Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author's Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).
Chapter Eight:
The Stowaway
Richard Dresmont was huffing as he ran, his arms and legs pumping with effort as he hurried towards his house. He glanced at the coast and watched in horror as the pirate vessel hauled its flag up the mast, the strange dog seeming to growl as it was ruffled by the wind. With the flag waving above it, he watched as the ship itself rounded towards Fort James moving quickly against the strong air currents. Mesmerized he started to slow, his breath coming out in pants as he looked on in complete and utter terror as the ship released another burst of cannon fire.
"No." He whispered in absolute disbelief as he saw the small island that supported the gallows begin to crumble as the cannon balls smashed into its soil. Falling to his knees he felt his heart clench in his chest as the sound of distressed people filled his ears yelling and screaming of those in pain, of those confused, and of those lost falling onto his deafened ears. "Impossible," He just heard himself whisper as another wave of cannon fire rushed towards the island a path of destruction sure to form wherever it hit. "It's impossible."
"Mr. Dresmont!"
He just registered his name and the sound of a woman in deep distress. In a daze he turned his eyes upwards to met the call only to come face to face with a woman crying in complete hysterics.
"Mr. Dresmont!" She cried as she reached him falling to her knees and grabbing a hold of his lapels tightly as her tears overran her eyes dripping down her cheeks in anguish. "What do we do?" She begged him as her fingers dug into the fabric of his jacket. "What's going on?"
He stared at her almost unseeing as the girl he knew to be his daughter's friend cried in front of him, her face flushing from both the sun and her tears. "Miss Eri." He said as he took in her appearance, recognizing the small girl who had often taken tea with his daughter inside the now married woman. She looked absolutely frightened, horrified by what was happening. Gulping, he brought his trembling hands up to her shoulders putting one on either side of her body. Vaguely he noticed that the once bright white and clean gloves had become soiled by the dirtied ground but at the moment he couldn't bring himself to care.
"What should I do?" She repeated to him as she clutched onto him tighter taking great reassurance in the gesture he had offered her by placing his hands on her shoulders. "Mr. Hojo was at the harbor this morning," She confessed her bloodshot eyes sick with worry. "What should I do?"
He glanced at her, remembering that she had indeed married his daughter's childhood friend only a few years ago. "That boy." He frowned darkly. "He was a good boy," He felt a lump form in his throat. "Now, he's most likely dead." Looking back at the ground he pushed the thoughts of the young man out of his mind. There was nothing he could do for the boy where he was but his child: the little girl who was most likely still at home, there was much he could do for her. "Go young one," He told Eri as he gave her a firm squeeze on both shoulders. "Go to your mother's home, wait there with her," He whispered the gentle words just as another cannon shot rang into both their ears. She shrieked at the sound and he winced pulling her against his chest for a moment before pulling her away. "Look at me." He commanded but the girl only continued to sob her mind plagued by the sound. "Eri look at me god damn it!" He shouted in an effort to snap her out of it. Sure enough she snapped to attention at the loud curse. "Go to your mothers, I promise good news will come."
She looked at him, still frightened but nodded her head, slowly he dragged both of them to their feet before pushing her in the direction of her mother's house soundly. She stumbled at first but gained her balance back in a matter of seconds as she walked away from him, her whole body appearing to tremble. "It's not to far to her mother's house." Mr. Dresmont reasoned with himself as he watched her slowly walk away, her footing uneven. Anger welled within him at the sight and he found himself kicking at the sandy ground in anger. There had to be something he could do. Instantly his mind drifted to his orders and his daughter, "There is something, its the only thing I can do," looking up he took a deep breath and started his sprint again, his house already in view. "Kagome."
He ignored all other people as they came near him asking questions or seeking hope as Miss Eri had. All he could see was his own front door, everything else a blacken mass around him. He knew he had to reach that door, he had to get his daughter, she was the only one who knew anything about these people, she was their greatest asset. Reaching the door Mr. Dresmont crashed into his house, rushing through the front foyer, his wife's startled face not even registering in his hasty mind as he continued his mad dash.
"Richard?" Mrs. Dresmont cried out as her husband came into the house in his frenzy.
"No time Eliza," He yelled over his shoulder darting towards the staircase "No time!"
"But Richard, what iz 'appening?" The distraught French woman asked as she watched her husband take the stairs two at a time. "Richard?"
He ignored her, heading towards his daughter's room desperately. "Kagome!" He yelled as he opened the door fully expecting to see her, only to find himself standing in a very empty room. "Kagome?" He looked around frantically his whole body beginning to shake, every worst case scenario playing out in his heart. She was a girl who liked the docks, what if she had been there like Mr. Hojo? What if she was at Fort James? She did enjoy the view.
"Richard." Mrs. Dresmont questioned as she walked into the bedroom as well, her proper gown and petticoat brushing the floor as she looked at her daughter's room. "What iz going on? Why did I 'ear cannons at ze docks, who 'az shot ze docks?"
Richard paid his wife no attention as he looked at his daughter's unmade bed. It was very unlike Kagome to leave the bed unmade, it was one of her strange quirks. Normally, it was up to the household maid to see to such a trivial task but Kagome thought it dismal to allow another to do work she could very easily do herself, so she made the bed so the maid couldn't do what she was paid to accomplish (at least that was how Mr. Dresmont saw it). He walked towards the unmade bed looking at the rumbled sheets at its foot with tired, old eyes. Something told him not to look at the pillows, it was a feeling he could not explain but like all humans he went against his instincts and allowed his eyes to travel up the bed coming to rest on the very pillows his daughters head usually rested upon. There, nestled where her head should be was a grey slip of old parchment staring at him from the white soft comfort of feathered pillows.
