Chapter 9: True Love

Sango heads into the mountains. Kilala (in her big form) lags behind, not wanting to follow. She looks back at the kingdom, then shakes her head. Enough. She runs past Sango. Stops and turns to face her. She softly growls.

"What is it, Kilala?" Sango asks. Kilala nudges Sango with her head. "Hey, watch it. What's wrong with you?" Kilala snorts with more conviction, moos, brays. Avoiding her, Sango sais "...I don't understand you when you act like that."

Sango tries to walk on ahead, but Kilala uses her head to lift Sango off the ground. "Ah! Stop it! Put me down!" Kilala drops him hard then "yells" at her once more. "No, Kilala! We're not going back!" Kilala shakes her head, angrily. "She's with her true love." Kilala makes an "of-course-she-isn't" face. Sango gets it; she's made her point.

"Uhh Sango, you might want to take a look" Ayame sais. Just then the wind picks up. Sango looks back at the kingdom. Sees a violent winter storm swirling over the castle. Sharp ice claws its way up the castle, encasing it.

"Miroku" Without hesitating, She dashes back down the mountain. Kilala runs after her, catches up. Sango jumps onto her back. Koga, Ayame and Shippo follow right behind Sango.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN MIROKU IS DEAD" InuYasha yelled at Gerda. Wiping her eyes she replies "Princess Kikyo said that King Miroku died before she could do anything". InuYasha punches a hole in the nerest wall. "At least there will be justice" said Lord Drake. InuYasha looks at him "what do you mean 'justice'?"

"Princess Kikyo has charged Princess Kagome with treason and centenced her to death" InuYasha had Lord Drake up against the wall by his neck. "Princess Kikyo dose not have the authority to do such a thing" "King Miroku left Princess Kikyo in charge when he left to find his sister" Lord Drake said.

InuYasha let him drop to the floor. "Kagome would never kill Miroku intencualy. It was an accident" "there is nothing you can do" said Naraku. InuYasha glared at him "there is no wat that Kikyo will be able to capture Kagome, the least of all kill her" "Princess Kagome was captured and imprisoned in the castle dungeon" Naraku replied, an evil smile on his face.

InuYasha throws Naraku against a wall and punches him in the face repeatedly, letting him drop in a bloody mess InuYasha runs to the dungeon where he finds a cell completely covered in ice, shackles broken and a wall broken. InuYasha runs out into the blizzered 'Kagome you better be alive'.

Back in the library Miroku shivers by the door. He looks up to see ice overtaking the ceiling. The door handle suddenly jiggles. Stops. Jiggles again. Barely a whisper Miroku sais "Help." Click the door swings open. Miroku sees a carrot in the lock and hear a giggle of victory. Olaf takes the carrot, puts it back on his face. Then he sees Miroku lying there.

"Miroku. Oh no." He runs to the fireplace. Throws in some fresh wood, including one of his own arms, which he quickly rescues, before striking a match and relighting the fire. "Olaf? Olaf. Get away from there." Miroku crawls toward Olaf.

"Whoa! So this is heat... I love it." He reaches a twig finger toward the flames. It catches on fire. "Ooh! But don't touch it!" He shakes the flame out, as he rushes over to help Miroku to the fire.

"So, where's Kikyo? What happened to your kiss?" Olaf asked as Miroku sat by the fire. "I was wrong about her. It wasn't true love." with confused innocence Olaf sais "Huh. But we ran all the way here?" "Please Olaf, you can't stay here; you'll melt." Miroku sais, trying to save Olaf.

"I am not leaving here until we find some other act of true love to save you." Olaf sais determundly, and sits down behind him, stubbornly. Leans back against Miroku and thinks. "...Do you happen to have any ideas?" Olaf asked after a few moments.

"I don't even know what love is." Miroku replies. Confident, Olaf sais "That's okay, I do..." Olaf hops back up and puts a soothing hand on his shoulder. "Love is...putting someone else's needs before yours, like, you know, how Sango brought you back here to Kikyo and left you forever."

