Chapter Seven

The next time dark descended the skies; the villagers stormed the mansion, somehow learning of its inhabitant's terrible secret. The man wasn't able to do much, but he successfully erected a barrier around the castle, driving out the intruders for good.

"Lord Sesshomaru..." Rin began, bowing her head slightly. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay long..." She closed her eyes for a moment, breathing deeply. He didn't say anything, watching her, waiting for her to speak again. "I'm really glad that you're not angry with me for coming to this place again."

"Why would I be angry?" He asked her, his eyes regarding her curiously. She looked up at him, slightly surprised.

"Well... I mean... I just thought that maybe... er..." She closed her mouth and crossed her arms. "Never mind. Forget it." She pouted slightly, angry that she was so tongue-tied right now. Her eyes found his face again and she paused, studying his features. They were so... defined. Even the demonic markings he bore, looked like someone painted them on painstakingly carefully with a paintbrush, instead of him simply being born with them.

"This Sesshomaru finds no reason to be angry. It is quite the opposite, actually." He began, meeting her gaze. This was something about the demon lord that she loved, and hated simultaneously. Once you looked at his eyes it was very difficult to look away. You could get lost in those eyes, the ones that were so deadly beautiful, and yet revealed nothing about what the demon was thinking at all. ...And staring at somebody wasn't the best way to make polite conversation.

"Really?" Rin asked, forcing herself to look away. This hadn't been what she was expecting at all.

"I am... glad... that you came." He seemed almost puzzled by his choice of words, but before Rin could decipher the little emotion that he let leak onto his face, it was gone. She sighed, a light smile playing on her lips.

"Lord Sesshomaru..." She began, "I really should be going soon."

Sesshomaru appeared to frown, but he didn't say anything, so she continued.

"I... promised my mother that I wouldn't be out long. She told me that..." She looked to the ground, sighing slightly. "She told me that she doesn't want me in the forest anymore, because she's afraid that I could get hurt." Rin looked up at the Lord, furrowing her brow in determination. "But she only thinks that because... because she doesn't know that I have you here! ...To... protect me." She looked at him, almost embarrassed with her last statement. Sesshomaru looked unphased, standing as icily as ever, the stoic mask he always seemed to wear in place.

"How-" He paused after this last word, before continuing on as if he hadn't stopped. "Can you be so sure that I will protect you?"

This question was asked so calmly, that it surprised her.

How?

She didn't know.

"I..."

She looked at him, unable to convey what she was feeling. Why did he have to make things so difficult? She had... she had missed him. Though she barely knew this cold demon lord, she felt a strange longing to get to know him. To become... friends. Just that, she told herself, nothing more. And to have him long for her in return.

"I'm not sure. It's just... well... I don't know. But I feel like I can trust you." Her words were spoken with nothing but truth, and all the trust that a child was able to give. Sesshomaru's face remained unchanged. He didn't appear affected by her words; one would even go so far as to say that he didn't care.

"Show me."

Her eyes looked at him curiously, and she pulled her hair behind her ears nervously.

"W-What do you mean?"

Sesshomaru looked away for a moment, turning his head the slightest bit. "I need to know that you speak the truth. If you show that you would be able to grant me with your life, then you shall have my trust in return."

His words floored her. How was she supposed to show him that she trusted him? She had an idea but... would that work? Would if even mean anything to him? Or would she just be embarrassing herself? Hesitantly she walked closer to him, pausing after every step. Though she moved slowly, soon she was directly in front of the demon lord, looking up at him and biting her lip slightly.

"I..." She paused, steeling herself, and stating with more confidence, "I do trust you."

Her arms rose slowly, and her eyes looked up to meet his. It might not be a significant thing to him... but to Rin, a hug was one of the most sacred and comforting bonds that she knew of. She wasn't quite sure otherwise how to convey her emotions, without using actions.

Her outstretched arms stopped in their trek before she was actually able to touch Lord Sesshomaru. He hadn't moved once during her endeavor, and she wasn't sure if what she was about to do would be... acceptable to him, or even if it was a smart move on her part. By this point, she was as close as she could get to the lord without actually feeling him against her. She hadn't really noticed how tall he was before. She only came up to a bit below his collarbone.

"You have this Sesshomaru's permission, to touch my body."

His voice resonated in her ears, sounding even smoother now that she was so close. She trembled slightly, blushing at the way he had phrased his sentence. She was almost positive there was some sort of hidden meaning in his words. Taking a step forward, she wrapped her arms around his back, pillowing her head on his chest and allowing her eyes to flutter close. He could easily harm her, if he wanted to. But somehow, she knew he wouldn't. After a moment or so, she tightened her hold, surprised at how warm he was, despite his cold demeanor. She could feel the slight rise and fall of his chest, and she could smell a rich, soothing scent emanating off of him in waves. Her eyelids opened slightly and without thinking, she pressed her form closer to his, taking in all of the warmth. For the first time in weeks she felt content.

In mere moments she found herself melting into the one-sided embrace, completely lost and drunk on his scent. Rin felt... unlike herself for a moment, her body acting of it's own accord and slowly, softly (unintentionally) grinding her hips against his. The motion was slight, but it was enough.

A soft, almost inaudible inhale of breath that was not her own snapped her out of her dazed state. His chest stopped its slow, calm rising and falling, shuddering slightly. For a moment, she lost the ability to breath, suddenly aware of what she was doing and coming to her senses, loosening her arms and quickly stepping back to a more appropriate position. A fiery blush stained her cheeks and she berated herself for doing something so foolish.

