InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 10: Anomaly ❯ Like Father, Like Daughter ( Chapter 4 )

"You know, Mom, maybe you should go lie down for a bit . . ."

Kelly Cartham shot her daughter a droll glance before turning her attention back to the wall she was painting.  To Madison, it looked like she might have gotten more paint on herself than she had on the actual surface she was trying to cover, and she slowly shook her head.  "I'm fine.  I just wanted to finish this up, and even so, you shouldn't be worried about it.  That's your father's job, after all, and God only knows that he does it better than anyone else ever possibly could."

Madison wasn't entirely inclined to agree, but she kept her own counsel on the matter since she'd already been privy to a number of heated discussion over whether or not Kelly might be better off to be lying down, in the first place.  It was one of those discussion that was the reason that Cartham was currently closed up in the shooting range he'd built years ago . . .

"When are you planning on heading back to the city?"

Blinking to dispel the thoughts that had so easily sidetracked her, Madison glanced down at the clothes she'd changed into just after the impromptu photo shoot since Valerie had so adamantly refused to allow pictures until after Evan's hair had grown back—certainly not her best outfit, but still very nice—as she stepped over to retrieve the edge trim paddle that was arranged carefully atop the open gallon of satin-latex paint.  "I was going to leave tomorrow," she said, brushing excess paint off the brush before climbing up the stepladder to paint along the ceiling.  "You know, this room is starting to look like a Smurf threw up in here . . ."

Kelly wrinkled her nose but nodded slowly.  "It'll be fine once I paint the clouds over it," she predicted.  "Maybe not a Cain Zelig masterpiece, but it'll look good."

Madison laughed.  Kelly had decided she wanted to decorate the nursery for the soon-to-be addition to the family herself, and she'd chosen to outfit the entire room in balloons and kites and airplanes and other various things that little boys would be sure to love even though the great Cain Zelig actually did offer to paint the nursery for them months ago.  "I hope they're right about the baby being a boy," Madison couldn't help adding since it was a family joke that the doctors had told Cartham and Kelly that Madison was supposed to have been a boy, too.

Kelly snorted.  "Your father said the same thing last night," she allowed with a shrug.  "Said I better do this room up in sparkles and ponies and all those things that little girls love."

Madison smiled, having been told the story of how Cartham had demanded that the technician giving Kelly the ultrasound do it three or four more times, just to make sure that the parts she identified weren't something else, entirely, as had apparently been the case with Madison.  "He's really looking forward to having a son," she mused.  It didn't bother her in the least, though, that he was so excited, even if he refused to acknowledge any such thing.  Wasn't it every man's dream to have that son who could carry on the family name and all that stuff?

"Okay, I'm here to work!"

Madison blinked and turned to peer over her shoulder as Bellaniece Zelig Izayoi—Madison's godmother as well as Evan's sister—breezed into the room, complete in a not-very-old pink tee-shirt and cut off jean shorts  She had her bronze hair pulled up in a jaunty pony tail with a pretty pink kerchief tied over her head to complete the effect.  Sparing a moment to smile at Madison, she stooped to retrieve a small can of white trim paint and the brush that was carefully set atop it.

"Oh, Bella, you didn't have to come and help with this," Kelly insisted, setting her brush down to hurriedly and carefully hug her childhood best friend.

Bellaniece waved a dismissive hand.  "I'm in the area, you know," she pointed out.  "Anyway, the bride and groom just finished their late photos, the men are having another one of their infamous wars in the back yard, some of the women went to the store to do some baby shopping for Gin and Daddy, and Gin and Daddy are taking the happy couple to the airport."

"Hmm, did anyone ever find out where they're heading?" Kelly asked.

"Nope.  Evan still wouldn't say, but he did mention that they wouldn't be gone as long as he'd like," Madison said.

"Oh?  Why's that?"

Madison shrugged as she stepped over to reload the trim pad.  "Because V's pregnant," she replied simply.

