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?

93. Waking Nightmares

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 Ninety-Three

Waking Nightmares

It was dark and hazy, a light fog hovering over the landscape as the sound of hastily moving feet pounding on unseen earth echoed loudly and ominously. Inuyasha felt the warmth of his mother's arms as she held onto him and shivered slightly. A puff of air escaped his mouth and he followed it with his large childlike eyes as it rose above him towards his mother's face. She was panting, he noticed first, and her cheeks were bright red with her own exertion. As a human, she was not as naturally fit as himself, he knew, but it was still worrisome to see her quick white breath and her red cheeks.

"Be very quiet Inu-chan." She whispered suddenly as the sound of pounding feet grew closer to them and the echoes of people shouting hit his sensitive ears.

The small demon did nothing to reply other than push himself closer into her warmth. The silk of his father's haori brushed against his cheek and for the briefest of moments he wondered why she was wearing the bright red cloth on top of her normal clothes. It was not really too terribly disconcerting to his young mind really, but it was strange. Suddenly, the woman's arms came around him even tighter and she pulled him towards her until he was completely cocooned in the red fabric.

"Okaa-san—." He started to protest only to find her hand over his mouth within seconds.

"Hush." She hissed out as she pushed them further into the darkness of the alley. Her hand slipped away only to support herself as she lowered to the ground, her fingers digging into the dirt to keep them both from falling. The large pants legs of the bright red Miko Hakama billowed underneath her and the fabric eased around him like a comforting blanket.

Outside on the street a series of shouts resounded and she hid further, ducking her head downwards and closing her eyes. A strange sensation of terror rocked through the boy's body and he began to shake. Instincts he didn't know he had prickled against the back of his neck and jumped into his throat in the form of a tiny growl of warning. His mother gently, albeit meaningfully, pinched his side from the sound and he snapped his teeth shut forcing it to go away.

"Watashi wa," The voice permeated the air making both mother and son freeze in terror. "Karera ga kono yō ni natta to omoimasu."

His mother pressed her back more firmly against the wall not making a single sound as she tried to make them disappear—a gift she often wished her Miko talents would afford her.

"Hontōni?" Another man spoke suddenly, the sound of his feet shuffling on the ground filling the air. He was close, no more than a breath away from the two hiding in the darkened alley.

Her grip tightened even further and the small dog demon whimpered. "Shh." Her breath was barely a whisper but to the demons on the street outside the alleyway she might as well have been screaming.

A shadow formed before the entrance to their hiding spot, a tall dark figure that Inuyasha recognized by scent, sound, and sight. "Takahashi-sama." He thought as he studied his father's tall general who was scanning the darkness, his bright golden eyes flashing as he tried to see what was hidden amongst debris and barrels.

There was a coldness in the man's expression that made Inuyasha's who body shake with fear. He had never liked Takahashi-sama, the man had often glared at him in passing and had once shoved him to the ground when the small demon had accidently run into his leg while playing. Scared, Inuyasha pressed his face into the side of his mother's warm body, his father's haori comforting him as it brushed against his skin. The reassurance of his father's clothes and scent was lost on him, however, as the sound of Takahashi snarling ripped through the air. Terrified he grabbed onto her, his claws piercing the material allowing a loud ripping sound to enter the air. He felt her tense underneath his grip but she didn't dare make a sound as she bluntly ignored the biting of his claws into her flash.

"Oka—." He cried out desperately not seeing the way Takahashi smiled sickeningly.

"Sh!" Izayoi chastised quickly and nearly silently, popping his bottom as she spoke to reiterate her point.

Biting his lip to keep quiet, the tiny demon looked up at his mother. He could just barely make out her chin in the dim light but despite that he could still tell she was terrified. Her deep brown eyes were filled with fear and she was biting her lower lip to the point he could smell her blood; unless, that is, the bite was actually not the source but instead her clawed arms.

"Sore wa yori, Takahashi." Another voice enter the street just beyond the valley, this one tight and authoritative. "Did you think you could hide?"

Inuyasha froze as the question entered his brain, the English perfect and pristine. "Sesshoumaru nii-san." He tried not to whimper or make any sound but the urge was strong and he was terrified and that was his big brother—his brother who would never hurt him; never. He glanced up at her, his mouth already preparing to open but something in her eyes stopped him and made his blood run cold.

"I told you, didn't I?" Sesshoumaru spoke again and Inuyasha turned in time to see him, standing tall and regal, covered in blood. "You cannot run." He took a step forward and Inuyasha's mother lifted herself to her feet, grabbing him and yanking him backwards.

"Stop this!" She pleaded her eyes already darting this way and that looking all around her but never at Sesshoumaru. She looked at Takahashi, she looked at the other shadows of generals that stood behind her step-son but she never once looked at the man in question. "You're making a mistake." She whispered hastily, not bothering to even attempt to speak Japanese, most of the generals could speak English anyway, they had been taught for spy purposes.

Inuyasha looked between his brother and his mother confused. "Nani?" He questioned just as his eyes looked behind the tall intimidating figure of his brother to the men behind him. They all were covered in blood, hot, sticky, and sweet. The smell of copper filled the air and he felt his throat tighten. He knew that smell that was underneath the blood, clinging to their bodies like a disgusting signal.

He felt his mother press him closer as if she too with her human nose had smelled it. "So it's true." She began as she pressed her back against the wall at the end of the alley.

"My father is dead." Sesshoumaru spoke the words with a sort of cold bitterness that made someone's whole body run cold. "This empire is mine now."

His mother reacted in a way no one could have predicted. No anger welled in her or hysteria. The only sign of her heartbreak came in the form of her grip slackening on her son. "It's true?" She whispered the question, never taking even a second to look towards Inuyasha who was frozen with disbelief. In that moment, she only had eyes for Sesshoumaru, wide brown eyes filled with undeniable pity. "You really killed him?"

Sesshoumaru didn't response but his eye for just a moment twitched as if she struck a nerve. With grace befitting his personality, he took a step forward, his feet not making even one sound as he moved over the dirt of the street. "Give me the half breed." He commanded and looked straight at Inuyasha in her arms.

"No!" She yelled, her grip on Inuyasha tightening to the point of pain. "Why would you even want him?"

"Now that Chichioya is dead," Sesshoumaru moved forward his eyes shifting until he was looking directly at Inuyasha. The small half demon froze from the sight his whole body going slack as fear he had never before experienced in his life consumed him. "He must die too."

Sesshoumaru shot forward moving so fast that his mother didn't even have time to scream before Inuyasha was in his brother's grip. "Okaa-san!" He screeched and struggled as tears flooded his eyes compromising his vision so much that he couldn't even see her face before blackness consumed him.

Inuyasha shot straight upright in bed, his heart pounding in his chest, his breath coming in large forceful pants, and sweat dripping down the sides of his face onto the bed spread. Instantly, he looked all around himself as images of the alley and of Sesshoumaru filled his just waking mind. He could still see the look in his eyes as he rushed forward, the narrowed gold reflecting the color of his own boyish wide ones. He could even see the taunt lips and the narrowed brows, the crease in his forehead as if he was thinking, calculating. But most of all, he could feel his mother's firm yet gentle grip slipping away from his body as his brother's bruised him.

"Inuyasha?"

The sound of her voice made his heart jump from his chest to his throat. He had to gulp to force the large lump to go away and as he did the momentarily unknown voice finally sank into his consciousness. "Kagome." He whispered the name as he looked down at his wife, part of him actually surprised to see her half asleep and curled up against his side. Inhaling sharply, he tried to catch his breath, the remnants of the dream making his hands actually shake just a little bit as he tried to gain control of his racing heart. "I'm sorry—did I—I didn't men—." He lost the words before he could finish the sentence, his racing heart slowing as he finally gained control of his breath. "I'm sorry I woke you up." He managed to finish his earlier thought as he brought a hand up to his head wiping at the sweat on his brow. "Go back to sleep."

Kagome narrowed her eyes, already fully awake as she took in the sight of him. He was sweating even in the cool temperatures of December and his face looked haunted in the slight moonlight that came in through the curtain. Worried, she reached for him, her hand brushing his arm making him jump slightly. "Um," Her fingers darted back as he looked at her, his eyes wide as if he hadn't been expecting the contact or the contact had actually, unbelievably, frightened him. "Are you okay?" She whispered, the sound of her concern seeping into her voice.

"Yeah." He nodded but the still abnormal beating of his heart against his ribs made him feel a bit like a liar. Raising one hand up to his chest, he pressed the palm against the spot over his heart, massaging the space gently in hopes of calming himself further.

Kagome laid her head back down on the pillow from his answer but did not allow herself to close her eyes. "Have a bad dream?" She asked softly as she looked up at him, her fingers subconsciously reaching for the blanket to pull it tighter around herself. The air in the room was cold, reflecting the drastic change in temperature that had taken place outside only a week before. "It just gets colder and colder the closer we get to Nippon." She grumbled internally as she looked up at Inuyasha still awaiting an answer to her question.

