Chapter Text
“For your next mission, we'll be working in teams of two.” Yukio looked at each of the Esquires in turn. “Each team will be sent to a location in the city and, over the next three days, exorcise the demon residing there.” Yukio paused and looked straight at Rin, who was standing near the end of the line. “That means you too, brother.”
“Me?” Rin glanced over at Shiemi, who was standing beside him. She smiled encouragingly up at him and he grinned in return. If I'm lucky I'll get paired with her! “Sweet!”
“Kirigakure and I will be routinely checking in to make sure everything is running smoothly. If at any time you need help, call one of us and we will be there as soon as possible.”
“But that'll get you an automatic fail,” Kirigakure cut in with a smirk. “So if you get in a tough spot, ya better figure it out yourself!”
The Esquires shifted almost as one. For Suguro, Izumo, and Rin, this new mission sounded exciting, and they had no doubts about successfully completing it. For the others, well... the last two missions had taken a lot out of them. Shima in particular was looking troubled, like he'd rather be doing anything but this. Their worry mixed with the air of restlessness coming off the other three, Rin especially. His fingers curled unbidden into determined fists at his sides. Whatever Yukio and Shura had in mind, this could really be his chance to prove that he was well on his way to surpassing his younger brother.
And , a tiny voice said in his mind, to prove that you were worth saving.
“There are three different missions, one for each team,” Yukio went on. “You'll be told where you'll be going and what your objective is after we've separated you into pairs.”
“Do we get to choose?” Rin interrupted.
“Nope! We picked your partners for ya.” Shura grinned. “Rin, you're gonna be workin' with Suguro.”
“What? No fair!” Rin jerked his thumb in Suguro's direction, who glared at him from around a quivering Konekomaru. “I don't wanna have to work with chicken head!”
“What'd you call me?!” Suguro yelled.
“You heard me, chicken head.”
“Why you--!”
“Hey! Knock it off!”
Shura's yell shocked them into silence, though they didn't stop glaring at each other behind Konekomaru's back.
“Kamiki and Shiemi will also be a team, while Shima, Miwa, and Takara will make up a three-man team,” Yukio continued, purposefully acting as though nothing had happened. “Shiemi and Kamiki, you'll be meeting with Tsubaki for your mission assignment. Suguro and Rin, you'll go with Kirigakure, which leaves Takara, Shima and Miwa with me.”
The group split, each team heading off with their respective assigned teacher. Rin frowned after Yukio, who was taking Shima, Koneko, and Takara off to a different room so he could brief them on their mission. Yukio had barely talked to him since they'd fought the Kraken, and even now he'd refused to make eye contact with Rin. He grit his teeth as he and Suguro followed Shura into a separate classroom, Rin eyeing her from behind as they walked down the hallway. She probably knew what was up with his brother, but yesterday when he'd tried to ask between lessons she'd just shrugged, saying she had no idea what was up with Yukio. The memory annoyed him even more.
It must've shown on his face because he heard Suguro ask, “What's your problem, Okumura?”
“Nothing.” Rin did his best to relax.
“Save that fightin' spirit for your mission, Rin,” Shura said over her shoulder. “Yer gonna need it.” Once they reached their destination she held the door until both Rin and Suguro were inside, then closed and locked it behind them.
Suguro watched her the entire time. “What's with the secrecy?”
“Are we gonna fight something big, like the Kraken?” Rin pulled himself up onto a desktop, grinning broadly.
“Nope.” Shura leaned back against the teacher's desk, arms crossed over her chest. “Your mission's small fry this time on purpose. You just had your execution held off, Rin; the Vatican's grateful for your help but they'd obviously prefer if ya kept your flames in check for a little while.”
Rin scoffed. “But without 'em, I wouldn't've been able to--”
“I know, I was there.” Shura pursed her lips. “But you're still on probation. One more slip up with your flames, especially on a training mission like this, and I don't know if there'll be a good deed big enough to save ya this time.” Rin's lips turned down in a scowl and he wanted to say something, something that would argue his case, but for once he bit his tongue. He could feel Suguro watching him and his cheeks reddened.
“Anyway, as I was sayin'.” Shura pulled a piece of paper out of her pocket and unfolded it. “You two'll be taking care of a pretty simple haunting out in the western district. Little girl's seein' things, stuff's moving on its own, yada yada. Your mission is to head over there and exorcise the spirit, and you've got three days to do it. Since you're so good now, Rin, I 'spect you'll get it done in one and spend the rest of the time lounging around, right?” She smirked. “This paper's got directions to the house – where you'll be stayin', by the way, the family's generously offered to house you – and more details on the mission. Any questions?”
