Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or anything having to do with that series. Darn. I do, however, own the character(s) I made up for this story, so no touchy.

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New Lilies

By Alexa Gray

Ch. 3

Stupid people. Stupid, stupid people. 'Who do they think they are, hiding from me like this?!' Sayuri thought angrily at the grass wet with morning dew, staring at it from her comfortable position high in a tree. She had been searching for an entire two days and still nothing! She had always assumed that it would be rather easy to find them, but she was evidently wrong about that. The non-stop rush was killing her, and if she didn't see them soon she was going to do something crazy.

Sayuri took a deep breath through her nose. Hmm. The clearing below her had been inhabited only a short time ago. Some humans, and (sniff sniff) a youkai or two. Nothing worth noting. As she began packing up to move on again, she found a familiar scent. It was a scent from memory, and it was different, but there was no mistaking it. Sango. She took it in eagerly, taking a piece of home into her nose. And what's that? Miroku, too! Yes, yes, she had found them!

She took off, following those delicious scents from her past to the source. The trail was somewhat old and she lost it in places, but she would only pick it up once again.

"What a bloodhound I am!" she giggled.

This took some time, but since she ran while her prey apparently walked, she knew she would eventually catch up. 'Yes,' her heart sang, she would catch up with them soon. This much sprinting did not hurt her much; unshakeable joy filled her every bone and urged her on.

The unfamiliar jumbled with the well-loved scents, and Sayuri halted on a lonely old road. They reached a crescendo here. Oh, they're near, so very near. But where? She felt herself becoming very anxious-what would she say? What would they say? She had pieced together a story to tell them, but what if they saw the lie in her eyes? No, they wouldn't. After all, it was basically true, even if it misled them. But (and this was a new worry) would they even like her? 'No,' she chastised herself. 'Of course they will.right?'

Somehow Sayuri pushed away all of this to concentrate. 'Where is it?' She turned left, right, walked to either side of the path, sniffing the entire time. Finally, she groaned in frustration. 'Why can't I pinpoint it?! It must be my nerves.' She huffed and sat where she was. Her sense of smell had never failed her before; she realized her emotions must really be out of control. She simply had to calm down, as Miroku would say, or she couldn't accomplish what she wished to do. She took a deep breath and tried to loosen up.

"THERE!" she exclaimed, leaping up and pointing into the shady forest to the right, then dashing toward it without hesitation. Securing her bag on her shoulder, she scanned for visual confirmation. Was that shape a person over there?! 'No, just a squirrel . . .' was her last thought as she ran square into a tree trunk and hit the damp ground unconscious.

* * * * *

A cool touch through the darkness. It wasn't dark for long, however, and soon blazing light was beating its way into Sayuri's eyes. She hissed at the sudden light, as well as the stinging liquid being pressed on her forehead. She almost smacked the hand away before even stopping to consider who it might be.

"I know it hurts," came a pleasant-sounding voice. "But it'll make this cut heal faster."

"Ung?!" she frantically tried to adjust her eyes to identify the dark silhouette against the sun. It was leaning over her with a hand dabbing something on her face. Her heart skipped. Then again. She could make out an angel's face through her grogginess. She raised a hand to touch the angel's heavenly white cheek, whispering almost inaudibly, "Is it really you?"

"Huh?" She drew back with a confused look. "Do I know you?"

She felt tears make their prickly entrance, but held them back as she realized: Yes. Yes, it was she. Her angel mother. Sayuri brought herself up on her elbows, staring at her kind face as she leaned back. Her breaths came uneven and quick. She felt like burying herself in this stranger's embrace, drinking in her sweet unfamiliar scent for eternity.

But no. "No, you don't know me," she replied, her voice deceptively steady. "I'm sorry. You just look like someone I used to know."

She lost her puzzlement and smiled. Oh, what a beautiful smile. Sayuri sat up and looked about. If she continued to look at her angel she would give in to her childish impulses. A creek flowed merrily beside her, and a breeze stirred the grass all around her. This small field was exceedingly picturesque, with wildflowers blooming every color despite the blinding heat.

For the first time, she noticed other people standing and sitting near her. On the opposite side of her kind caregiver sat a kitsune child watching her curiously 'Hmm. Shippou really doesn't look much different,' thought Sayuri. Then she turned to an odd pair sitting beside each other on a newly fallen tree: a wise-looking young monk seeming to give all his attention to the girl sitting on the ground while actually looking at his companion from the corner of his eye, and the pretty young woman holding a gigantic boomerang behind her and keeping her wary gaze on his hands. Sayuri wanted to giggle seeing Miroku and Sango like this, and so young. Farther from them stood a boy, perhaps a few years older than her. 'No,' Sayuri corrected. 'He's a man.' She knew his appearance well, for he haunted her every dream in what she thought he looked like. But no vision could have prepared her for the real thing.

The man's long hair looked as careless as the breeze that lifted it, shining like the moon on a fat, lazy night. He had his arms crossed and wore a scowl on his handsome face, but Sayuri's fingers twitched with the desire to touch him and know he was real. Clothes the color of blood wrapped his slender form in courage, completed by a sword at his side. But his eyes.Oh, his eyes. The most magnificent part of this magnificent creature. Glory and rage colored their sparkling depths gold, while a most intense sorrow teemed deep within, countered by joy the likes Sayuri had never seen: it was wild, young, reckless, but so very distrustful. The eyes distrusted anything they saw, as if it would take away their precarious happiness.

