This is chapter three. In this chapter, Shadow wakes up and feels horrible. Is her sickness finally catching up to her? Will Miss Mireille help her? Read chapter three and find out...

3. Day two - Catching Up

Morning...

Miss Mireille woke up and reached out to grab the jewel, but it was gone. "That little brat," she said and got up. She walked to Shadow's room and went in. She was sleeping, but Mireille slapped her in the face. "Ow!" Shadow yelled and covered her cheek.

"Where is the jewel, you little brat?" Mireille asked. Shadow didn't pay attention. She just rubbed her cheek and tried to make it stop stinging. "Tell me!" she yelled. Shadow turned away from her. "I know you have it and when I find it, you're going to wish you were never born," she yelled and walked out of the room. Shadow rubbed her cheek and looked at Tobi.

He had woken up from all the yelling. "I'm sorry for waking you up. That wasn't planned," she said. 'You won't have to hear it anymore soon, anyway,' she thought. Her head hurt so badly. It felt like it was going to explode. "I don't feel too good," she said and lay on the floor.

She closed her eyes and petted Tobi. "Shadow? What was all the yelling about?" Ethan had came in. "Nothing, just go away," Shadow said. "Are you alright? You don't look too well," he said. "I don't feel too well either." Shadow opened her eyes to look at him, but she was too dizzy. The room was spinning around her. She closed her eyes again and rubbed them.

"It's almost lunch so I'll stay in my room until they come and get me. See you there," he said and went back in his room. He put the board back in place just in time before Miss Mireille walked in. "Lady Kaede is here to change your bandages," she said and Kaede walked in the room.

"Hello, child. Let me take a look at your bandages," Kaede said and began to take off the old ones. She noticed Shadow's eyes not even opening and her breathing getting faster.

"Are you alright, child?" Kaede asked, wrapping the new bandages around her. "Fine," Shadow whispered. "Okay, if you say so," Kaede said and continued. Miss Mireille heard a kid yelling down the hall. "Excuse me," she said and left the room.

"Lady Kaede, can I ask you for a favor?" Shadow asked. "What is it, child?" Kaede asked. "Can you take care of Tobi for tonight? I'm afraid he'll starve here," Shadow said.

"Why, I had no idea he was even with you, but of course I'll take care of him," Kaede said. "You'll have to hide him on your way out. He wasn't suppose to be here," Shadow said. "Okay," Kaede said. Shadow kissed Tobi goodbye and gave him to Lady Kaede.

She put him inside her kimono just in time as Miss Mireille walked in. "Well, I'm all done here. I'll be back with your medicine tonight," Kaede said and winked at Shadow. "Thank you. I'm sorry for having to drag you out here," Mireille said as Kaede left. Once she was gone, Mireille turned back to Shadow. "It's lunch or are you not hungry?" she asked.

Shadow didn't open her eyes to look at her. She wasn't even listening to her. Mireille got angry with that and grabbed her arm. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!" she yelled.

Shadow tried to stop a cough, but she ended up having a coughing fit in front of her. Mireille threw her on the floor and laughed. Shadow's breathing quickened. It was getting harder to breath. Mireille just laughed. "I guess you should be the one to pretend that you're sick. Well, I won't fall for that trick," Mireille said and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

'I've got to get out of here. I'll just leave tonight. Even if I'm sick, at least I won't die here,' Shadow thought, 'I'll wait until it's dark.' Lunch ended and the kids played outside without her. It started getting dark so the kids came back inside. Shadow could hear Miss Mireille coming.

She opened her eyes, but closed them. Her sight was still spinning. "It's dinner, come and eat now," Miss Mireille said. "I'm not hungry," Shadow said. "Maybe the smell of food will get you to eat," Mireille said and grabbed her. "Let me go!" Shadow yelled. "You will eat!" Mireille yelled and pulled her out the room. She put her in a chair and sat down to eat.

People walked in the room and sat down plates of food in front of everyone. "Eat!" Mireille yelled and all the children began to grab the food off their plates. That is accepting for Shadow.

'I know I'm sick. But it'll just pass like it did the last time I forgot to take my medicine,' Shadow thought. "I know you're hoping that I'll throw you back in your room for not eating so you won't have to watch everyone eat, but I'm not going to," Mireille said and took a big bite of her food.

Shadow closed her eyes. Her head still hurt very badly. 'It's just food,' she thought. The nervous children watched, as Mireille got angrier by the second. Shadow just sat calmly waiting for her to burst. And boy did she burst. "You will eat! I'm not going to let you starve to death just to escape from here. You are going to stay here until I allow you to leave!" she screamed.

Shadow sat there and ignored her words. "Now all the kids can thank you for not getting to play outside today. Everyone to their rooms!" Mireille yelled. All the kids got up and walked to their rooms. A boy passed by Shadow before he left. "Don't feel bad. We barely get anytime outside anyway," he said. Shadow just shrugged and walked off into her room.

Once again she was locked up for the night even though it was still light outside. When she was sure Miss Mireille wasn't around, Shadow knocked on the wall. "What do ya need?" he asked as he opened the wall door. "I'm leaving tonight," she said. "You are?" Ethan asked.

