Well! We've finally come to the last chapter of this story. *sniff* It's been fun re-writing this but I really have to finish it before starting my thesis next week. So I apologize if the ending feels rushed. There is still one babysitter left! Who, you ask? Well, I'm not telling you. Start reading!
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Game 8: Questions and Answers
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Sesshoumaru was at the Café, again. He stared into the dregs of his second black coffee, still thinking about Rin and all she had done this week. He was finding it almost difficult to believe that she had caused him so much trouble. That she had told him so many lies. All this time he had blamed the babysitters for his misfortune, but it was Rin all along. Although he still completely blamed Inuyasha for his own magnificent failure at babysitting.
He set the cup down and gave a deep sigh, staring into nothing as he pondered his next move. His thoughts wandered from babysitter to babysitter, theorizing what Rin could possibly have done to them. Well…out of them all the least troublesome seemed to be Hojo. Sure he destroyed the kitchen and was a complete fool, but Rin seemed to like him.
Sesshoumaru glanced over at the Café's kitchen and mentally debated whether he should give Hojo another go. If he gave him a set of rules (like NOT touching his personal belongings) then maybe it would run smoother this time around. He decided to take the risk, after all, he still had to go to work and Rin would be left alone all day.
There was no movement in the kitchen or in the Café. They seemed to be short of staff today and Sesshoumaru had no intention of walking up to the bar and ringing that appalling bell for attention. As an alternative, he took out his cellphone and dialed the Café's number. On the third ring there was an answer.
"Seven Brother's Café, this is the owner Bankotsu speaking." Said an obviously moody voice.
"I'm looking for Hojo" Sesshoumaru informed him flatly.
"Oh. Him." Bankotsu said with a note of contempt. He sighed heavily before continuing. "Yeah he's in the hospital. The idiot walked straight into an open elevator shaft. It's the third time this year! His cousin is no better either...I don't even know why I hired those two clumsy bast-"
"That will be all." Sesshoumaru interjected before hanging up on the ranting Bankotsu. Well, that was his last option ruined. He glared at his contacts book lying on the table and was about to reach for it when he heard familiar voices approaching.
"What? Really? She called him while you were there?" Sango asked in surprise as she walked by the Café with Kagome.
"Yes! She screamed at him for standing her up and then demanded that he go to some park! I can't believe those two." Kagome said angrily. Sesshoumaru was within ear-shot and the two girls suddenly noticed him sitting nearby. Their eyes widened and they hushed up as they quickly hurried past the Café. Sesshoumaru 'hmph'ed as he connected the dots and saw Rin's responsibility for Kikyou's actions.
He checked his watch and saw that time was running out. Sesshoumaru finally picked up his contacts book and flipped through to the number he dreaded. It seemed there was no other choice. He sighed before dialing the number and putting the phone up to his ear, not looking forward to hearing an answer on the other side.
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Rin was still in bed. She had hardly slept last night and was still awake when Sesshoumaru left the apartment in the early hours of the morning. Had he really given up on her? Was he just going to leave her all alone while he was away at work?
Just then, she heard a key in the lock. Rin jumped out of bed and wrenched open her room door, running up the corridor to the main room and to where Sesshoumaru had just entered. She didn't notice anything else as she bounded up to him and attached herself to his leg.
"Rin is so sorry, Sesshoumaru-sama! Don't leave Rin alone! Rin will be good!" She yelled as she clung to him desperately.
"Rin-" Sesshoumaru began.
"NEVER LEAVE AGAIN!"
"Rin-"
"NEVER LEAVE AGAIN!"
"RIN."
This time Rin looked up and glanced over to see what Sesshoumaru was watching. She immediately froze as she noticed someone standing near the doorway who she had never seen before. Rin then quickly released her grip and peered at the stranger from behind Sesshoumaru's leg, as he gestured to the person beside him.
"This is Naraku, Kagura's father." He stated. "He will be watching you today."
Naraku took a step nearer, bent down to take a closer look at Rin and then smiled humorlessly. Rin took a cautious step backwards, she didn't like him. She didn't like him at all.
Naraku straightened up and turned to face Sesshoumaru, "Well, everything seems to be in order. Don't you have somewhere to be?" He asked dryly. Sesshoumaru glared at him for a second before slowly making his way out of the apartment.
"Oh and Sesshoumaru" Naraku said, stopping him from leaving. "If you see Kikyou on the way, tell her to go home already. She's been crying in that park for days now. It's pathetic."
Rin forgot that she had better stay quiet and quickly piped up "Maybe she's waiting for you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Sesshoumaru shot her a threatening look, causing Rin to back down again. It was still too soon for her to be playing around with him.
