A/N: First and foremost, I'm sorry for such a long wait, you guys! I got caught up in the show, which made me realize I have to edit some chapters from before as well so it stays in canon. I really want to thank my beta reader likethestarsthat-shine, she pointed out quite a few mistakes and it flows much better now, so you guys can thank her for making this way more readable. :) Don't forget to review! I love reading them, even if they're critiqueful. Thank you again for reading!
"Family: We may not have it all together, but together we have it all."
-Anonymous
Pendulum
Gleeful cries echoed through the air along with the well known taps of children's feet crashing against grass and leaves as they ran through the park, climbing trees, inventing new lands and places, pretending that they were swimming through water and the only safe places were the swing sets that they crawled over, escaping reality to live within the fantasy only their imaginative minds could escape to. Barks resonated through the air, owners tugging at toys, balls, Frisbees, grunting in response as if they could talk to their pets. The wind passed along Kagura's shoulders. She could feel it through the coat, whipping her hair around her face as it gently caressed her cheeks, fingers, legs. The air was filled with the scent of a freshly cut lawn and the flowers that lay in the fields and trees along the hillside that was dedicated to the park.
Rin, who Sesshomaru had picked up halfway through the walk to the park, began to squirm in her father's arms, pushing against his shoulder as if trying to escape. Sesshomaru willingly set the child on the ground, and she immediately pressed forward as fast her little legs could carry her, her cries joining those that already filled the park with its content aura. The young father set the dog loose, too, untying the leash from around his collar and watching as A-Un chased after Rin, barking as she ran too far, which overshot Jaken's heeding on the exact same matter.
Kagura curled her lip and laughed as Jaken ran after the little girl, waving his cane at her as she went. Rin turned around, pulled on her ears, and stuck out her tongue, resulting in a catastrophic screeching from Jaken's end, which only made Kagura laugh louder, reaching up to cover her mouth with her fingers as she leaned back. The cool feeling of Sesshomaru's glare caused the hairs on the back of her neck to rise, and she turned to see him observing her, the same hard look on his face. Her shoulders hunched and she removed her hand from her mouth, suddenly feeling quite bashful. When her eyes caught his stare again, she found that a small smile had wrapped around his lips, which only caused a warm blush to rise up to her cheeks.
"…What is it?" Kagura sniped, covering her fluttering heart with her hand as she tightened the jacket around her. Sesshomaru seemed caught off-guard by her harsh attitude, but it wasn't anything to be astounded by: she had lived most of her life with men gawking.
"You have a loud laugh, nothing more," Sesshomaru clarified, placing his hands behind his back as he walked forward after his daughter. The young girl only didn't acknowledge her father's progression toward her and the dog and continued to run around, A-Un having finally caught up to her, and the two of them began to play, mostly consisting of Rin wrapping her arms around the dog's neck in the format of a hug, and A-Un graciously allowing the child to rough house him without harming her.
Without breaking contact from the dog, Rin glanced up to her father and a wide smile spread on her face as she lifted her arms up to him, begging to be lifted up. The father first held his arms akimbo, before reaching down and lifting Rin into the air above him and she let out a joyful shout, throwing her arms out to her side as if she were flying. Bringing her down to his side, Rin clutched onto her father's shoulders and face, making him seemingly uncomfortable, but still content. He bounced her at his waist, craning his neck forward and tilting his head so that their eyes met, yet the young stranger couldn't make out the conversation. Sesshomaru was quiet and meticulous, while his daughter's voice shouted out and pointed over to the playground where several other children were playing. The girl's father simply nodded his head in compliance, reaching his hands under her armpits so that he could lift her over his shoulders as means for travel.
Kagura sat down on the grass, not wanting to become involved in what was clearly a family activity and observed with a smile on her face. Rin pulled on her father's hair and he stopped in his walking toward to the structure, her tiny arm pointing back at Kagura and shouting out uncomfortably. Sesshomaru turned to Jaken, who was wrangling with A-Un as the dog refused to let the housekeeper collar him and ordered something to the housekeeper, who responded in a chortling gasp of shock before looking at Kagura, who rolled her eyes. The housekeeper really seemed to hate her, but it didn't bother the stranger too heavily, the feeling was mutual. Kagura remained sitting as Jaken stomped over to the woman.
