A/N – Okay first off, I am SO sorry for not updating since... well... FOREVER! My computer has been having some major issues and a few other major things have been taking place in my life. Just to let you know, I rewrote some things in the first chapter to make them have more sense... I think it was just one part about the human and True Miko souls being combined. Oh and I've been vague on the details of our fav dog demons ^_^', they have silver hair and gold eyes but no puppy dog ears (aw D:) and no stripes or crescent moon (my luffly Sesshy is stripless! T_T)

Chapter 3. Kagome's POV

x.O.x.O.x.

The next day, I stayed home from school. Evidently during the night I had caught the flu and was bedridden. Yippee.

I laid in a bed of tissues and water bottles, I was to lazy to clean them up. I had a book in my hand called The Shadow's Love. I was in chapter three when I heard a sharp sound of knuckles hitting glass.

I looked at my window, a pair of golden eyes stared back at me with a silent command for entrance. Sighing, I got up and marked my spot in my book. I walked over, opened the window and sat back down on my bed with a slight huff.

"Hey, Sesshoumaru," I greeted with a small wave of my hand.

"Hnn," He replied coldly.

I shrugged his attitude off and asked. "What are you here for?"

"This Sesshoumaru wishes to know when we shall be looking for Shi no Shi." He remarked.

I nodded slowly, but was really thinking; This Sesshoumaru? When had that happened? "As soon as we have our research finished."

Sesshoumaru shuffled his feet on the windowsill a little then launched himself into the room. He landed elegantly on the carpet beside my bed. He glanced up to look around the room, and snorted.

"Original," He said with a small smirk, "By any chance have you done any of this 'research'?"

Shaking my head slowly, I decided not to voice my thoughts. A series of sneezes, wheezes and coughs shook my body then. I didn't try to hold them in because I knew it wouldn't help the matter. Sesshoumaru helped a little bit by giving me a few Kleenex from the box on my desk.

Once the coughing and sneezes subsided, I got off my bed. My vision was blurry along with my eyesight. "Oh kami, why the heck do I have to be the one to get sick?" I complained.

"Sit down, Kagome." Sesshoumaru commanded as he wrapped a hand around my elbow and forcing me to sit back down. "Clearly, you will be resting today while this Sesshoumaru research the information. This Sesshoumaru believe my 'dear' half-brother has something he could give you to make you better. He'll be over in about..." He sniffed the air somewhat daintily for a guy, "five minutes."

"Get out of my house you ice prick." I sighed, trying to joke around but not really getting my tone to get to that point.

"Hai, ma'am." He retorted, adding a salute to mock me further.

One moment he was there, the next he was gone. Jackass... Showing off bastard. Okay, maybe I did get a little jealous that he was that fast.

Five minutes later, the ice prick was right, Inuyasha knocked on the front door of my house. My mom called up to me saying that he was here. Almost five seconds after that, the hanyou was sitting on my bed with something wrapped in red paper in his hands.

"Oi, wench." He greeted.

I sat up on the bed, sighing. "Hey, Inuyasha. What is a guy like you, that I barely know, doing here?"

"Feh. The bastard told me everything, he thinks I could 'be of use'. His words, not mine." He replied, "So anyways, I brought you something to drink that should make you feel better."

With that, Inuyasha took off the red wrapping paper and a foul smelling odor took hold in the air. The source of the disgusting scent was a water bottle filled to the brim with a puke-brown liquid.

"That's so gross, it should have a warning label on it saying 'This might kill you just from smelling it, so back away.' or maybe, 'This looks like puke and so does the owner so please don't look them in the eye'." I commented.

Shaking his head quickly while bushes of red colored his face from being flustered, Inuyasha replied quickly. "Just drink it, wench."

"This is why I rejected you," I sighed and took the nasty liquid out of his hand and started to bring it to my lips. One whiff of the puke-colored 'medicine' was all it took for me to clamp two fingers over my nose and start chugging. It tasted worse than it looked. It was sort of like swallowing rotten eggs, sour milk and eggplant.

I must have been making a face because Inuyasha just had to make the comment, "Are you giving yourself a wedgie or are you sucking on a lemon?"

