Drifting
– Part Three:
Aamalie: :D Yay for writing chapters as
bribery. xD For some reason, it always works when I offer to write for an
update. -shrugs and glomps PoF for accepting the bribe-
Corisu: Why is this so much easier to write
than 'Lies'? Answer: Because Aamalie-chan's been poking me about it all day. xD
Enjoy!
Aamalie: ...that, and I had to bribe her
too. v.v But, it obviously worked. Read on!
---
Silence fell and Sango
stared in a disbelieving manner at Ayumi as the young woman caught up with
them. Miroku, in turn, looked at Sango, a question in his eyes.
"I thought you just
said your name was Emma..." he said at last, raising one dark eyebrow.
Sango inwardly groaned.
Maintaining her disgusted
attitude towards him, she coldly replied, "Why don't you make use of
whichever one you’re most comfortable with?"
"Sango," Ayumi
began again, having been listening in, "Why'd you lie to this nice-looking
man?" She gave Miroku a coquettish smile, then whispered to Sango.
"He seems like a fine catch to me, even if he is a pirate."
Sango tried to take a deep
breath and only succeeded in making a sound that was rather like a growl. Last
time she’d seen this girl, she’d been in a half hysterical state, and now she
was acting like a flirty gossip. Had she gotten knocked upside the head since
the last time they’d exchanged words? "Apparently, I seem to be his
'fine catch'. Oh, and Ayumi? You’re not helping."
Sango then paused as she
took in the other woman's appearance. She was slightly out of breath, as if she'd
been running, and the bottom hem of her petticoat was flecked with dust from
the road. (Her normal dress seemed to have gone missing.) Her hands were
covered with much of the same, practically caked with dirt.
"What have you been
doing?" Sango asked after the inspection, frowning.
Miroku, obviously feeling
left out, volunteered, "I have a few ideas, all of which will get me
slapped."
"Keep out of
this," Sango snapped, causing mild indignation to flow over the man's
features.
By now, they were all
standing at the side of the road that wound through the entire town, connecting
the brothels, bars, and run-down inns together and giving drunkards a place to
stagger aimlessly.
"Well, I suppose
that's why the price on you was set so low at the start," Miroku responded,
putting a hand to his face in mock sadness. "Six pounds, though I hear it
was supposed to start at five. Hmm. That temper of yours is absolutely
deplorable. Such a shame that a lovely maiden like yourself is so corrupted
with such an attribute. I weep for the loss."
Sango froze for a moment,
then turned around to face him, her eyes narrowed dangerously. "Excuse
me?"
"Well, is it not
obvious? What man in his right mind would want a companion who is as unpleasant
as a hurricane? Honestly. I think I’ve met an English naval officer or two
politer than you, milady Sango.”
Everybody knew that the
English Navy had no sympathy for pirates. They’d sooner hang one than pass one
on the street.
Sango seethed at the
insult. However, before she could give proper return, Ayumi gave a shriek,
ducking behind Sango. Distracted from her earlier ‘conversation’ with Miroku,
Sango peered over her shoulder at the curly haired girl. “Ayumi... What ails
you?”
“Those men!” she
whispered, peeking over Sango’s other shoulder and gesturing towards two
scowling men headed the group’s way.
"How'd you let the
wench get away from yeh?" one grumbled, dragging his feet along and
staring around at the surroundings. "She was a right frail one!"
The other pirate retorted,
"How would you've handled it if'n she kicked you in the
quarter-decks?"
Ayumi tittered slightly
from behind Sango as the latter noticed that the second pirate was limping
slightly. Miroku winced. "I revoke my earlier statement, Sango. Miss Ayumi
makes you seem the lesser of two evils." A glare silenced him.
“Ah! There be the scurvy
wretch! Get o’er here...” The second pirate, having caught a chance sight of
Ayumi as she looked over Sango’s shoulder again, strode towards the two women.
He made to reach around Sango and grab the other girl, but Sango knocked his
arm out of the way, blocking Ayumi from sight. “What the bloody hell are ye
doin’, wench?” he hissed. “You be wasting me time.”
Sango crossed her arms,
practically looking down her nose at the pirate, although he was taller than
she was. “You won’t be laying a hand upon her,” she said, and a look of shock
crossed the outlaw’s face before he burst into guffaws.
“Begad! This lass be
thinkin’ she’s somethin’. Outta the way, bird,” the limping pirate said, and
his heavier companion shoved her aside just as Ayumi bolted. The two tars made
chase as Sango stumbled to the side, almost falling until warm hands caught and
steadied her.
“Careful.”
It was Miroku.
“Let go of me,” Sango
practically snarled, trying to break away so that she could follow Ayumi and
her two pursuers. His hands tightened on her shoulders, pulling her back
against him.
