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Demons of the Caribbean: Chapter 5xxxxx
Disclaimer: Neither M.W. Roach or medlii own any parts of Inuyasha or Pirates of the Caribbean.
AN: Readers, thank you for being so patient! This is the second to last chapter, so don't say we didn't warn you! Thanks to everyone who reviewed Chapter 4! We appreciate your input.
This chapter by: medlii
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Kaede rushed to Kagome and hugged her. "Thank goodness you're safe. Commodore Sesshomaru, we shall return to Port Royal at once."
Kagome looked from Kaede to Sesshomaru. "After all this, you're just going to let Naraku and his pirates kill Miroku?"
Frowning slightly, Kaede replied "Yes, Miroku's fate is unfortunate, but so is his decision to engage in piracy."
Anger burned in Kagome's eyes. "Only to rescue me! To keep Naraku from killing me!"
"We could catch them," Inuyasha interjected, pushing his way between Kagome and Sesshomaru. "The Pearl'll be slowed from the damage we did her in that battle." Sesshomaru's soldiers gathered around in case the pirate was plotting to escape. "Think about it," he continued. "The last real pirate threat in the Caribbean. How can you pass that up?"
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed slightly. "Take him to the brig," he ordered, and the soldiers moved towards Inuyasha.
"Wait! Commodore! Please, do this for me," Kagome said, her voice catching as she choked out the words. "As- as a wedding present."
Kagome saw a trace of a smile on Sesshomaru's lips when he turned around. Shocked, Kaede stared at her granddaughter.
Not enjoying the uncomfortable silence, Inuyasha exclaimed "Oh, a wedding! I love weddings! Drinks all around!"
Judging by the scowl the Commodore shot him, Inuyasha figured he was in trouble again. He extended his arms, his wrist together.
"I know, I know. Clap his in irons, right?"
Sesshomaru ignored him and turned to Kagome.
"I accept your proposal, Miss Swann," Sesshomaru said, gesturing for Ginta and Hakaku to come forward. "Mr. Sparrow, accompany these fine gentlemen to the helm and provide them with the bearings to Isla de Muerta. You will then spend the rest of the voyage contemplating all the possible meanings of the phrase 'silent as the grave.' Do I make myself clear?"
Inuyasha nodded. "Inescapably."
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Inuyasha's crew stood glumly in the brig of the Black Pearl, watching Kagura and Kanna swab the deck. The black and white cat on Sango's shoulder meowed. "Kirara says you missed a spot," Sango said.
Kagura whacked her mop against the cell bars, showering the crew with soapy, dirty water. From another cell, Miroku asked "So, you knew Miroku Turner?"
"Ol' Rancid 'Roku? We knew him," Kagura growled. "Didn't sit well with 'Roku, what we did to Inuyasha, the mutiny and all. That's why he sent a shard of that jewel to you. He thought we deserved to be cursed…and remained cursed."
"What a fool," Kanna said softly, looking up from her mopping.
"Good man," Koga called.
Rolling her eyes, Kagura went on. "Naraku wasn't too happy about that. So he-"
"Tell them what the captain did," Kanna interrupted.
Kagura shot an angry glare at her sister. "I'll tell them the story! So he tied a cannon to 'Roku's heels and last time we saw him, he was sinking into the crushing black oblivion to Davy Jones's locker."
"'Course, it was only after that, we figured out we needed his blood to break the curse,"
"That's what you call ironic." Kanna said. She turned to Kagura and they both started to giggle.
Just then, Naraku appeared in the doorway and his lackeys silenced their laughter. He looked at his underlings, then at Miroku. "Bring him."
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Once the Dauntless was anchored outside Isla de Muerta, Inuyasha explained his plans to Sesshomaru. "They'll break the curse, then they'll come out of the caves and you can shoot 'em from the Dauntless."
Boredly, Sesshomaru said, "How do I know I can trust you?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "What do you have to lose? The only thing you gotta worry about is the future Mrs. Commodore."
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Kagome shrieked and screamed as Jaken, Ginta and Hakaku shoved her into the Dauntless's hold. "You can't do this! The curse! Miroku! I have to- Break the curse! Help him! He'll be killed!"
"Don't worry, Miss. Commodore Sesshomaru heard the whole story. A kitsune climbed on board and told him all about it." With that, Jaken slammed the door in Kagome's face and locked it.
