Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Le Maree Della Guerra (The Tides of War) ❯ Unlikely Roommates ( Chapter 8 )

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Le Maree Della Guerra

Tide of War

By: Melissa Norvell

Movement 8: Unlikely Roommates

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“You did it! I'm so glad!” Dokuro threw her arms up in celebration. She had been secretly praying from the sidelines that Percuss would be accepted into their infantry.

“After I rest, I can continue to serve Princess Angla,” Percuss wasn't going to think about doing anything else until she was in the condition to do so. She was glad that she didn't have to go through all of the members for the initiation, going through Doku and Angla was more than enough for her. She could only begin to think about just how powerful everyone was.

Just then, she felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see the melon-colored eyes of Brunhilde, staring at her. “You did well, please rest,” the oarfish chided. They would talk about her role in their group when she had recovered properly.

“I'm going to,” the swordfish glanced around her and noticed the subtle cooling of her environment. “It's almost night, anyway,” she couldn't wait to get all of the blood off of herself and get a good night's sleep. Percuss just hoped that it would be enough to heal her from what was to come.

A sly, toothy grin painted itself over the orca's visage as he just stared at his octopus comrade.

“Shut up,” Doku glared daggers into his body, “not a word from you.” He had wished the bothersome mammal had gone elsewhere for entertainment. Why did he agree to come back and watch the final showdown with him of all people? Now he wasn't going to hear the end of the taunts about being in an all-girl's squad.

“Do you look like that so people mistake you for a woman?” Isatsu just had to know. For a male, Doku was attractive by standards set for both genders, and that wasn't something easily accomplished. He bet anything that a lot of the denizens questioned their sexuality around him.

“I look this way because I choose to. Why do you care about my looks?” Doku could look any way that he wished, but he preferred to come off as sophisticated and refined. The Coconut Octopus had always had a love for Victorian clothes, and he wanted his appearance to reflect that.

“How charming, you think I care about that,” Isatsu just wanted to find another reason to tease him even more than he had been. It wasn't that he cared about his looks at all. The only thing he cared about was seeing that pissed off look on his face. It was absolutely darling.

“Do you like that I look this way?” Knowing his luck, Doku was in the mist of some pervert with a cross-dressing fetish. Isatsu seemed like the person who had a lot of kinks.

“What? No!” The question caught him off guard.

“I think he likes you,” Saxa teased. The two of them were arguing like mates. They were giving her a good show, anyway.

“No!” The two shouted in unison. The last thing either of them wanted was to be assumed to have that kind of relationship.

“If destroying him is equivalent of romance,” Isatsu grumbled. It was true that he was renowned as a sadist, but this was hardly about attraction. He genuinely wanted to see the octopus suffer. The fact that Doku was a cold smartass only heightened the temptation.

“I'd rather rip him apart with my tentacles,” even now, Doku was picturing it clearly in his mind. There was nothing better to him than watching this jackass slowly and agonizingly lose his body parts or get his innards strewn across the ocean floor.

“Oh come on,” Saxa waved in dismissal, “I bet you'd be jealous if someone made a move on him.” They couldn't really be serious. The two of them were cute together, and their personalities meshed well. In her mind, they were a great couple.

“We just met,” Isatsu decided to throw out that fact.

“What if I came up to you like, `hey, what you doin' Orca King?'” Saxa placed her hand on her hip and winked, looking her most seductive.

Doku's expression didn't change in the slightest and Isatsu looked a little confused. Who made advances like that? Well…besides him, anyway.

Just then, he felt a harsh slap to the butt by the playful lionfish.

“Hey!” The Orca King shouted as his body locked up. Isatsu hadn't counted on that. Usually, the orca was the more playful one, and the more forward one. Whenever there was someone he wanted to mate with, he made all of the moves. No one dared to so much as touch him, much less do something like that.

“Are you jealous?” Nagi joined in on the fun, and then gestured to Saxa. “Feel free to assault Saxa. No one will stop you.” That lionfish has teased everyone in the infantry. Nagi wouldn't have minded if she got beaten down by either of them.

“I'm not jealous,” Doku's monotone voice cut through her words. Why were they all so quick to assume that he wanted this asshole? Did they think his standards were that low?

“You can say it, but you look like you want to beat her down with your tentacles,” Nagi had been with Doku long enough to know that murderous look in his eye. It was true that Doku was bad at expressing feelings and his face rarely changed. However, once she got to know him, he wasn't such a mystery.

Saxa laughed at the comment, and Isatsu wore a look of irritation. Why did he choose to surround himself with such irritating pieces of garbage?

“You guys,” Ora smiled a little nervously. Out of all of the people in the ocean to make angry, the most destructive and the most magically inclined weren't two of them to do it to. She didn't want to see any of her team mates dead from a mere joke.

Saxa looked as if a brick hit her in the face, then walked over to her suitcase and dug through it, throwing out various articles of clothing. After a couple of minutes of searching, she stuck her hands in the pockets of her jumper, only to find nothing. Worry crossed her face.

“My ring is gone,” she really wanted to find it. That piece of jewelry had sentimental value to it and she kept it wherever she went. She must have lost it when everyone was hiding in the press box and her suitcase came open. Saxa sincerely hoped that it didn't fly out of the windows or get launched across the ocean from the impact of the crash.

“You mean this?” Rin held up the golden object, but before she could make a move to give it back, Ketzel snatched it from her hands.

