"8, 9, 3"

Chapter 11:

Corrosive Inquiry

A/N: A conclusion to the last chapter and new opening for the same chapter as well. Thank you's go out to those who reviewed! More with creepy guy from ch.5 is coming up! Yep! Aren't we all just excited…so by this time I hope you've caught on with how many appearances he's had through this story so far? Maybe even some of you know who he is? Now, this chapter hosts another Orr poem, so I hope you like it as well. Let get the show on the road shall we?


"Tin Cup"

Gregory Orr

Here's a tin cup

furred with rust

Here's a bad heart

I've lugged this far.

Begging? No.

Hauling with me

all a mortal has.

You think I'm grim

and thin, wizened

as a dry stick.

You think I've come

to bore you

with a long story

of torment

And yet I swear

I love this earth

that scars and scalds,

that burns my feet.

And even hell is holy.


The first time he had felt fear was when his father had begun training him in the art of killing and hand-to-hand combat and he believed that the punch his father was throwing at his face was going to connect. The second time he had felt fear was when Rin looked to have been lost inside herself for the first time and he not known what to expect. The third time (certainly not the last) he felt fear was when he heard bullets smashing into things and heard Rin drop the phone and nothing was said in a female tone he could recognize, then the phone went dead silent. Fear that she had been killed leaked out of him like a siren and right now, being positioned on the roof about to kill a man from 200 yards away perched on a high-rise building with the early morning sun beating upon him from over the clouds, he quickly disassembled his rifle and placed it in its case all the while with a radical thought of a dead girl lying in the streets of Tokyo. He needed to get from Kyoto to Tokyo as fast as he could and the only option he had was to run as fast as possible. Still, he would not be able to get there until darkness had already fallen, but she had been good at hiding from him so maybe she would do it again. The shoe slaps he had heard for the split second before the call ended had given him hope that she had ran for her life and still lived.

When he finally arrived at his home he found his father and Izayoi sitting in the kitchen side by side, speaking to one another in whispered tones. He found Inuyasha and his new girlfriend sitting next to one another watching some program on television. No one was even aware that something had happened to Rin. Surely, with the groups of yakuza out there in the heart of Tokyo one of them had to have seen something, anything and reported it to his father right? For fuck's sake it was a shooting in the middle of the morning had no one noticed? They had to of noticed but maybe they were afraid to come forward because it was dealing with the yakuza. As he passed his father in the kitchen he must have given off an air of anger because his father stood up a bit from his seat in the kitchen, as he made his way into the living room.

"Son, what's wrong?"

Saying nothing he jumped in front of the television, snatched the remote from Inuyasha as he protested and fought with the demon. However, Sesshomaru would have nothing of it because he knew that there would definitely have to be something on the news about what had happened. Switching the station to the news it was right there, the top story of the evening rolling about the screen like a constant siren of color of what he had done wrong. He had arrived in the evening hours as the sun was going down and he knew he had to find her as soon as possible, but it would be better if he had more than himself looking around. He had also checked the home because he thought that there was a chance for her to have come back, but it was useless.

"This is about the yakuza…what does this have to do with-"

The older demon was cut off when the announcer on the screen said in a rushed voice that someone had caught the event on her phone with a tiny camera. Then, the station proceeded to show the footage and he watched as she ducked, huddled behind a tiny metal table hoping it would save her life as men fired round after round upon her, then she bolted off towards the shop, opened the door and was never seen again. The video was obviously caught from a high vantage point and was hosting a slight sheen, so someone who lived in one of the surrounding apartment complexes had taped it. Now that he knew the location he could go there and hope that her scent alone had lingered just enough for him to pick up on. He was about to head out the door and into the rain, when he heard his father stop him.

"My god why has no one said anything? Sesshomaru, we had no idea."

By that time he knew his father would send people out to look for her as well, but Sesshomaru had more important things to worry about than explain shit to his father. Sweeping his long black leather coat over his shoulders he ran out of the door and into a dead sprint to the small flower shop that she had been to earlier that day. There was clearly marked yellow police tape, but only a small cop car and one officer to watch it. If it had to do with the yakuza no station wanted to do anything about it; they were just to deal with their own problems. Most of the time the utter incompetence of the police force to not get involved was a good thing, but right now he wished that there were even more people looking for her. What if they were still trailing her and she had no idea? No, Rin was smart and she would stay low for a while and as he breathed in her caught several scents at once and tried to differentiate between them. When he caught her scent she led him down several allies and bypasses in roads which could only mean she was frantic and scared and this made his heart ached lightly for her.


Feeling herself react to everything sound and sight around there was a towering sense of paranoia. They had fond her a few times and now she settled on this one place and kept hoping that they would give up and leave her alone. Had she honestly done something, anything so heinous to this people that she deserved to be hunted down a damn animal for the rest of her days? It was scary that she had let her guard down for a week or so and now she was in for death. Thoughts traveled a mile a minute because she had never experienced any of this until recently, so was she being directly targeted for who she was or who she knew?

