InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Egypt Bound ❯ Al--Layl fil Qahira Part 2 ( Chapter 13 )

Chp. 13 Al-Layl fil Qahira Part 2

Approximately 6:00 pm In Kagome's Suite-Before Sunset

Kagome admired the lush garden of Ezebekieh before her as she leaned on the iron balcony rail. `This must be what the Garden of Eden looked like, ` she mused to herself. It was hard to imagine that such a green place existed in such a sun-scorched land; it was as if Nature decided to concentrate all of her effort into creating this little paradise in the sprawling metropolis that was Cairo. She especially liked the fragrant jasmine vines that would send their scent every time she caught a breeze. Perhaps she would ask Sango to take a stroll with her to admire the swaying palms, the blood-red hibiscus, the grape-like wisteria that hung over bowers, and the shady sycamores that looked perfect for picnicking under. Kagome observed the couples walking arm-in-arm between the hedges, the groups playing at lawn bowling, and the Roman fountain, whose statue was indiscernible from the third floor. Out of the corner of her eye, something silvery white appeared. She directed her attention to it and saw that her object of interest was not moving in the same manner as before-it was staring right at her. She pretended to not notice his momentary gaze. 'Okay, maybe I'll give him one look-but that's all he gets! He should be lucky he's getting that much the rude little…' She shifted her gaze downward and met his. He looked away as his assistant came jogging across the lawn with a leather satchel full of notebooks. The assistant perchanced to glance upward and notice Kagome. He waved and she returned the gesture. He then said something to Inuyasha which must have hit a nerve, because Inuyasha thumped him on the back of his skull. Kagome giggled as Inuyasha dragged his now-injured assistant by the collar into the hotel. Behind her, she heard a door shut and promptly turned around to find Sango in the room.

"Sango, what time is it?" Kagome asked.

"About ten past six, and high time you got dressed Missy," the former replied.

"Don't you have to dress for supper as well? You are eating with us, aren't you?" Kagome inquired.

"Lord no! I'll be serving at your table---I don't believe I'm allowed to dress for dinner---that would undermine your position, wouldn't it? We've got to keep up appearances, don't we?" Sango exclaimed.

"I suppose you're right, as usual, " Kagome sighed, not happy that her friend had to miss out on all of the fun. "So what should I wear?" Sango shuffled around in her trunks and pulled out a cap-sleeved, empire-waist gown of deep crimson with a jet bead overlay (A/N: Think like Kate Winslet's dress in Titanic).

"How about this one?" she asked, holding up the dress. Kagome eyed it cautiously. "Don't you think it's a bit too low-cut?" questioned Kagome.

"Not for your purposes, me dear," Sango joked. Kagome relented and removed her tea gown that she had since changed into. After much corset hooking and cursing on Kagome's part, Sango finally helped her into the crimson-beaded confection. For some reason Kagome couldn't fathom, Sango was taking extra care with her toilette for tonight's dinner. She gave Kagome's hair a few extra strokes with the brush to make it shiny as she swept it up in an elegant coiffure, added an extra coat of mascara to enlarge Kagome's almond-shaped eyes, and took special pains with the rouge and lip varnish; even the jewelry was opulent: she chose a cranberry glass soiree choker that Kagome's mother had gotten at an estate sale a few years back. By 7:30pm, Kagome looked and felt more glamorous than she had ever felt in her life. She gazed at her reflection on the mirror and spoke over her shoulder to Sango, "Sango! You've outdone yourself! Why? Why now rather than on the ship?" Kagome gave her friend a perplexed look.

"Because now we are under the magnifying glass, and your chances of being found out are more obvious than ever---Shepheard's is crawling with wealthy and influential men who'll notice a new face. I had a chance to talk with some o'the other British staff here, and they say that this here hotel is the place to be seen at. They said that most o' the Brits here are pretty familiar with each other, so that puts more pressure on you to maintain our image." Sango explained.

"Wow, I guess the heat is on, eh?" Kagome smiled. She glanced over at Sango, and said " Shouldn't you freshen up a bit, ol' girl? It wouldn't do for Mr. Miroku to see you all tuckered out, hmm?" Kagome insinuated.

"Whaddyah mean Mr. Miroku?" Sango was taken aback by that last question.

