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The problem was three-fold.
First of all, they were grossly out-numbered. Demons were swelling all around, the terrain was rocky with a lot of places where nasties could hide and spring surprise attacks. Secondly, they were out-powered. Sure, most of the demons were low-level pieces of scum but there were enough mid-level monsters (mostly rot class) to be causing a major problem.
Finally, Ryuuji Suguro was separated from the rest of his team.
This was a major problem for him- he specialized in aria, which meant that (aside from his bazooka, which was out of rounds) all that was keeping him from becoming demon chow was his ability to chant mantras. Now, (not to brag or anything) Ryuuji was great at mantras. He had a sharp mind and a sharper tongue and had gotten a reputation for being able to memorize whole holy books in days. In this situation though, he was backed up against what looked like a huge wall of sheer rock with a horde of rotten, misshapen monsters creeping towards him, spewing enough miasma to make Ryuuji’s head spin and his stomach churn. He couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t think aside from the sharp realization that if he didn’t so something drastic soon, he was going to die.
He had some sheets with tamer signs on them simply because he was holding them for another tamer in the group (he wasn’t from Ryuuji’s class, a somewhat scatterbrained fellow whose friend asked Ryuuji to hold onto them) but the rustling of the papers in his pocket gave Ryuuji an idea. A terrible, dangerous, absolutely bat-shit insane idea.
Ryuuji’s skin on his hands was dry enough that he didn’t have to bite too hard. It hurt but that pain was just another bit added on to the mess that was going on in his head and lungs as Ryuuji gracelessly smeared his blood in the circle, taking a deep (miasma-filled breath) and incanting the first thing that came to his head.
“In my right hand I hold my heart, in my left the holy flames of the father. I roar and my enemies scatter. Hear my call-” Ryuuji’s voice gave out, leaving nothing but a gasp but it felt done. It also felt unbalanced, like something from it was missing but at this point Ryuuji’s legs had given out under him, his head spinning so rapidly he swore that he saw Rin Okumura in front of him-
Wait.
“O-okumura?” Ryuuji rasped out, staring at his classmate in absolute wonder.
“What?” Rin sounded a bit crabby turning his head to give Ryuuji a flat look. He then paused and looked around at his surroundings, a look of confusion crossing his features. “Wait- how the hell did I get here?”
“I…” Ryuuji stared at the summoning circle in his hand. “I think I summoned you,”
“WWHAT?” Rin screeched and the sound stabbed through Ryuuji’s head like a giant nail. “WHY DID YOU DO THAT?”
“Because I was about to die you idiot now go fry those assholes!” Ryuuji barked. Rin’s eyes seemed to glow a bright blue, something eerie and partially sickening, partially fascinating. Ryuuji was still unused to the blue flames- terrified actually. It was satisfying to see them licking around the enemies before him, incinerating the filth that stood in his path.
Ryuuji just sat and watched as Rin sliced up his enemies, the throbbing in his head only fading when he held himself still. Did he… yeah. He summoned Rin. Rin was supposed to be on a train headed back to True Cross Town from Kyoto, where he was needed to assist in a bit of trouble they’d run into. Ryuuji wasn’t too fond of all his classmates splitting up like this, but in the current times such action was a necessary evil.
Rin stalked back to Ryuuji, a rather disgruntled look on his face. He crouched down.
“You’re not a tamer,” he remarked.
“No,” Ryuuji shook his head minutely- bad move. It felt like his brains were sloshing.
“And you summoned me? That’s lame,” Rin whined. “And you’re injured too- where’s the rest of your group?”
“We got.. .seperated-”
“Moron! Come on, you’re supposed to be the smart guy,” Rin scoled Ruyji. “It’s a good thing you summoned me or you’d be toast!”
“Yeah yeah, thanks,” Ryuuji muttered, tempted to shred the summoning circle and make Rin go away. Except…
…What if Rin went to Gehenna instead of back where he was supposed to go?
