InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity Redux: Vivication ❯ Threats ( Chapter 52 )

Stepping out onto the enclosed patio behind the dining room, Fai stopped short when he spotted Rinji, hunched over the table, nursing a very large mug of very black coffee.  “Morning,” he said, grabbing a mug from the sideboard and pouring a cup for himself before joining Rinji at the table.  “You look like hell.”

Rinji snorted, rubbing a bloodshot eye with his knuckle.  “Yeah, well, that generally happens when one gets no sleep,” he growled.

“You didn’t get any sleep?” Fai echoed, arching an eyebrow as he tipped his mug to his lips.

The silver-haired youkai snorted indelicately.  “You have a lot of guest rooms in this damn mausoleum you call a castle,” Rinji mumbled, stumbling to his feet and dumping more coffee into his mug.  “Tell me why we’re all sandwiched together down that hall of hell?”

Fai blinked.  “Come again?”

Flopping back into his chair once more, Rinji glared at him.  “You also might want to know that your walls are as thin as shoji screens.”

Shaking his head, Fai frowned.  “I don’t think I—"

Rinji grunted.  “My room is between my parents and my grandparents.  Otou-san was drunk.  Ojii-san was drunk, even if he wants to argue it and say that he wasn’t.  Do you know what I figured out last night?”

Fai made a face.  “I think maybe I don’t . . .”

Rinji drained half of his cup in one long swallow before narrowing his eyes in an entirely Sesshoumaru-ish kind of expression of absolute disdain.  “They apparently get horny when they’re drunk, Fai-sama.  That’s what happens.  So, all last night, all I hear is obaa-san on one side, apparently having a great damn time, and kaa-san on the other side because both, quite obviously, enjoyed themselves . . . often and a lot.”

“Oh . . .”

Rinji sighed.  “Fai-sama . . .”

“Yes . . .?”

“. . . I want a new room—on a different floor . . . and not directly over either of those rooms, thanks.”

Fai cleared his throat.  “I, uh . . . I’m pretty sure that it can be arranged . . .”

Rinji heaved a longsuffering sigh and set the empty mug on the table with a hefty, ‘thud’.  “Fai-sama, I heard things in the night that no son or grandson should ever have to hear, no matter how old he is—not ever.”

Fai chuckled.  “You know, I remember once . . . I got a good mark on a school paper, and when I got home, I wanted to show my mother.  Vasili told me that she was in the office, talking to my father, but then, he said that I shouldn’t disturb them.  I decided that Vasili was out of line, so I took off, down the hallway, burst into the office, only to find them . . .” He grimaced.  “I don’t want to talk about what they were doing.  Nothing really out of the ordinary, I suppose, but . . .”

Rinji nodded slowly.  “But they’re your parents, and no child ever needs to see that . . .”

Fai sighed.  “It’s true.”

“Good morning, nii-chan!” Saori said as she breezed into the room with a brilliant smile that turned into the vaguest hint of a blush when she met Fai’s amused gaze.  Settling into a chair on Rinji’s other side, she grabbed an orange out of the fruit bowl in the center of the table and dug in her claws.  “You don’t look like you slept very well . . .”

Fai shook his head as Rinji heaved a sigh.  “I didn’t,” he replied in a very clipped tone.  “I don’t want to talk about it.”

She looked duly befuddled, but she didn’t press the subject as she carefully peeled the skin off the orange.  “Are you going to be okay to drive to the airport?” she asked instead.

Rinji sighed.  “I forgot about that,” he admitted.  “Yeah, I’ll be all right.”  He reached over, snagging half of Saori’s orange and stuffing it into his mouth in one very large bite.

“Oi!” she protested, frowning at what was left of her fruit.

Rinji stood up, stretching his arms up over his head, leaning slightly from side to side as he yawned wide.  “Can I borrow your car, Your Grace?” he asked, holding out his hand as Fai slowly rolled his eyes.  He was supposed to go pick up Toga.

“Ask Vasili,” he replied.

Rinji nodded, sparing a moment to snatch the rest of the orange out of Saori’s hand before ruffling her hair in a bratty brother kind of way as he ignored her protest and sauntered back inside.

She wrinkled her nose and reached for another orange.  “Baka . . .”

Fai cleared his throat.  “I take it you’re not mad at me anymore?”

She shifted her gaze to the side, but didn’t move her head.  “I . . . I guess not,” she allowed rather primly.

He chuckled as he watched her strip away the orange peel for a second time.  Nimble fingers, glistening with juice that had escaped despite her efforts to be careful, the scent of oranges that filled his nostrils . . . Biting her bottom lip as she split the orange open, she suddenly smiled, inordinately pleased with herself . . . And he sighed when she popped a segment of the fruit into her mouth and happily munched away.