He went numb at the sight knowing what it would say without having to look at it, that same foreboding instinct that had warned him of its existence was now warning him of its contents. It was all too obvious to the old man. A bed left unmade by a girl who always made it, a crumbled note upon the pillows where her head should be, and her distinguished absence—it made sense to him, terrible sense.
Slowly, he reached for the paper his body trembling at the sight of his hand reaching for it. Part of him felt that if he didn't touch the note, if he didn't read its frightful contents, then nothing bad would happen. And yet, the logical human inside of him knew that nothing would change whether he graced the note with his eyes or not. Carefully, he picked up the paper just as he felt his wife come up to stand behind him.
"Richard?" She questioned for the millionth time, her breath hitting his neck as she reached a hand up and placed it against his shoulder. "What iz it?"
"Mama, Papa?" Souta said as he entered the room, his small frightened voice causing both adults to turn and take in his ashen face. "What's going on?"
"I'm not sure, Chéri." Mrs. Dresmont reached behind her, taking the young boys hand as she looked at her husband's face. He had become pale, his eyes transfixed on the small scrap of white parchment that was no bigger than a snuff box. His hands were shaking, his eyes filling with tears as if his worse dream or most terrifying nightmare had decided to come to life before his eyes. "Richard?" She pressed as she clutched her son's hand and her husband's shoulder fearing the worst.
Silently, without even looking at his wife he handed her the piece of paper. For a moment she refused to take it but finally after several seconds of his hand hanging in the air, removed her hand from his shoulder and plucked the piece of paper from his hand. Bringing it to her face she looked at the beautiful script, her daughter's handwriting. Kagome had always been a tomboy, she had hated lessons and despised sitting still but despite that she had been very bright when she actually paid attention and applied herself to her studies. Her handwriting had been the best the tutor had ever seen, her ability for language the most amazing the tutor had ever witnessed. She had learned to speak in French and in German, she had even learned to read Latin and to write in all three languages in the span of only three years. Her handwriting though, had always been the most amazing thing about her education. No matter what language she wrote in, it was always a beautiful example of Calligraphy, daring and gentle all at the same time. It had made her mother desperately proud.
As Mrs. Dresmont looked at that handwriting now, she felt her heart clench in her chest as she took in the familiar curvy waving letters of words she had never thought to see.
"Mother, father," It read. "I'm going to miss you. But my life does not belong here, my happiness will not be made here. By the time you read this I will already be on my way to find that happiness. I will leave on the Wounded Sea."
"She'z gone." Mrs. Dresmont said in a small voice as she saw her daughter's name signed beautifully on the bottom of the small page. She let go of her young sons hand bringing her fingertips up to touch the delicately written Kagome Dresmont with unsure hands. "Ma chérie iz gone." She repeated the word of endearment chocked in her throat. "Ma chérie, my sweet, sweet chérie."
"And she's left on that ship," Her husband added his voice strained as he lowered himself to the edge of the bed dropping his head into his hands. "She's on that ship, the one attacking the harbor!" He too chocked on his words as he banged his hands on his forehead in anger.
Mrs. Dresmont felt the tears grow hot in her eyes and hastily reached for the fan she kept in tucked into the waist of her skirt. Opening it she fanned her face before reaching absently backwards looking for the nearby chair that rested in the corner of the room. Finding it she slumped down into it not bothering with posture as she continued to fan her hot face. "What a disgrase." She whispered out as she thought of the shame, as she thought of what people would say, as she thought of what people would do. "What weell we do, Richard? If people find out zat our—." She stumbled on the words not able to say them as fear gripped her heart not necessarily for social standing but instead for Kagome.
"Our daughter's on a pirate ship of her own free will." Richard finished for her his head in his hands.
"A pirate ship!" Mrs. Dresmont head snapped upwards as she practically screeched not having realized exactly how grave the situation really was. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," He nodded as he looked up at her his eyes hollow and sad. "I saw them raise the flag."
Souta stood looking at his parents not understanding, but he knew better than to open his mouth.
"If Mr. Morgan finds out I'll lose my job." He said in a small voice as he took off his hat and then his wig revealing a balding grey head. He set the two together on the ground and scratched his scalp in worry, running his fingers through the few strands over and over again, hastily.
"Vhat do ve do?" His wife asked in a small lost voice as she motioned for the confused Souta to come to her. The small boy darted towards her at the invitation, climbing in her lap in a way she had not allowed since he was but a toddler. The very fact that she had allowed him the toddler comfort made him even more on edge.
Mr. Dresmont took a deep breath as he weighed his options, although there were not many options for his family at all. If they told the truth they would lose all social standing, a child who disgraced themselves disgraced their family's name and Kagome had done the ultimate disgrace to her family. She had willingly neglected her station as their daughter, she had willingly left the family with no sign of regret, but most of all she had willingly left the family for the life of a pirate. There was nothing worse than that.
