lostcarnival | closed

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Who: Rin and Shura
When: After Rin confronts Yukio about the secrets he's been keeping
Where: The carnival... somewhere....
What: A student-teacher chat about Stuff
Warnings: idk, maybe mentions of suicide?

[So fine, maybe this afternoon had gone pretty poorly. Running into a brainwashed Shima who trapped her in an illusion involving Hachiro was bad enough, but then running into Yukio and his new little familiar who was a copy of Hachiro's weakened form was just rubbing salt into an open wound. And on top of that, someone had to tell Rin about what happened to Shima. She'd count on Yukio to do that, but...

Well, she didn't think that was going to happen. So now she has to go track her student down, first checking on the cookhouse, then his trailer. And if she can't find him there, well then his ass better be somewhere obvious. She's not in the mood to play hide and seek this particular evening.]

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[The cookhouse is always a good option. After all, people still had to be fed -- hunger didn't pause just because Rin was in a devastated mood.

He can be found in the back part of the cookhouse, in the industrial kitchen, rinsing and re-rinsing a large pot of rice under the sink. The water runs perfectly clear now, but Rin keeps rinsing, distracted.]

[Should she wash her hands before running to the back of the kitchen? Nah, she wasn't going to touch the food.

But what's with the kid in front of her? Damn it, had he already run into Shima? While Yukio was the one that Shura worried about, it didn't mean that Rin didn't have his weak spots.]

Rin, that rice is done. Come on, get it started. We need to talk about Shima.

[No point dancing around it. They were alone in this part of the kitchen, anyway.]

[Weak spots that Shima had skillfully poked and prodded until Rin had broken, just a bit. Just enough.

Just watching the water rinse over the grains is... calming. Mindless, at least. Shura's voice snaps him out of his rice-rinsing-zen.] Ah... Shura...? [He shakes his head and pours out most of the water, leaving an inch or so on top, then places it in the industrial-grade rice steamer.

Then, he turns, but doesn't look at Shura. He leans against the steel countertop, head down, and nervously drumming his claws on the metal]

What about Shima.

[Shura can wait. She can be patient. But with a kid like Rin, this quiet was a bad sign. At best, he had done something stupid and was trying to avoid getting into trouble with his teacher because of it. That seemed unlikely, though. This wasn't the way he usually acted when he got caught slacking off.]

They caught him and did somethin' to him.

[She lets out a sigh, crossing her arms over her chest. No, something happened. She could only guess by his reply what occurred, but Rin had already encountered Shima if he wasn't asking more questions.]

But I guess you already knew that.

[It's a little vexing, the way he seems to be staring at the floor.]

...

[as she speaks, he doesn't raise his head, or move his eyes. But, he does furrow his brows and flatten his ears, seeming to draw even more into himself. Even his usually restless tail is still, laying in a motionless coil on the floor thanks to a Fae-induced change in length]

I... already ran into him, yeah. In Wismuth. I know... something is wrong with him. But...

[he trails off. He doesn't want to think about Yukio and what his brother has tried to do, not any more than he already has]

But what?

[She lets him have his space, though that's about all she'll give him.]

Look at me, Rin. But what?

[he bristles at her insistence, finally looking up at her with a snarl on his snout and a few puffs of blue flame swirling to life on his shoulders and head]

He told me about what Yukio's been doing!! Trying to hurt himself?! And then I confronted Yukio... and it all turned out to be true! What the hell, Shura?! What am I.... how am I.... [he falters, leaning back against the counter and holding his forehead in his palm] .... I don't. Know... what to do.

[Well, shit--flaring up like this is a little alarming. Rin's control was perfect in a battle, but his brother was a different matter. Shura isn't concern about her own safety, but if something else caught on fire there might be a problem. On the other hand, Shima might have done her a favor in a terrible, roundabout way. She crosses her arms over her chest, keeping a careful eye on Rin.]

So he told you about his eye?

