InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Eye of the Storm ( Chapter 65 )

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

It was dark, wasn't it?  Dark and cold and frightening . . .

Running through corridors that stank of stagnant water and something far, far worse, she couldn't escape from the darkness.

Her stuttered breathing echoed in her ears.  She ran and ran and ran . . . No light, no warmth, nothing as she moved faster.  Stumbling over broken stones but catching herself before she fell, a singular thought kept racing through her head, 'If I slow down, they'll catch me . . .'

Who was 'they'?  What was 'they'?  Why the sense of urgency?  Something or someone was calling to her.  She could hear the faint sounds of the papery whisper.  'Gin . . . Gin . . . Wake up . . .'

Gin shook her head and pushed herself faster.  There was something painful about waking up, wasn't there?  There was something she didn't want to deal with.   So much easier, to wander these corridors; to lose herself in the never ending maze.  To keep running . . .

A seam of light drew her forward.  In the darkness, it seemed so startling.  Slowing to a walk, she shuffled toward the door.  The scent of decaying wood and moisture and dust . . . Reaching out with a trembling hand, Gin pushed it open and blinked.

"Oi, Ryo, she's catching up!" Kichiro yelled to his twin.

"She can't catch us!  She's just a runt!  The old man should have left her under Goshinboku.  Survival of the fittest, right?"

"I'm not a runt!" Gin yelled as she chased her brothers.  Yellow ribbons streaming out behind her with a streak of silvery hair, she sprinted over the forest floor.  "Give back my doll, bakas!"

Ryomaru tossed Kichiro the doll they'd taken.  Gin made a face as she ran faster . . .

'I was just a pup,' she thought as she watched the scene unfold.  She hadn't been able to catch the twins.  In the end, she'd sat under a tree and cried until Kichiro had come back and dropped the doll beside her.  He'd winced and said he was sorry.  Gin had hugged him, and he'd taken her hand to lead her back home.

Peering back into the hallway, Gin noticed that another door was lit.  Further and further into her memories, she wasn't sure why she was seeing everything.  Her first pathetic dance recital and Kichiro's reluctant hug after she'd stepped off stage  . . . her first day of school and Kichiro silently walking her to the classroom after she'd assured her father that she wasn't scared; not at all . . . Kichiro's community theatre shows that she never, ever missed . . . All of the memories contained Kichiro.  He had been one of her heroes, hadn't he?  The one she knew she could count on whenever InuYasha wasn't around . . .

The voice was calling out to her, the whisper growing louder more insistent.  She wasn't sure who it was, what they wanted.  She wasn't sure of anything at all.  The voice was familiar, wasn't it?  She ought to know who it was, right?  The voice was welcome, comforting.  Why did it also make her feel so sad?

She didn't want to wake up.  She didn't want to remember the things that lurked behind closed doors.  Something was trying to hurt her, wasn't it?  Something that she didn't understand . . .

Running deeper into the darkened corridor, ignoring the light that filtered from the cracks under doorways, Gin heard the approaching wail of a malignant force.  So close that she could feel the moist heat of squalid breath, the demons she couldn't see . . .


Kichiro ran through the forest, tracking the familiar scent as he scowled and ran faster.

'I told her to stay there,' he grumbled.

'Of course you did, but you were gone awhile.'

'That didn't mean she could just take off!  Sometimes I swear she's trying to test me . . .'

'Give it up, Kich.  You're just mad because you wanted distraction, and she's not there to do it for you.'

He sighed and leapt into the trees.  Bellaniece was close.  He could sense her, smell her.  He just wanted to find her.  She was upset; he could feel it in her aura.  'Blaming herself, no doubt.  Damn her father . . .'

Dropping to the ground in front of her, Kichiro caught her by the shoulders as she stumbled forward.  She gasped softly, cheeks pinking as she quickly lowered her gaze and tried to pull away.  He winced as the scent of salty tears assailed him.  She wasn't crying now, but her eyes were a little too bright; her nose a little too red.  Why was it that two of the women that he loved best could be made to feel as though they had done something wrong when they hadn't done anything, really, at all?

"I thought I told you to stay at the house," he remarked in a quiet tone.

Bellaniece grimaced and nodded, seeming to shrink within herself, as though she feared that he would yell at her.  "I did," she said.  "I thought you'd forgotten me."

"Belle . . ."

"I thought you were angry at me."

He sighed, letting his hands drop away only to drape them on his hips.  "Tell me one thing?"

She shuffled her feet, the delicate white sandals sorely out of place against the decaying leaves and rich brownish-black soil.  "Okay."

"Did you introduce them?"

