Okumura Rin's Descent

Ribbit

"Frogs? Again?" Rin muttered aloud, the monstrous toads fidgeting in their confining cages, awaiting their inevitable release. Their PE teacher of sorts was explaining to them what their task would be, which was just the same as any other day, but this time he seemed to be unfocused, as if something were bothering his mind. He was preoccupied, Rin realized, but by what he did not care to inquire. The teacher told them to sort themselves in groups of two, Rin being assigned with an odd individual, whom he failed to recall the name of. They were hooded, the cloth a dull grey that gave no hints of color, and their face was shaded. Despite this lack of external personality, Rin noticed an odd spunk in the air around them, an aura that was almost restrained, as if sealed carefully away. Aware of his poor standing with the other students, Rin made no attempt of conversation, the hooded figure doing likewise.

The job was simple: subdue the toads with the mild HW grenades, the contents of which being heavily watered down so as to not harm the toads themselves and only cause temporary pain, a small burn being the worst possible result should anything go awry. Rin inspected the handheld bomb, a sense of fear bubbling within him, the tip of his tail twitching within his shirt as anxiety ate away at his insides. His partner seemed to inspect one of the bombs as well, though with far less interest and a distinct lack of caution, before simply losing interest and attaching the small range explosive to the specialized holster each student had been given. Ten of the explosives were held by each person, twenty if the partner's were counted, but that was supposedly plenty enough in the mind of their current instructor, who appeared to be texting an unknown someone via their old fashioned flip phone, growing investment in whatever conversation or issue was held within the device's screen.

He touched a button on a remote, the lights of the cages flashing green as their locks were deactivated, and the toads leapt from their confinement. He waved off the students, signaling for the exercise's commencement, the students all rushing down to meet their amphibious opponents. Rin, opting not to take the slow walk down the stairs, grabbed hold of the rail of the emergency latter, sliding down its considerable length. He pushed off from the metal when the ground approached him, landing onto the dirt surface with an ease most could not replicate.

"Show off!!" Suguro exclaimed, having chosen to descend the steps, thinking it to have been his only option. In reality, it was. Had he chosen to do as Rin had done, well, it would not have been pleasant. Rin glanced at his open palm, the skin inflamed as he had not worn his fingerless cloves, subjecting his skin to the harsh rubbing of the metal. He lifted one of his hand to his mouth, flicking his tongue at the inflamed flesh, the pain receding into memory. He gripped the metal container, the grenade hot in his hand despite being cool to the touch, almost like a cooling oven. His teammate seemed not to care for the exercise, merely taking out a 3DS, a preset game turning on as the lazy individual sat back, not bothering to assist their partner. Rin glanced up to his true partner, the one who watched him with attention of which the likes had been given by no other. A small grin graced his face, the pin coming out with a slight click noise. The game had begun.

-

"That was amazing, Rin!" Shiemi's voice exclaimed, the game having been called off early due to a supposed family emergency that the instructor had gone off to tend to. Rin's cheeks gained a pinkish tint at the praise, but he smiled nonetheless.

"Thanks, Shiemi." Rin responded, fiddling with the jewel that hung from his collar necklace, an odd tick he had gained through the weeks whenever he was bored or anxious. The tip of his tail twitched beneath his shirt for the same reason, though this was unseen by those who might glance his way. A pinkette, Shima, approached him with a friendly smile.

"Nice job, Okumura-Kun." Shima agreed, seeming to be trying his hand at breaking the ice between them. Rin nodded, his grin broadening slightly.

"Thanks, though I can't say the same for you...I wasn't watching." Rin responded, having begun to grow more comfortable with the confrontation. Shima gave a small laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.

"It wouldn't be impressive if you had, I'm not exactly a fighter." Shima explained, mildly sheepish. Suguro watched, mildly hurt as his friend conversed pleasantly with his unofficial opponent, deciding to approach the situation at last.

