AN; Thank you once again for the reviews and all of the reads!
I'm extremely proud of this story and I hope that everyone who has supported it thus far, continues to enjoy it.
There are a few explanations here, and a few little surprises.
The first draft was accidentally deleted, so the story is basically telling itself the way it wants to be told.
And as always, to my lovely readers and reviewers.
Your feedback is always appreciated and encouraging, though never expected.
-Oh Jiru-
Chapter Three:
Smoke.
She was standing there, her eyes bright and filled with delight. She never asked for anything more than a pair of shoes for her birthday, or a special dinner.
Her hands took the package from him, shaking with excitment. The neat wrapping on the box was destroyed in a matter of seconds, leaving behind the remains on the floor.
A smile as wide as a fox crossed her mouth and she pulled out a brand new camera. She bet that Hojo had told him she was captivated by it. He was the only person she'd told, and her heart swelled at the sight of her gift.
Her birthdays were normally quiet, peaceful. This one was more special than she could imagine. They had taken her to Kyoto to a winter festival, and bought her a few charms for a bracelet she liked to wear.
Her camera was just icing on the cake. Instantly, the girl's soft voice erupted, and her arms flung around his neck. He smiled at her and pointed to the beach that rested outside.
He suggested, since it had been unseasonably warm, to go and have her picture taken by the bay.
That was the last time he saw her. She was dressing herself and ran out the door, her hair dancing behind her.
They waited for what seemed like hours for her to return. He eventually went to look for the girl. She never left without saying goodbye, or letting them know where she was going.
That girl had always been a rarity, and a good one.
His old body shuffled against the sand, as the evening approached. It was getting cooler with a cold front that was passing through, taking away the muggy afternoon.
A few children still lingered, playing fetch with a ragged old dog.
When he was about to give up, he caught sight of an auburn headed boy playing with a camera strap. He looked down at him and the boy aptly handed the object over.
"Where did you find this?" He asked, knitting his brows together.
The boy replied, "A man handed it to me before he left."
His aged heart was rattling. He clutched the strap to his chest and looked towards the town.
"Did you see a girl with gray eyes?" He asked in haste.
"Yes." The boy said, "She promised to marry me today. The man didn't seem too happy and he told her to leave me alone."
The man's face felt heavy as he chewed at his mouth.
"Was anything wrong?"
The boy shook his head lightly and sighed, "She didn't act like she liked him. He took her by the hand and left. I don't know where they went."
"Kagome." The man breathed, feeling his bones crack beneath the pressure. His eyes stared at the sea, burying his head in his hands.
"He wasn't from around here." The boy said, pushing himself to his feet. "He always talked to my Mama."
In an instant, the man that he was speaking of was clear in his mind. He didn't know his name, or origin. All he knew was that he was wealthy and had cut above his lip.
It had made his stomach sick as he recoiled. The man's face was fresh in his memory. He was tall, rugged like a woodsman. That Hojo boy had mentioned him before. Kagome had never had a mean bone in her body, giving each soul the benefit of a doubt.
When the boy was about to leave, he looked up at the old, withering man and handed him the camera which rested beside his feet. "She dropped this."
A part of him died as he took the girl's gift from those tiny hands. He asked the boy a million questions, but nothing was satisfactory.
The authorities brushed it off as a girl in love. There was nothing that could be done for an adult who just up and left. This was a small town, with big ears and mouthes, it was just astounding that only this child had seen anything.
She had become smoke on the wind within the course of an afternoon.
They had taken the photos to be developed the next morning, only receiving the few that had been taken. They placed one in her old room.
It was just as she had always been. She was a part of a world that was too big for her, but she brought the sun wherever she went.
It had never occured to him that there were more photos in the package other than that one.
There were more, stuffed in the package of blank film and negatives.
The camera...
A jolt arrested the old man as he thrust himself up from his bed. The infirmary was silent save for his gasping breath. Kaede's hand clenched to him as he reawoke from his slumber.
Her hands quivered like the rest of her. She inspected her husbands flush face, rubbing away the creasing that ran along his cheeks. Oxygen tubes ran through his nose, and his mouth begged for more.
