~Chapter Four~

Lurking in the Shadows

Three days passed. It wasn't a long time, for a youkai, but already Juro had noticed a difference in his new little pet. The girl was warming to him, but then, that tended to happen when one spent lavish attention on a woman. He was giving her everything that the cold, heartless Sesshoumaru did not.

And still, she did not trust him fully. He had time... he had lots of time. He could easily have kidnapped the girl and tortured her to gain an advantage over Sesshoumaru, but then the demon may be even more determined to kill Juro... if he thought that his pet no longer loved him, no longer wanted or needed him, perhaps the great Inu no Taisho would be disheartened.

And that was exactly what Juro wanted.

So he began the rumors in the forest. He encouraged the other, lesser youkai to talk about the little human girl who hummed happily as she cleaned a youkai's lair. He encouraged the spread of her happiness, in hopes that Sesshoumaru would hear of it.

He even hoped that the dog demon would come himself, to his lair, and see Rin happily cleaning. He doubted, with Sesshoumaru's pride, that he would try to take Rin back, not after he scorned her. That would make him seem weak, as if he'd made a wrong choice in letting her go.

Juro chuckled, slipping into his lair holding a flower and a wrapped kimono, "Rin! Darling, I'm home," Juro announced playfully, hiding his disgust of the little human excellently. He had contemplated taking her as a mate, just to rub it in Sesshoumaru's face, but he couldn't bring himself to mate with a human... he couldn't sink that low, not even for the taiyoukai... or could he?

Juro shrugged it out of his mind as he smiled calmly at the girl who turned around to offer him a tentative one. She put down her broom, and her eyes skirted over the gifts. A small frown filtered into place, and she looked confused.

"What are those for?" she asked, turning around to face him.

"They are gifts, for the wonderful woman who has made my lair so fresh and clean," Juro told her with amusement, holding out the kimono until she hesitantly took it. He then tucked the flower into her hair, and stood back. "It's not a big deal, just a little show of gratitude."

"Oh... well, thank you very much," Rin said with a genuine smile, opening the Kimono to reveal a dark blue and green Kimono. "It's... beautiful," Rin told him, touching the silk material.

Normally, her kimonos were always in Sesshoumaru's colors... reds, whites, yellows... And it made her heart ache suddenly, to hold a kimono with such an opposite color scheme.

Truthfully, the lavish gifts and attention that Juro had been bestowing on her had been refreshing and wonderful at first, but were now starting to wear on her.

As much as she hated to admit it, she liked the way that Sesshoumaru gave her space... It made his attention all the more precious.

But considering she was mad at the dog youkai, she beamed happily at Juro. She told herself that she should be happy with this youkai, because he actually seemed to care about her. It was a better place for her to be...Juro didn't seem like the type to dump her somewhere because he didn't need her anymore.

"It's lovely, than you Juro," and she steeled her, leaning up to kiss his cheek lightly, then move away. Touching someone still strange like Juro made her skin crawl, but she told herself she had to get used to it. Her back was to the youkai, arranging the kimono in her little trunk that he'd given her, so she didn't see his smirk of utter satisfaction.

Only days after his began his search for Rin he started hearing whispers through the trees. As he came through their territory, other, lesser youkai would scamper away from him, hide their families. But he could still hear them, hear their gossip.

It was how he knew he was getting close to her, to Rin.

There had been whispers of a human girl taken in by a generous cougar youkai. It was said that he had been lost, deserted and he had picked her up and taken her in, cared for her and that she was happy.

It could have been any human female. But really, what human female went willingly with a youkai male?

Only one who didn't know the dangers of youkai males. Only one who had never been in a truly threatening situation involving male youkai.

Only Rin.

And it sent his blood on fire with anger that she would run away with a youkai.

'Do you smell that?'

Sesshoumaru's eyes flickered up to take in the surroundings, the only indication that he was remotely paying attention to this youkai voice. It had been two weeks; two weeks of endlessly searching in vain for his sassy female human. And as of yet, he had had no catch of her scent, no indication that she was still alive except for the rumors he still heard.