Naraku glanced at Rin then looked back at Sesshoumaru questioningly, slightly curious of what had caused the sudden tension in the room. Sesshoumaru gave him no chance to ask as he swiftly exited the apartment and closed the door behind him.
Naraku waited until his footsteps had faded into the distance before turning to Rin. "I've been hearing quite a lot about you lately." He sneered. Rin didn't dare to move. "What do you think we'll be doing today? Hm?" He asked Rin with a cold smile. She fidgeted with her fingers before quietly muttering the only thing that came to mind.
"…Play?"
Naraku threw his head back and gave a long, silvery laugh that made every hair on the back of Rin's neck stand up on end.
"Play? Oh no no. You, my dear girl, are going to be quiet and stay where I can see you." Naraku informed her as he strode over to the couch and sat down, he then reached for the remote that was on the coffee table and shot a cold look at Rin. "Well? Stand in the corner." He ordered, pointing at the spot where he expected Rin to stay. Rin hesitated but eventually shuffled over to her newly assigned space and stared at Naraku as he turned the television on and began to search for his favorite channels.
This wasn't going to be easy. She thought bitterly. There was no point in trying to convince Sesshoumaru anymore, since he already knew about her little games. Now it was simply a matter of getting rid of the stranger on the couch. Whether she had a plan or not, Rin intended on making his day absolutely impossible.
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Ten minutes had barely passed when Rin began to shift around in her spot. Naraku simply ignored her and continued to watch an incredibly dull program on 'good parenting'. Rin made her discomfort even more obvious and began to whine.
"What do you want?" Naraku finally asked unkindly. Rin began to cross her legs desperately, "I need to use the bathroom." She whispered, looking at Naraku with big, worried eyes. He sighed and waved his hand at her dismissively, giving her permission to go. Rin promptly ran past him and down the corridor, but instead of going to the bathroom, she went to her room.
Rin looked around quickly in search of something she could use. She ducked and peered under her bed but was disappointed to see that all her 'souvenirs' from her previous successes had been removed. She stood up with a disappointed sigh, and decided that she would still give some of the old tricks a go if she couldn't come up with any new ones.
Rin quickly tiptoed to the bathroom, flushing the toilet and noisily washing her hands so that Naraku would hear her. She then padded back to the main room and went to stand in her assigned spot. Naraku's eyes remained on the television screen. Rin stood in silence for no more than a few minutes before interrupting his concentration again.
"Mr. Naraku, sir?"
"What?" he asked tonelessly.
"Do you want to play hide and seek?" She asked hopefully. Naraku turned his head slowly to face Rin. "Do I look like I want to play?" he asked dangerously. Rin quickly shook her head in denial and remained quiet. But only for a few more minutes.
"How about drawing?" She asked brightly. Naraku didn't even bother to look at her.
"No."
"I bet I can draw better than you!" She challenged, holding on to the small hope that Naraku would be as gullible as Kouga.
"Show me then." Naraku replied flatly as he continued to watch television.
"Um…can you help me with my homework then?"
"Ask Sesshoumaru." Naraku answered carelessly as he got up to find a snack during the commercial break.
"But Sesshoumaru-sama isn't here!" Rin protested. Naraku gestured to the phone sitting on the kitchen counter.
"Call him then." He said as he opened a cabinet and pulled out a packet of acid jelly worms that Sesshoumaru had bought for Rin. He opened it and sniffed them suspiciously, then picked out a single purple worm and bit off the head. He chewed it slowly and then seemingly approved as he took the packet of worms to the couch and sat back down. Rin cringed since she had been saving those jelly worms for herself.
"Okay…do you want to play dollies?" She asked. Naraku popped another worm into his mouth and remained silent.
"I said: Do you want to play dollies!" Rin insisted, raising her voice. Naraku continued to ignore her and turned the television's volume up considerably. Rin huffed and glared at him as he chewed on her jelly worms.
A few minutes passed and Rin decided to be annoying again; so she began to hum. She gradually raised the volume until her humming drowned out the voices coming from the television. Naraku could no longer ignore her and turned to face her.
"What is it now?"
"I'm bored!" She complained, crossing her arms in protest.
"That is none of my concern. Be quiet and stay still." He said frostily as he turned back to his program. Rin gave a loud sigh. She gazed around the room and began to click her tongue against the roof of her mouth for entertainment. Naraku's eye twitched and he reached for the remote to turn the volume up. Rin carried on clicking and then gave another loud, dramatic sigh. Naraku squeezed the remote so hard that the batteries popped out.
"What is it going to take for you to be quiet?"
Rin immediately perked up, "Play with me!"
