POISON | Love Her

Chapter 6

Fantasia

'Thoughts/Rin's writing'

Flashbacks

Original Publish Date: 11/6/2015

"What are you doing?"

Yura dropped what she held in the open drawer of the vanity in front of her and shut it, giving Sango a sheepish grin. "Nooothing!"

The human wasn't buying it, "That was a skull."

"No, it wasn't!"

"Yes, it was."

The hair demon sighed, "Maybe." She then crossed her arms, "Don't bother asking, you wouldn't understand!"

"I know more about demons than you think…" Sango sat in her area next to Yura's, prepping her clean face for her usual makeup routine. "… I just think Kuromaru would have an issue with it. Does he know you bring that stuff here?"

"No…" Yura pouted, "You won't tell him right?"

Sango rolled her eyes, why in the world would she do that? "Of course not!"

At that moment, one of Kuromaru's guards entered the room. His name escaped the girls—they rarely interacted with any of them. The extremely young boy had long black hair that reached just past his shoulders and always wore a traditional-style outfit. His eyes were a flat green, and his pupils always seemed contracted, giving off the illusion that he had none.

"Excuse me, I was ordered to look through all of the lockers—but if you have anything incriminating, you might as well fess up now and save me the trouble." The two woman only shook their heads, and watched him head to the row of lockers that that they, Rin and Kagura used. He opened the latter's first, and dumped almost everything out to the nearby trash bin.

"Oh no…" Yura mumbled, bringing her arms up around her. Sango had a similar somber expression, but her hands were in tights fists. They watched him until he went through each locker, but it appeared he found nothing of interest.

"A new girl is coming in, maybe tonight. She'll need guidance. And no, Kagura won't be returning." He left the room without a second glance.

"Another new girl so soon… What happened to Kagura?" Yura looked at the other woman.

"I don't know. I don't like this." Sango whispered, pursing her lips.

-:-

Rin cleaned the entire house.

When she awoke, her back was a mess from the position she slept in and her body was heavy, but she didn't want to properly rest. She wanted a distraction, so she cleaned and threw out and reorganized…

She even went into her father's room and threw most of everything out—she found a couple of handguns and rifles, a small bag of cocaine and a large bag of marijuana that she reported to the police, the keys to the wheel lock on her car, some of her mother's recipes in an old wooden recipe box, and an album of pictures of her father and mother before she was born—photos she had never seen before.

To most, cleaning out the things of the deceased the morning after would probably be much too soon, but the relationship with her father was far from conventional and she wanted anything from those dark times gone.

Currently, she sat in the backyard, right where the flames burned her money and her father had unintentionally killed himself. Rin had ripped out the scorched grass and hard soil, re-filled the gap with soft, fresh earth, and planted some white lilys—the flower her mother loved and that her father would give her every Sunday morning until she passed.

"Those are beautiful." Enju had stopped by again when the police returned to pick up the weapons and drugs. The woman was nice, but Rin had her uncertainties—it was simply too strange that she knew of the poisonous plant… "Do they mean anything?"

Rin stood from her crouched position, clapping away the dirt from her gloves before removing them. She nodded at the woman. Enju looked down at her cellphone and frowned, "I have to head to work. You'll be okay?" Rin nodded again, and escorted the woman out of her house.

Well, it wasn't technically her's just yet. Despite how close she was to legal age and that she was financially independent, she could not inherit that which her parents left behind just yet. The lawyer mentioned someone she didn't know, an old woman by the name of Kaede, who now held the title of the house and other things. The old woman lived out far the lawyer told her, where the city's skyline lowers till it disappears into fields of grass and trees that go on for miles.

The man was vague when disclosing the information to her, saying the old woman would be able to tell her how she was related to her family and she knew more specifics about the items that Emiko left that her father never bothered with. Rin could not even guess what things her mother left so far from the city, and in an old shrine of all places.

Rin looked up at the clock that stood in the living room; it was only one in the afternoon. She had called off work with no problem, and had no plans for the rest of the day… She absently rubbed the side of her arm, looking around the spotless house. What was she supposed to do now?

