Daughters
Chapter Three: Hard Thing and Right Thing

"Are you sure that everything's okay?" Inuyasha's grandfather questioned over the phone. It had been a little over a week since Rin had come to live at his house and his grandfather made it a habit to check in on Inuyasha and Rin whenever he could.

"Yes," Inuyasha said for the third time since the phone conversation had started ten minutes ago. "Everything's fine."

"She's eating enough?"

"Yes," Inuyasha said tensely.

"You've been eating enough?"

"Yes."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes…"

His grandfather's next words came a few moments after his brief interrogation.

"You haven't been drinking in front of her, have you?" his grandfather questioned skeptically.

"What the hell kind of question is that?" Inuyasha snapped into the mouth piece, feeling a large amount of annoyance overflow him. "You know that I don't drink alcohol. Tastes like shit and I have a low tolerance."

"I don't want you drinking in front of Rin," his grandfather responded defensively. "Her father… he had a drinking problem."

"I do not drink, old man," Inuyasha said with clenched teeth.

"And you're not doing drugs?"

"No."

"No illegal activity?"

"No…"

"Sex?"

"No. What the hell is with the interrogation here, gramps?" Inuyasha said while rubbing his eyes with the heel of his palm. He felt a pulsing headache throbbing against his skull.

"And Rin is okay, then?"

He glanced at Rin out of the corner of his eye. She was sitting at the kitchen table, drawing with a wide assortment of crayons of all different colors. Her tiny tongue was sticking out at the corner of her mouth while she worked. A small pile of pictures were slowly growing on her left.

"Yes, she's fine," Inuyasha responded for what felt like the thousandth time that day. "Now stop asking such annoying questions."

He heard his grandfather sigh on the other end. His elder couldn't deny that he worried about the young high school boy taking care of the little girl, but he had faith in his grandson, despite what the prying questions may suggest.

"Thursday, you and I will go out to get the necessary paperwork to make sure that Rin is properly under your care," his grandfather continued, his voice scratchy and distant over the phone.

Inuyasha blew out a stream of air from his mouth. "Yeah, okay."

"I'll see you then, Inuyasha," his grandfather said softly. "Goodbye."

"Yeah, bye," Inuyasha said with a frown before clicking off his phone and hanging it up.

He turned to Rin, who was watching him intently. His eyebrows arched towards his hairline.

"Yeah, what?" he asked. Rin held up a piece of paper that displayed a glass with orange in it. "Orange juice?"

When Rin nodded, Inuyasha released an exasperated sigh before turning on his heel and stalking towards the kitchen. He returned less than a minute later with a tall glass of orange juice. Setting it down next to Rin, he flopped into the chair beside her.

He was about to make himself comfortable when the phone rang again. Inuyasha groaned and lurched off of his chair, stalking towards where the phone remained in its cradle.

Unhooking it, Inuyasha pressed the on button. "Grandpa, this had better not be you."

"Oh," a rather feminine voice sounded from the other end—revealing that it wasn't his grandfather after all. "Um, is this Inuyasha Shinkanshi?"

"Who's asking?" Inuyasha questioned, his eyes narrowing. If it was another charity calling he'd have to throw something.

"This is Mrs. Hino, Rin's teacher?" the woman on the other end paused. "I'm sorry to disturb you so late at home."

Inuyasha glanced at the clock on the wall. It was only seven in the evening, which really wasn't that late. But he figured that she was still embarrassed about calling.

"What do you want?" he asked instead of reassuring the woman that she wasn't too late.

"Oh!" the teacher seemed to continually grow uneasy with the conversation at hand. "It's just that… for the last few days, Rin hasn't had a lunch." Inuyasha frowned. "We've been giving her some food from the snack cubby, but we're growing concerned about Rin's lunch. Our kindergarten doesn't sell lunch and it's up to the parents to make lunch for their children."

"Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" Inuyasha snapped out angrily, his eyebrows knitting together.

"I thought you knew," she said sheepishly.

"Well, I obviously didn't because if I did Rin would have had a lunch by now, wouldn't she?" he growled out angrily, his eyes narrowing as he glared at the wall.

He looked over at Rin, who was watching him earnestly. He almost felt guilty that the girl didn't have any lunch. But then he reminded himself that she got food at lunchtime and he'd get her something to eat tomorrow.

'But still,' he thought sadly, remembering the times he lived with his grandfather and the man had forgotten to make him dinner. 'She deserves to eat, even if she is annoying.'

"She'll have food tomorrow," he told the woman and hung up before the old teacher could say anymore.

