InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 2: Defiance ❯ Ulterior Motives ( Chapter 42 )

~~Chapter 42~~

~Ulterior Motives~

 

Toga leaned in the doorframe of his father's study with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl darkening his features. Nearly a month since Sierra's arrival in Tokyo, and Toga was at his wit's end. Either he was going to get some answers from his father or he was going to die trying . . . .

 

Sesshoumaru didn't look up from his paperwork to acknowledge his son's presence as he pushed his glasses up. “Something bothering you, Toga?”

 

Toga pushed himself out of the doorway and jammed his hands into his pockets as he deliberately ambled forward. “Bothering me? No . . . but something was . . . nagging at me. Care to ask me what that is?”

 

Sesshoumaru flipped a page of the stapled document and didn't as much as glance at his son. “Do tell.”

 

Toga let out an exaggerated sigh as he wandered over to the long windows to stare at the back yard of the Inutaisho estate. “It seems to me that . . . people . . . are trying to keep Sierra away from me. You wouldn't know what I'm talking about, would you, Father?”

 

“Of course not,” Sesshoumaru replied smoothly---too smoothly.

 

Toga nodded slowly. “I see . . . so . . . you won't mind if I decided to elope with Sierra then?”

 

Hiding his smile as Sesshoumaru paused in his reading, Toga waited for his father's answer. “That's not a good idea,” Sesshoumaru remarked. “You know as well as I that your wedding is not that simple an affair.”

 

“There's that,” Toga agreed, knowing well enough that it was also symbolic of Sesshoumaru the Inu no Taisho giving his blessing to his son in his choice of mates. If anyone wanted to challenge Toga's right to be his father's successor, it would likely come at the wedding. “Of course, it doesn't really matter, does it? I mean, my blood has already recognized Sierra as my mate. No ceremony or challenge will change that.”

 

“I wouldn't expect it to,” Sesshoumaru stated. “How would it look, though, if you disregarded the significance of the ritual because you could not wait a bit longer?”

 

Toga turned around and leaned against the cold glass. “And you wouldn't be above . . . dragging your feet about the wedding, now would you, Father?”

 

Sesshoumaru dropped the document and stood up, deliberately strolling over to pour a glass of ice water before he pivoted to face his son. “Do you think I would do such a thing, Toga?”

 

Toga wrinkled his nose. “Do I think it? Of course not. I know it.”

 

Sesshoumaru nearly smiled as he drained the water glass and set it aside. “Surely you want your future mate to have the kind of weddings that humans desire?”

 

Toga nodded slowly, conceding that much in his gesture. “Sure. Tell me, does it really take over a month to have a dress made?”

 

Sesshoumaru shrugged. “Longer, if she is as picky as your mother.”

 

“Three weeks to choose a caterer?”

 

“Food is important to mortals.”

 

Toga reigned in his desire to roll his eyes. “It's the same caterer you always use, Father,” he pointed out reasonably.

 

“Interestingly enough, so it is.”

 

“And the florist?”

 

“Your mother thought magnolias would be lovely.”

 

“And since when do you care about any of this?”

 

“I don't,” Sesshoumaru agreed, “but your mother does. Besides that, there is the matter of your future mate's family to take into consideration. They can't simply drop everything to come here, can they?”

 

Toga sighed. He was no closer to winning this argument than he figured he would be. Still, he had to try . . . . “You know, Father, it occurred to me . . . did you properly marry Mother before you took her as your mate?”

 

Sesshoumaru didn't bat so much as an eyelash. “Times were different then,” he replied smoothly.

 

“And Uncle Yasha? Were times different then, too?”

 

Sesshoumaru wrinkled his nose. “That baka has never done things the traditional way.”

 

“I'm onto your game, Father,” Toga assured him. “No more delays.”

 

That said, Toga strode out of the study, pausing long enough to kiss his mother's cheek in passing as Kagura swept into the room.

 

She turned to watch her son's retreating form before pivoting to stare at her mate, who was trying this hardest to hide a little grin. “You're lucky he has an even temper,” Kagura remarked.

 

“It will do Toga good to practice patience. He's spent far too much time around InuYasha for my comfort, anyway.”

 

Kagura shook her head as she crossed her arms over her chest. “He isn't stupid, Sesshoumaru. You didn't really think he wouldn't figure out that you're delaying his wedding on purpose, did you?”

