InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Flower Girl ❯ I'll Never Tell ( Chapter 66 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

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One last shard. One last shard.

That refrain kept beating through Kagome's mind, and she felt a yearning within herself - a yearning towards completing the jewel...

And moving on with the rest of her life.

Short as it would be, compared to Sesshoumaru's.

She shook her head viciously, refusing to think about that, and her mind went right back to it's refrain.

One last shard. One last shard.

Despite the rut her brain seemed to be stuck in, however, something kept trying to break through her preoccupation - something... almost buzzing in the back of her mind...

"The shard!" she yelled out, then shook her head again, feeling funny, and she watched as the group reacted swiftly to her words, grouping into a circle around the children, her, and Jaken as if from a great distance...

And then it all went dark.

Sesshoumaru reacted almost instantly, rushing forward to grab her - but as fast as he was, something else was faster... as she disappeared from view before she even hit the ground.

He stared at the place she'd disappeared, feral rage claiming his mind as he lost her scent completely, and he threw back his head and howled his anger to the skies, not even hearing the shocked cries of the rest of the pack.

Kagome woke slowly, her mind swimming up through layers of darkness towards the pinpoint of light that was the only thing she could see.

What...? Where am I... and what happened?

She sat up slowly once she came fully awake, squinting into the light that quickly grew from a pinpoint to a supernova... and shivered.

Why is it so cold? It wasn't this cold a few minutes ago, she looked around slowly as she got to her feet, and come to think of it, where is everyone else?

"Sesshoumaru?" she called softly.

"Tell me, miko... does your heart cry out for that youkai?"

Kagome turned her head so fast she almost gave herself whiplash when she heard that voice... it carried within it all the ice of a frozen wasteland, and she abruptly became aware of why it was so bright - she was standing in an endless field of ice and snow, with a distant winter sun shining brightly on the crystalline mass.

She squinted some more, barely able to make out the outline of a woman in the distance. "Who are you?" she asked, putting a hand up to shield her eyes.

There was a frozen laugh, and then the intense brightness dimmed, as storm clouds suddenly covered the sun, and she dropped her hand as her eyes adjusted to the dimmer, sullen light.

"I am known as Yuki Onna." She ignored Kagome's surprised gasp, and laughed again. "Are you looking for this, little miko?" she asked, mockingly as she held up the last shard of the shikon jewel.

Kagome narrowed her eyes. Something isn't right here... "Yes. So tell me," she asked, almost conversationally, "are you going to just give it to me, or are you going to make me jump through hoops first?"

The woman cocked a thin, silvery brow at her, her ice blue eyes going even colder, if that was possible.

"Hoops, miko? You think I called you here to play tricks on you?"

"Well, didn't you? I mean, you pulled me here, but left behind all my friends..."

"And your lover as well, ne?" the woman interrupted coldly.

"What's that got to do with anything?" Kagome spit out angrily.

"Everything. For if you want this shard, you will have to give me something in return... say... that beautiful youkai lord?"

Kagome's heart clenched in sudden fear. "Never!"

The slender woman suddenly moved a lot closer, walking around her in a circle, looking almost contemplative. "Really, little girl, you have no choice. I can take him at any time I choose - and make him mine. Willing or no makes no nevermind to me."

Kagome frowned. If that's so... then why did she ask me to give him up? She's hiding something.

"What do you really want, Onna?"

"I want to see just what you are willing to give up to regain this source of power - and what you are willing to give to save your lover from my ice."

"Anything. I would give anything I have to keep him safe from you," she said instantly, no hesitation in her voice.

Yuki Onna stared at her for a moment, then a frozen smile tightened her lips. "Would you give me... you?"

Inhaling deeply, she said, "Hai. My life for his - my soul for his."

At that, the woman moved even closer, and lifted her hand to run a finger down Kagome's cheek. Ice spread from the woman's fingertip, causing pain to seize her flesh.

"It hurts, doesn't it?" she whispered. "Are you still willing to give yourself to me, knowing the pain you will suffer?"

Kagome swallowed hard, fighting to stay conscious through the spreading pain, and nodded. "Hai. I am."

Silence greeted her words... and then the darkness reclaimed her, her last thought sliding forlornly through her mind.

I will miss you, Sesshoumaru... and...

I love you.

When she came to, she was surrounded by warmth, by softness, and it took her confused mind a few moments to realize where she was - held in the lap of a barely controlled youkai Lord.

What? she thought, confused. I thought...

And then she realized something else.

Her hand was wrapped tightly around something sharp... something powerful, and she gasped as she opened her hand, drawing his attention from her eyes, to her hand. As the red finally started to bleed out of his eyes, they widened slightly, as both he and Kagome realized at the same time that she was holding the last shard of the jewel that they'd searched so long for.

The last shard.

And something else as well - a daisy.

"Where were you, miko, and how did you get that shard?" he snapped, his voice deep, guttural.

Kagome looked up, surprised, and then glanced around at the rest of the group, noting that all eyes were on her. She dropped her eyes back to the flower, and then smiled.

I'll never tell... it was a test, and I guess I passed it.

"Getting the last shard, Sesshoumaru. Sorry I disappeared like that, but I didn't have much say in it. The one who held the shard wanted to chat - privately."

She laughed, suddenly feeling lighter than she had in a long time, and held the shard out for them all to see.

"The last shard, guys... it's almost over!"

And as cheers broke out in a babble of relieved voices, she looked up at a still upset inuyoukai, and stretching up, she kissed him, surprising him right out of his ill humor, then she smiled impishly at him.

"You know what, Sesshoumaru?" At his questioning look, she reached up and touched his cheek stripes with a soft finger.

"I love you."

He stared at her for a long moment, face blank, and then pulled her into a fierce embrace, burying his nose in her neck, inhaling her beloved scent deeply as he finally began to calm.

No... he doesn't need to know what she said to me, it would just upset him.

But I'm so glad that I could come back to him...

Thanks, Yuki Onna, or whoever you really were, for not keeping my soul.

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A/N: A test of heart... but was Yuki Onna really who she claimed to be? We'll see... and Sesshoumaru still has his own test to go through.

Amber