DIS: (sweat drop) I apologize for not updating earlier. I simply haven't had any inspiration. (clenches fist) But then I watched the third Inuyasha movie, which always gets me riled and I am currently listening to music from Inuyasha! Mwahaha! (rubs head sheepishly) Anyway, thanks to all that reviewed. Here is the seventh chapter, full of fluffiness! (cackles)

X

Thank you for saving me, Chapter Seven

Sesshomaru frowned to himself, raising his glass of wine to his lips, draining a fourth of the glass. He was having a bad day, like yesterday. He had skipped out on visiting Rin today, much too irritated to face the girl. If he knew his temper – and he did – he would have lashed out at her and that wasn't something she deserved. Though he was, indeed, a heartless youkai in which people did not want to face, he knew that he was fond of her despite himself. She was simply a likeable person. His mouth tautened petulantly. Which is why I should not visit her. The more I show my weakness for her, the easier it'll be for me to be destroyed. He sneered at himself and drained the rest of his wine. A knock came on the door and his loyal employee, Jaken, entered with the phone in his thin, green hands.

"It's Mr. Reynolds, sir," Jaken chirped, setting the phone on the glass coffee table beside him and then toddling out of the room. Sesshomaru set his empty glass down and took the phone, pressing into his ear.

"Reynolds," Sesshomaru greeted mildly.

"Mr. Inutaisho," John Reynolds responded grimly. "How are things for you?"

"Well."

"I see. That's good news to hear." He paused, then heaved an agitated sigh. He disliked having to call Sesshomaru when the youkai was in one of his moods (which Jaken informed him he was in) but he didn't have much a choice. He had meant to tell Sesshomaru the news sooner, but when he had called, Jaken had insisted that he call back, saying that his employer was absolutely livid with something. Trusting Jaken on that, he said his goodbye and resolved to call today. He was displeased to find that Sesshomaru was still in a bad mood. "I have some news for you," he told him presently.

"...Indeed?"

"Yes." He hesitated, then continued, "I fear that all the others have been seduced by Hatton." Sesshomaru snorted derisively. Somehow, he wasn't too surprised. "As it happens, they are beginning to give the money already. Their companies will be absolutely ruined! It's obvious that he needs this money for something that will improve his company to give it power."

"And he will utilize that power in order to bring them down," Sesshomaru concluded.

"What bothers me, though, is that if it is so great," Reynolds told him solemnly, "he may be able to take us down, as well." Sesshomaru deliberated over that. There were many companies outside of Shibuya that were extremely powerful, perhaps even more so than his or John Reynolds' company. If they had asked for a specific amount of money to assist Thomas Hatton, they could easily smash him and Reynolds.

"We shall see."

"Mm. Oh, by the way, Sesshomaru, it may interest you to know we're being carefully watched – perhaps even spoken to – by one of Hatton's spies. It seems that he employed someone to pilfer information for him."

"Hm. I suspected he'd do something as low as that."

"You had better be careful in who you socialize with and what you say to them. It may be someone we already know," Reynolds cautioned. Sesshomaru disregarded the caution, having already decided that Rin wasn't a spy for anyone. She was only a homeless girl! Hatton would hardly employ her to spy on him. He hated all others below his own class. Besides, Sesshomaru trusted Rin despite himself.

The two males hung up, both with their minds on difficult matters. Sesshomaru, unlike John Reynolds, who was constantly stressing himself over such things, eventually cleared his mind and helped himself to more wine, resigning himself to the lulling relaxation.

X

Rin sighed to herself at the same time that Sesshomaru was sitting in his drawing room. She stared down at her blanket sullenly, biting her lip. She was worried. The bank in which the construction crew of Mr. London Duos' had been building was officially finished. London Duos had reluctantly told her that she would no longer be needed. Instead of panicking like she had later when she'd gotten to her "home," she had simply smiled brightly and thanked him for letting her work like she had been. Now, however, she was quite hungry and had nothing to get food from. What was more, Mr. Inutaisho hadn't been back, so she was beginning to wonder if he was angry with her.

Heaving another sigh, Rin gave a lopsided grin as she fingered her dress. At least I'm dressed nice, she thought sardonically. She threaded her fingers through her hair idly, feeling tears in her eyes. I hate living like this. She brought her legs up to her chest, resting her cheek on her knees, swallowing her tears. She squeezed her eyes tight, forcing herself to an uneasy sleep.