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Inuyasha rowed his little rowboat into the cave just in time to hear the cursed pirates shouting. From what he could tell, they were going to spill all of Miroku's blood since he was only half Turner. Miroku's neck hung over the pedestal with shards of the jewel on it. The last shard hung around his neck and Naraku stood at his side with his knife. Inuyasha pushed his way through the eager pirates.
"You don't want to be doing that, mate." Inuyasha said sternly.
Naraku stared, dumbfounded. "It's not possible!"
"Not probable." Inuyasha corrected.
Miroku looked up in surprise. "What? How'd you get here? Where's Kagome?"
"She's safe, just like I promised. She's all set to marry Sesshomaru just like she promised, and you're ready to die for her just like you promised. So, we're all men of our word here, really. Except Kagome, who is in fact, a woman." Inuyasha said with a shrug. He raised his eyebrows at Naraku. "Incidentally, the entire Royal Navy is out there too, ready to shoot you as soon as you come out, all un-cursed and mortal."
"Really?" Naraku asked, releasing his hold of Miroku's neck.
"Yup. And if you just killed all those soldiers now, you'd have two ships. Of course, you'd take the Dauntless as your own. I mean, it's much prettier and bigger and whatnot. But what of the Pearl? Name me Captain…Commodore Naraku. And of course, you'd get 15 percent of me plunder…and I'll buy you a hat…a really big one."
With his eyes narrowed in suspicion, Naraku asked "And I suppose in exchange, you don't want this whelp-" he nudged Miroku "-killed?"
"Oh, by all means, kill the whelp," Inuyasha said with a shrug. "Just, not yet. Wait for the opportune moment. For example, once you've killed Sesshomaru's soldiers." He picked up a handful of jewel shards and tossed one back into the pile after each word. "Every… last… one."
Miroku had been watching silently the entire time, hoping Inuyasha would somehow free him. As he watched the pirate return the jewel shards, his eye caught a faint glimmer of pink from Inuyasha's hand. The second-to-last jewel shard. Inuyasha casually slipped it into his sleeve. Not sure what was going on, he shouted angrily "You've been planning this from the beginning! Ever since you learned my name…"
Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah."
"Mr. Sparrow, we have an accord," Naraku said, holding his hand out for Inuyasha to shake. "Now gents, take a walk." Grinning and elbowing each other, the cursed pirates sauntered out of the cave. Before Kagura and Kanna could exit, Onigumo thrust a box at them.
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Kagura rowed while Kanna held a parasol to block the moonlight. "I'll do the talking," Kagura said. "And you just keep that parasol in the right spot." Kanna nodded as the rowboat made its way to Sesshomaru's.
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Squinting in the moonlight, Sesshomaru saw the two ladies in the boat heading his way. The soldiers in the boat with him readied their muskets and leveled them at the approaching boat. "Hold your fire," he said calmly.
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Kaede rapped on the door of the hold. "Kagome, I'm very proud of your decision to marry Commodore Sesshomaru. He's a wonderful man. He's very strong and powerful and he'll always protect you. After all-" the old woman frowned. "Kagome, are you listening to me?" Opening the door, Kaede saw that no one was inside. But a window was open and a rope dropped from it to where a lifeboat should have been hanging.
"Oh no…"
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"Good evening, sir," Kagura said, smiling brilliantly and making sure Kanna was holding the parasol so that it blocked the moonlight.
"Good evening, ladies," Sesshomaru replied, looking slightly confused. "What are you doing out here?"
"My sister and I were just wondering if you'd be interested in purchasing some um, artifacts we came across." Slowly, so Kanna could cover her with the parasol, Kagura opened the box Onigumo had given them and pulled out a sword. "Here we have a sword. It's ah, a magic sword."
"Really?" Sesshomaru asked. He leaned forward with interest. "Tell me more."
"Well, um, the blacksmith who made it put uh, the fang of a wild dog in the hilt. And he cast a spell on it. So now it can raise people from the dead, but you can't kill anyone with it," Kagura explained. Kanna rolled her eyes.
"Who would want a stupid sword like that?" Sesshomaru scoffed. "What else do you have in there?"
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While the Commodore and most of the soldiers inspected Kagura's 'artifacts' Jaken and a few others remained with Kaede on the Dauntless. "Look!" Ginta said. "What's going on?"
