POISON | Love Her

Chapter 7

Summertime Sadness

'Thoughts/Rin's writing'

Flashbacks

Original Publish Date: 2/12/2016

Takahashi watched her every move when the mute girl entered the ice cream shop. 'How predictable.' But she appeared a bit shaken, paranoid even, with the way her eyes darted around the ice cream parlor and her purse clutched close to her chest. Still, she failed to make eye contact with him until after she ordered, her posture relaxing just a bit before she sat across from him. There was no happy wave or dazzling smile. Her eyes were glued to the dessert cup, spoon picking at the frozen dairy while she chewed her bottom lip.

Did the event shake her so much? It could have been far worse for her. Though he did not know what transpired between her and the dragon afterward. It was none of his business, he particularly didn't care... but... "You are acting strange." She may have learned something useful, and she may be willing to tell someone 'outside' of it all.

Rin blinked up at him, then sighed before grabbing her purse and pulling out a folder, placing it in front of him. He didn't need to open it, the handwriting on the note told him who it was from and what it most likely contained. Why did Rin have it, was the question. "Did you read it?"

She hesitated, before she gave a slow nod. 'Foolish girl.' He thought, slipping the folder in the briefcase beside him. "When?"

She dragged the usual pen and paper from her bag, 'In the afternoon. It was in my locker. I don't know who put it there.'

"Hm... Is that all?" He asked. His sharp eyes noticed the small, thin cut on her neck, mostly like done by a claw .

She pursed her lips, then sighed. Her expression told him she was fighting with some sort of decision, he hoped she'd make the right one. Rin's face suddenly hardened, before writing more, 'If you are trying to take him down, I want in.'

Takahashi blinked in shock, his thin eyebrows raised. He was not expecting that, 'Though if Naraku was responsible for her father's death, I suppose it is not too surprising.' He studied her face, gone was the unsureness and fear. Her lips were pulled into an angry frown, eyes narrowed and brows tight with determination. It was strange to see, quite different from her usual expressions.

She didn't know what she asking, he knew that much. She most likely believed he was going to the authorities, or working with them in some way... but he wasn't going to bring Naraku to 'justice' or anything of the sort. He was going to take everything the spider claimed, and then kill him. Of course, a regular civilian, what Rin thought he was, wouldn't dream of doing such a thing.

The human was dragging herself deeper into this, why? For the death of a man who abused her when his job was to protect her? His jaw tightened, 'What does it matter?' He needed someone else inside, she was a prime, and now willing, candidate. But would she be so inclined if she knew who exactly he was? 'She doesn't have to know. The less she does, the better.'

"Very well. We will speak on that later, not here." The human girl nodded, then smiled with that smile for second time tonight for him. And for the second time, it made his slow, youkai heart beat a little faster.

He despised it.

-:-

Kagome wiped the sweat from her forehead, letting out an air of relief that her sweeping was finally done. The afternoon was hot, and the sun unforgiving with its rays baring down on the small little shrine. She quickly headed back inside, desperate for a cold drink. "Anything else you need done, Kaede?" Kagome called, as she grabbed a glass of iced tea.

"Rest, child, the rest of the chores can wait." The elder woman responded, making her way carefully down the flight of stairs.

"I have to go to wo—school—soon. I don't want to leave anything unfinished!" Kagome said after taking a nice, long drink.

"Hmm..." The elder stood next to her, "Do not worry about it, Kagome. I can do the rest—Though, if ye can retrieve the black and gold box in the far right corner of the storage room... Its under quite a few things-"

"Sure, of course! I'll go get it. You want it in here?" The elder nodded softly and the younger woman quickly downed the rest of the glass before making her way quickly to the outside shed. She hummed softly as she walked towards the back, brown eyes darting around the corner to find-'There it is!... Ugh. Kaede was not kidding.' The box was on the floor... with about 20 other items stacked on top.

'Better than reciting a bunch of ancient scriptures over and over...' She thought, grabbing a ladder to start bringing down the stack. After a few coughing fits due to the insane amount of dust, she reached the wooden box and couldn't help the curiosity that began to nag her. Something about it appeared antique—and the golden dragons and foreign characters she could not read that covered the midnight black wood seemed to shine like real gold.

She grabbed one of the handles on the side, pulling it out of the corner and into the light. Kagome was shocked at how light the box felt, it was as if nothing was inside? She glanced back to the shed door and bit her lip. 'A peek won't hurt!' The box had a simple locking latch—nothing more. But when she made the move to open the lid, she felt something... powerful, dark, terrifying. The lid suddenly felt as if it weighed a ton, nearly catching her hands when she let it go. 'What in the world...?'

"I did not say open it."

Kagome jumped to her feet at Kaede's voice, "I—But—Ahh... I know. I'm sorry, Kaede." She turned her attention back to the container, "What's in there?"

"A source of old power, one you are not meant to trifle with. Ye have enough to worry about."

"But its just... in there. No special locks, nothing?" Kagome asked, puzzled.

"Were ye able to open it?"

"Ah, no, but-"

"Then the seal is still functional. The one who must bare the burden of that particular item will join us soon, which why I sent ye to retrieve it." Kagome nodded, before squatting down to pick up the box which had already returned to its nearly feather-light state.

"Is she a miko like me?" Kagome asked as she followed Kaede back inside the main shrine.

"No. Though she must be around your age now..."

"Oh, great!-But if she is not a miko, why...?"

"It is complicated." Kaede responded simply, ending that conversation there. "Thank you for your help today, Kagome. Will I see you again tomorrow for training?"

"Yes ma'am!" Kagome exclaimed with a wide grin.

Kaede chuckled, "Very well, off you go then. I'm sure you have much to do."

-:-

Rin stared at her closet. She has been for awhile now, never having such a hard time on figuring out what in the world to wear. Today, Takahashi was picking her up to discuss Naraku. She should just wear something comfortable, right? They are just going... somewhere to talk. She never asked where, not smart, she knew, but he was okay. She didn't have to worry about him... right?

