Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha and character in this fic.

Chapter 9 – revelation

She knew something had gone wrong as soon as she woke, reading prints of an object usually didn't involve getting transported to a cold room lit by about a million candles. Memories were there, yet only vaguely. She had touched the jewel.. reached into its memories.. felt her self been pulled by a strong force, despite the fight she put up, she had lost and had come to the conclusion that what ever it was, it was stronger than she was.

As Kagome lifted her self from the floor, she was greeted by the dense and drained sensation that was not uncommon when she overworked herself. One hand was pressed against the floor whist the other swung towards her forehead, brushing across the top of a flame on its way. Instantly, she cried out and drew her hand back, eyeing the flame of the black candle in shock, the fire had not been burning hot, but cold as the winter's ice.

The freezing fire was not doing well in proving her sanity. Of course, two other possibilities were present, that she was either dead, or somehow transported to another dimension… and she favored neither possibilities.

"Not long now.."

Kagome shuddered as though she was pressed against another icy flame, the voice had belonged to a female, she saw, a girl, perhaps a year or two older than her had stepped out of the shadows and was studying Kagome with great interest with her black, hollow eyes. Kagome stared back, struck by the familiarity of her features. The girl was pale, almost deathly white as light of the candles met her with a colorless glow, glistening off her straight black hair that draped across her shoulders. Other than that, she was a mirrored image of Kagome.

*~*~*~*

The local hospital was a depressingly ugly building, its walls, which had once been a creamy white, could now only be described as a graying yellow. Inuyasha paced along the silent corridor, the tap of his footsteps accompanied by irregular coughs behind various closed doors. Occasionally, he would throw a worried look at his half- brother who sitting in one of the orange chairs that lined the wall, only to receive a stare that showed no emotion at all.

Sweat came to his palms as he clenched and unclenched it. There was no signs of her waking up and through the glass panel, he could see the still figure of Kagome, her closed eyes and lips slightly parted, no longer smiling..

Why wouldn't she wake up? And why was he feeling the same emotions he had felt when Kikyou was found dead that morning? The same devastation.. the same anguish. He had dated Kikyou for over a year, but he had only talked to Kagome three times! Yet.. the same emotion gripped him.. he couldn't have loved Kagome.. could he?

The glass paneled door slipped open and a doctor exited the room, on meeting the eagerness in the pair of golden eyes, he merely shook his head.. The cause to Kagome's coma could not be found .. no drugs were taken, no abnormality to her body.. It was as if she had slipped into a natural dream.. only that she would never be allowed to wake up..

*~*~*~*

She didn't know how.. but she knew the girl was Kikyou. Inuyasha's.. girlfriend who had killed herself two years ago, but why was she seeing her? Why was Kikyou staring at her as though she was inspecting a specimen? Wasn't she dead?

"It really depends on what your concept of death is. " Kikyou muttered coldly, as though she had read Kagome's mind. "For some, been dead means the soul had left the body, but for me.." She smirked. "Well, you'll see soon enough.. it won't be long now.."

Not.. long? Until what?

*~*~*~*

She wasn't going to wake up any time soon. Sesshoumaru thought, watching his half brother sitting motionlessly before the equally motionless girl. It served her right to read the jewel and served his idiotic brother right, too for giving the jewel to her.

He fingered the shikon no Tama, the imprint on it was extremely unstable, it had become capricious ever since Inuyasha had given it to his first girl friend, her death simply added to the vacillation. Kikyou had pampered with the jewel, Sesshoumaru knew, but enclosed by layers of negative emotions that had accumulated from Inuyasha over the past two years, it was now impossible to see what Kikyou had originally done.

There was much more to Kikyou's suicide that night, but even knowing that, Sesshoumaru had not told anyone, not even Inuyasha. The idiot wouldn't have believed him anyway, he hadn't believed it when Sesshoumaru dropped hints that the Shikon no tama wasn't just a pretty decoration.

Sesshoumaru knew he had been foolish to have ignored the Shikon's warning after it changed to a deep scarlet that morning beside the lifeless Kikyou. But childishly, he had hoped the problem would go away if was left alone.. he was..

Afraid.

He feared what laid beneath the scarlet surface.. By probing the jewel's memories, the unstable core would break, releasing whatever was hidden within it. Yet now..

Curse his ignorance! Sesshoumaru thought. He should had destroyed the jewel at the first chance he got.. he should have!.. but.. would he? Inuyasha was an inferior, an intruder to his family, but even so, Sesshoumaru could not destroy the memento of Inuyasha's own mother, he did not dare.

Abruptly, Sesshoumaru brushed the thought away, annoyed. Besides, he couldn't destroy the jewel now even if he had wanted to, not when that Kagome's soul is still trapped somewhere in there, which left him with only one choice..

He breathed in deeply, tracing over the jewel and searched for the space that marked the girl's entrance, it was faint, already covered the newly released emotions from the bearer. A expanding regret that seemed to be increasing by the moment. Regret.. for the girl.. Kagome?

*~*~*~*

It was getting cold in the oversized room, and the non- heat giving candles was not helping. Kagome shivered in her position, more from what she had just been told than from the cold. She glanced up at Kikyou, who had not shifted her gaze from Kagome since she started talking.

"They are coming." Kikyou murmured.

Kagome shivered again at the sound of her voice, but didn't bother trying to understand what Kikyou had said. In the past hour or so, Kikyou said no more than 'won't be long now' and 'they are coming' and neither made any sense to Kagome. When she tried to question Kikyou, in attempt to find out where she is, she simply received no answer.

"Kikyou? Um.." Kagome started again, though not expecting an answer. "Did you curse Inuyasha? Are you the curse?"

Cold black eyes fixed on Kagome's dark green ones and a faint smile appeared on Kikyou's lips.

"No," she said slowly. "you were."

*~*~*~*

End of chapter 9 – Revelation

*~*~*~*

Max (ryedoll16@yahoo.com) : thanks for the tips, really appreciated it.

Mustard Yellow Sunshine: I did try to update more often, since it's the holidays..I like the Inu/Kag pairing as well but any pairing with Kagome is pretty good.

amandaxue3: No, this fic is a Inu/Kag, but I am working on a Sess/Kag fic.. it's just a bit.. stuck at the moment.

Caitlin6767 : I was really surprise that I didn't get a review from you last time.. * pouts * . Ah well, good to know you didn't decide to abandon it ^_^

Yuna miko of souls: will happily let you drag Kikyou to hell any day.

insomni-maniac: ^_^ Tragedy is working? Wow! I'm so glad!

Anime Gurl16: yup, Microsoft word, but save it as HTML.

Sakura-chan88: Thanx anyway, I've tried this HTML stuff before, but there was all these weird letter popping up when I posted it on. Good thing it worked!

Pokahydee - Nekoyasha: I fixed some spelling errors from last chapter, but I'm not sure if I missed any. You can put this fic on the site is you want to, I checked it out, the cross-over gallery's cute.

AN: Hello all! I loaded this chapter again to change some of the errors. I might not be able to update this fic for a while (should be able to get the next chapter up by next weekend). So please don't give up on me yet!!

Ricepaper