[Y/n] sighed as he and the other boys arrived at the field office, each carrying large portions of food for the exorcists on duty. Suguro's mother had asked them to deliver the food that she and the others had made for them while the boys had been doing repair work around the inn. The whole task led to an insufferably uncomfortable walk with three boys who were refusing to even acknowledge Rin in the slightest; two out of fear, and one out of anger. Not to mention how [Y/n] had to try and cheer up Rin when Shiemi refused to even look at him in the kitchen.
After everything that had happened on the bus, his talk with Rin, his questions for Suguro's father and now all of this, it was safe to say, [Y/n] was at his limit for the day.
"We brought you dinner from the inn." Shima announced as they set the food down on the table Shura was sitting at.
"Thanks a lot, guys. What do you say you all call it a night and get some rest?" She offered, looking from the boys to the window as she realised that it had already gotten dark.
"Yeah! Quittin' time!" Shima cheered triumphantly, causing [Y/n] to roll his eyes. Shima did the least work out of all of them all day. And Miwa had one arm that didn't even work.
"Ma'am?" Suguro spoke up, stopping Shura in her tracks as she was taking her chopsticks out to dig in. "Would it be okay if I took off for a little while?" He asked, staring down at the woman in front of him with an expression that [Y/n] just couldn't place.
"Where to?" Shura asked curiously, sceptical of what Suguro was up to.
"Rakuhoku, Kongou Shinan." He answered, causing Shura to stare at him in bewilderment as she pulled her chopsticks apart.
"The mountains? What the hell for?" She shot back, immediately getting suspicious of what the hell Suguro was up to. After a brief pause, Suguro nervously sucked in a stray breath.
"To see my dad..." He answered somberly and [Y/n] and Rin immediately shared a look. That explained his disposition the whole walk over. Both of them could understand where he was coming from, they really could. After how they had met him and his overall demeanour, they didn't exactly blame Suguro for having a strained opinion of his father. But still, he wasn't nearly as bad as all of the exorcists had made him out to be. And Suguro had to be smart enough to know that there was no way Shura was going to sign off on that, especially this late at night.
"Sorry, I'm responsible for you and there's no way I'm letting you go to the mountains after dark." Shura replied, narrowing her eyes and shaking her head. There were just way too many red flags with that request for her to sign off on it. "Besides, we're here on a mission, that comes first." She added, turning back to the table before reaching to grab a white plastic bag and holding it up for Suguro to take. "Here, how about some juice to go with your dinners?" She offered, gesturing toward the bentos that had been prepared for the boys. Rin instantly perked up at the thought.
"Yeah! Dinner time!" He cheered, making grabby hands toward the food while Kuro beamed excitedly atop his head and Flor happily tapped the ground. [Y/n], however, sweatdropped at the offer, knowing his 'cousin' all too well.
"Is this juice or 'juice'?" He retorted, emphasising the word the second time as he side-eyed the bag in her hand. Shura simply waved him off and rolled her eyes.
"You already know." She replied casually and [Y/n] felt an irk mark appear on his forehead.
"'Responsible' my ass." He groaned, grimacing at the sight of the woman's cocky shit-eating grin.
"I'm not hungry, ma'am, I think I'll go to bed." Suguro spoke up, pulling the two from their chatter as they turned just in time to see Suguro giving Shura a small bow before turning on his heel and leaving. Shura didn't even have a chance to reply before he was already out the door, with Miwa and Shima hot on his heels. Just as they left the room, Rin let out an annoyed growl, gaining both Shura's and [Y/n]'s attention.
"They need to at least eat." Rin complained, grabbing a pile of bentos and some of Shura's juice before barreling out the door after the other boys. Neither [Y/n] nor Shura even had a chance to try and stop him before he was already gone, leaving nothing but durst in his wake.
"Rin! Hold on!" [Y/n] yelled but even he knew it was pointless, Rin was already out the door and showed no signs of stopping. With a groan and a facepalm, [Y/n] shook his head, trying to ignore the cheeky snickers he could hear escaping Shura's lips. "Flor, can you go after him for me? I'll catch up in a second." [Y/n] asked, earning a nod and a small salute from his familiar.
"Yessir!" Flor replied, turning toward the door before barreling out toward the courtyard after the boys. [Y/n] already knew dealing with that was gonna give him a headache.