"Just a dream." Inuyasha finally answered as he leaned back in the bed exhausted. "A normal dream," He continued on even as little flashes of his mother's face and the feel of Sesshoumaru's grip assaulted him even while awake. "Nothing to it," He gulped unable to stop himself, the lump in his throat constricting and painful. "Really." He raised the hand on his heart up to his head, catching a trickle of sweat that was just now beading on his forehead.

Sitting up half way in the bed, supporting her weight on her forearm, Kagome sent him a slow contemplative look. "It must have been a really bad dream—he's," Carefully, she reached forward and ran her hand against the side of his sweaty cheek and frowned. "Covered in sweat and—that look—I've never seen him look like that." She bit her lip, her fingers becoming cold as they touched the dampened skin of his forehead. "Wanna talk about it?" She spoke softly in the darkened room her fingers moving to the strands of wet hair that were plastered to his neck.

"No." He spoke quickly and sharply, the sound of his voice making her hand flinch away from him. "It was just a normal dream—let it go."

"Hm—." Kagome sat up fully, bringing the blanket around her as she did, not because of modesty mind you but because of cold. "That must have been some normal dream." She drug out the word 'normal' wanting him to hear it fully. She watched satisfied as his ears twitched slightly on his head, telling her that he had heard the emphasis clearly.

"It was." Inuyasha bit out the words and crossed his arms over his chest, the cold in the room actually making it necessary. "It was just a dream—nothing more, nothing less."

"You're sweating." Kagome whispered not listening to his words one bit as she reached for him, brushing his hair out of his face. For a moment, she felt her finger's tingle as if something was actually shocking her but the sensation only lasted a moment before it went away.

The dog demon shook his head slightly to make her hand stop the ministration and sent her a patient frown. "Of course—," He mumbled, the patient in his face not really matching his grouchy voice. "I'm a man, we sweat."

"It's freezing in here." Kagome commented dryly as she pulled the blanket around her a little tighter. It wasn't really freezing in the room but it was uncomfortably cold, at least forty degrees or so, maybe a little less. "Even men don't typically sweat when it's this cold."

The dog demon closed his eyes nearly exasperated and huffed. "Just let it go."

"When have I ever," Kagome spoke as slowly and clearly as possible trying to show him that there was not even an inch of room for argument. "Let anything go?"

Opening one eye he glared at her out of the corner of it before snapping it closed once more and sighing heavily. "Forgive me," He mumbled sarcastically as he refused to look at her again. "I forgot who I was married to for a moment."

"Ha ha," She laughed ironically and crossed her arms over her chest. "Now, it had to be some dream to make you," She looked at his face critically, the sweat was already disappearing in the cold room, his body no longer seeing the necessity in it since he was awake and no longer dreaming. "Sweat like that."

The dog demon sighed and uncrossed his arms from his chest. Gingerly, he brought his hands up to his face and rubbed his palms over his eyes. "You're not gonna give up are you?" He muttered more to himself than to her.

"Nope."

He moved his hands down from his eyes at her matter-of-fact tone and looked directly at her for the first time since the conversation had started. Her grey eyes were wide in the dark, the pupils large so they could take in what little light there was to see with in the room. She was wearing a thick winter nightgown that came up almost to the curve of her throat to protect her from the cold and over that she had their wool blanket wrapped about her shoulders. Even with both of them covering her small body, she still looked cold, her lips bright red as well as her cheeks.

The sight worried him and he frowned as he reached for her, grabbing hold of her arms and pulling her against himself before she could protest. "You look cold." He told her as she whined only briefly in protest, her body reacting to the warmth of his own instantly.

Shivering slightly, she pressed her cheek into his warm chest, the soft fabric of his nightshirt better than any pillow she could have bought for the bed. "Are you gonna tell me?" She asked as their legs brushed against each other underneath the blanket. Even though they were both sleeping fully clothed, she still felt the distinctive tingle of arousal shoot up her spine making her head go just a little fuzzy.

Unaware of his wife's slight arousal, Inuyasha pulled her a little closer and worried at his lip slightly. "It was," He paused, inhaling deeply before he continued on. "More a memory than a dream."

Kagome blinked several times at his words, her mind clearing instantly because of them. "A memory?" She looked up at him from her place resting against his chest, her eyes just able to discern the tilt of his chin in the dim light.

"I guess—being so close to—Nippon," He shifted uncomfortably, adjusting their position unnecessarily before he continued. "I'm just remembering what it was like there." He stopped himself and growled just under his breath for a moment before continuing. "Well, not when I was living there but—when we left."

Kagome nodded slowly, her cheek delighting in the way the fabric of his shirt moved with her as if they were connected. "The day, you mean, when you and Okaa-sama left?" She asked the question as softly as possible not able to say the words too loud, they were far too delicate to be said loudly.

"Yeah." Inuyasha whispered almost inaudibly as he subconsciously pulled her a little closer to himself needing to feel her body heat against his side. "Sesshoumaru—he had just," He stopped for a second, his mind feeling childlike as he remembered the fear of being ripped from his mother's arms. Subconsciously, he tighten his grip on Kagome even further his fingertips pressing into her arm almost to the point of discomfort. "I was little—I don't really remember," He spoke quickly wanting to find any excuse he could to stop thinking about the incident from so long ago. "It was just a dream about that bastard."

Kagome leaned into his warmth almost apologetically, her hand coming up to rest on his chest and rub soothingly over his heart. "It must be hard," She spoke against his side, her breath actually warm through the fabric of his shirt. "To know—you're going back there, to see that man on your own freewill."

Inuyasha bit the inside of his cheek to keep from snarling. "He—he nearly killed us," He looked down at Kagome, his eyes wide and angry. "He fucking ripped me out of Okaa-san arms and I can," He pulled his eyes off her and growled as he glared at the ceiling accusingly. "I can hear her scream, I've never heard a woman scream like that."

"She was scared." Kagome explained easily as she imagined how the woman must have felt seeing her baby in the arms of the man who had killed his own father. "Her baby was in danger."

"She was in danger." Inuyasha bit out the words as he saw the flash of her face, fear in her brown eyes as she hid in that alleyway, trying to disappear into the stonewall. "He wanted her dead—not more than me but—."

Kagome said nothing as Inuyasha continued on, afraid her words might disrupt his runaway mouth.

"The things he said—," The dog demon began to breathe heavily again as the image seemed to form right in front of his face once more. "Give me the half breed." The dog demon's hands shook against her as he continued to breath shakily. "She—she was so panicked." He stopped mind sentence as the rest of the scene left him, he didn't want to remember anything more.

Silence assaulted the room as he continued to hold onto Kagome, his fingers pressing into her flesh uncomfortably but she didn't complain. Carefully, she reached a hand up and touched her fingers to his cheek. It was warm compared to the air around them and she couldn't help but delight in the feel of that warmth against the cold. Little goose bumps formed along her arms after not too long and she quickly pulled away from him, burrowing the cold appendage in the blanket once more, regrettably.

Biting her lip, she stared at him, the man seeming completely unaware that her fingers had even touched his skin. He looked so lost and distant as if part of him had momentarily disappeared within himself. "Inuyasha?" Her voice was soft and sweet and she saw the flicker of recognition run across his face before he looked down at her once more.

"He grabbed me." He spoke suddenly as his eyes looked down at her, clouded by recollection. "And," He stopped, the memory fading into nothing more than the outline of his mother's body, blurred by tears. He blinked as if clearing his actual vision would make the memory become clear as well but it didn't. "I," He raised a hand up to his face and covered his eyes for a second, squeezing them together in thought. For several seconds he tried to drudge up any memories of the moments following Sesshoumaru grabbing him but nothing came. "I don't remember," He opened his eyes, taking in the sight of the palm of his hand blankly. "What happened next—I—nothing."

She narrowed her eyes in surprise as the pure sincerity of his voice struck her. "You don't remember how you got away?" She whispered, as she watched his contemplative face become more and more disturbed.

"I don't remember anything." Inuyasha thought to himself as he replayed the moment over and over again in his head. He knew the dream had stemmed from reality. He remembered the incident quite well even now but everything that had happened after Sesshoumaru had grabbed him was blank. "Well, that's not completely true." He frowned deeply as little flashed of memory came to him. "I remember something—." He paused, his eyes narrowing as if he was actually looking at the incident play out before him like a puppet show.

He could hear the waves outside the Shikuro but they seemed to be more in the past than in the present. He could smell salt in the air but it was old to him, not like the actual salt outside the ship presently. In front of him, he could just see the outline of his mother's hakama hem and surprisingly the white of her actual haori. His father's haori was nowhere to be seen. Slowly, as if she had just become aware of him. She turned and a small, sad smile formed on her painted lips before her image washed away and he found himself staring only at the bedspread.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome spoke his name as she watched him blink, confusion brimming in his golden eyes.

