AN: So here's the next chapter. I'm not 100% happy with it, but I can always come back to change it. Please excuse any spelling or grammar mistakes, I've tried to correct as many of them as I can, but there might be some I've missed. I'll be making a start on the next chapter soon, so I'll update as soon as I can :)Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it's greatly appreciated :)
xMxAx "A man's homeland is wherever he prospers."
... Aristophanes ...
Chapter VII
As the days passed, Rin began to notice a change in Seiichi and also in a girl named Mizuki who seemed to have taken to following the boy around like a love sick puppy. She kept her silence on the subject for quite some time as she watched their relationship blossom slowly but surely. Gradually, Seiichi seemed to lower his guard around the girl and soon, he was waiting for her before and after school. They studied together and seemed so wrapped up in each other that nothing else mattered much.
Eventually though, Rin couldn't contain how pleased she was to see the pair of them so happy. It was late one Friday evening when she was passing the doorway leading out into the dimly lit garden that she saw Sesshoumaru leaning against the doorframe, looking out into the quiet garden. She stopped beside him, her arms full of clean linen she had been about to take to his room and tried to follow his gaze. After some squinting, Rin managed to make out the shape of two figures sitting at one of the tables and gasped when she recognised them as the couple she had been watching over the past few weeks. Hearing a sound beside him, Sesshoumaru turned his gaze to her and shifted slightly in surprise.
"How long have you been standing there?" he asked quietly, turning his gaze back to the youths outside.
"Not long," Rin replied and then gestured towards the couple when she saw Seiichi glance towards them and smile happily. "It's official then, is it?"
"It seems so."
"It's about time he got over that silly infatuation of his. He told me the other day that he quite likes Mizuki now."
"Indeed. He drew his line and it's worked well."
Out of the corner of her eye, Rin glanced up at the tall man beside her and frowned slightly as she thought over his words. During a very brief conversation with Seiichi, he too had mentioned a line and she had been baffled by his words. Turning around, she slipped her arm through Sesshoumaru's and gently pulled him back into the building. He followed without a question and allowed her to pull him down the corridor towards her rooms. Once inside her small living room, Rin turned around to face the tall man and crossed her arms.
"What is this thing about a line? What does that mean?" she asked, unable to hide her curiosity.
"He asked for some advice, I told him to draw a line and he did."
"Draw a line?"
"Between what can happen and what he wishes would happen."
Rin's eyes widened and she smiled as she caught his drift. "I see. I'm glad it worked for him."
"So am I."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
Late one evening when she was alone in her room, Rin sighed to herself as she slipped into her pyjamas. It was still warm in evenings, but winter was definitely on its way since the temperature had lowered quite a lot at night. Regardless of the cool breeze that drifted through her windows, she pulled on her usual pair of short sleeping shorts and the matching sleeveless shirt that formed part of the set she had been given as a gift for her last birthday. Stepping out of the bathroom and back into her bedroom, Rin sighed as she sat down on her bed to braid her hair as she always did before going to bed. Halfway through the braid, she her a noise from outside and got up to see what its source was. Peering through the window, she caught sight of a dark shape moving just behind the shrubbery nearby and she squinted through the darkness as though that would somehow help. After staring into the darkness for a while, Rin's eyes became accustomed to the poor lighting and soon realised that the dark shapes she had seen were two men, although she couldn't tell who they were. Sighing and trying not to let her discovery unnerve her, she reached up to draw the curtains but froze when she saw the figures come closer.
Swallowing the scream of surprise and fear that threatened to spill from her lips with difficulty, Rin shut the curtains violently and looked around her, wondering what she should do. Staying in the room alone was definitely out of the question with two strange men so close outside. The thin window was all that stood between her and them and it didn't make her feel any safer. All the students would be in their rooms or asleep, although she wouldn't seek aid from them in case it put them in danger. That left Sesshoumaru. It was quite late and she assumed he would be asleep or about to go to sleep, but he would know what to do about the situation. Gathering her courage and slipping a thin robe over her shoulders, Rin stepped out of her room into the dark corridor and looked towards the door nearby that led to Sesshoumaru's rooms.
