InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Mermaids ❯ Beauty of the Ocean ( Chapter 3 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I own Inu-Yasha as much as I own the moon. Which is to say, not at all.

Author's Note: Hey, guys! And WOW! ^_^ Thanks for all the reviews, only two parts up and already over 100!!! You guys spoil me. -^_^- (Don't stop. ^_~)

Anyway, for those of you who were complaining, a new chapter of ED is up- `Come What May'. Only a few more chapters `til the end, now, so I'm gonna try to update more regularly for a week or two. As for this fic- ^_^ Don't worry.

Let's see. . . I'm glad everyone seemed to like chappie one, and I hope you all enjoy chapter two. ^_^

(Oh, and yes- I'm sad about Inu-chan's lack of ears and claws, too. T_T But oh well. ^_^ He's still hot, ne?)

REMEMBER:

Italicized- present

Normal- past

Bolt Italicized- song/Miroku singing

Please enjoy! ^_^

Mermaids

Part II: Beauty of the Ocean

Kagome sighed quietly in relief as she slowly turned the key in the door, locking up the Autumn Leaves for the night. `Thank God. . .' she couldn't help but think as she waved tiredly after Kikyo and Sango, who were laughing and chatting while they made their way towards their cottages by the seaside. `So. . . sleepy. . .'

Closing her eyes and leaning against the door for a moment, the girl took a deep breath; holding the sweet, salty air in her lungs for a moment before slumping as she exhaled.

"Exhausted?"

?!

Kag's eyes automatically snapped open, her heart skipping a beat. "Wha- ?!" she gasped, bolting upright and staring off to her right, deep into the shadows of the nearby side streets. And there, in the darkness, a stray moonbeam illuminated a glossy head of silver hair. "You. . ."

Inu-Yasha stepped into the light of the moon with a small grin on his face, hands stuffed into his pockets. "Me. And hello, to you, too, Brandy."

Kagome just blinked at him, fighting off the warm tickling she could feel rising up her neck and staining her cheeks. "What are you still doing here, Mr- er- Inu-Yasha? I thought you left an hour ago- with all the other customers at clean up time!"

The man shrugged nonchalantly as he sauntered a bit closer, smile widening a bit. "I figured you might need some company after closing. Besides, it's dangerous for a woman as lovely as yourself to be wandering the streets alone so late at night. Who knows what sort of wild, deranged sailors you may find lurking in the allies?" He winked and offered his arm, looking quiet chivalrous under the glow of the stars and of the far off lighthouse.

Kagome swallowed, rather taken aback by the suddenness of everything. This sea man had just appeared out of nowhere this morning, and already he seemed to have made himself quite at home in this little harbor town. He was hitting on her, for pete's sake!

Hitting on her. . .

She should just brush him off, like everyone else.

"Thank you very much for the offer, Inu-Yasha" she began briskly, tongue darting over her dry pink lips as a fog horn boomed silently near the docks in the distance. A few of the dim store lights around them went out, as well. "But. . ."

"But. . . ?" the sailor echoed, cocking an eyebrow as her voice trailed off. "But what?"

Kagome swallowed.

But. . .

Then she frowned slightly.

Good question- but what?

Even she couldn't think up a good answer. . .

Damn.

"But- I- uh- well, I'm. . . er. . ."

He chuckled, crossed his arms lightly over his torso and shot her a cool stare. "But I'm a sailor and you refuse to court one?"

Oh, yeah. That's right.

"Yes," Kag nodded curtly, regaining her momentarily lost composure as she put her keys in her apron pocket and started off down the road, brushing past Inu-Yasha as she went.

Whatever made him go aw- - -

"Well, that's lovely," he called after her, putting his hands back in his pockets as she subconsciously began to slow down. "But I'm not asking to marry you- I'm just asking if you'd like a bit of company."

. . .

The girl stopped completely, staring off into the distance as a few lanterns flickered on surrounding porches. She heard approaching footsteps and turned around- biting her lip as Inu-Yasha smiled, once more offering his arm.

And this time, she took it.

"So what is it, exactly, that you do, again?"

"I'm a sea-salesman," Inu-Yasha explained as they walked through the cool evening, away from the ocean and more towards the suburbs of the tiny city, where three-story buildings towered over the brick roads. "I sail from harbor to harbor all over the world, trading merchandise. It's quite interesting- I've been to at least a hundred different contraries and still seeing new places left and right."

"Sounds lovely," Kagome admitted, mindlessly tightening her hold of his arm, resting her head against his muscular shoulder. He smelt of sea salt and pines. . . perhaps a bit of cinnamon. "But rather lonely, if you ask me."

"Hm? How so?" the man inquired, glancing down at the bartender with a slightly amused expression.

"Well, don't you have missed friends or family back home? Traveling all over hardly leaves time for families or friends. . ." Her voice grew oddly quiet, and her eyes seemed to glaze over as- for some reason- her warm hold on his arm all but disappeared. Inu-Yasha was understandably confused by her sudden mood swing. "I'm sure there are people that miss you," she continued, sounding a little cold as she detached herself completely, crossing her arms tightly and hanging her head as she sped up.

. . . ?

What's with her?

"No, there aren't," he assured, lengthening his stride in order to catch up with the girl. "My parents died when I was 9, and I have no real friends back there. Now, what's your problem?" He blinked innocently as Kag shot him an irritated look, though the glassy covering over her stormy orbs seemed to be disappearing, now that the topic was changing. "Do you know someone who's out on the ocean?"

". . . Knew," she corrected quietly before shaking her head, and smiling slightly. "Sorry, touch subject."

"No," he frowned, catching her arm as she began to turn. "Tell me. Please?" She stared at him from the corner of her eye for a moment, saying nothing. Then she sighed.

