InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity Redux: Metempsychosis ❯ Epilogue: Aine ( Epilogue )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"Da!"

Ash ur chuckled as he stepped outside onto the veranda of the place that he called home, kneeling down and opening his arms as the tiny girl with her mother's glorious auburn hair with the same flashes of flame and the huge, reddish-brown eyes, and the flawless, alabaster skin, bounded through the grass with Puff-Puff, fast on her heels.  Wrapped up in yards of ivory lace and ribbons and bows—Jessa had told him this morning that he'd dressed her in an outfit that was entirely useless for playing outside, and he'd felt it necessary to remind her that it didn't matter; he was more than happy to buy her as many clothes as she destroyed—she skittered over the slate stones, feet barely whispering as she seemed to float right over them, and threw herself into her father's waiting arms.  "Did you miss me?" he asked, holding her close, savoring the scent of her as she planted a dozen little kisses on his cheek.

She nodded and giggled, the adorable little dimple in her cheek, absolutely enchanting him as he stood up slowly, cuddling her against his shoulder.  "Mummy's hiding," she said in a very loud whisper.

He smiled.  "Is that right?  Do you know where she is?"

Aine's smile widened, dimple deepening, eyes positively glowing as she leaned back and turned her back in an almost bashful kind of way.  "I can't tell you, Da!  She's hiding!  We gotta find her!"

Laughing softly, Ashur started forward, and she was content to cuddle against his shoulder.  "Is Kells hiding, too?"

She nodded, slipping her thumb into her mouth—something Jessa had been working on getting her to stop, but that Ashur . . . Well, he actually thought it was cute.  Her last attempt was in painting Aine's nails, hoping that she'd like it so much that it might dissuade her from sucking her thumb.  It didn't work, and instead, Jessa had worried that the nail polish might have hurt Aine if it chipped off her nails and she swallowed it, instead.

"So, Mommy and Kells are both hiding, which means that you're It, but you came to look for me, instead?"

She nodded again, and Ashur chuckled.  "Then I guess we'd better find them.  Why don't you go find Kells, and I'll look for Mommy?"

Aine considered that for a moment, then she giggled.  "Okay!"

He set her back on her feet, smiling to himself as he watched her take off with Puff-Puff beside her.

'She's close,' he thought, stretching out his youki, grin widening when Jessa's purposefully brushed against his.

He didn't bother to try to sneak up on her, and, given that she knew he was there, it would have been pointless, anyway.  She was hunkered down behind a large boulder, and she laughed softly when he dropped down beside her in the grass.

"How was your meeting?" she asked quietly after she gave him a quick kiss.

"Boring as hell," he admitted, which was absolutely the truth.  "I'm glad to be home."

Letting him pull her back against his chest, Jessa sighed, savoring the quiet moment before the children found them.  "Kells has a girlfriend."

Ashur blinked.  "What?"

She nodded.  "A cute little girl in his class named Paisley—a mink-youkai.  Very, very adorable."

He snorted.  "Is she a hussy?"

Jessa rolled her eyes and shoved at him with her shoulder.  "She's seven years old!"

"That's what I mean!  Kind of early for her to be so forward with boys, don't you think?"

Jessa shook her head.  "You be nice.  Besides, she came home with him today, and her mum said she'd come around five to pick her up."

"Five?  And just what do we know about this girl?  Or about her parents?  What if they're downtown, hanging out on some corner, begging for cash?  Or worse?  What if they're drug traffickers?  What if they're wanted by the government here and in the States?"

"Now you're just being silly," she told him.  "They're seven!"

He grunted since she very obviously wasn't taking his concerns seriously.  "What if they stuff her backpack full of illicit goods for her to sell on the playground at recess?  Stolen Oreos?  Fruit pies?  Ding Dongs?  Ho-Hos?  It's an issue, Jessa."

She opened her mouth to tell him just how weird she thought he was being, but the high-pitched, outraged cry that echoed in the air interrupted her as she hopped up, brushing off her rear end as she took off without bothering to wait for Ashur, who was right on her heels.

Stopping short when Jessa gasped, her eyes flashing wide as her hands shot up to cover her mouth, Ashur glanced at her before he finally spotted what she'd seen: Aine, standing over her older brother and Paisley, indignant outrage, spiking in her aura, but that wasn't what stopped Jessa, no . . .