Maybe she'll try to hang out with Kagome, she hadn't properly spoken to her in such a long time... Anything but staying in the still silence of the empty home. She texted her friend only for her idea to get shot down. 'Ah, I can't right now! I have a meeting. Maybe a bit later? I'll text you when its over!' Rin read Kagome's response before closing the phone shut. Kagura was still MIA, and she knew Sango and Yura were working today. 'There's no one else... Maybe I'll drive around a bit.-'

A knock on the front door interrupted her thoughts. Opening the door revealed a bulky, tall man in an all black suit with red tie. Dark sunglasses shielded his eyes, "Are you Rin?" She nodded after a bit of hesitation, the man's voice was stern. "This is for you." He handed her a small white envelope. "You will be ready by the requested date and time. This is not optional." And he simply turned and walked away.

'That was rude... and strange.' Rin thought, shutting the door and quickly locking it. She fiddled with the sealed envelope before opting to rip the side open, pulling out an invitation. 'This looks familiar..' Sesshomaru had given something similar to her but this one was... this one was from Ryukotsusei.

-:-

Later that week

"God, I love it when Kuromaru kicks one of those jackasses out!" Yura exclaimed as she walked into the dressing room. Rin smiled at the woman before turning her attention back to packing her things. "Awe, you're off already?" Yura pouted, "I wish we could talk more... You know, all us girls should have a night out! Make others dance and serve for once! What do you think?"

Rin let out a soft giggle and nodded, she wouldn't mind hanging out with everyone—she had so much free time now... She went to her locker to check for anything she might be forgetting and was surprised to find a plain, yellow folder sitting on top of her things. Tentatively, she grabbed the folder which had a small note held by a paperclip that read 'Rin, please give this to Takahashi. I can't stop you from looking inside... but for your life, don't.'

She couldn't stop the gasp of surprise that left her, or her bewildered expression, 'Kagura? Kagura wrote this?'

"Something up, Rin?" She vaguely heard Yura's question and shoved the folder as best as she could in her small-ish purse. Rin flashed one more smile at Yura, ignoring her confused look.

"I am soooo sore." Kagome complained, distracting the girls in the room as she dropped herself on the sofa. "How have you guys been doing this?" The younger woman just shrugged a shoulder, her smile widening. It had been a few days since Kagome entered their ranks, she was still getting into the extra work! Having Kagome back was the best though. Sango, Yura, and her truly made what should have a completely bad situation into something almost... fun?

"You'll get used it!" Sango responded from the seat of her vanity, finishing up her makeup. Kagome made a move to get up, but her legs caved and she landed back on the couch.

"Owwww..." Rin walked over to her friend and offered her hands, helping Kagome up again. "I'm so glad my shift is done. I don't think my thighs and shoulders can take much more of this. Hey, you're done too, Rin? Want to grab something to eat? And I mean food, not ice cream!"

Rin pouted, then shook her head. "Oh, I seeee... you're meeting that guy today, aren't you?"

"Guy? What guy!?" Yura happened into the conversation just at that moment...

Kagome continued, "Oh, she's just been meeting some hot businessman over desserts for a couple of weeks and only JUST told me today!"

"Really? First I heard of this too..." Sango added, now all three women surrounding her. Rin just shrugged, not understanding what the deal was.

"So is he your boyfriend!?" Yura started first, grinning wide with excitement. Rin felt her cheeks heat up before she shook her head violently. Takahashi and her...? 'Yeah, right... I'm not his type.' She thought. "You're turning red! Are you lying, Rin!?" The hair demon exclaimed, and the human girl responded the same as before.

"Alright, you two, leave her alone. I'm sure she's dying to get back home anyway." Sango intervened, shooing the other two girls. 'Thank you!' Rin mentally exclaimed, before giving one last smile and wave to the woman before leaving the club.

Rin arrived home at record time before locking herself in her room, and sat on her bed with the folder in front of her. '… but your life, don't.' How.. How could she not open it with a warning like that? She was far too curious for her own good, and the note made it all the more tempting. 'It can't be that bad.' What could Kagura be giving to Takahashi, just a businessman, that would be life-threatening?

And with that thought, she carefully opened the folder. The first page inside was a profile page of sorts... about Naraku. 'Why—Oh my... oh my god.' Under known aliases read: Kuromaru, Owner of SHIKON. Rin quickly began to fiddle through the papers, heart pounding in her chest. Floor plans and security routes of the SiLk Hotel which is rumored to be Naraku's main place, tunnels under the SHIKON, gang layouts across districts with names and personal info of what appears to be every high-ranking member, locations of weapons, drugs, pages and pages of financial information-'Why would Takahashi want or need this...?'

