Antagonists Unite
By: DarkCrystalis

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in my story, unless they're originals. However, if my readers and reviewers are nice, I just might share them if they ask nicely –wink–

XxXx

Chapter Twenty Three

Later After Dinner...

"Was all of this really necessary?" I asked Sesshoumaru as he precariously carried bags and bags of clothes on our way back to his car. "I could take some of them, at least!" In response, he raised an eyebrow, as if to say I was insulting him. I sighed.

"Now I'll just have even more clothes to wash when I get home!" I said as I giggled, grinning when he gave me a small smile. "I do appreciate this, though; now I can replace some of the ones with holes in them!" I laughed out loud when his face looked horrified.

"I think a relaxing night back at your house would be a good idea, don't you think?" As I settled into his car along with him, I grabbed Sesshoumaru's hand before he turned on the car.

"I was hoping for something more... exciting," he said as he wriggled an eyebrow.

"Ughhhh!" I screamed as I laughed when his hand went to grab my chest. "You're shameless! Isn't our entourage staying over again tonight?" I smiled, remembering our hilarious breakfast from the day before.

"Yeah, I guess they are. I have a feeling I'll just steal you away though, and we can go do something alone." Sesshoumaru's face didn't reveal any naughty thoughts this time though; she had a feeling that he just valued their time away from the group.

"It's just weird, having to stay here all the time. I mean, it's great being with you and everyone, but knowing someone is out to get me is really scary. I don't even want to think about what could've happened in a different circumstance..." Rin's voice trailed off as she looked out the window, realizing they were almost back.

"Well, if it's any consolation, if you're not safe here with me, you're not safe anywhere," Sesshoumaru said as the gates outside his home opened for him. The security guards waved as he drove through, and Rin eagerly waved back.

"I think we should do something about the creep," Rin offered as she followed Sesshoumaru upstairs to his bedroom. "If we lure him out, you can catch him before he hurts me, right? And then we can find out who he is and end this thing!"

Sesshoumary glared at her, and for the first time in a long time, if ever, she saw him angry.

"You really want to put yourself in danger like that, for no good reason? Are you crazy?"

"I don't want to live like this my whole life!" Rin yelled back, annoyed herself that he just wrote off her attempt at having a normal life again. "I want to be able to leave and visit my brother, or live with him for a while. I need to work and making a living, I need to go to school and not have to keep watching my back every minute. I can't just stay holed up here, even if it's with you!"

Sesshoumaru sat on the bed, already starting to feel sick to his stomach. However, this was a battle he had to win, or else he might not be able to save her the second time she got in trouble.

"What if he has a knife, or worse yet, a gun? What would you do then?" Sesshoumaru's eyes pierced hers, his golden honey now a hard brown, and any trace of sweetness had completely vanished. Although to Sesshoumaru it was clear he conveyed being worried, but to her, she only saw stubbornness and anger.

"This guy has been hunting me down for how long now? Months? Is he really just going to kill me at the first chance he gets? There must be something he wants from me, and I doubt it's my demise! Not all of us are big, important people like you!"

The last comment stung him, but he decided not to pursue it. "I didn't mean it like that..." Sesshoumaru tried to patch things up, but by this point Rin was too far gone.

"I need some air," she said as she left the room and went downstairs.

Dumbfounded, Sesshoumaru sat on the bed, staring at his bedroom door as it slammed shut.

XxXx

Rin's P.O.V.

"Why does he have to be so stubborn? He's worse than I used to be!" Rin said aloud as she left the mansion grounds, walking slowly in her flip flops. It wasn't too late in the year just yet, and wearing that along with a long shirt and pants kept her just warm enough.

"Fuck, and now the laundry's still in the damn hamper!" She cursed loudly as she stomped her foot on the ground. "This just isn't fair..."

As she strolled down the street, she saw the sign for the park she'd once visited before. Intrigued, Rin turned right and followed. After only a couple minutes, she found the swing set and sat down. By this time in the evening, all the kids and parents were nowhere to be seen, leaving her alone in the dusk. This park had been good to her once in the past, and again it showed its comfort as she closed her eyes.

To release her tension, Rin suddenly rode the swing quickly, so high up that it barely stopped itself from being flung around. She had a great view of the surrounding trees, shops and the nearby parking lot, where a silver car stayed, its lights all turned off...

Panic-stricken, Rin slowed the swing as quickly as she could and got up. However, by then it was too late, and the eerie voice she'd had nightmares about was here, and real.

"I told you we'd meet again..." the dark voice nearly hissed, and Rin shivered as she backed away. Frantically, her hands went into her pockets for her cell, but in her earlier haste, she'd unknowingly left it behind.

"Get away from me!" Rin tried to say as strongly as she could, glancing over her shoulder quickly before turning back to him to gauge the distance between them.

