Cairo Prison - InuKag

Sometimes, I write things just for myself, as a little treat. I might write my other favourite scenes here and there. Who knows, eventually I might have enough to string together a whole plot line. But lookie here @elkonigin and @coquinespike - have a little InuKag scene from The Mummy on me. If I ever find where I've put my laptop pen, there may even be some art to go with this.

Kagome swept across the courtyard, her anger making her simmer even hotter under the midday sun. She wasn’t sure who she was more annoyed at – the squat prison Warden for the obviously lecherous looks he was giving her, or Miroku, for lying about where he got the puzzle box. She shivered a little as they passed the gallows, not wanting to think too much about what usually took place here. When the Warden paused for a moment to speak to one of the guards, she rounded on Miroku, her voice a hissing whisper.

“I can’t believe you Miroku! You said that you found that box at a dig in Thebes! And now I find out you stole it from a drunk at the local Casbah! You told me a barefaced lie!”

Miroku looked a little chastened, but then fought back with a winning smile, hooking his arm into hers as they continued across the courtyard.

“That’s a bit harsh, Kagome dear”, he said, patting her hand affectionately. “We were playing cards, a gentleman’s game. I would have won it fair and square if he hadn’t got himself into an altercation. He left it unattended in his pocket. What was I going to do, leave it behind? He probably didn’t even know what it was.”

“You. Lied. To. Me.” Kagome hissed.

“What’s a little white lie between family members, ey?” He tried a winsome smile, which faltered quickly under Kagome’s withering gaze. “I mean, you’re not the only one I lie to old mum. But at least the lies I tell you are pretty ones.”

Chapter 9 is up! An extra day off work for Easter and somehow I managed to write a whole extra chapter! But don’t get too used to it because I can’t see two chapters a week happening again anytime soon. A little sneak peek for you…

“Why isn’t she answering her goddamn phone?” Inuyasha fretted.

“I don’t know dear,” Kaede said. “Maybe she isn’t carrying it. Some people have been known to live to a ripe old age without ever owning a mobile phone.”

He smiled indulgently at her, but his tone was grim.

“The first time I rang, it rang out. Now it says the phone’s turned off or it’s out of range. There’s no way she’ll have turned it off. She’s as worried as I am.”

“Ah. And yet you sent her home,” Kaede said, her voice very knowing.

“Shut up,” he growled, less convincingly now he was human.

Chapter 8 of Pick Up the Pieces is available now on AO3! Forgot to put this on Tumblr yesterday when I first posted it.

You get a bonus pic of Belle and the little spuds because they are not in this chapter.

Also, this chapter contains a car crash scene. There are medical procedures, and children injured. Blood is mentioned. Also please note, I am not a health professional, just a regular nerdy person who likes reading and watching far too much medical drama. I've made every effort to describe injuries and treatments correctly, but this is a fanfic, not a medical journal. Anyway, enjoy.

And Happy Easter to those who celebrate!

Chapter 6 is now available on AO3 - here's a little teaser for you!

He pulled to a halt. She thought he was about to get out but instead he hesitated again. “You know, I shouldn’t say this, but you and Inuyasha…”

“What about me and Inuyasha?”

“Not that I swing that way, but Inuyasha’s really attractive, if you like that sort of thing.”

“What do you mean by that sort of thing!” exclaimed Kagome, ready to jump to Inuyasha’s defense. It wasn’t as bad as it had been in previous decades, but human prejudice against demon kind did still exist, and she’d never seen anyone like Inuyasha with more animalistic features. She’d thought Miroku was his friend!

“Well, he’s kind of rumpled,” shrugged Miroku. “Not very well put together if you get my drift. Wouldn’t hurt if he occasionally brushed his hair, or ironed his shirts. But judging by the interest shown by quite a few women around town, some women like that kind of scruffiness.”

“Oh.”

“What I’m getting at, is you’ve only been in town for two days. You’re not imagining yourself in love with him or anything ridiculous like that, right?”

