Rin, Age 15
She sat huddled in a corner, her hands bound together with duct tape. She had her hands wrapped around the knees at her chest, keeping her body as close to the dingy concrete wall as she could manage, hoping she was as unnoticeable as possible. She had on the same clothes she'd been wearing three days ago when she'd been taken as she was leaving her high school, completely oblivious to the fact that there were monsters lurking in the world. Sure, there were a few demons left out there, not that she had ever met one at the tender age of fifteen, but they weren't the ones who had kidnapped her, drugged her and beaten on her the past few days. Humans had done that. They were the real monsters.
Rin didn't even understand why she was being held captive, other than the fact her father was a senator, who some people may or may not have hated. Weren't politicians always frowned upon by everyone? She wasn't even sure what her father worked to achieve on a daily business, but Rin was beginning to suspect it was something bad enough to piss off some very scary people. Piss them off enough to take her in broad daylight as she left the school grounds and began to walk to the mansion she lived in, located only about two miles from the school itself. Why couldn't she have taken the ride home from the cute football player that was a grade higher than her? She had really wanted to, or at least she thought she had until she had almost been to his car and changed her mind, thinking it wasn't a good idea after all. She'd told the boy she had forgotten some work she needed to finish at school and then hastily retreated back into the school, watching from one of the windows until his car was out of the student parking lot and speeding down the street. Rin had been so relieved she had sighed in relief, her body practically sagging in happiness at avoiding the ride home.
Well, Rin was regretting that she'd decided to walk home. She'd walked around the corner from the school before a black SUV with deeply tinted windows had driven onto the grass and a few men in ski masks and black outfits had jumped out, grabbing her and holding her down while another had stuck a needle into her neck, and depressed the plunger. The men hadn't wasted any time tossing her into the back of the SUV. Her head had immediately began swimming with whatever they'd given her. Her body had felt like lead and if she had ever drank before, she could have sworn that was what it felt like to be drunk.
Rin stared down at her dirty clothes, splattered with drops of her own blood and she sniffed as tears formed, her vision watering to the point where everything in the dark barren room blended together into a dark, depressing kaleidoscope. Rin moved her hands away from her legs, lifting them and wiping her tear stained face with her dirty hands. She bent her head, her long black hair falling in front of her face in near clumps. What she wouldn't give for a shower!
Rin winced as the duct tape on her hands touched one of the bruises on her face, her eyes watering for an entirely different reason now.
She couldn't believe grown men had hit her. They'd told her to cooperate and she wouldn't get hurt, that she would be able to go home if she just played nice. Well, Rin had played nice to the point of driving herself crazy. She'd done everything the men had asked, everything. She'd even gone to the bathroom in front of them, ignoring the way some of the men leered at her body. She'd never done anything with a boy before, but she knew the hungry expressions on the faces of the men who had captured her. They disgusted her, but so far the only touches she'd received were touches from those men who either hit her to knock her out or pinned her down to the ground, all with one purpose; to drug her again to keep her subdued and quiet. Didn't they know she would have been quiet anyway? They were all so much bigger than her and so scary, Rin wouldn't dare try anything.
What could she do anyway? She was tied up and kept in a room without any windows or a doorknob to aid in her escape. The floor was made of dirt, the walls were concrete and she was completely alone in the room, not even a piece of furniture to keep her company. They hadn't even fed her or given her water, just forced some type of drug into her system, and whatever type of drug it was, Rin found herself craving it more and more every time they entered the room. Whatever it was, it was addicting, heavily so. Her body shook after more than a few hours of not being given the terrible thing and she could feel cold sweats forming almost as soon as the effects of the drug began to wear off. She'd been given the drug at least 10 times, which left her almost completely lost in a euphoric ecstasy, even while her body became leaden, leaving her almost completely immobile.
The effects of the drug were beginning to wear away, leaving Rin more capable of moving around the small, dark room. Her entire body ached, no doubt from being in the same position for countless hours throughout the days. She couldn't even remember how long she'd been in her own personal hell, even if it only felt like a few days. Surely it wasn't more? Hadn't her father negotiated with the thugs who had taken her? Wasn't that the point of them kidnapping her?