"Oh come on, like his lips weren't plastered to your hand for a good minute or so! I've seen him give you the eye no less than ten times!" Kagome teased. Sango blushed at the thought. Surely that assistant fellow wasn't interested in such a common piece as her! Although, he did let his lips linger on her hand and stole glances from his side mirrors….nah! `He is just another womanizer,' she thought to herself as she selected a clean frock that she normally reserved for when Kaede asked her to serve during dinner back on the ship. It was a plain black muslin dress with a white lace collar; she had remembered to press her apron, which was also lace-trimmed. She stole a few moments in front of the mirror to pull her brown hair into a matronly bun before she took a peek at her pocket watch and noticed it was a quarter to eight and announced that it was time for Kagome's debut. Kagome left the room and made her way down two flights of stairs before she gracefully descended the Grand Staircase flanked by two massive Nubian statues.

"Where the hell is she? If we have to hold up dinner for that broad-" Inuyasha grumbled.

"Inuyasha, be patient! It's not like your food is going to run away on you if we have to wait another minute or two! Besides, I just sent word that we changed our seating from the Terrace to the Moorish Hall-she's probably on her way right-" Sesshomaru was interrupted by the sight of Kagome, accompanied by the very suffragi he sent moments ago. As she walked by the other tables, Sesshomaru noticed that heads were turning in her direction-not a good thing if one was supposed to be under exclusive protection. Inuyasha didn't witness this, as he was concerned with the unwrapping of his silverware at the moment.

"Good Evening gentlemen, " she greeted in a soothing voice. Inuyasha's head shot up as she took the only other seat available-right across from him. `Oh hell no! I have to hear her chatter all night?Waitaminute-is that the same girl? Damn, she cleans up nice!" he observed. She cast Inuyasha a glance that he understood as a "don't you fuck this up for me" type glare. Sesshomaru cracked a smile at her. `Sesshomaru? Smiling? This is rich! I've never seen that happen!' Inuyasha mused.

"Kagome, you are a picture of loveliness tonight, if I may say so myself. Don't you agree, Miroku? Inuyasha?" Sesshomaru was certainly forthcoming with the compliments--- which Kagome found sweet, and for some reason, odd; it seemed like he was playing the same game as Sango. In the meantime, she blushed underneath her rouge. Inuyasha hadn't noticed.

"Indeed, Miss Kagome, you look stunning, doesn't she Inuyasha?" Miroku's voice crescendoed as he elbowed Inuyasha in the ribs. Hard. He felt Kagome's brown eyes shoot proverbial flames as he winced from the elbowing.

"Yeah. Nice," he answered in a voice slightly higher than usual. Kagome smiled brightly. "Thank you gentleman…" she politely responded to the two who complimented first, then turned her head. "…And Inuyasha," she addressed him separately, as if he didn't fit in the gentleman category.

"Keh!" He scoffed at her effort to single him out for ridicule. Kagome noticed that they were short one person: Sango. Apparently, Miroku noticed too.

"Miss Kagome, was your maid to accompany you this evening?" He queried anxiously.

"I believe that she is probably with the rest of the staff, as is Jaken at the moment," Sesshomaru countered. Kagome nodded her head in agreement. Unbeknownst to any of them at the table, Sango had arrived late to the kitchen, as soon as she found a suitable hiding place for the heart scarab. She had a queer feeling about tonight that she dared not tell Kagome. Somehow, in the protection of Sesshomaru she felt more paranoid at the thought that Naraku would strike regardless.

After a succession of three waiters, Sango came out, bearing a platter of tilapia over rice, thus assuaging Kagome's inner fears. Inuyasha devoured his portion as soon as it hit the table, in an attempt to avoid participating in any conversation that didn't concern archaeology. As he continued to chow down, he felt three pairs of eyes on him, and glanced up from his plate.

"What?" he retorted, his mouth still half full.

"I would have thought that for once you could have left your bad manners at home, Inuyasha," Sesshomaru remarked.

"You sonofa-" he spat, as a grain of rice shot across the table and landed on Kagome's bosom.

"Please gentlemen, let's not fight! And Inuyasha, please try to swallow your food, before you speak, hmm?" Kagome reprimanded while she flicked the rice grain off of her chest. `Of course, that would be the one action he chose to notice.' Kagome thought sarcastically as Inuyasha eyed her bosom. `Oh, so now he looks me over… `bout time. He's actually not so bad looking when he's not enraged, " she mused, smirking unintentionally.

"What are you smilin' about wench?" `I guess I spoke too soon…' she said to herself.

"Oh, nothing Mr. Tomuri, nothing at all, " she sighed. To avoid the onslaught of another possible argument, Sesshomaru cleared his throat and decided to speak up.

"How is the excavation going Inuyasha? Find anything of interest yet?"

"Actually, we have. Apparently the burial chamber was usurped," Inuyasha reported.

