Chapter Eleven – The Chase Begins

Nakago was unsure as to the particular circumstances pertaining to the invasion of a harmless cruise line – especially as to why – but he did faintly sense distress from his hapless little Miko, so he was certain he had to do something. He was standing atop the captain's cabin, surveying the situation coolly. From the way it appeared, there were between eighty and one hundred of the strange men on board. Judging by the wardrobes of those who passed, they were mercenaries – pirates. They were armed and as he crouched down to examine the captain's cabin, an announcement, originating in the room below him, sounded throughout the ship.

"Attention, ladies and gentlemen," the communique began. "We would like to inform you that your assets –"

"And asses –" one of the men interrupted crudely. The first man hit him.

"Now belong to us. Please turn over all your cash, cards, jewels and other valuables to the nice men when they come to your doors, and then gather in the great hall voluntarily, lest we are forced to place you there involuntarily... We hope you enjoy your trip with the Pirate Cruise Line. Thank you!" the man set down the transmitter and sat down.

"You are so weird, boss," one of the pirates said. "You should just kick them and take the goods. Why are you so polite?"

"My good mate," the boss said as they headed onto the deck, his arm around the underling in a fatherly, yet somehow malevolent way. Nakago shrunk out of sight. "If you give people a little professional courtesy, they are bound to do the same for you, and are less likely to complain, even if you steal their chair from beneath them. Besides, this is an art, watching how each individual reacts to every situation. It's the thrill of the chase, my friend."

"Wouldn't there be more thrill, and more chase, for that matter, if we actually, you know, chased them?"

"You have no appreciation for strategy. Now, let's go and accept the donations from the nice people," the man said, grey eyes flashing.

"Sir," the man nodded and ran off."

Nakago smirked darkly as he watched them go. The man who was obviously the leader of the mercenaries looked over his shoulder briefly and then continued on, ordering a few others to clear the VIP floor. The man was tall and traditionally handsome, with a wide, strong jaw and chiseled features. His hair was a touch too dark to be blonde, but too light to be true brown. His skin was pale but his body was muscular. He spoke English to his men, and was, Nakago guessed by his accent, a highly educated Irishmen that had also managed to speak perfect Japanese over the intercom. Nakago smirked. He rather liked this man, in a twisted sort of way. By attacking the ship, he had made an enemy out of him, but under different circumstances, he might have found him highly amusing. He was shrewed, strategic, and evil – all the things Nakago had prided himself on during his time in the book. He vaguely wondered if the strange man could use a sword.

Hopping down, Nakago decided that his first priority should be to locate Miaka and severely injure whoever dared lay a finger on her or any of her possessions, and then he would probably stow her away somewhere like laundry and quietly sabotage the men until they decided it wasn't worth staying. The former Shogun sneaked silently around to his side of the boat and climbed down to Nifei and Miaka's suite, going inside. He called for her quietly, and when there was no answer, he went to their room. On the bed rested a note; he read it.

Eyes narrowing, the man crumpled the note and quickly exited the suite.

Miaka was already yelling before she opened her eyes. Nifei was sitting quietly in the corner, her hands and ankles tied together. "Miaka, calm down, they don't want to hurt us."

"Let me go!" Miaka ignored him. "I just had surgery! I should be resting! I'm a delicate woman, you damn jerks!" she screamed.

"A delicate woman would shut up. Take your friend's advice, girly. The boss will be here soon and he doesn't appreciate banshees like yourself."

"Your boss is coming here? Good, I'll just wait and take this up with him..." she threatened. "Why are you holding us anyway?"

"For fun," one man answered, cackling.

"If you think we're going to do anything for you, you're wrong," Nifei said with deadly calm. "It would be ill advised to touch Miaka or myself inappropriately. My father will have you killed."

"Will he now, girly?" the one who appeared to be highest ranking knelt before her, a smirk on his handsome face. Well, it would have been handsome had there not been a great, jagged scar across his cheek.

"That is correct," she responded, looking haughty. Miaka protested, this time telling Nifei to stop talking. The other men gathered around. "She's a pretty thing, isn't she. Maybe we should have some fun?"

"She's not as loud as the other," the first man said. "And not as chubby."

"Chubby!" Miaka shrieked.

The men laughed. "She's fun to anger, though."

"I like this one," they grinned and elbowed each other. One of the men picked Nifei up, throwing her over his shoulder and heading toward the next room. Nifei stared, dark eyes wide in shock.

Miaka, with sudden strength, hopped to her feet and chased the three men taking Nifei away. They pushed her down outside the door, laughing mockingly. Miaka shouted in protest, butting the door with all her might and telling them to take her instead, but her friend disappeared behind the door and all she heard were her friend's desperate pleas and screams and then a deathly silence. Miaka slipped to the floor and wept.

"Never threaten me again, woman, or your friend is next" one of the men said, shoving her back into the main room after over an hour. She stared at Nifei who silently stumbled into the room, moving back to her corner and sliding to the floor. She stared, eyes wide, at the wall, tears slowly streaking down her beautiful face. Her clothes were falling from her body, her hair was tousled and tangled and she was paler than death. Miaka stared at her, tears falling down her own face.

