InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 4: Justification ❯ Divine Intervention ( Chapter 108 )

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

Gin moaned quietly as she rolled over and nestled against Cain's chest.  "Morning," she murmured without opening her eyes.

Cain grinned and turned toward her, burying his face in her hair.  "Morning."

"Hmm, this is nice," she said, basking in the contentment of the moment.

"We could stay in bed all day," Cain suggested.

She sighed.  "I'd love to, but . . ."

"But, what?"

Gin sat up and grinned sheepishly, rubbing her belly with a soft giggle.  "But Sebastian and I are hungry."

He rolled his eyes and got out of bed.  "Can't have that, can we?"

"You know what sounds good?" Gin went on as Cain shoved the closet open and groped for a pair of pants.

"What's that?"

She flopped back and laughed.  "A tuna sandwich . . . with mandarin orange slices and celery."

"On the side?" he asked absently, shaking out a pair of pants and tugging them on.

She shot him an incredulous stare.  "On the sandwich, Cain."

He paused but didn't look at her as he yanked a shirt off the hanger.  "Um, okay," he agreed, his tone carefully neutral.

"Oh, and maybe some peanut butter and wasabe."

He stood up straight and slowly turned to stare at her.  "Let me get this straight.  You want . . . a sandwich of tuna with mandarin orange slices . . . celery . . . peanut butter . . . and wasabe."

She nodded enthusiastically.  "And water chestnuts."

Cain blinked.  "And . . . water chestnuts."

"There's that fresh slab of tuna in the refrigerator," she went on.

Cain shook his head.  "You can have tuna, but I'm going to cook it first."

She made a face.  "I don't like it cooked," she told him.

He shrugged.  "I know you don't, but you know what your doctor said."

"I know," she muttered, scrambling off the bed.  "No raw meat."

He nodded.  "I'll go make your . . . sandwich," he told her.

"Thank you."

He opened and closed his mouth a few times, expression contorting as though he'd tasted something really, really bad.  Then he headed out of the room, whistling under his breath as Gin's smile widened.

'He's in a good mood today,' she thought as she watched him go.  Her smile widened.  It'd been awhile since she had seen him smile.

'It's because you're staying home with him.'

Gin flinched and stripped off her nightgown.  'I can't help it . . . I mean, the others don't call unless they need something . . . I have to help them.  It's what families do.'

'That's true enough, I suppose, but think about one thing?'

'What's that?'

'Cain . . . Isn't Cain family too?'

'Of course he's my family!  That's a silly question.'

'You've done nothing but run around since you arrived in Tokyo, doll.  You're nearly six months pregnant now.  Don't you think you ought to slow down?'

Gin shrugged.  'I am . . .'

That was the plan for the day.  Oddly, no one had called Gin to ask her to come by today.  Toga was taking a few weeks off to spend pampering Sierra before their baby arrived.  Bellaniece and Kichiro seemed to be lost in a world all their own, and Gin was almost jealous.  While she felt a little bloated and clumsy, Bellaniece seemed to flourish in her pregnancy.  Always laughing and smiling, Bellaniece was absolutely the brightest glowing woman Gin had ever seen.

After a shaky start, Nezumi and Ryomaru, along with their baby boy, Morio, were adjusting well after the initial shock of actually having a baby of their own.  InuYasha had told Gin that he and Kagome had stopped by just after they'd brought Morio home, only to find the new parents sitting on the sofa with Morio in his bouncer seat on the coffee table.  The parents were staring at their infant son, not actually sure what to do with him while little Morio had simply stared back, content to chew on his fist.  Nezumi had admitted to being a little wary.  Having spent most of her life without her mother and with only the twins as her best friends, she'd been more of a tomboy and motherhood, it seemed, was something that had frightened her, at least in the beginning.  She was doing well now, though, and to everyone's relief, the nausea that had plagued her entire pregnancy had vanished just after Morio was born.