X

Three days later, Sesshomaru wandered idly towards the alley where Rin was located. He had told himself that he wouldn't cause himself any trouble and just leave her be, but now he was always in a bad mood. Jaken, of course, was the one who had to deal with his employer's terrible moods. Sesshomaru took pity on him and was now going to see Rin to see how she was faring. He turned and saw her humming and drawing something in the dirt with a stick. He frowned, noticing that she looked a bit pale and her eyes were a bit dull, not as bright as they normally were. She glanced up and smiled at him, though it, too, was not as bright as usual.

"Mr. Inutaisho, hello," she greeted as cheerfully as she could manage. She hadn't eaten in four days, nor had she drank anything. Her stomach churned whenever she stood up and she was cold, no matter what her body temperature said. "I have not seen you lately."

"No," he agreed. He eyed her suspiciously, then said bluntly, "You look ill." She blinked and lowered her gaze guiltily. Rin hadn't actually thought it was very noticeable. She had been to see Mayala and the woman hadn't said a word and Mayala, being her, would have said something about it. But then again, Mayala had once been a prostitute and wasn't the smartest, nor the sharpest. Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was a wise youkai who noticed every little thing, even if it were as insignificant as someone getting their hair trimmed.

"I haven't eaten lately," was the only explanation she gave to him. His eyes narrowed on her.

"How come?"

"I...don't have any money." His frown became hard. Sesshomaru disliked seeing his favored Rin starving. His eyes took on a thoughtful glint as he considered what to do for her. He supposed that he could take her to get something to eat. She looked presentable enough, but he didn't like the idea of anyone finding out about it. With an inward grumble, he gestured at Rin. She blinked.

"Follow me. I'll get you something to eat."

"Oh, but – " She began protesting, but he gestured again, this time impatiently. She jumped to her feet and hurried after him as he moved down the alley to the road. Inwardly, she was scolding herself for mentioning her lack of food and money. Rin didn't want Mr. Inutaisho to worry over her. She gently lowered her head, gnawing on her lower lip nervously. "Please, sir, I don't want to be a bother to you..." He snorted.

"You are not a bother," he informed her. "Now be quiet." She fell silent obediently, still feeling guilty for his offer.

X

"Inuyasha."

Goddamn Hatton, implying things...

"Inuyasha."

What the hell did he mean by that comment?

"Inuyasha!"

Was he baiting me? Trying to get me to help Sesshomaru?

"Inuyasha!"

Bullshit! I'm not helping that good-for-nothing –

"INUYASHA!"

Inuyasha snapped out of his mutinous thoughts, looking from the window he'd been staring out of to see his wife glaring down at him, her eyebrow twitching. For the last hour, he'd been brooding, staring out the window without much thought to what was going around him. Ever since they had gone out to dinner and Hatton had spoken to them, Kagome had been nagging at him about his brother's safety. All her nagging had finally gotten to his head and so for the past hour, he'd been staring out the window, considering over it very seriously.

"For God sakes, Inuyasha, what could you have possibly been thinking of?" Kagome demanded, placing her hands on her hips. His eyes followed the movements of her hands and he thought, in a perverse manner, that she had nicely shaped hips. Knocking out of his naughty thoughts, he raised his amber eyes up to Kagome's and knew he looked guilty because she glared at him. "Inuyasha..."

"Whaddya want?" He muttered, turning away from her, thrusting his lower lip out in a defiant pout. Kagome rolled her eyes at him.

"Of course you wouldn't know, would you?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" He growled, turning back to look at her.

"You've been staring out the window for who knows how long! I was telling you about a letter Miroku, Sango, and Shippo wrote us and then when I realized you weren't even listening, I had to shout your names about a dozen times!"

"Give me a break. I'm going through inner turmoil – something you wouldn't know about." She gave him a puzzled look and Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably. "Listen, Kagome, I've been thinking about Hatton and Sesshomaru."

"You have?" She sounded bewildered.

"Yes, I have," he snapped, though there was a strange emotion in his eyes that Kagome couldn't identify. Kagome had been drilling it into his head that "it would be plain heartless not to warn his brother," hoping that it might get through to him. Apparently, it had, because Inuyasha was finally thinking seriously on the subject. Whenever she started to get on his case earlier, he'd tell her to shut up or would ignore her.

"And?" She prodded hopefully.

"I don't trust Hatton anymore than you – "

"Oh, Inuyasha! I knew you understood!"

" – but we don't have any evidence that Hatton actually was threatening him. He could have been bluffing, trying to lure me into talking to Sesshomaru. Hell, Sesshomaru might have even set Hatton there so I would cave!"

