6

The clock on Rin's study table beeped.

It was midnight, the full moon throwing its rays inside on the beast spirit who was staring at nothing in that dark room. His long black hair fell over his shoulder, covering the vines embroidered on his kimono. The door was opened and he blinked, turning his head to find the elf standing in the doorway with a plate in his hands.

"I brought you some rice cakes, Loid",Kim said, coming to sit in front of him on the floor.

"You had skipped lunch. You must be hungry. Here." Kim placed the plate in front of Loid who looked at it and frowned, memories resurfacing in his mind, memory of him and Damian sharing rice cakes that night.

"Don't worry. Rin will soon be back with your brother. He promised, right?"

"He said that he would keep his promise."

"He will. He's an honest person...Too kind for his own good",the elf whispered the last words to himself.

"Is it alright for me to ask about what happened?"

"Huh? What?"

"You were saying something about his kindness."

"Loid. You sense his presence gradually fading sometimes, don't you?"

Though Loid hadn't commented on it but he had noticed that; a sudden loss of Rin's presence even when he would be sleeping right across from him.

"Is it something to be concern about?"

"No. Not yet",Kim entwined his fingers in his lap and Loid presumed that the elf was anxious.

"You are a sincere friend of Rin. I respect it."

"Huh? No, no. I'm not that great", Kim chuckled humorously, resting his chin on his palm. Eyes closed, he spoke as if reliving the past,"He had a far more loyal friend than me. But fate took a turn for worse. Loid", he looked at the lion, his clear green eyes soft, a delicate emotion reflecting in them,"Rin has been through much more than what any other Kage would go at his age. I understand that he may seem stubborn and reckless at times but that's because he's afraid."

"Afraid?"

That boy? Whose cold blue eyes wouldn't hesitate before finishing his opponent with a single slash? He was afraid?

"Yeah. I don't have the right to tell you about him. But if you are going to stay by his side, you'll find out eventually."

"Does it have something to do with that crack in Genki's handle?"

Kim gave him a small smile,"Maybe."

Loid nodded. He knew too little about that human still he had agreed upon making a deal with him.

Why would he want him to stay by his side?

A gust of wind blew inside the room and he turned his head, getting on his feet.

"Loid? What happened?"

He looked out the window. A foot on the windowsill and he jumped out.

"Loid!", Kim cried, rushing to the window to find the boy standing on his feet.

'They are here.'

And he was right. In the middle of the front yard, a magic circle materialized just a foot above the ground. Loid walked up to the portal, his bare feet crushing the soft grass beneath. In front of the portal, he raised his hand as if reaching out for somebody.

"Are they back? Are they?", Kim cried from the porch, his breathing heavy from running down the stairs. Miya san was beside him the next moment, her white kimono fluttering in the breeze and her forehead wrinkled as she awaited her family's return.

She had prayed all day long for her child to be safe. She wouldn't be able to bear if something were to happen to him again.

Two years had flown by but that memory still haunted her in her dreams. She could never forget the days her Rin had laid unconscious on the hospital bed; face pale, lips darks and core cracked.

"Please be safe, Rin. Please", her quivering lips whispered.

Time passed. A minute, another and another.

"What's taking them so long?", Kim was stressing out, his hand twitching.

"They will be back. I know it."

'He will keep his promise.'

Biting his lip, Kim looked at Loid's waiting hand, then at the magic portal and then back at Loid's hand.

His hand was taken.

A hand held on to his wrist, pulling their body out of the circle and crashing into Loid, both of them falling to the ground.

"Rin!", Kim ran towards the boy before jumping on the top of them, arms wrapped around his friend.

"Kim! You are choking me!"

Kim leaned back, smiling wide as he got on his feet. Rin looked at the boy laying beneath him, his locks sprawled over the ground.

His blue eyes locked with his red ones, he smiled,"We found him, Loid!"

Was Rin's smile always that comforting? Loid reached out, caressing a small cut across Rin's chin.

"You kept your promise",he whispered.

Rin grinned, "Yep!"

"Brother!", Damian stumbled out of the portal, Daichi at his heals.

Loid staggered to his feet, reaching the boy in a single stride and catching him into his arms.

"B-brother", he snuggled into Loid's chest.

Oh the warmth of that embrace. Damian's tears started falling on their own accord.

Clothes torn, knees scrapped, dirt covering his tiny body. His little brother had been through a lot and that too by himself, without him being there. He kissed the top of his head, tears stinging his eyes.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you, Dammy."

Miya san hurried down from the porch, tripping over her feet as she reached her family.

"Thank God", she whispered as she wrapped her arms around them, pulling their heads down to her shoulders, tears stinging her eyes. Those two people were her whole life

Rin looked up at his dad, wriggling his eyebrows with a smirk. Daichi hit him at the back of his head,"You little brat."

Daichi wrapped his arms around his wife, gently pushing her raven black locks away from her watery blue eyes.

"We are home",he placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

She closed her eyes, a tender smile on her face.

"Welcome home."