Paralyzed

Chapter 9

When Rin was all cleaned up, he was helped into new clothes and was in his chair down in the kitchen. The whole time it felt so weird to have someone other than yukio helping him out. When he was situated in the chair, he noticed Suguro was awkwardly standing next to him, shifting his weight from foot to foot. Rin found something amusing about that as his attention was brought to the stairs, hearing someone running down them. Yukio appeared at the bottom of the stairs, looking almost concerned.

Though it didn’t stick for long. It was later replaced with a surprised look at seeing Rin’s slick and dripping hair. “Rin… did you shower?” He asked. 

Rin nodded. “Yeah. Suguro helped me.” Rin mused. 

Yukio looked at Suguro, a look of relief on his face. “Oh… Thanks for the help.” He walked around Suguro and turned to face Rin. “Well since you are washed we should… well.” He looked at Suguro with a pleading look. Suguro caught the drift and nodded, turning to leave. Once he was down the hall, Yukio folded his arms. “I know you are going to hate it, but we need to put your Catheter back in.” Yukio spoke, trying his hardest to keep his voice barely above a whisper. 

Rin nodded. “Where do you want me, chief?” Rin asked sarcastically, saluting. 

Yukio rolled his eyes and went behind Rin, gripping the handles and turning Rin around. He wheeled him into a room and closed the sliding door where all the medical supplies were. He put the brakes down and scooped Rin into his arms before laying him down on the bench. Rin kept his eyes on the ceiling as Yukio did what he did. 

“So, Suguro was the one to help you? I didn’t see that one coming.” Yukio said, digging into the medical bad. 

Rin gripped the hem of his t-shirt closer to his chest. “He wanted to help because of how exhausted you have been.” Rin explained in a low voice. Rin heard Yukio stop abruptly and chuckle. When Rin looked down he saw that his tail was wrapped protectively around Yukio’s arm. 

“Oh, well that makes sense, then.” Yukio explained, still working on the catheter. Rin relaxed back on the bench, keeping his eyes on the ceiling. They sat in silence for the rest of the procedure. When Yukio was done, He grabbed Rin and put him back in the chair. Rin proceeded to wheel himself out of the room and back into the common room. When he entered he noticed the other ex-wires were on the couches, loveseat and the bean bag. Suguro was reading, Shiemi was playing with Nee, Izumo looked bored, Koneko and Shima were talking quietly to each other and Takara… well he was sitting in the corner staring at a book cover.

Rin gulped, afraid that his presence will make the air go tense. So instead he looked at the back door and felt some relief. He kept his head down, wheeling past them to the door. He reached for it and slid it opened, hearing all conversations stop behind him. Once it was opened Rin wheeled outside, feeling the cold instantly seep into his bones as he closed the back door behind him. He wheeled to the fence, looking out into the city. He sat there for… well he lost track but when he finally decided to go back inside, he noticed the cram school wasn’t in the living room anymore, instead it was Shura. 

“Where did the others go?” Rin asked, closing the door behind him. 

“They left about an hour ago. Yukio told them they needed to rest easy.” She explained. 

“Oh.” Rin sighed looking over at the kitchen. “Hey Shura, can you come with me to the store? We need a few more ingredients.” He asked. 

Shura thought for a moment, battling on whether it was a good idea or not, and instead surrendered. She nodded and stood up, walking over to Rin and grabbing a hold of the back of his wheelchair. She pushed him towards the kitchen, stopping to grab his sword before they left. They walked in silence, enjoying the view and silence between them. Rin took this time to take in the sky that was partly cloudy and watched as the sky was a dark blue. It was beautiful to him. 
 
They ended up finishing their shopping earlier than Rin liked, but he was okay with it. As they were on their way back, Shura stopped for a moment, Her eyebrows furrowing. Rin looked over at her with a questioning look, wondering what made her halt so suddenly. She quickly tied the bags to the back of his wheelchair before bending down. 

“Head home. Do not stop and do not come back. There is a high level demon in this area.” Shura whispered, before rushing off into the opposite direction of the demon. Rin gritted his teeth, reality hitting his situation hard at this moment. He couldn't help. The demon was most likely targeting him, but he can’t help the people who care for him. It made his heart ache, but he knew going home was the best option for him. It made him sick to his stomach that he has to tuck tail and run, but he knew at this point he would just be a liability in this battle. 

He wheeled himself home, his face covered with his bangs the whole time, regretting his decision to leave. When he got to the dorm, he stopped at the door, looking over his shoulder to see if he could catch sight of what was happening, but whatever this feeling Shura had, was far from where Rin was. He opened the door of the dorm and wheeled inside, closing the door before stopping short of the kitchen. He sighed, the guilt nearly eating him up. He cursed under his breath, grabbing his sword that was hung over the back of his wheelchair and untied the bags before putting them on the table. He wheeled to the door and shoved it opened, only to be met with Shura, folding her arms.

“Well, where are yew goin’ buddy?” She asked. 

Rin gulped. “I was coming to help you.” He cleared his throat, sitting up straight.

Shura chuckled, shaking her head disappointingly. “That was a test Rin and guess what? You failed miserably.” She said, rubbing his hair before stepping around him and into the dormitory. 

Rin scoffed, wheeling after her. “A test?! Of what?” He snapped. 

She pulled the chair out and plopped down before leaning back in it, resting her feet on the table. “To see if yew could follow simple orders as stay. But yew were all gung-ho to come to my rescue.” She shot him a look Rin knew too well. “Im glad yew were worried about me, Rin, but being out there in yew’r condition would only make yew a liability. Until yew can find a good tactic or strategy to use while being paralyzed i’m afraid yew’ll be sidelined.” She put her feet down, un-rocking the chair before standing up and appearing next to him. “Besides, yew should have known somethin’ was up when yew couldn't even sense a demon’s presence. Yew are quite good at pickin’ up presence ya know.”

Rin looked up, surprised. “Are you saying my being a demon, I can pick up if another high level demon is near me?” He asked. 

Shura smiled. “That is exactly what im saying.” 

Rin smiled, now looking determined. “Then until I can fight, I will be the look out. On missions I will alert my team of nearby high level demons. I'm assuming since you told me this a new mission is coming our way?” Rin asked. 

Shura nodded, folding her arms. “Next week you and the other ex-wires are going to Osaka. There is a demon that is meddling with some human affairs. The details will be given at the time of the trip. I expect yew to help keep yew’r team safe with this ability. It may not be as much as yew want to be involved in, but its what you get.” She explained.

Rin shook his head. “If it helps than I will do it. I don't want to be the one who relies on help. I want them to rely on me.” He sent Shura a smile. “I will do my best. Now who is hungry?” He asked, not waiting for an answer as he wheeled by the table, grabbed the bags before heading to the kitchen and immediately started on cooking.  

Shura could feel the new hope and spark in him, but her smile faded when she thought about the mission they will be facing. It wasn’t the biggest challenge, it was just the scariest. She sighed, turning to the stairs before disappearing up them.

A/N: sorry for the delay ^-^ but heres the new update!!