A/N: Christmas was slow for reviews but I thank you all for them: kokoronagomu, Ryan, Dragon and Sword Master, and Gul Sen Go. And thank you to anyone who put this or its author on their lists. Alright, here's the second gift chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha characters, manga, anime, movies, etc. They belong by copyrights to Rumiko Takahashi et al.

One Hanyou Too Many

A Vacation from Sanity

Seated at the large table in clothing fancier than any she'd ever worn, Sango shifted next to her betrothed uncomfortably. To find out that they couldn't simply have the Honorable Lady remove the rosary and be on their way was a little unnerving. She didn't like being trapped in a place she was unfamiliar with nor was she comfortable with the fact that she was surrounded by people she couldn't trust. The only good thing that seemed to be coming out of it was that Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru were at a truce. The brothers seemed to have come to a silent conclusion that solidarity in the face of the Lady of the Moon's unpredictability was the only way to get out of this situation alive and sane. Or maybe just sane; because for the life of her Sango couldn't detect any malicious intent in the female dog demon. She'd gone up against enough youkai to know when one wanted to do them harm. Naraku notwithstanding, a demon had never tricked her to the point of trusting them even a little.

"Sango, my dear, what troubles you?"

"Are you being nosy, Miroku?"

"My nose does tell me that you are worried somewhat."

"It is just the situation."

"Ah, yes. I understand. However, I do not sense any subterfuge as of yet. Perhaps the lady simply wanted a visit from her family. I imagine it can get quite lonely up here on the mountain. Sesshoumaru has undoubtedly been gone from home for a long time and obviously has not visited."

"Do you think this was all of ruse to get visitors?"

Miroku looked across the table at him and saw the lady lift her cup at him in acknowledgement. "I believe it is a distinct possibility. Do not worry, my dear. You know I will always come to your defense."

"Touch my butt and someone's going to have to rescue you." Sango felt his hand shift away and allowed her mouth to curve slightly. "Do the smells around us still bother you?"

"I have gotten used to them. Sadly, the most alluring scent of all seems to have disappeared."

"Oh, good, then you're back to your normal lecherous self." Sango chuckled when he sighed in agreement and went on eating. Leaning forward, she took a look at what her other friends were doing, raising a brow when she saw that Kagome was tugging at the collar of her kimono. "Kagome?"

"Sorry, I feel like I'm choking."

"Formal kimonos do take getting used to," the demon lord's mother said, smiling placidly. "You do look much better in those clothes than the outfit you were wearing when you arrived though. The skirt was far too short for a priestess."

"It's my uniform. I have to wear it when I go to school. I feel much more like myself when I wear it," Kagome stated proudly.

"School?"

"Yes, all children must go to school to study a variety of subjects where I'm from. It is required."

"Morals vastly decline in the future, Mother. We should be thankful Yukari and Rin will be long grown by the time we reach the miko's era."

Inuyasha glared at his brother. The elder Taisho was spilling secrets that weren't his to tell. "Who says she's from the future? She could just as easily be from a different dimension."

"Hardly. If you take into consideration the tree you were so ingloriously attached to for half a century and the old well not far from it, it is a simple matter to conclude that your woman is not from this time."

"And you thought you'd just tout that knowledge to all who could be listening despite the potential ramifications?" Kagome glowered at the demon lord, tempted to get up and go get her arrows. She left the whole "your woman" thing alone.

"You do not trust this Sesshoumaru to keep from changing history?"

"It's not you, it's them. If you were going to show up in my time to make a nuisance of yourself, you would have already done so. Your mother and sister on the other hand…"

Sesshoumaru glanced at the duo in turn and had to admit he'd made a tactical error. "Forget what you've heard."

"Oh, my, I don't think so," his mother said.

"Did you say something, Aniue?" Yukari asked with seeming innocence.

"See? You can't control their actions. What if they show up on my doorstep and do something?"

"Kagome," Inuyasha interrupted. She was getting agitated and the demons not present would come to see if she was going to try to harm their lady if her spiritual powers started to manifest.

"Oh, hush, child. Yukari and I will keep our mouths shut. Too much is at stake to risk changing things by showing up 'at your doorstep' as you say. Perhaps after Naraku has gone to his namesake…" Laughter teased golden eyes as they gazed at the girl.

"Please no…" Kagome buried her head in her hands, envisioning exactly what would happen if the demoness met her mother. "Inuyasha, do you have any idea what would happen if Mama met this woman?"

The half demon paused, considered what he knew about both women, and then groaned. "Good gods…"

"Would your mother really not tolerate a demon in her midst?" the Honorable Mother asked, amusement clear in her voice.

"Are you kidding? She'd invite you to dinner."

"Oh, good, then it's settled. Tell her I'll come by in about…" She paused to torture them more and then realized that she really didn't know how far into the future the girl came from. Turning to the kitsune who had been ignoring the whole conversation in favor of stuffing his face, she cleared her throat. "Say, kitsune, how long will I have to wait for this dinner invitation?"

"Oh, about five hundred years, give or take. We're not exactly sure," Shippou answered, oblivious to the older shard hunters' worry.

"Five hundred years. I will have to take care of my skin better. I wouldn't want to look like an old woman when I get there."

"I have a feeling you will be the picture of youth for many, many more centuries, my lady." Miroku tried to change the conversation to something that wouldn't have his two friends suffering from a metal meltdown.

"Do you think so?" Attention instantly adverted, mostly intentionally on her part, the demon lady turned her attention to the monk.

