Chapter 10: Chatterbox
School eventually let out and all the students of Shikon high had long gone home. And there, Sesshomaru was standing in front of the Akiyama household or so he had hoped. He had gone to a different house next and was informed by the neighbor they didn't have any children, so he figured the house with the bright red door had to be her's. This was the day he and Rin would officially begin their project. He held a small box of supplies that he was instructed to bring as his part of the contribution.
He had to admit, making the suggestion to continue their project at one of their houses had been a good idea. It would keep his girlfriend's nosey friend' out of his business. With his free hand, he raised it to the door and knocked. There was a long pause before he could hear footsteps from the other side. He heard the locks' being undone until the door was finally opened, revealing a red-haired child with freckles.
The older boy cleared his throat. "Um, does Rin live here?"
The little boy smirked, crossing his arms. "Who wants to know?"
Sesshomaru grimaced in annoyance. He just loathed children and their immature antics.
"I guess I have the wrong house," Sesshomaru stated, turning to leave.
The little boy spoke up. "I might know where you can find her, but it'll cost ya." He held out his hand, clearly expecting a monetary gain from this.
From out a nowhere a female's voice interrupted the pairs' conversation.
"Shippo, who's at the door?"
The door was held open wider to reveal Rin. She changed into her after school clothes which consisted of a pair of shorts and t-shirt that had a band's logo spread across it. She took note of the guest at their door.
"Sesshomaru, you're here!" She took notice of the box he carried in his arm. "And you brought your supplies."
Sesshomaru grunted in response, wondering how long he would be standing there.
Rin looked down at her younger sibling. "Don't you have some homework to do?"
Shippo crossed his arms and replied smugly, "I already did it."
"Then go do your chores; it's laundry day," Rin tried again.
The little red-haired boy smirked once again. "Everything's been fluffed and folded."
Rin frowned, grinding her teeth. She was tired of this back and forth with the precocious boy. "Mom! Dad! Shippo won't leave me alone!" she called, trying to get either one of her parents' attention.
Shippo scowled but then changed his attitude when he heard his mother from somewhere in the house yell that he would lose his favorite privileges if he didn't leave his big sister alone. Shippo stalked away without a word. He knew when he had been beaten.
Rin looked back at Sesshomaru apologetically. "Brothers."
Sesshomaru furrowed his brows. "I know all too well."
She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, something she would do out of embarrassment. She stepped aside to allow Sesshomaru to enter the home.
"We can get set up in the kitchen," Rin stated, leading the silver-haired boy to the large kitchen.
Sesshomaru took note of the family's stainless steel kitchenware that hung on a ceiling rack above the large island that nestled in the space of the kitchen. The countertops were marble and the paint of the cabinets and cupboards were a pristine white. The entire setting had a very modern feel.
"Nice place," Sesshomaru observed.
Rin was a bit taken by surprise at the comment, but nonetheless thanked him. She noticed that Sesshomaru was a boy of very few words. Or was it just her that he was so curt with? Even their text conversations were short, sweet and to the point. But still, Rin couldn't help but think there had to be more to Sesshomaru's stoic personality than what he let on. What was he like around his family? His friends? Sesshomaru noticed her quiet demeanor and cleared his throat, trying to gain her attention. Rin immediately snapped from her stupor.
"Um, so let's get started," she said, gesturing for him to take a seat at the island.
Sesshomaru did as instructed. He watched as Rin gathered her half of the supplies, combining the materials together into one big pile. She counted and re-counted to make sure they had what they needed. Sesshomaru only looked on with a bored expression, his chin resting on the palm of his hand.
"Have you ever even done this before?" he questioned. He wasn't sure why he doubted her intelligence, seeing as how she was chosen to be his partner. She obviously knew something.
Rin began organizing the materials and replied, "No, but I did print out the instructions." She held up a piece of paper.
Sesshomaru grimaced. He found himself suddenly retracting the thought of the girl's intelligence.
The two soon found themselves settled into an awkward silence as Rin fumbled with starting the base of the volcano which was to cut a piece of cardboard out in the shape of a square. Next, she used some white glue and stuck the bottom of an empty water bottle to the base. It was pretty easy following the simple instructions, but Rin noticed she was the only one partaking in the initial construction. Sesshomaru just sat there, drumming his fingers on the countertop.
