Changing Seas

A/N: Well thanks for all the reviews. I've been working on this chapter for a while, but I caught the flu and put it on the shelf for a while. I hope that you like it and review. Thanks EK!

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha.

Previously

Rin laid her head on his sweaty chest and kissed his jaw. After a few minutes he pulled out, causing them both to moan. Exhaustion took Sesshomaru almost immediately, but as he drifted off he heard her say, "I love you", then passed out.

Chapter Fourteen

Rin heard a scratchy noise and was pulled from her drowsy dreams of warmth and bliss. Stretching and giving a particularly large yawn, Rin rolled over and fell in a flurry of covers to the hard wooden floor. She gave a shrill yelp and sat up quickly wincing in the midmorning light. A breeze was coming in from the slightly opened window; Rin stretched after rubbing her bare bottom. She glanced around at the sheets pooling at her feet and lay back for a moment on the fluffiest spot of bed dressings. She peered lazily out the window and saw a lovely white bird had landed on the edge of the windowsill where the breeze was entering through and began to press realized it had been pressing its sharp beak across it, causing the sound that originally woke her.

All of the previous nights activities played like a panorama through her brain and she anxiously glanced over the side of the wooden bed frame hoping she hadn't woken Sesshomaru. He was awake, but his eyes were glued on the ceiling and he seemed to be connecting the very fuzzy dots. Rin watched him with the intensity of a curious cat; her eyes traveled the length of him, scanning the parts of him bared to her. She almost let forth a sigh of feminine appreciation, but held it in with a coy smile.

A few moments more passed in silence and Rin glanced back down at the white sheets around her and caught sight of red flecks; blushing prettily at the evidence of the two's love making she gathered them more closely around herself. She heard a grunt and looked upward again at Sesshomaru who had now sat up and turned to face her. He didn't look mad, but a mixtures of abashment and incredulity glowed deeply in his golden orbs.

Rin couldn't help but stare in awe every time she viewed him. Sesshomaru was practically 100% nude as he shifted into his current position, his hair flowing freely around him, the sunlight caught him just so perfectly that he appeared to be a god who descended from the heavens as her personal gift. Sesshomaru seemed to understand her look with a reserved amount of control he reached out behind him for a spare covering. He avoided gazing directly at her, instead Sesshomaru focused on the far wall.

"Rin-" Sesshomaru started to speak and out of the fear he might reject what had taken place between them, Rin rushed into conversation.

"Listen Sesshomaru. If you're going to say what happen last night was a mistake stow it. I meant what I said and did last night. I love you and that is the end of this conversation. I refuse your 'I know what's proper and this is not it' nonsense." Rin met his piercing gaze and found solid resolve within it. She drew in a breath and prepared for what was coming next, hoping her composure would not shatter.

"Rin. What happen last night...I wanted it just as much as you, but...You have to understand that not everything is black and white and I was not of my normal state of mind. I apologize for my actions, even if you do not wish for an apology. I stand firmly by my belief that I have to be the adult in this situation. I can not love you." Sesshomaru watched her for a moment, comprehending the inner workings of her mind he forced himself to look away so as to give her a moment to collect her upset. He thought for a second that he heard her sob, but when he look she seemed frozen; he took his leave to the adjourning room and repeatedly told himself why they could not be.

Rin sat perfectly still. She should have known that nothing that happened last night would last. She supposed that in some part of her mind she'd convinced herself that once they did consummate their love for one another he would have to admit they were meant to be together. Those hours she sat brushing her hair and attempting sleep Rin had form these fanciful thoughts.

Her heart beat weakly in her chest and her romantic thoughts seemed to crumble beneath the weight of her heart. Was she really that easy to push aside? Did he really just lose control in drunken stupor? The nights dreams had seemed to fill her with disillusions of a happily ever after for them. Maybe she was being a stupid unrealistic little girl? 'No' somewhere in herself a voice set for a rejection these thoughts even as tears had formed in her eyes and broke from her eyelids sliding smoothly down her flushed cheeks. It all seemed to be too much suddenly.

