InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 8: Vendetta ❯ Vendetta ( Chapter 88 )

~~Chapter 88~~

~Vendetta~

 

-=0=-

 

 

“You know, you can't back out now,” Kurt muttered to Samantha as he escorted her back down the aisle. Well, sort of. They were pausing quite often since Tanny had decided that she needed to pick up the few petals she'd dropped as a light snack, of sorts.

 

Samantha giggled and kissed his cheek. “As if I would,” she countered softly.

 

Kurt cleared his throat and tried not to stare at Samantha's bared shoulders, the gentle arch of her neck. “Tanny . . . you missed one,” he said, tapping the runner with the toe of his shoe.

 

She darted back and grabbed the petal, shoving it into her mouth with a happy little giggle.

 

Kurt chuckled. “She's violating the five second rule.”

 

Samantha laughed, too. “I think we can make an exception this time, don't you?”

 

He shot her a droll look, acutely aware that everyone there was staring at them, though he'd rather believe that they were looking at her. She was prettier, after all . . . “Come on, Sam. The faster we get all of this over with, the faster we can get out of here . . .”

 

She laughed and followed Tanny, who had completely cleaned up the petals.

 

Mrs. Kurt Drevin . . .

 

She liked the sound of that, didn't she?

 

“Step away from the bride, Drevin,” Evan joked as he strode over. He and Sydnie had been waiting on the porch for awhile as the couple had slowly headed to join them.

 

Kurt rolled his eyes but let Evan hug Samantha—well, sort of. Evan swung Samantha in a wide circle and planted a loud, obnoxious kiss on her cheek as she giggled loudly.

 

“Welcome to the family,” Bellaniece said as she gave Kurt's arm a gentle squeeze.

 

He turned and shot her a bashful little smile that vanished when he met her father's gaze. “Thanks,” he told her then nodded at Kichiro, “and thank you.”

 

“It wasn't for you,” Kichiro replied tightly.

 

“I didn't really think it was,” Kurt admitted. “Thank you, anyway.”

 

Kichiro narrowed his eyes, pinning Kurt with a fierce glower. “Don't thank me. Just take care of my daughter.”

 

“You think he won't?” Bellaniece asked with a sigh, though she smiled. “Come on, Kichiro. We're holding up the line.”

 

Kurt relaxed just a little when the couple moved on. It had been explained to him that the reception line was simply a way to allow the hired help to rearrange things since the reception was going to be held where the wedding had just taken place. His mind was in a haze, though, unable to quite grasp onto the idea that Samantha really had married him. It was the strangest feeling, really, though he didn't figure he'd mind the idea of getting used to it . . .

 

Toga and Sierra . . . Cain and Gin . . . InuYasha and Kagome . . . Bas and Sydnie . . . Gunnar and, well, his date—Kurt never caught her name . . . Gavin and Jillian . . . Morio and Meara . . . Chelsea and her date . . . Charity, who had apparently come alone . . . Ben, who was being followed around by a youkai woman Kurt had briefly met, Myrna . . . They all wished them well, they all congratulated them. Kurt couldn't rightfully recall exactly what was said. Too busy stealing glances of his new wife, bemused with the knowledge that she actually hadn't run away at the last moment, he nodded and smiled and figured that he'd made enough comments to keep people thinking that he was paying attention. Besides, weddings were for women, weren't they?

 

Still, he had to blink in surprise as Sesshoumaru and his wife, Kagura stopped before them. “I trust you will take care of my great-niece well, Dr. Drevin?” Sesshoumaru asked in a way that made it much more of a statement than an actual question.

 

Kurt nodded. “I will,” he promised.

 

Sesshoumaru stared at him for a long moment then nodded as his gaze flicked over Kurt's shoulder. “And I trust that you ordered more than one wedding cake?”

 

“Oh . . . my . . .” Kagura demurred, covering her lips with her hand as she followed the direction of her mate's gaze.

