Chapter 4

Kagome wrapped her hair up into a towel, feeling refreshed after her shower. She would be forever grateful that her job offered her a place to shower and wash away all of the salt after a show. She hated feeling sticky for hours until she got home.

Pulling the pin from between her teeth, she secured the towel and stretched. Today had been one of the busiest days of the year, and she was feeling it. When the cold began to set in, more people would flock to the aquarium so they could get one last visit in before it got too cold to leave their homes. It happened every year. Then things would slow down until spring hit, and the shows would pick back up, peaking in summer. It was a routine Kagome had gotten used to over the years.

"Are you ready?"

Kagome rolled her eyes fondly, quickly getting dressed. "I haven't even showered yet, Sango. You are so impatient." Sango really didn't have any patience when it came to waiting. Especially since Sango was Kagome's guard until they were off the aquarium grounds. It only took once for Kagome to get swarmed by any entire gaggle of screaming kids for the aquarium to hire Sango.

"What the hell have you been doing?" Sango snapped, and Kagome laughed silently.

"I found a man and I've been enjoying myself, thank you very much." Buttoning up her pants, Kagome packed up the rest of her clothing, then removed her towel and gave her hair one last rub down before stashing that away too.

Sango was silent for a second, and then she scoffed. "And you didn't share? Rude, much."

Kagome laughed, picking up her bag and walking out of the small bathroom. "You really do need to work on your patience, though. It only took me twenty minutes."

"Yea, yea." Sango grumbled, pointing out towards the door. "Are you ready? I am starving and watching you do all that swimming has made me hungry."

"I'm sure you burn a lot of calories with all that watching." Kagome deadpanned with another roll of her eyes. They both laughed, walking towards the metal double doors that would lead out to the aquarium.

Just as Sango pushed it open, their boss walked in, his belly practically knocking Sango back. "You two stay here. We have a situation that is unsafe for you." He held out his hands, his walkie talkie beeping on his side. He lifted it to his mouth, pressing the button. "Give me an update?"

"The child has been restrained, but she is still struggling. She keeps asking for Kagome. She has all of the other guests upset." A voice came through the walkie talkie, one Kagome recognized. It was a man that had asked her out numerous times, Kenta.

"A child?" Kagome asked, peaking around her fat boss and seeing the commotion through the small gap between the doors. She could see three security guards kneeling on the ground, holding down the suspect. Kagome felt rage at the thought of them holding a child down like that, knew they were using unnecessary force. She opened her mouth to argue, to make them stop, but then she saw a flicker of black hair, a furry ear sitting atop the child's head.

"NO!" Kagome shoved past her boss, running out into the middle of the mess and slammed her shoulder into a guard. The one she hit rolled away, and then she called on her reiki, having it cover her hands in flames of holy power, a power that was strong enough to hurt anyone she wanted. It didn't matter if they were human or not. "She is a little girl!" Kagome yelled, watching to make sure all of the security guards backed away.

"She is a half-breed." One of the guards spat. "She could take all of us out with a single glance!"

"No, she can't. All of you are ignorant. Demons don't get any power until they reach maturity. She is no different than any human kid we invite into this aquarium every day! How dare you!" Kagome was shaking in her fury, her stomach rolling as she fought not to get sick at the injustice of it all.

Looking down, she met amber eyes full of tears and fear. "Rin, sweetie, are you okay?" Rin nodded her head, but as she stood, Kagome saw the blood on the side of her face, saw the way her eye was swelling. Her ears were flat on her head, and she wrapped her arms around Kagome's leg, her entire body trembling.

"Let's get you home." Kagome called in her reiki with a final glare at the guard then lifted Rin to her hip. Rin clutched to her neck, pressing her face into Kagome's shoulder. Kagome made her way out of the aquarium with Sango hot on her heels.

"I'm going to take her to the shrine. Can you do damage control here please?" Kagome asked Sango, who gave a single nod. The Aquarium would hide what happened today from the world. Sango would be there to make sure the demon's weren't blamed in a way that would paint them into a bad light. Any guest who saw what happened would be paid, then forced to sign an NDA.

Kagome could care less about any of that right now.

Walking into a dark alleyway, Kagome looked around, making sure they were truly alone. "Rin, can you keep a secret?" She asked, and Rin nodded, not lifting her head. A slight bend of the knees, and Kagome launched herself into the air, using her reiki to strengthen her legs.

The ground beneath her disappeared until she was high in the sky. There was a moment of suspension and then Kagome was falling, plummeting back to the roof of a neighboring building. She landed on sure feet, then jumped again, her legs moving faster than any human could imagine.

"You are like a demon." Rin sniffled, lifting her head slightly.

Kagome smiled, holding Rin tightly to her. "In a way. I'm human, but I have abnormally strong reiki. I can use it to strengthen my body." Kagome jumped again, and this time during the free fall, Rin let out a little giggle. Kagome was glad to hear it.

