InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages ❯ A Picture is Worth a Thousand Problems ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: Inuyasha and company are not my brilliant creation, as much as I would love for them to be. Just Sessy-poo, who seems to be collecting his own little fan club. If he could talk, he would probably start asking for a share in the profits (AKA reviews)!

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Big Trouble Comes in Small Packages

Chapter Ten

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"Excuse me, Sesshoumaru-sama." The small green demon cautiously approached his Lord, looking rather nervous. "I know you are busy, but-" He stopped, unsure if he should continue or not.

When the servant stayed quiet, Sesshoumaru finally looked up from the paper that was sitting on the table in front of him. He had obviously been busy reading, and wasn't very happy about being disturbed at such a bad time. "Well? What is it, Jaken?"

The little youkai slid up closer to the desk, practically groveling. "You did request that I remind you to call your half-brother and the child, my Lord, once the allotted amount of time had gone by." He stopped talking long enough to count on his stubby, green fingers. "I believe enough time has passed for the girl to have settled in properly."

While Jaken waited anxiously for a response, Sesshoumaru stared at him expressionlessly for several moments before finally nodding his head once. "Bring me the phone, then."

"Right away, Sesshoumaru-sama!" Jaken nearly bounced away, eager to do his lord's bidding.

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Inuyasha shuffled in a guilty manner. "You didn't really have to do that, ya know."

"Do what? Give you and Rin a chance to eat real food instead of ramen?" Kagome gave him a dry look as she folded some of Rin's clothes and laid them on Inuyasha's bed. "I'll have you know that I actually enjoy cooking, so just get over it already."

"But I can cook for myself!" The hanyou protested rather weakly.

"Yeah, anything that comes in packages with the word 'instant' on it."

He didn't bother to argue this time because she'd seen right through him, a scary talent that most women seemed to possess naturally. Inuyasha couldn't help but think of all the times that his mother had known he was lying when he'd told her he was wearing clean underwear.

The room was silent for several moments while Inuyasha sulked and Kagome sorted through Rin's clothes, looking to see what all she had and if they would need to do any shopping to get through the month. From the looks of the little girl's expansive wardrobe, probably not.

The ringing of the phone finally broke the comfortable silence.

"Rin will get it!" Rin shouted from the living room where she had been watching a Disney movie until time for her to go to bed. She managed to reach the phone before Inuyasha was able to stop her. The poor guy tried really hard, too, much to Kagome's amusement.

"Hello, Uncle Inu's phone!" She chirped happily, causing 'Uncle Inu' to wince. "Oh, hi Papa Sess!" Her voice had suddenly gone from perky to insanely happy in a matter of moments.

'God, am I glad she answered the phone!' Inuyasha thought in relief, conveniently forgetting his irritation from just a moment before. 'The last person I wanna talk to right now is that miserable bastard, although I would love to yell at him…but that can wait till he comes back and I can do more than just yell.'

Kagome gulped nervously when he walked back into the bedroom and she noticed the dark look on his face. That, and the fact that he was also cracking his knuckles made for one intimidating picture. Turning away in an attempt to ignore him, she glanced around the room to see if she had missed anything.

'Hey, what's that…' Kagome noticed what looked like a book sticking out from under Inuyasha's bed. 'Figures he'd have so much junk under there that it doesn't all fit.' Heaving a mental sigh, she leaned down and picked up the book, intending to set it out of the way when she noticed what it was. 'A photo album? The way he acts about his family, I can't believe he actually keeps something like this!'

Of course, the temptation to open it and take a peek was irresistible.

"Oh my God!" She suddenly gasped, unable to control her reaction and breaking the silence of the bedroom. The loud exclamation attracted Inuyasha's attention and he quickly turned to see what could have caused it.

"Oi, where the hell did you find that?!?!" Inuyasha nearly shouted when he noticed what she was holding. The look on his face could only be described as horrified, and he moved as if he wanted to snatch the album from her hands but was afraid to go near her.

While he frantically debated with himself about the best way to handle the situation, Kagome's mouth opened, closed, and then opened again as she tried to talk and look at the pictures at the same time. She wasn't able to make a single sound, though, and that just seemed to agitate Inuyasha further.

