Well… here it is, -tears up- the last chapter of Feudal Pirates…. –cries-
Inuyasha: Don't be going all sissy on us now…
DJP: You're right! I have to stay strong… for the readers! We're not going out with a whimper and a tear, let's go out with a BANG!
Ace: -nods- Time to bring it on home!
DJP: I don't own One Piece or Inuyasha! (but if you didn't know that by now… where have you been?)
-------------------------------------------The purple miasma spread throughout the swamp-like area as Naraku carefully touched down after his flight, panting and looking extremely weakened from his long battle. "Damn those fools…" He wheezed.
"So you survived after all… damn." A female voice came from the trees as an extremely badly cut and bruised Kagura sat above her master in the rotten swamp trees.
"You failed me Kagura…" Naraku panted, standing up straight once again, eyes locked on his incarnation, not wanting to show any weakness in front of someone who wanted to kill him so much.
"Yeah, looks like your mission was a complete success though." The wind witch's voice called out as it always did, soaked with sarcasm.
Their quarreling was interrupted as Hakudoshi and Kanna both seemingly appeared out of nowhere from the swampy fog. "Seems like I was right, you did underestimate those pirates after all Naraku." Hakudoshi gave an arrogant reference to their conversation the day before.
"I have failed…" Kanna said simply in her soft and quiet monotone.
"Good, everyone's here…" The half-demon smirked. "All we're missing is…" He was cut off as a crashing came through the trees as a ninja-like figure landed and kneeled before Naraku.
"Tschimaru has been killed and the boy escaped." Kohaku lowered his head to the group, carefully disguising his voice so that Naraku couldn't tell he had broken free yet.
"I know Kohaku, but then again, I know everything." Naraku gave an evil smirk.
"Hopefully not everything or else I'm screwed..." The demon slayer boy thought to himself. "I apologize Master Naraku…" down at his servant. "Kanna will resume her duties of taking care of Akago. (The infant in English) But first, show me Inuyasha's group, I am sure they are… alone by now." He smirked evilly as Kanna's mirror showed Inuyasha and friends and the rest of his henchmen spread out to perform their duties.--------------------------------------------------
Inuyasha crossed his arms as he, Kagome, Shippo, Kilala, Miroku and Sango continued walking on the trail, the deep wooded area slowly becoming a vast plain stretching out before them. "So long Ai forest!" Shippo shouted and waved goodbye to the woods from Kagome's shoulder.
"And good riddance if you ask me." Inuyasha hmphed as they continued walking, not looking back at the forest that held so many memories now.
"Aww, come one Inuyasha, you can't tell me that you won't miss this place even a little." Kagome smiled warmly as she walked beside him. "It has been one of our more interesting adventures."
"Feh, nothing's changed. Our mission is still to destroy Naraku. Just because those guys had to go back to their own world doesn't mean that we suddenly have a different objective." The half-demon shrugged. "Those guys didn't effect anything at all."
"Says the man who cried when they left." Miroku reminded gently.
"I DID NOT CRY!" Inuyasha turned around and snapped at the monk as he stopped walking.
"Whatever you say Inuyasha…" Miroku closed his eyes as he walked past the dog demon.
Shippo giggled from his perch. "I bet Inuyasha's just a big softie on the inside."
"I AM NOT!"
"I think you're right Shippo." Kagome watched Inuyasha pitch a fit from everyone's words. "But I wouldn't tell him that if I were you." She whispered.
"Thank you…" An old voice whispered out from the trees.
"The hell?" Inuyasha turned around to where the voice was but saw nothing there.
"Thank you for helping to save us Inuyasha. Evil has survived, but good will never give up. Continue on your journey, never faltering and you will reach your goal. As a great man once said, as long as you pursue the true meaning of freedom, you will never cease to be!"
The dog demon looked down at his hand, the blood from the other day had already disappeared, but the memory of that seal would remain in his mind for a long, long time.
"Something wrong Inuyasha?" Sango, Kagome and Miroku turned around to look at their half-demon friend.
