A/N: First off, I am very excited to announce that there are even more views on this story now, as well as comments and a favorite! (I could go on, but I don't want to turn this author's note into a novel!) Second, this one turned out longer than the others (a little over 6 pages) and it could honestly be longer, perhaps even become a full-length story. There was just so much I wanted to fit in! Sesshomaru is kind of OOC (concerned parent vs. his 'whatever' attitude in the anime), which I hope isn't too off-base. Kagura also guest-stars in this entry. Please enjoy (or let me know what you didn't like)!

DAY 6

Sesshomaru + Co: Matchmaker Rin (Modern AU)

Rin sat at the kitchen island, swinging her feet as they dangled from the tall bar chair, eating breakfast. A-Un looked up from his spot beneath her feet, hopeful she would drop some human food. Rin was careful not to, as Sesshomaru had said it would make the dog-like dragon demon sick. On the chair next to her, Rin's backpack and lunch box sat packed and ready to go.

"You must hurry Rin, or you'll be late for the bus," Jaken, Sesshomaru's personal assistant/housekeeper, fussed at her in his shrill voice. It was hard to take him seriously when his apron said "Kiss the Cook." Rin rolled her eyes.

"Good morning, Rin," Sesshomaru strolled into the kitchen, already dressed for work.

"Morning, Sessh," she replied cheerfully. Rin wondered if it was too early to start calling him "Dad," or if it would just be weird regardless.

"Are you almost ready to leave for school?"

"I'm ready to go now," Rin hopped down from her chair and grabbed her dishes, walking around the counter to put them in the sink.

"Do you have your key?" Rin nodded. "Please double-check that; Kagura doesn't have a key and it would be most unfortunate if you were locked out."

Rin double-checked, pulling out the key and kneeling on the chair so that she was tall enough to wave it in Sesshomaru's face. Jaken would be out of town that weekend, as his sister was getting married, and his flight would leave in a few hours. Usually on such occasions, Sesshomaru would leave work early, but today that was not an option as he not only had to argue in court today, but also prepare several subpoenas, as well as other lawyer stuff that Rin didn't really understand. The situation being what it was, it was quite fortunate that Sesshomaru's friend, Kagura, was able to pick Rin up from the bus stop. Kagura worked as a computer programer and their 'casual Fridays' included the option of working from home, which Kagura always took advantage of and completed her work in half the time it would have taken her at the office.

Rin liked Kagura. She had only met her guardian's best friend a handful of times in the six months since she had lived there, but Rin could already tell that Kagura was a pretty awesome person. What Rin didn't understand was why Sesshomaru and Kagura weren't dating each other. They obviously liked each other - Rin was nine years old, not blind - and had been friends for longer than Rin had been alive. They laughed at the same jokes, liked the same movies, and while Kagura and Sesshomaru had differing opinions on spicy food (she loved it, he couldn't stand it), Rin believed that it was important for there to be some differences in a relationship. In Rin's mind, Sesshomaru and Kagura were perfect for each other.

When Rin got off the bus that afternoon, Kagura was waiting for her. She wore her hair down, as usual, and a brightly colored kimono jacket to keep off the late spring chill.

"Yo," Kagura greeted her.

"Hi, Kagura!" Rin was always excited to see her.

They walked from the bus stop to Sesshomaru's house together, Rin chattering about school that day and A-Un's latest antics, as well as asking Kagura how her job was going or if she'd heard any good jokes recently. When they got to the front door, Rin pulled out her key to unlock it and let them into the house.

"You know, Kagura, I think Sessh should give you a key too," Rin commented, trying to be casual.

In reply, Kagura laughed. "So I could sneak in here and balance a bucket of water on top of his bedroom door?" She meant it in jest, to change the subject. A key meant things.