"My father," she grunted, arms dropping to her sides as she lifted her face towards the heavens. "He was a sailor. He left my mother, my brother, and I so often, I barely knew him. And now. ."

Inu-Yasha winced slightly. "I'm sorry."

"Mmm," Kag roughly tossed her head. "It's not your fault."

Somehow though, he thought it was. . . If not just for brining it up. So instead of pressing any more conversation he just put his arm around her, letting her rest her head against his forearm as they walked slowly towards her apartment of a house.

Kagome smiled widely as she all but ran to work, breathing in the misty, early day air as the golden morning shone off of the ocean, seagull's cheerful cries echoing through the endless sky. She didn't understand why she felt so wonderful this morning- why her lips couldn't stop smiling. Why her mind kept replaying last night- her shoulder still tingling from where HE had touched her. . .

The girl pressed her hand to her mouth, biting back a giggle as another blush rose upon her cheeks.

But then she stopped, blinking, as she reached the Autumn Leaves.

Wait. . .

What the hell was she doing?!

`What's WRONG with me?!'

Her other hand lifted to her face as she realized what was going on. "No!" she hissed to herself. "Stupid- stupid- stupid-! I don't have a crush on a sailor! I'm not crushing on a sailor! No! No crushes!"

"Seems like denial."

!!!

Damn her heart- skipping more beats!

"Inu-Yasha!" she gaped, spinning around to see- lo and behold- Inu-Yasha, once again waiting for her in the right hand ally next to the tavern. He bowed slightly in greeting, grin widening as he saw a small smile form on Kagome's face. "If you don't stop doing that, I'm going to suffer from a heart attack!"

"It sounds to me as if you already have," he teased. "But of a different kind." He waggled his eyebrows as the girl's face flushed once more.

"You heard. . . ?"

"How could I not? I was barely two feet away."

"Humph," she huffed, digging her keys out of her apron and fitting them into the lock. "Well, it doesn't concern you, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't listen in on my private conversations with. . ."

"Yourself?"

"Yes, with myself."

The sailor rolled his eyes as he trailed after the bartender, setting his cloak on one of the stools near the bar. "If you don't mind my saying, Brandy, but you seem to have a real problem."

"Excuse me?!" Kagome snapped, looking up in annoyance from her current job- taking all the chairs off of the tables and setting them back down. "Whatever do you mean?"

"I mean," Inu-Yasha elaborated, waltzing over to Kag and grasping the opposite legs of the seat in her hands, "that it's unhealthy for you to hate all sailors because your father abandoned you."

Her azure orbs narrowed dangerously as she suddenly released the chair.

The man mentally swallowed as his eyes widened. Uh oh. . . `Maybe I shouldn't have said that. . .'

"That's not it," she spat venomously, storming behind the counter and burying her face in her hands. "That's not it at all!"

". . . Then what is it?" Inu-Yasha couldn't help but press, pulling up a stool again.

. . .

Kagome sighed, peaking at him through her fingers. "I walked into this one, didn't I?"

He flashed her a small grin. "Yeah."

". . . My father. . ." she laced her fingers together, resting her chin upon them as she stared out the window, eyes brushing over the far away sea. "My father. . .

He didn't abandon us. He. . .

He died in a storm." She swallowed; closing her eyes and locking gazes with Inu-Yasha. "Him. . . his ship. . . all his crew and cargo. . . It sank within minutes. My mother- she was devastated. She almost died as well, that day. . . So. . .

So I swore I'd never, ever go to the ocean again. I'd never, ever touch it. And I'd never, ever marry a sailor." She laughed joylessly, straightening. "I wouldn't want to put my children through the same pain that I had to go through. Besides," she added with a stuffy sniff. "All sailors are fickle."

?

Interesting change of reason. . . and mood.

"Fickle. . . ?" the man echoed softly, a touch of humor in his voice as the girl collected herself. "How do you figure?"

"Well, they say they love you," Kagome explained, wiping her eyes as she removed her dishrag and began cleaning off the countertop. "And they keep telling you that, over and over- `til they find their mermaid."

Inu-Yasha blinked, nonplussed. "Their. . . mermaid?"

"Well, sure," Kag shrugged, as if that were obvious. "Isn't that what all sailors look for? Haven't you heard the stories? Every sea man wants to find a beautiful, busty, half-fish to swim with for the rest of their lives, don't they?"

The sailor stared blankly at her for a few moments, and then a small chuckle escaped him. "I suppose. . ."

"So do you understand now?" the bartender questioned lightly, acting as if they'd just finished a casual conversation about the weather. "Why I don't want a sailor and I don't like the sea?"

Inu-Yasha nodded silently- but then it struck him. "Wait a second- if you hate the ocean so much, why do you live here?" He frowned slightly, unable to see the connection. "Why not just move?"

"I stayed for my mother," Kagome smiled, turning away momentarily to grab a few mugs. "She needed someone nearby. She refused to leave, this was her home. And since she died it has become mine, too. I have friends. I have a business. I can't just leave because it's near the sea. Besides," she added, as if in an afterthought as she beamed at him. "I like to watch it from afar- it's very beautiful, isn't it?"

". . . Yes," the sailor agreed softly, though his eyes didn't seem to be out the window. "Very, very beautiful."

. . .

"Inu-Yasha?"

"Yes?"

"Tell me about it."

. . . ?

The salesman adopted a confused expression, seemingly clueless as to what she was asking. "Pardon?"

"Tell me about the ocean, about your job," she pressed, leaning in on her hands and smiling at him, passing him a cup of water as she helped herself to one as well. "It sounds fantastic."

He grinned at her from over the rim of his mug. "You have no idea. . ."

- - -

Well, that's all for now. ^_^ Please R&R!

Ja ne!