InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity Redux: Vivication ❯ Rainclouds ( Chapter 33 )

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

“I have it on good authority that it’s simply a matter of time before Konstantin Korinovich issues a formal challenge.”

Fai nodded slowly and without looking up from the report he was reading through.  It was from his old master, Ling, who had been keeping an eye on a couple of snub-nose-monkey-youkai in China who were rumored to be behind a recent rash of killings in and around Beijing.  So far, they’d been keeping a low profile, and there hadn’t been any other attacks since Ling and his men had been watching.  He had ended the update just by saying that he would continue to monitor them.

“If he hasn’t issued a formal challenge, then it is of no interest to me,” Fai said in a rather flat tone of voice.

Evgeni sighed.  “I worry that your lack of concern is going to be your undoing, Fai.  Surely you must understand that allowing things like this to drag on only looks bad on you . . .”

Flicking his gaze up from the report, Fai slowly let the paper drop from his fingertips.  “I know well enough, how things reflect upon me,” he said.  “It really doesn’t matter, what I choose to do or not to do, people will think what they will think; they’ll say what they will say.  Those who wish to find fault with my tenure, will, and those who are content will be that, too.  Tell me, Evgeni, should I change the things that I was taught by the previous tai-youkai to accommodate the things that you think I should do instead?”

Evgeni had the grace to flush slightly at the very obvious set-down.  Shifting in his seat, he pasted on a very perfunctory little smile—the kind, practiced over years and years, to diffuse this kind of situation, Fai supposed.  “My only concern is that you will make things tougher for yourself than you need to,” he replied.  “I only want you to be seen as the great leader you are; nothing more, nothing less.”

“I will deal with him if and when he chooses to bring his complaints to me,” Fai reiterated.  “By the way, have you found out anything regarding the freeze that was placed on my accounts?”

Settling back in his seat, steepling his fingers together before him, Evgeni slowly shook his head.  “There didn’t appear to be anything amiss with it,” he said.  “Standard protocol when the account holder cannot be reached to verify a transaction.  In any case, there was a slight hiccup, owed to a random computer glitch, but it was resolved in a timely manner . . . Would you like me to open a formal inquest?  I doubt anything would come of it, but . . .”

Fai didn’t look entirely pleased with the news, but he shook his head.  “No . . . Can you just take care to make sure it doesn’t happen again?  Not being able to pay for common services does not reflect well upon the tai-youkai.”

“Of course,” Evgeni replied.  “Oh, I also meant to talk to you regarding the Kupala Night celebration.  You’ll attend, won’t you?”

“Kupala Night,” he repeated.  “Wouldn’t miss it.”

Pleased by Fai’s response, Evgeni’s smile broadened.  “And Lord Yerik?”

“I’m sure he wouldn’t miss it,” Fai said, knowing that there was a good chance he was going to have to browbeat his brother into compliance.  It wasn’t that Yerik objected to the holiday or the formal ball that was always thrown in the evening.  What he tended to hate was the way the younger women tended to leer at him, and rather shamelessly, at that.

“Good, good . . . And you’ll be arriving before the festivities, I gather?”

Fai nodded.  Given that Evgeni tended to stretch the affair into at least a couple of days before, it was always a fairly interesting event, at least.

“Friedrich Gottholt called me the other day to say that he’d be able to make it.  Said he’d be bringing his mate and daughter, as well—you know, the one they say is one of the most beautiful girls in the world?”

“If it’s not a problem, I’ll be bringing Saori with me,” Fai said, completely discounting Evgeni’s statement regarding the Gottholt daughter.

“Her?  You’re bringing along an employee?”

“She’s a little more than a simple employee,” Fai remarked.  “Anyway, I think she’d enjoy the festivities.  Unless it’s a problem?  If that’s the case, then I’ll have to decline the invitation.”

A thoughtful scowl drew Evgeni’s eyebrows together, his lips pursing as he considered his options.  “Well, it’s not that.  If you wish to bring her, then, by all means, do so.  It just surprised me; that’s all.”

“Then I’ll look forward to it.”

