Disclaimer: I do not own the Inuyasha series or any of the characters.

Summary: Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha's fighting is interrupted by unexpected visitors. "Sesshoumaru! I've brought you a lunch!" Warning: silliness and improbability. One Shot.

As always, author notes and translations are at the bottom. This story is set at some indeterminate point mid-series, sometime before Tokijin breaks. Other than that, I wasn't too concerned with canon here. This is just for fun.

The Domestic Dog

Inuyasha brought the Tessaiga up in an attempt to block Sesshoumaru's attack, but he was a second too slow and caught the edge of a blast from Tokijin right in the face. It sent him flying backwards a good twenty feet, and only by wedging Tessaiga's tip in the ground was he able to keep from being tossed onto his back. His half-brother regarded him coldly as Inuyasha panted with exertion.

"And now, otouto," Sesshoumaru intoned, "You die!"

He lifted Tokijin and launched himself forward, his eyes gleaming with great pleasure in his otherwise expressionless face. However, he only travelled about half the distance between them before he suddenly froze, apparently distracted. Then he turned to the side and looked at the sky.

Inuyasha had seen his brother do plenty of inexplicable things in the past, but this was strange even for him. If there was one thing about Sesshoumaru that could usually be counted on, it was the fact that he was very focused in battle. His curiosity roused, Inuyasha chanced taking his eyes off Sesshoumaru to glance to the side in hopes of discovering what had caught his attention.

The glance required a double-take, which turned into an all-out stare. Cavorting gracefully from cloud to cloud was an enormous inuyoukai, heading this way. It was perhaps a little smaller than Sesshoumaru's true form, but unlike his silver coloration, this one was snowy white. It also seemed to be carrying something pale and fluffy in its mouth, approximately the same size as Kirara's battle form.

Sesshoumaru's posture had changed, Inuyasha noted, still watching him from the corner of his eye. His face was still expressionless, but something about the way he was standing made him look… well, a bit like a dog that could hear its master coming up the road.

This only got more bizarre by the minute.

The inuyoukai drew near and came in for a very smooth landing about fifty yards away, where it put down its burden and transformed into a gorgeous, white-haired woman wearing an elaborate, many-layered kimono. She was smiling, and as they all stared in amazement, she lifted one pale hand and gave an elegant wave, while with her other hand she produced a small, cloth-wrapped bundle from somewhere in the many folds of her kimono.

"Yoohoo!" she called in a lyrical voice. "Sesshoumaru! I've brought you a lunch!"

As she walked towards them, seeming almost to glide over the grass, the fuzzy burden she had set down on the ground uncurled itself and began to frolic clumsily along behind her, barking loudly, complete with floppy ears and wagging tail.

Sesshoumaru seemed to have forgotten all about Inuyasha. He put away his sword, watching the youkai woman with a hint of expression on his face. Inuyasha wasn't sure what the expression was, but it was definitely there, and it was one that Inuyasha had never seen his brother wear before. It looked less cold than usual.

The female youkai reached the place where Sesshoumaru stood and handed him the cloth package, which he accepted mechanically. It looked lumpy, and was gently oozing blood. He looked at it, once again expressionless.

"Boar meat," he stated without inflection.

"Oh, anata, don't be such a picky eater," the woman admonished. "I don't know how you grew so tall when you dislike half the foods you ought to eat. I know you prefer rabbit, but it was a very nice boar, and rabbit is too lean to live off, anyway. There are some very fine cuts in there."

They were interrupted here by the Kirara-sized puppy, who chose that moment to rear up, put his front paws against Sesshoumaru's armoured chest, and lick his face enthusiastically. The woman pushed him back down.

"Tsuyoshi! You know better than that! Transform if you're going to be so pushy. You're too big in this form."

"Did you leave the others at home?" Sesshoumaru asked the woman as the puppy disappeared in a cloud of swirling youki.

"Of course not, they'd destroy the house," the woman replied airily. "They'll catch up in a moment."

The puppy emerged now as an adorable little silver-haired toddler who looked no older than a year and a half. He latched onto Sesshoumaru's empty left sleeve and swung by his teeth.

And Sesshoumaru tolerated it. Or at least, tried to pretend it wasn't happening.

Inuyasha realized that his mouth had been gaping open for the last five minutes and hurriedly closed it, before sending an incredulous look at his companions. They all seemed as befuddled as he felt.