"Is that fun?" Kagome asked, and Rin gave a shy nod. Kagome could have ran the rest of the way home, but she decided to keep jumping, to give Rin a moment of excitement before they got back to reality.

When she landed in the shrine, Kagome was panting and gently set Rin down. Placing her hands on her knees, she took a moment to catch her breath. Rin gripped her shirt, staring up at her with wide worried eyes. Kagome soothed her by patting her hand. "I don't use my reiki often. When I use a lot of it at once, it takes a decent amount of energy. I am fine. I'll just be really tired later tonight."

"Kagome?" Hitomi walked towards them, a broom in her hand. Her eyes kept flicking to Rin, who jumped behind Kagome to hide.

"Don't worry. This is my mom. She won't hurt you." Kagome placed a reassuring hand on Rin's shoulder, stepping to the side. "Momma, this is Rin. She is the little demon child I was telling you about. The cute one with the most adorable ears."

"She really is adorable." Hitomi knelt to the ground, letting the broom fall. "You are safe here, Rin. No one will ever hurt you while you are here. I promise you that." Hitomi held out her arms, and after a moment of hesitation, Rin ran to her, hugging her. The sob Rin let out broke them all. That single sob broke again and again until Rin was wailing, clawing at Hitomi for any kind of feeling of safety and security.

Hitomi stood, taking Rin inside, her own eyes watering. Kagome took longer, grabbing the broom and composing herself. Lifting her hand up, she wiped her nose, cleaning it of the blood she had felt coming.

She had lied to Rin. Kagome did have strong reiki, but her body couldn't handle the power. The more she used it, the more her body wore down. Spurts of it for her shows was fine, but when she used it in excessive amounts…

Once she was sure the bleeding had stopped, Kagome joined Rin and her mother, finding them both on the couch. Hitomi wiped away Rin's tears, the child sniffling. Kagome knelt in front of Rin, her knees shaking from fatigue. "Rin, can you tell me what happened? Where is Sesshomaru and why aren't you in school?"

Rin sniffled loudly. "Sesshomaru is getting rid of us. I heard him talking to Kagura. He said he couldn't take care of us anymore and that he was going to find somewhere for us to go." Her little ears flattened on her head as her arms wrapped around herself. "I didn't want to leave, and I wasn't sure where to go, so I went to find you, Kagome. You saved us before and I thought… I thought you could do it again, but they hurt me. I wasn't going to hurt you, I promise. They kept saying I was dangerous, but I just wanted help. I just wanted…"

"Shhh." Kagome hugged Rin tightly, even more furious with the aquarium. "I know you would never hurt me. They were wrong. They never should have treated you like that." Pulling away, Kagome cupped Rin's face. "I think you misunderstood what Sesshomaru was saying. He is your big brother, and he loves you. He would never get rid of you, okay?" Kagome waited until Rin nodded, and then she stood.

"I am going to get to the bottom of this. Do you know your address? I will go and talk to Sesshomaru, alright?" Kagome patted Rin's head, between her two fuzzy ears.

"I don't." Rin said, shaking her head.

"That's okay. I can find it. Do you have something of your brother's?" Kagome asked, and Rin held out her wrist, showing Kagome a small worn-down bracelet. "Sesshomaru gave me this a year ago for my birthday."

"May I borrow it?" Kagome waited until Rin nodded before she took the bracelet, holding it in the palm of her hand. She let her reiki rise from her palm, engulfing the bracelet until it was covered. She felt that tug inside of her, like a string pulling at her spine, telling her exactly where she needed to go.

"Kagome. You have already used enough." Hitomi whispered, worried. Kagome just smiled at her.

"I will be okay getting there. Call Sango and tell her to come pick me up please." Kagome looked down at the bracelet once more, then stepped outside. This was going to take the last of her energy, but it was the most accurate way. She couldn't drive and navigate roads while her reiki was telling her to go the opposite way, so she would run straight there.

Launching herself into the sky, she ignored the tug of pain in her mind, the one that told her, her reiki was nearing its limits. She would rest once Rin was taken care of and she got to the bottom of everything that happened. She would rest when Rin was happy.

...

Poor Rin. She is so young and doesn't understand what is happening to her. but Kagome is there now to keep her safe and she will make sure nothing bad like that happens again.

Also, I wanted to address something from my last chapter update. I mentioned potentially posting another story. I think most of you thought I was going to give up this story for another, and that isn't the case at all. I will continue to post this story. Either once a week or once every two weeks. The other story I would post, but not on a schedule, and that was what I was asking. Would you be okay with me posting another story that doesn't follow a schedule like Siren does? It would be updated when ever I got around to it. I wanted to write a story with a morally grey character and heavy lemons and that is what the other story is. I guess you would consider that a dark romance. If you are interested, let me know.

Also, I really like interacting with you guys? A long time ago, I used to ask questions to my readers and then we could all see how our answers differed in the reviews. Is that something you all would be interested in doing?