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?

78. Ayame

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 Inuma Asahi De's (with the exception of historical figures).

Chapter Seventy Eight

Ayame

"Well." Kouga leaned back in his chair as Kagome finished their story or at least the parts she thought were useful.

She had told him what she was but not where she came from, she had told him about the shards and how she saw them, and she told him that they were to destroy them along with the fact that in order to complete such a mission they needed money to travel; other than those few details, she had said nothing more.

"Tat was a most int-resting story-y, bella." The great leader tapped his chin and turned his attention finally away from Kagome and to Inuyasha. "So," He eyed Inuyasha with cool blue eyes, a smirk forming on his face as he took delight in the entire situation. "Meticcio need money-y from me?"

It took all of Inuyasha's will power not to jump off the sofa and simply punch Kouga in the face. "Yes." He said the word quietly but deliberately, his voice almost pained as he placed one hand on his knee, digging his claws into the fabric of his pants leg. "It's too dangerous to get money by my normal means this close to the crowns."

"Real-ly?" The man held back a laugh as he leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs absently. His eyes roamed towards Miroku, watching the man for a second, his nostrils flaring as he took in the human's scent. "Only you would tak-eh 'uman child." The wolf demon shook his head as if mildly disgusted. "Pathetic meticcio."

"Leave my son out of this." Inuyasha's voice was dark, as the demon inside of him growled, protective instincts for his child and for himself kicking in.

"Now, now." Mirth danced in the wolf demons eyes from Inuyasha's reaction. "You always were so 'ot 'eaded." The demon shook his head quickly as he mumbled the words just loud enough for Inuyasha and the demons to hear. "So you are protect'in your pups and to do tat you need my money?"

"Aengus told me to ask you." Inuyasha supplied not wanting to appear completely dependent on the older man.

"Dis is," Kouga shook his head mockingly, a strange combination of contempt and flattery on his face. "Unexpected."

"Isn't it though?" Inuyasha grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest as he leaned just a little closer to Kagome. Instinctively, he wanted to be as close to the girl as possible, allowing his scent to permeate her being so that Kouga's scent would fade away. "He only touched her hands and she already smells like him." Inuyasha resisted the urge to jump up and punch the man in the face once more. "Bastard—why would a demon who usually hates humans, take such an interest in mine?" He snorted loudly, the sound making the demonic ears on the sides of Kouga's head twitch.

"Da poor lit-tle In-u-ya-sha." Kouga drew out the name as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "Needs my help." He brought a hand up to his chest and permitted himself to laugh loudly.

"Oh shut up." Inuyasha snapped, Kouga's laughter merely growing louder in the room.

"'ow about dis." Kouga raised a finger looking for all pretenses and purposes as if he was serious. "An exchange."

"What kind?" Inuyasha felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. There was something about the demon's face that made him feel highly uncomfortable in that moment.

Ice blue eyes turned towards Kagome, watching the girl as she shifted uncomfortably in her seat from his stare. "I tink, you 'av-eh only one ting worth-eh dat much money."

Already seeing the direction of the conversation, Inuyasha openly snarled. "No way in hell!" Inuyasha leaped up from the couch placing his body between Kouga's eyes and Kagome.

For his part the wolf demon merely snickered, "Come on meticcio," He egged loving the way the veins on Inuyasha's neck began to bulge with anger. "Just one time." Kouga smirked as Inuyasha's mouth actually dropped opened having not expected Kouga to say such a thing. "It is customary in packs dat de leader gets de first go, no?"

"Bastard!" Inuyasha snarled and leapt forward grabbing for Kouga once more.

"Inuyasha," Kagome jumped up from her seat reaching towards the man with reflexes she (and no one else in the room for that matter) didn't know she had. "Please don't." She begged as she held onto his arm, not knowing that the Captain was letting her hold onto him and not the other way around.

"Let go of me." Inuyasha said in a low voice as his eyes flashed red, a look Kouga saw and acknowledged silently.

"You need to calm down." Kagome whispered low enough that not even Kouga heard her words. She realized that something bigger than even herself was going on here and that Kouga was treating Inuyasha as if he was no better than dirt; however, some innate instinct within herself prevented her from allowing Inuyasha to so easily succumb to mindless taunting. "He's not worth it."

The demon inside Inuyasha screamed its disagreement, wanting nothing more than to rip Kouga to shreds. "Protect mate!" It howled, the sound loud in Inuyasha's ears even though the words had never actually been said out loud. Closing his eyes, the dog demon tried desperately to control his anger, hating himself for allowing Kouga to get to him so easily. "Damn it." He cursed before opening his eyes once more, looking at Kouga with barely contained rage. The wolf demon's eyes danced with his own pleasure, pleasure that Inuyasha realized was caused by his reaction. "Calm down," He inhaled deeply, the blurriness of his vision actually fading the deeper he breathed. "Ignore him—don't feed into him, that's what he wants." He repeated Kagome's words, allowing them to sooth his demon side as Myoga had once suggested.

After several seconds of intense focus, Inuyasha allowed his body to relax against Kagome's hold. The girl, sensing his new composure, tugged on his arm, directing him back to the sofa slowly. The old piece of furniture squeaked from the motion, the sound loud in the relatively small room. Sitting way closer to the dog demon than she would have ever thought to, Kagome placed her hands over his own clawed ones, hoping the action would calm him down.

"All the things you said Kouga did to you." She thought to herself as she held onto his shaking hands. "Were they really worse than you let on?" She bit her lip and turned towards Kouga. On the whole, the man didn't look all that intimidating, he looked like any other person you might see on the street. "Sure, he's a sweet talker and he's very forward," She blushed slightly at the very thought of the bold way he spoke and touched her. "But—he seems harmless." Despite that, Kagome couldn't ignore the shaking of the Captain's hands as she held onto them or the way he ignored the touch instead looking towards Kouga menacingly. "I'll have to make you tell me, later."

"Oh meticcio." Kouga shook his head sarcastically as he watched Kagome try to tame the demon. "Dat bella is good for you I tink." He laughed slightly, hoping the dog demon would rise to the occasion and attack once more but, as Kouga truly expected, Inuyasha did nothing of the sort. "Hm," Kouga thought as he watched Kagome's gloved hands sooth over Inuyasha's. "Good girl." Shaking the thought away, Kouga cleared his throat loudly and finally calmed down. "Everyting aside." He spoke, his voice dangerously level and serious. "I'll 'ave to see what I can do."

"What?" Inuyasha bit out the words, his pride unable to fathom that after all the hell he had just been through; Kouga would not just give him what he needed. "You're fucking rich."

"Meticcio." Kouga spoke patiently, his blue eyes seeming to tense, an expression that everyone in the room caught except the still seething Inuyasha.

"Don't you dare call me that again." Inuyasha spoke with such venom in his voice that Kagome felt the urge to hold onto his hands just a little tighter. The dog demon inhaled sharply from her now much tighter grip and in an effort to reassure her, squeezed back gently.

Feeling better from the touch of his hand, Kagome frowned as she tried to dissect the word meticcio. "He's been calling Inuyasha that since the conversation started," She narrowed her eyes and glanced towards Sango, watching as the woman glared at Kouga as if in agreement with Inuyasha. "It must be truly heinous." She deduced just as Kouga suddenly raised his hand above his head and snapped his fingers.

The loud snapping sound flowed throughout the room, all eyes turning towards Kouga as he looked towards one of his guards expectantly, not seeming to care about Inuyasha's words. "Ginta." He motioned to the one with the silver black hair that was very similar to Aengus' own. "Vino." He commanded with a wave of his hand.

The man bowed in return and moved towards a small counter in the back of the room on which a decanter rested of red wine. Moving quickly but carefully, the smaller demon assembled a glass from seemingly out of nowhere and poured a rather generous portion of the red wine into it. Hastily, he turned back around making his way towards his leader with the wine in hand. "Mi dispiace sia voluto tanto tempo," The man quietly apologized for the amount of time the wine had taken to poor. "Sarvano."

Taking the glass from the other demon, Kouga didn't say a word in regards to the wine's preparation time but instead looked into the glass thoughtfully. He stared at the dark red color for several seconds, his blue eyes studying it intently before he finally raised it to take a small sip. The wolf demon closed his eyes from the flavor, letting it sit in his mouth before swallowing it slowly. Opening his eyes once more, he looked towards Inuyasha, the seriousness of his expression catching the dog demon off guard.

"De world's changing meticcio." He spoke slowly and carefully, the insult hanging in the air but easily ignored when matched with Kouga's mellow voice. "De rebels in de America's are changing 'ow peasants tink." He worded carefully, his eyes moving back towards the wine, watching as it swished in the glass.

Inuyasha didn't say anything for a few seconds before he shifted in his spot, uncrossing his arms. "Have you been seeing rebellions?"

"Not recently," Kouga shrugged slightly and took another sip of the wine, seeming to savor the flavor of it once more. "De last rebel-lion we dealt wid was Corsica back in the fifties." He shrugged bluntly but something about his tight expression said that the rebellions had done more damage to the country than he was willing to let on. "But tat doesn't mat-ter, they became part of France in de Treaty of Versailles, anyway."

"Then how is the world changing?" Inuyasha posed the question his fingers loosening against Kagome's as the atmosphere of the room shifted.

"Like I said," Kouga raised the glass and drank the last of the wine in a giant gulp before handing the empty glass to Ginta. "De peasants are tinking." He glared slightly at Inuyasha as if to blame him. "I mean, hav-eh you been to France lately?"

Inuyasha knitted his eyebrows and glanced at Kagome out of the corner of his eye before turning them towards Miroku and Sango. Neither Kagome nor Sango and Miroku could honestly send him a look of understanding; all three humans were just as in the dark as he was. Confused, he turned back towards Kouga, looking at the man skeptically. "I was just there." He explained slowly watching as Ginta hurried across the room with another filled wineglass in his hand. "He never offered us any wine." He thought off handedly.

"Tings are hap-pening in France," Kouga took the newly filled wineglass into his hand, the red liquid bright against the backdrop of his tan skin. "You know dey sided wid de rebels."

"I heard." Inuyasha nodded and finally allowed himself to lean back in his chair, watching Kouga carefully.

"And dere's a famine." Kouga continued on, this information actually surprising Inuyasha as well as the others in the room.

"We didn't hear anything about that." Miroku whispered, Kouga turning to look at the boy as if just now realizing he was in the room.

