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?

52. Trust

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).

**UNEDITTED**

Chapter Fifty-Two

Trust

"Kagome?" Miroku repeated his father's words in utter shock as he watched Inuyasha's back grow tight with disbelief. "What the hell would she be doing here?" The young man growled as he pushed himself upwards wanting desperately to see out the door.

"Miroku don't move." Sango commanded before darting forward, rushing to the door of the hut to stand next to her Captain, her eyes wide as she looked out into the pandemonium. "Dear lord." She whispered in horror as she took in a world of death and blood. The ground was littered with bodies, some in red war paint with spears or bows and others dressed much like the members of their crew with jackets, standard pants, and guns. "It is a war." She realized as she slowly dropped down to the floor, her eyes glancing back to Miroku and then back outside. "How are we—how—how will we get him out of here?"

Blinking the young woman clutched her fist to her sides, her eyes darting this way and that trying to see Kagome among that chaos. Coming up short she glanced at the shell-shocked Captain and followed his line of vision up towards the tops of the cliffs, her eyes growing insanely wide as she took in the sight of Kagome standing on the cliff side. "Ka—," She felt her body shake as she watched the small girl, so tiny up above them, delicate and unprotected. "Gome."

Beside her Inuyasha still stood stunned, his own golden eyes staring up at the cliff right across from them, "I was there, literally ten minutes ago, I was standing right there." He realized as he felt his whole body shake with confusion and other emotions he couldn't even comprehend. There on the cliff side Kagome stood still dressed in the beautiful clothes of the Cherokee people, the short doe skin dress blowing lightly in the wind as she looked out over the battlefield. "What is she doing there?" The question ran through his mind, repeating itself over and over again as he stood, his body frozen in place, the image of her imprinting itself in his mind.

He squinted as he watched her, his sharp vision not quite able to make out the features of her face but still just good enough to tell that her body posture was that of someone unmoving—someone stationary, perhaps scared. "Damn it!" Inuyasha snarled out as he thought of his current situation. "What the hell do I do?" He asked himself as his head whipped around to look at Miroku who was currently leaning against the post in the room once more panting heavily with pain as he clutched his shoulder. "Miroku needs me but," He swung his head back around taking in the sight of the small Kagome. "Kagome—."

"She's out there, right?" Miroku spoke his voice tight and his teeth clenched as he watched his father closely, studying the tense panicky pull of his muscles as he looked outside at a figure Miroku couldn't see.

"Yeah." Sango whispered as she moved to hid herself in the shadow of the wall, leaning against the wood as if she could no longer hold herself up. "She looks so small." Sango shook as she spoke, her eyes landing on Miroku, true fear shinning from within them for the first time since this ordeal had even started. "She can't protect herself, she doesn't know anything about fighting, dear lord why is she even out the—."

"Go." Miroku cut his wife off, her words striking a cord deep within him. "Otou-san you need to go." He continued as he looked at Inuyasha with stern eyes, the pain leaving him for a second as he spoke firmly and confidently. "I know you're worried but I'll be fine." He pointed at Sango with his good arm even though Inuyasha's back was still turned to him. "Sango can fight if she needs to, go get Kagome out of here before someone notices her. We'll be okay."

Inuyasha growled and clutched the doorframe with both hands, the pressure causing the wood to crackle. "Miroku," He licked his lips, his mind racing as he took in the situation fully. "This is bad." He groused, his claws digging into the wood now. "Damn it, why can't you just stay fucking put Kagome!" Inuyasha ripped his claws out of the wood and turned back to look at Miroku who still sat hunched over, dried blood and fresh blood coating his skin. "You can't even walk." The sea Captain practically snarled at his son, anger driving his voice to be harsher than it should have been.

"Thanks for stating the obvious," Miroku commented back smartly, completely unaffected by the snarling half demon before him. "But you know I got Sango," He inclined his head towards the woman, smiling at her. "I'll be okay."

Inuyasha snorted and looked away from the younger man, burying one clawed hand in his hair as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "This place is surrounded by cliffs," He cleared his throat forcing himself to speak more levelly. "There's no way you're getting outta here without me." He dropped his hand, giving his son a pointed look. "Sango's good but she can't fucking carry a full grown man."

"That may be true but at least Sango can punch a full grown man—," Miroku countered bluntly his eyes now turning dark with worry. "Kagome—she ain't strong yet, she's only been with us a few months, those men," Miroku motioned to his body with his good arm. "Look what they did to me, whatcha think they're gonna do to her if they see her? We can't risk them seeing her."

Inuyasha knew without a doubt that Miroku was right but still his instincts warred in his head. His hurt son, his endangered mate—this wasn't a choice any demon was ever supposed to make. "Damn it!" He yelled and turned around, the demon within him snarling and panting, growling and howling with confusion and anger. "I can carry you, I can carry you now." Inuyasha spoke hastily and turned stalking towards Miroku.

"Otou-san," Miroku whispered with a shake of his head before attempting to sit up a little straighter. He hissed as pain ran up his arm and down his leg but continued with the motion, his breathing coming across in a harsh wheeze. Inuyasha's ears perked on his head from the sound and he rushed the last few feet towards Miroku, falling to one knee with concern. Miroku waved the concerned look of his father off with one hand and gave him a lopsided grin that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Yeah, you could." He agreed, "But what about Sango, no offence," He glanced at his wife. "But she can't climb worth a shit—so are you gonna carry her too? That sounds like a lot of time to get us out of here, by the time you're done they could have already gotten to Kagome."

Inuyasha gave Miroku a stern look but didn't argue.

"You know I'm right Otou-san, so go," Miroku continued as he reached a hand out and touched his father's shoulder giving it a squeeze. "Kagome wa," He stopped to clear his throat before he finished the sentence. "Anata o hitsuyō to."

Miroku's words were calm and spoken perfectly with perfect grammar, a perfect accent, and perfect inflections. If Inuyasha hadn't been so focused on the current situation both externally and internally, he would have taken the time to feel immensely proud but the demon in him having heard its native tongue knew now what it had to do more than ever. Miroku's words were just as true as they were perfect.

"Hai," Inuyasha replied as his confusion lifted and before either Sango or Miroku knew what the man was doing, Inuyasha darted from the small hut the English words, "I'll be back," echoing behind him as Miroku's words repeated over and over again in his head, "Kagome wa anata o hitsuyō to: Kagome needs you."

-break-

Onaconah ducked underneath a whizzing arrow fired by his own men and cursed silently to himself in his native tongue. All around him, he could see his men dying, his men fighting, some of them even fighting relatives they had known from long ago. It tore at his heart as he watched uncles fight nephews, drawing blood drawing death; brothers fighting brothers slashing, stabbing, destroying flesh and bone with both guns and knives.

"Why," He thought to himself as he watched one of his best scouts raise a spear to another man's head, pushing it through the skull with such great force that the head bones cracked and snapped under the pressure—the victim falling to the ground, blood spraying along with brain matter on the sand. "Why is it this way?"

A cry from his right drew him away from his own thoughts and he turned just in time to raise his forearm up in front of his head, stopping a knife from rooting in the side of his own brain. The pirate who had attacked him snarled in response jumping backwards with all the grace of a cat, landing some four or five paces away only to jump back forward once more knife posed for attack.

