Three hundred years before Inuyasha met Kagome, Sesshoumaru ran into a young woman... or rather, she ran into him. As fate would have it, both are thrown into a world where swash-buckling pirates, the Shadow Lord, and Captain Jack Sparrow awaits them.
He should have known. He should have moved out of her pathway. He had heard her coming. He could have avoided her. He could hear her labored breathing as she came closer. He could hear the shouts of the human men called Mongolians running after her. He could smell the fear and the lust so potent it made him want to wretch, but he, instead, waited patiently for the girl to emerge with the men close behind her. She ran directly into him and he caught a whiff of her scent moments before his fate took the sudden turn that would force him question his sanity for waiting for her later in his life.
He could only recognize this scent as oak and olive oil.
Suddenly, something yanked at his insides, nearly making him double over in pain. Without thinking about it, he wrapped his arms around this girl who was now hanging onto him. He had a feeling that if he didn't, he would be lost to oblivion. Slowly, the tugging on his insides subsided and the scenery became blurry until it finally went dark. Just as quickly as it had gone, the scenery came back, but it was different this time, darker.
The first thing to hit him though was the scent. It sent a wave of vertigo through his body that he didn't even get to look around. He could feel the edges of his consciousness fade as he practically started falling over the girl in his arms.
"Woah, steady," she said as she desperately tried to keep him standing. "I know it's a bit of a rush, but I've never had that kind of reaction before." If she said anymore, he didn't hear her. The sound and the smell was overpowering, even as he tried to focus on this stranger. She staggered, struggling to keep him upright as she tried to drag him somewhere to sit down. He tried to focus his sight on her, but all he could see was a gold blur. He guessed that it was her hair. His vision was blurring from the tears. The smell of this place was just awful.
"Don't tell me, you're a dog demon," she said as she sat him down. She watched as the tears roll down his face knowing full well he wasn't crying. She wasn't sure where they were, but she wasn't as surprised by the change as he probably was. This sort of thing had been happening since she was born, or at least for as long as she could remember.
His looks were what gave him away. She had met the great Inutaisho, and quite frankly, the only difference between this particular dog demon and him was the crescent moon on the forehead. Inutaisho had no such moon. Plus the hair, Inutaisho himself said that he never had his hair down. Now she could see why.
"Get me out of here!" he growled. She narrowed her eyes but didn't yell at him for being rude. Dog demons had extremely sensitive noses. If the place smelled awful to her, she could only imagine what it must be like for him. She shuddered at the thought.
"Okay, but first let me figure out where we are," she said as she shrugged off her backpack. She pulled out her body wash and opened it. It smelled like olive oil. "Here, keep this to your nose," she said as she offered it to him. "Hopefully it'll help." He gingerly took it and lifted it to his nose. He blinked out the tears as things began to clear up.
"It helps," he said, but he didn't put it down. The awful smell of this town was still seeping through, but it wasn't as bad with that bottle at his nose.
"Good," she said as she stood up and dusted off her t-shirt and jeans. He could see her now. Her golden locks fell over her shoulders like a waterfall and her tanned skin glowed even in this dim lighting. He didn't realize that he was glowing as well with his silver hair and white clothes. "Wait right here, I'm going to go find out where we are then I'm coming right back."
"This Sesshoumaru does not take orders," he growled.
"All right then, give me back that bottle and I'll be on my way," she said sarcastically. "Look for one, I'm asking you, not ordering, and two, you and I are both lost in this new world, quite frankly, I'd rather be lost with someone rather then alone, you? Oh, and my name's Kohaku, by the way."
"I did not wish to know your name," he growled but did not say anything more. She shrugged and left him there with her stuff. He watched her until she was out of sight, heading in the direction of what looked to be some sort of tavern.
Indeed, this was a world he had never seen before. The humans had strange weapons apart from the swords on their belts. They made loud noises and pieces of metal and smoke were spewed out of the mouth of the strange invention. Something he found very odd was as the stranger, Kohaku, made her way towards the tavern, he slowly could not understand the humans around him anymore. With her near, he could understand everyone, but now that he was alone, he felt completely lost. He did need her and her strange abilities with him, although he would never admit it aloud.
