InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 5: Phantasm ❯ Standoff ( Chapter 40 )

~~Chapter 40~~

~Standoff~

 

“So this brother of yours—Evan . . . he's a little different?”

 

Bas shrugged as the two crunched through the freshly fallen snow surrounding the Wake Forest mansion. “Yep. Then again, maybe I'm the one who's different. Mom and Dad are both pretty artistic, and Evan is, too, in his own way. Even Jillian's into doing stuff like drama club and all that. I've just never really been like that.”

 

Sydnie stuck her hands into her pockets and ambled along side him. “Not in the least?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“Never wanted to be a rock star or an actor?”

 

Bas chuckled. “Nope. I thought about trying to play football professionally for awhile.”

 

“Why didn't you?”

 

“I played a couple years in college. Seemed like it was more about winning than anything else, though. It didn't seem like the game was really a game anymore. Anyway, I was studying pre-law at the time, and that was a fairly heavy major. I didn't have time to study and play ball, and I figured that studying was more important.”

 

Sydnie digested that for a moment then sighed. “You know what they say about all work and no play.”

 

Bas rolled his eyes and grinned. “Yeah, well . . . it's weird. Dad, you see, has this photographic memory. He has to. I mean, he can glance at something for a moment then paint or sculpt it later, and he gets it perfect every time—every little detail . . . Evan's like that, too. The only reason he gets bad grades is because he wants to, if you want my opinion.”

 

“Because he wants to? Why would he do that?”

 

Bas shrugged again. “Who knows? No one's ever figured out how Evan's mind works, least of all me. I just know that he's never really had to sit down and study anything, ever, and his music? I gotta tell you, as annoying as it is to hear him playing the drums at all hours of the night, he's got a gift for it. I lost track of the number of instruments he can play. Dad said that he used to sneak away when he was in Japan during the summers so he could go to my brother-in-law's house. Kichiro taught him how to play the piano.”

 

“You sound proud of him.”

 

“A little,” Bas allowed, “when he's not being a pain in my ass, that is.”

 

“Are you so sure that he tries to get on your nerves?”

 

“Of course he does,” Bas grumbled. “Everything Evan does is designed to get on my nerves. I'm pretty sure that Mom and Dad just thought it'd be funny to have him just to torment me when they should have known that I was so good that Evan was bound to be nothing but trouble from the start.”

 

“So you're the good child.”

 

“Absolutely. You can't tell?”

 

Sydnie giggled but kept walking. “If you say so, puppy.”

 

“Yeah, well, if Dad knew half of the things I know about Evan, he'd be dead by now.”

 

“Oh? Anything good for blackmail?”

 

Staring up at the overcast skies, Bas narrowed his gaze. “Sure.”

 

“Like what?”

 

“Like that I walked in on him having sex with his best friend a few months ago.”

 

“What?”

 

He snorted, recalling all-too-well, the image of Evan doing Madison doggy-style as he held onto her hips as the girl hung onto the end of the bed when he'd gone to Evan's room to tell him that dinner was ready. His perverted brother hadn't even stopped as he'd shot Bas a cursory glance and told him to close the door. Bas had flat-out refused to deliver any kind of message to Evan's room after that. Seeing his fifteen year-old brother having sex with his fourteen year-old best friend was just not something that Bas cared to see again. “Scarred for life,” Bas complained.

 

Sydnie laughed. “Okay, then I'm sorry I asked,” she assured him. “What about your sister? Jillian?”

 

Bas' smile returned. “Jilli? She's okay. Her taste in guys stinks, but hell . . .”

 

“What's wrong with her taste in guys?”

 

“Nothing, really, but she's stuck on this guy who hasn't ever really given her the time of day. They're friends, sure, but other than that, Gavin doesn't really seem to notice that she actually exists.”

 

“Wait . . . the boy and girl from the picture? I don't know . . . he seemed happy enough to be with her.”

 

Bas snorted. “Pfft! `Happy' doesn't begin to describe Gavin. I swear the boy's scared of his own shadow. Weird, too, because his father's one of Dad's top hunters.”

