Bwahaha! Arigatou minna for reviewing. :) Sorry for taking so long, I was on vacation for spring break and then there were icky midterms. Now I have finals! SUGOI XD;;

vitreous adj. 1. Pertaining to, resembling, or having the nature of glass; glassy. 2. Obtained or made from glass. 3. Of or pertaining to the vitreous humor. Latin vitreus, from vitrum, glass

Inu Yasha and all characters within are property of Rumiko Takahashi.

Vitreous

chapter IV: gentle

Be gentle with the young

- Juvenal (55 AD - 127 AD)

Sesshoumaru ran his fingers through his hair as he leaned back into his chair. The clock read 5:47pm and he was put out. He didn't think negotiations would take that long, nor that Higurashi Izumi would be such a strong woman. True to her name, she was an "arrow child", shooting her way through all the jargon and clearly stating exactly what she thought. She was rather intelligent for a human, he had to give her that.

"What do you mean, you wish to keep the same arrangements as before?" Her voice was clear Sesshoumaru merely looked up at the woman standing before him, mid-forties and well dressed, while Inu Yasha jumped up angrily. Sesshoumaru could practically read his brother's mind. 'Stupid bitch' he's probably thinking. Sesshoumaru merely pulled his brother forcefully back into his chair, sighing as his brother tumbled backward into the seat. His brother was still green, but Sesshoumaru had already anticipated the problem that the woman would be greedy and want the company for herself. Her next words surprised him. "With the death of Rin's parents, how can I blindly hand over her birth-right? Her parents were merging with you to benefit both companies, but now that they cannot commit to their end of the deal, I need reassurance from you that Rin will not be mocked merely because of her age. I am not a fool, I do not understand the company, nor does Rin. As her legal guardian, it is my decision as to what is to happen to her. I wish to honor her parents' decision to merge the companies. However, I believe that at this time, it is best to hand over the position as head of the company to you, with the condition that Rin receives a percentage of the gross income that she can sufficiently live off of."

Sesshoumaru couldn't believe that the woman was handing him the company. It was something he would have done in her situation. Well, if he was a measly human woman that is. No, she was not stupid. Even Inu Yasha understood that though the Miyaharas left Rin with quite a sum of money and assets, for a young girl, it wouldn't last forever. However, because of her terms, WHICH HE AGREED TO, Sesshoumaru found himself in an interesting situation.

"I want you act as her financial guardian. Since my own husband has passed away, I am in need of some guidance on Rin's monetary affairs. I think this is more than a fair trade for a multi-million dollar company that you are receiving in exchange."

That was it. No explanations, no pleading. She stated what she wanted and it worked- this Sesshoumaru was intrigued. In other words:

He had just inherited a company and a kid.

Kagome sat at her desk doing her homework. Behind her she could hear Rin playing with a doll on her bed. It had been four days since she was released from the hospital and she was to start therapy tomorrow. Ever since the small girl had woken up in her hospital bed, she hadn't uttered a sound. It was like she was a ghost. Kagome couldn't believe that the girl she had often babysat for, and adored like a little sister, had become. What was worse, the girl had become extremely clingy to Kagome, never letting the girl out of her sight. At night Kagome tucked the little girl in her own futon in a room down that hall, but come morning she always found that she had an extra person in her bed. After two days, Kagome gave up and let the girl sleep with her.

She understood the pain of losing a parent; she had lost her own father a several years ago when Souta –her younger brother- was just a year old. He didn't understand what was happening at the time but Kagome, who had been seven when it happened, remembered everything. Her father had been a famous lawyer working for the Miyahara Foundation. Apparently, her father and Mr. Miyahara had gone to Tokyo University together and became close friends. They worked together ever since- until the car accident. A drunk driver had hit her father. After that, her mother moved the family to her father's shrine. Kagome's grandfather was a little kooky but otherwise a great man.

Kagome shook her head clear of those thoughts as she felt a tug on her sleeve. Kagome looked down to see Rin looking back up at her biting her lip.

"Hey Rin…are you hungry?"

She shook her head.

"Thirsty?"

Head shake.

"Bored?"

Head shake.

"Uhm…" Kagome tried to think up more options when she realized that Rin was practically turning blue as she danced around in what could only be described as the traditional 'I-gotta-pee' dance.

"Rin-chan, do you need to use the bathroom?"

The rapid nodding caused Kagome to stand and guide the girl to the bathroom. Kagome had never been the best at charades. Hopefully therapy would help Rin regain her voice. The doctors' said that there was nothing physically wrong with her vocal cords, but was probably frozen do to psychological trauma. Not the first time that day, Kagome sighed sadly.

It was her third session in therapy and still the quiet girl did not make a sound.

"Rin…I know you must be in a lot a pain. I understand. It must be so hard for you, since you've gone through so much in such a short period of time. I know you don't want to talk. It's okay. This is a safe place."

Rin just stared at the woman before looking back at Kagome, who stayed in the room much to Rin's insistence. Kagome nodded encouragingly, which caused Rin to look back at the woman, who now had a pack of crayons and some plain paper.

"Do you like to color Rin?"

