A/N: I¡¯ve decided whenever I put an update date it seems I only jinx myself. So I¡¯m just going to say I update when I can' And since I finally have my computer back to normal after that virus or w/e crashed it I am very happy to post chappy 4! ^-^ An apology for the extremely long delay' _v_;;; Once I got my computer fixed, road runner had to ¡°schedule¡± me in' Ahh I¡¯ll stop the long explanation there'

Story Note: This chapter might seem a little confusing when you read it' I don¡¯t want to spoil everything so I will just say that no Kagome¡¯s not sick'

*Italics=Thoughts*

~*Chapter IV*~

¡°Nee-chan, something¡¯s wrong'!¡± Souta cried out as he skating towards her on the ice' As he got closer the ice faded into a pale but darkening blue' Kagome blinked a few times feeling a little weird'Almost as if something in the back of her mind was tickling itself with the joy of keeping a secret'

Narrowing her eyes, she said, ¡°Souta?¡±

By the time Souta reached her, she felt as if she knew something' It was just beyond her reach though'

¡°That¡¯s weird' It¡¯s almost as if I should be remembering something right now'¡± Kagome murmured and saw Souta wince. ¡°Souta what¡¯s wrong?¡±

Her little brother gave her a weak grin but his eyes kept looking around, ¡°Nee-chan, don¡¯t worry about it. Stop thinking about it'¡±

¡°Stop thinking about what? Souta are you all right? Come here for a second' Let me feel your forehead'¡± Kagome said walking to her brother with her hand stretched out.

Souta backed away almost panicked. Laughing nervously he muttered something that Kagome could barely make out, ¡°Mama was right' Midoriko-sama' be in trouble'powers weakening for' meddling ' affairs' living'¡±

Kagome narrowed her eyes, bracing her hands on her hips she snapped, ¡°Souta Higurashi, come here right now and let me feel your forehead! ' But wait, wasn¡¯t I just skating in the snow???¡±

Souta quickly interrupted her train of thought, ¡°Nee-chan, listen! I don¡¯t have much time—Somehow only our connection was strong enough for me to even give you this message' She won¡¯t be helping you anymore' She can¡¯t help you anymore. Lady Fate found out that she was meddling in the worldly affairs' You¡¯re going to have to figure out the Shikon no Tama on your own'¡±

Kagome blinked her eyes trying to clear them' Souta¡¯s figure was becoming blurry. ¡°Souta, what are you talking about? Something¡¯s wrong with my eyes.¡±

¡°Nee-chan, listen to me! It¡¯s gotten worse, Naraku—Well you should be feeling the affects of his latest plan soon' Now the Shikon no Tama might—¡°

¡°Souta?! Souta! SOUTA!!!¡± Kagome screamed when her brother disappeared. Her heart ached as everything went black.

~*~

It was cold, but not yet freezing. Bleak darkness seemed to envelop her, and Kagome¡¯s eyes shot open. Her stomach was churning and she felt a wave of nausea. Quickly her eyes adjusted to the dim rays of dawn but for some reason, the feeling of an ominous darkness surrounding her was still there. It was as if a shadow lay waiting beneath.

The saliva in her mouth more than doubled within a few seconds and all Kagome could do was try to calm herself, breathing in deeply as she swallowed. Sliding off the bed, she ran towards the bathroom that was connected to her room. A dull ache started to press upon the back of her head as she reached the bathroom while gagging into her hand.

Her eyes watered, and she felt last night¡¯s dinner rise from within her'

~*~

¡°So the North will not be joining us then. The poison has spread quicker than I thought.¡±

¡°Hai, Inutaisho-sama,¡± was the quiet reply.

¡°Will they join the East?¡± Inutaisho asked quietly, his eyes fixed on the raven-haired miko who sat before him.

