"Mid pleasures and palaces though we may roam,

Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home."

… John Howard Payne …

Chapter I

With a quiet sigh, Sesshoumaru Takahashi stared out the window of the old train as it slowly made its way towards its destination. The train rocked gently from side to side as it clattered along the tracks that were barely visible in the arid landscape. Propping his chin up on his hand, he watched the scenery slowly pass him by as he tried to ignore the air of discomfort that had descended upon the compartment since he had been joined an elderly couple. A tiny frown creased his forehead as he looked out the window and the feeling of apprehension that he had been vaguely aware of since leaving home the day before seemed to grow steadily. Outside, the landscape was dull at best. The land was flat and featureless with only a few rocks and a withered looking clump of foliage dotted the dry and dusty ground at irregular intervals. He mused that his surroundings could probably quite easily pass for a desert since there was the distinct lack of life that he had seen before in documentaries about deserts.

His attention was soon pulled away from the barren lands outside when the slow train seemed to slow down even more. The conductor wandered down the aisles announcing the station name and Sesshoumaru felt a wave of relief wash over him. It was finally his stop. He had travelled all night and changed trains twice and the idea of being of the damned thing was very appealing. The elderly couple shifted to allow him room to gather his belongings and the woman smiled slightly as he nodded a silent farewell. Truthfully, he wasn't sure why he felt the need to bid them farewell. After all, they hadn't spoken a word since joining him and had shown no interest in him or anything else, but Sesshoumaru decided that it was best to be polite despite the lack of conversation and awkward atmosphere. Stepping down from the train and onto the platform, he paused and watched as the train slowly pulled away from the station and gathered as much speed as the ancient thing could manage, which really wasn't very much. Shaking his head at the thought of such old trains still being in service, he watched it until it disappeared and then sighed to himself as he turned around to survey his surroundings.

Sesshoumaru hadn't been sure what to expect when he stepped down from the train and given the barren landscape he had been idly watching as he travelled, his hopes of a well furnished, comfortable place to lay his head that night were dwindling with each moment he stood on the empty platform. Glancing around him, he realised that there was no one else around and there was only one platform. Grimacing, he realised that there being only one platform probably meant that only one train passed through the town and probably only once day considering how long it had taken to get to where he was. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his suitcase and looked around as he tried to decide in which direction to head. Despite there being a shelter overhead, the heat was almost unbearable for someone who had spent the majority of their life in a cooler climate. Spotting a tiny building at the end of the platform, Sesshoumaru headed towards it, carefully taking in his surroundings as he walked.

Stepping into the building, he was about to head towards the exit when he saw an elderly man. The man was fast asleep, his chair balanced precariously on two legs as he snored quietly. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the man and wondered if he was supposed to speak to the man or if he should just leave him be. Deciding to leave the man to his sleep, Sesshoumaru made his way across the room and was mildly amused that the creaking floorboards didn't wake the sleeping man. He flinched when the door shrieked terribly as he pulled it open, but still the man remained oblivious to his surroundings and slept soundly as the town's newest arrival left the station.

The door swung shut behind him with yet another shriek of its hinges as it protested to being opened and then closed carelessly. Outside, the harsh midday sun beat down upon the tiny town that Sesshoumaru was looking at with an expression of disbelief. The town was tiny and he wondered if it could even be classed as a town. A few clusters of trees were scattered about the edges of the tiny town square between the houses and there was even a tiny water fountain in the middle of the square, but it had long since dried up and only a small empty shell covered in faded and chipped paint remained. Cicadas hummed noisily in the trees and a few birds sang cheerful choruses just as loudly as though they were trying to harmonize with the insects they shared the trees with. The cobbled ground was dusty and areas of grass were limited to the tiny patches that grew in abundance beneath the trees and the equally tiny gardens in front of the buildings.