Rin moved her stiff legs, trying to stand but falling back onto the ground as soon as she stood, her legs folding like a house of cards when the wind hits it. Landing with a thump, Rin groaned in pain when she connected with the dirt floor, taken aback at how everything inside of her hurt. She felt so weak and tired. Every ache in her body seemed to be amplified when the drug wore off, leaving her aching for another stab in the neck until the pain went away.
Rolling onto her stomach, Rin used her duct taped hands to help push herself off the floor and onto her wobbly knees before she braced herself against a wall and stood up on her equally wobbly legs, clinging to the wall to help keep her upright.
If Rin knew anything from her captivity, a few of the men would be showing up soon to inject more drugs in her body to leave her even more weak and pliant than she had been before.
Where was her father? Why wasn't anyone helping her? She might spend most of her time applying makeup and acting like an adult, but she wasn't. Rin was just a child and she was scared. More scared than she had ever been in her entire life. Why wasn't anyone saving her?
Lost in thought and a still slight drug induced haze, Rin didn't hear the approaching footsteps or the sound of the dead bolt unlocking from the other side until one of the men came into the room, his balding head glistening with sweat while the little amount of hair left on his head was slicked back with grease. He had strong muscular arms, but had an obvious beer belly and more layers of fat covered his body than was necessary, but it seemed to only add to how menacing he seemed to Rin. He came into the room and shut the door behind him, affectively shutting them into the room together with no way out. Rin back farther into the wall, slowly dragging her body as far away from the man as she could get.
He was one of the ones who enjoyed watching her when she had to use the bathroom and he was one of the ones who frightened her the most. He was also the one who had slapped her in the face repeatedly the day before when she tried begging to be sent home. When he slapped her the first time she'd cried out, but when he slapped her again and again, Rin knew that no amount of crying or pleading would help her. She didn't think she would ever beg again.
"What are you doing?" Rin asked, wincing when her voice rasped out, dried from the drugs and lack of water. The man sneered at her, walking up to her and grabbing her by the hair, dragging her into the middle of the room. Rin wanted to cry out in pain, but kept silent. She knew from experience he enjoyed her cries and she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. Not if she could help it.
"Quiet, you little bitch." The man yanked her hair harder, the sensation ten times more painful than it should have been. Rin's legs gave out, causing her to fall to her knees in front of the man who laughed at her. "That was exactly the position I wanted you in. You're going to be my little slut. Looks like daddy isn't here to save you now, is he?" With a free hand, he reached down and slapped her, her lip splitting from the contact.
Rin grunted in pain, the sound escaping before she could keep it contained. "That's it. Moan for me, you know you want to." He grabbed Rin's chin, forcing her to look up at him even as he jerked her head up by her hair. "None of the others know I've come to have a little visit with you, so if you're a good girl I'll give you a big prize." Rin didn't think she would like whatever prize he planned on giving her.
The man pushed her face back roughly, knocking her to the ground and flat onto her back, the shallow breath in her lungs whooshing out at the sudden movement. He leaned down next to her, one of his callused hands pressing firmly into her stomach, ensuring she stayed down on the ground as he caressed her bruised face with his free hand. Rin shivered, either from the contact or the lack of drugs, although she wasn't quite sure which it was.
The man moved his hand from her face, gripping one of her small breasts roughly in his hand, squeezing until she was sure she would have a bruise there as well. She whimpered, knowing she was about to be raped and no one would be there to stop it. She was weak and powerless to stop the terrible atrocity that was about to be committed against her. Rin didn't think there would be any coming back from that kind of abuse. She would truly be broken.
"No," she said weakly, lifting her bound hands and knocking his hand from her body, trying to roll away from the predator above her.
"No? You little-" The man stood up, using one of his leg to kick her roughly in the side. Rin cried out, rolling into a ball on the floor, hoping bending her body would ease the sharp pain in her side. The man kicked her again, nearly as hard as he had the last time. Rin opened her eyes to look at the foot that was approaching her again.
The crackling of a radio on his hip stilled his movements, his foot dropping back to the ground as he growled in frustration. He grabbed the radio from his side, waiting for the person on the other end to respond. When nothing happened he pressed down on a button, speaking roughly into one end of the walkie talkie.
"What the fuck is going on? I'm a little busy."
No response. The man no longer seemed as excited as he had when he'd come into her chamber of hell and touched her. Rin used the temporary distraction to lift herself off from the ground and to move slowly away from the terrifying man, hoping he would leave rather than come after her. Maybe he had a way to leave the room she didn't know about? Rin didn't care, she just wanted him gone.
