A | N : There are so many questions unanswered, I know that. Like why the hell does Sesshomaru have a picture of Rin in his drawer and why did Sesshomaru choose Rin as a mate and other stuff about Rin's dream. I keep repeating myself when I say all answers are in the next few chapters.
Another thing, I accidentally colored Sesshomaru's moon wrong. My bad.
By the way, I'm still getting the hang of the whole citrus, lemon, and lime thing—again, my bad.
And this is to 'Tiff': No. It doesn't bother me at all.

Now, on with the story . . .

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-Ten-

Rin walked with InuYasha in silence for a few minutes as her mind recollected what just happened within two hours. Her cheeks heated when she remembered what happened on the desk. She'll never be able to look at it without remembering how he made her feel. She reviewed the conversation in her head about the Council and InuYasha being their Watcher. Rin glanced at the half-demon and felt pure anger swim in her veins. Yep, she still hated him and for good reason.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she asked, trying to keep her madness out of her voice. She failed.

"Because it wasn't my secret to tell," he answered, looking down at his feet.

"But you knew and you kept giving me those damn smirks and odd looks. Do you know how pissed off I was?" Rin snapped.

"Uh, obviously quite a lot," he said. Rin noticed that the adorable dog ears that protruded from his head twitched around at every small sound.

"Why doesn't Mr. Taisho have those cute doggie ears like you do?" Rin asked.

"One, the bastard is full yokai, whereas I'm not. Two, he can't pull it off like I can."

Rin didn't feel the need to comment on that. Instead she asked more questions. "How many other women as he been with?"

"Lucky bastard had at least a thousand and all demons—he has a no human rule."

Rin dropped her mouth. A thousand women have been with him? Why do I suddenly want to kill them all? Before she could stop herself, she gave the half-demon's arm a slug. "What's that supposed to mean, InuYasha?"

"Ow! Shit, Rin! That hurt." He rubbed his shoulder like a little kid. "Sorry, jeez. That didn't come out right."

"No, duh it didn't come out right!" Rin cried. She squeezed her eyes shut and took a breath before she calmly asked. "Why am I an exception?"

InuYasha looked away from Rin and down at the ground, thinking about his words before he said them. "When an inu yokai finds his mate, he will stop at nothing to claim her. He will fight for her, kill for her, and die for her."

"First of all, I don't want anyone killing or dying for me. And that doesn't answer my question," Rin said.

"Give me some time to speak then ask questions, all right?" he snapped. He took a breath then continued, "You have to understand that Sesshomaru isn't like most demons. He feels nothing, sees nothing, taste nothing. He's like a living statue. He won't show his emotions and won't say his opinion. He merely says an order and expects—and knows—people to obey. If someone defies him, he will hunt them down and kill them, no mercy intact.

"Few demons are the way Sesshomaru is—emotionless. But those hand full of demons all changed once they have found their mate. My father, Inu no Taisho was one of those few. He fell in love with my mother, who was a human, and together they had me."

Rin held up a hand. "Was a human? What happened to her?"

"She's dead," InuYasha stated simply.

Rin immediately felt guilt and regret. She threw her hand to her forehead and squeezed her eyes shut once again, feeling completely idiotic. "InuYasha, I'm so sorry. I—I should've known. I'm so stupid. I'm sorry."

InuYasha shook his head. "Don't be. It's done and I moved on."

"Okay. Can I ask you something?" InuYasha nodded. "How did Sesshomaru know I was his mate?"

He nodded. "Let's find somewhere to sit. I don't want to run into anyone on the way to the dorms."

