"When you're safe at home you wish you were having an adventure;

But when you're having an adventure you wish you were safe at home."

… Thornton Wilder …

Chapter IV

Life quickly fell into a routine for Sesshoumaru after he started working again. He found that he enjoyed work a lot more than he had previously, but he wasn't certain if it was because the environment was so different to what he was used to or if it was simply because he had grown tired of being unemployed. Regardless of the reason though, the routine was comfortable and became something so familiar that it was almost as though he had been following it for many years rather than a couple of weeks. Every morning, he would prepare his breakfast and leave for work and every morning, Rin was waiting for him outside the back door. The students left the hotel earlier than the adults, which left the pair to walk together. Each morning was different from the previous one. Some mornings they walked in companionable silence and others, they talked quietly as they made their way towards the school.

What amazed Sesshoumaru the most was how easy it was for him to talk to Rin. Conversation had never been one of his strong points and he was perfectly content to just sit in silence, but Rin managed to draw out his inner conversationalist. He found that he voiced his curiosity more and more as they talked and he was stunned by Rin's playful nature even around someone as stoic as himself. She teased him playfully sometimes and Sesshoumaru was even more surprised to find himself responding to her playful nature with his own gentle teasing, although that was very rare. The fact remained, though, that Rin was turning him into a more sociable person slowly but surely.

Sesshoumaru began to look forward to the evening meals when he could discuss the day's events or anything else that happened to crop up with Rin. He discovered that she was quick to understand and her intelligence was not to be underestimated. Sesshoumaru was definitely not unintelligent. He had received the best education his family could afford and he was the pride and joy of the family in terms of academics, but he was smart enough to sense someone with intelligence to rival his own even if it was well hidden. He had observed Rin carefully and concluded that she was a mine of information even if some of it was utterly pointless information. His own knowledge was mostly limited to the areas that were of great interest to him, but Rin's knowledge seemed to have no limits. Sesshoumaru was quite certain that you could have asked her anything and she could have produced a fact about whatever it was you asked about even if she couldn't answer the question.

What baffled him was when she had had time to learn half of what she knew and why she thought some of it would be useful in life. Still, he found that since he lived with quite a few of his students, her knowledge was very useful since she was able to help the students from time to time. He discovered quite early on that while he didn't mind having to share the one peaceful hotel with a group of rowdy teenagers, it was very much like bringing his work home with him. Except this work could walk and had a mind of its own and would frequently voice its confusion when it came to something in the homework he had set that it didn't understand. After a while, he grew tired of the constant knocking at his door when students required help with their homework and sought him out. Giving the situation much thought, he eventually put together a study group just after dinner where all the students would gather in one room and do their homework while he did his own work. That way, there was no need for several of them to come looking for him one after another often with the same problem. It saved a lot of time and allowed him to work peacefully.

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Time seemed to fly by and Sesshoumaru could only marvel at how quickly he had adjusted to life in the small town when he found himself slightly disappointed that the half term break was rapidly approaching. Ordinarily, he would have been silently thanking each and every god he could think of for the time away from work, but he had become quite attached to his class and enjoyed the time he spent with them. The half term break was a two-week holiday and on the last day of school, Sesshoumaru returned to the hotel to find all the students gathered outside the building surrounded by their suitcases. Raising an eyebrow, he approached the group that was crowding around Rin and was mildly amused when he almost managed to get past them without them noticing his presence. He had intended to walk past and make a beeline for the sanctity of his rooms, but he realised that the fates were not smiling on him when he heard someone call his name.

"You're not going to say goodbye to us?" one girl demanded indignantly when she spotted him walking past.

"Say goodbye to you?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow. "I believe I will probably see you just after your evening meal."

"He doesn't know?" the girl asked, looking at Rin in confusion.

"I assumed you would have told him," Rin said with a shrug and a vague smile before looking at Sesshoumaru. "The students are going home for the holiday. They won't be back until the term starts again."

