THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or Kagome. These characters belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi and Viz.
Oh,and the SVU characters belong to Dick Wolf's company!
I do however own my own creations.
A/N: for Azarni's voice, I've got Raven's voice from Teen Titans stuck in my mind. Go figure!
Chapter 9
As Kentaro walked back into the apartment, Inuyasha turned to his daughter,
"Azarni, I'm glad you've arrived in safely."
"It's Spice now, daddy.", she said.
"It's what?"
"Spice. I'm changing my name to Spice."
"Spice,", said Yasha, "As in Spice girl ...who ...Posh Spice?"
"Baby Spice?", chimed in Kentaro.
"Who was the other one? Thriller?", asked Yasha.
"Scary Spice.", chimed in Kagome.
"Yea! Scary Spice! That's you!", both boys chorused together.
"Oh droll, fellas. Sooooo mature!", said Azarni.
"So what's wrong with Azarni? I thought long and hard for that name!", said Inuyasha.
"Oh dad, it's so 1600's!", she said.
"And your point is? That is when you were born, isn't it?", said Inuyasha.
"Yea ...but I want to come into the 21st century. Plus it's my new Mystic name. Like mama's is Lady Leilani."
"Also, what is it with the goth look?", said Inuyasha, "Ever since your boyfriend Cedric died you've been in mourning, making everyone around you miserable. You dress in black. You quote Rod McKuen. You only watch black and white movies on television. And you only listen to old Manilow records. You're gonna wake up one morning and realize none of your friends have called you for six months because you're so boring. So why don't you rejoin the land of the living and call up all of your friends and apologize for being such a drip ..."
Azarni rolled her eyes during his monologue, "Dad, do you have to be so dramatic?"
"And what's with the tattoo of the spider and spider web?", asked Inuyasha.
"Dad! I AM 384 years old! Stop treating me like a child! Besides, you have a tattoo.", she retorted.
"I have my marriage tattoo, which I proudly wear.", responded Inuyasha.
"You know your father hates spiders.", said Kagome.
Inuyasha turned around and faced Kagome, "I do not hate spiders."
"Well, they do remind you of Naraku.", said Kagome.
"True. They irritate me. That's all.", said Inuyasha, "Kagome, let's go upstairs. We'll have dinner in our room. Paprika, you ..."
"SPICE! DADDY!"
"Yea Yea, I said that ... you get some rest too. We'll need you at top level tomorrow to see if we can focus on your sister.", said Inuyasha.
"If it's alright with you, Inuyasha, I'd like to connect with Azarni ..."
"SPICE!"
"Whatever!", said Inuyasha, "No. Your engines are already running low from lack of sleep. Now the doctor gave you something to keep you calm that won't harm the baby..."
"You're pregnant?", said Azarni, "How can that be?"
"My uterus regrew or something like that according to Kohana...", said Kagome.
"Oh great...", Azarni rolled her eyes, "Another one..."
"Will you pay attention to me and not to Curry over there...", said Inuyasha.
"SPICE! UGHHHH! WHAT DO I HAVE TO DO TO GET YOU TO ACCEPT MY NAME???"
"Inuyasha, I can pick up her aura. I know she's alive ... maybe if Azarni and I ...", said Kagome.
"UGGHHH! I GIVE UP! IT"S SPICE DANG IT! And mom, don't worry, I can pick up that she's alive and unhurt ...ok ...now go to bed and get some rest!"
"Now listen to Tarragon!", said Inuyasha.
"DADDY!!!"
Inuyasha just gave Azarni a "dad" look and he and Kagome went upstairs and into their loft bedroom. Inuyasha flopped down on the king size bed,
"Koshii, I feel like I'm losing control of my pups."
"Don't worry about it dearest, it's just a phase she's going through. Ever since Cedric died she's been trying to find her way. Discovering that she was a strong mystic gave her meaning. Let her go, sweetheart."
"I guess you're right. No other focus on where Juliet is?"
"No. It's like my frequencies are jammed. I was hoping with Azarni ...", said Kagome.
"You mean Pepper?"
"Spice."
"Whatever."
"Anyway, with our daughter, I'm hoping we can zone in on Juliet."
"It's amazing how mystics can pick up each other's auras."
"Our special talent, dearest.", said Kagome, as she gave him a kiss and then walked over to the window, 'Juliet.', she thought to herself, 'Please come home to us.'
The next day, down at the station house, Benson walked in to start her shift. Munch greeted her,
"Special delivery, Olivia."
"Huh?", she answered.
Munch thumbed over to her desk. There, on the desk, sat a 2 vases with at least 4 dozen red roses. Benson walked over to it, shocked,
"So who's your secret admirer?", asked her partner.
Benson lifted off the card and opened it. It read,
"Curiousity killed the cat, Satisfaction brought her back. If you are as curious as I think, meet me at my office in Manhatten after work. Yours Truly, Kentaro."
"Just a friend I met.", Benson said, as she stuffed the card into her purse.
"Nice friend.", said Munch, as he went back to his desk.
Later that day, in their car, Benson said to Stabler,
"Elliot, do you believe in magic?"
"I'm too cynical to believe in magic. There's something behind everything. Why?", asked Stabler.
"I don't know why I asked. But, do you think there are things in this world that can't be explained away with science or logic?", she asked.
"I would have to say yes, if one believes in God or the supernatural."
After work, Benson inexplicably found herself drawn to the office building where Kentaro was. Why was she there? She headed in and was directed to his office. When he saw her, he smiled broadly,
"Olivia! I knew your curiousity would bring you around."
"You ... you look normal again.", she said, with near amazement.
He fingered the ring on his right hand, "Normalcy spell. You see me as you think I should be. A normal human."
Benson sat down and the two chatted for a while about the family and its secrets. He willing spilled the beans about their ages and everything she asked about and, as a detective, she had a lot of questions ... his conception, birth, life. But, he steered clear of the murders by simply saying he didn't want to talk about that right then. Finally, he asked,
"Are you free tomorrow night?"
"I might be. Why?"
"Because I know this hot little jazz club where this great trio is playing tomorrow night. And they have the best steaks off the grill. Interested?"
"Sounds interesting.", said Benson.
"Ohhh I think you will really find it interesting. Meet me at the corner of 10th and Greenway tomorrow night at 7."
"There's no club at 10th and Greenway.", said Benson.
"Trust me.", said Kentaro.