InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ It Must Be Destiny ❯ Chapter 2

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

For future reference, ( and ) indicate Japanese speaking, and regular “ and “ indicate English speaking. I don't own Inuyasha, but the original characters I created are mine.

Chapter 2

Amber blinked a few times as she lightly took his outstretched hand. “Inu… souta? As in handsome dog?”

He sighed good-naturedly. “Indeed. My mother- she has a thing for… dogs,” he explained lamely. “Although the `souta' part is in honor of my Uncle Souta, my mother's brother.”

The poor girl looked rather bewildered. “I see…”

He began walking away, motioning for her to follow him. “Are you available to start today, or would another day be more convenient?”

“Um… t-today would be f-fine,” she stuttered as she quickly caught up to him. “I mean, it's not like I have anything else to do here.”

Turning towards her, he raised an eyebrow. “What about your family? Should you call them and tell them you will be returning later?”

Amber shook her head sadly, looking at the ground. “I'm… alone here. My grandmother- she passed away not too long ago, and she was all I had.”

Compassion filled Inusouta's chest as he watched her- something his father would never admit to feeling. “Might I ask about your parents?”

She gave him a forced half-smile. “They… didn't want me. My grandmother- my obaasan raised me.”

Surprise flickered in his eyes. “I apologize. I was not aware.”

She smiled weakly. “Don't worry about it. It's old news to me. My grandmother loved me more than anyone else could, anyway. That's all that matters.”

“Do… you know where they live now?”

She nodded. “Somewhere in Wisconsin, I think. Obaasan and I lived in California.”

“I am so very sorry.”

Shrugging, she gave him a more genuine smile. “Don't be. My obaasan said that there is something special, something very rare about me, and that my parents just didn't know how to deal with it.”

Not really knowing what to say, he stopped next to a black and silver 1997 Yamaha V-MAX and lifted off the dangling helmet. Handing the helmet to Amber, he secured his backpack on the back of the bike. “Here. Put this on.”

She blinked uncertainly at him. “What about you, Higurashi-san?”

He smiled. “Do not concern yourself about me. I am a superb driver. And feel free to call me Inusouta.”

She stared at the helmet, her eyes drawn to the dark blue surface with airbrushed lighter blue flames fanning out from the visor. Somehow, it fits his personality perfectly.

Slipping the helmet on quickly, she watched as he mounted the bike and started it up. She carefully got on behind him and held loosely onto the sides of his waist.

“You are going to have to put your arms around my waist,” Inusouta called back to her over the growl of the engine. “Unless you wish to fall off when the bike moves.”

Poor Amber blushed furiously underneath the helmet. Nothing like having a devastatingly handsome guy tell you he wants you to put your arms around him, she chuckled nervously to herself. Trying to control the shaking in her arms, she scooted forward a bit and hugged him gently around his slender waist.

He grinned. Apparently, she has never been on a motorcycle before. Well, that would make things more interesting. “All right- hold on!” he yelled as the motorcycle growled even louder before screeching forward and out of the lot.

“Bloody hell!” she cried as she clamped her arms as tightly as she could around Inusouta's waist. She squeezed her eyes shut with her cheek between his shoulder blades. Her surprise and terror were so great she didn't realize that her entire front was pressed intimately against his back.

Inusouta noticed. In fact, he could feel the pressure of her bosom with every bounce of the bike. There is something familiar about this girl… but I know I have never met her before. Damn, I wish I were hanyou right now! These blasted human senses are worthless!

He tried to ignore the tug in his groin as he focused on the road. When they reached a stoplight, he turned back towards her slightly. “Hey, Amber-san… are you okay back there?”

Not bothering to loosen her embrace, she nodded slightly, unintentionally rubbing her cheek against his back. “S-s-sure. N-n-no p-problem.”

“Where did you want to go? We could head to your house, if you wish…”

She shook her head. “No. I've just got a tiny little apartment- there's no way you'd fit.”

He chuckled. “Too tall, am I?”

“N-no! It's just that… well, maybe for my apartment. I mean, I know that I'm too tall for it, and you're about four inches taller than me.”

He pondered for a moment. “Well, shall we head to my house? I am certain my okaasan would be willing to help you with your Japanese too. She seems to be addicted to helping people.”

Her grip tightened slightly, making him grin. “Your… okaasan?”

He nodded as he slowly started forward again with the traffic. “Let us just hope Izayoi is at Naoko's house. She is a royal pain in my ass.”

“Izayoi?” Kohaku muttered against his shirt.

“My neesan. You might have seen her- black hair, gold eyes… surrounded by hordes of males fawning all over her…”

She knew who he was talking about. That's his sister? Well, bloody hell- it shouldn't be any surprise to me. Those two are so good-looking it practically hurts to look at them! Of course they'd be related!

“D-do… you have any other… siblings?” she managed to ask, striving to keep her mind off the rapid movement of the motorcycle.

“We have a younger sister as well. Suki. She is four years younger than Izayoi and I.”

“S-so sh-she's still in m-middle school?”

“Indeed.”

