InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Purity Short: Cacophony ❯ Discoveries ( Chapter 13 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
~Chapter Thirteen~
~Discoveries~

~o~

Cartham stood back, arms crossed over his chest, casting a rather menacing eye at the delivery guys who were carrying in the overstuffed, brown suede leather sofa into the house as Kelly glanced up from unpacking a box in the open-air kitchen to see what was going on.

They’d gotten lucky, really.  He’d found a nice place that wasn’t too far from Kelly’s apartment, an old, abandoned warehouse on the edge of the business district, just inside the residential zone, and there was a smallish loft apartment that was completely livable, even if it did require a good, solid cleaning.  Even so, Cartham figured that they could easily renovate the space to suit their needs over time, and, surprisingly to him, Kelly was pretty keen on the idea of doing a lot of the work themselves.  Since the place was already empty and being held by a bank, it only took just over a week to close on it, too.

What had surprised him, actually, was that it was fairly easy to talk Kelly into it, in the first place.  Oh, she had initially said that she thought it was a crazy idea.  He’d pretty much expected that.  But . . .

Narrowing her eyes as she slowly shook her head, as she stared at Cartham as though he’d sprouted another couple heads, Kelly frowned.  “Let me see if I get what you’re saying here,” she said slowly, methodically, as she sat at the kitchen table with her hands wrapped around her coffee mug.  “You think that we—as in, you and I—should buy a place and live together?  Is that right?

Carelessly emptying his own mug, Cartham grunted and set the empty vessel aside.  “Yeah, why not?  You want a bigger place, and I wouldn’t mind a change of scenery.”

Her frown darkened.  “And you think we should be roommates . . .”

He nodded, opening the newspaper to the housing ads section of the classifieds.  “Sounds about right.  Hey, look.  This place has four bedrooms, three baths . . . two-thousand-plus square feet, located in the High Plains division just outside of the city.”

She wrinkled her nose.  “I’d rather not move out of the city,” she muttered, “and isn’t the High Plains division one of the more expensive areas?

No price listed, but there’s a number for the realtor.”

She snorted.  “If there’s not one listed, then it means that the asking price will give you indigestion for a year or more.  No—and I haven’t said I’d move in with you.”

He shrugged.  “Yeah, you did.”

That gave her pause, and she blinked.  “I did not!

Yeah, you did,” he stated once more.  “In fact, it was your idea, if you’ll recall.  You asked me to move out here and be your roommate.”

Her mouth that had been hanging slightly open, snapped closed as a wash of redness seeped into her cheeks.  “I was joking,” she grumbled.

No, you weren’t.  Anyway, we’ll go talk to a few realtors, see if they know of anything that sounds like it would suit.”

She’d gone along with him after a fashion, and after that initial discussion, she hadn’t actually tried to get out of it, either.  Cartham wasn’t entirely sure whether it was a good thing or not, especially when she’d claimed the largest bedroom for herself in the place that they’d finally found, thanks to a realtor who had just casually mentioned the place as kind of a half-assed suggestion, more of a joke than a real possibility.  He didn’t care about that as long as the bed he’d ordered fit into his room without an issue.

“Right here?” the delivery crew leader asked, gesturing at the sofa.

Cartham nodded.  “Aiyuh.”

The guy nodded, too and lead the other three out of the apartment area to bring in the next item.  They’d opted to buy new furniture since Kelly’s was all secondhand.  It was clean enough, sure, but it was all about twenty years old and looked pretty damn dated, too, which wouldn’t really bother him, but . . . But he kind of wanted to allow her to outfit their place the way she saw fit, so, to that end, he’d let her think that he simply didn’t care for her furnishings.  She’d rolled her eyes and shook her head, but in the end, he’d talked her into going shopping easily enough.

Besides, he hadn’t seen the need to move all of his things out of the Maine house, and he was pleasantly surprised to find that Kelly’s taste in furnishings actually matched up pretty well with his own.  Granted, he didn’t really care, what she’d really wanted, but he’d be lying if tried to say that he wasn’t pretty relieved that she hadn’t gone the over-the-top girly route with it.  The sofa set she’d chosen was fashioned from super soft suede leather, slightly darker than a standard taupe, large and comfortable-looking with a matching reclining chair and a chaise lounge that was pretty obviously for her.  The tables were thick, solid, wood pieces, stained a rich mahogany with smoked, tempered glass insets that were definitely sturdy enough for his tastes but didn’t look cumbersome, either, and the entertainment cabinet was of the same wood and glass theme.  She’d opted for a solid wood table and chairs for the dining area, though she had eyed a very pretty glass table for a while, only to decide that fingerprints would drive her crazy in the end, and all the appliances in the kitchen were burnished chrome finished.