“Yeah, I got one.” Suguro was leaning back against the desk next to Rin, arms crossed in a manner similar to Shura's. “What happens if we don't exorcise this ghost before the three days is up?”
“You fail, plain and simple.” Shura was still smiling as she handed the paper to Rin. “And if ya call for help you fail too, like I said. But don't sweat it. When I said this mission was small fry, I meant it. And it's only worth, what, half your final grade?”
Rin stared. “Half?”
“You'll be fine.” Shura stood up straight and stretched her arms toward the ceiling, not bothering to cover her mouth as she yawned. She brought her hands back down slowly and winked at Suguro, who flushed, before she turned a serious expression to Rin.
“Oh, and what I said before, 'bout yer flames? Yeah. The Vatican doesn't want you usin' them at all on this mission. And I mean not. At. All.”
“But--!”
“Anyway, you two should get going,” Shura continued, cutting Rin off. “The family expects the two of you bright an' early tomorrow morning, and ya need time to pack and get some shut-eye.” She started to leave, ruffling Rin's hair as she passed and earning an irritated 'Hey!'. When she reached the door, she offered a cheeky wave over her shoulder and said, “See you in three days!” before unlocking the door and disappearing into the hallway.
“I bet everyone else didn't get this treatment,” Rin said irritably, not bothering to fix his mussed hair. His demeanor changed completely when he thought of his friends and who they'd been paired with. “I wonder what mission Shiemi got?”
“You'll have to ask her later.” Beside him, Suguro straightened and put his hands behind his head, looking bored. “Something more challenging than what we got, probably. I knew they'd want you to be more discreet after our last mission but I didn't think they'd give us such an easy exorcism.” He huffed. “Just my luck.”
“This isn't just my fault!” Rin exclaimed indignantly. Then, with a sigh, he slid off the desk. “Anyway, I've been trying to accept my powers and use 'em for good, but I guess this time I'll have to go without.”
“You had to start learning other exorcist methods at some point.” Suguro glanced over at him and smirked. “Maybe I could use this opportunity to teach ya some Sutra chants.”
Rin snorted. “Yeah right! I'm still strong, I'll just punch the ghost until it goes away!” He threw a few punches to demonstrate, teeth bared in a cocky grin. Suguro's expression soured.
“You can't punch a ghost, idiot!” He pushed past Rin, not too roughly, and stopped at the door to look back.
“Kirigakure said to go home and pack, so that's what I'm gonna do. We'll meet outside the Academy tomorrow morning.” The edges of his scowl perked up slightly. “I'll bring my prayer books.”
When Rin got home, it was to a busily cooking Ukobach, a snoozing Kuro, and, for the third night in a row, no Yukio. Rin frowned as he stepped inside and took off his shoes. It was fairly obvious that Yukio hadn't been home in a while, too – the place was pretty messy. Though Rin liked to think of it as 'homely clutter', Yukio would always berate him to at least try and keep everything tidy. Wihout Yukio, Rin's messy habits were leaving their mark, from clothes on the floor to books he'd used for homework and never bothered to put away. Rin pushed a dirty pair of pants onto the floor so he could sit on the edge of his bed and gently brush a hand over Kuro's head.
Mrr? The cat demon woke slowly, baring tiny fangs as he yawned. Rin?
“Hey.” Rin scratched down Kuro's back, earning him some contented purring. “You seen Yukio today?”
Kuro shook his head. No. He didn't come back at all.
“Right.” Rin scowled, his mood nosediving straight into angry. “What has he been doing ? Where does he sleep? I'm sick of this, Kuro. He doesn't even give me enough time to ask about it when I see him.” Rin shifted so he could flop onto his back beside Kuro.
“This sucks.”
I'm sorry, Rin . Kuro nuzzled up next to him for a moment, then jolted upright. I know! Let's cheer up with some catnip wine!
Rin laughed and wrapped his arm around Kuro. “Thanks, but I'll pass.” He yawned, half-heartedly putting a hand over his mouth. “I think I'll just take a nap.”
Kuro curled up contentedly against his side. Me too.
“Just a short one,” Rin added drowsily. His eyelids were already closing. “Just a quick...catnap...”