"Interesting…proceed, " Sesshomaru leaned forward in interest. Inuyasha continued on, "The mastaba originally belonged to an Old Kingdom noble woman named Munnefer, who was interred by her husband Djuhuty around the 6th Dynasty, possibly during Khafre's reign, we're not sure. We still have analysis to do on the visible statuary and it's gonna take us awhile to get all of the debris out of the burial chamber. We're convinced that some of the furniture, grave goods, and ushabtis may still be in the fill we removed from the chambers…"

"What are oo-shaab-tees?" Kagome asked innocently. Sensing that Inuyasha wasn't up for another round of `impromptu Egyptology 101', Miroku jumped in before Inuyasha could answer.

"Ushabtis are miniature carvings or sculptures of servants that are inscribed with magic formulas so that they can work for the tomb owner(s) in the Afterlife. Sometimes a tomb owner has hundreds of ushabtis to make sure that he or she will not have to toil at all in the Afterlife. The owner just needs to invoke the spells on them and they do whatever they are told. " He explained to her.

"So the little statues are supposed to come to life? Really?" Kagome asked inquisitively.

"Well, figuratively yes; but in real-life, no. The ushabtis don't come to life for the deceased until the deceased tomb owner has reached the Afterlife. They're mostly symbolic." Miroku glanced over at Inuyasha, who was looking rather eager to continue the site report. He gave his partner a nod and Inuyasha continued.

"As far as the chambers are concerned, the serdab chamber is relatively intact, and the offering slab was not removed. However, we found something odd-a wooden false door that was commissioned for a man from the 18th dynasty named Huy…" Sesshomaru looked rather perplexed at this development.

"I take it that Huy was the one who usurped the chamber? Or was he just stashed there for the time being?" Sesshomaru asked.

"We are dealing with the possibilities that one, someone put the body there in ancient times to hide it from any enemies he might have had, or two, he was too poor to afford a tomb to be commissioned, so he usurped one he thought was nice-- or both. The tomb was robbed probably no less than a decade ago by professionals. The only things they removed from Huy's mummy was the burial mask and the heart scarab-they left all of the jewelry and amulets in the linen wrapping…" Inuyasha trailed off as he saw Kagome's eyes widen in shock after hearing the words `burial mask' and `heart scarab' in the same sentence. She let out a little gasp and looked over to gauge Sesshomaru's reaction to the find-he looked as unaffected as ever. At the same time, Sango just happened to be picking up some of the empty plates near Miroku; when she heard the same two words, she nearly dropped the two plates she had in her hands. Thankfully, only Miroku, who was peeking at her out of the corner of his eye, witnessed her slip-up, as far as she knew. Sango got a better grip on the plates and hurried back to the kitchen. Kagome saw Sango's hands shaking as she held the plates-this was not good. Kagome tried to lessen her shocked appearance by adopting the same stone-like face of Sesshomaru.

"Sesshomaru, what's going on? Is there something I should know before I continue, or what?" Inuyasha barked. He could be quite perceptive when it came to situations like this, especially when people neglected to tell him important details.

"Do you have an idea of who may have robbed the tomb recently? Did it look similar to the robberies at any of the past sites that you've worked on?" Inuyasha knew Sesshomaru was begging the question.

"Yeah, I think you know who did it. Same type of recovery work we saw at Sheik Abd el Qurna and Beni Hassan. Not typical of your regular village thugs-these guys were specific-a bit too specific, " Inuyasha answered.

"That's what I'd feared. I think someone left that mummy in the chamber intentionally---they knew they were coming back." Sesshomaru replied in a serious tone.

" The burial chamber was filled with broken furniture, and all kinds of debris in the fill; I think the wooden coffin was the only thing in tact. The robbers must have been in a hurry, from the way the wrappings were torn up, " Miroku offered. Sesshomaru furrowed his brow.

"Furniture, you say? Did it look like it had been there awhile?" Sesshomaru inquired, his brow still furrowed.

" We haven't cleared the chamber yet, but the furniture appeared to have been roughly handled-probably when the coffin was brought in or when the thieves ransacked the room, " Miroku hypothesized.

"Why would you ask that, Sesshomaru? Do you know something we don't about the site?" Inuyasha interrogated. Kagome's attention shifted from the men in front of her, to Sesshomaru.

"Because if the mastaba is in fact dated to the Old Kingdom, that room couldn't have possibly excavated far enough to find the burial chamber---"

"What?!?" both men said in disbelief. "Whaddya mean we haven't excavated far enough? Where the hell else would they have stuck a burial chamber? The room was sealed for Chrissakes!" Inuyasha retorted in shock. Sesshomaru continued on.