Inuyasha's ears twitched as he turned around again. "No… it's nothing." He gave a broad smile and continued walking, passing the others again and leading the way. "We just gotta keep moving is all…"
"Uh-oh, Inuyasha's smiling, that's never a good sign…" Shippo whispered to Sango and Kagome as all three giggled softly.
"I heard that!"
"He's just curious as to why you're in such a good mood Inuyasha." Sango smiled softly.
"I'm always in a good mood, dumbass." Inuyasha glared back at Shippo.
"Yeah, you're just a regular joy to be around." Shippo rolled his eyes.
"Shaddup! Come here you!" Inuyasha made a grab for Shippo but missed as his fox reflexes kicked in and he ran to Kagome's other shoulder.
"Kagome! Inuyasha's being mean to me!"
"Inuyasha…"
"Don't say it…" Inuyasha's eye twitched.
"SIT BOY!"
"ACK! Stop doing that!" Inuyasha yelped as he fell to the ground and groaned as he crawled out of the small crater.
"He never learns…" Everyone else said together.
"WHAT'S THAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!?"
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The Axe-Head pirate crew lay asleep soundly on the deck of the Tomahawk as a small bird waddled up next to Dusty and put its beak very close to her ear.
HONK!
"EEP!" The fox girl jumped at least a few feet into the air and clung to the ship's mast. "You're one hell of an alarm clock, Pingu." She muttered. "Wait, why is everyone asleep?" She looked around. She climbed down from where she had jumped and walked around, nudging her crewmates with her foot as she went. "Wake up damnit! It's a sad day when I'm the first one up."
"What the hell happened?" Devon muttered, rubbing his eye.
"Told you we shouldn't have gone through that last gas patch Chizzy." Niri muttered as she stirred. "Must have knocked us all out."
"MEAT!" Axe cried as he woke up.
"Do you always have to say that when you wake up?" Niri's eye twitched as she looked at her captain.
"We're lucky no other pirates came around while we were sleeping, whatever it was, we can't afford it to happen again." Chizuru picked up her hat from the deck and straightened it on her head while she stood up, watching as the rest of her nakama does the same.
"I know someone who looks into fainting spells like this." Axe was still laying down in his hammock, eyes closed but awake.
"Is there anyone you DON'T know?" Niri muttered.
The captain tapped his own cheek thoughtfully. "I… don't know…"
"I had the weirdest dream…" Kirsty yawned.
"I had a nightmare…" Dusty shivered.
"What happened kit? All the food disappeared?" Devon laughed and patted Austin on the head.
The kitsune girl glared at the first mate. "Don't even joke like that…"
DJ remained silent while the others talked. He sat on the deck, his hand hanging over the banister.
"Dang, I never noticed before, but my swords look pretty banged up." He looked down at Kitetsu and Water Moon.
DJ looked down at his own katana. Maybe I should switch swords too, this one's had a good run, but I think it's time for a change… something I have to do first though… He stood up silently and walked back towards the cabins. "I'll be in my room if anyone needs me…" he said simply as he walked off.
"What's up with him?" Devon raised an eyebrow.
"Guess he's not a morning person." Chizuru sighed.
"Dunno…" Kirsty looked down as her stomach growled. "Hey Herman, is it lunchtime yet?"
Before the merman could answer, Dusty's ears perked up at that word. "Lunch!?" She grabbed a fork and knife that seemingly appeared out of nowhere and ran off towards the kitchen. "LUNCH! LUNCH! LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH LUNCH!"
"Wait! Dusty! I have to cook it first!" Herman ran after the fox girl.
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After a nice meal, the Axe-Heads sat around the galley with full stomachs and content looks on their faces. All except Devon, who was still eating. "Where's DJ?" Chizuru blinked, having not seen him around for quite some time while they were cooking or eating lunch.
"Who knows?" Niri shrugged.
"Who cares would be a better question." Devon scoffed between bites, eating like he hadn't had anything to eat in two days.