He woke up the next morning, fifteen minutes before he was supposed to leave, and spent a panicked half hour throwing clothes, toiletries, and anything else he'd need for the mission into a duffel bag. He had to leave without eating any of the nutritious meal Ukoback had made for his breakfast, and was yelling apologies over his shoulder at the annoyed chef as he ran out the door. When Rin finally made it to the front of the Academy he was out of breath and a full twenty minutes late. Suguro was already there, and when he spotted Rin sprinting toward him he turned an even darker shade of purple.
“Where the hell were you?!” he hollered once Rin was in earshot.
“I overslept!”
“Are you serious?! We're gonna be late!” Suguro grabbed him by the arm and started dragging him toward the train station, which was a few blocks away. “How do you always manage to be late? You'd think you were an anime protagonist!”
“I said I overslept! Jeez, what d'you want from me?” Rin's tail flicked irritably behind him, and he half-consciously reminded himself to hide it. “Stop pulling so hard, it hurts!”
“Like hell it does.”
Suguro didn't let go until they'd boarded the train and were well underway. Surprisingly it wasn't very crowded, so they were able to pick some fairly isolated seats. After they'd sat down Rin took some time to pout and rub at his arm, where Suguro's tight grip had left a slight red mark. When he looked up he saw Suguro watching him.
“Does it hurt?”
“Nah. I heal pretty quick.” As he spoke, the redness faded away, and he gave Suguro a wide grin. “See? I'm fine.”
Suguro looked at him for a second, so intensely that Rin felt uncomfortable and started to fidget, and then turned pink and looked away. They fell into awkward silence and Rin tried to distract himself from Suguro's weird vibes by watching the city pass by the window. In the glass he could see his own face reflected, mouth curved in a frown. He really hoped Suguro wasn't going to act like this the whole time they were on their mission. It was bad enough that Yukio was pissed at him; he didn't want to deal with a moody Suguro for three days. He could barely handle these last ten minutes without wanting to grab Suguro by the shoulders and shake him out of this funk.
And at least in Yukio's case he sort of knew what was going on; he had no idea what had crawled up Suguro's butt.
“Wish I'd been paired with Shiemi,” he muttered unconsciously under his breath.
“What!” Suguro's shout almost had Rin jumping right out of his seat. “You know I'm sitting right here, right?!”
Rin laughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his head. “Woops, did I say that out loud?”
“Yes!”
“Ah, well, I'm just saying, Shiemi wouldn't be this shouty...”
“What do you mean, shouty? And you're one to talk!”
“Hey, what's that supposed to mean--?!”
They were interrupted as the train pulled into their stop and a woman's voice announced their arrival. Still glaring at each other, they grabbed their stuff and got off the train.
Rin shouldered his duffel bag with a huff, glancing around the busy station. “Where to now, Princess?”
Suguro growled. “I told you to stop calling me that! And you're the one with the directions, aren't you?”
“Oh yeah.”
According to the directions Shura had given him, their destination wasn't too far from the train station, so even though Rin took two wrong turns (before Suguro got fed up and took over interpreting the directions) they weren't as late as they could have been, all things considered.
They found the house, a neat little thing tucked in the corner of a dead end street, only fifteen minutes later than they should have. When Rin knocked on the door he was greeted by a friendly-looking woman in her forties.
“Ah, you must be the exorcists from the True Cross Academy; I'd recognize those uniforms anywhere.” The woman smiled and Rin, who'd been a little nervous, immediately relaxed. “My name is Haruka Abumi. Please, come inside.”
“Thanks.” Rin stepped through the door and Suguro followed. “I'm Rin Okumura, and this is--”
“Ryuuji Suguro,” Suguro interrupted.
“A pleasure to meet you.” Haruka closed the door behind them, still smiling. “Would you like something to drink, or eat? I've prepared breakfast, if you're hungry.”
As if awakened by the promise of food, Rin's stomach growled loudly and he gave a sheepish grin.
“Yeah, that'd be great, thanks!”
After they took off their shoes and Haruka had turned to lead them further inside, Suguro drove the point of his elbow into Rin's ribs, earning a quiet yelp of pain.
“What was that for?” Rin hissed.
“Don't presume to introduce me,” Suguro replied heatedly. “I can do it myself.” Without looking at him, Suguro moved ahead and followed Haruka through an archway into the kitchen. Rin lagged behind a bit, rubbing his side where Suguro had elbowed him. Yes, he had definitely had enough of Suguro's weird, rapidly changing moods.
