InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 3: Forever ❯ Losing Ground ( Chapter 4 )

~~Chapter 4~~

~Losing Ground~

 

Kichiro was trying not to laugh. He really was. Contorting his face in his efforts to restrain his amusement at his brother's expense as Ryomaru shot him a menacing glower, the younger of the twins —by three minutes—snorted as the first round of chuckles burst free. “Mama's going to kill you!”

 

That earned him an even darker scowl as Ryomaru cracked his knuckles. “Mother already knows. Anyway just don't say anything stupid to Nezumi, okay? She's pissed enough already.”

 

“I'd be pissed off, too, if I had to be stuck with you as my mate forever.”

 

“You're a fucking riot, Kich.”

 

“Better a fucking riot than a kami-forsaken baka.” Kichiro choked back a chuckle. “So . . . do you remember her real name yet?”

 

“Fucking—”

 

“Well, it would just suck ass if you didn't,” Kichiro pointed out reasonably.

 

“You're really not helping,” Ryomaru pointed out with an exasperated shake of his head. “I'm serious; don't say a damn thing to Nez. She'll blame it on me.”

 

Kichiro sat back and shook his head, crossing his arms over his chest as he stared at his twin. “You know, Ryo, this isn't the first time you've done something stupid without thinking about the repercussions.”

 

Ryomaru snorted. “Keh! Save your lectures, will you? I didn't ask, and it don't matter now, anyway. It's a done deal. I can't change a fucking thing.”

 

Kichiro cleared his throat and carefully measured his words. “Do you remember back in school when you thought it'd be a good idea to sneak into the girls' locker room so you could see a real set of `boobies'?”

 

Ryomaru made a face.

 

“Do you remember getting caught?”

 

Ryomaru wrinkled his nose.

 

“Do you remember who you blamed for that?”

 

Ryomaru tried hard not to smile. “You.”

 

Kichiro shook his head slowly. “Well, this is worse, and this time, you can't blame anyone but your damn self.”

 

“So it's true.”

 

Ryomaru grimaced as he ground his teeth together and slowly turned to face his obviously amused cousin. Toga lounged casually in the doorway, his tall frame filling the opening as he sniffed loudly in Ryomaru's direction to make his point clear.

 

Ryomaru sighed. “Let's hear it. You know you want to do it.”

 

“Do what?” Toga quipped easily as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“Whatever it is you wanted to say. How stupid I was? How you figured this would happen?”

 

Toga shrugged. “Don't think I need to. You just said it all.”

 

“Go to hell, Toga.”

 

The youkai laughed.

 

“Listen, if you think I give a rat's ass—”

 

“Rat's . . . ass . . .” Kichiro chortled at the misplaced reference to Nezumi's nickname, earning him a glower from his brother and a choked snort from his cousin.

 

“Shut the hell up!” Ryomaru gnashed out as he rounded on his twin.

 

“Calm down, baka,” Toga interrupted before Ryomaru could light into Kichiro. “Aunt Gome said that Nezumi wasn't too happy about being stuck with you.”

 

Ryomaru sighed. “Yeah? Well, she was a little mad.”

 

“Why's that?”

 

Kichiro suddenly cleared his throat, staring at his claws as he tried not to laugh. “Ryo can't remember.”

 

“Can't remember what?”

 

“Can't remember . . . it.”

 

“`It'?” Toga echoed with a confused shake of his head as Ryomaru uttered a half-groan, half-growl. “What . . . ?” trailing off as his amber eyes slowly widened, Toga's mouth dropped open for a second before he snapped it closed and coughed, his face contorting as he fought back grin. “You've got to be kidding . . . .”

 

“Damn it . . .”

 

“He's not kidding,” Kichiro said as he leaned to the side to look past his brother and met his cousin's gaze.

 

Toga shook his head again but chuckled. “Leave it to you, you moron,” he mused as his chuckle escalated, “to claim a mate and then not be able to remember the claiming . . . Small wonder she doesn't want to be your mate.”