 

“If he hadn't figured it out then I'd have known he'd spent too much time around that baka half-brother of mine,” Sesshoumaru agreed.

 

“I like her,” Kagura stated flatly, changing the topic since she was certain there would be no reasoning with Sesshoumaru on this. He might have accepted the fact that his son and heir had chosen a human for a mate. That didn't mean Sesshoumaru was above something as petty as prolonging Toga's torment in the meantime. “She's a good match for Toga.”

 

That killed the humor in Sesshoumaru's expression. “You think so?”

 

Kagura hid her own amusement. “Absolutely. She'll keep him in line, and the beautiful thing is that he'll never realize she's doing it, either.”

 

Sesshoumaru snorted. “Spoken like a true woman.”

 

“Keep it up, mate,” Kagura challenged. “Seems to me it's been awhile since you've slept in a guest room.”

 

Sesshoumaru straightened his back proudly. “This Sesshoumaru fears not his mate, Kagura.”

 

She grinned. “Of course you don't. I wouldn't want you to fear me . . . but I did hear you tell our son that it was my fault that it took so long to hire a florist, did I not?”

 

“Did you? I don't recall . . . .”

 

Kagura shook her head slowly as she heaved a sigh and strode toward the doorway. “You'd better let your son get married soon. Your mind is already starting to deteriorate.”

 

She glanced over her shoulder as she hurried out of the room, smiling to herself at the very rare sight of Sesshoumaru Inutaisho with his mouth hanging open and a frustrated look on his face.

 

 

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

 

 

“Don't the two of you have something else you'd rather be doing?” Toga asked, shifting his gaze from one of his obnoxious cousins to the other.

 

Kichiro sat back with a smug grin. “I think Sierra likes us,” he remarked.

 

“Well, we are more interesting than Toga,” Ryomaru agreed.

 

“You're both asking for it,” Toga told them. His idea of taking Sierra out for a nice, quiet, and hopefully romantic dinner had been shot down with the twins' announcement that they were `bored' and wanted to tag along. Toga had happily informed them that the reservations he'd made were for two, and that the restaurant wouldn't be able to alter that.

 

What he hadn't counted on was the fact that Ryomaru was close friends with the hostess at the restaurant, and after a few minutes of schmoozing, the reservation for two had become a reservation for four, and, from what Toga had overheard, a scheduled rendezvous for the miscreant hanyou after the restaurant closed.

 

It wasn't fair, not at all. With the wedding still six weeks away and everyone pitching in to make sure that Toga and Sierra weren't alone in the same room for more than two minutes---very likely by Sesshoumaru's decree---he was lucky if he got much in the way of kisses from Sierra without interruption, let alone anything else. He was damn near begging, and that was more than enough to irk the hell out of him.

 

Toga glanced over in the direction that Sierra had disappeared when she excused herself to go to the ladies' room. “If you two leave now, I'll think about letting you live later.”

 

Kichiro blinked innocently. “It's not so bad, Toga . . . besides, the old man and Uncle Sesshoumaru preferred if you weren't left alone . . . .”

 

“I don't think anything is going to happen here, of all places,” Toga growled.

 

“You'd be surprised what could happen at a restaurant,” Ryo commented with a lazy grin.

 

“Kami, you really should have been neutered,” Toga grumbled as he tried not to think about what Ryomaru was implying.

 

“You need to lighten up,” Ryomaru persisted. “You're way too much like your old man.”

 

Toga didn't bother commenting on that as Sierra approached the table with a brilliant smile. He stood up and held out her chair. Kichiro groaned. Ryomaru made a tiny gagging sound.

 

“Shut up,” Toga rumbled under his breath.

 

“Are you sure you want to marry Toga?” Ryomaru asked, ignoring Toga as he turned his attention on Sierra. “You'd have more fun with, say, me or Kich . . . or both.”

 

Toga kicked his cousin under the table. Ryomaru didn't even flinch.

 

Sierra blushed and shook her head. “That's okay,” she quipped as she shot Toga a little grin. “I think Toga's the one for me.”

 

Her words were enough to curb Toga's rising desire to drag his idiot cousin outside and use Ryomaru to sharpen his claws.

 

“Oi, Ryo . . . check her out . . . .”

