The moment everyone has been waiting for is here. A chapter totally devoted to Rin and Sesshomaru!

Chapter 5

This had not been a very good week. For the most part the musical students who wanted me to join their music club had left me alone after that disastrous meeting on Monday but I had seen them watching me from across campus a few times.

That kind of bugged me. Who asked a random girl to join a national music competition anyway? They didn't know anything about me. They didn't even know my real name, even if they thought they did.

Then again, if they did really know who I was then they would defiantly want me in their little national club thing. No way was I letting that happen. Sesshomaru hadn't seemed to have spilled his guts about me yet but I knew it was only a matter of time. Boys like that always kept the ace in their hand until just the right moment and then pull it out of their sleeve to win the game.

When I got home on Monday my mother was waiting for me. Kahoka Tsukimori, my mother, is also no slacker when it comes to the musical world. She is one of the most well known female violinists and I knew my decision to leave the violin had really hurt her but we are still very close. When you lose a family member it always seems to bring the living ones closer together.

I had been acting weird all week after the others saw me in the forest and she had tried to talk to me about I had avoided the subject. Now when I walked through the door after the school week was over and saw her face I knew there wasn't any getting out of this one.

Mom crossed her arms over her chest and slowly tilted her head to one side. "Well," she said, "it looks like you've had a trying day."

"Not really," I said with a shrug, "not unless you could being practically mobbed by a bunch of students from the music side of Seiso Academy one day and trying to avoid them for the rest of the week."

Kahoka didn't freak out at this like a lot of mothers would have; she just gave me a searching look and asked, "Now why would they do that?"

With a sigh, I hopped up onto one of the kitchen stool and rested my head on the counter. "They saw me playing in the woods on Friday and now have in their heads to get me to help them participate in the NHSMC. Which, of course, is way out of the question."

Mom looked startled for a moment and then, of all things, started to laugh. I indignantly lifted my head and snapped, "What?"

Mom stopped laughing but still looked at me with amusement. "It's only two months into the school year and you already got caught?"

I pouted. "Hey, that wasn't my fault! I was in the middle of the forest on a rainy day; there was absolutely no reason for them to be there!'

Mom gave me a calculating look and answered, "I bet they thought the same about you." I didn't have much to say to that.

Now it was Saturday and I was relieved that I didn't have to go to school today and worry about running into one of those music students. The stress had been getting to me. I thought I had left everything musical behind me but now it seemed to be sneaking up behind me again. Well, with any luck they would forget about me and this would all be over soon.

Anyway, lying around my house wasn't going to help anyone. I decided to go for a walk to my favorite café, La Carta. I left with a quick goodbye to my mom and was suddenly outside in the warm sunshine. It was unnaturally warm for October, even in California, and I intended to enjoy it to the fullest.

Our town was pretty small and close knit so lots of people called out greetings as I passed. I answered each person with a smile and for a moment wondered what it would be like to play some music for them. I quickly shook my head angrily; I had no right to be thinking things like that again.

After about half an hour of walking I reached La Carta and pushed my way through the door. I walked up to counter and ordered hot chocolate and a pastry. I took a seat in the corner and watched people walking by through the window, enjoying my treat.

Afterwards, I couldn't say what made me turn around when the bell on the door rang to see who was entering but something made me turn and stare. There walking through the door of La Carta was Sesshomaru Ito. It was about the worst coincidence that I could imagine!

I shrank back in my seat, trying to disappear. I knew this was silly but I was kind of in shock.

Sesshomaru picked up his order, a coffee, and looked around the café for a place to sit. Our eyes meet across the room and for a moment I saw surprise in his eyes but it was quickly replaced with amusement. I scowled and turned my head away but I still saw him walking over in the corner of my eye.

"Mind if I sit down?" his soft voice cut through the air making my neck prickle. I looked up at his with a glare and answered, "Would it make any difference if I did?"

Sesshomaru grinned and pushing back the chair sat down next to me. "Not really," he said with a sly smile, "Rin Tsukimori."

My head shot up at that and I looked wildly around the room. "Keep your voice down!" I hissed through gritted teeth.

He laughed and sat forward resting his pale hands on his knees. "Oh come now," he said, "you probably don't need to worry about being discovered here. Now at school, that may be another matter. My friends pretty much have their hearts set on getting you for the NHSMC."