She intercepted his look and blinked.  “Are you all right?” she asked.

He nodded slowly.  “Yep . . . Just trying to decide if anyone would notice if we went back upstairs and locked a few doors . . .”

She blushed, but smiled.  “They might,” she told him.

The chime of his phone interrupted him, and he dug it out of his pocket.  “Evgeni’s stopping by today,” he informed her.  “Good, good . . . Saves me the trouble of calling him to invite him to the wedding . . .”

He didn’t notice right away, the way her back stiffened, didn’t catch the way her smile faltered, then faded completely.  Keying in a text to let Evgeni know that he was looking forward to his visit, by the time he glanced up, Saori had managed to hide her initial reaction well enough, and he stood up.  “I’m going to go get a few things taken care of before he gets here,” he said, stepping over to kiss her on the forehead.  “When you see Vasili, remind him that we need a room prepared for you uncle—and tell him to see that your brother’s moved, as well.”

“Nii-chan?” Saori echoed, shaking her head in confusion.  “Why?”

Fai chuckled.  “No particular reason, really . . . He simply doesn’t seem to like being housed between your grandparents and parents, is all,” he replied as he strode out of the room.

‘You know, you’re being a coward.’

Saori didn’t miss a beat as she sketched the layout of the garden on a sheet of paper.  It wasn’t a professional looking diagram in the least, but that wasn’t the point.  ‘Don’t know what you’re talking about,’ she thought, rather proud of the steadiness of her voice, even if it was in the confines of her own head.

‘Except what you’re doing is entirely pointless,’ her youkai-voice pointed out.  ‘The families can pick out their own spots, if they wish to spend some time alone with the children.’

She wasn’t sure she agreed with that.  After all, if she told them that there were these little areas—these nooks and crannies—where they could settle down, relax, and spend some time with the children, it would be smoother, especially if they felt as though they weren’t being watched the whole time.  That was the goal, wasn’t it?  To help expedite the process, so to speak?

At least, that’s what she told herself that she was doing.  She certainly wasn’t hiding out here, trying to avoid Evgeni, who had arrived about an hour ago . . .

When Fai had mentioned that he was stopping by, she’d almost told him that she didn’t like him, that he’d said things to her that really weren’t all right.  Too bad the contentment on his face had stopped her.  As much as she didn’t trust him, didn’t like him, Fai did, and she did trust Fai . . .

Still . . .

“Here you are . . . What are you doing?”

Glancing up at her brother, using a hand to shield the sun out of her eyes, Saori smiled, taking the hand he held out to help her to her feet.  “I was trying to plan out the different areas where families can sit and get to know the children,” she said.

Rinji raised an eyebrow at her.  “Is that right?  So, you’re not out here hiding . . .”

She wrinkled her nose, but carefully avoided his keen gaze.  “Hiding? Why would I be hiding?”

He shook his head.  “I don’t know.  You tell me.”

She opened her mouth to protest her innocence, but she sighed when he cocked an eyebrow at her.  Curse her luck for bringing the one relative that she’d never been able to fool to find her, anyway . . . “I don’t like him,” she whispered, crossing her arms over her chest, cradling the notebook to against her body.  “Feodosiv-san . . .”

“Fai’s adviser?  Why not?”

Letting out a deep breath, she quickly shook her head.  If she told Rinji, he’d be angry—she didn’t even try to delude herself into thinking otherwise.  She knew it—and she knew that he’d either confront Evgeni or talk to Fai, and neither of those options was really what she wanted.  “Just a feeling,” she muttered, praying that Rinji would let it drop.

“Just a feeling?” he repeated.  “What does that mean?  What kind of feeling?”

She frowned.  “He’s just . . . not a very nice person,” she replied.

Too bad Rinji was entirely too smart to accept what she was saying at face value and just let it go . . . “Did he say something to you?”

She bit her lip, offered him what she hoped was a dismissive little shrug.  “He . . . He was just . . . Just trying to protect Fai . . .”

“Keh!” Rinji snorted.  “Protecting him from his mate?  Utter nonsense, Saori-chan . . . Tell me what he said to you.”

“No,” she insisted, scowling at her beloved brother.  “No . . . because you’ll confront him or tell Fai, and you can’t do either—you can’t.”

He snorted again.  “Why the hell not?”

Rubbing her forehead with slightly trembling fingers as the vivid memory of that awful confrontation shot to the fore, she shook her head.  “Because . . . He’s like a . . . a surrogate father to him,” she said.  “I . . . I can’t take that away from him.  It’s not fair; not when he’s already lost so much . . .”

Crossing his arms over his chest, he leveled a no-nonsense look at her.  “You tell me what happened, or I march in there right now and demand answers from him, Fai’s sensibilities be damned.”

She gasped, face scrunching up in a scowl of her own.  “Nii-chan!  You can’t do that!”

