"Oh no! That doesn't sound good at all." Rin said to herself in a panic. She battled the thought in her mind: Should I go? Should I stay here? What if it's dangerous?'

As she argued with herself, Sesshomaru came out of his father's house alone. He got in the car and Rin wasted no time asking questions.

"What happened? What was that noise?"

"What noise?"

"I heard a loud, crashing sound a-a-and growling."

"Are you feeling alright, Rin?"

"I'm fine! Please don't do that!"

"Do what?"

"I heard something from inside that house. I know it." She said adamantly.

"Perhaps you did. So what of it? My father is just fine. You can check if you'd like."

"N-no." She said as she began looking around. "Where's Jaken?"

"He stayed behind to have tea with my father."

"Ah. Well...did you get what you needed from him?"

"I did. I would prefer if we didn't stay in my father's driveway much longer."

"Alright. I just need to make one stop."

"Where?"

"I need to return a dress. It was for my 12 year anniversary but...no more fiancée means no more anniversary." She said with a slight chuckle.

"Do whatever you need to do."

The drive across town was as silent as their previous one. Rin was caught up in the silence and swallowed up by memories of Kohaku. She knew if she ever saw him again she'd scream bloody murder, but she still loved him. It didn't make any sense at all. When would she move on?

"You're wasting your time." Sesshomaru said suddenly as he looked out the window.

"Huh?"

"Thinking about him. Remembering your past will only confuse you. Don't try to dwell in a place you don't live anymore."

Rin let out a defeated sigh, knowing in her mind he was right. "It's not that simple for me after so long."

"I never said it was simple. I just said it was a waste of time."

"I guess it's another weak human trait of mine."

"Being betrayed by someone you care for is disheartening for anyone. No one likes to be let down by someone they love."

"Is that how you felt about Kagura?"

The ride became silent again.

"Kagura's decision caught me by surprise. I believed she was going to let me go. When we both saw that unsuspecting man turn the corner, she assumed I was going to murder him as well. But that was never my intention. I never wanted her to see me that way."

"But she did. How did that make you feel?"

"I realized that I lost sight of myself. I often tend to let anger cloud my judgement."

"I can tell. You're often quite calm. It's...pleasant."

"Hmm."

"Well, here it is. I'll be back in a few." She said as she parked the car.

"I'm coming in with you."

"You sure? Well...if you want to."

The two got out the car, Rin took the dress out of the trunk and they went inside the store.

Rin stopped at the counter but Sesshomaru headed further into the store.

'Where is he going?' She wondered to herself as she watched him browsing around.

"Hi, can I help you?"

"Oh, yes. I'm here to return this dress."

"Okay just fill out this return form and show me your receipt." The girl at the counter said as she handed her a return form.

Rin quickly filled out the form and gave the woman the receipt.

"Hmm." She remarked as she examined the receipt. "It's a good thing you came today. Your 60 days was almost up."

"I know. Thank you." She said with a sweet smile.

"Of course."

Rin followed Sesshomaru to the back of the store where he was examining one of the high end dresses.

"Are you ready to go?" She asked.

"Try this dress on." He said, pointing to a pink and lavender, diamond accented, strapless dress.

She cocked her head in confusion as she studied the beautifully elegant dress. "Huh? What for?"

He handed her the dress and pushed her into the dressing room.

Rin stood in the dressing room, holding the dress. She wasn't sure what the point was, but trying on dresses seemed like a fun thing to do with her time.

She got the dress on, but was unable to successfully zip it all the way. She opened the door to her dressing room and peeked around for a female employee, but none were nearby. She let out a sigh.

"Uh, Sesshomaru?" She called out to him as his back was turned to her. "Can you help me zip it up?"

He went into the cramped dressing room with her and closed the door. He slowly zipped the dress up her back and glided his hand down her hip.

"So do you like it?"

Rin took a good look at herself in the mirror. She wasn't sure what she liked more—the way the dress beautifully accentuated her curves, or the way Sesshomaru touched them.

"I love it, actually."

"You can take it off now." He said before letting himself out.

Rin changed back into her clothes and came out the dressing room with the dress in hand.

"Need any help?" One of the assistants asked.

"We'll be taking this dress." Sesshomaru said.

"Wonderful! I'll ring you up." The woman said as she grasped the dress in Rin's hand.

As the dress slipped out of her grip, she noticed the price tag and her jaw nearly dropped.

She watched, still in shock, as Sesshomaru went to pay for the dress.

"How about some accessories to go with this dress?" The woman asked as she pointed to the hair accessories and clutches on the back wall.

"Yes, of course. That one and that one." He replied as he chose the two he was most fond of.

"That'll be $29,047.98. How will you be paying?"

"Credit."

Rin's eye widened. As the woman bagged up his purchases, she rushed to his side.

"What are you doing?"

"Are you blind? I'm buying you a dress. You have to admit it's far nicer than the other one you had."

"Yes but—"

"Have a nice day!" The woman said merrily as she handed him the bag and receipt.

As they began to drive back home, Rin waited to see if he would speak up first and explain what he was up to...

But they were only a few blocks away from the apartment and he hadn't said a word.

"So you're not going to tell me why you just bought me a $20,000 dress along with $9,000 accessories? I didn't even know you still had that kind of money!"

"There is a formal gala for invited demons and their guests coming up. Since I'll need you to accompany me, it's only right that you look good doing so."

"Oh." She responded, still unsure of what was going on.

"I believe we can find out some information about the slayers while we're there."

"Well, alright then. Sounds like a plan."

"I will do everything in my power to make sure you have a wonderful evening while we're at it."

Rin looked at him with her twinkling eyes and sparkling smile. "I certainly hope so!"

InuNo Taisho's home- inside

"Sir, are you alright?" Jaken asked worriedly as InuNo came out of unconsciousness. "Don't try to stand up too quickly."

"Aghh" He groaned as he held his head. "I know I probably had this coming but was it really necessary for him to hit me with such a blunt object?"

"Please don't hold a grudge. He's just having difficulty adjusting to his life." Jaken defended as he helped InuNo into a chair.

"He was so intent on having the invitation as if I wasn't going to send it over to you for him. Why does he want to go so badly?"

"Sir, your son is searching for important information. He believes he can find out what he needs to from the guests of the gala."

InuNo slouched in his seat and held his head. "Have Yuki bring me an aspirin."

"Right away."

At the apartment...

"What are you doing?" Sesshomaru asked upon seeing Rin at the table filling out papers.

"A progress report for you due at the end of this week. I'm just jotting a few things down."

"Oh? Let me see." He said as he walked over to the table.

"No!" Rin said, covering the papers with her hands. "You're not supposed to see."

"I can name three things I wasn't supposed to seethat I saw anyway." He said slyly. "Now move your hands." He demanded as he pushed her hands out of the way.

Rin, too embarrassed to argue, dropped her arms at her sides as he glanced at her paperwork.

He quickly glanced at each line of the pages. "Normalcy...what is it with you and that word?"

"Well it's my ultimate goal for all the patients I work with."

"Look Rin. Normalcy isn't something I can have. It's not something I've ever had."

"Well then we'll have to make a life of normalcy for you together."