Chapter 4

Sesshomaru meandered his way toward the front of the library intending to leave. He thought about his recent interaction with the student that spied on him a few days ago. Ugh...it was strange calling someone his student when he was a student at the university as well. It made him feel old. If he had not been walking past that aisle at that particular moment she would have definitely missed a few of his classes from a broken bone injury or two. What really intrigued him was how he reacted, his body moved to catch her before he even thought about it. It seemed she was already close with his half-brother's band of idiots. He wondered if they told her the truth about the Bone Eater Forest. Probably not...if so she would not have been in the forest by herself that day, he thought. He did not hear any wild demons in the area at the time she was there. She was lucky.

"Sesshooooommarruuuu deeeeaaaarrr!"

A sing-song voice called to him breaking him from his ponderings.

He scowled and kept walking.

"Sesshomaru." The feminine voice stated more firmly.

He stopped in his tracks, unable to ignore her when she used that tone. It was unsettling how she could switch from playful to menacing in 0.5 seconds.

"May I have a few minutes of your time?"

He knew it wasn't really a request but rather a demand. He grudgingly turned around and slowly made his way toward the table she was sitting at. He took the seat across from her.

Amber eyes met with an identical set.

"Mother." Sesshomaru greeted.

"Son, I'm so glad I ran into you." His mother stated. She gave him a toothy grin revealing her long fangs. Seeing the two together, it was easy to see where Sesshomaru got his good looks from. His mother was effortlessly beautiful. She had the same porcelain skin as her son with a purple crescent moon on her forehead and a single jagged, magenta line on each cheek. She donned long, silver-whitish hair with bangs reaching just above her amber colored eyes.

His mother was not just any random person hanging around campus. She was actually the well-respected dean of Shikon University, Inukimi. Most students considered it an honor to simply be in her presence. However; to Sesshomaru she was just his mother, nothing more, nothing less.

He stared at her waiting for her reveal why she called for him.

"How are your graduate school studies going?" She asked.

"Fine." He answered.

"Good and how are you doing with teaching an undergraduate class this year?" She asked.

He bristled. He was still annoyed with her for making him teach a class this year as a graduate requirement. He knew it was something she made up to make obtaining his Master's degree more difficult. She was always presenting new challenges to him. He wouldn't admit it but he appreciated her for it. Her tough parenting made him stronger. But, despite knowing she liked to challenge him, teaching an entire college course was something he did not expect. His mother knew he preferred solitude and for the most part she respected his preference so he could not understand why she would make him teach a damn class full of people.

"They are all idiots." He stated.

"Or, your teaching style is impossible." His mother retorted. "Stop trying to cram the material into their heads and actually take your time to teach it to them. If your entire class fails then you fail this requirement and will have to teach another course next semester."

Sesshomaru did not respond he simply looked out of a window not trying to give her the satisfaction that she irritated him with that statement.

She smirked deciding to change the subject to the real reason she wanted to talk to him.

"Isn't that black haired girl that ran out of here with the fox a student in your class?" His mother asked.

He looked at her questioningly. Why did she care?

"Yes."

"Her name is Rin right?" She asked.

"Yes." He answered barely.

"Keep an eye on her for me. In fact, I need you to protect her."

Sesshomaru was floored. Why was she asking him of all people to protect some random girl?

"No." He stated simply. He didn't have time for that.

"I didn't say you had a choice in this matter." Inukimi stated sharply.

Sesshomaru stood to leave. He was no one's guard dog.

"I made a promise to her mother that I would look after her if she showed up here. You know as dean I don't have much time to do that. I need your assistance." This was as close to begging as she would get.

Sesshomaru stood with his back turned to her, silently contemplating. His mother did not make promises to many people, so this girl's mother must be someone important. Furthermore, his mother had never requested such a task before. This was quite unusual. There had to be more to this than a simple promise. He would not ask his mother directly, he was now curious and wanted to figure it out for himself.

