Chapter X

The topic of Sesshoumaru's behaviour never did come up for conversation again after that night and Rin was almost certain that her lover was going to great lengths to make sure that it was not discussed in any greater detail. Rin sighed as she put away the last of the clean glasses behind the bar before looking around at the few people who stood or sat in the small groups that were scattered about the room. It was still quite early in the evening so not many people were around just yet, but she knew that it would get busy as the evening progressed. The hours passed slowly and Rin conversed happily with some of the regulars as she wandered through the room, collecting empty glasses from abandoned tables. It was very close to closing time when she noticed a silver haired man sitting in a dark corner of the room with his back to her. Her eyes narrowed as she watched him picked up the beer bottle on the table in front of him and take a swig of the liquid before setting it down again. Taking a deep, calming breath, Rin stalked across the room and stopped beside the table as she reached out to pull the bottle from the man's hands just as he was about to drink from it again.

"Just what do you think you're doing?" Rin demanded, not bothering to hide her anger. "No smoking or drinking. That was the agreement!"

The man turned in his seat, his eyes wide with surprise at the petite woman's sudden appearance at his side and stared at her before they both recognised each other. Rin's eyes widened as she stared into the amber orbs that looked back at her, reflecting her surprise and confusion, but she realised that she wasn't looking at Sesshoumaru. She was looking at Inuyasha. Exhaling heavily, she put the bottle back down on the table and then grinned at the confused man deviously.

"Well, well," Rin drawled, her grin still in place as she slid into the seat opposite him. "Inuyasha, the pride and joy of the Taisho family, is sitting in my dingy little bar. Isn't this a surprise? You honour me with your presence."

"Sarcasm doesn't suit you," Inuyasha grunted, crossing his arms and glaring at her.

"I don't care. The irony of the situation calls out to my sarcastic nature."

"There's nothing ironic about this situation!"

"Really?" Rin asked, raising an eyebrow as she rose to her feet. "I beg to differ. This could land you in trouble if your father found out about this."

"He won't find out."

"And why is that?"

"Because you're not going to tell him," Inuyasha declared in a determined voice.

"You're in no position to tell me what I can and can't do."

"Oh, but I am. You see, it doesn't take much for someone to lose a job. All the boss needs to hear are a few well chosen words from the right person and someone's out of a job."

"You're threatening me?!" Rin hissed with barely contained anger as she glared at the man in front of her.

"I do need to ensure your silence on this matter, Rin," Inuyasha said quietly, leaning towards her with a menacing grin. "It's just as you said, my father would not approve of my being here."

"Then why are you here?"

"That is none of your business," he muttered, glancing towards the door and then quickly looking away as he pulled out his phone and dialled a number. "Now go away and remember what I said."

Rin stalked away from the table with a frown and returned to her usual position behind the bar. Osamu and Saburou wisely chose not to comment on her behaviour as she served them and simply returned to their conversation while Rin observed her lover's sibling as he sat in his seat. She had the perfect vantage point. He had his back to her so he couldn't see her observing his actions and he didn't know that she was watching when a tall dark haired woman stepped into the bar and made her way towards him. Rin's eyes widened as she watched them embrace warmly as though they were lovers and briefly thought it was Kagome since this woman looked a lot like her, but soon realised that she was mistaken. This woman was different and it definitely wasn't Kagome. As she watched them talk and interact, Rin soon gathered that they were indeed lovers and the sight of it sickened her so much that she forced herself to look away.

A short while later, Sesshoumaru arrived at the bar and stood in the doorway until he caught her attention before stepping back outside. Taking a deep breath, Rin headed towards the door at the end of her shift and tried very hard to keep her gaze from drifting towards Inuyasha's table, but soon discovered that he had moved and was leaning against the wall beside the door. She gulped at the menacing look on his face as she approached.

"Remember what I said, Rin," he muttered as he leaned towards her with a smug grin. "I will make life very unpleasant if you utter one word of this to anyone."

Anger coursed through her and she pushed him away roughly as she stepped out the door and headed towards the car where Sesshoumaru waited patiently for her. She had been considering speaking to Sesshoumaru about what she had seen, but with Inuyasha's words ringing in her head, she decided that it probably wouldn't be a good idea. Sesshoumaru was rather protective of her despite the fact that she was perfectly capable of looking after herself, but she was worried that he might do something drastic if he discovered that his own brother had threatened her. Sighing, she slipped into the car and fixed a smile to her face as she turned to greet her lover. She didn't want to deceive Sesshoumaru, but she didn't see an alternative.

