AN: I wasn't going to publish this until it was finished, but since my memory stick has decided not to work and I've yet to go out and get another, this has been taking up space which I need for other ideas and other chapters.

There are ideas within this story that I know I have used in some of my other stories, but I decided to be a little different about it this time. I'm going to make this story a bit more serious than my others. I've been working on this one for about a month now, so hopefully it'll be at least somewhat decent :)

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Chapter I

There were times in life when one wished they could simply hide and this was definitely one of those times. Rin Nakamura stared at her reflection in the mirror and heaved a sigh as she sat down heavily on the edge of her bed. She shook her head as she glanced at the person staring back at her again and frowned as though she expected her reflection to have changed while she wasn't looking. Unfortunately for her, her reflection was still the same as it had always been and she knew that it wasn't going to change. Pushing thoughts of how to change herself aside, Rin rose to her feet and smoothed down her skirt and straightened her blouse before slipping on her shoes and heading out the door.

For the first time in a long while, she was going to spend the afternoon with her friends and she felt slightly anxious about it. Work had kept her busy over the past few months and left her with little time for seeing her friends, but today was special. Today she was being treated to lunch on her day off and she was going to thoroughly enjoy herself. This kind of thing didn't happen often. Despite wanting to enjoy herself, Rin wanted the ground to open up and swallow her where she stood. She knew she looked like she was heading to work and she also knew such a look would most likely be something her friends would tease her for, but that was easy since she knew they meant not harm. Still, she didn't like what she had seen in the mirror and the urge to turn tail and run home to hide was almost overwhelming.

The meeting spot was a restaurant just down the road from where Rin's home was and she couldn't help the tiny smile that pulled her lips as she saw her friends already gathered near the door, waiting for her. The women called her name cheerfully and waved her over. Stopping beside them, Rin waited for the hugs and other exuberant greetings before attempting her own greetings.

"Honestly, Rin!" Kagome exclaimed with a laugh. "Don't you have anything casual in that wardrobe of yours?"

"I don't get much time for a social life therefore I have very little need for casual clothes," Rin explained with a slight shrug.

"It doesn't matter what she's wearing," Inuyasha stated as he slipped an arm around Kagome's waist. "Can't you think of a better greeting than criticising her choice of clothing? We've not seen her in so long after all!"

"It's alright," Rin said with a vague smile as she pushed her glasses up. "I expected that greeting."

Pulled along by her friends' enthusiasm and cheerful conversations, Rin followed the group into the restaurant. Once seated, she glanced about her curiously. It was a new restaurant and she'd never been there before. It was far too expensive for her to visit with her meagre earnings, but she supposed it wasn't so bad if Inuyasha was treating them to a meal here although she wondered what had prompted that. The place was stunning with it's modern designs, beautiful pieces of art hanging on the walls and elaborate floral decorations in the centre of every table.

"Why are we eating here?" Rin asked eventually, unable to hold in her curiosity any longer.

"You never did tell us why," Miroku agreed with a frown.

"Don't we normally have our meals elsewhere?" Kouga added.

Inuyasha just grinned and Rin fought the urge to sigh. She had known all six of her friends since high school, but she was closest to Inuyasha and Kagome. They could almost be described as her older siblings with the way they constantly looked out for her. The grin Inuyasha had just flashed was not good news and previous experience with that grin meant that she was most likely not going to be impressed with what he said next. Fixing an intense gaze on her friend, she waited to hear his story and prayed it was believable.

"It's my brother's new restaurant!" Inuyasha exclaimed happily.

"Your brother owns a restaurant?" Sango asked in surprise.

"It only opened a week ago, but because I was working, I couldn't come to the opening evening with my parents," he explained. "Sesh said he'd give me a discount if I came along today and brought some friends."

"A discount?" Rin echoed in disbelief. "All this from the brother you used to claim to hate?"

"Well I was a kid then," Inuyasha said, his grin back in place. "We don't get on all the time, but we don't constantly try to kill each other anymore."

"This is very true," a deep voice agreed quietly from behind the group.

Almost in unison, the table's occupants turned around to see who the newcomer was and Kagome was out of her seat in an instant when she recognised the man. Standing behind them and looking very professional was none other than Sesshoumaru Taisho, Inuyasha's elder brother. His eyebrow rose in surprise when Kagome gave him an excited hug before sitting down and ignoring the glare Inuyasha sent her way. The usual banter followed as everyone's attention seemed to be riveted to the tall silver haired chef, but Rin resisted the urge to sigh. She had known Sesshoumaru almost as long as she had known Inuyasha, but she couldn't say she enjoyed him company as much. She had nothing against him and had even harboured a rather embarrassing crush on him when she was much younger, but he was far too introverted for her liking and when he did speak, it was more often than not in a cold tone that did nothing to discourage the belief that he didn't enjoy being surrounded by large crowds of people. A tiny smile crossed Rin's lips as she thought about his anti-social behaviour and wondered why he had chosen to become a chef when it meant that he would have to work with a lot of people.

