Lola: I love updating. It makes me feel spiffy. I'm sorry it took so long. With swim team, I was busy as busy gets. All that swimming (and carb loading...yum) takes more time than you think. But here I am again! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. And Amree, I guess we're thinking along the same lines
This chapter is mostly Rin/Sesshoumaru related...no scratch that. The whole thing is Rin/Sesshoumaru related.
I'm trying to add more Sango/Miroku incidents, but I can't really think of many. If you have any suggestions, let me know, I'd love to hear them! (And I'll give you credit, of course!)
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi. I don't own Dominic Monaghen either...although I REALLY wish I did. That does not mean, of course, that he isn't tied to a pole in my basement....
So, with all that said....here we go....
Chapter 5: A New Home?
He walked alone.
It wasn't cold out, and nighttime was the perfect time to think. Besides, what else was an insomniac supposed to do? Stay in bed like a good little boy and try to sleep? Not a chance.
It had stopped raining. The rain had fallen for two hours or so, then died out to nothing. The fog had not yet cleared.
It was midnight.
Lazily, Sesshoumaru walked around his neighborhood. He had done this so many times; it had begun to bore him. He had already gone around the block three or four times. Finally, he decided to take a new route. Instead of turning left at the corner, which would take him back to his neighborhood, he turned right. It took him passed a nearby park, from across which was the Kaisun district.
As he crossed the park, the wet blades of grass stuck to his shoes. He tried to disregard the discomfort in his feet and continue to walk. Walking alone was the only thing that seemed to make him sleepy. This way he could think about whatever he wanted without any distraction or interruption.
Suddenly, he stopped. He whipped his head around, eyes darting back and forth for any sign of movement. He had heard an unusual sound. He turned back around and continued walking, this time more alert. If he was not alone, there would be problems.
He narrowed his eyes in front of him. A dark, blurry object lie on the ground about 150 feet away. He cautiously neared whatever it was, and the figure started to stand out. It was a person.
His pace quickened as he came closer. When he reached the person he realized it was a girl. Calmly kneeling down, he checked her pulse. She was still alive, but needed help. He ruled the hospital out right away. That would rouse suspicion: a high school boy coming in to the hospital in the middle of the night with a girl he didn't know. Besides, then his parents would know of he was sneaking out. And that would be the end to his midnight walks. Where else would he take her? Home? He supposed that was the only way.
Carefully (and ever-so-gently) he picked her up and began to carry her. She was incredibly light, which he was grateful for. As he walked he looked at the girl in his arms. Her face as covered in bruises, along with a cut down her right cheek. Her flimsy shirt, which was wet from the rain and numerous blood stains, was cut in several places. He looked at her sad state and pitied her. If there was ever a time in his life where he felt sorry for himself (which was generally often) his problems seemed like nothing compared to her.
But who was she? She was so oddly familiar to him, but it was difficult to tell with so many disfiguring bruises on her face. He concentrated on her face alone, trying to imagine what she would look like without them. Then suddenly, he knew at once how he recognized her. It was the same girl from earlier that day. She had helped him with his car. Her name was Rin.
Odd as it was, even to him, he let his pace quicken slightly as he carried her. Somehow knowing who she was seemed to make a difference in how quickly she received the urgent care she needed.
When he reached the back of the house, where his bedroom was, he realized what a predicament he was in. He had left by going out his 2nd story window and climbing down a nearby tree. The doors were locked. He would cause too much noise if he broke in, or if he unlocked them from the inside. He would have to climb up the tree with her on his back. He frowned slightly. He was going through way to much trouble for a girl he hardly knew. Yet, a fairly large part of him was gnawing at his insides, telling him that he was just repaying a favor. He slung her small, delicate figure over his back quite carefully, then began to climb up the tree. He had become quite good at climbing with the use of only one hand, so the other was free to make sure she was safely secured to his back.
He hopped through his window without a sound, with Rin still unconscious in his arms. He gave a small sigh of relief, thankful he had made it inside without tripping any alarms outside (or inside). He lay Rin down on his bed and went to the bathroom to obtain the necessary first aid supplies. He turned the faucet to cold water and plunged a washcloth into the sink, letting it sit. Then he opened a cabinet in search of band-aids. (A/N: Just so you know, the bathroom is attached to his bedroom. He didn't have to run down the hallway or anything)
He came out of the bathroom with the supplies and sat down on the bed. He placed the cold washcloth on Rin's forehead and used another to clean the many cuts and scrapes that adorned her body. He tried not to notice how scarred her porcelain skin was as he wiped away the blood. He carefully bandaged each and every wound as she slept. It was obvious now that she was going to be all right. He put her damaged clothes in a small pile on the ground and dressed her in an old nightgown (A/N: I can't believe she slept through all that...). When he was finished he stood and put the supplies back in the bathroom.
He placed a small light on the desk next to the large feather bed, incase it he needed it. He paced around the room a few times, still unable to sleep. He wondered what would happen to Rin, once her uncle (or whoever she lived with) realized that she was gone. A sudden stirring noise awoke him from his thoughts. He turned to see Rin, moving slightly. She moved her head around a bit and scrunched her eyes. She was waking up.
She exhaled a deep sigh as her blurry vision slightly cleared. It was dark. Where was she? The last thing she remembered....her uncle....the gas.... Rin realized that she was lying on a bed (a very comfortable one in fact) She sat up in a panic, unable to recognize her surroundings. She gave a frightened gasp as her heart rate sped up.
"Lay back down, you're still hurt." Came a calm and familiar voice. Rin's eyes darted around wildly in the dark.
"Who are you?" She asked frantically.
"That doesn't matter. Lay back down."
"But-
"Lay down." This was more a demand than a request. With a squeak she shot back down flat against the bed, hiding the majority of her face underneath the cover.
"You don't have to worry," the voice was softer now, "you're in a good place. Whatever happened to you will not happen again."
Rin found the voice so familiar, it was driving her near insanity. "Show me who you are." She suddenly demanded, sounding stronger than she felt.
"No, sleep now. You need rest if you want to recover."
She frowned. She wouldn't be able to unless she found out who's voice that was! "I can't sleep. Not if I don't know where I am and who you are."
She heard him heave a sigh. "Will you sleep if I show you?" He asked.
"Yes," she promised.
Footsteps drew nearer to her, until they reached the light that was beside the bed. The glow of the lamp made his cold face look somewhat vibrant. Rin opened her mouth to gasp, but the air from her lungs swept out in staggered exhalations.
Sesshoumaru...had rescued her. Blinking his eyes nonchalant to her reaction, he said, "Now sleep."
She set her head back on the pillow with a look of slight shock on her face. It was hard to believe, yet somehow she knew that it must be true. She closed her eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep.
Sesshoumaru watched her for a few moments as she slept peacefully, a smile planted on her face. Had he given her pleasure? Was she happy that it was he who saved her from whatever trouble she had gotten into? Usually, he could care less about what others thought of him, but somehow, he was glad that he made her happy.
He sat down in a comfortable chair, exhaustion slowly washing over him. Knowing that she was safe made it easier for him to rest...but why?
The next morning, Sesshoumaru greeted the early morning sunlight with his usual surly disposition. He hated mornings. He hated the afternoon too. Hell, he hated pretty much everything, day and night. He blinked a few times to get his eyes going, then stretched out of the chair. His back was sore from sleeping in it. Why had he fallen asleep in his chair again? Oh yes. The girl.
He looked over to his bed to see her still sleeping in a heap under the covers. He turned to the bathroom, to take a shower (A/N: I bet your expecting a detailed paragraph or so on the shower, huh? Sorry, it's late, I wanna finish the chapter. ï