Naraku gave a dry laugh. "Oh I won't be falling into your little traps, girl. I know them all." Rin's smile faded slightly, but she hoped he was just bluffing to throw her off. She began to whine and bounce on the spot.
"But I'm so booored! I want to do something!"
Naraku gave a small sneer. "Oh you do, do you? Well, you can go to the kitchen and get me a cold beverage and another snack. Won't that be fun?" He said mockingly. Rin frowned at him and hesitantly dragged her feet over to the kitchen. She began to search in the fridge for soda when she remembered something else she could give him to drink. Rin peered at the couch to check that he wasn't watching and quietly looked into the cabinet where the brand new bottle of laxative was. But it wasn't there anymore.
"Looking for this?" Came Naraku's sly voice from the couch as he held up a bottle reading 'Instant Relief'. Apparently, while Rin was pretending to be in the bathroom, Naraku was pretending to watch TV and had done a preventive search of the area.
"Bring a glass of iced water." Naraku ordered as he flipped channels. Rin moodily complied and took it to him, as a last resort she tried to 'accidently' trip and spill it all over his lap but Naraku swiftly removed the glass from her hand and left her to tumble to the floor on her own.
"Don't forget the snack." He reminded her coolly as he sipped the icy water. Rin grumbled as she lifted herself up from the floor and trudged over to the kitchen. She shoved a pack of instant popcorn into the microwave and decided to add a fork in as well. She turned on the microwave and stood clear of it as the pack slowly rotated inside and the fork began to spark and crackle. It wasn't long until a loud boom was heard and Naraku jumped from the couch.
"What did you do now, you little devil?" Naraku asked sternly as he strode up to the microwave. He opened it and waved away the smoke as he peered inside at the exploded packet of popcorn and blackened fork.
"Interesting..." He muttered, glancing at Rin who blinked up at him innocently. He pointed at the microwave "What is the meaning of this?"
Rin simply smiled at him. Naraku slowly lowered his arm back to his side. "Oh...so you think you can outsmart me, do you?" He took a menacing step towards her. "Well, I'll let you know that you picked the wrong person to toy with." Naraku said dangerously, a smile creeping onto his face as he neared her. Suddenly, Rin clenched her fists, squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth to give a long, loud, high-pitched scream. Naraku immediately backed away and covered his ears. Rin kept on screaming until a knock at the door startled them both.
"Sesshoumaru?" Came an old man's voice, followed by another urgent knock. Naraku uncovered his ears and shot a dirty look at Rin before walking over to open the door.
"Yes what do you want?" He asked the old neighbor unkindly. Totosai blinked at him in surprise.
"Oh! You look different with black hair, Sesshoumaru. Is it a wig?"
Naraku narrowed his eyes at him. "I'm not Sesshoumaru, you senile old man. I'm just here to watch her." He said roughly, signaling behind him. Totosai peered over Naraku's shoulder and saw Rin standing in the kitchen.
"Well I-I thought I heard some kind of explosion, and then a scream-"
"Yes that was her." Naraku replied flatly, jerking his head in Rin's direction.
"Oh. Well um, i-is everything okay?" Totosai asked with concern.
"Yes." Naraku said tonelessly as he slammed the door in the old man's face. He turned round to face Rin and pointed to the corner.
"You. There. Now."
Rin scowled as she stomped over to her spot. Naraku glared after her as he slowly walked over and sat back down onto the couch. But Rin wasn't quite done with him yet. She gave Naraku just enough time to become immensely interested in a documentary about spiders before shifting uncomfortably in her spot again.
"What?" Naraku asked uncaringly as he watched her from the corner of his eye.
"I'm hungry!" She complained. Surely enough, her stomach gave a loud rumble since Rin hadn't eaten breakfast that morning.
Naraku turned to her with an uncaring expression. "I would tell you to prepare a snack for yourself, but you're obviously much too incompetent for such simple tasks." He drawled before getting up and walking over to the kitchen. Rin stared as he swiftly put together a peanut butter sandwich and brought it over. He shoved it into Rin's hands and sat back down on the couch, putting his feet on top of the coffee table. Rin sniffed the sandwich suspiciously.
"I don't like peanut butter." She said rudely. Naraku ignored her.
"I don't eat sandwiches with crusts." She added. Naraku slowly faced her and narrowed his eyes.
"You do now."
Rin didn't like the look in his eyes so she quickly took a bite and began to chew. Naraku nodded in approval and turned back to the television. She ate the rest of her sandwich in silence as she continued to stand in the corner, merely watching Naraku.
