A/N: Kay, I'm sorry about the random but necessary crap, and I now will tell you that Sessh-killy stuff comes back in the middle of this chapter when he goes insane (literally). Yeah, a bit of possibly mushy stuff in the exact middle of this chapter, but then next chapter there is a gun fight, so bear with this please!

Sesshomaru got out of the hospital on Saturday morning, and returned to the comfort of his own home… only to have Rin call him three hours later to ask him if he would help her carry her groceries home. He gave in and said he would meet her in twenty minutes at her house.

After all, Sesshomaru could never say no to Rin.

He arrived five minutes early, and to his surprise, Rin was already waiting for him, dressed in jeans and a white, hooded jacked patterned with black dandelion poofs ( A/N:anyone know what the heck those things are called? You know what I'm talking about, those white fluffy things that are fun to blow on! Um… seed puffs?)

She smiled when she saw him and stopped picking the weeds out of her shrubbery.

"Good morning!" she called to him.

"It is a morning…" he sighed, "and it may turn out to be good…" He himself was dressed in dark green cargo pants and a black sweater, his hands buried deep in his pockets.

"Hmph, that's no way to start your day! You have to think positively!"

"Yeah, right. Positive thinking. Cause that's what I do." Sesshomaru retorted. Rin gave him a mock pout and stuck out her tongue.

"Haha, yeah, the king of gloom isn't one for cheer, now is he?" she taunted.

"'King of gloom'? Really? Was that the best you could come up with?"

They continued their light banter as they walked down toward the supermarket. They turned a corner, and suddenly heard a loud, moderately high-pitched cry.

"Rin! Rin! Rin! Rin! Riiiiiiiin!" A red haired kid catapulted into Rin, sending her stumbling back with her arms wind-milling to help her keep balance.

"Sh-shippo!" she stuttered in surprise. The boy scrambled up onto Rin's shoulder and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Sesshomaru gave a low, guttural snarl when he did this. Shippo gave him a swift look before whispering in Rin's ear, "You boyfriend is scary."

"He's not my boyfriend!" Rin chuckled. Shippo cast another look at Sesshomaru.

"I think he wishes he was." Sesshomaru reeled back in surprise at his words and turned away. Not fast enough, for Rin had already seen the light blush across his cheeks.

"Who's this child, Rin?" he asked, to cover his moment of embarrassment.

"This is Shippo. I babysit him sometimes." Rin replied cheerily.

"Is that so…." Sesshomaru murmured, scrutinizing said fox kit. "Only a level eighteen… moderate for your age." Shippo puffed up his chest proudly.

"Actually, I'm eighteen point nine! One more point and I'll be a seventeen!" he boasted.

"I'm lost." Rin interjected.

"Demons can see each others' true forms." Sesshomaru said, narrowing his eyes at Shippo. "Minor nobility? I can tell from the mark on your ears…."

"Yeah!" Shippo yelped. "But wow mister, you're really… big. And scary. I mean, one tap from those fangs would pierce me through…" he shuddered briefly. "You're a big shot though! That mark on your forehead is the mark of the Western Lords! Let's be friends please, I really don't wanna have unfriendly contact with your fangs, claws, etcetera." Sesshomaru inclined his head briefly.

"Wait!" Rin cried. "I'm so confused! Shippo, what does Sesshomaru look like?"

"Well… I would ask him to transform to show you, seeing as it's pretty hard to describe… but he's so huge that he may blow up several buildings before he's done growing!"

"Huge? Pah. My father was eight to ten times my size at the very least." Shippo's eyes widened. He opened his mouth, but another voice broke in.

"Shiiiiiiiiipooooooooo!"

"Mama? Sorry Rin, Rin's boyfriend, gotta go!" Shippo skittered out of sight.

"That was interesting." Sesshomaru commented.

"Yes, it was! I didn't know demons could see one another's forms! Heck, I thought this was your true form!" she cried in shock, indicating his seven foot frame.