All the things she’d mentioned about the refurbishing sounded fine to him, as well.  She didn’t really want to go for the industrial kind of look that would be easier to keep in a place like the old warehouse.  The outside was brick and adobe, he figured it had to be since it was kind of on the border between the industrial district and a much more residential area.  There weren’t many windows on the base level of the building, but Kelly had suggested that they build onto the upper floor and leave much of the warehouse as a workshop for Cartham since she knew that he enjoyed, tinkering with motorcycles and such.

Well, that and your guns, Cartham.  She doesn’t really want all your guns up there, either.

Uttering a very curt grunt at that reminder, Cartham didn’t let that bother him too much, either.  True enough, when he’d told her that he owned nearly fifty guns and rifles, she’d leveled a look at him and had told him, point blank, that she wasn’t okay with having a healthy arsenal in the same home as her.  But then, she’d gone on to suggest that he build a secured room in part of the main floor where he could easily store most of them.  Well, first, she’d wanted all of them, locked away, but he’d talked her into allowing him to keep one nearby for protection, and, given that all of his firearms were kept in a highly secured room back in Maine, he figured it was fair enough.

“You know, if you’re just going to stand around all day while I unpack everything, then you’re going to be buying my dinner tonight,” Kelly called from the kitchen without looking up from the huge box of pots and pans that had arrived a couple days ago.

“I’m supervising,” he told her.  “Just leave some of those, and I’ll put them away.”

Kelly snorted indelicately and continued to pull items out of the box.  “Yeah, well, I want to get all of this put away before tomorrow.”

He nodded since that made sense.  It was pure luck, really, that they were able to move in before Bellaniece arrived, in the first place, and all of the furnishings for the bedrooms were delivered yesterday except for Cartham’s bed, and that would be delivered later on today.  “What time’s Bellaniece getting here?”

“Her plane is supposed to get in at ten,” she said, sounding a little preoccupied.  “I wish she was bringing Lexi, but Gin and Cain really wanted to keep her—something about wanting to have a little girl around for a while . . .”

Cartham nodded toward the empty space where he’d already told the delivery guys to put the entertainment stand.  “Probably for the best,” he said.  “Rugrats don’t tend to care for me.”

She made a face, but broke into a small smile.  “It’s your smell,” she teased.

He grunted and shot her a ‘We-Are-Not-Amused’ look.  “Keep it up, missy,” he grumbled.

She laughed and winked at him, but said nothing else as she continued to unpack the boxes.

-==========-

“This is pretty neat,” Bellaniece said as she stepped past Kelly, into the living room of the loft apartment.  Bright eyes, softly glowing as she slowly scanned the entirety of the place, including the very high ceiling, she nodded.  “I can’t wait to see what you do with this place . . .”

Kelly laughed.  “Well, that’s kind of up to Cartham,” she mused.  “I mean, strictly speaking, he owns the place.  I’m just renting from him.”

Bellaniece lowered her chin, leveled a look at Kelly.  “That’s right.  This Cartham . . . He’s one of Daddy’s hunters, right?”

Kelly shrugged, closing the door before turning to let her purse drop onto the small table nearby.  “He is,” she allowed, purposefully maintaining a very neutral tone of voice.  “He’s not scary or anything, though.  Well, if you don’t mind biker-types . . .”

Bellaniece blinked.  “Biker-type?” she echoed.  “The fat and hairy biker-type or the hot as hell biker-type?”

Rolling her eyes as she led Bellaniece through the apartment and up the metal staircase that led to the bedrooms above, she wrinkled her nose.  “Can’t say I’ve noticed,” she lied.  “This is your room.  That one next door is mine, and that one across the hall is Cartham’s.  He said he wanted that one because it’s closest to the stairs.”

“Oh?  Does he keep weird hours?”

Kelly snorted.  “No, he’s just paranoid and positive that someone’s eventually going to break in.”

“Are you telling me,” Bellaniece began in an exaggeratedly slow tone, “that you’re willingly renting a room off a guy with weird, doomsday delusions?”

