[AN]*faints at number of reviews* *is slapped awake by Ashura* Heh... Arigatouuuuu minna-sammmmaaaaaa! You've all been so supportive!

Ashura: ....Skip to the review responses Mage.

Mage: Hai! ^-^

****Review Responses****

Shinnyu Kudzu: Agreed! =D I love Godsmack... One of their songs gave me an idea on how to get Kagura off Sesshou-sama's back. ; Plenty more Ja/Ban in chapters ahead. And I've been trying to write in some Ginta/Hakkaku, but its hard... I dont know where to fit them in... I think you ARE the only one to write that pairing... ^^; And you do it so well... Yes, die Kikyo... ; Hey, these 3-4 page chapters ARE long for me. Oo; I used to write 1000 word chapters but I make myself write more for this...

Cookie6: Yay! I'm getting the reaction I wanted! =D Yes, I wanted people to hate and pity Kagura at the same time... I'm evil. ; hehe ^^

Ilona: *blushes* Really? You really think so? ^^; Arigatou!

Naoko2: Hehe... ^^; I know I'm evil... I'm describing Kagura's home life mostly for character development I guess... Giving her a reason to be fucked up in the head (excuse my language) and junk... YES MY FISHY'S COOL! ^-^ I luff my Lucifer... *named her fish Lucifer*

Dragon of Sea: Really?! That's freaky dude! Oo; Deja vu... Anyway, thanks! ^^

Cricket-chan: Arigatou!

Liz.Q: Yes, Rin DOES seem to like flowers in every single fic she's in... I wonder where that came from. Oo;;; *giggles* Yes, she does smell like good perfume. ^^ *spritzes her jasmine and waterlily body spray in the air and dances around* Wheee... I love this stuff...

SessRin2003: Thanks! ^^

MegaBuu: Yes... Maybe I should give her a happy ending... I might not though... Anyway, arigatou!

Ookami Spirit Hishana: *mystified and horrified at the same time* How can anyone NOT like Jaky-sama and Ban-sama?! oo;;; Ah well... Yes, naraku and kagura nono deserve capital letters Oo; Anyway, thanks for reviewing!

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The rest of the week passed rather uneventfully. Sesshoumaru stayed with Rin most of the time, and Jakotsu and Bankotsu visited when they could. Rin's family came once a day for a while.

The bullet wound on Rin's shoulder healed nicely over the week, and pretty soon it was time for her to leave the hospital.

It was a Friday, and fairly warm for January, though one still required a jacket. The sun shone brightly overhead; there were no signs of clouds in the sky.

A nurse pushed a wheelchair containing a pouting Rin. ("I can walk! I feel much better!" Rin had said. "Sorry, standard procedure." The nurse had answered.)

A certain silver-haired 18 year old walked beside the chair, chuckling a bit. Mrs. Higurashi, Souta, and Kagome followed.

Reaching the Higurashi's car, Sesshoumaru opened the back door and held out his hand to Rin. "My lady."

Rin giggled and took the offered hand. Sesshoumaru helped her into the car, smiling. "I'll call you sometime, 'kay Rin?" He said, golden eyes warm.

"Okay, Sess. Seeya!" She pulled shut the car door after Kagome and Souta had gotten in, and Mrs. Higurashi pulled out.

~*~

The rest of the day passed uneventfully for Rin; no calls from Sesshoumaru, though Sango called her up to talk once.

That night, she sat down in her window seat, gazing out over the night sky. Stars shone brightly against an inky backdrop; the moon gave off its reflected, silvery light. The sky was clear tonight, not a cloud whatsoever.

'Stars... I remember the night before I met Sess... I saw a shooting star... and I made a wish... to meet my soul mate... Could it... have come true maybe? Could Sess be the one for me? He is nice, and I like him a lot... Maybe my wish really did come true...'

She eyed her paints and easel in the corner. "I should paint something..." She said softly to herself and stood. Picking up the paints, she dipped her brush in the pink and made the first stroke on the blank white canvas.

~*~

Hours later, when she had finally finished, she glanced over her latest piece. It was one of the best she had ever done; of two shillouetted figures holding hands over a beautiful sunrise. Rin picked it up and set it against the wall, right beside the last painting she had done, and compared the two.

A lonely person enveloped in grey and black; a couple against the sunrise. Her paintings reflected her life almost perfectly. A couple weeks ago, she had been alone and depressed; now she had someone, and was happier than ever.

