POISON | Love Her

Chapter 5

POISON

'Thoughts/Rin's writing'

Flashbacks

Original Publish Date: 4/20/2014

Later that Night.

Takahashi was surprised to see the girl take a seat across from him. He had suspected she would simply return home after her… lively night. She waved at him with her brilliant smile before chowing down quite ravenously on her dessert. "Hungry?"

She stopped with the spoon in her mouth, nodding quickly. He watched her as she ate; the cold treat was gone in minutes, he was almost impressed by the speed. Once she was done with the waffle cup, the human just sat there and pouted, looking at the empty spoon and cup with a sad face.

Her dramatic expression almost amused him. "Still hungry?" She sighed and nodded, her eyes darted between the empty cup and the counter. He contemplated taking her to eat. With Kagura still missing, he no longer had eyes and ears on Naraku. Sango had been his prime candidate in this situation as the woman already loathed the hanyou, but Ryukotsusei's eagerness to be near Rin made her far more valuable to him. He would have to earn the girl's trust.

Making his decision, he stood from the booth, throwing out both of their empty cups first as her curious eyes followed his movements, and then offered her his hand. "Come." Her wide eyes blinked up at him, then his hand. She accepted it and soon they were walking down the street to their destination, a small, upscale restaurant named "FEAST".

Takahashi ignored the long line, entering the establishment and immediately attracting the attention of the manager. "Mr. Takahashi! We were not expecting you!" The man noticed Rin, "And you have a guest! If you could just give us 2-3 minutes at most, we'll have a table for you!" He gave the flamboyant man a curt nod and directed his attention back to Rin, who was looking up the walls and ceilings of the restaurant.

"You have never been here before." She looked back at him and shook her head. The manager approached them again, and personally seated them in half-circle booth in the VIP area. Their waiter soon came over, handing out menus to them both.

"Will it be the usual wine, Mr. Takahashi?" The man nodded. "And for the lady?" She pointed something out in the menu. "I'll be right back with your drinks!" He had already known what he would order, content to sit there and watch the girl flip through the menus with a concentrated expression. The way she licked her lips when she read something that caught her interest was very… distracting.

"Here you go!" The waiter put down a pink drink for Rin, which smelled of some berry mixed with lemonade, and then poured a glass of the deep red wine and left the bottle on the table. "What will you two be having this—oh!" Rin eagerly pointed out a dish in the menu, cutting off the man. He chuckled softly, "I'll get that right away for you. Will you be having the usual ribeye, Mr. Takahashi?" He nodded and the waiter scurried off.

Rin sipped her drink, her doe like eyes wildly trying to take in everything and everyone around her. The human couldn't seem to sit still in her seat, swaying from side to side or playing with the straw in her drink. When she caught his stare, she smiled and waved at him again. "You are acting strange." She blinked, and then pulled out her paper and pen.

'Sorry! Lots on my mind.' She jotted down.

"Hmm, how was your day?" Takahashi asked casually, sipping his wine.

'Pretty eventful, work was interesting…' There was a dark flush on her face, and he knew exactly what she was thinking of. 'Yours?'

"Same." He answered vaguely. They sat in a comfortable silence until the food arrived. The girl nearly sprung another chuckle out of him tonight when he saw her wide, hungry eyes land on the grilled halibut she ordered. She devoured the large fish fillet in notable time and took her time with her side items of mashed sweet potatoes and roasted broccoli.

He continued to glance at her while they enjoyed their meal, unable to keep his gaze from her long. He briefly wondered if the girl had any idea of her effect on Ryukotsusei and Naraku.

"I recall hearing you are here nearly twice a week, Ryukotsusei… I believe you've seen enough of her."

"You have obviously not seen her, if you think it's possible to get enough."

Naraku seemed strangely possessive over the young woman, and it would take a fool to not see Ryukotsusei's fierce, yet out of character, desire for her. What was this girl? He was starting to doubt the girl was a simple human, surely there must be some sort of spell or incantation she placed that is making those two behave that way.

And then there was a paper pad in his face, nearly pressing against his nose. It read, 'You keep staring!' She huffed when she pulled it away, but did not truly appear annoyed.

"Does it bother you?"

She tapped the pen a couple of times on her chin before jotting down, 'Not if you tell me why! :D'

That would involve admitting he found her, at best, interesting—which he would not do. She pouted when he didn't respond.

At that moment when she attempted to put her notepad down, the girl's knife slipped down from her plate and was heading to the floor. She caught it in time, only to bump her head on the table when moving back up with enough force to send the wine bottle on its descent. She caught it also, surprising even herself judging by her expression, before setting the items back on the table with an embarrassed look.