Rin swallowed the lump in her throat, anxiety creeping up on her fast. 'Stop it. Of course, I don't. Kagura trusted him, and no doubt Sango would have chased him down if he was bad news...' She closed her eyes and just breathed for a moment, trying to chase the doubts away. 'Maybe one of my dresses, its a bit hot outside.' She thought, grabbing a pale yellow sun dress. She ignored the slight shake in her hands as she slipped into the clothing, smoothing out any wrinkles.

The young woman frowned down at the cloth, it had been while since she wore this particular dress as it reminded her of one her mother used to wear often. With it being a spaghetti-strap, the amount of make-up it took usually was not worth the trouble, but now... She looked up at her reflection in the large, long mirror hanging on the back of the closet door, and began to absently touch her neck and upper arms.

No black, blue, purple. Nothing. Free of marks-'And its going to stay that way. It has to.' She tried blinking back the tears that lingered on the corners of her eyes. 'Rin, relax. Nothing is wrong. Not anymore...' Her mind argued that the dragon and Naraku were still pretty outstanding problems. She had no defense for that, they very much were but with Takahashi, she could maybe at least deal with of them.

'Or take the dragon's deal and be done with both... No, no, no. That's not an option. Whatever he wants, it can't be good.' Rin shook her head violently, she was getting distracted! She needed to get ready—and the doorbell. 'Crap.' She ran over to the front door, and opened it, smiling up brightly at the tall business man on her doorstep, hoping her doubts and fear were gone from her expression.

"You are not ready." The young woman scratched the back of her head, looking down at her bare feet. She felt the blush of embarrassment heating her cheeks, she had so much time to prepare... Rin opened the door fully, gesturing him to enter. "Be quick." He ordered once inside. She just nodded and darted back into her room for some shoes. The young woman readied herself in a few minutes and was in the stoic man's expensive automobile, heading towards a still unknown destination.

Rin took out a tablet—yes, she has finally upgraded!—and opened up a text-to-speech program. This was also much, much safer for the ones driving her! She began typing, 'Hi! How has your day been?' and the tablet spoke the words out loud. Rin knew she was just going to get a vague and generic answer from him, she just really wanted to mess with the tablet.

"Uneventful." Takahashi glanced at her, "When did you get that?"

Rin smiled, typing, "Only a few days ago. Haven't gotten around to using it much yet!"

"You cannot bring that inside the building we are entering."

Rin gave him an exasperated look, "Seriously!?" Unfortunately, the tablet did not convey her annoyance accurately. The small twitch she caught in the corner of Takahashi's lips, however, told her that her face certainly did.

"Yes."

Rin sighed, then pouted. She really wanted to use it today... "Why can't I?"

"Security." It wasn't going to get more detailed than that. She quietly enjoyed the rest of the ride, though began to grow a bit tense when she realized she had no idea what part of town she was in. "We are almost there." His eyes lingered on her a bit longer than usual, perhaps noticing her nervousness.

She needed to relax, again, she didn't want to appear vulnerable. They were deep in the concrete jungle of a not-so-nice-looking area. He turned into the garage of a dilapidated building. Once out, she stayed close to him as they walked towards the entrance, not liking how quiet and broken everything looked... until they got inside.

'What...' Rin began to look around in awe. The interior of the building was sleek, modern, impossibly clean, bright; completely opposite from its outside look. There were only a handful of people around, sitting by large, black desks, either on the phone or working on their desktops. They all nodded or bowed in greeting to Takahashi as he walked passed, paying no mind to them. They entered a room in the back, 'His office, probably...' she thought as he gestured her to sit by the single large desk in the room.

The young woman instinctively grabbed the paper pad and pen nearby, 'What is this place?'

"Where Naraku will be finally brought down, if you still wish to join that is..."

Rin nodded, she was sure of that. She had to be. 'What do you need me to do?'

-:-

3 days later

"Bankotsu, it has been some time since your last visit." Kuromaru greeted, a polite smile on his lips. Rin didn't know who Bankotsu was—Sango and Yura were not on shift yet, and it was just Kagome and her—but she knew he was one of the 'important ones'. Kuromaru only bothered personally greeting the 'important ones'. She just wished she didn't have to have her arm around Kuromaru's-'Or should I say, Naraku!'-at the moment. "Alone tonight?"

"Yeah, just me. Planning a huge event, need some girls and no one else has better women than SHIKON, right?" That was Rin's cue to give him a nice, big smile for the 'compliment' ...and she did as Kuromaru replied back,

"Of course. Come with me, we will talk in our office. Ladies, you may continue out here." They both gave him a quick nod, before walking in the opposite direction of the two men.

"Who was that?" Kagome mumbled softly towards Rin, who just shrugged in response. "Gonna have to ask Sango later... she knows so much about everyone. Sometimes I wonder how..."

"LADIES!"

"Oh no, here we go..." Kagome muttered, half-annoyed. Rin smiled at the young man that approached them, his purple eyes glinting mischievously as usual. She wasn't sure what the man, named Miroku, did outside of visiting the club. If Rin remembered correctly, he was involved with food in some way...

"Oh, Kagome, your expression pains me so. I only wished to have a quick chat with two of the four most beautiful women this side of the world..." He really wasn't so bad. He never asked for dances or anything, which usually would be a bit annoying as time wasted is money lost... But he was nice, seemed to have no ulterior motive during the conversations that he made sure to keep short.

"Mhmm..." Kagome replied back, crossing her arms over her chest. "Sango isn't around, if that's what you want." Sango was his thing, he absolutely adored her. Though Sango thought he was just an annoying pervert..

"Ah, such a shame. I wished to see her one last time before my trip..." Rin gave him a curious look and caught it, "To a small town up north. But do not fret, I will not be gone for more than a couple of weeks." A group of men began getting loud not too far behind him. "Ah, well, I see I must let you both go. It was nice to see you both again. Goodbye, till next time." He ended the conversation with this handsome smile, before running off.

Kagome sighed, "Ready?" Rin frowned a bit at her friend, who appeared much more tired than usual... "I'm fine, Rin. Just wish I got more sleep." She nodded hesitantly at her before the two made their way to the rowdy, loud men.

