Chapter 3 - Rude awakenings

Hey everyone, thanks for all the great reviews that I have been getting. I am glad you all seem to like this story.

I do NOT own Inuyasha or any of his companions. Enjoy!

It was a long night, but Sango and Miroku never left Kagome's side. Although Kagome's fever was greatly reduced, she suddenly awoke, screaming in pain, holding her head in her hands. When asked what was wrong, Kagome said that everything burned, and she was very pale from the blood she lost earlier that day. Then as quickly as she awoke, Kagome would again lose consciousness. Inuyasha never stirred from his sleeping position next to Kagome.

Kagome, however, aroused in pain, then lapsed back into unconsciousness several times during the night. Sango was afraid that Inuyasha's blood was too much for her, and his efforts to save her might have been in vain. Myouga had informed everyone after the two had passed out exactly what Inuyasha did to Kagome and what it would mean for them both. They were all shocked that Inuyasha would do such a thing for Kagome but they wondered how Kagome would react to the situation. Inuyasha had done what he had to do to keep Kagome alive. They all felt that that should count for something, right?

Sango yawned and Miroku put his arm around her to reassure her that everything would be all right. He had been the perfect gentleman that night, but she wondered how long that would last. "Maybe you should get some rest. I will watch Kagome." Miroku said in a soft voice.

"No. I am fine. I want to be awake when she gets up. I need to know she is ok." Sango sounded very upset, so Miroku let her be. Everyone was sleeping but Sango and Miroku when Inuyasha began to rouse.

It was early morning, and Inuyasha woke up slightly when the sun hit him in the eyes from the window in the room. He opened his eyes slowly, and realized that he felt a little dizzy. He wasn't sure what was going on at first. Then, he remembered in a rush, what had taken place the night before and he quickly sat up. He startled Sango and Miroku when he did this and they moved back a little from where they had been sitting.

"KAGOME! Where is she???" Inuyasha yelled at his somewhat befuddled friends.

"She is right next to you." Miroku said quietly, then pointed to a still sleeping Kagome. "Be still. Kagome needs her rest. She awoke many times last night in pain, saying that she felt as if her whole body were burning. She would cry out in pain and then fall back asleep as if nothing had happened." Miroku looked at a very worried hanyou and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder and said, "I think she is ok now though; she hasn't awoken for a few hours, and she doesn't seem to be in pain any more." That seemed to make Inuyasha feel a little better, but he still stared at Kagome as if she would die if he weren't by her side.

As Kagome started to wake up, she heard every one talking and it seemed very loud to her. She also noticed that there was an overwhelming smell of blood all over her. She knew it was her blood, but before she could think about it for long, she had a very strange feeling. At first she couldn't place it. She couldn't decide what it felt like because it wasn't a normal feeling. For some reason, she felt extremely scared and worried for some one, but for whom? And why? Slowly, she opened her eyes and saw a very scared and worried Inuyasha staring at her. Then it occurred to Kagome that these were Inuyasha's feelings, not her own!!! "How could I be feeling his emotions? What's going on?" she wondered. Kagome tried to sit up, but her head still hurt from hitting the tree the day before.

"Don't sit up yet, just lie there. You are still weak from losing all that blood yesterday." Inuyasha was looking into Kagome's eyes as he said this, and, suddenly, he felt VERY confused. Inuyasha felt as if he were in pain, but he knew he wasn't. There was nothing wrong with him. The pain didn't feel familiar to him. It was if someone else were confused and in pain. Then he remembered what Myouga had told him about Inuyasha and Kagome being able to feel each other's emotions following the blood transference. "Oh god, if I know what she is feeling, then she must know what I am feeling. Knowing that I am worried about her is probably making her more upset. How is she going to take this? Oh, I am going to get it for this, I know it."

"How are you feeling Kagome? Are you all right?" Sango asked with tears still in her eyes.

"I am not sure. What is happening to me? I….I know what you are feeling Inuyasha. Why do I know what you are feeling?" Kagome said this in a plaintive voice, sounding more worried than scared.

