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?

69. My Mother

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 Nine

My Mother

Inuyasha sat in his cabin, dim light coming through a mostly closed curtain illuminating the room as he relaxed in the hard wooden chair that usually rested in front of his desk. At the moment, he had drug it across the room, planting it in front of Kagome who was sleeping soundly in her bed and had been for the better part of the last few hours.

Outside, the wind Kagura had produced from her amazing fans continued to rage on, the loud roar of it pushing against the thick canvas of the Shikuro's sails. Absently, Inuyasha glanced out the small slit in the curtains his mind actually numbing from the sight of the world rushing by at such an unnatural pace. "That just ain't right." He told himself as he brought a hand up to rub against his aching head.

Never in his life had the dog demon Captain seen anything move at the extraordinary rate the Shikuro was moving at right now. In fact, he really couldn't even venture to guess their current speed or if their current speed could even be measured by standard nautical systems. On average the Shikuro moved at just under five knots, that is, unless he had the rowers out. Under the tutelage of Kagura's magic wind however, he had to estimate that they were moving at least eight times as fast.

"If we're lucky, the sails won't tear." Inuyasha sighed to himself just as the wood of the Shikuro decided at that moment to release a rather disheartening groan. "Or better yet, we'll be lucky if we don't sink."

The young Captain snorted from the thought, biting his lower lip as more pressing issues started to dance about his brain. Looking outside at the quickly moving world, with its bright sunlight and white clouds moving too fast for his mind to comprehend, the demon groaned. With the world moving by as fast as it currently was, he really had no idea how to keep track of their progress and current because of that Inuyasha, in all honesty, was completely unsure of where they currently were or where they were possibly heading. All he knew, was that the temperature outside was beginning to plummet from a tropical mild cool to a true autumn chill.

"I know she blew us north, back towards Delaware, really we're probably passed Delaware by now and closer to Boston." He exhaled sharply at the idea, noticing for the first time that he was just able to see his breath present in front of his face. "Yeah we have to be by Boston, we left Delaware three weeks ago in September, so it's October now and close to winter cold." He frowned darkly at the prospect of being so close to Boston, a small part of him hoping Kagura's wind would continue to push them up higher north than just Boston. It would be a tremendous pain to be back in Boston harbor once again, after all they had pissed off the British Navy last time they were in the area. "Well there's no telling where we are until we actually stop moving." He growled to himself, as the image of the woman who had caused their current predicament surfaced in the back of his mind.

There was something about her that had seemed so familiar besides the use of his native tongue, that is, and the strange way she kept her hair (the style hadn't been western in the least). There was just something about her: the slope of her chin, her lips, even her pointed ears framing her face just so, all of it had just seemed so familiar. In fact the only thing not familiar about her had been her eyes. After all, he was sure if he had met someone with eyes as red as hers he would have remembered them or at the very least the eyes themselves.

A soft sigh from the woman in the bed in front of him brought Inuyasha's attention away from his current thoughts. Turning his head quickly, the young Captain turned back around to look at her. "Kagome?" He mumbled to himself as he watched the girl sigh softly in her sleep without waking. Instantly, his heart clenched violently in his chest and he had to resist the urge to snarl at himself. Since he had sat down at her side, he had been trying to forget the state he had found her in, at least, until she woke up and was able to offer explanation that is. "God damn it." He snarled low in his throat, his voice hushed and raspy.

Unconsciously, his hands tightened into fist as anger welled up deep within his chest. The sensation of wetness against his palms made him blink back to reality within seconds, however. Inhaling sharply, the dog demon brought his hands to his face just in time to see red hot blood pooling underneath his claws. He stared at the blood, the image of it seeming to coat his mind until he could just see her, see the red of her own blood in the back of his head. Gritting his teeth, the dog demon ripped his eyes away from the sight bringing his hands instead to the sides of his black pants, rubbing his fingers furiously against the fabric to wipe of the blood.

"Damn," He whispered into the dark room as soon as he felt his hands were once again clean. "How could I be so stupid?" He just managed to ask himself before his head started to pound, his headache amplified by his own anger. Unable to resist the comfort of the bed or even Kagome's presence, Inuyasha leaned forward and rested his forehead against the soft thick blanket that rested atop the girl.

Closing his eyes, he tried to relax the tense muscles of his shoulders and neck, allowing the scent of Kagome to wash over him like a healing bath. Unfortunately, it was not an effective remedy but instead an effective reminder.

Inuyasha tried desperately to hold himself upright even as the wind from Kagura's fan danced around them violently. "It's like a god damned hurricane!" He yelled towards Miroku who was holding onto the staircase for his life, not strong enough to fight the wind without the staircase's help.

"That's putting it mildly." The younger man responded as he held on desperately, looking up towards the helm's deck with eyes only for Sango. "Sango!" He yelled even as he saw her stumble towards the railing, grabbing hold of it with all her might.

"I tied down the helm as best I could." She yelled back even as the sound of the wind drowned out most of what she was trying to say.

"Sango, where's Kagome?" Inuyasha yelled his voice sounding absolutely panicked through the torrent of wind rushing all around them.

"I told her to go to your cabin," Sango informed easily, her voice not sounding the least bit worried (at least not about Kagome) as she managed to sit down on the first step of the stairs while grasping the rail. "And lock the door."

"Good." Inuyasha nodded his head in approval as he lifted his nose into the air sniffing instinctively. "Fucking wind!" He instantly yelled as Kagura's hurricane made it impossible for him to really latched onto any scent. "Damn." He cursed in his head as he looked down at his crew around him. It wouldn't do to simply abandon them right now, they were terrified and confused, and he was their leader. "Kagome will be okay." He told himself under his breath even as his instincts pushed and yanked at his body, telling him to secure his mate and then his crew. "Just focus." He told himself forcing the ill feeling in his gut to go away. "The men need you, you're their leader and now you have to lead—unselfishly." He finished his own motivational speech with a large gulp and just a small amount of loathing for his position. "All men," Forcing himself to focus, he looked out at his crew waiting for each of them to make eye contact before continuing. "If you're human go down below now!"

The entirety of the human crew responded to the command gleefully barely managing to make their way to the various entrances to safe compartments down below. Meanwhile, the demons stood by waiting for their own orders, most of them able to stand pretty effectively despite the unnatural conditions. It was for that reason, and that reason alone, that the demons understood the necessity of their Captain's command. The humans were barely strong enough to hold onto the railings in wind such as this, making their risk of literally blowing away much higher than the average demon crewman.

"Miroku," Inuyasha turned towards his son watching as the human boy grabbed onto his wife's arm, guiding her downwards from the stairs as carefully as he could. "We need someone to stay on that helm just in case—."

"I will sir." The three turned automatically to the man who had spoken, Mathew the armadillo demon standing in the wind as if it was just another day on the sea. "This wind is nothing to a body like mine sir." The demon hollered over the roaring storm as he carefully approached the Captain.

"Excellent." Inuyasha nodded firmly and motioned for Mathew to make his way to the staircase. "Just keep an eye on the rope tied to the helm, if it breaks you know what to do."

"Aye sir." The armadillo nodded and quickly made his way towards the staircase just as Miroku managed to get Sango off the last step, holding onto her as he gripped the rail.

"I need one more volunteer!" Inuyasha yelled above the deafening sound, his head starting to pound from the constant moan of the wind. "A demon with good eyes."

"Aye sir." A man automatically stepped forward whom Inuyasha recognized to be Trevor, a type of Buzzard demon, who had eyes sharper than any other person he had ever met.

"Thank you," The Captain nodded quickly as he turned and pointed towards the helm's deck where Mathew was already stationed. "You're to keep watch for him, go to the crow's nest, and report everything you see."

"I will sir!" The demon nodded curtly before running towards the nearest mast, prepared to climb up it with no fear despite the wind. After all, he was a bird, and no bird is truly afraid of flying away.

"Totosai," Inuyasha quickly turned towards the old demon who was leaning against one of the Shikuro's mast in an almost irritatingly nonchalant way. "Keep an eye on the ship just in case the wind does any damage and Myoga," He turned towards the small flea demon who stood at Totosai's side, looking also suspiciously unaffected by the wind. "Watch the sails and riggings."

"Hai." Both men responded, seeming more amused than anything by the Captain's critical and disapproving look.

"Everyone else," Inuyasha turned towards the rest of the crew ignoring the two old men. "Go down below but keep your ears opened." He licked his lips as an odd feeling built in his gut, a feeling he was supposed to trust. "Be prepared to come back up if something goes wrong," The Captain looked out at the crowd, watching as his demon crewmen stared at him with absolute focus and understanding. Not one of them was ignoring the true direness of the situation. "With wind like this there's no telling what might happen," Inuyasha felt his heartbeat pick up just a little in his chest from his own words. "Understand?"

"Yes, Captain!" The men responded before dispersing in every direction, some staying up top anyway and others obeying the command to go below.

Satisfied that the men would carry out his orders, the dog demon turned towards the only two humans on deck raising an eyebrow as if he had forgotten they were there. "What are you two doing?" Inuyasha growled slightly to himself as he easily crossed the deck and reached for Sango, grabbing the human girl and supporting her as Miroku panted from the effort.

"I'm the first mate." Miroku spoke firmly even as he inhaled deeply in order to calm himself from the surprising amount of exertion it had taken just to keep his feet planted. "It's my job to be out here."

Inuyasha growled low in his throat but couldn't bring himself to argue with the boy when his words were spoken with truth. "Well I have a job for you inside." He spoke quickly even though he and Miroku both knew he was lying. "So let's go."

"'Bout time." Sango grumbled as she clutched the Captain's jacket tightly, her feet just starting to come out from under her as the wind seemed to pick up even more speed.

"Aye." Miroku nodded, although it wasn't clear whether he was agreeing with his father's command or Sango's grunted words.

Together the three slowly started making their way towards the back entrance hall and to safety, at least for the humans. It took until Inuyasha was a mere five feet away from the small hallway entrance that he realized something was wrong. Even with the wind soaring all around them, pulling scents in and out of the air on whims, he could still smell the very faint scent of Hiten mingled with another male and more dangerously the very weak scent of Kagome's blood.

"What the hell?" Inuyasha snarled as he let go of Sango's arm (luckily for her Miroku had also been holding onto her) his feet suddenly bursting back into life.

Running towards the entrance to the hallway at full speed the dog demon quickly found himself inside the tiny hallway, his eyes filling with an unnerving sight. There, laying in the middle of the hallway was Kagome, her body slack against the old wood floor and sprawled like a little girl's toy doll that had been haphazardly dropped and forgotten. Dishearteningly, a halo of blood crowned her head, a tiny and truly insignificant pool of it glistening in the mid-afternoon light. Instantly, a feeling of nausea seeped into Inuyasha's stomach and the man thought for only a second he might actually be physically sick.

