Author's Note: This is my first fanficiton; it's based off of a dream I had. Any reviews or criticisms you might post will be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy my story!
After many weeks at sea the Dutch trading ship Hollandsche Tuin finally spotted the coast of Japan, though all was not yet over. There were dark clouds brewing on the horizon, and the Captain, spying the danger, turned and yelled to his crew, pointing, "Bring her about and pull her into that cove, there's no way we'll make it to our post at Dejima in this weather! We can ride out the storm in there!"
The crew quickly set to work at the rigging while the Captain worked the wheel, and after some skilled maneuvering and a couple close calls the ship was finally able to lay anchor in the cove.
"That'll do her, boys! Now load the as much of the cargo as ye can into the rowboats and bring it to shore, we can at least keep that much from going under if the ship doesn't fair well. Remember, if we lose this haul you all can forget about having the coin to pay those fine women you all like in Amsterdam!
The sailors moved fast, running down into the hold and scrambling up again with crates to load into the rowboats. The sailors made quick work of it and the boats were loaded in just under an hour, every man among them wanting to save the cargo and make their cut of the profits as large as possible. When their business was done, the captain climbed aboard the boats with his men and ordered, "Lower us down, we're off to shore!"
With the rowboats in the water and a small crew left on board the main vessel, the rest of the men rowed nervously yet quickly towards the beach, the seas already choppy from storm.
"Keep her steady boys!" the captain yelled as a large wave hit, the small boat rocking from the blow. That was clos... the Captain sighed, though his relief was quickly cut short by screams suddenly erupting through the air. The Captain turned frantically looking for the source, finding it oh too quickly,
"The fools in the next boat loaded it too heavy, that wave knocked them straight over!"
"Shall we turn around to help them, sir?" asked a sailor.
"No, the cargo is lost. We shall continue as we were." the Captain replied.
"I mean the men, sir," said the sailor, interjecting once more.
"No, If we take them onto the boat we would have to dump some of our cargo. Besides, they can swim. Keep the course."
Several tense minutes later the remaining boats reached the shore, closely followed by the surviving swimmers. The Captain, finding his first mate, ordered,
"Send out a patrol, let's see if we can't find civilization on this god forsaken island." Then, raising his voice to a shout, he yelled,
"As for the rest of you, unload the boats and assemble the collapsible carts, then load them up! Get a move on!" The sailors, though exhausted from their previous efforts, scrambled to follow orders. Their pace, though having slowed markedly, still showed similar enthusiasm to that they displayed while still on board the Hollandsche Tuin.
An hour later the patrol returned, arriving slightly after the carts were finished being loaded. One of the returning officers approached the Captain and, saluting, said,
"Sir, there's a road beyond that hill over yonder," pointing at a rise a good distance away.
"Where there's a road, there's a town at the end of it, we'll follow it and maybe find shelter, then see if we can't unload our goods and make some good coin," the Captain relied. Then, turning towards his crew, he ordered,
"Pick up your carts lads, we'll follow the patrol to the road. Let's get a move on!"
The men, groaning all the while, picked up their carts and began pulling them towards the road, faithfully led by the patrol. Their labor was frequently broken by shouts from the captain, spouting such things as,
"Pick up the pace men and we'll have a warm bed tonight!" all the way to, "You dirty sea dogs, get a move on before I have your hides!"
The only relief the sailors received from their long string of exertions was reaching the road, which made pulling the carts a great deal easier. However, to the sailors despair, it soon began raining, and the dirt road began to turn into a muddy quagmire, making their jobs harder than ever before. Only after traveling an hour's distance along the road were the sailors given any sort of real respite.
"Halt!" the Captain yelled, and instantaneously every sailor dropped their loads with a sigh of relief, happy to finally have a moments rest.
"Sailor, what is that coming down the road?" The captain continued, turning towards a nearby fellow whilst pointing at a figure far in the distance. Pulling out his spyglass and looking ahead, the sailor replied,
"It looks like a villager, and he's coming on fast. Shall we arm the men?"
