Chapter 7: The Mystery of the Full Moon and the Black-Haired Kagome.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha!

Grunting and gritting her teeth together Sango did everything in her power as she hunched over to put all her body weight in the wheel to keep a steady strong hold on the ships wheel and to keep the ship right side up. She gasped in horror as the ship was spun around several times as a twister trapped them in its deadly grip.

Finding anything and everything that they could hope to hold on too, the crew and Sango all let out started cries as their hearts stilled in their chests.

The ship was filled with cries, screams and shouts as the crew members tried with all their might to keep the ship in one piece as well as staying on their feet and on the ship.

One spin away from being capsized the twisters, by the grace of God, all disappeared. Tightening their grips on whatever they were holding on, everyone was nearly tossed off their feet as the ship lurched back into its proper position.

Sighing in somewhat relief, Sango was able to straighten out of her hunched over position but only slightly as she still needed strong hands on the wheel to keep the strong gust of wind from taking over the ship once again. Trying to get her bearings of where they were heading, she narrowed her eyes as she tried to see through the still pouring rain - though it wasn't coming down nearly as hard as it was moments before, it was still difficult to see through.

Growling in frustration as Sango spotted a landmark that she remembered seeing twenty minutes ago going the opposite direction. She sighed and rolled her eyes as she went about turning the ship once again going in the correct direction.

Thankfully they were not too far from their destination, unfortunately, though - they were fighting against the howling winds that were trying their best not to let them get to where they needed to go.

An hour, of fighting against the wind and rain, Sango smiled in victory as the first rays of sunlight ran down from the sky and the rain lessened to a sprinkle and the wind died down to the gentle breeze. She rolled her head to pop her tense neck and tried to roll the tension out of her shoulders and back but found out quickly that simply rolling her shoulders was not bringing her any relief. Huffing in aggravation and pain she looked around her surroundings and knowing this particular area pretty well she surmised that they would arrive at Spain early tomorrow morning

Sango heard the little footsteps of a child run up the stairs as more of the clouds parted letting more of the sun through the cracks. Soon after she felt the tiny body that belonged to no other than little Shippo climb up her body to take a perch on her shoulder. The slight weight of his body on her shoulder made her muscles scream at her, but she didn't let it show that she was in discomfort. He must've saw that the storm was pretty much over and was okay to come out of the safety of the captain's cabin.

"Miss. Sango, do you think Captain Kagome is alright?" Shippo asked with an obvious shake in his voice.

"Oh, I'm positive that she's just fine." Sango tried her best to send Shippo a reassuring smile, though, she's not sure if the message was clear to read because she was worried about the same thing as Shippo. Was Kagome, okay? She sure hoped so, she hoped with everything she had that her best friend - that her captain was okay.

Not looking to convince Shippo looked out at the horizon. "Do you think she found Inuyasha yet?"

Sango sighed and brought a hand up and patted Shippo's head. "That one I am not sure of. I hope so, though, I really hope so."

"Tonight, is the night of the full moon." Shippo was sure to whisper to Sango to make sure no one else would hear. "Do you think, if she hasn't found Inuyasha yet, that she will be okay?"

"I'm really not sure, Shippo, but I'm sure that she's on Inuyasha's ship right now so we don't have to worry about it."

Shippo wasn't so sure but nodded his head anyway and dropped the subject as they continued on their way towards Spain.

*BREAK*

After discussing what was happening of what Naraku did and where they needed to go and what they needed to do, Kagome stood in Inuyasha's cabin looking out the window while Inuyasha was sitting on his desk mapping out the route that they would take. After hearing what was going on and sensing the danger that was about to ensue, Miroku excused himself from the room to go gather the crew members for an early departure.

Grunting, Inuyasha put his quill pen down and stretched his tense muscles and looked behind him at the woman as she stared out the window. Standing up, he walked across the room to stand beside Kagome and looked out the window for a split second then turned to take in the woman next to him. Noticing the look of horror on her face he immediately grew concerned.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha whispered as he lifted his hand and swiped a stay strand of hair behind her ear making her jump and turn her attention towards him. "Are you okay?"

Kagome let loose a shaky breath as she turned back to stare out the window. For a minute Inuyasha wasn't sure if she was going to answer but waited until she was ready to talk. He would never in a million years force her to talk when she wasn't ready too.