"You wouldn't." Kouga informed the boy easily before turning back towards Inuyasha. "Dey aren't tel-ling anyone."

"Then how do you know?" Sango quipped but Kouga didn't even turn her way.

Instead he took a drink from his glass, licking his lips afterwards in pleasure. "I have a spy in Paris," He informed nonchalantly as brought the wine up to his nose and surprisingly smelt it. "De peasants 'ave not-ting to eat; de rich, however, are fat." The man spat the word as if it was sickening to him, which Inuyasha knew it was. For all the things Kouga said and did to him, one thing was certain: Kouga would never harm his pack or the citizens of his country. Even the most insignificant member was always guaranteed to be well fed and looked after. "But tings like dis eventually reach all places." The wolf demon smirked as he spoke before turning his head towards the Captain. "I wouldn't be surprised if rebel-lion started in de next few years."

"France is stable." Inuyasha argued but Kouga shook his head and sighed.

"Everything looks stable from de outside." The wolf demon snorted as he raised his glass and took a sip of wine. "No good sovrano would al-low his enemies to tink for even a second his country was unstable from de inside out."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to argue but soon found himself closing it. There really was no way to argue with Kouga's logic. Every good leader would never allow their enemies to perceive weakness. Doing so would be a death sentence and a risk that no one would ever take unnecessarily. "Still, how can France be that bad off?" He wondered, his mind running over everything he had seen when they had been in Bordeaux. "Maybe it's mainly in Paris." He reasoned with himself. Paris was the place where the aristocrats and socialites stayed mainly. It was a place of fine arts, university, diplomacy, and royalty, not a place for peasants. "So its natural a peasant there might—." He cut off his own thought, already disagreeing with it.

A sudden loud knocking on the door made everyone, human and demon alike, turn their heads to look at the back of the room.

Lowering his wine glass to rest on his knee, Kouga narrowed his eyebrows before calling across the room, "Si può entrare." Instantly, the door to the room opened another wolf demon walking through the doorway hastily, his eyes large as he took in the group. The wolf demon hesitated from the sight of them, worrying his hands together as he glanced at his leader for reassurance. With a firm nodd, Kouga gave the man permission to speak even though 'outsiders' were currently in the room.

"Sovrano." The man spoke the word carefully, his whole demenur tensed and terrorified. "Abbiamo un problema." The word was just close enough to English that both Kagome and Miroku understood that something was, at the very least, wrong.

"Problema?" Kouga repeated the word with narrowed eyes, motioning for the man to enter the room more fully. "Chiudere la porta." He commanded, the man obeying without a word, closing the door before entering the room fully.

With quick feet, he made his way past Sango and Miroku as well as the Captain and Kagome, his expression near panicked byt he time he reached Kouga. Knelling down in front of the man, bowing his head, the wolf demon whispered something that not even Inuyasha could hear before looking back up at is leader. "Sardegna." The man said the word slowly, the sound of it making Sango freeze where she was sitting, her whole body going ridgid. "Ha fatto una minaccia."

Kouga's body tensed just as Sango's had from the man's words, but for completely different reasons. "Qual è la minaccia?"

"Hanno detto che hanno preso il Ayame signora." The man spoke quietly looking down at the ground as if afraid Kouga was going to kill him for his knowledge.

The wolf demon lord sat quietly, his eyes wide as he looked down at the carpet of the room. His grip on the once again empty wine glass loosened and it nearly fell to the ground before he tightened his grip. "Ayame." He repeated the name softly, the sound of it breathy and full of emotion.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he watched the change overtake Kouga. He had never seen the man actually look worried or scared in his life. "Who's Ayame?" He managed to ask only to be on the receiving end of a surprisingly deadly glare.

"It is none of your concern, meticcio." Kouga spoke with such acid dripping from his voice that Inuyasha was actually surprised. Normally, Kouga teased him, mocked him, messed with him but he never actually spoke to him with a threatening voice. "I will talk-eh you later." The wolf demon said as he adruptly stood from the chair, his bright blue eyes flashing as he turned towards one of his guards, practically throwing the empty wineglass into the man's hands. "Portateli a l'ala est, dare loro una suite."

"Sovrano?" One of the men stepped forward but Kouga sent him a look that particully made him trip over himself as he tried to back away.

"Fai come ti dico." He told the man, his eyes brokering no room for argument as he glared at Ginta. Ginta nodded his head in understanding but didn't dare open his mouth as if afraid of the reprocussions. Turning back to Inuyasha, the wolf demon looked at him carefully before shaking his head. "Ginta will tak-eh you to a room." He told Inuyasha without even bothering to spare anyone else a second glance. "You may stay de night, tomorrow I will make a deci-sion on your predicament-a." Kouga finished and gave an abrupt nodd to them before turning towards the door.

Watching the man leave without so much as an explantion, Inuyasha shot out of his seat frustrated. "Don't you just walk away."

"Meticcio!" The man snapped, whipping his head back around, his eyes bright with the promise of death. "For once in your life lis-ten to de alpha."

"You're not my alpha." Inuyasha bit back his eyes filled with hate.

Kouga opened his mouth as if to say something but much to everyone's surprise stopped himself. "I don't 'ave time for dis." Kouga bit out the words and ignoring anything else Inuyasha might have done or said, turned and left the room, his other guard following him while Ginta stayed behind.

Surprised by Kouga's dismisel, Inuyasha actually took an involuntary step back as he watched the door shut behind the wolf demon's back. "Who is Ayame?" He thought to himself, knowing just from Kouga's reaction alone that she had to be someone important. Discretely, he scented the air trying to find any scent that might have been out of place. Instantly, a trace of something delicate hit his nose, a smell almost resembling Sakura. "No way—."

Clearing his throat, Ginta walked around the sofa so that he was standing in front of Inuyasha. Bowing his head slightly but not without prejudice forming on his face, the man motioned towards the door. "I tak-eh you room." The man stuttered his English very much broken but not so much that he couldn't be easily understood.

Turning to look at the man his thoughts momentarily forgotten, Inuyasha clicked his tongue once before raising a hand to rub at the back of his head. "Ginta or Hakkaku?" He asked almost absently as he reached for Kagome, offering the girl his hand. Kagome took it slowly, her mind still spinning as he too tried to figure out what had just happened with Kouga (and since she didn't understand Italian, it was that much harder for her).

"Ginta." The man supplied as he headed towards the door standing beside it as he waited for them to be ready to leave the room.

Still sitting on the sofa, stark still, Sango stared at the wooden floor, all the color having drained from her face. Beside her, having not noticed because of the series of strange events, Miroku finally turned towards his wife only to freeze from the sight of her. "Sango?" He whispered her name and the woman jumped, her eyes darting towards Miorku wide and almost scared.

Her lip trembled for a second before she gained her composure back and the girl forced a smile towards her husband. "Sorry, I was lost in thought." She whispered out the excuse, standing quickly and moving towards Kagome without another word.

Miroku opened his mouth to say something but stopped when Inuyasha sent him a meaningful look that spoke volumes. "Sardenga." The word echoed in his head as if the Captain had said it out loud for him to hear. Slowly, as if the whole world was weighing him down, Miroku turned to look at his wife seeing the way her body tensed as she stood next to a worried looking Kagome. "Oh no."

"Meticcio?" The impatient Ginta motioned towards Inuyasha as he opened the door. "Ready-y?"

Inuyasha looked at the man his mind staying with Sango for all of a moment before he nodded his head firmly. "Lead the way." He told him, the wolf demon nearly rolling his eyes before stepping out into the hall.

-break-

Inuyasha wandered around the room slowly, taking in the various pieces of artwork with only vaguely interested eyes. The room they were standing in was a modest parlor that had two doors on either side leading to rather large bedrooms, each with one very large bed situated within it. The Captain's golden eyes studied the parlor carefully, the dog demon not really knowing how to start the conversation at hand. Slowly, he glanced towards the still quiet Sango, his expression tightening as he took in her own drooping shoulders.

The girl looked downright defeated as she sat on the hard backed armchair silently. Her hands were in her lap, her left hand fingers absently toying with the glove on her right hand. Suddenly, she stopped moving, her hands going limp as she closed her eyes and started to breathe heavily for a moment. The demon inside of him responded to her distress with a pitiful whine that made Inuyasha tap his foot absently on the ground.

Miroku, who had been separated from his wife when she decided to sit in the chair alone instead of on the sofa, watched as well, the same distress forming on his face. "Come on Sango," He thought to himself as he watched her hands clutch at the material of her gown. "Please talk to us, let us help you." He mentally pleaded, the pain from simply having to sit and watch Sango hurt, making his stomach turn.

Unaware of the reason behind Sango's pain, Kagome simply sat and watched the girl with wide eyes and a slightly opened mouth. Her heart tightened in her chest as she watched Sango try desperately to continue breathing. Her eyes squeezed tightly shut as she attempted to block out the pain. "Sango." Kagome whispered, the sound causing Sango's eyes to suddenly snap open much to Miroku and Inuyasha's surprise.

Turning quickly towards the other girl, Sango looked directly at Kagome. "Kagome?" She whispered softly, her eyes actually filling with tears for a moment before she raised a hand up to her face and hastily wiped them away. "I'm sorry." She apologized, her voice sounding strained as if she was trying desperately to keep it from cracking. "What were we talking about?" She asked, looking up with bloodshot eyes.

Kagome opened her mouth confused while glancing over at Inuyasha who simply stared back at her equally baffled. "Um—," The younger girl tried to speak as she looked towards Sango once more. "We were—." She hesitated not sure if she should call Sango's reaction into question or not, in the end however, it wasn't her choice.

"Talking about Kouga." Miroku interrupted, shifting the conversation as far away from Sango's pain as he possibly could. "And our accommodations."

"Oh, yes." Sango nodded her head in understanding, the girl sincerely not realizing that they had in fact not been talking at all until now. "Seems nice enough."

"It does." The Captain agreed shifting awkwardly as he leaned against the window frame.

"Still," Sango cleared her throat, her voice cracking slightly. "Why are we staying here?" She crossed her arms over her chest and looked towards the Captain. Her expression appeared to be much calmer now although her body was still tense.

"Because we need the money." Inuyasha told her hesitantly, watching as Sango appeared to block out everything she had been thinking, redirecting herself to think only about one thing.

"I can't believe," The girl leaned back in the chair her arms still crossed over her chest. "We're gonna take money from that jerk." Her voice was angry as she spoke but it was hard to tell where the anger was actually coming from.

