Hanyou on the High Sea

by Lady Donut

[AU] Yo ho ho, and a bottle of sake. Inuyasha, the most notorious pirate in the Seven Seas meets his match when he accidentally kidnaps the wrong kind of captive... Kagome! ...What's a sea dog to do?

8. Cookie Logic

AN: I must humbly beg for you forgiveness for the dull longevity of the previous chapter. As a sign of my guilt, have a fruitcake. *holds up a fruitcake, beaming with a Colgate smile*

To clear up any confusion, this story is taking place in an alternate universe.... Therefore, pirates exist in the waters and social life is pretty much 19th century, but it's also modern... Like, slang... and SOME technology. Things that make the story convenient. For.. well... Me. :P

Also, I have decided... Kikyou IS going to be making an appearance in this fic but... ow-hey! *ducks flying tomatoes and heads of lettuce* Let... let me finish!

*silence*

...Good. *ahem*. Like I said, Kikyou IS going to make an appearance... but she won't be popular. ...I'll even fit in a gruesome death in there somewhere.

...My fic hasn't really had too much action in it yet... or too much Kagome/Inu interaction... But there will be plenty of fluff to come.. I assure you. I just happen to be a big fan of thorough character development.... Meaning... No scenes that go:

Kagome: ...Inuyasha! I hate you! You and your hanyou kind disgust me to no end! ...You killed my grandpa, kicked my cat and tied my mother to the Goshinboku! ...Inuyasha, OSUWARI!

Inuyasha: *promptly falls to the floor* ...Bitch. You're ugly, your mom was annoying, the cat stole my ramen and it was your grandpa's time to go. ...By the way... I bought you a stick of gum.

Kagome: ...Oh, Inuyasha, you're so thoughtful!

*Inuyasha and Kagome grab each other, kissing and rolling around on the floor*

Mou... As interesting as that would be, the fluff, when it comes, will be wonderful and concentrated. You all will be turned on. :D

Chapter 8!

Hanyou on the High Sea- Chapter 8

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Kagome felt herself dozing as she gazed out the sunny window in the porthole. That cloud looked like an iiiitty-bitty penguin. ...And that other one looked like a cat's head. ...Like Buyo's head.

Sango bopped her friend over the head with a whisk, coating Kagome's hair with a layer of flour. "Hey!"

"You were daydreaming again. ...And besides, I think I just took care of your dandruff problem.  Invisibility." she grinned and ducked behind a counter for she knew Kagome would make her pay.

The brown-eyed girl laughed, then smiled an evil smile and reached behind her, grabbing hold of what happened to be a vat of baking powder. "Hey, Sango..."

"What?" Came the voice from behind the counter.

"...Remember when you told me a few days ago that you'd lost your compact? ...The silver antiqued one with medium-fair liquid powder?"

"Maybe..." Sango said suspiciously.

She snuck around the counter and climbed on top of it soundlessly, holding the container in position. "...I forgot to tell you..."

She saw Sango crawl from behind the counter on all fours, looking around.

Kagome grinned and yelled. "I FOUND IT!"

Sango looked up with a surprised expression as her friend brought down a half-pound bucket of baking powder on her head. She sputtered, trying to get the bitter powder out of her nose and eyes. ...Kagome propped herself up with her elbows on top of the counter and snickered. "...Personally... I think that does wonders for your fair complexion."

Sango stood up, laughing. "Alright... alright... I forfeit." She grabbed a white cloth and wiped her face, before waving it into the air." Kagome sat up and on the edge of the counter. "You know, Sango... for a taijiiya, you sure didn't see that one coming..."

Sango had walked over to a trash barrel and tossed the cloth in. "...Well, you shouldn't have mentioned my precious compact. For a noble, you sure aren't very delicate."

"It'll turn up. Check underneath your mattress again when we get back." Kagome dusted off her hair and looked around the kitchen cluelessly. "...What were we doing again?" She tilted her head retardedly and made a stupid face.

Sango got the hint and laughed, looking up at the ceiling to think. "Hmm... gee, I don't know... maybe, the only thing we ever do?" her voice oozed sarcasm. She looked down at a recipe she held in her hand. "...It says here to add three tablespoons of lime extract..."

Kagome hopped off the counter and walked toward her, thinking. "...Let's see then... three tablespoons of lime extract for four servings... times sixteen servings... That's..." She looked at Sango. "Wait. Do we even HAVE lime extract?"

Sango sighed. "...We'd better. ...It gives the crust a brighter flavor." Kagome looked over her friend's shoulder. "...'tsps.'... Sango, that's TEASPOONS."

