Rin Minami paced nervously back and forth in her bedroom. Though she was now a woman of 18, freshly graduated from high school, the walls were still a bright pink and teddy bears lay across her bed neatly piled with love. Boy band posters littered the pink walls and clothes lay strewn about without care.

She kicked at her bean bag chair with frustration. Why hadn't they called? It had been a week since the interview and they said they would be calling by Thursday at the latest to let her know if she had been hired. It was now Friday. The woman who had interviewed her hadn't seemed very nice though so maybe she shouldn't be surprised.

She recalled how the demon woman had said her name with contempt before even fully seeing her. The woman had bright red hair with green eyes and cute cat ears, a contrast to Rin's dark brown hair and chocolate brown eyes.

Was that it? Was she just too boring? Too human maybe? The company had seemed full of demons everywhere she looked which was strange as many demons had disappeared long ago. So many had chosen to take humans as mates that the bloodlines become muddled and most of the population of Japan lay claim to being at least one sixty-fourth demon.

The strong demons that remained had formed their own laws to follow but respected the human's laws as well. Rin didn't know much about demons, only what had been taught to her in demon history classes in high school. They were strong, even the ones with human blood in their veins, and territorial. Their mating rituals varied and the remaining demons followed an old fashioned hierarchy system, with the strongest ruling over the weaker even in modern times.

She needed this job so badly. Hopefully if being human was a problem for them they would get over it and give her a chance. Her parents had passed away a few summers ago leaving her to fend for herself. Luckily her best friend's family took her in and provided her with a stable, loving home. But now she and Kagome were on their own and needed to pay the bills and put themselves through college.

Kagome's new boyfriend Inuyasha, who was a half demon, had suggested they both apply at T&S Financial, mentioning he had some pull with the company. Kagome and Rin had raised their eyebrows at him, surprised. He had said he had family in the company and left it at that. So both girls had applied and gotten interviews within a week.

Rin raised her head as she heard her front door pop open and slam shut.

"Rin!" she heard Kagome call. "RIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNN!" she screamed out again after getting no immediate answer. Rin rolled her eyes. Kami her best friend could be loud.

"I'm here Kagome! Quit screaming!" she yelled back, making her way out of her room, into the hall, and then into the kitchen. Kagome stood in front of her in a beautiful blue sundress with white polka dots. Her face and brown eyes glowed with happiness as she twirled her raven hair around her finger.

"Did you get a call yet?" Kagome asked brightly. Before Rin could answer she popped out,"I did! I got one of the intern positions! Paid!" she clapped her hands and did a happy dance across their beige carpet.

Rin wrinkled her face for a moment but relaxed and gave Kagome a supportive smile. "I haven't gotten one. Maybe they decided not to hire me." Rin lamented and threw herself across the brown suede couch in their living room. She stared at the pictures of her family and sighed wondering if they would be disappointed in her. She couldn't even manage to get an intern position.

"Oh." Kagome mumbled, looking slightly abashed at her happy outburst. "Well I'm sure you'll hear from them soon. That same woman who interviewed us, Aiko, was the one who called me. I could have sworn she didn't even like me too and I still got hired. So try not to stress." she patted Rin's arm and sat down next to her on the couch.

Suddenly Rin's phone went off. She froze, unable to move, too nervous to look and see who it was. Kagome rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone out of Rin's pocket for her and glanced at the caller ID.

"Oh my Kami, Rin! This is the same number that called me! Hurry and answer!" Kagome shrieked, tossing the phone on Rin's face.

Rin jumped as it hit her square in the forehead. Grabbing it, she gave Kagome a dirty look, and then flipped the phone open.

"Hello, Rin Minami speaking. Yes. Uh huh. Wow! Alright great! I'm so thrilled! Thanks for giving me this opportunity-" she was cut off from her words of thanks as she heard a click and the line went dead. "Well gee," she said turning to Kagome,"that lady is NOT very friendly at all."

"Ha I know right? I wonder what stick got stuck up her ass." Kagome joked. "But you got it! We are going to start working together! Hell yeah!" she lifted her hand in front of Rin and waited for a high five. Rin hesitantly smacked her hand and shook her head at her friend's silliness.

"Do you start on Monday too?" Rin asked, hoping her friend did.

"Yeah, got some sort of orientation first thing at 8AM." Kagome explained. "Not looking forward to getting up at 6:30 in the morning to get ready, but this job pays so well!"

"Shit. I have zero business attire." Rin muttered.

"Ohhhhhhhhhhh perfect excuse to go shopping!" Kagome yelled with excitement.

