Rin's eyes widened in shock when she was able to get a good look at the father of her friends as well as the boss of her father. His height towered that of even Sesshomaru—his pale hair tied back and his amber eyes scanning her up and down, narrowing in suspicion.
"Son, who is this young woman?" he asked, his voice so low that it practically vibrated the entire garage.
Sesshomaru wrapped a protective arm around Rin's waist, bringing her closer towards him, "This is Rin, my companion."
Rin nearly squeaked at the way that that sounded, laughing nervously, "We're just best friends. He helped me accommodate to my new school!"
Mr. Inugami growled at the idea, "Sesshomaru…you know your intentions for our family business, correct?"
"I never agreed to such terms. Rin is mine, and I will do as I please when it comes to my intended mate," he explained to his father, narrowing his eyes, annoyed at the subject that was being brought up.
Toga Inugami—full name Inu no Toga Inugami—served as the current CEO of said family business, and usually, his sons were to abide by his every rule and demand. Sesshomaru had always proven stubborn and set in his ways, and the divorce with his mother certainly did not help the matter. It was InuKimi's wish to have Sesshomaru involved in an arranged marriage in order to keep the family bloodline strong, and since Toga did break her heart, the least he could do was to carry out this one wish of hers. This seemed impossible now. Sesshomaru had discovered a plain human girl, out of all the exotic demonesses at his disposal, that he found worthy enough to become his life-long mate. How was this possible? Sesshomaru didn't love…or…or did he?
"Your mother will not approve, and I have no authority over the consequences of this choice that you have made, son. If she decides to get involved in a way that endangers this girl, I will not help you," he explained to his eldest.
Rin gasped slightly as she peeked upward towards Sesshomaru, her eyes glassy with hidden tears. Would she really become a target of removal just so that Sesshomaru would have no choice but to accept an arranged marriage? She wasn't even dating the guy, and his family was already after her, "Sesshomaru…can I go home?"
InuYasha and Kagome stepped into the garage around this moment, giggling about something irrelevant. The half-demons joyous expression hardened immediately as soon as his father was noticed, "Dad? Why are you home so early?"
A large smile formed on Toga's face as his prized younger son came into view, "InuYasha…how has your day fared? I see that Kagome is over today."
Kagome awkwardly waved, "Hey, Mr. Inugami."
"Please, call me Toga, dear," he said, chuckling slightly, before his eyes hardened as they landed upon Sesshomaru, "Son, it's best if you did take your human friend home. As blunt as this sounds, she isn't welcomed here."
"Then neither am I," Sesshomaru growled out.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa…what did I miss?" InuYasha asked.
"As usual, this Sesshomaru is never allowed his own desires, but you are a fool, Father. I care not what my mother desires nor do I care about yours. If I want to be with a human, I will do so."
"Dad…why can't you just let the guy be happy? You can't choose who you fall in love with—even if it is a human. You of all people should know that!"
Toga eyed his younger son, though his eyes showed nothing but love for him, "Sesshomaru has duties as a full demon, my boy. It is vital for him to reproduce with a demoness. I care not what he does with the demon girl after a pregnancy is successful, but we need more full-demon lineage."
"It will not happen. The only woman who will conceive the pups of this Sesshomaru will be the one standing beside me."
Rin's face turned bright red as she avoided all eye contact.
"This is ridiculous. We will be leaving now," Sesshomaru said, leading Rin toward his car.
"You cannot run from your duties, Sesshomaru."
"Watch me," the eldest growled out before slamming his door.
He quickly backed the car out of the garage and practically flew away from the mansion, his clawed hands gripping his steering wheel to the point where his knuckles turned white. Rin noticed, but chose to ignore it, glancing out of the window.
"I apologize for my father's actions. He only desires my bonding to a demoness to please my mother and to make up for the misery that he caused her."
Rin glanced at him, "You're not an object that should be used to your parents' desires, but I don't know if I can handle this, Sesshomaru. My father works for yours, and I don't want anything to happen to his job…"
"I promise that nothing will happen to his career under my father, I will make sure of it. I…it would be unfortunate if my parents caused you to avoid me from now."
Rin noticed a glint of sadness in his eyes, and that sadness broke her heart. She knew that he wanted her and only her, but to what extent would his parents go to to make sure that Sesshomaru was able to marry a demon woman?
"Are there…any ways to completely prevent them from continuing their pursuits on you?"
"There is…but we are not ready for such an act. If I were to mark and…mate with you, it would become impossible to break the bond by that point without death, but I know that they wouldn't go as far as to kill you…"
A bright red blush coated her cheeks, "Yeah…I'm definitely not ready for the mating part. What about marking? What is that?"
A slight smirk formed on Sesshomaru's face, "Marking is when I bite into the crook of your neck. This practice is done so that my scent blends with your own. It wards off any rivaling male as well as silently announces that I have chosen you as my mate."
Even that seemed a bit much for their current friendship, but something needed to happen to not only keep her father's job in place but to also secure a stable happiness for Sesshomaru, "Could…could we do that?"
He nearly stopped the car in the middle of traffic, "Are you certain? Once I perform this task, there will be no backing out from our bond. This…will honestly mean that you will become my girlfriend."
"I…I think I'll be okay with that. Besides, we're meant to be together eventually, right?" she chuckled nervously out.
"Yes. We will go on a date tonight, and there, I will mark you."
Rin smiled brightly towards him, trying her to best to hide the creeping nervousness, "Sounds like a plan!"
~~~~
Toga sat in his office, hesitantly dialing the number of the person he needed to call. He knew how hard he always was on the eldest, but his mother made it impossible for the old dog to enjoy Sesshomaru's company. He looked just like her…
"Yes, is there a reason you're bugging me so late in the afternoon? How is my son?"
"He's fine, I suppose. We just have one little problem. You see, he's been—"
"Are you referring to the human girl he follows around like a lost puppy? Yes, I've noticed at the school. Do not worry. I already have a plan."
The idea of Kimi conducting her own plan caused Toga his nerves, "And that would be?"
"Kirinmaru and Zero…"
