Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyash a and I don't make a profit from this story.

A/N- Sorry this chapter is short :( In this chapter, I wanted Rin's friend to be in it :) And I just wanted to say I will not be writing the palace to look like the real palace in Japan. If anyone is curious, the emperor lives in the Tokyo Imperial Palace. So you can look that up if you want to know what the real palace looks like :)


I would rather walk with a friend in the dark than walk alone in the light" -Helen Keller

o~O~o

Rin leaned against the counter in her kitchen as she ate some rice. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, but she wasn't that hungry. Her thoughts remained on her grandmother.

Would she be okay? She knew she could trust Kaede, but she was so used to checking up on her grandmother at night. It seemed strange that she wasn't going to do it today.

She sighed and placed her now empty bowl into her sink. Pulling her phone from her pocket, she saw that Kagome had texted her saying she was coming upstairs. Rin quickly texted back saying that her door was unlocked, so she could just walk in.

Only a minute later did her door swing open, revealing a very excited looking Kagome.

"Hey Rin! Here, this is what you'll be wearing" she said as she practically shoved two shopping bags in Rin's arms.

Rin peeked inside the bag. "Kagome, you didn't have to buy me anything. I could have gotten something to wear myself"

Kagome waved her hand in a dismissive manner. "It's fine Rin, I didn't mind at all. Besides, my date for tonight had purchased my outfit for me, so buying you something to wear was no trouble at all"

Rin raised an eyebrow. Kagome hadn't mentioned she had a date. "Your date?"

Kagome blushed a bright red as she realized what she had said out loud.

"Who is he?" Rin asked as she wiggled her eyebrows. She began laughing as Kagome's red face turned even redder.

"You'll meet him later" she mumbled. "Okay, let's start getting ready"

o~O~o

Rin stared at her reflection as she stood in front of her mirror. The black dress she wore came to a stop just above her knees, and the strapless style revealed her shoulders and collarbone. It made her slightly uncomfortable because she wasn't used to wearing a dress, though she couldn't help but admire the black high heels she wore.

She pushed a stray hair behind her ear, wondering if maybe she should have put it up in a ponytail.

'Nah' she thought. She enjoyed when her hair was loose.

"Rin, you look beautiful" Kagome said as she glanced at Rin before looking at her own reflection.

"Thank you" Rin replied with a light blush. She always became slightly embarrassed when people complimented her on anything, whether it be her shoes or her hair, she always blushed. "You look beautiful too"

Kagome smiled and opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted when they heard a honking noise from outside.

"Oh, that's Inuyasha" she said quickly as she grabbed her small purse. "Come on Rin"

Rin followed her friend until they were outside of her apartment. She stood completely still and gaped at seeing a limousine parked in front of the apartment. She had honestly never seen a limousine up close before.

"You didn't have to bring a limousine.." Kagome said as she fiddled with her purse; her face a light pink in slight embarrassment.

"Feh" Rin looked at the man wearing an expensive looking suit, standing next to the limousine. "Just get in the damn car wench" He looked at Rin and nodded toward the open door. "You too."

Rin hesitated for only a moment before following Kagome and getting into the car, holding back a giggle when Kagome started reprimanding the male about manners.

Once inside the limo, she took the opportunity to get a better look at the male Kagome said was named Inuyasha. She stared at him, though it wasn't his amber eyes, his claws, or silver hair that held her attention. No, it was the two fuzzy dog ears that sat atop his head, twitching slightly every once in a while.

Her hands twitched as she leaned forward in her seat. He didn't seem to notice, because he was too caught up in some argument he was having with Kagome, who was sitting next to him. Perfect..

Rin reached for her target, her gaze not once leaving the fluffy appendages. Inuyasha stiffened before turning his head slowly toward her, as if he sensed her approach. His eyes narrowed in confusion for a moment before widening in horror at the realization of what she wanted to do.

It was completely silent as she grabbed the ears softly and rubbed them, enjoying the softness.

