InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Because Of Little Fish ❯ Blood And Flowers ( Chapter 6 )

 

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha or any of the other characters. I have, however, created a new character that's not me that I've added to spice things up a bit. Have fun!

 

 

 

chihiro-san: I'm going to try to write more, but the more I write, the closer to the finish I get. I'll try to extend it, but I just don't know how to make it longer…oh well. Merry Christmas. Happy Kwanza. Have a good Hanukah. Whatever.

 

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As the jewel hunters reached the end of the very foreboding forest, a cute, warm, inviting village burst into view. The people seemed to be welcoming to everyone. Kagome couldn't help but smile; it was so nice there. The summer sun was shining down sweetly, making the wooden buildings glow with warmth. The smell of wildflowers was thick on the air. Inu Yasha wrinkled up his sensitive nose as they stepped gingerly through the city gates.

 

“Ulg…it smells so strongly here. It's like getting a rose shoved up my nose.” He made a face to Miroku, who merely smiled.

 

“Where there are flowers, there are women. Do not complain.” Kagome and Sango rolled their eyes behind the boys and placed their bets on just how many times Miroku would be slapped. Shippo would have bet too, but he had lost all of his spare change on the last `slapping pool'. Suddenly, an over-enthusiastic young woman popped up in front of them. She handed Miroku a bouquet of flowers and smiled at them all.

 

“Hiii! My name is Tinsawa and I'd like to welcome you to our little village: Fel-tartara.” A strangely large smile was plastered on her face, and if Kagome didn't know any better she'd say that the girl was what was plastered. Inu Yasha raised a questioning eyebrow at her, as if sizing her up.

 

“And what's a Fel-tartara?” he asked. The woman giggled in a high-pitched voice. Suffices to say, everyone was more than a little annoyed by her `perkiness'.

 

“Not a Fel-tartara! Just plain Fel-tartara! This village is famous for its intoxicating perfumes.”

 

“That explains the stench,” Inu Yasha spat. The girl's face became a bit sour, but morphed back into naïve happiness.

 

“You're just not used to it. Oh, I forgot to mention! My father is the peacekeeper of this village and he requests that all newcomers stay at the palace on their first night. If you would please follow me…” She turned on her heels and began to skip down the dusty road and towards an enormous, looming, almost unfriendly palace. It was almost like an oversized mausoleum. It was carved into the mountain it rested on. Everything was a highly polished white marble. As the troupe ascended the fifty-some steps to the top, Sango gripped Miroku by the arm.

 

“Something doesn't feel right,” she whispered.

 

“I agree, but this is a flower town; it's harmless.”

 

*

 

“Father, I would like to present the newcomers.” Tinsawa bowed and stepped aside. When she did, a small, withered man was revealed. He was seated in a lotus position on a bamboo mat in the center of the large marble hall. The ceiling was arched and high. White pillars twisted upwards to hold the roof. The man seemed very weak and could barely lift his eyes to acknowledge the hunters.

 

“My lord, thank you for having us stay under your roof.” Miroku said, bowing politely. The man nodded his head ever so slightly.

 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Thanks a lot, but we're looking for someone,” Inu Yasha interjected. “She's a fr-she's someone that we know and we thought that she might have passed by here earlier this morning. I don't know if you saw her, but she has black hair like Kagome's and yellow eyes like mine. Her name's Grevaria.” Something glittered in the old man's eyes when her name was mentioned, but no one noticed the sudden change.

 

“Grevaria? Strange name. Can't say that I've seen her, but she might turn up if you rest here awhile. Please, make yourselves at home. Tinsawa! Show them to their room.”

 

His daughter led them through many hallways until she found the right room. As with the décor of the place, it was all done in red tapestries and white marble. How bland. Inu Yasha noted that five mats, pillows, and blankets had been laid out. Tinsawa bowed and left them to their own devices.

 

“This is going to be a long night,” Sango muttered.

 

*

 

The night air was as thick as tree pitch. Everything smelled strongly of assorted flowers. The town was as quiet as the grave and twice as still. The jewel hunters just couldn't take it.

 

“Kagome? Are you awake?” Shippo asked.

 

“Yes. I think we all are. What's wrong Shippo?”

 

“I don't like it here.” He hugged her close and buried his face into her shoulder. Maternal instincts kicking in, Kagome wrapped her arms around him and placed her chin on his head.

 

“It's okay. I'm here.” Silence fell over them once again. Through their window Kagome could see thousands of stars and, like a shimmering jewel, the moon. She sighed and turned over. The tapestry swayed slightly in the breeze, then stopped. It seemed that the colors flowed together so seamlessly. They melted together in a beautiful work of art and almost dripped off of the wall. Suddenly, Kagome sat bolt upright. The colors were dripping off of the wall.

 

“I-Inu Yasha?!” she half-shrieked. The hanyou was already alert and on his feet.

 

“What? What is it?” She lifted a quaking hand and pointed to the wall. He did a double take, staring at the scarlet liquid that was once the tapestry. Nearing it cautiously, he stuck out a finger, dragged it across the liquid, and brought it up to his nose.

 

“Blood,” he snorted, wiping his hand off on his kimono.

 

“B-b-blood?” Shippo echoed.

 

“I thought so.” Everyone turned and looked at Miroku. They didn't expect him to speak up. He was at the window, looking across the courtyard in a resolute way.

 

“What do you mean, `you thought so'?” Inu Yasha growled.

 

“The signs were right in front of my face…and I was blind enough to ignore them.”

 

“What signs?” The group was now huddled together by the window, staring at the thousands of flowers below them.