Finally, he pulled up at the steps of a shrine. He stopped the bike and parked it, turning off the engine.

Amber blinked at the long flight of stone steps. “Wh-what are we doing here?”

He grinned back at her. “This is where I live. Higurashi shrine.”

“You live in a shrine?”

“Sort of. My hiijiji used to be caretaker for it, but when he passed away, it fell to my obaasan. Now she has moved away and left us to ensure its upkeep.”

Amber carefully extracted herself from clinging to Inusouta's back. “Wow… that's so… “

“Strange?”

“Well… yeah. I mean, it was just me and my obaasan while I was growing up. I never met anyone else in my family.”

He smiled reassuringly at her. “Do not concern yourself. If I know my okaasan, she will treat you like you are one of us.” Let us just hope Otousan is not at home…

Together they climbed the steps of the shrine. When the buildings at the top came into view, Amber gasped appreciatively. “Wow… I've never been to a shrine before. This is really neat!”

The sliding door to the house opened and a seemingly-middle aged woman stepped outside, wiping her hands on a towel. Her long black hair was identical to Inusouta's, and was tied back with a bandanna. She wore a white apron over a dark green shirt and khaki capris.

(“Inusouta! You're home early, for a change!”) the woman called out cheerfully. As they came closer, Amber could see the woman gaze at her intently. She bowed respectfully and stayed like that, not quite sure what the woman was saying. (“And who's your friend?”)

(“This is Ryoushi Amber. She is an American exchange student, I believe.”) He, too, spoke in Japanese, then switched to English for Amber's benefit. “But she does not understand Japanese very well, so I offered to help her learn.”

“Oh really?” the woman replied in English, faintly accented. “Well, it's good to meet you, Ryoushi-chan. I am Higurashi Kagome, Inusouta's mother.”

(“Arigatou, Mrs. Higurashi-san,”) Amber replied in halting Japanese. (“It… is… good… meet… you.”)

Kagome smiled reassuringly. “Welcome to our shrine.”

Inusouta caught his mother's gaze. (“Where is Otousan?”) he asked softly.

Kagome rolled her eyes. (“Blasting youkai in Sengoku Jidai, of course. Baka claims he's protecting the village, but I think he just wants to kill things.”)

(“Do you think he will return home this evening?”)

(“Probably. It's Friday. Ramen night.”)

He groaned. Of course. How could I have forgotten? Worse, how will I explainhim? “Amber-san, this is my father, Inuyasha. And by the way, he's a hanyou: half dog demon, half human. He's from 500 years in the past.”

Amber had tuned out their musical conversation and had instead wandered over to a large tree decorated with strange papers. She gazed up at it, mesmerized by… something.

“That is Goshinboku,” Inusouta explained as he appeared at her side. “Essentially, it is the guardian god tree of Higurashi shrine.”

“Really?”

Before he could answer, an annoyingly familiar voice chirped in his ear. (“Who's your new girlfriend, Inu?”)

(“Damn you, Izayoi! She is not a girlfriend!”) he growled back, turning towards his smirking sister. (“She is a classmate and is simply here to study Japanese!”)

The lovely girl blinked in confusion. (“She doesn't know Japanese? Then what is she doing in Japan?”)

(“Learning the language!”)

Izayoi chortled as she turned back towards the house. (“Sure, Oniisan. I think that you're hiding something from me, and believe me- I'll find out what!”)

Baka neesan! I told Okaasan she should have been drowned at birth…

Amber stared after Izayoi. “Your sister is awfully amused by something.”

“Yeah. As I mentioned previously: a real pain in my ass.” He glanced at her, aware of her uncomfortable expression. “Would you prefer to work out here, by Goshinboku, rather than go inside?”

“S-sure.” She nodded, flushing slightly. She sat down on the nearby bench and stared up at the tree, unsure of how to begin.

“We shall start with conversational Japanese, ne?” he asked as he sat next to her on the bench.

She glanced at him, uncertain. “Well… I don't plan on staying in Japan long- just long enough to find information about my ancestors, and then I'm going back to the states.”

He raised an eyebrow in surprise. “Your ancestors? Are you not American?”

Kohaku sighed. “My family came from Japan many, many generations ago. They immigrated to America and our Japanese blood was, for lack of a better term, bred out. My obaasan had managed to salvage what little history she knew from her grandmother, who had in turn, learned from hers. That's how the painting has been passed down through my family.”

She paused, afraid of revealing too much, but decided there was no harm in telling him the truth. “Every first-born of the new generation is named Kohaku,” she said softly, looking at her hands. “Whether the child is male or female. It's a family name, dating back to when our ancestors still lived here in Japan.”

“It really suits you,” he said without thinking. Then he caught what he said and flushed, turning away. It appeared that she hadn't heard him.

“Anyways, my obaasan pleaded with me to return here, to Japan, and find out everything I could about my ancestors. She said there was something I needed to find, something that would help me to… figure out who I really am.”

“Who you really are? What do you mean?”

Sapphire eyes blinked slowly, sadly at him. “You wouldn't believe me, even if I told you.”