InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Rage ( Chapter 90 )

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

'I feel so weak . . . so tired . . .'

Something was tingling in her nose.  Her arms felt heavy, leaden.  The best she could manage was a feeble attempt at swinging her hand near her face.  The warmth of a steady, gentle hand caught hers, and Gin struggled to open her eyes.

"I know you don't like it, but you have to leave it there."

Blinking several times to clear her vision enough to make out the blurry form of the man she knew by the feel of his youki on hers, she scowled in concentration and tried to focus on his countenance.  "Cain?"

His arms tightened almost painfully as he pulled her closer to his chest.  His sigh of relief was audible, and she winced as he rasped out a ragged gust of breath.  "God, Gin . . . Don't you ever scare me like that again—do you understand?"

'Why . . .? Why's he here?  He wasn't supposed to come back . . . I can't let go of him again; I can't.'

"Water, right?  You need some water?  A drink?  Okay, I'll get it for you . . ."

She protested with a weak whine as he gently set her aside.  He strode out of the room before she could even try to stop him.  The sudden departure left a void in the air, and Gin squeezed her eyes closed as she fought the sudden pang of fear that ripped through her.

'Relax, doll . . . He just went to get a drink for you.  You heard him, right?'

Hot tears welled behind her closed eyelids, squeezed through the cracks despite her effort to stave them back.  'He's not coming back . . . He's not . . . He promised her—Isabelle . . . He promised her . . .'

'But he's here, isn't he?  Maybe . . .'

'No, no, no, no, no!  I-I-I . . . I can't do it again . . .'

She felt his return but didn't open her eyes.  Her senses felt dulled, weakened.  Unsure if she dared to trust anything at all, the self-imposed darkness was safer.  She felt him pull her into his lap again, felt his claw gently nudging her lips apart for the plastic straw.  "Here, baby girl.  Drink."

She didn't want to obey his soft command.  Her body seemed to have other ideas.  The first mouthful on her parched tongue was a welcome relief.  She winced as her throat—still sore from the breathing tube—constricted to force the fluid into her stomach.  The pain was minimal in comparison to the encompassing reprieve the water provided her.  Cain pulled the glass away sooner than she was ready, and she couldn't help the small growl of protest that slipped from her when he set the glass on the nightstand.

Raising her hands to brush aside the annoying tube that was taped to her cheeks and was tickling her nose, she grimaced.  Her nasal cavity was so dry that it felt as though she'd done nothing but breathed in the coldest winter wind for days.

"You have to leave that, at least for now.  If you're awake when your brother comes by, you can ask him to take it off."

"I don't like it," she whimpered but let him push her hands away.

"I know you don't.  It's just for a little longer, okay?"

Gin tried to heave a sigh but coughed instead.  Cain sat her up a little more and rubbed her back until the coughing subsided.  "Why . . . are you here?" she forced herself to ask after he pulled her more securely against his chest again.

He drew a deep breath.  "We can talk about that later, Gin.  You're tiring yourself out; I can tell."

She shook her head and opened her eyes.  His face swam in and out of focus.  "Why?"

Cain let his breath out in a gust and made a face as a hint of pink crept into his cheeks.  "Your father and cousin came to get me, but—"

"I see."  Gin closed her eyes once more and tried to lean away from him.  If he noticed her resistance, he didn't show it.

"What do you see?  Gin—"

"I'm . . . tired," she cut in.

Cain sighed.  "Okay."

'What did I really think he was going to say?  Papa must have found out.  Papa must have made him come back . . .'

'But he's here . . . and he knows . . . Would it really be so bad?'

'No, it wouldn't . . . and yes, it would . . . I'll be nothing more than another obligation, right?  His obligatory mate . . .'

'So what will you do, Gin?  Send him away?'

'Send him . . .?  No . . . no!  If he . . . I couldn't . . .'

"Cain?" she asked, her voice paper thin.

He didn't stop stroking her hair.  "Hmm?"

"Will you . . . be here . . . when I wake up?"

Cain gave her shoulders a gentle squeeze.  "Absolutely," he promised.

Still not entirely placated, Gin swallowed hard and finally relaxed against him.

She was asleep within moments.


'This is the same tree, ain't it?'

InuYasha folded his arms together and glared balefully over the expanse of trees that made up his forest.

It was the same tree, he realized with a vague sort of recollection . . .

"InuYasha!"