The young girl raised her eyes to meet the king¡¯s squarely, her composed face revealing none of her own feelings. Calmly she replied, ¡°That is a complicated question, Inutaisho-sama. Naraku¡¯s insidious jaki lingered about the neko-youkai palace. For now, they will remain neutral; the neko-youkai never liked getting involved in entangling matters. The feelings toward the inu-youkai were however hostile to say the least.¡±

¡°Well—¡° Inutaisho¡¯s sentence was cut off by the thundering sound of harsh bells. Quickly he stood up and the others among the council of war followed.

¡°The bells!¡± Miroku exclaimed as he stood up. ¡°Who would have thought the wolf youkai would recuperate so quickly?¡±

Only the young miko stayed in her seat. As the Lord of the Western Lands was passing her, she asked, ¡°What of the Shikon no Tama, Inutaisho-sama?¡±

~*~

¡°Kagome-chan! Are you in there?¡± Sango¡¯s voice barely reached Kagome in the state she was in. Kagome could scarcely hear more knocking before Sango yelling, ¡°Ok, I¡¯m just coming in!¡±

Kagome flushed the toilet and walked over to the sink. Her headache was getting worse because of the smell of vomit that lingered about her. Turning on the warm water she splashed her face and rinsed her mouth.

¡°You are here!¡± Sango exclaimed as she walked toward the bathroom. ¡°Kagome-chan' Are you all right?¡±

Kagome breathed in deeply trying to settle her stomach. Smiling as she let out her breath she replied quietly, ¡°I¡¯m fine Sango-chan. I think yesterday¡¯s dinner didn¡¯t—¡±

Feeling another wave of nausea, Kagome gagged and turned back toward the toilet. She tried to suppress it but failed and gagged up spit' *Kami-sama help me. What is going on? I¡¯ve thrown up everything I ate for dinner, lunch, AND breakfast yesterday! Now I¡¯m gagging up my own spit? Anyone, please' If you¡¯re up there, at least settle my stomach, or if you will tone down my headache'*

¡°Kagome-chan, what¡¯s wrong?!¡± Sango asked worriedly as she quickly walked over to the sink and turned on the water for her friend.

¡°Nothing. I¡¯m fine, really,¡± Kagome answered as she rinsed out her mouth. ¡°Just an upset stomach.¡± Wiping her face on a dry towel, Kagome smiled. She saw Sango¡¯s eyes still held worry and so quickly went on, ¡°So what brings you here? I hope it wasn¡¯t to invite me to breakfast' I don¡¯t think I¡¯m in the mood for food'¡± Kagome laughed weakly as her stomach threatened to make her gag again.

Suddenly, Sango grabbed Kagome¡¯s hand and pulled her out towards the door. Feeling her stomach clench in protest, Kagome pulled her hand out of Sango¡¯s grasp. Standing still she quickly breathed in and out.

¡°Kagome-chan,¡± Kagome looked up hearing the worry in Sango¡¯s voice. ¡°Do you hear the bells?¡±

Frowning Kagome listened, and could hear some bells clanging faintly. She nodded.

¡°Those bells ring to signal an attack' The attack may be not necessarily be at the Western lands but the women and children are supposed to go to the shelters whenever the bells ring. As for you, Kaede-sama asked me to bring you to her. Now I need the truth, are you feeling up to this journey? We might be seeing some fighting, if you say ¡®no¡¯ I can take you to the shelter with the female youkai' I won¡¯t be able to stay with you because I was trained to battle youkai from when I was young, but you¡¯ll be protected no matter what happens.¡±

¡°By an attack do you mean the wolf youkai?¡± Kagome asked quietly.

¡°Yes, the wolf youkai'Kagome?¡± Sango asked.

¡°I¡¯m fine.¡± Kagome answered.

¡°Kagome-chan, please be serious—¡°

¡°Sango-chan. I¡¯m fine. I really am now are we going?¡±

~*~

¡°Inuyasha, wait!¡±

¡°What do you want Miroku?¡± Inuyasha growled turning around in mid-leap as Miroku caught up to him.

