» It was kind of funny, wasn’t it? When he was younger, Rin was always so defiant when someone called him a monster or a demon. He fought back because that was the only way he knew how to prove them wrong. He’d fight them, and they’d realize he was no demon.
Well, at least… He never asked to be. It was funny how hard he tried to prove to people how he was human — completely. Only to be proved completely wrong when that old man dropped Kurikara into his hands.
That was a long time ago, wasn’t it? Rin sometimes forgot, so it was easy to slip into old habits and jump at whoever called him a name. He wasn’t fighting because he didn’t want people to think he was a demon anymore, though. No, Rin fought simply because he wanted people to think he was human.
It was messed up. He knew it didn’t make any sense, but old habits were hard to break. So, it was a bit difficult to turn away when a student spat words at him from beneath his breath. It was even more difficult to keep his temper under control after the first fist flew.
He was doing good so far though, wasn’t he? Hadn’t let a single flame slip during any of the fights he had. Yukio would be proud. Maybe so would the rest of his friends—
That was silly. He didn’t really have any more friends, did he? Rin’s concentration slipped. The punch caught him square in the jaw, sending a flare of pain across his face. He staggered backward, clutching his mouth as he growled. Calm down, calm down, calm down. Breathe.
A bead of blood dribbled its way down his chin and he wiped at it, quickly getting into another stance for attack. He froze after a moment, blinking and shaking his head. He was seeing things, wasn’t he?
The familiar blonde head of hair and green eyes he swear he knew so well. Shiemi. It had to be her.
Rin stood straight, spitting away the blood that pooled in his mouth and shooing his opponent away. It’d been so long, he didn’t want her to think he was still bad. Just as much a demon as the rest of them. He wanted her to think he was one of the good guys, not something to be feared.
He just wanted his friend back. Rin turned to her, taking a step forward as a small smile curved his lips.
“Uh, hey. Hi, Shiemi.” He said, stuffing his hands into his pockets. How much of the fight had she caught?
Shiemi greeted one of the older students and got a big smile in return. “Hey Shiemi! What are ya’ doing after school?” The boy leaned closer and pointed at her greenman. “Kind of funny that he is so tame like that, huh?” The girl nodded - she was glad that she made some friends over the months but to be honest she never wanted to spent time with them. They were different and she wanted her old friends back - Rin, Yuki-chan, even Izumo but since the great secret of Rin was revealed, the class had no great solidarity anymore. The tamer had to admit, that she missed the boy with the dark hair and the big mouth. “Sorry but I need to go home. My mother isn’t at home and I need to take care of the shop.” The boy seemed to be a bit disappointed but Shiemi gave him a sweet smile and waved before she left the big academy.
On her way back home she saw a bigger crowd, standing around two guys. “Oh, Nii-chan…a fight…” Shiemi bit her lip and approached the people and raised herself on tiptoes to see who had got into a fight. For a brief moment her heart stopped beating as she saw the dark hair and the uniform. “Rin!”, she whispered and Nii-chan made an approving sound. Next to the fear the girl felt a strange pain in her chest. She missed him - even though he was the son of satan. When she saw the blood she pressed a hand on her mouth, breathing slowly to control herself.
After some minutes watching them - thinking about ending the fight with some brave words, Rin looked at her. Without even thinking she made a step back and bumped into a tall girl with red hair. “Oi, watch yourself, you bug!” Shiemi stammered an apologize and was so busy with keeping herself away from an own fight, that she didn’t notice Rin. Then the tall girl walked away, with a bored sigh and Shiemi turned around. “O-Oh!” No word came over her lips and so it was very soothing for her to hear him speaking first. “H-Hello Rin…h-how are you?” Within seconds her cheeks turned red and she had to look down. “A-Are you hurt?”, the girl asked after a moment of silence and touched his face timid with her fingertips.