“Is everything alright?” Rin looked up and realized he was in the kitchen; Haruka was standing near the fridge and giving him a slightly puzzled smile.
“What? Oh, yeah, sorry. Everything's fine.”
Rin looked around the kitchen. The dining room was right next to it, and through the doorway he could see a generous breakfast spread laid out on the dining room table. Suguro was already sitting down, plate loaded with delicious-smelling food. Rin licked his lips, stomach rumbling greedily.
“Feel free to eat as much as you want,” Haruka offered. “Our fee for this exorcism is feeding and housing you, and I've got plenty of food for the next couple of days.”
“Alright!” Rin took the seat next to Suguro and started grabbing food from every plate within reach. “Thank you!”
“You're welcome.” Haruka hovered in the doorway. “There's just one more thing – ah, there she is.” Haruka walked back through the kitchen and into the hall, and when she came back she had a kid with her, a little girl with brown skin and tightly curled hair tied up in pom pom-like pigtails.
“Suguro and Okumura, this is Suki. Suki, say hello.”
Rin expected the little girl to hide shyly behind her mother, but instead Suki beamed and ran over to him.
“Hi! I'm Suki. Why are your ears so pointy? Are you a real exorcist?”
Rin grinned down at her. “You bet I am! And that's because--”
“Don't listen to him,” Suguro cut in, shooting Rin a look. “We're still in training.”
“Cool!” Suki looked back at her mother. “Can I train to be an exorcist? Can I?”
“I'll think about it.” Haruka shook her head with a smile. “But first, wash your hands so we can eat.” Suki immediately ran off to the bathroom, still babbling about becoming an exorcist, and Haruka turned to Rin and Suguro, who were about to dig into the food they'd piled onto their plates. “Boys,” she added, in a tone with quiet steel hidden behind the kindness, “That goes for you too.”
After having thoroughly washed their hands (she made Rin do it twice when he tried to get away with a quick rinse) the four of them sat down at the table and, after giving their thanks for the food, started eating.
“So if you're exorcists in training,” Haruka asked conversationally, “Why didn't they send a teacher or chaperone with you?”
“Hauntings usually don't require high-level exorcists,” Suguro explained after swallowing his mouthful of eggs. “So this is kind of like a test for us, to see if we can complete a field mission on our own. But,” he added hastily, “if something goes wrong, we can just call our teacher to come in and handle it.”
“Ah, I see.” Haruka's smile never wavered, but Rin could feel a chill emanating from her. “Then I trust you both know what you're doing, and the school hasn't sent me two inexperienced boys who will put my family in danger.”
Rin and Suguro exchanged glances.
“No way, you don't have to worry about that at all!” Rin grinned and gave her a thumbs up. “We'll keep you guys safe no matter what!”
“You're sooooo cooooool!” Suki pulled herself up in her seat, holding herself up on the table with her hands. “Like a superhero!”
“Honey, sit down.”
“Superhero, huh?” Rin's grin broadened and he completely missed Suguro rolling his eyes. “Yeah, I am kind of like a superhero!”
“Try not to get too cocky, Okumura,” Suguro warned.
“Why not, chicken head? Then I can be just like you!”
“I thought I told you to cut it out with all the stupid nicknames--!”
“After breakfast,” Haruka said loudly, shutting them both up, “I'll give you a tour of the house and show you where most of the activity is happening.”
Suguro bowed his head. “Thank you, Miss Abumi.”
“I don't know, I might need a nap.” Rin rubbed his full, bulging stomach. “I'm feeling kind of tired.”
Suguro glared at him. “You can nap later!”
When they'd finished eating and Suguro and Rin had cleared the table, Haruka brought them both into the front hall near the door, leaving Suki to play on her own.
“You know where the kitchen is from here; the family room is a little further down on the right, and there's a bathroom across from it. I'm going to take you upstairs, since that's where most of the activity is.”
She led them up a set of narrow steps tucked into the corner of the front hallway. The stairs were old and worn, and Rin could hear them creaking under his feet. It definitely set a creepy atmosphere, and he could imagine this place hosting a spirit or two. The second floor had a more homely feel, though, with polished wooden floors on the landing and leading into the bedrooms. Haruka led them to the first door directly across from the staircase.