Rin rolled her eyes but nodded. She hated shopping but was left with no choice. Kagome waited impatiently for Rin to throw some make up and decent looking clothes on. She settled on easy neutral tones for her face, not wanting to waste time and effort on fancy make up. She threw on her jeans and some sandals, hoping they paired well enough with her red t shirt.

Kagome shook her head at her friend as Rin stepped into the living room of their small apartment. "Really? Nothing cuter you could have worn? We need to find you a man, Rin! Put some effort in girlfriend!" Kagome grabbed her hand and pulled her out the door before she could protest the girl's words.

Once in the car the two girl's strapped themselves in and Rin gave Kagome a look and said,"For your information, I do too put effort in! And I don't need a boyfriend. I'm perfectly happy being single, and just watching you be with one."

Kagome huffed back,"Yeah but we can't go on double dates or anything. Inuyasha is great but he's kind of unruly. It would be nice to force him to stay in check because of another couple." she laughed and shook her head at the thought of her boyfriend. It had only been four months but something about him really made her smile.

"How 'bout we just focus on me not screwing this job thing up. Then I'll worry about boys." Rin mumbled, looking out the window at the buildings as they zoomed by them. Kagome nodded at her and they moved on to talking about how weird Inuyasha was.

"He says he mom and dad live around here. And a brother too. But he hasn't introduced us yet. You think that's weird?" Kagome asked.

"He's probably embarrassed of you, as he should be." Rin joked.

"I'm serious Rin! He's already met all my family.. mom, grandpa, Souta.. So why haven't I met his?" she pouted looking upset.

"You're putting too much thought into this Kagome. He's a guy and they just think differently. Not like he's hiding something or anything." Rin soothed. She didn't have much experience with dating or relationships so she felt a loss as to help Kagome. She was the last person to ask something like this, especially considering how her last relationship went.

Kagome slowed the car as they pulled into the parking garage of the mall. Finding a spot, she parked, nearly hitting a support pole. Shaking her head Rin got out and laughed at Kagome's poor driving skills.

"Maybe that's why he hasn't introduced you yet Kagome- he's afraid you'll kill him in a car accident first!" Rin accused with a high pitched giggle.

"Hey! Not funny!" Kagome yelled. "Come on, let's try to find something decently priced to wear in this place. It's business attire, nothing casual is allowed." Kagome began ticking off what clothes they should search for as they headed into the first store. "Pencil skirts, business suits with skirts or pants, black pants and very fancy blouses.. " Rin tuned her out as she started looking for clothes.

She gasped when she saw the prettiest collared light pink button up shirt with three quarter length sleeves hanging on the clearance rack. She dug through the tightly packed clothes and found more like it in different colors. What a deal, she thought happily. Kagome's eye brows shot up as she saw her friend already had 8 shirts, all the same style, in different colors piled up in her arms.

"Rin, seriously?" was all she said.

"Well we can share them. It's a good deal Kagome! Don't forget we're pretty poor." Rin pointed out. Kagome nodded in defeat. They mostly wore the same sizes, even in shoes, and were able to share much of their clothing.

"How about these pencil skirts? Let's get black and grey. Oh and these too!" she exclaimed, grabbing some black and grey slacks off another rack.

They shopped around, throwing a couple more button up shirts into the cart they eventually had to get. Once at the register Kagome pulled out a credit card and swiped it. Rin shook her head. She hated using those damned things but until they got their jobs in order and got paid, credit cards and some graduation money was helping them take care of things. They had just barely been able to get their apartment with Mrs. Higurashi's, Kagome's mom, help.

"Whew! I'm worn out!" Kagome said stretching and yawning.

Rin checked her watch to see it was already 7PM. "Want to just grab some dinner in the food court?" she asked Kagome hoping she'd say yes. They were both lousy cooks and meals at home were always either burnt or just plain gross.

"YES!" her friend responded, obviously thinking the same thing. They carried their bags, which were pretty heavy, and walked in the direction of the delicious smelling food.

They ordered some American cheeseburgers and sat down to eat when Rin suddenly had a realization. "Hey Kagome, look where we're at!" she told her friend.

Kagome frowned, slightly confused, but rotated her eyes around the area until it hit her as well. "Ha oh my gosh," she said with a laugh,"We're right here next to T&S Financial! I didn't even realize. I never paid it much attention, not enough to realize it was right by the mall anyway."

"Apparently they own it." Rin explained with a shrug.

"Yeah and half of Japan along with it!" Kagome spat out with a giggle. Rin joined in with her laughter when something caught her eye.

"Kagome," she whispered, her eyes growing wide with panic.