"Sorry! ...I'm still a novice to this cooking thing."

"Yeah, and either which way, I don't think a shipful of pirates will carry around 'lime extract.' ...That's like the kind of stuff our cook would special order from the markets..." Kagome tapped her finger against her chin in thought.

Sango looked at her incredulously. "...You even had a cook?"

Kagome grinned. "And my own seamstress too... But I promise... It's not a fun life."

"Yeah, and I like hentai."

"...You like Miroku?!"

"Sarcasm. That was sarcasm..."

Kagome studied the recipe a bit more, then sighed, looking defeated. "...Alright... Bad news, I'm afraid. ...Not only do we not have lime extract... But..." She turned to Sango to give her a sheepish look.

"What...? What....?"

Kagome stared at the mixture in the bowl. "...It looks like we have no more baking powder, either." Sango groaned. "...You've got to be kidding me. But we already mixed the pie filling! What are we going to do now?"

Kagome was silent a few moments and spoke hesitantly. "...I think maybe... we could try a separate recipe for the crust... One without leavening... But," She looked around the large galley. "...I don't know of any recipe... and I don't see any other cookbooks..."

The galley door opened at that moment and in came the ship's smallest pirate. "...Kagome-chan! Sango-chan! Hi!"

Kagome was interrupted from her worry and managed a small wave. "...Morning, Shippou. If you want some leftover cookies, you can check the icebox, but they might be hard."

The little kitsune shook his head fervently. "Naah, I had enough last night. ...What'cha guys doing?" Sango flipped through the worn pages of the only cookbook they had, dismayed to find a page torn off. "...Well, we're trying to find out how to make a citrus pie with no crust..." She turned to Kagome. "...Kagome-chan... I think we're going to have to abandon."

Kagome looked horrified. "But we just used a week's worth of fruit! ...There's no way we can let all of that go to waste!" She took a seat next to Shippou, worriedly.

The mini-youkai looked from both girls and piped up. "...What's wrong, you guys? How can you make a pie with no crust? It doesn't sound very tasty... Unless you wanted to make it a pudding... or... something..."

Kagome sighed and looked down to the little kitsune. "...If we had another cookbook, we could try to make another type of crust, and it would turn out just as good... But hey, let's face it, pirates don't collect these things... What should we do, Sango?"

The taijiiya gave her a hopeless look. "Make... a pudding...?"

Shippou hopped down from the chair and headed over to the icebox. "We have more cookbooks..." he said lightly. He reached in with small hands and pulled out a few cookies.

Both women looked at him in shock.

"Where?!" Came the unanimous plea.

Shippou made his way back to the stool and bit into a cookie. "...I think I might have seen some... The captain has a library in his quarters... I sneak in there all of the time to steal his mangas."

Kagome looked mystified. "...Captain Whiteclaw..."

"-has a library?" Sango finished.

The kitsune had stopped paying attention. "...You're right... These cookies are rocks..."

Kagome and Sango looked at each other, then back at Shippou. "Hey.... Shippou..." Kagome said smoothly.

He looked up with big, wide curious eyes. Kagome handed poured some milk from a nearby pitcher and handed it to him. "...Can you do us a favor...?"

The kitsune read into it immediately he shoved the glass of milk away and shook his head fervently. "No. No way, no how! ...I've been caught in there one too many times... The next time it happens, he'll send my fuzzy ass to the stocks."

Kagome gave him an eyebrow. "...You're just a kid."

"So? ...The captain's a major ass. And I already piss him off enough already."

Kagome gave an exasperated sigh. She looked to Sango desperately. The taijiiya pretended to look away. "...Don't even think about it.... You know I hate that stupid Whiteclaw."

Shippou went for the glass, apparently reconsidering. ...He dipped a cold, hard cookie into it and looked into the air, pondering. "...You know, Kagome," he said thoughtfully, "if you run in and out again, I doubt you'll get caught. ...And, even if you do, he won't care because you're pretty."

Sango stared at the boy. "...What kind of logic is that?"

Shippou dipped his entire hand into the large glass and pulled out a sopping wet one. He bit into it, very satisfied with the improvement. He swallowed the mouthful with a swig of milk. "...Cookie logic, that's what."

Kagome looked over at the mixture on the counter, then at Sango who wore a worried expression. "...It'll just be an in and out thing... right? No worries." Kagome stood and patted down her skirt.

