Virtual Reality

Chapter One

Kagome yawned as she felt the warm late morning sun on her face, her warm brown eyes opening. She looked around her room as she sat up. Her white walls were rather plain, but pink curtains hung around her window, and a chair and oak desk with a few very old books rested in the corner. Her closet door was near the desk, and the rest of the room was mostly taken up by the large VR set. The machine included a padded chair and white helmet that connected to the rest of the VR machine, which was made up of white plastic parts and over a hundred wires.

Stretching like a cat, she stood up and threw off her nightgown. Humming to herself, she went over to her closet and pulled on some clothes--a white shirt and green skirt. Then, she sat down at her desk and looked up at the ceiling. "House?" she inquired politely, her tone sweet and kind.

"Yes?" a voice responded from nowhere and everywhere. It was genderless and soothing, a voice that could only be created by a computer.

"Bacon and eggs please," the raven-haired girl requested. A moment later, a small white robot wheeled into the room, carrying a tray with the food she had asked for. She took the tray, and the 'bot wheeled out.

Kagome ate her meal rather quickly, and the 'bot returned to take away her tray. Despite the impersonality of it all, she kind of liked the instant service. It was so easy just to ask the house for something and have it delivered right to her. She had no idea where the food came from, save that it was prepared in the kitchen by the robots. Everyone had the instant service, so it was nothing unusual.

Also, every house on the planet Calomir was automated and equipped with robots to tend to its inhabitants' every need. Her house had four occupants: her, her mom, her grandpa, and her little brother. Her mother had brown hair and dark eyes, and her brother Sota shared the same characteristics. Her grandpa had gray hair and dark eyes, and he was a little eccentric. Kagome didn't know them very well though, because she rarely saw them. They spent most of their time in the VR world, just like everyone else did. Even she spent over ninety percent of her waking time there.

Smiling in anticipation as a thought crossed her mind, she went over to her VR set and sat down in the chair, putting on the helmet. With practiced ease, she signed in and quickly logged onto her favorite part of the VR world--an adventure game called Ancient Worlds. It was a large game in which people all over the world played and explored different realms designed after ancient cultures. Administrators called Elves ran it; and their servants, the fairies, relayed messages to the players.

Within moments, Kagome stood just inside a large forest by a gigantic tree--the Goshinko tree. Late morning sunlight filtered down through the thick foliage, playing across her face and body in golden rays of warm beauty. The green grass brushed against the hem of her pants, and the warm summer air smelled of wild flowers and naturally growing herbs. Her black hair blew around her in the pleasant wind, and her white shirt and red hamaka pants whipped about her body. A small quiver of arrows was slung over her back, and a limber bow rested in her left hand.

"Now, where is that fairy?" she mumbled to herself, her brown eyes searching the area. The day before, a small blue fairy had informed her that she would be receiving a quest in about twenty four hours. Every player received a quest at least once in their game life, and she was looking forward to hers.

Seeing nothing but plants and small animals, she sighed and sat down at the foot of the Goshinko tree, setting her bow down beside her. It was within reach; she made sure of that. Not everyone in the game world was nice. Many people, especially players who had been picked to be demons or even half demons, went around fighting and killing.

There were three types of players: humans, demons, and mikos/priests. Technically, mikos and priests were humans; however, while humans were usually weak, mikos and priests had magic. Demons were physically and sometimes magically strong players. Kagome, being a female, was a called a miko, and a powerful one, according to her stats. She just didn't quite know how to use her powers all that well at the moment.

The day she had signed up for the game, she had taken a long quiz and sent in a picture of herself. An hour after she had done that, the elves had sent her an email, listing her stats. She had, of course, been very excited, and she still was. She had only signed up a month ago. Unfortunately, a month wasn't very long, and she still needed more time to learn how to use her magical powers.

Suddenly, a bright ball of orange light floated into Kagome's line of vision. In the middle of the light was a tiny winged humanoid figure no bigger than her palm. Its tiny butterfly-like wings fluttered rapidly, becoming just a simple orange blur. A simple tunic hung on its shoulders, covering its genderless body. Fairies never were male or female. They were merely flying bodies of zeros and ones controlled by programs and surrounded by light.

"Kagome, are you ready to receive your quest?" the little fairy asked, its tiny voice just loud enough to be heard. The quality of the speech reminded the girl of her house's voice--both genderless and soothing. It was the most unnatural sound in the entire game world.