 

Samantha glanced at Kurt as they both turned to look. It didn't take long for Kurt to see what Sesshoumaru was talking about, either.

 

Tanny stood on the table beside the cake, shoving handfuls of frosting into her mouth with the happiest smile on her little face. Kurt sucked in a sharp breath. “Wow,” he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

 

Samantha giggled. “Um, excuse us,” she murmured to her aunt and uncle as she gathered her skirts and hurried to intercept the child.

 

Kurt grimaced but followed along behind her. “That's . . . a lot of sugar,” he pointed out.

 

Samantha's giggling escalated.

 

Tanny's smile widened when she caught sight of her parents coming toward her, and she held up her hands, complete with fistfuls of cake. “Tanny!” she announced happily.

 

“Did you find more tanny?” Samantha asked.

 

The girl giggled and held out her hand to her mother. “Bite, Mommy? Bite?”

 

Samantha smiled. “Guess we'd better get it now, before she eats it all,” she remarked, winking at Kurt.

 

He slowly shook his head but chuckled, grimacing as Tanny offered him a handful of cake, too.

 

She laughed when Kurt and Samantha took bites from the cake in her hands. Kurt blinked at the mad `snick' of cameras going off, but smiled. He supposed those would be some of the better wedding shots, really. Samantha leaned behind Tanny, pulling Kurt down for a kiss, and, well, he wasn't about to argue with her; not over that.

 

She had cake all over her face—Tanny hadn't been holding still while she fed them—but Kurt figured that he didn't really look much better, either . . . That was all right, wasn't it? He chuckled softly as he pulled a clean white handkerchief from his pocket and carefully wiped Samantha's face. “Good as new,” he said, making a face at the soiled fabric. Dropping it onto the table beside the ruined cake, he lifted Tanny down and shook his head. “Maybe I won't feel so bad about leaving her with your parents tonight,” he ventured, watching as she darted away into the crowd.

 

“You'll miss her,” Samantha guessed as he slipped an arm around her waist.

 

“I'll miss her,” he agreed easily enough.

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“I'm proud of you.”

 

Kichiro blinked and glanced at Bellaniece. Draining the champagne in his hand, he shrugged, letting his gaze shift back to the dancing newlyweds. “I don't know if I'll ever like him,” he ventured quietly, sadly.

 

Bellaniece sighed and took his empty glass, setting it aside on a small table nearby. “You don't have to,” she told him. “I think it was enough for Sami that you came to the wedding, after all.”

 

“Enough,” he echoed with a shake of his head. “What if he hurts her again?”

 

“What if he doesn't?” Bellaniece countered softly.

 

“How did you forgive him?” Kichiro asked, narrowing his eyes in a questioning sort of way.

 

Bellaniece shrugged and smiled just a little. “I didn't have a choice,” she confessed. “I didn't do it for him, you know. I did it for her.”

 

“Right, right . . .”

 

“Kichiro . . .”

 

Drevin murmured something in Samantha's ear that made her laugh. Kichiro frowned. “Hmm?”

 

Bellaniece heaved a sigh and grabbed his hand. “Come on, lover. Dance with me.”

 

That got his attention quickly enough, and he almost smiled. How long had it been since she'd called him that, after all? He hadn't realized until then, how very much he'd missed it . . .

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“Looks like things are getting back to normal,” Meara commented quietly.

 

Morio cocked an eyebrow and shot her a completely unrepentant grin. “What's that mean, Meara, my darling?”

 

She laughed and let him pull her a little closer as they swayed with the soft music. “It means that it looks like Kichiro and Belle have made up.”

 

He swirled her around so that he could look in the direction that she'd been staring and grinned when he spotted his aunt and uncle dancing nearby. Kichiro leaned in to whisper something in Bellaniece's ear that made her smile almost wickedly. Morio chuckled. “Good . . . have to admit; it was weird, wasn't it?”

 

Meara smiled and nodded. “It was. I mean, those two never, ever argued before—at least, never that I can recall . . . Do you think that he's okay with Samantha's choice of mates?”

