Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. I give all my thanks to Rumiko Takahashi for bringing that extraordinary story to life! You rock!

A/N: Hey guys, sorry this took so long; I've been busy. The next chapter should be up a lot sooner. Read and review!

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CHAPTER FIFTY-ONE: STRANGERS ON THE STREET

Rin sat in her bedroom, idly twirling a pen between her fingers. Or maybe it was a pencil, or a crayon, or a stick… she hadn't been paying attention, in any case.

She couldn't even remember picking it up.

What was I doing? Rin thought abstractedly, staring out the window. She knew that there had been something she was doing before she had departed for dreamland. Something which she had to do, something she had to finish… something more important than staring wistfully out her bedroom window, dwelling on how pitiful her social life was.

Think, Rin, think.

When Rin's eyes alighted on her untouched math homework, she wished she hadn't remembered.

The first problem was a simple one, but she knew that the rest would only become more difficult. Rin wasn't disappointed; by the time her pencil had moved to problem seven, her eyes had glazed over and her head had begun to bob.

Of their own accord, her eyes fixed themselves again on the window.

It's a window, Rin told herself. Nothing exciting, nothing unusual. Just a window. So why do I keep staring at it?

There was no answer, but she continued to stare at the window, for she couldn't seem to take her eyes off of it. Maybe it's a symbol, she thought glumly, watching a few children play on the sidewalk. Maybe it's a symbol for what every other girl in the world has, but I don't.

A life independent of her bedroom and her sister's friends.

Rin groaned and threw her head in her hands, peeking at the window from beneath her fingers, just in time to catch sight of a couple walking down the street, hand in hand.

Under her breath, Rin muttered, "Is the universe trying to torture me? Did I do something wrong?"

Because Rin had nothing better to do, she might have actually begun to think of possible answers for that question. She might even have went so far as to fantasize of things she had done wrong to merit such a punishment from the universe. But fortunately for Rin, she didn't have the time.

"Rin! Someone's on the phone for you."

Rin was out of the chair and at the door in an instant.

"Who?" she asked in surprise, pulling the door open to reveal her mother standing with the home phone in one hand.

Who would call me at the house phone? She thought, taking the phone from her mother. I use email to talk to Ayumi and Eri, and if Sango or the others wanted to talk to me, they'd use my cell… but then…?

In the next instant, Rin's mother spoke a few simple words which sent Rin's heart reeling.

"I didn't recognize the voice. Somebody named… Sesshomaru? Do you know him? Rin? Are you okay?"

Rin nodded faintly, smiled, and forced herself to say, "I'm fine. Thanks, Mom."

Her mother closed the door behind her as she left Rin to herself, but Rin was too preoccupied to notice her mother's knowing smirk.

Clutching the phone as if it were something precious, wondering why in the world he would be calling her, Rin held the phone up to her ear and said, "Hello? Sesshomaru?"

Once a person answers the phone, there is usually that split-second's time where no one speaks. Where the answerer waits, and the caller opens his mouth to reply, and a short silence elapses between them. It is a normal part of a phone call, and usually passes unnoticed by both sides. But Rin noticed it, and for the entire duration of that split-second, her heart was hammering and her mind was racing. For that split second, she was certain that her mother had been wrong.

But then came his voice, clear and deep and slow and mysterious.

Like the ocean, Rin thought vaguely, mesmerized by the tones of his voice. Dark and unreadable and rhythmic and melodious.

Smiling slightly to herself, Rin wondered what drove her to think things like that; to think about that at all. But as she thought, and as she thought, her smile deepened, for she realized that it didn't matter.

I'm just different from other people.

Then she heard what Sesshomaru said, and she stopped thinking about the odd eloquence of her thoughts. She stopped thinking about how apart she was from many others. She even stopped thinking about Sesshomaru's wondrous voice.

All she could think about was what he said.

"Rin. Do you want to begin the project today?"

Rin blinked.

Project… project… Her eyes snapped open as she remembered. Of course. The project. The chemistry project which they had been assigned… the chemistry project for which they were partners….

Of course, Rin thought sadly. It's just the project. Right.

