Chapter 14 Lazy Day

The next morning was taken very leisurely as people emerged from bedrooms at various times and sauntered down to the breakfast or early lunch; that had been spread out as a cold buffet. Kagome could get used to this form of luxury rather quickly she thought, and it was nice meeting everyone again but this time on first name terms and less formally.

She grabbed herself a plate with cold meat, cheese and some grapes and sauntered outside to the veranda where she saw Inuyasha sitting and idly swinging with one foot, the other tucked under him, the swing seat with two of Kouga's daughters; one either side of him. Kagome stifled the feeling that suffused her, knowing that to pull the pair of the chair and throw them to the ground would not be dignified; neither was she strong enough.

The girls smiled nicely at her and waved, neither knowing the dangers they were in from a put out Kagome. Inuyasha too was oblivious that she was showing signs of jealousy again and then Kagome was hit with the irony of it all. At least the girls were not completely like their father, by rubbing her face in the fact they were close to Inuyasha, as Kouga used to do with her to annoy the hanyou.

Shami however did notice as she came with her own plate and she shooed the wolves off the chair to plonk down herself and she beckoned Kagome over to sit on the other side of Inuyasha. He grinned at them both and kissed them in welcome, teasing Kagome that she still needed more rest than he did.

There was a snort from Shami, echoed by her twin brothers who were sitting directly on the veranda.

"You are only up early because Sesshpapa told you to keep an eye on the little ones and to keep them quiet. so your guests could rest; under threat of no lunch if he heard them." Kenshiki said laughing and ducking out of the way of Inuyasha's foot.

"Feh!" Was the eloquent reply; followed by a cushion to Kenshiki's head. This was of course returned with interest and Inuyasha jumped up to leap on both the twins. They upended him with ease and raced off, Inuyasha in hot pursuit all around the gardens and up in the trees. The younger children thought it was great fun and were running all over trying to see what was happening.

There were squeals and yells of encouragement from the young ones and louder laughs and colourful phrases from the three bigger boys, until the sound as of three rifle shots flashed with a green light, rang out. These were followed by anguished yelps and the sound of crashing, as heavy bodies fell out of the trees nearby.

Sesshoumaru stood on the balcony and retracted his energy whip from his fingers and waited until his sons appeared before him. Shami and Kagome were trying not to laugh at the sorry state of the boys. They were bedraggled and sore and that was before Sesshoumaru started his reprimand.

"You will all three spend time now in clearing up the wreckage of the trees that you have caused. I am most displeased, you have cost a lot in blossom by your ridiculous behaviour and the trees will not be as aesthetically pleasing nor so productive this year. I had thought you would have outgrown this form of recklessness.

"Inuyasha you were to keep the children quietly entertained this morning; or had you forgotten that one of your guests especially is a much older human and one is much younger, both needing their rest. You have disappointed me pup." Sesshoumaru's remonstration was not loud but was the more forceful for the fact. The three boys were contrite; they had forgotten, caught up in the moment that they had responsibilities

"Sorry Sesshpapa" they said in unison and sincerely before going in to the house to get ready to clear up the mess.

"Inuyasha" Sesshoumaru called him back. "You still rise too easily to the bait my pup, and yet you are the eldest and should recognise your responsibility. Will you ever learn?" But he ruffled the hair between his brother's ears to show he was not really angry anymore and because Inuyasha always needed that reassurance far more than Sesshoumaru's own pups.

Sesshoumaru sighed as Inuyasha blinked back the dampness that always surfaced if his brother was disappointed in him; the Daiyoukai had to treat the pups the same and yet Inuyasha always took it harder than his true sons. The youkai took any discipline as a trial of strength and their father had always had to prove his right since they had been younger; but it was not so with Inuyasha and it had led to misunderstandings in the past until Kouga had helped him out.

Sesshoumaru came and sat on one of the other swings and watched the boys come out to go to one of the sheds and retrieve tools they would need to clear up the mess. This time the children would watch the boys clear up the damage they'd caused. Even after all these years growing up together with the full youkai pups, Inuyasha was still the more sensitive.

The twins were already laughing and larking about as they swept the leaves and fallen blossoms off the grass, where if they were left they would rot and destroy the lawn. Inuyasha though worked quietly alone, picking up the twigs and small branches; placing them on the woodpile by the pond that was kept for bonfires in the cooler evenings.

Rin appeared and plumped herself down on the cushions next to Sesshoumaru and curled up like a cat against his side. She watched Inuyasha and the twins for a while with a smile on her face and then said;

"You have scolded my puppy haven't you Sesshpapa? His ears are flat on his head. What has my first baby done now?"

"All three of the pups have made a mess of my cherry trees Rin and they have all been reprimanded; not just Inuyasha." He replied drily; well aware of the difference in the attitude between the boys.

