AN: ...Time for some good Inuyasha-intro action. :D Have a good read! It's pouring cats and youkai outside... Brrrr...
Hanyou on the High Sea- Chapter 2
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It was the Next Morning...
Stop. Rewind, and play.
Was there something wrong with this picture? ...Kagome stood on the pier, mouth agape, her eyes rereading the cracked peeling name on the side of the barge to her destiny. ...So to speak.
The Survivor.
The name was an overstatement. The galleon was docked about an inch from its life. A huge, swaying wooden pile of logs, creaking and moaning with the motion of the water and decorated by a fraying, patched sail.
Souta, next to her whistled shook his head in pity... "Whoooo... Tough break, sister..."
Her jaw was plastered on the floor.
Souta gave her a brotherly pat on the back. "And, that, Kagome, is why we worry when Grandpa announces he's found a bargain."
It was midmorning, and the sun was directly overhead, causing sweaty, itchy sensations underneath Kagome's clothes. From what she knew, all of the trunks and cases of clothing had been loaded on before she arrived. She had, however, pulled an emergency packing switch with her journal, from the trunks, to somewhere much closer. ...She squeezed her backpack to her chest.
Kagome shook her head free of the shock, and turned to her little brother.
"Is Mama coming? Grandpa?"
Souta shook his head. "What for..? You guys already said your teary goodbye's and I love you's this morning at the house." Kagome mentally kicked herself for her random short term memory. "...Come to think of it..." he looked up, wondering. "...I forgot why I was here."
Kagome gave her brother a narrow look. "...To stowaway in the cargo bay?"
A cocky glad-I'm-not-you grin blinded her eyes. "Hell no." ...His eyes looked down for a minute, trying to remember. "That's right!" he said, snapping. "To tell you I put something in your backpack that I think you'll thank me for... No! No! Don't open it yet! ...But It'll be hotter below decks. You could use it."
Kagome couldn't tell if THIS grin was sneaky or loving. Either which way, she smiled back at him. "Thanks, Souta." She ruffled his hair. He swatted her hand away. "Stop... you'll make me look like Hojo..."
"...All aboaaard...!" Kagome turned her head to see the aged captain of the ship standing on the deck with a bell. Ding! Ding! Ding! Her hand reached for Souta's and gave it a squeeze.
"...Don't forget to feed Buyo for me... I'll... see you guys in a month..." She let go... turning to the boarding ramp.
His face was somewhat reluctant now. "Um... Hey! Watch out for pirates!" he called after her.
Pirates... or any form of sea life, were the last thing on her mind. ...She turned around for a final wave to her little brother, and made her way through the crowd to the ticket woman standing at the ramp gate. Souta waved back, but was suddenly covered from view by the boarding passengers.
"...Ticket please, enjoy your voyage, please forward all questions, complaints and rat sightings to your captain, your room's on 'A" deck. Thank you." The ticket woman, tall, with long dark hair, ushered her past the gate and up the ramp, looking stressed. ...She wore a stupid looking uniform sailor hat and a peeling name tag. 'H llo... y name is S ngo!'
"Um..." Kagome turned to ask her a question... She wondered if there were bathrooms on this thing... It looked ancient.
"Please keep moving, ma'am, forward all questions, complaints, and rat sightings to your captain, your room's on 'A' deck, Thank-" ...The ticket woman smacked herself. "Um... the bathrooms down the main stairwell and to your left."
...Kagome gave her a stare. "...We get that a lot." She gave her a small smile before being called back to the gate by a fat woman with a poodle.
Walking up the ramp, Kagome looked to her side. ...Ah, there was Souta, again... He waved to her frantically and she waved back, a tiny knot of gloom tightening inside. Once up deck, she gave into the urge and looked over the side again.
...Souta was still waving. ....But her mother and Grandpa had suddenly appeared by his side... and were doing the same thing.
...Grandpa was looking proud of himself, while Ms. Higurashi's face held a sweet but sad smile. ...She blew Kagome a small kiss from down below.
Kagome's heart rose, somewhat... She waved back, finally.
A deckhand came to her side and scooted her away. All new boarders were supposed to report to their rooms until sail. ...She turned away, reluctantly with a final wave, and made her way below deck.
~*~
6:43 pm
Dear Journal,
...I'm hungry. We've been at sea for seven hours. This place stinks. ...Some guy groped me in the mess hall. ...And I think I just found out I'm seasick.
...As a bonus, though, Souta gave me a present. ...A breezy green sailor suit.
...I bet he found it funny.
~Kagome
Kagome stared miserably at the gleaming metal bucket next to her. This was getting to be routine, nowadays. She was laying on her bed, in the dark, her legs swaying over the side, getting used to the new outfit Souta had stowed away in her backpack. ...She had to admit... It looked kinda spunky. ...And the breeze she got versus a petticoat was such a relief!
Her door was opened a crack. ...Of course it was. The room smelled like seaweed. And the air was thicker than soup. Kagome wiped a bead of sweat from her forehead and sat up in bed.
