Hey everybody! I know, I know… this chapter is about a month late. Things have been getting crazy around here. School is tough and families are crazy, but none of that is new. ^^;; In an attempt to make it up to you, I'll do my best to have the next chapter out in two weeks or so. But sometimes real life gets in the way, so I'll have to ask all of my subscribers to bear with me.
I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter, even though there weren't many of you. If you guys didn't like it, please tell me. Critiques are welcome. ^^
Anywho, next chapter will debut not one, but THREE new characters. 8D So stay tuned, and enjoy this chapter of Sands of Time!
Inuyasha was right. Kagome hadn't been overly fond of where they were going. Outwardly, it appeared to be a simple, lovely inn alongside the river. Lit torches glimmered invitingly along the pathway to the front door. Everything was surprisingly clean, given all the sand that surrounded them. To a weary traveler, it seemed like a beacon of safety and comfort.
But she should have been tipped off by all of the random fox statues.
Now, she sat before the fire in a black dress that was given to her by one of the "maids". Miroku sat off to the side with a lady in each arm. Wherever Inuyasha was, she had no idea. One of her eyebrows twitched as the maidens giggled at something her brother had said.
"Oh, really! Mister, you're too much!"
"Please, sir? Could you read my palm too?"
"But of course. Come close to me, young lady, and I shall read the future from your skin."
"I imagine that there are many things you'd like to do with my skin."
Kagome's eyebrow twitched. She loved her brother, but this was getting ridiculous. In an attempt to calm herself, she took a sip of her tea, but spat it out immediately in a spray.
"Something the matter, miss?" one of the girls asked.
"W-what was in that tea?" she sputtered, wiping at her lips and chin.
A pop followed by a fluttering sounded into the room as leaves of paper floated down from the ceiling and into the young ladies' hands.
"Aw, yeah!" one exclaimed, in a particularly masculine voice, "I moved up a rank!"
"Damnit, I wanted more than just one," another whined.
"You won't get more than one for crossdressing and putting piss in tea."
Kagome shot to her feet with a hand to her mouth. Oh, God. She was going to puke. Damn foxes!
As she ran out of the room, her brother yelled after her, "Oh, come on Kagome! Have a sense of humor about it!"
She stormed out and slammed the door behind her, walking briskly through the cool sand to the riverside. There was one patch that was free of papyrus stalks and the Miko knelt down to cup the lukewarm water in her hands.
"You're lucky that I'm around to look after you, lady," a gruff voice from behind her said.
Kagome rolled her eyes and sipped from her hands as daintily as she could.
"You could have warned me about the tea," she hissed.
Inuyasha shrugged and plopped down beside her on the riverbank.
"I thought you'd have enough common sense to not consume anything given to you at a fox youkai inn. Humans quit coming here years ago, so you and your brother are the first action they've seen in decades. It only makes sense that they'd try all sorts of crap. But it's mostly harmless."
She scowled at him and growled, "I drank enchanted pee."
He chuckled a bit at that.
"That's gross, but still harmless."
The miko sighed and looked up at the sky. She had always lived in cities, so she had never seen just how many stars could light the sky. Her eyes traced the constellations that she had memorized from ancient texts and followed the path of the Milky Way. Such a moment made her realize all the experience that she had been lacking by staying as a librarian and not pursuing more field research. Texts and star maps were all well and good, but they couldn't replace the wonder and beauty of a desert sky at night.
"Hello?" Inuyasha asked, waving a clawed hand in her face, "You in there? Looked like you zoned out on me."
"What? Oh, I'm sorry," she muttered with a soft blush on her cheeks. "I was just looking at the stars, is all."
He rolled his eyes at her. "Feh. Crazy wench," he grumbled, laying back with his arms behind his head. "I've spent most of my nights outside, and the sky hasn't changed in all the years I've been around."
Kagome looked at him and set her chin in her hand. "If you don't mind me asking, how old are you?"
"Why?"
"Just curious."
The hanyou took a deep breath through his nose, scenting the desert air, the river, and the crazy foxes running around in the inn behind them. He supposed it wouldn't hurt to tell her.
"I was born in 1453, in Setsuna, Japan. Night of the Winter Solstice."
The miko's eyes widened.
"Oh, I… I had no idea. Wow. I can't even imagine some of the things you've seen," she whispered.
"Trust me," he growled, "You wouldn't want to."
Kagome smiled warmly. "I couldn't all have been bad, right?"
"Just mostly," he huffed. "Being a half-breed was never easy, no matter where or when I was. Youkai wanted to eat me and Humans considered me an abomination."
She frowned and leaned in closer, laying a tentative hand on his arm that now lay across his stomach. Her thumb brushed softly back and forth in a soothing motion. His first instinct was to throw her hand off. Contact usually meant pain in his experience, but she was different. This was a touch that didn't hurt. So there he sat, unsure of what to do and slightly uncomfortable yet comforted.
"I… I could say that I'm sorry, but that wouldn't really make sense. Instead… I'd rather say that I'm glad you're here. You've already saved my life once and-"
He cut her off with a snarl, "Woman, get to the point!"