Stumbling forward, he just managed to fall to his knees in front of the crumpled girl, his hands opening and closing as if they were debating if it would be detrimental to touch her. "Kagome." Her name slipped out of his mouth as he finally managed to force a finger to touch her cheek, the warmth of her skin telling him she was reassuringly very much alive. "What happened to you?"

Behind him, Sango and Miroku finally came to stand in the small passage way, both humans releasing a collective gasp as they came to see the sight of the limp Kagome as well. "Oh my god," Sango automatically cried out as she crossed the space between her and the Captain easily, the tremendous wind outside not nearly as dangerous in the confined space. "What happened?"

Not really listening to Sango or even noticing her, Inuyasha finally convinced himself to reach for the girl on the floor. Carefully, he placed a hand under her shoulders, bringing them off the ground before turning her so her feet were parallel to his own. With great care, he placed his free hand under her bent knees and brought her to his chest, cradling her as gently as possible as his wide eyes looked at the dried blood on the side of her head critically. "Something hit her, hard."

"Is she okay?" Sango asked him desperately as she watched the girl's chest raise up and down with little breaths.

Unfortunately for her, now was not the time to speak to the half demon Captain; at least not, about the woman he loved. "I trusted you with her!" His voice came out in a hushed whisper filled with more malice than Sango had ever heard in his voice when it was directed towards her. "The fuck Sango—you were supposed to keep her safe!" He continued his body beginning to rock with anger directed truthfully not at Sango but at himself.

"I'm sorry," Sango said more out of instinct than anything else. "I didn't know—." She continued to try to speak as she fell to her knees, her eyes lighting on Kagome's head as she shook with shock. "Is she—is she okay?"

"Of course not!" Inuyasha's voice came out in a snarl as he pointedly looked at the blood on Kagome's head. "She's got fucking blood on her head."

"Otou-san!" Miroku stepped forward, his own need to protect his wife outweighing his natural instinct to keep quiet. "Calm down." He spoke firmly even as his own worries and protective instincts for Kagome crept into his mind. "We need to take care of Miss Kagome and yelling at each other will not," He punctured the word loudly, wanting it to sink into the hard headed Inuyasha's skull. "Treat that wound."

Inuyasha growled in response sending a glare straight towards Miroku before pressing his face against Kagome's cheek some of the dried blood rubbing onto his nose. "Calm down," He told himself firmly as he took in the natural smells of her lily and salt water scent masked with just an ounce of blood. "She's okay." He told himself as he inhaled deeply, the scent of Hiten and another male coming straight back into his nose.

"Smell like male." The demon inside himself snarled violently as the realization truly sunk in. "Kill other male."

The human side of Inuyasha snorted in response to the demon side's words, ignoring them for now. "Hiten." Inuyasha whispered the name, ignoring the unknown scent, assuming it was probably one of Hiten's crew who had helped. "Hiten did this."

It was at that moment that Sango actually started to cry. "No, no, no, no." The girl shook her head quickly back and forth as she sank to her knees in complete distress. "But—I sent her down here so—she wouldn't see him—," The woman felt a lump form in her throat as she tried to speak. "That's why—Hiten—no, Hiten couldn't have, not that blood." The girl covered her mouth with her hand just then as her throat tightened to the point of causing her to gasp for air.

"Breathe Sango." Miroku pleaded as he watched the girl's face, streaked with tears, turn red.

"It's my fault—." Sango cried in response grabbing for her husband as she felt the weight of Kagome's injuries to her very core. Kagome was the little sister she had never had and the friend she had always wanted, she could not bear the thought of having been the one to inadvertently cause her harm.

"Sango," Inuyasha spoke as well as his own need to protect Sango rose back to the surface. "Damn it, I shouldn't have yelled at her." He told himself as he held Kagome just a little tighter, the logical part of his mind realizing Sango was not to blame in this situation. "Sango did the right thing, I would have done the same." Feeling every bit a horse's ass, Inuyasha took a deep breath and addressed the girl calmly. "Don't cry Sango." He spoke as gently as he could even though his instincts were still ragging to simply lash out and kill something for hurting his mate. "She's fine, all the blood's old."

"What?" Sango hiccupped as she clutched Miroku tightly, her eyes wide with disbelief.

"She's fine," Inuyasha repeated as he looked at the wound that rested just on the side of Kagome's head, already healed. "The wound's not even opened." He surmised for Sango as he resisted the urge to lick at the area in question until it was clean and back to normal.

"But Hiten—."

Inuyasha felt his heart tighten in his chest as he looked down at the girl cradled gently against his chest. "We won't know what really happened between them," He whispered as he pulled her just a little tighter, his mind racing with all the horrible possibilities. "Until she wakes up."

Inuyasha took a deep breath as the memory drifted out of his head. "The scent was faint but it was there—." He groused to himself as he opened his eyes only to see nothing but the thick black comforter he had placed over Kagome when the weather had turned cold. "Hiten and another male." He licked his lips from the thought, not even registering that the two overpowering scents had covered up another, one he should have noticed immediately but was now forgotten.

With a loud sigh Inuyasha righted himself, leaning back in the chair to look up at the ceiling. He couldn't believe how stupid he had been. Anger and self-hate bubbled just below the surface of his mind causing him to silently snarl. Frustrated with himself, he tore his eyes away from the ceiling and stood from his seat, the abruptness of the action causing the chair to rock and clang against the ground. He ignored the sound, knowing that if Kagome could sleep through the roar outside a simple chair would not bother her.

"How could I be so stupid?" He yelled at himself as he began to pace the room. "How did I not smell him or notice him or—keep an eye on her like I'm supposed to as her intended?"

The fact that he had most likely been on the Thunder at the time of the incident and therefore, unable to smell her whereabouts did nothing to sooth his angered conscious.

"I'm such a fucking idiot," He continued to yell at himself as he brought both hands up to cover his face, practically slapping himself as they made contact with his cheeks. "How could I let this happen again?" He pulled the hands from his face slowly, one of his claws actually nicking his flesh causing him to hiss with pain. "Damn it." He cursed loudly only to immediately freeze when a soft voice rang through his ears.

"Inu—ya—."

Heart stopping dead in his chest, the dog demon turned towards Kagome's bed part of him hoping she was awake and another part recognizing the tone of her voice as sleeping. Sure enough, his eyes came in contact with a peacefully almost angelically sleeping face. Sighing, the fight left the dog demon, his heart beginning to ache in his chest instead. "I'm sorry." He felt the words slip from his mouth as he slowly approached the desk chair once again.

Carefully, he reached out a clawed hand to grab hold of the back of the chair, little bits of blood from his cheek glistening under his nails in the vague light. Inhaling deeply, he sat back down his body completely cooling off just from the sound of her voice caressing his name. Releasing his calming breath, the dog demon leaned back in the chair once more propping his bare feet up on the side of the bed. The mattress shifted from the added weight and Kagome sighed in response, the sound making Inuyasha's heart skip a beat. Bright gold eyes turned towards her, studying her features, hoping she would open her own grey eyes and wake but just like every other time she merely sighed once more before her face went lax.

"Damn." He cursed under his breath as anxiety built in his stomach. "Please wake up Kagome," He begged her as he let his feet fall back off the bed and reached out one clawed hand to touch one of her own. "I can't take much more of this." He frowned ever so slightly as the smooth feel of her soft skin ran underneath his calloused fingers. "And besides," A small part of his conscious echoed in his head. "It would be nice to talk to you, not just about Hiten's scent, but about what happened to me."

The dog demon let go of her hand at the thought, allowing it to slip from his fingers and back onto the bed. Carefully, he leaned back in the chair once more, his thoughts turning to everything Kagura had told him and the small pouch she had given him. Suddenly, his eyes widened as he realized that in all the commotion, he had yet to look at that pouch again. Hastily, Inuyasha stood to his feet and turning away from Kagome looked towards his jacket that was draped over a large trunk by his desk.

Apprehension built in him as he looked at the normally unassuming red coat. "What could she have possibly given me?" He wondered as he walked slowly across the room, a small and always untrusting voice in his head telling him that whatever laid inside that pouch was going to kill him. "Shut up." He told the voice, squashing the ill feelings back down as he walked forward.

It took only four large steps for him to reach his destination and despite his confidence that what laid within the pouch was safe, he still hesitated for a moment. Sniffing out of instinct, he inhaled the intoxicating and calming scent of Kagome before the strange spicy scent of Kagura caused his nose to tingle. Licking his lips, he reached for the coat slowly, his fingers gingerly touching it as if he half expected the coat to suddenly explode upon contact. When the fabric merely brushed against his fingers, as fabric is supposed to, he snorted.

"This is stupid." He told himself bluntly, shaking his head and simply grabbing the coat and lifting it off the trunk. Expectantly, other than the sound of rustling fabric hitting his ears, nothing happened. Feeling only a slight sense of relief, Inuyasha reached into the front inside pocket, grabbing the pouch and extracting it before throwing the jacket back onto the trunk.

For just a moment, he stared at the little unassuming purse he held in his hands. Turning it over and over, he studying all its little nuisances. For the most part, it was pretty much plain. From the feel of it, it was probably some sort of cow hide and had been made rather cheaply for leather. The tiny drawstrings were leather as well but uncured leather that was already fraying substantially along its edges.

"It looks like it hasn't been taken care of at all." He told himself even though he knew it was not the container in this case but what was inside that was important. "Well, here goes nothing." He told himself as he inhaled one more time, the scent of Kagura and aging leather hitting his nose as he did so.

Slowly, he forced opened the tiny drawstrings widening them until there was enough room to allow whatever laid inside to slip through. Opening one calloused and abused palm, he turned the pouch over and allowed the contents to slip out onto his hand. A soft chiming, tinkering, and jingling like sound echoed throughout the cabin as the contents bumping into one another as they feel into his awaiting hand. Inuyasha felt his mouth drop opened as he looked at the tiny objects that now rested in his palm with complete disbelief.

"Shikon shards?" He whispered as he felt his knees start to buckle. Hastily, he reached out and caught himself on the desk with his free hand his eyes never leaving the tiny jewels. "Was she—could it be—she was telling the truth?"

For the first time in his life, Inuyasha felt truly light headed. It seemed so impossible that the wind demon was not lying or pulling his leg. And yet, here in his hands rested what he could only assume were real Shikon shards and quite a few of them at that. Still, that didn't mean her other information was factual.

