The Mayu Flower

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from InuYasha (though I wish I did. ).

Chapter 1: The Meeting

The arrow sprang free from the bow with a sharp swish. It glowed with a strange pink light and a note seemed to sing as it flew. Sadly the demon it had been aimed at saw it coming and shrank away from it. The arrow flew past it and hit a tree instead. The archer, a teenage girl with chocolate brown eyes, black hair, and dressed in an odd green skirt and white sweater, frowned but quickly took out another arrow. Nocking it to her bow, she readied it and let it fly again. This time it found its target. The giant lizard demon roared with anger and pain mixed together as the arrow struck its chest. It fell with a crash.

"Yes! I got it!" the girl, Kagome, said with a smile.

"Good aim, Kagome!" Sango, the demon slayer, said, mimicking Kagome's grin. Soon those smiles slid away as the demon came to its feet once more. "How is it still moving?" Beside her, her pet cat demon, Kirara, growled in agreement.

"It's using the power of the jewel shard to heal itself!" a purple clad monk named Miroku explained, the golden rings on his staff clinking.

"No problem, I'll just use my Wind Scar to cut the shard off! Kagome!" said the half dog demon that stood beside them, his thick blade ready in his clawed hands. He had long silvery hair along with a pair of white dog ears that twitched ever so often. His eyes were golden but with pupils of slits and he wore a plain red kimono.

"It's on the tip of its nose!" Kagome replied, lowering her bow and arrow.

Without a moment's pause, InuYasha, the half dog demon, began his run at the lizard. Jumping high into the air so he lingered just beside the demon's head, he yelled with confidence and drew back the sword. "WIND SCAR!" Thrusting the blade down, a powerful wind errupted from it and sliced cleanly across the lizard demon's snout. It let out a shriek as it crumbled to the ground, dead. Without the jewel shard to heal its every wound, it had died easily. InuYasha landed right-footed on the ground, his sword leaning on his shoulder. He approached the demon's nose and stuck his sword into it. Suddenly a tiny light pink shard flew out of it and landed in the dirt and blood.

"We did it!" yipped the young kitsune demon, Shippou as he ran to InuYasha's side. Alongside him, Kagome, Miroku, and Sango hurried to meet InuYasha.

"We? Excuse me, I'm the one who killed it!" InuYasha growled at the kitsune. Shippou gave him an annoyed look but watched Kagome as she carefully took the shard from the ground, purifying it with her touch.

Kagome sighed as she put the shard into the little glass bottle that hung around her neck. Kagome looked to the setting sun for a moment and then blinked as she remembered something. "Oh, I almost forgot! I promised Souta I'd go back home for a couple of days to watch his soccer tournament!"

Miroku nodded. "Lady Kaede's village isn't far away. If we keep going we'll get there before it gets too dark." He flexed the hand with the Wind Tunnel as if the void was suddenly uncomfortable. Suddenly Sango shrieked and slapped the monk hard across his face.

"Keep your hands to yourself, you stupid monk!" she hissed at him.

"You misunderstand, it's the demons inside my Wind Tunnel that are doing it," Miroku said with a tired expression, scratching the red imprint of Sango's hand on his cheek.

InuYasha and Kagome sighed with annoyance and turned towards the direction of the village. It was just to the south of them and could vaguely be seen over the hilltops. As the company went on, the sun sank lower and lower in the western horizon. The last few light were threatening to vanish just as Kaede's village appeared before them. They passed by the little huts and the few people that were still outside. Approaching Kaede's hut, they entered to the delicious auroma of dinner.

"Ah, welcome back," greeted the elder-sounding voice of Lady Kaede as she turned to see them. "I've just made some supper, settle down and have some before it get cold."

After the last scrap of food had been eaten, they got ready for sleep. Shippou curled up beside Kagome as she lay in her sleeping bag and Kirara next to Sango. Miroku had to resolve to sitting as far away from Sango from the demon slayer's constant death glares. InuYasha retired to his favourite corner, his Tetsusaiga proped up against his shoulder. With the last rays of the sun long gone, the company fell into a dreamless sleep..

The following morning...

