Huzzah! Updates! Sorry it's been so long guys, life is a kerfuffle of fun sometimes.

Sorry... hope an extra long chapter makes up for it!

Amber eyes flickered towards the closed door where his elder brother resided, the younger's pen tapping restlessly on the paper he was supposed to be working on for his history class.

InuYasha had lived with his elder brother since his birth and, while there were summers and some weeks that his elder visited his mother, he learned how to live with the brooding atmosphere and attitude of his brother. Taking the brunt of the elder's abuse, both physical and verbal, the half-demon somehow came to understand his brother's mood swings and when he should avoid the elder. It was reasonable, then, for InuYasha to assume that he knew his brother's personality better than others; at least, that was his thought until his brother returned home from his night with Rin, the demon retreating to his room and refusing to come out for anything other than classes.

Though he tried, the younger of the two brothers could not get Sesshomaru to talk to him, not that InuYasha thought his elder would. The half-demon sighed; he and his brother had slowly begun to get better but now, InuYasha felt they were reverting back to the hate they used to hold for each other.

White ears flicked at the sound of the creaking door, the large amber eyes looking towards his brother's form as it moved to the kitchen, the eyes downward and his mouth returning to the permanent frown he used to always hold around his younger brother.

"Hey," InuYasha started slowly, a small grumble erupting from his brother's lips. "Dad called," the younger began, "wondering how you are…"

"What did you say?" Sesshomaru muttered, his head not turning from the coffee he was making.

"Seeing as how I don't know, nothing," the younger explained, his body turning to look towards his elder, "what should I have said?"

"What you did," the demon shot back, "nothing. I'm fine."

"Right," InuYasha nodded sarcastically, "you might think I'm stupid, but not that stupid."

"Beg your pardon?" Sesshomaru asked, finally turning to look at his half-brother, his eyebrow raised.

"Come on!" the younger stood, "you've been moping, well, for you anyway, for the past two weeks! What the Hell is going on!?"

"Nothing," the demon said coolly, "nothing is going on and it's none of your damn business."

"I live in the same place as you," InuYasha pressed, "and your mood is infectious! Besides, since when do you act this emotional?!"

"I am not emotional!" Sesshomaru snapped.

"For you, you are!" the younger retorted, "just what the Hell is going on!?"

"As I said before, none of your damn business!" the demon roared, now coming to stand over his brother.

"According to Dad it is my business!" InuYasha told him, "what happened?! Did you have a bad date with Rin or something-"

Tension filled the air as InuYasha came to the realization, his eyes widening as he slowly straightened up, his mouth hanging open in slight shock.

"I… Is that what it is?" the younger asked quietly, "is that what happened?"

Rendered silent, Sesshomaru averted his brother's gaze, the new feeling of shame returning to him as he forced the lump in his throat.

"Wh… what happened?" InuYasha pressed, "i-it couldn't have been that bad… I mean… it's not like she found out-"

After being constantly called stupid by his elder, InuYasha tried his hardest to prove Sesshomaru wrong, get good grades, study hard, anything he could. However, the words that had just slipped from his lips confirmed the demon's words more than anything.

"Oh…" was all the half-demon thought to mumble, now feeling the discomfort level rise once more between them.

"Yes, oh," Sesshomaru spoke up, "Naraku decided to just pop up and let slip our little bet."

"But… weren't you trying to get out of the bet?" InuYasha questioned.

"Try being the operative word," the demon murmured, "did you think he'd let me out?"

"You did," the half-demon muttered, his brother bristling at the words.

"Regardless, she knows," Sesshomaru informed his little brother, "the only person she's ever had feelings for and I go and destroy them," InuYasha swore he saw guilt flicker past his brother's eyes, "thanks to me she's most likely never going to trust another."

"Well…" InuYasha started slowly, "d-did you try-"

"Talking to her?" the demon asked, his brow raised, "of course I did; she rightfully brushed me off."

Nodding, InuYasha decided not to push his brother's thoughts, not knowing how his elder tried desperately to talk to Rin, that the demon tried to chase her at her job and around the campus, Rin only brushing him off, when she was around at all. If InuYasha thought his brother was becoming a recluse, then Rin was even more so, and rightfully.

Sesshomaru was trying everything he could to get in contact with her, to talk to her, to try and see her; and Rin was, effectively, eluding him. Her phone was turned off, she wouldn't let her roommates give her their phones though the fact that the demon could make it through to them told him that Rin hadn't let on to what happened between them, something the demon was slightly thankful for; he suspected that if Kagome knew, he would no longer have any internal organs.

"So…" InuYasha tried once more, "wh-what's going to happen now?"