He turned and looked out the window, the ship was retreating fast having now turned into the wind. It would soon disappear completely, hidden by a curved horizon. Even if they started out now they would not catch up with the ship today but they would eventually. Henry Morgan was known for his tenacity so Mr. Dresmont knew Henry Morgan would be going after the vessel soon. And when Henry Morgan finally caught up with that vessel he would discover his daughter a willing participant in the charade aboard.
He gulped, this took away his other option, he could not say that she was ill and hiding or that she had died in the attack. Henry Morgan would find out when he saw her on the ship and he would be punished severely for the knowledge that he had lied.
Richard Dresmont took a deep and collecting breath as he realized his last option was really the only option. He looked at his wife, his eyes filled with conviction as he spoke. "We'll say she was taken." He told her as he stood from the bed his shoulders still sagging.
"What?" His wife whispered as she held their young son to her bosom protectively.
"She spent time with them right, everyone knows it." He moved over to her chair, kneeling in front of her placing his hands on Souta's back and rubbing it was the child clutched his mother. "We can say they took her against her will," He licked his lips, his eyes looking far away as if in a totally different place. "Mr. Morgan will be obligated to rescue her because she is his son's fiancé."
Mrs. Dresmont looked at him and smiled, the tears leaving her face. "Yes, no girl would be condemned for being taken in such a way. It'z brilliant, but—," Mrs. Dresmont looked at her hands where the crumbled letter still rested in her palm. Her arms snaked even tighter around her young sun and she felt her heart sink into her stomach. She knew all of it was useless, Kagome was a girl with a mind of her own. "Kagome won't come back."
"I'll find a way to go with them and I will beat her ass until she comes with me." His eyes were hard as he said this, his wife and son both gasping at the curse in his sentence. "I'll go tell Mr. Morgan now, we'll be fine." He stood and kissed her head before running out of the room without another thought.
Mrs. Dresmont sat there until she heard the slamming of the front door, her eyes trained on the hand that contained the crumbled letter. Carefully, she smoothed the edges of the letter, looking at the loopy hand writing with sad eyes.
"Mama?" Her young son said as he looked up at her, his eyes wide with fear.
Slowly she glanced at him but didn't look at him for long, her eyes eventually turning to the window as she absently soothed his back with the hand not holding the letter. Her cool grey irises, inherited by her daughter studied the endlessness of the sea the ship that had attacked them now becoming smaller and smaller as it left the port favored by strong northern winds and a good Caribbean current. She felt more tears well in her eyes and raised her head to the ceiling in hopes of stopping them from falling. The action was useless she realized as she felt the cool yet hot sensation of a teardrop running down her face to met her chin. Biting her lip she closed her eyes only to see Kagome's face against her eyelids, a happy girl of no more than three. Even then she had not been one for manners or propriety, Kagome never had been one for such things. She could just see that childish expression on the young girls face as she destroyed one of her many fancy dresses playing in the sand. She remembered the distress she had felt at the sight.
"Maman!"The little girl pointed as she spoke fluent French calling for her mother's attention. "La marée descendante arrive!"
She remembered looking at the tide as her daughter had told her to do but in the end she had not seen the sea. Instead she had looked at that little girl and all she had seen was something wrong. She had not seen the cute face, she had not seen the brilliant grey eyes, she had not seen the longing in them, she had not seen the sadness, she had not even seen the brilliant bilingual girl speaking French when she was English born and raised, she had only seen a torn dress and a muddy face.
Somewhere in her heart she felt a twinge but this twinge was not for the strange daughter she had received in life, it was not for her honor or for social standing or propriety and etiquette and manners. It was not for her shame or for her anger. It was for something far more complicated. Standing she walked to the sill, her hands touching the wood falling into groves she had never realized were there. Looking down she smiled slightly at the sight of the two wear marks. Her daughter had stood here, in this very spot, her hands positioned in this very way, for so long that she had left permanent marks in the wood.
Carefully, she drew a hand back and touched the wood with one perfectly shaped nail.
"Maman." She heard the small voice of her daughter as a young girl. The face of that girl forming in her mind, delicate with a carefree smile. "Je veux être un garçon."
"I want to be a boy." Mrs. Dresmont repeated the simple words in English.
"Maman! Je veux être un garçon pour pouvoir courir au large!"
Now Mrs. Dresmont found herself crying as those words, the words of her strange daughter echoed in her mind. "I want to be a boy," She said again, the English haunting her as her young perfect son looked on. "So I can sail ze see."
She saw the little face, so happy with her muddy dress, torn in places as she showed her mother the waning tide, her eyes grey like the darkened sky, shinning with her happiness. Her little French voice cracking with laughter. "Mama, Est-ce que Vous aimez la mer?"
This time she didn't see the mud or the torn petticoat, she didn't see the dirty face, or the messed up hair, instead she saw her daughter, a little thing, so sweet, and helpless and yet so strong willed and full of fire—a fire Mrs. Dresmont had never been able to extinguish.
"Kagome," She whispered as she looked at the spot where the ship had finally disappeared on the horizon. It was gone from port now, out of sight and away from all, her daughter carried on it, leaving the prison she had known for all her life.
In her mind, she was standing on the beach, her young daughter half French, half English at her feet. Those young eyes staring off into the distance, staring at a dream that her mother had once known.
"Est-ce que Vous aimez la mer?"