In fright, Rin took off, running as quickly as she could. Her flip flops fell off in the process, but she didn't care; if she could make it to the city street, someone would definitely see her and help.

Unfortunately, her culprit was masculine and clearly was better at running, because he caught up and dragged her to the nearest tree. His right hand went around her neck and squeezed it just hard enough to cut off her air supply, while the other hand went to remove her shorts.

"Sweet, sweet payback," the stranger said aloud as Rin gasped for breath and started to lose her balance. She could feel herself getting light-headed, but was too weak to fight back. Was this how she would die, by some pathetic person and with regrets?

As her vision blurred, Rin heard a voice and prayed things would work in her favour. She felt the hand around her neck disappear, as if it had never been there, and her body hungrily breathed the air it had been deprived of. However, in the haze, Rin felt dizzy and fell down, not knowing what was going on before her world went black a second time.

XxXx

When I woke up, it was far too bright for my liking. I moaned and covered my eyes with my hand, but the motion was difficult to do. Then, the room became darker as if on demand, and I sighed happily.

The events before my fainting quickly replayed in my mind, and I felt glad to be alive. Where was I, and who helped me? I had so many questions...

"I'm glad to see you're up now," someone said to me, a voice I didn't recognize. "We just have a few questions for you, and then we'll be out of your hair." When I dared to open my eyes again, I could see it was a police officer because he was in uniform, along with his partner. I immediately relaxed and nodded weakly, answering anything they wanted to know.

After about fifteen minutes, I waved goodbye and closed my eyes as I lay on the bed. I had soon realized I was back at Sesshoumaru's in his bed, and that he was the one that had rescued me, yet again. I felt sick, so sick that I had over-reacted and gotten myself into such a tough situation. I was so stupid, and yet what was done was done; there was no reversing it.

I cried, having terribly mixed feelings about the situation. I was glad to be alive, but horribly depressed about my actions and what nearly happened. However, a knock at the door made my eyes dart in the direction, and Koji waved. I could see he was terrified, and I immediately sat up. He ran over and pulled me into a tight embrace, something which I desperately needed. Without knowing, I cried into his shoulder, and he only held me even more closely.

After a few minutes, I managed the courage to pull away and wipe my eyes. "Nothing would've happened if I had been less emotional," I said quickly as he scanned me. It was difficult to see in this light, but even with the less-than-ideal lighting the dark and large welts on my neck were visible. He scowled, not because of how they looked, but because someone had done this to me. I know for a fact that if he'd been the one to save me, the guy would've died. For all I knew, maybe he had.

Once a few minutes had gone by, Sesshoumaru came over and sat on the other side of the bed. Koji took this as a sign to leave, but promised he would be back as soon as the police were done questioning him.

"I'm sorry," we both blurted out-loud in a synchronized fashion, and I braved myself enough to look at his face. It was bruised and swollen on one side, but otherwise it was almost like normal.

"I guess us women can get too emotional sometimes, and we don't really think ahead..." I trailed off as I went to touch my neck, but winced when the pain set in. "I'm not a very good girlfriend, am I?" I said as tears fell down my face for the third time in only a few minutes. "Speaking of emotional..." I said as I attempted to laugh, but failed miserably.

"It's my fault too," he said as his arms wrapped around me. "I shouldn't have assumed you were going to just stay in the house. I should have came after you, just to be safe." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. In this situation, neither of us was happy or really knew what to say. Was what little bit of a relationship we had completely doomed now?

Feeling the pain from the welts, I moaned. "This hurts..." I managed as I lay back down, wishing like hell that I had something cool to put on it. An ice pack was handed to me seconds later, and I was grateful.

"I had it ready for you as soon as we brought you back, but I didn't want to use it on you until you woke up... It hasn't been long, so the swelling should go down," Sesshoumaru said as watched me lay it over the front of my neck. It wasn't as cold as when it was first taken out, so the temperature was bearable.

"Thank you, " I whispered as the cold took the pain away.

In the darkness, his warm hand grabbed mine. For once, I fell asleep, feeling safe and loved.

XxXx

Author`s Note

The story isn't finished yet, you haven't even been told who was after her this whole time, so nobody panic! It took a very long time for me to update, but as promised here`s another chapter.

At the moment I`m writing this it`s past 5am in the morning and I`m just about to upload and go pass out. It`s a good thing I`m not working in the morning! Sorry if there are any major grammar or spelling errors in advance, but I think despite my tired-ness I spotted most of them.

Thanks to anyone that will review, if anyone is left. It`s sad that I`ve said that many times (sigh).

Well, let`s hope the next chapter comes out a little faster, huh?

Sincerely,
Angel AKA Emma AKA DC