"AU" InuKag Week 4
A/N: The idea came to me while listening to Met at Work…
word count: 1500
rating: T
Traveling in a fried-out Kombi
On a hippie trail, head full of zombie
I met a strange lady, she made me nervous
She took me in and gave me breakfast
And she said-
The awareness that Inuyasha required water sooner than later buzzed in his ears, annoying and persistent like the gnats that hovered his head.
But he hadn't a drop of it, and he had traded his last horse for the rifle that burned hot steel against his back. Useless and unprovoked since the second he threw down his saddle for it.
He'd see her again…eventually. The mare was his and always would be, so he needed to find a temporary job, build up his savings again, and buy her back.
Although none of those things would happen first without his finding water.
And seeing as he was shoulders deep under a crushing weight of orange desert sand, head pushed to the side to sizzle under the unpitying sun- he was sooner fated to die of dehydration than apply for any open career positions.
"Oh my God!"
It was a female, of that much he was certain, but he couldn't distinguish if it was a danger or not.
If she was, it'd take a perplexingly long amount of time for him to reach behind his back, aim appropriately, and take fire. So he decided on growling harsh and low in his throat instead. A murmuring rumble vibrated past his locked jaw. Nonthreateningly.
But the female was not deterred, and once she got close enough that the stink of his hair was practically forced up her nostrils, she tied a thick chord of nylon rope over his upper body. "Oh my god…it reeks. You poor thing, you're probably already dead aren't you?" She wondered how in God's name his traveling hat was still situated over his head.
"I'm not dead!"
She squealed and almost jumped back before fastening the knot over his chest. "Don't worry! I'm going to get you out, innocent civilian!"
"I ain't a civilian!"
"Oh! I'm so sorry- innocent aboriginal!"
"Get this damn rope offame', I don't need none of your stinkin'-"
"Hang tight, child of the country!"
"What the fuck did you just call-"
"Okay, Buyo! Pull!" The girl called out to some presence ahead of them, and then Inuyasha's breath was sucked from his lungs as the rope pulled tight. His ribs pressed up against his chest plates and he hacked out a breath.
"Yer killin me," he wheezed out. But the girl was not listening, intent on helping out the pitiful man stuck like a stick in the mud.
When the rest of his body finally appeared, she steadied her Buyo and ran back down to check on the progress.
"Yes!" She punched the air and leapt to the half-dead man's side, "We did it! You're saved!"
"Good for you," Inuyasha said breathily, coughing and spitting out sand, "Now untie me."
"Oh! Of course…You know…" She paused, expertly running her fingers along the rope and then undoing the knot within three short seconds, "It'd do you some good to show a little bit of gratitude."
He ignored her and shot up, watching as dizzying pinwheels swam past his vision, "Do ya have some water?"
He could make out a pair of dusty pouty lips forming into a stern line, "I do. But not on me. My house isn't far from here, you could-"
"No thanks. Just point me west."
She crossed her arms with a huff and walked away, meeting with a short cream colored kangaroo, "It's behind you." Then she rubbed her animal's forehead and murmured an expletive. Inuyasha's eyebrow rose at the rare sight of seeing a small female like her uttering words like those.
He gazed at the way her shoulders slumped and the silly feeling of Guilt crawled into his gut, leaving a greasy trail in its wake.
"Ah…" He saw the girl and a little ways back a shabby cottage- what was probably her home, inviting and cute and small. Then he looked behind him and saw an ocean expanse of empty space and layers upon layers of yellow and orange crushed rock.
A tumbleweed rolled by.
But before he could open his mouth and pedal back a few impulsive statements, she beat him to it.
"Are you sure you don't want to stop by? I was making…I have pancake and eggs and bacon….Breakfast-" She suddenly perked up, lifting a finger to the sky, "Breakfast is the most important meal of the day, after all! And it's still morning, not even an appropriate time to have brunch yet, so really I mean truly you should-"
"Holy shit," He rubbed his temple and stepped forward sluggishly, "If I say yes, will you stop your babbling?"
Her eyes widened and her mouth opened and closed a few times before finally settling on a deadly glare.
"Well Buyo," Her lips made a smacking noise, "Not every day we meet an Inbreed, hmm?" The animal thumped his tail agreeably.
"A what?!"