"What do you think?" Sesshomaru snapped, "if I try to fix this I'll only make things worse but if I don't… then I've destroyed a young woman whose done nothing to deserve this."

"Damn," the younger muttered, his arms crossing around himself.

"That's a word for it," the demon turned on his heel, "let me know if you find any others."

Nodding, InuYasha watched his elder slip back into his room and into darkness, Sesshomaru sighing as he collapsed back onto his bed. There was nothing he could do, to make everything okay, to make Rin believe in him.

Not that she should.

There was not one reason why she should believe him, not one reason why she should trust him.

The demon rolled over on his side.

He tricked her, led her on, even fell in love her, and then, as was the plan from the beginning, he destroyed her. Fingers ran through his hair; this was what he deserved, this was what he had coming for doing something so terrible to someone who was so innocent and kind.

Sesshomaru groaned. Everything would just be better if he moved on as she did; but he couldn't, and from Rin's reaction, neither could she.

"DAMN!" the demon shouted, his foot kicking the post of his bed, slightly thankful for the growing darkness that was matching his mood.

The phone ringing had him groaning once more. True to InuYasha's word, his father had tried desperately to get in contact with him, to talk to him about his elder's sudden isolation.

"Father," Sesshomaru started, "please stop calling me, I'm fine-"

"Sesshomaru?"

The demon stilled at the sound of the elderly voice, his brows narrowing in confusion as he glanced to the caller ID.

"Yes, this is he," the demon nodded, "who is this?"

"This is Kaede," the woman explained, "I need to talk to you about Rin."

"Rin?" Sesshomaru asked, "what about her?"

Rin looked up at the rolling blackness, the dark clouds having almost no effect on her depressed state, her pace neither quickening nor slowing at the rolling sound of thunder. Trudging along her path, Rin's mind ran over the past several days, cruelly replaying Naraku's words and snickering smile, her brain fighting desperately to convince herself that he was merely playing some cruel and sick joke, until she saw Sesshomaru's face.

Her feet stopped walking when her vision became blurry, her hands coming to her face as she tried in vain to wipe away her tears. Sniffling, Rin rubbed away the saline fluid only to have it replaced by fresh ones. Drops of water began hitting the dirt, followed quickly by others. At first, Rin had assumed that they were from her, until she looked up, the water falling on her face evident that the dark clouds had unleashed themselves upon her.

Looking down, Rin moved her body into a run, figuring she should find some shelter from the water before she became soaked to the bone. Both tears and rain blurred her vision, the sky sending sheets of rain to obstruct her path, the ground quickly becoming muddy and wet as her feet splashed across the path.

This is stupid, Rin thought bitterly, I shouldn't cry over him, he's not worth it, he's not…

Rin stopped mid-thought, the snide voice in the back of her mind that always told her she wasn't good enough for him or that he deserved better was now cackling away, practically jumping with glee as it kept repeating I told you so, I told you so, I told you so, as Rin felt her heart breaking afresh for the umpteenth time. She had chosen to ignore the cruel words, opting to open her heat out for once in her life, betting on the fact that he wouldn't hurt her or leave her broken on the side of the road.

Oh how wrong she had been.

Raising her arm over her head, Rin looked around desperately for some sort of tree or thicket to hide in and wait out the rain, her mind still lingering on Sesshomaru.

"AH!"

Rin screamed as she felt the ground slip away from her, the mud giving way to her weight as she fell from the path, the ground flying up to meet her, her feet gripping onto whatever firm surface they could find. Rin felt her ankle twist as she finally found her footing, her body now falling towards the mass of logs and mud at the bottom of the ravine; gripping onto the muddy slide, Rin desperately tried to cling onto whatever she could to stop her fall.

Her body landed with a muddy splash at the bottom, knocking the wind clean out of her as she smacked her back into a log. Lying winded in the mud, Rin shakily pulled herself up using the fallen tree as support. Shuffling around in her mud-covered clothes, Rin lifted her upper body out of the filth, her knees moving to lift her legs out and up.

A loud scream followed by a splash echoed through the forest as Rin applied the slightest bit of pressure to her foot, pain shooting through the nerves and forcing her back to the ground, clutching her now throbbing ankle as a fresh set of tears bloomed in her eyes and a new sob tore from her throat, the pain adding to her worsening state.

Rin placed her head on the soaking tree trunk, now sobbing uncontrollably, wondering what she had done to deserve any of her life; losing her both her family in the fire and any form of inheritance as they couldn't find their will, shuffled from foster home to foster never once feeling like she belonged anywhere since her aunts and uncles didn't want her either, getting her heart shattered into a million pieces after it had been so carefully rebuilt by someone she thought loved her, and finally having her ankle twisted leaving her frozen, soaked and abandoned to die at the bottom of a ravine.

