Title: Puppy 101
Authoress: Ladya C. Maxine
Rating: G
Summary: see chapter one
Warnings: see chapter one
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Any and all unrecognizable characters belong solely to me and are not to be touched. I am not making any money off of this and I write with the sole intention to entertain.
"Well, someone looks nice and clean," mama commented as Kagome entered the room though was kind enough not to say anything about her face, which was beet red.
"Uh-huh," Kagome nodded, quickly walking over to her bed to plop the freshly bathed youkai next to Inuyasha, who was still wrapped in a towel though fiercely clutching his damp fire-rat coat as he watched as mama pulled out several pairs of Souta's old pyjamas from a suitcase.
"Who's a clean puppy? Who's a wittle spotless puppy-wuppy?" the older woman cooed, wriggling her finger in Sesshoumaru's face. In return she was gifted with a stare that clearly proved that the pup thought her to be losing a few screws. Considering that mama would have been reduced to a small heap of ash had she spoken the same way to his adult form, this was a rather peaceful reaction on the youkai's behalf.
"Eh…mama?"
"Oooooh, wook at his pretty hair. And his wittle tail. Aren't you a cutie?"
"Mama, are you alright?" Kagome asked, overcoming her embarrassment out of concern for her parent's strange behaviour.
Mama giggled, sitting back, much to the elder pup's relief.
"I'm sorry. The whole situation just made me a bit giddy. It seems like years since you and Souta were so small."
"Souta's just eight."
"I know, but it's fun all the same. Did you get all the glue out of his hair?"
"Hai."
"And did you remember to wash and rinse and dry behind his ears?"
"Yes, mama."
"And what about his…puphood?"
"Mama!"
"Well it is important. You don't want them to develop some rash or infection because of poor cleaning, do you?"
"No, but...But it's…them!"
"Oh Kagome, I thought you conquered your shyness."
"So did I," she muttered defeated, sinking down to sit next to mama on the rug next to her bed. Watching the older woman rummage for a few minutes, she then admitted, "It's just weird! I mean, I know them as adults! One moment they're both full grown, extremely strong and the next thing I know I have to be washing their winkies!"
"Winkies?" mama giggled.
"It's not funny!"
"I'm sorry, dear," she soothed, running an affectionate hand through the teen's dark hair. "If it makes things easier for you, I will volunteer to bathe them for you. How's that?"
"You won't mind?"
"Not at all. I bathed Souta when he was a baby and toddler. And don't worry, Kagome; you'll soon reach the age when you will come to appreciate a man's body. Who knows, maybe you and Inuyasha will--"
"Mama!"
"It could happen, dear. There's nothing to be ashamed of."
"I can't believe I'm having this conversation," Kagome mourned, burying her head in her hands.
"This should fit," mama estimated, holding up a one-piece yellow bunny pyjamas. "These should fit Inuyasha. Come here, sweetie."
"Aga fada keh!" the pup rebelled, scrunching up his nose at the clothing. "Ie!"
"You can't sleep in that one. It's all wet," mama reasoned, getting to her knees.
"Eh-ou, kika!" Inuyasha protested, hiding behind the bigger pup, who, by the way, was lost in thought once more.
'What's up with you, Sesshoumaru?' Kagome couldn't help wondering. Adult Sesshoumaru, while silent, was never this contemplative. At least, not when around them. Did this have something to do with the fact that he was pup? Or maybe the spell?
"Ow!"
Startled, she was shocked to see a small, thin but bleeding line on mama's arm, a warning to the older woman who had tried to pry the sodden coat from Inuyasha's tight grip.
"Mama! Inuyasha, sit!"
She really had to learn to control herself.
Her inner tirade only doubled when Inuyasha, who was still behind Sesshoumaru, was dragged down off the bed by the beads, pulling his brother down with him to land in a pile of yelps.
"Argh! Why do I keep doing that! Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Kagome shouted, beating her skull with her fists.
"Eh-ou?"
Surprised to not hear Inuyasha's cries, she realized the hanyou had been spared since he had landed on the youkai pup, cushioning his fall. Sesshoumaru, more shaken than hurt, was blinking as if trying to clear his sight.
"Oh no! He's blind! I blinded him!" Kagome panicked, grabbing the mini-lord to stare him in the eyes. "Sesshoumaru, can you see me? How many fingers? Do you see any colour? Do you remember who you are? Any internal bleeding? Talk to me!"
"Kagome, calm down!" mama ordered. "Calm down. Take deep breaths and count to ten."
"But—"
"Just do it."
Nodding, she deepened her ragged breathing.
"Now. What just happened?"