Overall, the image the town had given him was not positive at all and Sesshoumaru could only wonder why he had agreed to take a job that had apparently brought him to the back end of nowhere. There was no one in sight and the only sounds came from the wildlife in the trees. If he hadn't already seen one of the town's inhabitants, Sesshoumaru was sure that he would have thought that the town was deserted. Feeling beads of perspiration on his brow, he advanced into the square and looked around, hoping for some sign that would tell him where he was supposed to go. The buildings had once been painted bright colours but had faded over the years of exposure to the harsh sunlight and even the flowers that people had tried to plant in their gardens seemed to be struggling to survive. Spotting a bench beneath a cluster of trees, he hastily made his way towards it, eager to be out of the heat. He sat down heavily on the rickety metal structure and wondered briefly if it would collapse beneath him. When he was certain that he wouldn't find himself on the ground anytime soon, he looked around and hoped that someone might have seen him. Unfortunately, the square was still empty and Sesshoumaru began to wonder if his presence had even been noted since he didn't particularly relish the idea of sitting in the heat until someone noticed him.

Sesshoumaru pulled a small notebook out of his pocket and flipped through the pages slowly. He had worked at one of the most prestigious schools in the city and had even briefly worked at the university, but eventually, he found that the repetitiveness of his job had begun to bore him and the thought of working in his father's company didn't appeal which resulted in Sesshoumaru feeling at a loss. After much badgering from his father and stepmother, although mostly his father, he had agreed to find another job after a brief period of unemployment. Fortunately for him, his sister-in-law, Kagome, had come to his rescue and told him about a school in a small town where a childhood friend lived that was in need of a teacher. After agreeing to take the job and receiving a very grateful letter from the school in question, Sesshoumaru had been given the name of Kagome's friend and told that she would arrange everything he needed in return for helping at the school.

When he found the page he was looking for, he stared at her name and address which Kagome had written down for him in her messy handwriting. He would never dream of mentioning to her that she ought to put more effort into making her writing easier to read since he had seen how badly she took criticism when Inuyasha attempted it, although he had to admit that his brother didn't know how to constructively criticise anyone. Inuyasha tended to brighten up his words with rather colourful phrases that really had no place in polite conversation and unfortunately for him, people tended to take offence to his words even when he was trying to be nice, which wasn't very often for anyone other than Kagome. Unlike his brother, Inuyasha was not eloquent at all and he didn't have the same charisma as Sesshoumaru and therefore struggled at times to put his words into polite sentences. Needless to say, his frustration often got the better of him and as a result, he had long since given up trying to be like his brother and had simply shrugged off the comments about his profanities, although since his marriage to Kagome his language had become a lot better.

Shaking his head at the thought of his brother and sister-in-law, Sesshoumaru closed the little notebook with a snap and put it back in his pocket after he memorised the woman's name. Casting his mind back, he remembered the woman vaguely from childhood. She had lived in the city then and had been very close friends with both Kagome and Inuyasha. He remembered his father and stepmother commenting on what a nice person she was and had agreed since she had always been almost excessively polite whenever they had spoken, which hadn't been much at all. She had always been quite studious and very quite in comparison to her two boisterous friends, but for the life of him, Sesshoumaru couldn't remember what she looked like. Deciding not to be concerned by that irrelevant fact, he glanced around the tiny town square and wondered what had brought her here. He couldn't imagine what the attraction would be and he was beginning to regret agreeing to take the job. If he had known it would be in the middle of nowhere in a town which could easily have passed for a ghost town, he'd have declined immediately.

Sighing to himself, he got to his feet and dusted off his travel creased suit and draped his coat over his arm as he picked up his suitcase and briefcase. The heat was definitely unpleasant and the need to be indoors was almost overwhelming. Sesshoumaru looked around the square again and spotted a tiny sign outside one of the buildings, proclaiming it to be a hotel. He raised an eyebrow as he looked at the building. It looked like a very questionable hotel if the exterior of it was any judge of what lay beyond its door. Still, the inside of a dingy old hotel would probably be much better than sitting out in the heat. He walked across to the building and took a deep breath before pushing the door open, not looking forward to seeing the interior. Unlike the station door, this one did not creak as he pushed it open and it swung shut silently behind him as he stepped inside. If he had been the type to openly show his emotions, Sesshoumaru was sure that his jaw would be hanging open as he looked around in amazement.