Kagome kept laughing until she saw Rin's face. "What is it Rin?" she asked, concerned. Rin nodded her head towards a table a few feet away. At it sat her ex boyfriend, Kohaku. He had always been such a sweet guy until Rin had wanted to break up after a year of dating. Then he became the biggest asshole on the planet, at least towards her.

"Kami I hope he doesn't see us." Rin moaned throwing her head down onto her arms, which rested on the table.

"Just stay calm, and do NOT look over there under any circumstances." Kagome ordered. Rin kept her head down, hoping that would be good enough.

"Let's just head out, Kagome. I'm done eating anyway." Rin moaned from under her arms.

"Oh shit," Kagome muttered in a hushed tone,"it's too late. Try to look cool!" she advised Rin. Rin shot up and saw that Kohaku was headed straight for them. She swallowed hard, nervous for what he might say. Last time they spoke he had called her a 'conniving bitch'. Which she really didn't understand. She had only wanted to break up so she could enjoy college as a single girl. She didn't love him so she felt no reason to string him along, then she really would have been a bitch. Plus he wanted to take the 'next step' which in his world meant sleeping together, something she had not been ready for at all.

"Hey Minami!" he called, already having an angry tone in his words. "Coming here to buy slut clothes for your new college boyfriends?" he taunted.

"Shut up and leave her alone you big baby!" Kagome shouted, suddenly standing to block him from coming any closer to Rin.

"Put a lid on it, Kagome." he bit out. "If I want to talk to my ex girlfriend I can, without your permission. Isn't that right Rinny?" he asked, calling her by her pet name.

"Kohaku, we really need to be getting home. Maybe we can talk another time." she said, standing as well. She started to gather her bags in her hands when Kohaku stepped in front of her and grabbed her shoulders.

"Come on Rinny. I know you miss me." he whispered, leaning forward to kiss her.

Surprised by his brazenness, Rin put her hands on his chest, pushing him away softly. "Stop, Kohaku. It's over. You need to move on and quit harassing me." she said a hint of annoyance in her tone.

"You want to fucking push me Rin?" he suddenly roared. Rin stepped back seeing he was about to lose control, yet another reason she had dumped him. He knocked chairs to the ground and over turned the table she and Kagome had been sitting at, knocking the remainder of their food to the ground.

Rin and Kagome clutched on to each other, both suddenly feeling very afraid. Kohaku continued hitting and kicking various things while his group of friends tried to calm him down.

There was a blur of silver and Kohaku was thrown to the ground out of no where. Rin and Kagome let small yelps escape their throats at the sight of his body being thrown down. In his place stood a very tall demon with long silver hair going down his back, cut into short bangs across his forehead. He wore a very expensive looking black business suit, with a dark blue shirt and gold tie underneath.

Rin found herself staring into his golden eyes and taking in the blue crescent moon on his forehead, which his bangs parted just enough to see. Two magenta stripes went across his cheeks as well as his wrists. He looked very calm and elegant, too elegant to be standing in the mall food court.

The demon bent slightly and picked Kohaku up by the collar of his shirt, setting him down. Kohaku's eyes were wide with fear but he immediately attempted to mask it. "This is none of your fucking business demon asshole." he spat out at the mysterious man.

The silver haired man's face did not change, he simply stared at his opponent for a moment before stating with an air of boredom,"I suggest you leave, human."

"And if I don't?" Kohaku asked paling slightly but continuing his tough guy facade.

"Then I will be forced to kill you. You are wasting my time, human child, and disrespecting this place of business," the man said, suddenly picking the boy up by the throat and dangling him over the ground.

Rin gasped and gripped Kagome's hand tightly. This guy wasn't playing around.

"Please," Rin heard herself say to the man. "Don't hurt him. He's just a big idiot." she told the stranger. Her voice wavered and she felt faint, but there was no way she could let Kohaku be killed right in front of her, even if he was a big jerk.

The man glanced over to her for the first time since arriving. His eyes lingered on her a moment longer before tossing the boy carelessly towards the doors of the mall. Kohaku's body skidded to a stop before them and remained there, still. The demon turned to walk away, but stopped, as he kicked an over turned chair out of his path.

"Do not return here unless you intend to pay for the damages." he called back, still in his bored, even tone. Then he walked away out of sight.

"Uhm.. thanks?" Rin called out after him. What a weirdo, she thought.

"Who the hell was that?" Kagome asked her, picking up their shopping bags from around the knocked over table.