The sound of barking came into hearing range, and over the trees appeared two more inuyoukai. The largest was taller than a large horse, while the smaller one's head was about as high as the larger one's shoulders. They both descended, preparing to land. The larger one seemed to have trouble arresting its forward momentum, and skidded about twenty feet on its haunches before coming to a stop. The smaller pup seemed to have more trouble steering than braking, and landed in a nearby mud hole. It spent a few moments struggling to free itself from the suction before it finally managed to wade to solid ground. It also seemed to be carrying a large oni's club in its mouth, which the larger pup grabbed and began pulling on, growling. The ensuing tug-of-war trampled the wildflowers and knocked over a small tree.

"That's enough, you two!" scolded the woman. "Put that down. You don't know where it's been."

The two puppies dropped their toy and transformed into a boy, muddy up to his knees and elbows, who looked perhaps four years old, and a girl of about the age of six. The girl shoved the boy and raced over to the group, with the boy not far behind.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" the woman asked Sesshoumaru pleasantly.

The youngest pup, who had finally stopped dangling from Sesshoumaru's kimono, let out a sudden, pained yelp, followed by an outraged shriek. Moving almost too fast for even Inuyasha to see, Sesshoumaru grabbed the pup by the scruff of the neck and hoisted him to eye level.

"What did I tell you about my Tokijin?"

The pup removed his stung hand from his mouth and recited, "No touch Tou-chan sword."

These were Sesshoumaru's pups? Not only had he found a woman who would tolerate him long enough to mate, but he had actually managed to reproduce?

"Sesshoumaru," the woman said again, in a tone which indicated that she was waiting for introductions.

He eyed her for a minute, then pivoted on his heel to face Inuyasha and his friends.

"Tsuyoshi, my youngest," he said abruptly, thrusting the dangling pup forward. He indicated the others with a tilt of his head. "Nishiko, my daughter and eldest. Katsutoshi, my elder son. My mate, Nadeshiko."

He turned around and ignored Inuyasha again, his attention focused on his mate, who looked exasperated. She stepped around him and walked forward, a pleasant smile on her face.

"You must be Sesshoumaru's younger brother," she greeted ("Half-brother," muttered Sesshoumaru as he set his son down, but Nadeshiko ignored him). "Inuyasha-dono, am I correct?"

"Uh, yeah," Inuyasha answered awkwardly. He realized he was still brandishing Tessaiga, and hurriedly put it away, not quite sure why he felt embarrassed.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you," she said, apparently with complete sincerity. "Children, come and meet your uncle."

The two little boys scampered forward, the youngest hiding his face in his mother's kimono, but the girl latched onto Sesshoumaru's leg and scowled.

"I don't wanna!" She let out a fierce little growl, and pointed an accusing finger. "He's the hanyou who cut off Chichi-ue's arm!"

She peered up at her father's face, and smirked when he rewarded her attitude with an approving look. Clearly, she was "Chichi-ue's girl", through and through.

The elder boy, however, seemed to find this fascinating. "Wow…" was all he said, as he stared at Inuyasha in awe. The younger boy, by contrast, was investigating the contents of one nostril with an air of great preoccupation.

"I would have liked to meet you sooner," the woman was saying, "but you were sealed to that tree for much of the time that Sesshoumaru and I have been mates. Such a dreadful business! But now that we've met, you must come and visit! You're welcome to dinner anytime."

"What?" interjected Sesshoumaru, and Inuyasha had the rare pleasure of seeing his normally cool and composed older brother caught entirely off guard. "But we hate each other. He severed this Sesshoumaru's arm!" Inuyasha tried not to snicker. Sesshoumaru sounded as close to whining as Inuyasha had ever heard him.

"Oh, hush! It'll grow back eventually," said Nadeshiko. "Or at least, it will if you leave it alone and stop trying to attach inferior replacements to it." Loftily, she added, "If that tale of yours was to be believed, it sounds as though you deserved it, anyway." She gathered her sons close. "Let that be a lesson to both of you. Never try to kill each other, because it's all fun and games until someone loses a body part."

Blinking at her, both boys nodded.

"But truly," she continued to Inuyasha. "Whenever you're in the area, you really must stop by. The house is about five ri further west, in the valley full of maples." She turned her gaze towards Inuyasha's friends. "And these must be your travelling companions. I've heard a great deal about each of you."

