Shikuro: A Caribbean Fairy Tale

by Inuma Asahi De

Inuyasha was as bad as pirates came, according to his legend. Kagome was a woman of propriety, destined to marry for her family's honor when all she wanted was to live on the sea. What happens when their eyes meet by chance or perhaps by daring fate?

41. One Storm, Two Men

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.

Chapter Forty One

One Storm, Two Men

"Miss Kaede," Naraku whispered into the thick air of a prison cell on The Thunder as he sharpened a small dagger against an old oil stone. "Won't you please reconsider?"

In front of him, looking very much worse for wear, Kaede sat behind a set of steel bars her old back hunched against the wooden wall of the ship as she leaned on it for support, her legs crossed and her hands tucked neatly in her lap. Her clothes were torn and her skirt was littered with tears caused by torture and her own two hands in order to use the material for bandaging against deep bleeding wounds. Her face was smudged with dirt and possible excrement seeing as she wasn't allowed even the civility of a bucket. The wrinkles on her skin had doubled in mere weeks and the grey in her hair had tripled in the same amount of time, however, her eye still stood proud even behind a dirtied frown and its color was still as strong as ever, a deep, rich, bold and daring black.

Naraku clicked his tongue when she didn't respond to his question and ceased sharpening the dagger. "Mr. Dresmont?" He called as he walked towards the cell, motioning with the sharpened tip at the lock. "If you would."

Mr. Dresmont who had been standing against a nearby wall, his head hung in shame nodded and stepped forward, the keys dangling in his hands as he approached the cell. He reached for the pad lock, keeping his eyes down cast as he managed to hold onto the key with his shaking fingers long enough to push it into the mechanism before turning it slightly, causing it to click and open.

He licked his lips as he gradually brought the lock into his hand, pulling it away and opening the door to the cell outwards, his worn out eyes just barely glancing at Kaede who was looking right at him—a sweet smile on her old face. "Please don't." He wanted to say but couldn't in the presence of Naraku. "Please don't look at me like that," He hung his head even lower and actually sniffled like a child, one who knew they had done something undeniably horrible. "I don't deserve any kindness from you."

As if she had heard him Kaede chuckled and closed her brilliant eye for just a second so her smile could shine even brighter on her pale worn out lips. "Thank you." She told him quietly, so quietly in fact it seemed as if he voice had never even spoken instead only her lips had moved.

Mr. Dresmont lowered his head even farther to the ground, shame washing over him tenfold as he pulled the cell completely opened allowing Naraku Morgan unhindered passage.

"I really wish you would—," Naraku continued as he stepped inside the cell slightly, his nose wrinkling in disgust as he took in the putrid smell of the chamber which hadn't been cleaned in weeks—per his order. "—reconsider?" He coughed and debated covering his face with a clothe but decided against it for fear of looking weak before the elderly woman. "It is a good offer you know." He motioned in the air with his dagger slightly before pointing it at her. "Your freedom for a little information on someone else's."

For a long moment, Kaede didn't speak but instead kept her eyes on the young (well younger than her anyway) Mr. Dresmont who was still standing, holding the cell door opened, his head bowed in remorse. Normally, she wouldn't have said a word to Naraku, instead choosing to maintain silence but this time, she felt the need to speak. "The caged swallow may sing for freedom," Kaede whispered as she stared at Mr. Dresmont, trying to will him with just her eyes to look at her. He didn't and she sighed in understanding and pity before turning her attention to Naraku himself, completing her words with a gentle yet mocking voice. "But that does not mean it wishes for another to lose its own."

Naraku frowned darkly, of course he understood the babble for what it was—it was the connotation of it he lacked understanding of. "You care so much for them?" He fingered the knife slightly before holding it out in front of him, showing off the gleaming sharp blade to Kaede—a dark threat.

"A swallow cares for all wing'd creatures." She continued her lips drawn in a dark line as she finished, her eyes once again looking at the man holding the jail wide opened. He had yet to flinch at her words.

"So you are a swallow—I get it, really I do," Naraku brought the dagger to his lips, flicking his tongue out over the blade absently. "Still—you only knew them for a day or two—why protect someone you know so little of, so fiercely?"

"Why protect anyone, Mr. Naraku?" Kaede fired back, her voice still calm and gentle but dripping with meaning. "It seems to me that it is not in your character—at the moment—to protect anyone," She looked up at the ceiling for a instant before glancing at him with just her eyes, her chin still tilted back. "After all, you don't even see it fit to protect your own family."

"Are you talking of my father?" Naraku chuckled as he leaned away from her abruptly. "That old bastard needed to die."

"It was not your father I was talking about." The old woman grinned looking at the ceiling once again.

Naraku raised an eyebrow at her words. "My brothers then?" He asked her intrigued but trying to maintain an air of callousness.

"Perhaps." Kaede replied before glancing at Mr. Dresmont decisively, "Unless you have any daughters."

Naraku laughed at the statement but Mr. Dresmont's head shot up at the sound of the last word, his heart skipping a beat as he looked at Kaede, the information she had just given him powerful. A daughter—to protect a daughter—he knew that the woman was well aware of his relationship to one Kagome Dresmont but was that why she was enduring all of this, suffering so much? He clutched one fist at his side, the one which was not currently holding the cell door opened and stared at the old woman, wishing he was a demon—one who could read minds.

"You're a funny one, Miss Kaede." Naraku smirked and leaned down to look Kaede in the eye. "Now really—was this all a joke or were you truly speaking of someone in particular other than my bastard father or forgotten brothers?"

"Perhaps them or," Kaede smirked back, her one eye fixated on Naraku's face, prepared to take in the uncountable reaction. "I was speaking of your mother."

The smirk died, the laughter died, the lightness in the air depleted so fast that it was as if it had sucked from the room. Naraku popped his fingers from grasping them around the knife to hard and snapping brought it to her throat, anger rushing off of him in waves. "You will never," He spoke with venom in his voice. "Talk of my mother again, understand?"

Kaede only frowned, understanding dawning on her face as she looked at him, not flinching, not moving only continuing to stare right back at him, her old eye filled with wisdom—wisdom that pissed him off.

"Fine," He spat into her face as he pushed the knife deeper in her skin. "If you don't care about you freedom, then how about your life!" He pressed the knife against her throat for emphasis as the rage continued to build in him causing a slight trickle to make its way down her throat as the dagger pressed more firmly into her skin.

Kaede smiled, she actually smiled at him as she felt the blood run down her neck, as she felt it pool at the top of her high collared blouse. "Isn't death," She whispered back, leaning forward into the knife allowing it to press against her flesh even firmer, prompting more blood to fall. "Not the freedom of the soul?"