"It's one side effect of the blood Inuyasha gave you." Miroku told her when he saw how upset Inuyasha was getting. "He knows what you are feeling also." He watched Kagome open her eyes wide at this and then sit up despite the pain she was still in.

"What other side effects will there be??? And why in hell does Inuyasha feel so damn guilty all of a sudden???!!" She yelled this and woke up the others that were still sleeping.

"KAGOME!!! YOU ARE ALRIGHT!!" Shippo jumped onto Kagome and hugged her tight. "You scared me sooo much! Don't do that again!" He was crying now while he held her with all his might.

Kagome's expression lightened at the sight of the young fox in her arms and she scratched his head. "I am sorry Shippo. I will try my best to not let it happen again." She smiled at Shippo who now stopped crying and smiled back at her. "Why don't you go outside to play with Kirara for a while. I need to talk to Inuyasha." He nodded to her and ran outside with Kirara following closely behind him. "If you need me, just let me know." he said with a smile on his face, standing immediately outside the hut, and then with a whisk of his tail, he was gone.

"Ok. so you are saying that Inuyasha and I will always know what the other is feeling?" Kagome asked once the fox was gone.

Myouga jumped onto Inuyasha and looked at them both gravely, before starting to speak. "You will feel each other's strong emotions.Not the little things. However there is more to it than that. You and Inuyasha now share the same blood, or at least part of it, and that means that you will be experiencing some changes. You will now be able to live as long as a hanyou, and you will be stronger too. Even your Miko powers should be stronger. I am not sure how much stronger you will get, or the extent of the hanyou traits you will receive; it depends on how much your body can handle. I am interested to see what you will be able to do" Myouga told Kagome and then jumped onto her and tried to suck some of her blood. She quickly smacked him and let him fall to the floor. "That wasn't nice" said the flat form on the ground.

Inuyasha was watching Kagome closely. She went through many different emotions and he realized that none of them were happy ones. She was scared and worried and then confused again. She was even a little mad for about a second. "Great, I know what she is feeling, but what I really want to know right now is what is she thinking?!' Inuyasha thought to himself.

Kagome was so wrapped up in her own thoughts and feelings that she didn't notice Inuyasha's. That was probably a good thing, as he was upset and that wasn't going to help her right then. "I am going to live as long as Inuyasha?! What about my family? That means they will all die long before I do! And Sango and Miroku also would die while I lived on!" She started to cry and Inuyasha was hit with such a strong feeling of sadness coming from Kagome that it broke his heart.

"I am sorry. but I didn't know what else to do! Would you rather have died? Then your family would never have seen you again!" Inuyasha yelled this, trying his best to sound angry, but Kagome looked at him strangely and he knew that she could feel his hurt instead of the anger he was trying to show. "Damn, I knew this was a bad idea, but I had to save her. Please forgive me Kagome,' he thought to himself.

"No, you are right Inuyasha. I am sorry. I just have to get used to the idea of it I guess. It might be nice to live for so long, at least I would get to look young for a long time right?" Kagome gave them a weak giggle. "Besides if I am stronger and faster then I could be more help in finding the shards right?" She said this in a fake happy voice and then gave a big false smile while trying to reassure them. "Just give me time to get used to this."

Inuyasha nodded, and Sango, looking at Kagome, realized that she might want a bath. Kagome was covered with blood after all. "Kagome would you like me to help you to the spring so you can clean up?"

Kagome looked down at the once yellow blanket she held over her and saw just how much blood she had really lost. 'There is no way I could have lived through this without Inuyasha's blood. He saved my life. It HAD to be a hard choice to make for someone who never lets anyone see what he is feeling. I should be more greatful to him. Maybe now I can find out how he really feels,' she thought. Aloud, she said, "Yes please. Thank you for taking care of me last night, Sango. I am sorry that I worried you so much."

