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Chapter III

Innocence

Dear Diary,

I remember when I first looked into his golden eyes, questioning if he really cared.

But I got my answer.

-R

xXx

Eight years earlier.

She woke up to the colour white. A ceiling—smooth and calm; quiet. Her eyes looked around the unfamiliar room, feeling the 'danger' pit in her gut. Soft silk rubbed against her fingers when her hands clenched, ready to bolt. Then there was a metal sound of a sword being sheathed, catching her attention. Her eyes moved to her right, widening at the long, haired figure standing with his back to her.

Rin slowly sat up, finally getting a look at her condition. Blood. It covered her close like red finger paint. She backed up, almost trying to escape it, gasping loud enough to get the attention of the demon in the room. Her eyes moved to him, and he walked forward. She swallowed the hard lump in her throat, her body shaking, breathing unevenly, heart racing—a panic attack about to explode.

Sesshomaru Takahashi

He stood beside the bedside; his golden eyes….

They were soft.

His hand landed on her forehead as she moved back slightly. Eyes narrowed and he moved closer to her, tracing her body like an invisible drawing. She inched away quickly from him, moving off the bed, shaking her head at him.

"What…what did you do to me?" her voice shook.

He remained quiet on the other side, only staring at her. It made her brain high on frustration.

"What did you do to me?" She asked in a more demanding voice.

The blood on her clothes. The sword at his hip. She was scared to say it. She was scared to think it. The ultimate, unforgiving….

But his soft expression.

It made her rethink it all. His face would be sinister- glowing narrow eyes, a slight smirk, and the sword would still be in his hands. But it was soft. The golden eyes held worry but also relief. His mouth remained straight, but still held feeling. And a question lingered in her head, one that made her calm down completely.

Did he care?

"What happened?" she then asked in a more subtle tone.

Tears started to prickle at her eyes when he didn't answer. More fears arrived. Situations and scenes of horror filled with murder and blood. And even more questions arrived in her mind. Did she kill anyone? Did someone try to kill her? But she remembered a flashing white light. A sound of a honking car. A loud cry of a woman's voice screaming, 'watch out'. Then it came rushing back to her.

"I was…hit. A car…it hit me. This blood is mine."

Sesshomaru nodded.

More flashes. A black abyss. Nothingness. Hushed whispers of the past. And a figure shown in the deepest darkest nightmares.

Death itself.

"Did I…was I…gone?" I blinked, letting a few tears roll down my cheek.

His silence gave her an answer. She nodded, wiping the few tears away, and standing up straight.

"I see. Well…whatever you did Sesshomaru, thank you."

He nodded once.

She eyed the sword at his waist, wondering what he did. That sword… "What did you do? To save me, I mean?"

"I used Tenseiga."

I walked around the bed to his side. "Tenseiga?"

"It's the fang of healing."

Rin was taken back at the ability. She had never heard about a fang before nor this 'healing' ability. It sounded odd and didn't fit Sesshomaru's stoic character. She locked eyes with his golden ones, looking deep within the orbs, wondering if he was secretly lying. But then how did she come back to this world?

Did he really bring me back to life?

But why?

Rin thought of herself as nothing special. She lived by herself. She was quiet. She wasn't sociable. And she had to admit, her body wasn't the most figured as most girls in the school, and most boys probably categorized her as petite or undeveloped. So what made her so different to Sesshomaru Takahashi?

"Get dressed," he said suddenly, handing her an orange and white checkered kimono and green obi.

He led her over to the giant bathroom the size of her bedroom back at home. Crimson red tile surrounded the floor and walls while a large rectangular window was posted on the wall adjacent to her. Two sinks and a giant mirror were to her left and the massive glass shower and Jacuzzi was to her right. And ahead of her, inside a small private room was the toilet which she swore it was made out of platinum. She was in awe.

"You may use the shower or tub to wash the blood from your body and scent. I'll be downstairs in the lounge when you're done."

And he left, leaving her alone with her thoughts in the biggest bathroom in existence.

xXx

Her legs straightened in the water. Hands moved over the surface of the water, letting it sink to move her fingers through her smooth, pale skin. Apart from a few scars on her knees from accidents when she was a child, there was no sign of her ever being hit by a car. Her eyes moved to the blood stained clothes on the ground. Except those.

She sighed heavily, letting her body sink under the water. Her lungs held the oxygen in, wondering what would happen if she let it out. Would she say under? If she drowned, would Sesshomaru save her again? She resurfaced, taking in a breath of air, shaking her head at the ridiculous thought.

Of course he wouldn't. She smiled. He probably felt sorry for me the first time. That was all.

