InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One More Try at the Big "L" ❯ Chapter 1 ( Chapter 1 )

 

(A/N: If you did not read the prolog, go back and read it. You won't understand what the hell is going on if you don't. Of course, this fic makes no sense to me anyway and I WROTE the prolog.)

 

(Two years after Prologue)

 

Beginning of chapter 1::

 

 

Naraku drove down a little dirt road to a secluded beach, a few miles away from his home town, Tokyo. It was foggy and damp outside and no one else would even think of the beach as a hang-out site this late December afternoon. He smiled. He loved fog, it was the best weather ever. And it came every day in winter. And the twenty-seventh of December was just the beginning of winter.

 

Naraku parked and got out. He walked around to the trunk of his car and grabbed a big fluffy towel, picnic lunch, and his favorite book. He walked down to the beach, shook out his towel and lay down on it, pulled out a sandwich and his book, took a big bite and started reading. Two chapters later, he closed the book and looked around.

 

Fog surrounded him, swirling and dancing, muting sounds and softening the features, making things appear blurry. The old wooden dock, only ten feet away, was lost among the white. The only sound was that of waves, breaking softly, and birds overhead, fishing. Gulls, pippins, sandpipers, and pelicans flew around, stealing fish from each other.

 

A shape neared him in the fog and he tensed, waiting and watching, all senses to the alert. A baby seal came up to him, all fluffy and spotted. Naraku stayed perfectly still, waiting for it o recognize him as an enemy. It didn't. It came right up to him, ready to push its snout into his side as a question, will you come play with me? Naraku moved, not wanting the seal to touch him. If it got a human scent on it, its mother would abandon it. And then it would die.

 

Labored footsteps and the sound of something being dragged across wood brought is attention to the dock. Is someone else here? he wondered. Sighing - - he had been looking forward to a peaceful day by himself - - he got up and walked over to the dock. He squinted, but couldn't see anyone. Maybe it's just a trick of my mind he thought, then shook his head. In this fog, he could hardly see five feet in front of him. He couldn't see his feet, and he was only six one.

 

The footsteps continued, piquing (THAT'S ONE OF MY VOCABULARY WORDS!!!) his interest. I might as well find out who it is, Naraku decided. He ran out onto the dock. Soon he could make out a figure, about his height. He walked closer. “Who are you? Why are you here?” Naraku asked. He wasn't generally in the habit of talking to strangers, but he wanted to know who would come to the beach in such cold weather just to walk on an abandoned dock.

 

The man - - Naraku was close enough to tell that's what it was - - didn't even look. He just jumped into the freezing cold water four feet below. A splash told Naraku he had gone under, and the second splash told him why the man's footsteps were labored - - he had a large rock tied to his feet. Then silence. Naraku waited… and waited… and waited. It was only thirty seconds of silence but it felt like an eternity. Then Naraku turned and walked back down the dock. He grabbed his towel and his book and his sandwich and headed for his car. Should I have jumped in after him? Naraku wondered. No…why would I? He wanted to die. I don't really think he would thank me for “saving” him.

 

Naraku parked his car in the reserved parking lot and took the elevator up to his apartment. He had bought it two years ago, after it's former occupant, the apartment building owner's son, had died at sixteen. It had been some kind of a freak car accident, and he had died in his boyfriend's arms.

 

That's what the papers said, anyway. It was big news two years ago when the press and, because of them, the world, first found out Sesshomaru, the emperor's first-born son was gay. Naraku didn't particularly care. There were plenty of gays in the world - - hell, Naraku was one of them. It didn't matter if they were emperor's sons or demons. There were all people together.

 

Naraku glanced at the afternoon paper, then decided against reading. He switched on the T.V. and lay back on his couch to watch cartoons. He smiled slightly. At age twenty-one, he still hadn't figured out how to get over his anime-obsession. But then, everyone liked anime. It was made for all ages, sold at most stores. Naraku fell asleep there, and didn't wake up `til around twenty-three o' clock.

 

Opening his eyes, he blearily tried to figure out what was happening on the TV. It wasn't cartoons - - that much was obvious. It looked more like…NEWS?! What? Naraku never looked at news channels. Ever. He just read the paper when he was bored and eavesdropped on his coworkers and figured that was enough. Naraku looked at the screen again. “Emergency Broadcast” it said across the top. Oh, Naraku thought, I get it now. Something happened and this is being broadcastedeverywhere. Naraku read the words that were traveling across the screen. “Emperor's first-born son Sesshomaru has disappeared as of yesterday morning. If anyone has any information on the subject please contact your local police department.”

