At the sound of the doorbell, Sesshomaru let out a deep breath and stood up from the sofa, where he had been waiting. He turned off the TV before making his way to the front door.
Opening it, he looked at what stood before him; a short young woman with onyx hair that was pulled back off her face in a loose bun that was already beginning to come loose. She wore a dark red t-shirt that was too big on her small form and a pair of tightly fitting jeans with trainers. Her eyes were large and hazel coloured while the rest of her face was small and cute.
After a moment, in which she clearly took in his appearance as well, the girl gave a bright warm smile and held out her hand. "Hello sir. I'm Rin Marigold from EBC Nannies."
Looking over her as they shook hands, Sesshomaru felt his face twitch against frowning. She looked more like a child herself than Andrew. But, he sighed and stepped to the side, nodding to allow her inside. "I'm Sesshomaru Vanea. Come inside, I'll show you around."
Ms Marigold quickly stepped through the door from the corridor, reached into the small bag at her side and held out a triple folded piece of paper. "I have my CV and some references for you here, sir."
Taking the papers, Sesshomaru opened them up and scanned over the words quickly before gradually nodding. "Very impressive."
"Thank you."
"Now…" He said, placing the papers on a side table. "This is the main living area, this is my bedroom, my study, both you are not to enter. That's the main bathroom." He said, pointing to each door in turn, hardly pausing as he did. "My son's bedroom is over there. And that is your bedroom, it was once the guest room but it's yours now."
Rin turned to look at the door he had just pointed at. "Umm… I'm not sure if you…."
"Did your agency not inform you of the specifics of this job?" Sesshomaru cut in before her. "That I was in need of someone with experience of children with speaking problems. I was informed you were the only one able to do as I ask."
"Well I have experience with children that don't talk. But normally there is a whole procedure of tests and interviews that have to be followed before meeting the child."
"If you can work with my son then I shall hire you, never mind anything else. Now, since you don't have any luggage, I will take you to him."
Still a little put off by the arrangement, Rin said nothing as she crossed the room behind her employer, moving swiftly across the room to the colourful child's room. The pair entered without knocking, instantly noting the boy walking over to one of the many boxes on the shelves. He looked at the new woman momentarily, decided he was unimpressed with her, and returned to what he was doing. He walked over to the plastic tubs and pulled one off one of the shelves before rummaging through the toys inside.
Sesshomaru nodded once. "Andrew, this is Rin Marigold. She's going to be looking after you from now on."
Andrew moved his eyes back to the woman but quickly returned to his toys. Sesshomaru moved his eyes to the young woman who was looking at the boy with a strange, soft look in her eyes. Then she turned back to him and nodded to him.
Taking the hint, Sesshomaru turned and left, closing the door behind him with a soft click. Rin remained where she was, looking at the boy who had pulled out a toy train and began running it back and forth on the carpet, his back to her.
Grinning, the nanny walked across the room to the bookshelf, scanning the covers on a higher shelf before picking one out and opening it. She looked over the collection of fairy tales inside then moved to the window seat and opened it, not saying a word as she began to read.
Minutes passed and the boy continued to ignore her, just playing with his train silently. Eventually he began pausing to look up at her. After a moment, Rin looked up over the rim of the book and caught his gaze, causing him to look away in embarrassment, carrying on with his train as if nothing had happened.
Rin said nothing, just went back to her reading.
A few minutes later, the pattern repeated.
Over and over again, Andrew would pause, look at Rin until she looked at him before returning to his train, both silent the entire time. The seventh time, Rin felt the presence of someone standing in front of her and pulled her eyes away from her book to see the boy standing there. She gave a small nod to him. "Andrew, right?"
The boy nodded, perhaps the first contact he had made since her introduction to him. Without warning, she tipped the book towards him. "Have you read this one?"
Andrew shook his head, peering over the edge of the book, looking at the upside down pictures.
"Would you like me to read it to you?" Mrs Marigold asked kindly.
The boy backed off suddenly, pulling a strange face on his nanny. Rin smiled at him and closed the book on her finger. "You can trust me. I'm here to look after you. I won't force you to talk if you don't want to. When you do though, I'm here and I will listen. Alright?" She gave him a wink before opening the book again. "So, want me to read this to you? I've been told I'm very good."
