Sango watched Miroku add ingredients to a pot without a word to anyone. She'd offered to help him cut the ingredients, but he'd brushed her off, claiming that he felt 'stabby' and he'd prefer to be left alone.

Even Rin, who had not stopped telling Sesshomaru about her adventures with Jaken, lowered her voice in his presence.

"Miss Kagome, what are you reading?" Rin had finally run out of things to say to her Guardian and now she'd set her sights on Kagome. The other woman lifted her head from InuYasha's shoulder and exposed the book to her. There were numbers and lines and circles and Rin cocked her head in a peculiar way.

"It's math."

"I don't like math."

Kagome giggled, snuggling close to InuYasha, "I don't like it either, no matter how much I learn it seems like there's always more."

The sound of Miroku's knife snapping at the handle made Sango jump out of her skin. Sesshomaru raised his eyebrow at the litany of expletives that fell from the monk's clenched teeth.

"Hey, Sesshomaru," Sango was about to choke on the tension in the room they'd been given, "you said you wanted to bathe, right? We should go." She grabbed her bag of toiletries from Kagome's bag, ignoring the confused look the other woman wore, "we'll be back soon Miroku. Then we can all," she gave Sesshomaru a pointed look, "enjoy that soup you're making."

The ice in his violet eyes made Sango turn away, not interested in having that ire turned towards her. He was always flirting and joking around and she forgot how much of a threat he could be.

"Sure, leave me with," whatever else he said had been trapped behind his lips and he went back to his chopping.

Shippo and Rin were quickly on their heels, darting out of the room before anyone could object.

"I never get to bathe with Lord Sesshomaru!" Rin skipped ahead of everyone else, back to her natural volume now that they'd escaped the oppressive aura that surrounded the monk.

"Really? I get to bathe with Sango and Kagome all the time!" He kept pace with the girl, running on all fours to insure he didn't get left behind.

"Lord Sesshomaru says it's creepy for me to bathe with him." She said with a shrug, "so I have to go in alone and he waits somewhere else."

Rin and Shippo spotted the hotspring first and were naked and in the water before Sango could fuss at them to not leave their clothes on the ground. Sesshomaru lifted Rin's kimono from the rocks. The girl hadn't bothered to wash this in far too many weeks and it reeked.

He hated having to tell her what to do at every turn, he thought it was common knowledge that she'd need to wear clean clothes.

"Jaken," he knew that the imp had followed him, he followed him everywhere.

"Yes, milord?"

"Bring Rin a fresh kimono. This one is filthy. Did I not instruct you to care for Rin in my absence?" His voice was as cold as ice, his expression intolerant and cruel.

"Yes, milord, but-,"

"Your robes are clean, are they not?"

No words this time. Jaken bowed, placing his head to the stones.

"Speak!"

"Yes, milord, but the girl doesn't-,"

"Enough."

Sango put her hands on her hips, "no, you enough. You have to give him a chance to speak. He's given you nothing but respect and all you've done is talk over him."

Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, openly, "I'll speak to my servant however I wish."

"And we're back to you talking like some fancy smancy Lord. Regardless of if he serves you or not you don't have a right to intimidate and belittle him."

She could feel a flash of affection in the back of her mind, white hot and aggressive. He was staring at her lips.

"Very well, Jaken. Why are her robes dirty?"

It took him a moment to move his eyes from her lips, but once he did that hot feeling melted away and he was cold once more.

"Milord, she won't listen to me! I warned her that you'd be angry, I instructed her to wash her clothes, but she disregarded me."

Sango gave Sesshomaru a shit eating smirk, "look at that. Now you know exactly why her clothes are dirty. The power of being kind."

"Rin," she approached the edge of the water, "why didn't you wash your clothes when Jaken asked you to?"

The girl sighed heavily, eighty pounds of attitude and cheer, "because I didn't want to! I was picking flowers for Lord Sesshomaru."

