InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity Redux: Metempsychosis ❯ Plotting ( Chapter 79 )

'Just . . . a little more . . . Concentrate or you're going to go too far . . .'

Scowling in complete determination, with absolute focus, Ashur held a tight grip on his youki, on the pressure with which it wrapped around the forming stone, lying in the middle of his outstretched hand.  It had come to him as a whisper of a thought on the flight back to Canada, nothing more than a fleeting idea in the beginning, and yet, the longer he considered it, the more he wanted to try, and even if it wasn't possible, at least he'd know that he'd given it a shot . . .

Closing his eyes, letting his mind fill with the image of what he was looking to achieve, he concentrated instead on the colors, the blend of shades, from one into another, the brilliance of everything that Jessa was in his mind: all of it combined into this one moment, this one little thing . . . It could easily be so insignificant, so mundane, and yet . . .

'Kami . . .'

Eyes flashing open as his youkai-voice gasped, Ashur blinked as the strength of his youki gave way, and he blinked in near-wonder as he slowly lifted his hand, as he stared at the brilliant, flashing stone.  A diamond, wasn't it?  A diamond, shot through with the brilliance of the colors of Jessa's flames: crimson near the bottom, shooting in strands up through it, the clearest white, touched with just the tinge of blue near the center, while bright oranges, shades of golds, overlapped in the upper flickers, like a misshapen teardrop, just like a dancing flame—the same shape as the mark on her hand.  He stared at it, letting the stone roll over on his palm, a trace hint of a smile, quirking the edges of his lips, as he drew a deep breath, as he unfurled his youki once more to lift more humble earth, a bit of ash from the nearby fire pit . . . Those specks swirled together, settled into the palm of his hand with the newly created diamond.  It felt easier, didn't it?  Much more natural, weaving the granules as they drew together, as they compacted into a rough shape.  Some grains fell, only to blow away, others snaked in and around, twisting around each other in an intricate tangle of controlled knots and turns that gently wrapped around the stone, overlapping it just enough to hold it in place.  Narrowing his gaze as he compacted the earth, as he willed it to change, to become the medium he desired, he was rewarded by the sparkle and shine of the highly polished metal.  As with the flowers, the difficulty was in controlling the ebb and flow of his youki, in the transition from one state to another without touching the stone he'd already created.

It felt like it took a long, long time before he released his youki, before he brought the twisting rings up to stare at them.  Two perfectly formed rings of platinum: the one that held the stone, a gentle network of a single vine with delicate little leaves that twisted and curved over and around the fire stone, and the other?  A simple band, formed of a network of Celtic knots that slipped over the fire stone ring, fitting together perfectly—a tangle of vines that appeared to grow through the knots like an ancient trellis . . .

'That's . . . beautiful,' his youkai-voice breathed.  'Kyouhei . . .'

Blinking quickly as a strange prickle erupted behind his eyelids, Ashur nodded vaguely.  It was exactly what he'd pictured in his mind, wasn't it?  The ring that he'd thought would be perfect for Jessa . . .

"Daddy!  Whatcha doin'?" Kells hollered as he bounced up to the veranda.  He'd been out, playing with the twins, and Ashur wasn't sure where the girls were, but Kells giggled and hopped around happily.

Letting out a deep breath as he gave the rings one last critical look, he slowly glanced at Kells and smiled.  "I made these for Jessa," he said, glancing over his shoulder to make sure that the woman in question was not within earshot.  "What do you think?"

Kells stared at them, his face furrowing with a very thoughtful frown as he tipped his head from left to right.  "Hmm . . ."

Narrowing his eyes on the boy, Ashur shot Kells a rather menacing look that was entirely ineffectual, given that Kells didn't see it.  "What do you mean, hmm?" he growled.

Kells shrugged.  "Not big enough!" he exclaimed.

Snapping his mouth closed on the retort that was forming in his mind, he sighed.  "If it's too big, it'll look weird on Jessa, don't you think?"

Kells shook his head.  "It's gotta be big, Daddy!  Big!"

Rolling his eyes since his claim was accompanied by arms, stretched out wide, over his head, Ashur chuckled.  "We want her to be able to lift her hand, Kells," he pointed out dryly.

"I wanna make one, Daddy!"

Letting out a deep breath, mostly because he really didn't know if he had it in him, to help Kells 'make' a ring of his own, Ashur slowly shook his head.  "How about tomorrow?" he offered.

