AW: Hey sorry it took so long, but as a treat..... I'm going to upload the fourth chapter to right away!! Lucky READERS!!!

Chapter Three

The Unforgettable Poem

Kagome made sure to keep within shouting distance of Kaede and Sango while helping to repair the village. The horrible blizzard that had swept through their area over a month ago had taken off the roofs of several cottages and completely destroyed one of the grain huts. Kagome hummed mildly to herself and those around her as she attempted to fasten the thatched shingles to the roof frame.

She checked over her shoulder again; the reassuring sight of Sango calming her suddenly rapid pulse. She knew Inu-Yasha was around, helping in his own way, but because he was out in the forest, where she couldn't see him, she couldn't help but be nervous. Her most recent run-in with Sessho-Maru had happened yesterday afternoon and since then several reports of a demon matching his description had been traveling along the roads. He was lurking about and it scared her to the bone. No other demon had ever stalked her before, except for Inu-Yasha constantly harassing her about the Jewel. But that's different; he's a friend. Sessho-Maru is just... She shivered. Yesterday's incident had almost been enough to send her packing; Inu-Yasha's whining had kept her here, at least until the weekend.

"Kagome!" Shippo called out to her as he came bounding around the corner of a hut. A huge canvas sack filled his arms, impeding his ability to move.

"What've you got there, Shippo?" She checked to make sure her portion of the roof was secure, then carefully climbed down to inspect the kitsune's bundle.

"It's for you," he said, panting slightly as he drew up in front of her. "I found it by the river where we were collecting rocks." At the word "we" he casually motioned behind him but not enough to pull his full attention from the sack.

Kagome looked up to see Inu-Yasha, burdened with shale-stones, come around the corner, following Shippo's tracks. He stomped up to them and dropped the rocks purposefully close to the kitsune's tail.

"EEPPP!!"

"BRAT!! Who said you could run off like that!?! Didn't even bring any rocks; FEH! Useless child."

The fox cub's face was a mini-mask of rage as he smoothed the frayed end of his tail. He pulled a "containment" scroll from his vest and leapt at the larger dog-demon. Inu-Yasha suddenly found himself squatting, his hands trapped under a statue.

"WHY YOU LITTLE... YOU'D BETTER START RUNNING 'CAUSE ONCE KAGOME LETS ME OUT OF THIS I'M GONNA..." The demon had no chance to finish before Shippo slapped a "silence" scroll over his mouth.

"I cannot hear you, Puppy-Dog...Were you trying to say something?" He received a murderous look in return. "Thought so," Shippo said as he settled himself onto of Inu-Yasha's head. He turned back to an amused Kagome. "Like I said, Kagome, the sack is for you."

She looked down at the plain canvas sack questioningly. "How do you know?"

The kitsune bonked his pedestal on the head, "STOP MOVING", and then dug into another infinitely deep pocket. "This was on it," he stated, handing Kagome a piece of folded paper.

By now Sango and Kaede were around close enough to notice the unusual scene taking place. Neither were overly interested but decided it was time for a break and Shippo seemed to be providing entertainment, so why not? They came up beside Kagome just as she took the paper from Shippo.

Her name was written in elaborate script on the outside of the paper. She marveled for a moment at the intricate origami of the folds then carefully opened it. Her brow creased as she read and then re-read the note.

The kitsune leapt nimbly from Inu-Yasha's head to Kagome shoulder. "What's it say," he asked after looking at the scribbled lines. Sango and Kaede came up on Kagome's sides to peer at the message.

"What language is that?" Sango asked.

In a mildly shocked voice Kagome replied, "It's English, but really, old English." She racked her brain for the translations. Dammit, should've studied harder...

In Japanese she said, "I've hidden my heart to you and have already given though."

Group Silence.

They all asked their questions at the same time.

Kaede: "Are you sure you read it properly?"
Sango: "I don't understand..."
Shippo: "That really sucked, Kagome."
Inu-Yasha: "MUUMMM UMMM MMMMIIIIES..."

"IT'S POETRY!!!" Kagome suddenly exploded. "Look," she said to her friends, who had all fallen back on their butts at her proclamation. "If I read it in English there's rhyme, but in Japanese, it make no sense. Listen..."

She focused on the words and read out-loud in English, "I here do give thee with all my heart which, but thou hast already, with all my heart I would keep from thee."

She smiled at her effort.

From her shoulder Shippo pointed to the elaborate signature at the bottom of the page. "Is that 'Anguish' too?" he asked, his tiny tongue tripping over the foreign word.

"I don't know..."

The moment was broken by Miroku's entrance as the priest came sauntering into the area. "KAGOME! I heard your foreign ballad. Such lovely lyrics you've composed; you're truly a massstteeee... urmm. I say Inu-Yasha, why are you sitting in the middle of the path?" The normally smooth tongued, sure footed priest had failed to notice the silent, squatting form of the dog-demon right in front of him. He now took a better look at Inu-Yasha's predicament. "What's this?'Containment'...?"

