InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Sinner ❯ Spirited Away ( Chapter 3 )

Author's Notes: Due to the fact that a lot of stuff is happening in my personal life, and maybe also the fact that I'm getting 'burnout' in the writing department, and I'm also getting an unnecessary amount of emails being rude and demanding updates for older stories, I'm taking a break. I'm not quitting, but I'm being put under a lot of pressure and I need a time-out. I've practically been writing non-stop for a long time now and my head is spinning and I need a break… I know I just went on holiday, but trust me, looking after a partially senile old woman for three weeks who keeps having small strokes and major mood swings is not much of a relaxing holiday. In fact, I'm pretty stressed right now.

So for the sake of my sanity, and in trying to keep the quality of my writing at its best, I'm going to put everything on hiatus so that I can just chill for a while. Please don't ask me when I'll start up again because you simply won't get an answer. At the moment I am not enjoying writing fanfiction and in that kind of mind-frame I'm only putting out half-hearted work and if I'm not enjoying it, I doubt anyone else can either. I also don't plan to slave over something I'm not enjoying right now, and I certainly won't slave over older works for the select few people who rudely demand my attention on those stories. Trust me, I am not anyone's updating machine, I'm a human being and right now I can't cope. So please, don't chew me out over this, don't be rude to me, don't assume that I can bend to your whim because it isn't as easy as you think. Most of all, I don't comply with rude people so trying to flame me is pointless and will probably only incite my petty side (my petty side will cut my nose off to spite my face, so be warned flamers/rude reviewers, I can quite easily never touch those stories again if that abuse continues).

To everyone else, I am sincerely sorry that I'm taking a break. It seems unfair to you guys but I think it is even more unfair if my chapters are strained and really not up to my usual standard. I don't want to write a bad story for you all, so I think this way I will get my enthusiasm back before I ruin the fics.

*sigh* I'm such a drama queen ^_^;;

The Sinner

Chapter Three

Spirited Away

"So what did you get?"

Sango plonked herself down on the white cooling box in the back of her speedboat. She tipped out her goody bag onto the box beside her. "Let's see… I got three pearl necklaces, five diamond pendants, a digital video-recorder, ten rings of assorted value, and a little red laser pointer thingy…" She picked up the last item and aimed it at Miroku's head, smiling mildly at the red dot that appeared between his eyes. "I could have a lot of fun with this thing."

"Swap you the pointer for…" Miroku fished the first thing out of his bag. "A purse full of Pokémon trading cards…"

"No deal." Sango slipped the pointer into her pocket.

"Good, 'cause I want these. Look - I didn't have Bulbasaur before!" Miroku began leafing through the cards with growing excitement. "Or Pikachu!"

Sango shook her head and cast a wary eye in all directions, noting the oil rig as a distant blip on the horizon. Most of the pirates' boats were still crowded in a tight bunch near her speedboat, however, unwilling to return so quickly to the base. By oath, ten percent of all bounty had to be donated to the boss, and since no self-respecting pirate wanted to do that, they all had to sort through their bounty before arriving back at the rig. They hid what they wanted to keep and left what could be given up in their bags.

Miroku hurried, tucking his new Pokémon cards into the pocket of his jeans with a knowing wink at Sango. "Don't tell anyone about this, remember that."

"I'd be too embarrassed to." Sango carried on surveying the horizon. "Oh look, here comes Frontman." she exclaimed upon spotting the approaching yacht. "I kind of feel sorry for him… I bet he couldn't get much being stuck on deck… do you think we should give him some of our stuff?"

Miroku gave her a serious look and continued hiding the valuables in various pockets and slots around the boat. He evidently didn't feel too hot about that idea. Sango sighed and stood up, waving to the approaching yacht despite the hanyou already having seen her. He slid to a stop a few metres away and switched the engine off with a sound snap of the ignition. It was only then that she noticed how disgruntled he looked.

Poor guy probably hadn't gotten much for all his trouble.

"Get anything interesting?" she called over to him as Miroku watched with vague interest, chewing a half-eaten Snickers bar that he'd lifted from the cruise. What Inuyasha picked up off his deck was enough to make him choke on the chocolate.

