Summary: After being raped and beaten for five years, Rin is finally free. At least, that's what it appears at first. When the community, and many people around the world, band against her and the other victims, it's not freedom she's been given, it's just another punishment for something that wasn't her fault. At least there's the cop that saved her, her angel Sesshomaru.
AN: I again have to thank Veda Leonhart for the review she left me. A review like that is every author's dream. Thank you so much, and this chapter is dedicated to you.
-[Chained]-
She sits down at the coffee shop table, holding onto her purse tightly. She has never been one for purses, always stuffed what she needed in her pockets, but she wanted to look nice and professional for some reason. She is biting her lip, glancing around the small coffee shop. She is waiting for Oda Kohaku. She hopes he's as nice as she remembers him being, it would be quite a shame if he wasn't.
"Hello, Rin," says a boyish voice. The man who takes the seat across from her is anything but a boy. His face hair is scraggly, like he hasn't shaved in months. His brown hair is messy and long, pulled back into a high ponytail. He wears an army green button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and khaki pants. "It's me, Kohaku." She smiles at him, and hangs her purse up on the bars of the seat.
"Hello," she murmurs, brushing one her black locks behind her ear. She folds her hand on the table in front of her. "How are you?" she asks, a smile tugging at her lips.
"I'm good. I just got back like a week and half ago from Papa New Guinea. I was studying tribal art over there. So I look like a mess," he says, his arms gesturing to his messy appearance. She chuckles at him.
"That's okay, I'm a bit of a mess too," she says says, gesturing to her blue turtle neck and lavender skirt that reaches her ankles. "Sounds like you were having fun. Crafted anymore pottery lately?"
"Yes," he replies, stirring the coffee he had ordered. Caramel coffee, the golden hues stood out to her in the clear plastic cup. "I've actually got a pretty nice set-up in a gallery just a couple blocks from here. You should check it out some time, it's got a lot of good new artists. You should probably even try to get some of your work in there. It's called Chikafuji's Home of Art."
She lifts up her arms to rest her chin on her folded arms, nodding her head. Around her are the sounds of chattering couples, blissfully unaware of the world around him. Scents also drift to her, the scent of caramel, chocolate, coffee grinds, and freshly baked pastries. She brakes off a piece of her own scone and shoves it in her mouth.
"So what's been going on with you?" Kohaku asks her, taking a sip of his coffee. "I've heard about all the bad stuff people are saying about you, and I'm really sorry about that. People like that just suck. Seriously, the need to remember that if they don't have anything nice to say, they might as well not say anything at all."
"I've got it good now. A home, a steady supply of cash in the form of my roommate, a good roommate, art supplies, books." She pauses and takes a sip of her hot chocolate. "Yeah, those people suck."
"Did you ever meet my sister Sango?" Kohaku asks, the straw touching his lips. She shakes her head, taking another bite of her scone. "Well, while I was gone I missed her wedding. I feel really bad about it. I wanted to be there, but this was a once and a life-time opportunity."
She bites off another piece of her scone and hums. "Have you bought her a gift?" she asks. That's what you do when you miss someone's wedding, right? You buy them a gift to make it up to them. Or is that just some old fashioned idea from five years ago?
"Not yet," he says with a sigh before taking a sip of his caramel coffee. "I was going to get one after I met you. I was thinking of buying her a rice cooker because she sucks at making rice."
Rin nods her head. "Sounds like a good idea." She sips her hot chocolate, and finishes off her scone. She glances towards the counter, debating whether or not to get another one. She decides against and looks to Kohaku who is finishing off his caramel coffee. She finishes off her hot chocolate too.
"We should keep in contact," he says, fingers tightly gripping the cup. "I've gotta get that gift though. I have a meeting with a possible commissioner at two." He glances at his watch, and then back up to her. "It's twelve-thirty, I've gotta go. Sorry we couldn't chat for longer. Call me sometime, we'll get dinner, alright?" She nods her head and watches him leave.
Well that wasn't what she expected.
She takes her napkins and cup to a trash bin after a moment, and then she heads to the counter. She has decided against her earlier decision. She buys a scone for three-hundred yen, and also gets a bottle of water. She ponders what she will do with herself as she eats her scone, walking down the side-walk.
She had walked from Sesshomaru's apartment to the coffee shop. She could go back, but that would be boring. Sesshomaru is at work, busy being a police officer and all. She's bored with reading, she's spent the past few days doing nothing but that. She could go to the book store, it's only a couple blocks down, but she only left the house with thirty-thousand yen and all she has now is eighteen-thousand. She glances around at the shops. There is a puzzle shop. She likes puzzles, but she chooses not to go there. There is a one-hundred yen store, but she knows that she would just be walking into a store of worthless junk. Then her eyes land on the dress store.
She doesn't consider at first going in there. She doesn't have nearly enough money to buy even a corsage. But as she's about to pass by it, she thinks she sees a man she recognizes on the street walking towards her, so she ducks into the store.