The miko nodded her head, brown eyes serious. "Yes, I am." She was hoping for a fun quest, like defeat an evil demon that was a game-created AI or rescue someone. Most people received quests like those; however, sometimes the elves gave a player the quest of traveling to a dangerous spot in the game world to retrieve an item. She was really, really praying that she would not receive one of those. She hadn't been playing long enough to survive a quest like that.

"Your quest is this: find the Shikon no Tama and bring it to the Elven Council. There is a time limit of one year." The orange creature tapped Kagome's nose once, marking her with invisible magic as a mission-given player, and then flew off.

'Oh my... I don't even know what the Shikon no Tama is. How in the world am I suppose to find it?' The miko frowned thoughtfully, leaning back against the large tree. 'I need to talk to Lady Kaede. She'll help me.'

With that thought on her mind, the miko stood up and walked towards the small village that rested just outside the forest.

Kagome smiled as she walked toward Kaede's hut. The people in the village looked so content to just sit around, talk, or go about their daily chores. Some of the people were game-created AIs, but others were actual players who wanted to socialize instead of go on adventures. All the people, both players and AIs, were humans dressed in old fashioned Japanese kimonos.

The only person in the entire village who was different was Kaede, and that was because she was a miko and an old one at that. She had been playing the game for over fifty years, which was quite a feat. Most people quit after five years. Ten years was almost unheard of, so fifty years was plain amazing.

Brown eyes watching the world around her, she pushed back the cloth flap on the front of the wooden hut and walked inside. She stood in the doorway for a moment, adjusting to the darker area. When she could see again, she noticed Kaede sitting on the wooden floor by a fire in a dirt pit, stirring a pot. The smell of stew swirled around, filling the air with the feeling of simple warmth and friendship.

The old miko had styled her long gray hair in the usual way--pulled back in a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Her white shirt and red hamaka pants, the traditional miko style of clothing, looked clean and neat. One eye was covered with a black eye patch, and the other one was a dark brown that sparkled with wisdom most people only dreamed about. At the moment, her one good eye was fixed onto the pot in front of her, and she didn't even glance up when she finally spoke. "Sit down, child. Ye knows that ye are welcome here."

Kagome did as she was told, sitting down across the fire from the old miko, setting her bow down on the floor. The warmth from the flames encircled her, greeting her as she smiled at the old woman. "Lady Kaede, I've just been given my quest," she stated.

"Ah... I was wondering when ye were going to receive it," Kaede commented, finally raising her head to meet the young girl's gaze. "So, tell me, what is it the Elves wish ye to do?"

"I'm supposed to find the Shikon no Tama and bring it to the Elves," Kagome replied.

Kaede's expression turned thoughtful. "I have never heard of this object which ye speak of." She paused, and the young miko sighed sadly. "But, I do know of someone who could possibly help ye."

Kagome's brown eyes lit with happiness. 'Thank goodness! This is going to be much easier if I have a starting place.' "Could you please tell me who?" she inquired.

"The gray-haired woman nodded her head. "I was speaking of the Oracle at Delphi. If ye can reach her, then she should be able to tell ye where this Shikon no Tama rests."

"The Oracle at Delphi..." the black-haired miko repeated, gently chewing on her bottom lip. "Delphi is in Ancient Greece."

"That it is. Does ye know where the connecting bridge is?" Kaede asked.

Kagome shook her head. Each ancient world was like a bubble floating around in space, and special bridges connected each world. Not all the bridges were normal every-day structures like the ones in the real world. Some of them were holes in the ground that allowed a player to drop straight down into another world, and others were portals at the top of castle towers that teleported a player to another place.

"The connecting bridge is a few miles east of here in the back of Amaterasu's cave," the old woman informed her. "But I warn ye, the path there is dangerous. Dark youkai have been known to hide out in the forest that stands between here and ye destination."

The teenager sighed. Everything seemed to be dangerous in the game, but there wasn't anything she could do about that. She needed to find the Shikon no Tama, no matter dangerous the path seemed. There were penalties for failing in a quest, but the Elves never assigned the same punishment twice.

"Thank you, Lady Kaede. I'll try to be careful," Kagome promised, tone sincere.

"See that ye do. I would hate to find ye dead," Kaede responded, giving the girl a grandmotherly look.

Wincing at the thoughts that statement brought up, the young miko grasped her bow and stood up. "Stay safe, Lady Kaede."

"Ye too, child." The ancient woman motioned for the girl to leave. "Now get going. Ye happen to be wasting time."

