"I would love to go tonight," Aura replied. Now that she actually could accept the invitation, she wasn't going to pass it up. "I definitely need to go home and change, first, though." And throw her shirt into the rag basket. It hadn't survived the relatively rough playtime earlier.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Of course. Do you have any preference?" He knew some of the things she liked, but he also didn't want to take her somewhere he wasn't sure about yet. Or somewhere expensive, since he was fairly sure she'd protest at that.

No, he was saving the expensive places for later.

"Not really," Aura replied. "Surprise me." She had no real preference on where to go for dinner, since she usually only had time for something quick and easy and very rarely went to any really nice places. She wouldn't object to going to a nice place, though.

Sesshomaru smiled faintly. "Alright. Is half an hour sufficient, or would you prefer a little longer to get ready?" He knew she still had to get home and change, but he didn't know if she'd shower or anything else.

"Maybe forty-five minutes?" Aura asked. "It'll take me fifteen minutes to get home from here." And she wanted that half an hour to make sure she was actually presentable after dealing with little kids all day. This wasn't just some 'change of shirt and be gone' thing, this was something else entirely. She was already mentally going through her wardrobe to see if she had anything that would actually look nice.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Very well. Forty-five minutes. Would you like me to pick you up?" He raised an eyebrow at her. He did have a car he could use, he just didn't use it very often. He would, though, for her. He'd even drive.

"Only if it's not too much trouble," Aura replied. She didn't want to take advantage of him at all, and she was more than capable of meeting him somewhere if that worked out better. Her attention was grabbed momentarily when two of the few remaining kids started to fight over a toy. "Hold that thought," she said. Then she went over to break up the little scuffle.

Sesshomaru watched her for a moment before shaking his head, just a little, and walking over. He looked down at the little ones, who all looked up at him for a moment before handing over the toy to Aura. He smirked faintly. Good pups.

Aura gave Sesshoumaru something of a Look as the children went off to find another toy to play with. Clearly, she wasn't about to start gushing out thanks to him for stopping the little scuffle.

"You didn't have to do that," she said as she put the first toy away. "I've broken up fights like that before."

"I know you have," Sesshomaru said calmly. "I didn't do it for you. They were being loud and upsetting Inu Yasha."

Indeed, the pup had bristled at the noise the other kids had made, his ears pressed flat against his head as he squirmed in Sesshomaru's grip. He calmed when the other kids went to go find other things to do, though.

"Fair enough," Aura replied. "Still... try not to intimidate the kids too often. It's hard enough imposing my authority on them on a good day, I don't need anyone undermining it." Which was true. There were quite a few of the children who regularly rebelled against her because she was human, and she had her hands full trying to keep them all in line.

Sesshomaru nodded his acquiescence. That was a fair assessment, he decided.

"Would you like me to stay until the rest of them have gone home?" he offered quietly.

"You don't have to," Aura replied. She wanted to ask him to stay, but it made her feel like she was being clingy. "I'm sure you'll want to get your brother home soon." She did kind of want him to stay, though. She just didn't want him to feel obligated.

"On the contrary. Socialization is good for him." Sesshomaru looked down when InuYasha attempted to squirm out of his arms, and he put the pup down. "He doesn't mind. And if he needs to go, for whatever reason, I will take him." Gold eyes slanted her way before going back to tracking the pup's progress through the room.

He really was giving her a ready-made excuse. Clearly, he was trying to spoil her early.

"Then I don't mind at all if you want to hang around a while longer," she said. She glanced around the room habitually. There were only a few children left, now, so it wouldn't be too much longer before she could close up and get home so she could tear through her closet for something nice to wear.

Sesshomaru nodded, staying close to her but not crowding her space. He kept an eye on the kids, too. So far they were continuing to behave. But he had agreed not to step in if any of them misbehaved, so he wouldn't.

It only took another twenty minutes or so for the last of the kids to be picked up, and Aura actually sighed in relief when she was able to close the doors. She rolled her shoulders slightly. It had been a long day, and she was kind of grateful that it was over. She loved working with the kids, but sometimes she just couldn't keep up with them. She glanced at Sesshoumaru once she locked up the daycare for the evening.