"The prayer beads." She pointed to the purple beads around the hanyou's neck. "There's a spell on them. Every time I say…s-i-t to Inuyasha, they pull him down to the ground."
"Can't you take them off?" mama asked, studying the cursed neck ornament.
"No."
"Then please be careful."
"Hai."
"Well, neither look too worse for the wear. As youkai and hanyou I do believe they can take a lot more than our bodies. Now, though, we have to find a way to cover theirs."
"Cover?" she blinked and looked at the pup in her arms. Her frantic actions had caused the towel to fall away, leaving a very naked Sesshoumaru, who had still to regain his bearings, on her lap.
"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh!"
Great, now the poor thing was blind and deaf.
She wasn't sure of the exact nature of this spell, but she certainly hoped that neither brother would remember anything once it's broken. Sesshoumaru would have a personal vendetta against her greater than his hatred for Naraku. That's just what she needed, a ticked off taiyoukai reducing her to a pile of acid-eaten flesh. Even Rin had acted more mature in dressing the pup!
Using that as her grounding force, she dared to pick up the white-haired pup and placed him back on the towel before (very securely) wrapping it around him.
One problem solved. Only like…a dozen to go. Starting with Inuyasha, who was hiding beneath her bed, as mama kneeling and looking under it was a pretty good clue. Yellow pyjama's in hand, Mrs. Higurashi was trying to coax the obstinate hanyou out.
Nibbling on her thumb nail, Kagome weighed the dilemma before coming up with a brilliant idea based on what she had witnessed up until now. Dragging the large suitcase over, she started searching before finding a two piece white set that were just a bit too big but comfortable enough.
'Come on, grow up,' she told herself. Putting on a brave face, she turned to Sesshoumaru who adopted a wary look. "It's okay. Look." She held up the pyjamas. "You can't go to sleep in that towel. Can you put these on yourself?"
Slowly nodding, he made the crucial decision that she was over her earlier panic attacks and so he inched over, still keeping the towel securely around him. Once reaching, he looked torn between dressing and exposing himself to the obviously volatile teenager.
Kagome took a deep breath, again, and smiled at him.
"I'm fine. Need any help?"
At his affirmative nod, she loosened the towel from around the small torso and steeled herself as it fell away. Shirt at hand, she held it out and he obediently pushed his arms through the sleeves though couldn't button it up. As she did it for him, Kagome noticed a couple of dark markings on his shoulder. Fearing that they were bruises, she touched them tentatively but the pup didn't flinch back in pain.
'More markings,' she identified. 'I wonder how many he has in total.'
According to Toutousai the marking's became darker as Sesshoumaru had grown. Speaking off the old geezer, what had he tried to warn her about just as she had left? Something about Sesshoumaru, but what…
Helping the young lord put on his pants was a bit more complicated than the shirt (understandably) but Kagome was feeling mighty proud of herself when she sat back on her heels to look at the now clothed youkai.
That was the first part, though, of the entire plan.
"Inuyasha!" she called out to the still concealed hanyou," Look. Sesshoumaru is wearing pyjamas. See?"
Sure enough, two big eyes peeked from under her bed. A minute passed before Inuyasha crawled out, making his way over to his brother and sniffing the material. Looking down dejectedly at the wet rat fur in his small hand, he quickly decided that the dry material was a lot more agreeable.
"Ne," he said, turning to mama and pointing at the one-piece in her hands. "Aki?"
"Yes, this is for you," she assured, holding it out for him to see.
His ears perked and he excitedly scrambled over.
"That was a good idea, Kagome," mama commented on as she helped the eager pup into the clothing piece. "It would seem that Inuyasha greatly admires his brother."
"If only they had grown up together," the girl sighed, running the possibilities through her head. "Then maybe they would have grown up closer, and then Sesshoumaru wouldn't be so hell bent on killing Inuyasha. Maybe he'd even be on our team and helping us destroy Naraku!"
Gods, that thought so appealing it almost hurt that it would never happen. Both brothers were incredible strong. As proven when they had battled and defeated Takenmaru and Sou'unga their combined powers would make them truly unstoppable.
"There, all set."
Pulling at his new garment, Inuyasha shot her a pleased look.
"Ata!"
"It looks great, Inuyasha," she complimented but a soft tap on her arm drew her attention down to find Sesshoumaru looking a bit uncomfortable, shifting on the spot. "What's wrong?"
The pup turned. Beneath the cloth she saw a quivering movement along the back of his left thigh. She slapped her forehead.
Duh. His tail!
How to solve this one?