"Well, that's certainly not gonna end well." Shura mused teasingly, earning a sarcastic 'gee, you think' from [Y/n] in return as he leaned back on the table Shura was sitting at, crossing his arms over his chest. "So, learn anything from Suguro's old man?" She asked, shooting a quick glance toward the door to make sure that the boy in question hadn't come back to check on anything. [Y/n] raised a brow at her comment.
"So, you knew he was there earlier?" He asked, less surprised that she knew and more impressed. Shura was a pain but she was good at what she did, he'd give her that.
"I have my ways." Shura replied lazily, popping a mushroom into her mouth as she eyed the younger man cautiously, not liking how quiet he was being. "Now, spill it, what did he tell you about that Akagawa bastard?" She asked, wondering why [Y/n] seemed so hesitant about getting into the conversation. [Y/n] just remained silent for a moment, trying to think of what best to say.
"I learned that nothing I knew about him made sense and apparently the whole thing is some kind of giant contradiction." [Y/n] sneered, thinking back to what Suguro's dad had said. He hated how little he had figured out. He hated how he left with more questions than he had. But, what was done was done and there was nothing more he could do about it for the time being. Shura, on the other hand, looked beyond perplexed by his choice of explanation.
"What the hell does that mean?" She asked, stabbing into one of her tomatoes as she eyed the younger man sceptically. He was never really one to be coy when it came to this kind of thing so she knew he wasn't holding out on her or anything. But then, what the hell did he mean by that? Just as he was about to reply, [Y/n]'s ears perked to the sound of some familiar voices yelling at each other in the courtyard. He hung his head with a groan as he pushed himself off the table.
"I'll fill you in later, I'm gonna go before they start killing each other." He declared, fixing Sema's strap on his shoulder before heading for the door. Shura hummed in response as she took another bite of her food.
"Have fun~" She teased, ignoring how [Y/n] flipped her off as he left the room. With an annoyed sigh, [Y/n] made his way to the courtyard, arriving just in time to see Suguro snatch a bento and can of Shura's 'juice' from Rin's hands.
"Shut up!" He screamed, glaring at Rin before turning away with a huff and storming off. [Y/n] sighed at the sight, shaking his head as he made his way toward the remainder of the group. Just as he arrived, he heard Rin let out a defeated sigh.
"I pissed him off again..." He complained, lowering his head in defeat. [Y/n] hated how Rin instantly resorted to blaming himself for that outburst. Though he didn't see the start of their conversation, [Y/n] would bet good money that Rin didn't actually do anything wrong and Suguro was just acting unreasonable again.
"I tried my best but I thought that if I bit him it would have made you mad." Flor remarked, nuzzling against [Y/n]'s hand as he begged for pets. [Y/n] couldn't help but chuckle, almost wondering if a good Flor bite would help get Suguro's head back on straight. Shaking the thought away, [Y/n] stepped forward and put a reassuring hand on Rin's shoulder.
"Don't blame yourself." He soothed, flashing Rin a soft smile when he turned to face him. "It wasn't your fault. He's still just being an ass." He mused, tilting his head to the side slightly. A small smile tugged its way to Rin's lips but [Y/n] could see that quick flash of sadness in his eyes. It seemed like it was all really starting to sink in for him. Just as [Y/n] was about to try and take his mind off of it, Miwa spoke up.
"I better get going too..." He announced awkwardly, looking away as he stepped forward.
"Aww, come on, stay here and eat with us!" Rin offered with a wide smile, but only succeeded in making Miwa recoil and flinch at the sound of his voice.
"I would but I wanted to visit my family..." He replied, looking away and refusing to meet his eyes.
"That's cool. I totally get where you're coming from." Rin replied, though [Y/n] could very clearly see the pain on his face. As Miwa awkwardly shuffled away, Rin let out a sigh, dropping the bentos to one side as he sat on a nearby rock and cracked open a can of Shura's 'juice'. [Y/n] got to work opening a couple of bentos for Flor and Kuro to work away at, almost losing a hand in the process when both of them pounced for the food and practically started inhaling it. As he got to his feet with a chuckle, he turned to see that Rin had started downing his drink in one go. [Y/n] wolf-whistled at him.
"Woah! Slow down, cowboy. I doubt you're used to that stuff yet." He teased, stepping toward the other boy while looking down at him in a mix of amusement and concern. Out of nowhere, Shima suddenly spoke up in a very shaky and very obviously nervous voice.
"Welp! I-I should get-"
"Well, well! Sounds like you don't wanna eat with me either! Is that it?!" He was cut off when Rin suddenly crushed the empty can in his hands, blue fire suddenly dancing along his skin and hair. Shima turned white as a ghost while [Y/n] crouched down to get a good look at Rin's flushed face.