"Er, no." he said earnestly.

"Can I see?" she gasped excitedly.

"Er, no." Sesshomaru repeated. Rin pouted at him.

"Why not?"

"Firstly, because it would be difficult to find a space large enough…. And secondly, it would freak you out. Watching your friend turn into a dog twice the size of an African bull elephant while he oozes acid from his teeth and claws is enough to cause slight emotional trauma in my opinion. That's just me though." He said with a shrug. Rin huffed at him and remained silent in what was supposed to be a cold shoulder. However, her curiosity won out.

"I knew you were a dog, but twice the size of an African bull elephant? That's what, like, five thousand pounds?"

"Yes. And I'm not fat. That's my natural weight." He defended in flat tones as always. Rin snorted.

"I think someone's self conscious about their weight. I never said you were fat. You jumped to conclusions on your own!" Rin teased. Sesshomaru shot her a mock glare.

"Yup. That's me, the anorexic male dog demon." Rin giggled and they walked through the automatic doors together. About half an hour later, they stumbled back out, laden with grocery bags.

"Humans sure do eat a lot…. Or is that just you?" Sesshomaru grumbled. Rin shot him a look.

"Well Mr. Anorexic canine, some people eat. And I had to buy this much because I was completely out of food!"

"Yeah yeah…" They walked back home in moderate silence aside from the odd complaint or groan as bags were shifted to cause better circulation.

"Thanks so much Sesshomaru, I don't know how I would have gotten home otherwise…" Rin sighed gratefully as Sesshomaru placed the last of the bags on her kitchen table.

"No problem. I couldn't possibly refuse you." He responded with a light smirk. Not a smile… Rin wanted desperately for him to smile. Rin grinned back at him.

"Was Shippo right?" She raised her eyebrows at him, hoping for a reply.

"Wha…. I… that is, to say… What I mean is…" He stuttered, beginning to blush slightly.

"Okay, okay, don't give yourself a hernia over it, jeeze…" Rin muttered, beginning to turn away. Sesshomaru suddenly bent over and kissed her full on the lips.

"Does that answer adequately?" he questioned with his face a mere inch from hers. (A/N: 'It's easier to kiss you, than tell you how I feel…' Chris Allen. Lol, I didn't think of how much that song resembles this scene until I heard that song on my radio this morning :D)

"Yes." She gasped. Sesshomaru pulled back awkwardly.

"Um… well… I have to… um… go… places…" he excused lamely, obviously embarrassed. "Bye!" He called around the door frame, rushing out. Rin just stood there, and put her fingers to her mouth.

Did that really just happen?

XxXxXxXxX

Sesshomaru sprinted home, desperately berating himself mentally. How could he have been so impulsive? The closer he got to her, the more difficult it would be for both of them.

He slowed down when he neared his front door, stopping himself just in time to not hit the wall. His house was on the outskirts of town, shaded by large willow trees; it was moderately sized and painted white, from the roof to the door. He opened the colorless door and stepped into an equally pale room. White carpet, white walls, ash gray furniture; only externally was the house this tidy.

Sesshomaru strode down a dark hallway, and amongst all of the white rooms, there was a single black door. He gripped the brass handle and went in.

What used to be white carpet was spread on the floor. Now it was stained various shades. In some patches it was black, and flaked when one stepped on it. Other places it was brown, and in still others, it remained red from the fresh blood.

Sesshomaru's room looked like a slaughter house. (A/N: all of this blood is Sesshomaru's from various visits of Naraku's… sorry if this part is a bit unclear.)

The red flecked walls and smeared bed sheets were suffused in a dull red glow due to the crimson curtains that covered the large window. This lit up a large hour glass that was sitting on the dresser.

Out of boredom, Sesshomaru flipped it over to start it running before he flopped onto his bed. He fell asleep inadvertently and fell into a dreamless realm…..

