Alrighty, here's chapter 8! Some of you guessed right for who plays Benny in this version, so congratulations! This is mostly a development chapter, but fear not~ Action is due to come in heavy doses next chapter. ;) So, just read and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I only own the fanfiction, I do not own the characters or concepts of either Inuyasha or The Mummy.
Kagome had settled on one of the slightly lower decks of the boat shortly after setting up in her room. The cool evening air that wafted along the river was soothing on her skin. Right then, she needed soothing. So she settled down on a table near the railing with a book.
The scent of the reeds and the water trickled past her nose and she found herself assaulted by a memory.
Without warning or pause, he took a firm hold of her chin and planted his lips against hers through the bars. His lips were dry and chapped, but firm against hers. The contact was brief, but enough for the sensation of a fang's outline to imprint itself upon her.
He had tasted like forests, like greenery and rain. The kiss hadn't been particularly great, but there was something there. Some sort of spark and danger.
Though Kagome was loath to admit it, the number of kisses that she'd had for comparison were… slightly limited. Only one boy had ever really courted her before, and he was a perfectly boring gentleman who only ever kissed her on the cheek. Not that she'd ever tell Inuyasha that.
Speaking of the devil, he was coming around the bend onto her part of the deck. Kagome buried her face into the book in her hands and tried to ignore him.
Naturally, he thwarted her attempts to do so by loudly dropping his heavy duffle bag on the table in front of her.
"Eeep!" she yelped, jumping in her seat.
"Heheh," he chuckled at her. "You need to be more aware of your surroundings. I wouldn't have scared you if you had been paying attention."
"Oh, please, Inuyasha. The only thing about you that's scary is your manners. You're just a harmless little puppy."
Inuyasha sputtered, "What?! Me? A-a puppy?! Harmless? Woman, do you know what I am? I am freaking youkai! I'm dangerous! I could kill you with my pinkie claw!"
"Yes, you are a youkai," she replied, "And I am a Miko. I could kill you just as easily as you could kill me." Kagome smiled. "But I don't want us to come to that. Actually, I'd like us to be friends."
He rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Feh," before unrolling a bundle out of his duffle bag. The contents clinked and thudded as the package opened, revealing an obscene number of guns and ammunition. Kagome's eyes widened.
"W-what's all this? This is an archeological expedition, not some battle!"
The silver-haired hanyou plopped onto the seat in front of her and began to assemble a revolver from the parts in front of him.
"Look lady," he said, "There's something out there. I don't know what it is, but it's evil. I don't use that term lightly either."
Kagome rolled her eyes. "Alright, first off, my name is Kagome. Say it with me, KA-GO-ME. And all that business about a curse on the place is nonsense. Silly superstition like that is hardly going to hold me back."
"From what? What are you looking for?"
She smiled excitedly and whispered, "A book."
He looked at her incredulously. "A book?"
"Yes a book. The book of Amun-Ra. It's said to contain all of the spells and incantations from the Old Kingdom. From a historical perspective, it's tremendously important. And I'm personally after it because-"
"Because the dang thing is made of solid gold?"
"How did you know that?" she asked.
He merely shrugged and motioned for her to continue, sharpening a small knife on a stone.
The miko sighed, but kept going. "I want to join the Sisterhood. In order to do that, I have to establish myself as not only an academic scholar, but also in the field."
Inuyasha smirked. "So you're following your lifelong dream and shit?"
"Something like that." Kagome tilted her head and asked, "What about you? Don't you have any dreams like that?"
"Nope," he huffed, assembling one of his revolvers and putting it in a shoulder holster. "I've spent most of my life just trying to survive. Never had time for stuff like dreaming and big goals."
"But surely there's something you want?"
His mouth twisted into a feral grin. "Yeah. I want to be filthy stinking rich. Or a full youkai. Whichever comes first."
Kagome rolled her eyes at him. How typical that he'd want something so material. He was rude and brash, but undeniably attractive. She thought that a young hanyou as handsome as he would want to be surrounded by women. Which reminded her…
"Can I ask you something?
He shrugged. "You just did, but go ahead."