She went to make her introductions, and Inuyasha focused on his disgruntled brother again. Not that Sesshoumaru allowed himself to look disgruntled, but Inuyasha could just tell. He smirked broadly, and watched his brother's hand twitch slightly in the direction of his sword. Inuyasha angled an ear back toward Nadeshiko, who was already deep in conversation with Kagome as though they'd known each other all their lives.

"Didn't know you had a mate," Inuyasha commented, spying an opportunity to hassle his brother. "How'd you find a female that would put up with you?"

Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed in annoyance. Then he replied, "Why do you ask, Inuyasha? Are you looking for pointers, perhaps?"

Inuyasha clenched his fists. Damn Sesshoumaru and his smart-ass remarks! How'd he always manage to get in the best comebacks?

As Inuyasha was searching for an appropriate retort (which was always difficult with his pulse pounding angrily in his ears), Sesshoumaru added, "Well, you need all the help you can get, don't you?"

Screw the retort, Inuyasha would just kill him instead!

Before he could fly into a rage, however, something tugged on his sleeve. Looking down, he found that Sesshoumaru's elder son had wandered over, and was now gripping the fabric in one grubby hand, looking up at him intently.

"What?" Inuyasha growled.

The runt continued to stare, wide-eyed but unafraid. Sighing, Inuyasha forced himself to relax a little. "Did'ja want something, kid?"

The pup tilted his head to the side. "I ate a bug, Oji-san," he announced.

Inuyasha knit his brow, trying to figure out what bearing this news had on himself. "Oh." Then, because a reaction seemed to be expected, he said, "Uh… was it good?"

The pup (this one was Katsutoshi, right?) considered this carefully. Then he wrinkled his nose and shook his head.

"What'cha eat it for, then?"

Shrug.

Inuyasha eyed the boy, still trying to work out the point of the conversation. "You should probably stop eatin' bugs, kid." He paused, waiting for some cue as to what to do next. "Uh… was that it?"

The child nodded happily. Then he seized Inuyasha's hand (his sword hand, dammit! So much for gutting Sesshoumaru…) and clung there contentedly. Inuyasha wasn't really used to kids, except for Shippou, and he usually dealt with Shippou by thumping him on the head. Somehow, that didn't seem applicable to this situation. He fidgeted, rolling the hem of his left sleeve between his claws, then caught himself and stopped.

There was an awkward silence as he tried to avoid looking at Sesshoumaru.

Shippou broke the silence by bounding over and scrambling up to sit on Inuyasha's shoulder. His face was beet red and he kept wiping at his cheek, muttering under his breath.

"What's the matter with you?" Inuyasha asked, craning his neck.

Shippou turned even redder and rubbed his cheek more vigorously. "I dunno what she had to kiss me for. Did she get her girly makeup on me?"

Inuyasha would be the first person to admit he wasn't always very considerate of others, but the kit looked so sincerely concerned that he made an effort not to laugh. "You're fine," he assured him. Shippou looked sceptical, but didn't argue as he jumped down to the ground again.

"Sesshoumaru-sama! Rin has found you!"

On the far side of the field, out of the bushes came that human girl who always followed Sesshoumaru around, leading the two-headed dragon by its reins. There was no sign of the imp. The girl broke into a faster trot as she approached Sesshoumaru, until she spotted the new people surrounding him. She froze, looking curious and wary.

"Where is Jaken?" Sesshoumaru inquired.

"Oh, Jaken-sama got lost." The girl didn't seem overly concerned about this. "Sesshoumaru-sama? Who are they?"

"Oh, she's darling!" exclaimed Nadeshiko, one hand pressed to her breast. "Heavens, Sesshoumaru, why didn't you show her to me sooner?"

She swept forward to greet the little girl, but stopped in surprise as the girl backed away until she bumped into the dragon's chest, standing under the protection of the twin heads.

Now that was interesting. The kid travelled with Inuyasha's terrifying, glacial, asshole brother, but she was afraid of a bubbly, smiling woman (granted, a youkai woman, but still…)?

"Sesshoumaru-sama?" she said again, this time with an uncertain note in her voice.

"All is well, Rin," Sesshoumaru replied. "None here will harm you."

Apparently Sesshoumaru's word was as good as law to Rin. Her smile returned and she bounded forwards, with the dragon galumphing along behind her. As everyone watched her progress across the field, Sesshoumaru leaned closer to Nadeshiko and spoke softly, as though only for her ears (although Inuyasha could still hear his words quite easily).

