Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Inuyasha characters. I wish I did, but I don't…
Hello! And welcome to my new story since who knows when? 8D I did have some stories up here before…Just not on this account…..anyone manage to guess account that is, I'll take a serious request as to what to put in the fic later on XDD.
Anywho…I don't wanna hold you guys out on reading, so I hope you enjoy what I have in sotre for you all! Ja ne!
Legend:
Italics: Thoughts
•: Author's comment reserved for later. (They get an explanation at the end of each chapter.)
•·•·• Quick change in scene
Chapter One
From Frivolity to Melancholy
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It was a beautiful night that night. Yes, twas a night of festive joy as the Duke's eldest daughter of twenty one married that very night.
Women in beautiful gowns accented the floor of the ballroom as they danced away to the music that played softly in the background. As the night went on, and the dancing had yet to stop, a girl, no more than eighteen, watched from above as the spots of colors twirled and swayed in merriment. She sighed and turned away from the lighthearted scene below her. She walked through the seemingly endless corridors towards the luxurious ballroom to "accompany" her family in this ever-so-joyous moment. When the grand door opened for her, she glided across gracefully towards her father, who was lively chatting with the Ambassador of France. He was lean and had a fairly pale skin tone. His ears pointed out ever so slightly, with light demon markings covering his face. The young woman was about to say something, when her father turned and interrupted her before she could.
"Ah! Kagome dear! I was afraid you were not going to show!" he chirped. "I was hoping to see you a little earlier, but no matter."
The Ambassador greeted and complemented her on how she looked. Kagome then curtsied in acknowledgment and excused herself to find the rest of her family.
When she found them, Souta, her little brother, was running around with several other children and having a good time. Her mother and sister, however, were sitting at a nearby table chatting and drinking tea with several other ladies that accompanied them. As Kagome shuffled her way through the bustling crowd towards her mother and sister, people around her greeted her and she did the same, while still on the move. Kagome heard her name being called several times from behind her, and she recognized the voice almost immediately. It was Houjo. A long time ago when Kagome was still around the age of ten, her father had decided upon an arranged marriage between them. Even since, Kagome had never took a liking to him, though she made every effort as to not disappoint her father.
Kagome continued walking and pretended that she hadn't heard him so that she wouldn't have to stop and talk to him. She sighed in relief when he took the idea that she didn't "hear" him and stopped trying to get her attention. Kagome curtsied once again when she reached the table, her mother smiled at her and gestured for her to sit down and join them. Kagome willingly complied, and sat beside her sister who smiled at her for being there.
"Kikyo...where is François?" she asked, "I thought the groom and bride were supposed to stay together the whole night..."
Kikyo only looked at her and gave her a smile.
"He was stolen away from my side by the Ambassadress of France." she laughed out.
Kagome laughed along with her. François was the eldest son of the demon Ambassador of France. He was married/mated off to Kikyo...but they loved each other! She had nothing in common with Houjo! How could she marry someone she did not even like?! Kagome's emotions battled it out for a while before Kikyo asked what was wrong and she was sprung out of her thoughts.
Suddenly François came from the other side of the ballroom looking a bit fatigued. Probably because of whatever his mother had to say.
"Kikyo! I am very sorry for leaving your side, love." He called.
Kikyo rose to embrace her new husband/mate. They kissed for a few seconds, and blushed, which earned them some giggles from all the ladies at the table including Kagome's mother. Kagome moved one seat over so that François could sit beside his mate.
After a few tall tales from the ladies of the table, and quite a few cups of tea, Kagome began to doze off a little. She had not slept well last night, and she was awakened early this morning to be fitted for the wedding. She had managed to catch a few dream clouds before the persistent giggles and snorts from the table prevented her from catching any more.
•·•·•·•·•·•
Just outside the large mansion, the suspicious rustle of bushes and shrubs could be heard, and it was quite obvious that is was not the wind doing it. Under the soft glow of the moon, and if actually looked for, several figures could be spotted moving about in the dark garden in the back of the mansion.
