For those of you wondering what happened to the first version - let's just say I wasn't happy with my two Rins. Perhaps I'll revisit the idea in another story? All the chapters are revised now and I hope you enjoy this version as much as the previous one.
3SxR3
It occurred to Jaken, as it normally did when the eccentric Lady Taisho was in her usual brooding state, that his mistress was sulking for longer than normal. Or, at the very least, longer than what the household considered to be her usual brooding time, which was anywhere from an hour to a week.
At the outset, the servants had merely ignored her black mood and the dark aura that swirled relentlessly around her lithe frame, thinking that it would pass as it normally did when she decided to forgive whoever it was that had peeved her.
But by the eleventh day, the tiny cloud had morphed into a behemoth of despair, hovering dangerously around the entire estate. This only meant one thing: the lady's plans were not going as planned.
Maids, kitchen staff, attendants and gardeners were all in a state of alarm. And, fear. No one dared to approach her lest they welcome the bittersweet embrace of death. Oh, she hadn't said anything. At least not yet. And, she hadn't killed anyone... at least not yet.
All cowered and feared. All except Jaken.
The lady's dejected state will not sit well with the young Lord Sesshomaru, if he finds out that we haven't been lively company for the matron of Taisho household. Jaken reasoned with himself.
And so - in fear of being reprimanded by his former master, Jaken headed out to the kitchens to fetch the Lady tea and biscuits in hopes of brightening her mood.
"Master Jaken, are you absolutely sure about this?" Mara - the kitchen maid - asked again, looking at the toad demon with wide sympathetic eyes. Her friend Jack - the gardener - mimicked her actions. "The Lady is giving off some serious vibes and they're not good ones."
Fixing his tie and lifting his chin, Jaken snorted with pride as he picked up the tea tray.
"Positive! All the lady needs is some good company and her favorite hot tea and she'll be all smiles before we can say Meido Zangetsuha."
Unconvinced that the kappa's company would change the lady's sour mood, the maid and the gardener exchanged worried glances. Despite the toad's sunny outlook, he wasn't the Lady's preferred company. Or at the very least, he hadn't been ever since a certain brown eyed girl had won the lady's favor.
"But Master Jaken-" Mara and Jack rushed to the kitchen's exit and blocked Jaken's path; earning a scowl from the now annoyed toad demon. "Do you recall, the one time that she acted this way? When she was all out of sorts and carrying on like a child. Almost as though she'd lost her favorite play toy."
"Toy?" Jaken muttered; skeptically studying the wide-eyed maid and her companion. "What on Earth are you two on about?"
"You see..." the maid hesitated and the gardener also averted his eyes to some random object on the wall. Jaken's eyes narrowed further, partially in annoyance but mostly in impatience.
"Well, out with it then. I haven't got all day!" Jaken ordered but it only seemed to rouse the maid's discomfort.
With an irritable groan, Jaken was about to walk through the gap in their legs when-
"We think it's that girl's company the lady desires!" The maid shouted out loud.
Jaken stopped dead in his tracks and a sudden realization dawned on his face. "Ah, you mean her..."
Both maid and gardener nodded. "Jack and I believe it's that girl's company the lady misses. Oh, don't you remember how happy Lady Taisho had been last summer? I swear the only other time I had seen the lady so happy was when Lord Sesshomaru was born! She was all smiles and so lively with everyone."
"How can I forget?" Jaken's said in a contemplative mood. "Lord Sesshomaru was such a cheerful child. The estate was always bubbling with laughter and joy in those days. It's a pity that life turned out the way it did for both mother and son... Oh, but you two are right. The house had been too dull and boring before that little sprite came into our home and made her way into all our hearts not just the lady's." Jaken added thoughtfully, remembering how she had nursed him back to health after that awful insect bite that had almost claimed his life.
"It's settled then." Jaken said in a decisive tone.
Mara and Jack exchanged curious glances. "What do you mean, Master Jaken?"
"We'll just have to arrange for Rin to spend another summer at the Estate." Jaken said smugly as he strode out the kitchen and up the staircase, his tail coat flapping slightly in an invisible wind.