"Do I like ze see?" She whispered, her young son becoming more distressed behind her. He was calling her, talking to her but she didn't hear his words, she didn't answer his questions. Instead she looked in front of her at that little girl standing on the beach. Back then, instead of answering her question, she had laughed and ushered her inside to clean and redressed while scolding her for her unladylike act but now, she was finally ready to answer. "Oui."
"Mama?" Souta questioned as he took a step closer to her, his mother's face startling him as the old woman looked expectantly out the window, her face contorted into a strange grimace, her lips molded into an unhappy frown.
"I'm sorry Kagome," She said, "I should—I should 'ave told you then." She wavered on her feet as she fell to her knees.
"Mama!" Souta yelled as he came to knell beside her, his hands touching her shoulders as she began to sob.
"I should 'ave said oui then!" She sobbed ignoring her son's attempts to console her. "Je suis désolée Kagome." She apologized through her tears. "I'm just not as strong as you."
"Mama, what are you saying?" Souta asked distress haunting his words.
Eliza continued to ignore him as she pulled herself up by the window's ledge and looked out at the ocean as the tide ebbed. She tried to see the ship Shikuro, even if it was just a little speck but it was pointless. She glanced at the paper still held tightly in her hand, the words echoing off of it like Kagome was standing next to her, whispering them in her ear.
"I'm going to miss you. But my life does not belong here, my happiness will not be made here. By the time you read this I will already be on my way to find that happiness."
She glanced up again, looking up at the sky—the sky that was right now the same color as her daughter's eyes.
The guilt in her heart melted into a feeling of envy.
-break-
Night fell over the ship Shikuro (once disguised as the Wounded Sea) as it found itself deep in the ocean, far away from Port Royal.
Out on the deck Inuyasha stood at the helm, since he was a demon he really didn't need that much sleep, and on clear nights such as this one, when he was feeling particularly good about himself, he often took the helm enjoying the scenery as he slowly navigated his way towards their chosen destination. On this particular night they were heading for Hispandola but he had yet to decide which port they would be landing at for certain. It was a decision he knew could be made in a couple of days seeing as it would take a bit to reach the region itself.
His eyes stared out at the sea around him, taking in things no one would think to see. In fact, most humans stationed on a ship at night found the scenery rather limited and dull unless one turned his head to the sky. After all, it was a customary rule on all ships, pirate ship or not, to not use many flames or candles. The reasoning was simple, should a drunken or half asleep man decided to walk about the deck, a candle in his hands, and dropped it, he might start a fire. On an all wooden ship that would be a death sentence. So, at night on a ship only the moon was responsible for light, and seeing as the current moon was waning, there wasn't much light to begin with.
All Inuyasha could really see even with his demon eye sight were the slight waves highlighted by moonlight. Otherwise, there was nothing else to look at even with his by far superior demonic eyes. They were too far from shore to view any land and they were not in a region with many islands, so he couldn't even view one of those if he wanted. If he was lucky he might see a fish jump out of the water but that was all there was to see with the exception of the ship itself and Inuyasha didn't even want to bother looking at the ship, he knew it like the back of his hand.
Still, this being said, the Captain was not blind to the world around him, despite the dark. The world that Inuyasha was taking in was not what could be seen with your eyes but instead what you could see with your ears or at least with his inhuman ears. The small triangles on his head were a million times more sensitive than the average humans'.
Said ears twitched on his head, taking in the sounds of his men moving about most of them rather drunk and happy to be done with their most recent escapade. It had been hard for them to parade as the navy for a week. Most of them had grown very bored and since they were not allowed to fight on deck for fear of the Captain's wrath, it had been nice to get out their pent up energy destroying the Gallows' and the dock of Port Royal. Not to mention the rather large drinking binge they had participated in afterwards.
The sound of people brought his attention to the cabin directly below him, it was the place where Sango and Miroku lived. He could hear Sango and Miroku talking their conversation quiet and almost loving to his ears but, like normal, he didn't listen in for the sake of their privacy (even though he could if he chose to.) Inuyasha wasn't one to snoop with the exception of that one time a few nights ago and then he only had because he happened to catch his name on their lips as well as the name of a certain Kagome Dresmont.
Inuyasha growled at the thought as the image of Kagome floated into his mind. He could just see that dazzling smile as she looked out at the ocean or up into the tall sails, he could see her hair elegantly dangling from her bar shoulder as her green gown hugged her figure. He could almost hear her voice in the back of his mind, speaking to him with trust and intelligence. "Miss Dresmont." He whispered as he closed his eyes and let his memories of her wash over him. "She was so sweet, she tasted so sweet." He smiled as the memory of those lips touched his mind, the taste of lilies in a salty pond. He could almost feel her lips brush against his own.
Inuyasha's eyes snapped opened and he pushed the memory away choosing to focus on other sounds in the night. He heard Sango's soft laugh and he smiled as he thought of her and Miroku briefly. He had known Miroku for over half the boys life now and he was quite fond of the younger man, he trusted him completely with all his secrets. He was the only man in the world that Inuyasha trusted with such things, sure he knew people who had knew him all his life and thus knew his secrets but they were privy to the information because they had been there to watch it unfold. Miroku had not. Miroku had yearned it, every little bit of it and he had betrayed him, betrayed his trust, he had hurt him, raised his hand, chocked him, and yelled at him.
"What's wrong with me!" With a snarl Inuyasha drove the sound of Miroku and Sango's voices from his mind. "God," He grumbled as he slumped forward and forced himself to push everything else away except the sound of the ocean around him.
