Blanket Disclaimer: The writer does not own any characters created by Rumiko Takahashi but like everyone else wishes she did. All original characters or concepts are the author's Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).
Chapter Sixty Two
The Ghost Ship
Hiten ran down the staircase towards the quarter deck of the Thunder watching in absolute horror as strange apparitions of fighters long since past ran onto his ship, attacking his men. There were hundreds of them, clear yet fuzzy all at the same time. They had swords, old swords that he hadn't seen since his days in the Spanish Army back in the 1600's and their clothes were just as outdated as well. They wore the long broad almost billowing sleeves and linen collars of the Spaniards with their hats situated to the side of their heads: the haughty look of a Navy going man. The outline of their translucent figures showed the wispy turned up mustache that men had favored in Hiten's youth, matched with the little tuft of hair that lined their chins to complete the old style.
"It's like they're from two hundred years ago." Hiten gulped as he slid to a halt across the deck watching as his men began to fight, swords actually clashing with swords. "They're ghost, aren't they? They look like ghost." He told himself as he turned looking in every directions for a brief moment. "But a ghost—," His mind briefly paused when he saw one of his own men slashed across the chest; blood seeping out from between the gashes in his clothes and skin. "Can't attack you."
Gritting his teeth, Hiten ran towards the side of the staircase reaching towards his weapon of choice that hung forever prepared on his weapon rack. The long custom spear practically vibrated the second it touched his hands, the power of thunder and electricity coming off of him in waves as spear reunited with master. Armed, he turned into the fray preparing himself to fight only to pause as he noticed Kagura returning from down below, a fan in her hands.
"The fan?" He only briefly questioned before he witnessed one of the ghoulish figures turn towards her its dark face twisting into a smile as it raised a hand to attack the wind demon. "Kagura!" He yelled her name into the battle his heart shooting up into his throat as his pupils dilated.
Hearing his words, the wind demon turned just in time to see the sickening face. With feet practically lighter than air she jumped backwards barely dodging the attack. The tip of the ghost's sword caught the front of her kimono and tore it even further than it already was; little pieces of fabric floating away from her body as her red eyes grew huge with absolute surprise. "What the hell?" She whispered to herself as she looked at her torn kimono, her breast wrap visible to any roaming eye. "Douyatte —?" Her voice actually shook as she reached down and touched the newly frayed edge of her clothing.
"The swords—." Hiten answered her question without realizing it as he tried to make his way over to her. "They're real—they can actually cut."
The wind demon's eyes widened and she turned just slightly to look at Hiten as he made his way towards her. "They're ghost—that's not possible-u!?" Kagura screamed out confused as she looked around herself at the complete and utter chaos.
"I have no fucking idea." Hiten called back just as a deceased warrior jumped towards him with a loud battle cry.
Instantly, he reacted turning his spear just in the nick of time. Utilizing, the sharp talons on its end he blocked the descending transparent rapier with ease. Much to his eyes disbelief however, the rapier sparked and hissed as it made contact with the metal of his weapon—as if it had been real and not ghostly as it appeared.
"How's this possible?" Hiten growled low in his throat as he pushed the rapier away from his weapon with all of his might. "How? How?" He gulped and held his weapon up circling the other man waiting for the right moment. "Does it matter?" He asked himself as he clutched the weapon a little tighter, the leather handgrip groaning under his touch. "If they can attack me then that only means—I can attack them too!"
Snarling, he thrust the weapon forward expertly impaling the vaporous figure right where his stomach should have been if he was alive before yanking it out and waiting for the man to die. Much to the elemental demon's horror however, instead of ghostly blood flowing from the wound there was nothing but a puff of smoke that ran around the torso of the man like a little hurricane cloud. After a few seconds, the little cloud started to rush back into the man's body solidifying itself and almost stitching itself back together. Vapors becoming solid once more.
"Oh hell no." Hiten whispered as the man looked up at him with a smirk on his ghastly face. Before Hiten could even say another word the man lunged for him with the rapier once again, managing to nick the surprised Captain on the cheek drawing blood. "Oh that's just not fair!" Hiten grumbled internally as he jumped back and blocked the next attack with the thick wooden end of the spear. "He can draw my blood but I can't draw his—who the fuck thought that shit up?"
"Hiten-sama dodge-i down!" Kagura suddenly yelled from someone behind him and obeying without thought, the thunder demon threw himself downwards landing with a loud thump on the wooden deck.
A strong, hurricane force gust of wind sailed over his head and he glanced up just in time to see the spirit blown backwards and off the ship. "Kagura-hime." He whispered to himself and turned around to see the wind enchantress smiling with the strange little fan in her hand.
"Hiten-sama cannot draw their blood," She called over to him with a devilish smirk on her face. "But I sure-u as hell can blow them apart!"
Hiten grinned at her and jumped back up to his feet. "Man—she's something—." He shook his head slightly from side to side before the hairs on the back of his neck stood up on end: the demon in him sending a silent signal that something was about to go array. Turning hastily, he managed to dodge just seconds before the sword made contact with his head. "Shit." He hissed under his breath as he used his spear to block the ghost sword that had been nearly planted in his face.
Both weapons practically hissed as they made contact with one another the strength of both their wielders almost even. The thunder demon flinched as a spark actually flew from where the sharp blades met each other and tried to take a step forward to push the other man back. His muscles strained in his shirt and he gritted his teeth to the point of chipping only to watch in distaste as his opponent seemed to smile and laugh right in his face, the gleam of his spear reflecting that taunting smile.
"It won't work." The ghostly demon whispered in a sing song tone that shot into Hiten's very core. "It will never work—no matter how hard you try."
Hiten snarled as the demon finished his words and with the added benefit of anger pushed the man backwards. The sword and spear both hissed wildly as they were ripped apart. Small jagged sections of both blades caught on one another as the ghoul was thrown backwards only to catch himself on the rail before he fell overboard. Looking downright livid he pushed himself off the railing and back towards Hiten with a loud scream the sword posed beside his head as he prepared to strike.
Bracing himself, Hiten held his spear prepared at his side waiting for the right moment—the perfect moment—. "Now!" He told himself and sidestepped the charging man before placing a well aimed kick into the ghost's back sending him flying forward face first into the deck before he slid several feet away. Hiten breathed heavily as he watched one of his men trip over the prone body and flinched as it caused the man to nearly be impaled by his own assailant. "Shit." He bit the inside of his cheek. "This isn't working." He mumbled as his intelligent eyes flickered across the deck.
With jaw slightly opened, he turned around. His black irises caught sight of Kagura as she drew her fan up to her ear before sweeping it in front of her body, a gust of wind instantly flying from the tips of the fan's edge throwing not one but three men off the boat with its power.
"That wind," He narrowed his eyes. "Her wind—it's strong enough to push them over without much effort." He realized just as the hairs on the back of his neck stood on end once more and out of instinct he ducked allowing a glistening sword to neatly pass over him. "Pay the fuck attention Hiten!" He yelled at himself before turning around hastily his spear held tightly in his hands.
Bringing the edge of his spear through the man, he released a loud scream as he allowed the power of his element to build throughout his veins. The spear sparked with the power of thunder before collecting all of it and sending it into the unsuspecting victim. The phantom figure however, didn't even seem to notice the surge of electricity as its eyes glowed a deep daunting black before it screamed as well and reached for the spear yanking it out of its own body before charging once more.
"Damn it!" Hiten growled as he jumped backwards spear held high above his head. "Not even my fucking thunder works—." He narrowed his eyes before using his peripheral vision to see Kagura blow another man overboard once more. "But Kagura—her element works. That's our only option." Nodding to himself he held his spear in front of him once more blocking another hit by a different ghostly figure. Once again the spear sparked against the sword, showing that for all purposes and pretences the weapon was real and very much deadly. Hissing lightly under his breath Hiten thrust his spear upwards sending the man backwards and off his feet. "I got to get to Kagura—knocking them over like this won't do any good. I need her to blow them away."
Backing up slowly spear held high in front of himself, his ears twitched on the side of his head, listening to his men as they screamed in fear among the chaos. This was a worse case scenario. His men had no idea how to fight these—things; they were literally attacking blind with no information on how to win. They were sitting ducks, cows for slaughter, and he was helpless to do anything about it. Off to his right, one of his men screamed—blood curdling—into the night air. Whipping his head around, Hiten watched in dismay as the demon fell to his knees bleeding profusely from his side where a rapier protruded from between two of his larger ribs.
