InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ The Naked Truth ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

The room was so silent that Gin could hear herself blink.  Staring down at her open sketchpad, she studiously avoided looking around as she carefully sharpened her pencil and dug out the kneaded eraser.  Small sounds infiltrated the quiet, and the lull that had fallen over the class since Cain's introduction of the model was finally losing its grip.  She could hear the girls at the table behind her whispering.

"He's cute!"

"Shh!  He's taking off his robe!"

Muffling their giggles with the backs of their hands, the girls stared at the young man who had been brought in to model for their sketches.

Gin made a face as she twitched her hidden ears.  The soft rustle of fabric had subsided, so she figured he was done taking off his robe now.  'It's just a sketch, Gin, no different from the sketches you do all the time.'

She begged to differ.  'I sketch children in the park or sunsets over Papa's forest.  I don't sketch nude models.'

'There's a first time for everything.  Besides, it's no different, not really.  Just pretend that his skin is nothing but a weird kind of clothing.'

'Ri-i-i-i-ight . . . I've seen that stuff before, you know.  There's no way to mistake it for clothes.'

'Use your imagination, doll.  Just sketch the parts of him that you're okay with.  You can add that in later.'

Garnering her courage as she forced herself to peer up through her heavy fringe of silvery bangs, Gin scrunched up her shoulders and leaned over her sketchbook.  'Ugh . . . It isn't really that attractive, is it?  I mean, it just sort of hangs there . . .'

'Men's bodies were made for function, Gin, not beauty.'

'Maybe . . .'

'Just pretend he's one of your brothers.  You've seen them both naked before, remember?'

Gin snorted inwardly.  'As if I wanted to remember that,' she scoffed.

'The point is, you have seen those before.  Focus on your assignment, and just do it, okay?'

She sighed.

Drawing the young man's shoulder and arm, Gin concentrated on her work even as her thoughts wandered.  The unwelcome memory wouldn't go away, and as she worked, she couldn't help but think back . . .

"Promise me, Mama," fourteen year-old Gin begged as she followed Kagome into the laundry room.  "You know they'll humiliate me if they can."

"I'm sure you're worried about nothing," Kagome assured her.  "Your brothers are going over to Deirdre's house later since her father's out of town again."

Gin wasn't convinced.  It seemed to her that her brothers—miscreants that they were—were certain to do something stupid to embarrass her.

"Remember, you promised your father that you'd keep the noise down, at least after we go to bed."

"Yes, Mama," she replied.  "You promise you'll say something to them?"

Kagome laughed as she dropped towels into the washing machine.  "Of course, Gin, but I'm telling you, your brothers will be good as gold."

And they had been—for awhile.  Her friends had arrived shortly after that, and everyone had been excited about the slumber party.  Ryomaru and Kichiro along with Toga, who was spending the afternoon with the family, were out in the converted garage being drilled by InuYasha.  Citing that the twins were growing lazy since they hadn't been practicing nearly as often of late, their father had announced that they'd be spending the day beating on each other in a mock tournament.  Ordinarily Gin would have joined the guys, but since she had promised to help Kagome clean and cook for the slumber party, she hadn't gotten to participate.

"Where are your brothers, Gin-chan?" one of the girls asked with a giggle.

Gin rolled her eyes.  If she admitted that they were working out, she was pretty certain there'd be a mad rush for the garage.  "They're around," she said evasively.

"Kichiro-sempai is such a doll!" another girl remarked with a dreamy sigh.

"Yeah, but Ryomaru-kun is definitely just hot."

"Gross!" Gin broke in.  "They're my baka brothers!"

The commentary was interrupted when the glass doors slid open.  Toga strode inside followed by the twins, and Gin cringed inwardly at the contented sighs escaping the small circle of girls sitting on the floor.  Wearing low riding hakama designed for ease of movement in practice and without shirts, the three males didn't pay attention to their audience as they argued over who had won the practice matches.

"Fuck, Toga, I kicked your ass, and you know it!" Ryomaru claimed.

