Normal Days by Ayako Rin

Normal Days Part 1

Sesshoumaru watched as the couple in front of him hugged and whispered sweet nothings to each other. He hid among the darkness and trees where not even the moon could penetrate the thickness of the forest. But as he watched he felt an intense and unimaginable pain within him. His hands clenched into two hard fists but his mask remained in place. Nothing would give away to his inner turmoil and fury. His half-brother did not deserve her. The fool could only chase after a foul smelling carcass. How the idiotic half-breed could even stand the scent of dirt and death was beyond him. Even a human's inferior nose could smell the dead and decay upon such an empty and defiled vessel. Humans were even wise enough to shudder at the very thought of being near a walking corpse.

After having enough of the foolish display in front of him, Sesshoumaru made the decision to leave. He was intent on getting rid of the whirlwind of emotions developing deep inside him. If not, the consequence of keeping such dangerous feelings in would lead to devastating results. While the pleasant desire to rip out and dismember the hanyou limb by limb sounded appealing, it would not go well with his all ready uncertain relationship with the miko.

So caught up in his thoughts was he that he did not notice the blood trickling down his claws until the scent of it reached his nose. Sesshoumaru unclenched his fists and closed his eyes. After a few moments of calm, he looked up to the night sky trying to sort out his thoughts.

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" Rin asked questioningly as she stared up at her father. She had woken up and followed him to his hidden hiding place.

"Return to camp with Jaken" he replied coolly, showing none of his previous feelings from a moment ago. He slowly started to walked away from his young ward and the scene behind him.

"Be safe otou-san!" Rin called out, she had long since been used to his random departures. She would have asked him to return soon but such a thing was silly, especially when he never wastes time on anything like leisure. If he was away long then it was because he simply had to be and there had been no other choice.

Not too late into the night, as the group huddled over the camp fire, a loud howl filled with pain and torment was heard but the anguish sound disappeared and was replaced by one of satisfaction. The group jumped up nervous and uneasy at the unknown howl and unsure of what it meant.

"Feh, just forget about it, it's probably some ritual." Inuyasha remarked disinterested.

"Ritual?" asked Kagome who sat next to him.

Inuyasha turned his face from her not responding but she had the distinct feeling that he was embarrassed. Kagome looked over to Sango and Miroku in question who shrugged. Shippo tugged at her sleeve and whispered to her.

"Inuyasha might think that the ritual is a mating. But he's a hanyou so he can't really tell most of the time. Personally, I think it's a youkai that is just taking out stress.

Kagome nodded to Shippo in understanding. Despite the fact that both possibilities assured of no immediate danger to the group, Kagome was still uneasy. Sesshoumaru had gone missing and Rin had simply told them that he departed. Usually when he left he would specify how long he would be gone or what he would be doing, that was unless he was simple going away for an hour or two. But it had already been four hours! She was worried but she knew better than to bring it up with the group. Sesshoumaru was a full demon and unless he was missing for the better part of a month then none of the others would question it.

'I feel insecure' thought Kagome at the sudden realization of the strange feeling within her; it was what amplified her unease and restlessness. 'Sesshoumaru always stays up; I've never seen him sleep. Inuyasha goes to sleep right away. It feels safer with him here then when he isn't.'

The night wore on and Kagome waited even though everyone had started to go off to sleep. Even Inuyasha had climbed up his chosen tree, though not yet asleep. She knew he would not do so until she made a move to go to her sleeping bag. She sighed and did so or else he would start questioning her about why she wasn't sleeping.

Far away from camp both Sesshoumaru and his beast reveled in the satisfaction of blood on his hands. Youkai, animals, it didn't matter. Anything would do as long as he could destroy and kill. He took his time feeling every blood that dropped from his prey, every feel of their fur or skin that. For the moment, he needed nothing else to think about except to kill. Every slash, every gasp of breath, every death he brought forth seemed to bring pleasure and relief towards his stressed mind.

Sesshoumaru stayed away from camp for whole night, which then followed through to the next day and then the next after that. As time wore on he became unsure of how long he had been away. It must have been at least a week. His ward and retainer would be worried. Sesshoumaru took one more look at the pile of dead carcasses before speeding off to the group. They had not gone far enough from his range of detection. The idiotic dolt did not know how to effectively travel in a way that would conceal the group well enough to not be found immediately.

He stopped a slight distance away from downwind of them, not wanting to be seen just yet. He was stunned to see the miko in hysterics and her friends as well. They were all arguing with his half-brother.