Putting a hand on Kagome's shoulder and giving it a reassuring squeeze, Inuyasha waited as patiently as he could - though - he was going more and more worried as the seconds ticked by. "Kagome?" He whispered not being able to hold back his concern anymore.

Releasing another shaky breath Kagome turned towards Inuyasha as fear rang clear within her eyes. "Tonight, is a full moon." Was all that she whispered but it was enough to make Inuyasha's concern doubled almost instantly.

Being a wolf on a full moon, usually meant that the wolf demons' powers and strength was multiplied by ten, but that was not the case for Kagome.

Kagome had human blood coursing through her veins, and it was believed that even though her tribe accepted her for what she was their ancestors before them, did not. And because of that the ancestors came together and placed a curse on Kagome causing her too completely lose her powers, rendering her a mortal on the one night that was supposed to make her more powerful.

It wasn't just their tribe either, it was every tribe that held a half demon in its walls that harbored a specific day or night - sometimes, if the tribe's ancestors were bitter enough, the half demon would be cursed to have multiple days in a row as a mere mortal. There are even stories of one half demon that got cursed to the point where he was human during the days, every day, and every night he was in his half demon form.

Inuyasha understood her fears, because he goes through the same thing on a different night. Even though the majority of their tribes accepted them and welcomed them with opened arms - there were tribes that shared the same land as them that weren't so understanding, even some people within the walls of both of their tribes were not understanding either and tried to team up with the outside tribes to do something about it - though, it never worked it was enough to install fear in them for their entire lifetime.

removing his hand from Kagome's shoulder and placing it on her cheek, Inuyasha made Kagome turn from the window and look towards him.

Kagome gasped at how close Inuyasha had gotten to her and her heart quickened in her chest, though, not of fear but of something the complete opposite and that kind of scared her in its own way.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered as she realized Inuyasha was still getting closer to her. "What are you-"

"I will never let anything happen to you." Inuyasha's whisper interrupted Kagome when his lips reached her ear. "I won't ever let another person, whether they be human or demon, lay a finger on her." He continued making her breathe quicken and goosebumps appear on her arms.

Inuyasha moved away from her ear but just so he could look into her eyes - their lips a mere centimeter apart as he laid his forehead against Kagome's. "Do you understand me, Kagome?" He breathed out.

Not trusting her voice, Kagome gave him a quick nod of her head making Inuyasha smirk. "Good." He said but before he could do anything, if he even was going to do anything, the door to his cabin swung opened and they jumped apart from each other as if the other burnt them.

"The crew is all here and are ready to get started on heading out." Miroku informed as he got a suspicious look on his face. He could almost swear that he saw the two captains about to kiss but couldn't be too sure as they separated too fast for him to get a good enough look.

Inuyasha sent Miroku a look that clearly asked what the hell are you looking at? Miroku sent Inuyasha an innocent smile back making Inuyasha roll his eyes but let Miroku's weirdness go. "Good. Go give the orders to set off. Oh, and Miroku, make sure you tell them that if they even think about setting foot in this room tonight - they'll lose their lives."

Miroku sent Inuyasha a strange look making Inuyasha roll his eyes again a gestured toward Kagome. Miroku moved his eyes off of Inuyasha and onto Kagome and realization dawned on him. He was one of the lucky few that was privy about what happened to Kagome on the full moon and what happened to Inuyasha on the moonless night. Sending Inuyasha a quick nod, Miroku ran out of the room to give his orders.

"Thank you." Kagome whispered out once Miroku was gone.

Inuyasha turned his attention towards Kagome once again and saw her with her head bowed and her hair covering her face so he couldn't get a clear enough look at her face to see what state of mind she was in.

Inuyasha took a step closer to Kagome and hooked a finger under her chin making her look at him. "Kagome? Are you going to be, okay?"

Kagome sent him what she hoped was a reassuring smile making Inuyasha send her what he knew was her favorite smirk with a fang sticking out making Kagome smile even wider and envelop Inuyasha in a tight embrace.

*BREAK*

Later that night Kagome was found standing by the window once again, alone, but instead of dark blue hair, she had midnight black hair - and instead of fuchsia eyes she had chocolate brown eyes. Sighing she stared up and the perfectly rounded moon sending it a glare, however, the glare didn't last for long. It wasn't the moons fault - it was her ancestor's fault, why couldn't they just accept her for who and what she was.

