Hello everyone! It's been an awful long time, but here I am! Happy new year and all that, and I hope to become closer and closer to everyone!

Ironically, my first words are sort of complaints. I think all of you have noticed a user known as overninethousand who posts those faq links on every Sesshomaru/Rin story. I'm going to be as patient and polite as possible, but I'm losing my cool here. Please refrain from posting those links on my stories. All my stories. The faqs say it themselves: it's fine to support whomever you want. You seem hellbent on making us change. We're not changing. You've called us all but lunatics, and that actually sort of angers me. I have yet to see a Sesshomaru/Rin fan that loathes Sesshomaru/Kagura fans as much as you loathe us. I even have a really good friend here who writes Sess/Kag. I like Kagura. Respect her. I find her clever, and in my stories, she will never be anything less intelligent than I actually see her. I even have her in this chapter. Frankly, I find it cruel that you made a "Worst Inuyasha Fanfictions" community. That's direct bullying, and you are not the judge of whose fanfictions are good or not. We don't write for you. Finally, I will not accept anyone as the canon pairing, unless Rumiko Takahashi tells us all to our faces that that's the canon. Thank you, and kindly leave me alone.

You'll probably ignore my message, but, *shrug,* I did what I could. I kind of needed to vent. Publicly.

Anyhow, enjoy the chapter!

∙•◦●○◉○●◦•∙Chapter 4∙•◦●○◉○●◦•∙

The One that Drives Him Mad

Sesshomaru glanced at the mirror at his casual, loose but fitting outfit. He frowned at the gray, skinny jeans and then looked up at his dark blue sweater with half sleeves. Oh, what the hell… This was really the dumbest thing he could be doing. He looked back at Rin's almost completed skirt, a piece he was impressed with himself for because it started wide and tapered and thinned to fit the mannequin's slender waist almost perfectly, with space to breathe. On a mannequin, it flattered, and on Rin? It would stun.

Rin had already told him that the first part of the wedding, with the vows, she would wear the chocolate dress; then, during the dances, she would set the dress in the cooler and wear an easier silk piece. He also wanted to design that, but Rin had winked at him and promised him a look only on the night of the wedding. She was such an enigma, Rin was- a beautiful enigma. And he hated the way it made him act.

He adjusted the blue glasses higher on his face and pulled his hair away from his shoulder, holding it at length. It was long, soft and luscious because of the conditioner he enriched it with almost every day, but it was off limits for the women tonight. The only thing Sesshomaru hated more than clingy, married women were clingy, grabby, single women. All they did was stroke, touch, play with his hair. He despised the feeling of sticky and alcoholic and sweaty hands messing up the strands. And it wasn't just women- men would play with it, too. He hated anyone touching his hair. And Izayoi! The half-breed's mother was the worst! She always tried to braid his hair or do something ridiculous like that. It was narcissistic, yes, but if he could have a romantic relationship with any inanimate object, it would have been his hair.

He dropped the strands and rolled his amber eyes upward. As he threw the door open, he was greeted by Inuyasha's annoyed face as he tossed his hands up.

"Feh, thank Kami!" He said rudely. "You took more time in the shower than Mom does!"

"Your mother," Sesshomaru automatically corrected in a frigid voice.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Inuyasha hurried in, finished his business, and exited the restroom, hiking his clothes together. "Let's go."

"We're taking the convertible," Sesshomaru said monotonously, "Not that thing you still deem a vehicle, for some reason."

"Hey, hey! Watch it, Ice Princess. Leave Bessie alone. She's just a little older but she's got a hell of a lot more value."

"Bessie." Sesshomaru could not hide the cold disdain in his voice. "You named your … driving utility … after a cow."

"Shut up." Inuyasha barked, checking his watch. "We're meeting Miroku there. Let's get moving."

"Is that…"

"It's them…!"

"The Takahashi brothers?"

"Yes, it's them!"

Murmurs raced through the line as Sesshomaru sophisticatedly cut everyone, moving to show the guard his ID. A scowl twitched on his beefy face and his lips twisted into a leer as he moved aside to let them in.

"You're good to go, pretty boy."

Sesshomaru's back stiffened, and when he turned to look at the man, the entire crowd went silent for one second at his freezing glare.

"Never call me that again."

The crowd erupted into murmurs as Inuyasha clapped his hand to his face, looking exasperated.

"Wow, do you think Sesshomaru would make a dress for me?"

