So… yeah. Totally not two weeks. But, I made an effort to make this one of a decent length! There are some new characters introduced and the romance is starting to build~ Some more action should be popping up soon, so fear not. Again, a reminder, I am not following the exact plot of the movie. There are quite a few things that I'm taking liberties with. So don't worry about the fate of this or that person. Chances are that it'll end up being completely different than what you expect. ;) Some people have made comments also about wanting Inuyasha to have a sword instead of guns. Please please please be patient. Tessaiga will make an appearance, so have no fear! Without further ado, I give you chapter 11 of Sands of Time!
The moment the city became visible gleaming in the sunlight, Inuyasha and Kouga both dismounted and took off on foot toward it, a massive cloud of dust following behind them. The wolf youkai was faster, but not by much. He grinned wolfishly at the hanyou, positive that he'd have victory over the stupid dog. And when he won, he'd claim his prize: A kiss from the fair Kagome.
Inuyasha panted as he ran, watching in dismay as Kouga pulled ahead. His instincts raged.
His mind flashed back to that moment on the boat.
"You wanna bet?" he growled.
"Thought you weren't a betting man?"
"Try me."
"Fine," the wolf smirked. "If I win, I'll get to kiss his sister," he said, thumbing in Miroku's direction.
"Wait, what?" said monk squeaked.
"Fine," Inuyasha murmured. "But if I win, you let me have one free punch to your face that I can call in at any time. And you'll take it without running away like a little pansy. Deal?"
The hanyou stuck out his hand. Kouga looked at it before smirking and gripping it tightly and shaking.
"Deal, muttface."
There was no way in hell that he'd let that nasty, mangy wolf beat him in anything, much less kiss the girl he had his eye on! Not pausing to ponder the fact that he did indeed have his eye on Kagome, his strides lengthened and his pulse pounded in his ears as he tried desperately to shorten the wolf's lead. Kouga looked over his shoulder and laughed at the dog trailing behind him.
"Ha-Ha!" he taunted, "It sucks to be y-"
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately for Inuyasha, while turning to rub his victory in his rival's face, Kouga had failed to notice a large stone sticking up out of the sand and tripped over it, faceplanting firmly into the sand. Inuyasha grinned and made a point of stepping on the wolf as he ran over and past him, right through the gate of the city.
"Wooo-hoo~!" He howled in victory, leaping into the air. Kagome and Miroku followed at a more sedate pace astride their camels. Jaken came along too; struggling not only to guide his own beast, but also to lead the hanyou's abandoned one alongside him.
X
After setting up camp, Kagome directed the group towards a site where she wanted to start digging. She stood at the top of an opening that led into a dark chamber, polishing a round mirror that had somehow managed to remain on its stand after thousands of years. Excitement bubbled in her gut. She was about to go into a real-live site! At HAMUNAPTRA! Her inner scholar was squealing and bouncing with joy and anticipation. This is what she had dreamed about her whole life, and she could hardly wait.
Inuyasha trotted up to her and looked at her oddly.
"What are these old mirrors for?" he asked.
"Not just old, ancient."
"Well, in my experience, old people tend to get their knickers in a twist when they get called ancient," he sassed with a grin.
Kagome rolled her eyes.
"Can I help you with something, Inuyasha?"
Much to her surprise he blushed a little bit and stuttered, "I, um, I have something for you. Here."
The hanyou thrust a brown leather parcel into her hands. Kagome took it with a look of bemusement and slight shock.
"What's this?"
"It's uh, it's just a little something I borrowed from our flea-bitten friends over there," he grunted, nodding towards the wolves who stood off to one end of the site, not really doing much beyond sitting around.
"Oi," Inuyasha called, "Are you gonna just sit around all day?"
Hakkaku stopped polishing his glasses and yelled back, "We're waiting for our boss!"
Miroku chose that moment to join them and looked at his sister in confusion.
"Boss?"
Inuyasha's ears twitched atop his head as he heard the sound of approaching hooves coming over the dunes. A dust cloud rose into the sky as a long caravan appeared, lead by a pair of camels with covered litters on their back. The hanyou's nose twitched. Something smelled familiar in one of those litters. The realization struck him like a cattle prod.
Oh, hell no.
Kagome settled a hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" she asked?
He paused for a moment, suddenly aware that he had tensed and started to growl. Was he alright? Honestly, no. Inuyasha was about to be forced into facing someone from his past who he had no desire to see ever again. But he would humor Kagome and not make her worry.
"Yeah," he murmured, "I'm fine."
The caravan had made its way closer to the city and was now starting to dissipate and settle inside the main gate. The leading pair of camels halted in front of the four wolf youkai. A white hand pulled the front curtain aside and revealed a man who was impossibly beautiful, or at least would be were his eyes not so cold.
White hair, pulled back behind his neck, fell to below his hips in silky waves. He was dressed sharply in a white and khaki suit and his face was marked with twin magenta stripes on his cheeks and a deep blue crescent on his forehead.
Kouga walked up to the man and bowed shallowly. "Sesshomaru," he greeted.
The youkai nodded in acknowledgement. His small, perfectly shaped nose twitched and a grimace warped his face as he turned to face the other group off to the side.
Inuyasha's growling picked up, his rising youki lifting his hair and the sand at his feet in an alien wind. Kagome was startled by this and felt her own aura rising in response. With her senses forced open like that, she could suddenly sense the power of the new stranger, and it sent chills down her spine. Whoever this Sesshomaru was, he was one mighty youkai.
