InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chances ❯ Rose Petals & Puppy Ears ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimers: All characters portrayed here are property of Rumiko Takahashi with the following exceptions: Yukio and Ian are Terri Botta's from the Lucky Ones Universe and used with her full permission. I have also received Terri's permission to post this story as a continuation, but it is in no way connected to her story, "Coyote Child".

 

~Chapter 3~

Rose Petals & Puppy Ears

 

“You're really pretty!”

 

At the sound of Ian's voice, Yukio turned to see what trouble Ian was getting himself into…and that's when he saw her. He wasn't sure how he had missed her approach, but he chalked it up to her being behind him and his preoccupation with his irate employees.

 

The first thing he noticed was the color of her hair, which reminded him of sun-faded roses. Bright and full, it feathered around her oval face and high cheekbones, tumbling past her shoulders in unruly waves. Her bangs fell carelessly into her eyes, which were focused intently on the toddler sitting in front of her. She was small like his mother, who only reached to the middle of his chest, and young; most likely between eighteen and twenty-one. Absently, he agreed with Ian, she was pretty.

 

Ian, for his part, was staring up at the girl, his most winning smile plastered all over his little face.

 

“You look sad. Do you want my O's?” Ian asked, offering the girl his cereal as if it had the power to cure all the world's ills.

 

However, as the seconds ticked by, her expression remained the same, as if she couldn't get her head around the sight in front of her. He noticed her subtle flinch at a remarkably loud whisper from Ricky, but other than that she remain immobile. Yukio cleared his throat; as much to end the lewd remarks of his younger employees as to get the girl to stop staring. It was a little creepy.

 

“Hey otouto,” he called softly. “Tone down the flirting a bit and leave the nice lady alone.”

 

Her eyes snapped up to his face at the sound of his voice, as if only then realizing there were others in the room. Yukio was momentarily confused by the shock that registered in her eyes as she looked at him. But when her gaze shifted slightly higher, the rising panic in her scent shifted into full blown terror. Her eyes widened and the color leeched from her skin, her jaw dropping as a strangled sound squeaked from her throat.

 

With a sudden jerking movement, she pressed up against the counter for a moment, as if to put as much distance between them as possible. Her eyes shifted down to lock with his for a second before flying back up. Her mouth open and closed several times as if straining towards speech. Then, before he could utter another word, she was gone.

 

Yukio frowned as she fled, stupefied as to what could have frightened the girl so badly. Out of the corner f his eye, he could see an equally confused expression on Bart's face. What could have upset her to the point of fleeing; he had hardly said anything to her?

 

And then it hit him. Her eyes had locked on the top of his head.

 

She could see his ears.

 

* * * * *

 

 

Silence reigned for a minute after her abrupt exit, no one quite knowing what to say. Finally, Bart cleared his throat.

 

“Well, I guess we should head on out then, eh?” he stated. “Not much'll get done today anyway.”

 

Ian began to squirm on the counter, whining softy and reaching his arms out toward Yukio, indicating that he wanted down. Yukio, once again, hooked him under the arms and gently set him on the floor then turned to see his crew off.

 

“I am so sorry guys,” he began. “I expected to have all this design stuff handled by the time you got here. I'm sorry I wasted your time.”

 

Bart's brother-in-law chose that moment to speak up.

 

“Hell, Yukio it ain't your fault,” he grouched. “You can't expect common sense and money to go together.” With that he strode purposefully out of the room.

 

Yukio smiled a little at the man's words as the other men followed suit. Bart's brother-in-law hardly spoke three words at a time, making it hard to know what he was thinking half the time. Yukio wasn't even sure he knew the man's name. Still, it was nice to know the man was on his side. With a small sigh, he began to pack up Ian's things. If Mrs. Clarkson wasn't going to take time out of her day to work with him, she could just call him tomorrow.

 

“Well, otouto, whaddya say we go grab those chicky nuggets now, humm?”

 

When his suggestion was met by silence he turned to find Ian was gone.

 

It took him a minute to push aside the instinctive panic at finding the pup missing. But, when he finally did, he easily picked up his brother's scent and followed. He noted the straight line the pup had taken, as if the toddler had caught wind of something and gone to investigate. He had to give the little guy credit; the quarter youkai's nose may not be a strong as his or Inuyasha's, but he could still track damn good. It didn't take him long to realize Ian had gone in search of the girl. Probably to play Casanova. Miroku really needed to stop teaching the boy his tricks; if Kagome didn't neuter him for it, Miroku's girlfriend, Ayumi, would.

 

The girl's scent teased at his senses; vanilla with a hint of cinnamon, giving him a vague craving for a Cinnabon. But, just underneath it was something else, something he couldn't discern properly from the trail she'd left behind. Following Ian's route he made his way through the living room into a glassed in sunroom filled with fragrantly blooming roses. The girl was seated next to a massive dog that towered over her diminutive figure. As Ian babbled along at her side, Yukio noted how her fluffy purple sweater made her look even more fragile. She'd pulled the turtle neck up around her chin, ducking her nose under the edge as if she was cold, despite the warmth of the room.

 

Ian was beside her, babbling something to do with his toys and sandboxes. Taking advantage of her distraction, Yukio sniffed to reassess her scent and his eyes widened. Underneath her feminine scent was the faint, but unmistakable, trace of a male inu-youkai musk. Yukio frowned; the male's scent was familiar, enough that he felt he knew the youkai, but he couldn't remember who it belonged to. Taking in another discrete whiff, he noticed something else; she was pregnant. She wasn't very far along, judging by how subtle the difference was. She probably wasn't aware of it herself, but the scent was definitely there.

