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Sesshomaru keeps a gentle hold of his daughters as they sit in his lap on the porch facing Rin. Towa's high pitched squeals of laughter piercing his sensitive ears and ringing slightly. Setsuna's are softer, but she is shaking from amusement. Her lips pursed and purple eyes squinted as she tried not to laugh outright.
He never understood the game that Rin played with the monk's and taijiya's children prior to their marriage and birth of their own children. Well, not until this moment when Rin finally believed the girls were old enough to enjoy the game.
Rin covered her face with both hands and then popped them open. "Here I am! Peek-a-boo!" She cooed out and the girls laughed and patted his legs. Rin widened her eyes, mouth dropping open in a wide grin. She made a gasp and then covered her face once more.
Sesshomaru couldn't help but watch his daughters' reactions. Both hummed at the loss, Towa leaning forward and making soft noises, whines for her mother to return.
Rin's hands popped open and Towa fell back with a laugh. "Here I am!" Rin laughed.
Sesshomaru tried but failed to understand the reason for the game. It did not train them for anything, did not prepare them for life ahead of them. It was merely for entertainment.
Rin would have probably argued that they were only eleven months old. There would be plenty of time to create games that trained them to track and hunt, to pounce, to hide, and to fight. Moral lessons and lessons on kindness too.
Setsuna had enough and stood up. She tugged on his yukata and pointed to Rin. "I believe Setsuna has tired of the game." Sesshomaru told her. He seemed to understand his dark-haired child more than Rin and Rin understood Towa more than Setsuna. Even at their young ages, the girls had remarkably different attitudes and behaviours already.
Everything was balanced in their happy little family.
Towa clapped her small hands together and Rin nodded with a smile. "Was that fun?" Rin asked them and leaned down to them. Towa smiled and rubbed her nose against Rin's.
Setsuna took a few steps to Rin and pushed Towa aside roughly wanting their mother's affections too. Sesshomaru caught Towa from rolling over his leg. Towa's lower lip trembled, and he pulled her close. He rubbed her back as Rin sighed softly and leaned back and looked away from Setsuna.
He had told her that this was to be Setsuna's punishment when she got pushy with her twin. Setsuna was territorial at times. Too much like him in that regard. Sesshomaru found it secretly amusing that he and his purple eyed daughter were territorial over the same person, but, of course, in very, very different ways.
Towa was more like Rin. Sweet and just happy.
Sesshomaru knew Rin did not like having to punish Setsuna in such a way. She simply had enough love to go around. Setsuna crawled onto Rin's lap and tried to pull at Rin's kimono.
That was another reason for Setsuna being cranky and moodier than usual. She wanted to nurse, and Rin was trying to wean them.
Sesshomaru had enough looking at bite marks too many times on Rin's right nipple.
Setsuna let out a cry and tossed her head back. He watched as Rin sat rigid and still, pretending to be a statue. He wondered if she was meditating. His amber gaze stared at the tick in her eye and the muscle shifting in her jaw. Do not give in like you did yesterday.
He had been hunting some larger game for her the previous day with Inuyasha, a rare thing but a new development in their relationship. He returned in the afternoon with Inuyasha and a large buck on his shoulder to only go find Rin sitting in their chamber nursing both girls. "Anata, they both needed to be soothed. Sango nursed until Hisui was two! There is…OW!" She had yelped and he walked away and told her to wean them for good.
Towa whined and pointed to Setsuna and looked up at him. Sesshomaru rubbed her head gently. She frowned.
"Your sister is misbehaving. She just pushed you and is trying to nurse. Let her have her tantrum." Sesshomaru told Towa. Towa did not seem to care if she was nursing or not it seemed.
Towa snuggled into his chest and whimpered again as Setsuna let out a high pitch howl of a cry. Sesshomaru set Towa down onto the floor of the porch and grabbed Setsuna and sat her down beside her sister. Setsuna sat still, sniffling and glancing up at him.
"Setsuna, you are eleven months old, near a year. You bite your mother, push your sister. They will not like that nor tolerate it forever." Sesshomaru scolded her gently, calmly. A tone he discovered just for his daughters. He didn't even know if she completely understood all of his words yet. Rin insisted that the girls were both very bright. "Just don't tell Inuyasha-nii and Kagome-nee that our babies are brighter than their little Moroha!" Rin had winked at him as Towa learned to stack toys quicker than Setsuna or Moroha.
Setsuna kicked her feet and Towa, surprising her father, wrapped her arms around Setsuna's neck from her left. Setsuna stiffened and pouted. Towa smiled and pressed a kiss to her sister's cheek sloppily. More of a lick than a kiss. Towa didn't stop there but rubbed her cheek against Setsuna's.
Sesshomaru saw defeat find it's way to Setsuna's eyes. Her cries and anger withered away, and she glanced up at him.
"Your sister still loves you despite you pushing her. You are her world, don't push her away." Sesshomaru rubbed their heads and glanced to Rin.
Rin smiled and scooped them both up at once. She pressed kisses to both of their cheeks, alternating between the two. "I love you," a kiss to Towa's laughing face, "And I love you too!" another kiss to Setsuna's smiling face. Rin repeated it until Towa placed her hands before Rin's mouth.
Towa laughed hysterically, head leaning back and magenta eyes looking back at him upside down.
