Me: So I finally decided to continue this story after much urging from many reviewers. Apparently, people love this story! I hope I can continue to fulfill your needs!
Inuyasha: Well, at least you have one thing going for ya….
Kagome: Inuyasha! Don't be rude!
Rin: I like this story! Hopefully Sesshomaru and I get more alone time together!
Me: Oh ye of little faith! I have big plans for you!
Shippo: She owns nothing!
Sesshomaru watched the rise and fall of Rin's chest as she slept. Just hours earlier, they had shared their first kiss. Sesshomaru was not one to be sentimental but he kept thinking of the taste of Rin's lips on his mouth. He couldn't quite get it out of his head. He kept quiet control over himself though, not wanting to wake the girl he desperately needed to rest. Her poor bruised face told the story of what had almost happened to her and seethed in anger. She had almost been raped and it was because Jaken had not wanted to keep an eye on her. Jaken was definitely going to get it later.
Rin whimpered slightly and Sesshomaru focused on her facial features more. Her eye brows were creased and her lips were contorted in to a deep frown. She shifted slightly and let out a moan. "Lord…Sess…homaru…..help….."
Sesshomaru's eyebrows furrowed. She was having a nightmare, no doubt about the would-be rapist. He shifted from his spot by her feet and went to seat himself by her side. He didn't want to startle her, but he wanted to comfort her in some way. It was strange, this feeling that came over him when he was with her. It was as if he wanted to protect her from anything and everything that could ever harm her. He brushed a clawed hand over her bruised face. "You're safe, Rin." It seemed to be all she needed to hear. She eased back in to a restful sleep and Sesshomaru released her face and hesitantly took her hand. It felt very foreign to hold her hand, but right at the same time. There were things that would take getting used to.
Inuyasha and Kagome were in throughout the day but he never let go of her hand, despite his brother making fun of him, the "heartless demon lord" for falling in love with a human. Kagome ignored them both, stepping around the brothers to put fresh herbs on Rin's face. For the sake of Sesshomaru, she ignored the fact that he was even there. She didn't want to make him uncomfortable, though she was unsure if that was possible. She knew he and Rin were perfect for each other. So after she put on the herbs, she dragged Inuyasha out by the ear to leave the two alone.
Rin had nightmares throughout the night and each time Sesshomaru was there for her. He had anticipated these nightmares but he was not ready for how much it hurt his ice-cold heart each time he saw Rin fear for her life time and time again. He comforted her time and time again and each time it felt less and less foreign. It felt somehow…right. Like this was something he was supposed to be doing this all along.
They stayed there for about a week doing the same routine. Kagome would apply medicine to Rin. Sesshomaru would hold Rin's hand and comfort her through the nightmares. Inuyasha would jeer at Sesshomaru. Kagome would make breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everyone. Inuyasha had to hunt extra for Sesshomaru and Rin. He grumbled the whole time, though Sesshomaru didn't feel bad about it. He wouldn't leave Rin's side for any reason, even for the pride of hunting for himself.
After Rin's bruising had subsided and she was able to move around alright, she declared she was able to go. Sesshomaru told her to get one final look over by Kagome while he stepped outside. Within minutes Rin stepped outside with him, all smiles, with Kagome and declared she was okay to leave.
Sesshomaru nodded and turned to leave. Rin hugged Kagome goodbye and waved to Inuyasha and they were off once again.
Once they were out of town, Sesshomaru noticed that Rin was trailing behind. He started worrying that she was tired after being cooped up for so long but after smelling the air he suddenly came to the conclusion that she was nervous about something. He stopped and she almost walked in to him as she was looking down at the ground at the time and didn't see him stop.
"Lord Sesshomaru?" she asked, looking up in to his eyes. "Rin, why are you nervous?" Rin looked back down at the ground and whimpered. He looked away, thinking it might be a private matter. "If you do not wish to tell me, I will not force you." He began to walk away when Rin grabbed his hand. He slowly turned to face her.
"Lord Sesshomaru…." She paused. "How do you see me?"
Sesshomaru paused. This was a question he was not prepared for and a question he could not answer without getting more information. "Explain."
"You have not….kissed me since that one time and you have not hardly spoken to me for the last week. I want to know where I stand in your eyes. Was that kiss just a way to make me feel better or did it mean something?"
