Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author's Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).
Chapter Twenty-One:
The Black-Haired Inuyasha
Kagome laid awake in Sango and Miroku's room, beside her on the bed where normally Miroku slept was Shippo and Sango, both deep in the airs of sleep. She wasn't sure why exactly she was in their room for the night away from her own bed but, from what she had gathered, the Captain and Miroku had some business to attend to that might take up the better part of a night (whatever that really meant). So, she had been told, in order to not inconvenience Kagome, Sango, and Shippo's sleep, it had been decided that Kagome and Shippo would simply sleep in Sango and Miroku's cabin while Miroku stayed with the Captain.
Allowing her mind to wander she glanced around herself, her eyes lighting on Sango, focusing on the older girl for some time. Against her will her mind drifted to the night before and the truth she had learned. Sango's truth, the reason why she had come to be on a pirate's ship was all because of the vile side of propriety—a side that up until now, Kagome had not known existed.
"How can people with manners—with dignity—do things like that?" She asked herself as she rolled onto her back looking at the ceiling as the image of Sango shaking and crying played throughout her head.
Kagome gulped and turned her head to the side so she could see Sango's peaceful sleeping face. The older woman had said nothing more about the incident leaving the subject of Sango's life before piracy taboo. Still, Kagome was sure that with time Sango would tell her everything but it might take a while for Sango's courage to build enough. So for now it was best to wait patiently until Sango was ready to talk.
She smiled as Shippo let out a snore, shifting in his sleep, Sango's arms around him holding him to her like a protective charm as the ship rocked and navigated towards a destination that Kagome knew nothing about other than that it was somewhere in the North America. She rolled back to her other side facing away from Sango and Shippo towards the window of the cabin her eyes gazing out looking into the darkness, a black bleak night—a night with no moon.
With a heavy sigh she sat up in the bed knowing she would not be able to sleep and focused her eyes on that innate blackness, intrigued. Leisurely she shifted, one hand bringing the blanket away from her body while the other pushed her from the bed putting her on naked feet. Gingerly, she moved across the room toward the window, her feet padding on the ground just as they had as a small child when she longed to gaze at the sea from her bedroom cell. Reaching the window she placed her fingertips on the wood, it felt different than the indented wood she had known back at Port Royal. It felt good.
She took a deep breath as she watched the scenery before her, a scene she could not really see but could experience with all her senses, unexplainably so. The turn of the tide, the sea air on her skin, the sound of the ocean lapping at the bow, the sound of birds roosting for the night high upon the mast, the sound of the sails as the fabric ruffled from the breeze, and the smell—the smell of the clean crisp air of this world, a taste that was doubled on her tongue. She closed her eyes as that scene overcame her, antagonizing her with its loveliness. Even if she couldn't see it the experience was enough to make her think she could see. Opening her eyes, she looked above her, towards the heavens and took in the sight of a million stars, all unhindered by the absent light of the moon leaving the striking trail of the Milky Way across the sky.
"Amazing." She whispered into the dark as one of those stars appeared to fall undergoing a slow descent to the earth just like another star she had seen before on another night a little over two days ago.
Her eyes slowly moved downwards as contemplation overtook her every fiber. The song coming into her head, dangerous to her subconscious, "Love of mine where have you gone?" She questioned, repeating something she had only heard once but remembered vividly. "I wonder who he lost?" She asked herself as she continued to gaze into the night sky. "I know nothing about him really or his family or his life outside this ship." She sighed heavily into the night air. "I just started saying his name without proper suffixes for crying out loud."
Kagome blushed at the notion all the way up to her ears and brought her hands away from the windowsill so she could cover up her burning face. It took her only a moment to realize that the gesture was pointless and that there was nowhere there to hear or see her. Carefully, she brought her hands away from her face looking around herself as if she was expecting to see the face of her mother as the older woman scolded her for her own thoughts. She gulped almost able to hear her mother's voice as she was scolded harshly for thinking of calling a man by his name. It was indecent and improper and unladylike and was never done, you never called someone by their first name unless they were intimately close to you like a husband or a relative a and yet—
Kagome bit her lip as her chest rose and feel the gemstone seeing dark without the moon light reflecting on its surface. She looked behind her at Shippo and Sango watching as the two slept on unaware of her daring thoughts. "No one can hear me." She told herself the flush on her cheeks bright. "What's the harm if none can hear?" She pushed herself as she brought her eyes back around to the sill placing her hands on the hard wood. "Inu—." She whispered into the air as if trying to test the naked sound. She hissed loudly as she gripped the sill tighter. "Inu—u." The sound clung in the air beautiful and mesmerizing, captivating, antagonizing and yet forbidden. "Inu-u-u." She felt her cheeks grow even redder as she slowly started to lean further forward in the window as if that would make her speak easier. "Inu-u-y."
She slumped and snapped her mouth shut. No matter how hard she tried, she simply could not say any more than just that one syllable, it just wasn't done. Huffing Kagome berated herself, she had been able to say it yesterday, she had said it to his face even, so why couldn't she say it now! Feeling frustrated by her inability to repeat his name as she had before she pushed the thought away. Calming herself by allowing her mind to drift, other images from that night slipping into her consciousness.
"Are you really that stupid?" He said into the night's air as he brought a hand up to bury in his bangs. "I said what I said and I said what I meant," He told her, "I will never force you to do anything Kagome." In a way he felt the part of the hypocrite for saying that. "I'm a better man than that, I thought you knew by now." He trailed off embarrassed and ashamed.
Her eyes snapped opened as that twinge of red that had been in his eyes and slowly had disappeared with each word he had spoken, came back to her. The sight troubled her, why would his eyes twinge red? She had never known a dog demon that had eyes that changed color like that? Of course she knew that some demons could transform into other creatures and when they did their features such as hair and eye color would somehow change but she got the feeling that was not what was happening the night before.
