This chapter was edited/revised Tuesday, February 9, 2010. Please let me know if there are any mistakes I might have missed in my revisions.
Chapter 7
"Land ho!" shouted a man in the crow's nest. The men on deck looked to him and followed the direction of his outstretched arm. They scurried to the side of the ship and made way for Kagome to come through, spy glass in hand.
"It's Tortuga!" she announced.
I stood up against one of the main masts, arms folded over my chest. She turned and made her way back through the crowd and looked up to see my smirking face.
She sighed. "What is it now?"
"Nothing. But I do have a question for you."
"And what is that?"
"Will you allow me to see an old…friend while we're in Tortuga?"
She laughed at the thought. "Why in the hell would I allow you to go off by yourself? And in Tortuga!"
"Because, you do not want to be on this man's bad side. Which you will be if he learns I'm on your ship, I was in Tortuga, and I completely ignored him. He will suspect it is your fault, and then he'll raise hell over it the next time you make port."
She paused for a moment, contemplating the request. "You will have someone go with you."
I was about to say no, but then I thought better of it. I could easily get away from one of these pea-brains once we entered the crowded streets and buildings of the city. "Fine."
She seemed surprised by my answer, as though she were fully prepared to argue over it. She nodded and made her way to the helm. She talked with Miroku and he moved aside, allowing her to take the wheel.
"We'll dry dock, men!" she pronounced finally. Her ship had been damaged and she wanted to repair as much as she could.
They pulled the ship into the dry docking area and several men jumped out and landed with a splash in the clear waters of the Caribbean. They pulled the vessel with their strength and others attached it securely to the ground with ropes and wooden posts shoved into the ground.
As I jumped down from the ship, I was nearly landed on by Kagome. I figured she'd have climbed down a rope…
I caught her in my arms so she didn't land on top of me or land on whatever creatures might be in the water below. She landed an arm around my neck and looked at me, surprised. We stared at each other for a moment before she looked at my arms and it became rather awkward.
"Ahem," she cleared her throat.
"Right. Sorry," I muttered, setting her down gently in the clear waters. She ducked her head and waded hastily to the nearest dry land.
I shook my head at myself in disgust. I'd held women before in the same manor; why was it so awkward with her? Maybe because she was not only my captain and captor, but also a woman pirate who dressed like a man.
I made my way to the land after her, my legs soaked from the knee down.
I should have just let her fall in the water…
I stood waiting while the crew reassembled in front of Kagome. She cleared her throat. "Alright, we'll be leaving in four days. If you're not back on the ship when we leave, consider yourself left behind. We will not come back for you—at least not any time soon. I need one of you to watch him—" she motioned towards me "—while I visit an old friend. Any volunteers?"
Everyone looked back and forth, but one man—a rather scrawny one who looked out of place—stepped forward. "I volunteer, Captain."
"Good man, Akitoki. Thank you."
Well, she made this so easy it almost wouldn't be any fun. The man—if you could call him that—looked like he'd just been addressed by his hero or something. Must be obsessed with her. Freak.
She, apparently, had more instructions. "I would like several of you to fix the keel. I will come back to see the full extent of the damages tomorrow. You may reboard the ship of you need a place to sleep, but no women may board unless directed so by myself. Understood?"
A few men nodded and began walking into the city. She didn't move from her spot on the ground. I stood, staring back at her as she stared at me.
"What?" I finally asked.
"You'd better come back. If you don't, I will hunt you down," she promised.
"Is that a threat, Miss Higurashi?" I teased.
"Oh, so now you'll address me somewhat properly?"
"Don't answer a question with a question."
"Tough. You owe me the next five years of your life, and I plan on making good of them."
"Good?"
"It's a matter of perspective, I suppose."
"You sound so proper."
"Well, excuse me for not speaking like some barbarian."
"I don't speak like a barbarian," I protested.
"Did I say you spoke like a barbarian?"
I frowned at her, since I had no reply; she was right, after all. She began to turn and walk away when I thought of something. "Kagome?"
"Yes, what is it?" She looked a bit exasperated.
"I'll come back. You should try this thing called relaxing. Every heard of it?" I mocked.
She rolled her eyes. "Such a child," she muttered as she stalked away. I chuckled and she threw a quick glare over her shoulder.
It was only me and Akitoki left standing when she was gone. He stayed silent…until now.
"So…what's your name again?"
"I never told you before, so there is no 'again.'" I glared.
"What is it, then?"
And I glared. "Inuyasha."
"Where are we going, Inuyasha?"
And I glared some more. "None of your business. You're just supposed to watch me. Nothing was said about added commentary or questioning."
The idiot couldn't seem to comprehend what I was saying—'shut up!'—and so he kept talking.
"Who are you meeting? Why do you need to see this person? Why are you so rude to Captain Higurashi?"
"Why are you such an annoying bastard who doesn't know how to take a hint and shut the hell up?!" I shouted.