"There they are! Its this guy's birthday here..." Rin tuned him out, eyes zeroed in on the brown gaze of the man whose hair was being ruffled. 'Kohaku...?' The young man's eyes trailing down her figure before meeting her gaze again, face flushed red.

"R-Rin?"

"You know her!? This whole time! Holding out on us..." His friends teased, not noticing how embarrassed Kohaku was... or her tense posture. She hadn't seen him at The Whole Scoop the past few times she visited, she never thought she would encounter him in a place like... this. He was probably thinking the same. 'Not the innocent, quiet girl you thought I was, Kohaku...' Rin thought sadly, wondering what must be going through his mind.

She shook the negative thoughts out of head, she was on the job... and frankly, he had no right to judge her as he was in here in the first place... right? Rin tried her best to smile, ignoring Kagome's worried glance. 'Let's just do this, Kagome, please.' She thought, biting her bottom lip as she ran a hand through Kohaku's fluffy hair before letting out a girlish giggle at his forever-reddening face. 'Just a few dances, its not a big deal-

"How adorable." 'No... no, no, no. Not now.' Rin neglected the dragon's voice and his approaching steps. Not that it ever worked to just ignore him... Unfortunately, the rest of the group was easily provoked.

"Hey man, wait your turn." "Get out of here!" "Guys, shut up!" "Don't you know who that is?!" "Relax." "I don't give a fuck!" Ryukotsusei, thankfully, ignored them.

"Aw, Rin, the cold shoulder. Why? I thought we had a wonderful time last week." Kagome shot her another concerned glance, but Rin's full attention was on the daiyoukai now, chocolate eyes flat and annoyed. A 'wonderful time' was a grand exaggeration.

"Leave her alone." Rin paled when Kohaku stood in-between them, a few mummers of "What are you doing!?" said from some of his smarter friends.

"You looked so sweet to him earlier, Rin, is he a friend? Boyfriend? Plaything?" Ryukotsusei's eyes did not leave her's. She had no idea what the dragon was doing or why, but, gods, did Kohaku need to get the hell out of the way.

"Hey, I said leave her alone!" He tried to shove the daiyoukai, but Rin knew from experience that is much, much easier said than done. The dragon didn't budge an inch but he finally got the attention of those unnerving glass-emerald eyes.

"Or what, mortal?" Ryukotsusei taunted, a flash of red passed his iris. Rin grabbed Kohaku's arm before he could reply back, getting his attention. This is was getting too heated. She shook her head at him, and quickly got in front of the dragon. She tried not to gag as she grabbed his hand and began to pull him towards the stairs. The dragon must be in a bad mood today, and she wasn't going to let him hurt anyone, no matter what. She couldn't have that.

He smirked, unable to help himself. "See, boy... The highest bidder gets time with her. Remember that the next time you put yourself in danger for a paid woman." Rin ignored Kohaku's confused look, but it was harder to ignore the disappointment in his eyes. He didn't understand. He didn't get what she was doing. She was saving him, maybe. She couldn't control the dragon outside these walls. 'Or in them, really...' The young woman gave a quick glance to her friend, Kagome answered with a barely-visible nod before silently running off for help.

As Rin continued to lead the dragon to the private rooms, she wondered if help was really any better, considering the help would be Kuromaru/Naraku. 'Lesser of two evils...' Was he even that? 'Crap... What am I doing?!' Her heart was pounding as she slid open the door, letting the daiyoukai in the dimly-lit room. She made a move for the lights, but his voice stopped her. "No, leave it."

When she made a move to for the stage, he grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?" Rin gave him a confused look, then pointed to the small stage. 'Where else?' A smirk twisted his lips, and the other hand that moved to her face, cupping her cheek, had her heart sinking. "No, sweet Rin, that's not what I am here for." She swallowed thickly, before tilting her head to the side in confusion. 'You aren't getting anything else here...' The thought of courage didn't do much for her fear.

"I felt it. The orb. You've seen it..." Now, she was legitimately confused. Her brows scrunched together, shaking her head. She hasn't seen anything...? But that pissed him off, the hand that was soft now gripped her entire lower jaw. "I. Felt. It." Each word had his claws sink slowly into her skin. "Where is it?!"

'I don't know what you are talking about!' She wished she could yell, but she could only hold back the whimpers of pain as his grip was too strong to shake her head. A deep growl erupted from the daiyoukai's chest before the hand on her face turned and slapped her hard, bringing her to the floor. Rin fought against her tears and the trails of hot pain his claws left, 'Not again... no. No...'

A click brought Rin's gaze back up to the dragon, who was standing still and looking beyond angry with red having taken over the whites of his eyes. 'Sango...?' The woman stood behind him with a pistol, its barrel held against the dragon's skull. 'How did she...?' "You crossed the line, Ryukotsusei. Naraku isn't going to happy about that."

"Hmm, what makes you think you'll have time to pull the trigger before I turn and rip your pretty little throat out?"

"Want to take that chance?" Sango replied, unwavering. Rin could only stare in shock, nearly forgetting the mark on her face. How was she able to sneak up on him? She had a pistol this whole time? "Rin, you alright?" The younger woman started to rise from the floor, nodding softly. 'Because of you, yes.'

"Stand down, Sango." It was Naraku, not Kuromaru that entered this time. Sango glanced at him, and lowered the weapon down with a scowl. "I have let you travel to this location in my territory without trouble time and time again, now you have gotten violent. Mind explaining yourself?"

"As if I need to explain anything to a half-breed." The dragon sneered. The aura in the room was getting high, and Rin cast a worried look over to Sango, though her weapon was lowered, she had yet to holster it.

"You damaged one of my girls, in a safe zone no less, that does not go unpunished. You are aware of how severe the consequences are in this situation." The daiyoukai seemed to be calming a bit, the red in this eyes fading.

"My business with her is personal, Naraku. Nothing against your establishment." The dragon let out a big breath, smoothing out the front of his suit. "I don't wish to resort to violence, especially on such a pretty girl..." Rin openly glared at the dragon, 'Lies. You didn't hesitate.'