"I see. Farewell then. Travel safely."

Rin shook her head and smiled to herself as she watched Sesshoumaru disappear into the building without another word. She should really have guessed that he would not be one for extended goodbyes, but decided against pointing out that it may have seemed a little uncaring to his students. Fortunately, the students laughed off his behaviour and turned to bid Rin farewell before disappearing towards the station. Following Sesshoumaru's steps inside, she paused as she heard the phone in her office ring loudly. Sighing to herself, she walked into the office and slid into her seat gracefully as she picked up the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Rin! Where have you been?" Kagome's shrill voice demanded across the line. "I've called twice already!"

"Have you?" Rin asked in confusion having not heard the phone ring. "I was outside saying goodbye to the students staying here."

"Where were they going? Isn't it the middle of the school term?"

"No. It's their half term break. Two weeks off school."

"So, Sesshoumaru's not working?"

"No."

"Are you?"

"Not really. We don't get many guests and this time of year is especially quiet because of the heat."

"So you won't be busy at all?"

"It's not likely," Rin confirmed and grew suspicious. "Why are you asking? What do you want?"

There was a moment of silence before Kagome spoke again, excitement in her voice. "You remember when you said that you'd come to the city?"

"Yes…"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to come and spend the two weeks here with me and Inuyasha?"

"I don't mind the idea, but I'd feel a bit guilty leaving Sesshoumaru here alone."

"Give him marching orders. Tell him to come with you or you'll throw him out."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?"

Kagome laughed. "I suppose it is, but tell him to come with you. Everyone wants to see him again anyway."

"I'll see what I can do," Rin said with a giggle.

"We'll be expecting you two!"

As Rin put the receiver back in its cradle, she smiled to herself and rose to her feet. Heading towards the door, she wondered where she would find Sesshoumaru and decided that it was probably best to check his rooms first. She doubted he would have gone outside since the weather was still hot despite it being late afternoon. It was probably best to talk to him about what Kagome had suggested now before she forgot some of the details, although she was sure she wouldn't, but being cautious couldn't hurt.

Sesshoumaru looked up when he heard a knock at his door. Sighing to himself, he shrugged on the shirt he had discarded on the bed before his shower and made his way over to the door. Not bothering to button it up since it was probably only Rin, he pulled the door open and wasn't surprised at all to find Rin standing there. A tiny smile tugged his lips as he looked down at her and stepped back to allow her into the room. Her cheeks turned slightly pink when she saw him, but she smiled her usual cheerful smile as she sat down on the sofa and waited patiently for him to emerge from the bedroom after changing into fresh clothes.

"Did the students leave safely?" Sesshoumaru asked as he stepped back into the room and sat down opposite Rin.

"None of them have come back, so I assume so," Rin replied with a grin. "There was something I needed to talk to you about though."

"Oh? Am I in trouble?"

"No, not in trouble. I just wanted your opinion on something."

"What?"

"How do you feel about making the trip back to the city for the half term break?"

"The length of the journey isn't very appealing, but I suppose I should go back to show the family that I'm still alive."

"They know you're still alive," Rin said with a giggle.

"They've not spoken to me for quite some time."

"Kagome calls on a regular basis and I keep her up to date with what's going on," she explained, smiling as a look of understanding crossed Sesshoumaru's face.

"I see. Does Kagome have anything to do with my going back to the city," Sesshoumaru asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Well, she did suggest it, but I thought it might be a good idea. After all, I've not been to the city in such a long time!"

"You're going as well?" he asked in surprise.

"Of course!" Rin said, smiling at his brief look of surprise. "I promised to go and visit her and she suggested you come back to the city as well."

"Hm. It seems I might need to have words with my sister-in-law about making plans without consulting others," Sesshoumaru murmured thoughtfully before smirking at Rin and ridding her of any worries she might have had about mentioning this topic.

Rin got to her feet and wandered over to the door before she turned to smile at him again. "You can use the phone in my office whenever you like."