"Is that right?" Bellaniece asked with a giggle. "The scamp.  He never mentioned that!"

"Well, V told me," Madison went on, carefully running the trim pad along the baseboard.  "Asked me to be the baby's godmother—which I accepted, of course, even though I have serious reservations that I'm a good person for that particular job."

"Oh, you'll be a fabulous godmother," Bellaniece insisted.  "Besides, it's not that hard.  Send lots of gifts to spoil your godchild properly—nothing ever remotely useful because useful is always boring—remember all birthdays and holidays as a par for course, and the rest of it is a piece of cake!"

Madison giggled since Bellaniece and her husband, Kichiro were damn good at doing exactly what she'd explained.  Considering one year, her parents had actually managed to forget her birthday while Bellaniece remembered?  Yeah, she was a good one to take lessons from, after all.  "Then I'm all set—as long as I don't forget, that is."

Bellaniece laughed since it was a well known fact that Madison did have a terrible habit of losing and generally forgetting things all the time.  "You'll be just fine, sweetie.  Just mark the days on the calendar, and don't forget to check it!"  Then she sighed and shook her head.  "You know, though, it just seems like everyone's having babies, and—Oh, my God!  Did you hear, Kel?  Seems like Daddy's gone and done it this time!"

"Why's that?" Kelly asked, leaning back, bracing her hand on the small of her back to stretch.

Bellaniece giggled.  "Gin's going to have twins."

Kelly sucked in a sharp breath and shook her head.  "Oh, poor Gin . . . Is he acting like a lunatic yet?"

Madison laughed as Bellaniece waved a hand.  "Surprisingly, he's not," she admitted.  "Which isn't to say he won't.  I don't think it's sank in yet, but when it does . . ."

"And you're sure that you're not having twins?" Madison said, casting a very wicked smile at her mother.  "I mean, you're pretty big . . ."

Kelly laughed, not taking any offense at all to the not-so-subtle teasing from her daughter.

"Shut your mouth, spawn," Cartham rumbled as he leaned in the doorway.  Madison giggled at the entirely horrified expression that surfaced on the youkai-hunter's face at the very thought of twin anythings.  "That's not even funny."

"Hmm, and are you finished, shooting at anything that moves?" Kelly asked rather dryly as she stooped to reload her paint roller.

"I was doing a maintenance check," he muttered.  "You said you'd lie down with me when I was done."

Madison stifled a sigh since it was pretty apparent that the two were still not pleased with one another.

"Did I?" Kelly replied in a vague sort of way.  "I don't remember.  Must be pregnancy-related.  They say your mind goes . . ."

Cartham snorted.  "Kel . . ."

She shot him a quelling look, and Madison bit her lip, waiting for the proverbial gauntlet to fall.  Even Bellaniece seemed to be at a loss as to what, exactly, she ought to do.

Setting the pad on the paint can once more, Madison stepped over to her godmother and offered her what was likely an overly bright smile.  "Let's go have a glass of iced tea, shall we?" she suggested, taking Bellaniece by the hand and literally dragging her out of the nursery.

Heaving a sigh in the hallway as the two headed for the stairs, Bellaniece made a face.  "I thought your mama knew how to sweet talk that old skunk," she said, careful to keep her voice lowered in case 'that old skunk' heard her.

"It seems that her patience is currently at an all-time low," Madison explained simply enough.

"Hmm," Bellaniece intoned, looking entirely too thoughtful about the entire situation.

"I can't really blame her, though," Madison went on as they headed for the kitchen.  "For some reason, Daddy's been particularly ridiculous about things.  I think he'd keep her in bed the whole time if he possibly could get away with it."

"But Isabelle's told him that everything's fine, hasn't she?" Bellaniece asked.  Isabelle Marin, her eldest daughter, was also Kelly's OB/GYN.