"I don't care what your issue with her is. You are not allowed back into Shikon until I say otherwise. If I hear of you in here again, I will personally take it as a declaration of war from you, dragon."

A thick silence followed for a few moments before the daiyoukai responded. "Very well." The dragon turned his eyes to her, "I'm sure we will see other each again another time, little Rin." Naraku motioned for Sango to escort the dragon, but she resisted.

"Rin's wound needs attention." She argued, but the spider told her to go. Then it was only them, alone. Gods, she just wanted this day to end.

"Is it numb?" He broke the silence first. She shook her head slowly, crossing her arms over her scantily-clothed body. "In Kuromaru's office, now." She quietly followed him out the room and through the oddly-silent club, the eyes of every employee and customer on them. Rin was thankful when they reached the office room. "Sit, and tell me what happened." And she did, taking a pen and paper from the desk to write down the recent events.

"Hm. And what does he want from you?" Looking defeated, she shrugged, 'I have no idea.'

"I suggest you find out." The blood sticking on her face was distracting. "Return when your cuts have healed." He finished, waving her off. Rin blinked, having expected more... something. Anger, maybe? A scolding of some sort? "What? Leave." 'Hmm, maybe this is a chance...?' She thought before quickly jotting down,

'You didn't have to. Thank you.' Rin stood and fled the room, never seeing the startled expression on the spider's face.

"Oh gods, Rin! Are you alright!?" Kagome exclaimed when she walked into the dressing room, examining the wound on her face. Rin didn't get a noise in before she was dragged to the full bathroom they had and began cleaning up the slashes. "That... That... bastard! I'm so glad Naraku banished him." Rin didn't know how effective that was, but if the war threat was true, she'd imagine even Ryukotsusei would want to avoid that. "This might scar, you'll need to be careful." She knew all about that.

"Oh my god, I just heard what happened. Rinny!" Yura cried, hugging Rin out of nowhere. Sango was close behind. "I'm so glad you are okay!"

Sango pulled the hair youkai off, "Let Kagome finish first."

"Oh, right, sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Let me just get the tape and bandages. Don't touch it!" Kagome returned quickly but seemed to having trouble. "This one is going to need stitches, Rin... You'll have to go to a hospital." She was grateful for their help and their concern, but she really, really needed to be alone. Rin grabbed Kagome's wrists, stopping her from going on and smiled at the woman as she lowered her hands. She quickly got up and gave each girl a hug, giving Sango especially a nice squeeze. It could have been a lot worse if she had not intervened.

"Are you going home?" Sango asked when she pulled away. Rin nodded.

"Don't you live alone? I don't like that one bit, he might go looking for you." Yura voiced, and she had her own worries about that as well-"Maybe you should crash at one of our places."-but she wasn't going to put anyone else in danger. Rin shook her head, moving away from the circle of women and quickly changing to more appropriate clothing.

"Rin, are you sure? I have an extra bed for guests, you can stay..." Rin shook her head again before Kagome could finish as she finished grabbing the last of her of things. 'Thank all of you, but I can't. I can't give him more reason to go after any of you.' She thought, waving goodbye to the women before leaving the club. The first stop was the usual clinic she went to with injuries beyond her scope. Though she knew how to stitch up wounds, she'd rather be more careful with one caused by a daiyoukai.

"Oh, Rin..." Doctor Suikotsu started, a soft hand on her face, tilting her head to the side to examine the wound. "This doesn't look human-made..."

Rin nodded and typed out on her speaking tablet. "Daiyoukai."

The doctor's eyebrows went up in shock, "What kind?"

She paused for a bit, she didn't know too much about youkai honestly but she knew dragons weren't that common... She decided against lying to the doctor, it might affect the treatment. "Dragon." The doctor frowned at the answer before he began to clean and seal the wound. Rin was not paying too much attention, zoning out when the needle began to pierce her skin. She thought she wouldn't have to come here again, as least not for something like this.

'Stop, not here... not now.' Rin tried to distract herself with other thoughts, 'With all this free time, hopefully I can head up to that shrine and see what Ryukotsusei is so desperate about.' She thought, 'But then what, if its something I can't give? Fight him?' Rin still had to meet up with Takahashi later at the ice cream parlor, though she wasn't sure if she was up for that. 'Its still a couple of hours from now. I should be fine after a quick nap, mostly.'

"Rin?" The doctor's voice pulled her attention back to reality, "I'm done here. I have some of that honey here you can take with you. Remember how to use it?" She nodded. "Okay... Then you are free to go. Please, Rin, be careful..." She was off, speeding towards her home, not wanting to be driving at the moment.

Rin scanned the area of her house, looking for anything suspicious, before she pulled up into the driveway. Her stomach rumbled as she walked inside her home, reminding her that she hadn't had a proper meal yet today. 'Something quick...' She didn't feel like eating but knew she needed something so she started a quick stir-fry of veggies and chicken.

"You ain't getting away." Rin spun around in shock—but no one was there. Her eyes darted around the kitchen, nothing. 'What...' She rubbed her temples, body tense. 'I'm hearing things.' She tried to resume cooking but the voice whispered again, "Never getting away..." Her eyes stung with fresh tears, 'Its in my head, its not real.' It had to be, because it was her father's voice.

He was dead. He was gone forever, he couldn't hurt her. One hand came up and rested on the bandage on her cheek, "I won't let you." She quickly turned off the burner, ran into her room and dove into her bed. 'Forget the food, too much today, I just need rest. Just need rest...' And willed herself into a fitful slumber.

-:-

Rin was relieved that Kohaku wasn't working at the moment, not knowing how to handle that at all. She slipped into the booth, sitting across Takahashi whose attention was on a tablet sitting up on the table. "You're late." She didn't answer, picking at her dessert a bit before she took a bite. She wasn't in the mood for ice cream, even ordered a tiny portion but felt it was still too much. His gaze finally moved up to meet hers, she caught the tensing of his jaw and the slight narrowing of his eyes. "Who is responsible for that?"

