Disclaimer: No, I still don't own Inuyasha, but I'm working on it.
A/N: Hello everyone. All right, I don't usually do this, but I felt the need to put review responses up today. So…here they are.
Shippochan301- Yeah, Fluffy. It's a great mental image isn't it? Especaillu Fluffy in a loin cloth. Moving on. Sorry to tell you this, but Shippo will not be making an appearance in this story. Thank you for the review.
Jessiy Landroz- To clear up some confusion: Sango knows Miroku's name, Miroku knows Sango's name, I just haven't put them in the actual story. Sorry if that's confusion, but I believe I put that piece of information in a previous author note. Thank you for the review.
FlamingRedFox- Yeah I know I'm awesome. LOL, just kidding. Thank you for the review.
Dumber then a Moogle ass- I just love your reviews. Their nice and long and make me fell appreciated. The above explanation answers your question. Miroku is the duggie, Sango is the doctor/nurse that's helping him.
Karen10- Chapters are fun, ne? Thank you for the review.
Amalie- Your review predicted some of the main events of this chapter. You sly devil, you. Thank you for the review.
Tsuki no mizu- Great eh? Thank you for the review.
Mirokuo Sempai-Crazy- Well, if you like the Smile Empty Soul songs, then you should be kept happy for a while… thanks for reviewing.
Corisu Li- Thank you for reviewing, it's awesome.
Someone asked me if I could update twice a week (they reviewed from another chapter, and I only put chapter 8 responses). It's sweet that you guys want more of this story, but it's hard enough getting out one chapter every week. I feel drained of all of my writing inspiration. I haven't felt like writing for any of my stories in a while. I'm really going to try and keep up with this story though.
Miroku- You done ranting now?
Yes. Yes, I believe I am. Please review! Oh and this chapter is over 4,000 words long. Go me.
Yumi Kurosawa picked up the phone, mumbling under her breath as she rapidly dialed the number she needed. She tapped her foot against the tile flooring, her brown eyes cold and narrowed as she waited for someone to pick up the phone.
"Hello, Tokyo Police, officer Hiroko speaking," said a male voice.
"This is Kurosawa Yumi, from the Sunny Pines Rehabilitation Center. I need to speak with officer Donyai," she snapped quickly.
There was a slight pause at the other end before he answered, "Hold on just a moment."
She waited impatiently, still tapping the back of her heel against the floor.
"Hello? Yumi?"
"Tsume," she greeted coolly. "I need to speak with you."
"Now?" he questioned, his voice edged with annoyance. "Is it important, because I really don't have time…"
"About the man you admitted a few weeks ago."
Another pause. She smirked as she heard him sigh. "What did he do this time?"
"He's been posing a slight problem and I think…"
"Problem how?" he cut in.
She frowned and narrowed her eyes, despite the fact that the source of the problem was on the other end of the phone. "He's been traipsing around with one of the nurses."
Tsume groaned slightly. "That's just like him, you know? Going off to get better and just ending up screwin' around…"
"Yes well, he is what he is," she said, not interested in listening to his rant. "I was told that if there were any problems to call you, correct?"
"Hai," he answered sighing. "I suppose you'll want me to come down there right?"
"That would be most helpful," she replied. "And Tsume, I expect you to make it perfectly clear to him what his place is. Understood?"
He inhaled sharply, catching her meaning easily. "…hai."
There was a dead silence on the other end. Yumi smiled slightly to herself and hung up the phone. She began humming lightly under her breath, delighted with this new development. 'Tsume will take care of the stupid boy. Now, to get to that girl…'
-
Sesshomaru watched in silent amusement as the brown haired man tried desperately to block his next move, but of course, he was no match for him, Sesshomaru, master of fooseball!
"Foolish mortal," he said with a slight smirk. Almost effortlessly he spun the end of one of the rods, blocking the others move and scoring yet another goal.
"This isn't fair…" he whispered to himself. Looking up, he narrowed purple eyes. "You're cheating."
"And how would I cheat at fooseball?" he questioned, hiding his bemusement for the man in front of him.
He stuttered for a moment, trying to think of how one would indeed cheat at such a game. "I don't know," he admitted. "But I will find out. And as soon as I do, you're going down…Fluffy."
He smirked momentarily, forgetting that his fingers were curled around the edge of the fooseball table. He cried out when one of the metal rods were slammed into his fingers. He cursed under his breath as he cradled his poor injured hand closer.
"What was that for?" he hissed.
"One, for calling me Fluffy. Two, for telling Azana that you call me Fluffy. And, three…because I felt the sudden urge to hurt you."
