InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chance ❯ Revelations ( Chapter 28 )

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

Disclaimer: No!. Don’t own it. Oh well. Le Sob! Le Cry! Le Whimper!!


(I)


Souta glanced around, his mouth wide open and his eyes round in disbelief at the numerous boxes, bags and books that lay scattered around the large storehouse. He watched as one of the bags, a black trash bag that came up to his waist, groaned, leaned over and fell over as if it was in slow motion.


“You can’t be serious,” Souta groaned to his grandfather as the elderly houshi moved past him and into the storage house. “You want me to clean all this? By myself?!”


“Boy don’t complain so,” Grandpa Souta grumbled disapprovingly. He used the end of his cane to poke a few of the nearby boxes to the side for free floorspace. “A young man of your strength and vitality would definitely be able to get things done a lot faster than you would if I helped you.”


“Yeah, whatever.” Souta’s eyes narrowed in aggravation but reached out to grab a nearby box. “These are...” He read the label on the box, one of the few boxes that had a label, and huffed. “Christmas ornaments. Where do you want them?”


“Hmmm. . .” Grandpa Souta looked around, his eyes studying the bare shelves on the store house walls. “Put all the decorations on the bottom shelf at the very back of the room. And watch your step!” Grandpa shouted out as Souta picked his way toward the back of the room. “The floor’s weak over there and you might fall through. Don’t be in such a hurry!”


“Yeah, yeah,” Souta grumbled and placed the box on the shelf. “What else?”


“Any of the gift shop items, like incense and sutras, go up here on the middle shelf on the right side,” Grandpa said with an approving nod to himself. “There are books that need to go on the shelves as well. Sort those by subject and-“


“Raze the nearby village, loot their houses and steal all the children so we can sell them as slaves,” Souta interrupted snidely. “I know about all this Grandpa! Jeez! Is there anything else you wanted?”


“Don’t be snippy with me, Souta Yomiro Higurashi!” Grandpa growled and shook his cane. “I’ll have you know. . .”


‘Oh, here we go,’ Souta groaned to himself. He leaned against the shelves, closed his eyes, and waited for the old man to come to the end of his rant about young people who lack respect.


“And when you take over the shrine-“


“Oji-san,” Souta interrupted reflexively. Grandpa quieted, giving Souta a chance to take a cleansing breath. They continued to have the same argument and no matter how many times Souta told his grandfather about how little he actually wanted to run the shrine the old houshi refused to listen. “What do you want me to do with those tapes?”


“What tapes?”


Souta pointed toward a small plastic bin near Grandpa’s feet, then began to make his way back to the storage room’s entrance. “What are they anyway?” he asked as he picked the bin up and sifted through the contents inside.


“Those are the Spring Festival tapes from this year and last year,” Grandpa smiled appreciatively. “I need for you to do something with those too.”


“Yeah?” Souta commented absently and looked up for a place to store them. “Like what? Where do you want them?”


“Actually, my boy-“


‘That,’ Souta said to himself and returned his gaze to his grandfather. ‘Is not a good sign. He only says that when he wants something I’m gonna say no to.’


“I don’t need you to put them away,” Grandpa Souta began with a warm smile. “Did you know that you’re my favorite grandchild?”


“Yeah right,” Souta replied with a roll of his eyes. “Last week Kagome was your favorite and she found herself sweeping the shrine stairs. Just tell me what is it.”


“After you finish with the storage room and you have everything put away, I need for you to edit the Spring Festival tapes. I need two complete versions of next year and this year by this weekend.”


“B-b-but,” Souta stuttered in surprise. “The weekend starts tomorrow! I’ll be all day cleaning the storage room!”


“I know, my boy, and I’m really sorry about interrupting your schedule,” Grandpa replied with a heavy sigh. “But it is for the good of the shrine, I promise.” ‘And,’ he thought as he waited for Souta to comply. ‘It’s so I can show that jerk from the Moonlight Shrine down south how we throw a Spring Festival. That light show debacle he puts on every year will look like nothing compared to our shrine’s!’


“Oh, fine,” Souta sighed finally. “I’ll do it.”


“Wonderful!” Souta rolled his eyes at his grandfather’s enthusiasm and coughed at the surprisingly strong pat on the back. “Then I’ll just get out of your way then. . .”


“Hey!” Souta called out as Grandpa pushed aside a bag lying in front of the door. “Where are you going? I thought you were going to stay and help?”


