“Nii-san!! Where are you?”

Rin raced around the corner, tipping over a trashcan accidentally. Did he care to pick it back up? No.

“Nii-san!! I’m scared!!”

Splashes of puddling water sprang into the air as his muddy shoes crashed into the gathering pools on the sidewalk. “Just wait a little more, Ryuu!” Rin yelled, but his cry was soon lost to the screaming wind.

He wasn’t worried Ryuu wouldn’t hear him, though. Ryuu heard everything.

“Rin-kun! Hurry, please! She’s hurting me!”

Rin heard Ryuu’s faint shrieks echo from a nearby courtyard. “SOMEBODY HELP ME!” the nine year-old screeched, and Rin saw a demented looking schoolgirl’s upper torso about to swing a huge scythe at his younger brother.

“You’ll be my friend, right, Ryuu?” the spirit girl croaked sweetly, a psychotic smile plastered onto her face like a sticker smacked onto her ghastly face like a three year-old put it there.“We’ll be the same. I’ll make you the same. Legs are overrated, anyway,” she choked out maniacally, and Ryuu’s terrified face ducked for cover as the scythe flew-

FWOOM.

Rin gritted his teeth as he held the scythe back with his katana, and felt a familiar burning sensation atop his head. A long, powerful tail swept from under him, and grasped the girl’s throat and throwing her across the courtyard like a skipping stone across water.

The girl snarled, getting back onto her...feet? More like floating top half. She charged back at Rin, who had recovered a basic kendo stance, and swung her scythe down at him. Rin dodged, the blade missing his cheek by a sheer centimeter. He wouldn’t be surprised if a lock of his black hair had been sheared off.

The girl whacked and hacked, her scythe flying mercilessly toward him. Rin aimed a blow at her side, sending her flying back. She screamed bloody murder, swiping the the bloodstained blade through the air, aggravated that she kept missing Rin.

“Nii-san! That’s Teke Teke! She chops people in half!” Ryuu shouted, and a cold shiver ran through his spine as it suddenly dawned on Rin. He suddenly realized he was fighting a mythical creature...or Japanese folk legend. The scythe, the school clothes, the torso...it all made sense.

The bloodlust.

Teke Teke was a Japanese ghost story that parents told their children to make them behave and to warn them to be careful. She was a normal little girl, skipping to school, about to cross the train tracks to her classes…

And then the shinigami-death gods-decided to cut her in half.

The train had run through her, ripping off her lower body with the force of a missile, and she died immediately. Teke Teke went insane in death, vowing that no other children in the world would live the happy childhood she never had. She preyed upon young children who felt extreme happiness or excitement, chopping off their legs and murdering them with her gory scythe.

Unfortunately, extreme happiness and excitement were both two of Ryuu’s traits.

The melody of metal clanging against each other became a tune of its own as Teke Teke and Rin’s blades clashed continuously, katana against scythe. Rin drove the deranged ghost girl back with every blow, away from his little brother, who was huddling behind a pedestal and watching the fight scene with terrified amethyst eyes.

“I’ll kill you, and feed your bloody remains to Nikusui!” Teke Teke screamed, and Rin pulled a face.

“Ew,” he muttered, roundhouse kicking Teke Teke in the head. She howled in pain, spinning away and clutching her head.

“Insolent fool!” Teke Teke screeched, her eyes glowing a murderous red.

Rin rolled his eyes. “What time were you born in, 1700s?” he mocked, and with a flick of his wrist and a twist of his katana, had the scythe clattering to the floor.

Teke Teke’s horrendous giggling slowly turned into a warbled giggle. She dropped to the ground in fear, in awe at the fact that she had just lost…

To a thirteen year old.

Even adding to her horror, she realized now that she had just tried to  destroy the son of a devil.

Teke Teke’s eyes became round dinnerplates, and Rin became very confused as her attention had instead directed to the top of his head. “Yo, Teke x2,” he smirked. “What’s the deal? Too distracted by my awesomeness?”

