InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Heart Healed Over ❯ Home ( Chapter 55 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: FullMetalArm 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.17.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 8.3K | Visits: 164 | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Drama | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 03.17.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 8.3K | Visits: 164 | Status: Completed
55 coming’ at ya
Chapter 55
“The party you have dialed has been disconnected. Please try your call again later.” Seiya stared angrily at the phone. He didn’t know if what had just happened was intentional or accidental, but he was mad just the same. Putting the receiver back on the hook, he checked his identification and ticket to see that he had only a few more minutes left until his bus came to take him to into Canada. Since his last visit, the United States and Canada required passports and identification for all incoming and outgoing travelers.
Settling into a seat, he grabbed a bottle of soda out of his bag, took a long drink, and sighed happily at the cold feeling as he tried to remember his destinations. Taking another sip he went over his trip up to the point where he was at that moment. He had just spent a couple of weeks in Boston beginning to finally forget his whole ordeal in Japan. But, before he’d been in Boston, he’d taken a brief pit stop in New York. The town was definitely different than what he’d thought it was going to be. Yet, in the same instance it was a lot like Tokyo with all the people jammed together, and so much going on that you couldn’t even keep your mind straight for even a moment.
He’d taken a room at a decent hotel. He couldn’t remember the name of it, but he did have the bible from the room in his bag as a souvenir, not to mention a copy of “Zagat’s,” in memoriam to the old Adam Sandler and Chris Farley sketch. While in town he had caught a couple of shows just for the sake of it. He’d spent two nights laughing at some well known comics, he’d even managed to get pictures with them. Another night he caught a local blues band, not bad considering he wasn’t interested in the blues. And after that he’d taken in a few sights around town before catching a train to Boston.
For the remaining two weeks of the month, Seiya spent his time in a hotel again. It was small, but very cozy and with good food. It was on his third day there that he decided to send a post card home. Grabbing one of the larger ones he wrote out a short note to his family.
HI guys,
As you’ve guessed by the picture and words on the front of the card that I’m in Boston. It’s a good place to rest after the traveling I’ve done. I was in New York after L.A.. And I’m planning on visiting my mom soon. I’ll send some gifts and another card, maybe even call in he near future. Hope all is well at the house.
Love,
Seiya a.k.a Daddy.
Putting it into a rush delivery envelope, Seiya paid for it’s delivery, and made his way back out onto the town for a good hot lunch. He was lucky that he’d taken so much out of his account as the Dollar to Yen amount had just changed leaving him with ten-thousand for the next few months. He didn’t know how long he was going to be in the country and was spreading his money as far as he could since anything could happen between then and now.
Stopping at a small local place he grabbed a seat and ordered a meal of clamp strips, biscuits, fries, and of course soup. Looking at his watch he figured that Sesshomaru would be either be waiting up for Rin, working, or going to bed himself. “Good thing I got used to the change in New York,” was all he said before taking a bite of his food. It seemed forever since he’d eaten due to his rush to get to the train the day before leaving him no time to eat and worn out from the three kids that wouldn’t shut up as he tried to catch a nap on the train.
He finished his meal with a loud groan of satisfaction, paid for it, and then made his way to a small park where he opened his bag. Rummaging through it he found what he needed for his survival. The first was his passport, since he would be heading into Canada it would be required. Then there was his money, approximately seven-thousand, eight-hundred twelve dollars and fifty-four cents remained because of his plane tickets, food, and lodging. Setting the money back in he pulled out his tickets saying, “Thank god for flyer miles.” When he checked the tickets to the itinerary, Seiya got up and went back to the hotel for a small rest.
Now, it was the end of his stay in Boston and he was handing a ticket to the driver, Seiya grabbed a seat and stared out the window. It took a good twenty minutes for all the bags to be loaded underneath and for everyone to get their seats. The driver came on saying that there first stop would be four hours and that the bathroom was for bladder problems only. The group laughed and they were finally off to Canada. Plugging in his headphones, Seiya could only laugh as the first chords of “Mama I’m Coming Home,” began to drift into his ears sending him into a deep sleep.
He didn’t know it, but Seiya was now dreaming of the events that led him to going on this trip in order to give his daughter time to recover from what she’d seen. He’d just stabbed a demon through the throat spraying blood on his now mangled clothes. Inuyasha was having fun slicing through the guards while Seiya just did it as a means to an end. Stepping over the dead body, Seiya felt a sting in his shoulder as a demon snickered. Seeing the bladed whip in the demon’s hand, Seiya set up a barrier as the next attack launched at him.
“Oh no ya don’t!” were the words Inuyasha shouted as he sent his blood blades through the metal whip. Hissing the cat tried to run, but was cut down by Inuyasha. Pulling his sword out, Inuyasha flicked the blood off it and gave a strong sniff. “Well she’s somewhere around her. More than likely through that door.”
Seiya noticed the door to be made of solid metal. What type, he didn’t know, yet he was sure it would be difficult to get past. The pair walked up to it cautious of any traps that might be around. Knocking on it loudly, Seiya put his ears against it saying, “Well I guess since it’s the heaviest door in this part it must be where they’re keeping her.” Inuyasha pulled the boy back, raised his blade, and gave it a heavy swing.
Tetsaiga sliced through it with minor difficulty. The door was thicker than they thought and it fell with a loud thud spreading dust all over the place. Stepping through the debris Seiya heard a voice shout, “Daddy!” Looking through squinted eyes, Seiya saw Khilu smiling happily at her father coming to rescue her. Rushing toward her, Seiya felt that she was in his reach when a foot caught him in the ribs, sending his sword into the wall with a the sound of a knife on a whetstone.
“Seiya are you all right?” Inuyasha rushed to his friends side glad to find the boy still breathing. Looking over his shoulder, the half-breed saw his old enemy and a new girl standing near him. His nose twitched at the scent she was giving off. “I know you.” Picking up his blade, Inuyasha let his energy transform it as he asked, “I thought you were in love with him? Why would you do this to him?” He pointed the blade at her throat in an attempt to force an answer out of her. But, before he could get out another word, Jakotsu knocked the blade away and cut into Inuyasha’s shoulder.
Gasping loudly, Inuyasha stumbled back hissing, “I always wanted a rematch with you bastards.” Putting his blade in front of him, Inuyasha began to prepare a Kaze no Kizu, but shut it down after remembering Khilu was in the room. Getting into a more appropriate stance he said, “You won’t be a match for me with out a shard.” Finishing his sentence, Inuyasha stabbed forward only to have his blade knocked away and have a foot planted in his face.
Seiya heard the grunts and climbed to his feet. Clutching his ribs he looked at the battle and nearly fainted at the sight before him. Walking forward slowly he asked, “Why you Mia?” The girl said nothing in order to allow the two men to battle. Flicking her wrist a spear appeared out of nowhere and she stabbed forward at Seiya’s heart. Dropping to the ground quickly, Seiya rolled and grabbed a piece of metal, blocking the next blow mere milliseconds before it killed him.
Pressing down on the metal gently, Mia smiled seeing how much stronger she was saying, “Oh, come now Seiya, you don’t even remember that one time?” She transformed on the spot, revealing her more feline nature. Her hair was much longer and a deep red, her ears grew pointed and her eyes had slits for pupils instead of circles. Grinding her blade against her former classmates guard growling, “You met me at that council gathering when you sliced off that dragon demons arm. Remember, I taunted you about my master?”
Seiya’s eyes bugged at his failure to recognize her on that trip through the well. But how could he with the difference of five-hundred years changing her appearance. Seiya tried to fight back, yet he was kept pinned to the ground when a loud scream of pain ripped their ears. Looking up, Mia’s eyes flared with anger forcing her to lose her grip. Seiya shoved her spear to the side and rolled over to see Jakotsu with a large gash in his arm.
Smirking at the wound, Inuyasha rushed forward for the kill when the man surprised them with a whip of light wrapping around the sword in order to rip it from it’s owners hands. Cursing, Inuyasha jumped back and landed next to Khilu saying, “So, you’ve gotten some of my brother’s powers I see. That explains why you stink worse than you did the last time we fought.” Smirking, Jakotsu threw his sword away and lifted his good arm. Baring his fangs, the hanyou crouched on the ground, his silver hair covering him before he darted forward.
Jakotsu pulled out his whip, hurling it forward at blinding speed when Khilu shouted for him to stop. The whip fell to the ground, limp making the revived human open for an attack. Inuyasha rammed his head into the ribs of his nemesis. Coughing up some blood, Jakotsu tried to retaliate, but was stopped again by Khilu telling him not to hurt her uncle. Looking at his hand, Jakotsu asked, “Why can’t I do this?” Looking at the girl, Jakotsu was overwhelmed with feelings of paternal love. Punching the ground the man said in a low voice, “I see.” Getting up, Jakotsu said to his opponent, “I can’t fight you anymore. “
Smirking, Inuyasha stood up saying, “I get it. They used some of my brothers body and revived you.” Looking to Khilu, Inuyasha snorted out, “And that keeps you from harming anyone close to him.” Turning back he added, “Or hurting anyone close to one he loves.” Jakotsu grabbed his sword and prepared to leave when he fell to the ground holding his head as he shouted in pain.
