AN: School's started and time could not pass by any more quickly. ...With AP art and Bio taking up most of my time, I haven't had the mind-power or time to write sooner. ..But... It's been less than a week, ne..? I promise you... Unless otherwise stated, I'll never leave you hanging for more than a week. ...Solemn oath, cross my heart and hope to die and all of that other great stuff.
Thank you again to my wonderful reviewers!
Jurei-chan: The review was appreciated, Late or not! ...I took a vacation too. all the way up to North Florida... It was disastrous, to say the least, and it was a weekend I'd rather have spent glued to my computer.
CraziAznGurl: *hands you a Jacksonville Slugger* ...This should work better. O:D
golden-lover90: A friend of mine told me the kitchen scene reminded her of an episode of Fruits Basket...^^ I haven't seen the anime, but maybe you have and know what she'd talking about... Thanks a bunch. ...And Jack Sparrow is a god. *licks him*
Ace of Spades1: Yep... read on and indulge.^^
Crystal Sapphire: WHOA! THANKIES!
Acacia Jules: Dude... Whoever said I was a Kouga hater? ...I happen to think he's rather sexy. And I plan for plenty of Hojo bashing to come. ..Not that he's a bad guy, of course... just such a good victim.^^
Dun Dun DUUUNNN.... In the last chapter...
Kagome and Inuyasha met.... briefly... Will this fic ever turn romantic and fluffy? ...Yes, In due time... But characters have to grow, don't they? Miroku also finds that Sango isn't an easy catch... In the eyes of the tart taijiiya... is there any shot of a chance for him at all? ...Here's chapter 7.
Hanyou on the High Sea- Chapter 7
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Kagome's breath caught briefly in her throat at the initial surprise. The fierce yellow eyes bore into her, scrutinizing.
...Hey... Wasn't this.... the very same white-haired, dog eared boy the last she'd seen....? ...Speaking, of course, before the week-long coma.
...Inuyasha blinked one or twice. ...It smelled like her, Manten's wench, of course... ...It sounded like her... the exclamation she'd just made was loud and annoying... ...Inuyasha, however, gave her an unintentional at her change. Her deep brown eyes stared back, wide and unblinking. The wind on the deck blew her hair sidelong framing a pale, unmarred face, much unlike the week before. ...She really was.... quite... pre-
Instinctively and unknowingly, the hanyou caught his thoughts and replaced them with a brusque expression. ...Familiar. Quite... familiar.
Kagome looked away from the pirate, covering herself with a casual, nonchalant air. ...but a shiver still ran down her spine... That was a mutual stare they just shared, and it seemed to hang in the air.
She turned partially in his direction and shrugged apathetically. "...No reason, really... I came up here to eat my dinner." ...Kagome's voice oozed calm.
...Remember, Kagome...She repeated to herself. You're a part of this crew now. ...Don't you dare let them think you're weaker than them...
The hot paper bagful of donuts was grasped in both of her hands, and she walked over to the railing, five feet away from Inuyasha. She leaned on it casually (almost too casually), and pretended to look out onto the ocean. "...The air is so much cleaner out here, you know." She said lightly.
The hanyou, however, mistook the strange girl's apathy for arrogance, already leaving Inuyasha with an irritated expression. ...How aggravatingly cool of her!
...The overwhelming urge to bark something superior and well, captain-like welled up within him. Inuyasha grit his teeth and growled a bit at the 'daydreaming' girl... She turned around and gave him a glance.
"Was that your... stomach that just growled? Or was that you...?"
...Inuyasha stopped growling and stood blankly. Reminded of his hunger, half of him wanted to sulk in a corner and rub his gut.... The other half of him wanted to... well... He stared back at the girl with angry thoughts.
...However, he couldn't deny that a claw of unexpected interest in this girl tugged in his mind. ...Let's think...He found his thoughts telling him... She fought off Manten, sassed me, took in an almost certainly fatal dose of poison, and is still fucking kicking... Inuyasha clenched his fists. ...However much of a pain she was... the girl DID have spirit.
...Too bad he hated spirit.
Kagome gave a deep, tired sigh from her post against the rail. ...The hanyou chose to give her his patented Inuyasha Scowl™. ...He also chose to ignore her previous question.
"...So, Is the dinner you're referring to supposed to smell like parrot shit?" He stood and turned away from her, dusting off his haori. "...You probably think you're the iron chef, the stench is making me want to hurl."
