"What is he doing Inuyasha?"
"Ssh," Inuyasha waved a hand in her direction, smirking.
Yuki crouched on all fours. The only sign that Kilala knew about the prowling pup was her cocked ear, tilted back in Yuki's direction as he closed the gap between them. Kilala sprang out of the pup's reach before he could reach her, making him yip as he skidded along the grass. The two-tailed nekoyoukai continued to twitch her tails.
Inuyasha could've sworn she was gloating.
"Who's my cute little hunter?" Kagome couldn't help cooing. He looked so disappointed, with his little pouting lip and the Sesshomaru-esque glare on his chibi face. Giggling, she struggled to her feet to pick the moping inuyoukai off the ground and tickle under his chin. He squirmed, nipping at her fingers with a reluctant smile.
"He's been practicing his skills for Sesshomaru," Inuyasha chuckled, shaking his head. "The pup wants to take the bastard on a hunting trip when he gets back."
"He's a little young to be hunting," Sango shared a smile with him.
"I saw Yuki catch a chicken!" Rin defended, stomping her foot. "It didn't stand a chance!"
"Yeah, and guess who had to pay for it?" Inuyasha grumbled. The mangled chicken carcass had belonged to a rather angry villager. Yuki's youkai heritage didn't endear him to most of the humans here, especially when he ate things he shouldn't.
"Can I take little brother to show him my flowers?" Rin stood on her toes, hands clasped behind her. The growing girl loved her 'little brother' dearly.
"Do you think you can watch him by yourself?" Kagome's brow furrowed. The same little inuyoukai had managed to toddle quite some distance away from their home. "He's very fast, and wily, Rin. Even Inuyasha has trouble catching him sometimes."
"Oi, who are you talking about?"
"Take Kilala with you." Sango offered gently. "She'll keep you two out of any serious trouble. It'd be good for you two to play, but…doesn't Kaede need you, Rin?"
"Kaede-sama said that I could come and spend time on my own today." Rin shook her head. "Come on Yuki! Kilala?"
"Mew," Kilala sprang forward, tails waving. Yuki immediately gave chase, yipping.
"Wait for me!" Rin laughed, running after the two.
"No more chickens!" Inuyasha yelled after them.
Rin was gasping for air by the time Yuki stopped in the middle of town's main road. She bent forward, hands on her knees as Yuki tilted his head. "Wow, you're starting to run a lot faster Yuki! Soon you'll be able to outrun Inuyasha-sama!"
She gasped as he suddenly dropped back onto his behind, staring up at her. For all his speed, the baby's legs were still short and he was a lot smaller than she was.
Rin kneeled down, Kilala circling around them, to touch his face motherly.
"Where go?" Yuki leaned into her hand. "No flowers."
Rin understood. "If you don't want to go to the flower-patch we could do something else. Houshi-sama is busy helping Kaede-sama, and Kohaku isn't here yet—"
Yuki scrambled to his feet, taking her hand as he ambled forward slowly. Kilala wound around them, meowing.
"Where are we going Yuki?" Rin laughed. He was so serious sometimes, just like Sesshomaru-sama. And it was her job to make sure he had fun. Rin sighed; Sesshomaru-sama had been busy in the West since before the last full moon. She missed him.
Yuki stopped behind one of the bushes that lined the road, peering between them.
"What is it Yuki?" Several women were wandering around the large hut in the center of town not far from the shrine. "They're just busy making the midday meal. What's so interesting about them?"
Kilala mewed, nuzzling her hand.
"I thought you wanted to play," she sighed, but his eyes were glued to the humans.
"Lady humans," Yuki whispered to her. Rin watched with him as the 'lady humans' fetched water and fed animals and tended to their babies, conversing and gossiping. Rin saw them do the same things all the time. It wasn't everyday that Kagome let Yuki play with her without supervision. She was always busy working and learning things from Kaede-sama.
"They're boring Yuki—let's go." Yuki allowed her to lead him away by the hand.
"Humans scary," Yuki said softly.
"They can be," she admitted. "But I'm human, and I'm not scary Yuki, am I?" After her father, mother, and brothers had been murdered, Rin had felt the same way. But she was starting to feel somewhat comfortable around them again, slowly. Mostly Kaede and Inuyasha's companions, but there were some friendly villagers too.
"Rin pack," Yuki shook his head, growling something. "No human."
"Pack?" Rin raised her eyebrow; Yuki nodded.
"What about Kagome? She's human."
"Pack."
"Inuyasha?"
"Pack."
Rin smiled. "Is Miroku human? Sango?"
Yuki paused. "Pack."
