Shinjite byRPG-girl

Chapter V: The Jewel Breaks

Sesshoumaru pulled his hand back and prepared to lacerate the venomous snake. With a cruel smirk he thrusted his claws forth at the youkai, slashing its neck wide open with incredible speed. Screeching, the demon shriveled as more blood poured out of the now two wounds on his body.

"Even with the Shikon Jewel, you are still unable to defeat me. I am already losing interest in this battle," Sesshoumaru claimed nonchalantly, feet touching the ground. He hooked a few strands of hair behind his pointed ears, looked up calmly, and waited for the snake to bleed to death.

Au contraire.

Instead, the open gash Sesshoumaru had inflicted upon the scaly youkai gradually closed. Sesshoumaru tensed slightly and returned to his combat stance and narrowed his eyes. 'Why does the wound I had given him mend, yet the wound the miko had inflicted stay? It is the jewel's doing. It gives that reptile the ability to regenerate. And the only ones that can execute damage to it are probably ones with priestess powers. That girl is the solitary individual who can destroy this vile creature...' he looked towards the direction of the girl merely to find her still unconscious. 'Wonderful. Luck is obviously on my side.'

He leapt into the air suddenly to dodge a surprise attack from the snake.

"See? I've told you beforehand, I am a hundred times stronger than before, and nothing will get in my way!!" the snake sneered, circling the demon in intimidation.

"Having the ability to regenerate is not a matter to boast about." A crack permitted the air, and a swooshing sound as a bright yellow demon whip splintered the atmosphere. "Especially if the ability was given to you by a small piece of rock." Sesshoumaru veered his right arm, the youki whip following his movement and shredding the snake demon into several large masses.

The youkai appeared dead, but then, to Sesshoumaru's dismay, it slowly regenerated yet again. "Heheheheh... you cannot kill me. No matter how hard you try. Go ahead, I'll let you strike me as many times as you want."

Quite irked, Sesshoumaru raised a brow. Obviously the demon believed it was toying with him. Sesshoumaru slowly raised his right hand at elbow length and looked down at it. It was covered with poison, his darkened eyes noticed before turning back to the dull-yellow eyed snake.

"Agreed," he stated simply. "Foolish of you to permit to be killed so willingly."

The snake smirked, or at least that was what it looked like. Its fangs gleamed in the moonlight, as well as the other teeth it had in its foul mouth. Just like Sesshoumaru had predicted, the reptile youkai thought that it was toying with the cunning dog demon.

In a flurry of white and red, Sesshoumaru slashed the snake repeatedly. He could feel the adrenaline from all the carnage rushing through his veins as warm specks of blood sprayed across his face, indulging in its metallic smell.

The snake on the other hand, was feeling the sensation of being stabbed by a thousand daggers, and yet it could not see its attacker moving around, inflicting damage onto it.

To a human's perspective, it would have seemed as if the cuts and deep gashes were appearing on the youkai out of nowhere.... and that was only a small example of Sesshoumaru's speed.

Soon, bits of the snake were falling all over the air, as well as a shower of blood, and Sesshoumaru was taking non-too-deep sadistic pleasure in it. He knew that the snake was still alive, and was also feeling each painful second of his actions- and the best part of it all was; that it would be able to regenerate yet again and Sesshoumaru could tear the snake up like paper once more, all the while enjoying its tormented pleads for mercy. But then, as all entertainment had to go to an end, he could not permit himself to relish in such sadist pleasures for too long...

Kagome's eyes slowly fluttered open. Instantly remembering what had just happened, she jumped onto her feet and was ready to fight the snake. It was then she noticed that...

A: Black blood and cartilage was scattered all over the clearing B: She had a sprained arm and leg C: Her arm was bleeding D: A strange green chunk of something, (which Kagome abruptively finds out as the snake's head) was hurling at her at full speed.

In reflex, her energy bow and arrow appeared and she fired the arrow straight towards the large snakehead. It crashed into the cranium square in the middle.