¡°Now is that the tone you should take with a fellow member of the Council? Which by the way you failed to attend today'¡±

¡°I don¡¯t have time for this,¡± Inuyasha growled and turned away only to be stopped by Miroku.

¡°Inuyasha, hold on. This is important. There¡¯s no way that the wolf youkai could have regained their health in such a short amount of time. Naraku¡¯s behind this make no doubt. The battle grounds are near a ningen village again, just goes to show that they¡¯re picking areas where they have the advantage. You know your father¡¯s law, we¡¯re not to harm humans that aren¡¯t involved—¡°

¡°I know this already! I was busy so I didn¡¯t attend, so let me go Miroku. My men are already losing faith in me, if I arrive late, then my fraction of the inu army will desert me!¡± Inuyasha snarled trying to dart around Miroku but was thwarted by his holy staff.

¡°INUYASHA! Will you stay in one place for five minutes?! I¡¯m getting to the point. Kikyo-sama came back today—¡°

¡°Kikyo came back?¡±

¡°Don¡¯t interrupt, I thought you were in a hurry,¡± Miroku snapped and Inuyasha glared at him. ¡°She¡¯s going to battle with your brother¡¯s group. But your father is sending Kaede-sama, myself, and Kagome-sama with you.¡±

¡°Kagome? You mean that wench that faints all the time?¡±

¡°Inuyasha, please'¡± Miroku frowned. ¡°As I was saying, because Kagome-sama is coming along, we need to be extra careful. She¡¯s there because your father hopes to use her to gain a few more days relief from battles by purifying the wolf youkai. But as Kagome-sama is in possession of the Shikon no Tama, it is inevitable that Kouga will attack her in order to steal it. That¡¯s the reason both Kaede-sama and I are going but if anything happens, your father said to order you that the top priority of your fraction is to protect the Shikon no Tama. Retreat if you have to, but make sure we don¡¯t lose the tama!¡±

¡°Then leave her in the shelters if she can¡¯t protect herself! I have no time for this!¡± Inuyasha growled before running off.

~*~

*The air is clear' The air is clean' I am not feeling nauseated' I do not have a headache' -_- This isn¡¯t working' I wonder how much further we still have to go? Normally, I¡¯d be ecstatic to be flying if only I didn¡¯t feel like my stomach wants to come through my mouth' Hold on stay away from that topic' I do not feel nauseated.. I do not feel sick' I am perfectly fine. I. Am. Fine'*

¡°We¡¯re almost there Kagome-chan,¡± Sango said with fake cheerfulness. ¡°Um Kagome-chan, we¡¯re about to land, so please hold on to me, I don¡¯t want you to fall off of Kirara by accident.¡±

Kagome reluctantly pulled her hands away from their positions covering her stomach and mouth, and slipped them around the other girl¡¯s waist. Closing her eyes she focused on trying to keep from gagging, at least until they landed.

~*~

Inuyasha smirked when he found Kouga on the open field. Deftly he slipped between the smaller battles, slashing stray wolf youkai out of his way. He had one goal in mind. That was to kill Kouga.

~*~

¡°Kagome-chan, what¡¯s wrong?¡± Kaede-sama asked when they got there.

Kagome smiled, ¡°I¡¯m fine.¡±

Kaede-sama arched an eyebrow when Sango snorted. Looking questioningly at Sango, Kaede-sama said quietly, ¡°I don¡¯t think this is going to work. Houshi, I think we should take Kagome-chan to back to the palace. She doesn¡¯t look like she¡¯s in the state to do any purification.¡±

Kagome interrupted, ¡°I¡¯m perfectly fine. Kaede-sama, please. They killed Souta' They killed me little brother without a second thought' They took away the last person I could call family' And they killed everyone in my village' Please don¡¯t make me go back.¡±

Kaede-sama looked at the her worriedly. Kagome bit her lower lip and stood still looking straight into Kaede-sama¡¯s eyes. *I¡¯ve been given a chance to avenge my brother¡¯s death, and nothing is going to stop me from this' Not any sickness' Nothing*

