AN;
Alright. This chapter was a bit hard to write, so forgive me if there's anything odd, or errors. The next chapter is going to bring a lot of things out of the closet.
So, with that said, I hope that you guys enjoy this. I'll have an update in the morning for all of you lovely people!
If you have questions, or anything like that, feel free to ask. I'll always answer.
And as always, to my lovely readers and reviewers.
Your feedback is always appreciated and encouraging, though never expected.
-Oh Jiru-
Chapter Four:
The Cat.
Eager eyes awoke that somber morning, begging and pleading with a need to find his mother. InuYasha had to fight his heart on the method of exposing the truth to this young child. Kaede had told him that honesty would push him forward as a person, not leave him to wonder.
She'd sent them back to the inn, just in case someone happened to show up. It had been a surprise to the old woman that the man had done such a deed. Normally, people looked the other way at the unfortunate.
Considering the circumstances around it, Kaede was more than willing to be of help. She'd always been fond of children, especially that little Shippo. Totosai seemed content, as well. It had warmed InuYasha to the toes knowing that he had done right by someone.
He'd never admit how proud of himself he was to another soul, but he was pretty damned sure that he could hold his head high. Old Totosai gave him a pat on the back with those brail hands, still tethered to the row of machines.
The old man was stuck at the infimary for another few days, at least. It did give him precious time to spend with his newfound son, at any rate. Surprisingly enough, he felt certain about his parenting abilities.
It was most likely because Sango had fauned all over him about it when he grabbed a cup of coffee with her. She was coming back in for a split shift, and thought he may want her old bicycle to make the trip back easier.
He wasn't sure if she was a saint, or just really generous. Either way, he was grateful that there was someone helpful in that hospital. She'd even been as kind as to buy Shippo a stuffed rabbit on her way to work.
Before he left for the shanty that day, she'd stuffed his coat with information packets, medical records, anything and everything that he could have ever needed.
Shippo seemed to adore her. He'd sat with the rabbit pressed to his nose, smelling her soft perfume from the time they got home. He looked distraught, curiously making friends with his new toy.
Whereas InuYasha tried his hand at cooking some breakfast, but failed miserably, filling the kitchen with smoke. He was already flabbergasted and just dumbfounded by the events of the past couple of days to really pay attention to the food.
His body was still sore from the way he slept, though he could excuse himself with that one. He'd showered and rested for a while when they got back, so the pretence of his cooking was all on him - not the way the day had gone.
Grimacing, he shucked the spoiled eggs from the griddle and let out a sigh. Shippo looked up from his spot on the chair, questions hanging knowingly at the bottom of his eyes. He knew it was a matter of time before he'd have to tell him what had happened to not one, but both of his parents.
They were kindred spirits, it seemed.
Before he got the chance to make some measly toast, Shippo's small voice spilled out the question. It made the man's body tense as he slammed the creaky oven shut.
He nearly burned himself on the damn door. Those nerves of his took a final blow when he raised his eyes to meet Shippo's. It felt like he walked a mile to get to the table and sit down.
The little boy pulled his rabbit from his face and put it front of him on the table top, eyes transfixed on it's silky feet. InuYasha was certain he already knew the answer and noted how brave that child was.
"Shippo," InuYasha said softly, leaning down with his elbows atop his lanky legs. He tried to formulate the words before they tumbled out of his mouth. It wasn't translating well in his brain, so he just erupted with the first thing he could think of that wasn't brash, or could be misconstrued as cruel.
"Your mother is with your father, now." He said, the pit of his stomach tied itself in knots. It was like being the sharpest drop of a rollercoaster, losing your breath and all. "I'm sorry that things had to be this way," He swallowed hard, feeling Shippo's will break.
Shippo furrowed his brows, cheeks reddening like wildfire. The fiber of his body felt like dead weight, stoned to the chair beneath him. He didn't feel like moving, talking, breathing...
For all he cared, he could just never move again.
InuYasha pulled the boy's chair closer to him, pressing his forehead against his. He looked up at him, a sad smile hitting his mouth. "I'm going to take care of you now, okay?" His voice was gruff, yet gentle. "I know I'm not your mother, or father, but I'm going to do my best."