Kagura and Sesshomaru were close, of course, after being friends since freshman year of college, which was why he'd never think of her that way. Kagura secretly wished he would. But Sesshomaru hadn't shown interest and it had been over four years since she had finally cut Naraku out of her life. Sesshomaru was warm and open with her, but he still played his cards close to his chest. This was why Kagura still hoped, deep in the back of her mind where she couldn't immediately dismiss the thought as foolish, that Sesshomaru would make a move, or drop a hint, or something. She also felt a tad pathetic, pining after her best friend despite there being no evidence that he would ever feel the same. Kagura was all too familiar with the irrational ways of the heart.

After fixing a snack for Rin and getting her started on her homework, despite her protests that she had all weekend to do it, Kagura settled down on the couch with the book she brought. An hour later, the landline in the kitchen rang. Rin was within arms' reach of the phone and answered it before Kagura could. A few seconds later, Rin passed the phone to Kagura.

"Worried we've already set your house on fire, Sesshomaru?"

"Very funny, Kagura," Sesshomaru deadpanned, "I had complete faith in you until just now. I'm calling because I'll be home later than expected and I wanted to make sure you were able to stay until then. I'll be home by eight o'clock with take out of your choice," Sesshomaru offered.

"Or," Kagura countered, "I could make pizza."

"I could always pick up a pizza," Sesshomaru counter-offered, "You're already helping me out quite a bit by watching Rin this evening, the least I can do is bring you dinner."

"The least you could do is not torture me with sub-par pizza, Sesshomaru," Kagura teased, "unless, of course you want to convince Mancini's to do take out orders and then drive an extra twenty minutes both ways to pick it up. I mean, if you really hate my homemade pizza that much…"

"Thanks, Kagura," Sesshomaru acquiesced, "I will gladly accept your offer of homemade pizza. I'll be home by 7:45, take care."

Kagura hung up the phone and addressed Rin, who had been leaning in to listen to the phone call, "Bad news: we're not having dinner until just before eight tonight. Good news: I'm making pizza and you get to help! I'll also fix you a bigger snack after we get the dough started."

Kagura assembled the ingredients in the kitchen, wearing the "kiss the cook" apron and Rin donned her pink apron. "Would you grab some hair ties so we don't get any hair in the pizza, please," Kagura asked, and Rin ran off upstairs to grab some from her bathroom.

Rin returned, handing a few to Kagura as she struggled with her own hair. Kagura bent forward, scooping her hair into a high ponytail. That was when Rin saw it. The faint outline of a spider burnt into the back of her neck. It was fading away in places, but where the burn met the uninjured skin, Rin could see where the raised scar tissue began. Someone had branded her. Rin fumbled with her hairbrush and dropped it on the counter. Kagura turned around at the sharp sound.

"Hey, are you okay," she asked and Rin nodded, quickly averting her eyes. It was rude to stare. "Oh, that," Kagura said, recalling the brand on the back of her neck and nervously touching it, "it, uh, happened a while ago. Nothing to worry about."

"I'm sorry for staring," Rin said quietly.

"You're all good," Kagura said, shrugging it off.

"I have scars too," Rin piped up, pulling the collar of her shirt aside. There were four scratch marks starting at her neck and continuing across right shoulder. "Some wolves attacked me and I actually died, but it was okay because Sessh saved me."

Kagura recalled that night. It was after ten and her cell phone started ringing. She went over, intent on switching it off, but answered instead. Sesshomaru never called her that late at night - it must be something important. It was. Not only had the Tenseiga nearly torn itself out of his pocket (where it had stayed dormant and contained as a pen for years), but Sesshomaru had also somehow been roped into becoming a foster parent because of it. It was almost too ridiculous to be true, but truth was stranger than fiction and Sesshomaru was not one to lie.

"Can you help me," Rin asked, interrupting Kagura's recollections, "I can't get my hair to behave."

"Sure thing, kid," Kagura took the offered hair brush and carefully detangled Rin's hair.

"Can you do it in a high ponytail like yours," Rin asked shyly.

"Sure," Kagura replied.

