AN After a long break used to get used to the hell that is my Freshman year of Highschool, I am back! And with TWO chapters for your reading pleasure! . So yeah. Nyah nyah, you can't throw things at me now! -bwahas-
Anyway... WOW. 48 reviews for only four chapters! I'm touched. oo So I think I'll do review responses today! -yays and gets to it-
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Anonymous - Glad you like my stories, and the way I write! I usually don't write above a PG-13 rating, mostly because I'm only almost-15 myself. Anyway, here's my double-update!
me, just me - Heh heh... Sorry about making you wait... And I haven't given up on Love and Rock, I'm just... still trying to finish it. Oo; Its hard. x.x; I need inspiration... Anyway, thank you for reviewing!
Naoko2 - Hiiii! -tacklehugs- I've said this so many times, but I'll say it again! Thank you so much for being my beta! Much love and pocky!!! And thank you for reviewing! Luv ya like a sister!
Doughnuts of Miroku - Yay! My catchy title works! -skips around being goofy- I was thinking of trying to incorporate the title into the story, but everything I've come up with so far is cheesy Oo... But oh well! Thank you very much for da nice review! Makes me happy, knowing my grammar is appreciated. o.o; I'm big on grammar... Cept apostrophes. -blink- To hell with apostrophes! -runs off cackling- (Ashura: Please excuse the authoress, she's extremely hyper. ...)
aphrodite24goddess - Yes. o.o That was two months' work. -ducks rotten tomatoes- I'm updating, I'm updating! After... a long time... Err... ASHURAAAA! -runs screaming for her bodyguard/muse-
Youkaigirl99 - Hee, yay for run-on sentences! Of course my english teachers wouldnt agree ... Mwaha, yessss... Sessy takes interest in RIN, not Rin bes-a-crazy-obsessed-fangirl. Bwaha!
Also thanks to:
Retta
New Fan
Mini Nicka
Gohansfav1
keeper-of-the-triforce
spirit demon
Between The Lines
Lynn-Minmay
g27
and anyone else I might have missed! ; Sorryyyy...
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It was now 6:45 AM. Dakatsu Jakotsu had arrived early and finished setting out coloring books, crayons, paper and toys. He sat down upon the pile of mats that the kids normally took their naps on, gazing around the room. It was almost opening time and Rin still hadnt arrived.
"Huh... Must have been here late last night... I won't bug her about coming to work today." He said, speaking to the empty room.
The first rays of morning sunlight streamed through the windows, playing across the brightly colored toys and tables. It splashed about the carpet, bathing the room in morning glow.
Five minutes later, Jakotsu's older brother stepped in, carrying a large, brown paper shopping bag in each arm. "'Ey Bro!" Suikotsu greeted his younger brother. He dropped the shopping bags and Jakotsu laughed silently to himself when he saw a torrent of baby dolls, Barbies, dress up clothes, plastic tea accessories, and other toys meant for little girls spill out onto the carpeted floor.
"Kikyo wanted to bring this stuff up." Suikotsu explained. "Its hers and her little sister Kaede's old toys."
"That... is a lot of stuff, bro." Jakotsu blinked. "But I'm sure I can find some room to store it all. Tell Kikyo thanks for Rin and me."
"You can tell her yourself. She's coming in with a couple more bags." Suikotsu shrugged, opening the door for his fiancee, who dropped two more bags of toys into the pile.
"Woah... Thanks for the donation Kikyo." Jakotsu laughed. "I'm sure a lot of little girls will be very busy today."
"No problem, Jakotsu." Kikyo smiled. "It was about time I cleaned out that attic anyway."
Jakotsu, Suikotsu, and Kikyo were still sorting things into large clear plastic boxes when the parents began dropping off their children.
Rin still hadn't arrived.
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Rin was vaugely aware of an alarm clock beeping, and of her hand swatting it to the ground. She slept in until 7:30.
Her nose twitched as something fluffy and shedding hairs met it. She opened her eyes, aware of the warm mass lying contentedly on her chest.