Rin wandered through the slightly taller grass to the field where she went sometimes. Pretty wildflowers scattered the hill with dots of yellow, pink, blue and red. The grass was soft beneath their bare feet and Rin led the way to the small pond that dried and replenished with the rain in the hollow on the other side.
"Mew!" Kilala darted after a pair of large birds nearby pecking at seeds.
"You're not going to help her?" Rin gestured. Yuki carefully considered the grayish white birds before shaking his head.
"Birds mean." Instead he dropped to his feet to press his nose to the ground, wandering around in circles aimlessly. Rin watched for a moment before a squawk reached her ears—Kilala had a mouthful of bird.
"Maybe Kilala could teach you how to hunt," Rin giggled. She'd seen the cute nekoyoukai take out plenty of enemies before Sesshomaru-sama had killed Naraku. Though, no one was better at fighting than her Sesshomaru-sama. "No indeed," she nodded.
"Look!" Yuki sat back on his heels. Rin rushed over to peer into a little rodent-tunneled hole. "Rin help hunt!"
"…What's in there?" Too many things lived in holes. Bad, gross things that liked to chew on things. Or maybe it was a rabbit tunnel; Rin didn't want to kill a rabbit.
Yuki shrugged, looking up at her expectantly.
Before Rin could turn around the earth underneath them shifted, pushing upwards. Both of their feet left the ground as Kilala carried them away, depositing them roughly behind her as she turned to face the horse-sized creature burrowing out of the newly made depression. Long floppy ears and long, square teeth made Rin's eyes widen.
"A rabbit youkai?"
Kilala roared, running one paw through the grass. The rabbit youkai's large eyes were red as his long whiskers twitched, tilting its head. Rin held Yuki's hand tightly, pulling him towards her side. It was always best when she stayed quiet when Sesshomaru-sama battled so she wouldn't distract him. Thankfully, Yuki understood perfectly.
They watched as Kilala crouched, tails twitching violently as she waited for the youkai's attack. Yowling, Kilala pounced, darting to the side as the rabbit jumped high into the air, avoiding her completely. It turned away from Kilala to turn towards the forest, taking great leaps in its attempt to flee.
Rin thought that it would have gotten away if not for a giant white muzzle.
"Father!" Yuki cheered as Sesshomaru's giant true form shook the youkai, snapping its neck with a single twist. He dropped it, catching Kilala's eyes; growling softly. The nekoyoukai mewled, transforming into her more adorable form immediately.
"Sesshomaru?" Inuyasha set Kagome on her feet gently, allowing her to step back and rest her hand on her growing womb.
"I'm so glad to see you milord!" Rin laughed, clapping her hands.
"What the hell is that?" Inuyasha's incredulity was directed towards the youkai. "You've gotta be kidding me! That is the dumbest thing I've ever seen!"
A giant, dog-like huff made Kagome look up. "A rabbit? Seriously?"
"Kilala!" Sango ran forward. The kitten practically bounced towards her mistress' feet, curling around them. "Did you protect the children? Good girl," the tajiya kneeled to scratch her in gratitude. "Thank you."
"You ran all the way here. I assume everything's dealt with then," Inuyasha folded his arms inside his sleeves. Sesshomaru's oversized teeth snapped harmlessly in their direction. "Keh—back at you asshole."
"Father! I miss you!" Yuki pulled himself onto Sesshomaru's fur-covered paw with effort. Sesshomaru's muzzle dipped down to hover above Rin and Yuki, inhaling. "Father hunt best, see Yasha!" A rush of air blew Yuki's white mane back—amusement.
"I'm glad everything went well with you, Sesshomaru." Kagome offered the trio a smile. "But, where's Jaken? I thought he was with you."
"If I know Sesshomaru, Jaken's probably still trying to catch up on dragonback," Inuyasha snorted.
To their surprise, Sesshomaru gently nudged Yuki off of his paw. The ecstatic pup happily stood by Rin as red eyes focused on Inuyasha. A giant, angry-sounding rumble emerged from his throat as his muzzle pushed Inuyasha backwards, snapping his teeth again.
"Hey! Quit being a bully Sesshomaru!" Kagome stood hands-on-hips in front of the scrambling hanyou.
"He's pissed because of the damn rabbit," Inuyasha dusted himself off. "Kilala was more than enough protection for them against that thing. They're inside the village limits, and I doubt it even ate meat!"
"At least this explains the missing vegetables," Sango added wryly. "Miroku thought he was losing his mind."
"Weeeee!" Yuki giggled madly as Sesshomaru gently lifted the pup by his clothing to place onto his back. "Tall, Yasha!"
Sesshomaru made a sound suspiciously like a woof.
"Can I go too milord?" Rin pleaded. "Where are you going? Is that a no?"
