The Far Off Wanderings of the Great Lord Sesshomaru
Chapter One – The Voyage of the Warau-Saru Maru
"M-my lord!" Jaken stuttered.
Stopping his feet Jaken leaned against his staff and took several deep breaths. "Where are we going?"
The roaming and listless demon lord stopped mid stride.
Jaken gulped and shuddered.
"I-I mean… w-what lowly purpose-"
Sesshomaru's quiet voice interrupted his companion with a single word, "Jaken?" he calmly asked.
The small creature adjusted his grip on his staff and shivered, after standing silent for several seconds the air tensed and staled into awkwardness.
He'd hoped that Sesshomaru would let the moment go and absolve Jaken of having caused any annoyance to his liege.
However Sesshomaru remained still on the worn dirt path they'd been walking down Jaken knew that he had to now respond.
Breaking the silence the imp tentatively piped up; "Y-yes my lord?"
"I thought I had told you…"
Turning to eye the green imp out of the corner of his eye, Lord Sesshomaru maintained his dignified poise. The action was made all the more elegant by the trickling red light of the setting summer sun.
Jaken watched in unworthy awe as his lord continued,
"We feel something."
Jaken nodded, "A-a desire m-my lord?"
Sesshomaru looked away at an angle, turning his face back down the path ahead of them.
"Yes." He finally agreed.
Jaken groaned quietly.
Resuming his steady pace Sesshomaru began walking forwards towards a light thicket over hanging the path.
Following closely behind Jaken began to speak his thoughts aloud.
"I know that… that you had mentioned this… 'desire' before my lord. But… Why exactly the sea?"
Sesshomaru's tone changed, he snapped with sarcasm at his subordinate, "If I knew that we wouldn't be treading this way would we?"
Jaken nodded fervently, "Aye m-my lord."
"So when we r-reach the sea we are to… to take a vessel?"
Wordlessly Sesshomaru tilted his head ever so slightly to the right; it was one of his nonverbal indications of agreement.
Jaken cringed, "Oh… my lord. But why!" he complained loudly.
Sesshomaru looked upwards as he continued to walk, "I know not. But it has plagued us so."
Jaken nodded, 'Ugh… though I am most devoted to my lord's service, I can't help but feel aghast at this recent quest!'
Shaking his head from side to side Jaken began to lose himself in his thoughts, 'Days of travel to the peak of a mountain! But after only one night spent atop its summit my lordship wishes to cross the seas!'
Sighing Jaken closed his eyes for a moment.
'Perhaps it isn't so bad… despite the time I have so far spent in my lordships' service not a moment after a journey has been dull…'
The imp laughed to himself.
'Battles and creatures, mortals, demi-gods, and fantastical sights I have seen!'
"Mhmm!" Jaken loudly exclaimed, agreeing with his own thoughts.
'A chronicler of great fame I shall become to my lord's life!'
Vividly Jaken's mind became overtaken with a daydream; he saw himself amidst mountains of books. He was the head of a writing monastery and monks were following his every word. They were all writing out, in exquisite calligraphy, his accounts of Sesshomaru's lengthy and numerous deeds.
'Yes!' he loudly proclaimed, 'it is I! The great Jaken, keeper of the tales of Sesshomaru's journeys, from the tip of Hokkaido, to the isles of the south our lord travelled far…'
In the day dream he saw himself climb a hill of books, woodprints, and scrolls. His chest puffed out proudly.
'Yet my lord was not content to restrict himself but to this one realm of the world! Nay! He daringly commanded a mighty ship; leaving the safe waters of the world we knew, he deigned that we were to set off!"
He paused for effect, "Aye, this journey was in pursuit of a dream my lord had seen!'
The writers in the daydream's monastery adored and hung onto Jaken's every word, writing his speech as quickly as their wrists allowed.
'And it is I alone who can tell ye of his saga!'
He smacked his chest and pointed to his heart, 'I! The most loyal of his servants followed my lord to the great shining sea, a territory as of yet unconquered by my lord's mighty and magnificent… flowing… coat of pale ivory fur!'
Jaken sniggered to himself and was so caught up in his dream that he failed to notice that Sesshomaru had stopped walking.
Jaken banged headfirst into the back of Sesshomaru's leg, and coincidentally the thick fur of the demon's mokomoko-sama blunted Jaken's collision, his eyes opening immediately the imp shook his head from side to side.
Having collided with the white fur of the mokomoko-sama Jaken's nose immediately smelt a burst of fragrance elicited from the coat.
It was a mild and elusive smell that Jaken knew as Sesshomaru's scent, but more than that Jaken had to confess he had, as of late, developed a strange fascination with his lordship's fur… a fascination that Sesshomaru had yet to acknowledge.
"My most sincere apologies my lord!" Jaken began, "I was merely-"
Cutting the imp off for the second time this afternoon Sesshomaru spoke.