“Oh?  Watch me.”

He started to spin around on his heel, but she caught his arm, tugged him back.  Then, she sighed.  “He accused me of only being after Fai’s wealth—only to remind me that there isn’t any—which I don’t care about, anyway,” she admitted quietly.  “He . . . He said I was . . . was using Fai . . . for his power or . . . or something, but . . .”

“Is that right?”

“Nii-chan!” she growled, catching Rinji when he tried to take off again.  “No!  It’s fine!  He . . . Like I said, he was just protecting Fai . . . You can’t fault him for that, any more than I can!”

“The hell I can’t, Saori!  No one, and I do mean no one, is allowed to talk to you like that!  If ojii-san finds out—"

“You really can’t tell him!” she blurted.  “Ojii-chan will—”

“Ojii-chan will, what?”

Spinning around as she sucked in a harsh breath, she winced as her grandfather stepped out from behind a tall hedge with her grandmother in tow.  “Ojii-chan . . . obaa-chan . . .”

She stifled a sigh.  Though her beloved grandmother looked calm enough, she didn’t miss the blaze of fire that burned behind her magenta gaze—and she certainly didn’t mistake the flare of her grandfather’s youki, either . . . It just figured.

“Did I hear you correctly, Saori?  Feodosiv had the audacity to question your character, and he told you about Faine’s financial difficulties?” Sesshoumaru demanded.

“I know it sounds bad,” she told him.  “He really was just looking out for Fai—protecting him—and it’s okay.  Fai’s told me . . . Evgeni was one of his father’s closest friends—his only friend—and—”

Sesshoumaru’s gaze narrowed, and he held up a hand to cut her off.  “Faine told you this?”

She nodded.  “Yes.”

He seemed to be considering that, but he said nothing for a long moment.  “Rinji, take your sister into the city.  Take her out to lunch or shopping or to the movies.  I need to verify a couple of things . . .” he commanded.

“Ojii-chan—"

“Trust me, Saori,” he told her.

She didn’t want to leave, and she wasn’t sure that trusting her grandfather was a good idea, given that he didn’t look like he was willing to stand back and say nothing.  She didn’t have much of a choice in it, though, and to that end, she said nothing when Rinji slipped an arm around her shoulders and propelled her away from her grandparents . . .

“What are you thinking?” Kagura asked, drawing his gaze as she watched her grandchildren walk away.

Sesshoumaru shook his head slowly.  “I’ve heard that name before,” he said.  “Once recently, but . . . I am not positive, but I seem to recall Alexei telling me about some issue he had with a griffon-vulture-youkai . . . And I think the name he gave then was Feodosiv . . .”

“And you think it’s him?  You think he had something to do with the missing account information?” she concluded.

Sesshoumaru didn’t confirm or deny her suspicions, but his eyes narrowed dangerously as he pulled his phone out and scrolled through the numbers in memory . . .

“I have to say, it’s very interesting, having this many of the leaders of our world, here in one place,” Evgeni remarked with a little smile.  Standing near the window that overlooked the back gardens, he swirled the vodka in his glass in an almost distracted kind of way.  “Almost makes me wish that I could skip the little vacation that Arrida’s gone to so much trouble to plan . . .”

Fai chuckled.  “Well, it’s a shame that you’re leaving tomorrow,” he remarked.   “I’m sure that Paris will be lovely this time of year.”

Evgeni didn’t look at all convinced.  “One shopping trip a year,” he said.  “As long as she keeps it down to just the one, then I suppose I can’t complain too much.”

“And you’re telling me that if she wanted to go somewhere else this year, you’ll deny her?” Fai challenged mildly.

Evgeni shrugged.  “Of course, I would,” he said in a tone that indicated that he’d do no such thing.

Pushing himself out his chair, Fai wandered over to refill his glass at the wet-bar.  “Of course,” he agreed with a shake of his head and a little smile.

Evgeni’s gaze narrowed as he stared out the window.  “Saori . . . She seems to be close to that one—Sesshoumaru’s grandson, is he?”

Tipping the glass to his lips as he joined Evgeni, as he watched Saori, who grabbed Rinji’s arm and seemed to be talking rather emphatically to him, Fai shrugged.  “Well, considering—”

“And she’s even managed to grab Sesshoumaru’s ear, as well?  That’s interesting . . .”

“Evgeni—”

The griffon-vulture-youkai grunted.  “Who are her people, Fai?  Tell me that you know something about her.”  He shook his head.  “Tell me you’re not being swayed by a pretty face . . . I . . .” He grimaced.  “I beg your pardon, but I really don’t trust her.”

