Disclaimer: I am not Rumiko Takashi…Though I'm sure that if I was I wouldn't be sitting here writing FANfiction…that is how you know that I am not her…unless of course she is a fan of herself…which if that's the case then that's just weird. Therefore, if I am a FAN then I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters or plot. Only the plot of this story. Thank you. *bows*

Love Me as I Am

Chapter 32- Signs

Yasuo caught Suki's attention and nodded his head in the direction of the table. There were platters of food that were covered with decorated hand painted covers that Suki figured must have cost a fortune.

She smiled when Yasuo extended his hand and brought her over. She took a seat on the cushion beside the table and sat directly across from him as he took the covers off the steaming food.

"It's lovely." said Suki.

Yasuo fought the urge to say 'So are you.' And managed only a smile as he served her some rice, chicken curry, cranberry sauce, and some pockey for dessert.

Trying to find some source of conversation Yasuo fiddled with his food.

"So…how's life been treating you?"

Suki smiled.

"Great actually."

Yasuo smiled back.

"That's nice to hear."

They sat in silence, neither knowing what to say to the other.

"You know…this is ridiculous. You were kind enough to invite me over and I'm too dumb to even start a good conversation with you. I'm sorry."

Yasuo smiled.

"I was just about to say the same thing about myself. I really should try to be a better host."

"Being a host is hard. I would have invited you over to my house except it's so cramped because there are eleven of us."

Yasuo almost fell over.

"E-eleven?"

Suki giggled and nodded.

"Yes. My mother and father, my new baby sister, my twin brother…"

"You have a twin?"

"Yes. My parent's friends that they've traveled with since before I was born, their daughter, our old friend Kaede, and Kilala."

"Who's Kilala?"

"She looks just like Tobi here except she's white with black markings. That's why I wasn't afraid of him." Suki said, patting Tobi's head as he mewed.

"Really? Maybe we should fix them up or something."

Suki smiled.

"I think Kilala would like that."

~*~*~

Rin finished cleaning the breakfast dishes and retired to the outside to tend the garden. Sesshomaru had told her she was allowed to do anything she liked with the outside gardens and she took him very seriously and had been doing a very good job.

Sesshomaru looked out the window and watched Rin from inside.

Lately new feelings had sprung up inside of him. Feelings he didn't understand. Fifteen long years Rin had been his maidservant and not until she had started to develop did he think of her as anything more than a servant who was paying her debt to him after he saved her life.

Rin had been loyal to him, always being there when he needed her. Over time he had become more trusting over he, allowing her to aid him with his bathing and letting her and only her into his bedroom lair to make the bed a tidy up.

He continued to watch her as she delicately planted some more flowers, kneeling down and reaching across the flower bed. Her long hair hung over her shoulders and lightly brushed against the dirt in front of her as she wiped sweat beads off her forehead.

She didn't mind though. In her mind, hot weather was better than cold weather. She would much rather be outside planting than inside dusting. At least to her what she was doing actually contributed to the beauty of the palace. She thought dusting banisters and furniture was nearly pointless.

She laughed.

'Maybe I should try dusting more often. The dust bunnies kept staging revolts against me.' she thought, still laughing.

After packing in the dirt around the newly planted flowers she picked up the watering can and nourished them, saying a small prayer over them so that they would one day grow big and make Sesshomaru proud.

She watered each individual one then put the watering can away, brushing the dirt off her hands.

"I hope Lord Sesshomaru will like it." said Rin as she pulled her hair back into a loose ponytail and walked inside for a much needed bath.

'Petty feelings. They mean nothing.' He thought, but he knew he was lying to himself. After all, if feeling didn't matter, how was he created? More importantly, Inuyasha, his younger half brother was part of this world because of a love between two people, his demon father and Inuyasha's human mother. That sort of love was unheard of. It was wrong. But how could something so wrong feel so right to him? He had disapproved of their feelings up until…he had started feeling the same about Rin.

~*~*~

Rin started the bath, the hot steam rising and creating warms all around her as she removed her clothes.

Quite happy, she climbed into the bathtub and sunk into the water, leaning against the side of the large tub to think.

'Why is it everything reminds me of him?' she asked herself.

'The flowers, life…death…children…everything. It all leads to him. But could this mean…?' she thought, dunking her lathered head in the water and coming back up.

'Could this mean…that I love him?'

She closed her eyes and put her head back.

'There are signs…signs that mean it's possible he feels the same way about me as I do about him. Like that night…'

~*~*~flashback~*~*~

Sesshomaru moved in front of her and put his finger on her chin moving her head up until her eyes met his.

"Rin. You're hiding it from me."

"Hiding what master?"

"Your feelings."

Rin gasped as Sesshomaru removed his clawed finger from her chin and took a seta in the chair next to her. A fire crackled in the fireplace.

"Lord Sesshomaru…are you saying…"

"That I feel the same way? I'm not sure…but you should not bother your master with such questions."

~*~*~

"That was almost a confession…right?" Rin asked herself.

'But not close enough. I wish I could ask him myself but it's not my place as his maidservant. One such as myself should not bother her master with questions like that. I must cleanse my mind of such thoughts.' she confirmed, dunking her head under the water again to rinse herself a last time.

She came back up and quickly rubbed the water out of her eyes, stepping out of the tub and grabbing a towel.

She wrapped it tightly around herself and crept into the hallway, looking both ways to see if anyone was coming before seeking refuge in the safety of her room.

The coast was clear. Only one more hallway to go. It was a rather large palace with a complicated maze of hallways and a number of vacant rooms that hadn't been filled in years.

Rin came to the corner and held the towel tighter around herself, looking down the left hallway and seeing it clear. As she turned her head to the right she was met face to face with Sesshomaru himself, who didn't seem the least bit fazed to see a naked girl with a beautiful curvy figure covered only in a towel.

She gulped noticeably and began to blush like mad, not removing her eyes from his face even for a second.

Sesshomaru smirked.

"I suggest you go make yourself decent, there is much work to be done."

He turned his back and continued walking, looking over his should and watching her retreat into her bedroom.

She dressed quicker than a flash of light and threw herself onto her bed, looking up at the ceiling. She was panting from running so fast.

"I don't…believe…it…" she gasped. From beside her she grabbed her dilapidated stuffed doll that Sesshomaru had given her for her 8th birthday and hugged it.

'Could this be…the second sign?'

~*~*~ Some of you asked for more Sesshomaru/Rin and lucky for you I already had it planned. ^_^. If you like it, don't worry, there's more on the way and some that I haven't even written yet. If you're not a big fan of it…well…I have some more fluff that isn't Sesshomaru/Rin on the way too. ~*~*~ Miyu