“This is the master bedroom, where my husband and I sleep.” She opened the door on a moderately furnished room with a queen-sized bed set in the middle beneath a small window. It was tidy and smelled like clean laundry, and it gave Rin a weird sense of longing for his childhood home and the old man, though his father had never smelled like that.
“Sometimes in here we can hear footsteps in the hall when we're both in bed and Suki is sleeping; I've also come home to the door being open even though I'd closed it that morning and nobody was home all day. Little things like that, things I can't really explain.” Haruka gestured to the bed. “I've even come back once or twice to find the bed made on a day when I'd been too tired to do it myself that morning.”
“And you know for certain nobody was home? Your house doesn't have a tilt to it that may cause the door to open by itself?” Suguro was examining the door, slowly opening and closing it and watching the hinges.
Haruka shook her head. “My husband is usually away on business, and I work all day while Suki is at school.” Haruka looked at Rin as she spoke. “I don't know about the tilt, but I doubt that would explain the other things that have been happening. Follow me.”
Haruka then brought them out of the master bedroom and further down the hall, to the last door on the right.
“This is Suki's room.” This room was full of childish clutter, dolls and toys and dress-up clothes scattered across the floor. Haruka sighed when she saw the mess.
“I thought I told her to clean this yesterday...”
“So, it always looks like this?” Rin asked.
“Oh, yes. My Suki is not a neat child.” Haruka picked up some of the clothes nearest her and deposited them in a hamper near the bed. Rin moved further into the room and noticed that the blankets had a magical girl theme, along with most of the posters lining the walls.
Suguro moved to stand beside Rin, gaze sweeping the room.
“Is this where most of the activity happens?”
“Yes. Do you sense something?”
Suguro shook his head. “No, but it's common for spirits to focus on children. Kids are more open-minded than their parents, and it's easier for the spirit to interact with them.”
“I don't like the sound of that,” Haruka said, frowning. “Suki's never said anything about it hurting her, but...”
“But what?” Suguro said, watching her closely. “What happened in here?”
Haruka fidgeted, and Rin realized she was uncomfortable, even...embarrassed?
“Suki often plays in here by herself, and sometimes we hear her talking out loud, as if she's talking to someone. We thought it was just an imaginary friend, but...” Haruka put her hands on her elbow and stared at a spot off to the left of Rin's head. “I've seen things, dolls floating, strange shadows...her bed moves on its own sometimes, just a few inches to the left or right, but we know she's not doing it; the bed is way too heavy for her to lift. And I've heard....voices, sometimes. I can't tell what they're saying, but I hear them. I'm not sure how Suki sleeps in here most nights. And then a few weeks ago, something else happened, and that's when I decided to call an exorcist.”
Rin perked up. “What happened?”
“One night, after I'd picked Suki up from school, we cam back and found her room completely trashed.” Haruka rubbed her arms. “And I don't mean just messy like this. All of her stuff had been thrown around, her blankets had been pulled off her bed and thrown on the floor...her nightstand was tipped over, the lamp broken, and her clothes had all been ripped out of her dresser. It looked like somebody had ransacked the place! And then Suki said, 'He's angry'.” Haruka shuddered. “I don't know why, but at that moment I got the worst chill....and that's when I decided to do something about it.”
Suguro nodded thoughtfully and rubbed his chin. Rin could practically see the gears turning in his head.
“I think I know what we're up against,” he said finally.
“Really?!” Rin turned to him. “You figured it out already?”
“Yeah, and you would've too if you actually studied once in a while.”
“Hey--!”
Haruka shot them both a glare and once again they shut up instantly. “What is it?”
“I think,” Suguro began, “that what we have here is a Poltergeist.”
Rin blinked. “Poltergeist?”
“Yeah.” Suguro looked up. “A Poltergeist is an angry spirit, often a former resident of the land, that moves furniture, misplaces things, and causes messes like what Miss Abumi described.”
“How do we fight it?”
“We don't,” Suguro replied, shooting Rin a glare. “We have to get it to show itself, and then chant a Sutra to exorcise it.”
“Why can't I just cut it in half with my sword?”
“Because you can't just keep pulling your sword out whenever you feel like it!”
“But it always works!”
“Enough!” Rin's and Suguro's mouths both closed with a snap and they bowed their heads in shame.
“Sorry, Miss Abumi,” they said in unison.