"This channel is so boring, why don't you change it?" She whined. Naraku gestured for her to keep quiet. Rin began to bounce on the spot.
"Change it change it change it change it change it change it change it!"
Naraku's eye twitched at Rin's irritating chanting and calmly picked up the empty glass of cold water that she had taken to him earlier. He held it out to the side for her to see and then let it drop. Shards of glass shattered all over the floor. Rin immediately ceased her chanting and stared at the broken glass in shock. Naraku watched Rin slyly.
"Oh you silly girl. Now why would you do that? You had better clean it up before I decide to tell Sesshoumaru about your bad behavior."
Rin blinked at him, not believing what had just happened. They both remained in a deathly silence until Rin slowly moved from her spot and trudged towards the kitchen for a dustpan and brush. Naraku smiled cunningly as she returned and began to sweep without uttering another word.
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At the office, Sesshoumaru was signing off a stack of papers and had Kagura on speakerphone as they discussed what to do with Rin next.
"You know you could always try another company." Kagura told him, giving Sesshoumaru options as she knew that he didn't plan on leaving Naraku alone with Rin more than once.
"No more companies."
"Well…don't be so hard on her. I mean, she obviously doesn't like babysitters taking care of her instead of you. She just wants you to play with her or at least stay with her."
Sesshoumaru stared into nothing. If no other babysitter appeared he would have to bring Rin to the office, which for him was completely out of the question. Kagura sighed and continued.
"Rin is lucky though. When I was small I tried everything to try and defy my father, but he was always two steps ahead of me. If he could handle me I'm sure he can handle Rin." She said reassuringly.
Sesshoumaru nodded to himself and told Kagura that he would call her back later. He wanted to check on Rin.
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Rin was moodily sweeping up the broken glass from the floor when an unfamiliar ringing began to sound. Naraku tutted and searched his pockets until he finally pulled out his black iPhone and sneered as he saw who was video-calling him. He positioned his phone in front of his face and answered the call. Sesshoumaru appeared on the screen.
"Oh hello my dearest son-in-law. What could possibly be the reason for your call?" Naraku drawled. Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at him and remained silent. Naraku smirked, knowing fully well why Sesshoumaru had called. He moved the phone so that the camera focused on Rin, who was still sweeping with her head down. Sesshoumaru could barely contain his amazement at the incredibly unusual sight of Rin cleaning. She jerked her head up and opened her mouth to tell the truth, hoping that Sesshoumaru would take her word over Naraku's.
"Sesshoumaru-sama! He-"She began, but Naraku quickly turned the camera onto his face again.
"Yes your little girl is a bit spoilt, you see. She threw that glass onto the floor during one of her… fits." He sneered, enjoying the stone-cold look that Sesshoumaru was now giving him. "You know, I could give you a few parenting tips, if you like." He continued mockingly. Sesshoumaru hmph'ed and ended the video-call, causing Naraku to give another of his hair-tingling, silvery laughs.
Rin stood there in amazement, not sure how she felt about having her own tricks used against her. She finished sweeping in silence, emptied the shards into the garbage and padded back to Naraku, who signaled for her to stand in the corner. She obediently complied. However, it wasn't long until Rin began to whine and shift around in her spot again.
"My feet hurt and you're boring." Rin said resentfully as she stood on one foot at a time. Naraku turned to look at her coldly.
"And how is that of any importance to me?"
Rin blinked at him and then stared at the floor, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Naraku 'hmph'ed and went back to the droning voice on the television. Rin spoke again, "How about we play tag?" She asked hopefully. This time Naraku laid his head back, closing his eyes as though praying for patience.
"No." He replied flatly.
"Play with me!" Rin insisted, but received no answer. She huffed and dared to move from her spot without permission. She stepped right in front of the television screen and glared at Naraku, who was determined not to let her get to him. He shifted to a side and continued to watch his program over her shoulder. Rin also shifted to block his view. Naraku then shifted to the opposite side, but so did she. He finally looked straight at Rin and slowly leaned forward in his seat.
"You know what Sesshoumaru told me this morning?" He asked slyly. Rin simply blinked at him.
"You're adopted."
Rin froze, but soon her lip began to tremble and she burst into tears as she ran to her room and slammed the door shut. Naraku laughed coldly and laid back in his seat, thinking how Rin was almost as bad as Kagura when she was small.
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Rin sniffed as she lifted her face from her pillow. This wasn't going well at all. Nothing had worked so far and she was starting to worry that Sesshoumaru would continue to use Naraku as her babysitter. She simply couldn't let that happen. Naraku had to be Sesshoumaru's very last choice, meaning that once he was out of the picture Sesshoumaru would have no-one else to call. He would have to stay with her.