“Let's sell it for cash,” the cat shark grinned. That ring had some big stones on it. He was sure that he could get a pretty penny for something so well-crafted.

“No!” Saxa protested as she made her way over to Ketzel.

“Finders, keepers,” Ketzel teased as he ran towards the octopus.

“Give it back!” Saxa shouted, chasing after him. If he so much as dropped that ring in the ocean sand, she would have his head.

“Nah!” Ketzel stuck his tongue out beside of the Coconut Octopus as the lionfish closed in on him. Swiftly, he darted around the octopus' backside, jumping over all of his tentacles as Saxa reached around to grab him. However, her hand missed and she ended up grabbing Doku's butt.

The Coconut Octopus just stared at her and frowned. Why did she insist on playing such immature games with that loathsome shark? She was just fueling his childish ways.

“Whoops! Sorry!” Saxa quickly withdrew her hand and laughed nervously, smiling the best she could despite the awkward action that happened between them.

Ketzel burst out laughing, but was hit with one of Doku's tentacles so hard that it laid him out on the ground. Saxa walked over to the shark and grabbed her ring, safely tucking it into her pocket. Thank Neptune she was able to get it back. Doku really helped her out.

“What's next on the agenda?” Doku was more interested in the missions they were assigned more than his was with his team mate's playful antics. Actually, he would have rather just ignored the fact that his team mates were immature, little girls.

“I think you should all know that the Beast King is still missing,” Isatsu decided to throw out that fact. It wasn't as if he cared, but he was pretty sure that Angla would care since the two of them were friends.

“What happened to her? Does anyone know?” Rin was beginning to get worried. It wasn't like Symphony to be gone for so long. Even when she was, the rock hopper penguin always reported back in to everyone.

“Should we send a search party?” Doku was beginning to think that she had gotten captured. If they were going to search for her, then they were going to have to do it in a team. Who knew what they would run into on the battlefield.

“Maybe we should be the search party,” Ora didn't quite trust a job like this to the soldiers. It was something that special units like the Infantry was designed for in the first place. Plus, she knew that Angla must have really wanted to see Symphony again and she wanted to give her that chance, even if the odds of finding her alive were dwindled considerably than before.

“Symphony,” Angla's voice trailed off in a tone of nostalgia and fear. She didn't want to think about what horrible things that her friend must have been going through. She just hoped that she was alright. Symphony was the best dark alchemist in Nautica after all, surely she could handle herself.

“Don't worry, Princess Angla, I'm sure we'll find her,” Dokuro laid a hand on the anglerfishes' shoulder, trying to chide her. She hated seeing Angla so upset.

“I guess you and Symphony were close, weren't you?” Percuss was unsure of most everyone's relationships, and she was a bit curious as to what the princess saw in that penguin. From what she observed, Symphony was very withdrawn and quiet.

“We were both best friends. We played down here together under the sea. I remember when we met,” Angla smiled to herself as a rush of memories flooded her senses and she went back to a more peaceful time in her history.

She was a small girl, curious and kind, untouched by the world's evils. The small princess wandered around the ocean and found solace playing and exploring the large world she lived in. Her adventures brought her to colder waters, chilled with the temperatures of the arctic. Surfacing, Angla floated in the rippling waters and took in the sights around her. Everything was so white that it was nearly blinding. It was incredible, like stepping into a fantasy world.

There were floating pieces of ice that looked like they could be their own kingdom, and nestled among the tall glaciers were little, cozy villages. She wondered what it would be like to walk through one and see all of the land creatures of the upper world.

Red eyes soon befell a creature who stuck out, dressed in black and white. It was a little girl, nearly the same age as she was. She had short hair and striking red eyes. Angla hadn't seen a creature with a blood red sclera before.

The creature looked to her, as if studying her for a moment. “What kind of fish are you? I've never seen anything like you before.”

Usually when she went off hunting, it was only for the fish that stayed in shallow waters. The young penguin figured that this fish must have come from far below, where the sea turned dark.

“I'm an Anglerfish,” the girl beamed before looking a little puzzled. “What are you? I've never seen anything like you before.”

“I'm a penguin,” Symphony informed her. No doubt this girl had never seen anything on the surface before, much less something like her.

“I've never met a penguin before. My name is Angla.” Not only did this creature take interest in her, but she wanted to talk to her as well. The Anglerfish couldn't have been as happy as she was in that moment. She hoped that the two of them could be friends.

“I'm Symphony,” the monotone voiced child introduced herself.

“Hey, Symphony, do you want to play together?”Angla swam over to the edge of the piece of ice that the penguin was floating on. Her dark-haired friend walked over to the edge, putting her feet over it.

“Play? I'm supposed to be hunting, not playing.” It was integral that she find food. Symphony didn't want to starve that night. She had to gather enough food to be able to keep her body temperature the way it was. The arctic was harsh and brutal. It didn't give pathos to anyone.

“I am too,” Angla said, “maybe we can hunt together.” It was no fun trying to hunt by yourself. With two of them hunting, they could gather food much quicker and work together.

“We have different ways of hunting. I doubt we'll be successful,” Symphony didn't think it was going to be a good idea. Angla hunted with that fluorescent lure on her head and Symphony just replied on speed to out maneuver her prey.

Angla frowned. That wasn't what she wanted to hear at all.

