One Week

When Taisho and Izaiyoi agree to leave Sesshoumaru in charge of his siblings for one week to prove he's responsible enough to have a new car, will the teenage youkai prove he has what it takes or will his brothers and kid sister send his dreams up in flames?

I don't own Inuyasha

Chapter 1

Sesshoumaru followed his father through the house as he stepped over half the toys that his father just seemed to barrel through without much of a thought whenever he was looking for another one of his tools to fix the old car. He'd prayed silently to a higher power for his father not to be able to fix the thing. He didn't want it. The piece of junk, as he referred to it, had been in the family too long to hardly be an acceptable hand me down. Yes, it had been the rage when his father was a teenager but for it to even be considered a classic would require much more than a simple paint job. It was the kind vehicle that every teenager wouldn't let their parents get within a mile of the school. It was better to walk than to be seen and heard rolling down the street or having to help your parents push the car to get it started again.

"Come on!"

"Sesshoumaru it will be fine. It just needs a tune-up."

"It needs a junkyard."

"That car has been in our family since…"

"The first shrine."

"It's not that old."

"Yes, it is. Why can't I have a new car? You can afford it."

"Do you have a job I don't know about?"

"No."

Taisho continued to search through the kitchen's junk drawers as Sesshoumaru leaned against the counter disinterested in the search and continue to make an attempt to sway his father to see the light in a new set of wheels.

"Is that really how you want our family to be seen at school? Poor?"

Taisho stopped and stared at Sesshoumaru for a second before returning to look for the elusive tool.

"Wait until you have children. I hope they are just like you."

"So, you're getting me a new car?"

"What were the last grades you got on your progress report for Anatomy and Geometry?"

"What does that have to do with getting me a new car?

"..."

"They were passing, and it would have been better if my teachers had curved the grades."

"We talked to your teachers It was a 75 in Geometry and a 72 in Anatomy. Not to mention and they'd already curved the grades."

"They were C's!"

"Yes, and you need to stop daydreaming in your classes and pay attention so that you can bring up the Cs by the end of the year."

"You never say anything to Inuyasha about getting a C in any of his classes. In fact, you praise him just for passing."

"So, you want me to lower my expectations even though I know that you're capable of doing better?"

"Not exactly. It's just not fair."

"Life is not fair. The sooner you learn that the better off you'll be."

Sesshoumaru studied his father for a while before pulling the wrench out of the second drawer and laying it on the counter.

"So, what do I have to do?"

"Were you hiding this from me?"

"No, I just know where Izaiyoi puts tools when she doesn't want you to fix stuff."

"I'm going to have to talk to her."

"So…?"

"Oh, yes that's right. You want to know what you have to do to get a new car. Well, the first step is to pull up your grades, second stop fighting with Inuyasha all of the time and third, show me that you're responsible enough to take care of a new car."

"They're not that low, and I haven't gotten into a fight with Inuyasha in a while."

"What do you consider a while, yesterday?"

"It's been two days and he always starts that sh…stuff. Besides, how am I supposed to show you that I can be responsible enough for a new car if I don't have one?"

Taisho grabbed his son's hand taking the phone and replacing it with the wrench. He smirked noticing the half-hearted attempt his son made to hide an eye roll.

"Help me fix the old car and we'll talk.

….

"You're going to get him a new car, aren't you?

Taisho sighed trying not to answer his wife as he entered the bedroom. He'd hoped she hadn't heard the conversation but in truth, it was impossible not to and he'd never be able to make the decision without at least running it by her.

"Well…"

Izaiyoi pursed her lips into a flat line as she rubbed lotion into her hands before pulling back the covers of the bed.

"He's spoiled. You know that, right?"

"He's not spoiled."

"Rotten, Taisho. Rotten."

"I wouldn't say that bad. He's just a typical teenager…"

"With a thousand-dollar phone and a three thousand dollar tablet that you just bought him in the last three months to replace the equally costly phone and the laptop that were perfectly fine. I'm not even going to bring up the watch with a thousand apps that we have no idea what he's viewing, playing, or watching."

