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 Twenty:
Pronunciation
Night found the Captain's room filled with the strange sound of scratching, a fast paced noise that seemed to echo around the room, softly, as a small candle provided light, showing off the scratching's source. It was being produced by the Captain's hand as he set at his desk, a piece of parchment laying underneath his left hand and a quill resting in his right as he continued to write.
At the Captain's left side sat Miroku, with his own piece of parchment, his own ink and his own feather quill. He shifted uneasily in his seat as he watched the Captain write, the man's hand creating symbols that Miroku didn't recognize except for their composition—they looked remarkably similar to the symbol on Kagome Dresmont's shoulder.
Miroku continued to watch in a high state of curiosity, his eyes lighting on the strange marks made on the scrap of paper. It was intriguing, the million little lines coming together to make symbols, symbols that he knew stood for letters or perhaps words.
Suddenly the Captain put his quill back in the well and leaned back in his chair, his eyes coming to rest on Miroku. "Okay Miroku," He said as he popped his neck and looked at the younger man. "Let's start with a basic question."
"I'm ready." Miroku said with determination. It had been a little over a year and a half since his last lesson and he was ready to learn again, prepared and excited.
"How many letters are in the English Alphabet?"
"The English?" Miroku asked for clarification his brows knitting at the strange question, Inuyasha nodded for him to go ahead. "Twenty-six."
"Recite them." Inuyasha instructed as he leaned back in his chair, his hands clamped behind his head, the chair coming to stand on two legs as he rocked back and forth.
"A-B-C-D-," Miroku began rattling off every letter in the English alphabet with ease. "E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z." Finished he gave the Captain an odd look, blinking dryly, as he wondered what any of this had to do with this new language he was learning.
"And of all those letters how many are consonants and how many are vowels?"
Miroku gulped, he had not expected the Captain to ask him a question like that. Racking his brain he tried to remember his very first grammar lessons, they had taken place almost nine years ago when he had been small and had not wanted to pay too close attention to his lessons yet. "Well," He began. "I think, there are three—no—four vowels?"
"Try again," The Captain said with a click of his tongue. "Think about it, don't just blurt out an answer." Inuyasha chastised as he gave Miroku a stern glare. "Name them if it helps." He further instructed with a slight sound of irritation in his voice that made Miroku cringe. He had almost forgotten how stern the Captain was when he forgot something as basic as vowels and consonants.
Gritting his teeth Miroku tried to remember the very first one, "A," He said with limited confidence in his voice, he was sure the Captain heard it. He glanced at Inuyasha to make sure and lowered his head in shame when the man gave him a curt nod with narrowed eyes. "E and I?"
"That's right." The Captain encouraged though his voice did sound disappointed
Miroku lowered his head even further trying to disappear in his chair. He felt dumb for not remembering something as basic as this. He was usually on the ball with his lessons (or at least he had been since he turned thirteen and started to understand their importance) but then again that had all changed three years ago. Miroku's mind wandered to the lovely woman currently relaxing in their cabin with her new best friend, talking about god knows what kind of delicious things.
Sango had proven to be a rather good distraction; she had been since she first arrived on the boat with her lovely brown hair, long luscious and soft, her big brown eyes so deep with affection, her ample chest, her delicious curvy hips that fit just right in his hands, her ass that fit so perfectly against him when they slept spooned together. Miroku closed his eyes in delight as he let his mind wander, forgetting the task at hand as images of a bed mused Sango entered his mind.
"Miroku!" The Captain yelled breaking Miroku out of his revere.
The young man went bolt upright looking at his father figure with a shy and guilty smile. "Yes, Captain?"
Inuyasha grunted and rolled his eyes a look on his face that clearly said he was both disgusted and irritated at the current situation. "I don't know what you're thinking about," He pointed at Miroku's head, his clawed finger dangerously close to Miroku's bangs. "But stop it!" Inuyasha finished and then flicked Miroku's forehead in a form of punishment.
Miroku blushed rubbing the spot where the Captain had flicked him and laughed at the same time, realizing what the Captain must have smelt coming off him. He glanced at the older man and delighted in the red blush on the Captain's face and the way the vein on his forehead was protruding, a sure fire sign that the Captain was pissed. "Sorry," Miroku apologized with no sincerity in his voice what-so-ever.
Inuyasha sighed long and loud before bringing a hand to cover his eyes in exasperation. "Will you just tell me all the fucking vowels damn it?"
"Alright," Miroku nodded with a smile on his face that soon turned into a frown of concentration. "A, E, I—," He taped his chin and looked at the ceiling in an effort to remember. "O and U? So five vowels," He counted real fast in his head. "And twenty-one consonants?"
"Very good." Inuyasha's voice rang out as he leaned forward in his chair the two chair legs that had been in the air making a rather distinct thud as they hit the ground in the quiet room. "And with these letters we can create every word in the English language, correct?"
"Yes," Miroku agreed as he watched the Captain reach for the sheet of paper he had been writing on previously.
The Captain turned the paper into Miroku's vision, showing him the odd symbols, he pointed at the first one, showing Miroku the strange squiggly line. "The language we are learning is the same. Each vowel whether A, E, I, O or U is written differently, however, instead of using letters it uses what the English refer to as characters." Inuyasha pointed to a strange symbol, あ. "This is A." Inuyasha supplied and then pointed at another symbol and the one beneath it, え and い. "E and I." He pointed at the last two symbols he had written, お andう. "O and U."
Miroku nodded his head, turning it this way and that, looking at the odd squiggle marks. "Are they pronounced the same way?"
"Basically." Inuyasha said with a nod. "The A is pronounced like in the long A in father."
"So a-a-a." Miroku opened his mouth and made the pronunciation sound.