"You're drunk already?!" [Y/n] asked, genuinely in awe by how quickly the alcohol had hit Rin. That was only one can and he had just finished it seconds ago. Shima practically paled at how unaffected [Y/n] was by the fact the Rin was drunk and flaunting his flames right in front of them. Wasn't he scared of getting burned alive?! Did he seriously trust Rin that much?! Or was he just insane?! His answer came in the form of [Y/n]'s laughter echoing through the courtyard. "Lightweight." He teased through a fit of giggles, completely unaffected by Rin's demeanour.
"You're the lightweight!" Rin shot back, his slurred voice not helping his case whatsoever.
"Real mature, Rinny." [Y/n] teased back, rolling his eyes at the comment while Shima just stared at him like he was a madman. Resigning himself to his fate, he awkwardly shuffled over to a further away rock and took his seat, watching the other two while slowly eating his dinner. "Whatever, hungover you is tomorrow's problem and today's been one giant shitshow. Pass me a bento and a can." [Y/n] shrugged, wanting to forget about out the absolute disaster of a day he'd had. Rin nodded in understanding as he awkwardly stumbled to grab the food and drink, handing them to [Y/n] after drunkenly missing his hand a couple of times. As he sat down next to Rin to eat, a tense silence fell over the group.
"O-Oh, wow! This food is pretty damn tasty... Huh?" Shima commented, popping a piece of fish into his mouth while [Y/n] and Rin just awkwardly stared back at him.
"You're like... a mile away..." Rin replied, noticing how Shima had put himself practically as far as possible away from the two of them. [Y/n] rolled his eyes. Shima couldn't be subtle if his life depended on it.
"W-Who?! Me?! Not even..." Shima replied shakily, laughing off the comment while trying and failing to appear calm. [Y/n] sweatdropped at his demeanour.
"You know he won't bite you or anything, right?" [Y/n] remarked, taking a sip of his drink while rolling his eyes at the look Shima gave him that could only be read as 'are you insane?!'.
"You're scared of me like everyone else, ain't ya?!" Rin drunkenly yelled, shaking his head as his sober thoughts began to translate into drunken words. Just as Shima was about to reply, Rin suddenly jumped in again. "Everyone else except, [Y/n]!" He added, pointing toward [Y/n], clarifying that at least one person hadn't turned their back on him yet. [Y/n] couldn't help but smile at Rin thanking him in his own way during his little drunken outburst. But still, he hated that Rin was really starting to be affected by how the others had been treating him.
"N-Nah! What are you talkin' about?!" Shima replied nervously, his face betraying him as his expression practically screamed 'I'm terrified!'. "I'm just too lazy to get up and move over there is all!" He added, trying to come up with some excuse that obviously wasn't going to work.
"Aww, you're too lazy?" Rin mocked, feigning concern before whipping his head away. "Lame!" He yelled, turning his nose up as he shook his head. "I hereby declare you lame and uncool!" He exclaimed, popping more food into his mouth as he proclaimed Shima's complete and utter lack of coolness to the world for all to hear. [Y/n] laughed at Rin's drunken ramblings while Shima let out an offended gasp.
"Did you just call me uncool?! I am so cool!" Shima shot back, getting to his feet and pointing his chopsticks at Rin. "Ask anyone who's cool and they'll say I'm the coolest!" He announced, earning a deadpan look from [Y/n], who wasn't believing a word of his bull.
"Don't hold your breath." He shot back with a laugh, looking Shima up and down while the other blushed in embarrassment.
"Why do you hate me so much?" He asked, annoyed by how [Y/n] seemed to always find the right way to stab him with his words when he was trying to hype himself up. [Y/n] shrugged as he took another bite of his food.
"You say a lot of stupid shit so it's kinda fair that you need to be kept in line. You're also kind of a scumbag so it's warranted." He explained, taking a sip of his drink as he thought back to Mabaa's 'always humble the assholes' lesson.
"I can see why you and Miss Kamiki get along so well." Shima replied, stone facing as the imaginary image of [Y/n] and Kamiki looking down on him like he was dirt popped into his head.
"Stop being a damn perv and maybe it'll do you some good." [Y/n] suggested, smirking at the look on Shima's face when he said it.
"Perv or not, I am still totally cool!" Shima boasted, crossing his arms over his chest confidentially as he declared his awesomeness to the world, only the have Rin burst out laughing in response.
