Kaya's Story (An InuYasha Fanfic)

Chapter 106: The Flowers of Sorrow

It had started raining when we were travelling, so when the sun finally came out again it was a relief. I felt like the weather had decided to fit the mood. Shortly after the sun came out, Miroku suggested we take a short break, much to InuYasha's annoyance, even if the break was for him. Honestly, though, with us traveling and having a goal, he had his mind somewhere other than Lady Kikyo. I was pretty sure that if we stopped his mind would wander, much like mine had for the past few days. I was worried about him because I knew he wasn't as okay as he was letting on. As I was thinking this, I caught a sweet smell that made me want to run in the complete opposite direction. It was so sweet it was almost sickening, in more ways than one. Shippo had begun sneezing when we approached a field of pink flowers surrounding a small village. A second later, Kirara began sneezing as well, just before several villagers showed up and offered us a room for the night because it was almost dusk. Our human companions promptly accepted, leaving us behind to follow the villagers.

As much as I enjoy staying in an inn from time to time, tonight I would have rather stayed in the forest. At least the scent of these flowers wouldn't be there. The villagers told us the hut we were staying in was set up just for travelers and told us to make ourselves at home. InuYasha and I both agreed that sitting around made things worse. Again, I'd much rather be doing anything but staying here. At this point, though, I wasn't sure it was just the scent of the flowers. I felt like something was seriously wrong and the feeling just kept getting worse as the scent of the flowers grew stronger. It kept InuYasha and me from sleeping much, that and our thoughts. Kagome woke up and told InuYasha that he needed to get some rest because he hadn't been sleeping much. That was true, to be honest, we had been staying up and keeping each other company even if it was just a mutual silence. It was going to be a long time before InuYasha was okay, again. I knew that from experience I wish I didn't have. Soon, Shippo woke up with a sneeze larger than some adults make and explained his eyes were itchy along with what was going on with his nose. He was allergic to these weird flowers, yet another reason I wanted to leave. InuYasha and Kagome began talking about the weirdness of the village, not just the flowers but the fact that they built a hut just for travelers in such a small village. I agreed, this entire village felt weird. That feeling of weird got worse when we heard movement outside. I stood up and stood just behind InuYasha so I could look outside. A group of villagers were standing in the flowers and their bodies became loosely and randomly wrapped in vines. While this was happening, the began to shed what looked like tears of blood. Sango and Miroku woke up shortly after and Kagome asked what we needed to do. In response, Miroku opened the door and threw several sutra charms at the vines causing the vines and the surrounding flowers to disintegrate. When we got to the villagers, they had turned to soil. The headman, I was assuming, walked up, and said they would be great for his flowers. The villagers that had survived called him the flower prince and said they were sad they couldn't become soil. I growled. He had somehow brainwashed all of these villagers so they would want to feed these flowers. InuYasha realized what was happening, but it was too late. We had already been around the flowers for too long not to be exposed. Breathing in the scent now wouldn't make much a difference. All of a sudden, Sango said Kohaku's name and collapsed. Somehow, this guy could read our minds, no, he could read our hearts. I had heard the villagers saying something about it helping their soul. This guy was a demon who used humans to feed his precious flowers, but what the flowers were for I wasn't sure. During this thought, InuYasha unleashed a wind scar but the demon escaped, leaving behind a small pool of blood. InuYasha said he was going after the demon alone, Miroku, Kagome, and I protested, but he still wouldn't let us go with him. I wasn't just going to stand around though, so I went with him anyway. He didn't protest as much as I was expecting. I just didn't want him going off on his own and doing something more reckless than normal. We hadn't gone very far when Kagome caught up to us and InuYasha put her on his back. I honestly felt much better having Kagome around, just in case.

We followed the scent of the 'flower prince' to a palace on the outskirts of the village. He explained that he wanted to lure us here and the blood was his invitation. The vines that we had seen earlier were used to absorb the pain and sorrow within peoples' hearts. Something InuYasha had a lot of right now, like Miroku had said before we came to this palace. As the demon talked, InuYasha began to get covered in the vines much like the villagers had, rendering him unable to move. Unfortunately, I was starting to get to that point, so I shot a sacred arrow in between us but it only destroyed the flowers and vines around me. This happened just in time for InuYasha to get sucked into a pool of what looked like blood. After that, InuYasha and the flower demon disappeared. "Kagome, stay here," I stated. "What are you going to do?" Kagome questioned. "I'm going after him, even with the flowers I know InuYasha's scent too well to lose it now. Just stay here and keep the beads on, they will protect you. I'll bring him back, I promise," I told her before running into the palace.

Now this is at the top of my dumb ideas, but it couldn't be helped. I wasn't going to let some half-wit demon get the best of InuYasha. As I ran through the palace, vines much bigger than the ones mixed in with the flowers tried to grab me. This was one of the few times I was happy I was half-priestess. I finally found the demon and InuYasha, who was wrapped tightly with vines that were holding him to a column. Tears of blood were slowly falling down his cheeks, just like the villagers. "Release him," I growled with my bow pointed at the demon. "You have much pain and sorrow, just like him. It seems the woman he mourns is the same woman you mourn, but for different reasons." "That is none of your damn business. I do mourn her, but it's not going to keep me from saving InuYasha," I stated as I shot an arrow at the floor to clear the flowers. It didn't last long, though. "Those are not the only ones you mourn. Your soul has seen so much heartache, I'm surprised you are living with all of it." "Shut up!" I released an arrow in the direction of the demon but missed and it hit the wall behind him. Just as the arrow hit the wall, the palace rumbled. The palace rumbled a second time and I heard Kagome's voice yell InuYasha's name. I was confused because it came from outside the palace. "She can't get in. There is a barrier that keeps out unwanted visitors," The demon explained. He said unwanted visitors which means he already knew about the pain I had caused and suffered because of the vines outside. I had another arrow ready to be released in his direction, but at the last minute, I turned and shot the vines at InuYasha's feet before turning around and shooting at the demon as well. "InuYasha, wake up, please. Kagome needs you," I told him. No movement. "It's too late, this man's heart is no longer in this world," the demon stated. The vines had wrapped around my legs and half-way up my body, but I wasn't going to back down. I released another arrow to dissipate the vines again, but it didn't work, "InuYasha, please, come on." The demon gasped and I saw InuYasha's hand move, just before he broke through the vines and punched the demon square in the face. InuYasha punched the demon in the stomach and vines began to wrap around his arm. The demon then pierced InuYasha's chest with a smaller vine that I severed with my claws just before a bright light caused the demon to disappear. InuYasha took off running with me right behind him, he was determined to get to Kagome. Who, by the time we got outside, had been wrapped in vines. Kagome fell into InuYasha's arms when he reached her, and the demon said that Kagome was suffering more than InuYasha. When the demon tried to explain her suffering, he stopped and Kagome spoke, the vines gone from her body. She fired an arrow, then another, telling the demon off with every shot. She looked so much more powerful, than normal. A side of her we rarely see, her love for InuYasha giving her the strength to overcome the influence of the flowers. We lost track of the demon until it came to attack Kagome head-on, an attack that InuYasha foiled with Tetsusaiga. After the demon was dead, the flowers began to disappear. We walked out of the palace and I suddenly felt like a third wheel, "I'm going to go see if the others are okay." With that I took off towards the hut we had stayed in.