 

Yukio snorted to dispel the slight tingling sensation it gave his youki. He took a step into the room, only to be immediately enveloped in a raw, but gentle aura. Staring at the girl, he carefully reached out with his youki to prod at the essence surrounding him. Weak, as though newly awoken, the distinctive miko aura- so much like his mother's-tapped back at him. If this girl mated an inu-youkai, why was she afraid of him? Before he could wander much further into that question, he was drawn back to reality by the sound of his name.

 

“And Niki's gonna take me to Micky D's an' I get ta have chicky nuggets and a milkshake and a toy!”

 

Then, using the trick Miroku had taught him to use on pretty waitresses, Ian smiled broadly exposing twin dimples and peeked out at her from beneath his thick eyelashes.

 

“Wanna come wiv me?” he asked, bashfully tucking his chin to his shoulder. “Niki'll be there, cuz he gots to drive the car, but that's ok. He won't be trouble.” The boy suddenly swung his head in Yukio's direction. “Right Niki, she can go right?”

 

 

Yukio's brain momentarily ceased functioning when she turned stormy blue eyes back on him, trapped him with their intensity. He was saved from further idiocy by his little brother grabbing his hand in his two little ones.

 

“Right, Niki?” he asked again.

 

Yukio shook his head to dispel the fog clouding his senses. The girl's scent was distracting him, probably due to the way it reminded him of food. Still, he was at a loss how to answer the pup.

 

“Now aren't you the little Romeo?” he teased to cover up his delay. “What makes you think she'd want to eat happy meals with us?”

 

Ian gave him a look that said he was clearly lacking in intellect.

 

“Well she said she was hungry,” he replied, as if that made all the difference. “She has a dog too! His name is Bernie. He's pretty!”

 

With that the toddler tugged Yukio towards the pair. Once satisfied the hanyou would follow, Ian released Yukio's hand in favor of rubbing the tolerant old dog's head.

 

The girl was still staring at him, quiet, tense and ready to bolt. From the closer viewpoint, he could see the dark smudges under her eyes and the faint lines around her mouth that attested to a lack of sleep and great distress. The strong smell of her fear was making him distinctly uncomfortable and her extended silence was setting his youki on edge again.

 

“Hi,” he called softly, attempting to be as non-threatening as possible. “I'm Yukio.” He extended his hand to her.

 

She looked down at his hand like it could bite him, then back up to his face. She didn't back away, but she didn't touch him either. Yukio cleared his throat and tried again.

 

“Thank you for putting up with my otouto,” he said. “I know he can be a little overwhelming when he gets to talking. Don't worry, it just means he likes you.”

 

Something in his words seemed to pull the girl from whatever fears she might have had as her little brows dropped in confusion.

 

“Otouto?” she asked and Yukio had to smile at having elicited the soft sound.

 

 

“It's Japanese for younger brother,” he explained. “Our family is from Japan and we're making sure he knows both English and his native language.”

 

She visibly relaxed at his explanation, the fear lessening in her scent. Though it didn't fade completely, he was grateful to have the assault on his youki removed.

 

The skeptical look in her eyes seemed to doubt the truth of his claim. Due to the combined strength of his father's fang and his mother's miko blessings, he knew his concealment spell ensured most humans would see him as a young Japanese man with short black hair and dark brown eyes. Only those humans who possessed spiritual powers could see through it; even then only those as strong as his mother saw more than a faint haze covering his body. Considering the girl's earlier reaction, she probably could see him as a hanyou without any distortion at all. His presumption was verified when she glanced up at the top of his head again. So, was she still nervous about his ears?

 

Intent upon verifying the source of her agitation, he flicked his right ear. The action earned him a startled gasp from the girl. Yup, definitely still nervous about the ears. Now, how to stop her from being so scared?

 

He cast about with his eyes and nose to ensure they were alone, just in case his plan to tease away her fear of him backfired. Then, he slowly crouched at a safe distance from her, inclined his head slightly towards her and whispered discretely. “Go ahead.”

 

She blinked. The turtleneck slipped from her nose when the lower half of her face bunched into a scowl, her fear evaporating. “Go ahead and what?”

 

He flicked both his ears, smirking boyishly. “They won't bite if you touch them.”

 

Her eyes widened, apparently shocked that he had deliberately called attention to the furry appendages. The fear returned, but thankfully not as strong as before. She eyed his ears carefully, as if refusing to believe they really were there. Worrying her bottom lip between her teeth, she moved to unwrap one of her arms from her mid-section. Before she could do more than shift her muscles, a shrill voice cut through the silence.

 

“Mr. Fushikenwa! I did not say you were permitted to wander throughout my home. We need to finish discussing the counter measurements.” She paused, glowering at him as she took notice of all who were in the room. With an exasperated sigh, she shook her head at the girl by his side. “Rebecca Clarkson, what have I told you about parading about in front of the help when you're not presentable? For Heaven's sake you haven't even fixed your hair! Could you please, at least make an attempt, to behave like a person of your breeding should? I'm tired of having to correct you every time I turn around.”

 

She turned her attention back on Yukio without missing a beat. “Now, if you're quite done loafing about in my sun room, young man, I'd like to get back to the job I'm paying you for.”

 

With a final, pointed glare at Yukio, Mrs. Clarkson turned and left the room, clearly expecting to be obeyed. Yukio winced, but gave the girl an apologetic smile. He stood up and went to retrieve Ian, untangling the boy's pudgy fingers from the dog's thick fur. However, just before he turned to leave the room he was stopped by her soft, but defiant, reply.

 

“It's Becca.”

 

 

 

A.N.

 

Thank you to my Beautiful Beta LadyBlade

Check out her wonderful IY Fic, Fated Existence