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?

94. Suspicions

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-Four

Suspicions

Kagura didn't move as she sat in the desk chair which had once belonged to Kaede. It felt as if she had been sitting there for many days when in reality she had only been posed at the desk for a few hours. In her hands, worn and already slightly yellowed, was the letter that had been left in her care the very day Kaede had died. To her credit she had not cut it opened or even slit the wax so that she could easily reseal it after reading its contents. It was completely untouched, perfectly preserved. For months, she had stared at this letter feeling as if there were some great connection she must already be aware of between the name upon it and her life. Whatever the connection was, however, she had yet to find it.

Frustrated, she sat the letter down and stared at it for several seconds before closing her eyes, sealing herself away from it, as she had several other times over the past few hours. Over and over again she had held the heavy fabric of the paper between her fingers, running her claws over each and every curve of the name: Kagome O'Loinsigh. Each time she finished tracing the delicate letters, however, she found herself more confused than she had been at the start.

Somehow, the letter seemed to be mocking her as if it were pleased with itself; pleased that Kagura had yet to figure it out. The wind enchantress growled low in her throat and pushed herself away from the table violently, the edges of the yellowed paper fluttering from the force.

"Damn it!" She cursed in English, not bothering to take a moment to feel proud of herself for having become so proficient in the language that she no longer naturally cursed in Nihon-go.

The sound of someone walking above her made her freeze before she could curse again and her heart stopped dead in her chest. The only person who could be above her was Naraku, it had only been by pure luck that she had kept the letter hidden from him for so long. Shaking, she looked down at the letter, her eyes staring at it as if it were cursed. In a way, it was. All it would take was one look from Naraku and her fate, or better yet death, would ultimately be decided.

The sound of the footsteps faded away however and, relieved, she allowed her knees to buckle so that she fell into her old bed. Dropping her head in her hands she inhaled deeply as her mind ran over every thought she had had concerning the letter for the past few months. She knew that there was a high probability that the letter did in fact belong to Kagome Dresmont but then again, what if it didn't?

The first names might have been the same but the last ones were from two completely different cultures. And if she gave the letter to the wrong person then all might be lost completely. "I can only-y send this letter once." Her eyes fluttered opened as she spoke, the heat of her breath on her the palm of her own hands making her heart sting. "I have to be a hundred percent sure who it belong to." Her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. The feel of the long lashes against her skin seemed just as mocking as the letter on the table. "I can't-to chance losing it—no matter what." She pushed herself up on the bed into a sitting position and gulped. "Once it's gone," She glanced at the unassuming letter, contempt for it forming in her heart. "It's gone."

She pushed herself back to her feet and hovered over the letter for a moment. The world around her seemed to disappear as she stared at the 'O' that started the last name: O'loinsigh. It was a beautiful example of calligraphy, a swirl of perfection. It almost looked like a boy's head, framed by his one tender curl that graced his temple. The mere sight of it seemed to infuse within her the importance of what she was looking at even more so.

"It's just too great of a risk-u to send this letter without—certainty." Her own words made the frustration rise within her again but she gulped it back down, forcing it into the pit of her stomach instead of in her throat. "I have to find her—exactly her." Kagura thought to herself as she leaned forward on the table, pressing her palms into the smooth wood. "I absolutely have to."

"Kagura?"

The sound of her name and the scrapping of the door made the frustration in her stomach turn to instant horror. Within seconds she had scooped the letter into her hand and shoved it into her shirt, burying it between the folds of her breast, the one place she was certain no one would look unless prompted. Heart pounding in her chest, she turned just in time to see the door open with a soft squeak and then the top of Hiten's head as he looked around it.

"It's me."

She sighed with immediate relief, her shoulder's going from tensed to relaxed within seconds. "Of course." She berated herself slightly as she watched the man step into the room, the door still slightly open behind him. "Hiten-sama should have knocked." She thought as the utter relief she had felt just moments before was replaced by anger. "Hiten-sama scared me to death." She growled and debated attacking the man but stopped herself. "Close the door." She motioned towards him as she allowed her body to sink into the chair, feeling now more tired than any other emotion.

Hiten sent her a mischievous smirk but obeyed the order none the less. With a soft click the door closed behind him and he crossed the room, his boots seeming to echo as they touched the wood. "So," He began slowly as he came to stand in front of her, crossing his arms over his chest as he did. "What are you doing down here?"

The wind demon sighed and reached into her shirt, pulling the letter out from between her breast carefully. The thunder demon before her watched with interest. His black eyes stared at the dip between her breasts as she removed the small letter with far more interest than he spared the letter itself, however.

Carefully, Kagura fingered the letter, the smooth pulp that had made the material soothing her somehow. "I just don't know," She paused for a moment as she held up the letter for him to see, already knowing that he had seen it a hundred times before. "What to do." She finished and lowered the letter back down to her lap with a heavy sigh.

Forcing himself to look away from the parts of her that were far more appealing to think about, Hiten mimicked the sound of her own sigh and lowered himself down onto Kaede's old bed. "What can you do?" He asked without preamble, the conversation boring to him; a conversation he had had a million times.

"I've thought of all the possibilities," She spoke carefully, forcing herself to pronounce each and every word with the upmost of care. "And I just—I just don't know." She looked up at him hoping to see some unknown answer in his eyes, she saw nothing. "I can't-to," She stumbled over the word and growled to herself fiercely. "I can't," She corrected flatly, even as Hiten sent her a small smile of approval, proud of her commit to the language. "Send it to her unless I know for sure—absolute for sure." She finished, knowing that something had sounded strange in her grammar just then but not caring.

Pushing himself up further onto the bed, Hiten leaned against the wall thoughtfully. "What do we know about her?" He asked, the question as familiar as the answer he knew he was about to get.

Watching him look at her out of just the corner of his eyes, Kagura huffed. "O'loinsigh-sama has the same name as tat Kagome girl," She supplied flinching slightly from the strange way she had said 'that.' "The one with Inuyasha-sama."

Hiten nodded his head in response and tilted his chin up a little higher, it had been the exact answer he had expected. For a moment he stared at the ceiling as thoughts swirled within his head, fighting for spoken dominance. "What are the odds of that?" He asked out loud, the question clearly rhetorical. "I mean—Kagome's not exactly a common name." He dropped his head to look at Kagura who nodded in response.

"I know." She admitted as she shook her head slowly. "But still," She glanced down at the letter in her hand, eyeing it critically. "Kagome O'loinsigh." She read the cursive handwriting carefully, her eyes tracing each delicate curl and curve. "It-to could only be the same girl if she got married." She offered up and with a great heaving sigh dropped the letter back on the desk. "And that's impossib-u."

"Marriage or the name?" Hiten inquired as he adjusted his position slightly, leaning down onto the mattress until he was practically on his side.

"The marriage."

"Why?" He pressed her further as he propped himself up with his elbow, his black eyes following her as she twisted the hem of her shirt in her hands.

"She was marked as Inuyasha-sama mate." Kagura explained as she recalled the smell on Inuyasha and the distant smell of someone covered in his scent.

"Maybe I'm being too obvious here," Hiten spoke suddenly; his voice carrying a hint of disbelief in it, as if he didn't believe what he was about to say was possible or couldn't believe he hadn't thought of it before now. "But what's his family name?"

"He doesn't-o—doesn't have one." Kagura responded quickly, almost too quickly. She had often pondered this part of the puzzle, if it was possible that Kagome and Inuyasha had gotten married but it wasn't possible, at least, to her knowledge it couldn't be. Still, even as she looked at Hiten now, answering his question felt a bit like a lie. Clearing her throat she pulled her feet up off the ground and placed them against the edge of the chair so that her knees were now in her chest. "Well—Sesshoumaru-sama doesn't have a family name. He has a title-e—but no family name." She rested her chin on her upturned knees trying to find the right words to explain herself with. "Family name are just—they're uncommon in Nippon where Inuyasha-sama—Sesshoumaru-sama and me from." She looked towards Hiten, her eyes almost pleading with him to accept her words because as long as he agreed then she knew she hadn't been wasting time these past few months, during which she had refused to send the letter for fear of being wrong.

"I see." He told her as he nodded thoughtfully actually looking slightly deflated that he hadn't just stumbled on a great answer to their dilemma.

"So—it has to be another person." She bit her lip and frowned darkly as if her own words were troubling her. "It has to be." She repeated, the repetition causing Hiten to raise his head up with curiosity.

"Kagura?" He spoke her name softly as if he wanted her to realize he wasn't judging her in that moment. "There's more, isn't there?" He pressed and she raised her head to look at him, her mind running wild with thoughts.

