Chp 16

She exhaled a fearful sigh. The shocking irrationality of the sight before her numbed her to the core, her wide eyes frozen in place from the scene. The aqua blues that encased her lower body were unexplainable in its sudden appearance. She felt her lungs freeze, as if no longer useable. A dizziness swirled in her head as this abrupt change in reality began to sink in.

"Magnificent," an unfamiliar voice spoke. She spun around, finding the action awkward. She found it so unusual to move a tail. It was as if her legs were wrapped together, then molded together to form one solid mass.

She struggled for words, finding her situation to be a complete fantasy, "Who are you!? What did you do to me!?" She shouted erratically.

A small smile formed on his face, "I did absolutely nothing, but bring out your true nature."

She looked down at her tail, anger burning up inside her. All these questions burning inside her dared to flare out towards the mysterious man.

"True nature? I'm a girl, not a fish." She spat out like venom.

His teeth gleamed like pearls when he smiled, the black of his hair trailing over his face like oil. He stared at her, his disturbing smile sending waves of shivers down her spine, "True... But you are a Ningyo." He added stealthy.

Confusion washed over her like waves against a ship, stinging and painful, "A…what?" She asked tentatively. She began to notice a sense of evil in the air, realizing a soft red light that seemingly emitted from the man. She knew to be careful; this man was not human…

"You are a descendant of Hujimi Higurashi, correct?" He asked. His brow rose in a provocative manner.

She glared at him, "Yes. He's my grandfather."

"Still alive?" He asked as he looked as his nails. He didn't seem at all interested in her answers, as if he knew them already.

"Yes, at least he was when I left…" She said, staring at the floor. She felt a bit guilty for not truly knowing.

"Where is your grandfather from?" He asked, looking at her with his brow still raised.

"I don't know, he's never said." She felt a sudden feeling of despair, realizing something was going terribly wrong. Why was he picking at her with questions? Did he have a hidden motive? She began to notice him walking closer to her, and she tried to use her arms to pull her new body along the floor. Her heartbeat raced, and cold fear dripped down her spine.

"You're grandfather is from a place called "Ma Gogyou" meaning pure waters. It's near the Isles of Japan, hidden from the eyes of the jealous and hateful. It is a floating island, anchored above a magnificent city built under the waters. It was hidden from sight to contain its secrets…secrets only a few of its inhabitants knew…"

She saw as he walked over to an extremely shadowed area, "Tsubaki, you know better than I."

Kagome watched in horror as a woman crept out from the shadows. Her body was seemed to be a mix between a scorpion and a crab. A long stinger was attached to a curving tail that moved like a whip, spitting venom on the wood floor. Her legs were built like a crab, racing along the floor one after the other. A quiet tap was heard after each step, vibrating through the ground to where Kagome was sitting. The sensation sent a shudder through her body,causing the scales on her fins to rise like goose-bumps. Tsubaki's upper half was more human than the rest of her, resting in the middle of all the legs. She had long hair the color of sea foam, which trailed down over her breasts. Her arms were human, but as Kagome scanned down, she realized he had long black talons where her nails should be. They were near a foot long, and deadly sharp…

But she carried herself with a sense of majesty, and continued despite the horrified look on Kagome's face, "So you want to know about Ma Gogyou," She asked as she danced around the floor.

"Yes." She said firmly, trying to have a firm stance on her decision. She was a little apprehensive on whether or not to actually listen. Arrogance is bliss…

"Ma Gogyou is the underwater equivalence of miko training shrines in your world. Ma Gogyou was the sacred site where merpeople with the "gift" were sent to manage their powers. Unfortunately, an invasion of the dark spirits wiped out all but one of the people. That person was Midoriko Higurashi, your great grandmother, the most powerful priestess amongst them. She tried to fight off the dark spirits, but failed. She was struck down, and assumed dead. Of course we know now that she wasn't, because she somehow survived long enough to produce an heir. A son named Hujimi Higurashi. When he was born, he was a merperson, but around the time of his 17th year, his mother changed him into a human with her Miko powers, and died soon after. Hujimi was on the run from the dark spirits until he met Inuyasha's father. He offered him a map to the merpeople's sacred treasure, the Shikon Chest. Of course, the demon lord was more than willing to fight for him when such terms were offered. The odd thing of it is…the demon lord did not actually pursue the treasure. He hid it on his ship. How incredibly odd…." She trailed off, not wanting to give more information. Her ice blue eyes glanced towards the shocked mermaid. Her perfect red lips curled upwards, twisting into a cruel smile.

