Hi, everyone! I've had a lot of positive feedback from a few of my other Rin/Sesshomaru stories, so I've decided to begin writing a few more in the hopes that everyone who reads them will enjoy it! Anyways, if you could please leave me a review to let me know if you're interested/excited about the upcoming story that would be lovely!

"You can't be serious." I practically collapsed into the flimsy kitchen chair that was behind me, mouth gaping open in shock. My aunt had to be joking. Surely, surely, Aunt Francine and I were just having a simple misunderstanding.

That had to be it. It had to be.

"Nonsense, Rin. I couldn't be more serious. This union has been planned for quite a while and I expect you to cooperate."

"Cooperate?! Why on earth would I do that?" What she was asking was awful. How could she expect me to do something so abhorrent that I would surely whither away and die from misery within days. Aunt Francine batted her eyes in my direction, the enormous pile of makeup coating her eye lids making it nearly impossible to keep them open.

"You will do this because it is what's best for the family."

My cousin Kagome entered the kitchen through the back door, a crushed look on her face, arms wrapped protectively around her middle.

"What's wrong with you?" I practically snapped out in frustration. "It's not like they're trying to force you to marry someone you don't even know." Kagome's sad eyes met mine before the realization sunk in. Eyes wide, I turned back to my Aunt, fury evident on my face. "You pawned Kagome, your own daughter, off on one of these demons too?"

Aunt Francine glared at me before setting down the spatula she'd been using to flip a pancake. "I did what I did because it was necessary. We've barely scraped by for years and finally an opportunity presented itself and I snatched it up."

"She gambled away the house and cut a deal with the Taisho family. She bartered us away so she could erase her previous debts to one of their many casinos."

The Taisho family? I thought I was going to die. They were by far the richest family throughout all of Japan, which was evident by the many casinos and various businesses they had floating around the entire country. To top it off, the entire family was full of dog demons. They weren't gangsters of any sort, in fact they were all respectable businessmen, which made this deal all the more suspicious.

"I don't understand. Why the hell would they want two human women?"

Aunt Francine hesitated before answering. "I didn't exactly ask questions. All I know is that you are to marry into the family. Some sort of political spiel or another."

Political spiel? I rolled my eyes. I stood up from the broken and beaten chair and stood next to Kagome, placing an arm gently around her. "We aren't going to do it." Aunt Francine opened her mouth but I continued on. "I'm serious. I'm 21 years old and Kagome is 22. Hell, we haven't lived with you in years. Did you honestly think you could just sign away our lives and we would let you? What you're attempting to do is illegal and I'm not going to let you destroy both of our lives for your selfish gain."

Aunt Francine burst into tears. "They said they would kill me if the contract was voided in any way. Please," she pleaded, latching a hand onto Kagome's forearm. "You have to accept or else." She widened her eyes dramatically, crocodile tears flowing freely down her face, completely destroying the make up she'd recently applied. I wanted to rip her hand away from Kagome's. To be honest, I kind of wanted to beat her upside the head with the frying pan that held the pancake batter, but I resisted.

It took a lot of effort.

"I..." Kagome sucked in a deep breath before looking at me beseechingly.

She wasn't serious about this, was she? Did she have any idea what the fabled Taisho brothers were like? The eldest, whose name always slipped my mind, was some sort of closed off recluse who hated any and every human he came across, and the younger one, Inu-something or another, was such a playboy it was rumored he'd slept with over 10 women at once. Who does that?

"Kagome, don't." Now I was pleading, even though I knew the battle was lost. Aunt Francine had a mean streak in her and playing to Kagome's tender heart was one of the most despicable things the woman could do. Unfortunately, I was always stumbling blindly behind Kagome, trying to protect the heart she wore on her sleeve like a badge of courage. Aunt Francine knew that if she got Kagome to consent then I would eventually follow like I always did, especially in an unknown situation like this one. What if something bad happened to Kagome, even worse then all of this madness, and I wasn't there to protect her? It would kill me and Aunt Francine knew it, damn her.

Was I the only one in this family with sense?