Floating down from his camel, the man called to them, but in a way that made it seem like he hardly raised his voice. "I had hoped you would have perished by your own foolishness by now, little brother."
The audience stood still and silent in shock. Inuyasha snarled in reply, "If you want a fight, fluffy, I'd be glad to oblige. But I'm sure we both have more important things to do."
"You're right," Sesshomaru muttered darkly, "I have better things to do with my time than deal with your idiocy. But fear not, I may clean the Earth of your stain soon enough."
The youkai turned on his heel in a blatant show of disdain, choosing to ignore his brother for the time being and instead focusing on the pack of wolves and mass of human workers before him.
Miroku blinked, stunned at the turn of events.
"Well," he said, "That was unexpected."
"You're telling me!" his sister concurred. "All this excitement is making me thirsty. I'm going to get some water right quick, ok?"
"Whatever," Inuyasha growled, still on edge and aggressive from the encounter.
Kagome walked over to where her camel was tied and dug through her saddlebags for the water sack she had filled before they left. Setting the parcel that Inuyasha had given her down on the ground, she began moving things around. A strange bit of soft orange fabric stuck out from beneath one of the blankets.
Hmm, what's this?
Her hand gripped the orange thing and tugged, pulling out what looked to be a small child with the hindquarters of a fox, complete with tail and paws. The child, who had apparently been sleeping until this point, cried out in alarm. Startled, Kagome dropped him and screamed.
"What? What's wrong?" Inuyasha yelled, bounding in at the sound of her cry.
The little boy sat up and rubbed the top of his head where he had been dropped. "Owww… You didn't have to drop me."
"Feh," the hanyou grumbled. "You got yourself a stowaway kitsune kid. Little stinker must have hopped on back at the Inn."
Now that her shock had faded away, Kagome could closer inspect the unexpected guest. His hair was fluffy and red, tied back in with a little blue ribbon. He was obviously young, but Kagome couldn't accurately guess his age because she knew so little about kitsune physiology. His eyes were large and watery, a pretty shade of green. That, coupled with the overall softness of his features led Kagome to one conclusion.
"He's so cute!"
She leaned down and scooped him up into her arms and cuddled him to her cheek. The little boy was surprised for a moment, but giggled at the attention. This strange lady was soft and gentle, not to mention she smelled nice. He liked her.
"My name's Shippo!" he told her.
"And mine is Kagome," she replied. "And that is Inuyasha, and that is Miroku."
She pointed to each one when she said their name.
"Um…, hey guys?"
Miroku looked up from where he sat, sorting ropes and other supplies they would use once they descended and began their excavation.
"What is it, Kags?"
"Where's Jaken?"
They looked around and Inuyasha spat, "What, the little bastard has gone wandering off again? Stupid toad is going to wind up getting himself into some deep shit if he keeps doing that."
"Inuyasha!"
"What?!"
"You shouldn't curse around children!" Kagome hissed.
"Yeah, Inuyasha," Shippo echoed mockingly, "You shouldn't."
His eyelid twitched. He really had hoped that the kid wasn't going to be some annoying little shit, but maybe that was just too much to ask for. Stretching forth a hand, the inu-hanyou flicked the boy's nose with his claws.
"Don't irritate me, kid. I might be tempted to leave you to those wolves over there," he growled.
The kitsune whimpered and snuggled in closer to Kagome, who was now glaring at Inuyasha.
"You shouldn't be so hard on him. He's just a little boy."
"Feh! Let's go," he huffed, tying the ropes off at the top of the opening and preparing to swing inside. "Oh, and Kagome?"
"Yes?"
"You, um, you might wanna open that thing I gave you," he said, blushing and looking away before dropping neatly inside the buried building.
"Oh."
She had completely forgotten about that after finding Shippo. Now, where had she sat it?
The little kitsune jumped down from her arms and picked the brown leather parcel up off the sand and handed it to her with small, claw-tipped hands.
"Here you go, Kagome," he said with a smile.
"Thank you, Shippo," she replied, ruffling his hair.
It took a bit of tugging, but she managed to open the ties around the package and peeled the main leather back to look inside.
Tools. Small, delicate excavation tools. Kagome pulled a small hammer from where it was looped in the leather and held its weight in her hands. Inuyasha had remembered that all of their equipment had been lost with the boat and had provided her with something new that she could easily use. The gift showed an amount of thought and caring that she hadn't thought him to be capable of, and it brought a strange warmth to her heart.
"Kagome? Are you coming down?" her brother called from within the hole.
"Ah, yes! Yes, I'm coming," she answered. "Come on Shippo, let's go."
The boy fastened himself to her torso as she gripped him and the tool kit in one hand and the rope in another. He though it unwise to say anything about the strange look she had on her face since she opened Inuyasha's gift, and remained quiet even as the two of them slid down into the darkness.
See? We're progressing. Let me know if the pacing seems too fast or too slow as far as development of the relationships and such. And we finally see Shippo and Sesshomaru~ I know many of you are glad for that. ^^ But we're also left with questions. Where did Jaken toddle off to now? Who was that second person in the other litter? How are the lovebirds going to make it? Stay tuned, and see you in chapter 12~
Also, and it may be asking too much, but if you guys could nudge me to over 100 reviews, I may or may not write a little side ficlet set in this universe. ;) Just something to think about.