IT MUST BE LOVE
The summer vacation had come to an end. New term started next week and sesshoumaru was so not looking forward to it. It was not the course that he particularly disliked. In fact majoring in business top of class had always been his main aim next to taking over his dad's company when he retired. There was absolutely NO WAY he would hand over the company to his half-brother. It would be an understatement to say that the two didn't get along. In truth there were a handful of people that sesshoumaru could tolerate. That probably included his friends (more like acquaintances to him), koga and naraku; his father (only when he was not with his stepmother) and Jaken (that guy simply wouldn't get the hint!)
So why didn't he like school again? He just loathed the idea of sharing a dorm room with someone he deemed below him. And then there were those annoying fan girls who wouldn't let him be. Being a full blooded inu yokai with stunning silver hair and golden eyes was an instant chick magnet. But right now his only concern was to get away from Inuyasha. After all school did have a bright side.
So here he was in his dorm room glaring at the mess his "new roommate" had already managed to make and was now posting semi-nude pictures of females on the wall. The black haired young man turned to see him and flashed a charming smile.
"Hello! The name's Miroku. And you must be?"
"Sesshoumaru" he replied. "You stay on your side and I on mine. Do not touch any of my stuff and stay out of my business. And get those damn posters down!" the last part came out as a growl.
"Ok! Ok! Man! Relax. I totally get all the rules. O btw did you collect your schedule? See if we have any classes together. We would get along really well. I simply appreciate guys like you. Frank and straight to the point….."He kept going on and on.
Sesshoumaru just sighed and got down to unpack his things. It was going to be a really long term.
It had been two weeks since classes started and by then sesshoumaru knew every irrelevant detail of Miroku's worthless existence including his cursed hand and a younger sister whose name he couldn't remember because miroku simply called her "gummy bear". Miroku had unofficially become a part of sesshoumaru's group (loosely) and if sesshoumaru was being honest, he had to admit that miroku was smart and well versed. If only he were less of a pervert. And maybe more careful about his things as currently he was out and had left his phone behind that was constantly ringing!
To say sesshoumaru was annoyed was an understatement. He was trying to finish off some homework and the "let me be your hero babe" on repeat was downright pissing him off! Against his better judgement he grabbed the buzzing contraption from the desk and read the caller id. It read gummy bear. Without another thought he flipped open the phone and spoke in a very chilled tone; "only a dimwit would fail to realize that the person they are trying to call is unavailable"
A small gasp was heard on the other end and then came the swift reply "only a dimwit would go receive others calls and not bother asking who is calling".
"That's what caller id is for gummy bear. Or should I say gummy brat!"
"O right then you must be the infamous ice prince or ice prick. Heard a lot about you and none of it was pleasant!"
"To say that's coming from you. Huh!"
"Look just tell roku I called" and the line went dead.
The dog demon flexed his claws. No one hung up on sesshoumaru. He would get back to the brat for it!
Two days later sesshoumaru was using miroku's laptop under the pretext that his MacBook had crashed. He tried looking for some incriminating pictures or something on the brat Rin, (he asked miroku her name), but he didn't find a thing. He almost gave up when a message popped for a private chat-
Gummy bear-"hey roku!"
Sesshoumaru deviously smirked and started replying;
Roku-"greetings gummy brat"
Gummy bear-"ice prick? What the hell are you doing using my brother's account? That's breach of privacy! Don't you have any ethics?"
Roku-"I see you learnt some new words. Impressive NOT!"
Gummy bear-"whatever"
Roku-"Hnn."
They threw insults at each other some more. Sesshoumaru was in a pleasant mood after. There were hardly any who crossed him. Inuyasha being one of them. So this was new and refreshing. Even though he hadn't met her in person, he knew this gummy brat was a feisty one. This would be fun.
After that day sesshoumaru was often found using miroku's laptop. He did see the brat online on many occasions. However she never initiated a conversation. So after a week's wait he thought of taking the first step.
Roku-"hello brat"
Gm-"so desperate to talk to me? Why don't you just give me your email id?
Roku-"nice try. You're not so lucky"
Gm- " -_- I was just trying to reduce all your trouble of borrowing my brother's laptop every other day. He thinks you are planning to claim it as yours."
The demon simply huffed. But she was right after all. So from the next day they spoke almost regularly. (Sesshoumaru using his own MacBook much to miroku's relief). Their playful banter continued for the next month. Sesshoumaru found it oddly refreshing and looked forward to their chats.
He found Rin funny and witty. She always had a smart comeback for each of his comments. They could go on for hours talking about absolutely nothing of importance. A few months ago sesshoumaru would have scoffed with distaste at the idea of randomly conversing with strangers. Now it just felt like routine that he greatly enjoyed. Not that he would admit it.
Rin probably felt the same cause she never failed to reply. Which is exactly the reason why Sessshoumaru was worried when he didn't hear from her for over a week. He had no other choice but to ask miroku. So he tried beating around the bush a little but that was never his forte.
Miroku knew that he and Rin were kind of friends and wasn't really surprised by the dog demon's inquiry.
"It's nothing great. She just had this nasty breakup. That douchebag of a boyfriend was caught cheating. And when she confronted him, he blamed it all on her. Said she was gonna die a spinster just because she wouldn't give him some. She punched him in the face and broke his nose. I'm so proud of my gummy bear!"