"Gah, Cali..." She managed to get out, before she sneezed and sent her fat pet calico cat running. "What a pleasant wake-up call..." She muttered sarcastically.
Rin got out of bed, only to stub her toe on her alarm clock, which amazingly hadn't broken. The digital green numbers flashed 7:34, and brown eyes widened.
"Shit! I'm late!" It was a flurry of activity as Rin hurried to get dressed in a pair of navy blue cargo capris and grey form-fitting t-shirt, brush her hair and teeth, grab a bagel, and drive to work.
After parking, she ran in, almost losing a black satin butterfly-patterned flip-flop.
Her worst nightmares came true as she ran into a warm, muscled someone in a business suit and tie. Strong hands grabbed her shoulders to steady her, and a smirking, gold-eyed face looked down at her.
"It seems you have a habit of running into me, Miyazawa-san." Iizuki Sesshoumaru stated coolly.
She noticeably flinched, but shrugged it off, her voice almost matching his own cold tone. "Iizuki-san, it seems you have a habit of getting in my way."
"Hn."
"What are you doing here?" She raised an eyebrow, more than a bit ticked at his mere presence.
"Dropping off Aikou and Koushi, what else Miyazawa-san? And there is the matter of payment from yesterday..." He took three crisp, $100 bills from his wallet and handed it to the stunned young woman.
"It was just one day, Iizuki-san, this is way too much... I can't accept it..." She shook her head, trying to hand it back, but he refused.
"Then consider it payment for yesterday, and today. Besides, I'm sure a woman such as yourself could use the extra money."
"Rich bastard..." She muttered under her breath. "Though there is one thing I'd like to know. Why would you bother with a place like this, when you can afford any top preschool in the country?" This had been bugging her all night. She just had to know.
"This Sesshoumaru has his reasons, Rin..." Her first name rolled off his tongue in a pleasant manner. Rin, it was a nice name, he admitted reluctantly to himself.
Rin gaped slightly. He was using her first name already! And the stare he gave her... Ohh, it unnerved her. It was like he was staring into her very soul.
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be getting to work." He said coolly, turning away and breaking the spell.
"Bye daddy!" Two child-like voices called out as he left, low silver ponytail swaying ever so slightly as he walked.
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Jakotsu had silently watched the whole encounter. How dare that man treat his cousin like that! The 23 year old didnt trust men like that, men that acted as if they owned the world, and now one had seemingly taken a sick, demented interest in his innocent cousin Rin.
He wouldn't interfere, for fear Rin would become angry with him for meddling in her personal life, but if that man did anything to hurt her, Jakotsu would make him regret it... He could almost imagine how beautifully that perfect man's blood would run, thick and red...
Jakotsu mentally slapped himself. Don't think like that!, he muttered to himself.
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Sesshoumaru sat in the comfortable chair behind his polished mahogany desk. Sunlight streamed through the panels of glass on the eastern wall of his spacious office. He leaned back, closing his amber eyes for a moment.
His moment of solitude was interrupted by a squwaking, high-pitched voice and the crashing of a toad-like youkai falling on his face in front of the desk.
"M-mi lord!" Jaken said, out of breath. A green, warty hand held up a McDonald's bag. "I... I got your Big Mac sir! Prepared by a female worker under 5' and I only took left turns!"
Smirking slightly to himself, he took the bag and inspected the now cold burger. "Jaken..."
"Y-yes mi'lord?"
"I said no pickles." He smiled that unnerving smile of his that scared more people than his glare, and tossed the sack into the trash.
"Gomen nasai, mi'lord..." Jaken seemed to wilt almost.
"Get out of my office."
"Yes mi'lord." Hanging his little green head, he scurried from the room. Alone once more, Sesshoumaru allowed himself a small snicker.
With that done, he called in one of his assistants, a young boy just out of highschool, Higurashi Souta, his brother's wife's little brother.
"Yes sir?"
"What do I have on the agenda for today?"
Souta withdrew a small electronic organizer and the thing beeped as he looked up today's agenda.