If Sesshomaru had dog ears, they would have drooped. How could she even think that? It was time for an explanation. He lifted her chin until she was looking in to his eyes. And then, before she could even blink, he was kissing her with a passion neither of them knew existed. He had his lips crushed to hers as if his life depended on it. Her eyes snapped open at the contact. After a couple seconds she finally remembered how to react and kissed him back, more tenderly then he was kissing her, but equally as passionate. He grabbed her back and pulled her closer to him, while his other hand cupped her healing bruised face. She ran both hands through his hair and grabbed on for dear life. How his hair never got tangled, she would never know. Must be something about demons. Sesshomaru broke apart from Rin after he noticed her grip on his hair was loosening for lack of air.
Rin looked in to Sesshomaru's eyes and they told him all she needed to hear but he still went on. "Rin, you were never alone. This Sesshomaru was there for you."
Rin let out a whimper as hot tears cascaded down her cheeks and her face felt like it was boiling hot. Sesshomaru put his hand on her shoulder. "Why is Rin crying?"
"Because Rin is happy that Lord Sesshomaru loves me." Complete silence. Rin stopped crying. Crickets stopped chirping. Sesshomaru stopped breathing.
Rin had said it. Love. Neither one had said it yet and she just claimed Sesshomaru loves her. They had only just kissed for heaven's sake! Sure, they had known each other for years, but there was no telling when Sesshomaru had started to feel for her romantically!
They was a seemingly long silence as Rin slowly looked up in to the eyes of Sesshomaru. His eyes appeared unfocused. Then his eyes snapped back in to focus and he looked down at her. His eyes appeared to soften and he smiled ever so little. "This Sesshomaru is happy that Rin loves this Sesshomaru too.
Rin inwardly gasped. 'Too he said too! That means he loves me too!' Tears began running down her cheeks again and she hugged her lord tightly. He hesitated slightly before hugging her gently back, careful of the bruising of her ribs that he was still aware of.
With her more confident, he gently picked her up and flew off to find Jaken. He wasn't that far away, walking around in the forest looking for any trace of his lord.
Before Jaken knew it, a thousand rocks had landed on him and he was buried. Crawling out from under the pile and covered in bumps, he heatedly went to face his attacker. "Who dares attack me?! Why I ought to-" Jaken got no farther as another rock hit him square in the jaw. He got back up and saw none other than Lord Sesshomaru.
"Lord Sesshomaru! I've been looking for you everywhere! I've been- Eh, what have you got there?" Jaken was pointing to the streak of white in Sesshomaru's arms. Sesshomaru didn't answer and instead went toward a tree where he then took off his mokomoko and laid a sleeping Rin down on it, covering her up with it as well (It was quite large.)
"Rin!" Jaken screamed her name, causing Rin to stir slightly and Sesshomaru to give him an icy stare. "I thought I told you to protect Rin when I was gone," he said plainly. Jaken whimpered. "Yes me lord but she got hungry and it was dark and I knew it would be hard to find food and-"
"Enough." Sesshomaru had had enough of his excuses for the night. "I will be gone for the night. Watch Rin. If she moves a muscle, you are to be there. If she so much as goes to do her business, I want you so close to her she might piss on you." Sesshomaru turned on his heel and left quickly.
Jaken was as white as a sheet. He didn't even try to question him. Sesshomaru was dead serious. He didn't even want to fathom what would happen to him if he didn't follow his lord's orders to a T.
Jaken went and sat down besides Rin, careful not to disturb her. He wasn't sure what had happened to Rin, but whatever it was, he was sure that he really messed up this time. She had old bruising on her face and healing black eyes. He felt sorry for her. He didn't like to admit it, but he cared for her too. She was a good girl and though she may be hyperactive at times, she was always the one who cared for him the most. Even more than Lord Sesshomaru! He hoped Rin could ever forgive him for their argument which led to her attack.
Rin awoke to find that Lord Sesshomaru was gone. It was the break of dawn and the sun was barely shining above the trees. Rin noticed that Jaken was snoring beside her and, deciding not to wake him, unwrapped herself from the mokomoko and snuck off to a nearby stream.
She unwrapped the white kimono and slipped in to the cool stream, quietly swimming in the water, letting herself drift peacefully. An hour or so later she swam back to shore and preceded to put on her kimono. That's when she felt the hand over her mouth.
She fought and stomped and kicked and punched but she couldn't seem to get away even for one scream. As she was being carried away, Jaken and A-Un were just now waking up to discover her missing.
"Rin!" Jaken screamed for her over and over again, running around like a mad man. If Sesshomaru found out that he had lost Rin, he was done for! A-Un grumbled nervously and looked about, sniffing and heading slowly towards the river. Jaken, having not noticed, searched through the forest for her, but came up empty, not finding the forest disturbed. A-Un came back to Jaken. Un handed him a piece of Rin's clothing and that's when Jaken fainted.