Hissing, Onaconah sprang forward as well, catching the other Bobcat's knife wielding hand in his own effortlessly before taking his elbow and driving it into the younger demon's stomach sharply. Blood boiled up from the other demon's throat as Onaconah released him and allowed him to fall to the ground, clutching at his stomach painfully before falling forward unconscious with a loud thud.

Breathing somewhat heavily, Onaconah stood back up straight and looked down at the man with troubled eyes as the scent of blood filled the air as well as the natural scent of his attacker. "I know—," He thought to himself as he bent down and turned the man over the sound of a moan hitting his ears as he jarred the man's wounds. He gasped as he saw the man's face, taking in the visage of a demon he had known as a child, as a infant, as a womb occupant. Horrified, he let go of the man and sprang away landing beside a vacant hut. "My cousin."

The realization penetrated all the way down to his stomach causing him to clutch his hands tightly together. He hadn't thought of it before they attacked, it hadn't even really crossed his mind but everyone, every man they struck down was related to them.

"They're not just any pirates." Onaconah whispered in Cherokee. "They were once our family." Pain tore into Onaconah's heart as he looked out at the decimated world that surrounded them. "We're killing our family, why did it have to come to this?" The chief shook his head slowly back and forth. "Why brother, why?"

"Don't you understand, brother?" A young demon of no more than maybe two or three centuries cried out as he stood inside Onaconah's hut watching as his older brother built up a fire to cook dinner. "These white men are right, think about it."

"There's nothing to think about." Onaconah spoke bluntly as he positioned a sharply pointed stick on top of a piece of tree bark, preparing to spin it around quickly until he made an ember. "The white men are prejudice, nothing more."

"Brother," The younger man snorted as he placed his hands on hips and frowned darkly. "Did you listen to what the white man said at all?"

"Yes," Onaconah nodded his head as he placed one hand on either side of the stick, palms facing each other, before quickly rubbing his palms together—stick between. "And therein lies my problem with them."

The younger man growled darkly but ignored his brother's comment in favor of continuing. "Mating with humans leads to weak blood, that's why our tribe's grown so soft in recent years." His brother argued, his hands leaving his hips in favor of motioning in the air. "The more we mate with the humans, the less demon blood is in our pups and the less demon blood, the less power."

"Blood does not necessarily create power, Adahy." The older brother said with a sigh as he finally produced an ember from his quick attempts. Patiently, he picked up the piece of bark where the tiny ember had formed and brought it towards the gathered bits of kindle he had made into a small teepee. "Power comes in all forms, like this ember." He tipped the bark over onto the small bits of twigs and dried grass. "By itself it appears tiny and insignificant but—," He leaned down and blew lightly until the ember began to flame, catching the kindling as it grew. "With a little help from other sources it grows larger."

"Keh!" His brother snarked as he crossed his arms snidely. "You're analogy is flawed." He spoke with all the fire of his youth. "That ember is the half demons our tribe is known for and only by those half demons mating with full demons does the ember stand a chance of growing larger." He pointed at the small fire with disdain. "Take away that demon blood and all you have left is useless humans."

Onaconah sighed heavily and brought a clawed hand to his forehead to rub it. "You're missing the point."

"No," Adahy dropped his arms hastily, bringing one hand in front of him in a fist. "You're missing the point Onaconah our tribe is weak, if we get rid of the humans like the white man suggested and start our blood lines over, pure, think of what we could become!"

"Adahy." Onaconah spoke softly as he brought himself to a stand, watching the now small but bright fire as it burned, eating up the kindling he had placed in the fire-pit to give it life. "Human's do not make us weak, humans are not weak creatures."

"Then why are they so easily controlled by demons?"

"That is far more complex than you can understand," Onaconah spoke with a voice wise beyond even his fifteen hundred years. "The world functions in a specific way, two races drawing lines between each other that exist only because they have been drawn." The older demon shook his head trying to find the words he needed to explain this to his brother. "If you get rid of those lines and destroy that created hate then both races will be equal in power and eventually become one."

"What are you saying." His brother tilted his head looking almost concerned. "You want one race?"

"Yes." Onaconah nodded enthusiastically. "The world will be bet—."

"Haaahaa." Adahy began to laugh loudly, his hands going to his stomach clutching at it as he let the sound ring throughout the hut. "Brother, haahaaa—what are you—how absurd."

"Adahy?"

"One race—," The younger brother said the word with disbelief as if the word had been a unicorn and not vocabulary. "Demons have ruled this world since its inception—to think that they would give that up. You're a fool."

The older demon's mouth dropped opened at his brother's words. "Adahy!"

"The world functions in a specific way, Onaconah." Adahy spoke harshly, his brother's earlier words dripping from his lips. "And not because of lines," He drew the word out sarcastically, mockingly. "Those lines weren't created, they're a sign of divinity." Adahy smirked as he spoke. "Demons were simply given more power than humans and so they rule, and we as a tribe need to understand this if we want to survive the expanding western world." The younger brother took a step forward towards his brother watching the older man with gleaming eyes. "You know it brother, they're coming the demons of the west and when they get here we will need to be strong in order to keep our lands and that means having the most demon blood in our veins as possible."

"Demon blood will not give us better odds." Onaconah argued in return but it was already too late, Adahy had already made up his mind.

"I don't know what happened to you brother." The younger demon spoke with a shake of his head. "Probably that mate of yours, Hyalei?" He spit the name out with disgust causing Onaconah to growl low in his throat as his brother continued. "She's messed with you brother, changed you—you used to understand things like this and now," Adahy glared darkly as his brother continued to growl. "You're old and stupid, father never should have made you chief upon his death."

"I was made chief," The older brother spoke through gritted teeth, the insults to his mate irking him to his core. "Because I am the oldest," Onaconah fired back as he stood as tall as he could, a whole foot taller than his younger brother. "And as the oldest I know what is best for this tribe."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Onaconah spoke the word sharply, his eyes gleaming as he took a step forward, towards his brother. "I will always do what is best for this tribe, human and demon alike." He took another step forward watching coldly as his brother took a step back clutching his hands into fist. "And I will protect all of them from any threat outside or within."

Adahy's face fell at his brother's words, his expression growing confused. "What?" He hissed out. "Onaconah, you would threaten your own brother?"

"I could say the same to you, brother." Onaconah turned his head sideways catching a glimpse of someone outside the hut before he turned back to Adahy, eyes full of promise. "As long as this is my tribe, you will do and follow my orders, if you have a problem with that maybe you need to rethink your standing."

For a moment, the room grew quiet, only the crackling of the now diminishing fire meeting the ears of the two demons as they stood facing each other. Behind them, Hyalei stood a basket made of reeds in her hands held so tightly that her human knuckles were turning white as she looked at the two brothers, trying to comprehend their fight. Holding onto her skirt, her small son stood, his beautiful black half demon eyes looking at his uncle with horror as his young mind tried to comprehend the hate for his mother that the man was currently expressing.

"Mama." He whispered as he buried the side of his face in his mother's dress afraid.

The sound of the small voice seemed to break the stalemate between the two men and Adahy snorted before turning his back on his brother and looking at his sister-in-law with scorn.

"You've changed brother." He spoke, his voice calm now but still filled with hatred. "My views mean nothing to you." He continued before taking a step towards the woman and child who both gasped in fright.

"Adahy!" Onaconah yelled as he took a step forward only to have his brother whirl his head around and glare.