“No,” he murmured close to
her ear, and for some reason, Sango froze. “You need not be rash. You wouldn’t
be able to do much against them. Didn’t you see, Sango? They were armed.” She
turned sharply to glare up at him.
“Then help me, you damned
corsair!” she hissed. Miroku considered her, his face as blank as one who was
playing a card game, before shaking his head.
“There’s no way.”
“But-” Sango stopped
herself, shaking from fury. Ayumi had been a link to the normal. She had been
on the same ship as Sango, going to much the same place, even if they didn’t
know each other well. In fact, they hadn’t even met, save for a brief
introduction at the beginning of their journey, until their ship had been
boarded. But it hadn’t mattered... And, apparently, it still didn’t matter.
“Fine,” she said at last, her fists clenching as she stared down at the dirt
covered ground. “Just take me to wherever you were taking me.”
He touched her elbow
lightly, and Sango let herself be led on by the pirate Miroku.
-
Miroku walked steadily on,
having let go of Sango after she had trodden on his foot rather hard,
apologizing for the little 'accident'. Frankly, he supposed that after letting
those two scalawags run off with her acquaintance, it was the least that he
could do to allow her to walk under her own power.
They traveled in silence
for a quarter of an hour; Sango was trying to take in everything at once, as if
she were planning an escape route, but to no avail. There were several twists
and turns, and often, Miroku led her down a narrow alley, reducing her to
lifting her skirt and stepping over broken bottles and other, less alluring
things. Her sense of direction was badly skewed by the time he stopped in front
of an inn.
A sign was hung from a
post that jutted out toward the road by large, clunking chains. It was heavily
inked in a rusty red color that looked like blood, and it sinisterly proclaimed
that the inn was named, 'The Eye of the Krakken'. Twisting between the words
was a sea monster, the same sanguine color as the letters. It tapered off near
the top of the sign, its mouth open in a fanged leer.
The building itself looked
rather run-down, the wood splitting in places. The second step up to the door
was simply missing. Her eyes dubious, Sango turned to Miroku slowly.
"Why, exactly, have
you brought me to an inn, Pirate?" Sango asked, her eyes fixing on one of
the grimy windows, where a large handprint was clearly visible.
"Well," Miroku
said graciously, "You need a place to wash all of that filth from your
face, do you not?"
"Let me rephrase the
question. Why have you brought me to an inn of such obviously low
caliber?" She wrinkled her nose slightly at a box of refuse beside the
steps.
Miroku smiled at her.
"You can't judge a captain's log by the quality of its leather," he
quipped, hopping up to the third step and extending his hand down to her,
intending to help her over the gap.
After only a moment's hesitation,
she took his hand, and he drew her up onto the step, placing a hand on the
small of her back to help her steady herself. Sango glared at him sourly, and
he quickly removed the hand. "Merely being a gentleman."
"I'm sure," she
muttered, scaling the remaining steps and pausing at the top. For all of her
bravado, she did not want to be the first to enter the inn. As such, she waited
until Miroku pushed it open, then followed at his heels.
The atmosphere inside was
like a slap in the face. Despite its outer appearances, the Eye was
actually in very good shape when one was judging by its interior. If one could
ignore the waves of pipe smoke and the pervasive scent of hard ale, it was
actually a fairly homely place. A small group of men around a fire in the
corner glanced up as the two entered, but made no move to approach. With a
swift movement, Miroku swept his hat from his head and approached the counter
where a wizened man sat, polishing his spectacles.
When the innkeeper noticed
Miroku standing in front of him, he blinked blearily and perched the glasses on
his nose once more. There was still a rather large smudge on the left lens, but
it obviously didn't bother the man; he took a quill from where it had been
stowed behind his ear. "Name?" he queried, dipping the utensil into
an inkwell off to his right and poising it over the thick book sitting in front
of him.
"Miroku Midara,"
the pirate offered, and the man scratched the name into the book, pausing when
he noticed Sango.
"She'll be stayin'
with you, then?"
When Miroku nodded, Sango
sprang into defense mode. "What?" she hissed into his ear, but he
calmly ignored her as the innkeeper dug around behind his desk.
"Now where are those
blasted- ah, here we are! He came up with a ring of thin keys, then plucked one
off and handed it to Miroku. "There you are. Room twelve. Right down that
hallway." He jerked a thumb behind him, jotted a '12' down beside Miroku's
name, then removed his spectacles once more, rubbing irritably at them. He
seemed to have forgotten that the quill was still in his hand, however - his
rubbing was causing specks of ink to splatter the lenses.
“You heard the man,”
Miroku said jovially. “This way.”
Sango waited until they
were at least halfway down the hallway until she caught him by the wrist,
making him turn around to face her anger. “What do you think you’re doing,
Pirate? I am not going to share a room with you. You’re out of your
mind! If you think you’re going to lay a finger on me-”
She stopped when his
placed a finger against her lips, silencing her. Miroku’s eyes were sparkling
with amusement in the poorly lit hall, and a grin was on his mouth.