During all of this, Rin was still on the phone.

"Did you want to talk to Uncle Inu first?" She questioned. The room was quiet while the little girl listened intently to what was said in response. "Rin will check!" She ran with the cordless phone over to the bedroom doorway and peered inside, just in time to see Inuyasha make a frantic grab for the book in Kagome's hands. Neither adult seemed to notice her, so she walked off.

"Rin thinks Uncle Inu and Aunt Kagome are busy right now."

The room was quiet a few more moments, before Rin spoke again, seemingly answering a question.

"In the bedroom. Why?"

This time there was dead silence on both ends of the phone for a long period of time, before Rin was asked another question.

"No, the door is open and Rin can see that they aren't in bed." The confusion in Rin's voice was clear now, after getting asked all those odd questions. "Should they be?"

Poor Inuyasha and Kagome, they were so wrapped up in their own little drama that they missed the very interesting conversation between Rin and Sesshoumaru.

"I said give me those pictures!" Inuyasha made another frantic grab for the book in Kagome's hands, but she managed to dodge him, laughing the whole time. "Kagome!"

"What in the WORLD would possess you to keep pictures like these?" Kagome gasped out between laughs, twisting to keep the book out of his reach. "I would have burned them years ago if I were you!" She turned the page and a new round of laughing began.

"Dammit, I said give 'em here!" Inuyasha's face was bright red, and not from exertion. He knew he should have destroyed that stupid album the moment he found it in his mother's chest!

How right Inuyasha was. A book like that would set someone up for life in the way of blackmail! It was filled with the most embarrassing childhood pictures a person could ever possibly have! It contained everything from him still sleeping with a teddy bear at the age of twelve, to him sitting in the bathtub naked when he was three. There was even one where he'd tried on some of his mother's clothes and make-up one day at the age of eight after getting curious about why women liked that kind of thing so much.

And Kagome was finding it WAY too amusing for Inuyasha's taste.

It took several moments for it to happen, but Kagome finally faltered long enough from laughing for a very desperate Inuyasha to tackle her, and they both fell onto the bed at about the same time that the phone started ringing again. Rin must have gotten off the phone with her beloved 'Papa Sess' sometime before that.

"Bitch, gimme that book!" Inuyasha's normally sensitive ears didn't even register the ringing as he pinned her arms down, then reached for the book while she giggled.

"Ohhh, you think you're so scary!" Kagome managed to move her arm just enough to poked him in the chest, causing him to pause. "I suppose I should be insulted at your little pet name for me, but I just can't find it in my heart to be mad after getting to see you in drag."

Surprisingly enough, Inuyasha's blush managed to get even worse, and he suddenly didn't seem very interested in getting the album from her anymore.

"What's the matter?" Kagome started to feel a little confused. Surely her mentioning him in drag hadn't embarrassed him that much, had it?

Her mind was so focused on what she'd seen in the pictures that their situation just wasn't sinking in at all.

"Inuyasha?" She poked him in the chest again.

"I-uh-I mean-" Inuyasha finally stuttered, since his brain wasn't working too well at the moment. He just couldn't seem to get it to work any further than to register how much he was enjoying his current position. Even if he died for it later, he'd probably die happy…

When Inuyasha didn't make another attempt to point out the obvious, Kagome finally managed to take stock of the situation and her eyes widened considerably. She opened her mouth to say something, but someone else managed to beat her to it.

"I'm sorry, Uncle Miroku, but Aunt Kagome and Uncle Inu are in bed right now, though Papa Sess told me they aren't supposed to go to bed before me." Rin moved away from the doorway where she had been standing a moment before, watching the pair.

Inuyasha and Kagome could only stare after her with wide eyes, horrified.

"Yes, they are in the same bed." Rin sounded confused again. What was with all the weird questions she was getting asked tonight?

With a loud swear, Inuyasha was suddenly off the bed and out of the bedroom in a flash, diving for the phone and snatching it from Rin before she could get in another incriminating word. Kagome hastily removed herself from the bed as well and got ready to leave.

"Come on, Rin, I think it's time for you to go to bed so your Uncle Inu can get some rest, too!" Kagome quickly pushed the little girl into the bedroom without looking in Inuyasha's direction, a bright blush staining her cheeks.