"She said Okaa-san and Otou-san had something to do with them," He paused as he watched the little fragments glitter in his hands for just a second before turning his attention back to Kagome. For a moment, he stared at her, his eyes focused on the little gold chain he could see hanging from around her neck on which the combined shards rested. "Okaa-san's shard," He wondered out loud as he closed his hands around the other shards slowly. "Kagura said it wasn't a coincidence Okaa-san had it, could that be—true?"

Inuyasha inhaled sharply and looked away from Kagome his mind running away from him as it tried to wrap itself around what he had just said. All his life he had thought his mother was just a simple woman who lived a simple life but just in the past few months everything he thought of her was starting to become nothing more than lies. She hadn't been simple, she had been a miko, she had a shikon shard in her possession which she had placed a spell on to control the demon within him. His mother, it seemed, had been someone he had never had the real privilege of knowing.

And if his confusion over his mother wasn't enough, now he felt confusion over his father. How was his father connected to this and for that matter how was Sesshoumaru? "She knew Sesshoumaru." Inuyasha blinked rapidly as he replayed the conversation he had with Kagura over and over again in his head. "She said he knew the truth, Sesshoumaru knows the connection between Okaa-san, Otou-san, and that shard." He glanced at Kagome once again; at the shard that was now rested with the others.

Inuyasha felt at that moment as if his mind was about to detonate. Nothing made sense: the Shikon shard, his mother, his father, the brother who hated him and this mysterious girl who said he needed that brother to understand the previous three. Growling slightly to himself, Inuyasha hastily deposited the jewels back into the pouch not really wanting to see them or deal with them at the moment. Throwing them on the desk he turned back towards Kagome, bringing his now free hands up to his face to rub at his temple.

"What the hell is going on, damn it?" He asked himself as he crossed the room and practically threw himself back into the chair at Kagome's side. Once again, he looked at her wishing she was awake to talk to. "She would be able to at least tell if those were fake." He nodded to himself absently as he watched the sleeping girl. "Maybe I could even talk to her about the other stuff too." Inuyasha couldn't help but smile as his own thought struck him as mildly funny. "It's only been a month since we started courting and already," He told himself in a hushed whisper as he watched the girl. "I feel like—," He cut off his words, even if he was the only one in the room (or only one awake) he didn't feel comfortable enough to speak of something so intimate. "Forget it." He snorted and leaned back in the chair a small part of him acknowledging what he was going to say: he felt he could tell her anything. "Not like it would do any good, really," He shrugged absently letting the strange thoughts drift away. "There's no one within a thousand leagues who could—."

The sentence died on Inuyasha's throat as he realized the hypocrisy of his own statement. There was someone, probably within just a few hundred yards of him, who could talk to him right now. A person who had been around him longer than he had even been alive. A person who probably knew a lot more than they had ever let be known.

Looking at Kagome he felt compelled to stay in the room but he couldn't help but be drawn to the truth that rested up above his head. Bending over her, he placed a soft kiss to her brow being as gentle as possible before he pulled away and smiled faintly and apologetically down at her. "I'll be right back," He told her gently even though she could not hear a word. "I promise."

-break-

"One, two, three, four." Naraku giggled to himself as he counted the small little pebbles his father had smoothed for him. Carefully, he rolled them in his hands enjoying the feel of them between his fingers.

"What have you there sweet boy?"

Naraku jumped only slightly at the sound, turning towards the soft sweet voice with big black eyes. Instantly, his eyes came in contact with a beautiful woman, her dark hair and deep brown hazel eyes a gorgeous contrast to her deep olive skin. Her pretty red lips smiled at him as she knelt down at his side, her curly tresses seeming to bounce as they hung loosely over one shoulder.

"Hi—." He mumbled shyly never having been approached by a woman quite as unordinary as her. "Papa made me marbles." He told her as he held out the objects with one hand and allowed the other to fidget with his clothes.

"So he has." The woman spoke softly, her voice coming across as oddly flat before her face broke out into the most beautiful smile Naraku could ever recall seeing.

"Helen!"

The woman instantly went stark still, her beautiful dark hazel eyes widening from the sound of Naraku's father's voice. Quickly, she shook herself from her stupor and stood hastily to her feet bowing low only once she was standing. "Yes, Mr. Morgan?" She said the words with confidence but didn't seem to have even enough of it to actually look at the man who was now no more than a few feet away.

"How many times have I told you girl?" Henry Morgan took a step forward, grabbing for the girls arm somewhat harshly, pulling her away from Naraku deliberately. "You do not socialize with my children, you are here to work, damn it!"

The woman winced at the words and nodded her head even as her arm began to turn a bright red color from the strength of Mr. Morgan's grip. "I'm sorry sir."

Watching the exchange Naraku frowned, his childish mind unable to understand what had been so wrong about the pretty lady talking to him in the first place. All the kind woman had done was smile at him and ask him about his marbles, for which he was very proud to begin with. Clutching said marbles tightly in his hand, the little boy frowned as he watched his father turn his glare away from the woman and instead to him.

"I thought I told you to stay in the garden." The man's voice was firm and reprimanding, the sound of it probably terrifying to a child who was not used to harsh words and disappointed stares.

"Sorry Papa." Naraku whispered automatically as he blinked, his big black eyes looking between his father and the other woman expectantly.

"Don't let it happen again, Naraku, understand?" His father sighed as he spoke, waving his hand absently towards the child, telling him it was time to leave.

"Yes sir." Understanding the gesture perfectly, Naraku turned as if to go but stopped at the last second.

Carefully, he turned around just one more time to look at the woman with the pretty smile and curly hair. His eyes were met with the sight of her back, causing him to release a disappointed sigh as he watched his father literally drag her away. Sad, he twirled the marbles in his hand, allowing the little rounded pebbles to dance against his skin. The smoothness of their texture was cooling against his palms, causing confidence to bubble up from somewhere deep within him.

"Bye." He barely managed to whisper as he watched her back, every bone in his body wanting for some reason to tell her goodbye.

His father paused, as did the woman named Helen, and Naraku felt his heart leap up in his throat. He could see the anger in his father's eyes as the man turned and for all of a second Naraku felt the urge to run away. Before he could however, Helen turned one last time and looked at him over her shoulder. Dark tangled curls brushed against her cheek touching a soft dimple caused by a slowly forming smile. The salty breeze pushed the tresses into her eyes making them close for just a second before they opened once more, looking straight at him with sad love brimming in her dark hazel irises.

Naraku felt his heart stop at the sight: her gorgeous dimples, her naturally red curved lips, and her sad yet loving eyes. Together: they made the most dazzling and unforgettable smile form on her sad face.

Naraku opened his eyes the dream seeming to dissolve right in front of him as if it had never existed in the first place. "A dream?" He thought as he barely came into wakefulness, his mind not yet comprehending what the dream had actually meant. Sitting up in the bed, the sheets pooling around his waist, he shook his head as if to shake away the sleep from his mind. "What a strange dream." He told himself absently and blinked to help clear his head further even as the the woman, Helen, continued to oddly nag at his mind.

Still hazy from sleep, he brought his hands up to his face, rubbing at his eyes but just as he closed them so as the brush away the grains of sleep, the image of her and of her smile formed in the darkness of his closed eyelids. He could see her red lips, her somewhat crooked yet seemingly charming teeth, the little dimples that creased her olive skin, the twinkle of sadness that hovered just in the corner of each eye making his heart twist with sympathy for a plight unknown. Instantly, Naraku snapped his eyes back opened his body seeming to jump from the intensity and vibrancy of the image that hovered on the back of his eyelids.

"That smile." He felt the words jump into his mind dangerously as his hands began to shake against his face. Growling, he ripped the shaking hands from his body, throwing them into his lap with a pointed glare. "This is ridiculous, it was just a dream, just a very strange dream." He told himself over and over again even as his mind raced making connections he wasn't quite ready to really handle.

"Do you know the truth about your mother?"

Naraku's eyes widened as the words of the old woman Kaede seemed to pop into his head uncensored and unexpected. He felt his heart take a treacherous leap in his chest and his head practically explode with an instantaneous ache. Groaning, he brought one of the hands he had abandoned in his lap back up to his face grabbing at his temple to hold in the pain.

"What was she like?" He heard a smaller more childish version of his own voice ask, the sound causing him to wince.

The pain in his head doubled, and Naraku gulped as he felt another groan begin to build up in his throat. Forcing the sound to turn into a growl instead, Naraku allowed himself to hunch over as his stomach began to knot with the same pain he felt inside his head. "Make it stop." He groaned as he brought one of his hands to his stomach, clutching at it as the pain intensified making him double over in the bed.

"What was she like?" The voice repeated, another memory from long ago dancing just in the back of his mind, pushing and stomping, trying to make itself known.

"Do you know the truth about your mother?"

He heard Kaede's voice again, this time loud as if it was right there, right in the room. "Shut up!" He felt the words leave his mouth but had no perception of if they were loud or soft, fierce or whimpered, heard or unheard. "Stop it, make it stop!" He pleaded, just as his whole body began to shake with information he was unsure how to handle.

"What was she like?"

Mrs. Westen stilled her hands as she dried his legs and finally looked up at Naraku giving the boy a gentle grin. "She was sweet and innocent." Her voice was honest if not a little off. "She had the most beautiful smile." She giggled slightly and dropped the towel to her side before reaching for his nightshirt.

"Really?" Naraku questioned as he instinctively held his arms over his head preparing for the shirt.

"Oh yes," Mrs. Westen confirmed briskly as she pulled the shirt over his head. "When your mother smiled Naraku—," Her voice was distant as she stood and started to gather up the towels and the destroyed clothes he had been wearing before. "The whole world slowed down just so it could watch."

Watching her absentmindedly, the boy frowned. "The lady in the painting though—," His voice was quiet and contemplative. "Her smile's not like that."

"Oh yes." The old maid stopped what she was doing, a bundle of bloody clothes and wet cloths and towels in her hands, her eyes becoming distance as she seemed to stand there looking into nothing. "The woman in the painting never smiled." She stopped for a second as if in thought before turning back to Naraku sadly."It's almost like she was another woman when the world painted her smile. They never quite—captured it—your mother's smile." She gave him a soft smile of her own. "I suppose it's an impossibility. No painter's that talented."

Naraku nodded his head accepting the explanation with ease. "I wish I would have gotten to see her smile."

Mrs. Westen frowned and walked across the room putting the used towels, cloths, and clothes into a small wicker basket. "So do I sweet boy," Her voice was so soft that Naraku almost didn't hear it. "—so do I."