"She has, and it is," Madison allowed, pouring two glasses of freshly brewed ice tea.  "But you know how Daddy is: always the fatalist."  She sighed.  Truth be told, she had actually considered staying around here for awhile—at least, until the baby was born, which wouldn't be long, just to try to maintain the peace.  When she'd mentioned it, though, Cartham had leveled a look at her and had told her in no uncertain terms that she would be going right back to her own life as scheduled, and that just figured.

As if in answer to Madison's pensive thoughts, Bellaniece gave her shoulder a squeeze and smiled at her.  "Don't worry about your parents, Maddy.  Even the best ones have their moments.  It just means that they care more than the other one wants them to."

The curt knock on the door drew Toga's attention as he paced the floor of the guest bedroom while reading through a message sent by one of his generals back in Japan.  It was important, certainly, but not urgent enough to affect the plan to stay in the States for another couple weeks, which was a relief since Sierra really seemed to be enjoying the visit immensely.

Tugging his glasses off, he glanced toward the door as Izayoi Mikio reluctantly poked his head into the room.  "If you're busy, I can come back," Mikio remarked, taking in the sight of the paper held in Toga's hand.

"No, it's fine," Toga assured him, folding the paper and stuffing it into his pocket.  He needed to email the general back, but he could do that later.  "You're looking better."

Mikio nodded but didn't comment on that as he slipped into the room and closed the door behind himself.  His color was more normal than it had been since his arrival, and he didn't look like he was suffering any of the dizziness that tended to plague him for days if not weeks following air travel.  "Jillian asked me if I could stay here for a while," he said, skipping the pleasantries and jumping right into the thick of it.  "Gavin's facing an inquiry at work regarding apparent misappropriation of funds.  There's no direct proof that he's committed any wrongdoing, but it seems that there is some speculation that his boss might have had something to do with it, so the whole department is being investigated, and Jillian's afraid that Gavin's going to end up implicated since the company's legal counsel is questionable, at best.  I don't know how long it'll take before they reach some conclusions, but Jillian asked, and . . . I would rather be here, just in case."

Toga sighed.  "Well, that was a mouthful, wasn't it?"

"I told her I'd ask you since I didn't want to say I would without checking with you first," he went on, reaching up, absently tweaking his twitching left ear.

Rubbing his forehead, Toga sighed again.  Having Mikio on any kind of extended leave could pose a problem, considering the hanyou was dead damn brilliant in his chosen profession of corporate law, but he couldn't really leave relatives out to dry, either.  Luckily, Mikio had already all but closed on what would likely be the biggest merger deal—at least, the legalities of it all—this year, if not for a number of years to come.  The other things that Mikio had on his plate weren't nearly as dire and could either be handled wherever he was or could easily be handed down to his subordinates, and, to be honest, Toga was considering offering him some time off, anyway, since it was his staunch belief that all work and no play tended to be very bad for the psyche.

There was no question in anyone's minds that Izayoi Mikio had damn well earned his position as the main legal counsel for Inutaisho Industries.  He'd started at the bottom and worked his way up at his own insistence, and he'd earned a hell of a lot of respect along the way, both inside the family as well as outside of it, too.  That Mikio had a tendency to be quite the workaholic was also a well-known fact, so maybe this idea, while perhaps not the best, timing wise, might just be what the young man needed.  After all, as far as Toga knew, he hadn't actually taken much in the way of time off since Samantha's unceremonious disappearance years before, and that could hardly have been classified as a vacation in any way, shape, or form.  Besides, having to deal with just one case here, and likely as a co-counsel, would definitely give Mikio some much-deserved time off, as well.

Then, too, there was also the added bonus of getting him away from his well meaning but rather stifling parents.  As much as Toga loved them, even he had noticed lately, just how thin Mikio's patience was starting to stretch, and with good reason.  Having grown children of his own, Toga could certainly appreciate his aunt and uncle's desire to watch out for Mikio.  But they hadn't really had any trouble, letting go of Mikio's older twin brothers when they grew up, and even Gin had managed to stand on her own, too.  Maybe it was a combination of Mikio's tendency to avoid controversy when it came to his parents as well as the idea that he'd never been quite like any of the other pups in that family, but in any case, InuYasha and Kagome had yet to loosen the parental reigns, so to speak.  Even so, Mikio had chosen to attend Todai—a highly respectable choice, certainly—mostly to appease his parents and their desire to see him remain closer to home, when he most certainly had the grades and the financial ability to attend school just about anywhere in the world he might have chosen.

