AN: Italics are a memory ^^

Chapter 4

Over the next two weeks, Rin came to classes and band practice as normal, but much to her displeasure, she found herself in the company of Sesshoumaru and the rest of the band more often than not. It seemed that while Sesshoumaru found it immensely amusing to tease her, the rest of the men in the band had endeared themselves to her three friends. She had no problems with the other three men, but she wondered why she always had to be with her friends when the men arrived.

Now, nearly three weeks after she had won the bet, she had had enough. She sat in the café area with her three friends when she spotted the group of men making their way across the gardens to the table where they sat. She struggled to hold in the groan of displeasure and to save herself any embarrassment, pushed her chair back and got to her feet, swinging her bag over her shoulder as she did so.

"I'm going to find Bankotsu and Suikotsu," she said shortly, just as the men arrived at the table.

With that, she successfully managed to get away from another excruciating hour or two with that irksome Sesshoumaru. Leaving a table of confused friends in her wake, she stalked across the gardens and into the music department again. Fortunately for her, both her band mates attended the same university as her, although they were a year above her. She supposed they were protective over her because she was two years younger than both of them. They had met purely by accident during her first week at the university but she was eternally grateful that they had met. Sighing, she stopped to lean back against a wall to think back to that day.

Ever since she had first learned to play as a child, she discovered that all worries and fears could be erased by the beautiful melodies of the instrument. During that first week of university, she had been plagued by worries and fear about what the future held for her and had found solace in the piano once again. She had been in one of the practice rooms, so engrossed in playing a Tchaikovsky piece that she had not noticed the two older students standing by the door watching in awed silence. Eventually, she had pulled the cover down over the keys and sighed, leaning forward and burying her head in her arms, annoyed that she still failed to play that piece perfectly. A cough had brought her head up quickly and turning towards the door. Her eyes widened when she saw the two men standing there.


"That was beautiful," Suikotsu had said with a smile.

"Thank you," she said, stunned that such students would talk to her of all people. "It's not right though."

Rising to her feet, she picked up her bag and books, preparing to leave. However, the quieter of the two stopped her on her way out by catching her elbow and pulling her back into the room, guiding her back to the piano.

"What else can you play?" he asked as he pulled the cover back to reveal the keys.

"Mainly classical pieces," she said with a shrug.

Without a word, the quiet man sat down beside her and placed long fingers on the keys. After a moment, said fingers moved surely and elegantly across the keys playing the exact same piece she had just attempted. She watched his hands in awe as they moved and savoured the beautiful melody. When the piece came to an end, the unknown man sat back and looked at her.

"You were using the wrong keys at the end," he said and pointed to the keys she had used when she played, then moved to point at different ones. "Use those and it will sound better."

Rin stared at him and nodded mutely. The other man came to stand behind her and placed a hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with a grin.

"I'm Suikotsu," he said, grin still in place. "He's Bankotsu. Classical pieces are his speciality."

"I'm Rin," she said in a quiet voice.

"Nice to meet you!" Suikotsu said happily.

"I assume you're taking music?" the stoic Bankotsu asked.

"Yes, I started this week."

"What say we take her under our wing?" Suikotsu asked his friend with a grin.

"A good idea, I think," was the response.

"What are you talking about?" Rin asked, confused and slightly awed by the two males.

"We want to form a band, but we can't with just two people," Suikotsu explained, pulling up a chair and sitting beside her.

"You can," she said, her confusion growing by the minute.

"Well yeah, but neither of us are capable vocalists."

"And you think I am?" she gaped at them.

"You might be," Bankotsu said. "Even if you're not, you are a capable musician; we would like you to join our group."

"Or at least consider the offer and come to practices with us," Suikotsu added with a smile.

For once, Rin's usually composed and somewhat distant outer shell had been cracked. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"B-But, I'm too young! S-Surely there must be someone in your year to join," she stammered.

"There is no one good enough in our year," Bankotsu said, crossing his arms.

"How old are you, Rin?" Suikotsu asked suddenly.

"20."

"You're only two years younger than us," he grinned again. "Age means nothing anyway."

"Will you consider the offer?" Bankotsu asked, looking her in the eyes.

"Please?" Suikotsu pleaded, taking her hands in his and flashing her a smile.

"Alright," she sighed. "I'll consider it."