Looking up, Seiya saw Mia holding a bit of metal in her hand, her hand pressed on the lower button of it. Giving Jakotsu a look he got the idea amidst the screams of his daughter as she tried to get Jakotsu to stop screaming. Inuyasha glared at Mia saying, “Seems you thought this through should he try to betray you.” Mia let go of the button nodding briskly while stepping forward.
“Of course I did you fool. What do you take me for, a fool?” Pressing the button again, Mia watched as her creation writhed in pain before a screaming four year-old. Inuyasha wanted to move, but she was to close to Khilu and an attack could get the child caught in the shockwave of his blow should he miss. Grinning at the helplessness of her creation, Mia stepped forward, spear raised for a killing blow, when Khilu transformed and latched on to her leg making her scream as the set of teeth set into her body.
Khilu growled as her fangs released her poison into Mia’s body. Feeling the poison spread into her body, Mia smacked the black haired pup away from her. With puff of smoke, Khilu turned back into herself shaking against the wall as she watched the fight. Mia looked at her leg, lifted the spear again thrusting down with a force that would surely shatter the body of her downed creation when a sudden feeling of blood dripping down her back.
Turning slowly she saw the jagged bit of metal that Seiya had used as a weapon embedded into her left shoulder. With a squelching noise, the metal came out of her shoulder spraying blood onto the boys face. Staggering around she saw a look of pure fury in his eyes, not like the one he had during the council when his body had turned into a hanyou. His blood was still human and no markings had appeared on his face. Clutching her shoulder, Mia tried to run, only to have the metal split her skull with a sickening crack.
Her eyes rolled into her head as Seiya pulled it out, and when she fell he hit her again, breaking her ribs. Each hit split her body apart the adrenaline strengthened boy continued to destroy her. After an eternity, Seiya stared down, watching the blood drain from the girl as he heaved with exhausted breath. Khilu stared at her father from the corner while Inuyasha moved Jakotsu over to her. The sound of footsteps making their way into the now destroyed room. The blood covered human made no attempt to make any sort of comment at them. Instead he just continued to stare until a hand touched his shoulder. The sudden contact shook him to the reality of what he had just done making him fall to the ground and vomit all over the place.
A sudden jerk woke Seiya up as a little girl smiled over his seat saying, “Hey, mister! It’s time to go to the bathroom.” The girls father told her what she had just done was rude, but Seiya said with a yawn that it was okay. Grabbing his bag from under his seat, Seiya removed his foot from the strap and headed into the pit stop yawning loudly. Setting his bag down near the urinal, Seiya did his business and left without saying a word to anyone else.
Looking at the lobby map, he could see that he’d been asleep for well over eight hours putting him just under an hour away from his destination. Wondering why they’d stopped, Seiya looked to find the driver giving a satisfied sigh when exiting the bathroom. The man gave him a grin and said, “I’ve been holding that since we started.” Saying that was all he needed to know, Seiya got back onto the bus and realized that they were parked outside an immigration checkpoint. Grabbing his passport and other identification items, Seiya went into the building and filled out all of his paper work.
Half an hour later, Seiya was writing the last few bits of his fourth to final chapter when the driver said, “We will be arriving at the Toronto Bus Station in just under forty-five minutes. Please make sure that all your belongings are with you before departure and have a great stay in Canada.” The radio clicked and everyone began a sort of mad dash for all of their things. Lucky for Seiya he had a traveling pack filled with most of what he would need. Tooth brush, toothpaste, a weeks worth of clothes, boxers, and socks. And of course the two most important things, money and identification. Since he was using basically cash only, he didn’t really have much need for I.D., but it was always good to have it.
Finally, the bus came into the station where Seiya remained seated until the rest of the people were off to avoid injury. When he finally got off the machine, the boy made his way to the nearest map of the town to get his bearings. The first stop was something to eat and he had just the place in mind. Checking the map, he sighed at the long walk he was going to have, but it would be worth it. Writing the directions down, Seiya left the building and checked for the first street. After a few minutes he found it and made his way down the road.
The trip was easy enough, but the length was what made it annoying for the already stiff man. Finally after an hour, the familiar sign reading, “The Pink Plate,” came into view. Making his way carefully through the crowd, Seiya entered to find the place only half-full, but loud enough as a woman screamed and ran out from behind the counter.
Lost in a sea of red, and not to mention being suffocated, Seiya managed a hug and a small greeting before being let loose to breathe. Wiping away a few tears the woman asked, “Well you just look terrific honey! It’s been awhile, but at least you wrote to us over all these years.” Clearing open a seat, the woman said, “So, what the fuck brings you all the way out here without that devil of a husband with you? And, let’s not forget your two daughters who are growing so fast.”
Smiling embarrassingly, Seiya said, “I’ll tell you that if I can get something to eat while I talk, if it’s not too much trouble?” His stomach gave a loud grumble making the woman gasp in shock at his stomach’s voice. Getting to her feet, she told the cook to make a double-cheese burger and a large order of fries. “Jeez, Deb I’m not starving. I just haven’t eaten that much today.” Saying that he should be grateful for the food, Debby poured him a large glass of water before taking a few orders.
When she put those up onto the rotator, the waitress came back asking, “Okay, so what are you doing out here without your kids and husband?” The sudden droop in Seiya’s face told her enough to have her hiss, “Did you leave them?” Seiya shook his head saying that he did, but not in the manner that she suspected. Grabbing his food she set it down in front of him, let him take a couple of bites before asking, “Then in what kind of fucking manner did you leave them?”
Swallowing his food, Seiya set the burger down saying, “Something happened, and Khilu can’t even stand the sight of me.” Keeping calm, Debby asked the boy what happened to make her do that. Breathing heavily, Seiya said in a low manner, “Somebody took her from us out of spite and when we found them I...” his voice trailed off and his hands began to shake. Seeing some tears fall the woman held them telling somebody to take her orders to the tables. Sniffling, Seiya whispered, “I hurt them in front of her and she saw everything.”
Debby hugged him over his food, glad that the restaurant had emptied for the most part because it was getting late. Kissing him she said, “It’s all right honey.” The boy cried a bit more before she let him go and wiped the tears from his face. When he was presentable she said, “You protected your baby and you’re a good father for that. She’ll get over it, but for now you are doing what you think is right. Unless of course she thinks it’s her fault that she left.”
Shrugging, Seiya said, “I think she feels that way, but Sesshomaru will make sure that she knows it’s not her fault. It’s my fault because I did that in front of her.” Debby smiled telling him that he was a good father. She spent the rest of her time having him talk about better things and when he was done told him that he would be spending the night with her.
He tried to fight the woman, but was interrupted by her saying, ‘You’re fucking staying with me and that’s the end of it.” Giving up, Seiya let her finish her shift before walking home with her. Once there, she showed him to a guest room and let him get cleaned up before he headed to bed. It felt nice to sleep in a real bed for once. Hotel mattresses were always too stiff and Seiya always woke up sore. The next day, Seiya was woken up by a plate of pancakes and eggs set over his lap.
“Eat up honey.” When Deb was gone, Seiya grabbed some juice and let his mouth get hydrated before tackling the food. He cleared it in a few minutes and taking it downstairs he found Deb ready to spend the day with him. When asked what was going on she replied, “I’m going to spend some time with you. I took the day off and my son is with his husband and kid for the weekend so I though why not bug the shit out of you?”
Grabbing his bag, Seiya told her that he was heading to a nearby cemetery for a personal visit. Telling him she didn’t care, Seiya asked what bus they should take to the cemetery. Looking at the map she said that the number seven would take them a few blocks away from it. “Luck’s favoring us because we only have a short time to wait for it.” While they waited Seiya showed Debby his notebooks for his novel.
Taking them she read for a moment and exclaimed, “This is great!” Reading some paragraphs, her face changed from a smile to a grimace. Holding it up she asked, “Why did you have this happen to the poor girl.” Reading the passage, Seiya smiled and held up his left arm and rolled up his sleeve showing off his scars. He’d originally had only scars down to his elbow, but after Polong had taken him, the demon decided to embarrass him even more by slicing three more down his forearm.
Looking at them in disgust, Debby ran her hand along them breathing, “You poor thing. That fucking bastard deserved whatever punishment he was given.” Rolling his sleeve back down, Seiya told her that he was satisfied with his life. Getting on the bus, the took the hour long trip to the nearest stop by the cemetery.