“Well, he does have a point.  I mean, if someone found out where he lives—if they wanted to get at him for some reason—say, he hunted their father or brother or something—”

She nodded.  “All right, sure, but you know, my brother-in-law is Ryomaru, and I have to say, that guy is far more cautious than most anyone around, and even he doesn’t plant himself as close to the door as he could.”

“He doesn’t take extra precautions?”

Bellaniece shrugged.  “Not really—unless you consider his, uh, killer cat to be an extra precaution.”

Kelly blinked.  “Your . . . dog . . . brother-in-law . . . has a . . . cat . . .?”

Wrinkling her nose as she dropped the suitcase on the bed, Bellaniece spared a moment to flick her hand in blatant dismissal.  “If you ask Ryomaru, he got the cat for Nezumi to convince her to move in with him after he made her his mate.  If you ask Nezumi, she’s Ryomaru’s cat—and sometimes, his underpants.  It’s a long story.”

Opening and closing her mouth a few times, Kelly slowly shook her head.  “Just from that one statement, I have so many questions, but, to be honest, I’m not sure I want any of them answered . . .”

Bellaniece laughed.  “I can explain if you really want me to,” she offered.

Kelly shook her head and stepped past Bellaniece to open the suitcase instead.  “Seriously, I think I’m better off, not knowing.  Besides, Cartham offered to take us out for lunch when he gets back from the contractor’s office.”

“I can’t wait to meet this mysterious biker-boy—” Cutting herself off abruptly, Bellaniece snapped her fingers and pointed at Kelly.  “Is that boy as in, man, or boi with an i?”

She snorted, carefully pulling two of Bellaniece’s dresses out of the suitcase and shaking them out as she stepped over to the closet.  “Bois with an i don’t ride motorcycles, do they?”

Bellaniece wrinkled her nose.  “I just wondered because I got to talking to one of the attendants during the flight, and he just broke up with his boyfriend, and he mentioned that he’d be staying in Vegas for a couple days before taking off for Boston.”

“Oh, you’re not fixing your father’s hunter up with a flight attendant,” Kelly grumbled.

“But it might be fun!  Maybe Cartham would like to fly the friendly skies!”

Kelly cleared her throat, hid a smile as she carefully hung the dresses in the closet.  “He’s not gay.”

Bellaniece was silent for a full second, and Kelly could sense the wheels, turning in her best friend’s head.  “Do you know this . . . first hand, Kel?”

Kelly fought down an immediate flush that threatened to break over her skin and shook her head, taking her time, straightening the dresses to give herself a few moments to gather her wits.  “Not first hand,” she replied in what she hoped was a casual tone, “and I can’t say I’ve given it much thought.”

Bellaniece sighed.  “You know, you’d think that I’d have met Daddy’s hunters before or that I’d at least know what they look like, but I don’t.  I guess I hadn’t really realized that he even had hunters until a few years ago . . . I think Daddy kept them away from the house when I was little, but I don’t think he does that anymore.  I mean, Gin mentioned something about having Cartham over to dinner once.  I asked Daddy about that the other day, and he said that he realized it wasn’t really something that should be avoided, especially since Sebastian is going to be tai-youkai one day, too . . .”

Kelly considered that as she stepped back, allowing Bellaniece to put the rest of her things away.  She supposed that she’d never really thought about that, but it was true, as far as she could tell.  As much time as she’d spent with Bellaniece and Cain over the years, she’d never, ever heard a whisper about any of the people that Cain might well employ, and she could only remember, having met Ben Philips, Cain’s art manager whom she later learned was also his head general, too, once in passing.

Bellaniece cleared her throat, but something about the noise drew Kelly’s attention.  She knew that sound.  It was something her friend tended to do when she wanted to change the subject, but wasn’t entirely sure, just what Kelly might think of it.  Biting her lip, she turned away from the closet and smiled a little too brightly, which only reinforced Kelly’s initial thought on the matter.  “Spit it out,” she said, opting not to beat around the bush.

Bellaniece grimaced, but her smile took on a sheepish sort of lilt.  “Uh, Kichiro . . . Well, he asked me if I could take a look at your scarring.  He just wants to know how you’re doing.”

“Maybe later,” Kelly muttered.  “I mean, you just got here, so—”

“You’re wearing clothes that cover you from head to toe,” Bellaniece cut in gently.  “Are they still bad?”

