The first of a collection of drabbles and oneshots. I've wanted to do these for ages, but it's no good unless I actually have an idea. They probably won't be very short, either, because I find it impossible to write short things. I'm too longwinded for that. :D Hope you enjoy them! Updates will be slow and rely solely on inspiration. I don't own Inuyasha or any other characters (too bad...)

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Rin had grown up to be a beautiful young woman. She was petite, but attractively so. She was extremely thin, but not underweight. Her chest was a perfect size, neither too big nor too small, and her hips had not widened enough to make her clumsy. Her hair was long and dark, matching her deep brown eyes perfectly. When she reached thirteen she did away with the childish side-tail, and now at sixteen she looked the epitome of beauty and maturity, fully deserving the expensive and multi-layered kimono given to her by the lord of the west. Yet beneath all this outward appearance there was something she had not grown out of in her childhood years.

Picking flowers.

That was what brought him to this situation right now, Sesshoumaru mused. He had not changed; nor had Jaken. Well; perhaps he was a little softer toward humans and that hanyou brother of his. He hadn't tried to kill him in a few years, at least.

Rin had been distracted lately, especially after a recent visit to Inuyasha's village. Instead of chattering about what had happened – she no longer babbled incessantly but was still full of words, particularly after visiting her precious Kagome-nee-chan – she silently rode Aun, staring at the sky and sighing on occasion. Not wanting to openly ask what was troubling her, Sesshoumaru decided on sending Jaken away on some pointless errand and leading the remainder of the group past a field full of flowers. As he anticipated, Rin had instantly cheered up and pleaded to stop so she could pick some. He had agreed and sat on the edge of the field against a tree while she ran into the center of it, falling to her grass-stained knees and humming to herself as she picked flowers and weaved them together to make crowns.

"Colors," Sesshoumaru heard her mumble. It was followed by other such words, and he paid little attention until she was silent for a full ten minutes. Looking up, he saw her sit still and stare up at the sky before reaching down and picking a single flower, bringing it closer to her. She stared at it for a moment, then began picking the petals off it one by one.

"He loves me," she muttered quietly as the first petal fell. "He loves me not," the second petal fell. "He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me…"

Sesshoumaru was mildly irritated at this. Had they not conversed not long ago about this? He thought he had made it clear that he loved her, but wasn't going to place his mark on her until she was ready to bear children and he was ready to father hanyou. Perhaps humans needed extra assurance of such things – but he had never considered he like other humans. Getting to his feet he walked slowly into the field and up to the young woman.

"He loves me not. He… loves me?" she said in dismay.

He froze.

Had she fallen for a human? Someone better suited for her? He hated to admit it, but it would be better for her to stay with her own kind than to mate with him. And if she wanted it… what did his feelings matter? If she wanted to leave him, he would not try to persuade her otherwise.

"Sesshoumaru-sama!"

She was standing facing him. While wondering when she had got up he straightened his face to its usual blank façade, hoping she hadn't noticed the shock on it.

"Did you want to leave now? I'm sorry for taking so long; I should have been more considerate. I keep forgetting you are not as entertained by flowers as I am."

"Rin, the next time you go to Inuyasha's village, would you like to stay?"

Shock and fearfulness flooded her face. "But – you said – I could stay with you as long as I wanted! You said that, you did! I remember, I – "

"Rin," he silenced her. "I am not sending you away. I am asking what you would prefer."

Relief was evident in her features. "Oh," she exhaled quietly. "I'm glad. Of course I would rather stay with you, Sesshoumaru-sama. But I thought you knew that. Why would you suddenly think I might want to leave you?"

Sesshoumaru turned away slightly, a feeling of confusion rising in him. "Just now… you seemed disappointed when you plucked the last petal."

"Oh," she understood. "Oh!" She laughed and stepped forward to embrace him, brushing his lips with a chaste kiss and smiling when she heard his breath catch. "I'm sorry to worry you, Sesshoumaru-sama. It's just that when I was visiting Kagome-nee-chan, Kohaku-kun was acting strangely and Sango-san teased him about liking me. I with thinking about him when I was picking the petals off the flower."

He understood, and let her embrace him.

"Ne, Sesshoumaru-sama, can we wait a while before I go back and see Kagome-nee-chan? I don't want to hurt Kohaku-kun, so it's probably better if I stay away from him."

He nodded. "Fine. Let's go."

"Okay!" Rin held his hand as they left the field, smiling happily.

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Owari. Please review, and constructive criticism is always welcomed!