A Hanyou in Tokyo
By socchan
Eight: Contact
Inu-Yasha was busily scribbling notes at his desk when the office aide entered the room. He paid the interruption little heed; he was sure it was nothing. He was very surprised then when the aide was directed down the isle to drop the note on his desk. Inu-Yasha blinked at the note a moment, then looked up at the aide; he was already leaving the room to make another delivery. He looked down at the note again, then tentatively rose to his feet. The teacher noticed his movement. "Do you need something, Inu-Yasha?" she asked.
"I could use some help finding the counselor's office." He replied, truthfully.
She nodded, and surveyed the room. "Nathan, could you help Inu-Yasha out?" she inquired.
The boy who sat in the desk next to Inu-Yasha nodded and rose. He strode purposefully to the front of the room. His serious eyes met Inu-Yasha's briefly, and he nodded ever so slightly, then lead the way out the door. He walked down the twisting hallways and up one flight of stairs, Inu-Yasha tailing him. He stopped at last outside a door, and turned to face Inu-Yasha for the first time since they'd started the journey. "Can you find your way back on your own?"
Inu-Yasha nodded. "Yeah; I'll be fine."
Nathan nodded in return. "All right. I'll head back then. The counselor is right through there. Don't worry; she's good at what she does."
Inu-Yasha smiled wryly. "Right. Thanks."
"No problem." Nathan turned and began to walk away, tossing a wave over his shoulder. "Later."
Inu-Yasha turned as well, facing the wooden door before him. 'Mrs. Westlord' read the bronze nameplate. He sighed, resigned, and pushed open the door.
A woman who looked no older than twenty-three sat at a desk in front of a beige box, a faint glow emitting from the side facing her. She looked up and smiled when Inu-Yasha entered. "Good afternoon," she said brightly. "I'll be done in just a moment, so if you'll take a seat, I'll be right with you." Self-consciously, Inu-Yasha sat down in the plush chair in front of her desk (the only available seat in the room). True to her word, the woman was soon done, and had turned to face him again, smiling pleasantly.
There was something not quite right about this woman, but he couldn't put his finger on what it was. Something about her scent…
"It's nice to finally meet you, Inu-Yasha." Mrs. Westlord said.
There was a trace of youkai blood in her, and more than a hint of magic, but that wasn't quite it. It was something else, something almost… familiar…
"I've heard so much about you. It's a relief to know you're actually real." She continued, with humor.
He almost had it. It was on the tip of his tongue, just out of reach, like a butterfly hovering a few feet above his head.
"After all, you're almost all your brother talks about."
The answer slapped him full in the face, realization slamming into him full force.
Sessho-maru.
This all-too-human woman had his brother's blood running through her veins.
Had Inu-Yasha not been so shocked, the long string of less-than-pleasant language might have completed its journey from his mind to his mouth. As it was, he just sat there, staring blankly at Mrs. Westlord, jaw slack. Finally, he regained control of his facial muscles. "How do you know my brother?"
"Oh! How terribly rude of me." The woman exclaimed. "Of course you wouldn't know, you've been pinned to a tree until recently. My, this is embarrassing. Well." She cleared her throat, blushing slightly. "Allow me to introduce myself. Inu-Yasha, my name is Rin Westlord; I'm your sister-in-law."
This time the profanity made it to his mouth and brought friends. "Dammit! Not only is that sonovabitch still alive, but he's procreating, too?! Shit, now his kids are going to be out for my blood! No offence, ma'am." He ammended, quickly.
"None taken." She replied. "And please, call me Rin. In any case, that's not the reason I contacted you."
Inu-Yasha moaned and sat back in the plush chair, raising a hand to rub his temples. "What else?"
"Sessho-maru runs a large corporation which is mostly a front for helping youkai that are only now coming out of hiding create identities for themselves and get on their feet. He's been keeping track of you for the last couple of centuries, and is interested in meeting you to make amends for the past." Rin explained.
Inu-Yasha regarded her from under his arm. "You're kidding."
Rin shook her head. "Nope. There's good money in youkai services, and not just for the new ones. To appear human, youkai have to 'die' every now and then, and reappear elsewhere to continue to survive. Sessh has made quite a living off of it."
"Not that," Inu-Yasha said, mildly annoyed. "I mean, he actually wants to uh, reconcile and… whatever?"
"Oh! Yes." Rin smiled brightly. "He also has something to give you. And I thought you might be interested in meeting the rest of the family."
"The rest of…?" Inu-Yasha sat there, relatively stunned. Sure, it was logical that his brother would want to continue the family line, so to speak, but he'd never actually put any serious thought into the idea. Now that he did, it was more than a little scary. He pictured a hoard of little Rins and Sessho-marus clawing all over him, tugging at his ears and doing other various things to make his life miserable. He shuddered, mentally. "Just how many are there?"
Rin pondered this a moment. "Oh, four generations or so, counting us. Five now that Mae's had her baby. Darling little thing, too. Of course, you've already met one of them."