Should she tell him? He was after Naraku primarily, but seemed to show some interest about Ryukotsusei too in their discussion earlier. 'Those are two different beasts though...' She thought the dragon was easily much more unpredictable and dangerous, and saw the spider as more of a schemer. Eyes downcast, she continued swirling her spoon around her dessert as she shook her head. He didn't need to know-

"Was it the spider?" The young woman just shook her head again, she didn't want to talk about it. 'Please...' "Then the dragon." She didn't confirm his guess, and he seemed to grow impatient.

"I cannot do anything if you do not tell me." Wearied about the whole thing, Rin thought there wasn't much he could do. Yes, they discussed plans of how to cripple Naraku, ones that will moved into place very soon-but she just didn't believe it would so 'easy' with Ryukotsusei nor did she understand why.

Every question of why Takahashi dodged, and it didn't slip past her that he said nothing about police or even of the other crime lord, Sesshomaru. 'What if he is working for him? Or even Ryukotsusei?' Gods, she was getting paranoid.

Takahashi leaned forward in his seat, arms crossed over the table. "Do you doubt me?" Was it that obvious on her face? 'Does it even matter who he might be working for? As long as Naraku pays...' She sighed, 'Though he did stop Ryukotsusei... but that was only because we were in the club.' Rin sunk her face into her hands, she wished she could just make it all disappear.

She didn't want to sneak around Naraku's club or fight against Ryukotsusei... She may have been getting beaten months ago—but those days now seemed so much more simpler and safer than today. Disturbed by that thought, Rin looked back up at Takahashi to find him staring right back at her, blank as usual. Nothing in there. Even when speaking about Naraku earlier, it was all cold and calculated. No fear.

'How do you do that?' Rin wrote on a small pad she pulled from her purse.

"Do what?" She was half-way into writing when she stopped, and just scratched off the words. It didn't matter.

'A man named Bankotsu came in today, planning something. Not sure if he is important. Naraku banished Ryukotsusei from Shikon.' She wrote instead, knowing that was something he would be interested in knowing. 'Said he would declare war if he found him near it again.' The news seemed to surprise the man a bit,

"Does that have anything to do with you?"

Rin shrugged at the question, before writing. 'Think he wanted to do it for awhile now, I'm just the excuse.'

It was quiet after that, she finally got through her ice cream and was beginning to feel a bit better about everything though she really should get some real food in her. 'Maybe tacos...' There was a good Mexican place a couple blocks down. She looked at Takahashi, who was busy on his tablet-computer. 'Should I ask him to come? It can't hurt. Rather not go alone.' But she suddenly grew nervous, wondering how it would look if she asked him to come for dinner. 'It wasn't a big deal for him, Rin!'

But he was an attractive man, of course asking her wasn't a big deal for him. He probably asks ridiculously-gorgeous women out all the time, not to mention the crime lord hunting, his confidence was at a level she could only dream of reaching. 'And everything perfect.' His hair, clothing, always on point. Rin thought he may have a million suits, because she can't recall an outfit repeating yet. In fact, his mannerisms reminded her a lot of Sesshomaru...

"You are staring." 'Ah, oops.' She adverted her eyes immediately, embarrassed. "If you have something you wish to say, do so." Rin hesitated but eventually jotted down, 'Tacos?' and held the paper up, covering everything below her eyes so he hopefully doesn't see her blushing. A perfect eyebrow raised, and for a moment it looked as if he was totally going to make fun of her, but he just said "Okay." and made a move to stand.

'Okay? Really?' She thought, a bit shocked as they threw out their cups, gathered their things. She lead the way to the small, family-owned restaurant, feeling a bit ashamed as it was certainly not like the up-scale place he had taken her to... "Senor Takahashi!" '… Wait, what?' Rin looked on confused as the elder owner exchanged pleasantries with the stoic man, and they were sat almost immediately.

She pulled out her tablet this time, making sure the volume wasn't too loud before typing, "You've been here before?"

"Yes, with clients."

"It doesn't seem your style."

"Oh? And what is my style?"

"Expensive." Was all she typed, a small smile on her lips. He opened his mouth to retaliate but was interrupted by the waiter putting down some water and menus.

"Mr. Takahashi, would you be having the usual margarita?"

"Yes, one for the lady as well." She wasn't going to argue, because a margarita sounded amazing right now with the hell of a day she had, but again, not something she pictured him drinking at all. The waiter asked about food, and he ended up ordering their super-amazing fish tacos for them both. "You are staring, again."

"You... like tacos and margaritas?" The tablet butchered the pronunciation a bit on the last word.

"You seem to be fascinated with my eating habits." 'Because messy tacos, colorful margaritas, and sweet, awesome cookie dough ice cream are not what cold and fearless people eat.' She felt like saying, though she was aware of how ridiculous that sounded. 'Its not like attitudes dictate what someone eats...' But seeing him sipping on a bright blue drink with a little pink umbrella in it was just strange. She wasted no time on her's, nearly finishing it before the food came out.

"Ah, would you like another, senorita?" Rin nodded, grateful that the alcohol was distracting her from the stinging on her face and troublesome thoughts.

"So, what do you outside of work and side work?" She typed, before the food and refreshed drink was set before them.

"More work." He replied before taking a bite of his food. The answer made her smile, not at all surprised and she found that comforting. They ate most of the food without any chatter—not like Takahashi was going to initiate any small talk and she had her hands full-the silence broken once Rin finished her 4th margarita. "You may want to slow down."

Rin blinked up at him, feeling completely fine and amazing. Why would she slow down? Besides, he had as much as her! 'I think...? Maybe more!' "Would you two like anything else? Dessert, maybe? We do have a mexican chocolate martini-" Rin nodded excitedly, not letting him finish. The waiter looked at Takahashi expectantly, who seemed to be holding back a sigh.

"Very well, I'll have one as well." Rin smiled widely, doing a small clap of her hands. His lips twitched a bit, but he didn't say word as the waiter cleared the table.

She grabbed her tablet, "I'm paying. No fighting about that this time!"

Takahashi smirked—gods, did he look so handsome when he did that!-before replying, "I already took care of it."

