Uncontrollable – Part Five: Quake
A/N: Don't
hate me
Disclaimer:
Never have, never will.
Falling to her knees from the
sudden impact, Sango crawled along the floor, using
the wall as support, toward the chaotic throne room.
“Your majesty!”
A few feet
in front of her, rubble was pushed away and Sango's
attendant, followed by a guard, emerged.
“Kikyo! What's happening?”
“You can't
be here,” Kikyo insisted, grabbing hold of Sango's forearms.
“But what's
happening?” she asked again, desperate for an answer, “Where's Miroku?”
Kikyo shook her head. “We passed him by a few hours ago, but he
was on his way to the Pharaoh's chambers.”
“The Pharaoh?” Sango asked,
alarmed. If not by the anger of the gods, the quaking could be started by
someone with magic. There were only a handful of people she knew who possessed
that power, and according to Kikyo, two of them had
been in the same room when it started. Another rumble began, causing the ground
to tremble, and the women held on to each other for support. “Why there?”
“Your
Majesty, we need to get away from here.”
Sango nodded, and with new determination, pulled Kikyo with her back toward her own chambers.
“Ah! Your
Majesty...”
“What is
it, Kikyo?”
“Earlier...”
she hesitated, tilting her head downward so that her bangs covered her eyes,
“When I was talking with Inuyasha...”
“Yes, what
of it?”
Kikyo shook her head. “I just want you to know that he saved
me, back when the ground began to shake.”
Sango cast a quick glance where the guard stood, several feet
behind them, with a fierce look settled on the attendant.
“No matter
what happens, I do not want you to think badly of him. He is not bad.”
Despite Kikyo's conviction, Sango could
only feel a creeping sense of foreboding. Rather than voicing these fears, she
kept a firm grip on the woman's wrist, and a watchful eye on Inuyasha behind them.
“I would
hope so, Kikyo. I would hope so.”
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“Kagome, I'm
busy.”
“I don't know
about you,” she argued, “but I've read my fair share of books about ancient
“Look Kagome,”
Kikyo sighed, impatiently, “I told you this wasn't
going to be easy.”
“But you never
said there would be walking mummies involved!”
It was
mid-afternoon and Kikyo had, diligently, been working
on her translations under her young cousin arrived with her concerns. It wasn't
as though Kikyo didn't want to listen,
she just had more important matters to attend to. Hearing the girl voice her
fears was only adding to the stress and uneasiness Kikyo
already felt.
“Kagome -”
“Kikyo, I'm scared.”
Unwilling to admit that very same fact, Kikyo
sent her on her way, telling the girl to stay with Shippou
and Inuyasha.
“If he gets
out of hand, just flash him a few times.”
“What am I
supposed to do with some guy who can't even speak?” Kagome
asked, unaware of the double meaning.
Kikyo shrugged. She was just eager to get back to translating and hear
the medical results from Sesshomaru.
“Teach him to
play Go Fish.”
“Kikyo?” Kikyo
turned to find Sango peeking through the flap of her
tent. “Do you mind if I sit in here?”
Giving Kagome
a final push on her way, Kikyo nodded. “Have a seat.
Just try not to make too much noise. There's a lot to be done.”
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“So...”
“So.”
“He's not
dead?”
Sesshomaru rolled his eyes to the sky. Why was he always surrounded
by such imbeciles?
“He's moving
and breathing.”
A blank,
partially understanding look was returned to him.
“He's not
dead, Miroku.”
“But he should
be.”
“Correct.”
“Kagura said the blood was old.”
“Correct.”
“Ancient old.”
“Correct.”
“Are you sure
she's capable? Forensics isn't really her job.”
“I'm extremely
capable, thank you.”
At that
moment, aforementioned lady entered the scene. “In more areas
than one. I had some trouble getting him to cooperate, but once Kagome
and her camera returned, things went a bit more smoothly.”
Miroku nodded as Kagura handed her companion
more blood samples from Inuyasha.
“Thank you
both.”
Sesshomaru shrugged. “I'm not doing this for you. I'm only connected
to this because Rin was interested.”
Sliding closer
to the man, Kagura added, “And I'm here because I'm
connected to him.”
Sesshomaru, neither for the first nor the last time that evening,
rolled his eyes. Imbeciles.
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As night
finally fell over the camp, Kikyo and Sango sat alone in Kikyo's tent. Sango held a blunt pencil in her hand, using it to stab
around the pendant she had found earlier and into a few random papers in front
of her. With each hit, Kikyo flinched, become more
and more annoyed at the distraction.