Rin wiped her eyes and sat up with renewed determination. If she couldn't get him angry using her usual tricks, then she would have to find a better way to really get under his skin. Now that she remembered, Kagura complained quite often about Naraku to Sesshoumaru, and the little that Rin could recall from those conversations might just come in handy. Rin pondered for a few minutes, mentally searching her memories for anything that could possibly be of help.
Suddenly, her expression cleared and she bonked herself on the head as she thought of something incredibly obvious. Rin leapt from the bed and scurried into Sesshoumaru's study, she then opened the drawer and took his spare cell phone. Rin stood perfectly still and listened carefully for any movement from Naraku, but all she could hear was the television droning on. She quickly dialed the number of the phone in the kitchen and once she heard the shrill ringing, Rin ran to answer it.
"Hi!" She said into the speaker, to absolutely no-one. Naraku tuned his ear in case it was something that concerned him. Rin paused as if she were listening to something and then spoke again.
"Yes he's here. Yep…uh huh…ok I'll tell him!" She hung up and then skipped up to Naraku.
"That was Kagura-chan! She said something happened and she needs you to go home right now." Rin informed him. Naraku raised a skeptic eyebrow. "She needs me to go?" He questioned as he lifted himself up from the couch. Rin could hardly contain her excitement as she was certain he would leave to assist his eldest daughter. But instead of walking to the door, Naraku went over to the phone and dialed his house number. Rin shrunk.
"Yes, Kagura? What exactly is it that you want?" He asked with suspicion. He paused as Kagura retorted on the other side. He then nodded and hung up on her mid-rant. He turned to Rin and put his hands on his hips.
"Nice try, but Kagura would never say that she needs me for anything. If you're going to play tricks then do them properly." He stated coldly as he went back over to the couch. Rin shifted uncomfortably for a while before suddenly remembering something Kagura had complained about a few days ago. Rin dawdled for a bit longer until she finally plucked up the courage to shift closer to Naraku.
"Um…are you going to play with me today?" She asked timidly. Naraku gave a dry laugh, which she took as a 'no'.
"Okay so…can I play with your hair then?"
Naraku jerked his head to glare at her. "This-" he said, pointing to his hair, "-took me a lot of time to do, so no, you cannot put your filthy hands on it. Now go away."
Rin trailed off down the corridor with her head down, but she wasn't disappointed at all. It seems Kagura was right about Naraku's curious obsession over keeping his hair absolutely pristine. It was one of his few interesting quirks. It was finally time to get things started.
She paced around her room thinking of ways to use this newfound piece of information along with all the other bits and pieces she could remember to really rile Naraku up. She suddenly stopped pacing and scratched her head fiercely. Come to think of it, she was way overdue for a bath. Rin suddenly lit up with an idea. A bath.
It looked like the game was finally on.
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Naraku had helped himself to another snack from Sesshoumaru's kitchen and was now watching a talk show when Rin padded up to him, scratching her head.
"Mr. Naraku?" She asked timidly, now scratching her arm. Naraku raised his eyebrows questioningly to show that he was listening, but didn't take his eyes off the television.
"I need a bath."
Naraku chewed on a potato chip as he waited for Rin to state why this would interest him.
"Can you wash me?" She asked hopefully.
Naraku almost choked and quickly put down the packet of potato chips as he pounded a fist against his chest to dislodge the chip that was blocking his airway. He gave a last, great cough and then inhaled loudly, before slowly turning his head towards Rin who was still staring at him expectantly.
"Aren't you old enough to wash yourself?"
Rin shook her head in denial. "Nope! Sesshoumaru-sama always gives me a bath." Naraku sighed and rested his elbows on his knees, massaging his temples with both hands. He had bathed Kanna before but he didn't like the idea of bathing Rin. "Why don't you wait until Sesshoumaru gets back?" He asked, still massaging his temples.
Rin made a show of scratching herself and whined, "But I'm so itchy! If I don't have a bath now then-"
"You'll be exceedingly annoying for the rest of the day." Naraku cut in. He sighed deeply again and glared at her. "Fine. Go get ready and call me when you're done." He said in resignation as he laid back in his seat and tried to focus on the television again.
"Ready!" Rin shouted brightly. It had only been 3 seconds. Naraku raised his eyebrows skeptically and turned to face her.
"Well that was quick – ARGH! COVER YOURSELF GIRL!" Naraku immediately whipped his head around and covered his eyes with his arm. Luckily he didn't see much, but just enough to know that Rin had somehow ripped her clothes clean off and was now standing there, stark naked.
"Are you gonna wash me now?" She asked brightly.