Kelly sighed, sinking down on the edge of the bed as her shoulders slumped in defeat.  “They’re bad enough,” she said in a tone just above a whisper.  “They’re . . . They’re a little better, though.”  Then, she managed a wan little smile.  “A lot better than looking like an overcooked bit of fish skin, so, I’ll take that.”

Bellaniece winced at Kelly’s attempt at humor.  Then, she stepped over and took Kelly’s arm, gently pushing the sleeve up a good few inches and slowly turning the limb to get a better look.  “It doesn’t look bad,” she finally stated, and she sounded more relieved than she should have, in Kelly’s estimation.  “I brought you more of the cream, though—and a special one that Kichiro’s mama made, especially for you.  She swears that it’ll help even more, and there really isn’t anyone as well versed in herbal medicines as Kagome.”

“Thanks,” she said, relieved that Bellaniece seemed to be happy enough with her progress—happy enough not to hop right onto her phone to call her mate, anyway.  “I’ll give it a try.”

Bellaniece nodded as she let go of Kelly’s arm to dig the jars of cream out of her suitcase.  The regular ones, she set aside.  The larger one that was unlabeled except for a sticker on top that had her name on it, Bellaniece handed over with an authoritative air.  “If you like it, if it helps you, I’ll tell Kagome.  She said to let her know if you’d like more.  I don’t know what all she put in there, but she said she put in things to help the itching that you probably feel as well as some stuff that should, she said, help to even out your skin tone, including the scarring.”

Unsure what to expect, Kelly carefully removed the lid and sniffed gingerly at the off-white cream.  It was thick, had a very herbal, but not medicinal scent that wouldn’t have been very noticeable at all to a human, she figured.  She scooped out a bit on her fingertips and slowly rubbed it into the arm that Bellaniece had exposed.

It only took a few seconds for a very slight but very nice tingle to erupt under her skin, tissue deep.  It felt highly invigorating, and the still-lingering itch that she tended to experience on a constant basis—enough to feel it, but she’d learned to ignore it—seemed to fade.  She heaved a sigh of relief without realizing it, and Bellaniece smiled.  “Kagome said that it could be beneficial to you, as well, if you keep it in the refrigerator and apply it cold.”

“I’ll try that, too,” Kelly remarked, scooping out more of the cream as she pushed her other sleeve up.  “This stuff is great . . . Tell her thanks, will you?”

Bellaniece laughed.  “Absolutely,” she agreed.  “Absolutely.”

-==========-

“Hey, sorry I’m late,” Cartham said as he pulled out a chair at the small table in the bright and welcoming bistro where he’d texted to tell Kelly he’d meet her and Bellaniece for lunch.  It wasn’t far from the contractor’s office where he’d been discussing the secured room he wanted to have built in the bottom of the warehouse as soon as possible.  He’d been very clear when he’d said that he wanted the room to be absolutely impenetrable, and the plans that the contractor had developed hadn’t disappointed him.  In fact, he’d gone one further by laying out a design that would add onto the floor for the apartment above that extended all the way across the back of the warehouse, leaving space below for whatever they wanted to add in beside the security room for his guns.  All totaled, the quote was excellent, too, and Cartham had given him the go-ahead to get the necessary permits to begin construction as soon as possible.  “Did you two already order?”

Bellaniece blinked and stared at him.  Cartham intercepted the stare, which should have put a stop to it, but it didn’t.  No, if anything, those sapphire blue eyes that were the same shade as her father’s, only seemed to widen, and, as far as Cartham could tell, she didn’t appear to have heard him speak, either.  Shifting his gaze to the side, he glanced at Kelly, who peered over at her friend and then, rolled her eyes.  A moment later, Bellaniece jumped slightly—had Kelly kicked her?—and giggled.  “So, you’re Cartham,” she said pleasantly, reaching across the table to shake his hand.  “Pleased to meet you—finally.”

“Likewise,” he replied, shaking the hand she offered, but letting go quickly enough.  “You, uh, look like your dad.”

She laughed.  “Yeah, I get that a lot.  I’m not sure how to take that, but I tend to think Daddy’s pretty, um . . . pretty, so I guess it was a compliment . . .”

“I, uh, just meant your . . . your coloring and stuff,” Cartham muttered, reaching for a menu and promptly pulling it open in front of his face.

“Speaking of ‘pretty’—”

“I think I’ll have the cod,” Kelly cut in quickly.