Shippo responded by finally raising his eyes, finding it hard to believe that InuYasha would care enough to do that. "You're gonna leave me, too, aren't you?" He muttered, finding the whole ordeal to be emptying.
All of the other children already made fun of him. They picked on him for being poor, scrawny for his age. They didn't know what he had gone through, nor did they care. He was the weak link, beaten by the upper hand of their congress.
InuYasha leaned away from the boy, his neck tilted as he looked out the frost-bitten window. "I don't plan on it. I think that I do want to build a snowman, though." He shot the jaded child a grin, gesturing for him to come play.
He knew it wouldn't take the pain away, but just getting outside and venting would do him some sort of good, wouldn't it?
"I don't want to." Shippo said in a near whisper, grabbing the plush rabbit. "I want my Mama." His voice was strangled, painfully sharp. It was all he could do to hold back the tears stabbing at his eyes.
InuYasha gave a nod as he stood up to get the toast. "It'll be alright, Shippo. I promise. I lost my mother and father when I was young, too. You just have to get through it the best you can."
He gave a shrug, his memory hitting him as though it had happened yesterday. It didn't take long for him to recover to pull the flimsy tray from the oven. His body went slack in defeat as he stared down at the dismally charred bread.
"I think I'm going to take you for some food. I apparently can't cook for shit." He said, disapproving of his completely able cooking skills.
Shippo hopped out of the chair, pattering across the wooden floor. When he came to the corner of the counter, he peered at the blackend toast. He scowled at it and looked begrudgingly at InuYasha.
"I don't think you can handle me if you can't make toast." The boy said sarcastically. The man beside him rolled his eyes and wiped his hands on his jeans.
"Well, that's why they made restaurants, Shippo." InuYasha retorted, leaving the kitchen in a mess, heading towards his room. They may not have been a luxury some months ago, but now, he could say things like that again.
Standing on his own two feet was easier with someone to care for. When it was just him, it felt like there was no one to pull him from the fathom that he had fallen to. Yet, as it were, there had been when he really need them.
It made him relish the things that he could do for that kid. They were both wayward, awkward, a bit snide. Two peas in the proverbial pod would have been more appropriate, InuYasha decided as he hunkered down in front of the wardrobe.
Shippo had followed him, hopping on the unmade bed. He was watching some broadcast on the one of five channels they received and laid his head down. He and his bunny, Buyo, curled up in the blankets, waiting on InuYasha to get some clothes ready.
It was boring on that dreary day, so full of distress. Shippo was trying to be a man, holding all of his emotions in. A few tears did creep past the strong barrier he tried to create and tried to hurry InuYasha along.
He'd been standing there, struck dumb by the sheer idea of clothing the child. Kaede-baba had to have something he could wear, at least until he picked up some clothes from the boy's house.
Dropping down to his knees, he searched the depths of the two drawers that rested along the bottom. In the right drawer, there was a pair of bronzed infant shoes with Kagome's mother's name inscribed on the bottom of a plaque.
His fingers ran across it before sitting it back down in the darkness. A grumble escaped his lips as he fell back on his hands. He was about to give up when he caught sight of a small box in the very back of the drawer.
Licking his lips, he leaned forward and carefully removed it. He turned to sit cross-legged, placing it in his lap. Shippo peeked over the edge of the bed, trying to see what he had found. The boy rolled over on his stomach and scooted forward, eyes never leaving the object.
"What's that?" Shippo asked, his rabbit watching curiously, as well.
InuYasha brushed back his bangs, moving his curtain of hair out of the way. "Well, its a box."
Shippo rolled his eyes, "Obviously." He snickered when InuYasha shot him a perturbed look before his attention turned back to said box. An old sutra was tied down with red fishing twine, keeping the contents pure and safe.
InuYasha chewed at his lip, contemplating opening it. It wasn't his, but it was in his room. If he'd been a cat, he'd have been dead ten times over. That curiousity killed that cat shit probably pertained to him, anyway.
Shippo arched his brows, "Well, are you gonna open it?" He asked, feeling a yawn overtake him. His tiny fist rubbed his sore eyes, finding it hard to stay awake.