 

Ryomaru's head snapped to the side as Kichiro nodded toward a young lady in a very short, very tight cream-colored dress. Ryomaru pushed his plate away and stood, reaching back to slap Kichiro's arm. Without another word, the twin menaces followed the girl to the bar and cornered her like a rabbit. With one on each side, the poor human looked like she wasn't sure what to do.

 

Ordinarily Toga would have intervened before his cousins could stir up trouble. This time, though, he had more important things on his mind---like the ring in his pocket.

 

Sesshoumaru had sent the twins to retrieve Sierra's belongings and they had just returned last night. Kichiro had come over to give him the engagement ring he'd found on her dresser while Ryomaru had taken Kirara---who had been staying with Sierra's mother---straight to Sierra. The brothers had hired someone to pack up the rest of Sierra's things, arranged for a moving company to send it all over, and after delivering the wedding invitations and plane tickets, the boys had scampered back to Tokyo.

 

But that was all beside the point since Toga just wanted a quiet moment to make everything official, at least with Sierra, and since it was probably the most `alone' they'd be, it was now or never . . . .

 

Trying to convince himself that he really didn't have to be nervous, Toga dug the ring out of his pocket as Sierra pushed salad around her plate, glancing over at the twins with a slight shake of her head. “How is it that Kagome and InuYasha have absolutely no idea just how bad those two are?”

 

Toga made a face as he stared at the diamond ring in his hand. “They hide it from them, of course, and Aunt Gome is convinced they're angels, so what can you do?”

 

Sierra shook her head slowly. “But Kagome said . . . can't you smell things? Why doesn't InuYasha know?”

 

Toga snorted as he wondered just why they were discussing Kichiro and Ryomaru when he was holding her engagement ring. “You can wash off . . . some scents, but I've no doubt at all that Uncle Yasha knows they're . . . . I'd suppose he just doesn't tell Aunt Gome because she likes to believe the illusion that her sons are perfect. Anyway, why are we talking about them?”

 

Sierra turned to give Toga all her attention as she smiled. “Sorry. Was there something else you wanted to talk about?”

 

Toga drew a deep breath and held up the ring. “Kich brought me this. Will you . . . wear it now?”

 

Her smile faltered as she stared at the ring but resurfaced when she lifted her hand and spread her fingers to make it easier for him to slip the ring into place. His hands were shaking, and it took a few moments to get the ring to line up. Sierra giggled as his fingers closed over hers, slipping the diamond in place. “I . . . thank you,” she whispered as she leaned over to kiss him.

 

Toga sighed, breathing in the scent of apple blossoms that radiated from her.

 

“I told you, baka, I have a date lined up for later,” Ryomaru grumbled as he sat back down in his chair.

 

“Come up for air, Toga . . . don't make me separate you,” Kichiro joked.

 

Toga sighed again, but this time it was more irritated than whimsical, and he pulled away from Sierra to glower at his cousins.

 

“Damn, leave them alone for two minutes, and they're all over each other,” Ryomaru said with a heavy dose of disgust.

 

“I don't really think Uncle Yasha would miss you too much,” Toga drawled as Sierra dabbed his mouth with her napkin.

 

Kichiro coughed to hide his amusement. “Nice shade of lipstick, Toga. Looks almost as nice on you as it does on Sierra . . . .”

 

“Mother's got some eye shadow that would match pretty good,” Ryomaru added.

 

“You know, I could have sworn that Uncle Yasha mentioned something about Gin kicking both your sorry asses the other day?” Toga remarked to shut the twins up.

 

Kichiro flinched. “Damn, Toga, that hurts.”

 

Ryomaru snorted. “I let her win.”

 

Toga grinned as Sierra coughed delicately into her napkin.

 

His gaze caught on the sparkling ring around her finger, and Toga stifled a sigh. `Six more weeks,' he thought as he grimaced inwardly. `Six more weeks, and if the wedding is delayed after that? I swear I'll drag her off somewhere and marry her, anyway.'

 

 

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

 

 

Toga wiped his forehead on his shoulder and rotated his right arm once as InuYasha circled around him. His uncle had yet to bust out Tetsusaiga, and Toga's halberd leaned against the wall out of reach, too.

 

“Getting frustrated, pup?” InuYasha goaded as Toga launched himself at his uncle but missed when the hanyou leapt out of the way.

