Chapter 2: Gathering an Army.
Bursting through a tavern's door, Hojo frantically searched the room for a group of men that owed Mr. Naraku quite a big favor. He was growing more and more desperate as this had been the fifth tavern that he had searched but he knew that these particular men practically lived in taverns - he just needed to find the right one they were in tonight. As his eyes flicked from one side of the room to the other as Naraku's words replayed through his mind.
"Oh, and Mr. Hojo." Hojo stopped running and looked over his shoulder at the other man. "Gather everyone that owes me a favor." Being Naraku's right hand man he knew every single person that owed something or other to Mr. Naraku.
"And if they refuse?" He asked.
"Kill them. Oh, and one more thing - Mr. Hojo." Naraku said as he glared daggers at the young man. "Know that if you fail to bring a good number of people with you, you will die."
Hojo swallowed loudly and nodded before he turned to complete his task.
Shaking his head clear from the memory he went back to scanning the room sighing a breath of relief as he spotted the men that he's been searching for.
Walking up to the table Hojo cleared his throat to get the men's attention. "It's time you've repaid your debt to Mr. Naraku." Hojo spoke in a voice that left no room for argument.
The men looked up and the one that Hojo knew was the leader and also the youngest of the group spoke up first his dark blue eyes narrowing. "Oh, hello Mr. Hojo. To what do we owe the pleasure of your presence?" He asked as he flicked his long black braid from laying on his shoulder back to resting against his back.
"Mr. Naraku sent me to tell you it's time you settle your debt." Hojo repeated.
"Sorry handsome." The second in command put himself into the conversation making Hojo give him an odd look. The strange man had short black hair that he kept in a bun, deep black eyes and two lines of blue stripes that ran from both of his eyes - one on each side - down to almost touching his jaw line. "But we're all out of money." All seven men looked away from Hojo essentially dismissing him from talking with them any further.
Hojo growled impressively for a human at the obvious dismissal and slammed his hand down on the table. "Mr. Naraku doesn't want your money!" He shouted at them.
"Then what does he want?" Another man asked making Hojo turn his eyes towards him. He had two purple marks that ran up from his jaw line over his eyes and stopped right above each eyebrow, he wore a blue bandanna that covered the top of his head and wore a bored expression on his face.
Hojo sighed and straightened up. "He want's your services."
"Services?" A weird looking short man spoke up as Hojo stared him in his bugged-out eyes as the man pursed his puffy lips. One reddish line ran along his bottom eye lid on each eye and with two of the same reddish color lines coming up from his jaw and just touching the edge of his bottom lip and he wore a white bandanna covering the top of his head. "What kind of services?"
"Gash." A big cyborg of a man seemed to agree with the short man's question.
"We're after some pirates, Mr. Naraku needs you to come with us." Hojo answered simply.
"Hmm?" A man with short black hair and two green stipes on both of his cheeks and two stripes running down his hairline stopping right between his eyebrows. "Pirates, you say? seems like fun."
A gigantic beast of a man with no markings on his face and with short green hair snorted a laugh at that moment. "Yes, fun!"
"And our debt will be settled after this?" The leader asked.
Hojo nodded. "If we are successful in capturing the pirates then yes your debt will be paid in full."
"Count us in! When do we leave?" The leader agreed while his brothers nodded their head in agreement.
"I have to gather more people still, so meet at the docs first thing when the sun comes up." Hojo answered as he turned to go on to his next stop.
Hojo stepped out of the tavern and slumped against the building with a tired sigh. "This going to take forever." He whispered to himself as he pushed himself off the wall and continued on with his mission.
*BREAK*
Once Kagome knew they were a safe distance was from Port Royal she let the invisible shield fall from around them. She couldn't stop the pride that filled her entire being and the great sense of relief engulf her. Pride because they accomplished what seemed like an impossible feat and relief because she felt that whoever lost their lives at The Gallows could finally rest in peace now. She looked up at the night sky at all the twinkling stars that seemed to shine brighter at that moment making her smile a small smile.
