InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity ❯ Reprieve ( Chapter 8 )

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

The back of the shop was dusty, carrying a musty sort of smell that wasn't entirely unpleasant.  It was kind of an old smell, as though the place had seen a lot of years—a lot of life that had wandered in and out of the doors.  The man led InuYasha down the short hallway to the small office and hurried over to a rickety old bookcase, pushed a few volumes back and forth, obviously looking for one in particular.

"Ah, here it is," he finally said, straightening up slowly and extending it to InuYasha.

InuYasha blinked and glanced at the old book in the man's hands.  It had no writing on the cover, and the binding was so dilapidated that it was starting to come away at the seams.  Still, it was just a book, wasn't it?  He took it and turned it over a few times, scowling at the worn edges, the leather cover that was starting to crack.  "What's this?"

"It's a collection," the man said.  "All the legends of the Shikon no Tama.  All of them; all of them, and all right there."

Why did the allusion that there was more than one tale bother InuYasha so much?  He snorted inwardly without bothering to analyze that question.  "What do you mean, all of 'em?" InuYasha grumbled, ear flicking in irritation though the old man couldn't see it.  "There's only one story—only one way it happened."

If the old man heard the hostility in InuYasha's voice, he gave no indication.  In fact, his grin widened.  "Yes, yes, but you should read them.  Read them all, you see?  You take that book," he said.  "You consider them, then you tell me which one you think is closest to the truth."

InuYasha stared at the old man for a long moment, but slowly nodded.  There was something compelling about the guy, wasn't there?  Something calming about him . . . "What if none of them are right?" he asked as the old guy led the way out of the office once more.

He laughed, apparently delighted that he'd found someone willing to listen to his chatter.  "Do you know what the difference is between a myth and a legend?"

"No," InuYasha admitted in a quiet grumble.

"A myth is just a tale, you see.  A legend?  No matter how minor, there is always a basis in fact."

Snorting decisively, InuYasha stared at the old book thoughtfully.  "You believe in youkai?"

Again, the man laughed.  "Believe; don't believe . . . just because you haven't seen something with your own eyes does not prove that it cannot exist."

"InuYasha-sama, there you are!"

InuYasha's chin snapped up just in time to intercept the panicked expression on Rin's face as she hurried into the shop toward him.  "Everything's okay, right?"

"It's fine," InuYasha mumbled.  "Thanks, jiijii."

Rin looked like she was ready to upbraid him for his perceived lack of manners in calling the shopkeeper 'old man'.  The man reacted before she could, though, as he broke into another bout of laughter.  "I look forward to talking to you again," he assured InuYasha, "after you've read the book."

InuYasha nodded as Rin bowed in apology to the old man, and he sighed inwardly as she fairly dragged him out of the store again.  "We were worried when you disappeared," she remarked, a hint of censure in her tone.

"Keh!  Kagura's youkai, if you forgot.  She coulda found me easy enough," he pointed out.

Rin sighed but shot him a weak smile.  "Papa didn't want you to be arrested again."

That was enough to make InuYasha grimace, though whether it was because of the mention of the incident with the police or because he knew damn well who 'papa' was, he wasn't sure.  Suddenly, he blinked and looked around.  "Where'd Kagura go, anyway?" he asked.

Rin glanced around then smiled, but the smile was pretty thin, fairly transparent.  "She had some things she had to go take care of at the school," she said.  "But we've got to get your picture taken for a few documents; it shouldn't be too big of a deal."

"What's that mean?" he demanded rather grudgingly.

"You've seen pictures, right?  We need to get some of those of you; that's all."

InuYasha snorted.  Okay, he had seen some of those since he'd been on this side of the well.  He'd seen some from time to time before.  There had been a few times when Kagome had brought 'pictures' from her time for Sango and Miroku to see, and those books she always had her nose jammed into had some in them, too.  Even then, InuYasha had never actually posed for a picture, and for some reason, he wasn't entirely sure that he liked the sound of this 'picture taking' business.

Rin must have correctly interpreted the reluctance on his features, though, because her smile broadened and she tugged gently on his sleeve, leading him toward a store with the words 'Quick Photo' over the doorway.  "Hello," she greeted when the girl behind the counter called out to her.  "He needs a series of passport photos, please."

He didn't miss the momentary pause as the girl slowly stood up.  Sparing a minute to look him up and down, she took her time while he blanked his features and waited for her to speak.  She seemed surprised, as though she found his clothing to be odd—not surprising since that's exactly the reasoning he'd been given for the shopping trip, anyway.  "Right over here," she said in an overly friendly tone.  She led the way over to a low stool situated in front of a stark white sheet of fabric.  InuYasha drew back sharply when the girl flipped on a few lamps that were entirely too bright before she gestured at the stool.

Pinning Rin with a narrow glare, he stomped over and plopped down on the stool.  He'd get back at her for this later, he figured, never mind that it wasn't actually her idea to subject him to this kind of thing, in the first place.