When left alone with Sesshoumaru, Rin found that there was very little to talk about. Like him, she was also introverted and that meant that their brief and very rare encounters were always quite awkward as a result of the lack of conversation. She was very glad that she was not alone with him this time as the situation would probably be even more awkward than usual. It had been nearly four years since she had seen him last since he had gone abroad to study after leaving high school. It was quite likely that they had both changed in one way or another, but she doubted that either of them had changed enough to make a decent conversation.

Glancing up at the tall man from the corner of the eye to see if he had changed, she had to struggle to hold in her gasp of surprise. As a child he had been anti-social and often resorted to violence when something particularly annoyed him, but he had changed as a teenager. His anti-social behaviour remained, but the violence was limited to retaliating to Inuyasha's teasing comments and in place of that violence, scathing comments were delivered when someone or something displeased him. As a teenager he had been overly serious and far too skinny which had made his tall frame look even taller. No one dared to tease him about it, but Rin was willing to bet that when everyone was sure he wasn't listening, he would be the topic of conversation and the butt of many jokes.

As she looked at him now, there was no trace of the violent child or awkward teenager he had once been and it startled her to say the least. His hair was still as long as it had been all those years ago except that it was no longer braided. It was tied back in a simple ponytail, which she supposed, also helped keep it out of the way while he worked, but she would have thought a braid would be better. His skinny frame had changed and his shoulders were broad and powerful looking arms were crossed across his chest as he responded to the comments his brother made. Shaking her head slightly, Rin wondered what had happened to change him so much. It was a change for the better, but it was strange to think that he was the same lanky youth she had known. Looking down into her drink, she wondered if he would remember her but almost immediately pushed the thought aside. There was no reason why he should remember her and even if by some chance he did, he probably would recognise her.

Rin too had changed since the last time they had met. She was sure he would remember her as a cheerful, chubby teenager who wore enough bright colours that it would make a rainbow seem pale in comparison. A tiny smile pulled her lips as she remembered how she had been before pushing aside the thought. Things had changed now and she had grown up. Gone was the happy-go-lucky teenager in bright clothes and in her place was the woman she had become. Her attitude had changed as she matured and a seriousness that would rival Sesshoumaru's had taken the place of her easygoing nature. The bright clothes were replaced by simple black and white ones and she now sported a pair of glasses that she had never had as a teenager. Sighing to herself, Rin pushed said glassed up and pushed away thought about how she had changed.

"I must return to the kitchens," Sesshoumaru said after a while. "I hope I will see you all here again."

"He's changed so much!" Ayame exclaimed when the chef had disappeared. "That was such a surprise."

"What do you think, Rin?" Inuyasha asked, looking at her seriously. "You know him pretty well, don't you?"

"Where on earth did you get that idea from?" Rin asked in surprise. "I've spoken to him a couple of times, but I know even less about him than the rest of you probably."

"That's because you don't talk enough!" Ayame said with a grin. "You always sit quietly in the corner until someone speaks to you."

"You need to find a boyfriend, Rin," Sango teased as she reached over to ruffle Rin's hair. "That'll bring you out of your shell and you'll be happy!"

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Several days after the lunch meeting, Rin sighed as she looked out the window of her small office at work. All her friends were well on their way to being successful in their chosen careers, but she couldn't help but wonder if she had made the right choice in becoming a teacher. She was a university lecturer and she supposed that was pretty good as far as things go, but it wasn't really as impressive as Inuyasha being the heir to a company that was worth millions. Lifting her glasses to rub her eyes, Rin got to her feet and headed towards the door. Since she had become lecturer, she had initially found that she had some free time between her lectures that she could not fill with just paperwork as it became far too tedious. There had been a small café on the campus that had been on the verge of closure because they didn't earn enough money to keep going. Rin had volunteered to take on the task of bringing the café up to standard and now, a year later, she couldn't help but smile as she walked into the café. Everything was in its place and the people who were sitting at the tables were smiling and happily eating whatever it was that was on the menu for the day. One of the ladies who served the food waved and beckoned Rin over.

"It's rare to see you here in the middle of the day, Rin," the woman said with a smile as she pushed a cup of coffee across the counter towards her friend.

"Sorry, Rika. I know I should come by more often, but I've got too much work at the moment," Rin said as she sipped the coffee.

Rika laughed. "They must be working you hard if you can't find a spare moment to come have lunch!"

"Exams are coming up," Rin explained, smiling vaguely as she thought about how well her students were doing. "Most of my free time is taken up by students needing extra help so I arranged some study sessions."

"You'll soon be able to come back here for lunch then," Rika commented with a smile. "I've heard that there are supposed to be some evening cookery courses starting, is that true?"

"I've heard the rumour but I don't know if it's true. It has little to do with my department so I don't know the details."