 

“`Yesterday morning'?” Naraku wondered out loud. “But just yesterday afternoon I read in the newspaper that he went to a big party at like, one o clock and it was gonna last until evening…” He checked his watch to figure out what day it was. “WHAT THE FUCK?!?! I'VE BEEN SLEEPING FOR TWO DAYS?!?! God…I've gotta stop staying up to watch all those late night cartoons…”An image came to him - - a figure surrounded in fog, jumping off the dock, a splash and then another. That man hadn't come back up.

 

“Goddamnit…” Naraku muttered. He grabbed his coat, a towel, and his keys and ran down to his car. He pressed a button to unlock his car and got in, placing the towels on the passenger seat. He put the keys in the ignition and pressed on the gas, speeding away towards his favorite little beach. He ran down to the shoreline. There - - a figure, lying still on it's side. Naraku ran over to it and turned it over. A young man Naraku remembered seeing before. Duh you've seen him before, Genius! He's the emperor's son! Naraku thought. The body was cold, not breathing. But there was a pulse - - faint, but there. Why didn't I take that CPR class when I had the chance?! Naraku wondered frantically. He pulled Sesshomaru up and slung him over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Walking quickly up to his car, he fished his cell phone out of his pocket, on-handedly dialing the number.

 

“Hello?” he asked.

 

“Hello? Is this an emergency?”

 

“Um…yeah. I - I found Sesshomaru.”

 

“WHAT?! Where are you?! We'll come get you.”

 

Naraku grimaced. The beach was so out of the way and the roads so non-used, they weren't on the map any more. “Er, that's OK. I've got a car. I'll bring him to you.” Naraku didn't want them to protest, so he hung up. He reached his car and pulled out a towel, still using only one hand. He moved Sesshomaru so he was leaning against the car and wrapped the towel around him, then sat him down in the passenger seat. He shut the door and ran around to the other side of the car. The key was still in the ignition, and he hadn't turned off the car, so he just stepped on the gas and left.

 

It took twenty minutes to get to the police department. Naraku turned off his car this time and ran inside, leaving Sesshomaru in the car. “Excuse me?! Hello!” he said as he neared the front desk. “Sesshomaru is in my car! He isn't breathing and he barely has a pulse…”

 

The man at the desk nodded and pressed some numbers on the phone. A few seconds later an ambulance arrived at the front. Huh… they must have a garage where they keep them close by… Naraku thought. “Young man, go out and tell the ambulance driver what happened, where you found him…you should go with them to the hospital.”

 

Naraku nodded and ran outside.

 

He showed the paramedics where Sesshomaru was and unlocked his car for them, then got in the back with everyone else and waited for them to start asking questions. He didn't have long to wait - - while someone put a breathing mask on Sesshomaru, another came up to him.

 

“Are you the one that found him?” the man asked.

 

“Yeah…” Wow, he's hot… Naraku thought to himself.

 

“Where'd you find him?”

 

“The beach.”

 

“Which beach?”

 

“Kaigan Beach…”

 

“…Beach Beach? C'mon, tell me what its name is.”

 

“It doesn't have one. That's why I told the people I'd bring him here. There are only dirt roads with no names leading to it, and it isn't named! There was no way you'd find it.”

 

“How did you find it?”

 

“A friend took me there…He said it had good waves, for surfing. I don't surf, but he knows I like quiet places to go to read, so he brought me along. He's a smart guy - - he knows to not go surfing without someone there. Good way to die. All his other friends were busy doing something else, so he asked me if I wanted to come.”

 

“I see. And I suppose it was just fate that brought you to this beach today?”

 

“No. I go to the beach all the time. My friend, the one that showed it to me, he moved away. I think there weren't many people who knew about it. I went there all the time, just to sit and read. I went there a few days ago and I saw Sesshomaru. He jumped off the dock. I didn't recognize him then, but after I saw the emergency broadcast I realized who it must have been. So I drove down there.”

 

“You say you saw him jumping off the dock, but didn't recognize him. Why didn't you save him anyway?”

 

“He had a rock tied to his legs. It didn't look like he wanted to be saved. I've interrupted suicide before. I didn't get any thanks for it…not then, and I didn't think I'd get any now.”

 

“So it didn't even bother you?”

 

“Nope.”

 

“YOU SAW SOMEONE KILLING HIMSELF AND YOU DIDN'T EVER CARE!!!”

 

“You hit the nail on the head.”

 

“Grrrrrrrr.”

 

“Are you just going to growl at me? Because if so, I want them to stop the car and let me get out.” (They had started towards the hospital as Naraku was questioned.)

 

“So…” the man asked, regaining his composure. “What made you care now? You didn't two days ago.”

