InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Misty by the Sea ❯ Misty by the Sea ( Chapter 1 )

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

 

I couldn't resist one more little story! I didn't mean to—it just sort of popped into my head! Enjoy!

 

 

Misty by the Sea

 

 

Misty's eyes tracked the lithe form of her current lover as he spashed through the surf to the calmer waters beyond. He had taken to the sea like a, well, like a fish, and now spent nearly every moment he wasn't with her beneath the waves. She almost felt jealous.

 

Her little hanyou had come a long way in the half century that she'd known him.

 

A bell tinkled in the front of the shop and Misty tore her gaze reluctantly away from the beach. “Can I help you?” she asked the well-dressed older gentleman who strode purposefully past all the little knick-knacks and planted himself in front of her counter.

 

“I'd like to speak to the manager,” the man replied, businesslike.

 

“That would be me.” Misty smiled. She knew she didn't look the part, with her pixie face and short, spiky white hair.

 

“The owner, then,” said the man.

 

“Still me.” Misty went through this same routine every time a salesperson came around trying to push some new line of junk. “All my products are locally made,” she continued. “I don't usually buy from outside companies.”

 

“I'm not selling,” the man said. “You're Misty Waters?”

 

“I am. What can I do for you, Mr.--?”

 

“Mr. Peterson,” the man supplied, handing Misty his card. “I represent a firm who has recently acquired some beachfront property in the area, and we're contacting local businesspeople to see if they might want to sell. We'll make it worth your while.”

 

Misty handed the card back. “I'm not interested, thank you anyway,” she said, her firm tone belying the youthful countenance that stared calmly back at the man. She watched the play of emotions flow across the businessman's face. Astonishment, confusion, and finally, anger. He wasn't about to let some snippet of a girl dismiss him so easily.

 

Misty felt Kazuki's aura before he opened the back door to slip inside the shop, and she sighed. Brave, noble Kazuki to the rescue. The boy was too protective for his own good. The other problem was that ever since Kazuki came back from the feudal era, where he spent nearly an entire human lifetime disguised as a human, he absolutely refused to hide what he was. Thank goodness for holo wristbands which at least hid his rather noticeable doglike ears. But now, still dripping from his swim in the ocean, Kazuki had forgotten to activate it, and he stood in all his dogly glory, ears laid back, sharp teeth bared, and golden eyes flashing. A barely audible growl emanated from deep in his throat.

 

“Down, boy,” Misty murmured, not sure whether she should be appalled by his lack of common sense or amused by his dominant display. Any way you looked at it, he wasn't helping.

 

Of course Kazuki heard her. He glanced down, realized the holo wasn't on, and quickly touched the activation pad. His ears faded into his dripping white hair, but growls still rumbled faintly from his throat as he stalked towards their guest. It could have been worse. He could have shaken—

 

Kazuki paused, and shook his head violently from side to side, spraying water all over Misty, the counter, and the man in the business suit. He grinned rather maliciously at both of them. “Sorry, no towel,” he explained.

 

Misty tskd, and wiped the counter with the edge of her shirt, glancing up at Kazuki with a wry smile.

 

The businessman glared at Kazuki, not appreciating his impromptu bath. He scowled as he brushed off his suit jacket. Here was another lazy kid giving him trouble today. Where the hell were the grown-ups? He threw his card onto the still damp counter, where it stuck, face up. “Have someone in charge give me a call,” he muttered. He attempted to stare Kazuki down, but something in the kid's face made him pause. He looked from Misty to the kid and they both stared back at him with the same hostile yellow eyes. He thought better of it, and quickly walked out of the shop. There were other businesses down street he needed to visit.

 

Kazuki picked up the business card by sliding one razor sharp nail underneath it. “What was that all about?” he asked.

 

“He wanted to buy my shop,” Misty said, as she tidied around the counter. “I told him no.”

 

“Do you want me to call my Uncle Sesshomaru?” Kazuki asked seriously. “He can handle that guy and his company too.”

 

Misty hid her smile. Kazuki was so sweet. “No need,” she told him. “Mr. Peterson will find his company hasn't acquired much of anything in this area. I took care of that long ago. Did you think this was the first time someone has tried to buy me out?”

 

“I don't know, I never thought about it before,” Kazuki admitted, hopping up to sit on the counter next to where she stood. “You sure you don't need help? I didn't like how that guy was looking at you.”

 

Misty wrapped her arms around Kazuki's waist. She really loved this boy! “Mmm,” she agreed, burying her face in his still-wet hair. “You smell like the sea.”

 

Kazuki hopped down and wrapped her in a bear hug. “And you smell like wild places and power.” He picked her up and carried her bodily to the front of the shop so he could flip over the old-fashioned cardboard sign to signify that they were closed.

 

“Kazuki! It's only 10 a.m.!” protested Misty, laughing as Kazuki's invisible ears tickled her neck.

 

Power radiated from the hanyou's lean body, attracting her almost as much as his physical form did. Kazuki thought she was powerful, being one of the old ones, and she was, but his power held the combination of his human heritage and his youkai one. It twined through all that he was, and it sang to her. He had come to her, eager to learn the old ways, after his self-imposed exile at his family's shrine in Japan.

 

She knew who he was, remembered him from when he was a child and had visited her with Kagome and Inuyasha. She had felt his potential then, but he had been just a child, a curiosity, no more. Now he was a man, a father and grandfather, and he had experienced more in his short life than she had in all her centuries of living. Neither one of them looked their age, as the run-in with the businessman proved. But Misty truly was old, while Kazuki was a veritable child in youkai terms.

