A big thank you to everyone who reviewed! Keep 'em coming! And enjoy the next chapter!

Warning! There is some violence at the end, so I apologize if you're squeamish and don't like reading about blood. Sorry!

Yes, I put the rating up. Because, frankly, I have a twelve-year-old cousin and I wouldn't like him reading this kind of stuff.

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Rin was washed the next day with Kagome and Kikyo to remove the mixed scents of the cheap perfumes from their bodies. Kikyo was full of gossip of how Inuyasha-sama had come to talk to her last night and immediately left when she showed the first signs of fatigue. She said he was a perfect gentleman, and Kagome was angrily trying to make it seem as though she didn't care one way or the other. Rin gave a tiny smile as she saw there would be a lot of competition between the two of them.

"Ne, Rin-chan," Kagome said, cutting off her new rival. "Did Sesshoumaru-sama talk to you last night?"

Well, he had spoken to her, even if they didn't really talk. Not that it would do much good if he had, with her condition. She nodded.

The girls squealed in the hot water and grouped closer to her. "Is he nice?" they demanded.

She nodded again after a slight hesitation.

"Did he… ah… take you?"

She shook her head, a smile on her lips. They quickly got bored of pelting questions at her, as the questions could only be answered yes or no, and returned to their talk of Inuyasha-sama.

After the bath they had "free" time to spend in their rooms until the midday and evening meals. After that they were given another bath to erase any traces of the perfumes. Soon the shoji slid open and a woman entered the wash room with a cloth wrapped around her.

"Do you mind if I join you?" Izayoi asked in a soft voice, smiling at them. Kikyo and Kagome attempted to bow in the water, but she only laughed and said, "In such circumstances you need not be so formal."

"Please, join us," Kikyo beckoned.

They began talking about her son and how kind he was. Izayoi seemed glad that he was not acting anything less than how a prince should when in his chambers, and was kind to the girls. She talked to all of them, even asking Rin the most friendly questions even though she knew she could not always answer. She suggested she learn some kind of sign language, to communicate better, but Rin shook her head. She knew how to talk. She just chose not to because it was easier.

Rin was washed extra hard, as Sesshoumaru's nose was far better than Inuyasha's and could pick up any traces of unnatural fragrance. Later, in her room when he came to her, the first thing he said was, "You've been with that bitch."

Rin gave him a questioning look.

"My father's slave," he said, frowning. "The one who gave him that bastard Inuyasha."

She understood and gave a slight nod.

"You are not to associate with her," he ordered. "You are not to go near her, understand?"

She looked confused, and tilted her head faintly.

This slight action enraged him, and he grasped her arm with an iron grip. "Understand?" he repeated in a cold, threatening tone, his lips brushing against her ear. His presence was dominating and it was clear that he was fully capable – and willing – to punish her should the opportunity arise.

Gasping in fear, Rin gave a shaky nod and he released her. Going to his chamber, he returned a moment later carrying a long black leather whip.

"Remove your clothes," he commanded. With trembling hands she pulled her obi and let her kimono fall to the floor. "And your nagajuban. Hurry, girl!"

She obeyed and stood naked in front of him.

"Get on the futon on your hands and knees."

She did as he said, wondering if this was when he took her purity. Her head snapped up and she gave a loud gasp in pain and shock as the whip in his hands came into contact with her back. He repeated the action before returning the strap to his chamber, reappearing wearing his sleeping robes.

"Two hesitations, two strokes," he said. "Remember that next time I ask something of you."

She lay on her front on the futon, her tears leaking out her eyes. He rolled her over, and not in a gentle way.

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Sesshoumaru stood perfectly still as his maids fitted his clothes on him, reflecting on the previous night. He had enjoyed having a woman who did not talk; it made a nice change. He remembered one girl, Kagura, had not shut her face the entire night. He had whipped her for it, but it didn't make a difference. The only thing he regretted about Rin was when he took her he noticed tears of pain streaming from her eyes and realized she had previously been a virgin. That thought made him uncomfortable, as he had not even thought to question her innocence. Had he known, he wouldn't have been so rough and perhaps the pain would not be so great. Not that he cared for her welfare, but he found that the happier his concubines were, the better they pleased him. Even so, he felt slightly guilty for having stolen a girl's purity in such a way.

But only slightly.

