InuYasha: New Game+
By Oniko
Chapter One
::: ::: :::
Kagome smiled as Sesshoumaru walked away. Even after everything he was still cold towards both her and InuYasha. But he still came by for Rin, so Kagome had hopes that they might reconcile yet.
Speaking of, she turned and smiled at her husband. Three years since Naraku died and her life was everything she wanted it to be: married to her best friend, training to take Kaede's place as the village priestess and little Rin to follow in her footsteps.
InuYasha smiled at her and spoke, but there was no sound. Kagome frowned. She looked around; she couldn't hear anything else either. Not the rushing water from the river or the workers in the field.
"InuYasha? Something's wrong," She said, her own voice sounding hollow in her ears. She turned back to her husband, only to find him gone. Everything was gone.
She was standing in a flat featureless void.
Kagome frowned and stretched out her senses, both physical and spiritual. She didn't sense anything evil or demonic. Though that didn't always mean that whoever was behind this had her best interest at heart.
"You had better take me back to InuYasha if you know what's good for you!" Kagome threatened brashly, ruthlessly ignoring the small sliver of fear. Even before the words had left her mouth a triumphant fanfare blasted out around her from all directions and none. Words formed in the air before her.
Congratulations! They said in bold, gold block letters. Kagome was amazed to see the romanji script that she thought she had left behind in the future. Who ever had trapped her here must have travelled through the well.
Ending C – The Village Protector. They continued on in a different font, as if someone had written the letters with careful brushwork and pitch black ink. Below it a line drawing formed of her and InuYasha standing together and looking off into the distance. The fields and houses of Musashi's domain lay out before them. Kagome reached out to touch the lines of the picture, but her fingers drifted through it like formless smoke.
"This is ridiculous," she muttered to herself. She turned and started to walk away. However the words and picture stayed fixed in front of her no matter how she twisted and turned, and in the featureless void she couldn't even tell if walking was actually getting her anywhere.
Kagome jumped as everything suddenly disappeared like they had had been wiped clean. New words in smaller gold lettering appeared. Save Game? Yes. No.
"Game?" she asked incredulously. "You have got to be kidding me. My life is not a game!"
If anyone heard her, there was no indication. Nothing changed and words still floated in her vision just at arm's reach. She huffed and reached out to touch "no."
The words dimmed and new words appeared. All unsaved data will be lost. Continue? Yes. No.
Kagome hesitated. It had been forever since she had played video games, and even in junior high they weren't the cornerstone of her life. She remembered a few of the basic concepts like: never shut down a game unless you know you saved. Kagome hesitated over touching "yes". She didn't know what she would be saving. What if she said "yes" and she could never get back to InuYasha and the others? At least if she said "no" she might be able to go back, once she has a better idea of what's going on.
And if this was some elaborate prank, someone was going to get their ass kicked.
Decision made, Kagome touched "no" and then "yes" to the original question. The words faded and in front of her an image of the Shikon no Tama pulsed brightly like a heartbeat. Below it in small silvery block letters. Saving…
Kagome scowled at the glowing jewel before her. She thought the Shikon no Tama had been destroyed. She made a pure wish. Or, she thought she did. What if she was wrong?
There was a soft chime and the "screen" was wiped clean. New words appeared.
Shikon no Shiai
"Four-Souls Game?" The jewel must have something to do with this. Had there been a loophole in her wish? Did it backfire? Was she the one trapped inside?
New Game
Continue
Options
"Continue." Yes, that was what she wanted: to continue on with her life with InuYasha. She touched the word and everything dimmed for a moment. A numbered list appeared, but only the first one had any words by it. Kagome Higurashi – Epilogue – Lvl 38. While most of the numbers were plain, the first entry was gold with a star beside it. She tapped the entry. The Shikon no Tama appeared again. This time saying, loading….
Game Complete! Select another file or New Game.
Kagome couldn't say that she was terribly surprised that it wasn't that easy. She went back to the previous "screen" and selected "New Game." She only caught a glimpse of the next page, Character Creation, before it dimmed and another question appeared. Import saved game information? Yes. No.
Hesitantly, Kagome tapped "Yes." Maybe this would take her back to InuYasha—and her life. She was heartened that she was able to successfully choose the starred file. It took less time to load the new information and the jewel quickly disappeared again. More words appeared and disappeared in quick succession.
Congratulations!
