With a cough, you slowly came back to consciousness. You blinked, realizing you were resting on someone's back. From the scent, you could tell it was Yukio. When you looked around, you noticed you weren't in the forest, but standing on the bridge of a building. When you looked up, you noticed Rin being held by the scruff of Arthur with Shura by their side. A rush of adrenaline shot through you.

"RIN!" You flew off of Yukio's back and made it halfway across the walk before Shura jumped in front of you, her sword drawn.

"Sorry kid, this is the one time where you can't follow him," she said.

"This is the only time where it matters most!"

"Don't worry, Y/n," Rin said, though you could tell even he was somewhat scared. "I'll be fine." He held up a thumbs up, chuckling lightly to try to assure you more. It wasn't working. You stared at him, and you seriously contemplated taking on Shura, the Paladin, and taking Rin and running off. That was when Rin's gaze softened.

"I'm just happy you're alive."

"Why?" You heard Suguro say from behind you. "What's the spawn of Satan doing here?!" Your head snapped around, teeth bared and sharp. Shura caught it, but quickly distracted you by grazing the side of your neck with her blade.

"Calm down," she said. "Nothing good will come out of losing control. You don't want to end up like Rin, do you?" Utterly tired of the comments to Rin, you snapped your head around, eyes glowing a deep red. That caught her off guard long enough to send her flying into the tower behind Arthur and Rin. The former brought out Caliburn, ready to fight you off.

"Y/n, please stop!" Yukio came up behind you and wrapped his arms around you. "Please, calm down!" He held you tight to him, heart racing in his chest. Besides his brother, you were the one person he didn't want to lose. You calmed down enough that he could tighten his hold on you.

"I'll know if you hurt him!" You yelled towards Arthur who sheathed Caliburn. "And if I sense that you did, I'll decimate the entire Vatican so violently, it'll make the Blue Night look like a walk in the park for you damned exorcists!" Though Arthur didn't visually react, he wasn't stupid enough to not take that threat seriously. He's heard through the grapevines of your powers and rumors of 'what' you are. Though they haven't gotten any solid proof to suspect you for anything. Without giving you a reply, Arthur began to drag Rin behind him, who never took his eyes off of you, even when he disappeared into the night's shadows. Your body relaxed in Yukio's grip which loosened.

"Yukio," you said quietly. "If he gets killed nothing will stop me after that. Not even you." You and him locked eyes and he got the silent message.

"I know, Y/n," he replied softly. "I understand." You looked back towards where Rin was dragged off to.

~
Impatiently, you paced up and down the train platform. You were supposed to be on the train to Kyoto with other exorcists and Rin was supposed to join you. You hadn't been able to see him in the time between when Arthur dragged him off that night to then. You were kept under strict watch by an exorcist at all times.

Through the noise in the station, you heard the unmistakable voice of Rin from farther away from you. You snapped your head around and saw the teen with his head buried in a pamphlet.

"RIN!" You yelled carelessly. He popped his head up in surprise at your yell and you were standing across from each other. For a second, he froze. That's when joy rushed over him in a wave and sooner than later, he was charging at you with a giant grin on his face. You met him halfway and you two practically bulldozed each other over. Arms pulling each other tightly to your bodies, you almost tripped over your feet, but managed to hold both you and him up. He just gave up trying to hold himself.

"I've missed you so much," you whispered, chin resting on his shoulder. "The Vatican's been fuckin' annoying keeping an eye on me." You could hear and feel Rin laugh.

"You're hella intense, so it doesn't surprise me," he replied. "But I know that wouldn't stop you." You pulled away and looked him over.

"They didn't hurt you, did they? I know I'd sense it, but I need to make sure."

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he replied, a faint pink coating his cheeks. "Shura's just been training me to control my flames." Your face dropped into a half-pout.

"I could've done that." You sighed. "Then again, it's not like anyone except you or Yukio know, so."

"Right, right, sorry to break up you lovebirds' reunion," Shura interrupted. "We have to get going."

"Yeah yeah," Rin replied, waving her off. You and he grinned at each other before both of you walked onto the train. When you got into the coach, the people sitting in the seats automatically directed dirty glances at Rin. They were already starting off on a bad foot.

"So, where should I sit?" He asked, apparently oblivious to the looks.

"Read the room, kid," Shura replied. "Take a seat up front, both of you."

~
When you and he got settled into seats, Shura stood over you two.

"I'm gonna go up to Car 3 to see how the inoculations are coming along," she said. "So keep your butts in those seats and don't cause any trouble."

"Don't worry, don't worry," you said, waving your hand. "We'll be fine." Kuro jumped off of Rin's shoulders to land on your lap. Shura turned and walked away. Rin opened his pamphlet back up and you looked out of the window, happy to be at his side again.

"No way! Kyoto Tower? They've got a tower in Kyoto too? Man! I gotta hold in my excitement!" Rin grinned, and you held back a smile from watching him from the corner of your eyes. That's when you noticed something caught his eye because his expression changed. He stood up from his seat.

"Shiemi!" He exclaimed. You automatically stood up to look as well. She didn't seem happy to see you two though. In fact, she just turned away from you two. That's when you saw Suguro, Miwa, and Shima walk in as well. They talked to Shiemi for a minute before beginning to walk in. They froze at the sight of Rin.

"Hey, guys! I'm glad to see you're okay!" Rin exclaimed happily. "Hey, did you hear about this 'Kyoto tower' place? ... oh duh, you guys are from Kyoto! You gotta tell me what other places to check out!" The more Rin talked, the more you could see Suguro's face scrunch up in irritation. And with that, your own irritation was slowly rising. It was until Miwa pushed by him that he stopped.

"Bon, let it go," he said.

"I know!" Bon replied, walking past you two without looking. Miwa began to walk by as well.

"Konekomaru," Rin called, forcing him to stop. He then forced himself to walk away, much to Rin's shock.

"Koneko! Be less subtle, why don'tcha?" Shima said nervously. You watched all three of them walk by you. They sat in the row behind you, still talking quietly amongst themselves. You glanced over at Rin who was staring down at the floor. With a quiet sigh, you sat back down, softly grabbing his arm and tugging a bit. He got the memo and sat back down.

Ja ne!

{Ruby Red}