He immediately threw out the notion of the girl being capable of any enchantments.

They finished their meals and the waiter collected their plates, asking if they would want dessert. He had thought Rin would say no, but instead she had nodded quite eagerly and ordered the warm deep-dish cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top. He watched her eat the dessert as he took his time with his last glass of wine, wondering where the petite girl was fitting all the food.

A drop of the melting dessert landed on her chest just as she finished her bite. She wiped the creamy liquid on her skin off with her finger and sucked it off her fingertip, then continued to finish the last of her treat, oblivious to his gaze. He, on the other hand, completely downed the remaining glass of his drink in one go as he mentally reprimanded himself for his immoral thoughts. He was behaving as if he was still in his hormonal teens, and the lack of control and discipline was absolutely disgusting—

"You don't want me to touch you?" He was genuinely surprised, though he would not show it. There were no women or men—whether they were youkai, hanyou, or human—that had ever refused him, for anything. They either succumb to his wishes due to their fear or attraction to him… Yet this mute, small, human woman stood in his iron grip, with a rebellious look on her face and her toned arms attempting to push him away—outright refusing a daiyoukai without a thought to her safety.

He was far above raping any gender or species for satisfaction. Sex was something he would only occasionally partake in despite his reputation as Sesshomaru, and he could find any woman to satisfy his desire when it would arise... but he would be lying to himself if the girl's rejection earlier that night did not further spike his curiosity.

"Here is the check! No rush! If you two want anything else, just wave me down!" Takahashi made a move to grab the burgundy check holder, but he was not anticipating the woman snatching it away from him.

"Rin." He would not allow this. "Give me the check." But she shook her head, a defiant and determined look in her eyes. He made a move to take it from her, had he not been 'acting human' he would have gotten it, but she raised it far above her head, and out of his reach, as she opened to take a look at the receipt. Her jaw dropped and her attention shifted to the bottle of wine and then him. The wine he enjoyed was very expensive— "I will take care of it."

She only gave him another shake of her head before rummaging through her purse, most likely for cash. Taking advantage of her distraction, and feeling utterly ridiculous for having to do this, Takahashi silently scooted till he was at her side of the booth and grabbed the check holder.

She gasped and snatched it right back from him with impressive speed, shaking her head vigorously before stuffing some bills inside and throwing it clear across the room. The startled waiter caught it with no problem, but decided not to comment.

Rin turned to him and stuck the tip of her tongue out at him, her eyes glittering with laughter. He gave her a flat look that conveyed his great annoyance. Sesshomaru, no matter what form he was in, did not get his meals paid for, especially by a human woman.

But the girl only met his glare with a smile, completely undeterred by his irritation.

She rose from the table, and then the couple left the restaurant and headed back towards the ice cream parlor. He noticed her car was not in the parking lot. "How did you get here?" She pointed at the bus stop across the street. "I will drive you home."

He scented her fear before it reached her eyes, and she violently shook her head. "It is late." It was around 2AM last he checked, and the area they were in wasn't exactly the greatest after midnight. He frowned, "I will not leave you here. "

She shook her head again—her heart was pounding, her pupils were contracted, her breathing was irregular—In short, she was terrified, 'Why?' Did she believe he would harm her? When her hands rubbed the sides of her neck, he knew. 'So her abuser lives with her…' "I can leave you a block away from your home if there is an issue..." The offer relaxed her a bit, and she accepted.

-:-

'This is a really nice car.' Rin thought, not wanting to touch anything but the leather seat she sat on. She didn't want to break or sully anything. The woman would occasionally glance up at Takahashi, not wanting to keep her eyes off him too long.

She thought he was very handsome, he did not have the exotic flair that Sesshomaru had—'Where did that come from?' Why was she comparing the two? Rin realized that they only exchanged a couple of sentences throughout the night, and didn't actually hold a full conversation. She sulked, 'That's a little hard to do when one doesn't have a voice.'

They weren't too far from her house now, only a couple of more blocks. She hoped he would keep his word about not dropping her off directly to her home—

'No… No, no, no.' Her breathing shortened when she met the auburn eyes of her father, sitting in his truck at the stoplight, only one empty lane separating the two vehicles. 'He's looking… He's looking…' She was frozen in place, her hands gripping the purse in her lap as they shook.

"Rin?"

She didn't hear him. Rin only saw the anger flare on her father's expression when his eyes took in the car she was in, even the darkness of the night could not hide his rage, his disgust, his disappointment. He won't believe her. He won't believe that she isn't selling herself completely. The flashy car she was in would be proof enough for him.

