Rin grew more and more nervous as they got closer to the capital. It was the largest city in the entire country, and it contained some of the largest structures in the world. She had only been there once on a field trip. In the center of the city was the home of the Emperor. He would conduct business in the front of the house, and the family's quarters were in the back of the house.
She had never seen the Emperor or Empress in real life but only on the TV. The Emperor appeared to be a tall man with a great deal of muscle mass. He didn't look like a dictator, but Rin had been informed that when push came to shove he was a ruthless man if it meant having to protect his territory and the country's peace.
Inuyasha and Kagome sat in the seat facing the back of the limo, and their flirting was frankly getting on Rin's nerves. Sitting next to her was Sesshomaru, who was frankly more interested in the view outside of the vehicle than anything inside of the vehicle. He could tell that Rin was growing nervous, and she certainly had reason to be so. Everyone who met his father was impressed by him the first time, but she was merely a small human in comparison to his demon father. She also seemed to be doing the worrying for the both of them about how they were going to carry out their scheme.
The limo pulled up to the front drive of the large house, so Rin looked out the window to admire the sheer greatness of the building. It was truly an architectural wonder with its brick work and intricate designs. And the size of the building told the world that its occupants were amongst the greatest in the world.
As the limo came to a stop Sesshomaru climbed out first so that he could help Rin out. Inuyasha then followed doing the same for Kagome. They were greeted by the guards at the front door, who opened the grand double doors for them. Once Rin's eyes had adjusted from the bright sun outside to the dimmer lights indoors she could see a massive painting of a dog demon in his full demon form. "That is my father," he pointed out to Rin when he had noticed her marveling over it.
"He is quite an impressive demon," she complimented.
He took her hand and placed it under his arm trying to look like he was comfortable letting her get this close to him. When he had touched her bare skin he noticed how his fingers tingled as if in excitement. They walked into the nearby hallway to find the Emperor and the Empress awaiting them. The Empress was holding on to her husband's arm as if it was holding her up. She seemed like a nervous sort of woman, which Rin found to be odd since she always seemed so calm and confident when she was in the newspaper or on TV.
The Emperor held out his hand to shake Rin's. She let go of Sesshomaru's arm and shook his hand while noticing how much larger it was than hers, just like Sesshomaru's hand. "It is a pleasure to meet any woman my son finds worthy enough to bring home." Rin blushed at the compliment out of embarrassment, but Shuichi took it to mean that she was just shy. He then greeted Kagome in the same way as he had Rin.
"They will be serving dinner soon," Izayoi stated once her husband had returned to her side. "I thought we could all enjoy some tea before dinner."
After being greeted by Shuichi, Rin had once again placed her hand on Sesshomaru's arm so that he could lead her throughout the magnificent house. They followed his father and stepmother down the hallway into a sitting room. Rin sat down next to Sesshomaru on one of the couches while Inuyasha and Kagome sat down on another couch. Shuichi and Izayoi sat in chairs opposite the couples.
"So, Rin," Shuichi started. "Please tell us a little more about yourself. We've heard so much about Kagome, but Sesshomaru had never mentioned you before the other day."
Rin's face turned red as she noticed everyone was paying attention to her except for the maid serving the tea. "Well, my name is Rin Arai. I'm a 2nd year student at the university, and I am majoring in botany. I would like to work for a company some day to find more curing properties in plants."
"What about your family? Where did you grow up?" Izayoi asked her gently.
"I have lived in Kyoto my entire life. When I was eight years old my family was killed in a break in, so I spent most of my life in an orphanage." She looked down at the tea cup in her hands afraid to see any disappointment in their faces. An orphan was the furthest thing from an Empress. Izayoi had been a princess of another country, as had Sesshomaru's mother.
Shuichi stole a glance at Sesshomaru only to see that Sesshomaru's expression had not changed. It was rather unlike Sesshomaru to look upon someone with such a humble background so favorably.
"I'm sorry to hear that," Izayoi said trying to alleviate Rin's nerves about the topic. "Please do tell me how it was that you could afford to go to college then?"
"I had perfect grades all through school and had been able to pass the university exams with very high scores. They offered me a full ride scholarship for my tuition, fees, and housing. The rest of the money has come from what was left of my parents' estate."