Sesshoumaru had sat in his rooms for a while after the conversation and thought over Rin's idea carefully. He didn't particularly miss the city and he had very little to go back to save his family and he didn't feel much like imposing upon them. All the furniture that had once sat in his apartment now sat in the storage facility his father had gracious loaned him and Sesshoumaru knew that if he was to return to the city, he would have to stay with his brother or his parents. Sighing to himself, he got to his feet and wandered down to Rin's office to make use of her phone to find out the details of this trip from the person who seemed to have arranged it.

"Hello?"

"Kagome."

"Sesshoumaru! What a surprise! If Rin hadn't told me you were still alive and well, I'd have thought you had disappeared," Kagome said with a laugh.

"There is no need for such dramatics. I'm sure you would know one way or another if I was no longer in the land of the living."

"Of course I would. What did you call for? Do you want to speak to Inuyasha?"

"No, thank you. I wanted to talk to you actually."

"Oh?"

"I hear Rin is coming to visit you and I am supposed to be coming along?" Sesshoumaru asked, wondering what kind of response he would get.

"She told you! Don't you think it's a wonderful idea? We haven't seen either of you in quite some time!"

"It is a good idea, but I wanted to make sure that those were your only reasons for suggesting this."

Kagome sighed and there was silence for a moment before she spoke again. "We don't get to see Rin very often and I never push for her to come and visit us because it's a long journey for a woman to undertake on her own. Can you imagine what could happen to her?"

"I'm certain she is more than capable of looking after herself."

"I know she is, but I can't help worrying. She's quite impulsive sometimes and she really is quite innocent. She refuses to believe the worst in people and I worry that might be her downfall."

"So you want me to be her chaperone?"

"I suppose you could say that, but don't misunderstand. We want to see you too. It's more convenient for both of you to visit at the same time."

"I understand," Sesshoumaru muttered as he thought over the idea.

"Will you come?"

"I will. Rin is going to come regardless of my decision and like you, I would rather she didn't travel alone."

"Thank you," Kagome said gratefully. "We'll see you soon?"

"Indeed."

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"I thought you would have put up more opposition to going back to the city," Rin said with a vague smile as she sat down on her small suitcase as she and Sesshoumaru waited for their train. "You didn't seem very enthusiastic about the idea."

"Truthfully, I'm not very enthusiastic about it," Sesshoumaru admitted, looking down at the seated woman from the corner of his eye as he leaned against the wall. "Having to live with members of my family is something I have not done for quite some time and it will require tolerance on my part."

Rin nodded understandingly as she leaned her head against the cool stonewall of the building behind her. It was understandable that Sesshoumaru would not be eager to have to stay with his family again. Before he had moved to the little town she lived in, he had lived alone and she suspected he rather liked those living arrangements. Even after moving into the hotel, he had not gone looking for her company but had accepted it when she pulled him out of his rooms for the evening meals they ate together. She wondered if he just tolerated her presence and if he would prefer to have his own home where he could be alone, but quickly pushed aside the thought since him having his own home in the town was not an option available to him at present.

"I get the impression that I will be staying with Kagome and Inuyasha," Rin said with a smile. "I'm sure staying with your brother would have made the situation even more uncomfortable for you."

"You are aware that we do not see eye to eye?" Sesshoumaru asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise at her observation.

"Of course. It's hardly surprising really. The two of you are like chalk and cheese. I don't think you would have ever gotten along well."

"Indeed. We tolerate each other."

There was a moment of silence after that statement and Sesshoumaru wondered if he should try to continue the conversation, but realised that he had no idea what to say next. He was saved from having to continue the conversation by the arrival of their train. Pushing himself upright, he picked up his bag and was about to reach for Rin's case when he realised that she had already moved towards the train and was waiting patiently for him next to the door. Smiling inwardly at her independence, Sesshoumaru followed her onto the train and soon found himself sitting opposite her in an empty compartment.

