Hello, my name is Lilly and I'm hesitantly beginning a new story about Sesshomaru and Rin, ahaha. I've attempted to write about this couple before but it was several years ago and I have developed greatly as an author and as a person since then and no longer identify with that story. Thus, I've began writing a new one (because I really do love this couple so much) that I hope I can stay committed to it. Thank you for your interest and I hope you enjoy the first chapter!
"I find it hard to believe that you've never had two men fighting over you," Higurashi Kagome declared while waving her spatula in shock. "You're so hot!"
"Okay, that's a lie! I'm nothing special and also lowkey fat." Takahashi Rin stated firmly, ignoring Kagome's dramatized gasp of horror. "I'm not drop dead gorg like you."
"Alright, but that's a fucking lie," Kagome snapped. She slapped her bowl of batter with her spatula, causing it to go flying all over her black apron. "Your lips are so pouty and your eyes look like they belong to a bunny. You're the most beautiful person I know, babe."
Rin rolled her eyes and grinned, "You know, like, three people, Kags- and that's not counting your parents." Kagome threw a towel at Rin, a laugh bubbling at her lips.
The clock struck 6am and Rin grabbed the towel off the ground before shuffling to the door. Sighing as she gazed out into the October dawn, she unlocked the door to the cafe with the flick of the key.
"Good morning, dawn," She breathed against the glass then used her index finger to draw a small heart in the condensation. Smiling, she patted the door frame and caused the little bell above it to tinkle. "Good morning, La Belle." Rin's little morning ritual, she felt, blessed the cafe she ran with her best friend.
La Belle Cafe was a small cafe, but Rin loved it like it was her child. When Kagome had asked Rin if she was interested in opening a shop with her, Rin was elated. Thus, Higurashi Kagome and Takahashi Rin took out a formidable loan and opened up a cute little coffee shop right smackdab in the middle of the busiest street in the city. Rin made great coffee and was extremely artistic and Kagome made delicious (but somewhat ugly- hence, the need for Rin's decorating talent) food; they were truly a match made in heaven and the fact that they were still up and coming (despite the fact that they had been open for about eight months) meant that business was...well, slow. Still, Kagome and Rin started the day early with smiles and optimism.
"Let's start the music!" Kagome sang, taking time from her batter-stirring to play the pair's favorite song on their sad '90s boombox. The sweet melody of "Hey Jude" filled the cafe with feelings of warmth and brought a smile to Rin's face. She snatched a broom as her partner and waltzed across the floor, her favorite red converse squeaking on the immaculate tiles. Kagome stirred with gusto as she belted out the song at full volume. So loud was she, that the gentle tinkle of the bell went unnoticed by the women till, suddenly, hands were wrapping around Rin and pulling her away from her broom partner and into the capable arms of a human partner.
The split second of panic Rin felt was immediately replaced with delight when she caught the heart melting gaze of her boyfriend- Furukawa Kohaku. Squealing with delight she hugged his shoulders as he swung her around the cafe. As the song came to a close, Kohaku dramatically dipped Rin and kissed her square in the mouth.
Kagome, stirring with perhaps more gusto than before, whistled obscenely, "Just fuck already! Right there, on my clean-ass floors!"
Kohaku snorted and righted Rin with a dramatic sweep, "Nah, I'm worried I might catch something; it was your turn to clean up last night, right?" Rin chortled and Kagome proceeded to look deeply offended.
"I'll have you know," She said, pointing with her batter-covered spatula. "that my floor-cleaning technique is one used by all masters of spic and span. My floors are cleaner than you are, you little turd!"
Kohaku took a bow and winked before turning his attention to Rin, who had been watching this exchange with a grin the size of the Asian continent, "Good morning, dawn. Good morning, La Belle," leaning down, he kissed Rin's nose tenderly. "Good morning, Rin." Kohaku knew Rin like the back of his hands so he knew about her little morning blessing. In fact, he had adopted the routine and often greeted Rin with it.
"Good morning," Rin chirped. "Are you making rounds today, honey?" Just as Kohaku knew Rin, Rin knew Kohaku. The two had been inseparable since Kagome had introduced them in college and their romance had been going strong for four years now- they had weathered through the police academy, business school, and the death of parents...most relationships, Rin had observed, did not survive through such tough circumstances. But she and Kohaku had more than a relationship; they had a partnership. They were best friends, thick as thieves, and understood one another perfectly. Rin was dedicated to the concept of fate, of fairy tale weddings and love at first sight. With Kohaku, she felt she was living the fairy tales she had read about as a child. He was her best friend, her partner in crime, and someone she saw herself spending the rest of her life with. They charted stars in each other's eyes and when they kissed, it felt like fireworks were going off. The universe could not have made a more perfect couple.