 

Morio's smile faltered slightly. “Probably not. Doubt he ever will be, really, but at least he's trying. No one can say he isn't.”

 

Meara sighed. “Kurt loves her, though. I mean, you can tell . . .”

 

“Yeah, yeah . . . They're almost as perfect together as we are,” Morio agreed with a cheesy grin.

 

Meara rolled her eyes but smiled. “Of course,” she giggled.

 

“Meara?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

He caught her and bent her back in an impossibly low dip that only made her giggle harder. “If you were a booger, I'd pick you first.”

 

She smacked his shoulder as he pulled her back up but didn't try to get away from him. “That's the most disgustingly sweet thing I think you've ever said to me,” she teased.

 

“Ah, but it's the truth, my darling. Nothing but the truth . . .”

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“So do you suppose that things can get back to normal now?” Toga asked as he sipped from his glass of champagne, idly watching as Sierra stood nearby, chatting with Bellaniece.

 

“That would depend upon your definition of `normal',” Sesshoumaru remarked.

 

Toga grinned and shrugged noncommittally. “Touché, Father. I heard Ryo talking, though. Seems that he and Nezumi are finally coming home next week.”

 

“About time,” Sesshoumaru said, his gaze sweeping lazily over the gathering. “I was beginning to think that he'd decided to retire.”

 

“Retire? Hardly. Nezumi would kill him if he hung around her all damn day,” Toga predicted.

 

“Hmm, perhaps . . . though I was wondering if he wouldn't be interested in helping Dr. Drevin with his assignments.”

 

“I'm pretty sure that Kurt would probably kill him, then,” Toga remarked baldly. “Those two would drive one another up a wall and back down again. I don't think anyone would miss Ryo, but Sierra's rather fond of Nezumi . . .”

 

“Must you talk business at a wedding?” Kagura asked, pointedly raising an eyebrow as she shifted her eyes from her husband to her son and back again.

 

“I thought you were dancing with your grandson,” Sesshoumaru said.

 

Kagura laughed, tapping her closed fan against her palm. “I was,” she replied and shook her head. “Then he decided to cut in on the groom.”

 

“Doubtless to ruffle Dr. Drevin's feathers, I presume,” Sesshoumaru remarked.

 

Kagura shrugged. “Doubtless,” she agreed.

 

“Well, I'm not quite as adept as my son, but I would love to dance with you, Mother,” Toga said, setting his glass aside and making Kagura a low bow.

 

Kagura smiled and nodded, sparing a moment to wink at her mate before allowing her son to escort her away.

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“Oh, that can't be good . . .”

 

Kurt blinked and followed the direction of Bas' troubled gaze. A moment later, he spotted the reason for the man's comment and stifled the urge to sigh. “Damn it . . .”

 

Without another word, Kurt abruptly set off to intercept Old Granger, who was currently skulking around behind the guests—the female guests. He sighed. He'd already had to apologize for his grandfather's wandering hand more times than he'd care to think about, and if the old man kept it up, he swore on all that was holy he'd have to lock him in a closet or something . . .

 

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Kurt demanded quietly as he stopped just behind Old Granger. The old man jerked his hand away and craned his neck to look over his shoulder at his less-than-amused grandson as Chelsea Inutaisho—the intended target—pursed her lips and tried not to smile.

 

“Ah, just the boy I been wantin' to see!” Old Granger blurted with a very goofy little grin. “Here. Hold m' choppers!”

 

Kurt blinked and opened his mouth to protest but shook his head when the old codger dropped his dentures into Kurt's half-full champagne glass. “Old Gr—”

 

“Hee hee! Makes for better kissin' with the ladyfolks!”

 

“Oh, no, you fruitcake. There'll be no `kissin' with the ladyfolks' . . .” Kurt warned.

 

“Oh, it's all right,” Chelsea said with a laugh. “He's just a sweet little old man!”