"The hell you did," Toga shot back.  "This Toga does not lose to the pathetic likes of you."

"That Toga can kiss my ass!" Ryomaru goaded.

"That can be arranged," Kichiro agreed.  Gin gasped as Kichiro leaned forward, caught the sides of Ryomaru's hakama, and whipped them down.

Ryomaru stumbled and tried to jerk up his pants with one hand as he swung his free arm toward his brother.  "I should have killed you before we were born, you bastard!" Ryomaru snarled as the girls twittered to each other like birds.

Toga stopped and started to turn around to see what the commotion was all about.  Kichiro dodged around Ryomaru to grab Toga's pants and repeat the process.

"Oi, damn it!" Toga growled as he jerked his pants back into place.  Ryomaru had managed to pull up his, too, and the cousins stalked toward Kichiro, who was too busy laughing to realize that he ought to run.

"Bakas!" Gin bellowed as she shot to her feet and stomped over to the guys.  By the time she reached them, Toga was holding onto Kichiro's arms while Ryomaru whipped his brother's pants completely off before striding over to the group of girls and dropping them in the midst of the gaping females.

Gin grimaced as the memory faded.  In the end, Ryomaru and Toga had tied a naked Kichiro to a chair and left him sitting in the living room much to the giggling girls' delight.  Gin had untied him and had chased him out of the room as he laughed like a fool.  Those brothers of hers really didn't have any shame at all.  When she'd complained to her parents, InuYasha had choked on the water he'd been drinking and had strode outside to laugh until he was nearly in tears.  Kagome had pressed her lips together in a tight line, but Gin had seen the corners of her lips twitching just the same.  Her friends hadn't stopped talking about the 'show', and they never missed an opportunity afterward to ask when she'd be hosting another slumber party . . .

With a sigh, Gin blinked and critically eyed the sketch.  It was nearly complete aside from a very conspicuous blank spot where his genitals should have been.  The proportions were good, she supposed, the lines clean and well-defined.  Forcing herself to look in the final area of interest, Gin's brow furrowed as she tapped the end of her pencil against the sketchpad.  She'd seen her brothers and cousin, for kami's sake.  Parts were parts were parts, weren't they?  'Just draw it, Gin!' she told herself sternly.

"Wonder if he's dating anyone," one of the girls behind Gin whispered.

"No doubt," her friend replied dreamily.

"Ask him for his phone number."

"A guy like him?  He's got to have a girlfriend already!"

The first girl sighed.  "Why are all the good-looking guys taken?"

'You know,' Gin thought as her frown deepened.  'I have to say . . . He doesn't really do a thing for me.'

'Hmm . . . maybe you should picture someone else's head on his body?'

Gin wrinkled her nose and fiddled with the outline of his arm.  'Oh?  Like who?'

The voice in her head giggled.  'What about . . . Cain?'

The pencil fell out of her hand and she gasped.  'What?  No!  No-o-o-o-o!  Oh, no . . .'

'You're probably right . . . I'm pretty sure Zelig-sensei would be much more . . . impressive . . .'

Gin could feel her cheeks flaming as she sucked in a sharp breath.  Her eyes felt like they were burning, and she concentrated on assuring herself that no one else could hear the voice that spoke so clearly in her mind.  'Come on, Gin . . . You can do this.  It's just drawing another object . . . Don't think about what it is, and you'll do fine.'

'Don't think about what it is?  It's a . . . a pi-chan!'

Her face grew warmer, and she stifled a groan.

'Just let this class end . . .'


Cain glanced over his shoulder at the clock on the wall and sighed.  'Just let this class end,' he thought as he stared over the roomful of students.  Everyone seemed to be concentrating on their sketches, and Cain leaned back against his desk, crossing his arms over his chest.

He'd been trying not to look at Gin.  Deliberately ignoring the reason for his behavior, he tucked the long strands of his bangs behind his ear.  Teaching art hadn't ever been something he'd considered before, and yet it seemed completely natural, too.

