AN: Do do do do do…I'm in a really good mood today. Probably because I spent all of yesterday at Anime North! It was great! Anyway, I just wanted to say…this is one of my favorite chapters ever! (says in girly anime voice)(AO sweat-drops).
AO: Calm down…deep breaths.
SO: (inhale, exhale, inhale, exhale) I'm good. On with the chapter!
Disclaimer: Own nada, except for the plot…and my characters…which you will meet…in this chapter…
I can't take it
what am i waiting for?
my hearts still breaking
I miss you even more
And I can't fake it
The way I could before
I hate you, but I love you
I can't stop thinking of you!
It's true,
I'm stuck on you
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Chapter 4
Meeting Meiko
After awhile, it seemed that everyday was a repeat of the last. But it wasn't a bad thing. Eventually, she didn't need permission to enter his office, and simply took the liberty of letting herself in. And later on, His Royal Majesty just got used to it. She seemed to spend more time in his area than her own. But that was simply a habit.
So she'd walk in and pull up a chair behind him. And basically it would go from there, on a day-to-day basis. Whether it was troubleshooting or whatnot. Other times it was general feedback on whatever he was doing. Today, however, was different. It may have started out the same, but where it would lead her was a small trip down memory lane…
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Rin walked along the top floor until she reached her desk. "Morning, Sango," she said removing her jacket and setting down her coffee and handing Sango hers that she picked up as well.
"Thanks. Same to you," she said blowing into her drink, trying to cool it down. She slowly sipped it and sighed. "Mmm…good." Setting it down, she turned to her friend. "What you doing tonight?"
"Not much, I guess. I was hoping to give Bankotsu a call later. I need to speak with him about something." She replied flatly as she booted up her computer. It hummed for awhile until the 'welcome' screen showed up. She quickly checked her email. Some notices, some junk mail and others were people who had questions or comments on different matters. So after skimming through the important ones, she got up and walked into Sesshomaru's office. Sango had gotten used to this routine.
"So what's new today?" she asked as she grabbed a chair from any old place in his office. She positioned herself behind and slightly to the left so she could see over his shoulder. Today he seemed to be working on an Internet site…or something like that.
"I don't know. Something that Suzi wanted me to look at. So really, I want not to waste my time on this," he said as he drummed his fingers on the desk.
"Aww. It can't be that bad, can it?" she asked draping her elbows over his shoulder. Unintentionally might I add. And it didn't help much when her arms didn't seem to be listening to her brain at this point. So they just stayed there. 'Crap. I'm flirting now. I'm no better than those crazed women now…great…'
But the action didn't seem to faze Sesshomaru. So things continued as normal. "Well I see nothing here. You may see what she finds so interesting about this site. I have further business to attend to." With that, he left the office, leaving Rin alone. Well there wasn't much more to do…so why not?
Soon after, an unknown figure stepped into the offices…well, unknown to Rin anyway.
She had been surfing the site for at least half an hour and still nothing. Sesshomaru was right on this one. Footsteps could be heard outside in the hallway. But it was probably just someone wandering, which happened rather often. "Sesshomaru?" called the voice that sounded somewhat far away. Rin chose to ignore this and continue with whatever she was supposed to be doing. Suddenly, a hand came down upon the chair. It swirled around to face this person. Confused, Rin looked into the person's eyes. He looked familiar…
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The elevator landed on the 27th floor, Inutaishou aboard. His son didn't seem to be answering his calls, so he came to talk in person. Now where had that son of his gone? Might as well check his office. He had some 'good mornings' from some of the workers. After all, he was the president of the company. Sesshomaru simply was the head of this division. (I mean, come on people. This IS the family of the western lands after all. They have to be rich.) "Sesshomaru?" he called with no reply to follow. Nice way to greet a father, nee? Ah…there was his office. Stepping inside, he spun the chair around, expecting to see his son. But it was surprising to find a woman instead. "Terribly sorry, ma'am."
"That's alright," she smiled and gave her hand. "I expect he will be out of his meeting shortly. Oh, and I'm Rin, by the way, his assistant."
"Inutaishou." He said taking her hand. "If you don't mind, I'm going to have a seat and wait for my son."
"Your son?" she repeated as more of a question. Well that explained the hair and the eyes. And then it clicked. "That's right. I remember…I saw you a few times when I came over to your house." He looked at her with a questioning expression. "I was friends with Inuyasha, your other son…if I'm correct."
"You know him?"
She nodded. "Well, at least, I used to. Him, me and his girlfriend, Kagome, went to high school together way back when."
"Wow…that was how long ago? Nine, ten years now?"
"Something like that." She was about to ask whatever happened to them as Sesshomaru walked in.
"Father." He acknowledged.
