#teeth sharpening

Rin stared up at the tattooed man as he pulled the needle out of Rin's gums. The man's eyes, being the only thing visible due to the medical mask, shone and gleamed against the florescent lights. The red head couldn't hold back a small gulp as the man rubbed the outside of Rin's mouth where he shot then novocaine.

Rin turned his eyes sideways at his friend who gave him an eager thumbs up. It didn't make him feel any less nauseous, but it was a bit reassuring to know he had support going into this.

Well, he says support but what he really means....

He couldn't actually believe he had been talked into this.

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"Woah, you've got some sharp canine's there, bud!" Shim--Rin's first and closest friend since he moved to Australia--exclaimed. They had been walking home from school when Shim said some dirty joke, Rin laughed and therefore showed his teeth. Shim bounced up and put his hand to Rin's mouth, tugging up his lip to see his right canine better. Rin smacked Shim's hand away and scoffed.

"Did you sharpen them yourself?" Shim's enthusiasm had not faltered.

"They've always been like that." Rin stated, rubbing his mouth thoughtfully.

"Seriously? That's totally cool!" He jumped up onto the street curb as he walked, balancing on it as if he were 20 meters up. And like an epiphany struck him, he gasped and jumped back down in front of Rin; grabbing his shoulders. "You should definitely get the rest of them sharpened! You have the look for it!"

"The look?"

Shim pointed his first two fingers at his own eyes, then at Rin's, "You got them devil eyes! You'd scare the shit out of any competitors! And you gotta admit--swimming, sharp teeth, shark...it kinda goes, right?"

Rin rolled his eyes "Shut up," he mumbled, but could not fight off the twinge of interest in his gut.

"It'll be totally sick, Rin!" His blonde friend had laughed while wrapping a strong arm around Rin's shoulder. The red head sighed and bit his bottom lip in thought. There was no way he'd actually do it, right? As cool as it sounded, he would probably look ridiculous...

But then again...

He did have to agree with Shim on the "look" part; he knew he was terrifying looking, even for a 17 year old. And to be honest, he had thought about it before...

"But I'm not 18 yet. How can I get the procedure done, Shim?"

Shim smirked at this, eyes gleaming. "I know a guy."

With much persuasion, and mouth inspection, Shim was finally able to convince "a guy" to do the surgery. As long as Rin had his molars all grown in--which he did--he could do it.

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And so, Rin stared up into the light, eyes watering a bit. But he was not crying; definitely not.

"You can have a seat out in the waiting room," the assistant said politely, escorting an excited Shim out. He gave Rin one last thumbs up before turning down the hallway. Rin watched that hallway with a speeding heart; he hadn't planned on being this nervous. He felt his tongue and mouth begin to go numb as the novocaine did it's job. Soon enough, he cheeks felt three times as big and he could just picture how hilarious he looked.

After a while, the assistant came back wearing a mask herself.

"Okay, open real wide for me," the man said; his mask shifting against his chin. "We'll go at it tooth by tooth. I'll only go as far back as your first molar. Then we'll bounce left and right until we reach your central incisors. Sound alright?"

Rin, feeling a lump in his throat, nodded and weakly said with his numbed tongue, "Yep. Go for it."

The drill whined as it came to life, drowning out the 80s rock music that had been echoing through the entire place. The assistant put a pair of sunglasses on Rin to protect his eyes from the light and from whatever was going to spray out of his mouth (okay, so he was a lot more nervous than he planned on).

Rin opened his mouth, leaned his head back, took a deep sighing breath, and closed his eyes.

The sudden vibration against his mouth shocked him at first, but it was easy to get used to. He fought back a gag as the man's gloved hand pushed against the corner of his mouth just far enough to get at his molar. The whining and buzzing went in waves as the man worked diligently; his assistant using her utensils to keep Rin's mouth both moist and suctioned.

"You okay?" he said through his mask.

Rin wanted to punch the man for asking a question when him and his assistant's hands were practically down his throat. But, he managed to give an opened mouth "uh-huh."

It was all going pretty smoothly until the man took out what Rin thought looked like an escape tool for prison. The man brought his strong, and kind of frightening arms, down onto Rin's chest as he got closer to his front teeth. Before he started filing, he looked at Rin, saying, "Your front teeth are thinner at the tips than your others, so I'm gonna go slow. They might be a bit more sensitive too, so brace yourself."

Rin shivered and squeezed his eyes tighter as the man brought the utensil down against his tooth; filing away at the calcium until it was good an pointed. With each downward stroke, an uneasy feeling shook his body. He tried not to let himself shiver again; in fear of moving too much. The dull scraping sound echoed in his head as the man went back and forth on his teeth; making sure all were the correct points and sizes. 

Thinking back on it now, Rin really couldn't remember the whole thing that well. He had let his mind wander to other thoughts, trying to convince himself that he wasn't actually going through this whole ordeal. He thought of Japan, and what the weather would be like this time of year. He thought of Gou and wondered if she had a boyfriend yet, and if he'd need to send threatening letters or not. He even thought about the jerk that caused his whole life to disarray (Alright, so maybe that was a bit dramatic. He had been like, what, 11? Well, anyways...). He almost smirked during the procedure thinking of Haruka's reaction to this new look.

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The red head curled his lips into a silent growl as he admired himself in his mirror. Shim whooped and smacked him on the back. Rin couldn't help but turn his mouth up into a smile as he let his thumb trace lightly over his teeth.

"You look so badass." His blonde friend beamed.

Rin couldn't look away from the mirror, he simply agreed to Shim's comment, and continued to ogle himself. He turned his head to see them from different angles. He was glad the man didn't go too crazy with it. They turned out just sharp enough to strike fear into his enemies; if...that's what he was going for, he guessed. Rin opened his mouth and tilted his head up to look at the back ones; once again happy the man didn't go to his back molars because chewing would be a bitch. 

Despite his uneasy feelings during the procedure, Rin was delighted to say that he in fact totally, completely, loved them. It added character, he thought, and the ladies will probably go nuts over it.

Speaking of ladies.

Oh damn.

"Jesus," he said with a sigh, letting his mouth fall shut and his hands slap the sink, "What is my mom going to say?"