Kagome was thrown back at tremendous force by a strange pink light emitting from the snakehead. She squinted her eyes to obtain a better glance at the head and saw something that, figuratively speaking, ended her world the second time that night.

The shambled head, which was cut in half, sloppily descended down onto the blackened grass, revealing the floating Shikon no Tama. Correction. The slowly cracking Shikon no Tama. Kagome's eyes widened as one by one, more cracks appeared in the jewel. 'It looks like it's going to explode...!'

At the sidelines, Sesshoumaru had noticed the strange pink light and turned his head slightly to see the Miko girl. She was now conscious and was staring wide eyed at the Shikon no Tama, which was floating in midair.

Kagome dashed towards the Shikon no Tama, planning to reach out and grab it like mad. She clasped the cracking jewel inside both her hands and held it tight, wincing slightly from the hotness of it. The pink light still emanated from the jewel and shone through the gaps of her slim fingers.

The shining light ceased for a second.

Inside Kagome's hands, the Jewel began to shake uncontrollably, as if trying to get out. And unexpectedly, it shattered in her hands.

Kagome's hands were forced open as hundreds- or possibly even thousands of pieces of the jewel escaped from her grip. Sharp pain came to her hands as the shards cut them, rushing out rapidly. Just before the last of the jewel shards could escape her grasp, she closed her hands again, and didn't let go. Holding the fragments of the jewel was like holding struggling piranhas, biting her at the same time.

Finally the jewel shards stopped jerking uncontrollably in her hands and calmed. She carefully strained her hands open and was horrified by the display. There were countless cuts, (although they were shallow) and her hand was a bloody mess. Blinking, she could feel emptiness and disappointment brewing with her, and she let out a big, tired, unsure sigh.

Suddenly not caring about the blood coursing down her arm, as well as the blood dripping down her fingers, she dropped to her knees. "It... shattered," she murmured, laughing slightly in a deranged way, "I've broken Kiochi-san's reliance on me like I have broken the jewel... I knew I couldn't be trusted with anything. I'm such a fool."

Her eyes became blurred over as she looked down at two shards in each hand.

Sesshoumaru watched the girl, dazed and unaware of the semi-seriousness in her injuries and his presence. He smelled salt on her, (tears obviously) and wondered if they were tears of failure or pain from her fatalities. Perhaps a little of both.

His ears picked up a small whimper. 'Rin...' For some unknown reason he dreaded if she witnessed any of the gore that'd occurred. The girl had seen enough carnage... Unexpectedly, flashes of a haunting past came to mind, and Sesshoumaru closed his eyes for a moment, then leapt up on the tree the little girl was on top of. "Rin." he said quietly, but not so low as a whisper.

For a while the girl seemed frightened of him, but then realization dawned on her and she remembered who he was. "Sesshoumaru-sama...," there was uncertainty laced with her words. "Slimy thing at the end of the branch..." Rin stuttered warily, pointing at a piece of the snake at the end of the tree limb. Sesshoumaru swiftly sliced the section of the limb away with a hint of brusqueness.

"Did you see anything?" he questioned her, his tone dark and serious, as if he were going to punish her if she said yes.

"No. I just woke." The child tried to keep her sentences short, not feeling comfortable at the moment.

He looked at her skeptically, then at the sky. "Then let us take leave."

"Where?"

"To my domicile. It is not too far from here. Are you willing to come along? Or are you frightened?" his voice challenged the child, as if wanting to see her toughen up.

"No, My Lord," she said, with a bit of strength. "Rin is coming with you!"

Sesshomaru frowned deeply. "Why is it that you speak so much in third person?"

"S-Sorry. It is a habit, Sesshoumaru-sama," she said with a slight pout.

He waved her apology away, nodding slightly. "It is all right. Just refrain from doing it too much."

"Yes, sir!" she said bubbly. "I cannot wait to see Sesshoumaru-sama's house!"

