Um. Here.
~Do not own Inuyasha, Fake It by Seether, or The Well by Hans Zimmer~
Chapter 9: The Well
Sota was enjoying the sun on his face as it floated over the horizon, orange bathing the sidewalk on his path home. In his hands, he carried two grocery bags full of vegetables and food items. He missed Izumi, though she was loud and smeared blood all over the walls. However, she did try her hardest to make life easier for him. For example, she kept him safe –
He paused, frowning. Was that…bass…vibrating the sidewalk? He swallowed and looked up at the steps to the shrine. There were lights on at his house and he could see the shapes of people moving about inside of it. Either his house had been commandeered for a party or Izumi was home. He hurried up the steps and walked into his house, peeking around the door. "Izumi?" The rebuilding of this section had gone well, though wood still boarded up the windows and there was no tile or carpet or anything. Receiving no answer because of the turned up stereo, he tentatively stepped inside.
The living room was utter chaos. A trail of blood came from his front door (which the lock had been absolutely destroyed on that) to the couch in the living room where his niece reclined sullenly. She looked like something out of a horror movie, wearing a bloody kimono and a cut on her leg gushing blood. The staining life substance was held at bay by a towel (one of the nice ones, of course) pressed against her leg with her hands. Around her, Kiki kept fluttering about like a mother hen worried over her chick, asking her if she needed anything and if it hurt and 'Shouldn't we call your uncle?'
"No need. He's already here. So get out." Izumi grunted turning down the stereo. "Hey Ojii-san, sorry about the lock. I can fix that."
Kiki wandered up to him and bowed profusely. "I'm so sorry, sir! I have to go now!" She ran out without another word, rushing like a maelstrom.
Bewildered, Sota made his way over to his niece. "What on earth…?"
"She wouldn't leave me alone." Izumi grunted, turning off the stereo all together. She looked exhausted, with bags under her eyes and a soft grimace on her face. "Hey Ojii-san, could you bandage this up?" Not to mention the overly polite tone.
He smiled. "It's nice to have you home, Izumi."
Izumi looked up and blinked at him in surprise. She smiled back. "It's nice to be home."
~*FAKE*IT*~
Izumi soaked in the tub, sighing as she shifted her bare injured leg that she held above the water. There wasn't any use in getting the bath water bloody while she was bathing in it. Her strawberry blonde hair floated around her as she felt the tension in her muscles ease. Lord knew she needed this. She hummed absently as she lazily ran her hand over the length of her body. The bruises and cuts from the run in with her mother were disappearing, thanks to the demon blood that ran within her veins. She'd be as good as new then. She frowned as her fingers landed on the enchanted necklace around her neck. Kiki hadn't used it to force her to do anything since they'd begun this haphazard journey, yet the damn thing still wouldn't come off. Just for assurance, she tugged at it, once again only able to get it just above her ears. "Fuck." She said softly and frowned, sinking farther into the tub. Right now, there wasn't any immediate danger about getting thrown against the grown by unseen forces, all because some prepubescent teen was irked with her. However, she'd rather she didn't have to undergo that ever again. There had to be a way to get this off…
There was a clatter in the kitchen and Izumi frowned accordingly. Sota had gone out grocery shopping again, knowing that his niece would eat until there was nothing left. So who was sneaking around her house? She grimaced and pushed herself up, carefully getting out of the bathtub and leaning against the wall. She wrapped a white towel around herself and limped out the door. "Ojii-san?" She called, peering suspiciously down the hall. Night had fallen since she'd initially gotten in the tub to soak. The shadows in the house were long and twisted like the trees outside. "Ojii-san, you back yet?"
There was no answer, but the soft fall of footsteps on tiled floor alerted her that there was, in fact, someone there.
Izumi flexed her hand, the corners of her mouth pulling up in a soft snarl. She limped towards the stairs and pressed her back against the wall. One hand steadied her as she made her way slowly down and the other one held up the white towel. Whoever was in her house, it was definitely human. And she'd smelled them before…
She yelped as she hit her injured leg against the last step and fell forward. She put both her arms out to catch herself and the towel slipped down. Arms reached out and grabbed hers, trying to pull her up as she fell into another body. The scent she had smelled before overwhelmed her and she blinked in utter surprise as the name of the human finally came to her. "M-Minoru…?"
