Gah! Still no Inu/Kag. Curses, this is taking a really long time! Oh well. I'm sure that I can man age to finish up with Everything in this chapter, and then move on to the Inu-Kagome goodness.
Okay, sorry this took so long to get up, but I had some major work to do on the plot before I could continue. I've decided to do a few things differently, and am splicing together the plans I had for a sequel to this with this fic, because it actually works really well. As a result, this fic is going to end up being titanic, but it will also be the last one along this story line, unless I decide to do some back stories of my original characters. Some of the plot twists I decided on are going to start in the next chapter.
Anywho, once again, comment to Time's Mortal Enemy: Yes, about chapter twenty one, I have to agree. I wasn't terribly happy with the way it turned out either. It seemed kinda rushed, and unemotive to me, but try as I might, I couldn't make it any better, despite many rewrites. Oh, well, one off chapter wont kill me. Anywho, thanks for all the nice comments on ch. 22. I liked that one too.
Oh, and I now have found the song I absolutely want for Atma's theme. Unfortunately, I can't have it, because it's not mine. But I'll give it to ya anyway, because it's a really awesome song. Go here: click on the little download. It's a remix of the Hollow Bastion theme from Kingdom Hearts, only remixed. Oh, and it's a perfectly legal download, since the arranger put it on himself, so don't worry about file-sharing or anything like that.
And lastly, I'm going to my grandma's in Texas tomorrow, so I'm not gonna be able to post for a while (Like, 2 weeks or so). Sorry, but I'll hopefully have a lot written in that time. Okay, that's it for all the announcements.
And now, on too the happy bits:
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Sesshoumaru inspected the scroll carefully, looking over every part of it. He found it almost amusing every time he had to do this. Sesshoumaru was a powerful tai-youkai. He could rend solid stone with his claws, and reign destruction down on anything he chose too. How fitting it was, that he was now a politician.
He had stepped into his fathers shoes. He was the Lord of the Western Lands, as people now called him. When he was younger, he never would have thought that his father's role had been so very… political. There were powerful nobles to take into account. There were the tribes from Japan, whom banned together could make a powerful force. There were the humans, who seemed to have an uncanny ability to blunder into any plans and smash them. All these needed to be kept in check. Respected, yet never overly relied upon.
His eyes carefully read all the words, considering their root meanings; they're construed meanings, and anything else that could be used against him. Finally, he was satisfied. It was a wonderfully sculpted document, the Tai youkai reflected as he looked over it. It was the declaration of war, of sorts. Messengers would take it to all his potential allies, asking for their assistance.
Of course, the wording gave no hint that Sesshoumaru actually needed any help, but simply made it obvious that this was an opportunity for them to demonstrate a service to the mighty lord Sesshoumaru, who might be courteous and feel generous towards them in the future. It was almost perfectly termed. Ever so slightly threatening. Flattering, of course. It held just enough lie and just enough truth. Just enough promise of a reward to tempt, yet not enough promise to give anyone any grand ideas.
What amused Sesshoumaru even more than the fact that he was a politician, was the fact that he was extremely good at it. And beyond that, the fact that he thoroughly enjoyed it.
It was just like a giant game. A big lying contest. He who told the best lie always won. Sesshoumaru always won.
With the light smile of a deception well played, he touched a single claw to the scroll, and quickly burnt his sigil into the paper with the acidic poison that flowed so easily. And so it was done, and Sesshoumaru silently rose from his desk in his room.
"Finished, milord?" Rin asked cheerfully, standing next to the door.
Sesshoumaru nodded, and quickly made his way to the door. "Come, Rin."
"Hai!" Rin said happily following him down the hall.
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The messengers were waiting out in front of the mansion, standing tall and erect. Respect and fear seemed to make many stand that way in the presence of the lord of the western lands. Sesshoumaru strode forward, and his heavy boa swaying regally, Rin standing formally in a nice kimono behind him.
They were tall, sturdy winged youkai. Swift, intelligent, and eloquent. Perfect messengers, so to speak. Deliberately, the tai-youkai handed each a scroll, and stepped back. "Take these out to all the tribes and clans of the main lands." Sesshoumaru instructed regally. "Do not bother to get a response. Merely give the message, and move on. Understood?"