Inuyasha shrugged slightly, his posture appearing uncomfortable. He really was unsure of how to respond to Sango in her current state. "If he'll give us any, we'll take it." He told the girl, watching her carefully as her eyes narrowed and her expression turned to surprise.

"Did you not hear what he was calling you?" She asked the question even though it was for the most part rhetorical.

"Of course I heard." Inuyasha resisted the urge to snap at the girl, irritation building in him from the very reminder of being called such a name. "Since the moment I met Kouga he's called me that." He told her, watching as Kagome shifted just out of the corner of his eye, drawing his attention away from Sango and to her.

"What was he calling you?" Kagome asked softly as she tried to follow the conversation. She knew that Kouga had been using a particular name to refer to Inuyasha with but she honestly wasn't sure how to pronounce it well enough to be understood.

"Meticcio." Sango supplied the word for her, her voice tight and thick as if it was worse than any curse she had ever spoken.

"What's it mean?" Miroku inquired already having a pretty good guess.

"Half breed." Inuyasha said before Sango could actually speak, his voice low and intimidating. "And not the good kind of half-breed." He snorted to himself, bringing a hand up to rub at his face. "Like there is one."

Kagome gasped from the knowledge, the conversation she had witnessed between the Captain and Kouga now seeming wholly different in her eyes. "How could he—?"

"Because that's what demons do when they know you have human blood." Inuyasha interrupted her, his voice coming across in a low hiss as he let his thoughts on Sango go to the back of his mind temporarily. "You're an outcast, a screw up, and your parents are whores." Inuyasha bit at the words loudly, anger building in him that he could barely control. "Maybe now you understand why I kept my secret the way I did." The three humans didn't dare say anything as Inuyasha leaned against the window frame looking out over their view of the beautiful palace garden. "I hate this place."

"You stayed here once, right?" Miroku inquired as he watched his father stare out the window his shoulders tense and his eyes narrowed.

"Yeah, back in the late fourteen hundreds." Inuyasha explained his voice only slightly uneven as he watched a few demons in the garden down below play with a small ball kicking it around. "I wanted to travel and Paedar thought it'd be best I was with family. So he sent me here," The dog demon motioned absently at the room without taking his eyes off the demons playing. "Aengus stayed with me the first six months till I spoke Italian okay. After he left," Inuyasha paused and turned his eyes away from the friendly game, turning them instead towards the room. "Kouga decided to make me his personal whipping boy."

No one said a word as the story unfolded.

"He beat me when I was still too young to fight back, messed with me on a daily basis, and tried to sell me multiple times into slavery and to that painter." He grunted as he shifted to look away from the people down below fully. "Finally I was so sick of it I just—," He paused and tensed his shoulders as if he was about to shrug. "I left, I didn't tell anyone. I just got Myoga and Totosai and left this fucked up place." He sighed heavily, refusing to make eye contact with any of them as he spoke. "This place taught me to hate myself even more than I already did."

The room was quiet as Miroku, Sango and Kagome took in the Captain's words, unable to think of anything to actually say. A story such as the one they had just been told was the kind that no one ever really knew how to respond to.

Finally, after several moments, Miroku managed to look at his father and speak. "Why would Aengus want you to come back here," He asked as he looked at his father closely, watching every little move the man made as if it would be more truthful than his words. "After all that?"

"I never really told him," Inuyasha explained as he pushed himself away from the window and walked across the room. "Didn't need him worrying—being nearly sold is one thing, beatings are another." He sighed as he allowed himself to fall onto the couch next to Kagome, his body suddenly feeling very tired. "It doesn't matter anyway," He shrugged and allowed his body weight to sink into the couch comfortably. "It's all in the past." He glanced at Sango, hoping his words would have a bit more meaning than simply in regards to himself. "I'm more concerned with the present."

"You mean that woman?" Sango offered refusing to allow the conversation to turn towards herself.

"Woman?" Kagome questioned, having not realized that a woman had even come up in the conversation. "What are you talking about?"

"Kouga mentioned a woman." Inuyasha informed as he pushed himself back up on the couch and looked towards Miroku pointedly. "A woman who was in trouble, in Sardegna." The word hung in the air, the sound of it making Sango squirm ever so slightly in her chair.

Miroku noticed the movement and felt his heart reach out to her. "The man who raped you." He wanted to speak out loud but didn't dare to even try. "He was from Sardegna."

Unaware of that fact at all, Kagome frowned as she tried to recall having ever heard of such a country as Sardegna. "Where is that?"

"It's an island." Inuyasha told her, trying to keep from saying anything that would upset Sango any further. "They're pretty much Kouga's worst enemy. They constantly are either at war or negotiating to take over each other's territories." He further explained, while Sango nodded in an attempt to ignore the implications of the location.

"Kouga looked very worried," Miroku commented as he too tried to shift the conversation for Sango's sake. "When her name was mentioned."

"She must be important to him." Sango chimed in allowing the conversation to shift away from herself happily.

It was at that moment that Inuyasha suddenly remembered the scent that had permeated the air the moment before Kouga had left. "Her scent was on him."

"What do you mean?" Kagome wondered out loud as she turned towards the man with a look of confused surprise on her face.

"When a demon takes a mate," Inuyasha began to explain carefully as the three humans in the room listened with avid interest. "Their scents rub off on each other so much that they actually smell like each other." He cleared his throat slightly as he worded each sentence with as much dignity as he could. "That's why Kouga made sure to mention that Kagome didn't smell like me, it was a sure sign that she wasn't off limits."

"Do you think—?" Sango put two and two together, realizing exactly what Inuyasha had just realized as well.

"Yes." Inuyasha agreed with her, shaking his head as if he was just as amazed as Sango. "Ayame's his mate."

A slight knocking on the door interrupted their conversation from progressing any further. "Vieni dentro." Inuyasha called as his nose twitched in an attempt to smell whoever was on the other side.

Before he could ascertain who it was however, the door opened revealing another wolf demon he didn't recognize. "Sarvano," The man spoke quickly as if stepping inside the room wasn't worth his time. "Aveva fatto la cena per voi."

Inuyasha stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the man who stared at him like he was nothing more than dirt underneath his toes. "Grazie." He thanked him none the less and motioned towards his family. "Kouga had them prepare a meal." He explained absently as the wolf demon opened the door more fully motioning towards them to hurry.

"Avremo anche bagni pronte per voi dopo cena." The wolf demon spoke once more as the group stood and started for the door.

"Bagni?" Inuyasha commented confused and glanced over at Sango who merely shrugged from the word.

"What's a bagni?" Kagome asked just as Inuyasha offered her his arm.

"A bath," He explained, part of him happy for the thought of bathing and another part of him somewhat insulted. "Kouga must think we're too filty to sleep here without one." He mumbled dryly under his breath none of his human family actually able to hear him.

-break-

Later that night, after they had been treated to a rather delightful dinner without Kouga present, Kagome sat in front of a beautiful dark oak vanity. Her eyes focused on her reflection in the mirror, watching her features as they were illuminated by a flickering candle housed in a small lantern. Her face was clean from a bath they had been permitted after dinner but her skin was still strikingly dark. If she hadn't been aware of how much the woman bathing her had scrubbed her face, she wouldn't have thought she had bathed at all. Raising one hand up to her face, she touched her skin as if not believing it was her own.

"I've tanned so much." She realized as she smoothed the tops of her fingers over small freckles that graced her cheeks. "It's like I'm a whole new person." She dropped her fingers from the soft skin, her hands landing in her lap. The cotton of her nightgown was silky against her fingers, making her smile. "I haven't worn a night smock in forever." She found herself squirming from the thought as she pulled the robe that covered the night smock from view a little tighter around her body.

For her own modesties sake, not once during her time on the Shikuro had she allowed herself to sleep in anything resembling the very revealing night smock. On most days she slept in a shirt and a pair of pants, every once in a while when it was particularly cold she would sleep in her jacket as well. Sitting in front of the vanity now, the thin material hugging her frame all the way down to her feet, she felt very brazen, despite the presence of the robe. Her heart beat just a little faster in her chest and her face flushed as if it was hot but it was in fact quite cool.

"He's never seen me like this." She told herself as she looked at her reflection in the mirror, watching the curve of her bare neck as it met at least an inch of exposed collarbone. She licked her lips timidly and squirmed slightly in the chair as an uncomfortable feeling began to build in the pit of her stomach. "I've got to get this off my mind." She told herself sternly and closed her eyes against her own reflection her mind running over the day's events, using them to distract herself.

And distract they did.

Slowly Kagome opened her eyes, her mind filled with thoughts of the wolf demon Kouga. He had been completely different than she had anticipated. She had imagined him to be like the Captain, thoughtful and reserved, almost shy; but, in the end, he hadn't been anything remotely resembling shy. "He was—a true lothario." She spoke softly, the word seeming to dance around her, reminding her of the man himself. "He was brash and—devious." She frowned, the relatively neutral image of the man she had met fading as she imagined the things he had said to Inuyasha or really, one word in particular: meticcio.

The word tore into her gut, making her feel sick and angry all at once.

"What a horrible thing to say—," She held back a growl that threatened to leave her throat. "Why would anyone speak in such a way and do such things." She frowned darkly, a fleeting image of what she imagined a much younger Inuyasha might look like flashing in front of her face. She could almost see him as Kouga landed blow after blow beating him because of what he was and who he was not.

Unable to contain herself she stood quickly from the vanity, slamming her hands down hard against its hard surface. The little trinkets that stood on it, the perfumes and brushes, trembled from the action, tinkling sounds filling the air. She felt her chest heave as anger began to fill her, the urge to protect the Captain (despite him being perfectly capable of protecting himself) consuming her. She felt her face grow flushed with rage, her body seeming to grow hotter and hotter as she thought of the things Kouga had done over the course of Inuyasha's life.

"Bastard." She couldn't hold the word back if she tried. It jumped from her tongue, landing loudly in the air as Kagome ripped her hands away from the vanity and growled. "To say such things and mean them. What kind of person is like that?" She looked at herself in the mirror as if asking the question.

"Kagome."

A voice whispered in response but for once, Kagome ignored it. She didn't want to listen, she didn't want to let go of the feeling building within her. There was something almost cathartic about such a feeling and she felt it needed to be dealt with. Pulling her eyes away from her own imagine, Kagome searched for anything she might be able to hit or break; an action so unlike her that it seemed she was blinded.

"Kagome—look."