"I remember waking up." He took a deep breath, holding it in for a good solid ten seconds before he spoke again. "We were on a ship," He told her as he licked his lips. "We were headed for Ireland." He sighed and closed his eyes as if he was trying to make the memory more vivid in his mind. "I don't know if I ever asked about Sesshoumaru." His eyes opened once more and he glanced down at Kagome. "But I do know she never told me what happened or what Sesshoumaru did or what she did to stop him. We were just suddenly—safe."

"She was a Miko." Kagome spoke the words without question, it was a firm fact that Izayoi had been a Miko. "Do you think—she could have hurt him?"

"You don't know my brother," He snorted and actually smiled before the expression turned into a dark, deep, frown. "He's—damn near invincible."

"I see." Kagome pursed her lips and looked down at the bedspread, studying the strange waves in the fabric that covered them. "Maybe," She lifted her head and looked up at him, her grey eyes hopeful. "You can find out now."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, sending her a perfectly perplexed frown. "What?"

"Sesshoumaru was looking for you—because of the jewel right?" She felt almost silly as she spoke but it was a logical thought. "So obviously he needs you and maybe—," She hesitated for only a moment before continuing on. "Quid pro quo."

"Something for something." Inuyasha translated the Latin out loud with a slight frown on his face.

"It's logical. If he needs something you should get something." She smiled up at him but the expression he returned to her looked completely unconvinced. Biting the inside of her cheek she frowned as well but didn't let his lack of enthusiasm detour her. "You just have to ask him, Inuyasha." She told him bluntly and he cleared his throat rather loudly in response. "The worst he can do is not tell you."

Inuyasha snorted at her words and leaned his head back against the bed frame. "That's not the worst he can do."

Kagome opened her mouth to protest but found no words forthcoming. Silence filled the room as she looked away from him and towards the daunting quietness of their cabin. The ship rocked slightly back and forth, a mellow current running about it. The sound of distant creaks and moans barely registered in her ears, the sounds long ago having become normal to her subconscious. Kagome closed her eyes against the peacefulness of the rocking ship and the consistent creaking of its body. There was something so soothing about those sounds and movements.

Carefully, she opened her eyes against them, a thought torturing her suddenly. "Why are we doing this?" She asked herself as she glanced around the room, the sight of books and papers and two violins nestled in a corner reminding her of the beautiful life she had acquired. "Why would we put all of this in danger?" The question lingered in her brain for only a precious second before the answer was screamed into her consciousness. "Because—we're the only ones who will."

"I'm not scared of him, you know." Inuyasha spoke abruptly, the sound of his voice reentering the darkness making her jump.

"Um," Kagome mumbled as she raised her head towards him and blinked. "Of course."

He cleared his throat and tilted his chin upwards so she couldn't see his eyes. "I just—I can't ask something like that," He paused and finally looked back down at her, his eyes perfectly serious as he finished his sentence. "Without punching him."

Kagome felt her eye actually twitch as she looked into his deathly serious eyes. After only a few seconds, she saw the twitch of the corner of his mouth and the mirth beginning to form across the entirety of his face. "Inuyasha." She turned her face into his shoulder as she grumbled, the budding laughter in his chest already shaking his body.

"Can I," Inuyasha shook her slightly, the seriousness of the situation beginning to ebb as his laughter started to fill the room. "Punch him?"

Growling, Kagome pulled herself away from him and balled her fist up right in front of his face. "Don't you dare think I don't' know what you're doing!" She growled at him but he only laughed in response, continuing to cover up the reality of the situation with laughter. Irritated she shoved him but the demon only laughed harder as he fell over on the bed grabbing her as he went down. "Not fair!" She hissed even as she succumbed to the new position, her body covering his and their faces a mere breath away from each other. "You dirty—."

"Dog?" He supplied as her hot breath touched his cheek, warming him against both the coldness of the room and the coldness of his memories.

"Yes." She agreed as she looked down into his face watching as the distant pain of his memories began to ebb. "Inuyasha?" She whispered his name into the dark as she felt his finger tips brush against the sides of her hips, steadying her as she straddled him.

At any other time, this position would have resulted in his hands hiking up her night gown and his palms replacing those finger tips as he grabbed her ass, kneading her flesh until she moaned. Right now, however, his fingers didn't move against her, his palms didn't cup her or finger the edge of her hemline. Instead, he simply looked up at her, his face highlighted by the cool moon that shinned from between the barely opened curtains. His hair was sprawled underneath him, the little strands shinning whenever the ship would rock changing the angle of that intimate light.

"Kagome." Her name barely escaped his lips as he brought one hand off her hip, his claws catching the fabric of her clothes as they scrapped deliciously against her.

She shivered and her eyes closed just as the tip of one of those deadly nails rose up to touch the edge of her jaw.

"Open your eyes."

She couldn't resist the sound of his voice, heady with something other than lust, and instantly obeyed. A hot blush rose to her cheeks from the sight of his molten eyes and yet, something in the back of her mind stopped her from calling them passionate. "That look," She bit her bottom lip as the tips of his claws pulled away from her jaw replaced by the warm palm of his hand against her cheek. "I know that look."

"How long has it been?" He whispered into the dark as he pulled her forward ever so slightly. "At least eight months—more?" He guided her downwards as he spoke some strange need budding in his eyes the closer she became. "And you're still my blushing bride." He teased as he moved her close enough to kiss, his lips playing delicately over her own.

Kagome sighed into the kiss, the normal passion that seemed to ignite between them different this time. This was a slow and constant burning that both of them experienced almost every time they touched. It was the sort of burning that connected them and kept them always lingering against each other, wanting more of each other. It was the connection that sparked love.

Pulling away from Kagome, Inuyasha buried his face in the side of her neck and inhaled her scent carefully. Irish lily's and the sea wafted into his nose and he pressed a kiss against the fabric that covered his mark on her shoulder. He felt her shudder against him and he smelt the slight shift in her scent, a shift that normally would have made him hot and bothered but at the moment he just didn't have the energy to be.

"It could only be days." He told himself as his thoughts turned towards Sesshoumaru once more. "Only a few days and we'll be there—I hope—I don't." He sighed and rested his forehead against the delicious curve of her neck. "Why does he want me there?" He wondered, a loud voice inside of him answering. "To finish what he started." Inuyasha bit his lip at the idea, feeling as if he should agree and yet something held him back: Kagura's words. "To finish what Otou-sama started—." He sighed knowing there was no way to know which one was correct until he was there in front of the brother who had tried to kill him. "Only time will tell."

Pulling away from Kagome, he caught her eye, seeing no confusion but only understanding. "Whatever happens, Inuyasha," She spoke carefully, her words picked with the upmost of thought. "We'll face it together." She smiled as she finished, her whole face lighting with a soft security and truth that made his heart finally beat slow within his chest.

Bedazzled by that smile, he reached for her, touching her cheek with all the affection he could muster. "Do you love me?" He asked her and watched as her eyes widened with surprise before they grew undeniably soft.

Gingerly, she brought a hand up to run through his sweaty hair, her fingers massaging his scalp lovingly. "Yes." She told him as she bent down and placed a loving kiss to the side of his head and then another to his temple and one on each cheek. "I love you."

Inuyasha felt his heart flutter at the admission but he didn't say a word about it as he pulled her down onto his chest firmly. His arms wrapped around her, pulling her against himself tightly, needing to feel her molded against him, part of him. "I love you too." He whispered into the side of her face and Kagome smiled, her lips brushing against his neck.

"I don't know what's going to happen," She thought to herself as she allowed him to hold onto her, his grip telling her more than words ever could. "But I promise you—we'll face it together until the very end."

-break-

Inuyasha stepped onto the ship's deck only an hour later, his memories of the strange dream and the reality of the dream making him unable to sleep. Bringing his hands up over his head, he forced himself to stretch hoping that the movement would serve as a form of distraction but it didn't. He could still see Sesshoumaru's face and feel his hands on his arm as clearly as if they were there right now. Growling, he dropped his hands down to his sides and stared at the spot on his right forearm where the shadow-hand was grabbing him. Shaking only slightly from the cold, he shoved the hand into the sleeves of his thick wool coat hoping the itchy fabric would make the phantom sensation disappear; it didn't.

Growling, he looked out around him at the empty deck. It was not surprising that there were no men there currently, however. "It's freezing—you'd have to be damn stupid to sleep in freezing temperatures." He mumbled as he looked off to the side of the deck, out towards the opened water. In the vague distance, he could see the outline of land, frothy water pushing against an unknown shore. He licked his lips, his heart clenching tightly in his chest from the possibilities that shore brought. "We're so close." He thought to himself as a harsh wind suddenly blew about him making his whole body feel numb despite his jacket.

Burying his head deeper into the fabric as well as his hands, Inuyasha pressed his ears flat against his head wishing he had gotten a hat to cover them. Forcing himself to ignore the cold, the demon started towards the staircase leading to the helm's deck. In this kind of weather, he knew without a doubt that there would be someone on the helm. It wasn't a command he actually gave, that was Miroku's job, but there was no doubt Miroku would have given the order.

