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Sesshoumaru carefully planned how he would approach Rin. He had managed to steer clear of her since the day they had woke up in Sango and Miroku's apartment which wasn't quite as difficult as he had thought it would be. Rin had been so preoccupied with her exams and worrying about the results that no matter how much he wanted to tell her his confusing thoughts and what he had finally decided, Sesshoumaru knew that he should wait until the stress of the exam period had ended.

None of the group had seen Rin for the weeks during her exams and she shut herself away from the world in her bedroom as she worried over the results. Everyone became more than a little worried about her behaviour, but none of them could convince her to do come out of the house. It was a struggle enough to get her to come downstairs to eat, so getting her to go outside was almost impossible. However, one day changed her and she soon returned to her old self.

It was a typical day for Rin. She wandered downstairs for breakfast and started slightly to find Her father and brother sitting at the breakfast table with Kazuki and Suzume. They all looked up when Rin walked in still dressed in her pyjamas and still half asleep. Frowning, she mumbled something intelligible as she stumbled over to the counter on the far side of the room to pour herself some coffee. Shou chuckled and got to his feet, walking over to his daughter and wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"Sit down, Rin," he said with a smile as he guided her over to sit in his vacated seat. "There's something you three need to be told."
"Three?" Aoi asked, running his hands through his hair as he leaned back in his seat and looked up at his father.

"Yes, you three," Shou repeated with a smile, glancing at Suzume who smiled back as she got to her feet to get a fresh pot of tea for the group.

Rin sighed and looked at her father with sleepy eyes. "Can this not wait until I'm more awake?"

"No. You're awake enough to hear this."
"Get on with it then, old man," Aoi said, teasing his father good-naturedly.

"It has been most unfortunate that I have been unable to spend as much time with my children as I should have liked," Shou said carefully, sitting beside Rin and looking between his children. "I'd far rather have stayed here, made sure that Aoi was safe from those thugs he spent his time with and looked after Rin. Unfortunately, your mother wouldn't have it. She wanted to make a fortune so that we could move here and send Rin to that fancy school."
"Is this going somewhere?" Rin asked, sipping her coffee as she looked at her father over her cup. "We all know why you went abroad with Mother and we all know why she wanted to go."

"The point is that I had lost my son to some thugs and didn't know if I'd see him again. I didn't know if he'd be in one piece the next time I saw him or if I'd get the call I'd been dreading from Suzume. I had to leave my daughter in the care of my friend and my son's friend. It was torture."

Rin raised an eyebrow as she watched her father cross the room to pour himself a cup of coffee. She had never heard how her father had felt about leaving her behind, but now that she had the chance to hear the story, she suddenly didn't want to. There had always been a nagging thought in the back of her mind that wondered if she had done something wrong. Had she done something to her parents to make them leave her behind? She had had a choice. She could have gone with them, but somehow she knew that it would have been better to stay. Sighing, she sat back in her chair and waited for her father to continue.

Shou coughed uncomfortably and looked at his audience. "Well, putting the dramatic bits aside, what I was going to say was that I've had words with Suzume about how things have been going since I left."
"And?" Aoi asked.

"I'm very pleased with how well Kazuki has looked after my little girl. So I did a bit of research."
"Into what?" Kazuki asked, narrowing his eyes slightly as he looked at the older man.

"Into your family, my boy. I realise that you are an orphan. Your parents died when you were very young, am I right?"

Kazuki nodded stiffly, frowning. "What of it?"
"You have been such a good role model for my daughter in the absence of her brother. I know you're probably a little too old to bother with such things, but if you don't mind, I would like to adopt you as my son," Shou said before an uncertain look crossed his face and he looked down at his empty coffee cup.

Aoi choked on his drink as he stared at his father in surprise while Rin could only look between the two men and wonder what would happen next. Glancing at Kazuki, she noticed that he had become pale with what she assumed was shock. Being able to officially call him her brother would be nice. She had always thought of him as one and this would simply be the icing on the cake so to speak.

"Are you serious?" Kazuki asked at length.

"Of course. Do you think this is really a subject to joke about?" Shou replied, raising an eyebrow.