“Oh no, not me,” Grandpa said with a shake of his head. “I’ve got to tend to the shrine. Your sister-a more lovely creature I’ve yet to meet-has kindly agreed to help out in the gift shop today. I have to go prepare.”


“You mean you’ve got to browbeat Mom so she can prepare,” Souta grumbled to himself as he sat the tapes by the door. “I swear, I think that geezer uses being old to get what he wants. Oh well,” Souta sighed in resignation. He picked up another box, peered inside it and reached inside his back pocket for a black marker. ‘I’ll label the ones that don’t have one before putting it away,’ Souta reasoned as he scribbled away. ‘That way I won’t have to do this crap again.’


(II)


The Isaac Medical Research Center stood on the outskirts of Tokyo’s western business district, it’s quiet and gentle landscaping a stark difference from the modern hustle and bustle of the city around it. The grounds outside were filled with gentle butterflies and birds that came to visit the colorful blooms that studded the gardens with park benches underneath each grove of trees. The building itself was a castle from the Feudal Era, the grand halls restored to their original glory. The best and the brightest of Japan’s medical experts walked down the grand halls, the polished wooden floor surprisingly silent beneath their feet as the gentle whirling of state of art equipment filtered through the tatami paper walls. The old and the new, tradition and modern miracles combined in this place.


After all, that was the way of the West, so long as an inu ruled its borders.


Inuyasha crossed his legs and huffed, a slight frown marring his features as dark brown eyes glanced down the hallway. Mrs. Takisai and one of the research facility’s doctors were in the room behind him, Inuyasha having been put out not too long after the doctor’s arrival. He strained to hear what was going on, but knew it to be in vain seeing as how he himself insisted on keeping the sound enchantments on the walls of the castle grounds. So...that left him to huff again, alone in his ire, and waiting for whatever it was the doctor had to say. Inuyasha glanced up when the tatami door slid open, the sudden rush of sound sweeping over his ears as the research doctor stepped out of the room.


“I’ll be right back Mrs. Takisai,” the young man assured her as he came into the hallway. “I just have to run this down to the lab an-“ The screen shut in front of him and he gasped, dark brown eyes stretched wide as Inuyasha stepped into the man’s line of sight.


“Oh, Taishou-san,” the doctor sighed in relief. “You scared me. How in the world did you-“


“The results,” Inuyasha insisted suddenly, surprising the young man again. “What are the results?”

“Well, we’ve only done the preliminary and-“


“Get on with it.”


“Y-yes sir,” the intern stuttered nervously. Was it just him, or did the younger Taishou growl at him? “According to her earlier hospital records, this tumor first appeared in her lungs back in 1998-“


‘That’s two years before she adopted Shippou,’ Inuyasha thought as he accepted the medical records.


“But it was caught early and removed,” the doctor continued. “This latest flare-up appears to have gone on for a long time, at least a full year or so before-“


“A full year?” Inuyasha interrupted with a scowl. “You mean this cancer-“


“Tumor.”


“What ever. It spread for that long? And no doctor bothered to check?”


“Well, she’s only been going to her annual check-ups,” the intern answered and pointed toward a particular document in her files. “She hasn’t been a diligent about it as she should have been. I think that’s why her illness has gotten so bad.”


“How bad?” Inuyasha asked with a quirked brow. “Exactly what are we talking about here?”


“Um...I’m not sure that I should be discussing this with you,” the intern clammed up. “I mean, I don’t have permission from her and-“


“She’s an employee of mine, and she’s already signed a clause allowing me into her personal files,” Inuyasha assured him. “Besides, don’t worry if she has a problem with it. I’ll handle it. Now what kind of ‘bad’ are we talking about?”


“Well, if we had caught it we might have been able to do something, maybe even save her but-“


“How far has it spread?” Inuyasha interrupted again, this time with a deep ache beginning in his chest. “Just tell me that and then tell me the rest.”


“It’s. . .its gone from her lungs, into her lymph system and into her brain.”


‘Her. . .wha?’

“She’s noticed that her hands have begun to shake and that her sight is a little blurry around the edges.” The doctor glanced toward Mrs. Takisai’s room and sighed. “It’s only going to get worse as the months pass on. Her motor functions will weaken, her eyesight will fail with time, and the pain. . .Taishou-san, I won’t lie to you. I believe we may only be able to take the edge off the pain.”


“There’s little you can do,” Inuyasha nodded in understanding. “There’s little. . .anyone can do.”