"I just feel like I'm forgetting something." She told him as she turned away from that imploring gaze and looked at the letter once more. Slowly, she reached out for it, one solitary claw extending so as to trace the name upon it for the millionth time. The action didn't have the affect she hoped it would however and she pulled her hand away. "What did you think would happen?" She mocked herself as she hugged her knees to her body more firmly. "Did you think a memory-y would come out-to thin air?" She closed her eyes tightly as her own voice made fun of her.

Seeing that Kagura was not going to offer up any more information without being pushed Hiten continued on. "What could you be forgetting?"

Her eyes snapped open from the sound of his voice and she sighed. Really it was not so much forgetting as it was just a strange inkling, as if she had heard the name somewhere before in passing not in actual conversation. "I just feel," She paused for a second and shook her head. "It's nothing." She decided to say instead of admitting the truth to Hiten. At the moment, she just didn't feel like bothering with it. She was tired and living constantly in fear of what Naraku with the Shikon inside of him could do. She just had no energy left to even think with. "Let's just—go to sleep."

"It's so early." Hiten commented but started to inch towards the side of the bed anyway.

"What's de difference between sleepin' now or tonight-to?" She asked not bothering to correct herself as she too stood up from her chair, reaching for the letter as she did so.

"True." Hiten agreed as his feet touched the ground and he stretched, his back popping as he raised his hands above his head. "Still," He hesitated for a moment before he turned towards her and looked her straight in the eyes. "You're going to have to make a decision sometime and send the letter." He was blunt in such a way that Kagura could feel the heat of anger on her face already. "Even if it is to the wrong person—you can't hold off forever."

"Wrong!" Kagura threw the word back into his face, her cheeks already red with fury. "It won't just be wrong," She told him frankly as she took a step forward and growled right in his face. "It will be death."

"You think I don't know?!" Hiten growled as well, his own worries and frustration bubbling up to the surface. "Of course I know but we have to at least try." He threw his hands up in the air. "If you don't do anything you're just waiting to die."

"But if I'm wrong I've cursed us both-to death." She fired back, her pupils dilating with fear. "Naraku will kill, rip us apart-to."

"I know, I know, I know." Hiten reached up and grabbed for his hair, yanking on it violently. "Either way we're dead," He finally managed to get the words out. "And I refuse to go without a fight—and this," He pointed directly at the letter that was held between Kagura's slender fingers. "This is the fight!"

"It's just a stupid letter-u!" Kagura allowed the words to fly towards Hiten's face, accompanied by spit and venom and improper pronunciation. "Letter-u has no power—no fucking power." She cursed and without even realizing what she was doing crumbled the letter in her hands. "Damn it—damn it Kaede-sama!" She fought back the urge to scream, knowing that Naraku would hear her if she did. "Why'd Kaede-sama do dis—why'd she leave Kagura with nothing but de name of some bitch I don't know?" She finished and threw the letter to the ground, the little crumbled heap bouncing against the floorboards.

"Kagura!" Hiten chastised immediately dropping to the ground. "What the fuck is wrong with you?"

The wind demon didn't respond to him at all, her body frozen in place as she stared at the spot on the ground where the letter lay. She would never be sure what had sparked the memory to come to her in that moment. Perhaps it was the fact that Hiten had yelled at her and he never really had or maybe, it was because she had, for the briefest of moments, allowed herself to stop thinking about the letter in terms of who it was from. Whatever it was, in that moment a conversation she had forgotten about from long, long ago, filled her mind to the very core of her understanding.

The spring Sakura danced around Kagura as she walked just a few scarce feet behind her betrothed in the garden. They had only been arranged to be married for a few weeks but to her it seemed like an eternity of happiness. Out of all the women who could have been picked, it had been her, destined to marry the future ruler of the Western Nations of Nippon. It was unfathomable and yet, her she was just behind him watching his hair cascade down his back in gentle sweeping waves of perfect silver.

"Sesshoumaru-sama wa kanpekida." She told herself amazed at his pure 'perfection' as she watched a particularly beautiful Sakura blossom fall into his silky hair. The blushing color of the petal made the silver shimmer even brighter than before in the late afternoon sun and she blushed as she realized, one day, she could touch that hair. "Onegai." She looked up at the clouds above them. "Kami-sama—Onegai." She whispered, her heart fluttering in her chest at the mere thought of such delicate strands between her searching fingers.

"Kagura?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the sound of his voice, her heart hammering in her chest as she noticed his gold eyes on her. "Hai," She spoke quickly, yet properly, making sure her voice was as delicate as the Sakura petal in his hair. "Sesshoumaru-sama?" She lowered her eyes respectfully away from him and waited for whatever beautiful words he might have for her.

"Shizukani." He commanded instead and Kagura lifted her head quickly, just in time to see him turn away from her and continue down the path.

Her heart dropped to her knees as she realized he had been upset by her quietly mumbled words, so much so that he had told her to be quiet, like she was a child. Hurt, she clutched her hands at her sides but didn't say a word, she was a proper woman, engaged to a very important proper man, and it was not her place to have opinions or to speak unless spoken to. Besides, he was tired and stressed and many things were happening out of his control.

She should let it go.

Just—let it go.

Quietly now, she continued down the path following him without a word, allowing only her eyes to see the brilliance of the scenery. A young maid was sweeping some distance away, the soft scrap of the broom's bristle's catching Kagura's attention. The girl was new and Kagura had already heard much about her lately.

Rumor was she was a half demon who someone had taken pity on and given her a job. Her parents had been murdered, according to the other servants, right before her eyes. All together she looked no more than fourteen and was not beautiful but not wholly ugly either. She was tiny and had a nearly skeletal body but her face was at least nice and she had a soft sweet smile that reached all the way to her eyes when she dared to use it.

Still, no matter how pretty one was they couldn't remove their heritage from their body. And Kagura knew that out of all heritages, having human blood was the worst to Sesshoumaru.

"How troubling." He spoke suddenly as he came to a stop, the English words lost on Kagura's ears.

"Na—?" She started to question but the words fell on her lips as she spotted Izayoi-sama, the human wife of the current leader of the Western Nations of Nippon, and her son, Inuyasha. Both of them were hovering over a small pond full of koi, looking down into the deep waters with equal gazes of curiosity on their faces.

"What do you think Okaa-san?" The little boy spoke in English, his words lost on Kagura completely but not on the English speaking Sesshoumaru who watched them with puzzling eyes she couldn't quite read.

"He's quite cute." The woman agreed as she rested a hand on the boy's head and rubbed one ear. "You should give him a name."

"Oh!" The boy jumped up and down instantly as if he had been given permission to name a whole new country and not just a fish. "O'loinsigh—that's my other name isn't it?"

"Yes," The woman nodded her head and sent him a tender smile. "O'loinsigh—the name of our family, the sea."

Kagura fell to her knees the second the memory left her body and nearly swallowed her tongue. Her hands were shaking and her lips were trembling as the realization flooded her, covering her in a wave of disbelief.

Across from her uncrumbling the letter Hiten jumped and looked down at her opened mouth face with avid worry. "Kagura-hime?" He asked, the hand holding the letter dropping to his side as he lowered himself down to look into her face. "What's wrong?"

Kagura didn't say anything for several seconds, her wide eyes one blue and the other stained only with the color of wind, unseeing. "O'loinsigh," The word dripped out of her mouth as if it were a curse. As if just awakening, she lifted her head, her eyes staring straight into Hiten's black ones, surprised by his presence it seemed. "I didn't realize—," Her voice trailed off and she looked back down at the ground and then up again at Hiten before turning towards the letter dangling in his hand. "O'loinsigh." She said again and her fingers flexed, opening and closing just over her knees. "I didn't know English so I—I didn't—."

"What are you talking about?" Hiten reached for her with his free hand part of him thinking she must be hallucinating, maybe she even had a fever. His fingers brushed against her cheek and instantly her eyes snapped into complete awareness.

"I'd heard the name before," She said quickly as she reached for the letter and yanked it out of his hand before he could say even a word. "But I never realized—I didn't—I never thought." Her tongue fought to keep on speaking as she forced out each and every word, while carefully smoothing the crumbled, frail paper. "I didn't know English—I didn't know English," She repeated over and over again, her voice sounding rough as she suddenly brought the letter up to Hiten face only inches from his nose. "Now I do, I do and—it's his name." she pointed at the name they both had not known moments before, her finger jabbing into it almost dangerous.

His eyes nearly crossing from how close the letter was to his face, Hiten pulled his head backwards. "Who?"

"Inuyasha-sama!"

