Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ To Wish Upon The Sea ❯ Suffering ( Chapter 3 )

PRONUNCIATION: Io is very easy to pronounce. Just say the letters "I" and "O". Her name is derived from that of a Greek Goddess and of course, one of Jupiter's moons. A reviewer has asked me about this, so I decided to respond here.

To Wish Upon The Sea

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 3: Suffering

The floor let out a small creak as a small and feminine foot touched it. This foot was bear and the smooth surface of the floor was cold. Light blue eyes peered back at the board, as if to tell it to silently be quiet or it would give her away. It was the middle of the night, and Manami didn't want to wake her father. The girl tip-toed silently out of her house, stepping quietly through the rooms, she tried her best to make as little noise as possible but when she came to the front door a strong wind had caught it. The door was forced open and slammed back against the outside of the house, producing a loud clanking sound. Manami gasped as she hurried to grab the doorknob and silently shut the door behind her as fear ran through her eyes. She took off running towards the beach once again for her late night meeting with Thanatos. As the front door shut, a tall and menacing figure was left standing in the middle of the hard wood floor, and cold eyes looked upon the door with malice.

The figure stalked out of the house, following the girl to the beach. He made sure to keep his distance, for he didn't want to get caught by his daughter.

Manami made her way to the beach, a smile plastered onto her face at the thought of seeing Thanatos again. This was the first time she had truly felt happy in a long time. She had always looked forward to their visits on the beach. Even though he had an awful attitude, she thought of the young naga as kind. It was as if the sea had given her a friend. The bruises and cuts didn't seem to hurt as much around him, and she found peace in his presence.

When she got to the beach, it was barren. The naga hadn't arrived yet. She figured that he was held up and sat upon a rock, waiting patiently for him. She took some time to take in the scenery around her. The wind was gentle and blew through her ebony strands and made her periwinkle dress flutter.

'I can't wait to talk to Thanatos-sama today! Last night was fun! I barely got any sleep because dad woke me up early today to scrub the floors, but it was worth it. I hope he shows up!' The girl rested her head in her hands, closing her eyes and smiling happily as she perched upon the stone.

The dark eyes watched her from a few feet away and narrowed upon the sight of her. 'There she is…But what is she doing here?'

'Thanatos…'

&

"Are you going to the surface today?" Io asked upon seeing her brother floating in the large pool of water outside of their cave home. The naga rose to the top, shooting up straight as the water rushed from his head and torso. The beads scattered about in the wind, like crystalline pearls, reforming into its original state after falling back into the water.

"Why do you care?"

"Do you see a human up there?" She asked.

"I see a lot of humans."

"Is there one in particular?" Io asked.

"No," Thanatos dodged the subject.

"Well, I just noticed that you always come back around the same time. You know, since I've caught you in the kitchen, I was just wondering."

"I'll tell you about it later."

"Okay," she beamed. “I'll cover for you if mom and dad find out."

"Thanks for covering for me."

"You're welcome."

With that final phrase, Thanatos dove under the water, swimming to the surface where he hoped to meet Manami. The water rushed around him, his hair and clothes danced around him as he concentrated on swimming.

'I'm late. Well, I was late to begin with and Io wouldn't shut up. I hope Manami is still there by the time I can reach the surface.'

&

A harsh and violent punch was delivered to the girl's face as her frail body fell to the ground. The girl lay on her side, with a bruise developing on her jaw, but she didn't cry. This was all normal to her. It was the same as any other time her father had gotten angry. A small hand was sat upon the bruise, registering the pain and letting out a small 'ow' in response.

"So, you've been sneaking out have you?" Her father loomed above her, staring upon her with cold eyes.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again," She sounded sincere through a shroud of pain.

This didn't deter her father from grabbing a branch of driftwood that had washed upon the shore. "You don't go anywhere unless you are ordered to go there."

The girl fell silent and looked upon him with saddened eyes. She knew what was going to happen.

She was going to get hit again.

And sure enough, he raised the driftwood above his head with both hands gripping it and Manami closed her eyes expecting the pain to come. It did and repetitively. The blunt branch collided with her body multiple times as she lay on the ground, shielding her face and wishing it would end quickly as the air was being beaten out of her.