Maybe... she needed air. A good walk on the deck would be nice, right? ...The room was starting to smell like... well, the what was in the metal bucket.
~*~
Meanwhile...a good distance away...
"Captain? ...Whitefuzz... Sir?"
A white-haired head rose groggily from a table, topped with various maps and a spilled bottle of ink. A pair of grumpy yellow eyes focused in a short, white haired man saluting next to his table.
"...What... did you just call me..?" His eyes narrowed at the intruder. He slapped a mosquito away from his face, leaving an inked handprint across his cheek. "...Fuck!"
The small servant looked a little uncertain. "Um... Whiteclaw... sir?"
"Yeah? What do you want..? Didn't I make it clear I didn't want to be bothered?!" He cursed silently when the bottle of ink spun from his arm, dripped onto his lap.
"Well, cap'n..." The little man wasn't sure whether to pee or twiddle his fingers. "We have... um... sighted a ship coasting down the bay a little while ago. ...Perhaps... you want to be notified?"
Inuyasha shook his head free of sleep. "...Yeah well, Hurry up and get it over with. You already pissed me off." He gave the red-nosed underling an irritated look.
"Of... of course sir... Well... A passenger ship called the Survivor looked like it was making its way past the Bay of Izu... It was spotted about an hour ago..."
Inuyasha scratched his head..."...The Survivor? Wasn't that a merchant ship we raided three months ago...?"
"No sir... It was a passenger ship."
"Hrrm... Survivor... Sounds like a nice, loaded merchant ship..."
"Um... It wasn't si-"
"SHADDUP!" He pounded on the desk. Making the ink dance. ...Onto his face. "Dammit!"
The messenger's face flushed very red.
...A small puddle appeared by his feet on the wood floor. ...Inuyasha stared at the man, then at the puddle, then back at the man. "...Did... did you just pee on my floor?"
"I... I...um...didn't...no...yes!"
"...MIROKU! ...Get your ass over here!"
From behind a thick curtain at the end of the cabin, a black pony-tailed head appeared. ...It glanced at the Captain, sitting squarely on a stool at his desk, face smeared with ink and otherwise looking ridiculous, then at a trembling, pudgy man right next to him. "...You called, sir?"
"Miroku, this man has no balls. Get him out of my face."
The man started to babble incoherently, getting panicked. "I'm... I'm sorry cap'n! I'm sorry! I'm old, it happens when I'm nervous!"
Inuyasha covered his ears with clawed fingers. "....And he's annoying too. Just toss him over the side."
Miroku sighed as the man ramble beside him. ...He blew a whistle twice, and stood back, shaking his head as two other pirates appeared in the room and dragged out the man, who had started to whimper.
He looked at Inuyasha. "...You lose more underlings that way, Inuyasha."
The captain had grabbed a towel and begun to scrub his face. "....Fucking semi-permanent ink..." He growled. "...What was the name of that man, Miroku?"
"I'm not too sure sir... I think it might've been Smee."
"...Bullshit."
"I promise, sir. It's a generic pirate name."
Inuyasha scratched his chin and looked up, thinking. "Very well, then... Smee. ...Send his family around... ¥5000. Put it on my list."
"...As you wish, sir."
Inuyasha wiped his face once more and tossed the towel on the floor. He pondered for a moment, then looked back to the purple-clothed man in the room. "...By the way, Miroku, did we raid a merchant ship called the Survivor a few months ago?"
Miroku thought a moment. "...Hmm... we did, captain. ...But I think it was a passenger ship..."
"...Crap."
"Yes sir... But we got some very good preserves off that raid... if I can remember correctly... That was the ship that carried dry packets of ramen..."
Inuyasha's ears perked up, slightly. "Well... We've been a little dry lately, haven't we? ...Tell the men to make for the opposite side of the Bay of Izu. ...And to prepare their asses for an interception."
"Oh... sir? Has it come around again?"
Inuyasha was looking a bit distant. "...The crap the cook makes turns me green. ...Oh, and while you're at it, tell one of them to haul ass in here. With a mop..."
Miroku rolled his eyes and sighed. "...Aye, aye, captain." He overstepped the puddle and left the cabin.
Inuyasha stood, shaking the excess ink from his haori, and looking outside a porthole with arms crossed. His thoughts were wandering from a lingering bit of sleepiness.
...Perhaps... he get a new cook?
~*~
...Kagome stood at the bow of the ship. ...My... the water sure was dark... Carefully, she put her feet between the spaces of the wooden rail and hoisted her herself up.
"Wow... what a view..." A tiny tinge of orange was still visible on the horizon... The rush of air blew her long hair around her body. Around her, in every which direction, was nothing but miles and miles of water. Wow... you know... if you forgot about the railing... it almost felt like you were flying...
She rose her arms to her sides, and closed her eyes. ...It was such a peaceful feeling... So... so free. Unexpectedly, Kagome felt herself filled with an overwhelming sense of happiness.
"I'm..." began to say... She stopped herself. Why not shout?
"I'm... I'm the queen of the woooooorld! Yeeeeah ha ha!! ....I'm flying! Look at me- oh, oh CRAP!"