She seemed to be breaking. Like a robot she got up and found a plain chemise, pale pink corset, and dress of violent blues and purple hues. Tears continued to slip down her face, but she seemed not to notice, even as she mechanically climbed the ladder topside and walked fluidly across the busy deck. Everyone who caught a glimpse of her had paused and watched descent.

Once on dock she started wiping the tears away in annoyance; Rin rapidly made a beeline over to InuYasha's ship and onto his deck. InuYasha himself gazed at her as she made her way, unspeakingly to Kagome's cabin. He thought about following and seeing what was wrong, but thought twice knowing it was his brother's mess and just went on shouting orders.

KNOCK! KNOCK! Kagome peered tiredly at the door wishing for nothing but sleep, instead gave her assent for the visitor to enter. Rin passed through the doorway and found her way to a nearby chair. She was still swiping at the tears streaming down her face, wishful that any traces of sorrow were gone, but Kagome had already seen them and was highly alert.

"Rin, dear, what's wrong?" Kagome spoke in a hushed whisper as the babies began to fuss in their beds. "Come, come here." Kagome seemed to have adopted a maternal glow and Rin rushed to her embrace. She slid of the chair and crossed the room to seat herself on the side of Kagome's bed.

"I...I tried. I did. I told him I loved him. We...we-" She ran out of breath between pained whispers. Kagome held her, coddling her like her real mother never could and Rin let it flow, her tears, her pain, her lowered self-esteem; She unloaded everything from her rebellious escape right down to minutes prior her entering that very room.

"...and now he acts as though what happened meant nothing...and (hiccup) he says he can not love me." Kagome was frowning while saying comforting things. She'd seen the progressing feeling between the couple for months. InuYasha, who is usually blinded to such matters, could plainly see their chemistry.

"Rin. You said it was difficult for you to tell him, right?" Rin nodded and pulled back to wipe tears from her cheeks with the back of her sleeve like a child. "Well, what makes you think it's any easier for him." Kagome gave an indulgent smile and airy laugh. "Think about what he has been through. Every person he's every loved he has hurt, well that's what he thinks. Think about the way he reacted when he failed to kill Naraku and avenge your father's death. He loves you. Everything you have told me indicates one thing, love. Be patient. I understand that you have been through a lot. Never having a mother, losing your father, your friends, being kidnapped constantly, finding out your someone extremely powerful, and then falling in love on top of it all. Don't lose heart of faith in yourself at the first sign of resistance. He's hiding from reality by claiming you need protection, that's not your problem, it's his. Now, Honey you deserve to cry and yell and let it out, so you can stay here as long as you need to find levelness." Kagome gave Rin her sunniest smile and Rin returned it with a watery one.

"These kids are lucky to have such a good person for a mother." Rin leaned over to the nearby twins and tickled them and they sleepily tried to capture her fingers, which caused Rin to laugh. Kagome watched with a motherly smile.

"You will be an amazing mother someday, Rin." Rin looked over her shoulder and felt a hopeful twinge at the thought of having kids and then the irresistible idea of Sesshomaru being the father swept over her and she turned back to playing with the newborns.

"Thank you." Kagome smiled in reply and grabbed the bell pull and summoned some breakfast for the two of them. InuYasha himself came in with a plethora of goods. Sliced strawberries, bananas, oranges, glasses orange juice and fresh milk, plates of cut current bread followed with hot oats in sweet cream accompanied by assorted teas, muffins and biscuits from the nearby bakery, and two bouquets of roses. Pink ones for Rin, who so surprised by this giggled lightly and crushed them to herself thanking a blushing InuYasha and hugging a bubbly Kagome, who received the blood red bouquet. They breakfasted for over an hour and Kagome had to breast feed the twins several times, as they napped on and off.