 

“Gavin's father is a hunter?”

 

Bas nodded. “Yep.”

 

“Oh . . .”

 

Sensing her upset at the inadvertent reminder, Bas grimaced. “Dad never would have sent one of his regular hunters after you, you know,” he said gently.

 

“Wouldn't he?”

 

“No, he wouldn't.”

 

“Look Sebastian—”

 

“I'm serious, Sydnie. Dad's always thought that there was something odd about the Cal Richardson case. That's why he sent me . . . that, and I asked to go.”

 

“You did?”

 

He nodded. “Surprise you?”

 

“A little. Why would you want to do that?”

 

Bas shrugged. “I wanted to be a hunter.”

 

“And now?”

 

Stopping in the midst of the trees, Bas slumped back against a stout trunk and let his head fall back against the rough bark as he pondered her question. “Now? That's simple. How would I have found you if I hadn't taken the assignment?”

 

“And finding me was a . . . good thing?”

 

“Finding you was the best thing. You're my mate, you know.”

 

“Bas . . .”

 

“No, you are, and one of these days, you'll accept it.”

 

She didn't argue with him, but he wasn't fool enough to think that she agreed with him, either. Flicking some imaginary lint from the sleeve of her coat, she deliberately ignored his statement.

 

`Someday, Sydnie, you'll believe me,' Bas vowed as she turned on her heel and started back the way they'd come. He knew that she wanted him to stop saying that they were destined to be mates. He knew that the idea of something that permanent scared the hell out of her, and he had to admit that it was more than a little daunting to him, too. He'd also had years and years of hearing his father telling him over and over that finding one's mate was not something that he dared mess around with. In the past, Cain came much too close to losing Gin, and as a result, he'd made damn sure he'd explained the entire situation to his children. Bas, Evan, Jillian . . . they'd all heard the tale, and they'd all been told that it wasn't something that could or should be ignored. Bas frowned, staring at Sydnie's retreating form. `Somehow, kitty . . . I'll find a way to make you understand . . .'

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

Gin hovered in the doorway of the airy studio that Cain had built into the mansion for the two of them.

 

He was standing at near the wall of windows, staring outside into the falling night as snow drifted down from the darkening sky. The thin, wispy trail of smoke rose from the end of his cigarette, slowly dissipating into the air, and while the scent of it lingered, Gin didn't remark on it. He only smoked when he was worried about something, and she knew it. She also knew what he was thinking. She'd thought the same thing a million times over the course of the day.

 

“You miss him, don't you?”

 

Cain didn't turn around to acknowledge his mate's question.

 

“Papa said he's fine,” she pointed out as she quietly padded across the floor to slip her arms around Cain's waist, leaning her cheek against his back.

 

“I know what he said, baby girl,” Cain stated. “That's not the issue.”

 

“He called a little bit ago. He said he'd call you later.”

 

“Oh?”

 

She nodded as Cain turned around, hugging her with one arm as he snuffed out the cigarette butt. “Yes. He said that they had a really nice Christmas and that Sydnie liked her gifts.”

 

Cain grimaced. “Yeah?”

 

Gin nodded, tugging on Cain's arm to make him bend down so that she could kiss his cheek. “He also said that Sydnie really liked that jewelry box.”

 

The grimace shifted into a sigh. “Good.”

 

“Poor girl.”

 

Cain shrugged, turning his attention back out the window once more. “Yeah.”

 

“How could it happen, Cain? How could she have just slipped through the cracks? Your network—”

 

“—Isn't perfect,” he cut in with a tired sigh. “Nothing ever is.”

 

“What'll you do?”

 

Cain shook his head slowly, blue eyes serious, sad. “I've got Ben looking into it. He's trying to figure out exactly who she is because if she really is Sydnie Taylor, there would be record of her somewhere. Trouble is, the only Sydnie Taylor we were able to find is most definitely not her.”

 

“You're positive?”

 

Cain dragged a weary hand over his face. “Unless she's a ninety year-old human woman living in the Catskills, yes, I'm positive.”

