As the days went by, Sesshomaru spent his nights on the roof, but since his initial statement he never mentioned anything else about it. When the sun rose he went on his own path, however he came back every night. Sometimes he stayed the early morning hours, watching Rin as she did her chores, but other times he arrived so late, she was long asleep. He never missed a night, he was dependable, it made it seem like was starting to show a more obvious side of his loyalty.
Sesshomaru was always in the near area, so close that if Rin cut her fingers he was able to smell the blood, he never wondered too far. Sometimes he watched her from the hilltop under the shadow of a big oak tree, without her even realizing it. These were the times Mazaru usually approached Rin, trying to lure her to take a walk with him on the shore. If he didn't succeed, he then tried to convince her to pay a visit to the camp, and get to know all the soldiers. He was behaving like there was no question if Rin was going to accept the marriage offer, like she just needed some time to put her shyness aside. He showered her with every little detail about the palace, the right etiquette every lady should know and use, he told her about all the rare sweets and treats and luxuries she could have once she decided to leave this village with him. He was preparing her to be his wife. Rin listened to all this politely but she didn't seem to care too much, she never formed any questions regarding the topic.
"Never knew you were this patient" Inuyasha observed as he joined his brother late in the afternoon. Both of them stood under the tree, arms crossed, deep in thoughts. Sesshomaru never replied. " Is this how I was supposed to guard your territory? The exact way you do it now?" He scoffed.
Sesshomaru gave him a side eye." You know when Jaken arrived he scolded me pretty much for not defending you territory well enough. You know, you never told me, you intended to come back and claim what you left here that day. We all thought you were just going to keep visiting." The hanyou's way of wording was intentional. The Inuyoukai knew that, his younger brother was just trying to force a reaction out of him.
" Jaken doesn't know what he speaks " he stated.
" I'm sure he doesn't " Inuyasha nodded ironically. " Why do you let him spend so much time with her? Don't you know he wants to marry her? " he pointed a finger at Mazaru holding a bucket for Rin down at the wooden well. "Why don't you send him away?"
" Why would this Sesshomaru do such thing?" His eyes followed the samurai's every tiny movement.
" Don't you care if Rin marries him?"
" If Rin wishes to, she shall have it."
" If she wishes to?"
" Hai, if she wishes to."
" But she doesn't wish to, I know, because she told Kagome. She is not interested in that guy. Besides that guys hates demons. How are you going to visit her afterwards?"
" That won't be a problem " he turned away to leave.
" What are you talking about? Of course it will be a problem… unless, you don't even intend to keep seeing her." Realization hit Inuyasha so hard, he felt deep disappointment.
" If she marries him, more likely she will be moving to Edo palace, that samurai knows too much just to be a simple warrior, and looking at the number of his people, he must be a son of a highly ranked man."
" So you say she is better off with him than…?"
" Than with who, Inuyasha? Don't you be jumping to the conclusions on a matter that's not even your business " The Inuyoukai warned him. Inuyasha knew he was too close to stepping over his boundaries but he still didn't understand his brother's intentions.
" I thought…"
" Think less, then."
Sesshomaru was nowhere to be seen in a matter of a second.
"Ch!" The hanyou grunted " Your damn pride is going to be your end."
"So as I was saying, the imperial garden is something you must see, my Lady" Mazaru explained to Rin while she was sorting through the laundry. He kept her company that day for hours, and honestly she felt she would be very thankful for a little bit of silence now. Mazaru was so different from Sesshomaru. He was loud and very forthcoming, very talkative which normally she wouldn't mind, but not in this case, not when all he spoke about was how she must go back with him to the capital when he leaves.
For her sake, the samurai's monologue was cut short by two cheerful voices "Rin!" Kin'u and Gyokuto were both running and waving at her with excitement. Behind them a quite tired looking Sango was walking slowly holding her five year old son, Hisui.
When the girls reached Rin, they jumped up at her perfectly synchronized. She almost fell, but managed to remain on her feet, hugging the girls tightly to her hips. They both were seven years old now, but sometimes they acted like they were still toddlers.
"Girls! Didn't I tell you not to jump on her like that?" Sango reached the little group and scolded her daughters immediately " Gomenne Rin, they are always excited to see you" she bowed apologetically.
"It's okay, don't worry Sango, I am happy to see them as well" she answered and pet the twins head lovingly. " What can I help you with?"