"He won't like that in front of Kagome, being treated like a little whelp."

"Then he should refrain from acting like one Rin. Perhaps he will also learn to think before he causes mischief."

"I wouldn't count on it Sesshpapa."

"I do not. How about you Rin, your new pup is comfortable within you?" Sesshoumaru changed the subject and took a coffee from one of the maids who had placed a fresh pot on the table nearby.

"Everything is fine so far Sesshpapa, what about Hanamama?"

"She is resting today but will be up later." He turned his attention once more to the boys until they had finished their chore and the garden once again looked immaculate. Sesshoumaru didn't mind them racing in trees, but there were plenty in the forest for that sort of game; there was no excuse for using his ornamental and fruit trees and he was still annoyed at seeing the damaged foliage.

"We've finished Sesshpapa; you'd never know the difference." Called Koumyou as the twins went to put the rakes and brooms back in the shed. Obviously the boys hadn't looked at the trees, but Inuyasha had and knowing that they were special for Sesshoumaru he felt bad for the destruction, however minor.

When he came back he went to sit at the feet of Sesshoumaru and laid his head in his brother's lap and Rin leaned over to pet the puppy's ears. Kagome watched him, swallowing viciously her feelings of being useless when he didn't come to her for petting, but went to another female instead. But she recognised that he was apologising to his brother and needed to feel forgiven, not just for the trees but for not setting a good example.

So, he was still not that far from being a child then, or rather a not quite adult; it seemed that the male of any species matured slower than the female, Kagome reflected. The moment didn't last long before the hanyou sat up leaning forward, and poured himself a cup of coffee. When he finished he put his arm out to Kagome inviting her to come to him, but she noticed that he kept one eye on his brother for permission.

Not getting any negative look or sign, Inuyasha pulled her onto his lap and wrapped his arms round her as he leaned back against Sesshoumaru's legs, and they sat drinking coffee and watching the children play for over an hour all together in comfortable peace. In fact Kagome was content to doze on and off having Inuyasha as a pillow.

When she roused herself later she found that most of the household had come out to the veranda and was sitting on the wide steps or on the plentiful seats that were generously placed. Her mother was sharing a small couch with Kyouko who had Souta on his lap and Grandpa had a nice chair all to himself while one of Kouga's cubs was making sure that he was served with food and drink. The cub was fascinated by the elderly human who could tell stories.

It was inevitable Kagome supposed that with so many parents around, the talk would turn to the embarrassing childhood deeds of their various offspring. Mama and Ayame were chatting gently and their soft murmurs and chuckles added to the warmth of the afternoon as they found out there was not much difference in the antics of their human or youkai offspring.

Hanataba too soon entered the conversation and at about this time Souta who was bright red by now decided to go and join the children in the garden. Kagome chuckled as she heard again that Inuyasha had been enough of a handful as a single child, enough to make them think twice about having pups too soon themselves. However the best laid plans rarely worked and Hanataba had found herself expecting within a month of mating.

"I thought you had turned into the model child Inuyasha."

"Feh! I was; I was good as gold for them, just like I'd been for my Mama." Then he got up to go inside and fetch them all something to eat.

"I find it hard to believe sometimes with the foul mouthed, insensitive brat he became, that his Mama was a princess." Kagome's tone indicated she was just observing but Sesshoumaru answered her anyway.

"Inuyasha was unnaturally good for a child his age. While he lived with his mother, he learned quickly that she suffered if he was considered disruptive. He was severely beaten by his uncle if he misbehaved, and this caused his mother great distress and censure; for not having sufficient control of such an abomination. From what he has told me, if he was seen or heard at all, it was enough for him to be in trouble. All Hanataba means is that it took a bit of time to help him learn that he could act normally, run and play with the other two; meanwhile he was demanding of my time, purely because I was his only security."

"He was a poor little mite in the beginning wasn't he Sesshoumaru?" Said Kouga; coming out side with food, along with the blushing Inuyasha, who had overheard the last part of the conversation. Kouga grinned. "Never mind Kagome, Uncle Kouga and Aunt Ayame helped to sort them out; Inuyasha could be an imp when he wanted his own way and he was forever running and hiding for various reasons."

"Cut it out Kouga, Kagome doesn't want to know all your ramblings." Inuyasha realised that that was a ridiculous thing to say when he heard Sesshoumaru chuckle loudly behind him and Kagome say;

"Don't be rude Inuyasha of course I want to listen to your 'Uncle Kouga'. I like to know how you grew up." She and Kouga laughed as Inuyasha groaned and decided to go and play with the kids. After checking with Sesshoumaru that it was alright to speak to Kagome, Kouga laughed again; these things after all were not secrets.