It hurt her to think that this was all Sesshomaru's fault that she was going through all of these things one after another, but what other explanation could be garnered from all of this? Sighing she hid, huddled up as much as she could inside an abandoned neighborhood home, right under a boarded-up window. Little sections like this were not common in Japan, but this block was being renovated for yet another luxury hotel to be placed and so the buildings and their residents had been bought out and some of them had already been demolished. The one she now resided in was drafty and damp from the recent rains and smelled of mold and mildew, but she refused to leave for fear that she just might be gunned down as soon as she stepped foot outside of the house. A single good aspect that had come out of this was that she was not seriously hurt, but she had scratched one of the men across the cheek when he got too close at one point in her escape.

There she kept as small as possible as she shivered in the light air. All she had worn this morning was a freaking pair of light cotton pants and a t-shirt. Her run had lasted all day and she was physically and mentally exhausted which led her to believe that if she were to be confronted; again she might not have the energy to fight back. Unlike the event previously Sesshomaru had found her and felt relatively okay with wondering around because at one point her attackers had given up, but these bastards thought differently. Every rustle of leaves from the lone tree on the block made her pale until she realized that it was just the wind making leaves move. All she needed was to add this ailment, paranoia, to her list of mental problems. In that next moment she heard footsteps, light and controlled, hitting the outside steps painfully quick. Shit!

All she knew was that she ran as hard and as fast as she could when she sprinted up the dilapidated staircase that led to a small second story. She felt a hand around her waste that made her scream as if the life had been stricken from her. She never felt the light touch he used to control her flailing arms and legs, nor did she pay attention to the voice she knew so well from the past. Her screams kept her alive and fighting to stay alive until she felt a hand over her mouth and a slight pinch to the back of her neck before every sight she knew and every grungy wall board that she had seen, faded to black with a garbled voice radiating in the back of her mind.


The minute he stepped onto the cracked pavement of the home he heard an increased heartbeat. Her scent was definitely here and he held a bit of excitement. She had to be alright if her heart was still pumping strong enough for him to hear. Reaching for the door he heard her racing across the wooden flooring and ran in after her. She kicked and fought him, but he could only calm her screaming down by causing her to pass out. Her yelling would cause attention to them and he did not want it to make them both targets in case some of the bastards were hanging around her. Just looking at her made him want to wince. She had no visible injuries, but her face was caked with smudges of dirt and dust along with her dirty clothes. She smelled like the Rin he knew, but there was so much fear running off of her that it was almost masked. Picking her up he also grabbed his phone out of his pocket to contact his father and tell him that she had been found.

Instantly when the receiver was picked up he wanted to know if she was alright. Of course, he assured his father that she was physically fine and that they would be home in a few minutes. Flipping the phone closed he focused his attention on getting home as soon as possible and contacting her grandmother who had, for some reason, begun to care a bit more than usual. Was it possible that what he had said had finally pulled her out of her delirium? She awoke half way to their destination and was breathing heavily until she looked up, then she visibly relaxed a calmed herself by taking deep, even breaths. Her small smile was a complete surprise and it was almost as if she was getting used to these things. Initially, she would be scared and then, when she found that she was in his safe presence she would cope. The smile soon faded when she spoke.

"I can never tell if they are after you or me."

With that said she had nothing else to speak of and she rested for the remainder of the way and not once did she protest for him to put her down.


They attended school for the next two weeks and became closer such as before their fight. It would be at the middle of the next week that things made yet another turn for the worst with their relationship and his manner of occupation. Often times she would find herself in precarious situations, but none of them matched the ferocity of this one event. It was a big deal in the school that some kids had access to the top part of the building because sometimes the teacher would go up there to smoke and some of the kids would sneak in after the door was supposed to be closed. Oh well, they found a way to get up there anyway, so most teachers came to ignore it. Some fights would happen there and even other students smoking, but other than those occurrences nothing major happened there.

On rare occasions she would find herself wondering up there to get away from everything and Sesshomaru hated her being so damn far from the ground and told her that something might happen and make her fall, but she never paid it any mind. That was where she found herself on this day in particular: one the roof of the school standing a few feet from the edge and watching the clouds war with the sun over who got to claim the sky for that day. It was a bit later and the sun was at its highest point. Only a few more classes remained in the day and she was just turning around to move back inside the building when a figure caught her eye. He was dressed in simple clothing and automatically she could tell that he did not attend her school.

He was wearing a simple all black suit accompanied by black shoes and a (of course) black undershirt with this black shades over his eyes. She thought that he could look handsome except for the light scar that ran by his chin; with and thin, but all the same marred a good facial structure. He had dark and deep brown hair tied at the back of his neck with a small leather tie with the wildest blue eyes she had ever seen through the cover of the dark lenses. He was not overly muscled but she could tell that he was as strong as anything. His height was not too surprising because he was only an inch or two taller than the average Japanese male. This man was not overly unique, but he did have a few things here and there that made him stand out. The air he gave off was something she was growing uncomfortable with the way he hid behind the sun glasses.