"Yeah, wanna come?" Shadow asked. "No thanks. I gotta watch out for my little sister," Ethan said. "Suit yourself, but I need your help to escape. First I need to get some things," Shadow said and lifted the board from the floor. She strapped the Tesusaiga to her waist and hung the sacred jewel around her neck. "What do ya need my help with?" Ethan asked.

"I need to climb out your window tonight," Shadow said. "Right now?" Ethan asked. "No, as soon as Miss Mireille falls asleep," Shadow said. "How will you know?" Ethan asked. "I'll just know. Now see you then," Shadow said. "But-" She pushed him back into his room and shut the door.

'Where am I gonna go? I don't know where Sango and Miroku live and I don't even know who my uncle is. Am I just going to wander around?' she asked herself. 'I'll find them somehow. I just hope I find someone to give me medicine for this. My head is still spinning,' Shadow thought and leaned against the wall. Shadow listened for Miss Mireille's steady breathing.

She always went to sleep before it got dark. Now she watched out her window for the sun to go down. When the sunset came, Shadow felt ten times worse than before. 'What's wrong with me?' she asked herself. She looked down at her hands and saw that her claws were gone.

"Oh great, it's a new moon. I'm human," she said. She ignored the stream of pain throughout her body and knocked on the wall twice. Ethan removed the board from the wall and starred at her.

"I know, I know. I'm human on new moons. Are you still going to help me?" Shadow asked. "Sure I am. Come on in," Ethan said and she walked in. "Thanks and if they find out that I escaped through your window, say that I threatened you," Shadow said. "I guess I'll say that," he said.

"Thanks and bye!" Shadow said and jumped out the window. Shadow walked through the deserted village until she reached the forest. She thought about Tobi and wished he was with her. "No, I didn't need him to suffer along with me," she said to herself. She began to walk through the forest, ignoring the pain. Soon her feet were blistered.

Her sight was too blurry to even see, but she kept on going. She felt her wound come open and blood coming from her bandages. "I guess I should have brought some extra bandages with me," she said to herself. She just ignored the blood. Her head hurt so bad.

Suddenly, she felt a bolt of pain in her heart and she fell on her knees. 'I'm going to be fine. I'm going to be-' she had to stop. Her heart felt like it was being stabbed. 'I have to keep going,' Shadow thought. An hour or two past and there was no sign of any life around. Shadow was tired of walking, but she had to keep searching. She was so sick that she was close to death.

She forced himself to walk. Even though she could collapse at any second. A few more minutes past and all of Shadow's strength was gone. She fell on the ground and fell asleep.

The sound of footsteps was closing in on Shadow. "There better be a village nearby!" a demon boy said in frustration. He had amber eyes and black hair with dog-ears. He wore a black kimono with a sword strapped to his waist. He smelled the air and caught Shadow's scent. He followed it until he was standing in front of her. "Another pathetic human," he said to himself. 'Might as well stop here,' he thought. The demon boy bent down next to Shadow and looked at her. 'She's very sick,' he thought and put her hand on her cheek. 'And cold,' he thought. The boy set down his backpack and pulled out a blanket. "This should help," he said.

He sat back and watched Shadow for a while. "Well, better set up camp," he said and got up to collect firewood. When he collected enough for the night, he came back to where Shadow was and built a fire. Once he was done, she sat down and pulled out a little book and a pen.

Dear Journal,

No luck in finding that women the demons told me about. I traveled at least a few miles. Came across about nine humans today. All of them either begging for food or water. Like always I didn't bother to help any of them. But when I was on my way to the next village, I came across a little girl. She was asleep on the ground. She looked very tired and sick so I decided to make camp and to help her out. So now I'm sitting here with the little girl, waiting for her to wake up. It'll probably be in the morning, but I'll still wait. I'm going to head for the next village tomorrow.

Entia

Entia set down his journal and watched Shadow. "She'll be awake in the morning," he said and leaned against the tree, falling asleep. Shadow slowly stirred awake.

'Where am I?' she thought and sat up. When her eyes came into focus, she looked around at the camp. A blanket around her, a fire, and a boy? 'A demon! It'll kill me! I've gotta get out of here!' she thought. Shadow quickly got up and started running away from the camp. She continued running until she got tired. She was still weak from being sick. Still, she kept going.

Meanwhile...

"Master Naraku, what do you plan to do to the girl?" Kanna asked. Naraku stared into her mirror and watched Shadow struggle to get through the forest. "That's none of your concern. Just go get Kagura. She is the only one I'll need right now," Naraku said. Kanna bowed and left the room.

'Kagome and Inuyasha thought they killed me when they took the sacred jewel and I was shot with an arrow. I was only hurt. After they left, I just called more demons to heal my body. They took what was mine and I'm going to get it back,' Naraku thought. "Master, I have brought Kagura," Kanna said when she walked into the room with Kagura following.

"What is it, Naraku?" Kagura asked. "I need you to get the sacred jewel for me," Naraku said. "That's it?" Kagura asked. "And kill the girl who's carrying it. She's very weak so this should be easy for you," Naraku said. "May I ask who the girl is?" Kagura asked. "Inuyasha's daughter."