InuYasha flinched at the irritation in Kagome's voice, but his tone remained calm as he spoke to the small bundle in his arms. "Hear that, Gin? Your brothers are probably giving your mama grief. Should we go see what sort of mischief they're into?"

Gin cooed softly, her grip on InuYasha's finger tightening. InuYasha kissed her downy soft cheek and tightened his hold on her before he hopped down from the tree.

Kagome stood, arms crossed over her chest, shooting him a look meant to smite him on the spot. Kichiro sat on the porch with the dogs while Ryomaru—the devil—was trying to pluck individual hairs off his brother's head. "Mama!" Kichiro whined. "Ryo won't stop!"

"Be nice to your brother, Ryomaru," she said over her shoulder before she turned back to stare at InuYasha again. "Tell me I was seeing things and that you really didn't have our infant daughter up in that tree?" Kagome said, her voice particularly even, which meant, in his mind, that he was about to catch hell.

"She likes it," he replied defensively, "just like her mama . . ."

Expression shifting into a menacing glower, InuYasha gripped the thick tree branch; dug his claws into the bark as he ground his teeth together.  He couldn't stand to feel so helpless—especially when it came to his daughter.

He had to admit that the warning signs had been there.  He hadn't really thought that someone like Zelig Cain could have been lured to Gin.  Then again, who wouldn't love her?  She was too rare, too delicate, and maybe just a little too sheltered . . .

'Fucking pervert . . . She was wearing that perfume to cover his rotten stench, wasn't she?'

He grimaced.  Even if that were true, InuYasha had to admit, at least to himself, that Zelig probably was capable of protecting Gin.  He was a tai-youkai, right?  He had to be strong to hold that position, and as much as he hated to confess it, Zelig had done a fair job of raising Bellaniece on his own.  No, what he objected to was the baka's stupidity when he left Gin.  It didn't take a brilliant mind to understand that Gin's youkai blood had accepted Cain's; that the youkai really was her chosen mate.

He was going to take her away, wasn't he?

InuYasha sighed and shook his head, face contorting in a marked scowl.  'Take her away to America . . .?  To hell with that bastard . . . As if Gin will really be happy there . . .'

But she would be, wouldn't she?  She'd be happy because she'd be with him.  Brushing aside the feeling that he was losing his baby girl, InuYasha snorted indelicately and growled low in his throat.  'She's my baby girl, damn it . . . mine, not his . . .'

Still, despite the knowledge that he couldn't hurt Cain without running the risk of causing his daughter even more stress, InuYasha couldn't help the desire to light into the tai-youkai, to cause him as much pain as Gin was having to endure.  Even if it had occurred to him, that Cain was suffering physically, too, that just didn't really comfort InuYasha.  Cain was still able to function, wasn't he?

'If he hurts her again, I'll fucking kill him . . .'

Why was it so much easier, to see the signs that should have warned him earlier?  He'd been preoccupied with Kagome's pregnancy.  Worrying about Kagome as she rushed around to help Bellaniece and Kichiro get their wedding planned out had diverted his attention away from Gin when she had needed him most . . .

"What shell do you want, baby girl?"

She smiled and shook her head, but there was something else behind that smile, and at the time, he hadn't bothered to give it a second thought . . . "The most beautiful one on the beach," she replied.

Kichiro had known, hadn't he?  He'd known that Zelig could help her.  He'd known, and he could have prevented the entire situation if he'd only bothered to tell someone . . .

"She needs him—Zelig.  You have to bring him back . . . She chose him, and he chose her . . . She needs him."

"Oi, oyaji.  You know, you really can't ignore me forever."

Leaning to the side to peer down through the branches, InuYasha snorted loudly and lifted his chin to stare out over the forest once more.  "How's your sister?"

Kichiro sighed.  "Better . . . Zelig said she woke up and drank a little water.  She wants the oxygen line off, but I think it should stay until she's eating."

"Why the fuck didn't you tell me?"

"She asked me not to," he admitted quietly, shuffling his feet in the leaves that blanketed the ground.

"She could have died," InuYasha pointed out, his voice little more than a growled hiss.

"I know that," Kichiro replied.  "I didn't know he'd left.  If I had—"

"How long did you know about that bastard?  How long has he been sniffing around my daughter?"

"I don't know how long . . . I think Zelig's liked her from the start.  I've only known since Belle's birthday, and by the time I found out, she'd made her choice."

Pushing off the branch, InuYasha landed in a crouch in front of his son and slowly rose to his feet.  "Damn it, pup!  Do you know what could have happened?"