Focusing his spyglass on Sesshomaru's boat, Jaken shrugged. "I don't know." The remaining soldiers watched curiously, unaware of what was going on below them…
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When Naraku had told his pirates to 'take a walk,' they left the cave. Since the moon was out, they transformed into skeletons. Since they were skeletons, they didn't float. Now they walked along the bottom of the sea, towards the Dauntless. When they reached it, one by one the pirates climbed up the anchor's rope. Silently, they made their way across the deck, slitting a few throats along the way.
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Kagura tossed the 'tornado creating fan' into a pile along with the 'magic ink that made drawings come to life' the 'fire-breathing staff of two heads,' and the 'bow and arrows blessed by a priestess' that Sesshomaru had rejected. "Oh, and we have this mirror."
"What's so special about that?" Sesshomaru asked.
Kagura held it up to show it off. "It's no ordinary mirror. You can use it to take people's souls," she said in a low, eerie voice.
Holding out a hand, Sesshomaru ordered "Let me see it." Kagura handed it to the Commodore. After inspecting the front, he turned it over and looked at the back. Kanna gasped.
Surprised, Sesshomaru looked up. The mirror was reflecting the moonlight onto the two women in front of him. Kanna and Kagura's skeletal forms were revealed! Before either could do anything, Sesshomaru grabbed the oars in their boat and put them in his own. "Row back to the Dauntless! It was a trap!" he shouted.
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On the Dauntless, Ginta turned around to say something to Hakaku. He saw something over his friend's shoulder and he stood there with his mouth open. Hakaku turned too and saw the skeleton pirates creeping across the deck. When the pirates saw that the soldiers had seen them, they shouted and rushed at them, swords drawn. The soldiers fired their muskets in return and a bloody battle ensued.
After a few minutes of giving everything they had just to keep a small part of the deck pirate-free, the soldiers cheered. Sesshomaru and the rest of the crew joined the few soldiers that survived the skeleton pirates' first attack.
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During all the excitement in the caves and on the Dauntless, Kagome had paddled over to the Black Pearl. As quietly as she could, she climbed up the anchor rope. Accidentally, her feet thumped to the deck. Below, two pirates heard Kagome. She ducked behind a door as they dashed by and she snuck downstairs.
"It's Kagome!" Koga hissed to the rest of Inuyasha's crew.
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Naraku grinned at Inuyasha. "You're a tough man to predict, Sparrow."
Inuyasha smirked right back at him. "Me? I'm dishonest. And you can always trust a dishonest man to be dishonest. Honestly." The pirate headed towards Captain Naraku. "It's the honest ones you've gotta watch out for. You can never predict when they're about to do something incredibly…stupid." Quickly, Inuyasha grabbed a nearby pirate's sword and tossed it to Miroku, who caught it.
Before they had time to react, Miroku shoved a few pirates into the water. Inuyasha drew his own sword and Naraku unsheathed his. The blacksmith swung at the few pirates still in the caves, trying to distract them while Inuyasha did… well whatever it was that he was planning now.
Ducking and slashing, Inuyasha managed to cut the feather off of Naraku's hat, leaving time to spare to point and laugh. Bits of fluff floated to the floor of the cave. Naraku blocked one of Inuyasha's attacks and leaned forward over their crossed blades. "You're off the edge of the map, mate. Here, there be demons!" he growled.
Taking the advantage, he punched Inuyasha in the jaw, knocking him back. Naraku threw his sword to the floor. "You can't beat me, Inuyasha." The pirate grinned and got to his feet. He picked up Naraku's sword and plunged it into his stomach.
With a sigh, Naraku pulled the blade out and returned the gesture. Inuyasha gagged and staggered backwards, into a pool of moonlight, the sword sticking out of his ribcage. He turned into a skeleton. Naraku and Miroku watched in surprise.
"That's interesting," Inuyasha commented, admiring his skeletal hand in the dim light. He grinned and held up a glimmering pink jewel shard. "Couldn't resist, Naraku." With a growl, Naraku lunged for Inuyasha…
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Aboard the Dauntless, the soldiers dealt with the skeleton pirates as best they could, throwing them overboard and sword-fighting with them, giving their lives for their honor and their ship…
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"So what now, Inuyasha? Are we to be two demonic creatures, locked in an epic battle until judgment day and the trumpets sound?" Naraku growled as Inuyasha blocked another one of his attacks.
