Author's Note: This is an extrapolation of a scene from "Tragic Love Song," anime episodes 138-139. 'Korana' is a non-canon character. This one-shot was written for the 'Wilted Rose' community in LiveJournal, week 1.

Flower Hunt

Kikyo loved children. Few things gave her more joy than being surrounded by them, answering their questions, or teaching them a bit of her accumulated lore of plants. And when, on that fall day, when she glimpsed Inuyasha's distinctive outfit among the red and gold leaves, she called out quite on impulse, inviting him to join her and the children.

"You've got to be kidding!"

She stared a moment as he turned his back on her and sat down against the trunk, before looking away, fighting not to show her reaction of hurt and anger. She'd only been trying to be friendly--he didn't have to be rude! Then chagrin overtook her first reaction--why hadn't she thought before she spoke? A couple of conversations and a gift did not equal friendship and trust. She did not need to have heard his story to know that humans had probably never accepted him, let alone trusted him around their children. As it was, some of the villagers would be furious if they learned she'd invited something with youkai blood to join her and the children. How could she blame the wild hanyo for instantly rebuffing her suggestion, given the way she'd surprised him with it?

She turned her attention to the children and smiled at them, resolving to find a time to hunt up Inuyasha and talk to him later. "So what do we want to do?" she asked them.

"Let's play hand ball!" exclaimed one of the girls.

"Let's pick flowers!" Hands grabbed her hand, her wrist, and tugged her around. "Yeah! Red flowers!"

"No, pink!"

"I want yellow!"

She laughed, letting herself be drawn from the tree holding the sulky hanyo. "I'm sure we can find all those colors," she told them, pulling away a bit. "Now let's go this way." She started towards a clearing that she knew would be thick with fall flowers. She had taken perhaps a dozen steps, listening to the children chatter about the flowers they wanted, when she heard a voice behind her.

"Why don't you want to come down and play with us?"

Inuyasha leaned against the tree and tried not to let his startled nerves make him fidget. He tried to fume--how dare she 'invite' him to join the brats that way. Did she really think they'd do anything but scream and run away, when he dropped down and let them see what he was? Was she trying to get the villagers mad at him? Didn't she know, that villagers always chased away a hanyo stupid enough to approach them openly?

Nevertheless, he couldn't help looking over his shoulder as he sensed Kikyo moving away. What if she'd really meant that invitation? Wouldn't that mean she--trusted him? To not scare the kids? Had she somehow figured out, that he didn't really think he could ever hurt a little boy or girl?

Of course, what difference did it make? Regardless of Kikyo's intent, they'd still scream and run away--

"Why don't you want to come down and play with us?"

He started, and then leaned around the broad branch and looked down. A tiny girl was looking up at him, her hands spread against the trunk. She smiled at him. "I'm Korana," she said. "What's your name?"

"Uh..." She wasn't running away, screaming? He stared at her, nonplussed. "I'm ... Inuyasha."

"Oh." He could see her eyes moving to his ears. "Are you part dog?"

He bristled. "No, I'm not part dog!"

She flinched, and her huge, dark eyes glimmered with incipient tears. "I'm sorry," she whimpered. "I didn't mean to make you mad."

His ears sank, and quite before he realized, he was on the ground next to her, in his usual four-point squat. "Look. I, uh, I'm--I'm not mad. I--uh--"

She brightened, flashing smile. "Oh, goody!" she interrupted. "I'm glad! She grabbed a handful of sleeve and tugged. "Come on! I think we're going to go get some flowers! What kind of flowers do you like? I like the kikyo-flowers--they're so pretty! Just like Kikyo!"

Inuyasha let himself be drawn to his feet, blinking in confusion. "Kikyo-flowers?"

"You know," said Korana in a tone of impatience, looking up at him. "The ones that grow to look like big, round, blue bells, then pop open to be a flower."

Inuyasha hesitated, mentally groping, and then recalled the blue flowers that had bloomed in summer and fall in one corner of his mother's private garden. "Oh. Uh--I think I know the ones you mean."

"Good! Let's go find some!" She turned away and started towards the others, who had stopped and were watching, her fingers gripping his sleeve. The hanyo followed, forthwith, feeling flustered and not understanding at all how he'd gotten into this awkward position of being led around by a little girl. But he could hardly free himself now, so he was going to be flower hunting, like it or not.

He noticed Kikyo's smile and felt his cheeks warming as he hurriedly looked away. She'd just better not laugh--

Kikyo kept from laughing as Korana pulled the discomfited hanyo along with her. She knew he'd be even more embarrassed and angry if she did, and so she suppressed the giggles. She looked down at the children as they started to ask questions. "He is not a youkai," she assured them. "Yes, his ears are dog-like, but he's not a dog. His name is Inuyasha, and he's going to help us, so let's go find those flowers, hmmm?"

They were young, they trusted her, and the lure of picking flowers was equal to their curiosity about the stranger. She led the way to the clearing, one eye on the odd pairing of little girl and hanyo. She wasn't surprised when they drifted away from the others, nor surprised when Korana returned to the group with her arms full of the blue bell-flowers. Nor was she surprised when Inuyasha disappeared almost as soon as the girl was back with the others. She reassured the little girl that Inuyasha had good reason to leave, then began to lead the group back towards the village. She wasn't looking forward to the arguments when the villagers learned what had happened, but, still, overall, she felt pleased.

Perhaps her wild hanyo wouldn't be that hard to tame, after all.