Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and gang. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi
¨At the river Inuyasha grumbled under his breath while he hurriedly stripped Sesshomaru down and practically tossed him into the shallow banks of the stream. Sesshomaru laughed and began to splash around in the water chasing fish, not even seeming to notice his bare skin. Low growls came from his tiny chest as though he were imitating his father on the hunt.
Inuyasha dunked his clothing into the river putting Tenseiga alongside his Tetsusaiga to keep it safe. Soon all traces of the partially digested chocolate were gone. Inuyasha wadded it into a ball and tossed it onto the grass with a disgusted grunt. Sesshomaru's play attracted his attention.
"No, no, you'll never catch a fish by chasing it, stupid," Inuyasha admonished. He stripped out of his kimono shirt to avoid wetting the sleeves and climbed in after his brother. "Now, you stand very still, like this. Then you wait until one swims close enough, then you snatch the scaly bastard."
As if he had rehearsed it, Inuyasha managed to catch one just as he said those last words. Sesshomaru's eyes widened and he immediately imitated his brother. It took him several tries and Inuyasha had already caught five more, by the time Sesshomaru's tiny claws emerged holding a wriggling, silver fish.
Wordlessly, he held it up for his brother to inspect. Inuyasha looked at it and smiled. It was scarcely large enough for a mouthful, but he hated to crush the self-satisfied smile on that little face.
The half-demon shook his head and thought, Since when did I start caring about Sesshomaru's feelings. He would have to restore his brother soon, so they could get back to trying to kill each other like normal.
"That's a good one," he finally said aloud. "C'mon. We can take these back to the others for lunch."
Sesshomaru bowed and ran back up onto the bank and laid his precious catch beside Inuyasha's. Crouching low like his brother, both shook themselves to dry. Inuyasha looked at the sopping wad he had created of Sesshomaru's clothes, then at the naked form that had now bent over and was gloating to the fish he had caught.
"You'd better not get your filthy scent all over this," Inuyasha grumbled as tied his own red kimono around his brother. It was so long it looked more like a dress on the young demon, but at least it covered him.
The others looked up when they heard Sesshomaru and Inuyasha enter the clearing. Sesshomaru ran up to Kagome and lifted a small fish up to her nose and told her, "Look, I caught this myself! Inuyasha-sama taught me to fish. You have to stand very still, wait till one swims up, then you snatch the scaly bastard!"
Kagome's eyes lifted reproachfully towards the half-demon's who simply shrugged, and tossed the wet bundle into her lap.
"I definitely believe Inuyasha taught you that," Miroku remarked. His face spread in a smirk. Sesshomaru beamed and ran off to find Shippo and boast of his fishing triumph.
"You should be a little more careful of what you say around him," Sango chided once the young demons were out of earshot.
Kagome's nose wrinkled as she lifted the sopping clothes from her lap and held them at arms length. She complained, "You could have spread it out to dry at least."
"Here, Kagome, I'll help," Sango offered taking some of the wet clothing. The women quickly spread it over limbs to dry.
Miroku filled Inuyasha in on what Myoga had said while they built a fire and readied the fish for cooking. As they had thought, Inuyasha gripped the handle of Tetsusaiga and exclaimed, "Well then let's just trim this hedge a little."
"Don't be ridiculous, Inuyasha. You might strike the mirror by mistake," Myoga scolded.
After a while, Sesshomaru came up rubbing his eyes and yawning. He climbed into Inuyasha's lap, curled up and fell asleep. Pale legs twitched as the child sank into deeper dreams, and his heel landed squarely in Inuyasha's gut.
Inuyasha let out a groan and was about to push him off, but Myoga intervened.
"Let him sleep, Inuyasha. He must be very fond of you indeed to want to sit with you. You might as well enjoy it."
A growl was his only response, but Sesshomaru did not get disturbed.