After reaching an agreement with Naraku, Tsubaki used her shikigami to obtain Kagome's blood and placed the Shikon Jewel upon an evil altar. An altar that had cursed countless people was the perfect medium for corrupting the jewel. Kagome's blood slowly dripped from the White Python Shikigami's sharp fangs onto the gradually tainted Shikon Jewel. Far away in Kaede's Village, the little glass bottle containing the Four Souls Shards suddenly shattered in Kagome's hand. The shards entered her body, and her consciousness began to slip away...
"Now Kagome's fate is in my hands," Tsubaki said softly, pleased with herself.
"Tsubaki, don't underestimate this woman called Kagome," Naraku's puppet incarnation warned from behind her.
"Don't be ridiculous. This woman doesn't even know she's been cursed," Tsubaki said dismissively. "You told me she was Kikyo's reincarnation, so I thought she would be someone formidable. What do you want to do next? Let the curse kill her just like this, or..." Tsubaki had met all kinds of people and knew that many wanted to torment their enemies with a curse before killing them with it.
"Heh." A low chuckle rose from the throat of Naraku, clad in a white baboon pelt. "Let's make Inuyasha relive his nightmare-the old nightmare of fighting the woman he loves to the death."
"As you wish."
In Kaede's Village, Kagome lay unconscious in her bedding. Kaede had already deduced that a Black Miko was casting a curse on her. The only way to break it was to stop the caster and defeat her completely. Miroku therefore decided to go with Sango to stop the Black Miko, while Inuyasha stayed behind with Kagome.
Watching Kagome writhe in pain, Inuyasha was beside himself with worry. Yet there was nothing he could do but watch her struggle against the curse. Beyond