"Really?" Aura replied curiously. "I really thought we'd found them all. Where were they?" She would have asked which ones, but if they were that well-hidden, chances were good that they weren't appropriate for the children to hear.

Kris glanced down at the kids. "One was under my matress, which we discovered when we flipped it," she said with a shrug. "And the other two I discovered when going through my drawers." And none of them were fit for children's eyes.

"And I can imagine how they got there," Aura commented dryly. Which also confirmed exactly which kinds of books they were.

Kris shrugged. "Hey, at least I found them," she offered with a grin. "And I'm even returning them! See, practically a minor miracle."

Aura grinned a bit.

"Yeah," she teased, "you could have kept them and showed them to Hisoka." And she and Kris both knew exactly what was being implied there.

Kris snickered. "Oh I have my own to show him," she said cheerfully. Meaning she'd done it before and was likely to do it again. Just because she could.

"Besides, I thought you were trying to get Sesshomaru to read some?"

"He has," Aura replied. "Once. I need to find a really good one, though." Meaning one he would be interested enough to 'investigate further.'

Kris snickered. "I can give you a few ideas if you need any," she offered. Meaning she'd already tested some on Hisoka and had damn well kept track of which ones worked.

"I have a few of my own," Aura replied. Meaning she'd come across some interesting ones that she made note of for later. She grinned and shook her head, then looked down at the boys in her lap. They'd both snuggled in together and drifted off into a nap.

Kris grinned. Alex and Aiko were both napping too, Aiko purring a little, and she could see Shippou just barely awake over on Hisoka.

"Guess it's nap time before dinner."

"They tired themselves out," Aura commented. "But I think they had fun."

"Oh they definitely had fun." Kris grinned. She had fun watching them, too. She had to admit it was a good idea that the dog had.

Not that she was going to tell him that, of course.

Aura let the boys nap for a few more minutes before nudging them awake gently.

"Almost time for dinner," she said softly. Both inu-hanyou yawned widely and rubbed their eyes as they woke up.

Kris managed to wake up her girls enough to get them inside and then she went to go finish up dinner so they could eat.

"I think they're all going to sleep well tonight," Aura commented as she kept an eye on the kids. They all still seemed to be on the verge of piling up on top of one another and going back to sleep.

"That's good, though," Kris said with a shrug. "They need the rest now. Besides, they'll get used to this. Eventually." And hopefully eventually they'd learn how to not compete until they could barely move.

Aura nodded, but didn't comment on that. She didn't like seeing her son and 'brother' so exhausted, but she knew there was nothing she could do about it but offer comfort and cuddles when they needed it.

Katsuro and Inuyasha barely made it through dinner awake, and didn't look like they would make it all the way to bed in that state. So Aura handed Inuyasha to his brother and gathered up Katsuro herself so that they could be put to bed.

Sesshomaru just chuckled when he was handed a pup, carrying Inuyasha up to bed and tucking him in before going to check on Katsuro and Aura.

Aura took her time putting her son to bed, cuddling him for a few minutes before tucking him in. She lingered for an extra moment once he was tucked in, and then slipped quietly out of the room.

Sesshomaru caught her arm gently as she left, pulling her over to him. "He settled in?" he asked quietly, looping his arms around her waist.

"Yeah," Aura replied softly, cuddling into his arms. "He was tired."

Sesshomaru nodded. "In a few days they'll learn to take things slower," he said quietly, rubbing her back slowly. "And then they won't be quite so exhausted." Not that he minded, of course. It meant he got time with Aura.

"Alright," Aura replied softly. She sighed softly in pleasure when he rubbed her back and laid her head against his shoulder. "Kris thinks I should make you read another romance or two," she commented after a moment. She looked up at him with a bit of a teasing glint in her eyes. "Research, so to speak."

Sesshomaru quirked an eyebrow at her, but he didn't stop rubbing her back. "Do you think I need to research?" he asked, equally as teasing. He was curious though. Sure, he'd read one romance novel, but he'd assumed they were all basically the same.

"I think, all things considered, you're doing just fine on your own," Aura replied, still teasing a bit. She stretched up to kiss him. "But if you want to research, I won't complain."