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Disclaimer:  Again I don't own anyone from Inuyasha, but I'd kill to own Fluffy-chan for a night. J

AN:  Despite my brother's girlfriend's demands, this will not be a threesome!!  Somehow I doubt Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru would be willing to share, Kagome probably wouldn't be too happy either.  Anyway, I've decided on the pairing but for those who don't know it will be wishy-washy between the two.  And if you hadn't guessed, the other characters will be making appearances but as of now will not play a major role.  Kikyo will not have a part in this story!  Kouga might be in one maybe two chapters; and Naraku might make a two minute appearance but not as anyone special.

I'm sorry it took me soo long to get this chapter out.  I was having issues writing Inuyasha's character.  I wrote this chapter once already but I felt like I was copping out really bad so I redid it.  So here it is.

Chapter 2

 "You two are coming with us."

"Why are they coming with us?"  Miroku asked, cocking his head to the side again.  It didn't look quite as innocent this time with the fresh handprint on his cheek.

"I've heard her name somewhere before.  And the name is unusual, you said so yourself.  If I heard it from Sesshoumaru then she is probably from the nobility."  Miroku's eyes widened with understanding.

"Aahh.  Ransom." 

'Oh no!'  Kagome's mind screamed at her.  She had purposely not told them her last name to avoid this but it was for naught apparently.  She'd be damned if she went quietly.

"Let me go!  I'm not going anywhere!"  She yelled at him as she tried to jerk her arm free.  He smirked arrogantly at her.

"Oh?  Even though all the provisions from this ship are now on mine?  Not to mention that there would be no crew to run the ship."  She paled considerably in response to his condescending words; she consequently stopped struggling and shifted her blue gaze to the boards below her feet.  Inuyasha keenly felt the loss of that small contact with her; holding her arm was one thing but being able to look into her eyes was a totally different experience.  'Such exquisite eyes…' He violently berated himself mentally for thinking such a thought.

"No crew?  You mean you …killed… everyone?"  Her voice was small, timid, totally different from the when she had been yelling at him.  Her shoulders were sagging, her bottom lip was quivering slightly, and her blue eyes had gone watery.  'Wait a minute!'  Inuyasha thought with alarm, the hairs on the back of his neck raising.  'Watery eyes?  Quivering lip?  She's not…not…'

Kagome couldn't believe what was happening to her.  Everything had started out fine, but now… 'Everyone's dead?  Captain Bowles?  Is he dead too?'  Kagome felt her eyes begin to water up and burn.  'No!  I'm not going to cry.  Not in front of him!' she pressed her lips together to keep them from trembling. Despite herself, however, a small sob squeezed its way past her tightly pursed lips, coming out like a breathy hiccup. 

'No no no no no no no no!!  Don't cry!'  He was a pirate damn it!  So…so what if she was cr…crying.  It didn't matter.  Did it?   'Shit.'  It wouldn't have been so bad if he could rid himself of the feeling of over-whelming guilt that washed over him like a tidal wave.  It was strangely akin to feeling as if he had just stabbed a little girl's pet kitten and made her watch it mew and bleed to death.  To say it was heart wrenching was a major understatement.  No, he was going to ignore it.  Let her cry, he was still going to have it his way.  Inuyasha glared down at her to see a tear slide down her cheek and felt every resolve in his body crumble.

"Don't cry!" He roared.  Kagome looked up at him, surprised, then angry.

"What do you expect me to do?  You've killed everyone on the ship and you want me to happy??"

"I don't care what you do just don't cry!"  They glared at each other for a moment more before Inuyasha came to a decision.  'If she won't come willingly then…' Inuyasha pulled her arm toward him suddenly, just hard enough to throw off her balance.  Kagome gasped as she fell towards his body, 'What is he…' Inuyasha bent at his knees, and brought his shoulder against her stomach and stood up with her thrown over his shoulder.  It took her a minute to recover but the moment she realized her position she didn't even have to think before she acted.  She screamed at the top of her lungs. 

"Gaahh!  Don't scream!"  Inuyasha called back to her from over his shoulder.

"Then let me down!" 

"Well, if you wont come willing then what options does that leave me?" 

