InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Purity 2: Defiance ❯ Keeping Promises ( Chapter 48 )

~~Chapter 48~~

~Keeping Promises~

 

“Any ideas?”

 

Sesshoumaru sat back in his chair, steepling his fingers before his chest as he calmly regarded his son. Toga slouched, crossing his ankles as he leaned to the side, rubbing his forehead with a tired hand.

 

“It doesn't surprise me that you cannot do this,” Sesshoumaru remarked mildly though Toga could tell from his father's expression that he wished it were otherwise. “Deliberately inflicting harm upon your mate is something that goes against the nature of the youkai.”

 

Toga heaved a sigh and slowly shook his head. “There has to be another way.”

 

Sesshoumaru stared at him for several moments, his gaze penetrating, stern. “There is not.”

 

Toga flinched. “Yeah.”

 

“Where is your mate?”

 

Toga shrugged as he sat up a little straighter. They'd come back from their honeymoon a few days early because Sierra had wanted to spend a little more time with her family before they left to go back to Chicago. He smiled to himself. Sierra had been reluctant to ask him, thinking that he would be upset that she wanted to return to Tokyo after a week. When Sierra had mentioned going shopping with her mother, Toga had decided there was no time like the present to have this discussion with his father. “She's spending the day with her mother.”

 

“I see,” Sesshoumaru commented. “What will you do?”

 

Shaking his head, Toga rubbed his eyes and sighed. “You marked Mother, didn't you?”

 

Sesshoumaru nodded slowly. “I did.”

 

`Father did it . . . and I have to do it, too . . . .' Toga let his hand drop as he raised his gaze to meet Sesshoumaru's. “I understand.”

 

“It isn't designed to be a pleasant undertaking, Toga, but it is necessary.” Sesshoumaru pushed his glasses up and regarded his son. “For what it's worth . . . I found no pleasure in the doing, but I did appreciate the peace of mind that it was done.”

 

Toga digested that in silence. `Sierra . . . she'll be saved, if I do this . . . I have to do this . . . for her---for us . . . .'

 

 

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

 

 

“Digging in the dirt?” Toga asked as he strode up the sidewalk toward InuYasha and Kagome's front door.

 

Kagome sat back and dusted her hands off before yanking off her canvas gloves, dropping them into the little caddy that contained all her gardening tools. Bracing her hands on her knees, she stood up and grinned at Toga. “I wasn't expecting to see you so soon! Why'd you come back early?”

 

Toga handed Kagome the keys to the beach house and shrugged as he followed her toward the front door. “Sierra wanted to spend time with her family before they leave,” he replied, leaning around his aunt to hold the door open for her.

 

Kagome smiled at him as she hurried into the house and straight toward the kitchen sink to wash her hands. “Did you enjoy the beach?”

 

“It was nice,” he agreed. “Is, uh . . . Uncle Yasha around?”

 

Kagome sighed. “Nope. He's at the school, but he did say something about coming home early. Is there something I can help you with?”

 

Toga winced. He had wanted to talk to InuYasha about the marking, but . . . . “Uncle Yasha . . . he marked you, right?”

 

Kagome dropped the kitchen towel on the counter next to the sink and pressed her hand against her left side. “Sort of,” she hedged, slowly nodding as her eyes lost focus, like she was seeing something that Toga couldn't.

 

“Sort of?” he echoed with a frown. “What does that mean?”

 

Kagome shook her head, dispelling the vision that preoccupied her. “It means he marked me, just not in the traditional sense.”

 

Toga's frown deepened. “Not following,” he admitted.

 

Kagome laughed. “I mean, he had some help. We saw Midoriko's spirit, and she did it. He never had to hurt me.”

 

Toga made a face and sighed. “Don't suppose she's still around?” he grumbled, only half-joking.

 

Kagome lifted her eyebrows as her laughter diminished though her smile remained. “No . . . unfortunately not . . . .”

 

“I could do it,” Toga said quietly, “if I didn't have to hurt her . . . if I didn't have to . . . . I could, then . . . .”

 

“Toga . . . do you want to have children?”

 

Toga shook his head, unable to figure out why his aunt had just changed the subject. “Yeah . . . eventually . . . .”

 

Kagome nodded. “Well, you do realize that having children can be painful, and sometimes having children can be dangerous, too.”

 

Grimacing, Toga shook his head again. “Thanks, Aunt Gome . . . hadn't thought about that,” he remarked dryly.

 

“Don't be silly, Toga. Women have children because they want to, and once she holds her child, the pain is forgotten. I'm just pointing out something you ought to already know. Sometimes women do things that hurt because we have to. It doesn't mean that our trust or our faith in someone wavers. It just means that we know the benefits outweigh the risks.”

 

“So . . . you're telling me you think I should just do it.”

 

Kagome shrugged. “I'm saying that in your case, the benefits would outweigh the risks.”

 

“What risks?”

 

Toga turned to eye his cousin as Kichiro breezed through the back door and into the house. “Oi, Mother, what's for dinner?” he asked as he hurried over to kiss her cheek

 

“Gin wanted oden,” she remarked as she patted her son's cheek.

 

Kichiro made a face. “Don't you have ramen around here?” he complained.

 

Kagome rolled her eyes but smiled indulgently. “If I left it to your father, we'd be having ramen every night,” she said ruefully.

 

Kichiro grinned unrepentantly. “The old man just doesn't want to bother you with cooking those long, tedious dinners.”

 

Kagome snorted. “Inconveniencing me has absolutely nothing to do with it.”