"Maybe he's sick." Kirsty suggested.
"Maybe he's dead." Devon added, still chomping noisily.
Niri whapped the swordsman upside the head. "Don't say such things! He's still your nakama after all." She watched as the First Mate's face fell into his plate from the force of the hit.
Devon pulled his face out of his remaining food. "Yeah, but he bugs the hell outta me."
"You should go check on him, what if something's wrong?" The dark-haired woman looked sternly at her crewmate.
"Why me!?" He complained.
"Because we know how much you don't want to." Dusty stuck her tongue out at him.
"I'm worried, he usually comes out for lunch, or at least to give it to Dusty." Niri thumbed to the fox girl behind her.
"Where'd his lunch go anyway?" Axe asked, leaning back in his galley chair.
"Right here." Devon patted his stomach and pointed to the empty plate. "I ate mine earlier."
"Aw man! I wanted to eat it!" Dusty and Axe complained in unison.
Niri hit Devon in the head again. "GO CHECK UP ON HIM DAMNIT!"
"Fine, fine, I'm going… crazy bitch…." Devon muttered, immediately regretting what he said.
The First Mate quickly ran down the hall as bullets whizzed by his head, making small holes in the walls of the ship. "HEY! Someone's gonna have to fix those!" he shouted back to the galley.
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ACHOO!
A man in orange hair and a bright green shirt rubbed his nose as he sneezed. He moaned as he stood up straight, looking out on the desert sands. "Must be getting sick… maybe I shouldn't drink so much…" He looked at the clay jug and took another swig of saki. "… Nah…" He sighed and fell over into the sand from where he was standing.
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As Niri and Devon argued in the galley, Axe climbed up to his usual spot in the crow's nest, knawing on some leftover meat he managed to snag from Herman. He looked up at his own Jolly Roger, the skull with four axes surrounding it. He sighed as he looked into the sky, apparently deep in thought.
"Something wrong captain?" Chizuru climbed up to the crow's nest with him and watched him silently.
"Nothing, and how many times do I have to tell you, you can call me Axe?" The captain squirmed around a little, taking another bite out of his meat.
"You're the captain and I'll address you as such." The navigator woman shrugged and adjusted the brim of her hat. "Now tell me what's on your mind."
"I don't know… I know we weren't asleep for that long, and I still don't know what happened, but I just feel weird. I'm just very happy to be here right now. I don't know why but I felt like I'd never wake up from that sleep, I thought I would never see this ship again, or this flag." He continued staring up at the Jolly Roger. He couldn't remember what happened while he was asleep, he didn't think anyone could, but he felt something strange had happened. He felt more motivated than ever to do what he had to do.
"Well, Captain, the important thing is that you are back here now, whatever happened while we were asleep, we're awake now and we have to continue on our journey." Chizuru nodded.
Axe smirked and chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so Chizzy, I guess so…"
---------------------------------------------------
Devon sighed and knocked on the door when he came to that cabin that DJ was in. "Yo, get out here, everyone's ragging on me for making fun of you behind your back so come out so I can do it to your face." He opened the door.
DJ carefully covered up his new sabre sword, not wanting to declare yet that he had a new weapon. He sat back at his writing desk, speedily writing page after page in mere seconds.
"Speedy? What the hell are you doing?" Devon blinked, watching his nakama write at super-speed.
"Can't talk… writing." The poet said in a monotone as he continued piling up a stack of papers as he finished writing each of them.
"I can see that… whoa…" The first mate looked up at the large stack of papers that was growing every moment. "Is this what you've been doing all this time?"
"Can't talk… writing…" DJ mumbled again as he kept scraping his feathered writing quill across the paper quickly.
"I ate your lunch." Devon admitted sheepishly.
"Can't talk… writing…"
"Umm… your hair's on fire?"
"Can't talk… writing…"
"Dusty stubbed a toe."
"COMING DUSTY-CHAN!" He shouted as he began to run out of the room, only to be stopped as Devon stood in front of the door.