But even Toga had to wonder, given the circumstances, if Mikio should have chosen to spread his wings a little sooner.  Maybe if he had, they might have learned to take that all-important step back already . . .

All of these thoughts flickered through Toga's head at lightning speed, and when he finally raised his gaze to meet Mikio's, he smiled.  "If Gavin needs you, then you should stay," he allowed.  "I'll have your assistant go through your files and figure out which ones can be given to the others.  Off the top of my head, only the STAFAR project and the Ransbad merger are important enough to bother you with, but I'm sure you can handle everything on those from New York, so take as long as you need."

Mikio blinked and stared at him for a long moment before breaking into a very small smile.  "It's not going to be a problem?" he asked again.

Toga chuckled.  "No, and besides, it's about time you got out and saw some of the world, don't you think?"  Then he frowned.  "Do you have a place to stay?  In New York City, I mean?"

The fiddling with his left ear increased, though there was a good chance that Mikio didn't even realize that he was doing it.  "I thought I'd just get a room at a hotel for now," he ventured thoughtfully.  "I'll find a place as soon as I can."

Toga considered that then shrugged.  "You know, tou-san's got a place not far from Zelig-san's townhouse.  I'll ask him if he minds if you use it while you're there."

"O-Oh, I don't want to impose," he insisted.

Toga waved off his concerns.  "You won't be.  Tou-san only uses it when he has business in New York, anyway, which isn't often—maybe once a year—and Mamoruzen used to stay there when he was in town, too, but he bought an apartment a few months ago, so it normally is empty otherwise.  I'm sure it won't be a problem."

Mikio didn't look like he quite agreed with that statement, but he nodded, anyway, offering Toga a curt bow before starting to leave the room.

"You haven't mentioned this to your parents yet, have you?"

Stopping short at Toga's softly uttered question, Mikio turned back once more.  "Uh, no, I haven't . . ."

Toga nodded slowly, but otherwise remained silent.  After all, there was a good chance that his mother wasn't going to like the idea of her baby boy being so far away from everyone.  At least in Tokyo, he was still  near enough to Sesshoumaru and Toga in case there was an issue since she and InuYasha were staying in Maine until after Gin's babies were born.  No, he had a feeling that Gome-oba-chan wasn't going to like the arrangement at all . . .

"Her e."

Glancing up from her tablet where she was browsing a few realtor listings that her agent had emailed earlier, Madison blinked as Cartham set a plate, loaded with a good five or six slices of oven heated frozen pizza on the small table beside her.  "You really need to cook something else, Daddy," she pointed out dryly, lifting a piece, only to make a face and let it drop back onto the plate once more.  Shifting her gaze back out over the open view of the yard that ran down to the beach and the ocean beyond, she crossed her ankles and settled a little deeper into the lounge chair on the deck that ran the entire length of the Cartham house.

He grunted, drawing her attention as he plopped heavily into a very small wire chair on the opposite side of the glass topped table.  He managed to demolish half a slice of pizza in one bite.  The ocean breeze lightly tossed his ragged mane of black-and-white hair, blowing it into his face, into the violet eyes that she knew so well.  Madison watched him without comment, an amused smile tilting the corners of her lips.  "Your mama likes pizza," he muttered.

"Are you sure that's considered pizza?"

"She ate hers before her nap, just so you know," he pointed out.

"Does that mean that the two of you are done fighting?" Madison asked, drawing in a deep breath of the crisp air blowing in off the ocean.

"We don't fight," he corrected, reaching for another slice.  "We just have disagreements—which all your girly magazines say is perfectly healthy."

