Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the characters. All Inuyasha
characters are copyrighted to their respectful owners, however, this
storyline is mine ^-^
This is my first fanfic ever! So please be kind ^-^* and please R&R
Japanese Glossary: Sengoku Jidai: Warring States Era as called in the dubbed version of Inuyasha Shikon no Tama: Jewel of four souls/jewel of shikon Goshinboku: God Tree
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
Setting: Somewhere on a plane between the Sengoku Jidai and the Present.
A lonely soul, Kikyou, is traveling the planes between both worlds, searching through the purple haze surrounding her, looking for a soul to accommodate her own. The shikon no tama had merged with her soul when she had taken it to the 'Other World' with her. In the midst of the purple haze, Kikyou's soul spies a bright light emitting a strong power, a power of a priestess. This soul would be able to keep the demon's soul purified enough so that it wouldn't lead to world destruction. The light of the Kikyou's soul engulfed the soul it sought and began to merge. The soul, Kagome, allows the other soul to merge with it, feeling more strength pouring into her. She began to ask why they were merging when she sensed the answer, all the answers to her questions would be answered to her and to be patient. The purple haze began to vanish, the plane was becoming brighter for Kagome's soul and she was heading towards a blinding light. Kagome's soul was awakening; she was being born into a physical form. Kagome forgot what had transpired on the plane between the two worlds, her soul a little unsettled from Kikyou's presence.
Where it starts
Kagome's family had been living in Kyoto for the first five years of Kagome's life, there she had made a few friends and grew up carefree. On the day of Kagome's sixth birthday, her parents informed her they were going to be moving to Tokyo to live with her Grandfather at Higurashi Shrine. At first Kagome was excited by the news, she packed all her toys and put her clothes in some boxes they had gathered to help them move. The day of the move, Kagome realized that she wouldn't be able to spend time with the friends she had made and grew sad by this fact, she spent the day with them as long as she could until the moving van arrived at her house. Kagome hopped into her family car and waved goodbye to her friends, hoping this wouldn't be the last time.
Once her family reached Higurashi Shrine, Kagome became excited again, this was the first time in a couple years that she had seen her Grandfather. She ran to meet him and gave him a big hug, even though she had left her friends behind, she was happy to be living with her Grandfather. This shrine had many places for her to play around, as well as many unexplored places that she would most likely discover. Kagome chose the room at the top of the stairs, it was big enough to accommodate all her toys as well as the excellent view of the shrine grounds with the city in the background, Kagome knew she would grow to love her new home.
After Kagome had settled into her new home, she had started school and hadn't had time to explore the shrine grounds yet. One day after school, Kagome came home and dropped off her things in her room, she set out to scout out any unexplored parts of the shrine she had not yet seen. Kagome decided to check in her Grandfather's old shed, he told her it was full of many ancient scrolls from many centuries ago that were used by their ancestors to ward off evil demons. She opened the doors to the shed, she noticed pieces of paper on the inside of the doors, acting as a seal of some sort, and she wondered what they were for. She walked around the shed and noticed many shelves containing herbs and medicines used by her ancestors. Kagome eventually came across her Grandfather's old desk, she felt something strange, something coexisting within her own body which was reacting to something in the vicinity of the desk. She pulled out a jewel out of the desk drawer, something inside her was trying to release itself into that jewel. Kagome noticed the jewel was no longer crystal clear anymore, but was beginning to take on a purple haze to it. Kagome no longer felt anything pushing to get out of her, she wondered how long it had been sleeping, lying dormant inside of her. She looked around for any kind of chain to put the jewel on and found some prayer beads in the next drawer of the desk. After finding a spot for the jewel on the chain, Kagome fastened the prayer beads, jewel included, around her neck. Kagome could feel some sort of power being emitted through the necklace but didn't pay any attention to it. Kagome neatly tucked the jewel under her shirt and headed back to the house since she had just heard her mother faintly calling everyone for dinner. Kagome rushed upstairs to her room and took the necklace off and placed it in her jewelry box and then ran back downstairs for dinner.
At dinner, Kagome was getting a skeptical look from her grandfather, as if to say "Have you've done something wrong?"