 

“For starters, do you know why the smell of flowers is so strong here?”

 

“Because they make perfume?” Kagome asked feebly.

 

“No. It is to mask the smell of death.” Miroku was frighteningly serious. “Another thing that dully caught my attention was the types of flowers here.”

 

“What do you know about flowers?” Sango queried.

 

“Plenty. My mother had a small plot of land, when I was a child, on which she kept many types of flowers. I tended them with her when I had time, and she taught me the meanings of many different species. You see there?” He pointed out different patches of flowers as he named them. “Snapdragons: Deception, and those yellow roses and hyacinths are symbols of jealousy. Next to them are crimson roses, the flowers of mourning. The clumps near the eastern wall are orange mock and poppies. Now, the orange mock means deceit while the poppy means eternal sleep. In that corner are orange lilies for hatred and marigolds for cruelty and grief. And now that I think about it…that bouquet that Tinsawa handed me was made of monkshood and oleander. It was as plain as telling me `take caution: a foe is near.'” Through this, Inu Yasha's eyes had glazed over while the other's had been wide with fear. No one dared to speak, except for a certain flea who just happened to show up.

 

“You are a bright one, Miroku. Quite right on all floral accounts.” Myoga said.

 

“Now you show up! Fine time, bug!” Inu Yasha growled.

 

“Please, please. I just now remembered: Fel-tartara is the name of The Garden of Hell.”

 

“You just now remembered?” the hanyou droned.

 

“Yes, just now. A thousand apologies, Master Inu Yasha.”

 

“A FINE TIME TO REMEMBER!” He was about to squish the little flea when a strange thing happened. His voice reverberated throughout the peaceful town, bouncing off of walls and windows. As if snuffed out by a gigantic hand, the moon disappeared, leaving nothing but starlight. Everyone turned to Inu Yasha, half-expecting him to change into his human form. Oddly enough, he didn't.

 

“What's going on?” Sango asked the darkness. They were answered by the soft sound of something falling on the floor. A flower had been tossed through the window, landing at Inu Yasha's feet. He bent over and picked it up with a clawed hand. It was an orange lily. As if drawn to the window by some force unknown, he stepped lightly to it and looked down. There in the center of the courtyard was Grevaria.

 

“Come down, my dear. Come down and face your death,” she called. Her voice was strangely calming. A soft, glazed smile crept over Inu Yasha's face as he leapt up onto the window sill. He landed noiselessly in a bed of marigolds and straightened up.

 

“Yes, my sweet. Death awaits.” She beckoned him with her voice and hands, almost like she was pulling him to her with an invisible rope, and he did nothing to resist her. It was all too much for the group. Everyone turned and made a mad dash for the door; everyone but Kagome, that is. If they ran down there through all of those hallways they'd never get there in time to save Inu Yasha. Mustering up all of her courage, she climbed onto the sill, took aim, and leapt into the air. She sailed outwards a little ways, and then dropped straight down, landing right on top of the dazed half-breed. Dust swirled about them, sent up from the impact. As Grevaria's spell wore off of him, Inu Yasha began to convulse and groan in pain. Finally, when the dust settled, so did he.

 

“Wha? Kagome, why are you sitting on me?” he spat.

 

“I had to stop you. You were about to be killed and you weren't doing a thing about it.” He shoved her off and stood up.

 

“What are you talking about?” It seemed, though, that after looking around he knew exactly what she was talking about. Instead of seeing the room that they were sleeping in he saw the courtyard and a familiar face by the center fountain.

 

“Grevaria,” he growled.

 

“Again we meet, and for the last time.”

 

“The last-what?! Grevaria, what's wrong with you?!” She smiled wickedly and unsheathed a sword that hung unnoticed by her side. She slowly advanced on him, murmuring under her breath, eyes closed. Suddenly they shot open glowing a fiery orange. She snarled at him and swung the sword fruitlessly. He dodged it easily, laughing as he stepped aside.

 

“What was that? You missed me!” he barked.

 

“I wasn't aiming for you,” she hissed. Realization dawned as his gaze whipped over to Kagome. She was lying in a crumpled heap on the white marble walkway. Her crimson blood was a stark contrast to the unfriendly stone under her.

 

“Kagome!” he yelped, dashing over to her. He knelt by her side and flipped her over. She was unconscious with a large gash across her chest. Blood gently pulsed from the wound and dribbled onto the ground. Just then, the doors of the palace flew open as Miroku, Sango, Kirara, and Shippo bounded out. They immediately flew to Inu Yasha's side without a passing glance to Grevaria.

 

“Take her!” Inu Yasha growled, handing Kagome over to Miroku. “If she dies, I'll kill you!”

 

“Dully noted,” the monk said. The hanyou turned to face his opponent, but found that she was gone. He looked uneasily around the courtyard, searching for her.

 

“Looking for me?” He whipped around and saw that on top of the stone fountain stood Grevaria.

 

“Why are you doing this?! TELL ME!” he demanded. She leapt off of her precarious perch and rushed at the half-demon, sword raised.

 

“I'll tell you when you're DEAD!”

 

 

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chihiro-san: A bit more than normal. Yayers. I'm sorry y'all, but I'm getting sick. Ugh. Okay, this is how sick I was: I only saw the first ten minutes of The Lord of the Rings: the Return of the King because I felt nauseous and had to leave. Holy crap! I'd NEVER leave an opportunity to see Orlando Bloom, so you can tell how sick I felt! Ah well. It makes me depressed, which makes me write better. It's a win/lose thing. Ta ta y'all.