Summer Survival
Disclaimer: The only character I own is the insanely boisterous captain. Also, this fanfic might seem similar to the series Island, in which four young people are supposed to live on a ship for their whole summer because they have problems and the trip is supposed to help them rehabilitate, except obviously with my own little twist. ;) (I recommend you read the series as well!)
Welcome Aboard the Ocean Gull
"WELCOME ABOARD THE OCEAN GULL!!" boomed a grand voice that Inu-Yasha still found loud, even though he wasn't even at the dock yet. For once, he and his brother shared mutual skeptical glances at the ship and its captain, who towered over a kid like the Eiffel Tower would tower over an ant. It seemed some unlucky passenger had arrived first and was receiving the full attention—thus, the full force—of his 'welcome'. Though in Inu-Yasha's opinion, he didn't seem to be anyone who would be forced to embark in such a summer program. The kid had black hair tied up in a ponytail and appeared quite athletic. He should be practicing in a sports program, though Inu-Yasha. Not stuck on some reconciliation cruise.
All of a sudden, the humongous captain sniffed the air, deftly pulled out a spyglass from one of his numerous pockets, put it to his eye, and stared straight at Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru. Inu-Yasha tensed, knowing what was coming.
"HULLO, FELLOW SAILORS!! I ASSUME YOU'LL BE BOARDING THE OCEAN GULL!! COME ON OVER!!" If possible, this holler was even louder.
Inu-Yasha glanced back at his father in hopes that he might be having second thoughts on sending his sons to a prison out at sea with this man in charge. No such luck.
"I'm so happy for you boys!" their father cried joyfully, almost relieved to tears. "You have such an awesome captain! Why, when I was a wee tyke, I had to stay and study at school the whole summer with the notorious Whipper watching me." His voice dropped below a whisper. "He had such scary eyes and scraggly black hair. No one who saw his face can forget it. And he's rumored to have whipped every boy at school!"
Yikes, Inu-Yasha thought. On second thought, maybe their father was right.
They finally reached the Ocean Gull. "Well, have fun, you two," their father sniffled, and before he left, he added, "And try not to kill each other."
I would if someone wouldn't keep picking on me all the time, Inu-Yasha thought gruffly, staring accusingly at Sesshomaru.
I would if someone wasn't so annoying that I'd want to kill him, Sesshomaru though indignantly, not even bothering to glare at Inu-Yasha.
What's their problem? Koga wondered. (He was the kid who should've been scoring goals in a sports match rather than standing there getting yelled at by the captain and watching two brothers' feud)
"WELCOME ABOARD THE OCEAN GULL, MATEY!!" the captain bellowed once more, interrupting their thoughts. The three turned to face the newcomer.
The girl was hardly four feet tall, and the blast seemed to blow her backwards. She quivered and started crying. Inu-Yasha, Sesshomaru, and Koga stood awkwardly as they watched the captain trying to soothe her by lifting her up above his head (recall Eiffel Tower) and singing a sailor version of a lullaby which, not surprisingly, failed to make things better if not make things worse.
"Ugh, I hate whiny little brats like her." This time, a girl with her hair done up in a bun and wearing highly fashionable clothing approached them. Two men-in-black followed with suitcases as large as they were. Koga gave an appreciative woot-woooo whistle. The men eyed him suspiciously, assessing whether he was a danger to their mistress or not. The girl, Kagura, looked at him in disgust and decided she didn't like him.
"Can we, like, leave, like, right now?" she demanded impatiently. "Oh, and kick the pony-tail loser off board, please. I mean, like, it is soooo unfashionable for boys to wear pony tails."
The captain, despite her obviously rude tone, beamed at her and replied. "NO, AND NO, MISSEE!! WE STILL NEED TO WAIT FOR ONE MORE PERSON BEFORE DEPARTING, AND OUR LITTLE KOG HERE IS STAYING, THOUGH HE CAN TAKE DOWN HIS PONYTAIL!! RIGHT, KOG?" He slapped him on the back while har-har-ing heartily. Koga nearly staggered in dismay. Tell me that's a typo, he prayed. He is not going to call me Kog for the rest of summer vacation.
"Kog? Ugh! That is, like, such an ugly name! Uh, Mr. Captain of the…uh…" She glanced at the side of the boat. "The Seagull, unless that loser gets rid of his name as well, I cannot stand to be on the same boat as him for, like, the rest of my summer!"
All of a sudden, the mood plummeted to Absolute Zero.
The captain slowly set the little girl down. There was a dark look in his eyes. "Did you just call my beauty a…a…a seagull?" They all found his unnervingly low voice to be more potent than his loud one could ever be. Even the men-in-black were nervous and wondered when they could leave.
"Nobody…calls my beauty…a seagull…"
They braced themselves for an explosion.
"WELCOME ABOARD THE OCEAN GULL!!"
They stared around in confusion.
"Hakudoshi?" Kagura cried out in surprise (and despair). "Like, what are you doing here?"