"If there's one thing Miroku knows, it's women." Shippou eagerly jumped on Miroku's self-imposed mission, knowing he was going to get it from Inuyasha and Kagome later about his slip. He accomplished one goal in getting the attention off one set of friends only to bring the attention to the other set.

"Shippou-chan," Rin whispered from her place next to Sesshoumaru. "You should stop helping."

The kitsune took in his friends' faces before checking with Kirara. The nekomata had been quiet the whole time, in turn both amused and consternated depending on the situation. However, as likely the most elder demon present, it was her direction that he would take the most. Ruby eyes gazed back with meaning, giving the kitsune cub the idea that he better do as Rin said and stop helping his friends. Sighing, he nodded and went back to eating. He'd let Miroku rescue the situation on his own.

If he could.

Kagome collapsed onto the futon that had been laid out for her, burying her head in the thick blankets. "Sango, I am so dead when I get home. If Lady Kaede doesn't shoot me, Mama will."

The slayer sat down on her own bedding, pulling Kirara into her lap. "I can't imagine a wonderful woman like your mother doing anything of the sort."

"She's not going to enjoy learning that she's going to have an aristocratic demoness showing up on her doorstep the moment Naraku's dead. And since we don't know when that is, she's going to be on pins and needles the whole time."

"I don't suppose you could just not tell her until that time comes, right? I mean, there is the chance that the Honorable Mother will forget or that she was just kidding you."

"She's Sesshoumaru's mother, what are the chances she does either? And no, I can't just not tell Mama."

"Lord Sesshoumaru never forgets when Rin tells him things." The two older girls turned their attention the third human in the room and smiled at the ward of the demon lord. Sesshoumaru had once again sent her with them, obviously trusting her safety to their skills rather than letting her have her own room.

"See? I bet her memory is just as good." Kagome sat up and motioned for the little girl to come to her. She pulled out her brush and a hair tie and began running the brush through Rin's hair. Plaiting it so that it wouldn't tangle in the night, the young priestess let her mind wander. "I suppose we can hope she'll be senile by then…"

"What's senile?" Rin asked, starting to doze because of the repetitive action.

"It's when older people become forgetful with age. We've met a couple of older demons whose memories are really questionable on occasion."

"Oh. Why would your mother be on pins and needles? Wouldn't that hurt?" Rin yawned, leaning her head back against Kagome's shoulder.

Sango chuckled and rose so that she could pull the girl's bedding back. Rin would be asleep any moment. "It would. Kagome means her mother is going to be really nervous."

"I was really nervous to meet Lord Sesshoumaru's mother too. Yukari-chan doesn't like me but her mother seems nice. She's even funny at times."

"A barrel of laughs," Kagome murmured before laying Rin on her futon with Sango's help. Kirara curled up next to her head and started to purr, giving the girl comfort in a strange place. She was no doubt used to be close to Ah-Un when she slept and the nekomata had figured she'd need something to settle her to sleep the rest of the way.

"Just think of this as a vacation," Sango urged, curling up in her own bedding.

"Yeah, a vacation from reality."

"Nah, more like a vacation from sanity."

"That's so comforting."

"I tried."

Shippou sulked, his tail twitching in irritation. "This is the third time I've been sent off with you guys."

"I enjoy this no more than you, my young friend." Miroku stared up at the ceiling, his showing ears his own foul mood.

"Would you two just shut up? At least Sesshoumaru's mom didn't make us sleep in the same room as him."

"A perk of being the eldest?" Miroku questioned.

"She probably didn't want us fighting. Despite appearances, she isn't stupid." Inuyasha stretched out on his futon, figuring he'd save his back and not sit up against the wall all night. He wouldn't sleep, he couldn't in a place surrounded by enemies but at least he wouldn't have a crick in his neck either.

"Say, Inuyasha, does Sesshoumaru's mother have a name?" Shippou sat up and gazed into the darkness. He could hear people walking in the hall and it unnerved him a bit. He wished he was with Kagome and Sango.

"Probably."

"We do not utter her ladyship's name," Myoga declared in the silence. "It is the first thing a servant learns when they begin to work for her. I learned it quite by accident when Lord Inuyasha's mother once inquired."

"So? It can't be that bad."

"It isn't bad but my lady does not believe it fits her and refuses to answer to it. Your great father only attempted it once."

"Is it something soft like 'Hana?'" Miroku asked.

"Close, it is 'Chūrippu.'"

"Tulip? Who names their daughter that?"

"Apparently she was a bright and happy pup and her mother was in the throes of an after birth depression. I am not certain what her father thought about the whole thing. Anyhow, do not let her know I told you. She becomes quite upset when it's brought up."

"Well, she's right, it doesn't fit her. The whole 'Honorable Mother' thing is a bit much though…" Inuyasha said thoughtfully.

"If you ask for an alternative, you'll likely be told to call her Stepmother."

"No, thanks."

"I believe we can settle on Lady Taisho without losing our heads, can't we?" Miroku asked, rolling over.

"That should be acceptable," the aging advisor agreed.

"Good, now that that's settled, go to sleep."

"As you wish, my lord. The gods know we need it to keep our sanity."

"Yeah, I think it's a little late for that, old man."

"Yup, pretty sure that left when Inuyasha got slobbered on."

"Shippou…" Inuyasha couldn't really fault the kid for his comment though.

He was pretty sure that's when sanity had left the equation too.