“Haha, no, definitely not.” Yes.

Chapter Five of Pick Up the Pieces is now available on AO3! A sneak peak for you.

Inuyasha was sitting with his back against the truck’s rear tyre, and involuntarily Kagome shifted closer – close enough so she could feel the comfort of his big body against hers. She was holding Shiori, but the feel of one little child wasn’t enough contact. She needed as much reassurance as she could get. She needed to feel that she wasn’t alone, that the terror of the fire was over.

Belle was settling down amidst her pups, nuzzling each, doing her eternal check, and the dog’s rump was firmly settled against her leg. Belle too, it seemed needed comfort.

“Hey, more blankets,” someone called from the shadows, and produced a pile of thick wool to spread over all of them. Dry soft wool. Lovely. Kagome tucked a corner of it under her behind to stave off the chill of the cold ground.

Amazingly, Shiori was back to being herself. She wriggled out of Kagome’s grasp and ventured to the end of the fire truck, taking a blanket with her. Kagome watched her small face transform from fear and shock to wonder. Firefighters, Hoses, pumps, water. This was obviously now an adventure to her.

But not yet to Kagome. Not for Shippō and not for Inuyasha. She sniffled, feeling a bit desperate. And Inuyasha’s arm came round her shoulders.

“It’s okay,” he said softly. “We’re safe. Thanks to you.”

It's already Thursday here in the merry old land of Oz, but shush..

First came a fire engine, screaming through the dark, screeching to a halt at the front gate, sending floodlights over the scene. Maybe fifteen men and women, all in various states of undress, tumbled out. They were donning uniforms as they climbed from the vehicle; it was organised chaos. They’d be local volunteers, roused out of their beds, expecting anything.

“We’re over here,” Kagome tried to call, realising they wouldn't be able to see them tucked in the shadows of the bushes under the veranda, but her voice wasn’t working properly. Then she saw them heading toward the gate and Belle’s pups were right in the way.

“Go stop them,” Inuyasha croaked, one arm still wrapped tightly around Shippo, and she cast him a look of desperation. Because that was how she felt. Desperate. Her voice didn’t work. But before she could scramble to her feet, Belle was off and running towards the gate, and Shiori was hightailing after her.

“Shiori,” she whisper shouted, struggling to get her legs under herself.

Pick Up the Pieces

Chapter Four of Pick Up the Pieces is now available on AO3. A little teaser for you...

She glanced through to the kitchen as she replaced the receiver. Inuyasha looked up at her, his eyes asking if all was good, and she nodded, grinning at the sight of him stretched out on the kitchen floor in front of the wood stove, a tiny pup cradled in his large hands. He smiled back at her, and her heart did a silly backward somersault. And she was suddenly even more determined to stay.

Any more determined they’d soon have to prise her out of here with a chisel, she thought. Super glue had nothing on how she was starting to feel.

Chapter Three of Pick Up the Pieces is now available on AO3! Here's a small teaser...

“You said there was someone who could drive me to Melbourne.” She hesitated. “That is, if you don’t want me to stay.”

He’d been about to take another bite of his scone. He didn’t, afraid if he did, he might choke. “Um. If I don’t want you to stay?”

“I sort of thought I might be useful,” she said, sounding uncertain. “Seeing Kikyō’s away. If there are more emergencies. If you want me to.”

“Is this because of the dog?”

She tilted her chin at that, a gesture he was starting to recognise.

“I have friends in Melbourne who’d take her in. For a few days at least until I’m sorted. But I’m offering to stay here for Easter. Only if you can use me though. I won’t stay unless I can be useful.”

She wanted to stay for Easter.

The thought took his breath away.

Chapter Two is now available on AO3!

Just a small excerpt to inspire your interest...

“What,” Hōjō said, in a voice that said he didn’t believe what he was seeing, “is that?”

