InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ When Lights Go Down ❯ Chapter 11

Izayoi glanced in irritation at the child who sat in her mother's lap. It had only been five minutes since the judge had handed out her decision and she'd received custody of the boy, but the hanyou still hadn't stopped his wailing or screaming for his father. She wished he would. As far as she was concerned, the child should have been happy that she, his mother, was back in his life. Shaking her head, Izayoi pulled her cigarettes out and lit one up.

 

Next to her, her father glared at the five-year-old boy. Then, without warning, he reached over and smacked the child. Hard. Instantly, her son stopped his crying, but continued to whimper. Tears still spilled down his cheeks.

 

“Quiet, boy,” came the bark. “Your wailing is becoming ridiculous. Not another sound. You hear me?”

 

“Thank you, Father,” Izayoi murmured, taking a drag off her cigarette. They'd be home soon and she couldn't wait to get there. Her boyfriend would be waiting for her. She couldn't wait to spend some time alone with him. This whole court ordeal, she felt, had been rather stressful and she was in need of relief. Naraku knew just how to take care of her stress.

 

Several minutes later, the limo pulled up next to her parents' house and they climbed out. A dark-haired, crimson-eyed man stood on the porch, waiting for her and smiling warmly. Crushing out her cigarette, Izayoi took her son away from her mother then approached him, ignoring how limp the child felt in her arms. Wearing a smile of her own, she approached him then noted he was frowning at her. Her parents breezed by them, heading inside.

 

“Hey, baby . . .”

 

“Who's this?” Naraku inquired, pointing at her son.

 

“This is my son,” she beamed. “I have custody of him now!”

 

“What?!”

 

“I took his father to court and sued for custody,” Izayoi stated. “The judge granted it to me when InuTaisho started to leave, taking him away. The bailiff took him away from his father in the nick of time, though. Isn't he a handsome child?”

 

“Yeah,” her boyfriend nodded, his frown deepening. “Hand him here, Izayoi.”

 

“Sure,” Izayoi smiled again, handing her son over. “His name is Inuyasha, by the way.”

 

“Why is he limp like this?” Naraku demanded coolly.

 

“Oh, he was fussing on the way here,” she replied casually. “Father had to hit him to get him to stop. Probably just another way for him to throw a fit.”

 

“Izayoi, his lips are slightly blue . . . Does he have asthma or something?”

 

“According to his father, he has asthma,” Izayoi shrugged, pulling her cigarettes out again. As she looked back up at him, his hand connected with her cheek, almost as hard as her father had struck Inuyasha. Stunned and holding her cheek, Izayoi backed away from him.

 

“Have you no scruples, woman?” Naraku hissed, his red eyes burning. “That man has been the only parent this boy has known and you tear him away?! Then you dare smoke in front of this child when it's been made clear he has asthma?! Good Gods, woman! You shouldn't even have custody of him!”

 

“Well, I do!” she retorted. “He's my son as well!”

 

“A child you abandoned,” Naraku stated coldly. “A child that doesn't know you because of that abandonment.”

 

She opened her mouth to say something more but Naraku brushed by her, shoving her to the ground. Inuyasha lay cradled against him, almost listless. Alarmed, Izayoi got to her feet.

 

“Where are you going?”

 

“To the hospital, Izayoi,” he spat. “This child needs medical attention. Now.”

 

“You can't!” she protested.

 

“I can and I will,” Naraku informed her coolly. “And I'll also do whatever it takes to make sure this child gets back to his father.”

 

“I did this for you! I thought this would make you happy,” she began then stopped when his cold gaze landed on her again.

 

“Being the cause of this child's unhappiness would not make me happy, Izayoi,” he murmured, “so don't hang your actions on me. If you loved this child, you would have left him alone and waited for him to be ready to see you. He wasn't. I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up hating you for this.”

 

Naraku placed her son in his car then locked the door. Then he was gone.

 

* * *

 

Naraku glanced at the little child sitting in his passenger seat, pangs of sympathy and guilt rolling over him. The boy hardly moved, could barely breathe even. His ears drooped while his head hung to one side. Tears stained the little one's cheeks while a large bruise had started to form on the left side of the hanyou's face. His chest barely rose though it was obvious to Naraku that he was trying to get air into his lungs. The child had been traumatized by his mother's actions. There was no doubt about that, and he'd been part of the reason behind Izayoi's actions.