"Rin is… selective with her trust," Sesshoumaru explained. "Recall that she was badly mistreated by the humans she lived among before she came to travel with this Sesshoumaru, and has been frequently attacked by youkai and taken captive by Naraku and various others. Hence her behaviour."

"Yes, of course," Nadeshiko murmured in reply, wringing her hands a little.

"She will like you," Sesshoumaru said, as though to reassure her. His tone was slightly stilted, as though he wasn't accustomed to making such assurances, but Nadeshiko stopped wringing her hands and smiled at him.

When Rin reached Sesshoumaru's side, she stopped, half-hiding behind him but still smiling as she peeked around him at the newcomers.

"Rin," Sesshoumaru addressed the girl, "This is my mate, Nadeshiko, and our three pups. This Sesshoumaru has spoken to you of them before."

"Hello," chirped Rin. "Are you really the cleverest lady in the Western Lands? Sesshoumaru-sama says so."

Nadeshiko smiled with obvious delight. "Does he really?" she asked, throwing him a fond look. "Well, I suppose it must be true, then. What else does he say about me?"

"Not much," Rin answered, with a child's innocent honesty. "Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't talk a lot."

Nadeshiko laughed and stooped to eye-level with the girl. "I can tell that we're going to be very good friends, Rin-chan," she said.

"Rin would like that!" Rin exclaimed. "Nadeshiko-sama has kind eyes."

"Thank you, Rin-chan." Nadeshiko beamed with pleasure. "Now tell me, you must have many interesting stories about Sesshoumaru and his travels."

Inuyasha paid close attention as the two began to share blackmail-worthy material, carefully filing away information that he could taunt his brother with in the future.

"Haha-ue, the baby's eating grass again," Nishiko spoke up, sounding disdainful.

"Oh, Sesshoumaru, stop him," Nadeshiko said, pausing in her conversation with Rin long enough to ensure that her mate followed her direction before continuing to chat.

Watching Sesshoumaru try to hold onto his youngest son and pry his mouth open at the same time when he only had one arm to work with was entertainment on its own. The pup was not keen on cooperating, and when Sesshoumaru finally succeeded and stuck his fingers into Tsuyoshi's mouth to fish out the wad of grass, the pup clamped his teeth down again and refused to let go.

"Don't you dare swallow that," Sesshoumaru told his son in a tone of parental disapproval that Inuyasha had never heard his brother use before.

The pup's eyes took on a rather determined glint.

Gulp.

Sesshoumaru sighed wearily. "He has eaten it," he announced to his mate, trying to extract his fingers from the pup's teeth. "Tsuyoshi, cease."

"Well then, you can tend to him when it comes back up," Nadeshiko replied. "I have seen quite enough puppy-vomit to last a lifetime, thank you."

Sesshoumaru finally managed to wrest his fingers away from the pup and examined the small indentations that marked the digits. Inuyasha was pretty sure he could see a few drops of blood. Puppy teeth were small, but sharp, and the pup appeared to have jaws of steel. Tsuyoshi barked and scampered off to maul the two-headed dragon, who bore the abuse with better grace than Sesshoumaru.

"Chichi-ue, when are you going to come home again?" his daughter asked in a wheedling tone. "It's boring when you're away."

"This Sesshoumaru shall return when circumstances permit."

The girl scowled petulantly. "This Nishiko wants Chichi-ue to come home now."

It was awe-inspiring, really, to see Sesshoumaru's own pup give him sass. It looked like this was a new occurrence, because Sesshoumaru seemed to be stunned speechless for a moment.

"I told you that you shouldn't refer to yourself that way around the pups unless you want them to start doing it too," Nadeshiko put in, returning to Sesshoumaru's side with Rin.

"I like when Chichi-ue comes home," spoke up Katsutoshi from Inuyasha's side, where he was still clutching Inuyasha's hand. Inuyasha looked down at him in surprise. He had almost forgotten that the pup was there.

"When Chichi-ue is home, it's more fun to play with swords," Katsutoshi added, happily swinging Inuyasha's hand back and forth. "And sometimes Chichi-ue brings presents. And Nee-chan doesn't tease me so bad when Chichi-ue is home."

"Nishiko," Sesshoumaru intoned, slanting a warning look at his daughter. "You are not to torment your brothers."

"I don't like brothers," Nishiko pouted. "I never asked for any."

