Okay, special thanks to all my reviewers. I decided to fix the capitalization errors in my writing instead of just lazily posting something. Hope it makes people happy. =-D
Also, sorry about the chapters being so short. I'm vying to make them longer.
As the day droned on the main port came into view. The crew celebrated silently to them selves knowing they could finally have a break from the sea. Taverns, hotels, alcohol, you name it! They could finally rest. Even the admiral looked forward to docking at port for the night, but he would never admit so, and even though he wished to go with his crew onto the long awaited land mass, he knew he couldn't. There were pirates and thieves here who would love to pillage a Ship from the royal navy and with Watanuki aboard he just couldn't take the chance.
Thinking of the merboy as they drew closer he wondered what he could be doing at that moment. He stood at the wheel while his crew hustled back and forth, preparing for the bang-up time they would have, observing. He was probably lounging in the tub in a rather bored manner like he had left him, or maybe he had crawled out and made his way to the door trying to unlock it so he could go back home. Anything was likely at this point.
He walked around the steering and made his way to deck and onward to the bow. He stood over the figurehead of his ship, which he had never actually taken the time to look at. He decided to take this time before port landing to look at the figure head and distract himself from the distracting Watanuki. The figure head was, from what he could tell a woman. Her long hair draped elegantly over her shoulders and chest. A navy ship couldn't be raunchy. It had to have some tact. As he gazed down at it he noticed something below him. It looked like a tail of a fish. He stared long and hard before he realized that the figure head on his ship was a mermaid. How appropriate, so much for a distraction. He stood straight and looked forward to see the islands port in great detail. He turned around to face an impatient crew.
"We need to sail in slowly. Lower the two main sails and turn the bow to face the sea port!" he yelled at his crew, "once in port, drop the anchor and then we will disembark." The crew jeered and howled in a delighted froth. He walked through the overly happy crowd back to his quarters, where his Watanuki would be waiting.
His Watanuki…it was starting to sound better and better. As the time drug on he realized he didn't want to give up the merboy. He enjoyed his company more than anyone else's on the ship. These thoughts plagued him. He, for the second time, wiped his had across his face and pulled it on back through his hair. He opened up his door as he reached it then walked through going into his bedroom. He closed the door silently and leaned against it. Just his luck, He finds a way to a contented life without pirates and he begins to fall for it.
He didn't bother going into the bathroom to go see Watanuki, he couldn't face him right now knowing what he knew. He, first, had to clear his head. He lay down on his bed, on his stomach and decided to go to sleep. He woke up early that morning and his crew was an able-bodied one, they could manage to port the ship easily enough. He tore off his jacket without leaving the comfort of his bed and threw it to the floor. He curled up and was out like a light in a matter of moments. He didn't even stop to think then either.
When he awoke again it was night. The darkness that swam around him made it hard to wake up. White light poured in through the windows of his sip from the moon. Doumeki sat up and rubbed his face. Something had woke him. He crawled out of bed and pulled on his jacket, which had been lying exactly where he had thrown it before he had fallen asleep. He walked over to his desk and pulled his belt and rapier of his smooth surface. He buckled it around his hip and adjusted his pants to fit his more comfortably. He left his room and walked all over his ship, looking for whatever had woke him. He actually wasn't sure what had woke, a sound, a voice, he wasn't sure.
He had looked everywhere he could think, but couldn't find any problem at all, so he walked back to his room. In his room he threw off his belt and rapier back onto the desk and again pulled off his coat. As he was about to get into bed he heard something. It sounded like parades of rain pouring in droves onto a floor. He turned around to try and hear the watery sound better. It sloshed and wheezed, and he listened to it for only a moment longer before he realized what the sound was. It sounded like Watanuki was vomiting.
He ran to his bathroom as fast as he could and slammed open the door. He didn't look down as he stepped in, but he knew something was wrong with the floor. He felt as though he was standing on a patch of ice. He looked down. Red ice. His eyes followed the trail of deep crimson to a hand that lay limp on the floor. He leaned down and took the hand in his own, pulling the rest of the body with it. The bath was, as well as his floor, amerced in blood. Doumeki looked down at the gasping creature. His skin was paler than before, which he would never have thought possible till now. Blood was smeared all across his delicate torso, tainting the pure white body. He looked more weak and scared than when Doumeki had first seen him on his ship.
There were no external wounds. No part of the merboy was maimed, and yet something was dreadfully wrong if there was blood plastering his bath, tub, toilet, and floor. The poor boy had yet to say anything to the terrified admiral, so Doumeki spoke first.
"Watanuki, what happened?" he said, voice wavering. His fear showed clearly through his clenched teeth. The boy moved his head to look the admiral in the eye.
"Oh…it's you Doumeki…I got some blood on your toilet…I'm sorry…" he said softly with a pained smile accenting his now decrepit features.
"That wasn't what I was asking, you idiot! What's wrong with you…why is there blood everywhere?" he yelled. Long pause followed before Watanuki spoke again.
"I'm dying." He said. He turned his face away to look at the blood covered floor. He didn't want to see the pain filled expression on his face. Both felt as though they would cry at any moment, but neither would allow it.
"What can I do to save you?" the admiral asked. Watanuki's eyes widened for a moment, and he turned to look back at the admiral. There it was, that pained expression he hadn't wanted to see on such a stoic face.
"I need the sea…" he said.
"Salt water?" the admiral asked desperately.
"No…the ocean…the sea…the movement of the waves and the caressing of the water…that is what keeps me alive. I will die otherwise…"
The admiral wasn't sure what to say. He knew that if he wanted Watanuki to live he would have to toss hi back into the ocean waters, but if he wanted to live a contented life without the ocean he would have to keep him. In the few days they had spent with each other he had gotten close, much closer, than he ever thought possible. It may have just been one sided though, but Doumeki cared for the dying boy being cradled in his arms. He made a last ditch decision to save him.