A/N: I'm back! Sorry guys a lot has been going on but I will not waste your time with my lame sob stories. On with the chapter!

3. strangers and lovers

Inuyasha sat on one of the thick tree branches on the large oak in the corner of Miroku's backyard and looked up at the moon in the sky. He shook his head in disappointment. He could already tell things would not end well with him going to this new school. It already sucked he was being forced to live with Sesshomaru until his father returned from Europe. The last thing he wanted to do was attend school with his evil ex-girlfriend. Just to be on the safe side he had sent her a text to meet her outside by the tree.

"What the hell are you doing up there?" A firm but delicate feminine voice demanded from below.

He looked down and saw Kikyo frowning with her arms crossed over her chest. With one last breath he tried to enjoy the peace he would no longer have after this conversation. He leapt from the tree ten feet in the air and somehow landed with cat-like grace before her. When he rose to his full height he watched her eyes travel from his face, down the long plane of his fit body, and back up to his face. He did nothing to hide the knowing smile.

"Miss me?"

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm actually disappointed. I had nearly managed to completely erase you from memory."

He put a hand over his chest and pouted. "Oh, Kikyo. It hurts to hear you say those things. You know there once a time where you loved me."

"That was a long time ago. You know, before you ruined my life!"

He sighed, putting all humor aside. "Kikyo, that's not fair. You aren't the only one who got into trouble for that."

"Yes, but I'm the only one who had to suffer!" She nearly screamed, eye filling with unexpected tears. "You got to walk away scathe free and I- I!"

Inuyasha stepped closer to her, his eyes serious, his voice quiet and calm. "You know I never meant for it to happen. Any of it. It was a mistake, I'm sorry, I've said sorry a thousand times."

"And it still means nothing!" Kikyo spat at him. She blinked away her unshed tears and took a deep breath. "Listen," she began quietly. "I have a good life here. I have a boyfriend and I am popular and no one knows about what happened. I would really appreciate it if you kept our relationship a secret. I don't want to live through it again."

"I would not put you through it again." He took several steps, closing the gap between them and took her right hand in his. When she did not immediately pull away he lifted the hand and placed his other over it. He looked her deep in the eye, so that way he could make sure his next words would penetrate the brick wall she put around her heart. "Kikyo, I never meant to hurt you. I've always only wanted to protect you and love you. Always. I still love you."

She shook her head and looked away. "No. You… you can't say that." She brought her again tear filled eyes to his, her somber expression matching his. "You don't get to say that to me, not anymore."

He did not say anything for a moment, unsure of what to do. In reality he knew there was not much he could do. Kikyo would never trust him again, the scars were too deep, and it was his entire fault. He knew it, and that's what pained him the most. Because he had been the one to betray her she would never be his again, never completely.

"Even if I cannot say it, I still mean it, and the feeling will always be there. I will always love you. You are my soul mate."

She slowly pulled her hand back. "No. I am not. I never was." She gave him straightened her back. "I-Inuyasha…" she paused closing her eyes, as if just the saying of his name gave her some kind of pain. "I don't want to go back to what I was. I am happy here. Please, let me be happy."

He nodded and his throat tightened uncomfortably. "You have nothing to worry about," he cleared his throat, hoping to loosen it. "I will say nothing, and Miroku knows nothing - on my Mother's grave."

Her eyes softened briefly then. Mentioning his mother made her remember, the reason why they even fell in love in the first place. The reason why they got close in the first place. She simply nodded stiffly, "Thank you."

She turned on her heel and walked away. Inuyasha watched her go, the sway of her hips, her long pale legs, retreating away from him. Somehow it hurt worse than when she actually broke up with him two years ago. When she went back in the party he climbed back in the tree and took his original post, staring at the crescent moon. He let of a despaired sigh and leaned back against the tree reaching in his pocket and pulling out a little white capsule. He popped it in his mouth and swallowed it without hesitation. He hummed and closed his eyes, waiting for his sadness to creep away and the euphoria to take over.

XOXOXOXOXOXOX

Kagome sighed remorsefully. She had been at the party for over two hours, and she was completely miserable. After her last three texts went unanswered and one phone call ignored, she figured Rin was skipping the party. Even though she knew she shouldn't be, she was mad as hell at Rin. Now she felt lonely and awkward, sitting on the couch in the center of the room. Normally this would not be so bad but right beside her she had Sango straddling Miroku, drunkenly making out. Miroku's hands were buried beneath Sango's clothes. One was under her shirt and bra fondling her left breast, and the other between her thighs pumping back and forth slowly while his fingers twisted beneath the crotch of her shorts.