I sat back and studied to boy sitting next to me. His hair was longer than when we were kids but other than there wasn't much difference. He still that those strange bright gold eyes and white hair and he was still as stoic as ever. "Why haven't you told them who I really am?" I asked, "I know that you've known since you first saw me in the forest last week."

"I did," Sesshomaru answered, "but I don't see any reason to tell them yet. After all, you must have some reason for leaving the music world and changing your name." His eyes sharpened and he added, "And I must say that I am quite interested in what that reason may be."

I gritted my teeth even harder and looked away. "You know me, Sesshomaru," I said quietly, "you've played with me. You must know the reason."

Sesshomaru tilted his head to the side and answered simply, "If I were to guess, I would say it had something to do with what happened to your brother."

As always, the pain that came with hearing about Shou filled my chest and I replied shortly, "Well, then you would be correct."

The boy seemed to consider this for a few moments before saying, "Well, I don't quite understand. He died in a car accident, it wasn't as thought it was your fault."

Oh, how wrong he was. Sesshomaru knew a lot about me but it seemed that he didn't know that Shou had pushed me out of the way of that car. He didn't know that I should have been the one to die that day.

"As I said," I forced out stiffly, "you've seen me play before. The only music for me is when I play with my brother and now that that is impossible, I don't play anymore. You can just tell your friends thanks but no thanks."

Sesshomaru glanced over at me again before draining his cup and placing it back on our table. "So what about that day in the forest?" he asked softly.

I flushed and looked away. I had never needed to explain this before and I wasn't sure if I was going to sound ridiculous or not but something told me Sesshomaru would be able to tell if I were lying or not. So I decided to be honest and hope that he would then leave me alone.

"I play in that park once a month and the day my brother died," I said stiffly, "it was his favorite place so I go out in the forest and I go there to play for him. No one else was supposed to hear." I said this last part with an accusatory edge to my voice.

Sesshomaru laughed and answered, "Any other day it would have been just like that!" Then suddenly something seemed to hit him and he stared at me with a sudden look of astonishment.

"What?" I demanded my face flushing again.

"Are you saying," Sesshomaru muttered slowly, "that you have only played the violin about two dozen times in the last two years for only a few hours and you can still play like that?"

I frowned, not quite knowing where he was going with this. "I guess so," I answered uncertainly, I had never really given much thought to whether time would diminish my skill on the violin or not but know that I thought about I realized that indeed it should have but hadn't seemed to. Just another reminder of my poor brother.

Sesshomaru, however, was still staring at me in shock. He slowly shook his head in amazement and said, "I see you haven't changed, Rin, still as great as ever." Then with another sly smile he added, "You know that record for youth 14 and under for the Hover technique you had two years ago?"

"Of course I remember," I snapped, suddenly angry, "and as I recall you tied me for it a few months after I stopped playing."

"I did," he answered with no vanity, he was simply stating a fact. "However I never could break it in time. I can hold it for nineteen seconds now. What about you?"

I snorted and exclaimed, "I don't know! I haven't even tried in two years! You can probably beat me now though if that is what you're worried about."

Before I had even finished the sentence, Sesshomaru was shaking his head. "Actually, I'm not too concerned with that at the moment. It's just a little… surprising."

I raised an eyebrow and Sesshomaru laughed. He stood up and picking up his cup said, "Well, I wouldn't tell the others who you really are if it's really that important to you even if they aren't done with you. Not yet anyway. "

I let out a breath I hadn't been realizing I had been holding. "Good," I said shortly.

Sesshomaru grinned and turning said one last thing that sent her reeling. "I won't tell them yet but you might want to give some thought about one thing. I didn't know your brother very well but I knew his music. Is quitting the music world really what he would have wanted?"

He left quickly and I was about to make some retort about how Shou was dead so nothing matters but his words had shocked me. To be honest I had never really thought about what Shou would have wanted for me. Thinking about him had always been too painful.

Shaking my head I quickly stood and left the shop. If Shou were still alive then I would ask him but since he isn't it didn't matter. Right?

There's chapter 5! I must say I am particularly proud of this one so everyone review and let's see if you agree!