AN: Yeah... I suck... I really suck... I'm sorry... I'm SORRY!

This extremely short teaser/chapter was to bring me out of my funk. It was a good exercise... And, the many of you who so kindly nagged me to continue made me realize what a pinhead I was being and inspired me to write again.

Thank you to Sorena, whose stories I secretly adore and whose mail was the final straw in not being stupid. And, of course, to everyone else as well. I love this story. It kind of makes me wonder why I stopped writing it in the first place.

Anyhoo, I hope you enjoy it nonetheless, short or no.

Hanyou on the High Sea- Chapter 12

Kagome caught the faint whiff of mint. ...And coffee. This was, of course, after what seemed like hours of sleep... Groggily, she opened a dilated eye only to find it painfully flooded by lamplight. "Ugh..." Her hand reached up to massage her eyeballs, then she squinted, trying to get used to the moderately bright room. She felt itchy, full of sand and sweat.

"Rise and shine, kid." A deep voice said tranquilly from the corner, nearly scaring Kagome out of her wits. "I trust you are alive."

At first, Kagome thought she was looking at a woman. Though, the deep voice soon quashed that theory. Then, upon her eyes focusing, she could have sworn, just for a minute... she was looking at Inuyasha.

This was also a misconception... for as soon as her wits had re-nested in her head, Kagome found herself gazing at the most beautiful man she had ever seen.

I mean...MAN, was he HOT. The teenager in her couldn't help but ogling. He was tall and gallant with long, straight silver hair and striking amber eyes. He had various markings, (tattoos, Kagome wondered?) on him, and an air that seemed particularly cool.

...Which was unsettlingly familiar...

Kagome shook her head and focused on the doctor. He WAS, the doctor, of course, judging from the stethoscope hanging around his neck and white lab coat hanging on a particularly ornate coat rack in the corner. She slowly peeled off the covers to reveal...

Not her clothing.

She was wearing a soft medical gown, made of white fabric. Kagome's chest fluttered at the realization. She looked up. "Uh... excuse me... but, how did I... Where are my...?""

The doctor answered with a nod of his head and a sip from his mug. "They're folded neatly in that corner, by the vase. Be grateful, I even took the time to have them cleaned."

Kagome nodded slowly, but stammered. "Yeah, but... what I meant was... uh.." She motioned to the fabric she wore and to the pile in the corner.

The doctor blinked before it dawned on him. "Ahh..." he scratched his chin with a clawed finger. "Yes, I saw you unclothed."

...Kagome just about wanted to curl up in that corner, be shot, die, and be shot again.

The doctor, however, gave a quick wave in the air and said coolly, "Don't feel embarrassed, kid. It's not like you have anything special. Tell me, are you in pain?"

Kagome clenched her teeth. She honestly didn't know what was worse. The fact that some strange hunk had just seen her in her birthday suit, or the fact that he didn't find it all that spectacular. "...Like you have no... idea." She gritted.

"Really?" He reached out for a notepad and glanced her way. "Tell me where it hurts."

Kagome couldn't help feeling standoffish and almost violated. "Will I get a kiss and a band-aid?"

The tall youkai doc narrowed his eyes and looked at Kagome. "Well actually, I was... But too bad for you, the only thing I hate more than pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanokoniosis... which I loathe, by the way... is sarcasm."

They burned... The doctor's eyes burned into Kagome's. Those yellow orbs of pure, unadulterated frost. She found herself slinking back onto her bed, weakly. She sighed. "I'm sorry, doctor..." She looked up. "Doctor..."

He pointed to a diploma hanging neatly just above his desk. Which Kagome read.

"Dr. Sesshoumaru." She finished.

"At your service." He crossed his legs.

Kagome finally took the initiative to move and slowly extended a leg out of her cot. It felt heavy, As if she had just woken up from a sake-induced stupor. But at the very least, there was no pain. In fact, once she was out of the mattress and on her feet, she felt.... well, great. Loose, and just a bit floaty. She stretched her back and studied her surroundings... somewhere; she realized with a start, was very unfamiliar.

Half office, half infirmary, as it appeared. It was small, neat and white, with two other cots separated by curtains and a small, unlit fireplace in the corner. A sword rested in its sheath on a nearby table, and an odd, spiky plant was placed on a bright windowsill. ...Kagome remembered Paulina having one once... She believed it was called a cactus.

The doctor looked her way and wrote something on his chart. "Mobile and relatively coordinated... no signs of remaining injury..." He muttered as he scribbled. He looked up again and Kagome saw his ear twitch. "Respiration sounds normal..."