Kagome's scowl deepened. She could not understand how they could be doing that right in the middle of the room, even if they were drunk. Then again, as she looked around she realized that no one was really watching them, either too drunk or too high to care. From the way things looked she was the only sober person in the room. Kagome gave another peripheral scan of the two. Her jaw nearly dropped when she realized Sango was now unbuttoning Miroku's pants and loosening the zipper. Kagome reeled when she saw the veiny shaft of flesh pop out. In the back of her head she linked it to the resemblance of a jack-in-the-box toy. Feeling awkward and more than disgusted, Kagome shifted so that she was facing away from them completely.

That's when Sango was pushed onto the couch by Miroku. At this point her shirt was off and her shorts were unbuttoned. Miroku was starting to pull them off when Sango suddenly sat up and slapped him. He gave her a look of pure shock and hurt.

"I'm not some whore Miroku!" She screamed before jumping to her feet and storming away. Miroku quickly got up and stumbled drunkenly trying to follow after her. Unfortunately she was much more coherent and easily made it up the stairs and out the door, locking him in the basement with the rest of his party guests.

He banged his fists on the door and screamed in a desperate voice, "Sango! Sango, open the door! Babe! What's wrong?! What did I do?!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Not in the mood for her friends' drama, she rose from the couch and made her way to the exit, once again meeting Inuyasha's gaze. She quickly left the basement and took a deep breath of the crisp warm air of the late night. She stepped out and made her way into the dark fenced backyard. A few trees were scattered here and there, but there was nothing else filling the space. She went and leaned against a tree and looked up.

A few stars adorned the blue-black sky and the crescent moon shined a creamy light down on Kagome. It seemed so close. As she stared up at it, she rolled her shoulders while arching her back, hoping to shake the ache that had gathered there. Most likely from all the new stress she was dealing with. The entire night she had done a miserable job at not thinking about it. If anything she was hyper-aware. When people starting passing around blunts she nearly burst into tears, afraid that she would be found out by refusing, relieved to find that no one cared. Then she was afraid again, afraid that the smoke was somehow harming the baby.

The baby.

Her and Koga's baby.

What was she going to do? What was she going to tell him? He already had enough to deal with. His court date was approaching and the last thing he needed to hear was that she was pregnant. They had always talked about having kids, after they got married. He had promised as soon as she graduated he would marry her and they would move close to the beach. But now, that may never happen.

Kagome was so engrossed in her thoughts, she did not hear the person sitting in the tree overhead. She was not aware sshe had company until a light but firm object hit her in the center of her cranium. She jumped and let out a panicked, "Hey!"

She looked up to see where the offending object came from. Her eyes met with a honey hued glare. They belonged to Miroku's 'special guest', who turned out to be Miroku's childhood friend, Inuyasha. He had just moved to town and would be starting school with them soon. He hopped climbed from the tree and hopped down in front of her, surprising her with his agility.

Standing at full height he was several inches taller than her. He studied her for a long time, swaying back and forth. At the moment he seemed to be under the influence of something. His eyes were glazed over, and his pupils were dilated.

"You came back," he muttered.

"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.

"I thought you hated me," he whispered, pouting, looking as if he were about to cry.

"Why would I hate you?" She asked, more than confused that this complete stranger was talking to her, even while clearly messed up on something. She paused to give him another good look.

For the most part he looked normal, standing at matched eight with Miroku with honey golden eyes, firm jaw, and natural gold-tan skin. The most eye catching part of him was his long silvery-white ash blond hair. The thick tresses were wound tightly into thick dreadlocks pulled back into braids and hung to the center of his back. Gages hung in his earlobes, wide enough for her to stick her middle finger through. He wore a pair of white shorts that looked like they had been cut with a pair of scissors at the knees, a red tank top, and a single sandal on his left foot that seemed to be made of woven rope.

Jesus sandals.

She could not help but giggle a little at the thought. She looked around and saw the other laying in the lush grass. She reached down and picked it up, still smiling looking up at the young man. He looked like a total hippy, only cleaner. Even while he was giving her a dead, stare Kagome could not help but blush. He was just so oddly… good looking.