"Of course, Lady Kaede." Kagome bowed, showing her respect for the old woman. "And thank you!" Smiling cheerfully, she ran out of the hut and into the bright sunshine.

Taking a deep breath and saying a quick prayer, she faced the sun and began to walk. Her slipper-covered feet made little noise on the dirt path, and only a few of the villagers even noticed her presence as she walked through the town. Close to the center of the village, a young child did wave good-bye to her as she passed, and she waved back.

Fifteen minutes later, the raven-haired miko found herself out of the small village and on the fringes of an ancient forest filled with towering trees. Each of the moss-covered trunks were at least three times as big around as she was, their leafy branches reaching high up, as if to trap the white clouds and block out the bright sun. Thick underbrush full of thorny bushes and tall weeds covered most of the ground that the trees left open. Only a single, shadowy dirt path cut through all the dense vegetation, leaving just enough space for two people to walk side-by-side into the woods.

'Boy, this place certainly looks friendly and cheerful,' Kagome thought sarcastically as she took her first step into the forest. When she saw no signs of evil demons, she continued on, keeping her eyes and ears open.

She saw trees, bushes, and signs of animal life, as well as heard the sweet calls of birds; however, she neither heard nor sensed any demons. Of course, she had sensed a single demon even once in her game life. Unlike other mikos such as Kaede, she couldn't tell when a demon was coming or going. Either her skills weren't that developed yet, or she just didn't have the ability, which was rather strange in her opinion. She was beginning to wonder if she had a defective character design.

The miko smiled at the first sign of color besides green and brown. A leafy vine curling around a tree had a single red blossom, like a drop of blood amongst all the earthy colors. The flower stood out like sour thumb, but it was still beautiful. The long crimson petals stretched out to their full glory of four inches long and two inches wide, a streak of orange-red running straight down the center of each.

Kagome reached out and picked the flower, bringing it to her nose to smell. The fragrance was warm and thick, like sweet honey mixed with clover and jasmine. Still grinning, she tucked the flower behind her ear, finally noticing that the red color perfectly matched her pants.

While she mused over her strange ability to color-coordinate, she heard a crashing sound off in the distance. It sounding like trees snapping and then tumbling to the ground. Birds flew overhead, their cries of alarm filling the air and sending more animals into a panic. Even the smaller rodent-like creatures ran right in front of the girl, seeming to not care that she was there, which was rather strange animal behavior.

'Oh no...' Kagome pulled an arrow out of her quiver and strung it on her bow, preparing to fire it at any second. Something was coming, and it was obviously big, strong, and scary. The animals in the game world didn't run for nothing.

Praying that the thing making all the racket wouldn't come her way, she began to quickly walk down the dirt path. She made as little noise as she could, trying to avoid attracting any attention. She didn't want to end up as food for some hungry game-created AI monster.

"Dear, Kami..." the young girl whispered to the designated deity of the world. "Please let me get through this in one piece."

Each world had different designated deities, most of which were based on ancient mythology. The Japanese world had the old Japanese gods, like Fujin, a fire god, and Ryo-Wo, a sea god. The Greek world had the old Greek gods, and the same applied to the other worlds. Each of the gods and goddesses were game-created AIs that sometimes helped out players. It didn't occur often, but it did actually happen.

The crashing noises came closer, and Kagome began to panic. She broke into a run, clutching her bow and arrow in her hands. Her feet pounded on the dirt, and her wide pants' legs caught on thorns.

"I smell miko!" a loud female voice exclaimed, the sound echoing through the forest.

The raven-haired girl gasped, tripping over a tree root right as a tree came crashing down about five feet in front of her. Her bow flew out of her hand, and her quiver of arrows scattered across the ground.

"Oh no! My weapons!" Knowing that she'd be doomed without them, Kagome scurried to gather her fallen items back up. She took deep breaths to calm herself down as she scrambled in the dirt for all her arrows, finding only half of them.

"It's dinner time!" the same voice as before shouted right as a centipede demon erupted out of a thick grouping of trees. She flew over the miko, her thousands of legs just barely skimming over the top of the raven head.

The teenager put an arrow on her bow and fired at the huge demon, hitting the creature in the soft underside. An angry high-pitch screech rang through the area, nearly making painful tears come to the miko's eyes. She notched another arrow as she watched the demon come around for a second swoop at her. The creature had the top half an ugly woman's body connected to its fifty-foot centipede length, which screamed unnatural. In one of the creatures human arms was an old, rusty sword.