Andrew's face said he was slightly unsure of the situation but after a moment, he nodded and moved to take a seat beside her on the window while Rin began at the next new story. She kept her voice very soft but changed it to meet the call of the character who was speaking. Andrew soon began leaning on her arm, looking over at the book and the pictures.
The nanny didn't say a word on his actions, she didn't ask anything of him, she didn't even mention it. She just carried on reading aloud to him. Story after story she read, the hours passing on before the door opened and Sesshomaru Vanea stepped inside.
"So?" He said bluntly.
Ms Marigold looked at him with a small smile as she put the book down in her lap. "We were just about to start a new story."
"Then this would be a suitable time to stop. Ms Marigold, a word?"
Something glazed over the woman's face but she closed the book and stood, holding it towards the boy. "Don't worry, we will carry on tomorrow alright?"
Andrew gave a nod and took the book from her hand, holding it tight while the woman left his bedroom and the door closed on him. In the hallway, Sesshomaru looked at her with a stern gaze. "Well?"
"He is a bright boy but I haven't worked out the reason for his silence yet. It's got some deep roots, that's for sure."
"Do you think you can help him?"
"It will take time but I'm sure I can." She beamed at her, radiating healthy confidence.
Sesshomaru looked over the lounge as they walked past it. "Then… I will expect you here tomorrow morning and ready to move in."
Rin nodded. "Does he have any other activities I should know of? Clubs and such?"
"Not anymore. And no allergies either, before you ask."
"Alright." She said as they stood at the front door. "Then I will see you tomorrow. But before I do…." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a wad of papers and held them towards him. "Can you fill these in before tomorrow, please?"
Taking the papers in one hand, Sesshomaru nodded. "I shall have them done by tomorrow and everything should be prepared for you by then."
~#~
A suitcase and two small backpacks was all Rin brought with her the next morning as she stood outside the Vanea apartment. She would swear that everything she needed was in her bags, giving Sesshomaru no way to deny taking her to her new room. The guest bedroom was around the side of the apartment, next door to Andrew's room. Rin found it reasonably sized, though crowded because it was filled with ten, brown, cardboard boxes and other small items. Touching one near the door, Rin turned to the man. "These are your wife's belongings?" She asked even when she could tell they were. A woman's name was written on them after all.
Sesshomaru kept his eyes to the carpet, nodding slightly. "My apologies if they are in your way. I have arranged for suitable storage but they couldn't come until tomorrow. If you don't wish to sleep in here, I can…."
"No, no, it's fine." She said with a small smile, looking around the room. "I'll just have to keep my clothes in the suitcase until then." She turned and bobbed her head to him. "But thank you, this room is by far the best I've ever been given."
After standing still for a moment in case the conversation moved on, Sesshomaru Vanea allowed the door to close on the packed-up memories and headed to his study.
Inside, Rin looked once more over the room. It was nice to know that without the large brown boxes, it would be a descent, quaint little room in need of just a little cleaning. There was a single bed under a window that looked out over the city and local shops, a small fitted wardrobe, a chest of draws which doubled as a bedside table and a desk which was covered with boxes. The wallpaper was a gentle cream colour with brown skirting boards and there was a shelf above the bedside table, which was currently empty, but otherwise it was a nice little room.
Quickly Rin unpacked a few her things she could find room for until only her suitcase remained, waiting for room unavailable at the time. The whole process took her about half an hour. Deciding that it was time to move on to the day's activities, she brushed her hair using a mirror on the inside of the wardrobe door and tied it in a ponytail before heading for Andrew's room.
She knocked on the door and entered slowly, looking at the boy as he sat near the wall surrounded by a whole box worth of colourful flat blocks of different sizes. "So…." She asked, kneeling on the other side of him. "What are we doing today?"
The boy blinked then carried on with his work, stacking the blocks on top of each until it toppled to the side with a loud crash.
Rin gave a small chuckle but then stopped and shrugged. "Sorry." She said shyly. "That was probably my fault."
Andrew gave a smile back before starting all over again, Rin collecting the blocks and pooling them by his side. Within a few minutes though, it toppled to the side again. Not to be put off, Andrew collected the blocks up and began again but once again, it fell down. Growing irritated, the boy sat and looked at the block in his hand while Rin watched him, a though burrowing in her head. She swept the blocks to the side and picked eight equally sized ones and began building one of her own. "Here." She said, nodding to what she had made. "Try now."