"But Aunt Kagome, it's so early!"

Upset over the fact that he had been forced to move before hearing what Kagome had been about to say, Inuyasha helplessly watched her as she managed to get Rin tucked into bed and settled in for the night. When Kagome was finished, she gave the disappointed hanyou an embarrassed goodnight and took off out the front door without looking back.

During all this, poor Miroku was totally ignored.

'Well, at least she didn't look upset, just kind of embarrassed.' Inuyasha decided to take that as a good sign. 'I really wanted to know what she was going to say, though! Would she have yelled at me?' He wanted to pull his hair out in frustration. 'That stupid lech! He just HAD to butt in!'

The innocent little phone was suddenly on the receiving end of a patented Inuyasha-death-glare.

"Inuyasha? Rin? Somebody! Come on and talk to me, I know you're there!" The pathetic pleas continued to sound from the phone, just as they had been for the last several minutes.

Inuyasha lifted the phone to his ear with a sudden, eerie calm. "I'm here."

"Thank goodness, I was really beginning to worry that I'd interrupted something - important." The soon-to-be-dead man coughed, but Inuyasha continued to stay quiet instead of yelling, his usual avenue of response. To fill the silence, Miroku continued to talk. "But, if Rin was telling the truth, then I should congratulate you! Although I must say, I think you have it backwards. Sleeping with your girlfriend should come BEFORE you have a child."

Dead silence.

"Okay, I suppose that wasn't very funny." Miroku sounded a tad nervous now. "I know you're angry that I ruined things, but-"

"NOTHING was going on!" Inuyasha finally managed to spit out a denial, almost yelling at the top of his lungs. "You're always trying to make everything sound perverted!"

"Well, Rin saying that you two were in bed together would sound perverted to anybody, not just me." Miroku's voice had turned dry.

Inuyasha began to splutter indignantly, not able to come up with a decent response since he knew it was true.

"Listen, I'm sure this little bit of information getting out would embarrass Kagome-sama, and we wouldn't want that to happen, so I promise not to say a word." This was said in a very smooth, calculating manner.

"You will?" Inuyasha sounded suspicious, and rightly so. He had never known Miroku to willingly be nice like that without wanting something.

"Certainly! But I would like a small favor in return."

Inuyasha sighed. He really should have seen it coming. But hey, at this point he'd do anything to shut him up. "So what do you want? Do I have to set you up with Sango or something?"

Miroku paused thoughtfully. "Well, that is an interesting suggestion and I might keep it in mind for later, but for now I have something else I need from you."

Inuyasha braced himself for the worst.

"I want you to 'loan' me Rin for the day tomorrow."

"WHAT?!?!" Inuyasha nearly crushed the phone in his hand. "What the hell do you want her for?" His expression started to darken.

Miroku decided he'd better be hasty and explain what he wanted. "Women are attracted to children, right? And they also find men who are good with children VERY attractive as well. So, logically, if I spent the day at the park with Rin, surely some woman will notice me and how good I am with kids."

"And then she'll want to bear your brats, right?" Inuyasha's voice was flat.

"Correct."

Inuyasha reluctantly mulled over the idea. 'If I let him take her for the day and Sesshoumaru finds out, he'd probably kill me. But then, I like doing things that make him mad, right?' Inuyasha started to smile, but it quickly changed into a frown. 'As much as I don't want to admit it, the runt is my responsibility. If something happened to her…' The hanyou's tendency to be very overprotective was rearing its head.

"I promise I will take excellent care of her, and it would give you a chance to be alone with Kagome-sama without anyone in the way." The tempting promise hung in the air while Miroku waited for an answer.

The hanyou finally broke. "Fine! You can have her tomorrow, but you feed her breakfast, lunch, and dinner! AND if anything happens to her, I promise you will live to regret it - until I finally kill you." Inuyasha's very serious promise hung in the air just like Miroku's earlier one.

The other man gulped nervously, knowing his friend probably meant every word. "I swear to you that you'll have her back without a single scratch."

"You'd better hope so."

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I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! In the next chapters Sango and Miroku will finally be getting a little more focus, and I personally find those parts to be very entertaining. Miroku is just such a fun character to write! ^_^ Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!