"Hai." The youkai chorused in unison. And with a sudden burst of feathers, they were airborne, taking off into the sky. They quickly disappeared over the buildings, sailing forward on their mission.
Satisfied, Sesshoumaru turned again, looking at Rin. "Is the pirate doing as instructed?" He asked.
"He is preparing his ship to sail as we speak, milord." Rin said happily, watching the youkai fly away.
"Excellent." Sesshoumaru said, with the confident sense of everything falling into place. Already, this new dragon, Kiriln, was beginning to help plan a defense against the armies from China. Now only two things needed to be done. InuYasha had to be found, and the Tetsusaiga retrieved, and Menomaru destroyed. Everything was going well so far. "Come, let us inspect this vessel."
"Umm, Milord." Rin broached, "There is one other matter."
"Yes?" Sesshoumaru demanded.
"Apparently, only a few hours ago, a group was spotted heading for the city walls. You were busy going over your documents, so I didn't interrupt, but you might want to look into it."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "Where were they headed, and what is the group comprised of?" The tai-youkai had no doubt that Rin would have all the information he would need. She was very good at collecting information.
"Three humans, one kitsune, and one fire cat." Rin said, counting out on her little fingers.
"Thank you Rin. Perhaps we will see about this. They are coming from the eastern entrance?"
"Yes, milord." Rin affirmed. "Shall I lead you?"
"No need." Sesshoumaru said briefly. "Go on ahead to the harbor, and ensure that the Pirate makes no attempts to escape."
"Yes, milord." Rin snapped with a quick nod, instantly ran down the street that led to the harbor, and the Tai-Youkai headed towards the eastern entrance to Shinjuku.
-----------------
Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all looked up in wonder. The gate was huge! At least fifty feet tall. And made of pure, white marble.
"It's so big!" Shippo exclaimed, his green eyes wide.
"I have to say, I am also… quite impressed." Miroku mused, rubbing his chin with his good hand.
"How could they have built something like this?"
"Atma told me that it was the Dragons who built this city for the youkai." Kohaku said softly, also staring up towards the top of the gate.
All three nodded slowly, and finally returned their gaze to the marble path that lay before them. All they had to do was find this sea serpent, and give her the message, and then they could get out of here.
Sango took a deep breath, and nodded forward. "Let's go." She said, taking a few deliberate steps into the city. Slowly, the entire group followed her, trying to look unobtrusive. Hopefully, the youkai here were not as hostile to humans as they were made out to be.
Within a few steps of the hard, white streets of the city, it was quickly seen that this was not the case.
Sango stiffened as soon as she got inside the gate, looking around. There were youkai everywhere. But they weren't normal youkai either. They all looked relatively humanoid, and were dressed extravagantly. Jewels and pieces of silk, and ribbons. These must be youkai royalty, or something like that. Every instinct in her body was telling her to panic, and fight, and from the looks of Miroku, he was suffering the same.
And it wasn't helping that they were getting stared at. Many eyes were fixed on them. It seemed that humans strolling through the gates were uncommon.
The continued to walk, Sango getting tenser, and tenser. Just maybe they could manage to get…
"Humans." One youkai hissed. Sango froze, and turned to him, very slowly. Now all eyes were fixed on her. The youkai was tall, and lanky. His long slender hands ended in sharp claws, and his eyes were thin and slitted. Long, almost metallic looking locks of hair fell down his back, and a thin, wiry tail lashed the ground behind him. "To whom do you belong?" He asked, licking his sharp teeth with a green tongue.
Sango blinked, and thought quickly. They didn't know anyone here, so making something up was out of the question.
"We are messengers." Miroku suddenly voiced, speaking up for her absence. All eyes shifted to him. "We come for a message unto a dragon."
Sango blinked, and shrugged. Okay, the truth always works.
The youkai sniffed, and inspected its claws. "I see." He said, not really looking like he cared. "However, there are five of you." He smiled menacingly. "Humans aren't allowed to be free in Shinjuku. The kitsune and the fire cat can proceed; however, you may not go farther into the city."
Sango's eyes narrowed and she tensed even more, but this time getting ready to strike if necessary. Kirara moved to stand behind her, glaring menacingly over her shoulder.
"We were instructed to give the message to this dragon personally." Miroku stated calmly.