"Damn it!" The Captain cursed unable to do anything for the man right now other than get to Kagura. "If I can get to her—then we can do something." A gust of wind at his back alerted him to his close proximity to the wind demon and he turned looking for her out of the corner of one eye while the other stayed well trained on possible attackers around him. "Kagura!"
"Hiten-sama!" The woman replied instantly as she turned and saw Hiten over her shoulder. "We must do something-u now."
"I know." The thunder demon grunted as he backed himself towards her. "Put your back to my back."
Without a word the wind demon did as told putting her own back to Hiten's, her fan drawn prepared to attack anyone who might come near him. "What do we do?" She managed to question as she leaned against him, pressing her back closer to him than necessary as her body quaked impatiently. Her ruby eyes darted this way and that, looking for the next person to attack but it was difficult. "I can't hit-o anyone from Hiten-sama's crew or they'll die—demo," She gritted her teeth. "They're all in the way."
"I have an idea." Hiten told her as he too leaned against her back more than necessary, finding some strange comfort in the action; as if they were somehow supporting one another "I'll distract them with the spear," He spoke as quietly as possible not sure how good a dead man's hearing really was. "And then you blow them off the ship with your wind, got it?"
Kagura smiled at the idea feeling confident for the first time in almost fifteen minutes. "Let's go!" She told him before blowing one last fighter out of her way and turning around so her front was to Hiten's back.
The Thunder demon gritted his teeth hard as he held the spear tightly in his grip. In front of him a ghost caught his eye and screamed rushing forward saber drawn and ready to kill. He felt Kagura tense behind him and inhaled deeply, the demon in him wanting nothing more than to protect her—his instincts unable to deny that thought. With a yell he rushed forward away from her catching the saber on the edge of his spear before it could inflict damage on either of them. His muscles strained as he tried to push the demon back, the sound of metal scraping metal actually hurting his ears.
"You'll never win." The ghoul suddenly whispered, his hot breath actually touching Hiten's skin in the most sickening of ways. "Try as hard as you want—we can't die."
"Screw you!" Hiten hissed and took a decisive step forward knocking the other man off his feet easily before ducking his head and allowing Kagura to wave the fan producing another giant gust of wind.
"Yosh!" Kagura yelled as she watched the man fly off the ship, an actual splash resounding in her ears.
"Fuck yeah!" Hiten added to the sentiment before the seriousness of the situation came back across his face once more. "Kagura-hime, let's finish this." He called towards her as he prepared his spear again.
"I'm right behind yuu, Hiten-sama." She yelled as she came to stand behind him once more both of them prepared to finish what had been successfully started.
-break-
Inuyasha walked into his cabin his hair still damp for his latest dip in the ocean but his pants actually dry as well as his shirt. Absently, he turned his head to the side and looked over at his son who was currently sitting cross legged on his bed with a book in his lap. "What are you doing in my bed?" He groused as he walked across the room towards his chest, this time looking for a towel to dry his hair with.
"Reading." Miroku commented dryly without even bothering to look up from the book; his eyes literally glued to its surface.
"Hm?" Inuyasha grunted as he opened the chest once more and reached inside of it for a small drying clothe before bringing it to his face and rubbing slightly. "That second dip was worth it." He told himself as he felt the cold breeze from the opened window brush his hair making him shiver ever so slightly. "I'm too fucking cold to feel anything now." He closed his eyes and sighed deeply at the thought, forcing himself to ignore the implications of what had transpired only a short time ago. Shaking himself slightly he put the towel on his head and began to rub his hair, careful of his delicate ears before turning back to Miroku trying to catch a glance of the book's cover. "What're you reading?"
Without words Miroku lifted the book form his lap and tapped the cover moving his hands and shifting just enough that Inuyasha was able to see the title whilst Miroku continued to read.
"The Female Quixote." He snorted slightly as he tried to remember if he had ever read such a book. "I don't think I've even heard of such a book." He grumbled to himself as he continued to rub at the ends of his hair trying to dry it as much as he could before the chill actually got to him. "That's one of the books from the navy vessel, isn't it?" He questioned as he glanced from Miroku to the ends of his hair watching as little droplets of water fell onto the floor—with each passing moment less and less falling—a good sign.
Miroku grunted at his father but didn't take his eyes from the book as he licked his pointer finger and reached slowly for the corner of the page. His hand hovered for several seconds as his eyes moved quickly from left to right before darting back down to the next line. After a few more seconds of his quickly shifting eyes, he grabbed for the corner of the page and flipped it quickly his eyes immediately settling on the top of the page once more as he continued to read quickly.
Smiling slightly, Inuyasha finished drying his hair and hung the towel over the back of his chair to dry. "Any good so far?" He muttered sarcastically as Miroku seemed to become even more engrossed in the book.
"Umm." Miroku managed to grumble even as his eyes darted across the text. "I'll do it later." He muttered causing Inuyasha to raise an eyebrow.
"I feel like you're twelve again." Inuyasha grumbled and rolled his eyes before plopping himself down on the foot of the bed. Miroku shifted slightly from the shifting weight on the mattress but didn't bat an eye lash as he continued to read. "Man, he's completely in his own little world." Chuckling and shaking his head Inuyasha allowed himself to fall back on the bed, his legs hanging off the edge as he put his hands under his head. "Whatever." He told himself as he closed his eyes and sighed deeply, trying to let his mind wander without running away into dangerous places.
That however, was nearly impossible.
"Kagome." Her name echoed in his head as if on its own accord causing his eyes to snap open. Blinking rapidly at the ceiling above his head he took a deep breath and shook his head hastily. "Can't I just go one fucking minute without thinking about—about—." He gulped as her phantom smell seemed to waft into his nose. "Damn it!" He growled and brought his hands out from under his head to cover his face. "I can't believe—she—did she even realize it?" He slowly drug one of his hands down his face. "Probably not—there's no way. A girl like her." He opened one eye and blinked a few times before daring to open the other, the wood of the ceiling all he could see. "No—a girl like her never would—she wouldn't even give it a second thought."
Inuyasha closed his eyes once more tightly as he tried to extinguish the thoughts from his head. After several minutes, he released a long and drawn out sigh before opening his golden eyes as slowly as possible. The blurry ceiling met his vision and he blinked once then twice to clear it. The wood panels above his head became clearer with each blink and he gulped. Somehow, the clarity of his vision made him feel almost more blind.
"Get a hold of yourself." A small voice in the back of his mind began to reason. "You've already decided to court her, that's the hardest part." The voice continued to speak; Inuyasha wasn't even sure where it had come from or if it was his own. "Now all you have to do is sit back and see if she goes along with it. Everything will be revealed in due course—relax." Inuyasha grunted: in a way, he felt as if the voice was mocking him and yet somehow they did make him feel just a tiny bit better. "Kagome—that'll happen with time, right now," He licked his lips slightly before biting down on his lower one absently. "I need to focus on what happened today." He told himself as he rolled onto his side and looked at Miroku's crossed feet that were twitching as the boy read. "My transformations—I wanted to ask Miroku abo—."
The sound of Miroku sighing and the book closing brought him quickly out of his thoughts and he turned his attention to his son just in time to see him set the book aside on the table between the two beds. "That's a good stopping point." He spoke out loud even though the words seemed to be directed more at himself than at his father. Stretching his hands above his head he paused when he caught sight of Inuyasha laying across the bed. "When'd you get here?" He asked as he raised an eyebrow.
Inuyasha frowned dryly. "I've been here at least fifteen minutes." He informed the boy as he sat up in the bed and snorted. "I even talked to you but you had your nose so far in that book that you couldn't see anything else."
Miroku smirked slightly and then rubbed the back of his head, a habit he had inherited from his father. "Well um—it's a good book."
"I can see that." Inuyasha clicked his tongue before briefly scanning the room. "Shippo in with the girls?"
"Yeah." Miroku said slowly as he eyed the Captain with thoughtful pupils. "I sent him in there right after your bath." He chuckled, dropping his hand as he leaned back on Inuyasha's pillow. "I trust you had a nice second bath, yes?"
"Yeah." Inuyasha drew out skeptically. "What is he up to?"
