~Ch. 7- Orochi's Curse~

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

Okami © Capcom

Kagome gaped in horror as she stared at the sight before her. Even Shippo looked quite disheartened by the scene in front of him while Inuyasha remained surprisingly stoic, crossing his arms with a nonchalant expression. What was it that made Kagome and Shippo looked so shocked, one might ask?

All of Shinshu Field...was covered in a giant, blackish-red cloud. The grass, once green and lush, was now brown and dry. The lake had dried up. All the wildlife had fled to save themselves from the darkness...and in the midst of all was an old tree, bare of flower petals of any kind.

It was truly a horrifying sight.

"I don't believe it," said Kagome, sadly. "This place was full of grass and animals...and the water from Lake Harami was always glistening. Now, it's covered in this...black cloud."

"What is that?" asked Shippo. "It almost makes it hard to breathe!"

"This is because of Orochi returning," said Inuyasha. "Now that he's free, he's placed a curse upon the land. Nature itself is dying."

"Isn't there anything we can do for it?!" Kagome asked as she looked up at Inuyasha. "We can't leave it like this, can we?!"

Inuyasha glanced down at the priestess before he looked toward the very heart of the field, where he saw the old tree.

"Well...there is a way to dispel the curse," said the Inugami. "You see that tree there? It's called a Guardian Sapling. A long time ago, a Wood Sprite by the name of Sakuya planted several of those throughout Nippon. They were supposed to bloom, all year 'round...but now that Orochi's back..."

"...I get it," Shippo said, worriedly. "He's trying to keep the Guardian Saplings from blooming again."

"Well...can't we find a way to make them bloom, again?" asked Kagome. "There must be something we can do!"

"Take it easy, will ya?!" Inuyasha questioned. "Look, I'd make the tree bloom if I had the power, but I don't right now! For now, we just have to avoid the curse. If we set even one foot in that black fog, we're dead meat."

Shippo gulped. "I'd very much NOT like to be dead meat, thank you."

Kagome bit her lip in despair, but tried her damnedest not to give up. This was no time for tears. If Inuyasha truly had the power to restore the land the way it was, then by the gods, she was going to help him find it. They came out this far, so there must be something that could point them in the right direction.

"Hey, look!" Shippo suddenly exclaimed as he pointed toward the west. "There's a house...and a man out in front of it!"

Inuyasha and Kagome both saw a shirtless man wearing a headband around his forehead and what appeared to be a fox pelt around his shoulders. He had a pair of white hakama pants and a pair of boots on, too, not to mention a yellow haramaki sash around his waist. He stood outside of a wooden cabin, which sat near the entrance of a huge cave as he continuously chopped some wood with his ax.

"Who's that guy?" Inuyasha asked while Kagome gasped.

"I know him!" she exclaimed. "My Dad and I used to come out here and see him sometimes when I was little!"

"Does he have a name?" asked Inuyasha.

"Well...not really," Kagome answered. "We just referred to him as the Nameless Man. Come to think of it, he actually comes from a long line of men who protected a place known as Hana Valley."

"Maybe we should talk to him," Shippo suggested. "He might know something."

"Let me handle talking to him," said Kagome as she approached the Nameless Man's hut. "He knows me, after all." She then waved her arm toward the man. "Hello~! Nameless Man!"

"Hmm?" the Nameless Man hummed before he looked up and saw Kagome approach, along with Inuyasha and Shippo. "Well, if isn't Li'l Kagome? Long time, no see!"

"Nameless Man," Kagome said, "do you know what happened out here?"

"I have absolutely no idea," said the Nameless Man. "One minute, I'm out here just choppin' wood and communing with nature, just as I always do...next thing I know, I heard this terrifying sound...like a monster roaring, and then this huge wind came blowing! I got knocked out, but when I woke up, nearly all of Shinshu Field is covered in this thick, black fog!"

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Inuyasha muttered, prompting Kagome to nudge him in the side. "Ow!"

"Now, I can't even get to work," said the Nameless Man before he gestured across a bare stream. "See this dry riverbed? My workshop was on the other side, but it got swallowed up by the fog, and when I tried to go near it, suddenly, I felt like I couldn't breathe! I had to hightail it outta there!"

"This happened when Orochi first woke up from being sealed," Inuyasha mused. "Odds are this curse has been going on for a few days."

"If that's the case," Shippo began, "then it won't be much longer until all of Shinshu Field is swallowed up by the curse!"

"Yeah, it's a real drag, my little foxy friend," said the Nameless Man. "All I can do is pray that Mother Earth returns to normal soon."

Kagome sighed as she looked toward the giant cursed fog...and she could see it slowly eating away at the grass and flowers. It was getting dangerously close to the Guardian Sapling, too. Something had to be done about this and fast. This land was part of her childhood, for crying out loud. She'd be damned if she let it die like this!

That's when she noticed the entrance to the cave nearby.

"What's that, there?" asked Inuyasha.

"Ah, yes," said the Nameless Man. "That cave is the entrance to Hana Valley. It was once home to a gorgeous waterfall! But that was then and this is now. All kinds of demons have been skulking around in there, man."

"D...demons...?!" Shippo squeaked.