"Don't apologize it wasn't your fault. I will go get you a new set of clothes from your bag and when I come back I expect that you three boys will be outside so Kagome can put something on for the walk to the spring." Upon saying this, Sango arose and fetched Kagome some new clothes, then pushed a very unhappy Inuyasha out of the hut, followed by an equally unhappy onk with Myouga on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you wont need our help, Sango? She is still so weak. I could carry her to the spring and help her into the water" Miroku said just before a boomerang hit him in the head. "Ouch, I was just trying to help." But before he could defend himself further, Sango pushed him the rest of the way out of the hut. "Women!" was all he said to this.

"Come on Kagome, let's get you cleaned up. You look awful." Sango said and then smiled and reached her hand out to help Kagome up. Kagome decided that she should just keep the blanket wrapped around her bottom half while they went to the spring, since it wasn't too far away. She didn't want to get blood on her clean cloths. Her skirt had been destroyed from the bite the demon had given her, so she couldn't wear that. She stood up carefully with Sango's help, and they walked together slowly to the spring. Kagome was so happy to be able to take a bath that she couldn't wait to get in. As soon as she got into the water, she began to look much better. "This is just what I need to clear my head right now," Kagome said and then smiled. She was feeling much better really and her head didn't hurt any more. Her hip had not yet healed, but it was getting better already and it only hurt a bit.

"Let me take a look at the bite mark, Kagome." Kagome moved so that Sango could check on her wound. "It's looking much better, but it will take a while to heal completely. I am afraid it will scar though." Sango looked a little upset at the thought that Kagome would have such a big scar on her hip for the rest of her life. "Maybe Kaede can make another herb poultice to reduce the scarring."

"It's ok, Sango. At least I am alive, right?" Kagome smiled at her long time friend. "How long has it been now Sango? Almost 2 years? I am glad that I have a friend like you with me. I don't know what I would do without you." They gave each other a hug.

"I was so worried that I would lose you Kagome!" Sango started to cry again. "Thank god you are alright! I could never have gotten through all this without you."

Kagome smiled at her and they hugged again "Don't worry. Everything will be all right. You know Inuyasha is always there to save me some how." They both laughed a little, and then they both went back to bathing themselves. Kagome was tired but it felt good to be clean, and she was happy to have Sango with her. The smell of the blood was so strong she couldn't bear it, and it did seem as though all the sounds around her were just a little bit louder then they had once been 'Could these be side effects of Inuyasha's blood? Maybe it's not so bad.' she thought to herself.

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Outside of the hut Inuyasha and Miroku were talking with Myouga. "Why didn't you tell her about all the side effects of giving her Inuyasha's blood, Myouga?" Miroku asked curiously.

"I thought it would be best if Inuyasha tells her about that, besides she has had enough for one day. I am not sure if she could handle hearing about the rest yet." Myouga answered plainly with his arms crossed over his chest and his head down.

"When do you plan to tell her, Inuyasha? You can't keep this from her, you know. She will find out the next time she wants to go home." Miroku watched Inuyasha with interest. Inuyasha seemed to be far away in thought. "Inuyasha are you listening to me??" Miroku raised his voice just a little as he spoke, but it was more than enough to get Inuyasha's attention.

"Yeah, I hear you! How could I not with you yelling at me?" Inuyasha still wasn't looking at Miroku, being more interested in looking in the direction the girls had gone, even though they were too far away for him to be able to hear them.

"Is something wrong Inuyasha?" Miroku asked, sounding concerned.

"Well, I'm not sure, to tell you the truth. I can feel Kagome and right now she is both happy and sad at the same time, in addition to feeling something else. I can't place the emotion, and it's driving me nuts! How can you be sad and happy at the same time????" he demanded an answer that he didn't expect to get.

Miroku laughed and put his hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "That's women for you. Even when you know exactly what they are feeling you will never under stand them!"

Inuyasha looked confused "Feh! That's great, just great! Why can't they just make up there minds?! You are either happy or sad. NOT both!" Inuyasha sighed and then just kept looking toward the spring and waiting for the girls to come back. This was going to be a long day.

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How will Kagome take it when she finds out that she can't live more then a few days without Inuyasha with her? Find out in Chapter 4!

Well that was chapter 3. I hope you liked it. I will try and update again tomorrow if I can. ^_^