 

Kichiro laughed as he dug a soda out of the refrigerator and tore off the plastic lid. “So what are you risking, Toga?” he asked mildly, poking the clear marble into the bottle and sending droplets of soda flying.

 

“You're cleaning that up, you know,” Kagome remarked as she tossed Kichiro a towel.

 

Kichiro did as he was told before rolling up the towel and snapping it next to Toga's head. “Baka,” Toga countered but didn't flinch. “It's none of your business.”

 

“Feh! Fine! See if I ever pretend to be concerned again,” Kichiro shot back.

 

Kagome shook her head in dismay at her son's perceived lack of manners.

 

“Where's Ryo?” Toga asked, hoping to change the subject since getting serious answers from either of the twins was akin to pulling teeth.

 

Kichiro shrugged as he sucked down his soda. “Eh, he said something about going to look at motorcycles with Nez.”

 

Toga grimaced at the idea of his careless cousin on a motorcycle. “At least he was smart enough to take someone with him that has some common sense,” Toga remarked.

 

“Yeah . . . let's hope she talks him out of wanting one,” Kagome said as she dumped some chopped vegetables into the hotpot.

 

“I'm surprised you don't want one,” Toga mused as he stared at Kichiro.

 

Kichiro made a face. “In what world? I'd rather be a passenger, thanks. The view's better. Can't pay attention to the girls when you're driving.”

 

Toga shook his head as Kichiro flicked the towel again. “You're such a dog.”

 

“Woof.”

 

“Either get out of my kitchen or I'll put you to work,” Kagome announced as she shoved her son toward the living room.

 

“You should have gone with him,” Toga remarked as he followed Kichiro.

 

“Why's that?”

 

Toga hid his smirk. “To remind Ryo to get a sidecar for you, baka.”

 

Kichiro snorted as he flopped down on the sofa. “Ha, ha, you're funny . . . oh wait . . . you weren't trying to be funny, were you?”

 

“I thought it was funny.”

 

“That's because you're an ass.”

 

Toga laughed. “I still don't understand why Nezumi puts up with either of you. You call her `rat', for the love of kami!”

 

Kichiro belched as he leaned forward to thump his empty soda bottle on the coffee table. “She calls herself rat---and no one can remember her real name, anyway. Besides that, she's more Ryo's friend, really.”

 

Toga wrinkled his nose. “I'm amazed that she can even stand to be around you two.”

 

“Kichiro, can you get that?” Kagome called when the telephone rang.

 

“Sure, Mother. Anything for you,” he called back as Toga shook his head. Only Kichiro could get away with saying something like that without sounding like he was trying to dig himself out of trouble.

 

“Oi, pup, what are you doing here?”

 

Toga turned and stared at his uncle. InuYasha pulled the glass door closed and set his briefcase down before yawning as he arched his back to stretch. “I wanted to talk to you,” he admitted. “I already talked to Aunt Gome about it, though.”

 

InuYasha shrugged. “Probably a better idea,” he mused. “She's normally got better advice, anyway.”

 

Toga nodded and stuffed his hands into his pockets. “Yeah.”

 

“Since you're here, you might as well spill it.”

 

Toga hesitated for a moment before he spoke. “I don't know if I can do it,” he finally admitted.

 

InuYasha didn't ask what Toga meant. With a sage nod, the hanyou folded his arms together as he regarded Toga for several long moments. “Yeah . . . I didn't think you would.”

 

Toga uttered a terse laugh that lacked any real humor but was laced with a heavy dose of incredulity. “I've got to do it, right? It's just the idea of . . .” he trailed off with a wince, and for once InuYasha didn't comment on it. “But there really isn't any other way.”

 

“Any way to do what?” Kichiro said as he strode toward them, holding the phone receiver out to his father.

 

InuYasha took it. “Don't leave,” he told Toga before he lifted the phone.

 

Toga nodded.

 

“Come on, answer my question,” Kichiro prodded. “I won't make fun of you . . . unless you're being stupid.”

 

Toga glared at his cousin then shook his head with a sigh. “If you have to know, it's about marking Sierra.”

 

Kichiro looked surprised. “You haven't done that?”

 

“No, Kich, I haven't done it yet.”

 

Kichiro actually grimaced. “Can't say I blame you. It's a nasty business. I was hoping I'd find another hanyou, so I wouldn't have to do it.”

 

Toga dragged a hand out of his pocket and rubbed his temple. “Yeah, well, that doesn't really help now.”

 

“You know,” Kichiro began then trailed off, an odd expression crossing his features as he slowly narrowed a speculative stare on Toga. “Isn't it just a blood transfusion?”

 

Toga let his hand drop. “Yeah . . . I guess . . . .”

 

Kichiro shrugged off-handedly before he retrieved a magazine off the coffee table. “So? Get a blood transfusion, then.”

 

Toga started to tell Kichiro not to be stupid, but the repercussions of his cousin's simple statement started to make sense. “That is all there is to it . . . .”

 

Kichiro stopped leafing through the magazine to glance back at Toga once more. “I could do it,” he offered casually.

 

`Yeah,' Toga thought slowly as he considered Kichiro's statements. `Yeah, he could do it.' He was nearly finished with medical school, and as much as Toga loved to pick on his cousins, they really weren't stupid. Kichiro would probably graduate at the top of his class. It wasn't really a question of whether or not Kichiro could do it. The real question was, would it work?

 

 

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A/N:

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Final Thought from Toga:

This… Might work ...

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Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Defiance): 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~