Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Inuyasha and I don't make any money or anything from this story.

-So I do like to add little scenes that you might recognize from the anime :) I won't do it too much, but you'll notice the parts I do add them into ^-^ Also, just so I don't confuse anyone, the beginning starts off as a dream. ~~Time skip-1 week later :)

"If I had a single flower for every time I think about you, I could walk forever in my garden."

~Claudia Ghandi

o~O~o

"Rin"

"My name is Rin Yamamoto"

"My birthday is tomorrow"

"I'm gonna be ten!"

"Mr. Sesshomaru"

"Um, I was wondering Mr. Sesshomaru"

"If...if I were to go away forever, would you always remember me?"

Sesshomaru sat up abruptly in his bed, his breathing quickened slightly while drops of sweat rolled down his forehead. After taking in his surroundings, he laid back down and groaned, rubbing his eyes with the back of his clawed hands.

Why couldn't he go a day without thinking about her? It had been nine years now since he'd seen her and still he thought of her almost constantly; wondered where she could be or if she was ok.

When Inuyasha first told him that she had been adopted and the police would not give them information pertaining to where she was, he had walked out of the office with every intention to kill anyone and everyone on the police force. It had took both his half brother and father to hold him back.

At some point, he had calmed down enough to be slightly relieved at the fact that she wasn't kidnapped. But then why hadn't she told him she was to be adopted? Did she not know? Was she still in Shinjuku? Did they force her to go with them? What if the people that adopted her treated her badly?

Kami, how he wanted to kill the woman at the foster home.

Looking to the right where his wooden dresser was, he stared at the wrapped box that had gathered dust over the years.

Why had he kept it?

He sat up, taking comfort in the silence of his home. He lived in a penthouse, located on the highest floor of the rather luxurious apartment. Perhaps it was too big for only himself to live in, but he didn't care. It was not as if he, Sesshomaru, was or could ever be lonely.

'Absurd'

He got up after glancing at the clock. He had to get ready for work.

o~O~o

Sesshomaru walked through the doors of the building, pointedly ignoring everyone he passed as he made his way toward his office.

"Milord!"

"What is it Jaken?" he asked, annoyance clear in his voice. He was not in the mood to listen to the imps' pointless squawking.

Jaken looked up eagerly. "Your father is in a meeting with that Naraku fellow." He said it as if he had discovered something amazing and couldn't wait to tell someone.

"Your point is?"

"Huh?" he nervously took a step back and looked down, fiddling with his little green fingers. "My point, yes, what was my point?"

Sesshomaru walked away, ignoring the heated look he was getting from the secretary Kagura. That woman really needed to either get herself a boyfriend or focus her un-welcomed heated looks on someone else.

Jaken followed, always eager to be by his lords side. However he was unable to do so because when his lord walked into his office, the door was closed on Jaken's face.

He sighed, looking down at his tiny shoes. 'Lord Sesshomaru is still upset'

When Rin first went missing, it was understandable that Lord Sesshomaru would be angry and worried. Jaken had noticed how his lord had grown attached to the child. However, when they had found out that she had been adopted, Jaken had thought perhaps Sesshomaru would be relieved and somewhat glad. But as days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months, and months turned into years, his lord had become even more frightening than he used to be.

Instead of being lenient with his employees when they made a mistake -no matter how small- he automatically fired them. Though some of the more...unfortunate employees had the displeasure of learning how violent their boss was. Even Inuyasha knew not to mess with his half brother anymore. The half demon wisely stayed away from his half brother.

"Where are you, foolish girl" he whispered.

o~O~o

Sesshomaru leaned back in his chair, staring at the clock on the wall.

5:51 p.m.

He had finished his work quite early today, so he stood, getting ready to leave the confines of his office.

"Inuyasha! Would you hurry up already?"

"Miroku, let's go."

Sesshomaru sat back down on his chair, deciding to wait until Inuyasha and his friends left. He didn't want any of them to even attempt to talk to him. He truly hated having his office next to Inuyasha's. He often thought his father put their offices next to each other purposely.

"Feh" he heard Inuyasha say. "We didn't ask you guys to come here."

"Yeah well if I waited for you to come home, you'd probably stop somewhere to eat ramen even though you promised Shippo we'd all eat dinner together today"

"Where is he anyway?"

He heard his half brothers' mate sigh before answering. "He's at my mom's. I asked her to watch him while I came to get you. I don't have to work today and I'd like to have a dinner together"

Inuyasha growled, "I don't like you working there. All those damn guys getting drunk around you.."

"I'm not quite fond of that job either Sango" Miroku said.