A smile graced her lips. 'I hope I'm never lonely again...'

~*~

Sess laid back on his bed that night, staring at the blank ceiling. He had never really noticed how dull his room was; maybe Rin would help him redecorate it. She DID say she painted after all...

Rin...

She was the main thing on his mind lately, with her innocence and her child-like grace; her beauty, her voice... He liked everything about her...

'I know I like her as more than a friend, but do I *love* her? Thats a major step... Admitting you love a girl... I think I might...

She's captured my heart...'

Cool October air fluttered his curtains through the open window. He stood and pushed back the cloth, about to shut the window. Then...

He stopped, looking up at the stars. 'Since when did they get so bright?' He wondered. 'Almost like... Rin's smile... her eyes...'

'Stars... That reminds me... A couple weeks ago I actually made a wish on a shooting star... That was stupid... But maybe its come true... Maybe Rin's my soul mate... Maybe I'll never be truly alone again...'

Sess smiled just slightly, climbing out the window and onto the roof. And there he sat the rest of the night, leaning against the outside wall and stargazing.

'Rin should be here to enjoy this with me... I know she'd love it...'

~*~

The weekend went by quickly. Sesshoumaru did call Rin the next morning, and the two had spent hours on the phone.

Monday, 2nd period arrived. Rin felt a wave of nervousness as she got her books. Today was her first day of going to class like a normal student.

Stepping into her english class, she noticed several students staring at her. She looked around nervously as she sat down in an empty seat towards the back. More students filed in and sat down in the remaining chairs, Sango and Inuyasha among them.

Rin waved a bit to Sango, motioning for her to sit next to her. The other girl did so with a smile.

"Hi Rin!"

"Hi!"

Sango didnt seem surprised that Rin was speaking again. Kagome had called and filled her in on what had happened at the movie theater. But, due to her job helping her father exterminate small youkai, she never got the chance to visit her in the hospital.

The teacher was late obviously. The late bell had already rang. Several people were taking the opportunity to chat and copy yesterdays homework from those who had actually done it.

"So, I've got a committee meeting today. We're going to book the band to play at the Halloween dance. I really hope everyone'll agree to let the Shichinin-tai play." Sango said.

"Yeah. The gig would mean a lot to Jakotsu." The other girl stated, doodling on her notebook cover.

"Yeah... So have you decided what kind of costume you're going to wear?"

"No, I havent thought about that at all actually... Maybe you, me, Kagome, Inuyasha, Jakotsu, Bankotsu, Miroku, and Sesshoumaru could all choose our costumes together. You know, pick a theme or something." Rin suggested, pencil flying over the notebook cover.

"Yeah! Thats a great idea! Theres going to be a costume contest too. I bet we could win the group category!"

"That sounds like fun! Maybe we can go look at costumes after school today!"

"Okay, I'll make sure Miroku, Kagome, and Inuyasha know. You tell Sesshoumaru, Jakotsu, and Bankotsu. Kouga and Ayame too if you can find em." Sango said excitedly, grinning.

"Agreed."

The teacher walked in just then and started class.

~*~

The committee meeting was just before lunch that day. Sango put her things in her locker and walked into the classroom they were meeting in. Several other students were already there, milling about, talking.

The civics teacher, Mr. Heath entered the room and the meeting began.

"So, first of all, we need a band to play. Any suggestions?" Mr. Heath asked, standing up while the students sat in randomly placed chairs.

A dark-haired, blue eyed girl stood and spoke up. "I say we book Lord of Nightmares! I've already asked, and they said they would!"

That was Amelia Seyruun, the mayor's daughter. Her family was super-rich and powerful and all that. She was considered popular, but she hung out with a bunch of punks usually.

Mr. Heath wrote 'Lord of Nightmares' on the dry-erase board. "Okay Amelia. But first does anyone else have any suggestions?"

Anzu Mazaki stood and said in a sickeningly sweet voice, "The Dark Angels will play again. We were a hit last time!"

Sango rolled her eyes and stood, glaring at Anzu. "You guys werent a hit! Everyone HATED your stupid songs! And you cant sing to save your lives! Lord of Nightmares isnt much better Amelia. Only Lina and Xelloss are any good; the rest of them suck!" Both Anzu and Amelia looked furious at Sango's statements, even though they were all true.

"Sit DOWN Sango!" Mr. Heath yelled, efficiantly breaking up any fight that may have come. "Do you have any better suggestions?"

