A/N: Thank you so much, Gayle Nightingale, Kai's the Best, sherryfanfic1999, NikkiS71, sleepdeprivedsoul, , and SesshoPuppy for reviewing ^.^ Here are the responses to the anonymous reviewers:

Guest: That's an interesting thought. I like seeing the different shades of Sesshoumaru in fanfiction too… my favourite Sess/Inu writers are mainly those who manage to do it well; the story is often secondary for me.

Guest: If you remember Sesshoumaru's mother's palace in the anime, it wasn't exactly a traditional Japanese home. And that's because the Japanese castles with their shoji screens were built that way for a reason, and that reason doesn't apply to a youkai like Sesshoumaru. I'll be happy to discuss it with you in more detail if you sign in when you leave a review or give me an email ID where I can reach you.

And as for Sebastian XD I wasn't thinking when I named him that but it's funny now that you pointed it out.

Shoutout to sherryfanfic1999 who had kind of guessed where this was heading. ^.^

On to the chapter!


Chapter 3 – Dinner

When Inuyasha headed down to dinner, Sebastian was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

Sebastian was a thin, severe man of average height, but he stood so straight and looked so proper that people tended to mistake him for being taller than he was. He had grey hair, neatly cut and styled, and his bright blue eyes were the only indication that he wasn't human – they were too brilliant and too blue to belong to a human.

As Inuyasha watched his familiar form, clad in the black uniform of a butler of a tradition English house, standing still as a statue, it occurred to him suddenly that the secret to Sesshoumaru's continued success over the centuries was not so much his skill with business or money, as his skill with accumulating all the right employees.

"Lord Inuyasha," he bowed. "I presumed you would be heading towards the old dining room."

"Yeah," Inuyasha said, pausing. "Isn't that where dinner always is?"

"Not…in the last few years," Sebastian said delicately, tactfully refraining from saying since you left. "It's now held in the parlour, unless it's a formal occasion."

Inuyasha hid his surprise as he nodded and followed the old butler. Sesshoumaru didn't easily change his old habits like that, at least not without a good reason.

The parlour was a lovely warm room, quite unlike the formal dining room that Inuyasha was used to. It had a rectangular wooden table that was small compared to the one in the old room, but still big enough to fit eight people comfortably. The décor of the room boasted warm colours – red interspersed with more earthy browns, with a background of beige. One wall consisted of floor-length windows adorned by deep red curtains, and the floor was carpeted with oriental rugs complete with intricate design.

Sesshoumaru was already seated at the head of the table when Inuyasha arrived, but that wasn't what surprised him. What surprised him was the young teenage human girl sitting on his left, smiling happily up at him.

Inuyasha felt his heart plummet as he saw Sesshoumaru leaning forward and speaking warmly with the girl in quiet tones.

"Lord Inuyasha and Master Miroku," Sebastian announced, bowing.

Sesshoumaru and the little girl both stood up, as Inuyasha and Miroku approached the table. Inuyasha stared at her, bemused. The first thing that struck him was that that was an odd thing for her to do. Girls never got up for men; it was an unforgivable lapse of decorum. But Sesshoumaru didn't, by word or glance, reprimand her.

To his further surprise, Sesshoumaru was wearing only a plain white shirt coupled with formal pants. The top couple of buttons on his shirt were undone; it was usual for his collar to be open, because Sesshoumaru didn't usually wear a tie, even with a suit, but what wasn't usual was that the jacket of the suit was slung over the back of his chair. Of course, the lines of the white shirt were razor thin and just as sharp, and Sesshoumaru managed to look impeccable in it, but that didn't change the fact that the demon Lord was almost casually dressed.

"Welcome back, Lord Inuyasha," the little girl chirped, smiling brightly up at him. She couldn't have been more than twelve or thirteen years old, and she was dressed in simple but fine clothes; a stylish black vest on a white shirt, paired with a short, modern skirt. Her black hair was glossy and cut short almost up to her ears in the latest style. "It's so nice to finally meet you," she said enthusiastically, boldly holding out her hand. "I'm Rin."

"It's nice to meet you, Rin," Inuyasha managed to say, as he shook the young girl's hand, though his eyes kept returning to Sesshoumaru. She was human; he could tell instantly by her scent. And by her accent, it was clear that she was low-born. Sesshoumaru now had a human girl sitting at the family table as though she was one of them, as an equal. Things really had changed around here.

"Rin is my ward," Sesshoumaru said, as Rin shook Miroku's hand just as warmly. When Inuyasha dithered uncertainly and didn't sit down, Sesshoumaru gestured for him to be seated at his usual place to his right. Inuyasha blushed slightly, and took his seat. He hadn't wanted to make a fool out of himself by presuming, but it seemed his leaving without the elder's permission hadn't at least changed his place at the dinner table. Miroku sat down to Inuyasha's right.

