I know I haven't updated this fic as well as my other ones in a long time and I'm so sorry for that. I've hit a slight block with my fics and I've been so busy with schoolwork. In an effort to make it up to you guys I have made this chapter longer than my usual chapter length. :D

Thanks to SerenePanic, Anya Seneca Primrose, Sessrin4life, loveless an the living fantasy, icegirljenni, Taraah36, sailormoon45 and Shadow Wolf for reviewing the last chapter! And thanks to everyone reading!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Except for this plot and any OCs that are mentioned later.

'Things to buy…milk…What else do I need? God…Mom was so good at this. Crap. Almost forgot toothpaste! That would have been a complete disaster!'

Rin sat cross-legged on a long white bench in the lavish Takahashi backyard. It was a relatively pleasant day with a light breeze. Inuyasha sat in front of Rin in the grass, visibly pissed with the younger woman because of the lack of attention he was getting from her.

They had been sitting in his backyard for the longest time, trying to plain Rn's birthday party. Only Rin wasn't cooperating with him.

"Rin," called Inuyasha dully. "Rin. Birthday. Planning. Let's go." He rolled his golden eyes and sighed at his fruitless attempts to get her attention. He began pulling grass out of the ground. He glanced at the handful of grass and then at Rin. He shrugged, flicking his wrist toward her, showering her in bits of green grass. He threw his head back in annoyance when the act hadn't gotten him anywhere.

"For fuck's sake, Rin!" yelled Inuyasha. "Can we just plan your damn party?" Even with his language, he still hadn't gotten a single reaction from her. His patience was wearing thin by now. He loved Rin like the sister he never had, but she was such a dreamer sometimes. Her head was always in the clouds. Sometimes he liked that, but not when his mother had refused to let him go out with Kagome until they had some significant process in their planning.

'What the hell is she thinking about?'

Suddenly, an idea began forming in his mind. An idea that would surely get himself killed, but if it would get them some progress, he was willing to do it. He pretended to look past Rin and off into the distance. "Oh, Sesshomaru!" he called, making sure his voice carried. "It's nice to finally see you out of your room!"

Rin, who had drawn up a grocery list, had heard Inuyasha's voice like he had hoped. Her eyes grew wide when she realized what he had said. Her fingers flew to her dark hair, trying to even out the bumps and the waves. When she deemed it acceptable, she straightened her dark purple tunic, making sure it lay flat on her collar-bone and didn't have any wrinkles. She whipped her head around to see Sesshomaru and was met with the house. She turned back to Inuyasha, who was howling with laughter. She crossed her arms over her chest, furious that he had used her crush on his older brother to his advantage.

"Inuyasha!" she huffed. "That wasn't funny!"

He doubled over, clutching his sides. "No! It was hilarious!" he wheezed.

She glared at him as he continued to laugh. She really wanted to put him out of his misery right then and there, but she refrained, knowing she'd suffer big time later.

"Great. You've gotten my attention. Now what?"

She began to jiggle her knee impatiently and roll her eyes, waiting for him to stop laughing. She threw her head back when she saw tears trailing down his cheeks. "Oh for god's sakes, Inuyasha! Fine! I'm going to the market and then going home." She turned on her heel and marched toward the driveway.

'Great. Now I can't remember what I was supposed to get. Trust Inuyasha to ruin something like this…'

The said hanyou wiped his eyes, seeing Rin start to leave. He panicked for a split second. If Rin left now, then he wouldn't be able to go out with Kagome tonight! He sprang up and dashed after her, using his demon speed to reach her before she was even a quarter of the way to the driveway.

She exhaled through her nose, turning her head in the opposite direction, whipping him with her hair in the process.

"Rin, I'm sorry," said Inuyasha. "We're supposed to be planning your birthday party and you keep staring off into space. You know, you don't turn eighteen every day."

She stopped short, remembering the special occasion. She would finally be eighteen years old. A legal adult. She looked up at Inuyasha who had slipped his hand in his pocket, pulling his phone out. He was wearing a grim expression on his face that resembled a child's face when they were told that they couldn't have sweets before dinner.