Naraku felt his body go slake, the pain in his head and in his stomach instantly disappearing as the memory seemed to flow throughout the entirety of his body.

A sudden stirring from Naraku's right made the boy jump and turn completely surprised and blindingly angry. "Who the fuck—?" He started to scream but stopped when his eyes came in contact with the last person he thought to see sitting just across from the bed in his desk chair. "Kaede—?" He started to say but stopped when the old woman stood, grey hair and old wrinkles seeming to shine in the dark. She smiled absently at him, the ease and gentleness of her expression making Naraku snarl as he mistook the look for pity. "What are you doing, old woman?"

Kaede didn't say anything as she turned her attention towards the window above his head, watching the blurring world outside with both a human and an unseen Shinigami eye. "Your dreams—," She spoke slowly as if she knew every thought that had ever been in or left his head. "What have you been dreaming of," She turned slowly, a look of absolute sympathy forming on her face. "Dear child?"

"I'm not a child." Naraku immediately hissed anger welling in his heart as he threw his legs out from under the covers. Planting them onto the floor, he stood quickly just now noticing in his haste to stand that he was not wearing his night clothes. "What the hell?" He grumbled as he looked down at the singed fabric of his jacket and pants. Within seconds, everything clicked into place and Naraku hissed as he slid down into his bed with frustration mounting in his voice and mannerisms. "Kagome." He let the name slip out of his mouth with no small amount of malice dripping from it. "That bitch did this?" He snapped, as his mind filled in the gaps of what had happened literally only a few hours before.

"It seems so." Kaede said absently as she stood just beside the desk, a slight smile on her face as she watched Naraku's head snap up to angrily glare at her. "Like I said," The old woman merely smiled at his irritation, unafraid. "Miko's are more powerful than even a god of death."

"What happened?" Naraku forced the words out even as his whole body began to shake with a combination of rage and humiliation for having to ask the question in the first place.

"I believe you got a taste of Miko power." Kaede shrugged as she spoke, her old human eye looking at Naraku expectantly as the boy grew more furious by the second.

"How would you know?" He screamed in reaction as he slammed one foot to the floor so hard that the floorboard literally cracked from the pressure.

"I found you." Kaede answered bluntly her words stunning Naraku into pure silence. "Mr. Hiten brought you back here and the Shikuro managed to get away."

Naraku felt his whole world begin to sink around him, a voice deep inside of him screaming loudly at the unjustness of his disgrace. "I—fuck." The words were barely audible as the anger and shame built inside Naraku. Clutching his hands so tightly they popped under the strain, Naraku began to open his mouth to chew the old woman out but stopped when she suddenly turned away from him and walked back to the chair at his desk.

Groaning with the strain of attempting to sit down, Kaede smiled ever so slightly to herself feeling pleased to have caused Naraku's sudden quiet simply by her own movements. Arranging herself gingerly, she turned her eyes upwards towards the demon and gave him a slight smile. "Have you given it any thought?" She asked softly, the quality and pitch of her voice making Naraku actually wince.

"About what?" He asked feeling confused, humiliated and surprisingly tired.

The old woman smiled at him a little wider before her face went lax and her expression tightened ever so slightly. "About your mother."

Instantly, the lady from the portrait jumped into his mind, her bland smile seeming to dance just behind his eyes before morphing morbidly. The soft porcelain skin darkened, the eyes went from light blue to deep hazel brown, the smile curved upwards, dimples appeared; the whole world stopped and Kagome was literally forgotten.

"She was beautiful, wasn't she?" Kaede continued to speak, the eye of the Shinigami seeing exactly what Naraku was seeing in his mind's eye. "A young woman with curly hair," She smiled sweetly as she saw the image of the woman in Naraku's head; the little curls on her crown bouncing sweetly. "And deep dark eyes," She looked at Naraku expectantly, watching as the boy began to shake somewhat his eyes trying to find something to look at, to grasp for. "Just like yours." She finished the sentence slowly, punctuating each word with adapt precision.

"What the fuck?" Naraku's body seemed to come back to life at once as the boy snarled and slammed his hands down on the desk. "What the fuck are you getting at old woman, you go on and on about my mother, but I don't give a damn—she's dead—fucking dead!" He slammed his hands on the desk again causing the little glass of wine and papers on its surface to jump and shake violently. "She's just some bloody portrait on the bloody wall!"

If Kaede was effected at all by the violent display, it never once showed on her perfectly calm face. "A portrait?" Her voice questioned softly, her expression now truly full of pity. "I don't even think one of her was ever made." She thought just to herself sadly, as she looked down towards the ground needing just a second to collect her thoughts. After several seconds, she took a deep breath, turning her attention back towards Naraku. "You know her—," She spoke softly, carefully wording her sentence with as much care as she would take with a baby bird. "You've seen her most beautiful smile."

Naraku felt the air leave his lungs as it became hard to breath. "Smile?" He repeated the harsh word as something inside of him tightened as if it didn't want him to know.

He saw the woman in the painting, he saw the woman from the dream, he saw both of them seemingly standing side by side. He saw his brothers faces, light hair, blue eyes; he saw himself looking into a mirror that did not currently exist. He saw his hair, saw his eyes; he saw her face, he saw her eyes. He saw the truth; a truth he had never been allowed to know.

Naraku turned towards Kaede with wide eyes, his stomach knotting with pain as a voice inside his head spoke softly, telling him not to ask any more questions but failing to stop him. "What do you know, old woman?" He spoke his voice harsh but his face looking far younger than Kaede had ever seen it.

"Do you want to know the truth," Kaede posed the question, reaching her old hands forward and touching the old wooden table gingerly. "Naraku?"

"No." A soft voice spoke in the back of his head, the same voice that told him to kill, that screamed at him seemingly at all times. This time however, Naraku merely gritted his teeth, and ignored it. "Tell me," He repeated the words the voice attempting to scream at him in the back of his mind, a dull ache forming in both his head and his stomach the more he ignored it. "About my mother."

-break-

Inuyasha stepped out onto the deck, the sound of rushing air not really bothering him as he looked around at his men absently. For the most part, they seemed to all be engaged in a specific and highly necessary task. Totosai had a group of men working to quickly and effectively repair parts of the ship which were coming loose in the strong wind, mainly thin railings and things of that sort. Up above, Myoga had tied ropes to a group of brave men's waist, primarily bird demons of some kind, and had them currently working to secure ropes that had snapped in the wind or reinforce those that might at any moment.

"Maybe this can wait." Inuyasha told himself as he looked at the rather large amount of demon's gather on the deck, the majority of them possessing extraordinary hearing.

"Inuyasha-sama, Ohayo." Myoga's voice suddenly sounded to Inuyasha's right making the dog demon turn with no small amount of surprise forming on his face.

"Ohayo." He responded out of instinct as the little old man lowered himself by means of propelling down from the tops of the mast. The wind caught the ropes making the old man spin, but the flea didn't seem to mind as he landed, planting his feet firmly on the ground next to his Captain.

"Inuyasha-sama is-u doin' okay-y?" The little flea asked as he smiled up at his Captain expectantly, the skin around his old eyes crinkling.

Inuyasha nodded in response without saying a word, his voice actually failing him in that moment.

Myoga raised an eyebrow at the silent response, taking it to mean that something was terribly wrong. "Is-u Kagome-sama okay-y?" He pressed, his voice coming across as extremely worried.

Seeming to snap back to reality Inuyasha nodded firmly at Myoga, clearing his throat loudly before he began to speak. "She's fine." He told the old flea, biting the inside of his cheek absently before adding. "Still asleep—but fine."

"Good." Myoga nodded slowly as he untied the rope from around his waist letting it drop to his side. "Why Inuyasha-sama on deck-u?" He posed the question, every instinct in his small body telling him that something was wrong.

"Myoga?" Inuyasha spoke slowly as he looked at the old demon, his expression tight. "I want to ask you something but you have to promise—." The sudden sound of someone yelling to their right made Inuyasha falter before he could finish his sentence. "Shit—there's just too many people up here." Inuyasha realized as he stared at the man who had yelled, his own need to keep as much of his personal life, personal, telling him that now was just not the time to discuss what he wanted to with Myoga. "Never mind—." He started to say with a wave of his hand and dismiss the conversation.

"Inuyasha-sama," Myoga interrupted him his jaw set firmly as he watched the boy, eyeing him as if trying to read his mind. "Myoga take Inuyasha-sama to Myoga and Totosai-kun cabin?" He suggested, glancing up at the men above his head with confident eyes. "Crew-u okay-y, and cabin quiet-to."

Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek at the suggestion, a small part of him thinking he should just wait to have the conversation later. "If you wait, you might never get around to it." A voice of reason from somewhere in the back of his head told him and Inuyasha sighed. "Okay." He agreed, knowing the voice was correct on many levels.

"This-u must-to be buery important-o." The flea realized as he heard Inuyasha agree to the suggestion so easily. "Um—Inuyasha-sama," He ventured to ask his own inner voice speaking very reasonably as well. "Might-to Myoga ask what Inuyasha-sama want-to to talk-u about?"

Inuyasha inhaled sharply at Myoga's words, his eyes automatically looking around at the crew to make sure no one was looking at the two men all that closely. Sure enough, the men were concentrating far too hard at their current task to even give a damn about the Captain and the Master Rigger. Exhaling, Inuyasha forced himself to answer Myoga's question, knowing the flea demon deserved at least that much information before they went down below.

"I want you to tell me the truth," He spoke firmly as he turned all his attention to the old flea, eyeing him darkly, trying to convey to the little demon that he wasn't fooling around, that this was important, and that he would not accept any lies. "About my mother."

-break-

Kagome awoke slowly, the slight brightness of the room surprisingly none obtrusive on her just waking eyes. "What happened?" She thought absently a slight fuzziness ringing around her head as she sat up in the bed. The heavy blanket fell around her waist, an instant chill setting into her bones making her eyes snap open wide awake with surprise. "Cold." She gasped into the empty room reaching for the blanket and pulling it back around her.

The warmth of her body heat, still clinging to the blanket, brought her instant relief and the young girl sighed happily. The whiteness of her breath on the air didn't really surprise her as she watched it absently.

"How long was I out?" She wondered out loud as her breath continued to dance in front of her face. Narrowing her eyes and licking her lips, she tried to remember exactly what had happened. "I was on deck with Inu—." She felt a hot blush form on her face as the very vivid memory of being on deck with Inuyasha plunged into her mind. "And um—." She shook her head pushing the thought away. "Then—the—the," She struggled for only a second before her whole body went rigid. "Naraku." She felt the name leave her lips as quickly as the thought bounced into her head. "He—?" Her eyes darted across the quilt that was draped over her trying to focus on anything but unable to find one object that could maintain her attention. "The Thunder, he, he said—."