Haruka crossed her arms. “I appreciate you coming here to help us, but from now on there are two rules you absolutely must follow.” She held up a finger. “One? You two need to stop arguing all the time. It's disruptive, obnoxious, and solves nothing.” Both of them flushed as she held up a second finger. “And two: absolutely no swords will be drawn in my house. Do you understand me?”
“Yes ma'am,” they both muttered. She nodded.
“Good. Now I'll take you to the guest room, where you'll be staying, and then I'm going to take Suki to school.” She relaxed slightly. “I'd like the two of you to clean up the breakfast dishes, please, and then you have the rest of the day to figure out this Poltergeist thing.” Haruka looked from one boy to the other, dead in the eyes, as if daring them to say no. When neither spoke, she smiled.
“Alright, let's go.”
Haruka led them out of Suki's room and to the one right next to it. As she was opening it Rin felt something, a strange aura, and whipped around to look back at Suki's door. He didn't see anything, but the feeling didn't go away; and as soon as he faced front again he heard a whisper, loud enough that it sounded like it was right behind him--
Suki!
“Ahh!” Rin jumped. Suguro, who hadn't yet walked into the guest room after Haruka, glanced back at him.
“What are you yelling about?”
“You didn't hear that?” Rin spun around, searching for the source of the voice. All of the hair on the back of his neck was standing on end and it felt like his scalp was crawling.
Suguro frowned. “Hear what?”
“There was a voice...it sounded like I was right behind me.”
“What'd it say?”
Rin's lips were set in a thin line. “It said 'Suki'.”
Suguro's eyes widened, and just then Haruka peered out at them with a puzzled smile.
“Is everything okay?”
Rin opened his mouth to tell her what he'd heard but Suguro cut him off.
“Everything's fine,” he said, giving Rin a pointed look. “Rin thought he heard something but it turned out to be his imagination.”
Haruka watched him for a moment – Rin wondered how Suguro could look so cool under that stare when he was sweating a little and she wasn't even looking at him – before nodding and smiling again.
“This house is old; it makes strange noises even without ghosts.” She held the door to the guest room open for the two of them as they stepped inside. This room was slightly smaller than Suki's, very sparingly furnished, and – as Rin and Suguro noticed at the same time – only had one bed.
“We have to sleep together?” Suguro exclaimed.
“Inside voice,” Haruka scolded. “And yes, unfortunately, the guest room only has one bed, so you'll have to share. But it's a queen mattress; you should both have plenty of room.”
Rin made a face at the idea of sharing. He liked to have a lot of space to himself when he slept. He glanced at Suguro, meaning to share his irritation, but when their eyes met Suguro flushed pink and immediately looked away. Rin frowned. It seemed like Suguro was going to keep acting weird...this was going to be an even longer three days than he'd thought.
“When you're done with the dishes,” Haruka was saying, completely ignoring the scene before her, “you can bring your bags up here and settle in. Okay?”
Rin forced a smile. “Yeah, sounds good.”
She brought them back downstairs (Rin straining his ears for any sign of the voice, to no avail) to find Suki all ready for school. She had on a little pink jacket and a clashing bright green backpack. The overall effect was adorable.
“Mama, can I stay home today?” Suki asked as soon as Haruka entered the kitchen. “I wanna hunt ghosts too!”
“Maybe next time, sweetie.” Haruka took Suki's hand and pulled her toward the door. “Right now you have to go to school.”
“But Mama!”
“No buts.”
Suki pouted but didn't fuss again. At the door to the kitchen, Haruka paused and smiled over her shoulder at Rin and Suguro.
“We should be back around five,” she said. “See you later!”
“Bye,” they said as one, and waited until they heard the front door close behind her before Rin let out a loud groan.
“Why do we have to do the dishes?” he complained, turning to the kitchen table. There were so many dishes...how had they used that many?
Suguro grimaced. “I have the feeling she's going to be using us not only as exorcists but as hired help too.”
“Aw maaaann.”
“C'mon, enough whining.” Suguro rolled up his sleeves and started filling the sink with soap and hot water. “That won't get any of these dishes done.”
Rin's shoulders slumped in defeat. “Okay, okay!” he said, pulling out his hairclip and pulling his bangs out of his face.