"I'm quite excited," Rin said with a blush. "It's been so long since I've been home. I wonder how many things have changed."

"Quite a lot, I imagine," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk. "Hopefully it won't overwhelm you too much."

"It probably will, but it'll be so nice to see everyone again!"

"They seem to be eager to see you as well."

Rin laughed and waved her hand dismissively. "They're also eager to see you."

"I would be a lot more eager to see them if I didn't have to live with them."

"It won't be that bad. Your parents are lovely."

"Living with them is certainly better than living with Inuyasha. I feel rather sorry for you."

The pair soon fell into conversation and occasionally fell into comfortable silence before resuming conversation. Sesshoumaru had been tense about making this journey since he was not in any rush to return to the busy city life after spending a few weeks in the quiet town, but as the train slowly pulled out of the station and started towards the next town, he felt his tension ease. He carefully scrutinized Rin during one of the quiet periods when she stared out the window at the barren landscape that slowly passed by. She was not exceptionally beautiful, very pretty, but nothing like some of the beauties that dwelled in the cities. She was intelligent and very perceptive and what amazed Sesshoumaru the most was the aura of tranquillity that she seemed to radiate. Her sense of calmness was obviously having an effect on him since his worries seemed to be of little importance as he conversed with her. It was quite bizarre, but he wasn't going to complain. He did not enjoy being anxious and was pleased to have found a way to relieve himself of the awful feeling, even if it was a very strange way.

As the pair travelled, morning quickly turned to afternoon and soon, the sun was sinking low behind the hills as the train pulled into its final station. Rin followed Sesshoumaru off the train and to their next train which would take them to the city. Unfortunately, this train was quite crowded in comparison to the almost empty one they had just left. Eventually, Sesshoumaru found a compartment with just two people inside and was mildly amused to find that it was an elderly couple much like the couple he had travelled with when he had first arrived in the small town in which he now lived. The pair looked up and nodded a greeting when Sesshoumaru opened the door and stepped aside for Rin to take the window seat. Rin sighed softly as she sank down into the comfortable seat and looked out the window again. She looked away from the window when she felt Sesshoumaru sit beside her.

"I had forgotten how long this journey is," Rin murmured with a smile. "Any idea when we'll arrive?"

"Assuming there are no delays, we should be arriving mid-morning tomorrow," Sesshoumaru said, glancing at his watch.

Rin nodded and fell silent as she turned to look out the window again as she felt the train start to move. It was slightly faster than the one they had been on before, but not by much. Sesshoumaru became engrossed in a book while Rin admired the shadowy scenery and the older couple conversed quietly. He didn't know how long they had been sitting an almost complete silence, but his attention suddenly focused on his surroundings when he felt a slight weight on his shoulder. Looking down, he was surprised to find Rin fast asleep with her head on his shoulder. For a moment, he was at a loss for what to do and simply stared at her. From the corner of his eye, he saw the elderly man sitting opposite him smile and heard the elderly woman murmur something about how endearing the sight was before he finally realised that they probably thought he and Rin were a couple. Sighing to himself, Sesshoumaru wrapped an arm around Rin's shoulders and gently slid her down the seat. When she lay lengthways across the seat with her head against his thigh, he draped his coat over her and went back to reading his book, trying hard to ignore the approving looks on the elderly couple's faces.

A sudden jolt woke Rin some time later and she looked around sleepily. The seats across from her were empty and she realised that the elderly couple that had sat there must've left. Frowning slightly, she wondered why she was looking at everything sideways before she realised that she was lying down and hastily sat up when she realised what she had been using as her pillow. Sesshoumaru looked at her when he realised that she was awake and nodded a greeting before looking back to the newspaper he held. Rin frowned again as she wondered if he had had any sleep at all.

"Did you sleep?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest and looking at him seriously.

"No. It would have been careless for both of us to sleep in the presence of strangers," Sesshoumaru said quietly, turning the page of the newspaper.