Rin sighed from her place against the university wall and smiled to herself. The memory seemed to be from years ago, but in reality was not so long ago. Now, she found herself seeking out the two men just for company or comfort which they gladly gave her and always welcomed her with open arms. Quite literally in Suikotsu's case sometimes. Smiling again, she pushed herself off the wall and headed into the music department where she knew she would find the.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

As predicted, as soon as Rin stepped into music building, she could hear Suikotsu's infectious laughter echo down the corridor from the usual room they occupied during breaks between lessons. Ironically, it was the same room her next lesson was in. Smiling slightly, she walked down the corridor and stopped in the doorway, peering in. Suikotsu saw her and bounded up to her, enveloping her in a tight hug before pulling her into the room where the other men sat. Bankotsu and Suikotsu's other friends had all accepted her readily and were always pleased to see her, although not many of them showed the same enthusiasm as Suikotsu.

"What brings you here, Rin?" Jakotsu asked, pulling her down into a seat beside him and ruffling her hair affectionately.

"You're normally with those girls aren't you?" Renkotsu said, looking up briefly from the book he was reading.

Rin shrugged. "I don't like the company they keep."

"Those guys sure are determined," Bankotsu noted.

"They hang around like a bad smell," Rin said, wrinkling her nose in distaste.

The men looked at her in amusement while Suikotsu burst into laughter. After a moment, he controlled himself and sat down on her other side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"They're not all that bad are they?" he asked with a grin.

"Well, no," she conceded as she thought it over. "In fact they're alright, except that Sesshoumaru."

Bankotsu nodded. "He did seem different from the others."

"Just thinking about him makes me angry," Rin said with a frown as she leaned her head back against Suikotsu's arm with a sigh.

"What did he do that was so bad anyway?" Jakotsu asked. Rin didn't move but muttered something quietly.

"What was that? We didn't hear that," Renkotsu asked, now taking an interest in the conversation.

Rin glared at him. "I said, he kissed me," she huffed, her expression showing her annoyance.

The statement took the males by surprise and they stared at her, not knowing quite what to say. Suikotsu and Jakotsu just stared at her while Renkotsu closed his book with a snap. Although Jakotsu and Renkotsu were not as close to Rin as the other two were, they were still protective of the younger girl their friends had become so close to.

"I knew I should've come back to get you," Bankotsu said with narrowed eyes as he turned to look out the window.

"What?" Suikotsu asked, confused.

"That night after we won the bet. I should've have left her alone."

Rin sighed and stood up, walking over to him. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and smiled to herself. The bell signalling the beginning of lessons rang in the hall, but she ignored it, wanting to make her friend feel better was more important.

"It's not your fault," she said quietly, as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "You couldn't have known what he would do."

The other males nodded and made noises of agreement, eager to soothe their serious friend.

"We'll just make sure he doesn't do it again," Suikotsu said with a grin as he got to his feet. "We're going ahead. See you later, Rin!"

The three men said their goodbyes and left Bankotsu and Rin alone. Sighing suddenly, Bankotsu tightened his grip around her and pulled her closer. Not knowing what to do, Rin leaned into him and just waited until he was ready to let her go.

"I'm sorry I left you alone with him, Rin," he apologised again, burying his face in her shoulder. "He's bothering you because of me."

"No, he's not," Rin tried to soothe him. "It's not your fault."

So caught up in trying to soothe her friend, Rin didn't notice Sesshoumaru standing in the doorway watching the scene. He couldn't hear what was being said, but he did not approve of another man holding her in such a way.

"You still haven't told her, huh?" Miroku asked, appearing beside him suddenly.

Sesshoumaru sighed. "They lied."

"Who did?" Miroku questioned, taking his eyes from the pair in the room to his friend.

"They did. They said they were not a couple."

"Perhaps they're not. It's not uncommon for friends to show such affection."

"It's hopeless, Miroku," Sesshoumaru said softly, knowing that his friend would not judge him for his weakness. "She doesn't like me."

"Not yet maybe," the other man said with a grin. "Go about it in a different way and maybe she will."

"How?"

"We'll come up with something. We should keep this between ourselves though," he said with a thoughtful look. "I doubt the others would be of much use. They'll tease you too much anyway."

Sesshoumaru nodded and was grateful to his friend. He knew from the very beginning that he could be trusted. If Miroku was helping him, Sesshoumaru was sure that he would end up with a good result, even if it took a while to get there.