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"Could you please just read it once over and hand it to Rin?" Kagome spoke faster than she normally did, piling papers on his desk in a rush. "I've been training her for over a month and she knows the whole routine: what to bill the client and where to mail it."
Sesshomaru felt the beginnings of a long, hard headache.
In the few years he had known Kagome, he found her to be more annoying than the average female. Annoying personality notwithstanding, he hadn't been happy to hear that she was giving up her current position to work for none other than his half-brother (her mate).
Kagome was punctual, a stickler for details and an excellent worker who did wonders with numbers. Sesshomaru liked numbers and so he had grown to tolerate his soon to be ex-assistant. One doesn't become senior partner to the most prestigious law firm in Japan without knowing his math. There were no variables in his life just cold hard numbers and he was a creature of that reliable routine.
This new girl Rin, however, he was not so sure about.
"You mean the new girl?" Sesshomaru couldn't help the scathing tone.
Rin had all the qualities that were ill-suited for an employee of Taisho and Ookami. She was timid, constantly nervous, far too introverted, and awful with numbers. To top it off, the girl always dressed as though she shopped at a thrift store, despite being paid handsomely for working in the mailroom.
Her quiet and docile personality got under his skin and the one time he had lost his cool with her, she seemed to only recede further into her shell. Even his ex-wife didn't have what it took to annoy him to the point that he wanted to transform into the inuyoukai he was and bite her head off.
He prefered strong women who stood up for what they believed in and spoke their mind. A person who kept all to themselves always meant they had something to hide... such as, a shady background for doing jail time for gambling? Oh, if it was up to him he would never had looked twice in her direction but it was at his mother's behest that she was employed at his firm. Her gambling habits landed her with unusually large debt that had recently been paid off courtesy of his mother's undying generosity to all except himself.
Sesshomaru was not a forgiving person, which meant mistakes were simply not acceptable. However, since Rin's employment had come on unusual terms, his hands were tied. Despite Kagome's reassurance that Rin had improved during the past six months, her redundancy was the reason why Sesshomaru was so hesitant in giving her more responsibility.
The girl was definitely not suited for his firm or his dependable lifestyle.
Kagome animatedly rolled her eyes. "Oh for heaven's sake, Sesshomaru. Rin has been working with us for over six months now; she's hardly new. She covered for me for my wedding, remember?"
"How can I forget? Billing was a mess, we lost two major clients and a business proposal and-" Sesshomaru made a point to put his hand over his accounts statement, "the numbers didn't add up."
Throwing her hands in the air, Kagome shook her head. "Billing has been messy ever since Naraku was appointed head controller, and that was before Rin was hired. The numbers haven't added up since your separation and as for those two clients, they were bad news, Sesshomaru. They were in direct conflict with our biggest client and you may have lost one business proposal that day but you gained two more instead all thanks to Rin. Can't you even see that she's trying her best?"
"I don't believe in trying, Kagome. Either you commit or you don't." Reaching for his coffee, he gulped it down in one shot. He hated coffee but enjoyed the bitter taste it left behind.
"Well, maybe if you told her that you appreciate her work then maybe she would work harder? Come on, Sesshomaru. I remember the good old days when you used to encourage employees and push them to their full potential. Whatever happened to that man?"
"I am no longer that man. However, I can encourage her to walk out the exit instead." Sesshomaru clipped; harsher than he should have. He didn't want to remember the fool he had been when he and Kagura were together.
"Okay, so I get you don't like her but she's the only one I've trained and seeing as how I'm leaving in the next half an hour, you really don't have a choice. Like it or not you're stuck with her."
Sesshomaru groaned but he was certain it sounded more like a painful grunt. Rin was not someone he was looking forward to working with.
Lacing his fingers on the table and tapping the tips of his thumbs, Sesshomaru reconsidered.
With Kagome heading over to Inuyasha's firm, he had no choice but to stomach Rin's presence for the mean time. It would be a matter of time before he found a more appropriate replacement for Kagome.