Kagome's ego had been braced with her pep-talk on self-reassurance, so the hanyou's insult didn't go very far.
"...I actually think the iron chef sucks." She said, Her expression was sour, and clearly said, 'nobody-asked-you.'
She reached into the bag and pulled out a steaming donut. ...These really had come out perfect... She needed to thank Sango for the kneading, later... Five feet over, Inuyasha's nose twitched. ...Kagome bit into the donut wordlessly. ...Oh man... It was about as good as it looked.
"Mmmm..." She moaned. "...Well... my cooking may not be excellent... but..." She looked over to see his motionless back and blowing white hair. "....If your nose is as good as you seem to think it is... You'd also smell the fact that I'm the only cook around here. And... If you insist on being so picky, you can just feed yourself." Kagome's voice was light and airy... a perfect vocal imitation of a snobby classmate she'd once had at finishing school by the name of Kikyou.
Inuyasha turned coldly, growling. ...Why did the way she said that rattle him so? It was just sarcasm. That, and he couldn't shake the feeling that everything about this girl was a heaping dose of déjà vu'.
"...Look here, priss bitch." He took a step forward and snarled." ...*This* here is my ship, and this is MY deck. You're THISCLOSE to becoming chum so piss me off and you'll.... you'll... bitch... listen!"
Kagome pretended to be in another world. Well, halfway, really. ...It's not as if this pirate was dangerous anyway. She absently reached into the bag, grabbing another soft donut and biting it blissfully and staring into the dark sky, while the pirate glowed behind her.
...Make them think you don't care. She told herself again... But this dog-eared pirate was such a whiner. Kagome sighed... she was tired from a day's worth of chores, and wasn't in the mood to fight. Besides... ...I may want respect, but fighting isn't going to solve anything...
...Inuyasha was, to say the least, pissed... No. confused. ...Or maybe a belittling mixture of both. ...It was very alien, Inuyasha for once not having anything to threaten with. ...It was like all of his ferocity was wasted on this one girl... She... just wouldn't respond! ...She certainly hadn't been the first love slave Manten had kidnapped, and as was the trend, one snarl from the captain had sent the other delicate birds screaming or into a swoon.
...What the hell was WRONG with this bitch? ...Didn't prisoners know their place...?! She continued to ignore him for a few more minutes, and with the silence Inuyasha visually imagined the once relieving and gratifying thought of tossing her off the side of the boat...
...Somehow, however... he found that this time around that thought wasn't satisfying.
...Kagome said nothing... She stared wordlessly at the night sky, filled with thousands and thousands of stars. Unbeknownst to him, Kagome had simply wandered off in thought.
...When had they ever been so brilliant..? ...It happens out here on the ocean... with no light around for miles... While though in Tokyo, the stars were vibrant, they had never seemed so alive... Momentarily numbed by the stark difference, Kagome lost her train of thought, and felt herself become somewhat more relaxed. ...After all... she had nothing to be afraid of, right? She gave a small yawn...
"Hey, tell me something..." She said detachedly, almost as if talking to herself.
Inuyasha was silent. His stare at her was intense. ...What words could he possibly expect from this weird girl next?
The wind blew cold and Kagome drew her arms into her chest. "...Do you think... if you lived a hundred... maybe a thousand years... do you think you could ever see these same exact stars from this same exact place... and feel exactly as humbled as you might right now...?" She shivered from the cold. ...What is wrong with me...?
His eyes widened a bit, and the hanyou was glad the girl could not see the surprise on his face. ...In that moment, staring into the sky, with the wind carelessly playing with her... she seemed so... different.
The sudden overwhelming feeling to pick a fight was waning within him. He was still angry. ..Although it was now at the fact that she had somehow subdued him, and he couldn't think of anything to say.
Inuyasha, thus, said the next most natural thing in his vocabulary. He gave a scoffing 'keh' and looked away from her. "...What the hell kind of question is that?"
Her mind drifted back when she heard the pirate's harsh response. She sighed internally. ...Maybe it was the fact that she was worn from the duties of the kitchen, but Kagome normal temper towards this rude and uncouth deck-swabber didn't feel like flaring. She turned to look at him, though he was staring at her with an odd, almost childish ferocity.
"...You don't look much like a pirate." She said musingly.
"...Keh! And you don't look much like a woman."
Her hands went on her hips. "...You don't have to be such a jerk. ...What is up your ass?"