He listened to the waves as they lapped the side of the ship, he listened to the sound of the sails as the wind pushed them taking them where they needed to go, he listened to a fish as it jumped out of the water, he listened to a seagull that was talking from the lookout's nest high above his head, he listened to every noise no matter how small so was the beauty of having demon ears. With closed eyes and those little nuances ringing in his ears he allowed his mind to paint a picture; allowed himself to see without eyes. It was another gift that had kept him alive for so long. The ability to see with his ears, to tell where a man was by the sound of his footsteps, his breathing, the pounding of his heart, it was one of his best weapons. He could tell when another ship was going to let loose their cannons, he could her the trigger drawn on the gun before it fired, he could tell when a man was going for a hidden weapon, he could tell by the sound of someone's heart whether or not they were lying.
He could tell by the sound of a woman's heart whether she was attracted to him or not.
Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he looked out at the sea around him, his mind forcing him to see pictures of Kagome Dresmont again. She had been so beautiful, her hair long and luscious, her eyes deep and grey like the ocean or a cloudy sky, and her lips red like a flower from the shore. He took a deep breath as he felt his groin twitch in slight excitement, thinking of those lips on his own. They had been such soft lips and so tempting, her face had been so innocent and so accepting. The mere thought of it made him hard.
"Damn." He said to himself as he thought of the way her skin had felt to his touch. It had been so soft and it had smelt so good. All of her had smelt so good. She had smelt like sea air, like flowers and springtime, she had smelt warm and enticing, extraordinary. He had never in his life inhaled the scent of a woman who had a fragrance as nice as hers.
Resting against his chest, the gem on the dirtied chain began to burn him once more and he frowned as he reached for it uncomfortably. His hands grazed it and he swore for just a second he could see another woman's face but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't make out any features other than her dull black eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows and huffed as he dropped the gem that no longer burned so he could bring a hand to his face and rub at his eyes. For just a second as his eyes covered his face he saw a flash and then an image of a woman underneath him, curtained in black hair that he could only guess was his own, her pale breast highlighted by her own dark hair's rich color. He could see her bellow him, panting, their sweat mixing together as he thrust into her his lips searching out her own. She had tasted like sweat.
And then in an instant the imagine was gone."What?" He whispered into the darkness dropping his hand from his face as he tried to place what he had just saw unsuccessfully. "Who?" He closed his eyes roughly as he tried to slip into the image again wanting to get a good look at the woman's face, needing to see her and try to remember her but he couldn't the image was gone, faded, and unreachable once more. "That was weird." He grumbled as he reached for the jewel once more, running his fingers over the slightly jaded surface as his mind unwittingly turned to another woman and another kiss upon naked flesh.
He remembered the spark on his lips as the naked flesh of her hand rested beneath them, he remembered the sight of her eyes fluttering closed when she had returned the gesture only a day later her head bent and hair mused and lips moist as they rested against his hand. He remembered the feel of his heart pounding in his chest as they stood in his room so close that he could almost feel her own heart as it pounded in her ribcage, he remembered the flush color of her cheeks when he asked her if it was okay to touch his lips to hers, he remembered her eyes closing as if against her will as her lips instinctively parted waiting for his own, he remembered the taste of her forehead when he chickened out and then the taste of her lips as his courage won out. She had tasted like fruity blush wine.
Inuyasha's body snapped forward as the memory shot through to his stomach causing it to knot with unknown need. "Damn it." He whispered out as he took a deep breath to calm himself down once more before he ran a hand through his hair. He had no idea who that first woman was, if she was a prostitute that he barely remembered or perhaps a dream but whoever she was, she paled in comparison despite being naked and withering to Kagome Dresmont fully clothed innocent and inexperienced. Even with those feelings, even with the knotting of his stomach and the painful ache in his loins, Inuyasha knew he couldn't be with her.
Sighing heavily, he looked up at the sky his mind moving to Port Royal. The stars twinkled above his head and in them he found the shape of a woman, he found her smile, it sparkled, as if reflecting in the calm waters around the ship. "I'm gonna miss ya, Miss Dresmont." He spoke as a true seaman as he turned the wheel a little to the left, leaving the façade he had created while at Port Royal behind.
Into the night he began to sing a soft tune quietly as he adjusted and readjusted the ship plotting their course in accordance with the celestial map above his head. The sound echoed around him off the water adding to the landscape his ears created.
-break-
Morning found Miroku in his quarters sleeping soundly, Sango very naked next to him. After a day like the day before, he usually took to bed with Sango, the both of them needing the relaxation required through a bed partner. A light knocking on his door caused him to groan and snuggle into the back of Sango more. He pressed his face into her hair, loving the feel of it and the smell of it even if it had not been washed in over a week.
"Master?"
The sound of a man speaking through the door made him growl, much like his Captain. "Go away." He called.
"But Master, it's impor'ant."
Miroku opened his eyes and groaned as a small amount of light from his only window hit him directly in the eye. Beside him Sango meowed cutely in her sleep, she had always been a heavy sleeper. He smiled at the noise and kissed the back of her neck. "It can wait a few hours." He called through the door.
"Sir, it can't." The man replied back, his voice sounding a little shaky through the wood.
