InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Clever ( Chapter 24 )

~~Chapter 24~~

~Clever~

 

“I like this shirt,” Sydnie commented, idly fingering Bas' soft cotton t-shirt in the dimly lit restaurant where she sat between the cousins. A waiter quietly removed the dinner plates and hurried away as she gazed up at Bas in obvious appreciation.

 

He snorted. “Pfft! I told you, it's too small.”

 

She grinned. She'd chosen the shirt. Since she had shredded the only one he had, he'd sent Sydnie into the store to buy one with the explicit instructions that she should get a double-extra-large and tall shirt. She'd gotten the tall part right, but the plain black t-shirt had only been a single-extra-large, and when he'd asked her if they'd been out of the double-extra-larges, she'd just smiled and said that his other shirts had been too big, anyway. This one wasn't small, but it was snug across his shoulders and chest. She couldn't help but appreciate the way it had accentuated his trim waist, his broad shoulders . . . Sure, she knew that Sebastian had a hell of a body. `Might as well show it off, right?' she thought with a smirk. “I don't think it is,” she argued. “I think it's just perfect.”

 

He snorted again and made a face as embarrassed color washed into his cheeks.

 

“Don't know about his clothes,” Gunnar remarked as he swigged his beer and made a face. “You look damn good, though, kitten.”

 

Bas shot Gunnar a pronounced glower but didn't respond in kind.

 

Sydnie sat up straighter and giggled, glancing down at the pine green suede vest-skirt combo she'd talked Bas into buying for her. The skirt hugged her hips and was as short as her tube micro-mini, and when she'd stepped out of the changing room for his inspection, he'd looked as though he was about to tell her to turn right around and take the ensemble off. In the end, he'd given in when she had casually mentioned that she'd be happy to buy it, herself, with the money his brother had paid for her picture.

 

“You're such a sweet little puppy,” Sydnie purred, grinning as Gunnar slipped his arm along the back of the booth behind Sydnie's shoulders. Bas uttered a low growl and pulled Sydnie closer to his side.

 

“Find your own kitty, you little fucker,” Bas grumbled, cheeks pinking though he didn't relinquish his hold on Sydnie, either.

 

“That's okay, Bas. I'll just take that one.”

 

“The hell you will,” Bas growled.

 

Gunnar chuckled and sat back. “But she likes me,” he pointed out.

 

“She tolerates you, you ass.”

 

Sydnie glanced from Bas to Gunnar then back again, thoroughly enjoying the needling rapport between the cousins. She hadn't realized just how much the relationship between family members intrigued her. Having grown up without any family to speak of, she couldn't help but feel a certain compulsion to absorb every moment she could, and the feeling that she was somehow included . . . it added a sense of well-being that reassured her more than she wanted to admit.

 

Gunnar caught her gaze and winked. She giggled.

 

“When are you leaving, Gunnar?” Bas demanded, tapping his foot on the floor beneath the table as he shot his cousin a somewhat bored glare.

 

“As soon as you're healed,” he replied. “At least, I was going to. Then again, maybe I should stick around . . .”

 

“If you do, I swear I'll kill you,” Bas grumbled.

 

Sydnie leaned against Bas' arm. He glanced down at her and smiled bashfully. “You want more milk, kitty?”

 

She shook her head. “I don't need it.”

 

He rolled his eyes and called out to the passing waiter. “Excuse me. Would you bring another glass of milk?”

 

The waiter nodded and hurried off. Sydnie scooted a little closer to Bas' side.

 

Gunnar sighed. “I'll probably be leaving at the end of the week,” he remarked with a shake of his head. “Soon enough for you, Sebastian?”

 

“Tomorrow wouldn't be soon enough for me, Mamoruzen,” Bas shot back.

 

Sydnie blinked. It wasn't the first time she'd heard Bas call Gunnar by that name. “Mamoruzen?” she repeated, mangling the pronunciation but managing it well enough to get her point across.

