InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Seven Feudal Fairy Tales ❯ Urashima Taro ( Chapter 32 )

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

 

 

Chapter Thirty-Two: Urashima Taro

 

 

The brilliant rays of midday sun shone down, casting dark, blue shadows within the narrow stairwell carved into the earth and rock. Kagome stood at its bottom, taking a moment to lightly touch the thin layers of sediment that surrounded her. The colors alternated from slate to sepia and seemingly every shade in between. As her gaze rose, the pronounced beds gradually faded, transforming into a single rough stratum of volcanic rock. Curiosity having claimed her, it was a long moment before the school girl realized she was alone in her distraction. She turned and swiftly scaled the steps lest she was forgotten by the frequently indifferent demon she accompanied. The round, smooth stones she treaded upon seemed to grow smaller as she climbed; their familiar shape reminding her of a place whose memory was proving elusive in her rush to the top.

 

As she quickly ascended, the steps were soon coated in a deepening blanket of fine sand, disturbed in its seamless dusting by the narrow, diamond prints of the tai youkai. At the crest, he was found, standing motionless and silhouetted in sunlight. The warm breeze buffeted against him, gathering locks of his fine, silver hair into the air as it flowed around him. Kagome slowed as she neared and a smile grew on her face as her sight discovered the world that his sparkling, gold eyes had already found.

 

“The beach,” she proclaimed in satisfaction, the mystery of the round stone steps having been solved in one word. She raised her hand to her brow, shading her eyes from the bright sun in the cloudless, sapphire sky. Together they stood upon a dark, igneous outcrop, the porous rock sprinkled heavily with dry sand carried from below by the shifting wind. The land opened up as it descended, smoothing to softly sloping hillsides; the roughness of its surface ebbing under a thickening layer of cream colored sand. As if sentries guarding the hidden shoreline beyond, an interwoven forest of tall, palm trees stood stoically. Sparse at first and then growing countless in number, their heavy tops swayed gently to and fro on smooth, lanky trunks. With broad leaves and colorful, exotic flowers, tropical vegetation besieged the towering giants below at their shallow roots, their persistent efforts in conquest resulting in little avail.

 

“Let us proceed,” the youkai lord spoke up after a long while of cautious listening, his keen ears finding only the benign, muffled rumble of waves meeting the distant seashore and the mellow calls of white gulls lazily gliding on the invisible drafts along the horizon.

 

Kagome nodded in agreement and the travelers carefully picked their way down the gradually evening slope. Shortly, they entered the lush jungle, forging a path through the tangled undergrowth. Trimming away errant branches with the ease of his claws, Sesshoumaru led the way with an appreciative miko at his back. Soon they were through the thick of it as the foliage retreated in defeat, leaving only the solitary columns of coconut trees between them and the approaching thunder of the ocean. Even the stalwart tree line broke as they met the final embankment. Before them, fading from ivory to dark beige, the sand met the frothing, aquamarine waves of the calm sea.

 

“Have you deduced which fairy tale--” Sesshoumaru began to ask the woman at his side only to find a pair of overturned loafers and crumpled socks in the place where she had been standing. Springing lightly and with a giddy giggle escaping her lips, Kagome skipped down the slope and across the water-pressed sand. Perfectly shaped footprints doggedly chased her as she met the flowing water ahead with a squeal of delight. Back and forth she ran, fleeing from the approaching waves while alternately pursuing them as they receded.

 

The youkai lord looked on in marked boredom and mild bewilderment at her amusement among the dousing waves of salt water. Eventually he found a fallen tree in the shade to sit upon when it seemed she would not be returning any time soon, despite the casual glare sent her way. Her energy waning, the school girl ended her foray among the splashing currents, surrendering before the ocean's affection soaked her any more thoroughly.

 

“Are you satisfied?” the demon asked, eyeing her from sand-caked feet to ruddy cheeks as she approached tiredly.

 

“Yes,” she replied with a satisfied sigh. “That was excellent stress relief. You should try it.”

