Chapter XI

Rin yawned and stretched as she stepped out of her bed the next day. It was a strange feeling not to be rushing around preparing for work, but the change was not unwelcome. After going through her usual morning routine at a slower pace than usual, Rin sat down in her living room as she debated what to do with her free time that day. Sesshoumaru was working for the final time before the wedding that would take place the next day, which left Rin with time to relax before the big day finally arrived. As she slumped down in her seat with a sigh of contentment, she caught sight of the envelope she had left behind on the table the night before and she frowned slightly. Remembering that she had not been pleased by the envelope's contents the night before, she was loath to pick it up again in case what she saw had not been part of her imagination or one of her dreams.

Eventually, she gathered her courage and reached for the envelope, sliding out the wad of papers she had looked at the night before. Much to her dismay, the contents of the papers was the same as it had been the day before. Sighing to herself, she slowly read through the papers and then looked up as she took a deep breath once she had read the very last line. None of what was written made much sense to her but one name did stand out and caught her attention immediately as though it was written in enormous bold letters on the page in her hand. Kazuo Nakamura. Just reading the name caused her heartstrings to twinge as floods of memories came back to her. Rin had spent a long time carefully making sure that memories of her brother were hidden far below the surface of her mind where they would not rise unbidden, but this letter had undone all her hard work with just the simple mention of his name.

Why was she suddenly being contacted by what looked like an authority of some sort? She couldn't for the life of her understand why anyone would contact her now about her brother when he had died two and a half years previously. Anyone who had even the vaguest connection to her small family had known of his death even though she had no idea how the news had spread and Rin doubted that only one person would be left out of the loop. Still, why was her brother's name suddenly being brought up when it brought so much grief for her to remember the events before and after his death? To make matters worse, this had to come on the day before her wedding day. She wasn't marrying the love of her life, but the fact remained that she was getting married and this letter and all it stood for could probably ruin everything she had worked so hard to achieve.

Just as she was trying to understand why she was suddenly sent the letter, the phone that sat on the table beside her chair rang loudly and shattered the silence. Turning slightly in her seat, Rin looked down at it and wondered who could be calling her so early in the morning. Izayoi and Kagome had told her to relax today and promised not to contact her unless there was an emergency, so Rin doubted it would be them. There would be no one else who would call her since her other friends were working. Frowning at the phone, she tried very hard to quash the apprehension that began to grow within her. Reaching for it, she cleared her throat just before picking it up and prayed her fears were unfounded.

"Hello?" she asked cautiously.

"Miss Nakamura?" an emotionless feminine voice queried.

"Yes, who is this?"

"I'm Chiyo Fukui from the Social Services. Are you available to talk?"

"Yes, I am. What did you need to speak to me about?"

"Might I suggest we discuss this in person? I don't believe it is appropriate to discuss this over the telephone."

Rin froze and took a deep breath as she recovered from the slight shock those words had given her. "Of course."

"Are you at home today?"

"Yes."

"I will visit you in an hour's time to discuss this matter."

"Alright…"

"Good bye."

Rin was left staring at the phone in her hand and listening to the monotonous beep that signalled a dead line. Frowning slightly, she replaced the phone in its cradle and sat back to stare from the phone to the letter that sat on the table. She instinctively knew this was something serious, but she couldn't find any reason why the Social Services would be calling her. Sighing, she rubbed her eyes and replaced her glasses as she wondered what she should do next. She didn't want to face this woman alone, but she didn't really know who to call. Izayoi and Kagome would be busy and just about everyone else was working which left her alone to face the frightening woman from the Social Services. The thought terrified her. Without pausing to rethink her actions, she reached for the phone and dialled a number she had now memorised.

A gruff male voice answered after a couple of rings. "Yes?"

"It's Rin," she said hesitantly.

"Rin? What's the matter?"

"I'm so sorry to bother you at work, Sesshoumaru."

"That doesn't matter. Is something wrong?"

"I don't know," Rin admitted. "I think there might be."

"That doesn't make sense, Rin," Sesshoumaru replied.

"I don't understand what's going on. A woman from the Social Services is coming to see me in an hour and I don't know why!"

"She didn't say what the reason for her visit was?"

"No. She just said that it wasn't appropriate to discuss the matter over the phone."

"Where is she meeting you?"

"At my house."

"I'll be there shortly."

For the second time that day, Rin found herself staring at the phone in confusion. She hadn't really expected Sesshoumaru to come to the house although she wasn't going to complain about it. At least she wasn't going to have to face the woman alone and that was one weight off her mind. Still, she wondered how Sesshoumaru could just up and leave the restaurant in the middle of the day, but since he was the owner, she supposed he was able to do such things. All she had to do now was wait for him to arrive and pray it was before the other woman did.

*-*-*-*-*

Just as he said, Sesshoumaru arrived a short while before the woman from the Social Services. After questioning Rin and reading through the letter she showed him, he decided that he had no idea what was going on either and promised to stay with Rin until the meeting was over. He knew that Rin would probably panic if left alone and considering the wedding was the next day, he wanted to avoid that at all costs. Sitting quietly on the sofa, he watched as she sprang to her feet and hurried to the door when there was a knock a short while after his arrival. Rising to his feet, he nodded politely to the woman who entered the room behind Rin and took his seat again; silently overjoyed that Rin sat beside him.

"Who is this gentleman?" Chiyo asked in a clipped tone.

"I am Rin's fiancée," Sesshoumaru answered. "What is this about?"

The woman sighed and shifted in her seat slightly. "Firstly, I would like to apologise for bringing up this subject, but it is a matter of grave importance."

"Please don't worry about that now," Rin said politely.