Naraku growled and stood back pulling the knife away from her hastily, his eyes flashing with malice and irritation. "Only if you believe in that sort of shit, you old bitch." He spat out clearly flustered as he glared at her forebodingly. "A soul—," He told her plainly. "I don't believe in such nonsense."

"It is not belief you need," Kaede continued to speak unhindered as she casually reached up and touched the place the dagger had cut her pulling her hands away to look at her reddened fingers. "But the potential to see."

"You're speaking like the delusional old bat you are." Naraku spat out as he turned away from her preparing to leave the cell.

"Delusional am I, Mr. Naraku?" Kaede spoke gently as she rubbed her fingers together spreading the color of blood further. "Or perhaps so clear and knowledgeable that you can't even face me."

"Shut the fuck up!" Naraku whirled around his eyes blazing with pure unadulterated fury as he rounded on her bringing the knife back to her throat allowing it to cut into her flesh even deeper this time. "You know nothing about me, nothing about my life, nothing about my mother!"

"I can see it in your eyes," Kaede continued to speak unhindered by the knife and the fury. "I know everything about you Naraku, it's there in your eyes."

"You know nothing." He told her between clinched teeth, between a scary and haunted visage.

"You regret it don't you Naraku." She unrelenting spoke, her eye actually sad as she looked at him. Behind her Mr. Dresmont could only watched amazed as this woman—just like before—made Naraku slowly unravel.

Naraku snarled at her, whirling around, the dagger positioned threateningly at her face. "I regret nothing, my father needed to die, he had to die."

"No one doubts that Mr. Naraku." Kaede reassured oddly as she watched the knife with her one good eye. "However," She continued, her words strange to anyone hearing them but Naraku himself. "Isn't it just awful that he had to die before he could tell you the truth?"

Naraku actually looked puzzled, perhaps it was his youth or perhaps it was the mysterious woman talking to him in riddles but whatever it was he actually lowered the dagger and gave her a hard look—a look that clearly said, 'tell me.' He let his hands drop to his sides, he tilted his head in sharp curiosity. "What truth?"

"The truth about," She paused and looked him deeply in the eye as if trying to see passed him, into him, beyond him. "Your mother."

Naraku's curiosity instantly turned into unyielding resentment. "I know the truth!" He yelled at Kaede in his fury, his eyes starting to change, to turn red. "I killed her—so what—who gives a fuck?" Kaede only smiled, her expression taunting, her eyes saying everything as Naraku stormed towards her taking his dagger back to her throat, pushing at her skin. "You know nothing about me that I don't already know you old hag." He snarled before ripping his dagger away from her.

"Are you sure?" She asked him softly, her voice and her words actually causing Naraku to pause. "Perhaps it's that you fear the truth, the real truth?"

"Enough!" Naraku roared as he slashed at her with the dagger blindly, catching her cheek just barely as she threw herself backwards. "You know nothing, I know you know nothing, you know you know nothing—so give it up." He turned to Mr. Dresmont who was literally shaking with fear from the ire he could see coming off of Naraku in waves. "Starve her." He ordered as he stomped out of the cell and towards the stairwell. "It's clear pain will get us nowhere but perhaps hunger will finally convince her to talk."

Kaede smirked and let out a sharp laugh at his words.

He flung himself back around his eyes flaring red as he snarled at her. "What are you laughing about old woman?"

She chuckled and leaned her head back against the wooden side of the hull once again. "Hwa is thet mei thet," She spoke, the language one he had never heard before. "Hors wettrien the him self nule drinken ."

Naraku stared at her and then threw his own head back and laughed sharply. "So now she speaks in tongues, how quaint." He turned and walked away without another word but only a snap of his fingers.

At the silent command Mr. Dresmont closed the door to the cell, reaching for the lock to put it back in place. Waiting for his master to depart, he sighed in relief when he heard the door open and close completely. "I'm sorry." He whispered, still afraid that somehow the man would hear.

"No need to apologize Mr. Dresmont." Kaede replied freely, no rhymes or riddles making up her speech any longer as she tore another piece of clothe from her dress, bringing it up to her face to see how bad the bleeding was. Luckily it was a shallow cut, she realized instantly so it would not need much attention—the multiple ones on her neck, however, were slightly worrying. "How are you doing?" She asked the young man calmly as she went about the doctoring process. "We haven't seen each other in a week or so."

Mr. Dresmont smiled apologetically at that and shrugged. "Yes, he has been keeping me busy. I'm the only man left on the ship who can—a—um well map charts and such and I know a few languages which is helpful to him." He looked down at the dirty floor and blinked several times with a sigh. "I—I—just—I hate mys—."

"I understand the feeling Mr. Dresmont, I do." Kaede whispered to him gently, comfortingly.

"But you're here," He pointed at her with the lock as he clicked it into place. "Because of—me and my daughter and," He allowed it to slip from his grasp, clanging against the bars loudly. He gasped at the noise and reached forward to grab the object stopping the loud and attention grabbing sound. Closing his eyes, he sighed, still holding the lock as he shook his head back and forth slowly. "—I'm so—so—very sorr—."

"No offense Mr. Dresmont," Kaede interrupted as she reached a hand through the bars, laying it comfortingly over his own on the lock. He blinked surprised at her subtle action and unwilling to look away found himself looking her back in the eye. "But this is bigger than just you and Kagome." She nodded to herself to convince him. "And besides, I've been in this a lot longer than just a few weeks or at the mention of your daughter's name as my acquaintance." She released his hand, letting her own drop to her side. "I have been involved in this since before I was born, it is my destiny and fate; and I am prepared to live it to fruition."

Mr. Dresmont tried to smile at her words but it came out as a strange strangled sort of gesture. "You—," He whispered to Kaede through those giant bars. "You are the most amazing person I've ever met." He laughed awkwardly to himself. "I just, how can you—how can you think as you do?"

"I believe it is called optimism." Kaede said with a laugh of her own, one that was far less awkward and more genuine.

"I wish I was—an optimist like you then." Mr. Dresmont admitted to her and to himself. "I feel—I—," He stopped and shook his head as if changing his mind. "Let me know if there is anything I can do for you further—anything."

"You've asked me to do so many times now," Kaede told him with that same ginger smile of hers. "And my answer is still the same, I need nothing."

"But—," He pressed as he looked at her surroundings, at the filth and the lack of place to sleep or even sit. "I just—I can't let you—."

"If you gave me even one comfort," Kaede reasoned bluntly, "That boy would kill you. As he stands now—he wouldn't even hesitate."

Mr. Dresmont sighed, knowing what she was saying was true, completely true and there was nothing he could do about it even if he tried. "Alright, I concede." He grumbled as he took his keys and put them back on his belt loop, tying them into place. "But if you won't let me give you a comfort of some kind, then perhaps you'd allow me the answer to a question?"