Holding his jacket tightly closed against his body, Inuyasha took the stairs two by two as the wind sent a chill through him. "I'll just check on them," He thought to himself as his back began to tense from the cold, shivers running down his spine. "And then I'll go back to Kagome." He nodded his head once sharply from his reasoning just as he mounted the top stair images of Kagome warm in their bed already dancing about his head.

"I was wondering when I'd see you."

The sound of the voice made him freeze and surprised Inuyasha nearly tripped over the last step having not expected to have head this particular voice at this time of night. "Miroku?" He mumbled as he looked directly at his son who was bundled up in what looked like two coats, gloves, a scarf, and a woolen cap. "What are you doing navigating?"

The boy shrugged his shoulders as he held onto the wheel despite it not actually being necessary. Really, Miroku only needed to be up there, watching for anything dangerous in the cold water and the wheel didn't have to be free to do that. Still, with the cold it was probably better to have something to hold onto so that your muscles didn't go stiff or your fingers freeze from lack of movement. "Couldn't sleep."

"Yeah." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow sympathetically, Miroku hadn't been able to 'sleep' for the past month or so. "Is she restless?"

"Beyond." Miroku answered simply and sighed, the air rushing out of his lungs turning white the second it hit the air. "I mean, I try to sleep in the bed." He looked towards his father the bags under his eyes apparent. "But she rolls or steals the sheets or kicks me or the baby kicks me." He smiled at that thought but the expression didn't last. Huffing, he pulled one hand from the wheel bringing it up to his face to rub at his tired eyes. "She just can't get comfortable and I understand." He held his hand up quickly as if to defend himself. "I mean—she's pregnant—very pregnant." His voice trailed off and his shoulders sagged just a bit wearily.

"She is that." Inuyasha agreed as he finally crossed the deck completely and came to stand at Miroku's shoulder, facing out across the deck in front of them. "If Kagome and I still had that other bed, I'd let you have it at least for a night." He mentioned the impossible offer casually. As much as he loved his son though, he really would not have let him ever stay in the same room as him and Kagome. "That'd be a bad idea—for me anyway." He flinched slightly from the thought, his own selfishness making him feel bad momentarily. "I can't have Miroku—if he saw me after a dream like that, I'd never get him off my back. Kagome's bad enough."

"Yeah, I'd give anything for just one night." He mumbled to himself as he looked out across the horizon, scanning it for any possible danger. Although, to their knowledge icebergs were rare in these waters, they were still possible and still deadly enough to sit up all night watching for. "Maybe," Miroku continued on once he was satisfied there was nothing approaching them. "I can go below for a night or two—there are empty cabins by Myoga and Totosai." He clicked his tongue from the thought and smiled ever so slightly. "Yeah, they don't have beds but I'd sleep on a couple of blankets at this point."

"Just don't freeze." Inuyasha commented even as he shifted a bit uncomfortably. Only a year ago, he would have simply let Miroku come into his room and sleep on the floor there but now, things had decidedly changed. "I've become selfish." He told himself matter-of-factly and scowled. "I won't even let my own son have one night of peace because—," The image of Sesshoumaru filled his mind causing all other thoughts to die in his head as his mother's scream echoed through his psyche. "Damn it!" He cursed himself as he shoved the thoughts away forcing them out of his head but it really was useless. The thoughts were memories, permanent and unrelenting.

Miroku glanced at his father out of the corner of his eye and resisted the urge to frown. "Wow—you say that to your own son." He told the demon man point blank before turning his eyes deliberately away from him.

"Miroku." Inuyasha grumbled and crossed his arms over his chest bluntly. "You're a full grown man, I'm a full grown man." He pointed out the obvious even if he felt stupid doing so. "We—." He struggled to think of an excuse that wouldn't alert the boy but came up with none.

The younger man pursed his lips but didn't seem too terribly put out by his father's lack of words. "I guess it would be weird now that you have a wife—I have a wife," The words died on his lips for all of a second before he managed to pick them back up again. "Things have changed," He smiled and looked off ahead of them at the dark lapping water of the sea. "But it's a good thing, you know?" The smile grew, lighting up his dark eyes in a way that gave Inuyasha pause. "A good change."

"Yeah." Inuyasha agreed softly even as the demon within him began to shift in personality, the love for its son making it growl with affection. "He's grown so much from when he was a boy," He thought as he studied Miroku's calm, capable expression, seeing it as he had a million times. "But those eyes, they look just the same."

For a moment it was almost as if he was looking down at Miroku's head, seeing him as a whelp of no more than four feet high. He had been small and malnourished, but those eyes had been strong as if he dared the world to try to kill him. And although the world had tried exceedingly hard to break that small child it hadn't succeeded, he had still, lived for tomorrow even when his today's had been hell. It had only taken a month in Inuyasha's care for those eyes to grow even brighter, stronger, more defiant, but also more calm. Only one month and the child had become himself entirely.

A strange heaviness came down on Inuyasha's chest as he saw that child look up at him in his mind's eye. His two big bright eyes, a deep dark chocolate (nearly black but not quite) gazed at Inuyasha with wonder and affection as a gap toothed smile formed on his round face.

Unable to stop himself, Inuyasha felt his mouth open before his mind even processed what he was about to say. "You can sleep on the floor tonight if you want, in my room." He offered as he looked over at the other man seeing not an adult but the boy he had raised for just the quickest of seconds before the boy shifted back into an adult. "Kagome won't mind a night if you absolutely need it."

Miroku looked towards him and smiled slightly but shrugged his shoulders. "Thanks Otou-san." He whispered as he looked away from the older man and back out across the sea around them. "But—I couldn't actually leave her alone anyway."

Inuyasha felt like falling over at the boy's words, his eyes catching the amused glint in Miroku's own. "You're a jerk, pup." He grumbled and Miroku finally laughed, his hands nearly slipping off the wheel from his own amusement.

"I just wanted you to make the offer." Miroku defended himself as his laughter finally began to subside.

"Why?" Inuyasha demanded bluntly and frowned when Miroku's face suddenly became a little more serious.

"I don't know." He shrugged, a small smile finding its way back onto his face once more as he glanced at his father. "It's just nice to feel like I'm still a kid sometimes."

Inuyasha opened his mouth to say something but snapped it closed before a single word came out. He knew exactly how Miroku felt. Fatherhood was something not to be trifled with and it was terrifying. Inuyasha had become a father long ago, to an eight year old boy (to this boy no less) and he had been terrified when Myoga had pointed it out. To take in a cabin boy was one thing but to realize that child saw you as a father was horrifying. His whole perspective on life had changed from that moment on. He was suddenly no longer a child in any sense of the word, he had someone to worry about and take care of, someone to protect at all cost but most of all, he had started protecting himself. He was unable to be that same rash person he had truly been before he had taken Miroku in. He had to defend his life because his life directly influenced Miroku's life and that had been the hardest thing to grasp of all.

Glancing towards his son, Inuyasha looked at his profile, studying the sturdy length of his chin and cheek. "I don't know how he made it to adulthood." He thought to himself truly unable to fathom how he had kept himself and Miroku alive over the past eleven years. It had been a difficult journey with near death experiences and countless fights, wars, droughts, and famines aboard their ship but the boy had lived; he had kept Miroku alive. "And if I can do it—then Miroku—I know he can." For just a moment he hesitated, letting that thought sink into his subconscious before reaching over and placing a hand on Miroku's shoulder. "You're gonna be a good dad, pup." He told him without daring to make eye contact.

Keeping his eyes straight ahead Miroku allowed himself just a moment of comfort from the touch. "Thanks." He spoke quickly even as the reassurance made him relax ever so slightly.

"Sure." The dog demon pulled his hand away and together the two men looked out at the opened water in silence. All they could hear was the sound of the waves lapping against the side of the boat and the cry of a bird from the nest above them.

Simultaneously, both men sighed into the quiet loudness of the ocean as their bodies shivered against a particularly cold wind. A light from some distant home flickered relentlessly on the far off shore, catching their attention. For a moment, they didn't dare to breathe as they watched the dancing flame of what looked to be a torch or lamp. The light didn't move with the boat however, and as the boat continued to move forward, creaking and groaning as it moved over the waves, the light eventually disappeared behind them leaving the shore darkened once more.

Letting out a breath he hadn't realized he was even holding, Miroku glanced towards his father just able to make out his features in the minimal moonlight. "How much longer?" He finally broke the silence as the distant shore hung in front of them almost mocking in a way.

"I'd have to confirm with Totosai and Myoga." Inuyasha shrugged slightly as he glanced over his shoulder towards the already far-off light, paranoid. "They know these waters far better than me but," He hesitated for just a moment and frowned as he turned back around ignoring the iridescence. "A couple of days maybe?" He tilted his head to the side before glancing towards Miroku. "Not long anyway."

"Are you," Miroku cleared his throat before he could actually finish his sentence. "Okay with that?"