“We’re going to do everything we can Taishou-san,” the doctor replied and placed a comforting hand on the taller being’s shoulder. “This is the best medical facility in all of Japan, heck, maybe even the world. We’re going to do everything we can.”


“Here.” Inuyasha passed the intern Mrs. Takisai’s files. “Go do your tests.”


“Of course. Thank you sir.” The intern bowed before turning and walking down the hallway, his footsteps quick and determined as he faded from sight. Inuyasha turned himself, going from the hallway to Mrs. Takisai’s room where she sat waiting. He closed the door behind him and turned around, the slight ache intensifying as the fragile little human sat up high on her hospital bed. The old woman was dressed in a pale blue yukata, her hair pulled back in a silvery bun and her legs swinging from the heights like a little girl.


“Taishou-sama,” she greeted with a grin. “How are you today?”


“I should be asking about you, seeing as how you’re the one in the hospital and everything.”


“Oh, this old one is fine,” Mrs. Takisai assured him. “Ready to get out of here and back to Shippou.”


“You really love the little furball don’t you?” Inuyasha said as he sat down beside her.


“Of course I do,” Mrs. Takisai replied with a laugh. “He’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a grandson. Did you know that his science teacher gave him an A+ for the entire year!”


“That’s great,” Inuyasha responded with as much enthusiasm as he could. “Um, Mrs. T. I want to ask you something.”


“Please, go ahead,” she replied readily. “You are acting taiyoukai after all. Your wish is my command.”


“Why didn’t you get this checked out earlier?”


She sighed, one that was so weary and downtrodden that she appeared to age before his very eyes. “Taishou-sama, do you know how old I am?” she asked as she leveled her chocolate brown gaze at him. “I mean really, outside of this forty-five year old shell, do you know how old I really am?


“Duh,” Inuyasha grunted and rolled his eyes. “I was standing there when Shujin placed the glamour spell on you. I know how old you are.”


“Then you know how long I’ve been without my husband, and how lonely I’ve been without him. When Shippou came into my life, all I could see was how wonderful it would be to have him, to cook for him, to care for him. My husband and I never had children of our own and all of our family had passed long before my Akira. All I could see was an end to my loneliness and a chance to do something important. There wasn’t time to keep to myself.”


“Yeah but-“


“Shippou is just like his father in so many ways,” Mrs. Takisai continued, her eyes wistful as she stared into the far off distance. “He’s loving, sweet, caring and loyal to a point in which it may not always be best for him. Please be sure to look after him for me. Make sure he doesn’t grow out of that.”


“They’re gonna save you,” Inuyasha promised her, the sharp pain in his chest causing his voice to break slightly. “You’ll see. These guys are amazing when they get off their asses and get to work.”


Mrs. Takisai laughed, a dry laugh that wasn’t as happy as it normally was. “That, Taishou-sama, was highly reassuring.”


“Good,” Inuyasha huffed and leaned back in his chair. “Glad you see it my way.” She laughed again and shook her head, then continued to amuse herself by swinging her feet.


‘We placed this on you,’ Inuyasha regretted as he watched her. “We’re responsible for this, for this pain.” “Hey, stop that!” he cried out when she nearly teetered off the bed. “You’re gonna hurt yourself if you keep that up!”


(III)


‘Hmmm,’ Grandpa Souta said to himself as he surveyed Souta’s handywork in the storage shed. The haphazard mess had been dutifully straightened, with every box, bag and plastic container labeled and placed on the appropriate shelf. The floor had been swept clean, the shelves dusted and the annoying squeaking noise the door once made had been properly tended to.


‘That boy,’ Grandpa hummed proudly. ‘I wonder if he’s left already.’ He turned off the lights and closed the door, making sure to lock the storage area behind him before continuing across the darkened pathway toward the house. The lights in the basement were still on, the pale yellow glow contrasting with the darkness of the night around him.


He found Souta sitting in front of a large desk nestled in the corner of the basement, the area more like a rec room than for storage. The desk was heaped with VCRs, DVDs and three TV sets that were all looped together in a way so technologically advanced Grandpa Souta barely knew how it managed to exist, no less work under Souta’s guidance.


“My boy,” Grandpa greeted with a heavy hand on Souta’s shoulder. “What a fine job you did on the storage room! Thank you so much! You-what are you doing?” he asked once he realized that Souta’s attention remained on one of the TV screens. “Is there something wrong?”