 

Ryomaru's gaze narrowed as he clenched his fists so tightly that his claws dug into his palms. “What the hell do you know, baka?” Ryo bellowed as he swiveled around to pin his cousin with a glower.

 

Toga's laughter died down though he still looked a little too amused for Ryomaru's comfort. “I'm smart enough to know that you're going to be miserable if your youkai chose her, and she rejects you . . . or are you really fool enough to think that you'll be fine?”

 

The memory of Toga's much too close brush with death diffused Ryomaru's irritation. Licking the self-inflicted puncture in the palm of his right hand, the hanyou stared at his cousin, who was still leaning in the doorway. “All right,” he finally said. “I'm open to suggestions.”

 

Toga shrugged. “It's easy, baka. Ask her what she wants—whatever she wants—and make sure she gets it.”

 

Ryomaru sighed and planted his hands on his hips as he glowered at the door he had to replace today. “Whatever she wants, huh?”

 

Toga nodded. Kichiro laughed.

 

 

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

 

 

“So tell me, Deirdre . . . what happened last night?” Kagome asked after InuYasha and Ryomaru had left the house.

 

Nezumi sank down on the sofa as she slowly shook her head. “I don't know,” she admitted. “I mean . . . he came over, and . . . I didn't think . . .”

 

Kagome sat down beside the girl and slipped her arm around her shoulder. “I remember the first time Ryomaru brought you home. He said your name was Nezumi and that you were the toughest girl he'd ever met.”

 

Nezumi smiled wanly. She'd been so proud of that introduction . . .

 

“Ryomaru has a good heart, even if he does infuriating things,” Kagome went on. “Anyway, I think he made a good choice, even though I wish he'd have done it all the right way.”

 

Nezumi winced at the censure in Kagome's voice.

 

“It can't be undone now, though. He really should have told you some of this first.”

 

“It wasn't . . . it wasn't entirely his fault,” Nezumi admitted quietly, unable to meet Kagome's gaze. The woman was the closest to a mother Nezumi could remember, and admitting the part she'd played in the whole thing . . . it was hard.

 

Kagome cleared her throat softly, almost as though she was trying not to laugh. “I didn't really think it was, Deirdre. I would say, though, that you didn't really realize what you were getting into.”

 

“You're taking this awfully well,” Nezumi grumbled as her cheeks flushed darker, and she shuffled her feet nervously.

 

Kagome sighed. “Actually, I'm not taking it as well as you might think. Would it make you feel better if I ranted and raved and did all those things that you probably expected? There's nothing that can be done now, and even if there was . . . my son could have done much worse than you.”

 

Nezumi shook her head. “This is . . . this is . . . this is nuts!” she insisted, though she wasn't sure if she was trying harder to convince herself or Kagome.

 

Nezumi made a face as she willed the memory away and refreshed her grip on the wrench in her hand. `They're all nuts,' she thought as she jerked on the tool to loosen the stubborn bolt. `Just because Ryo and I . . . We're not . . . that's crazy! And that baka better replace my door, too . . .'

 

Still, she had to admit, the idea of spending the rest of her life with Ryomaru . . . it wasn't that bad a thought, either . . .

 

`Except he won't be faithful, damn dog . . .'

 

She grimaced. That was true, wasn't it? She knew Ryomaru too well to believe that he'd ever willingly commit himself to one woman, especially her. She wasn't really his type. He went for the flashier women, and she . . . Well, she just wasn't.

 

“Welcome to the family.”

 

Startled by the soft voice behind her, Nezumi straightened up, smacking her head against the hood of the car she'd been working on. “Ouch,” she mumbled a she grabbed a grease rag and turned around.

 

Sierra and Gin stood behind her with happy smiles and looking distinctly girlish in their dresses. Nezumi winced inwardly, realizing that she was very likely covered from head to foot with grease.

 

“We were heading out for lunch and thought we'd stop by and invite you, too,” Gin offered without commenting on Nezumi's grease-monkey attire.

 

“Yeah . . . sort of a . . . family thing,” Sierra remarked with a bright smile.