For a moment Inuyasha felt the phantom hand on his arm once more, Sesshoumaru's grip tightening with every breath he took. The sensation only lasted a moment however before he forced it away, pushing it down deep within himself until it disappeared or at the very least subsided. "I will be." He answered Miroku simply as he leaned slightly forward into the wind, letting it assault his face with its striking coldness. "I have to be."

Miroku nodded his head but didn't press his father for any more information on the subject. Feeling antsy, he looked out over the bleakness of the night, his eyes scanning seamlessly from edge to edge of the horizon. "So—a few days then?"

"Yep." Inuyasha drew out the word as if drawing the word out would make the time go by faster.

"Good." Miroku nodded his head once and licked his lips. "She's getting big." He commented almost offhandedly but Inuyasha heard the importance of the comment instantly.

"I know." He tapped his foot against the wood underneath him, Miroku's unspoken concern flooding him. "We'll find land soon."

"It took us longer than you thought to get here." Miroku continued on as his foot began to jump up and down a bit, tapping against the wood below. "Almost eight months." He glanced up at the sky, little snowflakes were beginning to fall around them, a beautiful but horrid sight.

"I know."

"She was a month when we left." Miroku pressed on as he turned away from the snowflakes, trying to ignore their implications. "It's gonna be damn near impossible to see ice if it's out there now." He thought to himself but somehow the thought didn't seem anywhere near important enough to be voiced to the Captain beside him.

"I know gestation." Inuyasha informed the boy bluntly as he uncrossed his arms and buried his hands in his pocket instead of his sleeves.

"I just," Miroku sniffled slightly, his nose running from the cold. Bringing a hand up the wiped his nose against the back of his sleeve quickly the rough wool burning his face. "I need you to know," He turned towards his father catching the man's eye. "How close we are."

"A month, right?" Inuyasha supplied as he looked towards his son, his eyes narrowing just a little.

"Probably less." Miroku corrected and dropped his hand back to the wheel, gripping it tightly. "And there's no one on this ship who can deliver a baby."

"Kagome." Inuyasha offered but he already knew the possibility of Kagome delivering a baby was slim.

Miroku nearly choked on the suggestion, his eyes narrowing as he looked at Inuyasha. "Kagome may be a woman but that's not the only characteristic of a midwife!"

"I know." The dog demon shrugged his shoulders before allowing them to hunch. He knew of one person on the ship who actually could deliver a baby but he was almost positive no one, including himself, would be comfortable with the suggestion. Turning away from his son, not able to look the boy in the face, Inuyasha inhaled deeply. "I," He stopped himself, taking the time to exhale and inhale once more before starting up again. "Look, if worst comes to worst," He forced his head to swing around and look at Miroku. "I'll help."

Father and son stared at each other as the words hung between them.

"What do you know," Miroku finally began, his voice slow and deliberate as if he thought Inuyasha might laugh in his face at any moment for believing his blatant lie. "About delivering babies?"

"More than you might think." Inuyasha mumbled dryly as he dug his hands deeper into his pockets. "Well, not about babies." He cleared his throat and pursed his lips as he bounced his leg up and down against the cold. "I lived on a farm for a number of years—I think it was in Bavaria—I'm not too sure that region of the world changes too much." He glanced at Miroku, the disbelief on the boys face making him want to clamp his mouth shut and stop talking but he didn't. "But anyway, I had to help birth a few animals: cows, pigs and such."

"And that makes you capable of delivering a human child?" Miroku deadpanned, his eyes nearly bulging out of his head as he stared at the older man in disbelief.

"Well," Inuyasha bit his lip for a moment before sending Miroku a small lopsided smile. "More capable than anyone else on this ship."

Miroku opened his mouth to protest but knew there was nothing to really protest against. Inuyasha was right, knowing how to deliver a farm animal was better than not knowing how to deliver anything.

"I wouldn't worry too much though." Inuyasha quickly continued on as he watched his son slowly hunch over, leaning heavily against the wheel in front of him. "We should get to shore in time anyway." He told Miroku as he pulled his hand out of his pocket once more and placed it on Miroku's shoulder squeezing reassuringly. "We'll find a midwife."

"How?" Miroku asked suddenly as he raised his head up off the wheel and tried not to glare at his father. "Do they even have midwifes?

"I was born here, I'm sure my mother had a midwife." Inuyasha informed him as he pulled his hand away and dug it quickly back into the warmth of his pocket. "Besides, I talked to Totosai and Myoga a few months back and they knew exactly what we needed and where we needed to go."

"And where's that?"

The dog demon growled slightly, the truth making the ghost hand's grip swell suddenly against his arm in the most unpleasant of ways. Biting the inside of his cheek, he subconsciously raised his hand and brushed the hand aside as if it were real and not a part of his imagination or, better yet, psychosis. "To Sesshoumaru."

"Great." Miroku felt his knees go weak from the words. Having to go to Sesshoumaru to ensure he had a midwife was just about as reassuring as knowing his father had assisted in the birth an animal or two in his time.

"He's—technically the king." Inuyasha went on to explain even as the dream started to creep back into his awareness. He could see his mother, blurry from tears, but still outlined in front of him, screaming and reaching and begging. "He can get anything we need." He forced himself to continue speaking, shoving the memories back down the best he could but the images seemed to be toying with him and refused to go away completely. "And if he won't—we'll find a human section of Edo," He gulped and breathed in deeply and calmly, forcing every image of his mother to leave his head. "And where there's people, there's babies, and where there's babies—."

Unaware of his father's struggle Miroku nodded his head as he felt reassurance finally begin to fill him. "There're midwifes." He supplied as the tension in his shoulders began to ebb.

Inuyasha licked his lips and glanced at his son but didn't say a word. Every word he could think to say seemed caught in his throat.

"I don't know what I was thinking." Miroku went on to say, laughing slightly as if amused by his own assumptions.

"She'll be fine Miroku," Inuyasha finally managed to say, wanting to reassure his son despite the thoughts running through his head. "The baby will be fine, too." He continued on, watching as Miroku raised his head towards him and smiled although there was a slight twinge of doubt within it.

"How can you always be so sure?" He asked, a slight teasing smile on his face that made Inuyasha frozen.

"Because," Inuyasha whispered and turned away from the boy, images of a childhood that was just as painful as Miroku's own assaulting every single part of him. "I have to be." He inhaled deeply as the sensation of Sesshoumaru's hand returned tenfold, imaginary claws sinking into what had once been childhood flesh. "I just have to be." Inuyasha repeated again without looking at the younger man.

Miroku, for his part, didn't reply. After all, there was nothing to say to that truth, it was undisputable. Through everything, Inuyasha just had to be sure, he had to be confident, and he had to be strong; unlike everyone else on the ship, he had no choice in that matter.

-break-

Kagura's eyes opened into the darkness of the bedroom, her one blue Shinigami eye narrowed and alert as she pushed herself up in bed. She felt her spin tingle as the strange sensation that had awakened her amplified now that she was conscious. A trickle of sweat moved down the side of her face and she bit her bottom lip as her heart picked up on instinct. "Something's here." She thought to herself as her eyes began to scan the room.

A dark shadow in the corner immediately caught her attention and she froze, her mind barely processing what she was seeing before the figure stood and glare down at her. "Took you long enough."

"Naraku." The word echoed in the room quietly but the sheer power of the name made it feel as if it had been shouted.

"I'm growing impatient Kagura." He told her as he raised up his hand, a glass shinning in the moonlight, the red contents looking for all pretenses as if they were blood. Demurely, he tilted the glass back and took a sip, his face looking eerily calm and aggravated all at once. "It's been—seven months?" He brought the glass away from his lips and opened his eyes, the blackness of them like a great abyss. "And I have not seen even one hair from her head!" He bit out the words, grasping the wine glass so tightly it cracked from the pressure.

"I know." Kagura spoke quickly, her English surprisingly better than it had been months before. The time spent almost every day with Hiten had improved her pronunciation substantially. "I'm sorry." She looked down towards Hiten, amazed that he had yet to awake. "We're close," She whispered, wishing the man was awake to back up her statement. He was the one who knew how to navigate and how to read the charts, he was the one who knew where they were according to stars and maps. She—she merely knew the name of the place they were to go. "Hiten said—a month—just that—just that."

"It's been eight!" Naraku hissed quietly as he held the wine glass in his hands tightly, the fragile glass breaking even further. Little trickles of wine began to seep from between the broken remnants, leaking onto his hand. "Eight months—and not a sighting." He licked his lips hastily as the redness seeped even further onto his hand, coating it with blood and wine. "Can you even sense them?"

"Well," Kagura began slowly as she looked up at him, her hand shaking and her Shinigami eye dancing. "I've explained before-e," She drug out the 'e' sound, her fear making the pronunciation of even simple words difficult. "Kagura know where they're going." She watched him as his eyes grew darker and more disturbed, her heart racing and her mind chanting for Hiten to wake up but he didn't make a sound, they had been far too quiet so far. "They won't go anywhere else, I promise."