The neutral lord then looked down on the broken miko. 'Might as well take that human with me also,' Sesshoumaru decided. He would never admit it, but the reason was... that human fascinated him. She wasn't the most attractive female he's ever met, but her accent, brash Inuyasha-like behavior, kind heart, it was all so different to him, and he was going to find out why and how she turned out that way.

He sent Rin a look that simply meant 'stay here' and bounded down from the tree and began strolling towards the strange human woman. Sensing his presence (a bit too lately, in his standards) she looked up at him, confused and dazed. "Sesshoumaru?" her voice was distant, as if she was presently in an alternative world. He didn't reply. Instead, he just locked his gaze with hers as his long tail crept behind her, preparing to grab her around the waist. She, of course, didn't notice it because she was currently drifting in space all the while looking straight into Sesshoumaru's eyes.

Kagome felt her head get fogged up as she looked up at Sesshoumaru.

As she stared into his eyes words rang in her mind like chimes, and sounded strangely similar to Kiochi's voice.

"You've failed Kagome.... you've failed...... failed..... faaaaaaiiiilleeedd....." the voice in her head sang in a strangely off-tune manner.

They just looked at each other for a few seconds, until something warm and furry wrapped itself around her waist and immediately pulled her into the air.

Blue eyes snapped extensively open as she realized that she was riding... on Sesshoumaru's tail... In the air... they were...... flying....?

(A/N: Sesshoumaru wasn't really flying, he was only doing that thing where he jumps on thin air.)

"AAAAIEE!!!!!" She squeaked, snapping back to reality. "Sesshoumaru, let me go or I'll subdue you!! Didn't you see what just happened there? I don't have time to be kidnapped then killed by a jackass demon!!"

Chuckling inwardly at her display of words, Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly to look back at her. "I am a dog demon, not a donkey. And in addition, if you subdue me, what will happen to you?"

Kagome opened her mouth to retort something but thought about it. 'He'll plummet down towards the ground, of course... OH! And I will too!' she suddenly became aware that her threat was an idiotic one and flushed.

"Don't worry," a small voice called out to her, and she craned her neck slightly, to see over Sesshoumaru's shoulders, and saw a child... the child the demon possessed. Her eyes were no longer crimson but a chocolaty brown, and she was grinning. "Sesshoumaru-sama will take care of you." After that she said no more and turned around, and all Kagome could see of her was her brunette wild flowing hair.

The girl was associated with Sesshoumaru? But... how?

Kagome dismissed the thought and concluded that the girl she was seeing was but a figment of her hallucination.

Sighing she gazed at the jewel fragments in her hands once more, then suddenly locked her hands into fists, afraid that they were going to escape her.

'I can't believe I broke it... I must tell Kiochi..' she was pulled out of her reverie when she suddenly felt a new sensation. A sensation of light-headedness was coming to her and her arms and legs were feeling like empty bottles of soda. 'Probably from my blood loss. Oh well. At least when I die, I'd be free from all of my duties.. and worries.' she thought, though not exactly thinking clear. 'Dying isn't all that bad... I'm just so tired...'

Her eyelids slowly drooped as her body fell limp in Sesshoumaru's tail. 'No more geometry....' she thought, a bit insanely. 'No more cocky handsome dog demons.... just blackness... and eternal.... sleep.....'

Her captor, Sesshoumaru, became aware of the girl slackening within his tail. He turned his head vaguely to see her in his peripheral vision, out cold, obviously from the blood loss. He muttered a few colorful words mentally and decided to gather speed before the young woman expires of lifeblood.

Naraku's eyes opened slowly to see the dull ceiling of an empty room. He immediately pulled himself out of the futon and swiveled his head from left to right. A single candle lit the room.

No one was there, in the whole shrine, judging from the stillness. He noiselessly dressed into his normal dark apparel and walked out of the shrine hurriedly. How long was he unconscious?

