InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Truth's Tears ❯ An Old Friend ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer~ All rights for Inu Yasha belong to Rumiko Takahashi. This fiction is only for entertainment purposes. And if any part of this fanfiction resembles another it is purely coincidental.

Chapter Nine ~ An Old Friend

For Love

Silent whispers plea,

For us, never be.

For truth, never see.

For love, never she.

Darkness to feel,

For us, never heal.

For truth, never kneel.

For love, never kill.

Gray of lore,

For us, never nor.

For truth, never bore.

For love, never core.

Rose to die,

For us, never cry.

For truth, never deny.

For love, never lie.

Memory so deep,

For us, never sleep.

For truth, never leap.

For love, never keep....

~~Inca_dove~~

It was dark and it was damp and Taro could distinctly smell the faint scent of mildew. Why the hell was he up here again? Oh that's right. He was looking for something. Taro groaned softly before he pulled the flashlight from his back pocket and filled the room with light. His mother's life long collection of junk springing to life under the soft glow of the light. Rows and rows of boxes upon boxes stood before him, his mother's delicate handwriting labeled most if not all of them.

Heaving a heavy sigh, Taro proceeded forward glancing briefly to his sides. What he was looking for would be buried in the back, with the rest of his mother's oldest belongings, and without a doubt, under a ton of dust too. Wandering aimlessly through the tangible evidence of his past, Taro stopped momentarily when he spotted an old toy.

An old, battered, miniature child-sized a toy sword.

Taros couldn't help the simple irony that this particular toy pointed out to him. His mother may have never had the guts to tell him outright about her past yet she had involuntarily hinted to it all along with her choice of his toys. Shaking his head, Taro chuckled softly to himself as he turned away from the toy and continued to move deeper into the attic. And as he expected, the dust seemed to get thicker the further back he got. What had been a light dusting had suddenly turned into blobs of the stuff and that with the dust bunnies was enough to make him groan.

Dust. Allergies. Yay!

No matter how much Taro really hated doing this, this being digging around through stuff that hadn't seen the light of day for nearly 20 plus years, he had promised his mother he would find the battered trunk and dig through it. That thought was even more unappealing to him than kicking aside the dust bunnies that got in his way.

The truth of the matter was simply that his mother knew he didn't believe a bit of what she had told him. Well, who could blame him really. He was 23 years old, his mother was ill and already half senile and she was telling him that when she was merely 15 she had started off on some exciting adventure that had begun by some centipede demon lady dragging her down a dusty old well? And yet, somewhere deep within him, Taro wanted to believe her. But like with everything in this day and age, he needed some proof. Some form of tangible evidence that what she was saying was not some weird fairy tale her drug induced mind had come up with. So here he was, rummaging through belongings that were a couple of decades old, not truly knowing what he was really looking for.

Taro stopped, he had reached the end of the attic and the oldest of the relics lying off to his side. The glow from his flashlight resting on a grimy lavender trunk, this must be the one. Stepping forward he was shocked to realize he was somehow excited about opening this old footlocker and finding what mysteries it held. Lowering the light and propping it upon a nearby box, Taro slowly bent down and ran his hand over the top dislodging the layer of dust that rested there. Hesitantly he flicked the lock open and lifted the heavy lid and looked inside.

Taro's violet eyes widened at what he saw lying inside the dusty trunk.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Mommy?"

A young woman sighed softly as she carefully scrubbed the dirt from her son's face, "Yes Taro."

Bright violet eyes questioning his mother while his small hands clasped and unclasped the fabric of his jeans.

"What was my daddy like?"

His mother froze suddenly, her hand dropping the wash cloth and her eyes glazing over. Kagome had always known Taro would eventually ask this question, but she still wasn't ready to answer it yet. She wasn't ready to talk about HIM yet, the hurt was still too fresh in her mind. The pain from their parting still tearing at her soul and the anger still boiling deep within her heart at the unfair circumstances. She had to tell him something to satisfy his curiosity, but what could she say?

Retrieving the wash cloth from Taro's lap, Kagome cleared her throat softly before looking into her son's eyes.

"Taro," his eyes were suddenly very alert, "your father was a good man. He was strong and brave and..." Kagome's voice broke as she remembered HIM, "and..." tears spilled from her eyes as hundreds of memories came back to her, "and...he was my star, my real star."