An hour later Jaken was kicked awake by Sesshomaru. Jaken stammered and then bowed in front of Sesshomaru. "Where is Rin," the demon lord said coldly. "My, my lord! She-she's-*gulp*-missing…" Jaken closed his eyes waiting for the clobbering but it never came and when he looked up Sesshomaru was gone, leaving him and A-Un behind.
Rin was chained to a wall in a giant castle. She was still in her white kimono, but it was ripped and torn. Her breathing was ragged. She had fought hard against her attacker but she had lost. Blood traveled down her arms. The chains had spikes on them which pressed in to her skin as she pulled. It was no use. She would lose more blood if she tried to free herself. So there she hung, by her wrists, just above the floor. And she was starting to get dizzy, which wasn't good.
Rin heard the door to her cell open and she looked up and waited. That is when her assailant came in to view. He was a rugged-looking man with black, short hair, a ragged beard, brown eyes, and leather-like skin. "So," he said, "You are the whore of the demon who killed my brother." Rin blinked in shock then recollection. He looked just like the man that tried to rape her! "He tried to rape me," Rin said quietly. The man laughed. "Rape? And why not? He wanted it, you wanted it. This is not rape. No one could resist my brother." Rin shivered. "I did not, in any circumstance, want him to touch me in any way!"
The man stopped laughing and slapped her in the face. "You will not sully my brother's good name! It is your fault my brother is dead! If you were not a demon's whore this would not have happened!"
Rin wanted to scream at him but she kept her voice level. "I am not a demon's whore. He loves me."
The bearded man laughed again. "Love? Hah! A demon cannot love? They are trained to hate! They are cold and unfeeling and love nothing! Giving yourself to him makes yourself nothing but a whore! How could a demon as cold and unfeeling as a demon possibly love a human?"
Rin was about to open her mouth to retort but snapped it shut. It….was true. Sesshomaru seemed so cold and unfeeling all the time. How could he love her, an ugly and worthless human? He had kissed her, said that he loved her even, though he never directly said it. Could he really be not capable of love? She knew Inuyasha was because he was part human. But she had truly seen a demon ever fall in love before. Was it truly possible? All these questions ran through her head and the would-be rapist's brother knew he had her.
"You are a pretty little thing though. No wonder that demon wants you around. If he hasn't already taken you, he will soon. But he won't want you if you aren't a virgin. I'll do you a favor and help you out. But first, you'll be my bait for that demon of yours. I still want my revenge."
He left her cell after that and tears streaked down her face. "I'm just a demon's whore," she whispered to herself. 'No!' her insides whispered back. 'He loves you! You know he does.'
After some time, the man came back in to her cell. "Looks like your demon isn't showing up. He shoulda showed up by now…." He walked over to her and grabbed her chin. "Looks like you and I get to have a little fun and then I get to kill you. I'll find another way to kill your demon. It seems you're not enough."
Rin cried. He wasn't coming for her and now she was going to be raped. How could this happen to her?
The man lowered the chains to where she could touch the floor. She tried to kick at him but he kicked her legs, hard. "Now, now. Don't go doing that. You're just going to make me mad."
She didn't care. As soon as he got closer she slapped him, despite the pulling of the chains and the pain shooting up her arm. He punched her in the stomach and she kicked him. He slapped her across the face and she bit him. It went on like this for quite some time until she was nearly unconscious and pinned to the wall by the gruesome man.
He undid her obi and let loose her kimono, admiring her ample breasts. He stared at the light bruising on her body. "My brother did a number on you. I think I just made it worse." The bruising he had made hadn't appeared yet, but he knew it would come. Nothing like teaching a woman her place!
He took one of Rin's nipples in his mouth and bit it, hard. Rin screamed in pain and he smirked. He liked it when his women were in pain. He twisted the other nipple painfully and Rin screamed more loudly.
The sound reached a well-known dog demon that was dispatching the guards. He returned his whip to his hand and ran as fast as he could to the location of the sound, which seemed to be coming from down below. It was raining so it was hard to follow by scent alone. Once Sesshomaru got inside, her scent was much easier to follower. Guards came after him, but he dispatched one after the other with his whip, not stopping at all, not faltering in speed.
He soon came to a door made of iron. He opened it gracefully, even though it would be heavy for a human, and entered to where the screams were coming from. Here he saw Rin being mounted by a human and his blood boiled. With incredible speed, he whipped out his whip and slashed the back of his legs, instantly breaking them. The man fell from his task of mounting Rin and screamed in pain.
Sesshomaru ran to Rin's side and smashed the chains that held her, letting her fall in to his arms. He held her tightly in his arms but was made very aware when she stiffened. He let her go and she turned around and reassembled her clothes. He took it to mean she was uncomfortable to be naked around him and that was still okay. He decided to focus more on the kidnapper.
