I DON'T OWN INUYASHA OR SESSHY. RUMIKO TAKAHASHI DOES.
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No. I dont own Inuyasha.
Jaken couldn't believe what he was seeing. He was almost in denial; this scene was so off. Inuyasha and Lord Sesshomaru-his tiny, little, oddly adorable, master-were lifting plates and furniture, placing them in different parts of Inuyasha's house.
Lord Sesshomaru was so absorbed in this task that he was not even arguing or fighting with his half-brother. It didn't matter that he was a child at the moment. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru-correction, Lord Sesshomaru-hated each other. After all, Inuyasha was a half demon and Lord Sesshomaru hated humans-except for Rin, of course. He absolutely adored the girl, and Jaken knew this. How? Well, wasn't it obvious? Lord Sesshomaru married Rin. That said enough.
"Ah, milord?" Jaken muttered shakily. He'd left his staff of two heads atop Ah-Un's saddle outside, which left him feeling a bit bereft. His hands twisted and curled together in a nervous gesture.
Sesshomaru turned away from his task and glared at Jaken. Jaken didn't understand why. His lord did not know who he was. Why did he seem to be annoyed by him already?
"What do you want, toad?"
He said toad as if the noun were something vile. "I pray that you excuse me for saying this, but don't you think this is all beneath you, milord?"
Sesshomaru blinked. "What?"
"You are lord- I mean, you will be Lord of the West in a short time. It is belittling for a demon such as yourself to sleep in black and brown rags-" which the little Lord was currently wearing "-cleaning a half breeds house."
Next to Jaken, Inuyasha snorted, but Sesshomaru continued to stare at him without blinking. Jaken began to sweat; his masters' gaze was hard and unrelenting.
"Mi-milord?" he stammered.
Sesshomaru lifted his nose in the air. He may have been years younger, but the strong aristocratic air that permeated whatever place he stood in, still filled the room. "Jaken," he began in a surprisingly clear voice for a demon in his prepubescent stage, "you call me your Lord, but I don't knows who you are. Lady Rin told me I has to be nice to you because you're her companion, and I shall do this for her. Only for her. But I won't have you calling my brudder a half breed." He pointed at himself with his thumb. "Only I can do that. Do you understand me?"
Jaken nodded. "Ay, milord. It is only that I believe you are better than this."
Sesshomaru agreed most adamantly, but still. "Jaken, Rin and I are staying at my half brudders' home. He may be of a lower status than I, but it is only right that I offer my services to him when I am eating his food and sleeping in his beds."
Instead of ending this conversation, Jaken continued on as if he hadn't noticed that his Lords' golden eyes were beginning to snap like fire. "But, milord, you are a guest."
"I am his brudder," he said. "Because he took me in, I will respect him, and his wishes, until I leave. Do you unnerstand me, toad?"
Jaken turned a unique shade of red against his green skin. "A-ay, milord."
Sesshomaru nodded, looking somewhat pleased, then bent down to lift a white, porcelain box over his head and stared at Inuyasha. "Where do you want me to put this, brudder?" he asked in a tone completely different from the one he'd used with Jaken. Almost obsequious-but not, because Sesshomaru would never look like a servant. Even if he had a mop on one hand and a broom in the other.
Inuyasha scrunched his lips together as he held in the compulsion to laugh. Even at this age Sesshomaru could make Jaken seem smaller than he really was.
His eyes searched his main living room as he thought of a place to put the box.
Yesterday he'd planned on fixing up his and Kagome's hut, as was their yearly routine. Kagome had been out in their backyard, feeding their horses and chickens, and he had been mopping and cleaning the dust out of his rooms. Unfortunately, Rin's visit stalled him- not that he really cared about that. He was alright with it. Especially because Sesshomaru and Ikuto offered to help him today while Rin decided to help his wife with the yard.
He pointed at the right-hand corner of his back wall. "Put it there, Sessh."
Sesshomaru's white hair bounced against his back as he ambled off toward the wall. He lightly dropped the light object and then came up with a long sigh. Inuyasha arched a brow at the kid. What was he so tired about? He shook his head with a grin and turned to check on Ikuto.
The demon boy was cleaning Inuyasha's kotatsu table with a white and gray cloth, intently scrubbing it as if it were the most important object in the world. His grey eyes were narrowed in on the table as he muttered strange sounds under his mouth, destroying every stain and mar on the wooden surface. It sounded like, "Todododo-gufwaaa-chaka-da," but Inuyasha wasn't sure.