Surprised Miroku sais "...Sango loves me?", also surprised Olaf replies "Wow, you really don't know anything about love, do you?" His face starts to melt. "Olaf, you're melting." Sweet and reassuring Olaf sais "Some people are worth melting for."

But then...his face REALLY melts. He panics, pushes the snow back in place. "Just maybe not right this second." Suddenly, the window blows open, cold wind sweeps in. "Don't worry, I've got it!" Olaf flitters to the window. He pulls one panel of it shut but struggles with the second panel.

Determined, Olaf sais "We're going to get through-" getting detracted "Oh, wait. Hang on. I'm getting something." He breaks an icicle off the window, uses it as a telescope and sees... Sango and Kilala running back down the mountain. "It's Sango and Kilala! They're coming back this way."

Looking up at Olaf "...They-they are?" Miroku sais. Continuing to look through his Icecicle telescope Olaf sais " Wow, she's really moving fast. Huh... I guess I was wrong. I guess Sango doesn't love you enough to leave you behind."

Miroku tries to get to his feet. "Help me up, Olaf. Please." He hurries over, tumbling over the couch, knocking over the chess set and water jugs. "No, no, no, no, no. You need to stay by the fire and keep warm."

"I need to get to Sango." Miroku sais, determined. Clueless, Olaf asks " Why...?" realizing what Miroku means "Oh, oh, oh, I know why." He hops around in an excited display of hope. "There's your act of true love, right there, riding across the fjords valiantly to save the one she loves! Come on!"

The walls crack under the ice pressure. "Look out!" Olaf warns. They rush out the room just as the ceiling collapses. Miroku and Olaf struggle down the hall. Ice spikes grow and block their path. "We're trapped." Olaf sais, scared. Anna looks around desperately for a way out.

Kagome runs, but is nearly blinded by the snow and wind.

Miroku and Olaf bust open a window. The storm is so strong it sweeps the window panes away. "Slide, Miroku." It's a long, snowy way down. But what choice do they have? They slide down the iced-covered building.

Miroku arrives at the bottom, weak but uninjured. Olaf gathers snow along the way. He arrives at the bottom as a giant snowball. "We made it!" He shakes off the extra snow as Miroku struggles to his feet.

Sango and Kilala bound off the mountain and sprint across the frozen fjord waters and right into the heart of the storm with Koga, Ayame and Shippo behind her. Its white-out wind pushes them back. But they fight through. "Come on, girl, faster."

Miroku and Olaf reach the shore of the fjords. "Sango!"Miroku yells. The wind lifts Olaf up and pulls him apart. He goes swirling off into the storm. "Keep going, Miroku!" Miroku struggles on. "Sango!"

Sango rides Kilala past cracking, frozen ships. Kilala struggles over the uneven surface. "Come on! Come on!" Suddenly, a mangled ship, risen by ice, capsizes over them. They give it all they've got as debris falls all around them and the mast shatters. They make it past just as the entire ship slams down and cracks the thick ice beneath their feet.

The ice opens up. Kilala bravely jumps over a gap. But it's too wide. She bucks Sango to safety, but lands in the freezing water and disappears below. "Kilala? Kilala!"

At first there's nothing but the wind and the tumbling icy water. But suddenly, Kilala surfaces and claws her way to a floating ice chunk. She calls out, signalling for Sango to go on. "Well get Kilala to safety, you go find Miroku" Koga sais. Sango nods and runs toward the castle.

Miroku moves blindly across the fjord. Miroku's hands frost over an icy blue. He stumbles on, determined. But he's running out of time. He clutches his chest. The color in his eyes fades, the inevitable is coming.

Sango, lost in the white-out, doesn't know which way to turn. But then she hears a faint- "Sango" "Miroku...? Miroku!" Sango calls out.

Kagome struggles through her own storm, but the fear is consuming her. A dark shadow approaches. It's Kikyo. "Kagome. You can't run from this!" Kagome backs away from her. "...Just take care of my brother".