Bellaniece shook her head as she quickly shot him a glance before ducking her chin once more.  "No . . . I think he met her after that lecture he came here to give."

"Oh?"

She nodded.  "He never really said, but . . . why else would he have wanted to stay?  Daddy's been alone so long, you know?  It was always just Daddy and me.  Suddenly he wanted to stay here, and it never made sense to me, at the time, but now . . . Do you think it's possible?  Can meeting someone just one time really change your life so much?"

Kichiro smiled almost sadly, remembering that same day and another girl—a beautiful girl—who had changed another life.  "Yeah, it's possible," he agreed then heaved a sigh.

"How is she?  Gin, I mean?"

"I think she'll be fine.  I think . . ." Trailing off as he stopped himself before he said too much, Kichiro shook his head and forced another smile as he reached for Bellaniece's hand and turned back toward home.  "Your father's with her now.  It's not a big deal."

"You left Daddy with her?  Really?"

He shrugged.  "Yeah, I did.  I'm going to run over there again, later.  There're a few things I need to tell Gin.  Don't worry about it."

"She was all right, wasn't she?"

The paleness of Gin's skin, the hopelessness in her gaze . . . The pitiful way she'd clung to him as she begged him not to tell InuYasha . . . "Yeah," Kichiro lied, "Gin's fine . . . just fine."

Bellaniece grimaced.  "I was worried about nothing, wasn't I?  I'm sorry . . . I didn't mean to upset you."

"No, I'm glad you spoke up."

"Okay . . . What aren't you telling me?"

He blinked and schooled his features.  "What do you mean?"

She stopped and tugged her hand away before smiling almost sadly.  "You don't think I can't sense your moods, do you?"

"I think you were right, about your father and my sister," he answered, carefully choosing his words.  "I think they've chosen each other."

"Really?"

Heaving a sigh at Bellaniece's cautiously optimistic tone, he nodded but grabbed her hand before she could run away.  The dread that had surrounded her dissipated fast only to leave behind a surge of happiness, and as much as he wished he could let her hold onto that, his own lingering doubts made him speak.  "Belle, it's not that easy.  You know that, right?  Even if your father wants to be with my sister, there's a lot of other stuff that I don't think you understand."  He shook his head and glared at the forest, wishing there were a better way to explain all of this to her.  There wasn't, not really, and didn't he owe Bellaniece the truth?  "Hell, I don't even really understand it.  Thing is . . . I have to wonder if either of them even realize what they're doing."

"But they have to, don't they?  I mean . . . look at us, right?"

"We're different," he maintained, catching her and pulling her into a hug.  "We wanted to find each other."

"So you're saying that Daddy and Gin . . . but that'd be bad if they don't figure it out."

"It could be.  Damn it.  I'm screwed, do you know that?  Totally screwed.  Between your father and mine . . ." He threw his hands up in a defeated gesture as he shook his head, ears flattening as he considered the ramifications of the things he knew.  "I'm just completely fucked."

"Why?"

Casting her a formidable glower, Kichiro rubbed his face and snorted.  "Keh!  Gin made me promise not to tell the old man about what's going on. When he finds out . . ."

"But your father will be happy, won't he?  I mean, if Gin's happy with Daddy, then—"

"Of course he wants her to be happy.  It isn't about that.  It's about me keeping this from him.  Even if the old man blusters and grumbles, he wouldn't do anything really to endanger Gin, but don't think for a second that I won't be fair game.  Nope, he'll kill me, dead-bang."

"I don't understand your family," Bellaniece said slowly.  "I mean, your father is a little overprotective of your sister, don't you think?"

Kichiro shrugged.  "Maybe.  Then again, you have to understand . . . For a long time, he thought that his worth was measured in how well he could protect those he cared about.  When he met my mother, he didn't have anyone.  He'd thought that his first love had betrayed him, and when the Shikon no Tama came out of Mama's body . . ." He shook his head.  "He protected Mama, and he searched for the Sacred Jewel shards, and he protected his friends.  Anyway, when he went through the well after Mama, the jewel was gone, and the only person he had left to protect was Mama.  I suppose it was different for him, having sons.  Maybe he couldn't show us the same sort of perceived vulnerability he could show Mama and Gin.  It doesn't matter.  Thing is, when Gin was born, she sort of became . . . She's the old man's Shikon no Tama, which would make the guys she's wanted to date like the petty youkai that came after the jewel before, and that would mean your father . . . is Naraku."

Bellaniece rolled her eyes but giggled at Kichiro's analogy.  "That has to be one of the most warped scenarios I've ever heard."