"The kitsune can do it." The youkai persisted. "You are now in our city, and you must live by our laws. And our laws say any humans that are not claimed are up for grabs."
Sango saw his leg muscles tense, and instantly, she prepared to make her move.
The youkai launched itself into a full dash, heading strait for Miroku, while the monk jumped back, and held up his staff in defense. However, Sango intercepted the blow before it could fall.
She locked hands with the youkai, and gave him a swift kick in the stomach, sending him falling to his back, five feet away.
Slowly the youkai got to his feet, growling lightly. "Well, girl." He said. "You have some moves. Maybe I'll take you instead." Around him other youkai were beginning to close in, looking speculative.
Sango dropped to a crouch, cracking her knuckles as she began to loosen her muscles. She was much better at fighting with her Hiraikotsu, however since that wasn't an option, bare fists would have to make due. Kohaku had his sickle, so that was an advantage to them, and Kirara could inflict some damage, but Miroku's wind tunnel was still nearly useless, and Shippo wasn't much of a fighter either.
However, that still left them outnumbered almost three to one, and more youkai were making their ways down the streets.
Sango's eyes narrowed and she very suddenly went on the offensive, leaping forward in a roundhouse, expertly sending the first youkai into a group of several others, and quickly followed up by sending an elbow into the face of a nearby bearded youkai.
A loud roar, and the clink of a chain from behind her, told her that Kohaku and Kirara were also hard at work.
She leapt back, and swept a foot under a third youkai, then followed by pushing herself forward, and bringing her knee down on its neck with a sickening crack.
A quick glance at Kohaku told her that somehow or another, her little brother had gotten over his fear of battle. Maybe Atma had had something to do with that. The young boy expertly swung his sickle, hitting it into the chest of a youkai, and retracted it just as quickly, catching it by the handle. Sango had seen him exercise that sort of precision in training, but never in battle before.
She whipped around again, positioning herself in front of Miroku, holding her hands up expertly.
The original youkai who had accosted them snapped to his feet again, growling. "I don't' think you understand, humans." He growled. "Here, you don't' have any rights. And don't even begin to think that you can walk away from us."
Sango didn't say anything, but prepared to take anything he might throw at her.
What she wasn't expecting, however, was a beam of light to such in from down a street, smacking him across the face, and knocking him to the ground. All eyes shifted down the source of the beam of light. Sango's eyes widened, and she paled visibly. Standing in the middle of the street, looking very regal, was Sesshoumaru. All the youkai seemed to react the same way Sango did, backing up from the humans several paces.
Slowly, the regal youkai made his way down the street, walking slowly, his steps echoing ominously. His cool, amber eyes swept from the frozen party of humans, to the youkai. "What is going on here?" He asked. His voice was soft, but no one had trouble hearing him.
The youkai who had just gotten the beam of light jammed into his face staggered to his feet, and pointed a long claw at the Sango. "These humans deny our laws, milord." He said in a subservient tone. "Is it not our way to claim free humans as our own?"
Sango's eyes narrowed. InuYasha had mentioned something about slavery to them. Were humans slaves to the youkai here?
"It is our way." Sesshoumaru stated, and then turned to regard the humans. "What is your business here?"
Sango swallowed nervously. Sango had only met Sesshoumaru once before, the day InuYasha had learned to use the wind scar. But even of what she had seen, the tai-youkai was not one to play around with. "We are here to give a message to a dragon." She said, keeping her voice strong.
Sesshoumaru cast his glance over their group, and then turned to the youkai surrounding them. "I will take these humans for now. If I find their reasons lacking, I will turn them back over to you." He said firmly.
The leader of the group opened his mouth to object, but then thought better of it. "We cede to you're wisdom, milord." He said slowly, and with a light bow began to step backwards. "I will await your deliberation eagerly."
With that, he turned, and began to walk away from the crowd. All the others of the group followed suit, quickly dispatching themselves from the intersection.
Slowly, Sango backed up, standing near Miroku. She swallowed nervously, and remained very strictly on guard.
Sesshoumaru cocked his head to one side at them, and narrowed his eyes. "To which dragon are you to give your message?" He asked, still speaking softly. His eyes were boring into hers.
"A dragon who travels in the company of a pirate." Sango said clearly. "We were told they are in this city."
