InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 7: Avouchment ❯ Papa ( Chapter 60 )

~~Chapter 60~~

~Papa

 

~xXxXxXxXxXx~

 

 

Isabelle groaned and waved a hand in a vain effort to brush aside the hand that was holding firmly but gently onto her wrist. “N . . . no-o-o-o,” she half-whimpered when the hand let go only to push her eyelid up to shine the thin beam of a pencil-sized flashlight in her eye.

 

“Her pupils are a little slow to dilate, but her pulse is good.”

 

Blinking furiously at the very sound of that voice, she waved her hands again to stave off the onslaught. “P-papa?” she stammered, her voice still thick with lingering sleepiness.

 

Kichiro didn't reply, slapping her hands away and continuing his assault on her senses. “And she's been sleeping since she gave herself that shot?” he asked brusquely.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Rubbing her eyes with balled-up fists, she snorted quietly when she heard Griffin's terse reply. “Papa, I'm fine,” she insisted.

 

“I thought she was just tired, but . . . Well, it's not normal,” Griffin continued, his tone taking on a distinctly defensive sort of rumble.

 

“Open,” Kichiro demanded in a brusque tone.

 

Rolling her eyes, Isabelle heaved a sigh designed to let them know that she thought the entire affair was a bit outer-limits, but she complied, opening her mouth then grunting when Kichiro jammed an old fashioned thermometer under her tongue.

 

“Papa, isn't this a little silly?” she countered, sitting up and yanking the thermometer free. “I'm fine, you know.”

 

“You'll put that back or I'll find another place to stick it, and I'm pretty sure you won't like it, daughter of mine,” he commanded.

 

She wrinkled her nose but stuck the thermometer under her tongue again. “Hrumph.”

 

“And her blood work?” Griffin asked.

 

Kichiro's frown darkened. “It showed a few . . . abnormalities, but nothing big.”

 

“Abnormalities?” Griffin echoed, his voice taking on a decided growl. “What do you mean, nothing `big'? Abnormalities are `big', aren't they? That's the nature of an abnormality, isn't it?”

 

“What I meant was,” Kichiro began in an even tone, “nothing serious, Griffin. She's stupid, but she isn't dying.”

 

She could feel Griffin's tension lessening just a little, and she uttered a soft grunt of her own to remind them that `she' was right there. They ignored her.

 

“Then you should've said that in the first place . . . sir,” he added almost as an afterthought.

 

Kichiro blinked and shot Griffin an almost surprised look. “Sir? Kami, don't call me that. Kichiro will do nicely.”

 

Griffin cleared his throat, his cheeks pinking just slightly though he nodded. “So she'll be okay?” he finally asked.

 

Kichiro heaved a sigh as he scowled at his daughter. “She should be, yes.”

 

Griffin snorted. “You ever consider that maybe she ought to have been beaten as a child?”

 

Isabelle uttered an entirely indignant sound. Her father laughed, blast him. “Seems to me that should be something that ought to be decided by her mate at this point.”

 

“No one will be beating anyone,” Isabelle insisted as Kichiro pulled the thermometer out of her mouth. “I've told you, and I've told him, Papa. I'm fine.”

 

“Yeah, and we've seen what happens when we take your word for it, Isabelle.”

 

She grimaced at her father's judicious use of her full name. “I don't remember anyone else taking a sample,” she mumbled, sticking her arm out straight when Kichiro produced a blood collection kit from his bag.

 

“That's because you were out cold,” Griffin muttered.

 

She narrowed her eyes on him, and he returned the gesture, completely nonplussed.

 

“Your grandfather brought over someone he trusted, and they sent me the results,” Kichiro explained as he carefully drew two vials of blood.

 

“You told Grandpa, too?” she asked, shaking her head at Griffin as she tried not to feel completely betrayed.

 

“No, I did,” Kichiro stated. “Now drink this.”

 

Eyeing the nondescript bottle he shoved under her nose, she was reluctant to take it. “What is it?”