"I want to be Inuyasha's secretary!"

"Do you think their dad's come, too? I'd totally tap that!"

Sesshomaru and Inuyasha exchanged slightly horrified, slightly disgusted looks at the last statement and Sesshomaru scowled, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You didn't even need me, half-breed. You're well enough known on your own."

"Wait, wait! I'm with them!" They heard Miroku cry from the entrance, Kouga at his side. "I'm with the Takahashi brothers!"

"I don't think so, buddy."

Inuyasha went back to give them access, and Sesshomaru tried to shrink into a corner of the club. How he hated this place. The clothing was atrocious, the air smelled like sweat, sex, and alcohol, and half the people who talked to him were high or offering him their bodies. The upstairs area was more elegant and peaceful, so the man made his way upstairs.

Immediately, he noticed, ironically, a bachelor party going on. There was a group of classy-looking men dressed in suits, talking and chatting it up. In the center of attention, a man with dark hair was calling for a toast.

"To my wedding," he smirked, and Sesshomaru instantly felt a little seed of irritation. The man looked smug and confident, and a cigarette was jutting past his mouth. "Too bad I won't be able to hang around you all for much longer anymore." His eyes fell on a wary Sesshomaru, who was trying to get around to the bar. "Oi, you! What are you doing? This place is reserved."

Sesshomaru was pretty sure that he could buy the entire club with whatever money was in his wallet, but he casually brushed that thought aside. "I go where I please, human." This was accompanied by a chilling, poisonous look. The man almost swallowed his cigarette in fear, but then casually chuckled, looking around nervously.

"Ah, I take it you're a demon, then? Well…" the man looked around and picked up a wine glass, thrusting it at Sesshomaru. "Well, then, friend! Have a drink. I mean, why not, right?" Sesshomaru was almost impressed with the way the man was handling it, but he stayed silent, rigidly and warily accepting the glass. "After all, my marriage is soon."

"Where'd ya meet her, huh, Kohaku?" a man wondered, lighting the tip of his cigarette with a tiny lighter. "She's a cutie."

"Ah, well- She's Sango's and Kagome's friend, so it kind of … I guess it was fated!" Kohaku laughed uproariously. Sesshomaru was beginning to piece it together: the familiar smell of smoke, the mention of the name Kagome…

"You are getting married to Rin," he said, and even as he said it, he felt utter loathing rush through him in an almost nauseating wave. He set the glass down, his other hand slowly clenching into a fist, and tried to focus on something like the lights, or Rin's face. He didn't understand why he was so irritated, but he was. After the little episode was over, he calmed down considerably and figuratively placed his mask over his face again.

"How did you know?" Kohaku stared at him, leaning back. "Hmph, could you be the guy that's designing Rin's wedding dress? You look like the guy she described." He sat up, his eyes wild with almost sarcastic humor. "Guys, get this: Rin wants her wedding dress to be made out of chocolate. Chocolate!" The men around him burst into raucous laughter, and Sesshomaru pressed his fingers tightly around the neck of the glass. This human was who sweet, somewhat shy Rin chose to live her life with? Ridiculous. "But Rin's weird for a reason. It was her mom, I betcha." Sesshomaru's ears twitched; now he was insulting Rin's family? This human was pathetic. "Her mom's a complete lunatic. She used to be great, or something, then- I dunno, Rin's dad committed suicide, and then her mom went off the deep end! Hope Rin's not headed that direction, that would really be a pity-"

Crash!

The entire floor went silent as Sesshomaru's wine glass erupted into pieces, and Sesshomaru himself didn't dare look up from the table until he was certain his hand was still. He took a slightly shaky, deep breath, and looked up, speaking monotonously.

"I apologize for that." he said, picking his words carefully. "I'm going to go get cleaned up, please excuse me."

"Yeah, whatever." Kohaku waved his hand absently and leaned back against the chair. "Course, Rin would never do anything to hurt me. Can't wait for our first night-"

Sesshomaru went to the bathroom, shedding the dark blue sweater off, thankful that a thin white shirt lay underneath. He unbuttoned a couple of the buttons and leaned over the sink, glaring into its white confines. Mostly, he questioned Rin's sanity. He eyed his canines in the mirror, and then he neatly folded his sweater up. Walking past a nearly drunk Kohaku, he crossed to the stairs and headed down them.

"I'm leaving, Inuyasha."