'Anyway,' Gin thought as she turned from side to side, smiling as she gazed at her little belly, 'I'm spending the day with Cain, no matter what.'

'Just remember that, Gin.'

'I will,' she vowed.  'Today's for Cain—just Cain.'


"It's changed," Cain commented, idly rubbing the mark on Gin's lower back just under her natural waistline.  Lying on the sofa with Gin sprawled atop him, he wrapped his arms around her, careful to make certain that she didn't slip off. The mark had changed over the past few days, shifting just enough to denote Cain's altered mark: the mark that proclaimed that his mate was carrying the next tai-youkai—his son.  In time, the altered mark would become that of the unborn pup.  Cain couldn't explain the odd sense of reverence that filled him as he stared at the silvery crest on Gin's soft skin.

"I told you," Gin gloated, craning her neck to look at the mark for herself.

Cain chuckled softly.  "So you did."

She opened her mouth to gloat even more.  A knock on the door cut her off.  "I'll get it," she told him as she rolled to her feet.  Pausing long enough to kiss his forehead before scurrying off to answer the door, she giggled when he heaved a sigh, and when she glanced back, he was standing beside the sofa.

"Come on, baby girl.  Your mama wants you to come by for lunch."

Gin grinned and hugged her father.  "That sounds really nice, Papa . . ." She turned to smile at her mate, but her smile faltered at the foreboding expression on his face.  "Cain?  Don't you want to go?"

He narrowed his eyes at his wife and slowly shook his head.  "Gin . . ." he began incredulously.

She frowned in confusion.  "But it's just lunch," she argued.

Cain met InuYasha's mocking gaze over Gin's head and managed a grim, if not completely insincere, smile.  The hanyou looked like he'd rather hack him to pieces than have him over for a meal, and Cain wasn't overly enthusiastic about the idea of entering InuYasha's territory, either.  "You go on ahead, Gin."

She shook her head.  "But . . ."

"It's okay," he told her.  "Just . . ." He sighed.  "Just go on."

"Are you sure?"

Cain shrugged.  "Yeah."

She sighed.  "Okay.  Do you want me to bring back some food for you?"

Forcing another tight little smile, Cain shook his head again.  "No, it's fine."

"Come on," InuYasha said, grabbing Gin's hand and hurrying her toward the door.

Gin didn't say anything but she did spare him another confused stare.  Cain turned away before the door closed.

"Damn it," he growled, stomping off to ensconce himself in his studio once more.

'You let her go, Cain,' his youkai pointed out.

Cain jerked his shirt over his head and tossed it aside.  'Of course I let her go . . . For reasons I'll never understand, she seems to like her irritating father . . .'

'Well, in any case, you need to remember that you let her go without a fuss, so don't lose your cool with her later.'

He sighed.  'I know.'

He barely heard the soft knock on the front door.  So deep in his thoughts, it wasn't until the third knock came that he looked up from the sketchpad he was using to map out ideas for Bellaniece's child's nursery with a deep scowl, tilting his head to the side to listen.

The knock sounded once more, and he grabbed a rag towel as he strode through the house.

"Hello, Cain-sam," Kagome greeted with a grimace as Mikio squirmed in her arms, reaching for Cain.

"You can drop the -san," Cain grumbled, tossing the towel aside and caught the boy before he fell.  "Gin's not here," he said, stepping back to let Kagome come inside.

"I know . . . She said that you weren't coming, and I thought I'd come by and see if I could change your mind."

He sighed and set Mikio on the floor, watching thoughtfully as the pup took about ten steps and fell smack on his bottom with a dull thump.  "Figured I'd get some work done."

Kagome nodded slowly as Mikio pushed himself to his feet again, toying with his left ear and stuffing his free hand into his mouth.  "You seem . . . upset."

"Do I?"

"Gin's been busy lately, hasn't she?"

Cain heaved another sigh and shrugged, turning away from the door and shuffling across the room.  "She says she's fine," he replied.