He'd suffered a stroke and was being tended to gently. The cramped hospital was farily empty that night. Privacy was still nothing more than a paper-thin curtain, instead of a room to separate the patients.
Kaede was wrapped in a blanket, resting her head on the side of her beloved's bed. He wanted to speak, but his throat was dry and void of his voice. "Papa, why don't you go back to sleep?" She suggested, soothing his nerves with the stroking of her fingers on his.
The man closed his eyes tightly, choking back a sob. He felt ignorant, stupid that neither of them had ever thought to explore what laid within the roll of film. They had assumed that there was nothing more than blanks lining the roll.
Finally, he breathed out a weak "No." And leaned his head to the side of his pillow. His free hand, connected I.V. tubes, gripped to the plastic hand on his bed. When he shifted, Kaede sat up right and manuevered her chair to his head.
The soft incandescene that bled through the thin curtains, illuminated his face enough where she could see. "What's wrong, my love?" She asked quietly, raspy.
The man licked his lips, tasting the film of medicine clinging to his tongue. "The camera." He said in a whisper. "Get the camera for me."
Kaede furrowed her brows and shook her head. "Kagome's camera? Why on earth do you need that?" She said, hurt that the subject had even crossed his mind. That was tucked away in the bottom of the wardrobe, wrapped up and hidden.
She'd gone as far as putting a sutra on the box to ward away evil. That contraption had brought them nothing but misery. She never wanted to see that thing again.
Totosai gave her a solemn look and breathed in the astringent air. "Mama, who took the picture of Kagome?" He wondered idly.
His wife shook her head slightly and ran a hand through his thinning, white hair. "I don't know." She replied, raising her eyes to the window above his head.
Snow flurries caught the cusp of the sill, making her wonder about InuYasha. She wondered if he had run off and left them alone. Her intentions to take care of him were selfish. He was a man of his own will, and had he been their kin, she wouldn't have felt so guilty.
She held no remorse for giving him a home, but the reason she did was to fill that ache ever since Kagome had gone away.
Bringing her attention back to her husband, she patted his hand and leaned back into her chair. His breathing was calmer, a bit more steady.
He closed his eyes and relaxed. "I want you to bring me the camera." He told her softly. The look on her face was hard, stoic in comparision to the gentle give it usually held.
She found him aloof and out of his mind with these notions that bringing out the source of their misfortune was going to do anything to make his body feel better.
Kaede was just astounded. Yet, in her heart, she knew she would give in and do that much for him. Closing her eyes, she rested and tried to find a comfortable position to sleep in.
Even after a year, their hurt seemed to grow. If Totosai passed away, he would be unfullfilled by the emptiness that shot through his heart.
Her husband at least deserved a chance to make himself feel as though he had done the best that he could to find the girl. Kaede could give him that, she decided, drifting off into a groggy slumber.
Downstairs, the registery was bustling, filled with people waiting to find their loved ones and fill their empty stomaches. InuYasha and Shippo had finally made it to the hospital before snow had started picking up.
The handful of miles felt like a thousand in that cold wind. He'd ended up just carrying the boy against his chest, buttoned inside of his coat. Shippo had fallen asleep with his fingers curled in his shirt. It was probably better that he got some rest, anyway, he decided.
InuYasha was half awake himself, wiping his hands down his face to stay that way. His coffee wasn't doing much for him, at any rate, either. The hour had passed and he hadn't a clue to Shippo's mother's name.
The pregnancy ward was packed, and it would have been rude to just barge in on a sleeping pregnant woman. So, against his better judgement, he waited.
One of the women at the desk told him to sit down and she would have someone escort he and the boy upstairs. That had seemed like days ago.
Sitting down just made him feel anxious. He destested hospitals and the putrid smell of bleach and the hint of death that lingered.
This hospital was older, white washed on the inside. The outside had been just as weathered, with chipped foamy green paint and a half-lit sign. All the furnishings were brown, smelling of leather and plastics.
InuYasha was about to give up and fall asleep with the woman came around the tall counter. She knelt down, placing a hand on his, making his eyes shoot open.
Her hands were warm, soft against his. "Excuse me," She said in a low voice, trying not to wake the sleeping boy. "Do you want to go upstairs, now?"