Kagome felt a little uneasy about taking the necklace but continued to keep up a weak smile and eat her food. Once finished her dinner, she cleared the plates and helped with putting away the spices and sauces and put them back where they belonged. Kagome made her way upstairs to her room and closed the door behind her, she sat at her desk and took out the jewel from her jewelry box. The jewel seemed to be radiating a soft purple glow. She admired its beauty and then broke her gaze and gripped it gently. Kagome put the necklace back around her neck and turned off her lights, she would ask her Grandfather about the mysterious jewel in the morning. Kagome fell asleep easily feeling very peaceful, while the jewel continued to emit the strange purple glow.
Ancient Tokyo Square (Abandoned Central Square buried under a park in the center of Tokyo)
In an abandoned center square in the heart of Tokyo, grown over by vines and other plant life, an evil form is breaking out of the seal placed on him long ago. The being can sense the power of the jewel he so desired before he was sealed in this square by a priestess, the one named Kikyou.
"I feel the power of the shikon no tama, where is it?" The being is encased in a quartz-like shell which is beginning to crack as he breaks free of the seal holding him.
During the centuries he had been imprisoned, he had reserved his energy for the day where he would break free from this seal and steal away the shikon no tama. All he could think about was the events that led up to him being sealed there. He had gone after the priestess who protected the shikon no tama and hadn't anticipated the outcome. However, he was able to inflict a fatal wound on her before he was sealed away. Over the years, he had been contemplating his actions then and figured out a way of tainting the jewel before it got in his possession. His miasma was growing around him, disintegrating the earth above confining him. Using a bit more force, the being broke through the earth and floated up through the cloud of dirt rising, illuminated by the light of the full moon. The being had two goals, one would be to recover the shikon no tama, and his other was to gather minions to do his dirty work. The being looked at his tattered form, the years had not been too kind to him and he had lost his once proud demon form. He looked along the path through the new square made to replace the one where he had been, and saw a young boy cycling along the path whistling as he rode through the park. In a flash, the bicycle crashed to the ground and the young boy was consumed by the being. The being started to change form into that of the young boy's, through the boy's soul he was able to replicate the boy's personality and rode the bike to the boy's home. The boy's unsuspecting parents greeted the being as though it was their very own son without knowing he was no longer in this world.
A Moonlight Stroll Around Higurashi Shrine
Kagome found it hard to sleep with a bright light in her face, she looked down to see the jewel still emitting the bright purple light. She glanced at her alarm clock out of the corner of her eye,
"Only 1:06 am" she yawned as she got out of bed.
She decided to have a nice walk around the Shrine since it was such a nice evening, and the moonlight was lighting up the Shrine grounds. She knew if she was caught she would get in trouble so she tip-toed down the stairs to the bottom level of the house. She opened the door quietly and snuck out, leaving the door open a crack to make returning easier. Kagome stroll over to the shed where she had found the jewel, she opened up the door and looked inside. It was a little dark, but with the jewel glowing, it was bright enough to guide herself around without bumping into the many objects scattered throughout the shed. Two big arms grabbed her tiny body from behind and pulled her out of the shed. She turned her head to catch a glimpse of her captor only to find the gentle face of her Grandfather.
"Kagome, what are you doing out here at this time of night? You should be..." His voice trailed off as he realized what was emitting that strange purple glow that he had seen moving towards the shed.
"Kagome, where did you get that jewel?" His voice shaky and full of concern.
"I found it in your desk Grandpa, sorry I took it without asking but it looked so pretty. But it started to glow, I thought coming here would help me figure out why it was glowing." Kagome looked down at her feet hoping her Grandfather wouldn't be mad with her.
"Kagome, lets just go back inside, we'll deal with this in the morning." Kagome sighed defeated and walked with her Grandfather back to the house.
A Day to Remember
Kagome woke up to the sound of her Grandfather sweeping the grounds of the Shrine, he always did his daily routine of cleaning up the Shrine in the morning. She got herself dressed and went down to see her Grandfather, she clutched at the jewel around her neck. The strange glow had diminished and now looked like an ordinary jewel, her curiosity subsided for the time being. Her Grandfather finished his sweeping, walked over to Shrine bell hang and said a prayer, clapped his hands twice and rang the bell. Kagome walked over to him,
"Grandpa, why was this jewel glowing last night? Why did you look so afraid of it?" Her Grandfather walked her over to the Goshinboku and they sat down on a bench.
