Hey, everyone, here's my new fic!!! Okay, I admit, this one is only about three chapters . . . a threeshot if you will . . . because its just a short idea that came to me one day, and I thought I would try my hands at an AU fic. Sooo, because this is so short, I'm not even gonna begin to describe the amount of reviews I'm going to need to post the next chapter (I'll give you a hint, its pretty high). Enjoy!!!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but I do love it more than life itself.
Chapter One
The Set-Up
Rin quickly walked of the book store. Fucking vet school was costing her a fortune. Growling to herself, she hitched her backpack higher onto her shoulder, kicking a rock on the city sidewalk.
It was seven in the evening, and starting to get dark outside. She hurried along to her car, which was neatly parallel parked. Just as she was walking along to her driver's side door, she was keenly aware of a whoosh of wind at her side, and the black Lexus caught the spot directly in front of her, and he backed in. Oh, yeah, he backed in a little two close to her beat-up 1969 Mustang—otherwise known as her baby.
When the driver stepped out of his car, she inwardly seethed. He was hot, she would admit, but he had no right to park like he owned the city.
"Hey," she called out, getting his attention. "You parked too close to my car. I can't get out."
He turned back to look at her, his long, silvery white hair falling down over his shoulders and back. Golden eyes glanced at her, then at his car, before he regally shrugged his shoulder and walked on.
Oh, now she was hot. Steam practically poured out of the ears. Damn him.
Running up to him and then planting herself directly in front of him so that he couldn't get away, she also noticed that he was easily a foot taller than her. But no one pushed around Rin Tanaka. No one.
"Listen, you need to move your goddamn car," she said, grinding out each word through her teeth.
He chuckled lightly. "I don't have to do anything, human."
So, he was a demon. Well, she was going to prove that she wasn't scared of anyone.
"Okay, asshole, that's how you wanna play?" she said, glancing up and the down the near-abandoned street. She smirked at him, and the evil glint in her eyes was enough to make him frown. Reaching into her purse, she grabbed her keys, and then sauntered over to her car, all the while muttering, "Doesn't want to move his fancy, expensive car, does he? Well, we'll see about that."
Effectively unlocking her door and sliding onto the comfy, well-worn seat, she started the engine. It roared to life, and she looked out her passenger window to make she he was watching. He was.
Another evil grin split her face as she put the car in reverse, going back as far as she could go without hitting the car behind her. Then, pushing the car immediately in drive, she pushed the accelerator, and slid out of the spot.
The scrape of metal and paint was satisfying, yet brief as she pulled away. Oh, he would know better than to mess with her again.
Looking out the rear-view, Rin couldn't help but laugh at the out-and-out look on his face. His jaw looked like it had become detached, and he was gaping openly at the blemish on the back corner of his car.
Oh, yeah, that's what you get when you mess with Rin Tanaka.
Later, Rin threw her book against the wall for the third time. The resounding crack in the drywall was nothing less than satisfying. She smirked at the book, entitled Common Domestic Animals: An Overview in Anatomy and Physiology, which now lay sprawled open on the floor, and a few of the pages were bent at the corners. Her next door neighbor, against whose wall the book had been thrown, was now screaming, also for the third time.
She only grinned. It was three A.M., and she could honestly care less about life, love, and most of all, vet school. It could all go straight to hell.
The twenty-five year old woman crossed her blue pajama-clad legs on the couch she was sitting on, and quickly flipped the on button of the remote control.
"Ah, television, my old friend. How I've missed you!" she said, leaning back and stretching her arms high above her head. She sneered, though, when all she came across were info-mercials. Damn. Honestly, people who are awake at three in the morning want to watch normal shows, too. Not has-been actors pitching products that are more of a rip-off than the God-send that they proclaim them to be. Ugh.
She pushed her long, black hair off of her shoulders so that it could cascade down her lean back. Her black eyes, which were expressive and bright during the day, were dull and tired in the early morning hours, but she could care less.
Studying was her life, and it would continue to be such for the next year, then she would graduate. Then her life would be her residency, saving money, and opening her own clinic. Then she could sleep.
When her cell phone rang a few minutes later, "Living Dead Girl" by Rob Zombie filled the room, and Rin took a moment to sway her hips to the beat of the rock song before finally picking up the phone.