He blinked at him unsurely. "Right," he said stretching out the word. "Why do I always have to room with the crazy ones?"
Slam.
"Ow! Kami Sesshomaru stop doing that!"
Mentally patting himself on the back, he glared at the other. "I prefer eccentric."
"Psycho," he mumbled underneath his breath. He quickly pulled his hand away just as the silver haired man prepared to hit him again. "Ha!" he said triumphantly. "You shall never defeat me, oh great Lord Fluffy the platypus!"
Other than the slight twitch of an eyebrow, Sesshomaru did not appear to be fazed. "One might take your threats more seriously if your fly was not unzipped, oh insignificant Lord hentai."
Frowning, he looked down to quickly zip up the fly to his pants. A look of confusion crossed over his face as he saw that they were just fine. "Why did you…ah!" He rubbed the side of his head, glaring at Sesshomaru through narrowed eyes. While he had been checking out the condition of his pants, he had failed to notice the other moving to his side of the table. "Why does everyone keep abusing me?" he muttered.
"Sesshomaru," said a soft but firm voice from behind the two of them. His eyes glinted happily, his mood visibly lifting as he walked passed the silver haired man and over to the woman's side. "I thought you were going to start being a little nicer to him."
"Yeah!" he agreed, sticking his tongue out in an oh so mature manner.
Sesshomaru frowned momentarily. "I was being nice to him," he said defensively.
She rolled her dark eyes. "Have you taken your medication today?" There was no answer. "Sesshomaru…" she said, her tone and eyes showing that her annoyance was rising.
He growled low in his throat. "Oh, fine," he said. "But I'm not going because you told me to. I'm going because I want to." With one last death glare he turned and began walking out of the wreck room.
"Bye Fluffy!" he yelled shrilly, waving happily. "I'll miss you!"
Sesshomaru winced slightly, eye twitched, and with a sharp intake of breath, left the room, mentally making note to slap him later. She turned to him, smiling softly and shaking her head.
"Why do you do that? It only makes him angry."
He shrugged. "I'm not sure," he answered honestly, laughing. "As sad as it sounds, he's the closet thing to a friend I've ever had. I guess it's just our way of joking around…at least…I hope that's what it is." A look of dread momentarily came over his features. "If it's not he'll probably strangle me in my sleep…"
She smiled at the slightly horrified look on his face. It was true, in some odd, twisted sort of way; when in his company, Sesshomaru seemed to loath all of man kind somewhat less. 'He makes people happy.'
It seemed true enough. Ever since she'd met him, he had seemed to lift her sprits slightly. He'd gone through so much, but she could still sometimes see that small glint in his eyes; a bit of humor, hope, humanity even. It was nice and real, two things she didn't deal with often. 'He reminds me of Kohaku. Even though he's been through so much, a part of him still seems innocent.'
Noticing her smile, he couldn't help but return it. "So, what do I owe the pleasure of your visit? Our next session isn't for…"
"I think we might have to miss our next session," she informed him sadly.
He trailed off. Tilting his head to the side, he simply asked, "Why?"
A somewhat annoyed sigh escaped her lips. "Kurosawa told me that someone was coming here to see you. A police officer…Donyou or something."
"Donyai," he muttered irritably. "Tsume. Damn," he swore softly.
It didn't register for a few moments, but she let out a soft gasp when it did. "Tsume…your father's old partner?"
He nodded, his jaw tightening. "Hai," he answered. 'Why the hell would he want to see me?' She noticed his tense expression and frowned. Gently, she placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Do you want me to see if I can get you out of it?" she questioned. "I know you can handle it," she said quickly, not wanting to wound his pride. Even after all the barriers she had passed, the waters that surrounded him were still far to deep for her ford. She knew she still had to be gentle with everything; she knew it would take time. "But you don't have to deal with it if you don't want to."
'Pity again. Who does she think she is? Your savior? Tell her off, like you did the last time.'
"Arigatou, but iie."
'Wimp.'
"I have to see him," he sighed. "Even though I don't want to. If he took time from his busy schedule then it must be something important."
"All right," she answered. "If your sure…"
"I'm sure," he told her.
"Well then…um, your supposed to meet with him and Dr. Takahashi in his officer at 1:30." She glanced up at the wall, frowning slightly. "You've got about ten minutes to get ready."
He groaned under his breath. 'Great…the bastard and the bastard with a PHD. Fun!' He looked at her, noticing the look of concern on her features. This time it was he who gave her the comforting touch. He placed his fingertips on the wrist which rested on his shoulder.