"We're fine, besides, our boss hired a few new people to help around the place. So me and Sango don't really have to stay that long." She tried to reason with Inuyasha, but she had to agree with him. She didn't like working there and planned on quitting soon. She also wanted to spend more time with Shippo.

Sesshomaru looked at the clock once more. It read '6:00' now and he was growing impatient.

"Yeah" Sango said "Have you met the new bartender Kagome? He's so shy and nice, I'm surprised he's working there. And that girl, she's really nice too. What was her name? Rin?"

That immediately got Sesshomaru's attention. Did he hear her correctly? Did she really say the one name that was on his mind almost constantly?

'Rin'

Was it the same person? The child he met nine years ago?

He stood and walked toward the door, pulling it open quickly. All conversation stopped as he stalked toward the woman. They all watched him warily. He had been so distant to everyone, so it was odd that he was walking toward them.

"You." He fixed Sango with a piercing stare. "You mentioned a girl. Her name was Rin?"

Sango looked at her husband nervously and then back at Sesshomaru. Had she said something wrong? "Yes, I...believe that was her name"

His eyes narrowed as he took a threatening step toward her. Miroku and Inuyasha took a step toward him, not sure what was going on, but not wanting any harm to come to Sango.

"Are you sure" he said, growling.

"I think..." Sango said, growing even more nervous under his piercing stare. "I'm not sure, I've only been able to talk to her once...we've been really busy"

"Sesshomaru" Inuyasha suddenly spoke after realizing why his half brother was acting like this. He had thought the name sounded familiar. "You don't think it's her do you? I mean, it's been nine years."

He didn't answer, his mind only on one thing: finding this girl. If she wasn't the child then it would at least quell his curiosity.

(6:40 p.m)

"Mr. Yoshida?"

He looked up from the laptop on his desk and smiled, raising his hand to beckon her to come inside the office.

"How are you Rin?" He asked, leaning back in his chair.

She smiled at him. Though she had been slightly intimidated when she had first met him, he was a very nice man. "I'm okay. Actually, I was wondering if... I mean if it's not any trouble..." she shifted her weight from one foot to the other, slightly uncomfortable.

"Rin, I've told you if you need anything, do not hesitate to ask."

She nodded. "I was wondering if I could leave now sir" she watched as he raised his eyebrows. She couldn't blame him if he said no. She had only been working for about an hour and already she was asking to leave. "I'm sorry, I.." She placed a hand on her stomach and winced from the pain. It must have been something she ate because she felt like throwing up. "I'm sorry" she repeated. "I just don't feel very well"

He looked concerned as he looked at her slightly paled face. "I understand. Go home and get some rest." He said before looking back at his laptop.

"Thank you sir" she said before walking out of the office. She walked through the crowd of people dancing, wanting to leave through the back door of the nightclub. She paused in her walking when she felt her phone vibrate.

She stood there and read the text from her old friend.

There was a reason he didn't like nightclubs.

The loud music hurt his sensitive ears, the overwhelming smell of sweat and arousal sickened him, and it was far too crowded. If one more person rubbed against him, he was sure he'd kill them.

If she was truly here..why would she pick a place like this to work? Maybe the woman, Sango, had been mistaken.

Besides, if she was in Shinjuku, wouldn't she have come looking for him?

No, she wouldn't be here. She would not be working in this disgusting place. Perhaps she was looking for him now. Maybe she went to the park. He would go there to check. Just as he turned to leave, a scent caught his attention and he recognized it instantly.

'Rin'

The smell of wildflowers and vanilla. Though her scent had somewhat changed in nine years, there was not a doubt in his mind that it was indeed her.

He stood completely still as a sense of urgency filled his body; golden eyes searched the crowd of people, hoping to catch a glimpse of the girl.

'Where is she'

His mind was racing with questions. Why was she here? Why didn't she try to go see him? When did she come back? He took a deep calming breath and closed his eyes, ignoring the scent of alcohol and sweat as he tried to track down where her scent was coming from.

After a moment, he opened his eyes and made his way through the crowded dance floor.

He walked forward, ignoring the sounds of people complaining when he pushed them out of his way. It was either he push them out of the way or throw them out of the way. If more people got in his way, he'd start throwing them.

Then he saw her.

Well, the back of her.

Long brown hair flowed down to her waist. She was wearing a skirt and he couldn't help but notice her slender, tanned legs. Legs that made you care about legs.

For a moment he stayed perfectly still, his mind going momentarily blank at finally seeing her after nine years. What would he say to her?

But for some reason he had to do this. He wanted to do this. He wanted to ask her the questions that had been bothering him for nine years. He looked for her and spent so long worrying about her, though he would never admit to doing such a thing.

