Hi, Mattaki here. This is chapter five, and for some reason alerts didn't go out for chapter four. If you haven't read chapter four, please go back and read it. Thanks!

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"I still don't understand why Sesshomaru would want it." Kagome lit another match, trying to start a decent fire. The grass caught fire, lighting the kindling underneath. Kagome watched it, making sure the fire didn't go out.

"Sesshomaru does a lot of thing we don't understand." Miroku sat, resting his staff against a tree. "Perhaps he thought the rose would have some magical qualities that he could use."

"Maybe." Kagome blew gently on the fire to encourage it, and dug into her bag to take out the ramen. Inuyasha was still missing, but her guess was that he was nearby, and would come running when he smelled the ramen cooking.

"It was rather rude of him to take it without asking. But I suppose that is Sesshomaru." Sango took Kirara into her lap. "I should have given him a talking to." She motioned to her Hiraikotsu.

"It's strange." Kagome hung a pot above the fire with her portable metal hanger, happy to have something so useful. She emptied water from the canteen into it. "It looked to me like he didn't really know why he wanted it in the first place. Something tells me that maybe someone else told him to get it."

"No one tells him what to do, though." Sango put a hand to her chin. "He wouldn't listen to just anyone about it."

"No, I guess not." Kagome opened a ramen cup, smelling the flavored powdered.

Suddenly, she felt sick to her stomach. Standing, Kagome dropped the ramen and bent over, wrenching violently.

"Kagome!" Sango rushed over, putting her arms on Kagome's back. "What's wrong!"

"I don't know," she panted. "I-" She wrenched again, spilling the contents of her stomach on the ground.

"Mama!" Shippo cried.

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Inuyasha sighed, wondering how long this would slow them down.

Kagome was curled up in her sleeping bag, breathing heavily. Sango had made everyone else their ramen, but Kagome refused to eat. Shippo fidgeted next to the sleeping bag, wishing he could do something.

"Great, something else to worry about," Inuyasha complained. Everyone else glared at the hanyou. "Ow!"

"The least you could do is show some compassion, Inuyasha." Miroku laid his staff aside, glad to have an excuse to hit him. "I realize that you no longer have feelings for Kagome, but that does not mean you have to be so cruel towards her. She is our friend, and she is doing the best she can to help us. You ought to be grateful to have someone like her around."

"Whatever, I'm done eating. See you in the morning." Inuyasha turned and left, leaving the group annoyed with him.

"Thanks."

Miroku turned to face Kagome, who was smiling slightly. "I appreciate being defended."

"It is no problem, Kagome." He smiled. "I would be happy to do so any day."

Kagome nodded, closing her eyes. She quickly fell asleep. When he was sure she wouldn't wake up, he sat by the fire, eating the ramen Sango gave him.

"I have some suspicions," he said. "Kagome might not take this news well, and although I am sad to see her ill, this gives me a chance to talk about it."

"About what?" Shippo sat next to Sango, gravitating towards the nearest female figure available. "Do you know something about Mama?"

"Well . . ." Miroku hesitated. "I wouldn't say I know anything. I'm suspicious. You see, Kikyo was not the only one to research plants imbued with youkai powers.

"In my training as a monk, I was required to study a wide array of topics, and that included magical plants. I first wondered when Kagome found the rose, if it was a special youkai flower. Kaede's words helped confirm this. But I wasn't certain about what kind of youkai flower, until Sesshomaru was able to take it from us. Now I think I know."

"Well, stop stalling and tell us!" Sango blushed at her outburst, a bit too eager to hear this.

"Yes, of course." Miroku smiled at her, but became serious. "I have only heard of one type of flower that will allow more than one certain person to touch it. Most plants that restrict its holders will limit it to one single person. If that certain person is actually two people, I am fairly sure I know what it is."

"And?" Shippo prompted.

"The Hana no Shukumei. Otherwise known as the Flower of Fate, or the Destiny Bloom. It is born from powers unknown, and allows only two people to come in contact with it. Those two people are said to be bound together by the Gods themselves, destined to become lovers."

There was a long pause.

"Wait," Sango said. "So if Kagome and Sesshomaru can touch it . . . you think they're bound to each other!" She almost wanted to laugh, if the situation were less serious.

"It's only a guess. Perhaps Sesshomaru can touch it because he's a powerful youkai and can overcome it. But from what I read, even the most powerful youkai cannot possess the flower unless it wants to be held."

Sango glanced at Kagome, still asleep. "Sounds like we've got some complications to sort out."

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Hey, Mattaki here. I hope you guys liked this chapter. Sorry it was so short. And it seems people didn't get alerts for the last chapter, for whatever reason. Anyway, this is short because I don't have much writing time today. Like I said in chapter four, my computer is broken but I'm using my parents laptop for writing. Updates are still happening on the weekends.

Please review this chapter. I love hearing what you guys think. See you next time! Ja ne!