InuYasha sighed, probing his conscience. "I don't know if I should. I mean, it's not mine or nothing. I don't want to upset Old Baba." He said, his eyes still glued to it. Nothing in their house was hidden from him. They told him anything that he found he could use. This did seem like it qualified as anything.
Mulling it over, he closed his eyes and ran his fingers through the twine, gently slipping it off. He was careful to remove the sutra with the tips of his fingers, placing it on the floor beside him.
Shippo thought he looked like he was in pain, wincing at the damn thing. It was just a box. The boy huffed, silently.
When InuYasha's long fingers slid the top of, Shippo immediately curled to his knees, almost falling off the bed. He scrambled to him, plopping down.
InuYasha scoffed, "Keh. It's just a camera. It thought it was going to be something good." He was about to put the lid back on when Shippo spoke up, hand reaching in the box.
"That's Kagome's." He said looking at InuYasha's changing expressions. They varied so drastically that he couldn't grasp to just one.
"Kagome's?" InuYasha asked idly, running his hand across the smooth casing. There was sand still clinging to the nooks of the in-lay. "How do you know that?" He asked, turning to face the small boy.
Shippo frowned, "I was playing with the beach dog and she was taking pictures. A man came up to her and talked to her, and took the camera." He shrugged, finding his memory to be bleeding out little bits and pieces.
At the time, he didn't think anything of it. He thought that the man had been a friend of the girl's, so he never bothered recalling it.
"And?" InuYasha snapped, as though he had found the Holy Grail. He picked at the top, pressing the button that opened the film cartridge.
"I don't really remember." Shippo replied honestly. "He told her to come with him for a minute and I never saw her again. She dropped it and I held on to it until Old Totosai came. He was really upset."
The room seemed to darken, become less of the dreamscape that it had been before he discovered this. His child had seen the man that had taken Kagome from the arms of this little town.
A formidable wave crashed upon him as he tore the film from the case. Shippo leaned over as InuYasha gently unrolled it, like a scroll. What laid within those negatives made his heart quicken, jostling the muscles in his throat until he didn't know if he could breathe.
There it was.
It was overlooked, shelved, cast to the wayside. There were two or three snapshots of the dog, one of Shippo, and the backside of a man standing tall against the shoreline. He was wearing, what looked like, a suit.
His hair was long, clean looking. InuYasha tilted the film to catch the light ever so delicately. He didn't want to ruin them, but he was so curious, he couldn't help himself. There wasn't else, just blanks and pictures that didn't quite take.
He almost rolled it back up when he saw a random negative catch his attention. Shippo had seen it to and pointed at it avidly, as if it jogged his memory.
"Him." He said. "That's the man that was there that day."
InuYasha's blood ran colder than the snow outside. He was terse, hardened by the idea of someone forcing that girl to do anything. The woman in his head was spry, witty, and down right free.
His tired eyes inspected the frame, etching the half of the man's face into his mind. The man looked a bit older than him, probably in his thirties. Stubble lined his angular jaw, leading up to dark eyes.
A scar ran from his nostril to the curve of his lip, leaving a trace of abnormality. That was the man. He wished he had a name. That Hojo boy probably knew, he seemed like he was glued to Kagome at one point or another.
InuYasha shook his head clear of any thought, and hastily shoved the film back in the cartridge, fumbling with the box. He didn't want anyone to know that he had gotten into it. Shippo looked up at him as he slammed the doors to the wardrobe closed.
"Grab Buyo, okay?" InuYasha said, his body exploding to the marrow. He was electrified, but stifled it in order to even remotely focus on Shippo. "We'll talk about this later. Let's get you some food. I bet you're starving."
The boy looked around as InuYasha grabbed their shoes from the shelf.
"Um, InuYasha?" Shippo hesitantly mumbled, looking down at his near bare legs.
InuYasha pressed his palm to his forehead, "Fuck." He grunted, quickly realizing he had to cut the language. He wasn't a sailor anymore. "Alright, I'm going to have to put you in my jacket until we can get you some clothes, okay?"
Shippo nodded and reached his short arms out. InuYasha plucked him and Buyo up, placing an arm underneath him to keep him from falling.
The rest of the day had turned into a heinous blur of crying, eating, looking for anyone who might know anything. The worst part had been when they went to Shippo's old home.