 

“I figured that even though the Sesshomaru wanted to die, lots of other people wouldn't think that's exactly the best path for a future emperor. The person I saved before had tried to kill herself because no one cared about her. After I saved her, once she got out of the hospital, she sent me hate letters. She said her life sucked and no one cared about her. I told her I couldn't change the past, and she continued writing hate letters. Until one day, I got a letter that said, `Oh my god! You saved me cause you care!' and then she started stalking me. She found out we went to the same school, which made things easier on her. She sent me love notes and roses. She wouldn't leave me alone! Anyway, I graduated and moved, and I didn't list myself in the phone book. She hasn't found me yet.”

 

“What a girl…I wish my wife were that devoted.” Damn, Naraku thought, He's married. “But, just because of that one case doesn't mean everybody is like that! Many people who attempt suicide are really crying out for help.”

 

“I got a note, from a friend of mine in school. He told me he was going to kill himself. He told me when, where, and how. He also told me to not interrupt.”

 

“He wanted you to.”

 

“No, let me finish. Before he did it, I asked him. `Why did he give me the note?' He said, `you read how I'm gonna do it, right?' I said `yeah. You're gonna go to your grandma's apartment and use her stove, right?' It's one of those old gas stoves. He was going to lock everything up and turn on the stove and just die. His grandma was on vacation in Hawaii, you see. He told me, `Yeah. So, you know about how long it'll take, right? So, when I'm done, come find me. Make something up, just get the police to come find me. I don't want my grandma to come home to a deathtrap house, a dead grandchild, and a hell of a bill.' He wanted to die, really and truly. He wanted to die pretty. He just didn't want to make a mess for his grandma.” They had reached the hospital now. A man and what appeared to be his wife and son who were standing next to a black stretch limo ran over to the ambulance.

 

“Move aside, move aside. You can see him later when he's stabilized,” one of the paramedics said.

 

“I'm his father! Let me see him!”

 

“I don't care who you are, he's in critical condition! Now MOVE.”

 

Naraku jumped out after two paramedics carrying the stretcher bearing Sesshomaru got out. The other paramedic who had been questioning him, flowed. “Did you save him?” he asked. Naraku looked down and didn't answer. “Hey! I asked you if you saved him.”

 

“Did I save who?”

 

“You know who I'm talking about! Your friend! The one who was going to kill himself at his grandma's.”

 

“Not going to. Did.”

 

“Huh?”

 

“If you don't get it I'm not going to make myself clear.”

 

“Why didn't you save him?”

 

“I don't see that it's any of your business.”

 

“But…”

 

“But nothing. It was years ago. It's done. I cant change the past. I'd like to be able to, but, I can't.”

 

“What would you change?”

 

“…Do you really have to ask?”

 

“I guess not. Hey, you should go talk to Inutaishou.”

 

“Huh?! The EMPEROR?! Why would I talk to the emperor?”

 

“Because you saved his son. He's right over there. Come on.” The man dragged Naraku over to Inutaishou. “Excuse me, sir? This is the young man that found your son.”

 

Inutaishou looked at Naraku. “Hello. It's a pleasure to meet you.” Wow… Naraku thought, it's too bad he's too old for me…and he's married. God! All the hot men are married!

 

Naraku bowed. “The pleasure is mine, Inutaishou-sama.”

 

“How can I reward you?”

 

“No reward is necessary.”

 

“I must insist.”

 

“…Because you'll look bad to the people if you don't reward the man who saved your son? No. I said, no reward. I don't mean to be rude, but…it wasn't your life. If anyone rewards me, it will be your son. And quite frankly, I expect him to hate me for being the one that caused him to wake up in a hospital and not heaven…or hell, wherever.”

 

Inutaishou stared at him. “Fine. At least let me have my driver take you home.”

 

“I won't say no to that. Just take me to the police department. That's where my car is.”

 

“Fine. Jaken, take him to the police department.” Inutaishou ordered.

 

“Yes sir!” Jaken said.

 

As Naraku was getting into the car, Inutaishou stopped him one more time. “Before you go, may I ask your name?”

 

“Katouku Naraku.”

 

The limo drove off, leaving Inutaishou standing there with Izayoi and Inuyasha. “So, that was the guy that saved Fluffy?” Inuyasha asked.

 

“Don't call your brother that, Inuyasha!” Izayoi said.

 

“Sorry, mom. But we're brothers. It's called, `sibling rivalry.' If it bothers you, I'll call him Fluffy-sama.”

 

“Inuyasha…”

 

 

 

 

::End of chapter one.

 

A/N: I HOPE YOU ALL ENJOYED IT!!! I probably wont get much time for a while, so… you'll all just have to wait. Also, I have lots of other fics I'm writing under a different name. So, yeah…