Sango looked wide-eyed. "No WAY, Kagome-chan. ...I'm not letting you break and enter into the captain's private quarters! Are you crazy?"

Kagome looked up in thought for a few moments. "...Well, from what I hear, I'm the best cook the ship's ever had..."

Blink, blink. "...Your point?"

She looked at her friend. "...Meaning, that if he wants some good eating, he'll go easy on me?"

"Kagome-chan, you're pushing your luck."

The raven-headed girl shrugged. "...It's not like we have much of a choice... There's nothing we can do to that mixture to make it pudding. And I refuse to have wasted all of that fruit."

She walked over to the swinging galley door and took off her makeshift apron, hanging it on a hook she had made by the door. ...She turned around. "...Where exactly is it at again, Shippou...?"

The kitsune was going for the icebox again and never even turned around. "The black curtain in the captain's cabin. ...But you can use the back door leading in. ...It's the one marked, 'stay the fuck out!' by the privy door on that level."

Kagome blinked.

"Don't worry, it's unlocked. ...I broke it myself." Shippou added.

...With a swift nod she disappeared, barely uttering a 'ja ne.'

...Left alone, Sango looked at Shippou with a wry expression. "...He's in there, isn't he..?"

Shippou poured himself another glass of milk and chugged, then wiping his wet mouth on his sleeve.

"...Let's give her ten minutes."

~*~

"If I don't find that map in five minutes, I'm going to shoot something. ...Or somebody."

Miroku noticeably shrank backwards as Inuyasha rampaged through his desk, tossing its contents behind him, frustratingly.

"Captain..." the monk sidestepped a flying scroll. "This is the third time you've emptied out that desk, and..."

A novelty wooden sno-globe with a little pirate ship inside hailstorm-ed as it sailed clean over his head. Miroku patted his hair back into place. "...and, I'm sure it'll be the fourth time you make me clean it:"

Inuyasha claws raked on his desk as he grunted, "Are you complaining?"

"Perhaps," Miroku replied. "Inuyasha. Shouldn't you check the storage chests downstairs? ...Don't you remember that mariner's schooner we overtook seven months back?"

Inuyasha gave a goaded backward glance. "If you're taking about those shit-made cartographer's maps, I already saw them. Not one plots this area!" Inuyasha pounded the desk in frustration, then lowered his head, out of ideas. "Dammit, Miroku, I need that map."

Miroku walked over to his best friend and replaced the sno-globe on the pirated rosewood desk. "Inuyasha, the men are getting a bit restless..."

"I know that! Don't you think it's been a boring two weeks for me too? And... I'm sure by now we've drifted nowhere near Kouga's."

The monk sighed and searched the air for nothing. He looked deep in thought... "You know, now that I think about it... how Lord Kouga got possession of something as precious as a map to the Tama is beyond me."

Inuyasha was still looking defeated with his head on the table.

"And..."  Miroku added delicately. "Weren't the two of you classmates or something...?"

"Keh." Came the muffled reply. Inuyasha rose and walked over to a corner couch (also pirated, and a bit water-stained), plopping down on it and closing his eyes. "...That idiot Kouga was less than a classmate. ...He was just a preppy daddy's boy riding off his father's money. How many fucking times have I told you that?!"

"Many. But I never get tired of the story." Miroku bent over and picked up a stack of papers, evening them. Inuyasha gave him a dirty look. "Miroku, do you get off at pushing my buttons?"

The monk feigned an orgasmic look.

Inuyasha looked disgusted and turned away. "NEVER do that in front of me again. Just do me a favor and save it for that fucking bounty hunter."

"Hey, hey now... that's none of your business."

"What's to be secretive of? You go after anything with mounds and legs."

Miroku paused. "...Hmm. No argument there..." His look became glassy as he drifted off into perverted fantasies.

"Keh..." The hanyou crossed his arms. "It's a wonder you haven't gotten into her tights already. But then again, how women can even stand your company baffles me."

The monk ignored Inuyasha's last comment. "...I have to admit, though... Sango-sama does have a bit of competition..."

Inuyasha looked up, bemused but not even bothering to decipher the monk's comment. "...Shut your mouth, Miroku. I'm sure Shippou doesn't want your attention."

Miroku looked away. "...For your information, it wasn't the kitsune I was talking about, but rather the other cook, Lady Kagome..." The hanyou's ears perked up but he didn't say anything. Miroku rambled on. "What a goddess, she is... shaped like an hourglass and with the face of a tannyou..." He fell out of his thoughts and looked at Inuyasha. "...Oh, wait... you haven't seen her yet, have you?"