"HE'S BEEN GONE FOR 2 MONTHS INUYASHA!" shouted the miko she was glaring at the stubborn hanyou who refused to look for his brother. She knew it was not because he didn't care but because he was unwilling to show that he was worried for his elder brother. Every night she caught him sniffing around looking for Sesshoumaru and she would occasionally see him dash of in the middle of the night. She knew it could not have been Kikyo because Inuyasha was not as careful when he went to look for her. For the last few weeks the hanyou had been worried and distracted it was easy to tell even for Sango and Miroku.

'Two months?' thought Sesshoumaru surprised. It was far longer than he was planning. In fact it had only felt, at most, two weeks.

"I'M TELLING YOU HE'S FINE!" Inuyasha shouted back glaring at the girl in front of him.

"Inuyasha calm down! Perhaps it is a good idea to look for your brother? We've all been worried this whole month!" Miroku said

"HALF-BROTHER! AND HE'S A FULL-BLOODED DEMON! HE DOESN'T NEED US TO TRY AND LOOK FOR HIM!" Inuyasha growled out both in stress and the fact that he didn't believe in his own words. But because of his stubbornness he hid it from his friends.

"Inuyasha we are going to look for him! If he were going away for this long he definitely would've told us!" Sango also tried to persuade Inuyasha to reason.

"Look we'll wait one more week for him and if he still doesn't come back THEN we'll look for him. He's probably off somewhere having a grand old time and leaving the hard tasks to us!" Inuyasha remarked.

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed at this, his dislike for the half-breed increased even further, which he had previously thought would be impossible.

"Do you really think your brother would do that? Just up and leave Rin here? Not even telling her that he would come back? Or even telling her that he would be gone longer so she didn't need to worry? SHE is use to him leaving and even she is WORRIED! She's been crying every night! Didn't you notice?" Kagome snapped

"Of course I have! Don't you think I would?" Inuyasha yelled but said the last part softer. His ears were flat against his head showing his shame.

Silence swept the group as each tried to calm down. Tension was thick in the air still and the children that would have normally broken it had left before the argument began. They were playing a field far enough to not hear their arguments but near enough to be safe. Kagome mentally thanked Shippo, knowing that he would keep Rin away until the discussion was dropped.

Sesshoumaru still downwind felt a small feeling of guilt settle onto him. He had neglected his ward and that was not acceptable. He thought of a way to make it up to her and came up with the perfect excuse for his absence as well. Massacring low-level demons had its uses. He had simply sent out a challenge to every full-blooded youkai in the vicinity and those foolish enough to consent made their demise. Such youkai included those that thought too highly of themselves because of the Jewel Shards they possessed. Sesshoumaru had gained both shards and information. However it took a while before he could remember them all. At the time he had only been concentrating on forgetting and releasing his stress instead of the valuable information being given from the pleading youkais. After deciding on his course of action he began to calmly walk to the campsite.

By this time every one had long since calmed down. The kids were curled up together hovering over a small book with pictures. He recalled the miko giving an explanation on the use of the book and how to effectively use the drawing devices given to the children.

Sessoumaru kept his face as impassive as ever as everyone jumped in surprise at his entrance. He thought he detected relief as well but he did not dwell on the matter, having concentrated on something much more important.

"Otou-san!" Rin shouted with tears of relief as she got up and sprinted towards him hugging his leg instantly. Her cries were muffled as she buried herself in the legs of his pants.

Again Sesshoumaru felt the slight stab of guilt at what he put her through. But he had already figured out a way to make up for it even if it had to do with injuring his pride. Worrying and breaking a little girl's heart was NOT honorable and a bruised pride would be a small punishment for him. He slowly lifted his hand up and patted her on the head in comfort.

"Are you well?" He asked as he always did when he was away.

He felt her nod, her hands still wrapped around him in her small hug. Instead of loosening her grip from it she tightened her hug as if he would suddenly disappear again.

"Sesshoumaru?" Kagome questioned.

He looked up from Rin and felt pain once more although this time not as strong as before. However, he also felt small warmth at her worry for him. If he could not have her love he would have at least her friendship. To protect her would be all he could do now.

Sesshoumaru responded to her by lifting his hand towards her and held out a handful of Jewel Shards making her gasp. They were a lot more than they could have gathered in a whole year let alone in two months!

"How did you-" But was cut off as Inuyasha interrupted.

"You could have at least said SOMETHING!" he yelled out.

