Thanks to loveless an the living fantasy, Anya Primrose, icegirljenni, shad and SerenePanic for reviewing the last chapter!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Twlight or Batman.
After spending the rest of the day with Miroku, Kagome and Sango, Inuyasha and Rin had decided it was time to leave. Rin peered across the hall where Kohaku and Souta were laughing at something the Joker had said. She smiled slightly, happy that her friends were enjoying their 'catch up on Batman' marathon. Her feet shuffled along the carpet and her fingers curled around the smooth and sleek wooden banister.
"What's up, Rin?"
She jumped slightly, not expecting a voice to break the silence. She found sweating under Inuyasha's intense golden stare. She nervously smiled before wildly looking around. "Nothing's wrong, Inuyasha! Why do you ask?" She was trying to avoid his eyes.
He raised an eyebrow at her queer behavior. "Ya seemed kinda jumpy today. Ever since Kohaku talked to you downstairs." A sly smile appeared on his face. "Or is that is? Are you and Kohaku in some sort of hidden relationship? Is it like Romeo and Juliet? Star crossed lovers-"
Her cheeks were heating up with all these questions. Her tinted cheeks didn't exactly help her either. They just made Inuyasha keep going with his analogies. She coughed lightly, trying to stop Inuyasha.
"Don't worry, Rinny" he said ruffling her hair. "I won't tell Sango. Maybe."
"I am not in a forbidden relationship with Kohaku!" she hissed, stomping down the stairs. She hoped that her leaving would give him a reason to stop with these foolish questions. She was proved wrong when he raced down the stairs so that he could meet her at the foot, smirking.
"So it's not forbidden…Friends with benefits?" he teased.
She elbowed him out of the way and threw the door open. She stormed down the steps and started heading for her own house. "It's not a casual relationship either! I'm not in a relationship with Kohaku! Get that through your thick skull!"
He caught up with her, smiling. "I'm only kidding, Rin. Jeez, you're as bad as Kagome sometimes. Besides, you've had a crush on Sesshomaru for ages. That's not something I can overlook. And you're not the type to go into a casual relationship."
"Glad to see someone's using their brain," she huffed.
He tossed his long silver tresses over his shoulder. "Keh! I don't even know why I bother trying to lighten the mood. I always get yelled at for it," he muttered.
They passed several fruit bearing trees on the walk to Rin's house. Rin glanced up at them, wishing that she was a bit taller so she could reach them. Suddenly, a large red apple was shoved in her face. Her eyes widened slightly when she saw that Inuyasha was looking in the other direction, bored.
"I saw you looking at the trees," he mumbled. "You looked like you wanted one and I figured this would make us even."
She slowly took the apple from his hand and took a small bite out of it. She smiled at him. "Thanks, Yash."
They continued walking on the sidewalk. Rin, munching her apple and Inuyasha staring at the trees and flowers around them. Inuyasha slid his hands into his pocket and sighed. "Rin, are you sure you're OK at home? You're parents aren't abusing you are they?"
She stopped short, making him stop too. Her eyes were wide and curious. She swallowed the mouthful of apple, utterly confused. "What made you ask a question like that?"
He gazed into her eyes. If she was lying, he would be able to tell. From the look in her eyes and the scent she was giving off. Nope. Wide eyed, innocent look. She had no idea what he was going on about. "I dunno. You seemed jumpy today and I thought maybe something was going on at home." He started walking again, shoving his other hand into his pocket. "And now that I think about it, it was a stupid question." He peered at the brunette beside him. "You'd tell us if something was going on at home."
She nervously bit into her apple, trying to mask her anxiety. She stared at the core in her hand and tossed it over her shoulder and into the grass. She crossed her arms over her chest. "Of course. I'd tell you anything."
"Anything?" he asked incredulously. "Absolutely anything?"
She narrowed her eyes at him. "Not one of your stupid questions about my-"
He impatiently waved his hand, looking embarrassed. "No no. Not that." He took her shoulders, making sure that she was paying attention to what he was about to ask. "What did you and Kohaku talk about?"