 

“Keh! It's water. You're bordering on being dehydrated, so unless you want me to hook you up to an IV, you'll—”

 

“Okay, okay,” she broke in, grabbing the water and carelessly slugging it back. “I'm drinking, see?” she said as she dashed the back of her hand over her lips.

 

Kichiro scowled at her. “I'm going to go test this,” he remarked as he slipped the tubes of blood into a transport case. “Keep an eye on her?”

 

Griffin grunted but didn't say anything else.

 

“Have her drink more water, and make sure she eats something. It shouldn't take more than a couple hours, and I'll check her again when I get back.”

 

With a nod, Griffin turned, probably to hunt down food that he knew she'd hate just to torture her a little more.

 

“Papa,” she began when Griffin was gone. “I—”

 

“If I were you, I wouldn't say another damn thing, Isabelle,” he interrupted with a furious glance. “I'm so mad at you right now that it's not even funny.”

 

Snapping her mouth closed on the rest of her sentence, she heaved a sigh as her gaze fell to the half-empty bottle in her hands.

 

Satisfied that he'd made his point, Kichiro grabbed his bag and strode out of the room.

 

It was entirely stupid, wasn't it? They were all making entirely too big a deal out of it. After all, she was fine—a little sleepy, to be sure, but fine, and if that proved out to be the only real side effect, then she'd be happy. Of course there had been a risk, but she'd been reasonably certain that she was safe enough or she never would have dosed herself. She knew that, and yet . . .

 

`Maybe you were a little too hasty, Bitty. After all, you know damn well that your father isn't the kind to overreact for no reason.'

 

`Hasty? I'd been working on this research for almost a year!'

 

`But you said, yourself: what if there were side effects that you hadn't anticipated? Do you really think your father would be so angry at you if you'd at least have had someone else here to watch out for you?'

 

`. . . Griffin was here.'

 

Her youkai sighed. `Griffin was here, yes, but you know as well as I do that Griffin isn't a medical doctor.'

 

She wrinkled her nose and drank the rest of the water.

 

`Okay, okay, I get it. Bad Isabelle. Even you're against me.'

 

`Don't be stupid. I'm part of you, and you know it, and I'm not against you, but think about it. Don't you think that you probably scared the hell out of that poor man—the man you say is your mate?'

 

`Yeah, well, tell him that, will you? He says I'm not.'

 

`Way to quibble the incidentals, Isabelle.'

 

Slowly, she shook her head and smothered a yawn as she tried not to look at the fluffy pillow propped against the arm of the sofa that was inviting her. `Maybe a few more minutes . . .' she thought as she curled up and closed her eyes once more.

 

She was asleep again when Griffin strode back into the living room with a plate of food five minutes later.

 

 

~xXxXxXxXxXx~

 

 

“Well, well, well . . . aren't you a sight for sore eyes?”

 

Breaking into a very rare but very real smile, Gunnar's gaze to lock with those of his mother as Sierra descended the stairs in the house where Gunnar had spent the years of his youth. “Mother . . . you look well.”

 

Rolling her eyes at the perceived formality of his greeting, she hurried over to hug him and he leaned down to let her kiss his cheek. “Since when have you ever called me `mother'?” she complained.

 

A warm chuckle rumbled out of him, and Gunnar relented. “How have you been, Mama?”

 

“I'd be better if my children would remember my cell phone number,” she hinted.

 

Gunnar shrugged. “I apologize. I've been a little busy.”

 

“I get it; I get it. Too busy for your old mama, right?”

 

“Never too busy for you,” he assured her. “Is Father around?”

 

Sierra shuffled over to straighten the cushions on the sofa. “I should have known,” she remarked mildly.

 

“I simply needed to talk to him, and I swear I'll spend time with you before I have to go back. How does dinner sound?”

 

Biting her lip, she seemed to ponder his offer. “Dinner? My choice?”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

“I'll have to check my calendar,” she quipped. “As for your father, I believe he's in his study. I think your grandfather's here, too . . .”

 

“Perfect,” Gunnar replied, already turning to walk away.