"Jimmy, this isn't the time to be fucking around. I'm going to kick your ass if you don't answer me."
A short burst of sound from the other end of the radio followed by a shriek of terror before the radio was once again silent. The man cursed angrily before gunshots came from somewhere beyond the door of her jail. For the first time since she'd been taken, Rin felt something other than fear or a sea of nothing the drugs brought her; she felt hope. Hope that her father hadn't abandoned her, hope that she would be rescued, that she would make it back to her easy life and hope that she would never be taken away from all the things she held dear again.
"Fuck," the man shouted angrily before reaching her side in a few short strides, grabbing her by the hair and jerking her to her feet. He released her hair, instead wrapping that hand around her neck, holding her still next to him as he pulled a gun free from his side, pointing it at the still closed door as the gunfire sounded louder and louder, finally stopping right outside the door. "Jimmy, is that you?!" The grip on Rin's neck tightened and she couldn't help but smell the B.O. that was now coming off the greasy man in waves. If she didn't know any better, she would think he was terrified of what lurked on the other side of that door.
Her legs were trying in vain to hold her body upright, but unfortunately for Rin, she was so weak that her body was mostly held up by the rough hand that was gripping her throat, constricting her breathing to the point where shallow pants were the only thing she could manage.
A second later the door burst open, the doorway and hallway filled with all tall and well built men, complete with face masks that obstructed her view of who her saviors were, black fatigues, combat boots and caps that covered their heads. Only one of the men, the one who was in front of everyone, went without any type of armor to protect himself with. He also didn't wear any type of gloves to hide his hands, nor was he carrying a weapon. Rin looked at the men in relief, knowing her father had sent the best after her, even if she was a bit startled the unarmed man was in front of everyone else. Shouldn't he have been hiding in the back to avoid being shot?
"Don't you fucking move or I'll kill the little bitch!" The man behind Rin shouted, panic obvious in his voice as his grip tightened on her neck, causing Rin to wince in pain, her eyes never leaving the tall imposing figure in front of her. It was silly considering he was unarmed and unprotected, but Rin felt as if she would only be safe with that man there to protect her, which didn't make any sense at all. It was probably the drugs making her feel that way.
The man in front of her stared at her, his eyes narrowing as he took in the young girl's appearance. Rin's own eyes widened when she realized she was looking at a pair of golden eyes from across the room. Golden eyes? What kind of person had golden eyes? Not any human, that was for sure.
"I swear to God, if any one of you moves-" The villain behind Rin stopped talking as the man with the golden eyes lifted his ungloved hand, a long whip of light emerging from his finger and flying forward, making a popping noise as it collided with the man behind the young girl. Rin felt the hand leave her neck, causing her to collapse on the ground, her breath coming out in tiny coughs as she tried in vain to suck in as much air as she could while also trying to exhale.
"Damn, brother." One of the men in the room whistled as he came up to the young girl collapsed on to the floor. "We were supposed to take one in for questioning, but you've killed all of them."
The man knelt down to Rin, removing his cap to reveal equally golden eyes. His hair was white as snow and he had ears like a dog perched on top of his head. "Rin?" The man asked as he bent to lift up the girl. She jerked away from his touch, eyes widening in fear as she stared at him. "Don't touch me," she whispered, trying to scoot back even though her hands were still taped in front of her body.
"It's alright, Rin. We've come to take you home to your family, okay?" Rin said nothing, simply staring at the stranger in front of her. "Here, let me get that tape off of your hands, alright?" Rin nodded silently, holding her hands out in front of her as he took out a knife that had been sheathed at his side. He sliced through the duct tape easily and Rin sighed in relief, the immediate flow of blood hurting her fingers even as it helped them. She'd been getting some circulation with the duct tape on, but not much, just enough to ensure her fingers wouldn't need to be amputated at a later date. The man stood, bending to pick up the child in front of him, but she ducked away, eyes wide in panic.
She looked away from the dog eared man in front of her to stare at her savior with the odd weapon and the entrancing golden eyes. Without a wasted move, the strange man with the strange eyes moved forward, sweeping the child into his arms and escorting her from the room and away from the bodies that were surrounding the tunnels that Rin had been kept in.