Sayuri thought she knew what made him happy.

But before she could ponder further, there was a red blur and she found herself held roughly by her shirtfront and lifted from the ground by a very angry looking dog-demon. A cry lodged itself in her throat as she grabbed his hand and tried vainly to pry him off while her feet searched sightlessly for something to stand on.

"Why were you following us?" was his deadly snarl.

"I-" she choked out.

He shook her, repeating, "Why?! Answer me!"

She struggled to speak, for his grasp on her felt as if it were slowly strangling her.

"SIT!"

Without warning Sayuri was suddenly standing on solid ground again looking down at her assailant facedown in a body-shaped hole. Muffled curses found their way into the air.

The angel stood as well, and gave her an apologetic smile. "Sorry about Inuyasha. He's a real jerk sometimes." She turned to her still-swearing victim. "I can't believe you could just pick on a kid like that! And he's hurt, too!"

As soon as he was able to, Inuyasha got to his feet and began yelling again. "Didn't you hear what I said, wench?! This 'kid' has been following us for a few days now!" he glared and lowered his voice to a growl. "A lackey of Naraku's, I'll bet."

Sayuri took a step backward. She had never imagined this would happen. She hid her claws behind her back, wincing at the same time; even if she had remembered to put her bandages on, Inuyasha could probably smell her demon blood a mile away.

"Now, now, Inuyasha," Miroku spoke up for the first time, his smooth voice very welcome with Sayuri. "Calm down." He stood and came closer to her. "What is your name?"

"Katsu," she answered reflexively.

"I am sure that Katsu means us no harm. After all, do you sense any Shikon shards on him, Kagome?"

Kagome paused, then shook her head. Sayuri made a mental note to make certain to think of her that way, so that she did not slip and address her as 'Miss Angel' or some similar nonsense.

"And does he seem the type that Naraku would employ, Inuyasha? After all, we only found him at all because he was knocked out by a tree. A stationary, obvious object. I'm sure Naraku would set his standards a bit higher than Katsu."

Sayuri didn't like what he was implying at all, but she was certainly glad he was doing it. Good, good Miroku-always the voice of reason. He had settled many a squabble among his children.

Inuyasha seemed to concede on that point, but argued, "That still doesn't explain why he was following us," he told Miroku, eyes still on at Sayuri.

'Here is where my story comes into play,' she thought. "You are Inuyasha, correct?" she said out loud, making some polite gestures.

"Yeah. Whaddya want from me?"

"I have heard that you are seeking that dreg of humanity Naraku, and I seem to be right." Sayuri had never said his name before this, but it left a bad taste in her mouth, and she narrowed her eyes in loathing at the sound. "You see, before I was born." she paused, trying to calm down. If her heartbeat quickened or if she began to sweat anymore than what was reasonable in this weather, Inuyasha would know she was at least misleading them. "Before I was born, Naraku killed my father. I think it was heartbreak that killed my mother."

Kagome gave a small exhale heavy with pity. "I'm sorry," she said softly.

Sayuri glanced up from the ground to look at her. "Sorry? It's not your fault." But she could tell Inuyasha grew more impatient with each passing moment, so she continued: "Well, now that I am grown, I want revenge for what was taken from me before I could appreciate it. I thought that I could have a better chance with a group, so that is why I sought you out. I didn't come to you right away because I wanted to be cautious. With good reason, I see now," she chuckled nervously, rubbing her neck.

Inuyasha's scowl didn't fade.

"Heh heh. Anyway, I want to humbly ask if I could join your mission to slay Naraku."

Crossing his arms, Inuyasha responded with a short "No."

Sayuri felt her face contort into a ridiculous expression of shock and sputtered, "What?! Why?!"

He snorted. "Hate to be the one to break it to you, but you aren't grown, kid. You wouldn't stand a chance. Besides, this ain't no club. You can't just come up and join whenever the hell you feel like it. We all got our problems, but you don't see me cryin' about mine, do ya?"

Shaking her head in slight annoyance, she held her clawed hands up. "Where do you think I came from? I have been protecting myself all this time, sir."

He grabbed one hand and touched a claw with his fingertip, as if testing their authenticity. "Youkai, are you? Well, that may be so, but like I said, this ain't no club. And you can't expect us to look out for you, ya know? Why should I protect someone I don't even know anyway?"

"Hell no!" Sayuri heard herself shout "Hell no! I've been looking for you for three years out of my short life, and you tell me 'this ain't no club'?!" There was no way that Sayuri was going to let this guy walk all over her like she was some child and get away with it. She stomped up to him and, though she was a half a head shorter, found a way to get face to face with him. "Let me tell you something," she said, her voice dripping venom. "I could have been at home. No, I was looking for you. I could have been with friends. No, I was alone, thinking about the day I would join you and hunt that bastard down like the dog he is. I could have been protected. No, I was fighting youkai for my life left and right, knowing that someday, I was gonna find you and it would all be worth it." She paused, and quieted. "But apparently you aren't who I thought you were."

Inuyasha scoffed, seemingly unfazed. "And who did you think I was?"

"A hero," she replied softly, and began walking away.

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Author's Note: I realized that calling Sayuri a hanyou was just plain lazy, so I changed that. Even if you have reviewed before, do it again. I really, really like those things.