"I will not hurt your mate or your brat. I'm not that man." Adahy spat out as he glared at his brother with complete and utter hatred. "But that does not mean that I will stay in this village for another second." Adahy snarled and turned away towards the door again, walking with heavy feet passed his sister-in-law and nephew. "From this moment on," He spoke without turning around. "You are no longer my brother."

"That was the last time I saw him," Onaconah thought to himself as he leaned against the hut, his eyes not even bothering to take in the blood and chaos anymore. "Two hundred years have passed since then." He shook his head sadly from side to side. "And you have become that man, just as I feared—the white man's prejudice, no, the world's prejudice has entered your heart so deeply Adahy that you would kill innocent people, your own family." He lifted his eyes looking around him, watching as blood spattered as men died as men chocked by both smoke and hand. "But it's not just you is it?" He realized as he took in the horrible bloody mess before him. "It's entered all of us and yet—."

Onaconah closed his eyes, an image of his small sweet grandchild coming to the forefront of his mind. She was so tiny, he remembered, her small childish lips naturally a demonic pink and her hair the same strange bobcat coloration of a demon but her eyes—her eyes were her father's, were her grandmother's: distinctly human. He could just imagine those eyes now, imagine the fear in them as she watched this blood, as she watched it rain this dark thick mess of red. He could see her trembling, crying, begging for a mother that could never comfort her again.

"And yet—," He whispered the words again, that small frightened face in the forefront of his mind as he clutched a fist so hard it drew blood. "Until this moment, I had still considered you my brother but now you have done something so completely unforgivable. So unforgiveable that I'm willing to become that man too."

Onaconah lifted his head up and looked at the night sky for just the briefest of seconds before he turned his attention back to the chaos around him. His unblinking eyes did not see the blood or murders anymore but instead only saw the immaculate hut, no, house that stood only a few hundred yards away from his current position. He took a step forward, his feet digging into the sand as the sound of screams died from his ears and he inhaled sharply.

"I'm coming Adahy," He spoke quietly, the words dripping off his tongue as he slowly detached himself from the situation, from what he was about to do. "Prepare yourself," He tensed every muscle in his body, "Because today this ends," and ran bobbing and ducking all of those who came into his path with all the skill of his nearly fifteen hundred years.

Within moments he reached his brother's house his talent allowing him to get close without any skirmish. His nose twitched as the scent of Adahy assaulted him, the crisp fragrance of woodlands and brush and dirt hitting him like a fevered memory. "Da-ni-ta-ga," He whispered to himself, unable to help himself from saying the word for brother as it fell from his lips.

"I should have known you were behind this."

Onaconah's ears twitched on the side of his head as the words were whispered from the dark in front of him. "Come out." He spoke in English, responding to the man's use of the foreign language over that of his native tongue.

A chuckle came from somewhere in the dark, followed by a head and a set of shoulders that Onaconah recognized without having to see any further. "So nice to see you," The man spoke, as he stepped out onto the dark earth that made up his 'front yard.' He was dressed in clothes fitting of a westerner, a blue knee length jacket with beautiful silver thread trim and actual brass buttons left undone to reveal a waistcoat made of cotton as opposed to wool but still strung thickly in order to be sturdy and expensive. His pants were made of the same blue material as his jacket and only reached down to the bottom of his knees, in favor of tucking into high white socks that led into short topped shoes. "My brother."

Onaconah stood to his full height, taking in the sight of the westernized man. "Long ago," He began as he looked at Adahy with scorn. "You say I no longer brother," He fired back, speaking in the foreign dialect himself as he pushed the balls of his feet more firmly into the sand, preparing to strike if need be. "Remember Adahy?

"Hm—," The young man tapped his chin with his pointer finger in response to the words as he shrugged. "I guess you're right." Adahy smirked and stepped towards his older sibling, the smirk darkening as he put one foot in front of the other. "It's been so long I had almost forgotten."

Onaconah frowned at the words, choosing to ignore the man in favor of more pressing business. "Where Shiori?"

"Shiori?" The younger man tapped a finger to his chin pretending to think. "Let me think, Shiori?" He crossed his arms appearing smug as he gave his brother a snarling smirk. "Yes—I remember, sweet little girl, pity she had so much human blood," He spoke the obviously baited phrase. "A human mother, a human grandmother—what a shame."

The older man ignored him bluntly, taking a step forward and digging the balls of his feet even deeper into the sand. "Where she, Adahy?" He growled, his voice sounding just as threatening as his stance.

"Where do you think brother?" Adahy responded enigmatically, his voice dripping with venom. "I put her in the only place a demon of her kind would ever serve any use in this village."

Onaconah glared at the younger man, his nose twitching as he tried to figure out what the threatening words meant. "You wouldn—," He started to say but froze when Adahy raised his hand, positioning his thumb and middle finger to snap.

The sound of his thumb hitting his palm rocketed through the air like a gunshot and he smirked, leaning backwards slightly before turning and looking at the house. "Bring out the girl!" He called loudly, immediately getting a grunting response from a male sounding voice within.

The man who had responded stepped out of the house only seconds later, his hands dragging the arm of a small fair skinned child wearing a simple dress of bleached cotton her golden, blackish bobcat inherited hair hanging loose around her small face and a small orb held tightly in her hands.

"Shiori!" Onaconah yelled as he took in the sight of the small girl with the dark human eyes next to the large Bobcat demon who held onto her as if she was nothing more than dirt under his feet.

The small girl's head snapped upwards at the sound of his voice and happiness lit on her face instantly as she pulled against the demon's hand, her small body already posed to run. "E-du-di!" She called out the word for grandfather in her native tongue, one of her small hands reaching forward in desperation towards her grandfather while the other held the orb.

"Shiori!" Adahy yelled at the sound of her voice, whipping his head around to glare at her harshly. "What did I tell you about speaking that language?"

Immediately the girl stopped struggling, her body freezing in what appeared to be terror as she took in the commanding voice. "Sorry." She whispered with large tears forming in her eyes as she looked down at the wooden porch steps ashamed, both her hands once again clutching the orb tight to her chest as the demon minding her grabbed hold of her arm to the point of leaving bruises. "Forgive me." She whimpered as the demon's fingers dug deeper into her young flesh, his claws nicking her as his gripped tightened.

"Hm." Adahy snorted before giving the girl an almost kind smile that looked strange upon his angry face. "Alright," He motioned to the demon still holding onto her arm, causing the man to drop the appendage instantly. "Just don't forget child."

"Yes," She whispered, her small voice like a wind-chime on the breeze as she looked down at the floor her beautiful inherited hair falling to cover her eyes seeming to not only disguise her from the world but project her place within it (or at least, the place her uncle had been kind enough to teach her.) "I won't."

Adahy smirked at her posture, looking at her as if he was truly proud of her change. "She really is a good girl, Onaconah," He spoke, turning to look at his older brother with both pride and insolence somehow making homage on his face. "Obedient and quiet," He motioned to her with his hand. "Easy to teach—I mean it only took a few days for her to understand her place." The little girl just barely winced at the words. "Both are good qualities," He smirked and turned his head slowly back to Onaconah, almost mockingly. "Despite her diluted blood."

"Duk-shan-ee." Onaconah whispered out the word for asshole, staring at the one before him with horrid contempt. "Give her back, Adahy, I not want to hurt you."

"Like you could." Adahy clicked his tongue as he spoke taking a step forward, his small almost dainty shoes making almost no noise as they hit the dirt. "You're old brother, I'm still young," He brought a hand to his chest to reiterate his point. "Just entering my prime while you," He motioned at his brother's form with one clawed hand. "Have already left yours."