 

“Not at all,” Toga lied as he ducked and rolled to avoid InuYasha's claws. Landing in a crouch, he swept his right leg to catch his uncle's foot but missed when InuYasha hopped back again.

 

InuYasha laughed as he shot forward again. Toga dove to the side to avoid the contact and winced as he landed on his right shoulder. The flesh had healed well enough but the scar tissue was still tender, and landing on it wasn't helping at all. Gritting his teeth and trying not to let his uncle see that the injury still bothered him, Toga pushed himself back to his feet and barreled toward InuYasha. Catching him before the hanyou could react, he sent his uncle flying back with a well-placed shove to his chest.

 

InuYasha hopped up and nodded as he hitched his shoulders. “Not bad, pup. Not good, but not bad. Get your halberd.”

 

Toga loped over to retrieve the weapon as InuYasha drew Tetsusaiga behind him. Taking a few minutes to reacquaint himself with the halberd, he spun it around a few times before tossing it over his shoulder and catching it neatly behind his back.

 

“Yeah, if you're done playing, pup?”

 

Toga grinned as he spun around to face InuYasha. Hefting the huge blade of the massive sword over his shoulder, InuYasha sprinted toward Toga, and he blocked Tetsusaiga with the length of the halberd's long metal rod. “Losing your touch, Uncle Yasha?”

 

InuYasha snorted. “Feh! Not fucking likely, pup. Your aunt reminded me that your wedding is in a few weeks, though, and that you'd probably like to be able to stand for it.” Disengaging the weapons, InuYasha spun around only to be blocked again.

 

Toga shoved against Tetsusaiga. InuYasha slid back a few feet. Using the moment to take the offensive, Toga lunged for his uncle and caught him with the rod held between his hands, bearing InuYasha down into the exercise mat. “Do you concede?” Toga demanded.

 

InuYasha snorted as he heaved Toga off and rolled to his feet. “Feh! In what world?” he scoffed as he darted at Toga again.

 

“Toga, are you---?”

 

Sierra gasped as Toga turned to glance at her. InuYasha couldn't stop himself fast enough, and Toga barely had enough time to keep Tetsusaiga from splitting him straight down the middle as he lifted the halberd at the last second.

 

Grimacing as he landed flat on his back, Toga watched with an irritated snort as InuYasha sheathed Tetsusaiga with a fierce glower on his face. “That was fucking stupid, Toga!” InuYasha snarled. “I could have killed you, you baka pup!”

 

Toga rolled to his feet and rotated his shoulder once more. “I doubt that,” he assured his uncle. “I don't die easily, remember?”

 

Mumbling some choice curses under his breath, the hanyou stalked past Sierra and outside.

 

“What were you doing?” Sierra demanded, her face pale and peaked.

 

Toga stuck the weapon in the rack and planted his hands on his hips as he turned to face Sierra. “I was training, Sierra. It was fine. I nearly beat him this time.”

 

“That's not what it looked like to me!” she argued.

 

Toga made a face. “Well, I would have if you hadn't interrupted.”

 

She started to respond but stopped, an odd sense of dread filtering over her features. “Toga . . .?”

 

“What?” he snapped a little too gruffly.

 

She sighed. “It's part of your life, isn't it? Fighting? Using real weapons?”

 

He dragged a tired hand over his face before he rubbed his aching shoulder. “Yeah, it is.”

 

“You . . . you're telling me that our children . . . they'll fight, too?”

 

His scowl didn't lessen as he searched her expression. “Yeah. If we have a son, he'll have to fight, too. It's the way of the youkai. Our son will eventually be tai-youkai, like my father . . . like I will be . . . and yes, he'll have to know how to fight.”

 

Sierra bit her lower lip as she digested Toga's prediction. He watched helplessly as her chin dropped---as she turned and walked away.

 

Learning to fight hadn't ever been an issue with Toga. He hadn't realized that it just might be, for Sierra.

 

 

~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~ *~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~

A/N:

Just a note because I suppose I should say something … Chronicles won a few awards in the Media Miner Big Ass Fanfiction Contest: Best Comedy, Best Romance, and Best of the Best (Top Honors) … Now I'm off to maim and/or murder the hentai betas … lol!

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Final Thought fromToga:

… Six more weeks???

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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~