Sorry for the delay guys! But here it is, chapter 4, dedicated to penz rite stuff, who very nicely told inuyashafan424567 about this story, and also to everyone who reads this story! Especially you kind reviewers! You're sweet comments make me go AWWW, and make me wanna write for you mooore! And nonreviewers are awesome too! (Because, yes, I have guilty read many a fic, without reviewing xD;)
Just thank you everybody, you're all so niiice ;3;! I'm so sorry if I didn't mention you!! But I love you all!! ALL!!
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, or Chicago, a fantastical awesome movie/musical/play that I watched on Bravo today. Well I guess yesterday because it's past 12.
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--Rin
Rin entered through the door, and in to a quaint, cozy little kitchen. As she walked further in, she was enveloped in a warm light that was streaming through two square windows to her left, lined at the bottom by little flower boxes.
"Rin go ahead and sit down right here," Izayoi guided her toward a wooden chair with a flower print cushion, pulling it out for her.
Rin smiled and nodded thankfully, making her way over to her chair. Sesshoumaru followed, sitting himself promptly down next to her.
"Is Inuyasha still sleeping? That boy could sleep for weeks if no one bothered him!" Izayoi said, glancing towards the kitchen door as she set down a plate of eggs on the table.
"Well, Rin go ahead and help yourself while I go get him!" She shot Inutaisho a glance, as he had started to move towards the eggs as soon as they hit the table.
"Ah, thank you" Rin nodded her head, though feeling guilty as she saw Inutaisho give a little pout.
Silence fell over the room as Izayoi exited. Inutaisho was fidgeting in his seat as he glanced from the food to Rin; Sesshoumaru sat motionless next to her, staring straight ahead; and Rin debated whether or not it would be rude to help herself. But as Inutaisho's fidgeting began to take a violent turn, Rin quickly decided rudeness was better then him having a seizure. She speedily spooned food onto her plate, and the minute she finished Inutaisho pounced, just about cleaning all of the serving plates.
"…awww, dad's probably eaten all the food by now!" Rin heard a voice waft in from outside the kitchen door.
"Inuyasha, you know I always make extra for exactly that reason!" Izayoi said as she entered the room, followed by a young man with long silver hair, similar to Sesshoumaru's. But he seems to loud-mouthed and angry to possibly be related to him! Rin thought.
"Well, good because- who the hell is this!?" Inuyasha exclaimed as he noticed the meek girl sitting next to Sesshoumaru.
"Inuyasha." Izayoi said as she shot him a "mom" look. "This is Rin. Rin, this is my youngest son, Inuyasha." She smiled at Rin as she forced Inuyasha into his seat, adjacent from Rin.
"Well now that everyone's here, let's get started!" Izayoi beamed as she set the backup breakfast on the table.
Rin watched the family as they ate breakfast. She felt as though she was on the outside, looking in through those square windows. She watched as Izayoi scolded her husband and children; as Inuyasha and Inutaisho bickered over who would get the last piece of bacon; as Sesshoumaru scoffed at his crazy family's antics. Each of them was part of a family, and suddenly, Rin felt a deep surge of loneliness.
"Rin, why aren't you eating? Aren't you hungry?" Izayoi's concerned voice broke her out of her thoughts.
"Oh, I'm sorry!" Rin said flustered as she quickly began to eat. And soon, as she got her appetite back, she found herself eating more and more, taking seconds and thirds, much to Inuyasha's resentment. She hadn't eaten such delicious food since she couldn't remember when.
"So…Rin is it?" Inutaisho broke in, just as Rin began to take a fourth helping. "Are you from the city?"
"Uhh…" Rin, mouth full of food, began to panic. What can I possibly tell this perfect, wealthy family? What would they think of a dirt poor, homeless girl like me? I can't tell them that…
"Umm, no I…" She tried to scrape together something that could possibly resemble a decent life, anything that would prevent her from having to tell them the truth. "I…I just moved here!"
"Oh, really? Where from?" Inutaisho prodded.
Rin froze again, thinking as quickly as she could under this kind of scrutiny.
"Um…a small little town just off the outskirts of the city…"
"Ahh. Hmm, I can't think of any small town near here…what's the name?"
And just as Rin was about to crack under the pressure, Izayoi saved her.
"Why did you come to the city, sweetie?" She smiled knowingly.
"Oh, well I…," Rin's eyes flashed towards the flowers under the window. "I…I love flowers so much, I thought I could…open a little flower shop in the city! I haven't seen any around, so I thought it was a nice idea." Rin got more enthusiastic and she started to form her story. She felt bad lying to such nice people but the fear of having them be disgusted by her was worse.