"He had your mother, who has miko powers buried deep inside. Unfortunately, she hasn't had a terrible experience that reawakened the dormant powers within her. But you did," She glanced over towards the girl, "One of Naraku's puppets almost killed you, and you somehow managed to defeat it with a strange power. The power of a miko…," She took a deep breath, "Human Mikos died out centuries ago, but the mer ones still survived, at least up until the last 100 years or so. But…that's what we have you for," She said as her lips curved up over her long fang; fangs that glimmered in a dull yellow haze, as if coated with some unidentified substance.

She went back into the shadows, creeping away from vision. Naraku emerged from a chair he had been sitting in, his crimson eyes eyeing Kagome once more with a hungry glare.

Suddenly, like lightning, he bolted from his chair, and took her arms. She gasped out in fear and tried in vain to struggle out of the unbreakable grasp. She felt his hot breath on her neck, breathing in and out, sucking in her scent. She squeezed her eyes shut, wishing for Inuyasha's presence. But she was alone, and no one was going to run to her rescue.

She tried to think of something to release his hold: a jab, a punch. She finally jammed her head into his nose, not that it helped much. His hold weakened for a short two seconds, but not long enough for Kagome to muster up the strength to release her arms.

His eyes were aflame, burning with embarrassment and anger. He stood up, towering over her, and picked her up like a bag of potatoes. He carried her out of the dark room, and over to the deck of the ship. He went over to the banister, ignoring her screams and struggles.

"Little mermaid, enjoy the sea."

Then he tossed her over the railing…

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"Inuyasha please calm yourself. Kagome will be safe in a short time. We just need to retrieve her." Miroku tried to reason.

"And where the fuck should we look first!? We're in the middle of the ocean, dipshit!" His anger had not subsided since Kagome's capture. As usual, he took his anger out on Miroku, who tried his best to use his monk teaching to keep a calm mind.

"I thought this was supposed to be the fastest ship in the world," Sango chirped in.

"It was the fastest ship because Kagura kept the winds around it faster. But she cut them down, and now there's barely a fucking breeze." Inuyasha growled in explanation.

"Why would Kagura cut off our wind?" Sango questioned.

"She'd do anything for Sesshomaru, always had a little crush on the bastard. He probably begged her to help him since he's too pathetic to do it himself…asshole." Inuyasha huffed.

Sango watched as Inuyasha stormed off first deck, and raced towards the stairs. She worried about him, knowing that Kagome's absence was harder on him than anyone else. She went to go down towards him, but Miroku's arm shot out. He grabbed her shoulder, and pulled her back towards him.

"Sango, I need to tell you something." Miroku said as she turned around.

"What?" She said with her voice full of concern.

"It's about Kagome. I think…I think I know what's going on. But I don't want to tell Inuyasha, it's too risky."

"What are you talking about," She said with a hint of annoyance.

"Sango…I'm probably a hundred percent wrong mind you, but…I think she's from another world." He tried to explain.

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Sango yelled angrily.

"Sango, Sango! Calm yourself please. I think Kagome is a miko, but not a human Miko. I think she's a mermaid…" He trailed off as he turned around.

Suddenly Sango felt a presence behind her. She whipped around to see Sesshomaru sitting on a rail. He waited with the patience of a God for them to continue, but sighed heavily when she just stared at him with an awkward silence, "I was almost impressed…" He sighed as he watched the first mate turn around as well.

"Sesshomaru, what are you doing here?" Miroku managed to say without falling over from shock.

Sesshomaru looked over towards the ocean, wondering to himself why he was giving this information away. Once he remembered the reasons, he sighed, knowing it was for the best.

'That girl is being held captive on a ship permanently anchored at Latitude 46 Longitude 78," He spitted out in an effort to get the event over with.