 

Misty had chosen this form centuries ago, when she had first become fascinated with humans. It was her eternal sorrow that she had been unable to have children. Youkai were strong in power but weak in mortal strengths, such as child-bearing. Kazuki's youkai blood was strong, but he had a human mother. He and his siblings were the most powerful, and prolific, youkai she'd ever seen.

 

She ruffled his ears as he dumped her onto their bed in the upstairs loft, and with a quick grin, Kazuki turned off the holo. “After this, come swim with me,” he whispered, busily undoing her old-fashioned hooks and buttons until she lay before him in golden splendor. He couldn't get enough of her. It was different with Misty than with Sachi. Kazuki would always love Sachi, but theirs had been an earthy love, one that captured his heart and bound it with ribbons of joy. What he felt for Misty set his heart free.

 

Misty giggled. “All right,” she agreed. “But I'll swim rings around you.” She could afford to leave the shop closed for today. It was still early in the season, and some things were more important.

 

The sea was Misty's element, and it was fast becoming Kazuki's. They cleaved through the shallows making for open water, and Misty surfaced periodically because Kazuki had to breathe. Misty may have taken on human form but she was never human. True to her promise, she swam in circles around Kazuki until he grabbed her and held her still, pressing his lips to hers as they sank slowly to the bottom. Kazuki could hold his breath for a long, long time. Eventually, he had to breathe, and they broke the surface, laughing and gasping.

 

“Isn't this better than working?” Kazuki asked, arching an eyebrow. He lay on his back paddling his arms and legs slowly to keep afloat while Misty hung vertically with just her head above the surface, not appearing to move at all.

 

“Way better. I'm glad you like the water. I don't know what I'd do if you didn't like to swim.”

 

“Oh, you'd just find somebody else,” Kazuki replied flippantly. “I'm not the only fish in the sea.”

 

Misty snaked one arm around his leg and suddenly pulled him under.

 

Kazuki came up sputtering. “What was that for?”

 

“As if I'd find someone else,” Misty said. “Face it, doggy, you're stuck with me.” Something pinged in Misty's heart and she realized her words were true. Somewhere along the line she had fallen in love with this beautiful young hanyou.

 

Kazuki grinned. “That's what I was going for,” he said, and he took a deep breath before pulling Misty down with him to start the long swim towards shore. They went fast, remaining underwater except for short burst to the surface so Kazuki could breathe, until they reached the breakers. Then Kazuki rode a big wave all the way to the beach, while Misty walked staidly out of the foaming surf. He glanced back at her. She looked like a sea goddess come to earth.

 

 

Sea goddess or no, Misty was the designated cook in their household since Kazuki's cooking skills were limited to heating up water for instant noodles. He took after his father that way. She set out salad and steak, nearly raw for Kazuki, on the table on the back patio. It was getting chilly, not that either of them felt the cold. The steady crash of the waves against the shore sounded like a heartbeat.

 

“You know, I've been thinking,” she began, as Kazuki tore into his steak. “Maybe I'll close up the shop for a couple of months—or years—and travel about the countryside. I wouldn't mind visiting Japan, too. I hear they've got lots of ocean, and some very nice lakes.”

 

Kazuki stopped chewing and stared. “Misty, is this about that guy who came around today? I told you, Sesshomaru can make sure your shop can't be bought out. I know how much you love—no, how much you need this place.”

 

“No, it's not that,” Misty said. “That Mr. Peterson is going to find out that his company is suddenly not interested in this town anymore.” Her eyes twinkled. “I control his company.”

 

Kazuki let himself relax, and took another mouthful of meat. “I should've known,” he said. “I forget you've been here a while.”

 

Misty smiled. “A while,” she agreed. “So I think I can afford to take a little vacation. Will you go with me?”

 

“Of course! But can you leave the ocean?”

 

“I love it, and I choose to be here, but I'm not tied to it, Kazuki,” Misty explained patiently. “I thought we'd start off by visiting your kids.”

 

“Masashi and Akiko?” They still lived in Japan, in one of the hidden youkai villages. “Sure, I guess.” They both knew about him and Misty and heartily approved. One of the things Kazuki had been afraid of, when he came back to the future, was that his children whom he'd left behind in the Sengoku Jidai would hold a grudge against him for leaving. But they hadn't. They'd grown up strong and well-adjusted, and had been overjoyed to find their father again. The pain of losing their mother had faded over time, partially because they had experienced such pain themselves with their human spouses, and had come to the conclusion that Kazuki eventually also realized—life goes on.

 

“Yeah, I thought they should be the first to know they're getting another little brother or sister,” Misty said innocently, while Kazuki dropped his fork.

 

“You're having a baby? We're having a baby?” Kazuki's aura was glowing with happiness, which was the only way Misty knew he liked the idea. He seemed frozen in shock on the outside.

 

“Yes, we're having a baby.”

 

Kazuki stood up so suddenly that his chair clattered to the ground behind him. He swept Misty up and danced around the patio with her in his arms until the moon came out.

 

 

THE END

 

 

 

Author's Note: Just a quick little story to finish up whatever happened to Kazuki. He left the past in such a sad frame of mind, and we didn't really get to see what happened to him except through Mayumi's memories. So now we know he's ok, and the family line goes on, and get stronger.