"This Sesshoumaru did not intend to be away for so long. You have my apology." Sesshoumaru responded, although not to Inuyasha. He was referring to the group that had been (noticeably) worrying for him.

"Sesshoumaru-sama may I inquire as to how you gained these shards?" Miroku asked carefully.

"No." was the curt reply as he quickly picked Rin up and tucked her into her own small sleeping bag that Kagome had given her. Everyone stared as he pulled the covers over his ward she then nestled into her pillow and soon became fast asleep.

"Naraku" Sesshoumaru started making the group jump back in surprise. They had all been silent for a while each contemplating on where Sesshoumaru might've been and how he could've gotten so many shards.

"He lies towards the north seeking that which cannot be sought and wanting that which cannot be gained. It is a two way door in which he can both gain and lose everything in an instant."

The grouped looked at him confused.

"What the fu-" Inuyasha was about to say when Miroku cut him off

"What could it mean Lord Sesshoumaru?"

"It is all that I gathered from the lowly youkai that begged for its life to be spared."

Was the only answered he received. Any questions after that was met with silence.

When everyone went to sleep Kagome stayed awake staring into the fire aware of Sesshoumaru staring at her.

"Miko go and sleep" Sesshoumaru ordered. His tone told her that she was not to disobey.

"I can't...I've developed insomniac." Kagome replied.

Sesshoumaru quirked a brow at that, he had never known the miko to be unable to go to sleep. Usually she would go right to sleep with no problem at all.

"How long has it been?" he inquired, concern for her health filled him.

"Two months." Kagome replied.

"Right after I left' Sesshoumaru thought his heart skipping a bit but then he waved the emotion that was threatening to rise. The memory of why he left still burned in his mind and he would not continue to think on it.

"I see" Sesshoumaru responded instead.

After what seemed like hours of awkward silence Kagome finally gave up and headed towards her sleeping bag on the furthest opposite end of Sesshoumaru. She then stopped and looked at it and then looked towards him.

"Sesshoumaru..." she whispered softly.

He stared at her as she bit her bottom lip and hesitated at whatever she wanted to say. He continued to stare as she fidgeted before seemingly deciding to give up on whatever notion she had. Sesshoumaru became surprised though as the look of dejectedness flared up to determination once more and she took her sleeping bag only to drag it all the way towards Rin's own makeshift bed where he himself was sitting near. Kagome then promptly settled into the bag and shut her eyes completely ignoring him. He could tell that she was not asleep though. In fact her heart was pounding in her chest fast and hard. Eventually it slowed down to a slow steady beat.

He felt a small twitch at the edge of his lips in a small almost unnoticeable smile before he closed his eyes and began to mediate. All the while he listened to the steady beat of her heart.

The next morning when Sesshoumaru felt sunrise drawing near, he opened his eyes and glanced over at Rin who was still sleeping peacefully. He knew that she would soon awaken for she had always done so almost right after he "woke up". It had continued this way ever since she had decided to follow him as a loyal pup would in any pack.

Despite this fond thought about his human daughter, he would not be looking forward to the early morning; especially knowing what he would soon allow her to do. He silently thanked the fact that the other members of the group did not rise as early as Rin did or else he would have never allowed the girl to do what he planned.

As if hearing his thoughts he watched as his daughter began to stir. She opened her eyes and groggily rubbed the sleep from them before looking up. She broke out into a huge smile as she saw him. Quickly getting up from her place on the sleeping bag she ran over towards him and hugged him just as she had done the previous night.

"Ohayo otou-san" She exclaimed softly careful with her voice so as to not harm his ears. It was probably also due to the fact that she didn't want to awaken the others but Sesshoumaru did not continue this useless line of thought. He nodded towards her yawning form before sighing once again thinking on whether or not he should get on with it. An image of her tear stained face finally made him decide that he would just have to put up with it. As long as no one else knew it then he'd be fine.

"Rin" He said using his hand to motion at something. Her eyes widened in surprise before letting out a small squeal of delight. Her eyes shone brightly and he could've sworn she was glowing and brimming with happiness as she ran behind him and began to play with his hair. At first she just touched the silver locks as if she was unsure of his permission. After a while of getting use to it and glancing at him for approval she began thinking of various styles to do his hair in before implementing them upon him. Sesshoumaru felt the complete moment of dread when she said that she wanted to put flowers in his hair. He was about to refuse when the he remembered what he had silently promised himself he'd do. He sighed once more before agreeing and allowing her. This was what Kagome woke up to when she heard a joyful laugh coming from near her.