Taro's young face frowned as he watched his mother cry silently, his young mind not understanding what was wrong. Why she was crying, did his daddy do something bad?

"Mommy? Where is daddy?"

Kagome felt her heart break all over again, tears rolling freely down her cheeks. There was still too much pain, after five years there was still so much sadness in her heart, her old wounds still hadn't healed. Kagome couldn't answer that question, after all of these years she still couldn't handle the truth.

"Taro...go outside and play for a while okay. Mommy has things she needs to get done."

Taro simply shook his shoulders as he turned away from his mom and ran back outside to play. Kagome watched her son leave her hands trembling as she fought for control then looking up she smiled a heartbroken smile.

"He's a good boy. You'd be so proud of him."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

`She was telling the truth. She hadn't been lying, she hadn't been overcome by the drugs as she told her story. Mom was telling me the truth!'

Taro stared at the small amount of possessions in the trunk, each one practically screaming that it had a history. Reaching inside he gently pulled aside the blankets that had been protecting the valuable pieces of his mother's past. His hand gently gliding over the wooden handle of a very old bow, softly fingering the well-groomed feathers of a single arrow and lifting the slightly stiff leather quiver. Setting them beside him with a small smile and a shake of his head, `Mom actually used this? Wow.' He turned his attention back inside and pulled out the next largest idem, a huge, well used and slightly battered yellow book bag still stuffed to its teeth with medical supplies, ramen, candy, personal necessities, notebooks, school books, pencils, clothes and so many other items Taro had never seen before. The next item he reached for was a small wooden box, roughly the same size as a cigar box but highly decorative. Sitting back on his haunches, Taro carefully opened the little box and gazed inside. Several strange items greeted him as he tenderly reached for a small figurine.

"Ah, the dog replica that Sango had made." Turning the three-inch figure around in his fingers as he looked at it, Taro couldn't stop the smile that returned to his lips. "This must be Inu Yasha, from what mom told me I have to agree it looks like him." Chuckling softly, he returned it to the box and reached for the child's top.

"These must be some of the gifts mom received for her birthday. This must have been from Shippo, she said he was a fox demon. Cool." He lowered it back to the box before thinking against it and pocketing it. `Mom said he was kinda like another son to her, maybe this will cheer her up some.'

Next was the vile of scented oil from the monk, what was his name again? Miroku? Pulling the cork from the top Taro risked a quick sniff and smiled, it was nearly the same as the perfume she always wore, just a bit more natural and woodsy and not nearly as flowery. He set it back in the box and turned his attention to a silver necklace with a rather large gem hanging from it.

Lifting it out, Taro frowned. It felt different. Bringing the small necklace closer to the light, his eyes widened. It wasn't made of silver but white hair! And the jewel was nothing more than a wooden bead. Could this possibly be what he thought it was? Was this a lock of Inu Yasha's hair and one of the beads from the subduing necklace? Why on earth did she have this, she never mentioned it before. Taro pocketed this too knowing his mother would want to have this close by.

Finally he had reached the most intriguing of the items, photos. Curiosity taking over him as he quickly pulled the small stack out and set the box down. They were quite old and yellowing but what he saw nearly caused his stomach to drop out. They were all here, everyone his mother had mentioned were right here! Photo's of her with Inu Yasha, Shippo, that monk and Sango. They were all staring back at him from the pictures, everyone smiling and laughing and looking so very real.

A pang of sadness washed over Taro as he gazed over the pictures of his mother. He'd never seen such a happy expression on her face, and he'd never seen a smile touch her face that lit up her eyes too. And in these pictures she was glowing with happiness, surrounded by her friends. These were the people that had held such an important role in her life, these were the people that had meant so much to her. These were the people she had risked her very life for, her very existence.

Smothering a sudden yawn, Taro slowly set the pictures back into the decorative little box. He'd have to look over the rest later, right now he was tired and he had a long day tomorrow. Carefully returning everything but the box back into the trunk, Taro left the dusty attic for fresh air. He still had to drive back to his apartment tonight and the sun was already beginning to set. Tenderly holding the small box under one arm, Taro left the place he had grown up and locked the door before heading back to his car and heading home.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Leaning over the railing that over looked the small man-made lake a tall man sighed softly to himself as he reached into one of his jacket pockets and pulled out a lollipop. A soft breeze brushed through his hair causing the man to groan softly before looking up to the sky. The sun had risen, and with it came another day of walking through streets he hadn't seen for nearly twenty years. Had it really been that long since he'd walked these roads last? Had it been that long since he had seen her, worried about her? Yanking the clear plastic wrapper from the sweet and tossing it into the closest bin, he popped the small purple sucker into his mouth and savored the flavor.

