Disclaimer: No owning of Inu Yasha for this one! Rumiko Takahashi owns it, and we adore her for it (she is a source of fascinating stories and great inspiration!).

A/N: I really don't say this enough but,

I LOVE REVIEWERS!

I love reviewers so much! Reviewers are truly my inspiration! My deepest gratitude to everyone who reviewed!

Special thanks to WriterFreak7 who has inspired part of this chapter and the final chapter, which is not written yet (and at the pace I write, will not be posted in the near future).

Ok, very quickly while writing this chapter I realize that depending on what is already in your head, this chapter might be very, VERY easy to misinterpret, so I'll go ahead and say it again, just so no one is confused as to where I am going with this.

This story is NOT nor will it EVER be an inucest fic. Not even implied. They are brothers, and I'm not denying their relationship could use some work (what with the attempts on each others lives and such) but they are not into each other like that in this fic. I've got nothing against the pairing in a fanfic but this story doesn't have it.

"Speaking"Inu ThinkingSesshoumaru Thinking

Ch. 18- Pup!

Previously….

"You look like him."

"Who?"

"Father"

"I do not!"

"You do, you look like him. You're face is a little rounder, no doubt you get that from her, but the cheekbones, eyes, and abnormally thick, arched eyebrows are all his."

"Yeah, whatever." Sesshoumaru continued to stare at him, seemingly lost in thought.

"You really do…" Sesshoumaru murmured, "Look just like him…"

One more thing that is yours… and not mine…

What is he thinking? Why is he just sitting here? Why is he still sitting on me!

"Sesshoumaru?"

"Mm?"

"Get off me."

Sesshoumaru's eyes grew more focused, and he seem to come out of a trance. He looked at Inu Yasha as if he only just realized he was there.

"No."

"What!"

"You heard me, pup."

"Will ya quit calling me that already? I'm not a pup."

"No, you are a pup, I am older than you, so I will address you as I see fit, pup."

Inu Yasha started growling.

Ah, so easily provoked, foolish little pup, you'll waste all your time just to prove you're not a pup, and all the while proving that you are, in fact, a pup. Inu Yasha stopped growling. Bad sign. What is he up to?

"Sesshoumaru? How old are you?"

"We've been through this"

"Misleading, I know, I mean like relatively. What are you? Are you full grown?"

"…"

No way.

"You're a pup! HA!"

" 'Pup' is relative. To Bokseno, Father was a pup, yet to me, Father was ancient."

"But what are you considered by the demon population in general?"

"The common masses? They consider me strong enough that they dare not call me 'Pup'."

"You're avoiding the question! Are you considered a pup or not?"

I suppose there is no way around it.

"I am still growing, so, yes." Sesshoumaru replied, his eyes narrowed. "But I am older than you, so you still may not address me as such."

"Yeah, whatever, pup."

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed to slits. "I'm warning you, pup, you will address me with respect. I promised not to attack you, that doesn't mean I can't make your life hell."

"Oh, yeah, pup? What are you gonna do, bark at me?"

"No." Sesshoumaru looked around the room for inspiration, and finally found it in the form of a servant who had a ribbon braided into her hair. "You. Lend me that ribbon." The girl bowed and started to unbraid her hair. Sesshoumaru rose from his place on Inu Yasha's lap and walked over to her, taking the ribbon she held out. He then turned to face Inu Yasha, smiling. Inu Yasha flinched.

What the hell is that supposed to be! Is that a smile! Since when does he smile! That's so creepy! Something bad is about to happen!

Sesshoumaru walked over at a slow, deliberate pace, staring directly into Inu Yasha's eyes.

What is wrong with him! He's not even blinking! Everything with eyelids blinks what is his problem! Why is he staring at me! What's with the ribbon!

Sesshoumaru stopped mere inches away from Inu Yasha, still staring directly at him, without so much as blinking. Then, his smile became a smirk, and Inu Yasha knew he was in trouble.

Sesshoumaru swung the ribbon around Inu Yasha's left wrist, grabbing the other end as it came around the second time, and quickly tying it tight with skill no one should poses in one hand. He then ran around Inu Yasha once with his demonic speed, pulling Inu Yasha's arm behind his back and the ribbon around his waist. Once he was completely around him he wrapped the ribbon around Inu Yasha's other wrist, and tied it tightly. Finally, he tied the end of the ribbon to the portion around his waist. Then, for good measure, he knocked him onto his stomach and sat on his back.

"GET OFF ME!"

"No. I did a rather sloppy job of this, I'm surprised you still haven't managed to escape."

"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Jaken came skidding into the room, screeching.

"Shut up, Jaken."

"But-"

"You were going to inform me that Royokan is standing outside, on his knees, declaring his undying loyalty. I am aware. Now go, you are annoying me."

"Y-yes milord!" And with that, Jaken scampered off.

"Undying loyalty? Why would anyone have undying loyalty for you?"

"It varies from case to case"

"Such as?"

"Rin follows me because I have treated her more kindly than her own kind did. Jaken because he admires me, Royokan and many others because they followed father, and had no one else to follow after he died, the list goes on."

"Hang on, you're saying there are people who would die for you simply because they want someone to die for?"

"No. They want to follow my father; they were willing to die for him because they respected him. Now that they no longer have him, they want a replacement. In the absence of someone as strong and awe inspiring, they settled for his eldest son."

"That's a stupid reason to declare undying loyalty to someone."

"Agreed."

"Hey, Sesshoumaru? How about letting me up now?"

"No. Thank you for reminding me, pup, I have not punished you yet."

"I have not decided yet. Hmn. Pain is out of the question, as that would go against the agreement. Tickling is too playful, marking too childish. Childish. I've got it."

"Jaken!"

"Yes, milord!" Jaken cried, rushing into the room as fast as his stubby legs could carry him, stumbling often.

"Get Rin."

…End chapter…

How odd. The last page and the beginning of the next chapter I owe entirely to a random desire to have Sesshoumaru intimidate Jaken. Hmm… My chapters seem to be getting short again. I'll have to be careful about that.