 

“That's right,” Old Granger nearly crowed. “Sweet, see?”

 

“Sorry,” Kurt muttered, casting Chelsea an apologetic grimace. “I just got him out for the day, but I swear to God he's going right back, first thing in the morning.”

 

His head snapped up, and he grinned at Kurt again. “Speakin' of sweet—”

 

“No!” he hissed. It was too late. Old Granger, the miscreant, stumped away before Kurt could catch him as a smallish tug drew his attention.

 

Tanny smiled brilliantly up at her father as she held up her empty hands. “Tanny aw gone!” she said with a perplexed shake of her head.

 

“Oh, uh . . .” Digging with his free hand, frisking his own pockets, Kurt grimaced. He'd forgotten to grab any candy this morning while he was getting ready for the wedding . . .

 

“Whazzat?”

 

Kurt blinked and glanced at Tanny. It took a moment for him to figure out exactly what she was staring at, and when he did, he could only sigh: the makeshift dentures settled in his champagne glass. “Ehh, those are . . . Old Granger's teeth . . .”

 

Tanny was fascinated. “Teef?”

 

“Yes, teeth.”

 

The girl pondered that for a second before opening her mouth wide and tugging on her own teeth. She pulled so hard that her little arms shook, and when she finally gave up, she looked at Kurt with such unabashed befuddlement on her features that he was sorely pressed not to laugh. “Your teeth don't come out, Stinky-butt,” he told her.

 

Her face shifted into a pronounced pout, and she turned on her heel to flounce away.

 

Kurt's amusement died a moment later, however, when he glanced around to locate his errant grandfather once more.

 

`Damn, he's got a death wish,' he thought with a grimace as he took off to intercept Old Granger yet again. This time, though, he doubted that the intended target was going to think that he was just a `sweet old man', all things considered.

 

He was too late. Old Granger, with a completely maniacal grin on his face, reached out, slowly, slowly, slowly . . .

 

Kagura Inutaisho flicked the blunt side of her folded-up fan over her shoulder, smacking the old man in the middle of the forehead without bothering to turn around or faltering in the conversation she was having with her husband, the one Kurt had been told held the title of Inu no Taisho—in essence, the undisputed leader of all the youkai in the world.

 

“Give it up, Old Granger,” Kurt growled, grasping his grandfather's shoulder and spinning him around, away from his great-aunt-in-law. “Uh, s-sorry,” he muttered, wondering if there were some sort of law he was inadvertently violating by bringing the old fart out of the back hills he called home.

 

Kagura only smiled and nodded at him as he hurried Old Granger away.

 

“She's spunky! I think she likes me,” Old Granger announced quite happily.

 

Kurt rolled his eyes and shook his head. “No, she didn't, and her husband probably would have maimed you if you'd done what you had a mind to do,” he pointed out.

 

“I tell you, boy, I didn't know what there were so many purty fairies! Oh, now, that one's just my type . . .”

 

Kurt started to call out to stop the old man, but he gave up with a sigh and another shake of his head. If he wasn't mistaken, Old Granger was making his way directly toward Gunnar . . . `Anyway,' he thought as he pressed his lips together in a tight line to keep himself from chuckling, `that old bastard'll learn soon enough . . . especially if he gropes that particular ass . . .'

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“. . . It's the most uncanny thing I think I've ever seen,” Shippou remarked with an incredulous shrug as he watched the bride and groom dancing nearby.

 

InuYasha grunted and flicked his ears. “Which? Drevin or his damned grandfather?”

 

Kagome sighed and shook her head since she'd already seen the old man grope no less than four women in the last hour. It really had to be some sort of record . . .

 

Shippou grinned. “Well, both, but I was talking about him,” he replied, nodding at Kurt. “He looks just like Miroku, doesn't he?”

 

“Keh! I'm starting to wonder, though,” InuYasha complained, his gaze darkening as he glowered at Old Granger, who was currently trying to sneak up behind Bellaniece to cop a feel. “Damned baka . . .”