He tilted his head to the side and took two steps closer to her. She could smell him, he smelled good, like spicy incense and oak. She leaned in closer to get a better sniff. She hadn't realized how awkward she looked until she realized he was staring at her from a lot closer. Feeling very embarrassed she stood back and smiled.

"Please don't be mad at me anymore," he finally said.

Kagome had no time to react as his hands came up to grip her head in a firm but gentle grip. Kagome's eyes bulged as she looked at him with a startled and anxious look. He pulled her face close to his and held it there for a moment, just staring into her eyes. . Her mouth suddenly went very dry. She opened to speak, but her words were quickly swallowed as Inuyasha's mouth crashed into hers very clumsily, causing her tooth to jab the tender flesh of her lip. She let out a small pained squeal, but the pain quickly dissipated and Kagome was suddenly hyper-aware of the young man who held her to him with forced gentleness.

His tongue was probing, massaging against her own with long and slow strokes. Kagome had the started to pull away, but there was something else that made her stop. That something was Inuyasha's mouth as it pulled away from her wet lips and trailed hot wet kikisses down her cheek, jaw and to the base of her neck where he sucked, hard. She let out a surprised squeal and she leaned forward into his arms. Warmth pooled in her nether regions as familiar pleasant sensations radiated across her now sensitive flesh.

Inuyasha's hands now roamed elsewhere. Pulling up the hem of her dress and pushing her down onto the soft lush grass. Kagome did little to fight him off, in fact she pulled him with her as she fell to the ground with her arms wrapped around his shoulders bringing her lips back to his for another kiss.

A part of her scolded herself, demanding to know just what the hell was she doing? What about Koga? How could she do this to him while she carried his child? The child that he did not know about yet, and the child that she did not want. Still, it was wrong, and she knew it. But it had been so long. So long since she had been hugged and touched and kissed. She had felt bad all day, and now… she just wanted to feel better.

"Oh!" She squeaked when she felt his hands slip beneath her underwear and a finger begin to strum her clit. She gripped his muscular shoulders to stop him . "Wait! I-Inuyasha, wait!"

He paused for a moment. "What's wrong, Kikyo?"

Kikyo?

Kagome sat up and pushed him off of her. He thought she was Kikyo? Really?!

"I'm not Kikyo."

"You're not?"

"No! Get off of me!" She shoved him hard and managed to get on her feet. What a turn off, being called another girls name – granted she never told him her name, but still.

He looked up at her with ide confused eyes. She turned on her with her hands on her hips. "I can't believe you just called me Kikyo!"

"If you are not Kikyo, then who are you?" He asked standing up again and looking down at her with a frown. Now, with him glaring at her, she felt more than a little intimidated and really humiliated.

"I'm Kagome," she said, words almost catching in her throat as she realized she was starting to cry.

Crying, because she was embarrassed. Crying, because she felt rejected and unloved and lost. And pregnant! Crying, because all she needed was to be held and be told that she was loved and she was not a total fuck up and that everything would be okay… But it wasn't.

"I'm Kagome," she repeated louder on a sob.

Inuyasha just stared at her for a long time, then his arms were around her, holding her close and her face was nestled into his firm chest. "Shh, don't cry. I'm sorry, Kagome. Please stop crying."

She leaned back and looked up at him, this stranger who she was just about to cheat on her boyfriend with, who had thought she was Kikyo. And now she was crying in his arms. The worst part was that it felt good, too good. Pulling away from him completely she sniffed and took several steps back.

"I have to go," she whispered before turning to leave him there alone.

"Kagome," Inuyasha called solemnly, as if he were disappointed. She stopped and turned to face him. His eyes dropped to the ground for a moment, then rose to meet hers again. "It's a beautiful name."

"Thank you." She said spun on her toes.

"Don't you want to know my name?" She heard him call after her.

She turned to face him again face wet and flushed, she smiled sweetly. "I already know your name."

This made him pause. She could tell he was racking his brain for anything else to say to keep her from walking away. Any other night Kagome would have indulged him a little, but now, under the circumstances she was not feeling very flirty. She was actually very sleepy. Sango was tied up with Miroku and Rin obviously was skipping out on the party. She had put in enough hours, it was safe for her to leave now.

"I'll see you around, Inuyasha," she called, waving kindly before walking away quickly. She reentered the basement, only to gather her belongings to leave.