The walk between the two was silent. Debby didn’t really like cemeteries, yet with Seiya around she felt it would be bearable. Actually, she felt that way with anyone who went with her to one of the homes of the dead. Inside, Seiya pulled a couple of small items from his bag while heading up the hill. Taking a few turns, Debby watched him make his way easily through the headstones until he stopped and got on his knees.
Looking over his shoulder she saw a simple headstone with two angels placed on each side of it. Reading the name she watched as Seiya brushed off some moss before setting a small stick into the flower cup and lighting it. He blew the flame out and let the smoke drift for a moment before folding his hand in prayer. Keeping quiet, Debby let him finish his prayers in peace. She said a few for the boy as well and when he put out the incense she asked, “How’s your mom doing?”
Smiling, Seiya gave her a thumbs up he said, “She’s doing good. Says she’s proud of me and Sesshomaru for raising such fine girls.” Glad to see he was in a better mood, Debby tried to get him back home when he said, “I’m sorry to do this, but I have another stop to make and after that, I need to be heading back onto the road.” Debby started to yell at him but his look made her stop, so she settled for a thanks and a few bucks for her kindness. Setting back onto the road, Seiya began to head toward Gerald’s old home, but decided to instead start back on his trip.
After Toronto, Seiya caught a ride back into the U.S. where he made his way into Chicago. There he found the building he was looking for and when he began to look for the appropriate floor a security guard began to force him out. Realizing that he wasn’t dressed in the best of clothes, nor was he smelling that great, Seiya tried to show the man his I.D. but the problem was that it was in Japanese.
When the guard began to carry him out he shouted, “I’m telling you that I’m Jacob Constantine’s nephew ya bastard so let me in!” The guard said that the man was in no way related to Seiya and began to shove him out the door when a familiar voice told him to stop. The guard tried to argue, but Seiya pushed his way in saying, “I told you that I knew him.”
Stepping toe to toe with his visitor the man said, “To what do I owe this visit to? Your daddy cut you off, or you just want to soil the family name some more?” Seiya held back the urge to hit the man. Instead he kept his face stone cold, and his voice silent. Seeing that he would not get an answer in such condition’s the man led him to an elevator and hit the button for the top floor, where upon exiting he led his nephew into his office.
The secretary left two glasses of water on the desk and excused herself as the man said, “I know what you’re thinking. I hate you because of your blood, but that’s really not it.” Settling back, the man’s oily voice told his nephew, “I could care less about your dad. In fact the only reason I hated you was because my father blessed everyone of his children but me.” Looking down his nose, Jacob said, “So, I did my best to earn Mother’s love which I did. Even if it meant faking any sort of prejudices that Mother harbored toward you.”
Throwing a picture at the boy, Seiya could see his mother hugging her younger brother and smiling along with him. Staring up at his uncle Seiya asked, “Why make her hate you if you didn’t care?” His question earned some laughter from his uncle making the boy even more angry. Getting up he shouted, “Fine, then be that way you bastard! Take your mom’s money and keep it for yourself! At least my mother didn’t force herself to be hated!” Grabbing the picture, Seiya smashed the frame and took his mother with him growling, “You don’t even deserve to look at her.”
Grabbing his bag, Seiya stormed out of the office and headed out into the streets toward his next destination. After Chicago he went all over the place. First to the south into Texas where he made a couple of bucks playing bass for a local band. Then it was into Colorado for some time among the slopes. He didn’t ski, but the snow was refreshing after the heat of Texas. In Colorado though a small tragedy struck. He was out one night with his wallet in his pocket looking for a place to eat when he was taken into an alley and mugged. There was no reason to it, the people had just chosen him and they’d beaten him up pretty bad and glad because they’d gotten lucky that night.
They only took his money and save for the couple hundred he had in the hotel room, Seiya was flat broke now. And instead of whining about it he got up and staggered to the hotel, cursing himself for not bringing any of his bank cards with him. Upon reaching the alley next to the building, his stomach turned violently sending him into it puking up a bit of blood. When it was over he stood there gasping for air knowing that he needed to head home soon.
Getting into his room, Seiya sat in the bathroom patching up his wounds while checking a calendar he’d kept with him. As he traveled to mark down how long he’d been gone. Taking a look at it he gave a deep sigh seeing that it was already late June. Tossing it in the garbage he settled down for a long nights sleep before heading out to try and find a way into California as his flight was only five days away.
The next day he’d begun his trip down the side roads of Colorado. It was colder than he thought heading down the mountains and a ride into Nevada cost him all the money he had left. The driver of the truck had only demanded a hundred, but as the truck had broken down and the man was short, Seiya thought it was the least he could do to get them back on the road. The time it had taken for them to get the vehicle fixed took nearly a full day off their travels and they had to book it into Nevada.
When they’d reached a truck stop near Reno, Seiya thanked the guy and went in to get a drink. He had some change, but how he would get a ride was beyond him. He sat at the table finishing up a chapter when the waitress asked him what he wanted. Taking a look at his wallet he asked for a soda. Giving him a warm smile the lady walked away to get his drink, but he wasn’t left alone for long as a girl sat across from him asking, “Why are you at a truck stop with no cash?”
Arching a brow, Seiya gave her a quick look over, in no way surprised at the fact she was wearing a low cut mini-skirt and an incredibly revealing top. Seiya looked away with a blush after noticing her breasts were about to pop out of her top. Giggling she shook her chest saying, “Trust me honey, you ain’t the first person to see under these.” When the waitress came back with his drink, the girl gave the lady some cash much to Seiya’s disapproval. Giving him a wink she said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s only a couple of dollars. But, by some of the clothes that you have on your wallet should be bursting.” Taking a sip of his soda Seiya gave a small burp as he replied.
“You have a good sense in fashion. And you’re right, I should have a bit of money on me, but I got mugged a few days ago and the rest of the money I had was spent helping fix the car of a guy who drove me here from Boulder.” The girl gave him a look asking why he just didn’t use the ATM to which he answered, “I left all my cash cards back home. Which is why I need to get to L.A. so I can catch my flight back.”
When she asked to see his ticket, Seiya gave it to her cautiously, but chuckled as she bulged at seeing where he was heading. Giving them back she said, “Don’t you worry Seiya, I know a lot of the truckers who come through here and I’m sure I can get one to give you a ride to old L.A..” Seiya gave her a look of pure confusion at her sudden offer to help him. Seeing the look she said, “I just came back from a trip to visit my sister there. And believe me when I say that you won’t have to worry about paying anyone for gas.”
The tone in her voice told Seiya what she meant and before he could protest she was out the door. Staring after her, Seiya watched as she climbed into a truck with a somewhat decent looking trucker. When he went back to his drink the waitress said, “Don’t worry about her. Anyone who’s dealt with her knows not to try any funny stuff.” When she refilled his drink, Seiya waited patiently for the girl to return. It was a good forty-five minutes until she came out with a smile on her face. Looking out Seiya could see her waving to him and leaving a small tip he left to meet his ride.
Outside the rig, Seiya shook the mans hand as the girl said, “This is Seiya. Seiya this is Mike, he’ll be taking you to Los Angeles International.” When they broke apart the girl gave the guy a peck on the cheek saying, “Now, remember what I said about the gas. I gave you enough and plus it’s on your way to Oakland so you should be set.” Mike gave her a pat on the butt and she told him to stop before heading back into the diner.
Climbing into the truck, Seiya fastened his seat belt while Mike made a short call on the radio telling his pick up point he’d be there by morning. It wasn’t long until the driver tried to make conversation by saying, “Don’t worry about her. I know what she does, but I’m married so all I got was a back rub.” He pointed at a dangling picture of his wife and son smiling at him. Looking over to his passenger he asked, “You got a family?”
Nodding Seiya said, “I’m married and have two girls.” He pulled out a picture of Rin and Khilu saying, “The taller is Rin. She’s just about ten years younger than me, but she calls me Papa. And the little one is Khilu. She’s my own flesh and blood.” Mike gave a small chuckle as he told Seiya that you couldn’t really tell that they weren’t related because of their hair and looks. Smiling the passenger muttered, “No, you really can’t tell that they aren’t related.”
Coughing the driver asked, “So what about your old lady? I bet she’s a bit of a looker with how beautiful your daughter is.” Seiya said nothing, which to his ride meant he’d said something wrong. “Okay, I guess I hit a sensitive subject. I’ll stop asking.” Giving a sigh, Seiya pulled out a picture of Sesshomaru and showed his ride. Squinting at it a bit the man mumbled, “Is that a....are you gay?”
Nodding Seiya answered, “I am, and he’s been my husband for about five years now.” The silence was strained for a long while. Seiya thought that the guy was about to throw him out. But the truck never stopped so Seiya asked, “Does that bother you?” The man shook his hand telling him that it was no problem to which Seiya inquired, “Then why the sudden silence?”