-break-

The wood of the wheel was cool between Myoga's hands as he directed the ship down the familiar curve of the eastern Nippon coast line. Vaguely, he looked out across the vast sea, towards the rearing shoreline that seemed to sprout up from looming cliffs and beaches. The shape of huts, the very same as the ones he had been raised in made him purse his lips. He could just see their wooden roofs and the little rocks that held down the wood panels, keeping them secured against the wind. He could see the sheets made from reeds that covered the doors and he could see the ones that covered the windows.

It seemed odd that they should have remained so unchanged even though he hadn't been back to his birthplace in almost four hundred years. Yet, he realized these were merely the houses of the poor or better yet the shanties that they were forced to live in. They were probably not even houses that were lived in year round. They really did look like the kind of houses that people only dwelled them when it was warm and when fishing.

Myoga closed his eyes against the thought and adjusted the helm's heading without needing to see anymore. Witnessing such changes would only make his heart burn with his own sadness and even more so, such changes would only make him wonder about those he had left behind—the friends and family he had abandoned without a word all those years ago.

The sudden sound of footfalls behind him made his ears twitch and he sighed, recognizing the specific and familiar gaunt of Totosai. Slowly, he opened his eyes and watched as the man appeared as if from nowhere on the stairs. Easily their gazes connected, frail eyes meeting frail eyes. For several seconds the two looked at each other, identical dark eyes staring at one another with lackluster exhaustion. Neither had slept, it felt, in over a year and neither had been able to think straight for longer.

Simultaneously, as if they had both had the same strained thought, they both inhaled and simultaneously they both sighed.

Without a word, Totosai looked away from Myoga towards the shoreline, his eyes seeing exactly what Myoga had seen before. Small huts, shakes on beaches, abandoned or better yet unoccupied. Further, covered by morning fog, a distant mass caught his eye and he blinked once and twice before he sighed once more. For a moment, he thought to open his mouth and speak. Totosai even went so far as to actually open his mouth but the words didn't come; there was nothing to say.

Silent as well, Myoga took his eyes away from his friend and turned them towards the shore. He too caught sight of the unidentifiable village, or better yet city, that hid just out of sight. It would only be a matter of time before they reached it and that worried him into silence. Still, just like Totosai, he felt the inclination to speak and voice what both of them were thinking. He opened his mouth as if he were prepared to say something entirely appropriate or philosophical but he too closed it soon after and said nothing.

Just like Totosai he realized there was nothing to say; after all, they both knew they were home and even more so, they both knew what that meant.

Still, never one to keep quiet for long, Totosai found his mouth opening once more. Only this time a sound did emerge in the form of a name seamlessly slipping out from between almost tight lips. "Sore wa jikanda."

"Hai." Myoga agreed, 'it was time,' and Totosai didn't have to say anything more than that for Myoga to understand what he meant.

"Hey, Myoga!" Inuyasha's voice cut through the quiet air like a knife making both Totosai and Myoga jump. In the midst of their silent conversation they had blocked out all further sound.

"Inuyasha-sama." Myoga allowed the name to slip from his mouth just as Sesshoumaru's name had slipped from Totosai's.

"There you are," Inuyasha's head and shoulder's appeared as he jumped up the staircase, his gold eyes appearing far calmer than they should have. "How's our position?"

"Good." Myoga replied evenly as he glanced at Totosai watching as the slightly older man scratched his head haphazardly and looked away from him. Myoga narrowed his eyes in understanding, Totosai's look telling him that he would be the one who had to speak to their young master before them. "Shikuro will-u be-e there soon."

"Good." Inuyasha nodded as he crossed the deck his eyes looking out at the landscape as if seeing it for the first time. In a way, he actually was. That is, he was seeing it with adult eyes for the first time. "It's looks—," He hesitated and shook his head turning back towards the two men who had known him sense before he was even born and longer than anyone living today. "The same?" It came out as a question and he shook his head. "I don't even know. I can't remember much."

"It-to does." Myoga agreed quietly as he glanced at Totosai who was shifting uncomfortably. "Inuyasha-sama—," He cleared his throat and turned to look at the young man. He was met with the glint of tired golden eyes, the same golden eyes he had known even before Inuyasha was born; they were his father's eyes. "Ano, Myoga," He glanced towards Totosai who was looking at his feet. "Totosai-kun, ano, there something-u we tell Inuyasha-sama now."

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow as he watched the two men shift strangely. "What?"

"A—n-o," Myoga licked his lips. "Sesshoumaru-sama has all the power now." The small demon stopped and glanced at Inuyasha watching as the dog demon looked at him rather calmly despite the mention of the name. "He—take-i power from Otou-sama." Myoga half explained even as a wave of discomfort jumped from his toes to his spine telling him not to elaborate further. "Don't-ta—don't-ta get mad at-to tat."

"I already knew that." Inuyasha growled slightly but didn't speak on the subject further. He could still, even three days later, feel the grip of Sesshoumaru's arm as he pulled Inuyasha from his mother.

"Inuyasha-sama," Myoga bit the inside of his cheek unable to think of the right words to explain what he was trying to explain. "There—there are thing-u yuu not know."

"What's there to know?" Inuyasha snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "My brother overthrew our father, killed him, took the throne, and tried to have me killed."

"Hai." Myoga nodded his head, despite everything he couldn't really find a way to deny what Inuyasha had just said but still. "Demo—." He began to open his mouth again but Inuyasha stopped him with an angry grunt.

"Just let it go," He growled slightly as he crossed his arms over his chest and muttered something under his breath. "I really don't care what you have to tell me about that bastard."

Myoga glanced over at Totosai but the other man wouldn't look at him, far too chicken to speak. "Inuyasha-sama," Myoga drew out the name slowly as he tried to find the right words to precede with. "Myoga just-to wanna make sure Inuyasha-sama know-u ev—."

Inuyasha shook his head and before he could stop himself snarled. "I don't want to hear anything about it—just," He threw his hands up in the air as the feeling of that phantom grip tightening on his arm made him see red. "Steer the bloody ship." He finished with a loud growl that turned into him raising up his boot and kicking at the wood beneath him as if to reiterate his point. The tip of his boot actually indented into the wood making both demons before him flinch. "I'm gonna go check the—ropes." Inuyasha rubbed the back of his head and turned around without another word of explanation.

"Inuyasha-sama!" Myoga called after the man but the boy didn't even glance his way or allow an ear to flick towards the sound of the old man's voice.

"Yoi shigoto." Totosai mumbled from beside him as he watched the young man leave back down the steps.

"Damare!" Myoga glared at the other man. "Baka."

Totosai for his part laughed at the insult before his face grew serious. "Toki ni wareware wa, Inuyasha-sama ni iu tsumori desu ka?"

Myoga shook his head at Totosai and said nothing for several minutes as he contemplated the question. When were they going to tell him? When would be a good time? Would he even listen? "Iya." Myoga reached up and rubbed the back of his neck with one of his four free hands."Sugu ni." He finally answered Totosai who shook his head in response but didn't say anything.

If it was up to the old carpenter he could not have said a thing, he would have left it all up to Inuyasha to discover slowly. This was Myoga's call, however, and if he planned to say something 'soon' then Totosai would be patient and wait for that time to come. "Hai."

-break-

Kagome looked out of the window of Sango and Miroku's cabin, while behind her Sango perused a translated copy of the Iliad. The younger girl's swirling grey eyes stared out at the slowly taking in the growing scenery of the strange and foreign country. Looming steep cliffs with white water pushing against their corroded rocks stood tall and regal, looking proud and somehow unbendable even as they were being slowly eroded. Up around their edges, she could see the green of brush and perhaps thick and massive trees that only appeared small this far away. Either way, it was amazing to see something so green despite the cold, it was almost intimidating and unexplainable to her.

"Maybe a demons doing?" She thought to herself as her mind briefly wondered to the woman who had made her wedding wreaths. Although she had never met her in person, she felt almost as if she had from Inuyasha's descriptions of the incident alone. "Other demons like that exist?" She thought to herself as she leaned back, blinking slightly as she felt the cold of the wind from outside push against the clothes windowpanes. "There could be one here—another demon with a gift for botany."

Shrugging, she allowed the thought to slip away as the outline of a dark mass amonst the greenery caught her eye. Her eyes squinted as she tried to make out the shape. It seemed no more than a dark speck among a mass of green, no bigger than perhaps herself but it didn't seem to be a person. Really, it looked more like a shed or shanty that one might see in a fishing village but it was far too high up on the cliffs to be utilized as such a thing.