"Um, yeah that's it, the E like bed," Miroku repeated the sound, the Captain smiled moving on to the next sound. "The I like in stomping," Once again Miroku repeated the noise and the Captain continued on to the next vowel. "O like in oval." Miroku parroted and the Captain smiled pleased. "And last but not least U like in huge."
Miroku pursed his lips, forming the round mouth that was needed to make the U sound.
"You look like a fish." The Captain said with a smirk on his face.
Miroku automatically brought his lips into a frown and looked at the Captain wryly. "So these are the vowels in your native language?" He said ignoring the comment entirely.
"Yes," Inuyasha smirked and continued with the lesson. "They are also the first five characters in its alphabet. To make all the other characters we combine these first five vowel sounds with the consonant sounds."
Miroku nodded his head in understanding, seriousness taking back over his features. "Okay, I understand, so are their nineteen consonants like in the English alphabet?"
"No," Inuyasha said shaking his head. "There are forty-one and we will memorize all of them."
"Forty-one!" Miroku said with shock on his face. He had never learned a language from the Captain with such an extensive alphabet and an alphabet that didn't even look like actual letters to him at all.
Inuyasha smiled and reached forward ruffling Miroku's head like he was a child. "Is that too much for you?"
Miroku glared and slapped the Captain's hand away firmly. "No, I can do it. I want to learn your language."
Inuyasha blinked and took in the seriousness of Miroku. The boy's mouth was drawn into a tight line and his eyebrows were firmly set and narrowed, his eyes dark and poised. "Miroku?"
"I want to learn, no matter how hard it is." The voice sounded so convincing, so sure. "I want to learn your heritage Otou-san."
Inuyasha looked at Miroku genuinely touched but not willing to show how affected he really was. With a hand on the back of his head he scratched his hair firmly, his eyes turning away from the man in front of him. With a large gulp he smirked and turned back to Miroku, his eyes shining in the light. "Alright," He said firmly as he taped the parchment in front of Miroku. "Let's begin with all the A combinations, once we memorize all of them, then we will move to the I combinations."
"And so on and so forth right?" Miroku asked as he reached for his quill, licking the end of it to help the ink stick to the bird feather.
"Yes."
"How many A combinations are there?"
"Nine, we'll start with KA." The Captain reached for his parchment, taking the one he had used earlier and drawing the strange symbol next to the original a, か.
Miroku looked at the symbol and felt some of his confidence fade. "That looks nothing like the original A character."
"I know," Inuyasha smirked. "That's what makes this language fun."
"This is gonna be a pain, isn't it?" Miroku looked at his mentor, teacher, friend, brother, and father, his eyes lighting up with his happiness. It went completely against the connotation of his words, that look, but Inuyasha saw it for what it was. Miroku was happy to be learning, both because the man had always been a lover of knowledge and because he was happy to be learning something that was personal to his only family member in the world and that made it personal to Miroku as well.
"It will be a pain but I think it'll be worth it." Inuyasha cleared his throat and tapped the paper. "Now, write that character a hundred times, each time I want you to say KA, understand?"
"Yes ser." Miroku nodded and turned to the paper, his pen creating the same scratching noise that the Captain's had made earlier.
Vigilantly Inuyasha watched in the dim candlelight as Miroku wrote the symbol か over and over again on the sheet of paper before him, each time the symbol became more and more recognizable, easier and easier to identify. He smiled at the sight, proud of the man he had raised, just like every language before now Miroku was taking to it in stride. Easily grasping the letters and how to write them, it had been the same when Miroku had first learned to read and when he had learned to write in English. It was the same as when he had first learned Latin and French, then later German and Greek.
Regardless of the language the lesson had always started this way, with the alphabet but this time Inuyasha knew it would be harder to learn. The Latin, French, German and Greek alphabets were all Roman in origin, making them seemingly identical if not just slightly different. With Japanese it would be an arduous task because first Miroku would have to learn the character's structures, it was truly learning an entirely new language with limited foundation to start with.
Inuyasha took a deep breath in and leaned back in the chair again, his mind turning to the other person on the ship he was currently giving lessons to. "What am I to do with you, Miss Dresmont?"
Even after his realization last night, that Kagome and Kikyo were not that similar to each other at all, he still held a self doubt. Their personalities were different, that was undeniably true but their faces', their scents', they were just too much alike it would be ridiculous to think otherwise. The eyes, the hair, the nose, the chin, the flowery smell, everything about the two women screamed that they had to have a connection but what was that connection?
"Maybe they're related?" Inuyasha thought to himself but quickly frowned, "Even if they are related by blood, I've never seen blood relatives maintain that strong of a resemblance to one another especially where scent was concerned." He huffed as he rocked the chair slightly back and forth. "The only time scents are that comparable to one another is if the relationship is mother to child and there's no way and hell that's whats going on." Inuyasha reached up to grab the gemstone around his neck instinctively and grimaced when he came up empty.
The gem was another story entirely. He had worn it now for the better part of his life, only removing it from his neck a total of two times since he had received it. The first time he had removed it was to so he could give it to Kikyo, an incident he hadn't remembered till only a week before. It had been a gift—a courting gift of sorts. Inuyasha pushed the thought aside. The second time had been much different, he had removed it to give to Kagome because for some reason after it had combined with the other gems belonging to Manten it had nearly stolen his sanity.
"I wonder if I could touch it now?" He asked himself but felt a voice in the back of his mind scream no. "It'd be stupid to try." He concluded as he dropped his hand down to his lap and let out a quiet breath so as to not disturb Miroku.
Vaguely he glanced at the boys paper, he was on number twenty-nine, leaving him a little over a quarter of the way there. Turning his ear towards the man he listened to the boy's pronunciation delighting in the fact he was saying it correctly even after having had twenty-nine times to mess it up. Appeased by the man's progress Inuyasha turned his ears away as well as his eyes as he became distracted by the thought of Kagome Dresmont once again.