 

“I see.”

 

“It just doesn't make sense.”

 

“Unless someone else was hiding her?”

 

He blinked and seemed to ponder Gin's question. “But why?”

 

“I don't know, but you said so: you'd have known otherwise.”

 

“That might be,” he allowed, “but to hide a youkai child? Why?”

 

Gin shook her head and hugged Cain again. “You'll figure it out, Cain Zelig. You're a good man.”

 

“A good man who let a child fall through the cracks,” he mused ruefully. “Doesn't sound like such a good man to me.”

 

“But you are,” she argued. “If you'd have realized, you would have done something. You can't blame yourself for something that you couldn't have known.”

 

“It's not that simple, Gin. I'm tai-youkai. That means . . . that means that I can't afford to let someone slip through the cracks.”

 

“And that's what makes you a good man.”

 

“It's not enough.”

 

“It's enough for me. Sydnie will understand one day. Bas will help her; you'll see.”

 

“Think so?”

 

Gin smiled sweetly, nodding slowly as she tugged on his hand. “Come on, Zelig-sensei. It's time for bed.”

 

Cain grinned slightly, momentarily resisting before allowing Gin to tug him toward the stairs that led to the bedroom loft of the studio. “Back to `Zelig-sensei', huh?”

 

She giggled softly. “Yes, and you know what they say, right?”

 

“What's that?”

 

“Things always look different in the morning.”

 

Cain let out a tired sigh, but she could hear the smile in his voice. “You're right,” he agreed. “They do.”

 

“I believe in you.”

 

“Yeah . . .” he said as his smile faded. “I'm glad one of us does.”

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

Bas handed Sydnie a warmed mug of milk and sank down with a heavy sigh on the sofa beside her before reaching for his sword. “So what'd you think, kitty? Christmas isn't so bad.”

 

“I can't believe you ate that much turkey,” she remarked with an artful arching of a dark eyebrow.

 

Bas grinned unrepentantly and shrugged. “It was good,” he replied.

 

“You're not a puppy—you're a piggy.”

 

“Maybe,” he agreed.

 

“What are you doing?”

 

Bas glanced up from his task. Carefully unbending the large key ring, he threaded it through the small hole in the gold trim on the end of Triumvirate's hilt. “Giving myself a reminder,” he said mysteriously.

 

“A reminder? What sort of reminder?”

 

His eyes were serious, bright, and he gazed at her with a steadiness that disarmed her. “A reminder of what I have to protect.”

 

“Sebastian . . .”

 

He stared at her for another long moment before turning his attention back to the keychain. He fastened it securely to the hilt and jiggled the scabbard, idly watching the round, flat moon sway back and forth. “There.”

 

“It's just a keychain,” she reminded him, her cheeks pinking as she pulled the magazine she'd been reading over her face.

 

“Not to me.”

 

“Well, you're crazy.”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“You are.”

 

He leaned his sword against a nearby chair before turning on the sofa, pulling his knee up and leaning on the back of the sofa as he gently tugged the magazine away from her. “Sydnie, we have to talk.”

 

Unbridled panic surged through her, and Sydnie winced. “Can we not do this?”

 

He sighed and slowly shook his head. “I'm sorry, but . . . this isn't going to go away. You know that, don't you?”

 

Sydnie sighed, rubbing her temple with a slender hand and closing her eyes. “Listen, Sebastian . . .”

 

“No, you listen. You're my mate, and I know you don't want to hear it, but you have to, and don't say that we're too different because that's not a bad thing, either. You want to be with me. I know you do, and regardless of what you want to believe, you have to know it because I do.”

 

“I don't know a thing,” she countered, grimacing inwardly as her voice thickened on the absolute lie. “You're crazy.”

 

“Crazy? Sydnie . . . my parents told me that if I find my mate and know it that somewhere deep down, you know it, too. That's how it works.”

 

She shook her head slowly, unable to meet his gaze. “I don't know a thing.”

 

“That's a lie.”

 

“Is it?”

 

“You know it is.”