Hoping beyond hope that she would survive, she fired her arrow, trying to put some of her purification magic behind it. She succeeded, but the arrow didn't do any good; the centipede demon dodged.

Kagome fired a few more arrows, and most of them missed. She threw herself to the ground as the demon flew down at her, a hungry look in her eyes. Luckily, she missed, pulling up before she could grab the young girl, leaving her back wide open to an attack.

Seeing her chance to kill the demon, the miko reached back to pull an arrow from her quiver. She found nothing. Her quiver was empty of anything and everything. 'This is not good! I'm doomed if I can't defend myself, and the sole bit of magic I can use now only works if I have skin contact.'

Terror swamped her body as she began to run down the dirt path, climbing over the large trees that had fallen. Her heart raced, the muscle pounding so hard she thought her chest would burst. Her breath came out short and raspy, and her barely-protected feet quickly became a problem when she stepped on a sharp rock.

"I always liked to eat on the run!" Insane laughter followed that comment, making the teenager's blood run cold.

Suddenly, Kagome fell to the ground with a gasp, her momentum carrying her a few feet farther down the path. Her back slammed into the trunk of a tree, and a thorn bush dug into her side. She struggled to stand up as the centipede demon flew toward her, triumph in her dark eyes.

"Mine!" the creature exclaimed happily, licking her lips. She was almost upon the helpless girl when a blur of silver and red streaked through the air, colliding with the centipede demon.

"Give me back my sword!" a young male voice demanded as the demon slammed through the trunks of ten trees.

Kagome stared in wonder at the man who stood in front of her. Long silver hair fell to his waist, a pair of dog-like ears resting on the top of his head. They moved as if they were real, which the miko knew they were. He was dressed in all red with an empty sheath at his side, but he went barefoot.

"It is a stupid, useless thing, but since you want it so badly, I think I'll keep it," the centipede demon replied as she moved to attack the dog-eared man.

"You just signed your death warrant." He leapt at her, bringing one clawed hand down to strike her. "Sankon Tetsusou!"

His claws ripped through the attacking demon like knives would butter, leaving nothing left of her body but shreds of flesh and quite a bit of blood. A moment later, the mutilated remains vanished, leaving nothing but the rusty sword behind.

The silver-haired man walked over and picked up the sword, sheathing it a moment later. When he turned around, Kagome noticed his beautiful golden eyes. They were like nothing she had ever seen before, the twin pools of molten metal. She just about lost herself in his eyes that were set in his handsome face.

"Thank you," she told the man once she could talk again.

"I didn't kill her to save you. I wanted my sword," he retorted in a gruff voice.

Kagome huffed. "You don't have to be rude. I was only thanking you," she shot back. "The least you could do is say you're welcome!"

"I don't have to obey orders from you!" he shouted, crossing his arms.

The miko shook her head, making a face of disgust. "Pig-headed jerk," she mumbled, deciding to forget about him and find as many of her arrows as she could.

She began to walk around, picking up the thin pieces of wood and putting them back in her quiver. The arrows she had used magic with were the easiest to find because they still held a pink-purple glow to them. The entire time she could feel eyes upon her, but she ignored them. Once she felt that she had gathered up all her shafts, she began to walk down the dirt path again.

The first time Kagome came to a fallen tree and made to climb over it, she found the silver-haired man on the thick trunk, crouching on it. He seemed unfazed by the rough bark under his hands and feet, because he only stared at her, blinking a few times.

"What?!" she demanded, hands on her hips.

"Can you shoot purification arrows?" he inquired, sounding a little curious.

"Yes," Kagome replied, glaring at him. She couldn't figure out why he would ask such a strange question, so she simply decided to ignore him. "Now, good-bye. I have a quest to complete." She began to climb over the huge tree trunk. As she was struggling, she felt something grab the back of her shirt and lift her up.

"Could you shoot a moving demon with one or use it as a distraction aid for someone else?" the golden-eyed male asked, setting her down on the tree next to him.

She nodded her head. "Yes, I can. Why are you asking me these questions?" She was quickly growing tired of him bothering her.

"Feh." He turned his head to the side, as if debating with himself. When he turned back to look at her, he fixed his golden eyes on her brown ones. "I have a quest that must be completed by tomorrow. I've already tried, and I found out that I supposedly need someone to distract the demon while I attack him from behind. That's where his only weak spot is."

"Why should I help you with your quest? After all, you've been rather rude to me. Besides, I don't even know who you are." She began to slide down the side of the tree trunk, ready to be on her way once again.