He shut his mouth with a click and turned his eyes towards the ground. I had stopped and faced him to fully make him understand what I was saying. He was so small that I created a full-on shadow over him, making it seem all the more like I was going to punch him. My weapons were taken away, though, and his weren't. This little, yet major, detail kept me from knocking him out to make it easier. I knew, being the stupid bastard he was, he would go and cry to Kagome about it in a few days or whenever we saw her next.
So, I restrained myself enough to prevent the whole mess from happening.
I purposely turned onto the nearest over-crowded street I could find, and thus beginning my quest for temporary freedom. I walked through a thick crowd that had just emerged from a pub, some of the men acting as drunken idiots, arms draped over women with low-cut dresses. I pushed and shoved through, and entered the pub, which was just as congested as the street. I kept up my hurried pace until I'd fully circled the place. A woman—one of the slutty waitresses—stepped in my path once I finished checking the area for Akitoki.
"Hey, handsome. Can I get you something…?" She looked me up and down in a suggestive manner.
A fleeting thought drifted through my head, asking if I should accept, just to pass some time while the scrawny chatter box searched the street, but I pushed it aside and asked, "How about a shot or two?"
She seemed slightly disappointed, but walked—more like sauntered—behind the bar and pulled out a shot glass. "What would you like?"
"Anything, as long as it's whiskey."
She took out a half-empty bottle of the liquor and filled the glass till it nearly overflowed. She pushed it across the bar and I took it in my hand. She rested her hand on mine, stopping me from drinking it. "I'll do one, too."
She quickly filled another glass and held it up. I held mine and air-clinked it.
"Cheers."
"Cheers," she replied, peering at me over the edge of her glass. We both brought the glasses to our mouths, and I flung my head back, chugging the whiskey and praying it was enough to dull the minor headache I'd developed from that blubbering imbecile. It wasn't quite gone, so I had her pour me another. After finishing it off, I headed towards the exit, but someone from the crew walk in and I quickly turned towards the hallway that extended to my right.
I entered a storage room that smelled something fierce. I almost walked right back out, but thought better of it. I cracked the door open and saw the man's back, the same waitress going over and sitting on his lap. He took her on his knee welcomely, and I swiftly exited the small room, focused on the door.
I made it to the street safely, unnoticed by the man. I wound through the roads until I found the one I needed. It was nearly deserted, the only sign of life being the lights on in some buildings. I looked back at the street sign.
I started to think of his reaction when he realized I had no money, so I turned and headed to a bar where I was sure to get some.
I walked into it after back-tracking a couple streets, and the familiar sign was over head and swaying in the light breeze as I entered. There were several tables with no one seated, the man I needed to see intent on drying a glass where he stood behind the bar. He glanced up for a split second and did a double take.
"Taisho? That you?"
"The one and only."
He laughed throatily, then set the glass down, coming from behind the long bar table. The man was strange, but a close friend. He never asked questions when I needed money, or anything for that matter, which is why I visited him still. He had a strange face; he wasn't a looker, exactly, but it made him no less of a person.
He brought me into a hug and clapped me on the back before stepping back. He kept his hands on my arms as he studied my weathered appearance; I'd aged since I last saw him.
"You look like you've had a rough time lately," he said disdainfully.
It was true, I guess. I still was injured on the shoulder and side, and the spot on my cheek had only scabbed over the other day. "Yeah, I suppose that's one way to put it."
"What are you doing around these seas? Last I heard from ya, you were goin' to the Indian Ocean."
"Well, that didn't exactly happen. I was…marooned." I frowned at the memory. "Left me on the West African coast, and I hopped ships to Nouvelle-Orleans, where I…encountered my new captain."
"What's the name?"
I took a deep breath. "Captain Higurashi."
"Never heard of 'im."
"Probably because it isn't a him."
"What is it then? Not a woman…"
I stared back at him.
"A woman? You signed the articles of a woman? Somethin' wrong with yer head, mate?"
I sighed deeply. "Well, it was either that or death, and I've been trying to avoid the latter."
"Death, eh? That seems a bit harsh on a quick round up of a crew."
"That's not what it was. You ever think to wonder how I got from Africa to the French territory of Nouvelle-Orleans?"
"Ship hoppin'?"
"Exactly. She owns the ship I was trying to hop."
I explained the whole event that led to my five year sentence and he was speechless.
"So what are ya here for?"
"I need money."
He nodded knowingly. "Ah. How much?"
"Three hundred."
"Three—? What mess d'ya get yerself into this time?"
"If I don't have money when I go visit the same guy as last time, my hopes of escaping this wench will be pointless--he'll kill me himself!"
"Alright, I'll give ya the money. C'mon."
I followed him and took the money, saying a quick goodbye and going back to the grim street labeled Deadman's Way.
I headed towards a run-down looking building and knocked on the rickety front door. I was met by a familiar, devilish face.
A slow smile. "We meet again, Inuyasha."
