Both chapters have been edited and revised.

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Rin looked at the barrels of soy sauce and pickles and wondered where she was going to put them. The store room, with what she once considered ample space, was full.

" The side kitchen," she finally said to Royokan, " it really is the only place available right now."

As the massive wolf demon picked up the barrels and toddled towards the back room, Rin looked in a sort of wondrous horror at the food she was supposed to prepare that night. Normally Jakken would ask for something specific and she's prepare it for him. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, had never asked her for anything to eat. She simply brought food up to his rooms and then brought the plates back down.

It had started when she had confronted Jakken on supplies in her kitchen going missing. The small demon had angrily denied venturing into such a mundane place and huffed off. That had triggered a thought she initially rejected but which kept coming back to bug her.

'Had Sesshomaru been plundering the kitchen?'

She'd never seen him eat, no one had she was fairly certain, but he obviously had to eat something sometime to survive.

To test it out she'd prepared a dish of rice and fish but found it in the same spot the next morning. Initially thinking that it proved her wrong she took it back and fed it to Jakken. Taking a closer look at her supplies the next morning she realized that she'd overlooked the most important thing. It wasn't fish or rice that had gone missing, it was beef.

The next night Rin snuck to Sesshomaru's rooms deep within the castle he'd constructed with a bowl of lightly cooked beef and left it in his front chamber.

The bowl had been empty the next morning.

Every day since then Rin had provided a bowl of beef and rice every evening and morning. She tried to mix some vegetables in but the majority of the time they were waiting for her in the bowl later. Feeding Sesshomaru, Jakken and herself hadn't been that big of a task at first. Even feeding the growing number of lesser demons who came asking didn't require too much food but every few months they had to stockpile the essentials and that always took up a lot of time and room.

She blushed remembering the way she'd looked when Sesshomaru had appeared to check on progress earlier that day. Blood everywhere, little bits of raw meat scattered across the massive cutting board and all across her front she'd been horrified he'd seen her like that. She refused to think about the thousands of times he'd seen her dirtier in the years she'd been living with him. Lately each time he'd caught her looking disheveled it felt like it was the first time she'd really been aware of his presence.

Sigh

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Sesshomaru walked the long dark corridors of his palace in silence. Although construction was not yet complete the compound was already huge. Each day an increasing number of lesser demons flocked to it in the hopes of getting positions in this strong youkai's court while there were any still available. Jakken, luckily, took care of most of such requests by either granting them access or sending them back the way they came. Sesshomaru was usually either paying visits upon some of the more powerful demons in his land or overseeing the addition of any castle additions.

Despite being a distance from the kitchen he could still smell Rin's cooking and he reminded himself that although Rin's cooking was more then adequate for himself and Jakken, and the lesser demons could currently get their own provisions for all he cared, that wouldn't be the case forever and he should look into having Jakken get some cooks. After all cooking was beneath Rin's position in this budding empire. Despite being only a mere human she was Sesshomaru's personal charge. Any rumors that she was more then that were swiftly squelched beneath the heel of Sesshomaru's shoe. Although he had noted Jakken whispering things with the word 'human' in it with the other gossip mongers lately.

Doubting my words, he irks me more each day

Although it was true that finding the food waiting for him had initially caused a flash of unexpected emotion Sesshomaru quickly shoved it aside and attributed it to the fact that he'd become woefully unaccustomed to being treated with the grace and sensitivity that was deserving of his rank. At first he'd gamely ignored such dishes that offended his nose but then he'd come in to find a bowl full of beef and he'd been lost in his weakness for it.

Since then he'd found assorted beef dishes waiting for him whenever he departed or arrived. Considering his erratic schedule how she managed to get a hot bowl to his room while it was still fresh defied even his knowledge.

Taking his customary route past the kitchens on his way to his chambers he stopped for a moment outside the door. No had ever caught the great lord hiding behind the door, listening to the human girl mumble about the great pickle thief Jakken, and no one ever would. Approaching his door he caught the now familiar smell of seasoned beef waiting for him. Scooping up the tray waiting on a counter, he walked down the hallway that winded it's way to his inner rooms. There he set the dishes on a small table near his bed and removed his armor and then his robs leaving on only his under leggings. He shook his head vigorously and then ran his hand through his bangs revelling in the unfettered movement that the lack of armor provided.

Lounging back against his pillows, Sesshomaru picked up the bowl of rice and started picking beef out of the side bowl while he contemplated his court. Someday it would rival his fathers in terms of size and prestige. Just as surely he would keep the type of rabble that had risen against his father out. For while he didn't have a human mate he did have a human charge and that would cause as much grumbling among the ranks. Soft footsteps from the chambers next to his broke his thoughts and he listened as he heard Rin move from room to room, allowing himself a brief smile as he heard her open and close the heavy door to her bathing room.

Finally finished in the kitchen

Rin's rooms had been placed next to his for protection. Any demon who dared intrude this far into his castle and threaten the life of one of his vassals would be far too much for Rin to handle and deserved the honor of dying at Sesshomaru's hands. So far no one had felt strongly enough about the human girl to openly risk death on his claws and he doubted anyone in his court would be that foolish.

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Rin sighed with pleasure as she slipped into the hot bath. The heat soaked into her muscles soothed away a days aches caused by a day in the kitchen spent wrangling barrels into place. Though, she had to admit, she'd had help with most of the heavy lifting and Jakken had stayed away from the pickle barrels for most of the day.

Though the little thief took more then I had thought at first

She sunk completely into the water and enjoyed, as always, the warm tingling it caused on the top of her scalp. Today had been a good day, an extra good one in fact. It was so rare these days to have Sesshomaru home. She loved the kitchen but she'd gladly trade it for the old days or even just to have Sesshomaru around more. It seemed like so long ago that she'd been alone with Sesshomaru and Jaken, traveling the lands together.

She pushed up to the top of the tub, shaking her hair from her eyes as she surfaced from the water. Relaxing against the side she let herself go limp.

Though knowing when and where your next bath is coming from is a definite plus

Rin floated in the tub soaking up the heat from the water until her fingers and toes puckered. Climbing out of the now luke-warm bath water she shook her feet off as she lifted it out of the tub. Once standing on the floor she pulled her hair back from her face and gave herself a drying shake. Once, just once, when she was still small she'd caught a glimpse of Sesshomaru rising out of a hot spring like some pale god out of the mist. The image was ruined when he gave in to instinct and gave himself a thorough shake. She'd promptly started trying to emulate him and it'd take a while but she'd gotten good at it.

These days however that memory was more likely to inspire a blush then a giggle.

Slipping into a light robe before moving onto her bed. She flopped down onto the blankets amidst the mounds of pillows and allowed herself the happy thought that Sesshomaru was separated from her by only a few feet of walls. Sighing at the thought that the days of taking comfort in his closeness were over, she crawled to the top of the futon and snuggled down under the silk sheets.

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To make it short, Rin is nineteen in this fic.