Sesshomaru managed avoid Rin throughout the work week, and Rin remained ignorant of Sesshomaru being the CEO of the company she worked for. They would not see each other again until Sunday.
Sesshomaru as usual was wide awake at 5 A.M. And something inside of him was yearning. He knew not what it was yearning for, but he knew it was yearning for him to find something. Getting dressed in a button down white shirt and tan pants, he walked the city streets feeling a pulsing within his veins as he neared some unknown target. Eventually he found himself at the shrine of his beloved Rin, but Rin's reincarnation's scent was no where to be found. Noting that not even the shrine priestess was there he sat down on the bench and contemplated what it could have been that had brought him here.
Rin awoke early that morning from a nightmare that had plagued her frequently since she was a young child. She changed into her favorite kimono and geta and walked down to the shrine as was her custom every Sunday morning. Upon reaching the temple she would pray to the maiden Rin and then enjoy the sound of the birds chirping and the sights of the flowers in bloom in the spring and summer.
Her trip to the shrine on Monday had been a special trip since she had wished to pray to the maiden for success in her first day on the job before heading to work. All in all, she was glad she had made the trip to hear the story of the maiden who was buried beneath the statute. "Oh, Rin, when are you going to admit that that's not the only reason you were happy?" she questioned herself as she climbed up the stairs to the shrine. "You thought he was cute, admit it."
Her voice floating in the wind caught the attention of the demon sitting inside and snapped his attention back to the present. Suddenly it seemed that the pulse in his blood was throbbing at an ever increasing rate. Was he meant to come and see Rin again, and was he imagining it in order to put off the blame of his true intentions to run into Rin again? His eyes never left her from the moment her figure fell into view and he was quite certain that she was unaware of his presence since this time he was sitting deep into the corner of the room to her right and behind her.
He watch as Rin bowed down, eyes closed and lips moving. She would stay in that position for several minutes as she silently spilled out a prayer to see the stranger from before in the shrine again. It was quite a shock then when she heard his voice call out to her as she stood back up. "Are you a frequent visitor?" he asked her nonchalantly.
Rin squeaked at the realization that she was first of all not alone and second of all with the man who had occupied her thoughts for most of the week. She was quite certain he was aware of the red tinge that now stained her cheeks as the blood rose to them. It took her what seemed like several minutes but was only a few seconds to respond with, "I come every Sunday morning." She paused for a second wondering if she could say more to him. Deciding that she needed to know she asked him, "Do you come often because I don't remember seeing you before Monday?"
"No," he answered truthfully. "I normally come only once a year. It was a tradition set for me a long time ago. I guess you could say that something was drawing me here today." He noticed how her eyes took in the sight of him dressed in modern day clothing and it made him feel comfort knowing that she was just like the maiden he had buried 500 years before in that she was easily attracted to him. "Do you always come so early in the morning?" he asked her after a couple of minutes of allowing her to take in his words.
His words brought her out of her revelry. "No. I just had a bad dream last night. A nightmare I've had since I can remember." She sort of plopped on the bench not remembering her manners and continuing on as if he was a good friend instead of a stranger she had met briefly once before, "I usually had it once a week, but since I heard that story from you about the maiden Rin it has plagued me every night this week." She looked up at him and blushed furiously before apologizing for saying too much.
Sesshomaru sat there silently listening to her as she spoke in deep contemplation of every next word to come out of her mouth. "If I may be so bold, what was the dream about?"
She closed her eyes to recall everything that happened in the dream. "I am a young child in Feudal Japan. I am alone as I walk into a hut where a hideous man is rummaging through the things that once belonged to my now deceased parents. He asks me if the hut belongs to me and I nod in confirmation since I cannot speak. The sound of wolves barking in the distance causes the man to worry and run. I watch him as the wolves close in on him in the river.
"Then this wolf demon starts talking to the man and taking a shard of what looks like a pink jewel from the man. The man thanks the demon for not killing him as the demon walks away, but the demon turns around and kills him citing that he had not remembered until the man had said something. The demon then tells the wolves to feed on the villagers to their delight. A number of wolves then started chasing me, so I ran out into the woods towards the faded memory of a man walking away from me. He had the most beautiful silver hair that reached down near his feet and he had a fluffy thing thrown over his shoulder. I guess I was running to him in hopes that he would save me, but the wolves kill me before I can reach him." She let out a sigh as she relived the memories over again.
Sesshomaru sat there silently understanding that she was having dreams of her first death, of her soul's first bodily death. He wondered to himself if she held any more memories of her soul's past? It then dawned on him that she likely didn't remember more since she had not recognized his face since it was the same save for his markings and his change in hair and eye color.
