A/N: First of all, Happy holidays to everyone! And thank you so much for all the support! He's a little fluff as a holiday present. Enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA

CHAPTER 7: LOVE?

"Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin called out his name for the nth time but he doesn't react nor show any signs of hearing her distressed voice

His right hand was pressed against the barrier-like impediment that was holding her captive with his amber eyes revealing sorrow. She can't pull through how it breaks her heart to see her beloved lord like this. The daiyoukai appeared to be perfectly calm, if she was any other living being, she would have missed the fact that he was in pain. The most painful cry is those with repressed tears.

She shut her eyes tightly as she cannot endure the sight any longer

The moment the young lady decided to take a peak, she was taken aback by the scene that was unfolding before her very eyes. A masked red-haired man, wearing purple colored clothing had his weapon buried deep within Sesshomaru's chest which made him cough off blood. Mortified and helpless, all she could do was cry out his name in the hopes of him holding unto whatever's left of life.

Again, Rin tightly closed her eyes, tears uncontrollable streaming down her face. She wished the dejecting exhibit away.

As silence filled the air, she has regained the courage to open her eyes once more and see the changes in display. This time, there stood two teenage girls. One with short silver hair, wearing an unusual clothing that reminded her of the young priestess and the other with dark pony-tailed long hair with a mokomoko-sama on her shoulder much like the one on her beloved lord's. She must be an inu youkai as well. Who are these girls? She couldn't quite put her finger on it but she swore, she had seen these girls somewhere before.

Adjusting her angle to see better, she noticed a weakened Sesshomaru on the other side of the battle field. Her heart sunk once more as she came to the realization that these familiar girls were fighting against her beloved husband to be.

The one with dark hair began to spin her spear weapon around in the air, creating a tornado like projectile directed to the wounded demon while the light haired one drew out her sword. That's strange… her sword doesn't have a blade attached to it. Her right eye glowed the color silver and swung her sword. What is this? The sword produced a lighting attack that looked a lot like Lord Sesshomaru's dragon strike?

Why is Lord Sesshomaru not doing anything? Why is he not fighting back? Or at the very least trying to dodge their attacks? Why is he… smiling?

"Towa! Setsuna! No!" she screamed on the top of her lungs

Rin woke up covered in sweat panting as if she had taken part in a great battle. Her heart was beating so fast that she was afraid it would never beat again

"It was just a bad dream" she sigh and sat up to looked around to see that old lady Kaede still sound asleep on her futon. Then, she noticed that she was not only sweating a lot but she was also crying. That must have been a really terrible nightmare. She just wished that she remembered it.

Another sigh escaped her lungs. Maybe a little walk would calm my nerves? The moment she slid the curtain make shift door, her eyes were met by a pair of glowing golden ones.

"Lord Sesshomaru, what are you doing here?" she inquired

"You talked in your sleep. You called my name" he informed her

"It was just a bad dream, milord"

"Go back to sleep" he turned to leave

"Hmm… Would you mind walking with me for a bit? I… I'm a bit shaken up but I don't remember what it was about. I think some fresh air would help"

The Lord of the west nodded and she took it as an invitation to follow him as he headed towards the forest.

Not too far from the village, she stopped in front of the sacred tree. Something about it makes her feel uneasy. She hesitantly took a step forward to take a better look and placed a hand against the tree.

"Is something bothering you?" the demon lord asked

"This is where Inuyasha-sama and Kagome-sama first met"

Uninterested, Sesshomaru sat on the side of the tree, closing his eyes

Rin was studying the tree. Feeling its rough hard wood against her soft hand. As none of its aspects seemed to be out of the ordinary, she wondered why it was deemed to be sacred. Her eyes wondered to the grazed whole that was caused by Kikyo's arrow. Inuyasha-sama was bound by this tree for fifty long years. Maybe that is why they called the tree sacred?

She sighed

Her eyes then laid upon the resting demon lord. His features were being beautifully complemented by the moonlight. He looked so peaceful. The daiyoukai slowly lifted his eyelids as the human girl took a step towards him.

Rin gave him a smile and sat daringly and intimately close to the sitting figure, leaning her head on his mokomoko-sama. She wishes that time would just freeze so they could stay like this for the whole eternity. Feeling his warmth against her skin makes her feel at ease. How could his presence not assure her safety? He is known to be the strongest youkai alive.

"Lord Sesshomaru, I was wondering"

"What is it Rin?"

"Do you love me?"