It was an incredibly bedraggled and drenched young female. She hung limply from Inuyasha's grip on her upper arm, dangling like a soggy rag doll. Her curling hair plastered across half her face, the same way a pale blue shirt was now plastered shamelessly to her figure… and would have looked very inappropriate had she not already been wearing a two-piece bathing suit.

Sango and Miroku stared.

Then Miroku cleared his throat. "Man… I'd throw that one back if I were you. A dead broad can't do anyone any good. Unless… you're into that kind of thing…?"

Sango slapped his arm. "She isn't dead, you moron." she hissed, then looked back at Inuyasha incredulously. "Why did you kidnap a girl? Do you plan to hold her ransom or something…? Because I don't think Naraku would like you taking risks like that…"

"Or is she just going to be your sex monkey?" Miroku wondered aloud - too aloud, judging by that glare from Sango. "Because that Naraku wouldn't mind so-"

"Idiots!" Inuyasha snapped, dragging the girl towards the edge of the yacht and letting her drape over the railing. "Can't you see it - it's her!"

They both blinked. Nonplussed.

"Hey - her skirt looks like it's been run over with a lawnmower!" Miroku proclaimed.

"Somehow… I don't think you're looking at her skirt." Sango commented dryly.

Inuyasha was growing irritated. "Look at her." He grabbed a fistful of her hair and dragged her head up.

Miroku choked all over again.

Sango's eyes widened considerably. "Inuyasha… she looks just like-"

"-but didn't she die?" Miroku interrupted, staring in disbelief.

"We never found a body, did we?" Inuyasha said by way of answering. "It was never really confirmed that she died."

"But…" Sango shook her head, narrowing her eyes in thought. "What if she just looks like her…? I swear that girl isn't old enough to be Kikyo… a younger sister, maybe, but not-"

"She recognised me." Inuyasha cut her off abruptly. "She called me 'Ori'."

Miroku darted a glance at Sango. "Uh… who's Ori, again?"

Sango shrugged, seemingly as clued in as Miroku was.

Inuyasha chose to ignore their off-topic ramblings. "She recognised me - who else would she be?" Inuyasha jostled the unconscious girl.

"One of your new fans?" Miroku hazarded a guess. "Come on, Inuyasha. There is no way Kikyo could have survived the storm, and that girl is clearly not her. Besides you're probably only making her disgustingly rich father very angry with you."

Some of the boats around them were beginning to move off , having finished banking their bounty. Sango watched them head off towards the oil rig in the distance, holding onto the edge of the speedboat as it bounced from the waves produced by their wake. She tapped Miroku's arm distractedly. "We'd better get going…"

"I'd recommend taking her to Naraku before you do anything else that rash." Miroku told Inuyasha quickly as Sango made for the helm.

"He's already kidnapped her, what else is there left to do?" the girl called over her shoulder.

"Kill her perhaps." Inuyasha said darkly.

"Oh…" Sango shifted in her seat. "You should listen to Miroku in that case." She revved the engine.

"Don't be long!" Miroku waved as they sped off in pursuit of the last speedboat.

Inuyasha sighed and let the girl drop down to the deck by his feet. He looked her over uncertainly, suddenly not so sure that this was Kikyo after all. She seemed smaller and softer somehow… but her face was the same, even though he'd seen a wider range of emotions and expressions flash across it in the short time she'd been conscious than in the entire time he'd known Kikyo previously.

Inuyasha sat down behind the wheel again, leaning against it as he let his thoughts carry him away. An old habit took over, as it often did when he wasn't on guard… he bit down on the tip of his little finger, worrying it between his teeth.

But then he caught himself and quickly dropped his hand. Shaking his head, he wondered what portion of his bounty he should give to Naraku. The girl, or the treasure?

~*~

When Kagome woke up, she woke up in layers. First of all, she was distantly aware of a shooting pain down her spine. But at that time however, she was too asleep to understand why the pain was there or to try and fix the problem. It was a while before the discomfort of her position roused her enough to open her eyes.

She blinked as she came nose to nose with something flat and metal… then realised that it was the wall.

Kagome had never sat up so fast or with so much trouble in her life.

"What the…?"

The pain she'd felt in her back was due to having nearly fallen off the bunk bed that she'd been sleeping on. Her lower half was still on the bleak grey mattress, but her upper half had been slumped on the floor with her face pressed against the even bleaker coloured wall. When Kagome had sat up, or tried to, she'd slipped straight onto the floor.