"Rin would like it if you went to the playground with her and Mr. Sesshomaru," Jaken mumbled, the dog running after him and straight into Kagura. She wrapped her arms around the dog as it licked her face before turning around and running from the two. Kagura pushed herself up and wiped the dirt from her hands before shouldering Jaken as she walked past him towards the father and his daughter. As she made her way towards the two, Rin began to squirm on her father's shoulders, to which he let her down on the ground by kneeling over so that she could slide off of his back. The young girl sprinted towards Kagura and wrapped herself around the young woman's legs before interlocking her small hand around two of Kagura's fingers and pulling her towards Sesshomaru. Kagura eventually enveloped Rin's hand in hers, walking to the left of the young girl while Sesshomaru seemingly glided on the right, following the same motion of holding the young girl's hand.
"Papa, I want to go on the swings first," she chirped up, jumping off the ground to rely on the two to hold her up. Sesshomaru acknowledged his daughter's wishes with a nod of his head, noticing that Rin was swinging on Kagura's side but not on his, so he mimicked the motions Kagura was making so that as Rin jumped, the two would swing the girl forward with a smile on her face. As they crossed over from grass to mulch, Rin launched herself forward and sprinted towards the swing, landing belly first into the fragile thing, propelling the child forward with her arms outstretched. Kagura began to sit down on the wood paneling that rested between the mulch and grass, but Sesshomaru caught her elbow in his hand.
"She wouldn't have asked you to come over if she didn't want to spend time with you," remarked the surgeon, casting a knowing gaze.
"Why would you let me spend time with her?" Kagura hissed under her breath so that the young girl wouldn't hear. "In fact, why are you letting me stay so long?" He raised an eyebrow at her, letting her elbow down and walking over to Rin, raising the child up and sitting her down on the seat. Kagura's gaze pierced the back of the man's head in frustration of his avoidant behavior. The young woman stomped over to the surgeon, touching the back of his arm. "Hey!" A stern look met her eyes and he hand immediately retracted. "You… You didn't answer me," she hummed under her breath, feeling intimidated.
"Rin, remember to kick your feet, otherwise you won't gain momentum," Sesshomaru returned his gaze to his daughter, one hand on her back as he gently pushed the young girl to help her start on the swingset, obvious in his evasion of Kagura's questioning. Kagura reached out for his arm once more, calling out again, but he caught her wrist in its motion. "If you don't want to stay, that's fine," the surgeon back as he released his grip on her wrist, resuming his previous actions. "Are you leaving?" his cool voice ran across her spine, the phrase itching the back of her mind, for some strange reason, there was a sudden overwhelming scent of flowers that dissipated as quickly as she encountered it.
Electricity seemed to run through her body, escaping through her fingertips as they twitched at the déjà vu. Bowing her head, her eyes shut tight, covering her with a blackness as she tried to recall anything that could help her understand her sense of acquaintance, yet no matter how she searched her mind she couldn't find its source. Opening her eyes, she realized that he was watching her face with a look that almost seemed awed, but quickly returned to his stoic appearance once their eyes met.
"N…No, I'll stay, if that's fine with you," Kagura whispered under her breath, a hand rising up to her heart again; it felt as though it would leap out of her chest. Somehow, she felt safe. The surgeon nodded at the woman before returning his attention to his daughter. He was no longer pushing her, but rather she was kicking herself higher into the sky.
"Papa, can I jump?" she giggled, her feet no longer kicking in unison with the pendulum of the swing. Sesshomaru sighed and shook his head. Kagura smirked at the concerned parent, recalling events of her own childhood. There was a certain joy that came with flight, even for its briefest moments that eventually crashed down with gravity. Sesshomaru either did not share the feeling or had never experienced jumping off a swing set as a child.