"Sesshoumaru-sama rescued me when I was little," Rin told Inuyasha happily, discreetly noting that the hanyou didn't seem entirely comfortable with her presence. "I was an orphan about to be sold to some bad people, when Sesshoumaru-sama found me and adopted me."

The napkin Inuyasha had been arranging in his lap almost slipped from his fingers. It was strange enough for the girl to reveal such very personal things on the first meeting, but that wasn't the part of the sentence that shocked Inuyasha the most.

"Adopted you?" he asked incredulously, looking from Rin to Sesshoumaru.

Miroku had been watching the exchange between the three quietly, and now he placed a placating hand on the half-demon's arm.

"Inuyasha," Miroku said warningly. He didn't like the look in Sesshoumaru's cold golden eyes.

Luckily, Inuyasha seemed to have taken the hint.

"I'm sorry, it's just hard for me to imagine a youkai adopting a human child," Inuyasha finished lamely. He suddenly realized that he had come close to raising his voice at the dinner table; it would just be proof of what 6 years outside had done to his basic manners.

"Rin isn't a regular human child," Sesshoumaru said, glancing at her, and the warmth in his voice made bile rise up in Inuyasha's throat.

"Sesshoumaru-sama is very kind," Rin said, self-deprecatingly, and Inuyasha looked away, fidgeting with the napkin in his lap. He abruptly remembered the lessons he'd been given in his youth, about keeping private matters private, and never discussing them before strangers. And yet, here Rin was, a human child chosen by Sesshoumaru himself to be his family, who got to say whatever she wanted.

Miroku discreetly rubbed Inuyasha's arm comfortingly, not quite understanding why the hanyou was so upset, but knowing that he needed to relax.

When they were all seated comfortably, Sesshoumaru gestured for the servants, and they appeared with the food, swiftly and efficiently placing the food items on the table.

Inuyasha had been prepared to have to rant and storm out if Sesshoumaru had neglected to make provisions for human food for Miroku, but it seemed there was no need. Along with youkai meat for Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha, there were plates upon plates of delicacies of human food. Of course, Inuyasha now realized the food would not have been prepared just for Miroku; Rin must be a usual at the dinner table. But it smoothed that one hurdle he'd been a little apprehensive about.

Servants served the food as courteously and efficiently as he remembered, impeccable in their work. He had expected to be ravenous being in the presence of great food after a very long time, but he suddenly found that he didn't quite have an appetite. He took hold of the knife and fork, and waited for Sesshoumaru to start before beginning his meal, as was the custom.

To his surprise, Sesshoumaru was looking at Rin. The little girl waited till the servants had gone, and then join her hands together and said a small prayer. Only after she'd finished, did Sesshoumaru break his bread, signalling the beginning of the meal. From the corner of his eye, Inuyasha could make out Miroku smiling warmly at this. The ex-monk must be happy to see a display of devotion in a pre-dominantly youkai household. But it just made Inuyasha sick to his stomach, and he had to force himself to cut up a piece of the meat on his plate and put it in his mouth.

Miroku was also finding it difficult to enjoy the food, but for different reasons. He had to force himself not to stare once the servants appeared. He could tell by their aura that they were all youkai, but even if he hadn't had the training of a monk, he would have easily guessed that something wasn't quite normal about these servants.

For one, they all looked unnaturally perfect. The footmen were all handsome, clad in perfectly ironed, crisp uniforms, hair perfectly combed and in place. Their exquisite, well-built muscles were visible even through the long-sleeved shirts as they served the food. And the maids were all beautiful – no, not just beautiful. They were… curvy.

And that was the other thing. Miroku admittedly did not know much about English castles and households, but he did not think any of them had such uniforms for the serving maids. The maids all wore short, frilly aprons over a puce dress that was even shorter than the aprons, and barely covered their thighs. That, and the high heels they wore displayed their lovely, elegantly muscled legs to advantage – some milky white, some chocolate coloured, and some a lovely shade of golden brown. The necks of their uniforms had deep, plunging necklines, showing off their ample cleavage. Even the rather delicate-looking girls carried large, heavy trays of food effortlessly, and when they bent down to hold the trays before him, he had to resolutely look away and will all the blood away from his face so that he did not make a fool of himself here, when he had a chance to make a proper first impression.