"Sesshomaru." He said nodding his head once. "I have several things to discuss with you." Seeing that it was private business, Rin stood up, bowed quickly and left back to her desk. Now that was…odd… She talked to Sango for quite some time, until Inutaishou left his office. "Oh and one more thing, Rin." She turned his head towards him. "I would like for you to accompany us at dinner this evening. It will be a great chance to reacquaint with my other son."
"Thank you, sir. I will be there." She smiled as he left through the elevator doors once again.
The day went by rather quickly after that. Rin said her good-byes to Sango and co-workers as they left. She had been offered a lift by Sesshomaru. But she highly doubted it was on his own will…his father probably told him to. But did it matter? She was going to be sitting alongside him. Okay, calm down…that's no big deal…
"Are you coming today, Smart Cookie?" he asked, tossing her coat.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm a coming." She rolled her eyes and followed him to his Mercedes. My goodness, he certainly went 'all-out' when buying a car, hun? She got in and an uncomfortable silence lingered between the two. "So…" was all she could think of. No response came from Sesshomaru who was paying attention to the road. "So…are you really going to call me 'Smart Cookie' in front of your little brother?" she smiled when she finally caught his attention.
"Surely you know that answer to that. Please refrain from asking things you already know." He watched her out of the corner of one eye for a second, then back to the road.
"Really? I never thought you'd call me that with him around. Chee, did you two become closer or something? That isn't the Sesshomaru I know…" She could tell that this was getting on his nerves. But why not see how far it would go…but that had to be saved for another day. For the house (err…mansion) lay ahead. And not a minute too soon either, they'd have probably killed each other. Almost as if they were alone in the same house together for a week…(not a bad idea…but anyway…)
The place seemed empty as they walked in the front door. So empty, that your shoes echoed on the marble floor when you walked across it. She put her jacket on a small coat rack near the entrance. "Well I'm off. Please don't touch anything." He walked off quickly without a glance back.
She would have screamed, "so now where am I supposed to go? Tell me!" But we will save that for later, okay? Slowly walking into the bigger area of the hall, her shoes made that echo noise. It was so damn creepy. Especially since she knew someone was watching her. It creaked behind her. Whirling around quickly…it was nothing. Odd. Out of no where, something somewhat heavy landed on her back. Rin let out a small shriek of surprise and fell to her knees from the weight that had jumped on to her back.
When she looked up, another set of eyes were looking into hers. "Holly shit!" she breathed skidding backwards a little. It was a child. A brown-eyed, sliver-hair, pointed eared, child. She seemed to be observing Rin with much care.
"Uncle Sesshy doesn't usually bring home women who use profanities. But come to think of it, you're the only girl Uncle has brought home in his whole life." Rin couldn't help but laugh. This kid was so cute! "What's you name?"
"I'm Rin," she said extending her hand. "What's yours?"
"Meiko. I'm six and a half years old and have one little brother. His name is Kazen, and he's two. But you don't have to worry about him. Mama always takes care of him." Meiko had a huge grin on her face, and seemed proud to be telling this to a grown-up. "I like you. You seem nice. And you're very pretty. I can see why my Uncle likes you…" Rin blushed a bit of embarrassment. And she was only talking to a six-year-old…
"Meiko, honey…come here. You'd better not be causing trouble again," called a woman's voice but couldn't be seen.
"I'm not, Mama. I'm talking to Uncle's girlfriend here." I think this little girl had to get her thoughts straightened out. But it wasn't a bad thought…not at all.
'Girlfriend? Oh, probably that woman that Inutaishou mentioned earlier.' She stepped into the large hallway were Rin and Meiko stood. "Come here honey. Stop bothering the nice lady." She said as her daughter jumped into her arms.
"I wasn't bothering Rin, Mama. I was having a discussion with her." She kissed her mother on her cheek. Great…here comes another memory. The mother was no other than…Kagome Higurashi.
"Rin?" the named sot of lingered in her mouth. "Really?" Kagome put down Meiko and walked over to Rin. "How long has it been?" she hugged her friend happily.
"Nine years…I think. I seriously didn't think you'd ever tie the knot with dear old Inuyasha." Rin smiled weakly, remembering the old jokes they used to have about their boyfriends. Ah…so long ago, yet it seemed like yesterday. (Ever get that feeling?) So here began this trip down memory lane…
After about five minutes, Meiko got bored. "Um, Mama? Are you done ranting on about your past? Cuz I'm hungry and Jiji is calling us."
"Run along now, Meiko dear. And go tell your father to come down here. I'm sure Rin wants to see him again." With a quick nod of her head, that kid was out of sight. Kagome smiled at the sight of her child. "So how are things working out?" she asked quietly, remembering her financial situation in school.
"Meh…they're working. It'll come around later." They walked and talked until the dining room. And even in the dining room. It must be a knack girls have at finding so much to talk about. (Stereotypical, maybe. But I think it's most common in girls…take me…I can talk for hours on end…and I don't know why…) Inuyasha came into the room holding Meiko in his arms.