Looking up at the sky, he noticed that it was not sunny like the day before, but gray and dim. Not that he was complaining, he usually took a liking to dark and cool days. It was just that... something did not seem right.

Naraku decided to go to the village and find Kagome, Kiochi, Kaede, or Kikyou. As he walked through a clearing by the forest, he witnessed something that greatly surprised him. People were scattered all over the place, all calling out that girl, Kagome's name. He walked towards the nearest villager with a neutral expression. "What is going on here?"

"The Miko of the future has gone missing!"

"Miko... Kagome?" Naraku asked unsurely.

"Yes! She has been missing since the night before, when she had decided to take a walk. That was the last time Lady Kiochi or Miss Kaede has seen her!"

Naraku felt confusion. 'I was out for only one single night and I miss a large amount of events,' Naraku went into deep thought, unknown of what to do. 'This is truly aggravating.'

"Naraku-san!" "Onigumo-chan!" two voices called to him. His eyes casted onto two pale miko females. "Kagome is missing!" Kiochi said worriedly. "We know she couldn't have gone back to her time, because she has left her belongings here."

"Hmm," his response was a dull one.

"And what are you doing out of bed?!" Kaede asked abruptly. "That poison is still coursing through your veins-"

"I am going to look for the miko. After all, she still has the Shikon Jewel, and the fool must've pranced around, flashing the damn thing infront of every demon she saw."

"Kagome was worried about you! How could you make her sound like some moron?!" Kaede demanded, insulted for Kagome.

A flash of fluster passed his expression, and Kaede had seen it. After a while, a small smile appeared upon her lithe face, and she suddenly nodded, as if understanding.

"You two stay here. I will be back in tomorrow morning at latest." Naraku turned around and walked into the western parts of the forest, trying to sniff out Kagome's scent. 'These humans can't even last a day without me,' Naraku thought, feeling aggravation once more. 'What's this?' he reached a blackened section of the forest, evidently youkai blood. He carefully kneeled down on one knee and smelled the surroundings carefully, noticing Kagome's scent as well as Sesshoumaru's and a human child's. His left hand clenched tightly. 'Sesshoumaru... the western prince. I should have known he had stuck around. I could smell Kagome's blood around here. She is probably injured.' It was then that he smelled something else. It smelled like power... like... 'The Shikon no Tama?'

He followed his nose and walked towards a small puddle of blood. In the center of the dark blood was a shard of the Shikon jewel, glittering brightly. Naraku, not caring about the disgusting pool of blood, hastily swiped the jewel into his right hand. A low growl emitted from his throat. "A piece of the sacred Jewel... it must have been broken during this battle." He placed it into the pockets of his black kimono. "I must find that girl."

Without another word, Naraku followed the trail of Kagome and Sesshoumaru's scents. "Sesshoumaru... what business does he have with that human woman?"

His eyes flashed as he pictured Kagome in a dark musty dungeon. Out of the blue, an image of Sesshoumaru pinning Kagome to a wall passed his mind. She was frightened, and he was wearing a dangerous smile, a blood-lust smile....

Another angry growl escaped his throat unwillingly. 'What is this new emotion I am cursed with? Am I concerned for her?' Naraku scoffed to himself. 'Ugh. I will take no heed to these strange human emotions I have been cursed with.'

With that thought, Naraku fastened his pace, determined on retrieving Kagome and taking her back.
Sesshoumaru continued down the cold empty halls of his residence, his face as impassive and cold as the hallways themselves. He approached the room the priestess was in, planning to check up on her. For what reasons he had her in his quarters he did not know. He stopped and faced the girl's room, which the scent of blood had slightly hung over. Just as his hand reached out to touch the knob, the door opened, revealing one of the castle maids. She immediately bowed. "Sesshoumaru-sama."

"How is she?" he asked indifferently.

"We've tended to all her wounds, but... she never opened her hands so we could look at them, even in unconsciousness."