"I guess I'll see you in a little while, then," she said.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Indeed. Forty-five minutes." A smile twitched his lips as he carried InuYasha easily. Then he paused, thinking of something. Two birds with one stone.

"Do you believe I should tell Hisoka that your hanyou will be unaccompanied for the evening?" He slipped into the other term on accident, although he didn't say it in a derogatory way. In fact, Kris got a hint of new respect that hadn't been there before.

Aura opened her mouth, most likely to protest the use of the word, but paused when the question sank in.

"Yes," she said after a moment. "I think that would be a great idea." Aura wasn't quite sure exactly why, but she could tell that Hisoka was good for Kris. And besides, it would be good for Kris to have some company for the evening aside from Shippou.

Sesshomaru nodded. "Alright. I'll see you shortly, then." He hesitated for a moment before leaning down to kiss her cheek. Then he and InuYasha were gone, headed back home.

Sesshomaru set InuYasha in his room before going to find the cat. Hopefully it wouldn't be that difficult.

Kris was in the middle of making Shippou a snack when Aura got back. She still had a few visible signs of her fight with Sesshomaru, since she didn't heal as quickly as he did. Unfortunately.

Aura was surprised for a moment after he kissed her cheek. That was something she hadn't been expecting, and she blushed a little. Once she got her wits together, she went home.

"Is the back yard still mostly in one piece?" she asked when she went in the kitchen to find Kris. Hey, it was a valid question, especially considering the bruises Aura could still see on Kris's arms.

Hisoka was, unsurprisingly, reading a new book. When he got a little free time, reading was his preferred hobby, so it wasn't uncommon to find him curled up somewhere with a new book. He did, however, mark his page and shift his attention when Sesshoumaru appeared.

"Yeah," Kris said, looking over at her. "The back yard is fine. A little scuffed up, but nothing that noticeable." She shrugged, slathering more peanut butter on toast before handing it to Shippou.

Sesshomaru leaned against the door frame, raising an eyebrow faintly at Hisoka. He was quiet for a moment before he spoke, looking off to the side and keeping track of the pup.

"I thought you might be interested to know that Kristine will be unaccompanied this evening. And I will be going out." He shifted his gaze to Hisoka again. "In case you're interested."

"As long as it's still there," Aura replied. "And I don't mean to stop in and run again, but I have to go change, since I have about twenty more minutes to do so, and I still haven't figured out what to wear."

Hisoka raised an eyebrow slightly as he nodded in understanding, although his expression was different than Sesshoumaru's.

"Out?" he replied. That was interesting. It didn't take a genius to figure out what was going on, especially since Sesshoumaru had taken longer than usual to pick his brother up from the daycare.

Kris blinked before she snorted. "Yeah, have fun with that. You probably don't need to get really fancy." She pushed her hair back, briefly exposing a scratch on her neck.

"Mm." Sesshomaru smirked faintly. "I even talked to Kristine." Which he knew Hisoka would appreciate.

Hisoka snorted softly. He knew that the talk that had gone on had most likely involved a bit of a skirmish as well, and he didn't even need to see the faint bruises on his lordship's skin to know that.

"Good," he said, regardless. "I'm certain things will be easier for you now." Making note of the page in his book, he set it aside. "Perhaps, then, I will see if Kris would like some company for the evening." He glanced up at Sesshoumaru. "Unless you have need of me?" Always best to make sure he wouldn't be missed.

After several minutes of frantic digging in her closet, Aura triumphantly emerged with one of her favorite shirts. She only wore it rarely, since she wouldn't risk it getting ruined by the kids at the daycare, and it was a delicate shirt anyways. It was deep indigo with lace overlaying the main part of the shirt and sleeves entirely made of lace in the same shade. It was a nice shirt that she was able to dress down a little with a pair of jeans and flat shoes, and she hurried to change into it.