"You know, you could've gotten hurt back there, when you threw caution to the wind and just sort of jumped off." Suguro told simply. Rin's eyes hardened slightly at Suguro, the boy giving an uncaring shrug.

"I'm fine, though. Nothing happened. I'm going to be an exorcist, danger is part of the equation." Rin responded simply. In the distance, he noticed that Dan was preparing their things to leave. Suguro followed Rin's gaze, not seeing anything when his eyes glanced that way.

"Hey" Suguro called, snapping his finger as a means of regaining Rin's attention. Rin looked back to him, his pupils contracting into slots for a brief moment before returning to their usual circular shape, his pupils returning to an unilluminated back opposed to the red glow they had held within those moments. Suguro's mind froze at the sight, surprise touching him as a newfound nervousness gripped at his insides. Was he dealing with the possessed?

"What is it?" Rin asked finally in a flat tone, interrupting the pervasive silence that had taken hold of the area. Suguro glared, hints of concern lingering within the depths of his eyes, as his worry and fear were overwhelmed by the anger he felt over the race. Demons, for all Suguro cared, were nothing but monsters. He jabbed his pointer finger at the beasts below, most of which either being held captive within their containers or sitting calmly outside, not bothering to bounce about at the moment.

"Doesn't it bother you?!" Suguro demanded, causing Rin to raise a brow at the sudden change of topic and tone.
"Those demons hide out so carelessly, it's a disgrace to everyone who's ever died because of them! How can you stand there-claiming yourself an exorcist-and not care?!" Suguro all but exclaimed, his temper rising, flaring like a roaring blaze after liquefied oxygen had been poured over it. Rin glanced over towards the large creatures, humming slightly, as if mulling over the unspoken prospect in his mind.

"They haven't done anything to me or anyone else, why should I care if a few of them are around when they've done no wrong?" Rin asked flatly, seemingly immune to the fury that Suguro exhibited. Suguro clenched his teeth together, a hiss of air escaping his mouth, almost akin to a growl.

"Fine then, I'll do it. You just stand there and watch!" Suguro said, grabbing one of the remaining grenades Rin hadn't used, the small bomb having still been resting against the cloth that tied itself to Rin's side. He walked over to where the ground dropped, letting himself slide down the slightly sloped walls of the large structure.

"Bon!" Shima called put, he and Konekomaru rushing forwards to prevent their alley from moving forwards. Shiemi squeaked, as if she were the one to be venturing out towards the unbound creatures, her hands grasping the sides of her kimono anxiously, staggering out of the way of the approaching figure.

"Wha-is he serious?!" Kamiki asked, having thought that the two's childish despite was a mere battle of bluffing, a fight with no true consequences. Clearly, she had been wrong.

"Just stop, what are you even doing? You can't just kill the reapers; they're owned by the school!" Rin drawled flatly, for once being the more clear headed person in a situation. Ban was standing, blanaced, at the very edge of where the structure dropped.

"They can see the will of those who look them in the eye-" 'you'd know that if you payed attention in class' "-I'm going to prove to you, to all of you, that my resolve is concrete. That I'm not a pansy like you." Suguro explained, confidence in his voice and an air of complete sureness in his movements. His body dropped, his feet sliding over the almost smooth concrete surface beneath him, as he drew ever closer towards the large amphibian, which now watched him with fixed attention.

Kamiki regained her confidence, turning her head upwards and closing her yes confidently.
"He'll turn back anyway. How stupid." She spoke aloud, her words being heard clearly by Ban, whose confidence began to waver as memories of similar situation flashed behind his eyes. Uncertainty entered his mind, the mostly green reaper taking notice and losing its previous calm. It roared, reading back and opening its mouth, its sharp teeth dripping with thick saliva as it swung its head forwards, as if to bite down on Suguro's frozen form.

Rin jumped from the platform he and the other onlookers stood on, forgetting to hold back and thus moving high into the air, his velocity carrying him impossibly fast. Suguro fell backwards in fright, Rin landing just before him, the toad grasping him into his mouth.