"I see... leave." He said the words flatly, impolitely.

A look of slight annoyance passed the other demon's face, but it was soon replaced with a smile and a shake of the head. "Hai, Sesshoumaru-sama." The maid bowed lowly and went on her way.

Sesshoumaru walked into the room quietly and saw the girl, now dressed in a white gi and hakama, a contemplating look on her face. She was sitting down on her futon, hugging her legs to her. She looked up slowly. "I don't see why you're keeping me here."

"I do not, neither. But you will stay, none the less," he announced briefly, walking over to her and kneeling down by the futon.

"I thought we were enemies. You're supposed to kill me," she said somewhat boldly, smiling up at him.

"Yes I am. But you have sparked interest within me." His tone was frank, unbashful. "Things have been rather tedious in my life."

She stared at him, slightly startled. "I'd have thought that you were a passive-aggressive ice block- please don't take that the wrong way and kill me- and that you were just bored with everything. So you can actually get interested? That's a first." She laughed a fake laugh.

"Why is it that you do not seem so afraid of me on the outside?" he asked quietly. "Your heart is pounding incredibly fast- I assume it is because you are afraid- but you do not show it. Why?"

"Because- umm..." she looked up thoughtfully. "No use cowering. Besides, I might be afraid for my life right now, but at least if I die, it's not to a scary-looking ugly ogre demon!" she strained humor into the last part of her words.

"I see."

Her nervous smile fell immediately after seeing his blank expression, and she heaved a heavy sigh. Her eyes traveled downwards to her fisted hands, where the remnants of the jewel remained. "I broke the Jewel... Naraku and the others will be furious," Kagome's eyes went downcast. "He wanted it." An image of Naraku sparked before her eyes, his lust for the jewel evident. "He'll try to kill me, but hey, I could always throw in a subduing word, ne?"

Sesshoumaru watched her with a disinterested expression, and she laughed nervously, deciding to get to the point. "But... with the jewel broken, at least no youkai will be able get hold of it now, right?"

He seemed to smile a bit at her naiveté. "Wrong."

"Wrong?"

"Right."

Kagome's brows knit together in confusion, and he began his explanation. "I do not know a large amount about the jewel, but I know this much: You are wrong. Obviously many a youkai will try to find the shards to empower themselves."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am saying that with a jewel shard, youkai are able to double, maybe triple their strength, depending on the size of the certain shard. That Snake youkai I, or might I say you killed, was weak only because of natural elements. Even with the Shikon no Tama, most youkai are still weak. But if fallen into the wrong hands, many demons as well as mortals will die," Sesshoumaru answered. "Not that I am concerned with their deaths."

"Then that means I have worsened the danger of the Shikon no Tama..." Kagome's eyes became quite watery again. "And that also means I am obliged to finding every shard."

"You seem very resolute on your duty," Sesshoumaru commented, watching her face.

"Of course. I have to be. My duty is a very serious one..."

the two of them stayed quiet for a few minutes.

Kagome took this quiet time to think. 'Naraku... I hope he is feeling well right now. And Kiochi-san and Kaede-chan must be worried about me. I will only add to their worries when I tell them about the broken Shikon Jewel. I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders right now.. This feels worse than having so many overdue homework that I lose track of them!' a frustrated unexpected growl of her own came from her throat. "This sucks!!"

She sighed again, shoulders slumping. 'It's not fair... why me?'

Sesshoumaru was suddenly kneeling down infront of her, his tail relaxed on the hardwood floor. Kagome wasn't startled, for she had drifted off into space again. Sesshoumaru's clawed hands snaked around her wrists and drew her attention to him.

Kagome's serene blue eyes traveled to his face only to be trapped by his golden eyes. "A maid tells me you had not opened your hands, even in unconsciousness."

"And? What of it?" Kagome asked timidly.

"Are you still fearful that the fragment of the jewel you had caught will escape you, like the others had done?" he questioned mildly, referring to a bright flashback of streaming pink shards...

