"We're fools whether we dance or not, so we may as well dance."

~ Japanese Proverb ~

Chapter I

A vision in a sky blue dress twirled across the floor, the long dress swaying with each movement the woman made. White flowers had been embroidered into the bodice of the dress and it left the woman's shoulders and back bare before falling in a full circle from her hips to her ankles. The duo who danced across the room almost seemed to create a scene that would remind little girls of fairy tales and they had the young girls in the audience watching in awe as they glided from one side of the room to the other. When the dance ended, one dark haired little girl in the front row turned to her parents who sat beside her with a bright smile.

"When I grow up, I'm going to dance just like that lady!" the girl said with such fierce determination that her parents smiled.

"I'm sure you'll be just as good as she is," her mother said, ruffling her daughter's hair.

It was now seventeen years later and that same girl stood quietly beneath a tree, watching the rain fall from the heavens. She smiled as she remembered the day she had said that and her smile grew when she remembered her parents' responses. Sighing softly as a raindrop landed on her head, she looked away from the poor weather that had trapped her under the tree. It wasn't a bad place to be trapped, she was sure she could think of worse if she put her mind to it, but she counted herself lucky that this happened to be one of her favourite places. Slowly, her brown eyes drifted over her surroundings before landing on the monument that lay at her feet. The cemetery was peaceful and empty except for the few people who wondered between headstones under umbrellas and the woman sighed again as she knelt down on the damp grass and ran her fingers gently over the letters engraved into the marble surface.

"Here lie Tsujimoto Kazuo, Yukiko and Minoru."

There was nothing else written but the three names of the people most important to her. Tsujimoto Rin allowed a single tear to trail down her cheek as she remembered her father, mother and brother with a fond smile before pushing herself to her feet and dusting herself off. With a final glance at the headstone at her feet, she turned her back and walked away through the rain, pulling her coat closer around her after promising to return soon.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Rin sighed softly as she stepped through the door of her home an hour later. As she peeled off her damp coat, she didn't notice the older woman who came into the hall to see who had come in.

"Hello, dear," she said with a smile before heading back to the kitchen. "I wasn't expecting you back so soon."

"Classes finished early today," Rin said as she followed the woman into the kitchen.

There was no reply as Rin sat down at the kitchen table and watched as the woman moved around the kitchen preparing the evening meal for the rest of the family. The Ishikawa family had adopted her after her parents and brother had tragically died in a car accident when she was only five years old. Despite the fact that they had adopted her, Rin had decided to keep her own surname instead of taking theirs and had been glad when they had been more than willing to let her keep her own name if she wanted to. Although Hibiki Ishikawa was seen as the head of the family, although Rin knew that it was his wife, Nanami, who kept everything in order. Hibiki and Nanami had three other children aside from their adopted daughter which made Rin even more grateful to them for that they had done for her. At nearly 22 years of age, Rin was the third youngest of all the children.

Miki was the youngest at 17 and had not been born yet when Rin was taken into the family, but the girl had still embraced Rin like a sister when she was old enough to understand the truth of the situation. Then there were her two older siblings. Ren was the eldest at 28. Unlike his other three siblings, he had left the family home several years ago to live with his long term girlfriend who was soon to be his wife. Kind and gentle by nature, it was Ren who Rin would run to whenever she was upset when she was younger. There had been countless times when he had had to put aside his studies to comfort her when someone had said harsh things to her at school as a little girl and even when she was teenager she would still seek him out at times, although not very often.

While Ren was the one who had given her comfort, it was Jirou who had spent more time with her than any of his siblings. The second son was only three years older than Rin and had taken it upon himself to be her guardian. Somehow he had managed to walk her to and from school everyday even during the brief period when she had yet to enter high school. As a result of their close ages, Jirou had been the first to notice how popular Rin had become with the male population of school when she was a teenager. Needless to say, the protective side of him had been outraged at the sight of all the boys crowding around her, all vying for her attention and it soon become common knowledge throughout the school that Tsujimoto Rin was off limits to everyone and that she also seemed to have a rather scary older brother who always seemed to have his eye on her. Thus, Rin had lived a rather sheltered life, but had been well looked after and couldn't have asked for a better family.