"What make you think I so old?" Onaconah countered as he took a step forward, clutching his hands tight into fist. "The fact I live centuries before you?" He dug his heels firmly in the dirt, his face drawn into a tight and expectant line. "Or the fact I aged to the extent of being wise and you have not?"

"Shut up!" Adahy snarled in response, giving his brother a look of true disgust before reaching to his side and pulling out a gun. "I'd like to see an old man like you dodge a bullet." He spoke firmly as he pointed the gun straight at Onaconah, cocking it with his thumb as he aimed.

"Adahy," Onaconah whispered in response. "What happen?" He brought his hands up and out in front of him, palms facing his brother, showing him that he meant no harm—yet. "When you become this man?"

"I've always been this man!" The younger brother screamed in response, the gun shaking in his hands as he aimed directly for his older brother's heart. "I've always been the only sibling who could see the truth, could see that human blood is worthless."

"If it so worthless," Onaconah spoke, his voice sounding almost choked as he did so. "Then why do you need her?"

"You know why." Adahy told his brother darkly. "You've seen it haven't you, seen how we use the orb to be the best pirates to ever have sailed these waters."

Onaconah shook his head slowly back and forth, appearing disappointed. "That not what it meant for brother." He spoke, his voice soft. "The gods gave Cherokee the orb to protect not to destroy."

"Does it matter brother?" His brother spoke with contempt in his voice. "As long as we are prospering then why would the gods care why we use it."

"If the gods did not care then explain this," Onaconah continued as he looked at the ground, his hair falling in his eyes for only a moment before he looked back up at his brother with intense gleaming cat like eyes. "Why you no use it anymore?"

Adahy growled low in his throat, his body seeming to tense into one large pulsating muscle as he looked at his older brother with intense, deep hatred. "Take the girl back inside." He spoke his voice so low that for a moment the guard in question did not move but only stared as if debating whether his master had in fact spoken. "I said," The young leader snarled out causing the guard to jump to his feet in fear. "Take the fucking girl back inside, now!"

"Yes sir!" The man complied as he came to stand on two shaking and terrified feet. Running back to the small girl that stood on the porch frozen as she took her grandfather in one last time before the guard grabbed hold of her arm, yanking her back inside the hut.

"It's a fight you want, isn't it Onaconah?" Adahy spoke, his voice calm now as he looked at the man before him who stood with spread feet and intense focus.

"No," Onaconah spoke truthfully even as he stood with his hands raised prepared to punch if necessary. "It is a brother I want."

Adahy snorted in response and turned away from his brother throwing the gun for whatever reason to his side before pulling his arms out of the jacket sleeves. Yanking the heavy blue coat off he threw it to the side where the gun rested, before turning back to his brother, his eyes dark and commanding. "Too bad." He spoke, his voice low. "You can't have your brother Onaconah but you can have a fight."

"Adahy," Onaconah whispered the name as he watched his brother spread his feet, hands coming up to his face, clutching into fist.

"Don't look surprised." The younger man said as he took in the look on his brother's face. "If I killed you with a gun, it would only prove I can aim." His voice dripped with malice as he spoke. "To kill you with my bare hands—that proves I am the stronger, better brother!" With those words Adahy charged.

-break-

Inuyasha ran full speed through the chaos that surrounded him, bobbing and weaving once again as he made his way back to where he had been only moments before. A gun fired to his right and he threw himself forward, practically slamming himself into the dirt on his hands and knees. The bullet whizzed over his head, the sound of it breaking through the air loud even among the combating men. A man screamed to his left as the sickening sound of flesh being torn through and blood spewing from an opened wound hit Inuyasha's eardrums causing him to involuntarily wince, knowing that only a few precious milliseconds had prevented that bullet from hitting him in the head instead of the unknown man.

Pushing himself back up onto his feet, Inuyasha rushed forward once more dodging and ducking as arrows and bullets flew through the air along with fist and legs. A loud shriek from his right caused him only a momentary pause as a pirate fell into his path causing him to jump to prevent being tripped by the body of the dying man. Inuyasha couldn't help but looked down for just a second, taking in the man's face watching as the blood trailed from his mouth in a steady stream, still pumping despite his already sightless eyes.

"Poor bastard." Hr groused as the smell of death penetrated his nose and he covered it absently with his sleeve to block out the stench from his powerful senses. "Almost there." He thought as his golden eyes darted upwards looking for Kagome on the cliff side once more. She was still standing stark straight, looking out at the mayhem, her body appearing frozen by the very sight of so much carnage.

Inuyasha growled in anger, the demon in him mad at her for leaving the safety of the two demons assigned to protect her; the human in him however, growled for very different reasons, "She shouldn't see this." He snarled internally as he jumped over an Cherokee warrior who was attempting to stab one of the pirates in the stomach with a small sliver of arrowhead. "She's too innocent to see this shit!" His feet landed heavily in the sand and he growled as he slipped down slightly before pushing himself back up to run once more. "Damn it Kagome, how am I supposed to protect you if you don't fucking stay where I put you!" He griped as he darted around another set of fighting warriors instead of risking the jump in the unforgiving sand. "Almost there." He told himself as he easily ducked around the fighting duo the cliff's just within sight.

He bent his knees preparing to jump towards a small ledge in the cliff side only to come into the direct line of sight with another pirate Indian, this one covered in the blood of a now dead Cherokee man.

Inuyasha came to a sudden stop when the pirate looked up, a knife in his hands covered in the dead man's blood. The bobcat hissed, fangs showing in his parted mouth so sharp that there was no doubt they could kill a man should he decide to use them. "Dog." The bobcat spat out as he tossed the knife from hand to hand. "Die!" He dove forward without preamble the knife posed to hit Inuyasha square in the neck.

"Like you could." The dog demon merely growled in annoyance at being delayed and raised his claws high above his head preparing to strike the demon down.

"No!"

Inuyasha froze, the voice filling his mind so distinctly that he felt sick to his stomach. "Kagome?" He whispered before he felt the red hot searing pain of a knife entering his skin. "Fuck!" Inuyasha gargled out as blood spilled down his neck and entered his throat via a shallow wound to his trachea. He stumbled backwards a hand coming up to grab at the sticky gash his breath coming in ragged gurgled pants as he swallowed his own blood.

Red hot anger entered his vision at the very idea that this pathetic pup had been able to land even one hit on him. Pissed, Inuyasha lunged forward forming his hand into a tight fist instead of a dangerous swiping claw and hit the boy square in the chin, sending him flying into a nearby cottage wall so hard that the logs snapped upon contact. The sound of breaking dishes and wood filled the chaotic air but Inuyasha ignored it as he held one hand to the still bleeding wound, trying to gulp down much needed breaths as best he could.

"What the hell was that?" He wondered as he panted, falling to one knee for a moment as he held the flesh together. "I could have sworn I heard her but—." Inuyasha swallowed slightly, pain momentarily searing in his throat. "Why?" He winced as he started to move his hand away from the wound to see how much blood had collected but decided against it, instead closing his eyes and focusing his demon blood.

Luckily, after several minutes of concentrating he felt his demon blood awaken, hurrying to stitch the skin back together at a rate any human and even some demons would admire. Thankful for his mixed heritage, he managed to pull his hand away with only a slight amount of pain equivalent to when a bandage is first removed and then shook his head to clear his thoughts before bringing his eyes back upwards to search for Kagome once more.

