I'm back! Well, kind of. I still have my exams to actually take but I managed to squeeze in enough time for this chapter. Also, I would like to graciously thank each and every reader that clicks on this series. There's no other words to describe what I felt when I looked back at the series. In the beginning, I just intended this as a one off story. But now, it's grow rather large in popularity. It truly does bring a smile to my face whenever I see people commenting and enjoying the story I have to offer. So once again, thank you all very much. 

And with that said, please enjoy the chapter.

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Chapter 3- Aftermath.

Darkness, that was all there was. As far as the eye can see, it was all pitch black except for a small light. Amidst the darkness, the small light was Kouta. Floating within the sea of darkness. Slowly, Kouta opened her eyes to the abyss before him.

“Where…Where am I?”

Kouta spoke but at the same time his mouth didn’t move. Taken back, Kouta raised his hand to his mouth. He could hear his thoughts but he didn’t have a mouth. Before Kouta could do anything, another light shined from within the darkness.

“Don’t you think it’s about time you wake up?” Hearing the voice, Kouta quickly recognized the serine voice to be Kuro’s. Turning in her direction, the light intensify, enveloping everything.

In the next moment, Kouta awoke, on a bed staring up at the ceiling. It took Kouta a solid second before his mind recognize that he was awake. Sitting upright, Kouta looked at the surrounding around him, trying to make sense of where he was.

“Finally awake are you?” Hearing a voice, Kouta turned to see Kuro sitting on a stool next to the bed. Immediately memories came back to him. He finally remembered what had happen. Instinctively, he threw off the blanket to see his body back to normal.

A sigh of relief escaped from Kouta, only for a split second before his attention switched to Rin. Panic and anxiety started to swell within body as his mind tried to cope with his last known memory.

“Rin!” shouting her name, Kuro in response scoffed.

“The first thing you think of when you wake is that Cow rather than me? Some boyfriend.” Commenting on the side, Kuro stood up and removed the drapes surrounding them. Rays of light blinded Kouta only for a second before his eyes adjusted. They were in the nurse’s office of the school.

Looking forward, Kouta could see Rin sleeping on the bed in front of him. Jumping out of bed, Kouta rushed towards Rin. Watching over her, his eyes scoured her body, making sure if she was truly fine or not. 

“Don’t worry. I didn’t do anything to that Cow…not yet at least.” Hearing Kuro’s words, Kouta let out a sigh of relief. It was as if a heavy load was finally taken off his shoulder. The only oddity was some strangle marking around her neck. Although he was glad that nothing had happen to Rin, that leaves the question; why?

“Why did you spare Rin? And what’s with that black marking around her neck?” asked Kouta.

“Are you saying you didn’t want the Cow to live?” replied Kuro, trying to act innocent.

“That isn’t the question I’m asking Kuro. Knowing your personality, I half expected Rin to be dice into tiny pieces. Why the change of heart?” reiterating his question, Kouta and Kuro locked eyes with one another. Neither looked to be backing down any time soon.

“Ok fine, I just made her my slave.” Kuro answered nonchalantly.

“Oh, I see….WAIT! WHAT?!” Hearing her answer, it took a second before Kouta’s mind could fully comprehend her words. Looking back at Rin’s with a terrified expression, Kuro cut in.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything strange to her. I merely bind her soul to mine, but not to the extent of you Kouta. This way, I’ll know if the Cow tries anything.” Said Kuro while waving her hand dismissively.

Part of him was glad that Rin survived but upon learning that Kuro somehow connected Rin’s soul to hers only degraded the happy news. But overall, she was alive, so in the end that is all that matters.

“Ok…But that still doesn’t explain why you of all people spared her.” Asked Kouta, moving onto his second question.

Remaining silent for several more seconds, Kuro answered Kouta’s question. “Although I act the way I do when you cheat on me, I’m not that irrational. I wasn’t truly planning on killing her, I just wanted to teach her a lesson. If I had killed her, you would have hate me forever. And seeing as your soul is tied with mine, you can literally hate me until the end of time.”