At first she thought that she had been dreaming but after repeatedly rubbing her eyes and pinching her cheek she new it was not a dream and did her very best not to burst out laughing at the scene in front of her. Sesshoumaru had his hair braided; it was placed over his shoulder onto his lap as Rin stuck flowers everywhere that she thought might look nice. He even had a crown of flowers on his head as well.

"Rin...Sesshoumaru?" She said softly still in wonderment but also let out a few giggles.

Sesshoumaru looked away not wanting to see the laughter in her eyes nor the look she would give him in such an undignified position. He would not go back on his word but that did not mean he had wanted her to see it.

"Rin you made Sesshoumaru so...so...cute!" Kagome exclaimed to the little girl. Cute was a word that did not fit Sesshoumaru but with the little girl putting flowers on him and playing with his hair it was the only word she could think of.

"Hai! But Rin has had enough now. Will Kagome kaa-san help otou-san?" Rin asked adorably with her head slightly tilted to the side in order to look at her better from her sitting position behind Sesshoumaru.

"Hai! I would love t-" She stopped when she realized what Rin had just called her.

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened as well but he made no move to correct her nor did he look at Kagome.

Kagome was frozen waiting for Sesshoumaru to say something but he acted as if he did not hear it. She took it as a sign to go along with it. After all Rin was just a child. It would not be such a bad thing if the little girl had a mother figure and it might as well be Kagome herself since the girl had formed an attachment to her. The attachment had grown even more so, when Sesshoumaru had been gone.

"Kaa-san?" Rin asked worriedly.

"I'm all right. Come on lets fix Sesshoumaru's hair now shall we?" she asked Rin before settling near Sesshoumaru and gently taking the flowers off.

"Hai! It wouldn't be good if everyone woke up to see otou-san like this" Rin said happily.

"Hai, it would very funny wouldn't it?" Kagome asked looking at Sesshoumaru who narrowed his eyes a bit but otherwise had not responded.

"No! Only we can see otou-san like this!" Rin said disagreeing while shaking her head.

"Oh?" Kagome inquired amusement dancing in her eyes as she stared at Rin who then nodded her head in response.

Just as they finished taking the last flower out from Sesshoumaru's hair the group began to wake and stir. Sesshoumaru continued to sit in silence as Inuyasha woke up and rudely shouted for everyone else to do so. He felt the need to punch the hanyou and perhaps stab him a few times with the Tensaiga. Tensaiga was a sword that could not kill but it was still a sword. This meant that while Tensaiga brought the dead to life it could still cause pain. After all, when he was still testing Tensaiga, Jaken had felt pain. It was the reason that the toad thought he had died. Sesshoumaru preferred to think of the sword as a reversed blade when it was not needed and when its powers became dormant.

Inuyasha then sniffed around and whirled in his direction with a look of confusion on his face. "Why the hell do you smell like flowers?" he asked.

Sesshoumaru did not respond just continued to ignore him but the sounds of giggles were heard behind him. He felt both Rin and Kagome touch his shoulder or arm on each side of him. He was pleased even if the touch from Kagome had not been intentional.

"Uncle Inuyasha maybe you should bathe more. Then you'll smell nice like otou-san!" Rin exclaimed her eyes wide and smiling innocently.

Inuyasha glowered but said and did nothing to the little girl. It was one thing if Shippo said that but this girl was just too damn innocent! He knew while the words could've been an insult she had not viewed it that way. It was a childish logic that only fellow children would understand (besides Shippo in Inuyasha's opinion) and would only amuse adults. Which was why Kagome was currently holding in her laughter unsuccessfully.

"Feh" He replied to the other girl and pointedly ignored both her and Sesshoumaru after that but made a pointed glare at Kagome.

"What are you doing there hanging all over him anyways Kagome?" Inuyasha asked gruffly.

Taken back at what Inuyasha had said she stood up and glared back at him. "Just what are you saying Inuyasha?" She glowered.

"I'm saying your hanging all over him like a bitch in heat!" Inuyasha said growling.

"Inuyasha SIT!" She shouted. Inuyasha's face instantly hit dirt.

"How DARE you say such a thing!"

"Its true your-" Inuyasha muffled but was interrupted as Kagome yelled out sit once more and he slammed down to the ground again for the second time.

"So early in the morning Inuyasha?" yawned Miroku as he got his staff from its resting place on a tree and walked over, looking at the grounded hanyou.