"Well, I hoped the twins could help you out with some chores while I do a big cleanup in the hut! I need to put away a lot of winter stuff and they're going to be in my way, not to mention I already have Hisui , so if you could watch them for a couple of hours it would mean a lot to me" she finished and looked at the young girl with hope in her eyes. Sango needed help even when the twins were younger and Rin would always came to her aid quickly. She never had any siblings so she was happy she could spend time with other children, even if they were younger than her by ten years or so.
"Of course Sango, you know I like to be with them!" She smiled and the demon slayer sighed with relief. " Please give them work to do, I brought them here to help you, not the other way around " Sango added while she left to continue her work.
"So what are we doing?" Kin'u asked her while Gyokuto started circulating around Mazaru. Rin gave them a suspicious look but she answered "You help me with the laundry ".
The twins started sorting but only a couple of minutes passed by before one of them spoke up. "Why are you always following Rin?" Kin'u asked while looking at the samurai. Rin gasped in horror while Mazaru only chuckled. "Kin'u, you shouldn't say something like that."
"Why?"the other twin questioned her" He is doing it though" she crossed her arms like she was gonna throw a tantrum.
"It's okay"Mazaru said smiling "I am following her,that's true. But only because she keeps shying away from me" he chuckled again and looked at the older girl who stopped in the middle of her chores to listen to the discussion.
" Oh, so you like her?" Kin'u jumped up in excitement.
"Yes, indeed, I like her very much" Mazaru admitted never taking his eyes off of Rin. She didn't hold the eye contact though.
The twins were processing what the samurai said for a couple of moments and looked at the girl in the same time"Are you getting married then?" Gyokuto asked.
" Oh, Kami, that is something you shouldn't ask" Rin's face looked pale for a moment.
" True, Gyokuto, you know she can't marry him!" Kin'u looked at her twin with disbelief in her eyes "You know she is going to marry Sesshomaru-sama, we talked about this already!"
"What?!" Mazaru and Rin yelled at the same time.
" Aren't you?" Kin'u looked at her with raw curiosity and for a second Rin thought she was going to pass out. Where did the girls get this idea? "Isn't it why he sits on your roof?" The twins continued " Isn't it why he was visiting you all the time?"
"You girls really shouldn't think about stuff like this, you're way too young for such talk" Rin barely was able to speak. She was in shock.
" Yes girls," Mazaru looked at them" Besides he is a demon, he can't marry Rin, that would be disgusting and disturbing."
" Sesshomaru-sama is not disgusting " Rin's voice was barely audible so she repeated her words " He is not disgusting." First time since Mazaru met Rin, he saw something in her eyes, he would never thought he could see directed towards him; he saw anger.
" I was not trying to insult you " he said apologetically.
" You did, by insulting him, you insult me" she put the laundry down and took a step closer. "Gomenne, Lady Rin, I was just trying to clarify the obvious" the samurai added when and uneasily feeling took him over. " Ningens belong with ningens, a Youkai outlives a hundred of ningen lives, not to mention a demon clan would never accept a mortal as their own." His gentle words hurt her even if they weren't intentional. Didn't matter how much she tried to hide her feelings, the sadness that overtook Rin was crystal clear in her eyes. Mazaru creased his eyebrows when an instant thought came to his mind. Maybe there was more to Rin declining the marriage offer than just mere shyness.
"Hai" Rin nodded in utter despair.
"But Rin belongs with Sesshomaru-sama!" Kin'u declared with her arms crossed, she wouldn't have it the other way. She seemed impossible to be convinced.
"Shush now, Kin'u" Rin crouched down to take the girls face in her hands " Sesshomaru-sama is responsible for the whole western lands, he won't marry someone who can't rule with him" she turned her head when Gyokuto stepped closer and spoke " But he doesn't seem like he wants to rule" she fussed.
" Girls, it's enough " Rin straightened herself and took the basket in her hand. " Go on, and hang those clothes out for me." She dismissed the twins just before she saw Jaken approaching.
"Rin! Sesshomaru-sama is looking for you" the imp didn't even stop for a second, he walked over the forest looking like something was bothering him. And something was indeed. A tired sigh left him as he reflected on the earlier conversation he witnessed:
"Why ya Lord comes around this much?" Kaede stood in the doorway of Rin's hut. The girl was out with Mazaru again, doing laundry, something that seemed to become more frequent nowadays. While the Daiyoukai seemed to be determined to leave place for whatever was happening between the two of them. Almost like he wanted to see how Rin chooses if he doesn't influence her.
"My lord does as he pleases " the toad answered as he exited the small building.
"Ya we're burning herbs inside" Kaede stated. "Does the smell bothers your lord?"
