Yeah...uhh...chapter four...well I don't have anything to say right at the moment. Thanks to all my reviewers!!

And now for a disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha...

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Chapter 4: Bad News

A few days passed peacefully as the group continued travelling to Kaede's village, which was about a days' walk away. It was mid-morning and they were all still stretching after sleeping in a bit more than usual. The sun was shining brightly with just a few fluffy white clouds dotting the sky here and there...

Kagome found herself looking at the clouds as she walked forward. That one looks a lot like a dog...she realized and looked down at the hanyou walking in front of her. She sighed silently, recalling the past few days. He had hardly said anything to her, and she was beginning to get worried. Maybe hugging him had been a bad idea after all...I wish he would just talk to me! Stubborn hanyou...

Inuyasha could feel someone staring at him, so he stopped walking and turned and to see that Kagome was looking right at him. As soon as he did, though, the miko looked away, her cheeks reddening. "What's wrong, Kagome?" Sango, who had been walking beside the girl, asked.

"Um, nothing," Kagome answered, attempting to walk around Inuyasha. But the hanyou put a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"You've been acting wierd lately," he said, frowning.

I have? thought Kagome. Oh, man, if Inuyasha noticed it then it means that the others must have also...great. "No, I'm fine," she said, smiling.

But Inuyasha kept his hand on her shoulder, unsure of what to say. Something's definitely different about Kagome...she's been acting like she wishes she hadn't hugged me, thought the hanyou. I should just say something, but what do I tell her? Giving up, Inuyasha withdrew his hand. "Whatever," he said, crossing his arms and continuing to walk. He thought he heard Kagome sigh again and immediately regretted his cold tone. He didn't want to hurt Kagome anymore than he already had...

He turned stopped walking and turned around again, facing the miko. "Kagome, I..." he started, but then he immediately stopped talking as a familiar scent filled the air.

"What's wrong?" Kagome asked, noticing the angry look on Inuyasha's face.

But before Inuyasha could answer, Kagome sensed the power of a nearly-complete sacred jewel, tainted to the point of blackness.

"Naraku," they both uttered at the same time, as Sango, Miroku, and Shippo all tensed up.

"Where is he?" Miroku asked, absentmindedly grabbing his right hand. Sango, noticing this, grimaced. Her fiance had only a few months left before the cursed wind tunnel in his hand would swallow him up, and...it hurt her too much to think of what would happen then. She would be alone.

Sango swallowed hard and grabbed her hiraikotsu, preparing for the battle that was sure to come soon.

Inuyasha sniffed the air again as his ears twitched this way and that. "I can't tell," he said, frustrated. "It's like he's...coming from all directions. Damn it!" He spun around on his heel and strained his eyes, but couldn't see anything. What the hell?

But then Kagome gasped. "He's right above us!" she shouted, pointing at the sky, where a dark purple cloud was just beginning to form. Everyone else looked where she was pointing and saw the cloud starting to drift down towards them.

Inuyasha cursed again and then scooped Kagome up in his arms. Sango, Miroku, and Shippo hopped on Kilala, and they all moved away as the purple cloud descended and finally came to a halt on the ground. It was now easily ten times bigger than they had ever seen it--and it was still growing.

"What the hell is this?" Inuyasha wondered aloud, staring at the cloud.

"I don't know, but Naraku's definitely inside of it," said Kagome. "The jewel's presence is extremely strong in there."

Sango turned to Miroku. "But why would Naraku himself appear here? That's not like him at all," she said.

The monk shrugged. "Who knows?"

Suddenly, a blast of purple shot at them from the cloud. Inuyasha and the others dodged it as they heard a laugh come from inside the cloud. "Inuyasha, your senses have dulled," Naraku said, though they still couldn't see him. "You couldn't tell where I was even when I was directly above you. Kukuku..."

"Shut up!" Inuyasha shouted, clenching his fists.

"What do you want with us?" Kagome yelled, her bow in hand while her other one brushed against the arrows on her back.

"Actually, I didn't come to fight you," said Naraku. "I merely came to relay a message to the half-breed."

Kagome could hear Inuyasha growling as he stood next to her and knew that he wanted so very badly to fight Naraku...this wasn't going to end without a battle.

"Keh, and what would that be?" yelled Inuyasha.

Naraku laughed for a moment before answering. "Kikyo is dead," the demon said, and then he laughed even more. Oh, no, thought Kagome, as she tentatively glanced at Inuyasha. The half-demon didn't look sad--yet. Instead, he seemed to be severely pissed off. His fists were clenched so tightly that blood was dripping from his hands. "I happened across her right after I ran into your group, and she actually attempted to take the sacred jewel from me. How pathetic it was. I almost contemplated allowing her to live, but it would have been pointless. Why not go ahead and get rid of one thorn in my side?

"So I did. She's probably rotting away on the ground somewhere by now." Inuyasha's growl became even louder. "Now the only shards I need are your pathetic collection and that irritating wolf's shards. But I don't really feel like fighting you now, so goodbye, Inuyasha." Naraku laughed even more, and then he began to drift away into the sky again.

"Damn you! You're not getting away!" Inuyasha growled as he ran after the cloud of purple miasma. He unsheathed Tetsusaiga and screamed, "WIND SCAR!" but the cloud was already beginning to disappear.

Kagome aimed an arrow at Naraku and released, causing a yellowish light to pierce the purple. For a moment, the miko could see the evil half-demon inside his barrier of miasma. He appeared to be laughing at her, and she didn't know why until another blast of purple came flying directly at her.

"Kagome!" she heard Inuyasha yell as he sprinted towards her. His voice cracked, and he sounded like he was crying. For Kikyo...thought the miko. Of course he would be crying. He just lost someone he loved very much...

Kagome heard him yell her name one more time before the purple miasma surrounded her body and her vision went black.

Where am I? It's...it's warm in here...

At first when the young miko woke up, all she could feel was warmth and a blistering headache. Her eyes wouldn't open and she couldn't move, so she was content to just lay there. After a while, though, she could here some voices nearby, and she strained her ears to listen.

"...two days since we saw him, why hasn't she woken up yet?"

I recognize that voice...who is it again?

"The miasma hit her hard, so her body is still poisoned. I don't know how long it will be before she'll be able to wake up," said another voice...an older voice...Kaede...

"Damn it!" shouted the first voice.

Inuyasha! Kagome realized, and her heart beat painfully, mirroring her headache. He's probably still upset about Kikyo...poor Inuyasha...

And then the pain from Kagome's head became too great, and she passed out again.

Well, that's done...sorry it took longer than I'd expected! I've had a really crazy weekend and I didn't have very much time to write at all. Plus, my creativity was seriously low the past few days. This chapter probably reflected that, so...sorry everyone...

Hopefully I'll have the next chapter up soon!