"Good, now that I have your attention…" The swordsman smirked.
"But... but… Dusty-chan…" The musician whimpered.
"SHE DIDN'T REALLY STUB A TOE, BAKA!" The demon first mate snapped.
"You're the baka, baka." DJ stuck his tongue out.
"Come on out with me so I don't get shot at again." Devon sweatdropped.
"Gotta finish writing this first." The speedy swordsman sat back at the desk and continued writing.
"Damnit… how long are you gonna be?" The blonde swordsman tapped his foot impatiently while he watched the poet start writing again.
"Almost… period! Done!" DJ grinned broadly as he held up the large stack of papers. "Here, hold these, let's go show the others!" he giggled.
"Show them what?" Devon watched as DJ grabbed the other half of the papers and ran out to the deck in the blink of an eye.
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"Ladies, gentlemen and everything in between!" DJ shouted as he walked across the banister of the ship, still holding the stack of papers. He watched as Devon set the other papers down, Axe and Chizuru came down from the crow's nest, some of the others came out of the galley, and the rest gathered on the deck of the Tomahawk as he continued announcing.
"As Bard of the Axe-Head pirates, I would be remiss if I did not share the tale that came to me in my dreams! My prophetic vision!"
"Huh?" Several of the crewmembers gave the musician odd looks.
"Maybe, you're right, maybe he is sick." Devon whispered to Kirsty as the latter giggled.
"Wait, DJ-kun's the bard? I thought he was a musician?" Dusty's eyes went wide and she blinked a few times as her ears twitched.
"BARD AND MUSICIAN ARE THE SAME THING!" Niri, Devon, Axe and Austin (silently of course) shouted at the fox girl.
"Not really, but whatever" DJ thought to himself before picking up the piece of paper first on the large stack. "Prepare to hear a story like none you've ever heard before. The story takes place in the far away land, somewhere that is farther even than the greatest depths of the Grand Line, the faraway land of Feudal Jappanne!" (malapropism for Japan)And so, The bard continued to tell the tale of Inuyasha and his friends, how a certain brave pirate crew befriended them and had many strange adventures along the way. He told them of the evil demon Naraku and his evil plot and henchmen after the powerful and dangerous Shikon no Tama. He told of how the two teams joined forces and made powerful teams in order to battle and defeat the evil demons. And finally he told of the tearful farewell between the pirates and feudal warriors. "Thank you, thank you, no applause necessary, just doing my job." DJ smiled and bowed over the banister when he had finished his long-winded verbal telling of the story. The papers he had read off of were sitting on the deck of the ship as he threw the last on the stack. By the time he was done, the sun had already set and the moon was already fairly high in the sky.
"That was the worst thing I ever heard!" Devon protested. "I… DIED!? Why the hell did I die?" He looked over the pages and pages of writing. "And why was I a villain until the very end!? Although you got the ending right… I do kick more ass than you." He smirked.
"Do not!"
"I kinda like it…" Dusty thumbed through the pages, blankly staring at random parts. "It was pretty cool…"
The poet's eyes lit up at this praise, an expression of love on his face. "Oh thank you Dusty-chan, I couldn't have written it without your help!" he clasped his hands and spun around. "Your strength gives me strength and your innocence and beauty are my inspiration!"
The rest of the crew sweatdropped. "I hate when he gets like this…" Chizuru whispered to Axe.
"Now I just need a title…" DJ muttered to himself.
"That Miroku guy seems creepy." Niri shivered. "I would hate for this to be real, just reading it I feel violated. It does seem kind of familiar though, like something I was told as a kid or something." Niri looked through the pages.
"Like a fairy tale?" Kirsty suggested.
"That's perfect!" The speedy swordsman exclaimed. He spoke aloud as he wrote on a piece of paper. "Inuyasha: A Feudal Fairy Tale"
"This is too good… you sure you wrote this? I think you got it from somewhere else." Axe mumbled while he looked over the title and pages.
