"If I never met you, I wouldn't like you. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't love you. If I didn't love you, I wouldn't miss you. But I did, I do, and I will."

The Lily of the Valley signifies " The Return of Happiness "

and once again ...

Disclaimer: The depictions of the characters in this story are completely fictitious. In no way does this represent the views or the story arcs as envisaged by the original copyright owners of this franchise and its characters. The ownership if the characters and the original concept are sole properties of Rumiko Takahashi.

*****Chapter Four – Joyful yet in pain...*****

"Rin!"

Rin hears a familiar strong manly voice call out her name; she hesitates for a moment, as she turns slowly to her back she captures sight of a tall white figure demon standing not far away from her. She instantly recognizes the man and smiles mildly at him. She walks closer to the demon who is wearing a simple white kimono with several leaves on it for design along with a black grey striped sword striped at his side. Rin will never forget this man's appearance, had he not shown up in the forest 4 years ago when she delivered Aito, they both would have probably reunited with her beloved parents in the other world. The young leopard demon returns a huge smile to Rin as she steps closer and pauses in front of him with a little bow of respect.

"Hello Master Ryuuki, it's been a while since our last meet, are you well?" Rin asks as she uses a finger to pull small strands of hair and tuck it behind her ear.

Ryuuki gazes at Rin face, her face intrigues him - her large hazelnut eyes are warm and gentle, her mouth touched with sadness, her voice sounds like an innocent child and a wise lady in the same discourse. She is beautiful he thinks to himself as he is so taken by her beauty that he did not respond to Rin's question, a few moments pass by in awkward silence.

"Master Ryuuki are you alright?" Rin asks with concern in her tone as she notices Ryuuki looking at her with an absent mind. Rin's voice snaps his attention back to reality as he notices how silly he was to let his attention get carried away by just looking at her face, she is truly amazing. Ryuuki allows himself to have that small thought before he replies Rin.

"Oh am doing great, the task was pretty trivial and so I can return earlier than the original schedule. It's been a month since our last meet, are you doing well? How is Aito doing? I hope you both are well too." Ryuuki replies as his eyes continue to stare at Rin without blinking.

"We both are well Master Ryuuki, although Aito has been sick for the past few days but he has recovered quite a lot this morning before I left for work, the weather has been too nasty for my son though, raining heavily every night with strong wind drafts, I think I need to get him a new comfortable quilt which will keep him warm through this nasty rainy season. I wish the weather will be a bit better tonight." Rin shifts her sights to the yellowish clear heavens as she replies. She has her reasons to hide Aito's real condition from him, as she did not wish Ryuuki to take this as an excuse to come to her house and visit her son. It's not that she doesn't like it but she thinks it is better there remains that gap between them.

"Aito was sick? I am glad to hear that he has recovered a lot, I shall visit him after he is fully recovered as right now he needs to rest properly." Ryuuki voices his concern over Aito's well being; he really loves this kid, a very intelligent kid.

"So I heard you singing while ago, are not you getting bored to sing the same song all the time? I am sure there are lots of new songs out there that will catch your interest though." Ryuuki continues as he is trying to get Rin's attention back from staring at the sky, he just wishes to admire her lovely face. Rin giggles at Ryuuki remarks as she turns and faces Ryuuki again. Her giggles fade and is replaced with a faint smile.

"I will live to sing only this song forever..." Rin now turns back to the other side and starts staring at the skies again allowing the light breeze to carry her thoughts somewhere in the heavens. Lord Sesshoumaru, where are you right now? Are you doing well? Are you still mad at me? No he probably would have forgotten me, who am I anyway to be remembered by the great dog demon. Rin whispers as she tightens the hold between the bento and her chest, she feels better to have something press again her chest as her heart is aching. While she is too occupied with her own thoughts, she gets sensations of strong arms embracing her from behind, her body was stiff at first but is relaxed relatively, this is the same embrace she received in the forest 4 years ago when she had Aito held tightly in her arms. Rin shuts her eyes off as she tries to feel the embrace. Awkward is the only thing she can feel. Something strange with the embrace, she does not feel comfortable. Perhaps this is not the embrace that she seeks, as she peels her eyes open she tries to escape from the hold, but is futile as the hold tightens around her as she feels a chin rest on top of her forehead.

Rin distressed expression torments Ryuuki's heart. He has neither seen her relaxing nor even seen her laugh whole heartedly since the day he rescued her in the forest. He will never forget what had happened that night 4 years ago, when he found Rin lying underneath a large tree looking helpless with a child in her arms as she grabbed Ryuuki's hands and kept addressing him as Lord Sesshoumaru, she desperately requested him take her to Tsuyu's house to warm her vulnerable son.