 

“Oh, uh . . .” Nezumi hedged as she carefully wiped grease off her fingers, noting absently that she had grime wedged up under her nails, too. “I'm behind,” she blurted, latching onto the first excuse she could come up with. “I wasn't here yesterday, and—”

 

“Come on,” Gin coaxed with a flash of her deep dimples as she hooked a strand of her silvery hair behind her ear. “It's just across the street.”

 

Nezumi winced. The café `just across the street' was one of the nicer establishments on this side of Tokyo, and she certainly wasn't dressed for it, even if she did take off her coveralls. “I can't . . . I'm not dressed, and—”

 

“That doesn't matter. No one would dare say anything about it,” Sierra said with a light laugh and a flutter of her hand. “Besides, if Ryo found out we were in the neighborhood and didn't insist, he'd have a fit.”

 

“Thanks for inviting me,” she said with a quick shake of her head. “I just don't think—”

 

“Don't be silly, Nezumi! You're family now, after all,” Gin said as she grabbed Nezumi's arm—a clean spot—and forcibly dragged her toward the open garage door. “We already talked to your boss, anyway, and he said to take your time.”

 

Nezumi blinked as she stared down at Gin's hand. Though she wasn't rough, Nezumi was startled by Gin's almost freakish strength. `She's hanyou, like Ryo . . . that's why . . .'

 

They stopped long enough for Nezumi to shed the coveralls and wash her face and hands. “You know, Nezumi,” Sierra commented as she frowned thoughtfully. “I'm not trying to be offensive, but . . . why do you wear those shapeless clothes?”

 

Nezumi hung her coveralls on a hook and shrugged as she glanced down at the shapeless tee shirt and bib overalls that she'd grabbed this morning. Half of the reason was because she'd been in a hurry to distance herself from Ryo before they ended up in another argument. The other half of the reason was because the clothes were convenient. “What's the point? I'm comfortable in these. I'm not trying to impress anyone, anyway.”

 

It didn't surprise her when the waiter at the café wrinkled his nose just before he showed them to a table. She had washed off most of the grime but until she had a shower, she'd still be filthy. She had a feeling that this lunch wasn't going to be fun. With a sigh, she reached for her glass of water.

 

“So when are you going to have pups?” Gin asked.

 

Nezumi choked on her sip of water, sputtering droplets as she coughed and tried to breathe. Gin leaned over to thump Nezumi's back with the heel of her hand.

 

Sierra grinned. “Whenever I can convince Toga that I won't stop babying him if we have one, I suppose,” she answered.

 

Nezumi wheezed and cleared her throat. “Oh, you two,” she blurted before she could think about it.

 

Sierra and Gin both stared at her as her face flushed. “You didn't . . . Did you think I was asking you?” Gin questioned cautiously, the corners of her lips twitching as she tried to hide her amusement.

 

Sierra looked away quickly and coughed as Nezumi wondered what the odds were that the floor would open up under her and swallow her before she could stick her foot in any deeper.

 

“Anyway . . . Ryo's about as ready for pups as I am,” Gin said with a wince.

 

“I'd make him stop working for Sesshoumaru before I'd ever agree to procreate with him,” Sierra agreed.

 

Nezumi snorted. “Yeah, well, it wouldn't do to have his kids thinking he does nothing but skim money off family, I guess,” she remarked as she set her water glass down.

 

Sierra and Gin exchanged looks. Sierra's surprise was evident while Gin's was darker, like she was trying to warn Sierra about something. Nezumi stared from one to the other. “What?”

 

Gin was the first to recover. “I think you should probably ask Ryo what he does for Uncle Sesshoumaru.”

 

Sierra shrugged, wincing as though she had said something very wrong. “I'm sorry. I thought . . .” she trailed off with a sigh and shook her head. “You'd better find out from him.”

 

Nezumi didn't answer as the waiter set a plate before her. Sierra shot Gin an apologetic look. Gin shrugged and forced a little smile. Nezumi frowned at her food. Why did she have the feeling that she might be better off not knowing what Ryo did for his uncle?

