InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Interrogation ( Chapter 70 )

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

By: Sueric

~~Chapter 70~~
~Interrogation~

Bellaniece shut off the shower taps with a sigh and shoved the plastic curtain aside. Showering to remove the lingering traces of Kichiro's scent from her skin as well as in a vain effort to calm herself out of her current irritation, she really should have known that it wouldn't work that easily. 'What I need is a glass of warmed milk and a good book,' she thought as she opened the bathroom door and shuffled across the hallway into her bedroom to don one of her father's oversized shirts. Peering over at the window, she tried not to be disappointed that Kichiro wasn't outside, after all.

'That's ridiculous. I don't want him to come over here.'

'Yes, you do. You want him to apologize for what he said.'

Grimacing as she buttoned the shirt, Bellaniece glanced down to make sure the gargantuan bruise on her hip was hidden beneath the folds of fabric as she headed for the kitchen. 'I can't believe he said that . . . That was so mean . . .'

She sighed. No milk. Actually, nothing at all to drink . . . That just figured. All she wanted was warmed milk like her father used to give her when she had trouble sleeping . . . Bellaniece shut the door and ambled over to the sofa.

Staring at the ring on her finger in the wan moonlight filtering through the window, she smiled sadly. 'He doesn't really think . . . would he? I mean, I wouldn't . . . and he should know that, right? It's him—just him . . .'

'He said he was joking, Belle. Isn't that good enough?'

'But the thought had to come from somewhere, didn't it?'

Her youkai didn't answer.

The things she did with Kichiro were beautiful. The sharing of their bodies was a sort of celebration of life and love in her mind. She'd never felt as though it might be bad or wrong, at least until tonight. Kichiro's words . . . They'd hurt.

Her cell phone rang, shattering the silence. Bellaniece yelped as her heart plunged to her feet then slammed back up into her throat with a violent shock. Clutching the shirt over her chest with one hand as she groped around on the table behind the sofa with her other hand, she jerked her purse strap and quickly fished out the phone.

She almost didn't answer it, grimacing as Kichiro's number flashed on the blue LCD screen. With a deep breath, she clicked the device and lifted it to her ear. "Hello?"

"You want to explain what the hell that was all about, wench?"

Rubbing her forehead, Bellaniece closed her eyes for a moment. "I was just going to bed."

"You can go to bed as soon as you explain yourself."

"Explain myself? You're the one who all but said I'd do my next boss."

"And I did say I was joking, right?"

"Yes, well, your joke wasn't funny."

"How long do you plan on being mad at me?"

"Until you apologize."

He sighed. "Fine, I'm sorry."

"You don't sound sorry."

"Yeah, okay . . . I'm sorry you lost your sense of humor."

Bellaniece pulled the phone away from her ear long enough to glare at it. "Goodnight, Dr. Izayoi."

"Belle—"

She hung up and turned off the ringer for good measure before dropping the phone onto the sofa beside her.

The scrape of the door opening drew her attention. Bellaniece crossed her arms over her chest and waited, masking her surprise as her father slipped through the doorway, tugging Gin in behind him. "Be quiet. Bellaniece is probably sleeping . . ."

"I could just wait until tomorrow," she whispered.

"No, it's fine . . . I left it on the counter."

"I feel bad," she pointed out. "I can still make a cake for you, if you want."

"Eh, it's fine. Just make me a special one tomorrow."

Gin giggled as she hugged Cain. "I can do that."

Cain kissed her forehead. "All right . . ."

Very loud throat clearing drew a gasp from Gin as Cain quickly stepped back. Both turned to stare into the shadows of the sofa. Bellaniece reached over and flipped on the lamp. "Well, well, well . . . What do we have here? Out late, weren't we?"

Bellaniece nearly laughed out loud at the completely sheepish look on her father's face. Reminding her of the proverbial child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, the tai-youkai pulled Gin behind his back and shook his head, opening his mouth to try to explain. "It, uh, it isn't a school night . . ."

"Making excuses, Daddy?"

"Is it working?"