Sesshomaru's frighteningly large fangs closed over the rabbit youkai before he turned, leaving them with a swish of a very fluffy tail.
Sesshomaru was aware that the toddler enjoying himself. Yuki was hidden amongst the white fur between his shoulders, only accentuated by the pup lying flat against him, happy. The weight was almost nothing, yet Sesshomaru found himself more focused on the pup than he was on his own kill.
Fascinating.
Often when he removed Yuki from the care of Inuyasha's girl he traveled with the pup this way. The pup was safely entombed amongst a wall of fur-mane with little danger of falling off, although he knew better than to scurry around on his back. This time he had even been fortunate enough to be presented with an exceptionally handsome-looking meal. Rabbit youkai were a delicacy.
"Father home," Yuki sighed happily.
Sesshomaru felt the tension stretching across his chest dissipating. Inuyasha was a sufficient enough guard against lesser youkai but it was satisfying to be present himself—the pup belonged to him, not the half-human and his sycophants. Being separated from his blood was far from pleasant.
I have missed the pup, he admitted grudgingly. Rin's absence had also been acutely disturbing. But the girl was human. Witnessing him devour another youkai would no doubt cause her nightmares. He had learned that particular human sensibility eons ago.
Sesshomaru found a wide, uninhabited pasture to set his kill down. Yuki squeaked; he could not resist lifting his throat, raising the pup higher and making him shriek with laughter. He deposited the pup between his feet with a gentle nudge before turning their meal onto its side, exposing its innards with a single claw. Normally he would have simply torn the creature into pieces, and he would have enjoyed eating it whole, if not for Yuki. The pup might be hungry and he was learning to provide for those needs.
The liver his eyes found quickly, and with some careful manipulation he dissected the organ. With a simple growl Yuki did as commanded and went forward to remove the flesh-sack, looking up at him expectantly. "Mine?"
Yes, he rumbled. Eat.
The rabbit's bone crushed easily between his teeth in a composition of flesh and fur. He kept an eye on the surrounding landscape, but the resident youkai seemed intelligent enough to realize that they were outmatched. They had scattered into their hiding places immediately upon his arrival, and rightfully so.
The stream nearby was sufficient enough to dip his muzzle in, cleaning his fur. Yuki copied him, playing in the water while he drank his fill. The pup's attempts to wet his fur were amusing. He could distinctly remember Rin participating in a similar activity with Jaken. He briefly wondered if it was an activity universally standard to children.
"You fight?" Yuki craned his head back to beam at him.
Sesshomaru focused to return to his human appearance, closing his eyes as he adjusted to this view of the world, where his scope was limited by trees and rock formations. It was annoying, but necessary. While Yuki was too young to change between the two forms the pup would remain in his human façade. Changing into their true form was natural, effortless—but gaining this human appearance took concentration Yuki had not yet mastered.
"Tell me," Yuki touched his leg.
Sesshomaru kneeled, turning the child's chin upwards. The resemblance to Father struck him again as he searched for any sign of ill health. Inuyasha's girl was many things, but he could not call her negligent of children. Yuki's complexion was warm and clear, his eyes bright, his scent thick with youthful health.
Perfect.
"You kill?" Yuki asked eagerly.
"I did," he answered.
Yuki touched his arm fondly, patting it. "Father strong. Not hurt."
"You were treated fairly."
"Uh-huh," he nodded.
"And Rin, she is content." Sesshomaru recognized his attachment to the girl. Leaving her in the human village had been for her benefit, but he could not resist returning to visit. Her happiness was addictive—Rin laughed more than any creature he had ever known.
"Miss Father too," he shifted his weight. "Pack not Father."
Yuki lifted his arms.
Given his prolonged absence, Sesshomaru allowed the pup to crawl into his lap.
"That's amazing Kohaku!" Rin cheered as he displayed another move. "You've really been learning a lot."
Kohaku allowed his weapon-arm to hang by his side, blushing at the praise. "Nee-san says I still have to practice. I won't be a proper demon-slayer for a long time yet."
"Well, I think you're pretty good," Rin beamed. Kohaku wasn't as shy as he had been, which was good. It was nice to see him happy. Naraku had done a lot of bad things to her friend, but he was better now, and she was helping him. "You've been traveling all over the countryside, right? I miss traveling with you and Sesshomaru-sama sometimes. It must be pretty lonely."
"I meet a lot of people, Rin." Kohaku offered her a smile. "Demons are still causing problems. Since Naraku died, there are plenty who are trying to take his place."
"But you're not going to let them are you?" Rin pushed some of her hair out of her face.
"No," Kohaku chuckled. "Besides, Sesshomaru-sama is doing his own share of the work. The youkai that couldn't take Naraku think they can kill him, and they are very wrong."