"Aren't you a demon, squirt?" Inuyasha asked.

"And they also say there's some sort of trippy crystal ball that could make plants grow enshrined in the valley," the Nameless Man added, which caused one of Inuyasha's ears to twitch.

"A crystal ball, huh?" he asked as a toothy smirk appeared on his face.

"You think it's worth looking into, Inuyasha?" Kagome inquired.

"Damn right, it is," Inuyasha replied. "Come on, we're going in there."

"But...what about the demons?!" asked Shippo.

"Shippo, we don't have to worry about the demons as long as Inuyasha's around," said Kagome.

"If you don't like it, runt, you can stay out here," Inuyasha growled.

"Uh...no thanks," said Shippo as he clung to Kagome's shoulder, and with that said, the trio entered the cave, heading deep into Hana Valley.

XXX

"Well...it's a little better here than it is, out there," said Shippo.

"Yeah...but it's not too much better," Kagome replied.

The trio found themselves within a desolate valley. The water was murky and brown with sludge and muck. The wind that blew was ominous and foreboding, almost as if it was telling the group to turn back. The trees were bare of any flowers or fruit.

To put it simply, Hana Valley had certainly seen better days.

"Well, we better get movin'," said Inuyasha as he walked forward, and Kagome followed not long after while Shippo nervously looked around for any signs of monsters or demons. As they walked, Inuyasha's ears suddenly twitched as he looked up, prompting Kagome to stop in her tracks. He could hear the sound of a tweeting flute and the plucking of strings.

How strange.

"You hear that?" Inuyasha asked as his ears swiveled.

"...Yeah...I think I do," Kagome answered. "It sounds like music."

"Who'd be playing music out here in this spooky place?" asked Shippo.

"...I think I know," Kagome spoke up as she pointed ahead...and that's when they saw them: a small group of imps, sitting around a bonfire, playing flutes and a biwa while some drank sake to their hearts' content.

"Heh," Inuyasha smirked as he grabbed his Celestial Brush. "This is too perfect. I'll get the jump on 'em while their backs are turned." He then glanced back at Kagome and Shippo. "You two can just sit and watch. I'll deal with these chumps."

"Hey, I could help, too, you know!" Kagome argued.

"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed. "As if, wench."

"It's Kago...oh, forget it..." she grumbled in exasperation while Inuyasha snuck up behind the imps. As he brandished his brush, the imps didn't even seem to notice him approach...at first. Suddenly, one of the imps screeched upon seeing the Inugami, who quickly lunged forward just as the imps turned around. With one fell swing of his brush, he soon sliced three of them in half with a Power Slash, a blade of ink bisecting their bodies. One armed with a biwa tried to hit him from behind, but Inuyasha smirked as he flexed his claws and soon swiped, slicing through the instrument and the imp's body like it was mere paper. Kagome gulped as she hid behind a rock along with Shippo as she watched the Inugami fight off the demons with such intense ferocity.

They were glad he was on their side.

As two more imps tried to attack Inuyasha from the side, he swung his Celestial Brush again, slicing through them with another blade of ink, causing them to fall to the ground. Soon, there was just one more left. The imp circled him menacingly, holding its biwa on its back, but the Inugami wasn't intimidated. He glared as he clutched the Celestial Brush, a growl rumbling in his chest. The imp charged, holding its biwa over its head like a club...but Inuyasha smirked as he threw his hand out and grabbed the imp's head, stopping it in mid-air. He growled as he squeezed the imp's head as tight as he could...and then, there was a sickening crunch before the struggling demon's body went limp. Its body soon dissipated in a cloud of dust.

The battle had been won.

"Wow! You did it!" Shippo exclaimed.

"That was easy!" Kagome added.

"Heh," Inuyasha smirked. "All in a day's work for a god like me."

As soon as he said this, there was this bright green glow, and for a moment, the brown, murky water suddenly turned clear and blue and rocks laden with fresh moss and flowers grew out...but all too soon, it quickly disappeared.

"Huh?" Kagome asked. "What happened?"

"Damn," Inuyasha cursed as he looked down at the water. "This curse must be stronger than I thought. Something here is interfering with the divine powers of the gods."

"Then I guess we'll just have to go deeper, huh?" asked Kagome.

"I dunno, Kagome," Shippo said. "Maybe we shouldn't get in over our heads, here."

"The runt's got a point," Inuyasha quipped. "You sure you don't wanna call it quits?"

Kagome only sneered at the Inugami before she threw her head up and strode off, walking past Inuyasha and heading deeper into the valley. The Inugami blinked after her, surprised by her gesture...but then his lips turned up into a crooked grin, his fang poking out from underneath. He could smell the confidence just permeating off of her.

'...I think I might be starting to like this wench.'

"Well?" Kagome asked as she turned to face him. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Inuyasha replied as he followed after her...however, as they ventured further into Hana Valley, they didn't seem to notice that they, themselves, were being followed as well.

Don't worry, Kagome will get her moment in the next chapter. ;)

Of course, this will be the last chapter I can put out for now. There are some waiting in the wings, I just wanna make sure I do a few more so I have a bit of a buffer.

Review, please!