Rin followed him to the nearest oak tree and together they sat at its base. Once they were as comfortable as the dirt allowed. InuYasha continued his story, "My father is looking for the next heir to his thrown. He wants to give it to Sesshomaru, but the Council won't allow it. Not unless he has a mate." InuYasha's eyes rolled over to Rin. "That was declared several months ago. They told him to find a mate or be cut from the line to be Lord of the Western Lands and the title would go to me. Oddly enough, I don't want the title, so I agreed to help Sesshomaru find a mate. Do you remember four months ago when me, you, and the gang went to the park on that day when it went from nice weather to chilly weather?" Rin nodded. "I had my old camera and we were being stupid and took a million pictures with that thing. At the end of the day, when we left the park, Kohaku and I took the pictures to my room. I put them in a box and shoved it into my closet.

"I had forgotten about them until a week before school started, when Sesshomaru pinned me on the ground and shoved a picture into my face. The picture was of you, Rin. He bombarded me with questions like who were you, how old were you, why did I have a picture of you. I answered his questions and suddenly he was gone.

"He wasn't home for the first few weeks of school. And then the Council contacted me and told me he was to teach at the school. I asked why and they said he had found his mate and was going to be courting her there. I said that was illegal and all they said was, 'It's taken care of'. Up 'till a few weeks ago, I didn't know you were his mate. Then the Council summoned me and I was announced as your Watcher. My job is to make sure you don't fully mate before the Council sets a specific date to meet you and approve the mating. I have to report on how I find your relationship suitable or unstable."

Rin leaned back against the tree. So that's how Sesshomaru got a picture of Rin in his desk drawer. He stole it from InuYasha. Now that InuYasha told her about that windy day in the park, Rin clearly remembered it. She remembered the way Kagome always pushed the half-demon away every time he tried to take her picture. He kept the pictures—probably for memories or whatnot—and Sesshomaru had found them and kept hers.

"What about him 'choosing' me as a mate?" Rin asked. "Does he have several other options or something?"

"No, it's just him declaring that you are his mate; letting you know he choose to take you. Not the other way around."

"When is this Council date thing?"

"Whenever the Council calls; maybe tomorrow, maybe next year. Who knows?"

Rin slowly let her brain consume the information. "How old is he?"

InuYasha looked Rin dead in the eye. "I'm not allowed to answer that. But, I will tell you the guy is old."

"Great." Rin picked her way through the information. Suddenly her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed with rage. "He only chose me because he wants to be a lord?"

InuYasha flinched at her raised tone. "Uh. I—uh, can't answer that."

"Yes, you can, InuYasha! Was I only chosen because he wants a damn title?"

InuYasha was visibly afraid of Rin's anger. She didn't care—didn't smile at making a half-demon quake in his boots. She suddenly felt heated anger followed but the twinge of hurt. He only chose me because I am the seal to the deed for his stupid title. I'm only to be used to help him gain control of some damn part of the compass. I feel so stupid.

"I feel like hitting something," Rin said in a surprisingly calm voice. "I'm sorry, InuYasha, for yelling at you. I guess I need to save it for him." Rin stood slowly. As she began to walk away, she said over her shoulder, "Thank you, InuYasha."

Rin walked all the way back to the dorms and into her room. She threw her things down to the floor and dropped herself on the bed. She didn't want to think. She didn't want to cry. She didn't want to eat, shower, or read. She wanted to sleep and sleep she did for several hours. When she woke again, it was completely dark in her room except for her red alarm clock, blaring the time: 9:50 pm. Her stomach felt hollow and it gave a small sound. Reaching for her nightstand blindly, Rin found her lamp and switched it on. She sat up and wiped at her eyes, brushing away the crusties that lay in the corners.

She began to yawn. Her eyes opened to small slits and she jumped back and hit her head on the wall.

"Why the hell are you here?" she nearly screamed.

"Rin—" Sesshomaru began, but didn't finish. Rin bounced off the wall and flung her body against the demon standing in the middle of the room. Her blood heated at the feeling of his body against hers. She wanted to grab him and kiss him until they both died, but instead, she found herself hitting him anywhere she could. Her fists connected with hard abs and pecs. She continued to hit him as hard as her strength allowed.