"That's funny," Rin giggled.
"I, ah, almost forgot." Kohaku blushed all the way to his feet as he reached for something. "I brought you something. It's not anything special, I just—"
"You brought me a present?" Just like Sesshomaru-sama!
"Here." Kohaku unwrapped a small object from a cloth and held it out for her.
"It's so pretty, thank you Kohaku!" Rin turned the little wooden horse around in her hands. It was a pretty red-wood with painted eyes. She couldn't resist throwing her arms around him. "I love it."
"Good," Kohaku cleared his throat, taking a step backwards. The wind blew her hair into her face, tickling her nose. Rin took a moment to gather it into her hand before looking up again.
"How long are you staying this time?" Summertime was always warm. Rin considered going to join some of the others in the river. At least she would be clean when Sesshomaru-sama and Yuki came back. Kagome-sama was worried since they hadn't come back last night, and Inuyasha was grumpy when anything upset her.
"Sis says that Sesshomaru-sama's here." Kohaka shifted his weight. "If he is, I'd like to say hello to him."
"Message received."
"Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin turned to see the taiyoukai with Yuki clutching his sleeve. Kohaku offered a bow. "Welcome back my lord!"
"Your sister is correct: if you are unaware of your environment, you are not ready." Sesshomaru allowed his gaze to linger on Kohaku. "Complacency is impermissible."
"Yes, Sesshomaru-sama," Kohaku nodded.
"Hello to you too Yuki." Rin kneeled down to hug the little inuyoukai firmly. "Did you have a nice time with Sesshomaru-sama? Your eyes are sleepy."
"Rin," Yuki yawned, resting his head against her shoulder.
"You're a sleepy pup, little brother." Rin cooed, rubbing his back. "You need a nap."
"Is that girl in the village?"
Rin looked up. "You mean Kagome-sama? Yes, she's here."
"It is good to see you well Rin," Sesshomaru said softly. He proceeded to walk past them towards the village. The humans hurried to catch up, with Yuki clinging sleepily to Kohaku's back.
"Girl," Sesshomaru's feet finally stopped. Kagome-sama wheeled around in surprise from the Houshi-sama.
"Hello, Sesshomaru," Kagome regained her composure. The taiyoukai was obviously annoyed. She couldn't resist, "What can I do for my oniisan today?"
"You are breeding." The statement hung thick in the air. Miroku quickly stepped forward to stand beside Kagome, instantly nervous about the taiyoukai's interest.
"Well, yes." Kagome flushed.
"Did you not lose my son in the forest?" Sesshomaru's tone was clipped; the planes of his ethereally beautiful face were as sharp as ever—he wasn't happy with her.
"Yuki," she scolded. After they'd made him promise not to tell! "Sesshomaru, you see—"
"Inuyasha and Kagome found him almost immediately, Sesshomaru-sama." Miroku's arm blocked her from stepping forward. "And I can vouch that he has been under strict watch since. He has inherited your propensity to wander."
"Your word," Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed on Miroku," is meaningless. You allowed the son of this Sesshomaru to be vulnerable in a forest full of yokai."
"What does this have to do with Kagome-sama's baby?" Rin's forehead wrinkled.
"Yuki ran away because he was jealous of our baby, it's true." Kagome shoved Miroku sideways to face Sesshomaru herself. "He was afraid of being replaced, so he went looking for you in the forest. But we talked with him and he understands now. We made sure he knows never to run away again."
"You endangered him. His death would have meant yours, foolish girl."
Kagome paled.
"Oi, leave her alone!" Inuyasha moved quickly, standing almost nose-to-nose with his brother as everyone else backed away. "What the hell are you threatening my wife for, bastard? That's low."
"Even a hanyou should be able to guard a child," Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed. "Your woman chose unwisely."
"At least I'm still with mine! Where the hell is yours?" Inuyasha snarled. "Did you birth him yourself, miss? Take your son and find your own woman if you don't like—"
Sesshomaru punched him.
"Move!" Kohaku pulled Rin with him as the taiyoukai tossed Inuyasha over their heads. Miroku dragged Kagome away from him, after the children, as Inuyasha rolled to his feet.
"Idiots!" Kagome cursed. "Inuyasha, get him out of the village!" The last thing they needed was for those two to crush anyone's home!
"Gome," Yuki yawned, lifting his head from Kohaku's shoulder. "Gome?"
"I'm here." She took him from the pup's back and set him on her hip, looking after the swirling white-haired blurs. "Houshi-sama, do you have any ideas to stop him?"
"Only one," he grimaced. "Give me the child."
