InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 2: Defiance ❯ To Make Her Smile ( Chapter 24 )

~~Chapter 24~~

~To Make Her Smile~

Sierra fine-tuned the focus on her camera as Toga wandered along the edge of the water. His light blue button-down shirt was untucked, cuffs unbuttoned and sleeves rolled up on his forearms, hair whipping back away from his face, black pants rolled up to keep out of the ebb of the water. His shoes were next to her camera bag, and Sierra smiled as she pulled her sweater closed against the bite of the wind off the ocean. Sixty degrees Fahrenheit wasn't hot, but it was much warmer than it would be back in Chicago.

"You didn't drag me out here to the beach just to take pictures, did you?" Toga grumbled when he heard the camera click.

"Humor me, Toga," she shot back as she raised the camera again. "I'm relaxing."

"Humor you, huh? Put the camera down, and I'll humor you," he offered with a sly smile.

She snapped another picture as he altered his course, heading for her. "You know, you should do that calendar. It'd be a shame not to. Bet you're the best looking guy in your office, and it is for charity."

He wrinkled his adorable nose and snorted very loudly. "Feh! I don't think that even deserves an answer, wench."

"You can't `wench' me for stating my opinion, Toga."

He chuckled. "I can `wench' you, wench."

She stared thoughtfully at her camera. "You know . . . I could do it."

He did a double-take. "You could do what?"

She shrugged. "I could take the picture . . . if you'd feel more comfortable."

He made a face. "You think it's a matter of being comfortable? No way, Sierra."

She sighed. "If it turned out bad, then no one would have to know, right? Come on, you're helping me take my mind off stuff."

He opened his mouth to retort as his cheeks pinked up then snapped his mouth closed as absolute chagrin filtered into his expression. "That's not fair."

"Okay, just tell me why you don't want to do this."

Toga dropped into the sand beside her and grinned unrepentantly. "It's sexist and degrading, makes me feel like nothing but a . . . piece of meat or something . . . I can't believe you'd exploit me like that, Sierra, not to mention the fact that my father would---how do you say it? Oh, yes, blow an ass gasket over it."

She rolled her eyes at his lengthy argument. "You sound like I'm trying to get you to pose for Playgirl or something. It's for charity, you know . . . and does it matter if your father did blow that gasket?"

"I wouldn't ask you to pose for any stupid calendar," he pointed out, "and if you did, I swear I'd kill someone."

She wrinkled her nose. "You're sounding awfully bloodthirsty there, Toga."

He shrugged. "Blame it on my Uncle Yasha. I learned from the best."

She giggled as the memory of Uncle Yasha stalking the helpless guy at Aiko's wedding reception filtered through her mind. "You have a very eclectic family."

"And you are far kinder to them than they sometimes deserve."

Sierra shot him a sidelong glance, trying to contain the little smile that broke over her features. "Well, you know . . . I'll bet those cute cousins of yours would do it. I'll bet they'd jump at the chance . . . ."

Sierra wasn't surprised to see the absolute consternation that surfaced on Toga's face. "What do I get out of this?" he demanded slowly.

"The joy of contributing to charity?"

He considered that. "Uh, no."

"My eternal thanks?"

Staring at the sky, he nodded slowly. "Getting warmer."

"A kiss?"

"Almost there."

"What do you want then?"

He shrugged as he leaned back on his elbows. "I just want to see you smile again."

She grinned. "Wow, you're cheap."

"Cheap, am I? How about that kiss?"

She wrinkled her nose. "You haven't even posed for one shot yet."

He made an exaggerated face. "Call it a down payment."

"Oh, a down payment?"

He leaned toward her, lifting her chin with a gentle finger. The brisk salt air condensed on his lips, and he tasted like the ocean. She savored the softness of his mouth on hers, the warmth of his body that blocked the unforgiving breeze. `How easy it is,' she thought as his lips coaxed hers, as his tongue flicked against hers. `So easy to forget . . . everything . . . .'