One man scuttled out of the back cellar door of the residence, and hobbled into the canopy of dark evergreens in a nervous manner.
"Cap'n! Cap'n!" he whispered, "Are y'there?"
Suddenly a hand shot out from behind, and clamped the man's mouth shut, while he was being dragged into the brush. The man tried to yell, but it was all muffled. He tried to fight, but he couldn't find enough strength to stand up to do so; something was holding him down.
"Shut up you fool," an imposing voice whispered from above him. The man opened his eyes and physically relaxed, now knowing that it was his captain and crew members.
"I'm sorry Cap'n, but blimey! Yah scared the daylights outta me!"
"Is everything ready?" the captain asked as dismissal of the previous error.
"Yessir Cap'n!" the man nodded. "Everyone is in position and waiting for your signal Cap'n, sir."
The captain sat in silence for a minute, while watching the party currently in motion. He let out a sight of exasperation, and began to lift himself of the cold ground. He dusted his pants and fixed his hat before lighting a signal flare and throwing it where all his men could see. Their plan had begun.
•·•·•·•·•·•
Kagome rose and was about to excuse herself to the ladies' room, when suddenly, the lights went out. Several gasps and whispers could be heard throughout the entire ballroom. Kagome sat back down as her mother ordered, and waited to see what happened, just like everyone else.
She and the other guests began to look around trying to find the source of the problem, when only one light that flooded the platform where the ensemble used to be, and that's what she saw him. He walked into the only blinding light that was present in the room, and began to look at his surroundings as if looking for something...or someone.
•·•·•·•·•·•
He was dressed from head to toe in very lewd clothing, unfit for a feast such as this. His long silver hair was tied in a greasy low ponytail that nearly reached his waist. His golden eyes scanned across the room for a moment before having his eyes land on the Duke himself.
"Good evening beautiful ladies and wealthy gents!" The man spoke. It was quite obvious he was no mere human as his mouth displayed several sharp canines, not to mention the odd hair color. The people in the spacious room began to get fidgety and his silence after the greeting was becoming heavier and the dangerousness of his presence becoming more apparent. "As you all obviously know, this is a lovely occasion in which the darling daughter of the Duke and the generous son of the French Ambassador have united their lives in hopes of bringing togetherness to both countries…" he paused again "..And unfortunately for you all…. I've come to…how do I put it? To break, that lovely alliance." Immediately, the crowd began to get more riled up as some of the crew members began to slither their way to the table where Kikyo and her lover were, breaking through every man or demon that stepped in their way.
"GUARDS!!! SEIZE THESE PIRATE INTRUDERS!!!" The Duke yelled over the buzzing crow.
"Now, now, your highness. What use are guards, if they're all…dead?" The man gave a menacing demonic smile to the horrified Duke who quickly bolted towards his family to try to protect them as much as he could.
•·•·•·•·•·•
"François!!!" Kikyo screamed as the intruders approached the table. François had put Kikyo behind him daring the lowlifes to even try to touch his mate. He growled and sneered at them warning them to stay back, but all they would do was snicker and keep moving towards them.
"Go to your mother my dearest," he whispered to her. "I'll try to fend the off as much as I can, just get away!"
"But François!" Kikyo whined.
"Just go!!!"
Kikyo ran off looking for her mother and siblings hoping no harm had come to them.
The Duchess was on the floor holding both Kagome and Souta who was bawling his eyes out, scared to death, hoping that at least if anything should happen, it wouldn't be to her dearest children.
"Mother!" Kikyo cried as she saw all three huddled in a corner, hiding behind a set of chairs. "Kikyo!" The Duchess sighed in relief and ushered her to quickly hide with them.
Suddenly, a loud thundering voice could be heard above the horrific noises of death.
"BURN THE ENTIRE ROOM! LET NO PLATE BE UNSCATHED, NO TABLE UNTURNED, NO PERSON ESCAPE ALIVE UNTIL WE HAVE WHAT WE CAME FOR!" The demon boomed through the ruckus and masses of people running about.
