Disclaimer: I own nothing except my slow updating habits, unfortunately.
AN: This has to be a new record for me. Two months. I'm so sorry, everyone. But to make up for it, I will try as hard as possible to release another chapter before school starts again. ^_^
Well, look on the bright side. At least the last chapter wasn't TOO bad a cliffhanger... I hope.
Pirate Pash
Chapter 5 - Intoxicated
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kagome practically bit her tongue off when his loud voice boomed from inside the room. How could he have possibly heard her? She couldn't even hear herself...
"Inuyasha? What are you talking about? Kagome went to see Shippou, and she wouldn't know where your room is." She heard Miroku say. "Or would she?"
Sighing in defeat, Kagome creaked open the heavy door and stepped in, letting the door slam shut itself. Annoyingly enough, Inuyasha was sitting there with his arms crossed over his chest, his face flashing a satisfied smirk.
Sango jumped up from her seat. "Kagome?! What in the world are you doing?"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything! I just happened to walk by and accidentally heard what you guys said... it was an accident, I swear!"
The captain rolled his eyes. "I didn't know eavesdropping for a few minutes was considered an accident."
Miroku glanced at the girl suspiciously. "Um...Kagome, just how much did you hear?"
"Well...nothing, really....something about letting me go..." She fiddled with her fingers nervously.
They all breathed a sigh of relief - but not Inuyasha. He glared at her with a look that could kill. "Don't lie. You heard about the treasure, didn't you?"
"Treasure?" She asked and stared innocently at the floor. "What are you talking about? There's treasure? I didn't know there was a treasure, are you crazy?" It was kind of true in a sense; she didn't know what this supposed 'treasure' was.
He was about to question her further, but finally decided against it. She was too dense and helpless to do anything about it anyway. He turned his head away. "Forget it. Go drown yourself or something."
"I would, but you're already doing that for me." She replied and turned to leave, but stopped halfway. "Oh yea, I had to tell you I agree to cook for the crew, happy?"
"You'll cook?" Miroku commented cheerfully. "That's great news, right Sango?"
"Huh? Sure...good luck, Kagome." She smiled weakly. Was her cooking really that horrible? That would probably explain why all the guys always sat by the edge of the boat when they ate, and why the food always seemed to disappear when she turned her back.
"I hope you realise you're not just cooking for us." Inuyasha added ungratefully. "You're to clean this boat everyday too."
"What?" She couldn't help but stomp her foot on the wooden floor like an angry child. "No way. I don't want to clean up after all those slobs! Isn't cooking enough?"
"You're doing both. And that's final." He stared her in the eye. "If you don't do it, no one will. And I will not allow my ship to become a grease pit. Do you understand?"
She grit her teeth together angrily, exactly who was he to tell her what she could or could not do? "You can't make me do anything! First I'm kidnapped, then forced through a fight, and then harassed by you over and over again! I can't take much more of this!!!"
"You'd better damn well learn to take it!" He growled back. "Or I will personally go find..." He paused. "Your brother and slaughter him myself!" A stupid threat, but this girl was already driving him near the brink of insanity.
Kagome looked as if something had sucked her spirit dry. That comment about her brother must have really gotten to her... Inuyasha cleared his throat. "So now will you listen to me more?"
No answer.
He stared harder only to find her small shoulders beginning to shake with each inaudible sob, and Inuyasha could not help but roll his eyes with an annoyed sigh. "Crying again?"
Sango could not take much more of him harassing the girl. "Inuyasha, please..."
He immediately snapped. "I just want to get it through her thick skull that if she doesn't fucking obey me once in a while, it will only hurt her!"
He turned to the weeping girl again, his expression unchanging. After seeing countless women crying like the wimps that they were, he had become quite immune to a woman's tears...but whenever this stupid Kikyou look-alike cried, a nagging voice always overtook him. "Oh for...leave if you're going to cry."
He wasn't usually that much of a jerk; he just had an extremely short temper, is all. But the fact that this woman was becoming more and more unlike Kikyou every second he was near her... that was really getting on his nerves.
Kikyou never cried, no matter how miserable she was, and that alone made her stronger than this girl here.
Looking up, he expected Kagome to break out into the usual violent sobbing and screaming, but instead he watched bitterly as she gnawed on her lower lip, a single droplet sliding past her reddened cheeks, and her eyes shaded by her dark bangs. "..."
"What?" He said flatly.
"I said I'll do it..." She mumbled, her eyes still hidden from view. "If you enjoy torturing me that much I'll clean your goddamn boat."
Well, that was a surprise. "...Good. I'm glad you understand." He said back, pleased. He easily ignored the evil looks his two assistants shot his way.
Her body remained eerily still. "I - I'll be leaving now."
"Wait, Kagome! I'll go with you!" Sango stood up and ran after her, assisting the girl out the doors. She made sure to shoot another menacing glare at her captain before slamming the door behind her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What a sick sonofa - " Kagome shoved another piece of honey cake into her mouth, chomping like a cow on purpose. "Tinks es gawd kpas es he's te damn capan!"
They were in Sango's small wooden room, and Kagome was sitting on the top bunk sulking with a tray of cake while Sango was on the bottom bed. Although the room was quite tiny, it was surprisingly cozy, with a few dim lamps around them and a dresser nearby.
"You'll get over it." Sango smirked and lifted her legs in the air to kick the top of Kagome's bunk. "He likes to take his bitterness out on anyone he can grab a hold of. And right now his target is you."
"I suppose..." She sighed and Sango could hear her roll over. "But you don't think he'll actually go after my brother?"
"Nah. He doesn't have time for that anyways. Just a stupid threat."