"Don't worry about me," he told her, forcing a small smile. "What's the worst that could happen?"
-
"I pull all these strings to get you out of jail and what do you do?" Tsume questioned furiously. Gripping him by the collar of his shirt he pulled him up. "I ask you a question, I expect an answer," he growled and dropped him back onto the floor.
' "What's the worst that could happen?" Famous last words, you baka.'
He would've yelled at this voice, had his head not been hurting so much. After she had informed him of his little meeting, he'd gone straight to Dr. Takashi's office. They had both already been there, along with Yumi.
'That should have been my first clue,' he thought to himself bitterly as a kick was delivered to his side. The two psychopathic Center employees, along with Tsume, was not a good combination. Yumi left quickly, saying that she had to go speak with someone about something or other. He had sat down, and Tsume had begun questioning him about everything that had been going on since he'd been there. As per his usual style, he'd avoided answering most questions by replying with smart alec remarks, reveling in the way he could make the older man so frustrated. It was his indulgent little revenge; being able to piss him off was the only thing he ever really could do to Tsume. Dr. Takahashi had made a comment, and he'd made a comeback with some witty doctor pun. He forgot what, not that it was important anyway. The next thing he remembered was the good doctor -he still had his doubts about that- slapping him hard across the face.
'What did you think they were going to do? Ask you some questions then send you off with a little lollipop and a sticker? She's softened you, moron. Of course you were in for a beating. How long did you think it was going to take before Tsume finally broke down and beat the shit out of you for that big mouth?'
He should have known, really he should have. Why else would Tsume have come? Yumi and Dr. Takahashi had obviously been fed up pretty quickly with him; especially since he'd been having those sessions. They must have figured that by reporting him to the cop that brought him here, Tsume would do something to make him re-think the way he was acting.
He learned earlier on that people lose patience with words pretty quickly. Actions, however, never get old.
It wasn't as if Tsume had never hit him before. But it did take a lot to get him angry. And that had only been once or twice, when he was younger. The older mans choice of abuse had usually been words, anyway, so he was never really worried that Tsume would actually hurt him physically. Not much, anyway.
Kami, sometimes he could really misread people. It was stupidly on his part, he supposed. And now, he was paying for that stupidity.
"I tried," Tsume was saying. "I really did. Even when your father was alive, I tried to do right by you. Why did I even bother? It obviously didn't do any good. You've still amounted to nothing, no matter how much I pushed you." He kneeled down, looking directly into purple eyes as he spoke. "Can you tell me why I wasted so much time on you, kid?"
He merely stared ahead, exhaustion beginning to take over. "Yeah," he replied. "You're a self righteous bastard who always thought that you could repay some debt you owed to my father by trying to make me a better person."
Tsume growled and punched him in the eye. His body lurched to the side, but he placed his hands on the floor, forcing himself to stay into a sitting position. He couldn't stand at the moment, but he would not go laying down.
"Your such a fucking hypocrite!" he yelled, his voice laced with anger. "You try to make me all these things, and what the hell are you? I may be scum, but I'm better then you will ever be."
Tsume stared at him for a few moments. The small, wood-paneled room was filled with silence; the only sound was his and Tsume's heavy breathing. Dr. Takahashi merely sat on the edge of his table, staring at the two men in shock.
"What did you say?" Tsume asked, almost softly. "What did you just say to me?"
Taking in shaky breaths, he turned to his side and used the wall as leverage, pushing himself up. Slowly he got into a standing position. After a few more deep breaths and tense moments, he turned, facing a man he'd known since childhood. His dark eyes were shining with defiance.
"I said…I'm better," he repeated slowly, his voice growing louder with each word he spoke. "I'm better than you, Tsume."
For a moment, he thought about laughing, until he realized that the man in front of him was serious. Tsume's eyes narrowed. "Oh yeah? And what makes you think that? What makes you think that you could possibly be better than me?" he asked. "Look at where you are! Look! You're in rehab, you idiot. You would have been in jail if it weren't for me. And now you're telling me that your better? How in the hell are you any better than me?!" he screamed angrily.
Dr. Takahashi winced, but said nothing. He knew his orders; make sure that Tsume helps him learn his place. None of them would leave until he learned his lesson. Staring at the dark haired man, he almost felt sorry for him. Almost.
-
She paced through the wreck room almost nervously, biting her lip and glancing up at the clock every few moments. Sesshomaru watched her, glaring from behind his paper back book.
"Stop," he commanded.