Finding her still in the same exact place he inhaled sharply, bending his legs at the knees to the point he was almost sitting in the sand before he shoved off the ground with all his might, his body springing easily into the air, sailing upwards nearly forty yards before catching the side of the cliff with the ball of his foot to propel himself further upwards once more. Pushing off the small ledge he sprang once again, making it the additional fifty or so yards in one more large bound before coming to stand only ten or so short steps from Kagome on the cliff side. Hastily, he snapped his head in her direction, his eyes settling on her almost instantly desperately wanting to see if she was okay.

A part of him expected her to turn and look at him, to apologize and offer an explanation for her presence but she didn't. She wasn't looking at him at all, her eyes still focused on the ground below, watching the disarray fixated and undaunted.

"She looks," Inuyasha took a step forward, his own vision focused on the unmistakably calm appearance of her face. "So calm?" He frowned confused at her stable state, blinking in bewilderment. He gritted his teeth as he started to approach her, anger and fear welling in his heart all at once as he watched her stare almost blankly down below. "Damn it, is she in shock? Shit Kagome none of this would happen if you'd learn to stay put."

"Kagome?" He called out to her, his voice raspy from the still healing wound on his neck. He winced before bringing his hand up to touch the marred flesh once again and clearing his throat with a loud painful sound, he took another step forward speaking once again, this time stronger. "What the hell Kagome?" He spoke harshly as he came to stand a scant step away from her, his hands wanting to reach for her, to grab her, to check her for wounds but his clouded mind so angry that he couldn't bring himself to comply. "Why are you here?" He frowned darkly and snarled enraged when she didn't turn to him right away. "I told you to stay," He continued his voice blunt and filled with both worry and ire "Damn it Kagome, why can't you fucking listen to a word I say! Is it that hard?" He growled, his concern pushing him to actually scream as he waved his hands in earnest in the air trying to get his point across. "Come on, answer me god damn it!"

He paused waiting for her to say something, to even acknowledge him but she didn't. Kagome didn't eve move or shrug or turn or anything, she simply stared straight in front, her eyes unflinching and contemplative.

"Maybe she really is in shock." He told himself as he felt some of his initial anger make way for worry. "Kagome?" He tried again, this time concern outweighing his on anger. "Kagome, can you hear me, come on look at—." He reached out to touch her, his clawed hand coming to just barely graze her shoulder when suddenly she raised her hand slowly, effortlessly. "What?" He whispered as he took in the object clutched between delicate fingers, his mind racing as he studied the shape and the color of the foreign weapon, recognizing it instantly.

"Okaa-san?" A small Inuyasha called as he ran across the garden filled with beautiful blooming Sakura, Azalea, and Orchid plants lining his way. He paused for all of a second as he looked around the fragrant garden, his small nose twitching as he tried to discern the scent of his mother from among the overpowering array of flora. "Okaa-san?" He called again his ears twitching, waiting for a response as they turned and swiveled about his head looking all over the inner sanctuary of the tenshu.

"Inu-chan, over here." Her voice carried across the garden to his ears causing him to smile in delight as he darted towards the bridge that ran over the small stream in the garden, his small feet not making a single noise as they touched the wood.

Practically flying, Inuyasha raced to where he had heard his mother's voice, moving hastily passed the opened shoji where his brother sat reading a scroll and the one in which Myoga and Totosai were taking tea without a second glance. Within seconds, he found himself at the corner of the house and turned on young yet agile feet.

"Oka—." He froze, his voice trailing off as his large golden eyes blinked several times taking in the sight of his mother: the traditional clothes of a Miko graced her body as she pulled the strange curved red stick back by its white string, holding the long arrow close to her face as she watched her target with complete focus. With a deep breath in, she closed her eyes and with a resounding snap let the arrow fly.

Coming back to the present Inuyasha frowned, his eyes still glued to the bow and its familiarity. "Japanese." The thought echoed in his mind and opened his mouth as if to speak but stopped as he raised his eyes only to come pupil to pupil with Kagome's own gorgeous grey irises. "Kago—me." He whispered the name and watched as those eyes seemed to light up, registering his docile voice with what appeared to be pleasure.

"Inuyasha." Kagome whispered, her luscious voice releasing each syllable with a heady tone that made him shiver as she turned herself towards him completely, their faces not even a breath away from each other, their chest nearly touching only centimeters apart.

He inhaled sharply at the proximity but didn't move as he heard the sound of fabric rustling and then felt the warmth of her soft fingertips on his face. Against his very will his eyes sluggishly closed and he leaned into her gentle caress, warmth filling him and his body relaxing to its very core as her presence overwhelmed his every sense. It was almost as if she was all around him, encompassing his very soul with gentle and affectionate love. Before he could fall into the sensation completely however, she pulled away her fingertips dropping from his skin with slow melancholic ease.

"You're hurt." She whispered softly, her voice somehow sounding both concerned and unconcerned at the same time. "I'm sorry."

Surprised, he opened his eyes and shuttered as he was met with her irises once again, pure and stunning, no longer swirling and favoring black nor white but simply untainted and unadulterated grey. "Kagome." He whispered not knowing what else to say to her as he gazed into her striking eyes, his heart pounding in his chest at the sight, wanting to reach for her, touch her encompass her very being. "She's stunning." He thought as he forced his hands to stay at his sides, his will slowly deteriorating.

Kagome smiled as she watched him whether she knew of his struggle or not was hard to say but still she gave him that winning smile, her expression so gentle and kind that it made his heart melt before she turned just her head away from him their bodies still so close to touching. Looking out over the battle field, a firm expression came over her features and she narrowed her eyes seriousness haunting her every lovely feature. "There's something I've come to understand." Kagome whispered as she fingered the red bow, her hands running over it gingerly as she looked out over the turmoil.

"A—um." Inuyasha tried to think of some response to her words but came completely up short not understanding what she was attempting to say. "What's going on?" He wondered vaguely, "She looks so calm and I—I feel calm but—." He shook his head surprised at his own complete lack of anger. "I was so mad just moments ago and now it's like it dissipated." Inuyasha frowned at the thought, his mind racing back to the hut with Sango and Miroku, he had been horrified when he saw her on the cliff. Hell, he had been downright outraged when he saw her standing there, witness to such horrific violence. He had even screamed at her when he reached the top of the cliff side but now, in her presence, he found he couldn't feel anything but concern and calm. It was almost as if, she was generating his own feelings, as if her smile had calmed him, had quailed his anger.

"It seems so obvious now," Kagome interrupted his train of thought her expression not changing as she watched the blood falling like rain below them. "I first heard it when we were with Jinenji and just recently I heard it once again." She turned away from him completely, stepping on silent feet towards the cliff side, the bow held tightly in her hand. "Hate only begets hate, prejudice only begets prejudice, violence only begets violence." Kagome clutched the bow tightly between her fingers. "And the world is clouded by this hate this prejudice, prejudice that creates evil, evil that creates violence."

Inuyasha watched Kagome with a mixture of skepticism and worry, his golden eyes studying her stout and elegant stance. Slowly, he followed her gaze to the cove below taking in the sight of bloodshed and killing with new eyes; eyes he had never used before.

