Hey guys! I hate to say it, but this is going to be the last chapter that'll be posted probably for the whole month of June. I'm going to Miami to see my father and my brother. Okay, mostly my brother...but anyway, the point is I'm sorry for that, so now that I think about it, I may post the next chapter today. I dunno, we'll see...

On a lighter note, I am happy to say that my 100th reviewer was... eVilxSnare! Thanx for reviewing thru practically the whole story and supporting me. Same goes for everyone else:

Dragonfaeriex

StaryEyesForInuyasha444

inuFan (Anonymous)

Dark and prone to violence

Jgal

Stricky (Anonymous)

SamSam-aka-Sam

harryptaxd204

Devlinn Reiko-sama

IWasATeenageBarbieDoll

Sexy Yokai(Anonymous)

Princess MoonDog-Sama(Anonymous)

TaintedInuShemeeko

Silverwitch07

Trouble In Shangri-La

Mizuki hikari

Sesshoumaru ran the brush through his hair, but for some reason, it didn't feel the same. Angrily, he set the brush down and growled.

"What's the matter?" Sango queried.

"My hair…it's so short!" he snapped in agitation. "I would like it to grow back, but it will take a large amount of time…"

"Oh. Sorry…"

Sesshoumaru sighed.

"No, it is alright. I cannot blame such a thing on you, milady."

Sesshoumaru crossed his legs and sat in contemplation, still holding the brush.

"Rin would have loved to brush my hair. I let her very rarely, but I know she enjoys it…" he finally said.

Sango's eyes softened.

"I'll brush it for you if you want. I can even tie a little topknot in it…"

"Iie. I would love it if you brushed it, but no topknot."

"Okay."

Sango grabbed the brush and began to run it down Sesshoumaru's hair softly, removing the tangles.

Wow, that feels so good, the demon thought to himself, especially after I haven't run my claws through these tresses for so long…

"Sango…thank you…"

"For what?"

"For combing my hair. I appreciate it."

"It's so silky, and it looks beautiful now, no matter how short it is," Sango told him.

"Would you…ah, never mind…"

"What? What is it?" Sango pressed.

"It is nothing. I was just wondering…could you possibly brush my tail? But it matters not. You need not brush it…"

"I don't mind, really. I'll brush it," Sango said quickly. She'd secretly been harboring a wish to touch the forbidden fur that Sesshoumaru draped over his shoulder most times.

Sesshoumaru smiled. He had been sure she would refuse him.

Carefully, he settled himself onto his stomach and put his tail to the side so that Sango could brush it out.

His tail is so big, the taijiya thought incredulously. I never noticed that. In fact, I never even knew it was a tail…(A.N.: Just a refresher; I don't care what anyone else says, it's a tail to me!)

She ran her hand down Sesshoumaru's tail and he quivered softly. He was still getting used to the idea of being pet. Sango ran the brush down and he sighed. It felt so good!

"I'll be done as soon as I can," Sango told him.

"Do it as long as you must…"

She ran Kirara's brush down the fur, pulling out all of the mats and tangles. It took the better part of ten minutes before she was done, but Sesshoumaru openly enjoyed it as he gave a rasping, crooning growl.

"I'm done, Sesshoumaru," Sango said as she ran the brush down the furry tail before her a final time.

"Thank you very much, Sango. I truly appreciate this."

"Please, don't worry about it. It was nothing, really. So what do you plan to buy today? Kagome and Inuyasha are taking you shopping, I hear…"

"What are they doing?"

"Huh?"

"The kitsune and Rin. What are they doing?"

Sango sighed. Still as short-minded as ever with his injuries…

"They're just playing ball…Oh, I have an idea! Why don't you supervise them? I have to go down to the stream and clean off my armor and the Hiraikotsu. Would you please?"
Sesshoumaru smiled warmly.

"Of course."

"Inuyasha, we need to get back to Kaede's village! Your brother will be up by now!"

"Aw, Kagome, can't you see I'm busy!"

Inuyasha held Buyo's paws in his fingers and made the hapless cat "dance."

"At the very least, stop torturing Buyo! He's gonna bite you this time, not just scratch you!"

"Fine! We might as well just go then…"

Suddenly, Higurashi-san came into Kagome's room, where Inuyasha and aforementioned teen had gone so she could study.

"Hey, you two. You want some lunch? I made ramen!"

"Did you say…ramen!" Inuyasha cried in joy. "Kagome, let's get down there NOW!"

Kagome sighed.

We're gonna be here for a while yet…

"Shippo! Not so hard!"

"Come on, Rin! If you catch it, you won't have to run so far!"

Sesshoumaru fetched the ball for the children and threw it back.

"Thank you, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin said cheerily.

Sesshoumaru stared forlornly at the small rubber ball. How he longed to chase it, bring it back, and chase it once more as they threw it. Retrieving it after it went too far was as close as he could get to his desire…

"Watch out!"

DONK!

The demon's neck cracked as the ball whacked him in the forehead and sent his head backwards.

"Ouch!"

"Shippo! Rin told you not so hard! Lord Sesshoumaru, are you alright?"

"…grr…"

Sesshoumaru's hand gripped the ball in anger, and his claws punctured the rubber.

Whooshhh!

The air rushed out of the ball quickly.

"You broke it!" Shippo moaned. "You broke it!"

"Lord Sesshoumaru, why did you break it?" Rin added.

"I…I did not mean to…I became angered and…it just happened…"

"Meanie!"

Shippo pulled out his trusty spinning top and sent it flying towards Sesshoumaru. Unfortunately, Shippo being one of such short stature, the top hit a very inconvenient place for Sesshoumaru.

"Iiiieeeyaaghhhh!"

"Er…oops?" Shippo chuckled nervously, unconsciously putting a small hand to his crotch.

Sesshoumaru fell to his knees with his single hand between his legs and collapsed to the side.

"I…will…ugh…" he said in a very high-pitched voice.

Shippo giggled at the pitch of Sesshoumaru's voice.

"Shippo-chan! Sesshoumaru-sama! Stop it, you're confusing Rin! Why do you have your hands between your legs? Did Shippo-chan hurt you?"

Sesshoumaru opened his mouth, but no sound came out this time.

Damn! It hurts so badly! Make it stop!

His mind destabilized as he rose to his feet and a manic gleam shone in his eyes.

"Little…bastard!"

He charged at Shippo.

"Ahhh!"

"Get back here!"

"Rin, save me! He's become his brother!" Shippo whined in distress.

"Little freak! I am not my brother!"

Sesshoumaru "ghosted" till he was in front of Shippo and grabbed the kitsune by the head.

"Why did you do that?"

"I wasn't thinking!" Shippo cried dolefully. "I was confused!"

Sesshoumaru's face paled and he collapsed backwards, feeling lightheaded.

"Ohh, look at the floating chicken drumsticks!" he giggled drunkenly.

"Um…I don't wanna remind you that you were about to hurt me, but snap out of it, Sesshoumaru!" Shippo said.

"Huh? A kitsune? Well, subdivide me and Kentucky-fry me!" (A.N.: I saw Racing Stripes not too long ago, okay? I know it's stupid to put this in here...)

"Sesshoumaru-sama…what's Kentucky?" Rin asked.

"…good question, Rin…"

R & R pretty please!