"Shiemi-chan!"

"Ohayou Shiemi!"

"Shiemi-chan, is it me are you getting more and more beautiful each day?"

"Oi, Shiemi!"

Izumo shifted her gaze to the buxom blonde in the middle of the circle of hormonal teenage boys. Bon. Shima. Konekomaru. None of them were an exception. Blinking, Izumo turned her attention to the last member who completed the unofficial Shiemi fan club. Who else would it be but Rin Okumura, Satan's son and the brother of the Exorcist prodigy, Yukio Okumura. Raising an eyebrow at the obvious blush on the idiot's face, it didn't need a genius to put things together. The demon boy was head over heels for the beautiful Yamato Nadeshiko.

Sighing, Izumo bowed down to look at the already forgotten book on her desk. She wanted to finish memorizing the next 10 chapters of the book of Solomon before class started but the noise was simply too distracting. Weird. Nothing was ever able to distract her when it came to studying. Massaging her forehead, she made a clicking sound with her tongue. Just what was it that got her so irritated these days?

Looking back at the source of her discomfort, she snorted. There was an evident imbalance in the seating arrangements. The right side of the room housed all students with Shiemi, of course, staying in the middle; while she remained seated alone on the left most corner of the front row. Come to think of it, the little boy with the puppets seemed to be absent for the day. What was his name again?

Directing her attention back to the board, she decided it wasn't worth her time to think about such trivialities. And as if the universe understood her wish, Okumura-sensei suddenly stepped into the room to begin his lecture. Sighing, Izumo took out her notebook and pen. It was going to be another long day.

"Oh my, Kamiki-san, it's not like you at all to forget a verse!"

"Kamiki-san, is there something wrong? Your aim is off. You can't even hit the target board."

"Your form is horrible Kamiki. Hold your sword upright and bend your knees! What's gotten into you?"

"I must say Kamiki-san, I am surprised. You made such easy mistakes, exchanging the names of plants with a few similarities."

Izumo splashed her face with ice cold water. She leaned on the tiles of the outdoor faucet, too exhausted to care if they were clean enough for her taste. She tripped more than she could count today trying to outrun the stupid leaper their PE instructor insisted was a low level demon. She bit her lip to stop herself from shouting in frustration. What the hell was wrong with her? This week was filled with nothing but failure! She couldn't concentrate in class, she couldn't remember things she was sure she memorized by heart, she couldn't perform physical activities perfectly, and she didn't even know why.

Why was she so frustrated? Why did she feel so low and empty and exhausted? Feeling a hot trickle of water drop from her right eye, she opened the faucet once more in full blast and placed the back of her head directly under it. Great. Now she was crying and she didn't know why.

Forcing her eyes shut, she fought the onslaught of tears. She would not cry, especially when she didn't even know the reason. Hearing a muffled voice blocked by the sound of rushing water, Izumo lifted her head up. "What?"

"I said, are you all right?" Came the voice robotically, repeating every word clearly but monotonously.

Blinking, Izumo stared at the seemingly indifferent form of Rin Okumura standing about a good three meters away. He was still dressed in his PE uniform that matched perfectly with hers.

Seconds passed but Izumo failed to provide a reply. She simply stared at the demon exorcist like he had grown another head. Raising an eyebrow in impatience, Rin let out a frustrated grunt as he closed the space between them into a meager two feet. "Oi! I asked you a question!"

Blinking once more to snap herself out of her reverie, Izumo narrowed her eyebrows as she placed a hand on her hip. "How can you expect someone to answer a question asked so rudely?"

Chopping his right hand to the side, Rin answered but with equal fervor. "I didn't ask it rudely! I only reacted like this since you ignored the question!"

Turning her attention back to the faucet, Izumo turned the knob to stop the rushing water. And as if she didn't hear anything, she began to walk away.

Rin felt the blood rush to his face. Running towards the cold blooded girl, he roughly pulled at her arm to turn her around. "Hey! What the hell's wrong with you? I asked you a question! The least you can do is answer!"

Rin felt his anger slowly dissipate at the lack of response from the supposed feisty woman. She was looking down the ground and her bangs prevented him from seeing her face. "H-Hey…" His voice began, this time quiet and a little unsure. "Seriously. What's-"

"Why do you care?" Came Izumo's silent, icy response. "Why do you even care?"