He returned to where Rin was sitting and lurched forward into his own chair. His short hair swayed near his chin. "Why didn't you tell me you didn't have a lunch?"

She paused in her coloring and took a sip of her orange juice. She wrinkled her nose and shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on," Inuyasha said as he slapped his forehead with the palm of his hand. "Shouldn't you tell me these things so that I can take care of you?"

Rin wrinkled her nose again, as if silently mocking him. Inuyasha sighed. Taking care of Rin was anything but easy and he was quickly discovering this. The fact that Rin didn't speak proved to be quite a problem, too.

"Whatever," Inuyasha said with a small pout that he quickly disguised as a frown. "Next time something like this happens, tell me so that I can help you, okay?"

She gave him a wild look, her brown eyes unreadable. He could tell from her expression that she didn't believe him. But he couldn't blame her. He had yet to give her a reason to believe that he was actually trying to take care of her.

The rest of their night was spent in silence. Rin continued to color and Inuyasha worked on his homework and scanned the newspaper. If he was going to take care of Rin, he might as well find a job, too, to bring in extra cash. He already had a few interviews lined up. After all, his parents' money wouldn't last forever. Especially with Rin around.

"I need to go grocery shopping soon," he muttered to himself, rubbing his temples. He prayed that when he went that stupid girl wouldn't be there. The last thing he needed was her sardonic way of addressing him and the silent glares she sent him.

Already at school he was noticing how she was periodically staring at him, her eyebrows knitted together and her eyes burning angrily. Those moments were fleeting, however, as Kagome Higurashi was opt to spend time with her friends rather than occupy her time with staring at him.

He snorted to himself. "Such a stupid girl."

Rin glanced up at him, her brown eyes glowing in her confusion.

"Not you," he elaborated.

"Today is a nice day," his grandfather said idly, sipping on the small cup of tea he'd prepared for himself. Another cup similar to it sat, untouched, next to his grandson.

The said grandson sat next to the old man, overlooking Tokyo from his grandfather's balcony. He grunted lightly, acknowledging his grandfather's words.

Rin sat inside, coloring on her grandfather's kitchen table, humming happily to herself and nodding her head to the beat of the tune in her head. The red crayon journeyed down the paper as she worked, illustrating the images in her head and delighting in the simple joys of the wax on the paper.

"Has she not spoken yet?"

"No, I don't understand why," Inuyasha said with a snort, propping his feet up on the railing surrounding the balcony. His drooping eyes surveyed the horizon beyond the tall buildings of Tokyo, the sunlight reflecting in his lavender eyes.

"You truly don't, do you?" his father questioned softly, punctuating his sentence with a tiny sip of his green tea.

"What are you saying?" Inuyasha demanded instantly, feeling his defensive nature flaring up in him.

"No need to get defensive, Inuyasha. Must you always be angry?" his grandfather questioned patiently. Inuyasha flopped back into his chair and turned his head disdainfully away from the older man.

Silence blanketed the sunny afternoon as the younger of the two men stared stubbornly towards the water in the distance while the elder sat patiently, gazing at the back of his grandson's skull.

"I don't think Rin has spoken to you," his grandfather said suddenly, shattering the uncomfortable silence dancing in the air, "because she doesn't trust you."

"And why doesn't she trust me?" Inuyasha questioned stubbornly, already knowing the answer to the question.

"Have you ever shown her one moment of kindness, Inuyasha? True kindness? Where you did it for her and not to make it easier for yourself," his grandfather explained, "do you understand what has happened to Rin?"

Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders and turned his attention back towards the dormant Rin within. The now blue crayon sprayed across the paper like it was possessed. Rin's eyes were screwed in concentration as she concentrated on the task at hand. It was almost like everything else in the world had dissolved away.

Inuyasha's eyes rested on the little girl. She seemed so innocent, so unaffected by the destructive nature of life around her. He'd grown used to the sympathetic stares he received from those who worried for his parentless life, and the distasteful stares from those who knew of his behavior. He was a realist, and he knew what the life was like. He didn't dance around in cruel fantasies designed to sugarcoat the situation or escape from the reality he'd submerged himself in.

But Rin was still young. Rin didn't understand what had happened. Rin didn't understand that she was an orphan and from this point onwards she would always be regarded as 'poor Rin', the little girl who'd lost her parents before she could truly solidify her memories with her parents.

"Rin lost her parents," his grandfather whispered. "Don't you think she deserves kindness?"