"Get the Captain." Miroku yelled back and buried his face deeper into Sango's hair placing kisses on her bare shoulders as he wrapped his arm around her middle.
"Miroku?" She questioned sleepily, his shout having woken her. She stretched, bumping his arm off her waist causing him to back a little bit away. "What's going on?"
"Annoying twat at the door." He replied, his eyes focused on her as she set up in bed, the blanket falling away, showing off her ample chest. He reached out, his finger tips touching the soft flesh.
"Master, there's a fight!" The man yelled panicked through the door as the sound of something breaking came to Miroku's ears.
Instantly awake Miroku stood and rushed for the chair with his cloths. Throwing on his pants and shirt he skipped the boots and exited the room. Sango was still sitting up in bed mildly confused—the words not registering in her sleep hazed brain. She yawned before she noticed the opened door and then gasped and brought the sheet around her before rushing to close it. Now awake herself, her mind registered what the man had said—a fight.
A fight on a pirate ship was dangerous, not for the men involved but for the Captain of the ship. Depending on the reason for the fight, the Captain might have to make a decision that upset the balance of the crew. When the crew was out of balance, meaning one half happy and the other half unhappy, they formed groups. Groups on a pirate ship meant a lack of loyalty among the men, a lack of loyalty meant a mutiny.
Hastily Sango dressed in her male clothes, slipping her boots on quickly after her pants and shirt. Unlike Miroku she went ahead and grabbed her jacket so she could cover her chest better—if there was a fight, then the men didn't need to remember there was another cause for fitting on the ship—a woman. There was nothing more dangerous than a bunch of men with testosterone fighting and then seeing a woman. It made them behave like animals in heat.
Stepping out of the room Sango looked out onto the deck where she saw a whole bunch of men arguing loudly, Miroku already in the thick of things.
"Let's kill 'em." One of the men yelled at the other.
"Fuck no. Let's put 'em ta work!" Another man yelled back. "I'm sick of clean'in the deck."
She stepped closer, almost all of the men on the ship were gathered around. Some were hanging from the rigging; others were hanging off of the rails to watch. Some were sitting on top of barrels, some just standing with beer or ale in hand. Some were even taking the time to place bets with each other on who would win.
But in the epicenter of the men were four figures. One was laying on the ground, hands behind their back tied up, another was Miroku, and the last two were the men fighting, yelling with knifes' out. Neither man had a gun so Sango could only guess they were pretty low in the ships hierarchy.
"I wanna bit of sport." The bigger of the two men yelled, his knife pointed at the other man. "Let me kill 'em master." He glanced at Miroku. "I lu've ta sight of blood."
"We need more 'ands master." The other man said back, his frame was rather small, that only could mean he was really new or really young. "A slave be perfect."
"Now, now, this is the Captain's decision." Miroku said from his spot between them. He glanced at Sango, knowing where she was standing without having to look and motioned her to the Captain's quarters with a nod of his head in the right direction.
"But I found 'em." The taller man complained as he looked at Miroku. "I found 'em, I kill 'em."
"That ain't how it works." Miroku replied harshly as Sango disappeared into the Captain's Quarters.
"Captain." She whispered into the dark room. Apparently he had drawn the curtains so the light wouldn't kill his eyes. "Captain?"
Suddenly she saw the sight of two glowing eyes, startled she stepped back for a moment as they stared at her intensely like a dog ready to strike or a wolf tracking its prey.
"What's the noise on deck?" A voice asked from behind the eyes as the Captain slowly came into view, his eyes ceasing to reflect light as he stood in front of her, basked in the light from the open door.
Sango gulped and put a hand to her chest. The sight always haunted her, the sight of the Captain's dog like eyes as they glowed in the dark. "There's a fight outside. I think the men found a stowaway." She said as he disappeared from view, She wondered what he was doing until the room was flooded with light—he had pulled a curtain open.
"Stowaway?" The Captain said thoughtfully as he opened two more curtains. "Wonder how long he's been on the ship."
"Who knows." Sango said as she looked at the Captain in shock not because she now could see him in the light but because of his state of dress. Currently the Captain was shirtless and pants less and, everything less. She gulped as she saw his naked body, her heart accelerating at the sight. She loved Miroku, she thought he was a very sexy and attractive man but, the Captain—that was a man—a very big man.
She took a deep controlling breath and fanned herself subconsciously as she watched him turn away from her, his tight ass in her line of vision. She felt scandalous for watching him, for staring at his long silver hair as it brushed along the top of his ass, for continuing to look at his sculpted bottom before forcing herself to look back at his head. He turned back to her, pants in hand, stepping into them quickly he tied them at the waist. Sango looked at his waist, then upwards at his firm abs and chest.
No offense to Miroku but a human man simply could not look like a demon man, she thought with a disbelieving shake of her head.
"Why are they fighting over the stowaway, anyway?" He asked as he grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. She didn't reply so he looked up at her as he tied the soft string of the white cotton shirt. "Sango?"
She continued to stare at him, her eyes trained on his chest. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow and moved towards her, glancing at the dazed expression in her eyes. "Sango?" He questioned again, bending in front of her and waving his hand.
Her eyes snapped up and she looked at him, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment. Instantly he picked up the smell of her arousal, the beating of her heart and he smiled wickedly licking his lips.
"Pretty good huh?" He said with the smirk growing. "The body of a demon."