"Oh, how quaint! The city could use something like that," Izayoi smiled.
"Have you found any place that's for sale?" Inutaisho asked.
"Oh no…I've had a little bit of trouble with that part," Rin said, embarrassed.
"Well, where are you staying? There might be some stores for sale in your area."
"Well…I seem to have had some trouble with that too…" Rin smiled sheepishly.
Izayoi gasped. "Sweetie! You have no place to stay in this big city? A relative, a friend of any sort you could stay with?"
Rin shook her head. She did have a friend, but Kohaku didn't exactly seem like someone who could support a person, let alone himself.
"Well that settles it! You'll be staying with us until you can find a place of your own!" Izayoi said matter of factly.
"Oh, no I cou-"
"WHAT?" Inuyasha exclaimed, jumping up from his seat. "Between her and dad I'll never get any food!"
"INUYASHA!" Inutaisho scolded, then turned to Rin. "You're welcome to stay as long as you like. In the mean time, Sesshoumaru, since you're caught up on paper work for the next week, why don't you show Rin around the city? So she gets a feel of where she'd like her business to be, how to run it, things like that."
Looking out of the corner of her eye, Rin saw Sesshoumaru sigh, and then give a slight nod. Inuyasha, still furious that his concerns had been discarded so easily, stormed out of the kitchen.
"I am very sorry for the trouble I've caused!" Rin hung her head in shame.
"Don't you apologize for anything Rin! He's always like that. I'm sure you'll learn to get used to it," Izayoi smiled. "Now! Why don't you go get washed up, so you're ready to go with Sesshoumaru. There's a small bathroom out the kitchen door, down the hallway to the left of the staircase."
Rin nodded, and excused herself. Even though she was a little frightened she was going to be living with someone as scary as Inuyasha, she was extremely grateful Izayoi was there to protect her.
Finding her way to the bathroom proved harder then Rin thought. She had gone down the hallway, but there were so many doors along each of the walls. Looking into each, she saw a guest bedroom, a study, a huge closet, another guest bedroom, and finally at the end of the hall, a bathroom. As she washed her hands, Rin examined her face in the mirror. She had never been so clean in all her life. She stood there for awhile pulling her hair back into a bun, holding it there with her hands. She tried to make herself look regal and elegant, the way Izayoi did, but even with all the dirt washed from her body, she thought she could never measure up to Izayoi's beauty.
"…are you ready to go?" A voice came from the doorway behind her. Rin gasped and dropped her hair, turning abruptly around.
…only to smack her nose into something very, very hard behind her. As her eyes focused, she saw a man's white dress shirt staring back at her. Looking further up, she saw the confused looking face of Sesshoumaru. Owww, my nose What the heck does he have under his shirt!?
"Are…you alright?"
"Mmm…hmm!" Rin squeaked, trying to block out the pain in her nose.
Without another word, Sesshoumaru turned, and began to walk down the hallway, Rin following, still clutching her nose. As they passed Izayoi, she looked from Sesshoumaru to Rin, clearly confused, but Rin just waved, and smiled weakly as they walked out the front door.
As Sesshoumaru unlocked his Mercedes, it was Rin's turn to be confused. She just stood there, watching as Sesshoumaru opened the door.
He paused, midway, as he saw Rin's face. "Is there a problem?"
"Oh…no! I just thought, in order to see the city…we would walk…"
Sighing, he closed the car door, and locked it. And without a word, he began to walk down the driveway. Hurriedly, Rin tried to keep up with his long legs as they strode through the front gate, and down the sidewalk.
As they walked, the huge houses along the way (though not as big as the Takahashi's) slowly began to turn into buildings, which in turn got bigger and bigger, until they became the skyscrapers Rin had seen outside Sesshoumaru's window. It was late in November, and Rin shivered in the cold winter air.
And as they walked further, the buildings gave way to a huge square, where it looked as though hundreds of people were bustling about. The square was lined with small little fashion and make up boutiques, as well as a huge toyshop, that had begun to put Christmas decorations in the window. Rin's face lit up as she walked by it, as well as all the children who watched, as a clockwork Santa sat in a big red armchair by a fireplace, checking his list to see who was naughty or nice. On the other side of the entrance, in the other window, elves busily worked, making dolls and rocking horses and any other toy a child could imagine. Without knowing it, Rin had stopped, and was now among the children who pointed in awe at the twinkling lights and presents in the display.