Evgeni’s smile resurfaced, and he hauled himself out of the chair.  “I’ll see you then—unless something comes up in the interim.”

Fai watched his advisor go before reaching for another report.


Jogging along the perimeter of the vast Demyanov estate, Yerik dropped to a slow walk as he neared the small stream and the thick trees.  He’d taken it upon himself to do this whenever he was home—to check the borders for any sign of something amiss.  So far, he’d never actually found anything, and he didn’t expect that it would be any different today.  When he was a child, maybe around ten, he’d thought up the border patrol, and even though it sounded silly now, thinking back, it was something small he felt he could do for his brother.

Of course, if he had found someone, skulking about in the shadows, there really wasn’t a thing he could have done about it back then.  That idea hadn’t occurred to him, though.  Years ago, he had thought that he was keeping Fai safe.  It was a silly notion, sure, but it had made him feel as though he was doing something for Fai, even if he really wasn’t.

Now, it was just a habit.  Even though there were some who felt as though Fai had no right to hold his office, it was telling that not one of them had ever tried to infiltrate Demyanov land, either.

Stepping into the cover of the thick trees, Yerik sighed, unsure why he felt so on edge.  To be honest, he’d felt that way all day, even if there wasn’t a real reason for it.  It was more of a feeling on the fringe of his consciousness that unsettled him, even if he couldn’t quite put his finger on why that was.

And strangely, that feeling slowly seemed to grow—a strange sense that something was just a little off—not a threat, per se.  He didn’t sense anything quite like that . . . But he wasn’t sure, what he was feeling, either, and that was enough to bring his hand up, resting casually on the hilt of his sword as he deliberately slowed his pace.

A dull ‘thump’ sounded behind him, and Yerik spun around, only to blink, eyes widening, as he came face to face with the being who had apparently dropped out of the trees.  Had he been up high enough to keep his youki from being discerned?  Yerik suspected that he’d done exactly that . . . Arms crossed over his chest, a foreboding scowl on his face as long, silvery hair blew around him in the breeze—a breeze that had carried the man’s scent away well before Yerik could discern it—and he didn’t blink as he slowly sized Yerik up, small, triangular hanyou ears, twitching and rotating like tiny radars atop his head . . . He narrowed his golden eyes as he let his gaze rake over Yerik, only to snort loudly and indelicately when he saw his hand, wrapped around the hilt of his sword.  “If I wanted to hack you up, I’d have done it by now, pup,” he growled in English.  “If you’re gonna draw, do it now.  Otherwise, get your damn hand away from that before you get yourself killed.”

Yerik shook his head, but let his hand drop away.  “. . . InuYasha?”

He snorted again.  “Yeah.  Who are you?  Well, aside from the poor bastard, what got bawled out by my niece earlier . . .”

“Ah . . .”  Snapping his mouth closed, he couldn’t help the grin that surfaced on his face.  “That was just sparring,” he replied.

“Keh!  Ain’t no such thing as, ‘just sparring’!  Don’t waste your fucking time if you’re not gonna take it fucking seriously.”

“Oh, c’mon, oyaji . . . He wasn’t that bad.”

Yerik blinked, his head tilting back when he spotted the second hanyou, high in the trees.  Very obviously one of InuYasha’s kin . . . “You’re . . . Ryomaru, the hunter . . .”

The one in the tree, leaning casually against the stout trunk, legs crossed at the ankles, arms crossed over his chest in much the same stance as his father on the ground, Ryomaru grinned.  “Oh, so you’ve heard of my prowess, have you?” he nearly gloated.

Yerik chuckled.  “Actually, I have,” he admitted.  “I’m Yerik Demyanov—Fai’s my brother, and I’m a hunter, too.”

InuYasha snorted.  “Keh!  Prowess, my ass!  Weren’t you the one who had to call me for backup the last time Toga sent you out?”

Ryomaru rolled his eyes, but his grin widened.  “What did you expect?  There were twenty of them!”

“Keh.”

Dropping out of the tree, Ryomaru chuckled.  “So, you’re a hunter, eh?  You any good?”

“I’m still alive,” Yerik remarked.

“That don’t mean much, depending on your targets,” Ryomaru pointed out.