 

He didn't miss his mother's soft sigh as he strode down the hallway toward the small den, and he didn't bother to knock when he reached the closed door, either.

 

“Mamoruzen,” Toga greeted, standing up and hurrying around his desk.

 

Gunnar offered his father and grandfather a low bow in greeting. “Mother said that you were back here,” he replied.

 

“You're here on business, I take it?” Sesshoumaru asked as he settled into one of the two chairs facing Toga's desk.

 

Gunnar accepted the glass of mineral water that his father handed him before he returned to his desk once more. “Kind of,” he replied as he sank into the vacant chair. “It's about Izzy's research. You've heard of it, ne?”

 

Toga shot Sesshoumaru a quick glance before nodding once. “I have,” he agreed.

 

Taking a moment to sip the mineral water, Gunnar sat up a little straighter before he continued. “Then you know that it's highly classified. We can't trust just anyone with that sort of knowledge, and that presents quite a problem when it comes to testing it.”

 

“Understood,” Toga said slowly as he sat back in his chair, running his fingertips around the rim of his glass idly. “But why do you want to talk to me about this?”

 

“The way I see it,” he said slowly, carefully, measuring his words for the best way to let his father know that he really had thought this through, “I'm the best candidate for testing.”

 

Toga didn't look surprised. If anything, he looked like Gunnar had simply confirmed what he'd already figured. Letting out a deep breath, Toga stood and wandered over to the windows that overlooked the front yard. “Do you really think that's a good idea?” he finally asked.

 

Feeling like a pup caught spying at the girls in the shower at school under his grandfather's careful scrutiny, Gunnar reined in the perverse desire to fidget. “I think it's the best one, given the circumstances, yes.”

 

“And if something were to happen to you?” Toga countered mildly.

 

“Then you and Mother could have another son.”

 

That answer earned him a wholly austere stare from his father. “Don't be cute, Mamoruzen. I'm serious.”

 

“As am I, Father,” Gunnar replied without hesitation. “I am the best choice. I'm hanyou, I understand both the significance of the project as well as the need for absolute secrecy, I do not have the protection of a blood bond with a miko, and I do not have a mate.”

 

“And you're the next tai-youkai of Japan,” Toga reminded him.

 

“I realize that. Do you really believe that I have not considered this?”

 

“Of course not,” Toga replied with a heavy sigh. “I still don't think this is a good idea.”

 

Leveling his even gaze at his father, Gunnar tried to read his expression. Toga's features were drawn in a deep scowl: impossible to discern. “Are you speaking as the tai-youkai or as my father?” he finally asked.

 

“Both!” Toga snapped then sighed as he dropped into his chair once more. “Both,” he repeated quietly.

 

“And you would rather that I sit back and allow someone else—someone without a vested interest in this—to take my place? What kind of tai-youkai would that make me, Father? What kind of leader? Expecting someone else to do this because it's what? Too dangerous? Too . . . reckless? So I should just sit on my ass and do nothing when we all know that I am the best candidate because one day I will be tai-youkai?” Leaning forward long enough to set his glass on the polished surface of the desk, he shook his head adamantly. “Cain allowed his son—his heir—to be a hunter for a time, and I daresay the risk he took was a far sight greater than the testing of this serum when all the indications are that it should be fairly safe.”

 

“I'm not Cain,” Toga reminded Gunnar.

 

“You're right,” Gunnar agreed. “You're not, and I am not stupid. I know the risk I'm taking, and I am not afraid.”

 

Toga lowered his chin for a moment, sighing long and low, and when he raised his head again, it was to level a look at his father. He stared at him for a minute then sighed again. “You think he's right,” he concluded.

 

Sesshoumaru nodded once. “Considering the alternative . . .”

 

Gunnar shifted his gaze between the two men. Somehow he had the distinct feeling that he was missing something. “What alternative?”

 

Toga didn't look at him when he answered. “Isabelle already conducted a preliminary test.”

 

“What?”

 

“On herself,” Sesshoumaru added.