Kagome sighed heavily at the thought, an odd aching seeping into her mind as she rubbed her eyes. The curiosity that was building up was no match for her tired form and her aching head. Carefully she allowed her body to sink downwards until she was resting on her knees, her chin resting on the windowsill tucked beneath bent arms as she continued to look out at the blackened landscape. "I want to know everything about him." She thought as she allowed her eyes to close, her mind slowly shutting down. "But how can I know everything about someone if I can't get them to talk to me?"
Her eyes snapped opened as the thought entered her mind. "That's not true." She told herself. "He tells me lots of things: his age, the violin, about his mother teaching him. And he—shows me too, he shows me who he is." She smiled as his young grin, sweet and endearing entered her mind. "That wasn't fake."
Slowly but surely he was showing her a man that laid underneath a very well made mask, constructed from the best of materials in the most scrupulous of manners. And as she chipped at each piece, something became more and more apparent to her—the Captain was a good and kind man. But—mixed in there was something that scared her a little, a thought or a possibility, perhaps even something that merely had potential. The Captain had a darker side, a side that lurked behind his eyes, deep within his psyche, a twinge of red in normally gold vision. It was the side that was talked about in dark taverns late at night, the side that was a whisper in the wind, the side that was a haunting children's bedtime story, a side that could beat an innocent man, a side that could destroy a person with one razor sharp claw—that side scared her, the very thought of it was terrifying. He had the potential to kill anyone, to kill her. Would he?
"Be glad you're special."
Those had been his very words back on the Port of Spain, special, he had called her special. She was special, Kagome was special and that meant he wouldn't harm her this she knew because he was a better man than that.
He was the man who bought her a bed so she wouldn't be uncomfortable, the man who bought her shoes when her father's were too big, the man who told her his age when he had told no one else (even his most trusted of friends) and he was the man who shared his deepest secrets with her—his love of the violin and the woman whom had started it. He was the man who volunteered to teach her how to play. That had already started to make good on that promise and all his promises.
Absently, Kagome brought her hand up to touch the jewel around her neck. "This too," She thought as her fingers soothed the slightly rough surface. "He gave me this too but I don't know why." She sighed and looked down at the floor, her human vision barely able to make out the pattern of the wood between her upturned knees, a slight smile playing on her face regardless. "Beneath his mask he's not beautiful nor ugly." She concluded to herself as she brought her hand away from the jewel far too tired to think on it anymore. "He's a blend of many things, deep things, and confusing things. Things that aren't ugly but diffidently not pure."
With that thought Kagome glanced up away from the floorboards, her head just able to reach the windowsill so she could tilt it back to look at the sky, at the stars. She breathed low and deep, her mind wandering to less stressful topics.
"I wonder where we're headed?" Kagome brought a hand to her chin in deep thought. "Sango said we were going to North America but we'd need to stop somewhere along the way." She tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Maybe we'll go to Hispaniola?"
"I never really liked Hispaniola."
Kagome jumped nearly out of her skin as a voice responded to her from the dark. She looked around her, whipping her head back and forth taking in the darkened room. She could make out Sango and Shippo in the bed, both still appearing asleep. It couldn't have possibly been either of them, besides, the voice sounded more male than child or woman. She felt herself shake slightly as she took in the room, squinting to see in all the corners, there was no evidence of anyone being in the room. Gathering up her courage she stood and looked out the window, sticking her head out slightly, looking up and down, left and right—she saw nothing.
"Did I imagine it?" She wondered out loud only to hear a chuckle coming from her right.
"It wasn't your imagination Miss Dresmont." Said the voice.
Hastily she looked to her right but saw nothing other than the vague outline of the opened window of the Captain's Cabin and what might have been a leg hanging out of it. Knitting her eyebrows in confusion she squinted trying to make out any form or figure connected to that leg but with her weak eyes she wasn't able to see a thing. Taking a deep reassuring breath she calmed herself, clearing her startled mind enough to realize who it was who had spoken to her. "Captain?" She called across the short distance.
"Yeah," The response came immediately. "It's me."
She sighed in relief, leaning her head against the window frame as she brought a hand to her still thumping heart. "You shouldn't sneak up on people." She told him haughtily, a little unnerved that she couldn't see him as she talked.
He snorted. "Technically I wasn't sneaking. I was simply over hearing." Inuyasha called from his place in his own cabin, sitting in the windowsill, his back to one of the window's side frames, his eyes as clouded to the dark as hers.
"Don't ease-drop then." Kagome muttered under her breath as she sighed deeply, her heart rate finally coming back down.
"I'm sorry." The Captain called from his spot some feet away, not really feeling sorry for having overheard her, he had acquired too much interesting information to be sorry anyway. He did feel bad for startling her, however. "I didn't mean to scare you."
Kagome felt her heart start to thump again at the soft call of apology, it was sweet, almost endearing the way he apologized without pause, his voice sounding truly sorry. She felt a smile form on her face and bit her lip, glad he was unable to see her from his spot next door. "It's alright. I wasn't really scared just—startled."
"Startled?" He repeated with a slight smirk in his voice. "I could hear you jump from here, must have been a good five feet in the air—like a cat."
She growled low in the back of her throat. "I didn't jump that high, maybe a centimeter off the ground if anything."
He snickered enjoying the bickering. "Sounded bigger to me."
"Well, anyone with ears like yours would be able to hear even the littlest of jumps and think them leaps." She ground out her face scrunched up with her contempt.