Yerik sighed.  “I can hold my own.  Anyway, why are you here . . . and why are you skulking around the grounds?”

“Just making sure that your brother don’t get any weird ideas about locking Saori up again,” Ryomaru remarked when InuYasha scowled stubbornly and refused to answer.

Yerik frowned, shifting his gaze between the two hanyou.  “You know, you could stay in the castle . . .”

“Uh, no . . . jiji wanted us to stay out of it,” Ryomaru went on.  “Said not to let her know we’re here . . . He figured that if your brother was gonna try to put her on lockdown, he won’t do it if he knows we’re nearby, so if you’d be so good as to not tell ol’ Fai-sama . . .”

“You don’t want him or Saori to know you’re here,” Yerik repeated.  “Well, I guess that makes—Wait . . .”

Ryomaru blinked.  “Wait, what?”

Scratching his chin as he debated his options, Yerik finally grinned.  “Well, you know, I could try to keep your secret, sure, but sometimes things slip . . .”

InuYasha and Ryomaru exchanged suspect glances.  “Meaning, what, exactly?” Ryomaru demanded, the air around him shifting just as quickly as water, flowing around a boulder.

Yerik took a step back, realizing a second too late that he actually felt intimidated by the hanyou—by both of them.  “I just mean . . . Maybe if you both could . . . could teach me some things . . .”

The menace in Ryomaru’s youki dissipated as quickly as it had appeared, and Yerik grimaced inwardly.  “Oh, that?  I dunno . . . You think he can handle it, oyaji?”

InuYasha grunted.  “Keh!  After that bullshit earlier?  Damn well better teach him a thing or two . . .”

Yerik broke into a wide grin as InuYasha stalked off, deeper into the cover of the trees.


“MacDon nough.”

Biting her lip at the very brusque voice that answered the call after two rings, Saori drew a quick breath.  “Hello, MacDonnough-sama.  I apologize for the interruption; I know you’re a very busy man.  I’m Saori Senkuro, and I’m calling on behalf of Faine Demyanov, the Asian tai-youkai.  I am working with him to find international placement for some of our orphans and was wondering if you have anyone in your jurisdiction who would be interested in adopting any of our children?”

“You’re calling on behalf of Faine Demyanov?”

“Yes.”

“Tell me, am I not important enough to your tai-youkai for him to have made this call himself?”

Blinking at the understated hostility in the MacDonnough’s voice, Saori wasn’t sure what to say.  “Well, you see, he put me in charge of this, and—”

“And who are you to call me?  If Demyanov needs something from me, then he knows how to reach me.  As for your orphans?  Is he so inept that he cannot look after his own?”

“No, that’s—”

“As you pointed out, I’m a busy man.  I don’t have the time for this.  Tell your tai-youkai that we’re not interested in his cast-offs.  Good day.”

The line went dead, and Saori flopped down hard in the chair directly behind her.  Something about the unpleasantness of the man seemed to reach right through the connection, right into her, leaving her feeling weak in the knees with a decidedly nauseas feeling in the pit of her stomach, and she grimaced, swallowing hard to bite back the rise of bile in her throat.

‘He . . . He’s not very nice . . .’

‘You knew that already.  Everyone’s said as much . . . Maybe he needs to get laid . . .’

Wrinkling her nose at her youkai’s attempt at humor, Saori let out a deep breath.

It was hard to fathom, wasn’t it?  Having grown up, knowing and adoring Morio’s mate, Meara, she couldn’t quite understand just how Meara had grown up around such a venomous being.  She was sweet and kind and gentle—obviously traits she didn’t inherit from her father.  But then, Saori had heard the stories, too—the reasons why Morio and Meara had settled in Japan, why they never went back to her homeland . . .

‘It’s awful . . . No one else thought it was odd that I was calling for Fai-sama . . . It’s almost like he was looking for a reason to be nasty . . .’

Her thoughts were interrupted when the door to the antechamber opened, and Fai stepped inside.  He started to smile at her, but stopped when he got a good look at her face, frowning instead as he approached her.  “What’s wrong?” he asked, touching her arm as he knelt before her.