"I heard they've got some famous chef in to teach the lessons!"

"Oh really? It must have been difficult to get a chef to agree to tutor novices. I imagine they would have a fairly busy schedule," Rin said softly as she finished her coffee. "Anyway, I've got to get back. I'll see you later though. I scheduled a study session in here this evening."

Hours later, Rin found herself walking wearily towards the café with a group of her students all cheerfully talking as they walked. Looking at her students, she couldn't help but smile to herself. She was immensely proud of them for achieving such incredible grades in their last exams and as she sat with them in their many study sessions, she felt very much like a mother watching over her children. The crowd of students ran ahead of her to find the best seats as the café came into view and Rin followed at a slower pace, shaking her head in amusement at their antics. Shifting the pile of books in her arms, she pushed the door open and walked across to the table her students had chosen.

"You all want coffee?" Rika called across the room as she watched the group settle down.

She was met by loud agreement from all the students and smiled to herself as she turned away to start preparing it. Rin appeared at the counter moments later and dropped down into a seat tiredly, not bothering to look around her as she rested her head on the cool metal counter and closed her eyes. Rika smiled and patted her head as she went past.

"Tough day?" Rika asked.

"No. Just long, very long," Rin murmured and sat up slowly.

"Only a couple of hours to go now," Rika said comfortingly. "There's someone you should meet."

"Who?" Rin asked, lifting her glasses and rubbing her eyes wearily.

"This is the chef who will be giving those lessons I told you about earlier."

Sighing to herself, Rin put her glasses back in place and turned around in her seat, wondering who she was about to meet. Her eyes widened when she found Sesshoumaru Taisho sitting in front of her. His amber eyes turned to regard her and his eyebrows rose slightly as he seemed to recognise her.

"You were with Inuyasha the other day," he said slowly.

"You know Rin?" Rika asked in surprise. "She spends so much time here on campus that I'm surprised anyone other than the staff here know her!"

"Rika! He doesn't want to know about my personal life!" Rin exclaimed with a vague smile pulling her lips.

"You're Rin?" Sesshoumaru asked, surprise evident in his eyes. "You're Rin? That friend of Inuyasha's from all those years ago?"

"Yes, I am."

"I would never have recognised you."

"That much is obvious," Rin said quietly and watched as Rika began preparing the coffee.

"You've changed so much."

"So have you."

"What are you doing here? Are you a student?" Sesshoumaru inquired, looking at her curiously.

"No, I'm a lecturer," Rin replied, wondering why he was showing such an interest in her when he hadn't been in the least bit concerned about her before.

"Really?"

"Yes."

"That is a surprise."

"It was nice seeing you again," Rin replied, pasting her smile onto her face as she got to her feet and took the tray from Rika's hands. "Perhaps we'll meet again, but I've got a study session to oversee."

Sesshoumaru turned in his seat and watched as Rin wandered over to a large table of students who were all talking loudly and cheerfully. He couldn't quite believe his eyes as he watched Rin talk happily with the various students. She was completely different from what he remembered and although he had never been particularly close to her or taken much notice of her before going abroad, there was no questioning the fact that she had changed drastically. A discreet cough from behind him drew his attention and he turned around to find Rika grinning at him as she placed a cup of coffee in front of him.

"It's a surprise to discover that you know Rin," she said with a smile as she picked up her own cup of coffee and sat down just behind the counter.

"I don't know her very well. She's friends with my brother."

"Oh, I see!" Rika said in understanding and then smiled as she looked at her friend from across the room. "She's quite amazing."

"Oh?"

"Yup! She pulled this place back from the brink of being torn down and just look at us now!"

"She runs this place?"

"Oh no!" Rika laughed to herself before looking seriously at the man sitting opposite her. "Technically, Rin should run this place since she's responsible for it being as successful as it is, but I run it and she comes in to check up every now and then."

"Only every now and then?" Sesshoumaru asked, trying hard to hide his curiosity.

"She's very busy nowadays so she doesn't have the time to come by for lunch like she used to."

"Rin suddenly became busy?"

"Pretty much. She started getting a lot more classes and extra work to do after the senior members of her department realised how popular she was with the students."

"I see." The pair sat in silence as they thought about their conversation before Sesshoumaru drained his coffee cup and got to his feet. "I've got a lesson to give."

Rin looked up from a book she had been looking at when she heard the sound of the door opening. Her eyes met Sesshoumaru's amber ones as he turned to shut the door behind him as he stepped out and he nodded slightly, lifting his hand slightly as though to wave goodbye. Slightly puzzled at his behaviour, Rin returned the gesture hesitantly and pushed her glasses up as she watched him disappear down the corridor. Shaking her head, Rin turned her attention to the student beside her as she pushed thoughts of Sesshoumaru aside. She was probably not going to see him again for a long time and his decision to wave goodbye to her was probably just a one off, spur of the moment decision that had no particular meaning behind it.