Disclaimer: The closest I think I'm going to get to Jack sparrow is when we all dressed up as pirates and tried to commandeer a golf cart with our pointy swords (stupid cart just ran off…grr…)at a cancer fundraiser. And one of our members dressed as Jack. And I had a monkey! I don't own any copyrights to Inuyasha or PotC, sadly. ( Runs screaming after copyrights, trying to commandeer them with a plastic sword. Yarr!)
Chapter 22: And we all sail off into the sunset on a black stallio-…er, ship
"Elizabeth!" Her father and the commodore fell over themselves to try and save her. Elisabeth was rather enjoying the way they didn't know what to do with her.
What was so hard about seeing that it was the corset that was causing the trouble, or the tiny fact that she was faking the whole thing?
The drums pounded harder, and Inuyasha jumped onto the gallows just as the hatch fell. Will moved at the same time, throwing his sword for Jack to stand on.
The sword just reached the hatch a split second before they'd have skewered Jacks toes. Jack stood shakily, trying not to slip, but his feet had barely had time to reach the sword before Inuyasha slashed though the rope and seized his arm, pulling him to the ground and towards Will.
"Took you long enough!" Jack scowled, as Inuyasha ran, hoisting him over his back like a stolen piece of loot.
"I got here in time, though! What's your problem?" Jack was about to say 'You coming late and then not even letting me escape on my own blasted feet…' but was cut off before he'd begun by Will.
"I was here! I wouldn't have let you die either!" Will protested, smiling in relief. He knew he was going to die…but he'd go out with a bang. And with a large, well made hat.
"Nearly getting hanged, that's what!" Jack sputtered indignantly from Inuyasha's back, muttering darkly about the humiliation of being rescued in this manor. Over a shoulder…really! He wasn't some bloody damsel in distress! Damn rescuers…
Yes, he didn't have his hands free. No, that didn't mean he could be carried around like this! This was not right! He was supposed to be escaping dramatically with much flourishing of fancy hats! (He had to say, Will had a pretty damn good hat for his rescue. The others hadn't bothered…) He fumed at the humiliation of it all as Inuyasha pushed thought the crowd parallel with Will and Kagome, dodging civilians and guards alike.
At the least, he'd admit Inuyasha was good at getting out of a tight spot, but he needed the hat for it to be really good.
And he needed to put him down so he could regain his dignity…
Kagome ran beside Will, her bow taking out a stray soldier who got too close for her liking. Inuyasha jumped over to where she and Will had paused, back to back and ringed in steel for a brief moment. He landed beside her and put Jack down like a sack of potatoes, slashing away the ropes holding his hands together.
Jack sighed, muttering a "Finally!" before facing the guards himself. The four looked out in a circle at the ring of soldiers, and behind them a crowd of very curious and highly entertained townspeople.
Norrington was shouting, but it was hard to find out what he was saying, behind the noise. Jack wasted no time, now he was free. His moral had taken a decided uplift after being put down on the ground.
"That way! Keep moving that way!" He pointed wildly at the stone arch leading to the battlements, vaguely hoping to see where the Pearl was from there. He knew that it must be close. Cottons parrot never left him for long, and where the bird was, Cotton would be close. The ship had to be here! He had been remembered after all!
He felt like cheering. It wasn't everyday some body…somebodies…snatched you out from under the British at the last second with such daring. He knew they weren't quite free yet, but if they could just press on a little further…
They would leave this town with gossip of their adventures for years to come!
A few soldiers rushed them, and Jack dodged, sending them packing with the swinging rope from the hangman. Jack grinned. He didn't have his sword, but that hadn't stopped him before…fitting he should use their rope to give a few soldiers a bloody nose or a black eye…
They worked across to the fort, making for the exit in fine form. Will and Jack had the same, excited grin. This was fun, in an odd, life threatening way!
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Norrington was furious. He could not let them escape without at least attempting to capture the three…and Will! How could he put his own life at risk for a pirate? Was he really that deluded? He regretfully left Elisabeth to be tended by her father, and hurried off. He might not be able to salvage the situation, but he had to try. Even if this turned into a disaster…and it looked like it was going to…he had to at least try…
Governor Swann watched anxiously as Norrington hurried off. What was going on? Why weren't the former escapees and Will being apprehended?