He picked the kidnapper up by the neck and stared up at him with blank, cold eyes. "Why?" he asked plainly. The man choked. "You killed my brother. The whore of yours is the cause of all of this." Sesshomaru tightened his hold on the man's throat. "Rin, wait for me at the top of the stairs." Rin blankly nodded and left.
She only had to wait a few minutes before she heard a few screams and then silence. Sesshomaru walked back to her, not a speck of blood covered him. They walked out of the castle in silence. It wasn't until they were miles away from the castle that Sesshomaru noticed that Rin wasn't just silent, she was deathly silent. At first he wanted to give her some space, but he knew Rin. She needed to talk about it and as much as he wasn't in to emotions and talking, he had to try. He loved her and that's what love does to someone, it makes you have to endure new things.
Sesshomaru stopped and turned to Rin. "Rin, what's wrong?" Sure, that wasn't the perfect question. He knew what was wrong. But it was a start.
Rin shook her head. "Nothing, Lord Sesshomaru."
Sesshomaru tilted his head. "There is something wrong. Now tell this Sesshomaru."
Rin sighed. Might as well get it all out in the open. Then she could cry and be done with it and her heart could break in peace. "Did you save me because you want a virgin?"
Sesshomaru blinked. He wasn't expecting that. He wasn't expecting anything remotely like that. How to respond? "No, Rin. What would give you that idea?"
"Well, that man told me that demons are so cold that they are unable to love and I got to thinking that you never did say you loved me. And he said all you wanted was a virgin and that's the only reason you saved me from his brother and now from him and it made sense!" Rin took a breath and then held it, waiting for Sesshomaru's response.
Sesshomaru stood there in stunned silence. He could not believe she had listened to a man, any man, that attempted to rape her! Was she really that gullible, did she really not believe in him, or was it that she did not have the confidence to believe in herself?
Sesshomaru knew he would have to fix this, and fast. "Rin, I really could care less if you've been to bed with 50 men. I only care that you do it willingly. I love you and I don't want to see you hurt." Rin started to tear up. That was a mouthful for someone like Sesshomaru.
"But," Sesshomaru started, "You will not be touched by another male as long as we are together. Is that agreeable?" Rin, through teary eyes, nodded and embraced Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru returned the embrace and ran his fingers through her long, half tangled hair.
She sighed as the adrenaline left her and she passed out in Sesshomaru's arms. He caught her waist and brought her up in to his arms. This was when he first noticed how beat up she really was. Her face was starting to swell…again. Her kimono was thick with blood. He could only imagine what it looked like underneath. He sighed. Time to see Kagome again. He was sure to get a chewing out. How he had not noticed her pain and her blood before was beyond him. He was just glad to see her safe.
Sesshomaru flew off with Rin in his arms toward Inuyasha and Kagome's home. He landed with grace and knocked at the door. Kagome came out while Inuyasha appeared behind him. Apparently, he had been out hunting.
Kagome saw the situation and brought him in and did exactly as she had did before, settling her on the futon, ushering them out, and assessing Rin. He was called back in within minutes. "Sesshomaru," Kagome said in a harsh tone, "How does this keep happening? She has several holes in her arms, two bruised ribs, bruises all over her body, and a swollen private area that looks like it has been burned." Sesshomaru seethed. He knew he shouldn't have left. "Jaken" was his only reply. The nightmares would get worse, he feared. And she would take longer to heal.
Kagome sighed. "This time I'm only keeping her for a day. She would more likely get stronger outside of my care so I'm going to pack some herbs for you….or Jaken to rub on her." Giggling, she couldn't imagine Sesshomaru, lord of the west, rubbing herbs on anybody.
Inuyasha huffed. "If you want her to be your mate, you hafta protect her!" Sesshomaru lifted his eyebrow. Mate? Was this where this was heading? Was he going to settle down with a human and bear half demon heirs? Was this what he had become? Sesshomaru sighed. Yes, this was what he had become. And he wouldn't change it for the world, so long as he got to stay with Rin.
Sesshomaru and Rin left Inuyasha and Kagome's house the next day. This time Sesshomaru immediately lifted her up and flew off with her, not wanting to drain her strength. They found Jaken in the same area Sesshomaru left him in and after Rin begged for his life, Sesshomaru dropped another thousand rocks on him and let him be after that.
Jaken was very surprised by Rin's face as it was very bruised and swollen. He felt guilty he wasn't there to protect her. "Jaken." He looked up at his lord and was reminded of something. "Oh, right," he said and went off to retrieve the beautiful kimono his lord had gotten for Rin the night before Rin had been kidnapped. He had dropped it when he found Rin gone.