The young man blushed and looked away from her. "G-good evening, Miss Izumi…"
"What the hell are you doing here?" She asked, pushing up off him and readjusting the towel. "You're not supposed to be here!"
"Your father was concerned that something would happen to you while you were recovering." Minoru turned his back promptly on her, pretending to examine something else.
Izumi opened up the towel and paused, smirking at him as she re-wrapped it. "Virgin."
"I'm sorry?"
She shook her head, still smirking. "Nothing. Look, you can go home. I can take care of myself."
"Your mother knows where you are." He said softly. "And we still don't know exactly where she is."
Izumi froze. There was no doubt in her mind that Kagome would come after her for revenge. And with this broken, swollen leg she wasn't good for anything. Kagome would burn her alive and she wouldn't even be able to fight back, just like Izumi had done to her…
The strawberry blonde shivered involuntarily. "Alright. Fine. But no sneaking around my house and scaring the shit outta me. Where's Shippo?"
"Keeping watch over Miss Kiki." Minoru peeked over his shoulder and looked quickly away. "M-miss Izumi, might I implore you to put some clothes on?"
"You might. Doesn't mean I'll listen." She sat on the couch, propping her leg up. "What's your deal? From the stories your dad and Ol' Yeller kept telling, you should be a man whore or something."
"Ol' Yeller?" He looked at her in confusion.
"It's a dog. I was indicating that my dad is uber old and a mutt." She raised an eyebrow. "I forget you're from somewhere else."
"I see…Well, I'm not a…what did you call it?" He asked, hesitantly, standing beside the couch.
"Man whore."
"A… 'man whore' because I don't believe in what my father does." He stated. "I believe every woman should be treated as a person, not property."
"A revolutionary idea." Izumi drawled, though she kept her eyes on him in interest. "But I imagine it's not that popular where you live."
"No." He admitted. "But my mother agrees, even if my sisters represent the opposite side."
"You have siblings?"
"They are the ones that take after my father." He grimaced. "They slay demons and like to cause trouble for me." He smiled. "Once, they lead their prey to our land and managed to destroy half the crops I had cultivated just because we got in an argument."
Izumi chuckled. "They sound like quite the pair."
"They are twins." He smiled wider. "What about you? Do you have any siblings?"
"I didn't even really have a family until a couple days ago." She sighed, resting her head back on the couch. "If you can call it a family…" She paused and gave an ironic smile. "Homicidal mother, Father in denial, and the child nobody wanted."
"That's not true. Your father is fond of you."
She raised an eyebrow at him. "Before I came back here, we got in a fight, remember?" She certainly did.
Izumi had confronted Inuyasha about his feelings regarding the details on Kagome's death. When he replied that he wasn't quite sure about it, she had reacted negatively (biggest understatement of the feudal era). A screaming match ensued, followed by both of them throwing punches. Naturally, Izumi got her ass handed to her (She blamed it on being a cripple) and was told to 'go home before I kill you instead of Kagome'.
She scoffed at the memory. "Whatever. I'm not even Kagome's real kid anyway. She just 'raised' me, if you can call it that." She turned her head away from him. "You can sit or whatever. There's drinks in the fridge if you want."
"Fridge?" He blinked owlishly at her.
Izumi stared back at him in silent exasperation. This was going to be interesting.
~*FAKE*IT*~
Shippo was dying to go see Izumi. He sat underneath a tree next to Kiki's quaint little home and skipped rocks across the pavement in the dark. It was late, too late for him to go to her and for it to be anything besides something forbidden. Damn Inuyasha for making him promise not to leave Kiki's side! At this, Shippo turned his head and peered through the open window at the young girl. She was sleeping soundly, draped in a sheer girlish night gown as she dreamed. The sight inspired a slight chemical reaction, but nothing as intense as Izumi had that day in the rain. He shivered involuntarily at the memory, eyes wide in the dark. There would be no way to get that out of his mind. He glanced at the peacefully sleeping Kiki again and made the definite decision to break his promise.