"AYE!" replied the monstrous crew. They began to set fire to the entire ballroom, decreasing chances of escape for their prisoners, shredding every hope of living, every dream for a new beginning between two worlds.
The smoke had just about engulfed the entire room in a matter of seconds, making it hard for one to see properly. Kagome could hear most of the demons fighting off the intruders, and also most likely losing.
"Kosuke!!" Screeched her mother when she saw her husband trying to reach them silently.
"My darling! Come! We must get out of here before they come for us!!!" He whispered frantically. They tried running away from the death and violence around them, but quick enough they were not.
A pair of arms shot out of the mount of smoke in the air and grabbed onto Kikyo pulling her away from her family. She screamed and flailed trying to get away, but to no avail.
"Unhand her you beast!!!" Cried the Duke, jumping onto the bison-like demon holding his daughter captive. He punched the demon several times before he was thrown off with a single hand.
"KOSUKE!!!"
"FATHER!!!" The rest of the family yelled as they ran to tend to him. Kagome looked over to where the bison had stood, and realized he was moving away from them, her sister still in tow. In the blink of an eye, Kagome ran over to a nearby table and grabbed the bottle of champagne and sped towards the demon as fast as she could.
"KAGOME!!!" Her mother screeched as she saw her second daughter run off towards Kikyo's kidnapper.
Reaching the bison rather quickly as it was very slow; Kagome grabbed the neck of the bottle and smashed it on the back of the bison's head. In turn the demon dropped Kikyo to hold it's severed part while screaming in pain falling to the floor. Kagome quickly ran over to her sister, who was now on the floor picking herself up, and helped her get away from their attacker before he got up and charged them again.
As quick as possible, Kagome scooted over with Kikyo to the rest of her family.
"Kagome! Kikyo! Thank heavens you're alright!" The Duke, up and well now, was relieved and held both his daughters. They began to run away again, when suddenly, a giant hand skidded across the floor and smacked Kagome into the nearest wall. The bison had recovered and was now out for revenge.
"KAGOME!!!" Her family screamed as they saw the horrifying scene taking place. This time though, they all charged at the bison attempting to rescue their beloved family member, but the bison knew better and swatted them all way with his powerful hands before they could even land one blow. The all fell like the fragile creatures they were, immobilized from the sheer strength of that one fist.
Kagome's lithe figure lay sprawled on the floor, out cold from the powerful force of both the bison and gravity after her bone cracking connection with the wall. The bison made it's way to her, and was about to crush her…
"What're y'doin' yah big gal'lute?! She be the girl Cap'n need for his 'let's get richer' plan" Scowled one of the demon pirates. "If she be dead, the Cap'n will kill us all y'hear?!"
The bison only winced at hearing his rants and went to pick up the unconscious girl, threw her over his shoulder and began to head back to their captain with the "good news". By this time, Kikyo had only slightly woken up from the horrible experience of being thrown about by a large bison, and witnessed as he and another rouge took off with her younger sister, her only sister, to where ever this 'Captain' of theirs was. She gathered all her strength she could from her weak and injured body, to follow the pirates in hopes of at least getting some clue as to where they might take her.
•·•·•·•·•·•
The Captain was sitting in one of the chairs playing with a knife and a cork, trying to stab it wherever it rolled. He looked and was obviously bored. The corner of his eye managed to catch a figure that was running towards him, and looked up.
"Cap'n!" Yelled one of the pirates, "Cap'n! Bissone caught the girl y'were lookin' fer!"
At this the Captain stood up, stretched and gleamed.
"Finally! God I was so blinkin' bored waitin' fer you all to get it done." He looked at the incoming bison with the girl hung over his shoulder and flipped. "GOD DAMNIT BISSONE!! Y'KILLED HER DIDN'T YE!?!" Bissone just flinched and shook his head. His companion stepped up for him.
"No! No! Cap'n he jus knocked 'er out cold is all. She stilla breathin'" the demon gave an awkward laugh and sweat dropped a little at his Captain's literally demonic expression, which actually calmed down a tad.