Kaede frowned and tilted her head to the side, "It depends on the answer but I guess you could ask."

He smiled at her gently and absently fingered the bars. "What do you say to him," He motioned towards the door Naraku had left through. "Before he left? You know, in that funny language."

Kaede chuckled as she finished wrapping a piece of clothe around her neck, hoping that the pressure of it would stop the bleeding. "That was not just a funny language, my dear, that was English."

He furrowed his brow and outright laughed at her. "I'm sorry Madame but that was not English."

Kaede merely smiled in return before replying. "It was; if you spoke it five hundred years ago." She supplied causing his laughter to immediately die.

"What?"

"Yes, around the time of Chaucer," She told him gingerly, smirking because of the rather lost expression on his face. "Have you read him, he was rather fond of the vernacular of his time over Latin, you know?"

"I had heard." Mr. Dresmont mumbled begrudgingly. He had always thought himself as a man of decent education but around this woman, it appeared he had been wrong. "I have read him but never in said vernacular."

"There in lies your problem." Kaede told him with a bold nod of her head. "Chaucer and the people before us once spoke very differently, very few still speak that way today I think."

"But you do?" Mr. Dresmont concluded knowingly. "Speak in that old way?"

"I have dabbled." She admitted with a shrug of her shoulders. "Briefly you know, when I was a girl."

"Well then," Mr. Dresmont smirked subtly, knowing that to have spoken the way she had to Naraku she would have had to of done more than simply dabble as a girl in the language. "Give me, if you will, a translation of what you have dabbled in."

"Very well." Kaede grinned as if she had hoped to do just that. "Who can give water to the horse that will not drink of its own accord."

"But—," Mr. Dresmont's jaw feel as he recognized the saying instantly. "That's?"

"Yes?" Kaede pressed slightly as she motioned her hands for him to continue.

He shook his head at the gesture and snorted as he completed the modern version of the simple saying. "You can lead a horse to water but you cannot make him drink."

"Exactly." Kaede nodded her head firmly before sending him a very loaded glare. "Horses have been stubborn for years."

Mr. Dresmont laughed gently and gave her a fond smile that came suspiciously from his heart. "Well," He told her haughtily. "So have women."

Kaede grinned, taking those words for more than just a joke or sexist remark. They held one deep and reassuring meaning that she would never let go—he believed in her. He believed in her stubbornness, in her ability to do what he could not. He believed that she could stand up to Naraku, he believed that she had the power to make Naraku succumb to short comings that only she could see. But most of all he trusted and believed in what she was doing for him. Richard Dresmont believed that Kaede Cunnings would protect his daughter with her life.

And it was his belief more than anything, that gave Kaede the courage to do just that.

-break-

Naraku stood on the deck of the thunder allowing himself time to cool off from his encounter with Kaede. It seemed that every time he even got near the woman she pushed him to his mental limits, an ability that pissed him off to no end. He scowled at the very idea, the old woman simply knew things or perhaps (like a well trained fortune teller) knew how to read a person until she did really know something about them. Either way, she had done it again, pushed his buttons and built on his natural curiosity.

"The truth about your mother."

"The truth?" He pondered what she had said vaguely. "The truth about my mother." He snorted, the truth about his mother was simple, she had died, she had died in labor with him, he was the child that had killed her and that was the reason his father and brothers hated him. It was that simple, wasn't it? That simple or—was it? Had the old woman really known something he had not been aware of?

Naraku instantly forced the thoughts away, unable to deal with them currently or ever. Instead, he focused on the view before him as he stood on the helm's deck, his sharp eyes looking out over the Gulf of Mexico, studying the building dark clouds in the distance. "A storm?" He mused silently to himself but didn't allow the thought to worry him but in passing. After all, Naraku had much bigger concerns on his mind than a simple passing storm or the history of his birth and his mother's death, yes, far bigger concerns.

It had been a while since they left Louisiana and New Orleans behind, nearing on a month it seemed, and they had not yet determined what they were going to do. The old bat hadn't been too forth coming with information even after weeks of torture, humiliation, and piss poor living conditions. He hoped that the added starvation measure would eventually lead to some fruits of information but for the most part doubted it. Even if he had been sure the new measure would work, he still knew he needed a plan B, so to speak, just in case the old woman would not be able to give him any more information on how one was to come in procession of a Shikon Jewel or the whereabouts of the Shikuro.

What was he to do without some sort of clue on how to find either? He had no idea where the Shikuro could possibly be headed, Kaede would not release even a slip of information and every port town they had visited knew nothing of the Captain other than bed time stories. As far as the jewel was concerned, it was pretty much the same but even vaguer. He had asked for information from people in towns but no one even seemed to know the legend except for old salts who were too drunk to be reliable. To top it all off, the only two people he knew that were reliable and knowledgeable on the jewel and its legend were firstly Hiten and he had only found his by luck and secondly the old woman who was biting her tongue so hard it was about to fall off.

So what was he to do?

Naraku gritted his teeth at the very idea. He could wait for Kaede to crack—but he just wasn't that patient or he could finally put hammer to nail and work on his plan B. But where was he to even begin with that?

Snorting Naraku walked across the helm's deck, stepping away from the side rail to come up beside the wheel, standing next to Hiten who merely gave him a paranoid glance out of the corner of his eye.

"I hate this." He scowled as he popped his neck, dark eyes glaring out across the deck where men were scurrying—working. "I need an alternative means of finding the jewels but—." He let the thought trail off as he bared weasel fangs. "How?"

At his side Hiten nearly jumped from the sound of his voice, glancing over at the much younger demon with a slight fear in his eyes. "Ser?" He questioned stiffly, apprehensive of the younger man. Naraku had after all, proven that any manner of life didn't matter to him—even the life of his own father was considered expendable.

Naraku snapped his head around to glare at Hiten. "This is shit." He told the older man as he crossed his arms over his chest and scowled deeply. "We're wandering in circles, we've no idea where we're going or where that Inuyasha bastard is, we need a plan, something."

"I agree ser." Hiten mumbled with a nod as he looked out over his crew—Naraku's crew—who had all grown silent at the young man's outburst.

"If you agree—," Naraku snarled as he lowered his hands to his sides and turned giving Hiten his full attention. "Then think of something!"

Hiten didn't flinch from the scream, he stood there bravely his eyes looking into the dark chasms that were Naraku Morgan's pupils. He did gulp, however, as he stared into those malevolent shady eyes; he felt every hair on the back of his neck stand on end as those eyes glared, he felt every fiber of his being push him to step away to run away as those eyes melted all courage he had thought was in his heart away. Blinking, he glanced down at his feet, adverting his gaze, knowing he wasn't brave enough to look him in the eye at all. "A—well—um—ser," He started to speak but his voice failed him and he bit his lip. "God damn it, he's just a kid for Christ sake!" He reasoned before gulping. "A kid who murdered his own father in cold blood." The rational side of his brain reasoned.