Inuyasha clenched his jaw and growled. "Miroku... Get out of my office."

"But captain, what for-"

"Fuck, NOW! Your rambling pisses me off!"

The monk gave a little bow. "...Forgive me, captain, if I have offended you..."

"Are you deaf?"

"No, no captain... but, you wandered off and never told me about Kouga... I can't leave with an unsatisfied curiosity."

"Try."

"Please, captain...?"

Inuyasha looked over and raised his brow at Miroku. "...What the hell do you want to know? You already know why I hate that bastard."

Miroku replaced some more items in the messy desk. "...No, I know that you hated him and that he got into the school easily... But, you never explained why."

Inuyasha looked away from Miroku and was quiet for a moment. Out of the corner of his eye, the monk saw him clench his fist with quiet resentment. "...I worked my ass off getting into navy school... I spent months writing essays and taking physical exams... and time after time, I failed to get in. Wasn't good enough, they said. ...Sesshoumaru had gotten in with no problem a few years earlier."

Miroku looked at the captain unblinkingly. "...And, Kouga?"

Inuyasha tossed a pillow from the couch onto a high shelf in the room, sending something too the floor and crashing down. "...I went off and trained for a year, making myself stronger and faster and worthy. ...Sesshoumaru had done it, and I fucking had to as well. ...Wouldn't you know it, that after a year in solitude and training, I had gotten in?"

"Very commendable of you..."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Forgive me."

Inuyasha paused again. "...All that cocky little bastard Kouga had to do was beg his daddy to donate a library wing to the school, and bang. ...He's at the top of the class. He was a lieutenant second class after only a month, and a lieutenant after a semester and a half." Inuyasha growled. "...He's just a weak, wimpy little wolf, and it makes me sick. I hate sniveling little kiss-asses like him..."

Miroku was quiet in thought for a moment. "...But are you sure that he wasn't actually good at what he did-"

The second pillow went flying, this time at Miroku's head.

"Didn't I tell you to shut the fuck up?"

...Miroku moaned in pain. The pillow had been stuffed with little more than sand and gravel. "You kill me, senpai..."

"I will, eventually."

Both captain and first mate were silent for a moment. Miroku rubbing his head and Inuyasha looking out a window in resentment and nostalgia. The monk was the first to speak after he stood and tossed Inuyasha back the couch pillow. "...You know, Inuyasha... what you said reminded me of something..."

"...Of the fact that you turned out to be less of an officer than I did?"

"Actually..." Miroku looked up in the air and thought for a moment. "...You mentioned that Kouga's father donated a library..."

'Yeah? And?"

"Well... just random thought, but have you tried looking in yours for that map you needed..? I think, that I remember seeing an old atlas in there a while ago..."

Inuyasha was silent, rubbing his chin with the why-didn't-I-think-of-that look. "...You know, Miroku...? That isn't a bad idea..."

Miroku bowed. "I strive to be useful, you know."

A loud growl erupted into the air. The hanyou rubbed his stomach. ...He looked down, and suddenly decided that he was hungry. "But, for now, do me another favor..." Miroku looked back at him. "...Go to the galley and get some more of those donuts. ...I haven't had breakfast today, yet."

Miroku tilted his head in a quizzical look. "...Since... when do you have such a thing for donuts?"

"What the hell do you mean?"

"Well... before two weeks ago, you never even mentioned them. Now you ask me to go every two days..."

Inuyasha gave him his most threatening look and held it. "Miroku..." he picked up the rock-hard pillow once again. "...If I have to ask you one more time..."

The monk got the picture and held his arms up in surrender, deciding not to pursue the topic. "Alright, alright... I'm going... And..." he looked back on his way out the door. "Hurry up and go get the atlas..."

Inuyasha grumbled and lay back on the couch, waving him off. "...Yeah, yeah. Get out of my face."

~*~

...Kagome had always loved to read. ...Since before she could walk, her mother had read her fairy tales and nursery rhymes. Kagome was a child who drank up stories like someone would coffee. At the private grammar school she'd attended, full of other stuffy nobles and equally haughty teachers, she'd once beaten up a boy (the son of a well-respected lord), and earning paddle punishment because he'd yanked away her short stories book and called her a nerd.

He'd left with two missing teeth and a black eye. ...Shamed because of his defeat to a girl a year younger, the boy was transferred off to a fancy boarding school somewhere in the next prefecture.