“You use that bioluminescent lure on your head to hunt. When your prey comes close, then you eat them. That's not how penguins hunt,” Symphony pointed to the yellow, glowing sphere.

“What do penguins even eat?” Angla was a little confused. When she thought about it, she didn't know anything about most other types of fish, much less about animals in the upper world. Maybe their ways of hunting different because they hunted different animals entirely.

“We swim in the ocean and catch our food. We eat fish, krill and squid. If there's one thing we can do, its swim.” The rock hopper penguin was very proud of her skill in that department. Symphony was an efficient and deadly hunter.

“You sound a lot like me,” Angla was happy to see another predator of the sea. The two of them had something in common.

“We rely on the ocean to give us food. Half of our lives are spent there.” To Symphony, the ocean was a source of life. It was very important to her.

Angla cocked her head and blinked in confusion, “but you're a bird. Don't you fly?”

“We can't fly,” Symphony educated the young fish, “we traded our flight feathers for the ability to swim. My thick, insulated feathers help me not to be cold. We also can control our blood flow so we don't get cold.” Penguins knew how to live in the cold weather and she was no exception.

“Some fish can do that, too, like some types of sharks,” Angla looked at it from a different perspective. There were a lot of Deep Sea fish that had special ways of living because of how deep down they lived. Some of the fish even lived in total darkness.

“The only times we fast are during breeding season. That's only once a year. I don't know much about Anglerfish. You usually live in extreme depths,” Symphony found it a little odd that someone like her would even come to the surface. It was a rare sight.

“Almost nothing can eat us and we can eat things much larger than we are. We're good at conserving energy, and we can swim upside down to help us catch prey. Sometimes, we're called deep sea devils because we look kind of creepy,” Angla knew that her true form wouldn't exactly win her a beauty pageant, that was for sure. If anything, it looked like pure nightmare fuel.

“Those teeth are hellish,” the penguin couldn't stop staring at how long and sharp they were. They didn't look like teeth from any fish she'd ever seen, even sharks and they had three rows of teeth.

“They help me catch prey,” she shivered a little, putting her hands on her biceps and rubbing her dark skin. “Man, its cold. I've never been this far into the arctic.”

“My body is insulated,” Symphony noted. “It doesn't bother me, but why are you here?”

“I was fishing,” Angla told her before she was handed a blanket. Taking it, the fish wrapped it around herself. It was so warm that it seemed to dissipate the sub-zero temperatures around her. Symphony was so nice. “That's kind of you. It's really peaceful here. It seems to take away your worries.”

“Are you sure you're comfortable?” Symphony was a little worried that her new found friend might die of hypothermia. Weren't fish cold-blooded to begin with? That wasn't necessarily a good thing when it came to being in a place like this.

Angla's sights were now on other things. The skies above were lit up in a magnificent display of colors that showered themselves upon the glimmering ice like a liquid rainbow. It was dazzling; unlike anything she had ever seen. If she could look up at the sky and always see something that beautiful, she would be in heaven. Symphony had such a beautiful, peaceful home. Angla wished that she could live there forever.

“The lights in the sky make me feel peaceful and happy,” she smiled.

Symphony gazed up at them with her, “Aurora Borealis. It's beautiful, isn't it?”

“You're so lucky to live in such a beautiful place,” Angla was so envious.

“You can visit me whenever you want,” Symphony was generally alone so she didn't mind having company at all. If the Anglerfish could handle it, she was more than welcome to come back again and see the Northern Lights. Maybe they could watch them together.

“Really?” Angla's expression lit up just knowing that. A feeling of excitement rushed through her veins and warmth radiated from her chest. She couldn't have been happier.

“Really,” a small smile graced the white features of the penguin. “Let's be friends, okay?”

“Yeah!” Angla's excitement overcame her. “I'll visit you every day!” That was a promise that she could definitely keep.

`Symphony…where are you?' Angla's worried thoughts intruded on her reminiscence of the past as reality came back to her. More than anything, she longed to have her friend back by her side. More than anything, she wanted to watch those magnificent lights with her again.

“It's nearly night,” Doku's voice intoned as she turned to him. His eyes and the white suckers on his tentacles were glowing faintly against the darkened water.

“I think we should all get some rest,” Ora suggested as she glanced around at everyone. “Maybe tomorrow, we can look for Symphony.” There was nothing they could do about it now. No doubt anyone who was involved had already retreated for the day, save some assassins who were waiting around, ready to snipe off a few people.

Red, glowing eyes looked to the orca, “if you want to, you can sleep with me in my quarters if you promise that you won't eat me.” He didn't want to do it, but he knew no one else would take that asshole.

“The quarters can only fit two,” Saxa mentioned that little detail with a smirk on her face.

“We're the only two males here,” Doku glared. Did she want that hormone-driven orca harassing them? He was trying to do them a favor.

“Ahem!” Ketzel made his presence known.

“I doubt he wants to go to the palace,” Doku just ignored him. He would have rather forgotten that Ketzel existed.

“I'm going to stay away from them unless I have to go back,” Isatsu wasn't too keen on being around a bunch of people who thought he was going to backstab him. Fuck those guys. If they thought he was that awful, then they could have their meetings without him.

“Did something happen?” The last time Percuss saw him, he seemed happy enough with the group of Sea Kings. It was a little confusing that his attitude turned a 180 about them now.