"Houshi-sama…"
"Hey, you bitch-bred mutts!" Miroku's normally smooth tone was harsh. She saw Inuyasha's ears swivel but he was too concerned with blocking Sesshomaru's claws. With a small groan, Miroku ran forward with Yuki clinging to his arms, darting around the fighting inuyoukai. "Your father was a human-loving dog, Sesshomaru!"
Sesshomaru turned.
"I'm your opponent, Sesshomaru, not—dammit Miroku!" Inuyasha bellowed, as Sesshomaru swiped towards the running monk. Inuyasha gave chase after the two as they disappeared out of her sight.
"You must have a death wish," Inuyasha grumbled.
"I consider myself rather lucky," Miroku winced as Sango redressed the numerous bruises from Sesshomaru's chase, "considering what I said about his sexual attraction to Jaken."
"Don't ever try to provoke Sesshomaru again, koi," Sango winced. "I would prefer to keep my husband in one piece."
"I angered a taiyoukai today. Does my bravery earn me a kiss?" Miroku smirked at the taijiya. She giggled before leaning forward to press her lips to Miroku's briefly.
"Houshi-sama!" Sango exclaimed as his hand wandered. The two's interaction devolved into a struggle of hands and body parts.
"Kiss!" Yuki waved his fist in the air.
"You were brave too, Yuki-chan," Rin bent down to pepper kisses along the baby's cheeks. "You didn't even cry once while Sesshomaru-sama was chasing you."
"Rin!" His small hands yanked a section of Rin's hair.
"Ow!" Rin rubbed at her scalp. "Bad baby!"
Yuki pressed his fist against his mouth, lowering his face.
"Babies like to play with hair, Rin." Kagome moved to lift the sulking pup into her lap. It didn't take much to make him smile again—as soon as she began to tickle his ribs he was yipping loudly.
"Dammit," Inuyasha winced.
"Sorry," she eyed his flattened ears.
"If you get him too excited he's never going to sleep." It was already getting late. If Yuki started to play too much he was always so much harder to put down.
"Can Yuki stay here tonight?" Rin tugged on Kagome's sleeve. "Please? I haven't seen little brother in forever!"
"What?" Inuyasha blinked.
"He can stay with me and Kaede-sama tonight. Please Kagome?" Rin clasped her hands together. "I can take care of him for a night. Kaede-sama is going to be with me all night."
In the months since Sesshomaru had kidnapped her, Yuki had never once spent the night without either her or Inuyasha.
"I don't think that's a good idea. Why don't you ask Kaede-sama if you can go home with us instead?" Kagome suggested.
"What's wrong with Yuki staying here?" Rin asked. "I can take care of him, I can! I took care of him when we were traveling with Sesshomaru-sama and Jaken-sama!"
"He's a lot more mobile now, Rin." Less than a month ago Yuki had managed to lose himself in the forest. His legs were stronger and he was able to run short distances, instead of his baby-crawl. "It's easy to lose track of him if you aren't careful. Without Inuyasha it can be almost impossible to catch him sometimes."
"But why would he want to run away from me?"
"Children are curious," Sango shoved Miroku's grabby hands away breathlessly. "And very young youkai have extraordinary senses. It's very tempting to go exploring."
"Play!" Yuki moved his fingers over Kagome's ribs.
"Now you've done it," Inuyasha grumbled.
"Yuki—"
Rip!
"Kagome-chan, you're shirt!" Sango gasped. Just underneath her breasts there was a small horizontal rip in her white shirt, and a small pink line rising on her skin.
"Kagome-sama?"
"Kagome? Did he hurt you?" Inuyasha was already pulling Yuki out of her lap.
"Is the baby growing claws already?" Sango asked.
"Look for yourself." Inuyasha held out Yuki's small hands. The nails were slightly longer than usual, and more pointed than oval-shaped, sharper, as if he were growing them out. "This means you're going to have to start watching what you do with these, pup. If you had a full set you could've killed Kagome doing that."
"No!" Yuki's eyes went wide.
"Yes," Inuyasha said firmly. "It's my fault, though. I should have been watching for them to start. If you can run then you definitely need to start watching out for trouble."
"Trouble? He's barely over a year old Inuyasha!"
"His claws are going to be here in a few months," Inuyasha murmured to himself; he was already touching Yuki's face to expose his gums. The blunt, human-like canines hadn't yet fallen out in favor of their sharper youkai counterparts. "Guess your fangs aren't here yet."
"Inuyasha, he's only a baby. You worry too much." Kagome didn't like the thought of Yuki trying to fight because Inuyasha had taught him how to use his claws.
"Wench, he wandered near a youkai today!"
"I think that rabbit looked kind of nice," Rin sighed. "He was running away when Sesshomaru-sama killed him."
