Kagome woke a few hours after Miroku, Sango, and Shippo has departed the camp. She was able to keep down a small meal but remained pale and fatigued.
She was in the middle of trying to convince Inuyasha to let her go to a nearby lake for a quick bath when Inuyasha heard the sound of footsteps approaching. His eyes narrowed and his hand went to his sword hilt.
"What is it, Inuyasha?" asked Kagome.
"Kagura," he growled in response as Naraku's incarnation appeared from behind the trees. "What do you want?" he snapped at her.
"Can't a girl just stop by to catch up?" she asked with a smirk.
Inuyasha growled in response.
"Calm down, dog breath," Kagura huffed. "I only came with a message."
"A message?" repeated Inuyasha quizzically.
"Yes...for the girl," said Kagura, turning to look at Kagome. "Naraku knows your secret."
"My...secret?" asked Kagome. She had no idea what Kagura could possibly be talking about. She looked at Inuyasha, who looked just as perplexed as she was.
Kagura responded, "oh, but surely, you must know?" As Kagome continued to stare blankly trying to decipher the meaning of Naraku's message, Kagura burst into laughter. "Oh isn't this just delightful! You don't know yet!"
Inuyasha growled and stepped between the two women. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about, Kagura, but you tell Naraku he can shove this 'secret' where the sun don't shine. We don't give a damn about his cryptic messages."
"Oh, I think you will. Give it time." Kagura turned to go, still laughing. Then, she turned around and her eyes flashed menacingly, "Naraku is quite delighted. He plans to have lots of fun with this piece of information." And with that, she grabbed a feather from her hair and retreated to the sky.
Inuyasha and Kagome watched the female incarnation return to her master. Inuyasha turned to Kagome and asked, "what was that about?"
"I have no idea," replied Kagome. What secret could Naraku possibly know about me that I don't even know about myself? Is this something about my connection to the Shikon jewel? Is it about Kikyo?
Suddenly, the ground felt as if it was moving beneath Kagome. The sky started to turn and her head felt heavy. The world around its edges turned dark, and Kagome felt a slight falling sensation. Then, everything went black.
"What was that about?" asked Inuyasha, turning towards his companion. Kagome hasn't said anything to me about any secrets. Maybe Naraku's just trying to mess with our heads.
"I have no idea," she replied back to Inuyasha. She looked contemplative, and Inuyasha was sure that she was being honest with him. Naraku must be messing with us. That's the only thing that makes sense. Everything with that bastard is a mind-game, he thought.
He suddenly realized that Kagome had gone sheet white. Her gaze was even more distant than it had been mere seconds ago. Her breathing had changed too.
"Kagome, are you alright?" he asked, moving towards her. "Kagome? Kagome!" Why isn't she saying anything?
Her eyes rolled back and then closed, and Kagome went limp. Inuyasha was by her side in a flash and caught her before she fell to the ground.
"Kagome! Kagome!"