 

Gunnar made a face. “Bas is just being an ass . . . oi, that rhymed . . .”

 

Bas snorted. “That's his real name—and he hates it.”

 

“You hate it?”

 

Gunnar shrugged. “Let's stick to `Gunnar', shall we?”

 

“His father's Japanese,” Bas supplied when Sydnie frowned. “His mom is American.”

 

“Oh, that's what your accent is,” she concluded. “I wondered.”

 

“Born and raised . . . though I spent quite a bit of time here in the States for my training.”

 

“Mamoruzen Gunnar,” she mused. “So what's your last name?”

 

Gunnar glanced over her head then smiled. “Don't worry about it, Sydnie. It's quite a bit harder to pronounce.”

 

She rolled her eyes but shrugged. “What's his last name?” she questioned, jerking her head at Bas.

 

Gunnar's grin widened, amber eyes sparkling mischievously. “Bas'?”

 

Sydnie shrugged. “Yes.”

 

“I think you should ask him.”

 

Bas snorted. Sydnie giggled. “Is it hard to pronounce, too?” she questioned.

 

“Sure,” Gunnar agreed as he dug into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change. “Here, Sydnie. Why don't you pick some different music? Something that isn't . . . country.”

 

She scooped the change out of his hand and slipped out of the booth after Gunnar stood up. She blinked in surprise when Bas followed suite, unsure why the sudden show of manners unsettled her. Smiling uncertainly, she smoothed her skirt before sauntering off toward the jukebox standing on the far side of the restaurant near the bar.

 

“Nice evasion,” Bas remarked as they sat back down, his eyes following Sydnie's retreat.

 

“Wasn't it?” Gunnar quipped dryly.

 

Bas sighed. “God, she's going to hate me when I tell her . . .”

 

“Maybe not.”

 

Bas snorted. “Pfft. You have no idea just how much she loathes the tai-youkai . . .” He trailed off, eyes shifting to narrow on Gunnar, who was busy watching Sydnie flip through the selections in the gaudily-colored jukebox. “Hmm . . . maybe I should tell her you're in line to be tai-youkai in Japan,” he mused. “Bet she abandons the Gunnar fan club pretty quickly.”

 

Gunnar chuckled. “Yeah, well, I figured that telling her my last name would do more damage than it was worth.”

 

Bas nodded. “So you do possess some modicum of logic.”

 

“Suck it, Bas.”

 

Bas grinned. “I can't suck something you can't find.”

 

“Ouch.”

 

His smile faded, and he sat up straighter as the waiter set a full glass of milk on the table. Leaning to the side, Bas erupted in a growl as he scooted out of the booth and took a step toward Sydnie. Some guy was talking to her, and while she looked vaguely amused, she didn't seem to welcome the attention. She had a polite little smile plastered on her face, and when the man stepped closer, the smile disappeared.

 

Gunnar grabbed Bas' arm and pulled him back. “Don't make a scene,” he hissed in Bas' ear.

 

Bas spared him a baleful glower and yanked his arm away but stopped, hands balling into tight fists, teeth gritted together so hard his jaw ticked. “Damn it . . .”

 

“The last thing you need is to draw attention to yourself, especially when Sydnie is obviously not interested in the guy. Hear me?”

 

Bas snorted but glanced back at the cat-youkai. The man leaned toward her, murmuring something that Bas couldn't hear. She smiled just a little and put her hand on his arm, bracing herself against him as she said something in reply. The man's face contorted in a pained grimace. Bas' scowl darkened until he saw the reason why. Grinding the heel of her stiletto heel into the man's foot, she was still smiling sweetly, and after sparing another moment to add extra emphasis to whatever statement she'd made, she turned her head and nodded toward Bas, who, for the most part, concentrated on glowering as fiercely as he could at the defeated human.

 

“Holy dogs, Bas . . . are you trying to scare the shit out of people?” Gunnar complained.

 

“Whatever works,” he grumbled.