Slowly shaking his head, as though he were warning Evgeni that he was treading upon very unstable ground, Fai cleared his throat.  “Evgeni—”

Evgeni went on as though Fai hadn’t interrupted, at all.  “I know; I know.  You . . . You think that she’s . . . I don’t know.  Maybe you’re even thinking that she could be the one, but you cannot trust her, Your Grace!  A woman like her will use every wile she’s got in order to—”

A sharp knock on the office door cut Evgeni off.  “Come in,” Fai called, pushing away from the window, turning around as Toga stepped into the office.  “Were you able to get settled in?” he asked, brushing off the intense stab of irritation brought on by Evgeni’s unnecessary concern.

The Japanese tai-youkai smiled.  “I did, thanks.  Anyway, I thought I’d bring you the files I have on the couples who were interested in adopting.  I know I sent Saori the preliminary reports, but we just got them back from our research officer, so these are the more thorough home studies and financial reports.”

“Thanks,” Fai said, taking the files and setting them aside for the moment.  “Oh, Toga, this is Evgeni Feodosiv.  Evgeni, this is the Japanese tai-youkai, Toga Inutaisho.”

Toga nodded and offered Evgeni a slight bow—just enough to be polite, Fai supposed.  Evgeni smiled broadly.  “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Your Grace,” he greeted.

Toga chuckled.  “Just Toga is fine,” he replied.  Then he turned toward Fai once more.  “Where’s Saori-chan hiding, anyway?  I haven’t seen her at all yet . . .”

“She left with Rinji,” Sesshoumaru said as he let himself into the office.

Fai didn’t miss the look that Evgeni sent him—a knowing kind of look.

Evgeni smiled, setting his empty glass on a side table.  “Your Grace, I hate to cut this short, but I really must be going.  Think about what I’ve said.”

Fai gave one slow nod just to appease him.

“It was my pleasure to meet you both,” Evgeni went on, stepping over to shake Sesshoumaru’s hand and then, Toga’s.

Frowning at the strange sense of blankness in Sesshoumaru’s aura—the kind of blankness that was deliberate and calculated, Fai said nothing as he watched Evgeni slip out of the office and close the door.  He wasn’t entirely sure, what to make of any of it, but he couldn’t help but feel at least a little irritated at Evgeni’s digs at Saori . . .

“Faine . . .”

Brushing aside the lingering sense of annoyance, Fai met Sesshoumaru’s intense gaze.  “Yes?”

“How well do you know Feodosiv?”

He blinked, frowned at the strange question.  “Evgeni?  Pretty well, I guess . . . He came around, introduced himself shortly after Father left . . .”

Nodding slowly, Sesshoumaru considered that for a moment before continuing.  “And he . . . was Alexei’s . . . friend . . . This is what Saori tells me?”

“Tou-san?”

Sesshoumaru held up a finger at Toga without taking his eyes off of Fai.

“Yes, that’s right,” Fai agreed.  “Why . . .?”

“May I ask you . . .?  What does he know of your finances?  Personal and otherwise?”

Fai wasn’t entirely sure where he was going with his questioning, and if he were anyone other than the Inu no Taisho, Fai would probably tell him it was none of his business.  But . . . “I guess . . . I mean, he knows pretty much everything—Well, everything except for the information regarding the official account, that is . . .”

“Did you tell him about everything?”

Fai let out a deep breath.  “He already knew,” he said.  “Evgeni was the one who brought me all the bank information . . . He works closely with them, so he offered to deliver it to me . . .”

That strange sense of nothingness in Sesshoumaru’s gaze seemed to intensify as he slowly nodded.  “I see.”

Fai shook his head.  “Do you?  Because I have no idea, where you’re going with any of this.  I mean, Evgeni just dropped everything off.  The envelope was sealed, so—”

Sesshoumaru gave a little shrug.  “I’m not questioning your decisions, Faine,” he assured him.  “But you should know, he makes Saori uncomfortable,” he said.

“He does?”

“You didn’t know this?”

Shifting uncomfortably at the implication that he didn’t pay enough attention to Saori’s feelings, Fai slowly shook his head.  “She . . . She never said anything . . .”

“Of course, she wouldn’t,” Sesshoumaru remarked.  “She’d never begrudge you your relationship with Feodosiv.”

He sighed.  “So, she told you this, but refused to say anything to me about it,” Fai concluded.

“What does he know of her?” Sesshoumaru asked without confirming or denying Fai’s assertions.

Fai’s temper was rapidly rising, and suddenly, Sesshoumaru shook his head.  “Does he know that she’s my granddaughter?”

“Wha—? Uh, n-no, actually . . . He doesn’t,” Fai replied.

“Good,” Sesshoumaru said.  “For now, would you mind not telling him?”

Fai shook his head in confusion.  “Okay, but—”

Sesshoumaru slowly nodded once.  “Trust me, Faine.  I need to check a few things, but I’ll tell you everything soon enough.”