The image of her father with his white wig in place and unassuming hat on his head filled her mind and for all of a second Kagome thought she was going to be sick. Bringing one shaking hand up to her mouth, Kagome covered her lips tentatively as her mind tried to wrap around everything that was going on in her head. Tears formed in her eyes, the hot salt of them stinging her vision, causing it to blur as information she refused to believe started to make perfect sense.

"Papa," The tears overflowed and she shut her eyes as her chest grew tight with grief she had been feeling but ignoring for weeks. "Papa." She cried out between the fingers of the hand over her mouth. Instinctively, her other hand snaked around her waist as if to hug her stomach as it knotted with fierce pain. "Papa—Papa—Papa." She repeated over and over again as unbelievable anguish overtook her very soul.

Eyes closed tightly, she drew her hand away from her mouth to cover them instead trying to block out the happy sight of the pretty semi-illuminated world from her vision. A part of her cried out that perhaps Naraku's words had been a lie but another part of her far bigger and louder knew they had been true. Not that she believed Naraku was a man of truth; no, her reasoning was far from that. She simply knew, somewhere in her heart of hearts, she knew the truth all along. Perhaps though, she had been ignoring it because the truth was far too horrible to bare.

"I knew." She told herself as she tried hard not to cry any more than she already was as her heart stabbed with pain. "I knew he died, I felt it." She thought as the pain intensified with each shaking, rocking breath she took. "I'm so sorry Papa, if I hadn't of run, if I had just been who you wanted for a daughter then maybe—."

"Don't by sorry, Kagome."

Kagome's eyes snapped opened wide as she felt the words enter her head, gentle and deep. Head whipping upwards, Kagome looked for any explanation but found nothing but a dimly lit room. Taking in a shaky breath, she dropped her hands down to her sides as a strange feeling welled up in her heart that she couldn't explain. It was as if her body knew something her eyes did not.

"Papa?" She whispered, compelled to say the word even as her stomach twisted into knots of both remorse and fear. A sudden feeling of warmth overtook her heart and Kagome could have sworn she felt a presence in the room she could not see. Compelled, she closed her eyes, the warm sensation building all around her, cocooning her with love and acceptance and pride.

"You're happy, right Kagome?"

She heard the words echo in her mind, the image of her father tall, strong chinned, and smiling hovering behind her eyelids. "Yes." She whispered, feeling unafraid and duty-bound to answer him.

"I'm glad,." His voice seemed to surround her, warming every inch of her in a protective blanket. "I'll I ever really wanted was for you to be happy and safe Kagome. Happy and safe with him." The voice paused for just a second as if debating with itself. "I'm sorry it took so long to realize that."

Kagome felt tears form in her eyes as an unseen hand reached up and brushed another hair from around her temple. "Papa." Kagome tried to say his name even as her lip began to tremble.

"Never forget that I love you," The voice added, the words of love the first Kagome had ever really heard from her father. "And that I don't regret my life or death." He continued on, his own words making Kagome's heart stop. "As long as you're safe and happy dear daughter—my life was worthwhile." His voice was gentle and far from sad, in fact Kagome could have sworn he sounded almost happy for the first time in his life. "Goodbye Kagome." The farewell fluttered about the room, entering Kagome's ears just as she felt the distinct sensation of the warmth begin to leave her, as if someone had pulled away from her. "

Opening her eyes, the young girl furrowed her brow as she raised a hand up to the strand of hair in question to feel it. The softness of the tress drifted from between her fingertips easily leaving Kagome feeling slightly confused. "Did I imagine it?" She asked herself but somehow she knew something significant had just happened. A sudden knock on the door made Kagome practically jump five feet in the air, releasing a little squeal of surprise at the same time.

Having heard the squeal, the person behind the door hastily went ahead and opened it, her panicked voice reaching Kagome's ears instantly. "Kagome?"

"Sango?" Kagome replied, relieved that the knocking on the door had been Sango and not something else more sinister.

"Oh thank god!" The older girl came into the room looking white as a sheet as she crossed the threshold quickly. "You're okay." She cried out, her whole face contorting with happiness.

Appearing just a few steps behind her, Miroku's equally relieved face also came into view, as well as the anxious face of the small Shippo struggling against his grip. "It's good to see you're okay Miss Kagome." The first mate smiled as he spoke, the little Shippo glaring up at him as he tried to pull himself out of Miroku's hold.

"Let ma' go!" He cried as he finally succeeded in pushing himself out of Miroku's grasp.

"Be careful," Miroku called after him as the little boy scampered across the room. "No jumping on her!"

The tiny boy nodded his head even as he jumped onto the bed, his little paws digging into the heavy fabric of the blanket carrying him across the bed until he was right in front of Kagome. "I was sooo 'orried." He told Kagome as he put his tiny front paws on her knee barely resisting the urge to simply ignore Miroku's rules and grab hold of her tightly.

"Thank you Shippo." Kagome smiled sweetly at the young boy, reaching up and ruffling his hair absently. "It's cold again—that presence—Papa—he's gone." She realized as she looked around the room, her mind still truly focused on the presence that now seemed to have vanished.

"Where's the Captain?" Miroku asked as he shut the door to the room and looked around suspiciously. "I thought he was still in here."

"I don't know," Kagome answered honestly, begrudgingly allowing herself to focus on those around her whom she could see and feel and not on the presence she had felt. "He wasn't here when I woke up."

"Stra—." Miroku just started to say when Sango interrupted him abruptly.

"Have you been crying?" The woman asked with a stern expression as she sat down on the edge of Kagome's bed.

"Um—," Kagome blushed as her tongue seemed to get tied in her mouth. "Well—I—I just—."

"You have haven't you?" Sango's words came out hurriedly and worriedly all at the same time. "What happened, did someth—."

"Sango," Miroku gently interrupted as he took a seat in the now abandoned desk chair. "The Captain already confirmed that," He gently reminded his wife as he put a hand on her shoulder and squeezed ever so slightly. "Didn't happened."

"That?" Kagome repeated somewhat confused before her eyes widened in absolute horror and scandal. "No!" She shouted loudly, her face turning red and her eyes going wide. "That most surely didn't happen."

"Good." Sango sighed in relief, even though the Captain had already confirmed that nothing indecent such as rape had occurred, it still felt more reassuring when it came from the possible victim and not just some man.

"Well then," Miroku cleared his throat evenly. "What did happen, Miss Kagome?"

"Um—its complicated." Kagome shifted uneasily, looking away from Miroku unsure of even how to begin her story.

"Maybe," Shippo spoke up as he placed a tiny paw on her knee sweetly. "You 'ould wait 'til ta Captain gets back so you don't hafta explain it twice."

"Yes," Kagome latched onto the babe's words, not because she wanted to use his idea, but because it gave her an excuse not to talk about the incident in question. "That's a great idea Shippo."

-break-

Inuyasha stood in the small cabin that Myoga and Totosai shared. In all honesty, he hadn't been in the cabin in a number of years but that didn't mean it had changed any. The cabin was pretty much exactly the same with two beds, both made up well, a small desk littered with books in a variety of languages and a nearly depleted candle. Lining the walls were various swords and weapons from around the world, memorabilia the two had been collecting for the course of their life's on the sea (and even before). There were even some sketches, simple landscapes and monuments they had seen on their travels and more complex ink paintings that were popular in their native Nippon.

Taking his eyes from the skillfully decorated walls, Inuyasha looked down at the small man who was fiddling with something on the desk chair, a drying painting it looked like. Inuyasha thought to open his mouth then and ask the question that had been plaguing his mind, but something in the posture of the older demon made him pause. Myoga was shaking, his petite hands on the painting actually moving so fast it made the paper rattle as it trembled from his touch.

"Why is he so—nervous?" Inuyasha wondered as he watched the old man move the painting around, placing it onto the beds so he could offer Inuyasha a place to sit at the desk.

"Inuyasha-sama." The flea motioned with his hand towards the now available chair with two of his shaking hands.

Out of respect and not wishing to insult, the dog Captain nodded and moved towards the chair settling himself within moments. Absently, he glanced at the ink painting now on the bed, smiling ever so slightly as he noticed the obvious western influence that had crept into Myoga's art. Instead of mountains or tigers, or village scenes, Myoga had painted an Asian style ink painting of what Inuyasha deduced was Delaware's dock. "You still do the ink paintings?" He commented absently, as he studied the work, enjoying the skillful nature of Myoga's tiny well trained brush strokes.

"Hai," Myoga nodded slowly as he fidgeted from foot to foot looking none too comfortable with whatever conversation was about to take place. "Myoga enjoy-y ink-u painting."

"They're as good as I remember." Inuyasha nodded approvingly as he licked his lips and shifted in the chair. "Probably better than the ones I saw when I was younger," He chose his words carefully not wanting to upset his lifelong companion but still wanting to make it know that the conversation still would be taking place. "Before Okaa-san died."

Myoga looked down at the floor the second the words left Inuyasha's mouth, his tiny eyes closing with true sadness. "Izayoi-sama," He whispered the woman's name softly, a true affection touching his voice as he thought of the woman who had died far too young. Carefully, he raised his head, turning his attention towards one of his many paintings that lined the walls, one Inuyasha had surprisingly missed. "Anata no Okaa-sama utsukushī."

Inuyasha blinked rapidly from Myoga's words and turned to follow the direction of his eyes. There hanging just beside the door was a sketch Inuyasha had never seen. It was of a woman with deep dark eyes and flowing straight hair, her face slender and her cheek bones high; it was a face Inuyasha knew better than any other. "Okaa-san." He whispered as he looked at those big eyes staring at him, kind and loving as they had been in life. Myoga had really captured the beauty of them with his many hands.

With a loud sigh, Myoga took his eyes from the painting, the memory of his Lord's Mistress and her gentle yet feisty nature making him feel a little nostalgic. "Is it-to time?" He asked himself as he thought of her, thought of promises made long ago. "Inutaisho-sama said never tell demo—." He looked towards Inuyasha, watching as the man stared at the picture, his still young eyes watching her with no small amount of awe. Making a split second decision, Myoga inhaled sharply, the sound drawling Inuyasha away from the painting and back to the flea instantly. "So—Inuyasha-sama want-to know-u, truth?" Myoga began without preamble his small hands still shaking as if he knew what he was about to do was bad.

"Yes." Inuyasha replied slowly as he watched the flea with no small amount of disbelief showing on his face. "Will he really tell me—that easily?"