You have unlocked New Game Features! You may now view game menu, messages, and options during game play!
You have unlocked New Races!
You have unlocked New Backgrounds!
You have unlocked New Characters!
You have unlocked New Endings!
Kagome blinked away the flashing afterimage of the bright words. She "could now view during game play?" Did that mean she had always been playing the game but didn't know because the mechanics were hidden from her? So, maybe she wasn't trapped in the jewel but something else that was using the image of the Shikon Jewel to throw her off.
She didn't have long to ponder as she was suddenly faced with herself. Not a mirror image, but as she looked at 15. She wore a short green school uniform with baggy socks and loafers, and long dark hair that was a little shaggy and in need of a trim. Her manikin was standing on a short marble pedestal complete with curling scroll-like platform. Next to her were more words in simple black text, these appeared to be categories—gender, race, and background—with various options to choose from, and a "Next" button with an arrow.
Her default settings were female, ningen, and "Girl Next Door." Kagome tilted her head to the side and hesitantly tapped the "male" option. The figure on the pedestal changed to- "Hojo?"
Surprised and shocked. Kagome quickly changed that setting back to female. She was not Hojo, that would be—weird. Kagome firmly moved on to the next option. Race. There were three things to choose from: Ningen, Youkai, and Kami. "Youkai" had a tiny golden "New" hovering before the option and shining brightly. But "Kami" was pale and gray.
Kagame tapped the word "Youkai" and the figure on the pedestal changed again. She was still dressed in her school uniform, but now her hair had bleached to white and her eyes became bright gold. The Background selection had changed to "Inugami" with the happy glowing "new." She could also choose "New! Kitsune." Other options like Bakeneko, Tengu, and Oni were gray.
Kitsune Kagome had black hair and adorable fuzzy ears. Her skirt hung lower on her hips then usual to allow four black tails with white tips to drape over the waistband. Kagome whined quietly to herself. The ears! They were so cute!
It was probably best to stick to what she knew. Regretfully she changed the selection back to "Ningen." Here her Background selection was much broader with "The Girl Next Door," "The Brain," "Tomboy," "New! Class Representative," "New! Miko," and "New! Hikikomori" all available. There were still some options that were grey like "Idol Singer," "Delinquent", "The Lady," and "Ninja."
"I wanna be a ninja, or, ooo, demon hunter," Kagome sighed as she glanced further down the list of gray options. She remembered how useless she had felt when she first came to the Sengoku Jidai. But she wasn't useless now; she had skills she worked very hard to earn. She tapped "New! Miko" and her clothes on the manikin changed to a traditional miko's clothing, white kimono and bright red hakama. She tapped "Next." The words were wiped clean, but her vacant eyed manikin stayed.
A new screen appeared with "Back" and an arrow pointing away at the top. There was also a "Next" button with arrow in the same place as before at the bottom. A set of stats appeared for physical, spiritual and social categories. Everything was grayed out and another question floated before her.
Imported Stat Reiki exceeds limit. Select Race: Kami to break limit. Continue? Yes. No.
Kagome chewed her lip thoughtfully. She wasn't entirely sure what it was asking. But she could always just go back and start over right? She tapped "yes" and stats numbers filled in.
Physical
Strength ... 4/10
Agility ... 5/10
Endurance … 4/10
Constitution ... 4/10
Luck … 3/10
Spiritual
Reiki ... 13/10
Youki ... 0/10
Jyaki ... 0/10
Social
Courage ... 7/10
Loyalty ... 9/10
Knowledge ... 3/10
Expression ... 5/10
Charm ... 4/10
She frowned at her physical stats. They seemed a little low compared to her other numbers. Sure she wasn't the strongest person ever, but she was fit. She was really unhappy with the Knowledge stat, but it did make sense considering that she had been doing just the bare minimum to squeak by at an average high school. Not one of her better decisions, if she was honest with herself.
Something else caught her eye: why was "Luck" a physical attribute? And so low? Actually, that explained a lot about her life.
Her Reiki stats were in red. Which made sense since that was something that she focused on a lot. But, if she could only use the max stat of 10 as a ningen, that was three points wasted. The tapped the "Back" button at the top, then the Kami selection under race. Everything turned washed out and gray. New bright gold words appeared.
Locked! Gain the blessings of any Kami to unlock.
