A Taste of Humanity

Disclaimer: Sesshomaru and all characters from Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not me (Zukiko is mine though). This story is for entertainment purposes only; I make no profit from it.

A/N: Reviews are appreciated. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Love

A gentle humming caused Sesshomaru to stir. He recognized the tune as one of Rin's favorites. Blinking the sleep out of his eyes, he saw her holding Zukiko, a strange container full of white liquid in one hand. For a moment, he found himself marveling at the sight. 'She will make a wonderful mother someday,' he realized. 'Is it my human state that has me focusing so much on females?' He had noticed many young human males trying to gain the attention of females often during his time in the village, yet he had never thought much of their antics before. 'So many strange thoughts and feelings, yet…' he continued to watch Rin feeding Zukiko, 'I think I'm beginning to understand what my father and aunt wanted me to know. Humans may have a shorter lifespan, but they live each day to its fullest. While I've wandered for centuries never truly living…' He gently stretched, careful of his bandages. Rin heard his soft grunt and turned to him.

"Did you sleep well, milord?" He nodded and tried to get out of bed. He didn't remember lying down in the bed or pulling a blanket over himself. Noticing his puzzled look, Rin smiled. "I didn't think sleeping upright was good for your injuries, milord. You must've been truly exhausted to not have noticed when we moved you." His eyebrow rose.

"We?" Sesshomaru queried. Rin nodded as she put down a squirming Zukiko. The young pup immediately ran to him and snuggled into his lap.

"Kagome helped," she replied, "She came in to check on you and found us all asleep." She blushed slightly then quickly changed the topic. "Are you hungry? Kagome was making dinner a short while ago…" He barely had time to nod before she hurried out of the hut. A small sound caught his attention and he looked down. Zukiko lay curled up in his lap sound asleep. He noticed she was dreaming as her hands and feet would occasionally twitch in response to whatever was in her dream. He felt her tiny hands grasp his pants tightly as she whimpered. Uncertain what to do, Sesshomaru gently stroked her hair and back. She quieted at his touch and whispered a single word. He straightened, shocked by what the pup in his lap was implying. 'No, she is dreaming. She doesn't realize who is with her. Surely she doesn't see me as her…' He tried to calm his racing thoughts with little luck. Just as he felt his calm returning she repeated the word, though it held a questioning tone. He looked down at her and noticed her eyes were now staring up at him.

"Will Lord Sesshomaru… will you…" she innocently asked the Lord of the Western Lands, "will you be my new daddy?" He felt as if all the air in the tiny hut left with that question. He had indeed grown quite close to the young pup, but to adopt her? He saw the hope in the girl's eyes and did not want to hurt her.

"This Sesshomaru," he felt his throat tighten, "is not really human. I am an inuyokai and Lord of the Western Lands. To adopt you would place you in great danger." She blinked slowly at him.

"Rin seems safe with you," she stated, "is it because… because I'm dirty?" He was shocked. 'She is a half-breed, but dirty? No, I don't see hanyou as dirty simply because of their mixed blood anymore.' He shook his head.

"No, Zukiko, your hanyou blood doesn't make you dirty, simply different. This one's half-brother is a hanyou like you." He paused to stroke her cheek. "You are very young and a target for demons. Travelling with me would increase that danger." Even as he said that, he found himself wondering if she would truly be safer away from him. He was a force to be feared and many lesser demons avoided him. His powerful aura would deter many demons that would normally be lured by the thought of an easy meal. She would no doubt attract more demons to him, those foolish enough to risk his wrath, but so did Rin. Sighing, he decided. "If you still wish this Sesshomaru to be your father in two days, then so be it." Her tiny face lit up with a smile quite similar to Rin's. Obviously satisfied with his answer, Zukiko settled back down to sleep in his lap.

He looked up from his lap to see Rin had arrived with dinner. With his extensive injuries he found it difficult to hold his chopsticks correctly and quickly grew frustrated as the ramen fell, uneaten, back into the cup for the sixth time. He was ready to throw the chopsticks when a hand gently took them. He watched as Rin gracefully grabbed some of the noodles in the chopsticks and held them out for him. He ate the proffered ramen and watched as she gathered up more for him. 'She's treating me like Zukiko,' he grumbled, 'I am no pup!' He realized he must've shown his anger for Rin had stopped feeding him.