 

Satisfied that she'd made her point, Sydnie let go of the man's arm and wandered toward Bas, her smile brightening, her eyes softly glowing, and if she noticed anyone else in the restaurant, Bas couldn't tell.

 

“Changed my mind, kitty,” he remarked as she kissed his cheek and slipped into the booth. “You can keep those shoes, after all.”

 

She laughed as Bas sat back down, too. Gunnar chuckled and rolled his eyes. “Remind me not to tick you off, Sydnie,” Gunnar said with an exaggerated grimace. “Damned if that didn't look like it hurt a hell of a lot.”

 

“It does,” Bas grumbled despite the hint of amusement lighting his gaze as he watched Sydnie down the glass of milk.

 

“That's right . . . you have had personal experience with her shoes, haven't you?” Gunnar added.

 

Bas grunted in reply.

 

Sydnie set the empty glass aside and shot him a catty sort of smile. “Don't worry, Sebastian . . . I have no intention of using my shoes against you ever again.”

 

He grunted again and finally looked away. “Good.”

 

“Which doesn't mean I won't.”

 

“I didn't figure it did,” he said with an exaggerated grimace.

 

She giggled.

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“I swear there's something wrong with you,” Bas pointed out as he pulled the SUV out of the parking lot onto the street.

 

“There's nothing wrong with me,” Gunnar argued as he crumpled up a wrinkled napkin with a phone number scrawled on it and dropped it on the floor.

 

“Is, too.”

 

“Is not.”

 

“Telling me not to draw attention to myself and then going out and getting all . . . jiggy with the women.”

 

Gunnar laughed. “Wait . . . did you just say . . . `jiggy'?”

 

Bas snorted. “Shut it, dog.”

 

“Woof!”

 

Sydnie turned around with a slight frown as she tried to brush aside the odd feeling that wouldn't quite leave her alone. She'd been watching the car that had been following them since they'd pulled out of the restaurant parking lot. Sure, it was possible that the people had gone there to eat and that they were heading home or something. Still it struck her as strange, and she just didn't know why. Instinct, maybe, she figured, and she had been a bit edgy all day. Unable to shake the strange feeling that something bad was coming, she sighed inwardly and forced a smile when Bas peeked into the rearview mirror to look at her.

 

“Can I help it that women think I'm irresistible?” Gunnar lamented.

 

“Go to hell, Gunsie,” Bas shot back. “You're such an idiot.”

 

Sydnie giggled despite her foreboding thoughts. It had perplexed her, really. She'd danced with Gunnar—Bas claimed he didn't know how—while Bas sat in the booth, watching them. He'd smiled at her a few times, and it had been his idea that she dance with Gunnar, but when a slow song started, it hadn't taken more than a few seconds before she'd sensed Bas' approach and was pleasantly surprised to be pulled away from Gunnar and into Bas' arms. She'd reminded him that he said that he didn't know how to dance. He'd blushed, telling her that slow dancing wasn't much more than swaying, really, and that any fool could do that.

 

When the song was over, Bas suggested that they get back to the hotel since Gunnar wanted to get moving again in the morning. Sydnie hadn't argued but she had sighed, and when she turned around to return to the booth, she'd stopped short at the sight of Gunnar, surrounded by four young women who were all too busy fawning over Gunnar to notice Sydnie and Bas' approach.

 

“Why are they doing that?” she demanded, leaning closer to whisper her question.

 

Bas shrugged. “What? That?” he asked, waving a hand at Gunnar and the women.

 

Sydnie nodded.

 

“It's always like that everywhere we go,” he grumbled. “I guess they think he's cute or something.”

 

Sydnie blinked. Something in Bas' tone gave her pause. He didn't sound jealous, exactly . . . more like resigned to it, she supposed. “Well, he's cute, sure,” she agreed slowly, her frown deepening as she shook her head. “But he's certainly not you.”

 

Bas stopped abruptly and stared at Sydnie. “Oh?”