"Kagome," he said loudly, typing out her name. "Sorry I cannot take you out tonight. Our dear friend, Rin, is-"

She snatched the phone out of his hand, glaring at him. "Alright. Alright. No need to guilt me by faking a message," she snapped. The look on her face softened and she handed the phone back to him. "I guess my mind was in another place…as usual."

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at her words. His piercing golden stare bore into her. Almost instantly, he dropped his gaze to the ground, remembering what he had discovered the week before. 'Man. She must be really lonely at home all alone. I shouldn't snap at her for being so lonely and spacing out.' "Don't worry about it, Rin," he said quickly. "Let's go back to planning. Ummmm…Do you want a theme?"

She thought about it for a minute, tapping a finger to her chin. "I don't know, Yash. I don't really want a huge birthday party. Why go to all of that trouble? I just want a small party with you, Kagome, Miroku, Sango, Kohaku and Souta." He raised his eyebrows again, silently asking if she was serious. She nodded. Then she tilted her head slightly, thinking of something she wanted. "On second thought…There is something that I want." He looked at her expectantly. She took a deep breath and looked him in the eyes. "I don't want Kouga there."

At the mention of the wolf youkai, his face darkened. He clenched his hands together and gritted his teeth. His blood began to boil and his eyes were turning a light shade of red. He began to breathe heavily, scaring Rin. She didn't think the mere mention of his name could bring out his inner demon. She was about to say something when his hands unclenched and his eyes reverted to their usual shimmery gold. He took a deep breath and looked down at Rin seriously. "I'll make sure of that. That bastard will never set foot near you. Ever."

She sighed in relief, remembering what had happened the day she realised her hatred for Kouga. She shuddered, her hand flying to her shoulder. She was still rather sensitive to the memory. "Thanks, Inuyasha."

He slowly wrapped his arms around her like a brother would his little sister. "No problem, Rin," he said softly. "Kouga will never come anywhere near you ever again. Not after what he did."

She gave him a hollow smile when he let go of her. "It's more of what he didn't do."

The look on his face went from a mixture of pure loathing and concern to shock, as if he couldn't fathom what she was saying. He grabbed both of her arms, startling her. "Don't take things so lightly!" he shouted. "He deserves to get his ass kicked! He should have done something! Even if he didn't know you as well back then! He should have done something."

Her chocolate eyes widened in shock at his words. She really felt like Inuyasha was her blood brother at that moment. Only a brother would react that way. Only a brother would kick other people's asses for hurting his little sister. "I-I-" she stammered. "T-Thank you, Inuyasha. You've always been a brother to me."

Before Inuyasha could respond, they heard a cool and snide voice come from behind them.

"Inuyasha, Izayoi wants-" started Sesshomaru. He blinked at Inuyasha holding on to Rin's shoulders. He looked shocked her a minute, his golden eyes dilated, but he regained his cool and calm composure when Inuyasha let go of Rin, realizing what it looked like to the daiyoukai. They both blushed under the older Takahashi's gaze.

"Inuyasha," he finally said. "Do make sure to chose one mate," he said before tossing Rin a look that seemed to bore into her before sighing at walking off. It took Rin all of her strength to hold Inuyasha back after that. She struggled with his demon strength. "Oh my god. Inuyasha! Please! Stop!"

"HOW DARE THAT BASTARD!" roared Inuyasha. "How dare he say something like that?! He knows what you are to me!" He stopped trying to go after Sesshomaru and instead rounded on Rin. "What do you see in him, Rin?" he asked curiously. "What is it you see in him? I don't understand. You could do so much better than him! He acts like he has a fucking pole rammed up his ass or something."

She blushed furiously when he made the comment about the pole. She covered her mouth and faced away from him.

To be honest, she wasn't sure what her real reason was when it came to the daiyoukai. There was something about him. Something in his cold aura. She knew there was a normal person under all of that ice. He just needed the right person to melt it. She knew she wasn't the person. What could she, a human, offer to him, a powerful daiyoukai? Absolutely nothing. But she could still admire him from afar.