She opened her mouth to tell him, but somehow, she couldn’t.  At least, she couldn’t bring herself to tell him all of it.  He already had so much to deal with, so many things that required his attention . . . Telling him how Ian MacDonnough had treated her?  Somehow, it felt akin to childish tattling . . . “It’s nothing,” she assured him, managing a very convincing smile.  “I called MacDonnough-sama.  He said that he didn’t think they had anyone interested in adopting.”

Fai nodded, his unruly chestnut hair, falling into his eyes.  “That’s not surprising,” he said.  “Hopefully, we’ll be able to place enough of them otherwise that it won’t matter.”  Letting his hand fall away from her, only to dangle between his spread knees, Fai stared at her.  It wasn’t exactly an amused expression on his face, no, but there was a certain brightness in his gaze, a distinct steadiness that held her, spellbound.  “You’re doing a good job so far,” he told her quietly, his voice sounding more like a caress than a statement.  “I appreciate your efforts.”

She couldn’t help the surge of shyness that coursed through her, causing her to duck her chin, to peer up at him through her lashes.  “I haven’t done much yet,” she corrected him.  “Just called the other jurisdictions . . . I hope that they call back soon . . .”

“They will,” he assured her.

A funny little feeling erupted in her belly—the kind of tremors that were as unsettling as they were enticing.  A strange kind of brightness ignited behind his gaze, his eyes narrowing as he gently reached out, lifted her chin with a crooked index finger.  For a long moment, she held her breath as he stared hard at her lips.  Suddenly, though, he cleared his throat, let his hand drop away as he turned his face to the side, and she stifled a sigh.  “Anyway, I came up here to ask you . . . You didn’t bring anything along that is appropriate for a formal ball, did you?”

She blinked and shook her head.  “Uh, no . . . I mean, I have some gowns at home, but—”

“That’s fine,” he told her.  “We’ve been invited to Evgeni’s Kupala Night ball.  It’s fairly formal, so if you need to find a dress, I wanted to allow you adequate notice.”  He sighed.  “Come to think of it, you may need one formal gown and a couple other nicer outfits, too.  The celebration usually lasts more than just one night, so . . .”

“It sounds like a big deal.”

He shrugged.  “Not really . . . Actually, my parents used to host something like it every year.  It never occurred to me to reinstate the tradition, I guess, and then, Evgeni decided to do it . . .”

The reminder of the strange youkai she’d met in Fai’s office made her frown.  He didn’t see it, which was just as well.  She couldn’t quite shake off the strange sort of vibes she’d gotten from him, but she tried to brush them off.  After all, he was one of Fai’s trusted friends, wasn’t he?  And Fai was shrewd enough, not to trust without reason.  Besides, she had only met the man for a few minutes, so really, she had nothing to base her feelings on, anyway . . .

“I can pay for your clothing,” Fai went on, oblivious to Saori’s thoughts.

“I have money,” she replied.  “It’ll be harder to figure out where to go shopping, I think . . .”

Fai shrugged.  “Ask Yerik.  He tends to know more about that sort of thing than I do.”

“Oh?  But where do you go shopping?”

Bracing his hands on his knees to push himself to his feet once more, Fai stepped over to check the thermostat.  “I try not to,” he admitted.  “When I need clothes, I call my tailor.  I doubt he knows much about women’s fashion, though.”

She nodded, reaching for the stack of files on each of the children, figuring she could at least put in a bit more work in making their information more complete.  Some of them only listed the bare minimum.  Adding notes, like hobbies and abilities could only help in the long run.  “I’m sure I can find something suitable.”

He watched her for a minute, but he didn’t say anything.  She glanced over at him, only to find him staring at her with a very thoughtful scowl on his face.  “Fai-sama?”

He rolled his eyes.  “I thought I told you, you can drop the, ‘-sama’.”

She smiled.  “It’s polite,” she told him.  “I can’t help it.”

He grunted, reaching for the door handle.  “I’m going to stop answering you when you use it,” he warned.

She giggled as he slipped out of the room, but his youki lingered in the air long after he’d closed the door . . .