Shuichi announced in a booming voice, "There will be no need to use your family's estate money now. Now that you will be the Lady of the Western Lands, there will be no need for you to work."
"I still want to work," Rin informed them. "I would hate to waste my college education and given talents. I might not need the money, but I would like to give it back to the orphanage I grew up in."
Izayoi smiled brightly and told Rin, "That sounds like a great idea!" She turned to Shuichi and said to him, "That would also help us with some of our P.R." Rin grimaced at the idea that they would be using her idea to look better themselves, but she was also going to be living off of their wealth so she had no grounds to protest.
A butler came into the room and announced to them all in a distinguished voice, "Dinner is ready to be served, Emperor." He bowed low and then exited the room.
The Emperor was the first to stand and move towards the dinning room. Kagome shot Rin a look of concern as soon as Inuyasha's parents had their backs turned. Rin in turn made a face in return to agree with Kagome. Sesshomaru put his hand on the small of Rin's back and to guide her in the direction they were headed. At the dinner table Shuichi took the head of the table, and Izayoi sat to his right. Inuyasha sat to Izayoi's right with Kagome to his right. Sesshomaru too the seat to the left of Shuichi after seating Rin next to him.
Dinner was an assortment of dishes, many of which were meat since two of the men were dog demons and thereby preferred meat to fruits and vegetables. As they had started to eat Rin heard Shuichi asked her another question, "So how did you and Sesshomaru meet?"
The five of them, that excluding Sesshomaru, had brainstormed for a good hour on what kind of a story to make up since this question was likely to be asked. "I am friends with Inuyasha, and the weekends Sesshomaru left for the capital Inuyasha would invite us over for the night. One night last winter Sesshomaru came home early, and he found me sleeping in his bed. Inuyasha had told me it would be okay because he would wash the sheets and blankets before Sesshomaru got home. I thought he was going to kill me for it, and he certainly was mad. I don't think I was allowed over for another several months."
Shuichi took a sip of his wine and put the glass back as he followed up with the question, "Then how did you end up together?"
"Well, he saw me on campus in the fall. I was being attacked by wolf demons."
Sesshomaru had been instructed to interject at that moment in the story, "I knew that if I didn't save her and she told Inuyasha I would have to explain myself to you. But I had been too late because she died just after I scared off the wolves."
"So he used the Tenseiga to save me," Rin explained. "And I was so grateful to him that I followed him around everywhere hoping to be of some use to him. And I guess I must have finally worn him down because after two months he saved me he finally started listening to me. We spent a lot of time together, and he eventually started talking to me instead of just listening to me." She gave a look like she was reliving the good times even if they never happened. "Then just last week he said that he couldn't live without me and asked me to marry him."
Shuichi had been suspicious of Sesshomaru's fiancée from the moment he had heard of her, but she seemed to be trying hard to make their story sound plausible. What he didn't doubt was the fact that Sesshomaru had likely revived the girl with the Tenseiga to escape his wrath for not doing anything to help one of Inuyasha's friends. In turn she probably had to agree to help him carry out a charade to help him meet his father's expectations. Yet, this woman was exactly the type of girl Sesshomaru needed.
It was then that he decided that he would allow them to keep out their deception. He would not tell a soul that he knew he was being deceived including his beloved Izayoi. But he was not about to let them take this easy. He was would do all he could to force the couple of spend time together in hopes that it would eventually pay off or drive them apart.
"Well, I'm glad to hear it," Shuichi announced. "Perhaps now would be the best time for us to discuss when to have the wedding."
Sesshomaru said to his father, "Rin will not be allowed out of the dorm until the end of the semester. Perhaps the summer break would be the best time."
"I agree. And don't worry about a thing. Izayoi will make most of the plans with Rin's okay. And I shall arrange the honeymoon." An audible gulp could be heard from Rin's throat. "Is something wrong, Rin?"
"Oh," Rin said now turning beat red from embarrassment. "I just hadn't thought about the honeymoon yet."
"Are you still a virgin?" Izayoi asked. It was kind of a rude question, but she had a right to ask whatever she wanted about anyone's life.
"Yes."
"I guess it will be the first time for both of you then," Shuichi explained. Sesshomaru's face become like stone. He certainly did not appreciate his father's comment in front of all of them.