Taking a turn the guy said, “Just thought that was the end of the conversation. If I offended you I’m sorry, but from my experience once ya find out, better to leave it alone.” Silently agreeing, Seiya told the guy he was going to take a nap. “Go right ahead, it’ll only take us a couple of hours if traffic remains light so get a bit of shut eye and I’ll wake ya when we get there.”
Truth be told by the time Seiya got even a decent amount of sleep, he was poked in the ribs hearing his ride tell him to get up. Shielding his eyes from the light, he looked out to see that he was a few blocks from a shuttle bus headed toward the airport. Looking around, Seiya saw that they were parked. Wiping the drool from his mouth, Seiya said, “Thanks for the ride. I’ll be sure to pay ya back at some point.” Telling him not to worry about it, Mike kicked him out of the truck and didn’t leave until Seiya was on a bus to the airport.
He figured he could risk writing a check for a hotel room, but he had to double check on all of his flight information. Heading into the airport, he got in line and made the perilous journey to the checkout counter where he asked about the flight to Tokyo. Taking his now dilapidated ticket and I.D. the ticket agent said, “It seems that your flight has been pushed back a couple of days due to weather problems coming. The only one earlier leaves in about six hours if you’d like to get on that one since there are still plenty of seats.”
Seiya told the person he would take some time to think about it and asked for the nearest payphone. Telling him it was only a short walk, the agent went back to work while Seiya headed to the phone. Pulling out his calling card he went through the stressful ritual of putting in his information before dialing his number. Looking at his watch he figured that it would be around seven in the morning back home and as he listened to the ring he expected Sesshomaru to start yelling at him for not calling or writing in a couple of months. With baited breath, Seiya heard the final ring and prepared to leave a message when a voice asked, “Hello?”
He nearly burst into tears at hearing his daughters voice. It’d been so long and she sounded a bit different. Trying to picture her in his mind he whispered, “Hi Blackbird.” Both ends of the phone grew silent after the words were said. Seiya was unsure of what Khilu was thinking, and prepared to hang up when he heard a voice ask something in the background. He wanted to hang up but a sudden question made him remain on the line.
“Are you better now, Daddy? Because if I made you hurt I’m sorry.” Seiya started the cry as his child apologized for something she had nothing to do with. He told her that he loved her and didn’t do anything wrong. Hearing him cry Khilu wondered, “If you’re okay then how come you’re crying? Do you miss Papa because he’s been lonely since you’ve been gone and Auntie Jakotsu hasn’t been around much either.” Sesshomaru’s voice could be heard in the background as if telling her that he was fine.
Wiping some snot away Seiya said, “I’m okay honey. Daddy just wanted to make sure that you got better which is why I left.” Khilu asked how leaving would make her better so Seiya replied, “Well have you stopped having nightmares and been okay looking at my pictures?” Khilu started to think and said that she was looking at his pictures feeling sad a lot that he wasn’t around. Smiling Seiya said, “Then you’re better and I’m coming home in a couple of days.”
Khilu gave a scream shouting, “Daddy’s on his way home!” Sesshomaru told her to remain calm and continue talking to her father. “Sorry, Papa. Are you feeling better?” Sesshomaru told her he was fine, but the question caught Seiya’s attention and without asking the child Khilu said, “Papa’s got a belly like Auntie Kagome’s! Does that mean I’m gonna be a big sister?”
Seiya nearly dropped the phone at his childs revelation. Catching the side of the phone booth he asked, “Khilu, what do you mean Papa has a belly like your aunt’s?” Khilu began to say that she was lying but Seiya asked in a much too calm manner, “Khilu don’t lie to me. I want to know what you meant by saying your Papa has a belly like Aunties?”
Khilu began to say, “Well at first Papa smelt funny and got sick a lot, but now he’s doing better, but can’t move around as much and Aunt Sara stops by a lot. And since she helps with babies I thought that meant Papa was having a baby, but you told me that only girls have babies. So, I just wanted to know if Papa having a belly like that meant he was actually a girl.”
Chuckling a bit, Seiya gave a loud cough and looked at his hand seeing some specks of blood on it. Wiping them away with a handkerchief he said, “Tell Papa that I’ll be home in a couple days and to only go through the well if it’s an emergency.” Khilu said she would do her best to protect her papa. Laughing at her resolve, Seiya made a kissing noise and said, “I love you and tell your papa and sister that as well okay?” Khilu said she did and they both hung up the phones.
Cleaning his face up a bit, Seiya got back into the line and asked the agent, “I’d like to change my flight to that earlier one please.” The agent made the necessary charges and changes before giving the man his new, crisp ticket.
Heading through the security gates, Seiya waited for his flight by staring at a picture of his family. It was one taken by Kagome when Sesshomaru had Khilu sleeping on his lap and Rin with her head on his shoulder. The demon had started to doze off, but gave Kagome a death glare after the flash disturbed Khilu. He adored this picture and put it back into his wallet before taking out his music player and began to doze to the music.
Out of nowhere a voice began to say, “All those remaining passengers outbound for Tokyo, please come to the gate with your ticket and Identification ready.” Wiping some sleep from his eyes, Seiya gave the latest in a line of airport workers his ticket and got into his seat halfway down the plane. Checking the list of movies, he plugged his headphones in and waited for the signal to allow him to listen to his movie in peace. The plane was only half full so the stewards and stewardesses had very little work and he was left to do as he pleased.
After a short flight into Hawaii, the crew and passengers made the arduous journey to Japan. They still had about half a day worth of travel, but the fact they flew over nothing made time seem to go a hell of a lot slower. Falling asleep every now and then, Seiya missed a couple of his movies, but when the words, “We are now beginning our descent into Tokyo International Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts as we will be landing in a quarter of an hour.”
Anxious to land, Seiya watched as the sights of home began to fill his eyes. He would soon be seeing his family and be around for his newborn childs birth. When they finally landed, Seiya had to exercise the greatest amount of self control to keep from dashing off the plane in order to catch a cab to Kagome’s.
When he was allowed to leave the plane, Seiya made a rush out of the gate only to suddenly have his stomach give a huge lurch. Staggering into a garbage can, Seiya’s eyes began to lose focus as he felt the need to vomit hit him. Looking up he saw a group of people staring at him as they walked away. He tried to make his way to the bathroom when a familiar voice said, “You’re going to be okay.” Looking in the direction of the voice, Seiya saw Robert staring at him with a smile.
Trying to muster a grin, Seiya asked, “What’s going on, Dad?” Robert helped his son out of the airport and into his car without a word. When he was fastened in, the older man left the airport saying, “Inuyasha is waiting on the other side of the well for you.” Confused Seiya asked why that was going on to which Robert mumbled, “Sesshomaru went into an early labor, and judging by your reaction in the airport he’s hit a rough spot.” Seiya wanted to get the details but a sudden cough of blood had him staring out the now water covered windows.
At the shrine, Shippou rushed to help Seiya out shouting over the now roaring wind, “It’s the same on the other side. Only problem is that Sesshomaru has hidden himself in a nearby cave and has transformed to about a quarter his full size.” Seiya asked what happened to make Sesshomaru do this but the fox just said, “I wasn’t there, all I know is during a check up with Isayu he started to go into a frenzy and ran into the woods toward Onigumo’s cave.”
Seiya knew what the cave used to hold and for a beast it would prove an okay shelter since the evil was held back with sutras. Going through the well with the fox, Seiya appeared on the other side to an even stronger storm with Inuyasha looking down the well waiting for them. When he saw their bodies, Inuyasha had Shippou lift the boy into his hand shouting over the gale, “You’re the only one who can get in their without being harmed!”
Whispering that he didn’t care, Seiya felt his body begin to feel better as they raced through the stinging wind. Covered by the fire-rat cloth, Seiya wasn’t affected by the wind as much as he should have been and the trip was rather difficult with the lighting and rain to accompany the wind. He’d never been into this area of the forest but he could sense the small amount of evil that lingered in the air around the cave. It was hidden but Inuyasha set him down near the entrance saying, “He’s stopped growling so it may be safe. But, if he smells you nothing bad will happen, just take the cloth with you.”
Nodding, Seiya staggered into the cave with only flashes of lightning giving him sight. In the cave he saw a small flicker of light from a fire at the base of the cave. Pulling the cloth down he saw Sesshomaru sitting huddled in a corner holding his now blood stained cloak around a gently crying child. Seiya saw the demon crying gently whispering something that sounded like, “Thank the heavens you’re his.”
Giving a small sniff, Sesshomaru’s eyes grew wide at the scent. Turning his head Sesshomaru held the child up saying happily, “A boy.” Wrapping the cloak around the demon, Seiya gave him a deep kiss over their child. The baby stopped crying at the sight and gave a little sneeze as if to say, “Pay attention to me.” Seiya broke the kiss and wiped the blood away from Sesshomaru’s face and said that he was back for good. Sesshomaru nuzzled him saying, “I’m glad that he’s yours.” Little did Sesshomaru know how much those words bothered his husband.
