Chapter 6

After Sesshoumaru had left Rin that day, he had considered what she had said. When he thought about it, he was indeed just being walked over by his brother. He had to smile when her voice repeated her last words to him over and over again. Whether or not those words had been true, they were enough to make him believe that he did stand a chance with her, he just had to prove he was worthy of her affection.

It had been several days since Rin had seen Sesshoumaru and she was profoundly glad. After saying what she did, she doubted she would ever be able to look him in the face again. She desperately tried to avoid him when they weren't in class. Much to the confusion of her friends, she had once again taken to leaving class before everyone else and not reappearing until the next lesson or the next day. The breaks between lessons were not spent primarily with Suikotsu and Bankotsu along with the others when they were around. They too had noticed her desperation to avoid her group of friends and when they questioned her, she had merely laughed and told them they were imagining it. She had decided that it would be best not to confide in Suikotsu and Bankotsu on this matter, it would not be in her best interests or Sesshoumaru's either, not that she particularly cared about Sesshoumaru.

However, soon her luck was bound to run out and it did. Having stayed on campus longer than normal to use the library's resources to study from, Rin found herself one of the few students still on campus when she emerged from the library. It was very late in the afternoon, only about an hour before sunset, she estimated. Sighing, she walked across the dimly lit gardens to the street, savouring the sensation of the slightly chilly breeze against her face. Dark clouds rolled over head and a rumble of thunder encouraged her to walk faster.

She had almost reached the street when an arm reached out and grabbed her elbow, pulling her off the path and into the shadows of one of the buildings. Her first instinct was to scream, but soft, cold lips descended on hers. Rin's body went rigid for a moment before pushing furiously against the person that held her in place, successfully silencing her with a kiss, albeit a very good kiss. She gasped for breath as she stared up into Sesshoumaru's amber eyes.

"What are you doing?" she hissed, a deadly cocktail of anger and fear coursing through her.

"Kissing you," he stated simply and leaned toward her again.

Rin sidestepped him and straightened her clothes before crossing her arms across her chest and glaring at him. She couldn't believe he had done that. Did he not know there was a time and place for such things?

"No, you're not," she said flatly, then her gaze dropped and her voice took an almost vulnerable tone. "Why are you doing this?"

"Because I like you," he replied simply, lifting her chin gently to look into her eyes.

"There is a time and place for such things," she said softly, not meeting his gaze.

"The place is here and the time is now. You can't avoid me forever."

"I can try."

"But you will fail."

Rin smirked and looked away, dislodging his fingers from her chin as she did so. How could he be so certain of that? But when she thought about it, as much as she hated to admit it, he was right. She couldn't run forever, he would catch her eventually.

"Why do you run from me?" he asked, stepping closer and cupping her face gently with a large hand.

"You'll hurt me," she whispered, trying to ignore how right it felt for him to touch her.

Sesshoumaru stared at her for a moment, startled by her sudden confession and vulnerability. He opened his mouth to speak but his words were cut off by a loud rumble of thunder directly overhead. Breaking their gaze, he looked up to the sky just in time to feel tiny drops fall on his face. Cursing the weather, Sesshoumaru looked down at Rin who had suddenly gone rigid and frighteningly pale. As another rumble of thunder came, he noticed her nails dig in to her arms and realised that she feared thunder. Logic dictated that if she feared thunder, then she should also fear lightning. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he decided to act on impulse and face the consequences later. Grabbing her hand, he pulled her startled form towards his car and bundled her inside.

Rin was too stunned to protest and only realised what had happened when the car stopped outside a large house. She turned to look at him with a questioning gaze.

"This is my home," he said simply as he looked at it through the sheets of rain pouring from the heavens. "You can stay here until the rain stops."

"I can't go in there!" she declared, pointing at the house, rain forgotten. "What if Inuyasha's there?"

"He won't be. He's with Kagome, but if it makes you feel any better, you can stay in my room, he wouldn't dare go inside."

Rin narrowed her eyes and weighed her options. She didn't really have much choice. "Fine."

