Chapter 4

"Rin? What are you doing here so late?" Rin was sitting in the school library when she looked up with surprise and found Kohaku walking towards her. He took the chair beside her and studied what she was working on. Rin pulled her notebook out from under her textbook. The page was filled with scribbles.

"The academic schedule is more advanced than my old school. I have to study to catch up with everyone else." Rin wrote. Kohaku leaned towards her to get a better look at her notes. His action surprised her and she recoiled slightly. He flipped a page in her textbook.

"You're struggling with mathematics?" He asked her. Rin pulled a strand of hair behind her ear and nodded.

"Just a little bit. Mathematics was always tough for me." She smiled and gave him a slight shrug. Kohaku returned her smile with a grin of his own and rested his forehead on a fist.

"I'm president of the mathematics club." He said, pointing to himself. "I'll help you study." He offered. Rin raised her eyebrows. Before she could argue, Kohaku tapped her notes with his finger. "You got the right idea. You're just having a tough time with this problem because you mixed up the formula." He said and plucked her pencil from her fingers. Rin immediately paid close attention as he wrote out the correct formula. She snapped her fingers upon realizing her mistake and nodded. Kohaku proceeded to circle certain questions in the textbook. "If you work on these problems you should have no problem in class." He said and handed back her pencil. Rin concentrated on his notes and quickly went to work on the problems.

For the duration of the session, Rin completed all the problems while Kohaku instructed her. In no time at all, Rin finished and understood everything. She set her pencil down and handed Kohaku her notes. He nodded his head in approval as he looked it over.

"Yeah, that's all it is. You got it!" He smiled and he flicked the paper with his other hand. Rin sighed in relief. She was stuck on one problem for so long and Kohaku explained it clearly for her. Rin slightly bowed her head to thank him for helping her. "It's no problem." He said. "I like math." Rin almost grimaced at that comment but from Kohaku's expression she could clearly see that he was completely serious.

"How come you are still at school so late?" She asked him, glancing at the time. She felt a yawn coming on but she held back.

"Teacher stopped me after class to help him organize the class files." Kohaku glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I accidentally saw your math homework." He looked a bit ashamed and Rin blushed in embarrassment. He must have seen how terrible she was at math. "I also noticed you did not leave with Chiyo or Mao, so…" He trailed off. Rin tilted her head and did not understand that he purposely looked for her in the school library. Kohaku just awkwardly hesitated and shook his head. "It's nothing." He cleared his throat and stood up, pushing his chair back. Rin remained seated as he prepared to leave. She bowed to him again to thank him one last time and to say goodbye. "If you like…" He began. "…I can help you with school work whenever you need help." He offered. Rin raised her eyebrows at his kindness.

"You are so helpful to everyone. You really are a prince." She quickly jotted down in her notebook. Kohaku just gave her a short chuckle.

"I am no prince." He said, scratching the back of his neck.

"Thank you for your help. I would really appreciate it if you could help me." She wrote. Kohaku plucked her phone right out of her hands. He fooled around with it a bit and quickly handed it back to her. A second later, his phone received a message. He pulled it out and showed it to her.

"There. Now you have my number and I have yours." He said. Rin looked at her phone and saw his name and number listed in her contacts. "Message me when you need help and I'll come to you." Kohaku gave her another one of his boyish grins and she blushed. "See you tomorrow." He casually waved goodbye and Rin watched him leave the library and slide the library door shut behind him. Rin did not wait any longer and also packed her things to go. On her way home, Rin was trying her best to ignore her fluttering heart every time she thought about Kohaku.

Sesshomaru stood at the train platform, waiting to go to school. Sesshomaru took his book that was tucked under his arm and flipped it open.

"Somehow she has changed lately…" Sesshomaru overheard a conversation between two male underclassmen.

"Yeah I thought the same thing."

"I heard she can't speak though."

"That's okay. Girls who talk too much are annoying."

"She is kind of cute…that first year Noto Rin."

Sesshomaru felt annoyed. He was trying to read but he was being bothered by their childish conversation. Noto Rin wasn't that pretty! Were they blind?

"Oh, isn't that Noto Rin coming this way now?" Sesshomaru heard one of them ask. He felt himself flinch slightly but he did not peel his eyes away from his book.

"Good morning!" He heard one say to her. Sesshomaru just wanted the train to arrive now.