Kells didn't look impressed with that idea.

"And where did you leave Nadia and Emmeline?"

For the vaguest of moments, Kells looked a little uncomfortable.  Then he grinned.  "We was playin' hide n' seek."

Ashur's lips twitched.  "So, you were 'it', and you left them out there hiding?"

He had the grace to look a little guilty.  Ashur grunted.  "And just where is Puff-Puff?"

Kells' eyes grew round, and he carted around on his heel.  "I'll go find 'em!" he hollered over his shoulder as he sped off once more.

Ashur chuckled, but only after Kells was well out of earshot.  His amusement didn't die away, but it did wane a little, as he turned his attention to the rings in his hand once more.  Would she like them?  He had a feeling that she would . . .

'All that's left is proposing, Kyouhei.  So, when are we going to do that?'

Frowning as he considered that question, he sighed.  'Well, I mean, we could do it now . . . Unless she's closeted away with Nora, which is entirely possible . . .'

It was entirely possible.  Ever since she'd found out in her mother's letter that Nora was her aunt, she'd spent as much time as she could with her—not that Ashur blamed her at all.  Given that Jessa had effectively lost everyone else in her immediate family, having anyone, especially an aunt that she'd known all of her life, had to be comforting . . .

Walking into the manor, Jessa stopped short when she spotted Nora, casually dusting the huge china cabinet, off to the side in the formal dining room.  With a choked sob, she ran to her, throwing her arms around her while Nora laughed and gently stroked her hair.  "Good heavens, child!  Whatever is the matter?"

Jessa sniffled and sobbed and crinkled the letter in her hands.

Nora's eyes widened.  "Orlaith . . . She told you, did she?"

Jessa could only nod . . .

"Ah, Ash . . . I was looking for you.  I called Myrna, and she said she'd be more than happy to look into the duke's motives.   She's not sure if she can find anything out.  Said that the duke is notorious for not saying much, which makes sense, given that he's been able to hide the truth about Devlin and his mom for so long," Ben said, stepping up behind Ashur and inadvertently shattering the memory.  "What's . . .?  Oh . . . What is it?  About three carats?  That's gorgeous . . . Where did you find a stone like that?  I don't think I've ever seen anything like that before."

"I . . . I made it," Ashur confessed.

"Damn," Ben said with a low whistle.  "You're in the wrong line of work."

That earned his brother a rather dark look, but he let Ben take the rings to get a better look at them.

"So, how are you going to do it?"

Ashur blinked.  "Do what?"

Ben chuckled, shaking his head slowly as he handed back the rings.  "What else, Ash?  How are you going to propose?"

Opening his mouth for a moment, he snapped it closed once more and snorted.  "Don't you just walk up and ask her?  Then she says yes, you say great, she plans the wedding, and you show up on the day she tells you to?"

Ben's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed.  "Are you really my brother?" he demanded.

Ashur made a face.  "All right.  What am I missing?"

Ben shrugged, stuffing his hands deep into the pockets of his black slacks as he ambled around the terrace with a thoughtful look on his face.  "It has to be done big, don't you know?  Like, viral video on youtube, big . . ."

Ashur grunted, crossing his arms over his chest as he leveled a look at his brother.  "You're so full of it."

Ben shook his head.  "Just ask Chelsea.  She sent me all sorts of suggestions when I was trying to figure out, how and when to ask Charity."

That earned him an indelicate snort.  "You just asked her, no bells or whistles.  She said so."

Ben chuckled.  "True enough, but Charity's not a young woman like Jessa is.  I imagine she's already got the perfect idea already in mind, and if you can't live up to that, she's bound to be disappointed."

Rubbing his forehead as he opened his hand and frowned at the rings once more, Ashur sighed.  "Go away, Ben," he grumbled.

Ben laughed and strolled off, probably to find the children.

'That's . . . Jessa doesn't . . . doesn't care about something as trite as that . . . does she . . .?'

His youkai-voice sighed.  'Well . . . I mean, no, I don't think . . . but you know, there might be some truth to it, don't you think?'

'Truth?  To what?  Making a fool out of myself, just to make some weird video I don't want to be in?  No, thank you . . . Jessa's nothing like that.  She doesn't care about that kind of thing any more than I do . . . She'll like the good, old-fashioned kind of proposal just as much.'

'Maybe, but that's really not what I meant.'

'Oh? Then what did you mean?'