"Girly magazines?" Madison echoed, suppressing a giggle that she was sure her father wouldn't appreciate.  "You know, Daddy, most guys call stuff like Playboy or Penthouse 'girly magazines'."

True to form, Cartham's cheeks darkened about five shades of red underneath the day's worth of accumulated stubble, and he shot her a dark look.  "And I better never hear tell of you posing in one of those things, either, spawn."

Madison rolled her eyes, but couldn’t repress the giggle that issued from her, either.  "As if I would!" she scoffed.  "Then again, I'm hot enough to be in them, right?"

Cartham grunted.  "I'm going to pretend you didn't just say that."

"You're so cute when you're all disgruntled," she pointed out.  "I don't think they look for hairdressers to pose for Playboy, anyway, so I guess you're safe."

"You'd think," he grumbled before shoving another huge bite into his mouth.  "'Course, there've been lots of things I've thought that you wouldn't do, but you have," he pointed out.

"Like Evan, you mean?" she couldn't resist adding, arching a golden eyebrow to emphasize her question.

"Evil spawn," Cartham muttered, "just like your mom."

Madison laughed.  "So if I ever pose for Playboy, just don't tell you about it, right?"

"Madison, there are a few things in this world that I would rather just not think about.  The last time I gave you a bath or changed your diaper, you were a baby.  I'd like to live out the rest of my days, safe in the knowledge that I don't have to worry that I might someday accidentally stumble across pictures of you, naked, past the age of two."

She laughed.  She couldn't help it since it was possibly the single longest speech he'd given in his life.

He didn't look impressed by her amusement, and for a moment, Madison had to wonder exactly what was on her father's mind.  "I, uh, I don't have to worry that that little shit, Zelig's got anything on film, do I?"

"Nothing worse than your video tape from you and Mom's honeymoon," Madison quipped.

The color that had just receded in her father's face shot to the fore once more.  "I didn't know she taped that," he grumbled—the same thing he'd maintained for years, ever since Madison and Evan had accidentally discovered it when they were trying to watch movies late one night.  Evan had thought that it was the funniest thing, ever.  She'd thought it was amusing, too, but in a wholly disturbing kind of way.  Besides, unlike Evan's parents, who didn't seem to mind if the whole world knew when they were getting down and dirty, Deke Cartham was entirely old-school, maintaining that things like that should remain strictly private between the couple.

"It's nice to know that you make Mom a very happy woman," Madison couldn't help adding.

The pizza in Cartham's hand dropped onto the plate with a dull thump.  "You're grounded," he grumbled, wiping his hands on his faded jeans.  "So do I need to break into that little shit's house or not?"

Rolling her eyes at her father's one-track mind, Madison waved a hand dismissively.  "There's nothing on film—that I know of."

He didn't look exactly placated by her answer.  In fact, he looked like he was seriously considering breaking into Evan's house, just to make sure.

Relenting before Cartham could make good on his threat, Madison sighed.  "No, Daddy, there are no pictures; I promise."

He still didn't necessarily look entirely pacified.  "I knew I should have broke his legs when you two first started messing around."

"You knew?"

He snorted.  "I'm your father.  I'm not stupid.  Of course I knew.  Your mother made me promise not to maim the little punk, though.  Thought I'd get fired if I did . . ."

The trill of the house phone interrupted Madison's retort, and she untangled her legs as she stood up to go answer it.  Cartham wouldn't if there was anyone else in the house, and even then, he didn't always do it.  No, the only phone he would consistently answer was his cell phone, and only then because of the good possibility that it was Cain Zelig with a job for the youkai hunter.  Given that Cartham was over three hundred years old, it wasn't surprising that he simply didn't like technology as much as the next guy.

"Cartham," she answered, grabbing the cordless receiver sitting on the kitchen counter.

"Hello, Madison?  It's Gin.  How are you?"

