Chapter 5 is here. And another response to JediK1. hmmm. I thought I got them all. Oh well thank you for telling me. I might fix those mistakes eventually. Thank you to all the other reviewers as well.

Disclaimer: see chapter 1

Inu-Yasha jumped out of the well on the other side then reached down and helped Kagome out. "Thanks" she said hauling herself up.

They began to head back to the village but about half way there Inu-Yasha paused. Kaome stopped to and looked at him quizzically. "What is it Inu-Yasha?" she asked.

Inu-Yasha sniffed the air. What was that? He thought looking at Kagome. "Are you alright Kagome?" he asked her. It was strange but he thought her scent had been different for a second.

"Of course" she said, "why do you ask?"

Inu-Yasha shook his head. Great he thought, I'm smelling things. "Nothing" he said instead. Kagome looked at him like he had grown a third arm. "What?" he squawked, "is there something on my face?"

Kagome giggled and grabbed hold of his arm. "Come on" she said practically dragging him toward the village.

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"Ah, they have returned," said Miroku when he spotted Inu-Yasha and Kagome.

"Do you suppose she's feeling better? Asked Sango.

"I sure hope so," said Shippo hopping up onto Sango's shoulder.

Kagome shouted a greeting and waved. "I guess this means we'll be leaving again soon" said Sango as the three waved back.

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"Kaede?"

The old woman looked up from a bowl full of herbs she had been grinding up to see Kagome standing in the door of her hut. "Yes child?" she said setting the bowl aside.

Kagome sat down across from her and said "I want to talk to you about something"

Kaede frowned and leaned back against the wall. "I knew ye would eventually. What is troubling you?"

Kagome looked down in her lap before beginning. "Do you know anything about what happened to me?" she asked then added "Aside from the obvious of course".

"I have heard of similar things occurring before" explained Kaede, "but this was…unique".

Kagome tilted her head to the side a bit. "Unique?" she asked.

Kaede looked Kagome straight in the eyes. "Tell me Kagome. What would you expect would happen if one was to become supercharged with extra energy?"

Kagome blinked then said, "I would think they would get stronger. Isn't that what the jewel shards do?"

Kaede nodded. "To an extent yes, but the shards also provide an element of control".

"What do you mean control?" asked Kagme. The shards had always just seemed to pump whatever used them full of energy. How could there be control?

"The body can only hold so much energy" explained Kaede, "up to a certain point it can accept extra energy but eventually it reaches its limit. Like pouring too much water into a flask it eventually overflows".

Kagome scratched her head. "I think I get it," said Kagome, then something dawned on her. "Wait a minute, how does that explain what happened to me? Or for that matter how the jewel shards work?"

"I'm getting to that," said Kaede. "The jewel shards increase the body's ability to hold energy. The subject becomes more powerful because of it. Now suppose the power was forced in instead".

"Forced in? Like pumping to much water into the flask?"

Kaede nodded, "exactly. The flask will expand to a certain point but it will eventually weaken and burst. The same with a body's tolerance for energy, if to much energy is forced in at once the spiritual bonds that hold the energy in ones body are strained or even in some cases broken".

Kagome nodded, "I think I get it," she said. "So you think this is what happened to me?"

Kaede frowned again. "I'm not quite sure" she said, "in all the other cases I have heard of the victim just became extremely weak until the extra energy bled away and the spiritual bonds in their body's recovered. You fell unconscious and while it is true a person is helpless in such a state I sensed no weakness in you as a result of the extra power"

"Then what happened?" asked Kagome getting frustrated.

"Calm yourself child, I have told ye all I can". Kaede said as she retrieved the bowl of herbs.

Kagome stood up to leave but lust before walking out the door she turned back. "How will I know what happened then?"

Kaede looked up and sighed. "Ye will have to figure it out yourself".

Kagome smiled but Kaede could tell it was forced. "Thank you" she said before walking out of the hut.

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"About time" grunted Inu-Yasha when Kagome sprinted up to join her friends at the edge of the village. "What took you so long anyway?"

She grinned at him. "I was just talking to Kaede. That's all"

Inu-Yasha raised an eyebrow, "really what for?"

"Oh no reason" said Kagome waving her hands in front of her.

