HI GAIS! … Ok, never again. Here is Chapter 7, as promised. Things are starting to pick up a bit in this chapter. ^^ Some of you made guesses as to who certain people were, and some of you might be surprised at who shows up. ;) Read and enjoy, my lovelies!
Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this every single time? I'm not Viz. I'm not Shonen Sunday. I'm not Rumiko Takahashi. I have no claim on either Inuyasha or The Mummy. … And my uncles are lawyers, so COME AT ME BRO!
The one thing Inuyasha always liked about walking by the river in Cairo was the fact that it made the city's stench seem less potent. There was always a breeze that kept the different scents moving; every time it blew he could scent the reeds and the salty desert-smell that had imprinted itself into his mind since his escape from that damned city all those years ago.
The first thing he did after getting out of prison was gather the money and clothes he had hidden and take a long bath. All that sand in his hair and ears had driven him nuts, and the last thing he wanted was to look like some savage to the two who had saved him from the noose. He owed them for that; if there was one thing he could not stand, it was a debt. Come to think of it, there was a bona fide list of things he couldn't stand. His brother. Perfume. Fleas. Curry. Superior Assholes. Wait, that was his brother again…
He adjusted his duffle bag over his shoulder. The boat he was supposed to meet the siblings at was bound to be around here somewhere. He closed his eyes and sniffed for them; an arduous task with so many people milling about. Inuyasha now strained his ears along with his nose, searching for either one of them.
"He's gross, 'Roku! He's a nasty pervert with anger issues, and I just don't like him!"
Ahh, yes, he thought. That would be the female of the two. What was her name again? Kiki? Kory? It didn't matter; at least now he could find them. That screech of hers sure did carry. He worked his way through the crowd towards them and eventually drew close enough to hear the brother's reaction.
"-his word is his word. He'll show. Dog youkai aren't the kind to go back on things like that."
"Hanyou, Miroku."
The emphasis on that word stopped him in his tracks. Inuyasha quickly ducked behind a stack of crates and felt a growl begin to bubble up from his chest. He hadn't taken her for the kind of person to be a racist, but then again, not many people weren't. Still, it burned him more than he'd like to admit to hear her make that a point of distinction.
"Kagome, does it really matter what he is?" the male asked.
Did it matter to her? Not that he'd care, of course; he just wanted to know if he should watch who gave him food on this trip.
"Of course not! It's just that I can't stand improper classification and you know it. Hanyou is just a word, but it's a title, not the contents," she huffed.
The brother snickered. "Kagome, your librarian is showing."
"Oh, hush!"
Inuyasha let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, brushed off his vest, and adjusted the collar of his shirt. Then he paused for a moment as he realized that he was preening for this weird, if rather pretty woman, and immediately stopped. She saved his ass, but that was it. If he wanted to look nice, that would be for himself and no one else.
... He stepped out from behind the crates and worked his way towards the pair again.
"Hey! You lookin' for me?" he called out.
The siblings turned at the sound of his voice. Miroku smiled and clapped him on the back.
"Inuyasha!" he said, "Glad you could make it. We've got ourselves an adventure to start!"
"Yeah. Don't touch me."
Miroku pulled back his hand like it had been burned.
Inuyasha glanced over at the woman. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks seemed rather flushed. The fact that she wouldn't look him in the eye wasn't lost on him. He frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.
"You got a problem, lady?" he growled.
"N-no!" she squeaked, tucking back a piece of hair. "M-maybe we should get going..."
She bent over to pick up her suitcase, unknowingly granting him a perfectly good opportunity to ogle her rear. And ogle he did. After all, he was a guy. Curves were nice. No harm done in looking, right? Of course right. But she did seem to be straining to pick up the thing.
"Here!" he huffed, grabbing the suitcase out of her hand. "Don't hurt yourself."
She looked up, startled as he effortlessly shouldered the bulky thing.
"Oh," she murmured, "Thank you."
A slow, small smile worked its way across her mouth and into her eyes. Inuyasha's heart made a heavy thud in his chest as he looked away with heated cheeks. He couldn't stare too long - this woman may not have seemed like a whole lot, but a man could get lost in that smile.
"Feh."
Naturally, a horrendous smell coming up the dock ruined the moment. He grimaced, realizing where it came from as the all too familiar source waddled up to the boat.
"Oh, no..." Miroku groaned.
A small, green, toad-like thing lurched up to the river boat with a knapsack on.
"What are you doing here, Jaken?" Inuyasha growled.
The toad pushed its way past him on the gangplank with a snort and superior rising of his nose. It squawked, "That's Mr. Jaken to you, half-breed. I'm here to make sure you and your pathetic little humans keep your end of the bargain."
"Feh. I'm not calling you Mr. nothin'!"
Jaken slowly looked up at Kagome; starting at her ankles, lingering on her chest, and stopping somewhere around her chin. The blatantly amorous gaze made Inuyasha want to growl and Kagome looked ready to puke.
"Keep a leash on your pet, woman," Jaken purred, although it came through sounding more like a bullfrog's growly gurgle, before trotting off with all the regal bearing of, well, a toad.
"Well," Miroku said, clapping his hands together, "I have little doubt that this trip will prove to be entertaining."
"'Roku?"
"Yes?"
"Shut up."
Inuyasha tried not to smile. Entertaining. Sure...
x
That evening found him exploring the decks of the boat. It was nice enough, yet not steeped in luxury. Inuyasha kind of liked that - prim and pampered wasn't really his style anyway. After tucking a pistol under his pillow, he wandered up to where Miroku had found a few men playing cards.
One step onto that deck and he wanted to swear. Loudly.
Wolves. He fuckin' hated wolves.
Three of damn things, all decked in leathers, accompanied Miroku at the table. One with glasses and a Mohawk was cutting the deck.
"Hurry it up, Hakkaku! Some of us actually want to play," one whined.
"Dealing is an art form, Ginta. I've said it once, and I'll say it again. You-"
"-Can't rush art. We know, we know!"
The other wolf tipped up the black cowboy hat that had settled over his eyes and sent a glance at the newcomer.
"Care to join the game, Mutt?"
Inuyasha looked over at Miroku, who was looking far too smug with the hand he held. He wouldn't want to face that little cheat in poker for anything.
"Thanks, but no thanks, fleabag." he growled back. "I'm rather attached to my money."
A female wolf lounging on a nearby couch giggled and turned to face them.
"Hear that, Kouga?" she mocked, tossing over a lock of bright red hair, "Sounds to me like our little dog boy is scared."
"I don't think so, Ayame."
The wolf tipped his hat back a little farther and smiled crookedly. A fang poked through. "This little puppy was brave enough to go to Hamunaptra. And now? He's brave enough to go back. Give him credit."
Inuyasha half laughed, half growled. "Now where did you hear that?"
Seriously... Where did they hear that? If Miroku was running his mouth, so help him Kami…
"I've got sources. And I've got news for you," the wolf said, standing up to look him straight in the eye.
"Oh yeah?" Inuyasha asked. "What's that?"
Kouga's voice lowered to a raspy whisper, "You can be as brave as you like, boy, but there's /no/ way you're faster than me. And in the end, all that matters is who got there first. That's gonna be me."
Inuyasha pushed in closer. He was now nose-to-nose with the smelly wolf.
"You wanna bet?" he growled.
"Thought you weren't a betting man?"
"Try me."
So? Tell me what you think! Better? Worse? Surprised? I need to know these things! And be sure to stay tuned for the next chapter. We've got even more new characters coming. ^^ The person who guesses right will get a drabble fic posted in their honor!