"Tsst," Naraku mumbled and turned away from Hiten. "You don't have a clue do you?" He muttered out as he crossed his arms once again over his chest, his eyes staring straight forward with wonder at the storm. "The heavens are about to open up." He whispered strangely, almost cryptically. "Do you think it's a hurricane?"

"A—," Hiten started to say but stumbled on his words coughing slightly before he was actually able to speak. "No—I um—don't think so."

"Hm." Naraku shrugged his shoulders and started to walk away from Hiten away from the wheel and towards the stairs. "Mr. Hiten, please take command of the ship during the storm," He commented as rain began to sprinkle down. "I'd rather not get wet by doing it myself."

Hiten sighed at the knowledge of the man leaving, it was certainly a relief even though it was because of a storm looming overhead. "Aye, sir." He called and winced when Naraku suddenly stopped and turned to look at him one last time over his shoulder.

"Oh," Naraku mumbled as he moved a hand to cover his eyes from the rain so he could see clearly. "And one more thing Mr. Hiten."

"Yes sir?" Hiten gulped as he clutched the wheel tightly.

Naraku glared at Hiten then with such intensity that Hiten actually felt his heart stop beating in his chest until Naraku spoke. "I want to make myself very clear." His voice was icy, commanding, and scary. "The only reason you're alive is because I assumed you would be able to get a hold of these—jewels—if you prove that you can't, that you—," He smiled but there was no humor in the gesture. "—aren't capable, there will be—an actual hurricane." He smirked and turned away as he started down the stairs his voice echoing behind him as his head disappeared. "Consisting primarily of your blood." His voice dissipated leaving his own dilemma with Hiten for now.

Hiten felt light headed, he felt like he was about to faint, like a woman wearing too tight a corset on a very hot summer day. He took a deep breath and blinked several times, his mind racing, trying to recall exactly what Naraku had just said but unable to really register anything other than the actual threat that had accompanied it.

"Captain?" A man said as he climbed up the staircase looking relieved that Naraku had left. "Are ya feelin' well?" He asked when he noticed the man's current state.

"Yeah." Hiten managed to reply as he turned the wheel, blinking rain out of his eyes as he did.

"You look like you just saw a ghost." The other man reasoned as he came to stand by the helm with his Captain.

"Didn't see a ghost." Hiten told the man firmly as he tried to calm himself for the possible calamity that could come about either by the storm or Naraku's own hand. "Doesn't mean they're won't be one on this boat in the near future, though."

The other man furrowed his eyebrows confused. "What are you talkin' 'bout Captain?"

"Nothing," Hiten said firmly as he tried to control himself. He would have to deal with his problems with Naraku later, for now—he had a totally different kind of storm to deal with.

-break-

A dark hallway, stiff wood underneath small feet, the creaks of a floorboard, crick—crick—crick.

The feet behind the noise stopped moving and the small child that was attached to them lowered his ears confused, he had never heard a floor board creak. He furrowed his eyebrows, his tiny forehead wrinkling with his confusion as he looked down at his feet his ears twitching, taking in the noise.

"Nani?" Inuyasha questioned softly, his small childlike voice gentle in the darkened night. "This floor," He suddenly remembered English even in his small body. "Where am I, a place that would have this floor?" He recognized it, although only vaguely, a distant memory of a floor just like this coming back to him. Carefully, he raised his head and with big golden chibi eyes took in the sight of the hallway in which those strange memorable wooden floors made their home.

There were doors, many doors with numbers on them, many numbers; and pictures between each one. They were pictures of people, portraits; they were pictures of landscapes and houses something unpopular in times of the past; they were pictures of families none of which he recognized; they were pictures, pictures of the dead.

He took a deep breath his nose twitching as it took in the smell of oak, maybe pine, and a hint of oil paint used for canvas. It was all familiar, strangely so but he couldn't place it even if he tried. He breathed in deeply once again, this time his nose picking up another scent, a strong one, one he could place, one he had always known from the very first moment he had drawn breath in this world. He blinked and turned, somehow knowing that if he looked behind him he would see the source of that smell and he did see it. There on a small table just behind his head was a vase filled with soft white Irish Lilies.

He frowned and turned his body completely walking towards the vase, the constant crick of the floor board no longer intriguing to him as he approached the small end table, his eyes taking in the lilies as they rested in the clear crystal cylinder. They were beautiful, although slightly wilted, their white chalice shaped peddles leaning forward on the lip of the crystal, as if they were hanging their heads low—depressed or saddened by something.

"Are you sad?" He whispered as he reached forward, his small chubby fingers extending, one claw barely pressing into the flower causing it to wilt further. He drew his hand away quickly, a squeak coming from his lips, a squeak of panic induced by watching the flower peddle break away from the stem and as if in slow motion depart toward the ground, drifting to the wood as if caught on a spring breeze before hitting it; instantly decaying on the hard brown floor only—

It wasn't the floor.

Inuyasha took a quick step back his eyes huge as he watched the once familiar wooden surface become liquid, a gentle blue with hundreds of soft white petals dropping down into it causing ripples to flourish on its surface. He nearly tripped over his feet as he stumbled backwards in shock, his eyes wide as they took in the sight of hundreds of white flower peddles gracing the surface of a small pond; a familiar pond.

He looked up, away from the pond taking in the garden that surrounded him, the small bridge to his left and the house a fuzzy memory in the distance. He was home, the place of his birth, the garden of his childhood where both good and bad memories made their home. Inuyasha felt tears in his eyes, felt some pain in his heart lift as he glanced upwards at the Sakura tree that hung beside the water, a gentle decoration among blooming spring.

Blinking slowly Inuyasha managed to make his legs move again and forced himself towards the bank of the small pond, his eyes enraptured as its surface rippled from another small white flower that had fluttered downwards landing in the clear water. A koi fish underneath its surface bobbed upwards, its large mouth tasting the flower before spitting it out hastily and swimming away, its whole body thrashing angrily at the false food.

The small Inuyasha giggled at the sight and sitting down on his hands and knees leaned over the bank to look into the water, studying the hundreds of colorful koi. Oranges and whites, blacks and patches of gold filled his vision and he grinned childishly as they seemed to dance around one another, looking for food but coming back with nothing but white flower peddles.

"Silly koi." He mumbled as he looked upwards at the Sakura tree, his eyes following the path of a new peddle that was gently making its way to the pond, circling on the breeze, flitting and floating before finally landing causing a hundred ripples in its wake.