"If they're not related then, why are they so similar?" He questioned himself, just as before, the answer came to him relatively easy. "Reincarnation." Inuyasha felt a headache coming on. "Is it even possible?" He resisted the urge to reach up for the missing gemstone once more. "Could Kagome be Kikyo fifty years after the fact? According to the way I was raised it's possible." He grimaced at the idea of his own people's customs. "I remember Myoga and Totosai telling me stories about people being reincarnated when I was little but I always just thought they were stories." Inuyasha wanted to slam his head on the table, his frustration mounting. "It's not fair!" He screamed at himself, his mind scrambling to find a reason, any reason as to why reincarnation might be a true possibility in this case. "Why, why would Kikyo have been reincarnated and as Kagome! After everything that went wrong back then with Kikyo, why would she want to be reincarnated and get stuck with me again!" He suppressed a growl that was forming in his throat. "And if its true, if they really are the same person then what the hell does that mean to me?"
Inuyasha closed his eyes at the thought, his mind going blank, clearing itself of all thoughts as he imagined the relationship he had had so long ago. Kikyo had been cold and calloused, she had been uncaring maybe even abusive and yet he had stayed with her. He had never really known why he had stayed with her and yet he had, he had stayed with her until the day he returned and found not her waiting body but instead a grave. He remembered standing in front of that grave looking down into it with a little girl standing at his side in tears his gem dangling from her fingers.
"What would I do?" His heart became painful in his chest and he actually took a moment to bring his hand over the spot where the pain originated. "If Kagome was Kikyo in a new life would it change anything, would it mean anything?" A part of him thought that it might mean a lot: that it would mean Kagome Dresmont was in his mind only because of what was in his past.
He opened his eyes and found himself staring at the ceiling of his cabin, his mind turning over and over again, wondering to itself what it would do if Kagome was Kikyo's reincarnation.
"This is pointless." He concluded as he glanced over at Miroku again, the man was over half way done, he was on stroke seventy-two. "I'm not even sure if she is a reincarnation, yeah, she probably isn't." He told himself that but even Inuyasha knew he was lying to himself, still he realized that he shouldn't jump the gun, he didn't want to make any decisions before he knew the truth and that meant any decisions. He would continue to spend time with her, continue to teach her the violin at night when no one was awake to see, he would continue to be with her but he would not let it get to far—not until he was sure, not until after he saw Kikyo's sister and his suspicions were denied or confirmed. "What am I kidding," Inuyasha berated himself as one last thought entered his mind that he had been ultimately ignoring. "She might not even like me that way."
Inuyasha knew that was a lie too.
"I'm done." Miroku announced and handed the piece of paper to Inuyasha who took it in a daze. He glanced at the writing, noting how sloppy it was at first and then how much better it got each time, by the time Miroku had arrived at the hundredth one, it actually could pass for at least a ten year olds' writing.
"Good work, the next letter is SA." Inuyasha grabbed the parchment he had written the vowels on and his quill quickly making short work of drawing the character さ. "Just like before, write it a hundred times and say it out loud each time."
Miroku nodded and accepted the parchment when Inuyasha handed it to him without protest. He sat it down beside the parchment he was working off of and glanced at the Captain out of the corner of his eye. "The new moon is tomorrow night." The son mentioned to the father slyly, as he placed his quill against the parchment, carefully writing the character さ as he pronounced the word out loud.
"I know." Inuyasha said without thought as he once again leaned back in his chair, bringing it off four legs to two.
"What are you gonna do about it?" Miroku inquired before he did his task again, pronouncing and writing.
"I guess," Inuyasha grumbled as he allowed his arms to dangle next to the two remaining chair legs as he leaned back. "Miss Dresmont will have to have a girl's night with Sango and you," He gave the man a look the devil would have envied. "Will bunk with me."
Miroku dropped his quill and stared at the Captain, his eyes wide with disbelief. "What now?"
"You," Inuyasha pointed at Miroku for emphasis. "Are going to stay," He pointed at the room his face clearly showing his sarcastic nature. "With me." He pointed at himself barely containing his own amusement.
Miroku scowled and returned to the lesson without saying a word, the anger lines clearly evident on his face as he heatedly made the next character and pronounced it harshly.
Inuyasha laughed lightly and put his hands behind his head, his tongue sticking out of his mouth in personal enjoyment. "It'll be like old times."
"Seems like we've been havin' a lot of old times since Miss Dresmont came on board." Miroku muttered dryly as he thought of the amount of time he had spent bunking with the Captain instead of in his own warm bunk next to his own warm bed partner since Kagome had arrived.
"Sorry," Inuyasha clicked his tongue as he rocked the chair back and forth on its two remaining legs. "But we gotta keep the women folk happy."
"I want to keep the men folk happy." Miroku said while raising an eyebrow.
Inuyasha raised his own eyebrow and the two men continued to stare each other down as Inuyasha took in the comment. Finally they broke eye contact simultaneously, Inuyasha turning away bringing his claw pointer finger to his face where he oddly scratched his nose. "Somehow I get the feelin' you're not talking 'bout us men folk.'"
"How observant of you." Miroku mumbled with a devious smile on his face before he turned back to the task at hand, having only written down fifteen characters so far.
Inuyasha smiled slightly and then frowned, "You know Miroku," He began quietly. "You're the only human who knows about the new moon."
Miroku stopped his writing and placed the quill back in the well, turning to look at the Captain with knowledgeable eyes. "I know," He told him straightforward. "I understand you don't trust anyone with this but—," He paused for just a second as his mind went to the two women in the room next door. "Don't you think you have more people you can trust than just me?"
