"well now you mention it; there was nothing going between me and koga. it was all just a ploy to try and get you to express some sought of emotion at all. wether it was anger or what i didn't care. as long as it was something."
"so all this worrying i have done; all the letters i have sent to the eastern family to tell them everything was still on, was for nothing. all of it."
"well... yes."
and with that sesshomaru did something completely unexpected.
he...
smiled.
"well at least you are almost as cunning as me."
"well i learnt from the best, you and mum." rin said turning her head and smiling at kaida who just smiled back.
"rin i think it's time you went to bed."
"i guess you are right, goodnight mum, goodnight dad."
"that is something i will probably never get use to, but i do believe it is time to spar in the dojo and this time not destroy it."
"sounds like a plan to me sesshomaru."
sesshomaru and kaida went off to the dojo smiling, until suddenly out of nowhere...
they were set upon, for the lack of a better word, by kaze and keiji.
"so is it true?"
"is what true keiji."
"are you two going to be mated?"
when neither of the answered, kaze tried to get an answer from kaida. he knew she couldn't stand up to interrigation from him.
"so kaida is it true."
kaida just looked at sesshomaru; then back at kaze and keiji and nodded.
"finally!" they both said letting go of a breathe they didn't realise they were holding.
"what do you mean finally!" shouted kaida and sesshomaru automatically putting up the defensive.
"well we knew this would eventually happen." informed keiji.
"yeah love, it is only to be expected, but you know we are expecting front row tickets to the union ceremony." said kaze.
all kaida could do was laugh.
"fat chance, you'd be lucky to get back row." muttered sesshomaru who then got a jab in the rib curtisey of kaida.
"what was that for?"
kaida never got to answer. because sakaki came running up to the group.
"my lord. you brother and his mate are here."
"what the hell are they doing here?" asked sesshomaru growling low.
he obviously wasn't very happy.
"hey sesshomaru, what's wrong?"
"my brother and his wench are here."
"well then i'm going to go greet them like a good hostess and you can either come or leave and hide somewhere."
"i have never hidden from InuYasha and i'm not about to start now."
"very well."
sesshomaru placed his arm around kaida's waist and lead her to the front gates.
"hey sesshy whats up bro?" asked inuyasha with a huge smile on his face.
"hello little brother. to what do we owe the pleasure of this visit?"
"well you see... hey is that a girl? you have your arm around a girl! Wow! hey kags, i owe you three nights cooking and cleaning, it turns out my bro isn't batting for the other team after all!"
sesshomaru once again growled.
"so what your name? you must be pretty tough to put up with my bro!"
"I'm lady general kaida from the southern lands. i'm lord ryu's daughter."
"oh your the one that freak kiyoshi was always trying to feel up when we were little, aren't you?"
"yes i am."
"i thought you were promised to him."
"i was. his father decided to call it off because i was too violent."
before inu yasha could say something else to totally imbarrass himself and kagome; kagome intervened.
"your the one rin was writing to us about. she spoke very highly of you."
"really? i'm sure it was all lies."
"you know it probably was but if not you seem to be a wonderful teacher to have taught not only rin but to have shown sesshomaru a few things too!"
"a girl does what she can. I'm going to go see father, keiji and kaze off, please make sure they don't try to kill each-other n the few brief moments that i will be gone."
"I'll try, but no promises!"
Kaida went to say good bye to her family and friends leaving kagome alone with the brothers.
"So, sesshy. how have you been?" inuyasha asked to break the silence.
"fine."
"inuYasha we came to see him for a reason, remember?" asked kagome latching onto his arm.
"yes, right. Sesshomaru, we need your help."
"are you mad little brother. since when have you ever been civil to me or asked for my help." replied sesshomaru dryly.
"since kags and i got together and she'll sit me if i'm not nice."
all sesshomaru could do was to cock an eyebrow in confusion.
"it doesn't matter. see we need your help because...
just then sesshomaru interrupted.
"what is this sit thing you talk of?"
"well when i say that word inuyasha, basically sits."
"less sits and more like crashes head first into the ground."inuyasha grumbled.
"inuyasha... sit boy."
and with that inuyasha basically crashed head first into the ground. it was so amusing that sesshomaru almost smiled. Almost.
"anyway... sesshomaru, we need your help for...
... well, actually to help us find someone to babysit our little baby boy, kyo."
"and why did you come to me?"
"well you see..." kagome was stopped by inuyasha being helped off the ground by kaida.
"do i even want to know how you got down there?"
"probably not." he grumbled
"kaida! maybe you could help us!" kagome asked suddenly much more hopeful then before.
"i'll see, what do you need help with?"
"can you please babysit our son kyo? My grandpa's sick and i need to help look after him."
"please kaida. It would really help us out."
kaida looked at sesshomaru and responded...
"what?"
"please it would only be for a few days."
kaida
looked at sesshomaru with desperation on her face.
"do you
know anything about looking after kids?"
"not a thing."
"please sesshomaru, kaida. it would really mean alot to us."
"we have no idea what to do though. i have been taught to be a lady and a warrior. i have no idea even how to hold a baby. and sesshomaru's... sesshomaru."
"i'm sure rin could help you. she babysat for us before when she comes to stay at our place."
"well i spose keisha could help."
"really thanks. you have no idea how much this means to us."
"but i..."
"okay, so here's all his stuff. we'll be back in four days. and he's allergic to nuts."
"but we..."
"sorry but there won't be anyway you can contact us. he usually sleeps though the night, but if he doesn't just give him some warm milk. singing a lulla-bye helps too."
"but we haven't..."
"okay i think thats all. if anything serious happens just take him too kiada's she'll know what to do."
"just wait..."
"well we got to go. have fun okay. see you in four days."
kagome gave kaida a bundle. in it was kyo.
as kagome and inuyasha left the fortress, inuyasha gave them a look that said,
'you gonna die, sucker,die.'
kaida and sesshomaru just stood there for a while looking quite shocked.
and this is how they got their first taste for parenthood.
"oh god!" claimed kaida.
"i'm going to kill that so called brother of mine."
"join the queue. It start's behind me."
"we should probably take him inside, before it gets too cold and he takes sick."
"And since when do you care about children?" asked kaida awkwardly holding kyo.
"since i want that to have one less problem to worry about."
"fair enough, I'll set him up in my old room and then organize some kind of crib."
"and i unfortunately have a mountain of paperwork i've been dodging."
kissing kaida's forehead he helped her take the stuff up to her old room and then left her there to organize it herself, all the while thinking how natural she looked with a baby in her arms.
sesshomaru really felt like his mind was going into complete overload. and it was all because of three things that had turned his life upside down in the last 24 hours.
1. he was now going to be mated to kaida.
2. he was looking after his brothers son.
And.
3. he was thinking about how natural kaida looked with a baby in her arms.
he had to do something about these three things. and fast.
---meanwhile---
kaida was wrestling with a thing called a cot.
she had to try and put it together and this sheet with scribbles on it was (she took them to be some kind of instructions) wasn't helping.
but she wasn't going to let it beat her. she could build almost any shelter out in the middle of nowhere that would last for months, even years.
she wasn't going to let a cot beat her.