InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 3: Forever ❯ Chemical Warfare ( Chapter 25 )

~~Chapter 25~~

~Chemical Warfare~

 

Ryomaru wrinkled his nose and stifled a sneeze as he rifled through Nezumi's bathroom cabinet for the source of the offensive stench.

 

`She's doing it on purpose . . . I know she is. I'm going to find that shit and get rid of it . . . Ugh!'

 

In all the time he'd known her, she had never taken on that annoying habit some women had of plying themselves with enough perfume to choke a horse. Suddenly she was, and the stench of it was almost enough to kill him.

 

`Damn . . . it stinks so bad it hurts,' he thought with a wince as he wrinkled his nose and shook his head quickly, like he was trying to dispel the toxic fumes. A small bottle of suspicious-looking fluid caught his attention, and he narrowed his eyes as he slowly reached for it. `Twilight Musk,' the bottle said. Ryomaru snorted as he stuffed the bottle into his pocket. `Like she needs that crap, anyway . . .'

 

“Mew?”

 

He spared the kitten a quick glance and made a face. “Shut up, furball. You should be thanking me.”

 

“Mew.”

 

`Feh! The fucking cat is scolding me. Women!'

 

Satisfied that his reconnaissance mission was successful, Ryomaru flicked off the light and ducked out of the bathroom. Nezumi had mentioned picking up a few things for the new house, and since he was anxious to seek and destroy the disgusting source of foul stench, he had readily agreed to baby-sit the kitten that he still refused to call by name.

 

His bedroom was as good a place as any to hide the offensive perfume. Throwing it out wasn't an option. It was one thing to sneak around and take the perfume, but his damned conscience kept him from doing what he'd sorely love to do, which would be to toss it into the nearest volcano and watch it explode like a stink bomb . . . Digging around in the bureau drawers, he stuck the bottle under layers of clothes that he never wore and shoved the drawer closed again.

 

“Mew.”

 

“Oh, come off it! It had to bother you, too!” he growled.

 

The kitten blinked. “Mew.”

 

“Feh! Well, she ain't getting it back, and if you know what's good for you, you won't tell her where I hid it.”

 

The damned beast shook her head and turned around, tail flicking proudly in the air as she stalked out of the room.

 

`It's Nezumi's fault,' he rationalized as he flopped down on his bed. `If she hadn't bought the most offensive perfume ever, I wouldn't have had to go through her stuff to find it---and get rid of it.'

 

`Right, Ryo . . . so you've stooped to stealing from your mate? That's just---”

 

`Damn straight. She thought she'd assault my nose, did she? Well, she ain't gonna do it, not if I have a say in it. This is my house!'

 

`And hers, baka. You built it for her, remember?'

 

`Yeah, yeah . . . She wasn't supposed to try to kill me.'

 

“She ain't trying to kill you. It's just a little perfume.'

 

`Okay . . . excuse me . . . Aren't you part of me? Are you telling me that you didn't smell that shit?'

 

`Well, you do kind of deserve it. It was pretty underhanded of you, buying that kitten just to make sure she'd move in with you.'

 

`Oi! Whose side are you on?'

 

The voice in his head snorted. `Feh! I ain't taking sides! I'm pointing out things that you should have realized long ago.'

 

`Oh yeah? Things like what?'

 

`Things that you'd know if you just stopped talking and started listening for once.'

 

Ryomaru sighed. `Stop talking, huh? I listen. I try to, anyway . . .'

 

`All right, if you're `listening', then answer one simple question.'

 

“Fine.'

 

`How do you feel about Nezumi?'

 

`That's a hella stupid question!'

 

`Then answer it.'

 

`She's my friend---my best friend.'

 

`You're still not answering the question.'

 

`I am, too. She's my friend. I care about her.'

 

The voice sighed. `You really are a baka, Ryo. You'll never work things out with her if you can't even admit to yourself, how you feel.'

 

`What is that supposed to mean?'

 

The voice refused to answer.

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

Nezumi hesitated before she opened the door as she shifted the bag in her arm and bit her bottom lip. There was a relatively good chance that Ryomaru wasn't going to like this at all, and while that didn't really dissuade her, she did have to take a few minutes to bolster her bravado before she stepped inside.

 

`Not going to like it, Nez? Gild the lily, why don't you? He's going to hate it, he's going to holler, he's going to have a fit, and you know it---which is exactly why you're doing it.'