...

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" he yelled, and she immediately released his ears and blushed, a cheeky smile spread across her face. Even if he was mad at her, it was worth it.

Kagome began laughing.

"Do you know who I am?" he growled at her.

Rin cocked her head to the side slightly before responding. "Nope." Was she supposed to?

Inuyasha gaped at the human in front of him. Was she serious? She had to be. Her heartbeat was steady; she wasn't lying. 'That's a first...'

"I'm Inuyasha" he said. She had to know who he was now. But still, the blank look on her face told him she didn't. He glanced at Kagome who was also staring at her friend in a mixture of disbelief and amusement.

"Inuyasha Takahashi" he tried. Surely she would know now.

"I'm sorry, I don't know you" she said apologetically. Had they met before? She was sure she would have remembered those ears.

"I'm the prince" he said finally, though she still stared at him blankly. "The emperors' son"

Her eyes widened and her mouth hung open slightly before she smiled widely. "Really!?"

Inuyasha nodded dumbly, wondering how she wouldn't know that.

Rin wasn't at all surprised by the fct that she didn't recognize the prince. She never liked watching the news, and she never bothered picking up a magazine that might have something about the emperor and his son in it. The only magazine she had at home was a baking magazine, showing her how to make delicious sweets. "That's awesome! Nice to meet ya" she said happily.

Inuyasha stared at the human woman for another moment. He expected her to immediately bow and ask for forgiveness. Maybe even say 'your majesty'. But she acted as if he was just another being. Instead of being upset, he found he felt slightly relieved. Just like how he had been relieved when Kagome gave him no special treatment because of his status.

"Feh" he mumbled as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"So how did you two meet?" Rin asked after realizing how close they were sitting. She sent Kagome a knowing look, and Kagome smiled apologetically for not telling her friend.

Rin giggled when she saw both Kagome and Inuyasha blush as they glanced at each other.

Inuyasha began scratching his nose with his claw as he refused to look at either female. "Me and my family stay in the palace or on the palace grounds almost all the time cus we don't wanna be swamped by reporters. One day I kinda just left cus I felt like getting out for a while. Well, when I was walkin' around a couple of girls recognized me, so I got out of there...and I ran into her"

"I was leaving the supermarket" Kagome began. "And as I'm walking with the bags in my hand, someone literally ran into me making me drop all my stuff." She narrowed her eyes at Inuyasha, though he refused to look at her. "So I started yelling and all of a sudden a hand covers my mouth and he dragged me into a freakin alleyway telling me to shut up" her glare turned deathly, and Inuyasha shifted nervously in his seat.

"Anyway" she continued after taking a deep breath. "I started kicking and hitting him and all of a sudden his hat falls off and I see these adorable dog ears, but before I go to pet them, I realized that he was the prince." She blushed as she remembered kicking him in his groin. "We kinda stared at each other for a moment and then I began yelling at him again, complaining about my groceries."

"You should've watched where you were walkin' in the first place wench" Inuyasha mumbled, but immediately paled when he realized he had said that out loud.

Kagome grabbed one of his ears and smiled evilly at him. "What was that?"

Rin laughed at the sight. They truly did make a lovely couple. She looked out the window of the limousine, and her eyes widened at the sight of the large mansion.

To her displeasure, it was pretty crowded. It seemed as though many people were already there, though many people were still just arriving.

"Inuyasha, you never told me why you're having this party" Kagome said, as she too looked at the many people walking into the palace.

"It was my mothers' idea. Today is my fathers' birthday, so she's forcing me and Sesshomaru to attend. I hate these parties, it's always so damn crowded.."

Rin knew Inuyasha's father was the emperor, so his mother was the emperors wife, but...

"Who's Sesshomaru?" she asked in curiosity.

She watched as Inuyasha frowned and narrowed his eyes. "He's my half brother" he growled out. "Just hope you don't run into him in there. He's kind of a bastard"