Rin hadn't yet told Inuyasha, or Kagome, who the kid was, and why he was tagging along with them. All she said during dinner yesterday, was that she found him, alone, and decided to take care of him. It sounded exactly like something she would do, he mused. When she was younger she used to take in strays. It didn't matter if it was a dog, a cat or a human; she would do it because she was softhearted and kind.
But Sesshomaru, her arrogant, Rin-centered, power-centered husband, was not. Inuyasha sincerely doubted his half brother cared for the kid.
Maybe he was with them because...well, because Rin said so. He shrugged. Whatever the reason, Rin decided to take him in because she wanted to.
Inuyasha turned to Jaken. "Shouldn't you be outside with Ah-Un?" he said.
The toad lifted his green nose and crossed his arms together. "I have watched them for a whole day, no thanks to you, half-" He took a quick, panicked glance at Sesshomaru to make sure he hadn't heard. Inuyasha chose to see if he heard it, too, and found his half brother watching Ikuto with a strange look in his eyes.
He wasn't paying attention to Jaken so the toad continued. "I beg your pardon. I mean, Inuyasha."
Inuyasha's lips twitched. Jaken was obviously irked about something. "Are you annoyed by the fact that we didn't invite you to stay inside for dinner, Jaken?" he asked with laughter in his voice.
Jaken puffed up his chest. "No." Yes. He was deeply insulted by the fact that he wasn't invited to dinner last night, but he wasn't about to let the half breed know that.
Inuyasha bit back a grin. He turned to Sesshomaru. "Sessh," he said.
Sesshomaru looked away from the incompetent green haired demon (who knew not how to work in silence), and faced his brother.
"Why are you staring at Ikuto like that?"
Ikuto lifted his head and glared at the two. He stopped wiping the table and slapped the wash cloth down. "What did I do?"
Sesshomaru ignored him. "Are you telling me you cannot hear the noises coming out of his mouth?" Sesshomaru sounded incredulous. And hoarse. Maybe he needed something to drink.
Inuyasha leaned against the wall. "I can hear it," he lazily replied. "Why? Does it annoy you? He's working hard."
Ikuto nodded his head. "Your half brother's right," he told him. "When I work hard I make strange sounds."
"I can hear that," Sesshomaru pointed out. "What I would like to know is why? Were you not watching me? I's quiet while I lifted these light boxes." His tiny white hands pointed at the boxes he'd lifted minutes before.
"Leave the kid be," Inuyasha said. "When I'm cleaning I get real enthusiastic about it, too."
Sesshomaru glared at Inuyasha. He had yet to see him clean anything since yesterday. "Brudder, I was not talking to you, I was talking to Ikuto."
Inuyasha waved his hand. "It doesn't matter."
"Yes, it does."
"Sessh."
"Inuyasha."
"Sessh."
Something red gleamed in Sesshomaru's eyes. "Call me Sessh again and watch what shall happen."
Inuyasha arched a brow. "Are you threatening me, Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru chose to stay quiet. His eyes, though, spoke volumes. A dark red fire cackled in his golden depths, his black lashes like sparks from a fervent flame.
Inuyasha had seen the look on Sesshomaru's face only on rare occasions, but he knew that when it happened, someone died. Or lost an arm. Or four. He raised his hands.
"Calm down, Sesshomaru. I'm sorry." Not really. "Didn't mean to get you all riled up."
Sesshomaru, because of his considerably limited supply of vocabulary, did not know what "riled up" meant, but Inuyasha had referred to him by his given name, and this appeased the little InuYoukai greatly. "Allight. Iz fine. But if you must know, you must speak to me when I first speak to you."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Sesshomaru, apparently, had never really changed. His arrogance was still strong at the innocent age of...whatever age he was.
After about ten minutes Jaken left the room, grumbling about the fact that no one was paying attention to him. Soon after that Rin came in, holding Sesshomaru's swords. She turned to Inuyasha who was sitting cross legged next to his table, watching the boys clean up the room. "Where can I put these?" she asked him, referring to the weaponry.
He gave her a lazy, almost satisfied look, and waved his hand around the room. "Anywhere you want."
He watched her absentmindedly as she gently positioned her husband's sacred swords against the right wall, beside the open entry way. She had dark circles under her eyes and seemed paler than usual. Didn't look like she slept much last night. Inuyasha sympathized for the girl. She was going through a lot, he knew. What with her husband being five. Or thirty (he couldn't really tell).
He didn't know what he'd do if it happened to Kagome. Didn't think he'd cope well, either.
No matter what, though, she had them and she knew that. He would watch his sister and take care of her while her husband could not. Because she needed their help and support. And, most of all, she needed their friendship to keep her strong.