 

Sydnie shot to her feet and strode the length of the room, needing to put a little distance between herself and Sebastian. “It can't be,” she mumbled, more to herself than to Bas.

 

“Why can't it? Because you don't want it? Because I'm the next tai-youkai? Do you think that'll mean a damn thing to me without you? Do you think—?” he cut himself off with a frustrated growl and slowly shook his head. “Can't you believe me? Please?”

 

“I believe you,” she said softly. “I believe you think you're telling me the truth. I know you think you mean it, but you really are being short-sighted. You're going to be the next tai-youkai . . . you should have a mate who deserves you; one you can be proud of. Your family won't accept me. Can't you see that?”

 

“What I see,” he argued, “is you being stubborn—again—for no good reason, damn it! What I see—”

 

“—Is what you want to see!” She covered her face with her hands and heaved a loud sigh. “I'm not stupid, puppy. I knew what it meant for me before I ever thought about killing Cal Richardson. It's youkai law, isn't it? A life for a life . . . that is the price of murder. I planned it. I plotted it. I wanted it. Don't think that I don't know that I'm living on borrowed time.”

 

“That won't happen, Sydnie. Dad believes you. You had reason. He wronged your sister, and no one did a thing; you're right. Cal Richardson got what he deserved.”

 

“And when the tai-youkai—your father—tells you to kill me? What will you do? What will you choose?”

 

“That won't happen!”

 

“You don't know that! You don't know anything! You can't make me promises that you know you can't keep! If he told you to do it, you would because he's your boss, your hero . . . your daddy.”

 

Bas shot to his feet, strode across the room, staring out the glass doors with his hands on his hips, glaring at the night sky. He didn't speak for several minutes, and maybe he just didn't know what he could possibly say to make her listen, to make her understand.

 

Sydnie rubbed her arms then carefully picked up the blanket that had fallen off the back of the sofa—Sebastian's baby blanket—and refolded it before draping it over the furniture once more.

 

“He won't ask me to do that,” Bas finally ground out, his voice careful, controlled.

 

“You don't know that.”

 

“Yes, I think I do.”

 

“That's the price for murder, isn't it?”

 

“In some cases, yes. Do you really believe that my dad goes around, indiscriminately ordering death in every single instance? He doesn't. I told you, he's a fair man.”

 

“Of course he is, Sebastian, and rainbows are made by leprechauns who set pots of gold at the end of the trail. Be realistic, won't you?”

 

“I am, Sydnie, damn it! You can't judge a man you've never even met!”

 

“Can't I?”

 

Bas whipped around, strode across the floor to grasp Sydnie's shoulders and give her a rough little shake. “Knock it off, will you? Can't you just listen to me—believe in me? Can't you just trust me?”

 

Sydnie licked her lips and heaved a sigh, casting him a sad sort of smile as she slowly shook her head. “It's not about you, Sebastian. It's him I don't trust—I can't believe in the tai-youkai.”

 

“Don't be stupid, Sydnie! Do you think he's a god or something? He's not. He never has been. He didn't choose to ignore you. He never meant for that to happen!”

 

“I don't want to talk about this,” Sydnie said miserably. “Please . . .”

 

“Damn it,” Bas growled but heaved a sigh. “I can't let you go, Sydnie . . . I can't.”

 

“Can't or won't?”

 

“Take your choice.”

 

“Why do you have to be so stubborn?”

 

Bas finally let go of her arms, pulling her close to his chest. She didn't resist him despite the rigidity in her stance, and he accepted that. It was enough for the moment. “Because you're my kitty,” he told her gently. “Because I need you . . .”

 

“You don't know what you're saying.”

 

“I think I do.”

 

“Bas?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

She squeezed her eyes closed and buried her face against his shoulder. The idea of being without him frightened her; scared her more than she could credit. Despite what she said, the thought of being left alone again . . . it was more than she could stand. “I . . .”

 

“I know, baby,” he murmured, kissing her forehead and smoothing her hair. “You won't have to be alone ever again.”

 

 

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

A/N:

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Final Thought fromCain:

Hiding Sydnie? But … why?

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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~