The dresses are gorgeous. All different colors, materials and cuts. There are blue ones, red ones, green ones, pink ones, white ones. Her eyes are drawn to a beautiful orange one that reaches the floor. She admires it, takes it and holds up in front of her in front of a mirror. It sparkles. She is gaping at it. Perhaps she'll drag Sesshomaru down here and make him buy it for her. Where she would wear it, she doesn't know.
"May I help you?" asks a kind voice. Rin turns to look towards the woman who asked her the question. She is a woman in her thirties, perhaps early forties, at least from what she can tell from the woman's looks. She is smiling, hands folded in front of her stomach.
"No, I was just looking," Rin says as she turns back to look at herself in the mirror again. She sees out of the corner of the mirror the black-haired woman approaching her.
She holds onto the dress for Rin, allowing Rin to let her arms drop to her side. She smiles, patting the dress down. The woman behind her smiles as well. "You look gorgeous," says the woman. "The color makes you glow, and the style makes you look so elegant. Why don't you go try it on?"
Rin blushes a bright red, turning her head to the side and looking down at the ground. "I don't have enough money to buy it," she says sheepishly. She expects the woman to kick her out of the store, knowing that she won't buy anything. But the smiles remains on the woman's face.
"I can tell," she says, pushing a strand of black hair behind her ear. "I'm not blind, I know the difference between someone who is running from someone and someone who wants to buy a dress. May I ask who you are running from?"
"I thought it was someone I recognized," she murmurs. The woman takes the dress and folds it over her arm. Rin turns to face the woman, crossing her arms in front of her chest. "Someone bad that I recognized. Someone that hurt me." She pauses, and meets the gaze of the black-haired woman. "I'm sorry for taking up your time. I can leave now if you want me to."
"That's alright, you can stay," she says, taking the dress back to the rack. "I like you. My name is Izayoi, what is yours?" she asks, turning a bright smile to her. At first Rin thinks nothing of it, but then she remembers something. She rushes to Izayoi's side, hands clasped in front of him.
"Do you have a step-son named Sesshomaru?" she asks. She realizes that she is probably stupid for asking the question. There are probably a thousand Izayois in the Tokyo area, meeting one does not mean meeting the one who happens to be the step-mother of the man you're living with. Still, she couldn't help herself when she asked.
Izayoi looks at her in surprise, mouth slightly parted. "How did you know that?" she asks in shock, hand on her chest. Rin's eyes widen as her grin grows. A one in a thousand chance actually turns out good. Wow. That doesn't happen every day, now does it?
"Um, he saved me a little over a week ago. I'm living with him now. I wrote the letter to you, he told me what to write but I was the one who wrote it," says Rin. The shocked expression on Izayoi's face spreads into one of delight. "It's really great to meet you," Rin murmurs.
"I'm glad to meet you to Rin," she says, shaking her hand. She moves away from the rack the orange dress rests on, and towards one with a white dress. "May I ask how he saved you?" she asks. "And what's he like? Is he nicer than he was before? Does he still like psychology? Does he still play chess? Oh! Does he still take more creamer with his coffee than his actual coffee?"
Rin smiles at the woman. "He saved me from the human trafficking ring. I'm Matsumoto Rin. He's really nice to me, let's me live with him and buys me lots of stuff." Rin laughs. "He still loves psychology, he's considering going back to college for a degree. I don't know if her plays chess, but I do know he still takes his overly-sweetened coffee."
She smiles, brushing her hand over a white dress. "Go try this one," she says, thrusting it into the hands of Rin and steering her towards the dressing room. As Rin takes it in a begins to try it one, Izayoi shouts through the door. "Good to know that he has softened up. He was a real jerk back when he still talked to me. Hated everything and everyone. He was so bitter and angry at the world. I tried to get him into counseling, but he wouldn't budge. He'd much rather be the counselor than the patient."
Rin steps out of the dressing room, and Izayoi stops talking and gapes at her. She is speechless for a moment, staring in awe at the girl rubbing her arms as if she is uncomfortable in her own skin. She steers Rin to stand in front of one of the mirrors, and Rin gapes too.
It is a wedding dress. It is the only way it can be described. A wedding dress. She doesn't know why, she just knows that Izayoi put her in a wedding gown. It's a sweetheart neckline, beaded and adorned beautifully. The silk is folded and form-fitting on Rin. She feels like crying it makes her so beautiful. Izayoi wraps her arms around her shoulders and rests her chins on one of Rin's shoulders.
"This will be your wedding dress," she says with a smile on her lips. Rin nods, but then a though hits her. It's a simple thought, and obvious one, one that likely doesn't even need to be said. But she says it anyways.
"I'm not getting married though..." Izayoi laughs at the comment though, like is the most ridiculous thing in the world. Rin turns to look back at Izayoi, eyes narrowed in confusion. Izayoi only laughs harder.
"You will one day, I can just tell, and even if you don't get married, it fits you perfectly," says Izayoi, patting Rin's hips. "It's on the house, free of charge. Just get me to see Sesshomaru again and the dress is yours."
Rin nods her head in determination.
