Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha nor do I make any profit from this work of fiction.

Kagome settled herself at the little scrubbed wooden table in the middle of Rin's kitchen; her inquiries into helping the older woman had already been shot down. Rin insisted that Kagome was a guest.

As Rin pottered about the kitchen, procuring saucers, producing cups, boiling water, Kagome watched the woman. She seemed to glitter with an inner happiness that made her one of the most approachable people Kagome had ever been in the company of.

"So," Kagome hummed, tilting her head to one side, "How do you know Sesshoumaru?"

A smile was tossed over Rin's shoulder as she pulled two flower patterned porcelain plates from a cupboard above her head. "I suppose you could say that he raised me," Rin mused.

"Raised you?"Kagome asked, disbelief colouring her tone.

Rin's smile was indulgent as she settled into her seat at the table. "He isn't as young as he looks, Kagome-san. He is a yokai."

Nodding, berating herself for forgetting, Kagome ventured, "He adopted you?"

Laughter bubbled over Rin's lips as she poured from the teapot into Kagome's cup. "His brother always said that Sesshoumaru-san is a sucker for orphans. He adopts people all over the place without ever seeming to try."

Kagome smiled and blew at the steaming brew. "Is that what happened with Shippo-kun?"

Rin pushed a plate of sakura mochi towards Kagome and claimed her own teacup. "He knew Shippo-kun's father, and stepped in when he died to help take care of the boy. A bold move on Sesshoumaru-san's part; most kitsune keep to their own and most inu yokai look upon their trickster nature as inferior. But then, Sesshoumaru-san never really cared for the opinions of others."

Kagome snorted. "Sounds like Sesshoumaru."

Rin bit into her mochi, closing her eyes in bliss. "Sesshoumaru-san made these," she informed Kagome lightly, "try one."

Kagome had to concede that they were absolutely scrumptious. "A man of many talents," Kagome murmured, wiping a crumb away from the corner of her mouth with her fingertips.

"A yokai," Rin corrected, sipping at her tea, "one with very select tastes."

"Oh," Kagome felt a little confused and took refuge in a sip of her tea.

"Did you know that in all the time I've known him," Rin began pensively, "he's never shown any interest in a woman? Perhaps because Inu Yokai mate for life, he's choosy so he doesn't have to spend eternity with someone horrid."

Kagome's lips quirked. "I can imagine that might be repulsive to Sesshoumaru. He seems rather solitary."

Rin drummed her fingers against the table and met Kagome's gaze. "Not solitary, but slow to trust."

Tucking her hair behind her ear, Kagome's fingers brushed the variegated tulip. Tentative fingers removed the bloom so that she could look at it properly.

"You are the first woman Sesshoumaru-san has ever given a flower to, the first woman he's introduced to me," Rin informed her, her tone light but her words heavy. Kagome's bewildered gaze snapped to Rin's astute one.

"Me?"Kagome pressed a hand to her chest in disbelief.

"Yep."

"But... but he's only ever flirted in the most casually imperceptible sense!" Kagome protested, shaking her head so hard that her loose hair whipped her cheeks.

"And he doesn't flirt," Rin prompted, inflecting deliberately, "with anyone except you."

Kagome's eyes grew wide and round. "No way."

Rin's grin was positively impish. "What else could make Sesshoumaru-san act so out of character? You are Sesshoumaru-san's exception."

Prompt: N/A

Words: 571

A/N: I love Rin 3 I hope you enjoyed!