"You little bitch! I'll teach you to defy me! How dare you sneak out at this kind of hour!? You are not allowed to use your sleeping time to mess around!" He beat her until the branch snapped and the broken piece tumbled through the air, landing on the soft sand a few feet away. "Do you hear me!!?!!"

"Yes…" Manami replied in a small voice.

"You will get back to that house right now and don't you dare leave my sights again!" He stalked towards her just as Thanatos rose out of the water a good distance away. He looked with question at the girl who was lying on the beach. He caught sight on the man stalking towards her. 'Who the hell is that?'

Her father chunked the other piece of the driftwood at her. Manami didn't look at him.

"So you want to play at the beach huh?"

"…"

"Do you!?" He yelled, irate and enraged at the girl's silence.

"Please don't hit me again. I said I would never come here," the girl begged.

"Manami…" Thanatos said quietly, sympathy was for once laced in his voice and a sorrow befell him. This was different than any feeling he could have ever felt. He didn't want to get too close to the shore, because of her father. He would be found out, but at the same time, he wanted to help Manami. He was at war with his emotions on what to do.

"Then get in there!" Her father delivered a harsh kick to the girl's side, causing her limp body to fly a good three feet into the tides that rose and receded around her body. The salt water rushing into her open wounds, burning her cuts and causing her to flinch in pain Manami tried not to cry.

"You'd better be home within two hours. Enjoy your time on the beach; it will be your last," he replied, stalking off towards his home.

Green eyes narrowed in hatred and malice and a scowl formed on the naga's face, causing him to hiss at her assaulter. 'I really hate humans…Now more than ever…I know where the bruises and cuts came from now. This girl has been abused…' Solemn eyes looked down to the water flowing around his body. 'That's why she couldn't stay long and I was being insensitive by keeping her here. I wonder how long this has been going on. Why do I feel so guilty about this? It's not like I care what happens to her.' Thanatos then glared at the water, as if he were trying to fight off the kindness within his heart. He then tried to convince himself not to care for her or her injuries. 'She's just a human, right?' His fists balled tightly as the internal struggle took place. He could hear a faint crying from the shoreline, and upon detecting the sound, his kindness began to seep through again.

"But when I see her lying around like that…I can't help but to feel sorry for her," He said to himself. 'I mean, she's probably not had anyone who really cares about her. That's why she was so nice to me. No matter how many times I was an ass to her she liked me…I think I know why. I was the only one who didn't hit her. That's why she said that she liked me because I didn't hit her. She's probably never had anyone who loved her, or even wanted to be her friend.' He slithered up the shoreline to her crumpled form. The girl was crying below him.

"Hey Manami…" Even though his tone was evil, his voice held a kind and gentle quality to it. "I'm sorry I'm late…"

"Thanatos-sama…" The sorrowful girl looked to him with tears flowing from her eyes. "I'm sorry…" She sobbed. "I won't be able to help you anymore."

"Manami…"

"I won't be allowed to see you anymore!" She lunged up from the ground and clung to his muscled torso, burying her head into his chest and weeping heavily. A look of sorrow was present on Thanato's face as he wrapped his arms lightly around the girl. He didn't want to injure her further, but he felt compelled to comfort her.

For once, he didn't care if she were human or not.

"Manami…Don't worry about it," he dismissed kindly and created a hump in his snake-like appendage so she could sit upon it. Thanatos didn't look like he knew what to say to her. 'Why am I feeling sorry for this human? This is disgraceful! But…She didn't do anything to me, and those things she said…It was like she actually cared. For some reason, I always feel guilty about treating her like garbage…What am I? Turning soft? I haven't even known her but a month and a half! That and she's barely helped me at all! She's utterly useless…But also utterly helpless…She can't really help me do anything and she's been tortured for who knows how long. They did this to her…and I'll make sure they pay…'

"I don't want to leave you," a sad voice cut into his thoughts.

"Huh?" His head snapped up and he felt a flutter deep within his chest. No one had ever said that to him before. Usually people would care less if they had to see him again, and most ran at the thought of having to stay anywhere for an extended amount of time with him. And yet…This girl was different.