"Seems to me that she's been busy a lot since she came home . . . Can I ask you something, Cain?"

He nodded once, gaze meeting hers for a moment before slipping the other direction, toward the heavy glass doors and the yard behind the house.

Kagome leaned against the table, crossing her ankles as she watched Cain prowling around his own house.  "Why did you bring my daughter home?"

Cain blinked and shook his head at Kagome's softly uttered question.  "To be around her family," he replied then sighed with a grimace.

"That's not entirely true," Kagome said quietly.

"I don't know," he admitted, stuffing his hands into his pockets as he scrunched up his shoulders and glowered at the floor.  "She's closer to doctors here—closer to help."

Kagome smiled.  "I thought as much . . ."

"She . . . can't say no to family," Cain explained.  "She just wants to help them."

"You're defending her," Kagome observed with a nod.  "I figured you would."

Cain didn't respond to that.  It was simpler to keep his eyes focused on Mikio as the toddler dropped to his hands and knees and chased after Punkin.  The dog shifted his gaze to the child but didn't run away.

"Gin's always put others before herself."

"It's one of her gifts," Cain said with a sigh.

"It is.  It's also one of her flaws.  Sometimes she doesn't know when to stop doing for others.  When she was younger, Ryomaru had some trouble with a few of his classes.  I remember one night.  I got up to get a glass of water, and I found Gin and Ryomaru slumped over the dining room table.  She was trying to help him with some research, and she ended up forgetting to do her homework in the process."

"I just don't want her to overdo it."

"Of course you don't.  Have you told her this?"

He snorted.  "Pfft!  No . . . She'd get upset, and that'd be bad for her and the pup."

"If she doesn't know that something's bothering you, how do you expect her to change it?"

Cain shrugged.  "I keep telling myself that I'm just being paranoid.  She's fine, right?  She's strong . . ."

Kagome pushed away from the table and patted Cain's arm.  "That's probably part of it, but I doubt that's the only reason.  You seem fairly reasonable to me.  I don't think you'd overreact if there weren't a good reason for it."

"She was supposed to spend the day with me," he admitted, unsure why he was telling Kagome all of it.  "Then InuYasha showed up, and Gin always drops everything for her papa . . ."

Kagome laughed at the mulishness in Cain's tone.  "Well, he is her papa."

"But every day?  I swear . . . she spends all morning, running around with Sierra or Nezumi . . . or Bellaniece . . . She's exhausted by the time she gets home, and then he shows up to take her for a walk—you know, she could go for walks with me, if she wanted . . ." He grimaced and shook his head again, throwing his hand up to wave away his words.  "Never mind . . . It's fine . . . He's her father, and she loves him—unfortunately."

Kagome's easy smile dissipated, and she shook her head.  "Every day?" she echoed.

He rolled his eyes.  "Yes, every day.  I just get Gin to agree to lie down with me, but he always shows up . . . always . . ."

"I didn't know that," Kagome admitted then sighed.  "I wish you'd change your mind and come over for lunch.  You're welcome, you know."

Cain shook his head.  "No, thanks."

Kagome frowned but nodded as she walked over and scooped Mikio up off the floor.  "I'll send Gin home after lunch," she promised.  "Wave bye bye, Mikio."

Mikio gurgled and waved happily.  "Bye bye, Mean Cain."

Cain chuckled and lifted his open hand.  "Bye, Mikio."

She smiled and winked, and he closed the door behind them.  Heaving a sigh, he leaned against it for a minute before slowly pushing himself away and trudging back toward his studio once more.


Gin set the dishes on the counter as Kagome drew hot water in the sink before hurrying back to the table to gather the rest of the things that needed to be cleaned up.  Happy squealing drifted into the kitchen from the living room where InuYasha was playing with Mikio.  Gin smiled.  "Lunch was great, Mama.  Thank you."

Kagome giggled and turned the faucet to fill the other side of the sink.  "I made plenty.  Why don't you take a plate home for Cain?"

