Chapter Text
It didn't burn. Maybe that's what scared him.
He needed to get home, back to Gehenna, back to his own universe.
His flames licked at the surface, searching the air and ground for anything that was a way home, a portal, anything, but that was impossible.
His eyes shut, concentrating, before he heard shrieks of terror.
His eyes snapped open, taking in the sight of Lizzy, Danny, Sam, and Tucker burning.
"Demon!"
"Evil!"
"We can't trust him!"
"He's not even human! It's sick!"
"He's more of a freak than I am!"
Rin's head hurt, his eyes watery. He held his head, and he tried to scream, but his voice was a whisper.
"I'm sorry...I'm not a monster...Please, forgive me..."
Rin's body jerked, and he exploded into pieces.
Rin bolted awake, gasping, and he quickly realized the whole bedroom was aflame, burning with dangerous, blue light.
He willed them to disappear, and rubbed his temples. Why did the dreams come back? He had control, he'd never hurt anybody ever since. His flames were in check, he trained and observed them everyday to make sure.
Recently, he hadn't been able to, though. Maybe that's what his dream was telling him.
It wasn't a dream, though. It was a nightmare.
The door burst open and Lizzy screamed, her hair tangled and frizzy from just waking up. "What the hell?! The bedroom is burnt!"
Rin flinched, observing the room, realizing that, yes, the bedroom was indeed singed everywhere, walls, curtains, and bed included.
"Are you going to explain this?!" Lizzy shrieked.
"I'm not sure how..." Rin trailed.
Lizzy groaned, "Fine! Have it your way! I'm going back to sleep!"
She stormed away, slamming the door behind her.
Rin grinned slightly, grateful that she didn't push for answers, even though she was most likely entitled to them. "Definitely not an early bird."
Rin couldn't get back to sleep. He didn't know if it was from the recent nightmare, or if he was just more awake than he'd previously thought.
Either way, Rin knew that he wasn't going to get any shut eye and lying there was making him uncomfortable.
Stealthily, Rin made his way into the hall, keen on avoiding waking up Lizzy. He didn't need any more headaches.
He made his way to the kitchen, his glassy eyes finding their way to the clock. It was midnight, still a few more hours before it was time to get up.
Rin sighed and scrunched his nose. He needed something to occupy his time.
He could always practice his flames. That would be a good way to pass time.
His eyes drifted toward the front door.
He couldn't train in the house, now could he?
He walked about the quiet night, the darkness welcoming. He felt at peace, the silence comforting, finally relaxed and free. He could do whatever he pleased when he was alone, no fear that he would be judged.
He loved his friends, his brother, but sometimes even they were uncomfortable when he used his flames without hesitation. They didn't seem to understand that just because he had the flames because Satan was his father, that didn't mean that the flames were Satan's.
Though blue, the flames were his and his alone. They belonged to him. They were Rin's flames. Rin controlled them, produced them, used them, not Satan.
Not many seemed to understand that.
His mind drifted to the one who did, who didn't fear his flames like most humans and demons. Kuro, his Cat Sith. Kuro, his best friend.
His heart clenched, the homesickness hitting him hard and digging deep.
Kuro was probably worried, missed him, too. Rin missed the little fuzz ball of a demon himself. He frowned to himself, wishing that Kuro could be there with him, so he wouldn't have to go through this alone.
"Oh Kuro," Rin whispered to the skies. "I wish you were here. Then I wouldn't be alone."
Rin shut his eyes, walking deeper into the comforting darkness that would only last for so long.
A voice among the wind drifted through the air, but Rin was too absorbed into his own thoughts to pay any attention to it.
"So you have wished it, so shall it be."
Rin sat on the damp grass, legs crossed, eyes closed, a peaceful expression on his face.
His flames spread across the grass, not burning, just glowing, quickly skimming the surface and running towards the trees to climb.
The grass and trees around him glowed with blue tongues of light, though nothing burned unless on command of their master.
Rin breathed in and out, slowly and deeply, before letting the fire dissipate, leaving no evidence of anything ever being there.
Rin's eyes opened quickly, a familiar presence making itself know.
It was a demon, no doubt. The presence was painfully familiar, and in seconds he was calling their name.
"Kuro! Kuro, over here!" Rin called, hands cupped around his mouth.
Before he knew it, a small black and white cat with two tails, yellow horns, and big green eyes came racing towards him.
"Rin!" Kuro's voice echoed in his head as the small demon cat meowed and leapt into Rin's outstretched arms.
"I don't know how you're here, but I'll try my best to explain what's going on," Rin told his friend.
"You better. I've been worried sick! Then, on top of that, I appear here and smell your scent! I was so scared you were hurt!" Kuro whimpered.
"I'm fine. Let's catch up." Rin smiled.
Kuro purred in agreement, snuggling against Rin's chest and balling tighter into his arms.
The Cat Sith would be damned if he ever let Rin out of his sight again.
"Wow. So, this universe has ghosts, and you've already met two people who are half ghost?" Kuro summarized.
"Yup! One of them is the mayor, and I'm 99.9% sure he's evil. The other one is actually about fourteen years old and goes around saving the town from other ghost attacks." Rin laughed.
"Like a superhero?" Kuro's eyes sparkled.
"Yes, Kuro. Like a superhero," Rin replied, amused.
"So, are we going back to this 'Lizzy' you mentioned?" Kuro's curious eyes stared at Rin, tails swaying.
Rin pursed his lips. "I'm not sure. I mean, Lizzy's nice and all, but I'm not sure how she'd react to a two-tailed cat with horns. She's already had enough scares. I mean," Rin laughed sheepishly. "I kinda burnt the room a bit while she was sleeping, but thankfully, she didn't pressure me on it."
Kuro gave Rin a curious stare for that one, but didn't say anything on the subject. "You can always hide me."
"And how do you suggest I do that?" Rin raised a brow at the small demon.
Kuro have a shrug. "Beats me. I'm just throwing out ideas. Never said I had any idea on how to complete them."
Rin huffed. "Useless," he muttered.
Kuro gave an indignant meow, "Hey!"
Needless to say, both spent about an hour wrestling each other and rolling around in the grass.
Rin tucked Kuro inside his jacket in the under arm area at around 1:30 AM, quietly creeping back to Lizzy's house, also known as Rin's temporary living space.
Kuro curled into Rin, trying his best to hide himself under the arm and inside Rin's jacket.
Rin quietly crawled around the back, climbing a tree and leaping to the window sill. His feet landed on the ledge, balance keeping him from wobbling or falling.
He opened the window and climbed inside without making too much noise aside from the the sound that echoed from the window as he lifted it.
He clambered inside, and gently closed the window.
Rin set Kuro on the bed and sighed, "How am I going to explain you to Lizzy?"
"Just say, 'Hey! I found my cat! He must have followed me!'" Kuro meowed.
"You have two tails and horns, Kuro. I need a better cover story than that," Rin told the demon, unamused.
"It's not like she needs to know I'm here." Kuro shrugged, "I mean, I can always hide when she comes in here and stay home when you're working."
"Uh huh," Rin replied monotone. "That's not a very good plan either."
"And you have a better one, My King?" Kuro asked sassily.
"Not funny, Kuro." Rin scowled. "I guess you have a point, though. Okay, we'll go with your plan."
"Yay! Now, I'm hungry!" Kuro complained.
"Yeah, yeah, quiet down. Lizzy's gonna wake up from all the noise you're making. I may be the only one that can understand you, but your meowing is loud enough," Rin told the feline.
Kuro just grinned.