Thank you guys for enjoying this story so much! I know it seems to be moving slowly but bear with me! Love doesn't happen within hours, you know!~

Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, own any of the characters of the Inuyasha series.

Chapter Four

"C'mon Rin. Put on your sandals," Inuyasha urged as he tried to shove the white sandal on my foot. His hand was holding my ankle firmly so I wouldn't squirm away. I didn't want to wear shoes to dinner in my own house but Lord Taisho said I must. I crossed my arms and pouted at the white haired half demon that I've come to know as an older brother. He rolled his eyes at me. "I know you're not all that fond of shoes but we gotta look presentable, okay?"

I allowed him to put on the other sandal for me and tie the velcro straps. He picked me up and smoothed out my white dress for me, giving me a toothy grin. I was unnaturally small for my age in every aspect. I weighed less than the average ten year old (I was considered dangerously underweight despite my huge appetite) and I was shorter than most. When I asked Lord Taisho at dinner one day, he told me that the orphanage had said I was born prematurely and that I had refused to eat and speak after my parents died. I didn't remember them all that well anymore so I wasn't sure why I would ever do that. But Inuyasha and the maids gave me special treatment because of that because I was so small. Which is why right now Inuyasha was helping me get dressed.

"You're looking presentable for Miss Kikyo?" I asked with a pout. He blushed yet said nothing as he tied the satin bow that accompanied my dress. I didn't need an answer to know it was true. "I think you should be with Kagome." He stood up, giving me an incredulous look.

"Kagome!? Kagome and I are just friends. Best friends at that. I like Kikyo and for a reason," he said. I shrugged, thinking to myself how he and Kagome were much better for each other. Maybe he would realize it sooner or later. He left me after that, saying that he and Sesshomaru had to pick up the girls. I kept to myself, reading my chapter books and drawing until Lord Taisho called me down. I knew the girls had to arrived for sometime and the only reason he hadn't called me was because they were having some grown up talk before.

I put on my headband in my hair, tip-toeing in the mirror so I could see I looked nice. The sandals were bothering me but I didn't take them off. Instead, I scurried down the hall and down the stairs, jumping into Lord Taisho's awaiting arms at the bottom. He chuckled, picking me up in his embrace.

"That's my girl. Kagura, Kikyo, this is Rin. I'm sure you've seen her at the school with the boys," Taisho told them. He didn't need to introduce me so I wasn't quite sure why he did. I didn't correct him on it though. I smiled shyly at Kagura and Kikyo. They both dressed up for the occasion as well. Kikyo looked very pretty bare faced with no makeup. The only makeup Kagura had was eyeshadow and even so, the color was a light natural shade of pink. It was amusing how harshly the two contrast each other. Kagura, a powerful wind demon, had a strong demonic aura that I could even sense despite being human. It was intimidating and made me somewhat fearful of her. Then there was Kikyo who had the air of security and warmth. Her family, like Kagome's, had of a long line of priests and priestesses so it was only natural that she seemed this way. However, the cold stares she has sometimes overrides her natural aura of warmth and makes her seem bitter and heartless. It was frightful as well.

"Yes, I'm sure we've had the pleasure of meeting," Kikyo said, throwing me a soft smile. I waved at her and looked over at Kagura who gave me a nod. She wasn't really the overly polite type (I can't even count how many times she's greeted someone with a casual "yo!" no matter who they were) so I guess she wasn't going to really talk tonight. Then again she could have just been thinking really mean things. Lord Taisho always told me if I didn't have something nice to say then I should remain silent. Then again, even I sometimes forget that rule.

"Then I'm sure you're aware that Inunotaisho took her in has his ward at a young age," Inukimi said from behind me. I didn't see her when I came downstairs which immediately put my guard up. I was always aware of where she was in the room just in case out of paranoia. When she put her hand on my head, I nearly yelped, moving closer to Lord Taisho out of habit. I peeked over at her. She wore a smile that could easily deceive but her eyes told me to act like we were the perfect family. How could I if she was constantly belittling me one way or another?

Much to my dismay, Lord Taisho put me down on the floor to stand. I was noticeably small, even for a child, and it unnerved me. I had to look up at everyone in the room. Even Kagura who was a bit short. Speaking of which, she looked down at me and frowned, returning her gaze back at Inukimi and Lord Taisho.

"Isn't she rather small for someone her age? Doesn't that concern you?" I blinked in surprise. Nobody really pointed it out (because I assumed nobody cared). Was my stature a concern? Should it have been a concern all these years?

"It's simply a backlash to how she acted back at the orphanage," Inukimi said dismissively. Kagura narrowed her eyes for a moment yet said nothing more. It was then that one of the maids came and notified us that dinner was ready. Hopefully it wasn't something too fancy (because that always implied we had to eat less in small portions!). We walked into the grand dining room that was just off the living room. The table was unnaturally long for a dinner table. I wasn't too fond of it because it reminded me of the stuffy dinner parties Lord Taisho threw sometimes for him and his associates sometimes. We only used the table for special occasions and because of that, we usually ate in the kitchen at the island or at the round table.