Inuyasha didn't look at Miroku, instead he focused on the candle, the flame that danced with the slight breeze from the opened window. It was a delicate display, the way that little flame danced on the breeze, flickering causing light to form and dissipate all at the same time. "I know but—," Inuyasha reached forward, moving his hand quickly threw the flame, drawing his hand back swiftly so as not to be burned. "I've been burned before by people." He said bringing his hand back to his face, studying the appendage. "If you don't move fast, you don't get burned but," Inuyasha glanced at the flame. "If you never move toward the flame then there's no chance to be burned at all."
Miroku sighed, understanding the Captain's analogy with little thought. It was rather simple, if you don't tell then the information can't be used against you. He snorted and turned back to his lesson silently as the Captain continued to gaze at his unburned hand knowing he wasn't sure if he was ready to trust the other flames on this ship just yet, Miroku had been hard enough to trust especially after the first flame he had ever dared to touch had burned him so considerably bad.
Away from his thoughts Miroku sat squiggles covering his parchment as he slowly pronounced, "SA," over and over again his voice sounding sadder and sadder each time he mumbled the sound.
-break-
In Miroku and Sango's cabin two women set with a little boy curled up on a nearby bed, sleeping soundly. Kagome glanced at the boy, smiling as he rolled onto his back snoring softly in his deep sleep. When the Captain and Miroku had announced they would be busy for the night, Sango and Kagome had decided that they would stay together as well until the boys were done and everyone was set to go to bed. So now Kagome found herself alone with Sango (if one didn't count the sleeping Shippo), the two women had spent much of their evening teaching the small boy his alphabet, unaware that Miroku was having the very same lesson next door.
It had been a grueling task, the boy was not very well educated in English but he had caught on rather fast and by the end of the lesson he had been able to remember most of his letters and even recognize a couple they had written down for him to see. All the work had worn him out, however, which lead to his current sleeping spot between pillows in Miroku and Sango's bed.
Kagome smiled at the sight before turning to her companion. "Where has he been sleeping up till now?"
Sango shrugged and stretched, "Wherever there's space really." She spoke as she just barely managed to catch a yawn in her hand. "A few nights he slept out on deck and once or twice with me." She popped her neck lazily. "Cabin Boy's usually just sleep where it's comfortable."
Kagome nodded, accepting the answer but not really liking it. "He should have a more stable place to sleep." She pursed her lips in thought. "Can't he get a bunk below?"
Sango shook her head and frowned. "The men wouldn't allow it," She gave Kagome an apologetic look, "It's just not appropriate."
"Let me guess," Kagome said with a sigh. "Pirate's have their own version of propriety."
"Of course," Sango grinned just slightly before her face turned almost contemplative. "Although it's far more 'laxed than the kind we were raised with."
Kagome frowned and took in Sango's appearance, watching as the older girl rubbed her eyes, "We?" She questioned, her eyes looking at the worn out clothes and the dirt smudged face. Briefly she remembered that face being immaculate, those clothes being rich and stunning on a perfect socialite figure, and she remembered that voice being heavily laced with all manners of etiquette and proper upbringing. "That's right, Sango and I, we're the same, aren't we? But then, what brought her here? Why is she here?"
"You were raised in propriety?" Kagome questioned as she brought a hand to her chest, already knowing the answer.
"Hm?" Sango turned and looked at Kagome confused, her brows knitted as she watched the young girl.
Kagome looked at Sango, her face oddly determined as if she had just decided she needed to say something and she knew there was no turning back. "You were raised in a high ranking social household, weren't you Sango?"
Sango blushed and looked away. "I was," she mumbled with a nod, adding, "Until shortly after I turned sixteen."
Kagome watched, her curiosity peeked as she took in this information. Standing up from her spot in Miroku's desk chair she walked over to where Sango sat with her back to the bed's footboard. Sitting down in front of the older woman she tried to catch her eye but Sango appeared to refuse to meet Kagome's gaze. Worried, Kagome reached out and touched the other girls arm. Sango jumped and looked at her, clearly surprised by the action but made no move to pull away. "Sango," Kagome began her voice gentle. "Why did you leave? What made you want to come here?" She motioned to the ship around them.
Sango didn't say a word but instead looked into her lap, her eyes focusing and un-focusing on her upturned knees.
"Did something," Kagome searched for the right word. "—bad happen to you?" Kagome decided to say as she pressed squeezed Sango's arm, her grip becoming slightly more firm, an attempt to be reassuring.
Sango took a deep and shaky breath before pulling herself away from the other girl, her eyes watery much to Kagome's everlasting intrigue. "Kagome," The older woman said, her voice stronger than her eyes. "Propriety, manners, the place where you and I grew up, it really isn't all that different than this place here." She motioned around her at the room they were currently residing in just as Kagome had moments before. "They are two different worlds, I'll admit, but the people in them are identical when you get right down to it."
"What are you talking about Sango?" Kagome said allowing her grip to loosen on Sango's sleeve until her hand had fallen away from the other girl's arm.
"Noble's are kind of like masqueraders," Sango mumbled as she leaned her head on the edge of the bed, looking up at the ceiling. "They walk around with their true faces hidden by a mask that we enjoy looking at." She smiled into the dim light. "But those masks are dangerous." She frowned deeply. "They make it hard to see—see the real person underneath. All we can see is the mask, what they have chosen to show us."
Kagome watched the other woman perplexed, not understanding what Sango was saying in the least.
"In the end," Sango pulled her head up away from the bed and then looked down at her hands which had fallen in her lap. "Those masks' are so real that it becomes all we can see, the façade that has been carefully crafted for us to look upon." She clutched her fist in her lap tightly before opening them slowly staring at her palms, fixated. "They disguise themselves so well that you can't see the person underneath and then you begin to trust in that fake person, that mask," Tears began to form in Sango's eyes. "And then one day the person finally takes off the mask and shows you their true face and its—ugly."