"It's a cycle, like the four seasons." She continued her grey irises starting to wash with tears. "Spring becomes summer," She whispered softly. "Summer fall, and fall winter until we reach spring again." She turned and looked at him causing Inuyasha to snap his eyes back to attention on her face. "Prejudice and hate create evil and evil creates violence and violence creates more prejudice, more hate starting the cycle over once again."

"Kagome—," He tried to think of something to say to her but his mind came up empty.

"And I," She turned away, holding the bow to her chest with one arm while the other reached up to touch her chin length hair, playing with one of the stray ends for a moment. "Am the only one who can stop it." Her hand playing with her hair fell to her side, dropped like a lead weight as she took in a deep and shaky breath before turning to look at him with terrified eyes. "I have to stop this prejudice Inuyasha before the cycle starts anew."

Inuyasha watched her with disbelieving eyes, trying to comprehend any of what she had just said. "Prejudice?"

"It comes in all forms." Kagome spoke, her voice gentle. "Against races, against colors, against ideals and even religions." She shook her head. "Any prejudice, even small prejudices create violence of some kind. That violence must be prevented at all cost, otherwise," She looked out at the bloody massacre below her. "More innocent bodies will fall."

"The voice," Inuyasha realized as slowly her words started to click into place. "You—," Inuyasha barely got the word to leave his tongue as his chest constricted painfully and his throat throbbed where he had been cut earlier. Slowly he brought a hand to his neck, touching the now cinched flesh his mind racing to the voice that had distracted him from preventing the minor wound. "You stopped me." It was a statement not a question.

"Killing him would have only created more hate." She answered anyway, her eyes sad and tired, appearing much older than they should have. "He didn't need to die in order to stop this violence. I know that," She looked up at him and Inuyasha felt as if the wisest being in existence was looking into his very heart and soul. "And so do you."

"I—." He tried to speak but his voice failed.

She smiled at his lack of words and shook her head slowly back and forth. "You know it firsthand, don't you?" Her voice almost sounded angry, sad and angry. "You've been hated all your life and that hate that prejudice is not an instinct," She shook her head darkly and looked up into the night, taking in the smoke from fires down below. "It is learned by the children of those who hold prejudice against others." Her voice sounded harsh and angry to his ears. "There prejudice turns into violence that they believe is justified, telling their children that it's okay and acceptable to use violence to fuel their prejudice." She bit the words out and then laughed without any mirth. "Right now, those people below us—all of them are fighting because of that learned prejudice."

"But only Onaconah's brother is fighting because of prejudice, Onaconah is—," Inuyasha tried but stopped when Kagome gave him that same mirthless smile.

"Prejudice comes in many forms Inuyasha." Kagome's words brought all his thoughts and preconceived notions to a halt. "Onaconah has prejudice against his brother and the men below us. He sees them only as evil." She told him, her expression so unbelievably sad that he felt his heart drop into his stomach without even knowing why. "His eyes are so clouded by that prejudice and hate that he can't see them as anything else."

"Kagome," Inuyasha took a step towards her but wavered as her words entered his mind. "But—his brother killed his pup's mate?" He spoke with disbelief, disbelief that Kagome could see something wrong with Onaconah's actions. "That bastard killed a poor innocent woman in cold blood, stole a helpless little girl and did kami-sama knows what to her!" He slipped in and out of his native tongue. "He's a horrible person, pure evil!"

"That might be so," Kagome whispered sadly, her eyes seeming to be weighed down by Inuyasha's words. "And if he is pure evil and nothing good is left in him then he will pay the price but—to say a man is evil, wholly and completely without ever giving him a benefit of the doubt is prejudice in itself."

Inuyasha froze and stared at her, her words making far too much sense for his black and white idea of morals.

"Truly evil people do exist." Kagome continued on, her words almost sluggish as if they weren't being spoken from her own mouth. "But they are few and far between, most evil is created." She turned and looked at him, her grey eyes brilliant and bright. "Onaconah's brother became evil because of his own prejudice—a prejudice that he learned."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes, focusing on her as the cycle she had mentioned earlier formed in his head. "Prejudice creates evil and evil creates violence." Her words rang in his mind.

Kagome's bottom lip trembled slightly and Inuyasha took a step forward wanting to reach for her once again but hesitated as she held up her hand to stop him. "It could happen to anyone, anyone with weak morals could fall into that trap." She took a deep shaky breath before continuing. "Sure, some people become more evil than others but anyone who has looked at another being with preconceived notions of who that person is clouding their own eyes, has first hand created a prejudice and thus evil and that evil easily can turn into violence like this." She clutched the bow tightly in her hands, the sound of the wood straining under her fingers loud in the hectic night. "It's a cycle." She repeated her voice sounding unsurprised and tired. "A cycle that can be broken."

"How?" Inuyasha's voice sounded weak to even his own ears. "How can you break that kind of cycle Kagome?" He pushed desperately trying to comprehend her words. "We're talking about a war going on between two tribes for two hundred years, you can't just break this!" He told her frantically taking a step forward and reaching for her, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her as gently as his weary nerves would allow. "This is so much bigger than you, you can't change that level of—whatever the fuck it is!"

"I did with Jinenji." She fired back softly causing him to freeze, his claws digging into the doeskin that lined her shoulders and arms. "I changed their notions, gave them eyes that could see unclouded by hate."

For a moment, the two held still as Inuyasha stared into her eyes, gold and grey warring as memories flashed before him. "No." He spoke softly at first as his claws breaking through the surface of the doeskin, coming to sit right on her flesh nicking it but not causing it to bleed. "No way in hell Kagome!" He snarled out low but she didn't even flinch. "You almost died the last time you did something stupid like that, I can't le—."

"This time I won't." Kagome stopped him mid sentence managing to hold up the bow around his tightening grip without preamble, showing it to Inuyasha. "This time I have a means of channeling my power so I won't go back to the spirit realm."

Inuyasha stared at the object for a moment, studying it more closely than he had previously. "That bow doesn't have a string," Inuyasha pointed out instantly as he looked over the piece of wood without any means of mounting arrows, his mind racing and turning back to her, looking over her shoulder for any sign of a quiver. "And you don't even have any arrows!" He pulled one of his hands away, the doeskin ripping as he hastily removed his claws and waved his hand before her angrily. "What were planning on doing Kagome? Channeling your power and then beating them over the head with it, like a stick!"

Kagome frowned and started to speak but was cut off by Inuyasha tearing his other set of claws away from her clothes and grabbing her face between his clawed hands. She felt remnants of blood touch her flesh as he held her face and stared darkly into her eyes, panic, fury, doubt, worry all present as he held her firmly in place.

"How the hell is this going to work?" He continued, his face drawn into a tight angry line. "Come on Kagome," She felt his claws just barely brush her cheek before he pulled them back out of the way, his palms touching her silky skin. "This will never work, it will be like last time all over again." He let his hands fall to his sides almost apologetically as he finished.

Kagome looked down at the bow and bit her lip as she listened to Inuyasha's harsh yet well meaning words, part of her believing he was right. "I don't have any arrows." She admitted if only to herself. "And this bow has no strings." She tugged on her lip with her teeth, her mind racing trying to figure out what she was supposed to do with an unstrung bow with no quiver. "The spirit never said anything about ammunition." She frowned darkly. "He just said it would call and then everything would work out but—Inuyasha's right, how is this going to work."

A loud bang, like thunder ripped through the air below them causing both Inuyasha and Kagome to rip away from their thoughts and turn back to the bedlam in the cove just in time to see a house shatter into rubble below their feet.