"Oh, I killed someone," he replied as if it were nothing.
The mood, just as quick as it went up, fell once again.
"ALRIGHTY! THAT'S THE LAST OF YOU GUYS! LET'S ALL BOARD THE OCEAN GULL!" Kagura's bodyguards were about to follow them inside when the captain stopped them. "SORRY, ONLY KIDDIES ALLOWED!"
"Ms. Kagura needs her suitcases," they stated as flatly as they could, the memory of how menacing the captain could be engraved into their memory.
"I'LL TAKE THOSE, THEN!!' The captain took one suitcase in each hand and carried them inside easily as if they were pillows. Everyone stared in amazement, and this gave them one more thing to be cautious about.
And so, the Ocean Gull began its journey and sailed off towards the sunset…
...
"AHHHHH!! THE WHIPPER IS ONBOARD!!" Inu-Yasha and Koga screamed.
"Uncle Naraku! Ugh, like, not you too!!" Kagura spat disgustedly. First Hakudoshi, then Naraku?! Like, of all the relatives who she could have been stuck with, why couldn't it be Kanna?
"I would say it was nice to see you, Uncle, but it isn't," Hakudoshi said with equal disgust.
Koga backed away slowly, wondering if he was the only one without family problems.
"Don't sound so disgusted. Since I'm in charge, you would do well not to displease me," Naraku warned irritably. "I might give you more chores to do…or a whipping."
The room became silent.
"DINNER…IS…DONE!!" the captain hollered merrily and, without hesitation, dragged all of them to the dinner table, plopping each person onto a seat, Naraku included.
"That, like, totally ruined my figure! I protest to being carried like a bag of luggage!" Kagura, well, protested.
"WELL THEN, YOU SHOULD GET TO THE DINNER TABLE YOURSELF, MISSEE!" the captain roared heartily, to which everyone had a sweat drop since they would've done just that if he hadn't let dragged them there himself. "NARAKU, GO AND GET OUR DINNER! IT'S IN THE POT ON THE STOVE!"
"I know where it is," Naraku muttered irritably as he went to get it, aware of everyone's eyes on him.
"Looks like Whipper's got a higher up," Inu-Yasha snickered. Unfortunately, Naraku heard this and turned around to give Inu-Yasha an evil eye. "Don't think I'll be forgetting that anytime soon," he hissed to him. Inu-Yasha suddenly wished he kept his mouth shut. Sesshomaru rolled his eyes but was glad that the Whipper had someone to focus on for the time being.
When Naraku ladled the soup into everyone's bowls (and made sure to remind Inu-Yasha by spilling some onto him), the captain cleared his throat and everyone braced themselves.
"ALRIGHTY! LISTEN UP, MATEYS! BEFORE WE BEGIN, LET'S ALL INTRODUCE OURSELVES! TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU LIKE, WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE, ETC! LET'S START WITH ME! I'M CAPTAIN! I LIKE BOATS! I LOVE THE OCEAN GULL! I DON'T LIKE IT WHEN PEOPLE CALL HER THE SEAGULL!" He glanced briefly at Kagura before resuming. "I ALSO DON'T LIKE VIOLENCE SO I WOULD LIKE IT IF EVERYONE HERE GOT ALONG AND BEHAVED, OKEY-DOKEY?" Everyone nodded vigorously. "GOOD!! NOW YOUR TURN, THE-ROCK—YOU, NARAKU!!" He laughed at his own joke. Naraku scowled. Kagura and Hakudoshi wondered why he didn't just strangle their captain right then and there.
"As you all must know by now, I am Naraku. I am also known as the Whipper. I like that. I like my whip as well. I brought it with me." Several people paled. "I am also called The-Rock—You. I don't like that. If I hear you call me that, you will suffer severe consequences. If you do anything else I don't like, you will suffer as well. I am only going to say this once, so listen well, for your own good.
"I don't like: crying, screaming, whining, resistance, mischief, indolence, and insolence, which include but are not limited to: temper tantrums, excuses, neglecting work, failure to get things done, up-turned noses, sticking out tongues, blowing raspberries, tripping other people, oversleeping, interruptions, calling names, prank calls, swearing, gossiping, lying, bragging, arriving late, and most of all, morons."
Kagura, finally fed up, slammed the table and yelled, "Then what the –BEEP- are you doing here?!"
Before Naraku could reply, the captain answered, "THE SAME AS THE REST OF YOU HERE! EXCEPT THAT HE'S OLDER, SO HE HAS TO TAKE CARE OF YOU INSTEAD! OK! NEXT!"
The little girl, now wishing she wasn't placed next to the Whipper, nervously began, "I-I'm Rin…"
"LOUDER!!"
Rin flinched. "I'm RIN!
