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TWENTY SIX
"I don't think I can do it Kurenai." Sango's eyes shifted nervously.
Listening to Ren give instructions to Miguel in the middle of bringing the shopping bags into the house gave Kurenai an idea; ask Sango to be her assistant. Well, she will not be doing admin stuff like her past assistants did but she'll take whatever help she can get.
The demon slayer can kill a hundred of demons in one day but to help keep a busy celebrity like Kurenai's life in order seems overwhelming.
"Sango…" Kurenai held Sango's shoulders, "Don't worry, you'll just help out with some personal stuff that I don't have time to do. I'm honestly not looking forward to asking you do my personal stuff for me but I need someone beside me that I can trust."
"I'll help you out." Miguel walked over to them, "Lucky for you, Kurenai is not high maintenance. She'll only ask you if she absolutely can't do it and this is one of those times." the Italian man with dark curly hair and eyes smiled reassuringly at Sango.
"Are you saying I'm high maintenance?" Ren asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Your endless parade of women are." he snapped at his boss/friend who grinned in response.
Kurenai snickered at the men before tipping her head thoughtfully at Sango, "So?" she asked.
"Okay. I'll give it a try." the demon slayer smiled.
The miko squeezed her friend's shoulder, "Thank you Sango! Alright, for your first task, I need your help with packing my stuff for New York. I wouldn't have much time since I need to prepare dinner."
"We'll help you cook too, mama!" Shippo squealed.
"Yes mama!" Rin cheered as well.
Kurenai smiled at two pairs of bright eyes, "I'd love that."
"Well then," Ren said, "let's get started. Inuyasha, Miroku, Sesshoumaru, come with me. I'll show you how we do laundry here. Yes Miguel, where they're from in Japan's mountains, there's no washing machine or any type of electronics really. So get used to us teaching them things." he explained when his assistant threw him a confused glance.
Ren thought what his sister did is a good idea to ask Sango to be her assistant. She doesn't have any experience but the most important thing right now is not to have too many people close to them that they cannot trust to share their current situation with. Miguel is a good guy but they cannot take the risk of telling him the truth.
The men marched down the hall behind the kitchen shopping bags in hand while the women, Miguel and the kids went upstairs to Kurenai's bedroom.
Kurenai left Sango and Miguel to do their personal assistant tutorial after they finalized what she'll be bringing for the trip. She went to check on Ryan's progress which was rapid much to her delight and as planned, she and the kids began preparing dinner.
Sesshoumaru left his hanyou half-brother and the monk to be amazed with the swirling of their clothes in the washing machine and made his way out into the backyard. Spending the day inside concrete structures, weaving through noisy crowds of people and driving around the polluted city left the daiyoukai unusually exhausted and he craves to be filled with the energy and serenity of nature.
He doesn't know how long he's been perched on his now personal branch on the oak tree when Rin's giggling reached the daiyoukai's ears and he opened his eyes to look in the house. He found the young girl in the kitchen happily stirring something in a bowl with the kitsune eagerly looking on and their adoptive mother rinsing a whole chicken in the sink.
Sesshoumaru can't help it, the next thing he knew, he's jumping off the tree and in elegant strides, he walked back into the house.
"Lord Sesshoumaru!" Rin's eyes sparkled seeing him walk in, "I'm helping mama cook!"
"Hn." he responded as he sat on one of the stools much to the shock of Shippo. Kurenai's eyes also widened slightly in surprise at seeing him but it quickly turned into a smile.
"Alright Rin, it's Shippo's turn to stir." Kurenai said while patting dry two whole chickens on the sheet pan. Rin handed the bowl over to Shippo and the kitsune continued to stir the parsley, lemon zest, garlic and butter mixture. Kurenai slid a wooden board in front of Rin and after demonstrating how to cut the onions and lemons, she asked the young girl to do it to the rest but kept a watchful eye hoping the child won't cut herself.
It's another mystery for the daiyoukai to solve why he finds gratification in watching Kurenai cook. But there's something about the graceful and precise movement of her hands, her thoughtful features when thinking of what's missing in the dish, her habit of humming every so often, and now, her gentle voice while patiently teaching the kids, that soothes him and he felt his unsettled spirit earlier calm.
The adoptive mother gave the kids one chicken each to prepare for roasting. She let them do everything from sprinkling the cavity with salt and pepper to popping the onion, lemon and bay leaf inside the chicken then tying it up. But what got the children excited the most was when she asked them to massage the chicken in order to spread the butter mixture they made under the skin of the bird. After seasoning over the chicken and tying it up, they placed it together in a roasting pan and popped it in the oven. They also made an Asian glaze to baste the chicken with every so often.
Sesshoumaru wasn't ignored during the process; Rin would ask if he thinks she did a nice job and he found it amusing how her adopted mother also eagerly awaited his response. Kurenai also kept him part of the activity by pulling him into random conversations now and again despite how he mostly only responds with "Hn".