The building's exterior was very misleading for interior was exquisitely furnished. A wave of coolness washed over him as he stepped further into the room and it felt almost cold after being outside. Beneath his feet was a polished wooden floor that he felt almost guilty for walking over and to his left was a wooden counter, just slightly lighter than the floorboards. Behind it was a door that he assumed led to an office of some kind. Glancing around him, he saw a small waiting area directly opposite the door he had come through that would easily have passed for someone's living room and opposite the reception desk was an enormous archway that showed off the hallway leading towards the rooms. Amber eyes widened in surprise. He had had no idea that the building was so big on the inside as his gaze followed the elegant staircase up to the floor above.

Eventually, he came back to his senses and headed towards the reception desk. He rang the bell and waited patiently for someone to appear. The sound of papers rustling from the room beyond the desk alerted him to another's presence and presently, the sound of heels clicking against the floorboards announced the arrival of the other person. The door opened and a dark haired woman looked out curiously. Sesshoumaru felt his eyes widen slightly as he was surprised for the umpteenth time that day. He had been expecting and elderly woman with gray hair and a hunched back to come out of the office but instead, a young woman had stepped out. As she approached, he realised that she was younger than he thought, definitely younger than himself. Her brown eyes peered at him curiously and her long dark hair was pulled back into a braid that hung down her back. After a moment, a shy smile crept over her face and she pulled out a heavy book from beneath the counter.

"We weren't expecting visitors," she said in a quiet musical voice and smiled again as she flipped through the pages in the books. "How may I help?"

"I'm looking for Rin Nakamura," Sesshoumaru replied, recovering from the temporary state of shock he had fallen into when she had appeared.

The woman frowned slightly and put down the pen in her hand. "You're looking for me? Why?"

"My brother told me to look for you when I arrived."

"Your brother?" she repeated, staring at him as though he had just sprouted another head before a look of comprehension crossed her face. "You must be Inuyasha's brother then! I was wondering why you looked familiar."

"I'm Sesshoumaru Takahashi," he confirmed, not really pleased at being told he looked like his brother.

"I wasn't expecting you to arrive so soon," Rin said with a smile as she closed the book and replaced it. "The school term here doesn't start for at least another fortnight; we assumed you would arrive closer to that time."

"I thought I should have myself well established before starting work."

Rin nodded. "We were planning to arrange for a house for you to use, but unfortunately, there aren't any vacant ones at present so you'll have to stay here."

"How much does that cost?" Sesshoumaru queried, wondering if he could really afford to stay in a hotel for an extended period of time.

"No payment necessary," Rin said with a smile as she stepped out from behind the counter. "Follow me."

She walked past him towards the staircase and then turned to open a door that he hadn't seen. It was the same colour as the wooden panelling on the wall and he supposed that unless someone knew it was there, they probably wouldn't even notice it. They passed through the door and walked down a short, brightly lit passageway. Halfway down the passage, Rin stopped and opened a door, gesturing for him to step inside. Following him inside, she watched with a smile as he stared at the room he stood in. Moving past him, she drew back the curtains and opened the large windows to let the fresh air into the room.

Sesshoumaru stared at the room and then looked out of the windows, his eyes widening as they took in the lush green garden just outside. It looked like an oasis in the desert. Neatly trimmed shrubs sat against the fence and colourful flower beds decorated the landscape. A large tree stood in the corner of the garden, casting its cool shadow over part of the garden below while the sunlight glinted off the surface of the small pond on the other side of the garden. It was amazing to think that such a place existed in a town he had thought was a ghost town. Turning back to the room, he couldn't get over the room he stood in. He had been expecting a single bed in the corner, a couple of chairs and a communal bathroom, but what he was looking at now couldn't be further from that image. In the corner of the room was a small kitchenette equipped with a cooker and small refrigerator with a small dining table. Across from that was what he supposed was the living room. It was furnished with a very comfortable looking sofa and armchair that looked out over the gardens. There was an open doorway on the left wall that led to the bedroom and through it; Sesshoumaru could see the wooden frame of a double bed.

