Author's Notes: Thanks to wolfygirl13 for this rhyme suggestion!

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any nursery rhymes.

The Mother Goose Escapades

No. 25

I am a sweet little girl

and I like to wear

a bit of ribbon in my hair.

Sometimes it's pink,

sometimes its blue;

I think it's pretty there, don't you?

It was a warm day. One of those types of days where all someone wanted to do was stretch out to full length and bask in the sunlight. However, Sesshoumaru was not one to particularly let loose, and so he had to content himself with relaxing under a tree. There was nothing really pressing to be accomplished today, and Rin had been particularly antsy. It all seemed for the best to stop and let her run and play to her heart's content. And Sesshoumaru didn't really mind relaxing every once and a while. It rejuvenated him, to soak up the sun. And so the odd little group relaxed in a tiny clearing, letting the lazy day get the better of them.

Jaken was pouting. He didn't particularly feel as though they needed to stop, although he wouldn't have been able to say where they were going, exactly. But they always seemed to be going somewhere, and they were presently not going anywhere, and it bothered him. Plus, the sun was hot, and the rays would burn his fragile skin (it had been especially sensitive after being nearly scrubbed off in order to clean the ugly blue hue Rin had so sweetly given him). So, hiding underneath a tree root, Jaken mumbled about the unfairness of life. Had Sesshoumaru been the type, he would have smiled. Given who he was, he merely smirked inside, unbeknownst to anyone.

Ah Un was sprawled out in the full sunlight, front legs stretched out in front, and the hind legs stretched out behind, almost as if flying. The wings were also stretched out, shading the twin heads, which carried ghosts of twin smiles (Rin thought they smiled, Jaken would have argued that the dragon was incapable of smiling) and all four eyes were shut. The dragon gave the impression of sleeping, though it was as wide awake as both Jaken and Sesshoumaru. You can never be too careful, that's what all three knew.

And Rin was prancing around, full of smiles and laughter. One minute she was zooming around full speed with her arms spread out (Kagome would have said she looked like an airplane, had the miko been there) and the next minute she was serenely picking flowers. She babbled constantly, although not to herself, for she always named some creature. Sometimes it was, "Look at those clouds, Sesshoumaru-sama!" and others, "Jaken-sama, are you playing hide and seek with me?" and more often than not, "I made you a flower crown, Ah, and you too, Un, don't worry, I'll make one for you first next time!"

This went on for quite some time, with Sesshoumaru patiently watching his charge, a proud gleam in his normally cold amber eyes. Eventually Rin's energy began to run out, and she settled into the long grass. Pulling out a comb Sesshoumaru had found for her, she began to comb the knots out of her hair. Every since she had received the comb Rin had become a little vain about her hair. But she was growing up, and recognized that her hair was indeed a valuable asset to her person. It's unique shiny look and smooth texture made her proud, and she tried to keep it looking as perfect as possible. Plus she liked looking pretty.

Sesshoumaru had also brought her quite an assortment of ribbons for her hair, once he noticed how much she liked it to look nice. As usual, Rin had not asked how he had obtained the pretty hair things, but she had noticed a red one had strange stains on it, some parts looking redder than others. She had discretely discarded that one, but kept the others. Only nice clean things for her hair! Plus there was another red ribbon, so it was ok. Her absolute favorite ribbons were the pink ones though. There were five of them (it bothered her, Rin liked things to be even, such as four beings in their group, her ten fingers and toes, etc.) but she had to make due. The shade was unusual, not pastel, but not bright either. Just enough that, when Rin put them in her hair, they shone out throughout the dark locks, a beacon of the future woman to come. But for now, the childish figure sorted through her ribbons, glancing every now and then at the silent figure apparently sleeping underneath a tree.

A wicked glint entered Rin's eyes. A slight breeze caught Sesshoumaru-sama's hair, dragging the silver tresses along, before letting go and allowing them to waft back down. Entranced, Rin watched, and then stood up. Hiding her ribbons and comb behind her back, she hesitantly crept towards the taiyoukai. Sesshoumaru, for his part, wondered what Rin was doing, but chose to keep quiet about it. He stiffened slightly when he felt her nestle beside him, and then confusion reigned as she grasped his hair and began to run her comb through it. The confusion was quickly turned to ease, the soothing rhythm relaxing him. Rin was humming to herself, and Sesshoumaru couldn't bring himself to move. The sun was too warm, he felt too lazy, and besides, she wouldn't be young forever.

For her part, Rin was marveling in the hair she was currently combing. It was nothing like human hair. This was unbelievably soft, and she didn't really need to comb it, as there were no tangles to be found. The only thing Rin felt she could relate it too was a small puppy she had once held. The pup had such fine fur that she had hardly been able to feel it. This subconscious thought flitted through the young girl's mind, before it was gone. She gathered strands of the hair, and one of her favorite pink ribbons. Small deft fingers began to weave in and out, all the way down, before another pink ribbon held it all together in a pretty bow. Rin repeated the process on the other side of the taiyoukai's head, and then went back to combing the hair. As an afterthought, she tied the last pink bow in her own hair, happy that the two of them matched.