 

 

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

 

 

“So . . . I had lunch with Sierra and Gin today,” Nezumi commented without looking up as she examined the new door as Ryomaru dropped a white paper bag on the kitchen countertop.

 

“Did you?” Ryomaru asked with only cursory interest as he dug the Styrofoam take-out containers out of the bag. “You want the cheeseburger or the fried rice?”

 

“Duh, Ryo,” she remarked as she ran her hand up and down the smooth steel door. “What do you think?”

 

Ryomaru snorted. “Damn it, I knew I shoulda gotten two cheeseburgers,” he grumbled.

 

“So go get another one.”

 

“Nah . . . I'll just eat half of yours.”

 

“Like hell,” she shot back.

 

He grinned. “Come on, Nez. Sharing's good, or didn't your old man teach you that?”

 

She closed the door and turned around to stare at him. “Sharing's overrated,” she scoffed as she stepped over and reached around him to nab the cheeseburger and bit into it before he got a chance to snatch it out of her hand.

 

“Oi!” he complained. A smug little grin surfaced on his face as he grabbed her hand and forcibly fed himself a healthy bite.

 

“You dog!” she complained as she pushed at him with her free hand. A little giggle escaped despite the glower she shot him. He held onto her wrist. She switched hands on the burger, and turned to the side so he couldn't grab that hand, too.

 

Ryomaru gave up with a very loud, very pronounced sigh and shook his head as he let go of her wrist and made a deliberate show of opening the fried rice. To Nezumi's undisguised amusement, he didn't bother with utensils as he lifted the container to his lips and dumped rice into his mercifully-empty mouth. She'd seen him do that far too many times to count. It didn't even faze her anymore.

 

“So why don't you tell me what you do for your uncle,” she asked casually as she swiped a waxed paper cup off the table and sat down.

 

“My unggle?” he repeated through a mouthful of food.

 

“Yeah,” she said after a drink of soda. “Your `unggle'.”

 

He got her hint and swallowed before answering. “I work for him,” he replied, shifting his mouth from side to side as he lifted the rice again.

 

“Yeah . . . I figured that out, baka, but what do you do? Sierra and Gin thought I should ask you.”

 

“They did, huh?” he said, the container pausing on its trek to his mouth. “It don't matter.”

 

“They did,” she agreed, “right after Gin asked about `pups'.”

 

Ryomaru had managed to dump more rice into his mouth as Nezumi was talking. He sucked in a harsh breath and choked as the rice invaded his windpipe, and Nezumi shrank back as little bits of food flew across the table. “Wh-wh-what?”

 

Nezumi rolled her eyes, conveniently forgetting that she'd had much the same reaction. “Calm down, Ryo. She was asking Sierra. Besides, I'm still not buying this whole . . . line of crap you keep trying to force-feed me.”

 

He looked like he was going to take offense at her statement. His expression turned mulish, and he dropped the container of rice on the table as he flopped down in the nearest chair with his arms over his chest and glowered at nothing in particular. “Crap, is it?” he growled, his tone definitely affronted. Nezumi winced.

 

She sighed. “Look, Ryo. I don't feel like arguing with you right now, okay?”

 

“Hmm, well, it's a little late for that, don't you think? I mean, you just called my entire family and our way of life `crap', and—”

 

“I did not,” she argued, dropping her cheeseburger on the table as she sat back, mimicking his body language right down to the scowl. “What I said was that I don't believe that having sex one time would make anything permanent.”

 

He opened his mouth to argue with her. Nezumi raised her hand to stop him. “You aren't going to try to tell me that I'm the first girl you've had sex with, Ryo, because you and I both know that's bullshit.”

 

His golden gaze narrowed as he slowly pivoted his head to glare at her. “And if I said it wasn't?”

 

She shook her head slowly. “I'm not stupid. Forget about it—oh wait . . . you already have.”

 

That shut him up. His teeth actually snapped as he closed his mouth and turned his blushing face away.