"I would rather you not, Rin. It's not safe."
Kagura smacked her lips, resulting in Sesshomaru to sharply turn his head to eye at the woman.
"What is it?" his eyes turned down at her, which only caused her lips to curl up into a larger smile.
"Man, how uptight are you?" she accused with a sigh, which didn't seem to have any effect on his emotion, at least externally. Kagura still hadn't figured out the man as she had been accustomed to. She looked at him out of one eye and noticed that his chest was rising and falling at quicker rate than before. "I'm just saying she's a child. Jumping of the swing sets is fun."
"Jumping off swing sets sometimes results in broken legs," Sesshomaru chided. Kagura turned her nose up to the man and smirked once more.
"And most of the time, it doesn't," Kagura countered, crossing her arms. Sesshomaru's breathing returned to normal and his mouth remained in a straight line across his face. Unsure as to whether he simply had calmed down or had relaxed in his nervousness at his daughter's well being, she turned her head toward the child. "Rin!"
"Yes, Ms. Kagura?" Rin's height from the ground had significantly dropped since Sesshomaru stopped pushing her, she would be entirely safe jumping from her current location.
"I'm going to walk around in front, I happen to be an expert on jumping from swing sets." Kagura cast Sesshomaru a sly smile as she made her way over in front of his daughter. It was the first time she had addressed the little girl first, and he hadn't thrown a fit to her surprise, but he watched her like a hawk as she glided in front of the play set. Kagura stood directly in front of where Rin's swing ended and took two steps back from said spot. "Now, when you jump, I'll be able to catch you if you stumble forward." Kagura held eye contact with Sesshomaru as he began to walk around to her side. Before Sesshomaru could take Kagura's spot, Rin was moving through the air. She was no more than six inches off the ground as she did so, but when her feet hit the ground Kagura immediately knelt over in the case that the child stumbled. The child's hands met hers in order to steady herself, but otherwise, Rin did not need help from the woman.
"How was that?" Kagura's voice seemed caring and kind and Rin's eyes were big with wonder before she began to quickly stomp her feet on the ground in excitement.
"I flew!" she bellowed before escaping Kagura's hands and running over to her father's knees, tugging on the material of his pants. "Papa! Papa, did you see me? I flew! I flew!" Kagura hoisted herself off the ground, pushing off with her fingertips to find Sesshomaru's content look, as if his daughter's happiness somehow radiated over to him, and if she were being honest, the child's happiness seemed to have an effect on her as well. "I wanna go again, let's go again!" Rin tugged on her father's hand in order to replace Kagura's space in front of the set. No matter how hard the little girl kicked her legs, she couldn't coordinate herself to get the swing in motion.
As Sesshomaru made his way over to Rin to help her start swinging, a loud tone emitted from his pocket. Kagura saw the child's face immediately drop as Sesshomaru reached into his pocket to pull out a cell phone. Furrowing his brows, his face immediately dropped into what appeared to be a look of irritation as he unlocked the phone to answer the call. The father passed his daughter to head back over to the grass and away from the playground, Rin twisting around in her seat to try and keep contact with her father. Kagura leaned up against the pole of the swing set, crossing her arms as she eavesdropped on the man's conversation.
"Yes, this is he. What's happened this time?" His fingertips met the bridge of his nose, rubbing his brow line in frustration. "He did what?" Sesshomaru made eye contact with Kagura and then turned his back to her in an attempt to hide the conversation from her. "No, I just need you to repeat the whole thing, so I can try to understand the stupidity of the situation… I'm in the middle of something, you can't just… I don't know… hold him for a little bit? No, I understand, but I'm busy right now… He's not my kid, you understand that, right? I can't just drop everything for him every time he…" Kagura looked down at Rin, who's tip toes dragged along the ground, her head hanging over in melancholy. The woman knelt down next to the little girl.
"Hey, kid, do you know what's going on?" Kagura whispered inconspicuously. The little girl sniffled and ran her hand under her nose.