"I want to see you again. I don't want to leave you…"

"Don't worry…You won't have to worry about that. That is for certain," he rested his cheek against hers and closing his eyes. A small smile crept upon his face. For once, this felt right and he couldn't hide it any longer.

&

Back at his home Thanatos laid around with a bothered expression. He was worried about what might have happened when Manami got back home. He was so concentrated on this subject that he could not focus on anything. He slithered through the living room, seeing his mother, Lazuli, Io, Lorca and Thelios grouped together. They seemed to be engaged in some sort of conversation. Thelios looked to his brother in question.

"Hey, what's wrong bro?" He asked.

"Nothing," Thanatos said in monotone, trying to shrug him off.

Lorca put a hand over her mouth and whispered into the blue naga's ear. "He's worse than usual today, huh?"

"He's not himself today. He looks upset," Io responded, gazing at him.

"Is he still mad about me getting the last piece of crab meat yesterday?" His brother asked.

"I don't think so. This is different."

"You can you tell?" Lorca ran a hand through her short, bright pink hair. "I mean, Thanatos is always a royal grouch. He never has any fun at all. The guy seriously needs to lighten up."

"I just hope he'll be alright," his mother looked to him with worry on her face as he slithered away. "He's been acting differently this past two months." A hand was sat upon her shoulder as she looked to see pale blue eyes staring into her green ones.

"I'm sure he'll be fine mom," Io smiled gently. "Don't worry."

&

The concerned naga sat at the table, his gaze bore into the table, as if he were trying to see through it. A hand propped up his head up as he concentrated; deep in thought.

"Hey," a gentle voice spoke, breaking the silence as Thanatos frowned, trying to put up a defensive glare but it only managed to come off as a wounded puppy look.

"What?" He snapped.

"What's wrong? Something troubling you?" She asked from the doorway.

"At this point in my life what isn't wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"Can you help me with something?" Thanatos asked although he didn't want to, but he felt that no one else could provide him with the help he needed at the moment.

"You want my help?" His sister was confused at the request. She knew that it was uncharacteristic of him to ask for any assistance.

"You don't have to rub it in. Yes, I'm actually asking someone for help. But I've never been in this situation before."

"What kind of situation?"

"There's this naga," he lied, not wanting to bring up the fact that Manami was a human. This would only feed Io's recent questioning. "She's innocent in demeanor and I've been using her to get information out of about the naga hunters. She's been completely useless in my quest and I've somehow grown attached to them."

"Really?" She dark blue haired female replied with a sweet smile, putting her hands together in excitement. "Can I meet them? They must really be kind."

"No," he replied sharply, prangs of pain struck his heart at being reminded of their recent separation.

"…"

"Her parent won't allow it…I can't even see her anymore. Something happened and she'd been beaten up for seeing me," his face still tried to cling to its normal stoic features. It was failing miserably.

"How terrible!" Io exclaimed. "What are you going to do?"

"That's what I'm asking you, nimrod," Thanatos glared.

"You should find a way to get her out of that situation. It sounds like there's definitely something wrong and if it gets to someone who has such a rough exterior like you, then there's absolutely something wrong about it," she insisted.

"You gave me an excellent idea," the male smirked devilishly.

"Just don't do anything foolish," the light blue naga warned.

"Don't worry," her brother reassured. "I'll take care of myself."

"I hope so."

&

Amongst his many weapons, the naga grabbed some knives and shoved them into a small pouch around his stomach. He also sought out a beautiful bastard sword and slid it out a little from its scabbard. The reflection of green eyes, looking with determination and a steely gaze staring back at him.

'I'll definitely take care of the situation myself. It's not a matter of using this girl anymore. It's a matter of integrity and honor. I may be cold and insensitive, but I'm not going to stand around and let this girl die, which is exactly what it will come to if I don't take matters into my own hands…' Thanatos thought, and then spoke to himself. "Manami…I will get you out of there and get rid of one less disgusting human." he swung his sword over his shoulder, ready to fight a battle of uncertainly.

To Be Continued…