"Fine, just fine," Madison remarked, flicking her claws, inspecting her manicure.  "What can I do for you?  Did you want to speak to Mom?  She's lying down at the moment, but I can let her know you called as soon as she wakes up . . ."

"Oh, no, no!  Actually, you're the one I was hoping to catch."

"Me?"

"Yes . . . We were wondering when you were planning on driving back to the city?"

"Oh . . . I wasn't planning on heading back till tomorrow.  Is there something you need?"

"Well, nothing big," Gin insisted with a giggle.  "It seems that Mikio's going to stick around for a bit to help Gavin out with some trouble at work, so we were wondering if you'd mind if he rode along with you?  He'll be staying at my uncle's place, but it's not far from ours, and if memory serves, then it's actually really close to your apartment, too, so it's not really out of the way . . ."

"Uh, nee-chan?  Who . . .? Who are you talking to?" she heard Mikio ask in the background.

Madison heard the tell-tale rustle as Gin covered the phone with her hand.  "Mama asked me to call and see if Madison wouldn't mind giving you a ride to New York City," she heard despite the muffled quality.

"Ma—? Y-You didn't have to do that," he grumbled.  "I could have rented a car."

"I know, but driving in the city can be so frustrating if you're not used to it.  Besides, I'm sure that Maddy won't mind!"

Morio muttered something else, but Madison couldn't make it out.

"It is okay with you, isn't it, Maddy?  I'm not imposing . . .?" Gin continued, uncovering the receiver as she turned her attention back to the phone once more.

"Of course not.  I'd be happy to do it," she said, wondering if it really would be all right, given that Mikio hadn't sounded very pleased with the arrangement.

"That's wonderful," Gin insisted happily.  "Do you know what time you're planning on leaving?"

Madison made a face.  "Well, I'd like to leave around ten or so, which probably means closer to noon or two."

Gin giggled.  "Okay, he'll be ready when you are.  Bye, Maddy, and be safe!"

"Bye, Gin," she replied as the connection ended.

"Who was that?" Cartham asked as he stepped through the doorway and toward the kitchen sink.

"Gin," she replied, setting the receiver down and smiling at her father once more.  "I guess Mikio's going to be staying in New York City for a bit, so I'm going to give him a ride down with me."

Cartham shot her a look, straightening his back after slipping his plate into the dishwasher.  "Mikio?  That quiet one?"

She nodded.  "I guess you could say that," she allowed, glancing at her watch with a sigh.  "He'll be staying close to me, Gin says . . . Hmm, maybe he'd like to get together for dinner sometime—if he's not too busy, working on Gavin's case, that is . . ."

"Doesn't he have some kind of impairment?"

"No . . . I mean, not that I know of," Madison replied, only half listening as she grabbed the tablet of notepaper her mother always kept on the counter near the phone.  "Let's see, my charger, my phone . . . I did bring my phone home when I came back today, right?"

"You were talking to him an awful lot at the wedding reception, weren't you?"

"Okay, yeah, I have it," Madison went on as though she didn't hear Cartham's question at all.  "Can't forget my kit, either!"

"Spawn?"

"Everything else isn't that important.  It's not like I won't be here again . . ." She laughed.

"Madison?"

"Okay!" she exclaimed, ripping the sheet of paper off the pad with a flourish as she dropped the pen onto the counter.  "That should do it!"

"Madison Elizabeth Cartham!"

She blinked and lifted her gaze to meet her father's much more irritated one.  "Yes, Deke?"

He snorted at her use of his given name.  "I said, you were talking to that guy a lot at the wedding reception, weren't you?"

"Mikio?  Yeah, sure, I guess so . . . Why?"

He stared at her for another moment, arms crossed over his chest.  "No reason," he finally said.

Madison hurried around the counter, pausing just long enough to rise up on tiptoe to kiss her father's cheek before heading down the hallway and toward the stairs.  "I guess I should go pack then.  I'd rather get going early enough that I don't have to drive in the dark."

She didn't see the strange expression filter over her father's face as he watched her hurry out of the kitchen.