"You? You're kiddin'!" Rin bellowed, holding his abdomen as he laughed at the top of his lungs.
"Why are you laughing?!" Shima snapped, stomping his foot as get waved his arms around. Through a fit of giggles, Rin shook his head.
"Check it out!" Rin ordered, trying to stop his laughter. [Y/n] and Shima turned curiously to see Rin pull out a huge crumpled-up piece of paper with really messy writing and a bluster of squiggles all over it. "This here's my list of cool people!" Rin declared proudly, holding up the paper for all to see. Adjusting his eyes to the dark, [Y/n] could barely make out the near illegible handwriting. The list read;
Personal Coolness Rankings
1. My Old Man
2. [Y/n]
3. Suguro
4. Konekomaru
5. Me
6. Y̶u̶k̶i̶o̶ Kuro (My cat)
7. Y̶u̶k̶i̶o̶ Flor ([Y/n]'s dog)
8. Yukio
[Y/n] didn't know what to comment on first; how sincerely happy he was that he made second place, how confused he was that Suguro and Konekomaru were above Rin, or how genuinely hilarious he found it that Yukio had been crossed out not once but twice in place of Rin's and his familiars respectively.
"Your name's way down here!" Rin laughed, pointing to the bottom of the list for Shima to see.
"I'm after Kuro?!" The pink-haired male shot back, eyes widening at the thought of being placed below a cat and dog.
"You ain't even on it!" Rin beamed, bowling his finger off the page for emphasis on how uncool he thought Shima was. [Y/n] couldn't help but laugh, not even trying to hide his chuckles as he doubled over gripping his abdomen. Taking a step forward, Shima shook his head angrily.
"You're such a-" He started but cut himself off when Rin's head bobbed forward, his eyes shutting for the briefest moment as he fought off sleep as best he could. "Asshole!" He finished, yelling as loud as he could to wake Rin back up. Ignoring Shima's temper tantrum, [Y/n] took the list from Rin's hands and furrowed his brows in confusion.
"Why are Suguro and Miwa over you? You're way cooler than both of them combined." He thought aloud, wondering why Rin put them above himself. At that comment, Rin practically flung himself forward, wrapping an arm around [Y/n]'s neck as he rested his head on his shoulder.
"And that's why you're my favourite!" Rin beamed with a bright smile and a cheery laugh, completely oblivious to how [Y/n] instantly blushed ten times harder at the action. [Y/n] shook his head and frantically pushed any thoughts away before they could form. Rin was drunk and finely not in his right mind right now. It was not the time or place to be getting flustered. With a sigh, he shook his head again.
"Okay, I think we should get you to bed." He laughed, smiling softly at the pout on Rin's face at the suggestion.
"Not tired..." Rin lazily replied, very clearly struggling to even stay awake. [Y/n] rolled his eyes at Rin's defiance.
"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled, getting to his feet and clearing up his and the familiars' empty bentos and cans before tossing them into the plastic bag Shura had given them. Just as he was about to finish cleaning up, Shima, who had looked completely lost in thought until just a moment ago, suddenly burst out laughing at the top of his lungs.
"What the hell am I doing?!" He yelled through a fit of giggles, causing Rin and [Y/n] to turn to him in confusion. "I was tryna steer clear of you, but nope! Here I am, talking to you like old times!" He laughed, ripping his stomach the exact same way [Y/n] did as he struggled to stay upright. As Shima's little epiphany set in, a cocky smirk found its way to [Y/n]'s face.
"So, you've finally realised how stupid you've all been?" He asked playfully, putting his hands on his hips.
"Yeah." Shima replied with a sigh, putting his hands behind his head as he flashed [Y/n] an understanding smile. "Avoiding you takes way more work than it's worth, man." He declared turning to Rin with a shrug while the other just stared back at him in a mix of drunken awe and confusion. "Screw it, I give up." Shima finished, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat with a cocky smile on his face. After a moment of stunned silence, a wide smile broke out over Rin's face.
"Now you're using your head!" He cheered, throwing his hands up in celebration. "Give up and laugh, man! Hell, laugh it up!" He continued, jumping into yet another laughing fit as he let the joy of Shima coming around wash over him.
"Yeah, you're right." Shima replied with a smile, putting his hands on his hips while [Y/n] snickered.
"Aww, did someone remember our time together at the beach and get all sentimental?" He teased playfully, earning a genuine laugh in return from Shima.