She looked up at him, her brown eyes narrowing. "I'm not doing anything. And hey, you can't order me around you know," she informed him.
He merely rolled his eyes. "Would you stop pacing about like that? You're giving me a headache."
"Well excuse me, Lord Sesshomaru," she said sarcastically as she plopped down on the couch next to him. "I'm just…worried. Something doesn't feel right, you know? Dr. Takahashi…" She shook her head. Then she turned to the silver haired man, placing her hand on his book and pulling it away from him, forcing him to meet her eyes. "And did you see the way he got when I mentioned Tsume? Something about this whole things is just…wrong."
"You worry too much," he said and grabbed the book back from her. She frowned at him. "But…if you really are this upset, maybe you should speak with Kurosawa about it. She had to approve Tsume's visit in the first place."
She nodded to this. Giving a soft smile she stood up. "Arigatou Fluffy," she said as she left the wreck room.
A silver eyebrow twitched a bit as he went back to his book.
She raced down the hall and down to Yumi's office. When she came to the oak door, she found herself sneering at the name which was on the door. She knocked softly, then opened the door and came in, not waiting for any type of protest from the older women. Yumi looked up, hiding a grin.
"Why, hello. How are you doing on this fine day?" she questioned, voice laced with sarcasm and disdain.
"I wanted to ask you about Tsume," she said, walking over to take her seat.
Yumi raised an eyebrow. "Well Tsume is a very common name, my dear. You'll have to be a bit more specific."
"Don't play stupid," she said, her voice and features completely serious.
"Don't get that attitude with me girl," Yumi hissed. "I'm still above you, you know? I could have you fired any minute."
A soft laugh escaped her. "Yeah right. The board knew my father, and they love me. It's you they want to see thrown out of this place. Now, just tell me why you let him in here."
Glaring, Yumi merely sat back a little in her chair. "I was the one who called him, actually. You see, he told us to let him know if your little friend was posing any…problems."
"Problems? He's been nothing but…"
"I asked Tsume to take care of it," she interrupted. "He promised me that he would be able to get his attitude in check."
She stared at the elder woman, confusion on her face as she did. 'What does she mean get his attitude in check? What is she…Oh…no!'
"If either of those two psychos," she said standing up, "has laid one single finger on him, I'll see your fired; but not before your humiliated and ruined."
Now it was Yumi's turn to laugh. A slow, triumphant and almost evil grin spread across her lips. "You think your so smart, don't you? It may be true that all those on the board for the hell hole want to see me gone, but who else are they going to get? I was the only person who would for this place. Do you really think they'll be able to find someone else? Besides," she added, leaning back, making her appear even more at ease. "Who else would provide the funding? You? Don't kid yourself; this place needs money, and that's what I've got."
"Why are you doing this?" she nearly screamed, her voice shaky. "Why do you sit there, day after day, using all your energy to make everyone around you miserable? Why give all of this money and donations if you don't even care anyway?!"
Yumi dark eyes narrowed, and her expression became even darker. "Because I can," she answered slowly. "And there's nothing you can do about it."
She clenched her jaw. "We'll see about that." With that, she turned and left the room, heading down to Dr. Takahashi's office.
-
"You know why I'm better than you?" he asked, feeling strangely confident of himself as he spoke. "Because unlike you, I don't owe anybody. I don't have to destroy other people to make myself whole."
"Destroy? Have you forgotten everything I've ever done for you?"
"Done for me? What did you ever do for me? Tell me I was worthless? Make believe that I never had anything? When I was only fifteen and living out on the streets, what did you do? You left me there! You told me that was where I belonged."
"I kept you out of trouble," he interrupted. "I kept you out of jail."
"Well gee, thanks! I'm just so grateful. Your idea of keeping me out of trouble was just keeping me out of jail? You know, if you really wanted to help, you would have just left me alone. You wouldn't have put me down, and you wouldn't have let me stay out on the streets, and you wouldn't have killed my father!"
Tsume raised his hand and slapped him across the face, the impact sending him backwards a bit. "You should be grateful. If there's one thing I did for you, that was it. You wouldn't have lived if he had. You know that!"
"You want me to thank you for ruining my life?"
"Me? I didn't ruin anything! I did what I thought was best for you. I can see now that that was a mistake."
"Yeah it was," he agreed bitterly. "I don't need you, and I never have."
Tsume clenched his jaw, his eyes becoming slits as he glared at the younger man. He shook his head and turned his attention to Dr. Takahashi, who was still sitting calmly at his desk. "Tell Kurosawa that the problems been taken care of," he said, almost quietly.