"No, you aren't." Inuyasha snapped. He was attempting to flirt with a pretty girl who had been paying attention to him but had directed her gaze to Sesshomaru as soon as he appeared in the vicinity. "We have only one car. Don't you dare leave." Irritated, he gestured at the young woman and stood up. "You've got her attention, so try flirting or something. I can't believe we're even related."

He slunk off and Sesshomaru looked at the young woman, who smiled at him. He mentally groaned as she reached for his hair.

"Is this real? Oh my gosh, can I touch it? Can I braid it?" She wondered, not waiting for his answer as she ran her alcohol scented fingers down his hair. Sesshomaru grouchily stared at the clock as he moved his head away from her fingers.

"Don't touch my hair," he said icily, and then his eyes were immediately swept to the entrance as he ignored his companion's pout. He stood up immediately, her three letter name tumbling from his mouth in a whisper.

"Rin," he said, as she approached him, smiling in a confused way as his partner huffed, standing up.

"Hi, Sesshomaru!" she smiled, and it was enchanting. Sesshomaru pinched the bridge of his nose and stepped back.

"What are you doing here?" he tried not to sound too short, but Rin's wavering smile told him that he'd been too harsh. She crossed her arms, shrugging a little.

"I… Came to see my fiance." she murmured, slipping her hands into her belted trenchcoat. "He's somewhere around here." She was wearing slight golden eyeshadow, so subtle that it barely glittered against her eyes. She had a little bit of the same golden glitter in her hair, which fell in waves around her face.

Sesshomaru had an urge to rip her jacket off right then and there, but he was soon disgusted with himself. Did he have no self control? How pathetic.

"You … Look nice." he said haltingly, looking slightly past her head.

"Ah, thanks!" her eyes brightened again and she stepped a little closer, looking slightly tired but feeling like a mouthful of fresh air to him. "Hey, Sesshomaru-?" she paused, frowning. "Oh, you've got something in your hair."

Sesshomaru's eyes widened minutely as she ran her cool, dry fingers through his silvery hair, a piece of white fluttering to the ground.

"Sesshomaru, your hair is so…"

Her voice caught as Kohaku leaned over the staircase, and Rin stumbled backwards automatically, stammering apologies to both him and Kohaku, who obviously couldn't hear her.

"Oi, Rin, get your ass up here!" Kohaku waved his hand, clearly wasted, and the people around Rin snickered. Poor Rin looked so mortified that Sesshomaru thought she might melt right there on the spot. She reddened, covering her eyes, and Sesshomaru gave the people standing around her one of the most lethal glares that he could. They averted their eyes immediately, and Sesshomaru huffed, following her up the stairs.

"It's fine," he murmured. "They'll forget in a second."

"Rin, my darling!" Kohaku practically strangled Rin, nearly ripping her trenchcoat off. Rin gasped, and the trenchcoat fell, exposing a golden dress. "You look beautiful, beautiful. Ah, you're wearing the ring I see!" Kohaku held her hand up towards the ceiling, and a rusty-looking ring barely caught the tinny light.

I could give her gold, pearls, diamonds, rubies... A fantastic ring adorned with opals and topaz, even emerald... Perhaps garnet. Sesshomaru thought distastefully, and then he shook his head. He seriously needed to stop thinking about Rin.

Kind, charming, forgiving Rin.

This is a goddamn curse, he groaned to himself. He craved, like a right dog, Rin. He wanted to feel her hair beneath his fingers, wanted to kiss her mouth. Laying his head on the table, he closed his eyes and tried to cure his splitting headache.

"Kagome!" Kouga appeared at the top of the staircase, Inuyasha and Miroku in tow. "What a pleasant surprise!"

Sesshomaru glanced at Kagome, who was standing alongside Rin with two other women. One of them he took to be Sango, who shared resemblances to Kohaku. He was unsure of who the red haired woman was, though.

Kouga seemed to know, though; as soon as those blue eyes clapped on the woman, the color completely drained right out of him.

"A-A-Ay-"

"Kouga?" the woman blurted out, her green eyes blazing. They immediately narrowed into slits, and she began to slowly circle Kouga as if threatening to pounce on him and tear him apart. Kouga laughed helplessly, shivering very obviously as he was victimized by the pretty redhead.

"H-Hello A...Ayame…"

"You didn't call," she sneered vindictively, hate flashing in her face. "You idiot, I called you and you never responded. You just slept with me and left. Well, you shouldn't have. You messed up bad, Kouga."

