InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Anxiety ( Chapter 23 )

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

Cain poured himself a cup of coffee and yawned as he shook his head.  

He'd stayed over at Gin's apartment way too late last night, but she'd been entirely too entertaining to resist.

It had taken much longer to clean her apartment than he had thought it would, and by the time he was finished, Gin was shuffling out of the bathroom with a huge yawn and a wave of damp air.  She stopped in the hallway and stretched, hands balled into fists as she reached over her head and arched her back, hips shifting to the side as she rose up on her toes with a soft groan.  The form-fitting pale pink tank top lifted with the movement, and Cain had stared, transfixed, as the smooth, creamy skin of her stomach peeked out at him.

Letting her arms drop with a sharp exhalation, Gin blinked a few times before grinning almost dreamily and stumbling into the living room to hug him.  "G-Gin . . . you're going to get dirty again," he rasped out.

Gin giggled.  "It's okay.  You looked like you could use a hug."

He smiled and hesitantly wrapped his arms around her.  "Did I?"

"Uh huh . . ."

She yawned again, and Cain chuckled.  "Come on, baby girl.  You're tired."

"Hmm, yeah," she agreed, "but you're comfortable."

He'd let her hold onto him another moment as he tried not to think about how natural holding her felt before stepping back with a sigh.

Gin hadn't complained when he took her hand to pull her down the hallway to her bedroom and stepped aside as he gestured for her to enter.

She padded over to her bed and lay down.  He watched with a little grin as she arranged her covers and snuggled down in her pillow.  "Cain?" she whispered as he turned to leave.

"Yes?"

"I'm glad you don't think of me . . . as a little girl . . ."

Cain winced.  "Yeah," he agreed.  "Good night, Gin."

"Night," she murmured.

The soft scuff of Bellaniece's soft footsteps drew him out of his memories, and Cain smiled at his daughter.  "Morning, Bellaniece.  You sleep all right?"

Bellaniece shrugged and stifled a yawn with the back of her hand.  "Sure," she answered.

Cain frowned at the noticeable shadows under her eyes.  "You okay?"

She grinned, and the shadows dissipated.  "Of course, Daddy.  Did you have a good time over at Gin's?"

Cain buried his face in the newspaper.  "Uh, yeah, it was fine."

"You know, you're really cute when you blush," she pointed out as she cut a thick slice of cake and sat down at the table.

"Eat your breakfast," he grumbled.

Tapping on the door interrupted Bellaniece's reply, and Cain breathed a sigh of relief as he strode around the counter to answer it.  He started to smile at the girl in the doorway, but Gin grabbed his hand and tugged as he shook his head in confusion.  Dressed in the baggy pink shorts and light pink tank top that she'd slept in, with her hair mussed and tangled, she looked like she'd just rolled out of bed.  "Cain, oh please, you have to help me!"

"Gin, what's wrong?" he asked, careful to keep his tone even despite her near-hysteria.  "Calm down, okay?"

Gin winced and wrung her hands as she drew a deep breath.  "I went out to get my paper—it's normally just outside my door, but it was a little further away, and I didn't think it would, but the door closed, and I'm locked out . . ." She uttered a soft little whine as her ears flattened against her head.  "Can you help me?  Please?  I'll do anything!  I'll get down on my knees and beg, if you want—anything—just please open my door!"

Bellaniece coughed suddenly as Cain choked.  Gin whimpered.  "It's just that we're having a tournament at Papa's house, my Kusarigama is in my apartment, and, well, I'm not really dressed to go over there . . ."

"Is your window open?" he asked, ignoring Bellaniece's near-wheezing behind him as his cheeks reddened a little more.

"Yeah."

Cain didn't wait for her to continue.  Turning on his heel and striding over to the window, he didn't miss a step as his body dissolved into the energy form, and he flew out the window then around to Gin's apartment.

'You should have told her, Cain.'

'Told her what?' he thought as he solidified in mid-stride in her living room.

'You should have told her that she did it again—said something without thinking about how it sounded.'

'She was already upset,' he argued as he snapped the deadbolt lock and yanked the door open only to find himself stumbling back a few steps when Gin launched herself into his arms again.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" she gushed, her body quaking against his though he couldn't tell if it was from the panic brought on by the idea that she'd locked herself out again or because of her absolute happiness that he'd 'rescued' her.  He wanted to believe it was because of the latter reason . . .

"It's okay," he assured her.

"I'll bake you a really special cake later, I swear!" she promised.  "A huge one!"

He laughed.  "It's fine."

"No, it isn't!  If you weren't here, I don't know what I'd have done!  You . . . You're my hero!"

Cain's smile faltered, and he gently grasped Gin's arms, setting her back at arm's length.  "I'm not a hero, Gin."

She shrugged and tugged on his arm to bend him down so she could kiss his cheek.  "A real hero is the last one to know," she quipped.  "Anyway, I'd better get ready, but . . . I'll make supper for you after the tournament.  How's that?"