Where the heck was she?

Looking around, she realised she was in a room - a very small room. Dirty magazines littered the floor, a potted cactus sat on what looked like a book shelf (beside more dirty magazines), a locked chest sat in the corner behind the metal plated door, and Kagome herself sat in front of a pair of bunk beds. There was also a small, round window between the two beds…

Kagome scrambled up onto the bottom bunker and clasped her hands around the bars screwed over the window. Outside she could see the sun blinking down through a sparse smattering of cloud and below that was just ocean for miles and miles… she couldn't see a speck of land.

But what perturbed her most was that she realised she wasn't actually on a boat of any kind. She could see men working one level below her, and below them was some kind of docking pier with a few boats moored there… from her window, Kagome couldn't see much else. But she was certain she was on some kind of rig in the middle of the ocean.

All the memories hit her full force and she chewed her lip anxiously as she reabsorbed it again.

She'd been on a cruise - depressed, of all things - then pirates had attacked! One of them had looked like her Ori… but she wasn't all that sure it was him. Yes, Ori was very unique when it came to appearances, but this guy couldn't possibly be him…

Where was 'this guy' anyway? The last thing she remembered was being picked up and thrown overboard. Judging from the way her hair hung in a frizzy mess, and her clothes and arms smelt very strongly of dried salt, she had actually hit the water… but the rest of it was just a blank.

Pulling away from the window, Kagome glanced towards the door, assessing it silently. She was almost willing to bet that she could let off an atomic bomb in this room and that door would probably still hold… not that Kagome was willing to test that theory. But that door looked at least three feet thick.

Am I in a prison cell? she wondered to herself. This place was the pits -it was the armpit of the pits, in fact. This was the kind of place they put you away when you get a life sentence from a judge.

Well, if the door was locked she'd know for sure.

Almost hesitantly, Kagome stood up again and trudged over to the door. She had to spend a few moments trying to figure out how the handle turned exactly (it had two catches and a press-down button behind it) and even then she found, to her dismay, that she was locked in.

"Oh god…" she muttered to herself, feeling her panic rise. She was on some kind of floating prison in the middle of the China sea, miles from home and family… and… and Hojo!

Oh god, what about Hojo! She'd completely forgotten that he'd been shot! Kagome automatically clapped her hands over her mouth as she remembered how the Ori-look-alike had fired off a shot from his gun and hit Hojo in the leg. He'd been bleeding badly - she'd seen the blood on the pristine deck beneath him as everyone had surged to help.

Was he ok now? Was he in the hospital? Had he died of blood loss before he could be taken to a doctor? Where was the guy who had shot him? Would he do the same to her?

I have to get out of here. Kagome decided. There was no other choice. Either stay and let that fiend do whatever he wanted with her, providing he came back, or try and run away now and keep her dignity and self-respect.

It wasn't a hard choice.

The hard part came with how on earth she'd find a screwdriver to dispose of the bars on the window so she could escape. But with the amount of junk piled up around the room, she was bound to find something.

Kagome began the difficult task of rifling through the contents of each dark corner. She pushed the magazines aside, trying hard not to look at the pictures too much, and fished around under the bed. The only thing she found there was a dodgy-looking pair of underpants.

"Ew!" She tossed them aside and went to try the chest - which was also locked, much to her exasperation. Someone seemed bent in keeping her locked inside that pitiful excuse for a prisoner's cell.

Then she heard voices coming down the hall. She recognised one of them in an instant.

The Ori-look-alike was returning with a chum.

Kagome froze in the middle of the room, torn for what to do. Get that cactus and wait for him to enter before attacking? Or should she just lie down and play dead?

The latter option sounded much safer and easier, so without further ado, Kagome scurried back to the bed and flopped down on the mattress. She tried to arrange herself in the same position as before, but she didn't have a lot of time and she needed to calm her breathing before they entered.

Just think sleepy thoughts… she chided herself as she laid her head down and closed her eyes. Taking deep, even breathes, she waited for the pirates to arrive.

Kagome's heart tripped over itself as something clattered inside the door -the lock and key no doubt. It gave a heavy click and the door handle swung all the way down. The door cracked open.