 

Gunnar's eyes flared wide, and he shot to his feet. “The hell you say!” he growled.

 

“Kichiro is there now,” Sesshoumaru went on, ignoring Gunnar's outburst completely. “I have every faith that the testing will go well.”

 

“Will he stay there?” Toga pressed.

 

“I can ask him,” Sesshoumaru agreed.

 

“Why did she do an idiotic thing like that?” Gunnar demanded. He'd always despised when his father and grandfather talked as though he weren't in the room, and now was no different.

 

To his surprise, Sesshoumaru slowly turned to face him, and when he did, he had a very vague smile on his face though Gunnar would hardly call it a look of amusement. “I would suppose she did it for the same reasons that you wish to: she did not want to test the serum on someone else.”

 

 

~xXxXxXxXxXx~

 

 

It had been three days.

 

Kichiro scanned the horizon without really seeing anything. He was tired, damn it—bordering on exhausted—himself. Unwilling to leave his daughter's side for longer than it took to run to the lab and test samples of her blood he drew daily, he knew in the back of his mind that he might be behaving irrationally since she really wasn't showing any averse effects, aside from the overwhelming exhaustion that kept her asleep most of the time. It wasn't exactly unwarranted, however. Her body was trying to fend off the inoculation that she hadn't needed, and to that end, it was easier to combat if she was resting.

 

She'd been quite a bit more alert yesterday, though, and that was a good sign. Having discovered to his relief that all the levels were slowly going back to normal again, he knew damn well that the knowledge was tempering the rage he'd suffered since he'd received the phone call about his idiot pup's rash decision.

 

Still, it had bothered him that she was sleeping again when he got back to Griffin's house after the first round of testing. From what the bear-youkai had said, she'd crashed again just after he'd left for the lab.

 

It simply made no sense to him. Isabelle was Kagome's granddaughter. She ought to have known that this serum wouldn't do a damn thing for her; that it could easily do more harm than good. Even still, she hadn't bothered to run it past him, to ask his opinion on what she'd thought to do. Figured, didn't it? She had to have realized that he'd never, ever think that it was a good idea, after all . . .

 

“So how is she?”

 

Kichiro sighed and glanced down at the now-tepid mug of coffee he'd been holding for the better part of an hour as he sat on the porch steps of Griffin's house. “Her blood work is looking better,” he replied as he returned his gaze to the late afternoon sky.

 

Griffin grunted and slowly sat beside him. “G-good,” he muttered, hunching his shoulders as his shaggy hair fell forward to hide his face from view.

 

“She's not always this stupid,” Kichiro went on in a completely conversational if not somewhat contrite tone.

 

“She's not stupid at all,” Griffin said quickly. “That's why I can't understand why she did it.”

 

Scratching the back of his head as he set the mug aside, Kichiro sighed again. “She's like her mama; that's why. Thinks with her heart instead of her head sometimes. She didn't want to test the stuff on anyone else without having a good feel as to what could happen in worst case scenario, so she tested it on herself. She didn't want to take that risk with someone else. Who knows? Her mama might have done the same thing.”

“Sounds like she shouldn't be a researcher.”

 

Kichiro shook his head. “Not true. She just needs to be more careful.”

 

Griffin grunted but didn't argue.

 

“She's always been that way. I doubt she'll change now. She's always tried to do things for others, taken too much upon herself. Sometimes it works for her; other times, it doesn't. I suppose that's the way of it with most things. You're probably the best thing for her, you know.”

 

Griffin shot him a questioning look—an almost frightened sort of look. “I doubt that,” he muttered as he ducked his head a little lower, his face hidden once more in the shadows of his hair.

 

“No, I mean it. From what I've seen, you're perfect for her—a calming sort of influence—exactly what she needs in a mate,” Kichiro went on.

 

“She doesn't need a . . . a mate,” he mumbled. “She needs a warden.”

 

“Maybe,” Kichiro agreed, wisely hiding his amusement at the bear-youkai's obvious discomfort. “But you care about her, don't you?”