"No, guns get a good price in the markets here, no need to make them look used and wet," the Captain retorted. Then, raising his voice, the Captain ordered,
"I know it pains you men, but we can't stand here in the rain. Continue on!"
With a great deal of complaining the men picked up their carts once more and continued down the road, and in minutes the villager was upon them. Yelling in Japanese as he ran past, he shouted, "
Demon! A demon! I saw it in the manor up ahead! You must turn around! "
"What has that man so riled up? Quickly, I know one of you speaks Japanese, what's he saying?" the Captain barked.
"He's yelling about demons, sir." said the first mate, stepping forward.
"Damned fool jap; pagans they are, the lot of em! Demons, hah! He probably saw an animal, or who knows what. Even so, we best be prepared anyways, even if it is just a bear or something of the like," the Captain replied, not wishing to risk more men's lives with his heart already heavy from having lost some men at the rowboats. Pausing, he yelled,
"Each man grab a musket!"
"I thought him to be mad, but now I know for sure! Hes afraid of demons." joked one sailor to another.
Overhearing, the Captain barked, "That's enough! Now do as you're told!"
The sailors then crowded around the munitions carts, all the while chuckling at their fellow's joke or telling new ones at the Captain's expense. They then took to loading their guns, and, once finished, the group continued onwards down the road. Moments later as the party of sailors crossed over a hill, a silhouette of a nobleman's estate appeared in the distance. Remembering the villager's words a couple of the more superstitious men seemed visibly shaken, though most took no heed of the villager's words.
After an hour and a half of dragging their carts through the mud with muskets slung around their backs, the sailors finally approached the manor gates. There before them stood a splendid mansion upon a hill with a great lawn surrounding it, all ringed by a short wall. The Captain, ordering his men to halt, gazed at the manor a moment and wondered as to if he and his men could enter and wait out the storm inside. Just then the party spotted a figure appearing at the mansion's door. The sailors, most at least partially superstitious, seemed at least a little uneasy. The Captain, noticing the change in his men, took out his spyglass and surveyed the scene.
"Demon, hah! It is only the master of the house coming out to greet us! Stand easy boys, we shall have warm beds tonight!"
The men, calmed, looked on as the nobleman slowly approached the gates. When he was well within sight the Captain looked more closely at the man, thinking,
White hair, pointed ears, purple tattoos? That's Japanese gentry I suppose; hopefully he's civilized...
Reaching the gates, the nobleman paused, swung open the large iron doors, then spoke to them calmly but threateningly in Japanese. Translating, the first mate said,
"He says his name is Inutaisho, the Lord of the Western Lands, and we're trespassing in his domain. He wants us to turn around and leave or suffer the consequences,"
"After all these hours of trudging around in the rain I shall do no such thing, especially with some sort of civilization within reach, no sir! Let's see if we can't have him let us stay the night, go ahead, ask him! Tell him we have silver to pay!" the Captain urged.
The first mate began to translate, but, eager to get inside, the men began to crowd forward and inch their way towards the gate. Seeing this Inutaisho drew his sword, the blade being unsheathed from its scabbard in the blink of an eye.
The men, startled, quickly fumbled for their muskets. The Captain, taken aback, said surprised "By God, does he truly mean to attack us?...Men, Present!" The sailors, rushing to obey, quickly raised their muskets. Inutaisho, feeling he's waited long enough, and, being tired of watching the human's sad display, lunged at their entire party with all intent to cut the sailors down with one fell swoop.
"Fire!" the Captain yelled, and the sound of muskets firing rang out as their shots rippled through the air. It was over in an instant, with ten bullets hitting their marks just as Inutaisho reached the sailors ranks. Inutaisho, stopped cold, tumbled through the sailor's impromptu line. Getting up quickly as he could Inutaisho limped into the surrounding woods before the sailors could get up again and reload. Were it not for his great speed it is certain that a great many more bullets would have found their marks, with many sailors not turning their guns towards Inutaisho quickly enough to hit such a agile and fast moving target.