"Rin?" She jumped in her seat when a warm hand touched her arm, her eyes shifted to the man in the driver's seat. "Who is that?" Her gaze dropped to the floor, unwilling to answer. She didn't want to get into any more trouble, and more importantly, she didn't want to drag anyone into the drama of her life.

So she stayed quiet, for his sake.

Rin heard him exhale and continue driving, until he reached the corner of her street. Her house was only about 5 houses down from the corner, it would take only a couple of minutes to walk to it… but she hesitated when grabbing the handle of the car door, not wanting to leave. She didn't want to experience the pain that she would surely greet her at that house.

"You do not need to leave." The statement was said so softly and when she turned to look at him, it appeared as if he said nothing with his blank expression—and she settled that the words were all in her head. Why would a stranger like him offer something like that? A dark voice nagged that he wanted to sleep with her—but she did her best to ignore it, he didn't seem the type for that. She took out her mini-note pad, jotting down 'Thank you' before ripping it off and handing it to him.

Steeling her mind, and body, Rin exited the vehicle without a second glance and headed towards her home. She didn't rush the short walk. Her father's truck was in the driveway, it appeared he was already inside… 'What's that smell?' She fumbled with her keys as a particular scent tickled her nose, 'It smells like… smoke?' Rin opened the front and shut it behind her, making her way to the left where she saw the light of her room spill into the hall. 'He was in there?'

Panic filled her and her first thought was confirmed when she saw the complete mess her room was in. Her mattress was overturned, all the drawers of the large chest were on the floor, clothing, make-up and other items scattered around carelessly. Her closet doors were wide open; the boxes from the top shelf had their contents spilled all over the floor, old albums filled with photos of a once happy family. None appeared damaged much to her relief.

'Where's…?' The case with her cash was gone, and the vial with Kuromaru's poison was missing among the wreckage. 'Oh god, where is he?' She followed the scent of earlier to the kitchen door that led to their backyard.

There was a fire blazing in the night, fueled by money she earned—all the unwanted touches, perverted stares, fake smiles, and long nights—in just minutes, all her sacrifices were in vain and the man responsible was there, lying with his back against the dying grass as he twirled the vial above him.

"Drugs and fucking rich, snobby businessmen now?" His voice cracked as he sat up but she did not look at him, her flat expression watched the fire flick wildly against the soft night breeze. 'Thousands… gone.' He didn't like being ignored. She didn't have time to react to the slap across her face or her purse being yanked from her and being thrown to the growing fire. "The shit I've done for you… and you go and continue to disappoint me."

He turned to face the flames, his hands wide and to the sky. "Look at all this you were hiding from me! What were you saving for, huh?" She didn't respond. When his hands gripped the tops of her arms, she didn't flinch. Her passiveness drove him insane. "You aren't going to leave me, nonono, you're staying with Daddy, you hear me?! You're not leaving like she did!" He shook her, "Look at me!" She didn't. "Look at me!"

This time she did, and instead of feeling the sharp increase of fear pounding in her chest at his maddened eyes, she only felt a deep sense of pity—and he caught it. "Don't fucking look at me like that!" He slapped her again, his breath coming out in harsh, short pants. "Your mother would be disgusted with you." She looked at him wide-eyed; he never made a comment like that. Ever.

He dropped back down to the grass, with his back to her as he opened the vial. "She's probably rolling in her grave. Her daughter ended up being a fucking mute whore." Rin watched as he pulled out a paper from his pocket, and poured some of the leafy poison onto the—'He doesn't know.' She thought as she watched him roll it up, 'He doesn't know what it is…' "Who the hell fucks a mute whore?" His ramblings seemed to fade from her mind; she only heard the sound of the fire crackling away at her earnings and the sound of his inhales as he...

'He's smoking it…' And Rin watched. She watched him smoke the half of joint as his ramblings became more and more unintelligible. "Fucking Emiko…" Rin turned away at that point, and slowly entered the house. With the door shut behind her, she let her back hit the wood as she slid to the floor. She heard his laughter, it was maniacal and terrifying, and occasionally cut off by his harsh coughing.

Her father was losing his mind.

Rin felt the hot tears stream down her face, she didn't know when she started crying or for what. For the money? For her father? 'Or because I'm doing nothing…?' His coughing was getting worse. Each hack, each raspy intake, she heard it so perfectly and it jabbed at her soul each time. He needed help…

"Emiko!" 'But it's too late, isn't it? He had so much…' Rin got up to her knees to peek out the window on the door. He was bashing his fists to the ground, screaming into the fire. She couldn't see his face, but could hear his pain through his voice.