It was just down the way from the inn, and was barely standing. The floor was thin, brittle and full of holes. InuYasha barely knew how the kid had survived the winters around here. The house was more of a hut with one large room and one bedroom.
Everything was in disarray, save for the bedroom. His mother's belongings lay as she left them, and the photographs on the walls hung memories like the sky hung the stars at night. They were factual, never changing.
InuYasha had let Shippo cry amongst the ashes of his old life, laying with him on his mother's bed. He didn't have much in the way of clothes to begin with, but they took what he had.
InuYasha found an old back-pack and placed a few photos, letters, toys and the like inside. The boy had been adamant about taking his mother's quilt. It was something that he just wore around his shoulders before dropping it off at home.
After the boy had mourned, the three of them, yes, Buyo, too, had hoped on the rusty old bike Sango had given them. Buyo sat in the front basket, while Shippo sat upon InuYasha's lap.
It had been well afternoon when they realized they hadn't eaten. Shippo had requested they go visit Sango and eat in the cafeteria, and InuYasha had wilted at the request. He'd just lost his mother, who was he to what he could and couldn't have?
So, he pedaled like a fool in the icy weather. The sky was drab, like a gray blanket smothering out the sunlight. The barren, black trees breezed by, emptying any sense of life from the wooden areas that laid in between the towns.
By the time they had arrived at the hospital, their faces were frozen, red and numb. Shippo had run ahead, leaving InuYasha to place his bike along the rack. His head was too full for him to process much more than that simple task.
He was pretty sure a migraine was building as he shuffled inside. It was fairly easy to spot Sango, seeing as she was sitting on the guest side of the desk. Shippo happily sat in her lap, while she unwrapped a sucker.
"Oh, there you are." The woman said fondly, handing the sucker to the boy. He latched onto her neck and thanked for the rabbit again.
"Yeah," InuYasha said dumbly, ruffling his own hair. "I'm already too tired to function." He said with a scoff.
Sango merely brushed it off and grabbed her purse. She grunted as she attempted to lift the boy in her arms. If she had been a much bigger woman, it would have been easy, but she was thin as a rail.
"So, this little one told me that you can't cook for shit." She chided, shifting him to her side.
InuYasha's face, had it already not been destroyed by color, would have been littered with blush. "Uh, yeah. That sounds about right." His hand rubbed his neck in embarrassment.
"Well," Sango said, "I'm about to head home for the day." Her mouth pecked the corner of the boy's head and he frowned at her.
A passing thought hit her and she looked back towards InuYasha. "I can cook you boys something to eat if you want. I can wait with him if you want to go see your family." She said, her body gesturing to the elevators.
InuYasha gaped his mouth dumbly for a moment before it registered. "Uh yeah, that would be great. I appreciate it. The kid's been talking about you all day." He waved his hand stupidly as he headed towards the infirmary.
The ride upstairs left him basking in the glory of complete silence. He'd longed to forget it when he had it, but now it was like a treasure. Sango was something else. She was just about as trusting and thoughtful as they came.
If she'd been his type, he'd have had his name all over her. A caliginous smile draped across his face as he thought of Kikyo. He hoped that she would have been proud of him for being a better man than he had been before. Every bit of him still loved her, and mourned her loss.
And, as he headed towards Old Totosai's partition, new that was why he understood the need to find Kagome. No matter how far apart, life or death, they would still love her. Hell, he didn't even know her and he thought fondly of the girl.
She was like a plague, eating away the very last section of his brain. His entire day was spent wondering about her again, so much so that he nearly passed by Kaede as she exited the curtain.
Her barbed hands clasped to his arm, almost scaring the death out of him. "Oi, InuYasha, what are you doing all the way over here?" She slurred, trying to catch his attention. "Where's Shippo?"
It took him a moment, but he snapped to. "Oh, I'm sorry. I don't know where I'm at today." InuYasha sighed, his expression falling lazily. "He's with that lady, Sango, that came by this morning. She's apparently making us lunch."
His hands nervously stuffed themselves in his jeans pockets, making him feel like a teenager again. Kaede gave him a slightly disapproving stare before letting out a laugh.