I grimaced. "Maybe I've been looking at your face for too long, it's making me sicker."

"Feh. Real funny." He sneered jokingly then heaved a long sigh, "Okay, wench, here's the deal. I gotta leave now, I'll do some research. When I'm gone, you're gonna to go to sleep. After you wake up in the middle of the night because of sensing the Red Moon which is when you're going to go out into the night, get some more information."

"Wow, for a moment there, you almost sounded not stupid." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"'Night, Gome."

"Thanks for the nickname, loser."

Inuyasha got off the bed and walked out of my room. I listened for his receding footsteps to get to the front porch before closing my eyes. Quite frankly, I was not tired. I was more awake then I had been all day.

"Night, Yasha." I muttered haughtily, a small smile on my lips. Maybe, just maybe, Inuyasha and I could be friends. Nothing more though.

x.O.x.O.x.

That night, I had a dream. A very, very short dream.

Dew covered the ground, chilling the parts of my body not covered in clothes. My face was red and gleamed with sweat. My body wouldn't stay at the same temperature for more than ten minutes. A sigh escaped my mouth, I was tired.

I knew I couldn't go to sleep. Someone would find me. So here I sat, hoping for a savior.

Bushes rustled and a branch cracked somewhere in the woods, not to far from the forest line but not even close to where I was. Soon I would have to leave.

I closed my eyes so I could rest for a little bit.

An hour later... they were still closed.

A pulse swept through my body, like something was trying to awaken in me. I waited a moment, hoping it was just a feeling. Then it happened again. And again.

I opened my eyes, the pulsing stopped, and looked to the moon. It was blood red. Even in my human form I could still feel the Red Moon's call.

Jumping off the bed, I quickly started running down the hall to the stairs. Then, taking two steps at a time, I descended to the floor on the staircase. Once my feet were firmly on the ground, I ran around the house to find my shoes.

Finally, I was able to go outside. The first few things I noticed was that it was surprisingly warm, also there was almost no auras of youkai or miko in the area.

"So... I'm alone for tonight," I breathed quietly.

I scanned the area to look for something even though I was not sure what I was even looking for. My pink bike stood against the side of the well shrine and a thought ran through my head, I could use the bike to get places quicker.

Running over to said bike and taking hold of the handle bars while I walked it down the stairs, I stared blankly at my feet. Ideas was what I was aiming for in my thoughts, but none came to mind.

If only Jolietai were here... I thought with a sigh. Recalling what I had seen from the dream, I finally noticed that some of the trees had a dark colored wood and dipping branches with white blossoms. I remembered those trees, my friends and I had once gone there because Sango said she trained there sometimes and that the place was beautiful.

Soon, I was speeding through town on my bike, on the way to the woods. Within fifteen minutes, I was setting my bike on the ground and running into the woods. I couldn't yell out Roza's name because I knew that would give away her position to whoever was following her.

I kept running straight then took a left, the foliage getting thicker and thicker. A clearing was ahead, I could tell because there was getting to be more and more of the Moon's light shinning through the tangled branches above my head.

The same trees from before came into sight. Moonlight illuminated the grass and turned the half-way closed buds on the trees a light red color. Everything was the same from the dream, save for the woman I needed to see.

"Roza... was I too late?" I whispered.

Something warm – too warm – was slapped on my mouth and dragged me into the trees' protection. Fear washed through me as I tried to break free of the person's hold. My captor knelled to the ground, which in turn, made me kneel too. A shriek threaten to leave my lips, I felt it bubble up my throat.

"Don't scream," the person behind me whispered with a cool tone.

The urge to scream disappeared, along with the one in my throat. The person behind me released their hold on me. I turned around and started to scoot away from said person, when I finally looked at the face of the person.

Holding a hand over her face that was as red as a tomato, Roza started coughing. They were dainty little coughs that morphed into something stronger and congested.

"Roza," I moved towards her and grabbed her arm, "You can't stay out here while your sick. There's so many things that could get you... Don't you have a place to go?"

She shook her head, trying to talk between coughs. "N-No... I haven't been in a human body for so long... I don't... remember... well."