"I won't give her pity," Inuyasha said harshly. His lips crinkled into a distressed frown as he continued to observe Rin, who moved through life with such a care-free spirit.

Where had his disappeared to when his parents died?

He turned his face away quickly, not wishing to gaze upon the child he once was.

He felt a hand touch his shoulder and he quickly jerked away, staring at his grandfather with abject horror.

"Don't touch me," he snapped out angrily. He quickly distanced himself from his grandfather, scraping his patio chair across the balcony and resting against the rail on the opposite side. "Don't touch me," he repeated. "Ever."

His grandfather looked saddened by such a command but nodded weakly. In that moment, with the sun casting a shadow of his face, Inuyasha realized just how old and feeble his grandfather truly was.

"I didn't have enough time to make you lunch, so here," Inuyasha said as he thrust a box lunch into her hands he'd bought at the grocery store. Rin took it and stared at it, almost surprised to see it there in her arms. Inuyasha scowled at her reaction.

"Is it so shocking that I'd actually feed you?" he asked, frustrated. She gave him a look that clearly stated that it was indeed a rather large shock to see him buy her something. His frown deepened.

He turned his head away in disgust, feelings his cheeks turn pink. The truth of the matter was that his grandfather's words still repeated themselves in his mind and he hated it. Why was it affecting him so much? Rin was not like him. The only thing they had in common was that they were both orphans. And that was it.

He glanced at the map again—not fully sure as to where Apple Blossoms Kindergarten was.

"Come on," he ordered and Rin trotted behind him, trying to keep up the pace.

They made it to Rin's school in plenty of time. After giving Inuyasha a small wave, Rin disappeared behind the walls of her class and Inuyasha turned away to leave. He saw Rin's teacher and gave her a tiny glare, just so she knew that he hadn't forgotten about the phone call she'd given him.

Inuyasha walked towards his school slowly, not really caring if he turned out to be late or not. Rin would officially be his legal charge tomorrow, after he and his grandfather signed the paperwork. It was an odd thought—knowing that he'd have an adopted daughter. That is, unless he decided to give her to a foster home.

It was funny. A week ago, he would have happily given Rin away. But now, Rin's large brown eyes haunted his thoughts every time he even thought of it. Rin was annoying. Rin was very annoying. But she was alone. She was like he was at her age. Alone and unheard.

He stuffed his hands into the pockets of his uniform slacks. What was he going to do? He knew that he couldn't give Rin away. That would crush the girl and he did not want her to be crushed. Even if she was annoying, no little child deserved to be thrown away… like him.

He remembered how he came into the care of his grandfather. When his parents died, many people sprang to the opportunity to take him in. But soon it became evident that all they were interested in was the immense amounts of money his parents left him. In the end, he'd migrated from one family member to the other, never staying in a school long enough to make friends and always living from a suitcase, it seemed. No, he did not wish that for Rin.

He couldn't give Rin away. And, as much as he longed to live on his own again without having to worry about getting a little kindergartener to her school in the mornings and make sure she had enough to eat, he knew that it was the right thing to do. Despite his disgruntled and unsocial nature, Inuyasha knew that he could not abandon a little girl.

Sometimes the right thing and the hard thing are the same.

Inside, Rin went about her day pleasantly. Her classmates had grown used to her silence and never demanded words from her. She played with them the entire morning, working on puzzles and coloring in pictures of animals.

At lunchtime, the children all gathered their lunches and sat down at their respected tables, happily eating the obento their parents had made for them. Rin unwrapped the small boxed lunch Inuyasha had bought her at the grocery store.

"Glad to see you have a lunch today, Rin-Chan," her teacher said happily, smiling at the little girl. Rin nodded and began eating along with her classmates.

"Rin-Chan," a little girl named Emi said as she stared at Rin's lunch. "Don't you have a homemade lunch, too?"

Rin shook her head and continued eating.

"Doesn't your mommy make you food?" Emi questioned. Rin stared at her, horror-struck.

"Oh! Emi-Chan, eat your lunch," the older teacher said with a shake of her hands. Emi did as she was told, unaware of what she'd just said.

The teacher shook her head when she registered that Rin wasn't reacting to what Emi had told her. "Phew," she whispered to herself. "Children, so bothersome."

Rin blinked, barley registering what Emi had said about her mother. She stared down at her bought, generic lunch.

The little girl ate her food without any complaint, but deep down she wished that Inuyasha would make her food like her friends, taking care to put in her favorite foods for her.

But, in the end, she was happy to even have a lunch. At least Inuyasha had bothered to buy her a lunch.

