Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters what-so-ever.
Chapter Two
"Oh, there it is." Kagome whispered to herself as she looked through Captain Shippo's spyglass. "It's my new home. It's -"
"England."
Her eyes widened in surprise and she looked over her shoulder to see a grinning hanyou captain. "Takahashi."
He gave her a dramatic bow. "Miss Nosy."
"Grr. It's Kagome!" she snapped and looked back at England. "I thought England was supposed to be exciting. My uncles told me it was one of the most beautiful countries ever. Well, excluding India, of course."
Inuyasha grinned and let out a chuckle. "I had no idea that my lady was so gullible and naive."
Ignoring his remark, she noticed Captain Shippo's wife approaching.
She left the captain and greeted the woman. "Good Morning, Ms. Souten."
Souten curtsied. "Lady Kagome. Are you excited?"
"I suppose I would have been if we arrived on a clear day instead of such a dreary one." she replied, motioning to the gray skies that hung above them.
Captain Shippo approached and laughed at Kagome. "Sunny days in England are as valuable as diamonds. You'll have to get used to this, my lady, for these are the only days that grace our beloved land." He bowed to her and went to help the crew get ready.
The two women watched as the crew prepared the longboat and winced as it scraped along the portside of the ship.
'Perhaps they're not as experienced as I pictured them.' Kagome thought with worry.
"Ah, we should get ready," Souten informed her, "Soon, my lady, we shall have to take the swing to get down to the longboat. It is very safe. I use it all the time and the crew is ready to help, of course."
'Put my life in the hands of those men? I don't think so.' she thought, but she hardly paid attention to the rest of Souten's lecture for she saw something twitch from the corner of her eye. 'Oh no.'
Souten let out a cry of happiness. "Oh, Captain Takahashi! I had wondered where you had gotten off to. I was just telling Lady Kagome about the swing and how wonderfully safe it is. Do you not agree, sir?"
Kagome turned to face Inuyasha and to her dismay, he had the same smirk he always wore whenever the two talked to one another. Well, they argued than talked. Ever since he ruined Hojo's perfect proposal, she had desperately wished for him to be struck with a horrible case of sea sickness or something.
"I do not think her ladyship requires my assurance on the matter since it seems she has no fear at all. Of course, after being brought up by such decorated British officers in the wild of India, what woman would cower at the mere thoughts of a swing?"
She shot him a glare and hoped he would back down. However,Inuyasha merely brushed the look away as if it were lint on his coat.
Souten turned to Kagome, looking quite pale. "The wild? My lady, you did not really venture into the wild, did you? Oh, and please say that you did not encounter any horrid beasts such as tigers. Lord knows what you would have done if you had to encounter one."
"I shot them, Miss Souten." she replied with a sharp tone and rolled her eyes at the woman's dramatic gasp. She glanced back at the hanyou and mentally pictured his face crashing into the floor.
Although she wished that, she noticed how handsome Inuyasha really was. She still did not agree with his nature of fashion, but she did admire his physical attributes. 'How different he is from Hojo. Besides from being hanyou and all, the two are as different as night and day. Still, I must admit. Inuyasha is just as handsome if not more than Hojo.' she thought with a light blush.
"Oh my goodness! You shot them? My lady! Oh, goodness! With a revolver, I imagine?"
Kagome scoffed at Souten's question. "Heavens, no. I used a rifle."
Souten let out an even more dramatic gasp, causing Lady Kagome to groan in annoyance and Inuyasha to stifle his laughter.
He cleared his throat and looked at Souten. "Don't fret, my dear woman. Our Lady Kagome is skilled at firing a rifle and shooting arrows just as she is at winning the love of men. It's no surprise that she has as many tiger pelts as she does marriage proposals," he said with a wink in Kagome's direction. "A most prized collection, I would imagine. Don't you agree, my lady?"
Never had she met such a rude young man or rather a hanyou. Just as she was about to tell the young captain, Captain Shippo reappeared with a smile. "The swing has been prepared, Lady Kagome, if you are ready."
'Ready to shoot this hanyou, that is for certain.' she thought with a smirk. "No, thank you, Captain. I would rather used the ladder to the longboat like everyone else."
Inuyasha's eyes widened, but kept silent.