That short, black haired girl would be a hassle to keep watch over. She already proved how clumsy she was by falling off the library ladder, how irresponsible she was by wandering around the Bone Eater Forest and how naïve she was by watching him, a demon, in the hot spring thinking she wasn't noticed.

"I will consider it." And with that, he left the library without a glance back. He didn't catch the faraway look in his mother's eyes.

Rin sighed as she walked the familiar path from her small cabin to the university grounds. Red, yellow and brown leaves crunched under the soles of her black boots. Fall in Forest Hill was making its presence known with a chilly breeze forcing her to pull out a sweater. Two weeks had passed and she was already finished with reading the book about Titania. She was now more confused about the dreams than before. According to the literature, Titania was the name bestowed upon whoever becomes fairy queen. Typically the fairy queen was a force to be reckoned with. They ruled with absolute authority and were always respected by the fae they presided over. Fairy queens lived in forests and are responsible for the health of the land. What Rin found most interesting from her readings was that fairy queens were a vital part of protecting the natural order in the woods. Rin wanted to know more about this "natural order." What was it? What did it mean?

But more importantly, why was she having those dreams? Rin was not sure how possible this was but after reading the book she surmised that maybe she should try to find the current fairy queen. The calls for Titania were so intense in those dreams; they seemed to pull at her very soul. This was something she could no longer ignore. Rin figured speaking with the actual Titania might give her some answers. If demons and magic and spells existed then fairies had to exist too right? If fairies were real they definitely did not interact with the human race like demons did. Rin had never seen one before or knew anyone that did. Actually, she did not know anyone that even talked about fairies. They must be very elusive creatures. Great, that's not going to bode well for my quest to find the queen, Rin thought. The only thing Rin had to go on was the Bone Eater forest since according to the book, fairies lived in forests. Furthermore, the dreams did not start until she moved there. So, the Bone Eater Forest is where her search would have to begin.

Stay out of the Bone Eater Forest, it's dangerous for humans.

Sesshomaru's words crossed her mind. Little did he know, she lived there and had remained safe all this time by following Jaken's rules. As long as she searched in the daytime and traced her steps she would be fine, she thought.

A slight blush tinged her cheeks as she thought about the silver haired demon. Could things be anymore awkward with him? First she basically ogled him while he seemed to be enjoying a hot spring, then she ended up in his arms because of her clumsiness, then he slyly called her out for ogling him and now they kept making eye contact in class. Rin could not stop her eyes from glancing his way during class although she was still very embarrassed, but every time she did he was looking at her with that unreadable expression of his. His looks were making her nervous. What was he thinking about? Was he angry with her for the hot spring incident? Or having to catch her when she fell? He seemed like the brooding type, the type to hold a grudge. Ugh, maybe I should apologize to him again, Rin thought.

The petite young woman arrived on the university's grounds looking around as she usually did to ensure no one saw her coming out of the forest. She made her way to the little café where Shippo worked before classes to grab her habitual breakfast. She was thankful this café was always open in the morning; since school started she didn't have time to make breakfast at home.

"I hope you pretty ladies enjoy those free muffins. Make sure to come back and see me after class." A playful and familiar male voice called.

Three girls giggled and blushed as they walked away from the café.

Shippo watched the girls leave with a dreamy grin on his face too distracted to notice a certain black haired girl approaching.

"So you give free muffins to all the girls?" Rin asked lightheartedly.

Shippo jumped and straightened as he turned to Rin.

"Well, those girls were telling me about how tough studies are here so I thought I'd do something nice." He lied, scratching the back of his neck and giving Rin a guilty smile.

"You can do whatever you want with your muffins but if you keep giving them away, I don't know how this café is going to make any money." Rin joked.

"I'd give all these muffins to you if you'd go out on a date with me." Shippo replied, back to his flirtatious self.