“Not what, who. She’s the dog I was telling you about,” Kagome explained patiently. “She had puppies last night. And I’m keeping her,” she repeated steadily, pushing up her chin a little defiantly. “I’m keeping them all.”

Ignoring them, Inuyasha dropped to his knees. While Belle drank, he slipped the IV line out, putting pressure on the entry point for a moment with a wad of clean tissues he tugged from his pocket.

What sort of man carried an excess supply of tissues? Kagome wondered. A guy who was used to life’s messes she supposed. A really sexy doctor who was used to life’s messes.

“That’s great,” Inuyasha said cheerfully, as Belle kept on drinking. “I’m thinking she’ll settle, wherever you take her. She was great this morning while I cleaned her side – she’s a lovely placid dog. You’ll have to give the rest of the antibiotic orally, but she should be fine.”

“You’ll have to give…” Hōjō repeated faintly, and stared at Kagome in horror. “You’re kidding.”

“I’m not kidding,” Kagome said solidly. “I can’t leave her here.”

“Why not?”

“Inuyasha has enough on his plate. He has kids.”

“Kids like dogs,” Hōjō said flatly. “I can’t believe this. You crashed the car for this?”

“Hey,” Inuyasha said. “Mind the insults. You need to be wary of new mothers. Very hormonal.”

He was still grinning. Laughing at Hōjō? At her situation? Kagome glared at him over her shoulder to tell him what she thought of that – and then tried to concentrate on Hōjō.

“I have to take her.”

“Not to my parents’, you can’t,” Hōjō said bluntly. “Mum’d have kittens.”

“That’d add to the menagerie,” Inuyasha said, still grinning.

“I don’t know what your mother would think. And I can’t imagine how Peppy would react.”

“Who’s Peppy?” Inuyasha asked, interested. “Great Aunt Peppy?”

“Peppy’s his mother’s poodle,” Kagome snapped. She could do without the levity.

I had planned to write this entire fic before posting it, ready for Easter. And then my monkey brain went - we demand validation - post now! So here is the first chapter of a new modern family AU, set in Australia. A little sneak peek to whet your appetite - you can read the first chapter now on AO3.

“Let’s get you inside.”

She looked up then, as if seeing him for the first time.

“Where…where…?”

She was almost incoherent, her eyes blinking in the yellow glow from the light above his front door. He watched as her eyes focused at first on his face, then drifted upwards to latch onto the white canine ears perched atop his head amidst the short shaggy haircut he preferred. Her eyes widened comically.

“I’m the local doctor,” he said, smiling at her in what he hoped was his best bedside manner, which to be fair, usually fell a little short of the mark. “I assume you know that from the sign on the front gate. My name’s Inuyasha Taisho. Yash for short.”

“Inuyasha,” she managed. “Inuyasha will do fine.”

He fucking hoped it would, it was the only name he had. “And your name?”

“Kagome Higurashi”.

It wasn’t the most comprehensive patient history he’d ever taken, but it’d do for now.

“Kagome, can you tell me what hurts?”

“Everything!”

It was practically a wail, and he relaxed a little. In his experience, patients who were on death’s doorstep didn’t have the energy to wail.

Jumpscare

Inuyasha tucked a dark strand of hair behind his ear, the other hand carefully cradling the large plastic bowl of popcorn on his lap. He didn’t enjoy this snack as much as potato chips, disliking the way it sometimes got stuck in his teeth, but it was still pretty tasty, especially covered in butter and salt the way Kagome made it.

He thrust his hand in to grab another large mouthful, munching as he watched Kagome kneel on the floor nearby, fiddling with the buttons on the box that controlled the sound and pictures of the TV. The other members of her family had all gone to bed, and now it was just them, alone in the dim lighting of the Higurashi’s tv room, getting ready for their monthly ritual.