"None? Not one? Not even from that one lady we helped with the guy using shikon shard to impersonate her?" Kagome asked incredulously. She continued on grumbling. "How cheap. What does it take to get a blessing?"
Of course, the game was not forthcoming. Kagome tapped "Back" at the top and reconsidered her available options. By juggling back and forth she determined that the Inugumi background had a max of 15 for Strength, Endurance and Agility stats, and gave her two additional points in Strength, Agility, and Endurance. It gave her Youki, but also penalized her by draining her Reiki to 0. The Kitsune was similar only instead the limit was raised for Agility, Expression and Charm with extra points in these categories and Youki.
She didn't want to lose her spiritual powers. She had worked hard for those! Instead she turned her attention to the Ningen Backgrounds. The Miko background gave her three extra Reiki points. The Tomboy one additional point in Strength, Endurance, and Constitution, the Brain gave her two additional Knowledge points and one Expression, and the Class Representative gave her two additional Expression points and one Charm. If she were to choose the Girl Next Door again she would get one extra Courage point but the two additional Loyalty points would make her go past the limit.
The Hikikomori brought down all physical and social stats by one for a massive bonus of Jyaki—whatever that was. She shuddered. From what she understood listening to Kaede, Jyaki was something only the sick or truly evil were able to use. Sure, there was a huge social stigma associated with shut in. Kagome had always thought it was kind of sad. Certainly not evil. She herself had to deal with rumors going around school during her adventures saying that she was one, because only Hojo really believed her grandfather's lies. Or maybe, like her other modern friends, pretended to believe them to let her 'save face.' Rumors were bad enough. She definitely didn't want to deal with that for real.
She carefully considered the base stats she was starting with. If they were really an accurate representation she didn't think she needed any extra physical points. She was pretty happy with how strong she was right now. So her real choice was between the Brain and the Class Representative. The extra Knowledge points would help her with school, but the Expression and Charm would probably be more useful in the Sengoku Jidai.
Wait. Why was she treating this like it had any real effect on her life? Kagome turned her head, closed her eyes—and covered them with her hand for good measure—and pointed. She would go with whatever fate decided. Unless it was the Hikkomori.
Her fingers encountered only air. She opened her eyes and peeked through them to see if she managed to touch anything. It was hard to tell when the floating words were completely insubstantial. But her blind fingers had managed to choose one for her.
Class Representative it was.
She looked at her manikin as it changed again. Her uniform was pressed, her hair was neatly trimmed, and delicate reading glasses dangled from a tastefully beaded chain. Maybe she should go with the other- No! No second guessing! Kagome firmly tapped "Next" twice.
The new screen was for Skills. She already had points in Archery, Cooking, Empathy, Free Climbing, Healing, Herbalism, Purification, Second Sight, and Spiritual Barriers. She could spend new points in skills she already had or learn new ones. It was a long list. There were a lot of skills that were closed to her because of her chosen Race or Background. She couldn't pick up any new miko skills. She wondered how she learned them in the first place. They weren't a skill set available to "The Girl Next Door" either. She tapped the grey "Sutra" skill.
Locked! Select Background: Miko to unlock. Learn from a monk or miko to unlock.
So, she can learn new skills during the "game" regardless of what race or background she chose. She added more points to what she already had, maxing out Archery and Purification. Then she added a few that were unique to her new Class Representative background: Leadership, Persuasion, and Public Speaking.
Her next screen only had one field that was already filled in with her name. "Kagome." Instead of next, at the bottom was "Done" with no more arrows. She hesitated for only a moment before firmly tapping "Done." The Shikon no Tama appeared once again to "load" something and everything went black.
::: ::: :::
"I'm off to school!" Kagome shouted as she tapped her shoes firmly in place.
Her mother's voice echoed from the depths of their house. "Have a good day, dear!"
It was her 15th birthday and Kagome was looking forward to- Wait. What? Halfway across the shrine Kagome froze in her tracks. She was 18. She was married to InuYasha. She was-
"Kagome! What are you just standing there for? You know what? Never mind, help me get Buyo out of the well."
"Buyo?" Kagome blinked at Souta. He was- short. She looked up at the well house. She was not going to do this again. "I'm sure he's fine. The well is covered, remember?" Or it should've been. When did the cover get broken again? Mistress Centipede? Yura? Was it actually covered at this point in time? She couldn't remember.