"That jewel brings many dangers to the one who possesses it, the jewel attracts evil creatures, even humans who would kill for it. I was hoping the jewel would never be found, but unfortunately you came across it. I know you are still young Kagome, and don't yet realize the dangers of it but I think it would be best if you put the jewel back in the shed so I can seal its powers up again."
Kagome could understand what the danger would be, but didn't understand why the jewel had any part in it. In any case, Kagome knew the jewel had to be put back. The jewel had a different feel to it than most of the jewelry she had put on from her mother's jewelry box, she always loved to try on different necklaces, but this one gave her a feeling of completion, something she had been missing, no, not missing, but seeking. Somewhere in Kagome's soul she could feel a need to keep the jewel by her side. Kagome's Grandfather looked at Kagome who seemed to be arguing within herself. A big hand came down gently on her shoulder,
"Kagome, you can keep it for another day and then it will have to go back ok?" her Grandfather said defeated by the young toddler.
Kagome nodded somberly and sat under the Goshinboku.
Elsewhere Across Town and Back Again
The being had worked his way in nicely with the family of the young boy who he was currently acting as, finally he decided he had taken enough of this façade and devoured each of the relatives, it was a slow and painful process, the sounds of their screams brought back pleasant memories of the past where he was the leader of many minions and had been close to reaching his goal of the acquiring the shikon no tama. He could feel the presence of the jewel faintly and decided to make his way to it before it was too late. His evil miasma lingering in the house he had left and trailing along after him. His form was starting to change back into that of what he looked like before he was sealed away, the priestess' face still lingering in his mind as he drew nearer to the jewel. The being wondered who had possession of the jewel, he knew that whoever it was had a strong connection to the jewel and that taking the jewel would be more difficult than he had originally thought. The trail led him to a Shrine on top of a hill in the western part of Tokyo. As he floated down towards the earth, he spotted a small girl with black shoulder length hair and her Grandfather resting near a large tree.
Something was nudging at Kagome, a feeling of an ominous presence, she looked up to see the dark cloud of miasma approaching the Shrine. Kagome screamed at the being coming towards her. Her Grandfather jumped to his feet and saw the being approaching. Kagome's Grandfather grabbed onto Kagome's hand and dragged her to the shed where he found his many types of scrolls.
Her Grandfather reappeared outside of the shed yelling chants at the monster, "Demon be gone! Leave this Shrine now!!"
He looked back once at Kagome, "Kagome take the jewel and run to safety!"
Kagome didn't give it a second thought as she ran in the opposite direction, not looking back to see what was happening, she was too afraid to think straight. She reached a small Shrine located a little distance away from the house, she ducked into the Shrine and hid behind the well that she saw at the bottom. She felt something strange coming from her chest, the shikon no tama was pulsating energy out of it, reacting with something within her and the well beside her. She stood up and looked at the well, she could see ancient scrolls lying on the top of the well, they were starting to peel off, the barrier was being lifted and Kagome was left feeling too helpless and scared to move. She closed her eyes, holding onto the jewel around her neck and trying to concentrate enough to calm herself down. When she opened her eyes next, she was floating above the well. Kagome let out a small cry of surprise and quickly covered her mouth, hoping she hadn't let out enough of a sign that she was hiding in the Shrine where the well was.
Kagome started to descend into the well, shouts of voices from her Grandfather and the evil being he was holding off, were following her into the well. "Hey get back here! Leave my Granddaughter alone!"
Kagome heard his shouts trail off as she heard a shout of pain from her Grandfather as he hit the wall of the Shrine where she was.
"Get back here brat! Give me the shikon no tama!" She could hear the evil being's voice trailing off behind her as she disappeared into blackness.