Speaking not a word to her he stepped closer to her and she gasped when he pushed the glasses upon his head and revealed the true color of his eye: ice blue. She knew something was wrong when he showed a flash of color with a neon green tie that was so bright it could light up a darkened room and one solitary word erupted from her mouth that was audible even to him: yakuza. He laughed a bit evilly at her and that was when she noticed the black lines creeping over the black collar of his shirt which showed her head had irezumi as well. Deciding that he was scum right off the bat she crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. Refusing to be intimidated she continued her false façade that kept her from cracking up in front of him and getting nervous. The symbol plastered at the top of his tie showed him to be a Sumiyoshi-kai; her father's affiliation. What did they want with her?

"You know of us yakuza then I suppose Rin?"

His voice when he spoke was one she recognized very well and she could not help her outward reaction of a stunned face. That sick fuck that made her hide under her bed was right in front of her and she could do nothing about it as of yet.

"Yes, yes I know your name dear girl and you have been a hard one to find. I mean we honestly thought you had died in that fire, but there is always the possibility for error with those types of things."

Rin was not about to make a stupid mistake and try to confront him. She would tell Sesshomaru and he would find this prick and get rid of him for her. Although she did want to harm every bone in his body for killing her family, she knew that he had a strategic advantage of having more than one gun on him and stealth from years of hits, much like Sesshomaru. He settled next to her leaning against the large air duct and pulled out a pack of cigarettes and proceeded to stay silent for a little while longer before turning to her.

"You seem rather calm for a girl who is in the presence of a killer."

She only continued to look on, out around the campus as she tried to keep calm and cool.

"My own boyfriend kills people for a living just like you and I can guarantee he's a better shot."

Again, the man next to her laughed which caused her to internally cringe. That same voice that had caused her life to go off track and ruined her mental state was laughing nearly three feet away from her with a smirk on his face. Still, through all of this getting thrown in her face, she kept mostly quiet and composed as much as she could for wanting to strangle the guy next to her.

"Ah, your boyfriend. Yes, Yamaguchi-gumi member Sesshomaru. He's a very cold-hearted bastard eh? He may pity you for what happened those years ago but it was my job to eliminate your father's existence and anything tied with him; including you."

As he staved out his cigarette he turned toward her and smiled wide.

"What the fuck do you want with me? You tried to kill me before, but you failed. Now, tell me what the hell my father has to do with you, prick? I know he was an important member of your 'group', but I have done nothing to warrant you coming after me again. So I ask you, what is it you want from me?"

His smile died on his face when she insulted him and as quickly as he could he grabbed her by the throat and as she kicked, walked her over to the side of the three story ledge building.

"Dear Rin, your father was very important to our faction and he betrayed us. You poor little girl you have no idea what your father meant to us do you? Too bad you will never know because I do know that you have looked in the Yamaguchi files, but you won't be finding his true identity in that piece of shit. You won't be finding out any time either because I've been sent here to kill you and this time I cannot afford to fail."

There was no time for her to think anything, but she would not be letting him see her shake in front of him. Never would she give someone looking to hurt her and Sesshomaru the satisfaction. He would get nothing and as he waited for a reply she only cracked her own smile before he looked oddly down at her.

"You smile right before you die, are you mad?"

Her smile could only grow larger.

"You have no idea Hiroyuki."

The grip on her neck released and what she felt was a rush of wind, someone screaming below her and when she hit the ground she felt oddly peaceful. Nothing much hurt except for her left hand, the back of her head and her right ankle. The world around her began to get fuzzy and dark as she tried to stay awake and all the while knowing that just because she was alive in this minute she might not be in the next. She started seeing shadows lurking in front of her vision as people whispered and gathered around her. No one was helping until a teacher yelled for assistance. Since her life began she had had nothing but life threatening experiences so this one was no different than the rest except this time she hoped Sesshomaru would find her and make her safe if only for a little while.


Having just come from class it was not much of a surprise when a mountain of students milled around the halls and many headed towards the main doors to get a quick look outside before having to go back in, but this group continued on outside and gathered. Stepping closer he smelled blood when the door was pushed open for the second time and instantly he shoved students out of his way both left and right. A scent that was so familiar to him, that when he got outside he rushed over to the next group of hovering students and his eyes grew large with worthy. There she was lying on the ground at an odd angle starring up at the top of the building. When he looked up he knew he saw the swish of a coat and the same smell that had attached itself to Rin. It was a scent of a man and immediately he wanted to track the fucker down, but Rin was more important right now and he would ask her who had (obviously) shoved her when she was better. She would get better, she had to.

Stepping next to her the teacher in charge of the situation tried to tell him to go back to class, but when he leveled the man with a glare it made the silence around them grow. As he stared down at her body he found that she was unconscious. Blood seeped from the back of her head and he knew she had to have some broken bones. This was the final incident that was going to affect her. The decision was made that if he could find who had done this, all of them would go down with this single man. The ground would receive them and she would get some peace regardless of whether or not her lived to see her smiles or not. He was tired (as was she) of being annoyed with threats to her life; threats to his own were manageable, but she was not to be a target: ever.