He handed the first mate a map with the coordinates to make it that much easier. He returned to looking out towards the sea, evading eye contact with the humans.

"Why are you telling us this? You were the one who stole her in the first place," Miroku asked. His confusion was completely logical, but this Sesshomaru refused to give him any answers for his own reasoning.

"Tell my brother…"

He jumped off the railing where he sat, down onto where his ship had latched onto the Wind Scar's hull. Once more, the wind was on their side. They sailed away with speed the Wind Scar couldn't match. Miroku watched in awe, wondering what was going on in Sesshomaru's head.

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The water pushed up through her nose, burning her brain. She tried to stay above the water, but the waves crashed over her, pushing her down. She gasped, breathing in water as she tried to hold her breath. Her arms flailed around, and having no legs to kick, she had no clue how to swim. She felt herself sink lower and lower, feeling the water grow colder around her. She felt her body grow blue as she held her breath.

She felt the burning desire to breathe, but continued to clench her jaw. Her lungs felt ready to explode inside her, but she pressed her lips together tighter in protest. She felt ready to die, but tried to ignore the inevitable. Suddenly she felt her body react on its own, and she felt her lungs beginning to suck in the cold water. She could feel the rushing of the cold inside her, going into places where she had never felt its presence.

But she felt relief instead of gagging….

She suddenly floated in place, suspended in the water. She opened her eyes, able to see as clearly as she could on land. She felt herself breathing in and out, just as she had on land. She place a hand on her throat, feeling her new respiratory system. She followed down the hollow base of her throat, down to her breastbone. Her skin felt slippery, like it was oiled. She realized it was a coating, so water couldn't touch it. She was "water-proofed" as Inuyasha would call it. They would rub animal fat on their boots to make them able to resist water, that way they could wear their shoes when they were on the lower decks were water had a tendency to accumulate.

She sighed, looking around the vast and empty surroundings that encompassed her. It was murky and dark, it seemed to go on forever. Where had she been when she was thrown off the ship? Could she be lost in the middle of the ocean? She tried to understand, but in the mix of fury and confusion, she forgot her sanity. But what was left for sanity to cling onto, everything she had ever known turn a complete 180 today. She fell asleep next to the man she loved (but still had not confessed) then woke up with a mermaid's tail! Apparently she was a miko, but what difference did that make.

Nothing was real anymore, the boundaries of life had been shattered. Reality and imagination seemed to be molded together in one odd, but perfect world. She should have stopped believing in reality when she met a live hanyou, or a live demon. She should have stopped believing in reality when she somehow conjured up a spell from inside to destroy a demon. Everything had become twisted, and she feared the knots could never be severed.

It was in that moment that she realized you can't cry underwater…

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Kagura tapped her fan against her thigh, thinking deeply. Her eyes were closed, and she turned still as stone.

Her sensitive ears picked up Kanna's light footsteps, walking gracefully towards her marble throne. Kagura opened her eyes slowly, and glanced up towards the snow white before her. Kanna was aging well. She had recently turned 15, and had become a blossoming beauty. Soft cream-colored locks of hair were trimmed neatly around her face, and black eyes shined behind the white locks. Her once tight small body had grown curves and burst onto the scene of womanhood without warning. Kagura felt a wave of pride and sadness for her sister; innocence would soon be replaced with power and pride.

"Kagura," She spoke in a small, quiet voice, "Lord Sesshomaru is here to see you."

Kagura's heart soared. Was it really him?

She regained her look of monotone and nodded her head to Kanna, "Let him enter."

He walked in, his icy eyes freezing her very soul. She watched his light silvery hair trail behind him, catching the sun in a mix of silver and gold. The cream of his uniform against the dark gray of his armor was, as usual, a compliment to his pale features. He always had pale, milky skin, no matter the amount of sun he got. It was a beautiful compliment for his butterscotch eyes, as cold as they were. Frozen amber was a good word to describe them, as glittering and cold as ice.

"Lord Sesshomaru, what may I do for you?" She asked as she weaved her fingers together, placing her chin on top. Her fan was being held with her thumb against her palm, dangling from a string tied through a hole in the end.