With a shrug, Inuyasha replied "Or you could surrender." He turned around and dashed across the cave. Naraku followed, cackling.
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The two pirates guarding the Black Pearl ran down to the brig. "They're gone," one muttered. They both stepped into the empty cell, just to make sure. Once they were inside, Kagome stepped out of the shadows and slammed the door shut. Inuyasha's crew cheered from their hiding places, then went up to the top deck.
Kagome clambered into a lifeboat and sat down. "Come on, we've got to save Miroku and Inuyasha," she called. The pirates remained where they were.
Sango shook her head. "We've got the Pearl."
"Inuyasha owed me a ship. That's all," Kikyo stated.
"But-" Kagome protested.
Koga stepped forward. "And then there's the code to consider."
Stomping her foot on the deck, Kagome shouted "Hang the code and hang the rules! You're pirates! Besides, they're more like guidelines, anyways."
Five minutes later, Kagome found herself rowing the lifeboat alone. "Bloody pirates," she grumbled.
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While the skeleton pirates fought, Kohaku noticed the Black Pearl sailing away. He turned to Onigumo.
"Are they supposed to be doing that?"
"They're stealing our ship!" Onigumo cried. "Bloody pirates!"
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Miroku backed away as one of Naraku's pirates held up a small explosive. The fuse was burning rapidly. "I'll teach you the meaning of pain," the pirate said cruelly.
"You like pain? Try wearing a corset!" Kagome shouted, plunging an oar into the pirate's ribcage.
"How'd you get here?" Miroku asked, surprised to see Kagome in the caves.
"I rowed here." Hearing the clang of swords, Kagome directed her attention to Inuyasha and Naraku's battle, which brought them into the moonlight. Kagome gasped at the sight of the undead Inuyasha. "Whose side is Inuyasha on?"
"At the moment?" Miroku shrugged.
Running past Miroku, Inuyasha shoved the Shikon shard into his hand. Miroku sprinted to the pedestal where the rest of the pieces lay and yanked off the one on his necklace. Naraku took a few steps and put his sword level with Kagome's throat. Miroku froze.
A thunderous roar broke the silence. Although no one could see it, they felt something strange, like wind, come from the tip of Inuyasha's sword. A line of blood appeared across Naraku's midsection.
He looked at Inuyasha. "You've carried that rusty old sword for 8 years, and now you waste its last attack."
"No he didn't," Miroku called. He dropped the last two Shikon shards, tinted slightly red from his blood, into the pile with the others. The jewel glowed brightly, and it was whole again.
Blood seeped from Naraku's wound. The shock evident in his eyes, he murmured "I feel… cold." Having said his last words, he dropped to the ground among the piles of treasure.
"Did he said 'old?'" Kagome asked.
"I think he said 'gold,'" Miroku replied.
"I think he feels dead," Inuyasha said.
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Sesshomaru watched indifferently as the skeleton pirates changed back into humans. His sword shone red with blood in the moonlight and Onigumo twitched and fell down dead. The rest of the pirates dropped their weapons.
Kaede opened the door of the room Kagome had been in. "What's all the racket out here?"
Kagura looked up pleadingly at Sesshomaru, who held the tip of his sword to her throat.
"Parley?"
Sesshomaru smiled. "The ship is ours, gentlemen."
The guards replied with a heartfelt, "Huzzah!"
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Proud of their victory, Miroku and Kagome traded soft smiles. Loud clanging broke their attention. They turned to see Inuyasha looking through the treasure, fondling items and discarding the things he didn't like into a large pile. Miroku turned his gaze back to Kagome.
"Your husband will be wanting to know that you are safe."
Kagome didn't say anything. She gritted her teeth and stormed away, teary eyed. Miroku watched her leave, wondering just what he had said to get her so mad. Inuyasha, dressed in a jewel-studded crown and various bling, sauntered by the confused blacksmith.
"If you were waiting for the opportune moment", He pointed out, "that was it. Now if you'll be so kind as to take me to my ship, I'd appreciate it."
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Miroku rowed the little boat to the Dauntless. Inuyasha sighed and rested his head on his hand.
"I'm sorry they left, Inuyasha." Kagome whispered.
"No worries, Miss. They've done what's right by them." Inuyasha moaned, knowing his fate.
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