"-and don't forget to come by and help with the exports. You're not getting off easily this time." some stranger was saying. Another young man by the sound of it.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." a more familiar voice said.

Footsteps retreated as the extra person disappeared away down the corridor again. The door opened more fully and someone stepped through. With her eyes firmly shut, Kagome could only judge his movements by sound.

Boots scraped against the floor, and the door gave a shuddering clang as it closed again. Kagome's heart gave another bionic leap in speed as she realised she was now trapped in a tiny room with a pirate of all people. If only she had taken that cactus as a weapon while she'd had the chance…

But… why had it gone so quiet?

Kagome resisted the temptation to open her eyes and locate him. He was still in the room, since there was no where else he could have gone. But why wasn't he moving at all? Was he watching her? Was he holding an axe over her head right at that moment?

If she opened her eyes, he would know she was awake…

Kagome tried to keep her cool… but it was hard. She felt like she was under intense scrutiny, but as the same time she was beginning to doubt if he was even there at all.

Her resistance caved and she cracked her eyes open.

Ok… he was still there… sitting on the trunk behind the door, but he wasn't looking in her direction. He seemed to be staring at the opposite wall rather blankly, feet propped against the edge of the chest and head leant back against the wall behind him.

Kagome blinked at him, confused. He looked about as depressed as she had felt on the cruise ship. Should she cough and let him know she was awake?

No… he'd probably still bite her head off.

His hand moved and Kagome closed her eyes without thinking, not keen to let him know she was conscious after all. A moment or two later, she heard him sigh deeply. "Don't bother, I know you're awake."

No, I'm not. Kagome pretended to sleep on just to spite him. After a long pause, she realised how futile that was… and so she opened her eyes with a weary sigh and sat up, looking at him sheepishly.

What she saw him doing made her breath catch in her throat.

He was simply biting down on the nail of his little finger. He wasn't chewing his nails the way Kagome had used to when she was a child; he was just holding the tip of his pinky between his teeth.

It was something that Ori had done sometimes. He'd done it right before he'd had to go on stage and do his lines for the school play. He'd had stage fright. But he'd also done it when he'd smashed his own bedroom window with his football… that time Ori had been worried about the wrath he was about to receive off his guardians.

Biting the little finger was his nervous habit.

Besides reinforcing Kagome's belief that this was Ori, it also told her that he was anxious about something. About what, though?

The little finger was released at last. "How did you do it?" he asked simply, not looking at her.

"Excuse me?" She frowned slightly.

"How did you survive?" He glanced at her shrewdly.

Kagome felt she should be the one asking that particular question. So she decided to ignore him and do an interrogation of her own. "What about you? Where've you been for the last four years? How come you knew me on the cruise liner? Is it because… because… um…"

She made a lousy interrogator.

"You sound weird." The boy let his feet drop off the trunk so he could rest his forearms on his thighs. "Did you hit your head during that storm or something?"

"What storm?" Kagome scowled moodily.

He gave her a penetrating stare. "Stop playing games, Kikyo. You ripped me off and I cut your line. You drowned. I saw you fall - there was no way you could have survived that."

"W-wait…" Kagome held up her hands in a slowing down gesture. "I think you have me confused with someone else."

"Oh yeah?" The boy's eyes narrowed as he stood and stalked over to her. Kagome resisted the temptation to cower backwards. "If you're not Kikyo then why did you say "Ori" when you saw me?"

"B-because…" Kagome shook her head slightly, gazing up at him with confused eyes. "You… are Ori… aren't you?" she asked quietly, like a tiny girl rather than a capable teenager.

"I think… you have me confused with someone else…" He looked as tormented and confused as he sounded. "You thought I was… Ori…"

The pirate's face suddenly went slack and he straightened abruptly, gazing off into space again. Kagome watched him intently as he turned and wandered back to the trunk. He stood for a moment, hands pressed against his face as if suddenly tired.

But then that temper she'd seen him possess on the cruise ship surfaced again. With a loud, explicit curse he slammed his foot against the trunk, splintering the side and breaking the lock in one fell kick. Kagome flinched and probably would have been running for all she was worth had she not been trapped with him.

"Shit!" He kicked it again for good measure. "I should have known…!"