Love? That is something he had never thought of before. His strict upbringing was more focused on enhancing his strength and power. His father trained him to be a brave fighter while his mother taught him to be regal and elegant in every way. Was it considered being loved? Compassion, maybe but love? He had never felt loved, so how can he be able to love?

Does this Sesshomaru love Rin? He does like having her so close to him. He would give his life in exchange for her safety without thinking twice. He even went to hell for her and would without a doubt do it again if he has to. He would've rampaged through the whole country after sensing that his beloved human felt so strongly for another male but abandoned the idea knowing that it would not please her.

"Why do you ask such silly thing?" he asked without opening his eyes

"Well, it is no secret that I love you and I am not afraid to tell you that" she pouted at his answer. He could have just said yes and that would put an end to her harbored doubt for sure but being the stubborn demon that he is, he prefers to give her riddles and puzzles that would only imply his true feelings.

"Are you having doubts?" he faced her

"No" of course she wouldn't confess to the fact that he hasn't said the words yet is bothering her. She doesn't even know why is it bothering her as she knows full well that the Lord of the west is not vocal when it comes to… well, everything and yet she insisted on waiting for a verbal confirmation "It's just that-" she tried to make an excuse but was cut off mid-sentence

"Do you believe that I love you?" he looked at a far distance

The human girl smiled and reached to touch the demon lord's cheek, ever so carefully moving his head so he would face her. Their eyes met again. She is amazed how easily she gets lost into his amber eyes, the same amber eyes that was said to show no mercy. Every detail of his eyes alone is breathtakingly gorgeous. Rin doesn't always agree with what other people or demon say about her beloved inu daiyoukai but she is well accord when they called him 'chillingly beautiful'

"When I look into your eyes, I see the truth. You can act cold and apathetic all you want but your eyes gives away your true feelings. I am most at peace and in high spirit when I am with you and I know that you feel the same way" snuggling closer to his mokomoko-sama, she took his right arm and redirected it over her shoulder "I know I am the safest when I am in your presence" interlacing her left hand's fingers unto his right claws

"This hand is only meant to hold a sword"

"Not anymore" she giggled

"This hand alone took hundreds, no, Thousands of lives. Both innocent and corrupted unfortunate souls suffered from my poison claws"

"I know you would never do that again without a cause" how dare this fragile human being speak to this Sesshomaru like that? How could she assume his intentions? Baffled of her reaction, Countless of questions suddenly appeared in his head all at once

"This Sesshomaru is feared throughout the entire country for a reason"

"And what of it?" she laughed off his futile attempt of reminding her about how terrified she should be "that won't scare me away" she confidently stated. He had tried to show her his true self a number of times before, he even hissed at her on their first meeting but none of those instances fazed the loyal human girl

"Fool" there he goes again, calling the one dearest to his heart an unkind label

"We've been over this, Lord Sesshomaru" she shrugged his mockery off "I am yours and you are mine"

How could she say it so casually and with full confidence? Perhaps she had gotten too accustomed to him or perhaps he had spoiled her too much growing up. Either way, she hasn't failed to surprise the great demon lord of the west with her witty charm.

"So say it" she demanded

He raised his eyebrow

"Say that you love me. I want to hear it" She clarified

Ridiculous.

"I love you, Sesshomaru" his eyes widened at the sound his name without his title attached to it but other than that, there were no other changes on his demeanor

Now annoyed at his unresponsiveness towards her advances, Rin shifted to her knees to have a better view of his magnificent features, studying every inch of his face. Her eyes travelled from the crescent moon mark in his forehead, to his brows, back to his eyes, to the stripped details on both his cheeks, to his nose and to his lip.

The young lady is now breathing heavily with her heart racing. She couldn't believe that a human heart could endure such intensity. She gulp in anticipation, pondering if she could actually fulfil what her heart truly desires.

She swore her heart would jump out of her chest any minute now as she absentmindedly licked her lips as if being presented with an appetizing dish only to be forbidden to take a bite.

The inu daiyoukai sigh in defeat as he slowly but surely surrender to lust and delicately placed his index finger below the human girl's chin and carefully brushed his thumb back and forth against her bottom lip. With their longing eyes still locked into each other, he gently lifted her face closer to his until their lips finally meet.

All of her doubts disappeared and all of his question were answered at the collision of their kiss.

"I love you, Rin"

To be continued...

A/N: They finally kissed! Tell me what do you think? Was Rin being too bold? I think Rin would be the one to initiate it! I enjoyed writing this chapter so much and I hope you all liked it as well. Please review and thanks for reading!