Cartham peered around the menu, only to witness the narrow-eyed look she was shooting Bellaniece.

Women are weird,’ he thought as he turned his attention back to the menu once more.

Oh, I don’t know . . . Bellaniece seems to approve of your looks, at least . . .

Cartham grunted since he really didn’t think that his youkai’s assessment was valid—or necessary.

Don’t discount it, buddy.  Women talk, right?  So, would it hurt to have Kelly’s bestie, talking you up to her?

That, in Cartham’s opinion, meant nothing at all, and he snorted inwardly.  ‘She’s trouble, that one,’ he mused.  ‘An instigator, just like her damn dad . . .

Should you really be calling your boss an instigator?

If the shoe fits . . .

His youkai snorted.  Loudly.

At least the discussion turned when the server approached the table, and he hoped that, by the time they were finished, placing their orders, that the topic of conversation would change directions entirely.  After the server hurried away to place their orders, he sat back, watched the girls in silence.  Something about good friends, he figured.  The way they were carrying on, it would have been hard to imagine that they hadn’t spoken for months just prior to Bellaniece’s visit.  Even so, he had to admit, he rather enjoyed, seeing Kelly smile as she talked in hushed tones to Bellaniece, telling her about her job, about her life, here in Vegas.  It struck him, not for the first time, just how content Kelly seemed.  Of course, he didn’t really know her before Vegas, but from everything he’d gathered, he also knew that she wasn’t happy in Maine . . .

Bellaniece leaned in, whispered something to Kelly that made her laugh and quickly, adamantly, shake her head, and then, the two slowly—almost comically slowly, and if Cartham weren’t the recipient of their collective attention, he might have found it more amusing than he did—turned their heads to eye him and then, suddenly they smiled.

“Aight, what?” he asked, kind of dreading their answer.  “Why are you both staring at me like that?”

Kelly blinked innocently and reached for a pretzel stick from the basket that the server had dropped off.  “Don’t be paranoid,” she chastised.  “And whatever Belle says, it’s all her, not me.  I’m not asking anything.”

Somehow, that didn’t reassure him in the least . . .

Bellaniece giggled, slipping her fingers over the base of her wine glass that only held ice water, fingers splayed as she idly moved the glass in the small circular motion.  “Can I ask you something, Cartham?”  She raised her eyebrows.  “Just Cartham, right?  Nothing else?  Kind of like you’re the Madonna of Daddy’s hunters?”

Cartham rolled his eyes.  “Not hardly . . . but, yes, just Cartham’s fine,” he replied, feeling the corners of his mouth, twitching, but he didn’t smile.

Bellaniece nodded slowly, deliberately. “Well, Cartham, my mate is Kichiro Izayoi—Dr. Kichiro Izayoi—have you heard of him?”

“Oh, I think I’ve heard him mentioned a time or two, but if you ask your dad, he calls him Dr. Assmonkey, I believe . . .”

Her lips twitched, too, and Kelly shifted hers to the side in an effort not to laugh, outright.  “Just so we’re clear, then, my mate is the world-renowned plastic surgeon, Dr. Kichiro Izayoi, whose distinctions include, but are not limited to, refining the marking process—among other things.  What you may not know is that he’s also a very distinguished medical researcher, and for the last while, he’s been researching the prevention of accidental mating, using condoms.  Would you be interested in participating in the case study?  You’d have to find a willing partner but somehow . . .” She paused here, both for dramatic effect, as well as to cast Kelly a very meaningful glance that the latter summarily ignored.  “I feel that won’t really be a problem for you.”

It was a damn good thing that he wasn’t drinking anything—or eating anything, for that matter.  As it was, he could feel his cheeks heating up in a rather profound blush.  “Stay out of my pants, Legacy-of-Cain.”

Both girls laughed at that, and Cartham was relieved when the server approached the table once more, this time, with a very large tray of food and drinks.

Well, you know, you volunteered to take them out to lunch, so there’s really no one to blame but yourself.

Stifling a sigh at his youkai-voice’s cryptic assessment, Cartham refused to answer as he tried to brace himself for the rest of the meal—and wondered if it’d seem odd if he decided to suddenly ask them to pack up all the food to go . . .

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Elizabeth ——— cutechick18 ——— minthegreen
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Final Thought from
Cartham:
It’s gonna be a long ‘few days’, isn’t it …?
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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Cacophony):  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~