Warning. Just… warning.
My Dearest Companion
~ Chapter 2 ~
"Ne, ne, do you know what I heard during class today?" A young school girl walking backwards asked her group of friends as soon as the first lamp post was lit. They went to play arcade games after class and they are now on their way home. The street they're walking on turning in different shades of gray.
"Mou! Another horror again? I told you not to listen to those guys!" One friend expressed her annoyance.
Two or three of them just chuckled at the beginning of their antics before they joined in, "She never ran out of stories, doesn't she?"
"Oh, but I heard this one's possibly real! It happened on that dark, secluded train station that was no longer in use…"
"Hey, isn't that the underground one somewhere in this area? They say people who go inside never come back."
"You guys have any idea how cliché that sounds?"
"I heard that, too! Apparently, something mysterious and terrifying is keeping people from coming back."
The only girl who was protesting against the oncoming topic slapped her forehead and gave up the fight. She knew she couldn't stop these girls once they started.
On the other side of the street, an old man wearing a neatly pressed business suit shifted from staring at the girls' short pleated skirts, currently bouncing and teasing his dirty eyes.
He turned his attention to the girl walking beside him, "Young girls love horror stories, don't they?"
"Hm." It was the girl's non-committal reply. "I prefer getting a different kind of goosebump, though..." She said sultrily while suggestively rubbing her dainty little fingers on the man's noticeably plump chest. The circling motion was almost innocent. Almost because a different part of the man was reacting and he ushered the girl to hurry her footsteps.
"That's what I like about you. You don't fall under the 'normal teenager' category" He released a malicious laugh and his eyes darkened doing a quick once over at the female figure beside him. "When we get there, I'm going to show you what all those girls are missing." He winked, and then one hand made its way to land not-so-discreetly on the female's bottom.
The girl's only reply was a moan. "Mmm, I can't wait."
When they arrived at the abandoned underground terminal, the place clearly did not look any different from the others of its kind that are still functioning. It obviously belonged to the modern world, without the typical broken construction site and rusty interior that those horror stories often illustrate. Only the collective dusts would indicate that the place is indeed abandoned and have not been in use for a while. As soon as the old balding man had adjusted his vision in the dark, he eyed the unused benches near the walls like it was the stairway to heaven.
The girl, on the other hand, was looking at something else.
"Nervous?" He asked her.
"Far from" she replied. "In fact, it's getting really hot in here already."
Immediately, the girl snaked her hands from her hips to her abdomen, then to her breasts, intentionally ruffling her uniform top, knowing the lecherous man was eyeing her with pleasure. Her hands reached their destination: the ribbon tied in the center of her chest, and she untangled it, along with a few buttons, giving the man a glimpse of her bra that was unusually lacy for a junior high student.
He knew instantly that he would like this girl very much. Maybe they could have another go after this… Maybe she wouldn't mind a sugar daddy after their little escapade…
The man was ogling her and if his saliva was about to overflow from his mouth, he was definitely not hiding it. His groins were aching and he can no longer wait.
Roughly grabbing the girl, he went to the bench and shoved her there. Not a second later, he was already on top of her and kissing her neck hungrily while squeezing her breasts through the thin lace of her lingerie.
"Ummm… wait…"
"I'm a busy man, young lady. Men like me do not like to wait."
The girl didn't respond, she just went on her business removing his silk tie and the man took it as a go signal. He excitedly reached for his belt and allowed his expensive-looking dress pants to fall on his knees, his boxer shorts already eager to follow.
He was halted when small hands grabbed both of his wrists. He looked at the girl to see her shaking her head.
"What?" He was confused. "There is no turning back!"
She laughed a seductive laugh and wrapped the man's own tie on his wrists. She then gave her an alluring wink and said in her most juvenile voice, "You said you'd teach me, so we'll put you in the spotlight first."
Ah, so that's what the little minx was after. He laughed the most maniacal of laughs. He's totally in love with this night.
He obligingly allowed the girl to tie his hands on the end of the bench. If not for his not-so-little 'friend' straining to be freed from his boxers, he would probably pass as someone relaxed. Unfortunately, it was because of this very distraction that he didn't notice the girl was tying him too tightly.
Once the makeshift rope was secured, the girl slithered her hands, from his tied wrists to the side of his face to his chest then painfully slow to the garter holding his shorts. As soon as he was freed, he closed his eyes in ecstasy. He could feel the girl's breath on him, but it took him long to realize that she wasn't engulfing him inside her hot mouth; She was just hovering. He decided to take a peek.
To his surprise, the girl who was facing him was already buttoning up her shirt.
She looked at him with empty eyes that made him doubt if this is the same person. "It took you so long to notice."
"What the hell? I don't like it when girls keep their clothes while in action!"
"Well, I never liked dirty old men." She snapped.
The girl glanced at something unknown. Come to think of it, she kept glancing at the abandoned railway that looked like a mystery pool of black during the night. What the man didn't know was that something was hiding under those shadows, and soon enough, that something stood to approach them from its hiding place below.