I smelled the beef wellington before I even entered the dining room. I bit my lip to keep from exclaiming in joy. Beef wellington was one of my favorites. In different platters scattered on the table there were biscuits, mashed potatoes, steak, tiramisu soup, and on a desert platter there was white chocolate raspberry cheesecake. If I had known that having special guests over meant feasts, I would have gotten myself a boyfriend a long time ago!

I walked up to the chair I always sat at and nearly hopped onto it by my stomach but Inunotaisho caught me mid jump, sitting me on the chair properly. He gave me a wink and pat my raven black hair lovingly before he walked over to Inukimi and pulled her chair out for her. They weren't married (at least I didn't think so) but they still kept a friendly relationship. Demon relationships were complicated. Inuyasha tried to explain to me that since Lord Taisho never marked Lady Kimi, he wasn't obliged to only stay with her which was why he went to Izayoi and fell in love with her.

Sesshomaru did the same for Kagura. Inuyasha was going to but Kikyo had already sat herself down. I guess she wasn't into all the polite romantic stuff. Kagura ended up sitting to my right. I was to Lord Taisho's right at the head of the table and Sesshomaru to his left. Next to Sesshomaru was Inuyasha and next to him was Inukimi. Next to Kagura was Kikyo. Sesshomaru looked somewhat displeased that he wasn't sitting across from Kagura but he should have known better. I always sat to Lord Taisho's right during a meal no matter what.

"This meal looks lovely," Kikyo said as she gazed at all the food in front of us. "It looks delicious." Kagura agreed. We then started our meal, passing platters of food to each other when inquired. Lord Taisho served me my food. Kikyo started a little late, having prayed before she even touched any of the food. I blinked at her strangely. Being brought up with demons, I wasn't really exposed to the other religions of the world as much. From what I know, Kikyo's family is awfully traditional to the point that the still believed in pagan gods. Because of this, Kikyo was sometimes called a heathen despite being from a lineage of priestesses. Then again, from what I learned, Christianity was one of the most dominant religions of the world even if it wasn't real. From what I learned from Taisho, it seemed to be furthest from the truth.

We all ate and they all began talking. Inukimi and Lord Taisho kept asking Kagura and Kikyo questions about themselves. I kept to myself, humming. I was done with my food and my extra helpings. They all seemed to be talking about grownup matters that didn't interest me in the slightest. I let my mind wander only to be brought back to reality with a jolt. Lord Taisho had pat my head unexpectedly and it scared the living daylights out of me.

"Why don't you go play?" he said softly. I nodded slowly, pushing out my chair so I could leave the table. I heard Kagura mutter something under her breath and I paused on my way of the chair, looking up at her. She just flashed me an obnoxiously smug grin before she returned her attention to Sesshomaru. I left then, playing with myself as I usually did. Sometimes it bothered me that I was so lonely now that Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were becoming adults but it couldn't be helped.

It wasn't long until I fell asleep.


In the next few days after the dinner, Lord Taisho had to go on a business trip. That left Sesshomaru in charge of me while he was gone. Since Inuyasha was older now, Lord Sesshomaru had been looking to dump the responsibility of taking care of me onto his half demon brother but Inuyasha had a class field trip to Rome to learn of main demon origins and other things like that. This left Sesshomaru to be my caretaker.

At first, he was highly upset. Though he always remained expressionless, I knew he wasn't really all too thrilled about taking care of me. So then I began not to burden him about what I needed. After two days of evidence that I wasn't going to be a prat, he seemed to be less rigid and stiff around me. He even offered to take me on walks through the garden. We had a whole week left to be together alone so I guess he figured not to be such a sourpuss about it.

"Lord Sesshomaru. Why are you so nice to me randomly?" I asked him as I plucked another white flower from the ground and wove it to my flower wreath-crown I was making. He stayed under the cherry blossom tree we had which was getting into full bloom right around now. His golden eyes still seemed far off as if pondering something yet they dare not betray any emotion or thought he was feeling.

"Because father said so," he finally said after a long pause. I stopped my weaving to look up at him. I blinked as his golden eyes trained on me. Two heartbeats later I flashed him a smile. "Okay!" Without another word, I returned to my weaving. If him being nice was only because of Lord Taisho then I was grateful. Lord Sesshomaru was sweet when he was kind to me. I enjoyed it very much. Though I felt his eyes still on me, I continued to finish my crown.

"Yay!" I exclaimed as I held up my crown for him to see. He clearly didn't seem amused by my childish glee. I put on the crown, grinning. "Doesn't it look pretty?"

"Why do you speak more in my presence?" I froze, looking at him with perplexity. It was such a random question that caught me off guard. I shrugged. "I dunno. Maybe because I feel comfortable with you? I just like you Lord Sesshomaru!"

"Hn" was all he said before he fixated his gaze back on the horizon, the only indication of his acknowledgement to my presence was the occasional twitch of his fingers. It didn't bother me though. His presence was all I needed to feel better. Lord Taisho or not, I was sure Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't mind being nice to me. I was just glad to have such a loving family. They all made me smile so much and now, thanks to Lord Sesshomaru, I spoke more.

I wanted to stay with them forever.