"You know, I swore I never hated anyone that much when he said that." She whispered into the air. "Man, if I was born taller than him with big muscles I would have kicked his ass for even suggesting that."
Sango chuckled at an image of the muscular girl beating up Inuyasha. "Maybe so. But a few of the crew have muscles like that, and they're practically kissing Inuyasha's feet. He has a strange power like that."
After the argument with the jerk Sango had offered to talk...and with Kagome in the mood to tear someone apart, someone to talk to would be good. And right then, a pirate even sounded good.
In more ways than one Kagome realised Sango was a lot like herself, just a young woman struggling to stay alive - and she deeply regretted her harsh words earlier. She was a pretty nice girl, actually. And if making a friend here would make her hellish life any easier, she was willing to do it.
So then why did she feel dirty for being nice to Sango?
Sango clapped her hands together suddenly, snapping Kagome out of her daydream. "Kagome? You alright?"
"Yea..." She grumbled, "What were you talking about again?"
"How Inuyasha was strong."
"Let's stop talking about him." She said tiredly, swinging an arm over her face. "Is there a way I can avoid being a slave here?"
Sango gripped her chin. "I wouldn't do it, Kagome. He told Miroku and me a while ago that he's fed up with chasing after you all the time. He was even threatening to hand you over to Manten if you kept up your attitude."
She shuddered. "But Sango, does that mean I'm destined to be a maid here forever? I really don't want to... I have to be getting back soon."
"I know. I know. Try to put up with it for a bit." Sango reassured calmly.
Sango didn't mind Kagome's company in the least bit. It was refreshing to have some female company around to talk with for once. And luckily she seemed to have cooled down since earlier.
"Don't worry, when Inuyasha is really fed up of seeing you around, Miroku and I will think of some way to sneak you off this ship."
Inuyasha wouldn't get tired of seeing her around... the girl lying in the bed above her was an exact replica of his past lover.
"Thanks..." Kagome said gratefully and grabbed another piece of honey cake. Pirate food was surprisingly not as poisonous as she thought it to be.
Annoyingly, all the nice thoughts she was having about her life- borne enemies were biting at the back of her head, making her feel guiltier by the second.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Inuyasha, get that filthy rum out of your mouth and listen to me." Miroku tried to reach for the alcohol bottle in his grasp, but Inuyasha was too quick.
Miroku mumbled to himself. "And you say you have lots to do around here..."
"What'd ya say?" Inuyasha barked from his backed up spot in the chair. He was a little drunk, but yet sober enough to have a conversation without going mad.
"Why are you shoving your face with that?" Miroku pointed to the liquid dripping down Inuyasha's chin. He wiped it roughly with his sleeves, and then shrugged.
"Can you explain to me why you look so miserable at least?"
"I dunno, just so sick and tired of not finding the damn jewel. We've looked for five months now and nothing has turned up," He stopped to think, "expect for that wench."
Miroku raised his eyebrows. "I would hardly consider Kagome a wench, Inuyasha. If anything - "
"Don't say it." He took another chug of his precious rum. "I don't feel like talking about her." He made sure to emphasize 'her'.
"Seriously, Inuyasha. What do you dislike about her? She is one of the finest women I've seen in a LONG time, and I've seen quite the share of women."
"Figures." Inuyasha scoffed nonchalantly.
"Anyway, she seems like a nice girl, she's beautiful, she's outgoing, what more do you expect?"
He set his bottle down. "I don't expect anything from her..."
"If that's true then why are you drowning your sorrows with that?" Miroku asked innocently. "Perhaps you feel bad for making her cry for the umpteenth time?"
Inuyasha sniggered. "Now why would I do that? Why would I feel sorry for that stupid girl who cries every time I talk to her?"
Miroku 'tsked' and shook his head. "You still have so much to learn about women, my friend."
"WHAT?" Inuyasha sat up immediately in an uproar, having heard a challenge. "What would you know about women that I don't, Miroku? They're a group of whiny, clingy, crying people with boobs."
"We both know Sango's not like that." Miroku defended and shot him a challenging glare. "But would you say Kikyou was like that?"
"Kikyou..." His facial expression changed. "Kikyou's an exception. She's one of the few women who aren't like that - she never clung and whined."
"Uh huh." His assistant wasn't convinced.
Inuyasha snarled, which ended up sending some spit onto Miroku's face. "She wasn't! Except for her and Sango, all women are stupid, annoying, and clinging - and cryinging!"
"Cryinging isn't a word." Miroku wiped away the spit on his face with disgust. "Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha... just how many women have you really had a chance to really get to know well?" The lecherous eyebrows were raised again. "If you know what I mean?"
He thought about it for a moment. "I knew Kikyou really well, I know Sango well, and unfortunately I know Kagome...a little."
Inuyasha was completely oblivious to the undercurrent of his question. Miroku shook his head. "...never mind."
The captain snatched his drink up again and brought it to his mouth for a large chug. "But I knew lots of women before I was a sailor..."
"Sure." Miroku rolled his eyes. "And I'm Shippou."
"I did!" He arm stumbled slightly when he pointed, now a little drunker than before because he was pointing to a shelf. "I can't prove it but I did...yea..."
"Really?" Miroku said, surprised. "I'm hardly convinced, captain. I still don't believe you have much womanizing skills."
"Oh? I smell a challenge." Inuyasha brought his bottle up into the air. "We'll stop at a nearby town and I'll go pick up a woman. You'll see."
"Inuyasha," Miroku smirked, "You're obviously drunk out of your mind because you realise the second we dock anywhere without preparing an attack, your head will be a mantelpiece? And remember you're too busy looking for the Shikon anyway."
