Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha.

A/N: Thank you to tkplover and her wonderful betas!

WARNING: This story contains cases of sexual abuse, violence, language, and consensual sex.

Make You Beautiful

Chapter Four

Sesshomaru was often absent from the house, but during the times he was there, Rin learned a few things about her new employer, and the first being that he was a man of his word, most honorable. The second was he had a lot of ex-lovers.

A part of her was scared to be dependent on a demon... a man. But he was kind, and made no aggressive advances. Over the next several months, she even began to forget he was not human.

But Rin also was not blind. With each day he made a point of examining her body with those piercing amber irises. The mesmeric gaze brought heat to her cheeks and her heart raced like a giddy schoolgirl. His home had become her reprieve and she looked forward to the days she would spend dusting the house, waxing the floors or retrieving the daily mail. Rin cooked his dinner and did his laundry. In return, he paid her generously, so she did not mind the long hours she spent there. It was an excuse to distance herself from her father while he was in one of his conditions.

Rin had not been able to maintain control over him. He lashed out at her just as frequently as before. The bruises on her arms never seem to heal, and she had the sickly feeling Sesshomaru noticed that as well. When she started wearing sweaters to his house every day, even in the middle of the summertime, he grew suspicious, and even went as far as to leave pamphlets for family therapists folded in with her paychecks. Other than that, he remained quiet on the topic.

Sesshomaru ordered that any letters addressed from women to be promptly thrown away, except those that were checks or bills, and they were to be placed for his review on the dining room table. So, when Rin discovered her employer had an abnormal amount of sweet smelling letters from 'women' she could not help but snicker about it from behind his back.

And to his face, which was much more fun.

"Look, Takahashi-sama!" Rin called, prancing into the room. "This one's from a Yamamoto Yu! She sniffed the pink envelope, sighing dreamily. "Ooh, is that lavender and rosemary I smell?"

The inuyoukai glared at her from over his paperwork. "You will dispose of that piece of rubbish now."

Rin smirked, turned her back to him, and opened the letter with unconcealed excitement.

" 'My Sesshomaru, aishiteru! You appear within my dreams. You make love to me each night, in that sweet, passionate way only you do-'"

The letter was snatched from her grasp.

"Opening other people's mail is a criminal offense," he growled darkly, clearly not amused.

"She has pretty handwriting," Rin commented and poured freshly brewed Irish Breakfast tea into a large cup. It was far too strong for her liking but Sesshomaru's favorite. "Why don't you respond to her?"

Sesshomaru skimmed through the letter with lidded eyes.

"I hardly remember her..." He crumpled it in his fist and tossed it into a wastebasket.

"It sounds like you two had a lot of fun," Rin teased and handed him his cup, "Did you love her?"

He sipped a large portion of the hot tea and returned to his paperwork. "No."

She sat herself in the chair beside him, leaning in close. "So… did you sleep with all of these women?" making a motion to the wastebasket.

"Probably," he flipped through a folder, brows creased in concentration.

"Really? Wow, I didn't think you were the type…" She let the sentence hang, deciding it was probably rude voicing her thoughts.

Sesshomaru looked up at her with interest, "The type to what?" A smile threatened to pull at the corner of his lips. Kami Rin thought, suddenly shy. When did she become so nosey, prying deeper and deeper into his private affairs? So what if he had bedded a thousand women? Why should she care?

"Sometimes," he tapped his long fingers on the wooden table. "As a demon of my age, certain… needs must be satisfied, and it makes little difference from where or whom I get that source of satisfaction."

Rin stared at his smooth hand, unable to meet his gaze. She had not considered they would have such an awkward conversation, despite the amount of time they have known each other. Yes, she poked fun at him upon learning he was not entirely without a sense of humor, but that was only to soften the frozen exterior that she knew to be Sesshomaru. He had a beautiful smile, and she loves to see it. "It's normal for a demon then?"

Silence ensued for a moment.

"No, not really. Demons my age have a mate at this point, and do not resort to various women to relieve themselves." His hand paused in its taping. "I can resist such impulses for only a short time, but it is incredibly painful to do so."

"Why don't you have a mate, Takahashi-sama?" Sesshomaru was very good looking, and so Rin was sure plenty of women gladly offer themselves to him. He did not appear the type to forcefully take someone against her will. The small voice in the back of her mind whispered, Then again, had my father not forced himself on me when I thought he was well-enough? She angrily pushed the voice away.

There was a silence for such a long time that she realized he must have decided not to answer. Men have needs. Rin knew that now. Just because Sesshomaru took pity on her and gave her a well paying job did not mean she could ask him such personal questions and expect a response! She should keep to her own business, and moved to stand.

"I've been waiting."

Rin was halfway out her seat, but his sudden openness caused her to stop. She watched him close the folder and face her.

"What have you been waiting for?" she prompted, settling down again.

His long fingers slowly traced the ends of the wooden table. The look on his face seemed distant, as if he were in another, earlier time.

"I had a woman once, a while ago."

"Just one?" she teased and this earned her a very masculine chuckle.

"Hn, not even. I did not have sex with her." Grimness settled hard upon his features. "But I loved her."

The change in his demeanor alarmed Rin. There was a level of sadness in his tone, and the loss of his stoic mask told her that the story did not appear to have a very nice ending.

"Where is she?" Rin asked gently.

His mesmeric gaze held her still. "She was dead."

Sesshomaru ignored Rin's confused expression. "I was not around to protect her. It was a different world back then, not the Nippon you know, Kato. Relations between our two races were much less… friendly."

"She was a ningen," Rin says softly.

"Yes," he nodded, and almost seemed ashamed, bowing his head slightly. "Not just a ningen. She could have been a Queen of Mortal Women…"

"This sounds almost like a fairy tale," she smiled kindly at the demon. "I love stories, but only if they have a happy ending."

Sesshomaru considered her for a moment. "You do not have to listen to my past if you do not wish it, but I… I am asking you to. She was murdered."

"Gomenasai," Rin croaked. Her mouth suddenly ran dry. All she could do was wrap his large hand in both of her small ones and squeeze sympathetically. She had no idea the cause was this serious!

Sesshomaru closed his eyes, remembering. "The men of her village would beat her for even the smallest of offenses. Sometimes, for no reason at all."

The reality of what he was saying dawned on Rin.

"They killed her?" she covered her mouth in disbelief. No wonder he was unable to maintain an impassive disposition. The loss of a loved one is a heavy burden to bear.

"For loving a youkai," Sesshomaru completed her sentence, something within his voice betraying a hint of sorrowful emotion. "As they saw it, she might as well be dead. I was not there to protect her. I… thought she would be safe, living among her own kind."

"Takahashi-sama, then… what are you waiting for?" Rin felt the tension when his claw closed tightly about her hand and his body stiffened.

Sesshomaru slowly pulled away from her, choosing his next words carefully. "I expect to find another like her, one day." He brushed silvery bangs away from his face. "It has been nearly five hundred years since her death."

Rin reached out for him again, this time touching him lightly on his shoulder. "You didn't have to tell me, Takahashi-sama. I understand."

"Do you?" he asked, piercing her with his amber eyes. "Sincerely, Kato?"

"Hai, I really do."

~oOo~