Chapter 55
“The party you have dialed has been disconnected. Please try your call again later.” Seiya stared angrily at the phone. He didn’t know if what had just happened was intentional or accidental, but he was mad just the same. Putting the receiver back on the hook, he checked his identification and ticket to see that he had only a few more minutes left until his bus came to take him to into Canada. Since his last visit, the United States and Canada required passports and identification for all incoming and outgoing travelers.
Settling into a seat, he grabbed a bottle of soda out of his bag, took a long drink, and sighed happily at the cold feeling as he tried to remember his destinations. Taking another sip he went over his trip up to the point where he was at that moment. He had just spent a couple of weeks in Boston beginning to finally forget his whole ordeal in Japan. But, before he’d been in Boston, he’d taken a brief pit stop in New York. The town was definitely different than what he’d thought it was going to be. Yet, in the same instance it was a lot like Tokyo with all the people jammed together, and so much going on that you couldn’t even keep your mind straight for even a moment.
He’d taken a room at a decent hotel. He couldn’t remember the name of it, but he did have the bible from the room in his bag as a souvenir, not to mention a copy of “Zagat’s,” in memoriam to the old Adam Sandler and Chris Farley sketch. While in town he had caught a couple of shows just for the sake of it. He’d spent two nights laughing at some well known comics, he’d even managed to get pictures with them. Another night he caught a local blues band, not bad considering he wasn’t interested in the blues. And after that he’d taken in a few sights around town before catching a train to Boston.
For the remaining two weeks of the month, Seiya spent his time in a hotel again. It was small, but very cozy and with good food. It was on his third day there that he decided to send a post card home. Grabbing one of the larger ones he wrote out a short note to his family.
HI guys,
As you’ve guessed by the picture and words on the front of the card that I’m in Boston. It’s a good place to rest after the traveling I’ve done. I was in New York after L.A.. And I’m planning on visiting my mom soon. I’ll send some gifts and another card, maybe even call in he near future. Hope all is well at the house.
Love,
Seiya a.k.a Daddy.
Putting it into a rush delivery envelope, Seiya paid for it’s delivery, and made his way back out onto the town for a good hot lunch. He was lucky that he’d taken so much out of his account as the Dollar to Yen amount had just changed leaving him with ten-thousand for the next few months. He didn’t know how long he was going to be in the country and was spreading his money as far as he could since anything could happen between then and now.
Stopping at a small local place he grabbed a seat and ordered a meal of clamp strips, biscuits, fries, and of course soup. Looking at his watch he figured that Sesshomaru would be either be waiting up for Rin, working, or going to bed himself. “Good thing I got used to the change in New York,” was all he said before taking a bite of his food. It seemed forever since he’d eaten due to his rush to get to the train the day before leaving him no time to eat and worn out from the three kids that wouldn’t shut up as he tried to catch a nap on the train.
He finished his meal with a loud groan of satisfaction, paid for it, and then made his way to a small park where he opened his bag. Rummaging through it he found what he needed for his survival. The first was his passport, since he would be heading into Canada it would be required. Then there was his money, approximately seven-thousand, eight-hundred twelve dollars and fifty-four cents remained because of his plane tickets, food, and lodging. Setting the money back in he pulled out his tickets saying, “Thank god for flyer miles.” When he checked the tickets to the itinerary, Seiya got up and went back to the hotel for a small rest.
Now, it was the end of his stay in Boston and he was handing a ticket to the driver, Seiya grabbed a seat and stared out the window. It took a good twenty minutes for all the bags to be loaded underneath and for everyone to get their seats. The driver came on saying that there first stop would be four hours and that the bathroom was for bladder problems only. The group laughed and they were finally off to Canada. Plugging in his headphones, Seiya could only laugh as the first chords of “Mama I’m Coming Home,” began to drift into his ears sending him into a deep sleep.
He didn’t know it, but Seiya was now dreaming of the events that led him to going on this trip in order to give his daughter time to recover from what she’d seen. He’d just stabbed a demon through the throat spraying blood on his now mangled clothes. Inuyasha was having fun slicing through the guards while Seiya just did it as a means to an end. Stepping over the dead body, Seiya felt a sting in his shoulder as a demon snickered. Seeing the bladed whip in the demon’s hand, Seiya set up a barrier as the next attack launched at him.
“Oh no ya don’t!” were the words Inuyasha shouted as he sent his blood blades through the metal whip. Hissing the cat tried to run, but was cut down by Inuyasha. Pulling his sword out, Inuyasha flicked the blood off it and gave a strong sniff. “Well she’s somewhere around her. More than likely through that door.”
Seiya noticed the door to be made of solid metal. What type, he didn’t know, yet he was sure it would be difficult to get past. The pair walked up to it cautious of any traps that might be around. Knocking on it loudly, Seiya put his ears against it saying, “Well I guess since it’s the heaviest door in this part it must be where they’re keeping her.” Inuyasha pulled the boy back, raised his blade, and gave it a heavy swing.
Tetsaiga sliced through it with minor difficulty. The door was thicker than they thought and it fell with a loud thud spreading dust all over the place. Stepping through the debris Seiya heard a voice shout, “Daddy!” Looking through squinted eyes, Seiya saw Khilu smiling happily at her father coming to rescue her. Rushing toward her, Seiya felt that she was in his reach when a foot caught him in the ribs, sending his sword into the wall with a the sound of a knife on a whetstone.
“Seiya are you all right?” Inuyasha rushed to his friends side glad to find the boy still breathing. Looking over his shoulder, the half-breed saw his old enemy and a new girl standing near him. His nose twitched at the scent she was giving off. “I know you.” Picking up his blade, Inuyasha let his energy transform it as he asked, “I thought you were in love with him? Why would you do this to him?” He pointed the blade at her throat in an attempt to force an answer out of her. But, before he could get out another word, Jakotsu knocked the blade away and cut into Inuyasha’s shoulder.
Gasping loudly, Inuyasha stumbled back hissing, “I always wanted a rematch with you bastards.” Putting his blade in front of him, Inuyasha began to prepare a Kaze no Kizu, but shut it down after remembering Khilu was in the room. Getting into a more appropriate stance he said, “You won’t be a match for me with out a shard.” Finishing his sentence, Inuyasha stabbed forward only to have his blade knocked away and have a foot planted in his face.
Seiya heard the grunts and climbed to his feet. Clutching his ribs he looked at the battle and nearly fainted at the sight before him. Walking forward slowly he asked, “Why you Mia?” The girl said nothing in order to allow the two men to battle. Flicking her wrist a spear appeared out of nowhere and she stabbed forward at Seiya’s heart. Dropping to the ground quickly, Seiya rolled and grabbed a piece of metal, blocking the next blow mere milliseconds before it killed him.
Pressing down on the metal gently, Mia smiled seeing how much stronger she was saying, “Oh, come now Seiya, you don’t even remember that one time?” She transformed on the spot, revealing her more feline nature. Her hair was much longer and a deep red, her ears grew pointed and her eyes had slits for pupils instead of circles. Grinding her blade against her former classmates guard growling, “You met me at that council gathering when you sliced off that dragon demons arm. Remember, I taunted you about my master?”
Seiya’s eyes bugged at his failure to recognize her on that trip through the well. But how could he with the difference of five-hundred years changing her appearance. Seiya tried to fight back, yet he was kept pinned to the ground when a loud scream of pain ripped their ears. Looking up, Mia’s eyes flared with anger forcing her to lose her grip. Seiya shoved her spear to the side and rolled over to see Jakotsu with a large gash in his arm.
Smirking at the wound, Inuyasha rushed forward for the kill when the man surprised them with a whip of light wrapping around the sword in order to rip it from it’s owners hands. Cursing, Inuyasha jumped back and landed next to Khilu saying, “So, you’ve gotten some of my brother’s powers I see. That explains why you stink worse than you did the last time we fought.” Smirking, Jakotsu threw his sword away and lifted his good arm. Baring his fangs, the hanyou crouched on the ground, his silver hair covering him before he darted forward.
Jakotsu pulled out his whip, hurling it forward at blinding speed when Khilu shouted for him to stop. The whip fell to the ground, limp making the revived human open for an attack. Inuyasha rammed his head into the ribs of his nemesis. Coughing up some blood, Jakotsu tried to retaliate, but was stopped again by Khilu telling him not to hurt her uncle. Looking at his hand, Jakotsu asked, “Why can’t I do this?” Looking at the girl, Jakotsu was overwhelmed with feelings of paternal love. Punching the ground the man said in a low voice, “I see.” Getting up, Jakotsu said to his opponent, “I can’t fight you anymore. “
Smirking, Inuyasha stood up saying, “I get it. They used some of my brothers body and revived you.” Looking to Khilu, Inuyasha snorted out, “And that keeps you from harming anyone close to him.” Turning back he added, “Or hurting anyone close to one he loves.” Jakotsu grabbed his sword and prepared to leave when he fell to the ground holding his head as he shouted in pain.