"They can't get me. They won't be able to catch me...!" He stuttered.
"However, Inuyasha, I do have another way for you to prove yourself. I personally don't believe you can." Miroku tested, now pleased Inuyasha was a little drunk because he wouldn't even consider it if he weren't.
"What would that be?" He yelled loudly.
Miroku smiled. "If you manage to successfully apologise to Kagome without her crying or getting angry, I will be proven wrong."
Inuyasha banged his fist on the unfortunate table next to him. "What? But she always cries... that's impossible!" Then he spotted the 'I knew it' look on his assistant's face and stopped.
"You're on."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"And THIS is where you get the mop." Hojo gestured to a nearby hole in the wall. "And the cloths for any messes."
Kagome groaned loudly but nodded nonetheless. Why bother? It wasn't like anything she could say or do would affect anything. Now why didn't she go with that moustached man who talked funny in the hiding room? Oh right...they all died.
Yet she knew Inuyasha was already doing her a huge favour by not killing her off. It wasn't like she was going to admit that to anyone anytime soon.
"Understand?" Hojo snapped her out of her thoughts. That seemed to happen often these days. "Or do you need me to show you how to rid of the wastes again?"
"Ugh. No. I'm fine." Kagome snatched a mop to make it look like she understood perfectly well. "So where did you want me to clean again?"
"Every room. Did the captain not inform you of it?"
Kagome's mouth hung wide open. "And I do this all by myself...no help?"
"Well, yes. But when the crew heard you were going to be the maid, they were more than pleased." Hojo mentioned cheerfully. "It's a real mess downstairs."
She stilled. 'Inuyasha...you dirty bastard!'
"So if you have any questions, feel free to ask. My duty today is to make sure you are fluent in everything." Hojo held his hands behind his back.
God help her if she was to do this for a long period of time. "Hojo, you can't help me out just a little bit?" She brought her thumb and index finger slightly together.
"I'm sorry, miss. I have strict orders saying I cannot assist you physically."
"Oh." Kagome stared at the young man doubtfully. Inuyasha was ordering him around like a dog on a leash, and it was quite laughable. However, when she thought about it again she realised she was probably the more pathetic one.
"HOJO! Leave!" The orders were shouted from down the hallway.
"Wha-? Yes...of course, sir." Instantly, Hojo had run down the hallways and out of sight.
"What do you want?" Kagome stared at the intruder evilly; recent memories flooding her brain. "I haven't done anything wrong. I'm just looking at mops. You know, if you want to shout at me you can't, because I have not done anything to upset you!"
He looked unamused. His hands were resting in his pockets casually and he looked more relaxed than usual. She did not like his tone of voice. "I'm not here to shout at you."
"You aren't?" Kagome watched him dubiously. "Then why are you here? To threaten me with a sword? To attack me? To kick me? Well?"
"Would you believe to apologize? I shouldn't have been so hard on you back there." The words were beginning to sound forced even to him. "I'm sorry?"
Shocked into speechlessness, Kagome stared at him curiously. That was until she caught a faint scent of...something odd. She'd often smelt that stuff outside of bars in the city when she'd gone to pick up the medicine. It had to be the most vulgar smell in the world.
"What exactly did you do?" She asked confusedly. "What did you eat to make your breath smell so horrible?"
"What?" He asked, his knees weakened a bit and he had to lean against the wall for support. That stuff he drank was pretty hard...
"What's wrong with you? Why can't you stand?" She pointed at him. "And you still haven't told me what you ate!"
"What I ate? Don't you mean what I drank, woman?"
"Fine. What did you drink?" She repeated, wanting to know what could possibly alter someone's normalness so easily. The people outside the bars always acted somewhat strangely too.
He began to cackle, loudly. "You don't know what alcohol is?"
Her face reddened at his laughter. "No, I don't. So what? It's not like I need to know what that junk is!"
The captain stopped laughing for a while, before reaching in his shirt and pulling out a quarter-full bottle. "Then want to try some?" He hiccupped.
"Of course not. I'd like to stay on my feet, thank you." She replied, noticing just how awkward it was speaking to him without an argument going on.
"Come on. One sip won't hurt ya." He stuck the bottle head up to her face.
"I said no."
"Are you so sure?" He shook the bottle slightly. "It gives you a light-hearted feeling and you forget all your troubles. And you look like you really need this stuff."
"Why are you even offering that to me? Your lowly servant?" She questioned sarcastically. "What's wrong with you?"
"Why not?" He grinned, and right away Kagome had to dart her eyes away from his face. That rare smile had sent a few butterflies to her stomach...and she felt disgustingly sick for even thinking that. "You know what? Give me this..."
She grabbed the bottle from him and brought it to her lips. The liquid running down her throat kind of burned, but it calmed her knowing it would get rid of those annoying stomach pains.
Once she emptied it, she dropped it to the floor and the glass smashed into a thousand tiny pieces.
"Attagirl!" Inuyasha cheered, clapping.
"That tasted like crap..." She covered her mouth with one hand, the other supporting her stomach. When she felt her stomach hurting from the unknown substance, she immediately regretted her stupidness.
"Asshole..." She ground out, trying to get out on deck to throw up but it was too late. She had regurgitated everything onto the floor in front of her.
"You can't take alcohol, can you? Weak stomach?" Inuyasha asked the obvious, laughing at the sight of Kagome lying before a pile of puke. "But nice try."
"I hate you...so much." Kagome crawled up and stalked out of the hallway, all thoughts of her new duty diminished as Inuyasha's laughter filled the air.