Kohaku, however, was not fairing very well. She had tried to ask a few men where this place was, but the few responses she received were either so slurred beyond human comprehension, or the person answering would try to feel her up. With a sigh of defeat, she stepped into a tavern and sat down, just to eavesdrop on others' conversations, which wasn't easy considering the noise. Suddenly, a voice was heard over the clatter and chatter, quickly silencing everything. Kohaku had to stand up to see who it was.
It was an older man, not much older then herself, granted, but he carried himself in a rather odd fashion. Much different from everyone else, considering they were all pirates. Yeah, she knew this was a pirate port, just from the looks of it. The smell of ale and sea were almost overwhelming.
"All right lads!" he announced. "Who here would like to join the finest pirate crew ever to sail the Caribbean?"
"Why, is Villanueva hiring?" one of them called causing a few others to laugh aloud. The pirate at the door frowned, he apparently wasn't this Villanueva person they spoke of.
"You would be joining the Black Pearl. You may have heard of it by its former name, the Wicked Wench," he said with a massive grin. Everyone in the room started whispering and muttering. Some even stood up to approach him, "and you would be sailing under the command of the famous Pirate Lord of the Caribbean, Captain Jack Sparrow."
All right, so this is the sea of the Caribbean.
Everybody sat back down again, clearly deflated.
"Oh come now," said the man, Jack. "It's all slander and calumny! Don't believe everything you hear! Well, maybe most things, but it's going to be different, me hearties. Treasure and fortune await!"
All the drinkers stared fixedly into their mugs of ale. Kohaku let out a sigh as she reached into her pocket. Sure enough, the money she had in the dimension she and Sesshoumaru had come from had turned into the proper currency for this place, but she doubted it would be enough to live off of for a while, if this meant a job, heck, as long as they didn't get killed, then she would take it. She just had to hope that Sesshoumaru would be willing to do it.
"Well," said Jack. "We are going to sit down right over here, and you can all line up to be interviewed." He sat down with a flourish at one of the empty wooden tables and waited for a long moment. "No pushing," he added. "Let's be civilized."
Kohaku stood up and approached the table only to be cut off by a young pirate about her age. He was obviously drunk as he weaved to the table. Other than that, she could smell the ale coming off of him, despite the scent of it coming off the walls and floorboards. He looked kind of ridiculous with his over-sized hat, boots and green bandanna with what looked like daisies covering it. He was at the front of the line, with another pirate and her behind him.
"And what makes you think you're worthy to crew the Black Pearl?" Jack asked him, signaling for a bottle of rum.
"Um," the stranger stammered. "I like... boats? No, seagulls. No, boats. Wait—both!"
"Perfect," said Jack. "Enthusiasm, I like it."
One of Jack's partners, an older man, put his head in his hands and sighed deeply.
"You've made an excellent choice," Jack said, beaming at the stranger. "There is no finer ship in the Caribbean—nay, the world!"
"Name?" his partner barked.
"Catastrophe Shane," the man said awkwardly, tipping his hat at them, then pushing it back as it fell over his eyes.
"Catastrophe Shane!" Jack cried with glee. "I've never heard of a more fearsome pirate name! Other than Captain Jack Sparrow of course! I can see there's no need to ask you any questions," Jack sailed on. "With a name like Catastrophe Shane, you must be a truly ferocious, bloodthirsty, dangerous pirate."
Yeah, and Sesshoumaru's actually a cuddly kitten. She had heard stories of the Dog Demon General's son. None of them were nice stories.
"I bet you don't carry pistols because you can't trust your merciless nature, is that it?" asked Jack. Now it was getting ridiculous. "You know how fierce and hot-tempered you are, and you're resisting temptation by leaving them at home."
Kohaku let out a small laugh. If this was the captain she was going to working for, things were going to be very interesting with Sesshoumaru around.
"Um..." said Shane.
"Perfect!" Jack said. "You'll fit right in on the Pearl. Make your mark here." He slid a parchment across the table to Catastrophe Shane.
"Jack!" his partner protested.
