Chapter twenty three! There are a couple of surprises!

Chapter 23: The Golden Flower

"This place seems to be filled of even more evil than any of Naraku's castles before," Miroku said as he walked in behind InuYasha.

"The more evil the better," Kyoumi said, looking especially angry.

No one had said a word to Kyoumi since they saw Naraku's castle because of the horrible gleam in her eye. A gleam of vengeance.

All eight of them (counting Kirara) looked ready for battle and wanted to get this over with. Shippo was on Kagome's shoulder and Kagome held her bow and arrow, and also sat on Kirara with Sango. Sango had her demon-slayer's outfit on and held her hiriakotsu, ready to kick some demon ass, and she had her little brother in front of her, knocked out. Miroku was next to Sango on the ground, and Mitsu was in his youkai wolf form. InuYasha had his Tetsusaiga out and transformed, and Kyoumi was in her fire youkai form with her sword out and lit up like a torch.

A figure walked through the castle door opposite them and walked out onto the grounds.

"Naraku!" InuYasha yelled in disgust. Naraku's hair was in a ponytail and was very matted and messy. Though it worked for someone so vile as him.

"Spare me the chat and fight!" yelled Naraku as he attacked him with the same tentacle-like limbs as he used to fight Kyoumi. Each of them jumped away, all of them going to different places.

Naraku smirked and said calmly, "Kagura, come here and fight the monk and demon-slayer."

In an instant Kagura came out on her feather and landed in front of the monk.

Sango landed on the roof with Kirara and Shippo and Kagome jumped off, dodging attacks from Naraku's limbs. Kagome pulled Kohaku off and told Shippo to protect him. Sango went to Miroku's aid and threw her hiriakotsu at Kagura. While Kagura blocked that with her Dance of Blades, Sango went down on Kirara and got Miroku on with her.

---

Kyoumi and InuYasha used similar techniques. They both ran towards Naraku, cutting off any of his limbs that came near them and jumping. They both came down to Naraku, but he blocked Kyoumi with a limb, but InuYasha hit him in the right side of his body.

Naraku pushed InuYasha to the ground and sent limbs towards him, aiming for his stomach.

Kyoumi threw balls of fire towards the limbs and they burned, and InuYasha got up.

A limb hit Kyoumi in the arm, cutting her and throwing her back. Mitsu came and bit the limb, cutting it off and he clawed at any other limb that came near Kyoumi.

Kyoumi sat on her knees and closed her eyes. Please, let me use all my powers. Let me harness the power of nature, all at once! Oh, Kami, let me fight with nature in my hands! thought Kyoumi as she held onto her arm.

Kyoumi's eyes opened, but they were nothing but a glowing white.

Her kimono became silver and a light gold, and she gained armor made of white fire. Her eyes shone like golden diamonds and her hair and tail became so golden colored that it seemed to give off a glow.

Kyoumi smirked and thanked the gods and was able to use all of the elements at once. She made a bird out of thin air and covered it with fire and flew towards Naraku. The bird spit out fire at him, and he got burned badly, and she cut her claws through the air and sent blades of air and water towards Naraku. She fell on top of the roof next to Kagome and looked at her with a smile.

"Where is his part of the Jewel?" Kyoumi asked a bewildered Kagome.

She looked at Naraku and said, "There! Around his neck."

Kyoumi nodded and jumped to the ground and ran as fast as she could towards Naraku. She jumped and dodged anything that was sent her way with ease. She neared his Jewel piece and put out her hand to grab it and jumped.

Just as her hand clasped around the Jewel, a limb covered in fire went straight through her heart, making her falter. She landed on the other side of Naraku, not so gracefully this time, and held onto the Jewel piece she had just gotten with her life.

---

Kagome pulled back an arrow and let it go, and InuYasha sent out his Wind Scar at the same time.

They hit Naraku square in the chest and he started to vanish, like he was never there. His castle started to vanish, like it was just something of their imagination, and Kagura got sucked into Miroku's Wind Tunnel just before that closed up too.

Mitsu held Kyoumi tightly as she bled heavily.

"Kyoumi, it'll be OK. Don't worry," whispered Mitsu.

Everyone ran towards Kyoumi kneeling on the ground, and Mitsu next to her.

"What happened?" Miroku asked, kneeling down next to Mitsu.

"N- Naraku," muttered Kyoumi painfully.

Kagome sat down next to Kyoumi and looked at her sadly. Kyoumi turned her head to Kagome and hugged her tightly for someone so weak.

"Kagome," started Kyoumi in a whisper that only Kagome could hear, "I got the Shikon Jewel. You have to take it. I want to thank you. If you had never been unconscious in that forest that day, I probably never would have been able to experience being a demon, and now I'm not ashamed of what I am." Kyoumi's voice got softer with each word, and her breathing more labored.

"There is something that you have to tell Mitsu. Tell him... Tell him I love him. OK?" Kyoumi requested.

"You'll be able to tell him, Kyoumi," Kagome whispered back.

"Promise me."

"I- I promise."

"Take the Jewel," Kyoumi said as she put it in Kagome's hands. Right after she did that, her body went cold and her eyes became dull and gray, but her hair still shone like gold.

"Kyoumi?" Kagome asked, hoping to get an answer, but knowing it wouldn't come.

"Kyoumi..." whispered Mitsu as he took Kyoumi's body and lifted it up. He stood up and held Kyoumi's limp body in his arms, and closed his eyes.

As they went back to get to Kaede's village, they passed a flower in the wasteland that Naraku's last castle was on. The flower that was bright gold and silver.

Now it was wilted, never to grow again.

Though Kyoumi is dead, this is not the last chapter. There are three more chapters, so keep checking here, OK? This chapter made me sad, even though I wrote it.