"...The same thing in your bag." All this was said, then he turned his back. His face was petulant.
But, she couldn't help but prod him. ...The way his yellow eyes flashed when he retorted was almost childlike. ...She hated to admit it, but it was kind of cute. She took a step towards him, holding the bag firmly. The wind was still playing with her hair and skirt.
"...Why did you become a pirate...?" She asked purely for the sake of curiosity... and maybe a little conversation. ...There was something about this boy that interested her, though she hated to admit it. ...Maybe it was the ears.... or his deep amber eyes... or his long, silky white hair... Why was he so hostile..?
Inuyasha grumbled to himself. ...Of all the girls on that fucking ship...Manten chose the irritating one to come here and survive.
...Inuyasha's stomach growled absently...
He finally turned to face her and crossed his arms. "What makes you think I'll tell you my life story, wench...? If you don't get out of my face and the hell below decks in five seconds, I'll..." The words were threatening enough, but she didn't seem fazed. "Why are you looking at me like that?!"
Kagome didn't blink once. "...I happen to like your ears."
Inuyasha didn't feel the almost invisible flush of red on his cheeks. He leaned forward and spat, eyes narrow, "Well, hurry up and take a fucking picture."
Kagome looked at him and was silent again. It might have been her imagination, but there was a more to his voice than sarcasm. Her eyes flickered over his fierce features to his ears and back again. ...He's a hanyou... isn't he..?
She remembered the time they'd met... well.... more like swatted at each other not a week before. He was the first she'd encounter after her escape from the giant hormone, Manten. ...She'd yelled at him, he'd yelled back, she'd thrown a rock at him...
Her gaze wasn't breaking and Inuyasha felt more and more compelled to look away, but he couldn't. I mean... keh! To do so would mean to acknowledge that he was intimidated. ...Which he most certainly was not.
His nose twitched, and the smell of the bag in her hand made hunger ache in his gut more and more. ...Kagome blinked as he looked. ....her eyes widened and her mouth opened a bit, making an astounded revelation. "...It was you... wasn't it?"
"...That all depends," he said, crossing his arms. "...Just what the hell are you talking about?" He chose this moment to break the gaze..
She'd thrown a rock at him... she'd missed... he'd advanced... she... had gone black then. It made sense...didn't it? ...If the pain was killing her from the poison then, she couldn't have had much time at that point to begin with.
...Myouga-ji said a pirate had brought her in in the nick of time, saving her life. ...The hallway was dark and abandoned, the rest of the crew was probably partying from the loot, and... Manten wouldn't have done it... So does that mean... ?
Kagome stiffened slightly, unsure of what to feel... "You were the one who brought me in to Myouga's, weren't you...? I... remember now..."
Inuyasha's was silent.
...That's right... he'd saved her life. ...What did that make him...? ...A hero? The very thought made him snort. He turned back to the ocean and Kagome heard his voice apathetic and emotionless.
"....Maybe."
She wondered why this moment was the first time since she awoke that she'd thought about it... Kagome had been up for nearly an entire day, and not once during her hours in the kitchen did she wonder about how she came to be in Myouga's clinic. She stole another look at Inuyasha, who now refused to look her way. Whatever had possessed him to save her, she didn't know.
Kagome stood motionlessly on the deck. ...What was she supposed to say? ...A 'thank you' seemed so cheap, but it wasn't as if she could have said anything else... It seemed that he would just laugh or call her stupid for even bothering... Didn't it?
Inuyasha's stomach at that point, growled loudly.
His face hardened and he hoped she hadn't heard.
But of course, she did.
The pirate punched his stomach, but only succeeded in making it groan a third time. "Fucking shit..." he cursed.
...That's it.... Kagome's grasp on the bag of donuts tightened, and she walked over to Inuyasha.
The hanyou was surprised to find that when he looked up, the girl was barely a foot away from him. ...Her eyes from up close were all the more intense. ...He jumped back instinctively. Kagome gave him a somewhat wry look. "...I wasn't going to bite you..."
"How the hell do I know that?" ...Inuyasha tried not to feel stupid as he cursed his jumpiness.
Kagome looked down to the deck as she tried to find words that wouldn't sound childish. "...Um... I don't quite know what to say..."
...Inuyasha already could sense what was coming next. "...Then please... don't bother."
She looked up, ignoring what he said. "You saved my life. ...And whether you care now or not, I still wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you..."