The younger man's expression morphed from simply entertained to downright evil. "Nice," He drew out the word making a slight hissing noise on the end before he continued. "And cold?"
Inuyasha sat up on the bed and eyed his son slowly. "Oh course," He answered and shifted slightly this way and that. "Look at the time of year."
"That's," Miroku raised a finger moving it back and forth slowly as if he was reprimanding a child for lying. "Not what I meant."
"Miroku." Inuyasha's voice sounded every bit that of a warning but whether Miroku heard it or not was a different story.
"It took me a little while to figure it out," Miroku crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes. "But when I did—," He opened one eye deliberately looking at Inuyasha as if he was the father and not the son in this situation. "And oh I did—," He nodded to himself sharply before closing his eye once more. "I realized how absolutely more hilarious that made the situation."
"Pu-u-p-p." Inuyasha gritted his teeth and tried to hold in an angry growl.
"She saw you naked," Miroku held in his laughter as he crossed his arms lower over his body, towards his stomach. "And you liked it."
"Oh come on!" Inuyasha flung his hands up in the air and jumped up off the bed stomping across his cabin angrily.
Miroku continued to laugh heartily, his hands still around his middle. "This is almost worth having to sleep in here." He brought one hand up to wipe at tears that were beginning to gather on his face. "Hey?" He chuckled, making sure to calm himself before he posed the whole question. "Can I use her bed?"
Inuyasha whipped his head around and practically snarled, his eyes almost turning red at the very suggestion.
"I'm joking, I'm joking." Miroku held up his hands in mock surrender as he continued to hold in his loud laughter. "I know you wouldn't want her scent to be mingled with another man's."
"That's it." Inuyasha sprung from his spot some ten feet away from his son and right towards Miroku's current seated position. The boy actually let out a sound close to an 'epp' as he lunged off the bed.
The human's speed was no match for Inuyasha and before Miroku even knew what was going on his father was smacking him in the head, albeit lightly. "I'm sorry!" The pup whined as he brought his hands over his head in order to protect himself. "Ow—hey—enough!"
"It's enough when I say it's enough." Inuyasha growled as he continued to hit the boy across the head subconsciously being gentle enough not to hurt him.
"I said," Miroku tried to get out between hits. "I was sorry."
Inuyasha growled and hit Miroku across the ear before smirking slightly to himself. "Nihongo," He commanded as he switched from English to Japanese knowing the frazzled boy would not be able to catch onto the command to speak in Japanese too quickly. "O tsukau!"
"Gomen!"
Inuyasha's eyes widened in surprise as Miroku followed the command quickly and without thought. "Has he learned that well?" Inuyasha wondered to himself as he switched from hitting the boy to only shaking him lightly. "Polite version!" He commanded quickly in English watching as Miroku brought his hands up to try to push Inuyasha off himself.
"Good grief!" He grunted as he was wacked in the head again his mind racing to find the right words, the ones his father expected. "Gomen nasai!"
"Good enough." Inuyasha pushed him back on the bed abruptly before falling onto Kagome's bed beside it.
Miroku growled and rubbed his head slightly as he pushed himself into a sitting position. He glared darkly at his father who was already laying full on his back once more on Kagome's bed. "That was both cruel and unusual." He grumbled as he shook himself as if to clear his own thoughts.
Inuyasha sighed almost happily as he absently scratched his stomach. "I feel much better though."
"Haha." Miroku drug out each syllable sarcastically.
Inuyasha smiled slightly to himself as his ears twitched with Miroku's words but the smile faded quickly as his earlier thoughts suddenly seemed to jump back into his head. "Miroku—," Inuyasha paused and ran a hand through his hair absently. "I—," He cleared his throat almost harshly as his voice caught. "I want to talk to you."
"About what?" Miroku sat up on the bed feeling a slight nervousness form in his gut that he couldn't really explain.
Inuyasha shifted uncomfortably on Kagome's bed before sighing loud and long. "On that navy ship," He began slowly not looking at Miroku as he talked, unable to look at him really. "During the raid—." His voice trailed off and he looked at Miroku out of the corner of his eye waiting for the man to catch on.
"Oh," Miroku winced with both understanding and his own slight discomfort. It wasn't every day that they talked about something like this—a weakness his father seemed to have. Discussions of Inuyasha's demon transformations were usually pushed to the wayside, stealthily ignored for the better good. "For him to talk about it openly," Miroku glanced at his father uneasily. "It must be important." Trying to look nonchalant Miroku stretched on his father's bed and leaned back more into the pillows. "When you lost it, you mean?"
Inuyasha shrugged as best he could from his position on his back sprawled out on Kagome's bed. "Yeah."
The room was quiet as Miroku tried to think of anything to say; as Inuyasha tried to think of anything to add. Finally after several seconds, Miroku took a deep breath and looked at his father with almost apprehensive eyes. "I've never," He stopped, fidgeted and then continued. "Seen you lose it like that." The boy commented very softly as if he wasn't sure how his statement would be taken. "I mean, I've seen you transform before—as a boy—." He licked his lips the memory of that time so long ago taunting his mind but he pushed it away in favor of pressing on. "Then, you just snarled and—you killed." He frowned at his father's sudden intake of air but kept speaking. "It was weird—this time, I mean—it was different than before," He looked directly into his father's golden eyes watching as the older man's visage became pained. "You talked."
Inuyasha felt something in his stomach sink like a rock. "I know." He pursed his lips and looked down at his clawed hands.
"You've never talked before." Miroku continued slowly as he pushed himself upwards even more in the bed, subconsciously knowing this conversation was much too serious to be had while lounging. "Not like you did this time. You've never talked like that when you're completely—out of it."
"I know." Inuyasha once again confirmed as he too finally sat up in the opposite bed bringing a hand up to rub at his throbbing temple. "I just don't understand how—." He waved a hand in the air as if to reiterate his point. "I mean I went through almost every scenario in my head where I lost to my demon blood and this has never happened," He looked Miroku dead in the eyes, his own eyes intense and almost anxious looking. "Not once."
Miroku nodded his head in agreement as he thought back on the times he had seen his father transform. There had actually not been many of them in the eleven years he had been on board however, of the ones he had seen he remembered them almost with insane clarity. "The first time I saw it," He paused trying to gather all of his thoughts. "We were around Argentina, right?"
Inuyasha shifted with a diffident air of discomfort. "Yeah, you were about nine or ten."
"I remember." Miroku nodded slowly almost more to himself than to the Captain. "It was strange, for lack of a better word—I mean—you were so different, snarling growling, unable to form even a single word." He looked at his own hands, staring at his own finger nails imagining they were his father's deadly claws as they had been back then, elongated and terrifying—although he couldn't really remember ever fearing them. "I had never seen you like that."
Inuyasha nodded his head slightly. "It must have been frightening." He commented almost off handedly.
"Not really." Miroku countered with a shrug as he dropped his own hands to his lap and gave Inuyasha a slight smile. "It was odd—," He winced not sure that was the right word. "But not really scary or anything—I mean by that point," He offered up a slight almost apologetic smile. "I was almost positive you weren't going to try to kill me and eat me."
Inuyasha snorted at the slight joke but didn't look too wholly convinced.
"Still—I don't remember you ever transforming and talking." The boy continued on growing serious once more. "This was the first time—." Miroku stopped talking as another bit of information hit his mind. "This isn't the first time." He told himself as his mind sprang into action, synapse after synapse connecting until another memory threw itself into his brain.
The demon snarled at her, his whole body tensing as she came closer to it. "Fuck of!" It yelled at her growling, threatening but Kagome didn't stop only continued to walk towards him, her hands extended in front of her, almost loving as she reached for him unsure of what she was doing but knowing it would come naturally.
"Miroku?" Inuyasha questioned drawing Miroku out of the brief memory.
"Sorry?" He snapped his head towards his father encountering the confused gold eyes of the older man instantly.
"You just zoned out there for a minute." Inuyasha pointed at him with one clawed finger and Miroku blinked slowly. "I mean right in the middle of your sentence."
