A/N: things are about to get very interesting. Read on with caution…mwahaha!

It was nearly October again as Rin sat out in the garden by the koi pond. The summer had been stifling after the monsoons were over and Rin was glad that it was starting to cool off once more. He had spent far more time away at meetings after their conversation in june, and Rin couldn't help but blame herself for it. She regretted the trouble she always seemed to get in with her mouth. She was wearing Sesshomaru's moko once again- he usually let her have it when he was at the manor, knowing how much she liked it. She sighed and pulled the fur a little tighter around her, breathing in the scent of it as she stared at the koi swimming lazily around the little pond.

"Rin."

She jumped a little, jolted from her thoughts at the sound of his voice directly behind her. She quickly got to her feet and faced him. "yes, Sesshomaru-sama?"

"I need to leave before noon today. I need my moko back." His face was sharper than usual and he looked wound tight, which he was normally opposite around her.

"milord, is something the matter?" she asked in concern. He glared sharply at her.

"my fur. Now." She flinched at his angry tone and quickly gave up the thick fluff, handing it over. "I will be gone for seven days. Keep up with your studies. And keep jaken close to you at all times, especially if you decide to leave the manor."

Rin finally realized he was wound tight with some sort of concern, not anger, and certainly not anger at her. She nodded, giving a small bow of deference. "I understand, Sesshomaru-sama. I will do as you say."

She was startled as he suddenly stepped very close to her, looming over her slight frame. He pressed something small but heavy into her hands and stepped away without another word, going to the stable to fetch Ah-Un. Rin looked down at her hands, finding a coin purse, which was clearly full if weight were anything to go by. She watched him leave the manor behind on the back of the gentle two-headed dragon, then went to find jaken, an idea already forming in her mind…

"what do you want now?" Jaken squawked grumpily, not liking having his duties interrupted by the troublesome young woman.

"we're going to town," Rin said firmly, weighing the heavy purse in her hands again. "there's a market in the village nearby, and I want to buy a present for Milord. You are to accompany me…and obey me," she added, lying a little at the end.

"Sesshomaru-sama said no such thing to me!" the little imp snarled in outrage. "you silly little girl! I will not be commanded by the likes of humans, now or ever!"

Rin shrugged. "it was he who said it, not me." She walked back to the porch of the mansion. "come along, Jaken. We're going to the market."

"this is completely unfair! I will not be commanded by you! And I am not going!" he insisted, crossing his arms.

"well, I am going, and you're supposed to protect me." Rin's patience was wearing thin for the grouchy little toad. "we're wasting daylight."

"HMMPH!" Jaken stubbornly sat down on the porch in the doorway, refusing to budge. Rin shrugged, fetching a parasol and heading off, nodding politely to one of the servants as she left the main gate and headed to the village a couple of miles away. With any luck, she would get there and have time to shop before dinnertime, and could grab something she could eat on the walk home. It was a trading village, on the larger side, and had a very fine and well-stocked market street.

Rin reached the market by mid-afternoon. She didn't like the crowd of people- even after living in old kaede's village for four years straight, she couldn't handle too many strangers at once. But she pressed on in search of something Sesshomaru-sama might like.

At a sake house nearby the market stalls, three younger men sat, watching the crowd like vultures. They immediately spotted Rin in the throng, as everything from the fine parasol to her colourful, fancy yukata stuck out from the commoners around her. "my, my, my," commented one of the men, "what a lovely little thing."

"she would fetch a high price at the brothel," commented his friend with an evil smirk. Rin was too far away to hear them, and distracted by a merchant selling hair pins. The men nodded to one another and decided to keep a close eye on her to see if they could get her alone, away from the crowds. It was clear she—very foolishly—had no escort, so the task would be a simple one.