He cut her off. "Do me a favor... Save it. I don't need to be thanked by anyone." The hanyou said, turning back to the waves. And... why would she want to anyways...? It's because of me that she was in this situation in the first place. This girl is an idiot...
"Here, then..."
Inuyasha felt her come close again and place something in his hand. He looked down to see the bag of donuts, and her... standing next to him also watching the water.
"If I can't thank you in words, at least let me quiet your hunger."
Inuyasha was stunned.... unused to this level of kindness and gratitude. What could he do but instinctively reject? He shoved the bag back into her hands.
"...I don't want your shitty donuts..."
The combination of fresh baked goods and his starvation nearly made him pass out, and the sight of the bag back in her hands made him beat himself over the head with an imaginary stick. ...What are you, Inuyasha... on CRACK? ARE YOU ON FUCKING CRACK?!
Kagome held the bulging bag and stared at him, feeling just a little bit peeved with his stubbornness. She turned, leaning over and grabbed Inuyasha by the collar, much to his surprise.
Her voice growled angrily. "Look here, you ass... On my way to who knows where, I was kidnapped by your goddamn mountain of a crewmate. I was punched, beaten, and nearly violated. I was poisoned, and would have DIED if YOU hadn't decided to be a hero. ...I'm NOT going to say this again and I'm JUST as weirded out as you are..." She grabbed his hands and placed them around the bag, and took a step back.
Her voice became a shade softer. "So... just let me feel like I've paid you back, okay...? I'd really hate the guilt."
Inuyasha looked at her. Standing on the deck behind him with a slightly pink face.
...His hand tingled where it had touched hers. But... what the hell was wrong with him? ...Dammit... He looked down, and the fresh sweet smell was oozing from the bag. Well... maybe just a little- NO! He sat down on the ground against the rail.
His ears twitched, Kagome observed. She was struggling then, to keep the amusement off of her face. ...He was looking down at the bag, unsure of what to do. ...There was even a bead of sweat on his forehead from the agony.
Inuyasha grasped the bag from both sides, trying to fight between his mind and his gut. From the corner of his eye, he saw her coming over and bent down next to him.
"...Look," she said. "I don't see why you're being so anal about accepting my gratitude... I mean... know you're starving! ...Sango can't cook!" A friendly smile appeared on her face. "...that and your gut sounds like a bullfrog..."
"That's not it!" Inuyasha spat. The girl was trying so hard to be kind... and it was hard for him to swallow...
"Then what, you're allergic to donuts? Come on!" Kagome sat back against the ship wall across Inuyasha and rolled her eyes. "...I know this is a pride thing! ...I have a little brother back home, you know. He pulls this one whenever we have a fight and I try to sucker him into apologizing. What is it with you men and your machismo?"
Inuyasha gave her studying another look. This girl sure as hell wasn't ordinary. Another small smile appeared on her face. "...Go on. I think they're pretty good."
He looked at the bag, then at the girl. ...Then, bag at the bag.
Inuyasha broke. Unable to longer control himself, a weeks worth of hunger exploded, along with the brown paper, as tore into it and practically inhaled the donuts. "Mm... goo- oh! Hot! Hot!" Donut after donut disappeared as Kagome watched with amusement in her eyes. ...This pirate... the deck-swabber... he kind of reminded her of Souta... only in an older, less refined form, of course.
She felt it appropriate then to introduce herself. "Um... I'm Kagome, by the way."
She glanced at the pastries... They were meeting their end as Inuyasha's hands dove in and out of the bag, executing them one by one. His face was stuffed full of the pastry.
"...Oh, gross..." She put on a disgusted face at his barbarianism. "If you don't slow down, those are going to the wrong way!"
"Uh huh..." The hanyou choked on a donut-half and grasped at his neck, oblivious to its baker, sitting across from him. ...These things were hard to inhale.
The raven-haired girl again subdued a laugh. She wrapped her arms around her chest to shelter her from the cold wind. "So... Do you plan to tell me yours?"
Inuyasha looked up. A steaming chunk was in his mouth. "My what...?"
"Your name, stupid."
"...What the hell does it matter?" His voice was garbled from the full mouth.
"Well what would you rather I call you? ...Donuts?" Her voice was light and mocking.
Inuyasha was revolted. "Fine... fine..." He growled and swallowed. ...The hell she will.
"....It's... Inu-"
The hanyou grasped his neck. The same piece of the tasty dessert was stuck in his throat. He tried frantically to swallow.
