Characters and plot belong to their rightful owners.
III.
Sesshoumaru Taishou, son of the infamous Inu-no-Taishou, Lord Of The Western Lands and Prince of Dogs, had lived for an impressive score of centuries, and an even more impressive number of decades. He had seen many things, fought many things, defied many things, and conquered many things. He rather liked to think of himself as knowledgeable and well-rounded in many areas, rather polished, to say.
What he had never experienced in his life, was having a young ward, 'nor a child, 'nor said child's incessant chattering or grounds for material wear, never mind their uncanny habit for getting into trouble. He, among his travels, had picked up such a nuisance, had grown somewhat... attached to his young ward over the years she had been by his side, but even his attachment would not stay his ire from slaughtering her in cold blood.
The child had an obsession.
It wasn't the measly kind of obsession that faded with time, or the kind of obsession that only held its roots for a period of time before vanishing altogether, no, it was the lasting, drive-your-friends-and-family-crazy kind of obsession that she had with flowers, silken kimonos and this Make Believe game, as she so called it. Often times he found himself the unwilling participant of one of her games, doomed to play the father while Jaken was the mother, and Ah-Un the two-headed dog.
It was enough to make his head hurt.
It, however, was easily ignored, and her antics even easier to brush off. The excuse of a demon lurking nearby had saved him from her childish ways one time too many for his own liking, and yet, this time he had somehow managed to be persuaded into being her living, breathing mannequin. How shameful.
If only his father could see him now.
The monkey-like child – Rin, he had to remind himself – had climbed into his lap and had since insisted upon decorating his hair and "prettying him up". The floral scent, as well as her own, unbathed one burned at his sensitive nostrils, and he fought down the urge to sneeze. He never had liked physical contact.
Or flowers, actually.
Rin sat back in his lap, eying her work appreciatively.
Suddenly, his senses picked up his half-brother's entourage headed his way, the hanyou at the lead. Sesshoumaru stood abruptly, being cautious to set Rin on the ground safely before rising to his full height and facing the oncoming group.
He grasped Toukijin's hilt just as Inuyasha bounded through the trees, coming to halt just barely fifty feet in front of him. Inuyasha looked around the camp before setting his eyes on his brother, and cracked up laughing.
"I always knew you were girly!" He exclaimed, doubling over.
Because there, in front of him, stood his brother in all his gloary, a chain of forget-me-nots strung around his head, and a big, red camelia tucked behind one ear.
Well, Sesshoumaru thought as the rest of Inuyasha's group arrived. It isn't quite father, but it's close enough....
(In case you didn't know, red camelias – in Japan – mean "in love" whereas forget-me-nots mean "gentle", "kind", or "true love", depending. No idea where it came from. I'm having fun stripping away Kagome and Sesshoumaru's dignity. Happy Halloween, guys. – Incomprehensible)