The blasted human paramedics that had been called to the scene would not let him ride with her, so he had to follow behind with the protests of the school administration, still he was not about to care for their words over the broken body of his girlfriend. Speeding down the highway his mind was occupied with thoughts on her condition and how much he wanted to find the fucker that had hurt her and watch as the life slowly left his eyes from the crushing grip his neck was under. Definitely the bastard would pay for every second he had ever had in contact with Rin. Speed dialing his father he told him that Rin had been taken to the hospital. Obviously from the talk in the background he had interrupted an important meeting with his father, but this was not the matter that was of concern at the moment. Knowing his father would come quickly he hung up on him before he had asked about her condition. Truth be told he said nothing because he, himself had no idea and that thought alone scared the hell out of him.

Coming to a screeching halt in front of the hospital he quickly parked and gave no attention to the police officer that told him he was not allowed to park near the entrance. When he was able to get to the nurse's station he was told she was sent to the emergency room because of the injury to her head along with blood loss; she said he was not allowed to see her either until she was clear for recovery. Damnit! So, making himself as comfortable as he could get he sat in a hard metal framed chair that, for all purposes, was not very comfortable at all, and awaited the doctors to tell him the news, any news at this point. There he sat through the next hour or two because each time the clock on the wall ticked he would subconsciously count it even with the chatter around him he would hear each and every infernal second that went by. Even as he counted he began to think he was turning into Rin.

"For fuck's sake I am counting ticks on a clock; Rin is rubbing off on me too much it seems."

Initially that had been a comment to himself. He never was one for emotions but for some reason saying her name made him feel better and made him feel that she would not be leaving him this night. Sitting there with his head in his hands he failed to notice the older demon's presence, even with his superior senses.

"Indeed, you both are becoming more like one another each day."

Looking up he found his father looking gloomily down at him. From the way Sesshomaru was positioned he must have known things were not good. With a sigh he sat down next to his son and asked a question he knew was sensitive.

"How is she?"

Putting his head back into his hands he shrugged his shoulders for the very first time in his life. There was never a day when he had no idea what to expect, but it seemed that with Rin he was having a lot of firsts with his emotions.

"I have no idea; they will not let me see her."

A sigh came from his father.

"I told Izayoi and she will be coming as soon as she can."

The only thing he left his father with was a grunt. The woman was hard pressed to like Rin and even though she was warming up to the girl he could really care less who came to visit her, he just wanted to know if she was alright. Then, his father spoke again and he was forced to answer what he had seen and also gave a description of the man he had seen on the building. After his final explanation Inutaisho just looked over at his son who was bent down over himself with clear worry. Sesshomaru knew he must have looked weak but nothing was to be helped at the moment.

"I failed to protect her for what seems to be the hundredth time during our relationship."

Sesshomaru felt a pat on his back and happened to look up at his father who, for just a split second gave an odd look, but it cleared up the next second into a smile.

"You have not failed her and you never will. She relies on you and even though things happen they are neither the fault of you or her. Things happen, son, you just have to accept them and make sure the bastard who hurt her pays for it. I will do all I can to aid in finding this man and you will have full honors in ringing his head from his shoulders."

A sadistic grin came to his face and that was when the doctor came in to inform him of Rin's injuries. Then, as soon as the answer was given he went to room to have a few minutes alone with her, even though she was asleep it did not matter, just touching her hand and feeling the beat of her heart was enough.

The doctors had said that she suffered from a concussion, broken wrist, broken ankle, and a fractured rib, but other than all of that she was lucky and would be fine. Fine was not what he considered to be her condition and like all of the other events that she had gone through he hoped that she would not emotionally be broken down. She moaned a bit and tried to turn over in her sleep, though nothing happened and she continued to lie on her back with a morphine drip making her pain nonexistent. His father, Izayoi and even Inuyasha had come to visit her sleeping form. They had gotten her a private room and could do nothing but wait until she awoke to speak with her and his conversation would be the most important because he needed names if she could provide then, but faces would do just as well.


When he had received the call about Rin he was shocked that (outwardly) something like this would happen to her. Obviously someone was out to destroy her on a personal mission and he knew his son would find whoever was doing this and make them pay. Though he had been in an important meeting with Oyabun Hisayuki, but when he explained it was about his son's girlfriend Rin, the old man relented the meeting to another time and asked to be updated on her condition as soon as he found out. It was surprising and also comforting to know that even without being formally married/bonded to his son, that she was already making herself known to the yakuza community. His daughter-in-law was becoming a force and she wasn't even twenty years old. He went as fast as he could to get there because he knew his son would not react well if tragedy struck the young girl. However, when he arrived at the hospital and talked to his son something happened that he never expected. His thoughts changed course when Izayoi walked through the door. What would he do if something like this would ever happen to her? As he banished the thoughts from his mind he told her what had happened and her condition which made her sigh in relief; yes, he was glad too that he would not have to lead a deranged male demon out of a destroyed lobby this night.