"Inu..." he coughed.
The wind blew warm this time. ... Kagome suddenly felt drowsy again... Her body weighed heavily against the wood. She nodded and closed her eyes. "...Inu, huh...? ...That's cute..." She trailed off with his name... He did look rather doggish, after all...
Inuyasha swallowed and gave another cough. "No, it's...-"
He stopped... Kagome had her eyes closed, and didn't look like she was listening. Inuyasha saw her inhale deeply...
'...Did she... fall asleep...?' he thought, blinking ...The torn paper bag was now empty.
He stood and walked over to her, casting a shadow in the moonlight. Her head was leaned over her shoulder, with her hair falling over her face. ....Yep... she was definitely asleep.
The hanyou was no longer sure of what to think... The girl blissfully dreaming below him was a prisoner... yet she was bold and unafraid of him. ...Why did she try to thank him...? Why did she laugh, why did she smile...? Put up with those good ten minutes of his bullshit?
And, he thought as he bent down and picked her up. Why did he feel like he knew her...?
Her scent was brought again to his nose by a breeze. ...This... Kagome smelled... sweet. ...Like vanilla. ...With a hint of lemon.
She was still a royal pain in the ass though.
...No bag of donuts was going to butter him up....right?
...No... Not... at all.
~*~
"Kagome-chan.... are you awake...?"
Kagome squeezed her pillow tightly and only forced her eyelids open when the pushing became insistent. She turned over and opened them reluctantly, only to see Sango leaning over her with a sorrowful expression on her face. "Kagome-chan..."
"Well, apparently not any more, Sango..." Kagome grumbled, squinting and giving a big yawn. She rubbed her eyes. ...It seemed it was still dark outside. A candle burned on a night table next to her. "...What's up...?"
Sango sat down on the bed. "I'm sorry I left you all alone like that, Kagome-chan... when I came back, you were gone, and I started to worry...."
Kagome's eyes didn't blink.. "...Sango....was that... all?" ...The taijiiya looked a little sheepish. "...Well, yeah..."
"Because you were worried about me?"
"Uh-huh..."
"Gods, Sango...."
"...I know, I know... call it a big sister complex...."
"No, no! ...Thanks..." The raven haired girl
The taijiiya looked up with a smile. "It's a nervous habit. ....I used to looking out for others... I have a brother, remember...?"
"...Perfectly forgiven, aneue." Kagome grinned and sat up in bed. That's weird.... she thought, looking around. ....I don't remember coming back down to my room. If fact... wasn't she just on the deck...? With... that hanyou...'Inu'...?
...A small fuzzy cat-like thing suddenly hopped up on Sango's lap with a mew.
"Oh yes... This is someone I'd like you to meet..." Sango patted Kirara affectionately on the head, and the neko began to purr...
"Hey... Kirara!" exclaimed Kagome. So this youkai-cat WAS the one. ...With light-stepped paws the cat walked up the bedding and nuzzled against Kagome, very happy indeed. Sango gave them both a look of surprise. "...Have you.... met?"
Kagome gave a giggle as the animal's cold nose touched and tickled her skin. "...We met back on The Survivor. ...Sango... I didn't know she was yours! ...It's a small world, afterall." Sango smiled and nodded. "Kirara and I have been partners for as long as I could remember... She was there when my brother and I were growing up..."
She scratched Kirara behind the ears... "That long...?" Kagome wondered out loud. "She doesn't look a day over two."
Sango nodded with a smile. "She and he used to wrestle for hours... in the mud, mind you, only leaving ME with the mess afterward... She and he were pretty much as close as we are..." The taijiiya trailed off, looking away.
...The mood in the small room dropped in a matter of seconds.
...Looking at her friend's expression, Kagome suddenly felt the same sadness seeping into her.
"...It hurts, doesn't it, Sango...?"
The long, dark-haired woman turned to her. ..She looked like she was trying very hard to avoid tears. "...More than you can ever know..."
"...Sango-chan..." Kagome leaned over and took her friends hand, looking into her eyes.
"...Tell me... What happened to your little brother...?"
Kirara looked up at its owner with a piteous mew, coming over to nuzzle her again. Sango stroked her absently.
"Kohaku... that's his name..." she reached into the folds of her clothes and pulled out a small, silver locket.