Compelled, the small boy reached forward, his tiny hand touching the peddle with one miniature sharpened claw. The flower instantly sunk from the touch, the koi's swimming hurriedly away from it as it was swallowed and capsized by the rippling water, subsequently falling into its depths descending lower and lower until it touched the silt on the bottom of the pond. And then, resting their it bleed.

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he gasped as the color seemed to flow from that one peddle, like ink spilled from a well. He stood to his feet his eyes darting this way and that in panic as all the silt at the bottom of the pond became covered in a deep dark bloody red. "Iya." He heard himself whisper at the sight. "Iya—," He shook his head falling backwards and landing on his bottom as he watched the blood seep into everything, it started with the stems of the lily pads, traveling up them until the lilies themselves turned to blood and then it chased after every koi fish, desperately changing their beautiful orange and gold to death and despair.

"No—," He whispered again as tears flooded his eyes and spilled to his cheeks. The koi fish had stopped swimming the second they were touched and they too were now sinking to the bottom of the pond into the silt, into oblivion. "No!" He squeezed his eyes shut and sobbed repeating the one syllable word over and over again until his heart felt like it would burst. "No," He shook his head opening his eyes just long enough to take in the sight of that blood gaining speed, moving to the white and pure flower peddles now. "No," It started to seep into them, sinking them as he had the very first one—killing her as he had the very first one. "Okaa-san!" He screamed and screwed his eyes shut tight, unable to take any more. "Okaa-san, oneigai, Okaa-san, Okaa-san, Okaa-san!"

"Inu-chan?"

Inuyasha's eyes shot opened and he sobbed as the sight of his mother met his gaze, the pond and the red blood were gone now, as well as the koi, the garden and the Sakura tree, they were all gone and all that was left was his mother's gentle face, pale and sweet surrounded by nothing but darkness. "Okaa-san?" He whispered softly as he hiccupped and the tears gathered even thicker on his lashes as he reached for her.

She only shook her head the darkness seeming to engulf her pale features as the small black tuffs of hair on either side of her face moved back and forth slowly, almost mockingly. "I'm sorry." She told him as she stood and started to walk away into the blackness her body disappearing as her voice called out over her shoulder. "I can't offer you comfort anymore, my son, it is not my place."

"Why not? Please, Okaa-san, don't leave me, don't leave me!" Inuyasha found himself yelling but stopped instantly when he took in the sound of his voice. It was gruff, it was older, it was the sound of his voice as an adult. Quickly he looked down and took in the sight of his much bigger body, his much bigger feet, his much bigger claws. "What the hell is going on!" He screamed as he looked back at his mother but she was gone, the blackness was gone and he was once again in another place, this time a field of pure white flowers.

Inuyasha took a shaky breath and turned completely around looking desperately for anything, anything familiar. The familiar sight his eyes finally landed on nearly, however, only made his heart stop dead in his chest once again.

"Kikyo."

She was sitting in the middle of the field, those same white lilies surrounding her even though they only grew in lakes or ponds. Carefully, she reached a pale hand downwards, taking one of the lilies by the stem breaking it off with a crunching noise before pulling it to her face, smelling the flower as she hummed to herself.

He stepped forward, his hand reaching out, wanting to touch her but he stopped, he couldn't do it, not again. Every flower he touched died, every purity he knew decayed by his hand. He let his arms fall to his sides, let his heart sink into his chest. He wouldn't disturb her, he couldn't, his heart couldn't take another woman's blood falling to the ground.

"Inuyasha?"

He froze, he had heard her whisper, that soft pleading sound that caressed his mind. Carefully he turned, his eyes looking at her, watching as she brought that flower to her heart, her eyes looking around searching for him frantically. He narrowed his brow as he watched those eyes look for him, as those eyes blinked back tears—as those eyes turned to look at him, seeing through him all milky, stormy, and grey.

"Inuyasha where are you?" Her voice sounded panicky, sounded very un-Kikyo like.

"I'm right here." He told her stepping forward his heart aching from the sound of her voice so much that he found himself second guessing his decision; he couldn't leave her alone like this, he just couldn't.

"Inuyasha, where are you?" She called again loudly, a sob highlighting the end of her cry. "Inuyasha please," She whispered but it was loud enough for him to hear easily. " Please," It was faint but her tone spoke volumes. "I'm scared."

He rushed forward at the broken sound, reaching for her completely on instinct, wanting nothing more than to protect, to grab her and hold her and tell her how precious and loved she had been. He pulled her to his chest, his own fear of her pain causing him to bury his head in her hair, taking in her scent as he did, the smell catching him off guard.

He pulled away from her, he looked her in the eye, she was no longer hyperventilating, her tears had seemingly dried as well and she was looking at him, her eyes stormy filled with grey, absent of the black that had been Kikyo's eyes. He gasped, he nearly let go of her because of the sight alone but something stopped him and he held on—that scent; her scent—it was her scent, the scent of lilies and salt and the sea. The scent of freedom and love and completeness and comfort and everything he had ever longed for in the whole of his life. It was her scent—just her scent.

"Kagome." He said gently but he never got a chance to say more before those eyes became even lighter, more white than grey. "Kagome?" He questioned panicked as her skin began to grow pale, all the pink in her cheeks fading as she began to fade away, growing transparent in his arms disappearing from this world. "Kagome!"

"Why?" She whispered, her ashen lips cracking from her effort to speak, her eyes so white now that he couldn't hope to distinguish even the pupil, leaving them blank and lifeless.

He let go of her, watched as she dropped to the ground catching herself, however, her hands shattered from the effort disappearing into dust as the rest of her body began to fall apart. He froze unable to do anything but watch as the world around him faded into nothing, darkness consuming the light and purity of that mysterious world until all he could see was Kagome's ashen decaying lips as they spoke the very last words she would ever say in her life.

"Why did you let me die, Inuyasha?"

Inuyasha shot up in bed his heart pounding in his chest as he panted, his eyes frantically looking around him in his distress. The sound of his blood rushing in his ears prevented his heighten sense of hearing from distinguishing any threats or dangers and the phantom scent of lilies clogging up his nose caused his head to pound as it prevented him from taking in the reassuring smell that would have been Kagome. He took a deep breath, gasping as he tried desperately to control himself.

Hastily he brought his hands upwards, burying them in his hair, gripping the silver strands tightly, yanking on them trying desperately to make the pain erase the horrible nightmare. "Shit," He cursed softly as he continued to gasp and pant, his fingers digging into his hair desperately. "Shit, shit, shit." He gulped and held his breath, hoping the action would calm his galloping heart—after a second it did and he released the breath he had been holding slowly into the night.