Inu-Yasha snorted, "what do you take me for? There has to be more to it then that".

Miroku grinned and leaned on his staff. "Come now Inu-Yasha is that any way to ask a question?"

Shippo hopped from Sango's shoulder onto Inu-Yasha's head and looked him in the eye. "Yes Inu-Yasha you should be nicer".

Inu-Yasha plucked the kitsune off his head and dropped him on the ground. "Whatever" he grumbled, "Let's just get going already".

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After a few hours of walking Sango noticed Kagome was lagging behind a bit staring idly at the sky and dropped back to talk to the girl herself. "Kagome" said Sango snapping Kagome out of whatever was causing her mind to wander.

"Oh hello Sango" said Kagome blushing a bit, "I didn't see you standing there"

Sango chuckled but soon grew more serious. "Are you alright Kagome?" she asked.

"Of course I am" answered Kagome a little too quickly.

Sango raised and eyebrow and asked "are you sure? You've been more then a bit distant for a while now. Does this have anything to do with what happened a few days ago?"

Sango could tell she had guessed right when the distant look returned to Kagome's eyes. "What are you afraid of Kagome?" she asked.

Kagome sighed. She would have to say something eventually. "It's just that…" Kagome began but her throat closed up.

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to Kagome" said Sango putting a comforting arm around her shoulders.

Kagome shook her head to clear it. "It's just that, what I saw in my dreams… I hope it never comes true".

Sango smiled warmly. "Look Kagome" she said, "whatever happens the rest of us will be here to help. You would never give up on any of us would you".

Kagogome wiped her eyes. "Thank you Sango" she said, "That means a lot to me".

Up ahead Shippo was wondering what Sango and Kagome where talking about and he voiced as much to Miroku and Inu-Yasha.

"Beat's me" muttered Inu-Yasha shrugging, "I just hope Kagome will stop moping around".

Miroku nodded. "She has been distant since we left the village. It is rather disconcerting".

"I hope she's alright," said Shippo.

It was then that Inu-Yasha paused. "Hold on a second" he said holding out his hand.

Kagome and Sango noticed and came running up. "What is it Inu-Yasha?" asked Kagome.

"I smell something burning," he said taking off at a run down the road with everyone trailing behind.

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The group came to a stop at the edge of a village. Over half of it was smoking ruin. "Oh my gosh" gasped Kagome upon seeing the destruction, "what did this?"

"What else" grumbled Inu-Yasha, "probably some demon with nothing better to do".

The group started down toward the ruins of the village. What few survivors their where shrank back when they saw the little group approaching. "Who are you" stammered one man who was brave enough to approach them.

"We have come to help," said Miroku, "what has happened here?"

The man pointed to a spot in the tree line where the underbrush had been pressed down. "Whatever it was it went that way," he said.

Inu-Yasha snorted. "You haven't answered the question. What was it?"

The man stumbled back a step out of fear and Kagome rounded on Inu-Yasha. "What was that for? Do you have to be so insensitive all the time?" to the man she said, "please, can you tell us what it was?"

"Some kind of giant serpent" explained the man "it swept though here very fast. The village guards didn't know what hit them".

"Don't worry we will deal with it" said Miroku.

"You will?" said the man. A spark of hope gleamed in his eyes.

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"Great" grumbled Inu-Yasha as the group headed for the gap in the trees the man waving to them and wishing them luck. "Why can't we ever not get side-tracked?"

Kagome glared at him. "And what is that supposed to mean?" she said.

Inu-Yasha stared at her for a few seconds then looked away. "Keh, just don't see why we need to help every sad case we come across" he muttered.

The group continued on in silence for a few more minutes before Inu-Yasha suddenly dropped into a crouch and pointed to a spot in the underbrush. "There" he said resting his hand on the hilt of his sword. The group crept forward through the brush and peeked into a clearing.

There had to be about thirty of them in the clearing on the other side of the bush, all basking in the sun. Huge snakes, each one as long as a city bus.

"Didn't that man say there was only one" whispered Sango.

Inu-Yasha grunted. "Only one that attacked the village" he said sourly. "It's prob…" he continued but then he heard something behind them. "LOOK OUT" he shouted whipping out the tessaiga and beheading the snake that was poised to strike at them from behind.