"...My little brother Kohaku, and our father went out one day... It was the start of the fishing season, and they made plans for a trip into the mountains where the streams would be the most abundant. ...A successful trip and we would have food for half the year..." She fidgeted with the clasp on the locket and forced it open...
Kagome nodded and Sango continued. "I had been gone for the day... I was in another village... they had had an infestation of grasshopper youkai, and they needed to me to exterminate before their crops were ruined." She looked at the picture in the open locket, then handed it to Kagome.
"When I returned, to my village, my father and brother still hadn't returned, so worried, I trekked into the mountains to look for them... Along the way I found my father..."
"Sango..." Kagome said softly. She looked at the picture carefully. ...A small boy with bright eyes and a nose dotted with freckles stared back at her.
"He was dead... or dying, rather... from what I could make out from his last words, they had been assaulted by men. ...Slave traders... Kohaku was nowhere to be found.... And the only name I could distinguish... was 'Naraku'."
"Naraku...?" Kagome questioned. "I've only heard of one man by that name... Lord Naraku... I think he's a noble in the Kagoshimaken prefecture... The owner of the Kagoshima Oil company... loaded beyond belief, you know..."
Sango's hand folded into a fist. "....I know. ...That's the one. And the only reason he's rich is because he doesn't have to pay any of his workers. ...It's all done with slave labor."
Kagome stifled a gasp. "...Then, wait... you don't mean that Kohaku is..."
"A slave? ...Exactly. From what I'd heard, the traders sold them to him a week later... and by the time I'd tracked him down, it was too late. My father was dead, and my brother was property."
"But," Kagome's heart ached for her new friend, whose voice by this time, was soft, but angry. "Couldn't you do something..?! Stolen him...? Paid for him...? Killed Naraku...?"
"Paid for him." Sango said. "...That was pretty much my only option. Kohaku had been registered as property, so if I had tried to take him, I would have been arrested, and Kohaku would just have gone right back into the arms of that man. ...The catch was... the price on Kohaku's head was about the same as the price on Captain Whiteclaw's. ...It was more than I could afford."
"...Captain... Whiteclaw?" Kagome's queried. "...It sounds familiar... but who is he...?" Yeah... she vaguely remembered seeing a wanted poster with that name...
Sango looked at her like she'd grown Kirara's head. "...Captain Whiteclaw... is the captain of this ship."
Kagome blinked, sleep still with a hold on her wits. "...Seriously? ...Wasn't it 'Inuyasha' or something...?"
"Same guy."
"Ahh..."
Sango nodded, and Kagome put it all together. "...So you became a bounty hunter and went after Whiteclaw... so you could then use the money and buy back your brother?"
Sango nodded again. "...That's pretty much it."
Kagome sighed, and the room's light flickered. ...The candle was burning low. "...So... why are you still here...?"
Sango adjusted herself on the bed, looking down and stroking her pet. "... Kirara and I had plans to escape... but she ended up attacking something she shouldn't have and got poisoned."
Sounds familiar... Kagome said to herself with a bit of wry.
"She's awake, as you can see... and she'll recover, but... she still can't fly. ...In exchange for her life and treatment... I sold myself to the captain... I'm offered to become his servant in exchange for her life."
Kagome admired the woman's loyalty... "But, you're stuck..."
A sigh escaped the taijiiya. "Yes..."
Kagome looked down in thought. "...Why... won't he let you go...?"
"Let me go...?" Sango's voice paused, then spoke again with muted anger. "...Kagome... my life doesn't matter to him... He is a pirate, as ruthless and uncaring as they come. ...He has killed countless people... raided countless villages and sunk countless ships, over and over again. ...The only reason he spared mine was because without me... He had no cook. He won't just 'let me go.'"
Kagome's eyes narrowed along with her friend's, and she looked down. "...When Kirara gets well... When she can fly again... will you escape...?"
Sango was silent, then shook her head. "...Kagome-chan... if I leave... he will kill you... "
Kagome heard the words and felt an anger growing within her. ...Kill her...? This captain Whiteclaw... he was using her as blackmail?
"...How cold... How despicable and cold..."
Sango slowly rose from the bed... She smiled softly. "...Please... don't worry too much about it, Kagome-chan... it's late, so just try to get some sleep."
Kagome leaned over and handed Sango back the small silver locket.
"Yeah..."
Sango turned to head to her small bed... but something caught her foot and she stumbled.