"Inuyasha," Miroku started, looking at him aghast.  "That is not the way to treat a lady."  Inuyasha growled at him as he stepped out into the narrow halls.

'Inuyasha?  And he said my name was unusual.'  Kagome thought distantly as she pounded her fisted hands onto his back without effect.

"Oh shut up Miroku!  Bring up the old hag."

~*_*~

"Put me down!" she yelled at him as best she could from her position over his shoulder.  When no response was forth coming, Kagome resumed beating his back with her fists.  She would have kicked her legs as well, but, given her position, Kagome was worried about someone getting a good look up her dress; that would be far more mortifying than just being carried around on this guy's shoulder.  'Excuse me.' She thought with frown, 'Inuyasha's shoulder.'   Bright sunlight assaulted her eyes as they emerged on deck; Kagome, noticing the blood, closed her eyes.

Inuyasha's back was aching from all her pounding; she wasn't overly strong, but she somehow possessed the ability to hit the exact same spot over and over again.  When they reached the deck, Inuyasha felt her take a shallow breath; 'She probably saw someone's hand laying around.'  Except for themselves, the deck was empty, the pirate crew having returned to their assigned ships.  The two pirate ships floated on either side of the beaten vessel; ropes that were usually used for mooring were tied at the aft and the frontward hull on either side to keep all three ships floating abreast.  Inuyasha watched as Miroku and the old governess walked precariously on a plank that connected the Fair Maiden, Miroku's ship, and the empty ship.  Walking over to the opposite side of the deck, Inuyasha found a similar plank awaiting him and Kagome leading to the Vindos.  When he hopped up onto the plank over the railing, Kagome gave a startled yelp at the sudden movement.  

"What are you doing?" she called out to him, her voice laced with worry.

"What does it look like?" he snorted back.  'Like I can see much.'  She snorted to herself.  Inuyasha was trying to focus on keeping his balance on the shifting plank beneath his feet; normally it wouldn't have been a problem, he had done it a hundred times before, but the girl's added weight to one side threw off his center of balance. 

Kagome couldn't look down; all she'd see was a little piece of wood between them and a personal meeting with the freezing waters of the Arctic Ocean.  Inuyasha seemed to be taking his time, either out of caution or to irk her, Kagome didn't know or care at the moment; all she wanted was to get onto the other ship, even if it was a pirate ship.  'We're going to be fine.  I'm sure that with just one more step…' The step never came as several things happened at once; first a strong gust of wind threatened to tip them over, the wind brought a large wave that caused the boats to lurch forward harshly.  Kagome, panicking, pushed her hands onto his back and pushed up, unconsciously shifting her weight forward.  Inuyasha, who had been just barely keeping level, lost their fragile balance and tumbled forward. 

Kagome gave a pained cry as her rear and back were slammed into the plank beneath them; her eyesight dimmed profusely around the edges when the back of her head hit as well.  Kagome closed her eyes for a moment, willing her sight back to normal, but as she did so she became aware of a heavy pressure on her lower abdomen and legs.  After shaking her head briefly, she opened her eyes to see what it was; her breath caught.

Inuyasha had hit the plank hard, but what he couldn't figure out was what the things were that were jabbing him painfully in the lower ribs.  Whatever they were, they were making breathing extremely difficult.  Despite the discomfort for his midsection, Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that his head was resting on something softer…and warm?  'What the hell?'  Looking up Inuyasha figured it out all to quickly.  His eyes met her larger ones; he didn't have to blink twice to notice the scarlet blush that spread across her face.  'Why is she blushi…oh.'  The thought ended abruptly as a blush of his own spread when his eyes traveled downward to her skirt; or he should say, were her skirt had been. In their fall it must have caught the wind or twisted or something, because it was now bunched up around her upper thighs. 

Inuyasha quickly scrambled to bring his arms to either side of her trim waist and stilted his body away from hers.  Kagome just a quickly pushed her dress down with a mortified "eep" and struggled to get herself away as she crawled backwards on the plank. In her haste, Kagome failed to note the end of the plank and fell unceremoniously onto the ship's deck with a painful thud.  She rose to her feet as quickly as she could, swaying slightly as she eyed Inuyasha, who was up again and walking the rest of the wooded walkway.  Inuyasha, hopped down onto the deck of his ship, painfully aware of the eyes of his crew, who were currently laughing at them.  He glanced out of the corner of his eye to see Kagome completely fascinated with the planks of the deck, the blush having reddened further.