The girl nodded timidly.

"Why don't you draw a picture? Does that sound like fun?"

The therapist, whose name was Kaede, was a grandmotherly type of woman with an eye patch and a warm smile. Rin blinked at the woman before slowly reaching out for paper and the box of crayons.

Kaede continued in a soft voice, "You know…sometimes, when it hurts too much to talk about something, I like to write it down or draw a picture of what happened. Often it makes me feel a lot better about things."

Kagome understood the truth to Kaede's words. After her father died, she spent a few months in therapy trying to accept the fact that her father wasn't around anymore. When Rin looked up to Kagome for reassurance that she should color, Kagome gave a warm smile.

Kaede continued softly, "It's not easy to lose a loved one, especially someone as special as your parents."

At the mention of the word 'parent', Rin grabbed a crayon and started to scribble across the page with a mad fever, causing both Kaede and Kagome to widen there eyes at her sudden display of emotion. Discarding the color for another, she continued on her rampage across the page until she threw the paper to the ground. Though she said nothing, Kaede was still able to take notes based on her reactions to things. Cleary, Rin was still raw about her parents' death, like any normal child should be. It was her job to have the child come to terms with her emotions so that she could become a functioning member of society once again.

The therapist's eye darted back to the discarded drawing that was to the right of the girl. It was a scribble of brown and blue with red all over.

The brown represented the wolves.

The blue represented the rain.

The red- the red represented her parents.

It would be a long healing process.

…

Rin carefully selected a yellow crayon and began to draw two small circles close to each other. Frowning, she placed the crayon back on the table, her fingers flitting over the color selection before choosing orange. Going back over the yellow circles with the orange, she blended the two to create a sort of gold.

Across the table Kaede sat and watched Rin concentrating on her picture. Scribbling a few notes on a stationary pad, she tried to comprehend what the girl before her was drawing. Since Kaede realized that the girl responded well to making pictures, the older woman made sure to have a pad of paper and crayons when it was time for the young girl's sessions. After discovering the girl's sophisticated taste, Kaede had the office invest in the 64-crayon pack, much to Rin's delight. Now, however, as Kaede silently observed the girl, she become conscious of the fact that this was different than the other times when she created abstract scribbles in response to Kaede's leading questions.

Rin bit her lip as she analyzed the portrait before her. It still didn't seem right still. She closed her eyes and tried to remember the angel that haunted her dreams with haunting eyes. They were such an intense gold color. Blazing orbs of honey fire that burned into her soul. She could never forget the eyes of her savior, her angel from heaven. Speaking of which- Rin grabbed a suitable shade of purple before etching a crescent moon on the Angel's forehead. Humming softly, she switched to a more magenta hue and drew stripes across the face. Satisfied, a happy Rin looked up to a surprised Kaede. Tilting her head as if to inquire what was the matter, her therapist could only shake her head free from the haze that came from recognition.

"Does ye person have a name child?" she asked softly.

Rin nodded shyly and wrote down a messy character that her mother once showed her long ago while reading fairytales.

'Tenshi'

Kaede took note of this as the child continued to work. There was only one person who fit the description of an inu youkai with tribal markings- Taishou Sesshoumaru.

Her sixth birthday passed without a hitch. Rin had a small party that consisted of Kagome, Mrs. Higurashi, Kagome's younger brother Souta, Ojii-chan, Kagome's best friend and neighbor Sango, and herself. The day consisted of a smiling Rin eating cake and receiving small gifts from everyone. All had gone well until the doorbell rang and a young man stood holding a huge bouquet of white roses. Surprised, Kagome signed off for them, reading the name that was written eloquently on the face of the small envelope that was attached.

Miyahara Rin.

Smiling at the thoughtful gesture, Kagome gave the beautiful flowers to the birthday girl, who ripped open the envelope and pulled out a small note. Since Rin still couldn't read complex kanji, she handed the note over to Kagome, patiently waiting for the older girl to read it aloud. She wasn't the only one, as everyone in the room stared expectantly, wanting to know who the mysterious sender was.

For Miyahara Rin,

May you be blessed on this extraordinary day.

Kagome paused and everyone leaned in, waiting the sender's name. Kagome gave a half smile.

"Sorry guys, but that's it."

A mystery sender! That was even more intriguing. Rin looked up at Kagome, still wondering. Kagome smiled and stroked the girl's hair.

"Looks like you have a guardian angel."

Rin perked up. Her angel! Her angel had sent her flowers. Rin carefully accepted the note from Kagome and stored it in her dress pocket, noting that she would put it in her treasure box later. Joining back in the festivities, Rin's mind was elsewhere, wondering when she would next see her pretty guardian's face. Little did she know that her next encounter with her 'angel' would be in three years under very different circumstances…

This concludes the fourth chapter. Please leave a review to tell me what you think. Suggestions are welcome! Sorry again for taking so long.

I know this story started out with a bang and is slowing down, but now that I got some of the more technical details out of the way (such as how Sesshoumaru is tied to Rin, where Rin is staying, how Kagome and Sango connect, etc. you can expect the story to quicken its pace!)