Disclaimer: I don't own this, blah blah blah blah
AN: Hey again, thanks for the reviews. I'll still write this story, but the more reviews I get, the quicker I write(hint hint)
The Last Bohemian
Chapter Two
Lost Heart
The ramp creaked as Inuyasha tripped up the shaky wood. Hints of dawn could be seen in the distance as reds at purples began to rise on the horizon. The woman in his arms laid still, her hair loose from the blowing wind. She was probably unconscious from fright. Her hands were pale and thin, face white like porcelain decorated with pink lips and a small nose. Behind her lids were deceptive translucent eyes, eyes he did not wish to see again. He shook his head. Kikyô had ruined their lives. Now, she would pay the price.
Inuyasha stepped on the deck, heading towards the cabin, the girl hanging limply in his arms. Men stepped aside for the youth, watching him in silence. They all knew whom he held in his arms. They all felt the betrayal. Inuyasha took a hesitant step forward and opened the door to the cabin. The captain sat inside at his desk, writing impatiently. He stopped abruptly at the interruption.
"Yes, what is it, man?" the captain asked. He sat still in his desk without turning around. Inuyasha waited several seconds before answering.
"Take a look, Captain." Inuyasha spoke quietly. The captain laughed.
"So, it's you, Inuyasha." He said while turning around. "What is. . ." His mouth fell open and the crinkles in his face scrunched up in confusion, and anger. "Kikyô." He whispered darkly. "So we've found her at last." The woman lay unconscious in the chair, oblivious to her surroundings. Inuyasha glared at the girl. "I know its hard on you especially, Inuyasha." The boy just looked away.
"What should we do with her?" Inuyasha gritted out. The captain shook his head wearily.
"We have to wait until she wakes up first." He spoke dangerously. "For now, just tie her up." Inuyasha nodded tightly and grabbed rope from the floorboards. He grabbed the limp girl around her waste and bound her feet and wrists. The captain sighed a weary note and slapped his hands on his knees. "And now," He continued. "We wait." Inuyasha nodded at took a seat against the wall on the floor. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling in restless anticipation. It had been three years. He looked over to the girl. Soft brown curls fell around her face, her lips pursed in the rest of sleep. Inuyasha shut his eyes tightly. Three years to forget her and nothing had changed. He studied Kikyô's face quietly, illuminated by the candlelight. She looked the same. There was something different, though, something off about her. He just could not place it. The ship rocked back and forth in the waves as they lapped against the ship. They had left the dock, headed back to Riene. Inuyasha fell asleep to the sound of the rolling ocean.
Rays of sunlight climbed up the sails briefly before exploding into the morning sky. August took on a dreamy quality in the ethereal sky with clouds hanging like wings in the azure blue. Inuyasha opened his eyes as light trailed under the cabin door. Realizing where he was, the boy snapped up frantically, looking around for the woman. Kikyô was still there, asleep, bound to the chair. His feature relaxed visibly.
"Now what?" He whispered into the air of the empty cabin. She sighed in her sleep. "What am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha asked. He shook his head as the captain entered. He clicked his shoe against the floor.
"She awake yet?" The captain asked. Inuyasha shook his head.
"Not yet." He replied. The sun had risen. Blue sky peeked through the small opening in the door. The captain sighed wearily. The figure in the chair shifted restlessly, her eyes fluttering open at the intrusion of sunlight. She had the normal reaction any normal person would have. Kagome screamed. The pair of men clamped both hands over there ears and Inuyasha ran towards her to cover her mouth.
"Shut up, Kikyô! You knew it would come to this." Inuyasha yelled. Kagome stopped struggling as confusion crept onto her face. She asked who Kikyô was exactly, but it came out more like "wmhz eflizfffm?" The captain crouched down in front of lot.
"Kikyô," He whispered sorrowfully. "Why did you do it? Why did you betray us?" Inuyasha slowly took his hands away from her mouth carefully, lest she scream again.
"I've been trying to tell you for the past ten minutes! I'm not this Kikyô, whoever she is! I'm Kagome Wingrove of Istoria!" Inuyasha snorted from his position against the wall.