"Hey, excuse me, doctor....?" Kagome reached over and grasped her clothes and clutched them to her chest. Just then, she felt a draft and looked back to see that her gown... wasn't as modest as she suddenly wished it was. "Uh..." she said, while burning crimson and shuffling her bare rear end to the nearest wall. "Do you think you could be so kind as to tell me exactly where I am and what I'm doing here?"

Dr. Sess flipped over a few pages and leaned back in his chair. "Certainly. You are in my office. Why? Because of two broken ribs, a dislocated shoulder, cracked collarbone, sprained ankle, and... lungs full of sea water." He put the chart down and casually glanced at a silver pocket watch. Kagome thought she saw a semblance of a smile.

"However, I won't recommend you rising just yet. Not that you would, of course, at the crack of dawn." He motioned for her to sit down, which she promptly did. "You've had a fairly nasty spill, and the drugs I administered to you might continue to impair some of your motor and judgment skills for the next 6-8 hours. Just lie down and rest a bit more." Kagome saw the doctor glance at his watch once again.

He stood and walked over to the night table beside her cot. An ice-filled pitcher with an orange-colored drink sat next to a few cups and a bottle of pills. "This is an electrolyte solution mixed with herbs and painkillers... The non-drowsy kind, don't worry. These," he pointed to the small cork-stopped jar, "Are to be taken once an hour. Use the drink, please."

Kagome nodded slowly. The solution looked kind of refreshing.

Sesshoumaru turned and walked to the door, where he opened it a crack. "Jaken!" He called. "It's time. ...Bring me my putts."

As Kagome watched, mystified, the tall, gorgeous youkai walked to the coat rack where his lab coat was exchanged for some type of sweater-vest combination and loose, solid kimono pants... His brilliantly gleaming silver hair was topped by an odd, floppy sort-of hat.

The door burst open a moment later and a youkai looking very much like a warty, desiccated frog ran in, tripping and falling at Sesshoumaru's feet. A large leather-stitched sack full of something metallic skittered across the floor and into the fireplace. Sesshoumaru's eyes widened momentarily.

"Fool," He growled. He picked up a bundle of silver clubs and inspected the head. "…You have just marred my Diamondswing..." Jaken's eyes bulged in fear and he kissed the ground at his master's feet. "For-forgive me, Sesshoumaru-sama! It was so heavy, and I'm but a tiny peon-" The doctor wasted no time in opening the door and kicking the smaller youkai to the far reaches of the horizon.

Kagome watched, unsure of what to do or think as Dr. Sesshoumaru went out the door. He stopped midway, and looked at her with a slightly irate face and the same piercing yellow eyes.

"...My medical cabin is a bungalow on the northeast side of the Lord's manor. Should it catch on fire, or anything of equal distress, feel free to leave and seek help. But I wouldn't recommend you do so for at least three more hours." He looked down and rubbed an imaginary speck of dust from his golf club. "If you need anything else, I'll be back late afternoon. ...Maybe." The door slammed, and Kagome sat still... dazed in her buck-naked glory.

A brilliant orange sunrise sparkled over the water, casting long shadows over the land and concealing something of interest in a particularly foliage-covered cliff-side. Katana in mouth and nails clinging onto vegetation, a pirate garbled out to Inuyasha as best he could in harsh whisper. "We await your orders, Cap'n. Shall I tell the men to storm the manor now or later?"

From all outward appearances, the ship had looked fairly badly wounded. Inuyasha had ordered the vessel to sail around the coast and dock behind a tall, concealing rock formation. For all of Kouga's knowledge, the crippled ship had sailed out of sight only to sink. Plus, he'd never expect an attack from beneath his very nose, right? Nonetheless, the guard would be significantly heftier than usual…

The hanyou's eyes glittered. 'No. We hide until nightfall when security is slightly more lax. Smee will lead his group out of the trees around the southwest corner of the castle, You and Hiten—"

"Pardon me sir, which Smee?"

"The short fat one, with red hair."

"Oh, yes. All right."

"You and Hiten will take your groups and crawl through the empty plumbing ducts on the east and west ends that Shippou so graciously scouted for us. Wait for my signal and storm. Force them out to the southwest garden—

"--Brilliant Plan, sir. Just brilliant-"

"...Keep your eyes on the fucking cliff."

"Sorry."

"This gives me ample distraction so I can slip in and do my thing, got it?"

"Aye, cap'n."

"Good."

Inuyasha glanced down to the crashing waves below. The knot in his stomach that had become all too familiar within the past several hours once again took effect. ...She's dead, he thought. Why won't you just forget about it? Inuyasha clenched his eyes and tried to focus on the roaring, crashing sea to drown out the tiny voice.

Too bad for him, an even tinier voice piped in. Oh, that's right... You can't.

By the way... I'm looking for a beta reader... Would anyone want to volunteer? If you would oblige me, just give me your screen name or email address in a review and I'll be sure to respond. :)