"I'm sorry." She murmured so quietly that he had barely caught it.  Everyone was watching him for a response, so he did what came natural,

"It was your fault."   Kagome blinked at him.

"What?"

"It was your fault.  If you hadn't tried to sit up, it never would have happened.  Geez, I'm probably going to have bruises from those knobby knees."  He huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.  Kagome gawked at him; did he have no manners what so ever?

"Knobby knees?" she snarled at him and received an affirmative head nod.

"Well at least I can walk properly." She quipped snottily and turned her eyes from him, so she didn't see him glowering at her.

"I told you woman it was your fault!  I wouldn't have had a problem if not for you!"  Kagome tried to hide the smirk that threatened to erupt onto her features as she decided to go for every man's weakness; his pride.

"Only weaklings make excuses for themselves."  It was Inuyasha's turn to gawk.  'Why that little…" One of his sailors called out to him before he could answer.

"I believe you've found yer match capin!"  He laughed with a couple of the others.

"Mind your own business Jake!  And what's with the rest of you?" Inuyasha yelled, his eyes sweeping across the crowed deck.  "Cut those moorings and lets be off!  If Miroku beats us home I have to buy him ale!"  He added the last as an after thought when he caught a glimpse of the Fair Maiden already sailing northwest toward the horizon.  As the men immediately began to work, Inuyasha stomped over to Kagome and grabbed her roughly by the arm.  Instead of protesting his grip like he thought she would, Kagome asked about her things.

"You'll live without them." He answered curtly.

"But what will I wear?" She demanded angrily.

"Frankly, I don't care!  You won't be leaving your room until we reach our destination.  Go naked for all I care."  They both glanced at each other with a blush and Kagome deftly changed subjects.

"And were is our destination?" she asked almost politely as they descended some stairs into the depths of the ship, toward the cabins.

"That," he started as he stopped at a door and took out a set of keys from a pouch on his belt.  "is for me to know."  He pushed open the heavy door and practically shoved her inside the room.  Kagome stopped stiffly and surveyed the room briefly.  There was a low bunk to one side of the cramped room, a chair, and an empty water basin.

"Well, have fun!" Inuyasha called as he slammed the door shut and locked it.  Distantly, muffled through wood, he heard the soft thumps of her fists against the wood. 

"Why an I being locked in?" Kagome demanded, on the verge of tears.

"For your own safety." He answered simply, and Kagome heard the clunking of his boots drift away.  She slid down to her knees in front of the door, a few tears leaking out.  Suddenly, something popped into her head and Kagome's lips smirked impishly.

Inuyasha was going to get a few surprises when he got back.

AN:  GOMEN!!!!  I'm sorry that it's so much shorter that the last one.  I promise that the next one will be longer!  And more stuff happens in the next chapter, I realize that this one probably drags.  PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!  I LIKE REVIEWS!!!!!!  How was Inuyasha's character?  He's so hard to write!

Review Responses:

DemonBlade:  Thank you so much!!!  The first reviewer!!  I hope you like this chapter.

Laura-chan:  I dunno, I just can't figure out what you're trying to tell me.  J  Thanks so much!!

J.Garibaldi:  Thank you!!!!

Vesta, the Great:  *grovels appropriately* I am greatly honored by your praise and hope that you find this chapter enjoyable!

Crystallord:  Thank you!  I'm glad to know I got Miroku down. 

DaRk_AnGeL:  Thank you!!!

Cat Demon:  Thanks!

Misao CG:  I'm glad you like it!  How was this one?

Talon skydragon:  Yes, it is adorable to imagine him in those clothes.  I can't wait to get to Sesshoumaru!

Megan:  Thanks!!

Saori:  Thank you!!  Here's the next one!! I hope you like it!

Hatokirei:  Thank you again!  And remember what I said earlier!  NO THREESOMES!!!  J

These are terms for others as well as myself.  I've always had problems remembering which was aft or starboard or whatever.

Aft- the rear, stern

Starboard – right

Port – left

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