As they sat discussing things his thoughts came back to what he had seen in his son around an hour ago. During the questioning a change had occurred that he knew he would never see again or maybe not until the girl passed on. Inutaisho shared this information with his wife.

"Something happened to my son that I cannot explain. He had always been like his mother with emotions, but when he spoke to me and he lifted his head there were tears building in his eyes."

A sigh escaped him when his wife gasped. Sure, she was not his mother but she knew him well enough to know he showed emotion to no one and today was a special day indeed.

"What is going to happen Inutaisho when the poor girl actually passes on?"

Looking up at the clock ticked away he knew the look on his face was a grim one. His son showed no emotions but to the girl who he loved and that girl was Rin. She had problems, no doubt, but she complimented his son so well; they were a perfect match. His son loved Rin (no matter if he never said it) and today, just like every other time she was hurt, took something away from Sesshomaru.

"His world will cease to right itself because she will no longer be there to balance him. He will not truly live until his life ends, the question is: how long will it take for him to follow her?"


Later the next evening after he reluctantly attended classes he came back to her room to check on her and found her sitting up in bed watching some program on the television mounted on the wall opposite her bed in the hospital room. When she saw him she smiled and turned off the television set, but that same smile that used to light up her face, faded into nothing. Something had bothered her these days and he had just assumed that she was frightened about the recent occurrence, though it did not look to be that way as of now when he walked over to her and sat in a chair next to the bed. If she feared for her life she would have asked him to stay with her at night and she did not. There had to be something else bothering her. She had already told him the event that had taken place and what the man had looked like. Sesshomaru, in turn, told his father the events and both of them had been on a search for a file photo even remotely resembling the face she had described and as of right now nothing had come about.

"I know something is wrong with you and you are not telling me."

Saying nothing she turned over and pulled the white covers over her aching body and shuffled around under the sheet until pulling out a manila folder and tossing it behind her body for him to look at. He wanted to growl at her, but she had been through enough and obviously this was a yakuza file that she should not have been looking at in the first place. She mumbled a bit before starting to make sense and she told him everything.

"I went to Oyabun Hisayaki's place hoping that he would be able to tell me how to go about finding information on my father. He had a picture on his desk of himself and a man I knew from the faded memories of my childhood. The man in the picture was someone my older brother called 'Uncle'. I asked Oyabun and he told me his name was Sumiyoshi, Yuji and he was part of your rivals the Sumiyoshi-kai. After that I snuck into the library and to the off limit section and found a file on this man my father knew and found out that my father was connected to this man by blood. Then, after I nearly got caught by your father, I found my own father's file. Your dad didn't know about me being a yakuza kid because my last name was changed to protect me…a lot of good that did."

It was a bit of a struggle to piece it all together but he kept on track. Still she had her back turned and he was thankful because he read the same line over and over again in the file: Sumiyoshi-kai member Sumiyoshi, Hiro. Next to his name was a large and red deceased stamp. Still, the line jolted him and that was when he smelt tears from her.

"Don't you see Sesshomaru? My life has been a lie. I'm not a Minamoto, I'm a fucking Sumiyoshi. You're dating a girl who is your mortal enemy. My own father was a yakuza member and I didn't even know it. That man, on the ledge, he told me I wouldn't find the whole truth in that file you have, but I'm not sure I care enough anymore."

He had nothing to say to her as he stepped back out of her room and into the hall to absorb everything that had happened and had been said. It was not that he did not accept her; it was that all this new information was a lot to handle. All the time that she had been trying to find out who she was, it had been under their noses the whole time. Damnit! Even as he looked over the file again and again he saw clear a day a jail photo of the man his girlfriend knew as her father. Taking the file with him, he stepped into the fifth floor elevator he took it all the way down until he found the double doors that led outside the hospital. Honestly, he thought she would have had a stronger repulsion to a place that liked a lot of white, like the asylum she had been to. She didn't have a strange reaction, though what she did have was a powerful reaction to not knowing these 'new' things about her father.

Having been leaning on the side of the building, smoking one cigarette after another for the past thirty minutes he was not the least bit surprised when he saw his father and Izayoi come in. Inutaisho sensed his son, whispered to Izayoi who nodded her head and went inside to sit with Rin, while he walked over to his first son. His father was dressed as usual in a nice suit while he, himself was still dressed in his school uniform. The older demon stood next to him watched the crowds of humans walk by and chat candidly with one another. They did not speak for a few minute until Sesshomaru handed his father the very same folder she had given him earlier. He did not look at the Oyabun until he heard him sigh a bit and hand it back to Sesshomaru.

"Damn son, you do know how to pick them don't you? Rin, a daughter of a Sumiyoshi-kai member? Who knew eh?"

Again, nothing was said for a bit until he decided to speak since his father obviously was not going anywhere.