"Oh," He frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't mean to." He apologized slowly as he brought a hand up to rub at his face. "I just remembered that time in New Orleans—." He trailed off again as his mind raced. "Back then in New Orleans, he transformed and he talked—he talked all the way back then." Slowly Miroku let his mind absorb the information only vaguely remembering the reason for that transformation. "When that man was mentioned—Sess—whatever, he transformed and he talked." For a moment the name of the unknown man bit at his subconscious but before he could think on it any further Inuyasha spoke.
"What about New Orleans?" Inuyasha pressed frustrated that Miroku had simply cut off his sentence so abruptly.
"You—," Miroku cleared his throat and rubbed at the back of his neck before continuing. "In New Orleans, you talked then."
Inuyasha's eyebrows shot up into his hairline looking honestly surprised. "What?"
"In New Orleans—," Miroku bit the inside of his cheek and scooted forward onto the bed until he was sitting on the edge. Carefully, he put his elbows on top of his thighs and leaned forward, resting his head in his hands as he began to talk, apprehensively. "You talked when you transformed in New Orleans."
"I did?" Inuyasha whispered almost to himself as he looked at the floor for answers that just wouldn't come. He couldn't really remember much about the time in New Orleans, all he could remember was his anger and frustration—the transformation itself seemed almost secondary to that.
"Yeah—," Miroku ventured slowly caught off guard by the Captain's surprise. "You said 'fuck off' and a few other things I think but I really remember the fuck off part."
"Really," Inuyasha honestly looked confused to his son as he blinked several times. "All I remember is Kago—." Both men froze before the woman's name could even be completely said. "You don't think—." He tried to finish the sentence but found it trapped in his throat. Even though he had thought the same thing earlier it seemed wholly bizarre that it was becoming the truth now. "Could Kagome really affect me that much?"
"You know," Miroku spoke up finally, voicing what neither really wanted to say. "None of this started until after we got Kagome." He winced expecting his father to yell at him but the disgruntled snarls never came but a calm almost lethargic voice penetrated the air instead.
"I thought of that—," Inuyasha spoke quietly as he looked down at his clawed hands absently watching as his nails shone brightly in the candlelight. "Do you think it has something to do with her?"
"Maybe—." Miroku shrugged as his mind ran with the scenario in his head. "She was there both times he talked—she was there but—." His mind went back to the man who had caused the transformation in Cumming's Tavern. "Kagome didn't cause the transformation in Cummings tavern—he did." He narrowed his eyes as his mind went back to that man for just a moment. "He caused that reaction that made Inuyasha transform—but why?" He looked at his father out of the corner of his eye once more and carefully prepared himself to speak. "However," He started warily waiting for his father to look at him before he spoke. "She didn't cause it, right, that guy did—Sess—whatever."
"Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha easily supplied, the name not even seeming to faze him as he stared at the floor of the room deep in thought. "It was the thought of him—all the anger he creates in me—that made me transform, Kagome did the opposite."
"Not even a flinch?" Miroku's eyes widened in complete surprise having honestly expected Inuyasha to react in much the same way he had back then. "What the—."
"You're right," Inuyasha cut off his thoughts as he brought his head up from the floor to look at Miroku as if he was actually caught off guard. "She didn't cause it—she stopped it. Just like the first time."
"First time?"
"With Manten," Inuyasha spoke as if he was talking to himself. "I started to transform." He nodded his head and clicked his tongue. "But—just like this time, and with Kaede, Kagome stopped it."
"She stopped—what—Manten?" Miroku narrowed his eyes as he tried to process the information being thrown his way. "He transformed with Manten? Why didn't I know this?"
"Yeah." Inuyasha closed his eyes as something tugged at the back of his head. "She stopped it."
"Okay—calm down." Miroku told himself as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Why I didn't know doesn't matter—what's important is the reason, why did he transform back then—did he actually—did he see Kagome being hurt?" The man furrowed his brow in worry as he imagined what might have happened to Kagome that could have caused his father's demon transformation. "Don't even think about it." He told himself and shook his head before clearing his throat softly. "So she stopped your transformation," He questioned as he gave Inuyasha a critical look. "If she stopped it then what caused it?"
The dog demon Captain didn't answer Miroku right away as his mind turned to that time that felt so long ago now. He remembered reaching forward for Manten's jewel shards, remembered plucking them from the pile of ash that had once been Manten's body. He remembered watching them combine before his very eyes turning that deep dangerous burgundy. He remembered the pain searing through him as the jewels tried to take control of him. He had never felt anything like it, experienced anything close to it. It all seemed so unreal now and yet he knew it had happened, his memories of the incident told him so.
Miroku waited patiently as he practically witnessed the memory run across his father's face right before his eyes. He could see every emotion: terror, anger, even fear. He could never remember having seen fear cross his father's face as it was right then. "What happened back at the Port of Spain?" He asked himself as he tried to keep his lips from being torn into by his worrying teeth. "It had to be bad for him to transform—and for him to look back at it, and be afraid." He shuddered as the possibilities began to taunt him. "Kagome—."
"Manten's jewel—when it combined with mine—that did it." Inuyasha spoke up suddenly causing Miroku to almost jump with surprise.
"The jewels?" Miroku tried to speak but was caught off by Inuyasha speaking suddenly once more.
"It was the jewel, with Manten, it was the jewel that caused it." He whispered his eyes wide with recollection as he saw those jewels combine in his hand just as they had months before. "It doesn't make since though." He spoke as if he was speaking wholly to himself.
Sitting on the edge of the Captain's bed, Miroku could only watch helplessly as his father seemed to stare off into space, his eyes narrowing as he looked at something that wasn't really there. "Otou-san," He whispered, as a lump formed in his throat. "What about the jewel?"
At first it didn't appear that Inuyasha had heard Miroku's words. He simply sat, for more than a minute, his eyes stuck in their narrowed position as he looked upwards at nothing. "I've worn that jewel practically my whole life since Okaa-san died." He spoke softly as he envisioned his mother on her death bed, as he saw that jewel in her dying fingers. "And before that, she wore it for as long as I can remember—she wore it." He chuckled almost nervously as that image of his mother dying sat at the forefront of his brain as if mocking him. He could see the jewel glistening, he could almost hear her voice apologizing.
"When my father died," Jinenji started to explain as he looked off towards his herb fields fidgeting slightly from the intensity of the Captain's expression. "It was bequeathed to me." He paused for a second, the memory pushing at his psyche. "However," He looked at Inuyasha then back to Kagome, his large blue eyes pained. "Just like you, I could never touch such an heirloom."
Inuyasha jumped as the suddenness of the memory made him feel sick. "Jinenji couldn't touch it." He whispered into the room.
"Jinenji?" Miroku repeated the name, trying to figure out how they had moved so quickly from Manten to Jinenji—two entirely different people.
"But I could—I could touch it once—I touched it and I was fine." Inuyasha paused for only a second. "Why could I touch it before—but I can't touch it now?" He frowned deeply. "Why can I talk now as a full demon and I couldn't before." His mind started to feel fuzzy as the answer to both questioned started to form. "Why?" He whispered so softly that Miroku could barely hear his words.
"Otou-san?" The boy asked as he leaned forward on the bed and stuck out his hand as if to touch his father.
"I remember." Inuyasha spoke suddenly and loudly causing Miroku's hand to stop and recoil quickly in surprise. "I was a boy—a little pup—a really little pup." His voice came out dazed as if he was drunk. "Sesshoumaru was teasing me."
Miroku felt his mouth fall open. "Sess—that guy knew you as a pup?" He barely managed to think before Inuyasha started to talk once more.
"I got mad—I lost it—I really lost it—." Inuyasha's voice suddenly trailed off and for the first time in a long time he reached his hand up for the shard that always had been perched against his skin until its presence there had become damaging. He took a shaky breath the memories of that horrible childhood experience becoming less and less fuzzy with each passing second; until they were undeniably clear:
"Watashi no haha no hanashi," A tiny Inuyasha screamed in a very deep and unnatural sounding voice. "O shinaide kudasai." His dark red irises and blue pupils narrowed with rage as he lunged for a much larger demon with strikingly similar facial features.
"Baka." The older demon said with a sigh as he blinked slowly: golden eyes appearing bored. "Watashi wa dare no hanashi o suru koto ga dekimasu." He mumbled under his breath before raising his hand to his head and hitting the boy square across the face.
The tiny dog demon immediately went flying several hundred yards, his small body leaving a dirt trail in its wake as he slid only to come to a stop when his head connected with a nearby tree.
