Chapter 2: Things Aren't Always What They Seem
Sahara held the bow and arrow with perfect poise. Though, she had had a lot of practice. Shaking her head to rid herself of the hairs tickling her nose, took a last look at her target, and let the arrow go.
She saw with grim satisfaction the look on Inuyasha's face, a mixture of confusion, pain, and anger, as the arrow slamed into his chest. The next thing she heard were the cries of his friends, and she felt the stares towards the tree she stood apon. Sahara blinked, and the images, sounds, and feelings melted away, showing that she had indeed shot the arrow, but a sudden gust of wind had blown it off course and it hit a tree on the other side of the meadow. She also saw that Inuyasha was rapidly growing closer to her.
Fleeing her shelter, she took off, flying between the tree trunks and gradually gaining altitude. Sahara chanced a look back, and saw Inuyasha closing in on her. Since her head was turned the other way around, Sahara didn't see the tree until it was too late. She did, however, fly to the right of it missing the trunk, but hitting the end of the branch. 'Enough of this!' Sahara thought, as she crashed out of the canopy of the trees, and flew off towards the nearby mountains.
"What happened, Inuyasha?" Sango yelled, as she, and Miroku and Kagome started running towards him.
"Someone tried to shoot me with an arrow, but missed. I was chasing It."
"Why do you say 'It'? It could have been Kikyo." Miroku said.
"I say 'It', pervert, because I found this on a branch 'It' crashed into." Inuyasha held up a piece of leathery skin. Shippo, who was on Kagome's shoulder, quickly grabbed it out of Inuyasha's grasp.
"It looks like a piece of bat wing..." Shippo explained as he examined it.
"We should leave here... I think Kaede has enough herbs." Kagome stated.
Thunder rolled overhead, as Sahara landed on a cliff. She knelt at the edge of the mountain face, examining her wing. "Stupid branch..." She muttered. 'No... Stupid me, for daydreaming that I had hit the target.' Sahara thought angrily as she looked out over the forest slowly climbing up the mountain.
"I take it that you failed me." Sahara slowly turned around, and saw with visible disgust the face of Naraku's babboon suit. "You don't look that happy to see me... Why is that, Sahara?" She just turned her back to him, looking back over the woodland. "I thought you might, as I have what you want." Sahara whipped around, in time to see Naraku pull out an intricate rose from beneath his cloak. But the strangest thing about it, was that the stem was made of some unidentifiable, blacker than night, gems molded together, with black leaves along with it. The bud of the rose, was just blooming. It was made out of what seemed to be silver, and had pieces of quartz spotted all over the blossom. But what amazed Sahara, was that the last time she had seen this gem-rose was about a month ago, when it was just a growing seed.
"Please, let me have it... PLEASE!" Sahara begged desperately, now layin on the ground at Naraku's feet. Thunder sounded again, and rain started to fall.
"You failed me, Sahara. However, I shall give you another chance. But fail me again, and you will never get the Devils Rose." And with that, Naraku vanished into thin air. Sahara slowly got up from the ground, and walked back to the brink of the cliff. She stared out over the forest, her hair and clothes now matted against her body. Sahara continued looking out over the ledge. Looking, but not seeing, as her tears mixed with the rain.
And thats all folks!
Oh, and so the story isn't confusing, the legend of the Devils Rose is below...
The legend, goes something like this. There is one being in the world, that is tied to the Devils Rose. The Devils Rose starts out as a seed. If that one being suffers a great loss in his or her life, the Devils Rose starts to grow. If the being finds the Devils Rose before it grows, wilts, and dies, they are given the chance to get back what they have lossed. The total time for the Rose to die, is about two months.
As you may have guessed, Sahara is the one being tied to the Devils Rose.
Lady Quinn