He gestured toward the swords with a nod and asked her, "What'd you do with them?"
"I washed them," she said. "There were some rough patches of blood smeared against his Bakusaiga." She shrugged. "He doesn't particularly like it when people touch them. I thought now would be a perfect time to give them a good scrub down."
Inuyasha snorted. "And yet, he just loved to steal mine not too long ago."
Rin gave him a look that told him to drop it.
He did.
She sighed, a tired little sound, and sat in front of Inuyasha.
She hadn't had a good night's sleep, thanks to her little white haired husband. She had no idea he could be such a vocal sleeper. He wasn't one before. He'd moaned and groaned in his dreams, and even muttered her name one time or another. That didn't help her at all.
But the worst part of it was the fact that he was sleeping next to her, and, as usual, she was so attuned to his every action that when he yawned, she jumped. And when he scratched his ears, her eyes snapped open.
She wasn't sure if she looked horrible. She chose not to look in the mirror so she could be oblivious to this fact. To be conscious of one's looks meant that you cared, and right now, Rin did not care. Because her husband didn't.
She looked around the spacious room and found Sesshomaru and Ikuto piling boxes and cleaning tables. She would've called this child labor, but the boys seemed to be happy with the menial work they were doing.
Sesshomaru bent down and placed his hands under four white glass boxes. He lifted the objects with ease and placed them at the adjacent side of the room. Rin's eyes bulged.
Inuyasha chuckled at the look on her face. "Surprising, isn't it?"
She nodded. "How heavy are those boxes?"
"Ten, fifteen pounds each. He called them light a few minutes ago."
She stared at him. "And you're not afraid he'll hurt himself?"
Inuyasha keh'd. "Rin, you have no idea how strong your husband is, do you?"
"Of course I do," she huffed. "I've seen him lift demons with one hand." She said this with an obvious amount of pride.
Inuyasha pshawed. "That's baby stuff. When I was a kid, I could lift boulders." He shook his head. "I can hardly imagine what he can load up over his back."
Suddenly, Sesshomaru whirled around with a loud gasp. He saw Rin and smiled brightly.
Woe, Inuyasha thought. If he ever does that in his adult form, he'll kill more people with that look than with his sword.
He looked at Rin as if he hadn't seen her in years. It was only-Inuyasha looked at his window; the sun was at its peak-noon. In his head he thought he met her yesterday and, even so, he still seemed to love her.
How weird.
Rin smiled lopsidedly and waved at him as he approached them. His black and brown garb (once owned by Tomoya) fell lightly against his knees. His bare feet lightly patted against the ground making a light noise against the surface.
"Hello, Miss Rin," he said, sounding almost shy. His tiny lashes fluttered once. Then twice. And his eyes were as bright as the sun.
Rin bit her lip. He was too cute for her sanity. "Hello to you, too, Sesshomaru."
He stood right next to her, then flopped himself beside her. "I was helping my half brudder lift his boxes," he told her.
Rin nodded. "I know. I saw."
"Really?" He sounded rather pleased by this fact. "Well, did you see how many boxes I lith-ted?"
Lith-ted? Did he mean lifted? She nodded, anyway. "Yes. You're very strong, Sesshomaru."
He literally puffed up his chest. "I knows. Mother told me that I'll only get stronger." He kicked his feet excitedly under the table. "I can hardly wait."
Neither could Rin.
Sesshomaru continued. "Inuyasha told us that Ikuto and I can help him hunt, tomorrow. Iz dat alright, Miss Rin?"
She nodded her head. "Yes," she croaked. Then she cleared her throat with a cough.
Sesshomaru watched her. "You need water."
Rin shook her head. "Oh, no, I'm fi-"
"Inuyasha," Sesshomaru bellowed, "please supply Miss Rin and me with a glass of water."
Inuyasha snorted. "Like hell. You've got two feet; do it yourself."
Sesshomaru stared at Inuyasha through narrowed slits. He looked exactly the same as he did whenever he looked at Inuyasha when he was older. "Brudder, Rin is a lady. She's parched!" he exclaimed. "You has to get her water or she'll die of dehi-gaytion."
"It's dehydration, Sessh, and no."
"You have no sense of etiquette do you, half breed?"
Inuyasha laughed. "I'm surprised you even know what that word means."
"A'course I know what it means," Sesshomaru drawled. "Mother used to force it down my throat ev'ry day."
"Huh." Inuyasha grunted. "Well... You're not with your mother now, are you?"
