Burn it All [Rin]

Night turned to morning, and morning became day... No matter how much time passed Rin still didn't feel tired, no need to sleep, eat, or anything...

That was fine though, it meant he could stay where he was.

Immediately, his attention was on Aoi as she woke up. What time was it?

"I'm unsure exactly, but...it seems like it's passed noon at least." He answered; "How are you?"

"I'm better. My back doesn't hurt and I don't feel feverish." So she probably hadn't gotten an infected wound, she also felt stronger than she had in over a week at least. The food plus the medicinal help had definitely given her a lot more strength. The bags that had been rampant under her eyes last night were faded, the woman sitting up to rub sleep from them as she got her bearings... Past noon was fine since it was still bright out, more sleep and deep sleep meant she'd be better able to handle the nights work.

"...You. You are helping me right? I need you to do something once night falls then." This...could work nicely.

"That's good, I'm happy to hear that..." Now that he knew she was doing much better, he felt relieved; he'd been really worried...

At Aoi's question, he tilted his head slightly; "Yes, I'm helping you...What can I do?"

She needed him to do something for her when night fell again?

Aoi ignored his nice happy little words. Whatever.

Looking at him, she nudged her head in the direction of the kitchen room. "I need you to put some things in the drinks there, crushed herbs. They're toxins, it'll slow everyone down and give me the opening I need, even if a few die. I was going to sneak in there myself but it'll be safer using you."

Toxins...

"I see, I'll do what I can then." He agreed, though mentally he was trying to pen point what point of time he was in. This was...before she burned that place down? It seemed like it... If so then...

"Good." Aoi moved to stand, slowly since she felt a bit dizzy but after a few moments was steady. She held the yukata to her, slipping into it after a moment and moving to tie it closed without even thinking about it.

She stepped over to the doorway, her hand waving back towards him for him to follow and if it wasn't obvious enough she called to him. "Come on ghost man. I'll show you what you need."

Rin stood as Aoi headed off towards the other room after she'd changed, and at her call he followed after her. Ghost man, huh? Oh well...he guessed he could deal with that...

"Alright, coming, coming."

"You'll have to be faster than that to sneak in. Even going through walls won't help if you are seen." Aoi nodded, heading into what looked like the kitchen. Sitting on the counter were dried herbs having been recently taken down. She moved over to them, holding up a dozen or so packets of what looked like it could be tea.

"You'll put these in the barrels, they'll sink to the bottom and no one will notice until too late. I will mark the ones you'll want to put them in, they'll have dates and symbols." Pulling over a piece of charcoal, she started writing on the counter for the ghost.

"True, I'll try to be faster then."

Entering the area that he supposed was meant to act as the kitchen, Rin noticed the herbs on the counter as Aoi held up packets of...tea?

As she explained what he'd need to be doing he gave a nod, listening carefully to her instructions. He'd be poisoning people...but..they'd hurt Aoi, so overall...he wasn't really all too concerned for them.

...Even if he probably should be...

Aoi finished drawing the characters and dates for him, moving to draw a minor diagram of the room and then the floor. "The rooms they keep the kids in are right nearby, so be careful not to make too much sound as you do this."

Finishing up her pointing and diagrams, she hoped he had a good memory... She'd go over it again later before he did this. "I'm going to eat now. Do you need anything?"

She might as well check, she'd need him in tip top shape for this.

Paying close attention, Rin watched as Aoi drew out the characters and dates, his eyes moving from that to the diagram she drew once she was finished.

Her words were...something he needed to ignore for the most part. Really ignore... The only thing he paid attention to was to be as quiet as possible. He just...wasn't going to listen to the first part...

When she asked about food, he shook his head; "No, I don't feel hungry at all still so I'll pass."

Aoi stopped at the man's...hesitance. She blinked, turning her dark blue eyes onto him and tilted her head. "Is there a problem?"

He wasn't hungry, so she didn't care as she moved from this room again. The food was elsewhere, she was starving and would need her energy so she moved to find where her pain hazed mind had left it.

"N-No. I'm fine." Rin answered, shaking his head as he went to work to do as she'd asked him to do. "Enjoy the food."

She'd need it, he didn't need any of it it seemed; he supposed now that it had to due with his current state otherwise he'd likely be rather hungry by now after going for so long without it. It was the same with sleep, realistically he'd never be able to stay up like he'd been doing...

It made him wonder...if he had been here overnight how long so far had he been gone from his own time...? He hoped...that at most it was just an hour or so...and not like...too long...one could never guess with time related things.

"You aren't fine. Tell me, if you hesitate later I will end up dead. I don't want you being weak at a critical moment." Aoi stopped on her way out of the room, still nearby as she gave him a cold look. She was assessing him for weakness... he'd been useful, but would he keep being so?