Sango still slightly dazed nodded in return her eyes looking down at the ground as her embarrassment showed on her red cheeks.
"You know, Sango." He said, his voice heady and suggestive as he leaned towards her. She looked back at him and her eyes became transfixed as he brought a clawed hand to her cheek. He ran it along her chin, loving playing this game. Any minute now, she would come to herself and try to kill him, which was the way it ended every time. No matter how many times this happened between them he still delighted in the look of anger on her face. "I am Captain, I'll I have to do is say the word and Miroku can't deny a throw between you and me."
Instantly Sango came back to herself and slapped the Captain straight across the face. Inuyasha laughed loudly, her small gesture unnoticed on his tough skin. "Pig." She snarled as she held her hands tight around her sides, feeling guilty as the thought of Miroku entered her mind.
"No," Inuyasha smiled and winked. "Dog."
Her face contorted into a look of disgust. "I guess you're back to your old self."
"Feeling great." He said with a laugh as he put his boots on his feet and grabbed his jacket off the back of the door. Slipping it on he left her behind, her eyes trained on his back staring in shock as he retreated without a word.
Somehow, Sango knew his words were full of lies. A great wave of sadness touched her at the very thought. She knew that his every action just then had been a well played act. It was a way for the Captain to pretend he was okay so as to not worry her.
"You're a horrible actor, Captain." She said into the empty room.
Inuyasha stepped out onto the main deck and sighed as the whole of his ship set around watching the in-ship entertainment. At the moment he really wasn't in the mood for something like a stowaway but he knew he had to be the one to take care of such things, otherwise a mutiny was to be expected in the near future. It was his job as Captain to hold the crew together, a united front, and something as petty as this could ruin him. He snorted at the absurdity of it all. To believe something so superficial and stupid could cause people to hate each other. Didn't they know there were more important things in the world like a girl with gentle smile and a boy who would never see that smile again?
Shaking his head he began to walk forward into the crowd but stopped when a scent hit his nose.
"Flowers?" He thought to himself looking around for any sign of a flower on board. He saw none, but the scent was still there, wafting around him. Carefully, he smelled the air but was unable to distinguish where the smell was coming from. He glanced around one more time as the image of a girl came into his mind. He could see her face, her smile, her beautiful gray eyes, he could smell her scent—a combination of the sea and flowers.
He took in the scent one more time but shook his head immediately afterwards. Miss Dresmont was back in Port Royal, living the life of a lady as she was supposed to. She would never subject herself to the life of a pirate.
With a sigh he continued forward, the men automatically parting for him as he stepped onwards. Instantly he noticed the two men still arguing with Miroku between them and on the ground another man who was gagged and tied. He looked at the tied man and watched as the young boy—no older than a teenager of perhaps sixteen or seventeen—slowly looked up at him. Instantly he found himself drowning in grey pools, deep and troubled and full of shock as they took in his face. He knew those eyes anywhere. But there was no way it was her, it was impossible, there was no way she could have gotten on this ship.
The man looked at him with wide eyes, as if they were certain they knew him and knew him well. Biting his lip Inuyasha ignored those eyes—refusing to believe that the person on the ground was who he thought it was.
"What's going on?" Inuyasha's voice bellowed causing the whole ship to go dead silent. Some of the men even looked on in complete terror as their Captain stepped between the two men. "What's," He repeated his voice deathly quiet. "Going on?"
Miroku gulped before responding. "Stowaway. This man thinks we should kill him and this one thinks we should keep him for work." He pointed out the two men as he spoke, looking at Inuyasha's cold face. He was used to this face, the face of Inuyasha when he worked like this, it was truly terrifying.
Inuyasha looked away from both men and down at the stowaway with a frown as he took in the sight of those surprised grey eyes, the eyes he knew were hers and yet—the eyes he refused to believe belong to her. He scented the air again and froze at the smell, the flower scent was coming from this person in front of him, wafting towards him like a field of Irish lilies. Slowly he bent down, the stowaway turned away from him, eyes downcast.
He growled and took a deep breath of the person's scent—instantly his mind transported him to another place, to a woman, to her face, to her smile, to her hand on his, to her lips on his, her weight in his arms as he pulled her close, nuzzling his nose in her hair, taking in that scent so deeply that it imprinted in his brain. The sea, the salt, the flowers, and, underneath that smell the smell of a woman he desperately wanted to see always at his side—it was Miss Dreamont's scent.
This stowaway had Miss Dresmont's scent, had Miss Dresmont's eyes.
Inuyasha felt his heart pound in his chest but outwardly kept his cool, if he wasn't careful this could end with her death, a mutiny of the crew, and then the whole crew's death when he took the ship back over. It wouldn't be a very good day if he didn't handle this exactly right.
He studied the tied up figure and noticed the short wavy hair. It startled him, it genuinely startled him to see it. Miss Dresmont had long luscious hair that she held in high buns or low shouldered pony tails but this person had hair only an inch or two long, curling at the ends. It was the hair cut of a man. He bent down further and looked for the man's face wanting to see those eyes again. The figure didn't look at him.
"Maybe I made a mistake?" He questioned himself silently. Some people did have very similar scents after all and yet—something in him told him that this was not one of those cases.
Those eyes were not normal eyes; those eyes were eyes that only belonged to one person. He had to see those eyes again to confirm his suspicion. Carefully, he reached out and took the stowaway's chin into his hand forcing them to look up at him. The gagged figure looked up, the gray eyes smoky with turbulence as they watched him—they looked like the sea during a storm.