Kagome held the jewel tightly as a purple haze engulfed her and the jewel as she made her descent, she could no longer here the voices in this strange plane. The feeling of falling wasn't going away as Kagome felt her body being pulled into another world, she wondered what would await her at the bottom of the well. Her mind fell into darkness as she lost consciousness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
This is my first fanfic ever! So please be kind ^-^* and please R&R
Japanese Glossary: Sengoku Jidai: Warring States Era as called in the dubbed version of Inuyasha Shikon no Tama: Jewel of four souls/jewel of shikon Goshinboku: God Tree
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~
Setting: Somewhere on a plane between the Sengoku Jidai and the Present.
A lonely soul, Kikyou, is traveling the planes between both worlds, searching through the purple haze surrounding her, looking for a soul to accommodate her own. The shikon no tama had merged with her soul when she had taken it to the 'Other World' with her. In the midst of the purple haze, Kikyou's soul spies a bright light emitting a strong power, a power of a priestess. This soul would be able to keep the demon's soul purified enough so that it wouldn't lead to world destruction. The light of the Kikyou's soul engulfed the soul it sought and began to merge. The soul, Kagome, allows the other soul to merge with it, feeling more strength pouring into her. She began to ask why they were merging when she sensed the answer, all the answers to her questions would be answered to her and to be patient. The purple haze began to vanish, the plane was becoming brighter for Kagome's soul and she was heading towards a blinding light. Kagome's soul was awakening; she was being born into a physical form. Kagome forgot what had transpired on the plane between the two worlds, her soul a little unsettled from Kikyou's presence.
Where it starts
Kagome's family had been living in Kyoto for the first five years of Kagome's life, there she had made a few friends and grew up carefree. On the day of Kagome's sixth birthday, her parents informed her they were going to be moving to Tokyo to live with her Grandfather at Higurashi Shrine. At first Kagome was excited by the news, she packed all her toys and put her clothes in some boxes they had gathered to help them move. The day of the move, Kagome realized that she wouldn't be able to spend time with the friends she had made and grew sad by this fact, she spent the day with them as long as she could until the moving van arrived at her house. Kagome hopped into her family car and waved goodbye to her friends, hoping this wouldn't be the last time.
Once her family reached Higurashi Shrine, Kagome became excited again, this was the first time in a couple years that she had seen her Grandfather. She ran to meet him and gave him a big hug, even though she had left her friends behind, she was happy to be living with her Grandfather. This shrine had many places for her to play around, as well as many unexplored places that she would most likely discover. Kagome chose the room at the top of the stairs, it was big enough to accommodate all her toys as well as the excellent view of the shrine grounds with the city in the background, Kagome knew she would grow to love her new home.
After Kagome had settled into her new home, she had started school and hadn't had time to explore the shrine grounds yet. One day after school, Kagome came home and dropped off her things in her room, she set out to scout out any unexplored parts of the shrine she had not yet seen. Kagome decided to check in her Grandfather's old shed, he told her it was full of many ancient scrolls from many centuries ago that were used by their ancestors to ward off evil demons. She opened the doors to the shed, she noticed pieces of paper on the inside of the doors, acting as a seal of some sort, and she wondered what they were for. She walked around the shed and noticed many shelves containing herbs and medicines used by her ancestors. Kagome eventually came across her Grandfather's old desk, she felt something strange, something coexisting within her own body which was reacting to something in the vicinity of the desk. She pulled out a jewel out of the desk drawer, something inside her was trying to release itself into that jewel. Kagome noticed the jewel was no longer crystal clear anymore, but was beginning to take on a purple haze to it. Kagome no longer felt anything pushing to get out of her, she wondered how long it had been sleeping, lying dormant inside of her. She looked around for any kind of chain to put the jewel on and found some prayer beads in the next drawer of the desk. After finding a spot for the jewel on the chain, Kagome fastened the prayer beads, jewel included, around her neck. Kagome could feel some sort of power being emitted through the necklace but didn't pay any attention to it. Kagome neatly tucked the jewel under her shirt and headed back to the house since she had just heard her mother faintly calling everyone for dinner. Kagome rushed upstairs to her room and took the necklace off and placed it in her jewelry box and then ran back downstairs for dinner.
At dinner, Kagome was getting a skeptical look from her grandfather, as if to say "Have you've done something wrong?"