Myoga started to open his mouth but stopped, his old face drawn into a tight expression. "Why?" He finally settled on asking.

"Today on the Thunder a woman approached me." Inuyasha began slowly watching as realization immediately dawned on Myoga's face.

"Kagura-dono?" He said the name softly, as if he had known all along that the name had to be said. "Myoga thought-o the wind smell-u of her."

"How do you know her?" Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he leaned forward in the desk chair.

"Myoga," The old man bit his lip and rocked back and forth from foot to foot slowly. "Ano—not-to sure how-u say."

Inuyasha growled lightly in frustration, bringing one had up to his face and waving it carelessly. "Say it in Japanese then."

"Kagura-dono," Myoga spoke slowly as he looked at Inuyasha, all of his many fingers seeming to clench together and unclench as one. "To Sesshoumaru-sama wa miai kekkon shite ita."

For a moment, Inuyasha felt as if he had swallowed his own tongue. "They—," He tried to speak but the words wouldn't come out as they were intended to. "My brother was—they were—," Inuyasha bit his lip hard nearly drawing blood. "They had an arranged marriage?"

"Hai." Myoga nodded sharply as he recognized the English equivalent to 'miai kekkon.' "When Inuyasha-sama pup-pu Kagura-dono court-to with Sesshoumaru-sama."

"If I wasn't sitting down I think I'd fall over." Inuyasha whispered as he tried to grasp what Myoga had just told him.

Suddenly, an image popped up in his mind of a beautiful woman with deep brown eyes standing next to his tall brother quiet and dutiful, posed and almost unapproachable. He could just see her standing there with her chin held high and her face set in a straight line; and with that image he realized, he knew her: he knew her face, he knew her pointed ears, he knew the slop of her nose and the predominance of her chin, he even knew her spicy scent, heady and unclaimed.

"Her scent hasn't changed." He realized vaguely as he blinked himself back into reality. "I remember." He told Myoga slowly as the memory of her scent and the scent from the pouch clashed in his mind. "But that means—she never mated with Sesshoumaru."

"Inuyasha-sama was buery young last-to time he saw Kagura-dono." Myoga informed gently before clearing his throat and exhaling sharply. "So Kagura-dono reason why?"

Still a little lost in thought, it took Inuyasha a moment to realize what Myoga was even asking of him. "Oh, yeah, she told me I should go to Sesshoumaru, that he had answers."

The vaguest look of surprise seemed to cross Myoga's face but it was quickly contained. "About what-to?"

All confusion left Inuyasha as soon as flea's words left Myoga's mouth. "What do you mean about what?" He growled as felt just a small bit of irritation mount in his stomach. "You know something, don't you?" He accused, crossing his arms over his chest in the chair as he gave Myoga a suspicious look. "Something you're not telling."

"Inuyasha-sama—."

"No." Inuyasha stopped the words before they could even leave the flee demon's mouth. "I don't want to hear your excuses or lies just—," Inuyasha looked away from the old man for a second, his eyes lighting on the small sketch of his mother once again, the image of her seeming to calm him. "I know Okaa-san was a miko, but there's more to it than that, right?" He licked his lips slowly before turning his attention back to the flee demon. "She wasn't just some Miko was she, otherwise Otou-san—her, that never would have happened not with her being," He paused before the word 'human' could leave his mouth, to this day, even in front of Myoga, it was hard to say such a word in regards to his mother. "—just tell me."

"Inuyasha-sama," Myoga began slowly, his stomach knotting as he did so. "Myoga—," He tried to speak, tried to say what Inuyasha wanted to hear but the words fell dead in his throat, long ago halted by a promise he had made to both his Lord and Lady. "Myoga sorry." He apologized swiftly bowing his head in complete regret. "Myoga make-e promise-u with Otou-sama," He told Inuyasha honestly, the memory of his lord floating into his mind, big and intimidating. "Myoga cannot-to break promise-u."

"But—."

"However," The old demon stopped the younger's words with soft but firm ones of his own. The sound of the sharp and crisply pronounced word actually taking some of Inuyasha's breath away. "Myoga know-u of three men who made-e no such promise-su."

"What?" Inuyasha blinked in surprise, not at Myoga's words but at the suggestion. "You mean?"

"Hai," Myoga nodded sharply, his stomach turning over and over again as he tried to determine whether he was disobeying the order or not. "Myoga think-u it time Inuyasha-sama visit-to home."

Inuyasha's eyes widened at the suggestion, he hadn't been home in years. Really, the last time he had been home had been right before he found Miroku in England.

"Hai." Myoga nodded sharply as he turned to look at the Captain, his eyes shining with some kind of firm conviction Inuyasha could not quite understand. "I'm sure they anxious," The tiny man spoke evenly as he looked at his young charge. "To see Inuyasha-sama home; it-to been too long-g."

"Eleven years—," Inuyasha spoke evenly chewing on his lower lip as he turned away from Myoga to look at one landscape in particular that hung up on the wall. It was of a small house resting in the middle of a busy street with the words, "Na Tri Scalawags: Tavern agus ósta" written above the door in Myoga's crude English letters. "Na Tri Scalawags," He repeated the name as he read it, fondness growing in his heart from the very sound. "Home."

-break-

Kaede watched Naraku as he stared at her, his eyes filled to the brim with a combination of curiosity and malice. "I knew this time would come all along." She told herself as she shifted in the chair slowly, her body weight causing the chair to creak. "But now that it's here, I hate to admit," She closed her one human eye, the Shinigami one still dancing underneath the eye patch as it almost always did. "I'm a little afraid."

"Well," Naraku whispered into the room, the sound of his voice echoing off the walls only somewhat unnerving. "Are you gonna tell me or what?" He pressed stepping forward towards her, one of his feet catching a loose board, the sound of it squeaking making Kaede's eye open once again.

"The truth is powerful." She spoke softly as if she wasn't speaking to Naraku but instead to herself. "It's so powerful," She lifted her head up to look at the young boy, her human eye appearing sad. "That you fear it; fear admitting to it."

Naraku narrowed his eyes instantly in anger. "What the hell are you talking about?" He bit the words out harshly but the sound did nothing to hinder Kaede's calm. "Just tell me the truth!" He bit out even as he took another step towards her slamming his hands on the desk once he was within reach. "You've been going on and on about it since we drug you out of New Orleans," He hissed, his voice low and menacing as he looked right into her human eye. "So just spit out—."

The words died on Naraku's lips as Kaede surprisingly and simply, raised her hand. "I just want you to understand Naraku," She began to speak once again as if she had never been interrupted. "That the truth could become your most powerful ally." Kaede looked directly into Naraku's eyes, seeming to stare beyond him to something else, something deep down inside. "An ally within yourself."

Naraku closed his mouth sharply at her words, pushing himself off the desk and away from her, unnerved. "An ally?" He managed to ask, a small voice inside of him teetering with intrigue as it too listened, silent and unnoticed.

"If you understand your mother, Naraku," Kaede spoke evenly her words penetrating all the way from Naraku's brain to his very soul. "Understand what you, yourself are," She prompted further as Naraku's face became still and thoughtful. "Then maybe, this ally will emerge, one that could help you," The old woman took a deep breath as she stared straight into Naraku's eyes. "Destroy Kagome and Inuyasha."

Naraku felt his heart pound in his chest as the voice he barely registered deep inside of him almost seemed to smirk from Kaede's words, approving of them. "Excellent." He heard the word resound in his head, so faint that he wasn't completely sure the voice had been real. "It's nothing, just ignore it." Naraku choose to disregard it in favor of focusing only on Kaede's words and the fact that the old woman believed the truth would help him achieve his one true goal.

Kaede felt relieved as she heard the voice within Naraku's head speak, the knowledge that it did in fact exist comforting to her and everything she wanted to do. "But in order to know your mother, understand yourself," She continued on, once again as she had never been interrupted. "And gain this ally," Kaede addressed him bluntly, looking at the wide eyed youth with sympathy teeming in her human eye. "You must first, ask your questions to the right person, Naraku."

Naraku blinked as he tried to take in what Kaede had just said. "The right person?" The words hung in the air for several seconds, as Naraku tried to understand them completely. "Aren't you the right person?" He pressed calmly as he gave her a dark almost accusing look. "You said you know the truth, so you should be—."

"Perhaps I do know," Kaede stopped him before he could speak further, turning her eyes back to the desk, studying the wood thoughtfully. "But in the end, I doubt you would believe me." She told him honestly as she took in a deep breath to control the slight shaking of her voice, holding it for some seconds before exhaling. "I do know however, someone who you would believe," She lifted her head to stare at the boy once more, watching as he took in every word she said as if each syllable were gold. "Someone who was there, who knew your mother."

Naraku narrowed his eyes, completely confused as he pushed himself away from the table abruptly, his hands hanging down at his sides as he watched her warily. "Who?"

"Your brothers." She said bluntly watching as Naraku took in the information slowly, his eyes actually showing his own disbelief.

"My—," He gritted his teeth, anger flashing across his face for a moment as memories of his brothers played inside his head. "Of course they would know her." He lifted his head up and glared at Kaede, hatred for her and for his family steaming in his eyes. "We have—."

"The same mother?" Kaede finished the sentence with a shake of her head and a slight smile on her lips. "Do you still believe that Naraku?" She asked frankly, sending him a disbelieving smirk that made Naraku actually growl. "This is why you need to talk to your brothers, ask them about the world before you were born into it," She paused, her old hands running over the smooth surface of the desk. "And the woman who birthed you."

Naraku brought a hand up to his head, touching the hot flesh of his skin as he tried to decide whether to believe her or not, whether to question further or not. "The woman from my dream—my memory," He asked himself as images of her danced all throughout his head. "Could she really be my—." He didn't dare to finish the sentence, even if it only was in the silence of his mind.

Taking a deep breath, he closed his eyes in an attempt to gather his thoughts but as he did so, he was confronted only with her smile. It was bright, beautiful, yet sad in the darkness that rested behind his eyelids. Unable to stare at her any longer than necessary, Naraku opened his eyes hastily allowing the autumn light to infiltrate his pupils.

"If anyone knows the truth it would be Gaven and Steffan." He told himself as the after image of Helen seemed to dance before him even now. "They would both know the truth, the whole truth." He licked his lips staring at Kaede, an old instinct inside of him wanting to sniff the air to assess her own truthfulness but the instinct was old and the skill was no longer enrooted within him. "Even if she is lying, at the very least I could see my brothers." He felt the voice inside his head begin to laugh. "Kill." It mumbled and Naraku couldn't help but smile in agreement; ignoring once again the fact that the voice should not have been there. "And if she isn't lying then I could gain this ally that will help me." Making a hasty decision, he looked straight at Kaede watching her with pain filled eyes. "I suppose, it's time to return then." He spoke slowly, the voice in the back of his head becoming silent as if it too was in perfect agreement. "To Port Royal."

