It would take quite a bit more than just a few moments for Rin and Mimi to fully explain what had happened to Himiko, and so Rin made a decision on the spot, "I'll be happy to tell you more about this, but for now, I need the two of you to go."

Immediately Mimi put up her guard and fought, "No! I'm not leaving you here!"

Rin grinned at Mimi's concern for her, but insisted, "I'll be fine, Mimi. Please take Himiko back to her family, and I'll be back as soon as I can."

Her sadness washed of her eyes and she again pushed, "But Rin-"

"Please trust me, Mimi," Rin interrupted, not too harshly. She shut her eyes tight, infusing her tone with the sincerity she felt, "I can't watch anything happen to you too, now please go."

Mimi's eyes filled with tears and she leaned forward, tightly wrapping her arms around Rin, "You be careful, you hear me!"

Rin returned the hug, gently placing her hands on Mimi's back as she replied, "I'll be fine, I promise."

In a state of complete shock, Himiko asked with a waver in her tone, "Who are you people?"

Mimi turned to her, still in Rin's grasp, though it was Rin who spoke with just a hint of a smile on her lips, "Right now; we're ghosts."

Rin's half naked form quietly traversed the concrete walkways that surrounded the base, a leather belt she'd borrowed from one of the dead, in hand. She was searching for a guard, and her quest didn't take long. She peered around a corner and promptly made her move. The adrenaline in her veins pumped every bit as hard as it had that morning, as she whipped the belt around an unsuspecting guard's neck, and quickly flipped him over her shoulder. As soon as his back crashed against the concrete, she forced her knee to his throat, and immediately they recognized one another. He was one of the men from that dreadful room earlier. She was infuriated at the sight of him, and seeing her alive, he attempted to speak, even as she crushed his windpipe, "You!"

Her eyes narrowed and with a slight sense of glee, she pushed against his struggling jaw, breaking his neck in an instant. Rin let out a sigh and stripped the man, taking his garments for herself. Now clad in a pair of canvas pants, and canvas top, Rin's bare feet continued into the complex, the officer's 1911 sidearm in hand. She had seen nothing of the complex layout on either her way in, or her way out, and simply had to rely on instinct. Logic told her that the morgue she was in would have been in the sub-levels of the building, bringing her to seek out a staircase leading down.

Seeing as how many of the soldiers stationed here were more than likely out gathering prisoners, the base was largely empty. However, the further she went, the closer the voices got. The helpless cries of men, women, and children all begging for the mercy of anyone who heard them. It was but a few more turns through the hallways that she found the morgue she was in earlier. Looking into the now empty room, seeing Himiko's blood on the floor, and hers on the table she was strapped to, her rage was fueled even further. She rounded the next few corners of the concrete halls and finally came to the cell holding the numerous prisoners.

At the sight of her, the captives grew louder, their cries becoming more specific. Rin couldn't hear them though, she had but one job to do and needed to focus, "Get away from the door!" She ordered as she lifted the weapon towards the key slot. The prisoners backed away, and she fired two shots into the lock. The door swayed loose on its hinges and with a flick of her wrist, she swung the door open, "Come on!"

"What about the Americans?" One of the prisoners asked.

Again Rin smiled, there were dozens of them, and though it was a despicable sight, they had strength in their numbers. "I'll lead the way; just run right over them."

It was like leading a herd of stampeding Bulls through the narrow corridors. If the Americans were lucky, none of them would get caught in their path. However, the two shots Rin needed to fire in order to open the cell had attracted some attention. Another of the men from that room barreled down the hall and this man too looked as though he'd seen a ghost in Rin. She didn't slow her progression in the least, and even wore a smile as she took a single shot that ended him. She slid the half-empty 1911 into waist of her pants and picked up the soldiers automatic rifle.

Having ascended the flight of stairs she came down earlier, they were nearly out when suddenly Rin passed a closed office door and stopped. The labels on the door read, "Colonel Wilkinson III" and "Admiral Baker II". Rin looked down the hall towards the exit and handed the rifle to a seemingly capable man behind her as she ordered, "Go on, I'll be out in a minute."

The man placed a hand on her shoulder and replied, "Thank you."

"Go," Rin again ordered, this time with a slight smile. The herd continued down the hall, and out of the building, and as soon as they were out of sight, Rin pulled the 1911 from her waist. She ejected the magazine, eyeing up the three remaining rounds through the mags window. Slipping the mag back in place, she pulled the slide back to check the chamber was still hot, and finally tried the doorknob. She kept the gun preparedly raised, as she entered the hall, only to find another short hallway with a set of doors on both sides of her. She opened the door to Admiral Baker's office first, and quickly entered.

The admiral looked up from behind his desk, to stare down the barrel of the 1911 Rin held. His tie undone, a bottle of Jack Daniels in his right hand, he was probably a bit tipsier that he would have liked. The Admiral slowly but obviously reached below his desk, and without a word, Rin put a round between his eyes. She quickly turned towards Wilkinson's door, confident that he would have heard the shot loud and clear. She hastily barged right through his door to find a bound and gagged woman bent over his desk while Wilkinson stood behind her. The cocky bastard hadn't even bothered to concern himself with the gunshot. However, when he saw Rin holding a gun on him, he reacted much in the way his subordinates had, "YOU!"