Kagome's lower lip hung down slightly as her heart raced in her chest at these words. She understood exactly what Sango was telling her, she had experienced the falseness of a masquerader first hand. Kagome looked at her hands and wondered if Sango's experience had been the same as her own. Had Sango been tricked, had Sango been lied to, had Sango been hurt by it so much that she didn't know how to deal with the pain? Kagome gulped and turned her eyes upward without moving her head, taking in the sight of Sango fully. The girl's bottom lip was quivering, tears were clinging to her lashes—she was really hurt, hurt so badly that she couldn't hold in the pain.
"Was I really hurt that bad?" Kagome questioned herself as she imaged her own masquerader, he had worn a mask and when he had taken it off—
"I will never make you do something against your will." He declared softly as he backed away and kissed her head the same way he had the last time they had been in this room. "I'm a better man than that."
"He wasn't ugly at all." Kagome told herself just as Sango's face scrunched up and she broke out into sobs.
Carefully, she reached forward and took the older woman into a firm hug, pulling her close and hugging her tight. The face Sango had seen must have been hideous; it must have been downright evil. Kagome bit her lip, the masqueraders she had met might have tricked her but their true faces—the faces underneath the mask—they weren't scary ones. Sango wasn't scary, neither was Miroku and the Captain—
An image of his smile, boyish as he looked up at her through a wave of unruly silver bangs came into her mind, like a flash of lightening during a summer storm, it changed into an image of him holding the violin to his chin, his body swaying lightly this way and that, his eyes closed, gentle like—like a puppy.
Kagome smiled despite Sango's continuing cries. "No—the Captain's not ugly at all," She told herself as she rocked back and forth, holding onto Sango tight. "Maybe a little scary at times but—," Kagome let her thought trail off in her head, she just wasn't ready to admit to herself that he wasn't ugly at all, in fact she thought he was the exact opposite.
Kagome froze when she felt a wetness hit her shoulder and she frowned, Sango's tears stirring something within her. "You don't have to say anymore if you don't want to Sango," She whispered to the girl softly. "I'll understand."
The woman shook her head slowly back and forth, her face buried in Kagome's shoulder. Finally, she pulled away and wiped her eyes with her sleeve briefly before continuing. "I saw the Viceroy's true face." She told Kagome with her bloodshot eyes staring straight in front of her, at the wood of the floor. "It was so dark—," She whispered clutching to Kagome tightly, "It was completely black."
"Sango," Kagome whispered as she looked at the other girl's far off eyes. "What did he do to you?"
Sango continued to stare into nothing, not speaking, not making eye contact with Kagome. She seemed so far away, as if she was lost, lost somewhere Kagome could not reach and then, she opened her mouth and with a hollow voice told Kagome her truth, the true face of the Viceroy os Serdenga, the true reason Sango was here on the ship Shikuro. "He raped me."
Kagome felt her heart still in her chest, her whole mind going numb at the thought. It was the worst word in the language of the proper woman, a word that no one dared to utter, a word that's connotation was so fierce, so strong, so dangerous, that few would dare to even utter it among the closest of connections.
"My mother—," Sango began as her far off eyes stared in front of her, an unnerving calm sitting in the chaotic depths. "My mother," Slowly her eyes began to shine with tears. "She found out and got angry at me. She said it was my fault, all my fault." Like floodgates the tears spilled over Sango's eyes as she hiccupped and continued. "She called me a disgrace to the family name and then—then—told me to get out of her house," She brought a shaking hand to her face, covering one eye as she wiped away an onslaught of tears. "She said I was a useless daughter if I couldn't even protect the family's honor or my legacy."
"Sango?" Kagome set stunned, her own tears edging into her vision as she watched the woman before her break. To have been raped, to have had her family disown her, to have had her family claim she had brought dishonor to the house when it hadn't been her fault at all—who—who did something like that to their own daughter? "People of propriety." The thought came to her mind before she could even think to control it. That was the truth, people of propriety didn't care if it had not been the daughter's fault, they only cared about the symbol between the daughter's legs and the fact that the symbol was now broken—useless to them.
Kagome reached for Sango, wanting to cry with her, to tell her that everything would be okay but before she could comfort her, the door handle turned and Inuyasha and Miroku entered the room without a single knock, a loud voice hitting the four walls, a horrid intrusion.
"Hello Ladies!" Miroku shouted, the Captain smirking behind him. "How is everything—," He trailed off as he took in the sight of his lover hunched over in a way he hadn't seen in years. "Sango?" He questioned the air briefly before hurrying to the woman's side.
Kagome watched as Miroku pulled Sango towards him into a tight hug, the woman clinging to him once she realized who he was. She held onto him for dear life, crying into the man's jacket, each of her breaths coming out as harsh gasps for air.
"It's okay," Miroku told her over and over again petting her head. "I love you," He whispered into her hair and she sobbed louder as she buried her face into Miroku's neck. "It's okay love, it's okay," He spoke gently as he rubbed her back with his eyes closed and his shoulders tense with anger for the man who had long ago caused her such pain. "Just cry," He whispered. "As much as you want, you know I don't mind."
Sango only hiccuped against his skin before biting back another sob as she clutched Miroku's sleeves even tighter in her fingers, pleading for him to hold onto her tightly with only her hands.
"I won't let go." He reassured holding her tighter to his chest knowing without the words what she was silently asking.
