Kagome stared at the towering figure in front of her, huffing down at her.

"How high of a fever do I have?!"

This was one of her lucid dreams-one of the dreams she had where she knew she was dreaming. She had been sick for the day, she knew that. She could feel her fever still even now at the edges of the dreams, interrupting the usual blissful lack of awareness of the outside world.

The giant black dog stared down at her. From somewhere deep in her consciousness, a voice kept echoing on repeat-We have to wake up.

But the voice didn't mean physically wake up from the dream. Kagome knew it meant something else, she just couldn't put her finger on it. Clearly her brain had conjured up this image from previous encounters with Inuyasha's brother-and she had had nightmares from those encounters before. But the giant dog in front of her didn't have long floppy ears, or giant cloud like tuffs of fur around the chest, paws and tail. And it wasn't ripping or tearing up the people she cared about, nor was she even afraid.

In stark contrast, the canine in front of her had short, erect ears, a longer, more pointed muzzle, and sleek, long black fur that shone so brightly it was nearly iridescent. Kagome blinked. Wait-no, the fur was iridescent, the shimmer reflecting off each individual hair playing from deep violet to royal gold as the dog breathed. A scruff that was akin to a wolf's mane protected the dog's throat and chest area, though there was something about the body frame that was so obviously female that Kagome couldn't quite place either. Two large tails curved gracefully over the dog's back, currently standing erect as the youkai dog regarded her. Amber eyes with melted gold around the pupils and vibrant violet flecks tore her down to her very soul. Some odd longing, some odd piece of her screaming and pounding to get a response-but Kagome couldn't reach the full understanding of it. It felt as though she was trying to reach for a solid hold in a body of water.

Again the giant black youkai canine huffed in a type of annoyance so ridiculously familiar.

We have to wake up. We must master both sides of ourselves and protect what we were born to protect.

But what did that mean?

Kagome reached out a hand, longing to get closer, as though touching the giant canine would solve everything.

As her hand made contact with the muzzle of the gigantic dog, the dream dissipated. She didn't even get a chance to feel what that beautiful fur coat felt like.

The real world crashed into her, and the nauseating awareness of the fever that was far too high pulsed through every vein, a migraine causing her vision to blur slightly as she peeled open her eyelids. The firelight stung her eyes. Her joints didn't just ache, they jarred her with shocking pain that timed itself to the rhythm of the beating of her heart.

"Shit. Her fever just keeps getting higher. Even the herbs in her bag aren't working. We need to get her to Kaede, fast."

Blearily, Kagome could make out the purple and black robes of her monk friend, standing over her. The smell of the burning firewood was absolutely nauseating.

"And Inuyasha isn't back from hunting dinner yet-

"I'll stay and wait for him. Take Kirara and Kagome and go." The monk's smooth voice seemed to lull some of the panic in Sango. The world shifted, and Kagome realized her friend had picked her up. She had forgotten how strong the demon slayer was at times-she supposed Sango had to be. Warm white fur comforted her as Kagome realized how limp she was, and that exhaustion rattled her too much to do anything about it. Unable to sleep, but unable to stay entirely aware, she briefly felt her friend settle behind her and wrap a supportive arm around her waist.

"Wait! I'll help!" a kid's voice...Shippo. There was a soft thump as the fox kit landed next to her shoulder where she lay.

Kagome's head lulled limply into Kirara's mane, and the cat took off.

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"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome!"

The old lady's granny's scent and insistent voice on her sensitive ears caused Kagome to moan in pain.

"You must drink this maoto and ginger tea, girl! You have to start taking fluids or the fever will get even higher!"

A hand was placed on her back, forcing Kagome off the hut floor and into a sitting position. Practically whimpering, she took the tea procured to her, faintly aware that Shippo had placed her feet in a hot, strongly salted brine with peppermint herbs in a bucket as she sat up. Fever? Wouldn't she normally be cold with a high fever? An odd, old memory popped up as the taste of the tea filled her mouth. Tea wouldn't help this. Nothing would.

But why did that thought come to mind?