“Nothing worth mentioning,” like hell he was going to tell them that he was under suspicion, “I just don't want to go back right now.”

“So, he will stay in my quarters with me,” Doku educated them as to why he couldn't and wouldn't just go back to the capitol and stay there.

“Hope nothing kinky goes on in there,” Ketzel smirked slyly. Even he knew how sexually playful someone like Isatsu was. Orcas were in the dolphin family, and everyone knew dolphins were highly sexual.

“Disgusting,” Doku wrinkled his nose at the very thought of even looking at him in such a way.

“What?” Isatsu was confused by his comment. Doing something kinky was hardly the first thing on his mind.

“What?” Percuss didn't even know where he got that allegation from. Doku and Isatsu didn't even act sexual to each other, and they seemed like they hated being around each other. Why would Ketzel think they'd have sex?

Folding her arms over her bust, Saxa closed one eye and leaned their direction. “My quarters are by yours. If you wake me up with any weird noises, I'm going to be mad.” If they were going to have sex, they could at least muffle each other.

“I'd rather self-destruct than touch him,” Doku couldn't be any more disgusted. Why would he want to do anything with someone like that? It wasn't even that Isatsu had poor hygiene. If anything, at the very least Isatsu needed to do something with that wild hair of his, but other than that, he seemed to be into his looks and he wore enough cologne to put a perfume department of a boutique to shame.

“I'd rather chop off my own penis and eat it, rather than stick it inside of him.” The only thing Isatsu wanted to stick in him was his long, sword-like claws as he drew his soul out of his body and consumed it.

“I bet Doku's a virgin,” Saxa pushed the subject before she was smacked in the back of the head by Dokuro, who wore a disappointed down on her face. “Ouch!” The lionfish held the afflicted area before turning to the octopus.

“That is a personal subject,” Dokuro scolded, “don't be rude.” She wouldn't want to have had someone ask her about that, she shouldn't bring it up about Doku, either.

“Why does it matter?” Doku didn't see where, how or why his sexual status was the topic of discussion. He actually wished they would stop talking about it all together.

“If anyone mated with you, they'd die of boredom,” Isatsu threw that insult out there. Honestly, this guy had no emotion. If anyone tried to do something with him, he'd probably lay there and not make any noise. There was nothing more boring than a half-assed partner who didn't have the consideration enough to fake it at the very least.

“I don't desire a mate. I have reasons not to,” Doku could care less about such trite things. The mating process was very sacred to him for a couple of personal reasons, but like hell he would turn it into a round table discussion among his peers.

“It's personal,” Dokuro reassure, “really personal.”

“Better watch those tentacles,” the orca continued to tease him.

“I'll stick one up your ass again,” Doku knew he would have to chop such a contaminated limb off, but it would be worth it to see Isatsu writhing in pain.

“Kinky for a virgin,” the orca winked at him.

“You assume,” Doku shot back, hoping he wouldn't question him. The last thing he wanted was a challenge to something he could provide no proof of.

“Are you?” Isatsu asked.

“Are you?” Doku mimicked the question.

“Want to find out?” The orca's voice dropped an octave. He licked his lips seductively.

“Disgusting, and no,” Doku felt as if he wanted to hurl even seeing such a vile sight. “You get to sleep across the room from me. If you try to kill me, I'll kick you out.” Why did he decide to take pathos on such a terrible piece of garbage?

“I'll keep a truce this once, but after tonight I'm going to destroy you,” Isatsu wanted to build up the suspense a little. The most emotional kills were those where adrenaline and emotion were running at their highest. The game was getting interesting.

“I accept that,” Doku didn't trust him at all.

“Where am I going to sleep?” Ketzel brought up the question. He was hoping that Angla would offer that he stay with her.

“In the trash, where you belong,” but he was met with the harsh words of the octopus instead.

“Ketzel can come with me back to the palace. He can sleep there,” Angla offered. She knew that he was the odd one out, so it was the least she could do. There were plenty of rooms in the castle that he could stay in.

“Aw, yeah!” The cat shark was beyond pleased. There was nothing more he'd like than having a nice stroll back to the castle and basking in the glory of someone as fine as the princess. Now, if only she'd invite him to stay in her room. It probably wasn't going to happen, but he could dream.

“Touch my room and get ripped to shreds,” Isatsu didn't like his domain being disturbed in any way, especially by the tarnished fins of a shark. If he was going to stay in any room, he could reside in a lowly guest room.

“He's going to get his own room,” Angla reassured the orca, but let down Ketzel.

Doku turned, gesturing to his new roommate, “come, I'll show you my quarters.” He didn't want to, but the sky was already dark and he was glowing brightly. He figured that the orca was tired, anyway. It had been a long, stressful day for all of them.

“Wait! Where do I sleep?” Percuss was a little worried. Everyone seemed to have a plan for the night but her, and she needed rest the most.

“You can sleep with Dokuro. Her quarters are empty,” Doku turned to the swordfish and offered his sister's living quarters to her.

The female octopus latched onto Percuss' arm and smiled sweetly at her, “yeah! We'll be bunk partners!”

“Sure!” Percuss smiled, then winced in pain. “Can you…not hold my arm there?”

Glancing down, her red eye saw that there was a bad wound right where she latched onto her. Dokuro quickly pulled away and stuck her hands behind her back. “Sorry!” She apologized profusely. Dokuro didn't mean to hurt the swordfish more than she already had. Now she felt bad.