"Miss Dresmont." He wanted to say but didn't.
"Captain Smith." Kagome realized as she looked back into his golden eyes, completely aware of her situation now. This was physically the Captain she had known but it wasn't the man she thought she knew. This man was a pirate, all the men around her were pirates. A bit of fear filled her heart as she watched the smoldering golden eyes look at her. They were the same eyes she remembered but this man, he wasn't the same man, was he?
He was a pirate, she knew this for sure now but, not all pirates were bad. She thought of the way he kissed her hand, the way he danced, the way he had kissed her lips—he couldn't have been faking that could he? He might have been faking being a Military Officer of the Nay but he wasn't exploiting her attraction, he had liked her and she had liked him, right?
Meanwhile, lost in his own thoughts, Inuyasha kept his eyes on hers, this girl now knew, she knew who he was, she knew who they were and he was in a horrible situation. "Fuck." He said to himself as he tried to figure out the best possible approach. If the men thought he was not considering their opinions, then they might get angry and question his rank, but he couldn't kill her (he wouldn't let that happen) and he couldn't force her to work—she was a woman of society, she couldn't handle such a thing.
He glanced at the crew—some of them were demons and the demons, once they were close enough and not surrounded by smell of disgusting and dirty men, would notice the smell of a female. That meant, he couldn't lie about her and say she was a man anyway. His lie would be found out in no time and that was far worse than anything he could have ever done to her. It would leave her as far game and would cause mistrust among his crew.
He bit his lip, his best option was simply to tell everyone that she was a woman—but that might not go well either. Women on ships caused problems. He glanced back at Sango, noting that she was looking at the prisoner with questioning eyes, as if she realized she might know the stowaway.
He remembered back to when Sango had first come on board. At first there had been a terrible fight, the men all wanting a claim on the woman or at least the right to use her when needed. There had almost been a mutiny until Miroku and him had made the best decision to prevent it. Inuyasha had let Miroku claim Sango as his charge—a woman not to be touched by any other man besides Miroku unless the Captain wanted a go. At first, the men had gone ballistic saying how unfair it was, but in the end he had called rank and said that if any man would fight him for Captain, he would kill that man and all of his supporters without question. At those words the men had given up, none of them brave enough to try to fight a man like him. Overall the ordeal had lasted for a month on the ship, during which time Sango had stayed in either his or Miroku's quarters for safety.
He smirked at the thought of Sango staying with him—it had been a funny experience and had caused Miroku to be insanely jealous. That had been the first indication that Miroku liked the strange girl they had let on the ship.
This time would probably be no different, he realized as he glanced at the woman who averted her eyes. She would have to be claimed sooner than Sango was, however, he didn't want to live with the uncertainty for weeks. He hated sleeping with his guns and knives in hand.
But who was to claim this girl? There really was no easy option; no matter what he did he would be in trouble. Miroku couldn't claim her for fear of the men seeing favoritism, and he wouldn't give her to a man he knew would either hurt her or abuse her. He glanced at his crew, although they were fine sea men, they were not that great when it came to treating women nicely. He glanced at the older men (the trusted men) and frowned, they might be trustworthy men but they were perverts and he wouldn't subject her to that.
So what was he to do? Inuyasha sighed as the only course of action beat into his brain.
"I have to claim her for myself and hope for the best." With a sigh he knew what he had to do, it was his only option. He would have to place a claim on her, a blood claim. It would hurt her in many ways, both as a free woman and as a flesh wound. In the end though, it would also save her from rape and death, being the Captain's bitch would have its benefits.
He glanced at her again, wishing he could apologize for what he would have to do to her. He was positive she wouldn't understand.
End of Chapter
Please Review
Edited for content 7/30/2012
Edited for French by Glon Morski 4/21/2011
La marée descendante arrive!: The tide is coming in!
Maman, Je veux être un garçon pour pouvoir courir au large!: Mama! I want to be a boy. So I can sail the sea!
Maman, Est-ce que Vous aimez la mer?: Mama, do you like the sea?
Oui: Yes.
Bonus Points:
Instead of a true bonus for this chapter (since it was hard to find something I had written that could be a bonus point), I have opted for a Character Poll! So, who's your favorite character so far: Miroku, Sango, Kagome, Inuyasha or maybe a minor character!
So Bonus points for participation. Double points if you can guess which Character I enjoy characterizing the most!
Last Chapter Bonus Points:
First point, Sango is related to Coral because her name literally translates to Coral from Japanese to English. Second point, I took inspiration directly from Mulan I. Congrats to all you who got the bonus points:
Darthme1011 +1, TheRealInuyasha +2, Victoria-Fortis-Elegit +2, The Anime Chosen One +2, Anonymous +1, Mika (I named my all time favorite OC Mika! Well Mikaren.) +1, Tjam (Mulan is one of my favorite movie's too) +1, Celastrina Ladon +1, AVAgrl +1, +1, Love this story (I'm glad you do ^^) +2, Amaura +1, Angel (I love the movie She's the Man, there's a fanfiction where Kagome is the 'man' that I love as well. It's on my favorite's list if you're interested.) +1, Warm-Amber92 +2
Next Chapter:
The Mark of the Dog
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED
2/28/2011