Rin went red in the face; his forwardness always caught her off guard. She should have been used to it by now considering they've been hanging around each other since she started at the university. Lately he had been asking to spend time with her away from the rest of their group of friends. Rin knew Shippo had some kind of romantic interest in her, she wasn't dense but she was definitely inexperienced. Rin never had a boyfriend, not even close to one. She was sheltered by her parents and labeled as a weird kid by her peers so the opportunity for romance was non-existent. She had no idea how to be in a relationship or romantically interact with someone. She could not deny that she found Shippo attractive. He was cute, funny and able to hold conversation really well even when she wasn't always sure what to say. But, Rin also noticed that he was very flirtatious with not just her but a lot of girls. This wasn't the first time she found him smiling in some girls' faces or spotted him on campus walking with a girl. She could not take him seriously because of those things. Rin's dad always told her to stay away from guys exactly like Shippo. Rin smiled at the thought of her dad, he was always giving her anti-boy advice as if she was ever going to date someone. Honestly, Rin felt as if she did not have time to date anyways. She wanted to focus on her studies.

"Um..." Rin started uncomfortably.

"You don't have to answer that right now. I want you to be able to say yes without having to think about it. I guess I just have to work a little harder." Shippo said confident she would say yes one day.

"Well, it's not that I don't like you...I do like you." Rin said.

"You like me!?" Shippo asked excitedly.

Rin watched as the fox demon's eye lit up. Uh oh, I think he took that the wrong way! She thought.

"As a friend!" Rin blurted. Oh wait, I hope that didn't come out wrong. She thought.

"I'm not looking to date right now. I just want to focus on my studies." Rin continued shyly looking at the ground. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. When she looked up, she was surprised at Shippo's smug facial expression.

"The fact that you like me as a friend is enough for me. Liking each other as friends is a good foundation for our future relationship." Shippo said matter-of-factly.

Rin blushed. That was not the response she was expecting.

"You better get to class before you end up late." He smiled handing her a banana nut muffin.

Rin put $2.00 on the counter and ran off yelling thanks before he could say anything. She really was about to be late.

Sprinting into class, she was surprised to find Kagome, Sango, Inuyasha, Miroku and Koga there before her. They usually walked in right before it was time for class to start. She really was running late today, thanks to that wily fox.

As Rin approached, she noticed the atmosphere was different. Everyone seemed tense, melancholy, in deep thought. This was unusual for the lively crew. She took her seat next to Kagome who just seemed to notice she entered the classroom.

"Hi Rin." Kagome said, lacking her usual exuberance.

"Hi Kagome...um, is everything okay?" Rin was worried now. Everyone seemed lost in their own thoughts, not even talking to each other.

"No, it's not." Kagome said sadly.

Rin was about to ask if she wanted to talk about it but...

"Class." Sesshomaru's deep voice echoed effectively quieting the entire room. With one word, he had everyone's attention in an instant. It was highly unusual for Sesshomaru to even address the class when he came in; he typically just went straight to his desk without saying a word to anyone.

"I have news. Another female freshman student went missing last night." Sesshomaru paused as many students in the class gasped and whispered amongst each other. The only students that didn't react that way were her new friends. Rin was not sure how to react to the news. Wasn't it a little too soon to be so worried? She may have been partying and crashed at a friend's place. But the fact that Sesshomaru announced it and the way the others were acting, something about this disappearance seemed very grim. Also, he said "another." Just how many female students have disappeared? Rin thought.

"She was last seen entering the Bone Eater Forest. The details of this disappearance are similar to the last ones so I will not be sharing the particulars. Those of you that live in the area should know those of you that are not from here should ask someone." Sesshomaru continued.

A female student slowly raised her hand.

Sesshomaru stared at her and waited.

She felt nervous under his piercing gaze but went on. "I-If there are multiple disappearances at this university, why haven't students been warned?"

"You are constantly warned not to venture beyond the university's grounds out into the forest, is that not warning enough?" Sesshomaru questioned.

The girl shrank in her chair.

Inuyasha growled and stood up. "You know damn well it ain't that simple! People need to know why they shouldn't enter the forest and they need to know how the girls got there!"