 

Griffin didn't answer. Shooting to his feet, he stepped off the porch and paced the length of the sidewalk as he slowly shook his head. “Sh-she . . . I-I . . . Well, she . . .”

 

“It's all right. I'm sure you'll figure it out.”

 

The bear-youkai spared Kichiro a dark look before he resumed his pacing again.

 

No doubt about it, he was an interesting one. While Kichiro knew more than Dr. Marin likely realized, he was certain that he didn't know the entire story, but judging from the youkai's reactions, Kichiro didn't figure he was too far off in assuming that Isabelle had been right in the beginning and that Griffin really was her mate. Worried out of his mind was a good way to describe him. Marin didn't look like he'd gotten a good night's sleep in quite awhile, and yet he doggedly refused to leave Isabelle's side, either. It was as though he feared that she'd somehow slip away from him if he gave in to the physical need to rest, and given what Kichiro did know about the man's past, he couldn't say that he could really blame him for that.

 

“Anyway, there's no need to worry too much now,” Kichiro went on, deciding that it was better to change the subject before Griffin decided he needed to run far and run fast to escape the current conversation.

 

“W-wor—? I'm not worried,” Griffin stammered, his cheeks pinking noticeably despite the scars that marred half of his face.

 

Kichiro nodded, figuring that calling him on the blatant lie wasn't really worth the trouble. “Well, I've been told that there's been a volunteer to test the research—someone who will show results.”

 

Griffin swung around to face him as his eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Who?” he asked slowly.

 

“My nephew,” he admitted. “Mamoruzen—Gunnar.”

 

Griffin snorted and shook his head. “She won't go for that,” he said, nodding in the general direction of the house.

 

“She doesn't have a choice. He's the best candidate, and even his grandfather agrees.”

 

“Yeah, well, I don't think I'll be the one to tell her that,” Griffin stated.

 

“I figured that he could tell her,” Kichiro intoned since he figured just as Griffin had that Isabelle might not be very pleased about this idea.

 

Griffin heaved a sigh as he rubbed the back of his neck in a completely weary sort of way. “I just wish she'd get done with this . . . this . . . this bullshit.”

 

Kichiro nodded, understanding what Griffin meant: the toll it was taking on her—on them. It also reminded him of something else that Cain had mentioned, and with a frown, he cleared his throat. “Cain tells me that Baby-Belle might be in some sort of danger.”

 

Stopping abruptly as though he'd slammed straight into a brick wall, Griffin shot Kichiro an almost guilty sort of glance. “Yeah, but . . . well . . . I don't have any real proof. It's just . . . whoever broke into her apartment and attacked Charlie . . . they didn't take anything other than her laptop. It wasn't a robbery.”

 

“Yeah. I knew that,” he admitted.

 

Griffin shook his head, a completely confused air surrounding him. “So why didn't you come sooner?”

 

“Cain told me that you said you would take care of her. Isn't that right?”

 

Griffin reddened again but nodded. “She's safe,” he muttered.

 

“That aside, everyone thought it would draw too much attention to the situation. After all, it stands to reason that even if someone were after the research, they can't have figured out where she is or that you're helping her—at least, they haven't yet.”

 

Griffin considered that then nodded again.

 

“You will protect her, won't you?” Kichiro asked, his voice dropping with the emotion that he simply couldn't repress. She was his little girl, and while he understood the precautions and agreed with them for the most part, in his mind, she was still the daughter that he'd sheltered and protected, himself.

 

Griffin seemed reluctant to meet Kichiro's gaze, but he finally did, clearing his throat as he grimaced, as though what he was about to say was costing him so much more than just a few paltry words. “I . . . I will,” he promised.

 

 

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

A/N:

 

In case you missed it, you can read A Very Purity Christmas here: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/149359/

 

Merry late Christmas! Also, please note, I may take the time to finish Avouchment before posting further just to have everything set up correctly as this part of the story is fairly important to the rest of the Purity stories, as a whole.

Thanks for reading!

 

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Final Thought from Kichiro:

I thought only boys inherited the baka gene …

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