"NOOOOOO!" screamed Shippo a second too late. Miroku had already lightly touched the scroll, completely dissolving the spell.

Inu-Yasha was up, over Miroku, and chasing a highly horrified kitsune in almost the same motion

. "HOW DARE YOU, YOU LITTLE SHIT!!! COME BACK HERE AND TAKE IT LIKE A ...." His voice faded as the two bounded away into the forest canopy.

"Well," said Kaede, turning her back to the woods and facing the non-demon members of the group again. "That's very interesting, Kagome. But it still doesn't explain the meaning."

"Or who wrote it," Sango chimed in.

"You mean Kagome didn't write it?" a now confused priest asked from his spot on the ground, the scroll now in his hand.

Kagome studied the character signature at the bottom of the page. An elaborate "S" was barely distinguishable through all the fancy swirls and random lines. She pointed it out to the others as they collectively studied the print.

"Hmm," said Miroku as he carefully tucked the "containment" scroll away in his robe. "A poet, who composes in a foreign language, and signs it with -S?"

"Perhaps whatever's in the bag will be useful," Sango suggested.

Kagome gave one curt nod of affirmation and handed the note to Kaede. She sank to her knees next to the sack and undid the knot in the drawstring. Once spread out, the sack was actually a large, round piece of canvas with holes lining the edge for the string to pass through. In the center was a soft bundle wrapped in crispy, waxed paper, which crinkled slightly as Kagome inspected the bundle. She found an end and slowly began unfolding the delicate paper. After a dozen layers she found what had been so carefully packaged.

Brightly colored material, silk she realized when she touched it, was bundle-tied loosely with a thick satin sash. Kagome opened the sash and lifted the fabric to discover it was actually fashioned into a beautiful kimono. The material was patterned with intricate green fans and Red Mountain shapes. An underlying checker-board design was woven with slender gold and silver thread which reflected the light, making the material glitter with every movement. The sash, Kagome realized, had been wrong-side up when it was wrapped around the kimono, and that on the right-side it was a deep crimson red. Almost blood red... Beneath the kimono was the remainder of the outfit. A simple cotton shirt and loose pair of pants cradled another paper wrapped bundle, this one much smaller.

"Wow," came Sango's amazed gasp.

"It's, it's..." Miroku was without words.

"It's the most beautiful thing I have ever seen," Kagome finished for him. She carefully re-folded the kimono to the best of her ability and took up the unopened package.

"What more could there possibly be?" Sango asked as she came to her knees beside Kagome.

"I don't know..."

Her words expired as sunlight hit stone and reflected a brilliant blue flash. The two girls starred at the most magnificent piece of jewelry either had ever seen. The necklace itself was white-gold with tiny pearls woven into the chain as it scooped to a point where the jewel-pendant hung. The blue stone that had sparkled and caught their attention was set, teardrop style, in an intricate basket of gold. Delicate vines of the precious metal wove and curved around the stone, capturing it in their heart. Here and there the luminescent white of a pearl peeked out, but none were as spectacular as the blue gem. Overall the size of the pendant was a little smaller than the Shikon-no-Tama before it was split.

"Uhhh..."

"You said it," Kagome replied to Sango. She slowly began to replace the necklace in the paper when something else in the small package caught her attention.

"Huh? Look!!"

She handed the necklace off to Sango then sunk her finger-tips back into the paper. She withdrew a Shikon Shard.

Miroku gasped in amazement but Kaede's brow creased in concern. "We didn't even sense it. How is that possible unless..."

"Unless, there's a spell or something," Sango substituted for Kaede's silence. A flash of blue caught her eye. "It's the necklace!!" She got up and moved a few meters away from Kagome and the Jewel shard.

"Can you feel it now?" She called back to the group.

Kagome nodded slightly as her senses flooded with the presence of the Jewel. As with each new piece, this sliver seemed to yearn to become whole again, to be reunited with the other shards. Kagome was aware that the shards called to one another, always seeking to come back to a whole unit again. That was why demons with shards actively sought out her and Inu-Yasha more reverently than those without. There were powerful forces at work if the magic in the necklace could shadow the Jewel's call.

She put the shard into the tiny jar that was with her at all times. It was the only item out of everything in the canvas sack that she was confident in, the rest was too incredible and too frightening to consider. As she and Sango re-packaged everything, Kagome had to wonder who would send her such an extravagant gift.

"I'm going to go find Inu-Yasha and Shippo's remains," Miroku stated. The gravity of the situation, and the necklace in particular, was not wasted on the priest. He headed off in the direction the two demons had taken, calling over his shoulder, "if Shippo found it, maybe he can tell us a little about it."

Kagome could only nod as her friends disappeared into the overgrowth of the forest floor. She and Sango took the sack to Kaede's hut then went back to helping the other villagers. Kagome's concerns over Sessho-Maru, for the moment, were dwarfed by others.

AW: Hmmmm.... I wonder who sent that!! Oh come on!! You guys have to know!!