sorry about the italizied 'E'

Chapter Six

One night, once the beast had decided that he was in love with the girl, he kissed her, eager to share his feelings. The girl didn't respond, opting instead to simply give the demon a wary smile, her eyes filled with disgust and pity.

Everything was quiet. Not a sound stirred the air. Rin stood, wiping her eyes clean of moisture. She sniffed softly, staring into the woods. She felt... compelled. Drawn to the forest... and she knew why. Sighing, she turned, away from the trees and closing her eyes. She had promised her mother that she wouldn't go to the forest. Not to mention it was dangerous. But right now she couldn't think of any other place she wanted to be.

Turning on her heal, Rin darted into Whisper Forest, running as fast as she could. She needed to get away. All she could think about was Kohaku and how she was unintentionally leading him on. She felt like a terrible person. The guilt was eating her up inside, digging into her mind and settling there. Her feet pounded against the leaves, kicking them up under her heals. She could barely see where she was running. As she continued aimlessly on, her breathing beginning to come faster, she thought back to what she had told Kohaku.

'What was I supposed to do?' She argued with herself internally, 'Break his heart!?'

'No.' She responded to herself, her inner voice chiding. 'But now it's going to be even worse.' She stopped running for a moment, leaning against the back of a tree and catching her breath. She didn't know how long she had been running.

Looking around, she came to another conclusion.

She didn't even know where she was.

Sighing at her carelessness she stood, beginning to walk in the direction she had been going. She wouldn't just go back now. And although she wasn't sure where her feet were taking her...

She had a pretty good idea.

She sighed, crossing her arms and deciding to think of other things.

The forest was quite beautiful in the daytime, she noticed. Not nearly as scary as it had been that night. She shivered, thinking of how she had almost been killed.

Suddenly she froze, looking behind her. What if... what if those wolves were still here? Her breathing quickened slightly and she hastened her pace, not wanting to have another encounter with them. Frantic now she searched the trees and bushes, even looking at the dirt and the underbrush. She needed to find something, anything that would tell her she was going the right way.

After a while her searching slowed, her resolve lessened and she wasn't quite sure anymore why she had gotten herself into this position. One argument was that she wanted someone to talk to, but there was a rebuttal to that statement.

She had other friends. Kohaku might be her closest, but he wasn't the only one. Why hadn't she called one of them?

The only real reason that she could think of was that...

She had wanted to see him.

Frowning she looked up at the tree tops, banishing that thought from her head. She had only met him once, and he was an anti-social demon. She had to call him lord for pete's sake! Rin sighed, knowing that that wasn't true. He just didn't talk much, he wasn't completely anti-social...

Just a little bit.

At this she couldn't help but grinned, and thanked whatever higher power there was that she still held the power to entertain herself.

She didn't know how long she had been wandering. And Rin was positive that she was lost. She cursed herself softly under her breath, annoyed that she had been so naïve as to believe that she could find her way to his castle all by herself.

Even more so to think that maybe… maybe he'd be waiting for her. She shrieked softly as she tripped over a root protruding out of the ground, falling and landing roughly on her side.

"Owch…" She mumbled, rubbing her hip gently. As she was sitting there, vulnerable, miserable and alone, a thought weaseled its way into her head. She frowned as it began to work it's way around, making more and more sense the more she thought about it.

Maybe…

Maybe Lord Sesshomaru didn't want her to come back.

Maybe she was just fooling herself. Perhaps he was just being curteous when he implied that he'd like to see her again. Looking down at her hands, she narrowed her eyes.

She had even forgotten his book.

She sniffed, as tears began to well up in her eyes again. Standing, she stumbled over to a lone tree, leaning against it heavily.

What was wrong with her?

Her best friend was in love with her and her mother didn't trust her to go out on her own, she wasn't in the least ready for her senior year, and here she was, turning to a man – a demon, in fact – who she had only met once.

It was ridiculous.

How did she even know that he could be trusted? Perhaps he only wanted her to come back so that he could have another chance to devour her. She sniffled once more, wiping her nose with her sleeve. Making a decision, she stood. The wind blew a little heavier on the trees and as it passed the forest reached the quintessence of silence. Not a sound could be heard as her resolve faded and her optimism cracked. Her heart fell, and her view on the world shifted slightly, taking on a darker tone.

She wasn't going to go back.

She probably couldn't even find the castle anyways, and Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't want her even if she could. He was a demon lord who had survived on his own for what had probably been hundreds of years, what did he want some girl to come and bother him for?

She turned, not bothering to wipe the tears running from her eyes. Every step she took hurt her a little more than the last. But she continued on, knowing that it was pointless to turn around. She wasn't even sure if she was going in the right direction. Looking up she sobbed softly. How was she going to get home? She closed her eyes, attempting to get control over breathing. Even if she didn't make it home, it wouldn't matter. What was waiting for her there anyways?

Sighing she crossed her arms, hitting her head softly. She shouldn't think like that. She frowned, taking another step with difficulty. Something was telling her to stay.

"Rin?"

The voice cut into the silence, a low baritone that was very familiar. Her heart skipped a beat and she gasped, not daring to look. When nothing else was said she turned, looking behind her shoulder for the demon lord. She inhaled in expectation, clenching her fists unconsciously... and then she gasped softly, easing the tension in her hands and lowering her head.

There was no one there.

"I must have been... hearing things..." She mumbled to herself, wiping her eyes. Her mind was playing a dirty trick on her. 'But I could have sworn...'

She took one step forward and collided into a hard chest. Losing her balance slightly she placed her hands in front of her, finding them resting on something warm and breathing. With her head bowed as it was she could see a pair of black-clad feet. She raised her eyes slowly, not wanting to believe what was right in front of her. Soon she was staring into a pair of curious looking amber orbs, where above them one eyebrow was quirked gently. She opened her mouth slowly, unsure of what to say. His lips parted and she switched her gaze there as he spoke.

"What are you doing here?"

It was then she realized their close proximity. Still stunned, she removed her hands from his chest, taking a step back slowly, to stunned to be embaressed. She barely registered that he had asked her a question.

"I..." She whispered, speechless. "I was... looking for you." Rin admitted, feeling slightly sheepish. Lord Sesshomaru didn't respond. To some he would look menacing, unwelcoming, as if he were disgusted that someone was in his presence. To Rin, he simply seemed as if he had nothing to say.

"Why?"

This question floored her. Why had she been looking for him? She looked away briefly, attempting to find a response. There were many reasons but none of them seemed right. What could she say?

He was looking at her expectantly, his face completely neutral making him extremely hard to read. He seemed colder than when she had last seen him. He seemed almost... angry. Or shocked, that she was there.

Almost as if he hadn't expected her to return.

"I was... lonely." She said finally, looking back at him.

He paused, eyeing her briefly before lowering his lids in what was the most gentle expression she had ever seen him display.

"So was I."

Foxgirl: so sorry about the wait and the short chappie, again! I wrote some of this chapter, then I wasn't able to type for a week, because of homework and play practice and choir concerts... and then I went on this random vacation to florida that I knew nothing about until recently. So I was gone for four days, without access to a computer and well... sorry. But, here's the chapter, and I will try to update sooner next time! I promise!

Vixen: That's what you said last time.

Foxgirl: shut up. Review please!