"See you tomorrow, Rin," her teacher waved happily and Rin returned the gesture shyly, grabbing onto her backpack before trotting after Inuyasha. "Be safe!"

Inuyasha walked quickly. He wanted to get his homework done before he had to go out with his grandfather to get the stupid legal stuff out of the way. He was eager to get home. He was walking in a brisk stride, causing little Rin to have to run behind him.

He wasn't even aware that Rin was falling behind until he heard a tiny cry out behind him. Rin had tripped.

He turned around and stared at Rin, who sat on the ground, clutching her knee with trembling fingers. He walked over to her and knelt, prying her resisting fingers away from her knee. The entire portion of her leg was scraped and bleeding. It was a shallow cut, but it probably stung and Rin looked like she was on the verge of tears.

He frowned and bit back a sarcastic comment. He knew better than to make the already unstable girl upset. He stood, scooping her up.

"Come on, let's go, there's a band-aid at home," he said and started walking, holding her in his arms. He wanted to get home quicker and she was just slowing him down. That's what he told himself. He wasn't carrying her because he cared at all.

Once he reached his apartment, he managed to open the door with some difficulty and keep Rin balanced in his arms. He entered his home and slammed the door shut. Removing his shoes, he deposited Rin on a chair before darting to his bathroom. When he returned, he was holding a plain colored band-aid.

"Here," he said, a note of gentleness filtering into his voice before he could squash it under his tough guy routine. He held out a red wash-cloth and dabbed it against her knee, taking the excess blood with him. Rin watched him silently, eyeing his work with a critical gaze.

He unwrapped the band-aid and pulled it over her cut, effectively covering the red mark. Rin stared at her knee for a long moment before lifting her gaze and staring at Inuyasha.

"There," Inuyasha said with a tiny pat on her knee before standing up. "All better."

With that, Inuyasha took the rag and disappeared from the room, returning to the foyer where he picked up his backpack to start his homework. Slinging it over his shoulder, he turned on his heel and was surprised to see Rin standing there, staring up at him with large brown eyes.

"What?" he questioned.

Rin blinked once then looked down at her feet. "Thank you."

Inuyasha stood, rooted to that spot, as he heard Rin speak for the first time. There wasn't anything remarkable about her voice, but the fact that he'd become quite accustomed to communicating through drawings caused a rather shocked expression to cross his face.

"So, you can talk after all?" he said lightly before walking over to the kitchen table and unpacking his necessary materials for his homework. He glanced at Rin, who was still looking at him her brown eyes glowing in the light of the room. He felt a sigh escape his lips. "You're welcome."

Silently, she trotted over to where he sat and climbed up onto the chair next to him. She occupied herself with watching him work on his calculus. He worked assiduously and Rin watched him, never breaking her gaze. Her feet kicked out lightly, thumping against his leg occasionally.

"I've always been able to talk," she said suddenly and Inuyasha nearly jumped. He wasn't used to her words and was growing used to the tranquility of his apartment.

"And why haven't you?" he asked her, watching her closely.

Rin blinked and absorbed the question. "I didn't want to."

"I see," he said after a moment and went back to his homework. He had to finish his homework that was due in two days—he had an interview the following afternoon and he didn't want to be pressed for time. He needed a job.

He slammed his locker shut after he pulled out his uniform shoes. He sighed. Only one day left of the school week. Slipping his shoes on, Inuyasha headed towards his homeroom classroom. Checking his watch, he headed towards the vending machine.

He fished in his pocket for some stray yen to buy a lemon tea. Locating a few stray coins, he approached the machine. Just as he was about to reach it, however, a girl stepped in front and began depositing her coins into the machine.

"Hey!" he snapped out irritably. "Get the hell away, I was here first."

The girl turned around and Kagome's bright blue eyes stared at him incredulously. She frowned when she saw him before turning back around.

"Be patient, I'll only take a second," Kagome spoke gently, trying to soothe his ruffled feathers.

"How about you just move out of the way?" Inuyasha cracked out crossly, his lavender eyes narrowing. Kagome turned around and gave him a look.

She rolled her eyes and punched the button for the juice she wished to get. Getting a raspberry and blueberry blended drink, she waited for the machine to dispense it. All the while, Inuyasha stood behind her, his arms crossed and glowering.

"Give it a rest," she said when she turned around and saw his stance. She rolled her oceanic orbs again. "Must you start a fight everywhere you go? Why can't you just be decent for one minute of your life?"

Inuyasha's nose wrinkled and he snarled. "Shut up."