"Papa's prob'ly gonna have to leave," Rin mumbled, she gave Kagura a weak smile. "Jaken says Papa's brother is a 'no good troublemaker'," Rin explained. The statement caught Kagura off guard - there were so many photos of Sesshomaru and his daughter, as well as of Jaken and Rin, that she had assumed that there had been no other immediate family members.
"Hmm, but Jaken seems to think that of a lot of people," Kagura's eyes cast over to where Jaken was walking with A-Un towards Sesshomaru, bleating out about whatever indelicacy had struck him most recently. What started out as a chuckle quickly built out to a full-hearted laugh from the child; Kagura's eyes shifted over to Sesshomaru, hoping that he hadn't turned around to stare, but her hopes had been futile. His cold eyes shot through her with aggravation as he hung up the phone and started over towards Kagura and his daughter. Sesshomaru didn't break his gaze from Kagura's throughout his walk towards the two, but Kagura turned away with downcast eyes and a quickening pace in her heart. A trembling finger brushed past her cheek as she tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. When the woman looked back up, Sesshomaru lips were pressed up against his daughter's head as he murmured instructions into her hair.
"I'm not going to be long, I'll be back very soon. You keep having fun here, try not to give Jaken too much trouble." Rin hummed in response with a nod of her head. Kagura stood up, using the pole of the structure to help her do so. The surgeon watched as Kagura's arms crossed in front of her chest, as if she were waiting for a response with some impatience. Instead of acknowledging Kagura, Sesshomaru turned around without a word, walking past Jaken and A-Un. As Jaken began to bark at his employer, Kagura backed away from the set trying to leave unnoticed.
"Ms. Kagura, where are you going?" Rin squeaked, hopping off the swing to follow the stranger. The child tugged at the hem of the oversized coat, staring up with twinkling, pleading eyes. Kagura's eyes searched the horizon, seeing that he was nowhere to be found, but saw Jaken glaring unapologetically at the two and made his way over.
"I figured I'd leave now," Kagura explained, "I'm sure your father wouldn't want me to stay any longer." Plastering a smile on her face, Kagura felt like her cheeks were sore; she knew how to fake smiles, it had been part of her daily life. She hated herself for having to keep on with an act, but children were still children: they deserved to be happy and live around others who were the same.
"I want you to stay," the girl whimpered, her fingertips loosening their grip on the hem of the coat. Kagura sighed, her face falling into a frown with somber eyes. Although she knew it was only her imagination, Kagura couldn't help but feel the heat rising from the burn on her back, the stinging sensation of flesh melting as she had been marked. The fear bubbled up from having been too long in public, Kagura figured, but also the realization that the man who had protected her earlier had left. Truthfully, Kagura could handle herself well in a fight, as long as it had been a one on one encounter; there were several scenarios in her past where she could've found herself in a bay without having been killed by workers above her, but rather her customers. But with Naraku, she knew that it wouldn't be even a remotely fair fight. Having someone to hide behind, even for the brief period of time Sesshomaru had spent with her, had been comforting. She scanned the horizon again, finding that the playground was empty of figures she considered suspicious. "Plus, Papa didn't ask you to leave. Please stay. Jaken won't let me jump off swings." Kagura smiled down at the girl, she really was a beacon of joy.
"Okay, I'll stay," Kagura relented, allowing the child to grab her hand and lead her back over to the swing sets, where Kagura was prompted to show the child just how high she could fly from the seat. In those moments in the air, Kagura laughed louder than she had in ages; she felt free.
Sesshomaru seldom let his anger come through his cold exterior, but in that moment, he allowed every inch of his frustration to be poured into the car door as he slammed it shut. He parked a few blocks away from the school, the walk would allow him to cool off… hopefully. With hands billowed into his pockets, Sesshomaru stormed off to the building with his brows cross. The inconvenience of having time stolen away from his daughter so he could cater to his younger brother's attention-seeking attitude was more than enough to cause Sesshomaru to go over the edge at times - the relationship between the two had never been close or even compassionate.