The maids finished and he swept out of his chambers to go to breakfast. His scowl did not reach his face when he saw Izayoi and Inuyasha there, as usual. It was insulting that he, the heir of the western lands, should be expected to eat with a concubine and the child of a concubine, regardless of the fact that the child's father was the lord of the west. However, now that he had his own permanent concubine – for he had decided to keep Rin – perhaps he could get a little revenge on his father…

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Rin spent the day in pain. Her lower body ached, and Rika – after finally discovering she was mute – asked her if she had previously been a virgin when she noticed how stiffly she was walking. When she nodded, the older servant guided her to the wash room and told her to soak in the hot bath water to take away the ache. It helped, a little, and Kagome and Kikyo came and talked with her while she sat in the bath. This time, Kagome was the one full of gossip about Inuyasha-sama.

"Ne, Rin-chan," Kikyo interrupted. "Turn around; I think there's something on your back."

Rin shied away and shook her head.

"Come to think of it, you're right," Kagome said. "I saw something too."

Rin retreated further into herself.

"Turn around!" the girls advanced and grabbed her wrists, forcing her to turn. They gasped when they saw the two red lines that cut across her back.

"What happened to you?"

Rin shook her head, indicating it was nothing.

"You look like…" Kikyo examined her, "you've been whipped."

Kagome gasped. "Oh my word, you have!"

Rin pulled away and turned around, attempting to smile weakly.

"Who?"

She looked away, staring at the floor.

"It wasn't… Sesshoumaru-sama, was it?" Kikyo asked in a whisper.

She flinched and didn't move.

"Kikyo-nee-san, Rin-chan said he was nice, remember?" Kagome said.

"Ah, hai…" she slapped her head cheerfully. "What was I thinking?"

Rika entered the wash room before they could interrogate her further. "Gomen, Rin-chan, but you must get out now. Sesshoumaru-sama has requested that he speak with you."

With a mask of cheerfulness, Rin stood in the bath and made to get out, failing to entirely hide her cringes of agony as pain shot through her abdominal region. The girls helped her dry, and soon she was back in her room. She had not been there for two minutes when Sesshoumaru-sama entered.

"Are you still in pain?" he asked in a careless voice.

She nodded once.

"It will ease in a few days." He said it not in comfort, but as though stating a fact. He paused for a moment before saying, "Tomorrow you will accompany me around the castle and wait on me. To fetch things I ask you for. You will eat with me and my father, so I hope you have decent table manners. And remember you are not to associate with his bitch."

She gave him a nod of understanding. He stood and made to exit. "You should rest now," he said before leaving. "You will wait on me tomorrow whether you are in pain or not."

That was the last she saw of him that day, for he did not touch her that night. She was relieved, because if being his slave meant she had to go through this kind of pain regularly, she wished she was back with Iwao and the other girls.

Rika woke her before dawn and told her to get dressed in the best kimono she could find in her wardrobe. When she was ready, she waited in her room for Sesshoumaru-sama to come fetch her. They went to breakfast, Rin following behind him with her head down as he swept through the vast and numerous corridors. In the dining hall she got her first glimpse of Sesshoumaru's father and marveled on how alike they looked. The only difference she could see was that Inu no Taisho's hair was a slightly darker shade of silver and his markings were different.

The men sat in a line behind the low tables. There was another table further away where Rin sat. Izayoi was sitting beside Inu no Taisho, but picked up her tray and sat beside the other human with a smile.

Sou na… Shinjiranai.

Sesshoumaru-sama shot a piercing glare her way that made her cringe, but what could she do? Open her mouth and say, "Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't want me to be near you"?

Well, that was a possibility. But if she did that, Izayoi would be offended. Plus, Sesshoumaru-sama would be angry at her for pretending to be mute. Well, it wasn't really a pretense. She hadn't spoken in five years. But even so, she didn't want him to be angry with her. So she did nothing except look quickly away from Izayoi's gaze.

After the meal Inu no Taisho said, "Sesshoumaru, come to my office."

Sesshoumaru silently rose and paused at the door to give Rin time to catch up. The men entered the lord's office, shutting the door so she could not follow. Exhaling quietly, she turned and stood beside the door, waiting for it to reopen, able to hear the angry words coming from inside.

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"What do you think you're doing, Sesshoumaru?" Touga demanded.