"Father eat! Crunch!" Yuki threw out his hands. "Father best hunt ever!"
"You mean to say he ate that creature?" Sango paled.
"Father p'omise teach!" Yuki welcomed the attention. "I hunt like Father!" The pup swung his hand in the air like he was fighting; small, harmless growls came out of the pup's throat. He pushed himself out of Inuyasha's lap to bark and growl at the air on all fours.
"I've never seen milord eat." Rin huffed, crossing her arms.
"Rabbit youkai are said to be inordinately meaty," Sango frowned. "There are very few of them left because other youkai prey on them. I have heard of it, but I did not think that your brother would…"
"Rabbit good!" Yuki wandered closer to Sango's legs. "Yum!"
There was a collective shudder.
"He…he fed you?" Kagome whispered.
"Good!" Yuki beamed. "Father hunt for Gome, p'omise!"
She grimaced.
You mean all this time, when you meant that 'Father is the best hunter' that he's been—" Miroku couldn't quite finish the sentence. Considering the adorable child in front of him consuming a raw animal was grotesque.
"I've given Kagome raw liver before," Inuyasha shrugged. "It's not a big deal. Why are you lot carrying on? At least he's feeding his kid now."
"Sit!"
"Yeow, Kagome!"
"You gave me RAW liver?" Kagome stood, hands fisted by her side. "Humans can't eat raw things, baka!"
"It made you better didn't it, when you had to take your test, that medicine I gave you?" Inuyasha scowled up at her. "And when you felt sick I made that soup with raw ingredients, remember? And rice with—"
"EW EW EW!" Kagome clasped her hands over her ears.
"You've been feeding Kagome-chan raw food?" Sango's jaw dropped. "Inuyasha!"
"Kagome!" Inuyasha leapt up as the miko hurried out of the hut. "Dammit, quit being such a girl! What do you think our kid's going to eat?"
"Sit!"
Miroku shook his head.
"Sesshomaru!" The miko's shrill voice echoed through the dark forest. "Sesshomaru, where are you?"
Sesshomaru was extraordinarily tempted to throttle Inuyasha. Was the imbecile good for nothing? He could not keep an eye on a single child, nor could he leash his breeding wife to the village. What youkai allowed his pregnant female to go wandering about a dark forest unattended? And here he had assumed that Inuyasha was aware of at least his basest instincts.
Hn.
"Sesshomaru, I need to speak with you! I know you can hear me! Where are you?" There were several Inuyasha-like curses that were almost amusing. "It's about Yuki, Sesshomaru!"
His curiosity rose.
"If you're not out here I'm going to—ow!" she exclaimed. "That was my toe! You'd better be out here Sesshomaru!"
"What is it you want, girl?" He watched her spin hurriedly towards his voice. Her human eyes were dilated; no doubt she was near-blind without those annoyingly putrid human torches. The scent of her sweat found his nose.
"Sesshomaru?" The girl almost sounded relieved. Cautiously, her feet moved forward as she outstretched her hands toward him, coming into contact with his armor. She immediately withdrew her hand. "There you are. I really need to talk with you, about Yuki. Can we go somewhere where I can see you?"
"You may speak." He would not retreat to that squalid little human village full of nervous livestock. It would be almost impossible to ignore their fear, and he was still sated from the rabbit. It would be a waste to slay their cattle.
"Sesshomaru, I can't see anything." The girl was obviously irritated.
"Ask or leave." His vision was flawless—the girl seemed to grow infuriated for a moment before sighing heavily, and crossing her arms over her chest.
Defeated compliance.
"Do you really feed Yuki raw meat?" She narrowed her eyes in an attempt to see him. "You see, apparently Inuyasha has been feeding me raw meat secretly, but…"
Inuyasha had been feeding his human raw meat. Hn. He had been unsure, but he believed her complexion had improved, and he was unsurprised at her healthy scent. The ungrateful girl was questioning her own nourishment? Humans were such short-sighted creatures.
"Pups require large amounts of nourishment."
"So you consume your food raw? Why?"
"Your tone is detrimental, yet your spawn will be partially youkai. Human vegetables alone will not sustain it. Do as you wish, but the half-breed is correct."
"But why raw?"
"Why do humans waste time building a fire?" On the occasions that Rin had prepared dinner, he had always observed her roasting her meal over a fire. Warm-blooded creatures did not require heating.
"Fire? Um…if meat isn't cooked, then it can give you diseases. And eggs," she nodded. "They can make you sick if it carries a disease or something."
"Youkai do not become sick, girl."
There were echoes of voices in the distance. The girl's human companions were coming in search of her. Her human ears would not be able to hear them yet.