"The tablet was for school."

"Really?! Is that why you bought it for him behind my back and why his grades dropped?"

Taisho cringed at the truth that flowed from his wife. She was right. Sesshoumaru lacked for nothing.

"Just when I thought I was doing good."

"We are. That's why Sesshoumaru never comes to both of us together. Deep down he knows he can still play on you feeling guilty about the divorce and nothing can change the fact that he's your firstborn. He wants his independence as much as he still wants to be the center of your attention. And between Inuyasha, Kohaku, and Rin, he's going to do whatever he needs to stay number one.

"Alright, I'm at least making him earn the car. How do you feel about that?"

"I can agree to that but he's going to have to do more than mow the lawn."

"How would you like to take a vacation, just you and me?"

"That sounds like a dream but who's going to watch the kids, their grandfather?" Izaiyoi smiled as Taisho kissed her.

"No, dad's getting too old for that. The kids have their spring break coming up. I can take a week off from work. Sesshoumaru's old enough and should be responsible enough to watch his siblings."

"Oh no."

"Come on."

"I don't trust a 16-year-old child enough to let him oversee a 14, 8, and 4 year old. He and Inuyasha fight like cats and dogs, you know how Kohaku panics when he's caught in the middle, and Rin is so young…"

"Sesshoumaru will be in college in two years. He can do it."

"mmm no…"

"We'll check in on them…"

"…"

Taisho could tell that he was slowly breaking her down and winning her over.

"We won't be far …"

Izaiyoi sighed as she shuffled down into the covers and looked up at the ceiling trying to decide.

"How can this possibly be a vacation if I'm worried about them the whole time?"

"It will be like a staycation just not at home. We don't have to go further than the local resort hotel. It's not even an hour away."

Izaiyoi stopped him before he could kiss her again.

"We check in on them every night. We drive by the house to make sure it hasn't been burned down. Sesshoumaru has to have money to order food. I don't want him cooking every night because I'm going to come home to a mess. They have to have a schedule to stick to…"

Taisho laughed as he kissed her anyway. "Alright, alright. It will be fine. We're not leaving them tomorrow. They'll have everything they need."

They were interrupted as they heard a thump from downstairs and arguing. Before they could say anything, they heard a knock on the door quickly followed by the sound of their daughter's voice and presence as she crawled up onto their bed followed by Kohaku as he laid at the foot seemingly too tired to make a go at saying anything.

"Mommy, daddy, Sesshy, and Inu are fighting again. Can I sleep in here? They make too much noise."

"What are they fighting about now?"

Kohaku seemed to perk up at the question and simply answered without opening his eyes.

"Inuyasha took Sesshoumaru's phone and started going through messages he'd sent to his girlfriend."

"Girlfriend?!"

"Yeah, you know the girl next door that mom always shakes her head at and says doesn't wear any clothes", Taisho and Izaiyo looked at each other before getting out of bed.

"Give me the phone, Inuyasha!"

"Get off me! You're choking me!"

"Good! Now give me the damn phone!"

"Hey!"

Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha froze as their parents came downstairs.

Taisho started to immediately second guess his decision seeing his two sons in much the same way that he always found them when he left them together for too long. He was beginning to believe Sesshoumaru had a vendetta against Inuyasha but Inuyasha was always equally at fault for provoking his older brother. Inuyasha knew exactly what buttons to push to annoy Sesshoumaru and it could only go on for so long before Sesshoumaru would go off at the most unexpected moment ready to obliterate or at least have the satisfaction of drawing blood from the younger brother. The two were currently on the floor with Sesshoumaru pinning Inuyasha with one hand around his throat and the other reaching to take the phone from Inuyasha's outstretched hand. Even through all of that Inuyasha had been smirking, ignoring Sesshoumaru's serious attempt to conquer a phone at the expense of his destruction.