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOX

"Remember to take it easy these next few days. If you start getting really bad migraines or experience any other problems come back," Dr. Suikotsu said handing her the prescription slip he just filled out for pain medication.

She took it in her hands. "Thank you, I will."

"You got very lucky. If that man had not found you things would probably had been a lot worse."

"I know," she admitted, shivering as her body recalled the trauma it experienced as her mind took her back to the moment. Her entire abdomen and left side of her torso was very horribly swollen and bruised. Other than that she was fine, nothing had been broken or dislocated. She didn't even have a black eye, just a few scratches on her face and a small bruise on her left cheek.

Rin nodded sucking on her bottom lip. The entire time her golden eyed savior had been on her mind. Even though she protested he brought her to the hospital and had waited in the lobby until her name was called. She was worried he had decided to leave considering she had been x-rayed and gone for almost three hours now.

She could not blame him if he did, but she was already feeling a bit disappointed at the idea.

"Is he still here?" She asked before she thought about it.

"I believe he is. I saw him giving his statement to the police earlier."

She nodded and gathered her backpack in her arms.

"Have a good night," he said gently before she left the small room. When she entered the half-filled ER waiting room she was worried when she did not see her savior. Had he left her?

Not wanting to look like an idiot just standing in the waiting room of the ER she continued on until she exited the hospital. She was pulling out her cell phone, hoping that Sango or Kagome would be able to pick her up, seeing as her grandmother was too far away. She was surprised they did not call her grandmother, but she figured that had something to do with her savior. They probably thought he was her guardian.

Honk, Honk!

Rin's head snapped up and her eyes widened when she saw a sleek white sports car pull up along the curb in front of her. The same car she rode there in. She walked up to it and opened the passenger seat door. Sure enough, there he was, sitting in the driver's seat. He gave her an apathetic glance before gesturing for her to get in. Without a word Rin slid inside the car, shutting the door behind her. She buckled her seatbelt as he pulled out of the hospital parking lot. He handed her a GPS navigator.

"Put in your address."

Rin hesitated, but only for a second before punching in the apartment address. To say that she was nervous was an understatement. Now that she knew she was not badly injured she could only focus on the intimidatingly silent male beside her, the man who saved her, the very man who she had been obsessing over the last few days. It was all so strange how it all worked out. Of all the people who could have come to her rescue it was him. Not that she minded. In fact, she was thrilled. She could not ask the universe for a better gift. Now, she just had to get him to open up a little.

"Thank you," she said, breaking the long drawn out silence that began to envelop the space. "If it weren't for you I'd probably be…" She broke off. Not wanting to even think about where she might be. Her throat constricted painfully and she cleared it before muttering out another rushed thank you.

"You need to be more careful. Walking around alone late at night is stupid, particularly with you being a girl."

Rin raised an eyebrow and looked at him. Was he scolding her? That was the last thing she expected from him. "I suppose you are right… I will be more careful from now on… Thank you for making me go to the hospital too. It's nice to know that my ribs aren't broken."

"Hn."

And the silence resumed. Rin didn't dare talk again, mostly because she could not think of what to say. He was making her so nervous with his long muscled arms, and hard chiseled face. He was so handsome and strong. He had a certain menacing charm about him that made Rin tingle with excitement. As she stared out the window, enjoying the lights of downtown as they made their way back to uptown, she realized that every couple breaths he would take a really deep breath, as if he was sniffing something. She turned to face him and study his profile. His silver hair was in a low ponytail pulled over his other shoulder so his perfect face was completely visible. She was also able to study his tattoos better. All along his firm muscled arms were bold magenta colored swirling lines. They looked tribal.

For a moment she wondered how it would look if she had all of those permanent markings all over her flesh. She would probably look really weird. Rin had never really liked tattoos. She always thought they were a waste of people's money. She had seen some cool ones but nothing ever worth permanently imprinting it into her skin.

"I would really like to repay you," she finally said. "I am so grateful, I don't think I can say thank you enough."

"You can and you have." He said in a very clipped tone.

Rin just looked at him, feeling suddenly very embarrassed, though she had no idea why. Why was he being so… mean? Was he always like this? Had she done something wrong? "Are you angry at me for something? I can pay you back if you want me to."

"Pay me back for what? You've taken nothing from me."

That made her shift uncomfortably. "Well you seem to be very upset about something. I was wondering if it had something to do with me."

"If it had something to do with you, you would not be in my car."

