Bleeding Love

Chapter Ten

Rin was woken by the sound of a FaceTime call coming through, reaching over to grab the iPhone 6 that lay on the nightstand beside her; noting that it was Kirara calling. Rubbing the sleep from her eye, the raven hair sat up; accepting the call as she yawned. It took a few moments before she answered, "What's up Kirara? Is everything alright?"

"I'm sorry honey, did I wake you up," Kirara apologized.

"Yeah, but I needed to get up anyways so it's no big deal," Rin shrugged as she ran a hand through her hair. "But what's up? Did you need something?"

"Yes actually," Kirara answered; Rin could see her walking through her apartment, giggling to herself when she saw Shippo passed out across the couch. "As you know, tomorrow is Mai's birthday and she's throwing her annual birthday slash Halloween bash to celebrate since the bar is closed for another week for renovations. So… I was thinking you can maybe give Sesshomaru a call and see if he and his friends would like to attend tomorrow night's festivities? Because let's face it, Mai needs a little excitement in her life and I feel like his friend Kouga is the perfect person to give it to her."

"I don't know about that Kirara," Rin said flipping the blanket back as she stood from her bed; slipping her feet in her house shoes. She left her bedroom and headed for the bathroom to brush her teeth. "I mean, what if Mai gets pissed off that we did invite them over for the party when she personally did not extend the invitation herself? I'd rather not face that woman's wrath when she's mad. She can be pretty damn scary, you know this."

"While that is true, I doubt she would cause you any bodily harm; especially if I take the wrap for the idea," Kirara assured her. "So… what do you say? I want to make the party this year fun and what better way to do that than inviting these guys so that they can see us outside of a work setting?"

Rin shrugged as she picked up her toothbrush and toothpaste then turned on the water. "I guess I could give him a call and see if they would be willing to attend. I'm not making any promises and I swear if she does lose her shit, you're on your on with this one. I'll tell her that I was against the idea the entire time but you pressed the issue so I eventually gave in, which I did."

"Okay, okay, I'll take the fall for it, now just brush your teeth and hair then call Sesshomaru and ask if he'd like to come to the party tomorrow with his friends," Kirara said rolling her eyes.

"Sure, I'll text you later and let you know what they said when he answers," Rin said before the FaceTime call was ended and she went about her morning routine.

After brushing her teeth, washing her face and eating a quick breakfast, Rin grabbed her phone once more and dialed Sesshomaru's phone number. Since their first date several months before, they had kept in constant contact; reaching the status of boyfriend and girlfriend. So, she was sure that he would more than likely say yes to coming to the party simply because he didn't want to disappoint her.

When he had answered the phone, she explained everything to him; giving him a few moments to process what was said afterward before he agreed to attend the party and possibly drag his brother and friends along for the night. Rin had thanked him, promising to see him the next day before the call was disconnected. A quick text was shot to Kirara, letting her know that he agreed to go before she threw the phone on her couch and headed back to her bedroom. She needed to get ready since Mai would actually be there within an hour to pick her up for a lunch outing.

…

The Next Day

Rin checked her makeup in the mirror, smoothing the edges of her hair down with the palms of her hands. She had decided to dress up as Minnie Mouse for the party this year, deciding to stick with a cute but still grown costume. She was sure that it would win the best costume competition that Mai held every year at her party; she really wanted that five-hundred-dollar gift card that Mai gave out as a prize every time.

Her phone rang as she was applying her lipstick, Kirara's name flashing on the screen. She pressed the answer button before putting the phone on speaker, "What's up Kir? How close are you?"

"I'm downstairs now," Kirara answered. "Are you ready to go yet?"

"Yep," Rin answered. "I'll be down in like three minutes."

"Alright, see you in a minute," Kirara said before the line went dead.

Turning her attention back to her lipstick, Rin wiped away smudges on the sides of her lips before grabbing her phone and the lipstick tube and leaving the bathroom. Stuffing them in her purse, she grabbed her house keys and shoes before leaving the apartment; locking the door behind her. She slipped on her flats as she made her way to the elevator; pressing the down button to call the shaft to her. When the doors slid opened, she stepped inside and pressed the button for the lobby. She road in silence, pulling her phone out of her purse when she heard the ding of a new text message coming through. She grinned when she read the message from Sesshomaru, replying quickly before the door to the elevator opened and she stepped out.

The raven hair waved to the lobby workers as she passed by; exiting the doors and making her way to the Nissan Murano that was parked in front of the building. Getting into the back-passenger's seat, she grinned at her friends, "Hey Shippo, Kirara and Chiyo. Ready to get going?"

"Yep," Shippo answered as he put the SUV in reverse and backed out of the parking lot; heading in the direction of Mai's home. "Nice costume by the way, Rin. Minnie Mouse fits you."

"Why thank you," she answered.

The entire ride there was spent talking and laughing amongst the four of them, each sharing stories about how slow their week had been since the bar wasn't currently opened. Despite her part time job at the restaurant, Rin had been utterly bored sitting at home when no one was available to do anything with. So, getting out and going to this party was definitely a welcomed change.

"Oh, I meant to ask you," Kirara said turning to look back at her best friend, "Are Sesshomaru and his friends still coming tonight? Because we definitely have to get that Kouga and Mai together. The guy is totally head over heels for her but she keeps shooting him down."

"I checked with him earlier today," Rin answered. "And he assured me that he and his friends would definitely be attending the party tonight. I still don't know if that was a great idea inviting them without Mai's permission but it's done and we can't take it back. It'd be awful rude to tell them they can't come after they had already gotten dressed and come all the way to her house just to celebrate."