Ryuuji had no idea what happened to summons once their circle was torn- he presumed they got sent back to where they were before but Rin was on a moving train (presumably) and so sending him back to a moving object would be impossible. At best, Rin would end up in the middle of some train tracks somewhere between Kyoto and True Cross Town, stranded with no way of getting back where he belonged.
Ryuuji’s head started spinning again. He bit the inside of his cheek- if he passed out, it would have the same effect as tearing his summoning circle. He had to stay awake, if only to make sure Rin got back home safely…
“Bon,” Rin’s voice was serious even as he said Ryuuji’s ridiculous name. “You don’t look so great. Let me see if I can get you some help,”
“No I-”
“C’mon don’t be such a fussy princess,” Rin huffed, picking Ryuuji up with ease. Ryuuji made a groan of complaint but not too loudly.
“Mnot a princess,” Ryuuji grumbled.
“Yes you are,” Rin insisted, huffing a little. After a moment, he added “I’m glad you called me,”
“Yeah well. What else was I going to do?” Ryuuji muttered, flushing. Rin smiled at him, which made Ryuuji flush more because Rin had one of those fucking smiles that split his face in two and was disgustingly dorky. If Rin was a little skinnier Ryuuji would stuff him in a fucking locker.
Rin started heading back to Ryuuji’s group, said Aria draped in his hands bridal style. Most of the group had no idea who Rin was and there was a lot of panicking because Rin’s tail and ears and flames were out. Luckily one of Ryuuji’s instructors recognized Rin and barked a lot of nervous and rapid fire questions (“How did you get here?” “Why are your flames out?” “What about the ghouls?”) which Rin answered in short, grumbly responses, more interested in getting Ryuuji to a doctor than talking to a hyperactive instructor. Once Ryuuji was being cared for though, Rin seemed to settle.
“Suguro, you need to shred your circle-”
“No!” Ryuuji rasped- he really wasn’t feeling well at this point and his vision kept blurring grey. “No, I don’t know what will happen to him once I tear it-”
“Just do it you idiot!” Rin snapped. “I can take care of myself, really.”
“But-”
“It will be ok,” Rin reiterated seriously. Ryuuji grumbled under his breath, his fingers numb.
He passed out before he even had a chance to tear the paper.
When he came to, he was on a train. He knew this by the rattling of the ground under him and the smell in the air. Ryuuji slowly sat up, rubbing his head. He felt like hell warmed over really, and let out a groan vocalizing this.
“Hey Sleeping Beauty,” Rin greeted from the seat across from Ryuuji.
“Hey- HEY!” Ryuuji scowled, giving Rin the best glare he could. Rin grinned cheekily back at him.
“Good to see you up,” Rin said brightly. Ryuuji ran a hand through his hair, squinting at Rin.
“What… happened?”
“Well, you passed out, your summoning paper tore and I didn’t really go anywhere so we just called Yukio and let him know what happened and he yelled at me,” Rin explained with a shrug.
“I’d yell at you too if I was him,” Ryuuji muttered.
“Hey. I’m not the one who summoned myself,” Rin complained.
“That didn’t even make sense!” Ryuuji griped. “You idiot,”
“You idiot! You’re not even a tamer. You could have died!” Rin retorted.
“Well I didn’t,” Ryuuji huffed.
“Good,” Rin snapped.
“Yeah,” Ryuuji finished lamely. The two stared at each other, almost heatedly. Finally, Rin leaned forward and kissed Ryuuji fairly roughly.
“That’s for summoning me, asshole,” he grumbled.
“Oh yeah?” Ryuuji grabbed Rin’s collar and kissed him back. “That’s for… for being an idiot!”
“You idiot,” Rin griped, kissing Ryuuji again. “You’re an idiot,”
“That makes you twice the idiot,” Ryuuji kissed Rin. This was actually fun, even though his face was burning like crazy and his heart was racing.
“Whatever,” Rin muttered, glancing to the side in a oddly cute fashion.
What a dumbass.