Losing her balance, Kagome fell backwards with a squeal, heavily...back to earth. The wind knocked out of her, she blinked a few times, and sat up, just as troubled as ever.
...Damn it all... I'm not happy. ...The second this ship docks, in fact...
She sighed, standing up and dusting herself off, and began to walk around the sides of the ship. For an old barge that looked about ready to collapse, Kagome noticed, it sure had a lot of walking space. ...She wandered around the deck for a long while, peeking inside occasional open portholes until the sky was pitch black and littered with stars. The moon, however, was shielded by clouds.
Anything, really, was better than staying below decks. Kagome had even visited cafeteria briefly. It was sticky hot and smelled of fish. ...Afterwards, she'd sneaked past a door marked 'Crew Only', only to find herself in an embarrassing situation with an oblivious couple.
Kagome sighed again and kicked a maintenance bucket down ways past the deck. It scuttled loudly into the darkness until it disappeared from view.
Unexpected, was the noise that came when the rolling stopped. It was... almost like a meow.
Kagome, curious, jogged down the deck squinting.
"Here kitty, kitty! Here kitty!"
She looked around a few times... not seeing anything.
Something on the horizon caught her eye. A large shadow, like a ship.
"Mew!" There it was again! Shrugging the far shadow off as nothing more than what it looked like, Kagome looked down, only to see and feel a small, white cat-like animal rubbing up against her leg. ...Two tails swayed and large red eyes looked into hers.
"Oh, how cuute," She cooed. "Did I hit you?" She bent down and picked up the youkai cat. "You're not lost, are you?" To its great pleasure, she started to cuddle and scratch behind the fuzzy black ears. How weird it was to see a lone youkai cat on the ship. ...Belonged to someone below decks, no doubt.
"You remind me of my Buyo..." She hugged it closer.
The cat gave a grateful mew and jumped out of her arms, circling once and hopping down the deck. ...Having nothing better to do, Kagome followed.
~Meanwhile~
"Are the cannons ready?"
"Aye, Captain." Said a crew man.
"Are we within range...?"
"Just about, sir!"
"Stop taking your friggin' time."
"Yes sir. Sorry sir."
Miroku stood at Inuyasha's side. "...You certainly have a way with your subjects, Inuyasha." He noted. ...The hanyou scowled, hands crossed over his now freshly laundered haori. "...I never told them to join." He said.
A short boy in ran up to Inuyasha and gave him a salute. "Whiteclaw, sir! The men are on deck and ready. They want to know what to raid for!"
Looking out to the horizon, his amber eyes narrowed at the sight of the ship bobbing along, unknowing and oblivious.
"Tell them we're going straight for the food stores... loot the rooms too, if you want. ...And no hostages this time around. ...Got that?"
"Hai!" The boy left like he came.
The wild-haired pirate at the wheel turned back. "We're within range, sir."
"Good. Ready the guns, at my command."
Miroku sighed internally. He could tell, inside, Inuyasha was feeling rather pleased with himself. "Here we go again..."
~*~
Whoa. ...Weird, Kagome suddenly observed. There wasn't a single person on deck. Kirara... as was the name she managed to read on the collar, walked a little ways past Kagome, looking from side to side. Kagome could have sworn she was almost patrolling.
She hugged her arms to her chest. ....It was getting cold out here, too. Faced with the unpleasant truth that she was either going to be too hot or too cold, only left her gritting teeth.
Kirara stopped, jumping up to the railing and staring out over the water. "What's that you're looking at, Kirara?" Kagome walked up next to the demon cat and joining her in gazing over the rail.
Nothing but black, black water... and that ship's shadow she remembered seeing a little earlier.
...Hmm... I could've sworn that ship was much farther.
A breath of wind blew past them and Kirara sniffed the air. ...To her great startle, Kagome heard a low growl from beside her. ...Looking down, the cat's fur stood on end.
"What's eating you?"
She glanced back on the ship just as the moon came out from behind the clouds and illuminated the water and ship. ...A puff of red came from its side, followed by a thunderous boom that echoed over the sea. Kagome looked up to see a clean cannonball sailing through the air. There was barely time for a gasp.
In what seemed like fast-forward motion, Kagome felt herself being knocked out of her place by a massive wall of fur, and looked up from the floor to see a huge fiery cat where Kirara had been, roaring deafeningly.
The cannonball smashed into the ship with a smash, not 20 feet from where Kagome had been standing. A force of heat and wind pushed Kagome back another ten feet along with a hailstorm of debris and shrapnel. Shouts of fright and surprise reached her ear from inside. She didn't notice she was screaming until it was amply cut off by her collision into a large metal rigging.
She lay on the floor, stunned and blinking, then fell into sweet sleep...
~*~
"You're such a barbarian, captain. You know that, don't you?"
"Shut up, Miroku. And grab your staff."
~*~
AN: Somewhat of a cliffhanger, no? Better is yet to come. ...How does Kagome end up on the decks of Inu's ship? ...I'm working on it.