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. After a few moments Sesshomaru regained some composure. He blinked and took a long breath. "I understand Rin. You do not need to apologize." Rin was still watching her lord. Sessh still seemed somewhat taken aback by her statement but she could see it had not upset him. Her Lord seemed to be trying to figure something out simply by staring. There was a slight flush on his cheeks which prompted Rin to ask, "Daijoubu ka(are you ok) Sesshomaru-sama?" The response came after several heart beats. "I am not feeling as well this morning as I had hoped." To Rin's questioning look he said, "I believe my fever has returned." "Ok. Let's go back to your chambers. I think you should rest for a while."
The 2 returned to Sesshomaru's room. On the way Rin stopped in the kitchen to get a fresh jug of water. When Sessh laid down Rin put a cool, wet clothe on his head. She sat by his futon and continued to refresh the cloth. Sessh fell asleep quickly and rested for a couple hours. When he woke he found that Rin was still at his side. She smiled warmly at him when he opened his eyes. Despite his usual nature he return Rin's smile with a tiny one of his own. That caused Rin to absolutely glow. "Konnichiwa my Lord. How do you feel?" "I am recovering. Arigato." "I'm glad to hear it." There was a long silence where the 2 simply observed each other. Then Sessh said, "It was not necessary for you to remain here while I slept…." Rin interrupted him there. "I know I didn't have to my Lord! I wanted to stay! You are ill. I want to help you however I can." She accompanied this with a bright smile and warm look. Sesshomaru was taken aback for the 2nd time that day by her response. What was going on? Rin had never looked at him in that way before. Without truly thinking about it he asked, "What exactly were you thinking of this morning at breakfast? What caused you to stare?" Rin's eyes became the size of dinner plates and her mouth nearly touched the ground. "Did my Lord truly ask me that? Kami! What do I say? I can't answer him honestly…can i? I don't want to lie to him but I don't know how to tell him how I feel….I must however." While she was thinking this Rin had broken eye contact with Sessh and had dropped her head. Now she raised her eyes to her Lord and said, "Well….you see Sesshomaru-sama…I was trying to understand why you allowed me to remain with you last night. It is very different from your usual behavior. I was wondering what that meant. Sumimasen(excuse me)." A shock went through Sesshomaru. He was flabbergasted to say the least. But he found himself feeling warm inside as well. It pleased him that she wanted to understand him. "I see.", was all Sessh could think to say for the moment. Yet he wondered, "Should I explain myself? If so what do I explain? I am not certain why I did what I did myself! However Rin deserves to have some answers." With that thought Sesshomaru turned to Rin. "I shall do what I can to help you understand my actions. I am not fully certain why I invited you to remain in my chambers last night." This revelation surprised Rin a great deal. There was something her Sesshomaru-sama DIDN'T know? Sesshomaru continued, "However, you well being is my primary concern. I will never allow you to come to harm nor be in discomfort. You were caring for me though you did not need to do so. It would have been dishonorable to allow you to go without sleep the entire night when it could be avoided." Rin's heart nearly stopped. SHE WAS HIS PRIMARY CONCERN? OH KAMI-SAMA! As she stared at her Lord her heart began to race. Her cheeks flushed and her breath became short. She felt lightheaded. She couldn't believe what she had just heard! Her Lord cared for her!