Shrugging Kagome closed her eyes against the sight and rolled her head in a circle to release the tension in her neck. With a sigh, her bright grey eyes opened again and much to her own amazement found themselves looking at the same spot only this time it became more than just the outline of a house. It was sculpted and perfectly focused with brown shingles on the roof and a thick sculpted wooden door with intricate patterns like Celtic knots around the edges.

"It's beautiful." She thought to herself as the image came more and more into focus. She could see each line and the slight detail of paint in the crevices the carpenter had left behind when he made the design. "So much detail—," Her mouth started to open from amazement but the expression soon turned to absolute shock as an image appeared on that door, a face staring straight back at her with deep sorrowful black eyes.

"This is a good book." The sudden sound of Sango's voice behind her made Kagome nearly jump out of her skin, the girl releasing a startled gasp that caught Sango by surprise. "Kagome?"

Kagome blinked rapidly, her vision blurring slight from the upset. Turning to look at Sango she frowned for just a moment when she noticed the other girl staring at her with confused brown eyes. "What—?"

"I'm sorry." Sango smiled as she shook her head at Kagome. "You're so easily startled lately." She joked and for her credit Kagome laughed, albeit halfheartedly.

"Yeah." The girl agreed before quickly turning her head back around to look for the shake once more. Immediately, her eyes grew wide and darted this way and that. She could see nothing—no shake, no sculpted door, no face, no eyes, just trees, leagues and leagues of them. "What the—?"

"Hm?"

Kagome snapped her mouth shut and bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from saying another word. "Did I imagine it?" She asked herself even as the thumping of her heart in her chest told her otherwise. Even if her mind couldn't comprehend it, her soul apparently did. "No—oh god."

"Kagome?" Sango lowered the book down onto her stomach, the sound of the pages scrapping the fabric of her blanket loud in the deathly quiet room. "What's wrong?"

Kagome shook her head fast from Sango's words and took in a deep breath. "Nothing." She managed to say, forcing herself to push the strangest of what she had seen aside for now. "I just—," She opened her eyes and turned around, looking away from the window and instead at the sight of Sango's stomach that the book was resting on. The book jumped suddenly and Sango smiled, the sweet affectionate look that crossed her face making Kagome's heart stop in her chest. "I can't put that in danger." She told herself even as her heart pulled in another direction, her need to help the unknown strong but nowhere near as strong as her need to protect the family she had come to know and love. "The baby's kicking."

"I know." Sango rolled her eyes but the look didn't seem upset in the least. "It's starting to hurt too." She grumbled and moved the bouncing book aside her hand replacing it. For a moment, she rubbed her taunt stomach and hummed slightly to herself. "Shh—," She whispered and soothed her hand moving rhythmically in small circles. "Settle down in there."

"I don't think that works." Kagome smiled slightly, the images of the face and the strange house ebbing, disappearing into the back of her mind.

"Anything's worth a try at this point." Sango smirked and stilled her hand as she finally looked up towards Kagome. "You still thinking about the ghost?" The woman asked bluntly and Kagome had to do her best to control her features.

"No." She lied easily but couldn't help but notice the way Sango raised her eyebrow.

"It came back again didn't it?" The woman deadpanned, her expression telling Kagome that lying would be worthless.

The younger girl sighed and turned away from the pregnant woman. Blinking slightly, she looked out the window once more half expecting to see the image of that strange house and the apparition before it once more but this time she saw something completely different. Just touching the horizon she could make out the outline of sails, strange sails that were perfectly square and red. They didn't appear to be blowing in the breeze either, they had a certain stiff quality about them that she just couldn't quite explain. "How strange." She mumbled and turned her body more fully to look out the window.

"What's strange?" Sango asked, perplexed by the quick change in mood of the other girl.

"Sails." Kagome replied as she leaned closer to the window, narrowing her eyes so that she could see farther. "I think it's a ship."

"A ship?" Sango pushed herself up a little straighter, grunting as she tried to look out the window but from her current position she couldn't manage it.

"Yeah." Kagome nodded quickly and turned back around her eyes darting this way and that throughout the room. "Where's Miroku's spyglass?"

Sango's eyes widened for a moment as she too looked around the room as if debating where the asked for spyglass might be. "The draw—the desk maybe?" She pointed towards the largest of the desk drawers. "Yeah—it should be in there unless her has it."

"Great!" Kagome practically jumped from her spot by the window, reaching the desk within seconds. Hasty fingers pulled opened the large desk draw and she immediately began to fumble with the papers and other junk within. The sound of clanging glass and the swish of ink in a inkwell filled the air until finally Kagome's hands brushed against the cool metal of the spyglass. "Got it!" She exclaimed before rushing back towards the window.

Holding the spyglass towards her eye she took in the outline of the distant object once more. Sure enough the square red sails became clearer, reveling that they were actually not red at all but surrounded only by red wood that made up the ship. They were actually white and appeared to be a series of lines where the sails seemed to fold like an accordion or a lady's fan. And around these strange sails were some she recognized, sheets of white material bellowing with air as they were directed by still unseen ropes.

"It is a ship!" She turned towards Sango excitedly as she dropped the spyglass back down away from her eye. "And a really strange one too—the sails are normal and, well, not normal all at once."

"What do you mean?" Sango creased her forehead from the strange description.

"The sails are the normal color," Kagome turned back around, her face scrunching up as she brought the glass to her eyes once more. "—but not all of them are, I don't know, cloth like ours." She explained slowly as she studied the progressively growing object. "They're kind of stiff and—they almost look like wood." She pulled the glass down and tilted her head to the side awkwardly.

"How can it sail like that?" Sango muttered as she took in Kagome's description.

"Good question." Kagome replied as she clicked her tongue. She was just about to raise the spyglass up again when she heard a nervous yell from overhead. "That sounded like Myoga."

Sango nodded in response as she looked up towards the ceiling. Subconsciously, her hands came up and wrapped themselves around her body as if she were trying to protect the child within from the unknown dangers.

"Do you think it's hostile?" She asked, the question seeming off for someone like Sango to actually ask.

Kagome shook her head, her mind reeling as she watched the beautiful and strange sails of the ship turn this way and that directing the vessel straight towards them. "How do you tell?"

"Cannons." Sango supplied trying to keep her tone neutral and not annoyed.

Hearing the slight frustration and worry already building within Sango, Kagome quickly brought the glass back up to her eye. For several seconds she studied the unclear image of the ship but found they were still too far away to actually make out something smaller than the body of the ship and its sails. "We're too far." She informed but her voice at least came across as apologetic as she turned to look back at Sango.

The pregnant woman shifted uncomfortably just as a series of angry shouts sounded from above them. "Who's that?"

"Sounds like Inuyasha." Kagome gripped the window ledge tightly before pushing herself away forcefully. Without thinking, she grabbed her coat from the back of the deck chair and threw it over her shoulders, which had already been covered by another coat. Growing up in the Caribbean had not really prepared her properly for cold.

Watching Kagome hastily pull the coat onto her arms, Sango opened her mouth feeling just slightly panicked. "Where are you going Kagome?"

"To see what's happening, of course!" Kagome answered quickly as she threw the spyglass back into the draw not wanting to technically 'steal' something, which didn't belong to her. Excitement bubbled within her as she headed towards the door, thankful for the distraction that this new ship would bring.

"Don't leave me alone," Sango called after her, causing Kagome only to slow down but not to stop. "I hate being left out."

"I'll be right back," Kagome told her as her hand fell onto the doorknob before her. She turned just enough to where she could see Sango's face and allowed a smile to grace her already rosy lips. "I promise I'll tell you everything the second I'm back!" She nodded once and swung the door opened, she left in a matter of only seconds, shoving the door back closed so that cold air would not seep into Sango's room.

Left alone in the room, unable to move from the bed quick enough to run after the other girl, Sango huffed and glared at her large stomach. "The second you're out—," She allowed her words to trail off as affection bubbled within her. "Oh—damn." She cursed and shook herself, forcing her eyes away from her stomach. "Damn little thing—already have me wrapped around your bloody finger and I haven't even seen it yet." She growled slightly and lifted her head off the back of the bed, her neck straining to see out the window enough to notice the approaching ship.

She just caught sight of the white stiff sails, her eyes narrowing as she was forced to lean back down, the strain hurting her lower back. Rubbing her stomach, soothing the kicking baby inside Sango licked her lips.

"You're being born into one hell of a family." She mumbled, trying to keep her fear at bay just a little bit. "I doubt you'll ever know a normal life," She cleared her throat as she talked to the unborn child, the baby kicking in response to her voice. "Sorry about that."