"She believes her whole life to be a lie now."

"I suppose she would. What are you going to do about it son?"

Looking up at his father he said nothing as he grabbed for an object in his pants pocket. It was hard and velveteen in feel, but contained something incredibly precious. Tossing it over to his father he pulled out and lit another cigarette. Inutaisho gasped a bit as he looked at the box's glistening contents.

"You have this a while son?"

"Yes."

The demon gave it back to him, which he stuck back into his pocket for safe keeping.

"You intend to marry her on human terms first?"

"No. I was going to mate with her and then ask, but it seems that it will not come to pass anytime soon because I will be going after these men once we find them. This will have to wait."

He was slapped on the shoulder a bit too hard though he got over it.

"Whatever you decide to do you should do it as soon as you can. I love you boy, but the life we lead does not allow us to make gauged decisions. You may not be able to die from those cancer sticks, but you can still die and many people are gunning for you."

He only had one reply to that statement which made him almost laugh.

"When are they not?"

Before he left the older demon smiled at him, which made Sesshomaru feel a bit proud at the moment.

"We will succeed in finding the people responsible for all that has come to her in the past few days and earlier in her life, you can count on it. It is only a matter of time before the people who keep trying to kill her slip up and we find them."

As he walked up the stairs, taking the long way to think clearer, he could not help his mind wondering to a smiling Rin who thanked him profusely for getting rid of those who harmed her. She had told him that the man who dropped her was the same man whose shoes she saw from under the bed in her room those many, many years ago when she was just a child. Rin had said she would always remember his voice, but she never caught the man's name. No matter, he would find the bastard and skin him alive for his transgressions against the one woman who solely belonged to the Yamaguchi-gumi. He needed to keep her feeling secure and happy for as long a possible. So, stepping up to her bed he lightly drug his finger through her hair as he spoke hoping she would understand.

"I have done some thinking and I want you to know that I know why your father did what he did to you. I am much like him in this aspect. He never told you the truth because he was trying to get away from that life, so he completely left everything one day and made you his priority. He was protecting you Rin and he tried so hard to keep it from you and he succeeded…to an extent. However, he did not know that I would be here to help you pick up the pieces and help you understand everything. There are days when I wish I could close my eyes and in a solitary moment you would be happy again without the pain of knowing who and what I am and without having to of lived through the tragedy of your childhood. I cannot do this, but I will do something else for you. I will make sure that you find peace and that you will be happy."

They did not have much to talk about the following day that she was hospitalized. She did her homework and had him help her when she had troubles with it. She slept, watched TV and fell asleep as often as possible holding his hand tightly while she dreamt. The solitary and beautiful creature he looked upon was constantly being bombarded with death and destruction and he knew he was part of the reason for all of this, but he would be damned if she was without him as long as these people were still trying to kill her. Her damn father had brought the knowledge of his whereabouts through the uncle/friend that he allowed in his home a few times. Obviously, the people who were looking for him found him this way and wasted no time getting rid of everything in their wake. However, one question remained as she held one of his hands and the other smoothed over the surface of the ring in hi pants pocket: why would they want to kill such a low level man such as Rin's father? After all, he was only the yakuza blood relative of Sumiyoshi, Yuji a lieutenant right?


Often her mind would take it upon itself to visit faraway lands and visit place she had never been before and she was used to it, but when her mind functioned normally it was a bit harder for her to grasp onto even though she was desperate to try. Right now, as she lay in the hospital bed listening to the tale tell sound of the minute hand ticking away on a nearby wall clock, she could not help but wonder if this was a life she was cut-out for. In the beginning, those year ago when she was young, filled with hope, and a little bit less level headed, she wanted so much to make their relationship work, but all of that was before all of this had happened. Still she had described the man who had hurt her to him, but still she gave him no name though he gave her a look that showed he was surprised…like he knew who she was talking about. But he hadn't said a thing to her, did he know? He couldn't possibly know this, no she hadn't told him. This was her business and she was determined to fix it. She loved him, truly more than anything she had in her life, though now while watching him asleep in the chair next to her, she contemplated all that she was doing to him.

All of the things she was doing to him were obviously taking a toll. Honestly, look at him he was actually sleeping because he was physically exhausted from worrying about her every moment of everyday; demons do not need sleep and the way he was acting lately you would never know that. Granted that she would have perished if he had not found her that fateful day or rescued her like he had done countless times after that and she was so very grateful, but when everything comes crashing down, like it had recently done, she was beginning to wonder if this life was for her or if putting him through this was something she wanted to do. If she were to ask him if she was being a burden he would of course say 'no'. This, however, she knew would be a lie for she was witnessing a man who had enough to deal with in his life with schooling and wanting to please his father with all of his 'jobs' that needed to be done and all while trying to keep her sanity in check. Those years ago she could not understand why her grandmother put her in the asylum, but for this one moment she was thinking clearly, she now understood. It was hard to take care of someone who could never really take care of themselves.