Soon, they were ready to start on the pizza dough, hair up and out of the way in matching ponytails. After the dough was mixed, it was time for Kagura's favorite part, kneading the dough. She spread flour on the counter and then split the dough into two parts - one smaller than the other - so that Rin could help. After the pizza dough was adequately kneaded, Kagura combined it into one ball and placed it in a bowl to rise for two hours. Rin helped clean up the counter while Kagura put the ingredients away in the high cupboards and began fixing a snack for her. Rin was perfectly capable of getting her own snack, but it was nice to have someone else fix her something. It was nice to be taken care of.

It had been a little over six months since that night in the park, when she died and was brought back to life again. Before that, it had been a series of foster homes, some lasting longer than others. Rin could barely remember her parents, they died when she was five years old. She remembered them taking care of her. She remembered bedtime stories, kisses goodnight, and her mom brushing her hair. After they died, Rin didn't get a lot of bedtime stories, no one kissed her goodnight, and usually when someone brushed her hair they weren't very patient. But in the past six months, Rin learned what it was to be taken care of again.

Rin was perfectly capable of pouring herself a bowl of cereal, or making toast, or even scrambling eggs, but she hadn't made her own breakfast since the first morning she lived in Sesshomaru's house. She'd woken up early, too nervous and excited to sleep past sunrise and crept down the stairs because she was hungry and didn't want to wake Sesshomaru up. He'd already been so kind to her and she was perfectly capable of fixing her own breakfast. What Rin didn't realize was that Sesshomaru was a light sleeper with exceptional hearing, so the sound of the microwave woke him up. He came downstairs just as Rin was sitting down at the table with her bowl of instant oatmeal. Rin quickly apologized for waking him up, but Sesshomaru claimed to have woken up completely by coincidence. He walked over to the refrigerator, pulling out eggs and bacon, and stated that he would cook some for Rin as well. After that, Rin didn't make her own breakfast. Even on Saturday morning, when she watched cartoons with several bowls of sugary cereal, Sesshomaru got a bowl and a juice glass down from the cupboards, which were not designed with children in mind, and set them on the counter for her before he left to take A-Un on his morning walk.

Rin didn't get any goodnight kisses, but Sesshomaru did read to her almost every night. They had started with Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone and were halfway through Prisoner of Azkaban. Sesshomaru didn't know much about braiding hair (despite having a gorgeous head of long silver hair himself), but he was learning. And Kagura had been so gentle and patient when she brushed Rin's hair and put it up in a ponytail.

Rin watched as Kagura fixed plates of vegetables with hummus for both of them, as well as peanut butter for the celery, and a glass of milk for Rin. Before sitting down, Kagura took a bag of shredded mozzarella from the freezer and put it in the fridge to thaw out a bit. Rin noticed that there were always pizza ingredients in the kitchen.

Two hours later, the dough was ready to be rolled out. Kagura preheated the oven and asked Rin to gather the tomato paste, garlic, pepperoni, and anything else she might want on the pizza. Kagura rolled out the dough on one counter and Rin deposited the toppings on the counter near the oven. Rin watched in awe as Kagura tossed the dough up in the air, catching it with ease. Rin pulled out a cutting board and a knife before going to the sink to wash the bell pepper.

"Are you allowed to use sharp knives," Kagura asked, turning around when she heard Rin slicing something.

"Well," Rin replied evasively, "Sessh never said I couldn't. And I've used sharp knives before. It's not like I'm helpless in the kitchen…"

Kagura waited for Rin to go on. Her patience was rewarded when Rin continued in a quieter voice, "I can do rice, beans and franks, grilled fish, and I made a stir-fry once." Rin recalled that night - the oil burned her when she put the tofu in and she started the rice way too early, but it tasted alright and the two younger kids in that house appreciated the hot meal. "And I could have fixed my own snacks this afternoon - I'm sorry I made you do that, Kagura - I guess I just like being taken care off."