Feeling that her time to leave was long overdue, Kagome stood from her spot and started to head towards the doorway and the still Captain. She froze at the sight of his worried eyes, which were currently focused on Sango behind her. A sort of scared anticipation filled her heart at the sight as she realized that when she left this room tonight, the two would be alone. Up until this point, the two had never been alone in the Captain's Cabin since Port Royal (at least to her knowledge). Now, as she faced him, she knew that they would be sleeping only a mere five feet or so apart. A sense of trepidation came over her, a fear of what might or could possibly happen, and that lead to a strange sense of anticipation coupled with nervous fear. She gulped, willing herself to keep moving forward but her body was frozen in place unwilling to move.
"Miss Dresmont?" Miroku's voice broke up Kagome's thoughts.
Turning towards the man holding onto Sango's still trembling form, she bit her lip waiting for him to speak.
"Take Shippo, please?" He said, his eyes pleading with her.
Kagome nodded and hurried to the bed, earlier trepidation forgotten as she picked up the still sleeping child. "Sleeps like a rock, this one." She commented to herself as she heaved him up into her arms and hurried towards the door, swiftly passing the Captain with her eyes looking straight at the ground.
Inuyasha watched her pass and glanced back at Miroku one more time. The man was rocking Sango softly mumbling sweet words into her hair, telling her that she was okay, that she was safe, that no harms would befall her as long as he could breathe. With those words on his ears Inuyasha slowly closed the door to Miroku and Sango's room, knowing that Sango would be okay in the morning after Miroku took some time comforting the girl. This was, after all, not the first time Sango had succumbed to such a relapse. He thought back to how hard it had been in the beginning, when Sango had often broken down crying over the littlest of things. That first year had been so hard that he had often thought he had made a mistake, that this wasn't the best thing for Sango, that she needed to be surrounded by women—perhaps go to a convent and become a nun. But—he had known he couldn't do such a thing—his instincts had told him that Sango belonged with them and so he had never let himself give up on her—he couldn't because even back then he had known Miroku loved her and that he, Inuyasha himself, had already unconsciously claimed her as pack.
Inuyasha snorted lightly at the thought a smile on his face as he began to walk down the hall to his room. "Isn't it strange, that the pack I've chosen is so different than the pack I once knew?" He mused to himself as a brief flash of a man came before his eyes: a taller and more majestic version of himself. He snorted again, this time the sound far ruder. "Onii-san." He mumbled into the air as the far off memory flashed to the forefront of his mind, a haunting image highlighted by falling cherry blossoms that were a dangerous blood red in colour.
"Hanyou—," The taller man addressed as he looked at Inuyasha with disdain.
As if waking from a dream the ghostly image of the man vanished and Inuyasha found himself staring at the wood of the ship's wall instead of the tall man. For a moment he didn't move, his whole body still focused on that spot where the man had stood. He brought a hand to his forehead, rubbing at a spot on his temple that was starting to pound. With a heavy sigh he walked towards his cabin door, his feet heavy, his eyes dropping with weariness. He frowned deeply as he reached for the handle surprised that the door was wide opened.
"She didn't close it?" He muttered to himself as he carefully grasped the wood of the door frame and glanced inside his cabin. It was relatively dark, only the small sliver of moon outside providing light the candle long since extinguished. Blinking a few times, he waited for his eyes to dilate, taking in the optimum amount of light in order to see. He was rewarded to a sight that would forever haunt his mind.
Miss Dresmont was tucking Shippo into her bed, the child still sleeping as if he had never been moved. He continued to watch as Kagome gently touched the top of the little boy's bright red bangs, moving them out of his face before bending down to kiss the little exposed forehead with love and affection.
The very sight of it made a delicious pain form in his heart that he had never thought capable of feeling. It was almost unnerving, that ache he felt somewhere deep inside him. It clouded his vision, bringing up a strange and twisted fantasy where that little boy's head was not red but silver and his little ears were two triangles nestled in his hair line instead of on the side of his head. And beside that boy was his mother Kagome, ruffling his bangs as she looked on with such fondness that he, as the father, fell in love with her all over again.
Inuyasha slapped himself across the face, an action he had never done in his whole life. In front of him Miss Dresmont jumped and turned to look at him hovering in the doorway. Their eyes met and Inuyasha felt his whole heart contract in his chest at the sight of her wide eyed expression, her lips slightly parted as if she wanted to say something to him but was too startled to form a coherent sentence. In that moment, the moonlight touched her as the ship bobbed in the water just right and he saw her whole body glow, like an angel with shimmering hair and rosy cheeks. The gemstone that rested around her neck caught the light as well and for once he didn't think of it as strange, he didn't think of what had occurred days before, he didn't think of his mother or Kikyo, he only thought of the beautiful woman in front of him. It just looked so right upon her neck as if it belonged there over any other place on earth. "Kagome." The name slipped out before he could stop himself.
"Pardon?" She responded her eyes narrowed in confusion, her shoulders hunching slightly as she drew herself into a tight ball of defense.
He blushed and turned away from her, not willing to repeat her name again, he couldn't do it, he couldn't because he knew if he did then he would start to say a lot of other things—things that needed to stay hidden until he absolutely knew the truth behind the origins of Kagome Dresmont's soul.
"Captain?" Her soft voice flitted to him as she spoke, a small ounce of fear in her scent and perhaps apprehension. It was as if she was worried about the possibilities of what could happen just as he was.
Inuyasha gulped, tonight, they would stay together in this room for the first time (with her being conscious that is) and tonight there would be no one to stop anything that might happen between them, not a single soul in the room. The thought dropped from the Captain's head like a hot iron from a burned hand. His eyes darted to the little boy in Miss Dresmont's bed and he felt ready to burst with rage. "Why is he in here?" He said somewhere between irritation and a snarl as he pointed at the small boy.
"Miroku asked me to take him." Kagome said back a look of utter bewilderment on her face at the one-eighty he had just shown in his personality.