Though this time his voice had a light inflection of excitement… or was it apprehension?
Jaken couldn't tell… and even though he had been with his lord for some time now he still knew the mind of his lord to be a mystery!
'He could at least give me some inclination as to his thoughts!' Jaken petulantly whined.
"Wait here Jaken. I see the ship."
Jaken's eyes opened wide as he jumped to the left to see past Sesshomaru's legs.
Master and servant had made their way through the small thicket to the crest of a hill overlooking a small rocky bay.
"Is it the one from your vision?!" Jaken asked.
Wordlessly Sesshomaru nodded.
Below on the pebble strewn beach of the bay several human crew men were loading crates into one of two small rowboats.
The one boat was for provisions and cargo while the other was empty, save for a shirtless man tying his hair into a top-knot.
"Humans!" Jaken exclaimed.
The imp laughed sadistically as he readied his staff, "My lord, please allow me to burn them to a cinder with this; the Staff of Two Heads!"
Jaken immediately took a step forwards and prepared himself to douse the men ahead in magical flames.
Sesshomaru didn't slow his pace as he steadily approached the mortals, without turning around he made Jaken stand down,
"That shan't be necessary."
Jaken's face contorted into disbelief, "W-wha? But my lord?" He began.
Sesshomaru was now just a few yards from the bay and the path turned from solid dirt to tightly packed uneven rocks.
The men stopped what they were doing and each stood back. Dumbfounded at the sight of the approaching noble demon,
"Stop there!" one called.
"It's a d-demon!" one said anxiously to his companions.
"Identify y-yourself!" another yelled.
Sesshomaru slowed his pace, but he wasn't going to stop; especially if lowly peasants were the ones ordering it…
"We are Sesshomaru, Inu Daiyokai, and trueborn son of Daimyo Toga."
The man in the boat hastily finished tying off his hair and stood. The motion caused the boat to rock from side to side but the man easily maintained his balance.
"A noble born demon will appear to you…" he quickly whispered under his breath.
Coughing loudly he cleared his throat and called out, greeting Sesshomaru, "Stop there demon."
His voice was uncharacteristically confident when compared to his fellows, and to other humans unfortunate enough to have crossed Sesshomaru's path.
Sesshomaru raised his head and looked down his nose, sneering, at the man.
"We know your face mortal."
The man nodded hesitantly, "I know yours as well."
The men quickly began to look in-between Sesshomaru and their fellow sailor.
The demon's voice honestly conveyed the truth, and was punctuated by a sincere curiosity; "We saw you in a dream… Hast thou seen mine self in yours?"
The man stepped out of the boat to reveal he was barefoot. His feet entered into the surf and he walked a few feet towards the now halted Sesshomaru.
The man's companions stood and shook with fear, unsure of what was to come.
"I have…"
Sesshomaru wanted to snarl, but instead he looked past the men to their ship anchored in the mouth of the bay. His shoulders seemed to relax and his voice became plain, the previous tone of curiosity and genuine openness had now replaced with his regular indifference.
"We shall be sailing. But we know not where."
Sesshomaru looked back at the man, and the mortal replied,
"I have never been this close to a demon in all my life…"
He shook his head side to side, but he never took his bright brown eyes off of Sesshomaru's golden ones.
Sesshomaru would have smirked, but he held it back. His thoughts responded to the man's statement comically; 'How fitting then that it was mine presence you have been graced with…'
One of the men finally spoke, "Captain! We're not actually going to… to take this thing on board!?"
Without breaking his current staring contest with the demon the captain spat an order, "Silence… all of you…"
Sesshomaru had to respect the man's courage; He remained unshaking and still before him.
"I saw you, demon, in my dreams… yes I'll admit it…"
He took a deep breath, "But I'll be damned if I'm going to heel to the ominous demands of an evil dream."
Sesshomaru scoffed and closed his eyes, raising his left arm and turning his head to the side with indifference, he ran his fingers through his hair.
Flicking the long strands off his left shoulder he opened his piercing eyes and took a step forwards.
"I think you know how this will end should you defy me."
The man finally showed a sign of his fear and he held his breath tensely.
Jaken watched eagerly as the humans regarded his master with fearful eyes and in silence.
The captain finally exhaled and he blinked several times before looking at the ground.
"I… I will not have you harm my men…"
Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes as the man spoke,
"These men are my charges, and if I be cursed with you I demand that they be spared from any harm! I alone saw you in my dreams and I alone shall bear this…"
The man looked back up at Sesshomaru.
"…this, curse."
His eyes seemed to desire anything but the demon agreeing; instead it looked like he wanted Sesshomaru to strike him down.
Jaken smirked and laughed as he listened.
'Yes! Pay him tenfold for his insolence lord! Strike the fools down and we shall-'
Jaken's jaw dropped as he heard Sesshomaru's voice.