Kurenai is somewhat confused that the usually distant Lord of the Western Lands is once again hanging around the kitchen watching her and the kids take care of dinner. The activity is not exactly something an elegant and proud Lord would find amusing and yet here he is and he looks so comfortable and she can't help but smile.
Ryan stopped by the kitchen as they were making a broccoli salad and her friend gushed at the adorable family image they made while cooking before saying his goodbyes and safe flight wishes. Miguel also headed home and it finally allowed the demons to get comfortable in their actual forms.
When all that's left to do is wait for the chicken and mixed vegetables with parmesan crust to finish roasting in the oven, they went to quickly freshen up for dinner.
Ding Dong!
"Dad's here." Ren said amidst the barking of the dogs as he walked to the outdoor dining carrying a platter of steaming rice.
Kurenai peeked from the fridge, "Miroku, can you get the door please?" she asked the monk who had just finished setting the tableware with Sango.
Miroku reluctantly headed to the door with a trail of dogs and Kirara trotting behind him and opened it to a smiling Ethan with a bottle of white wine in hand, "Good evening Mr. Monk!" he smiled down at the rest of his welcoming committee, "What a warm welcome!"
"G-good evening Mr. Walry." Miroku greeted back and opened the door wider.
"Please, call me Ethan." his friend's dad insisted as they walked into the house.
"Then please call me Miroku sir—I mean Ethan."
"Alright Miroku. Good evening everyone!" Ethan greeted those who already sat at the table.
"Good evening gramps!" the kids greeted together; Rin sat beside Sesshoumaru who decided not to take one of the head of the table seats in respect to the siblings' father and Shippo sat beside Rin.
"Good evening Mr. Walry." Sango also greeted from where she sat opposite Rin, Inuyasha sat on her right and Miroku took the seat on her left, Kirara jumped onto her lap.
Ethan did not take offense that the dog demons did not greet him, aware of their personalities, he's content with them recognizing his presence by looking at him and the slight tip of their heads.
"Like I told Miroku, you guys can call me Ethan." he said while ruffling the children's head absentmindedly, his attention on Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru and Shippo in their demon forms, "This is quite a sight to see." he said in awe, "Cool ears you have here Shippo!" the kitsune grinned at the compliment.
Ethan walked to the seat at the head of the table but unable to resist, he's behind Inuyasha in a blink and went to fondle the hanyou's dog ears.
"The hell!" Inuyasha growled in shock, "Knock it off! Are you a kid?!" hearing his friends laugh at his predicament pissed him off all the more.
The old man raised his hands in the air with a naughty grin on his face, "Sorry, I can't help it. It just looks so fluffy and cute!" more laughter erupted at the table, Sesshoumaru even smirked at hearing someone call his brother 'cute', such a disgraceful thing for a demon to be described as.
"Having fun over there dad?" Kurenai chuckled at the sight as she and Ren approached the table, both of them holding a platter with both hands.
He grinned, "Lots of it." his daughter set the platter of roasted chicken in front of him while Ren placed another one on the other end of the table.
"Wow! This is mouthwatering!" Ethan stared wide-eyed at the glossy red-orange chicken and the delectable whiff made his stomach rumble softly.
Kurenai took the seat beside Shippo on her dad's right hand side, "Isn't it? Shippo and Rin did most of the job for all of the dishes dad." she smiled at the kids who grinned at her.
"They did so well." Ren's clearly impressed as he prepared to carve the roast.
"Really?!" Ethan peeked at the children, "Great job little ones!" he praised and pulled his smartphone to take a photo of the children's beautiful dish before he began carving as well.
"Yeah, this is amazing Shippo, Rin!" Miroku added.
"They look and smell wonderful." Sango also added.
Inuyasha didn't say anything but it is evident that he can't wait to sink his teeth on the dish while Sesshoumaru looked at Rin with pride and the young girl is ecstatic.
They began digging in and sounds of delight floated at the table with the feast tasting as great as they looked and the children were excited to receive the compliments.
The dinner went wonderful; they got to learn more about their friends' father who is really kind, funny and intelligent. He absolutely loves his children and dotes on them especially Kurenai, they found humor at their red-eyed friend being daddy's girl. He told them a bunch of stories about his kids, including Mavick and they got the impression that despite their situation, they are quite a tight-knit family.
It's also evident that Ethan has become quite attached to the little ones as he frequently engaged in conversations with them. He also made an effort to learn more about their guests from the Feudal era and threw them a bunch of questions. Ethan is very personable and humble and they saw very little of the powerful business man sitting at the top floor of a huge company and instead an incredibly loving and doting father.
Knowing that the group still have a busy night of packing ahead of them and a morning flight the next day, Ethan left immediately after dinner but not without saying how much he enjoyed the night with everyone and wishing safe travels.