While he never wants to question Rin about the identity of this Lord Sesshoumaru, Rin seemed to have a strange behavior of singing a song related to this person. Ryuuki believed that this Lord Sesshoumaru could be the only closest person in her life. Rin never shares her past life with anyone but she seemed to look depressed all the time, she is only caught smiling brightly when she has Aito in her arms but most of the other times she will isolate herself and singing this strange song. But Ryuuki managed to read everything imprinted in those expressive hazels eyes, he saw her pain, her wounded heart and her tears, tears that she would perhaps only allow to flow within her disconsolate heart. Ryuuki is determined to express his feelings to Rin hoping that he is able to break this wall around her, which will aid both of their hearts growing in pain to heal.

"Rin don't stop looking for love, don't let your past destroy what comes tomorrow, there is so much more to gain if you could forget your past, we can start to dream about tomorrow. After knowing you, I have found an affection that I have never felt before and if I could choose, I would choose the world to revolve around you..." Ryuuki confess and looks at a startled Rin, she tries to ease herself off softly from his hold, looking up at him when he gently cups her cheek, and she stares at his eyes. They are filled with love, faith and care, a gaze that promises a never ending protection.

"Rin I will lift your sorrows and light your way into darkness, you will never be alone as I will hold your hands and embrace you forever, till death do us apart...please give me a chance to protect you and love you. I will treat Aito as my own son. Will you become my life mate? You don't have to answer me now. I will wait for you..." Ryuuki's forwardness makes Rin freeze in bewilderment; she is lost in his confession. Ryuuki has again tightened his hold as he looks at Rin's startled face, even though she did break his embrace she clearly appears to be uncomfortable, but Ryuuki choose to ignore it, sensing Rin is puzzled with her own thoughts, Ryuuki leans forward as he is tries to catch her lips with his own, when their lips almost touch Rin quickly pushes Ryuuki away as hard as she can with her elbow and takes back a few steps from him. She looks away from Ryuuki as she tries to regain her thoughts back to reality. What am I doing? Rin curses herself for letting her emotions to take control over her mind. She shakes her head heavily and turns to face Ryuuki with her serious expression.

"I have taken too much time, I need to return now or Aito will be worried about me. See you later Master Ryuuki. Bye!" Rin speaks as fast as she can. As she has turns and prepares to leave in haste, Ryuuki takes Rin into his arms holding her close to him desperately. She is unable to move away from him as he holds her close. The moment is like an eternity.

"Rin please don't avoid it, no matter how strong you are, you need a man to lead your life, Aito needs a father to guide his life, I can be your good mate as well as a good father. Please give me a chance Rin." Ryuuki knows that if he holds Rin long enough she will eventually break down and accept him.

"How long have you known me? You do not know me long enough to feel what I feel now, I will not allow my weakness to blur my decision, besides I don't wish to seek temporary comfort just because I have a tough life now and so please... let me go." Rin is struggling to flee from Ryuuki's hold as she tries to make her points clear to Ryuuki.

"Rin don't lie to yourself, you can feel isn't it? You were responding to my embrace earlier. You relaxed to my hold, you felt my love and affection, please Rin... open your heart for me, let me mend your fragile heart, I ensure your life will be filled with only joy and laughter, no more tears or fearful life, I swear!" Ryuuki stops shaking Rin instead he holds her still and waits her response eagerly. Rin does not look directly at Ryuuki instead she has her face looking to the side. All she wishes now is to go home and hug Aito.

"I am sorry Master Ryuuki, the embrace was uncomfortable, and it was odd and awkward perhaps ..." Rin pauses for a moment as Ryuuki waits impatiently with her next word.

"...perhaps it was not the embrace that I was seeking, I am so sorry." Ryuuki loosens his hold as he hears her complete her sentence. It hurts him badly. Rin takes this opportunity to flee.

"Take care Master Ryuuki." Rin makes a quick bow as she quickly runs away from Ryuuki. As Ryuuki watches Rin disappear from his sights, he is still confused with Rin's earlier remarks. Perhaps it was not the embrace she is seeking for? I don't know her long enough? I probably know her more than this bastard who is Aito's so called father! Ryuuki thinks to himself as he clenches his fist tightly. He tries to calm down as he did not want to allow Rin's rejection to bring him down; instead he is more determined to seek out Aito's father. Bastard you better not show up in front of me or I swear with my name I will teach you a lesson for leaving such an innocent girl behind to face such a cruel life! Ryuuki whispers to himself as he takes a deep breath to calm himself down.