Rin felt like stretching her legs after such a sumptuous meal and she hugged Kagome goodbye, tickled the twins, and waved to InuYasha as she left. Rin disposed the roses with instructions to a member of Sesshomaru's crew, then noticed Sesshomaru himself at the head of the ship looking at her with detached eyes. She didn't wave or even acknowledge him, she took off for a walk, followed by a deploy of Sesshomaru's.

She explored shops and various alleyways. Somewhere around dusk Rin took a wrong turn and ended up at a dead end.’ Great. I guess I should head back now'. With a sigh full of unspent energy, Rin turned around. She came face to face with a woman who looked similar to Kagome. The woman had a steely facial expression and Rin picked up a evil undercurrent coming off her. Rin turned her head this way and that looking for the man who had been sent to keep an eye on her, only to find that this man was no where to be found.

"So, your the one that supposed to be a massive challenge and highly powerful? I think Naraku has overestimated on this one." The woman seemed to relax a bit and threw Rin a smirk filled with malice. "Well, perhaps size is not everything. Let us find out, shall we?" She posed it a question, but Rin knew that this was not up for discussion.

Rin felt sure this was it. Naraku had sent someone to kill her and she hadn't even found her power yet and Sesshomaru wasn't around. 'Where is the baka when I need him?' This thought was cut short as Kikyo began to glow. Rin looked frantically around her for some escape. As she backed up Kikyo raced forward and leapt at her.

Rin felt a sharp pain in her neck where Kikyo had cut her with a daggar she pulled out of thin air. Scuttling to her feet, Rin searched for Kikyo, her eyes darting every which way. She felt a dripping on her cheek and glanced up, Kikyo sat on the brick wall daggar pointing down and Rin's blood dripping from the tip. Rin let out a shriek and ran toward the mouth of the alleyway.

Kikyo came at her again; flipping over the Rin's head in about two seconds after she made for the street, blocking her view. With another flick of the daggar she cut into Rin's shoulder. Rin grasped her shoulder and pulled her hand away. As she looked at her own blood something stirred in her. A strange power filled her and Rin started to quake. She continued to glower at the blood on her appendage and then, on pure instinct, blew on it, to her great surprise a cloud of blue haze formed on it and when it cleared, her hand was clean. Rin thought she felt the power gaining strength and as if testing it blew on her shoulder, the effect immediate, her shoulder not only cleaned, but healed to hers and Kikyo's surprise.

"That's only a formality. Let's see if you can heal a slit throat." Kikyo moved with the same rapid speed, but Rin's eyes seemed to tune themselves and she followed Kikyo's every move and as she reached Rin lurching forward with fatal aim Rin side-stepped and caught the miko by the wrist in a vice grip that shocked her. She didn't realize exactly how tightly she was holding the malicious woman until she cried out and a crack resounded.

Rin made a grab for the daggar, assuming she had the upper hand, but Kikyo twisted herself in an backward motion and though it thoroughly snapped her wrist she broke free of Rin's hold and stabbed her in the shoulder blade. Kikyo did a hind kick and sent a shocked Rin into the brick wall of one of the buildings.

She fell to the ground and spat out blood, but did not stop to scream. With an uncanny likeness of Sesshomaru, Rin turned to face Kikyo with a stoic face and allowed Kikyo to see her pull the daggar out of her back, even though it hurt like hell, Rin knew she'd be okay, her instincts guiding her. She held the daggar aloft and just as Kikyo made another ferocious attack, Rin threw the knife at Kikyo, with the precision of a predator, which caught her in the stomach. The miko hit the ground next to Rin's feet and lay there for a few moments.

While Rin peered down at the fallen opponent she felt the power receding and with this knowledge she did a one-eighty and fled. As she came out of the mouth of the alley she impacted something large and strong. She stumbled slightly, but found herself face to face with Sesshomaru. He had apparently been watching the exchange. Rin noticed this at once and punched him with mighty strength she didn't usually possess. Sesshomaru's nose twitched slightly indicating it had hurt, but said nothing as Rin shouted at him.