Light poured into the room, signalling morning. Kagome let out a steady breath and her eyes fluttered open. Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara still slept soundly, but InuYasha was no where to be seen. Carefully getting out of her sleeping back as to not wake Shippou, she stretched her arms with a tiny groan and left the hut. Breathing the fresh morning air in, she looked around, wondering where the hanyou had gotten to.

"About time you wake up, half the day's gone already," said a sudden voice, making Kagome jump half-way into the air. Spinning around, she saw InuYasha sitting on the roof of the hut, arms behind his head and white dog ears twitching with the morning breeze.

"You startled me," Kagome said, hand to her heart. She shook her head. "I figured I'd get up early so I can spend the day with my family, it's been a while since I last saw them. It'd be good to see them again."

InuYasha looked away from her and into the distant hills. "You'll only stay for a day or two, right?" he asked, trying to mask the concern in his voice.

The miko smiled in spite of herself. Under all that pride and stubborness, InuYasha could infact act sweet at times. "Yes, InuYasha. Only two days at the most. I promise." With that, she gave him one last glance and returned to the hut to find the others awake and already making some breakfast.

After they had a small meal, Kagome packed up all her belongings into her yellow backpack and heaved it onto her shoulders. The others walked with her to the well. "I'll see you in a couple of days, then," Kagome said, getting ready to jump into the well with one knee on its edge. She turned her head back to smile at them and give a little wave.

"Bye, Kagome!" Shippou said enthusiasticly as he sat on InuYasha's head, waving brightly.

"Hurry back," Sango added with a light wave.

Kagome smiled one last time and turned back to the darkness of the well. With a grunt, she jumped in. The familiar blue light eveloped her, making her feel weightless. A couple of seconds later, the ground appeared beneath her as well as the sides of the well around her. Landing lightly, she looked up the well and was glad to see the wooden roof of the shrine. Looking in front of her again, she took a firm grip on the ladder that had been made to help her get out of the well easier. Once she reached the top, she heaved herself out with a light grunt. Shifting the backpack to make it a bit more comfortable, she climbed the steps to the door and thrust it open. A bright day met her face as she ran out and to her house. Sliding open the door, she cleaned her shoes and entered.

"Mom! Souta! Grandpa! I'm home!" she called out, putting down her backpack. She went through the first floor but found no one. Just as she began to climb the stairs, her grandfather stuck his head out of Souta's room. Kagome yelled in surprise and nearly slipped from the stairs, but caught the banister and steadied herself. "Grandpa!"

"Kagome! It's a wonder you've just come! Souta's gone to the hospital!" he said before vanishing from sight once again.

"What?" Kagome said shocked to hear this. She hurried up the stairs and into Souta's room to find the elderly man taking out some of Souta's clothes and packing them away. "What happened?"

"He was hurt during a soccer practice this morning and had to be rushed to the hospital. Now hurry!" Brushing past her, he led her downstairs and out of the house. Soon a taxi stopped at their gates and the two climbed in. A few minutes later, they pulled up to the hospital, paid the driver and went in. Checking at the reception table, they found the room where Souta was in and quickly made their way to it. Once they found it and went in, they saw Souta laying on one of the beds with his leg fully plastered with white material. His mother, Mrs. Higurashi, sat on a chair beside the bed.

"Oh, hey there sis," Souta said with a partially strained smile. He smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

"Kagome, dear, it's so good you've come." Her mother smiled happily, though it slowly turned into a concerned frown. "The doctors say it might be broken, but we're hoping it's just a sprain."

"So, Kagome, did you battle any demons with InuYasha yesterday?" Souta said excitedly, his eyes shining with interest.

"Souta," Kagome scorned, "Will you stop with all these questions about the Feudal Era? You should be concentrating on healing your leg or something."

"Well not everyone has a sister who goes to fight demons and collect magic jewel shards in the Feudal Era of Japan!"

"You're getting a real attitude, just be quiet for once!"

"Good, their fighting again, that means they are healthy," Mrs. Higurashi said with a light laugh and a smile.

After a little while, Kagome's mother suggested that Kagome go home to get some rest. The young miko gladly accepted. Ruffling Souta's hair, she picked up her bag and turned to the door. "Get better soon, Souta! Bye!" She waved one last time and left the room. As she walked down the hallway, she was thinking about making a nice big sandwich when she got home. At the thought, her stomach growled loudly. Just at that moment, she turned a corner and collided into something solid. She began to fall backward, but felt someone grab her hand and pull her back upright.