"The en suite bathroom is just through there," Rin said, gesturing to the bedroom and then smiling cheerfully at him. "This section of the hotel has been empty for quite some time and I thought that it might suit your needs better than a simple hotel room."

"This is more than I expected," Sesshoumaru said truthfully as he looked around in awe again.

Rin shrugged before moving back towards the door and gesturing down the passage. "At the end of the corridor is a back door that you can use if you'd rather not use the front entrance all the time, I'm sure I could get a copy of the key for you."

"Are you sure I don't need to pay for this?"

"It's all been taken care of," Rin said with another smile. "This isn't technically part of the hotel so you wouldn't pay for it anyway."

"It's not?" Sesshoumaru asked quizzically.

"Not really. I suppose its more part of my home. It's been empty for quite some time since there's no need for me to use these rooms," she said with a thoughtful look before giving him a teasing smile. "Besides, what would I need two kitchenettes and two bedrooms for?"

"Point taken," Sesshoumaru replied with a smirk.

Rin beckoned to him and walked down the corridor, pushing open the back door she had spoken about and stepping out into the sun. Sesshoumaru followed and stood beside her, looking at the garden in amazement. Now that he was outside, he could see parts of it that he hadn't seen through the window. A few small tables were scattered about and he assumed the guests sometimes spent time in the gardens. Rin turned her back to the garden and gestured to a small pathway leading away from the building.

"That will take you to the main square where you were earlier," she said. "I'll have to show you around at some point so you don't get lost, but the town's fairly easy to navigate."

"Is the school far from here?" Sesshoumaru asked, squinting in the sunlight as he tried to decide which of the buildings he could see a short distance away was the school.

"That's on the outskirts of town," Rin said. "It's a ten minute walk from here."

"Is it large?"

"No. There aren't very many people in the town so there aren't many children. Most of them have grown up and left for the cities."

"This place is very remote," he mused.

"It is," Rin said with a smile. "It's very peaceful though."

"It seems that way."

Rin led the way back into the building and gave him a smile as she watched him walk into his room. She smiled and stepped back into the passage.

"The door just down the passage leads to my rooms so you'll find me there if I'm not at the reception if you need anything," she said, her smile still in place. "Since it's your first night, I'll prepare your evening meal and when you're acquainted with the town, you can decide if you wish to prepare your own."

"Thank you," Sesshoumaru said sincerely.

She smiled again and waved briefly before closing the door behind her as she left him to become accustomed to his new living quarters. Sesshoumaru listened to her footsteps until they disappeared and sighed to himself. Maybe this place wouldn't be so bad. Picking up his suitcase, he made his way into the bedroom and started to put away his clothes as he thought about his situation. Rin had been very different from what he had expected. Even though he knew she was his brother's childhood friend, a part of him had refused to acknowledge her as a young woman rather than the child he could vaguely recall and when he had set eyes on her, he couldn't help but be surprised. She didn't seem to have changed from the way she used to be the few times he was spoken to her but she was so different from Inuyasha and Kagome that he could only wonder how they became friends. While his brother and sister-in-law were boisterous, Rin was demure and quiet. Even though he had never known her very well, he was glad that her demeanour didn't seem to have changed even if her looks had.

AN: So this is the first chapter of my latest story. I know I shouldn't start another when I've yet to finish some of the others I have going at the moment, but the idea just wouldn't go away so I thought I'd get it down and out of my head :)

I regret to say that in the coming weeks, my updates may be less frequent as my time will be taken up with my work. As much as I dislike this turn of events, there is little I can do about it, so please bear with me. My stories will be updated; I can't say which ones as that will depend on my imagination.

Apologies in advance for being slow to update! .

xMxAx