"YOU WERE HERE THE WHOLE TIME AND WATCHED ME BE ATTACKED! YOU MAY NOT BE ABLE TO LOVE ME, BUT ONE WOULD ASSUME YOU DID NOT WANT ME DEAD!" Sesshomaru waited till she finished and while she went on to breath heavily enlightened her.

"Rin you are not dead. I would have readily stepped in, but I had to see if there was any truth to the prophecy. You did fairly well." Rin was not consoled by this and let off a child like shriek of outrage. "Stop acting like a child. I assure you I would not allow you to die."

Rin huffed, "You just don't get it, do you?" She seemed beyond words in her indignation and merely pushed past him, taking off toward the ship. Sesshomaru was puzzled by her meaning and hurt that she would think so little of him, but he detached himself from the situation and moved toward Kikyo, who was now nursing her wounds.

"That was a mere taste of her power. You a miko should have been able to read the power she radiating, especially as you attempted to kill her. Tell Naraku that he has thrown the sword, and tell him that a fortnight from now I shall draw mine. He'll know where to find me." Sesshomaru saw that Kikyo had absorbed this information and with a sniff of disdain walked off after Rin.

Kikyo sat still a while after the pair had left and extracted the dagger with a cry of pain. Red eyes gleamed in the shadows of the night, their owner stepped out to the fallen woman.

"Kikyo I am surprised. Overestimated did I?" Naraku made a tutting sound and smirked. "Come, you obviously need tending to and I need to prepare. A fortnight from now we have a war to wage. I assume you will be more readily prepared?" Kikyo nodded and took Naraku's extended hand. In a whirl of miasma the two disappeared and the night took an eerie silence.

*******Back in Sesshomaru's cabin*******

Rin stood still looking into a mirror placed behind her and assessed the wound in her shoulder. Jaken stood on a stack of tombs on Sesshomaru's chair struggling to get on top of the desk so he could clean the wound and bandage it. With a particularly hard push Jaken hoisted himself onto the desk and in his foul mood he dug his fingers into her wound making her take in a sharp breath. He cleaned it in slow sharp painful strokes and bandaged it rather tightly.

Rin concentrated not on the pain, but on the beautiful pink roses from earlier that afternoon. She ran over what had happened the feeling that had been overwhelming and absorbed a cleansing breath. A one time she would not have realized her own potential, but she could not ignore the feeling of such immense power.

After the small imp finished tying the last strip of bandage he walked smugly out of the room; Sesshomaru came in the proceeding seconds. He took a seat a good distance from Rin and waited for her to finish lacing her stays in the back. She did so in a hurry and sat on the bed, which was still a jumbled mess.

"You will begin training over the next two weeks. Kagome will help you channel your power and how to fight with weapons." Rin nodded having expected as much. Sesshomaru continued to speak in a monotone of formality, which made the hairs on Rin's neck stand on end. "I will be sleeping elsewhere and you will be confined to your room after supper-no, this is not punishment-but a security against attack." Rin knew better, this was so she couldn't wonder around and tempt him and so he couldn't just waltz in and be tempted either.

"You can close me out, Sesshomaru, but remember this. I am not the one that is hiding." Sesshomaru seemed to ignore this and with a 'goodnight' he swept from the room. Twenty minutes later a tray containing her dinner was brought in and after it was swept away, Rin heard footsteps, a creak outside her door, and the distinct slid of a bolt and turning of a key.

Rin spotted one of Sesshomaru's long shirts and though not proper, Rin changed into it, the only thing on under it being her chemise. She took comfort in the musk of the shirt and crawled into the tangle of bed sheets, hoping for a peaceful sleep, instead of nightmares, per usual.

A/N: Hope you guys liked it. This is the longest chapter so far; I believe and hope to get at least five reviews. Thanks. Until next time…..Egyptian Kiss!