"I'm so sorry, are you alright?" the person asked. Kagome blinked a few times to focus her slightly blurrey eyes and saw that the person was a boy, a teenager around her age. He was a head taller than her with rustled short black hair and deep grey eyes.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I'm a bit of a clutz," she apologized, reddening slightly.

"No, it was my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." He stuck out a hand in greeting. Kagome accepted and shook it. "My name's Kinuto, by the way," he said confidently, making a short bow of his head.

"It's nice to meet you, Kinuto. My name's Kagome," she replied. She glanced down the hallway. Someone seemed to be waving towards them and calling Kinuto's name. "Um, is someone calling for you?"

"Oh great, he found me," Kinuto groaned to himself quietly, turning around. Kagome giggled in spite of herself.

Walking down the hallway towards them, a tall boy with long brown hair tied back in a pony tail and piercing green eyes glowered at Kinuto. "Where the heck did ya go? I turn around for a milli-second to say bye to my grandma and you run like there's a madman after you!" When he reached them, the boy's frown disappeared into a friendly smile as he spotted Kagome.

"Sorry, Ikoma," Kinuto drowned out, making it obvious he meant no sincerety.

His friend barely seemed to be listening. His eyes were on Kagome, intently examining her as if judging her. Feeling rather uncomfortable, Kagome shifted slightly and glared at Ikoma with a stern face. "You always find the pretty ones," Ikoma suddenly said and then roared with laughter. Kinuto and Kagome both blinked in surprise and their faces grew red with embarassment.

Kagome shook her head and looked at her watch. "Well, I guess I better get going. Nice to meet you, Kinuto. You too Ikoma. Bye." Giving them a short smile, she turned and made her way down the hallway and out of sight.

Ikoma gave Kinuto a nudge in the ribs. "I saw you lookin' at her. Very pretty if I do say so myself, but don't worry, she's all yours. I wouldn't dream of taking a girl from you, buddy." He laughed again and slapped Kinuto on the shoulder. "Let's get going."

Kinuto rolled his eyes. "Yeah right, it's not like I'll ever meet her again. I just bumped into her and that's it." 'Though she is pretty, can't deny it', he thought with a frown.

"Whatever," Ikoma said with a mischievious smile and began dragging his friend down the hallway.

In the Feudal Era...

"Kagome said she'd be back in a couple of days, right?" Shippou asked. He glanced down at InuYasha as he comfortably sat on the hanyou's head, careful not to touch his white dog ears. The Bone Eater's Well was just off to the side of the tree they sat in. InuYasha lay sprawled out on the treebranch with one leg hanging off it and both arms behind his head.

The hanyou grunted in reply and opened one golden eye to look at the kitsune. "What of it?" he said dully.

"Nothing really, I'm just bored without her. There's nothing to do when Kagome isn't around. I wish I could go to her time and see what it's like. You've been there, haven't you InuYasha? What's her Time like? Once she told me about these box things with wheels that move on their own. Weren't they called cars? She also told me about techno-somethings like a...what was it called...a mircowave? What is that anyway? Did you see one when you went there?"

"You sure talk a lot when you're bored," InuYasha growled and rolled onto his side, making Shippou fall off his head. He plummetted to the ground and landed with a thump. Scrambling upright, Shippou rubbed the large bump that was now on his head.

"What'd you do that for?" he cried out. He opened his mouth to continue, but a scent suddenly aroused them. InuYasha sat bolt up and sniffed the air. "Who's that?" Shippou asked curiously.

"I don't know," he sniffed the air again. "Nobody I recognize, but it smells like a woman." Just then, the outline of a woman appeared in the shadows of the distant edge of the forest. InuYasha laid a hand on the hilt of his Tetsusaiga, but did not draw it yet. As she came closer, the outline of the woman became bolder until you could make out her features.

She was quite the pretty woman with her head of long black hair, elegantly braided and tied back in a blue ribbon. She wore a plain white haori and brown dress that fell to her ankles, just as most women wore. Her eyes were bright green and full of confidence. She wore a single (yet feeble looking) sword on her left hip while many carefully tied packages lay strapped to her other hip.