'What the hell was that!' was all that Inutaisho could think as he stumbled into the woods. Never before have humans been that bold before him, nor have they ever wielded such a devastating weapon again him. In great pain, Inutaisho limped towards a tree and collapsed onto the floor, sitting with his back against a mighty oak. Looking down, he saw his breastplate riddled with holes, blood spouting from each at a threatening rate.
How can humans truly be capable of this? He wondered with a look of both great pain and shock on his face. Feeling himself grow weaker, he struggled to remove his armor so he might get to his wounds and treat them. Hearing the humans supposedly congratulating each other in their strange tongue, he thought
I must hope they don't continue after me. Then, surprised by what he was thinking, he continued,
brought to this, cowering from humans. Now that I know their trick I shall never allow this to happen again. Then, grunting in pain, he removed his chest piece, which he saved for last. Coughing up blood, he saw his bare chest and the great severity of his wounds. His torso had no less than ten bullet wounds, blood still pouring from each. Wincing in pain he grabbed for his kimono and began to tear a long strip of cloth from its bottom as quickly as he could, hurrying as he felt himself growing ever weaker. Once finished he struggled to sit up, and, with great pain and effort, he finally managed to accomplish this feat. Still hurrying, he then wrapped the cloth around his wounds in his effort to stop the bleeding. Just as he finished tying the bandage he slipped into unconsciousness, his body going limp and falling back against the tree.
The sailors, now at the Mansion's heavy door with their carts safely stowed away in the estate's stables, were contemplating as to how they would get inside. Shoving his way to the front of the group the Captain approached the door, then turned around to look over his men's eager faces. He knew exactly what they wanted, and he planned to give it to them.
"Pour some powder into the lock boys, we'll blow it open! We'll wait out the storm in the late noble's château here, and any loot brought to the ship from this place shall be distributed amongst the crew!"
The sailors let out a great cheer, then brought a small powder barrel to the door. They emptied a good amount of gunpowder into the keyhole, then placed a fuse in after it. Lighting the fuse off, the men ran for cover, and in moments the door was blown wide open with a loud bang. Without a moment's hesitation the men leapt up and ran towards the door and into the castle, most either searching for the kitchens or the wine cellar.
Strolling in after his men, the Captain thought,
I might as well take a look around myself before the place is ransacked and looted to hell. God may damn these men but I'm not inclined!
Trying to look dignified in his stride as a captain should, he made a point to set himself apart from his rowdy men. Looking about the foyer the Captain decided to go down a small and unillustrious looking hallway to his left where none of his men had yet gone, hoping to be unbothered and perhaps get his own personal piece of loot. Walking halfway down the hall he nonchalantly looked into a small room. Shocked by what he saw, his eyes widened, and his heart skipped a beat. Standing before him on the far end of the room was the very same nobleman from earlier, clutching a sword and staring straight at him. Looking down while fumbling for his pistol, the Captain wrenched it from its holster and fired a shot at the noble, landing the bullet square in Inutaisho's chest. The Captain then cringed, protecting his face with his hands whilst waiting for some sort of returning blow. A moment passed, and nothing came. Removing his hands from his face the Captain took a closer look at the scene. He fired his gun at a portrait
Life sized...perhaps the lads were right, I am going mad.
Relieved, he chuckled to himself as he re-holstered his pistol. Just when he began to relax he heard a baby's cry ring out across the room. Intrigued, he began to look around for the source of the sound. He found it quickly; on a nearby table lay a basket with swaddling clothes inside. Approaching the table, he reached out pushed back some of the cloth, revealing a baby Sesshoumaru inside. He stared down it at the child, and it stared back up at him.
This could prove to be interesting, The Captain surmised, though his thoughts were cut short by the sound of running in the hall, and shortly after his first mate and five other men burst into the room.
"What happened, sir?" the first mate inquired.