-break-

Out on the quarter deck, Inuyasha and Miroku stood side by side looking over the railing watching the ship as it approached them. Inuyasha's arms were crossed over his chest and his fingers were impatiently drumming as he stared at the strange square, stiff sails with intense golden eyes. His sharp vision was able to make out even more than Kagome had with the spyglass and he could tell, dramatically so, that the ship did in fact have cannons but they appeared to be unmoved and there were not very many of them.

"I don't like it." Miroku said from beside him as he leaned over the railing a little further, his elbows supporting his weight on the old wood.

"It's almost like," Inuyasha mumbled, licking his lips slowly as he shifted his weight to one foot briefly. "Those cannons are just for basic protection from," He bit the inside of his cheek hard and allowed his claws to dig into his arm angrily. "People like us."

"Yeah." Miroku agreed, the ominous quality of Miroku's statement making him feel cold to the core. "This timing's just—," He leaned back slightly as his mind wandered to his wife below. "It couldn't be worse."

"I know." Inuyasha agreed as he tightened his jaw slightly and began tapping his foot against the ground just as impatiently as his fingers on his arm. "She's just weeks from giving birth," He thought to himself as his mind swam with ominous warnings. "Maybe not even that."

"Inuyasha?"

The sound of his wife's voice pulled the dog demon instantly from his troubling thoughts. "Kagome." He turned and looked at her as she approached; her flush cheeks and her rosy nose beautiful against the background of her almost chin-length black curls. "Her hair's gotten longer—she usually cuts it by now." He thought absently to himself as she reached him, her cheeks becoming more flushed as she breathed in the cold air.

"What's that ship doing?" She asked as she wrapped her arms around her cold body.

Inuyasha's ear flicked underneath the hat on his head as he looked away from Kagome towards the ship. "I don't know." He answered honestly as he dropped his arms to his side and growled slightly. "They have cannons but they're not military and—," His eyes scanned the ship carefully looking at the cannons which appeared to still be tied in place, unmoved. "They haven't untied them."

"Really?" She turned and followed his gaze, her bright grey eyes not able to see as much as he could.

For his part, Miroku inhaled deeply forcing himself not to sigh too loudly with relief. There wasn't much to be relieved about just yet, after all, just because the cannons were tied down at the moment didn't mean they couldn't be untied at any time. Clearing his throat, he glanced at Kagome only briefly before looking back at Inuyasha. "Have they spotted us?"

"Probably," Inuyasha nodded sharply, not bothering to hide the truth of their predicament.

"Maybe Kagome can conceal us." Miroku said suddenly from beside him and Inuyasha's eyes widened immediately at the prospect. "She's done it before—she could do it again, right?" He turned and looked at his father imploringly, wanting the idea to work above all else.

"Yes." He agreed quickly, latching onto the idea immediately.

Looking between the two men Kagome felt her heartbeat actually quicken in her chest from the prospect. "Make a barrier?" She thought to herself as she looked down at her hands carefully. Lately, she had feared doing anything with her powers, they were so uncontrolled. "Whether I want to or not I can see inside people's souls." She told herself as she turned her hands over to look at her palms, the place her power always emerged. "And—if I can't control that—will I be able to control a barrier again?" She felt an unnerving sense of foreboding enter her mind. "And that energy if I can't control it—," She raised her head up and looked at her husband, he had once been on the receiving end of such energy, it had nearly killed him.

A shudder ran down her spine and even though she could see Inuyasha's mouth moving talking to Miroku, she couldn't hear the words. Instead, her ears were plagued only by the scream he had released that day a little over half a year before. And her eyes, which should have just seen two men standing on the deck before her, saw only his charred hair and smoking clothes as he laid as still as death in the field.

"If I can't control it—." She couldn't bring herself to finish the thought and immediately shook her head as if to banish it from existence.

"Kagome?"

She heard her name and her neck snapped upwards so her eyes could look at the man she had nearly killed. "Um—yes?"

The dog demon stared at her for a moment, his eyes curious and questioning as he looked into her own. "Something's not right." He told himself but quickly brushed off knowing that her recent encounter with the waking dream or ghost or whatever it was, was probably still plaguing her mind. "What do you think?" He asked her, his voice gentle if not a bit strained from worry.

"I—I think," She stopped, hesitant and unsure of what to actually tell him. She knew without a doubt that she didn't feel comfortable unleashing a barrier at the moment. She hadn't done it in months and there was no telling if the attempt would be successful or not. "Um," She stumbled over the words and shifted slightly. "I think we're being too—well—hasty." She finally managed to say and lifted her head up to smile at him halfheartedly.

"Hasty?" Miroku practically jumped on her words, his eyes absolutely shocked. "What the hell—Sango's in bed pregnant, how can you think we're being hasty!?"

"Miroku." Inuyasha bit out the name with warning edging into his voice as he looked at Kagome carefully and just as shocked as Miroku. "Explain what you mean, Kagome." He asked as gently as he could muster under the circumstances.

"Just, well," Kagome looked away from him not able to stare the man in the eye when he looked at her the way he was now. His gold irises were practically penetrating her body, seeing inside her very heart as he fixed his gaze on her own. It was unnerving and she couldn't help but look away from it. "Shouldn't we—." she turned her eyes upwards, searching for anything that would give her some explanation. The familiar outline of Myoga and Totosai caught her eye within moments. "Shouldn't we talk to Myoga and Totosai, first?"

"Why?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow in complete confusion.

"They know these people, the Nihonjin—right?" Kagome didn't know where her words were coming from in that moment, all she knew was that they somehow made some semblance of since. "Maybe they can offer some insight so we won't have to take drastic measures." She finished feeling as if the sentence was pretty lame but might just get her point across.

"You have a point." Inuyasha mumbled as he took in Kagome's words. "Besides that—that ship's still a relatively safe distance away, it won't hurt to talk to Myoga and Totosai quickly." He nodded once sharply and without asking for a single opinion from either Miroku or Kagome motioned with his chin towards the helm's deck. "Let's go then." He commanded briskly and before either Miroku or Kagome could say a word started for the helm.

Only slightly confused by the sudden move, Miroku and Kagome briefly looked at each other before quickly turning and following Inuyasha who was already on the stairs.

"Where are we going?" Kagome called after him, the sound of her voice seeming to slow him only slightly.

Turning to look at her, he sent her a slight smile before nodding back up to the helm. "To ask Myoga about this—just like you wanted." He told her before turning away and jumping deliberately up the first few stairs.

Despite the comfort of knowing Kagome was close by Inuyasha couldn't help but allow his thoughts to creep towards darkness. His ears twitched on his head listening closely to all the distant sounds of life but even his hearing couldn't make out the sounds of the distant ship. Anxiety built within him and he growled under his breath, his mind turning over and over with thoughts about everything that was precious and fragile on this ship.

"Better make this quick though," He licked his lips, already seeing Sango's pregnant form in the back of his mind. She might not be his wife and that might not be his child but the demon within him knew, regardless, they were his pack and thus, his responsibility. "We can't afford to let anything upset her—not this close to the baby being born." Shaking his head quickly, knowing Miroku and even Kagome were probably thinking the same thing, Inuyasha mounted the last stair and yelled without thought. "Myoga!" He watched as the flea jumped at the sound of his name. "What the hell's up with that ship?"

Myoga froze at the wheel, surprised by Inuyasha's sudden loud yell. "Nani?" He spoke in Nihon-go startled by the sudden outburst.

Behind him, Totosai had the audacity to laugh slightly to himself and cross his arms over his chest. It seemed, he realized before Myoga had, that the decision had been made for them. They would undoubtedly have to tell Inuyasha now, there would be no other choice.

"The ship," Inuyasha pointed towards the approaching vessel with one claw. "It's got cannons and everything—what's it up too?"

Kagome came up behind Inuyasha just as the question left the man's mouth and not far behind her Miroku appeared as well, his eyes narrowed as they too looked at Myoga wanting to hear the answer. "Do you know?" He pressed Myoga further as he crossed the small distance between his father and the stairs.

Kagome absently looked back at the man, slightly surprised by the bluntness of his words and the pressure that rang behind them. Still, she couldn't say that she didn't understand how he and Inuyasha both felt. An unknown ship with cannons was heading straight towards them and Sango plump with child, as pregnant as pregnant could possibly be, was down below them. The combination just didn't bode well for them at all.

Myoga, still a bit frazzled, looked between the two men confused but nodded his head all the same. "Tsuri." He answered simply and pointed towards the vessel.