Kagome felt a little uneasy about taking the necklace but continued to keep up a weak smile and eat her food. Once finished her dinner, she cleared the plates and helped with putting away the spices and sauces and put them back where they belonged. Kagome made her way upstairs to her room and closed the door behind her, she sat at her desk and took out the jewel from her jewelry box. The jewel seemed to be radiating a soft purple glow. She admired its beauty and then broke her gaze and gripped it gently. Kagome put the necklace back around her neck and turned off her lights, she would ask her Grandfather about the mysterious jewel in the morning. Kagome fell asleep easily feeling very peaceful, while the jewel continued to emit the strange purple glow.
Ancient Tokyo Square (Abandoned Central Square buried under a park in the center of Tokyo)
In an abandoned center square in the heart of Tokyo, grown over by vines and other plant life, an evil form is breaking out of the seal placed on him long ago. The being can sense the power of the jewel he so desired before he was sealed in this square by a priestess, the one named Kikyou.
"I feel the power of the shikon no tama, where is it?" The being is encased in a quartz-like shell which is beginning to crack as he breaks free of the seal holding him.
During the centuries he had been imprisoned, he had reserved his energy for the day where he would break free from this seal and steal away the shikon no tama. All he could think about was the events that led up to him being sealed there. He had gone after the priestess who protected the shikon no tama and hadn't anticipated the outcome. However, he was able to inflict a fatal wound on her before he was sealed away. Over the years, he had been contemplating his actions then and figured out a way of tainting the jewel before it got in his possession. His miasma was growing around him, disintegrating the earth above confining him. Using a bit more force, the being broke through the earth and floated up through the cloud of dirt rising, illuminated by the light of the full moon. The being had two goals, one would be to recover the shikon no tama, and his other was to gather minions to do his dirty work. The being looked at his tattered form, the years had not been too kind to him and he had lost his once proud demon form. He looked along the path through the new square made to replace the one where he had been, and saw a young boy cycling along the path whistling as he rode through the park. In a flash, the bicycle crashed to the ground and the young boy was consumed by the being. The being started to change form into that of the young boy's, through the boy's soul he was able to replicate the boy's personality and rode the bike to the boy's home. The boy's unsuspecting parents greeted the being as though it was their very own son without knowing he was no longer in this world.
A Moonlight Stroll Around Higurashi Shrine
Kagome found it hard to sleep with a bright light in her face, she looked down to see the jewel still emitting the bright purple light. She glanced at her alarm clock out of the corner of her eye,
"Only 1:06 am" she yawned as she got out of bed.
She decided to have a nice walk around the Shrine since it was such a nice evening, and the moonlight was lighting up the Shrine grounds. She knew if she was caught she would get in trouble so she tip-toed down the stairs to the bottom level of the house. She opened the door quietly and snuck out, leaving the door open a crack to make returning easier. Kagome stroll over to the shed where she had found the jewel, she opened up the door and looked inside. It was a little dark, but with the jewel glowing, it was bright enough to guide herself around without bumping into the many objects scattered throughout the shed. Two big arms grabbed her tiny body from behind and pulled her out of the shed. She turned her head to catch a glimpse of her captor only to find the gentle face of her Grandfather.
"Kagome, what are you doing out here at this time of night? You should be..." His voice trailed off as he realized what was emitting that strange purple glow that he had seen moving towards the shed.
"Kagome, where did you get that jewel?" His voice shaky and full of concern.
"I found it in your desk Grandpa, sorry I took it without asking but it looked so pretty. But it started to glow, I thought coming here would help me figure out why it was glowing." Kagome looked down at her feet hoping her Grandfather wouldn't be mad with her.
"Kagome, lets just go back inside, we'll deal with this in the morning." Kagome sighed defeated and walked with her Grandfather back to the house.
A Day to Remember
Kagome woke up to the sound of her Grandfather sweeping the grounds of the Shrine, he always did his daily routine of cleaning up the Shrine in the morning. She got herself dressed and went down to see her Grandfather, she clutched at the jewel around her neck. The strange glow had diminished and now looked like an ordinary jewel, her curiosity subsided for the time being. Her Grandfather finished his sweeping, walked over to Shrine bell hang and said a prayer, clapped his hands twice and rang the bell. Kagome walked over to him,
"Grandpa, why was this jewel glowing last night? Why did you look so afraid of it?" Her Grandfather walked her over to the Goshinboku and they sat down on a bench.