~*FAKE*IT*~
The rain started slowly, but Izumi had been able to smell it for hours now. She sat on the floor to her room, the lights off and every electronic unplugged. She didn't need their whirring now, a constant buzzing in her ears. Not to mention the possibility that the power would go out. Lightning illuminated her figure, a pale blonde in a light night gown. Normally she'd sleep naked, but her mother was out there…some where…
Sitting cross legged, she let her hands drape themselves in her lap as she closed her eyes. Somewhere, beneath the rain and the clouds that hung oppressive in the air, her mother walked the earth that had once held her, small steady steps that took her closer to revenge. Izumi shivered in the dark, almost feeling her mother clawing at her skin. She lifted her hands and put them over her eyes. "If I count to ten…" She whispered. "Will you go hide…?"
Thunder answered her query and she opened her eyes as lightning flashed again. Looking at the carpet, she put her hands back in her lap, inspecting the lines on them. From downstairs, the door opened and shut ever so quietly and she inhaled deeply, smelling Shippo come up the stairs and head straight for the room she occupied.
He opened the door with hardly a sound and stood behind her, pausing to marvel at how calm she seemed. It was almost, disturbing. In fact, it was disturbing. Here was the girl who at the age of six burned her mother alive and was now sitting before him, watching the rain cascade down. His attraction to her melted from emotional to physical after learning the truth.
"Go back to Kiki, Shippo." Izumi's voice was emotionless for once. It had a cold dead ring that made him shiver on the inside. "There's nothing you need here."
"That's not true. I need you." He took a step forward then froze.
Izumi turned her head slightly and one eye peered at him from a curtain of hair. Golden animosity pierced through him as she said again, "Leave, Shippo."
He hesitated, unsure now. Her father was never prone to brooding to this extent and her mother had been a generally happy person up until recently. So where the hell had Izumi come from…? "Izumi," He murmured.
Izumi's hand shot out and grabbed his ankle, pulling his foot out from underneath him.
He fell to the floor with a grunt and then blinked as she suddenly straddled him, knees effectively holding his arms to his side as her fingers wrapped around his throat.
Izumi was calm as ever. She stared down at him, the thunder shaking the house from overhead. "Do you know how…easy it is to snap your neck and burn your body?" She asked him softly, her grip on his throat relaxing as she stroked his bobbing adam's apple. "I could burn you alive, even. And no one would hear you scream…" Her grip on his throat tightened again.
"You're sick." He rasped, thoroughly frightened. "Your father – "
"Is an ass." She smiled a bit at this. "But please. Continue. I think you were about to say something amusing about revenge."
He didn't reply, glaring at her in a panicked way as he tried to think of a way out of this situation. Why the hell had he come here?
Her fingers left his neck and she stood up. "Leave, Shippo. Go back to Kiki." She turned and made her way to the window, pressing her killing hands flat against the glass as she peered out.
Shippo rubbed his neck as he glared at her. He was silent as he left, the only person in the house to hear his departure was the woman at the window.
Shortly after, Minoru opened the door with hesitant bashfulness. "Miss Izumi, I heard a bang. Are you alright?"
Izumi turned and looked at him as the lightning flashed, illuminating her tear stained face. "I'm fine."
He froze and his eyes softened in concern. "What's wrong?" He took a step forward.
"Just leave me alone!" She cried desperately, turning away from him. "I'll kill you too if you touch me, bastard!"
Minoru was silent at this outburst; nothing but Izumi's sobs and the sound of the storm outside could be heard.
She blinked in surprise as she heard his footsteps behind her then felt arms slide around her waist.
"No you won't." Minoru said softly in her ear. "You're not a killer."
Izumi felt more tears overwhelm her eyes and she turned in his arms, wrapping her own arms around his neck as she clung onto him. He seemed like her line to life, otherwise she'd be lot in a dark grey world of death and revenge. She tilted her head up and kissed him without thinking, emotionally damaged beyond repair at this point.
Minoru was surprised at first, but obliged to the sign of affection. He melded her lips to hers, letting her take the lead in this odd pursuit. He was confused at first, unsure why she had chosen to react this way. They had barely met. Just two strangers stuck together through odd circumstances. Not to mention she was a demon and, consequently, the daughter of Inuyasha; the half-demon's prowess preceded him through Miroku and Minoru never wished to get on his bad side. However, there was an odd desire for Izumi in her vulnerable state. He felt his blood stir as her hands slid off his neck to his shoulders.
She turned away from the kiss, inspecting the collar of his clothing. "You're strong."
"I am a hard worker, so I've been told." Minoru murmured, turning his head to the side. "Izumi…" He breathed against her cheek.