“Not wrong,” Souta shook his head. “But...I don’t know. Weird, I guess.”


“Weird how?” Grandpa asked and took the seat offered to him when Souta stood up.


“OK, look at that third screen a minute,” Souta began and pointed toward a screen on the right hand side of the desk. “That’s the Spring Festival we did last year-“


“The one with the young man that threw up on Sango?” Grandpa asked and snickered when Souta nodded. He remembered how panicked the young man was, how unexpected and frightening Sango must have been with her waving that sword of hers and screaming like a banshee. ‘No wonder he was ill,’ Grandpa thought as he continued to laugh. ‘Though that was an odd defense mechanism.’


“Grandpa,” Souta groaned, though he was secretly trying not to laugh. “This is serious. See, that’s that guy on the tape.” Grandpa watched as the disastrous play unfolded before him on the TV’s small screen.


“I’m just glad we didn’t put him on the bungee ropes,” Grandpa mumbled quietly. “Can you imagine Sango’s face if he had done that to her in midair. We would have had to peel her off of him with a crowbar.”


“Yeah, that’s what I wanted you to notice,” Souta said. “You remember how we had him hooked up so we could swing him around like he was flying, right? But we never got to do it cause-“


“Yes boy, I remember,” Grandpa replied with a wave of his hand. “Now what is this about?”


“Ok, watch this.” Souta pressed ‘Play’ on the VCR underneath the middle TV. “OK, this one is of this year’s play. You see Sesshoumaru?”


“Yes. What about-“


“See that flip he did over Sango’s head? How it looked like he was moving in slow motion when he was landing?”


“Yes boy, now what is-“


“Grandpa, I think he actually was.”


Grandpa stopped and as Souta rewound and played the tape again, this time in slow motion. He watched as Kagome’s friend seemed to flutter above Sango’s head, his landing slowed by something invisible. He landed calmly behind her, his right foot coming down first before he finally returned to terra firma.

“It’s amazing,” Grandpa replied in awe. “You and Kageromaru had more control than las-“


“No, that’s the thing Gramps,” Souta shook his head and played the first TV, this one of a different angle of the same scene. “We had three cameras going, this one, mine and Kageromaru’s. We didn’t put Sesshoumaru on the wires cause we didn’t know if he could handle them.”


“So he managed this. . .without the wires?”


“There’s more. Look,” Souta fast-forwarded the tape again, this time toward the end of the play. “The smoke bombs went off, right, and he and Kagome disappeared, right, but they didn’t just run to the edge of the clearing and hide in the bushes. We searched the wood for them for what could have been all of 45 minutes and when they came back they came from the center of the woods.”


“But that’s-“


“Yeah, a couple of miles away, I know. That’s what I had you look. Is it possible to run that fast, with a 98 lbs. woman on your back?”


“I wouldn’t know, son,” Grandpa said as he watched the tape again. “You would know better than me.”


“Yeah well, I’m creeped out,” Souta said as he rewound the tapes. “I don’t know if its possible or not, but I’m going to ask Kagome about it in the morning. There’s something weird about that guy and I’m gonna-“


“Oh, no you don’t. Don’t mention this tomorrow,” Grandpa warned and shook his finger at Souta. “Tomorrow is her birthday and she deserves to have one birthday that’s normal for a change. And Souta-“ Grandpa paused on his way to the stairs. “No funny business! It took her 4 months to grow her hair back from the last stunt you pulled!”


Souta waited until Grandpa was safely upstairs before tossing the tapes into his backpack and setting his backpack by the stairs. ‘Forget this,’ Souta thought as he turned off the rest of his equipment. ‘Something’s going on with that guy. The tape picked up all kinds of red and green signals around that guy and why Grandpa didn’t see them is beyond me. This guy could be dangerous and I’ll be damned if I let something happen to her.’


(End Chapter)



Silver: Woah! Because of the chaos that’s going on on the bio page, I’m the only one here. You may as well go ahead and go there. Don’t worry though. This chapter is a. . .Um...what did she say?


Kagome: This chapter is a stumbling block, as it were. The next one should be out sooner now that this one is out of the way. The summary is below.


Summary: It’s the beginning of May! Happy Birthday Kagome! And how else do you celebrate your birthday than with a breaking and entering, a near fist-fight and a fire! And Kagome and Sesshoumaru (in Chance’s form of course) are stuck in the middle. . .as usual.


Next chapter-Chapter Twenty-Nine: Bringing Up Charges!