"Could this get any worse?" she murmured miserably to herself, clutching onto the smooth wood of the tree trunk as if it were her only lifeline left in the world, the unceasing rain pouring relentlessly down on her frigid body.

"RIN!"

Rin turned, startled by the sound of her name, her eyes searching desperately for the owner of the voice. Looking up at the path she had just fallen from, Rin's eyes followed the path until they rested on the figure looking down at her, all hope fading from her as her own rhetorical question was answered for her.

Yes, by all accounts, it could be worse in every way possible.

There, standing at the top of the slope, was Sesshomaru, his silver hair clinging to his body from the water, drops dripping off his nose and chin as his chest heaved from his evident run, the dark jeans he wore were splattered with mud and the white dress shirt plastered to his muscles and body.

Without uttering another word, Sesshomaru quickly kneeled next to the slope and pushed off in the mud, his body sliding down the slope almost gracefully as he gently came to a stop at the bottom, running as fast as he could towards her, never slipping or slowing once over the muddy terrain.

"Rin! Rin are you alright?" Sesshomaru called to her, getting on his knees to reach her eye level, his own trailing over her muddied form to check for any external injuries. Rin saw him visibly freeze when his amber eyes met her ankle, her hand still clutching it as hard as she dared; almost tenderly, he reached for her, "you're ankle," he whispered, is somehow carrying above the rain, "what-"

"Don't touch me!" Rin shrieked standing up quickly, her only thought was to get away from the one person who had managed to break her so easily.

Gasping in pain, the young woman stumbled before falling onto the ground, her hands curling into fists as she hoped it would somehow dull the pain. Whimpering, Rin's body curled into itself tightly, her chest heaving as she gulped down sobs.

Sesshomaru just sat there, hand still outstretched in shock, watching her shiver from both pain and cold, the water on her face indistinguishable from her tears and the rain. The dog demon felt his chest constrict at the thought that Rin would rather freeze to death alone in the pouring rain with her injured ankle than have him touch her. Swallowing thickly, the demon tried once more, determined to protect her by any means necessary.

"Rin," Sesshomaru tried softly, "I know I'm the last person you want to see ever again, but please let me help you, you're soaking wet and you'll get sick if you don't get warm soon so please-"

"Why do you care?"

Sesshomaru winced at her harsh words, her matted hair and bangs concealing her eyes from the side of her face yet her face remained impassive, her sleeve returning to her nose as she sniffed.

"Well?" she asked bitterly, turning to face him, her now visible bloodshot eyes glaring at him, "why do you care? You won you're bet, shouldn't you be done with me? No wait, I know," Rin voice suddenly dripped with sarcasm and forced fake realization, "you have another bet right? Get back together with me maybe? Or perhaps this time you have to get me in bed!" Sesshomaru flinched as she shouted at him, all her emotions finally breaking through, her tears still falling unceasingly, "why can't you just leave me be? What the hell did I ever do to you? Did I brush up against you the wrong way, did I say the wrong thing to you, did I offend one of your friends? What the hell did I ever do to deserve this?!"

Sesshomaru watched as she just seemed to crumble in front of him, all her words feeling like knives spearing his chest added to the sight of her sobbing in front of him, all the pain she was feeling caused by his stupidity and arrogance made him want to sink into the mud and disappear from the world.

"Rin," he murmured hoarsely, his voice sound weak and scared, hating himself for sounding so, "please, let me take care of you; you'll fall ill if you stay out here much longer."

Rin shuddered in the rain, her eyes looking down at her ankle, the injured body part now feeling as though pulse flowed through it. She chewed her lip, every part of her knew he was right, the cold rain had soaked her sweater and pants, her shoes would have squelched with every step had she been able to walk, and her exposed skin and matted hair was caked in mud; if she stayed out here much longer, she would end up with hypothermia, or worse.

Rin turned her tear-stained face back to Sesshomaru, her hands still gripping the fallen tree trunk, shaking in the cold and rain. Slowly, Sesshomaru straightened up, moving cautiously over to her, his hands outstretched as he placed his hands on her back, moving one of them in a circular motion to relax and warm her while the other gathered up her legs, scooping her up and pressing her shivering form to him, his hand now rubbing her arms in an attempt to ease her quivering. Looking around, the demon began to make his way down the path, hoping that the trail met up with the ravine somewhere down the path.