On the other side near the Geisha House Sesshoumaru's patience has started to run out as Rin's scent slowly fades away replaced by the scent of humans who have started showing up around the Geisha House. The sights in front of him disgusts his eyes as he spots several women flirting with men who later walk into the Geisha House with the men who's expressions are full of lustful thoughts. Sesshoumaru has had enough with this scene as he rises from the grass and decides to move around the Geisha House in the hopes of capturing more of Rin scent. As he heads to the direction of the Geisha House and walks past the main entrance of the house, one of the geishas appears at the entrance and catches sight of Sesshoumaru. She instantly likes his appearance, as she slightly pulls her kimono apart which has her shoulder revealed. She has rushes herself to the side of the demon Lord.

"Hey there handsome demon, don't you wish to stop by and have some fun perhaps... with me? "The geisha moves closer to Sesshoumaru as she reaches out with her hands to touch the fluffy fur that he has on his right shoulder.

"This thing is kind of soft isn't it? I couldn't imagine how tickling it will be when it caresses my naked body." The girl continues as she beams Sesshoumaru a lustful smirk. Sesshoumaru decides he has had enough of this, he does not like the way the girl dressed or acts, he hates the way she touches him too.

"Move or I will kill you bitch" Sesshoumaru warns the girl as his infuriated eyes gives the girl a piercing look. The geisha does not seem to heed the demon Lord's warning instead she stokes her hand around Sesshoumaru's shoulder brushing his magenta strip on his face. This is enough to boil the demon Lord's blood in his veins. He grabs the lady hands and pushes the girl away without mercy as he uses his poison claws to scratch the girl's shoulder which is enough to wound her badly bleeding non-stop.

"Know your status bitch I had warned you earlier." Sesshoumaru roars as he moves on to the back of the Geisha house for further inspection leaving the wounded girl behind with her eyes wide open and her jaw dropped in surprise.

As Sesshoumaru reaches the back of the Geisha House a small entrance is visible with the door left open, it looks like the entrance is leading to a kitchen. Rin's scent is caught lingering strongly in the vicinity, he observes the kitchen attentively as he continues to follow the direction of the scent, and it leads him to the small path further in front of the kitchen. Sesshoumaru takes the path and leaves the Geisha House. As long as Rin scent is present he knows that he is on the right track.

Rin stops running, she walks slowly upto one of the large oak trees and lean on it, she is panting heavily trying to catch her breath. What happened just now? How could I let myself get carried away? Such intimacies are only to be shared between those who love each other. Rin curses herself badly, whenever she is trying to avoid Ryuuki he seems to be able to have control over her. I am emotionally weak, he has caught my weakness. Rin whispered. Ryuuki is a great man, that is not in doubt but Rin can never see him as more than a friend, unfortunately Ryuuki can never treat her like a friend. After he had rescued Rin and Aito in the forest, he seems to find numerous opportunities to confess to her but each time she will manage to escape but today she was a bit emotional and it explains as to why she seemed to have let her guard down. Rin is feeling tired, she moves to the side of the oak tree and settles herself on the grass with her bento placed neatly beside her. A light breeze blows, she shuts her eyes off for a moment and tries to relax her mind as her long dark raven hair is fluttering in the wind. Rin sighs and draws her legs up to her chest, wrapping her arms around them with her face buried within her knees.

"Rin!"

Rin snaps her head up instantly when she hears her name being called out by a strong, firm and calm voice. She freezes puzzled.

"Rin!"

Rin's eyes widen and her jaw drops when she hears her name being call out for the second time and this time she hears the voice clearly, the voice that she misses so dearly and wishes to hear so badly is now echoing in her ears. It can't be him! Rin gently whispers to herself as she shakes her head and gently bites the inside of her cheek. Ouch! It pains! It is not a dream, she did not feel asleep and she is not dreaming, everything she hears is real. Rin is trying to gather all of her strength; she closes her eyes off tightly for a second and then parts them open, slowly, very slowly and she turns her face to her back. The sight that she captures out of her peripheral vision almost makes her heart instantly stop beating as she has captured the full view of the person who is standing behind her. Rin is astounded and she breaks down...

It is such a joyful moment to be able to see him again in her life... yet the pain in her heart has quickly overridden the joy...

He has found me...

Chapter End Notes:

Thank you for all the valuable reviews i promise to get the chapter 5 sort out as soon as i can. No title decide yet for the up coming chapter. I will return to the lab on 15th of August... arghhhh hopefully i have time in between to continue writing (^_^)

Cheer and enjoy the chapter 4...

Love,

Jenni