"Inuyasha, how can you say that?" Kagome cried, her expression apparently showing what she thought of his older brother setting up someone to make him do such a thing. "Sesshomaru might be a jerk, but I don't think that he would ever actually want to see you talk to him and then rub it in your face. I mean, come on! He doesn't even like looking at us!" Inuyasha stared at her with a dark face.

"Thanks for that, Kagome," he sarcastically said.

"Sorry, but it's true." She hesitated, and then continued, "I think that, deep – deep – in his heart, he knows he really cares for you. You're his brother, after all." He sniffed, twitching his nose. "...What if Hatton really is planning something, Inuyasha?"

"I don't know," the hanyou answered honestly, his expression troubled. She could tell he was battling with his own emotions. He was trying to decide whether to help because they were family or to ignore it and let Sesshomaru deal with it because of his own hate for him.

"You'll figure it out, Inuyasha," Kagome said earnestly, smiling. "I know you will."

"Feh..."

X

Sesshomaru observed every movement Rin made while she ate. She sat across from him at the table and sipped her ice water and ate her food with small bites. A bit of color was returning to her face, but she still looked ill. He could tell she was feeling a bit better, though, because she was chattering about small things. This was the Rin he liked. He didn't like the way her smile wavered and her eyes watered up sometimes, though. He especially didn't like when she would cut off in the middle of sentence, frown, and then continue as though nothing had happened. There was something seriously wrong with her. He had hoped the food and drink would help, but he was beginning to think that it wasn't going to.

"Rin," he interrupted her and she stopped talking, looking to him with a puzzled look. Her lips trembled a bit and he couldn't understand what was wrong with her. "You've had money before to eat and such, haven't you?"

"...Yes, Mr. Inutaisho."

"Why don't you now?" She lowered her gaze to her hands on the table and she bit her lip nervously. She raised her eyes and gave a shaky smile.

"Well...I..." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and answered hesitantly, "I used to work for a construction crew, doing little things. They finished the bank they were working on and since they finished, Mr. London had to let me go. No one will hire a fourteen-year-old." His eyes narrowed on her and he didn't answer. She gave a light laugh and said, "But I'll figure something out. I always have." He still didn't speak, thinking that if she wasn't in better living conditions, then she might not be alive to "figure something out." "I don't want to waste your time," Rin told him, standing up. "Thank you, Mr. Inutaisho." He nodded curtly. She gave him a small smile and left. Sesshomaru frowned to himself, resting his chin on his folded hands.

I'll check on her tomorrow, he decided grimly. If she's not better by then or if she's worse, I'll take her to see a doctor. From there... He trailed off in his thoughts, not really knowing what he would do afterward. In a way, she would be his responsibility at that point. But he was willing to take that chance, he supposed...

X

That night, around midnight, Rin woke up, coughing loudly. She sat up, continuing to cough. She let out a sob as a pain filled her chest. She coughed in her hand and then gasped for breath as her cough let out for a moment. She pulled back, looking down at her hand, feeling something damp on her hand. Rin let out a startled sound, her eyes widening at the blood on her pale hand. Rin lifted her hands to stare at and they startled to shake. No! I can't be sick! She thought, horrified. I'll-I'll die! She closed her eyes tightly and tears spilled onto her cheeks as she dropped back onto her filthy bedding, crying softly to herself, coughing in-between.

X

Sesshomaru's cool, expressionless face didn't change the least bit as the business man moved in the alleys that he had become so familiar with. His expression did not change, either, when he turned his gaze upon the empty place where Rin normally sat. Without a change in pace, he ascended the steps to her "home." His hand grasped the rusty handle and he pulled it open. He heard harsh breathing and his gaze narrowed. He briskly moved inside and knelt next to the petite body of Rin's. He passed his fingers briefly over her forehead and let out a grunt of irritation before gathering her shaking figure into his arms, covering her with his boa. Her eyes slid open and Rin stared up at his handsome face.

"Mr. Inutaisho...I'm sorry..." He didn't reply, rushing through the alleys and streets, ignoring the indignant voices of humans. In hardly any time at all, he was at the hospital. Sesshomaru glanced down at Rin's trembling form. Perspiration had broken out on her face and she was rasping out small breaths. His eyes narrowed and he stalked into the hospital, snapping out orders to the humans, who ran everywhere, more than aware of who he was.