“Go get her treated,” Doku instructed them. “We'll need her for this war.”

Dokuro saluted and stood straight, “you can count on me!” She smiled happily. He could trust her with Percuss in her hands. Dokuro was going to make sure that she got the best treatment and was fully healed by the time tomorrow came around.

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Doku and Isatsu walked into the small, camper-styled quarters. The room was barely big enough for two people, made with the scrap metal from sunken ships and fallen airplanes. Everything was polished metal and looked futuristic compared to the rest of their surroundings. There were two beds, on either side of the room, a small kitchen with a table and a couple of chairs and a bathroom.

The Coconut Octopus grabbed a pillow and some folded covers and handed them to the killer whale.

“I think that's all you require. If you have to leave before I wake up, that's fine. I know this isn't what you're used to. I'm sure your room at the palace is far nicer,” Doku knew that this guy was far above his rank. Kings had a lot of stuff to do, and in a war he could be called out at any point in time. After all, Isatsu was a decorated war hero.

“This is below me,” the orca frowned. He didn't like staying here at all. A cheap motel room was nicer than this dump. It looked like something a bunch of homeless kids hung out around, rather than a reputable bunker.

“Ungrateful,” Doku was getting tired of the orca's complaining. He should have been lucky Doku didn't make him sleep outside.

“This is humiliating,” the disgruntled king made his way over to his bed and sat down, placing the pillow and blanket in his lap. He felt more like a prisoner of war than someone who actually participated in it.

“It's not meant for luxury,” Doku reminded him that this was far from the castle in terms of looks.

“Even the bunkers I slept in during the way were nicer than these,” Isatsu sighed, sitting the bundle of fabric beside of him.

“You can go back, you know,” Doku pulled off his long boots and put them neatly by his bedside. The last thing he wanted to do was hear that loud mouth drone on and on about stupid things.

“I'd rather stay here and annoy you,” as if by magic, Isatsu's mood turned a 180 and a bright, cheery smile adorned his face.

“You would,” Doku sighed. “I doubt you'd take me back to your room.” If he were to ask or trusted him at all, Isatsu would probably make him sleep in a guest room, too.

“Heh,” the orca let out a chuckle, “you'd have to be pretty special to come in my room. Maybe I'll take you there before I kill you. I can tear you down beneath me as you take your last breath.” If Doku wanted to have everything taken from him at once, he'd be more than happy to oblige.

“No,” red eyes glared at him from across the room. They looked all the more menacing considering their glowing effect. “The fact that you say it in a romantic tone makes me sick.” He got up and handed Isatsu an extra blanket. “You're a mammal, so this is in case you get cold.”

“You're asking that from someone who swims around in the arctic for fun,” Isatsu noted as he took it anyway.

Doku started to walk away, but glanced over his shoulder, “I said if are you trying to be difficult?” The entire time Isatsu walked into the place, he did nothing but complain. The coconut octopus was tired of his shit already.

“Yes,” Isatsu replied as he took off his jacket and hung it on the wall, “besides, in war you have to be durable.”

Was that the argument he was proposing?

“You're not in war now, rest,” Doku wished he'd just hurry and fall asleep or at least lay in bed.

As if he had read his mind, Isatsu flopped down and pulled the covers over himself, nestling into his pillow, “I am.”

“I'm going to sleep,” Doku took off his red jacket and hung it up, then crawled into bed, pulling multiple covers over himself.

“Oh?” Isatsu sounded eerily amused by that.

“Are you going to stay up?” Doku didn't like the sound of that.

“For a little while,” Isatsu's words didn't help put him at ease at all. Knowing him, he was probably plotting on ways to try to kill him in his sleep.

“Goodnight,” Doku stopped caring so much about that as he felt warmth surround him and lull him into a haze of sleep.

“See you in the morning,” the orca chimed. He stayed up for a couple hours longer before shutting his eyes and drifting off into dreamland.

When the morning came, Isatsu was stripped down to his boxers, laying on his back, his dorsal fin folded to the side, with an arm draped over his stomach and a pillow over his face. All of the covers that Doku had given him were now on the floor in disarray.

Doku, who had gotten dressed and ready walked by and glared at him. He wanted to roll his eyes at the sight. The only thing appealing about him was the fact that he had a well-muscled body, but Doku could expect nothing less from a powerful predator.

“I'm hungry,” he stated, hoping to jar the orca out of his sleep.

Half-lidded, Isatsu slowly rose up as his pillow fell over his toned stomach. He looked as if he still needed sleep, and the light gray skin under his eyes took on a darker tone, looking much like bags under his eyes. His usual wild, two-toned hair was everywhere and he looked like he was trying to figure out where he was. “I look funny? Well, that rude,” he knew he wasn't a beauty queen when he first woke up, but he was pretty sure Doku wasn't either.

This only annoyed Doku more than he was originally. “I said I was hungry. Are you dense?”

“Oh,” that tone was still unsure. Isatsu looked confused and out of it, like he was hearing what the octopus said but refusing to process it.

“I want food,” Doku replied.

“You already told me you're a dude,” Isatsu said groggily as he sat up, his dorsal fin now sticking out of his back as it should as he ran a hand through his hair.

Doku drug a hand down his face, “wake up.”

“I slept like crap,” he grumbled. The bed was hardly comfortable and it got muggy at night. He was so hot he had to strip down just to feel adequate.