'I mean, even if it's personal and just between the two of you—well, the three of you, if you want to consider Kells in this whole thing—why not try to make it memorable, too?  Well, more memorable than the run-of-the-mill type thing that is 'normal' . . .'

'And just how would I do that?'

His youkai sighed.  'I'm not sure, but maybe just something that involves Kells, too.  After all, marrying her is going to solidify his family in a big way.'

Ashur frowned as he considered his youkai's words.  Involving Kells?  It made perfect sense, of course.  After all, it was something for him, too, and, while Kells might already consider Jessa his mother, when Ashur married her, it would make it true in every way.  Including Kells in the planning really was a good idea.  But . . . How . . .?

Hunkering down on the floor in the foyer, Ashur carefully straightened Kells' little bow tie, smoothed down the jacket of his tux as the lad scuffed his dress shoes against the floor.  Ignoring the Japanese sense of 'no shoes in the house' for once, the formality of his clothes rather dictated the need for the shoes at the moment.  "Okay, now you know what to do, right?"

Kells nodded one great nod.  "Yes!"

Ashur let out a deep breath and dug into his pocket for the velvet ring box that Charity had procured for him earlier.  Pulling the lid open, he stared at the engagement ring, nestled in the shiny nest of black satin, and snapped the box closed before handing it to Kells.  "All right, then . . ."

Peering around the corner, he caught Nora's eye and jerked his head.  The woman nodded as she slowly stood up, giving Jessa's shoulder a quick squeeze in passing.

Ashur waited until Nora stopped beside him before nodding at Kells, who smiled and giggled before skittering into the living room and over to Jessa, who was reading through a letter that was delivered earlier from the House of Lords Appointments Commission regarding the vetting process for Ashur's claim to Jessa's father's title.

"Do you think she'll say yes?" Ashur murmured without taking his eyes off of Jessa.

Nora chuckled.  "I'm sure you've stacked the deck in your favor," she allowed.   "I'll go round up something worthy of a celebration," she offered.

He smiled just a little, moving forward to lean in the archway.  It was late enough that Charity and Ben were putting the girls to bed.  Ashur had figured that it was as good a time as any, given that he had been rehearsing with Kells for most of the afternoon, and if he waited, then there was a good chance that the three-year-old would end up, springing the surprise without necessarily meaning to.

"Mommy?"

She looked up, and Ashur didn't have to see her face to know that she was smiling, and when she spoke, he could hear it in her voice, too.  "Well, now don't you look smart, Kells?  Why are you wearing that?"

Kells smoothed his hair, casting his father a quick, almost nervous glance.  Ashur nodded and held up a hand to encourage the boy to continue.  Kells looked back at Jessa again and slowly sank down on one knee, frowning in concentration as he tugged the ring box open and held it out to Jessa.

She gasped—it echoed in the otherwise quiet living room.  "K-Kells . . .?"

Kells drew a deep breath.  "Will you be my mommy?"

Jessa giggled, but he could hear the slight huskiness in the sound, in her voice.  "I'm already your mommy, aren't I?"

"Well, yeah," Kells agreed slowly, thoughtfully.  "But if you marry my daddy, then you can be my real mommy," he said, "forever!"

Jessa cleared her throat, picked up Kells to settle him on her lap.  "I . . . Oh . . . Is . . . Is your da . . . asking . . .?"

Kells nodded happily.

She laughed again, and this time, the tears that thickened her voice were unmistakable.  "Then . . . Then I'd love to be your . . . mommy," she replied.

Kells giggled and leaned over the back of the sofa.  "She said yes, Daddy!" he exclaimed.

Ashur chuckled and levered himself away from the archway, wandering forward to take the ring box from Kells.  Then he pulled the ring out and slipped it onto Jessa's finger.  "You're sure?"

She stared at him, tears pooling in her eyes despite the smile that trembled on her lips.  "I am," she whispered.

Ashur smiled and leaned down to kiss her.

"Me, too!" Kells exclaimed.

Ashur chuckled while Jessa sniffled and laughed.  "Of course, you too!" she insisted, pulling Kells close to cover his little face with kisses as he giggled and shrieked.

Not to be outdone, Puff-Puff jumped onto the sofa and squirreled his way between Jessa and Kells as Nora slipped into the room with a tray of champagne and glasses—and a glass of sparkling apple juice for Kells.

"Did we miss it?" Ben asked, pulling Charity along behind him.

"She said, 'yes'," Ashur replied, carefully working the cork out of the bottle.