He smiled faintly into the dark and reached one of his hands up to bury in his hair above his head, touching the space where those ears should have been. Closing his eyes he let out a long breath trailing his hands down the side of his head, feeling the unnatural appendages that lay there. "Yeah," He whispered just loud enough for Kagome to hear. "I guess you're right."
Kagome paused, all her comebacks just hanging on her tongue as she took in the sound of his voice, it sounded different, not in tone or voice but instead in emotion. The normally gruff nature to his speech was gone, instead he sounded subdued, lethargic, almost dejected. She gulped, not liking this change—this new Captain, this discontented Captain. She wanted to know what had happened, what had made his speech change, what had made him sound—depressed.
She wanted to know what could make him sound just as he had that night when she had found him playing the violin on deck.
"Is that your smell?" Inuyasha questioned his eyes looking at her half lidded. "Flowers, it's the same smell, your smell is." Slowly, Captain Inuyasha's lips formed a smile as he looked at her, his whole body drawn into a sad line.
His voice now, sounded just as it had then, soft and sad—
"Miss Dresmont?"
Her head jerked upwards as she looked out the window, wanting to see his face but unable to from her current position in the dark. "Yes?"
"May I ask you a question?" Inuyasha inquired, his voice somewhat strained as he spoke, afraid of his own words, afraid of his own life—his own heritage—afraid of the candle and the flame that could burn.
Kagome looked around, wanting desperately to see his face, not understanding the connotations of his words at all. Feeling cornered, she wrapped her arms around herself tightly wishing she could simply nod for him to ask but knowing he would have to hear her regardless. "Go ahead." She whispered and waited.
Inuyasha shifted somewhat uncomfortably in the windowsill, he too desperately wanted to see her face, wanted to see her expression at this very moment. He wanted to watch her visage as it contorted as it morphed and changed from emotion to emotion and yet—he looked out at the dim world and felt irritation build in him—in this form his senses were simply too weak. "Um," He tried to speak but found his voice lost. "I—was wondering—well."
Kagome listened patiently, every fiber of her being wanting to see him, wanting to watch his expressions so she might get some clue as to what he was about to say.
"I—," A pause, "Have you ever," Another pause, "I mean—shit." Inuyasha put a hand over his eyes, hiding their black depths from the world around him. He felt stupid, he felt ridiculous, like a child who couldn't speak without a stutter. "You're a full grown man damn it, just ask her what you want to ask her!" But the words just wouldn't come; they were stuck in his throat, trapped by shackles or chains.
On the other side of the wall, leaning against the frame of another window, Kagome waited patiently, listening to him as he muttered to himself, cussing every once in a while. It was strange that he just couldn't say what he wanted to say, and it was even more strange that she had no idea what it was that he wanted to say. Then again, when one couldn't see someone's face it was a lot harder to predict what they wanted to express. "Captain?" She called out into the darkness.
Inuyasha froze, her voice a soothing palm to his frazzled mind.
"Just go ahead and ask your question." Kagome told him as she gazed into the darkened world. "Whatever it is, the outcome won't be horrible. You'll ask, I'll listen, and I'll either chose to answer or not. The worst case scenario is I don't answer, so what do you have to lose?"
He felt his heart pound in his chest at her words. She was right, unbelievably right but to think of something that simply wasn't normally how he thought. Everything was a complex series of events with outcomes that could end terribly depending on what he said and how she responded. To Kagome it was simple; to him it was the straightforward act of placing his hand into an opened flame. And who would voluntarily burn themselves?
"It will be different this time."
His demon heart echoed in his chest, an instinctual knowledge that he trusted. Inuyasha took a deep breath readying himself for what he was about to say. "Miss Dresmont," he began. "Have you—ever—um—," He blew out the deep breath ready to simply plunge into the flames head first. "Met a half demon?" Or at least stick a toe in.
Kagome narrowed her eyebrows on her forehead, blinking a few times as the question came to the forefront of her mind. "A half demon?" she questioned. "As in a person who has a demon parent and a human parent?"
Inuyasha cleared his throat softly, "Yes," He continued on. "Have you ever met one?"
Kagome thought for a moment, bringing a finger to her chin in contemplation as she mentally ran through a list of everyone she had ever met, every acquaintance, every friend, every person she had stumbled upon at a dinner party or a play—she could not recall any of them being half anything. It simply wasn't done—demons and humans married, yes, this was fact but they never had children. Marriages, unions of the demon and human variety, held no other purpose except to form social bonds between the two races; these unions were made under the assumption that no children would ever be bore. So to meet a half demon would be rare, a child born outside of the logic of propriety, of social convention, of everything she had ever been taught. Had she ever met a child like that? "No," She told him but secretly wished she had, for that child would have been like her in many ways, an outcast of propriety, someone who understood the constraints it held. "Why do you ask?"
On the other side of the wall, Inuyasha felt his heart pound in his chest. Kagome Dresmont didn't know that he was a half demon, Kagome Dresmont had never even met one and he—he was afraid of what she would do if she did. "Half demon." The word itself haunted him, racing through his head translating itself into every language he knew.
"Hanyou!"
"Hälfte dämon!"
"Μισo-δαίμονα!"
"Mediadaemon!"
"El mitaddemonio!"
"Un demi-démon!"
The sounds echoed in his head, hundreds of different versions of the same word attacking him as if they were a full demon that could rip apart his very heart and eat away at his soul.
"Onii-san!"
He could hear himself calling to one full demon in particular, he could see himself standing before him a tiny hand reaching for a large man's body.
"Onii-san, nani ga hanyou?"