"Indeed, we heard a shot sir! Are you alright?" asked another man.
"I'm fine! That's all you need to know." The captain replied, annoyed. Then beckoning for his first mate to come, he said,
"Look what I've found here!"
The first mate, eyeing the baby, replied, "My god, it's a child, a baby at that! He must be that Nobleman's son...they have the same white hair, and he's tattooed similarly as well! Almost in the same manner as his father I must say."
The Captain, agreeing, said, "Indeed, the tattoos must be part of some strange pagan Japanese ritual, I mean one of them's a crescent moon of all things."
As men began to crowd around, the Captain raised his voice and continued,
"Don't be getting any ideas boys, I'll be taking the child!"
He'll be a novelty in Europe, people will pay good coin to see him! Rare child from the far east I'll say! The captain thought to himself pleased as he left the room, basket in his hand, Sesshoumaru swaying gently about with the Captain's stride.
The party waited out the night in the manor, all but the captain indulging on the fine wines and cuisine in the noble's estate. Instead he found a few weeks worth of food for the child and ate simply himself, kept company by his own thoughts.
Strange child this one is, he seems bereft of emotion, and he does not cry out often, at least much less baby normally does, the Captain observed.
The night did not last long in the manor, as the men fell to sleep quickly in their exhausted and drunken state. The next morning the Captain awoke his men and ordered them to set out down the road in order to find a town, which they did in short order. They traded their unused firearms and other goods to the villagers for whatever it was they saw that could not be found in Europe. They then set back towards the Inutaisho's manor, returning at midday to take whatever plunder they could still carry. Once finished they loaded up their carts and pulled them past the mansion gates and began down the road, back towards their ship.
It was then that Inutaisho awoke from his unconscious stupor. "Ugh, my head..." he complained to himself aloud. He had the most splitting headache he had ever had in his life, though it was nothing compared to the great agony from his chest that just began to hit him. Grunting in pain he put his hands to his chest, trying to alleviate his suffering, though it was of no use. He tried to remember how he got there and what happened to him, but he could hardly think straight after losing so much blood. It was then that he heard the creaking of carts and the sailor's strange tongued chatter, and then all of the events of the day before rushed back to him.
Them... he lamented, thoughts of revenge quickly coming to his mind. Though in great pain, he struggled to hoist himself up, but it was no use, and he was forced down again, once again falling back against the tree.
I can't just sit here with those...people having inflicted so much distress upon me, and likely having ruined my estate, he resolved, coughing up blood from his latest exertion. Then, grabbing a nearby stick, Inutaisho threw his weight onto it and slowly managed to lift himself up. Proud of himself for having accomplished such a feat, he re-donned his blood stained kimono and limped towards the road and towards the sailors, unsure what his next move would be.
Hiding behind a tree at the road's side, Inutaisho watched as the sailors clambered past, carts in hand. Spying the Captain, he pledged to himself,
That bastard, I'll have his neck, he need only wait.
It was then he saw the captain stumble over a rut in the road, and he heard a babe's voice cry out. Seeing his son's basket in the Captain's hand, it took all of his will to prevent himself from crying out in sheer anger.
If he thought he could escape my vengeance before...I promise I shall find your throat, human, and I shall never rest until you are slain and I have my son back in my arms.
Following the sailors as best he could, Inutaisho managed to trail behind the their party and track them back to the cove, and thus, their ship. The sailors were relieved to get their haul back to the Hollandsche Tuin without incident, and their spirits were raised high as they saw their vessel wasn't dashed against the rocks as they all feared. Unaware were they of their pursuer, though they needn't have been worried about him in his present state. They then set to work and loaded up their rowboats, and after began rowing part of their haul towards the ship. Once the sailors were well on their way and close to their trusty caravel Inutaisho discreetly walked onto the beach and stole away a barrel of sake. With great effort he rolled it as far from the beach as possible, then emptied its contents onto the ground. He then rolled the barrel back into position, lifted its lid, and climbed inside, waiting to be taken aboard.