"Higurashi-chan? How are you feeling?" Tomoko asked as she unpacked her stuffed animal.

"I'm ok...I'm a demon remember...a fever like this can't hurt me!" Mizuki smiled weakily.

"Ok, i think i should go to the store and get some meds...just to relieve the pain. Ok?" Tomoko asked.

"No, we can't be seen yet. Mommy and Daddy are nearby." Mizuki coughed.

"What?! They're nearby?! How did they find us so quickly?" Tomoko asked rapidly.

"Daddy has a keen sense of smell and Mommy is very smart. Enough about them...isn't the view so pretty here? I like Osaka's mountains..." Mizuki panted as she sat back down on the bed.

"Higurashi-chan? Are you sleepy? Would you like to hold my pillow?" Tomoko asked.

"I just want you to call me Mizuki. That would make me feel better." Mizui said as she drifted into a deep sleep.

****************************************

"So, Osaka is like the Fedual Era. That's nice. I still can't smell Mizuki or Tomoko with all those temples burning sage." Inuyasha sighed as he sat down at a bench, near a temple.

"I hope they are alright. Mizuki gets sick when she moves around alot. I hope she's ok..." Kagome sighed.

"Kagome, it's ok. Mizuki won't be beaten by a stupid illness. Just imagine me facing Sesshomaru!" He laughed.

"But you always ended up having a hole in your stomach." Kagome groaned.

"But did I die?"

"Yes, you went to Heaven and was reborn as an idiot." Kagome sighed.

"What was that?!!!" Inuyasha growled.

"Nevermind...fighting won't help us or them. I hope the locals have been kind to them."

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Besides, where do you think they could've gone?" Inuyasha asked.

"Mizuki is used to being near a shrine, so somewhere near that area." Kagome said.

"Well, let's check all the temples and shrines in this freaking country! I just want my baby girl in my arms again." Inuyasha shouted, but decreased in volume.

"Me too, Inuyasha." Kagome smiled as she helped her husbend off the bench and onto the road, where they would search the rest of the day....looking for their lost daughter.

*****************************

"Higurashi-chan! You're fever is getting worse!"

"I'll be fine......" Mizuki panted as she turned over to her side, revealing the puddle of sweat on the futon.

"No, we need to get you some meds!" Tomoko protested.

"I'll be fine, Tomoko-chan....besides, I'm not letting you go off by yourself. There could be trouble." Mizuki panted.

"THEN, I'LL DRAG YOU ALONG! YOU NEED HELP, HIGURASHI-CHAN!!!"

"But, what about you? Will you be able to drag me?" Mizuki asked.

"I can do anything I set my mind too! Besides, lately I've been feeling stronger than normal." Tomoko said.

"I see......I'm so tired..." Mizuki whimpered as she drifted into a deep sleep.

"Now that I think about it.....Since I've met Higurashi-chan, I haven't felt as bad....Is she helping me cure my illness?" Tomoko thought aloud as she wiped the sweat from Mizuki's forehead.

*Later that Night****************

"Kagome! I think I got something!" Inuyasha shouted as he lifted his head from the sidewalk.

"What? Did you find a scent?" Kagome shouted as she came running up from behind.

"Better. Mizuki's sweat trail. It's about two hours old. They haven't got that far!" Inuyasha smirked as he followed the trail of sweat.

"Wait, Mizuki's sweat? Does that mean she has a fever?!" Kagome asked.

"Judging by the smell, yes." Inuyasha said quietly.

"Mizuki....Are you ok?" Kagome thought as she followed her husband.

"Wait. There's a new smell." Inuyasha said as he stopped.

"A new smell?" Kagome asked as she paused.

"It's Mizuki's blood. It's fresh."

"Oh dear God! Mizuki!!!" Kagome shouted as she ran in front of Inuyasha.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha grabbed her by the arm.

"Let me go! My baby's hurt!" Kagome cried as huge tears ran down her face.

"Kagome, Mizuki's blood is also mixed with that girl's scent. They probaly ran into trouble and Mizuki got herself hurt in the process. They couldn't have gotten that far." Inuyasha sighed as he embraced his weeping wife.

"She's hurt...we gotta find her soon...." Kagome whimpered as the image of Mizuki bleeding crossed her mind.

"Kagome. That bus." Inuyasha muttered as a white ABBOT bus passed the street sign.

"What about it?" Kagome sniffled.

"That girl in the back. See her? She looks like the girl Tomoko's parents were blubbering about!! Tomoko!! This is the end of the line!!" Inuyasha shouted as he raced toward the moving vechile.

"Inuyasha! Wait!!!" Kagome shouted as she ran after her husband, who was pissed as hell.

Inuyasha ran in front of the bus, and as the bus was just about to ht Inuyasha, he stopped it with his bare hands. He opened the glass doors without a doubt in his mind. He growled as he spotted the girl in the back. He marched right up to her.

"Is your name Tomoko?" Inuyasha asked.

"Who's askin'?" She replied.

"I am. Now answer me!" He growled.

"Inuyasha! Stop it!" Kagome shouted from the front of the bus.

"What is your name?" He asked.

"Alright! My name is Tomoko! I ran away with Mizuki-chan!" Tomoko cried as she spoke the truth.

"Where is Mizuki?!!" Kagome cried.

"I don't know, she gave me the rest of the money we saved up from the tea shop and told me to go home! Mizuki-chan was coughing up blood and then some rough looking boys came up and ganged up on her! She told me to run away form the fight and that she would be fine! I wanted to stay by her side, but just before that happened we had a huge fight, and now I'm afraid of her! I'm afraid of that monster inside of Mizuki-chan!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Tomoko cried.

"Oh....Mizuki!!!! Which way was she going, Tomoko?!!!" Kagome shouted.

"Down Maple road. That was the last place i saw her." Tomoko cried.

"Mizuki!!!! Mommy's coming!!!!!!!!!" Kagome shouted as she ran off the bus like a madwoman. 

"Tomoko....do you realize what you've done?" Inuyasha asked as he looked down upon the weeping girl.

"What?" Tomoko sniffled.

"When Mizuki was with you, she was touching you...wasn't she? You gave her your illness! Mizuki's weakness is that if she touches a sick person, she gets that illness, and exchanges that with her healthly body! You've been cured of your illness, but now Mizuki is fighting that illness! How could you NOT have known it was your illness!!" Inuyasha shouted.

"I didn't know that! All I knew is that she was a demon! She was so nice....until that fight......Was she mad at me? Does she hate me now that she has my illness?!" Tomoko asked.

"I don't know, but you can ask her when they get back." Inuyasha grunted as he sat beside Tomoko, waiting for Kagome and Mizuki to return to his arms....Unharmed as possible.

And hopefully....Not dead.