Rin didn't want to look at the creature holding her, but she couldn't help it, completely transfixed by what she suspected to be true. Once they made it safely to the outside, Rin spoke up.
"Are you a demon?"
The man remained silent, leading her into a thicker section of woods before he picked up his pace, moving more quickly than should have been possible for a regular man. But then again, Rin didn't think there was anything normal about the man in front of her. She shivered, her body aching from the lack of drugs in her system and she wanted to weep for the amount of feeling that was currently flooding her body. Wasn't there anything to make it all stop? She just wanted peace and quiet, tranquility. The silence was euphoric, but this current shrieking and protesting of her body was nearly maddening.
A short while later they arrived in a clearing, a military chopper in the center of the clearing. The man came to slow down as they reached the chopper, personnel rushing from the vehicle to extract the young woman from his arms.
Rin sank into the arms of the man holding her, squirming uncomfortably as more people came into contact with her. When they tried to touch her, Rin shoved them away, crying out in fear.
"Leave her," the man holding her said, taking her to the military chopper and effortlessly jumping inside, holding the girl to him protectively. Once planted into his seat, the man removed his own cap and mask, long silver hair spilling down his back, pointed ears sticking out from his silver mane and magenta markings on either side of his face. What was even more unusual was the crescent moon mark covering his forehead. Was it a tattoo?
"You are a demon, aren't you?" Rin asked, ignoring all the people that were filling up the chopper and the clearing of the field. "I've never seen a demon before."
"Hn," was the reply she received.
The man from earlier hopped into the chopper, the resemblance between the two demons unmistakable. "Really, Sesshomaru you need to have her looked at by the medic before we take her to the hospital. We don't need any complications while we travel."
"I'm okay," Rin piped up, another shiver wracking her body as she spoke.
"Damn, Sesshomaru. The kid looks like she's got a fever and possibly a few broken bones." The one speaking ignored her, almost as if what she said didn't matter.
"I said I'm fine. I just want to go home." The younger one with the funnier ears sighed before staring down at her from across the chopper.
"Look kid, you can say you're fine all you want but you look like hell and you've got blood all over you. You need to see a doctor." The hands that held Rin tightened slightly before the one called Sesshomaru nodded his head once. Almost immediately someone carrying a medical kit appeared, checking Rin's wrists and face before lifting her shirt up past her midriff to inspect the damage done to her side. Rin winced when the woman touched her side, turning her head into the shoulder of the demon holding her and whimpering softly so no one could hear her.
Another press to her ribs and Rin cried out.
"Enough with your inspection." The words came harshly from Sesshomaru and Rin sighed in gratitude when the invasive fingers moved from her body.
The woman looked at Rin, pointedly ignoring the demon. "Can you breath alright or are you experiencing any difficulty?"
Rin cleared her throat before speaking. "It feels weird every time I inhale. Like I can't do it all the way."
"What does that mean, Sango?" The brother asked with concern. The woman swore under her breath before standing up and shouting at the remaining men outside of the chopper.
"Get in to the chopper now and fire it up. We need to evac immediately!" Sango shouted before turning to the brother. "What it means, Inuyasha, is that one of her broken ribs has punctured her lungs and if we can't get her to a hospital within fifteen minutes it might be too late to fix the damage done."
The soldiers rushed into the chopper before Sesshomaru stood and exited the vehicle, clutching the girl to him tightly. He stepped on to the forest floor, not bothering to glance behind him at his fellow comrades.
"What are you doing?!" Sango shouted in dismay even as Inuyasha shoved her down into a seat and buckled her in. He didn't bother looking in the direction of his brother, already sensing what was about to happen.
"He's a demon, remember? He's taking her to the nearest hospital by the fastest means possible."
Rin barely had time to question what the fastest way possible was before they were encircled by a strange ball of white light and zipping through the sky faster than she'd ever considered possible, landing in front of a hospital only a few minutes later.
Her breathing labored heavily as Sesshomaru strode through the doors of the emergency room as if he owned the place. Nurses and a doctor rushed forward immediately, grabbing Rin from the demon's hands and laying her gently on a gurney.
"We received a phone call about Senator Hino's daughter only moments ago. This is her?" One of the nurses asked.
"Yes, I'm Rin Hino," Rin answered the nurse through a few pain filled breaths.