And yet, when his brother had been orphaned, the responsibility was thrust upon Sesshomaru, the next of kin, which meant that any troubles inside and outside of school that Inuyasha encountered would be sent to Sesshomaru to handle. The two had attempted to live together years ago when Sesshomaru had first gotten his PhD and the fire occurred, but the situation got out of control fast whenever the two would bicker. The younger brother had ended up getting a job to work outside of school and rented out a cheap room from someone's home. Sesshomaru was expected, by law, to help, and paid a large sum of cash at the end of every month to his brother in order to help pay the expenses, even though he had his own bills to pay. The elder was more than willing when it came to what he was expected lawfully, but the nuisance of his brother's incidental bad habits always drove Sesshomaru mad.
Sesshomaru made his way through the bland hallways, peering in on the classrooms every now and then as he approached the principal's office. The surgeon had made this walk several times since the responsibility of his younger brother had been thrust upon him, he knew the school like the back of his hand. Upon reaching the office, Sesshomaru removed his hands from his pockets, preparing for the brunt of the situation. The back of his brother's head pressed up against the glass of the main office. The level of apathy the younger contained was beyond frustrating, and it was enough to cause Sesshomaru to curl his hands into fists as he entered the office.
At first, Sesshomaru refused to look his brother in the eye; he simply walked over to the secretary's desk and signed his brother out. The secretary looked up over the glasses that were lowered along the bridge of her nose with what seemed to be an apologetic look in her eyes as Sesshomaru handed the slip back to the older woman. Part of the burden that came with taking care of his brother was all the pity that rode along with it. Pity that Sesshomaru was too young to have the responsibilities, pity that no matter how hard Sesshomaru tried, his brother always wound up in trouble, pity that someone who was barely an adult was expected to guide a boy to live up to the same responsibilities.
All of it left Sesshomaru with a nauseated feeling in his stomach, none of the reasons they pitied him were valid: he barely saw his brother unless he was taking care of a financial or school related situation. He certainly didn't care for the advice some of his brother's friends' parents would suggest when it came to taking care of the youngest brother; he would apply it with his daughter, however. The worst, though, was when people would apologize for the fire and losing his father; it didn't matter how much time had passed, strangers always seemed to love throwing that fact in his face.
Sesshomaru turned away from the desk and motioned his hand to his brother without looking at the young man, "Inuyasha, let's go." A loud sigh came from the corner where Inuyasha sat, Sesshomaru listened as he lugged his backpack over his shoulder, as if it carried the weight of the world in it, focusing specifically on the sound of feet dragging behind him and the long, groggy sighs that came from Inuyasha's mouth. Sesshomaru felt his face growing red as the door to the main office shut behind the younger brother. He was thoroughly frustrated at his younger brother's annoyance at the situation based on his manner of walking and behavior. The child acted as if the whole scenario where beneath him, as if Sesshomaru himself was beneath him, as if the fact that Sesshomaru had to come and remove him from the grounds was not anything but a trivial matter in his day.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Sesshomaru growled as he stopped and waited for Inuyasha to walk at his side. For the first time, he actually looked at Inuyasha that day: he hadn't seen his brother in a matter of weeks, but he didn't look too different from their last encounter. Inuyasha was growing out his hair, tied behind his head in a loose and sloppy bun, and acne scars sat across his forehead, but were light enough that they weren't noticeable unless they were standing face to face with the boy. Inuyasha put on his baseball cap, something Toga had given him as a young boy, turning it backwards so that his bangs hung out through the hole at the back. Inuyasha had unbuttoned the front of his uniform, revealing a stained red t-shirt. His eyes had a far off look that seemed disinterested in anything Sesshomaru had to say. They had the same eyes: the two had always been told this when they were younger. "Do you want to get expelled? Is that what you want?"
