Ch. 1 Mikako
Inuyasha sat there, staring at the flower. He picked it, but his legs were still numb, and he started again, "She loves me, she loves me not. She loves me, she loves me not. She loves me." Inuyasha should've known what it was, but what did his say? "I love her, I love her not. I love her, I love her not. I love her." Inuyasha's ears went back, Damn it! He screamed in his head, still looking at the bare flower. Out of anger he tossed the flower aside and saw Kagome's small body standing behind it, letting the flower hide her on a whim.
"I have a new flower," She said, holding a rose between her fingers. The blood raced to the ground as saw her grasp it harder and latch her delicate skin unto the thorns.
"What are you doing?" Echoed Inuyasha, watching the blood tear from her fingers.
"I am doing as my heart tells me." Kagome grinned at this comment, and Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. After suddenly regaining the strength in his legs, he leapt up and tore the rose from her hand accidentally intertwining their blood. "Ha." Kagome took his palm and pressed it tight to the rose, pouring tears of blood to the pristine green grass. Her grin then subsided as Inuyasha's grip on the rose let loose.
"What is this?" He said as the rose dropped to the ground and carved a spot of death in the summer grass. Inuyasha looked down unto the patch of death the rose had created and held Kagome, "What is wrong?" Said, Inuyasha, trying to be as calm as possible with every passing moment.
"The flower-I-you don't love me." Inuyasha held Kagome tighter,
"I do, Kagome." Kagome's eyes fluttered closed as Inuyasha set her down on the grass.
"It's too simple." She said, before genuinely falling asleep.
"It's too simple?" Inuyasha muttered to himself, staring at Kagome's hair pooling into the grass. He then looked back, to see the rose, laying on the ground, still appearing beautiful as if it was harmless. What did she mean by, 'Doing as my heart tells me.' ? She seemed back to normal after I made her let go of the rose. Inuyasha's thoughts were disturbed by Kagome's shifting on the ground. Why was she crying earlier? I don't get it, I did nothing wrong. I just heard her say loves me-… oh. Inuyasha sat in front of Kagome, and still couldn't understand what led her to believe that.
This rose must have something to do with it. He thought, tilting his head towards, the rose, still perched in front of Kagome. But what do I do? At least it was just them there, no disturbances, but Sango and Miroku would come to see where they were soon. Maybe they could help? Who knows. The furthest that he ever got with them was a slap, or a piece of advice that led him to doing all the work. Oh, who was he kidding! He needed their help now, and hopefully Mioga was there and knew something about this.
"The blood rose," began Mioga, watching a look of terror fill Shippou's face. "Yes, it can kill anyone whom gets in it's way, and cause them to go psychologically insane from the pane and suffering it causes!" Said Mioga, whirling his fingers about to amplify the insane comment. A slight chuckle emerged from Mioga's chest as he smiled.
"The blood rose isn't real, right?" Asked Shippou, hiding behind Kirara.
"Of course it is, Shippou. It feeds off a rather deep sadness involving romance that appears rarely. Although Kikyou is sad she eventually developed a hatred for Inuyasha." Mioga settled his hands in his kimono sleeves and yawned, "Speaking of Inuyasha, he should be back by now. In fact, he should've been back a while ago." Miroku lifted his head and looked at Mioga, accidentally returning the yawn,
"Inuyasha's probably chasing down Kagome to stay, and getting himself into all kinds of trouble while he's at it." With a bolt of lightning Miroku's face tinted red as he blissfully rubbed at the broad mark of a hand stretched across his face.
"He's not the only one Hoishi." Said Sango, rubbing her hand with the other, close to her chest. "Maybe we should look for them, though, usually when he doesn't come back at night he's in trouble." Sango chimed in, reverting to a calm voice.
"I suppose," Responded Miroku seriously, with the palm mark still swelling on his face.
"Let's go Kirara." Sango hopped on Kirara and kicked her lightly, commanding to fly.
"Sorry Kagome, but you're just not my type." Said Inuyasha, with Kikyou smiling in the background. "I am going with Kikyou to hell, and I don't care how much you cry." Kagome grasped her hair and pulled it downward,
"This can't be happening!" The tears drifted from her eyes as Kikyou took her place on his back and ran away, to her grave to be sucked into hell. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha! All those times, I was mad, all those times I cried! It wasn't fair! I guess- it's my fault."
Kagome woke up to the moon showering down on her. She had had a peaceful sleep, but a bad dream. There was a series of these dreams similar to this, but they seemed to be a little shorter. Inuyasha watched Kagome from a tree, for observing purposes relevant to the recent event. Inuyasha raised his eyebrow as Kagome picked a daisy, and sat down to pick off the pedals. "He loves me, he loves me not. He loves me, he loves me not." Kagome's weak smile returned at the sight of the last pedal, reaching, 'he loves me'. It's too bad it isn't true. She thought, throwing the flower lightly over her shoulder. Her eyes dulling once again, she stood up.
As Kagome walked over to the barren patch of dirt, the flower grew into the soil, and she picked the renewed flower.