Kichiro grimaced and flushed, staring at his feet as he jerked his head in a terse nod.  "Do you think I don't?"

"Don't get lippy, Kich.  She's your sister, and you knew what was going on!"

"She asked me not to tell," he ground out, eyes glowing as he finally dared to meet his father's fierce gaze.  "You can't really believe I wanted this to happen."

"No, I don't.  If I did, I'd kick your ass myself.  I told you to protect her, didn't I?  You put her in danger because you kept her secret.  I wouldn't have known that she needed that ass!  Your sister almost died!  Do you get that?"

"Yeah, I get that," Kichiro replied.  "I get that better than you think."

"It was stupid, pup; just fucking stupid."

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well, you should be!"

"I love her, too, old man."

"Keh!  You've got a damn shitty way of showing it."

Kichiro nodded and pushed away from the tree, striding back toward the house as InuYasha glared after him.  Kagome slipped outside, passing Kichiro on her way.  She said something quiet and looked up, a small smile surfacing on her face as she pulled her jacket tighter and wandered over to him.

"Kichiro looked upset."

"He should be.  He knew about Gin, and he didn't say a fucking thing."

"That's not really his fault, InuYasha.  He made a promise to her, and right or wrong, he was obligated to keep it.  You know that."

"Keh."

"He feels bad enough already."

"Feeling bad don't change what happened—what almost happened.   He was reckless, and—"

"And he did what he thought was right.  He did what you've always told him to do: he tried to protect Gin in whatever way he could."

InuYasha paused long enough to glare at Kagome before snorting loudly and cracking his fingers.  "It ain't enough."

"Nothing ever has been for her.  You know it's true.  You've loved her, you've sheltered her, you've protected her, and now . . ." She trailed off, heaving a sigh as she stepped closer to wrap her arms around his neck.  "Now there's nothing you can do but wait and hope."

InuYasha wrinkled his nose but slipped his arms around her.  "Keh!  It's that bastard of a brother of mine's fault.  Wasn't he the one who thought it'd be a good idea to bring Zelig here to lecture?"

Kagome stiffened and grimaced.  InuYasha's gaze narrowed but he didn't let go of his mate.  "Wench?"

"I think I should tell you something . . ."

He shook his head.  "About . . .?"

"About Zelig-san . . . It was . . . kind of . . . my . . . idea . . ."

". . . What?"

She bit her lip and shrugged in a way too casual manner.  "I was talking to Kagura, and she mentioned knowing him, and you know that Gin's always respected his art . . ."

"You're not really saying what it sounds like you're saying, are you?" InuYasha demanded.

Kagome sighed.  "I just thought that maybe, if they met . . ."

"Then you knew about his first mate?"

"Not exactly . . . I just figured that if he was still alive, then the bond hadn't been properly formed, and you know how impossible it is, not to adore Gin . . ."

"Oh, kami . . ." InuYasha groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose.  "I'm not hearing this . . . I am so not hearing this . . ."

"You wanted a strong person for your daughter.  Who better than the North American tai-youkai?"

"Wench—"

"InuYasha, you said so, yourself; you didn't want her with just anyone, and I agreed.  She's special.  She deserves to be with someone who sees just how precious she is."

InuYasha heaved a sigh and let go of his wife, pacing the yard as he struggled to understand Kagome's outrageous claims.

"So Kagura hinted to Sesshoumaru that having Cain speak at the university would be a huge favor, and he arranged for Sierra to have an interview since Kagura and I both figured that Sierra would drag Gin along.  The rest of it . . . Well, it was entirely coincidence."

Rounding on his heel, he gaped at Kagome in shock.  She was staring up at the sky, biting her lip with her arms crossed over her belly.  The only hint of her discomfort was the hint of a belligerent flush that rode high in her cheeks.  "What the hell were you thinking?"

Kagome winced and shrugged.  "I didn't know this would happen.  I wouldn't have . . . I thought they'd make each other happy."

"Keh!  Ain't I told you that you can't go around trying to play matchmaker all the time?" he growled.

Kagome smiled tightly.  "Is it so wrong to want Gin to find the same thing we have?"

InuYasha opened his mouth to retort but snapped it closed with a heavy sigh.  "It's kind of a done deal, ain't it?" he grumbled.  "Can't undo it now, even if I wanted to."

Kagome shuffled toward him and slipped her arms around him again.  "He loves her, you know.  You can see it in his eyes when he looks at her."