 

Rin hurried over, handing Kagome a glass of champagne as she slowly let out a deep breath. “That old man . . . I think he felt me up,” she remarked.

 

Shippou chuckled. “Wow . . . Kichiro's had his rabies shots, hasn't he?”

 

Kagome grimaced, rising to her feet when the younger of the twins advanced on the old fellow. InuYasha stuck his arm out to stop her. “Kich ain't gonna hurt him,” InuYasha grumbled. “Much.”

 

She rolled her eyes and pushed his arm away. “Yes, well, I'm going to make sure he doesn't,” Kagome tossed over her shoulder.

 

“So he's really Miroku's reincarnation?” Shippou asked as Kagome hurried off.

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes and snorted. “'Course he is. Stands to reason, don't it? That guy's got more spiritual power than he knows what to do with.”

 

Shippou nodded slowly. “Is that a good thing?”

 

InuYasha shrugged. “Well, if you think `bout it, it makes sense. Kagome's powerful because she shared Kikyou's soul, right? Like her spiritual energy got stronger when she was reincarnated . . . so if that's how it works, then it would mean that he's got the same power, too, just like that damned monk . . .”

 

Shippou slowly turned to stare at InuYasha, his expression registering a moment of absolute surprise. “Kami, if I didn't know better, I'd swear that what you just said made sense, InuYasha . . .”

 

The hanyou turned, narrowing his gaze as he scowled at the kitsune. Shippou saw it seconds before it happened, but he wasn't able to avoid the hard thump InuYasha dealt him upside the head, either. “Oww! Damn, and here I thought I'd outgrown that,” he complained.

 

Rin sighed and shook her head. “I'd say you deserved that one,” she intoned.

 

“Keh! He's always deserved every one he got,” InuYasha muttered under his breath.

 

Shippou chuckled but still rubbed his head. “Probably,” he agreed lightly.

 

“Definitely,” InuYasha retorted.

 

 

-OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoO-

 

 

“Have I told you that I think you look beautiful today?”

 

Samantha smiled and kissed Kurt's cheek. “You have,” she assured him as her smile widened. “But you can say it a few more times, if you'd like . . .”

 

Kurt heaved a sigh and slowly shook his head, though his gaze remained bright, clear. “Do you think Tanny's handprint is going to come out?” he asked a little sheepishly.

 

Samantha waved the hand that had been resting on his shoulder as they danced. “What does it matter? I'm never going to wear this dress again.”

 

Kurt shrugged, leaning to the side far enough to look at the very pronounced brown smear in the shape of a small hand on the side of Samantha's otherwise pristine white gown. “I thought women loved to keep stuff like that,” he muttered, nodding to indicate her wedding dress.

 

Samantha giggled and shrugged. “I'd much rather have the memories.”

 

“I still can't believe you married me,” he said, his cheeks pinking slightly at the softly uttered admission.

 

She laughed then slowly turned a little thoughtful. “Taijya . . .”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Did you talk Papa into coming?” she asked.

 

Kurt let out a deep breath, his gaze wandering over to the man in question, who was currently dancing with another of his daughters, Isabelle. “No,” he said. “I asked him to reconsider, though.”

 

“For me,” she murmured, her gaze bright with a sheen of moisture.

 

“Anything for you,” he replied.

 

“I knew you were a good man,” she said.

 

Kurt let out another long breath. “Not as good as you make me out to be.”

 

“Good enough,” she assured him.

 

He stared at her for several long moments, his gaze lingering on hers as he wondered yet again exactly how it could be, how he could possibly have been lucky enough to have found her. After such a long time and so much hatred, so much anger . . . a lifetime of bitterness that she'd somehow managed to wash away with little more than a tender smile and a heartfelt laugh . . . and her tears that she'd shed for him . . .

 

“What are you thinking?” she asked softly.

 

Kurt sighed and uttered a terse chuckle. “I'll never understand how or why you did it,” he admitted. “I never thought . . .”