When Kagome was plain out of view, Miroku hopped out from a nearby closet. "Nice going, my man!"
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha crumpled down to the floor. "She didn't even get to hear my apology! All I did was get her drunk!"
Miroku smirked. "But that, Inuyasha, is all you need to know about womanizing."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Life on the sea was great for Kagome. Every day the fresh salty sea air filled her lungs, an endless blue sky stretched past what her eyes could see, and she ate food better than what she could have ever imagined.
Now if it weren't for the rude and vulgar pirates screaming at her every few seconds, the spit and regurgitated food she had to wipe up constantly, the horribly filthy kitchen, the massive food portions she had to prepare for a hundred starving brutes, and the fights going on aboard involving smashed bottles and sticks with nails, Kagome could manage to live.
Inuyasha seemed to have cooled down too. Her throwing up the drink on the floor the other day was probably one of the funnier things he'd seen in a while. So fortunately, that did some good and he didn't snap at her - that often.
"Hey Kageeme, we just 'ad another one 'em fights, clean it up will ya?" A muscled brute came up with a number of bruises on his face, blood tickling out of the corner of his hairy mouth. But when he chose to slap her rear playfully, she added another injury to his list.
"Another one?" She groaned and stepped over the man passed out on the floor. "There was just one yesterday..."
Stalking over to the mess with a mop, Kagome reflected the time she had been aboard this deathtrap. She had no clue just how long it had been since her capture. A day? A week? Two weeks? She had stopped caring...she had stopped caring about a lot of things...
Stepping up the stairs, she had to turn her head away when she took in the situation. One of the crew, no older than thirty, was lying down and madly spewing blood onto the floors.
That was going to be a bummer to clean.
She spotted Miroku walking over and kneeling over the man coughing a red river. "He's coughing up too much blood! Kagome!"
"Yes?" She immediately ran over, feeling little pity for the sick guy...he deserved it for being such a Neanderthal. Too many of them were like him; in the past week alone there must have been six fights similar to this.
These people just couldn't keep their anger inside, could they?
Miroku shooed the crowd surrounding them to back off. "Miss Kagome, we have to do something!"
"What are you looking at me for? I'm the farthest thing from a doctor!"
Some guy in the crowd piped out, "Of course not, you would be a nurse!" She failed to see the humour in it at all, but the crowd sure didn't. They were laughing like it was the best thing they'd ever heard. What imbeciles...
"Keep it down, guys." Miroku instructed. He may have been a lech at times, but when he was serious, he was serious. "Kagome, go get Inuyasha. He'll give the commands."
She knew enough to know that whenever anything aboard involved the captain, it was pretty serious. So she nodded and ran towards the captain's room, fully knowing her way around by now.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha was not a happy bunny when he heard the news.
"I AM FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING MY MEN ACT LIKE MORONS!" He bellowed to the entire crew, whom were all listening with their heads lowered to the floor. "In one week you've had six fights between you, and I will NOT let all my men die from this childish behaviour! If you've got anger take it out on our enemies!"
Kagome had to give him credit for being able to scare his crew so easily. They were like tamed lions before him.
He continued as he uncaringly stomped one foot on the back of the man wheezing on the floor. "WHO FOUGHT HIM?!"
The crowd remained silent. Obviously no one wanted to play snitch. Inuyasha smirked, "Playing quiet, huh?" He quickly snatched the neck of the man below him, already soaking in a pile of his own blood. "You'll be of no use to me anymore."
Then, she gulped at what Inuyasha did - he had chucked the bloody man over the edge and straight into the ocean. Everyone watched silently as the body collided with the water with a loud smash.
He was still alive, for heaven's sake!
Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest in a huff. "If ANY of you pull something like this again, it'll be worse. Now get to work."
The thunderous scampering of the crew back to their tasks surprised Kagome. He was extremely intimidating with his crew...it sent goosebumps up her arms just watching it.
But when it was just she, Sango, and Miroku with him, he was still a big grouch, but in no way comparable to the monster she had just witnessed.
Running next to him but still making sure to keep her distance as to not touch him, she watched his face carefully: pretty emotionless. Did he feel no guilt whatsoever for what he just did?
Noticing her stare lingering on his face, he barked, "What do you want?"
They still weren't getting along on good terms. In fact, she had only seen him a few occasional times after the drinking incident. "You just threw that alive and injured guy into the water."
"I've noticed." He carried on walking.
"So you don't feel bad at all? I mean, he was one of your crewmembers..."
"Your point?" He asked, bored.
"My point IS, they serve you all their lives and you don't really give a crap about them." She saw him flinch a little.
"What do you want me to do, give them flowers?" He spat back, entering the dark hallway leading to his room. "Believe it or not, I have standards for my crew."
"Maybe so." She followed him despite the annoying glances he shot at her. If she were going to accomplish anything here, it would be to annoy this guy to no end. "But I think you're just trying to show off your power."
"Don't you have something better to do?" Inuyasha stopped in front of his doors. "Like cleaning?"
"Or is it because," She thought for a while, "you haven't found that treasure you've been looking for? I mean, all we seem to do around here is circle the ocean. So I just figured..."
He sent her a menacing glare, but said nothing. He simply turned his back and slammed the door behind him, leaving Kagome standing outside alone.
"Jerk..." She grumbled the final word to the door and left, satisfied with her harassment for the day.
Meanwhile, in the navigation room on the other side of the boat, a deafening shriek could be heard.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AN: Not much to say. But this time I swear I will try to get out the next chapter soon!
Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers! ^_^
*~Sorena~*
AN: This has to be a new record for me. Two months. I'm so sorry, everyone. But to make up for it, I will try as hard as possible to release another chapter before school starts again. ^_^
Well, look on the bright side. At least the last chapter wasn't TOO bad a cliffhanger... I hope.
Pirate Pash
Chapter 5 - Intoxicated
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kagome practically bit her tongue off when his loud voice boomed from inside the room. How could he have possibly heard her? She couldn't even hear herself...
"Inuyasha? What are you talking about? Kagome went to see Shippou, and she wouldn't know where your room is." She heard Miroku say. "Or would she?"
Sighing in defeat, Kagome creaked open the heavy door and stepped in, letting the door slam shut itself. Annoyingly enough, Inuyasha was sitting there with his arms crossed over his chest, his face flashing a satisfied smirk.
Sango jumped up from her seat. "Kagome?! What in the world are you doing?"
"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to eavesdrop or anything! I just happened to walk by and accidentally heard what you guys said... it was an accident, I swear!"
The captain rolled his eyes. "I didn't know eavesdropping for a few minutes was considered an accident."
Miroku glanced at the girl suspiciously. "Um...Kagome, just how much did you hear?"
"Well...nothing, really....something about letting me go..." She fiddled with her fingers nervously.
They all breathed a sigh of relief - but not Inuyasha. He glared at her with a look that could kill. "Don't lie. You heard about the treasure, didn't you?"
"Treasure?" She asked and stared innocently at the floor. "What are you talking about? There's treasure? I didn't know there was a treasure, are you crazy?" It was kind of true in a sense; she didn't know what this supposed 'treasure' was.
He was about to question her further, but finally decided against it. She was too dense and helpless to do anything about it anyway. He turned his head away. "Forget it. Go drown yourself or something."
"I would, but you're already doing that for me." She replied and turned to leave, but stopped halfway. "Oh yea, I had to tell you I agree to cook for the crew, happy?"
"You'll cook?" Miroku commented cheerfully. "That's great news, right Sango?"
"Huh? Sure...good luck, Kagome." She smiled weakly. Was her cooking really that horrible? That would probably explain why all the guys always sat by the edge of the boat when they ate, and why the food always seemed to disappear when she turned her back.
"I hope you realise you're not just cooking for us." Inuyasha added ungratefully. "You're to clean this boat everyday too."
"What?" She couldn't help but stomp her foot on the wooden floor like an angry child. "No way. I don't want to clean up after all those slobs! Isn't cooking enough?"
"You're doing both. And that's final." He stared her in the eye. "If you don't do it, no one will. And I will not allow my ship to become a grease pit. Do you understand?"
She grit her teeth together angrily, exactly who was he to tell her what she could or could not do? "You can't make me do anything! First I'm kidnapped, then forced through a fight, and then harassed by you over and over again! I can't take much more of this!!!"
"You'd better damn well learn to take it!" He growled back. "Or I will personally go find..." He paused. "Your brother and slaughter him myself!" A stupid threat, but this girl was already driving him near the brink of insanity.
Kagome looked as if something had sucked her spirit dry. That comment about her brother must have really gotten to her... Inuyasha cleared his throat. "So now will you listen to me more?"
No answer.
He stared harder only to find her small shoulders beginning to shake with each inaudible sob, and Inuyasha could not help but roll his eyes with an annoyed sigh. "Crying again?"
Sango could not take much more of him harassing the girl. "Inuyasha, please..."
He immediately snapped. "I just want to get it through her thick skull that if she doesn't fucking obey me once in a while, it will only hurt her!"
He turned to the weeping girl again, his expression unchanging. After seeing countless women crying like the wimps that they were, he had become quite immune to a woman's tears...but whenever this stupid Kikyou look-alike cried, a nagging voice always overtook him. "Oh for...leave if you're going to cry."
He wasn't usually that much of a jerk; he just had an extremely short temper, is all. But the fact that this woman was becoming more and more unlike Kikyou every second he was near her... that was really getting on his nerves.
Kikyou never cried, no matter how miserable she was, and that alone made her stronger than this girl here.
Looking up, he expected Kagome to break out into the usual violent sobbing and screaming, but instead he watched bitterly as she gnawed on her lower lip, a single droplet sliding past her reddened cheeks, and her eyes shaded by her dark bangs. "..."
"What?" He said flatly.
"I said I'll do it..." She mumbled, her eyes still hidden from view. "If you enjoy torturing me that much I'll clean your goddamn boat."
Well, that was a surprise. "...Good. I'm glad you understand." He said back, pleased. He easily ignored the evil looks his two assistants shot his way.
Her body remained eerily still. "I - I'll be leaving now."
"Wait, Kagome! I'll go with you!" Sango stood up and ran after her, assisting the girl out the doors. She made sure to shoot another menacing glare at her captain before slamming the door behind her.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"What a sick sonofa - " Kagome shoved another piece of honey cake into her mouth, chomping like a cow on purpose. "Tinks es gawd kpas es he's te damn capan!"
They were in Sango's small wooden room, and Kagome was sitting on the top bunk sulking with a tray of cake while Sango was on the bottom bed. Although the room was quite tiny, it was surprisingly cozy, with a few dim lamps around them and a dresser nearby.
"You'll get over it." Sango smirked and lifted her legs in the air to kick the top of Kagome's bunk. "He likes to take his bitterness out on anyone he can grab a hold of. And right now his target is you."
"I suppose..." She sighed and Sango could hear her roll over. "But you don't think he'll actually go after my brother?"
"Nah. He doesn't have time for that anyways. Just a stupid threat."