'You know, it has nothing at all to do with teaching, and it has everything to do with a certain girl.'

'Huh.  I thought you didn't approve of her.'

'Approving and liking are two different things, Cain.  I like her just fine.  I like her as much as you do . . . maybe more.  You know why I don't approve.  You know why it's nothing more than a really pretty dream.'

Cain shifted guiltily, glanced over his shoulder at the clock once more.  'A pretty dream.  That's what she is, isn't she?'

'Now that I think you might actually be listening, can I tell you again?  You really need to stay away from her, Cain.  Why do this to yourself?  Why do this to her?  You know better than anyone that you can't give her what a girl like her needs.'

'We're just friends.'

'Just friends?  There's no such thing between a man and a woman as 'just friends'.  Have you heard it?  The call of her youkai blood?  I have.  Maybe you haven't because you just don't want to, and maybe she doesn't even realize it herself.  She's young.  She might not know it, but I've heard it.'

'That's ridiculous.  I haven't known her long enough for that to be possible.'

'You can't let it go on, Cain.  You've got to stop it, and you've got to do it now.  She still believes in fairy tales and happy endings, and you . . .'

Cain sighed, wiping his eyes as he conceded the truth of the words.  'I can't give her those.'

Lifting his gaze, seeking out the girl that he'd been trying to ignore, Cain's frown deepened.  She was staring at the model with a crimson flush engulfing her features that darkened just before she hunched over her sketchpad once more.

'What is going on?'

Pushing himself back to his feet, he ambled away from the desk, skirting the working students as he made his way toward Gin.  He had to see that sketch.  It wasn't really a conscious thought, and there really wasn't a reason behind it.  Her discomfort was a viable thing, and he just had to know why.

'Wait . . . Didn't you hear what I just said?'

'She's embarrassed,' he defended himself.

'Well, if you're not going to listen to reason, at least make it look good, will you?'

Stopping beside the first desk and peering over the students' shoulders, Cain forced himself to slow down, to keep himself from singling Gin out.  He gave a half-hearted critique of the sketches before moving down the line of desks until he reached her.

She was concentrating on her sketch and didn't appear to have sensed his approach.  Resting his hand on the back of her chair, he leaned over her shoulder as he tried to ignore her entirely too-soothing scent.  The sketch was good—very good.  Attention to proportion coupled with Gin's distinctive style flowed effortlessly on the page, and Cain found himself smiling.  The only imperfection, really, was the void in the middle of the sketch.  "You're not actually going to leave him a eunuch, are you?"

Gin squeaked in surprise, her pencil slipping out of her fingers as she whipped around to face him.  Her cheeks flooded with color as she slapped her hands down over the sketch to block it from Cain's view.  "No," she choked out.  "I mean . . ."

"Let's see what you do with it," he prompted as he retrieved her pencil and handed it to her.  "I'll come back."

Still grinning as he moved away, Cain took his time with the rest of his circuit.  Every time he glanced at Gin, she was bent over her sketch.

'Why doesn't it surprise me, that she can't bring herself to draw a penis?'

Cain snorted indelicately as he stuffed his hands into his pockets and ambled back toward Gin's desk.  'She can do it . . . She's got nerve, I know it.  I can sense it.'

'It takes more than nerve to draw a penis.  Come on, Cain . . . She's just a pup.'

'We'll see.'

This time Gin looked up at him, scooting her sketchpad over so he could see it.  Schooling his features at the disproportionate image, Cain bit the inside of his cheek and nodded slowly.  "Wow . . . you're harsh on the ego," he finally managed to say without laughing.

Gin made a face and sighed.  "It was bigger," she explained in a low, sulky tone.  Glancing over at the model for a moment, Gin cleared her throat and lowered her voice to barely above a whisper.  "But that looked weird . . . Maybe he ought to be a eunuch."

He bit into his cheek a little harder as he struggled to keep from laughing.  His fang broke the skin, and he grimaced as blood flowed into his mouth, but at least it was an effective diversion.  He shook his head slowly and headed toward the front of the classroom once more.

