Indian Jasmine–Attachment

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Several bad decisions led him to this point. Maybe some good, but mostly bad. But that was fine because Rin liked where his life was now. Somehow, things still ended up okay and Rin was grateful.

Rin and Izumo were on a supply run. Izumo rarely went on them even though she was one of their best fighters. They weren't actually looking for anything and both of them knew it. The Farm was nice. It was quiet. It was peaceful.

It was.....

Insanely boring.

Rin was used to always being on the move, always working to make things work, always fighting or trying to look out for everyone in the group.

But damn, there was nothing to do on the farm. Milk the two cows, take turns riding the one wild horse that would probably get eaten by zombies sooner or later because of its freedom and dislike of the stables, and feed the hungry little piglets scraps of leftover food. Look around at the fences to make sure no zombies were trampling them, watch the kids play dolls, listen to Marshall belt out more American Rock songs that Rin had never heard. Ryuji loved Rock, especially American Rock, so he actually knew some of the songs she sang. Good for him, but Rin didn't know those songs. He knew American Pop, because he used to be a lot more laid back before the Apocalypse. Rin wondered if he'd ever make it back to being like he used to.

Rin had developed a routine on the Farm where a good portion of his day was taken up by him training to use his katana and ax better and keeping his hand-to-hand skills sharp and hid flexibility on point. You could never be too prepared in the Apocalypse.

Izumo had found him doing so one day and decided to join him. She'd acquired a machete from the weapons stores in the town closest to the Farm. She practiced with her aim to throw it and also practiced fighting with the machete and her knife in hand-to-hand. It was a cool knife and had loops on the hilt for fingers to go through so it would be easier to hold onto the knife in a situation.

Shima and Shiemi said they were too tense, that they should relax some.

Never relax in the Apocalypse. Obvious rule, Rin was a little disappointed that his group was getting so lazy. First place they can even try to call home in the near future and they all wanna slouch and laze about. Rin wondered if this was how his father felt when he refused to go to highschool. He wished Shiro a lot. Shiro wasn't the best dad, but he knew what to do in a lot of situations.

"It's good to relax some, but don't let your guard down so much that you forget the possibility of attack." Was something Shiro would say if he were with them.

Rin felt like he and Izumo were the only ones that remembered there could still be humans that could hurt them in this world too. Rin had never forgotten and Izumo seemed like someone who's trust was hard to come by in the regular world, so he trusted her to take things as seriously as he did in the Apocalypse.

Now, Rin and Izumo were currently standing in a bar in a standoff. Rin's sword was pulled and pointed at one man and Izumo had her Machete pulled on the shorter guy.

"Woah, now! We don't want any trouble. Just Twinkies." The bigger guy said. He was tall, muscled, and wore a cowboy hat. He'd had two pistols, but Rin and Izumo pulled their weapons faster and now only the smaller guy was armed. To he fair, he had a double barrel shotgun, which would kill one of them easily and they'd be right to assume that the other would prioritize getting the injured one back to the farm.

"What the hell does that mean?!" Izumo demanded. "No, he's serious, he just wants a Twinkie. Have you seen any around town?" The smaller guy asked seriously, gun shaking in his grip.

"No, but I saw some a couple towns back. Now scram." Rin gestured with his sword and the big man bent down slowly to pick up his pistols and they left quietly.

"Do you have any idea what a Twinkie is?" Izumo turned to him when the two were out of sight. Rin shrugged, grinning. "Nope!" He cackled. Izumo smirked and they continued doing what they'd wanted to before the weird men showed up: collect the liquor left in the bar.

For both medical purposes and other ones.

They went to the furniture store and jumped all over the furniture, using old couches, chairs, and beds as trampolines. Rin and Izumo eventually ended up laying next to each other on the same bed. It had been stripped of the thick blanket that had been on the bed on the little display card, but still had some pillows and thinner blankets.

Rin sighed and smiled at Izumo, who–surprisingly–smiled back. It was a real smile–one that rarely showed up.

"This is giving me some serious deja vu." Rin admitted. "Yeah, is this how you and Gorilla ended up when you went to look for supplies in that town back in that house with the honey shampoo?" Izumo smirked. Rin's cheeks burned even as he snickered. "So we're gonna call it the Honey Shampoo House?" He snorted.

"Hey, it was memorable!" She protested. "Because your hair smelled good for a couple days?" Rin laughed as she playfully cuffed him on the shoulder. "But yeah, we did end up like this in that mostly secure furniture store. But with less clothes." Rin recalled honestly. Izumo wrinkled her nose, heat rising to her face and ears.

Their faces were so close now. He glanced down at her lips and she did the same to him. "Tell Ryuji when we get back?" He murmured. "Yeah." And with that, they finally surged forward to share an intense kiss. It was vastly different from kissing Ryuji.

Ryuji was the fire that fought back against Rin's own fire. Ryuji dominated Rin with his intensity, like all he could even think of was keeping Rin there with him. He kissed like every kiss was their last, but at the same time, their first.

Izumo kissed almost shyly. She was softer than Ryuji, but still a force to be reckoned with. She knew what she wanted and she was finally getting it. She demanded to have all of Rin's attention on her. She got bolder the more they kissed.

Rin hummed contentedly. He was in love with two very different people, but they had enough similarities to fit together like a three-piece puzzle if they had Rin keeping them together. Rin in between them. Rin could get used to this. He'd gone from being loveless in a society not made for him, to alone and always moving on in the End of the World, to having not one, but two people love him in the Beginning of the New World, along with a daughter and a woman who treated him like her own son. He had an actual big happy family now.

Maybe things could stay like this? Society had started as a good thing and turned bad quickly. Maybe humanity wouldn't bounce back this time and things could be like this until they all grew old and died and left the world to Sachi and Tsukumo. Was it terrible to wish for that?

The two separated and shared overjoyed smiles. They left the furniture store hand in hand, ready to start a new chapter.