"And just where were the two of you?"

Cain cleared his throat. "We were, uh . . . sketching . . . stuff . . ."

"Do you have any idea just what time it is?" Bellaniece complained.

"Time . . .?"

"Yes, time."

Cain glanced at the clock. "It's, uh, nearly . . . midnight . . ."

Bellaniece sighed and slowly shook her head. "Oh, Daddy . . ."

"It's not my fault," Cain maintained. "Gin wanted to see—" he coughed, "—the big dog."

"The—?" Bellaniece echoed incredulously.

"Big dog," Cain supplied as Gin groaned. Bellaniece figured that the poor girl was probably hiding her face in the back of her father's shirt.

"Oh, my . . ."

". . . Twice," Cain added.

"Cain!" Gin hissed.

"Well, you did," he muttered over his shoulder.

"Daddy, are you trying to sneak a girl into your room?"

Cain blinked as his cheeks reddened another shade. "Wh—No . . . Maybe . . ."

"Don't you remember the rule you made? No persons of the opposite sex in one's bedroom," Bellaniece reminded him.

Cain heaved a sigh. "Do as I say, not as I do?"

"But, Daddy, that would make you a hypocrite."

"All right, all right . . ."

Gin grabbed her cake plate off the counter and slunk toward the door. "Gin? Can I ask you a question?" Bellaniece asked, ignoring her father's rapt expression.

Gin stopped in her tracks and slowly peered over her shoulder. "O-Okay."

"Just what are your intentions with my father?"

"M-My . . . intentions?" she squeaked.

Bellaniece nodded.

"All right, Bellaniece, you've had your fun," Cain muttered. "Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I would," she said with a melodramatic sigh. "But I'm thirsty, and there's nothing to drink in the place, and you always tell me not to go out with wet hair . . ."

Cain snorted. "Pfft! Don't be ridiculous!" he scoffed as he strode around the bar into the kitchen and jerked open the refrigerator. "There's . . . nothing. Damn."

"You know, Cain, I could really use something to drink, too," Gin blurted, staring at Bellaniece with a puzzled sort of expression.

"Et tu, Gin?" Cain closed the refrigerator and shrugged. "All right," he agreed. "No more interrogations tonight, Bellaniece. I'll be right back."

Bellaniece wiggled her fingers at her father. He shook his head as he closed the door. Gin watched Cain's departure, but the moment he was gone, she darted over to Bellaniece and grabbed her hand. "This is beautiful!" she breathed, staring at the ring on Bellaniece's finger. "Who gave it to you?"

Realizing too late that she'd forgotten to take off the engagement ring, Bellaniece bit her lip and grimaced. "Oh, uh . . ."

"Amethyst," Gin mused, turning Bellaniece's hand from side to side as the gemstones caught the light. "That's Kichiro-nii-chan's color . . . sort of." She gasped, eyes slowly rising to lock with Bellaniece's. "Kichiro-nii-chan? Really? Does this mean . . .?"

"We're . . . going to be mates," Bellaniece admitted.

Gin's squeal was almost deafening. Bellaniece winced but giggled. "That's just wonderful! I'm so happy for you!"

Bellaniece made a face. "Maybe," she amended as memories of their argument resurfaced. She sighed. "I adore your brother," she explained when confusion surfaced on Gin's face. "I just . . . He said some things, and he said he was joking, but I didn't find them funny at all . . ."

"What'd he say?"

Bellaniece shook her head. "It's not important."

"If it upset you, it is."

She smiled sadly. "I just . . . Maybe I overreacted."

"I'm a good listener," Gin ventured.

"He fired me," Bellaniece admitted. "I mean, I don't care about that. It's just that . . . we've done . . . things . . . in his office . . . well, in other places, too, but . . . Kichiro said that he wouldn't give me a good reference because he knew what I did with my boss."

"Stuff?" Gin echoed, shaking her head. She gasped suddenly, mouth rounding in an 'o', and she slowly nodded. "Oh . . . I see . . . stuff . . . You do . . . stuff?"

