The sea's judgement (Ending 2)

Late that evening, Saburo sailed out onto the ocean with a bottle of sake in one hand and the case containing the comb in the other. In the center of the boat sat the very same barrel that had caused all of this. Swaying dangerously, he lifted the bottle to his lips and took a long gulp.

Lowering the bottle, droplets running down his face, Saburo stared at the gift he had meant to give her. Through the blur of drink and grief, a cruel irony came into focus: within a year, he had found the love of his life, and within that same year, she had been torn away.

“Narumi.” he whispered.

He placed the comb inside the barrel and sealed it shut. Setting the bottle down, he lifted the barrel and lowered it gently into the water before pushing it away. As it drifted farther out, he rose unsteadily, bottle in hand, and watched through a curtain of tears. He raised the bottle for another drink—just as the boat lurched violently beneath him, throwing him hard to the floor.

The calm evening sky turned gray. The wind rose, and the waves grew violent. Dizzy with drink and battered by the weather, Saburo struggled to his feet, bracing himself against the mast. He reached for the sail rope repeatedly before finally catching hold of it. Then a massive wave slammed into the boat, nearly capsizing it and hurling him back to the floor.

Groaning in pain, Saburo pushed himself upright, only for an explosive crash beside him to hurl him back down. A vast, dark shadow swallowed him whole. Ice shot through his veins, and a hard knot twisted in his stomach. Trembling, he **** himself to turn his head and look up, then higher, and higher still…

He remembered the stories the older sailors and fishermen used to tell, tales of a yokai with skin blacker than night, a towering figure whose shadow could eclipse an entire ship even when its full form could not be seen. They said that if any boat crossed its path, only the grace of the gods could save those aboard. Saburo had once dismissed such tales. But since Narumi’s disappearance, he had taken the story of the Tako nyobo seriously. Now, as he stared at the Umibozu and its great, featureless eyes gazing at him, he believed.

Shaking from cold, seawater, and dread, he listened as a booming voice rolled across the sea.

“WHAT IS THE CRUELEST MOMENT OF YOUR EXISTENCE?”

Saburo looked up at the immense being, tears freely running down his face. Hundreds of thoughts ran through his mind, his mouth opened and closed multiple times. Finally, one thing popped through the drunken haze, the words flowing out.

“The loss of my beloved.” He closed his eyes and promptly passed out. One final thought before darkness claimed him.

Forgive me…Narumi…

[~]

The gentle lapping of the ocean roused Saburo from a dreamless sleep. Groaning, he sat up and clutched his aching head. The moon hung high above him, and his boat bobbed softly on the dark water. An empty bottle of sake tapped against his foot, and for a moment, he wondered whether everything he had seen had been nothing more than a drunken vision. With a harsh sigh, he adjusted the sail and turned the boat toward home.

When he reached shore, he beached the boat and trudged back to his house, the empty bottle still hanging from his hand. As soon as he stepped inside, he caught the faint sound of movement from his bedroom. His body became tense. Quietly, he shut the door and made his way down the hall, tightening his grip around the neck of the bottle. At the threshold, he raised it like a weapon and slid the door open.

His arm fell at once, and the bottle slipped from his hand to shatter on the floor. Moonlight spilled through the window, illuminating the figure beside the bed. He took her in, piece by piece: eight powerful tentacles tapering into a feminine waist, raven-black hair cascading behind her, a flat stomach, and human arms crossed over her chest. Then his gaze caught the small mole on her right breast, the one she had always been shy about. Finally, he looked at her face, as beautiful as it had been the day they met. Two long strands of hair framed it, and though her eyes now held rectangular pupils, they still carried the same warmth. Then he saw one final detail: the comb he had meant to give her, secured in her hair.

Narumi looked at him, stricken by the state he had driven himself to. She parted her lips to speak, but Saburo crossed the room before she could say a word and pulled her into a **** embrace. He trembled against her, tears wetting her skin as he muttered broken words beneath his breath.

“You're back.”

“Are you real?”

“Is this a dream?”

“Please don’t leave me. I’m sorry.”

Each spoken word brought Narumi closer to her own tears. Her arms uncrossed and returned the embrace. For untold moments, the two just stood there in each other’s arms, the man’s mutterings tapering off. Pulling back slightly, Saburo gazed into his wife’s eyes and spoke only four words.

“I love you, Narumi.”

Quickly after speaking, Saburo captured Narumi’s lips in a passionate kiss, pouring all his emotions and feelings into it. The Tako nyobo’s eyes widened before closing, tears freely falling as she returned the kiss with equal amounts of passion. Two of her tentacles, and even her hair strands, embraced the man possessively, never wanting to let him go.

The future was uncertain, but they would face it together.