A/n: Sorry for the LONG wait, and short chapter, but I seem to be suffering from Writer's Block right now, and am finding it hard to overcome. However, overcome it I shall! ... -.-

Disclamer: I do not own Inuyasha.

Chapter Two:

It had been a long month.

He stared icily out the window, submerged in silence as his meddling step-mother and his abhorrent fiancé prattled about everything and nothing, with an occasional remark about the wedding plans here and there.

It had been one month brimming with Kagura's superfluous presence, and he was on the verge of disposing of her himself – and soon. He held no doubt in his mind that it would take less than a year before they would divorce. It was either that, or one of them would meet their untimely end during that time.

Most preferably her.

"Sesshomaru, darling?" The nauseating voice trilled rather silkily, "Would you mind being in charge of flowers? You, after all, did find me those ones last month… they were simply lovely!" There was that seductive tone again. As if he would ever be tempted by such trivial things. He was certain the only thing he could, or ever would feel for her would be contempt.

Flowers. Why flowers? It was common knowledge that he held them in as little regard as his fiancée herself. The roses that littered her apartment, the candles everywhere… Why of all things, flowers?

However, he reluctantly did happen to know a satisfactory enough place to access them…

She laughed gently to herself as she reread a text message from her friend, and rolled her eyes as she stowed the phone back in the desk, as the rain pattered monotonously on the pavement outside.

She suspected the gray clouds outside held the threats of a storm - and the wind that blustered through the tree's supported her theory.

Smiling sadly, she leaned her head against the wall and sighed. Business had been slow for days - no one wanted to go on a date in such horrid weather. Who wanted to propose, or gift flowers, in the rain?

The bell on the door tinkled merrily.

But then again, there was always that one exception.

Sighing, she didn't bother looking at the door.

"Listen, Miroku, for the last time! I'm not-"

She broke off as she heard a soft, "Hn."

She was almost certain that Miroku could not make that sort of sound.

Blinking, she turned slowly, to come face to face, with her shooting star. Her stormy gray rain cloud that perfected the solitary day.

"Ah… um… H-hello, again." she murmured shyly as she rose to her feet, and scuffed her feet gently against the wooden tiled floor.

She saw him nod to her, out of the corner of her eyes.

She glanced up to meet his gaze, wistfully, as she took in his golden, autumn hued eyes, and tall, lean stature. Her inquisitive glance was met by an intense, probing one, which frightened her.

"Can… I help you sir?" She questioned hastily, regaining her wits, and the use of her voice. She forced a personable, helpful smile on her face, and bit her tongue nervously, hoping that her face was in check.

The man did not seem to see anything amiss…. But it was hard to guess anything about him. His face was blank - flawlessly so. He was a strange, hazy mystery. A handsome one too…

Feeling a blush coming on, she turned her back on him, hoping that he would take this as a prompt for him to respond.

"I have come to pick up some flowers." He told her, most matter of factly, his rich voice soft, and entwined with the tone of one who was used to being listened to, and being obeyed by.

She fingered a nearby display of roses, frowning at the drooping petals, briefly fussing over the presentation until she was sure she was completely composed. Calmly, and unhurriedly, she turned to face him, smile amiable, but not overly so, as she inquired in a businesslike manner, "Did you order in advance?" knowing fully well he had done nothing of the sort. She would've recognized that voice anywhere.

His honeyed orange eyes met hers briefly, before he gave a soft huff, as if he could not believe she had suggested such a thing.

"I am afraid not, Miss…" He paused as she raised an elegant eyebrow in her general direction, and inclining his head slightly.

Realizing he was asking for her name, she stiffened, before murmuring somewhat bemused, "Noto. Rin Noto."

Glancing downwards, she shifted from one foot to another, as she brushed a strand of her long hair over her shoulder, half wondering why she was so nervous all of a sudden.

The stoic man glanced down at her, and gave a small, tense nod.

"Miss Noto." He began again, his voice like a soft, ominous rumble of thunder that sent chills down her back, "I have come to procure some fauna of.. fine quality for my…prospective spouse."

"O-of course." She responded quickly, throwing a casual, albeit uneasy, smile his way, his eloquent way of speaking throwing her off for a moment.

Her quick and easily given smiles were something alien and curious to him. Never before had he met a person who was able to smile with such a little effort, nor someone who's whole face lit up as they did so.

He doubted it could be natural, nor genuine. For someone to have so much happiness in their life was impossible. It was simply not attainable, for everyone had plagues and stressors in their everyday routine.

He himself would admit as much.

Yet this young woman, with her light voice, and glittering chocolate orbs was the embodiment of that sunny day's that the majority of the population enjoyed. Her voice was brisk and lively, her gait playful, aura blinding as the sun.

But he simply didn't care for such things. They were frivolities and nuisances that could distract him from his ambition and reality, things made to bother and detain those who were not he.

So, as the somewhat flustered looking woman, with the many smiles, handed him a receipt for his order of bouquets for his upcoming wedding, reminding him of the pickup time and date, before bidding him a nice day, he gave her a businesslike nod of acknowledgement, before venturing out into the blustery, rainy weather.

A storm cloud. Rin thought lazily, smiling to herself as she surveyed his retreat from the shop for the second time. Swooping in from no where, with an unapproachable attitude, before going on its not-so merry way, as aloof as it was when it arrived.

She blew a strand of her dark, unruly hair out of her face, before sighing.

She was bored out of her mind. Although the tall, handsome, and intriguing Mr. Takahashi – she had checked the order form for his name, before he had left –had provided some entertainment of sorts for but a few moments, it had been short lived, and so, while the wind cascaded down the sidewalk outside, she emitted another sigh.

Humming absentmindedly to herself, she arranged some sprigs of heather in a vase, wondering absently what it was like to love and be loved.

Of course, throughout her day's at school she had undoubtedly had the occasional, short term crush, but the feelings had never developed much past that, and her love life was near to nonexistent.

Or rather, it was nonexistent, but she liked to think otherwise from time to time, when she would shyly agree to a date with kind young gentleman, and then would usually get stood-up, or would talk herself out of it.

Her humming, diminished to nothing, but yet another dismal sigh, she gave up on her task, before trudging to her desk in utter defeat, her energy seeming to have disappeared with her one and only customer of the day.

One whom was surprisingly hard to forget.

A/n: Soo... was it awful? Ok? Please, please review and let me know! I'll try to get another chapter up as soon as I have the time, k?

Review~

(thanks for reading!)