The nurses didn't wait for anything else before they rushed the gurney down a large hallway and through a set of double doors, shouting things to one another before placing an oxygen mask over her head and giving her an IV that helped soothe the pain in her body.
She closed her eyes, falling asleep for what seemed like the first time in weeks.
Rin woke slowly in a soft hospital bed and also in her own room. She was flat on her back, staring at the ceiling for a few minutes, unsure if this was reality or just a dream her mind had forced her into. Isn't that what happened whenever the body and mind suffered so many traumatic things? It just collapsed into its own safe reality? Rin didn't know for sure, but she could have sworn she'd read that in one of her psychology books for school.
"Rin, darling are you awake?" Rin turned her head, smiling softly as her father came into view on one side of the bed, tears in his eyes and his normally immaculate suit wrinkled beyond any acceptable circumstances. "Darling, daddy is here now." Her father grabbed ahold of her right hand, squeezing it gently and making sure to avoid her injured wrist. A moment later and Rin burst into tears, sobbing as her dad bent down to hug her to him as close as he could and still avoid her ribs.
"Is everything okay now, dad?" Rin asked, afraid of the answer.
Rin's father pulled away, smiling sadly at her. "Some bad men tried to hurt me by taking you, but those men are gone now. I've made sure of that and you won't need to worry ever again."
"But how can you be sure those men won't be back? How can you know?" Rin asked in a panicked voice, trying to sit up and failing from the weight of her own body holding her down. Everything was an ache, even her heart hurt. "I'll never be safe again, will I?"
"Of course you'll be safe. I'm so sorry I failed you as your father and protector, but you'll never be taken again. Do you understand? Those men who rescued you are hired guns. They've perform all sorts of services for this country off the books and I've made sure members from their group will always be with you. You'll never go anywhere unprotected again, I've made sure I won't fail you ever again. You'll always be safe. Always, Rin."
"Do you promise me, daddy?" Rin wiped away a stray tear with her free hand, steadying her breathing as she stared at her father with questioning eyes.
"Yes, I promise."
Rin, Age 16
"I can't believe you let her just run away," Sango practically shouted at Inuyasha, her angry stride making her long brown ponytail swing back and forth rapidly as she walked in a large circle before stopping to glare at the young half demon. "We were hired to protect her, not let her sneak out to go to parties every weekend that you're brother isn't on guard duty." Sango was clad in a sleek all black catsuit that clung to her body, soft black shoes making it almost impossible to detect any sound as she moved, sleek like a jungle cat. Her comrades were dressed in black fatigues and black t shirts as well as black boots. They all had handguns strapped to their waists in case of any trouble that might arise, but they'd left their assault rifles locked back in a room at the mansion where their young charge should have been. Instead, the young girl was currently inside of an equally as giant mansion, where she was doing lord knew what with lord only knew who. Sango didn't like it. She didn't like it at all.
"Feh," Inuyasha scoffed at her, peaking through some nearby bushes to glance at a young Rin through the windows on the first floor. She looked miserable, which wasn't unusual for the young girl whenever she went too long without seeing Sesshomaru. Hell, Inuyasha wouldn't have believed it if he hadn't seen it himself, but Rin and Sesshomaru had bonded in some way ever since the night they'd completed a rescue mission and saved Rin's life. She'd only trusted Sesshomaru, only wanted to be around Sesshomaru, only talked to Sesshomaru for several weeks after she'd been rescued and strangely enough, Sesshomaru had indulged her. Generally his older pure demon brother Sesshomaru couldn't stand to be around most humans for more than a few minutes at a time, let alone human children. Or really children of any sort. Inuyasha smirked, still keeping an eye on the child across the street, tucked safely away inside the house. Sesshomaru treated her as if she belonged to him and whenever Sesshomaru had to relieve his duty to their young charge and head out on a dangerous mission, Rin eventually acted out if he wasn't back in a few weeks time. It had been nearly a month since Sesshomaru had returned and the past few nights she'd been climbing out of her bedroom window at night to escape to whatever party was happening that evening, thinking she'd pulled fast ones on the people hired to protect her.
It was laughable. Didn't the little spitfire know that Inuyasha, though he was only a half demon, was more than capable of hearing her window slide open each and every time she opened it, no matter what room of the house he was in? Apparently not. Not that it mattered, Inuyasha was determined to let the kid have some fun while his older brother was away. Whenever Sesshomaru was with her it was strict bedtimes, doing homework and other duties whenever she was told, eating whenever food was given to her and making sure she stayed away from anything even remotely resembling fun. As strict as it was, Rin seemed to enjoy the attention she received from Sesshomaru, considering her father was never around, always off on some business trip or another.
