InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Tale of the Twins ❯ Chapter Twelve: Sea Dragon ( Chapter 12 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Chapter Twelve
Sea Dragon
It wasn't that the dragon was much of a problem for Naraku; it was that he kept looking at the shore, as if he still was hoping that Sesshoumaru would miraculously change his mind and come back. Not that such a thing would ever happen. Sesshoumaru was far too stuck up and prideful to do that—just like any woman, no matter what body he was in. Sesshoumaru was upset, jealous, and was trying to self-sacrifice for an idiotic and totally pointless reason. Damn it.
Sometimes, he really wanted to know how that dog came to the conclusions he did. Sometimes, he really wanted to know how his mind worked. And at the same time, ignorance was bliss.
All of the crew were so busy trying to avoid attacks and at the same time veer the ship away from the maelstrom that they were absolutely useless—particularly Nanako. She was ordering the sails trimmed, anchor dropped, and the ship veered to starboard—whatever that meant. As a last resort, she was ordering some of the stronger swimmers to dive in and physically push the ship away. He knew that they couldn't drown and that they were much stronger than they looked (like any youkai), but it still seemed idiotic, the way the storm was picking up with the sea dragon's ill temper. At least a couple of them were bound to get sucked into the maelstrom anyway.
He had a barrier erected around the ship, so for the time being, it was impervious to the attacks—but not from the sea. He worried about the twins and Rin. His barrier would protect against attacks, but he was still getting soaked from the rain. Would the ship still sink?
The answer wasn't something he particularly wanted to discover.
The dragon spouted the usual bull shit about being all-powerful for a bit before he attacked. Why did all youkai do that, anyway? He never did that, he simply was powerful. Only the truly powerful do not brag about their power. It was also an attempt to cow the opponent, of course. Most youkai would rather back down from a fight, actually. Hell, if you can win without putting forth the effort, why bother with the effort?
Regardless, though, the dragon had discovered that any forward attack was useless. So, to escape from Naraku, he dove back into the water, widening and strengthening the maelstrom—where Naraku couldn't get to him. Perhaps it was time to abandon ship.
He grabbed a hold of Nanako as she rushed past by her braided hair. “Would it be a good time to abandon ship now, Captain?”
She scowled. “Not all is lost.”
“Would it be safer for the children?”
She considered. “Well…” She glanced at the water and shouted another order, then looked back at Naraku. “You should get the children to land. We'll take care of the dragon.”
He was running back down the stairs before she had finished speaking. He didn't give them an explanation. He just picked up Shuarra, deposited her on his shoulders, picked up a complaining Kuraimaru, and grabbed Rin with his free hand, halfway dragging her up the stairs onto the deck. They were headed straight into the whirlpool now. He glanced to the helm. Nanako had let go of the wheel, and was laughing like mad as they went right into the whirlpool. Many of her crew seemed concerned for her sanity, but were more interested in preserving their lives than she appeared to be. Some of her own crew had lost faith in her and had leaped overboard, swimming away. Not all of them made it. There were still the more loyal ones, though, and they were the more useful as well, so there was no real loss.
What the hell was she doing?
He would get them to land, and then come back and help her with the dragon. It was the only sensible thing to do. Nanako had no rational thoughts in her head. That was just totally unappealing to Naraku. How could Sesshoumaru ever think that he saw anything in her? That guy…
Sesshoumaru was really quite insecure, when it came down to it. He had always known it, but… He had never even imagined how insecure that beautiful creature really was. If he had only known… Perhaps if he had realized how anxious Sesshoumaru felt…
What the hell was he thinking? It wasn't his fault that Sesshoumaru was an insecure, paranoid freak!
Although, he should have been more sensitive to that. Damn! He had known that he was so apprehensive.
But, no matter how he thought about it, he couldn't think of it as being his fault completely. Sesshoumaru and his weird complexes was at least 80% of the problem right now.
And when he got a hold of that bastard…
He'd kiss him, tell him he loves him, and that Nanako means nothing at all.
That was what Sesshoumaru needed to hear, and that was what he was going to tell him. Maybe if he went after him, he'd believe him. He should anyway though. Why did Sesshoumaru always just make everything more complicated?
On the way to the shore, Rin had demanded an explanation for why Sesshoumaru had run off. He guessed that she probably deserved one, after all. He sighed. “Sesshoumaru got it in his head that there is something between me and Nanako,” he said. That was the simplest way he could put it, and as few words as he could think of.
“Why…” Rin suddenly became angry. “Why would you give him a right to think that?”
She was rushing to his defense—as always. He returned her glare in kind. She did not back down when most would have. “I did nothing.”
She was rushing to his defense—as always. He returned her glare in kind. She did not back down when most would have. “I did nothing.”
“You must've done something!” she accused. “You should be more considerate! You had to have done something!”
Instead of verbally retaliating and denying all of this, he considered. But no matter what, he could think of nothing that would have led him to believe this. The only thing Sesshoumaru had ever mentioned was smelling like Nanako, and if they had been together in the past—which they had not. Then he realized what had confirmed everything in Sesshoumaru's mind. He hadn't answered if they had. He had ignored the question and instead started yelling, which further proved this to Sesshoumaru.
He had never meant for this to happen. He didn't want Sesshoumaru to be so upset that he thought he had to leave. If he had just thought before he spoke, listened more intently to Sesshoumaru's words, or had not started an argument…
Now he understood. It could have looked different than what it really was. Sesshoumaru had been afraid that it was true, and had convinced himself that it was.
Shit…
He just hoped that he would listen to him. He had to explain this to him, had to hold him, kiss him, and tell him that he had been wrong—thankfully, joyously wrong.
No, more than that, they had both been wrong. Naraku had been wrong to yell at Sesshoumaru, and Sesshoumaru had been wrong to misjudge Naraku. But it would be okay.
It had to be.
He let Rin and the twins on the beach, giving Rin strict instructions to keep a very close watch on her adopted siblings.
He wanted to look for Sesshoumaru, but he supposed that the crew of the ship desperately needed his help. It wouldn't be long anyway, so he returned to the ship to play hero.
However, he stayed off the ship. Nanako had steered it right into the maelstrom, and was laughing madly as it spiraled downwards. The others were working to keep it from tipping over. However, the genius of her insanity could now be seen. For, the sea dragon was actually inside of the whirlpool, and every time the ship whipped past it, they had a chance to attack—which they did, with demonic power, guns, and cannons.
Nanako spotted Naraku. “So you didn't run off! Get your ass down here and help us out! Yargh! Die, scum!” The last bit was to the sea dragon.
He sighed deeply. He floated down to the center, avoiding the mast of the ship. The dragon suddenly lunged toward him. Naraku's tentacles reached out to grasp the dragon, wrapping around it completely. His absorbing powers worked a lot like a normal stomach. Soon, the dragon was broken up and its power was coursing through Naraku's veins. Sesshoumaru was probably right when he said that he could become quite powerful without the use of the jewel.
The sea calmed and the ship righted itself, now sailing gently on the sea. The sails unfurled again and the crew that had been thrown overboard (and who weren't eaten or bleeding to death in the water uncared for) started climbing back onboard. Nanako yelled a congratulations to Naraku, before she went back to swearing at her crew.
He didn't waste his time any longer. He had to find Sesshoumaru now.
He could not have gotten far.