Breathing deeply through his nose but unable to register any smells Inuyasha released his hands from his hair and tilted his head back closing his eyes as he continued to take deep reassuring breathes.

"It was just a dream." He whispered into the dark night. "Just the same dream." He gritted his teeth angrily, "The same fucking dream." He shook his head and allowed himself to fall backwards onto the bed once again, his head resting on the pillow as he rubbed his temple contemplating. "It's been a week since we left La Mobile." He whispered into the air before silently adding. "A week since the nightmares started."

Yes, it had been almost a week since they had officially left the small port town of La Mobile and every night he had had the same terrifying dream. At least, every night that he had chosen to actually sleep. After the first three nights of experiencing that particular nightmare wherever/whenever he happened to drift off (whether it morning noon or night; in his bed, on deck, in the birds nest, on a mast, etc.), he had forced himself to stay awake, pushing himself to not rest or for that matter ponder the strange nightmare and instead had decisively thrown himself into nothing but his normal job.

There was a lot to do when one was Captain of a ship after all and since Kagome had come on board he had neglected a lot of the more subtle duties he was supposed to perform. Rightfully, most of the duties he had neglected over the past few months were things Miroku usually took care of for him anyway but he still found a certain pleasure in doing the odds and ends himself.

The first night of his self induced sleep deprivation had been spent going through all his charts and marking off where they had been exactly, going over routes and making notes for future reference about the routes they had taken. He had made notes of things such as the location of the previously unknown sandbar in the mouth of the Mississippi (if they ever went back it would be good to have a reminder of the pesky thing) and that they now charged a port fee in Trinidad, something else he would need to remember next time he went to that particular island. He had even made notes on the changing water depths he had noticed vaguely when they were in Havana, knowing that in a few years the water would be far too shallow for them to actually dock at the main port any longer without running the risk of grounding their ship.

All in all, it had only taken him a few hours at best to tackle the charts and bring their whereabouts up to speed, so on the second night he had to drastically change tactics, which had lead him to a place he hadn't been in years—the hold. Taking over the duties of Miroku, he had spent the second night taking inventory, looking through everything from food and water, to their current plunder, which was the fur and other trading items Miroku had managed to get a hold of in La Mobile for a cheap price.

Overall, the task had been rather redundant seeing as Miroku and Shippo had already tallied everything making his own statistics rather useless. In the end though, Inuyasha had reasoned that it wasn't necessarily a waste of time at all but instead a means of determining if Miroku and Shippo's original figures had been correct—which they had.

The third night, this night, had thus left him with nothing to do at all, much to his horror. At first he had simply roamed the ship, checking things here and there, making sure the knots were done properly in all the ropes and that the mast were in tiptop shape. He had even checked the wheel for cracks and gone down bellow looking for some in the hull as well. Thanks to Totosai's constant vigil of the ship, however, he came up empty handed. Unable to think of anything else to occupy his time, he had given up, hoping that after so many days of sleep deprivation (although for a demon it really wasn't that much) he would be able to simply sleep without dreaming at all. It was possible, not likely, but possible.

So somewhere near one or two in the morning he had gone to his cabin, completely ignoring Kagome's sleeping form in favor of his own bed and with boots and everything still on had fallen asleep instantly, tired from going days without rest after such a long journey away from his home.

"That didn't work worth a shit." He groused as the thoughts trailed off. "Three days later, tired as fuck and I'm still—its still—," He growled and turned over onto his side, facing towards Kagome's bed with his eyes closed tight. He gulped when his ears picked up the sound of her sighing in her sleep and instantly pressed said ears to the back of his head.

It wasn't that he wanted to ignore her—he didn't—he loved talking to her and watching her and being with her but lately, since they had come back from their time with Jinenji and his mother, he had started feeling—undeniably guilty every time he did so. He had felt that way even before the dreams started—the dreams had just brought it all home.

"I let her down." He whispered with his eyes still closed tightly. "I promised to protect her, that I was a good man and wouldn't let anything happen to her. I promised and I," Inuyasha bit his lip. "I broke that promise."

It was true, the dream Kagome had said it best when she had shattered in front of him. He had let her die, Kagome had died.

She had died, in his arms she had slipped away and somehow, through luck or Jinenji's own amazing medical ability, she had been brought back to him. And he was so thankful, so grateful but also angry. She should have never experienced that close a brush with death in the first place but his carelessness had allowed it. How was he supposed to live with himself after that, how was he supposed to let himself have the pleasure of lov—

Inuyasha cut off his own thought, unable to allow himself to even express that feeling in silence. "All the more reason to stop this." He thought to himself but knew in his heart that his thoughts were bazaar. "I should just—I should just stop—if I can't even protect her then what right do I have to—to—feel anything about her?"

He growled, honestly growled at himself and reached under his head to produce his pillow, pulling it over his face perhaps in hopes of suffocating himself to death. But, never one to have anything covering his face for long, he pushed the pillow aside and unaware of his current position opened his eyes only to see the object of his musings right before his eyes.

"Kagome." He whispered out slowly in shook as he took in her gentle sleeping features before he let out a heavy sigh and brought his hands to his face as he set up and pushed his legs over the side of the bed. "She's right there." He thought to himself as he covered his face. "She's still right there safe and unharmed, right where," He cut off his voice for a second before forcing himself to speak again, uncovering his eyes in the process. "Right where she should be."

He smiled despite himself (despite the feeling of complex wrongness that was building in his heart at the admission) both from his words and the combined experience of taking in her current position at the same time. She was sleeping soundly, Shippo tucked away against her, the red tuffs of his hair the only part of him visible from under the blanket. Her chin was resting on that soft baby down and her lips were parted as she breathed silently in and out, perfectly healthy and perfectly alive.

Her rosy cheeks were an example of her current living state and her moist lips the most delectable feature calling to him, begging him to reassure himself that she was alive by tasting them and their living warmth. They seemed to be calling, asking him to give into sensation and allow himself to indulge in her. And he wanted to, as easy as it was to push her away, it was so much easier to give into her. Suddenly, she smiled in her sleep as if she was very much aware of his thoughts and made a cute noise that sounded somewhat like a grunt but also the twitter of a little bird.

She worried her lip with two perfect white teeth and then yawned with eyes still closed and mind still gone. He chuckled to himself as he stood and moved towards her without even thinking knelling in front of her bed, watching her absently as she smiled once again and snuggled completely on impulse down into the soft sheets, her arms around Shippo pulling the boy even tighter. He too made a soft noise but it was one Inuyasha actually understood. A slight growl of the language of the fox—a contented noise that Inuyasha knew meant mother.