She came back to her senses when a hand was waved in front of her eyes. She blinked, looking up at Inuyasha. He sighed exasperated. "Rin, I'm being serious. Sesshomaru is not worth your time. Why don't you go for Kohaku or something?"

She blushed bright red, waving her hands wildly while laughing nervously. "Oh no! Kohaku is like a brother! He's like you!"

He tilted his head to the left, thinking of the last time Rin and Kohaku had been together. Kohaku had dragged her out of the room to talk in private. Inuyasha had suspected Rin wasn't telling him the truth about what she and Kohaku had talked about. Not the entire truth anyway. "If you say so…Alright. Let's get back to planning."

"Nevermind planning," she said quickly. "I'll explain to Izayoi-sama and Inu no Taisho-sama about how I want a small get together for my birthday. So you get ready for your date with Kagome."

Before he could protest, he was shoved toward the house. He looked over his shoulder to see Rin pushing him. "Rin-"

"Do make sure to give her a quick hello hug, unlike last time. Oh, and if she has her hair down, do not roll all the windows down. It messes up her hair and she'll be pissed."

He gave her a look of discomfort to which she waved away. "No I do not make it my business to find out these things. I'm a girl and I know you. Trust me when I say what I am saying."

He glanced at the petite brown-eyed girl before nodding slowly. "Thanks, Rin," he said quickly before racing into the house. He watched his enthusiasm and smiled, shaking her head. She glanced up at the sun and the cloudless sky, thankful she could walk to the market and not have to worry about getting a ride there. But first, she had to tell Izayoi of her plans for her birthday.

"Is it really so abnormal to only want my friends over on my birthday?"

Sesshomaru stalked back to the house, not pleased about being used as a messenger for Izayoi. He never understood why his father had left his mother for a mere human. It was a foolish thing to do to Sesshomaru.

"And then Inuyasha came into the picture. How delightful," he said sardonically.

The day Inuyasha was born was the beginning of hell on Earth for Sesshomaru. Inuyasha was the very reason InuSatomi was not mated anymore.

"Stupid half-breed."

The moment the words rolled off his tongue, he glanced out the window to see Inuyasha waving his arms widely at Rin. Rin. The human Izayoi had taken under her wing. Rin confused the daiyoukai. There were several reasons why. He just couldn't wrap his mind around someone always having a smile on their face. He didn't understand how it was physically possible. She had to be suffering from something.

Rin had always made him curious. She wasn't an airhead like Izayoi. No, she was different. She had a unique aura around her. A very warm and compassionate aura. But there was something else. Something he had noticed recently, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

Suddenly, a crisp scent had filled the air. It tickled his nose, intriguing him. It smelled light and airy. Very feminine.

'Lemons…'

He knew for a fact it wasn't Izayoi's scent. The woman's scent was so sickening-ly sweet. It couldn't possibly have such an airy quality. He put his books down, his mind far from reading. He was going to pursue the scent of the mystery woman. It was tempting the demon in him. He silently cursed at the soft purring sound that filled the empty hall.

'Damn demon.'

The scent was overwhelming now. It was clouding his mind and he couldn't think straight. He was trying to eliminate potential owners of the scent.

He doubted he could be attracted to Kagome's scent. He had some respect for her, but it ended there. Besides, her scent was of jasmine flowers mingled with vanilla. It couldn't be something so light and lemony. Sango…He couldn't remember her scent. Was it Sango? He barely knew her. The only thing he honestly knew about her was that she had a younger brother about Rin's age and a lecherous fool on her heels. He shuddered when he remembered his ex-girlfriend, Sara Asano. He really didn't think it was Sara's scent, but there was always a possibility. He shook his head, not wanting to deal with her. The woman was mad.

Not knowing the identity of the woman made him go mad. He had to know who she was. He had to know who the scent belonged to. It was seriously turning him on. The crisp lemon scent…the airiness…it was sexy. An effortless sexy.