"Awarena." His brother muttered out his distaste for the small boy with a loud sigh before jumping and landing next to him in one giant leap. "Inuyasha wa watashi no otōto dearu to shinjiru." He shook his head and knelt down before the tiny boy giving him a look of utter disappointment as he spoke.
In front of him on the ground, the tiny dog demon opened his now normal eyes slowly the sun blinding him instantly before his face was covered by a large white sleeve. "Watashi no atama." The little boy thought in his native language as he tried to blink back to pain that was pounding in his cranium unsuccessfully. Tight hands enveloping him in a protective grip made him stiffen with instinctual fear ingrained in his pup mind. Impulsively, he smelled the air trying to figure out who was holding. The scent of a cool brook overcame his senses instantly and he calmed. "Onii-san?"
"Shizukadearu." His brother bit back telling him to be quiet.
Inuyasha whimpered at the callous sound of his older brother's voice but calmed when he felt the grip tighten on him gently, contradicting the harsh word.
"Sesshoumaru!"
The little dog demon blinked as the sound of his father's loud call penetrated his brain. "Otou-san." He tried to speak but the noise came out as more of a pup's tiny cry than anything.
"He is contained." His brother replied easily in English to the man who was fast approaching. The sound of his feet pounding on the dirt loud to Inuyasha's sensitive little ears.
"Why is Onii-san speaking like Okaa-san." Inuyasha wondered matching the language his brother had spoken in unconsciously. "He doesn't like to speak it." He thought to himself even as he felt his mind starting to drift. He was so tired, his arms felt weak, his head pounded, his claws tingled in a way he had never felt before.
"What happened?" Another familiar voice came to Inuyasha's tiny ears answering his question instantly.
"Okaa-san." He once again tried to open his mouth to speak but this time not even one little sound came out, not even a whimper.
"He lost control." Sesshoumaru supplied as he gently handed his half brother over to his step-mother.
Inuyasha felt the shift in weight and sighed happily as his mother's cool fingers touched his warm skin. "He feels feverous." The woman whispered and Inuyasha finally managed to whine for her in the language of his father. "Oh my poor baby." The woman's sweet words only made Inuyasha whine louder. "Thank you Sesshoumaru-chan—thank you."
Inuyasha turned his head just in time to catch his full fledged demon brother wince at the name before merely biting his lip in response.
"Okaa-san." The little demon finally managed to whisper as he turned away from his brother to his mother with large tear filled eyes. "Nani ga okotta?"
The woman stared at him blankly for a second looking slightly confused. "Um—Inu-chan I don't—."
"Nani mo okoranakatta." Inuyasha's father spoke calmly as he looked down from over Inuyasha's mother's shoulder.
"Really?" The small pup switched languages again.
"Yes, nothing happened, you need not worry son." The dog demon switched with him.
Izayoi blinked once before nodding her head in agreement; having pieced enough of the conversation together to figure out what Inuyasha had asked. "Otou-san is right Inu-chan, it's okay. Go to sleep."
Inuyasha nodded his head once before closing his eyes but found himself unable to go to sleep—a fact his family was unaware of.
"This is becoming a problem." Sesshoumaru spoke stiffly from in front of his mother some five minutes later. "This is the second time he has nearly lost himself—he is unable to control his demon blood."
"When you were little Sesshoumaru you had the same problem but nowhere near as sever." The demon lord of the west's voice sounded dry as if he was chastising his son. "When he is older—," His father continued to speak not noticing when Inuyasha opened one little gold eye to look at him confused. "We can teach him to control it with combat, just as I taught you and my father taught me."
Holding Inuyasha a little tighter to her chest Izayoi started to stroke his hair, her voice gentle yet fearful as she spoke. "Could his blood—could being a half demon make it worse?"
There was a long silence before Inuyasha's ear flicked when he heard the sound of his older brother's obvious snort followed by his father's low growl.
"Most likely." The middle aged demon agreed as his feet dragged the ground creating a lot more noise than the man normally made when he walked—a sure sign he was worried and not concentrating on being the silent predator he was typically in life. "The human blood in his body is nowhere near as strong as the demon blood—it probably has some trouble keeping it at bay."
"So he needs help controlling it already, despite his age." His mother's voice was no longer gentle but instead full of determination. "He can't be trained yet he's only three." Her voice left no room for an argument. "So we need another solution."
"So what do you propose we do then?" Sesshoumaru countered his own voice sounding just as determined as his mother's.
With his face still buried against her chest Inuyasha wasn't able to really see what his mother reached for when one of her hands left his body but he was able to hear a soft almost chime like sound. "I have an idea." She spoke as the chain of her necklace scraped against the gemstone that always hung around her neck. "It will take a lot of power though."
Inuyasha blinked as he came back to himself, his mouth opened wide with his own surprise. "It was able to talk back then. The demon in me—it could speak—it spoke to Onii-san." He felt his hands shake slightly as the information began to sink in. "What changed?" The image of that small shard surrounding his mother's neck flickered in his vision and Inuyasha gasped in surprise.
"Otou-san?" Miroku reached for him placing a hand on his shoulder in worry
"The jewel." He whispered slowly almost to himself.
"What?" Miroku's voice was worried and his hands were shaking on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"The jewel," He repeated and looked at Miroku with concerned eyes. "It can speak now because of the jewel. I lose it easier now because of the jewel."
-break-
Naraku stepped onto the deck of the Thunder dressed in the very same clothes he had worn the night Mr. Dresmont died. His expression was almost blank as he swept his gaze across the ship. "Ghost?" He thought vaguely as his eyes landed on one of the strange apparitions watching as its transparent sword momentarily seemed to harden against the onslaught of one of the crews swords. "Strange." His eyes narrowed as he witnessed the attack, watching as the ghost threw the crewman off with the force of his blade.
"Hiten-sama!"
He blinked once, then twice, before slowly turning his head towards the woman whom had called the Captain's name. Immediately, he had to bring his hands up to cover his face as a large gust of wind blew straight by him towards the ghost he had just been watching. Whipping his head back around towards the figure once his eyes could open, he blinked in sheer surprise to notice it had gone. "What the hell?" He took a step forward only to stop as another gust of wind flew across the deck behind him. Once again turning hastily, he managed to catch a glimpse of the ghost being flung overboard. "She—blew it away?" He frowned for only a moment before he smirked, an almost twisted smile coming to his face. "I knew keeping her would be beneficial!"
Across the deck, Hiten blocked another attack with his spear. The two blades connecting screeched in protest as the ghost battled against Hiten's strength. Both men, alive or in the other case dead, gritted their teeth and fought over supremacy. Bracing himself, Hiten took a step forward all of his muscles rippling in both his legs and arms from the action.
"Come on." He told himself as he pushed his weight forward even farther, the eerie figure barely budging. "Just a little bit more." He continued to coach himself but that little bit never came. "Shit." He cursed internally as he felt his feet slide against the deck. "Shit, shit, shit." He pushed, his arms straining as he tried to put every last ounce of strength he had into his shove. "I have to just get him back, then Kagura can get him. Come on Hiten, push harder damn it." He yelled at himself closing his eyes and pushing forward but it was of no use. "Damn it!" He closed his eyes and gritted his teeth even harder.
"Hiten-sama!"
Her voice behind him made his eyes snap open. "Kagura." His heart lurched just a little in his chest.
"Yuu must use yuur opponent-o strength-u against him." She called to him sounding almost as if she was cupping her hands around her face to make the call louder.
"What?" Hiten yelled to her as confusion marked his face. "What the fuck is that girl thinking?"
"It's not strength-u versus strength-u!" Kagura continued to yell something in her words striking a distinct cord within Hiten's mind.
A thirteen year old Hiten yelled as he raced forward towards the large and formidable man before him. The man yawned lightly behind the blade before posing it in front of himself looking almost bored. Running towards him, Hiten prepared his attack, his overly small hands holding an overly large spear posed at his side ready to come down against his opponent's own bladed weapon with all of his might. Raising the weapon above his chest, he jumped into the air pulling the spear back towards his head before throwing it downwards.