He failed to see Elisabeth sit up behind him and watch, anxiously trying to see what was going on. She knew she had to do something. If she didn't, they would most likely all die. And that, she would not allow. They'd have to shoot her first…
She grinned again, and quietly escaped from behind her fathers back. She had a job to attend to.
The foursome stood facing outwards, surrounded by steel tipped bayonets. Inuyasha wasn't too concerned for himself, but Kagome…
He made as though to move, and the bayonets pressed in closer, hard eyed soldiers watching him carefully. He had been duly warned.
He cursed them soundly under his breath, glaring horrifically. Damn them….why was it always Kagome they were after, and never him? He was a lot more indestructible…
He watched her, Will and Jack out of the corner of his eye. They were all very still as well, watching the soldiers facing them with narrowed eyes as Norrington approached from behind his soldiers.
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Norrington looked at Will carefully. He regretted that the other man had chosen to get involved. He had been a fine young man, and could have returned to a normal life after their return. But he had made another mistake and this time he'd pay. He looked at Wills mismatched companions with mixed feelings.
It looked like they were thoroughly caught, and he was glad of that…he'd half expected them to make an appearance here anyways, and had prepared accordingly. But now that they'd caught them, what to do with them? He couldn't lock them up, they'd just get out…and come to think of it, how many guards had they dealt with single-handedly last night? No….this was a dangerous situation.
They'd already proven fairly conclusively that no cell of theirs would hold them….he briefly toyed with the notion of locking them in a church, but dismissed it. That was going too far. There was no truth to the rumors flying around the fort. Devils did not exist.
(He carefully avoided thinking about the several impossible things he'd seen in the past few days. He, like most people, had an amazing capacity to rationalize anything.) "I thought we might have to endure some manner of ill-conceived escape attempt from you two"
He looked hard at Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome looked back innocently, while Inuyasha smirked in a cocky way. Like they'd have sat by and watched Jack be hung!
"But not from you." Norrington looked back at Will accusingly. How could such a good man go astray? All too easily, he feared. Elisabeth was well free of him.
Governor Swann hurried up beside Norrington, puffing from exertion. He glanced at the captured pirates and Will, slightly uneasy with the close vicinity "On our return to Port Royal , I granted you clemency. And this is how you thank me?" He looked hard at the three pirates, and then looked at Will.
Will knew he should probably be worried about his own skin at this point, but found he couldn't seem to make himself feel afraid. He was in a fey mood, ready to escape, or ready to die. He'd settled everything he needed to, and had resigned himself to death.
"You threw your lot in with them? They're pirates!" The governor looked indignant. Why would Will do that? And after Elisabeth had asked him to save him too…
"I told you. We" Kagome pointed at herself and Inuyasha, earning herself a poke from a bayonet "are not pirates. We're….erm……tourists!" Kagome grinned, pleased with her stroke of genius
Inuyasha raised his eyebrows suspiciously. "Tourists?"
Kagome stepped on his foot. "Yes. Tourists."
"What's that?" Jack frowned.
Will sighed. He had no clue what a tourist was, but it the shoe fit... "Jack is a good man. And they…are good tourists." Jack winked, pointing to himself and mouthing that yes, he was a good man.
Kagome laughed quietly, while Inuyasha frowned. "Kagome….what's a tourist?" He whispered urgently.
"Shh….I'll tell you later…" Inuyasha would have to be content with that, for now.
Will had not stopped talking, and continued on while they whispered together. "If all I have achieved here is that the hangman will earn four pairs of boots instead of one, so be it. At least my conscience will be clear"
Inuyasha snorted "I don't wear shoes, stupid. And I'm not going to be hung if I can help it!"
Norrington glared at him, then Will "You forget your place, both of you."
"It's right here…between you and them." Will said softly.
"My place is at home, where I was going before you put your fingers in…" Kagome added, frowning slightly. Why did Norrington have to threaten them like this? They hadn't done anything to him. Much. Even though they'd knocked out a few soldiers, they hadn't killed anyone. Couldn't he just be nice and let them go?
Elizabeth hurried over, slipping between the soldiers ringing the four with ease, just in time to deliver the punch line. "As is mine." She put her hand on Will's sleeve, smiling up at him.