"I've met…?" Inu-Yasha blinked. "When was this?"
"Nathan Lamar? He's in your class, isn't he? I believe he's your great grand nephew. His paternal grandfather was one of our early customers. He fell in love with Tomoko, our youngest. They planned to start a business overseas, which is why they wanted a foreign name. His son eventually moved to the home islands and got a job with us. He tied the proverbial knot with one of our employees. Nathan is their third child*." Rin sighed, dreamily. "Ah, love. Our company really does make dreams come true…"
Inu-Yasha stared at the woman in front of him with a sick sort of awe. In the back of his mind, he made a note to learn more about culture. Then something caught up with him. "Wait a second… I'm in the same class as my great grand nephew?! That's messed up!"
Rin tapped her chin, and turned the idea over in her head. "Well, when you think about it, I suppose it might be…"
Inu-Yasha shook his head. "Never mind. Just forget about it. If thinking about it is what makes it weird, then I just won't do it. Now, you said Sessho-maru wants to meet and sort things out?"
Rin nodded, her smile returning. "Oh, yes. Tell me, are you free on Sunday? Sessho-Maru was planning to send a ride over sometime in the afternoon to pick you up and drive you over to meet everyone. Is that okay with you?"
Inu-Yasha nodded, absently, only half certain what a 'car' even was. "Can I bring someone with me?" he asked.
Rin blinked once in surprise, then nodded cheerfully. "Of course! It's good to know you're making friends in this strange time period and everything."
"Right. Is that everything?"
Rin nodded. "Yup! You can go back to class, now."
Inu-Yasha rose and walked towards the door. Before he left, he stopped and smiled slightly. "Thanks, Rin."
Rin's smile increased twenty watts. "No problem. See you Sunday, Inu-Yasha." He nodded, and closed the door behind him.
Kagome was discretely watching the classroom door. She was now very curious about what was going on—Inu-Yasha had been away almost half an hour. Suddenly, the hanyou in question walked into the room. He looked to be brooding. He met Kagome's eyes briefly as he walked passed her desk. He paused a moment, and the corner of his mouth turned up just enough to almost be called a smile. Relieved of most of her tension, Kagome returned the near-invisible smile. Inu-Yasha held it a second longer, then dropped the smile and moved on to his desk. Most of Kagome's relief flew out the window and was replaced once again by apprehension. She watched him sit down from the corner of her eye, the hanyou trading nods of greeting with the boy next to him, and resolved to find out what had transpired while he was away.
The second the bell rang and Kagome was on her feet. She loomed over Inu-Yasha's desk menacingly as other students filed out of the classroom. Inu-Yasha looked up at Kagome and sighed. "What is it?"
"When you came back from the counselor's office you looked like someone had just handed you a death sentence, and I want to know why." Kagome answered bluntly.
He looked her over carefully. "Promise not to tell?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Knowing you, there aren't exactly a lot of people I could tell whatever it is that would believe me, but if you want reassurance, then yes, I promise."
Inu-Yasha glanced around the room. A pair of students was lingering, waiting for the two of them to leave so they could get cleaning. He looked back at Kagome, who was waiting expectantly. He rose to his feet, picking up his backpack. "Let's start heading home, then. I don't want to say it where anyone else can hear." Confused, Kagome nodded, and lead the way out of the classroom.
The halls were nearly empty when they walked through them. They passed a few doors before Kagome felt it was safe to ask again. "All right, we're out of hearing range. What is it you're so eager to hide from the rest of the world?"
Inu-Yasha shot a pained look around them before giving in. "You know that kid that sits next to me?"
"Yes…" Kagome replied, not sure where this was going.
Inu-Yasha raked a hand through his currently dark hair. "He's kinda my great grand nephew."
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks and stared at him. No way… "Your family's still alive?"
He snorted. "Keh, if you can call it that. The only one I ever knew was too stubborn to go down without showing me up. Turns out he got married while I was 'asleep', and now the school counselor is my sister-in-law. Not only that, but he's been reproducing! That's exactly the kind of thing I always knew would happen."
"You knew you were going to be put into suspended animation for four hundred plus years while your brother got married and had kids?" Kagome asked skeptically.
Inu-Yasha hesitated. "Well, no, but the universe is out to get me anyway, so why not? Besides, he's only my half-brother."
Kagome shook her head. "Maybe I'm just dense, but I still don't see what the big deal is."
He winced. "That's not all of it. He's invited me to his company this Sunday to 'meet the family' and 'make amends'. He also supposedly has something to give me."
"So… you don't want to go."
"It's not that… even if I didn't, I still promised Rin, and I don't go back on my promises. It's just that I don't entirely trust my brother, and would like to have someone along I could count on in a tight spot."
Kagome tilted her head, not entirely sure what he was saying. "Inu-Yasha?"
"Would you mind, entirely, coming along to watch my back?"