Her eyes grew slightly and her mouth was agape. She looked as if she didn't know how to properly word her answer. It didn't help that Inuyasha was staring at her expectantly. She focused her gaze at a particularly large pothole in the asphalt. "We were talking about how it was nice seeing each other. After all this time," she lied. She took Inuyasha's arms off of her and smiled. "You know, he wanted to know how I was doing and if I was going to pursue my dream of becoming a famous writer…"
She hoped that he would swallow the last lie about becoming a writer. She'd love to write since fifth grade. She was more of a fantasy person and she loved writing fanfictions. Inuyasha was the first person she went to when she got her very first review on a fanfiction she had posted online.
His eyebrows raised slightly, but he kept walking, making Rin inwardly sigh in relief. She picked up her pace so that she was beside him again.
"I don't understand how you can come up with so many storylines," he wondered aloud. "I've seen how many stories you have up…and you have over fifty! And you deleted a shitload of them on top of that!"
She blushed lightly. Inuyasha had no problem giving credit to people even if they died of bashfulness. "Inuyasha, I've had an account for about five or six years now. And most of them are crappy oneshots." She walked ahead, trying to hide the now deep blush on her cheeks.
"But Rin, they're really good oneshots," he said earnestly.
She looked to her side and saw that he'd caught up. Dammit. I forgot that he had his demon speed. She shook her head, smiling slightly. She picked up her pace. "Writing stupid little oneshots isn't going to get me anywhere. I have to work on other things. That's my other problem. I always write the same type of thing. Something really depressing and overly dramatic."
Inuyasha rolled his neck, unamused. "Are all writers so critical of themselves?" he asked. "I swear I heard Stephenie Meyer say the same thing on CNN."
Rin burst into fits of laughter, earning her a look of annoyance from Inuyasha. He narrowed his amber eyes at her. "What the hell are you laughing about."
He impatiently tapped his foot, waiting for her to stop laughing. He rolled his eyes after about two minutes. Rin was clutching her sides. She straightened up, wiping a stray tear from her chocolate eyes. "Ohh. My god, Inuyasha…"
"Great, you've stopped laughing. Now what the hell was so funny?" he demanded.
Rin continued walking with a smile on her face. "Because you're the one who said that Stephenie Meyer wrote, and I quote, overly dramatic and depressing shit." He scoffed, making her smile grow wider. "C'mon Yash. You always complain when Twilight is on. You keep complaining about how Kristen Stewart is a whiny bitch who always cries and how Robert Pattinson's character, Edward, is a miserable excuse of a vampire."
"Well, vampires are supposed to look like death!" he exclaimed. "Not a fucking disco ball!"
She walked up a familiar path, leading to the front doors of her house. It was a small house that looked like it was a modern-day take on an old Victorian house. "Better not let Kagome hear you say that. She likes Robert Pattinson," she called over her shoulder. She fished her keys out of her pocket and slipped it into the lock.
Inuyasha peered at the driveway. He always wondered why Rin's driveway was always empty. He never saw a car in the driveway. Never. He raised his eyebrow, following Rin into the house. She was already heating up some water for her daily cup of tea. I swear, writers and artists…they all live off of caffeine.
"Rin, where're your parents?"
He saw her grab a tea bag, dropping it into her small orange and beige checkered mug. She opened a cupboard, standing on her toes to reach the honey. She saw a hand reach for the honey. Claws…Inuyasha had gotten the honey down for her. He looked skeptical of her actions.
"Rin, where're your parents?" he repeated.
She took the honey from him and turned up the heat for the water. "They're at work, Inuyasha," she said nonchalantly. "Not everyone's parents are Izayoi-sama and Inu no Taisho-sama."
He raised his eyebrow at her back. He crossed his arms over his chest. "When are they coming home?"
She felt a little flutter in her stomach before turning to meet his eyes. She gave him a small smile. "Don't worry about it, kay? They usually come home late. It's nothing to worry about." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a ribbon of steam coming out of the kettle. She reached for a flowery potholder and carefully wrapped it around the handle. She took the kettle and her mug over to the sink and carefully poured the boiling water into the cup.
Inuyasha followed her to the sink, still not satisfied with her answer. "What do you mean they always come home late? You seriously don't mean that they leave you home alone for hours at a time!" he shouted.
She glared at him, effectively making him back off a bit. "I'm not a child," she snapped. "I can take care of myself for a couple of hours." She pushed him aside to take her mug to the counter where the honey was. She took the end of the tea bag and pulled on the string, turning her clear water into a deep brown color. She did this for a minute or two before taking a spoon to wring out the excess water. She dropped the bag into the trash and took the honey.