He found himself at the foot of the stairs. He glanced in both directions before concluding the scent was coming from the kitchen. He shut his eyes, deeply inhaling the scent. He couldn't get enough of it. before long, his eyes snapped open. The scent that enchanted him mingled with a sickening-ly sweet scent. His cold golden eyes scanned the room to see two black hair women in the kitchen. One of them he could recognize on the spot.

Both women were around the same height, but one of them was shape-lier than the other. She had long and thick black hair that hung like an inky black waterfall down her back. She was wearing a traditional kimono that was royal blue with baby pink flowers-sakuras. The woman was also the owner of the sugary scent. It was Izayoi. The woman standing next to her was the one who intrigued the elder Takahashi brother. She was much shorter than him. Her hair wasn't straight like Izayoi's. It curled at the ends, something that he found…adorable. The woman had a slim frame and a long torso that led to a tiny waist. She was wearing a flow-y dark purple tunic with a thin black belt that cinched the skirt in at her waist, which accentuated her figure. His eyes traveled lower and he found himself staring at her legging-clad legs. He ripped his eyes off of her, softly clearing his throat, trying get the mystery woman's attention. Both women turned around at the sound and he found itself gazing into his mystery woman's eyes.

"Sesshomaru?" asked Izayoi softly. "Is there something you wanted from either Rin or I?"

He tore his eyes away from the woman's soft brown eyes, to meet Izayoi's. Rin? He would have noticed if his mystery woman was Rin, wouldn't he? He took a good look at the woman, his eyes raking over her slim face. Her face held some child-like features as well as some more mature and womanly features. He blinked a couple of times, trying to focus his vision. Rin was the woman who had called out to his demon? Rin? A mortal?

His eyes lingered on Rin for a moment, not wanting to believe it. "No, Izayoi. I was merely clearing my throat."

Izayoi noticed her stepson's eyes lingering on Rin a bit longer than usual. She mentally smiled at the possibilities. She had always thought of Rin as a daughter. If Sesshomaru showed interest in Rin, then that was good for everyone. Rin was like a model daughter, unlike Sesshomaru's last girlfriend, Sara. Izayoi mentally shuddered at the thought of her. She was one who saw the good in everyone. That was until Sara came into the picture. She didn't understand how Sesshomaru tolerated her for so long. Sesshomaru's patience was nonexistent where Izayoi barely showed any impatience.

"Alright," said Izayoi in a sing-song tone. She turned back to Rin who hadn't the slightest idea of what had happened. "Rin, you said you wanted a small get-together versus a huge party? Are you sure?"

Sesshomaru didn't stay long enough to hear Rin's response. He tried to keep his demon in check as he turned away from them. He felt something inside him threaten to snap as he went upstairs. When he was sure no one could see or hear him, he used his demon speed to get to his room and slam the door shut.

"Rin?" he asked incredulously. "Rin is the woman my demon wishes to claim?"

He sank into his bed, unable to comprehend it. He couldn't wrap his mind around loving a human like his father and half-brother had done. And it was Rin of all people. Someone so…plain and childish. Someone who confused him. Someone who associated with his half-breed brother.

He shook his head. No, Inuyasha was not the main reason he was shocked. He was sure if Rin was simply a stranger to him, he would still be shocked.

A delicate knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. He swiftly rose and stomped over to his door, flinging it open and directing his icy cold eyes at the person before him, Rin. Seeing the girl made him narrow his eyes into slits. He hoped he was giving off an intimidating aura.

Rin, who had not been expecting Sesshomaru to glare at her with such coldness, flinched when the door opened. She shrank back slightly, wary of the aura he was giving off. She clanked down at her feet, unable to meet his eyes. "Izayoi-sama wanted me to ask you if you needed anything from the market…since she and I are going," she said meekly.