Kagome couldn't help herself. "Known… what?"

He gave an angry gasp and rounded on her. "What is your name?" he demanded.

"K-Kagome."

"Thanks a fucking bunch, Kagome."he spat. "Thanks to you, I have completely screwed up!" He threw his hands up. "Again!"

Kagome shuffled uneasily. "Well… sorry…" And why was she apologising to the brute that had kidnapped her? She rolled her eyes. "Ok, so I'm not Kikyo. Will you take me back home?"

He folded his arms and gave her a scathing look. "Not likely. Who do you think I am?"

I think you're Ori, but you've just forgotten perhaps…? Kagome pursed her lips slightly. "So… if you're not Ori, then just who are you?"

He looked as though he was going to avoid answering to annoy her, but he seemed to change his mind. "It's Inuyasha, isn't it." He shrugged as though everyone in the world should have known his name.

"And you've always been Inuyasha?" she asked, still hopeful.

"Duh. My parents named me that. It hasn't changed since I was born." He looked at her like she was something to be scraped off the bottom of his shoe.

Kagome internally sighed. So he wasn't her Ori after all. Her Ori hadn't even known his parents… he'd been adopted when he was only one or two. He'd always been called Ori as well.

The pirate seemed to have read her thoughts simply by watching her face. "You still hoped I was Ori, didn't you?" He didn't sound scathing now.

"Yes…" she admitted glumly.

"I have news for you." he said evenly. "Ori died in a fire four years ago, thirteen years old."

Kagome's mouth dropped open. "I know… I was there…" She stared at him, not quite believing what had just come out of his mouth. "How… how did you-"

"Because he was my brother." was the simple response.

Kagome couldn't move, or even think, for a moment or two. Her mind was just one big white space of shock. A twin…?

So Ori was really gone?

She didn't even register seeing his brother leave the room and lock the door. All she registered was how the grief seemed to well up inside her, like his death was fresh again. It was almost as if he'd been within her grasp… but he'd slipped away again.

Kagome cupped her hands to her face and cried for the second day in a row.

~*~

Why hadn't he realised this sooner? It explained a heck of a lot… and it would have saved him a lot of trouble and angst if he'd just made this connection earlier.

The girl was a stranger to him. The only reason she'd looked at him twice was because she thought he was someone else who was equally as estranged to him. And the only reason he had recognised her was because he'd thought she recognised him because she was Kikyo and he was Inuyasha, not Ori, and it was… so confusing…

Inuyasha pressed his palm against his forehead, scolding himself for his blind stupidity. He sat in the chair in front of Naraku's desk, waiting for the boss to return. Inuyasha wasn't exactly sure why the boss had summoned him… but he had a vague idea.

Sitting in the cold, dank office, Inuyasha began to realise how bitterly disappointed he was. He had hoped the girl was Kikyo… he'd wanted to believe she was alive and well, to alleviate the guilt from her death if nothing else.

Ironically, she was the one who had told him about his brother. In that very office in fact, when he'd caught her sniffing around Naraku's files and contacts. That was also the time he had realised she wasn't an ally at all… she was a spy sent by one of Naraku's rivals.

He'd never felt so betrayed in his life.

"What are you doing in here?" he'd asked her the moment he'd entered. She'd stiffened up like a startled animal, staring at him with an 'oh shit' kind of expression. The pregnant pause had stretched on for a short eternity… giving Inuyasha the time to absorb and accept what he was seeing, and giving Kikyo the chance to bring up her scapegoat.

"Inuyasha - you have to listen to me." She had rushed into a speech, dropping the papers she'd been reading through. "Naraku is only using you - you have to get out of here!"

"You're a spy!" he'd hissed, disregarding what she had said in an instant. "Who are you working for -the MSS? The PSIA?"

"Inuyasha, please listen!"She'd sounded urgent. "Naraku's been lying to you - he only intends to use as a means to get what he wants! You have a brother - a twin, Ori - he's been living in Japan with an adoptive family! You and he have to-"

"You're full of it!" That was the lamest lie he'd ever heard. "How dare you come here and pretend to be working for us when you're just a fucking mole for someone else!"

"We're trying to help you!" she'd cried. "We're your allies - Naraku is your enemy! I'm working for your brother-"

"Bullshit."