It fell to the ground with a thud alerting the other snakes. The companions leapt into the clearing before any of them could reach the forest though. It wouldn't be any good to have no room to manoeuvre.

The first snake cane on, it's jaws opened wide but Sango brought her boomarang around in an arc forcing the thing back. Miroku finished it off with a swing of his staff.

Another one came in from the side but it stopped and fell down dead when one of Kagome's arrows embedded itself in its head.

Inu-Yasha charged right into the thick of them swinging the tessaiga around taking out three in one swing then, reversing his grip, blocked a strike from another one.

One snake was rearing up behind Inu-Yasha but Sango's boomerang hit it dead centre slicing it neatly in half along its middle. Sango immediately released the boomerang again after it returned redirecting it to a small knot of snakes killing two and wounding a few others.

Kilala snarled as she clawed a snake to pieces that had lunged at Miroku. Shippo clung desperately to the cat's back not being able to do much in this fight.

Through all this nobody noticed that one of the snakes had looped around behind and was waiting for the right moment to strike. The group finished off the other snakes a few minutes later. "Keh" muttered Inu-Yasha stuffing the tessaiga back into its sheath. "Too easy" he grumbled, "hardly worth our time".

It was then the snake that had been hiding chose to strike making a beeline for the closest person, that person happened to be Kagome.

Kagome screamed when she was suddenly jerked off the ground. The snake wound around her body and began to squeeze. Time seemed to slow to a crawl for her. Kagome could dimly register her friends running towards her to help. They won't get here fast enough. She thought dimly. That's when it happened. Kagome felt something inside her. It was like liquid rage had been poured into her and now it was bubbling to the surface. How dare this thing attack me she thought. Truth be told Kagome was scaring herself but that didn't matter at this point.

Inu-Yasha skidded to a stop. That smell he thought. "Wait" he shouted to the others, "Don't go near it".

"What!" shouted Sango incredulously.

"Kagome is in trouble Inu-Yasha," said Miroku, "we have to help her".

Inu-Yasha growled at them. "Just do it. You'll see why in a second".

Can't breathe thought Kagome. The snake was crushing her. She had been resisting the rage building inside her but she couldn't anymore. She gave into it.

It was incredible. The strength was overwhelming. Kagome snarled ferally, this pitiful thing was going to die for touching her. She flexed her arms and forced the snake's coils away. She fell to the ground and glared at the thing, her eyes glowing red.

"Kagome?" gasped Shippo hiding behind Inu-Yasha's leg. The hanyou just stood there with a grave expression on his face.

Kilala snarled at the encounter. Sango patted her on the head to try and calm her down. "I know girl" she whispered.

Kagome was done with the staring match. So was the snake apparently because they both lunged at the same time. Kagome twisted at the last second just barely avoiding the snake's jaws then latched her arms around the back of its head clasping her hands together at the base of its jaw. The snake whipped its head around in an attempt to dislodge the girl but to no avail. Kagome swung her legs around and used them to latch onto the snake just below its neck and began to twist and pull.

At one point Kagome had unclasped her hands and she was now digging her fingers into the snakes scaly hide. It hissed in pain when its skin was actually ripped open due to the pressure from Kagome's fingers. Blood oozed out and covered her hands as she continued to pull.

Kagome's friends were horror-struck when, finally, with a sickening snap and a horrendous squelching that sounded like wet Velcro being pulled apart the snake's head was torn from its body.

Kagome stood up and dropped the snake's head. The red faded from her eyes and she began trembling. Inu-Yasha darted forward and caught her before she could fall.

The rage was gone now. So is the strange smell thought Inu-Yasha bitterly. All that was left was horror.

Kagome looked down at her blood-soaked hands and began to cry. "What is happening to me?" she sobbed.

Inu-Yasha didn't say anything. He just picked Kagome up and began to head back to the village while the others followed in total silence.

Author's notes

Well there's chapter 5. hope everyone liked it. I had a bit of trouble writing some of this one. I may have to slow down on the updates soon as well but for now there will be at least 2 more if not 3 more chapters before Friday at the least. Ciao.