"Maybe."

"Keh. It had shown no signs of attempts to escape, has it not?" Sesshoumaru abruptively let her wrists go. "Open your hands."

Kagome nodded silently and slowly opened her two hands, exposing two shards in each. She was aware that the blood on her hand had not dried at all, but had ceased flowing. She looked up, startled, when Sesshoumaru suddenly took her right hand with one of his and brought it close to his face, as if analyzing it. The jewel that was previously in it fell to her lap unnoticedly.

Sesshoumaru felt his blood heat up. His youkai side was being aroused by the scent of her blood, which differed from most humans as he examined her hand. He averted his gaze and stood up, absolutely refusing the urge to lick her hand clean of the blood. "We will discuss a few more matters when you had gotten your small wounds cleaned up."

He started for the door, but paused. He kept his back turned to the girl. "I never did get your name."

"It's Kagome."

Sesshoumaru nodded meekly and left.

Kagome looked out the large window of her room. The sky was gray and gloomy. 'I wonder if Naraku is looking at the exact same sky I'm looking up upon? If he is, he must be thinking about the drastic change in the weather, like I am right now...'

The shoji door slowly opened once more. Kagome turned her head to see another maid. "Lord Sesshoumaru has informed me to make sure you wear these, Kagome-sama." The shy maid almost reminded Kagome of Kaede, except with a demony twist. Her ears were pointed and there was a single blue stripe on each side of her face. Her hair was short, about ear-length, and a deep red color, and her eyes were just black depths.

Smiling, the young miko looked at the clothing before her eyes. The maid was holding out a soothing white kimono with small dark shaded blue flower imprints, and a dark blue obi to match. "Thank you..."

The demon maid nodded. "Do you need help in changing? I can be of assistance, if you want."

"Just a little. I always seem to have a hard time tying the obi," Kagome replied sheepishly.

"Yes, Lady. And, if it is not too bold, may I ask a question?"

"Sure!"

"Are you a human?"

Kagome paused, then turned to look at the sheepish girl. "Yes, I am." The demon girl suddenly smiled and shook her head, giggling slightly.

"What is it?"

"It's nothing, My Lady."

Eyeing the girl warily, Kagome set the shards onto a low table. "Do you have any warm water and bandages?"

"It's alright, a few maids are already coming to clean up your hands, Kagome-sama."

"Nah. I think I'd rather treat my wounds by myself, though, if that's alright."

"If you are sure," the maid answered.

Inuyasha paced around in the throne room, as usual. "Damn it, where's that brother of mine?!" he barked, not feeling like he's in a too good mood. Poor Jaken flinched at Inuyasha's tone of voice.

"Sesshoumaru-sama had important business to do-"

"I am right here," a cool voice announced. Sesshoumaru was sitting on the windowsill. "I heard your idiotic ranting from at least a mile away."

"And where the hell were you?" Inuyasha said impatiently. "My crowning's gonna be in two weeks and you suddenly go missing on me?!"

"I was busy, you fool."

"Oh really?" Inuyasha was about to say something about the crowning as he passed by Sesshoumaru, when he smelled something strange on his elder brother. "Why do I smell something sweet on you? That scent can't be human..."

"So you've noticed. I am harboring two mortal girls, and you will not go near them, nor make any contact with them. Understood?"

"WHAT?! I thought you hated humans! And besides, humans don't smell that good, with a few exceptions... The scent I smelled on you even topped many female youkai's scents!"

"These two are different. No more questions. We have to get down to business about your crowning... there must be much planning, Inuyasha. The lords of North, East, and South are going to arrive, as well as some nobles and trusted vassals..."

"Blah, blah, blah. Fine, I won't peek into your affairs. You're lucky I'm not the nosy type," Inuyasha lied.

"Then let's not dive into the subject," Sesshoumaru glared, his voice sharp. "Now, about the crowning..."