 

She sighed, too, but it wasn't a regretful sound, either. “You never thought you'd have anything left after you let go of your vendetta?”

 

He raised an eyebrow and shook his head. “That sounds way too melodramatic.”

 

“Isn't that what it was?” she parried.

 

“N . . . no . . . yes . . . I don't know.” He shifted his gaze out over the gathering, his eyes lingering on the faces that he'd come to know . . . Gunnar, dancing with Madison—the surly hanyou had somehow managed to catch the garter belt without even trying, much to his chagrin, and Madison had caught the bouquet, then had promptly tried to give it away . . . Bas and Sydnie, dancing nearby with Bailey nestled against his mother's chest . . . Ryomaru and Nezumi, sitting quietly on a bench swing across the way. He was talking in her ear as she smiled and blushed just a little . . . Morio and Meara, standing off to the side; the hanyou behind his mate with his arms wrapped around her as she idly buried her nose in the pale peach rose that he must have given her . . . Evan dancing with Gin while she laughed and held onto him . . . Zelig, dancing with Tanny—the girl was standing on the tai-youkai's feet while he danced her around . . . InuYasha, grumbling and complaining, but allowing his mate to drag him onto the dance floor that had been set up for the wedding reception . . . Griffin, looking entirely uncomfortable as he shuffled his feet in a reasonable facsimile of dancing with Alexandra . . . Cartham dancing with his wife, Kelly—they had to be the strangest looking couple that Kurt had ever seen. Cartham, with his wild beard and crazy streaked black and silver hair, and Kelly, a tiny, demure woman who looked like she belonged in a hoop skirt somewhere down south . . . Ben, who was dancing with Gunnar's sister, Charity . . . Gavin and Jillian, sitting at a small table lost in a conversation all their own . . .

 

And Kichiro and Bellaniece—his new father and mother-in-law . . .

 

Those two were dancing not far away, smiling at one another in a way that made Kurt wonder if they even realized that anyone else was there . . . That was the kind of love that Samantha had grown up around; the kind of love that had made her flourish . . . and there, in that place and in that moment, Kurt vowed to himself that he would try every day—that he would make sure that Samantha knew that kind of love every day for the rest of her life . . .

 

`Kurt . . .'

 

Frowning at the word that he'd heard in his head as plainly as he would have had it been spoken aloud, Kurt blinked.

 

`Live, Kurt . . . live . . .'

 

A slow smile broke over Kurt's features as those words echoed in his mind. Those words hadn't made sense to him back then, had they? His father's wish . . . his father's dying hope . . .

 

`Live, Kurt . . . live . . .'

 

Staring into Samantha's eyes, he suddenly laughed, and though she laughed, too, he could tell that she hadn't a clue why. “You know something, little demon?”

 

“What's that?”

 

“The last thing my father said to me . . . he said he wanted me to live. I thought that he meant that I needed to go on, you know? To . . . to find my way . . . to survive.”

 

She bit her lip, looking entirely thoughtful, though her smile didn't diminish. “That's not what he meant?”

 

Kurt shook his head. “I don't think so. I don't think that merely surviving is nearly enough. I think that's what he was trying to tell me.”

 

Her smile took on a tender softness as she reached up to touch his cheek. “And now?”

 

“And now,” he repeated, then let out a deep breath. “Now . . . I think it's all right. To live . . . with you.”

 

“Forever,” she breathed.

 

Kurt chuckled and leaned in to kiss her. “Forever.”

 

 

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

A/N:

So we're almost finished. I'll post the Epilogue next Monday. After taking the rest of the week off next week, I'll start posting Purity 9: Subterfuge—Evan's story! For anyone interested who didn't know, the first few chapters of that story are posted here: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/151286/ . The reason that I'm posting this chapter early and will not post more for Purity 9 until September 8th is because our littlest `baby' (our puppy, Mai) has Parvo and requires constant care right now, however the Epilogue for this story will be posted on Labor Day.