“Would you like to eat a mollusk?” Doku held out one of the black-shelled creatures. “I know you don't prefer them but-“

“I want to kill something and eat its flesh,” Isatsu didn't want a dinky, little shellfish. He wanted to sink his spiky teeth into something more savory. He wanted to feel something undulate beneath him as he tore it apart piece by piece, and hear its curdling, gurgling screams as he stole everything it valued.

“What do orca eat…besides me. I'm not on the menu,” Doku was a little curious. They were both carnivores, but he knew different types of orca had different diets.

“Depends,” Isatsu looked thoughtful, pulling himself out of his haze of sleep, “there are different types of orca.”

“You said you're an off-shore orca, right?” Doku had thought he heard him mention that before.

“We eat octopus, sharks, sea lions, whales, other mammals…baby whales are good, but only the throat, tongue and lips.” Isatsu couldn't remember the last time he had eaten one. Now the urge to go and kill one was strong, but he doubted that would happen any time soon.

“Disgusting,” Doku frowned. The fact that Isatsu had killed baby animals and enjoyed it made him even worse.

“Those mollusks are pretty disgusting,” Isatsu pointed to the shellfish in Doku's hands as he sat at the table, effortlessly cracking them.

“I like them,” the octopus had eaten them all of his life. His opinion wasn't going to change because Isatsu told him they were gross.

After he had cracked and eaten the creatures, he took their shells and discarded them, then he retreated back to his bed, where he looked in a nearby mirror that hung on the wall and brushed his long, red hair.

“Got anything else?” Isatsu inquired as he walked over to the fridge, scratching his lower back as he peered inside in search of anything that looked remotely appetizing.

“No,” Doku had a feeling he'd be in for another whining session from him again.

“I'd go back to sleep, but I can't,” he crawled back into bed and covered his head with the pillow, lying on his stomach with his face in the mattress.

“Count,” Doku suggested, “it might help.”

“One, two, three…” the orca decided to take him up on that offer. He kept counting and time seemed to pass. Isatsu managed to make it all the way to seventy-seven in thirty minutes, which was impressive considering he was slow at doing it, “seventy-eight, seventy-four….wait…I already said that…shit…it's boring in here,” he grumbled.

“I'm here,” even though he didn't want to, the octopus offered his services.

A moment of silence passed between them.

“So, are you a virgin?”

“Not this again,” Doku sighed, snapping a mollusk shell in half in irritation. The crisp sound seemed to echo how he felt.

“It's a conversation starter,” the orca smiled, peering out from under his pillow.

“I am,” the octopus decided to just admit it. There was no sense hiding anything from this guy.

Isatsu sat up, laughing, “that's hilarious!”

“You know, it's really not funny,” Doku glared him down as he walked into the kitchen.

“Sure it is!” Isatsu found it yet another thing he could hold over the androgynous sea creature's head. No wonder he was so uptight and stuffy. The guy needed to get laid.

“It doesn't make or break me,” Doku didn't care what he had to say. Being a virgin didn't define him as a person. He simply continued to grind on something in a bowl, then handed the orca a glass of a dark blue liquid.

“What's this?” Isatsu was a little confused at the gesture.

“Mollusk blood,” the octopus educated him, “I've been draining them as I ate them.” It seemed like something he'd like, so he tried to compensate for the fact that he didn't have any live carcasses stuffed away. He figured that maybe it would shut him up if he tasted a bit of blood.

“Thanks, virgin boy,” the orca continued to tease him.

Just then, Doku changed his mind. He grabbed the glass out of his hand and dumped the blue blood over his head. The sticky liquid ran down his face, coating his skin and getting under his nerves. Isatsu crossed his arms and his nails extended, shooting out like blades and a devilish smile crossed his face. The killer whale lunged forward and tried to stab Doku, who jumped back and held out his hand.

A ball of energy formed and propelled itself at Isatsu, flinging him into a wall. Isatsu hit the wall with the side of his body and smiled, as if he were a giant kid having fun on the playground. “Oh, you want to play?”

“Cyan Blast!” Doku summoned the blue beam once again and sent it in the direction of his foe.

“Phantom Light,” Isatsu summoned a cloud of ectoplasm and sent it at the octopus.

The two powerful attacks went head-to-head, and exploded. They canceled each other out and the force of the blast was so powerful in such a small space that it sent both of their bodies back. That didn't stop Isatsu from continuing their little game.

“Annihilation!” The orca shot another beam that blasted Doku with such force that it sent him up into the air. He landed on his back on top of the kitchen table and fell backwards over it, knocking the table off balance as everything went crashing to the ground.

Doku sat up and propped himself up on his elbow with an irritated expression. “You destroyed my room.”

“You poured blood on me,” Isatsu found that justification for his actions. Doku was the one who started the fight in the first place.

“I was trying to be nice,” Doku argued.

The orca extended his arm in a menacing manner. His long, dark claws shredded through the fingertips of his black gloves that he refused to take off. They looked kind of ridiculous with his black socks and boxer shorts. Doku had no idea what he was trying to make with that fashion statement, but it didn't work on him at all.

“Don't point those at me like that,” Doku felt as if he would be attacked any moment, and the last thing he wanted was to do was be killed by someone who looked that ridiculous. That and he didn't want to be a plaything for some disgusting orca.