She growled, launching her whole body at him and sending him crashing to the floor as she pummeled him. "You-thought-I'd-never-find-you-huh? Well-you-were-wrong!" Unfortunately for Kouga, each word was followed by a punch. Sesshomaru sighed, eyes twitching towards Inuyasha and Kagome, who, in horrified amazement, were watching the scene unfold.

Smack!

Everyone turned, even Ayame and a badly beaten up Kouga, to see Sango whack Miroku across the face with a purse the size of his chest. Miroku stumbled back, grinning loopily.

"Why, my dear Sango, I only asked if you'd bear my child! Jeez, Sess… The women here sure are violent!"

A few minutes later, a red-faced Miroku and a bruised Kouga dragged themselves to where Inuyasha and Sesshomaru were seated.

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," Kouga said mournfully, spitting out what looked to be broken pieces of teeth. "Damn, she's a witch." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"But the champagne is good, at least. And so is Kagome."

"It's cheap and watery," Sesshomaru wanted to say, but he refrained because it was childish.

"Hands off, you idiot!" Kouga muttered. "I told you that I'm hooking up with Kagome." The hanyou and the wolf glared at each other for a few more minutes before simultaneously shoving pastries filled with sweet cream cheese and fruit into their huge mouths. Sesshomaru picked at a piece of chicken as he watched Rin talk to Kohaku, looking grim and upset.

He stilled, ears twitching to tune into their conversation. It was immature, he knew, but he really wanted to hear this.

"-Always trying to embarrass me, but it really hurts, Kohaku-"

"Come on, Rin, it was just for laughs!" He slung his arm around her and leaned in close, and Rin backed away.

"And you're drunk, too! God, Kohaku, please just stay sober for one night- for me! I'm going to marry you! Can you not behave like a teenager?" She pushed him off. "Please, grow up. We're getting married. I don't want to marry someone so immature- I want to marry someone whom I believe can take care of me!" Her voice rose and Sesshomaru nearly tore the chicken apart in his interest. Their relationship was even worse than he thought.

"Love," Kohaku laughed out loud; he clearly wasn't taking her seriously. "Come on, let's join the others." Rin wrapped her coat around herself and headed towards Sesshomaru.

"Sorry you had to hear that." She whispered apologetically.

"It was nothing-..." Sesshomaru snapped his mouth shut, realizing she'd caught him red-handed.

Clever.

Rin's mouth twitched into a wry smirk, and she lifted a glass. "It's fine, Mr. Eavesdropper. But are you really that bored?" Her eyes were warm; he'd already been forgiven. Perhaps she never blamed him.

"It just seems bad," he said after a pause, trying to be tactful.

"It doesn't just seem bad," she said grimly. "It is pretty bad. He acts like a child and he doesn't work at all."

"Do you work?" Sesshomaru was surprised at himself for not having asked the question before. She nodded, poking at her large brown purse.

"Well, of course. This didn't pay for itself, you know." She had a mischievous little spark in her eyes. "I'm an art director for a magazine."

"I'm not sure if you were aware," Sesshomaru said dryly, "but I design wedding dresses." Rin's eyes widened in mock surprise.

"No. Way. Famous Sesshomaru Takahashi designs wedding dresses? Do you think you could make one for me?" Rin leaned in close, and Sesshomaru was almost tricked in his own joke, lost in her dark irises.

"I don't service mere art directors," he scoffed, smirking a little as he broke away. "You have to be famous."

Rin pouted, and Sesshomaru found himself irritatingly distracted again. She placed her hands on her hips and looked up at him earnestly. "Y'know, you're thankfully famous enough for both of us, so I think I'm set."

"You're sadly mistaken if you think I'm letting you go like that..." Sesshomaru hesitated, clearing his throat. It was time he reluctantly ended their playful banter, or he might start making false assumptions. "Anyway, Rin, what is this party about?"

Rin had leaned away from him, looking a little guilty. It seemed that she also knew that she was crossing lines, and it seemed that she was more than a little upset about it. She covered her expression with a weary smile. "At first it was going to be a bachelor party for Kohaku. And then he invited me, and I invited Kagome, Sango, and Ayame." She giggled a little. "Who knew that Ayame and Kouga had had a... Er... Fling?"

"Indeed." Sesshomaru eyed her a bit shrewdly, deducing something from her statements. "You didn't want to be here alone with all these people, did you?" Rin swallowed, looking away, confirming his inference. "Why? You're marrying him..."