Suddenly the woman stopped as she spotted InuYasha and Shippou. Immediately drawing out her sword, she pointed it at them and said in a loud voice, "Demon! Be gone from this place or I will use this blade on you!" She positioned herself in combat by spreading her feet and tightening her shoulders.

InuYasha plainly rolled his eyes and jumped from the tree onto the ground. He walked boredly to her with his arms crossed in front of him. His face showed no concern for the sword. "What do you want, wench? Planning to use that pathetic sword on me? Don't make me laugh." He smirked.

The woman looked sharply at his face and blinked in surprise. "You're a half demon," she said slowly, not bothering to answer his question. Suddenly she smiled lightly and lowered her sword a little. "I am heading to the village. If you are indeed the half demon you seem to be, I hope that the human half will let me pass without trouble. Will you cause me any harm?"

"Gee I feel so noticed," Shippou muttered sarcastically. "InuYasha won't hurt you, miss."

The woman seemed to just have realized Shippou was there. A broad smile came to her face as she observed the child kitsune demon. "Why, you are quite the cute little demon! What's your name?" she asked as she resheathed her sword.

"Shippou!" he said with a renewed grin. "What's yours?"

"My name is Kiana. I'm a travelling merchant from the eastern lands. I was coming here but some demons attacked me and managed to destroy or steal everything I had. All I have left is what I carry here." She pointed to the packages strapped to her hip. "Are you from the village?"

"Yeah! We could lead you there if you want." Kiana accepted. Shippou leaped off InuYasha and began walking towards Kaede's village, Kiana close behind. Neither paid any attention to InuYasha as he crossed his arms and followed silently.

Soon they arrived at the village, a few people inquisitively glancing at them. Shippou led Kiana further into the village until they came upon Kaede's hut. The old woman was no where to be seen. Shippou ran inside to get her, but she was not there either. He briefly told Kiana he'd go find her and ran off leaving InuYasha and Kiana alone.

They remained silent for a moment before InuYasha growled, "What do you have in those packages, anyway? They're giving off some weird scent." His nose twitched a bit as the scent drifted to him. They weren't unpleasant smells, more like a few combinations of honey, various plants, and old paper.

"Oh, just odds and ends. Some things that might come in handy for the normal villager or traveller. But I also have some valuables that can serve as a gift and such." The merchant smiled and released one of the packages from her hip. She neatly loosened the carefully tied string and unfolded the old brown paper. Among the paper, a beautiful necklace lay. The string was a white and the brooch was a glass box with a tiny red and white flower in it. The flower's petals began in a deep red and gave away to white towards the tips of the petal. "This is a Mayu Flower necklace. The flower was blessed by a powerful miko a hundred years ago and put into this glass box. It has stayed as crisp as it was the day it bloomed," she explained with a soft expression. She was not looking at the flower, but at InuYasha who was examining it with a hushed expression.

"Are you selling it?" he asked suddenly. Kiana smiled warmly and nodded. InuYasha reached into his red haori and brought out a little pale brown bag jingling with a few coins Miroku had given him. "Is this enough?" He emptied its contents onto his left palm.

Glad the hanyou was still looking at the flower, Kiana made a small frown. The coins would not be sufficiant. The necklace was quite expensive, since it was so old and also had been blessed by a priestess. She glanced up at the hanyou's face once more and felt her own soften. "Yes, I suppose that'll do," she said without a moment's pause. 'I can't turn him down, I don't suppose he ever had something like this, else he wouldn't be so interested,' she thought.

InuYasha dumped the coins back into the bag and handed it to her. She took it without a word and put it away. After she handed the hanyou the necklace, she thought she heard him mumble a thanks.

"I found Lady Kaede!" came Shippou's voice. Kiana turned around to greet the old priestess. They talked for a moment before retiring to the hut, Shippou quickly following after them.

Outside, InuYasha had barely given a glance to the young demon or the miko. His eyes were still locked upon the flower. He knew that there hadn't really been a point to him buying the thing, but something had told him to do so. He had decided what to do with it, though he wasn't sure when he'd follow out that plan. 'I'll give it to her some day,' he thought reasurringly. He tucked it into his red haori and began walking back towards the forest.