"As soon as you become a single father, all the women seem to come like ships to a lighthouse." Her voice was rattly and hoarse.
InuYasha feigned a smile, knowing all too well that Kaede-baba was a direct woman. For someone that was nonsense, she certainly had plenty of the latter.
"How is Totosai, Baba?" He finally asked.
Kaede shook head slightly, "He's awake now if you want to talk to him. I'm gonna get this old sack of mine a snack."
The man nodded as she motioned for him to bend down to her level. He stood about a foot taller than the woman and she placed a peck on his cheek. "You've got a good soul under that rough exterior." She hummed, patting him on the back. "Don't get Papa too wound up, he may want to get up and leave."
InuYasha rubbed the spot on his cheek she had kissed as he walked behind the curtain.
The old man was sitting up while he read the paper. His feeble hand held a cup of juice, trying not to dribble it on his night gown. He seemed thrilled when he looked up to see InuYasha plop down in the chair.
"I haven't seen you in a while." Totosai said, putting the paper upon his pale covers.
The boy lolled his head back. "I had to bring the kid for lunch. He had to see his new girlfriend, seeing as how I can't even open cereal." A laugh, a genuine laugh struck him.
Old Totosai smirked, his mouth nearly curling to his nose. "If it wasn't for Mama, I'd have starved along time ago. I never was much of a cook." He said, casting his gaze down to the white tile beneath the boy's feet.
He noticed a red piece of twine wrapped in his shoe lace. His expression was lugubrious as he raised a knobby finger to point at the thread. "Where did that come from?"
Time stopped as soon as those words bellowed in that false room. InuYasha immediately sat up with fear seeping from his pores. How in hell had that gotten there?
Panic seized his heart as he fumbled trying to untether the twine. "I-I..." He stammered, losing all the ground he had built up throughout the day.
Totosai swatted a hand knowingly and shushed him. "Hush, I don't want to hear your excuses." He bit, not as harshly as InuYasha had imagined. "You found it, didn't you?" His forehead wrinkled in a furrow.
The man's hands turned to sopping pits of moisture as he rubbed them together, winding the string around his fingers, turning the skin white. "I was looking for something Shippo could wear until I got him some clothes, and I was curious." It was the truth. What he found hadn't been premeditated, of course.
Surely, he thought, chewing at his lip, Totosai knew that.
When their gaze crossed, the old man breathed in through his tubing and sighed. "I told Mama to bring it to me, but she wouldn't. I guess it's not all that bad that you found it. Did you look at anything else?" He asked, already knowing the answer.
One nod confirmed everything, slamming the world down on him. "Shippo knew it was Kagome's." He blurted out, "He said he was the one that gave it back to you."
InuYasha's eyes were searching between the folds that hung over Totosai's. Had he known all along that Shippo was there? That must have been why he was so kindly to the boy.
"That boy is something else." Totosai rasped. His eyes closed as though he was deep in thought. "Did you loo at the film, son? I just need to know. I never thought about the damn thing until last night."
When InuYasha answered, Papa seemed to come alive. Every move he made, no matter how staggering, was animate, listless. He wasn't sure if he was grateful that he had done such a thing, rummaging through their personal belongings and all.
It only took a moment before Totosai nodded, "Take that camera and have the photos developed. I want to see them when I get home. Don't tell Mama."
InuYasha agreed and pushed himself to his feet.
Nervously saying their goodbyes, they both drifted within the confines of their breezing memories. That hope that InuYasha had found so strong, so bountiful, was starting to diminish like the glimmer of daylight.
If it wasn't for Sango babysitting Shippo, he would have stayed and talked as long as he could. Time had already made it clear that he had been there too long, and wrestled with his stomach to take his mind of much else.
After their lunch date, getting back home was starting to seem like a good idea. He didn't want to be stuck in this town any longer than he had to be. It was just turning into a game of cat and mouse, and damned if he could catch that mouse.
AN;
So, this chapter here, I hope that it was a good bridge. I wanted to focus on the relationships, and the acceptance that had to happen.
I know the time frame is relatively short, but the characters are maturing on their own time.
As far as the Sango/InuYasha thing, you guys can formulate your own opinions for now. ;D
Thank you guys for reading.