The sound of a loud crack from two weapon's meeting rebounded in the clearing around them and Hiten smirked for all of two seconds before he felt his weight shifting backwards. "What the—?" He barely had time to think before his opponent took one step forward and using his monstrous (by comparison to Hiten) size, shoved the boy backwards. The boy flew through the air for all of a second before landing with a rather loud thump on the hard dirt of the training grounds.
"Hiten!" His father yelled loudly as he walked towards the young Hiten. He laid sprawled on his back, his vision practically swirling from the hit his head had taken against the ground. "No, no, no. That's all wrong."
"Not even a little sympathy." He thought begrudgingly as he felt his father's foot push him up into a sitting position.
"When your opponent is stronger than you Hiten." His father quickly launched into the lesson not seeming to register Hiten's small tears of defeat and shame. "You must not rely on your own strength but instead upon his."
Whipping at his nose only briefly as he sniffled, the little Hiten pushed himself onto his feet and scowled at his father. "Well one day no opponent will be stronger than me," The thirteen year olds voice was harsh and filled with anger. "So there."
"Hiten!" The man chastised instantly looking downright ashamed as he drew his face into a tight glower. "There will always be a stronger man." He took a step forward his expression not softening in the least even though his body language said otherwise. Slowly, he knelt down in front of the boy reaching up and wiping some dirt from the boy's chubby and childish cheeks. "To think otherwise is foolish."
The memory faded into the back of his mind as Hiten came back into the fight. "Padre—I'm sorry I was an arrogant twat." He thought only vaguely before he turned his attention back to the ghoul before him. Narrowing his eyes, he unleashed a trademark smirk his fangs glistening in the light of the moon that hung off to their right low on the horizon. Without a single thought, he threw all of his body weight backwards, practically falling onto the wood of the deck as the dead man gasped in horror as he was flung forward: his own weight successfully used against him.
Kagura jumped forward, her fan posed by her chin as she spun once in a circle to build momentum before straightening her arm deliberately sending the fan into a wide arch. A hurricane of wind was unleashed instantly flowing from the tips of her weapon to the ghost that was still falling forward. The gust hit him square on and he was flung backwards instantly flying over the ship's rail and into the sea.
"That's all of the Ghost-o." Kagura cheered and smiled brilliantly as she watched Hiten stand from where he had deliberately fallen.
"Hell yeah!" He cheered as he turned towards her an equally brilliant smile on his lips as he covered the short distance towards her and grabbed her hips, pulling her close. "You're downright dangerous with that fan Kagura-hime." He told the woman as he bared his fangs at her and growled low in his throat.
Kagura allowed her own rumble to build in her chest and contemplated leaning forward to capture his haughty smile in her own. But before she could even think to make a move, the sensation of something glimmering entered her mind once more. "Shikon—." She barely thought before whipping her head around so she could look over her shoulder. Kagura's eyes widened when she noticed the Captain of the ghost ship standing almost right behind them, his eyes filled with promise.
It seemed their jubilation was to be short lived.
"You think it's so easy to win?" The man whispered to them as he put his hands on his hips as if he was scolding children. "In case you haven't noticed—we don't die." With his words every person that Kagura and Hiten plus the crew had managed to throw over board began to reappear just as they had moments before. They crawled out of the woodwork, covered in water and seaweed, their expressions mocking and filled with laughter on top of malice.
"Impossible." Hiten whispered as he tightened his grip on Kagura ever so slightly.
The ghost Captain threw his head back and began laughing loudly at the words, his face filled with mirth.
Off in the shadows, Naraku's eyes narrowed. "How?" He whispered still calm if not a bit irked by this turn of events.
"How?"
Naraku jumped as his own question was repeated right behind him.
-break-
"So Kagome—," Sango mumbled as she sat on her bed, her hands expertly crossed in front of her chest. She blinked slowly as she stared the younger girl down who was sitting on the chair at Miroku's desk, a book in her lap that she had been pretending to read since they had arrived in the room a little over an hour ago—followed shortly after by Shippo who had been sent in by Miroku for bedtime; a bedtime Sango had just successfully met. "Shippo's asleep—."
"That's nice." Kagome mumbled as the bridge of her nose turned an amazing shade of red while the paper pages from the book in her lap crinkled with her tightening, nervous grip.
"Well," Sango absently ran a hand threw the little boy's hair as he mumbled in his sleep cutely. "I know you won't talk when he's awake." She smiled and watched as Kagome shifted slightly out of the corner of her eye. "So I thought now that he's asleep—it might be a good time to ask me," She paused and pursed her lips. "Any questions you might have."
Kagome cleared her throat and deliberately turned the page of the book, even though she hadn't read a single word so far. "Questions about what?"
"Well—," Sango drew out the word once more and tapped her chin slowly before sending Kagome a look the devil himself might envy. "Naked men for starters."
Kagome bit her lip hard before she could scream again, while the book fell out of her hands and landed on the floor with a rather loud bang. "Shit—I mean pardon," She blushed from the bridge of her nose to the roots of her hair both because of Sango's words and her own reaction. Closing her eyes, she bent over slowly and retrieved the book with shaking hands before opening it once more to what appeared to be a random page. "Sango this just isn't appropriate." She scolded the other woman without making any eye contact. "I mean Shippo's here!"
"I told you, he's asleep already." Sango dismissed with a wave of her hand as she shifted away from the boy on the bed to lean more towards Kagome. "You have to stop being so shy about this."
Kagome had just enough nerve to give Sango a nasty look from behind her short cut bangs.
The older woman smiled fondly at the girl and crossed her legs from her spot on the bed, placing her hands behind herself in order to prop herself up. "Come on Kagome." She gently pushed as she pounced her leg watching as the other girl continued to pretend to read. "Didn't you ever talk about this kind of stuff with the girl's back home?"
Kagome paused at the mention of her friends back home and bit her lip. "Sometimes—," She whispered slowly as her interest in using the book as a distraction started to wane ever so slightly. Carefully, while leaving the book open as a decoy if need be, Kagome raised her eyes towards the older woman and took a slow breath. "A lot of my friends," She ventured cautiously. "Were married—and you know how married women are among friends."
Sango nodded her head sharply a few times as she recalled a few of her own 'friends' from when she had lived the life of a true socialite. "God knows those types of women do like to talk about things." She spoke gently as she watched the girl in front of her fiddle with the pages of the book, playing with them between somewhat shaky fingers. "I wonder what they told her though?" She thought absently as she recalled a conversation Kagome and herself had had months before when Kagome had first appeared on the Shikuro.
"Sango." Kagome said in a small voice almost a squeak as she looked at the older more experienced woman. "Do you like—that? Is it, enjoyable?"
Sango turned bright red as she came out of her fantasy and looked at Kagome with remarkably lobster colored cheeks. She looked down at the ground and covered her face with her hands as her embarrassment traveled from her face all the way down her neck. "I—well—hm." Sango laughed a little and refused to meet Kagome's eyes.
"I've always heard that it's unpleasant." Kagome whispered as she too turned bright red.
Sango narrowed her eyes as she pushed the memory away. "Kagome?" She called the girl's name waiting until her grey eyes lifted from the book shyly to look up at her addresser. "What did they tell you about being—um—," She paused trying to figure out how to phrase her question gently while still being understood. "Wifely duties?"
Just as she had back then Kagome squeaked slightly and blushed. "Nothing good." She muttered as she wrung her hands in front of her absently. "I mean—I know what you said but you're the only person who's ever told me—good things."
Sango pursed her lips at the soft admission and nodded her head in approval. "At least she remembers what I said." The older woman thought to herself as she uncrossed her legs and touched just the tip of her bare toes to the ground. "Did they go into detail?" She asked absently not really thinking about the ramifications of such a question until after she had spoken.
The much younger girl immediately spluttered: "No!" firmly as she turned bright red and looked down at the book, holding onto it so tightly that the pages crackled as they started to tear.
"So they did." Sango nodded to herself and crossed her arms over her chest. "That makes this a lot harder for me—god knows they didn't tell her anything except how unpleasant it is." She shook her head slowly back and forth. "But—those girls—they don't know anything to begin with. They were married off for money to men who could care less about them or their happiness." Sango sighed actually feeling just as bad for those girls as she did for Kagome. "They've never been given the chance to actually experience what I have—let alone like it." She almost rolled her eyes but refrained before continuing. "How much," She began to question watching as Kagome looked at her just out of the corner of one eye. "I mean did they tell you about—stuff like you just saw?"
