InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 3: Forever ❯ In the Dark ( Chapter 32 )

~~Chapter 32~~

~In the Dark~

 

The piercing scream cut through Nezumi's sleep-groggy mind with a vindictive bite. Sitting up and tossing back her blankets, Nezumi stumbled to her feet and nearly fell as she tripped over her feet.

 

`Why's he hollering?' she wondered as she shook her head and jerked open her bedroom door and shuffled out into the hallway. Ryomaru's shriek dropped in pitch into more of a concentrated snarl, and the closer Nezumi got to his room, the more words she could make out, and the ones she did deepened her frown and made her wince.

 

“Kami-forsaken, flea-ridden, lice-infested vermin of a stupid cat!” he growled.

 

“Ryo!” Nezumi gasped as she pushed open his door and saw him, sitting up in bed and silhouetted in moonlight as he held Yukitora aloft by the scruff of her neck. The kitten didn't even make a sound. “What are you doing?”

 

“I'm going to kill her,” Ryomaru grumbled. “Fucking stupid hair-ball!”

 

“You can't! She---”

 

“She dug her fucking claws in my damn nipple, Nez!”

 

Nezumi shook her head slowly. “Why would she . . . ?”

 

“She apparently likes shiny things,” he snarled without letting go of the kitten.

 

Nezumi choked back a giggle as the full picture of what had happened fleshed out before her eyes. He must have been sleeping, and Yukitora probably saw the moonlight shining off Ryomaru's nipple stud, and in true cat fashion, she stuck out her claws and swatted . . .

 

“Are you bleeding?” she managed to ask without laughing though her voice was oddly choked.

 

“It ain't funny, damn it!” he bellowed, laying his ears back as he glowered at her in the darkness.

 

“You're right,” she agreed with a forced cough. “It isn't funny . . .”

 

He might have believed her if she didn't rasp out a giggle then. Golden eyes narrowing in the darkness, she could almost feel his indignation growing. “Oh, that's just fan-fucking-tastic! Take the furball's side, why don't you, wench? She slices me open, and you laugh at me! Feh!”

 

“Okay, okay, I'm sorry,” Nezumi said as she staved back her amusement. “I could have her de-clawed . . . I think she's old enough . . .”

 

Ryomaru's ears twitched, and he sucked in a breath so sharply it whistled. “What?”

 

“What, what?” Nezumi asked as she shook her head in confusion. He just got done complaining about the kitten's claws, and now she'd think he was bothered by her suggestion, if she didn't know better.

 

“Feh! De-clawed? Would you de-claw me, wench?”

 

Nezumi snorted and slouched back against his dresser. “Don't be stupid! Of course not!”

 

The eyes narrowed even more, and he lifted his chin. “I don't think I believe you.”

 

“I wouldn't have you de-clawed. I'm not even fond of the idea of doing it to the kitten, but if she clawed you, I'd rather have it done than have you angry at her all the time.”

 

“You can't just have her de-clawed,” he grumbled as he stood up and paced across the room to deposit the kitten in Nezumi's arms. He jerked her away before Nezumi could grab her as he continued to scowl at her. “You're not gonna do it, right?”

 

“Do . . . what . . . ?” Nezumi choked out. As he'd gotten off the bed and stalked over to her, she'd realized something that she hadn't before: Ryomaru hadn't been lying about how he preferred to sleep, and even if he was comfortable enough not to realize that he was completely naked, she wasn't nearly so lucky.

 

“What's gotten into you?” he growled.

 

“You're---it's---that's---cover it, Ryo!”

 

Glancing down, the hanyou hissed out a few choice words as he lowered his hands to cover himself. Yukitora mewled unhappily at the lightning-fast movement, and Nezumi laughed despite her growing embarrassment at his state of undress.

 

“She's already taken a swipe at your nipple . . . want to tempt fate?”

 

“Fuck!”

 

Yukitora yowled angrily as she hit the floor and darted out the door. Ryomaru scowled at her retreating figure, and Nezumi wondered if Ryomaru might just be as embarrassed as she was, given the circumstances.

 

“Well, I'm going back to bed,” she exclaimed, trying her hardest to pretend that Ryomaru wasn't standing there completely naked.

 

His hands shot out, resting on the dresser on either side of her, effectively trapping her and effectively making her forget that she really should breathe. “Got a better idea, Nez . . . since you're here . . . and since we're both awake . . .”