"Captain Jack," he reminded him, "and as captain, what I say goes. Welcome aboard, Catastrophe Shane."
Shane went to stand behind Jack's second partner as the second in line sidled up to the table. This one was older and quite a bit more rotund, with a long, drooping, fat brown mustache. He winked a lot as he talked and constantly fiddle with his hands, but he seemed friendly—a little too friendly for a pirate, but Jack and his nascent crew couldn't be picky.
"I'm Henry," he said, introducing himself. "Are you really the great Captain Jack Sparrow?"
"I most certainly am!" Jack said beaming again. "Unless he owes you money. In which case, no, never heard of him."
"I've heard so much about you," Henry said. "Aren't you one of the youngest Pirate Lords the Brethren Court has ever had?"
Jack pretended to blush. "Well, I don't like to brag," he said before steadying himself. "Yes, I'm the youngest captain ever to become a Pirate Lord."
"Even from the second court?" asked Henry. "What about Morgan and Bartholomew? The ones who wrote the code? I thought I heard..."
"Oh, that court," Jack said dismissively. "Nobody remembers that court. What's important is who's a Pirate Lord now. For instance, me."
"Well, I'd be honored to sail with you, Captain," said Henry, "if you'll have me." He offered his hand to Jack, and Jack shook it, looking extremely pleased with himself.
"Certainly," he said. "I always trust a man with a good firm handshake like that. We would be deli—"
"PIRATES!" boomed a voice from the doorway making every head turn, including Kohaku's. She was exceedingly confused now. This must be where all pirates came to get a crew. A surprisingly short, bearded man stood framed in the light from outside, decked out in a well-worn leather coat with fountains of Spanish lace at his throat and cuffs. His wide-brimmed hat was adorned with feathers, and his weathered brown skin indicated his age, as did the streaks of gray in his beard and mustache. "VAGABONDS! MEN OF THE SEA!" he bellowed.
Kohaku peered over at Jack, who had a scowl on his face. He obviously recognized this pirate as he dropped Henry's hand and rose to his feet.
"Ahoy there, Captain Noisy," he said, "some of us are trying to conduct business in here. Civilized business, with no shouting."
This is a pirate port. If you want people who act civilized, go somewhere else.
The other pirate, however, ignored him. "I am in need of a few strong men for my crew." Two very large, very burly stepped up behind him and crossed their arms. Jack started examining his nails with deep interest.
The Spanish Pirate Lord drew his sword. Expecting some sort of fight, Kohaku reached for her sword, only to find that it wasn't with her. She had left it with Sesshoumaru. Letting out a small sigh, she quickly tried to blend in with her surroundings.
"You!" shouted the Spanish pirate as he pointed to certain pirates, "and you, and you!" He peered around the room when his eyes fell on Jack's little gathering. He grinned maliciously as he approached them.
"And you!" he said pointing at Henry.
"You can't have him! He's mine, I say!" Jack protested.
"I did agree to..." Henry began weakly. The Spaniard poked him lightly in the belly.
"I said YOU!" Villanueva declared with finality. "Out. The Centurion is leaving now." The other pirates who were chosen stood and began to file out of the bar without arguing.
Henry gave Jack a helpless look. Jack was debating whether to start a sword fight with Villanueva right there in the tavern when the Spaniard's burly companions stepped forward and loomed menacingly over him.
"Ah, well," Jack said to Henry. "It was a terrific partnership while it lasted, and I hear the weather is lovely in Spain."
One of the big pirates firmly took Henry's arm and escorted him out of the room. Villanueva tipped his hat to Jack with a sardonic smile and sauntered out, taking all the best pirates in the room with him.
Or would that be the worst pirates in the room?
"And that," said Jack's partner pointedly, "is how it's done." He took a swig from one of the tankards of ale that the barkeeper had brought them.
"Typical arrogant Spaniards," Jack observed, sitting down again. "As if the East India Trading Company isn't trouble enough, now we have to deal with the regular Spanish Navy everywhere and Spanish pirates as well." He shook his head mournfully. "Why can't the Caribbean just be full of mermaids and vengeful ghosts and shape-shifting sorceresses? I ask you. Those I know how to deal with." He reached for his glass and discovered that it was empty. "Hey, why is the rum gone?"