Rin heard ragged breathing, and turned around to see Ryuu’s startled face staring at whatever Teke Teke was staring at as well. He turned back to the  bloodthirsty ghost girl, who’s pale, ghostly white, bloodstained skin had turned a sickly gray.

He looked up, and was shocked to see what he realized were horns.

In the heat of battle, he hadn’t noticed, and neither had Teke Teke, but bright, sky blue blazes flared like small bonfires on his dark hair, the flames curling around like small devil horns. Both Rin’s and Ryuu’s jaws dropped.

“DEMON!!!”

The brothers’ attention snapped back to Teke Teke, her crimson gaze looking in horror at the blue fire burning elegantly atop Rin’s head. “DEMON, DEMON, DEMON, DEMON! DEMON!!!!” she screamed, the ghost girl’s face stricken in complete fright,  and she ran (floated…?) away, screaming into the shadows.

The boys stayed in their positions for several more minutes,  eyes following where Teke Teke had disappeared off to. Then Rin let go of his sword and dropped to his knees. Ryuu inched over to Rin slowly, cautious for any new surprises to jump out at them.

“Nii-san?” the young boy whispered fearfully.

Rin looked up at Ryuu, the drops of rain running into his navy- blue eyes.

“Hey, Ryuu, c’mere,” he soothed, arms outstretched. Ryuu jumped into his awaiting arms, hugging as hard as a nine-year old boy could possibly hug.

“Are you okay, Nii-san?” Ryuu asked, and Rin could feel  the heat of his  horn-flames disappear.

“I’m alright, Ryuu-kun. Arigato, though, for asking,” he replied, and Ryuu beamed.

The small boy rubbed  a forming bruise on his brother’s cheek with his thumb, and kissed it lightly.

“There!” Ryuu exclaimed proudly. “All better!”

Rin chuckled fondly. “Thank you, Onii-chan, but I’m hurt in  a lot more places.”

Ryuu’s amethyst orbs widened in alarm. “What?! Where?”

At this, Rin burst out laughing. His ribs screamed in silent protest at his amusement,  and Ryuu ended up joining the laughter too. The two were rolling on the muddy, sodden ground in giggles and cackles in mere seconds.

They didn’t know why they were laughing; honestly, they weren’t. Maybe it was with all the fear and hate radiating from the heated battle between Rin and Teke Teke  that humor, amusement, and happiness was leached out from them. For the two siblings, anyway, happiness was a sanctuary from the nightmares of life.

“Hey, Rin,” Ryuu said, tears of chortles in his eyes.

“Yeah, Ryuu-kun?” Rin answered, turning towards him.

“Where’d you get the katana? You didn’t steal it from the  kendo club, did you?”

“Pfft, no way. I’d rather throw myself into an abyss of eternal death than face me of Akemi-sama-sensei’s so-called ‘punishment’.” Rin shuddered. “More like cruel-and- sometimes-very-unusual-methods-of-torture’.”

Ryuu chuckled. “You got that right, Nii-san.”

“If it did come from Akemi’s, anyway, how do you think it could cut through ghosts like Teke Teke?”

“...”

“Exactly. I got the katana from a friend. It’s called ‘Zanpakuto’.”

Ryuu grinned. “‘Ghost cutter’?”

Rin nodded, and with a stretch, he brought himself up. He reached a hand out to Ryuu. “C’mon, let’s get home. You’re soaked,” he said, and Ryuu took his older brother’s hand.

Rin picked up Teke Teke’s long-forgotten scythe, pausing for a moment. Ryuu noticeably tensed. “Rin-kun…” he warned dangerously, and took an unconscious step backwards. Rin’s eyes flicked back to Ryuu, and he handed the young boy the scythe.  It reassembled in Ryuu’s hands, fitting his size perfectly. “Ah!” Ryuu gasped, examining the scythe with great curiosity for a few moments.

“Rin, are we demons?”

“Yes. At least, I think we are.”

“Can demons eat chicken teriyaki burgers for dinner?”

“Fine, you devil.”