"Seeing as how you leave me no choice... I suppose Rin will have to do."
"Perfect!" Kagome exclaimed, and sprang up from her chair. "Rin will be so happy to hear the good news! You've found yourself an excellent assistant, Sesshomaru. You won't regret it!" the girl called in merriment before shutting the door closed behind her.
Just as Sesshomaru was about to reach into his desk and pull out the the list of possible replacements, an e-mail popped up on his screen with red, all capital letters in the subject that read 'LADY TAISHO NOT WELL. CALL NOW.'
Without batting a lash, Sesshomaru reached for his cell phone and dialed the number to his mother's estate..
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"I'm going to miss you, Kagome." Rin said with a sad smile, after giving her only friend in the firm a big hug.
At first, the office staff were pleasant enough until she explained that it was because of Lady Taisho that she was working at the firm. It was immediate - the harsh look in their judgemental eyes and the fake yet sweet smiles on their faces when they jokingly asked if she actually meant that she had slept with Sesshomaru Taisho to get the job.
If she felt a bit out of place working in the most renowned law firms in all of Japan with employees who were star graduates from the esteemed Keio University, she definitely kept to herself after that. That also meant keeping her distance from Sesshomaru Taisho. He shouldn't have to suffer from petty gossip just because she was.
It was Kagome who had later explained that Lady Taisho was far more cut throat and ruthless than her only son and that she never did favors for anyone. In fact, she refused to refer even her personally trained students, wanting them to set their own roots in the world.
Odd that Lady Taisho would only show her kindness.
Last summer when she had been handing out flyers to large estates promoting the small sewing shop she worked at, she saw the beautiful lady looking forlorn, leaning against her doorway. Upon inquiry, it turned out that her gown had been ruined and she had nothing to wear to an important soiree. Rin had taken it upon herself to help the lady, who was genuinely nice with a sunny personality. Over the summer, a beautiful friendship had blossomed between the two. Rin confided many aspects of her life to the lovely lady and in return learned that the lady was lonely and very sad so Rin visited her as much as she could. Towards the end of the summer, the lady had been so kind as to offer her a job in her law firm and Rin had been overjoyed. She had also agreed to pay off a large debt that had resulted because of making bad choices after her mother passed away. Rin had disagreed but the lady had been very convincing and made a pact to be paid back in a small percentage every pay day.
After Rin finished telling the story, Kagome was left gaping for moments before she advised her not to share these personal details with the rest of the staff. No one had ever been able to look in the direction of the lovely but dangerous Lady Taisho much less befriend her and staff would only get more jealous if they found out that Rin was on good standing with the founding member of Taisho and Ookami.
Trusting Kagome's advice, Rin bore the grunt of menacing jokes about how easily she had secured a position so many worked so hard to obtain. So she mostly kept to herself and occasionally hung out with Kagome.
"Aw, you'll still keep in touch though, right?" Kagome returned the hug with a smile of her own and got back to placing her few belongings in a cardboard box after Rin nodded. "Don't get too caught up in work, you hear? And, be sure to hand in your vacation time soon. Sesshomaru is a tough boss but he's fair."
"Yeah, about that," Rin chewed on her lower lip nervously before leaning against Kagome's desk. "I don't think it's a good idea for me to take your place, Kagome. Half the staff already think I slept with Sesshomaru to get this job. I'll never hear the end of it when they find out I took over your position."
Kagome quirked a brow. "You are right that things will only get more difficult for you once the rest of the firm finds out you're Sesshomaru's new assistant but just think of all the positive that will come out of it, right? It's a new opportunity, Rin, and you deserve it more than anyone."
Rin shrugged and watched as Kagome continued to place her belongings into another box.
"In a different situation I would have welcomed the opportunity, but..."
"But?" Kagome asked, keeping her eyes glued to the box.
"Oh, come on, Kagome! You know how much Sesshomaru hates me. He thinks I have no social skills and I'll never be good enough for his firm."
"What makes you say that?" Kagome responded, still not making eye contact.