Inuyasha blushed and put his finger down looking downright caught as his mind flashed back to a few moments ago when he had very clearly heard Miroku tell Miss Dresmont to take the small boy: "Miss Dresmont, take Shippo Please." The voice of Miroku echoed in his head and he felt his ears pull backwards on all the way to his skull. "He did say that, didn't he? Damn!" Inuyasha banged one of his opened hands to his head before raising it to rub his neck while staring at the ceiling, trying to find something appropriate to say.
"You do remember that don't you?" The somewhat daring voice of one Kagome Dresmont hit his ears and Inuyasha growled in irritation. "By the look on your face I'd say not."
He doubled his growl "I remember, it just slipped my mind for a moment."
"I see." Kagome said back evenly as she stood and crossed her arms over her chest uncomfortably. She felt nervous as she stood before him, shifting from foot to foot, scared and worried. She glanced at the small sleeping boy, she didn't want him to leave, he was her only protection if something were to happen. "But would it be so bad if something happened?" A naughty voice in the back of her mind accused, Kagome quickly squashed the thought down.
Inuyasha growled low in his throat and moved across the room, closing the door firmly behind him. He felt irritated and embarrassed, not to mention the interesting mind fuck that had been the vision of Kagome with a child—his child to be precise. He felt a growl well up in his throat, demon instincts kicking in as the image haunted him, took over him, and imposed itself into his psyche a deep disturbance in his normally calm mind. Without control of his body, he began to move, stalking towards Kagome, fueled by an instinct, a desire he had been unaware existed within him.
In front of him Kagome watched as he came toward her, feeling for the first time in several days that she was absolutely cornered. "What if I was wrong, what if he isn't a good man." She felt a feeling of helplessness enter her heart. "What if the man underneath the mask really is ugly—what if I've never seen him, maybe its all a well crafted lie. What if he's ugly like the man Sango saw?"
She gulped looking around her for any means of escape, knowing there was none. Frightened she moved back, glancing down at Shippo who was dead asleep within her bed. "Wake up!" She screamed in her head as she continued to back up, Captain Inuyasha continuing to come forward. "Shippo, please wake up!"
Inuyasha had no idea what he was doing, all he knew was that he need her, the demon in him was craving her, telling him that she was perfect, just right for him in every way.
"Fucking instincts." He found himself thinking but couldn't bring himself to control his actions as he got closer and closer to her intoxicating scent. The closer he got the more the instincts kicked in, making him want to get even closer to her, so close he could feel her body-heat through his clothes, so close he could press against her, he wanted to be so close that he could kiss those lips—those red—curvy—plump—lips—that were moving? "What?"
"Don't you dare come any closer!" Those lips yelled at him, her eyes flashing as she brought her hands up in tight fist, girlish fist that he knew would never be able to hurt him.
The demon inside of him snickered at the thought, liking the idea of a strong willed mate but the human in him knew different, it cried out that they were scaring the poor girl, that they needed to back down. Unfortunately, the demon instincts won out over the human's logic and Inuyasha found his body out of his own power, moving towards her with not one ounce of control, his own lips moving against his will. "And what will you do if I do come closer?"
He saw a look come over Kagome Dresmont's face, a look that stopped him from moving completely, it was a look of utter and complete terror—a look he had seen somewhere before.
"Don't do this!" She begged.
"Sango—," The human in him yelled, screamed, clawing and ripping into his psyche, awakening the human sides control. "It's just like Sango! You're no better than the fucker who raped her!"
Inuyasha froze in place, horrified, as the voice registered in his head. The demon inside of him growled and he found himself yelling at it angrily in his mind. He wanted to jump off the side of the ship again, he wanted to punch himself in the face but instead he simply blinked rapidly, causing his vision to completely clear. As it did he registered in his mind just how close he was to her, they were almost touching, her back was against one of the windowpanes and he stood only a foot or so away from her, leaving her nowhere to run from their spot between the two beds.
"Please," Kagome slide down to her knees, her hands above her head shielding herself from him. She felt tears gathering on her eyelashes as her fear overwhelmed her, she had been wrong, he was ugly under the mask, he was horrifying. "Please, I beg you." She whispered as a last resort before a gentle voice filled the air.
"Kagome?"
Kagome froze, opening her eyes and moving her hands so she could look at him. "Huh?"
Inuyasha stared at her face looking at her glistening eyes, her blotchy skin, her dampened chin, where some tears dripped, landing soundlessly on her knees. He gulped horrified that he had caused that face, that he had caused beautiful Kagome to look so scared, so hurt, so broken. A wave of anger ran through him, anger at himself, anger at the whole of the situation, he opened his mouth to apologize but found himself incapable of saying sorry, opting instead to simply speak from a place he knew was honest.
"Are you really that stupid?" He said into the night's air as he brought a hand up to bury in his bangs. "I said what I said and I said what I meant," He told her, "I will never force you to do anything Kagome." In a way he felt the part of the hypocrite for saying that. "I'm a better man than that, I thought you knew by now." He trailed off embarrassed and ashamed.
It was quiet in the room as his words dangled in the air. Kagome felt her fear leave as she watched the transformation come over him. He looked completely different than he had just moments before, when his eyes had twinge red and his cheeks had picked up a strange series of purplish lines. He had been downright frightening but now—the red was gone, the purple marks had receded and all that was left was the man she had grown accustomed to seeing—that wasn't true—she had seen those eyes, those purple marks before back at the Port of Spain—she was sure of it even if the memory was fuzzy.
"Inuyasha?" She whispered into the dark, not even realizing that she had just called him by his true name, causing the Captain's face to erupt into a mass of flames.