A knock at the front door boomed in the silence of her home, nearly making her jump down from her bed. She quickly hid the folder and the documents inside, composed herself, and made her way to open the front door. "You are not ready." That voice, out of all the people... She glared up at the dragon and made a move to slam the door in his face, but he, of course, stopped it. "Now, that's not nice." His palm pressed against the door, overpowering her quite easily and walked into her home.

Rin growled and shook her head, pointing outside. The dragon narrowed his eyes, "I believe you were informed you have no choice in this matter, with ample time to prepare for tonight. That is more courteous than my usual way of doing things, and far more than an ungrateful human like you deserves." She gritted her teeth together, hoping the fiery hate in her eyes was enough to make him burn, or simply just leave!

A young female youkai walked in, with her hands full of a white dress and cosmetics. "Is this the girl? ...I suppose she is pretty, for a human." The young demon sighed as she readjusted the load in her arms, "Now, where is your room? Unless you want to change in front of Master Ryukotsusei?"

A lecherous grin pulled the older dragon's lips, "That I would not mind." Rin let out a growl through her clenched teeth, shook her head and pointed to the door again. "If there is one thing I enjoy about humans is how easy it is to get them to do anything..." Her eyes widened at the blue lighting beginning to cackle around his clawed hand, "Should I start with your neighbor or the children across the street? Will you let the whole block die before agreeing to accompany me?"

'Sick, arrogant...' Rin's mind began listing off insults she wished she could say. 'He isn't bluffing.' Nor would she take the chance of challenging his threat either. She walked to the bedroom with the female youkai at her heels. The two were quiet as she undressed until the click of the front door closing sounded. "Here, put this on. I'm sure you'll look amazing in it." She slipped into the shiny, white dress and was surprised to find it was not so revealing or too sexy.

The dress was tight and hugged every curve, but stopped just at her knees not showing off too much of her legs. The long-sleeves covered her toned arms, but the off-shoulder style left her slim shoulders and neck exposed. She was expecting her cleavage out, a mini length, cut-outs—this dress didn't seem like his style.

The female youkai smiled when Rin met her emerald eyes, "Knew it!" Her face suddenly grew sober as she continued to speak, "Now listen to me. Where you are going... Its not safe, its not pleasant, and its a not a place a human woman goes. Not as a guest."

The youkai began working her hair into a soft bun, "Follow my advice, girl, and you might last the night. Do not make eye contact with anyone, do not speak unless spoken to. Do reject anyone's advances—aside from Ryukotsusei—and tell him if another youkai is trying to hit on you. You are his escort for the night, it is a great disrespect for anyone to try to touch you without his explicit permission."

'No one is touching me, especially him-'

"I know what you are thinking. Do not challenge him in a public place. Think of your life, human. You push too far with his most important partners and his greatest enemies around and he will dispose of you." The youkai began correcting any discoloration in her exposed skin with her concealer. "These little get-togethers do not last too long because all these men hate each other, so you only have to bear it for at the most 4 hours."

The woman sighed, moving on to eye shadow. "Why he picked you to escort him tonight, I don't know. Neither does anyone else. Ryukotsusei has a reason for every move he does, much like the rest of them, and it cannot be just to torment you. There are better ways to do that." 'She has a point.' Rin thought, shutting her eyes as the other woman worked on her.

"Have you caught the eye of an enemy of his, I wonder?" The female youkai asked as she pulled away, rummaging through her box for eyeliner. "None of his enemies care too much for humans though, except maybe Naraku." Rin stiffened at the name, remembering her boss and the crime lord are one in the same.

The youkai noticed, "If you are in between these men, that you are far out of anyone's reach for help... and in a perfect position to be abused. Trust no one over there." She swiped a muted pink color on Rin's lips, balancing out the soft smokey eyes.

"Best pick the lesser of two evils, and hope they don't kill you after they get bored." Rin looked at the youkai, lost at how non-chalant, how accepting the youkai appeared to be about how this all worked. 'This... I can't do this!' The front door clicked open again, and they heard at knock at the bedroom door.

"Master says we got to go." A male voice said.

"She's ready, just got to pick up. Give us two minutes." The female youkai began picking up all her belongings, and locked up her cosmetic box. They walked out the bedroom after Rin grabbed a white clutch and her house keys. "Good luck, Rin." The youkai's emerald eyes almost looked sorry, but Rin did not notice.