She fired a shot blowing out his right knee, and dropping him to the ground before he could retrieve his side arm. While the Colonel cowered in the pain of his obliterated knee, Rin untied the woman, pulling her yukata down over her exposed body. "Go," she ordered of the terrified woman.

The woman ran from the room without a second thought, and as Rin placed the barrel of the gun directly on the Wilkinson's forehead, he spat, "You're dead! I killed you myself!"

"I warned you that you might regret this some day, didn't I?" Rin politely asked.

"Impossib-"

She interrupted him, placing the last two bullets in his head. The empty 1911 fell against the concrete seconds later, and finally, she was done.

The next morning, Rin, and Mimi sat at the bar in Shinji's home, both clad in fresh and clean yukatas. Sadly, Mimi's white and blue yukata had come from Kenta's closet, as Himiko's clothes were far too big for her. Still, it didn't seem to trouble the small girl in the least. In fact, throughout the morning, neither Shinji, Kenta, Rin, or Mimi seemed upset in the least. Japan had been hit by an unreal disaster, but its people endured as people do. Simply happy to have his wife back, Shinji gave Rin and Mimi free reign over any bottle of Sake they wished. That it was hardly mid-day, lent to the shock that Shinji felt at watching the women drink. Happily though, he'd never say a word of his surprise. They had brought Himiko back to him, and that was worth whatever they wanted from him.

The proprietor emerged from the living area of his business to find Rin and Mimi sharing in a light laugh. As he came back into the bar area, Rin and Mimi piped down a little, and looked over to Shinji. As he made his way behind the bar, Mimi asked, "How's she doing?"

Shinji smiled somewhat, "She's very quiet, but she's safe, thanks to the two of you."

"Just doing what we can to help out someone in need," Rin replied with a warm smile.

"Before she fell asleep, she had said that she wished to speak with you," Shinji added. "Do you have any idea why?"

Both Rin and Mimi knew exactly what she wanted to discuss, though Rin kept mum on the subject, "Not really."

The two ladies stood from their stools and Shinji asked, "You're leaving?"

"We'll be back tonight," Rin again happily replied with a wave.

"Goodbye!" Mimi beamed as they headed through the door.

Alone once again, Shinji sighed and lightly mused, "Those are two of the strangest women I've ever met."

Outside Shinji's shop, Rin and Mimi set off about Aki ward, in search of something to occupy their interests for the rest of the day. Surely there were many others they could offer assistance to. As they walked through the commotion-laden streets, they lightly spoke about Himiko's predicament.

"So what are you going to tell her?" Mimi asked. "About Yggdrasil, and immortality?"

"What can I tell her?" Rin asked. "I think the better question is, what is she going to tell the man and child who so desperately wanted her back? Now that she's come back to them, she'll never grow old and she'll never die. She'll be forced to watch her husband and child grow old and fade away."

"Not really fair, huh?" Mimi asked.

"I suppose that too is something we've learned throughout the years; life is never fair."

Once again, night fell on Aki ward. As they had promised, Rin and Mimi appeared in the entranceway to Shinji's Sake bar. The bar was empty, bringing Rin to call into the shop, "Hello?"

"Coming," a woman's voice replied from the rear of the shop. Himiko appeared seconds later, wearing a smile that quickly faded as she observed Rin and Mimi. The sight of them didn't conjure the best of memories for Himiko, though she definitely wanted answers. "Please come in," she offered.

"Thank you," Rin replied as she and Mimi knelt at a small table in the corner of the bar. "Where are Shinji and Kenta?"

"They're out for the night," Himiko replied as she joined them.

"Good."

"Why is that good?" Himiko cautiously asked.

"Mimi?" Rin asked, giving her companion the queue to leave them alone for a moment. The violet haired girl got to her feet, a comforting smile on her lips, purely for Himiko's benefit.

As soon as she was out the door, Rin began, "Himi?" She instantly had the woman's attention, and continued, "What I have to tell you won't be easy to hear. I wish there were an easier way to say these things. I hope you'll trust me when I tell you, that after nine-hundred years, I still haven't found a good way to explain it."

An hour later, Rin and Mimi stood at the corner they had first found Kenta. They watched on with hollows in their eyes as Himiko morosely stepped through the entranceway of the bar, a suitcase in hand.

Mimi would be the one to break the silence between them, "She chose to leave?"

"She did," Rin somberly replied.

"Are you sure this was the right thing to do?"

"Their wounds will heal in time."

"Do you really believe that?" Mimi asked.

Rin turned to Mimi, wearing a warm smile as she replied, "I want to believe it."

As Himiko disappeared down the corridor, Mimi pushed herself away from the telephone pole she was leaning against, and for the first time in two days filled her tone with light, "So what about us?"

"I don't know," Rin lightly replied as she wrapped her arm around her littlest, and oldest friend. They headed off further into Aki as she spoke, "I hear Kyoto is nice this time of year."

And that is all for this one :) If you made it this far, I hope you enjoyed it :)

I do have quite a few other ideas for additional 'Rin' fics, but I'm a bit swamped at the moment. I may simply add onto this fic, and just separate the different stories with different chapters. I suppose we'll see what happens.

Hopefully, I didn't push the 'T' rating too far. If it is deemed too graphic for a 'T' rated fic, I'll change it immediately.

Thanks very much for reading, and I hope to be back again soon :)
-jm