"I'll do it for you, mother." Kagome whispered out, a lone tear falling from her lashes and trailing down her cheek. I sighed woefully. This just wasn't my day.

"They require both of you. Please, Rin. You must help your family." Aunt Francine turned to glare in my direction, all of her previous worries seeming to vanish into thin air. It had been like this since my parents died when I was younger. Aunt Francine would cry and mope about until Kagome felt bad enough to indulge her mother in whatever she requested and with me she would glare and spit fire in my direction until I eventually caved in order to keep peace among us, for Kagome's sake.

"You mean help you. If you had any true concept of family you would never have placed Kagome and myself into a situation like this." The words came out of my mouth like steel, but if anything I felt weak and defeated.

"What do we do now?" Kagome asked her mother.

Aunt Francine smiled brightly at her daughter. "You both are to pack a few of your possessions and meet back here by noon. There will be a car waiting to take you to your new home."

"Wait, you mean we have to get rid of our apartment? We just renewed the lease!" I exclaimed, obviously taken aback by the next proceedings. Where were we supposed to go?

"It's already been taken care of. You'll be residing in one of the main houses of the Taisho residence until they decide who is to wed whom." I glared at the terror in front of me.

"For someone who doesn't know anything about all of this, you sure have a lot of information on the subject."

Aunt Francine looked away, grabbing the spatula and peeling a burned pancake from the frying pan. "I was only given information to help you find your way to your new life."

Riiiight. Why didn't I believe that?

Kagome grabbed my hand before I could start another argument. "Come on, Rin. Let's go home and pack."

I sighed miserably, hoping to God this was some sort of nightmare.

"What if they decide we're just too pathetic to marry and let us out of this agreement? That could happen, right?" I asked hopefully as we entered our sparse apartment.

"I wouldn't count on any miracles, Rin." Kagome's sad voice floated over to me as she crept into her bedroom and began gathering her clothes into a neat pile.

"But we were going to get a cat and everything," I whined pitifully as I made my way into my own measly bedroom, gathering what few possessions I had.

Kagome and I weren't rich by any means. A struggle for many came as naturally as breathing to any Higurashi member and we were no exception.

Kagome and I had recently both graduated college, thank God for scholarships, and were on our way to starting whole new, prosperous lives. I never imagined it would have been like this. Kagome had majored in interior design while I'd majored in Finance with a minor in Music. I'd always wanted to play the piano professionally, but I'd sought a more acceptable major, which would hopefully allow me to find a decent paying job more easily than music would have.

It had been a few months since Kagome and I had graduated, both with honors, and we still couldn't find a job that was willing to hire us. It was as if we were cursed and considering the terrible morning we'd both had, I was beginning to suspect that was a correct assumption.

I pulled out a ratty suitcase from under my bed, placing the only nice clothes I owned into it as well as a few nightgowns and a photo album of my parents and I when I was just a child. It was the only thing I had left of them and there was no way I was leaving it behind.

Kagome came into my room, knocking softly as she entered. "It's getting close to noon. Are you almost ready?"

"I just need to grab a few things from the bathroom and I should be all set." Kagome nodded her head before turning around and leaving.

Once we had everything we figured we'd need, Kagome and I left the apartment, shutting and locking the door behind us. The lock sliding in place was like a warning that we could never go back to our old life.

I didn't realize until much later how true that was.

We stood on the porch steps outside of Aunt Francine's house. I clutched my thin, old jacket around me, hoping to keep a bit of the chill from my bones. So far, nothing was working as it should have. Coats were supposed to keep me warm, but all this was doing was trapping the cold air into my body. I didn't even know why I bothered wearing it at all.

I looked back to the house, noticing Aunt Francine was peeking through a window at us, trying in vain to be discreet. Kagome kept her head down, eyes intently focused on the scuff marks on her tennis shoes.

We made quite the pair, her and I. What kind of billionaires wanted to marry women who couldn't even afford decent footwear? Lunatics.

A car pulled in front of the ramshackle house and I eyed it warily. It was black and sleek, that much was obvious. Unfortunately, I didn't know a thing about vehicles other than it looked expensive.