"Well, yeah . . . We figured it was okay to try the condoms."

"Condoms?"

Bellaniece waved her hand. "Oh, yeah . . . He's researching the prevention of actual mating via the use of condoms, and it works. I mean, he says it all has to do with the introduction of semen into the woman's reproductive system, so the condoms prevent that."

Gin blushed but nodded. "I see . . . well, it makes sense . . ."

"It's just with him, you know? Only him." Bellaniece picked at a loose thread on the hem of her nightshirt and sighed. "I love him, but he . . . All my life, people have thought that I was too cute or pretty to be smart. They've treated me differently because of that, but Kichiro . . . He never has; not until now."

"It doesn't sound like his joke was very funny," Gin murmured. "Oh, Bellaniece . . ."

She shrugged and forced a wan smile. "Nah . . . I just overreacted. He was kidding, right?"

"Not if he made you feel bad."

"Gin, can I ask you a favor?"

Gin nodded, letting go of Bellaniece's hand and straightening her back proudly. "Okay."

Bellaniece sighed. "Will you not tell Daddy? I know you and he are close, and I'm glad, but . . . I want to tell him. I owe him that. I've tried to tell him, you know? It's just hard."

Gin bit her lip as she pondered Bellaniece's request. Nodding slowly, she smiled then winced. "I won't tell him . . . unless he asks me straight out, like, 'Did your brother give my daughter an engagement ring?' Is that okay?"

Bellaniece laughed at Gin's sensibilities. "Okay, and I'll tell him soon."

"Can I do anything to help?"

Bellaniece shrugged. "If you could make sure he's in a good mood, that'd help," she teased ruefully.

Gin giggled. "Not sure if I can do that, but I can try."

Bellaniece shook her head. "I'm glad Daddy has someone like you. It makes it easier."

A hint of a scowl crossed the hanyou's features, but she masked it quickly behind a bright grin. "That's me: everyone's friend."

"I'm back."

Both girls turned to stare at the door as Cain strode in with a paper bag of various drinks.

"There," he said as he slipped the bag onto the counter. "Milk, juice, water . . . soda . . ."

Bellaniece hopped up, cell phone in hand, and grabbed a bottle of water, hiding her ring finger in the folds of her nightshirt. "Well, I'm going to bed now. Night, Daddy," she said, leaning up to kiss her father's cheek. "Night, Gin." She stopped in the doorway of her bedroom, leaning into the hallway to shoot her father a saucy grin. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do . . ."

Cain groaned and rolled his eyes. Gin ducked her chin but not before Bellaniece saw the color filtering into her cheeks. With a soft giggle, she closed her door and sighed as she sat on her window sill.

'Where are you, Kichiro?' she wondered as she stared at the night sky. 'Sleep well . . .'

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< /div>Gin scowled as Bellaniece disappeared into her room.

"All my life, people have thought that I was too cute or pretty to be smart. They've treated me differently because of that, but Kichiro . . . He never has; not until now."

Cain put the rest of the drinks away and turned around, tilting his head to the side as he regarded her. "Gin? You all right?"

Blinking away the troubled thoughts that plagued her, she smiled and stood up. "Yeah, I'm fine. You know, I'm going to go . . . I need a shower. I'm still all sticky."

Cain looked surprised but he nodded. "All right . . . You, um . . . going to leave your window open?"

"I could do that," she allowed.

"If you're sure . . ."

"I sleep better when you're there," she admitted.

He grinned in an entirely self-satisfied sort of way. "Me, too."

"Give me about a half-hour?"

Cain nodded.

Gin pushed herself up to kiss his cheek before slipping out of the apartment and into her own. Setting the platter on the counter, she strode over to the phone and dialed the number, uncaring whether or not her brother might be sleeping. She didn't really figure he was, anyway.

"Izayoi."

"Kichiro."

"Gin-chan? Something wrong?"

She grimaced at the instant alarm in her brother's voice. "Yes," she said, "there is."

"I'll be right over."

"You really hurt Bellaniece, did you know?"