"Yeah, okay," he agreed.

He turned to go.  Gin called after him.  "Cain?"

"Hmm?"

She started to speak but made a face as she shifted from one foot to the other in a decidedly nervous manner.  "Do you think . . .? Would it be all right if I asked Bellaniece to come with me?  I know you didn't really get along with my brother last night, but I swear, he's not normally like that, and . . . and I'd like her to meet my family."

Cain shrugged and tried not to let his expression register the distaste he couldn't help but feel for Gin's family.  Between her brother and her father, he was fairly sure he didn't want to meet the third male member of the Izayoi family, and he tried not to think about just why it was that he'd never, ever felt the desire to tear into anyone quite as strongly as he did both InuYasha and his equally annoying pup, Kichiro.  "Who else will be there?"

Gin scrunched up her shoulders.  "Well, my sister-in-law, Nezumi-chan . . . my cousin Toga-kun, and his wife—you met Sierra-chan already . . . Oba-san and oji-san might be there, if Papa's badgered him into fighting, and if Sesshoumaru-oji-san comes, then Rin-san and Shippou might, too . . . and of course, Mama and Papa . . ."

"Sesshoumaru, huh . . . All right," Cain agreed slowly.  "I'll send Bellaniece over."

"You could . . . But you're probably busy, aren't you?"

Cain grimaced.  He wasn't really busy, no, but given that he'd dearly love to have a go at InuYasha and Kichiro both, he figured it wasn't a good idea.  "I was going to work today," he replied.

Gin nodded.  "Yeah, okay.  I just thought . . . Anyway, I promise Bellaniece will be perfectly safe."

Cain forced a chuckle, glancing over his shoulder as he pulled the door closed behind him.  Gin waved.  He smiled.

"Did you get Gin's door unlocked?" Bellaniece asked as she perused the opened newspaper on the counter.

"Yup," Cain answered as he ambled into the apartment.

Bellaniece nodded.  "I see . . . So . . . Did she do it?"

"Do what?"

She cleared her throat.  "Did she . . . get down on her knees to thank you?"

The flush that shot into Cain's cheeks was immediate and intense.  "You're grounded," he grumbled as he jammed his hands into his pockets and headed for the hallway.

Bellaniece laughed.  "Grounded from what?" she asked, trailing after him.

Cain shook his head.  "No more soap operas," he growled.

"Oh, Daddy . . . I don't watch television, you know, and it was the natural question, given what Gin said."

"I'm not discussing anything of the sort with you, Bellaniece."

"Maybe you should have reminded her," Bellaniece added.

Cain rolled his eyes.  "Gin wants to know if you want to go with her.  Her family's having a tournament or something."

"Oh, that sounds intriguing . . . What sort of tournament?"

Cain shrugged.  "Fighting, I suppose.  Go ask her."

"Hmm . . . I have the feeling you're trying to get rid of me," Bellaniece mused.

"Would I do that?"

She snorted.  "Yes, you would.  I'll just go ask Gin—"

"Do it, and I swear I'll beat you."

Bellaniece kissed his cheek, ignoring his empty threat as her laughter lingered in her wake, and she finally, mercifully, left him alone.

'One of these days, Gin's going to be the ruin of us.'

The wonder in Gin's expression after their brief kiss ended was entirely too stark an image for him to ignore.  Reaching out to steady himself against the wall, he closed his eyes as he willed the vision away.

Cain heaved a sigh as he yanked the supply closet door open and rummaged around for a new canvas and paints.  'Yeah,' he agreed almost wistfully.  'Yeah, she is.'


"Something's bothering you," Kagome said quietly as she sat back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

Kichiro glared at the teacup in his hands and shrugged.  "Not really."

Kagome shook her head.  "Don't give me that!  I'm your mother, remember?  I can tell when there's something on your mind.  You've got that sad sort of expression like you used to whenever you thought you weren't quite good enough at something you tried to do."

"It's not like that," he argued.  "It's not a big deal."

"If it wasn't a big deal, you'd tell me."

Sighing when Kichiro remained silent, Kagome stood up and grabbed his hand.  He shot her a questioning look.  She tugged.  "Come on.  It's time for you and me to go for a walk."

He knew better than to argue with his mother.  Kagome might be a gentle woman at heart, but if she thought that he wasn't being completely honest with her, he knew from experience that the same easy going mother he knew could also rant with the best of them, like his father, for example . . . Even the formidable inu-hanyou knew better than to argue with his mate . . .

The morning sky was lovely, vibrant, touched by the soft breeze that smelled of sakura blossoms.  Kagome didn't speak right away, content to let Kichiro gather his thoughts before she pressed him for more information.