Sesshoumaru nodded. "They are indeed." He said. "Who is the message from?" His eyes seemed to drill into the back of her head.
"The dragon named Vadise." Sango said swiftly, he fists clenching at her sides.
Sesshoumaru continued to stare at her, unwaveringly. "I see." He said, still giving no hint of emotion. "And you are the humans who journey with InuYasha, are you not?"
"We are." Sango said, trying to break eye contact with the youkai, but finding that she couldn't.
Finally, the tai youkai broke of his gaze with her, and inspected the few bodies on the ground. "According to our laws, the youkai of this city are allowed to seize any unclaimed humans as their personal slaves." He informed them, confirming Sango's suspicions. "Certain groups will be very unhappy with me if I do not turn you over to the public, particularly when people are dead." He glanced back up at her, and raised one eyebrow, seemed to be waiting for a response.
Sango was speechless, literally. How was she supposed to answer that? It was one of those lose-lose questions. No right answer. Things were distinctly not looking good.
"What is the message?" Sesshoumaru asked, slowly beginning to circle and inspect each member of the group.
"We are to tell the dragon that she will be unharmed if she stays." Sango said, slowly beginning to protectively circle along with the tai-youkai. "And after that, Vadise gave us assurance that we would be able to travel back to mainland Japan with the pirate."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed. "I see…" He said very slowly, and then straitened his shoulders. "I am leaving this city for a time at sundown today. This is also when the pirate is leaving. You have until that time to find this dragon, and be on the pirate's vessel. After that, you have no protection."
Sango very slowly nodded, knowing that this was a lucky break. Much more than she had expected from the Tai-Youkai.
With that, Sesshoumaru turned his back on them, and strode on down the streets, taking slow deliberate steps.
Sango swallowed nervously, and turned around.
Miroku gave her a fond nod of approval. "Very well played, Sango." He complimented her.
"I hope so." The sighed back, looking down the different streets. There was one leading to the right, which Sesshoumaru had disappeared down, and one leading to the left. And finally, a grand central street, leading strait into the city. "Let's go this way." She said, pointing down the central street.
Shippo popped up on Kirara's shoulder. "Why that way?" He asked, blinking.
"It'll probably lead to the center of the city," Miroku stated logically. "From there, we should be able to get to where we want to go."
Kohaku nodded reasonably. "Makes sense." He admitted. "Then, let's go."
Slowly, the group made their way through hostile territory.
----------------------
A little bit… Just a little…
Morgan's face was scowled in effort, his jaw clamped tight, and his tanned lips pursed together. The odd position he was working in didn't help any, either. His feet were starting to cramp. He was hanging upside down over the side of his ship. It used to be called the 'Banana Trading Co. No. 7' but some bastard had decided to turn it into the
'Ban a T adin C . o. 1'
He very carefully dipped the paint brush into the gold paint, and artfully remade the a and the n from Banana and started in again on the r from Trading. Honestly, him! The great pirate captain Morgan, drafted into a weird long-haired pansy's army, and forced to ferry him to wherever he wanted to go.
"Things could be worse, you know." Kiriln's happy voice rang our from above him.
"Aye, and they could be much, much better too." Morgan muttered with an oath, painting on an o. "You know, if you hadn't snatched me up, and put me under you're little contract, I could be at the Lusty Wench right now, drinkin' a few good pints of grog?"
Kiriln's nose wrinkled and she looked out at the sea. "Isn't the Lusty Wench that bar in England that has the waitresses with the low cut blouses and the short skirts."
"Aye." Morgan said happily, and with a heave, hauled himself back up to his feet. "An' if ya slip a few coins up one a those skirts, the blouses get much, much lower."
Kiriln cast him a dangerous glare, and crossed her arms. "I don't think I approve of prostitution." She said primly.
"Oh, neither do I." Morgan said quickly. "Neither do I. Way to expensive. Ye just have to get the lass drunk enough that she doesn't make you pay. It's not prostitution then, izzit?"
Kiriln cast a long scowl at the Pirate, and the sighed. "What am I going to do with you?" She asked the heavens plaintively.
"I know a few things I wouldn't mind you doing with me." Morgan said with a very dirty leer.