She knew they wouldn't dare do anything with her in the middle of the soldiers. She smiled widely at Will, trying to tell him without words how she felt. She knew that he loved her.
And she loved him.
Will looked down at her in amazement, almost not believing that she was here beside him, smiling that smile….for him.
He stared to feel a whole lot better about this whole situation. And a lot less like dieing….
Jack grinned. Come to think of it, coming back here for the wedding would be rather fun…they always had drinks at weddings!
Kagome smiled as she saw the two of them together. So they had worked it out after all! She felt happy for them. She leaned into Inuyasha slightly, remembering their own moments together, and he absently moved to accommodate her. He was more interested in watching the men with weapons trained on him than in some mushy romance between Will and Elisabeth. So what if they were making those funny eyes at each other? Good for them…he didn't care a whit.
He grinned when the weapons were suddenly lowered, as the Swann person gestured franticly.
"Elizabeth! Lower your weapons. For goodness' sake put them down!" The governor's voice grew slightly high pitched at the thought of having his daughter, already traumatized from her previous collapse, in front of a group of armed and jittery men holding weapons ready. He didn't think his nerves would stand another moment like this today…
Norrington swallowed at the thought of her involved in this. At the thought of her standing not a foot away from three hardened criminals and a budding one. Didn't she know they could hurt her badly? Jack himself had used her to escape before…
But hadn't she spent god knew how long marooned with these people, and returned to the Dauntless perfectly fine? Perhaps they wouldn't hurt her. Maybe. And…
She had gone to Will. She had only promised to marry him that Will's life might be saved. She had gone to him when she knew it would mean braving wind, water and pirates during that battle. She had come to him now, knowing he or she might die, to save him.
It was obvious to him now. He couldn't imagine how he'd overlooked it before. She loved Will, not him. She would never be happy with him, particularly if he killed Will now. She would never forgive him for hanging…murdering the man she loved and then forcing her into a marriage he now saw she clearly didn't want.
He had to let them go. He would let Will off, and stand aside as the other three vanished. It was the only thing to do.
He settled that with some relief, grateful for any excuse to let the troublesome prisoners leave. It was obvious they wouldn't let themselves be hung. This was an easy way out…
He decided to take it.
"So this is where your heart truly lies, then?" The words were hard to say, for him. Elisabeth might not love him, but he loved her. Enough to let her go…
The next words tore at his heart. He knew he had been right.
"It is." Elisabeth looked slightly apologetic, and clasped Wills hand harder.
Jack grinned. "Well! I'm actually feeling rather good about this. Can we leave now?"
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Yeah, can we?" He looked away from the swift kiss Will had give Elisabeth in disgust, forgetting entirely the fact that he would like to be able to do that with Kagome…
The soldiers surrounding them moved away at a curt gesture from Norrington.
Jack rubbed his hands, walking up to Governor Swann. He could not resist leaving without some sort of parting gesture. And he knew just the thing to make the governor squirm…He walked up to him, and spoke, leaning in closely.
Kagome laughed quietly as Jack calmly intruded on the governors personal space, leaning forwards even further to tell him "I think we've all arrived at a very special place, eh? Spiritually… Ecumenically… Grammatically?"
She laughed even harder as he moved on to Norrington. Inuyasha crossed his arms. "Can we get going?" He moved around impatiently. He didn't know how long this little reprieve would last, and wanted to be well away from here when the British decided that they had made a mistake after all and should kill them anyways.
Kagome followed him to the battlements. "You know, I wonder if we can see the Pearl from here. It can't be too far off, if that parrot got here." Inuyasha shrugged. He was fairly sure that after he'd frightened away the parrot, it had gone back over the wall, towards the harbor. Sounded good to him. And then they could go down to the harbor, steal another boat, meet up with Miroku, Sango…and probably his brother, unfortunately…and get out of here.
Jack wandered over and shoved himself in Norringtons face, ginning broadly, "I want you to know that I was rooting for you, mate. Know that!" He smirked at the reaction. Payback time for putting him in a cell not one, but twice within the week…
Norrington tried very hard not to show the disgust he felt on his face, but didn't think he could have succeed entirely. He leaned back, trying to avoid the run laden breath of the other man.
