Based on the song "The Artist" by The Hush Sound.
I've had this story saved on my laptop for quite a while now, and after being home sick most of last week I decided to finally edit and post it, so I hope you like :)
Disclaimer: I am not Rumiko Takahashi or a member of The Hush Sound. Dang.
Chapter 1: Meetings & Hostile Greetings
I know that you're an artist,
you're the hardest one to deal with.
"Line up, everyone!" Rin Hidori called cheerfully to the group of young children that swarmed around her.
It was field trip day, which meant that her usually rowdy third-grade students were even more so as they boarded the waiting school bus. Luckily she had been able to elicit the help of her best friend and fellow teacher, Kagome Higurashi. Rin gave her friend an appreciative smile as the last of her students boarded the bus and Rin took her own seat up front.
"Remember," Rin addressed the children once they were all seated and relatively quiet, "when we get to the art gallery, stay with your partner. No wandering off, okay?"
"Yes Miss Rin." 15 happy faces beamed back at her before the bus jolted into gear and pulled away from the curb.
Rin took her seat but twisted so that she could keep an eye on her students as they travelled. Her fingers drummed a random beat against the cheap vinyl seat and thanks to the unusually humid weather, she could already feel her bare legs sticking where her plain black pencil skirt had ridden up her thighs.
"You know, you're almost as giddy as they are," Kagome teased once the kids began a terribly out of tune version of 'The Wheels on the Bus'. "You're practically bouncing in your seat".
Rin laughed and shrugged her shoulders in reply. "You know how much I love art. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to see this new exhibit! I'm just lucky that Principal Asai approved it as part of the kids' art class."
"You know what I heard?" Kagome lowered her voice conspiratorially, "Apparently Sesshomaru Takeda is going to be there in person for some kind of ceremony when they unveil his exhibit."
If Rin wasn't bouncing in her seat before, she certainly was now.
"Are you serious? But he nevermakes public appearances! He's a total recluse; people hardly even know what he looks like!" Rin whispered back before realizing there was no need to be quiet, so she cleared her throat loudly.
"Just promise you won't turn into a complete fan girl once we get there," Kagome warned, "you still have students to look after."
Rin's chocolate brown eyes shone with humor, "Trust me, Kagome. That won't be a problem. If the rumours are true, then I don't want to get within ten feet of the guy."
"Rumours? Like what?" Rin's gossipy friend never could resist a juicy story.
"He's incredibly talented, but everything I've read about Sesshomaru Takeda suggests that he's a huge, um..." Rin lowered her voice to keep any younger ears from listening in, "asshole."
"Seriously?" Kagome's eyes widened, "So you thought it would be a good idea to bring a group of 8-year olds to meet this man?"
"I didn't know he was coming until you told me two minutes ago!" Panic began to creep into Rin's voice as she envisioned all the horrible scenarios involving her young, impressionable students and the rude artist.
"Relax," Kagome put a comforting hand on her friend's arm as the school bus slowed and stopped in front of their destination, "I was just joking, mostly..."
"Mostly?" Rin moaned but had no further opportunity to complain as her students began anxiously chattering and fidgeting in their seats. It was time to be the grown-up.
She scooted out of her seat and stood at the front of the bus, clapping her hands to draw her students' attention, "Does everyone remember our field trip rules?"
Eager heads bobbed 'yes' and spoke aloud with Rin. "One: stay with your buddy. Two: quiet mouths. Three: still hands."
She smiled lovingly at her small group before they filed off the bus.
She had to admit, it was hard to do her job in a place like the Ramiko Art Institute. Not because her students were misbehaving, but because she was simply in awe.
The beautiful, smooth stone architecture kept Rin gawking at nearly everything, and when the building itself wasn't catching her attention, the amazing art it housed certainly was.
A bubbly young tour guide had led Rin's class through the gallery before directing them to a large boardroom that was set up with craft supplies, allowing the kids to create their own works of art.
With Kagome and a group of gallery employees watching over her little artists, Rin was able to escape for a few moments and wander the building in peace. Though her feet seemed to have a mind of their own as she soon found herself standing in front of Sesshomaru Takeda's new exhibit.
She studied his work with an odd mixture of appreciation and disgust. There was no doubt that Takeda was one of the greatest artists of their time, and Rin had long ago fallen in love with his easy yet intricate style. Unfortunately, every interview or article she had ever read told her that her idol was a rude and heartless man who used his talents for all the wrong reasons.
"To think that such a jerk could create something so beautiful..." Rin muttered to herself as she gazed at a canvas of swirling red and gold brush strokes.
"Are you a fan then?" A cool, deep voice interrupted Rin's thoughts.
She turned and was startled to find a tall man standing closely behind her. In fact, he was dangerously close to invading her personal space. In any normal situation, Rin would have told him off but something about this man's face kept her captivated. His eyes were rich and golden - though expressionless - and his long, straight hair shone with an unnatural white-silver tone that somehow suited him perfectly.
"Are you a fan?" The man repeated when Rin did not immediately reply.
"Of the art, y-yes of course," she responded once she found her voice, "of the artist, not particularly." She added in a quiet voice, speaking more to herself than the stranger before her.
The shadow of a smirk passed across the man's face.
"Hn. Then you will be pleased to know that the artist does not particularly care for you, either."
What?
"What?" Rin's mouth hung open in shock, but she quickly recovered as smoothly as possible, "So you're Sesshomaru Takeda. And how can you say you don't like me? We just met!"