"Oh…"

More silence. Rin just pressed her lips together and leaned against the window. She dared not to speak again after all that. Who would have known Mr. Perfect had a rotten attitude. Then again, if she had the female equivalent to a face like that she'd be a total asshole to people too. It wouldn't matter; people would be too mystified by her looks to care about her blatant rudeness, just like she was doing with him now. She dug her cell phone out of her bag and began browsing through various social media apps.

About ten minutes had passed when she heard his gruff voice say, "Apologies."

"What?" Rin said turning to look at him.

"Apologies for my behavior. I had just received some bad news before you came out of the hospital."

"Oh? Do you want to talk about it?" He gave her bleak look. Rin quickly rushed to explain. "I mean, you just saved my life! The least I can do is offer a listening ear. I won't tell anyone!" Just for emphasis she held out her left pinky. "Pinky promise."

His face pulled into a slight frown and he stared down at her tiny appendage coated and neon green nail polish. He faced the, road once more and answered quietly. "It is private. I'm sure you understand."

She nodded. "Right. Yeah, I know. I was just trying to help," she paused with a heavy sigh. "I should offer you some sort of reward, shouldn't I?"

"You owe me nothing."

"That's not the way I see it," Rin gently whispered. "You saved my life."

Sesshomaru stopped at a red light and his eyes met hers for only a short moment before the light turned green and his attention went back to his driving. Rin turned away from him and went back to her phone. It was not long before they reached the apartment – much to her displeasure. She set her phone down in her lap and went to unbuckle her seatbelt and opened the door. She turned back to look at him and smile brightly.

"Well, thank you again – hey!" She finished nearly screaming the word in his face as she leaned over in excitement. "What's your name?"

She was so close she could feel his breath on her face, but she was still far enough away she could see his face clearly. He seemed to be frozen in place giving her a calculated gaze, as if he was preparing for her to strike. "My name," he repeated blinking at her face.

Rin's eyes had fell to his lips when he spoke, feeling suddenly warm all over, and tingling where even she dared not touch. She brought her eyes back up to his, they were smoldering, like molten pools of gold. Rin's heart was racing and her breath started to catch in her throat. He suddenly leaned forward, making Rin still.

"I am Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru.

Even his name was sexy. Rin leaned in some more, breathing in the rich, spicy scent of him. She hummed with pleasure and she murmured, "Sesshomaru. I like that name. I am Rin."

She watched him swallow, and then his deep voice whispered her name. Making her shiver with tingles of desire. She wanted something. A strange knot was forming in her lower abdomen and her inner muscles kept clenching uncomfortably.

What is happening? A voice in the back of her brain asked. She met his smoldering gaze again and without any thought Rin closed the space between him. She gripped the center armrest to steady her shaking hands, and pressed her soft lips against his firm ones in a wet open mouthed kiss. After a second went by and he did not push her away, she closed her eyes and enjoyed it a little longer. When she pulled back, she opened her eyes and Sesshomaru's face was a stoic mask. The only change in appearance was his cheeks were slightly tinted pink.

Rin sat back and completely flushed, and shocked by her own behavior. She had never kissed a boy. She had been kissed many times by boys, but she never really wanted it, but with him – with Sesshomaru – it was different. She felt something for him ever since the first time she saw him at the tattoo shop. She knew she wanted to know him, to kiss him. Now she has, and she only wanted more. More kisses, more touching, more Sesshomaru. Unfortunately she lacked the courage to face the consequences of her actions, especially if one of those consequences was him rejecting her. As graceful as her clumsy feet would allow her, she stepped out of the car and grabbed her backpack.

"Thank you," she uttered out breathlessly. "Bye… Sesshomaru," She smiled and shut the door before literally running toward the apartment complex entrance. She dared not look back, unable to even take even a glimpse of him at this time.

When she got inside the apartment she was greeted with Kagome sitting on the futon eating a bag of chips. She shuffled over and eased down onto the couch, wincing at her injuries.

"You okay," Kagome asked.

When she was comfortably seated Rin let out a long sigh. "Today has been… crazy."

Kagome snorted. "Hasn't it?"

"Is Sango staying at Miroku's?"

Kagome nodded. "The boys are at my house."

Rin nodded and stuck her hand in the chi bag taking out a few for herself before standing up slowly. "I'm going to bed," she said before shuffling to her and Sango's shared room. Kagome only offered a small goodnight.

So what did you guys think?