"IWANTTOTRYBEINGFRIENDS!" Kagome squeaked out in one breath.
Inuyasha raised one eyebrow at her.
"I, um… I want to try being friends," she muttered slower, a soft blush rising on her cheeks.
The hanyou smirked and chuckled, rising up from the sand and dusting off his trousers. "Sure. Whatever you want, crazy wench."
Kagome smiled and took his hand as she stood up, wiping off any loose sand on her dress. "Good. Now I expect you to warn me if I start drinking enchanted urine again. That's what friends do, you know," she sassed with a wink.
"Don't push your luck."
The next morning found the travellers packing up their belongings onto camels for the journey. The Kistune of the inn had given them the animals as a gift, seeing as they were good sports about the whole pranking thing and helped them tremendously for rank advancements.
Miroku looked up at his beast and frowned. "I never liked camels," he said. "Filthy, nasty things. They smell, they bite, they spit."
Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. "Get over it, you pansy."
Ignoring the barb, the elder Higurashi turned to him and asked, "Have you seen Jaken anywhere? I couldn't find him at all last night."
The hanyou just shrugged. If the toad had disappeared, that was one less inconvenience for him to worry about. Unfortunately for him, said Kappa came running out of a nearby tent with a fuming Kagome hot on his heels. She swung a stick she had nabbed from somewhere and whacked Jaken soundly on the head.
"Pervert!"
THWAK
"Lecher!"
THWAK
"STUPID PEEPING TOAD!"
Miroku ran up to the two and gently removed the stick from his sister's hand. "What's the meaning of all this?" he asked.
"I'll tell you what," Kagome cried, "This little creep snuck into the tent to watch me change!"
Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at them. But, he had to admit, she sure filled out those khaki trousers nicely and that blouse was one button away from being scandalous. Not that he thought about her like that, of course.
"Would you quit wasting time?" he snapped. "We've dallied around enough, and there's a city to find."
"Jeeze," Kagome huffed, settling a wide-brimmed hat on her head, "Who spat in your breakfast this morning?"
But they all loaded up onto their beasts and headed out into the sands, urging their beasts forward with cries of "yah!" and "hut-hut". So they went, following their leader without complaint.
Well, mostly without complaint.
"Inuyasha, can we please take a break?"
"No."
"Pretty please?" the miko whined.
"No!" he snarled.
"But, I have to go…" she hissed.
The hanyou slid a hand down his face in a long-suffering gesture.
"Why didn't you go before we left?"
"Well, I didn't have to GO then!"
"Whatever," he scoffed, "Just go behind a bush or something."
"Inuyasha?"
"WHAT NOW?"
Kagome blushed and whispered, "There aren't any bushes."
Miroku rode up to the two, bringing his camel along side theirs. "What seems to be the problem?" he inquired politely.
"Your sister," Inuyasha growled, pointing an accusatory finger, "Is a dumbass who waited until we were out in the open desert to take a piss."
"It's not my fault!" she snapped.
Seeing as things were getting out of hand, Miroku thought it best to intervene. "How about we just let her go and all of us gentlemen will keep our backs politely turned?"
"Keh. Fine."
Ten minutes later found them back on the trail, bladders empty, and peace restored to the group.
Well, mostly restored.
"Jaken, you CAN'T SING!"
"Hush, you filthy ingrate! What could you know about musical tastes?!"
"If you don't SHUT UP your ASS is going to musically taste MY FOOT!"
They rode on through the night, lulled to sleep by the loping gait of the camels. Inuyasha led them along a path that seemed invisible to them all, but he was certain of the way. While they slept, he kept guard. One ear was tuned to the yipping of the jackals behind them, and one eye spotted the shadowy figures that ducked in and out of sight along the nearby cliff face. Early morning, even before the sun had risen, they found themselves facing an open plateau of desert with a cliff to their backs. From the other side from whence they had come, dust stirred, signaling the approach of the Wolves and their party on horseback.
"Hey there, dog-boy!" Kouga yelled, "Surprised to see you here!"
The hanyou just scoffed and showed the ookami his middle finger.
"Remember that bet, hanyou!" Ayame teased. "It's first one to the city, remember?"
Kagome leaned over and whispered to her brother, "Bet? What bet?"
Miroku blanched and said nothing. Whatever that bet had been, he sure didn't seem to like it.
"What are we waiting around for?" Hakkaku whined.
Myouga chose that moment to leap up from the fur on Kouga's horse and said simply, "You'll see, my friend. You'll see."
"See what?" the miko asked.
Inuyasha grinned, one gleaming fang peeking out from his lips. "Give it a minute."
Before them, the sun began to rise over the edge of the plateau. The air shimmered briefly, as if a mirage, then shapes began to appear out of the glimmer. Kagome squinted and could make out the rectangles of buildings, the pillars of temples, and an obelisk that jutted proudly into the sky. Her breath caught in her chest. Beside her, Miroku, in a similar state of awe, whispered a single word.
"Hamunaptra."
So, tell me what you think! Am I going too fast, too slow? And I'd like to see you guys guess who the next characters to appear will be, and in what roles! I am deviating from the movie a fair bit for two of them, but I still want you to guess. ^^