Chapter XXIII

Dealing with a squirming and irritated toddler was not something Sesshomaru had planned for when he had woken up that day. He also hadn't planned on his father and half brother showing up unannounced at his condo either. So, with an exasperated sigh, he dropped Kazumi carelessly onto the couch and contemplated how to discipline her. Peering down, Sesshomaru found Kazumi slowly sliding off the couch with a cautious look on her face—allowing an inaudible placed growl to resonated within his chest, Sesshomaru watched as Kazumi immediately stopped her downward motion.

Noticing the defiant look in Kazumi's eyes as she gazed up at him, Sesshomaru then and there, chose the best punishment suited for her. While Rin might have just given Kazumi a stern talking to never do such again, Sesshomaru knew that if she didn't learn her place within his pack soon, she'll continue to do inexcusable actions until one day either her victim or herself got hurt. Although he honestly couldn't be bothered by what happened to Inuyasha—spoiled brat deserved it—it'll help teach her a valuable lesson in the future.

So, it was with a weary eye that Sesshomaru picked up Kazumi by the scruff of her shirt and put her in a far off corner with her front facing him. With a growled command to stay put, Sesshomaru turned his back on her and began walking away. With a startled cry, Kazumi made to reach him when Sesshomaru turned his head and snarled at her to stay where he placed her. It wasn't long before the whimpers began, quickly followed by the waterworks. Ignoring the child's cries, Sesshomaru walked towards the couch where he sat down and waited for dinner to be served.

Not too long after he sat down—exactly five minutes—Rin called them to the kitchen. Shifting slightly in his spot, Sesshomaru called for Kazumi to come over. Whimpering and wiping her tears, Kazumi slowly trotted towards her father. Sniffing, Kazumi waited to be addressed and when that happened all she could do was look down and submit to her father and alpha. Through simplistic growls that she would be able to understand, Sesshomaru questioned her on what she did and asked if she understood why she had been punished. When all he received was a shake of the head in a negative, he sighed and began explaining what was acceptable and inexcusable with her as the pup of the pack.

Once those lessons were given and understood, Sesshomaru allowed Kazumi to trot along to the kitchen and get her dinner. Left alone again, Sesshomaru silently pondered on the conversation he overheard between his father and Rin, and knew that sooner or later he'll have to a real discussion with Rin. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, Sesshomaru released a weary sigh and looked to his left when he sensed Rin staring at him.

Seeing that she had his attention, she offered him a spent smile and said, "Come join us."

With nothing else to do, Sesshomaru stood from the couch and made towards the noise coming from the kitchen. Stepping to the side, Rin watched him go with a contemplative expression for a moment before quietly following after him. There was nothing she could do right now but wait for an opportunity to open up where she could talk to him alone without anyone interfering.

By the time everyone had left her home, the sun was going down and Rin was exhausted. From hosting to caring for a one year old, all Rin wanted to do was lay down and not have to get up until the next day. But, seeing as she had a routine to keep, and it not yet being 7:30, she couldn't.

So with a sigh and a roll of her shoulders, Rin got off of the couch and looked around the living room for Kazumi. Not seeing her anywhere, Rin walked to her daughter's room and found her playing house. With a small smile, Rin left her to her own devices and headed to her office. For an hour or so, Rin worked on company forms before she got interrupted in two ways. One, by a toddler asking for her nana's, and two, by her telephone ringing. Waving Kazumi over, Rin like second nature, pulled her onto her lap, pulled down her top, and offered a breast, all the while as she answered the phone.

While her daughter contently nursed, Rin arranged a lunch meeting with a prospective client, and had her assistant, Aki, fax her some documentation. Once, that was all done, Rin leaned back on her desk chair, and enjoyed the quiet moment with Kazumi. In the silence only interrupted by the gentle sucking of Kazumi, Rin minutarily dozed off. Startling awake by the ringing of her cell phone, Rin's eyes gazed down at Kazumi for a moment before shifting her a bit so that she could reach into her pants pocket. Looking at the caller ID, and not recognizing the number, answered with slight trepidation. She really hoped that it wasn't any news article asking for an interview or something.

"Moshi Moshi."

"Rin-chan," a voice Rin knew really well spoke. Letting out a breath in relief, Rin cradled the phone closer to her ear as she helped switch Kazumi to the other breast. "Ayame-san is this a new number?" Rin asked.

"No, no. I'm calling from Mueten-kun's phone since I stupidly left mine in the house."

"Ah, okay. Is there a specific reason you called? You rarely call nowadays." Leaning back in her chair, Rin looked down to see Kazumi had dozed off. Fixing her top, Rin slightly tighten her hold on her daughter before giving Ayame her full attention.

"I know, and I'm so sorry for that," Rin could almost see Ayame wincing in regret. She knew that if she had Ayame in front of her right now, she'll have those big, sorrowful eyes pointed downwards to hide her guilt. But, as Ayame uttered, "You know how busy life gets, especially when you have kids," Rin couldn't fault her. She knew that was the truth.

"So, in repentance, I would like to take my three favourite girls out to lunch tomorrow," Ayame said. "Does two o'clock work for you?"

"Let me quickly check my schedule." Bending slightly forward to see her desk calendar, Rin saw that besides a video conference at nine, she had the whole day free. "Two o'clock works fine."

"Awesome!" Ayame squealed. "Let me call Sango and Kagome to double check with them."

"Alright, see you tomorrow then." With that said, Rin hung up the phone, shifted Kazumi so she had a better grip on her, before getting up and leaving her office. It was time for bed. She could worry about the Taishos and the contract tomorrow. Right now, her bed was calling.

Author's Note: Sorry for such a short chapter! With school and work taking up most of my time, I've had little to no inspiration, and barely any time to work on MoC. Hopefully, come May I can update more frequently as I'll be done with school for the summer. Until then, I have no idea when I'll next update. So thank you for your patience for the lack of updates.

Your reviews/comments/criticisms are really appreciated! So keep them coming! Until next time! ~Moon