"Shut up!" came the crude reply before getting up and huffing.

Sesshoumaru watched the exchanges within the group with amusement. He had almost forgotten the...excitement in the mornings with the group. They really were strange in how they interacted and it served as a great entertainment to watch his half-brother slammed to the ground. It almost made him forget to hate the idiot...almost...

"Uncle Inu why do you always make Kaa-san angry? Do you like being on the ground? Rin can't imagine why anyone would like to eat dirt! Jaken says that you must eat dirt all the time because you have a dirty mouth that shouts things Rin isn't allowed to hear." Rin said staring at Inuyasha her eyes still as wide and innocent as ever. (Although one would think by now that she just acted like that so she wouldn't get in trouble but that's just not Rin)

"Just be quiet Rin!" Inuyasha yelled. Normally he would've said "shut up!" or called her a brat but after being sat a bazillion times by Kagome for using such language at her he learned to not to say those things to the little girl. Then he froze at remembering just exactly what she had said before the comment about eating dirtDID YOU JUST CALL KAGOME YOUR MOTHER?" Inuyasha suddenly shouted shocked.

"Because Kagome is Rin's kaa-san!" Rin said as if that was the most obvious and logical thing in the world.

Inuyasha was about to burst once again when. It was one thing for the little girl to keep on indirectly insulting him but referring Kagome as her mother? What was with THAT? It would be saying that she and Sesshoumaru were...well...He didn't even want to THINK about that! Kagome was HIS! Not his human hating brother's!

"Calm down Inuyasha." Said Sango. She was, surprisingly, the first one trying to calm the hanyou. Usually it would be Kagome or Miroku first. "Is it really such a surprise? Rin needs a mother figure and Kagome is the only one here that fits the role".

"Why not YOU then!?" Inuyasha snapped clearly irritated.

Sango shrugged not bothered by it at all before replying "Kagome is a better motherly figure, she is a lot gentler than me."

"Sango..." Kagome said feeling slightly bad now. Sango may make it seem like it was no big deal but she knew that the other woman was sensitive about things like being feminine.

"It's alright Kagome. I'm really not bothered by it." Sango said with another shrug. "I prefer to be the aunt, or teacher, or even sister."

"Hai! Sango-neechan is the best!" Rin exclaimed lightening the atmosphere. "Rin knows how to do a cartwheel while kicking Jaken in the face!"

The toad suddenly made squawking sounds and was swinging his staff of heads wildly at the declaration! He was glaring at the demon slayer wanting to maul her.

"It was you who taught her that nasty trick!" The toad yelled.

"Yeah I did! What are you going to do about it toad?" Sango asked her eyes glinting dangerously.

"Er...um..." Jaken replied backing away from her nervously.

Shippo snickered, still in his sleeping bag watching the scene with interest. Hiding had its advantages including seeing Sesshoumaru with flowers in his hair earlier. He was glad that he managed not to make a loud fuss about it or it would've been his head! Now Jaken was about to be creamed and this was just too good to miss!

After an hour or so more of listening to the groups banter and idleness Sesshoumaru decided that he has had enough of it. It wasn't that the group and irritated him but more of the fact that it was just time for everyone's foolishness to cease. They were all entertaining no matter what anyone said but forgetting about their mission was unacceptable. Deciding that it would be best to leave now while it was still early Sesshoumaru stood up from his previous sitting position. This caught the attention of everyone in the group.

"We leave" Sesshoumaru stated calmly. Two words. That was all it took for the whole group to suddenly be packed and ready to leave and continue on their journey.

"Why are you all suddenly ready to leave when HE" Inuyasha yelled pointing the Sesshoumaru "tells you to. But when I do it you all ignore me!?"

"It's because you never let us become fully awake and you're always pushing us even when we're about to collapse! Sesshoumaru...err...Lord Sesshoumaru lets us have fun and be relaxed for awhile before we have to continue." Shippo said in a matter a fact tone. He only stumbled slightly at the look Sesshoumaru gave him when he didn't mention his title.

Everyone agreed with Shippo's statement and avoided looking at Inuyasha. The hanyou was still their friend and companion but they could not help but prefer Sesshoumaru's leadership. It was something they had missed when he disappeared for two months, because then Inuyasha would make them go further then they could and then everyone would be too tired out the next day while he continued to yell for them to get up and leave. With Sesshoumaru things were different even with battles. It was not just the added strength to the group but the tactics in battle. No one got hurt seriously even with the toughest battles they barely got scratched since Sesshoumaru always insisted they have a plan of action. If they entered a situation where they didn't come up with one before hand he would make one up on the spot and order them into positions where they would be the most helpful.