"It's not too late to change my mind, you know?" He shot back, though his little play threat meant nothing when it was said between a fit of snickers.
"No takebacks!" Rin cheered, waving his hand and legs around excitedly as he let the unending laughter escape his lips. Seeing how happy Rin was right now. That bright beaming smile on his face. How genuinely full of joy his laugh was. That made all the crap they dealt with today with it.
"Thank you, Shima." [Y/n] spoke up, flashing Shima a small yet sincere smile as he looked from him to Rin and back. This was exactly what Rin needed right now. And he was glad that Shima had made the jump. As a similar smile crossed over Shima's face, he let out a sigh and looked to the moon.
"Bon and Koneko need to chill out." He announced, shaking his head as he thought. [Y/n] and Rin both followed his gaze as he spoke. "Everyone needs to chill out." He finished, letting the thoughts of his friends' behaviour cross through his head. It really wasn't worth all that trouble in the end, was it? Just as their little heart-to-heart seemed to be going well, Rin, in all of his drunken genius, decided to add to the conversation.
"Everyone needs to call you a dork!" He declared, his voice becoming even more slurred by the second. The sentimental tone of the conversation immediately dropped.
"Why you gotta ruin the vibe?!" Shima yelled, pointing accusingly at Rin, who didn't even respond, before whipping his head toward [Y/n], who was already doubled over in laughter from Rin's sudden comment. "And you stop laughing!" He yelled, quietly cursing to himself as he watched [Y/n] wipe the tears from his eyes and shake his head. As he noticed Rin finally go silent, [Y/n] figured that was that. Letting out a sigh, [Y/n] got to his feet.
"Looks like someone finally hit their limit." He announced, shuffling over to Rin to see that he was, in fact, out cold. So he was a mix of an angry drunk, a giddy drunk and a sleepy drunk all at once. Shaking his head again, he watched as Flor and Kuro tiredly trotted over too. "I'll carry him back, we're sharing a room anyway." [Y/n] offered, pulling Sema's case off of his back.
"You sure you don't need any help?" Shima asked worriedly, watching [Y/n] strap Sema's case to Flor's back before he hoisted Rin onto his back while Kuro sat atop Flor's head.
"Nah, I'm good. I'm not a lightweight so I'm still fine." He assured, reminding Shima that he was still practically sober, online the absolute mess of a man on his back. "Plus, Sema weighs like ten kilos and I can swing that thing around no problem, I can handle giving him a piggyback ride for a while no problem." He added, shifting Rin's weight slightly to make up for the difference in height the two shared. Shima sweatdropped at [Y/n]'s reasoning.
"Not sure how that's relevant, but okay." He replied, looking from the dosing demon to the giddy gunner and back before ultimately sighing and waving them off. "Well, goodnight." Shima finished, turning on his heel and heading a different way to meet up with his family before returning to the inn. [Y/n] simply nodded in return.
"Later." He replied, watching Shima disappear into the empty street adjacent to theirs. As that mop of bright pink hair finally disappeared, [Y/n] let out one last sigh and started back toward the inn with Rin on his back. As he walked, he heard Rin sniff the back of his neck quietly before his grip around him triggered, his arms, legs and tail all wrapping around him slightly closer. [Y/n] raised a confused brow at the action but Rin sleepily spoke up before he could question it.
"That juice tasted funny..." Rin complained, his eyes fluttering open and closed as his voice shook from both exhaustion and intoxication. [Y/n] couldn't help but laugh quietly at the thought that this was the 'terrifying son of Satan' that The Vatican had their panties in a bunch worrying about.
"What am I gonna do with you?" He exhaled, chuckling softly at the thought. After a brief moment of silence, he felt Rin snuggle closer into the crook of his neck.
"You're the best." He suddenly announced, causing [Y/n] to stop in his tracks as his eyes went wide. "The best ever..." Rin continued, making [Y/n] swallow the lump in his throat as he slowly turned to glance at the boy on his back, his chest getting warmer and heavier by the second. Hearing Rin say that about him... It made him happier than he could put into wor- "Sukiyaki..." Rin finished dreamily, smiling softly at the thought of that delicious food. [Y/n] deadpanned, his whole mind shutting down as the sudden realisation set in. HE WAS TALKING ABOUT FOOD?! He practically screamed internally as he realised that Rin's happy ramblings were about a meat dish and not him. With a groan, he threw his head back, forcing himself to laugh at the whole situation as he started walking again. Shaking his head, he started back for the inn once more.
"Why'd I have to fall in love with such an idiot?"