"Yeah," Kohaku murmured. "Living the exciting life of a beat cop. Isn't it glamorous, babe?"
Rin stroked his face and pouted, "Aw c'mon...don't lose hope- they'd be stupid not to promote you to detective soon." When Rin gazed at Kohaku, she saw no imperfections; he was taller than her- 5'10" to her measly 5'3", well-built as a cop should be, and rough in a way that made her heart pound in her chest. He was an honorable policeman; dedicated to his job and honest down to his very core. Thus, she could see no reason why Kohaku shouldn't be promoted to detective. She had given him a true and realistic response.
"Right back at you-and you, Kags. Don't lose hope in La Belle; she's got a certain charm that you can't find anywhere else." He smiled and kissed Rin's temple. Kohaku's favorite part of La Belle, his favorite part of life itself, was Rin. Her tendency to leave a mark on everything she touched was something Kohaku marveled at. He loved that about Rin; he loved everything about Rin- from her long dark hair, to her big doe eyes, her smattering of freckles, her curvy body, her dreamer's heart and trusting nature. The two saw no flaws in one another.
Kagome, however, could see a huge flaw: "You disgusting, adorable shitheads...alright Officer Corn, back offa my girl and let her give you your coffee so that you can give us your damn money." Rin giggled and pulled away from her uniformed boyfriend before ducking into the back to fetch him his coffee.
Rin's life was perfect on the outside...but perfect is either a mask or temporary, and in this case it was both. As soon as Kohaku left, Rin turned to Kagome helplessly, "We haven't made this month's payment, Kagome."
Kagome, who had moved to pouring batter into a muffin tin, paused and swallowed nervously, "I-I know. We'll need to tap into our savings."
Rin inhaled sharply, panic coiling like a terrible snake in her belly, "A-Again? Kags, I don't know how long we can carry this on."
"I know," Kagome said helplessly. "W-We haven't secured a steady clientele yet...but we will! I believe that with my whole heart, Rinny! I know we'll get a steady stream of customers soon; we just have to do a lot of promotions, catering, birthday parties- whatever it takes, babe."
Rin nodded; she believed in Kagome, she believed in her dream and she was willing to sacrifice anything to achieve it. Besides, Kagome was the only family she had and she had grown up hearing her talk about a pastry shop. She was determined to make Kagome's dream a reality, regardless of cost. Thus, she rolled up her sleeves and began working on the glaze for the muffins Kagome was baking. Rin was intent on perfect, intent on success.
On the other side of town, in a grand skyscraper that was perhaps more than one hundred times the value of La Belle, Taisho Sesshomaru was having quite a different morning. In fact, he had just found out that his father (world renowned multi-billionaire hotelier Taisho Katashi) had died on his trip to the Swiss alps...right before finding out that his wife had suffered a miscarriage. Needless to say, his life was now far from perfect.
Sesshomaru pressed his lips into a thin line as if he was focused on the important words of his lawyer, but his mind was elsewhere. How could so much grief befall him in just the last twenty-four hours? What had he done to incur the wrath of God? Sesshomaru had always been the good son; the obedient, dedicated, serious son who had donated his life to the service of his father's hotel line and managing the pride and joy of his hotel collection, Taisho Towers at the Beach. Yet, the universe had picked a fight with him and left him with sorrow upon sorrow- his mother had abandoned him at the age of six due to the incessant adultery of his father, he had been cursed with a younger half-brother who did nothing but cause trouble and tarnish the Taisho name, and he had been forced into a political marriage...and now, the death of a father and child.
"How much do the partners want?" he interrupted the attorney with a quiet rumble and a defeated sigh.
The lawyer stammered helplessly, "W-Well, th-they insist that...that you aren't suited to lead...lack of sympathy or something. They feel that they as the majority owners should receive your fathers' shares and take control of the Taisho Group. They will let you keep your shares, but you'd lose Taisho Towers." Kitahara Miroku sighed helplessly and massaged his temples. "And you know how your father was, Sesshomaru; he didn't exactly leave a proper will...what he left was suggestions written on a napkin in a bar while he was drunk off his ass; no disrespect."