Kagome sucked in a breath and I clasped her hand in mine, squeezing gently. "You ready to go, Gome?" She nodded her head and we both stepped from the porch, our suitcases trailing behind us.

A young demon got out from the driver's side of the car, rushing over to grab our bags from us.

"Good afternoon, ladies! I'm Shippo and I'll be your chauffeur until I'm given other instruction." The demon placed our bags in the trunk of the vehicle before opening the door for us, ushering us inside the warm vehicle. Sitting back in the leather, I almost fell asleep when a blast of hot air warmed my bones. It was heaven and I couldn't for the life of me remember the last time I'd ever felt so warm. Generally we couldn't afford to keep the heat going all winter and had to make do with plenty of blankets. Soaking up all the warm air was an addiction I wasn't sure I could shake.

"Where exactly are we going, Shippo?" Kagome asked, smiling brightly at the demon driving the vehicle.

"About an hour from here. The main manor, where we're going, is relatively secluded in the woods. It's about a twenty minute drive to the nearest town. The masters prefer it that way."

"Masters?" We both asked in unison.

"Ah, yes. The main manor belongs to Lord Inu Taisho. Scattered among the few thousand acres the family owns, Lord Sesshomaru holds his own residence as well as Lord Inuyasha, the youngest of the three dog demons."

"Do you know what they want with us?" I asked, although I doubted he had an answer.

Shippo shrugged slightly before answering. "Although it's never happened before, apparently Lord Inu Taisho has decided his sons need to establish more firm ties with the human world by marrying a few of its women. As I heard it, you two were a lucky find. Inu Taisho was uncertain how easy it would be to find wives for both of his sons since they both have peculiar...habits. Many women wouldn't agree into such a union unless they were only after the family wealth, but I've heard in your case there were different circumstances."

Kagome and I looked at one another. Different circumstances about summed it up perfectly.

"Thank you, Shippo."

I sat back and closed my eyes, hoping when I opened them again this would all be a bad dream.

"Rin, wake up. We're here." Kagome's excited voice whispered into my ear. I kept my eyes closed and pushed her away slightly, still feigning sleep.

"I'm having a nightmare Kagome, go away."

The door next to me opened quickly, allowing a rush of cold air to practically soak through my entire wardrobe. I groaned audibly before opening my eyes and glaring at Shippo who had the decency to looked chagrined before smiling down at us.

"Come, ladies. It isn't wise to keep the masters waiting."

I stepped reluctantly from the vehicle, allowing Kagome to exit behind me as I took in the surroundings. It was true what Shippo had said about secluded. The entire manor was practically closed off by large trees, almost making it impossible to see unless you stumbled upon it by chance. What I could see had me nearly toppled over in shock. If the manor was large in my mind it was even more enormous in person. It was easily 7,000 square feet and that was just the 'main' manor. How much money did this family have?!

"Oh wow," Kagome exclaimed, all of her early fears seemingly abated as she took in her surroundings.

"Well, I'm glad you're in a better mood about all of this." Kagome shrugged before following Shippo up the large stair case that led to the front door. Reluctantly I trailed behind, hoping a black hole would form and suck me into oblivion before I entered the manor.

I ran into no such luck, my feet stepping over the threshold and into the foyer. I nearly sighed in wonder at the spectacular view in front of me before I quickly shook my head and rushed to catch up to Kagome and Shippo as they wandered to the left and down a long corridor. We seemed to pass several doors before Shippo stopped to set our bags down before knocking politely at the door in front of him.

Dread pooled in my stomach as the young demon's ear twitched. Obviously he heard something because the next instant he was opening the door gently and standing aside, allowing Kagome and I to enter the room of doom.

Although my mind was screaming in denial, my feet moved confidently into the large room, my gaze immediately landing on the most breathtaking man I'd ever seen in my entire life.

Well, demon.

He had long silver hair that cascaded down his back, bangs that framed a forehead that held a crescent moon design of some sort and magenta stripes on either side of his face. He stood stiffly next to two men, looking as if he couldn't be bothered to attend the meeting about to take place.