"So be it."
'M… m… m-my lord?!' Jaken thought, coughing dryly he found his voice and yelled down to the group, "My Lord! Strike them down!" Sesshomaru didn't turn his head but each of the humans looked up the small hill to regard the green imp.
"Give these insolent mortals a taste of your power!" he continued
Sesshomaru now looked back at his servant and shot a single poisonous glance, instantly silencing him.
When Jaken shook and hid behind his own staff Sesshomaru looked away, satisfied that his servant had been put back in his place.
Turning his head back to face the captain Sesshomaru strode past the man and towards the small empty rowboat.
Each of the men on the beach looked on with shocked expressions as their captain's voice lowly issued their orders; "Finish loading the provisions… we make for sea as soon as we reach the ship."
Sesshomaru stopped just at the waters' edge and looked down.
His voice was very matter-of-fact and the tone immediately indicated that it was less a statement and more of an order,
"We shall not be made wet."
Sesshomaru slowly looked up and to the captain. A strange wordless conversation began with their eyes and eventually Sesshomaru clarified his desire, "Bring the boat closer."
The captain immediately realised the weight of this curse he was now under.
'A noble born, proud, demon…'
'This will not end well.'
…
The ship 'Warau-Saru Maru' was a small trading vessel. It was quick and nimble and had a total crew of around thirty men.
Sesshomaru stood close to the bow, arms at his sides watching the expansive sea stretch out before them.
Overhead the sun's light was dying and night was coming.
The crew worked and moved about slowly, and under constant stress, stealing glances at their demonic passengers.
The captain had tried to explain his seemingly mystical obligation, but even though he was serious about his dream… his nightmare… the men didn't really understand.
They wanted to refuse leaving the coastal shoals… but they were far too afraid of the aura that Sesshomaru exuded to say anything.
Jaken looked at the human sailors with disgust.
"My lord…" he whispered, "Why must we sail with these… mortals?"
Looking up from the horizon to the sky Sesshomaru studied the grey and darkening clouds.
"A storm is coming."
The small imp looked away from his master and towards the heavens, he shrieked as he saw dark clouds blowing towards them from the south.
"My, lord!"
"Steel yourself Jaken."
Jaken clutched his staff tightly and his face contorted, his voice dropped and petulantly he repeated himself; "My lord…"
Sesshomaru didn't look down but instead he stared straight ahead.
The seas were beginning to chop and whip to and fro.
"Your demon-ness!" A crew man called, "You may want to go below deck, lest you become soaked!"
Sesshomaru tilted his head at the mortal's lack of respect.
But Jaken actually agreed.
"Y-yes! Every now and then even a human may have a good idea!"
Turning around and taking a half step away from where they were Jaken was about to go in the direction the human was indicating below deck. Without looking Sesshomaru immediately reached down and grabbed hold of the imp by his collar.
"We are staying right here Jaken."
Choking and sputtering the smaller demon agreed, "Aye milord…"
Letting go of the collar Sesshomaru stood up straight, "It is only water."
A crew member tying off rigging close to the demon pair laughed under his breath.
Without words Sesshomaru shot the mortal a glance.
Without fear the aged sailor nodded and began speaking, "Never been to sea have ye?"
The sailor chuckled again, "Aye, I can tell… Nobles are the same regardless of demon or no. Think it's all just water out 'ere."
Sesshomaru furrowed his brow and repeated himself; "It is just water."
The aged sailor turned to look at the silver haired demon.
"Aye… and it 'an drown gods 'an man alike."
Sesshomaru turned his mouth up slightly and the bridge of his nose crinkled.
The man looked him up and down.
"You fear me not…" Sesshomaru said in disbelief.
The sailor ignored the question and pointed to Sesshomaru's legs.
"You're wearing a lot o' material there… thick silks, huh? Fur…"
The demon's face bore confusion and Jaken watched in interest as the man continued speaking,
"You get wet… you'll sink like a stone. Exhaust yourself trying to swim wearing all that…"
The man took a step forwards, "If ye 'appen to fall 'n best be throwing those clothes off right quick, ye won't be making it otherwise."
The sailor chuckled again and then walked away from the two demons, along the edge of the deck, stopping periodically to check the knots on rigging.
"Mhmm I wager that he's right my lord." Jaken eventually said lowly.
Ignoring Jaken's statement Sesshomaru merely turned back to watch the sea ahead of them.
'Ughhh this is not going to go well for me!' Jaken thought.
"Did your dream tell us of what we might e-encounter out there my lord?"
Jaken's eyes furrowed and he waited expectantly to be ignored again.
"I saw a dragon…"
Jaken's mouth opened, at first he was happy that Sesshomaru merely addressed him, but then what he had said registered.
"A D-dragon?!" Jaken repeated.
'Oh! Mother was so right… I should have become a ferryman!'