Kagome smiled. "Of course I'll come. I'd love to meet your family." She pushed open the door, and Inu-Yasha was temporarily blinded by the sunlight. "C'mon, let's go home."
The next day passed uneventfully, and without warning, Inu-Yasha found it was suddenly Sunday afternoon. He stood nervously on the shrine's steps next to Kagome, waiting anxiously for the car his brother was to send (Kagome had confirmed that cars were indeed the unliving metal animals that roamed the streets, driven on by their masters). A long black vehicle pulled up, and Rin stepped out of a door near the end. "Hello!" She said, traditional bright smile in place. Kagome smiled as well and returned the greeting, while Inu-Yasha bowed stiffly. Rin looked Kagome up and down. "I don't believe we've met."
Inu-Yasha stepped forward. "Rin, this is Kagome Higurashi, my… foster sister, I guess. She pulled the arrow out of me. Kagome, this is Rin Westlord, my sister-in-law."
"Pleased to meet you." Kagome said, holding out a hand.
"Likewise." Rin returned, shaking it. Their hands parted, and Rin turned to Inu-Yasha. "Shall we get going?"
The limo ride passed quickly, and was fairly uneventful. Rin said little, and what she did say in regards to the meeting tended to be cryptic, particularly where it concerned Sessho-maru's 'gift'. The fact that Inu-Yasha hadn't traveled in very many motorized vehicles did not help any, so he was more than a little eager to get out by the time the limo stopped.
Westlord Enterprises was a large building, even for Tokyo. It reached into the sky, its mirrored windows staring down on them like a great, many-faceted eye. Inu-Yasha's hackles rose. Rin smiled a very Cheshire smile. "Come on, then." She said, leading the way through the revolving doors.
Kagome and Inu-Yasha followed the woman onto a spacious elevator. Pleasant music flowed from speakers in the ceiling, and the walls were a comfortable shade of gold-trimmed-beige. Rin stepped forward and pushed the button for the top floor, then leaned back on the back wall's railing. The music was offset by a tense silence as the elevator climbed floors.
At last the doors opened, and Rin exited, miko and hanyou trailing close behind. She led the way through a corridor of nearly identical doors, and stopped at the one at the end of the hall. She glanced over her shoulder and, grinning smugly, winked. Then, she threw the door open.
The room was filled with persons of mixed blood. The prominent feature was dog, but there were a scattering of other animals and a few element- or item-based youkai as well, and a handful of humans. All the disguises those of mixed blood usually wore had been cast off. Seeing this, Kagome leaned over and removed Inu-Yasha's necklace. He barely noticed as his features returned to normal. His attention was focused on one individual who was sitting behind a desk. Kagome followed his gaze.
The figure at the desk had long, flowing white hair. What looked suspiciously like a feather boa was draped around the figure's shoulders. Parallel red lines marked his cheeks near feminine features. A blue crescent moon stood out on the figure's forehead, and long nails tapped the desk's surface gently. An eyebrow was raised, as if in speculation.
Inu-Yasha took a step forward, not taking his eyes away. He seemed almost to be in a trance as he stared at the figure in front of him. "Sessho-maru." He said in recognition.
The figure nodded, eyebrow still raised. "Inu-Yasha." There was a moment of tense silence as the two assessed one another.
Kagome could hold the accusation in no longer, and it tore itself from her lips. "Inu-Yasha, I thought you said Sessho-maru was your brother."
=^-,-^= End Chapter Eight =^-,-^=
*I wrote the entire family tree out during math class one day. I don't have names or blood ratios yet, but I have the basics down. I do strange things when I'm bored.
Okay, Sesshy isn't really a girl in this. I just made that same mistake when I was first reading the graphic novels, and thought others could probably sympathize. Thought I'd make that clear.
I am tired right now. I spent the past two hours working on this story alone so I could get it out today. I ran out of reserve chapters last update, so I had to start from scratch on this one. I'd go through my whole weekend schedule to explain why I'm not going to go into much detail or answer reviews right now, but I assume it would bore you. Getting to the bare bones of it, most of my time was spent either swinging around a three-foot razorblade or counter-protesting against the Westboro Baptist Church. Anyhow, I promised myself that no matter what, I would get a chapter out in every two weeks, max.
More later. Tell me if there are too many mistakes and I'll get to them as soon as I can.
Me no own.
I'm going to sleep now. Bye-bye.
-socchan
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…
Edit (1-1-04): I remember that day! That was a fun day… Anyway, I just recognized a potential plot hole here, so I'm going to try and nail a plank of wood over it and call it fixed.
Plot Hole: How could Inu-Yasha recognize the scent of his brother's blood in Rin but not in Nathan? My excuse: Rin's blood is otherwise human, so she doesn't have much to cover it up, while Nathan's is more mixed from various ancestors. Plus, Inu-chan didn't even realize it was his brother he smelled until Rin brought Sesshy up. Hopefully now no one will trip.