 

“Of course not! Cute versus sexy as hell? I think I'll take sexy as hell, thanks.”

 

She wasn't surprised to see the vivid blush that stained his cheeks almost instantly. “You . . . y-you think I-I-I'm . . .?”

 

She smiled and pushed herself onto her tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “What do you think, puppy?” she murmured in his ear.

 

Bas could only smile bashfully, taking Sydnie's hand and pulling her back toward the booth once more.

 

“Like I asked for the attention,” Gunnar remarked with a snort.

 

“Like you didn't,” Bas shot back.

 

“I didn't,” he argued. “What can I say? I just have loads of animal magnetism.”

 

“You've got loads of something,” Bas grumbled, turning the corner on the street that led to the hotel.

 

Sydnie glanced over her shoulder in time to see the car that was still following them. Gunning the engine, the driver sped through the yellow light at the intersection, and she frowned. If she weren't sure before, she was now. They were definitely being followed . . .

 

“Yeah, yeah, you're just jealous, Bas . . . It's just a matter of time before I steal Sydnie right from under your nose.”

 

Sydnie rolled her eyes. “Bas?”

 

He didn't seem to have heard her. “You're asking for a pounding,” Bas remarked dryly.

 

“Gunnar?” she said a little louder.

 

“Bring it, bastard . . . I'd love to see you try.”

 

She leaned forward and cleared her throat to garner their attention. “Sorry to interrupt, puppies . . . but I think we're being followed.”

 

“What?” Bas demanded, glancing into the side mirror. He scowled at the car but shook his head. “You sure, kitty?”

 

Gunnar turned around, peering over the back of his seat and out the rear window. “How long?”

 

Satisfied that they were finally listening, she perched on the edge of the seat and shrugged. “Since we left the restaurant. They were already in their car, and they pulled out right after we did. They just blew that caution light back there, too.”

 

Bas nodded. “Hold on, Sydnie.”

 

She reached out in time to steady herself on the armrest as Bas abruptly cut around the corner. The car followed suite, and he sighed. “Damn it.”

 

He deliberately meandered through the city streets for twenty minutes to no avail. “Hand me Triumvirate, Sydnie,” Bas commanded, his eyes shifting from the street ahead of them to the rearview mirror and back again. Sydnie did as she was told, reaching under the bench seat to retrieve both his sword as well as Gunnar's. She handed Bas' over first.

 

Gunnar grabbed it and sighed before taking his sword from her, too.

 

Bas leaned forward while Gunnar reached around him to strap the sword on his hip, carefully weaving along the city streets. “Watch where you're grabbing,” he growled. Sydnie shook her head as Gunnar rolled his eyes.

 

“Like I'd be trying to grab anything on you, you ass,” Gunnar shot back, fastening the strap and maneuvering in his seat to strap on his sword, too.

 

“Well, you tell me you want me to suck it often enough,” Bas grumbled.

 

Sydnie rolled her eyes. “Focus, please! There are bounty hunters following us!”

 

“Maybe not bounty hunters,” Gunnar remarked quietly.

 

“True enough . . . maybe it's the Gunnar fan club,” Bas snorted sarcastically.

 

“Hmm, I think you're being a tad facetious this evening,” Gunnar shot back.

 

Bas grunted as he turned again only to be followed in short order. He shot Gunnar a meaningful glance that wasn't lost on Sydnie. “Damn it.”

 

“What are the odds they aren't the Bas fan club?” Gunnar muttered darkly.

 

“What do you think we should do about this?”

 

Gunnar narrowed his gaze on his cousin and slowly shook his head. “What do you mean, what should we do? Move it, damn it!”

 

“Move it? Move it, where?”

 

“Where do you think? Out of the city! I'd rather not get into this in the middle of a bunch of humans, and I'm pretty sure that your father wouldn't like it, either.”

 

“Maybe not,” Bas agreed, “but running isn't a great idea, either.”