"Ayame and me came to live here quite quickly after you left, there was a lot of sorting out to do; we are still here often because the families are close. But when we arrived we noticed that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had a slight problem; Inuyasha hated to be anywhere that Sesshoumaru wasn't, which made courtship of Hanataba difficult. So like I said before, we often babysat the three children.

"Most of the time we could occupy them for a couple of hours to give the lovebirds some private time; but it wouldn't be long before something spooked his little lordship and he'd be off trying to reach his brother. Mind you, if Inuyasha wasn't trying to find Sesshoumaru; his Lordship would come looking for his baby brother." He grinned wickedly at Sesshoumaru who just smiled and rolled his eyes.

"Inuyasha always tried to please This Sesshoumaru; he was still afraid that he would be punished if he did not. It took a few months before he understood that misdemeanour would not be corrected by extreme measures. But it was not necessary in any case; Inuyasha did not like to be in disgrace and still does not."

"But," continued Kouga;"that also became a problem in itself. For the first few years everything was fine, Inuyasha was mainly a good and careful pup and if he did wrong Sesshoumaru only had to correct him verbally and that was enough for him to abstain from repeating an error. A lot was still left over conditioning from his time with his mother.

"However as time progressed and the first litter started to grow and also start to play, Inuyasha was the older brother and he started to branch out. He had been watching Shippou for long enough and put some of his tricks into practice. We were pleased to see in some ways that he felt more secure, but he was leading the new pups astray.

"One day he had encouraged them to dig up a patch of garden that had been newly planted and Sesshoumaru as usual started to tell him off and Inuyasha got that scowl on his face he used to get with me around, you remember." Kagome nodded and Sesshoumaru carried on;

"To be reminded of such a time we were trying to correct and when he looked at me that way as such a small pup; I found I could not continue and I sent him to his room. I did not realise that he was not scowling so much as trying not to cry. Shippou had teased him for his tears when I scolded him and called him a baby in front of Rin and the twins. I would have acted differently had I known.

"So after that, I would send him straight to his room until he would apologise, unable to face his anger at my words. I did not know that this was the wrong way to treat him until Kouga and I spoke about it one day, when I was uncertain of how to treat the boy who was becoming intractable and causing problems around the house. Inuyasha's language was getting bad and his attitude to his parents was unacceptable, and all this in a child far too young to be going through the bodily changes that might have excused some of his behaviour. He was spending more time in his room that out of it."

"Actually it was Ayame who thought she knew the answer and it proved correct." Kouga followed on; "Wasn't it my love? It was you who worked out Inuyasha's problem." Ayame smiled and said it wasn't too difficult. The pup had always responded to being told off; but was now being sent away, ignored and left alone for long periods of time. It stood to reason that he was feeling cast off and was reacting in the same way he had done when he had really been left to fend for himself.

Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome and her mother before he spoke. He felt the two women deserved to understand all that had happened to Inuyasha if they wished to know; the pup was important to them and had been at a time when he had been neglected.

"Inuyasha felt I had pushed him away; that I couldn't or didn't want to spare the time for him anymore. I had failed to realise the importance of physical contact to him; even when I had castigated him before, I had always petted him once he was remorseful, and not just acknowledged with a glance his apology, as I was doing then."

"I couldn't see what the trouble was at first either, I admit," said Kouga; "had Inuyasha been in the wolf pack he would have been seen to quite speedily and not allowed all the freedom to sulk that he was given here. In our packs anyone can deal with an unruly pup, but of course the two Inus were brought up separately and differently. However Sesshoumaru let me deal with Inuyasha the next time he needed discipline.

"I went in to Inuyasha's room after he'd been sent there again, only to find he had almost thrown everything about in his temper and I told him to tidy it up. He refused and so I immediately pulled him over my lap and spanked his bare backside for him. I wasn't severe he didn't need that, but he did need to be taken in hand.

"I let him cry for a while and he asked why Sesshoumaru no longer loved him; Inuyasha felt that his brother was ignoring him. This was what I had feared was the problem and I handed him to his brother for them to sort out their upset. It was easily sorted, but Sesshoumaru found it very difficult to administer physical punishment to Inuyasha, so if it was needed it usually fell on me or Kyouko."

"It was not necessary for me to chastise Inuyasha, I reverted back to verbally indicating my displeasure and that has always been sufficient. I know that Inuyasha didn't remember, but I did; I found it next to impossible to raise my hand to him again, he'd known too much of it from me before."

"Are you done yet with all your talk about whipping my ass; 'cos I'm bored with it? All kids are naughty and get walloped at times, so what; forget what Kouga said Kagome, he exaggerates." Inuyasha was fed up; what a subject. "Kouga's getting too old to remember properly, he forgets when I used to thrash him into the dust before Naraku died."

"You wish puppy."

"It's all a long time ago now so forget it. You did a good job with me Sesshpapa; I turned out alright, everything turned out alright."

TBC