The words issued forth with a will of their own, going out to ask the ill fated question, "Don't ask," Inuyasha told the little version of himself, as the small boy looked at his older brother, his eyes hopeful, curious. "Don't ask!" He saw the man turn, saw the hatred in the man's eyes. He wanted to reach for the boy, to shield him from the horrid answer, from the truth. He reached for him as the man opened his mouth but Inuyasha could never reach that far—to do so was the change the past and we can't change the past.
"Orokana ikimono wa," He said as the young Inuyasha felt his heart clench in his chest, "Kūki no kachi, sore wa kokyū."
"Captain?"
The sound of Kagome's voice brought him away from the memory, away from the man, away from his voice, away from his words. He looked around, studying the darkness with eyes as pitched black as the night they gazed at.
"Are you okay?"
Her words were gentle, her voice was soothing. Inuyasha looked down at his hands, taking in the sight of normal human finger nails, his claws retracted for now. "I'm fine." He whispered into the dark.
"No you're not." Kagome replied with conviction in her voice.
Inuyasha looked up sharply, wanting now more than ever to be able to see her face.
"What's wrong with you today—tonight?" She went on her voice coming across to him as genuinely worried. "You seem, strange—you don't sound like yourself? Are you sick?"
Her worry warmed him and that made him even more scared, would she worry if she knew the truth, would she worry if he told her? Would she stop worrying if she knew? The image of someone he had once known appeared before him and his heart tightened in his chest. Kikyo's gloomy eyes, dark as night, staring at him the words on her lips as harsh as the lines on her face.
"Half demon?"
Her voice was venom. Inuyasha closed his eyes, willing the images away—the tall man and the sakura, the beautiful woman with the harsh mouth and then a different image—Kagome Dresmont reaching for him. Her eyes were full of concern, her expression full of a beauty that the other woman had never possessed. "They're different." A small voice in his head echoed.
"Are you sure?" He asked it, afraid that his instincts in this form were wrong. "What if they're not, what if they're the same?"
"Test it."
The voice responded. Slowly he opened his eyes as her voice drifted to him once again.
"Captain?" She sounded panicky. "Are you alright over there? Talk to me!"
He smiled at the command. "I'm fine." He told her, "I promise I'm not sick, I'm just—you're right, I'm not feeling like myself today."
Kagome bit her lip at his words, worrying at it with her teeth. "Are you sure?"
"Yes, I'm sure." He replied readying himself to obey the voice's suggestion. "Can I ask you one more question?"
Kagome blinked, taken aback by the sudden change in pace. "Um—sure—go ahead."
Inuyasha smiled into the breeze, his eyes somewhat hopeful as he noticed the now slightly lighter tint of the sky. "I was wondering," He began as optimism started to fill his heart again. "If you minded me calling you by your first name the other night?"
Kagome felt her heart beat pick up in her chest. "I—," She whispered into the air, her eyes starting to adjust to the predawn light that was filtering into the night sky. Instantly her mind raced to the day before, the night before, when her name had slipped from his lips. At the time she hadn't even been able to think about what it had sounded like or if she liked it or not but now as she looked back on the occurrence, she found that it was—the way he said it was—it was nice. It was wholly inappropriate but it was nice. "No I didn't—mind." She told him firmly, she hadn't minded at all.
Inuyasha smiled into the dark as he noted the beginning of his change from human to half, the slight twinge of power bubbling within him, the reawakening of his bold nature as the demon came back to life within his veins. "Would you mind, if I continued to call you that, at least—," He added. "When we're alone? I mean it wouldn't be appropriate in front of the crew, but—when it's just you and me I think it'd be—okay."
She couldn't help the smile that formed on her face—and yet—she also couldn't help the feeling of wrongness. It wasn't right. Men called women Miss unless they were married and women called men Mister, that was the way it was. Unmarried women were never addressed by any man in any way other than this, it was wrong—it wasn't done—it was a matter of propriety. "Who cares about propriety?" A small voice asked her, told her. Kagome gulped, excitement building in her at the prospect of what this could mean. "I wouldn't mind," She told him causing his heart to race. "But only on one condition."
Inuyasha felt his heart stop and flip flop to his stomach. "What is it with her and conditions?" He grumbled mentally, "What's the condition this time?"
"Can I," She hesitated only momentarily. "Call you by your first name too?" She finished boldly her chin set firmly in the air, an action he could not see.
Inuyasha nearly fell out of the windowsill, his whole body in a state of shock, not believing he had heard those words, but hoping he had heard them right. Instantly his mind rushed, sending him to another time, another place.
"Can I call you by your first name, Miss Cummings?"He asked the girl as she set at her writing desk, a letter beneath her hands.
She stopped writing and looked up at him, her eyes appearing to contemplate what he had just asked. The contemplation didn't last long however, and she turned away from him again, her words like fire to his ears, burning him. "I don't think that would be appropriate Mr. Inuyasha."
Blinking several times he came back to himself, the pain of the experience weighing down on his heart but the feeling of this new experience was slowly lifting it at the same time. He smiled into the dark and then grinned boldly when he noticed the metaphorical dawn begin to rise, a change from the bleak night that had so haunted him. "Call me by my first name."
"Yes." Kagome stated thinking he was asking her to repeat the condition. "Would it be okay?"
"No." He said bluntly.
Kagome huffed taken aback. "What do you mean no? I won't let you call me by my first name if I can't return the gesture. That's just preposterous—"
"Not like that," He quickly tried to correct cutting off her sentence. "I mean, would you—right now—call me by my name?"
Kagome blinked as she realized what he had meant, her face turning into a blush instantly. "Right now?"
He nodded hastily as he felt the familiar tingle of his blood reawakening within him. "We're alone aren't we?" He stressed as he continued to smile brightly, leaning towards her as much as he could with the windowsill's barrier. "Just say it."