Kichiro grinned just a little.  "Maybe, but that's pretty much how it is, in simplest terms."

She started to retort but seemed to remember something else Kichiro had said.  Cocking her head to one side, she stared at him for a long moment before finally asking, "Why won't my father be happy with you?"

Kichiro rolled his eyes.  "Well, for starters, you're his daughter.  Fathers don't seem to care for their daughters' chosen mates . . . and I . . . punched him . . . a couple times . . ."

"You did?"

Kichiro wasn't sure what to make of the absolute incredulity in Bellaniece's expression.  "Yeah, I did.  He had it coming."

Bellaniece shook her head.  "And you're still alive?  Wow . . . That's impressive!"

Kichiro's mouth dropped open in shock as he glowered at the hanyou he was supposed to call his mate.  "What the hell does that mean?"

She shrugged as she strolled closer, widening her eyes innocently as she idly traced little circles on his chest.  "Well, you know . . . You're a lover, not a fighter . . . and I like you that way."

He snorted.  "I'll have you know I could kick his ass if I wanted to."

"Of course you could," she cooed, her tone leaving little doubt in his mind that she was simply humoring him.

"Belle!" he sputtered indignantly.  "Just because I don't normally run around beating on things doesn't mean I can't."

"But he's my father, and you wouldn't beat on my daddy."

Kichiro snorted.

"Besides, my father is the North American tai-youkai.  That means he's tough . . . Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

He relented as Bellaniece nuzzled his neck.  "I'm not mad at you," he answered.  "If you keep that up, though . . . I could pretend to be . . ."

"I thought you were mad at me," she pouted between tiny, nibbling kisses.  "I thought that you were going to hate me."

"Even if I were mad, I wouldn't hate you, princess," he assured her, closing his eyes as her tongue snaked out against his jugular.  Letting his head fall back, submitting to her, Kichiro felt the smallest shiver run rampant down his spine.  "I should . . . should take you back to the . . . house," he muttered.

Bellaniece giggled.  "Do you think someone would see us here?"

"The old man takes Mama on walks all the time," he informed her.  "It could happen . . ."

"Sure, it could."  She sighed and dropped her arms, stepping back with a sigh designed to let Kichiro know that she wished it were otherwise.

He caught her hand and pulled her back against him, wrapping an arm around her as he pressed his hips against hers.  Maybe the distraction would help.  Kami only knew he had enough to think about, and what better distraction was there than a willing woman who so loved to please him?  "Then again, I'm already a dead man," he mused.  "You might as well make use of me while you still have me, don't you think?"

"Out here?"

Digging into his pocket and producing a condom, he grinned wickedly.  "Sure, here . . ."

Cheeks flushed, eyes bright, she giggled softly as he drew her back into his arms and kissed her.

"Do you want it, princess?"

"Always.  Do you make a habit of carrying around condoms?"

"I can make a habit of it," he countered.

"Oh, you should," she agreed, pinching his nipples through his shirt.  He moaned and pushed her back against a tree.  She lifted her leg, wrapping it around his waist, inviting him as she sank her tongue into his mouth in a slow, wet kiss.  His fingers slid into her as the scent of her arousal engulfed him.  Marveling at the ease with which he could turn her on, he growled as she unfastened his pants, as her kiss deepened, as her body surged and tightened over his dancing fingers.

"Fuck me," she moaned, dragging her lips away from his as she let her head fall back, as Kichiro nipped the soft curve of her neck.

"Bend over, and I will," he promised.  She whimpered as he pulled his fingers out of her. Turning around and bending over while placing her hands on the tree trunk, she wiggled her ass and moaned as Kichiro tore open the condom and hurriedly rolled it on.

Taking only a moment to toss her skirt up onto her back, he growled savagely at the sight of her, glistening, quivering.  She screamed when he grabbed her hips and thrust into her as he jerked back on her.  An explosion of heat and moisture combined with the incredible tightness.  She rocked back against him, challenging with her body.  Reduced to sounds that were more animal than human, Bellaniece was relentless in her will, her demands.  She gave as good as she got, matching his strokes with her wild movements.  She arched her back, drawing him deeper, uttering a series of near-growls as she dug her claws into the tree trunk.

He could feel her body tensing as the first sparks of absolute pleasure wrapped around her.  A low grunt, a half-moan, she drove against him faster, harder, more demanding, hungrier, fiercer than a summer storm.  Crying out as she shook, her body tightened around him, her pulse throbbing in time with the beating of her heart.  He slammed into her almost brutally, she bucked her hips as she trembled.  Provoked by the elusive yearning to possess her, he reveled in the sound of her voice, calling out his name over and over again.