Sesshoumaru sighed as he heard a knock at his door and turned on the light in the bedroom to glance at the clock beside his bed. It was just past midnight, who could want him at this hour? With great difficulty, he got to his feet and headed towards the door, not bothering to pick up a shirt as he went. When he opened the door, his jaw nearly dropped in surprise when he saw Rin standing on the other side. She was barefoot and clad in her pyjamas, a robe hastily pulled over the top of them but not pulled closed. Long dark hair spilled over her shoulders and her eyes were wide with a look of fear in their depths. Ridding his mind of the indecent thoughts that crept into it, Sesshoumaru gestured for her to come inside and sit down.
"Is there something wrong?" he asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees as he sat opposite her.
"There're people outside my window," Rin said in a small voice, her hands clutching the fabric of her robe tightly.
"People?"
"Two men, I think."
Sesshoumaru looked confused for a moment and then nodded. "Wait here."
Leaving Rin sitting on his sofa with an apprehensive look on her face, Sesshoumaru stepped out into the corridor and slipped into Rin's rooms, switching off the light as he went. Once his eyes became accustomed to the darkness, he slowly made his way towards the window. Pressing himself against the wall, he pulled the curtain back slightly and looked out, scanning the surrounding area for any signs of the men. After a while of seeing nothing, Sesshoumaru was about to leave and tell Rin that there was no one there, but a slight rustling in the shrubbery made him pause. There was definite movement coming from just below the window, although what caused it, he really couldn't say. The wind wasn't strong enough to make such a loud noise, but that didn't mean that there was a man hiding in the shrubbery.
Sighing to himself, Sesshoumaru stepped away from the wall and back towards the door. When he stepped back into his rooms, he found Rin sitting exactly where he had left her, her hands shaking slightly from the tight grip she kept on her robe. Realising that his findings would not put her at ease, he bent down beside her and took her hands in his. She looked vaguely surprised but didn't put up any protest about the sudden contact. He led her to the adjoining bedroom and pushed her gently towards the bed.
"Get some sleep. I'll look into it again tomorrow," Sesshoumaru said quietly, answering the silent question in her eyes.
Rin watched him leave the bedroom, pausing only to pick up a spare pillow and a light blanket before making his bed on the sofa. From where she stood beside the bed she could clearly see him as he made himself comfortable and promptly fell asleep. Stepping towards the bed, she looked at the covers that had been pulled back and the soft pillows looked very inviting. Suddenly, a wave of fatigue washed over her and she slid beneath the covers, pulling them up tightly around her. The musky scent of sandalwood teased her senses as she inhaled deeply and burrowed deeper into the warmth of the blankets. Sighing to herself, she let herself drift into slumber safe in the knowledge that she was safe.
The next morning was bright but cold and Sesshoumaru shivered slightly as a cool breeze drifted past. Cracking open an amber eye, he looked around and remembered the events of the night before that led to him sleeping on the sofa. Propping himself up on an elbow, he looked through the archway towards the large bed and saw the small shape that was Rin curled up in the middle of it. Making his way over to the bathroom, he paused to look at her and nearly smiled. Her hair had come loose from it's rough bun that she had tied it in before falling asleep and was splayed out over the pillow while a few strands lay across her face, moving slightly with every breath she took. Rin lay on her back, one delicate hand clutching the covers that lay across her middle and her face was the picture of serenity. As Sesshoumaru watched for a moment longer, she frowned in her sleep and shifted to her side, curling up into a ball and pulling the covers closer around her.
Rin was still not awake when Sesshoumaru emerged from the shower a short while later and he decided that it was probably best to simply leave her to sleep. She was always awake long before everyone else and if she was sleeping this long, it probably meant she was desperately needing to catch up on her sleep. Leaving her to sleep, he made his way to the door and pulled it open only to come face to face with Seiichi who looked as though he was about to knock. Raising an eyebrow, Sesshoumaru looked at the youth thoughtfully and wondered if it would be wise to let him inside when Rin lay in the bed just in the other room. Unfortunately, the choice was taken from his hands when Seiichi looked seriously at him and crossed his arms.
"I can't find Rin, so I need to speak to you about something," he said gravely. "It's very important."
Sighing to himself, Sesshoumaru glanced over his shoulder and was relieved to see that Rin had shifted out of sight beneath the covers. "Come in."