 

She should have been glad she won that battle, she supposed as she pushed back her chair and stood up to go shower. She had actually managed to leave Izayoi Ryomaru speechless. Very few people had ever been blessed with that dubious honor.

 

Locking the bathroom door behind herself before she wandered over to turn on the shower tap, Nezumi's frown deepened. The image of Ryo's embarrassed expression, the odd light in his gaze, as though she had hurt him . . .

 

Nezumi sank down on the toilet seat and dropped her face into her cupped hands. She ought to be pleased. Too bad she wasn't.

 

 

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

A/N:

== == == == == == == == == ==

Reviewers

==========

btrains126(FFnet) :

Hey! What gives! No Nezumi-Kagome talk? What's up with that? Shouldn't there be more explaining going on? Or Hanyou-in-pain black and blues? How do you keep updating all 3 fics at the same time?

 

Because the bulk of that chapter was written from Ryomaru's POV, the Kagome/Nezumi talk that took place while the guys were outside wasn't covered yet. It had to wait until this chapter …

==========

jragoneyes (AScom):

Hi...me again. This is more for Purity 3 (yeah i finally broke down & read it! ha!ha!), since i don't know how to do it t the other place yet. First of all....WOW!!!.... What a start! They called her half-breed? (Mean, damn kids! Grrrr!!!) If she's half Japanese what's the other half of her heritage she's human, isn't she? Also, she sounds like she's got potential for being a real knock-out, drop-dead gorgeous type, only she's never really been taught how to present herself that way. No wonder Ryomaru's jaw dropped! lol. Not that she seems like wants to be the frilly type, but sometimes.... just sometimes.... a girl just wants to be a girl. I totally get that! Great stuff!!!

 

Nezumi's father is Japanese, his mother is American. And yes, since she grew up without a mother, she basically doesn't know how to be a `girl'. Should be interesting…

==========

MMorg

INUKAGLOVER ::: DarklessVasion ::: thefaeryofpurejoy ::: Doctor Emmit Brown ::: notzathros (in this case, I uploaded the html file on accident and had to upload the doc… ) ::: Angelstars ::: cynbad146 ::: iloveryo15 ::: Aitu-- not signed in ::: Iggy Lovechild ::: LadyBarrista ::: Akihana ::: angelica incarnate ::: kyonarai ::: Kadaede ::: Lena17 ::: Tenacious D ::: Cloud Shadows ::: angel0fs0rr0w666 ::: Akira139 ::: Deirdre ::: fallenangel7583 (Ree-oh-mah-ru… though I could be wrong on this. LoL) ::: Pyth ::: suzehowe ::: Washuu Ogami

==========

FFnet

Drake Clawfang ::: Ryguy5387 ::: DarkSerenity93 ::: Jasmine Fields ::: Nel ::: ILOVEINUS ::: Lady Yukiko ::: AnthyRose ::: Bobby ::: WiccanMethuselah ::: grand admiral chelli ::: Fairia13 (Heaven forbid… lol!) ::: Water-Goddess-Inu-Luver1 ::: BakaYasha (Check my author page. I do not have the fics on this computer, and I do not email entire fics, either.) ::: xSilverShadowsx ::: shippowantscandy ::: akai no tenshi ::: Toya's Gurl ::: Mili ::: anime manga girl ::: kestral-tudorica ::: agent-doo ::: MarcellaRyoko ::: Akashadair

eave

 

==========

AFFnet

GgBg4u ::: Midnight_Sparrow ::: Mel ::: psyco_chick32 ::: Alice ::: thoughts ::: akdreamer ::: fruitcake ::: Crazy Fan S.S.(Aww, that's really sweet!) ::: deep serenity ::: Hope_Poe26 ::: Sess_2005 ::: fruitcake ::: CheshireAngel ::: kay ::: Anon (I didn't forget. I just want to wrap up Purity 2, first) ::: Tray ::: SkatCat ::: Meres

==========

Final Thought from Nezumi:

So … What does Ryo do for his uncle …?

==========

Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Forever): 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~