"Have you discussed this with Aoi and Rin? Don't you think they should have a say in this as well?"
"Do you think we'd object to this idea?" Aoi asked, frowning at his friend.
"I've thought of you as a brother from the very beginning," Rin said with a shrug. "This would simply make it true."

Kazuki smiled slightly as he turned back to Shou. "I'd be very happy to accept your offer."

Shou grinned and clapped him on the shoulder before saying something about making some calls to make it official. Once Shou and Suzume had left the room, Rin leapt out of her chair and hurried over to wrap her arms around Kazuki.

"Welcome to the family," Aoi said with a grin as he approached the pair. "'Bout time you joined the family. You're practically part of it anyway, but it's good to make it official."

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In the days following the arrival of Rin's new brother, she had decided that it was probably for the best if she didn't stay indoors until she got her results. On the day she finally decided to go out, a letter came telling her that she would be able to collect her results from the school the next day. Buzzing with excitement, she had hardly slept a wink that night and when the day dawned she began to feel anxiety set in again. She had rejected her brothers' offers to go to the school with her and even given her father's offer a flat refusal. She wanted to know her results first.

Feeling more than a little anxious about the news, Rin approached the main school building and began to wish she hadn't refused the offers she had received before leaving home. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and started to step forward when a hand landed on her shoulder. Her eyes snapped open wide and she turned in surprise to find Sesshoumaru standing behind her with a slightly amused look in his eyes.

"You might be nervous, but it would be wise to open your eyes before stepping forward," he said quietly, traces of amusement evident in his deep voice.

Rin blushed but giggled. "I'll remember that."

"Are you alone?"
"Yes. I wish I hadn't told my brothers and father that I didn't want them to come now," she said, glancing down at the ground as she thought it over.

Sesshoumaru looked at her thoughtfully for a moment before placing a hand on her shoulder and giving her a gentle push towards the building. She looked up at him in surprise as he guided her through the crowds to the door. When they stepped inside, Rin felt her anxiety creeping back and stepped backwards as she looked around nervously. A single table stood in the middle of the usually crowded room and three teachers stood behind it with several boxes in front of them containing envelopes. Sensing her anxiety, Sesshoumaru put his hand on the small of her back and pushed her forward towards the table. The teachers looked up questioningly when the pair approached and instantly recognised both students even though one had not been at the high school for a couple of years.

"Miss Nakamura!" one of the teachers said happily. "I thought you would have been first in line to get your results."

"I-I think I'd rather not know," Rin admitted quietly.

"Nonsense!" the teacher said cheerfully and flipped through the envelopes in the boxes in front of him before pulling one out and handing it to her. "You were predicted very good grades, I see no reason why you should be anxious."

Rin nodded silently as she accepted the envelope with a shaking hand and let Sesshoumaru lead her back outside. There was hardly anyone around and they easily found a secluded space for Rin to open her envelope. Sesshoumaru watched silently as she struggled briefly with the seal on the envelope before pulling out the couple of sheets of paper inside it. She closed her eyes as she turned the paper over and her eyes grew wide as she took in the information.

"Good news?" Sesshoumaru asked, hiding his smile as she watched Rin stare in disbelief at the paper.

"I-I passed them all," Rin murmured, looking up from the paper with a stunned look. "All of them."
"Well done," he said, smiling briefly as he reached out to ruffle her hair. "You know what this means, don't you?"
"I can go to university," she replied, her tone implying that she hadn't quite come to terms with this information yet.

They stood in silence for a short while before Rin carefully put the paper back into the envelope and looked at Sesshoumaru with a happy smile. Before he could ask her anything further, she had reached up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she giggled happily. Surprised by this bold move made by the usually shy Rin, he was a bit slow to respond but as soon as his wits returned to him, he wrapped his arms around her waist and held her close. Rin didn't seem to have noticed that her move was definitely out of the ordinary for her and was simply content to giggle quietly to herself as she felt waves of relief wash over her.

While Rin sighed in relief, Sesshoumaru was slightly stunned as he stood quietly. He hadn't been this close to her, not while they were both awake anyway. Her giggles caused her to shake slightly and when she eventually regained control of herself, she leaned back slightly and looked up at him with a smile. Her hands rested on his arms and she seemed unconcerned by their proximity for a moment before she seemed to realise just what she had done and she blushed prettily but she didn't step away.