 

“Perhaps another time,” he responded politely, yet unable to mask his mildly disgusted expression at the idea of himself running about the beach chasing waves. “Shall we discuss the fairy tale, now that you are relieved of this stress?”

 

“I'm sorry,” she apologized softly, sitting at the other end of the log as she brushed the clinging sand from her legs and feet. “I don't really know what came over me. After all of these stories where I have to fight bandits and slay centipedes, I just had to feel normal for a moment. Let it all out.”

 

“That is normal?” he questioned with a raised brow.

 

“Well, more normal,” she laughed nervously, stroking a few stray locks of hair behind her ear as she decided that this would be an opportune time to change the subject before she lost any more credibility. “What were the lines of the poem again?”

 

“A turtle in jeopardy. A fisherman with kindness,” he began, recalling the memorized words effortlessly and inviting a brief spike of envy from the school girl. “Journey to the sea. A princess awaits her love. Timeless in her keep.”

 

“It sounds like The Story of Urashima Taro,” she interrupted before he could finish, pressing a sand dusted finger to her lip as she thought.

 

“What is the story?”

 

“Well, it's about a young fisherman who lives in a small, fishing village,” she answered, moving to absently rub her legs and feet as they dried. “Well respected for his fishing prowess and for his unwavering kindness, one day he finds several boys tormenting a stranded turtle on the beach. Being a man of his nature, he offers to pay the children money for the poor animal. They quickly take him up on it and after they leave, he takes the creature back to the ocean to set it free.

 

The next day while he's out in his boat, the turtle returns and asks him to join it at the underwater palace beneath the sea. Intrigued, he climbs out of his boat and sits on its shell. They go beneath the surface of the ocean where he soon discovers that he can breathe the water like any fish. Soon they arrive at a beautiful castle where he is treated to sumptuous food and entertainment.”

 

“Hn, not all that different from the last one,” the demon remarked with a frown as he picked away at the rare grain of sand that had blown onto his clothes from the steady breeze that washed over them.

 

“Yeah, ironically the palace belongs to the Dragon King of the Sea.”

 

“Indeed,” he answered, his expression deepening to a marked scowl.

 

“I don't think it's the same person and besides he doesn't make an appearance in the story anyways.”

 

“Good.”

 

“So, as the fisherman partakes in all the splendors, he meets the beautiful Oto-hime, daughter of the king. He soon learns that she was in fact the turtle that he had rescued from death at the hands of the careless children. As a token of her gratitude, she asks him to marry her and they stay together in the castle for three wonderful days.

 

Unfortunately after the third day, Urashima Taro realizes that when he left the surface he had left his family and duties behind. The princess begs him to stay, but he insists upon returning. Saddened by his decision, she offers him one parting gift, a small chest which she makes him swear to never open. A short time later, he leaves for his village.

 

When he returns to the shore, he rushes home to find his family, but instead discovers a strange man living in his house. Urashima Taro asks him what he is doing there and the man states that this is in fact his house, a place he had lived all his life. Angered at the apparent lie, the fisherman argues with him, telling him who he is. The man shrugs, saying that there has been no one in the village by the name of Urashima Taro for three hundred years.

 

Confused and distraught, the fisherman leaves and asks the other townspeople what had passed over the last three days, but no matter who he speaks to, the answer is always the same. Three days had not passed, but three hundred years instead. In despair over losing all who he had known, he retrieves the chest and lifts the lid. Smoke pours out and every year that he had been spared returns to him, aging him instantly and taking his life.”

 

“Hn,” the youkai lord snorted, “Land will not wait for him. Many suns and moons will pass.”

 

“Yeah,” Kagome murmured solemnly. The fairy tale was a good one, but depressing at the same time.

 

“A box of secrets. Who will bear its gift within? A choice must be made,” Sesshoumaru repeated the last line and frowned. “The chest does not carry much of a gift.”

 

“I guess not. I suppose we'll have to find out what that means when the time comes.”

 

“So it would seem.”