"I know that." She sighed, kicking at the dirt. "I just…Yuki keeps chirping about 'pack, not human' and he's eating raw meat and his claws are starting to grow…I just wish I understood."
"His claws."
"One of them ripped my shirt earlier," she waved her hand. "What does 'pack, not human' mean? Sometimes I don't understand the way he speaks. He's improving, but—"
"Kagome!" the voices called.
"Inuyasha's…companions, worthless as you are, are an extension of my pack." The little fool needed to understand the child she was tending to achieve any partial effectiveness. "To the pup, it trumps your human weakness."
"Gome!" Yuki's voice cried out, nearer than he liked. Sesshomaru inhaled once the wind had shifted in his favor—the pup, he was not inside the village.
"Kagome?" The taijiya's voice, and that of the monk, as well as their scents.
"My Gome!" Yuki cried out as he ran on unsteady legs through the trees. His foot caught on a gnarled root, sending him flying, and he yelped.
"Yuki!" Kagome picked up the unhappy child from the ground, helping him to his feet. "I was coming right back to the village after I talked to your dad."
"I find 'oo!" Yuki straightened up, tapping his nose.
"Quite impressively, too." Miroku's wry tone found her ears. "He told us that you were out here with Sesshomaru-sama. And here you are." Kagome caught a flash of white teeth, and golden hoops.
"He really is good," Sango praised.
"His face, girl." Sesshomaru sounded annoyed.
Kagome tilted Yuki's face upwards, squinting. She could barely see the dark line across his cheek.
"Did you get scratched? Poor thing," she bent down to kiss his forehead. "The way you big, strong youkai heal you should be just fine by morning, but we should go get it cleaned up anyway."
Sesshomaru slipped away silently.
It was summertime, and if Yuki promised to stay with Rin-nee-chan then he could go play without the grown people.
Sometimes he and Rin would play chase through the rice fields, but the humans never seemed happy about that. Other times they would climb trees, but Gome didn't like that, because Gome was scared that they would fall. And he was forbidden from hunting inside the village.
"No more chickens."
Gome was fat, but Yasha had forbidden him from saying anything. She was always crying or sitting Yasha, or cuddling him when he wanted to play. And when they slept at night she cuddled with him away from Yasha. And her smell was funny, but Yasha had already explained that to him.
Baby, he mouthed to himself, peering through the bushes.
"And this one helps swelling!" Rin picked another plant out of the ground behind him. "Kaede-sama has been teaching me about flowers, and herbs, all kinds of plants! This one will help Kagome-sama, and that one…"
Yuki wasn't listening.
Some of the lady humans had come down to the river to eat during the hottest part of the day, leaving the fields. The bigger kids were playing somewhere else, but the ladies had their 'babies' down, feeding them and changing them and letting some of them crawl around. Yuki's nose wrinkled at the smells.
He still didn't understand why they were interesting.
The black-haired human crawling around in white cloth was closest to him. He was making sounds on the grass, and if humans didn't have such bad noses he could have been sniffing, like Yasha did. There was another one lying in a blanket while his mother helped a gray-headed human. Little hands were waving around and the blanket was moving.
Yuki went around the black-haired one to the blanket-one, to look at it. It smelled like milk and one of the humans, and grass. The face was scrunched up and his mouth was weird, with no teeth. It burbled, touching its tongue to its lips. Yuki leaned forward to inhale again, pulling at the blankets.
"Youkai!" Someone screeched. "Get away from her!" Something hit him in his face, and he fell. Pain smacked against his chest again. His eyes stung with tears and he couldn't smell anything.
"Ayako-chan, stop!" Someone wrestled the stick from her. "That is Inuyasha's kin!"
"He was trying to steal my baby!" They both loomed over him. "Go away, you nasty little animal!"
Yuki rolled away from the foot coming towards him, crouching. The other ladies were gathering their babies quickly. A defensive growl rose out of him instinctually.
"Yuki! Leave him alone!" Rin's voice rang. "Don't you touch him!"
"I don't care whose kin he is! You keep him away from my baby!" the mean lady glared at him again. Rin was already placing herself between them, hands on her hips.
"What is it doing?"
"You attacked him!" Rin was angry. "You are a stupid, mean lady! Yuki would never hurt anyone!"
"Get your daughter," the other human ordered. "If you threaten him he's likely to hurt someone, or himself. He's already bleeding, Ayako. Let's go."
As soon as they were gone Rin turned, and his legs went weak. He rubbed at the sticky mess running out of his nose in shame. He desperately wanted to cry, but men didn't cry.
"Yuki," Rin dropped to her knees. "Let me see."
"Go 'way." He didn't want her help.
"Yuki, please? Ayako-san shouldn't have done that."