With this epiphany in mind she felt like everyone she was around had to put up with her and what had happened. It was something she knew she couldn't help, but maybe she could help the fact that she was putting him through it when he already had more than enough to look after. She was someone he didn't need in his life; after all, she was the only reason (at the moment) that others were after him. Sighing she found herself slowly sitting up and flinging her legs over the side of the bed and sitting on its edge. There was nothing much to see except for the large moon that hung in the cloudless sky, but since they were in Tokyo, the stars were hidden by the obtrusive bright city lights and could not be seen even with a squint of the eye. No matter when the moon was beautiful and she had enough space between her and the outside world to feel a bit of calm during her internal storm. All of her thoughts ceased when she felt the bed next to her dip down a then felt a hand around her waist with a light kiss to her exposed neck.

She did revel in it if only for a little while. Still she wanted to discuss with him the future between the two of them even when tonight was not the best night to be asking serious questions. Rin was determined to tell him all of her thoughts and then tell him that she was just going to leave him alone from now on, they would break apart and he would not have to take care of her for the rest of her life because she was not able to do anything in life accept convert oxygen to carbon dioxide. Of course others might see this as self pity but it was not that at all. She knew what she was doing to him and knew that with his occupation he could not constantly be looking at for her instead of himself. Feeling a bit of resolve she sucked in a large breath before she spoke to him. With that she proceeded to tell him everything she had been feeling and what she had also been thinking and after she was done she awaited what he had to say and she was prepared to fight him about breaking up, but he only looked at her for a bit and then spoke with the softest tones she had ever heard him use.

"If these feelings are truly your own then I cannot stop you from doing something you are set on doing, however, I will tell you that I am here to help you get passed your previous experiences in your life. Though I do know that your illnesses will not be leaving you for the rest of your life one another thing I also know that it is with my own determination that I help you live as best as you can with them. I can fully understand why one such as yourself would want to leave and I know you appreciate what I do for you and that is why you want to leave. You want to leave not because you are bored with us, not because you feel inadequate or angry, but because you believe I cannot handle keeping you sane along with everything else I deal with in my life. I have something to tell you dear Rin: I deal with deaths' threat everyday and yes, you have made things interesting for me to say the least, but all of these things make my own life worthwhile. Just because you do not hear of them does not mean I am receiving the possibility of nonexistence. Do you not see that even with the flaws we both share, we make each other's lives worth living to their fullest? Am I correct?"

Rin was surprised about the amount of things he had to say, but one thing she could not deny was that even with all the hell she put him through she still enjoyed being with him more than anything. So, facing him as best she could she nodded her head and listened to what he had to say next.

"Again, feel free to object to anything I say, all the while know that even if I don't say how I feel about you enough you know that I am here to protect you and reciprocate any feeling you have for me…I hope you are understanding what I mean."

Amazing to think that in a round about way he was saying that he loved her even though she never needed to hear him say it. They stayed like that until she grew tired and rested her head on his shoulder at the sun came up in bursts of bright orange and light reds. She felt him kiss her short and sweet on the lips before she heard him say something that made her want to smile, if she hadn't been so exhausted.

"I will give you everything you ever ask of me and one day we will have our solace that I can promise you. You will live with peace even if I have to die trying."

The only thing she could not help but think about as she dreamt was the question she had posed to him that night.

"If I asked you to let me go, would you?"

His answer had obviously been a no, but she now knew that he didn't want her to go. He wanted her to stay with him because in a way they made each other complete and kept one another sane. In a crazed way he helped her and she helped him even though, for now at least, they both had prices on their heads. Sure, maybe he would not be in as much trouble as he was now with being an acquaintance of hers, but there was no one she would rather go down fighting with, than the one she slept next to that very night.


The very next morning he found himself sitting in the waiting room while she went through some more tests to make sure she was able to be released in a few more days. And in that waiting room he sat, on the phone, with the quietness around him in nothing but a grey tank top and a pair of old blue jeans. Nurses had come around to frequent the glass doors and spy on him, but he paid not attention since the conversation on his phone was way more important than the looks of woman who held no importance to him. Most assuredly the markings all over his back and those on his arms would give him away and still it seemed that he was a bit of a show for these staff members even with the threat of who he was plainly written all over him. While on the phone with his father about the whereabouts of the bastard that had hurt Rin a young couple led in their son who had to be at least five years old and without paying attention to who they left him with, they walked a few paces down the hallway to the teller.

Out of the corner of his eye he watched the child look around for toys and had to of been disappointed when all he spotted were grown-up magazines on the table in the middle of the room. It was early today; only around eight o' clock, so not many visitors had arrived yet since the visiting hours had not began until ten. There the quietness reigned and he had to watch his language when his father informed him that there was no progress on finding the man who had injured Rin.

"Father, Rin had recently told me some information that I believe will be useful in our search. However, I will only tell you when I return home later tonight. I do not wish to speak about such sensitive things to her out in the middle of a hospital. I-"

"Hey, Mister?"