Sesshomaru was awakened several hours later by a loud buzzing. He opened his eyes to find one of Naraku's hideous venom wasps right in his face. He snarled, and it backed up enough for him to sit up.

"What?" he spat at the enormous insect. It buzzed and shook its body in an odd dance. Go to Naraku. "Why the hell should I do that? Naraku can come here if he wants to see me." It hummed more instantly and shook wildly. No, go to Naraku. Go. Go. Go. Go. "Damn it, fine! I'll go if he wants to see me that badly!" Sesshomaru snapped, getting off his bed. The insect droned more quietly, but flew close to Sesshomaru.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm….." the bug interjected. Master Naraku is displeased.

"Like I give damn." Sesshomaru shot back.

"Hmmmmmmmmmm….." He will remind you of his authority now.

Sesshomaru's collar tightened and a spasm flitted through his body. He coughed up a small amount of blood and added it to the gore that stained his carpet. He briefly thanked God that he wasn't human. Any human who lost that much blood would have keeled over from anemia.

"Idiot creature!" Sesshomaru bit out. "Go back to your master and tell him I'll be there."

XxXxXxXxX

Sesshomaru walked in on Naraku giggling insanely to himself. He decided it best to simply stand there and watch until his master was finished.

Eventually Naraku quieted and turned to see Sesshomaru staring at him. He cleared his throat and walked over to Sesshomaru with a thin-lipped smile.

"Sesshomaru." He greeted. Sesshomaru could tell that he was angry. No, more than that, livid. He chose to stay silent. Naraku dropped his grin and bored holes in his unwilling servant with his crimson eyes.

The pair stayed like that, red eyes locked on gold. Naraku finally began to speak, gaze never leaving Sesshomaru's face as a cruel smirk twisted his features.

"You remember that 'beauty' I mentioned earlier, slave? I lied. She's not an upper class demon. She's human. You seem to know her pretty well too... Rin Kanada." Sesshomaru's eyes widened in absolute horror at his words. (A/N: Pre-near-rape scene, Naraku is researching a so called upper class demon. This was to throw Sesshy off the scent, but by then he already knew about Rin. He waited this long to tell Sesshy just to make it more painful for him… just some clarification there.)

"Rin?" he choked. Sesshomaru was now forced to choose between his brother and vow to his father, or his best, his only friend.

But Naraku's word was law. The Collar of Cerberus ensured that there would be no disobedience.

Once given a new quarry, he could not rest until it was destroyed.

He wouldn't do it.

Sesshomaru couldn't.

"I can't!" he cried back at the other demon. The cruel smirk simply shifted to an evil smile of delight.

"Oh, but you must! That wasn't a request. That was an order." Those last words of his set off the Collar's main use… extreme strengthening of Sesshomaru's feral senses. He fought desperately against the urge to find Rin and tear her into strips. He gripped his head and groaned, struggling to keep his mind.

"I can't!" he repeated.

"You will." Naraku enforced. The pull of the Collar was becoming stronger. Sesshomaru dug his claws into his scalp, the pain helping to keep him conscious. "You will." Naraku said again. Sesshomaru suddenly lost control. He stood back up in utter silence, eyes gleaming red.

"Yes master Naraku. I will destroy her." He said in dull tones, turning empty eyes to where his mask lay on a table.

"Excellent! I knew you would see things my way in the end. After all, she is quite a nuisance. Enjoy your twenty-ninth kill! A pity she couldn't have made a round thirty." Naraku said with a cold chuckle. "Go." He commanded.

"Naraku's word is law." Sesshomaru replied, turning away toward the door. "I will take her apart. I will strip her bones of their flesh."

He flashed out the door, the last rays of sunlight dying on the edges of the earth and filling it with void shadows and stars.

The black shape flitted out through the night, a part of the night itself.

He now hunted that which he wanted to protect.

And nothing was going through his mind but a rhythm that thrummed in time to his rapid heartbeat, a single worded chant.

Kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill, kill…