A hushed bemusement, a quiet surrender, she tangled her fingers in his hair, running her fingertips along the curves, the contours of his ears. A wealth of adoration, a riot of emotion, a tousled web of need and desire stroked the slowly kindling burn, the embers of glowing fires, dormant and hesitant, sparking, igniting, twisting around her belly as Toga's lips gave and took.

As wild as the ocean that lapped against the shore, as unbroken as the winter breeze, the storm that erupted in her, tempered only by his presence, shocked her, frightened her, and yet thrilled her at the same time. An odd sense of déjà vu ebbed over her, the knowledge that her soul somehow knew his. If she didn't believe in soul mates before, maybe she did now, because it didn't matter anymore, what Toga was or wasn't. He was hers, she was his, and they belonged together.

But the tears that welled up inside her, so wholly at odds with the sense of peace that he gave her, choked her, thickened in her throat, and she shook her head as she pulled away. Toga stroked her cheek, pulled her into his arms, against his chest. "Sierra?"

She bit back a rising sob as tears squeezed out of her eyes despite her effort to keep them back. The sob swelled inside her, forced its way out, and she clung to him as the emotion broke free. "It's stupid!" she railed, unable to keep her tenuous hold any longer. "Why? I didn't ask for that, I didn't want it . . . I don't want it now! I don't want to know!"

Toga rubbed her back, kissed her forehead, tried to sooth her despite the wholly encompassing sense of absolute futility in the face of her upset.

"Why do they have the right to do this?" she demanded angrily, gripping Toga's shirt in her fists. "I didn't have a choice when they decided they didn't want me . . . why do they have the right to come back now, to demand that I listen, that I care when I can't . . . ?"

He sighed. "They don't, do they? You're right . . . but you're too kind, and you care, even if you don't want to."

Another sob welled up, spilled over. "I . . . I want to hate them," she admitted quietly. "I just want them to go away . . . I feel like I don't know anything anymore, like everything that ever made sense in my life is just . . . gone . . . ."

He hugged her tighter.

She sniffled, let go of his shirt, smoothed the cloth under her fingers as her lips trembled, as she struggled to keep her tears in check. "You're the only part of my life that makes sense, Toga . . . just you."

He sighed, shook his head slowly. "Sierra . . . I . . . I can't fix this for you . . . I want to . . . but I don't know how."

"I don't want you to fix it, Toga. I just . . . I just don't want to be alone."

His smile was wan, thin, yet completely reassuring. "You won't be."

She sniffled and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "I should go see them again, shouldn't I?"

He shrugged. "I can't tell you to do that, but if you want to, I'll go with you."

She managed a weak smile. "Because you promised to protect me."

He swallowed hard, nodded slowly, eyes glowing, suspiciously bright. "Yeah."

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

Toga hung up the phone and turned to face Sierra with a raised-eyebrow expression. "You're all set. You sure you want to do this?"

She shook her head. "Not really . . . was he angry that I declined his dinner invitation?"

Toga shrugged. "No . . . disappointed, but not angry. I told him you'd come by tomorrow to see him. He was fine with that."

She sighed, rubbing her forehead as she closed her eyes. "Toga . . . is it okay if we don't go out to eat tonight?"

"Sure . . . but you have to eat something," he told her as he stared at her. "I'll order something from room service."

She smiled. "Okay."

Toga stepped up behind her, wrapped his arms over her stomach. "Why don't you go take a bath or something? I'll take care of dinner."

She leaned back to peer up at him. "Toga . . . ."

He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose. "It's all right, Sierra. Go on."

She nodded and squeezed his hands before pulling away and shuffling out of the living room.

He watched her go as his smile faded. He couldn't remember ever feeling quite so helpless in his life. He'd give anything to make her feel better. In the end, there wasn't a thing he could do, and that was enough to infuriate him.

Staring at the book on the coffee table, he had to wonder if Sierra would ever want to read it. He didn't doubt that she would try. Whether or not she'd really be able to, though, was something he didn't know. In the end, he supposed all he could do would be to offer her his encouragement. He didn't dare voice his own opinions. The decisions had to be hers.