"It would have been considered a possible burial chamber if the tomb was usurped in the New Kingdom, as you believe…but if you date the mastaba as being built in the Old Kingdom, your purported "burial chamber", would have served as a storeroom for the owners' funerary equipment. The actual burials are probably underneath the chamber or the offering chapel."

Inuyasha, Miroku, and Kagome were flabbergasted. Well, Kagome's shock was more or less due to volume of information she heard spewing forth from the men; Inuyasha and Miroku's shock stemmed from the notion that they assumed that most tomb styles hadn't changed much during antiquity. They had only worked on Middle and New Kingdom sites-Saqqara was new to them and, as they learned from Sesshomaru, much different from anything they've ever encountered.

"Your thieves were probably only specialists when it came to New Kingdom sites, and I'm willing to bet, that they honed their skills in the Theban necropolises-in the very areas I had requested firmans for a few years in advance as a member of the Antiquities department." Sesshomaru reasoned. " I want to check and see if those sites were visited within recent years, and as I recall, you gentlemen are quite familiar with the West Bank. I want copious records of any damage that has taken place---especially in that tomb you two were barred from getting a concession on, you know where it is."

"So we're just supposed to drop what we're doing and go on some wild goose chase to satisfy yer suspicions? Hell no! Our site in Saqqara is gonna be left wide open for any sticky-fingered bastard to waltz right in and take whatever the fuck he wants-is that it?" Inuyasha declared vehemently. That was an archaeologist's nightmare-to leave his site and return to find that all his team's hard work is destroyed.

"Calm down Inuyasha! I'm sure he's not going to leave us in the lurch…at least I hope not," Miroku said. Inuyasha settled back into his chair and rolled his eyes.

"So…was that supposed to be the good news you couldn't wait to tell me?"

"No, not at all. You see, Kagome here has an object that needs your expertise. She also needs to make sure that it doesn't fall into the wrong hands. Kagome, would you like to tell these gentlemen what type of artifact you possess?" Sesshomaru asked, his baritone voice dripping with honey. Two sets of eyes locked on their nervous target, waiting for her to speak. She took a deep breath and said, "A heart scarab. I-It doesn't belong to me, exactly, but to my maid, Sango---I guess you could say she inherited it."

Her audience's jaws dropped once again.

"Holy shit! Are you serious?" Inuyasha exclaimed.

"Completely. That's why we needed Sesshomaru's help," Kagome replied. Inuyasha was taken aback by the last remark.

"Help? What kind of help?" he asked skeptically

" Someone has threatened to kill us if we don't hand over this piece when he asks for it, and Lord Sesshomaru has offered us his protection and assistance, " She stated gravely. "It may very well be the scarab you seek-it was stolen about 12 years ago with a burial mask. Our assailant thinks we have that mask-he has no idea about the scarab," she explained, her gaze shifting downward.

"Miss Kagome, that is terrible. Are you suggesting that we help her and her maid, Sesshomaru?" Miroku asked sympathetically.

"Precisely. They need to be as far away from Hamilton as possible, which is why I made arrangements for Kagome and her maid to accompany the two of you on my private dahabeeyah on your mission to Luxor. I have some investigations of my own to conduct here in Cairo, " Sesshomaru divulged. The two parties in question were at a loss or words.

"My lord! You cannot expect that Sango and I will be left alone with these…with these men! What of our reputations?" Kagome protested.

"Kagome, I believe you agreed to trust me on the arrangements I make for your safety, didn't you?" he countered. Kagome blushed at the thought of their `negotiation', and nodded her head in agreement. "Your reputation will not be tarnished at all, I'll see to that, "he assured her. Inuyasha was struck dumb at the thought of spending days and nights with a woman he had only met that morning. Miroku looked pleased, which Kagome found a bit unnerving.

"Kagome, why don't you escort Inuyasha to the garden for some fresh air, he looks a bit sick, doesn't he Miroku?" Sesshomaru suggested amiably.

"That he does. I'm sure some air would do him good, " Miroku said as he eased his friend's chair out.

"I could use a drink, " Inuyasha stated.

"Nope! No whiskey and sodas for you tonight! A walk will do you wonders! Miss Kagome, will you take his arm and escort him outside?" Miroku instructed. Kagome rose from her chair and took the bewildered archaeologist out towards the Ezebekieh Gardens.

As they strolled along the meandering garden path, Kagome smelled the jasmine vines that she had caught a whiff of earlier on her balcony. She rested her small hand in the crook of his elbow. He waited until they had descended down the path far enough before he dropped her hand like a hot potato.

"I can't fucking believe this! We're stuck together! That bastard!" Inuyasha turned away and pouted.