Sesshomaru stared at him blankly. "Take that up with the dean."

"Fuck this, I'm out for today. Let's go." Inuyasha stormed out of class. Kagome, Miroku, Sango all stood to leave. Kagome gave Rin an apologetic look mouthing "I'll talk to you later" before running after Inuyasha.

Rin watched them go wondering if she should have gone with them. Was she being a bad friend by not joining them? But it wasn't like they waited for her or asked her to come with. Rin decided it was best for her to stay put. It seemed they had a more complicated relationship with Sesshomaru and it was not her place to involve herself in their issues.

She glanced at Sesshomaru and found he was staring at her with that unreadable expression of his. She quickly averted her eyes feeling awkward about the situation. Why was he looking at her? Did he expect her to leave too?

"I got better shit to do!" Koga, the wolf demon, announced before standing to leave. He definitely was not standing to leave when Inuyasha said so but he felt left out so he left as well.

Sesshomaru gave the rest of the class a look as if asking if anyone else would like to leave with his eyes. No one moved so he simply began the lesson for the day.

Later that day Rin received a text from Kagome asking her to meet her at her dorm. She said she would explain what was going on. She also suggested that she bring a change of clothes to sleep over. Rin was a bit startled by the idea of a sleepover. She was never allowed to go to sleepovers, as a young adult this would be her first time sleeping at someone else's place. She wondered how Jaken would feel about this.

Rin looked around to make sure no one noticed her enter the forest as she made her usual trek toward her little cabin in the woods. She smiled as she found Jaken waiting for her at the front window.

"Hi Jaken!" Rin greeted as she entered the cabin.

"Hi Rin, how was class today?" He asked hopping around as she made her way to her room.

"It was rather interesting today." Rin started while she sorted through her things. She told her toad friend everything that happened in class.

He listened then noticed what she was doing. "Why are you packing clothing into a bag?" Jaken asked.

"So, my friend Kagome invited me to sleep at her place tonight. She said she would give me more details about what happened." Rin explained. "Will you be okay with me spending the night out?"

Jaken's eyes widened. They grow up so fast he thought, eyes watering. His little Rin was going to a sleepover. He quickly gathered his composure and began a lecture about staying safe and not trusting anyone. "And no boys!" He finally said.

"Jaken, I'm 18. I'm technically an adult now." Rin rolled her eyes playfully.

"But still a teenager!" Jaken said.

"I have no interest in any boys right now anyways so you have nothing to worry about." Rin said.

Somewhat placated, Jaken stated in a gentler tone "I think sleeping outside of the forest is a good idea for tonight anyways. I am a bit concerned about the disappearance. I'm going to spend the evening talking to a few residents of the forest to see if they know anything. Some of the birds might know something; I just have to make sure they don't try to eat me again."

"Yea, be careful with that." Rin warned, thinking about what happened last time they approached some birds for a chat.

Rin picked up Jaken and kissed him on his forehead. "Okay, I'm all packed and ready to go. I want to get to her dorm before the sun sets."

"Okay, be careful and have fun. I'll be here waiting for you tomorrow afternoon." Jaken said.

They both headed out of the cabin, Jaken hopping farther out into the woods and Rin heading back to the university. She took her time walking as there was still daylight out although the sun was no longer high in the sky it had not set yet. Her walks were always so serene. The only sounds were the swaying of the branches by a passing breeze, the crunch of the autumn leaves under her feet and the occasional animal call. She enjoyed the tranquility of it all. It was hard to believe this seemingly peaceful forest was a dangerous place.

But it was...

Rin stopped in her tracks as she looked ahead toward the clearing where the university was. Someone was casually leaning against a tree, head down and arms folded across his chest as if waiting. When the person looked up, Rin's heart could have skipped a beat.

"Professor!?"

Author's Note:

It took me forever to finish this chapter! I kept changing it. I hope you guys like the final result. Until next time, I'll be writing!