Nodding, Sesshoumaru led the way to the door and then up to his room where she gazed around in awe. The large room was about the size of her whole apartment and this was just one room. Quietly, she sat on the edge of the bed and watched as he disappeared briefly, reappearing moments later with a towel for her hair.

"Are you clothes very wet?" he asked as he dried his own hair.

When he received no answer, he looked up to find her blushing hard, the towel clutched close to her, shielding her from view. Tilting his head slightly to one side, looked at her curiously.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, frowning slightly.

Rin's blushed deepened. "I… uh… my dress… is white," she stammered, avoiding his gaze.

"I see," he murmured, the frown disappearing in favour of a smirk. He walked over to the wardrobe and withdrew something darkly coloured before handing it to her. "Put that on."

Upon closer examination, Rin discovered that she held a black t-shirt. She nodded gratefully and disappeared into the bathroom he showed her to change while he did the same in the bedroom. It was only when she pulled it over her head that she realised how long it was, almost reaching her knees. At least she wouldn't have too much flesh on show, but it was still far too much to be comfortable with. With a sigh, she opened the door and stepped out.

"Sesshoumaru?" she said, standing in the doorway, tugging the hem of the shirt down further.

"Hm?" he turned round and almost grinned at her shy expression.

"It's a bit short," she said, tugging the hem down again.

With a soft sigh, he walked over to the bed and pulled back the covers. "Get in. You'll be able to cover yourself."

Nodding, Rin did as he suggested. Sitting in the middle of the bed, she pulled the covers up around her and watched as Sesshoumaru sat down in the chair behind his desk, his black button up shirt hanging open to reveal his chest. He returned her gaze until a flash of lightning lit up the slowly darkening room. She shuddered and sank down into the bed, pulling the covers securely around her. With a frown, Sesshoumaru thought back to the conversation they had been having before it started raining.

"Rin," he said suddenly, causing her to look up from where she was huddled in his bed.

"What?"

"You're wrong."

"About what?" she asked, perplexed.

"I would never hurt you," he said so quietly she wondered if she had heard him right.

With a sigh, Rin sank down beneath the covers again, trying very hard to ignore how his scent seemed to calm her. She couldn't think of anything to say so she opted to remain silent.

"Why is it that you won't let a man into your life?" Sesshoumaru asked, full of curiosity.

"Because they'll hurt me," she mumbled, cowering slightly as lightning lit the room again and thunder crashed ahead.

Sesshoumaru got to his feet and walked over to the bed, sitting down within touching distance, but not touching her.

"Did a man hurt you?" he asked, looking into her eyes, before she tore her gaze away. Taking her silence for a yes, he pressed on, determined to get answers from the silent girl. "What did he do?"

Rin's eyes flicked to his for a moment before going back to the window. As she did so, she surreptitiously pulling the covers further up to cover her arms, but not before his sharp eyes caught her movements. A masculine hand reached out and gently closed around one of her wrists, pulling the arm from beneath the covers. Her face showed shock, but her eyes held panic and he lowered his eyes to look at her arm. He caught his breath as he saw tiny scars running up and down the length of said arm. A long finger traced one of the scars and he saw her wince slightly.

"What caused this?" he asked, his eyes running over the tiny scars.

"Cigarettes," she said quietly, knowing that she could no longer hide from this man.

"What of the longer ones?"

"Things thrown at me, sharp objects," she shrugged and looked away.

At a loss for words, Sesshoumaru released the arm and pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her tightly. In some way, he had hoped that through teasing her, she would sense his interest in her and gradually let him into her life, but it had had the opposite effect. Had he known then what he knew now, he would have been direct about it. It angered him that a man could do such a thing to Rin. She was timid and vulnerable. Pulling back from her, he looked into her eyes.

"You thought I would do this to you?" he questioned softly. She nodded and bit her lip. "Never, Rin. You are precious and ought to be cherished, not forced to suffer."

Her eyes widened at his words. "Sesshoumaru…"

"I would cherish you, adore you, love you," he whispered as he pulled her close again.

"Are you aware of what you're saying?" she asked, eyes still wide. "You can't take back words like that."

"I wouldn't ever take them back."