You and me both, I thought. An instant later his eyes flashed to mine and I sucked in a breath, completely stunned at the beautiful golden eyes that glared at me. Realizing I was eyeing the demon like a piece of meat I dropped my gaze, my cheeks heating until I was sure an obnoxious blush had formed. I looked at the other two males, easily identifying Lord Inu Taisho. The other son had a cocky look on his face as his gaze practically devoured Kagome, who was doing her best to look anywhere but at the demon eyeing her so hungrily.

That had to be Inuyasha. My gaze skittered back to the stoic demon. Lord Sesshomaru looked devastatingly handsome in the tailored black suit he had on, but it was the look of contempt he sent my way that had my hackles rising.

"Welcome, Rin and Kagome Higurashi. It is such a pleasure to welcome you into our home and into our family." Lord Inu Taisho spoke loudly, smiling at both of us as he strode forward and greeted us with awkward hugs. Pulling away, Inu Taisho eyed both of us speculatively before speaking aloud again. "We'll need to find you both acceptable clothing and food. You're both far too thin." I opened my mouth in protest, but shut it before a word was ushered.

Did I really want to piss off the man responsible for the rest of my life? Nope.

"As you're both well aware, I've reached an agreement with your mother and aunt. This agreement was made for a few reasons on my part." I cast another look at Lord Sesshomaru who glared back at me as if his eyes alone could melt me. Maybe they could. "First, I've realized that although I've taken a human woman to mate a few centuries ago, it has done little presently to assure the public that we are fair and just demons, merely out to mix comfortably with human society. By accepting two young human women into our clan we are stating to the world that even after a few hundred years of ruling, we are still on good terms with the humans. Second, neither of my sons have ever been married and each of them are at least 200 years old. Thus, I've decided to play matchmaker and have selected you two to become their wives."

Two hundred years old? I thought I might faint from the shock.

Inu Taisho clapped both of his sons on the back, clearly enjoying the obvious discomfort of every individual in the room. "Now, as much as I would love to choose which of you lovely ladies will wed my sons, I've left the decision in the capable hands of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha. After this meeting is adjourned they will talk amongst themselves and select which one they see fit."

"I've already selected." Lord Sesshomaru said in a monotone voice. He sounded more bored than I'd ever heard anyone before. Wasn't he concerned about his own future in the slightest?

"Yes, Sesshomaru?" Inu Taisho looked quickly to his son, almost as if he couldn't believe Sesshomaru would be the one to decide first.

"The human who smells of lavender will be sufficient." With that, Lord Sesshomaru turned and walked away, not a care in the world. A door I hadn't noticed before appeared and Lord Sesshomaru stepped through it, the door clicking softly behind him.

Kagome and I turned towards each other, both confused. Who the hell smelled like lavender?

"Feh, I guess that leave you to be my wife, Kagome." Inuyasha smiled wickedly at my cousin, his eyebrows raised suggestively. Kagome's cheeks flared red before Inuyasha took her hand, leading her from the room. Why were they just leaving me here? I glanced awkwardly at Lord Inu Taisho before I moved my weight from one foot to another.

Then it finally sank in.

Lord Sesshomaru had selected me? What was I going to do now?

I stood in the room awkwardly before Lord Inu Taisho spoke up. "Give him time, dear. He'll come around." I looked at the demon lord, a sad expression no doubt written all over my face before he nodded slowly and exited the room, leaving me with my spiraling emotions. Inuyasha seemed more than excited at the prospect of obtaining Kagome as a wife and Lord Sesshomaru had just turned and walked out like he wouldn't have to lay his eyes upon me for the rest of my life.

He'll come around. The words echoed in my mind.

I didn't want him to come around, did I? Of course not. His eyes flashed into my mind, startling me momentarily. Surely I wasn't interested in that ass, was I ?

I shook my head in denial, but I already knew the answer.

Okay, that's it for the first chapter! I was wondering if I should write more, but I wanted to get started on a second chapter as soon as I can, so I didn't want to make this one too long.

Let me know what you think!

-Mo