"I like to READ! I like reading nonfiction because sometimes they have really cool facts that most people had no idea about, but I especially like fiction, and under fiction I like fantasy the best! I would like science fiction if it wasn't so weird and creepy at times and mystery if some of the mysteries weren't so scary or confusing! I don't like scary stories, either, because they're scary! I don't like historical fiction because most of the time it's boring and has pointless political problems and yucky romances! So I don't like romantic novels either! I would also like realistic fiction except sometimes it's either too sad or hardly realistic at all! I like to read poems that rhyme, but I can also read poems that don't rhyme; it's just that if they're not that good, then it's kind of boring, but even if rhyming poems aren't that good, I can still get through them because they—"
"ALRIGHTY! NEXT!"
"I am called Sesshomaru. I don't have much that I like. I hate my brother. I also hate talking too much." Rin felt he was addressing her.
"OKEY-DOKEY! NEXT!"
"My name is Hakudoshi, and as I believe I already mentioned, I'm here because I killed someone—"
"HOLD IT, HAKUDOSH!! I BELIEVE YOU'RE HERE TO HAVE FUN LIKE THE REST OF US! SO JUST FORGET THAT YOU KILLED ANYONE AND TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF!"
"Fine. But first, as I see the captain needs a reminder, my name is Hakudoshi, not Hakudosh. Second, I only like to see people suffering. Third, I despise happy endings."
Suddenly, everyone felt that by the end of the trip, Hakudoshi would have seven more murders added to his record.
"THAT'S FINE! NEXT!"
"Hey, I'm Koga," said Koga rather nervously, wondering why he was stuck next to Hakudoshi. "Erm…I like sports. In fact, I'm the best at soccer." Koga paled as Naraku glared at him, remembering that bragging was forbidden. He felt the sudden need to end his turn. "I…uh…I don't like vegetables. That's all." He then realized he forgot to tell the captain not to call him Kog.
"ME NEITHER! NEXT!"
"I'm Inu-Yasha, and I like ramen and pickled radishes. I hate curry. I hate my brother, too."
"I'M SORRY, BUT WE'RE HAVING CURRY TOMORROW! TOO BAD! NEXT!"
"My name is Kagura, and I like anything that's fashionable, like—"
"WHY DON'T YOU TELL US WHAT YOU DON'T LIKE!" the captain interrupted before it became another rant like Naraku and Rin's.
"I don't like whiny little brats like Rin. And, uh, Rin? I'm sorry to say, but for a nerd who, like, only reads books, you, like, talk too much, so, like, shut up. And I hate people who, like, make a scene, like Rin. And people who are, like, stiff as a board, like Naraku. And people who think it's, like, soooo cool to have killed someone, like Hakudoshi. And people who think they're better than everyone else, like Koga. And people who always get other people's names wrong, like—"
"THAT'S ENOUGH, KAG! HA! KAG AND KOG! HOW AWESOME! NOW LET'S START DINNER EVERYONE!" He began slurping his soup loudly, and continued slurping loudly for the rest of the meal so that it was impossible to start a conversation.
When everyone was done (and somehow, the captain finished last), the captain got up and dragged everyone around the ship, pointing out the bathroom and their sleeping quarters.
"What?! We all have to share, like, one disgusting bathroom?" Kagura screeched.
"HO HO HO! WHY, YES! JUST LIKE A FAMILY!!"
"And why do I have to share a room with the brat?"
"CUZ THERE'S NO WHERE ELSE FOR HER TO SLEEP, DUH! AND BESIDES, BIG SISTERS ALWAYS SHARE THEIR ROOM WITH THEIR LITTLE SISTERS!"
"Since when was she my little sister?"
"SINCE NOW! ALRIGHTY! YOU BOYS SLEEP IN HERE! YOU CAN PICK YOUR BUNKS! IF YOU NEED ANYTHING, ME AND NARAKU'LL BE IN THE ROOM NEXT DOOR! G'NIGHT!"
In the boy's room, there were four bunks, two on each side of the room, just enough. Obviously, Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru chose beds farthest from each other, and Koga chose a bunk under Inu-Yasha so that he, too, would be far away from Hakudoshi.
Although there were four bunks as well in the girls' room, there were only two girls, so Kagura had the satisfaction of occupying a good three quarters of the room with her luggage. Rin, wishing tremendously that she was back home with her books, snuggled into her bed and tried to sleep, and she would have, too.
Except that the captain snored at an unimaginably deafening volume.
All six of them found themselves kept up by the racket.
How in the world is Naraku sleeping through that?! they all wondered.
Naraku had, in fact, anticipated this, so he not only brought ear plugs and ear muffs but beeswax, a scarf, a woolen cap, and headphones attached to his iPod playing Chopin's Waltz in C-sharp Minor. And to top it off, he covered it all with an extra large goldfish bowl.
And so, when the captain woke them all up at the break of dawn, none of them save Naraku had got a wink of sleep.
Author's Note: I'm trying out the method of working on a fanfic while publishing the chapters every few days or so in hopes that I'll finish it this summer! Wait for the next installment!
(One more thing, I'll add on an excerpt from where it left off in the previous chapter to remind what was going on last so you don't have to look back again )