"You have a meeting with a representative of Miasma Inc. today from 3 to 4:30 pm, sir."
"Call Onigumo Naraku's office and see if the meeting for 3 today is still on. If so, inform Jaken that he will be attending instead of this Sesshoumaru."
"Yes sir, right away." Souta bowed and walked from the office to do as he was told.
Sesshoumaru leaned back in his soft, expensive office chair and sighed slightly. Normally he wouldn't have done something like that, but this was Onigumo Naraku of Miasma Inc. He knew exactly what the leech wanted. A merger, to combine their companies, and he wouldn't get it while Iizuki Sesshoumaru was in charge of Taiyoukai Incorporated.
"My father started this company by himself and saw it grow into the Taiyoukai Computers Incorporated of today." He muttered to the empty room. "And now it's mine. I'll run this company like he would have."
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Rin sat on the floor on some beanbag chairs, surveying the room. It was about 10 am now, and the daycare was busy with toddlers laughing and screaming.
When she had arrived this morning, after Iizuki-san left, Jakotsu, Suikotsu, and Kikyo had greeted her as if she hadn't come in late. She was surprised, but glad they weren't angry with her.
Now most of their charges were here, and her cousins and friend were playing with the little ones.
Normally Rin would be too, but she had a lot on her mind today. Glancing to where Aikou was coloring in a coloring book depicting samurai, she couldn't help but think of Iizuki Sesshoumaru.
They had seemingly gotten off to a bad start, and she now felt bad for yelling at him. His life as an important businessman with the media on his tail wherever he might go was probably hard. He probably had an excuse for being so late last night.
But why couldnt he send his wife to pick them up? Surely he had a wife! There's no way someone as important, famous, and handsome as him could be single!
Is there?
Great. Rin's curiosity was piqued. She had to find out, and it'd be rather rude to just ask him. Not to mention she might seem like a desperate gold digger who wanted to seduce him for his money... Rin shivered. She absolutely HATED people like that.
"Hey Rin, I'm gonna go pick up some stuff for the kids' lunch later, okay?" Suikotsu stated from the back kitchen area, where he was looking through the cabinets.
"I'll do it Suikotsu, just give me a list!" Rin stated. The perfect excuse to get away for a few minutes and check Jakotsu's extensive collection of People magazine! Surely they would have mentioned Iizuki-san a few times...
"Okay, thanks a bunch Rin." He smiled gratefully and grabbed a pen and paper, jotting down a short grocery list. Rin took it from him and slipped out the door.
"First stop: Jakotsu's." She said softly to herself, getting into her car and starting it up. She drove downtown to her cousin's apartment complex and marched up the stairs to number 209.
Rin found the key under the mat and stepped in quietly, flipping on the lights. It felt kinda weird coming in here when he was away, but she couldn't ask him if he'd let her go through his People magazine collection! What would she say? 'Hey Jakotsu, I wanna know more about this guy, can I look at your magazines?'
It might make her sound like she had a romantic interest in Sesshoumaru! Which she didn't of course!
She went to his room, where his magazines were kept in cardboard boxes in his closet. She sat on the floor in the closet and looked at the labels on the boxes: Shonen Jump, random manga magazines... Aha! People!
To her surprise, she found a few issues on top of the box and not stuck in like the others. Each one featured Iizuki Sesshoumaru.
"Odd... Jakotsu must have been looking at these yesterday..." She found it strange, but the young woman brushed it off.
Picking up a magazine from 3 years ago, her eyes widened slightly at the featured article. 'Mrs. Iizuki Divorces Sess'
"So he's divorced?" She skimmed the article and sighed. "That poor man... His wife leaving him only a year after Aikou and Koushi were born... And poor Aikou and Koushi, they must miss their mother..."
Now she felt really bad for yelling at him just because he was late. He was a single father trying to balance a huge, important job and two small children, with the media following his every move, and she had YELLED at him for being late! Surely he was doing the best he could!
She decided she wouldn't apologize, because he could have at least called, the SCCC -WAS- in the phonebook after all, but from now on she'd try to be more understanding.