Chapter 3

Kagome had just finished helping Kaede with the herbs when she felt a chill in the air. It wasn't so close but she could feel the presence of a tainted jewel shard. While Kaede began to walk ahead with Rin at her side, Kagome called her son over with a sweet and calm voice as she pretended to sit down and enjoy the air. 'Inuyasha isn't close by…I wonder where he wondered off to…' Kagome thought in as she waited for Shippo to reach her. Once he had reached her, Kagome smiled and said, "Shippo honey, go and get Inuyasha. Tell him that I need to talk to him alright?"

"Alright…are you ok Oka?" Shippo asked in a worried voice.

"No, I'm fine dear, just take your time and get him for me alright. I just want to pick some extra herbs while I wait." Kagome answered with a smile on her face.

"K, I'll be back." He said before running off.

Once her son was in a safe distance, Kagome put up a barrier around the area so that the tainted shard would not go toward the village but toward her. 'Inuyasha…please get here in time…I don't have my bow or arrows.' Kagome thought as she stood up and began to look for some herbs that could give her a power boost so that she would be able to last on her own while Shippo got Inuyasha. Just as she had found an herb that would enhance her powers, Kagome turned around as she heard a low growl calm from behind her.

Inuyasha had just gotten back from getting Rin. She had run off when she had seen a ball of light fly over the village. She had thought that it had been his brother come to take her back after just one night. After explaining to her that he would go and check on him he had brought her back to the village where he found Sango waiting for her with a hyper Shippo and Miroku walking into the hut with Kaede. Before he could even try to listen in on what Miroku and Kaede were talking about, Shippo jumped on Inuyasha and said, "Oka wants to talk to you; she is waiting by where Kaede gets all of her herbs."

"If you upset her so help me Inuyasha you will not be seen for some days." Sango warned in a sweet and gentle voice.

"Feh, I'm not going to do anything to the wench." Inuyasha growled out as he turned to leave.

"Oka sounded calm." Shippo stated.

"Feh, we'll be back." Inuyasha growled. "Wench probably wants to go back home."

"Her name is Kagome." Sango hissed out before walking into the hut with Rin at her side.

"Can I come?" Shippo asked.

"No, you stay here and look after Rin; she needs someone to cheer her up." Inuyasha stated with a grin on his face before adding, "You know anyone that can do that runt?"

"Fine, I'll stay. But keep Oka safe." Shippo stated.

"I always do." Inuyasha growled.

With that begin said, Inuyasha sent Shippo into the hut before taking off to go find Kagome. But just as he had reached the area, he had noticed her barrier had been up. Had been, meaning that she had dropped it the moment he had reached it. Just as he had reached Kagome, with sword drawn, he watched with wide eyes as Kagome not only created a bow out of pure miko energy but created three different arrows, each right after the other, and hit the demon that held the tainted shard. Just as the demon's body finished turning into nothing but ash, Kagome fell forward as the bow disappeared from her hands.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha called out as he sheathed the Tetsusiga and caught her just in time.

Kagome barely opened her eyes and said, "Inuyasha…can you get the shard for me…I just need to rest a bit," before passing out.

"Damn it wench." Inuyasha growled out as he got the jewel shard before taking her to Kaede.

'She has the smell of herbs in her mouth…damn it Kagome you better have not done anything stupid.' Inuyasha thought as he took off like a bat out of hell and toward Kaede's hut.

As he raced to Kaede's hut he could fell her body temperature going up. He could start to smell the sickness coming off of her in waves and he had no idea what was making her so sick. As soon as he had gotten there, Sango took Rin and Shippo out of the hut while Miroku and Kaede began to look over Kagome to see what it was that was making her so sick. It wasn't until they had found the small leaves on her lips that Miroku had turned to Inuyasha and asked, "Inuyasha, did Kagome happen to eat any of the herbs that were out there?"

"Feh, it smelled like it, the wenches month sure as hell smells like it." Inuyasha answered.

"Ye must hurry Monk, ye does not have much time." Kaede stated as she began to mix some herbs of her own.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Inuyasha growled out in a worried voice.

"She ate a plant that will enhance a miko's power, but she wasn't supposed to have it pure, it will kill her if she is left untreated." Miroku explained. "I have to go and get a bit of the herbs she ate and bring it back so that Kaede can finish the medicine."

"Feh, I'll go, I'm fast and I already got the scent of what I need." Inuyasha growled as he turned to leave.

"Ye must hurry than." Kaede stated as she turned to Miroku and said, "Ye must get me some water."