Now she looked uncomfortable. "N-No! It's nothing like that-" Sesshomaru drew away from her and pushed his plate aside.

"Forget it," he said casually. "I crossed too many lines. I wouldn't want to be a young woman surrounded by so many drinking males either."

"It's fine," Rin looked oddly relieved. Sesshomaru very well knew that the males and one young woman deal was complete BS. Even if she had been uncomfortable, that wasn't the reasoning behind her reluctance.

"Rinnn!" Kohaku tripped up to Sesshomaru and her after about one hour. "I'm leaving with the guys, so you go home with Kagome and Ayame and Sango, okay?" He kissed her sloppily, and Sesshomaru grimaced at the wall.

"Don't come home too late," she warned him beneath her breath, and he nodded earnestly.

"Course not, sweetie pie!" He waved at her as he stumbled off down the stairs. Rin aimlessly watched him go and twirled her glass a little bit.

"I just don't know what to do about him-"

"-Hey, Rin! Sango, Ayame, and I wanted to go shopping after this." Kagome eased up beside her friend and smiled, unintentionally interrupting Rin. "You wanna come?"

"Sorry, Kags." Rin said tonelessly. "I'm not really up for shopping today. Can you drop me off at home?"

"Well," Kagome hesitated, looking concerned. "Your house is kind of far away, and it'd be really late for you to get back and for us to still be able to go..." Rin glanced at her and shrugged.

"I guess I can come-" she began, but Sesshomaru cut her off before she actually agreed.

"I'll drive her home," he said easily. "I needed to discuss the dress with her, anyway." Rin turned to him, eyes brightening.

"Really? You'd do that?" She pressed her hands together. "Thank you!" Kagome hesitated again, eyes dark with slight apprehension and suspicion.

"Call me when you get home then," She finally relented after a tense pause. "Okay, Rin? You'd better not forget!" Rin nodded, hopping off the seat and wrapping her arms around herself. She looked relieved that she didn't have to go shopping, something that Sesshomaru was slightly surprised about. Usually, women seemed to like that kind of thing.

"The only problem is," he said in his low voice, "my idiot half-breed brother and Kouga will also be coming, and if you don't want to be stuck in the car with them-"

"-That won't be a problem!" Kagome said, interrupting yet again. "Inuyasha, Kouga, and Miroku will be coming in the van with us! They wanted to go shopping with us, for some crazy reason." Sesshomaru rolled his eyes to the heavens and thanked Kami. With Inuyasha and Kouga out of the way, he was free with Rin. Not to mention they'd be going through hell by agreeing to shop with the girls. It was a complete win-win situation.

Rin giggled. "Well, all right. That's not a problem anymore, so shall we head out?" Sesshomaru followed her down the stairs and outside into the bitter cold weather. Snow flecked Rin's eyelashes, slept in her hair, decorated her coat. It was almost disgraceful, how lovely he found her. She was a human. A human! He'd vowed that he would never fall for a human, for these weak creatures that fell in love too easily and had emotions as fragile as thin ice. Rin was no exception. She was as effortless to read through as transparent glass, but here he was, falling for her like a fool. And what a girl he had picked, for she was getting married.

Married! Had he ever made such a silly mistake in his lifetime? He was so careful- never had he stumbled so hard before. But he couldn't help it; she was too much.

"Ah, what a pretty car!" Rin brushed snow off of the sleek light blue hood of Sesshomaru's convertible with the palm of her hand. "Now this… This you definitely can't get as an art director," she laughed. "Wow. I knew you were rich, but…"

Sesshomaru grinned slightly, pressing on the button on the keys to open the car. "If you have this reaction to the outside of the car…"

"Oh my god!" she blurted out, leaning inside the vehicle. Sesshomaru slipped into the driver's seat, turning the heater on. Rin gently settled into the seat as if worried that she might taint the buttery tan seats. "These seats are so soft… It's so- Mmm," she lay back in the seat, her hand accidentally brushing a massage feature button on the panel beneath her seat.

"Mercedes Benz E-Class Convertible," Sesshomaru cast her a sideways glance. "You should get one."

She raised her hand as if to slap him, laughing in disbelief as she relaxed into the seat. "You jerk! You know I'd never be able to afford such an amazing convertible! Are you nuts? Oh, wow, this is so awesome. I could get used to this."

