InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Feudal Fairy Tales ❯ The Dragon King ( Chapter 24 )

Disclaimer: These characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi and other associated companies.

 

 

Chapter Twenty-Four: The Dragon King

 

 

Kagome stood motionless before the waking serpent, her body unwilling to move. A crimson glare, bright as spilt blood held her sight steadfastly, stealing her thoughts and stilling her words. A low rumble from the dragon's throat shook the ground, like the crashing of waves on a shore, startling her to breathe when she had scarcely realized she had stopped. Then the bridge creaked and whined as it slowly untwisted its body from its comfortable position in slumber, its eyes never wavering from hers.

 

“Se-Sessh-ou,” she murmured weakly, finding her voice shattered under the weight of the creature's overwhelming presence and then burnt away by the heat and floating embers of its breath as it washed over her. It steadied itself on short, teal legs, its blackened claws digging mercilessly into the wooden planks of the bridge.

 

“Hmm, as I thought,” a deep voice remarked imperturbably and the silver and red of the tai youkai appeared between the golden antlers upon the dragon's head, seemingly mindless of the evil aura pouring off of the great beast that coiled and churned beneath his feet. The suddenness of his voice broke the school girl from her petrified stare and a cool wave of relief coursed through her. She wasn't alone. He was still here.

 

“What do you mean?” she asked as she caught her breath, her heart thumping in her chest and her eyes carefully avoiding the red stare of the serpent she was nearly brushed up against.

 

“You are the lord; therefore you are the only one who could wake it.”

 

“Then-then, why did you go kick it in the nose and jump on top of it?” she asked incredulously.

 

“It seemed a better option than cowering behind a bush,” he replied with a shrug. “A sleeping dragon offers little threat.”

 

“And a wakened one?”

 

“It would seem that a bit more prudence would be wise,” he commented with a slight smirk and then disappeared from atop the creature's head. He landed lightly behind Kagome and furrowed his brow, a scowl growing on his face. “Was the dragon king evil in the legend?”

 

“No, not that I can remember,” she answered, gulping her breath. “You can feel it now, right? The evil. The evil in its eyes and murder on its mind.”

 

He nodded silently.

 

“Perhaps it is due to your foot's choice of location?”

 

“Eh?” she murmured questioningly, letting her sight fall to her shoes. Still pinned angrily under her loafer was the steadily tapping feeler impatiently waiting to be released. Quickly, she lifted her foot and it slipped away to drift in the air by the rising head of the dragon. “I'm sorry about stepping on your, uh… moustache?”

 

The dragon stared at her malevolently; its blood red eyes shining brilliantly even in the full sun above the tree tops. With a deafening roar that quaked and cracked the very earth they stood upon, it opened its maw, revealing dazzling rows of long, ivory teeth and a building fiery glow down its throat.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama?” Kagome whispered feebly, her eyes wide with fear and her body shaking as she felt herself slowly sinking to the ground. She had fought many demons in the past, unblinkingly facing them down the shaft of her arrow or under fire rat fur. At times she had faced them without anything, but the courage of her heart and the will to do what was right. It had always been enough, even in the presence of someone as evil and warped as Naraku. Now, though, as her breath seized in her lungs, choking her of air, it all seemed like nothing. All of it, but a shadow of terror. She looked up at the crimson eyes and the death that waited eagerly behind them. It was real terror looming above her, piercing her with its stare as it slowly readied its breath for her end. “Se-Sessh—“

 

“I know,” the tai youkai interrupted softly, wrapping his hand around her waist, his eyes never leaving the dragon's jaws and the flickering flame leaking from its corners.

 

Then it came, a tortured roar that sounded like barbs of rage and pain twisted together as the fire erupted from its throat and blew back, consuming its massive body in a fiery tornado. The hot wind whipped violently in the air as the funnel of flames coiled around the serpent, swallowing it mercilessly. After a moment, the roaring ceased, leaving only the quiet crackling of the fire as it slowly died down. Finally, only a few embers remained, swirling around a single figure, his shoulders hunched and his face hidden under a cascade of long, spiky red hair.

 

Slowly, he raised his head, pushing his broad shoulders back to stand proudly. Heavy, samurai armor made of aquamarine scales and accented with gold trim and horns weighted his body. Under it, he wore black hakama pants and haori coat, his sleeves dipped in a red design of swirling dragons. Blacker than his clothes, his nails sought his hair, pulling the long locks away from his face to let them fall back behind his head, leaving the shorter ones behind. Indecipherable, a grin or a grimace spread across his lips, revealing his white fangs and he opened his crimson eyes, his gaze falling on the travelers standing before him.

 

“You have woken me,” the man stated, his voice deep and smooth, like a crackling flame and his stare focused on Kagome, still held warily by the watchful youkai lord.

 

“Ye-yes,” she stuttered, feeling her strength returning to her as the enveloping, evil aura dissipated in the air. “I-I didn't mean to. It was an accident.”

 

“I see.”

 

“A-are you the dragon king?”

 

He smirked unquestionably, a fang clipping his lip.

 

“Are you a young lord who wished to cross the bridge even if it meant stepping on the terrifying beast that dozed there?” he returned her question with another.

 

“I-I am.”

 

“Then I am the Dragon King of the Lake,” he replied with a bow, drawing a courteous bow in return from the school girl who had since been released by the tai youkai. The Dragon King eyed the other figure curiously, noting only one bow from the two people who stood before him. “I have a request of you, good lord who has shown such bravery and I hope you will find it in your heart to grant it.”

 

“If I can, I will. Please tell me.”

 

“I wish for you to kill my enemy, the Centipede, who lives on the mountain beyond the lake.”