He took a step forward. Wanting to talk to her, ask her questions; wanting to see her face.

As if she knew someone was staring, she turned his way, but before he was able to see her face a group of people walked in front of him, making their way toward the bar. He glared at them and growled, taking a moment to decide how best to kill each and every one of them. However, after a minute of debating, his mind went back to Rin and he quickly looked over toward where he had saw her.

She was gone.

He walked forward, pushing aside anyone who got in his way. She was there, he was sure she was. He saw her. So where was she now? Perhaps he imagined it? No, that was nonsense. He had clearly smelled her scent.

He growled and looked around a moment before following her scent toward a back door. He quickly opened the door, but he was disappointed when he didn't see her. There was no one out here, just a few cars driving by. And, much to his annoyance, it was raining. Which meant he wouldn't be able to follow her scent. He growled angrily before walking back into the club and toward the bar where a young man was making drinks.

The young male looked up and smiled at him, "Hello, what can I get ya?"

Sesshomaru grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him so half his body was bent over the bar and now face-to-face with him.

"Why did Rin leave?"

"Rin?" he asked. He didn't know she left. How was he supposed to answer a question he didn't know the answer to?

The demon holding on to his shirt bared his fangs at him, and all he wanted to do was run and hide. He tried to answer quickly, hoping the demon would leave him alone if he answered truthfully. "I don't know, she doesn't usually leave this early" he answered. He was starting to sweat and his chest hurt with how hard his heart was beating.

"When will she be back."

"Huh?" It was hard to think straight while he was this scared.

He growled, low and feral as his eyes flashed red. "When will she come back to this filthy place to work?"

"T-tomorrow?" The boy answered, wondering if he was going to die today.

"When does she leave?"

"I-it d-depends." Great. Now he was stuttering. Why couldn't this demon ask the other bartender instead if him? "I-I mean...sometimes it's.."

"What. Time." Sesshomaru said slowly, threateningly.

"I...I don't know exactly man! It depends how busy we are" he hoped the demon was an...understanding individual. "I sometimes see her leave at a certain time though" he said quickly when he saw the demons' eyes narrow a bit more.

Sesshomaru tightened his grip on the boys' shirt, not caring that a crowd of onlookers were watching.

"What time is that"

"I..." the boy was having trouble talking because of how frightened he was. He was definitely going to quit this job. "Uh...I..."

'Pathetic'

"I suggest you answer quickly, human. My patience is running thin."

"She usually leaves about eleven-thirty!"

"Hn." Sesshomaru released the mans' shirt and turned to walk away. She worked here. So that meant he would come back tomorrow. And now he knew when she left work.

He smirked.

Rin sat in the backseat of the taxi, her heart pounding wildly as she peeked out of the side window. She sighed before sinking down into seat. Looking over to the left, she gave a small smile to the couple that was glaring at her. She couldn't blame them; she had jumped into the taxi while they were getting quite intimate.

'What's wrong with me' she thought as she sunk further into the lush leather seat of the vehicle. She was just leaving work for the day and was standing answering a text from Erika before she felt as if someone was watching her.

Turning slowly, she had only caught a glimpse of silver hair before she panicked. She practically ran out of the club, leaping into the first cab she saw.

She sighed. Why had she panicked like that? Surely he wasn't the only demon with silver hair, so perhaps that wasn't him. She had missed both Sesshomaru and Jaken very much and wanted to see them, but would they have forgotten her? Or maybe they would be angry with her because she left without even saying goodbye. At the time it felt like a good idea, but now that she was older she realized that maybe it wasn't. She could've at least told them she was being adopted.

What if...what if they had gone to the park the next day and waited for her? What if they thought something had happened to her when she didn't show up?

Rin faced the window and began banging her head against it softly, all the while muttering to herself "Stupid...stupid...stupid"

The couple looked at her as if she were crazy before telling the cab driver "You can drop us off here"

o~O~o

Rin didn't get any sleep that night. The nightmare that had been plaguing her since her parents' death had her waking up constantly in a cold sweat.

The last time she looked at the clock before she tried to get some much needed sleep, it was seven in the morning. If she hadn't gotten to sleep last night, she at least wanted to get some sleep now, even though it was morning. She closed her eyes and curled under the blanket.

The screaming, the laughing, it was the same thing over and over again. Sometimes there was a voice. A cold, threatening voice.

"Are you afraid?"

Once in a while though, she was fortunate enough to get through sleep without any dreams at all.

Now, she wasn't so fortunate.

Rin sat up quickly, sweat beading up on her forehead. She looked around her room but everything seemed blurry at the moment. Rubbing her eyes, she opened them once again to see the shapes in her room begin to appear, followed by outlines, and then everything became clear.