"So, Spanish navy and pirates, the East India Trading Company, sounds like more than a few pirates can handle," said Kohaku as she approached the table. She put one hand on the table and leaned on it. Her words had caught the attention of everyone in the room. "Captain Sparrow, I would like to join your crew."
"No," said Jack's partner. "Bringing a woman on board would only bring bad luck."
"Sir, for one, that is the most sexist thing I have ever heard," she said. "If it's the crew's behavior you're worried about, don't worry. I have a friend who will probably want to come along, and if he doesn't scare them into doing their job, I don't know what will."
Jack looked her up and down. She was taller and far healthier then any woman he had ever seen. It was almost as if she wasn't from this world. Her skin and hair glowed from being cleaned regularly and well taken care of. However, it seemed that she had seen her own fair share of dangerous things just as he had. So the idea that she might be nobility was thrown out the window.
"So who is this friend of yours?" he asked. There, Kohaku nearly faltered. She couldn't really tell them that he was a dog demon.
"Trust me," she said. "He'd be an asset. He's not here right now, but he most certainly would have been taken by Villanueva if he were." A sudden panic rose in her throat. What if he did leave with Villanueva? With her stuff? She knew almost nothing about him.
"All right, sounds good enough for me," said Jack. "Meet us down at the docks and we'll see if this friend of yours is up to my standards."
She nodded and tried not to run out the door. She began to panic when she could not find the silver hair of the inuyoukai. She did find him, sitting right where she had asked him to stay. What a good dog, she thought amusedly.
"Thank God," she said as she approached him. "I thought you had left."
"You asked me to stay," he said. "It would be dishonorable to not adhere to your request."
"Oh," she said, unable to respond properly. She quickly shook out of her surprise. "Well, I've got passage out of here, if you're willing to go. We're joining a pirate crew."
"I beg your pardon?" growled Sesshoumaru sending her a glare that could turn her to stone. She just ignored him. It wasn't like she hadn't come across anyone any less scarier then himself. Sure he could kill her in a millisecond, and she would welcome death. After all, who wanted to live a life in fear that the next day one could be in a completely different world? However, she doubted that Sesshoumaru was about to kill her just yet.
"You heard me," she said. "Would you rather stay here in this smelly pit? I don't have enough money to buy passage off, and if I know anything about pirates, we can jump ship at any port and they won't even miss us." Sesshoumaru held his glare as he stood up and towered over her. "What?"
"Where exactly are we? How did we get here? Who are you?" Kohaku let out a sigh. She had been expecting this.
"We're in another world," she started. "I have this weird ability to travel through space and time to other dimensions. I've been doing it for as long as I can remember. The problem is I can't control when it will happen, but I can usually tell when it's about to happen. I don't know if I can ever get you home, but if you stick with me, there's a chance we will make it back. A slim chance, but there is a chance. Now, are you coming or not?"
Kohaku threw her pack over her shoulder and turned to leave. Sesshoumaru realized that she had just given him an ultimatum. Follow her and someday make it home, or stay lost in this new and different world. He let out an exasperated growl, but he knew when he didn't have a choice. She was the one with the knowledge and power. She had done this before, he had not. As much as it wasn't in him to admit it, he needed her. What angered him even more then that, however, was that she didn't need him. He couldn't think of anything that would tie her to him. She wasn't afraid of death. He could smell it on her. She had no problem leaving him behind.
This revelation was a blow to his pride. He never felt more lost then as he watched her retreating form, wondering what made him let her run into him not but a few hours ago.
He should have known. He should have moved out of her pathway.
My first crossover fic, and I must say, it's going rather well. I'll need your support you guys. This story will be part one in a series of crossovers called the multiverse series. Don't worry, my OC won't get paired up with anyone. Just cheer her (and me) on... Please?
Disclaimer: If I owned these characters, do you really think you woud be reading this here? lol!
Series Summary: He was meant to rule. He was meant to die. She was never meant to exist.