"Shut up!" He snapped and the glass finally shattered in his hand, precious red wine slipping between bloody red fingers.

Behind Kagura, Hiten shot up in the bed but she didn't see him, only felt him as he panicked from the sound. "What the hell?" He thought but experience told him not to speak, there was always the chance that speaking would get you killed on this ship. His dark eyes, wide and somewhat panicked, darted towards Kagura's back, catching the shaking of her shoulder blades. "Kagura?" He wanted to say and he even started to reach for her but the sight of what laid just beyond her shoulder's made him freeze. "Shit." He whispered but didn't dare move even a fraction of an inch as he stared at the very devil's eyes.

"First they were in Italy," Naraku bit out every word as he moved towards the two in the bed, his black eyes swirling with unimaginable darkness. "The old woman told me Italy." He growled long and low in his throat, watching as Kagura moved backwards on the bed bumping into Hiten's frozen chest. "And now where are they?"

"A place-su called Nippon." Kagome answered quickly as she took just a little strength from the broad chest behind her. She could feel Hiten's breathing as he tried not to panic and she could only imagine what was going through his mind having just awakened.

"Nippon?" Naraku whispered out the words seeming distracted for just a moment. "So you've fucking told me!" He screamed and released the already shattered glass in his hand to the floor. The larger shards exploded as they met the wood and the little ones bounced about them, the sound like a gunshot in the quiet that followed. "You've told me over and over again. You've even called it different names—but is it real?" He took a step forward, a hand reaching straight for Kagura's buttoned nightshirt, yanking on it, pulling her away from the false security that had been Hiten's chest. "Or are you misleading me? Protecting that bitch!?"

"No!" Kagura yelled out and her hands fumbled behind her, trying to grasp for anything that could anchor her to the bed. Her fingers grasped Hiten's hand, which was already preparing to yank her back. The two locked their grip on one another and Kagura felt Hiten's muscles swell as he held onto her, refusing to let her fall victim to whatever horror Naraku might commit. "I swear—I swear-u," She stumbled over the word, the accent that she had known her whole life until now slipping from her mouth. "Onigai!"

Naraku snorted and shoved her backwards, her body toppling onto Hiten's own. Her head slammed against his own, and she felt the wet hot sensation of his blood or her own on the back of her head.

"How long?" Naraku asked, his voice seeming distant to her ringing ears.

Slightly dizzy from the crash back onto the mattress, Kagura barely registered Naraku's words. "Ano—ano—."

"How long!?" He roared and made to grab for her again but Kagura dodged his hand, the Shinigami eye detecting the movement this time.

"A month," She managed to say, the words strangled in her throat. "No more."

"Very well," Naraku whispered, his voice suddenly calm once more in a way that made Kagura's stomach turn. "I'll give you a month." He turned away from her, Kagura's Shinigami eye watching as he took a step towards the door.

For a moment she was struck by the changes in him, changes she had watched over the course of nearly a year in his presence. He was older now, sixteen years old as of only a month and a half back, and his body showed the change. No longer was he such a small boy but instead, he was becoming a toughened man. He was almost a foot taller than he had been when she first saw him and his shoulders were broader, lined with muscles that almost looked unnatural. It was strange seeing such an evolution, but nowhere near as strange as the other one that had taken place. In a year, Naraku had become something not human, not demon, just evil.

"After the month Kagura," He spoke as he reached for the handle of the door, his voice cold and warm and sickening. "I'll kill you." He turned and looked at her as the matter of fact statement echoed into her ears. "Understand?"

"Yes." She whispered as she felt Hiten's hands grab the fabric of her shirt, claws piercing the fabric. "I understand."

"Good." Naraku smiled at her sweetly, the sight making her stomach turn, before he pushed the door opened and disappeared behind it.

"Kagura?" Hiten automatically spoke as the click of the door closing resounded all around them.

Frozen Kagura didn't even turn, her body unable to move as she stared at the closed door as if it might open again at any moment and her death enter. "How far?"

"A month." Hiten confirmed as he grabbed her shoulder's and turned her around to look at him. "Are you okay?"

She nodded as she took in his bloody face, her head had slammed right into his nose, it looked broken. "Kami-sama." She whispered and her expression turned from horrified to apologetic. "Gomen—Gomen."

"Kagura-hime." He mumbled as his face turned dark and anger welled within him at the sight of her. "We can't keep doing this!" He spoke quickly as he watched the once strong demoness begin to break, actual tear in her eyes.

"What other choice do we have," She bit out the words and looked directly in his eyes. "Hiten-sama?" She shook her head, the beautiful white of her natural eye shinning with tears gorgeous in the dim light. "We can't touch Naraku—we can't-to fight." She closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, the wind in the room responding to her pain, dancing around them.

"I know." Hiten bit his lip firmly as he finally raised a hand up and grabbed his broken nose between two fingers. A sickening crack entered the room as he snapped it back into place without so much as a whine of pain.

For her part, Kagura didn't even look up at him, it wasn't the first time in the past eight months a bone had been broken on this ship.

"What about," He said suddenly, as he sniffed, making sure he had put the bone back in the proper place. "The letter?" He dropped his voice so low that not even a demon standing on the other side of the cabin door would hear them.

"I don't know Kagome O'loinsigh," Kagura dropped her voice just as low, her expression exasperated. "And if-fu I don't know," She frowned into the darkness as her irritation with herself and with the situation made her clutch her hands into tight fist. "I can't use the wind to take it to them." She growled in frustration and winced ever so slightly as her fingers dug into her palms drawing blood. "I've already told you that."

"Damn it." Hiten cursed as he looked down at the bedsheets, there were already stained with blood. "What are we going to do?"

Without missing a beat, Kagura raised her head and looked directly at him. "What we've been doin'," She told him firmly as she pulled her nails out of the meat of her palms, the hot blood a premonition of sorts. "Keep headin' for-u Nippon and pray—we get there soon."

Hiten knew what she said was true, it was their only choice. Naraku had become something they could never confront, not just dangerous but lethal. Even as strong as they were, even with the Shinigami eye, they had no hope of even laying a finger on him. They only hope rested in that letter and the woman who it was for: Kagome O'loinsigh.

-break-

Kagome turned in her sleep her hands subconsciously reaching for the left hand side of the bed. The warm body that she expected to feel was no longer there for her probing fingers to touch and she sleepily opened her eyes. "Where is he?" She mumbled as she pushed herself up with one hand, her other one coming up to her face rubbing her eyes absently.

Still half asleep, she allowed herself to look out across the room. More than once she had awaken in much the same way, alone, only to find that the Captain was at his desk pouring over charts or writing in logs. This time, however, there was no man hunched over the desk and no little candle flicking light throughout the room; she was truly alone. Surprised, Kagome blinked back the sleep from her eyes and frowned as her hands dropped to the blanket gripping it tightly.

"Where is he?" She repeated into the darkened room her memories of their earlier conversation not quite registering yet. "It's not like him to just leave me alone, he's usually waiting for me to—." She allowed the thought to trail off, a blush forming on her cheeks that she was glad no one would see. "Well," She shook the thoughts from her head and allowed herself to lean back on the bed. "It's not really a big deal or anything just strange." She spoke thoughtfully to herself as her mind began to drift, her eyes fluttering closed as she rested her head once more against the pillow.

For a moment she allowed herself to float in the space between sleep and wakefulness. Her mind wandered, thoughts slipping in and out of her consciousness. After several minutes, her thoughts seemed to become more and more coherent, Inuyasha's earlier nightmare solidifying in her mind. Bright grey eyes opened slowly, not seeing the room but instead seeing the dream. Although she had not touched him or been called to him, she could see it just as she had seen Kohaku's and Sango's most guarded thoughts.

It seemed to be happening a lot lately without her will or knowledge. She could feel Sango's pains and once she had been certain she had experienced the babies kick. She was aware of Inuyasha's feelings to a certain degree and even once or twice she had thought she had heard a thought or two. But that had only been when she was touching them. It had only been when she rested her hands on Sango's tummy or brushed Inuyasha's hair back from his face. This time it was almost as if she was seeing them after the fact without touching him at all.

"That's not quite true." She suddenly told herself as she remembered only vaguely reaching for Inuyasha's forehead, brushing at his hair, and then a strange tingling that had followed. "Could that have been it?" She wondered to herself and frowned distinctly with confusion. "What am I thinking?" She closed her eyes tightly part of her wanting to forget the possible dream but it didn't let up.

She could see Izayoi, she could see the fear in her eyes, she could feel the hot breath of the mother on Inuyasha's cheek just as well as if she had been there. She could hear the men, see their shadows, she could even feel the fear.

Kagome shook her head and pushed the dreams away. It wasn't that she didn't want to see them, she did, and yet she felt wrong for seeing them without Inuyasha's permission. "It's like I'm invading his privacy." She told herself as she brought her arms up around her body. "It's so wrong." She sighed loudly into the dark and brought a hand up to cover her eyes as if covering them would take away her second sight. "Why—why can't I at least control it?" She growled to herself hating the fact she was able to slip into another's thoughts or feelings or even sensations against her will.