"Yeah, as a matter of fact I do." The punk girl stated. "I say we book the Shichinin-Tai. I've been to one of their practices and they ROCK!"

So, Mr. Heath wrote 'Shichinin-tai' on the board under the other two. "We have 3 choices, I want everyone to vote. All for Lord of Nightmares, say I."

After voting, the teacher looked a bit surprised. It had been a 3-way tie.

"I guess we'll have to have tryouts. I want Sango, Amelia, and Anzu to let the 3 bands know that tryouts are tomorrow, Tuesday, in the auditorium, right after school. Meeting dismissed."

So Sango left, running off to find Jakotsu and Bankotsu.

~*~

The exterminator found the two sitting with Sesshoumaru, Rin, Kouga, and Ayame underneath an old, gnarled oak tree, chatting animatedly.

"Oi! Jakotsu! Bankotsu!" She shouted, running up and taking a seat between Jakotsu and Rin. "We voted on bands today at the meeting. We have to have tryouts this year. Its tomorrow, right after school, at the auditorium. You CAN make it right?"

"Of course!" Jakotsu said, beaming. "Bankotsu and I will call up the rest of the band tonight, ne Ban-kun?"

"Hai, koibito."

"Great! Well, I gotta go find Miroku, Kagome, and Inuyasha." Sango waved a goodbye and ran across campus to find her other friends.

"So, has anyone chosen their costumes yet? For the dance, that is." Rin asked, finishing off her sandwich.

"No, I've been distracted lately." Sess answered. Rin knew very well what he had been distracted with... her.

"Neither have Ban-kun and me, what with practices and all." Jakotsu added, snatching Bankotsu's apple and taking a bite.

"Kouga, Ayame?"

"I havent given my costume much thought." Ayame said, shrugging.

"Me either." Kouga grabbed his girlfriend's soda and chugged it. Ayame giggled and whacked him playfully.

"That was mine!"

"Sango and I thought maybe we could all get together after school sometime and choose costumes together, like, pick a theme." Rin said, sipping her strawberry Gatorade. "Shes going to ask Miroku, Inuyasha, and Kagome."

"Hey, that sounds cool! How about today? If everyone can make it of course." Sess said enthusiastically.

"We're not doing anything." Ayame chirped happily, meaning her and Kouga.

"Neither are Ban-kun and me!" Jakotsu was practically giggling with joy and excitement. Bankotsu nodded once and finished off a can of vanilla Pepsi.

"Great! I have last period with Sango, I'll ask her what Kagome and Inuyasha and Miroku said then."

"Okay." Sess agreed between large bites of his sandwich. The topic of conversation turned to a new horror movie, Freddy vs. Jason, that was coming out in a couple of weeks, as everyone finished off their lunches.

~*~

Rin sat at an empty desk at the back of her last period class, glancing around the room. It was almost empty; she was obviously a bit early.

Sango soon joined her, sitting at the desk across the row. "Hi Rin!"

"Hi Sango! So did you tell Inuyasha, Miroku, and my sister?" She asked, looking over at the punk girl.

"Yeah I did. We're all free after school today."

"Great! So is everyone else!"

"Cool." Sango smiled, taking out her notebook for this class.

"Where are we going to go for costumes?" Rin asked, taking a pencil out of her binder.

"I know a few places. We can all meet up at the new pizza place, get something to eat, and then go shopping."

"Sounds cool. We need to be thinking of possible themes too."

"Yeah... Maybe we could do mideval times, ya know, knights, princesses, kings, queens; that sort of thing." Sango suggested, shrugging.

"Or we could all go as anime couples."

"Or dead people."

"I see dead people!" Rin shouted randomly. Both girls erupted into laughter, Sango banging her head on the desk top.

"Quiet down girls!" The teacher called from her desk up front. "Its time for class now, you can talk about whatever after school."

"Yes Mrs. Williams." Sango muttered. Rin rolled her eyes. They both HATED Mrs. Williams; hell, EVERYONE hated her! She was the strictest, meanest teacher in the school and the whole freaking student body knew it. Mrs. Williams had given 50 vocabulary words on the first day for Kami's sake!

As Mrs. Williams began her lecture, Rin and Sango brought out paper and took notes quietly for the rest of the hour.

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[AN]Wheee... Anyway, I'm pretty sure Naoko2 was my 100th reviewer! Yay! =D If you want the cameo Naoko2, email me with the name you want to go by, physical appearance, and personality... and anything else you wanna add... ^^[/AN]