"YES, just get your indecent self to the bathroom!" Naraku said hurriedly, waving his other hand dismissively at Rin who 'Yay!'ed and did as she was told. Naraku peeped over his arm to check if the coast was clear, and once he saw that it was, he let out a heavy sigh and slid down the couch. The mere thought of bathing Rin was immensely displeasing, and it made Naraku feel… uncomfortable. He despised being made uncomfortable, by anyone.
Naraku could hear the water gushing into the tub as Rin sang to herself happily. She emptied a bottle of cherry scented bath soap and waited for the tub to fill up. Once it was almost brimming with hot, foamy water; Rin called to Naraku.
"The waters done!"
Naraku lolled his head back and closed his eyes in resignation. "Get in then." He called back.
"But you have to see if the water's okay!" Rin shouted back.
"See for yourself!" He replied rudely.
"But Sesshoumaru always tests the water for me!"
Naraku sighed irritably and got up; he strolled over to the bathroom and was glad to see that Rin was wrapped in a small, pink towel. He glared at her before bending down and cautiously dipping two fingers into the bubbly water.
"It's fine." He said flatly, as he straightened up and turned to leave. He saw that Rin wasn't moving so he paused and turned to face Rin, who blinked at him expectantly.
"You can get in now." He clarified, gesturing at the bathtub.
Rin smiled and held her arms out so that he could put her in the bath. Naraku soon realized her intentions and took a step back.
"Oh no no no. You can get yourself into the bath."
"But Sesshoumaru-sama-"
"Fine then!" Naraku said through clenched teeth, not wanting to seem less competent than Sesshoumaru. He went over to Rin, lifted her up and turned his head away as he took the towel off her, then hurriedly dunked her into the bathtub. He backed away from the tub and wiped his hands on his shirt as if Rin were filthy. Rin squealed happily and put handfuls of bubbles into her hair, giggling. Naraku merely watched in disgust.
Rin was now giving herself a beard with the bubbles when Naraku became restless and turned to leave, but had hardly taken one step towards the door when Rin called out to him.
"Nooo! You can't leave! Sesshoumaru-sama never leaves me alone when I'm in the bath!" She cried. Naraku sighed deeply, knowing that if he refused to stay she would probably scream again and he would have to deal with the foolish old neighbor for a second time that day. He cursed under his breath before turning back around and sitting down on the toilet, glaring at Rin while she happily continued to give herself an even longer beard.
"Get my dollies!" Rin suddenly ordered while pointing at her room.
"What?"
"Get my dollies!" She said again. Naraku laughed hollowly. "You need to wash, not play."
Rin scowled, "Okay, I guess I'll just have to get them myself." She made to get up but Naraku shouted and covered his eyes.
"FINE. I'LL GET THEM." He barked as he got up from the toilet and strode to Rin's room, looking around briefly before spotting a bag full of dolls which he carried back to the bathroom and dropped unceremoniously beside the tub.
"Will that be all?" He asked harshly before sitting back on top of the toilet. Rin nodded enthusiastically and reached into the bag, pulling out several dolls which resembled the Inuyasha gang along with the purple octopus which was supposed to be Naraku. The real Naraku had resigned himself to staring moodily at the floor.
"Play with me!" She ordered holding out the purple octopus to Naraku. He turned to stare at her, disbelieving of her insistence to play. "Is it so hard to comprehend that I do not play?" He asked rudely. Rin lowered her hand slightly and her lip began to tremble, tears welled up in her eyes and she began to give a slow wail that slowly increased in volume.
Naraku's eye twitched, if anything could be more infuriating than Kanna crying, it had to be Rin's wailing. He sighed irritably and rolled up his sleeves before kneeling down next to the tub and roughly snatching the octopus out of Rin's hand. Her tears suddenly vanished and she beamed at him.
"So, this is Inuyasha and his gang" She said pointing to the bunch of dolls. "And THAT, is you." She pointed at the floppy purple octopus in Naraku's clenched hand. He glanced at it with new interest.
"Okay! Let's play!" Rin said happily. She grabbed Inuyasha and sent him flying towards the octopus, forcing it out of Naraku's hand and into the soapy water.
"HYAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Rin yelled as she used Inuyasha to retrieve the octopus from its watery grave and then threw it violently against the wall. It hit with a loud splat and dropped limply into the water again, slowly sinking to the bottom. Naraku merely glared at the whole scene and was about to tell Rin what really should have happened to Inuyasha, but his phone rang. He swiftly got to his feet and pulled it out of his pocket, then turned away from Rin and went to stand just outside the bathroom as he answered the call.