"Time's almost up," he remarked, trying not to slur since his mouth was in such a state.  "Montaro-kun will be back Wednesday, so if you didn't get your sketch done, you'll have that class period to do so."

The students started putting their things away while the model—Montaro—grabbed his robe and tugged it on before striding back to the supply room to finish dressing.

"Zelig-sensei?"

Cain glanced up as Gin wandered over to his desk, hands clasped behind her back and an engaging little smile on her face.  She only called him 'Zelig-sensei' when students were around.  He supposed she figured it was proper.  "Yes, Izayoi-san?"

Her grin widened at the blatant barb in his address.  "I just wondered if you needed me today?  Mama had a couple things she wanted me to pick up for her since she's busy helping Grandma at the shrine this week . . ."

"No, that's fine," he assured her.

"You're sure?" she pressed, obviously taking her duties as his assistant seriously.  She shrugged.  "I'm sure I could do those errands really quickly afterward, if you do need me."

"It's fine, Gin.  There isn't much to do today, anyway."

"If you're sure . . ."

Cain grinned and rolled his eyes.  "Don't worry about it, okay?"

She nodded, relief lighting her gaze with a soft brilliance.  She turned to walk away but stopped suddenly, whirling around to face him again as she snapped her fingers.  "Oh, yeah . . . Do you want another chocolate cake?  I can make a different kind, if you'd rather."

Leaning his head to the side, Cain regarded her for a moment and was struck by her naiveté yet again.  If she had any idea what sort of emotions she could bring out in him, if she knew how easily she could overwhelm his senses . . . He stifled a sigh.  Better not to arm her with knowledge like that.  If she could devastate him without even trying, just how much damage could she inflict if she did?  "You don't have to make a cake for me every night, Gin."

She shrugged.  "I like to bake.  It's relaxing."

Cain relented.  "Well, in that case . . . Bellaniece wanted to know if the cake fairy makes yellow cake."

She drew back but smiled as she pondered his teasing request.  "Cake fairy?  I like that!  Do I have wings?"

"Getting there," he agreed.  "A few more cakes should do it."

"You're not just . . . You're not humoring me, are you?  You really like my cakes?"

"Yes, Gin, I really like your cakes.  In fact, I don't think that I'll ever be able to look at another cake without wishing that you'd made it."

"Okay, now I know you're humoring me."

"No, seriously.  No one's ever made me cakes before."

She giggled despite the dubious narrowing of her eyes.  "Okay, I'll make a yellow cake, just for Bellaniece."

He watched with a small smile as she whirled around and hurried back to her desk to put her things away.  The students had thinned with only a few stragglers left behind.  Cain grabbed the metal laser pointer off his desk and idly fiddled with it, waiting for the students to finish leaving.

Montaro emerged from the supply room in regular street clothes with his duffle bag in hand.  He glanced around the room for a moment before striding over to Cain.  "Can I ask you a question, Zelig-sensei?"

Cain blinked in surprise but nodded.  "All right."

The young man smiled.  "I, uh, noticed a girl in your class, and . . . I was wondering if I could ask you what her name is."

The question caught him off guard.  Lifting his eyebrows, Cain slowly nodded again as Gin headed back to the supply room to put away a few things that the other students had left out.  "Okay."

Letting out his breath in a loud whoosh, Montaro scratched his head and shifted his stance.  "She's got white hair . . ."

"What?" Cain barked out, eyes flaring as he tried not to comprehend what Montaro had said since he only knew one girl that could meet that particular prerequisite.  "Blonde, you mean?" he asked in a tone that was more menacing than he meant for it to be.

If Montaro sensed Cain's irritation, he didn't react to it.  "No, more like silver, actually . . . and really light brown eyes—almost golden.  You know who I'm talking about, right?"

'Hell, yes, I know who you're talking about, you little punk . . . Damn it, no, you can't have her name!'

'Calm down, Cain . . . The pup just wants her name, that's all.'