"His name is Sesshomaru! Inuyasha, you have to believe me - Naraku is trying to use you against-"

At that point, Inuyasha had heard enough. He'd never heard such trash in his life. He'd been kicked out of some crummy orphanage when he was barely old enough to talk. He had no family - if he had, would he have been left on the streets like that? Naraku had saved him from the fate of every other urchin - this girl had no right to appear out of the blue and try to poison his mind like this!

And everyone knew that 'Sesshomaru' was Naraku's biggest rival. To be told that he was related to that prick…?

There had been a storm going on at the time, one of those sudden violent bursts that tore up the sea and any boat in its way. The rig could stand it, but it was wise to lock yourself within your cabin when the stormy season came calling. But Kikyo had been a fool, or just plain naïve… she'd rushed headlong out of the office's back door and onto the outside platform in the middle of a ferocious storm. Inuyasha had followed her, their yelling barely audible over the roaring waves and screaming winds.

Kikyo had strayed too close to the edge of the platform. A freak wave had surged up and all but wrapped itself around her…dragging her down with it as it returned to the sea. But Kikyo had managed to grab part of a rope… and Inuyasha had managed to grab the other end before it had slipped away completely.

But he hadn't pulled her up.

"Tell me you don't work for Sesshomaru!" He'd been distraught. "Take back what you said!"

She'd just shook her head. "He's a liar, Inuyasha… Naraku will stab you in the back when the time arises! I would never work for him!"

Inuyasha had released the rope and watched her fall into the vicious waves… she hadn't even screamed.

No one could have survived that kind of storm.

But then Naraku had taken him aside a few days later and actually confirmed most of what Kikyo had told him. Sesshomaru was his brother. He really did have a twin in Japan, although he had passed away in a fire three years prior. Kikyo had simply been sent by Sesshomaru to gain access to the shipping schedules, to intercept their cargo before Naraku's men could. Kikyo had only been trying to convince him of otherwise to buy herself time to escape.

If Kikyo's blatant betrayal of his trust hadn't already hurt, finding out that she had even stolen half of his bounty and taken it to the bottom of the sea with her had definitely stung. He was still angry at her…

But still incredibly guilty that he had let her fall like that…

"Inner monologue?"

What the…! Inuyasha spun around in his chair to face Naraku. When had he entered? Inuyasha watched him warily as the man moved to sit down behind his desk… evidently he'd been too wrapped up in his thoughts and memories to hear him enter.

"I saw the girl you brought." The boss said as he sat down quietly. "Where is she now?"

"Locked in my cabin." Inuyasha answered shortly.

"You know who she looks like, don't you." It wasn't really posed as a question.

Inuyasha shrugged. "I thought she was Kikyo… that's why I took her."

"But she isn't." Naraku made the plain statement. "Now what do you plan to do with her?"

Inuyasha shrugged again. He hadn't really thought this far ahead.

"You cannot keep her here." Naraku told him firmly. "First of all, she will probably get into trouble with the men. Second, she is undoubtedly related to someone awfully rich to have come from a millionaires' cruise, someone who will probably want your head and have every resource at their disposal to retrieve it… and retrieve her, of course. I am not willing to let you compromise the security of this base for one girl."

"I know…" Inuyasha muttered.

"You'll have to return her."

That meant taking her to the coast and getting dangerously far into Japanese waters. If anyone decided to follow him back, he would have a lot of trouble shaking them off… he'd probably have to take a grenade launcher with him in that case.

Inuyasha wanted to put it off…

"I'll take her back to her country." And dump her in the sea before we get there.

Naraku tented his fingers with a deep sigh and looked down at his desk as though in deep thought. Usually this was the point that Inuyasha would be dismissed… but that didn't seem to be the case this time. Inuyasha tapped his toes impatiently as he waited to be given the order to get out.

"You and I are very alike, Inuyasha." Naraku said finally, making Inuyasha blink, nonplussed. "Both Hanyous. Hiding out in the middle of the ocean to escape the real world and all its prejudices and hatred towards our kind. Most of the people on this rig are demon in some form or another… and those who aren't demons are human outcasts."

Was he going somewhere with this? Inuyasha scratched behind an ear as he waited for the point to arrive.