 

“The mountain?” Kagome asked quietly, turning around to look towards the lake. Far across the smooth plane of water lay the charred mountain, blackened by fire.

 

“I have lived with my children in my castle under the lake for many years,” he continued, his voice strangely wistful, before darkening into a quiet anger. “One day, the Centipede who lives on that mountain found my home and has since every night slipped into it to steal one of my children to fill its belly.”

 

“Why do you not fight it?” Sesshoumaru asked impassively, his expression clearly disinterested even though he was the one who raised the question. The Dragon King glared at him for a moment, his teeth grinding and the menacing aura that surrounded him whipping up once again.

 

“I am powerless to stop it,” he bit out as he swallowed his fury and sublimated the evilness that leaked from him. Then he returned his sight to the young lord. “You are however, stronger than I and I beseech you to slay it and spare my children from anymore pain. I cannot bear to see any more die.”

 

“This is the story My Lord o' Bag of Rice,” she whispered toward the youkai lord at her side. “There's no doubt now.”

 

“A king without hope. His children stolen by night. A hero must choose,” Sesshoumaru repeated the lines from the poem, his eyes never leaving the Dragon King. “You are the hero. What do you choose?”

 

“A centipede, eh,” she murmured, running her hand through her hair. “Why is it always centipedes?” She looked up at him in time to catch a quirked brow of confusion marring his face at her response. “A centipede youkai is what dragged me down the well from the future into the past.

 

“Hn.”

 

“You know what? Never mind.”

 

“What will you choose?”

 

“Honor only allows me one path,” she said with a smile. “Besides, the lord chose to save the children. If I have to follow the tale like I should, then I need to do the same.”

 

“Indeed.”

 

“I will slay the centipede for you,” she said boldly, returning her attention to the king.

 

“Thank you, good lord,” he answered graciously with a low bow. “The beast comes to my home every night at midnight to prey upon my children. I would be pleased if you accompanied me there now, so that you may dine and prepare until the appointed hour.”

 

“I would be greatly honored to be your guest,” she said with a bow in return.

 

“Your servant may join us as well,” the Dragon King remarked with an easy smile, gesturing to the tai youkai who seemed like nothing more than a simple peasant to his eyes. “Naturally, it is your choice as to whether he will accompany us.”

 

“M-my servant?” she stuttered, unwilling to see whatever expression was most likely adorning Sesshoumaru's face, but quite certain that it would not be a good one.

 

“Yes, yes he will be joining us. I hope.”

 

“Very good. Follow me.”

 

The Dragon King brushed past them with a smooth, easy gait, like a predator sure in every stride as it approached its captured prey. He slipped off the bridge and down to the rocky shore bordering it. As his red, geta sandals touched the water, the liquid parted away in a soft ripple, leaving only the silty bottom beneath his feet.

 

“Come,” he said, looking up at them with red, gleaming eyes, “There is nothing to fear.”

 

“You say that,” Kagome muttered under her breath, feeling her legs quake under his gaze as she made her way down to the shore and stepped onto the revealed sandy bed. She was swiftly followed by the youkai lord, who to her relief, hadn't been too badly offended by his apparent role in this tale.

 

The lake broke away in larger waves as they walked further along its bottom, the towering walls of water at their sides growing with each step. Small crabs scuttled away before their footfalls, burying themselves in the sand while they waited for the water to return. Through the dark currents, they could see the black silhouettes of curious fish drawn to the king and his visitors as they passed. Behind them, the magic slowly relinquished its hold, closing off the way back under the quickly pooling water.

 

“What else do you remember of the story?” the tai youkai asked quietly behind her, his eyes never wavering from the back of the king as they walked.

 

“It's been a while,” she answered in a hushed voice. “I only remember the beginning really well, because I always thought the guy was really stupid for stepping on the dragon.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“Indeed he was,” the king laughed wickedly, looking over his shoulder at his two guests. “No normal dragon would have allowed such a brash fool to live. But please, continue. I will not interrupt you further.” An awkward silence passed before she began again.

 

“Well, the king welcomed the lord to his castle under the water where they drank and ate, entertained by creatures of the lake that danced and played music for them. When midnight struck, the giant centipede appeared with glowing, fiery eyes. Ready, the lord used his bow and slew the monster by striking it in the eye with an arrow. Afterwards, the Dragon King gifts the lord with many things out of gratitude, namely a bag with a never-ending supply of rice, hence the name of the story, My Lord o' Bag of Rice.”

 

“Hn.”

 

“Is that how it goes?” she asked loudly, staring at the spiky, red hair flowing behind the king.

 

“Perhaps,” he answered, “There is always more to it than that.”

 

“Just like there is more to you?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“The Dragon King was not evil, but you are unlike any evil I have ever met,” she stated and shuddered remembering the feeling of his presence on the bridge. “So who are you? Are you a prisoner here, trapped by Susanou?”

 

“Me?” he answered, looking over his shoulder again, his eyes glowing eerily. “You don't really want to know. Ignorance is a sweet embrace, good lord. And one that never hugs twice. Follow the story and leave this place. There is nothing else for you here.”

 

“I want to know.”

 

“Even if you will regret it?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“You must regret much,” he said, stopping abruptly, the evil essence seeping from him again like wisps of smoke, curling around him lovingly. “It has been a while since I've thought on my name. I have been the Dragon King for so long.”

 

“Who are you?”

 

“I am Yamata-no-Orochi,” he answered with his grimacing smile and eyes lit brightly in the dark shadows of the water. “Know fear, good lord.”

 

 

A/N: *sigh* In case anyone has this question, My Lord o' Bag of Rice is an actual Japanese fairy tale. I haven't really changed any of it, except that the Dragon King in the story is a character that's very passive and kind of whiny. Not anymore :D