A hand pulled her back up on the log. "If you help me with mine, then I'll help you with yours. Deal?" He sounded willing to do anything to acquire her help.

Kagome studied his face, her eyes noticing his adorable ears twitch on top of his head. For some reason, she just couldn't seem to resist those moving white furry triangles. It took all of her willpower not to reach out and touch them. "Alright. Deal." She paused. "I'm Kagome. So, who are you?"

"Inuyasha," he replied gruffly. "Are you happy now? Can we get going?"

She nodded her head. "Yes."

"Good. C'mon then." He threw her onto his back and began to race off.

Surprised, she could only hang on to him as trees began nothing but brown and green blurs. She couldn't help but be amazed by how fast he could run. He was faster than anyone else she had ever seen, and that included all the other demons she had seen in the past month.

"Where exactly are we going?" Kagome asked, clutching a fistful of his crimson haori shirt in both of her hands. The rough material felt wonderfully stable and real when compared to the rushing scenery. The quick speed was exciting but a little dizzying for her.

"To fight the dragon demon Ryuukossei," he replied as he jumped over a fallen tree and a clump of thorn bushes. "He lives near a cave."

"How long-?" she began, but the demon quickly cut her off.

"Ten... fifteen minutes," he informed her. "Are you done asking questions yet?" He sounded irked.

Kagome huffed in annoyance, unable to see why he had to be so rude. 'Jerk.' "There's no reason to be so mean. After all, I did agree to help you."

"And I returned the favor," Inuyasha retorted. "Big deal."

The miko rolled her eyes at his child-like attitude. 'This is going to be a pathetic alliance if we spend our entire time arguing.'

She was still silently grumbling when they came out of the dark forest and into a field of tall grass and wild flowers. The calm field seemed to stretch for miles, filling her vision with a splash of bright green speckled with other colors. Small insects buzzed about, flitting from flower to flower.

After a moment's hesitation, Inuyasha continued to run, his movements even faster since he didn't have to worry about accidentally running into a tree. As he traveled, he kept his eyes open for any signs of the dragon demon, but nothing even hinted at there being any life forms bigger than him and the girl on his back.

He stopped running and looked around, trying to see if he could smell the demon; he couldn't. Either Ryuukossei was downwind, hiding his scent, or too far away.

Suddenly, his mind brought up the fact that he had a magic-wielding human on his back. "Yo, Kagome! You're a miko. Tell me which direction you sense a powerful demon in."

Kagome shook her head, her eyes sad. "I can't."

Inuyasha briefly laughed, amused by that comment; however, he quickly stopped. "No, really. Tell me."

She sighed. "I can't sense demons. I've never been able to." Admitting that fact hurt, but she knew that it hadn't been avoidable. She would have had to tell him eventually.

"What kind of a miko can't sense demons?!" he demanded to know, tone laced with disbelief. He was beginning to think that he was soon going to regret making the deal with her, especially since she seemed so weak.

She huffed and hit him on the back of the head for being so uncaring. "It's not my fault!" she exclaimed in fury, scowling at the back of his head.

Without warning, Inuyasha dumped her on the ground. If she was going to yell and hit, then he was going to do the same thing. "Wench, I just asked a question! That's no reason to hit me!"

Kagome stood back up, rubbing her bottom. "Ow... that hurt!" she shouted. "And I had every right to hit you. You insulted me, jerk!" She glared at him. "And my name's Kagome, not wench, thank you very much."

"Feh." He crossed his arms over his chest. "Is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"I'm not obligated to tell you anything!" she snapped. "And you have no right to demand information from me like that!"

Inuyasha growled at her, opening his mouth to shout something back; however, he wasn't given the chance. Someone interrupted him.

"So, you've finally decided to come back, weakling half breed," a deep voice stated as a hundred-foot long dragon demon came into the clearing. "Are you ready to fail in your quest once again?"

"I don't think so!" the dog-eared boy retorted, unsheathing his sword. The blade transformed from a rusted piece of junk into a gleaming, extremely sharp, fang-like sword. It was obviously an enchanted sword, which impressed the miko. Any kind of enchanted weapon was hard to find and three times as expense.

Brandishing the amazing weapon, Inuyasha attacked, swinging the blade at Ryuukossei's head. The dragon demon easily dodged, so he moved to strike again.

Kagome, quickly noticing that Inuyasha would need her help, retreated back to a more advantageous spot. Her brown eyes on the enemy, she pulled an arrow out of her quiver, notched it, drew the arrow back as she brought the bow up, and then released the shaft, sending her purification magic with it.