Between the two of them, it should've only taken about twenty minutes to do the dishes and clean up the kitchen. Instead, though, they tacked on at least another ten minutes when Rin initiated a soap bubble fight by playfully tossing some into Suguro's hair while the latter was drying a pan. Suguro yelled and immediately retaliated, and before long the floor, the counter, and the both of them were covered in suds and soaked with water. The battle ended when Rin slipped and instinctively grabbed the first thing he could reach, which just happened to be Suguro, and caused both of them to go crashing down onto the floor. Rin laughed and shoved at Suguro, who was half on top of him.
“Hey, get off!” He pushed – not too hard – at Suguro's shoulders. “You're heavy.” He was still laughing, one hand rubbing the soap off of his face before it got in his eyes, as Suguro fell silent and picked himself up.
“Whoops, looks like we'll have to clean this up too.” Rin propped himself up on his elbows and grinned up at Suguro. His smiled faded, however, when he noticed the expression on Suguro's face.
“Look at this mess!” Suguro stood up, slipped again, and caught himself on the counter. “What were you thinking?!”
“We were just having fun!” Rin pushed himself to his feet and got up in Suguro's face. “What do you mean, what was I thinking?! You were doing it too!” He was too pissed to notice how Suguro's cheeks darkened at the closeness, or how Suguro took an involuntary step back.
“You started it--”
“So what?!” Rin grabbed at a towel and violently dragged it over the soaked counter. “It's just soap and water! It'll dry easily!” Rin threw the wet towel at Suguro, who caught it in surprise. “What is wrong with you lately? You've been acting weird all day!”
Suguro stared at the floor, saying nothing, and slowly shook his head.
“Nothing's wrong. I'm fine.”
“Well....good!” Thrown off his tirade by this reaction, Rin grabbed another dry towel and started wiping the front of the cabinets under the sink. “Then I guess we should clean this up.”
They mopped up their mess in strained silence. Rin glared at the floor as he wiped it dry, wanting to say something else, to yell, but not really knowing what. Suguro had said nothing was wrong, and if he was lying, it seemed pointless to try and force the truth out of him. Rin knew how stubborn Suguro was – if he pushed, Suguro would push back twice as hard, which would just lead to more arguments. And if Miss Abumi found out they were still fighting...Rin shuddered to think of what other household tasks she might come up with for them.
After they'd cleaned everything up and taken the dry towels to a hamper Rin found in the bathroom, Suguro led the way back upstairs to their room, each carrying their bags and supplies for the next few days. They put their stuff down inside and though neither was very happy about the sleeping situation, they managed to decide who would get which side. Thankfully, as Miss Abumi had said, the bed looked big enough for both of them without either having to sacrifice too much personal space.
“Okay, this is what we're gonna do,” Suguro said once all of that was out of the way. He pulled out one of his school books and started flipping through it. “We've got the run of the house, so we should sweep the place from top to bottom. Miss Abumi showed us the rooms where she and her daughter experience the most activity, but the Poltergeist may also be sticking to other places where they can't sense it.”
Rin yawned and sat on the edge of the bed. “You said we had to draw it out, right? How're we gonna do that?”
“Miss Abumi said most of the stuff happens in Suki's room,” Suguro replied, frowning. “It sounds like the spirit may be attached to her for some reason, so if we could use her--”
“Wait, hold on a second! We're not using that little girl as bait!”
Suguro's frown twisted into a grimace. “I don't want to either, but if the Poltergei is connected to her somehow, it'd be the easiest way--”
“There's no way in hell we're doing that!” Rin shot to his feet, fists clenched. “We'll just have to find some other way!”
Suguro looked like he wanted to argue further, but instead clenched his teeth and turned back to his book.
“Fine, we'll do something else,” he snapped. “But we won't have any guarantee it'll work, and we only have three days, just in case you'd forgotten that little detail, Okumura!”
“Of course I didn't forget!” Rin plopped back down on the bed, stubbornly crossing his arms. “I won't use a kid as bait for an angry ghost, even if I fail,” he grumbled.
They sat in another tense silence, the only sound the rustle of pages as Suguro brushed up on Poltergeist lore. Meanwhile Rin sat on the opposite corner of the bed, fidgeting restlessly and clenching and unclenching his hand on his sword. A violent spirit that ripped apart rooms and seemed interested in a kid? He scowled unconsciously. He wanted to cut this thing in half for putting Suki in danger like that.
“Stop making that face.” Startled, Rin lifted his head to see Suguro looking at him. Suguro closed the book and set it on the nightstand before standing up.
“Come on. Let's check out the rest of the house.”