While Seiichi made himself comfortable in the small living room, Sesshoumaru disappeared into the bedroom and looked around for something to keep Rin out of sight with. If the students caught wind of her having spent the night in his room, rumours would fly no matter how innocent the situation was. She was in his bed and that was definitely not a point in his favour if he wanted to convince others that there was nothing between them. After looking around the room and finding nothing to help him hide the sleeping woman, he decided the only thing he could do was to pray that Seiichi wouldn't notice her.
"What did you want to discuss?" Sesshoumaru asked, taking a seat in one of the chairs where he could keep an eye on Rin.
"Mizuki told me what she thought there was someone outside her room last night," Seiichi said bluntly. "I overheard another girl saying something similar at breakfast."
"I see. That is a serious claim."
"Where's Rin? Have you seen her at all today? She wasn't at breakfast."
"If she wasn't at breakfast, I think it's safe to assume she is still asleep."
"It's about time she slept in on the weekend," the boy said with a shrug. "I've been staying here since I started high school and she's rarely missed meals."
Shrugging, Sesshoumaru discreetly cast a glance through the doorway to the bedroom behind Seiichi. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Rin shift slightly and then roll over onto her back before slowly sitting up and rubbing her eyes as she tried to become accustomed to the bright light. Getting to his feet, Sesshoumaru opened the door, giving his student an obvious hint that it was time to leave.
"I will discuss this with Rin if I see her before you do. There are some things that require my attention before I come down to breakfast," Sesshoumaru said in a calm voice.
The door was closed firmly behind the youth before he could utter another word and Sesshoumaru turned back to the woman currently sitting in his bed looking slightly bewildered. When her gaze fell on him, she smiled slightly before pulling the covers around her more securely and clearing her throat.
"Good morning," she murmured, blushing slightly.
"Morning. Did you sleep well?" Sesshoumaru asked casually as he returned to his seat.
"Yes, thank you. I'm sorry for robbing you of your bed though."
He shrugged. "No matter. Once we've had breakfast, I believe there is a matter we need to discuss."
As Sesshoumaru left the room, Rin stared after him for a moment before getting to her feet and following in his footsteps as she headed back to her room. A short while later, she was sitting in the little dining room opposite Sesshoumaru as they ate breakfast in companionable silence.
"What is it you wanted to discuss?" Rin asked at length, putting down her coffee cup with a soft tap on the table in front of her.
"It's regarding what happened last night."
Rin blushed slightly at the thought of her having gone running to him in the middle of the night. "What about it?"
"I spoke to Seiichi just before you woke up and he said that Mizuki told him that she thought there was someone outisde her room last night and apparently another girl said the same."
"Really? What do you think was going on?"
"I believe it was probably the same person or people who were outside your window," Sesshoumaru replied with a thoughtful look. "Since you left your room, it's likely that they realised you weren't going to return and decided to look elsewhere for their fun."
"Meaning going to the female students' windows?"
"Indeed."
"But how would they know where they were?" Rin asked with a frown. "Surely someone else would have heard them or seen them if they were creeping about trying to find they girls' rooms?"
Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Perhaps they already knew where they were?"
"How could that possibly be?" Rin shook her head firmly. "The only people who know who uses which room here are the students themselves."
"Can you be certain that it wasn't any of the boys?"
"No, I can't," she admitted with a frown. "But I do know that I weeded out the badly behaved ones a long time ago and they no longer stay here."
"That's not to say that they don't stay elsewhere in the town, though is it?" Sitting forward in his chair, Sesshoumaru looked at her seriously. "Where else can they stay? Is there another hotel?"
"No, mine is the only one. We don't get enough visitors to the town to need more than one. There is a small youth hostel on the outskirts of the town near the school so I'd not be surprised if some students stay there."
"Well, wherever they are staying, they authorities need to be informed," Sesshoumaru replied as he finished his coffee and got to his feet.
"What are you going to do?" Rin asked, hastily getting to her feet and falling into step beside him as he made his way to the front door of the hotel.
"I know that the police force here is miniscule, but they should be informed. They could probably help."
Rin was silent as she walked beside the tall man to the tiny building that served as a police station for the town. She sat quietly throughout the discussion that followed the claim, nodding when spoken to, but she couldn't shake the feeling of unease that fell over her. It was only when they were heading back to the hotel to inform the students of what had happened, that Rin finally decided to break the silence between them.
"What are we supposed to do in the meantime? Is it safe for the girls to be alone in their rooms?" she asked, looking slightly fearful.