Inuyasha still grumbled about it but knew better than to argue. His ears lay flat on his head and his body tense. Everyone felt slightly guilty at this knowing full well that the hanyou felt out of place with his brother. They equally knew that he detested following his brother's orders even when it was for the best.

"Perhaps if you were to act as a better leader you would not have this problem." Sesshoumaru said disgusted at Inuyasha's childish attempts at playing leader.

"Why YOU!" Inuyasha bellowed ready to jump at Sesshoumaru any second.

"Inuyasha! Sesshoumaru! Stop it!" Kagome yelled her anger cut through their hostility before it could start.

Neither of them responded to her but they both made a move to lead the group onward. They then both stopped and glared because Sesshoumaru followed no one and Inuyasha did not want his brother to lead. Even though he had been use to it two months before but after getting his "leadership position" back he didn't want to give it up so soon. Brother or not he'd fight for the alpha position if he had to.

Sesshoumaru made a low warning growl and Inuyasha growled back. Both of their eyes flashed red for a second before turning back to their original colors. The staring contest lasted for what seemed like ages before Kagome called to them once again. Inuyasha turned towards her voice instantly as he was accustomed to, he thought Sesshoumaru would to but he had not. He made a low noise showing that he had won their silent battle. Inuyasha growled once more this time in frustration.

And this is how the group's journey for the day began. Sesshoumaru was in the very front of the group, Sango and Kagome in the middle, and Miroku and Inuyasha in the back. The children and Kiara changed their walking/running positions frequently as they played tag or other such games around the group. Sometimes they would even run in circles around a member or even the entire group.

They continued this for hours and well into the early evening. During this time they had not spotted a single youkai. This was incredibly suspicious since they were usually at least ten or so that would appear because of the Jewel Shards. In fact when Sesshoumaru disappeared they had thought more youkai would start appearing but they had only encountered three during his two months absence.The group also didn't even come across any villages! However the last one wasn't as surprising since the group had learned from Rin that Sesshoumaru tended to avoid villages unless he had business there.

"Sesshoumaru-sama do you sense anything strange so far?" Miroku asked uneasily. "There have not been any youkai in the area lately".

"Yeah it really is strange. I can't help but get a bad feeling about it" Sango remarked as well.

"Feh, he probably does know!" Inuyasha said still angry about this morning's comments or lack thereof.

"It is not surprising that there are no youkais here." Sesshoumaru answered but did not elaborate on the reason. The truth was that he had killed all of the youkai in the area. They would not be encountering any youkai any time soon, not perhaps counting one or two strays.

"What do you mean Sesshoumaru?" Kagome asked trying to get him to say more. But he remained silent not offering to share any more information upon it. Despite this the group relaxed a bit more, understanding that if they really did need to know the reason then he would tell them.

"It's because the smell of dead youkai is everywhere. It's not near the group so it isn't that strong but the smell shows that there are a lot of them far away. It wouldn't be a surprise if some youkai can't smell it." Shippo said earning a sharp glance from Sesshoumaru. Everyone also looked at Shippo and noted the under lying meaning behind it. The meaning was that Inuyasha couldn't smell it before because he was a hanyou and his senses not as strong.

"A lot of dead youkai? Maybe even all of the youkai in the area? I wonder what's happening..." Miroku muttered to himself.

"You need not be concerned over it. This Sesshoumaru knows the reason and that is all you need to know." Sesshoumaru said to the Monk staring at him long enough for him to know that he was not to dwell on it any further.

"Of...of...course Sesshoumaru-sama." Miroku said a little nervously. He had a feeling that it had to do with the reason that the demon lord wasn't with them for the past two months.

"Otou-san...Rin is tired" Rin said softly as she tugged at his sleeve. Sesshoumaru spared a glance at her before nodding and continuing on. They walked for half an hour more before he allowed them to stop. After the women found fish for dinner, Sesshoumaru pointed to both a nearby stream and a hot spring. The two women thanked him before hurrying of to the springs. Shippo was in charge of cleaning the fish since he had eagerly told them that he was a "big demon now" and could do it. Kagome had showed him briefly how to do it before leaving. The kitsune now proceeded to clean the fish and cut the scales off but it didn't look as if he was doing it correctly. The kit had let out a yelp when he accidentally cut himself from the scales and occasionally had to get some of it off his nails because it got stuck making the cutting harder.