"Ray's Grill. If it's not crawling away too quickly, we'll cook it," she answered, mentally giggling. Oh, yeah, sometimes she still felt like a teenager.
"That's gross. Shouldn't you be more concerned about those poor half-dead animals that are being cooked alive?" The sound of Kagome, Rin's best, and well, only, friend, rang in her ears as she raised the pitch of her voice in disgust. Kagome was currently on her residency at the local hospital, and Rin was proud of her doctor-friend. She was also her go-to for her prescriptions for the pill and general medical advice.
"You know damn-well that if such a place existed, I would have shut them down by now."
"Yeah, yeah, Miss Vegetarian Vet-School Activist. Geez, you're boring."
"Love you, too," Rin said, stifling a yawn and cracking her back in the process.
"Anyway, the reason I called—by the way, I have to hurry, I need to get back on my rounds—but anyway, I got you a date."
"What? You called me at three-thirty in the morning to tell me that you got me a date?!" Rin was dumbfounded, though she knew that she shouldn't be. Kagome was always trying to set her up on dates with people she knew from work, school, whatever. There was even this one date where she had planned to set him up with a boy that they had both known in the second grade. As it had turned out, he was now married, but willing to have some fun on the side. Rin had knocked him out cold.
"Oh, please, I knew you would be awake. You are the only friend I have who has the same waking hours as I do."
"True as that may be, I need sleep. You are so lucky its Friday tomorrow, or I'd be pissed. Any who, I have to be up in three hours, so I'll let you go . . . ."
"Wait, wait, wait. You haven't said yes or no to the date yet."
"I don't even know this guy!" Her patience was wearing thin. She didn't have time for a date. She had to study this weekend.
"Listen, okay, he's Inuyasha's brother." There was a not-so-subtle sigh on the other end of the phone.
"And who the hell is Inuyasha?" she snapped, wishing her friend would get to the point. Kagome cleared her throat.
"My boyfriend."
"Since fucking when?!" Rin's fist clenched. Kagome always had boyfriends, ever since they were in high school. If she broke up with a guy, she wouldn't last a week before another one would sweep her off her feet, leaving Rin to watch her best friend go on dates and get flowers and those loving looks. It left her wishing that she had someone to care for her. It made her wish that she was pretty and bubbly and lovable. Its one of the reasons why these pity dates made her so mad all the time. No way was she going out on a date with some guy who was looking at Kagome and thinking he was getting the same thing, only to be disappointed. Nah-uh, no way.
"Since our third date. Listen, he's been telling me about his half-brother, Sesshomaru. He's an okay guy, from what I hear, he's just got a tough outer shell. You are just the girl to break through it." Kagome sighed again, leaving Rin to think that she had seen this 'brother' before.
"No way, Kagome. I have too much stuff to do."
"One date. Please, please, please," she purred into the phone. "When was the last time you went out on a date?"
They both knew it had been three years ago, when Rin was finishing off her undergrad degree in biology. The guy's name had been Jakotsu, and he had been another of Kagome's ideas. He had been a doctor, and she had noticed him around the hospital, alone, not really talking to anyone. Rin now knew why.
"Kagome, he was gay! The poor guy was so embarrassed that I had to pay the bill and send him on him home in a cab."
"Okay, that was bad, but this could be good. Come on. You have my word that if this ends badly, I will no longer set you up on any dates until the end of time and beyond." Rin could practically hear her friend salivate at the thought of playing matchmaker.
"I'm still gonna say no, you know that, right?" Rin opened the refrigerator door and grabbed a Coke before heading into her bedroom, which was only a short walk across the small apartment.
"Rin, I want to see you happy. I want you to have someone there for you."
Rin sighed. "Kags, I'm happy the way I am. I'm just stressed, that's all. There's no reason for you to think that I'm not happy."
"I know you aren't happy. You haven't been happy since before your parents died." There was a short pause. "You know it's true. It was seven years ago. You have to let someone in."
"I don't want to talk about this right now," Rin muttered, and then shut the flip of her phone, laying it down on her night stand.