"If this rig were to ever be compromised, most of us, if not all of us, will either be hunted down one by one and given the death penalty… or by some miracle manage to escape that fate and die a slower, if not more painful, death."

"I told you - I won't let that girl compromise us!" Inuyasha said hotly.

"That isn't what I implied." Naraku responded calmly. "It had recently come to my attention that Sesshomaru had planted another mole in our ranks. I've had him removed and interrogated… but it appears that Sesshomaru's goal this time… is simply you."

"Why… because we're related?" Inuyasha said stiffly.

"Perhaps. Perhaps he simply can't stand the idea of a blood relative cooperating with his rival. Maybe he wants to get even with you for killing off his most prized pirate a year ago."Here Inuyasha winced slightly. "Or maybe he just wants to reunite with his younger brother… although judging from Sesshomaru's character, I think the latter is very unlikely."

Inuyasha remained silent.

"I want you to be careful from now on." Naraku told him seriously. "Bearing in mind that Sesshomaru's base of operations is located on the coast of Japan, I wouldn't stray too far that way. If one of his men comes across you, they will attempt to abduct you. Or kill you. So try and stay away from suspicious looking vessels."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Overprotective bosses were the worst… "Sure. Whatever."

"Thank you, Inuyasha." Naraku nodded. "You may leave now."

Finally. Inuyasha rolled to his feet and quickly escaped his boss' presence.

So Sesshomaru was after him now… well, that just meant that Inuyasha would have steer clear of the coast… which meant that returning the girl back to her country would have to wait.

Or maybe she could just have a quick stop at the bottom of the ocean?

~*~

It was surprising how very little there was to do in a jail cell. Kagome had resigned herself to crunching morosely on the malteasers she'd found in the trunk that the pirate, Inuyasha, had broken earlier. Along with the sweets, there had been quite a lot of clothes… and she'd found a disturbing amount of treasure.

Plastic shopping bags were full of the stuff… credit cards, a lot of money in three different kinds of currency, tangled necklaces, earrings and bracelets made of solid gold, pearl or diamond… and quite a lot of small electronic devices. PDAs, a laptop or two, more mp3 players than one could shake a stick at, and small stacks of CDs - they were all there.

The life of a pirate was a rich one… although, the living situation didn't seem to reflect that.

Worry and anxiety gnawed at her insides and she sat by the window, staring out at the sea and the people working below. She wanted nothing more than to go home and fall into her mother's arms and to cry her eyes out. In fact, she really wanted to cry right then, but she'd promised herself that she wouldn't show any more weakness to these people. Kagome was a strong girl, and she wouldn't let pirates get her down.

Still… her chin wobbled slightly when she thought of home.

And Ori.

"Stupid boy…" she sniffed to herself. "Why didn't he tell me he had an evil twin?"

So far, the twin had done nothing to endear himself to Kagome. He'd been pushy, violent, overly aggressive and obviously had issues. He needed therapy. And whoever Kikyo was, Kagome felt sorry for the girl. If Kikyo really had been on that ship, would the white haired pirate really have tried to shoot her the way he'd tried to shoot Kagome to make his "perfect ten"? Whatever the heck the "perfect ten" was anyway…

Kagome's eyes wandered around the room, still half-heartedly searching for a way to escape. Her gaze landed on the small potted cactus and narrowed… what kind of pirate kept a cactus by their bed?

Just as she was giving into her urge to go over and pluck all the needles out of the plant - purely to spite Inuyasha - she heard a faint beeping.

Kagome stopped dead and listened intently.

There it was again.

It sounded like a phone… Kagome's ring tone, in fact. Glancing up towards the trunk, the source of the beeping, she realised that her phone was ringing. Someone was trying to contact her!

With no one around to be any the wiser, Kagome hurried over to the trunk and began to dig around, searching for the little plastic device. She found it, wedged in beside a few wads of foreign money bills. Kagome snatched it without hesitation and flipped it open to look at the screen and see who was calling.

Her mother.

AN: A note on the MSS and PSIA thing I mentioned earlier. Like America has the CIA and FBI, Britain has MI5 and GCHQ, China has MSS (Ministry of State Security), and Japan has the PSIA (Public Security Investigation Agency). Phew. What a mouthful! ^__^