Kagome quietly pulled a book off the shelf. She had found the captain's library easily enough. ...It was only a matter of following the smell of the privy from a hallway away. ...The captain's level had a MUCH cleaner and richer look to it. ...It looked like he put his loot to good use... The back door to the library was open, just like Shippou said.

The cover of this volume was bland and faded... Kagome couldn't make out the title, so she put it back on the wooden shelf.

...So many books! ...She hadn't expected a pirate's library to be so in depth. ... It wasn't a very big room, and was actually dusty and dim because of a partially blocked porthole, but every inch of if was packed with literature. There were books on the floor, and even on a small table in-between shelves.

Wow... She thought as she walked through the few aisles and ran her hand over the books. ...This is absolutely great...!

There were no cookbooks anywhere in sight, though. ...Or, perhaps she was just looking in the wrong place...? They all seemed to be shoved into place without any kind of order.

A small brown book caught her eye as it jutted out from a corner shelf. ...She walked over and inspected it. ..It seemed to have been shoved in rather hastily. She pulled it out... The lettering on cover was golden.

'Ella Enchanted' it read.

...Kagome's eyes widened. "No way!" she exclaimed.

...This book, this very book, just happened to be her favorite fairy tale... It had been given to her as a present for her seventh birthday. But, as most of her things had been at that age, it was misplaced somewhere she couldn't remember, and Kagome had never found it again. She had always remembered to look for it in a few libraries over the years, but with no such luck. ...It seemed the book was pretty rare.

Kagome opened the faded yellow pages and turned them carefully. This copy looked like it had been read quite a few times. Some pages were old and torn and corners had crease marks from dog-eared bookmarks.

She sat herself against a shelf by a corner and opened up to a random page.

                "...I gaped at the page. Read it again. And gaped again. In my daze, I noticed that I had left my sooty thumb marks on the letter.

                "He loved me. He'd loved me as long as he'd known me!

                "I hadn't loved him as long, perhaps, but now I loved him equally well, or better. I loved his laugh, his honorableness, his appreciation of my jokes, his hands, his determination that I should know the worst of him. And, most of all, shameful as though it might be, I loved his love for me.

                "Placing my candle carefully, I danced and whirled around my room.

                "I could marry Char and live with my love.

                "I could leave Mum Olga and her evil spawn.

                "No one would give me orders.

I would be free..."

Kagome turned the page and continued reading, rapt with attention and joy that she had just discovered her favorite fairy tale. There, in the corner, she forgot all about her mission and read on.

The black curtain to the captain's library entrance opened, and footsteps tapped the wooden floor, but Kagome paid no attention.

...Inuyasha held back a sneeze. When the hell was the last time he dusted this place...? He made a mental note to get Miroku to do it for him and glanced around the quiet room, trying to remember where he had put the atlas.

All of the books in this library had come from other ships in the course of his captaining. ...None of the other men ever saw the point of this order, but Inuyasha was adamant about expanding his book collection. ...That damn fox brat Shippou had also been responsible for pilfering most of his mangas.

Kagome was hidden from view by a few large bookshelves, so neither of them yet knew about the presence of the other.

Inuyasha walked down one of the aisles inspecting the shelves closely for any trace of the atlas.  Hmm... A guide to Europe, a scholar's overview to geography, a rather old volume arguing that the earth was flat... Nada. .

Inuyasha stopped, and vaguely remembered putting the atlas somewhere in the third row corner. ...He made another mental note to get Miroku to set up some kind of organization here.

Walking to the corner shelf, he looked around, and finally saw a tall, thick volume jutting out from the top shelf. He noiselessly pulled it out, and tucked it under his arm with a satisfied smirk.

...Alright, here it is. Kouga, you shit... Be prepared. Happy, conquest-ing thoughts danced in the hanyou's head.

Suddenly, his ears twitched. ...Had he heard something..?

Over behind the shelf, Kagome turned a page and shifted.

Inuyasha just happened to glance down, and something caught his eye. ...Where there should have been a book, there was a space and nearby books falling into it.

The hanyou growled. Shippou...?

He took a deep sniff... The faint smell of vanilla wafted into his nose.

Kagome was oblivious to the soft sounds of footsteps.

                "..And I had no doubt my secret would be discovered.

                "In court there would be eyes and ears that would be alive to such signs. I'd never manage to fool them all.

                "What could I do? Mother had ordered me not to tell anyone about the curse, but Mandy could countermand the order so I'd be able to tell Char, Then he could take precautions.

                "I'd tell him, I'd wake Mandy now. I sat up in bed, happy again. And sank back.