The answer struck her quick and she got to her feet and walked over to her desk. Finding what she was looking for, she walked back, kneeling before the squirming youkai, scissors in hand.
"Hold still," she advised him. Once again schooling her emotions (and thoughts), she felt her way down the pup's spine until she found the base of his tail beneath the cloth. Careful not to nick the soft skin, she cut a small hole and, unable to not blush, reached into the pants to push the fluffy tail through. The appendage seemed grateful, wagging softly, free from its confines.
"Well mama," she said, turning to the older woman who was running a comb through Inuyasha's hair, "It wasn't easy, but I think I made it through their first bath rather well, didn't I?"
"You most certainly did. And now it's time to put them to bed. And by the looks of it it's not going to be so hard."
Indeed. Inuyasha, tired from the hectic and long first day, was practically asleep, lulled off by the comforting feel of mama's grooming. However, just before falling asleep, he tiredly climbed out of Mrs. Higurashi's lap and onto Kagome's, snuggling down against her chest, facing his brother. Kagome's eyes soften and she pulled the exhausted hanyou closer, resting a cheek on his head.
"I leave them to you," mama said, getting to her feet. Placing a good-night kiss on her first-born's head, she smiled fondly. "I'm very proud of you."
The door closed, leaving her with her two young charges.
Rocking Inuyasha for a short while, she looked down at the sleeping hanyou. He looked so different, but not in a physical sense. Of course, the rounder cheeks and attitude-free expression were a major difference, but it was the first time she had ever seen Inuyasha so at peace and care free.
'You weren't born to distrust others. You were made that way because others shunned and hated you,' she thought sadly. Hanyou or not, she could not understand how anyone could possibly find it in their hearts to treat such an innocent child so harshly. He had lost his father the night he was born. Izayoi passed away a few years later. He was left with no one.
'Well, there was still one…'
She had hated Sesshoumaru for a long time. She hated how he had used Inuyasha's love for his mother against him in a cruel plan. She hated how he could be so cold and merciless towards his own brother just because Inuyasha was a hanyou. And, of course, she was not overly fond of the heartless taiyoukai who had almost killed her upon their first meeting and then proceeded to terrorize their group for some time afterwards.
The strange thing was, though, that while her opinion on Sesshoumaru had changed, the youkai himself had not.
Yes, he hadn't shown emotions until taking on Rin as a sort of adoptive daughter and only stopped chasing after Tesseiga after he got that other sword of his. But, as far as Inuyasha went, Sesshoumaru seemed to treat him the same way. The only exception was that they had come to ever so slightly know the demon lord. Somehow, the more they learned about him, the more they understood who he was and what he stood for.
'His father did raise him to hate humans. And Inutaisho is the only person Sesshoumaru has ever shown any respect for. Losing his father, the only parent he had left, must have hurt him deeply. The fact that Inutaisho died protected Izayoi and Inuyasha must be the source of his hatred to his brother.'
The hanyou shifted in her hold, turning in his sleep. Affectionately running a hand over his soft hair, she rested her cheek on his head. She hoped the others would find that poltergeist soon. As adorable as Inuyasha was as a child, she was starting to miss the teenaged hanyou. Heck, she even missed his cursing and bad attitude. As well as being able to sit the pigheaded male without having to feel bad.
"Time to put you to bed, mister," she whispered softly, getting to her feet as she cradled the pup closer. "It's going to be a long but fun day tomorrow."
Pulling back her sheets and quilt, she laid the sleeping youngster down. He curled into a ball, suckling on a small thumb as he nuzzled into the soft pillow. Tucking him in, she felt a surge of maternal pride. Looking after the pups had it's hard times, but scenes like this made up for that.
Pups…Oops! Sesshoumaru.
'He's so quiet. I almost forgot about him.'
"Ready for…bed…?" she asked, turning to find an empty spot where he had last been. Turning in circles until she became dizzy, she could not find him. He must have wandered off during her inner musings.
"Sesshoumaru?" she whispered loudly, not wanting to disturb Inuyasha. Tiptoeing to the partially open door, she slipped into the hall but that was empty too. She closed the door behind her quietly and quickly searched the rooms on the second floor but coming up empty handed. Pushing down the fluttering feeling of panic, she went downstairs.
Souta was watching television, sitting on a unburned part of the rug, Buyo fast asleep on his lap.
"Souta, have you seen Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked, peeking behind the curtains.
"No, why?" he asked, hugging Buyo to him. "You lost him! You have to find him before he tries to eat Buyo again!"
"Never mind," she said, confirming that he wasn't there.
Where else? The kitchen!
But her hopes were dashed when she only found mama and grandpa. Both looked up as she entered.