"This is from Lord Sesshomaru." Jaken held out the kimono the best he could and Rin bent down to take it. "Oh, Lord Sesshomaru, it's beautiful!" It was a beautiful blue kimono with pink and purple flowers on it. "Milord, can I go change?" She was wearing another white kimono of Kagome's, so naturally she wanted to get in to something a little bit…happier.
"Jaken and A-Un will go with you. Don't go far." Rin nodded and went in to the trees. She had no problem with Jaken and A-Un seeing her naked. They had seen her naked plenty of times. And they were totally different species than her. They didn't care if she was naked! She walked about two trees in before she stripped out of her kimono, knowing Sesshomaru wouldn't look. She then put on her new kimono and twirled around. The motion made her dizzy though and she had to lean on Jaken's staff. "Get off the staff of two head's girl. Do you know what this is worth! This is-" Jaken stopped midsentence when Sesshomaru broke through the trees, grabbed Rin in one arm and kicked Jaken in to the air with the other. He picked her and sat her down by the campfire Jaken had made. She was still suffering from blood loss, as Kagome described, and he needed to feed her. He had no choice but to leave her with Jaken again because Jaken was slow at finding food. At least A-Un would be with him. "Jaken, watch her. Hurt her and I'll kill you."
He walked off, not caring that Jaken and A-Un were looking off after him. Rin was curiously looking at him as well, but he prayed for her understanding as he left. It didn't take long to catch a boar. He was lucky, though. He couldn't go very far away because Jaken was incompetent and Rin might get hurt. He was lucky there were so many boar so close to camp. He picked off a male and made it back to camp.
Rin was waiting for him when he got back. She ran up to him and hugged him. He hugged her back with his free arm and he noticed she clung a little longer than usual as she tried to steady herself. He let her catch her balance and then took her arm and guided her back to camp. Jaken just gawked. What did he miss?
He let Rin sit down then dropped the boar at Jaken's feet. "Roast this." Jaken hesitantly nodded. "Ai, milord."
Rin turned to see that Sesshomaru was offering his hand to her. She took it and he led her down to the stream where she shivered at what had previously had occurred. "You don't have to be afraid. This Sesshomaru will protect you." He pointed to the waters. "Drink."
She looked at the river and realized she hadn't had anything to drink all day. She went to the stream and drank and it felt like her throat was on fire. It hurt to swallow and she choked. He was at her side at an instant, rubbing her back. She drank again and it didn't hurt so much this time. She drank as much as her body would allow and then her lord instructed her to lay down. She did so.
That is when he took out the herbs out of his kimono that Kagome had given him, moistened them in the river, and rubbed them on her face. She looked at her lord as he worked and she had never seen him with such kind eyes. She still had swollen cheeks, black eyes, and a fat, busted lip. But to him, she had never been more beautiful. He saw through all the pain in her to all the beauty that was before him. He finished with the herbal remedy and did what he had been dying to do all day: he kissed her.
He crushed his lips to hers and she moaned in to his mouth. His tongue slipped in to her mouth and she froze. She downright froze. She stopped moving, she stopped breathing, and her eyes popped open. 'This is Lord Sesshomaru! He has every right to do this,' she thought. 'But that other man forced his tongue in to me and it is so hard to forget. Forget about that, you love Sesshomaru!' Her thoughts were raging inside of her.
Meanwhile, Sesshomaru froze after she froze. He tried to figure where it went wrong. Then he pinpointed it was when he had stuck his tongue in to her mouth. He slowly began to withdraw it. But suddenly everything snapped and Rin's tongue was dancing with Sesshomaru's. One side had finally won. He explored every inch of her mouth as Rin explored every inch of his, right up to his fangs. She slid her tongue over each one, careful not to get poked by them
He finally let her go with one last kiss and sighed. Looking down at her, he could tell she had stars in her eyes. "Lord Sesshomaru! The food's ready!" He heard Jaken call for him and threw a rock in his direction. He took great care in sliding off of Rin and helping her up. Sesshomaru silently led her back to camp and had Jaken serve her up some pork roast. After that, she fell asleep. He pulled off his mokomoko and lied her down on it, covering her with it as well. It would be a long time before she was truly well, but he would make sure that she wouldn't get hurt again.
Me: So what do you think?
Sesshomaru: …..
Me: K, so I just shortened my life, next!
Rin: I liked it! Lots of kissing!
Me: *in baby talk* Of course you did, my wittle Rin!
Inuyasha: Everyone here is bat shit crazy. Review.