"It wasn't a big deal, Sesshomaru. That teacher just has her panties in a bunch, she's out to get me," Inuyasha yawned, crossing his arms behind his head to rest. Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes on his brother. Inuyasha opened one eye to peak over at a classroom that had caught his attention. A smile spread across Inuyasha's face as he made his way over to the window, waving at whomever in the classroom, making faces, and laughing about whoever responded. Sesshomaru gritted his teeth, reaching his arm out and digging his fingers into Inuyasha's arms and dragging him away from the door. "Hey! 'Gome was in there, you asshole." Sesshomaru ground his teeth, trying to bite his tongue and refuse participating in a confrontation in the school that would certainly draw attention.
"I don't care, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru hissed under his breath. "Do you understand? I'm taking you home. This had better be the last time I get a call because I'm tired of having to pick up your mess." Inuyasha shook Sesshomaru's hand off of him, growling at his brother as he sulked behind the elder. The teenager looped his fingers around the backpack straps as he stomped behind Sesshomaru, preparing for the inevitable argument that would occur once he was strapped in his brother's car.
"Look, I really tried not to get into it with her-."
"So why did you?" the low hum of Sesshomaru's voice was colored with disappointment and distaste in his brother, but Inuyasha never really cared about his brother's opinion.
"Because I fuckin' hate her, she's the worst," Inuyasha mumbled, not caring to divulge the details of the incident to his brother, who could never understand how it would be to stand in Inuyasha's place. Digressing to emotional excuses worked for the teenager, it was a good one to rely on since it was based in science, but it also allowed him to ignore the deeper threat that lay in his anger and his social life, which was that he was isolated and ignored. If he could gain attention, even if he was notorious for it, at least people would recognize him and know his name. The teacher was a scapegoat, the real reason for Inuyasha's outbursts were that he would at least feel attended to. The young man slouched over, feeling the weight of his actions and emotions on him, but still refusing to let Sesshomaru catch sight of his vulnerability.
"That's the worst excuse I've heard yet, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru sighed, putting a smirk on Inuyasha's face.
"Oh, yeah? What was the best one?" Inuyasha chided, catching up to his brother's side. Sesshomaru glanced down to his brother for a moment, seeing the happiness on his face and sighing. Part of him knew that Inuyasha was only responding to the thrill of knowing he had gotten on Sesshomaru's nerves more than once, but the other part knew that Inuyasha was genuinely curious at what his best work had been.
"That isn't something to be proud of, Inuyasha." Sesshomaru opened the door to the school, not bothering to hold it open for his brother as the two walked out. Inuyasha sauntered down the steps away from the school. When he realized that Sesshomaru hadn't followed him, Inuyasha looked up to his brother who stood at the top of the staircase.
"Are we going to do this here or in the car?" Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders toward the exit as he spoke, hoping that the phrase wouldn't set his brother off edge. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes, walking down the steps and past his brother to make their way back to the car, purposely brushing shoulders in aggravation. He felt Inuyasha's eyes pierce the back of his head, he simply knew that the look of anger was plastered across his face: the elder was familiar with the younger's constant state of aggravation.
"Come," Sesshomaru ordered as he turned from the corner to head back to the car. Inuyasha remained a few steps behind his older brother, an uncomfortable silence brewing between the two.
"Holy shit, how far away did you park?" Inuyasha commented. Sesshomaru cast a glance over his shoulder at the younger brother, holding up his keys and unlocking a car that was no more than three cars down. After rolling his eyes, the brother hastened over to the car and slung his backpack over to one shoulder as he slid into the vehicle. Slamming the door behind him, Sesshomaru started the car up and immediately turned the radio off, but still refused to speak to Inuyasha. The younger brother was growing steadily in his discomfort as he looked at the grimace that covered the elder brother's face.
"Are ya gonna scold me or not?" Inuyasha finally broke the silence, flinching when Sesshomaru glared at him, but swiftly returned his eyes to the road. "So… No?"
The elder brother slammed his foot on the brake, launching Inuyasha forward and causing all his materials to spill from his backpack. It made Sesshomaru feel a little better, but not by much: he was still aggravated about having the spend the day away from Rin because his brother couldn't handle his impulses.