Regardless, she knew this fever wasn't normal by logic. The miko powers that normally thrummed comfortingly and warm inside of her seemed to swell and sizzle, while some odd piece of her seemed to shock painfully with lightning.

"Kaede, something's wrong with my powers-" she tried to say, but her voice came out as a crackled moan. Unbidden, shame reared its ugly head. Had she been so awful at controlling her miko powers that they were now rejecting her? But she didn't have to state anything, as the old woman had already somehow, as usual, suspected the truth.

"This is no ordinary fever." The old woman realized as Kagome continued to try to force sips of the tea down.

"What do you mean?" Sango's tone was a mix of frustration and anxiety. "Did she get poisoned by a demon the last time we had a battle somehow? It was an ogre."

"Kagome, can you hear me?"

Nodding in response caused the whole world to spin. The smell of the tea she was drinking and the brine her feet were in churned her stomach. The smells were so strong.

Something was placed into her hands. A string, lined with round balls made of wood. Prayer beads. These beads seemed to ease the pounding of her blood somehow as they sat in her palms.

"Kagome, I know not why, but your powers are attacking ye from within. You need to clear your mind and focus them into the siphon prayer beads. With the strength of your power, I'm afraid this won't take the fever away entirely, however it will keep it from killing you."

Kagome tried to focus, closing her hands around the beads. Her miko abilities lashed up like an angry snake, tearing painfully through her entire being. Kagome whimpered, but with Kaede's hand on her shoulder, she grit her teeth and directed her power to the prayer beads as though they were an arrow-sending that snapping, lashing, hurting power into the beads to redirect its anger. Exactly like an angry snake, her miko powers lashed onto the prayer beads, causing them to spark and glow with angry tenacity. But, immediately, even a tiny bit, the pounding in Kagome's blood and mind began to fade.

"But I thought a priestess' powers doesn't hurt humans," Sango stated, obviously confused.

"They normally don't. Which is why this is a true puzzle." Kaede responded. The prayer beads suddenly cracked, and the power was released violently in Kaede's hut, ripping earth and sinew up through the wooden floor, the boards splintering. Kaede sighed.

"Shippo, go and gather all the siphon beads you can, as quickly as you can. After that, go tell the priestess maidens to make more. We are going to need all of them we can get."

Bit by bit, bead by bead, Kagome's head began to clear the more power she forced into the beads that were brought to her. Every time the beads she was directing power into began to get too hot as though they would burst, a new string of beads was given to her. At Shippo's questioning, Kaede had explained that in the absence of a true miko in the village, the village would ask a a miko that lived in the next village over to 'borrow' some of her power to them. The beads, wrapped around an arrow, would shoot with power for the priestess' maidens and Kaede herself, though they had no miko abilities.

They had simply been redirected in this case for the use of Kagome.

"Thank you, Kaede." she said tiredly, finally able to find her voice. Sango, Shippo, and Kilala immediately jumped at their friend, embracing her in a group hug.

"Don't thank me yet, child. It will be at most only a day before your powers recover. There is a good chance we will have to do this all again tomorrow. And even with all the siphoning beads in the village filled, your power still fights within you and gives you fever."

Kagome held back a sob, trying to clear her head. The pain had been torturous. And she would have to do it all again tomorrow? She didn't know how long she'd be able to take it.

"So what do we do long term, then? How can we fix it?" Sango asked, direct as always.

"I know not yet. But for now, Kagome needs to stay in the village until her powers quit trying to destroy her."

Kagome's face must have shown her emotions, as Kilala mewed, pawing at her and Shippo turned his face up from his position in her lap. "It's okay Kagome, we'll stay with you. Everyone in the group needs a break anyways, so it's no big deal!"

The child was literally picked up and tossed out of her lap half hazardly, as a familiar red haori suddenly appeared seemingly out of thin air. A clawed hand was put to her temple as his golden eyes focused. Usually, she would have yelled at him but she was just so tired.

"Yea, you still have a fever alright. You humans are so weak. Best rest up for now and listen to the old hag."

"Kagome, the word, please."

But Kagome had already fallen asleep.