Kagome felt a little better after she made that resolution. She didn¡¯t feel sick anymore'*Souta' Are you still watching over me with Mama? Thanks little brother, I won¡¯t let your help go to waste'*

Kaede-sama suddenly frowned, ¡°Child, what did you just do?¡±

~*~

Inuyasha felt it. As he was countering Kouga¡¯s kick, there was a sudden flare of energy. He didn¡¯t know how to describe it but it was there, he could feel the Shikon no Tama nearby. Looking at Kouga, he realized the wolf had felt the same thing.

¡°Dogturd, I¡¯d love to stay and play with you but I think I have other business to tend to,¡± saying that Kouga kicked Inuyasha to the side and ran off. Inuyasha growled, Kouga was running toward the Shikon no Tama' Sniffing the air, his suspicions were confirmed. That wench was here too' Without a second thought, he got up and ran after the receding form of the wolf prince.

~*~

¡°Kaede-sama, I feel a youkai coming our way and quickly,¡± Sango said suddenly.

Kaede frowned, ¡°It¡¯s Kouga, the wolf youkai prince' Where has Miroku gone to?¡±

¡°The wolf youkai prince?'He was the one that killed Souta'Wasn¡¯t he?¡± Kagome asked quietly, her eyes turning to the direction that Sango was watching worriedly.

¡°Wait child, you aren¡¯t strong enough to take on Kouga. Come with me both of you, we need to get away from here. I thought that a mile would be enough distance to prepare you Kagome, but I was wrong. Sango, can Kirara carry all of us?¡± Kaede-sama asked.

¡°Ah, I¡¯m not sure' I think she can,¡± Sango replied.

¡°No. I¡¯m not going to leave,¡± Kagome said.

¡°Kagome-chan?¡±

¡°Meaning no disrespect Kaede-sama, but you and the others have been telling me that I¡¯m a miko ever since I arrived at the palace of the Western Lands. Either I am a miko or I¡¯m not' I¡¯m here and the person who killed my younger brother is coming. And you¡¯re telling me to just run away?¡± Kagome asked angrily.

¡°Child, your thoughts are valiant, but you aren¡¯t trained for this' We had planned this with you at a safe distance from the wolf youkai, and with you healthy'¡± Kaede-sama said.

¡°Kagome-chan, I know what you¡¯re going through. But you have to listen to Kaede-sama here. You¡¯re in no shape to do anything rash. Your brother wouldn¡¯t want you to throw your life away,¡± Sango said getting out her giant boomerang.

Kagome¡¯s eyes stung as she nodded.

¡°No one¡¯s will stop you from going after him once you¡¯ve trained'¡± Sango added.

¡°All right,¡± Kagome said hoarsely.

¡°Sango-chan, take Kagome-chan on Kirara NOW!¡± Kaede-sama said suddenly pushing Kagome toward Sango. Not prepared, Kagome stumbled.

¡°Kaede-sama—¡°

¡°Hurry!¡± Kaede-sama yelled.

¡°What about you Kaede-sama?¡± Kagome asked but Sango grabbed Kagome and pulled her to Kirara who was transforming.

¡°Kagome-chan!¡± Sango shrieked suddenly and pushed her hard. Kagome fell to the ground just as something flew over her head.

Shocked Kagome looked up to see a young boy who seemed to be a little older than her. He was clad in animal fur, and he had just leaped over her' *Is he the wolf youkai prince?!*

Something red also darted over her and ran into the other youkai.

¡°Inuyasha!¡± Kaede-sama exclaimed in relief.

¡°Inuyasha?¡± Kagome murmured as she watched the blurring figures of the two fighting.

¡°Ugh, Dogturd, why¡¯d you follow me?!¡±

¡°Wimpywolf, the fight is between you and me! Don¡¯t run away!¡± Inuyasha snarled.

