Author's Notes: Thanks to wolfygirl13 for the rhyme suggestion! Please read my notes at the end about this rhyme!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any nursery rhymes, or Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland.
The Mother Goose Escapades
No. 13, version 1 (Lewis Carroll version)
How doth the little crocodile
improve his shining tail;
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every glist'ning scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
how neatly spreads his claws,
and welcomes little fishes in,
with gently smiling jaws!
The great taiyoukai looked around, sniffing the air gently. Once he had satisfied himself that he was, indeed, alone, he methodically stripped down and slipped into the warm water. Had he been human, he would have sighed contentedly. True to his demon side, he merely allowed his body to relax, though he never closed his eyes. His ears twitched slightly, constantly. Were he to be discovered, wallowing around in the water like…like his hanyou brother, the taiyoukai feared to comprehend how his status would fall.
Rin was far away, Jaken and Ah Un with her. They would be safe while he allowed himself this brief moment of rest. Besides, he had been becoming a bit smelly. Sesshoumaru allowed himself to slide deeper into the water, enough so that only his head remained above the surface.
He didn't want to admit it, but he wanted nothing more than to dunk his entire head under water and enjoy the feeling of completely saturated hair. His senses told him he was still alone. Giving in to the temptation, he shut his eyes and went the entire way under. Not even a second later, he rose again, the water streaming off his face and hair, the cool flush on his face from the difference in temperature a welcome feeling. Had he been human, Sesshoumaru would have grinned like a little boy.
Determined to make this worthwhile, he swam a few laps, smoothly and gracefully. The brief exercise was satisfying, and, abandoning all watch, he clambered on top of a rock and lay for a moment, enjoying the warmth of the sun against his skin. But his hair was still dripping and Sesshoumaru growled in frustration.
Alert for a moment, he made certain he was still alone; then whileon his hands and knees, gave a great shake. Water flew everywhere, and Sesshoumaru settled back in the sun. Comfortable.
But this brief moment of repose was not to stay. The twitching ears caught a noise and the taiyoukai leapt up, ready to confront the intruder. Then he noticed his state of undress. Never one to panic, Sesshoumaru quickly put on his robes, leaving his armor off.
"Sesshoumaru-sama!" came a very familiar cry. Sesshoumaru's nose wrinkled. "I apologize for coming, but wait until you see what Rin has done to me!" Jaken burst into the clearing, his normal green body stained an odd shade of blue. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened slightly.
"Why are you that color?" he asked calmly, never betraying his anger at his time being cut short.
"It was Rin, that naughty girl, who…" Jaken trailed off as he finally got a good look at his master. He was dressed only in robes, his armor resting beside him, and his long white hair hung damply around his face. The eyes, normally amber, were slightly tinged red. And his mouth was twitching curiously…
"Yes?" prompted Sesshoumaru.
"I mean, that is to say, oh please Sesshoumaru-sama, please don't smile at me!" Jaken squeaked in fear as the cruel smile overtook Sesshoumaru's mouth. The taiyoukai rapidly approached his retainer, picked him up, and flung him into the water.
"Clean yourself off, Jaken. Rin and I will wait for you." Sesshoumaru deftly put his armor on, then walked off, leaving the spluttering Jaken behind him.
The Mother Goose Escapades
No. 13, version 2 (Lewis Carroll version)
How doth the little crocodile
improve his shining tail;
And pour the waters of the Nile
On every glist'ning scale!
How cheerfully he seems to grin,
how neatly spreads his claws,
and welcomes little fishes in,
with gently smiling jaws!
Naraku looked into the dying embers of the fire. The little bit of light reflected against his red eyes, giving him something of an insane look. The wild smile on his face didn't help much either.
"It's all coming together," the dark hanyou crowed to himself. "Soon I shall become more powerful than anyone will ever believe, and then that will be the end of that. It will be the end of everything and the reign of me!"
Kanna sat nearby, staring impassively into the dying embers as well. Her white hair lay flat against her back, unmoved from a lack of breeze. This was what she expected. This was what was supposed to happen.
She watched Naraku flex his hands, that insane smile still on his face. She could see the demons flocking towards the two of them, ready to obey every command of Naraku. There would be a collision, an end. The dark hanyou would have his day. The only question remained, would a predator bigger than he have the last laugh?
Inu no Taisho would have laughed at the small fry hanyou, had he seen him. There would have been no question as to who the victor would be. But his two sons had much to learn yet, and so the small demon grew powerful. Powerful enough to be a predator.
Kanna didn't know any of this. Just enough to know how things could work out. She knew about Naraku, and his ways. Had she thought much about it, she would have been counting down her own days of living, her own days until Naraku betrayed her. He always betrayed people, she knew.
Naraku looked up at the small figure looking at him. His grin grew wider. The light finally sputtered out, and in the darkness Naraku felt his smile spread further still, something akin to ear to ear. He slammed his hand into the ground, claws into the dirt. His time was coming near. His prey was walking right into his subtle trap.
The Mother Goose Escapades
No. 13, version 3 (Isaac Watts version)
How doth the little busy bee
Improve each shining hour
And gather honey all the day
From every opening flower!
How skillfully she builds her cell
How neat she spreads the wax
And labors hard to store it well
With the sweet food she makes!
Crimson eyes narrowed in thought. Day in and day out, it was always the same. Do this, do that, complete this menial task, beat up Inuyasha, find jewel shards, and don't forget to…
"Gaa!" Kagura yelled in frustration, slamming her hands to the ground. She was kneeling next to a tree, overlooking a small meadow. Despite the dirt, Kagura was enjoying venting her frustrations. She stood, and whipped out her fan. Closing her eyes, she let her rage go. When she dared to open them again, she saw several trees laid flat against the ground, bullied over by her strong wind.
"It's just not fair!" the wind witch wailed, and flopped to the ground. She felt herself letting go, and tears, actual tears came. A good cry always made her feel better, though she never wanted Naraku to know that. She couldn't let him see this weakness of hers. All she could do was follow his every whim, every order. Mindless.
It was all so that he could improve himself. All so that he could go from the somewhat annoying spider to the venomous evil spider. She labored for that, blood, sweat, and tears so that some monster could have the chance to become worse than a monster.
Not like she had a say or anything. He was the one who made her. He was the one her held her heart. He was her beginning and chances were good he was going to be her end. And she was have a meaningless existence. Created to serve, and once done, destroyed.
Kagura wasn't foolish. She just wanted her freedom so badly, she was willing to do anything. But every step of the way there he was, just in front of her, just ruining every perfectly laid plan. No matter how neat she was, no matter how clever, her end product was not good enough to fool the dark hanyou.
It never occurred to her that because she was created from him, he still had some sense of her. Some connection. Technically, they were one. No matter how busy the bee, how clever or skillful, the spider would know all that was done.
As Kagura lay flat on her back, a bee buzzed by overhead. She gave a little burst of a breeze and watched the insect tumble end over end. It hit the ground, lay dazed for a moment, then got up, and flew off on its business again. Kagura sighed.
----
The wind witch didn't see the connection;the spider, who was watching as always, got a kick out of it. Naraku smirked at his unknowing little wind witch.
Author's Notes: Hey everybody, here is an especially long one, since I couldn't upload one on Friday! For those who don't know, the poem about the bee by Isaac Watts is the original poem, the otherabout the crocodile is a parody of it by Lewis Carroll, found in his book Alice's Adventure's in Wonderland. Each of these are three little snippets, unrelated completely. Enjoy, till the next posting!