(AN: I know that technically you can't skin fish or at least I don't think so but go a long with it kay? ^-^ And I didn't want to call it scaling a fish because that's weird... 0.0")

"Kitsune." Sesshoumaru said finally having enough of the small fox's inexperience. Had the hanyou taught him NOTHING? He would have thought that Inuyasha would teach a child in the pack necessary survival knowledge. The hanyou was forgiven of doing so when he had first entered the group, thinking that the whelp didn't want to teach the kit in front of him. After all, one of the most irritating things to a youkai was teaching a younger pack member how to survive and then being critiqued for doing so (assuming of course that the hanyou probably believed that he, Sesshoumaru, would waste time to do such a thing). But he had been gone for two months, plenty of time to teach the young kit.

"Err...Hai?" Shippo asked still preoccupied with his concentration on his duty with the fish.

"Come. I will teach you how to properly catch and skin fish." Sesshoumaru said getting up.

Shippo looked up and frowned. "But we have a lot of fish already" he said confused.

"But you did not catch them did you?" Sesshoumaru stated more than asked. The truth was that all of the fish that the fox worked on was too...destroyed to be able to eat. But because the kit was too young and impressionable to be told such a thing he had opted to imply that the kit should learn how to fish as well...which was something that really was necessary to learn.

Shippo nodded in understanding and stood up as well. This time he looked up, eyes shining with excitement. He hurried and ran towards the river before Sesshoumaru could say another word. Sesshoumaru calmly followed the kit inwardly pleased that the kitsune had at least the desire to learn. A scream of "HENTAI!" was heard nearby and a loud smack. The yells of a certain monk and hanyou were heard as well as they began running back to camp. Sesshoumaru ignored this having seen this before and to him it was NOT entertaining. It was low and disgusting and he would not lower himself to indulging or witnessing such dishonorably activities.

As he came nearer to the river he heard splashes and saw the kit trying to catch a fish to no prevail. It was time to stop thinking of the two foolish men back in camp and time to teach. If he did not take over the young kit's education than he would hate to find out what kind of youkai the kit would become under the influence of his idiot brother and the perverted monk.

By the time the new set of fish was caught and skinned skillfully by both Sesshoumaru and his new young "apprentice" as the kitsune now called himself, the girls came back dragging the two men that had once more gone to spy on them.

"I was trying to stop him I swear!" Inuyasha growled out glaring at the unconscious monk who had a perverted smile plastered onto his face. The girls completely ignored them and ended up throwing them into the river before going back to camp.

"Kagome, Sango, Rin, look!" Shippo called out in greeting when they came back. He showed them the fish and the neatly and accurately skinned fish. It took him about two dozen fishes before he did it perfectly, or in his opinion perfectly. According to Sesshoumaru it was "acceptable". But for Sesshoumaru to say that it must have been equivalent to perfection.

"Sugoi! Shippo that's amazing!" Kagome and Sango exclaimed. The kit really did surprise them; they had both thought they might've needed to catch a new batch of fish since they knew he had not done it before. Shippo seemed to glow a bit more from the praise but despite that he was more proud of the fact that he had gotten "praised" from Sesshoumaru.

"There's a lot more fish then there was before!" Rin exclaimed, not really knowing the full "greatness" of skinning a fish, she herself had long since been able to do so.

At the sudden look from the two young women Shippo's expression grew sheepish. His face turned slightly red as he looked down at his feet and fidgeted a bit.

"Well you see...I didn't do a very good job in the beginning and Sensei taught me how to catch fish and skin them so...yeah..." Shippo said with a paw hand scratching at the back of his head.

"Sensei?" Questioned Kagome and Sango in unison as they looked at each other.

"Hai! Sesshoumaru-sensei!" Shippo said proudly.

This turned their direction to the youkai sitting against a tree with his eyes closed. He did not turn towards them or appear to be listening at what they were saying. In fact he appeared to be resting...not that any of them would assume such a thing. Everyone was all ready accustomed to how he did things. They knew he was listening but chose to ignore them.

Sango gave Kagome a look that basically said 'what can we say? At least it's nice that Shippo is learning.' And then went off to inspect a fish to evaluate Shippo's new found skill. He seemed eager to show her in detail on how he skinned it. Rin asked if they could cook it now and Kagome nodded before walking over to the demon lord.