Kagome worried her hands together feeling positively nervous. It was one thing to think of calling someone by their first name but it was another thing entirely too actually do it. It went against everything—everything. "I—I—I just can't say it!"
He snorted as his eyes watched the oncoming dawn as the sun just began to peek out from behind the sea. "It was your condition so fulfill it. Call me by my name!"
"No," She said with a shake of her head as everything she was ever taught held her back. "I'm not ready!"
"It's easy, just say it, open your mouth and say it!" He demanded as his heart raced in his chest, beating so hard he was sure it would simply rip its way out. She had to say it, if she said it that would change things—that would prove that she was different.
"I'm not gonna do it just like that." Kagome continued to protest as every nerve in her body seemed to break down from the stress of going against everything she once had been taught. "It's not something that can be done on command."
"Just do it!" He pressed as he felt the demon within him stir, coming back to life.
"No!" She protested again as her fears weighed heavily on her heart.
"Say it," He commanded as he felt the telltale sign of his ears shifting back to where they belonged. "Just say it."
"I can't."
"Yes you can," He told her as he turned in the sill, leaning closer to her, his body at a dangerous angle on the sill's edge. "Just say it."
She growled, anger welling in her as she felt the embarrassment fueled by years of suppressing her every emotion build within her mind. Gritting her teeth she tried to hold the name back but no matter how hard she held it in, a tiny voice in the back of her head continued to say—just let go—shutting her eyes tightly she did just as it said, allowing his name to leave her lips all but a whisper. "Inuyasha."
The name ran through him like a dagger, hitting his heart, ceasing the beating in his chest as a wave of pure magnetism hit him, clawing at his heart strings as dawn came over the Caribbean ocean, changing him from human to half, his ears once again twitching on his head, his fangs once again poking at his lips, his hair once again a drastic silver, and his eyes once again a mesmerizing gold. The surge of energy that hit him was invigorating, and he swore he could have run around the world in that moment, not just because his demon blood had returned but also because her voice saying his name had just been that powerful.
"Kagome." He managed to say, his heart beating wildly, his whole mind thrilled that she had been able to say what the other woman had not.
Beside him and yet far away from him, Kagome opened her eyes, surprised that the end of the world had really not come. "Inuyasha." She repeated into the night air. "Is it really that simple?"
"It is, Kagome." He told her through the wall, as he inhaled her scent deeply having missed it this whole time. "It really is that simple."
Kagome smiled, "I'm glad," She whispered lowly but he heard it as if she had shouted. "I really am—Inuyasha."
His heart fluttered in his chest. "Kagome."
"Inuyasha." And with that last call, they both went silent as a connection that was delicate became just a little stronger.
-break-
Naraku stood on the helm's deck of his father's ship, his eyes looking at Hiten in front of him as he slowly steered the vessel just as his father had commanded him. A smile graced his face as he looked at the nervous Hiten who he was currently questioning about the strange jewel fragments that rested in the demon's head a slow and arduous process.
"Shikon no Tama." The words slipped from his tongue, unfamiliar to his lips his eyes staring at Hiten as he spoke, his voice dripping with venom. "With these fragments, you gain power?"
"Yes," Hiten acknowledged as he stood in front of the man on the other side of the ship's wheel, his whole body shaking with completely justified fear. Naraku Morgan was a scary looking man with an insane gleam in his eyes that made Hiten shudder, ice building on his spin from one look at Naraku.
"Why do you put them in your head?" Naraku asked as he turned the ship a few degrees to the left, his eyes searching for landmarks in the afternoon sun. He had spent some time on ships as a young lad, younger than he was now ten or twelve years perhaps, and during those times his father had made sure to teach him how to steer a vessel, how to read the waves, and most importantly how to read to sky.
Hiten gulped and shifted nervously from side to side. "When you put them in your flesh they amplify your power." He licked his lips. "It's like they enhance whatever abilities you already have."
For all of a second, Naraku's brows rose into his hair line, taking in that information quietly, too quietly. He smiled but otherwise, made no move and said no words in regards to this new found fact. Naraku then glanced at Hiten's head and frowned as if something was just coming to him. "Did your brother have them as well?"
"Yes, he had two fragments, I have three." Hiten told him, shifting slightly, his eyes darting refusing to make contact with Naraku.
Naraku looked at Hiten with confident eyes. "That dog, does he have them now?"
"I'm not sure." Hiten admitted slowly, his eyes daring to look at Naraku, gauging his reaction. "All I know is that he killed my brother, there was no body so I couldn't recover the shards.
Naraku nodded, his eyebrows knitting as he took in this information. "Hm," He shrugged, everything about him appearing otherwise indifferent. "There's nothing we can do about that now."
Hiten practically sighed in relief, his initial fear leaving his body.
"That dog's probably too stupid to use them anyway." He muttered while turning the helm a fraction once again, his face inquisitive as he glanced at Hiten. "These fragments," Naraku questioned as the sight of his father coming onto the deck below them caught his eye making him growl. "Were they once part of one jewel?"
"According to legend," Hiten mumbled low as he noticed Mr. Morgan as well. "Yes, they were once whole."
"What is the jewel's history then?" Naraku asked as he concentrated on the sight of his father and Mr. Dresmont on the deck. He didn't want them to get to close for fear they would over hear the conversation. "Why is it now in pieces?"
Hiten gulped. "Legend says the Shikon no Toma was created by a powerful demon in order to control the sea."
Naraku narrowed his eyes even further, his lips curling into a strange smirk. "I see, then what shattered it?"
Hiten shifted uncomfortably again, looking down at the elder Morgan and the male Dresmont, they appeared to be talking softly, taking in the sea air. It didn't look like they would approach the helms deck. Turning back to Naraku he scratched the back of his head before continuing his story of the legendary jewel. "Well, he was killed by a group of men who took it and fought over it. They eventually broke it into pieces so they wouldn't fight."