"Mr. Inutaisho?" A doctor queried. "Shall I...?" He looked to Rin and Sesshomaru did as well, before carefully handing her to the doctor. Sesshomaru took him by the collar a moment later, startling the mortal.

"If you let her die, you, too, will die," the youkai hissed venomously to him. The doctor's eyes widened, his jaw dropping a bit, before he swallowed.

"Y-yes, Mr. Inutaisho," he whispered nervously. "I-I will take care of her." Sesshomaru released him and followed him to a room, his amber eyes boring into the doctor's back. The doctor ordered a nurse to dress Rin in a robe and then take her temperature and get a cold pad. The doctor then nervously turned to the youkai and cleared his throat. "Ah, perhaps it is better that we leave the room while she takes care of her, sir?" Sesshomaru stared at him for a long while, before backing out of the room, the latter following.

"Mr. Inutaisho!" A familiar voice cried in obvious shock. "Mr. Inutaisho, what are you doing here?" Sesshomaru turned to see Jaken skittering up to him. He lifted a foot and sent the green imp flying. "Mr. Inutaisho," Jaken whined, crawling up to him pitifully. "I – "

"You will stay here," Sesshomaru ordered to Jaken, whose jaw dropped. "Watch the girl. I will be back later on tonight. You are to care for her and if anything happens, contact me." Jaken stared at him in bewilderment.

"B-but sir – Um, wait, what?" Sesshomaru gave him a hard look and then left, as elegant and as aristocratic as usual with not a hair out of place. Both Jaken and the doctor stared after him, admirable and bemused. Jaken looked to the doctor in question and the latter merely shrugged.

X

"Mm..." Rin shifted in warm bedding, raising a hand to her hair. It was soft and silky and smelled like flowers. Her brows furrowed. She hadn't washed her hair in a few days. She opened her eyes and saw a green thing in front of her. She let out a shriek and the creature jumped back, swearing fluently. "Wh-who are you?" She whispered, eyes wide. "Have you come to take me to Hell?"

"Don't be ridiculous, you stupid girl!" Jaken snapped. "I'm not here to do any such thing! I'm watching after you. Mr. Inutaisho ordered it so." She gasped, putting her hands to her mouth in further surprise. She had forgotten all about the kind youkai. She had been sick this morning and when she woke up, he had been there, taking her somewhere. Where was she? "You are at the hospital," Jaken continued as she looked around, "and you cannot leave. Mr. Inutaisho will be here soon."

"Am I...well?"

"Well enough," Jaken huffed, crossing his arms across his chest as she sat up, fixing him with a curious look. "You had a high fever, but thanks to the doctors, it was brought down. And the state you were in! You were filthy! What have you been doing, living on the streets? I can't believe Mr. Inutaisho would bother with riffraff like you." The imp went on muttering as Rin bowed her head, sighing lightly to herself. She didn't notice Jaken go silent until her chin was tipped up by said youkai. Sesshomaru frowned down at her, appearing slightly displeased, but also satisfied.

"Well?" He questioned, releasing her chin. Rin blinked at him.

"Oh. Um. Thank you – very much – for helping me. But I...I don't have anything to pay you back with..."

"Rin, you are to come and live with me from now on," Sesshomaru informed her, ignoring her thanks. Rin stared at him in mortification.

"N-no, sir! Please, you've done enough!" She gasped out hastily.

"The streets are not safe for you. I'm taking you under my protection." Rin's face colored in embarrassment.

"But I – " He glared at her warningly. "I..." She trailed off hopelessly, bowing her head again, knowing that she had been defeated. "Okay," she whispered. Sesshomaru gave the slightest of nods in satisfaction, turning to Jaken.

"She will stay here for another day," he told him. "Then, you will bring her home."

"...Yes, Mr. Inutaisho," Jaken answered slowly without question, though he did give a puzzled look to Rin. He couldn't understand what had happened between her and his employer. Though, he knew now why he had been forced to buy girl clothes. Sesshomaru glanced at Rin in farewell and then left, his boa settled warmly on his shoulder, his shoes clicking on the marble floor.

Now that I will be living with Mr. Inutaisho, Rin thought dismally, he will know I'm supposed to be a spy!

X

DIS: (rubs head) Um. Hehehe. Sorry? (gets hit with a rock) Ow! I really am sorry for not updating sooner! I've just been sooo busy, its not even funny! I haven't even updated my other stories since my Halloween fic, so there! I have a good excuse! Anyway, um, please review on your way out and tell me how you liked it – or if you liked it at all. Ciao!