"But it's creepy," Souta whined. "Can't you just go in to check and make sure? It'll take two seconds. Not like it will make you late for school or anything."
New Quest Added! Buyo is Stuck in the Well!
"Alright, fine," Kagome grumbled. She stalked to the well house and down the steps. Souta stayed huddled in the doorway. The well itself was covered and bound with sacred ropes. "Buyo! Where- there you are. See, Souta; Buyo's fine."
Quest Buyo is Stuck in the Well! Completed!
You Earned 30 EXP!
And then Mistress Centipede exploded out of the well in a mass of arms and bright blue light.
Even expecting it. Kagome still screamed. She had better reflexes then last time and her purification powers blasted out and disintegrated one side of the demon's body. However, the shattered corpse didn't let her go. Claws dug into Kagome's arm and ripped her clothing as the corpse dragged her back into the well with it.
The passage between time was the familiar dark nothingness. Unlike before she was not harassed by Mistress Centipede, as the creature's body had this time completely disintegrated and faded into nothing. Then packed dirt was under Kagome's shoes and she was standing at the bottom the Bone Eater's Well. Above her the blue sky was a small square in the distance.
You Won!
You Earned 120 EXP!
You Earned 17 Mon!
You Found no Items!
New Quest Added! We're Not in Kansas Anymore.
Kagome jumped a little at the unexpected words. This must be what the "game" meant when it said she could view messages. Mon? She got money for killing youkai? She didn't have any pockets though. Where did it go? Not that it was worth much. She only had the vague sense that mon was used for pocket change. She'd always had trouble understanding how much currency in the past was worth as it was not standardized and was highly variable. There was a reason that Miroku and Sango kept the purse strings in their little group.
Kagome decided that she was just going to have to deal with that later. First thing's first; getting out of this well.
The well was made from irregular fieldstone. It was fairly easy to find hand and foot holes to climb her way up. In the future, her mother insisted on placing a long rope ladder for her to climb, but in the past they never bothered. She reached the top quicker then she expected. The couple of additional points she placed in her Free Climbing skill really seemed to make a difference.
Once she clambered out she brushed the dirt off her hands on her ripped green skirt, and considered her options. If she went straight to InuYasha to wake him up, she'd probably be attacked by the villagers like last time. Maybe she should try going to see Kaede first. Then she should be able to move around freely once she has the old priestess's permission.
Nodding firmly to herself, Kagome set off towards Kaede's hut. The path was not so well trodden. Though it was still there winding its way through the underbrush. The walk to the village was about the same; the reception, however, was not.
The villagers had adjusted to her and InuYasha along with their various demon allies tromping in and out the area relatively quickly. The fact that Miroku was a monk and Sango, a taijiya, probably helped. At this point, the villagers were particularly insular and anyone new was likely to be dangerous or demonic. Everyone stopped and stared as she walked through the village to Kaede's hut. The whispers followed her once her back was turned. There were plenty of suspicious looks, but no one had drawn any weapons- or farm tools, on her yet.
Someone must have run ahead to warn Kaede she was coming. The old woman was already standing outside the hut with her bow and a quiver of arrows when Kagome got there. The old woman eyed her critically before setting her weapons down.
"They told me there was a demoness heading this way. I wasn't expecting- you'd better come inside," Kaede sounded old and tired. It was strange, she sounded older than three years in her future when she had been teaching Kagome and Rin about medicinal herbs.
Kagome found herself at a loss for words just nodded and followed her inside. Like before Kaede fed her and told her about Kikyou. Words appeared.
Quest We're Not in Kansas Anymore Completed!
You Earned 50 EXP!
New Quest Added! Home Again, Home Again!
New Quest Added! Let Sleeping Dogs Lie!
New Quest Added! Defeat Mistress Centipede (Again)!
Let sleeping Dogs lie? Not hardly. Kagome thought. She turned her attention to Kaede, and fortunately hadn't missed anything she didn't already know. Reincarnation, blah, blah, blah, InuYasha, blah, blah, blah, centipede demon terrorizing the countryside, blah, bla- wait. What?
"But, I killed Mistress Centipede when she dragged me into the well," Kagome protested.
"Ah, hm, are ye sure it was the same one?" Kaede asked after a moment's thought.
"Of course, I'm- not…sure," Kagome trailed off. Maybe the "game" needed to keep some things the same so there would a centipede demon on both sides of the well, regardless of whether or not it was the same one. "I think I'd need to get a look at it to be sure."