Her mind was racing as she locked her door and let herself be escorted to a bright red roadster whose make she could not recognize right away. 'What am I doing?' She gave a side-ways glance to the driver, catching Ryukotsusei's eyes as they traveled down her frame. 'How am I going to get out of this?' Rin fought down the wetness in her eyes, 'Its not the time. I can't show him I'm afraid. I can't...' She swallowed hard, trying to gather herself. 'It's going to be okay... It's going to be okay...'

She bit back a gasp when the car shot forward, a bit surprised by the lack of noise coming from the engine. Rin glanced at the dragon's hand on something next to the shifter, he seemed to be electrifying it? 'Why would he...?' She exhaled a soft laugh, oblivious to the dragon's questioning gaze. 'He drives an electric car...' Why was that so funny to her right now, she didn't know.

-:-

The drive has been going on for 30 minutes, but it was thankfully silent and uneventful as the dragon seemed to be deeply absorbed in his thoughts.

"We are almost there." Rin just nodded, her eyes concentrated on the buildings they drove past. She was not entirely sure where they going, as she threw out his invitation just as fast as she got rid of Sesshomaru's. She noticed an old, but well-preserved building coming up, with a few crazy expensive cars parked in front. Ryukotsusei parked in the only empty spot left in front of the building, behind a black Nissan GT-R. She didn't wait for her door to be opened, stepping out of the car and mesmerized on the beauty of the tall building in front of her.

'Fantasia' it read in soft blue lights against a black panel, above the glass double doors. While only three floors high, the building appeared to extend far into the city block. With its large windows, the amount of detail on the top and bottom of the columns, the statue angels that rested near the roof—it reminded her of a building in Paris she had wanted to visit... She was busy examining the details of one of the nearby artworks before the dragon's arm around her's interrupted her thoughts. "It is time to head inside."

Rin merely nodded, allowing the daiyoukai to lead her into the building. 'He is too close.' She thought, wanting to put a good 4 feet between them, at the least. But she remembered the youkai woman's words as she glanced around at the crowd. 'Embarrass him, and you're dead.'

Her attention shifted to the cathedral ceiling, the classic artworks on the walls, and the hand-painted ceramic that lined the floor. The dragon greeted a couple of people in passing, before entering the courtyard. Rin kept her gaze on the manicured green grass as the dragon briefly spoke to a couple in front of them.

"A human on your arm, Ryukotsusei? Is the sky about to fall?" Rin glanced at the dragon's face, and noticed a tinge of annoyance. They were going to get a lot of those comments tonight, she knew.

"They are much more bearable when they cannot not speak." Ryukotsusei replied, "Now, I must get some business over with." The daiyoukai glided across the courtyard as he ignored Rin's glare, honing in on a small group gathered at a table near the large fountain at the southwest corner of the courtyard.

"Well, what a surprise." Rin barely noticed Naraku. Her gaze was trapped in the frigid gold of the man she met not too long ago. He looked as perfect as the last time she saw him—his midnight blue suit without a wrinkle, immaculate white shirt, shoes polished to shine, and a navy grenadine tie. His silver hair spilled over his shoulders and the back of his chair, appearing to shimmer moonlight. He was so beautiful, Rin was almost jealous.

"It is not polite to stare, you two." The dragon's teasing voice made her snap back to reality. "Now, why don't you ladies go out and get us some more drinks?" The female who sat next to Naraku made a face, but stood any way. It appeared Sesshomaru did not have a date for tonight, as it was suppose to be her... She mentally sighed, 'No, not me. I'm not even suppose to be here.'

Rin followed the older woman away from the table to the mini bar set up on the other side of the fountain. "So..." The woman started, "Who the hell are you?" Rin blinked and looked at her, but could not say anything. She took it the wrong way. "Oh, I see. Too high riding that dragon to answer me."

Rin shook her head and waved her hands in front of her, 'That's not it!' She pointed to her throat and shook her head, hoping she conveyed the right message. The woman narrowed her eyes for a bit, before asking,

"Are you that Rin girl I've been hearing about? That human, the mute one. That's you?"

'What does she mean by 'hearing about me'? Who would be talking about me in their world?' Rin nodded.

"Tch, I don't believe this. There are demonesses far more beautiful than you, you act chaste, and you certainly don't look like you can fight." The older woman snorted, "And by the way you so blatantly looked at Lord Sesshomaru of all people shows me you have absolutely no idea what the hell you are doing." Rin looked down at the ground for a bit, letting the woman's harsh words sink in. "You don't belong here." She was right, echoing the words of another mafia lord, and Rin simply nodded again.