 

Leaning forward, the school girl reached for her discarded socks and shoes, mentally debating whether or not it would be best to put them on if she was just going to take them off when they found the turtle and journeyed below the ocean to the palace. It was with that thought that the idea of breathing water like a fish struck her and she smiled. What a strange experience that was going to be.

 

“Miko?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Look.”

 

Kagome's eyes rose up, following his gaze to a strange, oval shape stranded on the beach, like a shallow bowl with four long fins protruding at the lip and all waving pitifully in the air. She blinked in disbelief as not a moment earlier the sand had been barren, washed clean even of the impressions she had left from her sojourn in play when she arrived.

 

“It's the turtle.”

 

The youkai lord nodded wordlessly and moved to stand, inwardly pleased that the reprieve was over. Steadily, he strolled down the damp shore towards the overturned animal with the curious, barefoot miko on his heels. Together they surrounded the pathetic creature as it flailed weakly, its cream, plated underside burning in the hot sun.

 

“There aren't any children,” Kagome observed aloud as she scanned the area with a frown, finding only trees and sand where she looked.

 

“The fairy tales are never exact it would appear,” Sesshoumaru remarked disinterestedly as he knelt cautiously beside the turtle, sure to not let the wet sand touch his white, silk pants. Grasping the rim of the shell, he rocked the animal a few times, before following it with one deft flick of the wrist, flipping it over carelessly. The creature wobbled helplessly in a circular motion before settling on its belly. It glared back at the indifferent demon as malevolently as the wet, marble eyes of a turtle could.

 

“You could have been gentler,” the school girl scolded, placing her hands at her hips disapprovingly “You are Urashima Taro. The kind, fisher lad.”

 

“No, I am Sesshoumaru,” the tai youkai corrected with a debilitating glare in her direction. “And I am not kind, a fisher or a lad.”

 

“I guess not,” she huffed in defeat before crouching down next to the animal's head to console it in a whisper. “I am sorry about him. He only comes in mean.”

 

“Hn. It would do you well to remember that,” he added pointedly, tucking his hand into his sleeve.

 

She scowled at him, catching easily that his comment was directed at her rather than at the turtle next to her. Softening her expression, she shifted to gaze down at the creature beside her as she lifted her hand to stroke it gently on the head. Her hand though slipped through its skin, touching nothing but air as she waved. She moved it through the animal several more times, watching it disappear as she seemingly penetrated its flesh only to find the soft sand below.

 

“Sesshoumaru-sama?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“I can't touch it.” she said, her sight remaining on the creature as worry seeped into her voice. The demon lord stepped beside her, watching over her shoulder as she passed her arm through the turtle again, the implications of the act solidifying in their minds. “If I can't touch it…”

 

“You cannot ride it,” he finished, his brow furrowing as he spoke.

 

“Then I have to stay here? Stay here for three hundred years?”

 

“I will not be gone for three hundred years.”

 

“But, the story…”

 

“I will return shortly,” he interrupted, his voice gentler as he locked his cool eyes with her moistening ones. “You will wait but a short time.”

 

“But…”

 

“Miko?”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“Hold out your hands.”

 

“Umm, all right,” she replied hesitantly, quickly rubbing her wet eyes with the heels of her hands before extending them towards him. Withdrawing his hand from his sleeve, he smoothly retrieved Tokijin and Tenseiga from his sash, placing their hilts gently in her outstretched hands.

 

“You want me to hold your swords?” she asked in astonishment, bringing them closer to her face so that she could inspect the master craftsmanship that went into them.

 

“Return your hands to where they were,” he ordered firmly, startling her back into her previous position. Next he unraveled his elaborately tied, yellow belt, folding it carefully before laying it over her proffered arms. His fingers found the leather ties of his heavy armor and he let it slip off his shoulder before weighting it onto her. She nearly buckled under the newly added burden of steel and leather, but held it steadfastly for fear of the youkai's reaction should she get it wet and soiled. It wasn't until he continued his actions after his haori coat was layered neatly onto her that she realized how much he planned on disrobing.