The things he put up with…
Will raised an eyebrow as Jack kept going towards him. "Elizabeth …it would never have worked between us, darling. I'm sorry. Will …nice hat."
Will blinked. He had better not have wanted Elisabeth….although at least he'd liked the hat…
…Really, the man was as bad as that 'monk' he'd met earlier.
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Sesshoumaru stepped down onto the deck. He was sure he'd seen his brother and his brothers wench on the battlements, along with all the people in red. He was also fairly sure he'd seen the top of Jacks distinctive head of hair bobbing in and out of sight somewhere behind them.
He quickly found Sango, and pointed out the battlements. She seemed the most reliable of this lot. "They're up there. Let us get them, and be gone."
Sango blinked slowly, squinting. Why was it that certain youkai couldn't remember that her eyesight wasn't as sharp as theirs?
She nodded absently in the general direction of Sesshoumaru, and went over to where Mr. Gibbs was standing. She knew he had something that would let her look at the fort as though she had the vision of a youkai. A spyglass, it was called.
"Mr. Gibbs, Sesshoumaru thinks they're up on the battlements. Can I borrow that, and check?"
Mr. Gibbs didn't respond, choosing to simply smile and hand her the artifact in question.
Sango thanked him, then moved to the rails to see. Were Kagome and Inuyasha really there, not so far off? This might be easier than they had originally thought.
She raised the glass to her eye, and gasped.
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Jack jumped up onto the battlements, backing up and posturing as he went, waving his arms for balance "Friends! This is the day that you will always remember as the day that..." He stumbled as he backed into Kagome, and swore.
"Watch it!" Kagome waved her arms in windmills, trying to regain her balance. She hit Jack across the shoulder, and he went flying. "Sorry!"
She winced as Jack left the battlements, and started falling, cursing. She teetered, started to fall after him, and then screeched, grabbing hold of Inuyasha's sleeve in desperation. Inuyasha still hadn't quite regained his balance from Jacks shove, and wasn't able to stop himself.
Both of them stared to topple
"You…..gah! Oh Shiiiittttt…!"Inuyasha's fading yells reached the ears of the crowd above as he followed the other two down the wall, and into the ocean, twisting to get himself between the water and Kagome as he went.
Kagome's last thought before she hit the water was that she wished Kirara had been there.
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Sango ran over to Miroku, spyglass in her hand. "They were on the battlements, and they fell off! I saw them falling!" She worried at a fingernail. If only she had Kirara with her. She'd missed the little cats usefulness, and her companionship on this trip a lot.
Miroku blinked. "Can I see that?" Sango pushed the glass at them. He gazed through the glass "I can see all three out on the water, swimming. But it's an awful long way to swim…"
He stared after Sesshoumaru, considering. "Hey! Sesshoumaru! Don't you think we could start to head home faster if you went and got them? It'll take an hour for them to get here at this rate!"
Sesshoumaru winced.
Why did the world hate him? Why? What had he ever done to merit being regulated to 'Youkai Taxi Lines, Inc!'
He didn't answer, and didn't look back. Instead, he just took a flying leap over the side and went to collect the pirate, the human, and Inuyasha.
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Gillette frowned. "Such language! There are ladies here…" He shook his head, and walked over to Norrington, who was leaning over the battlements to see where the three people had hit the water. There was a sizeable splash mark, and the faint buzz of arguing or shouting from below. He frowned at the black ship in the distance.
"Idiot. They have nowhere to go but back to the noose." He sniffed in distain "What's your plan of action? Sir?"
Norrington frowned. That ship was there, and that's where they'd go, of course. "I doubt that they will be hung. They had no trouble in escaping us once, and they can easily do it again. I think…we will have to watch them go on the Pearl."
He looked back over the side, watching as a miniature Jack was pushed under by the other two.
Perhaps he'd get lucky and not have to hang them because they'd killed each other off….now there was a thought….
He turned away from the edge, and looked at the Governor. "I doubt we will be able to capture or hang them."
The governor nodded, frowning at the space the three people in question had been occupying up till a short time ago. He had managed to grasp the edge of the concepts at work; they wouldn't be able to recapture these three. Perhaps if Jack was on his own they might get him, but the other two?