Rin hummed cheerfully to herself as she went from merchant to merchant down the market lane, finding hair pins and fine cloth to make new kimono from. She debated what sort of present Sesshomaru-sama would like. He had everything he needed and didn't keep anything he didn't, so it had to be a practical gift. Her eyes fell upon a stall selling paperweights. He read and wrote on scrolls all the time, and used paperweights to stop them from rolling up before the ink was dry. Perfect! She found one made of jade with the character for dog carved into the top and bought it, tucking it into the little bag she had brought along. Now, for dinner so she could be on her way- but the street was so crowded she couldn't see any signs for restaurants through the mass of people in every direction.

Rin started to panic slightly as she realized she didn't know which way she had come into town. A deliberately waving hand caught her attention and she stepped toward a nice-looking young man. "are you lost, young miss?" he asked, seeming concerned for her welfare.

"oh, it's all right. I just can't find the tea house. I was hoping to get some dango so I could eat on the way back to my home." She smiled gently, trying not to feel so nervous- clearly the man was only trying to be friendly. "would you know where it is?"

The man nodded eagerly. "it's just down there, take the first right turn. It's an alley, but there's a door there. Just go in, and one of the servers will help you right away." She nodded her thanks and followed his directions quickly, trying to get out of town as soon as she could, starting to feel more uneasy.

As Rin turned into the alley the man had indicated she quickly stopped in her tracks, noting with panic that there was no promised door. The alley was a dead end. She quickly spun on her heel to leave as quickly as she'd come, but the young man—flanked now by two more young men—was blocking her way out. She quickly changed her expression from panicked to angry. "get out of my way," she tried to threaten, but the man just laughed at her.

"you're coming with us, beautiful," he smirked, taking two long strides and grabbing her by the arm tightly.

"wh- HEY! Let me go!" she scolded them as loud as she could, but there was little hope of anyone nearby hearing her over the din of the market street. She smacked sharply at his wrist, but without her dagger she had no idea of how to fight the man off. "Sesshomaru-sama will hear about this!" she threatened. But the man just laughed in her face, pinning her sharply to the alley wall.

"funny, I don't see him around," the man breathed on her, stinking of alcohol. "and you're so weak it's adorable." She whimpered, turning her head away. He pulled her arms away from where they protected her chest and started tugging sharply at her clothes. "let me go!" she barked again, struggling against the man's too-strong hands.

He laughed darkly. "you're pretty all right, and young- but unfortunately they pay more for a girl with some experience-" he managed to pull her top open by ripping the fine fabric of her yukata. She whimpered, closing her eyes- but suddenly the man had let her go.

Rin gasped and looked up just in time to see the man collapse to the alley dirt, dead with a hole through his chest the size of a fist. A specific fist. "Sesshomaru-sama!" she cried in relief, covering her chest by crossing her wrists, holding the torn fabric shut as best she could.

Sesshomaru snarled angrily, his hand still glowing with faint green light, prepared to dispatch the other men whose intentions were clear by the scent of their arousal. One man tried to flee and Sesshomaru caught him, squeezing his neck mercilessly until he heard it crack and saw the light in his eyes disappear. The third man tried to draw a sword and attack the DaiYoukai lord. Sesshomaru caught and melted the blade with his poison, then stabbed him with his claws also, splattering blood on the alley wall carelessly.

Some of that blood landed on Rin, who flinched and stirred out of her shocked inaction. Without another thought, she fled the carnage and the situation she'd just been through, keeping her wrists crossed across her chest to keep her torn yukata closed. She made it outside the village and into the forest beside the main path before she had to stop, shivering.

Sesshomaru partially returned to his senses once the three men were dead, and realized Rin was no longer in the alley. Following her scent, he pursued her, almost hunting her. He shouldn't be around her at this time of year- he was supposed to be in a different province by now, preparing for the Running to start in another two days. He wasn't fully in his right mind and he very well knew it. But some instinct even deeper than lust had made him stay to watch over Rin, as if he'd known something bad would happen to her in his absence. And it very nearly had. If he'd been just minutes later finding her…he snarled again and continued, needing to assure himself that she was safe. Then, he swore once she was back at the manor he would leave immediately and not return until he was sane once more.