"But those fuckers drag anyone in. They love breaking people, no matter how innocent or twisted." Rin looked up at the woman's red eyes, questioning. "What?-Oh for god's sake. Do you have some paper and pen around?" She asked the bartender, "And I need a refill on Naraku's and Sesshomaru's drink, and one for Ryukotsusei. The usual." The bartender hurried on completing her orders, first placing a little pad with a pen in front of her before preparing the drinks.

'I didn't catch your name.' Rin wrote.

"And I'm going to need a double shot of whatever the strongest thing you got." The woman redirected her attention back to her, "My name is Abi. I suggest you take something here now while you got the chance, take the edge off. You are here to indirectly piss someone off, you must be because that is all that damn dragon loves doing and I don't see how you can be useful in any other way. You might not want to remember this night."

'Tequila.' Rin wrote, she wasn't going to get blackout drunk, but a shot or two will help her nerves—she hoped. Might make sitting in between the dragon and Sesshomaru for the next few hours a lot easier as well. "Did you hear the lady?! She wants a shot!" 'This youkai is strange.' Rin thought, she seemed to be bouncing around from being helpful to rude and hostile.

She began to write, 'Do you usually attend these meetings?'

"Unfortunately, yes. In case you haven't noticed yet since your eyes have probably been glued to the floor this whole time, this courtyard is filled with youkai. We got corrupt politicians, immoral businessman, and damned mafia lords—all chit-chatting their plans for domination today." Abi took her shot the moment the bartender placed it down.

"Me being a prominent figure in aviation, designing state-of-the-art aircraft and air-to-air weapons, got all tangled up in this mess when Naraku took over the region where the company I worked for is located. They bent over to him pretty quickly, and when I didn't, he threatened to pull the plug on my mother's life support. Damn spider owns the hospitals too. Now I'm stuck working for him until I find a way to get my mother out of this country."

'That's terrible, I'm so sorry...' Rin wrote, a frown pulling down the corners of her lips.

"I'd ask your story, but I'm not waiting around for you to write paragraphs. Besides, they might have actually noticed we are taking our sweet time." Rin took that as a cue to down her shot, before she helped Abi by grabbing Ryukotsusei's drink. "Here, take the dog's also. Piss the dragon off a bit. There are few things in this world that make him angrier than Sesshomaru."

Rin smiled at the youkai before following her back at the table. She set down Ryukotsusei's drink, and made sure to flash a smile to Sesshomaru before putting down his. Once she sat, the dragon put his arm around her shoulders and brought her close.

"Careful..." He whispered the soft warning in her ear, before continuing to speak to the other men. "Is Kouga not joining us tonight?"

"I believe he is still stateside." Naraku replied.

The dragon sipped his drink, "Still? How foolish to leave his territory for so long... So tempting."

"The only foolish act would be to break the accord, Ryukotsusei." Sesshomaru responded, a veiled threat in his words.

"As if I would do such a thing." The dragon said, trying to appear offended. "But the spider here seems to have no trouble burrowing his way through any loopholes..."

"Throwing baseless accusations already?" The hanyou hissed, red eyes narrowed.

"A lieutenant of mine dies by your plant, you find out immediately after the fact, and sweep a district from right under me."

"I heard it was a suicide."

"It sounds like a direct violation of our agreement." Ryukotsusei growled, his clear green eyes flashed a dangerous red. 'They are talking about... my father...' Rin's eyes were wide in shock, 'He... he did this on purpose?'

"It is hardly my fault one of your men decided to-what was it?-smoke a poisonous plant, and our agreement says nothing of taking over current contested territories, which is what that district was when I so easily gained control of it."

"Is that so, Naraku?" Ryukotsusei asked, before turning his gaze to Rin. "Rin, perhaps you can shed some light on this situation." She tensed up, screaming in her head, 'No, no, no. Don't bring me into this. Don't bring me into this!' "As the man in question is your father-" She noted the sparks of surprise flicker in Abi's and Sesshomaru's eyes—and the lack of them in Naraku's. "-and you were present at the time of his death... Did he intentionally end his life or was this poison planted in his home?"