"Try not to," he smirked. "I'm kicking you out in," he checked the GPS where Rin had pressed in her address, "Forty minutes."

She pouted. "We'll see. I know how to steal a c-" She clapped a hand over her mouth, looking mortified. "Oh my god, you didn't hear that."

"Oh yes I did," Sesshomaru murmured, starting the car. "This I have to hear."

She blushed behind her hands, the heat that was coming off of her rivaling the car's heater. "A-At one point of t-time, I m-may h-hypothetically have known how to h-hotwire a car."

Sesshomaru turned to look at her, surprised and slightly impressed. "That's hypothetically pretty dangerous, you know. Also," he raised an eyebrow at her, "Why?"

"Y-You know," she mumbled, keeping her head down, "Crazy college years and all that."

"Right," his voice was saturated with semi-playful sarcasm. "Many students definitely have the need to hotwire cars during their 'crazy college years.'"

"Okay, I was a little bit of a rule breaker," she admitted in a rush, "And I was dared to steal a car, so I learned to hotwire. It was pretty simple after I got the hang of it, but I only hotwired four or five cars and I always gave them back-"

"It seems that I made a mistake about you," Sesshomaru said gravely. "Here I thought you were a well-behaved, innocent person who never even toed the line, but-"

"No!" she cried, reddening even further, "I'm not like that anymore! I stopped after college!" She crossed her arms and pouted. "Don't tell anyone."

"I wonder how your position as art director might be affected by your ability to hotwire cars," Sesshomaru mused thoughtfully, giving her somewhat of a dark smile. Rin panicked, raising her hands.

"Oh my god, you can't! I'll totally get fired…!" He couldn't tell if she thought he was serious or not, but he decided to drop the facade anyway.

"I won't," he relented. "Everyone has skeletons in their closets, even me."

"Oh?" Rin leaned closer. "I hypothetically hotwired cars, so you must have something for me in exchange." Sesshomaru looked down into her dark eyes with his much lighter ones, and his eyes flickered back to the barely illuminated road.

"Perhaps," he said softly.

"Well?" she pressed, bringing her seat back up to upright position. "What is it?"

Sesshomaru decided that the best way to approach the whole thing was to just have out with it.

"I cared more about work than I did my last girlfriend, and she dumped me after we were engaged." Rin's jaw dropped in shock.

"Wh- Oh, wow… Y-You didn't have to, um- I mean- I'm really sorry-"

There she went, apologizing for something that wasn't even her fault. "It's nothing to apologize about. The fault was mine."

"Did…" Rin pressed her fingertips together and looked up at him almost shyly. "Did you love her?"

"I think," Sesshomaru began, after a moment of thought, "I think somewhere past that work-centered part of my mind, I really did care about her. But after I didn't fulfill my promises the third time, she was tired and sick of my actions. I can't really blame her, but… Yes, she broke off the engagement the next week. Said she had someone else who actually cared."

"Ouch," Rin winced. "Wow, you care about work that much?"

"This car didn't pay for itself, you know," he echoed half-teasingly. "In all seriousness, however, I do invest a lot of time and effort into my work. It's admittedly difficult for me to break away from something that matters so much."

"I find it a bit hard to believe," she murmured, "That you would enjoy making dresses so much. You seem like you would be much more comfortable in an office, somewhere really official. I'm not, er, trying to stereotype or anything, but-!"

"I designed my first dress when I was 16, in human years." Sesshomaru told her. "For my mother's wedding. It was basically the only useful thing she ever condoned. She told me that if it was anything less than perfect, she would shred it. And she did. She shredded the dresses I made four times before she finally settled with the fifth one. And then my father divorced her. Knowing her, I thought she would throw it away. But a few years later, I was moving my things out, and I found the the dress hanging pristinely in the closet. The fact that she never threw it out got me thinking that I possibly had a talent in this type of thing; my mother usually throws out whatever she finds useless, and after the divorce, the dress was rendered useless." It was the most he'd ever revealed about his history in making dresses. Even Inuyasha didn't know as much as Rin now did.

Aforementioned woman looked mesmerized with his story. If she was faking interest, she was doing a brilliant job.

"That's wonderful," Rin murmured. "That your mother kept the dress. Where is she now, then?"

Sesshomaru shrugged. "She passed away a few years ago." Rin pressed her fingers to her mouth and leaned back. "I keep the dress in the building, in the very front."