The two traveled in an uncomfortable silence and while Rin's fingers and toes began to go numb, her ankle, unfortunately, did not, the pain still radiating from her accidental fall. Stepping thought the mud, Sesshomaru cast his glance down at the petite girl in his arms, her fingers tuning an awful shade of red and curling in their stiffness, her body turning into his chest, desperately seeking warmth from someone she must surely hate. Tightening his grip on her, Sesshomaru did everything he could to warm her, not that he was comfortable himself, his shirt soaked through and the rain's heavy drops pounding on his skin, his breath starting to come in faint puffs in the frigid air.

Feeling relief, Sesshomaru managed to make his way up and out of the ravine and back onto the path, his leather shoes squelching in the mud on the path, the pieces of gravel increasing as he made his way over to where his car was parked, the rain only lightening up slightly, but still enough to cause them discomfort as he ran towards the black vehicle.

Opening the car, Sesshomaru slipped Rin into the passenger side, pulling the seat back and letting her curl up on her side, her body still shivering violently and uncontrollably. Slowly, the demon removed her own sopping wet sweater and threw it in the back seat, her hands gripping her now pale and exposed arms. Digging around in the trunk of his car, Sesshomaru pulled out a sweater left over from one of his kendo practices, slamming the top shut before he made his way over to his side of the car, slipping in and escaping from the pouring rain. Turning to the shivering woman, worry shot through him when he saw he lips turn a shade of that closely resembled blue.

Leaning over, the dog demon unzipped the sweater and threw it on Rin, tucking her in with the edges of the dark fabric. Rin curled almost gladly into the dry material, her face and red nose buried into the navy fleece, her jeaned legs tucking into her stomach. Slipping the seatbelt over her, Sesshomaru clicked her in before fitting in his own.

Gunning up the car, Sesshomaru carefully tore out the parking lot, the gravel crunching under the tires. Pulling onto the wet roads, the business major slowly navigated his way onto the back roads, whimpers and shivering from the passenger next to him worrying him as he drove down the winding roads carefully so as to avoid spinning out of control.

Rin looked weakly out of the car window, the scenery unfamiliar to her as it flashed by, the rain dripping across the window.

"Wh-where are you going? Th-this…th-this isn't the w-way home," the young woman stuttered weakly through chattering teeth and shivering body.

"I know," Sesshomaru responded automatically, "it'll take too long, I need to warm you up now."

"S-so wh-where are we-?"

"I told you my family has a cottage in these woods right, on our first hike up here?" Sesshomaru asked her gently, risking a glance at her before turning back to the road, "I'll take you there, warm you up, and then we'll see how you feel. If your better, I'll take you home once he storm lets up, but if you don't get any better by the time the rain passes I'm taking you to the hospital, no questions."

The young woman just stared bitterly out the window, not one word escaping her lips as they drove along, the rain pattering on the car's windows and roof the only sound inside the expensive sports car.

Rin felt her wet body meet the soft couch, Sesshomaru's arms sliding out from under her back and knees as he placed her on the most comfortable spot he could find. Leaving her side, the dog demon turned and quickly walked down the hall, the sound of the door opening reached her ears followed by the shuffling of something soft.

Looking over the arm of the couch, Rin watched as Sesshomaru returned with an armful of grey sweatpants and matching slip-on hoodie and a white fluffy towel.

"Here," he said quietly, handing the outfit to her, her head turning away from him, not bothering to take the clothes Sesshomaru offered. "They're InuYasha's," he added after a while, hiding the pain in his voice when she finally took them only after hearing that they weren't his.

Without another word to her, Sesshomaru left her alone to change, sliding from the living room to the kitchen, the wet plop of clothes the only indication that Rin was slipping into the dry clothes. Flicking on the kettle, the dog demon looked down at his own attire, the mud and water dripping through the granite-tiled floor, a trail led from the front door to the couch, then to his little brother's room, back to the couch, and finally into the kitchen. Turning from the boiling water, Sesshomaru walked to his room, deliberately avoiding the living room and the changing girl. Walking in, Sesshomaru moved his clothes around, only to find the same thing as InuYasha's room. Minimal sweatshirt and pants with one or two white tee shirts.

Stripping out of his clothes, Sesshomaru grabbed the second towel from the linin closet lying on his bed and peeled his wet clothes off his body, tossing them off onto the carpeted floor. Rubbing his skin down, Sesshomaru slipped into the sweatpants, his white shirt form fitting over his chest and arms.

Drying off his hair vigorously, Sesshomaru walked back to the kitchen, the kettle automatically shutting off after reaching its boiling temperature. Shuffling around in the kitchen, Sesshomaru dumped the loose tea leaves into the pot and poured the boiling water in after it, his tall form leaning against the counter as he waited for the drink to steep.