"Listen, I know you're mad, just yell at me or something, like, fuck," Inuyasha mumbled as he picked his stuff back up and put it into his pack. Sesshomaru heard the rattling of pills and immediately spun his head to look at the source of the sound, finding Inuyasha shoving a plastic bag into the pack.
"What are those?" Sesshomaru demanded, the tone of his voice taking a dramatic turn from annoyance to anger. The younger brother continued to stash away his materials, trying to ignore his brother's question. "Inuyasha. Answer me."
"They're Kagome's period pills or something, jeez, Sesshomaru," the defensive tone in the brother's voice caused Sesshomaru to doubt the younger brother's statement. Sesshomaru raised an eyebrow before looking back over at Inuyasha.
"Why doesn't she carry her own aspirin?" Sesshomaru countered, turning left on the street that headed down into a sketchier neighborhood in the city, where Inuyasha lived. Inuyasha rolled his eyes and slapped his hands onto his knees as he finished packing away his things.
"In case she forgets. I forgot, you never had a girlfriend, you wouldn't know," Inuyasha retorted, resulting in a punch to his shoulder from the elder brother.
"Show some respect, I do a lot for you. You're the most inconsiderate person I've had to know. Besides, we both know that isn't true," Sesshomaru growled.
"There it is," Inuyasha sighed, slamming his head up against the back of the seat. "Yeah, let's get on with the speech. 'You're inconsiderate' uh, 'you're wasting my time and yours' umm, 'you're a shame to the family name' and my personal favorite 'Dad would be so disappointed in you.'" Sesshomaru could see in his peripheral vision that Inuyasha was smiling ear to ear, riddled in obvious sarcasm. The teenager slammed back against the seat, crossing his arms and rolling his eyes, lifting his feet up to place them on the dashboard.
"Don't even dare," Sesshomaru challenged, raising a finger. Inuyasha grinned again, placing his feet back steadily on the ground. Sesshomaru pulled over to the curb as he approached Inuyasha's home, unlocking the doors and allowing his brother to exit the car, but the thought of the pills in his brother's bag still left him with an ill feeling in his stomach, especially after his encounter with Kagura. As Inuyasha began to exit the car, Sesshomaru reached over and grabbed Inuyasha's shoulder, retracting it when Inuyasha turned to look back.
"Listen, Inuyasha. You can do better. Don't… Be getting yourself into any more trouble. It's not benefiting you in the way you think it is," Sesshomaru looked down at the bag and back up to his brother, trying to signal that he was referring to the medicine, but since the two had never had a strong connection, Sesshomaru was unsure how unclear his message to Inuyasha was. Inuyasha's eyes widened as he stood out on the street, staring at his brother's face, clearly distraught, which was unusual to the younger brother.
"Sesshomaru, I'm not doing anything stupid," Inuyasha confided, attempting to ease his brother's concern, although it didn't seem to change Sesshomaru's opinion that Inuyasha had gotten himself into trouble outside of school. "Sesshomaru, I'm not lying. You're not going to be getting calls from the police, I promise, alright? Just from school." Sesshomaru scoffed, slightly amused by the younger's jest at the topic, but still tightening his grip on the wheel and looked back towards the road.
"I don't want to hear from the school, either, Inuyasha. It reflects poorly on us, and it takes away from my free time," he added on, as to not allude to the fact that he did care for his brother's well being more than he had to. Inuyasha grinned, feeling more comfortable with his brother's selfish tendency rather than the concerned one he had been talking to moments before. "Now go on, get out of here, I need to go pick up Rin from the park." Inuyasha let out a light chuckle and nodded his head, not bothering to thank his brother: he knew his gratitude wouldn't be taken seriously, so he kept it to himself. He shut the door and tapped on the roof, leaning over to add one more comment.
"Tell the lil' squirt I said hi!" Inuyasha bellowed into the window, and noticed that the corners of Sesshomaru's mouth turned up as he put the car into gear. As Sesshomaru pulled away, Inuyasha instinctively reached back for his pack, biting his lip in concern for the stew of lies he brewed.