 

“Wa-wait,” Kagome blurted out in a stutter, her face flushing hot as he slipped off his hapi undercoat, revealing his well-developed torso beneath. With the smooth planes of his robust chest and the clearly defined lines of his abs, his body was wrapped in chiseled muscle. As he twisted to face her embarrassment with a furrowed brow of confusion, it rippled beneath the smooth, porcelain skin of his long trunk, causing her blush to grow and darken. A faint sigh and a nearly imperceptible shake of the head later, he dismissed her resulting incoherent mumblings as strange and therefore typical human behavior. With one hand and expert ease, he then folded his undercoat and stacked it with the rest upon the pile, careful to center it so it wouldn't fall.

 

Gradually the school girl decided to let her evading eyesight return to the half naked demon before her, reminding herself repeatedly that she had seen a fair share of half naked demons in her time. There wasn't anything unusual here. It was just sudden. After all, she had seen Inu-Yasha without his coat and undercoat several times, but mostly he had always been injured, so it was necessary and to be expected. Shiro-sama had started out naked, so there was nothing surprising there. After seeing what he had to offer, what more could faze her? It was all a matter of preparation. `Now,' she thought with a swallow and a deep, ragged breath, `She was prepared.'

 

She peered out from behind the growing mountain of clothing and armor at the youkai lord, her sight growing braver as it washed over every taut curve of his muscular torso. Then it pulled away, drawn strangely to the demon's only imperfection, the slightly darker, ragged scar that ended his arm before the elbow. She thought on the moment he lost it to his younger brother at their father's grave. How frightening he had been then. How intimidating he had been. How ruthless and cruel he had been. And now here he was, weaponless and exposed, giving his former enemy all his possessions without concern. Was he really the same man that she remembered? Was this really Sesshoumaru?

 

He reached up and scratched his neck lightly with his sharpened nails, unmindful of her thoughts or her gaze. She followed his hand down to his waist, noticing the pair of previously hidden burgundy stripes that were painted there. There was so much about him that was shaded in mystery that it took her a moment to realize that his hand was busily untying the strings of his pants.

 

“Eep,” she squeaked, stumbling back and nearly falling to the ground.

 

“What is wrong, miko?” the tai youkai finally asked, briefly wondering if he was concerned or curious about her unusual reactions.

 

“Nothing, nothing,” she piped up, steadying herself. “I just don't know how much you're going to take off. By the way, how much are you going to take off?”

 

“Not much more,” he answered boredly, finally understanding her predicament and quietly wishing for his servants who knew how to act when their lord undresses.

 

“Oh, okay,” she replied, hiding her shamefully red face in the silk of his clothes as he added his hakama pants.

 

“My boots are at your heels,” he remarked, addressing the back of her head as that was all he could see. Then the youkai lord paused in place, holding his hand out in front of him as he concentrated. A faint, green glow enveloped him, its flow gradually covering the long pelt he still held over his shoulder. Then with one final burst of youki, it fell away from him. He picked it up off of the wet sand, shaking it lightly to free it of any stray particles of dirt. Then he laid it carefully over the miko's shoulders. She looked up at him as he set it, her vision of him framed with fur and silk.

 

“You will return, right?” she asked in a desperate tone as he moved to leave her sight. Still barely clothed in a silk fundoshi, the demon faced the slowly departing turtle. In one graceful leap, he lightly sprang upon it as it slipped down the remaining sand and into the waiting tide. “In just a little while? Before I… before I…”

 

“I have given you all of my worldly possessions for safe keeping, miko,” he finally replied, settling down cross-legged on the marbled shell beneath him. “I expect to get them back in as good a condition as I have left them.”

 

“What?”

 

“I will be unhappy should I return in a few hours and they are in disrepair. Look after them, so that I may be pleased once I am finished. I cannot leave this place without them.”

 

“Oh,” she murmured, a smile growing on her lips at the intent of his words. “They will be in better condition, so you better hurry back.”

 

“Indeed,” he answered, looking back at her with a mild smile as she teetered half buried in his raiment. “I will expect so.”

 

Then he disappeared beneath the viridian waves.