"Oh wait! Be careful, you're going to bump into-"

Rin was bowing as she walked past her classmates that she hadn't realized she was going to walk right into Sesshomaru. Her face connected with his chest and she gripped her head with pain. Rin looked up, apologetically and when she realized just who she knocked into, her face paled. Sesshomaru looked at her as if he wanted to rip her head off and she coiled away. 'Why can't our meetings be normal for once?!' She thought frantically and bowed to him continuously. 'Oh noo, he looks angry.' She suddenly felt ill.

Sesshomaru looked at Rin as if she were a plague carrier. He was sure this girl was born to wreak havoc on his life. She bowed over and over until he was sure she would snap in two. He sighed and snapped his book shut. He tucked his book under his arm, stuffed his hands in his pockets, and narrowed his eyes at her.

"I'm starting to think you are purposefully following me around." He said. Rin's mouth fell into a grim line. Was this guy trying to pick a fight with her? Rin's thoughts were filled with ways she could kick him and get away with it but her eyes caught something on his shirt. She gasped and immediately grew fearful of how he would react. Sesshomaru looked down at his shirt and found she left an imprint of her lips. Rin bit her fingernail and looked ashamed. She had put on lip-gloss that morning. Her kiss mark on his shirt made him look like a frivolous playboy. Sesshomaru let out a long and slow exhale.

"Noto Rin…"

Chiyo was putting her shoes away at the shoe lockers when, from the corner of her eye, she saw Rin running towards the doors as if the devil was at her heels. Chiyo smiled and waved at her.

"Hi Rin! Why are you in such a hurry? We aren't late for class." She said. Rin ran up and practically ripped off her shoes and threw them into her locker. Chiyo looked over Rin's shoulder and saw Sesshomaru kiting a string of females behind him. He did not appear to be in a good mood. "Hey…what is that on his shirt?" Chiyo squinted her eyes but Rin abruptly grabbed her by the hand and they ran to the classroom. Rin let out a loud sigh of relief and stumbled to her desk. She was safe in the classroom for now.

When the train arrived, there were so many people onboard that thankfully Sesshomaru couldn't get to her. Once the train arrived at their stop, Rin had bolted out the door and ran to school without looking back. She could feel his glares as if they were daggers on her back.

Rin thankfully had a fan in her bag and began to fan herself. She was sweating from the exercise. Chiyo sat down beside her.

"What did you do to him?" Chiyo asked but Rin quickly shook her head. She didn't want to talk about it. At that moment, Mao bolted through the door and ran to them.

"Hey! There is a kiss mark on Sesshomaru's shirt!" She exclaimed and Chiyo gave Rin a cheeky smile.

"What did you do this time, Rin?" Chiyo urged and Rin had no choice but to explain the story to them. Mao and Chiyo exploded with laughter.

"Why did you wear lip-gloss?" Mao asked her. "You don't usually wear anything." Rin blinked her eyes and felt a bit hesitant. Kohaku walked into the classroom and Rin suddenly became very aware of his presence. For a girl, it was instinct to want to look a little prettier for a boy. She couldn't say she liked Kohaku yet…but she definitely felt a little fuzzy when she thought about him.

"If a boy acts too kind…it starts to give a girl the wrong idea, right?" Rin wrote. Mao and Chiyo both glanced in Kohaku's direction. Mao grinned but Chiyo looked a little concerned.

"When did you start liking Kohaku?" Chiyo lowered her head and whispered. Rin shook her head.

"I don't know if I actually like him but I certainly feel more aware of him. It started ever since he helped me study at the library."

"You were alone with him in the library?" Mao said a bit too loudly and Rin tried to cover her mouth before Kohaku heard them. Kohaku turned his head upon hearing the commotion and smiled at Rin. The three of them smiled hesitantly and waved.

"He said he would help me study whenever I needed help." Rin quickly wrote when he looked away.

"When are you going to study with him next?" Mao asked her. Rin shrugged and told them she hadn't texted him once. Mao slapped a nicely manicured hand to her forehead. "This might be your chance at a high school love! You have to message him soon!" She shook Rin by the shoulders.

"On a different note…what are you going to do about Sesshomaru?" Chiyo asked her. Rin was snapped back to reality and she dropped her head onto the desk with a groan. It seemed that all she was doing was ruining his life and spread even more rumors about the two of them…thus also ruining her own life. The next time she saw him…she knew she had to apologize and just prayed he didn't kill her in the process.