Rin was about to yell at her once again for being a cold bitch but what she said next caught him off guard.

"If you can give me a good answer to that, then maybe I can tell you." Her voice remained silent and she still refused to look him in the eye. Pulling at her arm, she wished he would understand that all she wanted was to be left alone.

"Friends." Rin paused, considering his words carefully. "It's because we're friends, aren't we?"

Izumo stopped trying to free herself from his hold for a second. That was certainly something she didn't expect. It would be a lie if she said it didn't take her by surprise. The odd thing was, his reply only made her feel sadder. More empty and alone. Again, she didn't know why. Didn't she always want to have more friends? Wasn't this fulfilling her wish? So why, instead of smiling, did she feel like crying?

"Kamiki." Came his demanding tone. "Just tell me whatever's bothering you all right?"

Taking in a deep breath, Izumo did her best to steady her voice and fight her tears. She would not cry. Not in front of Rin. Not again. "It's nothing Okumura. Nothing you should concern yourself about."

Pulling at her arm with a force much stronger than necessary, Izumo turned around in a rush to leave.

"Kamiki!" Rin yelled exasperated in an effort to stop the Byakko tamer's retreating form, but to no avail. Being the stubborn person that he was, Rin let out another grunt of frustration as he began to follow Izumo's footsteps.

"You tell me it's nothing then you walk away! Where's the logic in that?" Rin began as he was slowly closing in on Izumo.

Snapping her head back to look at her pursuer, Izumo narrowed her eyes and yelled in annoyance. "It is every bit logical! Stop following me idiot! Leave me alone!"

"And you go back to that pathetic statement! Saying 'leave me alone' when what you really want to say is the opposite!" Rin yelled back as he quickened in steps. Izumo seemed to have increased her pace.

"Shut up! What do you know about me? Stop following me!" Izumo yelled further as she broke into a run through the forest grounds of the school.

"Stop bottling things up! You can't always solve problems by yourself idiot!" Rin yelled in response as he too broke into a run.

Izumo bit her lip as she ran faster. She couldn't afford to give a reply now. Her voice would break, she was sure of it. After all, she could no longer stop her tears from falling. All she had left was to prevent Rin from seeing her in such a pathetic state once again.

"Kamiki!" Rin yelled once more. He was closer. Much closer. She could hear his voice clearly now.

Sensing a hand grasp her forearm, Izumo felt her body being turned around forcefully. Bowing her head as a last minute attempt to hide her shame, the momentum of the pull made her collide onto her pursuer's body. Realizing that Rin was about to make her face him, she held onto his shirt tightly and hid her face on his chest, just below the crook of his neck.

"K-Kamiki." Rin stuttered after realizing the compromising position they were in. If anyone saw them, it was easy to misunderstand what they were doing.

"Don't look at me!" She demanded when she felt him tilting his head down to her.

"What the heck is-"

"Just don't!" She persisted. "Please." Came her weak and defeated tone.

Rin couldn't stop his surprise. Could Kamiki be? "Are you-"

"No! I'm not!" Izumo's tone went back to being harsh and demanding, but the shakiness of her response only concluded Rin's suspicions further. "I already told you there's nothing wrong! Why do you…" She paused to allow a quick intake of breath. "Why do you keep on asking!"

Swallowing a lump on his throat, Rin placed both his hands on her shoulders.

"I said don't look at me!"

"I-I won't." Came Rin's anxious voice.

Not knowing what else to say or do, Rin slowly and awkwardly placed a hand on Izumo's upper back and rubbed it up and down gently. He froze immediately when he realized it only made her cry harder. "K-Kamiki…"

Taking in a couple of forced breaths to calm herself down, Izumo tightened her hold on the demon boy's shirt. "Close your eyes." Came her shaky but resolute voice.

"What?"

"Just do it." She demanded. "Once you close your eyes, turn around, then count to ten."

"What the heck-"

"Take one step forward for every second you count."

Rin looked down in disbelief at the bowed head of the woman who, despite her sorry state, had enough courage left to order him around. "Why the hell would I-"

"Just do it!" Izumo persisted. "I'll tell you everything after…"

Making a clicking sound with his mouth, Rin closed his eyes. "Fine." There was no point in arguing with this woman. "My eyes are closed. Now let go of my shirt so I can turn around."