"Kagome." Rin stared pointedly at her friend. "His exact words were: You have absolutely no social skills and you'll never be good enough for my firm. Argh, I wish I could have told him to stick his head in his ass because I was sick of looking at it but I sucked it up because I need the money. I wish I could just stay in the mailroom and not deal with the rest of the staff and most especially him."
Kagome sighed in exasperation. It didn't help her case that Rin was as uninterested in taking the position as Sesshomaru was in hiring her. "Listen to me, Rin. This is your chance to get off your feet and make something of your life. With your new position - and new raise - you'll be able to get a car, enroll in that seamstress course you talk about all the time or move out of that dingy place you call an apartment and buy a proper condo in a decent community. Maybe we can be neighbours, huh?"
"With Sesshomaru as my boss, I don't think I'll last in this position for very long." Rin replied worriedly. "It's so hard to believe that Lady Taisho is such a sweet lady and her son is the slave lord from hell!"
"Personally, Rin, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the 'sweet Lady Taisho'! I've never seen her myself but from what I hear mother and son are like duplicates."
"I beg to differ; they are not the same person." Rin clarified. Kagome groaned.
"Yeah, sure. Argh, my hands are full." Kagome muttered and looked from one box to the next, deciding which one to carry.
"Let me help." Rin offered and picked up a box to keep her hands busy and distract her thoughts from how miserable it would be to work under Sesshomaru Taisho.
"Thanks, babe!" Kagome responded. Shortly after both head towards the elevator.
Rin didn't have to look in Kagome's direction to know she was staring at her.
"Oh, cheer up will you? You're getting a position that most people in this firm only dream of getting. Yeah, Sesshomaru is a bit rough around the edges but you would be too if you were the senior partner of a multi-million dollar law firm. You grow a thick skin and you deal, Rin. If anything, just think about how good this job will look on your resume."
"Yeah, I guess..." Rin shrugged.
"Anyway, think about how much fun it would be to tell your old friends about your new job! What about Kohaku? Do you still keep in touch with him?" Kagome asked; she often brought up Kohaku to not too subtly change the topic.
"Nah. I haven't spoken with him in months. I'd like to keep it that way." Rin clarified. There were days when she wished she had a 'normal' life like others her age. Being busy with college life, complaining about paying bills or getting a part-time job or falling in love. Instead, her life had taken a very different direction.
A direction where both her father and mother had both died when she had graduated from high school. A direction where she had to resort to one of Kohaku's schemes to save her land and her house only to fall into an ocean of debt that left her working more hours than she slept. A direction that could have left her in a penitentiary had it not been for Lady Taisho's generosity.
"Good." Kagome responded and pressed the down button on the elevator. "Once I step out of this firm, I no longer work here but don't be afraid to give me shout if you ever need anything. Work related or not, okay?"
"Thanks, Kagome." Rin responded as positively as she could. Kagome was right; this was a chance for her to rebuild her life and there were bound to be hurdles along the way. Heck, if she could spend one night in the penitentiary, how difficult would it be to work for Sesshomaru Taisho?
"RIN!" Instantly, Rin's body tensed at the familiar thunderous voice that echoed through the far end of the hall and right into her bones.
Speak of the devil. Rin groaned.
"In my office - NOW!" Sesshomaru sounded right pissed. She didn't need to turn around and look into what she assumed were his monstrous angry eyes (they were burning holes through her sweater) to know how annoyed he was.
"Are you sure no one else can work for that madman?" Rin mumbled worriedly.
Throwing the box in her arms roughly in the elevator, Kagome snatched the other one from Rin's hold.
"Sorry, babe. You're stuck with him. Now, go!" Kagome motioned towards Sesshomaru's office while the rest of the staff peeked from behind their cubicles.
"Wish me luck." Rin said and watched Kagome give her a thumbs up as the elevator doors shut closed.
The short walk down the hall to Sesshomaru Taisho's office felt like a mile long trek.
Reaching the door, Rin breathed in deeply a few times before gathering the courage to place her hand on the knob.
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