Sesshoumaru, unfortunately, had no idea what was happening. He had felt her playing with his hair after combing, to be sure, but then she had gone back to combing. There was so much hair that he couldn't really feel much of anything done to it, so he could only assume anything that might have been done was removed. Eventually, Rin tired of this new pastime, and patting the arm of her taiyoukai happily, she skipped off. Sesshoumaru ran his hand through his hair, but felt nothing (well, there were only two braids, after all, and quite a bit of hair) and so he stood up and stretched. Watching Rin prod Ah Un until the dragon rose to chase her, he caught himself before he smiled.

Ridiculous. Even when he had been small, such childish antics had not amused him, and was sure they would not amuse him now. He had spent too much time resting, the sun had addled his mind. It was time to get moving. He called Jaken, who approached grumbling, and then he called to Rin, telling her they were leaving. He strode away, ignoring the gaping stares of Jaken who seemed rather upset all of the sudden.

After a sizeable distance, Sesshoumaru had slowed the pace when he noticed his half brother's scent. He had paused when he noticed his brother was heading straight towards him. The taiyoukai was not in much of a mood to deal with his brother, but the exercise would be nice. Sparring was always enjoyable with a match up that was somewhat nearer to even than the usual obnoxious demons Sesshoumaru usually destroyed. It wasn't too much longer that Inuyasha had finally crashed into the area his brother was waiting in, the girl on his back, and the other two humans not far behind. A small smirk made it's way onto Sesshoumaru's face. And quickly evaporated once his brother collapsed on the ground, howling with laughter.

"Oh you really look nice, brother," Inuyasha managed to gasp out. Kagome was staring in rather blatant shock at the stoic taiyoukai before her. Despite her best efforts, a small smile was creeping on her face at the braids and pink ribbons peeking through the silver hair along Sesshoumaru's back.

"Is that...what I think it is?" Miroku asked as Kirara landed. Sango looked horrified for a moment before she too began to struggle to keep her laughter in. Sesshoumaru stood there, at a loss. Nothing like this had ever happened before. He glanced down at Jaken, who was still giving him that same shocked look he had had since appearing out of the tree stump. Rin was petting Un's head, while Ah was trying to push in for his fair share. Sesshoumaru turned back towards the group before him, puzzlement growing. His brother was still laughing and the others were obviously trying not to laugh.

"What is going on here?" Sesshoumaru finally demanded. Inuyasha only laughed harder then, his face turning pink. But the miko looked surprised.

"Surely...you know?" Her voice had a questioning tint.

"If I knew, I wouldn't be wasting breath to ask," Sesshoumaru replied testily.

"Oh right, well you know, it's just..." she floundered, and then pointed to her head. "Your hair...I mean, did you want it that way?" At her comment, Sesshoumaru's hand flew to his hair and sifted through, finally finding one of the braids Rin had so sweetly left him. He stared at it for a moment, taking in the braid itself, and then the pink ribbon, as well as the pink bow. Before he could say anything (although he was almost in too much shock to say anything, and he wasn't sure what he would have said anyway – how does a taiyoukai recover from this, were his thoughts) Rin piped up.

"Isn't it pretty? Sesshoumaru-sama has the softest hair, just like a puppy!" Her eyes lit up, remembering the tiny dog. An odd red heat flushed across Sesshoumaru's face, and Inuyasha lost it completely.

"A-a-a puppy?" he gasped out. "Awwwww...so sweet, hahahaha! A little...haha, puppy! Hahahaha!" The more sensitive Kagome noticed the emotion as it flitted across Sesshoumaru's face (embarrassment was not exactly a stranger to the miko) but it was gone so quickly she wondered if she imagined it.

"Come on Inuyasha, let's talk to your brother later," she mumbled, grabbing the hanyou's arm. Miroku helped her drag the limp laughing body away. Sango followed, with one last look back at the taiyoukai, who was still standing, staring at the braid he held in his hand. She giggled slightly, and turned to leave, remembering how she had once done the same thing to her own father.

"So, now what are we doing, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked brightly.

"Please take your ribbons back," Sesshoumaru choked out.

"Aw, but we match!" Rin pouted. "Well, ok though." Sesshoumaru carefully pulled the ribbons out and handed them to the girl.

"Don't forget the other braid," she said cheerily, and Sesshoumaru wondered what he had done to deserve this.

Author's Notes: Well ok, we have made it to the halfway point! They've been fun and serious up to now, and I certainly hope they continue to be till the end! I've tried to lay clues out for how it's going to end; I've love feedback to know what you think is going to happen!