Chapter 4- love and hate

The next morning the two ninja got a tour of the palace. Rin's favorite areas of the palace were the court yard and the grotto, where she knew she would spend most of her time. Kagome named off all of the rooms and there uses as well as whom they could usually find in them.

"This is the Grande throne room, although I'm sure you already know that room quite well, these are the dungeons…once again, you know from experience, and this is…" Kagome began when suddenly someone walked out through the door and bumped into Rin.

The young girl looked up and gasped as she stared into the eyes of the person she had been looking for. Then out of know where she tightly hugged the man in front of her.

"Ummm….may I help you…little girl?" The man asked astonished

Rin suddenly looked up at the man, with a tiny pout on her face.

"Master Sesshomaru, you can't say that you forgot about me!" She cried

That's when he realized who he was looking at.

"Rin," He said as he hugged her back "I thought I'd lost you when I couldn't find you after the demons left."

Just then, Shoji pulled Rin away and looked sternly at her in the eyes

"Your master is a demon? God damnit Rin! I asked you a thousand times over whom your master was so I could help you find him, but now I see why you kept quiet!"

"Shoji….I…I just…I didn't want to have to leave." Rin said helplessly as she stared into the eyes of her companion. She had never before noticed how cold they looked, black like ice. It frightened her to look in them now, sent shivers up her spine. Then he suddenly pushed her aside and strode off down the hall.

"SHOJI wait!" She called as she raced down the hall after him. She was just about to grab his shoulder when he whirled around and hit her across the face. Rin stood in her spot, completely stunned at what had just happened. Then she gazed into the angry face of her companion as tears ran down her face.

"Shoji…I…"

"Don't give me that crap Rin; you know how I feel about demons! THEY FUCKING KILLED MY FAMILY!" he shouted as he turned back around and left her to cry.

"Oh my…Rin, are you alright?" Kagome asked as she ran over to the girl. Just then she collapsed on the cold floor.

When Rin awoke, she saw a familiar face sitting by the edge of her bed.

"Hello sleepy head." Shippo said with a smile as he wrung out a cloth and placed it onto her forehead.

"Shippo, it's good to see you," she began as she looked around her room. "Where's Shoji?" she asked quietly as she placed her hand over her throbbing cheek.

Shippo grew very quiet and then looked at Rin with sad eyes.

"He left this morning after he gave you that injury."

"Oh…I see…" she said in a quiet voice, just loud enough for Shippo to hear her.

"He didn't want to stay because of Sesshomaru…and he couldn't bare to look at what he did to you." He said as he gazed out the large window at the sunny courtyard. Then his gaze averted back to Rin.

"Would you like to go out to the courtyard and play with Kelala?" He asked as he smiled warmly at her. She smiled back and accepted the offer. As the two of them ran around in the courtyard, all of Rin's worries seemed to melt away. Rin soon grew tired so she sat down underneath a large tree with Shippo and Kelala. Just then, a question popped into her mind.

"Shippo, who owns Kelala?"

"Sango…and her brother, why do you ask?"

The girl looked up at the clouds and sighed.

"Shippo, who's Sango's brother?" she asked

Just as he was about to speak, they heard footsteps behind them. The two turned around and stared into the face of Kohaku. He smiled warmly at both of them, and then Rin jumped into his arms and gave him a big hug.

"Kohaku…Wow, you're really tall…" Rin said as she stared up at the face of the one she really loved.

"So are you, come on, Lady Kagome wishes to see you."

At that, all four, Kelala too, left the courtyard in the direction of the palace.