                "What precautions could Char take? He could prevent anyone from speaking or writing to me. He could shut me away. That might do, but he would have to bring me my meals, the flax to spin my clothes, the wood for my fire. It would be a burden similar to one of Lucinda's wedding gifts. And what would Kyrria think of a hermit queen? And how would I feel, locked away like Rapunzel in her tower? Moreover, the best precautions might fail..."

Inuyasha crept between the shelves, where he spied around the corner. ...There was nobody. Kagome, meanwhile, rubbed her nose in the imminent reaction of sneezing from the dust. She turned another page and absently decided to take this book with her as well.

Inuyasha, with all of his inherent hanyou stealth finally looked around the right corner. ...And there she sat. ...The girl.  Kagome.

...Reading a book.

Inuyasha blinked once. This wasn't Shippou. ...Perhaps that was why he didn't feel the urge to explode in a fit of his usual captainly rage. Kagome, meanwhile finally lost the battle and gave a good, loud sneeze. "ACHOO!"

The sudden loud noise jolted her from her world and Kagome suddenly remembered why she was here in the first place. She scrambled up and closed the small book. Inuyasha retracted his head just as she looked his way.

"God, Kagome... you're an idiot. Just get the cookbook and leave!" She dusted off her skirt from sitting on the floor and maneuvered in between an aisle. Sango and Shippou were probably wondering what had happened to her by now. ...She must have been gone from the kitchen for at least half an hour! Or maybe it just felt that way?

She scanned all of the titles in that aisle, finding nothing at all relevant to what she was looking for.  ...In her head, she imagined Sango's disappointment when she announced they'd be serving their men 'citrus pudding'. She gave a loud sigh and turned the corner.

Inuyasha was there, waiting with his arms crossed, looking very nonchalant.

And, for the second time since she'd set foot on the ship, Kagome collided with the red-clothed hanyou.

The dark-haired girl jumped out of her skin, giving a yelp and shrinking back. Her heart just came out of her mouth with surprise and fright.

Inuyasha stared at her. Kagome stared back.

For a second, both just stared at each other.

"...Inu...?"

Huh? Inu? The captain didn't register the name at first. Why the hell is she calling me 'Inu'? Kagome put her hand to her chest and took a deep breath. "Gods, Inu... you scared the CRAP out of me!"

Inuyasha briefly recalled the last time they'd met. She'd given him donuts, and he'd choked on one, managing to garble out his name. ...Inu. Then, she'd fallen asleep.

...Well, no wonder. But... Inuyasha thought to himself. Does that mean... that she doesn't know who I really am?

Inuyasha gave a wry look. "I usually have that effect on people. ...What the hell are you doing here?"

Kagome held the fairy-tale book closely to her side. "...Well actually, I needed a cookbook... any cookbook, so that I could finish a recipe for dinner... and I wasn't having much-"  Kagome took a look around, suddenly lowering her voice. ...Could I be any louder?

"...wasn't having much luck." She whispered.

The hanyou read her movements easily. ...So she wasn't afraid of HIM... but she was cautious. For the 'captain', he bet. But how... could she NOT know the captain was standing right in front of her?

Kagome looked at him, then down to the large book underneath his arm. "So..." she said slowly, not knowing what to say. The last time she saw this pirate, was two weeks ago, on the deck of the ship.

"...What are you doing here? It doesn't look like 'Whiteclaw's' anywhere around..."

His suspicions were confirmed, but, Inuyasha held back.  "...I... just came to get something... for the captain." He lied. In the back of his mind, he wondered, How long will she think that I'm 'Inu', and not Whiteclaw...?

Kagome smiled, "I see..." Good... then she was safe.

"Hey, Inu..." she said.

"Yeah?" He glanced at the girl.

"Thanks."

"For...?"

Kagome rose up on her toes, looking on a shelf for what she thought looked like a cookbook. She pulled it out, disappointed with the title. Nutrition and You.

"You know, that night when I fell asleep on the deck... You were the one who took me to my room, weren't you? ...Damn this book..." She put it back on the shelf.

Inuyasha gave an apathetic shrug and pretended not to care. "...Keh. It's dangerous to sleep out on the deck. Even an idiot knows that. If the ship would have run into a storm, your scrawny body would have been washed out to Australia by now."

"Aw... thanks for caring..."

Her voice was only mildly sarcastic, but Inuyasha didn't pick up on it. His face warmed slightly. "...I don't." Inuyasha turned away from her. "You're the only fucking cook on this damn ship. And it doesn't taste like complete shit."

