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. 26
Do your ears hang low?
Do they wobble to and fro?
Can you tie them in a knot?
Can you tie them in a bow?
Can you throw them o'er your shoulder
like a Continental Soldier?
Do your ears hang low?
These are just two completely isolated events, in a world where anything can happen. On this particularly nice day, in two completely different areas, two small children were rather bored. This meant that the adults around these children would not be having a relaxing day.
"Hey Sesshoumaru-sama? What is it like to be a demon?" The taiyoukai turned towards his young charge, a bit surprised by the question, although he didn't show it. Before he even attempted to answer, she went on.
"Jaken-sama says you can transform into a giant dog! Is that true? What do you look like when that happens? Do you have droopy doggie ears, or pointy doggie ears? Is your fur as long as your hair? Oh Sesshoumaru-sama, could I put ribbons in your fur, it would be so pretty, just like when I braided your hair!"
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest...
"Inuyasha, Kagome said that in her time, dogs don't like baths. Do you like baths?" Shippou was bouncing up and down, from one foot to the other, his green eyes wide. Inuyasha was laying flat on his back, attempting to ignore the kitsune since he was trying to enjoy to sun. It was a warm day, and Inuyasha found his mouth opening a little.
"Inuyasha, when you do that, your tongue hangs out a little. Are you panting? How long is your tongue anyway? Mine's not too long, but I can see it if I stick it out. Can you see your tongue if you stick it out? Kagome says she has been to a place called a zoo, and saw an animal with a super long tongue! I wonder if it gets all tangled up sometimes. That would feel funny!"
Any adult will eventually loose patience with a child, no matter how much patience the adult has. It is how the adults handle these situations that exhibits their personalities.
As Rin continued her babbling, Sesshoumaru found himself wanting to massage his temples. What he really needed to do was escape this childish nonsense for the time being. He looked around for a bit and spotted Jaken. A cruel little smile found it's way onto Sesshomaru's face.
"Wow Sesshoumaru-sama, I've never seen you smile before, but it's nice. You should smile more often, smiling always makes me feel better..." Rin kept going, but Jaken looked up, fear evident in his face. When he saw the smile, he froze, panic written all over his green face.
"I have some business to attend to. Jaken, stay with Rin and Au Un until I get back." Sesshoumaru fled the immediate area, leaving an indignant Jaken.
"I hope he gets back soon, it's always boring without Sesshoumaru-sama," Rin continued, unaffected by the sudden exit. "But we'll have fun, won't we Jaken-sama!" Rin smiled at Jaken, who blanched. Anyone who remained with Sesshoumaru for a lengthy period of time learned to fear smiles (with exception of Rin, of course). Jaken feared for his ears.
Meanwhile, the other brother was having his own difficulties...
"Dammit Shippou, why can't you go bother someone else!" Inuyasha finally snapped. Shippou instead waved a flower under Inuyasha's nose, prompting a sneeze.
"Wow, Inuyasha! I heard that if you don't close your eyes when you sneeze, your eyes pop out! Do you think that's true? Wait, let me try it, I think I'm going to sneeze, ah...ah...arrghhh!" Shippou suddenly fled as he saw Inuyasha leap up and beginning to chase him. Inuyasha caught the kitsune easily, and carried him the short distance away to the group.
"Here Kagome," Inuyasha said gruffly, shoving Shippou into her arms. "He's all yours."
"What?" Kagome looked baffled. "Are you ok Shippou?" she asked.
"Why don't you tell Kagome your theory?" Inuyasha suggested, before storming off. Now Sango came over, looking baffled as well.
"What's going on?" the demon exterminator asked. Kagome shrugged.
"All I did was ask him a question," Shippou huffed.
"What question was that?" Miroku suddenly piped up. The girls gave him dirty looks.
"If he thought it was true that if you sneezed without closing your eyes, that they would pop out." Now all three looked at each other before finally looking back to at Shippou.
"Mrow?" Kirara asked.
Simply running away will not end the problem. Usually running away means coming back, which also sadly means the problem will not be solved. This is a lesson that is not always remembered.
Jaken lay on his back moaning. Tears were threatening to stream from his eyes and his hands covered his ears. Rin was a few feet away, telling a story to Ah Un, who strangely enough, seemed to be enjoying all her talking. Just as she concluded, Sesshoumaru strode back into view.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Rin cried out delightedly.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken cried out with relief.
"Let's go," Sesshoumaru commanded. Surely Rin was talked out by now.
"Where did you go Sesshoumaru-sama? Did you have fun? Did you make any new friends? I missed you, but I knew you would be back! Ah Un knew too, but Jaken just cried and cried. I guess he was worried about you. That's okay though, he's just a little sensitive is all, right Sesshoumar-sama?" Jaken was shooting Rin death glares, and Sesshoumaru wanted to rub his temples again.
Meanwhile, things weren't fairing much better...
At Kagome's suggestion, the group decided to continue again, hopefully to wear down the energetic kitsune.
"I'm glad we're moving again," Sango remarked. "The rest is nice, but I like to feel like I'm doing something."
"Yeah, I know what you mean," Kagome remarked.
"Feh," Inuyasha called back. The girls giggled.
"I'm gonna go talk to Inuyasha," Shippou called, scampering ahead.
"What do you want?" Inuyasha asked, annoyed when Shippou shot into his leg, breaking his stride.
"I figured you were lonely. You always walk up here by yourself. Want some help scouting out for something? What are you trying to find now? I can help, I'm a demon too you know. Tell me what to do Inuyasha, I can do it!"
"Just shut up," Inuyasha suggested, the gleam in his eye indicating he was thinking much worse.
Traveling is perhaps one of the worse things to do with small children. They simply do not have the patience for it...
"Are we there yet, Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked.
----
"Are we there yet, Inuyasha?" Shippou asked.
In the end though, all adults can do with small children is love them and hope they grow up soon (until they become teenagers and the adults realize the folly of this plan).
Night had fallen and the small group was nestled down for the night. As Sesshoumaru looked down on Rin's angelic sleeping face, a thought crossed his mind...
----
Night had fallen, and the group set up camp. Everyone quickly fell asleep, and Inuyasha gazed over them one by one. He paused, looking at Shippou as a thought crossed his mind...
----
...they look so innocent when asleep...
Author's Notes: Whew, that was fun to write. I don't know if anyone remembers, but there used to be Warner Bros. cartoons that talked about what life would be like in the future; there would be a man's voice explaining about some useful object, and then the cartoon person would use whatever 'useful' object there was, which usually didn't work, which is why it was funny. That's kinda what I was aiming for here. I also wanted to show how Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru are really quite alike. So, was it a success?