Gripping two white ceramic mugs, Sesshomaru placed the strainers over them, the floral scent of the infused green tea reaching his nose as he tossed out the tea leaves in the trash bin, both steaming mugs now placed on the tray as Sesshomaru made his way over to the couch. Peering over, Sesshomaru saw a pile of muddied and soaking clothes, his brother's gray sweats donning on her petite form as she remained impassive on the couch.

Placing the tray on the coffee table, Sesshomaru made his way carefully over to her, sitting on the opposite side of the couch, tenderly raising her sprained ankle into his lap.

"Are you feeling okay?" he asked softly, his fingers undoing the laces of her running shoe slowly, evident that she could not take it off herself due to the pain.

Rin nodded, her glassy eyes watching as Sesshomaru slowly removed her shoe.

"If it hurts too much just let me know and I'll stop."

At her second nod, Sesshomaru slowly pulled the shoe off her foot, watching as he face winced in pain, but made no move to stop him. Placing it on the ground next to her left one, Sesshomaru returned to her sock, pulling the wet fabric off her swelling ankle with care before throwing it next to the pile of clothes she had. Pushing the elastic of his brother's sweat pants up her calf, Sesshomaru's hands ghosted over her injury before reaching over to grab the wrapping for her.

Slowly, the demon wound the flesh-coloured bandage around her ankle, keeping her face in the corner of his eye as he tightened the bandage slightly. Clipping on the silver fastener, the cloth was firmly set in place as Sesshomaru replaced her foot back on the couch with tenderness.

Walking around his living room, the demon gathered up all the pillows on the various chairs and other couches, thanking whatever deity existed that his step mother loved to decorate. Stacking the soft pillows, Sesshomaru gently placed her foot on the soft material, elevating it to reduce its swelling. Reaching over to the tray, Sesshomaru grabbed the ice pack wrapped in the cloth and placed it slowly on her ankle, watching as she winced slightly in pain before relaxing as the pain began to numb.

"Better?"

Rin nodded, her back relaxing into the pillows Sesshomaru had propped up for her, "a little," she admitted.

Grabbing the blanket draped over the back of the couch, Sesshomaru covered Rin in the rich red wool fabric, letting her hands fall over top of the blanket over her chest, her deep brown eyes following him as he moved back to the tray to offer her one of the steaming cups before taking the other one and settling down at the foot of the couch his own amber eyes affixed to the green liquid.

Both occupants drank in silence, the fire Sesshomaru had lit when they first entered warming them comfortably combined expertly with the hot tea. It was Rin who broke that silence.

"Why?"

Sesshomaru turned to look at the young woman, the mud having dried on her face and was brushed off and left only a faint brown trace on her delicate skin.

"Kaede asked me to come get you since she was concerned that you would get caught in the rain-"

"That's not what I meant," Rin interrupted softly, "you know what I asked."

Sesshomaru felt his jaw clench and his body stiffen before he looked up at her.

"What can I say to you Rin?" he asked, his voice bordering on watery, "nothing I can say will bring you back to me, I've broken both your heart and your trust in me, you won't believe a word I tell you."

Rin paused for a moment, Sesshomaru's words sinking in.

"Try me."

Sesshomaru looked at her with surprised eyes, her face set but not demanding.

"Alright," the demon conceded. "Naraku pushed me a little too far one night and challenged me to a bet; get one girl of their choosing to fall in love with me and he stops berating me with calls and texts. When I saw you, I thought that you were out of my league, so Naraku upped the ante; I make you… pleasing to them and he leaves the school. Being the ass that I am, I agreed to it; mostly because I thought it was a guaranteed victory, an ego-booster."

"And the girl was me."

"And the girl was you," Sesshomaru agreed solemnly, "I first saw you when you tripped and fell in the mud, and like I said, I thought that you were so far out of my league it wouldn't be a problem. I thought that winning was the only thing that mattered, the only thing you'd ever be to me was a victory, something dispensable, something I could throw away. I didn't know how wrong I'd be."

The demon looked over at Rin, the girl looked like she was holding onto what shred of composure she could before breaking down in tears once more.

Sesshomaru straightened up, placed his mug on the tray gently before walking over to gather Rin's wet clothes.

"I didn't know you'd mean everything to me Rin, that I never wanted to hurt you, that I just wanted…"

He paused, his resolve threatening to crumble at the look in her deep pools of rich dark chocolate.

"… wanted you to be happy," Sesshomaru finished, sighing, the young woman's wet clothes gathered in his arms as he turned to look at her from the hallway, "I was right about one thing though" he said, a pathetic brief laugh escaping his lips, Rin eye's glazed over with tears that threatened to fall, "you are out of my league, Rin, you deserve so much more than me."