Disclaimer: Umm..... how about no.
Author Note: x.x I spelt summary wrong... again. But anyway! This chapter was hell to finish. Not to write, just to finish to a certian (wonderful) beta's satisfaction. -glare- And the entire time I was being teased about not being able to use a certain word... ;-; I'm so unloved....
Aamalie: � For her being such a little perv, why shouldn't I tease her about being scared of the WORD? Anyone care to guess what it is? xP Hint. It starts with an A. Muah ha... o.O Lons is going to kill me for this when she gets her computer back.
"You have magic," Sango had declared, quite suddenly, one evening.
"I do."
"And you never told me?"
Miroku looked up from the papyrus scroll, gently setting it down on the marble table with a smile to himself. She looked fierce; her hair disheveled and in tangles over her shoulders. Her lips were still bruised and her cheeks still flushed pink. She had wrapped a sheet around herself - for modesty - but other then that she was just as Miroku had left her. Absolutely stunning.
"I never saw it as an importance," he claimed.
"Does he know?" Miroku shrugged his shoulders. "You've never spoken to him about it?"
"Once again: I never saw it as something of importance." Miroku looked the woman over critically, trying to decipher what it was that seemed so different about her. "Is that a problem for you, your majesty?"
"Not all all," Sango said dismissively, walking briskly past him. As she brushed his shoulder, Miroku gently grabbed hold of her arm, pulling her onto his lap. Sango rolled her eyes to the heavens as he kissed her cheek. From seemingly out of no where, he produced a silver chain, gently drawing it over Sango's head. She looked down at the new weight, touching her fingers to the cool blue stone that now rested between her breasts.
"I suppose you're going to tell me it's enchanted."
"Of course not," Miroku laughed, gracing Sango's cheek with another kiss. "I wouldn't need to tell you a silly thing like that to make you submit your heart to me."
Frowning, she rubbed the offended flesh with the back of her hand. With a mock-disgusted look, Sango glared at him.
"Are you trying to seduce me?" She teased. Miroku shrugged his shoulders, a lazy grin crossing his features. He calmly brushed the hair out her eyes and leaned close.
"I hardly think I have to try anymore," he breathed and Sango closed her eyes, firmly pressing her lips to his.
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Miroku stepped through the flap of one of the larger tents, grinning as he glanced around. The floor was bare, layered in sand and dust. Three tables framed the interior, two of which supported papers, photos and books stacked impossibly high. Miroku winced at the thought of the mess they would cause when, there was no question, they would fall. The third table, toward the back of the tent, was covered with a sheet that was draped over top, obstructing Miroku's view of what lay hidden underneath. Hovering nearby was a girl Miroku had never seen before and in the middle at a small desk, was the source of his amusement. Kikyo Quinton looked up from her work, aggravation evident in her eyes as she rubbed at her temples.
"Ahh, lady Kikyo. As lovely as ever I see."
"You're too kind," the translator murmured, gracing Miroku with a kiss on each cheek. "It certainly took you long enough to arrive."
"Don't tell me you missed me."
"Not in the least." The woman flinched as the 'clicking' sound of a camera resumed. "Kagome!" she snapped. In a calmer voice, she beckoned the girl over. "Miroku, this is my cousin Kagome. She's here for high school credits."
"It's a pleasure to meet you," Kagome smiled, shaking the archeologist's hand, "I've read a lot about you."
"Well, don't believe everything you hear." Miroku winked and Kagome blushed. Kikyo rolled her eyes and turned back to the table.
"The excavators dug some things up a few weeks ago," she commented, motioning over to the sheet-covered table. "I think you might want to have a look."
Miroku nodded, making his way over. Peeling the cloth back nonchalantly, Miroku suddenly let out a girlish gasp, falling back a step or two.
"Shit!"
Kikyo gave him a bored look from over her shoulder. She obviously had seen it before.
"There was a manuscript with it... Him," she corrected herself, turning back. "I'm working with it now."
Miroku nodded dumbly, finding his throat too tight to speak. It was a body! Not just a skeleton either... It was an actual body. Flesh, hair... everything still intact. How an event like this could have occurred, Miroku couldn't fathom. Pulling the sheet further back, Miroku ran his hands across the glass tomb. But it wasn't glass, he saw. "Crystal..." he murmured, examining the body through it, "Whacko..."
Kikyo's soft translations danced through the air behind him. Gazing at the figure trapped behind crystal, Miroku was stuck with an intriguing idea. He could awaken this... Thing. Send warmth back into his bones. His fingers would twitch and his chest would, once again, rise and fall with the breath of life. The creature eyes opened and Miroku found himself staring into pools of amber glass.
"Kagome!" Kikyo yelled, jumping to her feet at the sound of the camera. Miroku shook his head, clearing his mind of the odd daze that had captured it. "Are you stupid?" Kikyo hissed, snatching the device from her cousin's grip. "What if it had crumbled?! I've told you, time and again. You can not take pictures until we fully know what we are dealing with." Harshly shoving the camera back into her hands, Kikyo pointed at the door. "If you're so eager to play photographer, go take pictures of sand or something!
Her eyes shining with tears, Kagome mustered a broken apology, rushing from the tent. Kikyo let out an aggravated sigh, bringing her fingers once again to her temples.
"I apologize, Miroku. This will not happen again."
"It's not a problem," he muttered, drawing the sheet back up. "Try to keep this covered, all right? I'll get Mr. Muhyoujou to come by later tonight."
"Of course."
Giving another startled look at the covered body, Miroku made his way out of the tent.
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"Boo!"
"Aah," Sango called, rather unenthusiastically. Miroku gave her a kiss on the cheek, sinking down into the sand between her and Rin. Sango rolled her eyes to the heavens and paid him little to no mind, continuing to gently rub olive oil over an object.