He shivered, suddenly glad that the people who could single-handedly disposed of half the guard were gone, in the ocean. Maybe they'd drown! Now there was a happy thought…"Perhaps on the rare occasion pursuing the right course demands an act of piracy? Piracy itself can be the right course?" A suitably vague way of tactfully saying 'We bit off more than we can chew, so we'd better spit it back out before we choke…'
Norrington smiled slightly. He had been understood, and would not be taken to task for allowing them to go free for the moment.
He turned around to face Will and Elisabeth, still holding hands. He might not be the lucky man beside her, but if Will hurt her, or did something this foolish again… "Mr. Turner."
Will knew what was coming. He panicked slightly. He didn't want to die, not now, not when Elisabeth and he had just…
He'd made the choice. He had to pay the price. He let go of Elisabeth's cool palm reluctantly "I will accept the consequences of my actions." She nodded, knowing exactly what he was thinking as he turned to face Norrington across the stony grey battlements. She hoped, really hoped he escaped this unscathed. If he didn't…what would she do?
Norrington unsheathed his sword. Will looked at the naked blade with some trepidation. What was he going to do with that?
"This is a beautiful sword. I would expect the man who made it to show the same care and devotion in every aspect of his life."
Will stared, for a moment, hardly able to grasp the fact that he'd been let off, that he wasn't going to die, that he and Elisabeth might have a chance after all….It crashed in on him, and his knees trembled as leaden relief settled in his gut. He hadn't been quite so ready for death as he'd thought, after all. "Thank you."
"Commodore! What about Sparrow? What about them?
Norrington shivered "Well, I think we can afford to give him one day's head start." He said, casually, leaving the battlements.
Governor Swann looked at his daughter, still standing beside Will "So, this is the path you've chosen, is it? After all…he is a blacksmith."
"No. " she smiled, taking off Wills hat "He's a pirate." Slowly, she kissed him, reaching for him as he held her closer, smiling gently.
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Sesshoumaru slowed and hovered just above the waves, watching his brother and Kagome attempting to drown Jack, shouting furiously.
Not that trying to get rid of the human was a good idea, but perhaps another place and time…?
He nearly tried to cross his arms, but held himself still. Crossing your arms only worked with two arms. He tiredly cured Inuyasha out of habit, and looked down. He still had not been noticed.
"You….why'd you do that? We could have gone and stollen a boat.."
"blub-commandeer! Commandeer a –glg -boat!" It wasn't stealing, it was comandeering! Why couldn't he get that right? Jack blinked salt water out of his eyes, and stared at a point behind Inuyasha's head. It looked like they had company. "Sesshouma-glg..maru!"
Inuyasha stopped trying to dunk him, and turned around, cursing under his breath. If he wasn't mistaken, his brother looked somewhat amused…he glared, wishing he had sensed him approach sooner.
Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru feet, which were just above eye level. "I guess you, Sango and Miroku came after all!" She looked behind him, spotting the outline of the Pearl. "And there's our ship! We're saved!"
She grinned, and swam a bit closer. "Help me up, would you?"
Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes. There was no way he was going help her out by giving her his hand. Bad enough she was dripping, and would probably get water on him while they were on their way to the ship, but did she honestly expect…?
He drifted slightly higher.
Inuyasha glared even harder at him, struggling to stay afloat, while Jack treaded water beside him, coughing slightly. He had better not have come just to gloat…
Kagome narrowed her eyes dangerously. If he was here to help them get back to the ship, why wasn't he being a little more helpful?
"Sesshoumaru?" She asked, carefully.
He didn't answer, but she saw his eyes narrow even further.
"Do you want me to say it? If it's too much trouble to have us come up there…perhaps you'd like to join us d…" She trailed off, grinning. She would love to have an excuse to drop him in the ocean. Except that he might sink…
Sesshoumaru didn't say anything, but the cloud around his feet suddenly dropped back down so that it just skimmed the waves.
Inuyasha grinned, laughing. "Oh, she's got you wound around her little finger…." He laughed, choking on a stray wave.
Sesshoumaru glared at him coldly. "And you are not?"
"Of course not! I do what I want all the time! I-"
"Inuyasha….do we need to have words too?" Kagome asked sweetly.
He shut up.