"You know, I swore I never hated anyone that much when he said that." She whispered into the air. "Man, if I was born taller than him with big muscles I would have kicked his ass for even suggesting that."
Sango chuckled at an image of the muscular girl beating up Inuyasha. "Maybe so. But a few of the crew have muscles like that, and they're practically kissing Inuyasha's feet. He has a strange power like that."
After the argument with the jerk Sango had offered to talk...and with Kagome in the mood to tear someone apart, someone to talk to would be good. And right then, a pirate even sounded good.
In more ways than one Kagome realised Sango was a lot like herself, just a young woman struggling to stay alive - and she deeply regretted her harsh words earlier. She was a pretty nice girl, actually. And if making a friend here would make her hellish life any easier, she was willing to do it.
So then why did she feel dirty for being nice to Sango?
Sango clapped her hands together suddenly, snapping Kagome out of her daydream. "Kagome? You alright?"
"Yea..." She grumbled, "What were you talking about again?"
"How Inuyasha was strong."
"Let's stop talking about him." She said tiredly, swinging an arm over her face. "Is there a way I can avoid being a slave here?"
Sango gripped her chin. "I wouldn't do it, Kagome. He told Miroku and me a while ago that he's fed up with chasing after you all the time. He was even threatening to hand you over to Manten if you kept up your attitude."
She shuddered. "But Sango, does that mean I'm destined to be a maid here forever? I really don't want to... I have to be getting back soon."
"I know. I know. Try to put up with it for a bit." Sango reassured calmly.
Sango didn't mind Kagome's company in the least bit. It was refreshing to have some female company around to talk with for once. And luckily she seemed to have cooled down since earlier.
"Don't worry, when Inuyasha is really fed up of seeing you around, Miroku and I will think of some way to sneak you off this ship."
Inuyasha wouldn't get tired of seeing her around... the girl lying in the bed above her was an exact replica of his past lover.
"Thanks..." Kagome said gratefully and grabbed another piece of honey cake. Pirate food was surprisingly not as poisonous as she thought it to be.
Annoyingly, all the nice thoughts she was having about her life- borne enemies were biting at the back of her head, making her feel guiltier by the second.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Inuyasha, get that filthy rum out of your mouth and listen to me." Miroku tried to reach for the alcohol bottle in his grasp, but Inuyasha was too quick.
Miroku mumbled to himself. "And you say you have lots to do around here..."
"What'd ya say?" Inuyasha barked from his backed up spot in the chair. He was a little drunk, but yet sober enough to have a conversation without going mad.
"Why are you shoving your face with that?" Miroku pointed to the liquid dripping down Inuyasha's chin. He wiped it roughly with his sleeves, and then shrugged.
"Can you explain to me why you look so miserable at least?"
"I dunno, just so sick and tired of not finding the damn jewel. We've looked for five months now and nothing has turned up," He stopped to think, "expect for that wench."
Miroku raised his eyebrows. "I would hardly consider Kagome a wench, Inuyasha. If anything - "
"Don't say it." He took another chug of his precious rum. "I don't feel like talking about her." He made sure to emphasize 'her'.
"Seriously, Inuyasha. What do you dislike about her? She is one of the finest women I've seen in a LONG time, and I've seen quite the share of women."
"Figures." Inuyasha scoffed nonchalantly.
"Anyway, she seems like a nice girl, she's beautiful, she's outgoing, what more do you expect?"
He set his bottle down. "I don't expect anything from her..."
"If that's true then why are you drowning your sorrows with that?" Miroku asked innocently. "Perhaps you feel bad for making her cry for the umpteenth time?"
Inuyasha sniggered. "Now why would I do that? Why would I feel sorry for that stupid girl who cries every time I talk to her?"
Miroku 'tsked' and shook his head. "You still have so much to learn about women, my friend."
"WHAT?" Inuyasha sat up immediately in an uproar, having heard a challenge. "What would you know about women that I don't, Miroku? They're a group of whiny, clingy, crying people with boobs."
"We both know Sango's not like that." Miroku defended and shot him a challenging glare. "But would you say Kikyou was like that?"
"Kikyou..." His facial expression changed. "Kikyou's an exception. She's one of the few women who aren't like that - she never clung and whined."
"Uh huh." His assistant wasn't convinced.
Inuyasha snarled, which ended up sending some spit onto Miroku's face. "She wasn't! Except for her and Sango, all women are stupid, annoying, and clinging - and cryinging!"
"Cryinging isn't a word." Miroku wiped away the spit on his face with disgust. "Inuyasha, Inuyasha, Inuyasha... just how many women have you really had a chance to really get to know well?" The lecherous eyebrows were raised again. "If you know what I mean?"
He thought about it for a moment. "I knew Kikyou really well, I know Sango well, and unfortunately I know Kagome...a little."
Inuyasha was completely oblivious to the undercurrent of his question. Miroku shook his head. "...never mind."
The captain snatched his drink up again and brought it to his mouth for a large chug. "But I knew lots of women before I was a sailor..."
"Sure." Miroku rolled his eyes. "And I'm Shippou."
"I did!" He arm stumbled slightly when he pointed, now a little drunker than before because he was pointing to a shelf. "I can't prove it but I did...yea..."
"Really?" Miroku said, surprised. "I'm hardly convinced, captain. I still don't believe you have much womanizing skills."
"Oh? I smell a challenge." Inuyasha brought his bottle up into the air. "We'll stop at a nearby town and I'll go pick up a woman. You'll see."
"Inuyasha," Miroku smirked, "You're obviously drunk out of your mind because you realise the second we dock anywhere without preparing an attack, your head will be a mantelpiece? And remember you're too busy looking for the Shikon anyway."