She huffed into the dark and forced her eyes closed as tightly as she could. She did her best to block out every noise and every sensation and it seemed, in that moment, it worked. Inuyasha's dream fell away from her and a blankness made its way into her mind. She felt a weight slowly ebb away from her shoulders and a peacefulness replace it. The peace only lasted for so long, however.

Kagome's eyes snapped opened as a faint sound, just on the edge of her consciousness, echoed throughout the room. It was almost like a whisper from some distant place. Perhaps a faint call of some animal or bird. Blinking, Kagome surveyed the room hastily but saw nothing to be leery of just the normal bedroom. Shaking her head, she decided in that moment to let the strange, unknown noise simply remain that, a strange, unknown noise. She pushed herself down into the bed, wedging her body between the warm sheets, prepared to close her eyes once more and go to sleep.

"—I found you!"

Kagome froze in the bed, her eyes wide opened and terrified. That had not been a distant whisper or a unknown animal or bird, that had been a voice, right beside her head. From experience, Kagome knew hearing voices was normal when one was a Miko but not in any way safe. Fear gripped her heart as the incidents from months before replayed over and over again in her head. The voices then had manifested into darkness that had consumed her and scarred her horribly.

"I can't believe it, I found you."

She felt her hands begin to shake as she tried to piece together the sound of the voice hoping she had heard this one before. "The compass—please be the compass?" She practically begged herself as a lump of fear manifested in her throat.

"Can you hear me?"

Her fingers shook and her eyes shifted quickly around the room looking for the source of the noise. With hope, she looked towards the compass first, wishing the sound was coming from its pretty much dormant body. Kagome found the compass sitting on Inuyasha's desk and stared at it but it didn't move and it wasn't lit up, so that she could only see a vague outline of it in the darkness.

"I don't think you can—you can't hear me can you?"

The voice washed over her, unrecognizable and terrifying to the frozen Kagome in the bed. "What do I do?" She asked herself as her fingers sank into the fabric of the blanket for comfort. "What else can you do?" A small voice pressed in her head and Kagome whimpered slightly. "I don't want to do that! Every time I answer something happens, something awful." She pleaded with herself already knowing that the thoughts were futile. "You can't just not answer." The small logical voice replied and Kagome gritted her teeth, succumbing to that truth. "Yes." She whispered into the darkness, her voice sounding somehow out of breath. "I can hear you."

There was a small gasp as if some creature was surprised by her admission. "You can?" It came across as another question, the voice so tiny that it only seemed to be that of a small child.

"Yes." Kagome didn't dare move as she spoke, remaining half hidden by the blanket. "Who are you?" She waited for a response but no response came, at least not immediately. "Maybe—it wasn't real." She told herself a wave of relief washing over her. She would rather be going insane than have to live through the deadly voice of eight months before again.

"She can hear me."

Kagome jumped from the sound, her eyes darting around looking for the source automatically. "I'm getting really sick of hearing voices randomly." She thought to herself as she brought her hands up around her middle, holding herself as a shiver ran down her spine. "Being a Miko is such a—just—I really hate it sometimes."

"She can really hear me." The voice repeated again sounding more and more amazed by the second.

Licking her lips awkwardly Kagome nodded her head. "I can." She spoke a little louder waiting a moment before she continued. "I can hear you. I could probably talk with you." She waited again, wanting to see if whatever it was would start a conversation now. If it started a conversation with her than, at least, she could figure out whether to be terrified or simply confused. "If you wanted."

"She must have the gift." The voice darted back and forth as if it was jumping from one side of her head to the other. "Yes the gift—that's the only way it's possible."

"What?" Kagome narrowed her eyes impossibly confused and pushed herself up further on the bed. "What gift?"

"You're a witch."

"I'm not a witch." Kagome defended herself even though she wasn't quiet convinced by her own words. She sure felt like a witch sometimes but a good one at least. "I'm a—a—." She struggled for the right word not quite sure what to call herself.

"Miko-sama?"

Kagome's eyes widened at the familiar term, her mind barely processing what the voice was saying and in what language it was saying it in. "Miko-sama." She whispered hastily, a frown washing over her face.

"Yes," The voice seemed to pause for a moment as if contemplating something. "You are a Miko-sama with the gift." It paused one more time and then released the word, allowing it to rush from its unseen or perhaps none existent mouth. "Kyōkan."

Kagome's eyes went wide from the word, a word she above everyone else would recognize even in a foreign language. "Empathy." She translated and looked all around her wanting desperately to make eye contact with the unseen creature. "You speak Nihon-go?"

"No—but I know someone who does."

The sound fell flat in front of her and Kagome's eyes grew huge as suddenly she was looking straight into the face of a small child.

"Just like you." The child spoke bluntly and Kagome felt her whole body freeze as she realized she could see directly through the child's body as if it were transparent.

"G—G—," The sound wouldn't even leave her lips as she realized exactly what she was seeing. "Ghost."

Terrified Kagome shot out of the bed, falling with a loud thud to the ground. The sound of a book clattering to the ground as well as some other unknown metallic sounding object soon followed as well. A scream tore from her lips as she hastily pushed herself across the floor completely petrified by the sight of the ghost still hovering over the bed. After all, the last time she had seen something like this her body had been taken over by the jewel.

Surprisingly, the ghost didn't react in anyway one would have expected. It merely sent her a sad frown as she stared at it, her heart racing in her chest. "I knew you'd be afraid." It spoke softly, almost apologetically. "When you're no longer afraid I'll come back so you can—," It's lips moved over each word, whispering them to her with a melancholy tone. "Help me."

Kagome couldn't even breathe let alone talk as she heard the distinct pounding of boots against the floor outside and the distant call of a bedridden Sango asking if she was alright. And by the time the door opened to the cabin, Inuyasha and Miroku's panic stricken faces bursting through the opening, the ghost was already gone.

-break-

Not five minutes later, the four adults found themselves in Miroku and Sango's room only because at nearly nine months of pregnancy Sango couldn't move. Sitting at the desk chair, Inuyasha was staring at a still slightly distraught Kagome who was positioned beside Sango on the bed. At Sango's other side, holding her hand tenderly, Miroku too was staring at Kagome, an almost angry look on his normally calm face.

Kagome bit her lip solidly very well aware of the two men's hard expression's and Sango's curious one. "I swear." She began slowly, uncomfortably, not willing to share her experience with the people around her. Not because she feared she was going crazy, mind you, but because she was afraid of what this sighting might mean, especially for the pregnant Sango. "It was nothing." She continued on as she glanced at the girl's swollen belly, the child within awake and kicking, making the fabric of the bed sheet move almost unnoticeably. "A waking dream." She offered up but Inuyasha sent her a dark look in response.

"Don't lie." The dog demon's voice was stern and his words just a bit hypocritical.

Sending a glare towards him Kagome couldn't help but snap slightly. "Look who's talking." She told him the adrenaline still racing through her veins along with the fear and guilt in her heart making her edgy.

"Kagome." He grumbled with frustration but she quickly cut off his words.

"Seriously," She held up a hand and glanced towards Miroku whose hard brown eyes made her more uptight. "It had to be just a dream." Kagome spoke bluntly, her voice attempting to leave room for no arguments. "It just had to." She winced as she realized it sounded almost as if she were trying to convince herself.

"Well your track record with these kinds of things isn't really good." Miroku suddenly spoke up as he sent Kagome an exasperated glare. "So I'd say it could be just about anything."

"We can't take you anywhere." Sango tried to joke as she shifted uncomfortably her large stomach so swollen with child that she could barely move.

"I don't even want to go anywhere anymore." Kagome dropped her face into her hands exhausted. "I can't even fathom it," She mumbled against her fingers, the other three people in the room listening closely. "Every time I turn around something else happens." She ripped her hands away from her face and looked directly at the small group. "It's like I'm a target for some sick game!"

"Hey," Inuyasha whispered as he resisted the urge to reach for her and comfort her. "We had eight months of peace." Inuyasha supplied as he eyed Kagome carefully not liking the tightness of her expression and the strange tension in her normally carefree eyes. "That's a record."

"We haven't been together long enough to set those kinds of records." Miroku muttered as he ripped his eyes away from Kagome just long enough to send his father a well pointed look. "Whatever this is—it has to be done with, now." Miroku forced out the words and whipped his head around towards Kagome, his own worry and concern over Sango making his voice nearly deadly. "What happened Kagome, just be honest with us."

Kagome looked up at Miroku a little surprised by his words and his tone. "Then again," She glanced towards Sango's large stomach, the child within kicking hard enough that the blanket was moving pretty visibly now. "I guess he has reason to be." She licked her lips and closed her eyes for a second, wanting all of this to simply go away. When she opened her eyes again however, it became apparent that she couldn't just will that to happen. "Don't worry about." She tried again but the shakiness of her voice spoke volumes to those around her. "It was nothing to worry about—just—I'll deal with it."