Sesshoumaru snatched the phone out of Inuyasha's hand as he let his brother up. Inuyasha took the liberty to shove him further off which only resulted in an immediate attempt at a fisted retaliation that was stopped as their father stepped in.

"Enough! Both of you! I don't know what this was about and quite frankly I don't even care. You're both grounded for a week."

"Why am I grounded when he started it and took my phone?!"

"Maybe I wouldn't start shit if you wouldn't spread lies about me at school!"

"Inuyasha stop cursing. Sesshoumaru what the hell is Inuyasha talking about?"

"I don't know."

"Bullshit, asshole! He ain't my brother, mistake, bastard, any of those ringing a bell?"

Taisho was sure he'd heard Sesshoumaru utter those words occasionally when he was mad at Inuyasha but wasn't aware of him using the terms so freely.

"Sesshoumaru?"

"What? Half of him isn't related to me. It's not a lie."

"So, you think it's okay to make a point of telling everyone in school about the half of Inuyasha that isn't related to you?"

"Only when they ask."

"What about the other half of Inuyasha that is related to you?"

"He never acts like the half that's related to us. Why acknowledge it?"

"What about Kohaku and Rin?"

"You and Izaiyoi adopted them."

"And...?"

"I rather not make this worse."

"Inuyasha go to bed. You're grounded, and you know that means no games, no phone. Understood?"

"So, Sesshoumaru just gets off the hook like that?"

"Inuyasha go to bed!"

Inuyasha groaned but quickly retreated upstairs at the tone of his father's voice only to meet his mother's frown.

"Taisho, I'm taking them to bed."

Taisho nodded as he watched Izaiyoi kiss Rin on the forehead and usher Kohaku out of his slumber on the steps. It wasn't unusual for her to leave Sesshoumaru in his hands alone. Physically they were all together but there were certainly divides that existed within the family most notably between Sesshoumaru, Inuyasha, and Izaiyoi. It was becoming more and more evident with the increasing fights and Sesshoumaru's disinterest in listening to Izaiyoi. They'd further added to the family with the adoption of Kohaku and finally Rin. The two of them seemed to stick closely together but Rin had moments of exception pulling Inuyasha and Kohaku into tea parties and games and when she couldn't get Sesshoumaru to participate she'd follow him around or hang near him. Taisho thought at first that Sesshoumaru was completely ignoring her until he noticed Rin's drawings on sheets of Sesshoumaru's notebook paper or her skipping around the house with half of whatever his son had been eating. Yet, he was baffled as he stood here now hearing his son say that he'd rather not express his opinion of Rin or Kohaku. Maybe his son was just angry or he was misunderstanding what Sesshoumaru meant. Possibly, Sesshoumaru saw Kohaku and Rin as more of a brother and sister than Inuyasha because of the circumstance?

"This isn't going to work. You can't keep getting into fights with Inuyasha."

"Maybe he shouldn't get into fights with me."

"If what he said was true, what do you expect? I thought he was provoking you, but I see now that you're doing the same. You think you're responsible enough to own a car yet you're not even mature enough to stay out of fights with your younger brother."

"It's different."

"How?"

"…"

Sesshoumaru decided not to try and explain why Inuyasha's presence irked him to no end. Inuyasha seemed to have a better relationship with their father and always seemed to get the comparison to their father around family and friends. It also seemed to him that their father took more pride in Inuyasha's accomplishments no matter how minuscule and whatever he could use to praise Inuyasha he would.

"Your mother and I were talking…"

"She's not my mother."

"... about taking a short vacation during your spring break. Instead of dropping you all off with your grandfather we agreed that you should be responsible enough to watch your brothers and little sister. If we can be gone for a week without having to step in then you get a new car. If the situation seems like it's out of control and any of them begs us to come home you put up with the old car, walk to school, or ride the bus, your choice. Sound fair?"

"Fair."

"Good. By the way, we need to talk about this girlfriend of yours."

"Kagura is just a friend."

Taisho raised a brow as he listened to Sesshoumaru trail off, "Well, that's how it all starts."

A/N: Enjoying my time to write again!