Three sets of eyes widened from the use of the Nihon-go word and without a sound turned and looked at the vessel. Sure enough, now that their minds were finally clear, they were able to see things they had not been looking for before (or at least, Inuyasha was with his demonic vision). "Fishing nets." He supplied as he just noticed the outline of the really thin nets that were used to catch fish hanging over the side of the ship unattended.

"Fishing?" Kagome whispered out the translation of the word. Over the past few months they had been at sea Inuyasha had taken the time to teach all of them the basics of his native language (and perfect Miroku's ability in it). Although she could not speak the language perfectly and her understanding of it was still limited, she knew that word 'tsuri' easily. "It's a fishing vessel."

"It is." Miroku nodded sharply as he looked out across the ocean his eyes hard with understanding. "So those cannons—they're just for protection."

Over the past few months his proficiency in the language had grown tremendously. It had improved so much in fact, that he had found himself able to have full conversations with both Myoga and Totosai for the first time in his life. Previously, the conversations had always been in horribly broken English but now they were in a mixture of perfect Nihon-go and English at the same time, leading Miroku to finally understand the two men completely in more ways than one.

"Hai." Myoga nodded and shrugged his shoulders slightly as if he didn't see what the big deal actually was. "Shikuro leave dem alone—dey leave Shikuro alone."

For several minutes the two humans and three demons stood in silence all of their eyes transfixed on the fishing vessel that rested only a little over half a league away. At their current speed it would take no more than fifteen or twenty minutes for the two ships to cross paths and although that didn't seem like a long time, it felt (for these five people) as if it was an eternity of waiting. The wind blew against them, cold and icy, the sting of it making them shiver in order to keep warm.

Kagome's hair caught in front of her face for a moment, the somewhat longer strands than normal brushing against her rosy cheeks. Out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha watched her carefully, but his eyes were not trained on Kagome's curly hair or her redden cheeks, they were fixed on her deep grey eyes. He had learned over the course of their time together that Kagome's eyes were the best predictor in existence for most things: and their ability laid within their change.

Darker eyes showed danger and lighter ones showed love and peace. And true grey, the exact middle point between black and white, the moment when the colors were perfectly mixed together meant nothing more than curiosity.

As he looked at her now, he saw that—he saw perfect grey. "And at the moment," He pulled his eyes away from Kagome as his heart sunk a little in his chest. "That tells me nothing." He bit his lip from the realization and looked immediately from Kagome's loveliness to Myoga's wrinkles. "So they're not hostile?" He asked suddenly, the sound of his voice breaking up the quiet that had settled over them a few seconds before.

Myoga turned his head to the side thoughtfully for a moment and then turned towards the ever quiet Totosai beside him. The other man looked just as thoughtful but didn't take even a moment to offer up any words for Myoga to use. Sending the man a slight glare, Myoga turned back towards Inuyasha and licked his lips. "Inuyasha-sama," Myoga spoke softly, as if he wasn't quite sure how to word his sentence or explain his current thought. "Nihonjin not normally-y hostile." He finally settled on as he raised his head and looked towards the young man, his wife and his son. "Demo dey don't-to like-i Gaijin."

"Gaijin," Inuyasha repeated the slightly unfamiliar word, his mind barely managing to process its meaning.

Miroku's eyebrows narrowed in confusion and he glanced over at an equally confused Kagome. For a moment the two exchanged that look as if waiting for the other to clarify the meaning of the strange new word but neither of them seemed to have any answers. Even Miroku, despite his great knowledge of the language, had never heard the word spoken before. "What's that mean?" He ventured to ask Kagome who shook her head up and down in agreement but Inuyasha and Myoga both did not say a word and Totosai, standing stoically behind Myoga, only glanced at them briefly before shaking his head as if to tell them, 'hush.'

Already trapped within the confines of his own fretful mind, Inuyasha couldn't even hear his son's question. He could only focus on the distant sound of a very familiar voice, which now was rattling in his brain with an incessant torturous sound.

Hidden from sight, beyond the shiori walls, Inuyasha peeked his tiny face through an opening between the door and the wall. Inside he could see his father, the man's face drawn into an odd furious line. It was almost as if he was angry and not angry at the same time or as if he was holding back the emotion as best he could. A little behind his father, dressed properly in a kimono was his mother, her lips pressed tightly together as if she were trying to stop herself from yelling something inappropriate into the proper room.

And across from both of them, the man Inuyasha had always known as his older brother sat on a cushion, his knees positioned under his body weight properly. The dog demon's face was tightly drawn in an expression that Inuyasha was simply too young to understand at the time but as an adult would identify as unnatural hate and disgust. Behind him even further were a few generals that Inuyasha didn't recognize then and wouldn't remember as an adult.

"Gaijin!" Sesshoumaru yelled suddenly and lifted one small finger to point at Inuyasha's mother. "Saiaku—ningen."

His words, racist and snide, echoed through the room just as Inuyasha felt a protective hand grab hold of his shoulder and yank him back from the shori. "Inuyasha-sama!" The scolding voice of Myoga entered his ears but compared to Sesshoumaru's dark snarl they were nothing but a gentle reminder to behave.

Inuyasha blinked and shook the memory off even as protective instincts for the woman long since dead surfaced within him. He wanted to reach into his memory and grab Sesshoumaru, shake him violently, punch him in the face, or better yet punch a hole through his gut and out the other side. His hands at his side tightened into fist and he had to try to stop himself from growling in disgust.

Watching him carefully from her spot only a few feet away, Kagome bit her lip and without even one ounce of trepidation reached for her husband carefully. "I saw everything." She wanted to tell him as his memories seeped within her like water seeps onto the sand at high tide. "He called her—such terrible things—a foreigner and worst," The word ningen echoed within her as if it were a violent dagger. "A human." Her fingers brushed against his shoulder only a second later and she watched as he jumped in complete surprise from the contact.

His eyes instantly turned towards her, the gold flaring as if he were prepared to yell but upon seeing her face he stopped, all angry words dying on his throat. "Kagome." He mouthed but no sound actually emerged from his throat.

For several seconds the two made eye contact, Kagome's perfectly grey eyes looking at him as if she were, in that moment, seeing his very soul and she was. It was almost unnerving looking into those eyes even if he didn't know that she could look into his own and see his every thought. He wanted to tell her thank you as some of the burden lifted away from him from the sight of her, unbeknownst to him, taken by the miko power inside of her.

"Sesshoumaru." He finally spoke able to say the name of the man as he took strength from Kagome. "He called my mother that." He nodded once sharply as if he were trying to make it seem as if the thought was no big deal. "Because she was one; a Gaijin." He dropped the other part of the memory completely, not wanting the racism to manifest now, no one needed to know how much Sesshoumaru hated humans yet. "A foreigner, right?"

Miroku's eyes went wide at the remark as he took in the word he hadn't known. Somehow, it sounded ugly in a way, now that he knew the meaning of it—ugly or, better yet, hateful.

"Hai." Myoga nodded quickly and reached down to grab the rope that would hold the wheel in place, it seemed this conversation was moving in such a direction that he wouldn't be able to hold onto the wheel for long. "Nihonjin—suspicious—no like-i Gaijin much-i."

"Why not?" Kagome asked as she finally allowed her hand to completely drift away from Inuyasha's still tense arm.

"Dey worry—always watch-i back—trust no one so stay-i safe." He explained quickly as he looked Inuyasha up and down as if to make a point. "Mo," He looked at his master worriedly as if he already knew what he was about to say was going to cause problems. "It-to best-u if-fu they talk-i with Shikuro tat Inuyasha-sama no talk because-e of tat."

"Why not?" Inuyasha raised an eyebrow a bit confused and glanced towards an equally confused Miroku. "I speak the language." He raised up his chin as if he were defending his every feature. "I'm not Gaijin."

"Inuyasha-sama wa," Totosai suddenly spoke up, his low bass voice catching Inuyasha actually by surprise. "Yōji no yō ni hanasu."

"I do not speak like a toddler!" Inuyasha exploded his eyes burning with rage.

Behind him Miroku and Kagome both felt their throats nearly swell from the accusation. Neither one had ever once thought of Inuyasha as only capable of toddler speech, especially in regards to Nihon-go. He seemed to be perfectly fluent in the language next to Totosai and Myoga, at the very least he had to speak as well as they did.

"Totosai-kun." Myoga shook his head and glared at his old friend briefly before turning back to Inuyasha. "Listen—Totosai-kun baka demo," He paused for just a second as he tried to put his thoughts together. "Totosai-kun somewhat-to right." He admitted and held up his hand to stop Inuyasha from screaming at him. "Inuyasha-sama speak-i okay-y but Nihonjin will-u know—they hear-u it and—." Myoga stopped and motioned towards Inuyasha's face, taking time to hover over his high cheek bones especially. "Inuyasha-sama look-u Gaijin—like-e Okaa-sama."