She closed her eyes and her hands gripped his shirt as she tilted her head a bit.
He ran his lips down her neck, settling on the skin where her shoulder and neck met.
Izumi shuddered, pressing herself more against him. Her eyes opened up into slits as the storm raged around her house. She could hear her uncle's deep breathing downstairs and Minoru's accelerating heart beat. She sighed as sucked on her pale skin, running her hands down his back. From far off she could hear the steady beat of someone's footsteps pounding the ground with the rain, but she didn't care. There was a feeling under her skin, like it vibrated with emotion. She felt calm this time and not so tormented in Minoru's arms. She caressed the back of his neck, encouraging his touches as she pretended that they were the only ones in this entire world.
~*FAKE*IT*~
Staring up into the window where her daughter currently resided, Kagome felt the familiar surge of hate for the little mutt stir up and threaten to consume her. Let her have happiness tonight. But for the next while, there'd be nothing but sorrow ready to consume the little bitch until she was begging to burn. The rain plastered Kagome's hair to her face and she lifted her face up, closing her eyes as she let it dribble down, plastering her clothes to her body. Her skin shone through the white top and her thighs were outlined clearly in the red pants she wore. How truly amazing it was to be alive again. How awful it was to feel these feelings again. She pulled her head back down, dropping her brown eyes to the ground as she took the path up to the well. Her younger brother truly had expanded this place and made it his own. The garden was well loved and cared for, like he had loved and cared for her daughter.
Kagome paused at this, suddenly struck with the thought that she'd told them both the truth. She allowed herself a twisted smile as she realized Inuyasha was going to have to explain why Izumi could be his daughter, but not the young miko's. Oh how fascinating it would be to explain the other woman. She only wished she could be there to see it-
She whirled around, hand outstretched in a threatening gesture towards the figure that had just appeared out of the rain. She gave a sardonic smile and put her hand down. "Come to see our 'lovechild' as well, Inuyasha?"
He gave her a haunted look, ears flat in the rain as he stood in front of her. His arms were useless at his side as his eyes ran over the way the clothes clung to her body. She had gained weight since the night she had run out from his life, but it looked good on her. It gave her curves and made her thighs and breast seem almost swollen in the faint light from a street lamp far away. "You can't harm her, Kagome." He said softly.
She laughed and turned away from him. "What made you think I was going to harm her, dear? That would ruin all my carefully thought out plans."
"Is that what you did in hell? Is come up with plans for revenge?" Inuyasha's fists clenched and his voice sounded angry.
"What else is there to do in hell, love…" She said softly, turning her face towards him. "Besides burn for all eternity…?" Her brown eyes were soft as she walked towards him. "I thought about you often, you know." She came close to him and took a strand of his silver hair, twisting it through her fingers lovingly. "I always hoped you'd come to save me some day…"
"I didn't." He said flatly, ignoring the urge to reach out and wrap his arms around her; to hold her close to him and never let go.
"I'm not mad at you." She whispered desperately, taking his face in her hands. She was sincere and honest in this declaration. "I don't blame you for what happened. I don't at all."
"Then who do you blame, Kagome?" He asked. He so very much wanted to believe her.
"I blame her." Kagome let her fingers trail from his face down his neck and to his sopping wet chest. "I blame Izumi."
Inuyasha's hands reached up and firmly pushed hers away. "Izumi was right." He said softly, not looking her in the eye. "You have gone crazy. You're not the same, Kagome."
Kagome whimpered, searching in his eyes for some hint of love – of compassion for her. All she found was a winding well of bitterness, as eternal and never ending as the one she had jumped down day after day to see him when they were both younger. It frightened her that he was angry with her. She had never wanted him to be mad. She stepped away, suddenly aware that there wasn't enough oxygen where she was. Kagome never stopped looking at him as she exclaimed, "We could've been happy together! We could've lived! All you had to do was realize the lies…the shit she's been tell you and…!" She put a hand up to her face, overcome with sobs. He hated her. She could see it. "I hate you too." She whispered, knowing he would hear it past the torrential rain. "I hate you so much." She ran past him towards the well, blinded by fury and pain.
Inuyasha let her go. He couldn't have killed her then even if he wanted to. He looked up at the window of Izumi's room and hoped to god that somebody would just kill him now and end his pain.