"Yes." Kaede agreed with him as she watched the sick smile begin to form on Naraku's lips, somehow knowing that the smile was not actually Naraku's. "I suppose it is."

-break-

Old bones creaking loudly as she walked, Kaede sighed, tired both mentally and physically. "That's done." She told herself as she made her way through the lower hallways of the ship heading back towards her room. "That should give Inuyasha enough time to put some more distance between the Shikuro and Thunder." She inhaled slowly and shook her head, her mind going fuzzy with tiredness. "I'm way too old." She mumbled faintly as she finally reached the door to her cabin.

Staring at the old wood, Kaede paused for just a second debating with herself before she entered. Part of her suspected that Kagura would be long gone by now, probably returning to her home country to report to her boss. Another part of her knew not to be so hasty in understanding a young girl's heart. Much had happened that even Kaede's Shinigami eye could not predict; namely, the love affair that had been silently building behind her back.

"Would she leave him?" Kaede wondered, on purpose not using the Shinigami eye to answer her own question. After all, even a person who can see anything and everything likes some mystery in their life every once in a while.

Feeling just a little anxiousness in her stomach, Kaede reached for the handle to the door of her room. Old fingers touched the long since oxidized brass, the green color looking pale in the vague light of the hallway. With one deep breath, she pushed down on the little handle and stepped forward. The door squeaked as it opened, light flooding all about the old woman from the opened window. Kaede winced as the sensation practically stung her human eye before forcing herself to focus.

Sure enough, sitting on the bed, her black hair down around her shoulders and her expression truly sad, sat the lonely wind demon. "Kagura?"

The wind demon raised her head quickly, actually appearing surprised to see Kaede standing in the doorway. "Kaede-sama." She whispered in acknowledgement, nodding her head ever so slightly at the old woman.

"I thought you might leave." Kaede spoke gently as she entered the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click of the lock.

"I," The wind demon began with a shrug of her shoulders. "Not-to have-e anywhere to go."

Not appearing even the least bit surprise, Kaede nodded while lowering herself into the desk chair with a slight groan. "What about your boss?"

Kagome frowned slightly, her bright red eyes narrowing slowly. "Sesshoumaru-sama does not expect-to me to return."

Kaede inhaled sharply but didn't say a word as she watched the wind demon fiddle with the hem of an oversized shirt, most likely belonging to Hiten. The old woman watched as Kagura started to open her mouth, still staring at the old hem line, but then suddenly closed it as quickly as it had opened.

For several minutes silence filled the room, both women too focused to actually speak; Kagura on the hem line of her new clothes and Kaede on Kagura. "Kaede-sama mission done," The wind demon spoke up suddenly, lifting her head up to look at Kaede expectantly. "Yes?"

"Technically." Kaede responded with a brisk nod of her head.

Kagura knitted her eyebrows at the strange word, her mind moving quickly in order to deduce its meaning. After only a few quick seconds, her eyes blinked with understanding and she nodded. "Soka." She whispered in Japanese, her voice coming across as sad but accepting. "So now me and yuu wait-to die."

Kaede was quite for a moment, the Shinigami eye behind her patch dancing with knowledge. "Not necessarily."

Kagura's head snapped upwards, her eyes looking at Kaede with complete surprise. "What-to Kaede-sama mean?" She growled slightly in her throat, thinking Kaede's words a giant joke. "Our missions are-e done, Shinigami will come—bodies," She motioned towards her youthful body before turning her fingers towards Kaede's old one. "Belong-u to Shinigami."

"I know," Kaede agreed slowly as she reached up for the patch that covered her eye. "Your body Kagura, belongs to the Shinigami," She spoke carefully as she removed the patch, the bright blue Shinigami eye seeming to come to life as its pupil constricted. "But mine does not."

Kagura's heart stopped dead in her chest as she stared at the old woman. "Demo—," She felt her hands start to shake at the very possibility. "What-to is Kaede-sama price then?"

Kaede drew her lips into a tight line of thought before sighing softly. "I have no price Kagura." She seemed to speak apologetically as she looked up at the deathly white face of the wind demon. "My Shinigami died."

Kagura knew she about to faint or vomit, something she had not done since she was a very small pup. "Impossible." She pronounced the word perfectly, the sound dripping from her lips unhindered by language barriers.

"No—not really," Kaede's face grew sad suddenly as the gorgeous woman from her memory surfaced in her mind. She could just see the mambo, with her deep dark olive skin and the bright blue eye, glistening with knowledge and unhappiness. "You see Kagura," She spoke softly as the image of the mambo she had know so long ago danced about her head. "Even Shinigami," Tears formed in Kaede's human eye, the Shinigami one staying surprisingly dry. "Grow tired of living."

-break-

Inuyasha walked slowly back to his cabin, his mind filled to the brim with conflicting and confusing information. "Myoga knows something," He told himself as he mounted the small ladder that would take him back above to the quarterdeck. "Something important—so important it's been a secret from me my whole life." The wood of the ladder squeaked underneath his fingertips, the sound making his ears twitch and wince. "A secret everyone knew but me."

The dog demon sighed heavily at the very thought. He couldn't imagine why he wasn't aware, why no one had ever told him, and most importantly, why his parents wanted (whatever it was) to be kept a secret. Inuyasha stopped climbing abruptly as he reached the hatch that lead above, out onto the deck. Carefully, he unhinged it, pushing it up against the force of the still prevailing wind with a mild grunt. The heavy door fell with a rather loud thud as he forced it completely opened before climbing the last few steps with relative ease. He sighed with relief as he climbed out of the small hatch, replacing the covering in due course before righting himself.

Looking out at his crew, he watched for a second as they worked, all the demons he commanded pretty much out on deck doing their best to keep the ship together. "I really should help." He told himself even as his own thoughts ran around and around in his head disorganized and loud. Bringing a hand up to his head, he rubbed at his temple wanting nothing more than to have some peace for at least a few seconds. "My head hurts." He mumbled out loud, as an overwhelming desire mounted in his gut.

There was one person on this ship that at that very moment he wanted nothing more than to see and talk to. Someone who knew a lot of his secrets (probably too many of them really) someone who would listen and not judge, maybe not even question.

"I'll check on Kagome first." He spoke as he turned towards the small hallway behind the stairs, moving quickly towards them as his craving for her mounted.

His men literally ignored him as he passed, too busy with their separate task to even bother giving the hastily moving Captain a second glance. Truthfully, Inuyasha could have cared less whether they looked at him or not, all he wanted to do at that moment was see Kagome. He turned into the hallway as the yearning grew more substantial, his ears already alert on his head wanting to hear her before he could even see her. A small part of him knew that was impossible, she was currently asleep, so all he might hear would be the sound of her breathing.

"Can you read that word, Shippo?"

The dog demon froze as the sound of her unexpected voice hit his ears, followed instantly by the tiny voice of the fox kit sounding out some unknown word. He felt his heart skip a beat, and his stomach lodge in his throat, "She's awake?"

Nearly tripping over his own feet, Inuyasha ran for the door handle to his cabin, grabbing it and turning it so quickly it nearly broke off. The sound of the door slamming opened, banging against the wall from the force he pushed it forward, caused the occupants of the room to simultaneously jump in surprise.

"Otou-san?" Miroku was the first to speak, nearly falling out of the small desk chair, as he watched his father step into the room. "We were wondering where you were." He smiled slightly as the man stepped fully into the room barely remembering to close the door behind him as he crossed the threshold.

Inuyasha just managed to nod in Miroku's direction before his eyes fell on Kagome. "You're awake." A sense of relief filled him as he saw her sitting on top of the made bed, Sango beside her and Shippo with a puffed up tail sitting in her lap, a book on his own.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome tilted her head to the side in surprise as she absently rubbed the top of Shippo's head comforting the startled child. "What are you—."

"Are you okay?" Inuyasha interrupted her as he looked her over. "She looks okay." He told himself as his eyes traveling over her body, studying every angle of her to insure himself that she really was sitting up before him, perfectly fine.

"Yes—." Kagome replied slowly while giving him a strange look. "I'm fine, are you okay?" She managed to ask as she watched Sango and Miroku exchange suspicious glances from across the space between the beds.

"Of course." The dog demon growled slightly as if the very suggestion that he was not 'okay' had actually bothered him. "So you feel fine?" He continued to press as he took a step closer to her, sitting down on the edge of the bed right next to her.

Sango practically squeaked at the boldness of the action, her light brown eyes turning towards Miroku wide and amused. "Are you watching this?" She thought, trying to convey the idea to Miroku who merely shrugged as he leaned back in the chair watching the exchange with a slight smirk of enjoyment on his face as well.

Kagome instantly blushed as Inuyasha brought his hand up to her face, feeling the spot on the side of her head that had been slammed against the wall. "Yes, I feel—," The young girl hesitated for just a second, her voice dying on the air as her embarrassment was replaced with something else: the image of her father. "I'm fine." She spoke almost mutely, the echo of her voice catching Inuyasha and everyone else in the cabin off guard.

Inuyasha barely noticed his own hand falling away from her as he watched the strange haunted expression cross her normally vibrant and happy face. The sight of it immediately made his stomach uneasy and the dog demon had to resist the urge to growl. "What happened?" He asked bluntly even as he noticed Sango reached out and touch the girl's arm gently.

Kagome quickly blinked as if coming out of a daze. "I knew I'd have to talk eventually," She gulped ever so slightly as she shifted on the bed causing it to squeak. "But I just—I don't feel ready." Gingerly, she tried to open her mouth knowing it would be easiest to simply speak and get it over with but in place of words a lump formed in her throat, holding her back.

Watching her struggle, Inuyasha felt his heart stop dead in his chest, every worse case scenario playing out in his head. "Kagome—." He started to say but the young girl shook her head in response, inhaling sharply so as to collect her thoughts.

"I—," She took several deep breaths, the image of her father assaulting her as she tried desperately to speak. "I ran into," She grabbed for the sheet that rested under her person, fisting her hands tightly into it and forcing herself to speak before she could chicken out. "Naraku."

"No way." Sango shook her head quickly back and forth in absolute surprise as she heard the name fall from Kagome's slips.