'Maybe…' The woman began to think, watching the man she once thought of as proud, wise, and unbreakable. He was on his hands and knees, his head hung between his shoulders as he growled out words she could no longer hear or understand. 'Maybe you'll get to see Mom again…' His body fell to the side. 'Then you'll be happy, won't you? That's all you want, right?'

Rin inhaled sharply. 'What am I thinking?' She wiped away the tears, shaking the thoughts out of her head. 'What am I doing?!' She couldn't fall into that kind of thinking—those horrid thoughts she used in convenience to justify her inaction. Yes, she wanted to get away from everything that her father now was—but not like this.

Rin quickly stood, scribbled down a cry for help and dashed to her neighbor's home. The young woman next door was irritated at being awaken but jumped into action once she read Rin's note. The older woman handed her a fire extinguisher as she chattered on the phone with emergency. Rin quickly made it back into her backyard and kicked the vial into the fire before prepping the extinguisher.

She waited until she heard the glass pop and the woman urging her to put out the fire while she checked her father's body, before spraying down the flames. From the corner of her version, she saw the woman pick up what was left of the joint, give a quick sniff and curse as she threw it aside. "Naraku."

'What? Naraku?' Rin glanced at older woman, if she recalled correctly, her name was Enju*, a human with unusual bright, orange eyes.

"Looks like your father's lifestyle caught up to him." Her eyes softened when she looked up at her, "I'm sorry, Rin. For humans, there is no coming back from taking direct shots of Naraku's miasma plant." 'How does she know this?' The woman made pottery, what would she know about men like Naraku? Enju stood from her crouched position, and placed her hands on Rin's shoulders. "I'm sorry." The auburn-haired woman hugged her, and Rin looked at her father's lifeless body from over her shoulder. 'He's… gone…'

The rest was a haze of flashing red and blue, men dressed in black with shiny badges—questions of what happened, how, why, if she was okay, did she have any family remaining, did the drug belong to her or him, where did it come from—and she answered them all from her seat at the dining table, scribbling down her responses with trembling hands. She had to circumvent the complete truth about the drug's origin, now that she knew her employer and Naraku for sure had a strong connection. What that meant for her… she didn't know, she didn't want to dwell on it for now.

The sun began to rise by the time they were all gone, and she was alone in the single-family home, still sitting at the table as the rays of light filtered into the room.

It was eerily quiet and every tiny sound seemed harshly loud. She could hear every chirp from the awakening birds outside, the tick-tock of her great grandfather's clock in the living room, the slow drip from the kitchen faucet... 'There's no one left here.' Rin crossed her arms on the table and laid her head down flat against them.

… And she cried for him, until her eyes burned, until her heart was numb, and her exhausted body fell into a tormented slumber.

-:-

"It is done."

"Interesting…" Kuromaru went over the report the man handed to him, "Does Ryukotsusei know yet?"

"No, not yet. I estimate we have about another hour or so before the news reaches him."

"With the dragon oblivious and those men without guidance, driving them out of that district should be easy." Kuromaru leaned back into his leather chair, "I will not tolerate failure in this simple mission, Byakuya."

"I understand. Will Hakudoshi be accompanying me?"

"No." The hanyou stood from his seat, walking around the wood desk. "I will not be here at Shikon for the day. Should any issues arise, I will be at Blue Moon."

"Stealing another one of Kaguya's women? She will throw a fit."

The hanyou chuckled, "She has no choice in the matter. Kagura will need to be replaced."

"Ah... I see." Byakuya shifted in place, knowing fully well that he may not see that incarnation again. "If that is all…"

"Yes, go. Take whatever you need with you to finish the job." The hanyou dismissed his subordinate, waiting until the man left the room before making his way to the basement.

The wind witch refused to give up any information. It was a pity, really, her determination was almost admirable. She was one of the longest surviving incarnation he created, the title now left to Kanna, and proved her worth time and time again, but she was getting far too clever, there were times where even he could not find out what she was hiding from him. If she hadn't been so hung up on a false sense of freedom…

Naraku was unsurprised when he flicked the switch to see the chains that held her were empty. He heard some of her thoughts of escaping the night before; peeked into her mind to view an elaborate plan she had involving Sesshomaru to achieve her 'freedom'. She slipped up, thinking much too loudly in her distressed state and he heard it all. It might have all worked out for her…

Now she wasn't thinking. Now she was truly desperate. 'That sword won't save you, Kagura.'

Her heart appeared in his hand, pumping wildly. She was frightened, surely she knew he would kill her before she got into Sesshomaru's territory, that Tensaiga could not revive her incomplete body. 'Why run from the inevitable?' He squeezed the organ, a sickening smirk painted his lips when he heard her shout of pain in his mind.