This man was a stranger.

She had met him but once before.

Yet... already there was some sort of irresistible attraction between them. Something that compelled her to want to be closer to him...

She halted her train of thought once more, focusing on the task at hand. She wanted his trust. Just that, so that she would be able to see him again, to hear his voice and simply bask in his presence – No! She wanted to come back so she could have a friend. That was all. Someone to lean on in these hard times. He had said himself that he was lonely!

"Do you, uh, believe me now?"

Sesshomaru gave no response, and she became slightly worried. Had she offended him somehow? Done something wrong?

Suddenly and slowly, Rin felt a strong arm wrap around her waist slightly, pressing her closer to Lord Sesshomaru briefly, before letting her go completely. And all too quickly, he was standing a good distance away from her, his face not quite as cold as it had been. Though he was standing a greater distance away.

"Did you not say that your mother was expecting you?"

Rin grinned at this response, knowing that it was probably the best she was going to get. But he had accepted her embrace, and it was enough.

"Yeah!" She admitted, smiling sheepishly. "I guess I'll be on my way then." She turned, giddy with the events that had transpired.

"Would you prefer that I show you the way out of the forest?"

She turned abruptly, realizing that she didn't even know where she was going. "Oh. ...Um, yeah. That'd be nice."

She thought about it. At this rate, and for how long she'd been walking, it would take at least twenty minutes to get back home if they walked out of the woods. She sighed. That would have to do.

Without warning, she felt a warm body close to her – again- and before she knew it, she was being carried in the arms of Lord Sesshomaru.

She made a sound of protest, slightly surprised. "Hey! What're you-"

"Trust me."

She looked up at him with wide eyes, meeting his gaze briefly before looking down. Slowly she nodded, waiting to see what he was planning.

The lord walked a couple of steps, before accelerating the slightest bit. And before Rin knew what was going on he was running over the forest floor, though she couldn't hear his foot falls and he didn't appear to be breathing any heavier. Gliding was a more appropriate term.

Soon -it couldn't have been more than three minutes- they were at the edge of the forest and Sesshomaru came to a halt, not even losing his balance from the sudden stop. She looked around, slightly dazed from the quick method of travel. Slowly and carefully, he put her down, standing her on her feet.

"Whoa..." She breathed, looking up at him in awe. "I had no idea you could run that fast!" She took a moment to get her bearings, finding her vision was swimming a bit. She shook it slightly, before looking back at Sesshomaru. "Why didn't you do that the first time?"

Sesshomaru smiled faintly, turning in preparation to leave. "Those are answers for another day."

Rin sighed, crossing her arms. "...Fine." She smiled at his back, aware that he couldn't see her. "Goodbye, Lord Sesshomaru."

She was in a much better mood. She began to walk away, but she hadn't taken more than two steps when he spoke again.

"Rin?"

She looked back at him, finding that he hadn't turned. "Er, yes?"

There was a pause.

"Will you come back tomorrow?"

Her eyes widened slightly and she stared at the back of Sesshomaru's head, wondering exactly what he was thinking.

"Yes... yes, of course I will." She answered. She was unable to keep herself from smiling, she found, finding it hard to fight back the happiness she was feeling.

A brief nod was the only sign he gave her that he had heard her, before he started into the forest again, walking instead of running this time.

She watched him until he faded from view, lingering a bit longer, before setting off towards home. A brief feeling fluttered in her chest and she grinned widely again, taking her time as she strolled.

She couldn't help the thoughts racing through her head.

'Tomorrow, I'll get to see my lord again! I wonder if he'll let me borrow anymore books... or if we'll finish the tour, or-'

She froze slightly, realizing what she had called him.

Her Lord?

Since when had she begun to...

She frowned, rephrasing her thoughts slightly. 'Lord Sesshomaru. I'll get to see Lord Sesshomaru.'

She shook her head, disregarding the thought and figuring it was just a slip of words. It promptly left her mind once she neared her house.

Lord Sesshomaru was thinking about the human girl, that he hadn't been able to get out of his head for three weeks. Her actions were... surprised, to say the least.

Sesshomaru had been extremely surprised when he saw Rin in the forest. He had thought that he smelled her scent... but he hadn't wanted to hope for anything.

...Hope.

...What a wretched emotion.

And yet, the girl came back. Just as she said she would.

'Perhaps this time will be different.' He thought to himself as he walked through his forest. His steps faltered and he frowned. 'No. The girl... means nothing. She is simply an outlet to qualm my loneliness... perhaps even a... friend- acquaintance.' He caught himself. The demon lord continued walking, long silver hair dancing in the breeze behind him. 'I am not so foolish as to make the same mistake twice.'

foxgirl: yeah... sorry. I couldn't help making him refer to himself in the third person, I love it when he does that! Sorry about how long it took to get this chapter up, but this time it was because I was actually working on it and picking and choosing very carefully what was said and done. Expect a while before the next chapter comes up, as I've been pretty busy with schoolwork lately. And thank you for all the wonderful reviews! I'm sorry that I'm not able to update faster... *sigh* this is embracing darkness all over again.... I think I did okay... though it could have been better. What do you think?

Vixen: Do you actually think that I actually read the crap you write?

Foxgirl: -_- ...I was asking the readers.

Vixen: Sure you were. Review please.