"Rin?"

He said my name, she thought. I should reply. Even if it's just because of the project, we do need to work on it….

Rin's thoughts came to a standstill. And for a moment, she concentrated too hard, thought too many things to put it into words.

When she emerged from her sea of thoughts, it was with confidence.

No, she thought. I'm wrong. He does care about me, in some way, at least. Don't short change yourself, Rin. If he didn't like you, why would he have picked you to be his partner?

And with that thought, Rin straightened her shoulders, forgetting that there was no one there to see, and said, smiling, "Yeah, I can work on the project. Where do you want to meet?"

His voice was as unreadable as ever as he replied, "If you want, you can come to my apartment. I have a laboratory, and we might be able to make some progress. If not, I will meet you at the library."

Rin froze, deep in thought. Why would he ask her if she wanted to come to his apartment? Why would he give her the option not to? Why did he ask it as if he thought she would rather go to the library?

In the library, we won't be able to talk to each other, Rin thought, frowning. And we need to… both because I want to, and because we still need to decide what to do for our project. So his apartment would be much better. Obviously he knows that. So why…?

Rin trailed off as a new idea entered her head, and she blushed.

Oh. I get it now.

"Your apartment's fine," she said hesitantly. Worrying that she sounded forward, worrying that he might think poorly of her, worrying a thousand things for virtually no reason, Rin added hastily, "If that's okay with you."

Stupid. You sound so stupid when you talk.

Rin slapped her forehead, glad that Sesshomaru could not see her face. It was a good thing that he chose to respond quickly, too; for if he had waited longer, Rin might have slipped back into her insecurities and fears.

But before self torment could submerge her, Sesshomaru said, "It's okay," and promptly gave her the address of his apartment.

A brief pause elapsed; too brief a pause for Rin to overcome her shock and relief, too brief for her to say goodbye. And then, before she could say anything, before she could utter a simple, "Great," there was a click and the line went dead.

"He hung up," Rin said blankly.

Still a little numb, she did the same, grimacing and thinking, Why does he have to be so confusing? Why do I have to care?

She knew why she cared. She just wished that it could be different, for she knew that her hopes were hopeless. He hates humans, she thought. Why would he make an exception for me?

But as she jumped down the stairs, as she said good-bye to her mother and opened the door and stepped into the heat, as she shut and locked it behind her, she argued back, They're wrong. He doesn't hate humans. I know better than to believe in rumors.

This thought reassured her enough to walk with a skip in her step and think in disbelief, I still can't believe he just hung up on me.

But then she laughed, realizing that she could believe it.

And she laughed and laughed until tears came to her eyes, until her chest heaved. She laughed over nothing, and she laughed over everything, for at that moment, a great realization came over her; the realization that no matter what his feelings, no matter the truth, her feelings, and her hopes, and her fantasies, would remain the same.

I want us to be friends; I want him to open up to me. And I think, in time, he will.

Rin had the nagging feeling that she would be his first ever real friend, and this thought made her both sad and excited at the same time. But as she continued walking down the street, excitement overcame sadness, and she grinned broadly, laughing again.

That is, until she realized she had no idea how to get to his apartment.

Rin froze.

It was slow, the realization which slowly crept up on her. Slow like a droplet of water, condensing on a cold glass and sliding down its face. Slowly, slowly, until it reaches the bottom and spreads along the floor. Slow like ice, slow like snow, slow like death. Slowly, slowly, until you are in the clutches of hypothermia, until you are numb to the neck. Until by the time you realize what has happened, it is far too late to turn back.

This was how Rin felt when she realized that she had no idea where she was.

Oh no.

When had familiar houses become imposing buildings? When did warm, sunny sidewalks morph into long, empty streets? Was it just Rin, or had the shadows become longer, darker?

Was it just Rin, or was every sound around her a whisper hidden from her ears?

"Hey."

Rin didn't recognize the voice. She didn't recognize the two demons who nearly materialized in front of her. And she certainly didn't recognize the sick smile which spread across the taller one's face when he asked if she was Kagome Higurashi's sister.

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A/N: Haha… cliffy… am I evil? XD

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