"Kagome, what are you doing?" Inuyasha jumped down and cut the bloom from the stem of the rose, baring a sad look grabbed Kagome's hand and lifted her up in the air, and thrust her over his shoulder. "Tell me what's really wrong Kagome!" Kagome limply hung over his shoulder and remained silent. "We're going to Sango and Miroku."
Mioga stretched across Kirara's fur, and yawned cuddling into her skin. "Well, Shippou, it's probably best we sleep now." Suggested the tired flea,
"Tell me more about this blood rose, Mioga." Shippou asked in a concerned tone,
"The blood rose can only affect humans, for they are the only ones with feelings as strong as the blood rose needs to launch it's plan."
"It's plan?" Responded Shippou, the worry growing in his voice. "Yes, Shippou. The blood rose was notorious for creating peace, but after a demon got a hold of it-"
"What is his name?" Shippou said excitedly, it was like a creepy little fairy tale that he could take!
"He has no real name, for he is an entity. I suppose I should call him an it, but it masquerades as a man."
"What does one call him though?"
Blood pooled in Kagome's legs, dangling under Inuyasha's arms for so long. Her shallow thoughts changing her memories of everything she had now held dear. That daisy- it found the rose, and it was connected. She and Inuyasha were both bound to the spell since the rose had stolen her blood. She fell asleep, dreams recalling memories the rose was blocking out.
"What's this?" Kagome kneeled down and smiled, rubbing her eyes. "It's so pretty!" Kagome wrapped her fingers around the rose, pulling back immediately at the sight of a little sphere of blood oozing from her fingertip. "I forgot-"
The little flea cleared his throat and began, a slight frown on his face, "One would call this entity, Kumo." Shippou tilted his head,
"What an odd name. Why Kumo?"
"He lives in the clouds, and he captures people and takes him there. Since he is an entity, it is only logical to call him by where he lives." Mioga tucked his arms in his haori and closed his eyes, jumping to an explanation for the curious little kitsune.
"Shippou, this is a long story, and it is not as if we don'thave time, so I will explain it. Long ago there was a young man, and a young woman. The man wanted to take the woman's hand in marriage, but was denied when she was killed by the samurai. This woman had belonged to a group of Mikako, no one knows what it means, it is not part of our language. The Mikako is a group of humans that was forced out of society due to their different beliefs. One kind of Mikako are fairies, although not particularly bright, they were Mikako, none the less"
"Is there another kind of Mikako?" Shippou asked edging closer to Mioga,
"Yes, mermaids. The mermaids killed the woman that the man wanted to wed, since she was a dangerous part of their legacy, therefore they needed to get rid of her. Their protector was a young girl, named Gyazu Mizuno. She was a diligent fighter, and very beautiful." Mioga, as always, blushed and drooled over the mention of a beautiful woman, and Shippou whacked him on the head to continue the story.
"Hurry up"
"Sorry, Shippou. Anyhow, Gyazu killed the woman, and walked away calmly, back to the village. Although she was a diligent fighter, she was not very bright of the outcome. The man followed her back to the sea, and constructed a boat, following her every move. Eventually, he found the city, an underwater cave, very small, and thriving on seaweed and filtered ocean water. He studied the city, and was discovered by Gyazu. She killed him, and left his body rotting on the rocks. The hatred that fueled his body kept his spirit alive, and when greeted by an evil kami, took the opportunity to become a living thing. Much like Onigumo's fate, however, this person turned into an evil kami. The kami lives to destroy the Mermaid Mikako, and try to rule their newly unclaimed territories"
"Has he finished them off?"
"Yes, he has. There are none left, however he has not destroyed the water, we have been near the sea, and several hot springs fairly recently. He has also not claimed their lands…" Mioga rubbed his nose, and pondered his self asked question.
"Why would the water disappear?" Asked Shippou, leaning onto the ground to lay down.
"The Mermaid Mikako control the water, and with them gone the seas would drown all land. There was a spell cast on the first Mikako for the water to disappear with less and less Mikako. However, we have a good amount of water her on earth, it confuses me so." Mioga rubbed his nose again, and Shippou yawned.
"I'm just a little kid. I needn't worry about this, right"
"Of course not Shippou." Mioga jumped forward and patted his head, burrowing into Shippou's hair. "G' night"
"Good night, Shippou."
"Sango, I sense a demon approaching!" Miroku pointed in the direction he was sensing the demon, grasping his other arm around Sango's chest, earning a slap.
"Let's just keep this professional, stupid hentai." As they neared the location of the sensed demon, it seemed as if it became more peaceful than usual. It was midsummer, and it was only logical for it to be tranquil, but this was so peaceful, that it was eerie. A noise filtered through the bushes,
Hard to put your finger on Like screams in the black bloody southern soil Sweet black blood echoing through the evening service Grinding by the roadhouse door Sweet black blood Moving with slow breath -Ntozake Shange
I hope you like this first chapter. Poems are revised and are from real poets.