Inuyasha frowned darkly at his daughter-in-law's astonishment the name she seemed so familiar with completely new to him. "Naraku?" He repeated the foreign name while glancing towards Miroku who merely shrugged just as confused. "Who the hell is that?"

Without hesitation, Kagome answered her hands still holding on tightly to the blanket underneath her. "My fiancé."

Inuyasha felt his stomach fall into his feet and his heart stop dead in his chest. "Your—." He tried to get the word out as the demon in the back of his mind screamed with absolute fury. "Fiancé?" He whispered, the sound of his voice actually scaring Miroku and Sango.

Kagome's head snapped up as the sound of absolute dejection welled in Inuyasha's voice. She could honestly say she had never heard the man sound so utterly flabbergasted and lost all at the same time. "He sounds almost heartbroken." She realized before realization hit her like a ton of bricks. "Ex-fiancé," She blurted out quickly, reaching for his cheek, forcing him to look at her. "My ex-fiancé from Port Royal." She corrected completely as his gold eyes stared at her some semblance of relief seeming to form on his features from both her touch and her words.

"Oh," Miroku nodded from his place on the chair. "You mean the one you were running from when you—um joined us?" Miroku deduced, the sound of his voice making Kagome instantly turn red and practically rip her hand away from Inuyasha's face.

Inuyasha frowned at the loss of her warmth but shook it off quickly as his heart rate started to slow down. "I remember that now." He told himself with a slight nod. "Miroku said something about that when I first met her, yeah, he did." He smiled as relief filled him completely and the demon inside of him calmed back down no longer afraid of having a rival for its affections—. "Wait a minute," Inuyasha looked directly at Kagome. "He was on the Thunder?"

Pursing her lips Kagome nodded slightly. "I don't really know the details but—," She spoke slowly, her voice soft and almost hard to hear over the roar of the wind outside. "Apparently he came after me and somehow made it to the Thunder with his father and—." Her voice started to shake, the change in tempo causing everyone in the room to pay attention a little bit more. "My fath—." The word died on her throat before she could speak it any further but no more of it really needed to be said.

"Your father." Sango finished the word apprehensively her eyes flashing with sympathy believing perhaps that Kagome had encounter the man as well. "Your father came with them?"

Kagome managed to nod as her lip trembled. Pushing down the thought of her father, Kagome turned her attention back towards Naraku knowing that in the end the living were more important than the dead. "Naraku," She bit out the name, the hate in her voice catching all of them off guard. "He's changed, that was not the boy I knew." She spoke hastily as she closed her eyes in an attempt to hold back the onslaught of tears. "I mean, back on Port Royal he was a jerk and rude and disrespectful," Only vaguely did she realize all those qualities could also apply to Inuyasha in a way. "But he was never a—a—," She shook her head harshly from side to side as she struggled to say the word. "A monster." She finally managed to say as a few tears formed in her eyes.

Unable to ignore Kagome's distress, even for the sake of her modesty, Inuyasha slid forward on the bed gently pushing a distraught Shippo out of her lap in order to pull her against him. Kagome instantly clung to his shirt, hiding her face against his chest as she tried desperately to hold back the tears but it was too late. The combination of Inuyasha's comforting embrace and her own pain, made the tears come, wetting his clothes as she quietly cried. "Shhh, it's okay Kagome." Inuyasha tried to sooth, rubbing her shoulders gently even as his heart tightened in his chest not liking the idea of an ex-fiancé being on their tail.

"He—." Kagome mumbled against his chest before pushing herself away, her red blotchy face looking up at him, broken and in pain. "He killed him."

"What?" Inuyasha barely managed to ask as he watched more tears flow from Kagome's eyes.

"Naraku," Her voice shook with the effort it took for her to speak coherently. Gasping for air, she dug her fingers into his shirt, holding onto him desperately as if her very life depended on the tightness of her grip. "He killed my father."

The room went silent as Kagome's words hung in the air. After several seconds, Inuyasha's grip tightened on Kagome's shoulders, his brain finally working once again. "How do you know for sure?" He just managed to ask her even as he smelt the scent of her truth in his nose, meaning, Kagome didn't think she was lying.

"I know," Kagome spoke slowly, little hiccups rocking her body as everyone stared at her. "I feel it." She told them, closing her eyes in an attempt to block out their pitying stares. "Maybe it's part of being a Miko," She told them with a shake of her head. "I don't know how it works but I do know it's true," She opened her eyes and looked straight at Inuyasha wanting nothing more than to grab for him and be cocooned in his warmth once more. "I just know." She said instead, resisting the urge with all of her being.

Once again the room grew silent no one knowing exactly what to say or even do as they listened to Kagome's ragged breathing.

With every breath Kagome took, Inuyasha's anger grew even greater. He didn't even know this man and already he hated him, he hated him for being Kagome's intended, he hated him for what he had done to Kagome, hated him for everything and anything he could think of. "He should die." The demon inside of him growled and Inuyasha couldn't help but agree. "We should get revenge." He heard the words leave his mouth, loud and threatening.

"No!" Kagome jumped up, her expression absolutely horrified as she looked straight into Inuyasha's face. "I mean—I—." The girl stopped talking abruptly, she knew she had attempted revenge herself but something she had heard earlier perhaps in her imagination or for real, made the very act seem pointless.

"All I ever wanted was for you to be happy and safe Kagome."

"Happy—safe—." Kagome thought as she bit her lip thoughtfully and looked away from everyone, ignoring their curious stares. "If I tried to enact revenge, I wouldn't be happy or safe." She knew her own thoughts to be true. Revenge for her father's death would do nothing to make her happy as her father wanted, and it would do nothing to keep her safe or those she loved safe and besides killing another only creates violence and violence only creates hate, and hate does not make happiness. "Killing Naraku won't bring my father back." She felt the words leave her the sound of them making everyone around her blink it utter disbelief.

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Inuyasha all watched as Kagome spoke, none of the four actually believing that anyone could speak as she was now. "But," Shippo whispered from beside her, his large emerald eyes blinking in confusion. "He—he killed your Papa." The young boy's words were loud in the already loud room. "It's your job, ta get revenge." The little Shippo frowned darkly, his own need to avenge his own father's death still present just in the back of his mind.

"Killing Naraku, gaining revenge," Kagome whispered softly into the roaring air that they could hear even within the safety of the ship. "Would truthfully do nothing, it'd probably only make someone else seek revenge on us for doing it." She shook her head slowly from side to side. "It's not worth it, what's done is done, my father—," A lone tear trailed down her cheek that she couldn't even attempt to stop. "Is dead and I," She lifted her head upwards her watery gaze looking out across the faces of the people who felt more like family than her own ever head. "I'm safe and I'm here and I kno—w-w." She tried to make the word leave her mouth but failed.

It was then, with her voice cracking and the tears beginning to glide one by one down her cheeks, that Kagome felt the warmth from only a few hours before enter the room once again. Like a thick winter blanket it washed over her and she knew without a doubt that in some small way her father was connected to it. She could feel him, feel his love and most importantly feel his approval, as if he finally in death was proud and happy for his daughter and wished her only her own happiness. A happiness that did not include another's death, even if that death would be revenge against the man who killed him.

"I know," She spoke firmly, confidence shinning through her voice. "My father would be more pleased if I stayed safe and here," She lifted her head, her eyes moving automatically towards Inuyasha as her father's warm approval continued to flow throughout her. Smiling softly, her expression as sweet and innocent as the day they had met, she opened her mouth and whispered: "With you."

The sea Captain felt a faint twinge of heat rise up on his cheeks but ignored it in favor of the overwhelming warmth that was settling throughout his whole body from her words.

Realizing only seconds later what she had actually said, Kagome blushed bright red, moving her eyes away from him and towards the other occupants in the room. "That is—um—." She added even as her heartbeat pounded against her chest in the most pleasant of ways. "My father would want me to stay with all of you." She nodded her head briskly even as her own words sank into her mind, true and brilliant. "Yes," She smiled faintly as the idea caused her face to glow not with her blush but with happiness. "He would truly want me here, safe and happy, with all of you."

End of Chapter

Please Review

Edited for Accents 6/6/2013.

A/N: I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter as it led us into the next segment (or "book" I should say) of Shikuro. There will be a big time jump between this chapter and the next, about two months will have passed as we open into the next book. So be prepared for: Inuyasha's history, home, and mother; Kagura's fate and romance with Hiten; an important decision by Kaede; Naraku's return to Port Royal and his own mother; Mrs. Dresmont and Souta's fate; and—don't get too excited—the first instance of Kouga! Till next time everyone, should be within the next two weeks.

Fun Fact: The reason this chapter took so long to write is not because of its length but, because I had to rewrite it four times before I was pleased with it. The sections that gave me the most trouble were actually Naraku and Kaede's.

Bonus Point:

What does the name Naraku literally translate into?

Last Chapter's Bonus Point:

The scar on Naraku's back is in the sharp of a spider and is all that is left of Onigumo, the human bandit he was created from. Interestingly enough, the name Onigumo literally translates into "spider demon" Oni = demon and Gumo = Spider. Congrats to all the winners!

Scorpioprincess18, Xanna, AnimeNerd1, GammaDancer, Alice's Secret Lover, NurNur, cristine44, Leomae, 14 inu-kag, LadyDogDemon, SweetHunniiBunnii, kan78, KittyIchigo1, Litle C, Glon Morski, lindsey12quitugua24, Word Doc, InuxKag4Eva, XxxXAiydan's MommieXxxX, Guest, walomadolo, AKEMI SHIKON, KyaraMarri, Menarie, jackiejaimes, Aozora12, TheRealInuyasha, Sharp 8394, IkutoTsukiyomi'sGirl, KaUiA

Notes:

The speed the Shikuro reached was approximately 70 mph (Class 1 hurricane speeds). An unimaginable speed for the time period. In fact, the average ship moved a mere 4 mph or just under 4 knots on a good day. The distance the Shikuro covered in the approximately 8 hour time period of this chapter was just around 560 miles, typically in that same time period the Shikuro should have only covered 32 miles. You can just imagine how terrifying that trip was for the humans and even the demons on board.

Fun Fact: The average human can stand in up to approximately 40-50 mph wind (Tropical storm). When the wind speeds start to raise into the 60's and 70's (Think Class 1 Hurricane) most humans would be blown off their feet and fall.

Anata no Okaa-sama utsukushī = Your mother was beautiful.

Kagura-dono to Sesshoumaru-sama wa miai kekkon shite ita = Kagura and Sesshoumaru had an arranged marriage.

Soka = I see/understand; the equivalent to an English "Oh"

Next Chapter:

Returning Home

See you then!

UNEDITED

POSTED

3/9/2013