"Mmm, grape." He murmured around the sucker in his mouth. It didn't matter how many of these he ate, he never tired of them. They always reminded him of her and happier days. A smile graced his features before he pushed away from the railing and turned away from the tranquility of the lake. He needed to be somewhere today, and it would just waste time if he stayed and continued to think.

Hands tucked into his pockets, the man slowly strolled from the small park and through the busy city. Easily dodging between people and avoiding walking into anyone all the while he hummed a short tune around the sucker in his mouth. To anyone passing him, he simply seemed to be at ease and at peace with the world around him when in fact he felt neither. He hated crowds, lots of people in small places annoyed him, he hated cities, everything smelled like smog, he hated all of the noise to many damn cars and people talking to themselves, and most of all he hated the reason he was back.

Stepping around the corner, his destination finally came to view, the tall white building with the bold inscription of Tokyo Hospital. Walking quietly to the front door and neatly stepping inside he ambled across the clean linoleum floor and to the information desk. He worked the sucker around in his mouth making soft smacking sounds while he waited patiently for the receptionist to finish her conversation over the phone and notice him.

"Can I help you?"

Smiling around the sucker he responded, "I'm looking for the room Miss Kagome Higurashi is staying in."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yawning into the back of his hand, Taro wearily pressed the elevator button to the sixth floor. He had been unable to get much sleep last night. Hundreds of questions had run through his mind, and only one in particular had chased away any and all hopes of him getting a good night rest. Had his mother met his dad in the past? Was he Inu Yasha? Is that why she had always been so upset when he asked about him? The journal he found along with the photos hadn't given him any answers either, instead, it left him with many more questions.

Taro forced his thoughts to stop when the elevator doors opened. Stepping out and slowly walking to his mother's room, he gently pulled out the items from his coat pockets. He hoped these would brighten her day some reminding her of the happier times and then maybe allow her to revel to him a real smile for the first time in his life.

Reaching her room, Taro gently pushed the door open and stepped inside the small room. Her window curtain had been pulled open and the outside light gave life to the dreary little room. How in the world did doctors think that patients would do better in dark room was beyond him. Taro always made sure that his mother's room was awash in light, preferably natural. People needed light to heal, and his mother was in terrible need of healing. He shook his head to himself as he walked softly around the bed curtain he called out to her.

"Mom, I'm back. I brought some things with me that I think your going to like..." But instead of seeing his mother alone like he always did, he spotted a man leaning back in the chair next to her bed.

"Who the hell are you?" Something prickled the hairs on the back of his neck. Something was different about this man.

Slowly the stranger met Taro's eyes and smiled then quirked his head to the side, giving Taro a good view of the long tips of the creature's fangs. Panic swelled within his heart, forget who he was, what the hell was this guy!

"You know. You do look a lot like your pops." A soft chuckle broke from its throat, deep and dangerous in sound as it shook its head and returned its gaze back to his mother, "Don't worry kid. I'm an old friend of your mothers."

Shock overlapped worry as Taro responded sharply, "You knew my dad?"

The creature turned its gaze back to him, lifted one clawed hand and slowly pulled the dark sunglasses away. Revealing a pair of unnaturally bright green eyes, "Sit down, Taro."

Taro sneered, "The hell I will! You will tell me who the hell you are right now, and how you happen to know my mom and dad."

Soft laughter broke free from its mouth and for the first time since coming into the room Taro noticed it had long red hair. Pieces of the puzzle suddenly came together, red hair, green eyes, fangs, claws... `No, it couldn't be!' Quickly he reached into his coat pocket and grabbed the pictures from within, his hands shaking slightly as he looked at the photograph with his mother and a small boy.

"Your...your HIM!"

The man simply smiled wider and winked mischievously before speaking again, "Have a seat, Taro. There's still a lot more for you to hear."

tbc...

Special thanks to everyone who has continued reading, and to those of you who continue to leave reviews.

Lady Sesshoumaru

Slywolf9

Akira103

Lilith Queen

Naheta