She flipped her half-up done hair and hrmphed as she began to walk home.
"Listen you brat-"
"A what?!"
"I'm not an inbred!"
"I'm twenty-two years old!"
"Sure don't act like it! What school of Lady Propriety did you attend?"
"I didn't!"
"Oh- well then," Inuyasha titled his head with a smirk, "Shit's starting to make sense then now, ain't it?"
"Forget the bacon!" Kagome shrilled, stomping away and pulling at the reigns of her marsupial. "Forget ever offering a hand, you are not deserving of my hospitality."
Shit.
"Okay wait-" Inuyasha felt his energy re-surging to his bones as he jogged to be at her side again, "I take it back-"
When he was finally right in front of her, he got a fantastic first look at her face, and what he saw unnerved him right down to the marrow in his bones.
She wasn't a child as he had assumed- she was a grown woman, and one with sharp pretty features framed by a fringe of bangs. A pert nose and cherry colored cheeks.
Light assuming eyes scrutinized him as he froze with his mouth hanging open in mid-sentence. Two soft stacks of hair fell perfectly by the small seashell of her ears. A neat green scarf was loose over the white column of her neck.
He suddenly felt faint hearted…and that was when he knew for certain he needed that water, bacon, eggs, and then some.
"I'll take the damn food."
"Hospitality." She corrected.
"Whatever."
"Do you come from the land dowunda?" Her accept tripped him up and he lazily glanced at her. She had her chin cradled in her palm, an inquisitive tilt to her head.
"What does it look like? I was born here." He twitched his dog ears for emphasis.
"So what were you doing uh…you know, buried under all that sand?"
"Napping," he spat sarcastically.
She sighed and rolled her eyes, pushing back from the table and standing to pour herself more lemonade.
He glanced around curiously, noting that the house was entirely empty except for them.
"Do you live here alone?"
"Sometimes," she replied distantly.
"Do you know how damn unsafe that is?"
Her eyes focused on a fixed point behind him, so he moved marginally to gaze at a long shotgun hanging on the yellow tacky wallpaper.
He shrugged and with a mouth full of runny eggs he said, "That won't protect shit."
"It'll do enough." She cut back.
A stretch of silence spanned between them and Inuyasha itched his ear, a nagging thought pulling on his interest but knowing better than to bring it up.
"You're wondering why I invited you in when you're just a stranger and we hardly know each other."
"No I'm not." Yes he was.
"Well," she continued, unperturbed. "When I was a little girl, I was outside in a storm. I fell into the stream that just appeared out of nowhere- you know how it is around here."
He shrugged, not willing to admit he was interested in where this was going.
"And I should have died- my Pa had passed away, and my Ma was too busy with the baby to notice her only daughter had gone missing," she sniffed at that, almost as if she were still holding a grudge.
"-But I was saved. By a man with silver hair and golden eyes."
Inuyasha's unimpressed look flickered up at her concentrated stare.
"He didn't have your ears but…I've never seen someone like that again. Until now. And I know that there's new protocol that humans aren't to let any aboriginal demon kin into our quarters but-"
"Yeah?" Inuyasha pushed his dish, signifying he was done with it, lifted the cup of water to down it in a single gulp, and stood up. "Riveting story. Time for me to go."
She worried her bottom lip and reached an arm out to stop him, "Wait! I was going to say- I'm not…I'm not who you think I am."
He had tuned her out though, already mentally plotting what his next move was. A job. He needed a job. To get his mare back.
"See ya later, girl-"
"Kagome."
And that was when he noticed she had vaulted over the chair separating them, and sped around his side to stop him in his tracks, pushing him back with an exasperated nudge. A wild look glimmered in her eyes, as if she were desperate for something only he could give her.
"I'm Kagome, and I'm part of the Rebellion. This is a half-demon safe house. And you're the son of the Taisho aren't you? You're Inuyasha?"
Do you come from the land down under?
Where women glow and men plunder
Can't you hear, can't you hear the thunder?
You better run, you better take cover
A/N: Listen I'm all about puns, and point blank is AU is short for Australia. So there ya go. An Australian!AU. In where half-demons are treated like the aboriginals. Also, picture Inuyasha with one of those Australian hats, a slack jaw, a rubble for a beard, boots, and khaki shorts with a scarf over his neck. You're welcome