"I'm hurt by your questioning of my skills as a writer, but I suppose it's possible, maybe I did hear a similar story from someone once." DJ pondered. "The facts were all there, I just had to write them down, no clue where they came from." He shrugged.
"I still think it's pretty shitty." Devon looked through the pages unceremoniously.
DJ's eye twitched as he glared at the demon swordsman. "If you don't like it… I could make some alterations…" he smiled evilly as he spun his quill and grabbed the last piece of paper and began speaking what he was writing. "And then the blonde swordsman kissed the blonde doctor of his dreams…"
Devon's eyes went wide as he heard this and he began reaching for two things, one being the paper and the other being DJ's neck. He was very lucky that Kirsty and the others were far enough away not to hear anything. "GIMME THAT YOU BASTARD!"
"What's wrong? This is fiction, it shouldn't sting, or is the big bad demon hiding something, huh?" he continued writing.
"GIMME!"
"You gotta catch me first!"
"I'll catch ya, then I'll kill ya!" Devon shouted as the two ran around the ship, chasing after the piece of paper with valuable information on it. Both their eyes went wide as they tripped over the dual stacks of paper, sending every single piece floating into the air.
"SHIT!" DJ cried as his work was literally thrown up in the air.
Devon watched as all the papers landed overboard and fell into the water, quickly soaked up and destroyed by the salty water. "Whoops…" Devon said flatly, without a trace of actual remorse.
"You bastard!" DJ attempted to lift the first mate over his head and throw him overboad. "Go in after them! Go get them!"
"Not on your life speedy!"
"Well, guess that's the end of that little story then." Axe sweatdropped as he watched the two bicker.
"What were they even fighting about?" Kirsty blinked.
"Oh… nothing." Chizuru gave an innocent look and a soft giggle.
"You know those two, they don't need a good reason to fight, just an excuse." Niri sweatdropped.
"Yup, some things never change." Dusty smirked. "HEY WAIT! We missed dinner while we were out here listening! Herman! We gotta make a midnight snack!"
The rest of the crew (excluding DJ and Devon, who were still fighting) sweatdropped at the kitsune scout's actions. "Got that right Dust, some things never change." Axe smirked as everyone else gave a small laugh.
---------------------------------------Koigokoro: Before I send you back to the teller of this tale, I would like to give you something to ponder on your travels, good reader. There may be many questions left unanswered, however whether this tale be a dream, a story, or something much, much more, is up to you to figure out for yourself. Though the specific events may be forgotten over time, the bond of friendship is never forgotten and will always be treasured. Let this be a reminder to you as friends choose different paths and different worlds, true friendship cannot be torn apart be mere miles. Remember the bonds, the ties that bind and you will never forget those who are important to you!
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DJP: Thanks Koigokoro, well folks, this is it, the ending of Feudal Pirates, we all knew this would come eventually. However fear not! I am contemplating a sequel or a special as we speak. However don't forget to check out the main stories written by kilnorc for more Axe-Head goodness! I hope you have enjoyed all the chapters and this finale, please let me know what you think! And now, I've been putting this off too long, time to say goodbye and close this chapter of Feudal Pirates! Peace out ya'll!
Inuyasha: See ya later folks!
Shippo: Don't do anything I wouldn't do!
Kagome: I've had a lot of fun, hope you guys did too!
Miroku: I hope to see you all again, see all you lovely ladies later!
Sango: -hits Miroku- See ya!
Kilala: -mews-
Axe: Yo! I'm not going anywhere, so don't you guys go either!
Devon: Yeah, yeah… goodbye…
Austin: -thumbs up-
Dusty: Whee! Thank you all my adoring fans! –runs in circles- I got fans!
Kirsty: See you guys in the next fic!
Niri: Thanks for the support!
Pingu: HONK!
Chizuru: We'll meet again, I know it
DJM: Until we meet again!
DJP & DJM: See ya folks! Hope to see you guys at the next fic!