As the coughing subsided, I placed my hand on her head and muttered a curse as I felt enough heat to fry a egg on her head. "We need to get you somewhere else... Someone's coming but I don't know when."

"Hai." Was the reply.

I thought for a moment then moved her arm away from her face so she would have to look at me. "I have an idea, but I need your help. If we can combine bodies again so we can become Branzy, I could get you somewhere safer."

"It's a good idea," She muttered, "I need you to hold me in your arms as tight as you can – or hug as you people say now-a-days. Because we both have some kind of connection to spiritual energy we might be able to link. I am too week to do a distance connection, even if your that close. I need you to think of the being we will be when we are combined."

Wrapping my arms around Roza's petite frame, I started to hug her with all my might (without trying to squeeze her to death of course). I closed my eyes to concentrate, picturing Branzy.

A throb of blue energy pulsed through me, I felt my body go numb. Ten seconds later, my body was able to feel again, this time my senses and body were ten fold stronger.

Roza/I stood up and started running. The sickness Roza had been feeling seemed to have numbed because her voice kept whispering about the pain being gone.

Bounding out of the woods, I picked up my bike and extended my aurora. A dim light tickled the edges of said aurora, whoever had been after Roza was long gone.

I started running towards my house with my bike in my hand and arrived in about three minutes. Settling my bike against the old well shrine then walking back into my house, I went straight to my room.

"Roza, we must part now," I mentally told her.

She replied, "Give me a moment to regain my standings on how to remove myself from you again."

In a burst of azure, Roza sat on my bed. She brought her hand to her head once again. "I regret coming out now."

I smiled down at her. "I'll get you something to eat. Medicine, too – if we have some."

I ran down the stairs and collected some tea, ibuprofen, and soup (in a cup) from the kitchen. Then, I brought them upstairs and set them on my computer desk.

"I need you to sit up," I murmured gently to woman laying on my bed.

Using her hands to push her up, Roza settled into a somewhat sitting position against the head board of the bed. I handed her the soup cup first, which she took gingerly. Sipping daintily at the red-colored liquid, she began to eat. I noticed something then, every time I got close to her body, a faint purple glow would come from her right arm and knee.

"Finish it all off so you'll have something in your stomach when you take the medicine." I commanded her.

She nodded. "Alright."

"Um..." I started slowly, "I was wondering... how did you get sick? Isn't it, like, impossible to get sick from being a True Miko?"

"It would be impossible – if it weren't for the fact I am a ningen. When I separated from your body, I became the real me... half-real me, I mean. My body being the way it is, the way I was sleeping outside and the bond between us, it made me able to catch a illness quickly." She explained.

Nodding, I understood what she said perfectly. "So because I was sick, it made you sick too?"

"Er... Just a little." She replied.

Roza handed me the now empty cup of soup and I handed her the tea and ibuprofen next. She blew on the hot tea and took a few sips before putting the pills in her mouth.

"Hey... What's with the glowing skin?" I inquired.

She glanced down at her skin then looked back at me. "I believe... It's jewel shards. They must have gone into this body with me."

"Jewel shards?" I muttered, that was a new one.

She nodded, finishing off her tea and handed the empty cup to me. "Hai, Shikon Jewel shards."

I put said cup on the desk and turned back to her. "Shikon Jewel shards? I think I've heard about that before... Ojiisan (Grandpa) told me about that before. Isn't it a jewel from Feudal Japan that a wish could be made on and granted? I heard that it broke into a hundred pieces and a priestess, hanyou, youkai, tajiya and houshi had to find them. He told me it disappeared five-hundred years ago because the correct wish had been made on it by a priestess. Oh and something else about a evil man named Naraku whom tried to taint the jewel."

"Almost correct," She murmured, her voice getting weaker as sleep swept over her, "The Shikon Jewel is back... and it's broken again. I made the wrong wish. Hmm... Am I the only on who thinks they look a little tainted...?"

Glancing down, I noticed how the shards' color seemed darker. "I could try to take them out of you... then you can sleep, but I'm going to need more answers when you wake up."

"It's the least you can do..." She muttered, her body going slack onto the mattress, "I did take your illness into my body."