"Like hell." Inuyasha jumped in before Miroku could add any comments or fuel to the fire. "Kagome, just tell us—we'll deal with it together." He spoke gently, sending his anxious son a look that told him not to say even one contradictory word.

For a moment Kagome thought to maintain her lie but there was something about the look in Inuyasha's face that made her second guess herself. Even in the worst of times, Inuyasha had proven that he would go to hell and back for her. It seemed impossible but eight months before he had proven it adamantly, they all had the moment they hadn't simply dumped her when she was virtually going insane at the hands of the jewel. "I might," Kagome licked her lips, the reassurance of Inuyasha's gaze making it a little bit easier to speak but only a little. "Um—you see," She glanced towards Miroku who couldn't met her eye and then at Sango who was nodding her head and smiling softly. "I might have seen a ghost."

The room went silent. The reassuring smiles on Sango and Inuyasha's faces dropped to the ground and Miroku made a strange noise similar to a cough or gasp or wheeze. Whatever the sound it made Kagome's chest clench and her mouth tumble opened with words.

"It talked to me too." The admission came out in a strangled gasp. "Actually it talked first." She corrected and brought her hands up to her elbows, pulling them in tight. "It wants help with something." She shrugged slightly and a strange laugh escaped her that sounded almost painful. "I don't know with what or what for or why it asked me but," She shook her head and bit the inside of her cheek and lip somehow at the same time. "It said—before it left," She added hastily as she drug her eyes away from the shocked faces of her family to the bedspread. "That when I'm not afraid of it, it would come back and I would help it." The last of the words ended in a furry of verbiage that sounded nearly incomprehensible. "And that's it."

The room grew silent once more, no one quite knowing what to say as they all stared at the now heavily breathing Kagome.

Surprisingly or perhaps not really that surprising at all, Miroku was the first person to finally find his voice again after the rushed admission. "Seems pretty ignorable to me." He nodded his head firmly and turned to look at his wife for approval but the woman glared at him instead of agreeing.

"She can't ignore that." The woman chastised, her eyes narrowing even farther into a perturbed look.

"But—with you like this?" Miroku motioned towards the expanding stomach of his wife, his eyes wide with disbelief. "We don't have time for detours."

"He's right." Inuyasha instantly agreed, his tone a bit worried not just about Sango but about Kagome as well. "We need to get Nippon now." He paused, contemplating what to say next. Before he could speak however, Sango jumped back into the conversation.

"I know—I know better than anyone that we need to find land." She patted her stomach as if to reiterate her point. "But, Kagome's job is to prevent hate and heal things," She turned towards Kagome sending her a soft look that didn't really fit her face. "This might be one of those things."

"Being pregnant has made you weird." Inuyasha grumbled and ran his hands over his face tiredly.

"No," Sango snorted and sent him a playful glare before clicking her tongue mockingly. "It's made me more empathetic—like Kagome!" She turned towards the girl and smiled brightly but Kagome could only halfheartedly return the look.

"Sango, how can you," Kagome paused looking for the right words that would not make the pregnant woman angry. "Are you sure you're okay with that?"

"What's the harm," Sango shrugged and winced slightly, her hand instantly moving to a spot where the baby had kicked a bit too hard. She rubbed it automatically before continuing. "In at least investigating?"

"How do we even do that?" Miroku growled as he sent his wife a firm glare, worry making him antsy. "It's a ghost! How do you fucking investigate a ghost?"

"I don't know," Sango answered nonchalantly as she continued to rub at the sore spot. "That's Kagome's job."

They all turned and stared at Kagome, the girl looking very much like she had been caught stealing something valuable from a manor house. "Um," She glanced particularly at the irritated Miroku watching as the waves of stress began to build around his shoulders. It was almost as if she could see them, red hot and angry, but most of all worried and scared. "I have no idea." She admitted softly, flinching just a little when Miroku groaned.

"See," He looked at his wife and then at his father, pleading with both of them it seemed. "She doesn't even know where to start."

Inuyasha nodded his head and brought a hand up to his chin holding it as thoughtfully as he could. "The best option in this case is to maintain our current heading." He told them and they all realized there was an order behind his well worded sentence; this was not merely a suggestion. "If—," He watched Miroku begin to open his mouth and sent the boy a silencing glare. "And only if," He continued on, his eyes turning from his son to the others in the room. "We encounter this—ghost—again we'll do something." He paused to take a deep breath, nodding his head as he did so. "We won't search it out." He told them firmly, the words seeming to relax Miroku tremendously. "If it's real important it'll come to us—like it said." He looked towards Kagome for clarification, the girl nodding in agreement. "Okay?" He allowed the question to hang in the air only as a formality, everyone in the room knew that whatever Inuyasha said in that moment they would do.

"Sounds good." Kagome commented anyway as she pushed herself up from the foot of the bed feeling very exposed.

"Yeah." Miroku agreed and looked down at his wife as she yawned sleepily. A soft smile overtook his face and he reached for her, brushing the hair from her head gently. "I think Sango should rest now." He told them and, just like the Captain's words before, it was not a suggestion.

"Sleep well." Kagome nodded towards Sango and turned without another thought heading towards the door. The sound of Inuyasha's boots falling her made her slightly uneasy but she didn't hesitate as she reached for the door handle and pushed it opened into the hall. The door squeaked as it opened and once they were both outside of it, it squeaked as it closed.

They stood in the hallway for a few seconds, neither one of them moving to head back to their room or somewhere else on the ship. It was as if they were momentarily frozen in place both of them lodged in their own thoughts and their own worries. It didn't take long though before Inuyasha stepped up beside her, his shoulder pressing against her own in a comforting gesture.

"Do you really think it was a ghost?" He asked as the warmth of his arm transferred to her own warm body.

"It felt like one," Kagome answered as she unconsciously leaned towards him, her head falling onto his shoulder. "If that makes sense."

"It doesn't." Inuyasha answered honestly as he turned his face towards her hair, inhaling the scent of her; it calmed him. "But, you're the Miko not me."

"It felt like something from a Shakespeare play." She told him as she felt his nose press against the top of her hair mussing it as he scented her. "Like Hamlet's father come back from the dead except—." Her voice trailed off unable to add to the sentence; unable to tell him that the only difference was this had been a child not a man.

"It wasn't seeking revenge?" Inuyasha offered as he pulled back from her and looked down at her face. She looked lost in that moment, her whole expression focused on something he neither knew nor understood. "Kagome?"

"Did it seem—malevolent?"

"Hopeless." She spoke suddenly, the word falling from her lips so delicately that it seemed as if the word should have broken. She turned her grey eyes towards him, their depths sparkling, shimmering, mixing all together. "It seemed—hopeless."

"It looked hopeless?" Inuyasha asked her as he pulled away a little farther from her, needing to see her face as she spoke so strangely.

"Yeah." Kagome nodded, her mind barely processing what she was saying. "Something in its eyes—it was just—there was this bleakness." Kagome bit her lip and looked at him, her grey eyes swirling with some sort of desperation. "And then hope."

Inuyasha narrowed his own eyes at her words, unable to understand what she was saying. "Hope?"

"It looked at me," She paused as if not believing her own words. "With hope." The words were soft in the air, barely heard above the sound of waves outside as if they were not meant to actually make a sound.

End of Chapter

Please Review

A/N: And here we are, the final phase of this story where everything will finally come together and begin to make sense. At least, that is my intention but I don't think I'm quite Dicken's so I better focus to make it as seamless as "A Tale of Two Cities!" I hope everyone is ready for the final Saga of "Shikuro: A Caribbean Fairy Tale" it's going to be awesome. Especially next chapter when we finally met the last two players in this fairy tale!

P.S. I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays!

Bonus Point:

The village of Edo eventually becomes one of the most populated modern cities in Japan. What is its modern name?

Last Chapter's Bonus Point:

The correct answer is actually 'A.' The very first scene ever written for this fanfiction was actually the hillside proposal. The hillside proposal is actually the scene that sparked me to write the whole story, it inspired me. The second scene to be written however was in fact 'B' when Inuyasha and Kagome see each other for the first time! And there is a scene with Sesshoumaru that has been written for over three years! Congrats to the winners and honorable mentions for those who guessed B, since the question was a bit misleading!

Correct: HeavenlyEclipse (In her first review), Leomae, Atem4321,

Honorable Mentions: Whiteknight, AiydanWarrior, Nightmare Hanyou, Glon Morski, Dog Demon Lover, WhiteLotus, Anel-SKyBluE, NurNur, shadowdancer261

Notes:

Edo – The Capital of Japan prior to the mid 1860 or Meiji Era. It is also the village that Kaede lives in and where the wheel, among other things, is located in the Inuyasha series.

Next Chapter:

Edo Castle

See you then!

UNEDITED

POSTED

1/21/2014