She ignored the voice, not even bothering to interpret its message, as her eyes landed on a tiny stuffed pillow resting against a fainting couch on the left hand side of the vanity. Grabbing it hastily, she squeezed it momentarily before throwing it to the floor, the little pillow bouncing as it landed. The act was harmless in a way, the pillow not even breaking opened as it landed; however, on another scale it had the potential to be damaging.

"Kagome!"

The voice screamed in her head, so loudly that she felt herself trip over backwards in an attempt to run from its unknown location. Startled, she breathed in heavily, looking around the room in an attempt to find the voice's speaker. Instead of finding a person standing within the room however, Kagome found her own reflection in the mirror once more.

"Look."

The voice whispered far gentler now and Kagome obeyed. "What am I looking at?" She wondered as she stared at the reflection, her eyes trying desperately to discern what the voice wanted her to see. It didn't give her the answer however and Kagome sighed closing her eyes for a moment. The sight on the back of her eyelids was one she had not been quite expecting. It was an after imagine of herself angry and wild eyed, looking downright violent. Quickly, her eyes snapped back opened staring at herself and seeing instantly what she was supposed to see. "My eyes are black."

"Hate only begets hate."

Her eyes opened wide as the words suddenly filled her, cooling her heart so quickly that she almost forgot why it had been so hot. She stared at her eyes, watching that blackness swirl within her. "This is—my hate." She realized, the darkness of her own irises making her feel slightly sick. Kagome's lower lip trembled, a feeling of complete disbelief turning in her gut.

"You're eyes are clouded by hate."

Kagome shook her head firmly, part of her (a very small part) not wanting to see with such eyes. She wanted to hate him, to be mad at the why he treated such a truly fragile being. Sure, Inuyasha was strong and he never seemed to care what anyone thought but, "His heritage is different." She knew this as the truth. Inuyasha may put up a tough front but it truly did hurt him every time he heard the words: half breed, mutt, meticcio.

Kagome closed her eyes, willing her own hatred away as best she could but it had already seeped inside her. Holding back a scream she squeezed her eyes tighter and brought her hands around her middle.

"Me hating him won't do anything." She told herself in a hushed whisper even as her mind yelled back at her to go find Kouga and give him a piece of her mind (or a firm slap across the face). "Hate only begets hate." She told herself, repeating the words over and over even as her mind bombarded her with images of her hand connecting with Kouga's smug face.

She shook her head to remove the images, trying desperately to find any reason to feel anything but hate for the man in question. It was at that moment that another person, one she did not know, floated into her mind: Ayame. She blinked, the image of a faceless woman she had never seen moving to the forefront of her mind. Slowly, the image consumed the ones of Kouga, taking up all her thoughts as she tried to imagine what the girl looked like. Her first thought was that she must be beautiful, after all, she was the queen of this place, wasn't she?

"Kouga seems like the kind of man who would only choose a beautiful queen." She resisted the urge to frown darkly and instead focused her energy on the woman in question. "She's probably dainty—easily controlled." She shook her head, pity forming in her heart for the woman. "That would explain why Kouga felt so comfortable—talking with me." Kagome thought, a little shiver running down her spin as she remembered the way Kouga had smiled at her and touched her hands. Her face grew hot and her body tingled just a little in both a pleasant and unpleasant way. Growling to herself she shook her head fiercely. "What kind of married man does that?" She yelled in her head, her opinion of Kouga falling lower before her memories of her own encounters with a married man caused her to blush. "Well, he wasn't actually married."

Kagome inhaled sharply from the memory and brought her hands up to rub against her suddenly sweaty forehead. Her thoughts on Kouga's wife were not exactly helpful. In fact, they were only serving to make her angrier at the king. Releasing a shaky sigh, Kagome looked down at the wood flooring for distraction but found no solace in the planks.

"What's wrong with me?" She wondered suddenly as she stared at the floor. "I've always thought differently, seen differently—even Sango said, she envies how I see," She traced a pattern in the floor created by swirling wood grains with just her eyes. "So why can't I see—now?" Kagome raised her eyes to look back at her reflection in the mirror, the answer already welling in her heart. "Inuyasha." His name was gentle on her lips and soothing to her soul.

And it was with the sound of his name floating from her lips that a connection formed in her mind, so quickly, it nearly didn't make sense. First, she saw Inuyasha, his face pained as he stared at her, looking into her eyes as if he was afraid he might never see her again. She remembered that look vividly and the kiss that followed even more so. He had been so worried about her, fearing for her life that first time she had used her bow so many months before, that he had not been able to resist just one kiss. Looking back on it now, she understood the idea perfectly. He must have just needed to confirm that she was safe, that she was alive.

Second, she saw the look on Kouga's face after he had been told about Ayame: the worry and the love and the other things she didn't understand. She saw him as he looked towards his guards such agonizing pain creasing his brow that he actually had looked older. She could only imagine the thoughts that must have ran through his head in that moment.

"He must be so worried." She whispered to herself, her heart once again feeling the pain of another and sympathizing with it. Sure, Kouga had done many bad things to Inuyasha over his lifetime, but that didn't mean Kouga deserved to feel the pain of losing someone he loved. And even more so, that didn't mean Ayame deserved to be ignored. "That dear woman." Kagome bit her lip as she thought of how scared Ayame must be at that very moment, waiting for her husband to come save her but not knowing if he would ever come. "I was so blinded," She whispered as she imagined the pain both Ayame and Kouga must be feeling. "That I couldn't even think of her pain."

"Look."

Kagome blinked from the sound of the voice intruding once again but without question turned her head back to the mirror. Instantly, she was greeted by the sight of bright grey. "I'm me again." She smiled at the mirror as her body suddenly grew tired. "I'm exhausted." She moaned and slowly sank back down to sit on the stool in front of the vanity, her back to her own reflection. Stifling a yawn with one hand she reached for the rob that covered her body, preparing to remove it before she went to lie down.

The sound of the doorknob suddenly turning however stilled her movements instantly. Paranoid grey eyes snapped upwards just in time to see the Captain's face as he entered the room. He had a clean shirt on and a pair of pants that was hanging loosely around his waist, looking as if it might slip off his hips at any moment. His long hair was obviously damp even though it was once more tied at the base of his neck where a thin towel rested to catch the water from the still dripping ends of his forelocks.

The sight made Kagome's eyes wander in appreciation, her body heating up and her hands stilling. The robe that had been so carefully wrapped around her body for modesty was nearly forgotten as she watched him stretch one hand above his head, making his shirt ride up to reveal a very trim and firm abdomen. "Wow." She tilted her head slightly sideways, her hands falling slightly, their movement jarring her back awake. "Get yourself together, Kagome." She cried internally as she grabbed for the edges of her rub throwing them back together tightly in front of her once more.

"That felt good." The man said unaware of her thoughts as he closed the door behind him. "I haven't had a proper bath in months." He commented as he moved to rub the towel against his face absently.

Kagome held the front of the robe closed carefully as she watched him, "Mine was nice as well." She told him unable to think of anything else to say.

"Good." He smiled at her, not even really noticing the way her hands clutched at the robe as he took a seat on the edge of the bed, pulling the towel from his neck to rub across the ends of his hair. "Well, at the very least," His voice came across as dry even though it was muffled by the towel. "I got a bath out of that bastard."

Kagome frowned ever so slightly at Inuyasha's words and shifted uncomfortably on the stool. Even though she agreed that Kouga wasn't exactly the best man in the world, she did feel sorry for him now and even more so, for Ayame. Wherever the woman was, she was bound to be in trouble, not just because of who she married but because of what was happening to her. "She could be anywhere, with any kind of man." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest as her own thoughts gnawed at her stomach. "The poor thing."

Not paying attention to Kagome's distracted appearance, Inuyasha stretched his back. "Are you okay with the arrangements?" He asked as he continued to run the towel over his hair trying to dry it as much as possible. Normally one didn't bathe at night but Kouga had made an exception for Inuyasha and his family. "Probably worried we had fleas." Inuyasha grumbled internally as he allowed the cloth to absorb the moisture in his hair.

Blinking from surprise, Kagome stifled a slight nervous chuckle and shifted on the stool. "Sorry, I didn't hear you."

Inuyasha pulled the towel from his head and eyed Kagome critically for several seconds before he repeated himself. "I was just making sure you're okay," He motioned to the bed he was sitting on absently. "With the arrangements."

"Oh!" Kagome jumped from his words and with a blush brought her hands back up to wrap around her middle as if to hide herself. "I'm fine." She spoke honestly, even though her voice was a little timid. Ever since the one time they had shared a bed at The Three Scalawags, she had found herself a bit more comfortable with him in such capacities. After all, he had proved to her that he would in fact never do anything she didn't want him to. "But still—I have to take the robe off to sleep and without it I'll only be wearing the smock." She bit her lip and drew her arms more firmly around herself, wishing the night smock was made of just a little thicker material.

The dog demon raised an eyebrow from the look and sniffed the air slightly to detect the potential of a lie. Finding none, he relaxed just slightly, throwing the towel towards a chair that rested across from the bed. "Good," He told her not really able to think of anything else to say as he stood from the bed, walking around it towards the right hand side. "I guess, I'll lay down," He motioned to the already turned down covers. "If that's okay?"

"Of course." Kagome managed to speak clearly as she motioned towards the bed with a strange strained smile on her face. "I was just—well—," She couldn't stop the stutter this time as she stood from the vanity with somewhat shaking legs. "I was—about to do that—too." She flinched from the way her voice sounded and stumbled slightly backwards, nearly knocking the stool over in the process.

Inuyasha started to move towards her to help her but she quickly brought a hand up to halt his progress. "Um—," He tried to speak, continuing to walk towards her but she waved her hand adamantly.

"I'm fine." She spoke truthfully even though Inuyasha really didn't believe her. "Let me—just," She looked at anything but him, trying to find an excuse that would turn the conversation back to safer topics. Her eyes luckily for her, landed on the candle within moments, a lifeline she cling to. "The candle." She reached for it, grabbing the beautiful brass base and raising it up towards her face as it flickered relentlessly. "I was going to bring it to the bedside table."

Inuyasha eyed her critically but nodded his head in confirmation despite his own worries. "Okay." He mumbled slowly as he sat down on the edge of the bed and reached down to take off his boots.

Relieved that he was no longer looking at her, Kagome inhaled deeply and started towards her side of the bed. The candle shook as she took each calculated step, causing the light to flicker against the walls making strange patterns that didn't go unnoticed by Inuyasha.