Funny, I thought as I finally noticed that I didn't feel sick anymore, how you don't realize something until someone points it out. I grasped Roza's limp right arm, the dull purple turning a brilliant pink in an instant as the jewel worked it's way out of the woman's arm to get closer to the warm aurora of Kagome's miko powers had. The jewel in her leg also purified, but having less of said power, didn't escape Roza's skin. After grabbing the first shard, I moved down to that one and pressed my hands to the place the skin sported the shard, then little burst of mike purification, the shard was in my hand.

By the time I was finished, Roza was deep asleep and snoring. I turned around and picked up the small, empty jar on my desk I used to hold paperclips. Putting the jewel shards inside said jar, I set it under the pillow Roza's head rested on.

"Goodnight, Roza." I muttered sleepily.

Where am I going to sleep? I thought suddenly, bringing my hand up to stifle a groan.

x.O.x.O.x.

The next day I had a very stiff neck because I had slept on the floor in my bedroom. The floor! At least I wasn't sick anymore.

First thing I did in the morning was turn towards my ex-soul part sleeping on my bed. The black-haired woman on my bed was still sleeping. I crawled towards her and put my hand on her forehead, her temperature still felt high but not as bad as before.

I picked up my clock and looked at it, then did a double take. It was 7:30 and I had to be to school by eight. Skipping steps as I went down the stairs, I grabbed some bread for both Roza and me. Then ran back up the stairs, eating my bread, and threw the other bread onto my nightstand then went into the bathroom to get a shower.

Ten minutes later, I was showered, hair blow dried and some make-up on. Three minutes after that, I had my clothes on and was out the door. When I finally reached the school with just a couple of people tagging along (because everyone else had left in fear of being late for school), the people were already going inside.

Rushing towards the entrance of the school, I failed to notice the hanyou walking beside me. It wasn't till he said something that I noticed him.

"Oi," He said loudly.

My head shot up in his direction, at first I was confused from having my mind taken off the task of getting into the school without being squished, but then I smiled. "Hey, Inuyasha. Arigato for the medicine last night. I feel good as new!"

He nodded and replied gruffly, "No problem."

I looked around suddenly, remembering the elder brother that normally walked into the school with Inuyasha. "Where's Sesshoumaru?" I asked while walking past the school's entrance doorway.

"You mean the pole-up-the-ass guy? He's skippin' school today. Said he needed to 'think' and 'research'. Which, speaking of that, I found somethin' interesting. But since we're already inside and gotta go get our junk to go to class... meet me after school. I'll take you to ice lord's and my place. If your mom asks just say we're studying."

"Okay," I replied and parted ways with the silver-haired boy to go towards my locker.

When I went to my homeroom, everything was usual. People talked to me like there was no tomorrow and I responded as happily as I could. Surprisingly, Sango was the one doing the most talking, she kept going on and on about the Prada sale. I talked to her with real smiles and happiness.

The teacher finally entered the room a few minutes later and soon that class was over. A little voice in the back of my head kept worrying me about Roza. That voice got louder and louder as more and more classes went by.

When lunch time came, said voice was shouting. I sat in my normal spot in the cafeteria, eating whatever was on the menu (I could no longer recognize the mush). To my surprise, Inuyasha joined me but didn't say much to me. It's not like he didn't want to, it was the fact that the girls and even a few guys were talking to him more then me. Which, in fact, I didn't mind at all.

A familiar silence reached my ears while I sat oblivious to the world. I blinked and looked around me. Everyone was frozen, except me of course, even Inuyasha. That surprised me the most. His brother could move in Red Time but he couldn't.

I made myself as small as possible when I got up slowly, making sure not to brush anyone with my clothes or body. Then, walked over to Inuyasha and placed a hand firmly on his shoulder. It took a few moments, but the waxiness disappeared from his body.

"So that's when -" He continued whatever he had been saying before he had been frozen. "Huh?"

"Don't move too much," I commanded. "If you move even a inch to your left or right you will return the people to their natural form and they'll freak out which will make me have to do something I really don't want to do."

Inuyasha examined his surroundings then got up just as slowly as I had. At least a minute had passed before he stood beside me, staring at the waxy figures.