They were all staring at her now but Naraku's gaze was the worst, the promised death in this blood red eyes chilled to her very core. 'What do I do!?' She tried to calm her racing heart, 'My response could have major consequences on either of them?' As much as she would love to throw Ryukotsusei under the bus, she couldn't stand for how Naraku blatantly used her and she didn't see it.

Rin looked to Sesshomaru for some help. Why she did, she didn't know. Maybe because he isn't directly involved in this. Maybe because she knew less of him, so he seemed better than them.. but the amber gaze yielded nothing for her.

She swallowed hard, 'A yes or no... both will make an enemy of someone here tonight... And... the truth, the truth would be best, right?' God, she wanted to gag. 'But what would Naraku do if I snitched? Will I end up disappearing like Kagura? He still has to keep up his human identity around me, doesn't he?' She pursed her lips, coming to a decision. He killed her father. He killed her father for some city blocks and used her to do it. She can't let him get away with that.

Rin wrote softly, 'He did not mean to kill himself. He was not suicidal.' and kept her gaze on the glass table. She did not need to see Naraku's face to feel his rage, nor did she need to look at the dragon to feel his victorious smile. "The lies of your human whore hold no water here, Ryukotsusei." The spider hissed through clenched teeth.

"Lies?" Ryukotsusei smirked, the clawed hand near her shoulders gripped her chin to force her gaze up to the man across from her. "Look at this face. Its the face of innocence, not of a liar. This little human has nothing to gain in this little conversation of ours, but you, Naraku..." He let go of her. "You did. As far as I am concerned, this agreement, between you and I at the very least, has been violated and I will be taking what is mine's back."

Frustrated, the spider turned to the quiet dog youkai who looked a bit bored in Rin's opinion, "And you have nothing to say about this?"

Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow, "Do not turn to me, hanyou. You have no ally here." Naraku ended leaving then with Abi, even her dull, human senses saw the way this youki cackled around him in a rampage.

"See now, that wasn't so bad, was it?" The dragon asked, turning his attention back to her. Rin gave him a flat look, not willing to offer anything else. 'Restroom.' She wrote before getting up and making her way to there. She growled under breath when one of attendees got in her way, far too annoyed to deal with anyone else.

"You are here with the dragon, correct? His plaything for the night." 'Plaything?!' The complete lack of respect these people showed to others, while at the same time cowering in the eyes of mafia lords, was mind-boggling. Rin glared up the feminine man who she didn't recognize at all. His red eyes flared, he did not like the 'disrespect'. "Learn your-"

"Is there a problem, Kyora?" Rin nearly jumped when the dragon materialized out of nowhere. The red-headed daiyoukai coolly replied,

"Your date is rather disrespectful, Ryukotsusei. Your taste in women has fallen quite far."

"Is that so?" The dragon looked at her, "I find that hard to believe." She nearly gagged another time, was he defending her?! "The most she could muster is a hard look, though I don't see how any one can take it seriously." 'No, no he isn't. Thank god.'

"Nonetheless, she should keep her eyes to the floor. The dirt is the only thing her gaze is worthy of meeting." Rin felt her teeth grind together, she was not going to just stand here and listen to this man. She brushed past him, ignoring the disgusted look on this face. The human heard some commotion behind her, but didn't care to look.

Curiosity had got the better of her though. Once she reached the bathroom door, she gave one quick glance over her shoulder and saw the two daiyoukai in a heated exchange. She didn't understand the words, it was not a language she even recognized... but the flashing red eyes and the youki cackling in the air was enough for her to hurriedly retreat into the washroom.

-:-

They had spent another hour or two mingling, Rin bored out of her mind as she hanged unwillingly from the dragon's arm. She felt dirty in this place, and began to resent the world as the more people she recognized. The mayor, some faces she could have sworn were people on the city council, a few officers she knew from the clubs, and even heard one person being addressed as if they were military.

It was... disgusting. These men and women had sworn to serve the people... but they were only serving themselves, at the expense of those they were suppose to protect. What would drive someone to do something like that?

"Of course, Lord Ryukotsusei. Anything for the dragon clan. Let me know when you would like to proceed." Rin didn't know who he was talking to, just another youkai kissing his butt. There was a lot of that going on. No wonder the dragon's ego was so large. There was not a single person here refusing him—the daiyoukai by the bathroom, and the other Lords appeared to be the only ones who dared talking back to him. Though she hasn't seen that Kyora again at all, she briefly wondered what happened to him.