It was only the last few words of Myoga's monologue that stopped Inuyasha from yelling once more.

Kagome watched as the dog demon lowered his head and looked down at his hands, the least human feature he seemed to have besides his currently hidden ears. For a moment he studied his claws and then, as if he wasn't aware he was being watched, raised one hand and touched his face. Just the tips of his claws brushed over the skin of his high cheeks and his broad jaw before he dropped the hand down and shook his head. "Inuyasha." She started to move towards him as his emotions seeped into her, the confusion, the pride, the strange anger, and then the even stranger happiness.

"Damn it." Inuyasha muttered as the glare cooled and he glanced at Kagome without really saying a word. Her grey eyes were soft as if she understood exactly what he was feeling and it made him feel both vulnerable and connected to her all at once. Before he could let the emotion overtake him, however, he shook his head and grumbled something incomprehensible under his breath. "I might look Gaijin—but that doesn't mean I'm—." His voice trailed off. The argument dying as his gold eyes met Myoga's calm dark ones.

"Gomen." Myoga apologized softly as he looked directly into his charge's face.

Although there were hints of the father the boy had had in his features, he still did not look completely Nihonjin. It was obvious in his cheek bones and the bridge of his nose that he had a parent that was not from the island. In fact, his stature told the same story but even better. He was unimaginably tall, taller than his father had been and that man had been at least 5 '8,' tall for a Nihonjin, even a demon one. His shoulders too were much too big and broad and his hands were giant compared to the small, slender fingers of his parentage. Whoever his grandfather had actually been on his mother's side must have been a giant of a man for Inuyasha to look as he did.

The old flea lowered his eyes away from the sight and turned them to the quickly approaching fishing ship. It seemed that they were just as aware of Shikuro as the Shikuro was aware of them by now, seeing as their heading had changed ever so slightly. They were probably curious about the approaching vessel and just a bit paranoid. Trying not to look suspicious his eyes darted back and forth between Inuyasha and the swiftly approaching ship debating about what he should say next. "Let-to Myoga talk-u," He spoke slowly making it obvious he was asking for permission. "Onegai?"

"Fine." Inuyasha agreed although he felt reluctant doing so.

"Arigato." Myoga bowed his head and looked towards Totosai sending the untactful man another stern glare. "Totosai-kun?"

"Hai!" Totosai nodded his head quickly and turned to head down the stairs.

"Where's he going?" Miroku asked quickly before even Inuyasha could voice a word. Although he had managed to stay calm and collected throughout the duration of the conversation, now he felt as he had before it, antsy and nervous.

"Totosai-kun will-u get something," Myoga paused as he gathered his thoughts, his old eyes looking tired and worn out. "That-to prove Inuyasha-sama identity-y as well-u as Totosai-kun and Myoga."

Kagome's eyes widened as Myoga's words reached her ears and stepping up closer to Inuyasha's side, she was the first to speak. "What does he have?" She asked even as she glanced at Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye just in time to see his jaw actually unhitch as if it were about to fall open.

"Gomen nasai." Myoga spoke gently as he turned and looked towards Inuyasha, his whole face the picture of someone who had been keeping something dark a secret for far too long. "Otou-sama knew-u this would happen." He spoke carefully as each word would determine some great cosmic fate. "Otou-sama plan it-to."

"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha spoke quickly, stepping forward with dark eyes narrowed with suspicion.

Behind him Kagome reached out her hand, placing it on his bicep to help cool his temper, but the action didn't seem to have much effect.

"Okaa-sama—," Myoga lowered his head unable to look Inuyasha in the eyes any longer. "Was not-to de only one who had-du Shikon."

Inuyasha knew his expression in that moment had to be comical. His mouth fell opened and his eyes went wide and his whole face felt a little numb. Behind him he heard Miroku and Kagome both gasp a little as they put everything together in the same moment Inuyasha did. His father had been looking for the Shikon shards for years, that was how he met Inuyasha's mother who had come across one by accident as a child, if Eion, Paedar, and Angus could be trusted. So obviously, if his father had been looking, if both his parents eventually had been looking together, then there should have been more than one shard in their possession. Inuyasha had only received the one shard upon his mother's death, which meant, the other shards—.

"Otou-sama shi masen," Myoga switched to Nihon-go completely, far to frazzled and self conscious to keep speaking English. "Desh ita," He paused again and brought one of his many hands up to wipe his forehead. "Gomen—gomen—gomen nasai." He apologized and covered his face with his sleeve. "Myoga—deki masen!"

"What can't you say?" Inuyasha grabbed for the small demon his fingers managing to grip the material of the man's shirt.

Behind him, Kagome tightened her grip on his arm and brought the other one up to grasp the hem of his jacket. It was by some grace that she was able to pull him backwards just enough so that he did not tear into Myoga with his claws. "Inuyasha!" She exclaimed but Inuyasha didn't seem to be capable of hearing even her words.

"Otou-san!" Miroku joined in behind her, reaching out to grasp Inuyasha's other arm to keep him from killing the man. It seemed to make no difference, though, Inuyasha didn't appear to be affected by the combined effort at all.

"What about my father, tell me?!" He continued on as he shook the little demon, his heart racing in his chest. "He had the shards—he was looking—he wanted to purify them." He spoke quickly, the words a jumbled mess in his mouth. "He found my mother instead and then what—what happened to those shards?" He screamed but Myoga merely mumbled something incoherent in neither English nor Nihon-go. The stress of everything that had happened over the past year finally overflowed within Inuyasha in that moment as he glared down at the man he had known since before his own birth with absolute contempt. "Tell me damn it," He yanked Myoga off his feet, the small man looking absolutely shocked. "I'm sick and tired of your secrets—just tell me what you've been keeping from me for four hundred bloody years!"

"Gomen nasai." Myoga pushed himself away with so much force that Inuyasha and Kagome both were thrown off balance much to their own surprise. Together they toppled down to the ground, barely missing taking Miroku with them as they fell in a giant heap of tangled arms and legs that Myoga easily ignored. "Iya." He answered firmly and held up his head with as much dignity as he could muster.

For his part, Inuyasha didn't have time to respond to Myoga as he tried to stop his weight from crushing downwards onto Kagome trapped beneath him. "Are you okay?" He managed to ask Kagome as he pushed himself upwards off of her, his eyes dilated and panicky as he looked at her, by comparison, small body.

"Yes." She smiled up at him even as her back began to ache.

"Damn it—I heard that fall. It had to hurt." He thought and scented the air quickly, the smell of her bodies distress was already plain in his nose making him even angrier at Myoga than he had been before. "How the hell did that fucking flea manage to push us over!?" He growled as he carefully reached for his mate and rubbed her arm as she pushed herself into a sitting position gingerly. He knew exactly how Myoga had managed to knock him so perfectly off balance, though. It had been sheer surprise in Myoga's favor. Inuyasha, never in a million years had thought Myoga would have the capability and that had been the dog demon's downfall, his own arrogance.

"I'm fine." Kagome whispered to him as she looked up into his rage filled face worriedly. "Inuyasha?"

The dog demon didn't respond to her, however, as he looked into her face watching as she winced ever so slightly. He knew she was hurt and the very thought was fueling his fury even more so, a fact Kagome could see clear as day, when the dog demon turned his eyes so narrowed as he looked at Myoga that the look should have killed instantly. The tiny flea for his part took a step back but didn't say a word, his eyes as fierce and determined as Inuyasha's.

"I'm fine!" Kagome quickly reiterated more firmly as she reached for him, her fingers grabbing the collar of his jacket pulling his face back around towards her. She could not at the moment let him know that his weight, upon crashing into her, had actually (most likely) bruised her back. If he knew, Myoga might not be dead but he would regret everything that had happened in the past five minutes distinctly and for a very long time. "Why do you have to be so damn protective?"

The dog demon looked down at his mate, smelling the lie as it seemed to come out of her every pore. "Don't lie to me." He commanded firmly and Kagome tightened her every features knowing what she had to do.

"Don't accuse me of lying." She made her features turn to steel, her eyes becoming hard and her lips turning into a thin line. Over the past few months this had become her most gifted asset: she was the only one who could go toe to toe with the stubborn dog demon without even flinching. "I'm fine, I already told you." She nodded and resisted the urge to rub at the already forming bruise.

He growled slightly and took a deep breath as if he was trying to control himself and truthfully he was. The demon inside of him was beyond enraged and the urge to simply beat the shit out of Myoga was overwhelming.