"How sad that a demon would do something so—civil." Naraku mumbled as he clicked his tongue. "How did you obtain your shards, Mr. Hiten?"
"I found them," He admitted honestly. "Accidently."
"Accidently?" Naraku repeated, his eyes shifting so he could take in the sight of Hiten, everything about him appearing curious and deadly.
"Yes," Hiten stuttered as he talked, "My brother and I were searching for some treasure we had buried in the upper America's and we found those shards instead."
"Hm," Naraku frowned, if the shards had been found by accident then his plan would be upset greatly. He needed to find these shards, he needed to find all of them as quickly as he could but if there was no easy way to find them, no certain tool he could use or a map, then that would be impossible.
"Tell me quickly," Naraku grunted out when he noticed his father starting towards the stairs that lead to the helms deck. "Have you ever heard of anyone who knows how to find them?"
"Well," Hiten muttered as he glanced towards the boys' father quickly approaching. "There is—a rumor."
"A rumor?" Naraku inquired intrigued as his eyes stayed trained on his father who had just mounted the stairs.
"Yes," Hiten said hurriedly in a hushed whisper. "An old woman who lives in New Orleans, they say her family knows a lot about the jewel."
This information surprised Naraku greatly, showing only briefly on his face before he frowned deeply. "A family that knows about the jewel?"
"Yes," Hiten nodded firmly. "Some people believe that they might even have a method for seeing them."
"Really?" Naraku smiled slowly at the words. "If they know how to find them," He informed the air quietly so his father would not hear as he approached. "And that dog has them," The smile became a sly smirk. "Then I can find the dog and the shards."
With those words hanging in the air Henry Morgan came to stand on the helm's deck, looking between Naraku and Hiten with almost paranoid eyes. Behind him, still waiting on the stairs, was the equally suspicious Mr. Dresmont, his eyes trained on the young fourteen year old, distrustful. Mr. Morgan rubbed his nose oddly and took a step towards his son who continued to navigate as if it was nothing. "What are you two doing up here, Naraku?" The man asked, his eyes looking between the two, darting back and forth.
"It would seem I am navigating father." Naraku replied nonchalantly his shoulders shrugging in a very teenage manner. "As for Mr. Hiten, he was simply keeping me company."
Henry Morgan stared at his son, biting his lip slightly as he took in the boys appearance, the none committal response, the way his hands continued to hold the wheel slowly manipulating it so the rudder beneath would turn. He appeared defiant in a strange nonverbal way as if he was issuing a challenge. "I see." Morgan let the words slip off his tongue slowly not wanting Naraku to think he had accepted the answer to easily. "Well, Mr. Hiten." He turned towards the other man, prepared to talk to him as he had originally intended upon coming to the helm's deck. "We have made it out of Trinidad's waters, where do you suggest we go from here?"
Hiten furrowed his brow in thought and looked out across the waters his mind drifting to every possible place Captain Inuyasha might be going. It was then that he felt the chill on his spin, every instinct he had taking over his mind. He felt the urge to run, as if something incredibly dangerous was nearby, it was the same feeling his ancestors must have felt when faced with a cobra—he wanted to flee, the instincts of fight and flight strong in the direction of flight but he knew, should he run the cobra would spring and he would die.
Slowly, Hiten looked to the source of his instinctual fear, the young Naraku Morgan was staring him down, conveying something through smoldering eyes, eyes filled with a fire that made every hair on the back of Hiten's neck stand on end.
"I believe Mr. Hiten was just offering me a suggestion a moment ago, father." Naraku said, his eyes seeming to blaze conveying his message.
"Really?" Henry Morgan replied intrigued looking from his son back to Hiten expectantly.
"Yes," Naraku replied for him, drawing his father's gaze back to himself. "Mr. Hiten was telling me that they might have obtained something off his brother, something valuable that can only be traded in one area of the world, what was it Mr. Hiten?" Naraku turned his gaze to the older demon, his eyes conveying a dark message—tell them or die.
Hiten gulped, the heat of Naraku's stare resting on his face, protruding into his soul. "Yes, I—um—that is—New Orleans. I believe they were headed to New Orleans. It's the only place to trade it in." He glanced at Naraku, waiting for the child's approval, when the man smiled he felt a sense of relief, his instincts telling him that the Cobra would not attack—for now.
Mr. Morgan nodded his eyes firm but pleased. "I guess that is a good start." He said as he looked at Hiten with a smile. "Let's go ahead and adjust our bearing, we'll stop to gather supplies in Hispaniola." With that Mr. Morgan turned around and walked back down the stairs, Mr. Dresmont who had been standing mutely behind him the whole time turned and followed, his posture hunched as if he too had known that something incredibly dangerous was lurking in the shadows.
Naraku smirked from his place at the helm, adjusting his bearing just as his father had told him too. It was all too easy.
Beside him Hiten looked on, feeling incredibly small next to this boy. It was an odd sensation for him, all his life he had been a powerful demon pirate, he had ruled the southern Caribbean with his legend alone, people fearing his name even above the sight of his face. He glanced behind him, taking in the sight of The Thunder following close behind. With his sharp vision he could just make out his helmsmen on the deck, directing his ship to follow the Hopewell exactly. How he wished he was on that ship, where things were familiar, where he was feared, where his victims were the ones paranoid and not the other way around. With a deep breath Hiten looked at Naraku Morgan and frowned, sweat trickling down his brow as one thought continued to repeat over and over again through his head:
How could a boy that young, feel that evil?
