In the Darkness We Walk Alone

Chapter Six

Kept to himself, let his sorrows out in the dark; be alone as he retaught himself to walk.

* * *

The trio came upon what seemed to be an abandoned building on the outside, yet there were many people living in it. Shura noticed the way that Rin was completely calm, not seeming to be surprised. "So girly, what's your street name?"

  "My what?" Her eyebrows were furrowed, staring at him with confusion on her face. She didn't know what he meant by that. Did everyone in a gang have a street name?

  "It's Snake or Viper. Snake only when you're close to her." Rin motioned for the guy to keep going, telling him that they don't have a lot of time in being there. If he didn't want his friend to be helped then he could always leave and go visit the others that have been affected. Shura said nothing the entire time, knowing (sadly) that it would be best if Rin handled this since he was more informed about these things than she. Of course, they were going to beat the answers out of him if he didn't respond to their questions truthfully. As much as she was somewhat thankful about being helped, she was irritated with the name he used. Although, it was better than what other name he had in mind.

  The boy hummed and led them inside, leading them into a maze of hallways until they came to the last room on the third floor. On their entire way there, the female of the group caught a hord of whispers about the two of them, but the main focus of the gossipers were on Rin. The boy, who had yet to even remotely give his name, knocked twice before opening the door. The leader of the gang sat by the window, speaking to a younger kid who looked to be twelve. She looked up at them and finished her sentence, her predatory gaze on the two newcomers. "Shadow, it's been awhile, hasn't it?" Her lips were pulled up into a grin as she met Rin's eyes. Her attention snapped to the other girl in the room, scrunching her nose upon seeing the lack of clothing that the other wore. "I'm guessing that you're a friend of Shadow's. Let me introduce myself, I am the leader of of the Black Cobras, Venom. You can give me either your street name, real name, and if you choose not to give me one, I'll just make one for you."

  "She goes by Viper," immediately responded Rin or, to them, Shadow. Upon having heard the name, Shura couldn't even think for one reason why he would be name such a thing. Did he tail them like a shadow? Or what? Just another question added to pile. "Venom, is he the guy that was attacked?" Rin nodded towards the twelve year old who was staring at the guy he knew as Shadow with awe and slight fear.

  Shura puckered her lips, her amethyst irises trained on the kid who she thought was too young to be with a gang. The gang leader nodded, watching Viper's movements. She didn't trust newcomers, but tolerated them as long as they're trusted by at least one person. "A twelve year old? What is he doing in a gang? Why would he even be associated with one?"

  Her question went ignored as Rin handed her the Kurikara sword, walking over to the kid. He got down on one knee in front of the child. "What's your name?"

  "I haven't gotten one yet, but you can give me one, Mr. Shadow." The wide brown orbs were full of happiness at seeing him here, speaking with him. He had heard a lot of stories about him and he was so excited to be named by him. "I'm not part of their gang yet so I'll be fine with whichever name you give me."

  Shura leaned against the wall, watching the scene take place. Her mind was overflowing with questions about the kid and his relation with a gang. There was no way that that kid live anywhere around the dangerous parts of town, which led to the question of what he was doing here? The kid, now known as Fallen Angel was recounting the story of what had happen. The female Knight made eye contact with Rin and frowned at having heard what he described. "Look, Kid, I wanna ta know if ya are seeing things that no one else is seeing. These things are about this big and looked ta be like flies?" Shura held her hands in a certain way to describe the size of the Coal-Tars. The kid nodded which earned a look of confusion from Venom. "Okay, so is there anything else ya want ta tell us?"

  "Shadow, the creature, it looked weird. It was really scary." His bottom lip wobbled as he threw himself into Rin's arms. He described the demon to have dark skin, patches of red all over the limbs of it. From the way that he described it, they could only imagine that it was like a mixture between a humanoid scorpion.

"Okay, thank you for telling me. My friend and I will do our best to find the monster that did this. Venom, make sure to have someone around him at all times for the next two days in case for a relapse or if something happens again." Shura had never seen Rin look this way before, he seemed really mature and he didn't seem to be cracking a joke afterwards either. He bowed to the leader who thanked him and bowed back.

"Rin?" she whispered, looking at the son of Satan as they made their way to a black SUV. Rin explained that they were going to be escorted to the other side of town to meet the gang. "I wanna know why a twelve year old doin' associatin' themselves with a gang." It was a command, not a question.

He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes, his posture tensed as he took back the Kurikara sword from her. "Kids younger than ten are associated with gangs. It's not until your thirteenth birthday do you choose to be in the gang. Many people do, but there are a few who don't. Once in a gang there's no way of backing out. If you try, you're going against the oath you make at the beginning, and you will be seen as a traitor and will be killed. That's why I didn't join one. I'm associated with multiple gangs and if I were to join one, I have to cut all connections with the others. Kids are under protection or they'll be turned away if they're not strong enough."

"And ya were one of those kids?" She noticed the way he tensed, the way his jaw clenched at the sudden question. He wasn't going to speak of it. If not now, maybe later when they will be interrogating him. "Alright so, we have three more people ta question?"

"Yes. One of them is the leader of the Renaissance gang. The other two are his followers. Artist is worse than Venom. His temper is worst than mine, so be careful with your words."

"Alright, Shadow." She smirked at the growl she received. Her amused face shifted into a questioning one when her mind processed the entire sentence. "And who names themselves the Renaissance? Not to mention Artist?"

Rin shuddered at the thought of the meaning behind their name. Flashes of what he had seen them do. "Let's talk about that later. You'll see what the reason was about the names."

* * *

Yuko was pacing the entire time they were in the monastery. He was worried and didn't understand the entire situation. How could his brother be associated with gangs? He tried to think back to all the fights he had been in and couldn't help but wonder what all had been from gang fights. He just couldn't imagine his overly energetic, laid back, caring brother in a gang! It was unethical! Yukio muttered as the others watched their teacher pace and mumble to himself for over an hour now. They had attempted at some conversation to get his mind off of Rin but none of it worked. They never realized how much Rin could lighten the mood with his idiotic comments and jokes. What else could they do other than wait now?

Shiratori had nothing to do but think about whatever he could; Okumura was the only thing occupying his mind. The fact that the demon was with gangs terrified the stuck up rich kid. If he were to snap and go off on him, who knew what he would do. He knew people that could probably kill him in the most gruesome ways possible.

The doors to the monastery opened up and there stood Rin and Shura. Rin was annoyed with Shura's teasing and prodding. He was answering some questions but his whole demeanor changed at the sight of his friends. He noticed his brother's wrinkled face with worry and made his way over, being his energetic self. Shura watched the ordeal and couldn't help but wonder just how easily he could switch emotions. "We found out that all four of them have somethin' in common. Shadow, would ya want ta tell them?"

  Shadow? The collective question echoed throughout their minds. "You can handle it Snake. I have to shower and get the food ready." Snake? They were completely puzzled about the names they were calling each other. They just couldn't help, but wonder what happened.