--Sesshoumaru
It was a few minutes before Sesshoumaru realized Rin was no longer walking behind him. Looking around, a slight quiver of panic fluttered in his stomach, but quickly melted, as he saw that she just a few paces back, laughing with some kids at the Christmas display in the toy shop window. He stood and watched, as she gasped and laughed and pointed, just like a child, at the bright display. Slowly, he walked toward her and stood beside her.
"Ahh, look did you see that elf!" She giggled, just as the children around her nodded and laughed too. Looking up, she smiled as him. That is, before she realized it was Sesshoumaru, in which she quickly looked back down in embarrassment.
"Ah, I'm sorry I…!"
"It's alright," He said calmly. "It doesn't look like there are any empty shops for sale here anyway, with Christmas season on the way."
"Ohh…" She looked disappointed, and gave a little pout.
And at this, Sesshoumaru couldn't help it. He gave a small, but genuine laugh, out loud, and Rin looked up in amazement. Quickly, he returned to his old, stoic self, turning around, towards the center of the square. Rin followed his eyes, and saw a small area, in which a large, wooden stage was being built, surrounded by plush red roped.
"That's where they're going to put the Christmas tree," Sesshoumaru explained, even though Rin had not asked. In all her years living in the park, she had never made her way over to the square to see the Christmas tree. She figured it was because of all the nicely dressed couples and families that came to see it; she never felt as though she belonged among them.
"I've always wanted to see it," Rin said breathlessly, in a tiny whisper, as she tried to imagine what it would look like; the perfect centerpiece amongst the lighted square.
"I'll take you to see it."
Looking up, she wasn't sure if he had really said it, or if it was just her imagination. But then he looked down at her, and she realized then, that there was so much more behind those amber eyes.
"Are you ready to go?" Sesshoumaru asked her abruptly. There was one last place Rin wanted to go before they went home.
"Um…can we go to the park?" She asked timidly.
"…alright." He said nonchalantly, and began to lead the way. Rin turned and quickly waved goodbye to her new friends, before turning back, and following Sesshoumaru.
--Rin
I hope Kohaku's there…He must be worried about me! Rin though as they made there way over to the park. She hadn't realized how far away it was from the city, and her leg began to hurt, where she had fallen last night. She cringed in pain, though tried to hide it as best she could, so that Sesshoumaru wouldn't notice.
When they got to the park, it was Rin's turn to take the lead. She walked along the little pathway, going straight to Kohaku's tree, at the back of the park. Looking back, she saw that Sesshoumaru was taking his time, and so she whispered, "Kohaku? Kohakuuu!" to no response. Well, that's funny...Maybe he's off getting food somewhere…"
Looking around, something caught her eye. The old charm shop that shielded her secret garden. As she approached the ancient, rundown shop, she began to realize that possibly, it might be perfect for a little flower shop. It was actually just a room, with a door on the right side, and a wide window, with a shelf at the bottom of it, whose shutters were now closed. It would be perfect for selling flowers, and convenient, with such beautiful flowers that grew right behind it! Turning around, she motioned excitedly for Sesshoumaru to hurry up, then turned, and pried open the shutters. Inside, it was mostly empty, with some shelves mounted on the wall at the back, and some boxes stacked in the corner.
"Well, what do you think?" She beamed to Sesshoumaru.
"What do you mean?" He asked, looking inside the old shop.
"For a flower shop!" Rin exclaimed. "Don't you think it could work?"
"Well…it could use some fixing up…but I suppose it could suffice." He said indifferently.
"Although, there's no for sale sign, I'm not sure who I could buy it from…"
"My family owns this park."
Rin's eyes shot up to Sesshoumaru's face in disbelief. All this time, she had been living on his family's land without even knowing it! She owned him for more then she knew.
"Oh! Well…I suppose I would have to ask Mr. Takahashi…"
"There's no need, the shop is yours."
"Ah, thank you so much!!" Rin didn't even argue, barely able to contain her excitement. Without thinking, she gave Sesshoumaru a huge hug, before soaring over to the door, and bustling all around the tiny shop, leaving Sesshoumaru in a dumbfounded stupor.
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Yeeeesh! Chapter 4 complete! (Yes, I had to end it like that! xD; topazeyes told me it was okay to end with a little fluff :D!)
Sorry the season's a little off! It's Christmas in July xD;!
And sorry for the short chapter! (Especially to you XxAir Conditionor xX! You asked me to make the chapter longer, and I failed :D;;;!)
P.S. To vallin55amaya: I know what you mean! I love modern RinxSess the most, but some are…yes :D.