InuYasha rubbed his neck and stood up, stretching out the kinks in his back. "Um, yeah. I appreciate it." He said with a yawn, trying his best to keep his balance.
The woman brushed back her bangs and smiled. She leaned over and grabbed a set of charts from the counter and motioned for him to follow her. "My name's Sango, if you need anything else, you can ask for me." She said politely.
InuYasha nodded and zigzagged with her to a row of three elevators. They creaked and cracked as they made their descent from the floors above, leaving him nervous.
Sango pressed the button repeatedly until one of the doors opened like a hungry mouth. Stepping inside, she slumped against the wall, watching InuYasha cradle Shippo as to not wake him with his movement.
"He looks like a doll," She said, adjusting her ponytail. "He always that sweet?"
InuYasha shrugged oddly and bit his lip. "He's not mine, actually." He breathed, running a hand through his long hair, which he had stuffed in the collar of his coat.
The woman apologized at her mistake. "You just take care of him like he's your son." She said, holding onto the railing as the doors reopened.
InuYasha smiled, feeling a bit proud that someone thought he could have been a pretty decent father. "I just was taking care of him today. He said his mother was in the hospital here, and the folks I'm staying with are here." He shrugged, "Just thought I'd bring him to see her for a while."
Sango's dark eyes looked tired, make up half-eaten around them. "Awfully sweet of you, sir." She said, leading him to a desk that sat low against the floor.
Absently, he signed them in and followed her down the small hallway. "There are only a few woman here, so it shouldn't be too hard to find her if she's still here."
Knocking on each door, she peeked in at the half sleeping women. InuYasha had half remembered what the woman had looked like and figured he'd go on that. When they reached the last door and didn't find her, his stomach dropped.
Sango chewed at her lip and looked up at him, hands flipping through the floor chart. "That's all the women here. You don't know her name?" She asked, knowing she shouldn't have even brought him up there.
"No," He said with frustration, trying his best to keep from kicking a wall. "I know what she looks like, but that's about it. He was by himself today and said that his father was fishing, so I couldn't leave him alone." He said with a tired rasp.
Sango held up her finger, "One second and I'll go see if anyone knows about the discharges." She said, rushing off to look for the nurse.
When she returned, she was rubbing a temple and took him to a seat in the waiting room. The hum of the vending machine stung the air as she plopped down with her hands clasped together. Shippo was stirring against InuYasha's chest and he absently bounced his knee.
Sango shook her head a little, "Where does he live?" She asked.
"We live in fishing district of Akita, why?" InuYasha furrowed his brows, rubbing the boy's back, trying to get him back to sleep.
The woman sighed and rubbed her cheek, "She passed away this morning. There was a problem with her heart, and there was no family contacts. It said that she was widowed."
InuYasha's body was alert, looking down at the boy's rosy face, trying to wrap the words around his head. He couldn't quite understand what was happening. She had left this boy with nothing. It hadn't been intentional, but shouldn't there have at least been someone to take care of him?
Sango wiped her mouth and let her hands fall on her knees, "The children's service will probably take him if there's no family. He'll be placed in foster care eventually." She said sadly, watching InuYasha take an offense to the words.
"So, that's it?" He said, aggitated by her response. "He'll just go somewhere unfamiliar and just live like nothing ever happened?"
Sango let out a sigh, trying to find anything else that would be of any value to him. "I can't say. I wouldn't be surprised if the services were there in the morning. But, there is no family that you know of?"
InuYasha shook his head dejectedly. He knew what it was like when he lost his parents and it was hell growing up. He'd done alright until last year, anyway. Rubbing his face, he felt the weathering of his life corrode the youth from his skin.
The woman picked at her lavendar scrubs. The room was stagnant with a resounding silence, wrapping itself through their ears. She picked up the chart and slid it across the couch, raising the page with her information.
She pulled a pen out and looked up at him, her hand reaching to grab his. "They haven't filed in the system yet because they have to wait for the final autopsy."
InuYasha arched a brow at her with a grimace resting on his face. "So, what does that mean?"