Giving her explanation, Kouta showed a genuine look of surprise. Despite knowing her for many years, and seeing her act in the way she does. Never did he get an explanation or insight on why she acted the way she did. Although it didn’t fully explain why she always got crazy, at least Kouta was glad that he at least understood part of it.

“I see. Thank you.” Thanking her with a smile, Kuro face reddened. “I-Idiot! I didn’t do it just for you, got it?! It was to make sure that I always have an eye on that Cow! Besides if she ever tries to get close to you again, I’ll kill her for real!” Stuttering, Kuro was furiously trying to defend herself.

‘Ahh, there’s the Kuro I know.’ Chuckling at the thought, a light hearted atmosphere came to pass.

“Seeing as I answered one of your question, I have a question of my own.” Hearing Kuro’s voice, the atmosphere slowly shifted away from the light hearted atmosphere. Looking at Kuro, she was serious. Gulping to himself, he nodded, allowing her to continue.

“I want you to answer this truthfully. Do you have feelings for Cow?” Listening to Kuro’s question, Kouta stayed silent. Unsure of how to truly answer such a question. As he pondered on the question Kuro’s stare only intensify.

“Well…I don’t really know.” In truth, Kouta had conflicting emotion regarding such matters. “I mean…Rin and I have been friends since children’s. I have seen both her good and bad qualities. If I were to answer honestly, if you and I weren't connected, then I wouldn’t mind.”

Answering the best of his ability, the answer he gave was vague at best. Glancing up at Kuro, she had her head hung low. Making difficult to see what she was feeling at the moment. Several seconds of awkward silence passed by before Kuro walked towards Kouta.

Walking forward, Kuro embraced Kouta with a hug. Wrapping her hands around his body, she laid her head against his chest. Seeing her odd action, he was unsure of how to act. “I really do love you.”

Pressing her head against his chest, she spoke in a soft voice. Hearing those words, Kouta couldn’t help but wonder. He had heard those words before, she would always say them in a cherry voice. For once, it didn’t sound like she was kidding or taking it for granted.

That’s why I’ll never let you go…never…never…never…never…never.” Laying her head against Kouta’s chest, she begun to repeat the word never endlessly. There was no change in her action for a solid minute. A creeping chill crawled up Kouta’s spine as he continued to listen, unable to do anything.

Before Kouta could do anything, Kuro finally stopped and backed off. “The cow will wake up soon enough, I’ll be going. I’ll see you at home.” Leaving without saying anymore, she disappeared within the second.

Leaving, Kouta was left alone with Rin. Looking back down at her sleeping face, she looked to be having a peaceful nap. “Well nothing I do now but what.” Letting out an exasperated sigh, Kouta grabbed a stool and waited.

**************

“Where…am I?” The voice belonged to none other than Rin. Awaken, she found herself surrounded by darkness. Wandering aimlessly amidst the abyss. Immediately, memories came rushing back to her.

On the rooftop Rin watched helplessly as Kuro edged closer. Kouta appearing and trying to stop Kuro only to be cut in half. Rin didn’t even had a chance to scream before Kouta’s two halves hit the floor. She could remember how powerless she was as Kouta laid dead on ground.

“Ahhh!” Finding her voice, Rin awoke screaming. Sitting upright, Rin was hyperventilating, her body full of sweat.

“Rin! Are you alright.” amidst her confusion, a single voice called to her. Looking in the direction of the voice, Kouta could be seen leaning over. Seeing Kouta worried face, tears began to swell within her eyes. Without uttering a single word, Rin leapt from her bed and embraced him.

Pushing him over, the two fell to the floor. “Owww.” Muttered Kouta as Rin smothered her head against Kouta. It took several minutes before Rin finally calmed down. From there, it was only right to inform Rin on just about everything.

“So…you’re immortal?” Rin asked, full of skepticism.

“Yep. It doesn’t matter of cut at me, blow up my head, extract all my blood, cut off all my appendages and use by head as a soccer ball. I’ll regenerate eventually.” Listing off the numbers of things Kouta could regenerate from, Rin had a sneaking suspicion that Kouta spoke from personal experience.

“So, there’s no way for you to be separated from her?” Taking in all the information, Rin asked the big question that was weighing on her mind.