The young dog demon sighed at the child's unknown admission and reached forward with a clawed hand to ruffle the boys hair. "I'm glad you found her." He admitted if only to himself, pushing a strange feeling of jealousy that was building in his heart aside. "At your age I would have given anything to have known another comfort like my mother."

He pulled his hand away from the soft kit hair and on impulse turned his padded finger tips towards Kagome's own much longer bangs. He brushed them to the side, allowing them to move her hair out of the way so he could see her closed eyes. They were peaceful when they were closed, peaceful and just as beautiful. Her lashes were resting against her cheeks, they were long and tantalizing and dark like her hair. A strand of said hair chose that moment to slip from his grasp like a silken blanket and it landed against her eyelid causing those luscious lashes to flutter slightly as she flinched but didn't wake. Inuyasha gulped at the sight, and found himself hard pressed not to bother her more so that her lashes might flutter open, allowing him to see her, allowing him to see her beautiful grey eyes.

Sighing he forced himself to stop, knowing that he couldn't face those kind accepting eyes, eyes he had let down. Moving his hand away from her, he dropped it to the bed and silently took in her scent wanting something, anything to calm him down—to make him feel—safe—like a little child—to make the guilt go away, he needed it, he needed to feel nothing again but the cool sensation her scent brought. He inhaled deeply, taking it in like a drug, his body tingling as it washed over him so completely that it was his blanket.

Instantly, he felt his eyes droop, he felt his heart beat grow even, he felt his whole mind slow down as sleep began to call to him. He yawned and even though he didn't want to leave her side he forced himself to stand and stretch. A part of him didn't want to sleep or more accurately didn't want to risk sleeping but the more rational side of him knew he had to try if he wanted to be any use to his crew tomorrow and it also knew (as irrational as it sounds) that Kagome's scent, deeply buried in his nose could keep the phantom scent of his nightmares away.

He stumbled back the short distance to his bed and quietly fell down into it with the stealth of years of practice. He kicked off his boots hastily, not wanting to sleep in them once again and before long found himself drifting away as he let his thoughts evaporate and allowed his eyes to close, allowed himself to start nodding off to sleep as he took in the intoxicating and oddly calming scent of lilies and salt that was Kagome, the true sea scent mingling in the air with it, lulling him to sleep. He inhaled deeply one more time his whole mind beginning to shut off, "Kagome," He mumbled to himself as the scent of salt and the sea and lillies and rain—rain?

Inuyasha set up quickly once again, his eyes frantically looking towards the window, growling when he found the curtains drawn. Stepping out of the bed, hissing as his feet landed on the cool wooden floor he hastily made his way the short distance to the back of the cabin, grabbing the drapes and pulling them aside, his eyes taking in the sight of soft rain with anything but happiness. "How long has it been raining?" He wondered as he quickly turned around and grabbed for his boots putting them back on as he stood and leaned against the wall, not having enough time to truly sit down.

Moving towards the door of the cabin he grabbed his jacket and paused, glancing backwards to look at Kagome's peacefully sleeping body one last time. He worried his lip, he gulped as his dream toyed at the back of his mind and then his face hardened the situation confronting him: no matter what he would not let her die ever again.

Rushing from the room as quietly as any predator Inuyasha made his way into the hall looking quickly from left to right before going towards the stairs, choosing to let Miroku sleep until he knew for sure what kind of situation they were in. The ship took that moment to bob quiet sharply and Inuyasha cursed as he lost his footing for the first time in years when they weren't in the eye of a storm.

Growling angrily as he was lurched into the wall, Inuyasha pushed himself to go out on deck, his eyes immediately taking in the sight of gentle rain and angry clouds. "Fuck." He grumbled moving towards the stairs as the sea started to bob once again this time not nearly as persistent but still more than is normally accepted. "Myoga!" He called as he climbed to the top of the stairs his hands not bothering to grip the rails even though the sea was starting to turn for fear they would slow them down.

"Yes, Captain?" Myoga called as he held tight to the wheel, his small hands hanging on with surprising strength.

Inuyasha nodded at the man in lieu of actually saying hello and came to stand by his side, his sharp eyes studying the slightly waking sea. It wasn't really choppy yet, or even too disturbed but it was awakening as it were. Experience told Inuyasha that it would only be a matter of hours before the seas were at a point that they were in any real danger. "How long has it been raining?"

"Not-to even five-e minute-o sir," Myoga confirmed with a nod of his head as he gently moved the wheel towards starboard. "Myoga was-u about-to come for Inuyasha-sama, mo," He paused and motioned with his chin towards the wheel. "Myoga have-e to tie it-to down first."

"Well no need to bother with that now." Inuyasha said absently as he reached for the wheel easily taking over it for Myoga. It only made sense to do so, after all, Inuyasha was far stronger than the tiny man and should the sea start to get choppy he would be able to handle the wheel far better than a mere flea.

Myoga didn't comment on the move as he stepped to the side, his eyes looking out over the sky more intensely now that he didn't have to worry about the wheel at all. "Myoga not-to like the look-u of the-e clouds."

"Neither do I." Inuyasha agreed as he turned them back to larboard slightly, his own eyes glancing up briefly at the slowly building dark grey clouds behind them to the west. "That storms about an hour away from us." He nodded his head firmly at the thought looking back out in front of them towards the much lighter night sky that was a few hundred leagues away to the north. "Wouldn't you say, Myoga?"

Myoga nodded as he turned around, grabbed his spyglass, opening it to get a better look at the building storm behind them and to their left. He scrutinized for only a minute before bringing it away and closing it hastily. "What-to does Inuyasha-sama want-to do?"

Inuyasha sighed heavily and turned one more time to look behind himself at the rushing storm. "Well, the good news is we're already going away from it." He took a deep breath. "The bad news is there's no way we can out run it, its too close to us."

Myoga only nodded in agreement as he scratched his nose regretfully. "Myoga should-o noticed that-to Captain, gomen nasai."

"What's done is done." Inuyasha brushed the apology off easily, his eyes staring at the mass of clouds and the slight flickers of lightening. "Where are we on the map?"

"We-e just-to touched the tip-i of-fu East-to Florida." Myoga pointed to the land mass that was looming beside them a half mile or so away to their left. "Past-to the last key-y island," He motioned with his hand as if to show Inuyasha the island he was talking about. "Ship-pu in Spanish territory-y now, demo," He thought for just a second before continuing on. "British-u territorie-e close-e."

Inuyasha nodded firmly and oddly licked his teeth, brushing his tongue up against his fang as if he was provoking danger. "We're still pretty low off the coast though," He told Myoga with a nod, his eyes not leaving the many inlets of the lower Florida. "How close are we to the New River Settlement?"

"Day-y or so away." Myoga declared with an apologetic shrug.