Rain started pattering at the window and she hummed a tune in her head, still trying to figure out Sesshomaru's reason. She hummed louder, getting the thought out of her head, placing it at the back of her mind for later. Then she started to sing, her tone and vocals matching the beat of the rain. But stopped shortly after the first verse.

She was singing.

It was not part of my routine.

She hadn't sung in almost ten years.

Not since….

…that night ten years ago.

She smiled at the memories of her family. Her brothers and mother and father, all of them sitting in a warm living room with the fire burning in the fireplace, her mother and herself singing Christmas carols while the men decorated the tree. Those were the last moments she had with her family.

It was the worst moment of her life.

It was the worst moment of my life.

She climbed out of the lukewarm water, her steps making a trail of wet footprints behind as she walked towards the large mirror to grab the kimono. There she stood, looking in the glass for the first time in a long time. Her fingers touched her face, making sure it was real. It reminded her of a Picasso sketch she saw in an art book. Woman unrecognizable; dressed in blue. A stranger in the mirror. It was an illusion in her mind, but in truth she knew it was real. She had grown up and was no longer the little girl who lost her parents all those years ago. Still, she could never let that night go. The pain. The suffering. The screaming out when nobody could hear. The dark laugher of men, asking her to sing. Their whistles, mocking her like she was a bird in a cage. Tears. Tears. Tears.

I felt like my skin had been burned off.

Rin quickly changed, her hands now shaking from the flash of the nightmare. Her fingers struggled with the obi, and she quickly grew frustrated, letting her tears go. She sat there on the floor for a few minutes, blinking away the tears but not the memories. As much as she wanted to let them go…

…they were part of my life.

xXx

Rin got lost heading downstairs and had to ask approximately five maids who only nodded at her and kept walking. She was relieved when she found a stair case at the end of the hall and even more relieved when it led downstairs into a large office. But…it wasn't the room she was supposed to be in. Instead, the case had led her to the working room of Inutaisho Takahashi.

RIn froze in front of the working man, and before she had time to escape, he spoke. His voice was rich and deep, deeper than Sesshomaru's if that was possible. It held the business man tone as well as the fatherly soft tone. Rin knew just from one word, he was nothing like Sesshomaru. His voice brought her in, comforted her like her own father used to. For the first time in a long time, she felt like she was home.

Then she realized he was still speaking to her, waiting for her reply.

"Pardon?"

"I asked if I could help you." He said.

"Uh…I'm not…um…I'm looking for the lounge. Sesshomaru…"

He then smiled at her, getting up from his chair and walking towards her. "So you must be one of his new friends then. Can I ask what your name is?"

She swallowed, looking at the black and red rug on the floor. "It's Rin, sir."

"Rin…what a beautiful name."

She looked back up, surprised. "Thank you, sir."

"If you go out those doors, head left, and keep walking you can't miss what you're looking for."

She bowed. "Thank you, sir."

And before she pulled one of the large oak double doors open, Inutaisho spoke to her one last time.

"It was nice to meet you, Rin."

She gave him a nod, and left.

She followed his directions, turning left and heading straight. He was right, the lounge was right in front of the giant, sky high foyer. Inside, a warm fireplace was lit, tall windows on either side. Red, velvet chairs on opposite side with a coffee table in the middle. Around the walls, ten foot tall paintings of dog demons and old Japanese artistry. It was a beautiful room.

And on the couch, Sesshomaru Takahashi, reading a book she did not recognize. He looked up, and nodded once, making her blush.

"Thank you, Sesshomaru."

"Sit."

She obliged, sitting across from him.

"Jaken!"

She jumped from the outburst of his voice. Seconds later, a small green toad-like creature scurried into the room, stopping in front of Sesshomaru. "Yes, milord?"

"Jaken, get her a glass of water."

The toad called Jaken then turned to her and gave her a face of disgust. "A human? What is a human doing…."

"Jaken!" he had placed his book down. "Now!"

He bowed quickly to his master and scurried off.

Rin looked at Sesshomaru. "It's okay, Sesshomaru. You didn't have to do that. I'm fine."

He looked at her.

"Really…"

"You smell better." And he went back to his book.

RIn sighed leaning towards him. She watched him carefully, picking out the right words in her head. He needed to give her answers. True answers! And not just silence. She was tired of the silence. So she asked.

"Why?"

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Hall of Fame

Thanks to lalaluny, Guest, Ladyrouge214, KClaughs, Tarahh36, Tencharms, Sewetcups2, kelly, Guest, belle'sdarkangel, Lady Meliko, and Sammy for reviewing last chapter! You guys rock!

PS. RIP Shunsui's hat