...Kagome smiled secretly at what she knew was an underlying compliment.

"By the way," she said, reaching out and touched the hanyou's shoulder. "...How did you find my backpack? ...I mean, that was you too right?"

He quickly moved away from her reach. "Keh. ...It was in the basement, along with all of the other loot from the Survivor. And it stank like you."

Kagome looked the least bit insulted. "And what do I 'stink' like...?"

Inuyasha gave a haughty look. "...Like a woman."

"Oh? ...Do you have something against women?" The girl gritted her teeth at the hanyou. She suddenly paused at a thought and nodded to herself. "Ohh, I get it... You're gay, aren't you?"

Inuyasha's eyes widened tremendously and he sputtered, turning around. "That- that's not what I meant!"

Kagome gave him a sly look. "...Of course it's not..."

"Bitch, I'm not gay!"

Kagome's hands rose in surrender and she pressed her lips together to keep from snickering.  "Alright! Fine, fine... whatever you say." She turned, to walk down the aisle. "Of course... with a ship full of men, I wouldn't really blame you if... well, you know..."

Inuyasha blinded by temper and machismo, reached out and spun Kagome around by the shoulders, pulling her closely and glaring at her directly in the eye.

"I... Am... Not... Gay." He spelled out through gritted teeth.

"Um..." Kagome shifted uncomfortably. ...That was when Inuyasha noticed that his face was less than two inches away from hers.

He stopped short and pushed her away, disappearing from that aisle and leaving Kagome alone. ...The girl blinked as she heard a shuffle and collapse of books from two aisles over. The hanyou suddenly reappeared in front of her, shoving a small, thick hard-cover book in her hand; Easy Cooking: From Apple Pie to Zucchini Bread, 101 Recipes.

"Here," He growled. "Now get out of here before I- the captain gets pissed."  He picked up his atlas and shoved past her with the intent to disappear outside the black curtain at the end of the aisle.

"Hey, wait!" Kagome called after him and grabbed his shoulder. "What?!" he spat.

Kagome looked a little taken aback. "...Aw, come on... Don't be mad, okay? I'm sorry."

"Keh!" came the hanyou's reply.

"No, I swear. Really... that was mean of me. And um, thanks for the book..."

Inuyasha glanced down. ...She held the cookbook in her hand, but she also had another. ...One that looked very, very familiar. He reached down, and took her hand by the wrist, raising it and then taking the small brown book from her hand. ...Ella Enchanted.

Inuyasha looked at her in the eye. "...Where did you get this?"

His glare made Kagome a bit nervous. "Um... it was in a corner shelf there, just sticking out... It happened to be my favorite fairy tale, and I... haven't seen it since I was little..."

Inuyasha was silent, nothing but a hard look on his face.

...This book... This small book, was probably the only one in his collection that was actually his. Well, rather... his mother's. ...After she had died, Inuyasha had taken and kept the small fairy-tale volume with him everywhere he went. It had followed him since, afterward... It was the only memory of her that he had left...

But of course, the tough-skinned hanyou wasn't about to admit that. He growled, "What, were you planning to steal it?"

Kagome looked taken aback again. "No! ...I was just reading it, and forgot that I was holding it... Look, I'll put it back if you want, okay..?"

Inuyasha glared at her, silent. Kagome winced under his grip. Realizing he was causing her pain, the hanyou let go of her hand.

Kagome rubbed her wrist and spoke a shade softer. "...I'm sorry... Is that one yours...?"

Inuyasha looked away. "...The captain would have noticed if someone had taken one of his books."

"Oh."

Inuyasha looked at Kagome, who as looking at the floor. ...Her sad and disappointed expression was evident, and affected the hanyou more than it should have... He turned to her and said slowly. "...Alright. Fine. Take it with you, but I want it back before tomorrow night, you got it?"

She looked up, a small smile growing on her face. Her brown eyes were brighter again. "Do... you really mean it...?"

The hanyou grunted and looked away. "...If you mess it up, I'll kill you."

She smiled. "I swear, it's in good hands..." She paused, thinking for a moment. "So... why don't I... meet you up on deck then? To return it, I mean. At the same place as last time..."

Inuyasha keh'd again, and began to walk away from Kagome. ...She took that to signify a yes. She watched his red-clothed back walk away from her and out into the curtain. She brought the book up to her chest and smiled a 'thank you.' Kagome never even noticed she was the tiniest bit pink.

She also glanced at the cookbook. ...Sango would be needing this as soon as possible...