"I imagine if the police are keeping an eye on the hotel," Sesshoumaru replied after a moment's thought. "If you're not happy, why not just ask some of the girls to share rooms."
"I suppose I could, I don't think they'll mind considering the circumstances. The last thing I need is them creeping off down the corridor in the middle of the night because they're afraid and ending up in one of the boys' rooms."
Sesshoumaru smirked. "How do you know that doesn't already happen without the help of these people lurking about outside?"
"Oh, don't say that!" Rin exclaimed, stopping in her tracks and staring at him. "It's easier to ignore if I feign ignorance."
"Should you not put a stop to it?"
Rin smiled at him and patted his arm gently before walking on. "You're their teacher. I'm pretty sure that out of the two of us, you're more qualified to give them the 'birds and the bees' talk."
x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x
It didn't take much convincing for the girls to agree to share rooms, but Mizuki refused and Rin resigned herself to the fact that she was going to be one of the girls who ended up in a boy's room by the end of the night. Still, she didn't let it bother her too much. All the students were old enough to know what they were doing and what the consequences of their actions were. However, despite knowing this, Rin couldn't help feeling a pang of jealousy. Her friends were all married and, in Kagome and Inuyasha's case, about to have children. The students in the hotel had their own budding relationships and she was alone. It was a sad state of affairs when she thought about it more. She was a young woman of twenty-two and she was alone, but she supposed that she was to blame for that. If she had been after a relationship, it was probably not the best idea to move to a remote little town where the young men were still in high school and the other men were either married or elderly. Sighing, she pushed aside the thoughts and focused on helping the students move their belongings.
When Rin had told him about Mizuki refusing to move into a friend's room for the night, Sesshoumaru had fought the urge to sigh. Like Rin, he had a good idea where she would be spending the night, but decided not to bring this subject up lest he embarrass the teenagers and himself. Having such an obvious couple amongst them made him feel rather old and he grimaced at the thought of calling himself that. He remembered clearly what young love felt like and how sometimes your infatuation caused you to take leave of your senses. Fortunately for him, he had never taken leave of his senses even for a moment, but he still knew what infatuation did to a person.
Glancing across the room to where Rin was making a bed, Sesshoumaru remembered what she had been like in high school and wondered if she was thinking similar thoughts. An image of Rin as she had been in highschool popped into his mind causing him to smirk slightly. He remembered overhearing boys discussing her and some of the other girls and couldn't blame them. She had been very pretty as a teenager and he noted now that she had only gotten prettier over the years. Although, calling her pretty seemed to be a bit childish when they were both adults. Pretty was what you called a little girl or a flower, but not a woman like Rin. Beautiful was probably a more apt word. It amazed him that there was no man in her life, but in this tiny town, it was probably impossible to find one.
"Where will you stay, Rin?" one of the girls asked as they finished tidying the room. "You're not going to stay alone are you?"
"Of course I will," Rin said with a smile, brushing a lock of dark hair out of her eyes. "I'll be fine on my own."
The girl grinned at her and leaned closer to whisper into her ear. "Well, if you do get scared in the night, I don't think Mr. Takahashi would turn you away."
A blush coloured Rin's cheeks as the girl walked away, laughing cheerfully at her little joke. Thinking about the situation, she didn't really want to stay alone but there was very little choice. She couldn't impose on Sesshoumaru again, it just wouldn't do. He'd be a gentleman again and take the sofa while she took his bed. Frowning slightly, she decided that she would not allow that to happen a second time. She wasn't against sleeping in his bed by any means, it had been very comfortable and the fact that the pillows and covers smelled of him had comforted her even more, but it had caused her to dream of him. Impossible dreams of things she could only wish would happen but that would never actually happen. There was no way he would stay in the bed beside her and there was no way he'd look at her as anything other than someone he knew when he was younger. Sighing, she couldn't help but curse her bad luck at having such a good looking man staying so close but having him be so far out of her league.