Swelling with nearly painful need, he felt the first tense waves of orgasm, Kichiro savored the feel of nerves fraying, of absolute sensation and visceral instinct.  Thrusting into her once, twice . . . his cry mingled with her moans as he lost himself in a white hot gush.

It seemed like forever that he stood there, holding Bellaniece's hips as he groaned softly.  Her body contracted around him, drawing out the essence of him as he shuddered and trembled.   The next thing he knew, Bellaniece was carefully removing the condom before kissing the tip of his penis and tucking him away in his pants.  "I'm glad you're not mad at me," she said as she carefully worked the zipper and stood up.

"Yeah, well, I wasn't mad at you," he assured her, kissing her quickly before taking the used condom with a heavy sigh.  They weren't far from the house, thank kami . . . He might have to start carrying around something to put the used ones in, he supposed . . . "You don't have to fuck me just because you think I'm mad," he remarked.

Bellaniece giggled and took his other hand, dragging him toward the clearing where his house stood.  "You think that's really why I did that?" she countered.  "It wasn't.  I just love to be with you, and I love to make you happy.  Can I help it, if making you happy makes me happy, too?"

"Good."  He checked his watch and sighed.  It was later than he thought.  "Why don't you think about where you want to go tonight?  I've got to check in on Gin."

Bellaniece opened the sliding glass door and stepped inside.  "I thought you said that she was okay."

He forced a smile.  "She is.  There're just a few things I wanted to tell her.  Don't worry about it, all right?"

She didn't look like she believed him completely, but she nodded once and leaned up on her toes to kiss him.  "You might want to change your pants," Bellaniece remarked with a wink.

He chuckled when he looked down.  Her fragrance was thick on him.  If he didn't change, telling Cain wouldn't be a question, at all.  He'd smell his daughter all over Kichiro.

For the briefest of seconds, he considered leaving the pants on.  If Bellaniece wouldn't have been furious at him for doing it, he would have given the idea more serious thought.

He sighed.  He really had to talk to Gin, and he needed to do it without Cain breathing down his neck.  If Gin wasn't willing to press the issue with Cain—and Kichiro had serious doubts that his sister really would do such a thing—then she needed to think about a few things, and Kichiro . . . He could only hope that it wasn't already too late.  He had a feeling there were a few things that she didn't know; things that would negate the promise he'd made about not telling InuYasha . . .


Gin stared at her hands and tried not to fidget as Kichiro paced around before her.  Drawing her blanket up over her shoulders, she bit her lip as she waited for her brother to speak.  He'd asked Cain to let him speak with Gin in private, and while Cain hadn't seemed like he would agree, he finally nodded and stepped outside into the hallway.

"Gin, don't you get it?  I'm worried about you."

She winced at the exasperation in his tone as he sat down beside her.  "I know, but really, I'm okay."

"Okay?" he challenged.  "Really.  You call not eating for four days 'okay'?"

"I was sick," she maintained.  "I had the flu . . ."

"Gin . . ."

"It was the flu," she whispered.  "If anyone asks, it was the flu."

Wincing at the determination in Gin's gaze, Kichiro shook his head and grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him.  "Don't lie to yourself, okay?  Do you . . . Do you remember what happened to Toga?"

Her expression faltered for a moment before she could hide the upset brought on by the reminder.  "This is different," she said.  "Sierra is Toga's only mate—first, last . . . only."

"You can't believe you aren't in over your head, baby girl.  You are.  Do you have any idea what I thought when I saw you?  You looked like shit, Gin, and it's only been four days . . . Have you ever felt that kind of fear?"

She smiled sadly and shook her head, eyes bright though no tears fell.  "I'm not like you, nii-chan.  I'm not like Papa or Ryo-nii . . . Not really like Mama, either.  Cain . . . He's my friend—my best friend.  I let him down.  I was wrong."

"Gin-chan, tell me the truth.  What's going on with the two of you?"

"We're . . . just friends.  That's all.  Just . . . friends."

"Just friends?  Hell of a friendship . . . You know, you might be able to hide this from the old man easier if you didn't reek of your 'friend'."

He didn't miss the guilty flash in her eyes as she quickly looked away.  "I just want to help him," she whispered.  "I just want him to be happy."

He grimaced as another woman's words echoed through his head.

"I just love to be with you, and I love to make you happy . . ."

How could two completely different women be so similar in their hearts?

Kichiro's smile was sad.  "Just promise me, Gin . . . Promise me that you'll be careful."

She smiled back, but her eyes were dark, full of secrets that she shouldn't have known.  "I will, nii-chan.  Of course I will . . ."