"What do you mean, Chichi-ue?" he asked calmly.

"Letting your slave eat with us! What else?"

"I may have needed something during the meal. And you, of all people, cannot object to that when your slave gave you a child and eats with us every day."

"This isn't about me, Sesshoumaru!"

"Isn't it?"

Touga understood and fumed silently. This was his son's revenge for being forced to eat with a human and hanyou. "You know how I feel about Izayoi. I cannot believe that you would feel the same about a human you just bought!"

"No, I don't."

"Then how dare you bring her into the dining hall?"

"What does it matter, Chichi-ue? Surely you do not mind that I am only doing the same as you."

"It is your reasons for doing this that I have a problem with!"

"Reasons are of little importance. Would the servants not be surprised to see you forbid me from doing what you have done for eighteen years?"

He saw his son's trap. Touga could not punish him for this or forbid the slave from eating with them without seeming a hypocrite and losing the servants' respect. If that happened, they wouldn't work as well, which means he would have to pay them more than a fair wage, shrinking the amount of money in the war funds so the soldiers couldn't have as good armor, so they would die more easily in battle, and the lands would fall. All because he refused to eat with his son's slave.

How cruel fate was.

"You've planned this carefully, haven't you Sesshoumaru?"

"Extremely."

"I can see I'll have to give this some careful thought. I suggest you go about your work."

"As you say, Chichi-ue."

Sesshoumaru turned and left the office. When he opened the door he saw Izayoi talking to a nervous-looking Rin. They both jumped when he appeared and bowed their heads, the non-mute slave murmuring, "Sesshoumaru-sama."

"Rin," he said in command to follow, walking swiftly through the corridors to his rooms. He opened the door adjoining his to hers and, under his piercing stare, she went in. After a moment he followed her in. Rin saw, not without a jolt of fear, that he held his leather whip.

"Remove your clothes."

Knowing what hesitation would result in, she ripped them off herself and once again stood before him naked.

"Kneel."

She scrambled to obey, kneeling down and then shifting half her weight onto her hands. Pain tore at her back and she almost screamed in agony as she felt the whip come down again and again.

Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack. Crack.

Five strokes. They were different to the two she had previously been given. These were deep, cutting into her flesh like a knife into silk. Her arms lost all strength that was left in them and she collapsed onto her front, sobbing in pain. Her back was numb, and she could feel blood trickle down her sides. She was burning.

She looked up at her calm master. She opened her mouth to speak for the first time in five years.

What was I supposed to do? She came to talk to me!

"It is no concern of mine. You are mute; you must have your own way of communicating. Use it to tell her to stay away from you. Just make sure you obey me." He vanished into his room and reappeared again holding a cloth instead of the whip. Sitting beside her shaking form, he rubbed her back roughly, wiping away the blood. Rin squirmed and gasped in pain at his lack of gentleness as flaps of flesh were pulled back and ripped partially off. Sesshoumaru wrapped the cloth around her to soak up the blood before running his razor sharp claws lightly across her neck.

"And remember, I do not need to whip to punish you," he whispered softly. "These claws of mine are perfectly able to tear into your flesh and cause just as much pain as a leather strap. Probably more." His hand glowed green as one finger nicked her flesh. She inhaled sharply. "And you may get… accidentally… poisoned… this way." He grasped her hair and used it to pull her into a sitting position. "Get dressed," he commanded, his eyes wandering over her exposed body. Rin shivered and hastened to obey, shaking and in pain, under his penetrating gaze.

He was a monster. A beast.

A youkai.

Rin finished dressing and wiped her face clean of tears, having finally stopped crying. She turned to him and clasped her hands together, bowing her head in a submissive stance.

Sesshoumaru was suddenly on his feet in front of her. "Come," he said, walking out to go about his work.

And so the days went on.

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nagajuban – undergarment

ne – hey/say etc.

sou na – no way

shinjiranai – unbelievable/ I don't believe it etc.

And there we go! Another chapter finite. So, in case of confusion, Rin tried to speak to Sesshoumaru, but her voice wouldn't work so she didn't actually. She just mouthed the words and he understood because he could lip-read (well, he can do anything so why not?). Got that? Good. Reviews…

I actually thought this chapter wasn't as short as it is. I'll try and make the next one longer