-break-
Several hours later found Kagome standing at the very front of the ship Shikuro, leaning against one of the rails as she looked down into the water below her feet. The ship was moving at a remarkable speed, tearing through the water like a well sharpened sword through paper. In the surf she could see dolphins playing, jumping out of the water like shinny cannonballs as they rode the waves. She smiled happily as they zigzagged before her, seeming to dance as they moved. "Beautiful." She thought a grin still on her face as the hot afternoon sun poured down from the sky warming her skin deliciously. At that moment the wind picked up sharply and Kagome found some of the little strands of her hair in her eyes. With a huff she moved the strands away, batting them with her hand, her irritation clear upon her face. "Stupid hair." She grumbled unaware she was being watched.
Several feet away Inuyasha stopped his approach so he could take in the sight, his mind mulling over the strands with interest. "Her hair, it's grown." He noted with a smile, as he took in the now slightly longer hair, it couldn't have been more than a centimeter or two and yet—it was profound—it showed that she had been a part of his life for some time now—almost three weeks. Briefly his mind flashed to the night before, to their conversation.
"Can I call you by your name too?"
The very thought of her words warmed him to the very core, she had said his name, she had broken the barrier of social class—she had done it when she said his name, she had changed their dynamic. She proved she was different than the other girl. He smiled at the thought before he caught a twinkle with his eye. Following the sparkle, he found his eyes on the gemstone that hung around Kagome's neck. "She hasn't even mentioned it." He commented to himself as he watched the little jewel twist this way and that as the wind mused it just as it did Kagome's hair. "I know she knows its mine," He furrowed his brow. "You would think she would question why she was wearing," He crossed his arms over his chest. "I'm almost positive she doesn't remember anything about Manten—at least it seems that way." He huffed feeling tired all the sudden. "Too much shit going on all at once."
"I wonder what island that is." Kagome questioned breaking up his thoughts.
Blinking a few times he forced himself to continue heading towards her until he was standing next to her left shoulder. "That's Cuba." He informed gruffly as he looked out at the nearing shore.
Kagome jumped slightly, turning towards him hastily in surprise. "Wh—," She tried to say but felt a lump form in her throat as she took in the sight of his silver hair shinning in the bright sun and his golden eyes seeming to glow as they reflected the light around them. "Handsome." She barely managed to think before her face filled with color and she turned away shyly. "Hello," She whispered her voice sounding shaky. "Cap—Inuya—Ca um," She shifted nervously not sure what she should call him. "That is um, I mean" She stuttered and closed her eyes feeling absolutely humiliated. "Cap—tain."
"Kagome," He replied very lowly enjoying her sweet innocence as she shifted back and forth looking positively adorable and shy.
Kagome felt her heart clench in her chest at the sound of his breathy whisper the intimacy of the action making her warm all over as his eyes gazed at her with a soft and happy texture. Taking a deep breath and giving him a shy smile she responded in kind. "Inuyasha," Her face grew even hotter at the lack of formality in her own voice and she looked down at the ground refusing to look at him for fear of what those gentle eyes might make her feel.
"How are you going today?" He asked his voice still soft as if not wanting to be overheard.
"Fine and yourself?" She asked for proprieties sake if not anything else.
"Just great," He told her honestly as he watched her out of the corner of his eye. "I'm excited to go to Cuba."
Kagome seemed to snap out of her stupor at his words, bringing her eyes up to look at him surprised. "Did you say Cuba?"
He tilted his head to the side raising an eyebrow. "I did."
"Wow!" She uttered in shock before looking back at the Island nation. "We've come that far?"
"Yeah," He told her smugly. "That's the power of my ship." The pride for his crew and his ship showed on his face as he finished.
Kagome turned and looked at him, remembering all the way back to a conversation they had once had. It seemed so long ago—that first conversation on Port Royal but the memories were still fresh and in the forefront of her mind. The way he had spoken of the ship then, the pride he had taken in designing the ship himself, it had been endearing then just as his pride was now. "The men are rowing?"
"That's the only way we'll get into the harbor quick enough." Inuyasha said with a nod to reiterate his point. "Almost all hands are below, except the riggers and Sango." He tipped his head backwards motioning towards the girl that was working on the helm. "Even Shippo's down their helping Miroku; kid's gotta learn somehow."
Kagome nodded her understanding and looked behind her at the sight of Sango at the wheel dressed as always, with her jacket and four cornered hat. It was fitting, her standing in those clothes at the helm of the ship, guiding them, directing them towards the Island of Cuba.
"Sango's a good helmsmen but she hates the job." Inuyasha told her with an airy laugh as he leaned forward crossing his arms above the rail before resting his chin on top of his forearms.
Kagome turned to look at him, giving him an odd glance, "He's being so," She struggled to find the right word. "Different, so familiar like we're friends or—." She felt the blush come to her cheeks once more. "At this rate I'm going to be permanently red." She groaned internally as she opted to ignore his strange mannerisms and stay on the safe subject of Sango. "Why does she hate it?"
"It's a fucking horrible job." The Captain said evenly as he took in a deep breath of salt air. "You can't move, you just stand there all day at the helm, directing the ship, rooted to one spot." He sighed heavily as if to bring home his exasperation with the job even further. "I hate it myself."
Kagome nodded her head at the Captain in understanding. "I guess that would be a—um—horrible job." She said feeling a little strange, not wanting to say such a disgusting slang word. "So we're going to Cuba?" She changed the subject again.
Inuyasha glanced at her out of the corner of his eye as if he knew that she was changing the subject on purpose once more. If he did know, however, he didn't say anything just nodded his head and continued on with the conversation, "We're going to Havana, the Capitol." He told her as he looked away out towards the Island shape that was forming before them, "It's one of my favorite places in all of the Atlantic."