"I already told you if she does get angry, I'll take the heat for this one," Kirara said. "Since it was, after all, my idea."

"You're damn right you're taking the heat for this one," Rin grumbled.

"So, relax, you're not the one that's going to have to face her if she does actually get pissed off," Kirara assured her. "Besides, she'll thank us in the long run. She obviously doesn't want to admit it to herself or any of us, but she actually likes that Kouga guy. I saw it the last time they came to the bar before we closed for the renovations. They were actually holding an entire conversation. And you know Mai never does that, especially if it's a man she doesn't know well."

"You're worse than me," Chiyo laughed. "I really can't wait to see how she's going to react when they get there tonight now."

"You do know that, that can translate to you hope I get pummeled by our best friend, right," Kirara retorted, her arms folded over her chest. "You guys suck, you're supposed to be with me on this. Mai needs a boyfriend. She spends way too much time at the bar and not interacting with the opposite sex. Besides, I think she would be a lot happier if she just got laid."

"Oh my Kami, did you really just go there," Shippo asked. "I don't want to hear this crap, Kirara. Not about my friend."

"Well, it is the truth," Chiyo said, causing Rin to roll her eyes.

"Can we change the subject please guys?" the raven hair inquired. "Mai's sex life isn't a topic we should be nosing around in. She really might kick our asses if we did."

"True," Chiyo said before she changed the subject. "So you and Sesshomaru, how's that going? You get him in the bed yet?"

"You are such a pervert, Chiyo," Rin said, turning to look out the window of the SUV.

…

Mai glanced up from her mirror when she heard a knock at the front door. Placing the curling iron she had been holding down, she tightened her robe around her body before making her way out of her bedroom and downstairs to the front door. Pulling it opened, she was greeted by the faces of Rin, Kirara, Shippo and Chiyo all smiling at her.

"Wow, you guys are here early," Mai said as she stepped to the side to allow them to enter. "But I'm glad that you are. Would you mind listening for the caterers while I finish getting ready?"

"Sure thing," Rin offered. "Go get dressed, the others should be arriving sooner rather than later and the hostess can't not be present at her own gathering. We'll handle things here with the caterers, you just worry about getting yourself together."

"Thanks Rin," Mai laughed before she turned and made her way back up the steps; closing her bedroom door when she had entered it.

"Thanks for not blowing the secret," Kirara said when she was sure the raven-haired beauty was out of earshot. "It would have gotten shut down right then."

"I told you I wasn't going to say anything about it," Rin said shrugging. "But again, you're on your own when she actually does find out." She gestured to the kitchen where they could see all the plates and things for the party waiting. "Now, while our fearless leader is getting ready, how about you guys go get everything set up in the back and I'll listen out for everyone else and the caterers?"

"Sounds good to me," Shippo said before he, Kirara and Chiyo walked into the kitchen.

…

Sesshomaru stepped out of his SUV, closing the door behind him as his brother and friends exited as well before following the cobble stone path to the door of the bar owner's mansion. He heard Inuyasha whistle beside him, a single violet eye rolling to look at the younger Taisho.

"I was just thinking about what a nice place Miss Takahashi has here," Inuyasha answered his brother's silent question. "Of course, it's not as big as our houses but you can tell her bar does well."

"From what I was told, they gross in the millions each year," Sesshomaru commented, reaching forward to knock on the front door when they finally reached it. "After paying all of the employee's salaries, food and drink expenses and maintenance not to mention the savings account for the bar, she still brings in about eight million for herself a year."

"That's what you call success," Miroku said as he nudged Kouga, giving him a slight smirk. "Think you might be able to get in the beautiful Mai's good graces tonight and get her to agree to go out on a date with you? This could possibly be your only chance. Because she seems to blow you off when she's working, except that one time you guys were able to sit down and have a conversation a few weeks ago. But that might have been a once in a lifetime thing."

"Shut up Miroku," Kouga grunted just as the door opened to reveal the woman of the hour herself; a shocked look on her face falling into one of irritation when she saw them standing there. He knew that look, someone's head was going to roll by the end of the night. "Ah fuck."

"This was certainly unexpected," Mai said, leaning back as she folded her arms across her chest. "Let me guess, one of the girls put Rin up to asking you all to come here?"

"I would assume so," Sesshomaru answered. Even he was visibly shaken by the irate woman that stood there. "She called and asked if we would be able to come per Kirara's request."

"I see," the woman said with a nod before she smiled, stepping to the side. "Well, in any case, you've all traveled all the way here and it would be quite rude of me to turn you away after you've gone so far. So, please, come in and enjoy the festivities. As they always say, the more the merrier."

Each man nodded before they cautiously walked into the home and made their way to the backyard where the party was taking place; Mai following behind them. Sesshomaru was slightly afraid that she would kill his girlfriend for inviting them… but then again give the long years of friendship they had behind them, he was certain she would let her live.

"Look who decided to come out and party with us this year guys," Mai announced as her heeled feet crossed the threshold into the backyard again. The look she shot in Rin and Kirara's direction let them know they were definitely in trouble. "Courtesy of my dear friends Kirara and Rin, Sesshomaru and company have joined us for the night. So, let's get this party started hm?"

There was a resounding vocalization of approval; though two very shaken women were trying their hardest to make themselves unnoticeable to their best friend.

Hello my lovelies. Did you miss me?