Gin hugged her mother and stepped around her to rinse and dry the dishes.  "He said that he didn't want anything, but maybe he's changed his mind," she said.

Kagome took her time as she scrubbed the plates.  "Cain seems a little . . . upset lately."

Gin nodded, carefully rinsing the first plate and setting it in the drainer rack to dry.  "I know."

"Do you have any idea why?"

She shot her mother a guilty glance, cheeks pinking at the question that hit so very close to her heart.  "He's upset because I've been so busy lately, I think . . . But when I ask him, he says it's okay."

Kagome sighed.  "Of course he does.  He wants you to be happy."

"I am happy," she assured her mother.   "It's just . . ."

"Go on."

Gin shrugged.  "He always says I should go," she repeated.

"I think maybe he feels a little . . . neglected."

Gin shook her head.  "That's ridiculous!  I'd never neglect him!"

Kagome shot her daughter a sidelong glance.  Gin intercepted the look and frowned.  "You know, Gin, I think he's frightened."

"Frightened?"

Kagome nodded as she slipped another plate into the rinse water.  "Yes, frightened.  I mean, you told me that his first mate died in childbirth, right?"

"Yes, but . . ."

"Gin, think about your fear of rodents.  It's irrational, and in your heart, you know that they're too small to actually hurt you, right?"

Gin nodded, taking her time wiping the plates and stacking them on the counter.  "Yeah."

"That doesn't stop you from being frightened, does it?"

"No."

Kagome rinsed and dried her hands before quickly hugging Gin's shoulders.  "Maybe it's the same for Cain.  He might know in his heart that you're not going to die.  That doesn't mean that he won't be frightened until it's all over, anyway.  If you spent more time with him, maybe that would help to reassure him."

"I didn't think about that," Gin admitted, carefully rubbing her tummy.  "What should I do?  I mean, Nezumi and Sierra . . . They're family.  I can't just tell them 'no'."

"You're not thinking about this the right way.  Sure, Nezumi and Sierra are family, but isn't Cain, too?"

Gin's ears flattened as she slouched back against the counter, staring miserably at the floor.  "He's the most important part of my family."

"Does he know that?" Kagome asked, tilting Gin's chin up and offering her an encouraging smile.

"Yes, of course!"  Gin winced.  "Maybe not.  Oh, Mama . . . I think . . ." She swallowed hard, blinking back the tears that brightened her gaze.  "I think I'd better go home."

"Don't worry, Gin.  He loves you.  As for Sierra and Nezumi . . . I'll have a talk with them."

"Thank you."

"Go home.  Spend the day with Cain . . . I need to have words with your father."

"Papa?"

Kagome nodded, a stubborn light igniting behind her eyes.  "Oh, yes, your papa . . . Gin . . . if you want to go on daily walks, maybe you could ask Cain to take you.  Your father means well, but . . ."

Gin grimaced.  "Okay.  Thanks, Mama."

Kagome smiled and kissed Gin's cheek.  "Go on, sweetie."

Gin kissed Kagome and shuffled through the house toward the front door, biting her lip as she stepped out into the early afternoon sunshine.

'Of course Cain's the most important . . . I didn't mean to make him feel as though he weren't . . .'

'Just fix it, Gin.  Tell him you love him, and put him first.  After all, he put you first when he gave you the baby.'

Gin hurried through the small stretch of forest that separated her house from her parents' home.  She desperately needed to get to Cain; to tell him that she was sorry.  'How could I be so thoughtless?' she berated herself, dashing the back of her hand over her eyes to wipe away the tears that gathered.  'Too busy being selfish and worrying about everyone else that I forgot to worry about the most important one . . . Cain . . .'

Running through the forest, Gin stumbled over a tree root but caught herself before she fell, and when she finally pushed out of the trees, she broke for the small house without slowing down.  The misery that loomed over her, and she knew—just knew—that nothing would be all right until she was with Cain, until she'd fixed what she'd broken.