 

“Open to suggestions.”

 

Bas shook his head. “Your logic is completely fucked up, by the way.”

 

“Oh?”

 

“Uh-huh . . . even if we get them out of the city, we still won't have any sort of real advantage.”

 

Sydnie frowned. True enough, she figured. Their followers were much too close for them to be able to stop the car and formulate any sort of real offense before the hunters caught up with them. Still there had to be something they could do . . .

 

“Look . . . maybe they don't realize we know they're following us,” Gunnar reasoned.

 

Bas glowered at him. “Have one too many beers, Gun? They've been following us for the last twenty minutes . . . If they don't realize we know they're back there, then they're fiercely stupid . . .”

 

“Stop at that gas station,” Sydnie interrupted before Gunnar could retort.

 

“Gas station?” Bas echoed incredulously, scowl darkening as he glanced in the rearview mirror to gape at her. “Listen, cat—”

 

“I need a pack of cigarettes,” she maintained stubbornly.

 

“A . . . pack . . . of . . . what?” he growled.

 

Gunnar's eyes flared wide, and he nodded quickly. “Absolutely,” he agreed. “And we can gas up the SUV.”

 

Bas shook his head slowly. “Have you two lost your fucking minds? If those are the bounty hunters following us, do you really think that they'll just sit around and wait till you're done running your errands before they attack?” he snarled.

 

“No, she's right,” Gunnar cut in patiently as he unfastened his sword. “They won't attack in plain view if they can help it . . . If they were going to, they'd have done it after we left the restaurant. If you want them to think we don't know they're there, then we need to act like we don't. In any case, we need to fill up the SUV so we can get the hell out of here when it's all said and done.”

 

Bas scowled as he pondered Gunnar's words and heaved a frustrated sigh but did pull into the gas station, stopping in front of the pump closest to the building. The girl working behind the counter glanced outside at them. Bas turned to eye Sydnie. “You stay down and out of sight,” he demanded with a pointed lifting of his eyebrow.

 

“Well, I really do need cigarettes,” she told him.

 

He snorted, opening his mouth to tell her that she really didn't need any such thing. Gunnar shook his head and opened the door. “Forget it. I'll take care of it.”

 

Letting his head fall back against the headrest, he closed his eyes for a moment until Gunnar tapped on the window and pointed at the back of the vehicle. Bas released the door covering the gas tank and pushed himself up straighter, idly drumming his index fingers against the steering wheel.

 

Sydnie slid off the seat and knelt on the floor, leaning on the center console between the seats to peer up into Bas' face. Half hidden in shadows, he stared out the window, his gaze lit by a strange sense of determination.

 

“Where are we going, then?” she forced herself to ask.

 

Bas' eyes narrowed. “Back to the hotel. We'll check out and get everything around . . . might as well be ready to run.”

 

“They won't attack us around humans?”

 

Bas shook his head. “I doubt it. Bounty hunters might not be honorable, but they aren't stupid, either. They won't attack where they'd draw attention to themselves. It's bad for business.”

 

She grimaced at his choice of wording and slumped against the seat. Bas reached back and held out his palm. She stared at it for a moment before slipping her hand into his. She could feel the steady strength in his grip, found his calm entirely comforting. He continued to stare out the window as he rubbed his thumb over her knuckles. A cold rain splattered the windshield, and the pinging droplets beat down on the vehicle in an ever-increasing tempo as the winds escalated.

 

“Don't be scared, Sydnie,” he told her at last, breaking the stilted silence.

 

“I'm not,” she replied.

 

He nodded. “Good.”

 

 

~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~ *~=~*~=~*~=~*~=~

A/N:

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARI-15!

I wrote a oneshot for Sari! Feel free to check it out! The Quest for the Second Bath (InuYasha) can be found here:

http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/114511/

 

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Reviewers

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MMorg

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Final Thought fromBas:

Sexier than hell, huh …

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Phantasm): 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~