"You know-" Kagome spoke just loud enough for everyone to hear her. "My first captain once told me that all the stars in the sky are all the pirate captains long since lost watching down on us." She looked back down and at the other people around her before she continued speaking. "So many people lost their lives at Gallows point, I wonder if they were watching us." She said as she looked up at the stars once more. "I wonder if they're proud of us."
Everyone on both ships looked up to the sky in amazement - none of them having heard such a reassuring thing. It made them feel a little better at the thought of the all the captains from before keeping watch over them.
"The stars do seem to be shining brighter." Inuyasha whispered loud enough for everyone to hear him.
"Yeah, I bet they are proud." Shippo chimed in.
"Yeah." Everyone agreed at the same time not finding the right words to speak at that moment.
"So-" Inuyasha cleared his throat and looked away from the sky making everyone else look towards him. "We made a pretty good team back there, when are you going to give in and join the fun side." He teased just like he did every time he found her.
Kagome scoffed and rolled her eyes playfully. "And give up on this little game we're playing? Not a chance." She replied with the same words she used every time he asked that question. She smiled looking towards Shippo and jerked her chin gesturing for him to hop over to her ship. It was an unwritten rule that whoever was "it" got to keep Shippo on their ship. It was a fun way to include the young boy and Shippo absolutely loved playing this game.
Shippo smiled widely as he scampered to the railing of Inuyasha's ship and leaped the short distance over to Kagome's ship. He ran over to Kagome and climbed up her body to sit on her shoulder smiling even wider when Sango ruffled his hair.
"I'll get you to come over to my side one of these days." Inuyasha smirked as Kagome shook her head and sent him a wink as the unnatural wind enveloped her once again as her ship disappeared. This invisible shield, however, didn't encompass Kagome's ship but Inuyasha's ship so he could have a fair chance at going a direction that Kagome wouldn't be able to tell.
This would be the end of their dance and in half a months' time, which was the customary time so the one being sought out could have a good head start, their dance would start again. Along the way, if they were able to find a ship for the taking, they would raid and pillage their rare and expensive items.
"So, Tortuga?" Miroku asked as both men watched as Kagome's ship went in the opposite direction they were heading.
"Tortuga." Inuyasha confirmed.
"Hopefully the things we took takes for a good price." Miroku said.
"We got a good amount of poppy seed this time, almost thirty pounds of the stuff and that always goes for a great price. We, also, got all those uniforms - that's a hefty price right there too, plus a few other things as well. So, I think we'll do great with getting a good price with everything." Inuyasha counted off all the stuff they pillaged.
"True, we got all that cured meat and some vegetables and water, so we won't have to spend the extra money to restock anytime soon." Miroku added and Inuyasha nodded in agreement.
Both men grew silent as Inuyasha redirected their heading towards Tortuga. He sighed as he stared out at the mostly empty deck, most of the men already having went to bed for the night. The only people that were still milling around the deck were a few nocturnal demons doing a few odds and ends here and there.
"You'd better go and get some sleep." Inuyasha suggested.
Miroku nodded as he stretched his back sighing in satisfaction as he heard several pops run along his spin.
"Good night." Miroku mumbled as he turned for the stairs.
"Good night." Inuyasha replied.
*BREAK*
Standing outside of a small house, which Hojo knew house two women that perhaps owed the largest amount to Mr. Naraku. He brought his fist up and knock a few hard knocks then stepped away from the door to wait for it to open.
Not even thirty seconds later a woman swung the door open. "Who the hell is it?" Angry red eyes narrowed at the man on the other side of the door. "What are you doing here? We've already paid for the month?" The woman stated as she smoothed back a few black strands of hair that escaped from her bun being mindful of the little white feather she kept right next to her bun.
"Where is your sister? I need to speak with the both of you." Hojo said instead of answering her question.
The woman glared at the man before turning her head to call for her sister. A few short seconds later a petit girl, with snow white hair that reached the middle of her back and emotionless black eyes, stepped up next to the taller woman.
"Why are you here?" The white-haired girl whispered in her monotoned voice.
"Mr. Naraku sent me to tell you it's time you settled your debt with him." Hojo answered.