A hand landing on her head brought Rin from her memories of her siblings and she looked up to see Jirou towering over her, his brilliant green eyes hidden from view by his long dark hair. Grinning, she got to her feet and gave him a hug, welcoming him home.

"He may have looked out for you, but I was your shoulder to cry on. Do I not get the same welcome?" a deep voice asked in mock sadness.

"Ren!" Rin squealed in delight, launching herself towards her eldest brother, having not seen him in quite a while.

Ren laughed and returned her hug before sitting beside her at the table, sighing in relief to finally be off his feet. He closed his eyes for a moment and when he opened them, he found Jirou and Rin playfully arguing about something and couldn't help shaking his head. Some things didn't change.

"So," Ren said, interrupting the arguing siblings. "What were you doing today, Rin?"

"I had classes most of the day," she said with a smile and sat back in her chair.

"Classes? When did you start university?" Ren asked with a puzzled expression.

"I didn't. I mean dance classes. We're putting together a show so my class has been having extra practices lately."

"I see. I'll be coming to see that then."

"That's probably not a good idea," Miki said, coming into the room and standing behind her sister with a grin.

"Why not?" Jirou frowned. "I'll be going too."

"You especially don't want to go to," the youngest sibling said with a laugh as she pointed at Jirou. "She dances with boys you know."

Rin looked over her shoulder at her sister and frowned slightly. She had been dancing for many years, but it was only in the past two years that she had gotten to the level she was at now and she didn't need her brothers ruining it for her because they were over protective. Sighing softly, she chanced a glance at her brothers and gulped as looked at her with expressions that were asking her to tell them that Miki was only joking. She wanted to say that it was a joke, but also knew that she couldn't lie to them.

"Well, it wouldn't look half as good if it was just two women dancing together, would it?" she said, hoping that the conversation would end there.

"I suppose not," Jirou conceded. "But we're still coming to that performance."

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

It was very late when Rin finally got to bed that night. Everyone had been so happy about being altogether for the first time in a long time that they had decided to celebrate long into the night. Sighing wearily, she sank down onto the edge of her bed and looked around her dark room before turning the light on. Her eyes landed on the silver photograph frame that sat on the table beside her bed and she smiled as she picked it up. The picture showed her two best friends, Inuyasha and Kagome Taisho, on their wedding day only a few months before. Kagome had given her a copy of the picture and she had immediately framed it, not only because it was her friends, but because it showed everyone.

Her slim fingers drifted over the faces behind the glass, naming each one as she passed until they landed Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru. Rin chided herself about the way her breath caught in her throat from just looking at a photograph of the man, but she couldn't help herself. The man was truly a god in human form and she was not the only one who thought so. Unfortunately for her, that same man was as cold as ice and had the same emotional capacity as a rock. He was so quiet that it frustrated the normally quiet woman and so vague with his words that she would probably have a more interesting conversation with herself. All in all, the man annoyed her immensely, but she still couldn't help it when her heart fluttered at the mention of his name or when her breath caught in her throat at the sight of him. She was quite sure that if he should ever have a proper conversation with her, she would most likely pass out from either shock or joy. However, Rin knew that her chances of having a conversation with him were very low and the chances of him ever noticing her instead of all the other beauties that usually surrounded him were ever lower.

Putting the picture back on the table, Rin rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She had known Sesshoumaru for almost as long as she had known Inuyasha but he had never once made the effort to acknowledge her existence. Perhaps he had never noticed her on account of how quiet she could be at times? Regardless, she still wished that some magical being would appear in front of her and cast a spell upon her to make her as beautiful as all the other women who seemed to catch his eye. She closed her eyes and rolled beneath the covers, her last thought before succumbing to sleep was that the she should be grateful that his sister attended the same dance school as herself and that upped the chances of her seeing him.