Some Pirate/Naval Ship History: Providing some sort of liquid for the crew of a ship was one of the main challenges back then. The most readily available liquids were water and beer, but these were insufficient for a ship because water quickly was spoiled by algae, and beer soured if kept for too long. In the Caribbean regions, captains took advantage of the cheaper but foul tasting by-product of sugar cane processing, called "kil devil" but later became known as rum. Rum quickly became the official ration on British ships from 1655 on. Unfortunately, the crew members would then have drunkenness and discipline problems. In 1740, and order was issued to dilute the rum with sugar and lime juice, and this became known as "grog." When a scarcity of rum happened on a pirate ship, this was believed to be the reason for rebellion on ships.

The meanest pirate of all time, Blackbeard, said: "Such a day; rum all out. Our company somewhat sober; a damned confusion amongst us! Rogues a plotting. Talk of separation. So I looked sharp for a prize [and] took one with a great deal of liquor aboard. So kept the company hot, damned hot, then all things went well again."

This chapter was edited/revised Monday, April 5, 2010. Please let me know if there are any mistakes I might have missed in my revisions.

Chapter 21

Life on a ship with Jakotsu for company: Living hell.

The guy wouldn't shut up! And I even woke one time to find him staring at me with a rather strange look in his eyes. I didn't stick around long enough to know what it was—I just hightailed it out of there after I'd jumped nearly a foot in surprise, restraining the urge to strangle him (as that wouldn't sit well with the captain, his brother).

I glared at the wooden floor of the deck as I helped raise the sails, Jakotsu blabbering on about something from where he stood a few feet away.

When we were finished, I headed to the galley. Jakotsu followed. I told the cook I needed a new bottle of rum. He handed it to me sympathetically, casting a subtle glance towards Jakotsu.

"…How can you drink that nasty stuff?" he was saying. He looked at the caramel-colored liquor in disgust.

"Well, there's not much else to choose from, now is there?" I said sarcastically. This quieted him.

I approached the man at the helm. "How long till landfall?"

"About two days," he replied, his voice deep, raspy, and gruff.

I looked out at the ocean, stretched out ahead of me, seemingly endless. I sighed deeply and as I watched the waves, the same face as always came unbidden into my mind. This time I let it stay, and I reminisced.

When we reached the continent, I was one of the first to scan the other ships scattered amongst the docks. I thought one looked familiar, but I couldn't see over the ship before it very well.

As we gathered around the Renkotsu for orders, he informed us we were going attack this city. We were low on supplies, and also low on gold, so stealing—"the true way of the pirate," he'd said—was how it would go. I scowled.

I began pacing towards a street, but I barely made it to the end of the dock before I stopped, staring at the chaos in front of me.

This city was already going through hell.

I looked around, confused. This wasn't our creation. It was another's, and if we didn't find out who's it was soon, we all could die. I stared around me, frozen, as screaming women ran past me, herding crying children with them. I couldn't stop myself from wondering, somewhat hopefully, if my old man had done this. Could it really be so easy as stumbling across him?

And then I spotted a person I recognized.

He was not, however, from my ship. He stood, hiding in the shadows. He was looking around the corner of the building he stood against. I approached him swiftly and snatched his shoulder, spinning him around roughly.

He flinched, then his eyes widened considerably. "Inuyasha?" he murmured.

"What the fuck are you doing here, Miroku?" I demanded with a low growl.

"Well…" He was at a loss for words. "Kagome said…"

I flinched noticeably at her name. But I continued to glare at him, waiting for him to continue.

"What?" I finally snapped. "What did she say?"

"To attack the village," he said, a sad note to his tone.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Could he possibly be telling the truth? I couldn't believe him. There was just no way. She hated the idea of killing and stealing like that.

"Don't lie to me!" I roared. "She wouldn't say that!"

"But, Inuyasha…" He gazed at me sadly. This made me angrier. "She really did say it. I swear. She's so different now that…"

But he didn't have to finish. I knew what he was about to say.