Rin huffed and leaned back and moved in to kiss Setsuna. Setsuna raised her hands and Rin leaned back in shock, eyebrow raising. "Hmph, our daughters have found a new game."
Sesshomaru smirked, "And what is the new game?"
"Deny ka-san kisses!" Rin pouted. She leaned down and both girls put their hands out.
Sesshomaru moved closer and waited until she leaned back from the girls. She pouted again and sat up straight. His hand shot out and threaded into her hair. His claws cradling the nape of her neck, "It's fine. It just means more kisses for me." He smirked and captured her lips.
He could hear the girls gasp at him for kissing their mother. Towa giggled but Setsuna, his territorial daughter, growled at him. He pulled back to see Rin's cheeks dusted pink.
"Anata…they are sitting right here between us." Rin said softly. The scent of her desire spiked.
A low growl was emitted from Setsuna and Sesshomaru glanced down at his violet eyed daughter. She glared up at him.
He put his hand over her face gently and leaned in and caught Rin's lips for a brief moment, Towa's laughter soft in delight, "Let's put them down for a nap." He offered after pulling back. He felt a nip on his hand and looked down, Setsuna's eyes still glaring. "Your Haha-ue was mine before she was yours and Towa's. If I want a kiss, I shall have it." He huffed, "How do you think you were made? There were plenty of kisses and more."
Setsuna let go of his hand and her eyes shifted as if bored with the conversation suddenly.
Rin stifled a noise from herself. He assumed it was a snort of laughter. Their youngest was going to be a pain in his ass.
Maybe Karma, as Inuyasha said it would, was going to bite him in the ass real hard for being…well… himself for so long.
Sesshomaru wondered one thing though.
He was glad not even Jaken was around at the moment as decided he had to do one thing he knew everyone would make fun of him for.
He slowly raised both clawed hands up, Rin smirking and turning red from holding in her laughter and Sesshomaru covered his face.
Towa made a few soft noises of confusion. He had never done this before.
Setsuna hummed indifferently then she made another noise, annoyance that he was not revealing himself. Towa huffed gently beside her twin.
"Here I am." He said stiffly as he opened his hands. Both girls stared at him with their faces scrunched up in disgust.
Rin fell backwards on the porch laughing. The girls twisted to look at their mother on her back. Both stood up and tottered to her and began patting her face.
Sesshomaru heard a snort from his left. The scent had been downwind.
He turned to the left and saw his sister-in-law standing there with his niece on her hip. Moroha clapped happily away at Sesshomaru's performance to knock Rin out with laughter. Kagome's eyes twinkled in the afternoon light, but he saw the mirthless laughter laying deep within her gaze. "Onii-san! You are simply terrible at peek-a-boo!" Kagome chided him.
Setsuna and Towa cried out for the mother as Rin continued to laugh non-stop. "So…serious…oh kami! Anata!" Rin cried out.
Sesshomaru looked to Rin and back to Kagome, "Don't say a word. If you heed my command, we will watch Moroha." Sesshomaru offered.
Kagome smiled wickedly and walked over to the porch and handed him Moroha. "Here you go! I am going to go to the hot spring with Inuyasha! Bye Moroha, Mommy loves you!"
Moroha happily waved to her mother and then pointed to Rin before glancing up to her uncle. "Ooh." She hummed out.
He set her down and watched as Moroha crawled over to Setsuna. Setsuna raised a hand and turned. Rin sat up and lifted Setsuna up into the air under her armpits. "No bopping Moroha on the head!" Rin quickly spoke, her voice pitching into a high squeak as her laugher died instantaneously.
Towa and Moroha stared up in wonder at Rin and Sesshomaru stared into Setsuna's violet eyes as they were now eye to eye.
He saw her face scrunch up, eyes narrowing, lips turning down. Setsuna's fists balled up and she kicked in the air as she let out a cry.
His youngest was certainly a test of his will power.
He reached up and grabbed her from Rin and pulled her close. "You truly are my daughter; you hate sharing your mother's affections." Sesshomaru said gently. "Moroha must be an exception."
"Iie!" Setsuna cried out.
Rin fall back down onto her side laughing at their daughter's first word. Towa and Moroha staring at Rin and wondering what was truly funny.
Sesshomaru narrowed his gaze at his wife. She wiped the tears and gasped. "Anata…she is your daughter!"
"Hmph! Of course she is, who else would sire such a child? One that is overprotective of the person that belongs to them." He scoffed and turned Setsuna around to look at Rin, "Setsuna, your Haha-ue is very special. She is your father's only love. We must protect her but don't push away your sister and cousin." He explained.
Setsuna gave a soft, "Hn."
Sesshomaru set her down and she tottered over to Rin as she sat up. Towa and Moroha on either side of Rin's lap. Setsuna plopped herself down into Rin's lap and snuggled up. Rin rubbed her back. "That's really nice, I think you should give your sister and cousin hugs too." Rin coaxed Setsuna gently pulling each of the other two girls closer.
Setsuna seemed to understand and hugged both girls as Rin brought both girls closer.
"See, sharing is caring." Rin smiled at all three.
"Iie!" Setsuna shouted.
Towa clapped her hands and Moroha cooed.
Sesshomaru would have to ask Rin how long he would be expected to teach his daughter to share her mother.
He dreaded it would be forever.