"Well, well, if it isn't my little brother," Sesshoumaru said quietly.

Inuyasha fought down the urge to leap at Sesshoumaru and claw his eyes out. He hated the patronising way he always used when referring to him.

Meanwhile, Sesshoumaru noticed Rin and walked towards her. He frowned slightly at her as he looked down at her from his great height.

"If this is your girlfriend, Inuyasha, I must confess that I'm disappointed in you."

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha demanded.

"Look at her. She's hardly the type a Taisho son should be associating with."

Inuyasha gaped at his brother. His mind was reeling from the shock of what Sesshoumaru had just said. He struggled for words to defend his friend from Sesshoumaru's harsh criticism. The room was once again plunged into silence while he searched for words.

"I don't feel any shame

I won't apologise

When there ain't nowhere you can go

Running away from pain when you've been victimized."

Rin narrowed her eyes at the tall man who stood in front of her. She stepped forward and a resounding *slap* echoed throughout the room as she stepped back to glare at the elder Taisho son. The two men stood and stared at her in shock and watched as she turned on her heel and walked towards the door without a word. As she reached the door, however, she stopped after opening it and turned around to face Sesshoumaru.

"In real life, being a Taisho son doesn't make you any different from anyone else," she said mimicking the patronising tone he had used when referring to Inuyasha earlier. "Reality's a nice place. You might want to visit it sometime."

Having said that, she walked out the door and slammed it behind her leaving a stunned silence in her wake.

Inuyasha whistled in amazement. "You really got to her. I've never seen her that angry before."

Sesshoumaru stared at the door and put his palm against his slightly stinging cheek. "Who is she?"

"Daishi Rin. Why do you want to know?"

"I like her," Sesshoumaru said and flashed Inuyasha one of his rare grins.

Inuyasha's laughter filled the room much to his brother's annoyance. "Well she clearly doesn't like you. What are you going to do now?" he asked with a grin.

Sesshoumaru stared at Inuyasha as if he'd lost his mind. "Change her mind of course," was all he said as though it were the most obvious thing in the world.

- - - - - - - - - -

Several days later, Rin angrily slammed her locker in the staff room shut. She pulled her apron over her head and hung it up nearby. After picked up her bag, she brushed her hands and then smoothed down her clothes, noting the patches of flour with distaste. Shaking her head, she walked out but was stopped as she reached the door of the bakery.

"Daishi-san?" a polite voice asked.

Turning around, Rin saw a young man beside her. "Hai?"

"Delivery for you, Miss. 48 red roses," he said as he handed her the bouquet. "Someone loves you," he said with a wink as he walked away.

Shaking her head, Rin walked back to her house. She put the enormous bouquet in a vase of water before setting them down on the table in the living room.

It was an hour later when Rin sat down and eyed the roses suspiciously. Leaning forward, she examined the roses. She admired each delicately sculpted bud and petal. Sitting back, she had to admit that they were beautiful. However, a tiny white envelope caught her attention. A red ribbon attached it to the stem of one of the roses.

Rin picked it up, hoping that the envelope would hold the identity of the person who her the roses. She opened the envelope and pulled out a tiny piece of white card. On it was only an address and a single initial, "T," written below the address.

After staring at the roses for some time, she came up with an idea. She walked down to the nearest florist. She made sure to avoid the one where Kagome worked.

"Afternoon Miss!" a young woman greeted her cheerfully. "May I help you?"

Rin nodded. "Hai. Do you have white roses?"

The woman nodded. "Plenty of them! How many would you like?"

"Only one please. Could you deliver it for me as well?"

"Certainly. Could you fill these out for me please?" the woman asked as she handed Rin a sheet of paper for details about where to send the rose.

Before she left, Rin filled out a card to be delivered with the rose. She didn't know what to say. Finally, she wrote out her address and a simple question: "Who are you?" Setting down the pen, she smiled and thanked the young woman and left.