“Well she is Death, so not really. I understand your concern, but Kuro is nice if you to know her. Sure she’s impulsive, and stuck up sometimes, and can be hard to deal with, or be completely maniacal….” Quickly getting off topic, Kouta re-focused himself. “She isn’t that bad once you get to know her. Trust me, I’ve been with her for a very long time.”

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Doing his best to reassure Rin, it wasn’t that much of a convincing answer. The silence returned as Rin avoided eye contact with her. “How…how did this all happen?” speaking to herself, her words instead were audible.

“I suppose I should tell you that as well.” Hearing Rin’s hypothetical question, Kouta decided to answer it. “You remember that time when we were 8 years old? The time where I was hit by that truck?” Leaving the question to Rin, it took roughly a few seconds before she recognize the event he was referring to.

At 8 years old, Kouta and Rin were playing in a forest. As children, they wandered and play without a care. Eventually the two decided to have a race to see who would be the first to get out of the forest. And Rin won, although not as she had hoped for.

Racing through the forest, Rin jumped out of the forest, only to find herself on a road to greet her. At the same time of their race, a truck was speeding through to make a delivery. Jumping off the forest, the driver hit the brake as fast as he could. This resulted in the truck flipping over and sliding towards Rin.

Unable to move, it looked to be the end before Kouta pushed her out of the way. Taking the full force of the truck. Even to this day, the doctors that operated on him didn’t know how he could survive such an incident. But it was because of this incident that Kouta meet Kuro and their fate were connect.

It was Kuro that saved Kouta’s life.

Connecting the dots, Rin grew deathly silent. “It…it’s my fault…” Gripping the sheets, her voice was filled with sadness. “If I…I didn’t make that stupid bet…then….” Unable to finish her sentence, it looked as if Rin was on verge to crying.

“It’s not your fault.” Placing his hands on her, Rin looked to see a warm smile on Kouta’s face. “I didn’t blame you back then and I don’t blame you now.” Hearing Kouta’s words, Rin still had a hard time truly believing it. Before the two could get another world out, a bell broke the silence.

Hearing the bell, Kouta immediately checked his phone to discover that the bell signified the ending of school. That meant that the two of there were unconscious for a long time. With nothing left to do, the two left school together.

Walking, the two walked in silence. Kouta, back to his home and Rin, apparently following him. Traveling for several minutes, the silence soon became unbearable to Kouta. “If it’s not too much to ask…what exactly is going on with the whole Miko thing?”

Asking his question, Rin remained unresponsive. For a while, it seemed that she had no intention of answering. “It…it’s complicated. Y-you wouldn’t understand.”

“Of course I wouldn’t understand if you don’t properly explain it. Don’t treat me like an idiot.” Rebuking her through logic, Kouta wasn’t going to back off. Sighing under her breath, she finally decided to properly answer him.

“Our family, the Minami family are exorcists for countless generation. Going all the way back to the Shinto era. We have multiple branches of our family and our influence is sprawled across all of Japan. For centuries, we have raised and trained countless of miko’s and exorcist. If you ever see an add calling for a purification, chances are that we’re related.”

“So wait…you just go around exorcising in a white kimono jacket and a red hakama?” The image that popped into Kouta’s head was Rin in a typical miko attire, on a rooftop, overlooking the city, wielding the paper talisman. It was a childish thought but after seeing Ring and Kuro fight. The thought wasn’t too outlandish.

“It’s not that simple.” Replied Rin. “But you are right to a certain extent. Other members and exorcist typically take care of most of the problems. They only call me in for special cases.” Nodding his head as he listened along. The two continued their walk in silence. Each one, contemplating the information they learned from one another.

With their minds occupied with their own thoughts, they arrived at Kouta’s home in no time. The home that Kouta reside in was a modest house. A neat and well-kept garden sprawled over the front yard. Snapping back to reality, Rin subconsciously followed Kouta all the way.

Looking to one another, another awkward silence came to pass as the two didn’t know where to go from there. Walking towards the door, he was halted just as he unlocked the door. “Kouta!” Hearing Rin’s voice, he looked to her one last time.