How had this happened? Miaka looked at her friend in horror. How had this happened? Suddenly she felt irrepressible rage flood her body. She stood up and screamed at the men. "ANIMALS!" she shrieked at them, her body exploding with red hot energy. "You disgust me, you vile pigs! How could you... how could you...?" she began to cry, her aura dying down. Nifei stared at her as the aura faded away, shock and something else in her eyes.

"Don't cry," a smooth voice said, pulling Miaka against his chest.

"Don't touch me!" Miaka jerked away, but he held her. She stomped on his foot and backed away, bringing her bound hands to her chest defensively. "Who are you!"

"James," he said coolly in perfect Japanese, holding out his hand. "James O'Reilly."

Miaka looked at his hand with a skeptical look, glancing at her tied hands.

"My apologies," the man said, taking her hands gently. She pulled away at first, but he held them until she ceased her resistance and then carefully untied the coarse rope. She looked up at the handsome man with distrust, rubbing her robe-burnt wrists. Miaka looked from him to Nifei. His eyes followed her glance and he made a sort of sighing sound, going over to her. She screamed when he got within reach of her. When he touched her hands she scratched him, screaming hysterically.

"Don't," Miaka said quietly. "She's... those men, they..." she held back tears. She knelt down and gently took her friend's hands. She continued to cry softly as Miaka untied her. Nifei fell against her, sobbing wretchedly. Miaka cried softly as well. She felt a gentle hand on her shoulder and pulled back, leaving Nifei to curl in on herself.

"Who are you? Why are you here?"

"Boss," one of the men came into the room, a large, evil grin on his face. The others followed. "Decided to try our little girl out, too?"

"Who is responsible for this?" the man stood up, eyes narrowed, voice low and deadly. "Which of you," he glared at his men. "Has done this to this woman?"

The men stood silently. "Step forward, cowards!" he shouted.

"It was him," Nifei sobbed, pointing at the man with the scar on his face. "The others held me down, but it was him... who hurt me..."

Faster than Miaka had seen any ordinary human move, the man with steel grey eyes brought his knee to the other man's chest, knocking him back. He picked him up by the collar and threw him across the room. "How does it feel to be bullied by someone stronger than you?"

James picked the man up again and continued to beat him. Miaka watched, half in shock and horror, but feeling the other half glad that this man was getting a severe ass kicking. Nifei looked away.

"Enough," she said softly.

Immediately, the man halted. "He deserves to die," he said flatly.

"Yes, he does," she agreed quietly. "But I wasn't raised to seek vengeance in such a way. That's enough."

"Take this garbage out of my sight," James said to the other men. They did so.

"You're their boss?" Miaka asked as the others left, her voice low. "Why are we here?"

"You, my pretty pets, are being ransomed for a large sum of money," he said truthfully.

"Nifei I understand," she replied. "But I don't have any money. I'm just a poor college student. My family doesn't have money either."

"Your family doesn't, but someone does."

"Nakago?" she gasped.

"That would be the one," the man said. "I've already left a note."

Nakago stormed through the darkened hallways, a murderous glare on his handsome face. He pushed past anybody he ran into, and punched anybody who dared to try to stop him. He walked to the main deck and contemplated his options. Currently, every pirate was running around chasing rich people into the Great Hall. The former Shogun scowled darkly, disbelieving. They had the gall to ransom Miaka? To demand payment from him? They had no idea of the mistake they were making.

Firstly, he needed to learn where Miaka was being held, and then he needed a plan. He couldn't simply barge in and reclaim her. She was obviously well-guarded (because nobody could be stupid enough not to guard their hostage), and they would likely expect him. He decided that he needed a weapon, and a decoy. For that he would need an accomplice. Grinning malevolently and feeling very much himself for the first time in a long while, he set out to find his accomplice. Nakago had just the person in mind.

Muji was quite surprised when Nakago barged into the brig and sliced the bars with a glowing blue sword. The young man nearly peed himself, expecting imminent pain, or death.

"What's going on?" he asked, his voice a touch higher than usual.

Nakago explained. Muji listened raptly.

"Ransom? Why? She's almost as poor as I am..." he protested. "Maybe because she's in VIP, so they think she has money."

"They want me to pay the ransom," he replied, rooting through the cabinets in the brig for anything that could prove useful. "How anybody gathered that we are... courting... is beyond me."

"Unless somebody told them," the young man offered. "But who would? Who even knew? I didn't..." he said a little sadly, stifling it. "I'm sure everybody thought you were with Kanu-san..."

"That is what I thought, but Yuuki and I have been spending a lot of time together lately," he said, pulling a length of rope out from under the sink.

"You still call her by her last name?" he asked.

"Yes," he said, not explaining further. "Now are you going to help me get her back or not?"

"You want me to help?" he blinked.

"Did you think I was breaking you out to help my reputation?"

