I do not own Inuyasha or any of the other characters in this story.
Dragondiva88 here! This is the second chapter of my new story "The Island", and as I promised, it is going to get better from here on out. This chapter, I have decided, is going to be in my POV. Next chapter will be in Kagome's POV, as well as the rest of the story, unless any of you have any objections. I know, I know, it is my story, but I want my readers to be happy too. Therefore, if you people have anything to say, I suggest you review and say it. Ok- well here we go. (*_*)
The Island
Chapter 2: Land
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A docking port- what every demon of the early 1900's feared most. The noises and smells were something that most could not tolerate-not to mention the fact that he was an outcast most of the time, unlike the rest of the population. Fishmongers and merchants lined the port, constantly bartering and selling, buying and pawning. Thus was the daily life of the sailor.
Inuyasha, with no prior knowledge of ships, was forced to hire a trade ship to carry him and his friends to Palau with part of the loan money that Myouga had given him, and the fact that the fire had left them with little or no belongings had made the trip even cheaper. Miroku had been in charge of the belongings, which may or may not have been a good idea, but in the end, it all worked out.
Shippo only suffered minor abrasions to his face after the blast, but thankfully, due to Inuyasha's heroic actions, he was not injured any worse than that. The burns on Inuyasha's hands had healed up quite nicely in a matter of minutes after the blast, so Inuyasha had no problems with carrying his small suitcase with him to the ship assigned to them.
It was called The Windrower and it was a large sailing ship. The wood was sturdy and solid, and the masthead was a carving of a woman with wings. Now Inuyasha had never believed in fate, but that ship seemed destined to bring him to his true calling. The captain, a woman herself, was named Sango, and Inuyasha had spoken to her once before on a chance meeting. She had also met Miroku. Oh how she just loved Miroku.
"Oh my lovely Sango, it was destined that you should captain this beautiful ship. It was also destined that you should bear my-"
"Can it. I have a ship to sail, and you'd be best to respect that." With that, she turned and strode up the ship's plank casually, occasionally barking orders to her crew on her way up. Miroku's shoulders sagged, but he did not give up, as he often did not with a beautiful woman. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes and continued to drag both his and Miroku's luggage. He looked behind him on some odd reflex, and noticed Myouga running to them at a very fast pace.
'Oh no, what is he doing here?' Inuyasha thought. He waved stiffly before asking Myouga the very same question.
"You don't think I would let one of my investments go unattended do you?" he said matter-of-factly. Inuyasha just nodded dumbly, cursing his bad luck.
So the ship set off, and the trip went smoothly. Miroku, not having been on a ship before, had not known that he was seasick until the ship began to move. He vomited the whole way there.
Inuyasha loved ships, and he had ridden in the before, although he knew nothing about them. Shippo entertained himself by watching Miroku throw-up, and by annoying Inuyasha. As I said, the trip was smooth.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha was captivated by the endless amount of sea that passed them by, and he occasionally stare out into the open ocean, smelling the breeze. This was how Sango approached him.
He seemed to be staring off into nothingness, either in deep thought or in no thought at all, so she thought it best not to say anything until he noticed her presence. She cleared her throat as she leaned against the ship's side, seeing if he would notice anything. He did, but chose not to look at her as he spoke.
"Have you captained this ship for a while?" he asked tentatively.
"For a while, yes. A little ways before that, I was an island merchant, but I was hooked on sea travel the moment I laid eyes on a ship." Her eyes glazed over thoughtfully.
"Where do you travel to most often?" he asked her, merely to continue conversation.
"Morocco, Malaysia, Egypt . . . anywhere we can fetch goods that will draw a good price. We travel to your island a lot too. This is, in fact, the sixteenth time I've been there if I'm not mistaken."
Inuyasha was completely in shock. If she had been to Palau, and seen nothing, than maybe he had gone through all of this for nothing. She seemed to read his thoughts.
"Every native I've spoken to has seen different accounts of your 'winged women' on the island two hundred miles north of Palau. We are going to pass right by it on the way, and it would make your trip shorter, if you catch my drift." She glanced shiftily at him out of the corner of her eye, seeing the gleeful expression return with full force.
"Thank you, Sango." he said quietly.