 

Unable to form a cohesive sentence, Nezumi shook her head, willed her heart to stop pounding so hard as she stared into his eyes, unable to look away. His gaze had taken on a completely different kind of light, and this light had the power to burn her where she stood.

 

“She's your cat, after all . . . I think you owe me . . . I think you owe me a hella lot.”

 

“I didn't . . . make her . . .”

 

“First rule of ownership: you're responsible for the actions of your pet . . .”

 

He slowly leaned toward her, raked his fangs over her neck as her head fell to the side, as her body erupted in tremors. He was too close, too overwhelming, and all she could think was that she wanted him closer. “R-R-Ryo---”

 

“What's the matter, Nez? Cat got your tongue?”

 

His breath rippled over her skin, feeding the fire that ran through her with a ferocity, a vengeance, an emotion so strong that she felt like she was falling. Ryomaru was there to catch her.

 

Heated kisses that lingered on her flesh like a sweltering summer day forced a moan from her, a whimper, a sigh. Her fingers tangled in his hair, held him closer as his arms wrapped around her, supported her, protected and sheltered her. His presence seemed to fill the room, and Nezumi had never felt so safe, so secure, so . . .

 

`Don't think, Nez . . . just feel . . .'

 

It seemed like sound advice. Ryomaru's lips were a force to be reckoned with, breaking down the barriers of resistance before they could be formed. The turbulence of his raw emotion was tempered only by the gentleness of his actions, the softness of his lips against her, the rapid flutter of his pulse under her hands. The power of his strength wrapped around her, cosseted her as a swelling ache raged through her body. His fangs raked against her skin, his tongue flicking over her skin, lingering over the hollow at the base of her throat.

 

“Mine,” he growled, his voice raspy, dry. “Kami, I need you . . .”

 

His claws raked over her back, sending shivers down her spine. The thin cloth of the t-shirt did little to detract from the violent feel of his touch as rampant flames shot through her to converge deep inside. Every part of her was centered on him, every nerve, every breath called out to him.

 

His lips touched hers, set off another explosion deep inside her. Supporting her with one arm, Ryomaru used his free hand to tilt her head, to stroke her cheek, to hold her close as he kissed her softly, kissed her gently, kissed her with emotion that she didn't dare consider. Murmuring words that she didn't understand, delving his tongue into her mouth time and again, he stole her breath away as he deliberately teased her, goaded her. The riot of sensation was too much to bear, but Ryomaru was relentless.

 

Lost in the vortex between want and need, a desperation that cut so deep it left her reeling, breathless, clinging as he raised her up above the scattered remains of a shattered will. His domination was a beautiful thing, the draw of his body on hers an unspoken testament of things left unsaid. The encompassing circle of tactile feel and unattainable dreams, of merciless emotion and burgeoning hope spiraled through her. He whispered her name in an exhalation that fanned over her moistened lips, sent a shiver down her spine as her body melted against his. Everything inside her called out to him, and he answered her with his lips on hers, with his feathery light caresses on her cheek, with his murmurs and sighs, with his soul.

 

She didn't think as he lifted her in his arms, didn't feel the subtle shift as he carried her to his bed. Lost in the magic of his lips on hers, she was only vaguely aware of being lowered onto the bed.

 

Breaking the kiss as he stretched out beside her only to pull her close against his side, Ryomaru heaved a ragged sigh, hugging her tight before kissing her forehead with such tenderness that Nezumi had to blink back the tears that filled her eyes.

 

“I . . . I didn't want to stop,” he finally admitted, his voice a whisper in the stillness.

 

“Why did you?” she asked, curiosity winning out over the waves of disappointment that she stubbornly tried to deny.

 

“It's a full moon.”

 

She frowned. “What does that mean?”

 

He sighed. “There's two times a month we could . . . make a baby . . . On full moon nights, the baby would be hanyou, and on the new moon . . . It'd be human, but . . . I didn't think you wanted . . .”

The disappointment dissolved in an instant, and Nezumi leaned on her elbow to frown at Ryomaru. “What?”

 

He made a face, and she could see his ears flatten against his skull despite the dimness of the room. “Do you want one? I mean, if you want one, then by all means, I'll keep fucking going, but I ain't changing diapers, and I can't remember to feed the damn cat, so . . .”

 

Curbing the desire to smack him, Nezumi drew a deep breath to calm her nerves. When that didn't work, she tried again. The second time was a little better. “No, Ryo . . . what you said . . . are you serious?”

 

“Do I look like I'm teasing?”

 

“Doesn't that violate some sort of biological law?”