"You . . ." Punch "Are . . ." Smack "Using . . ." Pound "ME!"

She felt her arms grow tired and her head pulse with a small headache. She wanted to beat him senseless, but quite obviously, the man wasn't even flinching at her hits; merely taking them without feeling the pain they should have brought. Maybe I'm not punching right. Rin paused a moment before she positioned her fist to hit his pec. She swung but her hand was caught before it hit its target. Rin flicked her gaze to Sesshomaru. He watched her steadily, as if his hand over her fist was completely normal.

"You lied to me," Rin growled as best as she could while looking into those golden orbs.

"I never lied to you, Rin." His deep voice shouldn't have made Rin shiver and feel the intense need to press her body against his and give everything she had to him.

"Then you didn't tell me the whole truth!" Rin shouted. "I'm being used to help you seal a deal and win a fucking title!"

Sesshomaru's face darkened and he moved too fast that Rin didn't realize her arms were pinned until she felt slight pain in her wrist, which were held behind her back by one single large hand.

"Let me go," she hissed.

"Never." His free hand went to her chin and he forced her to turn her head to the side. He buried his nose into the crook of her neck, placing a single kiss at the base of her throat. "It's true. I was told to claim a mate before I inherited my father's title."

"H-how do you think that makes me feel, Sesshomaru?" Rin wanted to moan, but instead she sharpened her voice. "I don't want to be used then thrown to the side."

She shoved her shoulder into the demon's chest and stumbled back from him. She matched his glare with her own. She pointed to the door. "Get out."

"You don't want me to leave," he stated the truth.

"Go."

"No."

Rin huffed and then, foolishly, lifted her arms to her neck. She unclasped the necklace, but before she could throw it at him like she saw in dramatic movies, he was in front of her clasping the necklace back onto her neck and throwing her back onto the bed. He pulled her wrists to her temples.

"You will not remove that necklace, Rin," he growled, red flaming in his eyes.

Rin's mind thought back to InuYasha's words. He feels nothing. Right now, he was obviously feeling anger. And that's when Rin realized she was the reason for him to feel anything. In the classroom, she felt his passion, his desire. And right now she felt his anger, and some more of his passion and desire stirred with it.

"Why did you choose me?" Rin whispered.

"I didn't choose you. Fate did and I agreed."

"Oh, so now you regret choosing me. Jeez! I finally find a man worth kissing and he decides to go back on—" Rin lips were ambushed by his. Her mouth, opened from speaking, was invaded by his tongue. Her wrists were released as his hands glided down her arms and underneath her. With no effort, Sesshomaru pulled Rin up and she straddled his lap, keeping contact with his lips.

When the two finally pulled apart, Rin felt aroused and tried to prove it by grinding her wet sex against the strain in Sesshomaru's pants.

Rin moaned as Sesshomaru's hands found their way under her shirt and up her smooth stomach. Before his fingers reached her bra strap, however, a knock came at the door.

Rin swallowed and called out a hoarse, "Yes?"

"Are you okay in there? We heard you shouting," came Sango's voice.

"I'm fine, hon. I-I'm just frustrated with my Algebra homework," Rin's excuse slipped out of her mouth way too easily.

"Okay. I'll see you in the morning than."

"All right."

Rin heard the footsteps retreat and turned back to look at her . . . mate. She smiled at the thought and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I guess that kinda saved us."

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

Rin frowned. "InuYasha said that we can't, um, go all the way until the Council has approved."

Sesshomaru captured her lips into a soft kiss. When he pulled away, he whispered, "I will not have the Council giving me boundaries and rules. I will have you when I want and how I want. Understood?"

Rin nodded, feeling a jolt of high energy.

"But that night is, unfortunately, not tonight. Go back to sleep, Rin. I will see you tomorrow."

And with that, he lifted Rin off his lap, planted a kiss on top of her head and jumped out the window. She rushed to it, fearing the worst and looked down.

He was gone.

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A | N : Review!