“Calm down, Sango. Rest
assured, I’m a pirate, but I’m not a pig.” He lowered his hand, and strolled
over to the door that had a crude numeral twelve etched into the aged wood,
inserting the key into the lock. “Besides,” he said as Sango slowly caught up,
“I couldn’t, even if I wanted to. Especially if I value my life. The articles
of my ship make it a rule that any man under the contract is not to meddle with
a prudent woman without her consent, on punishment of death.” Opening the door,
he gave her a wink. “So, you’re safe with me. Ladies first.”
“Oh...” A bit embarrassed
now, she stepped past him into the room, looking around hesitantly. Sango
started slightly when the door clicked shut, and Miroku brushed past her with
another smile.
“Let’s see... The wash
basin is over here. The water looks as though it’s been changed recently- good.
I’d be disappointed otherwise. And here’s a clean cloth for you.” He tossed it
Sango’s way and she caught it as she watched him moving around the room,
checking it over. “Well then. All seems to be in good order.”
Sango clutched the cloth
for a moment, then crossed to the washbasin and dipped the rag into it. She
lifted it to her face, sponged at her cheek, and grimaced as it came away blue
with the old women's atrocious face paint. Apparently, the white paste didn’t
mix well with water, and Sango was thankful that it hadn’t been raining. Having
made sure that the stuff wasn't stuck on her face, she glared at Miroku.
"Why are you still
here?"
"Whatever do you
mean?" He answered her question with another, smiling as he leaned against
an oaken bedpost. "I am paying for this room. Also... Maybe I am
ensuring that no one walks in on you."
"You can do that from
outside the door, I believe."
“But I won’t be able to
see the true beauty of your face through a slab of wood, and I do so want to
see what I paid for.”
Sango narrowed her eyes.
“Don’t try to feed me that sort of nonsense. Flattery goes nowhere with me, you
foolish pirate. You’ll have to try another tactic.”
Miroku was silent for a
moment, and she saw the way his eyes swept over her, taking in her every
feature in a way that made her unsure as to whether or not she should feel
inclined to displeasure. Finally, he spoke again, his voice low. “Ah, but what
would the purpose of such tactics be? Could it be possible that, with the right
skills, a mere pirate could win the heart of a pretty lass such as you, Sango?”
Sango turned away,
beginning to scrub at her face again. “No,” was her simple reply.
“Has one ever tried?”
Her breath caught when she
heard Miroku say that. He... He wouldn’t dare to try, would he? Sango couldn’t
help but wonder. But, no. Even if he did make the attempt, she was much too
smart- too cultured- to be drawn in by that.
“No, of course not. But
then, I don’t consort with criminals, so I assure you that none ever had the
chance to woo me. Even if they had, though, I assure you that no piratical charm
could sway my heart.”
“Indeed. However, Sango,
is it not true that you now find yourself sharing a room with a criminal at
this very moment?”
“Not by choice.”
“Hmm...” It was then that
he decided to change the subject. “You're still in a nightshift, aren't you?
That won't do at all. I have a lady friend who could lend you some clothing,
although she's a bit shorter than you, and you're a bit better endowed. Yet, I
think that it could work.”
“Wonderful. Goodbye then,”
Sango said, ignoring his comments about her body.
He chuckled. “I’ll send
her up when I find her then.”
A moment later, the door
opened and closed, and Sango was left alone.
---
Aamalie: Muah ha. Miroku’s such a sexah
pirate...
---
lilmatchgirl007- Yes... XD That was funny. Corisu
wrote that part... She’s such a silly chica.
Inu-Shounen- o.o OMG... You live!? -dies of
shock-
Amethyst Fluff- Oh yes. She hates it now... She
will until she sees the benefits of it. :3
Ebony Black- Mmm... Yes. Miroku’s a
gentlemen... Until he gropes. But I think that’s for next chapter. -sighs-
PoF- Yeah... That’s about the reason.
Sort of... xD
FlamingRedFox- Sheesh. Write the entire alphabet,
why don’t you? D.I.D. is damsel in distress- xD Go watch Hercules a few times.
Disney version, of course. And I’m not sure how to translate pounds to
dollars... Lets just say that 50 pounds could probably support a working class
family in those times for a year. So Miroku paid good money for Sango. But
yeah. Thanks for the long review!
Dea Mariella- Ish all good. Just send me the
link.
Twisted taijiya- xD How could you NOT imagine him as
a cliché good-guy pirate? He’s dashing, a bit of a liar, a bit of a thieving
rogue... Canon!Miroku is practically a land-pirate anyway.
Siren of Erised- You should be writing instead of
reading this. -glares-
---
XD Review!