"All those chests smell like that man, of course it does bother him" as the answer came, he quickly realized he said too much. Unbeknownst to Rin, he neutralized the smell every day since his Lord decided to spend the nights close to her. He was patient and had steely self control , but he loathed the smell of another man.
" Yet he still sits on this roof every night "Kaede lifted the rush flap to let the thick smoke out. She coughed couple of times before wondering howcome the girl never noticed what the imp did in her home during the day." Yet he doesn't make Rin throw out the gifts she received. Very devoted ye lord is."
" Sesshomaru-sama doesn't order Rin around " Jaken leaned against the wall, trying hard to figure out where this conversation was leading to.
"Very special treatment she gets from ye lord, unlike you."
"Rin is not a servant of Sessomaru-sama."
"What is she to him then?"
"You are old, and for a ningen you are quite clever as well. My lord appreciates that you have taken care of Rin, but don't you try to interfere. Sesshomaru-sama doesn't forgive the mistakes." They shared some serious glances, however the old miko started smiling as she sensed another presence just from above them.
"If we don't see all of our possibilities we might never make the decision we should. Some of us needs to see clear." she said while turning her head up to look at the Youkai standing on the roof.
"Go fetch Rin" he ordered, the toad demon left in a matter of a second.
Sesshomaru landed in front of Kaede, but not too close to her. Standing there as still as a painting,some would think he was as empty inside as a vase.
"Presence without purpose can be as painful as no presence at all." With that said, the old miko left the Daiyoukai to linger on what she just told him.
She didn't favor the demon lord per se, but she couldn't overlook the fact that he clearly had Rin's best interest at heart. If he even possessed a heart…
She could only hope that he wouldn't take too long to realize what she could already see. Mazaru wasn't the only man infatuated with Rin, she knew this. Yes, she was old, but not blind. The Inuyoukai started to act on his instincts lately, and his instincts were making it clear that before he was a Youkai, he was a man.
But for someone as inexperienced as Rin, these facts weren't enough for her to read between the lines. "
Rin met Sesshomaru at the edge of the village. It was quite late in the afternoon, the sun started setting a while ago, it was very unlikely from the Daiyoukai to take her out this late. She didn't question him, she never did. Rin trusted him with her whole life. If he decided to march in the deep forest at this hour, it was only because he knew there wasn't anything more dangerous out there than Him.
He suddenly stopped in front of a large rocky cliff and turned his attention to Rin who was already forming a question.
" How are we..?"
Sesshomaru stepped closer to her, closer than ever which made her gasp in surprise. Her cheeks flushed red before she could turn her face to hide her embarrassment. From this distance Rin was able to smell his phenomenal strong scent. It reminded her of the early mornings in the heart of the forest, the dew and early sun rays. She took a deep breath trying to memorize his signature smell forever.
Who knows how long until she can be this close to him again?
His left arm took Rin by the hips, and pressed her body to his chest. His torso was soft and rock hard at the same time. She didn't know how to react, she was completely paralyzed by the feeling of their bodies touching, even if there were layers of clothing between them. He never touched her if it wasn't for protection. He never came this close, he never looked in her eyes this deep. All these tiny sensations and thoughts made her blood boil in her veins. Rin's hands were shaking in excitement when she took a hold of on his spikes. She knew he held her because he wanted to jump up on the top of the cliff, but that didn't change the fact that she wished this touch would never end.
These sudden thoughts made her feel embarrassed, she scolded herself for being so weak, so human, that she was completely lax upon his physical closeness. Her head was buzzing, her muscles shaking, knees weak, skin tingling and the worst of all; the warm sensation under her belly.
Sesshomaru smelled a new but faint sweet scent coming from his companion, he looked at her with suspicion in his eyes; eyebrows slightly creased. He landed themselves on the ground and stepped away from the woman so fast like it hurt him physically to be closer.
She realized they were now on the top of the cliff, still amazed by her lord's otherworldly abilities after all these years.
There was a big old sakura tree right on the edge of the cliff, it's roots were holding it there for what is seemed like a million lifetimes.
But it looked very lonely though.
There was nothing else nearby; not a single bush. Just the sakura tree standing tall and proud, it's little flowers looked reddish from the setting sun's light. The whole scenery was unbelievably beautiful and serene, Rin felt like she had entered a secret place, something that was hidden from the prying eyes.
She walked right to the edge, and sit down under the tree. Sesshomaru followed, and took his place behind the girl.
She could see her whole village from up there; even the river and the crop fields were easily seen.
