The next morning Rin woke up before Sesshomaru. At first she was disoriented but then she remembered what happened the night before. "That's right. Lord Sesshomaru asked me to sleep here last night.", she recalled. At that moment she noticed the position she was in. To say it was a surprise would be an understatement. Sesshomaru had wrapped her in a hug and pulled her close. They were snuggling. She had to wonder if her Lord realize what he had done and their current position. Would he be upset or uncomfortable when he woke up and saw this? She certainly hoped not! "Hm, maybe I can…?" With this thought forming she tried to wiggle out of Sesshomaru's hold. "Nope, the gods are not smiling on me this morning." , was her response to feeling the grip on her waist tighten. Well it seems she just have to await her fate. There was nothing else she could do. After an eternity, which lasted all of 5 minutes, Rin felt Sessh start to stir. She took a deep breath and steeled herself for his reaction. When she opened her eyes she found herself looking into golden irises. "Good morning my Lord.", she tried timidly. There was a pause during which Rin search for any sign of a reaction from him. Then her greeting was returned, calmly. "How are you feeling? Have your injuries healed at all?" While she spoke she brought her hand up to feel his temperature. "Well your fever is down somewhat." She gave him an encouraging smile. "I feel…I do not feel as unwell as I did last night. My injuries seem to be mostly healed." "At least that's progress!" Sessh nodded and got out of bed. Rin watched him intently until her reached the fireplace. He picked up a poker, stoked the fire back to life and then took a seat in front of it. Without turning to look at her he said, "You should go have breakfast before it becomes time for lunch." Glancing out the window she realized he was right. It would be lunch time soon. However, she was not fond of the idea of having breakfast while he ate nothing. "Your right Lord Sesshomaru. WE need to hurry to breakfast or WE'LL miss it." This earned her a look and a quirk of an eyebrow. "We? I do not recall implying I would be attending breakfast."

It took Rin a good 10 minutes of persuation but she managed to convince Sesshomaru to go with her to breakfast. At the moment they were dressed and heading through the corridors to the dining room. Although, clearly Sesshomaru wasn't thrilled. During their short walk each was lost in their own thoughts. Rin was still wondering why Sesshomaru asked her to sleep next to him last night. Not only that but he had held her during the night! What on Earth was going on? Sesshomaru, on the other hand, was wondering at his own motives and feelings. Aside from that how did he allow a HUMAN to convince him to do something he did not desire to do? A human CHILD no less! Well Rin wasn't exactly a child at this point. He must be getting soft. After having such a disturbing thought they arrived at the dining room. Rin entered ahead of him. They had a seat at the large table and a servant appeared to ask them what they'd like to eat. Rin ordered then turned to him with an expectant look. Sighing he ordered something as well. This earned him a large smile from his ward which made him feel curiously warm inside. He had to actually work to suppress a smile. They sat in comfortable silence for a short time after that. He serendipitously watched Rin out of the corner of his eye. Rin stole glances at him as well. He found himself curious as to what prompted her to do so after a time. "Rin what is it you are thinking?" That seemed to surprise her. "My Lord?" "You have been watching me throughout the meal. I am curious what causes you to do so." Rin blushed a deep red. She had been caught! How embarrassing! She couldn't tell lord Sesshomaru what she was thinking, why she was staring. She would simply die if she did. Not to mention how upset her honest answer would make him. Of course Rin was wrong about this but she had no idea what had been going on with her Lord recently. "Um…well…" Oh Kami what do I say? I can't lie but… "Rin you need not be concerned with politeness or proper behavior. I wish you to speak you mind." Whoa! He had never said anything like that to her before. Her Lord valued the proper way of things highly. Why was he willing to ignore such things now? Was he truly that curious? If so perhaps she should simply tell him. "Oh, alright then. Well, um, you see, I was just thinking about what happened last night. I was trying to figure it out. I apologize. I didn't mean to stare." That caught Sesshomaru off guide to say the least. He wasn't sure what he had expected to hear but that wasn't it. She was watching him so closely because of what had happened last night? He didn't even know the reasons for what happened last night! What was he to do?

For the first time since she had come across her Lord in the woods outside her former village Rin witnessed shock appear and remain on Sesshomaru's face.