“Sango,” she asked, “just what are
you doing?”
“Oh... just
looking at a few legal things,” she replied, somewhat noncommittally. “Crap we
don't need to deal with right now.”
“Then why are
you?”
Sango flushed red, finally snapping the pencil tip, “So I don't have to
deal with that imbecile.”
Setting down
her pen on the desk, Kikyo placed her fingers over
her eyes, trying to rid herself of the exhaustion.
“How did you
end up with him if you loathe him so much?”
“A cruel,
cruel twist of fate,” Sango shivered.
“How so?”
“Well, my
father was an archaeologist as well. I supposed that how I became interested.
Anyway, when it came time for me to begin my fieldwork, I ended up getting sick
and missing the flight. My father had been working with Miroku's
family for some time by then, so he set it up so that I could work alongside
him.”
“His life’s work?”
Sango laughed bitterly. “So it seems.” Absently, Sango
traced the outline of the necklace in front of her. “Father died here, at this
site. I guess I just never felt right breaking away. This was his life.”
“And now it's
yours.”
Sango shrugged. “It's not as though it's horrible. Miroku
inherited the site after his father, and working with him is only a bother some
of the time. In actuality, he's the best friend I have.”
Kikyo looked at Sango inquisitively.
“And he
listens to you?”
Sango scoffed. “He had better. I've been with this project just as long
as he has.”
“Then maybe
you should talk to him.”
“About what?”
“About ending this damned scavenger hunt.” Kikyo
told her, her bluntness startling Sango for a moment.
“This isn't a game, Sango. And this isn't normal.
Where in the world do you pick up a newspaper and read that, once again, The
Queen of England is having tea and scones with his mummy-ness, Pharaoh of 600
BC?”
“Is Inuyasha the Pharaoh?”
“Of course
not,” Kikyo snapped, rising to pace with her notes in
her hands. “Inuyasha was entombed after the murder of
the Pharaoh. The... one who buried them... used a spell because Inuyasha had great power, was uncontrollable,
unpredictable...adjectives along those lines.” Sensing the surprise in Sango, Kikyo paused. “It was an
entire page in the scroll.”
Sango shook her head at the overload of information. “Why hasn't he
said anything yet? Why can only Kagome understand him?”
“Same spell,” Kikyo told her, flipping through her notes, “Blocked off
certain brain waves, his memory, speech, etc. When he came in physical contact
with someone, supposedly that set off a reaction. Since Kagome was the first
person he touched, she acted as a catalyst.”
Catching on
one of the words Kikyo spoke, Sango
pointed out, “Supposedly. You say supposedly. Why?”
“There's
always the possibility of a mistake in translation.”
“Or it could
just be a hoax.” Sango pressed. The idea of magic
spells seemed almost as ridiculous to her as a walking mummy. Reluctantly, Kikyo nodded her head.
“There's
always a small chance -”
“So once a medical team gets here, they can check Inuyasha out, declare him a normal, modern-day human being,
and we won't have to stop excavating.” About to go on, Sango
stopped at the sound of bitter laughter. “Why are you laughing?”
“Medical team?” Kikyo asked,
unbelieving. “Sesshomaru is doubling as our medical
team.”
Sango was taken aback. “Why?”
“Those 'legal things' that don't need to be dealt with right now? They needed to be
dealt with two years ago. We don't have the funds for a full medical team right
now. This site has been all but dead for the past ten years. This find – it's
unexpected. We don't have the staff or funding to keep a project like this
under control.”
“Why weren't
we told of this?”
“You were,” Kikyo insisted, “or Miroku was,
at least. Somehow he's been keeping the project from falling through until this
final dig was completed.”
“For two
years...”
“Two years.” Kikyo confirmed.
Clenching her
hands into fists, Sango tired to quell the rage
inside of herself. Two years he had all but lied to
her. ‘No need to fret, darling.’ ‘I'll take care of everything, bella.’ What an idiot she had been! Maybe it was her own
fault; she knew Miroku's problematic money habits.
Why hadn't she guessed something was wrong?
Shooting one
last glance at the desks in the tent, Sango turned on
her heel, storming out of view.
“Sango!” Kikyo
called, with no effect.
Oh well, she
thought. Perhaps it was for the best. Sango would
knock some sense into Miroku, and with any luck, they'd
all be on their way home the next morning.