Lifting his head up as he removed his last boot, the dog demon watched as Kagome brought the candle to the table, her hands shaking so badly that the flame was nearly extinguished. "Are you sure," He hesitated for only a moment, unsure if he should even bring the topic up again. "You're okay—I mean, I can go sleep on the couch in the parlor."

Kagome nearly dropped the candle from the recommendation; fortunately, it was so close to the table already that it simply was sat down. "No!" She protested quickly, turning her eyes towards the man as he looked at her from over his shoulders. "There's no way that would be comfortable for you." Inuyasha opened his mouth to negate her words but stopped when she quickly shook her head, giving him a look that brokered no arguments. "It's not like we haven't shared a bed before." She told him bluntly as she sat down on the edge of the bed, her slight hesitation just barely noticeable.

"True." He nodded watching her carefully as she reached for the rob that rested around her shoulders. Quickly, she slipped it from her shoulders allowing it to pull at her waist for several seconds. Inhaling deeply from the sight, Inuyasha licked his lips in appreciation as the thin cotton of the night smock was revealed to his eyes.

He wasn't able to appreciate the appearance for long however, before Kagome slid onto the bed, pulling the covers up quickly around her so that she was successfully hidden. He thought to tell her that the gesture was pointless and that he had already gotten a pretty good idea as to what she looked liked in the nightgown, but survival instincts prevented him from speaking.

"Go ahead and blow the candle out." He told her quietly as he too slid into the bed, the feel of the soft silk on his bare feet making him instantly sigh.

"Okay." Kagome whispered into the dark. Holding the covers in front of her chest expertly, she turned on her side and with one gentle puff blew the candle out. Instantly, the room was covered in darkness, the candle no longer illuminating he two people within it. Something about the dark made Kagome feel more relaxed. Perhaps it was because she couldn't see her bedmate or perhaps it was because he couldn't see her. Whatever the reason, Kagome leaned more at ease into her pillow, allowing herself to sink down into the sheets contentedly. "Inuyasha?" She whispered as the feeling of comfort made her bolder.

"Yeah?" He mumbled back as he too tried to relax within the confines of the soothing sheets.

"Um." She shifted unsure of what to say, the fabric making a sweet swishing sound against her skin. "Do you," She tried to think of anything she might ask, realizing only now that she had said his name simply to say his name. "Really think Ayame's Kouga's wife?" She asked unable to think of anything else she might ask, despite the fact she already knew Ayame was truly Kouga's wife.

"Yeah," Inuyasha told her as he looked up at the fancy canopy above their heads. "I hate sleeping under canopies." He thought to himself as he shifted as well, laying on his side facing her instead of the ceiling. "I always feel like they're gonna fall on me." Shaking his head, he looked away from the tall bed post to stare at Kagome in the dark instead. "My nose doesn't lie." He told her, his demonic vision easily able to adjust to the dark in order to see her clearly.

"I suppose it can't." Kagome whispered into the dark as her human eyes saw nothing but blackness. "I—well, I feel kind of sorry for him."

Inuyasha pushed himself up onto his side at her words, completely unprepared to hear Kagome voice any sympathy for the man. "What?"

"Well, I was thinking earlier that," Kagome said as she snuggled down deeper into the sheets, the softness of the mattress already making her feel drowsy. "It must be horrible to know the one you love's in trouble and not be able to do anything about it."

Inuyasha snorted from her words and rolled his eyes. "I really could care less." He told her bluntly as he lowered himself back down onto the bed. "Jerks like him get what they deserve."

Kagome flinched from his words, a part of her wanting to do nothing more than agree with him but she knew, in the end, she couldn't. To see with eyes unclouded by hate, she had to force herself to see everyone completely devoid of biases. "He might not be the nicest person in the world but—," She paused as if trying to figure out what she was trying to say exactly. "We can't just ignore his pain."

"He always ignored mine." Inuyasha growled slightly as he flipped himself onto his back and crossed his arms over his chest, he couldn't even believe what she was saying.

"That maybe true." Kagome acknowledged, wincing slightly as she realized what her words must sound like. She was just as angry about the things Kouga had done and felt horrible that they had happened to a man she cared so much about; however, she could also feel Kouga's pain. Kagome emphasized with him on many levels and she knew that by ignoring that she would only be bringing more hate into the world; and that was something Kagome had promised never to do. "But," She turned over in the dark even though she really couldn't see him. "By ignoring his pain aren't we no better than him?"

Inuyasha was silent as he took in her words, his nose scrunching up and his forehead crinkling. "Who cares?"

"Inuyasha." Kagome chastised and sat up in the bed, turning to look at him in the dark. She could just barely make out the outline of his figure as he rested on his back. Even though it was nearing a full moon outside, the curtains were drawn far too tightly to allow any light inside. "Think of how he feels." She pressed as she watched his outline shift in the bed appearing almost hostile.

"Just go to sleep." Inuyasha groaned as he turned completely away from her, not able to listen to her for even one more second.

At a lost, Kagome raised her head up to stare at the canopy above them. In the darkness she couldn't actually see it, but she could imagine what it looked like, big and blue. "Maybe I should just let this go." She told herself but the image of Ayame, or what she imagined her to be, popped back into her mind before she could. "There's no way Inuyasha would do this for Kouga." She told herself, pulling her eyes back towards Inuyasha. "But I know he would do it for an innocent." Before she even realized what she was saying, she lowered her head, looked directly at his back, and whispered into the dark. "What about Ayame?"

Inuyasha sat bolt upright in bed, his eyes snapping towards her. "What—you mean Kouga's mate?"

"Yes." She nodded, knowing that by now he could probably see her in the dark. Absently, her hands pulled the sheets a bit tighter around her from the thought.

The dog demon groaned from the confirmation, a part of him that had already been wondering about the girl beginning to pester him. "Who cares?" Inuyasha growled low in his throat, refusing to let the nagging bit of his conscious voice any opinion on the subject. "She's Kouga's problem and that's that."

"So, you're just going to ignore her?" She bit back; her eyes now adjusted to the lack of light just enough to make out the surprised features of his face.

"Yes." He confirmed and grabbed for the pillow behind his head, shoving it in front of his face.

"But we might be able to help save her." Kagome pressed further as she watched Inuyasha push the pillow more firmly over his head. "If we can help Kouga then it's our respon—."

Inuyasha snarled and ripped the pillow from his face throwing it down on the foot of the bed. "I don't owe Kouga anything." He told Kagome firmly, his voice coming across as harsh and pained. "Everything he's ever done to me, after all that shit, he deserves to feel a bit of pain in his life."

Kagome winced at his words, her own feelings running throughout her mind, making her feel a bit dirty. There was something about them and their potential that made her realize exactly how bigoted she had been. Yes, Kouga was a horrible person (at least when it came to his treatment of Inuyasha) but Ayame had done nothing of the sort. She was an innocent woman in all of this and Inuyasha, deep down, had to know that. After all, in all their time together he had shown her time and time again that he would help anyone who needed it regardless of their story.

"You know, right now," She searched for the words, not sure what they were but knowing they were important. "You really don't sound like yourself."

"What?" The dog demon's jaw dropped in complete confusion.

"To wish hurt on an innocent person." Kagome frowned darkly and subconsciously moved away from him as she spoke. "That's not you."

"Kagome?" He whispered, unsure where she was going but knowing her words were spoken from the heart.

"Hate begets hate," She whispered into the dark, not seeing the way Inuyasha was looking in disbelief. "You know that better than anyone." She shook her head sadly as if actually disappointed in him; it was a sight that made Inuyasha's heart stop in his chest. "You know that it's always the innocent people who are affected by hate." She continued on, not even the least but aware of the impact of her words. "Shippo, Shori, Jinenji and his mother, Sango, Miroku, and even yourself—you were all innocents caught up in a world filled with unjust hate. And now—," She looked directly at him, hoping her eyes burned in the dark room. "So is Ayame."

"Huh?"

"Your hate for Kouga," She looked at him accusingly, feeling the accusation doubling back on herself. "Begot hate for Ayame." She waited for only a moment, allowing her words to sink in before she spoke once more. "And now, you won't help her, an innocent woman."

Inuyasha shook his head slowly in the dark, trying to process how this conversation had even started. "Kagome, I don't even know her."

"So?" Kagome fought back, as her conviction grew even stronger. "You didn't know Miroku once or Sango or Shippo and you certainly didn't know Jinenji or Onaconah, but you still helped them without question."

"That was different."

"How?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to tell her but found himself unable to form even an illogical argument.

"Your hate for him," Kagome continued on, encouraged by his silence. "Created more hate for an innocent woman who doesn't deserve it." Her voice was calm as she reasoned with him, her eyes just able to see his face in the dark. He looked almost thoughtful now, if not a bit brooding though. "You're punishing her without even realizing it."

"Kouga can take care of her." Inuyasha made one last attempt at arguing with Kagome. "He'll rescue her, it doesn't concern us."

"If everyone in the world thought like that," Kagome stared right at him, wanting him to feel the full power of her words. "Then, there would be no heroes, only victims."

Inuyasha sighed heavily from her words and finally allowed his conscious to speak up. "She's right." Was all it said and he growled, hating to agree with both her and it. "I hate it when you make sense." Kagome smiled at him brightly as he groaned and pushed himself upwards on the bed. "I don't want to help that jerk but," He told her as she finally allowed her hands to drop the blanket unconsciously. "If it's for her, then I'm not technically helping him, right?"

"Whatever helps." Kagome grinned at him and before she could stop herself, leaned forward and pressed a sweet kiss to his cheek.

Inuyasha's eyes went wide from the contact, a slight smile forming on his face as her gentle lips settled against his skin. Instinctively, he inhaled, taking in her sweet scent as it engulfed him. The warm comforting smell of salt and Irish lilies instantly filled him, his heart pounding against his rib cage as he took it in. And underneath those familiar scents, he could just smell something else far more intoxicating and deadly. The scent of honey fresh from a bee hive made the demon within him nearly howl as it was awakened. Before it could fully savor that new scent however, she pulled away from him, leaving his cheek cold and empty. Luckily, she didn't move far.

Still only a few breathy inches away from him, Kagome inhaled him as well, enjoying the smell of his clean body. There was something about that scent that made her nostalgic for something she had never known. Feeling bold, she leaned back towards him, allowing her head to rest against his shoulder for just a second. "You're a good man." She thought, the smell of sandalwood making her mind somehow return to the first ever day she had seen him as a pirate. "Do you remember—my first day on the ship?"