Kiriln gave him a long level stare, and then pushed him, hard. Overbalanced, he fell backwards, arms wind milling wildly, into the cold water.
With a heavy sputter, he crawled out of the water onto the white stone dock, dribbling heavily. "That wasn't very nice." He commented.
"You're not a very nice person." Kiriln informed him from the ship, inspecting her hand critically. "Now, is this ship ready? Sesshoumaru's not someone you wanna keep waiting."
"It's fine." Morgan said haughtily, wringing water from his thick black hair, and brushing out his albatross feather. "Plenty sea-worthy. I would trust this thing to float a hundred of these youkai-thingies."
"Good." Kiriln breathed. "Now, let's just hope that it's
good enough for Sesshoumaru."
"Well, I should hope so."
Morgan said primly, "Because he ain't getting anything else."
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"If I was a Pirate, where would I be?" Sango mused to herself, casting glances back and forth from alabaster sided building to glistening marble spire. This city was incredible. Sango didn't even know such feats of architecture were possible. Every street was made out of white stone, and gracefully arching spires curved up at all intersections. It was amazing…
Word must have somehow spread very quickly about them being under Sesshoumaru's protection, because they were left very obviously unmolested. Youkai seemed to get out of their way wherever they went, casting a wary eye on them.
"I wonder why it is that Sesshoumaru has so much control here?" She mused, resting her hands on the back of her head as she walked.
"It's because he's the one in charge." Kohaku explained, walking only just a little behind her. "A little while ago, there was a big revolt here." Both Miroku and Sango turned to look at him, and he looked down at his feet suddenly, blushing just a little. "Umm… Atma was telling me about it." He said, kicking his feet at he walked. "There were two, um, sides. One group of youkai thought they should invade the mainland, and enslave all the humans. But the other thought that that would case too many casualties, and wanted to just stay here. Sesshoumaru somehow managed to play off that, and assume control of the city."
Miroku looked around, walking just a little to the left of Sango, and rubbed his chin with his good hand. The youkai were just glancing casually at them, not even seeming to want to bother them. "How long ago was this?" He asked. "Sesshoumaru's word seems almost completely unchallenged. He must have some amount of popularity if nobody is complaining about humans going free."
"He hasn't been in office long." Kohaku said, glancing back at the street. "It was only about… a month and a half ago. Maybe a little less. From what I've heard, Sesshoumaru has so much authority because nobody can call him on it." He smiled wryly at Sango. "Did he look like someone you would cross?"
Sango smiled fondly at her little brother. "You learned a whole lot, Kohaku." She commented. "Father would be proud."
Kohaku's face very suddenly fell to his feet again, a blush starting on his face. "Oh, it was just something, I, uh, heard…" He began.
Sango shook her head. "No, I mean in general. You're a lot wiser than you were when we were living together at our village." She patted him on the shoulder. "Like back there in that fight. You used to be terrified of a battle, but you handled that like a pro."
"Oh, that…" Kohaku stuttered. "Well, uh… that was just something that Atma made sure I could do… She said that a Dragoon was useless if it… um… couldn't fight."
Sango smiled. "Well, you learned well then." She smiled lightly at him.
"Sango…" Miroku whispered, looking up ahead of them.
Sango diverted her attention from her brother to the monk, and blinked. The monk was pointing ahead to what appeared to be some sort of park. It was a large square of just white stone. There were benches set up across the outside, and in the very middle was some sort of monument. It was the monument that Miroku was staring at.
The demon slayer narrowed her eyes, and looked out at it, cocking her head. The Monument consisted of a little raised slab of stone, with earth and grass growing on it. On each of the four corners of the slab, there were large, blooming sakura trees, shading the entire thing. And in the middle of the little patch of grass was the statue of a man. Or rather, a Youkai.
Sango blinked, and shook her head. The youkai was tall, standing regally and erect. He was carved with an ornate haori, and two large spiked shoulder guards. Two slender Katanas were propped gracefully in his outstretched hands, the hilts balanced together on his down turned palms, and the tips sticking into the ground. His face was noble and exotic, and his eyes rested intelligently just below large eyebrows. His hair was long, and artfully carved, looking more like strands of silk than of stone. It fell strait down his back, and parted on either side of his face in slender, silken locks. On the top of his head stood two, large, pointed, dog ears.