In Kagome's Time...

"Thinking about him again, Kagome?" Ayumi asked Kagome as they along with Eri and Yuka sat at a table in the same little fast-food place they always went to after school. The three of them stared curiously at Kagome.

Kagome blinked and stared back. "What do you mean?"

"You know what we mean. Your boyfriend, how are things going with him?" Yuka cut in.

"Ooh, I wasn't thinking about him!" Kagome said while taking another bite out of her hamburger.

For some reason, this seemed to upset her three friends. "What's wrong, Kagome? You two get into another fight?" Yuka asked with a concerned expression. Eri and Ayumi shared it.

Kagome smiled lightly and shook her head. "Nope, no fights. He's actually been a little nicer these past few days."

The three of them looked at her curiously and suddenly burst into smiles. "Wow, you're getting deeper in it by the day, Kagome! It's so obvious you love the guy," Ayumi said with a broad grin.

"Oh, I just remembered! I promised Souta I'd visit him again in the hospital. He got hurt during soccer yesterday," she added with the shocked faces of her friends. She said a quick goodbye as she put her share of the payings on the table and rushed out. The hospital wasn't too far away so she decided to walk. Keeping a brisk pace, she soon reached the building and went on in. She checked at the reception table to make sure he was in the same room and then headed to the elevator. Just as she reached it, so did another.

"Kinuto! Hi, remember me?" Kagome greeted with a bright smile as the two of them entered the elevator.

"Hey Kagome! Yeah I remember." He returned her smile and pressed the button for the floors they were going to. "Oh, by the way, sorry about yesterday. Ikoma's known to be really outspoken. Sometimes it's just impossible to get him to shut up."

"It's alright," Kagome replied with a lightly pink face. "Are you visiting someone?"

"Na, just giving Ikoma a ride. He's visiting his grandmother and as usual I'm trying to run away from him. How about you?"

"I'm visiting my brother, Souta. He got hurt playing soccer yesterday," she answered with a smile.

"I was just thinking, Kagome. Me and a few of my friends are planning to go to the mall later. I'm sure they'd love if you came along. How about it?"

Kagome frowned slightly. "Sorry, Kinuto. I'm going on a...a trip later today and I won't be back for a little while."

Kinuto made sure his smile did not waver. "That's okay, maybe another time."

At that moment, the doors opened again and three people came in, one of them being Ikoma. "You just love running away from me don't you?" Ikoma scowled sarcastically. Kinuto made an effort to keep his face straight as he revolted his friend's comment. Kagome was barely able to keep her laugh down. Ikoma eyed them suspiciously and suddenly burst into a broad grin. "How do you two meet all the time anyway? Secretly making plans to bump into each other? I hope you aren't planning on running off with Kagome, Kinuto." He let out a roar of laughter.

Kinuto and Kagome suddenly grew very red in the face. Not out of anger, but embarassment. Ikoma took no notice and went running into a gabbering conversation about how terrible the food in the cafeteria was. Neither Kinuto or Kagome listened much since they were mostly concentrating on Ikoma's words. 'Nothing's going on with Kinuto and me, right? We're just friends. I don't know where Ikoma's getting off saying that. I've only met Kinuto twice and out of accident too.' Kagome let her thoughts die as the elevator opened to her floor. She said her goodbyes and left them.

Kagome made her way down the hall until she found Souta's room. She knocked lightly on the door and heard a voice inside telling her she could come in. She pushed back the door and saw Souta laying on his bed, his eyes glued to the television in the corner. As Kagome came in he peeled his eyes away from her and watched as she sat down next to him.

"Hey, sis!" he said cheerfully.

"How are you doing, Souta?" Kagome said half blandly, her mind still partly on Kinuto.

At this Souta scowled and leaned his head back on a propped up pillow. "Everyone asks me that. It's only a broken leg, I'll get better faster than you can say, 'Souta you little twit, that rubber glove is not a hat!'" He said the last part in a high squeaky voice, poorly immitating Kagome's voice.

"It's broken! I thought it was just a sprain!"

"Yeah well that's what the doctors thought before they took an x-ray," Souta said dully.