Inuyasha involuntarily winced from the memory, even the feel of her now resting against his arm, not blocking out that day's implications. "Yes." He spoke the word slowly, not exactly sure where her thoughts were headed.

"Back then," Kagome's voice was whimsical in the darkness as she closed her eyes and leaned even farther into him. "You told me: I'm a better man than that—than others." She attempted to paraphrase, his original words actually not making sense in her current sentence. "I wasn't so sure about that then," She continued on, one of her hands reaching up to rest on the bend on his elbow as she snuggled into his side. "But I am now."

"Really?" He asked her as he turned his head sideways, burying his nose into her hair.

Kagome inhaled sharply from the contact of his nose against her ear, her heart beating just a little faster in her chest. "Of course," She spoke softly as she felt him nuzzle her, one of his hands touching her arm, rubbing the fabric of the long night smock slowly. "You've proven it to me many times."

"Have I?" His voice was taunting in the dark as he moved his face away from her ear.

"Every day." She replied, the sound nearly none existence in the room as she looked into his eyes. They were molten gold, deep and smoldering, and they were looking directly at her. She felt vulnerable under that intense gaze, those gold eyes seeming to stare into her very soul becoming darker and darker the longer they looked inside her. "Inu—." His name barely had time to register on her lips before Inuyasha reached out and touched her cheek with his free hand affectively silencing her.

His fingers were both rough and gentle as he rubbed them against her cheek, his other hand soothing her arm through the night gown. He didn't say a word as his thumb moved slowly over her cheek, caressing her lovingly. His lips parted after a few precious moments and she thought he might speak but in the end no words left his mouth. Instead, he leaned forward his eyes closing as he neared her.

Unable to stop herself, her eyes closed as well waiting with an almost painful desperation for what was about to come. Using her cheek as his guide, he continued forward, his breath hot on Kagome's cheeks and lips the closer he came to finally connecting with her. And then, in a rush of heat and pounding hearts, he pressed his lips against her own soundlessly in the cool dark room. Kagome instantly brought her arms up to grab his shoulders, holding onto him as his lips started to caress her. They were hot and dry, yet so tender that Kagome found herself responding to them instantly unable to resist their feel.

His hand holding onto her cheek slowly dropped down until it landed on her shoulder. Inhaling sharply, he massaged her skin through the clothe of her night clothes, the fabric like an aphrodisiac to his already heightened demonic senses. Kagome opened her mouth in surprise from the change in contact, leaving Inuyasha unknown permission that he could not resist. Tightening his grip on her shoulder, he pulled her forward and allowed his tongue to enter her mouth. "So sweet." He moaned as he tasted her for the first time in nearly two weeks.

She was sweet from the wine they had drunk at dinner and hot because she wasn't used to drinking Italian wine. He relished both sensations as he used the hand that had been stroking her arm to turn himself on the bed so he was facing her more fully. "Kagome." He mumbled as he pulled away from her momentarily, the girl letting out an airy sigh in response. Instantly, he felt his arousal tighten, the demon within him unable to deny the sexy quality of her sigh.

"Mate."

The demon inside of him moaned and he found he could do nothing to deny it. Licking his lips, he leaned down once more, his hands gripping her tighter; wanting to make sure she would not pull away from him.

Kagome felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest when Inuyasha leaned down and captured her lips once more. This time, his lips were hot and moist, a whole new sensation meeting her as he kissed her. In only a matter of seconds, his hot wet tongue left his mouth, running over her lower lip, begging her to open to him once more. Unable to resist the suggestion, Kagome opened her mouth now knowing the delights he had to offer her. The feel of someone else touching her teeth, massaging the inside of her gums and cheeks, made Kagome's stomach knot in the most pleasant of ways. Desperately, her hands searched for something to cling to as the knot began to move from her stomach to some place lower.

Grabbing blindly, her fingers touched his forelocks, the strands soft and damp but oddly silky as she grazed them. The sound of his moan made her seek to touch them even farther, her fingers winding their way through the slightly tangled tresses until she found herself touching the skin of his neck. He whimpered in response, his tongue pressing into her mouth more forcefully, pushing against her own. Instantly, the knot jumped between her legs completely, and (to date) she experienced the singlehandedly most pleasurable feeling she had ever had. Pulling away from him, face hot and flushed, she panted barely understanding the building sensation.

Inuyasha inhaled sharply as his eyes snapped opened to look at her. All at once, her scent assaulted his nose. The demon in him recognized the scent instantly, delighting in the dangerous quality of pure strong honey as it wafted into his nose once more. "Mate." It seemed to beg but the human in Inuyasha could only think of the implications of such a scent. "Damn it." He thought subconsciously as his mind told him exactly what that scent meant for both him and her. "There's no way we can finish this." He resisted the urge to growl as he looked at her, watching as her plump lips parted as she panted. "There's no way I can resist her." A wicked voice in the back of his mind told him and he listened.

Hands dropping from her shoulders, he allowed them to travel down her body. Carefully, he let his nails brush against her partially exposed collar bone, the moan the action caused making him nearly snarl in appreciation. Licking his lips, he let his hands travel a little farther down, running against the front of her night smock where two perky breasts greeted his palms. She arched into his touch instantly, the dog demon barely believing that the timid and shy Kagome would allow herself to succumb to such a sensation.

"You can't do this." A voice of logic reasoned with the dog demon but he pushed the thought aside as he gently messaged one of Kagome's breast through the material of the cotton. The girl moaned in response, her eyes fluttering opened for just a second as if trying to wake from a dream. He stilled in response, waiting for the inevitable, but it never came. For that one moment, the entirety of the universe seemed to give him the preverbal go ahead. And Inuyasha, forever a wise man, took it. Slowly and with all the control he could muster, he lowered her down against the bed, his hand disengaging from her breast to guide her. The girl went willingly, her fingers gripping desperately around his neck for support as she arched against him.

Beneath him, Kagome felt as if she was drowning, her mind clouded by the sensation of his fingers on her body. She barely registered her back landing on the soft mattress or his hands as they moved from her back, to her front once more. She did notice the instant his fingers found her breast again and the way his claws nicked ever so slightly into the material of her clothes. She noticed the moment he lowered his face towards her own, his hot breath delicious against her skin in the seconds before he kissed her. She especially noticed the feel of his palms as they firmly massaged the flesh of her breast, kneading them in such a tantalizing way that her body actually started to ache.

She felt as if there was something pulling within her, something that needed desperately to be released but she wasn't sure how to accomplish such a feat. All she knew was that with his every move, Inuyasha was making the sensation build in the most agreeable of ways. "Please." She whispered into the dark, hoping he understood what she was asking.

He growled low in his throat in response, his mind growing just as foggy as her own as he heard her pleading words. Pulling his hand away from her breast, he moved it down lower, brushing his fingers over her stomach. The girl squirmed in response, her breath coming out in short pants that told him to continue on. Still, somewhere in the back of his mind, something told him this was not a good idea and he knew exactly why but simply didn't care.

Kagome gasped as his hand touched her hip, pulling at the edge of her night smock, pushing it upwards. Her eyes opened wide as his fingers grazed the flesh of her upper thigh, the knot becoming almost painful as she squeezed her thighs together even tighter. "He's—," Her mind tried to think but her thoughts died in her head when his fingers began to massage the spot just above her knee. "Oh—." Her eyes practically rolled back in her head as his fingers began to travel even higher, working magic against her skin.

"So soft." He thought, rubbing his hands slowly against her skin, the demon within him delighting in every second of the caress. Dipping his head down, he kissed her bare throat softly, his nose seeking out the mark he had left nearly nine months before. "Mate." His demon whispered darkly, wanting nothing more than to finish what it was prepared to do this very instant. The scent of honey filled his nose and his instincts flared, telling him to complete what he had started, to make Kagome his own in the most intimate and permanent of ways.

"Heat."

The demon growled, snarled, and moaned all at once in his head, the sound so loud that Inuyasha finally snapped back into reality. "Heat." He said out loud and pulled away from her quickly, his breath catching in his throat.

Laying on the bed, hypnotized by his touch, Kagome barely registered the fact that Inuyasha had pulled away. Truthfully, the only reason she noticed was because her skin suddenly went uncomfortably cool. Eyes fluttering opened, she found herself looking up at the dog demon in question, his own eyes appearing wide and panicked. "Inuyasha?" She questioned timidly, her own youth and innocence making her think she had done something wrong.

"You're in heat." He told her without taking his eyes off her, a look crossing his face that made Kagome's whole body burn once more. In that moment, he looked as if he wanted to devour her and it was taking every bit of will in his body not to.

Blinking in an attempt to clear her mind enough to realize what he had said as he gave her such a look, Kagome swallowed. "What?" She asked, her mind racing as it tried to figure out what he had said.

"Heat." Inuyasha repeated breathlessly as he pushed himself back even farther, his hands coming up to rub at his face. For a moment he thought slapping himself might be an optimal solution but decided against it for fear of scaring her. "You're—if we, um—you know, you'd—." His voice trailed off as he took in the sight of Kagome fully comprehending what he meant.

Her eyes went wide as she processed his words completely, knowing now exactly what they meant. "I—." She stared at him, feeling embarrassed and humiliated and hot all at once, her face growing so hot from it all that she thought she might faint.

"I'm sorry." Inuyasha whispered as he pushed himself off her and stood from the bed not knowing what else to do. "I should have noticed sooner."

"No—I—it's," She pushed herself up and pushed her back against the headboard, drawing her feet into her chest as if for protection. "It's fine."

"Good, we should, I, well, I guess I—." He tried to speak but his mind felt as if someone had kicked him in the head. "I should go." He whispered as he pulled away from her, his ability to speak her nearly completely destroyed. "I—I'll go talk to Kouga now," He looked at her and nearly slapped himself across the face. She looked so small, frightened, and awkward, her face red now with embarrassment instead of pleasure, and he felt like an ass. "Kagome." He swallowed his pride, trying to speak as calmly as possible to make her feel more comfortable.

"Yes." She lifted her eyes towards him appearing almost fearful.

"Don't be—upset." He worded as delicately as possible, reaching a hand up to rub at the back of his neck. "There's no reason to be."

She nodded but didn't look convinced at all.

"Kagome," He whispered quietly into the room, wanting desperately for her to look at him with confidence once more. "Look at me."