“Come stop me,” Isatsu taunted. Now that Doku had made the move, he was ready for a little tussle. He couldn't wait to make him scream and bleed.

“You'll never let go of this, will you?” Doku knew that there was no way that he was ever going to be that lucky.

“I love this black waltz we're in. Let's dance it for all of eternity,” Isatsu said those words with baited breath. More than anything, he wanted a grueling match with the sage that ended in bloodshed, humiliation and torture.

“You're sick,” Doku wasn't keen on the idea at all.

“I want to see you suffer,” Isatsu couldn't wait to taste his blood on his lips. He had heard in certain places, octopus blood was considered a delicacy, and Coconut Octopus was very rare. What were the odds that he could have a once in a lifetime experience like that?

“Futile,” Doku wasn't about to grant him that opportunity.

“You think so?”

“This will play out one way,” Doku didn't even need to look into the future to be able to predict that.

“You're such a fatalist. You have your beliefs and I have mine.” Isatsu wasn't as still to believe that the future only had one determining value to it. Anyone had the ability to change their circumstances if they tried hard enough, and he was no exception.

“Is that what you call me?” Doku couldn't believe how naive he was. No matter what, one's destiny was a fixed thing. It didn't matter what someone tried to do to do, they would always end up at the same place they tried to get out of.

“We make our own fate,” Isatsu wasn't about to believe any of the crap he was spouting. Like hell, he was going to make his father's mistakes. They were two different men, and a repetition meant nothing if he could alter it and give it different results.

“You can't make what's been predetermined. It's in our nature; it's engraved into our being. You and I are enemies by natural selection,” Doku was a lot of things, but an idiot wasn't one of them. There was no way certain creatures could ever coexist or not be enemies. Nature had a ladder and all things knew their places on it. That was how ecosystems operated; it was the way of life, the way of prey and predator. Doku refused to believe that anything could be different.

“We both know who's the lowest on the ladder,” Isatsu knew that a lot of things dined on octopus and the only enemy's orca even had were humans. There was a considerable gap in that aspect when it came to enemy ratio.

“If you get wounded in this war, I'll put you out of your misery,” if Isatsu wanted a twist on the food chain ladder, he would be more than happy to show him the ways in which fate worked. After all, they were destined to come head-to-head with each other.

“You're the one who's going to be begging me to feast upon your corpse,” Isatsu wasn't about to go down before some piece of shit octopus. No way would he fall before that guy did.

“It'll be pathetic to see an apex predator suffer,” Doku smirked a little. What a shame that the mighty war hero was going to fizzle out before his blaze of glory ignited.

“I'm suffering right now just looking at you,” Isatsu shot back. The sight of this guy confused, excited, and enraged him all at the same time. He hated that particular maelstrom of thoughts. He didn't know if he wanted to rip him apart, rob him of his virginity or mercilessly make him suffer. In truth, it was probably all of the above.

“I want to inflict pain on you,” it was a feeling that uncommonly graced Doku, but it was hitting him in the face full-force. There was just something that made this orca so intolerable that he could care less if he survived this war. Isatsu made him so angry, and was one of the few people who could just get under his skin and infect him like a virus.

…and he hated it.

“I want to inflict pain on everyone. Watching people hurt themselves benefits me, too,” Isatsu wasn't too picky on who he liked hurting. As long as there was blood and gore, and as long as their screams echoed through his ears, he was content with dealing the destruction. The tearing of flesh, the feeling of viscous blood against his skin, all of it was enough to make the sadist shiver in delight.

“What do you use those hellish claws for?” Doku didn't want to know, but a part of him was curious enough to ask. Isatsu was actually the only creature he knew in the ocean that possessed such a power. Was it for inflicting twice as much pain by ripping people apart in every sense of the word? Then again, they could have had some dual purpose. They were fascinating in a strange way.

“They can grow much longer than this,” Isatsu told him about his specialized appendages. If he wanted to, he could make them shoot across the room and dig into the wall right beside of Doku's face.

“Do you eat with them?” Doku was a little curious. Lobsters, crabs and other crustaceans had specialized arms to catch and eat food. Maybe it was a special adaptation of his?

“Well, I do but that's not the entirety of their purpose,” Isatsu's extremities had a lot of different purposes, and eating with them was notably one of his prime uses for them.

“I bet you do,” Doku could only imagine that he skewered organs on them and roasted them over a fire like a psycho. He could see the orca do something to that effect…or maybe he just ate them raw. He had considered that option as well, given how animalistic he was.

“They are multi-purpose,” the orca explained. “Come with me, I'll show you.”

Doku looked at him skeptically for a moment before he agreed. Isatsu put on his clothes, and walked out into the training arena with his sage companion. They two of them walked into the center and Doku glanced around. No one else was in sight. It was just the two of them.

“Why are we here?” Doku asked.

“I'm hungry,” Isatsu walked towards the battlefield and held out his hand. His claws shot out of his fingertips. They were longer than his body was tall, and a deathly shade of black. “I also want to show you what I can do.”

With that, he took off into a group of warring soldiers, getting between them and thrusting out his claws. One of his nails went straight through a soldier's neck without even trying. The popping of flesh was like music to the orca's ears. He watched as fresh blood ran down his neck and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Gurgling noises were all he could get out as streams of sanguine ran from his mouth.