This was my fault. She's so different now that you've left her.

I still clutched his shoulder tightly. I looked down and closed my eyes, shaking my head slowly in disbelief. I felt him place a hand hesitantly on my shoulder, and I snapped my head up, shaking it off.

"She misses you," Miroku said quietly.

"Shut up," I ordered.

"She's so torn up. She stays in her cabin for such long periods of time. She won't talk to anyone—"

"I said, shut up!" I yelled. "Which part didn't you fucking understand? The 'shut' or the 'up'?"

"Inuyasha," he started. I shook him roughly, pushing him into the wall.

"You won't tell her you saw me. If you value your life, you won't," I warned in a low voice.

He didn't flinch at my claws digging into his shoulder or the dark glare I was giving him or my words. His lips were pressed in a tight line. "Fine, then," he said curtly.

I let go of him and strode off. But I heard it clearly when he muttered, "Coward."

I punched a wall of a building as I walked past it. My knuckles came back bloody, but I barely felt it. I felt more numb than ever, knowing I was so close.

But I wasn't good for her. I had other important things I had to do. She needed to be left alone, and I'd accepted that. I'd known I would probably encounter her again.

This was all true. In theory.

But based on what Miroku had forced me to hear, maybe I was bad for her whether I was with her or not. Maybe I was worse for her if I wasn't near her. Maybe I ought to find her, comfort her, hold her once more…

No, I told myself firmly. That would only make it harder. She needed to find her whatever-it-was and get rid of her enemy. She was strong; she could do it alone, right?

I wasn't really in the mood to deal with more people, but I didn't want to know the consequences if I went back empty-handed. I punched in the window of a bar, then turned and entered through the front door. I took my pistol (since the damn Tetsusaiga, I was sure, wouldn't work for me at the moment) and leveled it towards the head of the man behind the counter. He cowered at once, and I would bet my left arm it had more to do with my appearance than my sword.

"All the crated liquor you got. Bring it here," I ordered him, and he nodded feebly and disappeared through a door leading to what I presumed was a back storage room. I listened to him move around back there.

Oh. And here I thought the man wasn't a total idiot. Guess I was wrong.

He came back out with a rifle, aiming in my direction, but it was obvious he was shaking like a leaf. I smirked at him.

"N-now you get out of here," he said in his old, weak voice, "and there'll be n-no trouble."

"Oh really?"

I darted to the left, and he shot wildly, startled. I was suddenly behind him and holding his gun. I rapped the end hard on the back of his skull. He fell to the floor with an unpleasant thump. I went through the door he'd gone through before and grabbed two crates that were filled with bottles of liquor, mostly rum.

I was rushing back towards the ship to store the crates in the hold, and that's when I heard it.

I knew immediately who it was, the high pitched cry that I detected above the chaos. I didn't think; I just reacted.

I dropped the crates where I stood and sprinted off in the direction I'd heard the cry come from. I heard it again, and sped up. I turned a few corners, dodged dozens of people, who mostly moved out of the way with the probable thought that I would kill them, and jumped over a few unconscious bodies.

I turned another corner, and I saw her. My eyesight flashed red for a moment when I saw the man clutching her wrists. I could smell blood. Tears. And the fact that the man was a demon.

I charged directly towards him, and heard it when he said, "You're gonna be my woman."

"No!" Kagome cried over and over. "Let me go!"

"Hey, flea bag!" I shouted murderously.

He turned his head, and narrowed his eyes at me. I was still sprinting, and I was moving much faster than I would've been if I was still human. But, just as I was about to tackle him, he was gone. I felt a strong, rib-cracking kick in my right side. So, he was fast, was he?

I stumbled to the left and when I glanced up, I caught Kagome's eyes. She was staring at me, apparently frozen in place. Her mouth hung open in shock and horror.

I could hear it when she barely mumbled my name. I straightened up to fight back, but the demon suddenly struck a hard blow to my head, and the ground suddenly looked so inviting…

The last thing I heard was Kagome's broken shriek of my name.