"That dress?" Rin sat up, snapping her fingers in recognition. "Why, yes! I have seen it, it's a beautiful dress! The one bordered with lilies, with netted bell-sleeves and a gauze covering over the skirt?"

"That's the one," Sesshomaru gave her a look, slightly surprised that she remembered so much about the dress. "Many people request it, but… I never usually comply. It's…" He trailed off, wondering how to complete the thought. Rin's hand pressed against the back of his.

"I get it," she grinned. "It's important. You don't have to force yourself. That's why I wanted to use chocolate, you know- for my mother. She was kind of crazy herself. Everyone kicked me out of their building, calling me a lunatic… Even Kohaku. So when you agreed, I was ecstatic. Have you ever agreed to recreate that dress for anyone? Just wondering, I mean."

"..." Sesshomaru looked down at her before raising his eyes to the side of the road. "Yes, Kagura wanted the dress remade for her when we were engaged."

"Kagura, your… ex-fiance, right?" Rin looked slightly guilty that she had asked the question.

"Correct." Sesshomaru said shortly. "We had a bit of a rough patch, because I didn't quite want to remake the dress, but she insisted. I was halfway through the dress when she… Left."

"Wow," Rin leaned back, uttering the word of exclamation beneath her breath. "That must have seriously sucked. I'm sorry I'm prying so much, by the way. I can get to be a bit of a nuisance when I talk too much."

"Hm," Sesshomaru pulled up in front of a medium sized house, parking the car fluidly into the driveway. "We're here."

"So it would seem." Rin reluctantly peeled herself off the seat. "How I regret having to separate myself away from this beautiful car. I'll miss you…" she said mournfully.

"I enjoyed your company as well," Sesshomaru said sardonically, and Rin stuck her tongue out at him playfully. "I'll see you tomorrow for our scheduled appointment in my building."

"All right, Sesshomaru." Rin trilled her fingers in a wave as she punched in her garage code. "Good night."

"Night," he murmured as he started the car again, pulling out of the driveway. He watched the lights flicker on, illuminating the whole house, and slightly sighed. That seemed to be the effect Rin had on everyone and everything.

His phone suddenly went off in his pocket, and he lifted it out, eyeing Inuyasha's number with a glare.

"What do you want, half-breed?"

"Help," Inuyasha gasped. "We can't do this anymore, you have to get us the hell out of here. If I carry one more bag my back will break, and Kagome's trying on her thirteenth pair of shoes. Not to mention Ayame's slave driving Kouga, and I think Miroku's already passed out. Please just come here. I'll make the excuses."

Sesshomaru smirked. "I think it would suffice to make you suffer a bit longer for the awful time I've had tonight." Not completely awful; at least these past forty minutes have been worthwhile.

"Sesshomaru," Inuyasha practically begged. "I'll get you four jars of JIF peanut butter." Sesshomaru nearly ran the car into a stop sign.

"Could you be any louder, you idiotic half-breed?" Sesshomaru hissed. "What if anyone had heard you?"

"I'll make it five if you get here in half an hour," Inuyasha promised, now whispering. Sesshomaru had reason to believe that he was hiding somewhere low where the women wouldn't find him. "Just get us out of here."

Sesshomaru glared at the dashboard, swerving the car around and heading towards the mall. "You will also decline your mother's invitation for dinner for me."

"Sesshomaru!" Inuyasha complained. "You've declined seven of her invitations, and I can't do anything for you this time. It's Christmas, get a life. Stop working all the time. Bring a date if you must. Anyway, I'm leaving now. Hurry." There was a click, and Inuyasha hung up. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes in exasperation. Izayoi frequently invited him for dinners that he frequently denied, pretending that he had too much work. The thought of dressing up and exchanging silly gifts and all that madness drove him nuts, yet it seemed that he wasn't getting out of this one.

After picking a beaten up trio, Sesshomaru headed straight for his second home, not particularly caring about the extra baggage. He was too strung up after the evening, and of berating and reminding himself that he could never have Rin. But the more stressed he was, the better his work was.

Yet, despite trying to train his mind on her dress, he still couldn't forget the to-be occupant.

And it was going to drive him mad.

Mm, what do you think? I did something a lil bit different this time and decided to expand on Maru's background before Rin's. I thought repeating Rin's past would be a tad bit redundant for this chapter, but, well... Perhaps I should have?

Anyway, please review and let me know what you think about this chapter! And, of course, Happy New Year again!