He gulped, not believing that she had said his name, just his name, into the night air. He couldn't even fathom it but most of all he couldn't believe the power just the sound of his name on her lips had over his body. He tingled, truly tingled from head to toe, his hands and palms becoming sweaty as she looked at him, the lips that had said that word, still parted from forming the sounds. Where the demon had been excited by the instinctual need to procreate with a strong and beautiful female, the human was excited by the woman herself, sitting before him—speaking only one word to him, his name.
He wanted to reach for her then, he wanted to grab her and haul her to her feet, he wanted to kiss her hard on the mouth, he wanted to throw her on the bed, he wanted to claim her, truly claim her but he stopped himself, knowing he couldn't—knowing it wasn't possible. Hastily he moved backwards, his intention to leave the room, to get some fresh air but he stopped when he heard the shifting of someone standing behind him. Slowly he looked back against his better judgment, his eyes lighting on her form as she looked at him—eyes hauntingly beautiful in the dim nighttime light.
"Where are you going?" Kagome whispered into the air, her voice different from the one she had used a minute ago, she sounded confused, she was confused.
"Out." He replied shortly, his heart pounding in his chest. He wasn't sure what it was that had happened to her in that moment but something then had changed between Kagome and himself. Something had shifted when she had said his name—a connection had seemingly formed where before there had only been potential.
She looked away from him towards his bed at the short reply, her hands fidgeting in front of her. "But, your bed's here."
He gulped, "I know."
"Then you should stay and sleep." She turned towards him with those words and looked at him, her eyes expectant and shy.
"Miss Dresmont, I can't, you sleep I'll be on deck." He mumbled to her as he turned and reached for his violin case, picking it up as he started to make his hasty retreat, his demon blood coming to the surface at the thought of leaving her alone. It wanted to be near her so badly but he just couldn't do it, not now, not with so many things unanswered.
Kagome shuffled her feet and took in the sight of the worn out case. "You'll play like last night?"
He stopped, turning sideways to see her. "Yeah." He told her simply as his hand touched the door handle, pushing it down but not pushing the door forward.
"Will you play, that song again?"
He froze, his heart thumping a little in his chest. "You want me to play it?"
"Yes, it's like a lullaby." She told him softly. "Last time it woke me up but this time—I think it might put me to sleep."
He watched as the dim moon came into the window, highlighting her figure as she stood, her eyes downcast as if she was afraid to look at him. The moon touched her skin, making it glow, it touched her hair, making it shine, she looked positively angelic, a true angel of the sea. "Miss Dresmont," He called to her. "I'll play it, listen until you fall asleep."
Before she could respond he pushed the door opened and walked out of the room, closing it behind him. Kagome set down on the side of the bed, her eyes still glued to the door, her thoughts running wildly through her head. She couldn't stop the confusion, she couldn't stop the strange feelings in her chest. What had started the change, she wondered, what had made her see suddenly what she had been afraid to see before? What had done it, what had changed it?
"Kagome?"
She could hear him, she could see his lips forming her name on them. She saw him protecting her from the drunken man, she saw him in the dirt of the alley revealing he was only the tender age of eighteen, she saw him playing the violin his whole body an orchestra, she heard his sweet baritone voice that touched her heart and then her memories shifted till she found herself looking onto a scene she had never witnessed. There was a light, Manten's ashes on the bottom of a boat: ashes to ashes and dust to dust. And then everything went black, the visual memory becoming only a sound and a feeling, the boat shifting, water splashing, moisture on her skin, dripping on her face salty, a hand on her cheek and then pressure on her lips—pressure and lips that were so familiar.
Kagome brought her hand to her lips, touching them as something took over her heart. "Did I dream that?" She questioned the night air her voice shaky as she realized how the change had come about—
She had finally determined that Sango and her experiences were totally different. Where Sango's masquerader had been ugly, Kagome's had been deep. Yes, he was scary, yes he was strong and tough, yes he could kill and murder but that wasn't the pure truth—there was more to him, there was a man that no one—no one in the world knew and that man, he was a good man, a young man.
"I want to know him." Kagome said with conviction into the night air. "I want to know everything about him." Kagome brought a hand to her heart and felt it brush against the gem that rested there. She gasped at the contact her mind instantly flying to Inuyasha who was now outside probably already standing above her head. "Why?" She wondered as she fingered that precious gem. "Why did you give it to me? I know I don't remember but it had to be you, right?" She whispered into the air. "But why, you wore it all the time until now—why would you give me something that your wear all the time?"
Her hand dropped from the gem abruptly and her thoughts trailed off as soft music from a violin seemed to come down around her, like a thick blanket meant to comfort her. And comfort it did; it comforted her so much she cried.
End of Chapter
Please Review
Edited for Content 7/31/2012
Congrats Inuyasha159 for being review 400!
Bonus Point:
There was one vowel I did not mention because it would not have been recognized as a vowel at this point in the English Language what is it? S and _
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
Well, well, this was a toughie because it seems Inuyasha just sees Kagome naked all the time. As for the answer there are two acceptable possibilities, first episode three Down the Rabbit Hole and Back Again where he spies her bathing and second is episode 58 Fateful Night in Togenkyo Part II where he runs in to save her, sees her naked, and she doesn't scream until Miroku and Shippo pop out of his hair (nice Kagome, didn't mind until those two saw you…) To the winners, which was anyone who referenced either of these scenes!
Youkaineko on MM, BoredGirl17, ravenreux, TheRealInuyasha, InuKag4eva, AriaLuvsInu, inu-luva123, DeAunna, Purple Dragon Ranger, Laken, angel
Notes:
Japanese Lesson: This lesson is from a book I own and is based off of the Hiragana Alphabet. It is a phonetic alphabet where each alphabetic combination represents just a single sound. Thus any Japanese word can be written in a way that can be read without having to remember how the word is pronounced.
Next Chapter:
N/A
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED 4/20/2011