Chapter 12- Getting Used to Each Other

"Kagome-kāsan, sing the lullaby again!" Kenshin begged her that night. She laughed as he and Rin stared at her with puppy eyes, begging her to comply.

"Kenshin, I just sang it last night!" she replied playfully to the child that had perched himself in her lap. He continued to stare at her with puppy eyes, refusing to give up until she sang it for them again.

"Okāsan, Rin and Lord Sesshoumaru and Master Jaken didn't get to hear it! They weren't here then!" he complained. The two vaguely caught the sound of a light chuckle dancing on the wind from a certain other hanyou.

"Sing it, Kagome. He won't shut up until you do, and you know it."

With a sigh of consent, she closed her eyes and lifted her voice in song, allowing herself to drift on the wings of her words once again. Her soft, high voice resounded among the trees, an enthralling tune casting its spell over the nighttime forest, like an enchanted fog slowly seeping over the ground and snaking its way around the trees. A mockingbird nearby quieted its singing, and then once her tune had been learned, it mocked her, trying to match his voice to hers. There was no comparison; Kagome's was easily the more beautiful of the two.

How can that be, that you would cry for me?

The questioned echoed itself in Inuyasha's mind. How many times had that sentiment been so true? More than he could count, for certain. From the very first time when they and Nezuna had been attacked by the spider heads, to the more recent when she'd thought he had been killed in Togenkyo. She hadn't had cause to cry often, but she did. It seemed a new experience every time he saw her shed tears for him. She had written this song as though it was from his point of view, and it was surprising how well she understood him. What could he have ever done to deserve this woman? Wait, woman? No, it could not be; she was most definitely an angel, it seemed, with how her eyes fluttered at the high notes of the song, and how her lips trembled at the low ones, and her shoulders shook at the emotional climax. Oh, how could he ever prove himself worthy of such a lady? A lady that it seemed even the highest titles could not do justice?

With her melodious voice softening gradually with the end of the song, he glanced around the camp. A deeply asleep Rin was draped across her adoptive father's lap as he leaned against the voluminous fur that encompassed his shoulder during the day. Miroku was slumped against a tree, as usual, a quietly-snoring Shippou in his lap and a still taijiya burrowed into his shoulder. Across the camp, his mate gently tucked their pup into her sleeping bag. He stood quietly, allowing her time to press a soft good-night kiss to temple and cross the camp to be at his side. With a glance to his brother and tacit instructions not to try anything, he led her into the forest a short distance to another small clearing. They sat and watched the moon traverse the sky slowly, and the stars dance in graceful, seven-step time.

"Kagome, when our journey is over, what say we help Sango and Miroku rebuild the Slayers' village?" he asked quietly, continuing to stare at the sky. She smiled, and nuzzled his shoulder softly.

"I would like that."

"And… when our journey is over… what say we adopt Kenshin and Shippou?" he asked again, every bit as softly as he had queried the first time. Her hands released his arm that she had been holding softly, and she wrapped them around his waist, burying her head in his chest and breathing in his wild scent. No matter how many times it met her nose, she was still in wonder over it, for he smelled of the woods, and mountain air, and the fresh springs that flowed from their peaks.

"I would like that even more."

Sesshoumaru's glance wandered over the camp lazily. The ningen wench had obviously become his mate; she had been wearing the mating ring and it had changed since he had last seen the item. And it was more than likely that they were planning to adopt the half-breed child, as well. The wild, free scent of his brother was wafted to his nose on the breeze, and for once he had to remind himself why he hated the boy so much in the first place. Rin continued sleeping as he discreetly shifted her onto the fur, lifting himself from the ground and walking over to the sleeping, golden-eared child.

On impulse, he traced his finger along the fine fur that covered the appendage. It moved away from his touch, flicking back and forth madly, trying to get the tickling sensation to go away. He buried his head deeper into the pillow unconsciously, rubbing the ear as he did so before finally settling down. The young lord shifted to sit Indian-style next to him, his back ramrod straight as his eye remained fastened on the boy. Let's see… he believed that Rin and called him 'Kenshin'. It was a fitting name for a warrior. What was it about hanyou and humans that seemed so odd and yet so irresistible to him? It seemed that this boy gave him the same feeling as Rin and Inuyasha, a feeling that was completely confusing and annoying yet… he could not ignore it. Every time he did battle with Inuyasha, he had to push the force from his mind, trying to get his battle instincts to override them, but it seemed, sometimes, that that could not be accomplished.

He sighed, fighting the urge to shake his head in bewilderment. Feelings were such a nuisance. Always had been, always would be.

"Sesshoumaru-sama, it's time to get up!"

Rin shook her protector's shoulder gently. Though he was sitting up, still as straight-backed as ever, he hadn't awoken at the sunrise that morning, and it had her a little worried. His golden eyes flickered open, a fog seeming to be over them for a moment, before he was completely lucid. His eyes scanned over the camp quickly to determine the activities of his new… ugh… travel companions.

The slayer and monk had since separated, and both still had a hint of arousal in their scents, as though they had come out of some embarrassing situation just a few moments before. Kenshin was rousing out of his sleep, though he was still beneath the final layer of fog. Rin was bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, apparently having been up for some time, and was now skipping over to the other side of the camp to play with Shippou. His half-brother and- would it be sister-in-law? - were nowhere to be seen, though their scents indicated that they weren't far from the camp. Jaken and Ah-Un had returned to his palace, since they had felt the least comfortable with traveling alongside their long-time foe.

"Everyone ready to get moving?"

The startled lord looked up into the tree above his head, and to his surprise it was there that his brother had nested with his mate. Both looked fully alert and merely waiting for the move out from Sango and Miroku. Had he been in charge, Sesshoumaru would've just left them behind. He stood, dusting himself off and wrapping the fur around himself once more.

The taijiya nodded, glancing up into the tree as she vaulted onto her neko-youkai's back, and the monk did so also, mounting behind her. The haninu child climbed up in front of the woman, and the kitsune jumped onto the houshi's shoulder. Inuyasha smirked at him.

"Well, big brother, if you're coming, you might want to pick up your charge. Kirara can't carry everyone," the boy told him, leaping into the air be soon followed by the aforementioned neko. Sesshoumaru quickly scooped the child up and followed them. Rin clung tightly to his kimono as he quickly moved to catch up with them. He could hear his brother's mate berating him on not waiting, but he was dismissive of the matter. "Kagome, he's full-blooded. I knew he'd easily catch up with us. See?"

She heaved a long-suffering sigh. This was gonna be a long day.

AN: Wow. It's been a while. Happy to see me? XP