Sensing Kamiki nod her head in understanding, Rin felt her hands slowly release their hold on his shirt. Turning around, Rin counted to ten, taking a step forward after each number.

"8… 9… 10! Now tell me!" Turning around, Rin pointed a finger towards where Kamiki stood. To his surprise, the only thing that greeted him was a small green frog. It even had the audacity to mock him by croaking before leaping out of the scene. He couldn't believe it. She left him alone! "B-But… But…" He got owned. It was a set up.

"Damn that idiot!"

Kamiki fell to her knees in exhaustion. She didn't know how long she was running or how far she'd gotten; but she was sure she had lost her pursuer.

Izumo closed her eyes as she turned to lie on her side. The grass was softer than she expected. The after effects of running for what seemed like hours were beginning to weigh her down.

Opening her eyes slightly, Izumo gazed at a daffodil standing brightly just a few centimeters from her nose. Fragile, Kamiki thought. It reminded her of Shiemi Moriyama – the perfect damsel in distress for the perfect knight in shining armor. She laughed quietly but bitterly. True, she hated the seemingly innocent girl. She frowned. No, hate was too strong a word. She simply didn't like her. Shiemi Moriyama was too weak willed, too girly, too pathetic. Sure she had her strong points but overall, she made women seem weak. And Izumo despised that.

Blowing a strong gust of wind out of her mouth, Izumo watched as the daffodil crumbled into smaller, more fragile pieces. Rolling to her back, she smiled to herself bitterly. "Who are you kidding Izumo Kamiki. That's not the real reason why and you know it."

Why else would she feel that way towards the voluptuous blonde princess? She had everything Izumo would have wanted. Attention, friends… People simply get drawn to her without her trying. But of course, she wouldn't have been bothered that much if only… She paused. She still couldn't bring herself to admit something she knew deep down.

Izumo slowly shook her head. "Ever since that day… Ever since that day."

"Put that on then hurry up and go!"

"Hey! You're actually nice, aren't you? You even washed it for me!"

Letting out another bitter chuckle, Izumo closed her eyes in defeat. "How stupid Izumo Kamiki. Really pathetic." Honestly. When did she sink so low?

Turning to her side once more, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed by jealously and bitterness. She was the first one who acknowledged Rin after he was revealed to be Satan's son! She was the only one brave enough to sit with him, talk with him, actually be friends with him. But the moment everyone started accepting him, she seemed… insignificant. Cast aside. Forgotten.

Sighing again, Izumo clicked her tongue. "That's not true and you know it."

She wasn't insignificant, cast aside or forgotten. But then again, it wasn't the kind of attention she wanted. Why did Rin only notice her during her worst times? Why couldn't he understand what she… What she actually felt for him?

Izumo frowned. It wasn't Rin's fault. After all, whenever he was around, she wouldn't talk to him, let alone notice him. Whenever he would try to converse with her, she would make it seem as if she wasn't interested or that he simply was too stupid to be answered by someone of her caliber.

Bolting up into a sitting position, Izumo let out a frustrated growl. "When he's not around, I want him there. But if he is, I want him gone! When he talks to me, I ignore him. But when he doesn't I get annoyed! When he…" She paused, feeling a blush crawl to her face. "When he shows he cares, I wish he wouldn't. But when he doesn't notice, I… I get really… hurt."

Cradling her face in both hands, she let out an exasperated sigh. "What is wrong with me? Have I gone mad?"

Standing up forcefully, Izumo slapped both sides of her face. "I'll say this only once!" Putting both her balled hands to her sides, she inhaled deeply before shouting at no one in particular. "Rin Okumura, I love you! IDIOT!"

Running once more without a specific destination in mind, Izumo felt lighter. Weeks and weeks of denial were getting her nowhere. Even though she was sure she could never say those words to him, at least she was able to shout it out in the middle of nowhere.

Jumping down from a tree, Rin stood up slowly, slightly disoriented. Falling backwards onto the tree's trunk, Rin glided downward causing his sword to be bunched awkwardly to his side. Glancing at Kamiki Izumo's retreating back, he shook his head in disbelief. Did he just hear what he thought he heard?

THANK YOU for reading my contribution to the fandom RiMo (Rin + Izumo... just made this up)! This is my first Blue Exorcist fic and I just want to say that I love this pairing. They just seem to fit. I may add a sequel to this though I'm not sure when. Till next time!