"Havana?" she acknowledged softly, "Why do you like Havana so much?"
"One word Kagome," The Captain said both of their hearts skipping a beat as he said her name. "Rum."
If Kagome could have fallen flat on her face in shock, she would have. "Rum," she questioned with a raised eyebrow. "As in the alcohol?"
"You got it," Inuyasha said with a slight smirk on his face. "Havana has the best Rum in the world." The Captain licked his lips as if he was already savoring the taste. "Believe me, I know."
"Is that the only reason we're docking there," Kagome asked dryly before adding somewhat shyly. "Inuyasha?"
The Captain looked at her both of them staring at each other as the name hung in the air. It was one thing for the Captain to say Kagome but it was entirely different when Kagome gathered the courage to say Inuyasha. It almost sounded dirty when the name left the proper woman's lips but more importantly it felt freeing to both of them. He smiled shyly, the same eighteen year old smile he had given her at the Port of Spain while writing in the dirt and shook his head. "Rum ain't the only reason," He told her bluntly as he stood back up, stretching, his hands far above his head eyes closed.
Kagome watched as he yawned, his tongue coming out of his mouth like a dog's curling slightly. Vaguely, she registered that his tongue was very long, longer than any tongue she had ever seen. Suddenly, as she realized what she was thinking she flushed and turned away.
The Captain opened his eyes, popping his neck and shoulders before putting his clawed hands back on the rail, holding onto them lightly. "The men need some shore leave since we ducked out of the Port of Spain so fast." He told her, his eyes steady as they looked forward. "And this port is a nice place to take some leave."
"Is it a fun port?" Kagome inquired as she too looked out at the fast approaching island.
The Captain pursed his lips and looked at her sideways, his eyes catching hers. They looked at each other for several minutes, their eyes locked, his hair flowing around his head and body, her hair flowing only around her temples and eyes. Slowly, that boyish smile seemed to grow bigger and mischievous, a little fang peeking out from under his upper lip.
Kagome felt her heart begin to beat in its cage, by now a familiar sensation. She brought her hand to her chest, fixing it in the material of her clothes, trying to look nonchalant but failing miserably. What was that look about? Why was he giving her such a sweet and beautiful smile, with such an adorable little fang?
The Captain turned away from her suddenly, holding onto the rail tightly so he could lean away from it, his body hovering above the wood of the ship, his head tilting back catching the breeze before he pulled himself roughly forward. "Kagome it's an island filled with rum, rum automatically equals fun."
Kagome might have banged her head on the rail but the sound of Sango yelling prevented the action.
"Captain!" The older woman yelled from behind them and the Captain turned looking up at Sango expectantly.
"What!"
"I need your help!" The woman growled out, her face looking mildly annoyed.
"Fine!" He yelled back and then looked over at Kagome with a smirk on his face. "It seems we have been interrupted." He let out a long sigh before smiling boldly. "Well parting is such sweet sorrow." He joked as he turned around starting towards Sango and the helm.
Kagome blinked as the familiar line filled her ears, every fiber of her being chasing down its importance, only to grind to a halt as an irony hit her. "Romeo—," She called, "Why do you speak the lines of fair Juliet?"
Inuyasha froze and whipped his head back to look at her, his brows drawn into a tight line as he studied her face with interest, as if contemplating some deep unnerving truth. He smirked finally and brought a hand to the back of his head, rubbing at the fine hairs there.
"Captain!" Sango yelled again, loudly demanding attention from her spot. "I need your expertise, now!"
He glanced back at Sango and then turned to Kagome once again, looking oddly stunned but seemingly excited. "You're just full of surprises, aren't you Kagome?" He managed to get out before he turned and rushed away from her, his duty to the ship and to the inpatient Sango great enough to make him leave her side.
Kagome smiled shyly as she watched him jump with practiced ease from the main deck to the helm deck, landing next to the fuming Sango, "It appears," She whispered into the sea air that ruffled the sails, creating a gentle rhythmic sound as they moved forward towards their current destination. "That we are both full of surprises, Inuyasha."
End of Chapter
Please Review
The languages (in order of appearance) were Japanese, German, Greek, Latin, Spanish, and French. Note: These are not the only languages Inuyasha can speak ^^ Translation help for French, Spanish, and Greek comes from glon morski, LittleMargarita, and podamanamou respectively.
Edited for Content 6/25/2011 and 7/31/2012
Bonus Point:
The title of this chapter parodies the title of episode 13, what is the other half of that episodes title that is missing? _?_ and the Black-haired Inuyasha
Also—I'm just curious who would like to see the rosary/subjugation/SIT beads appear and who would not?
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
and sometimes Y and W believe it or not. Y is a vowel in many words including, My, Sky, Why, Bye, Fly, Try, and Rhythm. W can also be used as a vowel, as seen in such words as Awe, Bow, Known, Lawn, and Yawn. However, the W is only technically a vowel in these words, because it helps create the vowel sound. Anyway, enough grammar, congrats to the winners:
James'Lover13, wolfy the snow wolf, bladedfeather, TheRealInuyasha, ravenreux, InuKag4eva, KagomeLoverOfInuyasha, TheBookAddict, Warm-Amber92, AnimeRomanceFreak1990, Purple Dragon Ranger, BoredGirl17, LovesDepp, SilverMoonLit, Litle C, glon morski, Sheveen, ruby the hedgehog
P.S. Reader pointed out an interesting fact, in their native language, Croatian, 'R' can also be a vowel!
Notes:
"Parting is such sweet sorrow," is from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, the phrase appears in Act 2 Scene 2 Line 184 and is spoken by Juliet.
Havana is the capital city and a major port of Cuba.
Next Chapter:
N/A
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED 4/27/2011