"Very mature," she said sardonically before strolling off, leaving him alone with the machine. After getting his precious lemon tea, he stalked off to his homeroom, all the while cursing the air Kagome Higurashi breathed.

He entered his classroom and sat in his seat, watching the sky outside once again. It was his favorite pastime. Although, today the sky was overcast and dark—very uninteresting to watch.

His gaze focused instead on the only other person in the classroom—Kagome. She sat to his right and two seats in front of him. She sipped on her raspberry-blueberry drink happily, her black hair reflecting the lights above them.

"I'm plenty mature," he said suddenly to her back. She paused mid-sip and turned her attention towards him. She arched a brow, her blue eyes staring directly at him. He seemed to grow lost in her blue eyes.

"I beg to differ," she said with a small, off-handed shrug. She turned her attention back to the front of the room, as if trying to close the conversation. Inuyasha would have known of that, however.

"You don't even know me," he countered.

"I don't have to," she said airily, never once turning back around.

Inuyasha stood and stalked to her desk, planting a hand on her desk and staring down at her. She met his gaze unwavering, the blue depths seeming to stare into his soul. He felt discontented standing there over her, leaning close to her as if they were sharing a wonderful secret.

"And why not?" he hissed out quietly.

Her blue eyes swept his face, taking in each dip and curve of his jaw line. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head. She reopened them and gazed out the window behind him.

"I see the way you treat others," she said finally. "And you're rude and inconsiderate."

He couldn't think of a way to refute that remark. Because he knew that it was true and that meant that she was right. But he didn't want her to think that she was in the right. He bit his lip and gave her a small glare. But she still remained unfazed, staring up at him. Slowly, her lips curved into a tiny smile, almost a smirk, really.

"You're immature," she said finally, her blue eyes sparkling. "And you're going to die a lonely old man."

He stared at her for a long moment, not truly registering what she said until it was done and gone. He gaped at her and blinked his lavender eyes in disbelief.

"You're a bitch," he said finally. "You're a stupid bitch who thinks that she knows everything."

She sniffed. "Whatever."

He stood up and crossed his arms. "So I'm an inconsiderate jerk… but you're a know-it-all bitch. Both seem rather annoying." He nodded his head. "But at least I'm not ugly."

She glared at him with a mixture of shock and anger as he moved back to his desk.

"Class is starting soon, Shinkanshi-kun," Kagome said bitterly. Inuyasha could hear every bit of contempt dripping from each syllable of his name.

The first bell rang and students filtered into the room, unaware of the interaction that transpired between the two classmates.

Perhaps it was then that Inuyasha solidified his hatred for Kagome. It was in that moment that he truly understood why he couldn't stand people. At all.

He dropped his work uniform on his bed as he scanned the newspaper for a baby-sitting agency. He'd been trying to find someone suitable to baby-sit Rin while he was at work. It wouldn't be a full-time job. He would only be working four times a week, at most. It wasn't a lot of time, especially since his pay would be less than minimal. But he still needed someone to watch Rin. He couldn't very well leave the girl to his own devices. If he did, he'd come home to a destroyed home.

His newspaper scanning came to a success when he located a baby-sitting agency. Dialing the number, Inuyasha cradled the phone between his ear and his shoulder as he scurried about his house, cleaning up the messes Rin had left from the earlier morning.

The said girl was sitting at the kitchen table, drawing pictures like she always did.

"Hello?" a voice crackled over the phone line.

"Uh, yeah, hi," Inuyasha spoke, grasping the phone with his hand and leaning against the wall. "I'm interested in hiring a baby-sitter for my cousin, Rin."

"How old is the child?"

"Uh…" he glanced at Rin. "Five or six, I don't remember."

"Four," Rin's tiny voice piped up from the table, never lifting her gaze.

"Four," Inuyasha corrected.

There was a pause on the other line. Apparently they'd never had a caller say they didn't know the age of the child. Inuyasha cleared his throat, which seemed to spark the voice back into its routine.

"How many days will you be needing a baby-sitter?"

"It varies," Inuyasha spoke. "I'd only need one in the afternoons for a couple hours. No more than four times a week, though."

"Do you have a preference for a baby-sitter?" the voice questioned.

Inuyasha screwed up his face. "No."

The rest of the call progressed without a hitch. He would be contacted when the baby-sitter would come. He'd have the decision whether to hire the worker or not. Inuyasha supplied his contact information and hung up the phone.

Running his hand over his face he sighed gently. "I wonder how much it's going to cost?"

Rin glanced up at him from her drawings. "What's for dinner?"