Chapter Text
Kuro waited patiently for Rin to get back as he lay on the bed.
When the handle jiggled, Kuro clambered to all fours, tail swaying eagerly to see his master and friend again.
Kuro was quick to leap off the bed and scamper under it when Lizzy came into view, a sleeping Rin in her arms.
Kuro peeked out from under the bed to watch as Lizzy set Rin onto the comforter gently.
She stood back and observed him. "You're just a child, young and lost, aren't you? Yet, your eyes tell stories of which only soldiers should hold. Why are you, one so young, going through something that obviously isn't what you want? Who are you, Rin? Who are you really?"
Kuro smiled to himself. Despite this woman being human and having just met Rin, she had grown to care and worry for him. Kuro was sure that she would still feel the same even after she found out about Rin's true nature, if she ever did.
Kuro desperately wanted to climb out from the shadows beneath, jump onto the bed and curl up beside Rin in front of Lizzy, but thought better of it.
Maybe some other time he would, but for now, Kuro was content watching Lizzy leave, and then curling up beside Rin.
Unconsciously, Rin's arms wrapped around Kuro's small body.
Kuro didn't mind, snuggling up against Rin happily.
Lizzy had a point. Rin wore lots of masks.
At times, he could be a brave, strong soldier, fearing nothing, not even death.
He could be the weakling, the small, pitiful boy everyone bullied.
He could be the smart, talented, responsible, and rational boy that everyone agreed with.
He could be the freak, the hot-headed demon that everyone feared with their lives.
He could be an idiot, a kid with no brain, a teen who had the mind of a five year old.
He could be a kind boy with nothing but purity in his heart.
Rin pretended to be lots of things for his friends' safety and happiness, sometimes his own.
Rin was much more than those masks, though. Rin was childish, but was serious when it came time to be. Rin could be very scary, but he was truly kind to those who deserved it. Rin acted like an idiot, but he was much smarter than many took him for. Rin was always brave and strong, ready to face anything that came his way, but he still feared things. Rin was rational, but also impulsive and very hot headed.
Few knew who Rin really was, and Kuro was glad to admit he was one of them.
Rin woke early in the morning, having no help from Lizzy, but Kuro's fur tickled his face in a comforting way.
"Did Lizzy see you?" Rin yawned.
"Did you hear a scream?" Kuro asked lazily.
"No," Rin replied calmly.
"Then I think we're in the clear," Kuro rolled his eyes, stretching and leaping off the bed onto the wooden floorboards.
Rin propped his head up with his hand, staring at Kuro. Slowly, a grin made its way to the corners of Rin's mouth.
It was nice to have Kuro with him.
"Clockwork? Are you here?" Danny called as he floated about Clockwork's tower.
"The door wouldn't have opened if I wasn't," a familiar voice replied.
Danny whipped around, startled. "You think I'd be used to you sneaking up on me by now."
"Practice makes perfect," Clockwork replied.
"You know why I'm here," Danny said, as it was obvious.
"I do." Clockwork nodded.
"Am I paranoid? Or is something actually going on?" Danny asked.
"You know I can't tell you that, Daniel." Clockwork sighed.
"I know, but can you at least give me a hint?" Danny asked.
"I suggest you make allies with a certain someone, or the Ghost Zone is doomed."
"What?! Why?!" Danny asked.
"The person is powerful, even more so than you. If you decide they are an enemy, the person will not hesitate to defend. I suggest you choose your choices wisely," Clockwork answered.
"Another ghost I have to deal with," Danny whined.
"Now, Daniel," Clockwork reprimanded, "Who ever said anything about the person being a ghost?"
Cue the panic.
"A threat that's not a ghost?" Tucker gaped. "Really?"
Sam whacked Tucker. "Did you not hear Danny? This person isn't a threat unless we want them to be. They're a potential ally if we make the right choices."
"How is the person powerful if they're not even a ghost?" Tucker wondered.
"There are more supernatural things than just ghosts, Tucker," Danny reminded him, "We can't rule anything out."
"What do you think the person is?" Sam asked.
"Not sure," Danny answered, "I just hope he's not going to be a complete jerk."
"Hey!" Sam protested, "They could be a girl!"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," Danny agreed.
"How are we going to find this person anyway?" Tucker asked.
"I guess we'll figure that out along the way. We'll run into them one way or another." Danny shrugged.
Rin welcomed the chance to have a break from work on the weekends.
He loved cooking, but even he had his limits.
Rin didn't want to leave Kuro home alone while he went out, so he settled on bringing Kuro with him into the woods on the edge of the city.
Rin gently plopped Kuro into the grass once they made it to the edge.
"Ready?" Rin smirked.
"Let's play!" Kuro cheered.
"Ready, set, GO!" Rin barked.
Kuro and Rin set off, sprinting as fast as they could go. They were blurs, like a mirage or a drawn wind.
Over the whizzing sound in his ears, Rin called to Kuro. "Is that as fast as you can go?!"
"I'm just warming up!" Kuro called back, his tone confident and smug.
"Good! It wouldn't be much of a challenge then, would it?!" Rin laughed.
It was nice, to finally be able to let go, be himself, Kuro by his side.
It was nice to be free.
Lizzy stared thoughtfully at the singed walls of the guest room.
She remembered his screams, like he was dying, burning and being torn through.
"I'm sorry! I'm not a monster! Please, forgive me!"
She shuddered at the memory.
Lizzy barely knew anything about the boy. He was lost, he knew how to cook, and his name was Rin Okumura, if that was his real name, she didn't know.
He was an enigma. You think you've figured him out, and then something happens which proves you wrong.
Rin was the definition of mystery. Lizzy trusted the boy, more than she probably should, and she'd come to think of him as her foster son.
Lizzy never told Rin this, however. She didn't know how trusting the boy was and if he'd be comfortable with her thinking as such.
There were plenty mysteries surrounding the boy. The haunting nightmares, the unexplainable singed walls, the way he'd told her he was lost, as if it was almost impossible to get home, that it was so very far, which made it his own fault he was hopelessly lost.
She wondered what had happened to him, for the nightmares to be so horrible, for his eyes to hold the pain and loss of war.
She wondered why the walls were singed, how they'd gotten burnt in the first place, being Rin had nothing to set or put out a fire.
She wondered where he lived, what his family was thinking, and how he'd gotten so lost if his home was so very far away like he'd said.
Lizzy sighed and picked up the small, slightly crumpled piece of paper that had a short message written in messy handwriting.
'I'm going out for a run! Be back before dinner!' -Rin
Lizzy smiled slightly. "Sure you will."