"Belle?"

"Yes, Belle. How could you be so thoughtless? That's just low! How could you?"

"How could—? She was the one who couldn't take a fucking joke," he grumbled. "What did she say?"

"She said you made her feel like she was only good for . . . stuff! She said you made her feel dumb and—"

"What the—? I never—"

"Fix it, nii-chan! Fix it now!"

"But I didn't do anything! She was the one who was entirely unreasonable! She wasn't listening, and—"

Irrational tears stung the back of her eyelids, and Gin dashed an impatient hand across her eyes. "You belong with her! She's your mate, right? You do what you have to do for her! Don't be stupid, nii-chan! It doesn't matter, what you have to do; you just fix it, okay? Do it, and be glad because sometimes it isn't that easy. Sometimes you can't fix anything at all . . ."

"Gin . . ."

"No, nii-chan. Just apologize. Even if you didn't mean to hurt her . . . You love her, right? And she loves you. Please . . . Something needs to go the right way."

He sighed. "All right, baby girl . . . Are you okay?"

Gin sniffled and drew a deep breath. "Yeah, fine. Everything's fine."

The thick pause was telling, and Gin knew in her heart that he didn't believe her. "Did he do something again?"

She grimaced. "Who? Cain? No . . . He's good to me. He's my friend."

"Gin . . ."

"Look, Belle went to bed, but maybe she's still awake. Why don't you call her? The ring you bought her? It's beautiful."

He sighed again. "Yeah, it is."

"Night, nii-chan."

"Night, Gin. Be careful."

She smiled. "I will. Call Belle."

"All right, I will."

Gin stared at the receiver after the line went dead. Dropping the handset into the cradle, she sighed before heading for the bathroom, hoping she had time enough to wash away the hint of tears that she didn't want Cain to smell.

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Kichiro stared at his cell phone and shook his head. 'Damn it, Gin . . .'

"It doesn't matter, what you have to do; you just fix it, okay? Do it, and be glad because sometimes it isn't that easy. Sometimes you can't fix anything at all . . ."

She was in over her head; he knew she was. Unfortunately, there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it, either. All he could do was hope that Gin, in her own way, could do something that no one else could do. He had faith in her, sure. It didn't make him worry any less . . .

'She's like your mother. She'll be fine.'

'She'd better be . . .'

Kichiro let out his breath in a deep whoosh as he dropped over the edge of the roof onto the ledge outside Bellaniece's window.

He'd followed her home. He'd been sitting on the roof the entire time. Grabbing his phone and nearly dialing her number countless time, stubborn pride held him back. 'It was just a joke . . . why on earth would she think that I was belittling her?' He sighed. Did it matter? The bottom line was that Bellaniece thought he'd been, and right or wrong, he had to make it better . . .

Tapping on her window, half-expecting her to ignore him, he was surprised when she pushed it open, her eyes dark, mysterious in the dim light. "Belle . . . I'm sorry."

Bellaniece stared at him for a long moment, arms crossed over her chest. "Me, too."

"Why would you ever think that I thought you were stupid?"

"I didn't really . . . It just felt that way."

"Come home with me?" he coaxed.

Bellaniece smiled slowly and nodded. "Let me get dressed, and I'll meet you downstairs.

"I've got a better idea," he said, leaning in to grab her hand as he tugged her toward the window.

"What if I fall?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, please, princess. Like I'd let you fall."

She giggled and sat down, swinging her legs out the window. He grasped her hips and started to lift her. Bellaniece sucked in a sharp hiss of air, and Kichiro let go. "Did I hurt you?" he demanded with a shake of his head. "Did I scratch you?"

She shook her head, face pale as she forced a smile. "It's nothing," she assured him, hopping onto the narrow ledge and pulling the window closed but leaving a crack.

"Belle—" he argued.

"I'm fine," she told him with a falsely bright smile. "Anyway, can you get me off here? It makes me nervous . . ."