The woman narrowed her blood red eyes. "I've already told you; we've paid this month already!"
"That's not what Mr. Naraku wants! He wants your services." Hojo explained.
"I'm sorry but I don't get down like that, so he's just going to have to wait till next month when our payment is due again." The red eyed woman said.
Hojo rolled his eyes. " Not that kind of services. He needs you both to board his ship and help him in capturing some pirates. If we succeed your debts will be wiped clean."
"When do we leave?" The black-haired woman asked.
"Be at the docs when the sun rises." Hojo said and watched as the two women nodded and closed their door. He turned and began running to his next destination.
He made it to the next house and pounded on the door. Irritated purple eyes that looked like they belonged to a child more than anything, but Hojo knew better - he knew this child-like man was dangerous. Perhaps the most dangerous of all the people they were gathering up. "What do you want?" The man asked as the breeze caught his white hair.
"Mr. Naraku sent me to tell you it's time to settle your debt."
"And how does he propose I do that?" The man stuck in a child's body whispered with venom in his voice.
A tremor of trepidation shivered up Hojo's spine and he had to clear his throat before he spoke again. "With your services. We are after some pirates and need you and your horse to come with us. If we succeed your debt will be gone." Hojo explained as beads of sweat appeared on his forehead at the scrutinizing look the white-haired man was sending him.
"Okay." The boy shrugged wiping the look off his face allowing Hojo to breath. "Not much going on around here anyways. I could use some entertainment, when do we leave?"
"Be at the docs by dawn." Hojo called over his shoulder already on his way to his next target, wanting to get away from the man-child as fast as possible, though his next stop wasn't much better.
Running towards the woods where knew two brothers lived - running up to a cave he knew they'd most likely be in. "Hello?" He called out.
"What are you doing here?" Whispered words rent the darkness.
"Mr. Naraku wants your debt to be settled now."
"Oh, did he now?" A snake-like creature with praying-mantis claws instead of hands and a humanoid head with pale purple hair and beady purple eyes slithered out from the darkness. A more human-looking man came up behind him with same pale purple hair but with green eyes.
"Yes, he did." Hojo gulped as his heart raced in fear. "We are after some pirates and if you help us and we succeed in taking the pirates down your debt will be erased."
"Sounds like a plan, we're in." The snake-like man said.
"Good." Hojo nodded. "Meet at the docs at dawn." He said as he started off to his next person of interest.
Stopping if front of another cave, he didn't have to call out this time because the man he was searching for was standing in the opening of the cave.
"Mr. Naraku needs you to settle your debt." Hojo got right to the point.
"What debt?" The man shot back as his long black hair tied in a high ponytail and his tail caught in the breeze.
"The debt you still have with Mr. Naraku. He held up his part of the deal by giving you the jewels in your legs, but you haven't repaid him back all the way yet. If you help us locate some pirate scums, then your debt will be accounted for."
"Accounted for?" The man narrowed his ice blue eyes. "And all I have to do is kill some pirates?"
"No, not kill - just help capture them. Mr. Naraku wants to kill them himself." Hojo answered.
The man nodded. "Okay."
"Meet at the docs at sun rise." Hojo turned to leave. "Okay one more stop." He whispered to himself as he ran to a part of the woods, he knew a cottage was that housed two brothers. He sighed, happy to be almost done with this task and knocked hard on the door.
The two men answered the door, one a handsome man with red eyes and long black hair that he wore in a braid. The other an ugly man with a bald head, misshapen face and beady black eyes.
"What?" The man with the braid snapped.
"It's time you settled your debt with Mr. Naraku. We are on the searched for some pirates and if we succeed your debt is as good as gone."
"And if we fail?" The ugly man asked.
"Then we'll go on as if this conversation or task never happened." Hojo answered.
"Sure - count us in." The red eyed man said.
"Great! Be at the docs when the sun comes up." Hojo said as he turned to leave, not giving the other men a chance to respond as he ran off towards the docs to finish getting things together for the ship.
TRIVIA: WHO CAN GUESS WHO IS ON TEAM NARAKU? I LEFT THEIR NAMES OUT ON PURPOSE. :)
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