"C'mon men! We have what we came fer! Now let's get out before we's get some more company!" he bellowed.
"Where we headed to Cap'n?" asked one of the more mild-mannered pirates.
"Where do y'think you idiot?" the captain just growled back.
The pirate thought long about that as they were walking out to the garden.
"To CruIzla, Cap'n?" he finally answerer.
"See? You can be smart enough when y'try. Now get yer hide onto the boat and set course before I turn y'inside out y'hear?!" With that final, scary dismissal the rest of the men scampered off to the boat to get everything ready for departure.
"CruIzla….." were the last few words Kikyo slowly repeated as she fell to the floor with exhaustion.
•·•·•·•·•·•
That night was a busy night for them…everyone was loading, unloading, tying, untying, raising, lowering, pulling, pushing, and cheering while getting ready to leave. The Captain walked up the wooden planks to his ship and surveyed the work he left his men to do. Almost as if plain coincidence, he turned his head and was face to face with his right hand man.
"Blimey Cap'n what in the name of hell took ye so long to get back?! I was wait'n here bored out of m'mind when I could have been rubbin' up some honeys at the tavern!" the man complained. He was rather tall and a tad built in muscle (obviously from the labor work on the boat), he had short black hair tied into a ponytail and very attractive purple hazed eyes. It was easy enough to say, he was good looking, but more than that a human.
The captain just rolled his eyes at his friend.
"Go take a cold shower Miroku: you horny perverted lowlife." He glared.
"Oh! So now I'M the horny pervert eh?" Miroku chided. He knew it's best not to pry at the Captain's patience much, but he knew well how far to go and not go. They'd been sailing together since childhood. A very long long time ago. "Well 'scuse me if I face my reality and know that I have to get laid every now and then." Miroku only smiled.
Captain only gave a sly smile back and walked past him to his room.
"Oh. And Miroku?" He called back, "Give the girl one of the empty prisoner rooms, but don't ye do anything stupid like trying to hump'er or something. We need to keep her exactly the way she is." He last said.
Miroku's eyebrow rose only slightly.
"Pff. You honestly think I'd do such a thing?" he thought out loud to himself appalled at the mistrust, and almost immediately, the entire boat went silent. He looked around, and saw the entire crew giving him a don't-give-us-that-innocent-crap-we-all-know-damn-well-you-would look. Miroku only shot them all a death glare and they scurried back to their original tasks fearing for their lives.
Sighing, he turned around and crashed into something rock solid.
"What the hell wassat?" he rubbed his nose tenderly fearing something broke, and looked up to see Bissone carrying what seemed like an unconscious body...most likely the girl mentioned earlier. Miroku sighed again, and motioned the rock like demon to follow him into the prisoner room for her.
Miroku opened the door with his key, and walked inside. Bissone unfortunately needed to go on his knees to be able to enter.
"Jus put'er on that bed there. And careful, don't break anything." He pleaded.
Bissone as slowly and carefully as possible placed the deadweight girl on the bed and moved around to the door still trying not to break anything, but with his size, it'd take a miracle.
Just as the large demon was slowly moving away, Miroku managed to catch a glance of the girl…
"My oh my! What a precious little thing!" He squeaked delightfully. Trying to squeeze himself over to her, he kept pushing big ol' Bissone to hurry up to get a better look. When he did manage to get to the bed-
"Such a lovely face! What heavenly body! What glorious ti-" Miroku got cut off by Bissone's giant hand lifting him up and out of the room with an annoyed grunt, ignoring the wails and complaints of said perverted whelp.
•·•·•·•·•·•
Inside the large cabin, the captain sighed heavy and sat himself in his large plush chair, propping his feet up on the desk, rubbing his eyes from the sheer tiredness. He was finally going to be able to catch some shut eye, when he heard a loud knock on his door. Disgruntled, and ready to chop off the head whoever dared to interrupt his "me" time, with a loud, annoyed growl….
"Enter!"