That evening, Rin prepared for bed as usual and tried very hard not to think about the possibility of there being someone outside her window. With the events of the night before in mind, she selected her pyjamas and turned out the light in her bedroom before changing in the bathroom. When she returned to her room, everything was as she left it and there was no noise outside except the wind. She began to wonder if she had just imagined the events of the night before and opened her curtains slightly to look outside. The moon was full and shone down on the little town square, bathing it in a silver light. It was a beautiful sight that looked like something out of a painting. In the light of the moon, you couldn't see that the dry fountain in the middle of the square desperately need a lick of paint and you couldn't see the little weeds springing up between the cobbles on the street. Looking at everything in this light, it was like looking at what the town had once been like and it was quite sad to think that the next time she looked out this window, the sight she saw would be very different.
Sighing to herself, Rin stepped back and reached for the curtain to draw it closed again. She cast another look at the square and smiled slightly, maybe one day it will actually look this beautiful. A rustling in the bushes nearby and she leaned forward to look out, the fact that there was potentially a man hiding in the shrubbery temporarily forgotten as she was caught up in the idea of her having imagined the events of the night before. Expecting to find a cat or some other kind of animal crouched between the bushes, she squinted her eyes to look closer but stumbled backwards in surprise moments later. There was no animal, but there was a much larger figure and that figure had been looking up towards her room. She had met its gaze and knew instantly that it was human. As she gasped for breath and her heart thudded wildly in her chest, she reached for the curtain again, determined to close it against what she had seen. Just as she stepped toward the curtain, she saw the fingers clasping the ledge just outside her window and slowly, the dark shape that was undoubtly the person's head came into sight.
Unable to face looking into those eyes again, Rin whirled on the spot and bolted for the door without looking back. Fear caused her to stumble as she tried to negotiate the corridor in the dark and a sudden panic gripped her, causing her to stop abruptly. Had she locked all the doors? She couldn't remember and glanced over her shoulder towards the door at the very end of the corridor that led to the garden, half expecting it to be open and some dark figure with terrifying eyes lurching towards her. There was nothing there and the door was closed just as it had been when she had gone to bed, but this discovery did little to ease her fears. What if there was another person and they had gotten inside during the day? What if that person was waiting for her to pass by before he took action? Unbidden, tears welled in her eyes as she suddenly felt very trapped in the corridor. Cursing the tears mentally, she hastily wiped them away as she felt one trickle down her cheek. Now was not the time to crying because she was afraid. Trying very hard to control the tears that seemed to just keep coming, she reached out for the wall and made her way as quickly as she could down the corridor to Sesshoumaru's room.
On the other side of the door, Sesshoumaru groaned as he heard a knock on his door. He knew it was late and didn't bother to check for the exact time. It was irrelevant. Heaving a sigh, he got out of bed and walked towards the door, not bothering to take the time to pull on a shirt. Surely anyone disturbing him at this time of night had better things to worry about than his state of undress? Reaching the door, he pulled it open and was slightly surprised to find Rin standing on the other side. She appeared to have been about to go to bed, but why she was standing outside his door in her pyjamas was beyond his thinking capabilities at this time of night. His senses came back to him as he stood looking at her stupidly for a few moments and then he realised that there were tears in her eyes and that she was shaking slightly. She tried to smile but failed as tears welled up in her eyes again. Sighing inwardly, Sesshoumaru reached out and pulled her into the room, closing the door behind her before leading her to the sofa. He sat down beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder as she continued to shake. After a while, she seemed to calm down and sat back, wiping away her tears.
"What's wrong?" Sesshoumaru asked, his voice hoarse from sleep.
"There was definitely someone outside my window," Rin said in a shaky voice.
"You're certain?"
"I saw them."
"Could you identify the person?"
"No. It was too dark. They saw me looking at them."
Not sure what to say, Sesshoumaru simply nodded and leaned back in his chair. He wrapped his arm around Rin's shoulders again as she leaned her head against his shoulder. They sat in silence for a while and Sesshoumaru couldn't help but wish that the police would catch this person soon. He didn't think he could take many more visits in the night. If the police didn't catch the person soon, he was seriously considering just telling Rin to stay in his room until that time. It would save so much time because she wouldn't be afraid and he could sleep. While he was contemplating this idea, he glanced down at Rin and found her asleep. Sighing, he realised that he probably wasn't going to get back to bed and settled himself more comfortably on the sofa. In her sleep, Rin curled up against him and buried her face in his shoulder. With a final glance at her, Sesshoumaru decided that being woken up in the middle night wasn't so bad considering that he would go back to sleep with Rin next to him.