"Look Inuyasha, I'm touched that you get so worried for me. I really am," she said earnestly. She turned around to face him. "I just don't like it when you question me about why my parents leave me alone so often. I'm not seven years old anymore."
He stood there, clearly shocked, for a minute or two. Then he nodded, looking somber. "Alright. I'm sorry, Rin. But you're like the little sister I never had! I at least deserve some big brother rights."
She put the honey down and put her hands on her hips, amused. "Big brother rights?" she asked, grinning. "What big brother rights could you possibly have?"
He smirked at her before cocking his head to the right. A devious smiled played at his lips. "Well for starters I demand to know about any potential suitors that you may have-"
She blushed cherry red. She stammered something to which he cupped his ear. "Ah, does Rinny have another man in her life."
Her lips formed a thin line. She marched over to Inuyasha, grabbing his wrist. She dragged him to the door and pushed him out. "Get out, sadist," she muttered.
He turned around, grinning. "Ah, forgot. You have a massive crush on my older brother. How did I miss that?" he mocked.
She slammed the door as hard as she could. She then covered her ears when she heard Inuyasha howling with laughter. She ran into the living room and buried her face in the mass of cushions and pillows in a desperate effort to muffle the laughter. She peeked out after a couple of minutes. Silence.
She slowly got up and finished making her tea. The small silver teaspoon swirled aimlessly in her cup. Her thoughts were elsewhere. Inuyasha was so close to learning her secret. She tossed the spoon in the sink and took the mug in her small hands. She took the cup upstairs to her room. She passed a large room that had the door closed. She stood in front of the room for a minute or two before sighing and continuing on her way.
She set her mug down on her desk and picked up her laptop, preparing herself for a long night of writing.
No one must know of my secret. Not yet anyway.
"Catwoman…I'd watch a Catwoman movie," said Souta. He and Kohaku had been watching both Batman movies all day. Now they were looking for any news of a Catwoman movie. Or rather, Souta was clicking through the Google results.
Kohaku was lying on the floor, twisting the black beaded bracelet that his mother had given him. He didn't hear a word of what Souta was saying about Catwoman. Well, he heard the occasional gasp that he assumed was because of her costume.
Suddenly, he felt a pillow land on his face. "Ah, what the hell, Souta? I know you think Catwoman is sexy. I've heard you say it so many times today. And speaking of which, what does Hitomi think of your little crush on Catwoman?"
That only earned him another pillow to the face and a very pink-faced Souta glaring at him. "I was asking you when you whether Sango wanted to watch it with us. Cuz Kagome was willing to go if Sango was going too." Silence followed, making Souta sigh. "Kohaku, you've acted weird ever since you saw Rin today. Is there something that you're not telling me?"
Kohaku rolled over on his stomach, utterly confused. "What do you mean, is there something I'm not telling you?" He knew what Souta was getting at. He just didn't think he was being serious about it. The glare that the younger Higurashi was giving him made him cringe.
"What, you think I like Rin? Souta, I've known Rin since we were kids! There's nothing there!" he shouted.
"Could've fooled me," muttered Souta. He went back to his computer and pulled up the movie theatre website, looking for times.
Kohaku got up and pushed the button on the screen. "Listen, Souta. I'm telling you the cold hard truth," he said.
Souta was irritated now. If he has a crush on Rin, that's fine! That's great! I don't understand why he's not telling me anything! "Kohaku-"
"Souta," interrupted Kohaku. "I am telling you the truth. I do not have feelings for Rin," he said enunciating each word. "What the bloody hell has gotten into you?"
"Nothing," Souta replied quickly. "You just seemed like you had a crush on her. Blowing off Batman for a couple of minutes…"
If you only knew half of it….Kohaku didn't say anything. If Rin didn't tell Souta yet, then he couldn't breathe a word of it to anyone. He had to wait until Rin told everyone, no matter how much he hated keeping her secret. "I do not have a crush on Rin," he repeated. "You know I'm not one to have a crush on girls. I prefer a quiet life, you know?"
Souta shrugged, carrying on with his search for Catwoman while Kohaku glanced out the window.
Rin…Please tell someone soon. You shouldn't keep a secret like that from everyone.
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