Souten looked as if she were about to faint or rather have a heart attack from hearing such a thing. "The ladder! My lady, the ladder...you cannot!...Ah, it is far too dangerous! I will not allow you to do such a thing!"
'Apparently, English girls have no sense of adventure in their lives.' Kagome thought. 'Might have been helpful if my uncles warned me about this before they shipped me off.' She glanced at Inuyasha, whose amber eyes glowed with mischief and his lips had curled up to show his fangs.
"Come now, Miss Souten," he chided, "You really want Lady Kagometo take the swing? Why, such things are for ladies who swoon at the sight of a tiger. Lady Kagome is apparently made of sterner stuff."
Her brown eyes were practically glaring daggers at the young captain.Really, if he acted like this around her uncles, he would surely regret it. Ignoring him, she turned back to Captain Shippo. "I will not take the swing for I do not wish to be dashed along the side of the ship from the wind. The ladder will be quite fine for me."
Souten shook her head. "Oh, Lady Kagome. I just...I feel since your parents are no longer with us and your uncles trusted me to take care of you, I must do as such and this is not-"
"Oh, really!" Kagome snapped. She was getting quite irritated from the woman's blubbering. "Just show me this ladder and let us hurry before we get caught in the rain." The sky seemed to be darker and bigger every minute, it appeared.
She was quickly led to the ladder and while she had seemed prepared, it became quite apparent that she was not. It was quite a long way down and the ladder being made of rope and wood was making Kagome regret her choice. Still, the swing was made of rope and wood and at least with the ladder, she controlled her own life and there was no way she was going to let those crewmen handle it. Taking a deep breath, she hiked up her skirts and swung a leg over the ship's railing. Her foot sought the first rung of the ladder and she took that moment to look over her shoulder.
Which happened to be a big mistake. Kagome soon realized that it was a long, long way down to the longboat. Her pulse began to race and her mouth quickly became as dry as sandpaper. She froze upon the first step and began to contemplate that the swing might be fine after all. She was ready to ask for permission to use the swing and swallow her stubborn pride when she felt a large, warm and clawed hand cover her small, gloved one.
She opened her eyes to look deeply into the amber orbs of the captain's. He hung above her and his lips were curved into a smile, not one of mocking, but of kindness.
"Don't look down," he advised gently, "and you'll be fine."
Kagome nodded and took another deep breath. She had no choice and began to climb down. She would've spoken, but feared the sound of her voice, and would've asked for the swing, but no use for it now. She stared intently at the ship as she climbed down. The shouts of the crew drifted to her ears and she was thankful for their encouraged words for it made the roaring in her ears seem less harsh.Then, she felt their hands help lift her down from the ladder and helped her settle into the longboat. Which was good since as soon as her feet touched the boat's bottom, her legs nearly gave out.
She smiled at the cries above her, congratulating her success and once her blood resumed its natural flow within her veins, she looked up. 'That was not difficult at all. How silly it is to be afraid of such a little climb like that.'
However, Poor Miss Souten had chosen the swing, of course.Unfortunately, by the time she joined Kagome in the longboat, Kagome had become slightly annoyed at Souten's theatrics. Although Souten was quite adamant that the swing was the safest way, she had screamed like a banshee all the way down and collapsed completely upon reaching the longboat. Kagome was forced to wave smelling salts under the woman's nose until she regained consciousness.
Captain Takahashi quickly descended down the ladder after Souten had reached the longboat, gave nothing but admiring looks to Kagome. She noticed immediately and felt her chest swell up with pride for herself. 'It is a shame. He is such an agreeable person except for his personality. I imagine if I had not met up with Lord Fairfax first, I would probably be found falling for that hanyou captain.' she thought with a blush.
At least, that's what she thought until Inuyasha saw the smelling salts Kagome held under Souten's nose. "Well, well, Miss Nosy, I am sure you feel quite happy indeed for you finally have a chance to be useful to someone."
Kagome had done nothing but gave the young captain dark glares until they reached the dock. That hanyou had done nothing but enraged her further by seeming to find her glares very amusing instead of apologizing for his rudeness like a true gentleman would have done.