She slammed the door open and rushed inside.  Cain ran out of his studio, his eyes wide with shock and—was it fear?  When he saw her, he ran to her, catching her by the shoulders as his gaze darted up and down her trembling frame.  "Gin?  God, baby girl, what's wrong?"

She gasped for breath, collapsing against him, her heart hammering in her ears.  "I'm sorry," she sobbed, burying her face against his neck.  "I'm bad!  I'm a bad mate!"

He smoothed her hair, trying to calm her.  "A bad . . .?  Gin . . ."

"I am!" she wailed.  "I didn't think about you and about why you're so upset because I hate rodents . . ."

"What?"

"I forgot to think about you, and you're my most important family . . . I'm a bad mate, a horrible mate!  You're so good, and I'm just awful!"

"You're not," he told her, carefully picking her up and carrying her over to the sofa.  "Don't cry . . . I hate it when you cry."

She sniffled, immediately trying to staunch the flow of her tears.  "I promise I'll be better," she told him.  "I'll put you first from now on."

Cain sighed and kissed her forehead.  "It's okay, baby girl.  Just don't cry."

"You're my most important family," she told him again.  "I guess I forgot to make sure you knew that."

"I know," he assured her.  "I just . . . I can't help but worry.  You're so tiny, you know?  So much tinier than Isabelle, and she . . ."

Gin slipped her arms around Cain's neck and nestled closer to him.  "I'll be fine; I know it."

"How do you know it?"

She shrugged and kissed his cheek.  "I have your protection—your mark, and we belong together."

He looked like he wanted to argue.  In the end, he smiled a little sadly.  "We do, don't we?"

She nodded, her smile brightening.  "Oh!" she exclaimed, sitting up straighter, hands flying to cover her belly as her eyes widened in shock.

His panic spiked, and with a muffled curse, he stood up, careful not to drop her, and strode toward the door.

"Cain . . ."

"Hold on.  I'll get you to the hospital . . . Damn it, I never should have let you get so upset . . ."

She shook her head and forced him to look at her.  "I don't need a hospital," she assured him.  "Cain—"

He shot her a 'Don't Argue With Me' look as he shifted her in his arms so that he could open the door.  "Get out your cell phone and call Dr. Yakimora."

"He moved."

Cain stopped short, eyes widening as he slowly met her gaze.  "The pup?"

She nodded.  "You want to feel him?"

"I can feel him?"

Gin giggled.  "You never felt Bellaniece move?"

Cain shook his head with a sad little smile.  "No . . . I didn't realize . . . I mean, it said so in the books, but . . . I can feel him?  You think so?"

Gin nodded as Cain altered his course to return to the sofa once more.  Once settled, he hesitantly slipped his hand under the hem of her dress to press his palm gently on her belly.  She scowled in concentration and moved his hand to the left.  A moment later, he felt the slight tremor beneath her skin, and he laughed out loud when Gin giggled.  "That was . . . my son . . .?"

She kissed Cain's cheek again, her hands covering his.  "I hope he looks just like you."

He made a face, cheeks tinged with embarrassed color.  "God, let's hope not."

"I've always thought you were handsome," she teased.

His face reddened even more.  "Gin . . ."

"No more running around for everyone else," she promised, her gaze turning serious as she stared at him.

He shook his head, kissed her gently as she relaxed against him with a soft sigh.  "You don't have to do that.  Just reserve afternoons for me," he murmured.  "We can lie down so you can take a nap . . . go for a walk . . . or . . . something . . ."

She looked a little dazed from the kiss.  "But what if I'm not tired?"

He grinned.  "That'd be the 'or something'."

She bit her bottom lip as pinkness seeped into her cheeks.  "You know, we could go lie down for awhile now . . . or something . . ."

Cain chuckled and kissed her again.  "I think I'd like that, baby girl.  I think I'd like it a lot . . ."