He looked like he still wanted to argue with her. Instead he scooped her into his arms and vaulted off the ledge back onto the top of the building. Setting her on her feet, he reached for the bottom of her nightshirt. "Kichiro," she warned as she stepped back. "What are you doing?"

He snorted. "Keh! What do you think I'm doing?" he demanded.

She sighed. "I'll show you," she agreed, "just take me home, okay?"

"Home?" he echoed.

She smiled. "Yeah, home."

"Tell me what happened."

Bellaniece nodded. "I will, as soon as we get home."

Her answer wasn't completely satisfactory, but he gave in with a jerk of his head and carefully picked her up again.

It only took about ten minutes to get to his house via the rooftops. Faster than cars or any other conventional method, it was the path he normally used to take Bellaniece to or from the apartment. He didn't slow down till he reached the porch of his house, and he didn't put her down until he'd shouldered his way inside and turned on the light.

Casting her an almost belligerent expression, he knelt before her and slowly pushed the hem of the shirt up. "What the fuck?" he bellowed, holding the shirt out of the way with one hand and tracing the huge bruise on her hip with his fingertips. "How the hell did this happen?"

She winced and sighed, slowly shaking her head. "I fell in practice today. It wasn't a big deal. I'm fine."

"It wasn't a—Belle! This is a serious bruise!" He stood up and pointed at the hallway. "Go lie down. I'll get you some ice."

"You're making a big deal out of nothing," she insisted.

He pointed at the hallway again. Bellaniece rolled her eyes but stomped away. Moments later, she heard the rumble of Kichiro digging ice out of the bin to make an ice pack for her. She was pulling the deep violet comforter up when he strode into the room. "Here," he said, thrusting the pack under her nose before turning on his heel.

"Kichiro! Where are you going?" she demanded, dropping the ice pack onto the comforter as she started to rise.

"It was that baka brother of mine, wasn't it? Damn it, I'm going to kill him!"

She caught his hand and tugged hard to stop him. "It was my fault, now stop it!"

"Belle, he hurt you!"

"It was my own fault, I said! Your father had just lectured me about being on guard at all times, and I wasn't paying attention. You see?"

"No! What I 'see' is that my fucking brother knows better! We've been training with Gin for years! He knows that he has to be careful, and he wasn't careful with you!"

He jerked his arm away. Bellaniece caught it and hung on. "Kichiro! No!"

"Belle, damn it—"

"Listen to me! What do you think you're doing?"

"I'm going to go over there and beat his ass!"

"No! Please! If you go . . . If you go, I'll go home. I'll call a cab, and I'll go home."

He growled low in his throat, counting to twenty before he dared to speak. "Running home to Daddy? Fine! Get it out of your system now, princess, because once we're mated—"

"I won't stand by and watch you get into a fight with your twin brother—not over me!"

The upset in her expression stopped him, and Kichiro sighed. "Belle, he hurt you. Do you get it?"

"Not on purpose, and he was sorry. Your father already raked him over the coals for it. It's okay."

"No, it's not. You're going to be my mate. I don't care how he feels about you, but he will respect you."

"You can't fight him."

He snorted. "Yeah, yeah, I'm a lover, not a fighter. Damn it, Belle—"

"No. You can't fight your brother. Kichiro, he's your family."

"And my family fights all the time. It won't be a big deal, and I'd bet Ryomaru's wondering when I'll show up, anyway."

"Please," she said, her voice dropping to a breath above a whisper. "I've never had a family; just Daddy . . . your family accepted me. I don't want to be the cause of a fight."

He sighed. There wasn't really any arguing with her, was there? "Okay," he agreed. "But I'm going to call and let him know what I thought of it, and you're not arguing me out of it."

Bellaniece nodded. "Okay. No physical fighting, right?"

He didn't want to give in, but the stricken look on her face was more than enough to convince him. "All right," he said. "No physical fighting. Now will you go lie down?"

She kissed his cheek and headed back toward the bedroom. Kichiro heaved a heavy sigh and pulled the cell phone out of his pocket.

"Izayoi," Ryomaru answered.

"What the hell did you do to my mate?" Kichiro growled.