Kagome felt as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as she looked up to try to keep them from falling. She was so focused on keeping her tears in check that she didn't hear the door open and close.

"How are you doing?" Inuyasha whispered in Kagome's ear making her jump out of her skin with a surprised shriek. Raising his hands and gently rubbing the top of her arms. "Shh, it's just me." He murmured turning her to face him.

"Oh, Inuyasha! Don't sneak up on me like that!" Kagome chided Inuyasha.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you." Inuyasha apologized but Kagome could hear the laughter in his voice.

"Shut up." Kagome ordered slapping Inuyasha's hands away from her arms. "You didn't frighten me."

Inuyasha laughed. "Yeah sure." His smile softened as he lifted his hand to brush her cheek bone with the tips of his fingers, delighting in the way her breath hitched in her throat. "How are you doing?"

Kagome sighed as she looked back out the window. "Same as always, I guess." Kagome let out a humorless laugh. "Just wondering what we did that was so bad that our ancestor's felt the need to curse us."

Inuyasha sighed as he took a step forward so he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Kagome. "We'll never know that answer, I'm afraid."

Kagome let out another humorless laugh but before she could say anything there was a knock at the door. Kagome jumped and frantically looked for some place to hide which made Inuyasha growl as he stomped towards the door intending on doing bodily harm to whoever was on the other side.

"What!?" He growled out as he slammed the door opened.

The man on the other side jumped out of his skin as his heart pounded against his ribcage in fear. "I-I'm so-sorry sir, I w-was just w-wondering if y-you need anything?" The man stammered out.

Inuyasha's nose scrunched up in disgust as the clear sent of a poorly thought-out lie reached his nose. "If I needed anything, Mr. Porter, I would've gotten it myself tonight. Didn't Mr. Miroku give you and the others orders on not to disturb me tonight?"

The man's skin went white as he stammered some more. "O-of course, sir. A-and y-yes he did give us th-those orders." Mr. Porter stuttered. "B-but-"

"And what did Mr. Miroku say would happen if anyone were to disturb me on this particular night?" Inuyasha asked smoothly.

"I-I'm so-sorry! I-it was a-a bet! I-I lost it a-and h-had t-to come and kn-knock on you d-d-door, sir."

"What... Did... Mr. Miroku... Say?" Inuyasha ground out.

You could see the sweat as it rolled off of Mr. Porter's forehead. "H-he said that we w-would l-lose our l-lives."

Inuyasha brought up a hand and flexed it in a way that made his nail glisten deadly and his knuckles pop at the same time. "So, with that warning you still thought it a good idea to come and disturb me?"

"I-I'm sorry! Please, sir, give me one more chance!" Mr. Porter begged.

Inuyasha made his knuckles pop again making the man tremble it absolute fear. "I find myself feeling particularly forgiving tonight, Mr. Porter." Inuyasha said as he lowered his clawed hand and sent the man standing before him a murderous glare. "However, if you are ever given the orders to not disturb me and you don't listen - you will pay with your life. Do I make myself clear?"

"Th-thank you, Captain and aye you do make yourself crystal clear!" Mr. Porter said as he ran as far away from Inuyasha's cabin door as he could.

Inuyasha growled as he slammed his door shut once again.

Inuyasha heard Kagome giggle and turned to find a pair of eyes peeking out from under the covers on his bed.

"What are you laughing at Wench." Inuyasha growled out playfully, secretly loving the fact that she was under his covers on his bed.

"I don't think he's never not going to be scared of you ever again." Kagome said as she giggled again.

"Keh." Inuyasha huffed out as he took his shirt off. "Good, maybe next time he'll listen to orders when they're given." He said as he walked towards the bed. "Now, scooch over so I can lay down too."

Kagome giggled once again as she moved over and watched as Inuyasha laid down next to her on his back. She smiled at him and laid her head down on his chest and he growled approvingly as he wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer.

"Good night, Yashie." Kagome yawned.

"Ha, haven't heard that nick name in a long while." Inuyasha grinned and kissed the top of Kagome's head. "Good night, Kags."

Kagome smiled as she closed her eyes and slipped into unconsciousness, Inuyasha following soon after her.

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