-[Chained]-
She opens the front door, and peers her head around the corner. Sesshomaru pokes his head out from the kitchen and meets eyes with her. She opens the door wider and slips in, while Sesshomaru pops back into the kitchen. She goes into the kitchen and sets the water bottle down on the counter, going to see what he is doing.
"You weren't supposed to be home yet," he states plainly. She looks at him incredulously and pokes her head over his shoulder. It's a cake. He's icing a cake. She awes at the scene and giggles, poking Sesshomaru on the cheek.
"What's the cake for?" she asks, going to stand beside him. She leans her elbow on the counter, but quickly moves back when she realizes how much flour is there. Man, Sesshomaru made a mess of the kitchen, she realizes as she looks around. Measuring cups, measuring spoons, flour, egg yolks. Note to self, she remarks, don't let Sesshomaru bake.
"Your birthday is tomorrow," he says, laying the icing down next to her. She looks confused for a moment. But then the word registers in her minds, and her smile grows so wide and bright that it is blinding.
"I haven't celebrated my birthday in five years," she wryly comments. She hasn't. She didn't bother. She didn't even know what day her birthday fell on. Just knows tomorrow she will be twenty-five. "That's so nice of you." She plants a kiss on his cheek, and a slight red tinge colors his cheeks. She smiles, laughs, and walks back to her room, leaving Sesshomaru alone to clean up his mess.
-[Chained]-
She peers her head around her door. She has just heard Sesshomaru open the door, and the clack of heels on his wooden floor. It is Sara. Wonderful. The psycho is back. She sighs and slips out into the living room.
"Ah, Rin, smooch, smooch," she says, giving her air kisses. "Look, I don't have long, I just need to know if you've ever met a man named Ganbe Jinsei?" she asks, handing her a picture of the man she is referring to. Rin takes the picture and looks it over. She nods her head. "Good, just what I wanted to hear." She turns to Sesshomaru. "Sesshomaru, this man is a rapist. Here is his address and information," she says, handing it over. "He admitted to it. Go grab him, now."
With that Sara left. Sesshomaru made a few calls before leaving himself. Rin was left alone, standing in shock in the middle of the apartment. She goes a grabs one of the books and begins to read.
Sesshomaru returns about three hours later. Rin is making dinner when he returns, spaghetti and meatballs. She smiles at him when he comes into the kitchen, nose in the air. He drops his keys and cell-phone in his dish, and walks over to where she stands over the oven.
"He is arrested, he admitted to it in the interrogation room," says Sesshomaru, taking another whiff of the food. "That smells really good," he says, taking a deep breath. He hums in approval, going to grab the plates out of one of the cupboards. The clank against the counter when he sets them down. Her fingers brush against her hair, and she glances at him. "You took a shower."
"I did," she replies to the non-question. "I met Izayoi today," she says. Sesshomaru freezes where he is, hands on the glasses. He turns to look at her, his golden eyes narrowed into a glare. She sheepishly grins at him in return. "I met her at her dress store nearby the coffee shop I went to."
"And what did she have to say?" he asks. He pulls down the glasses and they harshly hit the counter. She turns back to stirring the pasta, the smile on her face turned upside down. She didn't realize the fact she said she met Izayoi would make him so upset. He seemed so happy when they wrote the letter.
"She wants to talk to you in person," she replies, stirring the pasta slowly. She reaches over and turns off the stove-top. She hears Sesshomaru's fist come down harshly on the counter and she cringes before slowly turning to look at him. His hands are clenched, his teeth gritted, eyes shut tightly. She regrets bringing up Izayoi now that she sees his reaction. "Just forget it," she says, taking the pasta over to the sink to drain it.
"I'm sorry," he says. "Today has been frustrating." She sees him out of the corner of her eyes slowly unfurling his hands, and opening his eyes. His jaw relaxes. "How was Izayoi?" he asks, walking towards her to help her with the pasta. Rin smiles at him brightly and he smiles back.
He helps her serve up the spaghetti, and they sit down to eat it on the couch.
"So what was so frustrating about today?" she asks before shoveling the pasta into her mouth. Oh, it's heaven on her tongue. The pasta sauce is made from Kaede's recipe. Kaede made it so much when she was younger, it's ingrained in to her mind. Sesshomaru hums in appreciation before shoveling it into his mouth again.
"Keizou got out on bail and instantly went on a talk-show. Watched it down at the station, he completely gave the profile of a desperate whore rather than who you actually are," he says around a mouthful of food. He places his hand over his mouth as chews. "One of the police officers agreed with him. I punched him square in the jaw. That's why I came home to this beautiful pasta."
She stares at him, mouth agape, showing the unchewed food in her hanging jaw. "You did what?!" He did not just tell her he punched someone for her. She is flattered but still... that is too much. He could have lost his job for that.
"One-week paid suspension," he says before shoveling more food into his mouth. "Close your mouth or you'll catch bugs," he mutters. The fork clinks against his plate as he slides the plate onto the coffee table. Rin finishes eating quickly after him.
They start up a movie, and everything is good.