“…This Kuro…Are you happy with her?” Hearing her question, Kouta couldn’t help but furrow his brow at such a question. The reason for her question lied in what Kuro said to her on the rooftop. It was gnawing at her ceaselessly. 

Kouta paused, unsure how to really answer back. “That’s quite the question.” Kouta scratched his head, showing that he was conflicted. “But if I were to answer honestly…”

Pausing for another second, Rin tensed up in anticipation of his answer. Time seemingly slowed down as she waited. However, Kouta never had the chance to answer as the door burst opened. “Darling!!” A shrill voice echo as a silhouette jumped on Kouta. It was none other than Kuro.

“Kuro!” Kouta yelped, caught off guard. However, what truly got him was the fact that Kuro wore nothing but an apron! The infamous naked apron technique. The apron worked surprisingly well with her petite body. Her looks radiated a sense of eroticism and cuteness. 

“It’s about time, I was starting to get lonely.” Speaking in a cheery voice, it was as if the events of today hadn’t occur. Before Kouta could get a word out, a loud scream reverberated in the air. The source of which came from Rin. Whom was watching from a distance, unable to remain calm. “W-wh…at…What are you doing?!” Her face was beat red and she couldn't stop fidgeting.

“What does it look like Cow? I’m embracing my boyfriend.” Cling to his arm, she rubbed her body against his arm. To Kouta, this was part of the norm. In fact, she would do this around five to six times a month. But to Rin, it was everything but normal.

“L…Lewd! You dirty ghost.” Flaring up, Rin waved her finger at Kuro who was adamantly trying to get a reaction out of Kouta. “I knew you were nothing but bad news! This time I’ll get yo--“

“Kneel.” Reaching for her paper talisman, Kuro uttered a simple command. Instantly, Rin dropped on all fours. Unable to process all the information, Rin struggled to stand but couldn’t. It was as if someone had control over Rin’s body instead of her. The marking on her neck that disappeared after some time reappeared upon Kuro’s command.

“What…what did you do to me?!” Angrily questioned Rin, desperately fighting back.

“Ohh, I simply made you my slave. If I utter a command, your body will obey it no matter the command.” Answering her question, a sinister smile emerged on Kuro’s face. To her, it was an appropriate fate for a cow like her.

“Quit it.” Bopping Kuro on the head, Kouta was in no mood. Glaring at Kuro, she made a pouting face. Snapping her fingers, the pressure that Rin felt was entirely gone. “You…remove this curse at once!” Demanding her Kuro to remove the curse, Kuro in turn simply batted her eyes.

“I don’t want to. Think of it as a punishment for challenging me Cow. Also don’t think a simple purification will get rid of my mark. Only I can make it disappear.” Speaking in a smug tone, she only angered Rin.

“You…You…!” Rin was so angry that she couldn’t find the right words to speak. “I knew you were bad news from the beginning. Mark my words, one day I will exorcise you!” Making a declaration, Kuro simply laughed at her empty threat. Saying you would kill Death was like saying you would kill God. Both impossible.

“I would like to see you try. Especially since we’ll see each other a lot more than before.” Leaving Rin with one final statement, Kuro dragged Kouta back into their home. All the while, Kouta contemplated her words.

‘I wonder what she meant by seeing one another more often?’ Unsure of her words, Kouta finally got his answer the following school day.

*********

“Hello everyone! My name is Kuro and I am Kouta’s girlfriend!”

The next day of school, Kouta’s classroom got a new student. It was none other than Kuro. 

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A bit anti-climatic isn't it? Over the coming days, I contemplated about where or not it was right to introduce Rin so early on. But C'est la vie (such is life). I can't do anything about it now. So moving on. 

Two cliches, in one chapter. What's next? A sister that loves her brother? HAHAHAHA.....that was just a joke. That was just a joke. But on that matter, the next couple of chapters will more comedic orientated. I'll be focusing on fleshing out some of the characters and introducing some side characters. *wink, wink*

But that is enough of me for now. Once exams are done, I'll be able to write and upload as fast as I wish. Finger's cross! If you enjoyed the chapter or just have a witty comment, do post it. I always enjoy reading comments. 

~Goodbye~