"That jewel brings many dangers to the one who possesses it, the jewel attracts evil creatures, even humans who would kill for it. I was hoping the jewel would never be found, but unfortunately you came across it. I know you are still young Kagome, and don't yet realize the dangers of it but I think it would be best if you put the jewel back in the shed so I can seal its powers up again."
Kagome could understand what the danger would be, but didn't understand why the jewel had any part in it. In any case, Kagome knew the jewel had to be put back. The jewel had a different feel to it than most of the jewelry she had put on from her mother's jewelry box, she always loved to try on different necklaces, but this one gave her a feeling of completion, something she had been missing, no, not missing, but seeking. Somewhere in Kagome's soul she could feel a need to keep the jewel by her side. Kagome's Grandfather looked at Kagome who seemed to be arguing within herself. A big hand came down gently on her shoulder,
"Kagome, you can keep it for another day and then it will have to go back ok?" her Grandfather said defeated by the young toddler.
Kagome nodded somberly and sat under the Goshinboku.
Elsewhere Across Town and Back Again
The being had worked his way in nicely with the family of the young boy who he was currently acting as, finally he decided he had taken enough of this façade and devoured each of the relatives, it was a slow and painful process, the sounds of their screams brought back pleasant memories of the past where he was the leader of many minions and had been close to reaching his goal of the acquiring the shikon no tama. He could feel the presence of the jewel faintly and decided to make his way to it before it was too late. His evil miasma lingering in the house he had left and trailing along after him. His form was starting to change back into that of what he looked like before he was sealed away, the priestess' face still lingering in his mind as he drew nearer to the jewel. The being wondered who had possession of the jewel, he knew that whoever it was had a strong connection to the jewel and that taking the jewel would be more difficult than he had originally thought. The trail led him to a Shrine on top of a hill in the western part of Tokyo. As he floated down towards the earth, he spotted a small girl with black shoulder length hair and her Grandfather resting near a large tree.
Something was nudging at Kagome, a feeling of an ominous presence, she looked up to see the dark cloud of miasma approaching the Shrine. Kagome screamed at the being coming towards her. Her Grandfather jumped to his feet and saw the being approaching. Kagome's Grandfather grabbed onto Kagome's hand and dragged her to the shed where he found his many types of scrolls.
Her Grandfather reappeared outside of the shed yelling chants at the monster, "Demon be gone! Leave this Shrine now!!"
He looked back once at Kagome, "Kagome take the jewel and run to safety!"
Kagome didn't give it a second thought as she ran in the opposite direction, not looking back to see what was happening, she was too afraid to think straight. She reached a small Shrine located a little distance away from the house, she ducked into the Shrine and hid behind the well that she saw at the bottom. She felt something strange coming from her chest, the shikon no tama was pulsating energy out of it, reacting with something within her and the well beside her. She stood up and looked at the well, she could see ancient scrolls lying on the top of the well, they were starting to peel off, the barrier was being lifted and Kagome was left feeling too helpless and scared to move. She closed her eyes, holding onto the jewel around her neck and trying to concentrate enough to calm herself down. When she opened her eyes next, she was floating above the well. Kagome let out a small cry of surprise and quickly covered her mouth, hoping she hadn't let out enough of a sign that she was hiding in the Shrine where the well was.
Kagome started to descend into the well, shouts of voices from her Grandfather and the evil being he was holding off, were following her into the well. "Hey get back here! Leave my Granddaughter alone!"
Kagome heard his shouts trail off as she heard a shout of pain from her Grandfather as he hit the wall of the Shrine where she was.
"Get back here brat! Give me the shikon no tama!" She could hear the evil being's voice trailing off behind her as she disappeared into blackness.
Kagome held the jewel tightly as a purple haze engulfed her and the jewel as she made her descent, she could no longer here the voices in this strange plane. The feeling of falling wasn't going away as Kagome felt her body being pulled into another world, she wondered what would await her at the bottom of the well. Her mind fell into darkness as she lost consciousness. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~