Sesshomaru hated to be wrong and so reprimanding Rin when he'd been so sure that it was Jaken's fault, tasted just as bad as apologizing, "Rin, when Jaken asks you to do something I expect you to do it."

She sagged under the weight of his reprimand, "yes, Lord Sesshomaru."

"Bring Rin another kimono, she'll need something to wear as she scrubs this one clean. Also, find a pair of sandals for the slayer, something comfortable for walking. Her other sandals were destroyed." He said nothing else to Jaken and began to undress as his servant left them.

Rin and Shippo were busy splashing one another, swimming around and chasing one another.

"He won't thank you. Imps are foul creatures that only respond to force." Sesshomaru folded his clothes and kept his gaze trained on the stars as she folded her own, "you'll always be a filthy human to him. It's why Rin doesn't respect him."

"Why say it like you aren't the same way." She dove towards the deep end, enjoying the hot water lapping at her skin, "no matter what, you've decided that we're nothing but filth."

The demon regarded her for a moment before deciding against falling into her trap, "don't be stupid slayer."

Shippo swam up to him, his short, curly hair hanging heavily in his eyes, "can you swim now?"

One clawed hand shoved the fox underwater, holding him there as bubbles rose to the surface.

"Sesshomaru, leave him alone!" She pulled the child above water, patting his back as he choked, "you are so mean spirited."

"Lord Sesshomaru doesn't like to swim," Rin told Shippo matter of factly, "and it's better to not bring up the things he doesn't like. Like Master InuYasha, rabbit stew, mushy vegetables, worms-," she was ticking things off her fingers and Sango found that there wasn't much he seemed to like, "did I say Master InuYasha?"

"Last I checked, Sesshomaru couldn't swim at all," Shippo stuck his tongue out at Sesshomaru, screaming when that clawed hand reached for him again. Sango turned to shield him.

"Sesshomaru, leave him alone! He's just a kid." She twirled around him, keeping him safe in her arms.

"Children must learn respect."

"It's not disrespectful to point out that you can't swim!"

"Lord Sesshomaru can swim! Can't you Lord Sesshomaru?" Rin swam after Sango, intent on catching Shippo in order to make him apologize for his slanderous accusations.

"Don't be ridiculous Rin," Sesshomaru wrenched the little demon from Sango's arms going stiff as a board when she shoved up against him, reaching for Shippo.

The little fox squirmed free and then the fight continued between Rin and Shippo.

"Slayer, maybe you should take a few steps back. We're in the presence of children."

She didn't need for his feelings to pound through her mind for dirty thoughts to swirl within her.

"You're such a big bully," but the world held no malice and she moved to start washing her hair. Once she was nice and clean she called Rin to her side and began massaging shampoo into her long, dark hair.

"This stuff smells so good, Miss. Sango. Thank you for helping me wash my hair."

All the while Sesshomaru had Shippo tucked under hair arm, using his claws to work the knots free of his hair, "if you brushed your hair we wouldn't have to do this, fox."

"But it hurts!"

"That's because you let it get tangled."

"Stop it!"

"Shut up and behave."

Sango and Rin watched the exchange and Sango wept for any son that Sesshomaru may produce. He was rough and irritable and she was, not for the first time, reminded of InuYasha.

Except, InuYasha also didn't brush his hair.

"Sango, help!"

"Slayer, stay where you are. I'm nearly finished."

Rin tilted her head to the side, watching as Sesshomaru, finally, pulled his fingers through the soft, coiling hair of her fox friend.

"Let's not have this conversation again."

XxXxXxXxXx

Sesshomaru didn't let Rin return to eat dinner until her kimono no longer stunk of sweat. Once it was clean and Rin was tuckered out from the effort, the four of them went back to the room they were sharing.

Kagome had finished her studying for the time being and was now having an animated conversation with InuYasha. Her eyes sparkled as she regarded him and she affectionately placed little kisses on his cheeks and nose as she told her stories.

And he tolerated them, a small smile on his lips as he watched her talk. He was happy that she was happy.