He lifted his face and sniffed pointedly, a light breeze catching and bringing with it a hundred different smells, a hundred different situations.

But there, the hintest, barest flutter, the scent of flowers.

And Rin.

It was a nibble, hardly a scent to follow at all, but it was the first instance in which he had anything to go on at all. The flowers were more potent that her. But he knew, from years of spending time with this little girl, that where there were flowers, so was she.

Two and a half weeks, she'd been with Juro. She was warming to him. He was not Sesshoumaru, yes... but he treated her wonderfully, paid so much attention to her, and he was kind. If she could not be with Sesshoumaru, then this was where she wanted to be.

She was still mad at that dog-demon of hers. And as often as her little voice told her that he wan'ts hers... she couldn't stop thinking of him as hers. Sesshoumaru had always been hers... he was with her, and she loved him, first as... well... something else, and now differently.

She sighed, so deep in her thoughts as she was picking flowers that she didn't the rustle in the trees. She hadn't been able to go flower picking in a long time, and she'd been very excited when Juro had told her about the field.

But of course, she didn't know that Juro had also lured a bear... and angry bear... into the area. She had no idea that Juro lurked nearby with the intent on rescuing her, to further his plan on getting her trust.

But then, he also didn't know that Sesshoumaru was near. He'd spend too much time hunting down, and then pissing off, a huge bear.

So as Rin leaned down to pick a particularly red flower, she didn't noticed the huge bear lumbering out into the field, it's eyes crazed with madness. Her thoughts were focused inwards.

That is, until the bear roared. And then it had her full attention as Rin dropped the flowers instantly, twirling around with widened eyes. She caught sight of the bear barreling towards her, and it took only a second to react. Scrambling like a surprised cat, she took off in the opposite direction, letting out a scream of surprise and fright. She ran as fast her as her little feet could carry her.

He could smell her. She was so close.

Rin.

The flowers were overwhelming in their scent, but he could smell her. And he could smell youkai. Bear youkai.

A nudge of panic seated itself deep in his chest, as the scent of the bear became almost entangled with the smell of her and the flowers. There was something else there too. He could swear he could smell another youkai presence, feel another powerful youki brushing against his.

But a scream tore through the air, washing away all thoughts of suspicion. It was Rin, he knew it. He could see the field through the trees, see the hazy outline of a bear lumbering after a small figure, racing across the field to the opposite side he was at.

He pulled out his sword, ready to exterminate the beast before it could so much as sniff her...

Juro waited a little longer, to make his save all the more effective, but then he smelt... dog.

He panicked, shooting out of the tree he hid in like lightning. Sesshoumaru was near, that bastard! Juro grit his teeth as he flew through the trees towards the field.

No matter... he was closer.

Juro grinned briefly in triumph as he spotted Rin through the trees, running, and Sesshoumaru wasn't close yet. He masked that grin and replaced it with a scowl of concentration as he burst out of the trees, catching Rin up by the waist. He hoisted her up against his chest, holding her close, and dashed out of the way of the bear.

The bear youkai wasn't fast enough to realize what had happened, and before he could properly turn around, Juro whipped out his sword and slashed through the air, slicing through the deep fur.

But he knew Rin wouldn't want to see death, so he spared the youkai, who stumbled from the pain, snapped out of his rage, and scurried off into the woods.

Satisfied, Juro landed in the grass, holding Rin to his chest, and looked down at her, "Are you okay, darling?" he asked, and she blinked up at him with wide, dark eyes.

Sesshoumaru caught the cougar youkai's scent before he saw him. But when the youkai scooped up Rin and sliced at the bear, Sesshoumaru pulled up short, turning swiftly on his heel and ducking into the shadows.

So, the rumors had indeed been somewhat accurate. Rin was mixed up with another youkai male. He sniffed again and a scent of relief tingled through him. The male hadn't taken Rin as his mate.

He, Sesshoumaru, didn't want to even explore why that knowledge brought him such relief. He peeked around the tree, keeping skillfully out of sight as he observed the pair. That youkai was holding her so carefully, so close to him, rubbing his scent all over her and she wasn't pulling away, or fidgeting from such close contact with a stranger...