"Thank you so much, umm... what's your name again?" Kagome asked nervously.

"Nirana. Call whenever you need me, Lady Kagome!" The now open-minded demon girl smiled, bowed then left.

Kagome looked at herself in the mirror, turning from side to side to get better view of the kimono. 'Sesshoumaru has good taste. But then again, he probably has a lot of beautiful kimonos and thought that this one was the worst looking one or something.'

She realized that the shoji door was still open, indicating that she could just stroll out unnoticed, and she did just that. However, as soon as she set foot into the hall, the temperature dropped tremendously, the atmosphere becoming clouded with demon auras. Kagome rubbed her arms unconsciously with her bandaged hands and walked down the freezing hallway, curiously looking around.

'Wow... I wonder how Sesshoumaru keeps his house so cold. He doesn't even have an air conditioner and the room temperature's below freezing point! There's nothing colder than this,' Kagome mused, breathing out small white puffs of warm air. 'Well, maybe Sesshoumaru's gaze is colder than this, but...'

She saw a large sliding door and opened it, uncovering a beautiful warm terrace. Even with the gray skies, the small garden looked bright and full of life, sheen with beauty. A small stream, about three feet in width was flowing, and on the other side of the stream was a vast stretch of flowers.

She saw a little girl in a yellow-checkered kimono staring down at a stream, her back turned to Kagome. Kagome noticed the little girl as the child who was possessed by the snake youkai. Upon sensing her presence the little girl twirled around.

'Ah. So I wasn't hallucinating from before. Could she possibly be Sesshoumaru's....' she rapidly shook the thought out of her head. "Good morning. I'm Kagome," Kagome said as she sat down beside the little girl. "Are you the girl I saw with Sesshoumaru?"

"Yes! My name is Rin. Rin...I think you're a pretty lady, Kagome-chan! I think Lord Sesshoumaru thinks that, too!"

Kagome was taken aback by the suddenness of the little girl's addressing, but brushed the thought away. "I think Rin-chan is pretty, too."

"Is Kagome-chan going to stay with me, Like Sesshoumaru-sama?"

"We'll see."

Rin smiled adorably and pulled on Kagome's arm. "I-I found pretty stones nearby the stream... do you wanna see them?"

"A pretty stone? Where?" Kagome asked playfully.

Rin held up a small shard of the Shikon Jewel. "Rin thinks it's pretty," she said rushedly, not even bothering to correct her speech. "Rin thinks you're pretty, too, so I wants... err, I wanted to give it to you!" The little girl placed her small balled hands into Kagome's gentle soft ones and opened them. Kagome's eyes widened as two Shikon Shards were deposited into her hands. "Thank you, Rin.. These are beautiful." Kagome smiled inwardly then threw her arms open. She smiled cutely at the equally cute child. "Come ova here and give me a hug!"

"W..Why?" she asked uncertainly.

Kagome pouted. "Cause I feel like it!"

Rin's grin widened as she ran forth and embraced her new-found sister. Kagome stroked the girls hair, smiling as well. "You remind me of my little brother so much, you know that? Except he'd never let me hug him like this..."

When they parted from the mother/daughterly embrace, Kagome's eyes widened to see Rin sniffle and wipe a tear from her large eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," she smiled through watery eyes. "It's been a while since Rin hugged someone.." Immediately the girl brightened, tears forgotten. "Kagome, do you want to pick flowers with Rin? It's for Lord Sesshoumaru. He saved me yesterday from demons, so he's my hero," she grinned toothily. "He saved you, too, so you should pick flowers for him, too."

"Okay."

Naraku felt that he was getting close. Kagome's scent was getting slightly stronger with each step. Funny thing was, his dislike for this Sesshoumaru was also getting stronger with each step as well. 'Sesshoumaru... if you do anything to hurt the girl...' his eyes widened slightly. Hurriedly, he added in another thought. 'She needs to explain a few things to me. That's why I need her alive.'

END CHAPTER 5