With her head down, he could get a good look at her without her noticing anything. She was, in fact, intimidated by him. But at the same time, she had spoken respectfully. That was something he always saw in her speech. She was very respectful, mindful of not dropping the honorifics even after she was told she could. He really couldn't find a real fault in her. She was respectful, always happy and level-headed. Sure her figure was a bit underdeveloped, but that gave her willowy and delicate appearance. Then he remembered the all important drawback: she was human.

"No, but thank you for asking," he said coolly, his eyes still on her. The least he could do after this was speak as respectfully as she had.

Her head was still bowed as she backed away from him. She nodded, turning on her heel and almost running down the stairs. He peered in the direction in which she had run and leaned against the door frame, crossing his arms over his chest. "And she knows her place as well…very interesting mortal."

"Hey Kohaku," called Sango. "How was Dark Knight Rises?"

He sat at the table, staring at fold in the tablecloth, unaware of what was going on around him. He had been thinking all day. Thinking about what Souta had said the day before about him and Rin. He could hear Souta's words clearly, as if he was sitting next to him.

"You just seemed like you had a crush on her. Blowing off Batman for a couple of minutes…"

'I've never really thought of Rin that way. I guess she's kinda pretty. And we're pretty good friends. She's got some adorable quirks too. Like how she licks her lips when she's thinking about something…Wait. Why was I looking at her lips?'

He silently panicked when he realized he might have had some feelings for the brown-eyed woman. He pressed a hand to his temple, trying to convince himself that it was just him admiring his friend's weird quirks.

Sango had been watching a rerun of Gossip Girl when she had asked her younger brother for his opinion on the latest Batman movie. When her show went on commercial and she still hadn't gotten an answer, she turned around, peering at her brother. His eyebrows were knit together and his eyes were calculating. She could literally see the gears turning in his head. She rose up off of the sofa and walked over to him. She pulled a chair up to sit with him. The screeching of the chair against the kitchen floor startled Kohaku, making him flinch.

"Sorry," she said softly. "Is anything wrong, Kohaku? You look deep in thought."

She searched his face for something to give her the slightest idea of what he was thinking about. All she got was confusion. She tilted her head, expecting something that would paint a picture of his situation.

He sighed, not knowing what was wrong himself. Rin was a great person. He should have considered himself lucky he fell for someone who didn't already have a boyfriend or someone who was a royal pain in the ass upon getting to know her. He mentally grimaced at the thought of his last girlfriend, Chiharu. Sure she was pretty with her long black hair and her stormy grey eyes, but she was so nonchalant about everything. She never took anything seriously, always speaking as if she was bored.

He flinched again when Sango snapped her fingers, breaking his trance for the second time. She shook her head, propping her head up with her hand on the table.

"Now I'm convinced that there's something wrong. Spill, Kohaku. Is it a girl?" The blush on his cheeks combined with his refusal to answer the question and his bowed head confirmed her guess. She smiled, her eyes twinkling. "Ahhhh, I'm right, aren't I? Who is she? What's her name? Do I know her?"

He felt a smile creep on his face. He felt Sango playfully nudge him, as if to force the answer out of him. He was barely aware of her questions. He was thinking about Rin. Really thinking about her. Ever since Souta had said what he said, it opened his eyes and he finally saw how she had really changed since they were kids. Her hair was beginning to curl at the ends, something he always loved in a woman. And her eyes…her twinkling brown eyes. They were always sparkling, no matter the situation. The smile easily slipped off of his face when he remembered her secret. She was most likely trying to make ends meet. She was probably not looking for a guy now.

He looked back up at Sango, who had a wide smile on her face. He felt a flutter in his stomach as he prepared what he was going to say.

"Her name is Selina Kyle. She's…amazing. Absolutely amazing."*

*Selina Kyle is Catwoman.

Sesshomaru is such a hard character to write! I always feel like I make him into a softie or something. Well, I hope I didn't murder his character or anything.

Overall, I had a pretty fun time writing this chapter. Especially the scent part. I hope that was believable. I literally took my lotion and read the description on the back of it and incorporated it into the story. Country Chic from Bath and Body Works anyone? XD

Read and review! Constructive criticism is always welcome.