As soon as they were on dock, Souten strictly told Kagome not tolook at the convicted felons being loaded upon a ship. Kagome, however, found it hard not to do. She waited patiently for the arrival of her family and soon it grew thin, but suddenly the roar of hoof beats and shouts brought her to attention. For the shouts were of her nickname, not her real name.
"Kags! Kags!"
She looked up at a carriage and as soon as the door opened, there were many children that came out of the carriage along with small animals and at least three adults. She wasn't prepared for the group of children that rushed towards her and desperately craved for her attention.
"Kags!" a voice called and she looked up to see her mother's sister, her Aunt Kaede, fling her arms around her and pulled her into an embrace. She pushed Kagome away for a second to look her over. "Why, look at you. You are so grown up and so elegant!"
'I looked elegant when I got off the ship, now I probably look like I came out of a brawl with local street urchin.'
"You look so much like your father." Aunt Kaede exclaimed, her brown eyes gleaming with happiness. "I don't see once inch of your mother in you. Do you, Myoga?"
Kagome's uncle Myoga, who had not thrown himself upon his niece like his family, stood to the side and smoked on his pipe. He only replied with a "Humph", which seemed to satisfy Aunt Kaede.
Aunt Kaede seemed to spend the rest of the moment criticizing how dark Kagome had gotten in India, scorning her uncles, exclaiming how different she had become, reminding her of her childhood, and of course, comparing her to her own cousin, Sango.
Kagome wouldn't have minded this except for the fact that the notorious and forever annoying hanyou, Captain Inuyasha Takahashi, was still around and within earshot.
She blushed as she listened to the list of her flaws and tried to calm the many desperate hands that tugged on her skirts. She did not dare look up for fear of meeting the captain's amused gaze, but she did look up to see her cousin, Sango.
When they were just children, the mere age of fourteen and fifteen, Kagome and Sango had traveled to India with their parents to visit their uncles. Unfortunately, during the visit, a break of malaria claimed the lives of Kagome's parents and also caused Sango and her parents to flee back to England, leaving behind a sick and contagious Kagome, who they did not expect to survive.
Kagome watched as Sango waved to Inuyasha. "Good Morning, Captain Takahashi!"
He responded with a smile and deep bow, but before he could reply to the greeting, Miss Souten tugged upon his sleeve and whispered something to him, causing Sango to feel put out.
Sango turned to face Kagome and smiled. "Welcome, Cousin Kags." she said kindly.
Kagome found herself feeling very guilty all of a sudden. She had been struck by an inexplainable urge to strangle Sango seconds ago, but not because she had grown to be beautiful.
No, she wanted to slap Sango because she had caught her admiring Inuyasha Takahashi. Was she that dense? Did she not realize who Takahashi was and that he was extremely despicable? And why was Aunt Kaede allowing Sango to be exchanging such greetings with a ruffian like that hanyou?
Kagome turned back to Aunt Kaede with a smile. "Aunt Kaede, it's so wonderful to see you again. Thank you for letting me -"
"Souta!" Kaede snapped. "How many times do I have to tell you not to hold that dog by the head!"
The young girl turned to Uncle Myoga and smiled. "It is also very nice to see you again, Uncle Myoga."
"Humph." was all he said and upon seeing Captain Takahashi a few feet away, he waved and growled, "Welcome back, Takahashi. And how did you find India?"
Kagome never heard Inuyasha's reply for Aunt Kaede drowned it out.
"Come on, my dears, let us get Cousin Kags home. She isn't used to all this dreary weather and the last thing we want for her is to catch a cold, now. It would frighten all of her suitors away."
Then, Kagome heard the hanyou's remark and could easily picture his smirk. "I am sure that I can think of one or two who would not mind, madam."
She shot him a glare, but realized it did no good. For as she walked to the carriage with her swarm of cousins, he just gave her a huge mischievous grin. As soon as she was settled inside the carriage, the last thing she saw was Souten waving a handkerchief at her and saying "Oh, farewell, Lady Kagome! I shall call upon you next week!". However, beside Souten, Inuyasha Takahashi smiled all the while like a Cheshire cat.
Thank you all for the reviews! It means a lot to me! Believe it or not, this is my first
Fanfic so I hope you really enjoy it. Keep up the reviews and I'll soon have chapter three
Up in no time! Thanks again!
Jo Foxx