Meanwhile, Katsutoshi had warmed to his subject, and continued on as if no one had spoken.

"Haha-ue likes it when Chichi-ue is home, too," he informed everyone. "But sometimes she's mean to him. Last time Chichi-ue was home, Haha-ue tied him up in their room with no clothes on, and she didn't let him go for hours. I guess Haha-ue must'a gave him a spanking for being gone so much, 'cause he kept groaning real loud, and the servants thought it was funny."

Inuyasha's valiant effort at keeping a straight face was fairly successful, until he made the mistake of making eye contact with Sesshoumaru. Sesshoumaru was trying and failing to pretend that his son had not said anything unusual, while Nadeshiko just looked mortified. Inuyasha lost his internal battle and snorted with laughter, trying to disguise it as a cough. He could hear his friends giggling in the background, and he didn't dare look round at them or he knew he would really lose it. Katsutoshi grinned at everyone, not certain why what he'd said was funny, but pleased that he'd made so many people happy.

"Can I have a sister?" Nishiko asked as if on cue, which prompted a new round of snickering.

Sesshoumaru stared at her. Then in an act of apparent desperation, he reached out and grabbed Rin, thrusting her forwards.

"Rin is your new sister," he announced, as the little human girl blinked in surprise.

Nishiko stared at Rin for a long moment. "But I'm supposed to be the oldest!" she wailed. "I wanted a little sister who would do what I tell her to!"

When her parents showed no sign of catering to her whims, she studied the usurper of her position as alpha pup, and then sighed heavily and went off to sulk in despair. Rin, seemingly recovered from her surprise already, looked up at Sesshoumaru.

"Does this mean that Rin should call Sesshoumaru-sama Otou-san?" she asked curiously.

Sesshoumaru appeared to have given up entirely. "Do whatever you wish, Rin."

Rin smiled happily and ran off to engage the youngest pup in a game of fetch.

"Four pups, Sesshoumaru?" Nadeshiko asked wryly, raising an eyebrow at him before turning to watch as her youngest child used his mouth to retrieve the stick that Rin had tossed. "You might have asked, first."

"Four pups," Sesshoumaru said stoically. "And the only one that does not appear to be defective is a human."

Nadeshiko hid her mouth behind her sleeve as she laughed at him. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was quite startled to realize that his brother had a sense of humour.

"Uh… Sesshou… Otou-san?" Rin's voice spoke up. "Tsu-chan's tummy is sick."

Tsuyoshi was on all fours, retching in the grass, as Rin patted his back with a slightly disgusted expression.

"I really wish he'd stop eating grass," Nadeshiko commented, as Sesshoumaru went over to deal with the situation, projecting an air of resignation despite his blank expression. Nadeshiko sighed and turned her attention to Inuyasha and his friends.

"You really must visit, Onii-san," she told Inuyasha. He still found her politeness unnerving. He was a hanyou! Couldn't she see the ears? "I know you must be very busy with this same horrible Naraku fellow that Sesshoumaru is so keen to defeat, but I won't take no for an answer. Now promise me you'll come and see us sometime before the snow flies. Autumn is very lovely in the valley; you really must see it."

"Uh, yeah, sure," he replied, because there really didn't seem to be any other answer he could give her.

"And of course, your friends are welcome as well," she said, beaming at him. "I so rarely have interesting visitors."

Inuyasha wondered for a moment that Sesshoumaru didn't hide his mate and pups away completely when a monster like Naraku was at large, but then he felt foolish. Not even Naraku could be stupid enough to go after a full grown inuyoukai bitch with pups. He might as well just save time and commit seppuku. It would probably be less messy. Any female that Sesshoumaru had decided was worthy to be his mate and allowed to boss him around was no doubt more ferocious in battle than most females, and probably twice as fearsome as Sesshoumaru. In fact, it was almost a shame that Naraku didn't threaten the pups, because Inuyoukai bitches were terrifyingly vicious when their pups were in danger. Nadeshiko could probably solve all their problems for them in a single outburst of maternal fury. But Naraku would never dare. He was psychotic, not suicidal.

Sesshoumaru returned, carrying his youngest pup, who was now looking rather subdued, while Nishiko and Rin followed behind (the former still looking quite sullen). He handed Tsuyoshi to his mate, who called her other pups to her side.