"I suppose there is some meaning to the dream," she spoke after several minutes of silence between them.
He assured her in hopes of throwing her off of any other path of thinking, "It probably does mean so. Have you ever talking to a psychiatrist about this?"
"No," she answered honestly. "I guess I've always been afraid to. It just sounds so silly to me." She giggled quietly to herself as she realized how silly of an idea it was to tell this stranger something she wouldn't even tell a psychiatrist. 'He must think I really am crazy,' she thought to herself.
Sesshomaru watched as the expressions crossed over Rin's face as she sat in silent contemplation. Yes, more than 5 centuries had not stopped him from being in love with Rin's soul. "Would you like to join me for breakfast?" he asked her out of the blue.
Rin's cheeks turned red and she refused to look up at him. "I don't have a whole lot of money at the moment. I don't get paid for another 2 weeks." She looked at him out of the corner of her eyes watching his expressionless face.
"Allow me to provide you breakfast then," he offered her.
Rin's face turned a brighter red color upon realization that he was possibly as interested in her as she was in him. "I don't even know your name," she confessed to him.
"My name is Sesshomaru."
Rin's smile grew into a strange grin. "Like the name of the demon the maiden Rin followed. Is that why you come up here? You were named after the demon she followed?"
Sesshomaru's mind reeled as he carefully chose his words, "I guess you could say that my name has something to do with my fascination of this place, but I was not named after him." That seemed to be a sufficient enough answer since she stood up eagerly signaling that she was accepting his proposal.
She watched as his tall frame loomed over hers, yet she was not intimated by his size. "Oh, wait," Rin cried out remembering what she was dressed in. "I need to change before we go out somewhere. I don't normally walk around in a kimono."
"How far do you live from here?" he asked her patiently.
"Only a couple of blocks," she said pointing in the direction of her apartment building. "It should not take me long. Is there somewhere I can meet you at?"
Sesshomaru answered her, "I will follow you and call ahead. I'll have them make something special for us." He motioned for her to start walking in front of him and followed behind her slowly. They walked to her apartment and as she changed into a slimming red sweater and pair of jeans he called ahead and announced to his cook that he was bringing a human home and to make her breakfast.
As they were leaving Rin grabbed a light black coat and her purse and followed Sesshomaru just as she had when she was a child. They walked into a residential area and Rin inquired of him, "Where are we going?"
"I thought we would have dinner at my house. My cook makes a world famous breakfast casserole."
"A cook? You have a cook?" she asked him as they walked up to the front of a mansion sized house. "May I ask what it is that you do for a living, if it's not too much to ask?"
He chuckled lightly at her question and answered her, "I am a CEO of a Fortune 500 Company."
"Oh," she said in a rather disappointed tone. He stopped to look at her as he saw how her face dropped. What was it that he had said that would make her act so disappointed in him. Normally people were flocking about him trying to get in his favor upon realizing that he was wealthy, but of course he should have realized that Rin was different. "Maybe I should go home," she said surprising him.
"Have I said something to offend you."
Immediately she answered him abruptly, "No, I have more likely offended you." The expression on his face did not change so she figured that she would need to explain further, "I'm sure you have people constantly trying to take advantage of you because of your position, and I don't want you to think I'm doing the same."
Sesshomaru took hold of her chin with his right thumb and index finger to keep her looking up at him. "I find your attitude refreshing, but that does not mean that I don't want you here with me." He looked at her eyes watching as they washed over with relief before looking down at the lips he had so long wished to kiss. He leaned in slightly but stopped when his nose filled with the scent of her nervousness, so he slowly let her go and turned to walk into his house.
'Did he almost kiss me?' she asked herself. It had surprised her how close he had gotten to her, and they barely knew each other. Did he find her attractive, or was he a womanizer? But then he had let her go before he had gone too far. She wondered if Kagome knew Sesshomaru, so she thought she would find a way to ask him at some point during their breakfast.
She would not have to wait long because shortly after being served he asked her how her new job was working out. "It's good, considering it's still rather new to me," she admitted to him. "I have met quite a few amusing people, including Inuyasha and Kagome."
Sesshomaru noticed as she looked at him through the bangs handing in front of her eyes. He knew where she was going but would not allow anything to give way to this knowledge. "I am quite aware of the both of them. Inuyasha is the half-brother of the CEO."
"I did not know that," Rin honestly admitted.
"They don't get along." Rin tried not to laugh at the face that Sesshomaru made when he informed her of that. He then spent the rest of the breakfast telling tales about Inuyasha's foolish pursuits within the last 20 years since he started working for the company, and Rin laughed heartily at all of it.
As the clock struck ten they decided to go their separate ways, Sesshomaru citing that he needed to work on important paperwork piling up on his desk.
