Fit For Dogs

It was one of Sesshomaru's deep-sleep nights, which he sank into once a week on average. On other nights, he either slept very lightly, or did not sleep at all, choosing to lie in bed and enjoy being close to his half-demon brother, who invariably slumbered soundly.

On deep-sleep nights, however, he rested as thoroughly as Inuyasha did.

Thus, he was barely conscious when Inuyasha settled in beside him after a trip to the loo, and he felt a tug at the blanket trapped under his body.

"Roll over, Sesshomaru," Inuyasha whispered into the taiyoukai's ear, the hint of a smile in his voice.

Somewhere in the back of the dog demon's sleepy mind, he found Inuyasha's choice of words odd, but he thought little of it as he moved over to make more room for the half-demon.

By the time they woke up in the morning, he had almost forgotten it. He would have put it away for good if Inuyasha had not done something else odd at breakfast. The half-demon was already seated at the table they used for their morning meals, and Sesshomaru was just about to slide into his seat when Inuyasha said: "Sit."

"That is exactly what I was about to do, Inuyasha," the taiyoukai remarked, giving the lad a suspicious look.

"Oh, good, so we agree."

"Hmm," he murmured as he buttered his toast, choosing to focus on breakfast instead of thinking too much about yet another aspect of his sibling's occasionally peculiar behaviour.

At mid-morning, when the intercom buzzed as they were expecting a delivery of dog food, Inuyasha sprang to his feet to open the door, telling Sesshomaru: "Stay."

The taiyoukai held his tongue while the pet-store delivery guy unloaded the packs into their apartment. But once the man was gone, he rumbled: "Inuyasha, just what are you playing at?"

"Playing at? Whatever do you mean?" the hanyou asked innocently as he pulled off the cap he had used to hide his ears from the man, and hauled the bags into the kitchen.

"You are addressing me in a most bizarre fashion."

"Am I? Why do you say that?"

"Do you imagine that I cannot tell you are speaking to me as you would a dog?"

"Well, we are dogs, aren't we?" Inuyasha said cheerfully. "Come on, big puppy, don't be hypersensitive. We're brothers, mates and friends. Let's shake hands."

Sesshomaru glowered at Inuyasha. "We have always bowed to each other. We do not shake hands."

"Oh, come on, you shake hands with your foreign business associates."

"Whom I see as little of as possible."

"You'll shake hands with them but not with me?" Inuyasha asked, making his ears droop.

Sesshomaru relented and extended a hand reluctantly.

They shook.

"I'll be in the bathroom," Sesshomaru announced, rising from the sofa and disappearing into the master bedroom. He entered the bathroom, but did not fully lock the door. He undressed and stepped into the shower, where he turned the flow of water on. However, he did not stand under the falling water. Instead, he waited until he heard Inuyasha tiptoe up to the door, listen for a while and tiptoe away.

Then, leaving the hot water running, Sesshomaru slipped on a bathrobe and soundlessly pulled the unlocked bathroom door open. His sharp ears could already pick up Inuyasha's muffled voice even above the sound of falling water – the lad was obviously speaking to someone over the phone, in the living room.

"It's safe to talk now – he's in the shower," Inuyasha was saying.

Sesshomaru continued moving in complete silence through the master bedroom and the passageway outside it, until he was standing just beyond the living room, just out of Inuyasha's sight, with his scent and aura concealed.

"So, Koga, as I was saying," Inuyasha continued smugly into his mobile. "I win the bet."

Some frustrated wolf-sounds came through the phone which Sesshomaru did not care to decipher.

Inuyasha replied to the jumbled noises by saying: "Oh yes, I did. You bet that I couldn't, but so far I've already got him to roll over, sit, stay and shake hands. So you lose, I win, and you are paying me fifty bucks for that. All I have to do now to win the further bonus of lunch on you for a week is to get him to beg and play dead."

Something that sounded like "You bloody mangy mutt..." came over the line, but Sesshomaru did not wait to hear what Inuyasha would say in response. The taiyoukai simply stepped out into the living room and glared at Inuyasha through eyes that glinted menacingly.

"Oh, shit," Inuyasha mumbled, blanching. "Shit, he's here... um, Koga, it may be a while before you hear from me again."

And the next thing that Koga heard from his end of the phone connection was a series of loud noises which suggested large pieces of furniture being knocked over, and a host of growls, yelps and yells, not least of which was Inuyasha howling: "No, no, no... don't come any closer... Sessh, if you want a piece of this ass ever again, you'd better not – hey, hey don't you... AAAAAAGH! Are you trying to KILL me? No – down boy, down – BLOODY HELL, you're really going to have to BEG me for nookie after this... no – keep away – KEEP AWAY – back off, boy – play dead – BANG! I said BANG! Just lie down and roll over... no... no... no teeth, DAMN IT –"

At that point, the line went dead, and Koga could do little more than put his phone back into his pocket and laugh his head off. Losing the bet, paying Inuyasha a fifty, and even buying him lunch for a week despite his not completing that part of the bargain would be well worth it, after all that entertainment.

He only hoped the hanyou would live to reap the rewards of winning the bet.

After all, going by the chaotic sounds that had come over the line, it was clear that Sesshomaru was a very badly trained dog.