Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters; they belong to Rumiko Takahashi. That said, please read on.
¨Sesshomaru seemed to recover from his trauma very quickly indeed. He remained very close to Kagome, but soon sat staring in a cold way at everyone else, especially Inuyasha.
"He's been practicing that icy stare of his for a while, I see," Miroku commented finally.
Sesshomaru glared at him and haughtily replied, "Who is this human that thinks it knows me? I demand to know why my person was removed from my father's side."
Desperately, Sesshomaru tried to look down at them, yet it was not quite possible for a four or five year old to pull that off against adults, human or otherwise. Miroku, Sango and Kagome politely tried to hide their smiles, but Inuyasha simply burst out laughing. He stood and suddenly swooped down, lifting his brother to his face by the back of his neck as though he were a small puppy.
Sesshomaru's eyes widened with shock and fear, his face a fantastic show of emotion, while he struggled to hide it all. Inuyasha smirked, put his nose next to his brother's and said, "I don't think you're in any position to be asking questions, pup, and the next time you try to talk back to me, I'll let you taste my claws. You'll be answering questions for us, understood, pup?"
The group winced, awaiting the certain fallout that followed someone disrespecting Lord Sesshomaru, but to their utter surprise, the demon's face shone momentarily with a respect and awe, and he reverently bowed his head and answered, "Yes, Inuyasha-sama."
Extremely satisfied with the sweet revenge he was getting on his "big" brother and pleased with his newfound dominance, Inuyasha returned him to his little feet and patted him on the head.
Sesshomaru stared wonderingly up at Inuyasha and whispered in a painfully audible voice, "Wow, he seems as strong and powerful as father. He even smells a lot like father, too."
Inuyasha flinched at the mention of their father and tried to hide the flush of pride that crept into his cheeks. So, he reminded Sesshomaru of father, did he?
"Did father send you to save me from that demon?" Sesshomaru asked aloud. His worshipful gaze fell solely on Inuyasha who basked in it like an afternoon ray of sun.
"Um, Sesshomaru, when did you last see your father?" Kagome questioned. "What happened before that demon attacked you?"
Sesshomaru tilted his head and his face took on a look of serious contemplation that caused a near eruption of soft squeals from the women. Sango even put a hand to her stomach wistfully.
Miroku noticed this and leaned over. "You know, Sango, if you're thinking you'd like little pups of your own, I would be more than happy to oblige."
Her hand met his cheek and she hissed, "In your dreams," though the flush in her cheeks seemed to suggest he had been right about her sudden desire at least.
After a few moments, Sesshomaru's mouth twisted into a pout and he said, "I can't remember. Everything is so foggy. I remember walking with father through the forest." His face brightened and he added with pride, "He is teaching me to hunt."
He was so cute, Kagome wanted to sweep him into her arms again, and Sango appeared to be on the verge of doing so. All traces of arrogance were gone as they lavished praises on him for what he viewed as such an honor.
Encouraged, he boldly continued, "And I remember a mirror, a bright light, and- and- this sword." Sesshomaru lifted the Tenseiga awkwardly. "This is father's, but he doesn't let me touch any of his swords, so I don't know why I would have it. I was so surprised to be holding it, that that awful demon was able to sneak up on me. I ran and ran then fell into the river, but she saved me. I- I can't swim," he admitted with much embarrassment.
"Don't worry, you've done a good job to remember so much. Are you tired or hungry from all that?" Kagome told him kindly.
Inuyasha just rolled his eyes, and muttered, "I'd think you want a pup of your own the way you keep acting around him."
Sesshomaru looked eagerly up at Inuyasha and said, "No, I don't get tired over something like that."
Inuyasha arched an eyebrow and glanced questioningly at Kagome who mouthed for him to say something nice. "Fine, pup, why don't you go play with Shippo then," he suggested.
"What? Sesshomaru play with me?" Shippo exclaimed with a look on his face that said he thought that playing with Sesshomaru meant him being a fox chew toy for the great demon lord.
"Remember, Shippo, technically you're older than Sesshomaru so you need to take the responsibility to watch out for him," Miroku added.
The fear on Shippo's face quickly became a mischievous grin. He eagerly grabbed Sesshomaru's small clawed hand in his and began to drag him off.
"C'mon, I'll teach you this great game," they heard the fox demon saying. They saw him reaching into his kimono for his infamous toy top and laughed when he began to wind the string around it while giving Sesshomaru many not-so-subtle, devious looks.
"Well, does anyone want to guess how the great demon lord of the Western Lands ended up as a little kid in our care?" Miroku asked, turning the conversation back to the serious aspect of the situation.
"He really believes he's five years old or something. He still thinks that his and Inuyasha's father is still alive," Sango added.
"I don't see what's so wrong with it," Inuyasha put in. He lay back and rested his head on his hands. "I think he's a little more bearable this way. Not such an arrogant jack ass."
"Oh, now you like him, huh? What happened to wanting to kill him?" Kagome pressed. She wore a sly grin on her face.
"I think Inuyasha likes to see Sesshomaru worshiping him for once. The little fellow appears quite taken with him," Miroku said.
Inuyasha smiled, revealing a fang and said, "Well, yeah, this does have its good points."
"I know he's adorable now, but isn't it a little frightening?" Sango argued. "What could have been powerful enough to do that to Sesshomaru of all demons? And then not kill him when they have him vulnerable?"
A loud crack broke their pensive silence followed by an explosion of laughter from both Shippo and Sesshomaru. They looked and saw the little fox demon watching his now giant top spinning wildly with Sesshomaru crouched no top. Sesshomaru's face split with a grin that bared his fangs and his silver hair and fur trailed after his swift rotations.
"It's weird to see you're brother acting so open and normal for once," Kagome remarked. She looked up at the sky which was quickly beginning to fill with stars. "It's getting late, though. I guess in the morning the best thing to do will be to follow Sesshomaru's trail back to the demon that did this to him, or at least the place where he was attacked."
The others agreed. Kagome stood to check on their newest charge and found Sesshomaru curled up on the grass inside his fur, sleeping soundly. Kirara took it upon herself to curl up protectively around him, though she allowed Shippo a place on her tail to make up for it.