After a few recent close calls in his time, involving some blood loss and bandages on his part, and lots of tears and worry on Kagome’s, Inuyasha had grudgingly agreed to spend his human nights at her home in the future. The decision was heartily supported by Sango and Miroku, who now looked forward to their regular monthly holiday. Kirrara didn’t seem to mind one way or the other, as long as Sango was close by. Only Shippou had initially been disappointed, feeling like he was missing out in some way, but Kagome usually brought him back extra treats, so he’d come to accept it as just the way things were.

Kagome’s family had also quickly embraced the idea of having both Kagome and Inuyasha home on a day they could plan ahead for. It almost felt like a family celebration, even though Inuyasha himself didn’t feel like celebrating much.

He still disliked his human night, there was no getting around that.

Amazing cover art by @mickisketch

The next chapter of Jar of Hearts is up on AO3! Here's a little snippet to whet your appetite. And I might start a tag train for this one, so if you'd like to be added, let me know in the comments!

Just One of Those Things

The next chapter of Jar of Hearts is almost ready - just need to do a little bit of spit and polish on it. In the meantime, have this small offering of very early InuKag, before Shippou, Miroku, Sango and Kirrara joined the crew.

You can also read it here in my Inukag series Dog Tails on AO3 if you prefer.

“C’mon woman, stop draggin’ your heels!”

Kagome pouted at Inuyasha as he glanced over his shoulder at her, unable to stifle her wide yawn. Blearily, she rubbed her eyes, watching him bounding forward again through the cedar trees to sniff out the trail up ahead. He kept pausing every now and then to glance back at her, his expression puzzled.

“Yeah yeah, I’m coming”, grumbled Kagome, shrugging the heavy backpack on her shoulders to shift its weight and almost doing a face plant when she tripped over a stick.

For some reason today, everything felt twice as difficult. She’d woken up with a headache, and she felt like she was swimming against the tide, her movements clumsy and awkward. She didn’t feel ill exactly, but definitely not well – her stomach felt a little off and the area below it felt weird, like she’d overstretched some muscles maybe.

She’d almost caught up with Inuyasha when a sudden warm trickling feeling between her legs made her halt and freeze.

Oh. Oh no. Oh no no no. This couldn’t be happening. Not out here.

Chapter Three of Jar of Hearts is up on AO3! Here's a little snippet to whet your appetite...

Hey everyone! My Halloween Bang contribution for @inu-spiration has been available on AO3 all day, but I've been at work and we were so busy I wasn't able to put a link here on tumblr. I didn't even get time to stare at this gorgeous art by @mickisketch - doesn't it make you want to weep at how beautiful it is?!

You can read Jar of Hearts on AO3.

The next two chapters are done, and will be posted over the next two weeks. After those are up, I would love to say it will have a regular update pattern, but every time I promise something like that, life taps me on the shoulder and reminds me that my time is not my own. We'll just keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best hmmm?

Kaede chuckled.

“You have to admit, this sudden interest is unusual for you Inuyasha. It wouldn’t happen to have anything to do with the fact that Kagome is a very pretty girl, would it now?”

“No!” he huffed. “Well, maybe just a little. But it ain’t all that! There’s something about her Kaede! I want to help her.” He paced aimlessly up and down, his hands moving rapidly as he spoke. “I just get the feeling that there’s something going on that I don’t understand. Something’s not right. Why haven’t I seen her around the village? She was there on market day, and then she wasn’t around any more. I’ve seen her sister, but not her.”

“Ah.” Kaede sighed. “I am afraid I do not have all the answers for you Inuyasha, although I’m doing my best to find out more. The girls have had a difficult life so far, and each copes with it in their own way, Kikyo by being cold and Kagome by being silent.”

Inuyasha halted his pacing and whipped his head around to stare at Kaede intently.

“What do you mean, ‘being' silent - Kagome can actually talk!?”

“She could when she was a child, but then something happened. And now she cannot. It is like trying to speak chokes her. She has learned to adapt, as you have seen. And often Kikyo speaks for her.”