"Good point. Yes, yes, of course I'll help. What do you want me to do?" he asked, stepping through the broken bars and standing behind Nakago. "Where did you learn to use a sword like that?"

"Past life," he replied curtly.

Muji wasn't sure whether he should take the tall blonde seriously or not. He laughed in an unsure sort of way.

"You don't believe me?" he asked.

"Should I?" his face straightened.

"How do you think Yuuki and I know each other?" he shoved all sorts of ordinary objects in his pockets. He wished he had his coat to hide everything, but decided that this would have to do.

"She was? And you were? I'm confused."

Nakago handed him some seemingly random items, including a stapler, a hole punch, and, best of all, a roll of toilet paper. "Yuuki was drawn into another world, in which she became a priestess. She was protected by seven warriors and had quite an adventure."

"You were... one of her warriors?" he asked, disbelievingly.

"Of course not," he smirked, eyes flashing. "I was the villain. Come," he stood and headed down one of the corridors.

Muji wasn't sure if he was kidding or insane but he simply followed, wondering what he should do with the items Nakago had handed him.

Miaka paced around the room. There were men standing by the door. Nifei was crying quietly in the corner, and James was following her as she walked.

"Stop it!" Miaka finally turned and yelled at him. She had had enough of this strange man tailing her. "I'm not going anywhere."

"I didn't expect you would be leaving, at least not without your friend. She looks a little disturbed. Perhaps you should speak to her?" he questioned.

"She doesn't want to talk, I tried," Miaka said softly. "I don't know what to say..."

"Well, how are you? Why don't you tell me about yourself?" he asked, flashing a winning smile. She frowned.

"Why don't YOU tell me why you're keeping us here? What's in it for you?"

"A large sum of money," he replied simply. "Isn't that enough?"

"No, it's not! I'm injured, and Nifei... she..." Miaka looked down sadly. "This is all your fault." She couldn't believe the trip this had been. There had been murders, explosions, and now a pirate invasion. She didn't quite understand. She had taken a statistics course, and although she didn't fare very well, she did know that the odds of this many catastrophic events happening at one time were slim to nil. That led her to believe that it was not just coincidence, that somebody was out to get her or Nakago. Nakago. Something struck her suddenly.

"Are you the one who has been murdering people?" she gasped. "Did you... did you do this to Nifei because of what she saw?"

His eyes flicked briefly over Nifei's limp form and then back to Miaka's narrowed, angry eyes. He smirked. "You certainly are an intuitive young woman, aren't you?" he grasped her chin.

She tried to jerk away, but he only pulled her closer. "Let go of me!" she demanded.

"I will do no such thing. In fact, I think I will..." he leaned down so that his face was millimeters from hers. "Steal your kiss." His lips met hers and she struggled, shouting angry protests against his mouth. Finally, she bit down on his tongue; not hard enough to bite it off, but hard enough hurt. He jerked away, his face darkening like she had seen Nakago's do when he was truly angry.

"My kiss is not for you!"

"Is it only for that mutt Ayuru?"

"Mutt?" she murmured.

"Yes, that impure line of his is no good for you. You deserve somebody of your pure descent like yourself, somebody... clean..." he smirked, pulling her small body against himself and rubbing against her slowly. She struggled unsuccessfully.

"Nakago is twice the man you'll ever be!" she shouted. "Besides, we come from the same place, you just don't understand. We share a bond much deeper than anything you could ever hope for... he'll find me, and you'll regret ever having touched Nifei or me."

"Yes, I'm sure he will come," the man said in a taunting sort of way. "We shall see who survives that battle." He began to laugh darkly, pushing her back so that she fell to the floor. She scuttled quickly from him. "I only hope he puts up a bit of a fight. I detest killing weaklings. It's so boring."

"You're using me to lure him here," she accused. "Why? What do you have against him?"

"Nothing, it's my employer that has some grudge. What it is, I do not know. It is not my job to know. It is my job to do as I was contracted, and I will."

"You took an entire ship captive so you could kill one man?" she asked, disbelieving. "What kind of animal are you?"

"My fair lady, I'm a pirate. It is not my job to care. It is my job to acquire goods and gold. Besides, this proves much more entertaining than the monotonous, yet idiotic hijinx of my men. It gets them out and about after many months of being at sea, alone..." he glanced to Nifei, this time with some sort of malevolent amusement.

"You... are a hideous, evil man!" Miaka exclaimed. "You will pay for this! I won't allow this!" she began to shriek, feeling rage bubble from within her very soul. This man... had he killed Tamahome as well? Red fire exploded around her body and she leaped at him, punching his face with enough force to break a two by four. The energy whipped around them and burned his flesh. He screamed in anger and hit her, sending her flying backwards, the aura maelstrom dying down.

"You..." he clutched his handsome face where a large, deep burn had appeared. "You will die!"

"No!" Nifei cried suddenly, her voice strong. "Don't hurt her! She tried to protect me! She's a good person!"

The man stared at Nifei's pleading face. "She will pay..." he said to Nifei, insanity in his eyes. "With the blood of the one she loves."