"Um do you think you could help?" she innocently asked. Rin wasn't quite sure why she felt the need to ask him to participate in their project, knowing full well Prom could be ripped away from Sesshomaru.
"Hmm, I think you've got this," Sesshomaru retorted.
Rin gave him a glare.
The silver haired boy sighed heavily. He was definitely testing his limits and this girl surely was not backing down to him. Sesshomaru resolved himself a long time ago to finally settle into this newfound partnership so he could get his easy A. Their project was due next week, so he just had to endure a few more days. He also had to admit that he did enjoy pushing her buttons. He could never do that with Kikyo.
"I was just joking," Sesshomaru replied, which was in part half true. "What do you want me to do?"
Rin glanced down at the directions. "You can start mixing the white glue and water together in that bowl," she said gesturing to the small object closest to him. "And then you can rip up some newspaper, about an inch wide."
"Man, you're bossy," Sesshomaru stated.
The teenage girl's mouth fell agape at the comment. "Bossy? I'm not bossy. I'm trying to help us get an A."
Sesshomaru put up his hands in mock surrender. "Geez, calm down. I was joking again." Then he slightly chuckled. "You may not be bossy, but you're damn sure uptight."
A pout spread across Rin's face. Her friends had said something to the same effect to her just a few days. Sango and Jakotsu, she knew her whole life, but Sesshomaru was still almost a stranger. Was she really that transparent? Nevertheless, Rin was quite surprised that Sesshomaru was actually opening up to the conversation. She figured that he would be cold and unresponsive. She kind of liked this talkative side of him. It didn't always seem like she was trying to talk to a brick wall like in the beginning. Before, in the first few days of their partnership Sesshomaru barely said so much as a peep, but as the time waned on he became less resistant. He still seemed to be lazy, but Rin saw that he was coming around.
"So how's that mixture coming along?" Rin asked.
Sesshomaru suddenly looked down and noticed he was still absent-mindedly stirring. "I think it's ready."
"Great," Rin replied. She then began to scrunch up sheets of newspaper, and then dip in it in the mixture, applying the wet paper around the base of the bottle and cardboard.
They soon fell into another awkward silence. Wanting to see just how much work Sesshomaru was actually willing to do, Rin pretended to be interested in reading the packaging on a box of crackers that was left on the island. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw Sesshomaru laying down the strips of newspaper on top of the foundation she already laid down. Maybe he was serious about going to Prom after all.
"So are you new at school or something?" Sesshomaru suddenly asked.
Rin blinked, not sure where that random question came from.
Sesshomaru shrugged. "I mean I've never really seen you around. Did you just move into the neighborhood?"
Rin had to bite her lip to hold back a laugh that was threatening to come out. Did he really just ask her that? After being neighbors for three years and sharing the same science class all year long, she would have thought that created some familiarity, but to someone like Sesshomaru Taisho he was obviously more into himself.
Clearing her throat, she responded, "Um, no I've lived in this house since middle school. And I sit in front of you in science." You would know if you didn't ditch so much. She thought that last part to herself.
Sesshomaru gave her a bewildered look, but then figured she was probably right. He couldn't count how many times he skipped his science class on a regular basis let alone school on certain occasions so it was no wonder he probably hadn't see her around.
Some time had continued to pass and the construction of the volcano was finally complete. The instructions advised that it would take 24 hours for the wet newspaper to fully draw before they could start to paint it. Rin started to clean up the minor mess that they had made while Sesshomaru gathered his belongings.
"So when do you want to come back and start painting?" Rin asked.
The silver haired boy shrugged. "I've got stuff to do this weekend."
Rin rolled her eyes. That was fine with her, because she also had plans herself. "Well how about after the weekend, then?"
Sesshomaru once again shrugged as he started tapping away on his phone. "Fine I guess." He frowned down at his phone. Kikyo had been blowing him up. "Look, I gotta go. See ya around."
And with that he was out the door. Rin threw away the last little bit of trash with a triumphant smirk on her face. This was a lot easier than she thought.
A/N: So I'm trying to create up some build up for Rin and Sesshomaru's future relationship which I hope will be written in the next few chapters. I just don't want their relationship to come out of nowhere. There will be another chapter where Rin and Sesshomaru have another interaction before they officially become an item so stay tuned.