The arrow blazed pink-purple, striking Ryuukossei in the foreleg and sinking a few inches into his skin. The purple-pink magic sparkled around the wound and spread over some of his skin, causing the dragon demon to roar in pain. Violent eyes flashed dangerously as he turned to the miko and charged at her.

She notched another arrow as she stared into the demon's murderous eyes, her mouth suddenly becoming dry. He obviously had never been hurt before which wasn't good for her, because he was planning on making her pay for his pain. With that thought on her mind, she said a brief prayer and released her second purification arrow.

The shaft arched through the air at an amazing speed, heading straight for the dragon demon's heart. She watched it fly closer and closer, and things seemed to slow down as the arrow drew nearer to its target.

At the last possible second, Ryuukossei dodged, barrel-rolling out of the way as he continued on his killing path toward the raven-haired girl.

Finally beginning to panic, she notched her third arrow. 'Where is Inuyasha?' she wondered as she fired her weapon. The shaft missed the enemy demon.

The dragon demon was finally so close that she didn't have time to fire a fourth arrow, so she did the only thing she could do--she prayed. She prayed to every Japanese god and goddess she could remember, pleading for a miracle.

Her brown eyes filled with fear, she watched the creature race at her, his body filling her vision. She prepared herself for death and cursed Inuyasha for abandoning her to die.

"Kaze no Kizu!" a male voice shouted.

Immense power erupted in front of the girl, blinding her. She closed her eyes and braced for the impact she knew was coming, but she felt only a strong breeze. The teeth and fangs didn't come, much to her astonishment.

Confused, Kagome opened her eyes and looked around. Ryuukossei was gone; only Inuyasha stood in the field, his gleaming sword still in his hand. She blinked a few times, surprise on her face.

"What happened?" she inquired, walking towards the silver-haired male.

He let his sword resume its rusty form and sheathed it, the movement smooth and practiced. "I killed him, that's what happened."

"Okay." Kagome nodded her head in understanding. 'So he didn't abandon me.' "So, what do we do now? Do you have to prove to the Elves that you completed your quest?"

Inuyasha shook his head. "No, one of the stupid light bulbs is supposed to appear after Ryuukossei dies and congratulate me or something." He snorted, showing the miko just what he thought about the fairies.

As if it had been summoned, a violet fairy suddenly appeared and flew up to them, stopping to hover directly in front of Inuyasha. "You have completed your quest. The Elven Council congratulates you on a job well done," the fairy stated in its genderless voice.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever." He flapped his hand, obviously annoyed by the little being. For some reason or another, he had never liked the little messengers.

"They would like to grant you something as a reward," the winged-being continued to explain.

At that statement, Inuyasha's furry ears perked up. 'Reward? Well, it sounds like they've finally come to their senses.' He smiled. "What reward is that?"

"A new power." The violet fairy tapped his sword twice. "The sword has been upgraded, and the new attack it now has is Bakuryuuha." It nodded once. "Good-bye and good luck." After saying that, it flew off.

"Wow... a new power. That's pretty cool," Kagome commented. She paused for a few seconds. 'I suppose I should thank him. After all, he did save me.' "Oh, Inuyasha? Thanks for keeping the dragon demon from killing me." She was thankful that she hadn't died. If a player died, then he or she had to either start off from where they had last saved, or the player had to go back to the beginning and trudge through the whole signing up process again. What the player had to do depended on the circumstances and sometimes what the Elven Council decided.

"You distracted him for me, so it was the least I could do," he replied, a smirk tugging on the corners of his lips. 'She isn't as weak as she first seemed, not that I'd tell her that.' "So, are you going to tell me what we're doing now or where we're going?"

She nodded her head. "My quest is to find the Shikon no Tama."

"And that's... where exactly?" Inuyasha wanted to know. "It'd better not be at the bottom of some ocean."

Kagome shrugged, knowing that he would go berserk when he heard her answer. "I don't know."

"YOU WHAT?!"

CotA: Hey people. This is my wonderful, new story... that only has one chapter so far. *winces* I have this story planned out from beginning to end. There will be 10 chapters plus an epilogue, and unlike my last story, it will actually live up to its genre. All of the chapters but two or three will contain battle scenes. Also, each chapter is going to be long... so updates won't come as often as they used to. Sorry, but that's the truth. I'm putting a lot more work into this story than my last one, so I'm hoping it'll be better and more people will like it. *crosses fingers* Well, please push the little purple button.