Life for Rin became very uneasy after she discovered Inuyasha's sordid secret. Sesshoumaru's parents made frequent visits to the apartment much to his disgust and much to Rin's irritation, Inuyasha always came with him and where Inuyasha went, Kagome was not far behind. Inuyasha would watch Rin intently throughout their visit as though he was daring her to say something and she could do nothing but glare at him in response. It was a depressing situation. Inuyasha was obviously cheating on Kagome with that woman she had seen at the bar, but she couldn't tell the poor woman about it because she would lose her job if she said a word. Memories of Inuyasha telling her how unpleasant he could make her life were also off-putting. Had her life not been unpleasant enough without Inuyasha making it worse? Her only solace was Sesshoumaru. He had become her pillar of strength and her protection, but she was at a loss now that there was truly a chance to protect her and she was too scared to tell him the story for fear of his reaction.

Eventually, Rin learned to ignore Inuyasha's intense gaze and his mocking words, but she still felt very uneasy in his presence. A part of her was always wondering if he would do something awful to her just because he felt like it regardless of whether she had said anything. Everything came to a head one day when the time of year came around that Rin would visit her family on the anniversary of their death. She had been with Sesshoumaru for half a year at this point and was very happy with her life despite Inuyasha's threats hanging over her head. Sesshoumaru had offered to accompany her to the cemetery and after a brief consideration, she had agreed.

Sesshoumaru followed Rin down the path that wound amongst the tombstones in the neat cemetery. He looked around and took in all the different names and shapes of the tombstones. It was quite amazing really and also quite sad. There were tall angels carved of shining black and white marble, small headstones with elegant lettering engraved on their smooth surfaces and a couple of ancient looking crypts standing near the Church building that looked quite out of place and slightly foreboding in comparison to everything that surrounded them. He blinked in surprise when Rin came to an abrupt halt in front of him and looked over her shoulder. In front of her stood four tombstones in perfect condition with a familiar surname etched over them all and flowers sitting before each one.

He glanced at Rin and saw her hands clench at her sides as she looked at the four stones. Sighing to himself, Sesshoumaru slipped an arm around her waist as he wondered what kind of comfort he was supposed to give in such a situation before he realised that there were no tears falling from her eyes and there was no sadness on her face, just a look of pure anger that he had never seen before. The alien expression on her usually cheerful face took him by surprise and Sesshoumaru stared at her in amazement as she closed her eyes as though she was trying to calm herself before they opened against and glared venomously at the stones before them. After a moment, he realised that she wasn't looking at the stones themselves, her gaze was trained on the four bouquets of flowers that were neatly placed at the base of each one. Sesshoumaru never got to ask his questions as Rin dropped the bouquets she had brought with her carelessly and snatched up a note attached to one of the bouquets. He couldn't see what was written on it as she scrunched it up into a tiny ball in her equally tiny fist before turning on her heel and walking back towards the car without a word.

"Is there anywhere in particular you want to go?" Sesshoumaru asked carefully, not sure how to handle his furious lover.

"To the bar please. It appears that there is something I need to take care of," Rin requested in an irritated voice.

A short while later, Sesshoumaru was following Rin into the bar as she stalked around the bar and into the office without a glance at anyone she knew. Deciding to let her deal with the situation, he sat in his usual place at the bar and waited patiently. Rin glared at the manager who cowered behind his desk. Eventually, she sighed and her shoulders drooped as though under an enormous weight before she sank down into the nearest chair and buried her face in her hands.

"Is this true?" she asked quietly, extending her hand without looking up and holding out the ball of paper in her hand to the manager.

The man carefully took the paper and read it before nodding slowly. "It is true. You are no longer an employee here."

"Why was I not informed? Why was this decision made?"
"I was told not to inform you, that it was already taken care of. I had to do this because he threatened to close down the bar if I didn't," the man said helplessly.

"I'm sorry about this," Rin muttered as she lifted her head to look at the man who had been so kind to her. "I should leave before I get you into more trouble."

There was silence as Rin got to her feet and made her way over to the door. Just as she opened the door, the manager called her name and she turned to look back at him questioningly. He hesitated as though he was unsure if he should voice his thoughts before he threw caution to the wind and opened his mouth to speak.

"I don't know what you did, Rin," he said seriously. "But you have made a fearsome enemy. I would advise you to proceed with caution. I may not be able to employ you, but I'd still rather not hear that something bad happened to you."

"Thank you for the advice," Rin deadpanned before walking out the door.