Looking up, Seiya saw Mia holding a bit of metal in her hand, her hand pressed on the lower button of it. Giving Jakotsu a look he got the idea amidst the screams of his daughter as she tried to get Jakotsu to stop screaming. Inuyasha glared at Mia saying, “Seems you thought this through should he try to betray you.” Mia let go of the button nodding briskly while stepping forward.
“Of course I did you fool. What do you take me for, a fool?” Pressing the button again, Mia watched as her creation writhed in pain before a screaming four year-old. Inuyasha wanted to move, but she was to close to Khilu and an attack could get the child caught in the shockwave of his blow should he miss. Grinning at the helplessness of her creation, Mia stepped forward, spear raised for a killing blow, when Khilu transformed and latched on to her leg making her scream as the set of teeth set into her body.
Khilu growled as her fangs released her poison into Mia’s body. Feeling the poison spread into her body, Mia smacked the black haired pup away from her. With puff of smoke, Khilu turned back into herself shaking against the wall as she watched the fight. Mia looked at her leg, lifted the spear again thrusting down with a force that would surely shatter the body of her downed creation when a sudden feeling of blood dripping down her back.
Turning slowly she saw the jagged bit of metal that Seiya had used as a weapon embedded into her left shoulder. With a squelching noise, the metal came out of her shoulder spraying blood onto the boys face. Staggering around she saw a look of pure fury in his eyes, not like the one he had during the council when his body had turned into a hanyou. His blood was still human and no markings had appeared on his face. Clutching her shoulder, Mia tried to run, only to have the metal split her skull with a sickening crack.
Her eyes rolled into her head as Seiya pulled it out, and when she fell he hit her again, breaking her ribs. Each hit split her body apart the adrenaline strengthened boy continued to destroy her. After an eternity, Seiya stared down, watching the blood drain from the girl as he heaved with exhausted breath. Khilu stared at her father from the corner while Inuyasha moved Jakotsu over to her. The sound of footsteps making their way into the now destroyed room. The blood covered human made no attempt to make any sort of comment at them. Instead he just continued to stare until a hand touched his shoulder. The sudden contact shook him to the reality of what he had just done making him fall to the ground and vomit all over the place.
A sudden jerk woke Seiya up as a little girl smiled over his seat saying, “Hey, mister! It’s time to go to the bathroom.” The girls father told her what she had just done was rude, but Seiya said with a yawn that it was okay. Grabbing his bag from under his seat, Seiya removed his foot from the strap and headed into the pit stop yawning loudly. Setting his bag down near the urinal, Seiya did his business and left without saying a word to anyone else.
Looking at the lobby map, he could see that he’d been asleep for well over eight hours putting him just under an hour away from his destination. Wondering why they’d stopped, Seiya looked to find the driver giving a satisfied sigh when exiting the bathroom. The man gave him a grin and said, “I’ve been holding that since we started.” Saying that was all he needed to know, Seiya got back onto the bus and realized that they were parked outside an immigration checkpoint. Grabbing his passport and other identification items, Seiya went into the building and filled out all of his paper work.
Half an hour later, Seiya was writing the last few bits of his fourth to final chapter when the driver said, “We will be arriving at the Toronto Bus Station in just under forty-five minutes. Please make sure that all your belongings are with you before departure and have a great stay in Canada.” The radio clicked and everyone began a sort of mad dash for all of their things. Lucky for Seiya he had a traveling pack filled with most of what he would need. Tooth brush, toothpaste, a weeks worth of clothes, boxers, and socks. And of course the two most important things, money and identification. Since he was using basically cash only, he didn’t really have much need for I.D., but it was always good to have it.
Finally, the bus came into the station where Seiya remained seated until the rest of the people were off to avoid injury. When he finally got off the machine, the boy made his way to the nearest map of the town to get his bearings. The first stop was something to eat and he had just the place in mind. Checking the map, he sighed at the long walk he was going to have, but it would be worth it. Writing the directions down, Seiya left the building and checked for the first street. After a few minutes he found it and made his way down the road.
The trip was easy enough, but the length was what made it annoying for the already stiff man. Finally after an hour, the familiar sign reading, “The Pink Plate,” came into view. Making his way carefully through the crowd, Seiya entered to find the place only half-full, but loud enough as a woman screamed and ran out from behind the counter.
Lost in a sea of red, and not to mention being suffocated, Seiya managed a hug and a small greeting before being let loose to breathe. Wiping away a few tears the woman asked, “Well you just look terrific honey! It’s been awhile, but at least you wrote to us over all these years.” Clearing open a seat, the woman said, “So, what the fuck brings you all the way out here without that devil of a husband with you? And, let’s not forget your two daughters who are growing so fast.”
Smiling embarrassingly, Seiya said, “I’ll tell you that if I can get something to eat while I talk, if it’s not too much trouble?” His stomach gave a loud grumble making the woman gasp in shock at his stomach’s voice. Getting to her feet, she told the cook to make a double-cheese burger and a large order of fries. “Jeez, Deb I’m not starving. I just haven’t eaten that much today.” Saying that he should be grateful for the food, Debby poured him a large glass of water before taking a few orders.
When she put those up onto the rotator, the waitress came back asking, “Okay, so what are you doing out here without your kids and husband?” The sudden droop in Seiya’s face told her enough to have her hiss, “Did you leave them?” Seiya shook his head saying that he did, but not in the manner that she suspected. Grabbing his food she set it down in front of him, let him take a couple of bites before asking, “Then in what kind of fucking manner did you leave them?”
Swallowing his food, Seiya set the burger down saying, “Something happened, and Khilu can’t even stand the sight of me.” Keeping calm, Debby asked the boy what happened to make her do that. Breathing heavily, Seiya said in a low manner, “Somebody took her from us out of spite and when we found them I...” his voice trailed off and his hands began to shake. Seeing some tears fall the woman held them telling somebody to take her orders to the tables. Sniffling, Seiya whispered, “I hurt them in front of her and she saw everything.”
Debby hugged him over his food, glad that the restaurant had emptied for the most part because it was getting late. Kissing him she said, “It’s all right honey.” The boy cried a bit more before she let him go and wiped the tears from his face. When he was presentable she said, “You protected your baby and you’re a good father for that. She’ll get over it, but for now you are doing what you think is right. Unless of course she thinks it’s her fault that she left.”
Shrugging, Seiya said, “I think she feels that way, but Sesshomaru will make sure that she knows it’s not her fault. It’s my fault because I did that in front of her.” Debby smiled telling him that he was a good father. She spent the rest of her time having him talk about better things and when he was done told him that he would be spending the night with her.
He tried to fight the woman, but was interrupted by her saying, ‘You’re fucking staying with me and that’s the end of it.” Giving up, Seiya let her finish her shift before walking home with her. Once there, she showed him to a guest room and let him get cleaned up before he headed to bed. It felt nice to sleep in a real bed for once. Hotel mattresses were always too stiff and Seiya always woke up sore. The next day, Seiya was woken up by a plate of pancakes and eggs set over his lap.
“Eat up honey.” When Deb was gone, Seiya grabbed some juice and let his mouth get hydrated before tackling the food. He cleared it in a few minutes and taking it downstairs he found Deb ready to spend the day with him. When asked what was going on she replied, “I’m going to spend some time with you. I took the day off and my son is with his husband and kid for the weekend so I though why not bug the shit out of you?”
Grabbing his bag, Seiya told her that he was heading to a nearby cemetery for a personal visit. Telling him she didn’t care, Seiya asked what bus they should take to the cemetery. Looking at the map she said that the number seven would take them a few blocks away from it. “Luck’s favoring us because we only have a short time to wait for it.” While they waited Seiya showed Debby his notebooks for his novel.
Taking them she read for a moment and exclaimed, “This is great!” Reading some paragraphs, her face changed from a smile to a grimace. Holding it up she asked, “Why did you have this happen to the poor girl.” Reading the passage, Seiya smiled and held up his left arm and rolled up his sleeve showing off his scars. He’d originally had only scars down to his elbow, but after Polong had taken him, the demon decided to embarrass him even more by slicing three more down his forearm.
Looking at them in disgust, Debby ran her hand along them breathing, “You poor thing. That fucking bastard deserved whatever punishment he was given.” Rolling his sleeve back down, Seiya told her that he was satisfied with his life. Getting on the bus, the took the hour long trip to the nearest stop by the cemetery.
The walk between the two was silent. Debby didn’t really like cemeteries, yet with Seiya around she felt it would be bearable. Actually, she felt that way with anyone who went with her to one of the homes of the dead. Inside, Seiya pulled a couple of small items from his bag while heading up the hill. Taking a few turns, Debby watched him make his way easily through the headstones until he stopped and got on his knees.