~*~

All was chaos as Kagome walked back into the kitchen. Sango stood over a writhing Miroku on the floor, and Shippou was laughing hysterically on the table.

"You want to touch my 'donuts', ey?" Sango fumed.

Kagome blinked as Shippou looked up and noticed her with laughter still in his eyes.

"Um... Did I miss something?" she asked, puzzled.

Sango looked up and saw her friend standing at the doorway with books in her arms. Miroku made a weak noise from the floor. "Kagome-chan! You're back!" The taijiiya ran over.

Kagome looked over Sango's shoulder to the monk struggling up from the floor. "Don't tell me he's back again."

Sango rolled her eyes and gave a sour look. "...Yeah. Third time this week. The same order, but he still won't tell me who it's for."

"Is that why you smacked him?" She saw Miroku get up and dust off his holy robes behind her. Shippou said something smart-mouthed to the monk and was quickly clouted on the head.

"No. He just got fresh."

"So, nothing new then."

"Unfortunately."

Sango looked down to see two books in Kagome's hands. "...Ah, Kagome-chan! You found them then?" Kagome looked down at her hands and handed the cookbook to her friend.

"Un. See what you can find in this one."

Sango looked the book over, pleased with what she saw. She opened the book to the table of contents and flipped a few pages. A few moments later, she announced, "I... I think I found it!" She turned around and started to walk away from Kagome to the counter when she glanced back, to the other book the girl was holding. "...What's that other book, Kagome-chan?"

"Oh, this..?" She held the small brown book up higher. She quickly debated whether she should tell Sango about Inu. "It's... just something I got from a friend."

Sango nodded, not bothering to register what Kagome had just said. She walked to the counter and began assembling ingredients.

Kagome approached Miroku and Shippou, sighing. "Miroku, if you want another batch of our donuts... you're going to have to tell us who they're for."

The monk stood up straight looking very stately. "Certainly then, Kagome-sama. ...Your pastries just happen to be very popular among the men, and I happen to be a representative of the men. ...I doubt he-... they have the courage to come get them themselves."

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure they're not just for you?"

"Why, of course not. ...I'd have gained significantly by now, don't you think?"

Kagome just blinked at the monk and went to go fill up a bag. Shippou followed her to the makeshift breadbox they had set up and took one himself.

A few minutes later, she handed Miroku a bag, along with a pitcher of milk. "...Here... Tell whoever you're feeding this to that they'll taste a lot better with a swig of this."

Miroku took both items gratefully. "...Thank you for your generosity, Lady Kagome."

He gave a small bow, and walked quickly out the door, bashfully avoiding Sango's eye.

Kagome looked over to Sango who was at that point, kneading some rough dough. Shippou had hopped over and sat next to her, happily chewing on his donut.

"You know, Sango-chan... I think he likes you."

Sango only knead harder.

~*~

Inuyasha was suddenly very, very pleased. ...There it was... the map he was looking for all along, on the pages of the atlas. ...His compass and astrolabe were strewn over his desk, and he had already plot the way to Kouga's.

Miroku came in a few minutes later, holding a bag and white pitcher, looking very flushed indeed.

"Your lunch, sir." He said, placing it down on a desk.

Inuyasha glanced back to his first mate. "Miroku, do me another favor."

The monk groaned, but Inuyasha smiled a fanged grin.

"...Go and tell the men that we are finally ready to set sail."

~*~

AN: Eeek! Oh my sweet lord... That has got to have been the longest chapter I have ever written. I just wanted to get so much out here, and didn't feel like breaking up the chapters and leaving everybody in suspense.

...The book I used for this chapter, by the way, is a real book, Ella Enchanted, by Gail Carson Levine. ...It's also been my favorite story since about the sixth grade, and is definitely a great read. ...All of you go get it!

Things are getting even screwier in the plotline... Inuyasha's preparing to head straight for Kagome's fiancée's manor. He doesn't know who she is, she doesn't know who he is... It's like a weird soap opera...

By the way, an 'astrolabe' is a piece of old-fashioned navigational equipment that sailors used to navigate the stars. Just thought you'd like to know.

Thanks to my reviewers again!

Golden-lover90- Thanks for the point-out.^^ The last chapter was hastily done, and I'm sure I made some typos in there somewhere...

Jiao-chan: What flames are you talking about? I don't recall seeing any.^^

Shorty40: Unfortunately, yes... Kikyou's making an appearance. But don't worry, I hate the frigid bitch too.

I'll try to get chapter 9 to you as soon as possible... And please...

*chants in your ear* review... review... review...