"Sorry about that," she apologised quietly, lowering her gaze to the zipper on Sesshoumaru's jacket.

Sesshoumaru didn't know what to say in response to her apology. He shook his head slightly and decided that today was the day he would tell her everything, but not in front of the school where anyone could listen and watch. He dropped his hands from where they sat on her hips and gave her a very brief reassuring smile when she looked up questioningly. Instead of letting go of her completely, he took her hand in his and led her to the gates and down the street. A short while later the pair were seated in a quiet corner of the local park with warm drinks in their hands as they observed the people around them.

"Do you come here often?" Rin asked, looking at Sesshoumaru as she leaned back against the bench.

He shook his head. "Not anymore. I don't get any peace when I come here alone."
"So what are we doing here?"
"There is something I think we need to discuss," Sesshoumaru said slowly, looking out across the park before glancing at Rin briefly. "I was intending to wait, but now seems a good time."

"What do we need to discuss?" Rin asked, looking confused as she moved closer to him and looked at him curiously.

They sat in silence for a short while as Sesshoumaru tried to decide how to say what he was thinking. When he couldn't find a suitable way to voice his thoughts, he turned slightly and looked at her thoughtfully for a moment. She seemed to radiate innocence and as she looked up at him with a questioning look on her face, he found a way to voice his thoughts. Moving swiftly, Sesshoumaru turned fully in his seat to face her and paused very briefly as her curious expression turned to one of surprise. Without giving it any more thought, he slid an arm along the back of the bench and gently cupped her face with his other hand as he leaned towards her. Rin's eyes widened in surprise but she said nothing as he leaned towards her and gently took her lips with his own.

Rin stiffened at the sudden contact. She wasn't sure quite what to think and her thoughts rushed through her mind far too fast for her to focus on just one. Even though she wasn't sure just how she was supposed to react to Sesshoumaru's kiss, Rin felt herself relaxing and leaning towards him slightly as his fingers curled around the back of her neck. A shiver of excitement ran down her spine and she hesitantly lifted a hand before fully thinking through what she intended to do with it. After a moment, she let her hand drop as she leaned towards him and shyly responded to his kiss. Sesshoumaru smirked into the kiss and pulled back a moment later to look at the blushing teenager in front of him. Rin lowered her gaze to her hands on her lap, suddenly unsure of her relationship with the older man beside her but she got no chance to consider their relationship before she felt his hand tilting her chin upwards to meet her gaze with his own piercing amber eyes.

"I've been warned you may be a novice in this area," Sesshoumaru said slowly in a voice that was quieter than usual. "But I think you're wise enough to know what I'm trying to say even if I don't use words."

Rin blushed again and tried to look away without success. "The warnings were correct."
"I don't care if they're accurate or not," he said firmly, still holding her gaze.

"Are you sure?" Rin asked doubtfully, giving him a vague and uncertain smile. "I am a total novice and something of a prude, you know."

Raising an eyebrow, Sesshoumaru leaned towards her and took her lips in a brief but intense kiss before pulling away from her slightly. "I'm sure we can cure you of both given time."

"Really?" she asked, blushing bright red at the obvious suggestion in his words.

"Of course. You simply have to be willing to learn."

As she looked at Sesshoumaru, Rin knew that there was no way she could deny this man his wants and desires. She couldn't do so as a friend and she doubted she could do so as a lover. He would always be able to have his way with her, it was just something that she instinctively knew. A smile curved her lips as she looked at him and found him watching her intently. She blew a lock of hair out of her face and pulled out of his arms as she rose to her feet. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her as she spun on the spot to give him a cheerful smile.

"As long as you don't mind a slow pace," she said quietly, leaning towards him until their noses almost touched. "I'm a very willing student."

Smirking at the appearance of her playful nature, Sesshoumaru rose to his feet and took her in his arms again. Sighing, Rin allowed herself to relax against him as she began to get used to the feeling of being held by a man. Leaning back slightly, she looked up at him and smiled happily before he took her lips again. Rin couldn't be happier as she took two steps into a new phase of her life. She knew she could count on everyone to help her settle into her university lifestyle, but she was counting solely on Sesshoumaru to help her adjust to being in a relationship. It was very exciting and she couldn't wait to get started.