Rin heard the rustling of bushes as something came barrelling towards her through the forest and took off running again in fright. She could not deal with two things in one day. Sesshomaru caught her arm gently and spun her around to face him. She let out a sharp squeak of fright, then relaxed when she saw it was only him. She curled into his chest, only now realizing he wasn't wearing his armor- how unusual. "that was scary…thank you…" she murmured, shivering slightly against him.

Sesshomaru held Rin close to him for a few moments, reassuring himself that she was indeed safe and well. He felt his conscious control slipping as his eyes clouded over. His hands began to move of their own accord, shifting to gently pull the top of her torn kimono from her shoulders.

Rin looked up at him in confusion as her shoulders were bared, still covering her chest. His hands were warm on her skin and…not unwelcome, but… "what are you doing?" she asked him softly, concerned at the feral look in his eyes. This was not the aloof InuYoukai she was used to.

She let out a small involuntary yelp as he pinned her abruptly to the ground, slicing her sash in two with his claws impatiently, all semblance of self-control gone. He was no better than a wild animal in the shape of a man. "I will teach you myself of the intimacy of a man," he managed to growl. Rin's eyes widened with alarm. No! too young! I'm still too young! Her mind immediately clamoured. Her heart whispered timidly, sesshomaru-sama would never hurt us… and her body- well. Her body had nothing to say, but it certainly knew what was expected of it…

They entered the gate to the manor's garden just as the sun was going down. Rin was wrapped in Sesshomaru's jacket, which didn't cover her as well as her yukata had that afternoon. It, unfortunately, would only be useful for rags now, between the bloodstains and the fact that it was very dirty from the forest floor and partly shredded by somewhat careless claws.

Sesshomaru had insisted on carrying her and hid her bare legs with his fluff. As he headed swiftly for the manor itself, he spotted Jaken still sitting where Rin had left him hours before. He had dozed off waiting for her to come back. Sesshomaru growled low in his throat at the sight, startling the imp awake. He jumped to his feet. "Milord! You're back so soon!" he blurted eagerly. "and you brought Rin back too!"

"Yes, I have. And I noticed you weren't there with her." In point of fact he doubted if he would have noticed a twenty foot troll next to her at the time- he had been focused solely on her. He stepped up the two stairs to the porch. "she was attacked, Jaken," he intoned shortly, stepping on the imp's head. "get out of my sight before I kill you."

As soon as the foot was lifted, Jaken scurried off out of sight, terrified. His nose wasn't nearly as good as his master's, but he knew by 'attacked' sesshomaru-sama hadn't meant cuts and bruises. Poor Rin…

Sesshomaru set Rin on her feet outside the door to her room and took off his moko, leaving it for comfort before going to his own room and shutting the door. He sat in silence for a moment before it finally fully registered what it was he had done…

Rin, on the other hand, had known what was happening from the beginning. What she didn't understand was why it had happened. That look in his eyes…she shivered a little, shaking her head. Best not to dwell on it. If she ignored it, it would go away…right? She cleaned herself up better and got some new clothes from her wardrobe, putting on two more layers than were strictly necessary, then her jacket so she could attach his moko. Then she settled herself onto her futon, which was pushed up against the shared wall between their rooms, and breathed in his scent, slightly confused that it was still as comforting to her as ever, if not more so now. Then, abruptly, the events of the day overwhelmed her and she started to cry, then to sob softly.

Sesshomaru listened to her through the wall, horrified and ashamed of himself. How could he have lost his careful control so completely?! He had hurt her- emotionally, at the very least. He had taken away her innocence, that which he'd sworn to protect. Even if she had been willing to give it, he was still ashamed. He held his head in his hands, gritting his teeth. He could not face her now. What could he do?

What could he do?