Work Text:
The Flight Back
She stared out the window, pretending not to notice everyone as they claimed their seats for the flight back to the Academy. She wasn't surprised when Suguro and Koneko sat away from her. They sat together on the other side of the plane, two rows in front of her. Then Yukio walked past her, lugging around his carry-on. He seemed lost in thought and mindlessly took the seat across from the boys. Shiemi followed him shyly. When she made it to Izumo's row, she paused for a moment and glanced at the available seat next to the other girl. Izumo tried not to give away what she was watching, keeping her face toward the little circle window, but looking out the corner of her eyes. Shiemi considered sitting next to her for a moment, but lost her nerve and went to sit beside Yukio.
Everyone was avoiding her. It was subtle, maybe even just a coincidence, but she couldn't help how aware she was of their sudden avoidance. Normally she was the one hoping to be left alone and maybe that's what they thought she wanted. It had been a long few days. She had been through a lot. But despite her past behavior and her traumatic experience, she was craving their acknowledgment. Not their questions and certainly not their pity, but just something to reassure her that she was still the same Izumo Kamiki.
"Is this seat taken?"
The purple-haired girl jumped a little as one of the boys caught her off guard. She turned to look at him, his shaggy blue hair falling in his face, his pointed ears twitching, and his lips pulled back in his signature toothy grin. Rin Okumura.
She wanted to take a jab at him with a snarky comment in reply, but she was too surprised by his question so instead, she lamely said "no."
He took that as his chance and fell into his chair beside her. He didn't even bother to leave a seat in between them.
An awkward silence settled between them as others filled the cabin. Izumo felt his presence weigh on her like a pile of bricks. The air around them was suddenly too hot and the space between them was too close. Their shoulders were nearly brushing each other. She was quickly regretting allowing someone to sit with her. Especially Rin Okumura. There was something about the half-demon boy that sent her skin on fire and it wasn't from his blue flames. The boy had been plaguing her thoughts for some time now. Even before she was captured, he was at the forefront of her mind. In some ways he made her weak, acting as a constant distraction. She had given in to her impulses when she had put on that dress he gave her and made her way to the party to meet him. She had allowed herself to be distracted and she found out the cost.
But he had saved her. Even when she had tried to push him away, told him she did not need his help, he still came. It was the first time she had felt relief in the eyes of his demonic blue flames.
As images of her capture and transformation flashed before her scarlet eyes, she clenched her fists in her lap and tried to stifle her quickened breathing.
"Hey, are you okay?"
His gentle voice broke through her pained memories like a slash of his sword. She dared to look at him and met his concerned blue gaze.
"I'm fine." She muttered as she shifted in her seat.
He leaned closer to her. She could smell the musky scent of his cologne and feel the heat of his breath on her neck sending shivers down her spine. His voice was low when he asked, "You aren't scared, are you?"
For a moment she froze, unsure of how to answer. What did he mean? Was he asking if she was afraid of him or was he asking if she was afraid for him? Turns out, it was neither as he leaned back and added, "It's okay, I get nervous flying too."
To prove his point he squeezed the arm of the chair he was clutching, digging his nails into the cushion. That's when she noticed he was shaking ever so slightly.
"I'm not nervous." She lied and tried to make herself smaller.
He gave her a small smile. "Right, sure."
A silence fell over them once again. She forced herself to keep her eyes at the little window on her left side, away from him. She did not want to give away any more signs of her true feelings. The truth was, she was terrified. Not of flying, she could care less about that. No, she had bigger problems. All her friends, if she could call them that, had just witnessed to her horror the truth about her identity and past. They learned of her betrayal, her pain, her weakness. They watched as she was kidnapped and tortured. As she became consumed by the spirit of the Ninetails demon. They saw her mother crumble before their eyes. She had cried and they had all watched.
Rin was wrong. She wasn't afraid of flying on a plane, she was afraid of the monster she had become.
"Do you remember when we were on that train, heading to Surguro's village?"
His question snapped her out of her thoughts. "Huh?" She answered lamely.
He grinned at her. "The train we were on a while back. It was right after you all found out I was the son of Satan."
He said that so casually now, it made her wonder when he became so okay with it.
"Oh, right. Yeah, I remember."
"No one would sit next to me on that train. I kept wondering why. I mean, I knew why. Everyone thought I was a monster."
Izumo looked at him then, like really looked at him. She did remember that day. The events played back in her mind. She had boarded the train and was looking for a place to sit. She had felt out of place. She didn't have Paku with her like she was used to. Sitting next to Shima was out of the question and Shiemi was nowhere to be found. She remembered spotting Rin upfront with a chair open beside him. He was looking away, but his shoulders were slumped and he looked unusually down. She had just found out he was a half-demon, the bastard son of Satan himself. It had been a shock, to say the least. But it explained a lot. She had noticed his pointy ear and sharp fangs the first day in class. And it was weird how he carried a sword everywhere he went. He also received special treatment by the teachers, some claiming he was a "special case."
So she actually wasn't all surprised when she found out his secret. It made sense after all, and it would not be the first time she's heard of half-demons before. Was she afraid of Satan and his blue flames? Absolutely. She wasn't stupid. But was she afraid of the teenage boy who sat alone on the train, looking defeated? Not at all.
And she told him as much when she defiantly plopped in the empty seat next to him, much to everyone else's horror. Rin himself had been shocked, having a dumb look on his face that quickly transformed into pure glee. He went from moping to happy in 90 seconds flat. The mere act of sitting beside him seemed to cheer him up instantly and his excitement was unnerving to her.
"But you didn't. You were the only one not afraid of me and I just, I wanted to tell you, I'm not afraid of you either."
Izumo blinked at him, being dragged back to the present day. He was looking back at her, his eyes warm and his smile sweet. Rather he knew it or not, he was leaning into her, their arms brushing as they shared an armrest. She became acutely aware of their shared space and his breath intermingling with her own.
"It meant a lot to me when you told me that so I thought you'd want to hear it too."
His words made her blush despite herself. That he was right about. She was so worried about what everyone would think of her now that they knew her secret. That she had demon blood. But she had forgotten that someone she knew would actually know how she felt. She didn't want to admit that he was right, because it would mean admitting she was scared.
"T-thanks." She settled on, but his gaze was locked on hers, making it hard to look away.
The cockpit rattled as the plane began to pull out. A change overcame Rin. His smile faltered and his eyes flashed with fear. It was almost comical to the girl, seeing the powerful son of Satan acting jumpy around a plane. She couldn't say what came over her, but she found her hand moving on it's own. It easily slid into his and squeezed reassuringly.
Rin looked down at their intertwined hands surprisingly but said nothing. Instead, he gave her a relieved smile as he calmed a bit in his seat. Embarrassed, she looked away again and kept her eyes on the window, trying to distract herself by watching the plane move to take off. Rin's hand was a little sweaty with nerves, but she could feel him relax more into her hand.
He felt warm and his hand was oddly soft. It was much larger than her own and although she was the one trying to comfort him, it was his hand that was wrapped protectively around hers. It was nice.
As the plane took off toward the sky and she watched as the ground grew further and further away, all she could think about were their hands together. There was a comfort in having a friend.