Upon entering the classroom, Naraku burst into laughter when he looked at Sesshomaru. He could practically see the flames of wrath surrounding him.

"You seem to be a magnet for bad luck." Naraku sat on Sesshomaru's desk and tapped Rin's kiss mark on his shirt. "So there is another rumor that you like to fool around." He chuckled. Sesshomaru said nothing but passed his friend a warning glare. This only caused Naraku to chuckle some more. "Is the transfer student the reason for this too?" He asked, glancing outside the classroom door where numerous girls were calling for him to 'play with them too'. Sesshomaru pinched the bridge of his nose. That girl ruined his quiet and content life.

Rin rolled onto her back and sat up. She had been staring at her phone for quite a while. Her cat purred as Rin used her big toe to scratch the back of his ear. Rin wasn't sure what to say to Kohaku. Mao kept insisting that she had to message him but what does she say when she has nothing to say? Rin shook her head and tossed the phone aside. She would message him later. For now, she was going to make her way to the convenient store.

"Where are you going, Rin?" Her uncle asked as she slipped on her sneakers. Rin silently mouthed to him where she was going and pointed in the general direction. Her uncle nodded his head and told her to be careful. "Oh! And bring back some bread!" He yelled after her as she skipped down the stairs.

Rin strolled down the road, putting a little extra skip in her step. Her ponytail swung side to side as if it were dancing. She was craving some ice cream and potato chips. Just the thought of food made her skip some more.

At the convenience store, Rin bought her chips and the bread for her uncle. She decided to buy three ice creams; one for her uncle and two for her. Rin chuckled guiltily to herself as she received her change from the cashier and made her way out the store. She began to skip down the road again and turned the corner only to halt violently. All humor faded instantly.

Sesshomaru also stopped mid-stride and stared at her. A look of annoyance and exhaustion passed his handsome face. Rin felt her heart in her throat. She almost hadn't recognized him which was strange because his handsome face was one of a kind. Rin was so accustomed to seeing him in his school uniform. It was almost like one couldn't be without the other. To her pleasant surprise, he was dressed in casual clothing. Rin's thoughts were quickly interrupted when she got another look at the expression on his face. His eyes narrowed.

"You…I haven't had a peaceful day since you came…" He said acidly. Rin flinched at the tone of his voice. Rin knew she had to apologize for causing him trouble. If she were in his position, she would feel frustrated too. A part of Rin was also reluctant to apologize to him. To be fair, he wasn't exactly a gentleman to her either.

Rin sighed and patted her shorts for her phone only to realize she left it in her room. She didn't have a way to apologize to him.

Sesshomaru was making his way to the convenient store. He was surprised when the last person he wanted to bump into…bumped into him. He almost didn't recognize her. He usually didn't recognize anyone he could care less about. Unfortunately, he was forced to recognize the face that brought chaos into his life.

She had put her hair in a high pony tail and was dressed in shorts and a t-shirt. Sesshomaru hated to admit it but she looked quite nice despite being dressed in simple clothing.

"Trouble seems to follow me after I meet you." He said. He watched as she seemed to look for something in her pockets. What she did next left him speechless.

Rin had no choice but to approach him. To his surprise and to her own, she reached and grabbed his hand. The moment she grabbed his hand, they both felt electricity travel up and down their spines. His hand was almost monstrously large in comparison to her dainty ones. His skin was as smooth and light as cream. 'Are you really a man?' Rin thought to herself.

Sesshomaru was surprised that he was allowing her to touch him. He watched silently as she grabbed his hand, turned up his palm, and began to trace letters onto his skin. Her light touch tickled him and there was something about her touch that affected him.

"I…am…sorry." She wrote slowly. Rin glanced at him momentarily and continued on. "…you… jerk." Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow. Rin reached into the plastic bag and slapped an ice cream into his hand. Before he could say anything, she walked away.

As Rin walked away, her heart was pounding. She couldn't believe that she had the courage to insult him. She also began to feel a little guilty that she apologized to him and then insulted him. She rolled her eyes and almost smacked herself. She was back to square one. She shook her head and sighed. She would apologize to him again next time…properly.

Sesshomaru glanced down at his hand. The hot summer night immediately began to melt the ice cream that she none too gently gave him. Slapping the ice cream into his hand caused the plastic wrapping to pop open. Sesshomaru looked onto his hand with disgust when it grew sticky with melted vanilla ice cream. He shut his eyes and sighed heavily. He gritted his teeth.

"That…girl…"