Rin gasped, her mouth wide in shock before her expression broke into another smile, "Nooo! Sneaky!" She giggled at how absurd the tablet sounded, so robotic and flat. The young woman made a move to type something else when his hand laid over her's, making her gasp at the shock of his touch.

"I prefer when you write." That was it, nothing special, so why was her heart pounding and why did her mind insist on wondering how many different ways to interpret that? He pulled away when the waiter returned with their dessert drinks and Rin tried her damnedest to ignore how much she wanted his hand to stay. 'Maybe I did have too much...' A sip of the chocolate martini convinced her otherwise. This she could have allll night. She put away her tablet, and pulled a small pad of paper she still kept. 'Better?'

"Yes." She swore there was a tiny smile hidden behind his glass before he took a drink, or maybe that was the tequila talking...? Regardless, Rin smiled back before taking another long sip of her drink. They sat in comfortable silence until they finished their drinks, then she grabbed his hand and lead him the opposite way from where they came.

"Where are you taking me?" Takahashi asked, not resisting in the slightest. She grinned at him, enjoying his more relaxed state as she lead them down downtown's main street. The road was littered with shops, bars, and up-scale restaurants but she was interested in the park's garden that she hadn't had a chance to visit in such a long time. The most gorgeous flowers bloomed around this time of year... The sound of music interrupted her thoughts as she neared the park. It appeared some little festival was taking place, 'Ah, but he might not like that. Too much noise and people...'

"Do you wish to go in?" Takahashi whispered in her ear. 'Whoa, when did he get that close?' Rin tried really hard to not get lost in his eyes and completely forget what he just said, 'Huh, he really does have gold flecks in his eyes...' But that was futile. 'His skin is so perfect too. I need to know what he does. Steal all of his products. Yup.' "Rin...?" He raised a brow, 'Those eyebrows! Are they always just like that? No way. He has to have someone for that.' "Rin." 'Huh, his lips are nice too-' "Rin."

'Oh. Oops.' The young woman snapped out of her thoughts and brought her gaze back up to his eyes, 'Not his lips, that's not appropriate, Rin!' He seemed a bit annoyed, but far more amused. She tilted her head to the side in question, having not remembered what he asked... if he did ask anything. 'Were we even talking? I had too much.' "Do you wish to go in? I won't ask again..."

Rin smiled and nodded, both entering the small festival grounds. She noticed one of the banners read 'End of Summer Festival'. 'We have a festival for that?' She quickly got absorbed in the bright colors of green, red, yellow, blue and orange that dominated the stands; though one stand caught her eye right away, selling flowers.

"Ah, what a beautiful lady! I don't have much being the end of the day and all, but perhaps..." He grabbed a lily, with a lime-ish green center, its petals were a deep pink with darker spots scattered about, the edges of it white. 'Wow, its so pretty!' She began rummaging through her purse for cash but Takahashi had beat her to it. Rin took the flower, caressing its petals for a moment as she bit her bottom lip. She really wanted to thank him, 'Would a kiss on the cheek be too much for him?'

But she lost her nerve after taking just two steps closer to him, acting as if she was just going to walk around him. Whether he noticed, she wasn't sure, but he made no comment and just continued following her. There wasn't much around due the time of evening, she made a mental note to try and visit again before it was over-

"Do you trust me?" She blinked at the very sudden closeness, having been turned around and face-to-face with the man. 'How did he...? When... what?' Rin focused, nodding softly. 'What's going on?' "Some of Ryu's men are here." His hand cupped her wounded cheek, covering the bandage. Rin stiffened at the news, 'Are they looking for me? Is it just a coincidence?' He looked over head for a moment and glared, before getting way, way too close.

"Relax." Was the last warning she got before his lips crashed onto hers, his other arm wrapping around her waist and pressing her flush against him. Rin returned his embrace, hesitant before she pressed her lips firmly against his. Her body shivered when his tongue ran over her lower lip, asking for more. This time she didn't hesitate, opening her mouth willingly as he dominated the kiss. His tongue brushed against hers, earning a hushed moan from her. 'Okay, calm down, Rin!'

At that moment, they pulled away from each other a bit, and Rin saw... gold? Confused, she swiped her thumb at the top of his cheekbone, wondering if her unfocused vision was playing tricks on her. But Takahashi closed his eyes for only a moment, and they were blue again. 'Yup, never having that many margaritas from there again...' "Scared them off." Rin instantly relaxed at that; nothing scared people away more than public affection!

"We should go. Come." And she blindly followed, wondering where he could be taking her.

-:-

'Ughhh, my head.' Rin groaned, rolling over in a-'This is not mine.' She sat up quickly and immediately regretted it as she clutched her head. Then she realized the clothing she was wearing was certainly not hers either, but her underwear was still intact and on her body, except her bra... 'Where...?' The bed she was on was nothing short of amazing, fluffy white comforter and pillows that she could just... sink back into... 'No.'

The rest of the room was pretty plain and simple. The smell of bacon hit her senses like a wrecking ball and that was enough to get her legs moving. 'Takahashi? Cooking? Really?' She walked into the living room, struck by the view from the large window that made up an entire wall of the apartment.

They were still downtown... 'Oh, The Whole Scoop is right there in walking distance!' She knew exactly where she was. Rin strolled over to the small kitchen, offhandedly peering into the trash and back to the counter. There was a discrepancy between the amount of bacon cooked and the amount of packs in the trash...

Grabbing the pen and paper ready for her on the breakfast counter, she wrote, 'Did you have 3 pounds of bacon on your own?' He looked at her, then the trash, then the skillet and back at her.

"Perhaps..." Rin broke into a fit of giggles, before swiping a waffle, content to nibble on it as she stood next to him, watching him cook. He made a syrup using wild blueberries, a bunch of waffles—she briefly wondered if he ate a pound of those too-some scrambled eggs and was finishing a pack of bacon. He also was currently nibbling on a waffle, and she couldn't help but stare at how different he looked, wearing just sweatpants and a plain white tee, being able to see more clearly the shape of his muscles under-

Rin mentally shook off the naughty thoughts, looking down at what she was wearing, which appeared to be one of his shirts. He must have seen her pull on it questioningly, "You insisted that sleeping with clothes on was blasphemy. I did not want you to jump to conclusions in the morning, you comprised for one of my shirts." She let out a breath of relief, grateful she didn't anything too, too stupid.