"You don't suppose…" Miroku started.
"InuTaisho." Sango said, looking at the statue. "It must be." She smiled lightly. "He looks a lot like InuYasha."
"Sure does!" Shippo agreed. "So, this is InuYasha's father? He sure looks noble."
Sango smiled at the little kitsune. "InuTaisho was one of the most noble youkai ever to walk the planet. I can't really believe he's InuYasha's father."
"I don't think there's any doubt." Miroku countered her, still looking at the statue. "InuYasha is immensely strong. He is, in fact, only a half demon, and yet is able to defeat almost all the full demons that have come across our path. He has some very strong blood running through his veins, even if he doesn't act like nobility."
Sango shrugged. "I suppose so." She admitted. She cast a glance to the sky. "But it's getting late. We should find this pirate guy soon."
"Well, a pirate would normally be near water, correct?" Miroku reasoned. "We should find anyplace connected to the ocean first."
"Right." Sango nodded, and cast her gaze around the square. There were at least eight streets leading off the little park. They just had to pick one. "Let's try that one." She said, pointing forward to a random street. It had lots of youkai walking in and out of it, and the stones on the street looked considerably more worn than the other streets.
The odd group made their way towards the street. As they began to walk down the street, Sango couldn't help but look around in wonder.
There were youkai all around them. All breeds, too. Bird youkai, snake youkai, cat youkai, wolf youkai. But they weren't acting like… youkai. All along the streets there were little booths set up. Just to her right, a four armed insect youkai was trying to convince a werewolf of the benefits of buying the special jars that he sold. There was a snake youkai giving out fortunes just down the street on her left.
"Fresh squid!" The call rang out. A large bear youkai was standing over on a street side. Next to him was a booth, on which a large amount of squid were piled. Behind the booth was a human, wearing a simple, plain kimono, and a plain, slim steel collar around her neck. She was in the process of exchanging one of the squid for some odd little beads to a bird youkai. "We got some nice sea bream too. Step right up! We catch em, we gut em!"
"Heya! Come; have your fortune told by the great Vishia!" The snake youkai hissed to a passerby, "A mere five talens for the revelation of the future."
Sango looked around in amazement. These youkai were actually running a bazaar! They had money (at least, she assumed that was what talens were), and little shops. They weren't thirsting after blood or any actions that she had come to associate with youkai. She threw a glance towards Miroku and gave him an amazed look. He returned it, obviously just as shocked as he was.
"Wow!" Shippo said excitedly. "This place is cool!"
"Atma took me here once." Kohaku said. "You can get almost anything in the world here."
Miroku's eyebrows shot up. "Anything?" He asked, a lecherous grin sliding across his face. He slowly ambled off, heading towards the snake fortune teller's carpet. She was almost human looking. She had long, elfin ears, and a slender, busty build. She was wrapped in exotic silks, and a long, curving, scaled tail was coiled twice around her a waist, and then more times around her shapely legs. Miroku sat down in front of her, imitating her intricate way of sitting. "I have no money." He offered, "However I am a monk. In exchange for my fortune, I can bless you with good luck."
One of the snake youkai's eyes slitted open, and she looked at him. "A fair trade." She admitted. "Your name is Miroku, is it not?"
Miroku was impressed. He hadn't expected the fortune teller to be real. "Indeed. I am impressed. Not many can perform divination with such precision."
"That was not divination, Miroku. That was Sesshoumaru's announcement that the monk, Miroku, and the Demon slayer Sango, as well as the other human traveling with them are not to be taken as slaves until sundown today." She smiled ever so slightly. "However I do see, in your near future, a beautiful woman."
Miroku smiled, and leaned forward. "I see a beautiful woman in front of me right now."
"Ah, yes." The snake youkai hissed, her greenish hair swaying lightly above her golden eyes. "But the beautiful woman I forsee is not in front of you, but behind you."
Miroku blinked and turned his head slightly. Then took a sharp breath. Sango was standing right behind him, her arms crossed, and her foot tapping on the ground impatiently.
"Coincidentally, I also see a lot of pain in your immediate future."
Crunch.
Miroku fell to the ground, a large bump already forming on his head.
"Could you move him?" The snake youkai asked. "He's blocking customers."