"What did you find?"
"Just a gem," she shrugged, blowing on the surface. It glimmered in the sharp light of the sun, which was bright over the Sahara desert and caused the heat to dance up off of the sands and create mirages on the horizon. "It looks like it was part of a necklace or something... But the chain has already dissolved away..."
"Do you know what I think?" Miroku asked. Sango bit her cheek to keep from grinning and looked at him. "I think it would have looked lovely on you."
"You know, my birthday's just a few months away."
"Yes, but I was thinking you would like a ring better."
As Miroku and Sango continued to 'discuss' jewelry (this discussion consisted of Sango blushing and Miroku continuing his flirtatious words), Rin took a closer look at the object on the ground.
"It's a lapis lazuli."
The older two stopped, looking at Rin in amazement. Had she just spoken?
"Well..." Rin shrugged shyly, "It's blue. And look there! You can see some of the pyrite in it: That's what makes parts of it look gold. It's translucent like a lapis lazuli... And it's got the luster..." Rin fell quite, wary of being the center of attention. Sango blinked at her, took a deeper look at the jewel and smiled. She was right.
"I could be wrong though!" Rin blurted out suddenly, "I was just guessing. Ms. Kagura has a few jewels like this, and she said I could wear them but Sesshomaru told me not to, but I did anyway and they were really pretty and I really liked them. So I was looking through a few catalogues back home and I saw them and I was reading about them and they just looked really pretty. I'm sorry! I could be wrong."
Sango shook her head in amusement, patting Rin's hand. "Don't sweat it. I think you're right. We'll get somebody to come down to check it out."
Rin nodded her head and beamed. "I'm gonna go tell Sesshomaru!" And with that, Rin kicked up dust, running toward the tents. Sango coughed and carefully brushed the new layer of sand off the jewel.
"Do you really think she's nineteen?"
"I couldn't tell you."
Miroku scooted back a few inches, holding his fingers up in a square. Looking up from the gem, Sango frowned.
"What are you doing?"
"Trying to imagine you decked out in jewelry..." A moment later he dropped his hands. "Sango?"
"Yes, Houshi?"
"Have you met the rest of the volunteers yet?"
Sango shook her head and wiped her neck with damp rag. "No, I haven't had time. Speaking of time, don't you have better things to do then fantasize about me?"
Miroku laughed, gracing Sango's cheek with another kiss. She immediately made to wipe it off, rubbing the offended flesh with the back of her hand. With a mock-disgusted look, Sango glared at him.
"Are you trying to seduce me?"
Miroku shrugged his shoulders, a lazy grin crossing his features. Sango's heart jumped. He calmly brushed the hair out of Sango's eyes and leaned close. "I hardly think I have to try anymore."
Miroku sputtered as sand was flung at him, making its way into his hair and mouth.
"What was that for?" He demanded. Miroku was getting quite fed up of constantly eating sand and getting objects thrown at his head.
"You were being a pervert," Sango declared hotly, turning her body in order to ignore him. Her breath caught in her throat when Miroku came close behind her, placing his hands on either side of her own in the sand.
"Do I make you nervous?" He asked, his breath tickling her neck. Sango's heart stopped for a moment before continuing at an insane pace. She had to force the air from her lungs. Sango tensed, feeling her muscles tense and a sharp burst of heat crawled up from her spine, circling the back of her head, before flowing through her arms. Miroku felt her body stiffen and he smirked, and stopped the flow of hot air to Sango's ear. Abruptly, Sango angrily gathered up her brush and pick, tucking them into her bag.
"I'm going to put these away," she muttered, shoving him away from her. Miroku landed on his rear, watching her march out of sight.
"Shall I take that as a yes?"
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Wiping the sleep from her eyes, Kikyo stretched backwards, cracking her back on the top of her chair. She had fallen asleep, and not for a short while either, seeing as how her lantern was out cold. A very unprofessional thing to do, Kikyo thought, locating the lighter in her pocket. The manuscript wasn't going to translate itself. Rubbing the back of her neck, she quietly read more of the ancient incantations that were written on the yellowed scroll, feeling a chill rise up her spine. Kikyo stopped her methodical chanting and glanced around, feeling as though eyes were on her.
"Stop being silly," she commanded herself, feeling silly about the whole thing. She was just being paranoid - it happened sometimes. Alone, people tended to scare themselves.
But... That mummy was a bit odd.
"Stop it," she reprimanded herself again, standing to her feet. "Just... Get a cup of coffee and stop deluding yourself."
Returning half an hour later, Kikyo was surprised to find her lantern out, yet again. She could have sworn she had put enough oil in to last until daylight. Yet, there she found herself, again, surrounded in total darkness in the usually well-lit tent. Taking a careful step forward, Kikyo frowned, feeling shards of glass under her feet.
"Kagome?" She called out, hearing a movement in the corner. If that rich brat had come snooping around and broke her lantern, Kikyo was definitely going to be upset... "If this is about this morning, then you deserved it," she declared hotly, and groped around in her pocket. Smirking with pride, she located her lighter. "You know you aren't supposed to... Oh dear," Kikyo breathed, taking careful, calculated steps backward. Crystal littered the ground, digging into her ankles as her feet sunk in the sand. As one particular piece dug itself into her skin, Kikyo hissed inward at the pain, causing the creature's head to whip toward her, red eyes glaring. Kikyo dropped her coffee cup and ran out of the tent, hardly daring to look back.
Started: 12/18/04
Finished: 12/27/04
Posted: 1/23/05
Aamalie: ...The smart one got her computer taken away. ;D Good thing I'm such a good friend to Little Miss Lons. Hope y'all enjoyed. Just make sure you review the dern thing and give her an ego boost so she'll write more. -wink-