Jaken and Ah-un weren't present, so she somehow figured it out that this exact moment was just for her. The Youkai took her here, and only her, because this was meant for Her. The girls heart was overflowing with joy and a sudden warmth.
She knew, she sensed; this must be love she was feeling.
Of course she loved Him from the very first time she met Him, she always loved him. But this love changed just as much as she did. It was instinctive at first, it was innocent. However as the time passed and she slowly matured, this feeling became stronger, and different in it's core.
"Thank you Sesshomaru-sama, you always know how to make me happy." She said fighting with the tears forming in her eyes. He didn't answer.
Rin turned her head back to look at the man sitting behind her.
He looked so stoic, so calm but she knew that somewhere deep inside there was a gentleness buried he showed only towards her. This relaxed state of her lord meant he was enjoying himself, and this thought made her even happier.
Sesshomaru sat under the sakura, with his back leaned against the tree, eyes closed and no emotions on that perfect face. The wind played with his beautiful silver strands, and even blew some pink petals in his Mokomoko, and she had to push away the urge to gently stroke it. His skin was like a canvas beautifully painted by the setting sun. He was absolutely gorgeous.
And at that exact moment she felt it; something flipped inside her soul and the love she was cherishing for him has changed forever.
It was the exact moment when Rin fell in love.
Neither of the spoke for a long time, when the sun was completely gone and the moon started showing only then she found her voice.
" How can someone be the happiest person ever and heartbroken at the same time?" She wondered aloud for a brief moment while gazed at him again. His eyes opened and gave her a curious expression, that meant he was listening to whatever was she wanted to say.
"Something troubles Rin" He leaned forward; one eyebrow slightly raised.
"The only thing that's troubling me it's time."she turned her head away in embarrassment. Long brown locks were hiding her face from the analyzing ambers.
"Speak more precisely" it sounded like a demand but it truly was an appeal.
"It's that I don't have any!" Rin's frustration was clear from her voice, and when she met his golden sight, not just tears were dwelling in hers, but something else was present as well, something he hoped he'd never see; pain.
"You needn't trouble yourself over something that's out of your control " he replied and leaned back towards the tree. Before he could start dazing off again, her voice cut through the silence once more. "Hai Sesshomaru-sama, gomene, I shouldn't have been bothering you with such foolish nonsense."
This sentence however made him sit up straight, both eyes shot open, his attention fully on Rin now. Something was clearly bothering her, and it was more she had told him.
What did she mean by not bothering him with the amount of time she had in her life? Did she mean he wasn't going to be a part of her future?
Or she meant she wasn't trusting him to stay loyal to her all of her life?
Or worse; was this a way of telling him that she was going to accept the marriage offer from that prick?
What did she want to say? Was she sick? Was she bored of seeing him? Was she in love with the ningen?
She realized she made him think very hard, because he wasn't blinking for minutes now. He's eyes ran up and down on her, trying to find another clue to what she was trying to express.
He was completely clueless.
"Don't worry yourself over it this much, you're eyebrows are wrinkled " Rin giggled and before she could think it through, her hand lifted and touched his face, right there where his two eyebrows met.
He liked it so much, he had to surpass his urge to growl in pleasure. The Inuyoukai's lids closed upon her caressing the skin with delicate fingers. Rin knew this was a rare occasion to let anyone lay a hand on him, especially if it was a loving touch; so she tried to enjoy this moment as long as it lasted.
"Explain your thoughts to this Sesshomaru " his sudden baritone made her heart jump, and she attempted really hard to find an answer for Him. Brushing thought her finger on his forehead, Rin finally spoke. "I wish to be under the crescent moon forever, and my forever isn't enough for me."
He examined her for a short time, then cupped her cheek with his right hand, his clawed thumb resting on the corner of her cherry lips. Rin leaned in his touch, it was the first time he caressed her this delicately, she wanted to remember this moment for eternity.
Sesshomaru let out a deep sigh, then pulled her next to him so close, their arms and legs were pressed against each other's.
"The crescent moon will follow you wherever your journey takes you" he spoke, his eyes focused on the horizon.
She smiled and rested her head on his shoulder. She was overjoyed, he let her touch him, and he even touched her back. It's was so unlike him, but it was so sweet. He gave her another part of himself, he gave no one. She felt special, unique.
And unique she was.
She was the girl who was nestled all night in the Mokomoko of the Lord of The Western Lands under a lonely Sakura tree.
And Sesshomaru wouldn't accept any other.
He couldn't think of any other.
She had this much power over him.
And that night while she was peacefully sleeping in his embrace he came to finally realize it.