With a sigh, he grabbed the phone to order room service. That didn't take long, and then he called the front desk to check for messages.

"Mr. Inutaisho . . . yes, you did get a call . . . from a Ms. Kari Dennison. She asked that you return her call."

Toga frowned. "All right. Thank you."

Hanging up, he stared at the receiver. `What would she want? I can't do a thing from here, anyway . . . .'

He could hear Sierra's bathwater running, and he sighed. Digging his cell phone out and dialing Kari's number before he could talk himself out of it, he tapped his knuckles on the table as he waited for her to answer.

"Hello?"

"What now, Kari?"

She breathed a sigh of relief. "Toga! Thank God! I've been waiting for you to call back forever!"

"Cut the dramatics. What's this about?"

"I've lost another merger file."

Toga blinked in surprise. "You what?"

"It was here, I swear it was! I had it there, on my briefcase to take home. When I got back from a meeting, it was gone, just . . . gone."

Frowning at the obvious distress in her tone, Toga shook his head. "Kari . . . I'm on vacation. Even if I wanted to help, there's no way I can. I'm sorry."

"Toga, please! The girls in legal . . . well, they hate me . . . ."

"I don't think that I can do anything, Kari. I'm sorry."

She sighed. "That's okay. It was a long-shot, anyway."

Toga winced at the resignation in her tone. "I've got to go."

"Yeah . . . enjoy the rest of your vacation."

He hung up and dropped the phone on the table. Kari wasn't flighty, nor was she incompetent. Why was she losing case files so easily? It didn't seem right . . . .

The cell phone rang, and Toga hesitated before he reached for it. Staring at the number on the caller ID, he sighed. The number was out of range, and he had to consider whether or not to answer it before he finally gave in.

"Hello?"

"Toga?"

An instantaneous smile surfaced at the sunny, warm voice that greeted him. "Aunt Gome. Is everyone all right?"

"Sure, sure . . . I was just thinking about you . . . how are you?"

"Just fine. How's Uncle Yasha?"

Kagome giggled. "Oh, you know him. Same old baka, of course . . . anyway, I just wanted to check up on you."

"I'm not a pup anymore."

"You'll always be the sweet little boy I remember," she chided. "How's Sierra?"

Toga had a feeling that Sierra was the reason Kagome had called. Forever playing the matchmaker, or so it seemed . . . .

"She's fine. We're in Florida. She's meeting her biological father."

"Oh, that's got to be difficult."

Toga shrugged. "I'm here for her."

"Good. That's how it should be. You're such a doll, unlike your uncle."

"Sounds dubious."

She sighed. "He's been on a stubborn rampage lately. Your father . . . ."

Ignoring the little alarm bells that were clanging in his head, Toga forced himself to ask, "What about my father?"

She sighed again. "He and InuYasha have just been at each other's throats a lot lately, that's all."

Toga winced. He had a fair hunch it had something to do with him, if it wasn't completely his fault. "Let me guess, Uncle Yasha told my father he was being an ass, and Father didn't want to hear it."

"Something like that."

"Don't let Uncle Yasha argue with Father over that. If he never understands, then that's too bad, but I don't want to be the cause of all this."

"It isn't as simple as that, Toga. You know how your uncle feels. He's half-human, himself, and your nieces and nephews as well as your cousins . . . . InuYasha just thinks Sesshoumaru is being pig-headed for no good reason."

Toga was inclined to agree. Still, he sighed. "Look at how long it took Father and Uncle Yasha to come to terms, in the first place. I don't want to be the reason they're not any longer."

"I know . . . don't worry about it, Toga. InuYasha just wants what's best for you, same as Sesshoumaru should."

Toga shook his head. Sierra wandered back in the living room wrapped in a thick white bathrobe and white slippers. Toga grinned at the almost teddy-bear-like quality of her appearance.