 

'I told her to take responsibility for her actions . . . to find out what happened to the child . . . not to rip him away from the only family he's ever known,' he scowled, gripping the steering wheel tighter and staring straight ahead. 'Stupid woman.'

 

“`urts,” came the weak moan. Naraku glanced back at him.

 

“What was that?”

 

“`urts . . .”

 

“Hurts? Your chest hurts?”

 

The boy managed a nod. Naraku reached over and stroked his cheek.

 

“Don't worry, little one. I'm taking you to the doctor. You'll feel better soon,” he promised. “Then we'll get a hold of your daddy and tell him to come and get you. Does that sound good?”

 

“`apa . . .”

 

Fresh tears welled in faded amber eyes.

 

“Yes. Papa. We'll get your papa for you.”

 

Naraku pulled into the parking lot to Tokyo Hospital then hurriedly carried the boy into the ER. One of the nurses immediately recognized the child in his arms and promptly took him away. He followed her to make sure the hanyou would be all right, watching with a sickened stomach as the little one was given a steroid shot then hooked up to a respirator.

 

As he observed the flurry of activity, Naraku noted the way the nurses talked to the pup, how they told him everything they were doing. Then he watched the pup's eyes. The only time they moved was when his ears moved. Otherwise, the pupils to his eyes never dilated. The child didn't even blink when he gazed at the ceiling, towards the bright lights overhead. With a cold feeling in the pit of his stomach, he realized that the child couldn't even see.

 

“Kami,” he breathed. “This poor child . . .”

 

“Will be doing much better, now that he's here,” a cold voice stated. “Thank you for bringing him here.”

 

Startled, Naraku whirled around to see a familiar-looking man in a white lab coat standing behind him. The doctor gave him a cold stare as he strode by then moved to the boy's side. Instantly, his demeanor changed and he graced the little one with a warm smile.

 

“Inuyasha . . . it's Dr. Sugara . . . we're going to get you admitted here pretty soon. Your father's got a few things he needs to take care of yet but he'll be here the moment he's done. He's going to be very happy to see you.”

 

After he had spoken to Inuyasha, the doctor turned a steely eye back on him.

 

“How'd he get that bruise? And, for that matter, how did he end up with you?”

 

“His mother told me that her father hit him to get him to stop crying,” Naraku stated, meeting the doctor's stare, unflinching. “The bruise was starting to form when she presented him to me as her son. As for how I ended up with him . . .” He then looked at the small child resting in the hospital bed. “His mother is my girlfriend . . . he was so listless in her arms and she didn't even pay attention to that . . . I had to get him away from her and bring him here . . .”

 

“You know Izayoi? How fortunate for you,” Miroku sneered.

 

“Listen, Miroku, I'm not here to fight,” he stated. “I brought that child here because he needed medical attention . . .”

 

“Well, he's here and he's in safe, capable hands. You can leave now.”

 

“I'm not leaving until his father shows up,” Naraku stated coolly.

 

“You will leave these premises immediately or I'll . . .”

 

“You'll leave that child open for his mother to come in and take him away. That's what you'll do,” he informed the seething man. “I know her. I know her better than you do. She's already gotten one judge to give her custody of a child she shouldn't have custody over. What makes you think she couldn't buy a doctor to take over Inuyasha's care? I suggest admitting that child under a different name and keeping it down that he's hanyou and only giving it to his father once he arrives.”

 

Miroku's jaw dropped, his eyes blinking, as if he couldn't believe what Naraku was telling him. If he refused to listen, well . . . Naraku would just have to find a way to make him listen.

 

“You're serious about this, aren't you?”

 

“Hai,” he nodded. “Very serious. I may be a bit of a bastard but I'm not cold-hearted, Miroku, despite what my half-sister might say about me. I'm not leaving until Inuyasha's father shows up and he's safe once more.”

 

“Very well,” the doctor nodded. “I'll let you stay but only until Shimizu-sama arrives.”

 

“Thank you.”

 

Naraku then moved away from the doctor, taking a seat next to the hanyou child's bed, intent on waiting it out.

 

* * *

 

“Kami, how the hell did this happen?” came the sigh.

 

“We're not sure,” came the response. “Fortunately, it's easy to remedy . . . and makes it easier for us to suspend Judge Susana without pay. It proves she's been in the Hukara pocket for some time now.”

 

“That it does,” the man nodded thoughtfully. “Reverse her decision and suspend her. And let Shimizu-sama know he can press charges against her and the Hukara clan if he so desires.”

 

“Very well. Consider it done.”