"I don't know but I bet he made Kohaku piss on himself," Rin laughed. Although she supposed it really wasn't funny. Kohaku had just been in some serious danger. She helped Kagome with the rest of their bags and headed towards the still body by the doors. Rin saw the other boys of the group tapping Kohaku's face and calling his name. Finally he stirred and sat up, holding his head in his hand.

"Better luck next time Kohaku!" Kagome called to him as they strolled past the group and through the double doors. They found their car, after some searching, and threw all their bags in the trunk.

They finally reached home and trudged up the flight of stairs to their door. Their apartment was nice, but certainly not in the best part of town. But the neighbors were nice, both next door, and on the bottom of the complex. Rin and Kagome gave a wave to their neighbor Mr. Goto, and stepped into their shared apartment with a grateful sigh.

"It feels so good to be home! Shopping just wears me out." Rin said, tossing all her bags into her room.

"Yeah it does. Especially when your nutty ex shows up and then gets owned by a handsome stranger." Kagome giggled out in response.

"What a weirdo to just interject like that!" Rin half yelled. "And he didn't even mention us. Just that Kohaku was damaging the property. Who cares about the beautiful ladies he's attacking, right?"

Kagome snorted. "At least he handled that jackass for us. He was really freaking me out." she shook her head at the thought of what her friend's ex might have done had the stranger not stepped in.

"I really hope I don't run into him for a long time. He's so angry about everything, but he was a dick, and I dumped him for it. He shouldn't be surprised." she recounted, frowning in recollection of their time together.

"Well men are dumb. Can't expect much from them." Kagome stated blatantly.

Rin nodded in agreement thinking she would never want to be in love, ever, again.


On Monday Kagome and Rin woke up promptly at 6:30 and immediately argued over who got the bathroom first. Rin ultimately won when she pointed out it simply takes her less time so she should go first. Kagome rolled her eyes and reluctantly agreed. Rin showered and rubbed lotion on her legs and arms. She wanted to make the best first impression possible, and that included smelling nice.

Kagome practically knocked the door down trying to get in so Rin went to her own room to finish her routine. First came her matching set of black panties and a bra that made her C cups look like D's. She sat down in front of her floor length mirror trying to decide what to do with herself to make her look good.

She softly dusted her eyes with eye shadow, giving herself a smokey eye with a brown palette. She layered her mascara on trying to get her lashes to look long and thick. Next came some eye liner, followed by foundation. She hated to wear so much make up but in was necessary in order to give herself that older, professional look she wanted.

After coating her lips with a soft coral pink lip stick she stared at her reflection and liked what she saw, minus her hair, which was a mess. Picking up her brush and blow dryer she dried the remaining wet spots and pulled out her curling iron. Twenty minutes later her long hair fell in soft spirals down her back. She nodded in approval at her reflection deciding she was done.

She stepped over to her closet and pulled out a light purple, long sleeved, button down sweater. It would pair nicely with a white tank top and black pants she decided. After pulling her clothes on and slipping her plain black flats onto her small feet she sighed, relieved she was done with ten minutes to spare.

Walking out of her room with the intention of getting some breakfast she knocked into Kagome. Kagome's hair was pulled into a simple chignon and she wore grey slacks and a light blue collared shirt. She now stood 2 inches above Rin because of the black heels she had put on.

"Looking good, Kagome." Rin said with a smile.

"You too! But we better head out.. like right now!" Kagome huffed out in a slight panic. "We can't be late. Not on the first damn day!"

"But what about break-" Rin started but Kagome shook her head and threw a packaged muffin at her head.

"All we got time for! Let's go!" Kagome hollered, gathering both girls purses and walking out the door.

Rin stared after her and then down at the muffin in her hands. It had expired two days ago. Sighing sadly, she followed her friend out the door and down the stairs in defeat.

The drive was only twenty minutes and they arrived early. Rin gave Kagome an evil glare and pointed out the extra time they had before orientation started.

"Oh heh," Kagome laughed nervously. "You know what they say and all.. better early than late."

"Well you know what my stomach says?" Rin asked her. Kagome shook her head and shrugged her shoulders. Rin smiled and said coldly,"It says fuck you."

Both girls laughed and got out of the car. The building had a huge parking deck with at least six different levels. They made their way to the elevator and Rin pushed the star button to get the lobby. The elevator took off with two very nervous young women gripping the bars with sweaty palms.

"Just remember that all the girls with us are in the same boat." Kagome told Rin.

Rin nodded as they stepped off the lift and entered the lobby. She could already spot a small group of well dressed girls, about four, gathering by some double doors around a table. She and Kagome walked up and saw name tags sitting on the smooth table cloth. After finding theirs they turned around saw the woman who had interviewed them standing in the front of the group, gathering everyone's attention.