Sango lowered her eyes at the paper and handed him a pen. She manuevered herself close to him, leaning towards him. "This is a little town, a little city," She whispered, "We don't have what the bigger cities have. That boy will probably be bounced back and forth for years before he settles down."
InuYasha eyed her, reading over the information.
"You seem to care a great deal for him." She said, "I don't ever suggest such things, but do you think that you would be capable to take care of him?" Her voice weary with concern.
InuYasha sighed inwardly and just stared at her for a moment. He thought about how much he had wanted a child. Granted, he had wanted one with his wife, one of his own. Considering that he had nothing to lose, he grabbed the pen, "What do I need to do?"
Sango smiled with relief, her heart was about break had he left the child to go on his own way. Pulling her own pen from behind her ear, she pointed at the spaces on the page.
"Sign your name for partner." She indicated, looking over shoulder to make sure no one was coming in. To be safe, she stood to shut the door and returned to her seat. "We're just going to fill in the blanks. I don't do this for everyone, because I need this job."
For some reason, the woman had felt at ease around him. She was a romantic at heart and wanted nothing but happy endings for everyone that set foot in her hospital. If she could help it, every soul that could have that, she encouraged any means.
Sango wasn't a crooked woman, but these two seemed as though they needed one another. There was something about him that made her trust him, trust that he would do the right thing.
What she hadn't realized was that she had solidified himself as part of the shanty. He was a part of life, society again. And if it meant watching over this boy, he would raise him the best he could.
As he frauduently gave himself custody of the child, he thought about how Kaede would react to the boy being there. He would have to find a real job, one that involved real work, a steady income.
Saving Shippo from a life of hardship seemed the best gift he could offer, seeing as he was given a second chance.
As he recoiled with the pen, InuYasha felt he had a purpose again. Not just one to wonder about a girl beyond his reach, but a real purpose. He felt like he was being protective, regaining the right to call himself a man.
Sango looked over the papers and extended a hand to him. "Well, Ito-san, you are the father of a five year old." She said, a hint of happiness in her voice.
InuYasha smirked lightly, brushing a finger through the boys curls. "Thank you for what you did, Sango." He said, receiving an absent nod.
"I'll go file these downstairs so I know that they'll be taken care of properly. I'll give you my number in case you need any questions answered, or any assistance programs for him." She offered, "Did you need anything else before we go?"
InuYasha searched her dark eyes for a moment before he felt a blush hit his cheeks. It hadn't been intentional, but he hadn't looked into a woman's eyes like that in a long time. There was nothing there, nothing adulterated, or perverse, just a genuine sense of gratitude.
"Um," He tore himself from his thoughts, "I need to find Higurashi Totosai. They brought him in this afternoon." InuYasha said, pushing himself to his feet. Sango handed him a piece of paper with her number.
"Do you know what for?" She asked, reopening the door.
As they exited, InuYasha shook his head. "No, but the ambulance brought him. He's in his late seventies." He said with a scowl, hoping that he hadn't passed away.
If he had, Kaede-baba would have found a way to contact him, surely. Sango had be quick to snap her fingers and point him down the hall, as they rounded a corner.
"He's probably in the main infirmary," She said, "Just head straight through those doors. It's a bit different down there, because they don't have rooms, per say. Just ask the clerk and they can tell you if they've moved him."
InuYasha smiled and waved as he and the boy made their way to the doors. It hadn't been hard to find Old Totosai and Kaede. They were one of the ten patients the floor still had.
Kaede was drooling, her head lolled back on the backside of a chair. He'd tried not to laugh when the nurse pulled back the curtain, and sat Shippo down, wrapping him up in his coat.
He loomed over Totosai for a moment, lips pressed firmly together. He looked like an infant, curled in fetal position. His heart monitor was flashing with normality, gracing the rest of the night with an easiness none of them had felt all day.
InuYasha leaned his back against the foot of the stablized bed and tried to sleep. He wasn't about to wake anyone. It was fair near three in the morning, and tomorrow wasn't going to be gentle.
All of the explainations and mending of hearts would be a progress in itself. Before slumber wrapped its fingers around him, he was lost in the moment of redemption, wondering how his life had begun to reconstruct the way it had.
Fate had obviously chosen him for something.
He just didn't know what.