He was weak, maybe she should handle this part. It was nice to have him around, but the plan had to go perfectly. There was no room for error.

"I'm fine." Rin stated, a bit more sternly. "I won't hesitate."

If it meant keeping Aoi alive then he'd do what needed to be done, anything that bothered him he'd ignore. He'd lock them from his mind... He was weak, but this wasn't impossible...

This was the past, it'd already happened and he wasn't going to attempt to change it. He had a feeling doing so was impossible to begin with...

"Good. I'll go over the plan again in a few hours before you need to do that." Aoi nodded and left down the hall finally, moving to find food. It was too bright to do much else, she'd just rest and conserve her strength after eating. They'd probably be expecting her to have left once she had stolen the needed items. In fact she could almost count on it, her training told her to do so.

But...the other part, the new part, burned for this...vengeance. It was too warm for her, she didn't like it and hoped it would go away. Grabbing the food, she plopped to the floor and leaned against a wall as she ate. She'd eat most now and save some as a snack for later.

"Alright."

Rin had his focus on the work he needed to be doing, allowing Aoi to go and eat. If Aoi remembered this...when things were normal again...

...That was something he was worried about.

If she did though, that would just be something he'd need to help her deal with. If she didn't...well then, that might be for the best.

Aoi leaned against the wall, breathing heavy as pain throbbed in her head. She let it for now, whatever it was...fighting against it hurt worse and made it last longer... Giving in also stopped it from popping up for a bit.

Whatever it was...

Her eyes unfocused as she finished her food for now and rested. It... would get better soon she hoped. She didn't need this. She didn't need this weird feeling stuff.

Rin kept his focus on the work, pushing back all thoughts and concerns on this and what probable changes it'd make in his time. He...didn't want Aoi to remember this...

If she recalled him at this time, and remembered what she had him doing now...

She wouldn't like this, not at all.

Still, right now his priority was to help her. He wanted to help the Aoi he was with right now however he could. He wasn't sure how long he'd be here, but he'd do what he was capable of.

Aoi's restless, mindless vacation dozing lasted a good while. Her body needed tons of rest to heal and she put her time to good use in the dim house that only got darker as time went on. As the final bits of sunlight shined red through a window, it bathed the room in odd shadows as she finally stood back up.

Blinking and rubbing her eyes, she glanced around and looked for the ghost. "...Rin?"

That was its name right?

Considering Rin was being careful so he'd get this right, he had taken his time with the work he'd been given, he had only been done for around half an hour before he heard Aoi address him.

...No "Ghost" this time?

Well, it likely wasn't anything important.

"Yes?"

"Ready? Come check my back and bandages." Whether he was or not, Aoi needed to get ready herself. Looking at the Yukata, she stripped it down and began cutting bits off of the sleeves. She was making strips to tie the loose cloth around her body, making sure it wouldn't move too much when she needed silence.

He could do that while she worked.

"I'm ready whenever you are."

Rin gave a nod at Aoi's request, approaching her as she began cutting bits from the yukata's sleeves. The bandages...nothing looked too bad really, she'd healed rather well with all the rest she'd had. Things looked a lot better than they had the night before already.

"There doesn't seem to be any problems, from what I can tell; with the rest you had you healed well..."

There were still some bandages left though, so maybe... "Would you like me to change the bandages for cleaner ones before we leave?"

"Hah. Thats amusing, the made those wounds hoping they'd get infected and I'd die painfully." Aoi's voice was the closest to amused it had gotten, a bit of an uplight in her cold voice but not much. She seemed to be a fast healer... That was good, that could have killed her easily.

"...Yes. Wait...I should wash a bit." Aoi stood and moved for the water jars. Reaching up, now that the bandages were off of her, she undid her hair. It had been pulled up and away this whole time, though strands of shorter curls fell out from all she had done. Letting the long curling locks fall, they were dirty like the rest of her...

Pulling the water bucket over with her foot, she poured water from the jars into it and then upended it over her head slowly to rinse herself off. She had needed a bath but this impromptu cleaning should do... though what about her hair? It was annoying this long. "...Cut my hair off and finish cleaning my back before applying the bandages."

"..." Even if Aoi was attempting a lighter tone with something close to amusement, Rin was unable to find such a feeling in her words. He didn't like thinking of...such a situation for her, not at all.

He was about to gather the bandages before she mentioned washing, and he nodded; it made sense, she wouldn't have to remove the newer bandages as soon if she washed first.

Though...her next command was a surprise. Cut her hair?

"It might not be a very neat cut...as I'm no professional." He didn't mind, but...he did want her to know that before he did anything.