The doctors eyes widened slightly. "But…"
"Tell her not to call me again," he interrupted harshly. "And…tell her to back off the kid."
Without another word he opened the door and exited the room, leaving the other two men staring in shock. Dr. Takahashi opened his mouth, as if he was about to say something, then closed it, looking shocked. What the hell had just happened? 'I thought this Tsume was supposed to beat some sense into him…get him to remember his place here…damn. Yumi is going to kill me.'
Grabbing a tissue from his desk, Dr. Takhashi walked over to the figure that was slumping against the wall. Glaring in disgust, he tossed the tissue at him. "Here," he spat. "I don't want you getting blood on the carpet."
"Thank you so much for the concern," he said sarcastically, his angry eyes hidden by locks of brown hair which fell in front of his eyes. He grabbed the tissue and brought it to his lips, wincing when it made contact with his bloodied lip.
Just as Dr. Takahashi was about to retort, the door swung open again. The two looked up to see a rather angry looking woman in the entry way. Her eyes moved from the figure of the doctor to that of the man who was leaning against the wall. Anger set on her features and she turned to Dr. Takahashi, who merely blinked at her.
"Do you know how to knock?" he questioned her.
"Do you know I could have you fired? No wait, scratch that. Do you know that I will have you fired?" she asked, her voice laced with just as much venom as his.
The doctor smirked. "You may think you've got a pretty powerful position here girl, what with your father helping found this place and everything, but your forget the little matter of Yumi Kurosawa; she also helped fond this place."
She took a few steps closer to him, keeping her glare level with his own. "And you think she's going to what, over rule me when I tell the board that you're not even qualified for this job?" She smiled inwardly as his expression faltered. "I saw Tsume checking out. I think you should go talk to her, and see what she has to say."
Tossing a glance at him, Dr. Takahashi huffed and stormed out of the room. She moved quickly to the injured mans side, wrapping her arms around his waist to help him balance against the wall. He managed to stand, a bit shakily, but she still kept one hand securely pressed against his abdomen.
"Are you all right? I should have known better. Stupid Kurosawa…one of these days I will find a way to get her out of here. Do you need…"
He shook his head, smiling as he lifted a hand and placed a finger on her lips, keeping her from going any further. "I'm fine," he told her softly.
She couldn't help the blush that rose to her cheeks at the touch, but she didn't pull away. It was nice, standing there like that with him, that soft smile on his lips, and his skin against hers.
"Are you sure?" she asked softly, tilting her head just a bit, causing his hand to slide down to where he was cupping her chin.
He nodded again, his thumb absently running along the bottom of her chin. "Actually…I think the whole experience was kind of therapeutic." She raised an eyebrow at this, not sure if he was joking or not. "I'm serious," he told her. "I got a few hits in myself, you know. And I had closer."
She resisted the sudden urge to roll her eyes at the light tone of his voice. "Closer, huh?" she questioned, mirroring the small smile that drifted onto his own lips. "How so?"
"Well, we talked," he said. "About my feelings and shit, like you keep telling me too. I think it helped. I even told him that I was better than he was," he added, smiling a bit at the memory.
The two continued looking at each other, both content; thought he was still bleeding a bit, and it was becoming extremely difficult to try and keep his left eye open. It was only when she caught herself leaning towards his face that she realized exactly the position they were in. Another blush graced her features, and she slide her hand around to his back. He raised an eyebrow, only causing her blush to deepen.
"Get your mind out of the gutter. I'm helping you back to your room."
"Taking me to bed already? Aren't you at least going to buy me dinner first?"
She glared at him, but couldn't help laughing at the innocent expression he wore. "Come on," she said. He wrapped one arm around her waist just as she had done, and began leaning some of his weight against her. Not that he needed to or anything, because he was capable of walking; he just liked being close to her. She noticed the way he was walking, and realized herself that he could probably make it to his room by himself. She merely tightened her grip, smiled, and kept walking.
I don't want your solutions
And I don't wanna deal with your mistakes
No matter how much medication
The doctor says i need to take
I still say -
You're the ones that kill your babies
You're the ones that fuck your kids
You're the ones that throw each other away
You're the ones sitting in church every sunday
And I don't want your religions
And I don't need your sympathies
And I don't want a part of all your hatred
No matter how much you yell at me
I still say -
You're the ones that kill your babies
You're the ones that fuck your kids
You're the ones that throw each other away
You're the ones sitting in church every sunday
Every Sunday: Smile Empty Soul (seriously, listen to the cd while reading this fic, it'll make the expierence that much more enjoyable)