'Like hell it is!  He wants—'

'Her name . . . just her name.  Look at him!  She won't want him, anyway, so telling him what her name is cannot possibly hurt.  Besides . . . I thought you understood that she isn't really yours.'

'I know that.'

'Then tell him that her name is Gin.'

"Why do you want her name?" he asked instead.

Montaro shrugged.  "She's cute.  Thought I'd ask her out."

Squelching the desire to snap the young man in half, it was on the tip of his tongue to tell Montaro that Gin was unavailable.

'Knock it off, Cain!  Are you listening to yourself?'

'This little bastard wants—'

'Wants a girl that does not belong to you!'

Wincing inwardly at the truth behind his youkai's harsh statement, Cain swallowed hard and tightened his grip on the laser pointer.  "Gin," he forced himself to say.  "Izayoi.  Izayoi Gin."

Montaro grinned and bowed.  "Thank you, Zelig-sensei!"

Cain was saved from answering when Gin re-emerged from the supply room.  Montaro noticed and nodded his thanks once more before hurrying over to intercept the hanyou.

'Let it go, Cain.'

'Damn it.'

'. . . Besides, do you really think Gin would want to see a pathetic pretty boy like him?'

Cain didn't answer, but he did turn his head so he could hear the two better.

"Hello.  I'm Hyoshi Montaro."

Gin slung the backpack over one shoulder and looked up at the human.  "I'm Gin."

"That's a pretty name . . . It fits you."  Montaro smiled uncertainly.  "I was wondering . . . Would you like to get a cup of coffee with me?  A soda?  Tea?"

'She'll turn him down.  Look at her.  She doesn't want to go.  I can tell by the way she's gnawing on her lower lip.'

"Oh, um . . . I was going to run a few errands for my mother," she said slowly, wringing her hands in a decidedly nervous fashion.

"We could get a drink then do your errands?" Montaro suggested.

Gin shot Cain a distressed glance.  Cain snorted and looked away.  Seconds later he could feel the impact of the upset reverberating in her youki, and he flinched.  Montaro didn't sense it.

'Damn it, I hurt her . . .'

'Forget it.  It's better this way.'

'But . . . not this way . . .'

'This way, that way . . . It doesn't matter, Cain.  She's not yours.  She's not meant to be yours.  Let her go or you'll only hurt her worse.'

The truth of the statement did little to disburse the rampant guilt that washed over Cain.  He shifted his gaze and winced inwardly.  Those little hanyou ears of hers were flattened against her head, and though she had a weak smile on her face, he could smell her misery.  It tinged her aura.  It dug at him like a dagger.

"Oh, um . . . o-o-okay, I guess . . ." Gin said slowly, her voice subdued, her smile faltering.  Cain snapped the metal laser pointer in his hands like it was little more than a brittle twig.  "I'm ready, if you are . . ."

Cain couldn't stifle the growl that escaped as Montaro escorted her from the classroom.  Unleashing his irritation as the two disappeared down the hallway; Cain slammed his fist down on the closest worktable.  The splintering sound of cracking wood was nearly deafening and did little to assuage his still-mounting anger.

'That little bastard better keep his hands off her,' he fumed as he prowled around the decimated desk.

'Go home, Cain.  Go home, and forget about Gin Izayoi.'

'Right . . . forget about her . . .'

The image of her, so lonely and sad, ears flattened against her skull as she tried her best to smile . . .

Stomping toward the door without bothering to grab his briefcase, Cain sniffed the air, located the lingering scent of her, and deliberately followed it.

'Forget to breathe while I'm at it,' he thought as he smacked the front doors open.  'If that pup tries anything, I'll make him a eunuch, see if I don't . . .'

'Cain, this is a really, really bad idea . . .'

Cain snorted as he scanned the crowded sidewalk for any signs of Gin's silver hair.  'Not really . . . the bad idea was letting her go with him . . . She doesn't belong with him.'

'Then who does she belong with?'

Cain grimaced but couldn't answer that question, either.