"The winds, you aided me in my conquest over Inuyasha. I want to know why." He stated as he moved into a more comfortable stance.

She sighed, partly from girlish fantasies, the other half from his naivety, "Who says I helped you in your conquest. Maybe I was doing it to aid myself." She asked in questions. Sesshomaru hated it when she did this, the Socratic method…

"What reason would you possibly have for the capture of that girl?" He played along, for now.

She twirled the fan around her finger, "Do you remember a few centuries ago, when you freed me from Naraku?"

He glared, "I didn't free you…"

"Like it or not you were a huge part of my salvation. And so I decided to give you a little helping hand…"

His glare continued, "But that's not why you did it. You've 'helped' me many times before. Your excuse for doing it might be that, but it's not the reason why." He stated it as a fact.

She glanced down towards her fan, where she was lazily opening and closing it, "Maybe that part is more personal than you might realize…" She said as a decoy statement.

"You're lying Kagura, don't try to dismiss me." He said angrily.

She smiled, her full red lips curling up softly around her white fangs, "And if I did," She challenged.

"I would simply kill you." He said out of aggression.

"Liar," She stated with a smile on her face.

"Don't test me, woman." He spat coldly.

"Fine, what do you want to know again?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

He almost growled, but regained his composure. This woman could be so infuriating, no one got on his nerves more, "Why did you stop the winds to Inuyasha's ship?"

"Because I wanted to see what Naraku was doing. I knew he was pulling your strings, and I wanted to see why." She explained, vaguely.

"Curiosity killed the cat." Sesshomaru quoted, "Don't interfere with my affairs again."

"And who's gonna stop me," she taunted.

He exited without answering, a sure sign that she had broken through his emotional barrier. She smiled in satisfaction, glad that she had evaded him this time. Of course, he would surely find out her reasons later, but for now…

She decided to keep low until the tides turned.

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So Kagura has an alterior motive, and a past with Sesshomaru. What will happen?

Kagome is separated from the rest of the pack, and how will she ever find Inuyasha? How could Inuyasha find her! (I'd also like to add that they haven't 'confessed' their love yet, they merely got hot and heavy with the kissing. It's not unheard of for friends to do that, but regret it later. So...you know...just wanted to make that clear.)

What's with Sesshomaru! That crazy dog demon! Bet you can't wait to figure out his motives in this story.( and NO way this is turning into a sess/kag story. I despise that couple with a passion)

Sorry once again for slow updates, but I have alot going on in my life. But I'm hoping that those thign will clear up soon!

Ok OK OK!!!! I have decided on the story I'm doing over the summer. Don't worry it won't interfer with updates for this story.

I will admit I didn't come up with the plot for this story completely on my own, its based on one of the first fanfictions I read back when I was 13. It was hosted on a yahoo site I found before I knew about Fanfiction. I loved the story idea, and I've always wanted to do my own version of it. So I've decided on doing just that.

The humans world has little freedoms, and what freedoms it does have are quickly deminishing. When Kagome loses her freedom, she is sold into slavery. Inuyasha's father, the lord of all demons, buys her as a concubine fore his son, Inuyasha. Problem is, he doesn't want one...

This story will definately be a dark and emotional story. it will be set in modern times, and i will try to get some fanart out there soon.

I did a one-shot over the past couple weeks, called In the End. It's how I think the ending will be. Its so far my favorite one shot I've done. It was defiantely a challenge because I wrote it completely first person, from kagome's Pov. I think it ended up pretty good, but I'd like to get some more feedback on it than I have right now.

People who reviewed (SO close! I missed my goal by 3 reviews, but thats ok! This time I'll meet my goal!)

Yin-Ka-Yasha (I would so totally listen to your ideas! And I would love to help you out on a story! just send me a pm, or Im me its the same sn as my ff acount)

K.Higurashi

squeekers

Cookie Tirone (HAH! I updated! It might be take damn long, but I did update! jajajajjaja)

Painted Canvas

Ayjah

Qui

Star Sapphirex

Ro0tin4Kagome

Toodles guys!