Before something else happened.
Settling
herself down at her desk, Kikyo couldn't help but
feel uneasy. She was a logical woman – everything happened for a reason. Evan
so, she could not stop her mind from recalling the stories and tales everyone
hears in their lifetime. Stories full of magic and betrayal.
Nothing of the
current situation could be made sense of with a logical mind. There had to be
more to the story, and with every line she translated, Kikyo
felt herself falling deeper and deeper into myth.
Who would
believe her if she told anyone? Not a soul. Not yet anyway. She could hardly
believe she was thinking thoughts so childish herself. She was no better than
Kagome.
“I don't know
about you, but I've read my fair share of books about ancient
Taking a shaky
breath to calm the growing sense of foreboding in her mind, Kikyo
set herself back to her task.
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From deep
beneath the sand, something stirred, sending waves of panic above the surface
as the earth around the tomb shuddered.
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Falling to her
knees from the sudden impact, Sango crawled on all
fours toward the half-collapsed research tent.
“Sango!”
A few feet in
front of her, the fabric lifted and Kagome, followed by her two companions,
crawled out.
“Kagome!”
“Where's
happening?” she asked, grabbing hold of Sango's
forearms. “We were teaching Inuyasha how to play Go
Fish and everything started to shake.”
“Yeah,” Shippou piped in, “I was winning too!”
“I don't know
what's going on,” Sango confessed, “Where's Miroku?”
“He came by a
few hours ago, but then Kagura came and took him
away. She said there was something he needed to see back at the site.”
“The site?” As another rumble began, the girls held onto each other
for support. “It's too unstable! It's dangerous with these quakes.”
“Do you think
he's hurt?” Kagome asked, fearfully.
Sango narrowed her eyes, her temporary worry replaced with the anger
she felt earlier.
“If he isn't,
he soon will be.”
“Sango?”
“Come on,” she
said, pulling Kagome toward the exit, “It's not safe under all of this.”
“Ah! Sango...”
“What is it,
Kagome?”
“Um...
Earlier...” the girl hesitated, tilting her head down so her bangs covered her
eyes, “I said some things to Kikyo about Inuyasha...”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well, I just
wanted you to know I don't think that anymore. In there, when all that stuff
started falling, he kept it from hurting us.”
Sango cast a quick glance at the being behind them, who was looking
rather bored with all the commotion.
“So no matter what
Kikyo finds out form those scrolls, I just want you
to know I don't think he's all that bad of a person... mummy...thing.”
Despite
Kagome's conviction, Sango kept a firm grip on her
wrist, and a watchful eye on Inuyasha behind them.
“Let's hope
so, Kagome.”
Okay! So it
only took me... what? A year to get out? Not too
shabby D Anyway, as you've undoubtedly noticed, the flashbacks are getting a
bit further and further from what's happening in 'current' times. I think I
have a reason for this That is, if I can update fast enough to keep it in my
memory!
Fluff next
time? Hmm...
Anyway! Long
await review responses. Not that anyone would actually remember what they wrote
xx:
Dawn: Yeah...
I can't wait to find out what happens in my story either D
Spiffy: Late
on reviewing? How about late on updating! Sorry about that. I was having a lack
of inspiration to write anything, but hopefully that little spat is done with.
Oozaru: InuKag o I'm not sure if I'm going to
have Inu paired with anyone in this... It would be
hard. If anything, there may end up being some Inu/Kik
in the flashbacks, but how to do it in 'current times' would be difficult.
Ai8: After you
gave me the benefit of the doubt for updating (or lack there of) I took even
longer for the next chapter Sorry!
Completely Confuzzled: For some reason, my detail keeps getting less
and less - I think I'm just getting more lazy. Thank
you for your input though 3 I'll try my best at
organizing the scenes so the mood doesn't die.
Manda: D He doesn't remember!
Siren: I'm
back! But I doubt you're still in
DarkHeartKeyblade: I'm going to try and fit in the “You're
ignoring the sick guy” Line too. It just sounded so... Miroku-ish!
I think I have a way figured out, but we'll have to see if I actually get
around to doing it.
Bunny: If
you're confused then I'm doing something wrong.
Medlii: Thanks 3
Lily Thorne: I
hope I can fool you again. I keep fooling myself too though Which
I don't think is actually supposed to happy...
Barbie: No,
though he may be later when he started remembering xx whenever that may be...