He didn't realize his hackles were raised until he felt the deep rumbling of a soft growl coming out of his throat. A burning feeling entered his chest, trickled out to the tips of his fingers until he felt them itching to wrap around that cougar youkai's neck and throttle him for touching his Rin.

His Rin.

Sesshoumaru steeled his features, a dowsing down his spine, cooling his malicious thoughts. He had intended to approach her, to take her back to the village where she should be, but if he took one step towards that field, surely, someone was going to die.

Rin didn't realize how close they were, and how much of them were touching, until he asked her that question. She blinked up at him, feeling instantly like she needed to back up, but she held herself still.

Wasn't this what she wanted from Sesshoumaru? She'd wanted it, when she'd hugged him from behind. Her whole body had thrummed with happiness... with warmth.

But she felt nothing for Juro.

A part of her was disappointed. She knew, from the way Sesshoumaru disliked touching, that she would never get this from Sesshoumaru, and now that she knew, from Tika, that men and women who wanted each other did this... she was hoping she could find it elsewhere.

She liked looking at Juro, he was attractive to her... but she felt nothing.

She offered Juro was true smile, because she was truly grateful that he'd saved her. "Yes, I'm fine, thanks," she told him, stiffening a little when he continued to hold her.

Juro knew that Sesshoumaru was watching. It made him want to flaunt Rin all the more, hold on to her longer, but he could tell that Rin didn't like it.

And he needed her trust more than he needed to piss off Sesshoumaru, so he released her, setting her on her feet and holding her at arm's length, but he didn't release her shoulders, leaning down to look her over, as if he didn't know that she was fine. She waited patiently, and then he smiled at her, putting as much care into his expression as he could, hoping the dog bastard would see.

"I'm so glad you're okay... I shouldn't let you wander off into such dangerous areas without some kind of protection," Juro told her, but Rin smiled at him and shook her head.

"No, it's okay, I just wasn't paying attention," Rin answered, tucking her hair behind her ear. "I'll pay better attention from now on... thank you so much, Juro-san."

Juro almost purred with satisfaction. She was smiling at him like he was all the world, and her true man was watching. She also called him san... a term an endearment. Not the one he wanted her to use, he would have loved to have seen Sesshoumaru's face if she'd called him master, but he would live with what he got.

"Come, darling... let's go home," Juro said, holding out his hand to Rin, who nodded and took it. He lifted her up, into his arms, and took off for his lair, grinning in his head. For he knew that Sesshoumaru had too much pride to come after her now. No... he wouldn't want to admit that he actually cared about the human, not when his excuse that she wasn't being cared for it gone.

Sesshoumaru had just seen proof that his little "human" was being taken care of, and that he was free of conscious to walk away... and his pride would make him do just that.

For now.

Perhaps for a long time...during which he would win Rin over.

He needed to walk away from this, needed to stop watching...

But it was like watching someone get brutally slain; it was hard to tear his eyes away.

She seemed so perfectly content to be with this male. She even used a title for him and that itself made Sesshoumaru grind his teeth together in an effort to maintain calm. She smiled and held his hand with all that naive child-like innocence she had somehow managed to maintain. She trusted too easily, her only enemies had only ever been enemies of Sesshoumaru, people who had done him wrong.

Goddamn it. She was well-provided for here. It was hardly justifiable to take her away from here when there was nothing really wrong...

Except that she was with another youkai male and it was setting his teeth on edge, grinding a hole in the back of his jaw.

Mustering some resolve, Sesshoumaru turned on his heel and stalked away. He needed to separate himself from this situation, needed a clearer head to address this.

He didn't want Rin there, but he couldn't justify why. It wasn't like she was in danger, so he couldn't hide behind that facade. He didn't like her with this youkai for his own selfish reasons and that wasn't enough to make him chase after her.

He would walk away.

A/N:

Woot! Thought I'd add a chapter here too! Enjoy. :)

Inuyasha and Co (Sesshoumaru, Rin and sub-characters) belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The script is mine.

Credits:

Sesshoumaru: Jesachi

Rin: Goldensomething

Sub-characters: Combined effort