"They can't get me. They won't be able to catch me...!" He stuttered.
"However, Inuyasha, I do have another way for you to prove yourself. I personally don't believe you can." Miroku tested, now pleased Inuyasha was a little drunk because he wouldn't even consider it if he weren't.
"What would that be?" He yelled loudly.
Miroku smiled. "If you manage to successfully apologise to Kagome without her crying or getting angry, I will be proven wrong."
Inuyasha banged his fist on the unfortunate table next to him. "What? But she always cries... that's impossible!" Then he spotted the 'I knew it' look on his assistant's face and stopped.
"You're on."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"And THIS is where you get the mop." Hojo gestured to a nearby hole in the wall. "And the cloths for any messes."
Kagome groaned loudly but nodded nonetheless. Why bother? It wasn't like anything she could say or do would affect anything. Now why didn't she go with that moustached man who talked funny in the hiding room? Oh right...they all died.
Yet she knew Inuyasha was already doing her a huge favour by not killing her off. It wasn't like she was going to admit that to anyone anytime soon.
"Understand?" Hojo snapped her out of her thoughts. That seemed to happen often these days. "Or do you need me to show you how to rid of the wastes again?"
"Ugh. No. I'm fine." Kagome snatched a mop to make it look like she understood perfectly well. "So where did you want me to clean again?"
"Every room. Did the captain not inform you of it?"
Kagome's mouth hung wide open. "And I do this all by myself...no help?"
"Well, yes. But when the crew heard you were going to be the maid, they were more than pleased." Hojo mentioned cheerfully. "It's a real mess downstairs."
She stilled. 'Inuyasha...you dirty bastard!'
"So if you have any questions, feel free to ask. My duty today is to make sure you are fluent in everything." Hojo held his hands behind his back.
God help her if she was to do this for a long period of time. "Hojo, you can't help me out just a little bit?" She brought her thumb and index finger slightly together.
"I'm sorry, miss. I have strict orders saying I cannot assist you physically."
"Oh." Kagome stared at the young man doubtfully. Inuyasha was ordering him around like a dog on a leash, and it was quite laughable. However, when she thought about it again she realised she was probably the more pathetic one.
"HOJO! Leave!" The orders were shouted from down the hallway.
"Wha-? Yes...of course, sir." Instantly, Hojo had run down the hallways and out of sight.
"What do you want?" Kagome stared at the intruder evilly; recent memories flooding her brain. "I haven't done anything wrong. I'm just looking at mops. You know, if you want to shout at me you can't, because I have not done anything to upset you!"
He looked unamused. His hands were resting in his pockets casually and he looked more relaxed than usual. She did not like his tone of voice. "I'm not here to shout at you."
"You aren't?" Kagome watched him dubiously. "Then why are you here? To threaten me with a sword? To attack me? To kick me? Well?"
"Would you believe to apologize? I shouldn't have been so hard on you back there." The words were beginning to sound forced even to him. "I'm sorry?"
Shocked into speechlessness, Kagome stared at him curiously. That was until she caught a faint scent of...something odd. She'd often smelt that stuff outside of bars in the city when she'd gone to pick up the medicine. It had to be the most vulgar smell in the world.
"What exactly did you do?" She asked confusedly. "What did you eat to make your breath smell so horrible?"
"What?" He asked, his knees weakened a bit and he had to lean against the wall for support. That stuff he drank was pretty hard...
"What's wrong with you? Why can't you stand?" She pointed at him. "And you still haven't told me what you ate!"
"What I ate? Don't you mean what I drank, woman?"
"Fine. What did you drink?" She repeated, wanting to know what could possibly alter someone's normalness so easily. The people outside the bars always acted somewhat strangely too.
He began to cackle, loudly. "You don't know what alcohol is?"
Her face reddened at his laughter. "No, I don't. So what? It's not like I need to know what that junk is!"
The captain stopped laughing for a while, before reaching in his shirt and pulling out a quarter-full bottle. "Then want to try some?" He hiccupped.
"Of course not. I'd like to stay on my feet, thank you." She replied, noticing just how awkward it was speaking to him without an argument going on.
"Come on. One sip won't hurt ya." He stuck the bottle head up to her face.
"I said no."
"Are you so sure?" He shook the bottle slightly. "It gives you a light-hearted feeling and you forget all your troubles. And you look like you really need this stuff."
"Why are you even offering that to me? Your lowly servant?" She questioned sarcastically. "What's wrong with you?"
"Why not?" He grinned, and right away Kagome had to dart her eyes away from his face. That rare smile had sent a few butterflies to her stomach...and she felt disgustingly sick for even thinking that. "You know what? Give me this..."
She grabbed the bottle from him and brought it to her lips. The liquid running down her throat kind of burned, but it calmed her knowing it would get rid of those annoying stomach pains.
Once she emptied it, she dropped it to the floor and the glass smashed into a thousand tiny pieces.
"Attagirl!" Inuyasha cheered, clapping.
"That tasted like crap..." She covered her mouth with one hand, the other supporting her stomach. When she felt her stomach hurting from the unknown substance, she immediately regretted her stupidness.
"Asshole..." She ground out, trying to get out on deck to throw up but it was too late. She had regurgitated everything onto the floor in front of her.
"You can't take alcohol, can you? Weak stomach?" Inuyasha asked the obvious, laughing at the sight of Kagome lying before a pile of puke. "But nice try."
"I hate you...so much." Kagome crawled up and stalked out of the hallway, all thoughts of her new duty diminished as Inuyasha's laughter filled the air.