Didn't the senator know his daughter was still fighting the throws of addiction? It had taken nearly six months this past year to realize she no longer needed the pain medication she'd been prescribed, that she'd begun taking twice the amount she needed every day, just so she could 'feel nothing'. Her eating habits had suffered and she'd lost weight. The only person who had noticed was Sesshomaru, who found out shortly after returning from a mission that had left him away from the young girl for more than two months. He'd come back and could smell the addiction on her. To Inuyasha's shame, he hadn't been able to smell it or sense it, not like his brother could.
"Come on Sango, let the poor girl have a little bit of fun," Miroku whispered patiently to the woman in their group even as he reached out to squeeze her butt. Sango nearly shrieked, but instead slapped the pervert in the face, smiling in satisfaction when his cheek turned a dull shade of red.
"Keep your hands to yourself, jerk."
"Would you two cut it out? Miroku stop grabbing her ass. Sango, quit acting like you hate it. You're like a bunch of teenagers."
"I still don't see why we aren't dragging her ass out of that party. We all know she doesn't need to be around drugs and alcohol."
Inuyasha sighed before turning back to Sango and Miroku. "Look, she's a good kid, she just lost her way after we rescued her. It's been a little over 7 months since she's taken any type of pain medicine, we've all made sure of that. How do you expect her to grow and mature if she's constantly thinking we don't trust her enough to attend one innocent party?"
"We aren't her parents, we are her bodyguards. We aren't supposed to trust her, we are supposed to protect her from the enemy, which might even be herself from time to time." Sango looked back at the party, squinting at the mansion. "I don't see her anymore. I say we go and grab her. She's been there for an hour, surely she's had plenty of fun for one evening."
Inuyasha and Miroku nodded in agreement before moving in front of the bushes and sticking to the shadows, making their way towards the back of the mansion and to the open patio doors, entering the large house easily and quietly, ignoring the large crowd of kid and searching for one petite young lady with long raven hair.
"Split up. Sango go left, Miroku, right. I'll head upstairs." To where I smell the drugs, Inuyasha snarled silently to himself. He could smell her up there and he could also smell several other illegal substances.
Not wasting another moment, Inuyasha climbed the stairs quickly, following Rin's scent until he came to a closed door down a rather large hallway, the door where the smell of drugs was coming from. Inuyasha sighed, an unfeeling sensation settling in the pit of his stomach. Sesshomaru was going to murder him when he found out about this and considering Sango couldn't keep her mouth shut, Sesshomaru would most likely be back by the end of the week to get the job done.
Gripping the doorknob, Inuyasha opened the door slowly and stepped into the room, expecting to see Rin passed out on the floor. He didn't expect to see her lying on a bed in the middle of the room, making out with some teenage boy while other kids snorted cocaine from a table on the other side of the room.
Oh God, this was worse than Inuyasha could have ever imagined. Making out with some jock? Sesshomaru would lose his damn mind. He was so overly protective of Rin he growled whenever a guy even looked at her and now she was making out with someone?
Inuyasha cleared his throat and went to the end of the bed, knocking Rin's foot with his hand. "It's time to go, Rin."
Rin opened her eyes and rolled them before pushing the guy off of her and sitting up. "Can't I just have one night to have some fun?"
"You think making out with some drunk kid who has probably been snorting cocaine for the past hour is fun? You shouldn't be up here anyway. Now grab your purse and let's go."
Ignoring the other people in the room, Rin shot up from the bed and shot Inuyasha an angry look. "I 'shouldn't be up here anyway'? You mean I shouldn't be near drugs and alcohol, because you think I can't control myself. Why don't you just say that instead of beating around the bush, Inuyasha?" Rin grabbed her purse and jacket before storming out of the room and down the hallway he'd come from. Grabbing his wrist watch which also worked as a comm link, he spoke into the mic.
"Found the flower. Extraction in less than two minutes. Meet in back."
Without waiting for a confirmation from Miroku or Sango, Inuyasha caught up to his young charge and dropped an arm over her shoulder, ignoring the look she sent him. "You know I wouldn't have let you climb out of your window again if I thought you were out getting high. Besides, you wouldn't want to face the wrath of Sesshomaru if you did something stupid like that again."