Sesshoumaru watched Rin walk out of the office and immediately knew that something was wrong. They left the bar in silence and it wasn't until they were some distance away from the bar that Sesshoumaru decided that it was time to find out what was going on. Rin's eyes widened as the car came to a stop and turned to look at Sesshoumaru questioningly. She jumped slightly as he turned to look at her, leaning towards her and placing an arm along the back of her seat.

"I think, Rin," he said slowly. "That you should tell me what is going on. I do not like the idea of knowing you are upset but not knowing why."

"Alright," Rin said with a soft sigh as she leaned her head back against his arm and closed her eyes. "You'll find out soon enough and it's better you find out now than later."

There was something about the way she spoke that sent a shiver down Sesshoumaru's spine. His eyes narrowed slightly as he quickly realised that he was not going to like what she was about to tell him, but he willed himself to remain calm as he waited for her to tell her story. After a silence that seemed to stretch on for hours, Rin sighed and looked at him seriously.

"Your father has always made a big issue of the fact that you used to visit the bar and drink," she started and then stopped, biting her lip as if she was reluctant to continue. "While you kept to your side of the bargain and stayed away from the bar and alcohol, Inuyasha didn't."

"Inuyasha?" Sesshoumaru repeated in surprise.

"If it were just that he was drinking and completely going against your father's wishes, it probably wouldn't be so bad," Rin continued, ignoring Sesshoumaru's question. "But it's worse. So much worse."

"Let me get this straight. Inuyasha has taken up my old habits?"

"Yes, but that's not the only thing he's taken up."

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, not entirely sure why this was distressing Rin so much. "What else has he taken up that could be worse than that?"

"Adultery."

Rin's quiet response completely blew Sesshoumaru away and he could only stare at her in shocked silence. Being the son of a man as wealthy as Inutaisho did mean that one had to forgo imbibing alcohol and partaking in activities that would tarnish the family's reputation that Inutaisho had worked so hard to build. Inuyasha was now the favoured son and if Rin spoke the truth, he could destroy everything their father had worked so hard to build over the course of his lifetime. Sesshoumaru was by no means close to his father and didn't particularly like the man, but he didn't think it was right for him to lose everything just because his son was acting irresponsibly. Adultery, though, was a different matter entirely. Sesshoumaru glanced at the woman beside him and suddenly wondered how Rin knew so much about his brother's activities when they clearly disliked each other.

"How do you know this?" Sesshoumaru asked with a frown.

"He came into the bar a while ago, I forget how long ago now, but he met a woman. I thought it was Kagome, but it wasn't. She was different even though they looked similar."

"Foolish brother. Why didn't you tell me this?"

"He told me not to say anything. He threatened to make my boss fire me and he said he would make life unpleasant if I said anything. He didn't wait to see if I would say anything though. The boss said that he was threatened with the bar's closure if he didn't fire me. So I'm now unemployed," Rin said with a tearful smile.

It took a moment for Sesshoumaru to regain his composure and when he did, he reached across the space between them and wrapped Rin in a fierce embrace. She sagged against him, her small hands fisting in his shirt as she tried to fight the tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. After a moment, Sesshoumaru sat back and wiped away her tears, kissing her lips gently before giving her a very brief and vague smile.

"You will get your job back," he promised, kissing her lips again. "Inuyasha will get what he deserves and everything will go back to normal."

"Back to normal?" Rin asked curiously.

"Yes. Everything will be fine."

Sesshoumaru had struggled to contain his rage when he had discovered what his brother had done to Rin. He had taken them home immediately after she had told him what had happened and had spent the afternoon with her, trying his hardest to reassure her that everything would be alright, but knowing that it was not going to work. Inuyasha had truly chosen the worst day to carry out his threat and part of Sesshoumaru suspected that he had chosen that day on purpose. Rin had eventually fallen asleep in his arms, apparently exhausted from the stress of the day and while she slept, Sesshoumaru had contemplated what to do next.

He didn't want to cause Rin any extra stress but could see no way around that particular obstacle. His conflicting emotions made it difficult to decide what to do. Part of him wanted to expose Inuyasha's habits and see him suffer for the pain he had caused Rin, but another part of him knew that he couldn't do that to his father. They weren't close, but he still couldn't bring himself to do something so callous. Rin shifted slightly and clutched his shirt tightly as she frowned and mumbled something unintelligible. Sesshoumaru smiled to himself as he looked down at her and brushed her hair away from her face gently. It never ceased to amaze him how dear this petite but feisty woman was to him. She had unknowingly brought out a soft side to him that he had long since buried when she had stepped into his life. Somehow, she had wormed her way into his heart to such an extent that his own happiness depended on hers and now that he knew the cause of her unhappiness, he was going to make the culprit pay in one way or another.