She raised her head and looked at him, her grey eyes still slightly hazy with passion but mainly nerves.

He opened his mouth to try to say something reassuring but found no words to be forth coming. "What do I say?" He asked himself as possible words ran throughout his head none of them seeming good enough to actually be spoken out loud. One thought though, made perfect sense, it would be comforting and sweet and make her smile at him once again; but, it was a dangerous thought and once spoken it couldn't be taken back. "Kagome," He said her name softly, the sound a breath of air in the quiet. "I care about you." He spoke carefully, trying to say the words he was really thinking without actually saying the words he was really thinking. "More than anything."

She looked down away from him, her eyes fluttering as she grabbed for the sheets, pulling them around her.

Not wanting her to shut herself off from him, Inuyasha reached forward and grabbed her chin boldly. Kagome gasped from the contact her eyes snapping up to look at him with surprise in her grey eyes. "I want to be with you—." He paused as the implications of what he was about to say tore into his heart. He wanted to tell her: the rest of his life but he knew that was impossible. "Always." He settled on, ignoring the slight pain in his chest in favor of taking delight in her smile. "You know that, right?"

"Yes." She nodded slowly as she barely managed to voice the word.

"We're gonna have forever to," He inhaled deeply, feeling like a moron as he spoke yet knowing it was helping from the look of trust that formed in Kagome's eyes. "Do—all kinds of things." He lowered his hand from her chin as she looked at him more openly. "So—for tonight lets—a—um."

She smiled at him, her embarrassment fading as she watched him stutter, unable to form a truly competent thought. "I," She interrupted while closing her eyes, forcing herself to calm down and stop behaving like a frighten doe. "I know." She nodded and opened her eyes to look at him. "Don't worry, I understand."

He smiled at her words and raised a hand up to rub across his face. "Thank you." He told her, truly thanking her from the bottom of his heart. "Um, I really should go—talk to Kouga." His words were truthful and she could honestly tell.

"Alright," She shifted with just a slight awkwardness. "You'll be back right?"

"Of course." He smiled at her, all the love he had for her in his heart shining in his slightly pained eyes. "But maybe not before you actually fall asleep."

"I'm not sure if I can sleep—." She blushed, not believing what she had actually just said.

Inuyasha felt the demon in him whine and plead, wanting nothing better than to jump back into her bed once more. He resisted the urge however, and instead dipped his head down to give her one last gentle kiss. She accepted it much to his surprise and even kissed him back albeit in a shaky sort of way. Pulling himself away from her for fear of the kiss becoming dangerous once more, he sent her one final smile. "Goodnight." He whispered and reached out to touch her cheek with one clawed finger.

Kagome smiled from the touch, her heart skipping a beat in her chest. "Goodnight." Her voice was throaty as she spoke and almost scared but he managed to ignore the sound for now.

Pulling completely away, Inuyasha turned and forced himself to leave the room, knowing he needed to go and calm down completely. "Seeing Kouga's probably not a bad idea in that regard." He told himself as he grabbed for the door and hurried outside.

Watching him depart, her body still a tingly mess of sensations she had never before experienced, Kagome sighed somewhat relieved. "How did that even happen?" She wondered out loud as she brought a hand up to her head, rubbing the bridge of her nose. Her hands were shaky as they tried to calm her down, the feeling between her legs still very much present. "I hope it happens again." She told herself before she could even think about what she had said.

Growing bright red from her own words, the girl shook herself hopelessly in an attempt to ward off her thoughts. But, regardless of what she did, her thoughts seemed to be here to stay.

Inhaling deeply the girl fell back on the bed, her eyes looking up at the canopy, wishing it might fall on her to relieve her of her pleasure pain. "I'm really not going to be able to sleep tonight." She thought, not knowing how true her words actually were.

-break-

Without bothering to knock, Inuyasha opened the door to the very parlor they had first encountered Kouga earlier, his nose telling him the man was bound to be in the room. His scent was far too strong within for him not to be. Sure enough, sitting there, illuminated by the single candle was Kouga, his blue eyes no longer icy but instead drunk with both worry and wine. In his clawed hands was not a wind glass but a whole bottle, nearly empty.

The stench of alcohol stung Inuyasha's nose making the demon nearly cough before he could say anything to the drunkard. "Hello Kouga," He greeted slowly closing the door behind him as he took in the man's blank stare. "Having a bit of a night cap, are you?"

The wolf demon shifted his gaze towards Inuyasha sluggishly, his eyes narrowing when he finally saw him. For a moment, he simply stared at the demon, watching him with scrutinizing eyes before he inhaled sharply. His face scrunched up after a moment and he rolled his eyes, bringing the wine glass back to his mouth. "Well don't-eh you smell disgus-ting?" The wolf demon snorted and laughed suddenly as if heavily amused by his own words.

"Better than you." Inuyasha countered quickly as he crossed the room, his own gold eyes looking at the man with hate and, oddly, for the first time in his life pity. "How long have you been sitting here drinking?"

Kouga ignored his words and tilted back the wine bottle bringing it to his lips. He chugged for a moment before dropping the bottle back with a satisfied sigh. "Da Bella scents all over you." He commented as he licked his lips, which were red from the wine. "I guess-eh you couldn't stand de tought of me taking her."

"Like you could." Inuyasha growled slightly in his throat, his instincts telling him to defend his fertile mate against any male who dared to touch her.

"And why," Kouga leaned back in the chair, looking at Inuyasha with hazy eyes. "Couldn't I?"

Inuyasha opened his mouth to threaten the man, years of abuse making him want revenge from the very bottom of his soul. However, somewhere in the back of his mind, he saw Kagome's face and he heard Kagome's words: hate only begets hate. Closing his mouth, the dog demon felt the demon within him snarl, angered by his lack of action. And the truth was, he wanted so badly to start a fight and beat the shit out of the drunk man in front of him but, her image wouldn't let him. "Damn it." He cursed watching as Kouga's ears twitched on the side of his head.

"Speak-eh up." The demon growled and took another swig of wine.

"I can't let my hate control me." Inuyasha told himself but the voice sounded more like Kagome than him. "Fuck." He growled and shook his head before finally coming up with the only answer he could give Kouga that wouldn't spark more hate. "You couldn't get her because you already have a mate."

Kouga was quiet for a moment, his face actually coming off as surprised. "So you noticed?" He whispered, the wine bottle lowering and his eyes appearing aggrieved. "It took-eh you long enough, meticcio."

Inuyasha growled at the insult but for once in his life, he let it go. "Listen Kouga, I know something's happened." He spoke quickly, not wanting to give Kouga the chance to simply brush him aside. "To your mate."

"Stay out of it." Kouga muttered instantly his eyes flashing a dangerous icy blue.

"Just tell me," Inuyasha continued to press the issue, ignoring the nagging voice in his head that said to punch Kouga and get it over with. "Maybe I can help."

Kouga outright laughed at his words and tilted the bottle back one last time, the last of the wine running down his throat. "And what," He asked as he ripped it away from his lips. "Could you pos-sibly do?"

"I have a fucking ship," Inuyasha growled low in his throat, his control starting to slip. The urge to beat the crap out of the man was doubling with every passing second, but he had to resist it. He had to be the better man. "I can do a lot of things."

"Damn it meticcio." Kouga slammed the wine bottle down onto the table in front of him, the fragile glass instantly shattering. "There's not-ing you can do." He screamed, anger tearing throughout him caused by the knowledge that he had failed to protect the one he loved most.

Ignoring the outburst completely, Inuyasha took a step forward towards the man. "She's been taken, hasn't she?"

"So what-eh if she has?" The wolf demon fired back as he stood from the chair and began to pace the room, his footing surprisingly firm albeit a bit slow.

"Serdegna's the one who instigated it," Inuyasha pushed even further as he watched Kouga pace. "Right?"

The leader stopped pacing from the mention of the countries name and whirled his head around to look Inuyasha straight in the face. "Why-y should-a I tell you?"

"Because I can help you."

Kouga shook his head in disbelief, his expression completely flabbergasted. "Help me?" The words were somehow not mocking but still highly insulting at the same time. "How?" He waved his hand in front of his face and started to laugh. "With your pret-ty ship?"

"It's the fastest out there." Inuyasha told him, ignoring the voice in his head that said to turn and walk away. He really did want to. He owed this man nothing, in fact, seeing Kouga drunk was one of the biggest highlights of his life to date. However, he knew Kagome was right. He couldn't let his hate for the bastard in front of him allow him not to help an innocent woman who might need him. "I can get to Serdegna and back before your fastest ship could even leave port."

Insulted, Kouga lunged forward as if about to punch Inuyasha in the face. However, in his current state he was much to slow to actually hit Inuyasha so easily. Thus, it was with deliberate ease that Inuyasha moved to the side seconds before Kouga's fist met with his face. The wolf demon stumbled forward upon making contact with nothing, his body launching into the couch toppling over it with a loud crash. "Faccia di stronzo." Kouga cursed loudly from the floor, calling Inuyasha by a name he had not often heard in Italian.

"A shit head," Inuyasha translated and crossed his arms over his chest. "That's new."

Picking himself up from the upturned couch, Kouga growled low in his throat, staring at Inuyasha with every intent in the world to kill him. "Meticcio—."

The demon inside Inuyasha wanted desperately to respond, to jump forward and pound Kouga into the wooden floor. It wanted to see the man's blood on its claws and his throat slit from its teeth but Inuyasha, for once, was in control. "Believe me Kouga," He took a step forward towards the man. "I want nothing more than to fucking beat you until you're nothing more than puss and blood."

"Bastardo." Kouga cursed and tried to stand but the wine had made his legs shaky.

"But this isn't about you and me." The dog demon continued, looking down at Kouga trying to convey his own hatred with his eyes. "This is about your mate." He watched as Kouga's eyes narrowed and his mouth opened as if about to say something, an excuse Inuyasha didn't let him make. "It's your responsibility to care for her and protect no matter what—even, at the expense of your pride" He inhale deeply, hating himself a little for repeating Eoin's very words. "What kind of man would you be if you let pride kill her?"

Something in Inuyasha's words seemed to click in Kouga's head. The wolf demon seemed thoughtful and contemplative as he lowered himself back down to the floor.

"Use your stupid head Kouga," Inuyasha continued, taking the new posture for a good sign. "I could be your best option in saving her."

"Why would-eh I use a meticcio?" Kouga tried desperately to shoot Inuyasha down but the dog demon had thought this through, even in such a short time.