"Oh, please, Kikyô." He scoffed. "Don't play the fool!"
"My name is Kagome!" The captain hung his head in aggravation.
"Kikyô." The old man ground out. "Enough with the games. We just want to know why you did it." Kagome shook her head furiously.
"I'm really sorry." She said angrily. "But I won't take responsibility for a crime I didn't commit. That's the fault of this Kikyô you talk of. Look at me. Can you honestly say I'm her?"
"Of course you are." Inuyasha argued. "Or you're some freakishly identical twin, and I'll have you know, Kikyô has no sisters."
"Just look at me." She pleaded. "I'm not Kikyô." Inuyasha grunted noncommittally, but walked closer to the girl, scrutinizing her face. Kagome fidgeted under his gaze. Inuyasha could see no great difference. The girl must be lying. She had the same innocent eyes, beautiful, but deceptive. They were a deep shade of green, lavender rimmed eyes. Inuyasha froze in his inspection.
Kagome nodded in victory and the captain glanced at Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha?" He asked. "Inuyasha, are you okay?" The boy shook his head warily.
"Captain, she's right." Inuyasha spoke rapidly. "This girl isn't Kikyô."
"What!" The captain cried out. "Of course she is! Look at her!" Inuyasha made a motion towards the girl.
"Kikyô had blue eyes. This girl has green eyes. Kikyô also had a birthmark on her left ear. There is no such mark on this girl." The captain brushed back the girl's hair to inspect her ear.
"My God, Inuyasha, you're right." The two men exchanged a brief glance.
"Excuse me!" Kagome cried indignantly. "Now that you're done! Can I please go home? Please!" Both men looked guiltily at their laps. "Well?" she asked expectantly. The captain spoke first. Inuyasha was strangely quiet.
"I'm afraid you can't go home, Kagome." He answered her.
"Why not?"
"We're pirates, Kagome, and now that you know about us, well, sorry." She dropped her jaw in horror.
"W-What are you going t-to d-do to m-me?" Her voice quivered with uncertainty. Inuyasha rose from the floor in that instant and walked up to the deck, slamming the door behind him. Kagome looked after him, blatantly confused.
"Kagome, you have two options. No, don't worry, we won't kill you." Kagome visibly relaxed as he spoke those kind words of mercy. "The first is to walk the plank." Her face scrunched up. "No," the captain noted. "I guess you wouldn't be up for that option. The second is to, well, join us."
"Excuse me?"
"What I mean," He amended. "Is to become a pirate." Kagome was taken aback. "Take some time to think it over." The captain spoke kindly. "I'll wait until you decide." He walked around to his desk and sat down, picking up the quill pen to write. Kagome sat in honest confusion. She didn't know what to do. Souta was still back at home, but neither option allowed her to go back there. Walking the plank was basically a death sentence. Of course she could swim, but they were probably miles out to sea. Should she join them, be committed to a life of crime? Her father was a pirate, but he had no wish of her becoming one. Kagome bit her lip in frustration. What other choice did she have? The girl had no intention or want of dying. There was only one option open.
"Alright," Kagome said quietly. The captain looked up from his papers. "I'll do it." She whispered. The captain nodded solemnly and rose from his chair. Kagome was in for one hell of a life.
The wind picked up again, swaying the tavern sign above the door. People were slowly emerging from their houses to assess the damages. Kagome's stepmother stepped into the light and slowly shook her head at the vision that greeted her. Souta sat still on the grass by the well staring into nothing. She was gone. Kagome was gone. The young boy slammed a fist into the ground.
It would take months to repair the town. Only a few lives were lost, so the men in the village dug graves for the poor woman and her three sons, the old clerk and the innkeeper. They stood in respect by the dirt mounds, saying quiet prayers, and weeping for the lost. The village boys began to pile up the useless lumber, torn from houses. The homeless picked through the remnants of burnt ones to find any scraps of keepsakes. It was painful to watch and Yuka looked away in sorrow. Eri and Ayumi stepped up the road slowly to meet her. Yuka turned around at their footsteps, tears threatening to pour down her cheeks.