Rin scoffed, the noise almost mimicking Inuyasha's own scoff perfectly. "Please. Sesshomaru doesn't care, otherwise he wouldn't keep leaving me all the time. I'm just a job to you all."
Inuyasha stopped at the staircase, making Rin stop as well. When she wouldn't meet his eyes, Inuyasha gently lifted her chin until she looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "You know we all care about you, especially Sesshomaru. I'm pretty sure you're the only human he has ever spent so much time with. I've never seen him so protective over another individual, not even me and I'm his kid brother."
Rin sniffed and rubbed a hand over her eyes before nodding at Inuyasha. "I just wished he would stay with me, not go do a bunch of dangerous stuff all the time. I get worried when I never hear from him and he's been gone pretty long this time."
"Is that why you've been sneaking out? You're hoping one of us will tell him you've been molesting some poor teenage boy so he'll come back and keep you under his thumb for a few months before he leaves again? That's pretty underhanded, Rin."
Rin lowered her head in shame. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry, Inuyasha. Can we not mention this to anyone?"
Inuyasha reached up and ruffled her hair, knowing she hated it but being unable to stop himself. "Sure thing, kid. Sure thing. Now, why don't you say we get out of here and grab some pizza on the way back to your house? Whatever kind you want, you know I'm not picky."
Rin smiled happily and Inuyasha smiled back. It had taken a long time to get her to smile like that, as if she didn't have a care in the world and Inuyasha knew he would do anything to keep that smile on her face.
"So do you think dad will keep you guys around for the rest of my life? Because I can't picture any of you in your seventies with walkers and machine guns." Rin asked happily as they exited the armored SUV, grabbing a pizza box from Miroku and opening it to grab a slice of pepperoni pizza. She nibbled on the slice, hoping one of them would answer her. The three bodyguards all heard the hidden question. Would Sesshomaru always be with her?
"Well, right now we've got a contract to be with you until you reach 21 years old, so I guess we'll see if it gets renewed when you reach the legal drinking age." Sango answered, her eyes sweeping the perimeter of the house as they made their way to the large front porch, her hand securely at the weapon holstered on her waist.
Miroku grinned down at Rin, taking a slice of pizza from the box she was carrying. "And if none of us die some horrible death then we'll all probably still be with you for a long while."
"Well that's a comforting thought," Rin bit sadly into her delicious slice of pizza, not wanting to think about any of them dying. Sango stepped up to the door first, unlocking it by using her finger on the fingerprint scanner and pushing the door open after it unlocked. Sango stepped into the house first, her eyes lighting up when she came across the demon lurking in the entryway.
Rin stepped into the house, squealing in delight when her eyes came across Sesshomaru. Rin dropped the box of pizza, it plopping onto the tile floor. Stepping over the box Rin ran up to Sesshomaru, throwing her arms around his neck happily, even though he didn't return the hug. He never did, not that Rin minded. He never pushed her away and that was all that mattered to Rin.
"I'm so glad you're back Sesshomaru!"
"Rin," Sesshomaru greeted before his eyes narrowed on her. "Why aren't you in bed?" He inhaled deeply and stepped back from the young girl, his features impassive as he glanced at her and then his comrades before settling on Inuyasha. "You let her go to a party? Why do you smell of a human man?" The question was directed at Rin who ducked her head down, her cheeks stained a delicate shade of pink.
"I'm really sorry, Sesshomaru. I was just missing you and I decided to go to this party my friend was having and-"
"Enough excuses, Rin. Return to your room."
"But Sesshomaru, I really am sorry. I shouldn't have snuck out and I shouldn't have kissed that boy."
"To your room, Rin." His tone didn't allow for any argument and with her head still tucked down, Rin hurried off and up the stairs into her bedroom, the door closing quietly behind her. The four bodyguards waited in a tense silence until they were certain Rin was out of earshot before starting their conversation.
"Was that really necessary, Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha practically hissed at his brother.
"I was about to ask you the same thing, Inuyasha. Do you not have any sense of keeping safe the one person you're hired to protect? It isn't difficult to see after such a young girl."