"Yes, Kanna what is it?" He asked sharply. He paused before sighing angrily and bringing his other hand up to massage his temples. "Well just put 'chocolate' on the grocery list and be done with it. Wait- what's all that noise in the background? Where's Kagura? Get her on the phone, now." He continued to massage his temples as he waited for his eldest daughter to answer.
"Kagura, what is-" He paused. "Well her little friends better be gone by the time I get back. Yes I…No, Kagura you know I- Will you just do it, Kagura?" He said severely before hanging up and sighing deeply as he returned inside the bathroom.
"I need another baddie to save him!" Rin immediately informed him as she pointed to the sunken octopus. Naraku neared the bathtub to see what had become of his toy-self. Rin suddenly spotted the black iPhone in his hand and quickly snatched it from him "Yep! This will do!" She said brightly as she dropped it into the bathtub, somehow expecting it to bring the octopus to the surface on its own. Naraku stiffened and stared in horror as his phone dropped to the bottom, the screen flashing momentarily before finally going blank.
"Do you have any idea how much that phone costs?" He snarled, signaling at it.
Rin looked down and watched as the phone sat at the bottom of the tub. She looked back at Naraku. "Not much, it doesn't even float. See?" She said, pointing at the completely submerged iPhone. Naraku was struggling to maintain his composure.
"Fine. You know what? You can finish washing yourself. I'll be on the couch." He said fiercely before turning around and beginning to walk out of the bathroom. Rin suddenly stood up from the bathtub, screaming loudly. Naraku instinctively turned back and his eyes widened; he attempted to cover them but Rin grabbed his arm and violently pulled him towards the tub, causing Naraku to fall. He managed to stop himself from tumbling in by dropping to his knees and gripping the edge of the tub, but his long, black, silky hair didn't stop when he did and whipped over his head, landing in the soapy water.
"YAAAAAAAAY!" Rin yelled happily as she plopped back into the water and began to play with Naraku's soaking wet hair as if it were a new toy.
Naraku quickly pulled himself away and got to his feet. He stood there for a moment, attempting to register what had just happened, then suddenly caught sight of his dripping wet locks and shot a deathly glare at Rin.
"You…" He whispered as he gripped a single lock in his hand, squeezing it so hard that all the water poured out. "You ruined my hair…5 hours of my time…" Rin felt a bit frightened but did her best to act oblivious to the fact that Naraku was now positively murderous.
"Wow Mr. Naraku! You look terrible! Maybe you should ask Sesshoumaru-sama for his hair dryer when he gets back!" She suggested cheerfully. The thought of Sesshoumaru owning a hair dryer diverted Naraku's attention long enough for him to regain the little self-control he had left.
He slowly turned towards the door and continued to glare at Rin as he walked out. She could hear him cursing under his breath as he strode down the corridor and slumped onto the couch. Rin giggled to herself and quickly got out of the tub and dried herself off. She couldn't give Naraku the time to calm down, she needed to keep the ball rolling.
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Once she was dry and dressed, Rin waltzed up to the silently seething Naraku and hovered nearby until he finally decided to pay attention to her.
"What?" He asked fiercely.
"I have a question!" Rin replied brightly. Naraku gave an exasperated sigh and dragged a hand down his face, dreading what could possibly be in store for him next.
Rin decided to speak anyway, "It's just that last week, Kagura-chan stayed over and I heard weird noises coming from Sesshoumaru's bedroom and-"
"WHAT." Naraku was suddenly very alert. He sat up straight and turned to face Rin with shocked eyes.
"Yep! But it's ok, the next morning I asked what they were doing and they told me that if I saw a baby here in a few months then I would know." Rin lied, enjoying the growing look of horror on Naraku's face.
"So my question is: How do you make a baby?" She asked in the sweetest and most innocent voice she could muster. Naraku's eye twitched and he suddenly looked very uncomfortable.
"Well…I'm sure Sesshoumaru will tell you one day." He said uneasily, trying to evade the question. Rin sat down cross-legged and rested her chin on her hands as she looked up at him expectantly. It was clear that she was going to wait for an answer. Naraku shifted in his seat, he hadn't even had this conversation with Kanna yet.
"You see…" He began, not sure how to continue. Naraku then seemed to come to his senses and his expression hardened. "Why should I even tell you? You're too young to know." He 'hmph'ed and repositioned himself in his seat.
"Why?" Rin asked simply.
Naraku looked at her. "Well, you're the same age as Kanna, and I haven't told her either."
"Why?"
"…Because I refuse to engage her in such subjects just yet."
"Why?"
Naraku narrowed his eyes at Rin. He turned away and was set to ignore her, but her constant staring was really getting on his already wrecked nerves.