Inuyasha was too preoccupied with his own problems to notice how uncomfortable Miroku was. But Sesshoumaru didn't miss the way his face turned red, and his muscles tensed, and how he determinedly did not look at any of the servants. A small smile played about his lips as he cut up his meat, rendering an angelic glow to his already perfect features.

"What do you do, Miroku-san?" Rin asked cheerfully, already making headway through the food on her plate.

"I'm a school teacher," Miroku answered hesitantly, grateful for the distraction the question provided, and discomfited now that the topic had come up. "I teach elementary school."

"He's also a monk," Inuyasha added gruffly, glancing a little vindictively at Sesshoumaru. Miroku almost dropped his fork as he turned bright red. Was it absolutely necessary to bring that up right away in a house full of youkai? The youkai servants were right there, standing near the wall, a respectful distance away.

"Pardon me, Miroku-sama," Rin said, bowing her head slightly.

"That's quite alright," Miroku smiled, warming to the polite little girl. There weren't many kids today who knew the correct way to address a monk and even fewer who had manners enough to do it. "I'm not practicing anymore," he said.

"How curious that you made Inuyasha's acquaintance, then," Sesshoumaru said, his deep voice quiet, though carrying across the table easily. "How did the two of you meet?"

Miroku turned his head towards Inuyasha and smiled. "Rather unconventionally, I'm afraid. Inuyasha helped me out of a tight spot."

Inuyasha felt his brother's gaze on him like a physical weight, and his hand tightened on his fork. "That sounds like an exciting story," Rin said, eyes shining.

Miroku laughed. "It is, I guess. I was at a club. I was dancing with a… gentleman. It was too late by the time I realized he'd had too much to drink. Well, suffice to say I would have been in a lot of trouble, when in comes Inuyasha, and knocks his lights out in one punch."

"Inuyasha was at a dance club?" Sesshoumaru asked amusedly, finally giving Miroku his full attention. A maid, a beautiful blonde girl with ample breasts, stepped forward and replenished the demon Lord's wine, even as one of the handsome footmen served Rin some more food.

"Well, no," Miroku admitted, as his hand came up to adjust his collar. "It turned out, he was working there. He was on his way out when he saw us."

"Working?" Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow, glancing towards the hanyou, and then back at Miroku.

Inuyasha lost his battle with his blood then, and his face flushed. He stared determinedly at his plate of food, and refused to look up.

Miroku looked from one sibling to the other, and frowned. "Well yes, he works as a plumber," Miroku told Sesshoumaru.

"Really," Sesshoumaru said softly, turning back towards Inuyasha, and Miroku didn't miss the derision that flashed in his eyes.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said suddenly, looking up to stare straight at his brother. "That's right. I work as a plumber now. You got a problem with that?"

The clatter of cutlery stopped; there was silence at the table.

"You always did imagine a slight where there was none, Inuyasha," Sesshoumaru finally said calmly.

Miroku frowned even more fiercely as Inuyasha quietly lowered his eyes. That's not the Inuyasha he knew. The Inuyasha he knew never backed down.

He wanted to shout at the demon Lord. He wanted to say something in Inuyasha's defence. But somehow, he could not find the words, and he stared down at his food in frustration.

Rin seemed to be the only one comfortable at the dinner table, eating happily. Miroku found himself staring at her for a moment wonderingly. She seemed so innocent and sweet at first sight, and yet, here she was, unfazed by all the unpleasantness.

For some reason, it just made Miroku angrier.

"So," he said abruptly. "What do you do, Sesshoumaru-sama?"

The table fell silent once again. Inuyasha, who had begun to eat a little again, stopped short. Rin paused with a piece of food on her fork. The servants seemed to all be determinedly looking straight ahead, although it was clear each one of them was listening with bated breath.

Miroku glanced subtly around the table, wondering why they were reacting this way to a simple question. He had gone out of his way to be polite, addressing him as –sama instead of –san, as would be usual.

Next to him, Inuyasha allowed his bangs to cover his eyes.

"Inuyasha has really not divulged anything of himself to you," Sesshoumaru said softly, looking thoughtfully at his younger brother.

Inuyasha slammed his knife and fork down on the plate with a loud clatter, and abruptly got to his feet. The intensity of hate in his eyes had Miroku's eyes widening in surprise as he looked up at his boyfriend.

Without a word, Inuyasha pushed his chair away, turned around, and left the room.

Miroku stared after him stunned. Then he turned his surprised eyes on the other two. Rin was looking just as surprised as he was, and Sesshoumaru had an unreadable look on his face.

Hastily, Miroku took the napkin off his lap, murmured his apologies to his host, and followed his boyfriend.


A/N: Mwaaahaaahaaa =^.^= cliffy! Tell me what you think! Review please!