"Milord?" she asked, "Is the ramen not to your liking?" He shook his head and huffed in annoyance. "Do you dislike me feeding you? I saw Kagome feeding Inuyasha like this when he was seriously hurt… I can have her do it if you don't want me to…" He shook his head again, realizing she did not see him as a weak pup. 'She is just trying to help,' he mused, 'I am not mad at her, but at these injuries. Humans heal so slowly. It is rather odd though. With shorter time to live you would think they would heal quickly while demons, with much longer lives, would heal slowly. Hmph, now I sound like father…' He allowed Rin to finish feeding him the ramen in the cup and she happily went to refill it. He caught a glimpse passed the door as she left and noticed the light outside was fading fast. 'Even with Aimi dead the curse will remain for another day. What will happen to these feelings when it ends? Will they disappear? Do I want them to?' He let the questions remain unanswered as Rin returned with more food. He decided to enjoy this moment and let whatever happened later wait.

The night passed was quiet, yet Sesshomaru found sleep elusive. His muscles were sore from his battle earlier and his wounds were itching as they healed. Careful not to wake Rin or Zukiko, he left the hut. He slowly made his way to what was now his favorite tree and eased himself onto the ground. The stars glittered in the velvet sky above and he noticed there was no moon tonight. Suddenly he heard a noise behind him and tried to turn towards it. Pain caused him to grunt and wince from the movement and he heard a low chuckle.

"Keh, you're lucky I'm not another demon trying to eat you." He watched his younger brother plop down beside him. He noticed his brother's dog ears and silver hair were gone. Inuyasha noticed the raised eyebrow and nodded. "Yeah, the night of the new moon is my human night. I'm surprised it took you this long to realize it."

"I never cared to know, little brother," Sesshomaru replied calmly. Deciding to change the topic, he continued. "Tomorrow is the last day of this curse."

"Bet you're happy about that," Inuyasha quipped, "still what's going to happen? I figured with Aimi's death the curse would've dissolved or something." Sesshomaru sighed.

"She had told me it would last seven days regardless of what happened to her. I was half-hoping she only said that to avoid me killing her."

"Wait, only half? Could it be the great Lord of the Western Lands actually likes being human?" Even though it hurt, Sesshomaru found great pleasure in smacking his foolish sibling upside the head, causing the hanyou turned human to fall face first into the grass. He allowed himself a small smirk to form on his lips as he watched Inuyasha spit out dirt and grass he had accidently eaten and brush off his robes. "You're getting as bad as Kagome with her sits." Sesshomaru felt the snicker bubble up and before he could stop it, he was laughing heartily as his brother imitated a fish.

"Are you sure you aren't a fish yokai? With that face you would fit right in!" Sesshomaru was laughing harder than he had in a very long time. He watched as his brother's face reddened to match his fire rat robes. His little brother growled and launched himself at him. Luckily for Sesshomaru, Inuyasha mostly missed and ended up tumbling down the hill, emitting some very colorful expletives as he went.

In a few moments, a sullen Inuyasha stomped up the hill and sat down beside him again. He noticed his little brother was trying to hide a pout behind his anger, but was failing. Not wanting his younger brother's foul mood to fester, Sesshomaru cautiously placed an arm on his shoulder.

"…Sorry, I forgot." Sesshomaru looked at Inuyasha thoughtfully.

"It's alright," he glanced down the hill, "seems you were hurt more than me with that 'attack'." They sat in silence for awhile and soon Sesshomaru heard a soft rumbling beside him. He turned carefully and noticed his brother had fallen asleep, cradling Tetsusaiga in the crook of his arm. He studied his brother's human form and noticed how young he looked sleeping. 'I forget just how much younger than me he truly is,' he mused. 'What would have happened if I had taken him in after his mother…?' He was distracted from his thoughts as Inuyasha shifted in his sleep and was now leaning gently against him. Realizing his arm was still on his little brother's shoulder, he gently pulled him close. 'We wasted so many years trying to kill each other,' he watched his brother sleeping peacefully, 'and now he trusts me enough to sleep next to me on his human night.' Shifting slightly to get more comfortable, Sesshomaru, his arm firmly wrapped around his little brother, fell asleep.