"I still can't see what she sees in him.  Seems pretty stupid for a tai-youkai."

"InuYasha . . ."

"Keh!  Bastard didn't realize that his youkai was breaking down?  He didn't even stop to think about what his leaving would do to her, did he?"

"We don't know the entire story, InuYasha.  You can't condemn him when you don't know what Gin may or may not have said to him.  As much as you'd like to believe otherwise, she's not perfect.  She's got as much pride as you have, and that pride has gotten you into your fair share of trouble in the past."

"This ain't about me, wench!" he complained as his cheeks pinked a little.

"I know . . . I'm just saying . . . Can you try to give Cain the benefit of the doubt?"

InuYasha snorted.

"I'm not asking you to like him.  I'm asking you to try to respect him.  Gin saw something in him that spoke to her heart.  You trust her, don't you?"

He snorted again.

Kagome finally giggled softly, leaning her cheek against InuYasha's shoulder.  "That's really not too much to ask, is it?"

InuYasha didn't answer, but his longsuffering sigh spoke volumes in the chilly autumn afternoon.


"Well, if that isn't a sight to see."

Gin managed a weak smile as Toga strolled into the room, hands jammed into his pockets and a shy sort of grin on his face.  Sinking into the chair beside her, he reached out to adjust the oxygen tube and kissed her forehead before settling back and slowly shaking his head.

"How are the babies?" Gin whispered, wrinkling her nose in a vain effort to dislodge the tube.

"They're fine; just fine . . . Sierra sends her love.  She wanted to come by, too, but Zelig-san is pretty adamant that you aren't tired out by visitors."

At the mention of Cain's name, Gin's smile faltered.

'Stop that, doll . . . He just went outside for a cigarette, and you know it.'

'. . . I know . . .'

"You okay?  You need anything?"

Gin shook her head a little.  "No, I'm fine."

"Do you want me to go get him?  He said you were sleeping when I spoke to him outside."

"It's okay," she lied.

"He's a good man," Toga allowed despite the troubled expression on his face.  Suddenly he chuckled and shook his head.  Catching Gin's confused stare, he relented with a shrug.  "You sure know how to pick 'em, Gin."

"But I didn't—"

"It's okay.  He'll take care of you."

"Toga?"

"Yes?"

Gin scowled at the wall behind her cousin.  "You went with Papa, right?  To get Cain?"

"I did."

"Papa didn't . . . try to hurt Cain, did he?"

Toga grimaced.  "There wasn't bloodshed, if that's what you're asking."

His answer didn't really offer Gin any real solace.  "I see."

"Yasha-jiji didn't bother asking.  He's a little too quick to use that Kaze no Kizu of his, isn't he?"

Gin's face must have paled because Toga shook his head quickly and patted her hand.  "He took out the door, but as you've seen for yourself, Cain's fine . . . for the most part."

"Are you trying to upset her?" Cain asked with a heavy sigh.

Toga turned and grinned then stood up and kissed Gin's forehead.  "I'll stop in before I leave, okay?"

Gin nodded and tried to impart him with a look asking him to stay.  Either he missed it or he simply ignored it, because he stuffed his hands into his pockets again and shuffled out of the room.

"I didn't know you were awake," Cain commented as he helped her sit up to drink a little water.  "Feeling any better?"

"I'm okay," she replied, turning her face away from the straw.

Cain set the glass aside and sat back in the chair.  "Your brother said that we can try to feed you something tomorrow."

"Cain?"

"Hmm?"

"You didn't . . . have to come back."

"Of course I did," he countered.  "I—"

"I don't want to be another obligation," she murmured, unable to meet his gaze, unable to keep the misery out of her tone as she stared at the clock on the nightstand.

"A . . . huh?"

Gin winced.  "Another obligation," she repeated quietly.  "I didn't want to be . . ."

"Why would you think—?"

"Papa brought you back, right?  You didn't have to come with him."

"Gin—"

She closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into her pillow.  "I'm tired," she murmured, unable to keep the catch out of her voice.

"Gin . . ."

"Just tired . . ."

Cain heaved a sigh, and she squeezed her eyes closed.  The sudden flare of anger radiating from him seemed to envelop the room.  She retreated into herself, braced herself for whatever he was going to say.

He didn't reply.  Gathering her courage, she peeked around the room only to find that she was alone.

'It's better this way,' she told herself stubbornly as a tear streaked down her temple into the pillow.  'There are too many things that he can't change, and I . . . I can't ask him to stay.'