Ryomaru snorted. "I figured I'd be hearing from you."

"Damn it, Ryo . . . She looks like you tried to kill her!"

"She said she was fine."

"Well, she's not."

"I didn't mean to," he shot back. "If you want to have a go at me, just bring it, baby brother."

"I promised her I wouldn't fight with you over her, but this isn't finished, Ryo."

"Look, I'm sorry. I thought she was paying attention, and I tried to stop before I hit her."

"You tried? That isn't good enough, damn it! You never think, do you, Ryo? At least not when it matters! How you've managed to make it this long is beyond me! Stay the hell away from her, do you hear me? Keep away from Belle, or I swear I'll tear you apart."

"Fine," Ryomaru bit out. "Whatever you say. Train her your damn self. Oh, wait! You already tried and couldn't, could you? Keh!"

Kichiro stared at his cell phone long after Ryomaru hung up. Somehow, he just didn't feel like he'd won that round; not at all . . .

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Cain pulled Gin close and stifled a yawn.

"I had a good time today," Gin ventured softly.

"Mm," he muttered.

"No, really. Thank you."

He nodded. "Any . . . time . . ."

"You're really tired, aren't you?"

"Little."

Gin was quiet a moment. "You're normally not so tired," she mumbled.

Cain forced his eyes open and sat up a little. "It took a lot out of me today."

She frowned. "What did?"

"Transforming." Chuckling at her puzzled expression, Cain pushed her bangs out of her face. "When I take my youkai form, when I'm not angry, I have to concentrate to hold it. It makes me tired. That's all."

"Oh . . . but you . . . You did that for me . . ."

"Gin, it's okay. I wanted to."

She shook her head. "Can I ask you why?"

Cain shrugged. "Easy. I wanted to make you smile."

"Cain . . ."

Wincing when her ears drooped, he sat up and flicked on the lamp. "Tell me what's bothering you?"

"Nothing."

"Gin . . ."

She sat up, hands clasped in her lap as she scrunched her shoulders in a helpless sort of gesture. "I don't know what you mean."

"I think you do," he told her gently. "This . . . thing between us . . . It's been there since I told you about Isabelle."

"I—"

"Don't keep stuff from me to save my feelings. Do you . . . Do you want me to go?"

She shook her head. "No . . . no. I just . . . I . . ."

"Is it so bad?"

"I keep wishing . . . I wish I were her. Is that stupid? I keep feeling like I'm just not good enough, and I know what you've said, but . . ."

"Baby girl . . ."

"It's not a contest, right? Because a contest . . . Well, the competitors both have a chance of winning, and I . . . I never really have. She won a long time ago, didn't she? That's how it should be," she said with a sad little laugh. Cain winced. Gin shook her head. "She was your mate. I just can't help it. I find myself thinking that I wish she'd never . . ." She swallowed hard as a single tear slid down her cheek. With a sniffle, she wiped away the tear and tried to smile. "But then I hate myself because, well, that's selfish . . . really, really selfish . . ."

"You, selfish? It's not true. You were never meant to be Isabelle, and she was never supposed to be you. You're two different women. You aren't meant to be anything alike. Do you understand that? Do you see?"

"But you loved her."

He sighed. "I loved her."

"Of course you did. She was your mate, and I . . . I'm . . . I'm . . . your friend? Your student? Your lover?"

"Can you be all of those?"

She nodded and let him pull her close. "For you, I can." Drawing a ragged breath as she clutched his arm, she closed her eyes. "What'll I do when you leave? What'll I do when you're gone?"

Her fear clawed at him, brought foreign moisture to his eyes as he held her close. She didn't cry, but he could feel the heaviness of her aura. "Gin . . . If you need me . . . as long as you need me . . ."

"As long as I need you?"

". . . Yeah."

He was leaving it all in the tiny hands of the diminutive woman in his arms. Cain closed his eyes, hoping—praying—that she understood; that she'd make the right choice.

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A/N:
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Final Thought from Gin:
… As long as I need him … ?
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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Justification): 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~