"Well I'm just as surprised as you are! I was supposed to be on a Cook's Tour until I find out that my maid and I are embroiled in some deadly plot! I was supposed to see Egypt not run from it! What am I going to tell my family when they find out that I was on a private boat with no chaperone and under the protection of a filthy beast!" she whined. Inuyasha abruptly turned around and got right in Kagome's face.

"Filthy beast? At least I'm not some ignorant chit looking for a husband!" he shot back, his fists balled.

"What did you say? How dare you---you have no right to insult me-you animal!" As she raised her hand to slap him, he caught it in mid arc. He heard some voices on the other side of the hedges-one of them sounded vaguely familiar.

"Let go of me! You're hurting my arm!"

"Shhh! Shut-up! Someone's coming!"

"I will do no such thing! Let me go!"

"They'll hear us! Shut the hell up wench!" He could sense the voices getting closer and Kagome wasn't getting any quieter. From what he remembered, the voice in particular didn't portend anything good.

"You have no authority over me! You think that you can just talk to me any way you---" He pulled her against him and smothered her mouth with his own in a fierce kiss. Kagome was stupefied at the sheer boldness of the action. He finally released his lips' hold on hers when he thought he heard the voice on the other side go away. "---want." She gasped as she found herself staring into a pair of glazed-over golden eyes.

"What in the devil was that for?" she raised her voice.

"Shhhh!" Inuyasha put his finger to his lips.

"Don't you Shhhoosh me!" Kagome spat back.

"You wanna bet?" he grinned.

"You wouldn't dare do that again!"

"Oh wouldn't I? Don't test me wench!" Inuyasha heard a `what was that? Is somebody there?' from the other side.

" You make another move like that and I'll---" He was rougher this time and pulled her to his chest, wrapping his arms around her so she wouldn't wriggle away or make more noise. Once again his lips crashed down on hers so passionately that she felt her legs melting out from under her. He was surprised at how impulsively he acted---but if he was gonna shut a woman up, he certainly might as well enjoy it. Kagome lost herself in his feverish kiss and clung to him with her non-restrained arm. His hand wandered up and down her back, unsure of whether it wanted to remain stationary or not. As the voices grew farther and farther out of hearing range, his kiss softened until he [regretfully] loosened his hold on her. `She is beautiful. Annoying as hell but beautiful, ` he thought as he eased his grip on her slender waist. She looked up at him with shining eyes and swollen lips and did the only thing a woman in her position could have done---she slapped him soundly across the face and headed back to the hotel.

"What'd I do?" he asked himself aloud.

A/N: This chapter was soooo hard to write! Had to pull out some of my old Egyptian art history books for this one! I think that someone who reviewed (Bacchus in Vines?) on ff.net asked me how I know so much crap about Egypt, the answer is that I have had a lifelong love-affair with the culture (ancient, for the most part) and I took some seminars and classes in art history. I have actually been there and seen a lot of what I'm talking about-with the exception of Beni Hasan because Antiquities has Middle Egyptian sites closed ! But if you ever get a chance-go! The ppl are soo nice and it's pretty safe-I felt safer walking through Luxor at 2am than I do walking in downtown ATL at 7pm! That's irony for ya!

***Some of you may have wondered if EB was going to be a Sessh/Kagome-it's not! Although I think Sesshomaru is such a bishonen and a kick-ass character, I can't see him and Kagome ending up together. Inu/Kag or Kouga/Kag pairings are the way I swing-although there aren't that many really good Kouga/Kag fics out there-I might write one for the hell of it someday…

***Last chapter's kiss: It was an impulsive move by Sesshomaru, who seems to be more passionate than he lets on. You what they say about still waters running deep…

***** Thank you all sooo much for reviewing!!! On both ff.net and mm.org! For all of those who review ***gives big kisses!!!**** I Love You Guys! If you've read and enjoyed so far…Review! Reviews give me an incentive to write!

***Terms

serdab- Small room in a tomb containing the statue of the owner; a narrow opening in the wall between the serdab and the room where offerings were placed enabled the spirit of the dead to receive offerings.

false door-Carved or painted doorway found in tombs through which the spirit of the deceased could pass through to receive offerings.

Old Kingdom- 3rd thru 6th dynasties, c. 2686-2181 BC

Khafre- aka. Cheops; Has the tallest of the Great Pyramids in Giza.

Al-Layl fil Qahira- A Night in Cairo; Qahira = Cairo in Arabic

suffragi- hotel servant.

mastaba- A rectangular tomb of stone or mud brick. The word is Arabic, and means `bench'.