"Hey, it's okay. Are you sure you weren't cutting onions," Kagura's weak joke fell flat, but Rin still smiled. "It's okay to want to be taken care of Rin, you're still a kid. I didn't mind fixing snacks for you. And I don't mind making dinner by myself either, but I do appreciate your help."

"I - I want to help," Rin sniffed and wiped at her eyes, "I like helping you cook. Jaken lets me help sometimes too, but only with little things. I do want to help," Rin admitted quietly. She didn't say that it was like having a mom again. She could barely remember her own mother.

"Okay. Maybe you could open the can of tomato paste and I'll do the chopping?"

"Actually," Rin felt a bit sheepish, "I usually cut myself trying to open cans. But I can cut up the bell pepper, I promise!"

"Okay, I'll trust you, but I'll do the onion and the garlic," Kagura relented, unwilling to quell Rin's eagerness to help.

I hope she doesn't cut herself. Sesshomaru probably wouldn't be very happy if she did. He even gets the kid's cereal bowl down for her. With every action, Sesshomaru said to Rin: 'You don't have to fend for yourself anymore.'

After the pizza was in the oven, Kagura found herself playing three games of checkers in a row, all of which she lost. The fourth game, which Kagura felt she was winning, was interrupted twice. First, by the timer for the pizza and second, by the garage door opening. Kagura resigned herself to defeat and took plates down from the cupboard, passing them to Rin to put on the table. Sesshomaru strolled through the door connecting the garage to the house, announcing that he brought ice cream. Rin immediately ran over and hugged him.

"Yay! Thank you Sessh! What kind did you get," Rin asked, trying to take the shopping bag from him.

"You will find out after dinner, Rin," Sesshomaru replied, continuing to the kitchen and quickly placing the icecream in the freezer. Turning to Kagura, he said, "The pizza smells wonderful, you have my gratitude."

"Your gratitude, whatever will I do with that," Kagura teased.

"Quite a lot of things, I'm sure," Sesshomaru quipped back.

Soon, the pizza was served and they all sat around the table together. A memory tugged at Rin's mind. This is what it's like to have a mom and a dad. It felt the same, anyways. The warmth, the laughter, the obvious sparks between Sesshomaru and Kagura. Well, obvious to anyone who wasn't completely oblivious, like the two adults. The wheels in Rin's mind began to turn as she formulated one plan and then another. She was going to get these two together. She was going to have two parents again.

After dinner Sesshomaru revealed not only the flavor of ice cream he bought (strawberry) but also that he had purchased sprinkles, maraschino cherries, and chocolate syrup so that they could have ice cream sundaes.

"Did you get whipped cream," Kagura asked hopefully.

"Why would one ever put whipped cream on ice cream," Sesshomaru asked, questioning her judgement, "That would just be too much."

Kagura rolled her eyes. "You, clearly, are a heathen."

"And I, clearly, have the jar of maraschino cherries and will only give you one if you continue to insult me."

"Touchè," Kagura put up her hands and tried not to laugh at him.

Rin wracked her brain for ways to use this to further her grand matchmaking scheme. 'Get a room' was kind of rude and wouldn't work. 'It feels like I have a mom and dad again,' was too direct and would probably result in the opposite of progress. Hmm… what to do, what to do?

"I think you should give Kagura as many maraschino cherries as she wants," Rin said, tugging on Sesshomaru's sleeve, "she was really nice to me. Kagura made me a snack, we made pizza together, and she helped me tie my hair back so it wouldn't get in the dough. Look, we match!" Rin pointed to the high ponytails they both wore. She decided on going the route of praising Kagura.

Sesshomaru looked fondly at both of them. "You do make a good argument, Rin. I suppose a copious amount of maraschino cherries is the least I can do for her."

He smiled and surrendered the jar to Kagura. Rin decided that this was a sufficient start. Later that night, she would scribble down her ideas in the back of a school notebook. But, for now, she basked in the glow of their combined happiness and enjoyed her ice cream.

A/N: I'm posting Day 7/Kikyō right after this; stay tuned!