 

Okay, so that was true. `Hate' didn't even come close to the reaction she had a feeling was coming her way. If she guessed right, he was going to freak out.

 

`This isn't really your style,' her conscience pricked again. `It isn't like you to be so sneaky.'

 

Nezumi's jaw hardened stubbornly as her eyes darkened to a stormy grayish-blue. `Yeah? Well, he was sneaky first. He asked for it.'

 

That was entirely true. Still it didn't alleviate the pang of guilt, no matter how small, that she had stooped to this level to exact her revenge.

 

`Aren't you punishing yourself, too?'

 

Nezumi ignored that as she slowly reached for the door handle. Since she'd never tried to be `girly', the perfume she'd carelessly grabbed off the shelf in the store was giving her a headache. That's what she got for thinking that one wasn't any worse than another . . .

 

At least she had taken the time to smell the stuff she'd bought. She wouldn't make that mistake twice . . .

 

Opening the door and stepping into the quiet house, she half expected Ryomaru to jump out at her. He didn't. In fact, she wasn't sure where he was, but she took advantage of the lapse to stow her bag in the hall closet.

 

Making a disgusted face, she shrugged off her coat and glanced down at her baggy sweatshirt and jeans. `First things first,' she decided. `I've got to get this crap off me before I choke . . .'

 

With that thought in mind, Nezumi strode purposefully back toward her bedroom, wondering just where Ryomaru was hiding. It wasn't like him to be so quiet, and more to the point, he had to know she was home since she knew his sense of smell was keen. Wasn't that why she was waging the subtle war against his nose, in the first place?

 

`Even if it is sneaky, he was sneaky first. If he is going to stoop to buying a cat just to make sure I move in with him, then the least he can do is deal with the smell.'

 

Nezumi closed her bathroom door and made quick work of stripping off her clothes, dropping them into the hamper with a snort of disgust. She'd have to wash the stench out of those after she showered or the smell would kill her, and Ryomaru be damned.

 

The shower was one of the things that had impressed Nezumi about the house. Both bathrooms had been outfitted with large open spaces without the confines of doors or curtain. Three large showerheads were arranged to provide torrential flow, and she smiled, closing her eyes, as she leaned her head back and relaxed under the downpour.

 

She thought she heard someone knock on the door but discounted it. She wasn't sure where Ryomaru was, but there wasn't really any reason for him to need into her bathroom, was there?

 

“Oi, Nez, I---fuck!”

 

Nezumi whipped around to face the intruder with a strangled scream just as her brain registered that it was the wrong thing to have done. Jerking away again as her arms crossed over her chest, she glanced around frantically for something---anything---she could use to shield her body from his stunned gaze. “Get out!” she hollered as her skin exploded in painful color. “Get out, get out, get out!”

 

“Stop yellin', damn it!” he bellowed back. “I gotta tell you something!”

 

“Not now, you don't!” she spat as she dropped one arm to grab a towel, ignoring the fact that the towel was soaked now, too. “Go away, baka! I'll be out in a minute.”

 

“This won't wait! I gotta go, and I wanted to tell you before I left!”

 

“Fine! You told me, now get the hell out of here!”

 

“Don't you want to know where I'm going?”

 

Stomping over to shut off the water, Nezumi finally dared a glance at Ryomaru. Staring up at the ceiling with his hands balled into tight fists at his sides, his face was almost as red as she figured hers was which did little to alleviate her irritation. “Not at this moment, no! Just get out of here!”

 

“Damn! Then don't bitch if I'm not home by the time you go to bed!”

 

With that, he turned on his heel and stomped out of the bathroom. Nezumi peeled off the wet towel and grabbed a dry one off the shelf, wrapping it around herself before running out of the room in pursuit of the hanyou. She caught up with him in the foyer as he was dragging on his coat. “What do you mean, you won't be home by the time I go to bed? Where are you going?”

 

“You don't wanna know, remember?” he growled.

 

“I changed my mind.”

 

He snorted. “I've gotta go to work,” he grumbled. “That's all.”

 

“And that'll take you all night?”

 

“It might.”

 

She crossed her arms over the towel and made a face. “What can you possibly do for your uncle that takes all night, Ryo?”

 

He suddenly grinned though his cheeks retained a trace of redness, and he shrugged. “Drop the towel, and I'll tell you.”