"...Graceful much...?" Kagome teased good-naturedly. Sango rolled her eyes and released her foot from the obstruction on the floor. ...She rose holding a large, yellow backpack.
...Kagome nearly fell over.
"Um..." Sango turned it around to inspect it. "...Is... this yours...?" She set it down on the bed.
"Yeah...but...but how...?"
Sango yawned.... she suddenly looked very tired and turned to her bed at the dark corner of the cabin. "We can always figure it out tomorrow, Kagome-chan... Come, Kirara."
With a mew the cat hopped down from the bed and followed her to the bed. Sango crawled in, under the covers, and within a few silent minutes... both of them were curled up and seemed to be sleeping. ...The candlelight was even dimmer now... but Kagome could still see, and she had pulled the backpack toward her.
Everything was as she left it. ...There were clothes and snacks... and much to her relief... her entire purse full of yen... It was to be her dowry...
How...? She questioned... This was back on the Survivor...
Kagome reached in and felt her hand close around a book. ...Happily... her journal slid out. ...Perfect and unmarred. Kagome brought it and held it to her chest. ...Who did this....? Then again... she again, she thought. ....Why was she in this room in the first place..?
Inu...
...Had it been him? Had it been the dog-eared pirate... Inu...? He had brought her to bed... and... however he did it... Must have also brought the backpack. ...It had to be him... Kagome looked around the room, which was small and bare, with only a few pieces of furniture and porthole. ...Her eyes fell to the night table, where there was a small white bottle and tin of water... and a note.
...What's this...?
Kagome scooted backwards on the bed and reached over, grabbing the small torn piece of parchment.
The handwriting was messy and careless. On the table surface, she spotted a fallen strand of silver hair.
...Once every two hours. That's right... she had forgotten to pick up her medicine... That must have been why she had become so tired so quickly... She studied the note again.
It wasn't Myouga's handwriting.
Kagome sat in disbelief and curiosity. ...Did he really do this for her...? ...She'd done pretty much nothing but ignore and goad him on deck earlier. It was roughly ten minutes of hostility and a brief moment of kindness, and here she was, her belongings returned and she in bed.
...She felt a smile grow on her face... Her arm reached for the quill pen on the desk next to the candle, and Kagome opened her diary.
'Dear Journal...' she scribbled, and paused, looking up at the ceiling...
There was a lot she had to say.
~*~
Inuyasha walked into his cabin... It was the middle of the night, and he didn't much feel like being sociable. ...Thus is was an unfortunate thing that Miroku was already there.
Inuyasha glared at his Second-In-Command, and plopped down on his bed. "...Don't you have a life...?"
"I live here too, captain."
Inuyasha pointed a clawed finger to the curtain in a corner of his cabin. "...You live in THERE. Go look at your hentai or something... I don't want to be bothered." ...The truth was... the captain wanted to be alone with his thoughts... as much as he hated it... there was somebody on his mind. That damn girl, Kagome.
...She was so familiar... and... he just couldn't stop thinking about it...
However, the monk's expression was grave, and he gave no hint of his usual cheerfulness. "Inuyasha... there's something I think you should know."
There was concern in the houshi's voice. The white-haired head turned. "What now? What's going on, Miroku?"
"Well, captain..." The monk leaned forward. "...Have you heard recently of Lord Kouga...?"
Inuyasha snorted. "...Yeah... that idiot wolf navy-school reject...?"
"Aye... That would be the one..."
Inuyasha crossed his legs on the bed and put his hands behind his head. "...He fell back on daddy's money, last I heard... and was engaged to some noble bitch. ...What the hell about him...?"
Miroku didn't blink, and looked at him directly in the eye.
"...Lord Kouga has acquired a treasure map..."... Inuyasha's ears rose. "...To the legendary Shikon no Tama."
...The hanyou paused, then narrowed his eyes at the air.
"...Has he now...?"
~*~
Happy Labor Day, everyone. ^^ Thanks to this wonderful holiday... I don't have to wake up for school tomorrow! ....I spent the better part of today working on this chapter and just re-read it... It is looooooooong! ...I kinda hope it makes up for my entire week of neglect.... well... does it...? does it...?
As a little bit of a side note, Kagome calls Sango 'aneue'... This is pretty much Japanese for 'big sister'. For those who aren't familiar with the language, it's pronounced 'ane-weh'
I'm going to celebrate Labor Day with vegetarian meatballs... and a lot of sleep... As always... review, please! It makes me so happy...^^