“Look, here's something delicious,” Isatsu walked back to the octopus, throwing the dead soldier at his feet. Cold, red eyes examined the body as the sadistic orca licked his claws clean, “delicious.”

“Are you going to eat him? If you are, then I'm going to walk away. I don't feel like throwing up,” Doku knew that the carnivorous creatures of the deep were that way. Every now and then he had done it himself, but that didn't mean that he wanted a show.

“You find my methods of survival revolting?” Isastu couldn't help but notice how disgusted he looked, and bathed in the glory of his twisted face.

“I don't like looking at you eat someone,” Doku thought watching people eat in general was gross, much less someone he found gross to begin with.

“Squeamish? It doesn't seem like you.” After all, this guy made a swordfish bleed earlier, and he snapped mollusks in half like they were nothing.

“No,” he was far from that.

The orca kneeled by the corpse, “I don't need to eat him to survive,” he explained as he drove his claws into the soldier's chest, cracking his sternum as he pierced him.

“What are-“

“This is what I wanted,” the orca drew his claws out, and at the end of their points was a mass of glowing, white, foggy energy. “Do you know what it is?” Isatsu asked, holding up the flickering entity before the sage.

“A soul,” it was something that Doku had not seen before. The only ones who could draw out souls like that were usually necromancers. Did this mean that Isatsu used his claws for necromancy?

“Yes,” the orca confirmed.

“What good is it?” Doku wanted to know why he had been seeking souls.

“I eat them,” the answer was shocking.

“Why?” Knowing Doku's luck, he just did it to be sadistic.

Before he could say anything else, Isatsu brought the soul to his mouth and devoured it slowly, swallowing as the piece of energy slid down his throat. He paused for a few minutes, panting heavily before clutching his chest as a searing pain ripped through his body. The orca closed one eye and tensed up for a moment, then began to pant again. “That's the hardest part. The soul never feels quite the same no matter how many I eat. I feel a little better now. I was running low on life source.”

“I don't understand,” Doku had no idea what was going on. Usually, there were specific reasons for eating souls, but Isatsu had told him that he was running low on life source. Were the souls keeping him alive?

“I eat souls to survive,” Isatsu put clarification to his question.

“That's a conceited lie,” Doku's eyes narrowed, “all you care about is yourself.” Consuming one's soul was an awful thing to do. Why should the octopus believe that he was keeping himself alive? There were only and handful of special circumstances in which that would be true and none of them made him a living, breathing denizen.

Isatsu's visage turned serious, “I actually do. It's not a lie.” Besides, why would he lie about doing awful things? That was something that he never did. If he was awful, he just flaunted it. Everyone thought badly of him anyway, so why tell a pointless lie now?

“How is that so?” Doku wanted an explanation.

“I only have half of a soul. So I constantly need to complete myself. My magic uses the energy of the souls I take in so I have to keep ingesting them. If I run out, then I ingest my own soul and I die,” Isatsu told him the entire story. Those who had unstable souls constantly sought out the other half of their soul to be complete. Isatsu lacked that half, so he couldn't possibly ever feel that sense of completion. No matter how many souls he ingested, they would never fit into place without being used up by his magical abilities. He was doomed to take the souls of others until the day he died, or the day his own magic wiped him from existence.

“I hope you do,” Doku shot bitterly. As much as he felt sorry for this guy, it didn't mean that he wasn't awful.

“I hope you get a sword shoved so far up your ass you puke the blade up,” Isatsu shot back with a grin. Oh, how he wanted to see the octopus get skewered.

”You make it to where people don't exist anymore,” Doku wondered if Isatsu realized the weight of his damage. That orca literally wiped people from existence. Because of him, they had no afterlife, and no chance of being reincarnated.

“I'd rather be alive. This is how I do it.” There was only one way that he could live, and he was going to do it. In the end, Isatsu knew he faced the same fate and he chose to avoid that as much as possible. It was in his nature, right? The law of the sea stated that it was him or them.

“Are you a zombie?” As far as the sage knew, that was the only way denizens became incomplete.

“I'm not sure,” the orca didn't know what to consider himself. Isatsu had thought maybe he was just in limbo, but it could have been possible that he might have been undead.

“You weren't born that way,” Doku knew that for a fact. People who were born with that status died early on because of their inability to keep stable.

“No,” Isatsu confirmed.

“Tell me how you live that way. How do you survive with half of a soul? Did something happen during the last war?” Doku wondered if the orca met up with a necromancer, or perhaps someone he didn't like decided to take it out on him with a little magic. Maybe Accord had done it to him. There were a lot of possibilities, considering Isatsu had quite a few people who hated him.

“What if I did?” The orca taunted. He wasn't going to tell him so easily.

“I want to know,” Doku pressed the subject.

“Why should I tell you?” That was sensitive information. Like hell Isatsu was just going to hand it over like it was nothing.

“Because I asked,” the octopus was persistent.

“Fight me,” the orca didn't give a shit if he asked or not. “If you win or even get the upper hand, I'll tell you.” He wasn't going to try to underhand him. Knowing something so damning about him wasn't an easy task, and it wasn't something he just handed out. It was private, and something he considered a deep and sensitive secret.

“If I pin you down for ten seconds, then you'll tell me,” Doku decided to make the terms and conditions. He didn't want Isatsu trying to double-cross him.

“I'm game,” the orca smile maliciously and his voice deepened into one that dripped with anticipation, “let's play.”

…To Be Continued