"Cannon?" Inuyasha whispered in horror as he watched the hut splinter into a million tiny pieces, men and body parts flying away from it as the scent of gunpowder filled the air. Eyes flashing he whipped his head around towards the ships in the harbor but both were still held in blackness, covered by the veil of night. "But," He drew out in dread. "If it didn't come from the direction of the ships, then where?" He took a step away from Kagome, his eyes darting this way and that, trying to find the direction of the cannon blast.

Another loud shot ran through the air and he snarled as this one hit a man directly, squarely, ripping him apart. "Fuck It's coming from the hu—the—manner!" He yelled loudly but his words fell deafened on Kagome's ears as she looked out at the violence surrounding her.

"No," She thought as she watched the death build around her, the violence grow caused by the overwhelming prejudice producing evil. "I have to do something." She held the bow as tight as possible tears forming in her eyes as another blast rang through the air coming from the largest house in the cove, situated to the very back of the horseshoe shaped cliffs—in the most protected area. Men screamed in response, as they dodged the cannonball that once again missed all the huts and instead hit the sand, sending the gritty material into the air like water. "How? How can I, what can I—," She closed her eyes tightly tears brimming on her lashes. "I have the weapon, but what the hell am I supposed to do with it!"

"Inside you."

Kagome heard the voice echo and her eyes snapped opened, it was the same voice she had heard from the compass when it called to her and told her to look for a nearby shard. Shaking she looked down at the bow, her eyes practically bugging out of her head as she took in its glowing countenance. It pulsated under her fingers just as she heard the sound of another cannon firing and the captain cursing beside her.

"Damn it," He shouted as he watched the scene not realizing that Kagome was not looking on with the same amount of horror at all but was instead still focused downwards at the bow in her hands.

"It's inside you."

"Inside me?" Kagome mentally repeated the words, her mind racing as she took in the information, trying to comprehend what it meant.

"Close your eyes and see."

The bow continued to push and Kagome found herself minding it without thought carefully closing her eyes and concentrating on what the bow was trying to tell her. Immediately, she felt her body start to sink, a distant memory or a recollection from another life pushing at the back of her head. She saw the bow in another person's hands, this woman wearing a strange baggy outfit with large red dress like pants and a white ill fitting top with wide sleeves.

Her long black hair waved slightly in an imagined breeze as she took a deep breath, holding the bow out in front of her only one hand griping it as the other hovered above the very spot where a string should be. Carefully, the woman brought the bow up to her face, a little sliver of light coming from each curved end of the bow. The light shimmered, almost seemed to sparkle as it formed from each side, slowly coming to meet in the middle where her fingers came to grasp it with surprising ease. A small light formed around those fingers, the shape of feathers sleek and clean coming into being before glowing brightly as they formed the shaft of the arrow that came to met her hand. A satisfied look crossed the woman's face as she held both string and arrow, pulling them back as if they were solid objects and not light. "Yosh." The woman whispered before releasing the bow and string with a sharp "zing."

Kagome eyes popped back opened as another cannon blast boomed all around her. "That's it." She whispered out and without warning reached her hand forward, grabbing Inuyasha's coat sleeves with tight fingers. "Inuyasha!" She cried out, her voice coming across as frantic as she pulled him towards her, turning him until he was paying sole attention to her. "I know how to make it work."

"What?"

"This bow," She continued on holding onto his sleeve with one desperate hand. "It doesn't need arrows or a string, all it needs is me."

"That's impossible," Inuyasha spoke but his face didn't look as if he wholly believed even his own words. "There's no such thing as a bow that works without arrows or a string," He continued his voice sounding as if it was trying to convince both itself and her. "Without 'em it's just a curved stick."

"In anybody else's hand that would be true." Kagome fired back, her voice pleading. "But this is me Inuyasha." She pulled him closer to her, begging him to see her, to look at her, to know her for who she was—the person that no one knew before today and that would always be her after. "Don't you trust me?" She blatantly asked him, her grey eyes looking at him with such vulnerability that it tore into his heart.

Inuyasha stared at her frozen, so many thoughts running through his brain, so many memories hitting him all at once that for a moment, he was sure he was going to be sick. "Do I trust her?" He wondered while already knowing the answer. "Yes, I trust Kagome, maybe even more than anyone else in world besides Miroku—but," He felt his mind waver. "That's with secrets, with my past and shit, that's different, right now—to trust her with her life." Inuyasha gulped, could he trust Kagome with her own life, could he trust her to not die, to be able to protect not only herself but all of them? Could he trust her with that? Did he trust she could do this, did he trust she wouldn't die, that she could in fact channel her power through a stringless bow with none existent arrows?

Did he trust that?

Inuyasha felt his breath enter his lungs even though he felt as if he was depraved of oxygen and looked into her grey eyes. She looked exactly the same as she had back on the ship, so determined and confident in herself. He could almost hear her yelling at him, snapping at him as she pleaded for the chance to prove herself, to show him that she could do this.

Kagome smiled knowingly in response, the look of such bitter seriousness strange on her normally charming face. "It doesn't matter, I have a promise to keep." She whispered softly. "I promised Miss Kaede, didn't I? I promised her I would collect all the shards and destroy the jewel." Kagome's eyes sparked with a strange grey fire. "And I'm the only one who can help us do that, aren't I?" She spoke as she dared to look at him with those grey stormy irises that did at the moment look as if they were truly storming, a swirling of white and black, of right and wrong, of determination and utter fear. "I can make a barrier to protect us, we can get close to them and then you can board their ship and fight, right?"

Inuyasha felt his heart clench in his chest at the memory of her determination, the memory of her fear. "Can she do it?" He found himself thinking, his mind running away with every possible horrible scenario that could play out. "Can I, should I, trust her with her life?" He found his head starting to shake from side to side, unable to even comprehend what could possibly go wrong if he made this decision, if he decided to trust Kagome fully, not just with his secrets but with bigger things. "Can I trust her to fight?"

"Trust mate."

He flinched at the words, hearing them so distinctly from that little place inside of him that housed his demon, that he felt as if he was being criticized. "I do." He told the voice as he clenched his teeth.

"Then let mate protect."

Inuyasha blinked at the word, allowing them to wash over him for just a moment as he looked down at Kagome who had been watching him patiently, as if she was somehow aware of the inner struggle and had not wanted to interfere.

"She strong."

The voice continued and Inuyasha couldn't help but allow his heart to agree as he looked down at her and took in those beautiful, dangerous eyes. She was gazing at him, pressing him without pushing, conveying to him that he could trust her in everything and in every way. "Kagome." Her name left his lips gently and she smiled, her eyes lighting up.

"Trust mate." The voice repeated softly one last time, seeming to trail off at the end as if it already knew what Inuyasha was going to do.

"I will." Inuyasha told the demon within him as he relaxed his body, looking at that hopeful beautiful face with both confidence and fear. "Yes." He felt the word slip from his mouth, sounding foreign to his ears but not a lie. "I trust you."

Kagome smiled at him her face breaking into a true Kagome smile, the same one he had seen all those months ago when they had danced, when they had docked in the Port of Spain, when she had laughed in Havana after their fight, when he had given her the violin, when she had found out his darkest secret, when she had first seen him awake after they were thrown overboard from the Shikuro. It was that smile, that beautiful smile that lit all the way from her lips to her eyes, causing them to sparkle like dew on a midnight leaf. "Thank you." She managed to say through a shaky breath that caught him off guard.