"What a pretty little thing. Where did you find her, Lord Ryukotsusei?" God, if she was referred as a thing one more time... She was a person! She fights, bleeds, and feels like they do. Rin ignored the chattering men as her eyes scanned the courtyard, finding the other head of silver by the fountain. Sesshomaru appeared to be much colder and stand-offish to the other attendees than Ryukotsusei, who was almost... charming... to those he spoke to.

Of course, that meant nothing. Ryukotsusei was a ruthless, no matter how smoothly he tried to speak. Though he was convincing, she had not forgotten that he threatened to kill a bunch of children just to get her to come with him. Were they all without morals?

The human didn't realize how long she was staring until the dragon whispered in her ear, "See something you like?" She shivered when his breath hit her, out of disgust more than anything. "You appear to have some fascination with him... The smiles and the glances..." His tone turned ugly... quick. "Did he fuck you so well that night?" Rin bit back a yelp at the clawed hand that gripped her upper arm with great force. That was going to bruise if he held it, she knew... "Don't forget you are here with me, girl. Not that pretentious dog." He let her go, then an odd look crossed his face before he turned to her again. "Go to him."

'What?!' Rin thought, genuinely hoping her face convened just how confused she was at the moment. 'Did he not just say-'

"I will not repeat myself. I will collect you soon enough." And he just began walking away, leaving her in the middle of the crowd. 'What the...?' It wasn't long before she noticed some glances in her direction, eyes trailing up and down her body—either sizing her up, checking her out, or, god, maybe eat her?

'Seriously!?' The youkai woman that dressed her earlier was not exaggerating. How quickly the youkai in the vicinity turned their attention to her once the threat of Ryukotsusei was gone. She grabbed a drink from one of the passing waiters, before she made her way to Sesshomaru, her pace quicker than usual. Rin hoped the staring would stop, but then she would just be next to another highly dangerous man. 'I'm not safe anywhere here.' She growled in frustration, 'I just want to leave!'

Her displeasure must have been clear on her face as when she reached the dog demon, he plainly asked, "Are you enjoying yourself, Rin?"

Rin gave him a flat, annoyed look that didn't last long. She was exhausted already and it had only been a couple of hours. Ryukotsusei's constant threats, Naraku's enraged look towards her still lingering in the back of her mind, the snide remarks of her race and condition... Eyes downcast, she softly shook her head. 'I want to go home...' The human thought, before taking down her entire drink in one go.

"Why are you here with Ryukotsusei?" She sighed, before pulling out her handy-dandy paper and pen.

'I don't want to be here. He forced me along.' Rin wrote. The daiyoukai scanned the people behind her before continuing,

"Did he send you here?" Rin nodded slowly, not sure what would be the 'appropriate' answer.

"Do you know why?" She shook her head. 'Don't know, don't care.' She thought, 'Just want to get out of here.'

"Come with me." 'Crap.' Rin thought, reluctantly following the daiyoukai. Why did Ryukotsusei send her over here? Was she suppose to follow him? Her nervousness increased when she realized he was leading out of the packed courtyard and back inside, where only a few people—mostly workers—were scattered about.

'Where are we going?' She wrote, then held up as she strode next to him. He glanced at her,

"Nowhere. I simply grew tired of being around those people." Rin tilted her head in confusion, wanting to ask why did he believe he was any different than those people... but she had this nagging feeling that wouldn't go over well. They walked in a more comfortable silence this time, as Rin was able to appreciate the artworks that decorated the walls.

'This is... better...' She thought. He wasn't all... touchy like Ryukotsusei, who had his arm around her the whole time or his hand somewhere. He wasn't chatty, which made things way too quiet, but at the same time meant he wasn't making any disparaging comments towards her. He didn't seem to care about stopping when she wanted to take a closer look at a painting or sculpture.

It was almost nice, if she had known she would have stuck coming to this party any way, Sesshomaru was clearer the better 'choice'... But the anxiety crept back up when it felt she had been gone for too long.

'It's been awhile. Won't he get mad?' Rin wrote, with a frown darkening her features.

"Perhaps." 'Well, great.' She thought, exhaling as she wrote again,

'You don't care?'

The daiyoukai merely raised any eyebrow, as if the question was utterly ridiculous. It probably was. 'Of course he doesn't care, Rin. He is a daiyoukai just like him!' She thought, 'He doesn't have to worry about him like that.'

"He is coming." The daiyoukai warned her, and Rin swallowed hard, steeling herself for whatever was going to happen. She hoped nothing. There is no reason for anything to happen!