"You then insisted I sleep in the bed with you because I'm warm and smell nice." And she spoke too soon. She shoved the rest of the waffle in her mouth, put her red face in her hands and simply walked away, not wanting to hear anything else. She decided to head into the bathroom before really digging in breakfast to check on her stitches.

Takahashi watched the young woman walk back down the single hallway of his small apartment, and enter the restroom. She appeared to be fine. It was not his intention to get her that drunk—drunk women are an absolute bother, but the human wasn't as terrible as he anticipated. It also appeared he was successful in removing any doubt in her mind of his intentions with Naraku and Ryukotsusei, which was the objective all along.

He put down another waffle in a few bites, mildly annoyed that he was not able to have his more caloric and nutrition dense demonic meat for the past two days, thus he had to have a grotesque amount of human food. Fortunately, Rin did not catch that slip up with the bacon, however... He munched down another waffle, before putting more batter on the iron.

The soft pad of her thumb brushed against his cheek, her brows were scrunched and her head tilted slightly to the side in confusion, staring directly into his eyes. His control had slipped, just for a brief moment, distracted by her. He shut his eyes and willed his disguise to the forefront of his mind; when he opened them again, she didn't make an attempt to ask or say anything. "Scared them off." But that got her mind off of it.

Best case was she would disregard it as a figment of her intoxicated mind... His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her phone vibrating on the counter. His sharp eyes caught the notification of a text message saying something about a shrine.

Takahashi heard the bathroom door click again, and glanced at Rin walking back into the kitchen, sitting on one of the stools at the breakfast bar next to him. Her bandage was missing, a type of cream appeared to drying on the cuts. He placed a white empty plate in front of her, before placing all the serving plates packed with breakfast food in a row within arms reach. The woman wasted no time, grabbing some of each and pouring the syrup over her pancakes happily.

"Your wound, its getting better." Rin gave him a closed smile and nodded in agreement. "Will you still not tell me what happened?" She frowned, swallowing the last of her food in her mouth. She seemed to be complementing her options, her eyes shifting from him to her pen before she eventually grabbed it,

'Ryukotsusei came in the club, bad mood. Tried picking a fight with a friend, I took him away. He was asking for an orb. I don't know yet what he was talking about. He thought I was lying, hit me. Sango and Naraku came and saved the day.' She passed the paper to him and he began reading as she sneaked in more bacon and eggs.

"Yet..." He had a very good idea of what Ryukotsusei was speaking of, but why would this human girl have something like that? She couldn't be a descendant from that bloodline, could she? "When will you know? Has he talked about this before?"

'Whenever they are ready for me.' She replied back.

"Who are 'they'?"

At this, Rin shrugged as she wrote, 'Wish I knew.' The pen stopped for a moment, she rolled it in-between in her fingers, staring at him, before continuing, 'I was invited to an event with Ryukotsusei last week, he wasn't the first who did and I certainly did not want to go. He threatened to kill the children on my block if I didn't go, I didn't want to find out if it was a bluff... At the end of the night, that's when he first mentioned it. He wants it, and promised to get me away from everything if I gave it to him, that he'd leave me alone forever and if not, well...'

Takahashi read the note entirely. 'Wise to not challenge his threat...' Ryukotsusei has, and will continue, to do anything, no matter how gruesome, to obtain what he wants. "No else was there? Nothing else happened at this... event?" He asked, feigning ignorance.

'Sesshomaru and Naraku were there as well. I told Ryukotsusei that Naraku killed my father, who was one of his 'lieutenants' over some land that he took afterward. That got Naraku angry.' She glanced up at him before writing her last line, 'But you already knew that, didn't you?'

Takahashi refused to react at her last bold question, asking coolly, "What do you mean?"

Rin flipped the paper around, frowning, not having anymore space to write. He gave her another from the pile not far from them, his gaze not leaving her's. 'I mean, you aren't the law. So you must be working for the only person you aren't interested in hearing about.' She paused again, 'And I don't care.'

He read her lines, his brow raising up at the last one. He expected her to have quite a problem working with someone she suspected was working with another crime lord. Sensing his confusion, she grabbed the paper again and wrote, 'You're nice. And I guess, from what I know anyway, Sesshomaru isn't... terrible. And do I really have a choice anymore if I want to live?'

Takahashi hated the way her eyes dimmed and lips became down-turned as she wrote, appearing weary, lonely, sad. And the mark of her face, further depressing her features. It didn't fit her. It wasn't right. She touched her stitches, and noticed her eyes becoming glassy. It made him irrationally angry. "You had a choice, and you made it." Her wide eyes looked at him, shocked. "And after we are through, you will not have to live in fear again."

'I hope so... but I know that along the way, many more will get hurt or worse, including myself, even you. After all, we are only expendable to this Sesshomaru, aren't we?' Rin looked down at the paper for a minute before shaking head, flipping it over instead of passing it to him to read. But he had already read the words, and did not like her finality about the situation.

Takahashi was not intentionally trying to get her hurt, or killed-nor was he so quick to allow that to happen anymore. He internally winced at that, it was not because he specifically cared for her, no. His hatred for senseless death and abuse was one difference he had developed over the centuries from his competitors. And he believed she earned some of that mercy. However, unless he wanted to drop the bomb on her now, it wasn't something he could explain so clearly to her, if he had even wanted to, and what little trust she had developed over his human persona would be lost, as she for certain had none for his true daiyoukai form.

The man saw her using her phone, perhaps reading the message she received earlier. She stood from her stool and ran into his bedroom. Takahashi kept himself busy with loading the dishwasher and stuffing himself with the last of food out of her sight. He made a mental note to never again have alcohol on a stomach barely filled with human food. She came out not too long afterward, fully dressed in her simple v-neck, shorts and the flower he bought last night tucked behind her ear.