Miroku's aura had only grown darker and he served the soup with all the aggression of someone in battle.

When Sesshomaru rejected his offer that aura darkened, "both you and InuYasha are too good for what I have to offer. What a shock."

Rin thanked Miroku sweetly, smiling when his expression was a little less dark.

"Your hair looks nice, Shippo." He opened his arms to the fox that was in search of sympathy.

"Sesshomaru ripped all of my hair out."

"Lord Sesshomaru wouldn't have had to rip it out if you would comb it on your own. Rin combs her own hair," Rin was quick to come to the defense of her guardian, "he did you a favor. You should be thanking him!"

"For my premature balding? Not on his life."

Rin threw the first thing she could get her hands on- Kagome's school book- and smacked Shippo in the face.

"Then how about on yours?"

"Rin."

Her shoulders slumped and the fire went out, "I'm sorry for throwing the book at you." She dropped back to the ground, "but Lord Sesshomaru he was being rude!"

"Do you think a whining little thing like that fox can bother me?" When Rin shook her head no he continued, "then leave him be and eat your dinner."

"Shippo you should never get on a woman's bad side. It's a fight you can only win temporarily." Miroku handed Shippo some soup, somehow conveying his rage with the slamming of the bowl near InuYasha while remaining kind to the child.

"She's always taking his side!" Shippo pouted.

"Girls and their fathers." He slung another bowl of soup and InuYasha, just as rough as the last time.

"Miroku, this has gone on long enough. We need to ta-," InuYasha took one, good look at Miroku and turned back around, "maybe later."

Miroku didn't know who he thought he was. Acting as if he held any authority over him when he was the one pretending to be someone he wasn't?

Suddenly, he wasn't very hungry and the only thought running through his mind was dumping his boiling soup on InuYasha's head.

"So, Miroku," Sango racked her mind for something, anything to wipe that look off of his face, "tell me something."

"Like what?"

He could still see the soup seeping into InuYasha's kimono, making him cry out in surprise. What a sweet thought.

"Like," she turned to Sesshomaru, "like what?"

"What are the beads for?"

Sango sighed. Of course he picked the life threatening affliction but, surprisingly, Miroku's dark expression relaxed a fraction and he explained the history of his wind tunnel.

"So you can suck up anything?" Rin held Shippo up as an offering, ignoring his squirming, "like him?"

"Rin, it's about time for you to go to sleep. Go and wash up after yourself and then straight to bed."

She collected her bowl and headed for the door, she'd been so close to getting Shippo eaten up by his wind tunnel, she just knew it.

XxXxXxXxXx

Sango talked with Rin about demon slaying for the better part of the morning.

"Lord Sesshomaru, does it bother you that your girlfriend is a demon slayer?"

Choking. The two of them seemed to be equally unprepared for such a question. Sesshomaru was rude and he treated people as stepping stones down his path of discontent.

"There's no way I'd date someone with such weird eyes!"

"My Lord does not have weird eyes!"

Sango was beginning to realize that, when it was about Sesshomaru, Rin would fight God.

"Yes he does!"

"No he doesn't!" Rin stomped her foot, "you can't make fun of his eyes. He's sensitive abou-," she fought against the hand clamped over her mouth, still talking despite the fact that she couldn't be heard.

His cheeks were dusted pink, "that's enough, Rin." He released her when her struggling ceased, "go and play with your little fox friend."

"I have no interest in what you think of any part of me. My eyes are a gift from my father, they are a symbol of royalty and I am not ashamed of them. No matter what Rin seems to think."

She reached upwards and scratched right behind his ear, "I'm sorry. I know you said you don't care," she didn't comment when he -ever so slightly- leaned into the finger that scratched him, "but for the record, I was just being mean. I don't think they're weird."

XxXxXxXxXx

A.N./ I didn't realize that my page dividers were getting deleted. So… yeah. May need to reupload some other stuff. Also. This is basically just an attempt at a coherent crack fic. XD