Looking over his shoulder she saw a simple headstone with two angels placed on each side of it. Reading the name she watched as Seiya brushed off some moss before setting a small stick into the flower cup and lighting it. He blew the flame out and let the smoke drift for a moment before folding his hand in prayer. Keeping quiet, Debby let him finish his prayers in peace. She said a few for the boy as well and when he put out the incense she asked, “How’s your mom doing?”
Smiling, Seiya gave her a thumbs up he said, “She’s doing good. Says she’s proud of me and Sesshomaru for raising such fine girls.” Glad to see he was in a better mood, Debby tried to get him back home when he said, “I’m sorry to do this, but I have another stop to make and after that, I need to be heading back onto the road.” Debby started to yell at him but his look made her stop, so she settled for a thanks and a few bucks for her kindness. Setting back onto the road, Seiya began to head toward Gerald’s old home, but decided to instead start back on his trip.
After Toronto, Seiya caught a ride back into the U.S. where he made his way into Chicago. There he found the building he was looking for and when he began to look for the appropriate floor a security guard began to force him out. Realizing that he wasn’t dressed in the best of clothes, nor was he smelling that great, Seiya tried to show the man his I.D. but the problem was that it was in Japanese.
When the guard began to carry him out he shouted, “I’m telling you that I’m Jacob Constantine’s nephew ya bastard so let me in!” The guard said that the man was in no way related to Seiya and began to shove him out the door when a familiar voice told him to stop. The guard tried to argue, but Seiya pushed his way in saying, “I told you that I knew him.”
Stepping toe to toe with his visitor the man said, “To what do I owe this visit to? Your daddy cut you off, or you just want to soil the family name some more?” Seiya held back the urge to hit the man. Instead he kept his face stone cold, and his voice silent. Seeing that he would not get an answer in such condition’s the man led him to an elevator and hit the button for the top floor, where upon exiting he led his nephew into his office.
The secretary left two glasses of water on the desk and excused herself as the man said, “I know what you’re thinking. I hate you because of your blood, but that’s really not it.” Settling back, the man’s oily voice told his nephew, “I could care less about your dad. In fact the only reason I hated you was because my father blessed everyone of his children but me.” Looking down his nose, Jacob said, “So, I did my best to earn Mother’s love which I did. Even if it meant faking any sort of prejudices that Mother harbored toward you.”
Throwing a picture at the boy, Seiya could see his mother hugging her younger brother and smiling along with him. Staring up at his uncle Seiya asked, “Why make her hate you if you didn’t care?” His question earned some laughter from his uncle making the boy even more angry. Getting up he shouted, “Fine, then be that way you bastard! Take your mom’s money and keep it for yourself! At least my mother didn’t force herself to be hated!” Grabbing the picture, Seiya smashed the frame and took his mother with him growling, “You don’t even deserve to look at her.”
Grabbing his bag, Seiya stormed out of the office and headed out into the streets toward his next destination. After Chicago he went all over the place. First to the south into Texas where he made a couple of bucks playing bass for a local band. Then it was into Colorado for some time among the slopes. He didn’t ski, but the snow was refreshing after the heat of Texas. In Colorado though a small tragedy struck. He was out one night with his wallet in his pocket looking for a place to eat when he was taken into an alley and mugged. There was no reason to it, the people had just chosen him and they’d beaten him up pretty bad and glad because they’d gotten lucky that night.
They only took his money and save for the couple hundred he had in the hotel room, Seiya was flat broke now. And instead of whining about it he got up and staggered to the hotel, cursing himself for not bringing any of his bank cards with him. Upon reaching the alley next to the building, his stomach turned violently sending him into it puking up a bit of blood. When it was over he stood there gasping for air knowing that he needed to head home soon.
Getting into his room, Seiya sat in the bathroom patching up his wounds while checking a calendar he’d kept with him. As he traveled to mark down how long he’d been gone. Taking a look at it he gave a deep sigh seeing that it was already late June. Tossing it in the garbage he settled down for a long nights sleep before heading out to try and find a way into California as his flight was only five days away.
The next day he’d begun his trip down the side roads of Colorado. It was colder than he thought heading down the mountains and a ride into Nevada cost him all the money he had left. The driver of the truck had only demanded a hundred, but as the truck had broken down and the man was short, Seiya thought it was the least he could do to get them back on the road. The time it had taken for them to get the vehicle fixed took nearly a full day off their travels and they had to book it into Nevada.
When they’d reached a truck stop near Reno, Seiya thanked the guy and went in to get a drink. He had some change, but how he would get a ride was beyond him. He sat at the table finishing up a chapter when the waitress asked him what he wanted. Taking a look at his wallet he asked for a soda. Giving him a warm smile the lady walked away to get his drink, but he wasn’t left alone for long as a girl sat across from him asking, “Why are you at a truck stop with no cash?”
Arching a brow, Seiya gave her a quick look over, in no way surprised at the fact she was wearing a low cut mini-skirt and an incredibly revealing top. Seiya looked away with a blush after noticing her breasts were about to pop out of her top. Giggling she shook her chest saying, “Trust me honey, you ain’t the first person to see under these.” When the waitress came back with his drink, the girl gave the lady some cash much to Seiya’s disapproval. Giving him a wink she said, “Don’t worry about it. It’s only a couple of dollars. But, by some of the clothes that you have on your wallet should be bursting.” Taking a sip of his soda Seiya gave a small burp as he replied.
“You have a good sense in fashion. And you’re right, I should have a bit of money on me, but I got mugged a few days ago and the rest of the money I had was spent helping fix the car of a guy who drove me here from Boulder.” The girl gave him a look asking why he just didn’t use the ATM to which he answered, “I left all my cash cards back home. Which is why I need to get to L.A. so I can catch my flight back.”
When she asked to see his ticket, Seiya gave it to her cautiously, but chuckled as she bulged at seeing where he was heading. Giving them back she said, “Don’t you worry Seiya, I know a lot of the truckers who come through here and I’m sure I can get one to give you a ride to old L.A..” Seiya gave her a look of pure confusion at her sudden offer to help him. Seeing the look she said, “I just came back from a trip to visit my sister there. And believe me when I say that you won’t have to worry about paying anyone for gas.”
The tone in her voice told Seiya what she meant and before he could protest she was out the door. Staring after her, Seiya watched as she climbed into a truck with a somewhat decent looking trucker. When he went back to his drink the waitress said, “Don’t worry about her. Anyone who’s dealt with her knows not to try any funny stuff.” When she refilled his drink, Seiya waited patiently for the girl to return. It was a good forty-five minutes until she came out with a smile on her face. Looking out Seiya could see her waving to him and leaving a small tip he left to meet his ride.
Outside the rig, Seiya shook the mans hand as the girl said, “This is Seiya. Seiya this is Mike, he’ll be taking you to Los Angeles International.” When they broke apart the girl gave the guy a peck on the cheek saying, “Now, remember what I said about the gas. I gave you enough and plus it’s on your way to Oakland so you should be set.” Mike gave her a pat on the butt and she told him to stop before heading back into the diner.
Climbing into the truck, Seiya fastened his seat belt while Mike made a short call on the radio telling his pick up point he’d be there by morning. It wasn’t long until the driver tried to make conversation by saying, “Don’t worry about her. I know what she does, but I’m married so all I got was a back rub.” He pointed at a dangling picture of his wife and son smiling at him. Looking over to his passenger he asked, “You got a family?”
Nodding Seiya said, “I’m married and have two girls.” He pulled out a picture of Rin and Khilu saying, “The taller is Rin. She’s just about ten years younger than me, but she calls me Papa. And the little one is Khilu. She’s my own flesh and blood.” Mike gave a small chuckle as he told Seiya that you couldn’t really tell that they weren’t related because of their hair and looks. Smiling the passenger muttered, “No, you really can’t tell that they aren’t related.”
Coughing the driver asked, “So what about your old lady? I bet she’s a bit of a looker with how beautiful your daughter is.” Seiya said nothing, which to his ride meant he’d said something wrong. “Okay, I guess I hit a sensitive subject. I’ll stop asking.” Giving a sigh, Seiya pulled out a picture of Sesshomaru and showed his ride. Squinting at it a bit the man mumbled, “Is that a....are you gay?”
Nodding Seiya answered, “I am, and he’s been my husband for about five years now.” The silence was strained for a long while. Seiya thought that the guy was about to throw him out. But the truck never stopped so Seiya asked, “Does that bother you?” The man shook his hand telling him that it was no problem to which Seiya inquired, “Then why the sudden silence?”
Taking a turn the guy said, “Just thought that was the end of the conversation. If I offended you I’m sorry, but from my experience once ya find out, better to leave it alone.” Silently agreeing, Seiya told the guy he was going to take a nap. “Go right ahead, it’ll only take us a couple of hours if traffic remains light so get a bit of shut eye and I’ll wake ya when we get there.”