"No problem . . . but I have one favor to ask in return. Keep Miroku's lecherous hands away from me." She liked Miroku well enough, but his lecherous ways were too much to bear at one time. Inuyasha threw his head back and laughed heartily before nodding. He knew exactly what she was talking about, for he had had many complaints about Miroku. Fortunately, Sango did not complain, she just punched him when she was fed up. Inuyasha found this quite amusing.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The trip had been cut in half thanks to Sango's tip. She carried their luggage up onto the shore, which Inuyasha and Miroku had expressly told her not to trouble herself with, but she felt an obligation to do it, so she did it anyway. Myouga had remained silent most of the trip, mainly ransacking the ship's galley for any kind of brandy, never finding any usually. Inuyasha knew that he had been keeping a close, wrinkly eye on them, letting them know that he was not about to let them sneak off unattended.
When they came onto land, the sun shone down on them, and the air smelled of a floral perfume that was like no other. Inuyasha would have never imagined that it was that beautiful there. Shippo, being ecstatic that they were finally on sold ground again, ran himself tired on the sandy beach, until he grew bored and let his one-minute attention span run amok. Captain Sango stepped off the ship, and it began to set sail once again.
"Sango, what do you think that you're doing?" Inuyasha said.
"My ship needs to dock back at the harbor for repairs. I also have some relatives back on Palau that I have not seen in awhile. I brought my rowboat so I should be okay. Do you mind if I camp with you until I get my bearings?" Inuyasha raised his hand to object, but Miroku was in front of him in a flash, staring deeply into her eyes.
"I would be honored if you would make camp with us . . . you can stay in my tent! Oh, Lovely Sango you can even share my sleeping-" He was promptly clonked in the head with a large log that was by her feet. She rolled her eyes and ducked behind Inuyasha. He just sighed.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
After the lodging was settled, they only had to find the perfect spot for their tents.
Shippo was beginning to grate on Inuyasha's nerves, as he always did. Inuyasha was NOT the parenting type. Myouga, however, paced himself with the boy, answering every one of his questions.
"Why is the sky blue?"
"Because it is."
"Why?"
"Because."
"But WHY?" Shippo wailed.
"Shippo, will you just shut up please? You're giving me a headache with all of your questions and useless whining." Inuyasha commanded him. Shippo stuck out his tongue at the older demon, and mimicked him in a high-pitched, girly voice.
"Oh Shippo! Pweez be quiet, for I have to curl my hair and paint my toe nails." That was the last straw. Inuyasha turned on the boy, making him yelp in surprise as he chased him around the other three of the group. Inuyasha pounced on the boy, trying to wrestle him into a chokehold. They did not realize that they had been rolling down a hill.
A large boulder slammed into the back of Inuyasha's head as he rolled, giving him an even bigger headache, and an even bigger annoyance of Shippo. They continued to roll, Shippo clawing at Inuyasha's face, and Inuyasha trying to pin Shippo fruitlessly. Then their rolling stopped, and Inuyasha finally got a pin on Shippo's arms. Shippo blew a raspberry in Inuyasha's face, and Inuyasha raised his fist up into the air, only to have it be held back.
"Look, Inuyasha! We've found the perfect spot!" Sango said in awe.
In fact, they had found the perfect spot. The sun shone in through the canopy onto a waterfall next to where they were now. The ground they were standing on was flat and wide, good for tents, and had a lot of room for all of them to share. Flowers bloomed nearby, fish swam in the sparkling clear waters, and a soft breeze carried the tropical scent of mangos and coconuts.
"Paradise. . . "Miroku said, mouth hanging open. They truly had found paradise.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"But I want to help!" Shippo whined again.
"I told you already, Shippo. You are too damn small to put up a tent! Leave us alone!" Inuyasha yelled at him. He brought the hammer down on the stake again, thinking that Shippo had left. He had not.
He had a small hammer in his possession now, and, just to get on his nerves, chose Inuyasha's stake to hammer. Inuyasha would hammer it once, a large, even swing, and then Shippo would tap it lightly with his hammer in between each of Inuyasha's hits. This visibly distracted Inuyasha, as he slammed the hammer down on his thumb. He yowled in distress, and locked his eyes on Shippo, who had dropped his hammer innocently. He screamed and ran behind Sango who blocked off Inuyasha. The tent fell.
And fell. . .
And fell. . .
Finally, on the fourth try, it stood, and they all let out a big sigh of relief. Now they could all sleep, and start the research tomorrow. Inuyasha could not wait.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
OK- I wanted to say thank you to cool Kagome for her . . . graphic review. Hey, I am thankful for any praise I can get! (^_^) Keep reading, cause next time, Kagome and Inuyasha meet! YAY! Oh and I am sorry to say it, but Kikyo will be in this fic. I really am sorry, but she will be the villain, and she will try, but not succeed, to get her hands on Inuyasha. It will not work, I promise. Anyway, next time is Kagome's debut!