"No. I'n not. But still, iz only right that someone gives the lady in the room some water for when she iz thirsty."
"I'd like some water, too," Ikuto supplied, behind Inuyasha.
"Silence," Sesshomaru snapped, turning to him. "You can live without the water. Besides, I asked for one glass of water. And me and my bestest friend in da world are going to drink from that same glass."
Ikuto humphed. "You're mean, you know that, dog?"
Sesshomaru gasped, indignantly. "You dare call this Sesshomaru a dog?"
Ikuto, the irreverent, rebellious demon, nodded smugly. "Yep. I dared."
Sesshomaru's chin rose proudly. "I am no dog, Ikuto. I am the son of InuTaisho, the great demon general of the West. And Mother."
Inuyasha choked. "Mother?"
Sesshomaru ignored him. "How dare you call me a dog! I no dog! I'n a InuYoukai."
"Also known as a domesticated dog."
Sesshomaru glared at Ikuto. Ikuto glared at Sesshomaru. Inuyasha continued to choke on his laughter.
The tension that surrounded the room was a palpable force.
Rin heaved a sigh worth many sighs and stood up. Sesshomaru turned to her as fast as one of his light whips, and said, "Where are you going, Miss Rin?"
She thought up any excuse. She just wanted to relax. She was getting a headache from all the testosterone in the room- the small and the big. And she was in desperate need of some sleep.
"I'll get my own water, Sesshomaru."
"Oh, no you won't," he said. "I told my brudder to get you some water and he will do it, cause it's the right thing to do."
Inuyasha gave in. Sesshomaru wasn't going to shut up unless he did it, so he jumped up and headed toward the exit. "Drop it, Sessh. I'll do it."
But then Kagome met him half way there, and smiled cheekily. "Oh! Hey, Inuyasha. I just came to check up on Rin. She told me she needed to relax a few minutes ago."
Inuyasha scowled. "What about me?" he growled. "What the hell am I? Chop liver?" He'd learned the expression from her years ago. After years of hearing her use it, it stuck with him.
Kagome sucked her teeth and rolled her eyes, a combination that annoyed Inuyasha greatly. Fortunately, he did not comment about it because he noticed a little black speck on Kagome's nose. He gestured toward his and said, "You've got a little dust right there, Kag."
She touched her left nostril instead of her right. "Right here?"
Inuyasha shook his head. He leaned closer to her, a breath away from her nose, and lightly placed his finger over her's. He rubbed it. "It was on the other side."
She looked at him as if he were the greatest man alive to have found the speck of dust.
Rin sighed almost dreamily and turned to her husband. Then bit back a laugh. He was staring at Inuyasha and Kagome with an open look of revulsion.
"Sesshomaru," she chuckled. "Are you alright?"
He blinked repeatedly before he turned away from the couple. "Do you see them?" He frowned. "They shouldn't act like that in front of us. Iz 'scusting."
Disgusting. He meant disgusting. Rin quickly sobered. He thought they were disgusting. "Why?" she asked him slowly.
"Because they-" He paused when he cast the couple a quick, inexpedient glance, to find Inuyasha kissing his wife's nose. "Ew!"
Rin followed his gaze and grimaced.
She had such good friends. Really, she did. They understood her so well. Of course she wanted to see them making "goo-goo" eyes toward each other. Yes, she wanted to watch them and not be able to do that with her own husband.
Damn them, she thought, feeling rather cross. Those inconsiderate bakas. They had such a blatant disregard for her feelings. That, or they were so absorbed with one another they forgot about the people watching them.
How nice, Rin thought. Her anger quickly abated.
"Sesshomaru," Rin muttered. His grimace was almost as black as hers had been. Really, did he have to look so repulsed by their open display of affection? "Stop looking at them like that. They do that because they're married."
"Rin, that's disgusting."
She stared at him. "Why?"
"My mother and father do not do this. Why should they?"
Rin had no comment to that so she chose to ignore it. "They have a right to do as they please, Sesshomaru."
"Well," he sat straight, "I will never do that, I promise you this, Rin. I won't do it. Because it's 'scusting."
Inuyasha backed away from Kagome and barked out a laugh. Ikuto smiled behind them rather nicely, all white and bright. Kagome chuckled behind her mouth and stared at Sesshomaru with a strange gleam in her eyes (as if she was just dying to pinch his cheeks). And Rin groaned. She covered her face with her hands and ran it down her face.
"Fantastic," she muttered hoarsely. Her husband just vowed never to kiss anyone, which, whether he knew it or not, included her.
Seriously, she thought. Fantastic.