"Come, Inuyasha. Remember our old friend, Rin? From high school?" Kagome smiled happily.
A look of confusion crossed his face. "Umm…"
Kagome's expression darkened. "You don't remember my best friend from high school?" Her tone was menacing, meaning someone was gonna get it. Most likely Inuyasha.
"Please don't be mad, Kagome. You know I have terrible memory when it comes to these things. Come on…"
"No…you need to learn to remember."
"Come on!" He began to follow her, trying to get her to reconsider his decision. And she said the same thing every time. And that's exactly how Rin remembered it. Not much had changed.
Meiko went and stood beside Rin. "Don't worry. They always fight like this. And Dad always looses."
Rin laughed, "Alright. Now, where is your grandmother? I believe she knows me."
"Oh. She's looking after Kazen. But I told her you were here. And she said to tell you hi, and that you'd probably have to speak to her another time. But you know what's weird?" Rin shrugged her shoulders. "She laughed when I referred to you as Uncle Sesshy's girlfriend. Do you know why?"
Rin smiled. "I haven't the faintest idea." She was too cute. Inutaishou announced dinner was ready. Meiko took a seat next to Rin. She had taken a liking to her quite quickly. Sesshomaru finally decided he was going to show up and took a place at the opposite side of the table. And Kagome and Inuyasha sat wherever there was room.
"Here's to a reunion of old friends," Inutaishou raised his glass filled with sake. They all drank including Sesshomaru, surprisingly. But somehow it was probably because was thirsty…I mean, you can't expect much from him can you? So in the end, they all drank, well, all except for Meiko, who wanted a sip. Eventually Inuyasha gave her his glass with a little left in it.
"Come on, Inuyasha. That's not good for her. You're going to turn her into an alcoholic." Scolded Kagome. And here came another infamous argument on whether or not children should be allowed alcohol. So basically the dinner went on from there. A small subject went like this:
"I do hope you're coming to the reunion tomorrow," Kagome said rather happily.
"Oh…I wasn't planning to." Kagome gave Rin a pleading look. "But…" the plead turned into an if-you're-not-going-to-come-on-your-own-I'm-going-to-force-you look. "I give up. I'll come."
"Yay!" she squealed. Oh dear…things could get crazy when Kagome started to act like a child.
After dinner, they all went their separate ways. Kagome and Rin continued talking. Well, until Meiko tugged on Rin's blouse sleeve. "I wanna show you something."
"Sure thing." She got up and Kagome followed.
"No, Mama. I want only Rin to see." The two friends looked at each other and shrugged. She gave a small wink and left the two alone. After she was out of sight, Meiko grabbed Rin's hand. "Come."
Some time later, Rin wondered exactly this little girl was taking her. "So where are we going exactly?"
"We're here," she said stopping on front of a door. "This is Uncle Sesshy's room."
"Be reasonable, Meiko. I can't go in there. I don't have permission." She said, recalling the situation when she'd begun working with him.
"You don't. But I can go in whenever I want. Wait here." She quickly slipped inside. Wait here…where else was she supposed to go? Everything looked the same in this house. It was a wonder she didn't get lost in this place. She was so lost in thought she didn't notice Meiko coming out. "I'm back. Here, it's a gift from me." In her hand, she held a black rose.
"Oh, thank you. It's very pretty. But, what was it doing in Sesshomaru's room?"
"I gave him two black roses one day from the garden. And he didn't seem to care so I left it on a shelf. So now you have one, and Uncle has one. Think of it as a pair of rings, if you wish. But I like roses better." I think this kid was overly convinced that her and Sesshomaru were a couple.
"Thanks," she said placing it behind her ear. As she did so, her watch came in front of her face. "My goodness! Look at the time. I best go soon. And you, young lady, best be off to bed."
"Okay, come visit soon." She said running down the hall. But quickly came speeding back, "I have one more thing to ask. I'm going to call you Auntie Rin. Cause you are going to be, right?"
"That's for me to know, and you to find out." She smiled as Meiko gave a pout and went to bed. And a few wrong turns, and some directions from a maid, she found her way back to the main hall. She was surprised to find Sesshomaru there, almost as if he was expecting her.
"You ready?" he asked handing her coat.
"Yeah…and when you get back tell Kagome and Inuyasha I said 'bye'."
"Whatever. Hurry up…I don't have all day." As she bushed past him, he noticed the rose in her hair. "Meiko give this too you?"
"Yeah…she seems to have a perception of us…" and nothing else was said after that. So the brat had given her an identical rose to his. He didn't know why, but that rose looked right in place in her hair. Weird, he didn't actually think that…did he? Good Lord, she'd poisoned his thoughts. She was beginning to grow on him…
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hehehe! Rin is growing on Sesshy. What is this world coming to? the quicker you review…the sooner you find out.
: )
;P