If Kagome could have turned any redder she would have been dead. "Sango p-p-please," She stuttered as she actually brought the book up to her face and hide in its pages. "I don't want to talk about this—," Her voice came across as muffled. "You just don't talk about stuff like this."
Sango sighed slowly already having known this would be a difficult conversation. However, that fact didn't stop a smile from forming on her face as she stood from the bed and walked the short distance to Kagome's chair. Slowly she knelt down before the girl and brought one hand up to touch the book, bringing it down so she could see Kagome's panicked eyes. "And you don't," She spoke without preamble giving Kagome a gentle smile. "Eat with your hands either—or wear boy's clothing," She pulled at the edge of Kagome's sleeve. "Or cut your hair short," She reached up and tugged a lock making Kagome wince. "Or," She paused and leaned back on her haunches a slight chuckle building in her throat. "Stay up all night while someone plays the violin just to make you happy."
Kagome's eyes widened at Sango's last words and she lost her grip on the book once more only this time Sango caught it before it could fall to the ground. "You—." She started to speak the bright red color of her face draining to a gentle twinge of pink. "You—you know about that?"
Sango shrugged and stood to her feet as she opened the book and flipped through the pages absently—it was written in German, she couldn't really read German. "Miroku told me." She informed softly as she put down the foreign book on the table absently.
The younger woman flushed brightly once more and clutched her hands into the material of her pants since the book was no longer available for her comfort. "Oh—I see."
Sango glanced at the young woman watching every little shift and change in posture. "She seems both nervous," She told herself as she watched Kagome's fingers dig into her pants leg. "And almost—nostalgic." She smiled slightly as she watched the slow, pleased smile that hinted on Kagome's lips. "That was really sweet of the Captain wasn't it?" She asked with a smile of her own.
"It was." Kagome replied her whole face seeming to change from chronically embarrassed to contented.
Sango grinned and leaned against the desk beside Kagome who was sitting in the chair. "He's a nice guy." She pressed as she carefully studied the woman's face. "Isn't he?"
"He is." Kagome agreed a little secretive and intriguing smile forming not just on her lips but all the way into her eyes as well.
"Interesting." Sango ventured to think as she pulled herself up onto the desk and began to swing her legs slowly back and forth. "He really likes you." She gambled to push Kagome just a little farther.
"Does he?" Kagome asked but her head didn't raise to look at Sango as she dug her hands even tighter into her pants leg.
"I think so." Sango spoke honestly. "I'm downright positive as of yesterday." She told herself but didn't dare whisper those words to Kagome as that would be a great violation of trust between her and the man she called father-in-law as well as Captain. "The question is—do you like him?"
"I don't know." Kagome's answer was just as quick as it was honest. She truthfully didn't really know, she didn't really even understand what was going on. She knew she had to at least be attracted to him, hell, she was so attracted to him that she couldn't stop thinking about him: his body, his hair, the sculpted peaks, biceps, and straining abs. She couldn't get any of it out of her head. She couldn't get that smile out her head: gentle and boyish, not the smile of a pirate but the smile of a young man who was still very much a boy inside. She'd never seen a smile such as that. And his voice, so deep and gentle but hard all at the same time. It was like he was two different people, a hypocrite to his own self. "I've never met someone that was such a conundrum."
Sango watched as Kagome's expression shifted from confused to almost dreamy. "What's she thinking about?" She wondered and raised an eyebrow slightly as Kagome's eyes seemed to gloss over. Shaking her head slowly Sango took a deep breath. "So you're not sure." She asked waiting for Kagome to nod before she continued. "Do you want to be sure?"
Kagome snapped out of her daze and for the first time since the conversation started looked Sango directly in the eye. "How would I do that?"
Sango actually looked downright taken aback by Kagome's sudden change in attitude and had to clear her throat before she continued on. "Have you ever been courted Kagome?"
Kagome's mouth formed an obvious 'o' shape before she looked away from Sango embarrassed once more. "No."
"Not even once?" Sango whispered in disbelief, her mouth hanging opened with complete disregard for propriety.
"Never." Kagome shook her head quickly and brought a hand up to finger the Shikon-no-Tama around her neck as if needing extra and none existent reassurance.
Sango whistled slightly and brought a hand to her chin as she tried to think of anyone else she had ever known who had never been courted—not one person came to mind. "Really?"
Kagome felt a headache coming on. "Sango I was the tomboy of Port Royal—," She spoke hastily trying to make it sound as if her 'station' in her home town had not bothered her. "My first ever marriage offer was to a boy two years younger than me when I was seventeen." She continued on speaking quicker than should have been humanly possible. "No one wanted to court me." She finished with an evident snap in her voice.
"Oh." Sango murmured in way of both acknowledgement and apology. "I didn't realize—Naraku was your first marriage proposal."
Kagome winced slightly at the memory of that horrible incident but didn't bother to speak at all on the subject. "It's all in the past anyway." She told herself even as she shifted uncomfortably her eyes venturing to look at Sango sitting on the desk. In contrast to Kagome herself, Sango was an entirely different woman. She was tall and well built, her eyes were gentle and calm (in direct disparity to her personality) and her hair was beautiful, straight and tame. "She must have had hundreds of proposals." Kagome thought feeling downright an ugly duckling next to this beautiful woman. "Um, Sango." She began slowly as she bit her lip, worrying at it. "How old were you when you received your first offer?"
The older woman shifted with an accurate air of discomfort before she answered. "Um—well—eleven—."
Immediately, Kagome felt herself sinking farther down into the chair. "Eleven." She repeated and brought her hands up to bury her face in them. "My god—."
"Oh, Kagome—."
"Come on Sango," Kagome ripped her hands away from her face her expression tight. "Look at the statistics, no one would ever court me."
Sango opened her mouth to say something but stopped as she watched the spirited girl turn almost ashamed before her very eyes. "Kagome." She said the name with all the care of a woman who might one day make an excellent mother.
"What?" The downhearted girl bit out as she crossed her arms over her chest.
"You silly girl." Sango felt the smile start to turn up on the corner of each side of her mouth. "Silly sweet girl."
Kagome blinked and turned her head to the side so she could see Sango better. "What?"
"Oh Kagome." She chuckled and closed her eyes looking every bit entertained by the whole situation.
"Why are you laughing?" Kagome grunted as she sat up in the chair narrowing her eyes at the other woman. "Come on Sango, stop it!"
"I'm sorry," Sango continued to laugh little tears actually forming on her closed lashes. "It's just so fun—both of you have your heads buried in sand."
"What are you talking about?" Kagome bit out in frustration as she stood from the chair and put her hands on her hips trying to look intimidating.
"Oh come on!" Sango opened her eyes and looked at the other girl in complete disbelief. "Kagome you're being courted already."
"What—," Her hands fell from her hips and her eyes widened to the size of tea saucers. "Sango—no way," Her voice trailed off and she narrowed her eyes. "Sango that's ridiculous and not funny."
"Kagome." She shook her head giving the girl a pitying look. "Think about it." She pushed herself forward on the desk landing on her feet as she glanced over Kagome's shoulder at the tiny Shippo, motherly instincts causing her to check and make sure he hadn't been disturbed by her laughing fit. "He played for you all night."
All the color drained from Kagome's face for a moment and her hand flew up to her mouth as if catching some unknown words. "Oh Sango—you don't mean." She froze and her hand shook as it dropped from her mouth. "No, no, no, no, no." She shook her head hastily back and forth. "That was just kindness."
"He protects you," Sango held up a finger as if starting a list. "Defends your honor." She held up another finger shaking it in Kagome's face as if to mock the other girl.
"He does that because he vowed to—," Kagome motioned towards the mark underneath her clothes. "And he's the kind of man that doesn't break vows."
"He buys you things." Sango held up another finger this time smirking.
"He doesn't want me to sleep on the floor," Kagome groaned and rubbed her head. "So he bought me a bed." She gave Sango a pointed look only to frown when the older woman pointed towards the floor. Confused Kagome looked down only to immediately see her boots which although not on her feet were resting underneath the desk. "He doesn't want me to be bare foot." She continued to argue as she turned her nose up away from the offending objects.
Sango sighed lightly but wasn't detoured. "He spends time with you."