Truth be told by the time Seiya got even a decent amount of sleep, he was poked in the ribs hearing his ride tell him to get up. Shielding his eyes from the light, he looked out to see that he was a few blocks from a shuttle bus headed toward the airport. Looking around, Seiya saw that they were parked. Wiping the drool from his mouth, Seiya said, “Thanks for the ride. I’ll be sure to pay ya back at some point.” Telling him not to worry about it, Mike kicked him out of the truck and didn’t leave until Seiya was on a bus to the airport.
He figured he could risk writing a check for a hotel room, but he had to double check on all of his flight information. Heading into the airport, he got in line and made the perilous journey to the checkout counter where he asked about the flight to Tokyo. Taking his now dilapidated ticket and I.D. the ticket agent said, “It seems that your flight has been pushed back a couple of days due to weather problems coming. The only one earlier leaves in about six hours if you’d like to get on that one since there are still plenty of seats.”
Seiya told the person he would take some time to think about it and asked for the nearest payphone. Telling him it was only a short walk, the agent went back to work while Seiya headed to the phone. Pulling out his calling card he went through the stressful ritual of putting in his information before dialing his number. Looking at his watch he figured that it would be around seven in the morning back home and as he listened to the ring he expected Sesshomaru to start yelling at him for not calling or writing in a couple of months. With baited breath, Seiya heard the final ring and prepared to leave a message when a voice asked, “Hello?”
He nearly burst into tears at hearing his daughters voice. It’d been so long and she sounded a bit different. Trying to picture her in his mind he whispered, “Hi Blackbird.” Both ends of the phone grew silent after the words were said. Seiya was unsure of what Khilu was thinking, and prepared to hang up when he heard a voice ask something in the background. He wanted to hang up but a sudden question made him remain on the line.
“Are you better now, Daddy? Because if I made you hurt I’m sorry.” Seiya started the cry as his child apologized for something she had nothing to do with. He told her that he loved her and didn’t do anything wrong. Hearing him cry Khilu wondered, “If you’re okay then how come you’re crying? Do you miss Papa because he’s been lonely since you’ve been gone and Auntie Jakotsu hasn’t been around much either.” Sesshomaru’s voice could be heard in the background as if telling her that he was fine.
Wiping some snot away Seiya said, “I’m okay honey. Daddy just wanted to make sure that you got better which is why I left.” Khilu asked how leaving would make her better so Seiya replied, “Well have you stopped having nightmares and been okay looking at my pictures?” Khilu started to think and said that she was looking at his pictures feeling sad a lot that he wasn’t around. Smiling Seiya said, “Then you’re better and I’m coming home in a couple of days.”
Khilu gave a scream shouting, “Daddy’s on his way home!” Sesshomaru told her to remain calm and continue talking to her father. “Sorry, Papa. Are you feeling better?” Sesshomaru told her he was fine, but the question caught Seiya’s attention and without asking the child Khilu said, “Papa’s got a belly like Auntie Kagome’s! Does that mean I’m gonna be a big sister?”
Seiya nearly dropped the phone at his childs revelation. Catching the side of the phone booth he asked, “Khilu, what do you mean Papa has a belly like your aunt’s?” Khilu began to say that she was lying but Seiya asked in a much too calm manner, “Khilu don’t lie to me. I want to know what you meant by saying your Papa has a belly like Aunties?”
Khilu began to say, “Well at first Papa smelt funny and got sick a lot, but now he’s doing better, but can’t move around as much and Aunt Sara stops by a lot. And since she helps with babies I thought that meant Papa was having a baby, but you told me that only girls have babies. So, I just wanted to know if Papa having a belly like that meant he was actually a girl.”
Chuckling a bit, Seiya gave a loud cough and looked at his hand seeing some specks of blood on it. Wiping them away with a handkerchief he said, “Tell Papa that I’ll be home in a couple days and to only go through the well if it’s an emergency.” Khilu said she would do her best to protect her papa. Laughing at her resolve, Seiya made a kissing noise and said, “I love you and tell your papa and sister that as well okay?” Khilu said she did and they both hung up the phones.
Cleaning his face up a bit, Seiya got back into the line and asked the agent, “I’d like to change my flight to that earlier one please.” The agent made the necessary charges and changes before giving the man his new, crisp ticket.
Heading through the security gates, Seiya waited for his flight by staring at a picture of his family. It was one taken by Kagome when Sesshomaru had Khilu sleeping on his lap and Rin with her head on his shoulder. The demon had started to doze off, but gave Kagome a death glare after the flash disturbed Khilu. He adored this picture and put it back into his wallet before taking out his music player and began to doze to the music.
Out of nowhere a voice began to say, “All those remaining passengers outbound for Tokyo, please come to the gate with your ticket and Identification ready.” Wiping some sleep from his eyes, Seiya gave the latest in a line of airport workers his ticket and got into his seat halfway down the plane. Checking the list of movies, he plugged his headphones in and waited for the signal to allow him to listen to his movie in peace. The plane was only half full so the stewards and stewardesses had very little work and he was left to do as he pleased.
After a short flight into Hawaii, the crew and passengers made the arduous journey to Japan. They still had about half a day worth of travel, but the fact they flew over nothing made time seem to go a hell of a lot slower. Falling asleep every now and then, Seiya missed a couple of his movies, but when the words, “We are now beginning our descent into Tokyo International Airport. Please fasten your seatbelts as we will be landing in a quarter of an hour.”
Anxious to land, Seiya watched as the sights of home began to fill his eyes. He would soon be seeing his family and be around for his newborn childs birth. When they finally landed, Seiya had to exercise the greatest amount of self control to keep from dashing off the plane in order to catch a cab to Kagome’s.
When he was allowed to leave the plane, Seiya made a rush out of the gate only to suddenly have his stomach give a huge lurch. Staggering into a garbage can, Seiya’s eyes began to lose focus as he felt the need to vomit hit him. Looking up he saw a group of people staring at him as they walked away. He tried to make his way to the bathroom when a familiar voice said, “You’re going to be okay.” Looking in the direction of the voice, Seiya saw Robert staring at him with a smile.
Trying to muster a grin, Seiya asked, “What’s going on, Dad?” Robert helped his son out of the airport and into his car without a word. When he was fastened in, the older man left the airport saying, “Inuyasha is waiting on the other side of the well for you.” Confused Seiya asked why that was going on to which Robert mumbled, “Sesshomaru went into an early labor, and judging by your reaction in the airport he’s hit a rough spot.” Seiya wanted to get the details but a sudden cough of blood had him staring out the now water covered windows.
At the shrine, Shippou rushed to help Seiya out shouting over the now roaring wind, “It’s the same on the other side. Only problem is that Sesshomaru has hidden himself in a nearby cave and has transformed to about a quarter his full size.” Seiya asked what happened to make Sesshomaru do this but the fox just said, “I wasn’t there, all I know is during a check up with Isayu he started to go into a frenzy and ran into the woods toward Onigumo’s cave.”
Seiya knew what the cave used to hold and for a beast it would prove an okay shelter since the evil was held back with sutras. Going through the well with the fox, Seiya appeared on the other side to an even stronger storm with Inuyasha looking down the well waiting for them. When he saw their bodies, Inuyasha had Shippou lift the boy into his hand shouting over the gale, “You’re the only one who can get in their without being harmed!”
Whispering that he didn’t care, Seiya felt his body begin to feel better as they raced through the stinging wind. Covered by the fire-rat cloth, Seiya wasn’t affected by the wind as much as he should have been and the trip was rather difficult with the lighting and rain to accompany the wind. He’d never been into this area of the forest but he could sense the small amount of evil that lingered in the air around the cave. It was hidden but Inuyasha set him down near the entrance saying, “He’s stopped growling so it may be safe. But, if he smells you nothing bad will happen, just take the cloth with you.”
Nodding, Seiya staggered into the cave with only flashes of lightning giving him sight. In the cave he saw a small flicker of light from a fire at the base of the cave. Pulling the cloth down he saw Sesshomaru sitting huddled in a corner holding his now blood stained cloak around a gently crying child. Seiya saw the demon crying gently whispering something that sounded like, “Thank the heavens you’re his.”
Giving a small sniff, Sesshomaru’s eyes grew wide at the scent. Turning his head Sesshomaru held the child up saying happily, “A boy.” Wrapping the cloak around the demon, Seiya gave him a deep kiss over their child. The baby stopped crying at the sight and gave a little sneeze as if to say, “Pay attention to me.” Seiya broke the kiss and wiped the blood away from Sesshomaru’s face and said that he was back for good. Sesshomaru nuzzled him saying, “I’m glad that he’s yours.” Little did Sesshomaru know how much those words bothered his husband.