['He' being either Shima or Yukio. And if neither of them had said it, Shura would. It didn't feel good to see Rin like this. The secrets that were kept from Rin and Yukio and the secrets they kept from each other only served to hurt them.]

[It's hard for him to control his flames when his emotions are in high gear... but at least they remain fairly small and harmless-- and they're gone just as quickly as they had appeared.

Eye... Shima had said something about Satan, and Yukio's eye. But by that point in the conversation, Rin wasn't really paying that great of attention]

Kind... of... something about Satan and his eye... and how it might be keeping him from dying? I don't know. I was.... [extremely upset] I wasn't listenin'.

[A flare up, that's all it was. Still, best to look into some holy water, just in case of future accidents.]

Honestly, I was hopin' that Yukio would tell you himself.

[Not like this, not like back home. It would be better for both of them if they could just face that uncertain future together. But Yukio...

Shura exhales, her shoulder dropping. Fine, let Yukio be mad at her if he wanted. It wasn't going to be the first or the last time.]

Yukio has Satan's power in his eye, somethin' 'long those lines. It's hard to say that's Satan's possessin' it like a proper vessel considerin' what's happened in the past, but it's there. He's been hidin' it since Kyoto.

[It isn't any easier telling him the second time around. At least she had a bit more information to give him.]

[ha. Yukio. Telling HIM. If Rin had learned anything from his confrontation with his brother, it was that he couldn't trust Yukio to tell him anything. Ever. Hell. Yukio would probably be happier never speaking to Rin again if he could help it!]

Just his eye...? ... wait, since Kyoto?! That long?! Why.... why would he keep something like that from me? Is that why he can't die? Satan is... protecting him, or something?

[rapidfire questions from a very confused boy]

[It wasn't as if Shura expected anything less from him. It wasn't as if she hadn't had a similar reaction back home, though she had been too busy trying to get him out of the civil authority's grasp to think too long or hard on it.]

Far as I know, just his eye. If there's more, he hasn't told me.

[If Yukio could get to that point where he could tell Rin on his own--well, that'd be great. But instead, it happened like this. But since Yukio wasn't locked in confinement, this might go better than it might back home.]

I don't know what or why, Rin. It ain't like he told me nothin' on his own. I found out back home, but that's...

[That is another story entirely, enough to draw another sigh from Shura.]

I'll answer whatever question ya got as best I can, but it's gonna be one at a time, so keep yer mouth shut for a sec and listen to me. Far as I know, it started in Kyoto. Yukio wasn't goin' to his checkups for a while after we came back. I just thought he was gettin' overwhelmed with other stuff, and when he did go back, his tests came back normal. Whether or not Satan's using him as a way to maintain some sort of presence in this world or if it just happened because of chance, I don't know.

[It was possible that Satan had always been present, simply unable to assert his presence until Yukio had finally cracked enough to let him through. Shura's had time to think about the possibilities, but none of them made sense. She just didn't have enough information.]

But you know him, Rin. He hates to lose, and he hates bein' weak. He's been tryin' to handle this on his own the whole time cause he's scared he ain't strong enough.

[Ha. Like Yukio would ever tell him on his own. Maybe only once it was all completely over!

Still, he at least does what his teacher asks, and keeps his mouth shut long enough for her to finish what she has to say. ]

Which is so dumb! [ he says, once she's done] He's... he's incredible! He's always been so strong and so smart! Why does he think he's weak? [Rin whimpers a bit and presses the heels of his palms into his eyes] He's my brother, my twin, and all this was happening without me noticing... I'm the worst, Shura.

You're both idiots. [Shura replies automatically. They were both dumb. They were both sixteen. That was just part of being a kid. For all that Shura had made stupid choices at their age, she at least had made them under Shiro's watch. She couldn't provide them with the same care Shiro could have, and Hachiro's contract was a breeze compared to their burdens.

Shura pauses, shifts her weight to her other hip.] And neither of ya are bad, so quit thinkin' that.

[Her hand lifts, reaching up to stroke his hair, even if it means she has to get on her toes to reach him with his changed form.]

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