The very distinct, wholly stunning and yet entirely horrifying sight of wings of flame, emerging from his three-year-old daughter's back . . . 'The . . . The phoenix . . .' Ashur grimaced and sprinted forward once more.  "Aine?  Aine . . ."

The tiny girl choked out a sob and smashed her fists over her eyes as Ashur carefully scooped her up, ignoring the burn of the flame wings against his arm as he glanced down at Kells.  "What happened?"

To his surprise, Kells' cheeks shot up in a livid blush as he stubbornly refused to meet Ashur's gaze.

"Aine?  A chroi . . . What's the matter?" Jessa crooned, reaching to take her daughter before Aine inadvertently set her father on fire.  Jessa also managed to draw the flames in, away, absorbing them without a second thought as the wings dissipated, as she shot Ashur a worried look.

Aine sniffled and pointed back at her brother—or maybe at Paisley, Ashur wasn't sure.  She didn't lift her face from her mother's shoulder.  "She was kissing him, but he's mine!  My brudder!" the tiny girl whimpered.

Ashur snapped his mouth closed as Kells slowly stood, backing up a step with Paisley behind him.  "Kissing, Kells?"

The boy made a face.  "You kiss Mom all the time," he pointed out.

Ashur snorted.  "You're seven," he pointed out, as though that were the ultimate answer to everything.

"Da-a-a-ad," he half-groaned, half-hissed.

Ashur shook his head.  "It's almost five, anyway," he said.  "Her mom's picking her up at five, right?"  When Kells didn't answer, Ashur gestured at the house.  "Take her inside and show her to the bathroom so she can clean up before her mother gets here," he said.  “And keep your lips away from her!”

Seeing no way around it, Kells mumbled that Paisley ought to follow him, and Ashur watched the two, hurry away.

"You're terrible," Jessa remarked, standing beside him, turning to watch the children's hasty retreat.

Ashur slowly broke into a smile as he reached over to pluck Aine out of her mother's arms.  The wings had disappeared, but Aine’s upset had not, and she sniffled.  "Yeah, but seven is a little young, I think . . . I'd rather that he stays a little boy just a little while longer."

She considered that and sighed.  "I . . . I think you're right . . ." she finally agreed.  "Maybe eight would be better . . ."

He snorted, kissing Aine's downy head.  "Don't worry, sweetness," he told her.  "I'm still yours . . . Is that okay?"

Aine sniffled and drew a tumultuous breath, nostrils still quivering, tears lingering in her eyes.  "My da," she said.

He nodded, leaning forward to rest his forehead against hers.  "That's right . . ."

"And what about me?" Jessa asked, slipping an arm around Ashur's waist.

Aine seemed to think about that, and then she leaned over to rest her forehead against Jessa's.  "My Mummy!"

Jessa kissed her cheek, and Aine plopped her temple against her father's shoulder.  "It's . . . It's true then, isn't it?" Jessa asked quietly.

Ashur didn't need to ask for clarification, and he winced inwardly as the image of Aine and her wings of flame flared to life in his head.  "Looks like it."

Jessa nodded, taking his free hand, pulling him along as she headed toward the house, too.  "You'll keep her safe, though—We'll keep her safe."

He didn't respond to that.  He hadn't realized that he'd been hoping the entire time that it would turn out, not to be true.  Then again, it didn't matter.  Whether or not she was the feared embodiment of a legend, she was still his daughter, and he'd protect her, just like he'd protect Jessa and Kells . . .

"Ashur?"

Shaking off his rather glum thoughts, he forced a vague smile for Jessa's benefit.  "Hmm?"

She sighed.  "They're beautiful, though, aren't they?  Her wings . . .?"

He stared at her for several moments, and then he nodded.  She . . . She really wasn't afraid because she trusted him to keep their daughter safe . . . Jessa knew the truth, understood, just how delicate the whole situation was, and yet, she was unwilling to compromise on her child's  chance to live a complete and full life, just like anyone else, simply because the unknown might well be frightening.  Jessa understood it, maybe better than anyone else, and that was okay, too . . . She'd lived through her own kind of trials, her own questions and her own fears—and so had he.  They'd brought the two of them together, and now . . .

He smiled for real, drawing strength from her quiet confidence.  "Yeah," he agreed at last, giving her hand a little squeeze as the sound of Aine's even and steady breathing filled his ears.  "Yeah . . . They are . . ."