Sesshoumaru was surprised by this. Rin and he never spoke about their personal lives so he never knew she had a boyfriend. He realized he barely knew her. So he decided to fix that immediately and set to work. As expected she was online but had not responded to his last message. So he tried again.
Ice prince-"hey brat"
Gb-"not today please"
Ip-"really? Shouldn't the brave and courageous gummy brat face problems head on?"
Gb-"what problems?"
Ip-"you brother told me that you were being a burden on your family and no man wishes to marry you"
Gb-"whatt?He said whatt?"
Ip-"it is 'what' not 'whatt'. That aside I have a proposal for you.
Gb-" -_-"
Ip-"why don't I help your family by taking you off the shelf?"
Gb-"whatt?"
Ip-" again its 'what'. And I do not repeat myself."
Gb-"pray tell me why would I agree to that?"
Ip-"it is beneficial to both parties. You get to stop being a burden and I get you as property plus dowry!"
Gb-"hold it right there. I belong to NO ONE. And what dowry?"
She was finally playing along. Sesshoumaru smirked.
Ip-"Well for starters, I want that sharp tongue of yours. Some bags of gold of course. And your eventual submission to me"
Gb-"sure sure. You'll first have to prove your worthy of me and the dowry "
Ip-"and how do you suggest I do that?"
Gb-"you need to fill in some criteria. You've got to be tall, dark and handsome. You should be able to provide for me, our five children and our pet dog with food, clothing (designer), a home (5 bedroom) and a car.
Ip-"tall, dark and handsome? You don't have to worry about that"
Gb-"overconfident much?"
Ip-"just stating facts. And 2 children are enough. Why does the dog need designer clothing?"
Gb-"Well on second thought we don't need a dog when we have a full blooded canine in the house ;)"
Ip- "Ha-ha! How immature. -_-"
Gb-"it was funny! Ok. How about I send a pic of my dream man in the mail next time? See if you fit the requirements. And no cheating."
Ip-"I would appreciate that. Also if you could send a pic of my future wife."
Gb-"we'll see about that ;) "
Gummy bear has logged off.
'That was interesting', thought Sesshomaru.
The next day after returning from class sesshoumaru checked his inbox to find an email from Rin.
'You better look as cute as him.' He then opened the attachment.
It was a picture of a young black haired girl, about 5 years old, smiling brightly with her front two teeth gone. She was cuddling a big Labrador next to her in a park as the backdrop.
He smiled and replied;
'As I fit most of the criteria except for the looks (I look way better than your lab), it is time we make our arrangement official. You shall accept my claim on you by wearing my ring that you'll receive by post soon.'
True to his word Rin received a cigar ring 5 days later in post. She couldn't wipe the silly grin off her face.
In the days to come, they talked about everything and nothing. Their conversations ranging from favourite colours to cooking abilities. As mid-terms drew nearer, Sesshoumaru found less time for Rin and their chats grew shorter. Their strange relationship however only grew strong.
End term exams were in a week and sesshoumaru was preparing really hard for it. It was his last year after all. He was just winding up for the day when miroku barged through the door holding books and papers. He threw one of the envelopes at sesshoumaru.
"That's for you. Was with my mail. So it's probably from Rin. She was writing to all before she left."
Left? Sesshoumaru was beyond confused. "What do you mean?"
Miroku looked taken aback. Rin and sesshoumaru were really close. Hadn't she told him?
"She's going to the states for her post-graduation program. She's leaving in 2 days. You didn't know?"
Sesshoumaru didn't reply. He looked at the elegant script that was his name and then opened it .
Dear ice prince,
I know this is different from the usual. But I just wanted you to have something tangible as my memory before I left. All these months I've had a lot of fun arguing with you. How you always seem to know what to say even though you are absolutely tactless, amazes me. Thank you for making life more bearable and for being such a good friend to me.
I do hope we meet someday for real. All the very best to you.
Yours forever,
Gummy bear.
He read it twice. He didn't know what to say or feel. He just couldn't get over the emptiness he felt in his chest.
Two years later;
Sesshoumaru sat in his office staring out of the glass window. He now worked at his father's company and would take over soon when the elder dog demon retired. That's when his assistant patched in a call. It was miroku. He was inviting sesshoumaru over for dinner. He wanted to introduce his fiancée Sango. Sesshoumaru wanted to refuse but changed his mind when miroku said that the dinner was also to celebrate Rin's homecoming.
It had been two years and he still hadn't heard from Rin. He would have thought she was a figment of his imagination had it not been for her letter and that picture she sent long ago. After all he didn't exactly have a face to associate the name with.
But that didn't matter, because as soon as she opened the door, he knew it was her. Her long black hair reached to her waist and framed her beautiful face and deep chocolate eyes. She had sharp elvin features, curvy and petite with a button nose. Her pink lips curved into a soft smile as they stared at each other for what felt like ages but were mere minutes.
When he still didn't say anything, she laughed lightly and said, "forgot your fiancée already ice prick?"
He finally located his tongue.
"How can I when you look exactly the same brat!" and then he reached inside his jacket to pull out her letter.
He smirked when she gasped.
"You kept it all this time!"
"Hnn. I see you kept my ring too." He said motioning to the cigar ring on her third finger.
"It was an official agreement after all" she smiled and leaned towards him.
He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
She reached up to kiss his chin "missed me?"
"No" he replied in his cold stoic voice.
"Liar" she giggled
"Hnn" he pulled her in for a kiss.