"Yuka, don't cry..." Eri ran forward to embrace her friend. "They're gone! We can start over now." Ayumi placed a hand on Yuka's shoulder encouragingly. Yuka nodded, thankful for their support. She looked towards the tavern.
"We should go see, Kagome," Ayumi whispered. "And make sure she's alright." The girls silently agreed by walking down the road towards Kagome's home. The three girls noticed Kagome's stepmother standing outside, angry with hands on her hips. All of them visibly cringed.
"Maybe now's not the best time." Yuka spoke in a hushed tone. "You know how Kagome's mom gets."
"Stepmother." Ayumi corrected. "But I'm worried about Kagome. We can put up with that woman's wrath for once, can't we?" Eri tapped the two girls on the shoulders.
"Maybe we won't have to." Eri grimaced. "Here comes Souta." The boy walked dismally up the street, his heart heavy with guilt. "Souta!" She yelled. He looked up to see his sister's friends. "Souta, have you see Kagome?" He shook his head sorrowfully and ran quickly up to meet them. The boy ran up to Eri and held onto her tightly, clutching his small fingers in the material at the back of her shirt.
"Souta," Yuka asked. "What's wrong?"
"She's gone." Souta's muffled voice spoke quietly. "They took her."
"Who did?" Yuka whispered horrified.
"The pirates, a man with white hair and golden eyes."
The wind picked up dust on the road, stretching the silence to an eternity, while tears crept slowly into the eyes of four lone figures at the top of a hill. The man standing slightly behind them walked up to the desperate silhouettes of her friends.
"I'm going after her." Kagome's fiancé made his presence known.
"Kouga!" Ayumi gasped. "They'll kill you!"
"I will bring her back." He said with force. "I love her. . ." The man trailed off. Souta struggled briefly in Eri's arms.
"I'll go with you." The boy said.
The ocean spread out her eerie arms in the dark, flooding out to the horizon to meet a glowing blanket of stars. He watched the useless rise and fall of the sky, closing his eyes to breath in the salty air.
"Hey, you." Kagome's voice rose over the calm splash of waves, soft and careless on the breeze. She was like a ghost back to haunt him. Inuyasha just nodded in acceptance and turned back to the endless night, his golden eyes flashing in the false light of the moon. Kagome stepped lightly, placing her hands on the rail by his side. "I guess I'm part of this now." Inuyasha nodded again, without speaking. Kagome turned up slightly to glance at him. "What am I supposed to do?" Inuyasha smiled and chuckled slightly.
"What did think you were supposed to do?" He asked. She shrugged noncommittally.
"Be a pirate?" The girl guessed. "I don't know. Do pirate things?" He smirked. "Well excuse me! I've never done this before!" Inuyasha smiled vaguely, but kept still and somber, his molten eyes on the horizon. It depressed the air around her and left Kagome feeling melancholy.
She stood stoically by the strange boy, watching his platinum hair drift and sway with the waves. Kagome saw her only answer would be silence, and in that moment she realized the consequences of her actions. She could never go home. She was alone. The comfortable faded wood of the deck squished beneath her bare toes; so she sat down, her back to the rail. Kagome looked up into the visible night.
"Who was she?" Kagome whispered softly to the golden-eyed man. Inuyasha turned swiftly, mouth moving wordlessly in surprise.
"Who was who?" He asked. Kagome's face screwed up in annoyance.
"Oh, don't play stupid." The girl lowered her voice. "This Kikyô obviously hurt you. Would you like to tell me about it?" She asked kindly. Inuyasha stared openly at her. It was an offering. Of companionship? Of friendship? He wasn't sure which. The boy glared at her coldly.
"No." Kagome looked taken aback. Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't need your pity." Kagome's emerald eyes flickered in the waning moon.
"I'm not offering you pity." She answered. Inuyasha looked torn, but in the end gave in. He sat beside her on the damp wood.
"I met Kikyô four years ago." And so began his story.
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