Confused, the golden eyed boy looked at the little base she'd made but then began reaching out and following the pattern she had started. With the new starting point, the tower soon grew from the floor, growing bigger and bigger to a point where the boy had to stand on a small stool to reach the top. The tower was still standing tall when the blocks ran out.
Looking up at his creation, that was taller than him, Andrew stood in awe for a moment. Suddenly, he jumped, running over to and Rin grabbing her by the neck, hugging her tight. The woman was stunned for a moment but she quickly returned the hug. "See?" She whispered. "With the right support, anything is possible Andrew."
For a moment, the pair just looked into each other's eyes. Andrew let go and ran across the room to the bookcase with his stool. Standing on it, he pulled out one book in particular and ran back, offering it to his nanny with a bright smile.
Taking it, Rin looked down at cover and saw a familiar image of a girl with blonde hair in a blue and white dress and a small white rabbit in the background. "Alice and Wonderland?" She looked up from the cover to him. "Isn't that a little old for you?" The boy remained where he was while Rin flicked through the pages of the book and found one a little heavier than the others. "Oh… there's a bookmark in here." She opened the marked page and removed the old ticket for a show of the same name as the book.
Putting things together, Rin looked at the boy. "Did someone start to read this to you?" Andrew looked at the floor. "Was it your mother?"
For a moment, there wasn't a sound, Rin just remained knelt where she was while the boy looked at his feet. Then, he smiled sadly at her and walked across the room to the window seat, sitting on it. Guessing he wasn't going to say anything, she stood up, walked over to him and sat down with her back to the sun. "Alright. Want me to start here?" She held the book open on the page with the book mark.
When the boy nodded, Rin cleared her throat and nodded. "Chapter Seven: a Mad Tea-Party." She shifted herself and lifted the book a little. "There was a table set out under a tree in front of the house, and the March Hare and the Hatter were having tea at it…."
With Andrew leant on the window, his eyes drifting closed, Rin just continued to read the story to him, making voices for the strange characters Lewis Carroll had created. About four chapters later, and one angry stomach growl coming from the direction of Rin later, Andrew opened his eyes with a smile, looking at Rin as she blushed dark red, replacing the bookmark. "Umm… I think that's lunch. You hungry?"
Nodding, the pair slid off the seat and left the room, headed for the kitchen. Upon entering, they came across Sesshomaru who was getting himself a cup of coffee. He looked a little surprised at their appearance but leant back on the edge of the kitchen counter. "Ms Marigold."
"Good afternoon, sir."
A pause filled the air until Sesshomaru realized he needed to reply. He was unsure of what to say but tried anyways. "So… what have you been doing this morning?"
"Andrew and I made a tower of blocks. It's really impressive. At least this tall." She held her hand at an exaggerated level. Even if Sesshomaru didn't appear impressed, his son smiled at him. Rin lowered her hand then looked at Andrew. "Oh and then we began reading Alice in Wonderland. It's a great story, isn't it Andrew?"
Nodding several times, Andrew kept his eyes fixed on his father, the action not unnoticed by the nanny so she lifted her head as well. "We were just about to have lunch then carry on. Why don't you join us?"
Gazing over his mug, Sesshomaru Vanea frowned at the woman. "I don't have time for such nonsense. That is your job Ms Marigold."
Smile dropping, Andrew watched as his father walked back to his office, closing the door behind him. As his whole body dropped, two smaller hands wrapped around under his arms and lifted up into the air. "Don't worry!" Rin called cheerfully as she put him on the counter top. "I'll keep reading, Champ. Then maybe we will go down to the bookshop and we'll pick out something new. My treat." She reached over and stroked her cheek gently with her thumb. "Don't worry. I'll fix this, I promise."
The boy took a moment to smile, but he did even with tears in his eyes. He leant over and hugged the nanny again who mentally made a note of the behaviour storing it at the back of her head.
A/N: So here it is, finally, the InuYasha Nanny Story! TBH, I'm thinking about putting this up for adoption so give me a PM if interested.
Don't forget to review!