'Foolish woman.' His claws dug into the pounding heart, ensuring the wind sorceress could hear his words in her head. 'No one will mourn your passing. You will die alone and your fabricated soul will return to my body. Kagura, you will never be free from me for as long as I live.'

He didn't flinch at her soul-shattering scream or when blood from the erratic organ in his hand splattered on to his face. Turning back into his office, he threw the organ in the trash without a care as his appearance shifted into his soft, human form. He cleaned off the blood from his face in the small bathroom of his office and changed his blazer, his mind now on the girl that would replace the wind witch.

Naraku didn't want too many humans in his star line-up, but when he saw the young woman at Blue Moon, her appearance so similar to Kikyou's… 'Kagome, I believe her name was…' Her performance skill was a bit lacking, he figured Rin and the other girls could help her with that.

Kouga would like her, he was sure of it. By the time he would return from the States, she would be ready to seduce him into returning to his club over and over again.

There was also Bankotsu calling about Yura, Suikotsu asking for the two sisters Botan and Momiji depending on which personality was on the phone that day, Hiten coming nearly every day for Suijin—The hanyou scoffed as he adjusted his tie, it was almost all too easy using his women to reel these youkai in.

'Except Sesshomaru…' With the wind witch dead, he had no pull over the inuyoukai, though he doubted the demoness meant that much to him. The dog was only after solid information of his enemies and he did not care how it was obtained, even if it meant forming false friendships.

'Rin did not grab his attention, it seems.' It was a shot in the dark, pairing the two. He had honestly only recruited the girl for her talent, and her innocent appearance was something missing at Shikon, it was a pleasant surprise to find out later her father ran the primary gang in one of Ryukotsusei's districts—one close to his borders that would be simple to overtake—then to have the dragon so attracted to her was not even a possibility in his mind, but she achieved it without trying.

'Though with that come a few issues…' The hanyou sneered as he thought of the daiyoukai's treatment of the young human; the dragon was far too rough with her for his liking and demanded her far too often. It was not that he cared for her well-being; Ryukotsusei's fetishes and border-line obsession of her hindered the amount of customers the girl brings in—some were even afraid of approaching her.

Regardless, he hoped that perhaps she could do the same with the icy daiyoukai—he would gladly give up any profit for that—but when he saw Sesshomaru leave his club early and the girl being able to walk out of the private room with no issue, he knew nothing transpired between the two. 'How odd… Her performances are exceptional…' He would just have to kill the youkai the old-fashioned way when the time came.

Kuromaru left the club with a duffel bag in hand, leaving a note to the bouncer at the door, before slipping into his black Nissan GT-R and made his way out of the lot.

The hanyou sighed after reading the clock, it was only around 7AM. First, he would have to deal with the officers working on the gang leader's death, by then Byakuya should be done overtaking the dragon's district and he would have to pass by and simply kill any who opposed the change of leadership. After that, off to steal another one of the moon youkai's women…

A dark smile quirked the corners of his lips, he was going to have a wonderful day.

End of Chapter 5

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get up! I kept making little changes every time I opened the document-tonight I was like just 'NO! That's it! No more!' Anyway...

); Omg, so sad. Sorry! Though, some of you might like that he's gone now, lol.

I didn't want it to be Sesshy/Takahashi that 'saves' her from her father, since I felt that would be to… predictable, I guess? I thought this would work better for what I have planned later in the story!

*Enju is that girl with the nice hair in Episode 92 that was resurrected the same way Kikyo was, for those who may have forgotten!

For those who commented on routines, I do agree that I would to write some of them. I just wish it was easier to describe in words the moves. ): I will for sure be describing any important routines, just not every single one or we are so not going to get anywhere here. Lol

Mirja – I think all of your questions actually got answered here in this chapter. Thanks for reviewing! :D

TheRingMistress92 – I'm glad you gave my story a chance! Emiko's connection to Ryu is going to be brought up realllllll soon. Most likely in the next chapter as Ryu is going to be a pretty big part of it!

Obsessed Dreamer – Thank you! I hope I was able to keep that up in this chapter. It was… pretty hard to write. _

Comehere-often – I'm sorry this chapter took quite a bit to get up right after you mention that I update quickly. Lol Thanks for the kind words though! :D

Also, thanks to –takes a deep breath-: Guest, Mary, jj, Carmen, L.M.T.O.P, CsBuns, Guest #2, Hannahneko, and Sof for reviewing! And thanks to the quiet ones who fav and follow too~