"Sesshoumaru" Kagome said softly. He didn't look up or responded to her in any way but she knew he had to be listening. "Thank you for teaching Shippo."

Sesshoumaru opened his eyes and looked at her for a moment. "The foolish hanyou did not teach anything to the kit"

"Hai I know, I tried to get him to a couple of times but he always says that Shippo can learn himself." Kagome said.

"Idiot." Sesshoumaru growled.

"Yea he can be like that sometimes." Kagome responded, but it held a warm glow to it as well. Sesshoumaru felt a sudden pain in his chest at that. 'I will stay calm there is no reason for this Sesshoumaru to be like this. I have all ready come to terms of not being with the miko'

"Sesshoumaru?"

He did not respond this time. He shut his eyes as he the sounds of two very wet men came back to camp.

"Oi there was no need to throw us into the river!" Inuyasha shouted.

Everyone ignored him and Kagome kept wondering what was wrong with Sesshoumaru. True he was always like this but this time he seemed more...she couldn't find the right word for perhaps it was lonely? Or maybe it was forlorn? No, neither of those words really fit Sesshoumaru...She frowned.

"Thank you again Sesshoumaru," She whispered quietly. She then went to Rin and Shippo who were waiting for the fish to be cooked. She sat with them a placed more of the raw fish near the fire.

"What are you thanking him for?" Inuyasha yelled out. He was beyond pissed. First he got hit by Sango and Kagome while he was trying to stop the Monk and then again a second time. They then splashed him into the river and he comes back with everyone admiring his hated brother!!

"He taught me how to skin the fish! He also said that he would teach me how to skin other animals too!" Shippo said excitedly. This earned an even more surprised look from Kagome and Sango because they had thought the fish was a one-time thing.

"That's great Shippo!" Kagome said smiling and relieved that Shippo would have someone to teach him things.

"Feh, if you were a real demon you would learn how to do them yourself! When I was your age I was already fending off hordes of demons and surviving on my own!" Inuyasha said.

This caused Shippo to frown and become dejected. Inuyasha had a way of making everyone feel weak or useless. It was surprising how quickly his happiness seemed to melt away because Shippo generally ignored Inuyasha's comments.

"You say so hanyou but you have forgotten who it was that taught YOU how to survive." Sesshoumaru replied his eyes narrowing in anger. 'He has no leadership skills, and he does not even take responsibility of teaching the kit. His actions are hindering everyone. To say such things to a pup no matter what species is something that he, himself, would never do. A pup developing in new skills and growing should not be discouraged from learning.

"No one taught me," snapped Inuyasha while glaring at Sesshoumaru.

"Is that so half-breed? Have you forgotten how long it took you to skin the fish that I caught for you? Or how you learned the Iron Soul Reaper and Blades of Blood?" Sesshoumaru asked his eyes narrowing once more. 'Ungrateful whelp!' growled the beast inside Sesshoumaru. While it was true that Sesshoumaru hated Inuyasha he was still pack and the inner beast inside the demon lord recognized that. It permitted Inuyasha many things, but for Inuyasha to deny that his own pack member had taught him was something unforgivable. It was equivalent to deny belonging to the pack. To do that was one of the greatest betrayals and the greatest crime.

Inuyasha continued to glare at him. "You didn't teach it to me. I simply saw you doing it and mimicked it. I taught myself! You never corrected positions or show me in any great length of details on how to do any of it. I had to SPY on you."

"Did you honestly think that I didn't know you were there?" Sesshoumaru growled out.

They stared for a while before both simultaneously jumped towards each other. Everyone yelled out in protest as the brothers fought, barking and growling as any dog would during a fight. They then came tumbling dangerously close to the fire before Sesshoumaru kicked Inuyasha high into the air who then landed about ten feet away from the fire and fish cooking. They ran towards each other once again this time swords drawn. Sesshoumaru, unlike all the other times he fought with Inuyasha, had not held back. The fight stopped when Sesshoumaru pinned Inuyasha against the ground with his hand on Inuyasha's throat threatening to snap it. Inuyasha at first continued to stare in defiance but with one more squeeze to his throat he gave up by casting his eyes down showing that he submitted. When Sesshoumaru let go the hanyou ran off to sulk somewhere.

No words were exchanged at what had just happened. Sesshoumaru had simply indicated for Shippo to get the fish that was beginning to burn after the fight. Shippo obliged to the silent request immediately. Everyone settled down leaving the bruised hanyou alone as they ate.