When Kagome was plain out of view, Miroku hopped out from a nearby closet. "Nice going, my man!"
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha crumpled down to the floor. "She didn't even get to hear my apology! All I did was get her drunk!"
Miroku smirked. "But that, Inuyasha, is all you need to know about womanizing."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Life on the sea was great for Kagome. Every day the fresh salty sea air filled her lungs, an endless blue sky stretched past what her eyes could see, and she ate food better than what she could have ever imagined.
Now if it weren't for the rude and vulgar pirates screaming at her every few seconds, the spit and regurgitated food she had to wipe up constantly, the horribly filthy kitchen, the massive food portions she had to prepare for a hundred starving brutes, and the fights going on aboard involving smashed bottles and sticks with nails, Kagome could manage to live.
Inuyasha seemed to have cooled down too. Her throwing up the drink on the floor the other day was probably one of the funnier things he'd seen in a while. So fortunately, that did some good and he didn't snap at her - that often.
"Hey Kageeme, we just 'ad another one 'em fights, clean it up will ya?" A muscled brute came up with a number of bruises on his face, blood tickling out of the corner of his hairy mouth. But when he chose to slap her rear playfully, she added another injury to his list.
"Another one?" She groaned and stepped over the man passed out on the floor. "There was just one yesterday..."
Stalking over to the mess with a mop, Kagome reflected the time she had been aboard this deathtrap. She had no clue just how long it had been since her capture. A day? A week? Two weeks? She had stopped caring...she had stopped caring about a lot of things...
Stepping up the stairs, she had to turn her head away when she took in the situation. One of the crew, no older than thirty, was lying down and madly spewing blood onto the floors.
That was going to be a bummer to clean.
She spotted Miroku walking over and kneeling over the man coughing a red river. "He's coughing up too much blood! Kagome!"
"Yes?" She immediately ran over, feeling little pity for the sick guy...he deserved it for being such a Neanderthal. Too many of them were like him; in the past week alone there must have been six fights similar to this.
These people just couldn't keep their anger inside, could they?
Miroku shooed the crowd surrounding them to back off. "Miss Kagome, we have to do something!"
"What are you looking at me for? I'm the farthest thing from a doctor!"
Some guy in the crowd piped out, "Of course not, you would be a nurse!" She failed to see the humour in it at all, but the crowd sure didn't. They were laughing like it was the best thing they'd ever heard. What imbeciles...
"Keep it down, guys." Miroku instructed. He may have been a lech at times, but when he was serious, he was serious. "Kagome, go get Inuyasha. He'll give the commands."
She knew enough to know that whenever anything aboard involved the captain, it was pretty serious. So she nodded and ran towards the captain's room, fully knowing her way around by now.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha was not a happy bunny when he heard the news.
"I AM FUCKING SICK AND TIRED OF SEEING MY MEN ACT LIKE MORONS!" He bellowed to the entire crew, whom were all listening with their heads lowered to the floor. "In one week you've had six fights between you, and I will NOT let all my men die from this childish behaviour! If you've got anger take it out on our enemies!"
Kagome had to give him credit for being able to scare his crew so easily. They were like tamed lions before him.
He continued as he uncaringly stomped one foot on the back of the man wheezing on the floor. "WHO FOUGHT HIM?!"
The crowd remained silent. Obviously no one wanted to play snitch. Inuyasha smirked, "Playing quiet, huh?" He quickly snatched the neck of the man below him, already soaking in a pile of his own blood. "You'll be of no use to me anymore."
Then, she gulped at what Inuyasha did - he had chucked the bloody man over the edge and straight into the ocean. Everyone watched silently as the body collided with the water with a loud smash.
He was still alive, for heaven's sake!
Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest in a huff. "If ANY of you pull something like this again, it'll be worse. Now get to work."
The thunderous scampering of the crew back to their tasks surprised Kagome. He was extremely intimidating with his crew...it sent goosebumps up her arms just watching it.
But when it was just she, Sango, and Miroku with him, he was still a big grouch, but in no way comparable to the monster she had just witnessed.
Running next to him but still making sure to keep her distance as to not touch him, she watched his face carefully: pretty emotionless. Did he feel no guilt whatsoever for what he just did?
Noticing her stare lingering on his face, he barked, "What do you want?"
They still weren't getting along on good terms. In fact, she had only seen him a few occasional times after the drinking incident. "You just threw that alive and injured guy into the water."
"I've noticed." He carried on walking.
"So you don't feel bad at all? I mean, he was one of your crewmembers..."
"Your point?" He asked, bored.
"My point IS, they serve you all their lives and you don't really give a crap about them." She saw him flinch a little.
"What do you want me to do, give them flowers?" He spat back, entering the dark hallway leading to his room. "Believe it or not, I have standards for my crew."
"Maybe so." She followed him despite the annoying glances he shot at her. If she were going to accomplish anything here, it would be to annoy this guy to no end. "But I think you're just trying to show off your power."
"Don't you have something better to do?" Inuyasha stopped in front of his doors. "Like cleaning?"
"Or is it because," She thought for a while, "you haven't found that treasure you've been looking for? I mean, all we seem to do around here is circle the ocean. So I just figured..."
He sent her a menacing glare, but said nothing. He simply turned his back and slammed the door behind him, leaving Kagome standing outside alone.
"Jerk..." She grumbled the final word to the door and left, satisfied with her harassment for the day.
Meanwhile, in the navigation room on the other side of the boat, a deafening shriek could be heard.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
AN: Not much to say. But this time I swear I will try to get out the next chapter soon!
Thanks again to my wonderful reviewers! ^_^
*~Sorena~*