 

“I'm hanyou, Nez . . . If that don't violate some sort of biological law, then nothing will . . . and why are we talking about that, anyway?”

 

“I don't know,” she grumbled as she tried to roll off the bed. Ryomaru's arms snaked around her waist to pull her back. “Ryo---”

 

“Nez . . . don't go, okay? I just . . . I just want to hold you.”

 

The truth of his statement underlined the gruff tone of his voice, and Nezumi sat still. “Why?”

 

“Because I like waking up beside you.”

 

She swallowed hard, wondering if he knew just what effect his words had on her. She sighed. “All right,” she agreed slowly. “But you have to put some pants on.”

 

He sighed at that but let go of her long enough to scoot off the bed. She carefully looked away while he rummaged through his drawers. “Okay,” he finally said.

 

She shook her head at the hint of a pout in his tone but let him pull her back against him when he lay back down again.

 

“I like this,” he finally said, burying his lips in her hair.

 

`Yeah,' Nezumi thought as she closed her eyes, let her hand fall on his chest. `I . . . I like it, too . . .'

 

 

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

 

 

Nezumi rolled her eyes as Ryomaru paced around the living room, bringing to mind a caged animal. It wasn't the first time he'd behaved like that in the past month since he'd taken the job for Toga's company. It wasn't the first time that Nezumi wondered just how much the change in occupation really was bothering him.

 

`He chose to do it,' she reasoned with a frown.

 

`He chose to do it because he thought it was what you wanted.'

 

`That's not really true . . . No one makes Ryomaru do anything he doesn't want to do.'

 

`And that's not really true, either. Maybe he chose to change jobs, but you have to admit that if you hadn't reacted so badly, do you really think he'd have done that?'

 

She cleared her throat to draw his attention and winced when he turned his scowl on her. “Ryo . . . are you sure you're okay with your job?”

 

He snorted, cracking his knuckles as he resumed his pacing. “Yup, love it. It's great. What's not to love? I sit around behind a desk, do nothing all day, and I get paid for it. It's the best job, ever.”

 

Grimacing at his agreeable answer that was completely contradictory to his hostile demeanor, she tried again. “Do you miss it? Hunting, I mean?”

 

He forced a chuckle. “Hell, no! Being on call all the time . . . never knowing when I'd be waylaid by some ticked off youkai whose brother I put down . . . What's to miss about all that?”

 

Nezumi shook her head. “Ryo . . . you're a terrible liar, did you know?”

 

Ryomaru sighed and missed a step. “Look, it don't matter. I made my choice, and it's fine. It's just taking awhile to get used to, that's all.”

 

“Why did you love hunting so much?” she asked, almost afraid to hear the answer.

 

He stopped by the sliding glass doors, his frame outlined by the light of the setting sun. Arms crossed over his chest as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his eyes were uncannily bright in his otherwise shadow-darkened visage. “Honestly? It wasn't about that. I never loved it.” He paused and let his hands fall to his hips; shifting his weight again as he slowly shook his head. “My old man did it, you know? For a long time, he fought. He fought to protect Mother and his friends, fought to honor the people who lost their lives because of the Shikon no Tama . . .”

 

“The Shikon no Tama?”

 

Ryomaru smiled sadly. “My old man was born over five hundred years ago. His father was tai-youkai, like Sesshoumaru now, and his mother was human. Because of that, he wasn't accepted anywhere, and when his mother died, the old man was still just a pup. He learned to fight. He met a miko named Kikyou, and she accepted him, but she guarded the Shikon no Tama, and because of that, she was killed.”

 

Nezumi shook her head. “Wait . . . the Shikon no Tama? But that was a myth.”

 

“No, it wasn't. Mother still has it, but now it's just a rock. Anyway, before Kikyou died, she managed to pin the old man to Goshinboku with her sacred arrow, and he stayed there for fifty years. In the mean time, Kikyou died, and when she was cremated, they burned the jewel with her body. Mother was Kikyou's reincarnation, and when she was born, the jewel was in her body. The well on the shrine grounds used to be empty. It was called the Bone Eater's Well, and when mother turned fifteen, she . . . she was dragged into it and ended up five hundred years in the past, which is where she met my old man.”

 

“This isn't funny, Ryo.”

 

He sighed. “If you don't believe me, just ask the old man or Mother . . . or Sesshoumaru . . . or Grandma . . . or Shippou, but Shippou was young then, and some of his stories are a little off-kilter, from what the old man says . . .”