"Just let it go." She thought to herself as she watched him study her for one more second before turning back towards Myoga with the same horrific glare on his face. "You'll figure it out the next time you see me naked and it will be far easier to deal with that privately, than deal with it now." She tried to will him, to make every word she was thinking enter his very brain. "Inuyasha—." She whispered softly and she knew that the change in her voice had been the right thing to do.

Even Miroku, who had been watching completely silent, was thankful when he saw his father's horrendous expression soften at the sound. "That's it Kagome." He thought as he managed to glance down at the quarterdeck looking for any men that might have witnessed the unnerving spectacle. It was sheer luck that no men were on deck at the moment, all hidden away in every warm spot they could possibly find. "Thank god." He thought, knowing that was the last thing they needed the men to see, their Captain being shoved by a tiny old man.

"Calm down." Kagome continued to speak but this time in a voice so soft that neither Miroku nor Myoga actually heard her words, only Inuyasha who was still knelt beside her. "It's okay—I'm fine—everything's fine but we need to sort this out now." She glanced towards the quickly approaching ship to make her point. "We don't have time to argue like this. You know it."

Inuyasha sighed at Kagome's words and stood up without saying anything in response. He offered Kagome a hand without actually looking at her and pulled the woman to her feet. His glare came back to Myoga but the intensity had ever so slightly mellowed. The flea for his part watched him with a stern look that Inuyasha had never seen on the man's face in his life. It was disconcerting really to see such an intense gaze on the normally wise and somewhat goofy face.

"Myoga," He started, his voice sounding just controlled enough not to be completely terrifying. "I gave you an order." He bit out the words, letting go of Kagome as he said them only because he was afraid of hurting her by grasping her hand too tightly from his anger. "Tell me."

"No." Myoga repeated again the sound of the properly pronounced English word making Inuyasha actual grunt in surprise. "This-u not-to for Myoga to say."

"Myoga?" Inuyasha whispered the name absolutely stunned by the sheer intensity of the old man's expression.

"Inutaisho-sama," Myoga whispered the words carefully and in one great show looked Inuyasha directly in the eye. "Made-e me promise." The words fell from his mouth like death, the sound of them so unbelievable that Inuyasha felt more than just bewilderment, he felt inexplicitly shocked. "Myoga never break-u promise." He bit out each word as if they were more difficult to pronounce than understand. "Gomen naisai." He whispered and bowed his head until his nose nearly touched his knees as if he were trying to apologize.

Inuyasha couldn't help but stare at the older man with his mouth opening wide in surprise. He had never seen Myoga look so small and yet so unnaturally large at the same time. His anger, surprisingly, began to ebb as the shock took over his system completely. This tiny man was defying him completely based on some unknown order that had to have taken place nearly four hundred years before. Looking at that tiny man, even with anger that he had caused Inuyasha's mate pain swelling within him, he couldn't help but feel humbled to a certain degree.

He was so tiny normally, but in that moment Inuyasha felt utterly insignificant next to that honorable man. Even under threat from the man he now called 'master' Myoga wouldn't break a vow to his old one. Myoga had often told Inuyasha throughout the years stories about his father and the time Myoga had spent working underneath the man. It seemed to Inuyasha, from the very tone of those stories, that Myoga had loved his father like his own son just as he loved Inuyasha now. And because of that, Myoga would never break a vow he made to the great Inutaisho, even under great threat.

"Ship-pu close-su." The sound of Totosai's voice entering the conversation unexpectantly made Inuyasha actually jumped and turn around.

"Totosai." He whispered as he noticed a little wooden box in the older man's hands.

The chest was large and ornate the deep dark wood cut with beautiful bright red calligraphy, which Inuyasha did not have time to read properly, around its edges. Every word seemed to flow together in such a way that his eyes could only make out syllables amongst the jumble of elegant words. A strange fleeting memory assaulted his brain from the sight and he felt as if he should know what he was looking at but he couldn't dredge up even one memory of it in those moments. Still, a faint scent that shouldn't still exist seemed to permeate from that box, a scent that did bring up memories long ago forgotten.

A man who had once seemed tall, who still seemed tall, appeared in the recesses of Inuyasha's mind. His silver hair was held up in a high pony tail and seemed to fall down his back like a wave of smooth silk. The strips on his cheeks, a deep a gagged purple, lead to a soft smile on his thin lips that did nothing to match the affection in his bright gold eyes. They were the same exact color as Inuyasha's and they seemed to swell with some sort of pride that Inuyasha couldn't explain even as an adult. They were beautiful and charming and reserved all at once but more than anything, they were simply a memory.

Blinking, Inuyasha pulled himself out of the memory and looked at the box with disbelief in his gaze. "That's where you kept them?" He managed to ask and Totosai smiled at him, not needing Inuyasha to clarify what he meant by 'them' in order to understand the sentence.

"Hai." He started slowly as he brought one hand up to the top of the large chest, his fingers tracing over the one bit of kanji Inuyasha could read instantly.

Beside the dog demon, their eyes huge, Kagome and Miroku both stared as Totosai traced every small bit of character on the lid of the elaborate little box. Kagome's hand drifted up to her shoulder as if it had a will of its own. Her fingers brushed over the material of her jacket, feeling the swell of a name that rested just on her skin.

Carefully, Totosai pulled the box away from his body and handed it towards Inuyasha, his fingers outstretched to support it as if it were heavier than it looked. "Dis," He spoke in the best English he knew how. "Izu Inuyasha-sama—," He indicated the beautiful intricate name as the kanji swirled around each other as if it were western cursive. "Chichiue left for Inuyasha-sama."

Inuyasha froze, the breath in his lungs chilling him as he stared at his name on the box.

"Take-e." Totosai spoke softly as he titled the box towards Inuyasha who nodded slowly, inhaling the deep smell of his father, now knowing, that it was his father.

How the scent had stayed alive so many years he couldn't fathom but when his hand took hold of the chest he felt as if his whole body was filled with his father's scent. It was warm and deep, a combination of an overflowing stream and all the plants that grew from it. "Otou-san." He thought as he looked down at the red writing noting his father's name on the left, below his own, and his mother's, on the right opposite of it.

With shaky fingers, he managed to reach for the lid that had neither lock nor latch. Easily, the wood creaked opened and the inside was revealed. The glisten of a Shikon shard, bright in the dull cold light caught his eyes but it wasn't that shine that made his face fall and his heart stop dead in his chest. It was the smell of that man from so long ago that made his heart stop. And it was the wash of red material, which he hadn't seen since that day three hundred and ninety-seven years ago when he had left Nippon, that made his face fall with wide, childlike, astonishment.

End of Chapter

Please Review

A/N: Wow, this saga is going to be harder to write than I could have imagined. There are so many little intricacies that are wrapped up in my mind. It's always a hard decision when to reveal which one and where. It's taking a lot more thought than I normally had to put into a chapter. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying everything so far! Great things are happening, amazing great things.

P.S.: Someone asked me about fanart, yes I would love to see what kind of amazing artwork this fanfiction inspires! That would be awesome and a tremendous honor.

Bonus Point:

How long has Inuyasha owned the Haori and Hakama he wears in the anime/manga?

Last Chapter's Bonus Point:

Edo eventually became known as modern day Tokyo! Also, after reading Glon Morski's review, I did some further research. As far as I know, Kaede's village was close to what would be Edo, it was, most likely, simply swallowed up by Edo when the village became a city. Thanks Glon Morski! Congrats to the winners.

Kan78, AiydanWarrior, SweetHunniiBunnii, TaoGrace, Glon Morski, The Immanent Hope, Menarie, HeavenlyEclipse, Asian Delicacy, I love Siberian tigers, Cagome, Catalina Luna Moon, Aozora12, Wide Eyed Wonderer

Notes:

Last names/family names: Unless you were royalty in Japan you would not have a family name during this time period. In fact, many people did not receive last names into well into the 19th century. During the time Sesshoumaru was born, it was very uncommon for anyone to have a family name. In western society, family names pop up much earlier (approx. 9th century) and are usually attached to your father's name, the city you were born in, or the profession you had. This was not such in Japan.

Japanese and Gaijin: The Japanese culture was closed off for so long from the outside world that they were very suspicious of foreigners. Although, the Portuguese did make it to Japan by the 15/16th century, that did not make the Japanese more easy around them. It wasn't until well into the 1870's that the Japanese started to even accept western influence in their society. Therefore, at this time period a foreign ship would have been looked at with great suspicion.

Next Chapter:

Edo Castle

See you then!

UNEDITED

POSTED

2/10/2013