"That is irrelevant. Before this moment, you did not know me, and yet your distaste for me is apparent." Amused golden eyes bored into Rin, although his voice gave not a single hint of emotion.
He was calling her a hypocrite.
"That's different." Rin frowned, unwilling to let him win their argument, "I feel like I know you because I've read every book, article and review written about you."
"Have you, now?" He casually crossed his arms and looked down at her with curiosity.
Rin felt her face flush under his gaze, "I didn't mean it like that. I don't like you or anything. I read all of that stuff out of love for the art and a little curiosity. I wondered what you were like and now that I know, I have to say I'm truly disappointed!"
Forgoing all her manners, she turned sharply on her heel and stormed away, only coming to a stop because of the hand that suddenly gripped her wrist firmly.
"Do not walk away from me, girl." His voice was a low growl.
"Struck a nerve, did I?" Rin smiled smugly.
The intensity in his eyes sent a small shiver of fear down her spine but Rin was far too stubborn to let him have the last word. A million warning bells were going off in her head but she held her ground, glaring up at the artist defiantly.
"Tell me your name." Sesshomaru demanded, ignoring her last comment.
"Why do you care? Now if you don't mind, I have to get back to my students." Rin struggled to free her arm from his grasp. Her efforts were in vain as she only succeeded in making him angrier.
"Tell. Me. Your. Nammmme." His grip tightened almost painfully as he spoke each word with a frightening seriousness.
He was standing so close. Too close in Rin's opinion, and she only noticed it now as she felt the ends of his long hair tickling her bare arms. He towered over her small frame easily and Rin suddenly, inexplicably, felt butterflies in her tummy.
"You're too tall..." she whispered almost breathlessly.
"And you are testing what little patience I have." A warning growl came from deep within his throat.
"Rin. Hidori Rin." She finally stated.
"Rinnn..." He repeated her name, drawing it out in a way that made her shiver.
Suddenly her wrist was free and there was a more comfortable distance between her and the artist.
Rin looked down at her hand to find a small white business card lying in her palm.
"Should you wish to gain a better knowledge of me before making assumptions." He explained bluntly, "Now return to your students, Rin."
With hands in the pockets of his black dress pants, Sesshomaru gracefully exited the room, leaving the young school teacher staring down at her hand with utter confusion.
"You have got to be kidding me." Kagome gaped at her best friend who sat opposite her in a booth at their favourite Mexican restaurant.
It was during their usual Friday night ritual that Rin explained her strange encounter with the artist.
"Was that his weird way of asking you out?" Kagome pondered, reaching for another tortilla chip from their plate of appetizers.
"I don't know!" Rin groaned, "What should I do? Should I call him? No, no, I am not calling that jerk...but should I?"
"It sounds like there was definitely chemistry between you two." Kagome commented, "I don't know, Rin. He sounds like a real asshole. A real sexy asshole." She amended.
"I appreciate it, but you're not helping, Kagome." Rin took a large glup of her fruity drink, hoping that the tiny percentage of alcohol content would somehow make everything better.
Yeah, right.
"Hey girls, sorry I'm late." A pretty, athletic-looking brunette appeared at their table and slid into the empty seat beside Rin.
"Sango! How was work? Did that Miroku guy ask you out yet?" Kagome asked, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
At 26, Sango was the oldest of their small group of friends. She had recently started working for a real estate company and was constantly lamenting over a certain perverted co-worker who just wouldn't take no for an answer.
Sango moaned and let her head drop down onto the table with a 'thunk'. "If he doesn't get his act together, he's going to wind up with a permanent hand imprint on his cheek. I've hit that man so many times and he still won't keep his hands to himself!"
Rin patted her friend's back, "Don't worry about it. You know what fixes guy problems? Guacamole!" She took a generous scoop of the green dip on a tortilla chip and shoved the whole thing in her mouth, chewing in a very unlady-like manner.
Sango looked at her strangely before addressing Kagome, "What's gotten into her?"
"Oh, about three drinks and a guy named Sesshomaru Takeda." Kagome replied with a grin.
"Takeda? Isn't he that artist you absolutely love?" Sango questioned Rin.
"It's not quite that simple anymore." Rin sighed and proceeded to re-tell her story as more food and drinks arrived at their table.
By the end of the night, she had knocked back more alcohol than she cared to admit. Rin paid her cab driver and shuffled into her apartment, occasionally bumping against the wall. She slipped out of her skirt and blouse and flopped onto the bed, wearing only her underwear.
"He thinks he's so much better than me," she mumbled, her mind still stuck on her encounter with the artist, "that stupid, hot, arrogant jerk. I'm so much better than him. I would never stoop to his level, I'm too smart and mature."
She yawned and flung an arm out, fumbling for her cell phone that sat on the bedside table. "Ya know," she spoke to herself excitedly as an idea formed in her head, "I'm gonna call him and tell him exactly that."
She dragged herself off the mattress and retrieved the business card she had tucked in her purse earlier that day. Returning to burrow under the soft sheets of her bed, Rin carefully dialled the number with all the skill a tipsy 24-year old could possess.
The phone rang twice before a soft 'click' indicated that someone picked up and was on the line.
"Sess..omeru? Sesshy?" She finally settled on calling him after her mouth refused to properly pronounce his full name, "I have some stuff to say to you...".