I don't own Inuyasha...

Author's Note:
Hello! This story is for all of those aneme-watching knitting folk. If you knit, know you are in the company of a fellow. If you don't, we'll get you eventually...he he he. Anyway, this is my first fic, so I'm still working on the formating and layout. If you have any suggestions on anything, just say so. Enjoy.

Knitting Numbers

Huffing in annoyance, Rin slammed a receipt on the desk before her and stabbed at the "clear" button on her calculator. The numbers just weren't adding up, but there was no reason why they shouldn't be. She knew enough to know that they were turning a profit, in fact, a quite good one, but yet, according to her calculations, they should be… five hundred dollars in debt. No, that wasn't right at all. The hard truth that she had to face was that she just wasn't good with numbers. Steady B minuses and C's in high school were proof of that, but when she opened the shop there hadn't been enough money to hire an accountant. Now it appeared there was, judging purely from inventory numbers and not her faulty math, of course.

Rin was the owner of a tiny yarn shop, Cast On, that she had started right after quitting her first job, so really, selling yarn and knitting were all she knew. But she was good at what she knew, and that was enough. The little shop had been going strong for five years, helped along by how vogue knitting was occasionally. That was how she met one of her best friends, Kagome, when she had come into the shop with one of her "fashion-forward" friends who had wanted to get in on the latest trend. Now, long after her friend had dropped "the new yoga," Kagome was still there and still knitting, though her friend wasn't quite as avid as she was.

Then there was Sango. Sango was not what you could call the crafty type. In fact, Sango was pretty damn tough, but her boss had suggested she get a relaxing hobby after slapping a coworker who she swears touched her. So she (begrudgingly) turned to knitting, and three months later she still hadn't gotten the hang of it, but Rin had hope for her yet. The three of them could often be found in the evenings knitting in the shop after closing, aside from the Thursday night knitting club. On those nights the shop was filled with women and even a few men ranging in age from hipster to granny. That was Rin's favorite thing about having the shop; automatically being connected to such a diverse group of people with only their knitting in common. Not only that, but for that one common thread (pun intended) to be enough to hold them together.

Now as she sat in the back stacking up numbers, Kagome sat with needles in hand, chatting away as she knit the sleeve to a chunky sweater.

"I really don't get it. I mean, why would he think that we're not ready for kids? We've been married a year, and we both have stable jobs. Maybe he's worried about being a father, you know, since his family life wasn't so great growing up," she pondered, not even really talking to Rin anymore. Putting aside her annoyance with the numbers, she made a soft "m-hm" noise, allowing her friend to continue her rant. She was talking about her husband Inuyasha who she had met a year before meeting Rin , which was nearly three years ago. Time flies, she thought, reflecting on when she had first met her friend and how she had always complained about "the stupid guy who won't even admit we're dating." Now they're thinking about having kids.

"Not to mention that he's been working late a lot. He just gets so wrapped up in his projects, but I guess I can't blame him for being passionate about his work. I am too, and besides that, he still leaves time to be passionate about me." She blushed a little as Rin fought to hold back a giggle at the thought of how vehemently the gruff man would deny being passionate about anything. "Anyway, what's going on with you?" she quickly changed the subject. Rin put on a smile.

" Same thing as usual; the numbers," Kagome looked concerned.

"The shop's not having trouble is it?" she asked, needles still in her anxiety.

"No, no, nothing like that. I'm just bad at math." Her friend's tense expression relaxed into a relieved smile.

"Whoa, you had me worried, there. So the books are giving you trouble?"

"Yeah," she admitted, pointing to the pile of receipts. "The profit margin that I know I have doesn't fit with the average."

"Why are you finding the average? That doesn't even make sense." Rin through her hands into the air.

"See? I don't even know that!" she exclaimed. Kagome shook her head with a smile.

"Honestly, I don't see how you made it this long." Rin laughed a little, wondering the same thing for herself. "Look, if you want, my brother-in-law is an accountant. He's top of the line, but I could get Inuyasha to ask a favor for me if you want."

"You would? That would be so sweet of you, Kagome."

"Sure! No problem." Without giving her time to knit another stitch, Rin smothered her in a hug.

"Rin, stop it. I'll drop a stitch," her friend admonished her, giggling a little. She quickly jumped off of her, examining her knitting. Both let out a sigh when it was apparent the "dropped stitch" bullet had been temporarily dodged, and Rin lapsed into thought.

It appeared that she was really going to hire someone to do her books for her. While she supposed it was a positive to be doing well enough that she could afford to pay him, she couldn't help but have a tiny case of hurt pride. Not only because her math skills were comparable to those of a sixth grader, but also because for the first time in her life, she had come across a problem knitting couldn't solve. Though it had taught her much, helped her through a lot, and (she knew yet ignored) was rooted in numbers, knitting simply couldn't teach her math. It looked like the accountant would have to help her out… a lot.