"I can't find Sesshoumaru!"
"I thought he was with you in your room," mama said, drying off her hands on her apron as she had been busy washing up.
"Yeah, me too. I put Inuyasha to bed but when I turned around Sesshoumaru was gone. Where could he have gone off to?" She gasped, covering her mouth. "What if he went outside? What if he left the shrine? He's not familiar with this time! He could be in serious danger!"
"Aha! He must be out hunting his prey! It's a good thing I kept some of my holy o-fuda just in case!"
Grandpa was not going to give up.
"Not now, papa," Mrs. Higurashi shot down. "He's a puppy, not a werewolf."
Kagome, searching through the cabinets on her knees, almost knocked her head as she sat up. Werewolf? The moon!
"That's it!"
"What's it?" mama and grandpa asked as she ran out. Sharing a confused look, they could only shrug before going back to their activities.
Throwing open the front door with a bang, Kagome ran to the middle of the yard before turning back to the house to look up at the roof. Nothing. He wasn't on the roof of the well house either.
Her miko-senses suddenly kicked in as she felt a faint but distinctive youki behind her. Turning, she was relieved to find the small, outlined figure of the missing pup seated on the high arch at the top of the stone steps that led up to the shrine. Sure enough, Sesshoumaru was staring transfixed up at the full moon above them.
"Sesshoumaru!" she called up.
The white tail twitched from where it had been hanging over the edge and he looked down.
"Come down! It's time for bed!"
He blinked, eyes glowing gold against the black skies. Instead of obeying, though, he merely returned to his gazing.
"You have to sleep!" she tried to reason with him though her own words struck her.
"…Lord Sesshoumaru doesn't sleep a lot…" Rin's small voice reminded her.
Okay, so that option was out the window.
With no other choice, she took a seat on the stone steps beneath him. As much as she wasn't looking forward to spending the night anywhere but her nice warm bed, she definitely wasn't going to leave him out here alone. Still, it was pretty cold…
Wrapping her arms around her knees to pull them to her chest, she rested her head down on them, feeling the day's events catching up with her. Stifling a yawn, she was beginning to nod off when something soft brushed her side. Golden eyes looked up at her surprised expression. Her surprised stemmed from, not the fact that he had come down, but that she saw that he was trembling from the cold air. While she still wore her travel clothes and jacket, the pyjama he had on were not enough. But how could he feel cold? Most youkai's, especially of Sesshoumaru's pure-bred lineage, weren't affected by even the most extreme weather. Unless it was an immunity they developed as they grew.
Shrugging off her jacket, she wrapped it around the puppy before getting to her feet.
"We can look at the moon from my room, if you want," she offered. "It's a lot warmer there."
Sesshoumaru gave no resistance as she led him back inside. Bidding everyone good night, she climbed the stairs, holding his hand as she entered her bedroom. Inuyasha was fast asleep, snoring softly from his curled position. Placing Sesshoumaru on the edge of the bed, where he returned to moon gazing, she quickly gathered her things and made her way to the bathroom. Bathing and brushing her teeth, she changed into her own nightwear before returning to find an unexpected sight.
Inuyasha, having either woken up or felt the other pup in his sleep, was now sleeping securely against Sesshoumaru who was lying down, arms wrapped around his younger brother and eyes closed. He wasn't sleeping since a hand was lazily running itself through the hanyou's hair, but the fact that he had abandoned his previous fascination to be with Inuyasha was a surprise on its own. He did notice her, probably smelled her, as the eyes opened soon after her entry to look up at her. As if this discovery hadn't been surprising enough, he scooted back a bit, still holding the pup, offering her more space the lay.
"Thank you," Kagome smiled though first pulled the sheets over him (as he had been lying on top of them) before getting in as well.
Inuyasha turned in his brother's arms, opening sleepy eyes and yawning.
"Ight," he said softly, eyes drifting back shut.
"Good night, Inuyasha," she whispered, adjusting the blanket around the two. Resting her head on the second pillow, she looked past the snowy ears to find golden eyes watching her. "Good night, Sesshoumaru."
She wasn't sure if it was the shadows playing tricks on her eyes, but the pup's mouth opened as if to say something, but it then shut along with the shining orbs. Sesshoumaru nestled himself down, his cheek brushing ever so slightly with one of the small ears of his brother. His breathing soon evened out into what was undoubtedly sleep, leaving their temporary guardian to wonder if she had been dreaming or not.
Tbc…
A/N: I've noticed that I've kinda been neglecting Inuyasha and Kagome moments in this fic. I'll make sure to avoid doing that in future chapters.
Read & Review, please.