Kagura smiled. "This should be fun," she said and left to find Shadow.

Back with Shadow...

She was getting worse. Much worse. Her sight had left her and the only thing she could see was blurs. She crawled on her hands and knees to find her way, but it wasn't helping. She wanted to call out for help, but she was afraid that demons would hear her. She was still human.

Kagura quietly landed beside Shadow and stepped off her flying feather. Shadow looked up and saw Kagura as a big blur. "Who's there?" she asked. "I am Kagura, the wind sorceress," Kagura said. "Can you please help me?" Shadow asked. "I don't think you understand, little girl. I haven't come to help you. I've come to kill you," Kagura said and laughed. Shadow froze.

'Kill me, but why? I don't recognize her voice. Why would she want to kill me?' Shadow asked herself. "I was sent by Naraku," Kagura said like she was reading her mind. "N-Naraku..."

"Yes, now I want to have a little bit of fun so I'll give you about five seconds to run or whatever you want to do," Kagura said. "But-" "One..." Shadow quickly got up and started running in any direction. "Two..." She had no idea what was in front of her. She could have been running right toward Kagura and not know it. "Three..." Shadow's strength was gone. She used it up.

"Four..." She was now trying to crawl away, but collapsed. She lied on the ground, trying to catch her breath. "Five...And she's only gotten thirty feet away. My turn to hunt," Kagura said and opened her fan. "Dance of Blades!" Kagura yelled and white blades flew from her fan.

Shadow screamed and flew back into a tree as each blade struck her. Finally, it was over...She slid down the tree and landed on the ground. But Kagura still wasn't done with her.

Entia awoke to a loud scream that filled the forest. Entia got up and saw Shadow missing. The smell of blood hit his nose. 'The human!' Entia thought and ran toward the sound.

"Come on, you thought that was bad. That was only the beginning," Kagura said and stepped on Shadow. She let out a small whimper. "I know! This time I'll count to six. One more second just might help. Get up!" Kagura yelled and kicked Shadow. She tried to get up, but just fell back down. "Oh well, I guess I'll still start counting, but since you didn't get up I'll count to three. One.."

Shadow tried and tried to at least get up. 'I won't die without trying,' Shadow thought. "Two.." She fell back on the ground. "Come on, kiddo." Shadow opened her eyes with shock. "Daddy?"

"Three...Time's up! Dance of Blades!" Kagura yelled and white blades flew from her fan. Entia ran in front of Shadow and blocked the blades with his sword. "What! You little!" Kagura yelled. "Why are you after this human?" Entia asked. "I don't need to answer to a brat like you. Maybe I'm just doing it for fun," Kagura laughed. "You don't just kill for fun!" Entia shouted.

"Does that make you mad? Look, he's angry," Kagura laughed. Entia growled and stepped toward Kagura. "Full Moon!" he yelled and ran around Kagura. Suddenly, he was in four places at once. "What? There's four of you?" Kagura asked.

"My Full Moon attack lets me show the four quarters of the moon. Three are not real, but one is," Entia said and smiled. "But how?" Kagura asked. "I am the night dog-demon and I don't like when demons kill for fun," Entia said and charged. Kagura quickly picked her feather and flew into the air. Entia returned to normal so there was one of him. "Running away, are you?"

"I'll be back. You can count on it," Kagura said and flew away. Entia turned to Shadow and slowly approached her. "Hey, you okay?" Entia asked and leaned her against the tree. "I saw my daddy. I really did," she said and started coughing. Her blood was everywhere.

"Snap out of it!" Entia yelled. Shadow opened her eyes and looked at Entia. "Why did you save me? I'm going to die anyway," she said as tears went down her face. "No, you're not. I'm still gonna save you," Entia said and picked Shadow up. The sky began to thunder. Rain started falling, but Entia kept going. 'I am going to save her,' he thought. "Why are you doing this?"

"I...I don't know," Entia said. "I thought demons hated humans," Shadow said. Entia thought for a minute. "Most do, but you're the first human that didn't beg me for help or food. I guess you're special in a way so you can't die or I'll...I'll give up on saving humans, okay?" he asked.

"Okay," Shadow said. "What's your name anyway?" Entia asked. "Shadow," she said. "I'm Entia," he said. "Well thanks, Entia," Shadow said and closed her eyes. "Hey Shadow?" Entia asked.

She didn't answer. "Shadow?" Entia asked again. She still didn't answer.

...I'm so horrible for leaving this cliffy. Anyway, that was chapter three. I know I haven't been updating as much as I've been wanting to do, but it's not my fault. School started. I have homework. Right before school started, I had to call at least fifty people to find a babysitter for my daughter. Also my computer crashed and I had to work a little harder to buy a new one. So please don't get mad at me if I don't update right away! Anyway, I have to thank my reviewers, of course. I'd like to thank who ever reviewed because I can't see who did review. And one big thanks to TheeBycth. She helped me get back to working on this story and she posted it for me. She also helped make up Entia. So, will Shadow survive? Find out in chapter four!

Can I have at least three reviews since this is chapter three?