"Listen, Aunt Gome . . . I have to go . . . I'll call you later."

"All right, Toga. Tell Sierra we said hello, and you take good care of her, or else."

"Yes, ma'am."

"Love you."

"You, too."

He hung up the phone and shot Sierra a sheepish grin as she leaned back against the sofa with a tiny smile. "I feel better now," she announced. "It's amazing, what a nice hot shower can do for your mood."

He shrugged. "I'll have to test that out, myself---" he glanced at the door when the knock came, "---after I get that."

"I could get that," she offered as she started to push herself away from the sofa. "Go ahead and get your---"

"Feh! I don't think so, wench," he growled as he caught her hand and pulled her back. "Not in that."

She grinned as he stomped over to the door.

The young man wheeled in the cart with their food, and Toga tipped him before he left them alone again. When he turned away from the door, Sierra was picking at the trays, eyeing the contents under the dome lids designed to keep the food hot.

Toga leaned back against the door and watched as she delicately loaded a plate with an assortment of cheeses, breads, and fresh fruit. She caught him staring and blushed. "Some of this was for me, right?"

He shrugged. "It's all for you."

"Then thank you," she commented as she sat down on the sofa with her food.

He didn't get a plate as he came around and sank down on the floor beside her. "No need to thank me . . . you have to eat."

She held a piece of cheese over his head. "Open up."

He did as she instructed, and she dropped it before she popped another piece into her own mouth.

"I see . . . you ordered this stuff so I'd feed you?"

He grinned. "No . . . that was a mere perk."

"A perk, huh?"

"You really didn't think I wouldn't take advantage of your generosity, did you?"

"So were you serious about letting me take your picture for the calendar?"

Toga winced. "I hoped you'd forgotten that."

She shrugged. "I'd like another picture, just for me . . . ."

He turned to look at her. Pushing some grapes around the plate as she studiously avoided his gaze, her cheeks pinked as he wondered just what she was going to ask of him. "What sort of `other picture'?" he forced himself to ask.

"One of you . . . the way you're supposed to look . . . . I can develop them at work. No one else will see it . . . just me and you."

Toga grinned. "I'm surprised you don't normally see me with my crests. Some humans can see them, if they know what to look for, if they've seen them already."

Sierra seemed surprised. "Really?"

He shrugged. "Maybe you just couldn't because you didn't know . . . ."

She popped a grape into his mouth. "I don't know," she began. "I'm kind of glad they don't show all the time."

"Why's that?"

She grinned. "Oh, I don't know . . . there's just something about your fangs . . . ."

His eyebrows rose in surprise as her cheeks pinked. He just might have to remember that . . . .

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A/N:

The Toga Beefcake pic can be found here: www(dot)inuyashafanart(dot)com/Toga-Beefcake(dot)jpg … take out the (dot) and put in a . lol.

Please remember… I don't profess to be an artist…

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Reviewers

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Flames101 (FFnet) :

Oh oh. If I'm not confusing Huntington's disease with another one of a similar name, then I know that when one person has the disease they have a 50% chance of giving it to their kids because it's a dominant disease.

You're right… wonder how Sierra will react when she figures this out …

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MMorg

DarklessVasion (sniggering) ------ aitu-- not signed in ------ Iggy Lovechild ------ angelfish007 ------ QamarNoor ------ cjflutterbye

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FFnet

Cosmos Senshi ------ badgerwolf ------ myeerah ------ Drake Clawfang ------ SilverStarWing ------ ILOVEINUS589 ------- lexi ------ Jasmine Fields ------ lil-epad ------ Bobby  

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AFFnet ------ AScom ------ ATnet

psyco_chick32 ------ Midnight_Sparrow ------ Kikikimi ------ Sess_2005 ------ akdreamer (yes, it is) ------ Mel ------ Inugirl15 (Aww, your poor mom! hope she gets better soon!) ------ Shiga (perhaps… lol)

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Final Thought from Toga:

Just how did she get me to agree to THAT?

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Defiance): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

~Sue~