Rin collapsed back into her bed, hoping to get a few more minutes of sleep. She still didn't feel too good. However, just as she closed her eyes she heard someone knocking on her apartment door.

Grumbling to herself, she stood and walked toward the door, not bothering to call out and ask who it is. That's what peepholes were for.

Quietly, she leaned forward and squinted to look through the peephole with a tired eye. After seeing who it was, she stepped back to unlock the door and then open it.

"Hey sleepyhead" Daisuke said with a smile. "What time do you start work today?"

"I have to be there by six" she said as she sat on her couch. It was only three o'clock right now. Just a few more minutes of sleep...

She curled up on the couch and closed her eyes once again.

"Rin?" She heard Daisuke ask.

"Five more minutes" she mumbled.

Daisuke chuckled and stared at her as she fell into a deep sleep. He couldn't help but think she was adorable.

Walking through the apartment, he went into her bedroom and grabbed a blanket to put on her. After he did that, he looked around and walked over to her kitchen sink.

'She better thank me for this' he thought as he began to do her dishes.

o~O~o

"Rin?"

She grumbled and pulled the warm blanket over her head.

"Rin wake up"

She didn't really want to. She was so comfy and warm, and she smelled food? It smelled good..

"Rin. It's five o'clock"

"What?" She sat up quickly and looked toward the clock located on the wall and immediately her tiredness was forgotten. It was already five? She had to be at work in thirty minutes! She got up and ran toward her room and heard Daisuke laughing. "Shut up!"

Rin quickly dressed in a plain black shirt and a pair of jeans.

Daisuke watched, amused, as Rin came out of her room, hopping on one foot as she pulled a sock onto the other.

"Mind if I stay here today?" he asked, taking a seat on her couch.

"Why?"

"I don't have cable" he said, pointing to her t.v.

"Oh, ok then. I don't mind" she said as she pulled on her other sock. He had stayed over a few times before, just to watch t.v or hang out. Sometimes he spent the night after falling asleep on the couch.

"Thanks. Oh, take this." He stood up and showed her the brown paper bag, "I picked up some food for you"

She hugged him tightly, grateful for having a good friend like him. "Thank you!" She grabbed the bag and rushed over to the door. "I gotta go" she said as she pulled on her sneakers. "I'll see you later"

Not waiting for a reply, she ran out the door hoping she wouldn't be late.

Sesshomaru leaned back in his office chair, looking toward the clock and watching as the time switched from 5:09 to 5:10

Time seemed to be moving very slow today. He would leave work soon and go home, then he wouldn't have to leave until around ten-forty. He wanted to catch Rin before her shift was over and wasn't sure if the pathetic human boy was sure that Rin would leave at eleven-thirty.

Jaken looked at the papers he was supposed to make a copy of. He looked back up to stare at his boss. "Lord Sesshomaru, I regret to inform you that there was no more ink"

'She will not get away.' Sesshomaru smiled at the thought.

"Ack!" Jaken immediately bowed, his forehead touching the floor. "Please forgive me my Lord!"

Sesshomaru stood, ignoring the cowering toad on the floor. What was he doing there anyway? It didn't matter.

(11:25 p.m)

Rin balanced the tray which held the empty glass cups on one hand as she made her way toward the bar.

"Would you like to dance?" A guy asked her in a slurred voice as he put his hand on her shoulder. She turned to look at him and noticed he reeked of alcohol.

"I'm working." She said before turning and walking away. She didn't want to deal with a drunk guy.

'Five more minutes..' she thought happily.

Only five more minutes before she would finally be able to go home. Honestly, working in this crowded and loud place wasn't exactly something she enjoyed.

"Hey Rin" the bartender boy said as he filled another cup with a drink.

"Hey Hiro" she said as she placed the tray on the counter. She wondered briefly where Hojo was. He was such a nice boy and she was slightly surprised that he was working as a bartender.

"Take this to the guy at table seven. It's the table toward the back" he said as he pushed a cup over to her. "He asked specifically for you." He winked and chuckled before turning to ask someone what they wanted.

She frowned slightly, wondering why someone would ask specifically for her. After a moment her face paled at the thought that it might be some pervert.

"Just give him the drink and walk away" she told herself.

She kept her eyes firmly planted to the ground as she made her way over to the table.

'Just don't make eye contact..' she told herself.

"Here you go sir" she said quickly as she placed the drink on the table, not once bothering to look up at the man. She turned to walk away when a voice cut through the noise of the crowd and loud music.

"Rin."

She froze, knowing that voice all too well.