Sango snorted, coughing on a slice of pizza that she'd been chewing. Miroku patted her on the back until she managed to swallow the bite of pizza, a slight grin on his face. "It's more difficult than I think you realize. The world starts and ends with you where that girl is concerned and when you're gone so long she lashes out and does stuff like this."
"Are you telling me you're incapable of keeping a simple girl in line?"
Inuyasha laughed at that. "No, I'm telling you that we don't all want to keep her locked in a cage her whole life like you do when you're here. She's a teenager, she should be out having fun with her friends sometimes, Lord knows she deserves it. So she kissed a boy? Why don't you cut the girl some slack? It's not like she was in the room snorting cocaine or shooting up. She's made excellent progress."
"It is our job to keep her safe, not place her in unnecessary danger."
"She wasn't in any danger. We stayed in the shadows watching her the entire time and when we lost sight of her in the house we went and retrieved her and brought her home." Inuyasha bent down and retrieved the fallen pizza box, inspecting its content to make sure the pizza was still in decent condition. Satisfied, he handed the box to Sesshomaru who held it awkwardly, no doubt unaccustomed to holding such a thing. It wasn't as if true demons generally ate human food. Inuyasha sighed. "Look, Sesshomaru, I get that you're concerned about her when you're not here, but you need to ease up. She's only 16 years old and sometimes she needs to be reminded of that, even if it involves her sneaking out and going to a party. Sometimes I think she does it just to feel like someone cares about her." With that, Inuyasha left the entryway, followed closely by Miroku and Sango, all of them talking about a full nights sleep.
Considering he hardly slept, that left Sesshomaru alone in the mansion until he decided to take a set of stairs that led him to his young charge's room, the pizza box still in his hand. He knocked on the door twice, signaling his entrance before he pushed open the door, relieved to see Rin sitting up in her bed with her pajamas on, safely tucked under the covers. Stepping inside the room, Sesshomaru's gaze met the young girl's, softening ever so slightly as he sat in the chair placed next to her bed. It had been placed there whenever she had first returned home last year. She would wake up screaming and in a panic, always so terrified when she awoke alone in the dark. It wasn't until Sesshomaru had decided to stand guard over her as she slept that she had quieted down, calmed by his presence. Eventually the standing turned into sitting, hence the chair.
Opening the box of pizza, Sesshomaru moved the box towards Rin, silently offering her a slice. Truth be told, he had never tasted such a thing before, nor did he have any desire to consume something humans created. Smiling happily at Sesshomaru, Rin reached into the box, grabbing a large slice and practically inhaling it. When she was finished, Rin looked up at Sesshomaru.
"Are you still mad at me?"
"I was not mad."
"So you were disappointed?"
"No."
Rin raised an eyebrow at that. Why had he been so abrupt with her if he wasn't upset? He was so weird.
Laying back on the bed, Rin sighed contently before looking over at the only person she considered her best friend and savior. "Do you think you would ever miss me if I died?"
"Why do you ask such a question?" Sesshomaru sat back in his chair, feeling slightly startled, which almost never happened.
"I don't know. I guess I just wanted to know if you would always remember me." Rin shrugged and turned onto her side, shutting her eyes and falling asleep moments later.
Sesshomaru sat still as a statue, watching the young girl sleeping peacefully under his supervision, her question lingering in his mind. Would he miss her? Always remember her? Sesshomaru's fist clenched at his sides a split second before they relaxed, his entire body easing back into the chair as he watched his charge sleep. An hour went by and then another as he gazed at the young Rin before him. Would he remember her?
Sesshomaru didn't think he would ever go a day without thinking about her, even if he lived another 300 years. She was the only thing in his lifetime he had ever felt the need to protect, the desire to keep safe and cherish. The girl he'd saved had been broken and beaten, now she was a blossoming young woman who smiled so brightly even the darkest part of his mind lightened in her presence. She was something important to him, something he never thought he could have, and definitely not something that he had ever wanted. Now that he knew of her existence, Sesshomaru would never allow her to be anything other than cherished and cared for.
It was the way of mates, after all.
Okay, what does everyone think so far? I've been toying with the idea of having a story like this that takes place over a span of five or six years, showing clips of Rin's life surrounded by the people that love her and the challenges she faces at such a young age and into adulthood and the people that get to experience it with her. Hopefully this story does as well as some of my other fanfics! Please leave me a review if you've enjoyed the first chapter
-Mo