"Sesshoumaru."
The girl's acknowledgement was answered by a threatening growl.
"What's the matter? You're particularly grouchy tonight…"
And true enough, he looked more feral than normal. Even for the girl who had known him for so long, thought he was particularly deadly at the moment. If she didn't know any better, she'd say her idea of luring the old man to him made him mad. Really mad.
At times like these, it is wiser to stay away from him and let him cool off.
"I'm gonna leave you, ok? I'll see if I can get some more. This man here is all yours; you can eat his meat, too, if you can tolerate his bad taste." She spoke in her usual tone, like she was just talking about the weather. She had always preferred speaking to her companion like he understood her words. They were like that for years, and thankfully, when it comes to her, this Sesshoumaru was somehow cooperative. Otherwise she wouldn't know how to handle such a large creature in this modern world.
"…Other people might even be thankful." She added as an afterthought.
It was only when she has finished her one-sided conversation did she register the tied man that was now screaming profanities at her. Things like this are not new to her; it was easy tuning out idiots like him when they get so loud.
"What the fucking hell are you two? You can't leave me like this, girl! Make that pet of yours go away!" The man was shouting at the top of his lungs. His screams the epitome of panic and his wild eyes growing wide by the minute.
Growing wide with every step the girl took away from him.
"Gross." the girl hissed before she walked away completely.
The shouts and begs for mercy continued until the end of the tunnel, where the distance finally silenced the echoes inside. But the walls were still vibrating, and the girl knew Sesshoumaru was growling mad inside.
A few hours have passed. The girl was disappointed going back without any more victims.
As she approaches the terminal platform, she could still hear the screams and she wondered why the man was still alive. Thinking that her companion got out of hand and went out on his own out of rage, she ran as fast as she can to see what happened in the area.
The scene before her made her stomach twist in knots. It's been so long since she'd seen his sadistic side like this and back then she knew he was doing it consciously. But this…
Sesshoumaru was still there alright, and the man was still tied and lying helplessly on the bench. But the bench wasn't completely a bench anymore. Sesshoumaru was just sitting there like a good dog, the high ceiling thankfully accommodating his huge form. He wasn't growling anymore; he was waiting patiently beside the man, and that is a bad thing because the bench was located directly beneath his head, where large amounts of acid are dripping from his opened mouth. It was as if he intentionally positioned himself there and opened his mouth wide to make sure his poison would make its way to the man's legs, torturing his skin until the red burned patches swimming in the evaporating green fluids looked like it was already giving way to his bones, and naturally, melting the poor bench along with it until it snapped in half.
The sight was unmerciful. The man lying awkwardly looked like he couldn't move anymore, even if his hands were to be freed. Surely nothing would be left of this man's legs in a few minutes. It wasn't just the acid; the poison would spread even after they leave him there. A rotting stench is now permeating their surroundings, and upon closer inspection, it wasn't just the man's legs, no. Sesshoumaru had to cover his nakedness, too, with what he deemed appropriate. The girl could only stare in shock. This man will live the rest of his days in hell.
"Why didn't you kill him?" she whispered, afraid. She didn't know if she was afraid for the suffering man or afraid that her companion was acting out of the ordinary.
"Sesshoumaru, I didn't get to find any more souls for you." Seeing no response from him, she continued approaching. "You think we should go back?"
Red eyes only stared at her, and then the huge beast-like dog stood and walked away, clearly telling her he is leaving using the exit at the other end of the tunnel.
The girl could only sigh. Situations like this frustrate her the most. She fear hoping that Sesshoumaru is finally gaining some form of understanding, for she knows believing will only feed the pain that she's been trying desperately to ignore these past years.
Concentrating to put her emotionless mask back in place, she walked away from the man to follow her companion out.
The man's cries were now inarticulate, the pain was too much to even attempt to move, and seeing the girl talking to the monster somehow told him that she wouldn't help him for anything. She'd leave him here alone, with no choice but to rot until his very last breath. Thinking of his tied hands and all of his lower body melting with poison, he knew that is exactly what is going to happen to him.
Maybe it was out of curiosity; maybe it was his right to know what caused his demise. All he knew is some part of him wanted an answer and he surprised himself when he formed coherent words and blurted out his question to the girl before she was out of hearing distance.
"Why do you care so much for that monster?"
The girl's posture stiffens and she halted her steps for a few seconds to hear the man's laborious breathing.
Then she replied without looking back, straight-to-the-point and without a hint of regret in her voice…
"That monster you speak of is my husband."
Author's Notes:
Maybe I should change the rating to M for gore? XD
The abandoned terminal station was inspired by an episode from Vampire Princess Miyu. In fact, the whole mood of this fic is inspired by Miyu. I don't know how long these short stories will continue, but I'll drop some small info on each chapter, so that it won't be a waste of time reading it.