Chapter Sixteen: Confessions

Jack awoke with a start as the first rays of morning light showed through the bamboo twigs of Kaede's hut. His back stung, but the excruciating pain that he had felt the night before was gone. To this thought, his chest loosened, and he stood up. Wearily, he sauntered to the door and walked outside. The air smelled like pine, and Jack too the pleasant aroma in. He touched his ear to his shoulder and felt a joint in his neck crack and loosen. The same procedure was repeated with the same results. Feeling much better, Jack turned and went back into his temporary home. When he walked in, he was startled to find Inuyasha sitting on the floor.

"G'morning, mate," Jack greeted with a smile. Inuyasha remained emotionless and continued to stare at the pirate before him. The half-demon wanted to know what had occurred between Jack and Kagome last night. "Well, what have I done to deserve a meeting with a half-dog this early in the morning?"

Inuyasha was about to answer when Miroku burst into the hut, uttering, "Greetings. I decided to join you because Sango and Kagome said that I could find you here. They are going into the woods for a bath. I would have followed them, but this morning is far too good to develop a bump on my head." Jack laughed slightly at this, and Inuyasha shook his head.

"'Ello, mate." Jack folded his arms and leaned against the wall.

"To answer your question, Jack." Inuyasha paused and looked at Miroku, who had now sat on the floor. "I came to tell you that I thank you for saving Kagome."

"No worries, savvy? Plus, it is Sango that is the real hero, or should I say, heroine, because Sango is, in fact, a woman."

"Yes, she is a woman," Miroku stated, "a strong, talented, beautiful woman. Her black hair is so textured and held up by her perfect posture that y…"

"Can it, monk," Inuyasha interjected.

"I'm guessing that you like her, Miroku, right?" Jack inquired.

"No, I do not like Sango."

"You are bad at lying, mate."

"I am?"

"Yes!"

"I agree," Inuyasha said.

Miroku looked down at his hands. "I guess I do, but I like other girls, too," Miroku commented.

"Maybe, but when you see Sango, your eyes do this weird flashy thing." Inuyasha modeled a flash by flicking his fingers by his eyes.

"They do?"

"Uh-huh."

"Oh."

"That's very interesting." Jack spoke as he joined Inuyasha and Miroku on the floor.

"Not as interesting as Inuyasha's nose twitching when he sees Kagome," Miroku added.

"It is not twitching; I am smelling so I can check for danger," Inuyasha asserted.

"Oh, the danger in Kagome's pear-scented shampoo that is in her hair."

"It's apple, Miroku,' Inuysha corrected. Jack and Miroku could not hold back their laughter. "What? Oh… Damnit."

"So, you actually came to ask me what happened between myself and Kagome last night, which means you like her," Jack tried to say through snickers.

"No, I did not and I do not," Inuyasha growled.

"You, also, are a terrible liar, mate. What is it with Japanese people and not being able to lie?"

"So I like Kagome, big deal! By the way, what did happen between you two?"

Jack answered Inuyasha's question by telling both Miroku and the half dog the story of what happened the night before, leaving out all parts after her starting to cry.

"You didn't want to take off your shirt in front of Sango?" Miroku asked.

"No, I am actually a very modest person when I am not drunk or trying to escape," Jack answered.

"So have you ever loved anyone?"

"A pirate is not permitted to love. In my life, love brings hurt and unchangeable circumstances."

"But if you do not love, then why are you looking for this little girl?"

"Because if I don't, I will be hanged, and I would not wish that kind of a fate. I would rather be killed here with some honor than to be killed at Port-Royale with no honor at all but disgust and bitterness towards me and my profession, savvy?"

"My instincts tell me you do have feelings toward this girl and, maybe, her whole family," Inuyasha remarked.

"You're wrong." Jack felt his heart slow down a notch—it happened every time he lied.

Inuyasha sensed this and said, "I sensed that your heart slowed, so you must be lying."

"The whole half-demon thing?"

"Yeah."

"Alright, the Turners are my family. They saved my life once and I theirs. I would hate it if anything happened to any of them, especially Jacklyn, who is only six. I al…" Jack stopped because he heard a noise from outside. He assumed that Inuyasha and Miroku had heard it also, for their heads were turned towards the door.

"Miroku, go check it out," Inuyasha commanded in a whisper as soft as wind.

"Why me?" Miroku questioned.

"Because I said so!" Miroku got up and poked his head through the hut's cloth door. He looked up and to his right and saw nothing. Miroku did not bother looking to his left, because he felt there was no danger, so he drew his head back inside the hut. At the left of the door, Sango and Kagome giggled as they thought of the guys' conversation they had heard from beginning to end