"Since you are Mr. Nakamura's sister, I assume you knew about his relationship with Megumi Shimizu, so we'll move right along…"

"I'm sorry?" Rin interrupted with a gasp. "What relationship was this?"

"You didn't know?" the woman as in surprise.

"I had no idea he had any kind of relationship with anyone other than the suppliers of his drugs."

"I see. Well the rest of this conversation will come as quite a surprise then."

"What does this relationship have to do with her brother?" Sesshoumaru asked, interrupting and wanting to get to the point.

"Mr. Nakamura had been in a long term relationship with Ms. Shimizu for quite some time according to our sources although I cannot think why you did not know of this."
"I may have met her," Rin said thoughtfully. "I didn't really pay much attention to all the women that came and went from the apartment I shared with him though."

"Regardless," Chiyo continued as though Rin had not spoken. "At the time of Mr. Nakamura's death, Ms. Shimizu was two weeks pregnant. She apparently didn't know how to contact you to tell you about this which is possibly why you didn't know about their relationship."

"Was the child Kazuo's?" Rin asked, a growing sense of apprehension once again building within her.

"Yes, that has been confirmed. Were he still alive, your brother would be the proud father to two healthy children."

"Twins?!"

"Indeed. That is what I have come to talk to you about."

"You've come to tell me that I am an aunt?" Rin asked, frowning at the other woman. "No, I have come to tell you that both those children have been taken into care by the Social Services."

"Why?" Sesshoumaru asked when Rin simply stared in shock at Chiyo.

"We heard reports of Ms. Shimizu began drinking shortly after the birth of the twins and we have confirmed those reports to be true."

"What does this have to do with me?" Rin asked with a frown.

"Ms. Shimizu's family apparently did not approve of the relationship and want nothing to do with the children so we must turn to you as the only surviving relative that is known to us. We are asking that you take in the children otherwise they will be sent to an orphanage to await adoption."

The shock of that statement hit Rin like a tonne of bricks and she could do nothing but stare. Beside her, Sesshoumaru was just as surprised, but he didn't show it as obviously as Rin did. This woman wanted Rin to look after these two children and provide them with a home? That meant that the quiet life they had been carefully planning would be shattered. They would have to look after the children as though they were their own and that idea didn't sit well with him.

"You want me to act as their mother?" Rin asked in confusion.

"No. We are only asking that you act as their legal guardian until they are old enough to care for themselves."

"I see. This is very sudden, are you expecting an immediate response? This does not involve only me," Rin explained as she glanced at Sesshoumaru.

"Oh no," the other woman reassured her. "I am aware of how sudden this is and I am also aware that you are getting married tomorrow. As a result, I will give you one week to decide what to do. If I don't hear anything from you or receive a negative response, the children will go into care. You may contact me on this number when you have made your decision."

After leaving a card on the table beside the letter, the woman rose to her feet and left the house. The pair who remained in the living room eyed the card on the table as though they expected it to explode. Eventually, Rin broke the silence as she sat back and sighed softly, pulling off her glasses to rub her eyes as she thought over the situation. It was a surreal situation. She had always known that her brother enjoyed the company of women and she had frequently seen them coming and going from the apartment, but she paid no mind. It seemed that at some point, Megumi Shimizu had snuck into her brother's life and had somehow become a permanent fixture, but Rin would never know how the woman managed to accomplish such a feat. Still, how she had done it made little difference now. She had been declared an unfit mother and her children taken away to be hopefully raised by their aunt. The very thought that she had been an aunt for quite some time and hadn't known about it made Rin's head spin slightly. It was such a strange thought.

"What do we do?" Rin asked as she put her glasses back on and looked seriously at Sesshoumaru. "These children may be part of my family, but it is not a decision I can make alone."

"What would you do if we were not marrying?" Sesshoumaru asked curiously.

"I'd take them in," she answered instantly. "I don't want them to go into care, but like I said, this isn't something I can decide alone."

"It's strange to think that we agreed not to even consider children until we had been married at least a year and yet we're faced with the prospect of raising two before we've even reached the altar."

"It is strange."

"It's a big responsibility looking after children, especially after they've been taken from their mother," Sesshoumaru mused.

"It is a very big responsibility," Rin agreed, thinking over the situation.

"Although it might be a big responsibility, I can't think of a better person to look after those children than you."

"Me? Why?"

"You've lost your parents, haven't you? They may be young, but they must feel lost in much the same way you did when you lost yours."

"That's true. If we take the children in though, it'll ruin the plans we made."

"We can adjust the plans."

"You realise that you will be their uncle?"

"Indeed."

"You're still willing to do this?"

"I think it would be better for those children in the long run to be raised by someone related to them rather than a complete stranger."

Rin smiled happily at him and leaned over to peck his cheek gently to show her gratitude. Sesshoumaru had to fight the blush that threatened to creep over his pale features as a result of that simple gesture and shifted in his seat as though unable to get comfortable while Rin looked on with mild amusement. It was true that their plans had been upset, but this was definitely the first step he could take to showing Rin that he could be an attentive and caring husband since he knew that he probably didn't give off that impression. Their marriage was one of convenience, but he still wanted to make their life as easy as possible and he was certain Rin felt the same way. There was no point in making things awkward between them when they would be vowing to spend the rest of their lives together the very next day. The smile on Rin's face as she heard his decision had made his heart leap because of her sheer beauty and he had confirmed to himself that he had made the right decision by saying what he did. Tomorrow they would marry and then shortly after that they would have two children to add to their small family. Only time would tell if the decision they had just made was for better or for worse, but Sesshoumaru could only hope that it was for the better.