"Your brother? He returned from the mountain weak and cold. He said you froze his heart." shocked Kagome replies"What? No." "I tried to save him, but it was too late. His skin was ice. His hair turned white..." Kagome's face sinks as she realizes what she has done. "Your brother is dead... because of you."

Kagome drops to her knees, emotionally broken. And with that, the swirling storm suddenly stops. The snow freezes mid-air, hangs suspended, trapped in grief.

Citizens and dignitaries rush to the wall's edge and look out to see...

Miroku, barely able to move but now able to see across the fjords to... "Sango" "Miroku"

Miroku pushes on towards Sango. She runs top speed towards him. There's still a lot of fjord to cross, but Sango is giving it all she's got. She's going to make it.

But then, Miroku hears the sound of a sword being drawn from its scabbard. He turns and sees Kikyo, behind Kagome, as she raises her sword over her head. "Kagome."

Miroku looks back at Sango as she runs for him. He gives her a longing look, but then turns away from her and then...

Using all of his remaining strength, as Kikyo brings her sword down, Miroku throws himself in front of Kagome. "No!"

In that instant, Miroku freezes to solid ice. The sword hits him instead of Kagome. The sword shatters completely. The force of it sends Kikyo flying back and knocks her out.

"Miroku!" Kagome rushes to Miroku and touches her brother's frozen face. "Oh, Miroku...no...no, please no." Olaf walks up and sees Miroku, frozen. Confused and sag he sais "Miroku?"

Kagome hugs Miroku and cries.

Sango watches in shocked despair. Kilala steps up to her side with Ayame, Koga and Shippo. InuYasha runs towards Kagome but stops when he sees Miroku, frozen. Citizens and dignitaries on the castle walls bow their heads. All of Arendelle is joined in somber silence.

But then, Miroku warms. He begins to thaw. Olaf looks up and gasps. Sango and Kilala notice, light up.

Miroku bends his arm and embraces Kagome. "Wha-? Miroku?" Miroku opens his eyes. He smiles at Kagome, relieved. "Oh, Kagome." They embrace. "...You sacrificed yourself for me?" Kagome sais, when they break the hug. Still weak but with care Miroku replies "...I love you."

Olaf realizes what's happened. He's so excited about it, he lifts his head right off his body and exclaims- "An act of true love will thaw a frozen heart."

Processing wat Olaf just "Love...will thaw..." then realizing "Love... Of course." Kagome looks at Miroku with confidence. "Kagome?" Miroku asks. "Love" Kagome replies. Miroku continues to look at Kagome confused till...

Kagome lifts her arms, and the ground shakes and cracks. The ice and snow breaks away and rises high into the air. Beneath their feet the bow of a ship thaws. The entire fjord melts and other boats right themselves. The villagers come out to see the warmth returning.

In one final wave, Kagome draws all of the snow into a giant snowflake in the sky, then waves it away, leaving only a warm summer day. "I knew you could do it." Miroku said as he places his hand on her shoulder.

Melting, good-naturedly Olaf sais " Hands down, this is the best day of my life...and quite possibly the last."

"Oh, Olaf. Hang on, little guy." Kagome waves her hand and surrounds Olaf with a swirl of cold air. He refreezes. Above his head she leaves a little, perpetually-snowing storm cloud. Olaf loves it. "Hey, my own personal flurry."

Miroku and InuYasha sees Kikyo trying to get to her feet. They marches toward him, prepared for a fight. But Sango and Kagome puts up a hand and stops them. They walk over to Kikyo.

Kikyo stands up to see Kagome and Sango in front of her "You trick my brother into loving you" Kagome starts. "You planed on stealing his Kingdom" Sango adds. "You just let Miroku freeze" Kagome continues. "And you tried to kill Kagome" Sango adds. They both grab Kikyo and punches her in the face. "Ah! Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Kikyo falls overboard.

Kagome comes over to Miroku and hugs him. Over her shoulder, Sango meets Miroku's eyes. He smiles brighter, happy.

Well that is it for now. I can't promise when the last chapter will be finished, I'm having some probables with the ending. But I will post as soon as I finish it. Hope yous have enjoyed this story so far.