She looked... adorable, and his inner youkai pride scoffed at the thought. She began quickly jotting on a new sheet of paper. Once done, she turned to him, pushed the paper on his chest with one hand, got up on the tips of toes and placed a quick peck on his cheek. He noticed her flushed pink cheeks before she ran out the front door, and he let out a breath he didn't know had been holding.

'I really have to go now. Thank you for the food, the night, everything. I know its probably just your job... but I really needed that, and I'm so grateful. Thank you.' He read, again left unsure as to how he was suppose to feel. 'She is just a broken girl, any attention from a man she would be grateful for.' His mind leered, 'Such a weak girl is a waste of time.' Takahashi frowned, he didn't know any of that, though he couldn't argue that, as a daiyoukai, he had no time for the silly affections of a human woman but, perhaps as Takahashi...

The daiyoukai rubbed the back of his neck as his disguise faded away, letting out a small sigh of relief as he let his youki free. Staring out his window, his sharp vision caught her right away, a small bounce in her step. He kept his eyes on her until she rounded a corner, out of his sight. His attention shifted back to the paper in his clawed hand, reading it other again, annoyed at the warmth of its words and that little jolt he felt when her lips unknowingly brushed against his sensitive stripes. He growled at his thoughts, shredding the paper and throwing the rest in the trash bin.

'Ridiculous.' He sneered, determined to get through the rest of the day without another thought about her.

-;-

After a few hours, Rin finally reached her destination, an old shrine far from city limits. Very far. Too far. She exited her car, eyes stuck on the large flight of stairs she had to climb. 'Of course...' She sighed, making her way up. Once at the top, she pulled out her tablet, walking up to a young woman who had her back to her as she swept the flat stone ground.

"Excuse me?"

"Rin?!" Kagome exclaimed, startled. Rin blinked at her friend, fully dressed in a traditional priestess garb. "What are you doing here?!"

"I was told to come here..." She typed unsure. A small, elder woman left the modern house to her left, walking up to the two.

"Ah, you must be Rin. Both know each other?"

"Yes, Kaede, she's from school." Kagome replied instantly. Rin just nodded, not entirely sure what was going on. 'School? Why is she lying?'

"Wonderful. I am Kaede, the caretaker of this shrine here." The elder woman gave her a little smile, "You look just like Emiko." Rin bowed her head in thanks, feeling a bit strange about the comparison. She knew she looked like her mother, that didn't bother her, but so little people were still around that knew her... "Please come inside. Kagome, once you are done, take a rest, you have earned it."

"Yes, Kaede!" The pair walked inside the home and she felt something wrong right away, the hairs on her back raised, her arms got goosebumps, and felt short of breath.

"Do you feel that, Rin?" She just nodded, following the old woman to a black and gold box that sat innocently on the coffee table in the living room. 'Is this it...?' Rin placed a hand on the box, it was... humming. 'This is what he wants...?'

"I did not want to drop this on ye so quickly. There is training, history that needs to taught, procedures that need to be learned... but I fear the seal is weaker than I originally thought." She gave her a questioning look, waiting for her to elaborate. "It is best that you take a seat. I will get some tea. Then, we will talk."

Rin slid into the chair nearby, not taking her eyes of the golden dragon that decorated the lid. 'Mother didn't want him to have this.' She had to see it, her hands undid the simple lock, she had to see what had been causing her so much grief.

Kagome stopped her, "Trust me, you don't want to do that. It sends out some pulse of energy when opened, doesn't feel nice."

"Only when others try to open it. It is fine for Rin's blood to open and touch its contents, it will not radiate its energy in her hands." Kaede explained as she shuffled her way back into the room with a tray of green tea. Kagome helped the elder woman set the tray down and serve all the women.

"So... can she?" Kagome asked, sounding a bit excited. 'Looks like she is just as curious as I am.' Rin thought, waiting for a response.

"Aye, it is always best to see what you are dealing with." Rin did not need more than that, quickly opening up the box. A small, black orb sat in the middle of a rich, black satin pillow, almost blending into the fabric. She gingerly picked up the orb, letting it roll onto her palm and rest there, feeling the vibration of its soft humming. It sparkled brilliantly, almost as if the darkest night sky and brightest stars were trapped in its walls. She noticed when she moved the orb, its glimmers stayed flat, not moving along with the glass.

"Its pretty..." Kagome mumbled, staring at it with wide eyes. She then grimaced, looking back at Rin. "And if my training has taught me anything so far, its that the beautiful mystical items are the most dangerous."

Kaede hummed in agreement, "In the wrong hands, yes, it is a terrible thing." Rin's jaw tensed, her other hand instinctively moving to the covered wound on her cheek.

"Ryukotsusei." Kagome stated in disbelief, as if something finally made sense to her. "This... He came after you for this?"

"You have a dragon tailing ye for the orb?!" Both women flinched at the sudden outburst from the quiet elder, "This is no good, not at all. You must appeal to the youkai council at once." Kaede rose from her chair, "Quickly, put it back." Rin did as told at once, the elder beginning to make her nervous. 'Youkai council, what is she talking about?'

"They didn't want to help with the Shikon No Tama, or the water god, or the flaming horse, or, well, anything. They barely helped with the hell sword... Why would they want to help with this?" Kagome sneered, obviously having some kind of distaste for this council.

"They have no choice, unless they wish for history to repeat itself once more..." Kaede sighed, calmer than before. "Are you able to stay a couple of days, Rin?"

"Uh..." Rin looked between both women and back to the closed box, 'What... I...' She was growing real tired of the hand life dealt her. The young woman just nodded, hoping that, at least way out here, she would not have to worry over her problems in the city.

Kagome grabbed her shoulders, a smile on her face, "I'm here for you if you need anything, you know that right?" She smiled back at her friend, giving one of her hands a squeeze.

Rin drew out her tablet, typing, "Where do I start?"

End of Chapter 7

A/N: Wow, I can't believe how long its been since I published this story. Thank you for those sticking to it and reviewing. Hope you like this chapter. Happy Valentine's Day!