Inuyasha grunted at the information, his mind racing, trying to remember the area as best he could without a map in his hand."So we passed Cayo Hueso diffidently?"

"Yes and-o Cayo Largo," Myoga shrugged slightly his hands fidgeting as he counted on them. "Just-to a little while ago."

Inuyasha glanced about taking in the area trying to determine by Myoga's description their current whereabouts. He licked his lips this time, taking in the scenery with knowledgeable eyes. Even in the dark his vision picked up little clues, backed by the information that Myoga had just given him. He had seen this bay a million times, there was no way he wouldn't recognize the strange long island that was starting at their bow and the entrance that would pass them within the next fifteen minutes, the entrance to their only hope. "Cayo de Biscainhos." He mumbled before nodding firmly. "We need to get inside the bay." He told Myoga without a further glance.

Myoga blinked rapidly, his expression one of disbelief. "But sir?"

"Think about it." Inuyasha spoke harshly his eyes studying the waves as they began to crash against the rocks of the islands that surrounded the bay area. "Storms slow down when they go over land." He glanced westwards in the direction of the storm. "If we get deep inside the bay that will put a whole bunch of land between us and the storm."

"Makin' it-to weaker." Myoga instantly concluded.

"Exactly. We get in there, anchor down, take down the sails and ride out the weaker storm. It's better than trying to outrun something that's even faster than my ship." He turned the wheel beginning to cross over to their new destination. "Or being a sitting duck like we were a few months ago when we got caught in the hurricane that took out our mast."

"Technically Captain," Myoga told him with a smirk on his small face. "Yuu killed-o the last mast-to."

"That's beside the point." Inuyasha grunted as he fought to keep the wheel turned at their new odd angle. The wind was beginning to come from the direction of the storm and thus from the west, causing the ship to turn against the well. It would be tricky to get them in the bay at this rate with sails alone. "It still could have been avoided if we hadn't been sitting ducks."

"True." Myoga nodded at his Captain as he helped him hold the wheel in place. The wind was pushing them upwards at a strange angle while the current of the bay was pushing them back. It was a tough predicament that would only be solved if they woke up the whole ship; something they would need to do soon anyway but before he went to place the orders Myoga had one more bit of business to attend to. "Inuyasha-sama," He whispered, his voice still loud despite the sound of the rain. "Don't-to yuu think it-to was lucky we lost-to our mast-u."

"Lucky?" Inuyasha grunted out as he held the wheel hard, his eyes glued to the mouth of the bay. From his current position with rain in his eyes and the wind just starting to pick up, he could only guess that the bay was thirty minutes or so away at the most. That wouldn't give them much time to get very far inland before the storm hit but it would be better than nothing. "I can't believe I've missed a storm twice in one year." He frowned darkly. "I'm losing my touch."

"Yes," Myoga continued to speak unhindered by the Captain's grunt. "It's-u lucky the sail-u was-u lost."

"What makes it lucky?" Inuyasha grumbled his mind really elsewhere.

"The bounty from-u Port-to Royal." Myoga concluded as he tilted the wheel farther with the Captain's help. "Lucky-y." Myoga spoke honestly, his words tricky and bold.

Inuyasha glared at him but didn't argue which made Myoga smile.

"Yes, Captain?" The small man asked as he looked upwards at Inuyasha with a smirk on his face. "A Lucky-y bounty."

Inuyasha sighed heavily and pushed Myoga completely off the wheel without saying a word, his eyes focused and concerned only with the task at hand.

With a chuckle Myoga turned away mumbling, "I'll go get Miroku." As he did. He knew better than to push the Captain any farther than he just had but a part of him knew that somebody needed to be up to the task of pushing the boy's buttons when push came to shove. And so he disappeared down the stairs, scurrying towards Miroku's cabin to wake the ship's Quartermaster leaving the Captain alone with his thoughts.

Inuyasha steered the ship silently, his mind wandering to Kagome who was still most likely asleep below. Images from his dream bubbled within him and he shuddered from the very thought of her ashen lips and disintegrating body. It haunted him, worse than any nightmare he had ever had, and he had had a lot—hundreds, millions of nightmares that went back to things that had happened in his life. Still none of them compared to this one, this nightmare or this life experience.

Inuyasha gripped the wheel tighter, his knuckles turning white as Myoga's parting words toyed with him. "Lucky." He whispered out loud as he glanced downwards taking in his hands, remembering the way Kagome's hands had shattered when he let her go and she had fallen to the ground.

"It was lucky." He turned to look at the impending storm. "Wasn't it?" It was strange that the phrase was a question and not a good one.

End of Chapter

Please Review

Congrats to glon morski for being reviewer 1050! Editted for content and Grammar 1/4/2012 and Accents 6/5/2013

Bonus Point:

What is Naraku's real name in the anime/manga? *Hint: Starts with a 'O.'

Last Chapter's Bonus Point:

The Answer is episode 38, Two Hearts, One Mind. Trapped In A Duel To The Death will also work because Shippo draw in that one as well. Congrats to the winners!

Kittychic0895, AriaLuvsInu, HeavenlyEclipse, Litle C, MissieMae, Saria Forest14, Warm-Amber92, InuKag4eva, InuEared Miko of Darkness, TheRealInuyasha, soliea0death

Notes:

New River Settlement – the name of Fort Lauderdale before the 20th century.

Cayo Hueso – the name for Key West in Spanish. It is the original name for Key West as well seeing how Key West was discovered by the Spanish who named it . At the time of this fanfiction the island would be mostly abandoned because of the territory wars between the British and the Spanish. Pirates most likely used it as a stopping point before going to Cuba or other Caribbean nations seeing as it's the last Island in the Florida Key Chain.

Cayo Largo – the name for Key Largo, one of the first islands in the Florida Key Chain. It was also named first by the Spanish.

Cayo de Biscainhos – the name for Biscayne Bay in Spanish, the bay that is right above the Florida Keys and underneath Miami.

Hwa is thet mei thet hors wettrien the him-self nule drinken – The first known written occurrence of the homily, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink." It can be found in the book old English book, "The Blickling Homolies" written in 1175.

*Kaede referenced Chaucer as being a contemporary of this homily. He is not completely, the homily itself is first referenced in 1175 and Chaucer wasn't born till 1343 (in the literary world this isn't really that much of a gap in time). Despite this, both the homily and Chaucer's works are written in the same language. Chaucer wrote in the vernacular (a fancy way of saying 'the common people's language' i.e. Old English) which is the same language "The Blickling Homolies" is written in. In other words, both the homily and Chaucer are contemporaries because they are written in the same language not because they were written in the same era.

Next Chapter:

Failures

See you there!

UNEDITTED

POSTED

1/2/2012