 

The color that had been slowly draining from her overheated face shot right back, and she narrowed her eyes dangerously. “Baka!” she hollered as she hurried away. His laughter followed her. She didn't let the towel drop until she heard the front door close.

 

With a sigh, Nezumi tried to ignore the sudden feeling of emptiness that settled over the house, tried not to wonder just what he was leaving to do . . .

 

Tried not to miss him at all.

 

 

-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-0-=-

 

 

Ryomaru sprawled in the chair across the desk from his uncle and tapped his foot impatiently. “All right, so what's the deal?”

 

“The cat youkai that Toga fought a few years ago . . . do you remember them?”

 

“Yeah, what of `em?”

 

“Their kin have been stirring up trouble. They've murdered three humans that we know of in Tokyo and are apparently connected with the disappearance of several human women around Kyoto. Word's come down that they're in the vicinity.”

 

“And you want me to get rid of them. Got it. So . . . why didn't you just tell me this on the phone?”

 

Sesshoumaru sat back and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared at his nephew for a long moment. “There've been rumors, Ryomaru. A few of the dissidents---friends, relatives of those you've hunted---have been threatening, and while there doesn't seem to be any inherent danger as yet, I thought I should pass this along to you.”

 

Nezumi's face flashed before his eyes, and Ryomaru barely restrained the fierce growl that surged through him. “Have they mentioned Nezumi?”

 

Sesshoumaru sighed. “Not to my knowledge. Under the circumstances, we thought it'd be best to keep your mating under wraps, at least until you dig your way out of your mess.”

 

Ryomaru winced but nodded his thanks as he started to stand up. “Thanks for the warning.”

 

“A word of advice before you go.”

 

Despite the feeling that he really didn't want to hear it, Ryomaru stopped and sat back again. “All right.”

 

Sesshoumaru deliberately took his time in answering, staring at Ryomaru as though he were trying to read his mind. Nodding slowly, his uncle finally nodded and sighed. “Mark her, Ryomaru. Do it soon, for your own peace of mind as well as for her protection. You know what you must do.”

 

Ryomaru's cockiness failed him, and he rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand. “I know.”

 

Sesshoumaru pursed his lips, drummed his claws against the armrests of his chair. “Did your father ever tell you that he nearly lost the miko because he was too reluctant to mark her?”

 

“What?”

 

“InuYasha was reluctant to do it. Understandably, he didn't wish to bring the miko to harm. That was, of course, before your brother refined the process, but the result is the same. Why are you so reticent about doing what needs to be done?”

 

Ryomaru shook his head. It was one thing, wasn't it, to tell Kichiro the story. Kich was as close to the both of them as anyone could be. Somehow telling his uncle seemed worse, and Ryomaru could only shake his head again. “Kinda hard to convince her when she doesn't even want to acknowledge that she is my mate,” he grumbled. That was true enough, but it wasn't the real reason.

 

Sesshoumaru's amber eyes narrowed as he stared at his nephew. If he knew that Ryomaru was lying or if he could just sense that there was more to it that he wouldn't say, Ryomaru wasn't sure. In the end, Sesshoumaru didn't call him on it. “The neko-youkai must be stopped before they decide to come after Toga.”

 

“Feh. Toga can take `em.”

 

“Of course he can. I'd rather that he didn't have to.”

 

Ryomaru nodded and stood up. “All right, I'm on it.”

 

“Ryomaru . . .”

 

Stopping in the doorway, he glanced over his shoulder. `He's . . . smirking? Why?'

 

“Is there a reason you reek of . . . cat?”

 

Ryomaru didn't answer that though he did grimace and stomp out the door while Sesshoumaru's chuckling trailed behind him.

 

 

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A/N:

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MMorg

rowan_lynn ::: cj ::: Inuyashas_wishing_star ::: Miranda_Leigh ::: notzathros ::: ErinBerin ::: Kitcat99 (It makes sense in that Nezumi named the kitten after a very large cat instead of after a tiny kitten) ::: DarklessVasion ::: Aitu ::: thefaeryofpurejoy ::: yasha 101 ::: devildice708 ::: trinigirl524 ::: inuyashasluverforever ::: Suze ::: Wlfhund ::: foamyfan15010 ::: Lisa C ::: Mayu-chan ::: EAP ::: CJ Finnegan ::: Kraffin33 ::: Jason C

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Final Thought from Sesshoumaru:

Like father, like son …

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Forever): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~