"Now say goodbye to your uncle, children," Nadeshiko instructed, lining them up before her according to height (a practice loved by mothers everywhere). "If you're good, he may come to visit with us one day."

"Goodbye Oji-san," they chorused dutifully at Inuyasha, although some with better grammar or more enthusiasm than others. The result was barely comprehensible.

"It was nice to meet you all," Nadeshiko told Inuyasha and his friends. "I hope to see you all again soon."

With Sesshoumaru's assistance, Nadeshiko herded the pups some distance away and then set them loose on Sesshoumaru with the instruction to bid their father a proper farewell. This involved more physical affection than Inuyasha would have suspected Sesshoumaru was capable of showing, as the icy daiyoukai permitted his pups to hug him and nuzzle and lick his face, and even returned their gestures. Nadeshiko raised her face to Sesshoumaru with an expectant expression, and Sesshoumaru obediently bent to kiss her, though he seemed slightly self-conscious to Inuyasha's eyes.

"If you come home soon, I'll make it worth your while," Sesshoumaru's mate said quietly with a coy smile, and Sesshoumaru actually seemed to blush faintly (astounding Inuyasha to no end).

Sesshoumaru's family transformed into their dog forms with a massive surge of youki. Tsuyoshi repeated his earlier trick of rearing up to lick Sesshoumaru's face, before Nadeshiko caught the pup by the scruff. She launched herself into the air and the other pups followed, although they both needed a running start, and Katsutoshi took several attempts to get airborne. Everyone watched as the family flew out of sight, and Rin waved all the while.

Sesshoumaru turned around again and looked at Inuyasha with a hint of weariness, seeming unable to even recall what they had been doing before the unexpected visit. But then his eyes narrowed, and he drew Tokijin. Inuyasha's hand went for Tessaiga's hilt.

To Inuyasha's astonishment, instead of attacking, Sesshoumaru seemed to pause, and then put his sword away again.

"Oh, never mind," were the unlikely words that Sesshoumaru muttered as he turned away. Then he raised his voice. "Rin. We are leaving."

"Coming, Otou-san!" the girl replied, catching hold of the dragon's reins to lead it.

Inuyasha couldn't believe his luck. But he couldn't let matters rest as they were, either.

"Oi, Sesshoumaru!" he called across the distance between them.

Sesshoumaru halted, hesitated as though summoning up reserves of energy, and then turned to face Inuyasha.

Inuyasha couldn't hold back a smirk. "So, what time is dinner?"

Sesshoumaru didn't bother coming up with a retort. He just turned and resumed his departure, trying to ignore the laughter at his back.

Inuyasha decided that he really liked Sesshoumaru's family. It wasn't often that he could enjoy a good laugh at his brother's expense. And if he accepted the invitation to visit, he could probably teach the pups some really entertaining bad habits that would make Sesshoumaru's life miserable. Inuyasha certainly had plenty of bad habits to choose from. He could hardly wait.

Inuyasha was going to be grinning all week.

:Owari:

A/N: I was pondering the idea of a mate and children for Sesshoumaru for another story idea of mine that may or may not ever get written. Suddenly the idea of Sesshoumaru as a hen-pecked husband and exasperated, exhausted father sprang into my mind, and giggling, I thought "Why not?"

Translations:
Otouto – little brother
Inuyoukai – dog demon
Youkai – demon/spirit
Anata - affectionate way for a wife to address her husband
Youki – demonic aura or energy
Oni – ogre
Tou-chan – very childish version of Otou-san (father), roughly "daddy" or "papa"
Hanyou – half-demon
Chichi-ue – father (formal and archaic term)
Haha-ue – mother (formal and archaic term)
-dono – very polite suffix indicating a very honoured person who is the equal of the one addressing him/her (while –sama would be more subservient)
Ri – old measurement of distance equal to approx. 4 kilometres (2.5 miles)
Oji-san – uncle (not to be confused with Ojii-san, which means grandfather)
Nee-chan - sister (from Onee-san)
Otou-san – father
Onii-san – brother (here meaning brother-in-law, which is pronounced the same way in Japanese but written using different characters)
Seppuku – ritualized suicide involving a dagger in the abdomen
Daiyoukai – great and powerful youkai

Names: I pretty much picked the longest, grandest names I could find for Sesshoumaru's family.
Nadeshiko – fringed pink carnation
Nishiko – child of the west
Katsutoshi – to win cleverly
Tsuyoshi – strong