"I'll be back." Inuyasha and Miroku stated at the same time before leaving the hut.

"Kagome child, what has ye done to ye self?" Kaede whispered as she continued to work on getting the medicine ready in time.

Kagome lay still as her breathing began to even out on its own. It hadn't been until Inuyasha and Miroku had returned with what was needed that they had all noticed Kagome was getting better and not worst. Miroku and Kaede quickly began to look over at Kagome in shock before they turned to Inuyasha and said, "Ye must see if ye can smell any other herbs on her Inuyasha."

Inuyasha leaned into Kagome and took in a deep breath as he tried to figure out if there really were any other herbs on Kagome. It wasn't until Miroku had slightly opened her mouth that he smelled the faint smell of a different herb. Once he was sure of what it was, he turned to Kaede's herbs and picked out the one he had just found and said, "I smell this one with the one that was on her lips."

"Then ye has nothing to worry about, Kagome has taken the right herbs to control the plant she used." Kaede answered in a relieved filled voice.

"Kaede, I did not know that you had already taken her training so far ahead." Miroku stated.

"I have not; she has been studying on her own when she can." Kaede answered. "Kagome has only recently started to ask me many questions on different herbs and what they can do."

"I'm sure." Miroku stated in a calm voice. "I'm going to go and let the others know that she is alright.

"Feh, I'm going to take her home, she could use some rest." Inuyasha growled as he lifted her backpack before picking Kagome up and into his arms.

"But what about your promise?" a sad voice was heard before everything turned to find Rin standing in the entrance of the hut.

"Miroku, you and Kaede send the wench home as soon as she wakes up, I'll go get her once I come back with my stupid brother." Inuyasha growled.

"All will be fine." Miroku stated.

"Why don't you have Kirara go with you? It would be better." Sango stated.

"I'll help protect the village Otu." Shippo added.

"Feh, come on Kirara…just keep everyone safe. I'll be back in about five days." Inuyasha growled.

"That fast?" Sango asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, I'm not going to stop so if Kirara is already tired she should just stay here." Inuyasha growled as he turned to leave.

"Ye must stay safe as well Inuyasha." Kaede stated.

"I will." Inuyasha growled before leaving.

Once he was out of the hut, and out of the village, Kagome took in a large breath as she slowly opened her eyes. She could tell that Inuyasha was no longer in the village, she could feel his aura fade away the further he got from the village. Once she was sure that she could not longer follow his aura, Kagome opened her eyes and asked, "Uh…what happened?"

"Kagome…ye must be careful child. What ye has done will only endanger ye self if ye are not careful." Kaede was heard.

"How did you know what to mix with those herbs?" Miroku asked in a calm voice.

"I found some books on herbs in my time…I read them over and remembered what they said and what I had learned from Kaede." Kagome explained. "Where did Inuyasha go?"

"He went to go and check on Sesshomaru." Sango answered.

"I see…well I guess I'll just go home for a while." Kagome stated as she slowly began to get up.

"Are you sure that is a good idea?" Shippo asked in a worried voice.

"No, but I'm guessing that's what he wanted." Kagome answered with a small smile on her face.

"Kagome, if ye truly want to become an inu hanyou like Inuyasha ye will need all of ye soul to do so." Kaede's serious voice was heard. "It is the only way ye will have a chance of living through the transformation."

"So, you guys told her already?" Kagome asked in a shocked voice as she began to feel her strength slowly return to her.

"We won't let you rush into things Kagome; we want you to get through this alive." Sango answered with a smile on her face.

"Which is why, we are all going to work on this together in order to find the best and safest way to go about changing you." Miroku added.

"I promise not to tell Otu." Shippo offered.

With a smile on her face, Kagome nodded her head and laid back down knowing that everything would be alright. She would get what she wanted; now the only problem was trying to find a way of getting around the whole, her having to get her soul completed thing. 'Inuyasha would be mad at me if I did that…if I took my soul back and killed Kikiyo.' Kagome thought sadly.

"We'll all do our best." Miroku promised.

With a smile on her face, Kagome began to explain what she had found in the books from her time and what Kaede had told her. She had not only believe bits of other rituals were right but knew that if she combined a little bit of everything in the right way, then she would get what she wanted, she would be able to become an inu hanyou and stay in the feudal era; she would be able to stay with the new family she had now and live through the centuries with her son and grandchildren to come to see her family from her time again. Everything would be alright, she would live and never give her heart to another again, it would forever belong to the one man she could not have.