of energy to wait for her lazy sister. Her light blue sundress twirled around her as she up the hill to the train station. Businessmen and women who had just exited the previous train dodged and sidestepped the little girl, some smiling at her energy, some grumbling.

As her small form began to disappear amongst the many pedestrians, Rin called out sharply, "Not too far, Ayami!" She picked up her pace as she saw white blonde hair scurry over the crest of the hill and disappeared from her view.

Heat burned through her veins and pulsated with every breath she took as if the fire that surrounded her had a mind and life of its own. Rin moved as if she was no longer completely in control of her body, and, truthfully, she couldn't find it in her to care. This feeling of invincibility, of destruction, of pure raw power, this was what she had been missing.

And as her hand gripped another man's throat, a strange feeling of satisfaction settled over her. She was going to enjoy watching them all burn.

The sound of gunshots and screams rose up from over the hill, and a swarm of people began spill over the crest, crying in terror. Rin's heart leapt into her throat as she tried to push her way through the panicked crowd, but it was like trying to push back an avalanche. Darting into the street, she sprinted up the hill as cars swerved around her, desperately trying to escape.

"Ayami!" She screamed, trying to be heard over the roaring noise of the crowds. Tears pricked at her eyes as she searched frantically for any sign of her eight-year old sister. "Ayami!"

Rin pushed her way through the terrified people towards the station. She could just make out the top of one of trains ahead, and knew that Ayami had to be somewhere close by. The gunshots had stopped, and the sound of tires squealing could be heard on the street ahead of her.

A dark blue van with a strange design painted on the side of it peeled out, and Rin threw herself to the side in order to avoid being hit. She turned back and caught a glimpse of a dark haired man with glasses loading a new magazine clip into his handgun. Rin etched every detail of the man into her brain, vaguely hoping the police would find it useful.

She turned back towards the station, which was littered with people. Wounded pedestrians lay crouched and crying in pain on the ground while a few brave souls tried to tend to them until the paramedics arrived. Rin's panic rose when there was no sign of child in a light blue sundress.

Rin was bent over panting, with her hands on her knees. She tried to take deep breaths through her nose to calm her heartbeat, but the fire seemed to race through her, wanting to consume more. She felt as if she had run five miles; she could feel her heart pounding against her rib cage. Rin lashed out without thinking, no longer seeing the enemy she was fighting.

Blood pooled around Ayami's small form as Rin dropped to her knees, uncaring as the wetness stained her knees. Her hands shook as she reached for her sister, whose eyes were already glassy and unseeing, and pulled her into her lap. Her head flopped lifelessly as Rin cradled her in her arms, and Rin felt as if she had swallowed glass.

She had found her behind one of the parked cars that had been riddled with bullets, two of which had managed to pierce her sister's flesh and silence her forever. Her blonde hair had covered half of her face, but Rin had recognized it immediately.

"No." The word seemed tear itself from her lips as she moaned repeatedly, "No, no, no." Tears spilled from her eyes and her nose began to run, but Rin couldn't find it in herself to care. She looked up wildly around her as the paramedics began to arrive, screaming for someone, anyone, to help her sister. She heard footsteps begin to run in her direction, and turned back to rock her sister in her arms, pushing her tangled hair away from her face and pressing her cheek against her own.

She could still hear her sister's laughter in her ears, and the intensity of her pain made her flames glow brighter and hotter. Faintly, as if she were underwater, Rin could hear someone call her name, and she faltered for a second.

The news had said it was the worst gang conflict in the past decade, stating that over sixty people had been injured in the drive-by shooting, and that the death toll had reached up to fifteen known Yakuza gang members and forty innocent bystanders.

Rin had wondered if she was selfish for only caring about one of them.

"Tachibana-san!"

Rin faltered once more, blinking in the warehouse. She looked at her feet at the charred remains of one of the warehouse lackeys, and stared unfeelingly down at the stranger. Shadows danced across her face from her flickering flames. It slowly began to register that someone had called her name, and, slowly, she turned towards the entrance.

The doors of the warehouse were flung wide enough that Rin could make out the sunset on the horizon. Dark figures were silhouetted in the entrance, and one of them called out her name again. A small part of her tried to remember where she knew that voice, but the desire to burn the whole building down was so overwhelming that she didn't care. She could do it too. Rin knew she had the power.

"Shit," The same voice said. "She's losing herself in it."

Another voice cut sharply, "Mikoto. She'll burn down the entire building, herself included."

Cautiously, the group moved forward into the warehouse, staring at the destruction around them.

Mikoto kept his eyes locked on the teenage girl in front of him. She looked like vengeful angel sent to burn this building and everything inside to the ground. He watched as she took a step forward, swaying slightly.

"Tachibana-san," Misaki said again softly, and Mikoto looked over to see the boy crouched near frightened family whom had taken refuge huddling against each other during Rin's rage. "You're scaring her," He said warily, gesturing to the little girl curled against her mother's chest.

While his words bounced off her with no effect, the sight of the little girl being alive and well, with only a minor flesh wound from the bullet, seemed to click somewhere in the back of her mind. Suddenly her world seemed to snap back into focus, and she could finally see the destruction around her.

She wanted it to stop; she wanted it to be over, but she couldn't seem to control herself any more. The more she tried to contain the fire, the more she felt like she was trying to hold back a volcano inside her that threatened to erupt once more. Rin wrapped her arms around her stomach, trying to hold it all in and keep it from exploding. She felt impossibly full and hot, and began to break out into a sweat.

Mikoto could see her eyes widen and her body begin to shake. As her arms wrapped around herself, he knew exactly what was happening to her. He'd lived through it before.

Striding forward, he grasped her chin in his hand and tilted her head up to look at him so that he could see her face.

"Jesus, her eyes…" Kusanagi murmured.

Rin's pupils had dilated to the point where only a thin ring of her iris was visible. Her eyes were wild and apologetic as she stared up at him, and he brushed away the tear stains on her cheeks with the pads of his thumb.

Without losing eye contact, Mikoto slowly began to drain away some of the energy built up inside her. It seeped into him as hot and fluid as magma. As his aura grew brighter, hers dimmed until her flames fizzled out completely. For a moment, she swayed on the spot like a drunkard before her knees gave out from underneath her.

Mikoto caught her before she collapsed, passing out from exhaustion. He picked her up with ease. Her body was warm, too warm, and was shaking like a leaf. Even in her unconscious state her teeth chattered as if she had been doused in a bucket of ice.

Kusanagi turned to the family huddled on the floor. "Now would be the time you should get out."

The three of them hurried to their feet, the father hoisting the little girl into his arms. She wrapped her arms tightly around him and buried her face into the crook of his neck. He gave her a gentle pat on the head, but his eyes remained locked on Rin, who lay limp in Mikoto's arms. Her hair hung like a blonde sheet, spilling over his forearms and dangling a foot from the ground. He opened his mouth as if to say something, but no sound came out. Unsure as to whether or not he should thank her or run from this terrifying creature while she was still unconscious, he finally took his wife's hand a hurried out past the other members of Homura.

"Mikoto-san," Misaki called, looking around at the warehouse and the charred remains of the members of Niaka. "What should we do with all this?"

Mikoto turned and started walking towards the door, Kusanagi in his wake. He closed his eyes for a moment as he walked past the young commander.

"Burn it."