"For what?" He asked back gruffly actually confused by her words. "Why the hell is she thanking me?"

Kagome merely shook her head from side to side, giving him that gorgeous smile once more causing his heart to skip a beat. "Just—," She trailed off reaching her unoccupied hand forward to touch his cheek gingerly. He shivered at the contact and raised his own hand, brushing it against her bent elbow as he closed his eyes, savoring the feel of soft un-worked fingers on his sweaty jaw. "Thank you."

Inuyasha blinked at her words his hand clutching her elbow but didn't have time to press her meaning before another cannon blast sounded. "Shit!" He cried out as he turned his head, her hands dropping from his skin as she too looked out over the cove. Inuyasha's eyes widened in absolute horror as he watched the cannon hit way too close to Sango and Miroku's current position for his liking. "This can't go on much longer!" He told her turning back to her face watching as she looked out at the destruction.

Deliberately she nodded her head and turned to look at him with determination in her eyes. "It's time," She told him as she grabbed hold of his arm drawing him back to her. "So let's end this," She pointed out towards the mansion down below. "Take me there."

Inuyasha turned his molten eyes in the direction she was pointing staring at the largest house in the cove. "Why there?"

"That's where Onaconah is headed and where he is his brother is, right?" Kagome inferred with a nod. "So that's where the hate and prejudice is generated, with the two brothers. And just like with Jinenji you have to get rid of the place the hate generates." She looked up at him to see if he was following. "With Jinenji it was Mr. Carver now it's those two."

Inuyasha nodded his head at her, believing her without actually following. "Are you sure about this Kagome?" He asked one last time, part of him hoping that she would back down, that she would lose confidence and the other half of him knowing that for Kagome that was impossible—she was far too strong to ever give up when it came to protecting the innocent and stopping the corruption of that innocence.

"Positive." She responded without a moment's hesitation.

With a deep breath Inuyasha knelt to the ground, motioning with his chin towards his back as he brought his hands behind himself, looped, as if prepared to carry something. "Climb on." He ordered without thought his eyes looking back out over at the manor, watching for any more cannon fire.

"Excuse me?" Kagome's voice sounded from behind him, high pitched and horrified.

"What?" He groused as he turned around and took in her bright red appalled face.

"You can't expect me ttto—to—," She stuttered looking absolutely dismayed. "Climb on your—back."

"It's the quickest way that leaves your hands free for the bow," He told her as the faintest smile formed on his face, his eyes subconsciously looking at her milky legs, the only part of her body that had yet to tan because of the typical long baggy pants she wore.

"But—that's—." Kagome tried again her face becoming almost purple from her blush. "Indecent!"

Inuyasha came back to himself at her words and blinked as he moved his eyes from his fantasy of her legs to her embarrassed face. "Do you trust me?" He spoke her very words, one of his eyebrows raising in the most none perverted manner he could muster as his palms slightly itched from the idea of touching her bare thighs.

Kagome gave him a darkened frown, the blush going away as she scrutinized his look.

"Come on we've got no time to argue." Inuyasha smiled from the look on her face, feeling a semblance of normalcy come back into place. She didn't look quite as old or wise with that socialite expression on her face, she just looked like her, like Kagome, the girl he come to know, come to—. It made his heart warm. "Do you trust me or not, Kagome?"

Kagome paused at his words, "Do I trust him—of course!" The words were so natural that Kagome didn't even give herself time to debate before she took a surprising step forward, a faint unstoppable blush forming on her cheeks once more.

Inuyasha held completely still as he remained on the ground, kneeling with his back towards her, his hands still in their looped position. She approached him slowly, her fingers outstretched as they shook pausing only when they came to hover over his shoulders. She looked at him then, her eyes seeming to sparkle in an almost oddly playful way, the blush faint on her cheeks and the bridge of her nose as she lowered her hand and touched the material of his jacket, grasping it tightly before stepping her body closer.

For a moment he didn't move, he didn't even breath as he felt her arrange herself as she had when she road behind him on the horse only this time not side saddle but straddled. "Ah, Kami-sama." He thought as he felt her skin brush against his hands, giving him unspoken permission to take hold of her thighs. Reflexively, he allowed his large palms to gain a grip on her satin skin as he pulled her towards him. Her breast pushed into his back and her fingers gripped onto the material of his jacket more firmly as he lifted her upwards, straightening until he was standing with her held tightly against him.

He took a deep maintaining breath, trying to keep himself from hyperventilating as she leaned her head forward causing him to feel her shapely body more firmly through the thin materials that separated them.

"Shit!" His inner voice embarrassingly squeaked as he felt himself harden instantly. "This is not the time for this, this is not the time for this—damn it Inuyasha calm down." He squeezed his eyes shut. "Stupid, stupid, stupid, what a fucking stupid idea!"

Just then he heard her sigh, her body relaxing against his in a very intimate way that made his blood run even hotter. "Inuyasha." She spoke softly and he wished beyond reason that he could see her face. "I trust you more than anyone or anything." He felt as if a bucket of cold water had been thrown over his head but not in a bad way. "After all," She paused and shifted leaning her head against the side of his own. "You're a better man, remember?"

"I will never make you do something against your will." He had told her softly before he backed away placing a kiss on her head. "I'm a better man than that."

Inuyasha smiled at the words and tightened his grip on her thighs. "We've come a long way since then, haven't we?" He grinned to himself and jumped high in the air, towards the cliff's ledge. Behind him Kagome tightened her grip, her hands going from his shoulders to around his neck as she braced herself for the long drop she knew was coming. Inuyasha grinned to himself as her breast pushed into his back and her face buried in his hair.

He couldn't even bring himself to think a single perverted thought as they dropped off the edge of the cliff towards the manor below.

End of Chapter

Please Review

Edited for Content 6/23/12

A/N: Well we are nearly at the end of the Cherokee story arch, I'm thinking next chapter and a conclusion will have been reached. I hope you are really enjoying it and that the story is unfolding in an understandable way. Let me know if there is any confusion anywhere (confusion that is sparked not by complexity but by my own failings at adequate explanation) and I will do my best to rewrite until it makes better sense.

Also, over the weekend I posted a one-shot in honor of father's day called "Chance Meetings." I had mentioned it a while back as a prize for the thousandth reviewer and now have published it in part. It features Sesshoumaru, Izayoi and Inutaisho before Inuyasha was born. So if you are interested in that crowd take a look and tell me what you think!

Bonus Point:

What kind of demon was Shiori originally?

Last Chapter's Bonus Point:

The first demon Kagome ever killed with her bow is: the crow demon that ate the Shikon no Tama! Congrats to the winners:

Bonus Point, Spav12, Pidgey104, DoggyBoyLover98, HeavenlyEclipse, KarmaHope, Jemzet, Lynn492LittleMargarita, ravenraymoon, Sahora, arora27, Glon Morski, Litle C, NurNur, TheRealInuyasha, HentaiLemon, Otaku-Mae, L.C, animetears4

Notes:

Adahy – Cherokee name meaning "lives in the woods." I chose this name because Adahy is "in the woods" so to speak. That is to say that he cannot find his way back to his people.

Tenshu – In a Japanese 'castle' this is the innermost section where the Shojun or 'Lord' live.

Next Chapter:

The Bow

See you then!

UNEDITTED

POSTED 6/18/2012