Kagome meant well, but she could get very pushy if she thought that she was right. Rin sighed. It was to be expected. Kagome, being a year older, somehow felt responsible for the younger girl, and she felt that finding the love of her life for her was part of that responsibility. It would seem reasonable, except that her track record didn't have a single good score on it thus far. All of the men she had picked were either drunkards, losers, gay, married, or perverts. If she had picked even one decent one, one that showed even a hint of promise, Rin probably would not be so opposed to this date, but enough was enough, and she was going to stand on her own two feet, without relying on anyone. It was what she was good at.
Laying her head down on her pillow, which depicted a certain handsome pirate—oh, how she loved Hot Topic—and pulling her black and purple colored covers over her shoulders, she soon resigned herself to another sleepless night filled followed by a long day.
It was funny, though. The only thought that ran through her mind was the man whose car she had mutilated.
"Rin Tanaka!" the professor shouted from the front of the room. Her head snapped up from the desk, her face buried in her half-finished notes. Her eyes immediately found the small man at the front of the room, clad in a long, white lab coat and thick bifocals.
"Yes, Sensei?" Rin replied, her attention peaked.
"Class has been dismissed for ten minutes. Go home."
"Yes, sir," she said, packing up her things and throwing her backpack over her shoulder. He stopped her before she ran out the door.
"And Rin," he said, watching as she turned slowly. "That is the second time you have fallen asleep in my class. You need to get a full night's sleep." He leaned against his desk at the front of the gigantic lecture hall. "Normally, I would not take such a close, personal interest in my students, but you are one of my top students, and there is no doubt in my mind that you are up so late studying. You are ahead of the rest of the class. Take this weekend off. Relax, because God knows its only going to get worse otherwise," he finished with a reassuring smile.
"Thank you, Sensei. I will certainly try my best," she said, and then rushed out of the classroom. "Thank goodness he's so understanding," she muttered to herself.
She pushed the key into the door and turned, hearing the satisfying snick, and she swung the door open. Walking into the small, plain apartment, she threw her bag down on a recliner and slumped down on her couch, and without even taking off her shoes, she turned on the television. Rin smiled when she heard the theme song to 'The Simpsons.'
Soon she began contemplating Chinese take-out when there was a knock on her door.
"Did China Dragon read my mind?" Rin said to herself, smiling a little as she answered the door, secretly hoping for the intoxicating smell of hot and sour soup, when she came face to face with Kagome.
"Hi," Rin said, standing back as her friend barged into the apartment.
"Hey! Okay, we only have an hour to get you ready, so let's get started."
"Get started with what?"
"Come on, Rin, we have to pick out an outfit for you."
"Get started on what?"
"I like the burgundy dress with the black lace overlay; I think that would do perfectly."
"Get ready for what!?" she finally screamed, earning her a shout from her neighbors. "Don't you people have lives!? Shut up!" Rin screamed back at them.
"And the black pumps with the leather straps that go up your calves. That should do it."
"Kagome," Rin started. "I am going to talk very slowly, so that you can understand me. What am I getting ready for?" she said, grabbing her friend's face, managing to smudge her perfectly laid foundation and blush.
"Your date, silly."
"My what?"
"Not this again," she said with an exasperated sigh. "Look, you weren't going to take a chance on this, so I told him that you agreed and to pick you up at seven. Its almost six now, so let's get going."
"Wha . . . . Why would you do that?" she said, flailing her arms slightly. "This is my only weekend off. My professor told me to not study, and for once, I agree. I was going to relax, and now I have a date with a guy and it is going to be awkward and stressful and . . . my shoulder is throbbing," she said, massaging said area as the pressure continued. "I can't even stand straight. The only sleep I got was in class, ironic as it is. I couldn't stay awake through a date if I wanted to."
"So . . .," Kagome said. "So, you want me to call him and call this off?"
"Yes," Rin shouted excitedly. "Yes, call him and tell him I was hit by a bus, or that a freak stampede swept me away."
"Too bad, I don't have his number on me."
"Fuck," Rin bit out.
"Rin, such language. I hope you won't use that word on your date tonight."
"Oh, I'll have some choice words for him, such as bastard, prick, son of a . . .," Rin stifled the rest as Kagome jumped on her, pinning the other girl to the couch.
"Don't call him a son of a bitch. He's a dog demon."