"So... they can't move and they can't see us?" He inquired.

I nodded. "Yup."

He glanced at me, then gingerly lifted his wrist to take off a bracelet I had never noticed before. Suddenly, he got taller and a lot more muscular. But besides that, on the top of his head was the most adorable set of puppy-dog ears I had ever seen.

"KAWAII!" I screeched then grabbed his ears to feel them. "So soft..." I whispered.

The inu's face was hilarious; somewhere between a 'are you kidding me' expression, and a blushing school girl. "Oi, wench! Hands off the ears."

Those words stabbed me and I deflated. "So... kawaii... though..." I muttered while picturing myself with a big red arrow with the words he said puncturing my chest.

"Feh." He said, still blushing.

I grinned then, enjoying the way his ears twitched ever so slightly when I looked at him. "Okay, I'm going to go visit my house. So go be constructive with your time. And that does not mean waking everyone up!"

"Okay, then." He responded.

Brow raised, I walked to the front door of the school and then walked home. Once I was there, I went to my room.

"R-Roza?" I said in shock. In front of me, was a empty bed.

I started searching all around the house in disbelief. There was no way Roza would just bolt on me! Everywhere I went came up empty until I found myself slumped on the floor beside the door leading into Souta's room.

"She's crazy. I'm so going to kill her next chance I get." I muttered to myself with a deep sigh before getting up. "Where haven't I checked yet?"

There was one place... but was it possible? Why would she even be there? Especially this long? But just maybe...

I walked over to the door at the end of the hall, my hand hesitating before twisting the knob. Laying in the bathtub in the bathroom, was a very naked Roza. Her eyes were closed so I could only guess she was asleep.

"Eek!" I screeched, covering my eyes with my petite hands. "That's just wrong! Why, why me?"

Stepping out of the room, I shut the door with a loud bang and there was a sound of water moving quickly then footsteps inside the bathroom. By now, I was curled in a ball in the middle of the hallway murmuring to myself 'I will not be mentally scarred, I will not be mentally scarred.'. Maybe three minutes later, a (thank god) dressed Roza stepped out of the bathroom.

She jumped back in surprise when she seen me. "Oh kami, oh it's just you, Kagome."

I stood up then, my body still swinging back and forth like I was still in the tight little ball. "Oh so it's just me now, huh? Miss, you just mentally scarred me for life so I think you should talk to me with more respect." I joked.

She blushed then. "Um... This is awkward..."

"Ya think? Hey, you hungry? I can make you something to eat. Like ramen or something."

"Yeah a little... How about some toast? I've been craving that since you left that bread on the nightstand."

"Sure. Hey, you feelin' better?"

"Much."

I didn't know much about how to take care of sick people, but I did know that they were supposed to eat toned down foods after being sick for a while. Would toast be okay?

"Do you want butter or anything on it?" I asked.

"Sure, butter and jam sounds good." She replied.

I went down the stairs and put some toast in the toaster, then got the butter and grape jelly out of the refrigerator. Once the toast was ready, I spread said jelly and butter over is thinly.

I, then, brought it upstairs for Roza who was now in my bedroom rummaging through my dresser.

She turned to me, holding one of my shirts in her hand. She sheepishly smiled and put it away. "Um... sorry. Last time I was human was when I was a teenager... so I kinda have this thing for wanting to look good all the time. Plus, I really wanted to know what people wear these days. But, I didn't realize they let little kids wearing this kind of underwear." She then folded my shirt neatly and put it back in the dresser before pulling out a bright red thong my friends had given to me as a joke on my birthday last year.

I blushed then ran over and snatched the thong from her hand and threw it back in the drawer. Then slammed the drawer shut and handed Roza the toast.

"Eat it and never speak of this again, baka." I demanded.

She nodded quickly, backing away to sit at my desk. "At least now we are even. I mentally scarred you, you mentally scarred me." She muttered between bites of food.

I face-palmed then, just so someone in the world wouldn't have to do it for me. "Wow..."

"I know right!" She beamed.

"You," I said, pointing a finger at her, "are the most childlike adult I have ever met."

"Isn't it great?"

"... Don't make me respond..."