Kagome sighed. "Oh well. Here, I brought you one of those hand-held video game thingies you like so much," she finished as she reached into her purse and took out his game. Handing it to him, he beamed and accepted it.

"Thanks, Kagome!"

Kagome rustled his hair and said, "Well I guess I'll go now. See you later, Souta!" He grunted his goodbye, his eyes already locked onto the game. Kagome turned and left the room and made her way to the elevator. After she had gotten to the ground floor and left the hospital, she began walking down the sidewalk. She was just thinking about resting for a few hours before going back to the Feudal Era when a hoarse voice came out of the darkness of the alleyway, sending a chill up her spine.

"You're a pretty one, ain't ya? Whatcha got in 'at bag, misseh?" said the slurred voice of the man. The sound of two pairs of feet sounded as they approached her.

Kagome baraely had time to turn around to face them when she felt a strong hand grab hers and twist them behind her back. The other arm circled around her neck so she couldn't speak very loudly. The other man came infront of her and grabbed the purse she had let fall to the ground. She tried to yell, but the hold on her throat made it difficult to even breathe. Instead, she used her heels to kick the man that held her on the knees as hard as she could. Successful in getting a yelp out of him, he loosened his grip enough for Kagome to slip out and start running the other direction.

"We aren't finished with you yet!" one of them yelled. She was shocked to realize the voice was just behind her though she had run as hard as she could. Suddenly an arm twisted around her stomach and pulled her back. She let out a piercing scream.

"HEY! Leave her alone!" a familiar voice said in the midst of the struggle. At first she thought it was InuYasha and felt her heart leap with relief, but soon she realized that was not the hanyou's voice. It was Kinuto!

It all happened in a flash. Kinuto ran to them and quickly punched the guy who helf Kagome square in the face. He let go on Kagome and fell unconscious, but just then the other man ran at Kinuto full blast. He caught him off guard and knocked him to the ground. The criminal might have been able to get a few good punches out of Kinuto had Kinuto not been so quick. He punched him across the face a couple of times and drove his knee into the man's stomach. The man rolled off in pain, letting Kinuto get to his feet. Both of the men let out a groan. The one in front of Kinuto slowly got up and ran back down the alley. Soon after the other one woke up and ran after him.

"Are you okay?" Kinuto asked tenderly as he fetched Kagome's purse for her. Handing it to her, she nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thanks so much for saving me." She blushed fiercely. Why am I blushing so much? It isn't like that was the first time someone saved me, she thought to herself.

"You look a little flushed. Do you want me to drive you home?" he asked, his face an identical red to Kagome's.

"Sure, that'd be nice," she accepted and began to walk with him back to the hospital parking lot. "What about your friend, Ikoma?"

"He's still with his grandmother. I can drive back after I drop you off. Where do you live?"

"Do you know where the shrine is?"

"Oh you live there?" he said a little surprised. "Yeah I know where that is."

Kinuto lead Kagome to a silver Honda. "Here she is," he said fondly as he unlocked the car and opened the door for Kagome. She thanked him and took her seat. Kinuto circled around and got into the car. He turned it on with a satisfying rumble from the motor and put it into gear. Once they were on the road, Kagome rolled down her window and let the air wash over her.

Kinuto found himself glancing at Kagome a lot. Her black hair elegantly waved in the breeze and her eyes were firm but calm. Realizing he was blushing slightly, he forced his thoughts to silence and turned his attention back to the road. "So, Kagome. Do you have any other siblings besides your brother?"

"Nope, just Souta. Do you?"

He frowned and remained silent for a moment. "Before I did. I had a sister, but she died from cancer a year ago along with my mom."

Kagome held back a gasp. "Oh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to...offend you I..."

Kinuto shook his head. "It's alright, you didn't know," he gave her a little smile which made her feel a little better. They remained silent for the rest of the drive. Once Kinuto stopped infront of the shrine grounds, he turned the car off. "Here you are."

"Thanks so much, Kinuto. I don't know how to thank you," Kagome said with a smile.

"It's no trouble, just stay away from dark alleys from now on." He let out a laugh.

"I will," Kagome replied brightly and got out of the car. She began her way up to her house listening to the roar of Kinuto's car as he drove away.


There ya go! Hope you liked it. Please read and review!