Father never got lost.
"Let me take you to Kaede-sama." Rin touched his shoulder.
"Bad humans," he mumbled to her. He couldn't cry where anyone could see him.
"Wait!" Yuki found a tree nearby where he could watch over Rin. He didn't want anything happening to her. She went running towards the village immediately.
He cried.
It was scary without his nose. He couldn't smell anything, or know where he was, or find anyone without it. And he didn't want to go back into that village without Yasha or Father. Humans were mean. They wouldn't let him look at their babies or play with their chicken-birds, and they stared at him. But they liked Yasha and the Pack.
The tree creaked; Inuyasha dropped to sit on the branch beside him.
"Can't smell anything, eh?"
He shook his head.
"Tilt your head back," Inuyasha's hand lifted his chin while he cradled the back of his head. It was several minutes before his nose felt any better. He closed his eyes, letting his head be supported.
"Is it better?"
"Uh-huh."
"Your nose isn't broken at least," he touched it gingerly. "She must have hit you hard. Were you playing nearby when Ayako hit you? Females get defensive about their babies."
"Hai," he sniffed, wincing.
"Here." Inuyasha gently wiped the mucus and blood from his face with his sleeve. "Rin told me you were in this tree because of the bad humans. We have to be careful around them, kid. They frighten easily."
"Gome having a baby." Yuki gingerly touched the bridge of his nose. It felt swollen. "Stupid baby."
He didn't know what Yasha was thinking.
"You've got their scent on…they wouldn't let you see their kids." Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome's going to be having her baby in a few months, and you can see him—her, whatever."
"Stupid mama human," he spat, watching the glob hit the ground. "Father kill."
"No," Inuyasha growled, "absolutely not. This is a big secret, Yuki. If you tell your old man about this, he might kill Ayako and maybe some of the others, and then you won't be able to live with us anymore."
Terror.
"What?" His chest constricted.
"If your dad kills village humans, you'll have to go away with him. They wouldn't want you living here, understand? If you tell him, there isn't anything I could do."
"Secret," Yuki nodded solemnly. "No tell, big secret."
Inuyasha put his arm around his shoulder. "You're a good pup. I'm proud that you didn't strike out at them. Your claws can cut wood—look at how well you can climb trees now. Humans are soft."
Yasha was proud.
"No claw humans," he recited.
"That's right," Inuyasha chuckled.
"Where Gome?" He wanted to be cuddled.
"I'm going to clean you up before we see her. The last thing I need is for her to see that blood."
"There's my cute baby," Kagome squeezed Yuki's cheeks. "You're like an adorable mini-Sesshomaru. I wonder what your dad was like when he was little. I bet he was sweet too."
"Kagome!"
"What?"
"You can't say shit like that!" Sesshomaru was not adorable! Her emotions were all over the place with the baby. It was only a few more months until it would be here. Their kid.
Damn, she was round.
"Don't worry, Inuyasha. I think you're sweeter." Kagome giggled, squeezing his cheek. "And you have a good butt."
His cheeks burned.
"Wench, the kid's right there!" Sure, he was playing with a few of Shippo's old, donated toys, but he was still right there. "You can't say things like that!"
"Inuyasha, relax." Kagome turned away from him to play with Yuki some more. She hadn't left their house in a few days, not since Yuki had been attacked, but at least he was healed now. She wouldn't worry over him. "Would you like to play? We could go outside and play hide and seek, or you could play tag with Inuyasha…"
Yuki shook his head, spinning a green top.
Kagome sighed.
"I'm not going with Miroku, by the way," he nudged her with his elbow.
"Good," she leaned against him. "Miroku-sama and Sango-chan can handle a few weak youkai on their own. I don't feel comfortable with you leaving."
"The villagers aren't…at ease, since what happened, and you can't catch him if he decides to run," Inuyasha tilted his head. "It is safer if I stay here, for now."
"I just want to squeeze his face off," Kagome giggled, watching Yuki knock the wooden toys around with his hands. "He's…chibi. Yuki looks like someone shrank Sesshomaru and gave him blue stripes."
"Kagome, don't—"
"Who's my mookie-baby? My little squishie-pup?" Kagome had pounced. Again. Yuki looked at him in terror as Kagome continued to hold his face and make baby noises at him. "My adorable little squishikins!"
The poor pup's cheeks were being pushed together.
Sorry, he mouthed, shrugging.
"I could just bite your little toes off!" Kagome cooed. Yuki licked the side of Kagome's hand, startling her. She dropped his face. He gave her a look that clearly admonished her before going back to spinning tops.
"Do you want to play outside now?" Inuyasha could at least give him more room to run from the wench.
Yuki nodded heartily.