"Hello, ladies! I am Aiko Hayashi, though I'm sure most of you remember me from the interview process. Today I'm going to show you around the building, explain your duties, assign your superiors, and hand out parking passes and other information you will need to survive as an intern here. Please keep up, and do not get separated from the group. We may never find you." the red haired woman half joked. Though it put a look of fear on most of the girl's faces.

She started walking, beckoning the group to follow her. "This is obviously the lobby. Mail room is on floor 14, you will need to remember that. Anyone and everything important is going to be above floor 15. This is one of T&S's smaller buildings in Tokyo, but the home base for the companies founders and partners.." Aiko droned on about the history of the place while pointing out different floors that the new interns needed to remember but Rin found herself cutting her voice out and instead looking around the huge lobby and it's fine decor.

Aiko motioned for them to follow her onto the elevator. It was different than the one carrying people up from the parking decks and Rin took a nervous step back from the edge when she realized this one was glass, and completely see through. Kagome shot her a look and pushed her over the threshold. Aiko hit the button with 20 neatly stamped on it and they whirred upwards.

Rin felt nervous, she didn't much like heights and the last thing she needed was to watch how high they were through the glass. She turned away from the front and tried to focus on the loose string hanging from Kagome's shirt. Finally after several moments they arrived at floor twenty.

Aiko stepped off first, waiting for the rest of the interns to step off before speaking. "This is where the founders of the company are located. You were the best and brightest of those interviewing so it has been decided you will begin interning here. Everything you are asked to do will be important to the success of this company. Taking notes will be one of your main priorities. Whether it be for a secretary concerning what will be needed to impress a client or for Toga Taisho himself. And for those of you wondering, he is the head of this company and I am his secretary."

The six girls nodded, eyes wide with their new found responsibilities. They walked further into the office space and saw a few desks with well dressed men and women behind them. To the right was a huge room with glass windows enclosing it, a gigantic wooden table with plush leather chairs surrounding it. What seemed to be a small waiting area sat to the front of the room with some chairs and tables full of magazines.

Suddenly the elevator dinged and the doors open, letting three silver haired demons off, followed by a few dark haired men. All of them were dressed in tailored black business suits and ties. Except for one, who Kagome and Rin immediately recognized. Their eyes widened at the silver haired boy with cute puppy dog ears winking at them with his index finger to his lips. He wore black pants with a collared red button up shirt, the top three buttons were left undone and his sleeves were neatly rolled showing his muscular forearms.

Kagome mouthed a very expressive 'what the fuck' to him which he shrugged at as they walked by the group. Rin gripped Kagome's hand and nodded towards the man walking in front of Inuyasha, taking her attention away from her smirking boyfriend. There, in his fancy suit, was the same demon who had taken care of Kohaku for them. But before the girls could get a closer look another man stepped in their line of vision, patting Aiko on the shoulder.

"A fine looking bunch, if you ask me Aiko. You did well." he said to her with a sweet smile. All eyes turned to the man with long silver hair pulled back into a tight pony tail, high on his head. His bangs grazed his eyebrows and his cheeks held one blue line each. He was very handsome and had an air of authority radiating from him like no one Rin had ever seen before.

"Hello new friends," he boomed with a grin. "Welcome to T&S financial. I assume Aiko has filled you in on your duties. I am Toga Taisho, founder of the company. My sons, Sesshomaru and Inuyasha are my partners. Feel free to come to any one of us if there are any problems. Good luck ladies." he finished and headed after his sons towards the meeting room.

Rin's eyes flickered in the direction of the man who had helped her and figured he must be Sesshomaru. He turned his head back slightly, just in time to meet her eyes. She blushed and turned her attention back to Aiko, who was assigning two of them each between the three men.

"You will answer to their secretaries and/or assistants. Kagome and Chie, you're assigned to Inuyasha. Emiko and Hana you will be assisting Toga himself. And finally, Rin and Mi you will be with Sesshomaru. Any questions?" she asked.

When none of the girls responded she nodded. "Well then, the men are in a meeting currently so go to their secretaries and receive your first assignments. Emiko and Hana follow me." she ordered. Two of the girls stepped in line behind her and they went to her desk, which was settled to the side of a large door, which must have lead to Toga's office.

Rin and Kagome exchanged nervous glances and waved to each other as they went to their respective areas. Rin peered into the room where Inuyasha and his brother sat. Sesshomaru looked bored and simply stared coldly at the man speaking before him. His eyes flicked over to the staring Rin, catching her once again. She turned away hurriedly and made for his secretary with Mi.

This was going to be a very interesting job.