Sango gave her an apologetic look, and dragged the semi-conscious monk away from the carpet the snake youkai sat on.
"You'll find the harbor down this street." The snake youkai said smoothly to her as the youkai slayer dragged the monk away.
Sango looked up suddenly, gaping. Miroku hadn't actually told the youkai what they were looking for… how had she known?
The fortune teller winked her one open eye, and pointed to her forehead. "Psychic." She said simply. And with that, turned to a paying customer, and began a fortune of long life and prosperity.
Sango blinked, and nodded. "Kohaku, Shippo. C'mon, we're headed this way."
Slowly, and painstakingly, the group made their way through the tidal crowds. Twice Sango was bumped heavily on the side, causing her to stumble (although the second time, the youkai had turned politely, and begged her pardon). Finally, they managed to burst out of the heavy crowd into another intersection.
Two long streets headed left and right, to either side of them. Sango blinked, and turned around. "Which way do you think it is?" She asked Miroku.
"It's that way." Shippo declared loudly, still sitting on Kirara's shoulder, pointing to the left. "I can hear all the waves."
Sango shrugged, and started to lead the way. "Let's go."
-----------------
Well, the ship seemed all in order. Rin paced patiently across the single deck, looking over every detail. Granted, she really didn't know much about ships, but everything looked spiffy. The sail was big and white, and… cloth-like. The wood was… well… wood. There was food and water in the single cabin under the little deck, so they wouldn't go hungry. She clambered off the ship, and strode up to the pirate and the dragon. She desperately hoped that the ship wasn't actually in horrible condition, because she wouldn't have known the difference. But the trick was to act confident. She was Sesshoumaru-Sama's servant, which gave her extreme status.
"Well," She began. "It looks good." She gave the boat a critical look. "It's a little small, but it'll do."
Morgan smiled. "Well, I'm glad it meets your standards." He said politely, if a little sarcastically. He probably knew that she had next to no knowledge of boats (in all likelihood clued off by her calling the mast a 'stick-thingy'), but didn't show any real inclination to expose her.
"Now, we just need to wait until Sesshoumaru-Sama gets here, and then we can leave." She said happily. "He should be here shortly."
"Very shortly." Kiriln remarked, looking down the street to the right. The tai-youkai himself was making his way down the street, heading directly for the boat.
Rin quickly brushed of the front of her ornate kimono, and stood tall (about three foot eleven), smiling brightly. Hopefully, he would find the ship satisfactory as well. She smiled fondly, remembering the day before when he had said she was wise. That had almost made her pop in pride.
The tai-youkai reached them, walking quickly but elegantly. "Greetings." He said softly, nodding his head ever so slightly to Kiriln.
"The ship is ready to sail, Sesshoumaru-Sama." Rin announced, hoping she spoke the truth.
With a quick glance, Sesshoumaru surveyed the ship, looking over every detail of it. He noticed that something was painted on it in gold on the side. No doubt the name of the ship. Probably something grandiose or overly violent, as was pirate tradition. "This will do." He stated, then cast his gaze around the three others of the group. "We will set sail in a few hours."
Morgan nodded. "I don't suppose you happen to know the name of a good bar, do ya?" He asked. "Maybe I could go relax before we set off."
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "I will not have you sailing drunk." He said firmly.
"Who say's it's me I'm getting drunk?" Morgan asked, with a lecherous grin. "Now all I need is a pretty girl to come with me…"
He was interrupted by a smooth, pretty voice. "Excuse me?"
He turned, and blinked as his eyes set down on the oddest party he had ever seen. It consisted of an odd man with black hair, and long, dark blue robes, a young boy dressed in a thin, flexible combat suit holding a sickle, a little red haired kid with a big poofy fox tail, and a large, tiger-cat thing with flaming paws and two tales. However, his gaze was quickly drawn to the speaker, who was at the lead of the party. She was a young woman, probably about eighteen or nineteen, and had shoulder length, messy hair. Her eyes seemed almost unnaturally dark, and her face was dirty, but pretty. She wore a torn, ripped one piece made of purple cloth. Morgan's eyes were involuntarily drawn to a gentle swell in that cloth about one foot below her nose, and one foot above her waist. The lecherous grin grew.
"That'll work." He said happily.