When Rin woke up a few hours later, she found herself lying on the sofa, her head cushioned on the armrest and her body covered by what was obviously Sesshoumaru's long black coat. Smiling to herself, she burrowed deeper under the coat and inhaled his scent deeply as she closed her eyes and slowly drifted back to sleep. She was on the verge of sleep when she heard a voice coming from the kitchen. It was Sesshoumaru's voice – that deep voice that sent shivers down her spine, she would recognise it anywhere. Rin guessed that he was on the phone since there were no replies to his words, but when she heard her name, her eyes flew open and she wondered what he was talking about. She didn't have to wait long as Sesshoumaru stepped into the living room a short while later and smiled vaguely at her as he sat beside her.

"Who were you talking to?" Rin asked curiously.

"Kagome," Sesshoumaru replied as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I don't think I'm going to tell my father about Inuyasha, but Kagome needs to know."

"Is she alright?"

"She was furious, but she said she'd be discreet about the situation. She understands that the family's reputation is on the line."

"Why do you care about the reputation?"

"My father worked hard to get where he is now, I may not like him, but I don't think it's fair to undo all the work he did just because of my stupid brother."

Rin nodded understandingly. "What do you think Kagome will do?"

"I don't know," Sesshoumaru admitted thoughtfully. "I don't have any doubt, though, that Inuyasha is going to regret having toyed with her. She can be quite terrifying when angered."

"I almost feel sorry for him," Rin stated, eyes wide with surprise and slightly fearful.

Sesshoumaru frowned. "Don't feel sorry for him. He deserves everything he gets. To be honest, telling Kagome about it is probably worse than telling my father. Her rage is much more terrifying and she will see to it that he is suitably punished which I don't think my father would."

It was just as Sesshoumaru had said. In the days after Kagome discovering Inuyasha's infidelity, she had been furious and had taken the matter of his punishment into her own hands. She had agreed that it would be unfair for Inutaisho's hard earned reputation in the business world to be destroyed because of his son and had promised not to tell the older man of the incident. Rin had been surprised to open the door one day to find Kagome standing on the doorstep and had been even more surprised when the woman had stepped into the apartment without a word and wrapped her arms around Rin. When Rin felt tears falling on her shoulder, she was suddenly glad that Sesshoumaru was at work and not in the apartment as she supposed that Kagome probably wouldn't want to show this weakness to anyone.

"I'm so sorry," Kagome said sadly as she clutched a mug of coffee in her hands as they sat on the sofa. "I'm so sorry for what Inuyasha did. That was so unkind."

"Don't worry too much about it," Rin said softly. "I've been through much worse than that. Are you alright?"

"I was so angry when Sesshoumaru told me," Kagome admitted with a slight smile. "But I think the reality of the situation is only just beginning to dawn on me."

"What do you mean?"

"I can't stay married to him knowing that he's done this, but I don't know how to end this marriage without causing a scandal."

"Is Inuyasha even a little bit sorry for what he did?" Rin asked.

"He says he is, but I don't know if he's just saying that to placate me or if he means it. I don't really know if anything he told me was true."

"Could you trust Izayoi with something like this?"

"No. Inuyasha is her son and she thinks the world of him. She won't believe that he has done any wrong so it would be pointless talking to her."

"I don't know what to suggest," Rin said quietly. "I wish I could help, but I'm not sure how."

"It's alright," Kagome replied with a sad smile. "I'll just have to bear with it for the moment. Something will come up eventually."

Rin watched as Kagome left the apartment and felt very sorry for the woman. She didn't know her very well, but she had always had a favourable impression of Kagome. It was quite sad to think that the cheerful woman she had met a few times before had been reduced to what she was. There was no question that Kagome was heartbroken by the news, Rin could only hope that time would heal her wounds and that she would find a way to be happy.

AN: I know having Inuyasha as a bad guy is a bit of a twist in my stories, but I decided a change would be good :) I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to update, but I've been preoccupied with For The Sake of Convenience. I'm writing it's epilogue today so that will be out of the way and I can focus a bit more on this story. I more or less know where I'm going to take this now so there'll be another few chapters before I finish :) Anyhoo! Thank you for all the reviews :) Hopefully no one's gotten too bored waiting for this story's update, I'll try and make it as regular as I can now!

Thank you again!

xMxAx