"What does the will say?" Sesshomaru questioned quietly, looking up at Miroku with hard eyes.
Miroku made a noise of distress, "Do you ever listen to anything I say? I've gone through that already!"
"You'll excuse me if I'm distracted," Sesshomaru snapped, gritting his teeth. "my father just died, I don't know where my brother is, and Ayame suffered a miscarriage." His voice dropped on the name of his wife and remained low to the end of the sentence. Sesshomaru was keeping grief at bay, but it threatened to breach the confines of his heart. Swallowing and forcing himself to calm down he said, "Please give me a synopsis. I should be at the hospital right now."
Miroku had gone very white and he gently placed a hand on Sesshomaru's shoulder, despite knowing the dangers (Sesshomaru hated being touched out of turn), "I'm...truly sorry for your loss. You know I am, buddy...but you gotta buckle down and listen up or these sorry sons of bitches are gonna rob you of your legacy." Sesshomaru nodded deliberately. " Right, now, your father's "will" is actually just this," he held up a very ketchup and grease stained paper napkin. "Of course we have legitimate paper copies, but the original reads: 'In the event of my death, force my sons to get the fuck over each other and manage the business together. They've gotta triple revenue and retain 99% capacity at Taisho Towers a year after I'm dead or all my shares and all their shares go by default to my wife, whoever that may be when I die...hopefully Angelina Jolie. A trust fund of 40 million dollars goes into existence as soon as I die for Sess' kid. Until my grandchild is 20, the money in the trust fund will be controlled by his mother. NOT HIS FATHER, ONLY HIS MOTHER. And I'll give my house in Moscow to my lady love, whoever that may be when I die...hopefully Jennifer Aniston.' As you can see, your father wasn't exactly sober when he wrote this, but every time I tried to get him to change it, he refused. According to him, this is perfect- which is obviously not right! Without even talking about his damn wife and that airhead mistress- I mean, 40 million is just ridiculous and now that...that Ayame has suffered a miscarriage there is no need for the trust- no disrespect- but there's no way around the will and….I'm sorry, Sesshomaru. I know you've got a lot on your plate right now but I need you to follow through on this. Where's your brother?"
Sesshomaru sighed and fell back against his chair, "I don't know. He didn't say where he was going." In fact, InuYasha hadn't even told Sesshomaru he was going anywhere; he had found out about his brother's disappearance when InuYasha had failed to show up to three board meetings, each two weeks apart. In fact, it appeared the man had been missing for at least six weeks. This was a fact Sesshomaru now repeated to Miroku.
Miroku reacted loudly, "WHAT? Your younger brother has been missing for six weeks and you've made no effort to find him?"
Sesshomaru shrugged, "He's an adult. He will return when he's ready." Despite his cold response, Sesshomaru was actually a bit worried. InuYasha had disappeared before but never for this long. He guessed that it must have to do with his fiancee. InuYasha had been engaged to Mori Kikyou before her unfortunate death in an automobile accident about three months ago. InuYasha had withdrawn completely from everything- he stayed in his apartment and made no effort to reach out to anyone, especially not Sesshomaru.
Miroku sighed and looked to the heavens, "God, you Taishos are a piece of work...alright, go to the hospital to see your wife. Read through your contract and let me know what's in it to combat this shit from the board. I'll get Sango to look into what agreement Katashi had with those salty bastards."
At the mention of his secretary, Sesshomaru gave Miroku a pointed look, which the attorney pointedly ignored for a solid minute before he caved in and sighed loudly, "I haven't asked her yet, alright? Dammit, do you have any idea how hard it is to figure out how to ask someone if they wanna marry you? Well, actually, you and Ayame...but that was a political marriage so...A-Anyway, I don't know how to ask her. I love Sango but sometimes I wonder if my love is enough for her to say yes and I just get so scared and insecure." He sighed. "But that's not what's important right now. Go see Ayame."
Sesshomaru stood immediately, brushing off his blazer as a motion of finality. Nodding to Miroku, he immediately turned heel and left his office. On the way down to the lobby, it seemed to hit him that had he had lost his child. In his entire adult life, Sesshomaru had loved two things- Taisho Towers and his baby. He did not remember driving to the hospital, nor did he remember actually walking to his wife's hospital room. Yet, he found himself standing before the door, trying to figure out how to walk in. Inhaling deeply, he resigned himself to simply...walking in.