He really didn't like the looks of the little black device that the girl stepped behind.  Sparing a moment to click a bunch of buttons on a separate monitor that made the apparatus raise and lower accordingly, she seemed to be adjusting the dubious thing.  The monitor on the machine she was fussing with at the moment looked a lot like the computer he'd seen Toga playing a game on earlier . . .

"Okay," the girl finally said, her overly bright smile back in place again as she stepped away from the monitor but glanced back at it again.  "Umm, could you lift your chin just a little?"

InuYasha snorted and raised his head slightly.

The girl frowned at the monitor.  "A little more, please?"

He couldn't help the little growl that slipped from him.  The girl didn't hear it, but Rin did.  "Come on," she prompted.  "It's just a camera.  It's not like they can suck your soul out with it or anything."

Unfortunately, that statement, whether she was joking or not, brought back the memories of Kanna and her accursed mirror which did have the ability to do exactly that, and he shot to his feet in one fluid motion.  "Fat fucking chance," he gritted out from between clenched teeth.

Rin hurriedly caught his arm before he could stomp out of the studio, and though she didn't laugh outright, he could see the amusement illuminating her gaze, anyway.  "I was kidding; I swear!" she said in an entirely placating sort of way.

"Forget it!" he snarled, cracking his knuckles as he glowered at the harmless looking device.  Harmless looking or not, he knew damn well that things like that could easily be used to trick someone.  "I'm outta here!"

For a moment, she looked like she might argue with him.  Then she sighed.  "Sorry," she called out to the girl who looked entirely perplexed before she followed InuYasha out of the shop.  "We'll do it later," she told him as she fell into step beside him.  She had to move pretty quickly to do it, though.

"Like never," he shot back stubbornly.

Rin didn't answer that, likely figuring that it was a lost cause.  "It really isn't a big deal," she pointed out in a carefully neutral tone just before she heaved a longsuffering sigh.  "We really do need to work on your people skills, though . . ."

"My 'people skills' are just fine," he growled without breaking his stride.  Somewhere in the distance, a child shrieked, and he winced.  "Can we get the hell out of here now?"

"Yeah, okay," she allowed with a sigh.  "We could catch a bus or—"

"Or walk," he cut in abruptly.  He wasn't sure what the bus was, exactly, but he had a feeling that it was akin to the car that he'd been subjected to a few times already, and he couldn't say that he liked the experience all that much.  In fact, there was a good chance that Sesshoumaru was plenty pissed off since he'd left claw marks in the armrest each and every time he'd been forced into one of those damned contraptions.  It was unnatural, wasn't it?  Something that big, that cumbersome, really shouldn't be able to move like it did . . .

Rin didn't look like she was too pleased with the idea of walking, but she didn't argue with him, either, which, in his estimation, was good enough.  Besides, he'd done so much sitting around since he'd come through that well that he was itching to do something, anyway.

"Well, I guess we could cut through the park.  That would take a lot less time," she ventured, more to herself than to InuYasha.

Letting out a deep breath since he figured he'd won that round, he drew up short when a very familiar scent assailed him, chin lifting, ears twitching as he tried to pinpoint her location . . . "Kagome . . ."

It took him a few minutes to locate her.  Standing near a shelf inside a nearby store, there she was, idly lifting different things off that shelf, turning them over in her hands in a preoccupied sort of way, but her aura . . .

She seemed entirely confused?  Upset . . .? Uncomfortable . . .? Maybe all those things, but . . .

Without a second thought, maybe it was entirely instinctual, he started forward, started toward her, only to stop abruptly when Rin grasped his arm to stop him.  "InuYasha-sama?  What are you . . .?" Rin trailed off, glancing at him long enough to ascertain what had caught his attention this time before scanning the area for herself.  "It won't be long, huh?"

"What?"

She giggled softly.  "That's why you're doing all this stuff, right?  Because you want to be with her."

Swallowing hard, gritting his teeth as he fought against the overwhelming desire to go to her, he didn't take his eyes off her, either.

"She's worth it, though, right?  Getting used to this time and everything?  It's worth it for her?"

InuYasha shot Rin a startled glance.  Somehow it surprised him that she'd say that, but it was true, wasn't it?  All the things that he'd dealt with thus far . . . it was for Kagome, and Kagome was definitely worth it.

Rin smiled and shook her head slightly.  "Come on," she said, grasping his arm and tugging to get him moving once more.

He was more than a little reluctant to follow her, but he did, turning his head, craning his neck to keep Kagome in view for as long as he could.  The conflicted emotions in her aura still lingered, and he grimaced as Rin started tugging him around the corner toward the exit.  He'd get back to her, wouldn't he?  And when he did, nothing in the world would ever separate them again if he could help it . . . Still, it felt like such a huge obstacle.  As much as he hated to admit it, there was still a hell of a lot of things that he needed to learn, and Kagome . . . She still needed to remember him . . .

'Kagome . . .'