Rin was stumped. She sat on the bed wrapped in Sesshoumaru's embrace, the thunder and lightning forgotten as she faced this dilemma. Did she let him into her life and pray for the best? Or did she keep him at arm's length a while longer? Both thought swirled around in her mind along with the implications that would accompany each one. He had just told her he would never hurt her, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it. Not completely. With a sigh, she raised her hands and pushed against Sesshoumaru's chest, pulling away from as she did so.

"Sesshoumaru," she started, not able to meet his gaze. "I don't doubt that you mean what you say, but how can you say such things when you know nothing about me?"

"Why don't you tell me then?" he suggested quietly, brushing a stray strand of hair away from her face.

"I… uh…" Rin gaped at him. She hadn't meant for him to ask for her life story. "I wouldn't know what to say."

Sesshoumaru smirked slightly at her honestly and watched as she continued to examine the covers that hid her legs closely. She had been honest with him so far, but how much longer would she cooperate before returned to her distant self? He had to make the most of this opportunity. He raised her chin with his fingers and looked into her eyes.

"If I were to ask you about yourself, would you answer?" he asked.

"I might," she said and her small smirk told him that despite her previous honesty, she was not going to make this easy him at all.

He sighed. "Why were you with that man if this is what he did to you?"

"The simple answer would be because I loved him," she said and leaned back against his pillows, looking out at the pouring rain. "But it was more than that."

Not wanting to pry into something she may not want to divulge, Sesshoumaru sat quietly, watching her and waiting for her to continue. Rin sighed and closed her eyes, leaning her head back against the pillows as she cast her memory back.

"It seemed so right at the time, although I was only 17 and probably quite delusional," she said and smirked, still not opening her eyes. "It was flattering that someone like him thought me worthy of his attention. I'll never understand why he chose me though. I suppose it's fairly obvious that he just wanted someone to dominate and yet, despite it all, I still loved him. If I closed my eyes, the pain would disappear and he would be there waiting for me with a smile and open arms. Deluded is probably not a strong enough word." She opened her eyes then and looked out at the rain again. "In the end, I should've run as far away from him as I could when I had the chance. Maybe if I had, I wouldn't be the way I am now."

She stared out the window after that quiet revelation and unconsciously raised a hand to rub her right wrist. Sesshoumaru stared at her. He had never expected that kind of response. Truthfully, he had expected her to tell him that it was none of his business. He too looked out the window and found it complete dark outside, save the flashes of lightning that still lit up the area. It didn't feel like they had been here very long, but in reality, it had been nearly 2 hours. Sighing he stood up and looked down at her. Just as he was about to ask if she was hungry, her stomach growled loudly and she blushed crimson, their previous conversation forgotten.

Sesshoumaru smirked. "I was just about to ask if you're hungry. I'll go make some food."

Rin nodded and watched him leave silently. With a sigh, she slid down further beneath the covers and closed her eyes as lightning lit the room and thunder rolled ahead. Despite not being completely covered by the bed covers, she tightly held onto the pillow beneath her head and tried to block out the sound of thunder.

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

In the time Sesshoumaru had been upstairs with Rin; Inuyasha had come home from Kagome's and looked for his brother, eager to discuss their band's next performance. After searching the ground floor and not seeing any trace of his sibling, Inuyasha decided to change clothes before looking any further. Now dressed in dry clothes, he walked down the corridor to Sesshoumaru's bedroom and knocked, not really expecting a response. As long as Inuyasha knocked before entering, Sesshoumaru didn't mind him coming into his room. Fully expecting to find his brother seated at his desk as usual, Inuyasha pushed the door open and was about to step inside when he looked around the room.

It was unusual for Sesshoumaru to not have the lights in the room on. He may like his solitude, but darkness was too far, even for him. Inuyasha was about to go back downstairs to see if he was there, when lightning lit up the room and something caught his eye. Looking closer, he saw the shape of a body lying in the messy bed and he smirked. Evidently his brother had found someone to keep him company while he was alone. Inuyasha's sharp eyes flicked over the woman's body until they landed on her face and he struggled to contain his gasp of shock. There in Sesshoumaru's bed, dressed in what was unmistakably one of his shirts, was Rin!