"He spends time with Miroku too." Kagome fired back haughtily only to freeze when the sound of a small mumble came from behind her. Instantly both women turned around spotting the tiny figure of Shippo laying on the bed. He had turned in his sleep but his tiny eyes had not opened and he did not appear to be awake.
Sango sighed in relief because of the child's continued sleep and brought her eyes back to Kagome. "Kagome," She spoke much quieter now. "You have to see it." She pressed watching with interest as Kagome clutched her hands into fist at her side but continued to refuse to look at the older woman. "He's been courting you since day one."
Kagome tightened her hands at the words, her ears actually picking up the sound of her knuckles popping. A part of her refused to admit what Sango was saying was true but another part of her (perhaps a part of her that succumbed easily to logic) felt the need to listen. Even though she had not been courted in the entirety of her life, didn't mean she wasn't aware of what happened in a courtship. She had seen enough to know, had heard about her mother and father's enough to know.
"Naraku was supposed to court me." She thought absently to herself. "But I never would have let him—I never would have accepted his gifts or calls—and yet—Inuyasha." Her internal dialogue seemed to fail her then and she blinked slightly. "Inuyasha." Just the sound of his name made her shiver and the very thought of him courting her—nearly made her heart stop. "Would he?" She whispered almost to herself but that didn't stop Sango from answering.
"Yes," Sango confirmed as she watched the array of emotions play on Kagome's face. "And he is."
"But," Kagome felt her mouth go dry. "He hasn't given me the courting gift—," She weakly argued. "A demon one—."
Sango frowned ever so slight at Kagome's words, something important trying to surface in the back of her mind but the pace of the current conversation did not allow her time to fully acknowledge whatever the thought (perhaps memory) had been.
Kagome turned slightly towards Sango but still seemed to embarrassed to make eye contact. "All demons give a specific courting gift—the announcement gift?"
"Well—," Sango was actually caught off guard. "How does she know about that—demon's don't talk about stuff like this." She worried her hands together in front of her slowly. "They do—but—," She searched for any logical counter argument she could come up with. "He's given you many things."
"But not for courting." Kagome pressed her lips together almost sourly. "He's given me shoes, clothes, a bed," The pressure she inflicted on her lips lessoned ever so slightly with the next thought. "A violin."
"A violin?" Sango raised her head as her mind made a valuable connection. "Now that is an announcement gift!"
Kagome flushed brightly realizing she had slipped up. "Um yes."
"When?" The older woman pressed as she triumphantly plopped herself down into the chair Kagome had vacated some minutes before.
"Um." Kagome shifted from foot to foot, her eyes looking rapidly this way and that. "After we left Havana."
"That long ago!?" Sango's entire face lit up. "Wait till I tell Miroku."
"Yes—." Kagome's meek voice trailed off slowly as she looked at her hands watching as her fingers poked together innocently.
"That's an announcement gift if I've ever seen one." Sango laughed almost giddily, staying quiet for the sake of the sleeping Shippo and nothing more.
"But it's not—," Kagome fought back as color sparked across her cheeks. "He didn't say anything about an announcement!" She started to pace the room. "He didn't tell me we were courting or give me any of the traditional signs."
"Well—," Sango crossed her legs in the chair and leaned her elbows against the armrest. "In his defense, you can't really announce the courtship to the person's parents when they're a thousand leagues away."
Kagome pursed her lips, she couldn't argue with that logic. Her parents were a thousand leagues away there was no way he could go up to them and make the courtship announcement or present the courtship gift to them. This was completely new territory as far as courtship's were concerned. Usually, in demon courtship's that is, the male could go to the female's house and present a gift to the girl in question with her family present. The gift itself was called an 'announcement' gift because it announced to the entire family that the boy intended to court and wed their daughter. Should the gift be accepted by the family (and in some cases the girl) then the boy was allowed to undertake the courtship. If not, then he was to go on his way: better luck next time.
In this case however, the rules of the announcement gift were a lot vaguer. There was no family to present the gift to; no parents to gain permission from. There was only Kagome herself. "And he never—announced—to me that any of his gifts were meant to be a courting gift." Kagome huffed slightly before shaking her head as if to push all her ridiculous thoughts away. "This is all frivolous anyway! How do I even know he wants to court me," She spun around and pointed an accusing finger at Sango. "All I have is your word."
Sango didn't appear fazed in the least by Kagome's outburst as she leaned back in the chair comfortable. Running her fingers together in front of her slowly, she smiled and lifted her head from watching them to peer at Kagome challengingly. "Well, if you're so unsure then maybe you should just sit back and wait—," She shrugged her shoulders as if to say what-harm-would-it-do. "See if he treats you like he's courting you, really pay attention."
"You mean," Kagome gave her a critical eye. "Look for the signs?"
"Yes." Sango nodded her head sharply and then quirked an eyebrow as she watched Kagome sink slowly to the bed looking exhausted.
"My head hurts so badly." She whispered as she laid down on her side and wrapped her arms around her middle.
Sango frowned as she watched the look of distress cross the younger girl's face. "Maybe you should sleep on it."
"Yeah?" Kagome whimpered slightly and brought her hand up to hold her temple. "I'm just—it's all so—it's just becoming too much." She whispered the words as she continued to rub her head. "I—."
"Kagome." Sango interrupted and stood from the chair without another word. Crossing the short distance she knelt down beside the girl and gently smoothed her hair in understanding. "Just rest now." She told the girl in a quiet voice understanding her pain at the current moment. "You really haven't ever been courted before have you?" She questioned silently as she continued to run her fingers through Kagome's short hair. "It must be pretty stressful—after everything that's happened to you before and after you came to us—to deal with something like a courtship." The woman couldn't help but smile slightly from her own thoughts. "I mean, I was no better when Miroku was courting me." She closed her eyes and held back a laugh.
"Sango?"
The sound of Kagome's voice brought Sango out of her musings and the older girl opened her eyes, looking down at Kagome with anticipation. "Yes?"
"It seems impossible." The younger woman whispered even though her eyes were closed. "No one—not once."
"There's a first time for everything Kagome." Sango said softly as she leaned away from the other girl and towards the candle that flickered on the end table. Gently she blew it out and climbed into the bed pushing Kagome over gently until there was enough room for herself beside the younger woman and the sleeping child.
"But why—?"
"I don't know." Sango answered honestly. "You'd have to ask him."
Kagome gulped loud enough that even Sango could hear her in the dank darkness that had encompassed the room the moment the candle had been extinguished.
End of Chapter
Please Review
A/N: Hope you enjoyed another fun filled installment of Shikuro! Also, I'm not 100% sure I like the ending of this chapter—so there might be some tweaking. If there is I will make a note of it next chapter.
Bonus Point:
Who is Sesshoumaru's retainer?
Last Chapter's Bonus Point:
Naraku returns Kagura's heart but pierces her chest and poisons her with his miasma. Sesshoumaru does find her but is unable to save her. At the moment of her death, Kagura's body disintegrates and becomes a gust of wind. Congrats to the winners!
Alice's Secret Lover, StrikerTheWolf, Glon Morshi, MKM123008, L.C., HentaiLemon, 14 inu-kag, Litle C, AKEMI SHIKON, TheRealInuyasha, Menarie, Saria Forest14, HeavenlyEclipse, Sharp 8394, Suyurilrig
Notes:
The Female Quixote – a novel written by Charlotte Lennox imitating and parodying the ideas of Miguel de Cervantes' Don Quixote, published in 1752.
Translation Notes:
Douyatte – How?
Yosh – Let's go! Alright! (There isn't a good translation but this is what it implies)
Nihongo o tsukau – Use Japanese!
Gomen – Sorry.
Gomen Nasai – Polite sorry. (I'm so very sorry!)
Watashinohaha no hanashi o shinaide kudasai – Don't talk about my mother.
Baka. Watashi wa dare no hanashi o suru koto ga dekimasu – Idiot. I can talk about anyone.
Awarena. Inuyasha wa watashi no otōto dearu to shinjiru. – Disgusting. I cannot believe you are my brother.
Watashi no atama – My head.
Shizukadearu – Shut up (not the best translation but basically what it means)
Nani ga okotta – What happened?
Nani mo okoranakatta – Nothing happened.
Next Chapter:
N/A
See you then!
UNEDITED
POSTED
10/8/2012