"Like I care. Dog, cat, fish, human, they're all the same to me. I'd refuse each and every one of them."
Kagome pinched the bridge of her nose, taking in the fact that her friend was, quite possibly, the most stubborn person on the planet.
"I want you to go on one date."
"I want to stay home and do jack shit for the rest of the night."
"Again with the language. Listen, my shift starts in two hours, and Sesshomaru is going to be here in less than one, so we need to hurry."
Rin sighed, and finally nodded as a heavy feeling descended upon her. Her eyes suddenly felt so weighted, and she only wanted to crawl into her twin-sized bed and sleep the day away. Dragging herself into her bedroom, she quickly went into the closet to pull out the dress the Kagome had been talking about, as well as the shoes.
Kagome watched from the doorway, her eyes worried. She knew that her friend was tired, and that she worked harder than necessary at times. Yet she wanted her friend to find love, and perhaps this Sesshomaru guy was just the one for her. From what Inuyasha had told her, this guy was rude, mean, and stubborn—and those were his nice qualities. Rin would fight him tooth and nail, and that is exactly why Kagome figured that they were perfect for each other. Kagome and Inuyasha had fought like cats and dogs when they had first met, and they were deliriously happy a month later.
"Did you bring make-up?" Rin asked when she had the dress and shoes on. She looked gorgeous, except for the fact that she wasn't smiling and she looked incredibly tired.
"Yup, I know you don't own any." Kagome quickly held up a small bag. "Come on, I'll even curl your hair."
She nodded, following Kagome into her small bathroom so that her friend could carefully apply some blush, a charcoal colored shadow to her eyes, and a pale, shimmering lip gloss. Then, she gave the ends of her mid-back length hair a slight flip, giving her a simple and elegant look. The black lace fell from just below the bodice of the burgundy silk, and the dress itself fell to just below her knees. The dress was held up by twin sets of spaghetti-thin straps.
Rin barely recognized herself in the mirror. This woman that stared back at her was sophisticated, social, and sexual. This woman was not her. This woman was who everyone else wanted her to be.
She looked over at Kagome, who had a worried look on her face. Swiveling around, she noted that it was only three minutes to seven. Maybe if she was lucky he would stand her up.
No such luck.
Exactly two minutes later, there was a knock on the door, and Kagome stood up, squealing a little. "He's here."
"Goodie," Rin said, rolling her eyes. With her left hand on her hip, and her right hand gripping her clutch-purse, she awaiting to see what kind of man Kagome was so kind as to set up with her friend.
"Hello, Sesshomaru, Rin is right in here," Kagome beamed, and again Rin felt the need to roll her eyes. The apartment was just over six-hundred square feet. If he couldn't see her from the doorway, then he was blind.
And when he was in her line of sight . . . .
"Hell, no," Rin said pointing her finger at him. "I am not going on a date with this asshole!"
"Rin," Kagome hissed, her eyes pleading with her friend. "You don't even know . . . ."
"Well, well," he said, the corners of his mouth pulling up into a smirk. "We meet again."
"You know each other?" Kagome asked, looking from her friend's seething expression to the bemused look on Sesshomaru. "How?"
"It doesn't matter, because I am not going anywhere. I want this man out of my apartment." She crossed her arms for emphasis. He stalked closer, however. His long, silken hair flowed around him like an aura, and his golden eyes shined like brass in the dim light of her small apartment. Oh, and of course, he would have to look gorgeous in Armani, she thought to herself. Ugh, men.
His eyes narrowed marginally at her. Yes, revenge would be oh-so-sweet with this girl.
Reaching out, silently and lethally, he grasped her wrist and pulling her forward. When she stumbled past him—purely out of surprise—his hand immediately found the small of her back, guiding her toward the door.
"What the hell . . . .?" she yelled when she was pushed bodily out the door, only to have to steady herself on the wall across the hall.
"Don't wait up," Sesshomaru said to Kagome, a menacing grin displayed that, quite honestly, scared her. Then they were gone.
"What did I do?" Kagome said worriedly, looking around the empty apartment.
Oooh, a little bit of tension, isn't there??? Okay, tell me what you think, and remember this is my first AU fic, so be nice. Til next time, toodles.
