In the Darkness We Walk Alone

Chapter Seven

"So you're saying that each of them became blind five minutes after breaking eye contact and they could see the true form of the Look-See demon?" Shima recapped the explanation in hopes of having heard correctly. He looked at Shura and noticed the cut on her cheek. He had noticed a fading bruise on Rin's cheek before he had rushed off to the kitchen and made a mental note to question it. The injuries were small but it should've been noticeable. The pink haired monk glanced at Yukio then back at Shura who was leaning against the wall. He had another question that needed to be answered since this was making less and less sense as the seconds went by. "Okay," he started, shifting in his position so that he could meet Shura in the eyes before continuing, "so how did you both get to actually speak with them and not get killed?"

  "Rin's under their protection, so no one other than the leader of the gang (or in Rin's case gangs) can hurt him." Shura winced and placed a hand on her cheek which bore a cut and glowered at the floor. "That doesn't go for me. I pissed off some chick in the Renaissance gang and she got a good hit on me before Rin stepped in." The laugh that ripped from her throat was enough to cause them to step back at the sound of craziness. "The fear that swept through her when she realized she had hit him was the best. I've never seen anyone fear Rin as much as she did."

"Okay, but why were you calling each other 'Snake' and 'Shadow' earlier?" Izumo spoke up, pushing that one uneven bang out of her face and needing to remind herself to cut it. It was quite bothersome when it would fall into her eyes. She had cut her bangs not too long ago and it was an uneven cut so now she had to deal with it until she got the time to cut it. "I mean, it's quite weird."

  "Oh, those are just our street names. Ya have ta have one ta gain entry ta a gang territory, but it has ta be confirmed by a well trusted individual. Since Rin is basically known as a Protected for so long, he made two up for me on the spot and got me entry. Viper and Snake are the ones he gave me, so yeah. Oh, Yukio, I know ya haven't known about this gang related stuff, but do ya know when Rin had started showin' signs on being associated with gangs?"

  Yukio thought for a second before shaking his head, scoffing at the lack knowledge he had on his own twin brother. He glanced at the kitchen, seeing his brother setting the table. "Hey!" shouted the older of the two, poking his head out of the kitchen. "Food's ready now! Go wash up!" Rin sat down and sighed, waiting on his classmates. The priests were out doing something for the church so it was only going to be the Cram School students for the next two days. He hated it for he knew that they were going to basically torture him for information as for all the questions they had for him.

  "So, Rin," started Shura as she sat down at the same time as Yukio and the other two girls, waiting for the Kyoto Trio and the other two boys. The girl's violet eyes were on him, searching for something that might be displayed on his face. Just as the others came right in did she ask her question, "How old were ya when ya first associated yerself with a gang?"

  Rin glanced down at the table, his shoulders tensed as they rose and fell shakily. He was hesitant, not really wanting to answer, but he had to. "I was...eight?" He sounded unsure as he furrowed his eyebrows, thinking deeply and searching for the memory. "Yeah, I was eight. It was two days after our birthday when I had gotten into another fight with a kid. I didn't want to return home yet, so I wandered around town." His fist clenched around his chopsticks before relaxing it, although the action didn't go unnoticed. "I met a guy nicknamed Ghost and he gave me the name Shadow because I tailed him like a shadow for a good thirty minutes out of curiosity. Of course, he did warn me that he would kill me if I ever said anything to the police or a grown adult, but he was nice albeit that. His cousin runs a mafia and I've only met them twice."

"You expect us to believe that?" cried Reiji staring at the demon in disbelief. Honestly, who was he kidding? An eight year old being accepted by a gang without dying or getting hurt? That was just unrealistic! "How can a child live or not have been kidnapped by a gang by now? It's a load of bullshit!"