Ayame was gazing out the window, her hands folded in her lap. Her eyes were swollen and red and she trembled ever so slightly. Sesshomaru approached her cautiously. As he neared, he noticed her figure. Ayame had developed a small baby bump over the course of the past few months and it was less pronounced now and sat unlike a baby bump and more like extra weight. The sight was like a kick to Sesshomaru's gut. Swallowing, he gently touched Ayame's shoulder. There were a million things he wanted to say, but the words would not come. Instead, he stood silently, helplessly, unable to say what his wife needed to hear.
"I heard about Katashi," Ayame whispered, her voice ragged from crying. "When will the body be released to us?"
Sesshomaru inhaled softly and ignored inquiry about his father, "How are you?" Ayame looked at him, surprised. The hurt showed plain on her face.
Sesshomaru could not say that he had ever loved Ayame the way one is meant to love a wife, but he cared for her and had never wanted to see her hurt...yet, it seemed that was all he brought upon her...and now their baby, the only thing that had kept their marriage feeling more like a relationship and less like a contract, was gone. Gone. Sesshomaru felt the loss like a jagged knife in his abdomen. He had loved the child, his child, more than anything he had ever loved before.
"How do you think I am?" Ayame whispered, her voice shaking and tears brimming in her green eyes. "I...I was bleeding. I called you. Y-You were meeting with Miroku. Sango told me. I-I asked her to let you know. I drove myself to the hospital. The d-doctor said I wa- I was h-hemorrhaging." Her voice dropped in volume and she sobbed openly. "I needed you. I-I called f-for you."
No matter how hard Sesshomaru tried, the words would not come. He felt as if he'd been robbed of his ability to speak. Something inside felt broken. Something felt missing. He could not speak.
"A-And," Ayame continued tearfully. "You just...just come in here an hour, an hour, after surgery t-to ask me how I am? D-Did you even care a-about th-the... the…" She could not speak the word 'baby', her voice broke. She clung to his sleeve and sobbed. "I know you don't love me, I-I know that. B-But I thought for sure that the...you cared about the...the...I thought you cared. But you're always so cold. Even now, you say n-nothing. You feel nothing." Her words stung. They stung. She did not know how Sesshomaru felt. She did not know the tearing feeling within him- she was simply unaware.
"I lost a part o-of myself, Sesshomaru. I l-lost...I can't...th-they took my b-baby," She stumbled over her words, her heart monitor speeding up considerably.
In the back of his mind, Sesshomaru knew she would hurt herself if she continued to stress herself so. His voice sounded as if he was hearing it as an outsider when he spoke, "Ayame, you need to calm down or you'll hurt yourself." He sounded calm, as if the turmoil within his soul refused to tint his words, actions, and expression. Sesshomaru had always been an impassive individual and he cursed that quality now.
She stared at him in shocked silence for a heartbeat before she gripped his sleeves violently and screamed, "Do you know what they did? They removed my uterus! I can't have children, Sesshomaru! How dare you- how! How dare you tell me calm down?! How dare you!" A panicked beeping had started and rose blossomed on the sheets. Sesshomaru called for a doctor blindly as he tried in vain to calm his screaming wife. A doctor and several nurses ran in and Sesshomaru looked at them in relief...till the male doctor was pushing him out of the way.
"Please!" the doctor shouted, turning accusatory blue eyes on Sesshomaru. "You're upsetting her, you need to leave, sir!"
Again hearing his voice as if he were an outsider, Sesshomaru heard himself say indignantly, "She is my wife."
The doctor gritted his teeth, "Your presence upsets your wife and if she continues to- goddamnit, I haven't got the time for this! Nurse!" Sesshomaru felt himself being pushed out of the room by a nurse who shouted about an emergency and how continued hemorrhaging could kill her. Moments later, Ayame was rushed from the recovery room and back towards the operation theatre. Sesshomaru stood in silence in the hallway, his hands shaking and his chest aching.
What had he done to deserve this? What had he done?
This is a rather dramatic beginning, sorry lol! Please let me know how I'm doing so far. I'm quite apprehensive about posting this story. The idea has been turning cartwheels in the recesses of my mind for so long, I figured I'd give it a go but sharing it is a whole 'nother beast! Thank you for reading!