"Mommy's gonna be a Philips, too!  She's gonna match Daddy an' me!" Kells hollered happily.

Ashur chuckled as Jessa rubbed Puff-Puff's head.

Ashur frowned.  "Nora, you only brought four glasses," he called before she could slip out of the room.  "You need one, too."

Nora looked like she was going to decline, but Jessa stood up, taking a glass and slipping it into Nora's hand, sparing a moment to kiss her on the cheek before hurrying out of the room to grab a fifth flute.

Nora sighed.  "I'm still housekeeper around here," she muttered, cheeks pinking as she followed Jessa out of the room.

Ashur handed Charity and Ben each a glass, too, before giving Kells the sparkling apple juice.

"Congratulations, Ashur," Charity said, stepping over to kiss him on the cheek.

Jessa hurried back into the room with an empty glass and a chagrined aunt in tow.  She filled her glass and slipped an arm around Ashur's waist.

"A toast to the happy couple," Ben declared, hefting his glass high.  "May the engagement be short, may the wedding go smoothly, may there be no arrests on the night of your bachelor party . . .  and may I be the first to offer my sincerest congratulations—in the form of a gift card!" he declared, handing Ashur a tiny envelope with the gift card inside.

He rolled his eyes, but chuckled as Charity sighed and slowly shook her head.  "Baka . . ." she muttered under her breath despite the smile on her face.  "You know, if you wanted, my twin is a party planner, so I'm sure that she'd be more than happy to help you out . . ."

Jessa bit her lip and shot Ashur a quick glance.  "Actually . . . I'd rather just have something small," she admitted.  "Nothing too fancy or formal, just family, really . . ."

Ben frowned.  "As a general, it might not be that simple," he said.  "I mean, there are certain people that might be a little offended if they aren't invited . . ."

"Yes, well, it's not their wedding," Ashur replied.  "Maybe we should just elope."

Ben snorted.  "You'd better not!  I fully intend to be your best man, after all . . ."

"And you made Cain your best man, so . . . you don't get a say in that, either."

Ben chuckled.  "I'm hurt, Ash.  Besides, I didn't really want Zelig, but no one else did, either, so I was stuck with him . . ."

Rolling her eyes, Charity tapped Ben in the center of his chest with her knuckles.  "It's their wedding, Ben Philips, and you'll let them do whatever they want to do," she insisted.  "What do you think, Nora?"

"Me?" Nora blurted, looking distinctly uncomfortable to be drawn into this discussion.  "Well . . ."

"You can still have a moderately sized wedding without it becoming a study in pretension," Ben added.

"But if Jessa doesn't want a big wedding—or even a 'moderately sized' wedding—"

"I thought all women wanted big weddings," Ben remarked.

Charity sighed.  "Not all of them do, no," she said.  "Are there any special Irish traditions, Nora?"

"Oh, traditions . . ."

Jessa sighed softly, and Ashur set their glasses back on the tray and took her hand, pulling her toward the patio doors, feeling only slightly guilty about not saving Nora from the current topic they were discussing.

The air outside was brisk, bordering on cold, and he slipped his arms around her, pulling her close with a sigh.  "We don't have to do anything you don't want to do," he told her, hoping to reassure her, having seen the hint of trepidation in her gaze.  "Whatever you want is fine with me."

She sighed.  "It's not that I don't want a wedding," she told him.  "It's just, when I stop and think about who should be there, but won't be . . ."

He nodded.  "We also don't have to do it right away, either."

She shook her head.  "It's not that.  I want to marry you.  I just . . ."

"We don't have to worry about it tonight," he said.

She bit her lip, her gaze falling to the ring he'd slipped onto her finger, and she smiled, albeit a little wanly.  "This is . . . It's beautiful," she breathed, turning her hand slightly, watching as the light spilling through the bank of windows from the living room caught and shimmered.  Suddenly, though, she stopped, turning her face up as her gaze rose to lock with his.  "You . . . You made this, didn't you?"

He neither confirmed nor denied her question, but he did smile.

She smiled almost timidly as a brilliance entered her eyes.  "I . . . I'll make you happy, Ashur," she promised.

He chuckled softly, leaned down, brushing his lips over hers, only to return a moment later in a long, slow kiss that made her heart beat in a crazy pattern, that made her breath catch in her throat.  "You already do, Jessa," he told her, a mumble of quiet feeling, of a whispered caress as he pulled her closer.  "You already do . . ."