¡°Kagome-chan, come on,¡± Sango said pulling her up.

¡°That girl isn¡¯t going anywhere with the Shikon no Tama! Hand over the Shikon no Tama wench!¡± the wolf youkai yelled and twisting around Inuyasha he leaped at Kagome. Sango stepped in front of him, blocking him from Kagome with her boomerang. The youkai jumped back but not before a crack appeared in the boomerang.

Sango cursed and she yelled at Kagome, ¡°Kagome-chan, run away! Now!¡±

¡°Kouga! I TOLD YOU. THE FIGHT IS BETWEEN US! STOP RUNNING AWAY YOU COWARDLY WOLF!¡± Inuyasha growled as he slashed at Kouga who had jumped back from Sango¡¯s block.

Kouga just dodged Inuyasha¡¯s slash, and laughed, ¡°Don¡¯t worry Dogturd, you¡¯ll have someone to play with in a few minutes.¡± Laughing, he ran back towards Kagome, and jumped to kick her. Sango moved in again barely making it in time. This time, Sango¡¯s boomerang broke.

¡°Oy, wench! Why don¡¯t you just hand over the Shikon no Tama?¡± Kouga jeered. ¡°Your friend here, won¡¯t last long—¡° he was cut off as Inuyasha attacked.

¡°Kagome-chan, follow me,¡± Kaede-sama said grabbing on to Kagome¡¯s arm.

Kagome couldn¡¯t move, her eyes were transfixed upon the youkai that had just tried to kill her. So many thoughts were running through her mind' *He killed my brother' Souta was so young' He was too young' He doesn¡¯t even seem sorry' Youkai like him should die'*

All of a sudden, Kagome gagged. She felt her stomach heave, and falling to her knees Kagome threw up.

~*~

A/N: . Ahhh I had a better chapter done before my computer crashed! T.T I don¡¯t know why but this chapter just didn¡¯t seem right, which is another reason this update is so late. I was rewriting it for the past week' Most revisions on any chapter I¡¯ve written yet...

Next Chapter: Promise to explain why Kagome seems like she has the stomach flu . It has nothing to do with a disease I promise!! ^^ Some of you may have already guessed or maybe not, I was trying to be subtle but I don¡¯t think I¡¯m good at hinting -_-

Thanks to:

Fay-of-Faerie- ^-^ It¡¯s a phrase I picked up from my friends. Anyways I¡¯m glad my grammar isn¡¯t bugging you.

Sailor-Helios- Thanks!! I¡¯m glad that you think I¡¯m getting better' Although this chapter will probably change your mind.. . ((sigh)) I wish I could just write as well as you'^^

Xo-Kagome-oX- ^^ LoL I think horrible and atrocious are about the same level'I guess we can blame the school system' I don¡¯t think we really concentrated on grammar that much.. Hope you liked this chapter!

Seikkyokuka- Awww I¡¯m glad you like this story. Sorry about the long wait and I hope I didn¡¯t completely lose or confuse you in this chapter' ^^

Tashy911- ^_^ I¡¯ve noticed that too' I don¡¯t know why but this fic seems to become really emotional' Ahh I blame the nocturnal plot bunnies in my mind...

Alaskantiger- ^^ Yup! If it weren¡¯t for readers I¡¯d probably be too lazy to try writing fanfics^.^ Hope you liked this chappy!

Nuku- Thanks, I¡¯m glad you liked the story. I¡¯m also relieved I wasn¡¯t the first to kill of Souta ^^

ChristyKay- Aww thanks! Yeah I was worried that the sadness seems to overshadow everything' . Then again in this chapter her nausea overshadows everything'-_-;;; Ahhh I hope it wasn¡¯t annoying' Oh and happy belated birthday!!! . *Blames computer for lateness*

Inuyasha¡¯s Wifey- . Sorry about the late update' Glad you liked my story so far and hope you enjoy this chapter too. ^^

Alright well reviews are always appreciated!! ^_^