She scowled. Oh, so now he was going to be a wise guy? The miko crossed her arms and leaned forward. "I want to know why you kissed me that day in the prison."
Inuyasha wiped a cloth along a gun's barrel, bringing the metal to a clean shine. "I dunno," he murmured, "I mean, I was about to die. Seemed like a good idea at the time."
"So you kissed me because you were going to die?" she asked incredulously.
"Yeah. Pretty much."
Kagome shot to her feet and stomped off in a huff, trying to salvage what was left of her dignity. A desperate man stole her first real kiss as his last fuck you to the world, instead of the loving gentleman she always imagined giving it to. It hurt. Oh, it hurt badly…
"What?" he yelled after her, "What did I say?"
Inuyasha frowned at her retreating back. Feh. Women were crazy. What was her problem? Not that he cared, of course. Not that he noticed the hurt and embarrassment in her scent. Because he hadn't. At all.
His musing was shortly interrupted by an all-too-familiar pinching, itchy sensation on his neck. Instinctively, his hand smacked at the feeling, coming away with a flattened insect in his palm.
"Myouga?" he asked it.
The flea popped back out from being flattened and waved a tiny hand. "Master Inuyasha! How good it is to see you again! After we were separated, I searched and searched everywhere for you. You wouldn't believe how worried I was!"
"You're right," he deadpanned, "I wouldn't. Come to think of it, I think I'll just squish you."
"Master Inuyasha!" he cried, "Please, think of my wife!"
"You don't have a wife. You ran out on her."
"Well, maybe more of a stalker, but still! Think of how devastated my death would make her!"
Inuyasha sighed and dropped the flea onto the table, leveling him with his best glare. "And I don't suppose you know who's leading the wolf pack down to Hamunaptra, do you?"
Myouga began to sweat and stutter. "Well, I…"
"So what was the plan?" the hanyou asked. "Lead them out into the desert and let 'em die while you scamper off with the money?"
"Certainly not!" he sputtered. "You overestimate my cruelty, master! … Besides, they only gave me half of the payment. I only get the other half when we return to Cairo. Abandoning them would do me no good."
"Keh. Figures."
Inuyasha went back to cleaning and assembling his weapons, placing some in the various holsters and pockets on his body. Myouga hopped up to his master's nose to look him in the eye.
"But the fact that you're here also begs asking a question," he muttered. "You never believed in Hamunaptra. So why are you going back?"
The hanyou held a finger to the tip of his nose for the flea to climb onto. He nodded over to where Kagome sat off to the side, reading next to the camel psued-stable. She was twisting a lock of hair in her fingers and looked thoroughly engrossed in the pages.
"See that girl over there?" Inuyasha asked.
Myouga nodded.
"She saved my ass from the hangman's noose. I owe her. She wants to go to Hamunaptra, so I'm taking her. That's the only reason why I'm going back."
Leaning in, the flea waggled his little hairy eyebrows.
"I must say, Master Inuyasha," he crooned, "You always did have fine taste in females. She looks quite tasty. Do you think she'd mind if I took a little nibble?"
The hanyou smiled down at the flea sweetly.
"Myouga?"
"Yes, master?"
"Buzz off."
And with that, he flicked the insect off his finger and into the river below.
"Master~," Myouga wailed, "Why must you be so cruel to me?"
He sighed, glad to be gone of at least one annoyance to deal with. Now he should probably deal with the other and go find out how he had made Kagome upset. If she purified him in his sleep, then they'd all be screwed. He looked over to where she had been reading, but she had scampered off somewhere.
Feh. Like he cared.
But right as he was about to sit down again, he noticed a line of wet footprints shining on the deck. Inuyasha's golden eyes widened. How had someone been able to sneak past without leaving a single sound or scent to alert him?
He followed them carefully. Down the hall. Up the stairs. Left down another hall. A scent drifted toward him from one of the rooms and his stomach dropped, realizing where this person was headed.
"Kagome."
So… Things are heating up, right? ^^ Comments and critiques are welcome, so share away! And be sure to tune in for chapter 9!