The door opened slowly first, then swung open hard as the body of a man flew threw the doorframe and landed on the floor with a painful thud. The captain, both surprised and confused, looked over his desk and saw Miroku all tied up in rope and gagged with multiple cloths. The captain looked towards the door itself, and saw Bissone looking rather irritated, and wearily caught the keys the large demon tossed to him as he left. He eyed them for a while, and after realizing what they were, burst out into a raspy crackle while looking down on his friend.
"I told y'not to go an' try humpin'er ya spineless git"
"Iff noff mah fouf! Fee faash der am mookng fo ufly fuu….ai juf wanned a liffle tuch! Nop gomm hurp wuut iff?" Miroku mumbled disdainfully.•
All the Captain could do was snort at his right man's antics. He thought about the situation at hand and moved away and sit in his plush chair ignoring the muffled cries and struggling tied up limbs on the floor.
"I'm jus' gonna keep ya that way fer a little while." He cackled. "Serves ya right, you damn lecher."
Miroku didn't give up in his struggle until truth kicked him so hard in the behind; it forced him to give up. With a loud, muffled sigh, all he could do was lie there like a sack of potatoes. "I'll get you one of these days...just you wait..."
•·•·•·•·•·•
Kagome tossed around in the bed for a while before managing to open her eyes slowly."Wh…where…am I..?" she asked aloud to no one in particular, but as her sense became less dulled, the pounding on the back of her head made a full frontal attack making her wince in pain. She managed to sit up however, even through the powerful migraine and her aching body, she realized……..this was not her bed……nor was it her room. Kagome rubbed her temples as she tried to make sense of what was going on, at least even remember what had gotten her there in the first place.
"I remember…clapping, and dancing….then …..fear, and smoke….Kikyo being kidnapped…." And then a burn sensation all over her body made itself be known, as if announcing don't forget about me! She winced again as she tried to move "…and getting squashed by that giant muscle covered in fur…." Kagome lie there on the bed for a few minutes, letting her brain soak in her surroundings a little, noting the empty room as cold dark and damp, with no more light than a few candles, the bed she lay on, and a small bucket off to the side.
Not too soon after, horror splashed it's icy waters onto Kagome's passive face, as it twisted and distorted into several emotions all at once. She whipped her head around looking at the tiny quarters she was in, and was reeled back onto her pillow nauseated by the headache and……… swaying movement? Her eyes opened again, and almost instantly they locked themselves onto a small window to her left. Slowly, but painfully, Kagome willed her body to sit up and shift the dirty rag away from the glass in an attempt to look outside it.
Water. As far as her eye could see. Which wasn't much considering how dark it was.
"Am I……on a ship?" she thought out loud quietly.
"You're not very bright, are you wench?" A voice barked from behind.
The tone of the voice alone made Kagome's head whip back around to the source of the voice, only to be forced back down into the pillow whining to both bodily pains. She managed to calm the pain down, if only just a little and bravely but groggily cracked one eye open. It was extremely dark inside the little room, but that didn't prevent her from clearly noticing the pair of amber narrowly gazing down on her from the far corner of the boxed space.
"Welcome t'hell lass. I don't care if y'hate yer stay."
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Authors Note Section:
Okay...well, since I don't really have much to say, I'll just make a few points...Don't expect quick updates...I'm not too good with keeping a set schedule except for work ;; haha.. Also, since I'm not really sure of most of what the story is gonna revolve around, and I tend to run out of ideas alot...I'm considering myself open to suggestions and ideas for the story! I don't mind making this a "reader's choice" type of story, since what I want is to please my readers the most by giving some enjoyable reading. So don't hesitate to leave me a note, e-mail, etc. if want to give some ideas you'd think would be good. I'm not going to pick them all, but I'll definately pick the ones I find suitable for the plot. Anywhooo!
Thanks for reading! D
Recollecting the Stars:
• It's not my fault! She was there and looking so lovely too……I just wanted a little touch! Not gon' hurt was it?" Basically Miroku's muffled complaints