"Think about it," Inuyasha licked his lips, wetting them. "They're gonna be expecting an army not one ship."

"There's no point-eh," Kouga continued the argue, the wolf demon not willing to let Inuyasha have an edge over him. "I'll just go in and—."

"You'll barge in and attack?" Inuyasha supplied, the bite in his voice making Kouga actually listen. "And they'll kill her, rape her, destroy her before you can get to her."

"Ayame's strong." Kouga yelled in return, but his eyes didn't look as strong as his voice.

"That might be true," Inuyasha gave him the benefit of the doubt. "But you don't know if they've drugged her, knocked her out, tied her up." He listed the possibilities even as Kouga's eyes widened with the horror of it all. "A lot of things can happen to anyone. How long she's been gone?"

The wolf demon didn't respond right away, although his breathing did grow heavier as he thought. After a few long seconds, he brought a hand up to his face, rubbing at his eyes. "Six months," His voice was soft as if humiliated. "She was-eh on a trip to visit her mother in Spain." He told Inuyasha as he drug the hand away from his eyes and looked towards the wine bottle that had shattered on the table. "It was-sh only supposed to be four months." He admitted, the humiliation of it all present in the sound of his voice. "I'm not sure-eh how long she's a actual-ly been mis-sing, I just got word today from Sardenga about it."

The dog demon's mouth dropped open from the admission, horrified. "Why didn't you send someone?"

"She always take-eh her time, so I wasn't worried." Kouga slammed his hand into the ground, the excuse plausible but even to him stupid. "I have-eh more important tings to worry on, my kingdom for one!"

"So," Inuyasha shook his head, glaring at Kouga. "She's your mate, you have a duty to her."

"She's a full-a fledged wolf demon," Kouga shot back as he finally picked himself up off the ground and snarled at the Captain. "It-a would take-eh army of bulls to actual-ly tie her down."

Inuyasha sighed loudly and turned around so he couldn't look at the idiots face. "How could he not have sent someone, anyone could be in trouble at this point, the fact she's a demon doesn't matter." He thought to himself, suddenly understanding why he had found Kouga so drunk. "And he knows that." Turning towards Kouga, Inuyasha for the first time saw him not as the bastard who had ruined an already messed up childhood but as a man who had truly messed up. "So it's safe to say she's been gone too long," He deduced, a part of him enjoying Kouga's pain a little too much. "And that if she was gonna get herself free, she would have done it by now."

Kouga opened his mouth to say something but froze unable to speak. He knew Inuyasha's words were truth. "Why do you even care?" He managed to ask instead, his voice coming across as small, a sound Inuyasha had not been expecting. "Why are you doing dis?" He looked towards Inuyasha with pained blue eyes, his expression dark. "Af-er all I've ever done to you, why help me now meticcio?"

Inuyasha ignored the use of the hateful word and instead took a deep breath, his mind turning back to Kagome. "Because—," He tried to say what Kagome had said but found himself unable to repeat the words. "You're a better man than that." He closed his eyes against the sound of her voice and raised a hand up to touch the base of his neck where his loose hair now rested. "If anything happened to Kagome," He decided to tell Kouga, unable to reveal the intimate truth. "I'd want all the help I could get." He finished the vision of her laying underneath him in bed looking so stunning and sexy in the darkness of the room eating away at his soul.

"I don't need-a your help." Kouga growled slightly but there was no true bite in his voice, something that surprised Inuyasha. "Still," The demon reached to pick up the fallen couch, righting it in a matter of seconds. "Stop-pin' you would-eh be too much trouble," He took a seat on the now righted sofa and glared at Inuyasha. "So do whatever the hell you want."

"We'll set sail in the morning." Inuyasha told the man firmly, a slight smirk forming on his face as he looked at the other man. "Just don't get in our way."

"Your way?" Kouga turned around his eyes shining brightly once more with taunting mirth. "It's you who shouldn't-eh dare get in mine-e." He snapped his jaws as if to exasperate the threat but it only made the dog demon cross his arms with a loud snort and laugh.

"You know most people just say thank you." Inuyasha smirked as Kouga glared, the dog demon finding that the current situation was giving him a sense of pleasure he had not been expecting.

"Why-y would I ever say tank you to a meticcio?" Kouga threw back, but Inuyasha didn't feel the need to rise to the bait.

"You don't have to." Inuyasha told him as he turned around and started for the door. "I'm not doing this for you."

Kouga paused and stared at the man's back as if just seeing it for the first time. "Den who are you doing it for?"

"Kagome." Inuyasha said her name slowly, actually feeling a bit angry for allowing Kouga to hear it. "And your mate."

The wolf demon inhaled sharply from Inuyasha's words but didn't comment on the meaning of them in the least. "It won't be eazy."

"And that's half the fun." Inuyasha snickered as he looked at Kouga over his shoulder.

"No idiot." Kouga corrected his voice tight as he looked at Inuyasha from over his shoulder. "Dese men are professionale," He explained, unconsciously taking Inuyasha seriously for the first time in his life. "Dey're assassins by trade, dey kill for money and dey'll kill anyone in deir way who tries to stop dem from earning tat money-y."

"And I'm a pirate." The dog demon said dryly, turning away from the door and crossing his arms over his chest haughtily.

"You don't understand-a," Kouga sent him an actual concerned frown. "Dey're full demons."

"And just because I'm not," Inuyasha waved a hand in front of him nonchalantly, as if to negate Kouga's words. "Doesn't mean I can't take them."

"You're a pup!" The older demon growled low in his throat.

"And so are you." The younger demon fired back. In truth there was only a two hundred year age difference between the two, which (in the grand scheme of things) was not much time for a demon. "Now, do you want my help or not?"

Kouga didn't say anything as he looked at his cousin with intense blue eyes. "You said you could be ready by de morning."

"Yes." Inuyasha nodded his head firmly watching as Kouga seemed to think about what he had said, his foot tapping nervously on the ground. "Just give me word and I'll make sure we sail on time."

"I'll do more dan tat." Kouga quipped before turning away from him, looking out the windows of the room. Carefully he stood, crossing the room with a surprisingly strong stride, as if he had sobered in a matter of seconds. "I'm coming with-eh you."

"What?" Inuyasha felt all his composure leave as Kouga's words penetrated his psyche.

"Your ship is de fastest, dis I cannot deny." It was the closest Inuyasha would ever come to a complement from Kouga in his life. "So it make-eh more sense," The wolf demon turned to look at him, an annoying smirk forming on his face. "Dat we take-eh it together, my ship would just slow us down, no?"

Inuyasha thought to tell the man that he didn't have to come, in fact the mission would probably go much smoother if he didn't but he knew that was impossible. "If it was me, I'd want to come to." He held back a moan before glaring at the demon before him. "Fine," He held back the snarl that threatened to rip from his throat. "But it's my ship, your orders won't be obeyed there."

Kouga snickered in such a way that Inuyasha felt he had been played, although he didn't know how that was possible. "Be-eh ready by dawn's first light." He told the Captain, a brazen look in his blue eyes. "We sail together, your pups and dat pretty ting of yours too."

"She has a name." Inuyasha said under his breath but nodded his head none the less.

If Kouga heard his remark however, he didn't let on as he turned back towards the window. "You best get some sleep, meticcio." Kouga mumbled as he looked out across the starry sky. "Because-eh it's de last sleep you'll get until Ayame's at my side."

End of Chapter

Please Review

A/N: Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, especially the moment between Inuyasha and Kagome. It seems that the universe is going to have to give them a break soon or they might both lose it. We are in for a whole lot of fun when that happens or doesn't happen, I assure you. As for Ayame, hopefully she is safe and sound but knowing her character, I would be more worried about the men who captured her... And, on another note, Sango—what about her, we'll just have to see...happy reading everyone!

Bonus Point:

In this chapter, there is a scene where Inuyasha watches the men in the courtyard playing a game with a ball (a version of soccer). How is this scene similar to a very important and sad scene in the anime?

Last Chapter's Bonus Point:

I know I wasn't specific but I was referring to what killed Kouga's tribe off and here's the answer: Kouga's pack is killed off by Kagura under direction from Naraku in an attempt to frame Inuyasha. It doesn't really work though and only serves to make Kouga try to kill Naraku for revenge of his tribe. Congrats to the winners!

Glon Morski, RockStarAnimeLover, inu-kag, NurNur, HentaiLemon, KuramixMidnight, Aozora12, IkutoTsukiyomi'sGirl, AKEMI SHIKON, , Team D0bby, AiydanWarrior, KaUiA, Cagome, TheRealInuyasha

Translations:

Mi dispiace sia voluto tanto tempo, Sarvano. – I'm sorry it took so long, king.

Si può entrare. – You can enter.

Sovrano. Abbiamo un problema. – King. We have a problem.

Problema? Chiudere la porta. – Problem? Close the door.

Sardegna. Ha fatto una minaccia. – Sardinia, he made a threat.

Qual è la minaccia? – What is the threat?

Hanno detto che hanno preso il Ayame signora. – They said they took the lady Ayame.

Portateli a l'ala est, dare loro una suite. – Take them to the east wing, give them a suite.

Fai come ti dico. – Do as I say.

Vieni dentro – Come in.

Sarvano aveva fatto la cena per voi – The king had dinner made for you.

Avremo anche bagni pronte per voi dopo cena – We will also have baths ready for you after dinner.

Notes:

Sardegna (Italian), Sardinia (English)– The second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. Historically, Sardegna and Genova were rivals constantly competing for export rights along the Mediterranean. Sardegna at this time in history would have been part of the House of Savoy (eventual founder of the Kingdom of Italy which had power over all Italian states from 1861-WWII). However, it still would have been competing for the rights to trade supremacy and banking supremacy with Genova leading to the abduction of Ayame.

Corsica – a French island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the Italian island of Sardegna. Mountains comprise two-thirds of the island, forming a single chain. Before French domination, Corsica was under the ownership of the Republic of Genoa.

Treaty of Versailles – There have been many treaties under this name. However, the treaty Kouga is talking about was between France and the Republic of Genoa on May 15, 1768 at Versailles. Part of the conditions of the treaty was for Genoa to give Corsica to France in repayment for debts Genoa owed France. As you might have noticed, Kouga did not tell Inuyasha about the debts or having to give Corsica away because of them…

Next Chapter:

Sardenga

See you then!

UNEDITED

POSTED

9/19/2013