Hearing the small voice he tried to ignore it, he was never good with children and at this moment he did not need to deal with a nuisance such as this one. And again the child spoke to him and this time tugged on his shirt as well. Telling his father to wait a moment or two on the phone he looked down at the child and glared at him hoping he would go away, still he stayed and only spoke some more.

"You know you don't look too nice. Mister, I just had a question."

Sesshomaru wanted to growl because he heard his father laughing through the phone.

"What do you want?"

He had spoken in such a harsh tone the child jumped a bit, but other than he crawled himself up into the light blue plastic chair and sat kicking his legs back and forth looking up at Sesshomaru with wonder in his eyes.

"Hey mister, are you a demon?"

Letting out a small growl he then answered the child.

"Yes."

The child was a quintessential Japanese human with black hair and brown eyes, but this made him wonder if it were at all possible for Rin to have looked this way when she was younger. The same chubby cheeks, the same toothed smiled and curiosity? Well, the one thing he knew was that she had to of had the same innate curiosity and maybe more than she should have. The child seemed to be done questioning him and so he sighed and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and had begun talking to his father again when he felt another tug on his shirt.

"What is it?"

The young child pointed to his back.

"What are those pictures on your back? They're pretty."

For fuck's sake they were not pretty (unless it was Rin touching them and scoring his back with her nails when they fucked) and he did not need a child touching him, for they were a powerhouse full of germs and illnesses.

"They are of a demon warrior, a samurai."

The child did not seem to understand what he was saying and frankly he did not care, though he continued to sit there and ask questions.

"I like them. I'm here to see my pop-pop. Who are you here to see?"

Looking over to see if the nurse had come yet to inform him that he could go in, he sighed, and looked back at the boy.

"My girlfriend."

He looked a bit sad by his next question.

"My mom says pop-pop is really sick, is your girlyfriend sick to?"

He only need think for a second before answering.

"In a way, yes."

"Oh. Is she nice?"

There was no waiting to answer that one and he smiled a bit.

"She is very nice."

Sesshomaru then realized he must have shown the boy a fang or two because that was his next question.

"Wow! Are you a demon too?"

"Yes."

"Neat! I wanna be a demon too! They are scary and my friends would like me even better!"

The child then proceeded to run around in front of him with his arms out like a bird making growling and roaring sounds. Though Sesshomaru had never seen any demon act like that he decided to let the matter go and spoke with his father a few seconds more and then hung up just as the child stood in front of him.

"My name is Shingo, what's yours?"

Giving the boy a straight look since he really felt the nurse should be coming around soon or even his parents, he waited a bit and when no one came, he answered.

"Sesshomaru."

With failure the little boy repeated his name and his face scrunched up here and there to try and for the obviously complicated word.

"Seeshumaru."

At that moment he relieved a sigh when he saw the nurse coming forward and along with the boy's parents. She batted her eyes at him and smiled telling him that he could go an see Rin now and while he was walking down the hall towards the elevator he heard the young boy speaking to his parents about the 'demon man' he had just met. Shaking his head he made his way to her room and something besides the boy occupied his mind, it was the idea of Rin bearing his own children. Would they look like her? Would they have her sweet smile or her deep eyes? Coming upon her room and quietly opening the door he found her curled up in a tight fetal position with her struggling to keep her eyes open to look upon him and smile. With a rough morning voice she spoke.

"I knew you would come. Sorry it took so long before the nurse could come and get you, we had a mishap earlier during my physical therapy with the crutches. My back started hurting me and they gave me pain medication, though it has yet to kick in. Can you come and hold my hand?"

Stepping up to her he asked her to lie on her stomach and stretch out. Placing the blankets over her he then sat alongside the bed. He could tell she was in pain it seemed that it was all he was good at bringing her.

"I can do something better than that, lovely."

He then began smoothing his hand up and down her back with just a small amount of pressure to focus the pain not on her lower back but where his hand was trailing along the length of her spine. Noticing that the pain medication had come to fruition he still continued to rub her back while she slept, breathing deeply and in complete relaxation.

Sometimes he forgot how independent she was and he liked that about her, though he always worried about her and with these people coming after her it was a lot worse, he still enjoyed her being able to go on without him, for he felt that it was important that this happen when he, himself felt that maybe he would no be around that long to see her through life. Would it be so hard to find out who had done this to her? It seemed that way. After the talk with his father he was a bit pissed, but nothing would beat the death of those who had forever plagued her dreams and who had made her life a living hell. His Rin had absolutely no need for nightmares, because she lived through her hell everyday and would continue to do so until he personally dealt with that problem the only way he knew how: with a gun.


A/N: How'd you like it? Be truthful. Oh the same man from ch.5 who was spying on Rin is back….DUN DUN DUN! Too bad poor Sess can't get her to tell him names! Poo! Mwahaha everything is starting to come together so nicely and there's only more to come! YEH! So, we'll get to see more about this whole 'Rin's father' dilemma in the coming chapters, so keep checking for updates on this puppy. Only a few more chapters to go until the end.