He'd been awake when Kagome had called this morning.  Unable to sleep more than a few minutes between tossing and turning, between the sickening feeling that he was lower than pond scum and the irritation that he even cared at all, Kichiro had finally fallen asleep sometime during the wee hours of the morning only to wake again just before the sun rose.  When Kagome called an hour later to invite him over for breakfast, he had known that she thought there was something bothering him.

"So are you going to tell me what's bothering you?" Kagome finally asked.

Kichiro shrugged as he straightened the collar of the dark purple practice haori.  Fashioned after his father's old fire rat clothes, Kichiro and Ryomaru both had the outfits: Kichiro's was purple, and Ryomaru's was blue.  Gin normally wore InuYasha's fire rat clothes despite the way they hung off her tiny frame, and the twins had learned long ago, not to tease their sister.  As sweet as Gin usually was, she could fight with the best of them when she felt she had something to prove.

"I'm just fine," he assured her.  "Nothing bothering me, at all."

"I see," Kagome said.  Kichiro kept walking.  "I miss the days when you used to tell me everything," she ventured.  "Have things really changed so much?"

"Not really, but there are times when I can't go running to you, you know.  Did you still go to Grandma when you were my age?"

Kagome giggled.  "It might interest you to know that I still go to your grandmother for advice all the time."

"It's fine, Mama.  I was just thinking; that's all.  I do that sometimes . . . Maybe not as much as I should have been lately, but what can you do?"

"Oh, I get it . . . So, what's her name?"

"Who says it's a woman?"

Kagome laughed gently, laying her hand on Kichiro's arm as they strolled along the forest path.  "Give me a little credit, will you?  Now tell me her name.  Do I know her?"

Kichiro sighed.  "No, Mama, you don't know her."

"Is she pretty?"

His answer was another sigh, and Kagome clucked her tongue as she slowly shook her head.  "That pretty, huh?"

"It's not that.  It's not what you think.  I don't really know what it is."

"Sounds like this girl has really gotten to you."

"Of course not."

"You're sure?"

"Yep."

"Okay."

Kichiro brushed the hair out of his face since he hadn't bothered to braid it.  "You ever misjudge someone then figure out later that you made a mistake?"

Kagome sighed.  "I wouldn't be human if I hadn't done that.  It's not pleasant, but it happens.  Then you apologize to the person you hurt, and with any luck, they'll forgive you, and that'll be that."

"Sounds pretty easy."

"It doesn't have to be difficult.  You're still talking about this girl, aren't you?"

"I don't know why," Kichiro admitted.  "The first time I met her, I thought . . . I thought she was the same as all the other women who come into my office.  I thought she was going to be petty and shallow—"

"Hmm, doesn't sound good."

"She's conceited and impetuous, childish and temperamental . . . She doesn't think about anything at all; she just does whatever she pleases without any regard for propriety—"

"She's that bad?"

"She's all those things  . . . but sometimes . . .  sometimes . . ." He sighed and let his head fall back, staring at the swaying branches of the trees, looking for answers that eluded him.  "Sometimes she looks so sad . . ."

"Does she have any good qualities?"

Kichiro's ears flattened for a moment, and he shrugged.  "She's got a beautiful smile," he admitted.  "When she smiles, she makes me want to smile, too."

"How old is she?"

He winced.  "Seventeen."

"Oh . . . I see."

"See what?"

Kagome tilted her head and grinned.  "Sometimes youth can be mistaken for a lot of the things you mentioned.  Sometimes conceit is really nothing more than self-confidence.  Maybe you need a little more impetuousness in your life, Kichiro.  It seems to me that you've forgotten how you used to be."

"Mama—"

Kagome stopped abruptly, pressed her fingers to Kichiro's lips to silence him.  "What happened to you?  You didn't used to be this cynical and . . . jaded.  You were the little boy who always brought me flowers and helped me arrange them in a vase.  You used to believe in people.  Has everything changed so much?"

Kichiro nodded as Kagome let her hand fall away.  "Maybe I've changed."

"Maybe you have," she said with a sad shake of her head.  "Or maybe you still want to believe, at least in this girl."

Kichiro's gaze fell away.  He wasn't sure how to answer Kagome's questions.  Bellaniece's face flashed through his mind, and he grimaced.  The question haunted him.  Was she worth it?

"You said she has a beautiful smile, right?"

"Yeah," he answered with a sigh.

"Maybe that's your answer.  Maybe if you concentrated on making her smile that other stuff would seem a little less significant, don't you think?"

Kichiro digested that as Kagome took his hand and led him along the looping trail that ended in the Izayoi's back yard.

'Concentrate on making her smile, huh,' his youkai remarked.

'Okay, but . . . How do I do that?'

'It can't be that hard, Kich . . . you used to charm the pants off women all the time—literally.'

'That's not even funny,' he pointed out.

'It doesn't have to be funny.  Just try to remember how you did that.'

Kichiro sighed.  It sounded just a little too easy, but he supposed he could give it a try . . .