"Ah, Rin, there you are. Stealing away my date for the evening, Sesshomaru?" Well, he at least did not sound angry.

"Hardly." The dog demon responded, his tone seemed icier than usual.

"Oh? Not interested at all?" Ryukotsusei slipped his arm around her waist again, and Rin curled her hands into fists, shaking.

"I am not so depraved." The dog demon began to walk off, "I am done babysitting for the evening." Rin visibly flinched at Sesshomaru's response, her gaze dropping to the floor. She made a mistake. Just because the dog demon wasn't as vocal as Ryukotsusei, didn't mean he thought more of her. When Sesshomaru left the room, the dragon spoke again to her.

"Well, that was rude, don't you think?" Ryukotsusei asked before he began walking. "Such a shame, I thought there was something there..." She didn't know what he was talking about, but Rin thanked the gods when Ryukotsusei finally began to make his way to the exit.

"I do not enjoy these events." The dragon said once they were seated in his roadster, "They are set up by others trying to find lies, secrets, blackmail as they laugh and drink—playing 'the game' they call it." Was... Is he... Is he just casually talking to her? "Some of us are not so cowardly." Rin just nodded, unsure of what to say or do. "They would have been dead long ago if it had been my way..."

'Ah, okay... Stop.' The human thought, playing with the hem of her dress to distract herself from her unease. 'Of course murder is part of his small talk!' There was a small, uncomfortable silence before the dragon spoke again.

"Why did you tell the truth?" Rin blinked hard at the question, before giving him a confused look. "You could have lied, and given Naraku's words more weight, making me appear as the one who is wrong. Something I would imagine you would love to do."

'He killed my father. I don't like lying.' Rin wrote.

"Hm." Was all the dragon said. They hit the road in silence, until they were about 5 minutes away from her house. "There is something I need to discuss with you."

'Oh god, what else?' She thought, biting her bottom lip. 'What else could he want?'

"It has to do with... your mother, her family. They—now you—have something that belongs to me, that belongs to my family." Ryukotsusei appeared to be holding back some anger. 'Why would my family have anything belonging to a dragon clan?' But she remembered back to when she first saw Ryukotsusei as a little girl, saying the same to her mother... "I want it back."

'I don't know what you are talking about.' Rin wrote, hoping he didn't take it the wrong way and think she was lying. Even if she had known, if her mother was against giving it to him... It was probably something he shouldn't have in the first place!

"I know, but you will. Soon. When you see it, you will know. Return it to me..." He parked the car in the driveway. "And I'll get you somewhere where Naraku can't reach, and you will never see me again. Just peace." His gaze locked with hers, the dragon leaned closer to her face, inches away. "Don't make me hunt you down, Rin." His pale hand made its way to her throat and gave a light squeeze, a claw lightly punctured her delicate skin. "Don't let it come to that. You will not survive." He tilted his head, his gaze giving off a dangerous gleam. "Understand?"

Rin nodded softly, afraid to move too much due to his nearness as her right hand quietly searched for the door handle. She watched his stare lower to her painted lips. Something dark clouded the crystal green, an emotion she saw far too many times on the stage—but this was not the stage, this was his car, her driveway, her house and no one else. 'Let me go, let me go...' She prayed, not being able to escape with the lethal claws around her neck.

She involuntarily whimpered when he inched closer and the claws squeezed once more, a feeling of helplessness creeping on her as a drop of her blood traveled down her neck. A feeling she thought she would no longer have to deal with.

Abruptly, his eyes began to flood crimson, roughly slamming her back against the car door when he let go, sneering-"Get. Out." Rin practically jumped out of the car, relieved when the dragon took no time in speeding away. Letting out a breath she didn't realize she was holding as she tried to control her shaking body, one hand coming up where the dragon's was moments before.

She was tired of this. Her father was gone, because a spider wanted some land, and she was still being abused, ordered, and insulted. Now, Ryukotsusei wanted something from her... what if it was something he couldn't have? Why else would her mother deny him? That meant this had no end. He is always going to be there. And Naraku will still likely get away with what he'd done. 'Unless...' As she wiped the droplet of blood with the back of her hand, 'I do something...' Thinking back to the folder that sat in her bedroom, Rin realized she desperately needed one thing right now.

Ice cream.

End of Chapter 6

Author's Note: Better late than never, right? ^^;;