 

Nezumi waved her hand to stop him. “All right, then tell me the rest of it. I'll validate your story later.”

 

Ryomaru snorted but continued. “Mother released the old man from Goshinboku but ended up shattering the jewel into a bunch of shards. The shards ended up all over Japan, and Mother and the old man had to hunt them all down. Kikyou was resurrected---and don't give me that look. This is exactly how they told it to us. In the end, they killed the evil hanyou Naraku, got the last of the shards, and reformed the Shikon no Tama. Mother came back through the well and wished Kikyou back to life since she thought the old man still loved her, and Kikyou ended up reopening the well to let the old man come after Mother. The rest, as they say, is history. That's all beside the point. Thing is, my old man fought to protect those who couldn't protect themselves. It was only right that I do that, too. I am my old man's oldest son . . . and I couldn't just sit by and watch someone else do it.”

 

“But you are now.”

 

He winced. “Yeah, but it ain't Kich or Gin or . . .” he shrugged. “It ain't family going after the youkai.”

 

“Is it really as simple as that?” she asked quietly as she watched him rub Yukitora's head. “Can you stop worrying about something, just like that?”

 

He shrugged but couldn't look her in the eye. “Some things are more important, I guess. It don't matter now, anyway. It's a done deal.”

 

She only wished she could believe him. Despite his forced smile and his careless shrug, she couldn't help but feel as though she had taken something from him; something precious and dear . . . something that made Ryomaru the man she knew. Did it really matter, what she wanted, when it was so obvious to her that he was absolutely miserable?

 

“Ryo, if you want---”

 

His sigh cut her off as he shot to his feet and stomped toward the foyer. “I'm going to get something to eat, Nez. I'll bring you back something.”

 

She hopped up and ran after him, trying to stop him before she lost her nerve to tell him. “Wait, Ryo, I---”

 

“I'll be right back. Don't worry, okay?”

 

“Ryo!”

 

She was too late. The door closed behind him, and by the time she yanked it open again, he was disappearing into the forest.

 

Yukitora sat by Nezumi's feet and mewled.

 

“I know,” she muttered as she stooped down to sweep the kitten into her arms. “I can tell him when he gets back, right?”

 

Yukitora purred and cuddled against Nezumi's chest.

 

 

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

A/N:

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Reviewers

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lilxneko (FFnet):
Nezumi pisses me off... she doesn't understand anything and shes a little b**** for sure... you make her like that... but i do love your story and i hope you update soon... i just hope you don't keep her like that cuz it makes me hate her and i know i'm not the only one thinking that either. but either by if you choose to keep her like that your change her, i'll still read your story cuz its really good.

 

I was going to ignore this review like I do the host of other hurtful things that have been said to me, but I won't, because it is a perfect illustration of things that are stupidly said in reviews or via email that just irk the crap out of me. Firstly, don't read the story if you don't like a character. Simple enough. No one makes you read it, no one makes you do a damn thing. Secondly, don't read it if you can't associate with the characters, because this isn't ANY kind of criticism, it is just a blatant flame. What is a flame? By my interpretation, it is something MEANT to hurt me, and this one ranks right up there. Consequently, I blocked this user from reviewing. It is reviews like this that made me jerk fics off sites, including FFnet. It is the reviews like this that make me NOT want to post anymore because honestly, what's the point? Thanks for so eloquently illustrating my point. Couldn't have found a better example of thoughtless things reviewers say that result in writers who pull their work because some people don't think before they say things . . . or do they just really not care?

 

 

Hey - Grammar Beta here.

Had a whole fancy paragraph I was going to ask Sue to post as an addendum to the author note. I deleted it, in favor of a bit of brevity. In sum I say this: If you are old enough to read this story, you are old enough to use spell check. If you are able to understand why these are mimetic characters, then you understand what a true `review' is. If you are just a pigeon-livered troglodyte, who longs to become an insufferable pain in an author's side, karma will eventually strike you down. And to you I say - thou are a whoresonned mandrake, most lacking in gall.

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Radio... not signed in  (MMorg):
This may be a silly question, but did the family know that Toga's picture was on a calendar and was seen by many? Sierra handled that situation with grace, I think. I might have been less composed. Nice chapter!

 

I don't think that they knew how many actually saw the calendar. They did know of its existence, however, and would account for why Kagura and Kagome didn't have absolute cows when the picture resurfaced.

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MMorg

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Final Thought from Nezumi:

If he'd listen …

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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~