"They wouldn't have done anything," Rin said with a giggle. "You needn't have feared for your modesty."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her and shook his head as a tiny smirk tugged his lips. "It wasn't my modesty I was thinking about."

That statement instantly stopped any other words that were going to tumble from Rin's lips as she turned pink. She stared at him for a moment, her face a picture of embarrassment and gratitude, before clearing her throat and turning in her seat to look out the window and examine the station they were pulling into. Touched though she was that he had been that thoughtful, Rin didn't quite know how to respond to his words. Sighing softly, she closed her eyes and leaned away from the window. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly when he felt Rin's head drop to his shoulder again and wondered if she had fallen asleep again. He would have been convinced that she had if he had not heard her murmur a quiet "thank you" before they fell into comfortable silence.

Only a couple of stops later, the pair were stepping off the train and onto a busy platform. While Sesshoumaru was trying to negotiate a method of carrying both cases with one hand, Rin looked around her and sighed inwardly. Although she had missed the people who lived in the city, she certainly didn't miss the hustle and bustle. It was far too crowded and busy for her liking, but she supposed she could put up with it for a short while. She turned her gaze to the tall man beside her when she heard a soft growl of irritation and giggled as she saw him glaring at the two cases that sat innocently side by side in front of him. Evidently, he had failed to find a way to carry both cases, but Rin was glad since she intended to carry her own bag anyway. There was no need for someone else to carry it when she was perfectly capable of doing so. Amber eyes turned in her direction when he heard her giggle and Sesshoumaru was about to speak when she picked up the suitcase and tugged his sleeve impatiently.

"I'm perfectly capable of carrying my own luggage," Rin admonished him gently before gesturing to the exit at the end of the platform with her head. "We should go. Someone is bound to be waiting for us."

Sure enough, just outside the station, Inuyasha and Kagome stood side by side waiting somewhat impatiently for the pair to make their appearance. Inuyasha was just about to walk towards the building to find out what was taking them so long when two figures appeared in the doorway, causing both Inuyasha and Kagome to stare in surprise. Sesshoumaru was walking out of the door with his usual apathetic expression firmly in place while Rin walked just behind him with a slight frown on her face as she tried in vain to tug her suitcase from his firm grip. The pair came to a stop and Sesshoumaru scanned the car park for a sign of someone familiar, but just as he was about to set off towards his brother and sister-in-law, Rin tugged hard on the case, causing him to stop and turn to look at her. Inuyasha and Kagome watched the display in amazement that soon became shock when Sesshoumaru had smiled at Rin. It was a very brief and very vague smile, but it was definitely a smile. There was no questioning it. He leaned towards her and said something to her that made her blush red before she shoved the case towards him and stalked away towards her friends, leaving Sesshoumaru to bring up the rear.

"Living in that lonely little town seems to have softened him up a bit," Inuyasha said quietly to his wife.

Kagome shrugged and grinned. "Or perhaps it's Rin's doing?"

"No doubt we'll find out in time."

"Definitely."

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AN: I'm sorry this chapter is so long! It was going to be two different chapters, but I changed my mind and decided to condense it into one chapter. You can probably tell where I was going to end the first chapter, but hopefully it's not too disjointed.

There are a couple of parts in this story that I'm not too sure about. The modesty bit for example, it sounds great when other writers refer to it but somehow it doesn't sound right to me. I've probably completely messed up the context in which such a reference is used and if I have, pleased do let me know and I'll see what I can do about correcting it.

Anyway, I'm sorry that I've not updated in a while. Free time is no longer a luxury available to me so updates will become rare, I think I mentioned this before. Please bear with me though; I will get them done when I have a moment or two to spare :)

So yeah… that's all there is to say for the moment. Thank you to everyone who has reviewed this story and all the others. I've noticed a couple of people have added some of my stories to their favourites list and one or two even added me to the favourite author bit. Thank you so much, I'm glad that others consider my random stories worth reading! :)

Thank you again! :)

xMxAx