Jack grinned, snickering. Two people who could fly, and heal in a night, who could cut through opponents like straw…and one little girl with them both dancing to her tune.
He climbed onto the cloud, and stood dripping beside his friends, noticing with amusement that while Sesshoumaru's face never changed expression, he still managed to give an impression of disgust at the proximity of their wet cloths.
A though struck him "Ya know, I thought you were supposed to keep to the code." Had the Pearl's crew decided to come after him anyways, or had it been Miroku's idea, or had they felt guilty…?
Sesshoumaru looked at him frostily, starting to head back towards the ship. "What code?"
"The pirates code!"
"But I am not a pirate. Nor will I ever be."
"Yeah, you're just a royal pain in the butt…" Inuyasha muttered darkly. "One armed Lord of stick-shoved-up-your-fuzzy-ass" Kagome shot him a warning look, and he fell silent.
Sesshoumaru decided not to comment, but Jack was mildly interested. Lord? Did Sesshoumaru have a title, or was Inuyasha just being annoying?
Interesting….perhaps he could blackmail him…although that would be tricky…
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Yay. Another chapter put up. I decided I (like many other people) would go out and get myself a Harry Potter book at the crack of dawn. And it was amazing, and some really good twists….won't say more, or some of you might murder me for spoiling it, but…eh. Anyways, finished reading that, then finished this chapter off. Hope you enjoyed.
Thanks for reading! I know I don't quite stack up to the genius of J.K.Rowling (far from it:P) but I know some of you are kind enough to say you like reading my work .
Neva13: I don't recall if this was mentioned before or not…I can't remember. I do agree with you about the fluffy thing Sess has. It's probably a symbol of rank. However, since a tail is much more fun to write about (and since no one is exactly sure what that thing means, or is..) it is, for now, a tail. I'm glad you think I'm creative, though!
Victory's Ashes: I doubt he'd like being tossed, true enough. Lmao. And the British in this story are somewhat bumbling idiots. :P
RubyRoseoftheBlackBlood: I don't know that it will be wrapped up in the next chapter….I'm never sure how long something will be till I actually write it. A few more chapters, one more chapter….I'm not sure. I'll put a little 'fin' at the end to let people know!
KhaosFire-Katana: lol. That's the purpose of cliffies….to make people want to find out more. I suppose that was a rather horrible cliffie…but I'm on a more regular schedule, I hope. And the stories nearly done. So it should be good.
DumbassBoyandCarrotofDisease: Thankyou!
TrisakAminawn: Oink! Lol Er…no…I think the computer lost it. . And you are interested! I'm glad! (grins widely) Thanks! Um…could me so I know what where to send? my email is since me trying to get ahold of you didn't work nearly as well last time. Thanks very much Inuyasha just doesn't like the parrot. It annoyed him before, and he thinks it smells. Lol. Speaking of smell…he could just tell Jack had been there, not where he was or where he ws going. Lots of interference from other people. Maybe I wasn't clear enough. Might redo that later…
And as for where I work right now…no, it's not an animal hospital, it's a research barn on swine production/housing arrangements. There's something else to do with metabolism, but that's in the other wing and I don't know much about it. Not too bad, apart from the smell. The piglets are SOOO cute!
BlackFeatherz29: I suppose it's not really a flame if it's me saying my work is bad…and it's true, really, to me. You have your opinion, I have mine. :P
BULLRANGERFROG1: There's a few other potc/inu crossovers out there. Been a while since I've looked. Might be even more now. Oink!
DogEarFetish: Lol. True. It was somewhat of a cliffhanger last chapter, wasn't it? Oink!
The Violent Tomboy: lol. So are you
Akana Akazen: Lmao. If you knew some of the things I say…my friends have dubbed me 'the crazy one'. But I'm not a genius, just plain ol' insane, - And oink is a funny word. Doesn't really sound like a pig at all…and I suppose it was a good place for a cliffhanger…:P
Japanimeniac: I'm pretty sure that the spelling errors are more in the first chapters (might be wrong) and they'll be fixed when I rewrite some of this story. And I'm glad you think it's good.
MarauderKid: Yup. As you can see, that little issue came up again this chapter…lol. Sesshoumaru doesn't like his necklace right now, I'm betting…
