Ghouls 'n Water

Part 1

But instead, he opened the door and walked past the boy, as if he wasn't even there, and exited the bathroom. Once he was in the halls, Rin broke out into a run. He didn't go back to class right away, but, instead, he ran all the way to the gym. It was empty at the moment and Rin felt a huge relief wash over him. He knew he had a few minutes before the bell was going to ring, so he decided to spend the remainder of the time here. Sitting on the bench, Rin looked out the display window and gazed at the indoor pool. This was one of the few things that would keep his mind off of his hunger. Rin didn't know exactly why a pool, of all the things he could think about, would distract him, but he didn't really question it. He felt complete peace right now and almost forgot about his-

"Yo, Rin!"

Hunger.

Rin felt his heart drop and the rumble in his stomach return as a new scent filled the gym. He turned towards the voice and saw Seijuro enter through the double doors. "Yo!" he said again as he came to stand in front of Rin. Seijuro was the previous captain of the Samezuka swim team, which Rin was now responsible for. Every now and then, Seijuro would visit to check on everyone, especially his little brother, Momotarou. Whenever he would visit, things would get lively. He usually visited during the swim practices, where he would like to observe Rin's skills as a captain and also see how well everyone has grown since he's seen them. Rin always felt relieved when Seijuro was around because he would take off some the stress as a captain by giving advice on how to make managing the team easier. But right now, Rin didn't want to see him as much as he usually would. Not now.

"Seijuro..." Rin started but he quickly turned his head. "I don't want to talk right now." Seijuro blinked. "Huh?!" His mouth curved into a frown. "What's wrong with-""I said I don't want to talk!" Seijuro was taken aback by Rin raising his voice at him. Out of the corner of his eye, Rin could see the slight hurt expression on his former captain's face and a feeling of guilt began to grow. He didn't want to yell and he didn't mean to...but he didn't want Seijuro to get hurt. He didn't want to kill him. Much to Rin's dislike, the yelling only made the concern in Seijuro grow to the point where he went to sit next to Rin. When Rin tried to scoot away, Seijuro quickly grabbed his wrist tightly to keep him still. "Rin, if there's something wrong, tell me" he said, a serious demeanor growing on his face. Rin narrowed his eyes and bit his lip, tugging at his wrist. "Let me go, Seijujro" he said. "Rin, tell me what's wrong." "Let me go!" "RIN!"

Rin blinked and looked at the other, the anger in Seijuro's expression almost chilling to the bone. "Rin, I want you to know that you can tell me. I'm your former captain, but I'm also your friend. What the hell is wrong, Rin?!" The force in his voice nearly shook Rin to his very core. He bit his lip once more and could feel pressure build up against his eyes. He really wanted to vent to Seijuro about everything...but fear overwhelmed this thought. And following that fear was hunger. The pain in Rin's stomach returned and, instinctively, he struggled to take his wrist back from the other. "Rin!" Seijuro called as he tightened his grip. Rin frantically pulled and pulled against Seijuro, the other pulling back. "Tell me, Rin!" "LET ME GO!" As if commanded, Rin raised his left fist and delivered a swift punch to Seijuro's face, the blow catching the other off guard and causing him to fall off of the bench. Rin quickly stood to his feet, but looked back to the other. His eyes suddenly widened.

The blow to Seijuro's face was strong to where the boy's nose began to bleed. Seijuro covered his nose, cursing to himself as the blood began to drop down his hand and onto the floor. The scent quickly filled the room and Rin covered his mouth, but the smell had already hit him. The scent swirled in his brain and Rin couldn't help but drool at the sight of the blood dripping down Seijuro's hand. "S...Seijuro." The other looked up from the floor and his eyes suddenly widened. Rin's scleras turned pitch black, some of that spidering out from the edges of his eye. His eyes then turned to a striking ruby red that chilled Seijuro to the bone. "You...Rin, you're a...a-" "Seijuro, I'm sorry..."

Before Seijuro could respond, Rin pounced on top of him. He dug his sharp shark-like teeth into the other's neck, Seijuro screaming in pain. Rin covered his mouth to silence him, the scream vibrating against the palm of his hand. The bottom male frantically tried to push the other off, but Rin proved to have an iron grip on Seijuro and used all his strength to keep him pinned to the ground. Coming back from his neck, Rin dug into Seijuro's shoulder, the boy's right arm dropping quickly. His left hand proceeded to deliver a punch to Rin's face, but the other quickly dodged back from it. Quickly, he dug back into the boy's shoulder while his arm pinned Seijuro's hands down. He regretted every bite he was taking out of Seijuro, but the regret was overpowered by his hunger. Soon, Seijuro's screams began to die down and his body was getting more and more torn into. Rin's movements slowed and he, eventually, leaned up to observe the remains. Seijuro's neck was completely torn open, along with his shoulders and torso. As he swallowed the last piece of flesh, Rin's eyes began to turn back to normal. As soon as they did, his eyes widened. He wanted to throw up, but his body was forcing him to keep it all down. "Seijuro...Seijuro..." He kept repeating his name as if that was going to bring the boy back. He stood up and began backing away, gripping his head as he did so. "Seijuro..." he continued to call. Rin looked down and observed his blood soaked clothes, a small scream rising in his throat as he began to run to the locker rooms.

Rin was glad that he had another pair of clothes in his locker. He changed quickly and rushed out the gym, making it out just as the bell began to ring. While he was glad to finally walk about others without having the urge to tear into their bodies, his guilt was quickly digesting him. Seijuro... he thought, the images of him devouring his friend haunting him. The dead look in Seijuro's eyes as he watched Rin devour him. He shook his head and stopped in his tracks. I'm an idiot! Why?! He could feel tears push against his closed eyes. Why?! "Ah, Rin-senpai!" Rin turned around and watched Nitori run up to him. "Nitori..." "Rin-senpai, where were you? Did you hear?!" Rin's eyes widened slightly when he saw tears beginning to form in Nitori's eyes. No.... "What?" Without responding, Nitori just grabbed Rin's hand and began leading him back to the area he came from...the gym. No. There was a crowd of students around the gym entrance, some teachers on their phones calling the authorities. No. Rin looked through the window and saw Momo knelt down next to the lifeless form of Seijuro, his face covered in tears. No, no. Nitori tugged on Rin's arm, the taller male looking down to him. "Rin-senpai...." He sniffled. No, Nitori. Please don't say it.... "Yeah? He tried to calm the beating of his heart, but it was uncontrollable. Rin felt like he was going to have a heart attack. How could someone have found out so quickly? Did someone walk into the gym right after he left? What if they say him leaving? He shook his head at the thoughts and looked back Nitori, grabbing the boy's shoulder to calm him a little. "Rin-senpai...I think..." Nitori, please don't.... "Yeah, Nitori?" "I think that there's a...a..." Rin cringed as the images of the devouring played back in his head. It kept replaying and replaying as Nitori spoke. He looked back through the window and saw the authorities rush in the room, one officer grabbing Momo and trying to lead him out of the room. Momo refused to move from his brother's side, putting up a fight as the officer tried to drag him out. The whole time Rin was watching the boy being carried away, he barely heard the little whispering voice of Nitori.

"I think there may be a ghoul in our school...."

As his ears picked up on this, Rin felt his heart shatter. Nitori was right. Seijuro was dead. The whole school was frightened and paranoid. There was a ghoul in the school. A ghoul in the school; watching them, stalking them, preying on them, acting like, befriending them...

And this ghoul just happened to be Rin.