"Stop it." He ordered sharply.
"Why?"
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15 MINUTES LATER
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"Why?" Rin asked for the hundredth time. She was still sitting on the floor while Naraku was slumped on the couch, feeling more depressed by the minute as their 'conversation' had somehow reached his parenting problems.
"Well I can only talk to Kanna and the boys at home." He said, somewhat miserably.
"Why?"
"Because I know they will obey me."
"Why?"
"Well because they're not like Kagura."
"Why?"
"Because Kagura is stubborn and rude." He replied angrily. "And being with Sesshoumaru doesn't exactly help either." Naraku added with contempt.
"Why?"
"He despises me and she refuses to listen to me." He protested.
"Why?"
"…Maybe because I don't know how to talk to her."
"Why?"
"…I…I DON'T KNOW." Naraku burst out and suddenly stood up from the couch, glaring fiercely at Rin for leading him to that conclusion. Rin took a step back in alarm; after what seemed like forever, it looked like he had finally snapped. Just then the front door opened and Sesshoumaru walked in.
"YOU." Naraku spat, now directing his glare at Sesshoumaru.
"You think that just because you have ONE miserable girl in your home you know everything there is to know about parenting. Well, I'll have you know that you have NO idea what it's like to raise so many kids on your own. NO IDEA WHATSOEVER."
Rin, like Sesshoumaru, was taken aback by Naraku's sudden change of behavior. It seemed that Kagura was right when she mentioned that Naraku was particularly sensitive when it came to his parenting issues.
"That girl-" He said, pointing an accusing finger at Rin. "Is a monster in the making so don't you dare act all high and mighty around ME." Naraku suddenly strode over to the shelf and snatched up a photo of Sesshoumaru with Kagura, then went up to him and held it a mere inches from his face.
"And YOU. Ooh you are no better! De-flowering my daughter!" He snarled, prodding Kagura's face violently. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a fraction as Naraku seethed in front of him.
"NEVER CONTACT ME AGAIN." He barked as he pushed past Sesshoumaru and strode out of the apartment, taking the photo with him. Sesshoumaru stared after him disbelievingly as Naraku stormed down the corridor, knocking over Totosai who was calmly walking up to his own apartment with groceries in both arms. Sesshoumaru slowly closed the door and then looked at Rin for some kind of explanation, but she merely shrugged.
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Sesshoumaru had just got off the phone with Kagura to see if Naraku had mentioned anything else and then went over to Rin's room, where she was happily packing away her dolls. He stood towering over her, she turned and smiled up at him. But her smile soon faded as she saw Sesshoumaru's expressionless face, his eyes stone-cold.
"Rin. What was the reason behind all of this?" He asked, referring to the games she had played all week long with every single babysitter. He knew she had something to do with Naraku's unexpected outburst too.
Rin gulped and tears began to stream down her face, "I-I just w-wanted you t-to stay!" She choked out. Sesshoumaru turned away, knowing that he would soon regret the decision he was about to take; he could hear her sniffing and hiccupping quietly behind him.
"S-Sesshoumaru-sama?" She asked timidly as she wiped her nose on her sleeve. He sighed deeply and faced her again; she was just sitting there, tears sliding down her cheeks. Sesshoumaru bent down and wiped off a glistening tear with his thumb, then put a hand on each of her shoulders.
"I understand Rin. But now, I have no choice but to take you to work with me." He told her gravely.
Rin sniffed in response as Sesshoumaru pulled away and left her alone in her room. But her eyes soon sparkled at the thought of finally being with Sesshoumaru all day, even though it was still not what she wanted.
Well, if his job was the only thing keeping him away from home, then she would just have to do her best to get rid of it. If he had no job, then he had no excuse to not stay home and play with her all day. Rin climbed into bed and made herself comfortable, smiling as she thought up all kinds of tactics while she slowly drifted to sleep.
Oh Rin was planning on having a lot of fun at the office next week…
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Will there be a sequel? Well, that depends on how many reviews I get (bwuahaha!). I have to wonder, whose side were you on during this chapter? Even I didn't know and I was writing it! A BIG thanks to everyone who read this story (whether a reviewer or a leecher) and to everyone who enjoyed it, (tell me which chapter you enjoyed the most!). And a special hug to those who favorited and/or followed. Ja ne!
NOTE: In this re-write I manned Naraku up A LOT, in the original he was a downright, bipolar drama queen and used his powers. If you think you would enjoy seeing him incredibly out of character, feel free to read the original 2-part chapter here (please excuse its bad writing): wwwDOTfanfictionDOTnet/s/2420082/8/Babysitters-Nightmare