"Ye can probably find it in InuYasha's forest," Kaede said. "I'd recommend ye steer clear of the dog demon though."
Yeah, like that was going to happen. Kagome skillfully restrained herself from rolling her eyes. "Can I borrow you bow?"
Kaede's eyebrows rose. "How did ye manage to kill the demon unarmed?"
Kagome briefly explained about her erratic powers and lack of formal miko training. Kaede didn't look happy about it. "Ye'll need to see to that, girl. But, aye, I can lend ye my bow. If ye could manage to do this one in as well we'd be much obliged,"
"Okay." Kagome smiled. Perfect. Permission to wander around and weapons. Things were looking up. Kaede nodded and picked up a basket with various plants in it. She started sorting and tying them into bundles. Probably to be dried. Taking that for a dismissal, Kagome stood. She was intending to go pick up the aforementioned bow and quiver of arrows, when something in the fire caught her eye, a golden glow that didn't flicker or move with the rest of the flames.
She glanced over a Kaede, but the old woman remained engrossed with the herbs in her lap. Kagome peered closer at the fire and found that there were words floating in the flames.
Save Game? Yes. No.
She reached out to touch the "yes." Strangely, she didn't feel any heat from the fire, and another quick glace showed that Kaede wasn't reacting to anything odd that Kagome was doing.
A scroll unfurled above the fire. There was a line of numbers ran down the length of the sheet. The first entry was written in gold with a star. Just like when she was in that weird void place. Kagome touched the first entry. Although she could see the scroll, the heavy texture of the paper, the smooth silk backing, and the warm color as it was lit from the firelight below, it held no substance and she couldn't touch it. New words appeared floating above the scroll.
Would you like to overwrite this save file? Yes. No.
A small squeak escaped her as she quickly waved her hand through "no." This time she touched the empty number two and carefully stayed away from the first file. New words were burned into the page. Kagome Higurash – Kaede's Hut – Lvl. 38. Once that was completed the scroll rolled up and all that was left were the words, Save Game? Yes. No.
Kagome flicked the "no" this time.
All unsaved data will be lost. Are you sure? Yes. No.
She frowned, she had just saved… didn't she? She tapped "no" then "yes" and the scroll appeared again. This time two entries were filled in: the first one in gold and the second in dark sepia. She breathed a small sigh of relief, she had successfully "saved." She was at loss for a moment trying to figure out to go back, but with random hand waving she found that touching the top of the scroll would cause it to roll up. She tapped "yes" at the—totally redundant—warning. Finally, the words were gone, and the fire was back to being its usual warm and cheery self. Time to get out of here.
"If I don't make it back here before I leave," Kagome said as she picked up the bow and quiver by the doorway. "You can find these at the well."
"The Bone Eater's Well," Kaede asked, looking up and frowning slightly.
"Yep."
"But, child, that is in the middle of InuYasha's forest," Kaede protested. "A dangerous place to be unarmed."
"Sure, but I don't need them on the other side." Impatient to be getting on with this, Kagome left it at that and darted out the door. She figured that Mistress Centipede would probably zero in on her once she entered the forest. Just like the last time. "I'm coming InuYasha."
She practically ran the entire way to the Goshinboko tree. Her senses were on high alert for the centipede demon, and even then it still nearly blindsided her.
"You have the Jewel," Madame Centipede hissed. "Give it to me!"
"You can't be the same one!" Kagome gasped, fumbling for an arrow.
The youkai lunged at her with talons and teeth. Kagome threw herself to the side, the arrows in her quiver fell to the ground.
"Not fair. Not fair. Not fair." She chanted as she snatched up one the arrows and aimed the short bow from where she was sitting on the ground. Her aim was a little off due to the awkward angle of the bow. The arrow hit the demon in her throat rather than the chest where Kagome was aiming. Which was good enough. The purification blast took out the demon's head and two-thirds of her chest. The rest of her fell to the ground in burning chunks of flesh. Kagome shouldered her bow and scrambled to her feet.
You Won!
You Earned 120 EXP!
You Earned 17 Mon!
You Found no Items!
Quest "Defeat Mistress Centipede (Again)" Completed!
You Earned 80 EXP!
Kagome waved away the words and scrambled up the thick roots to stand by InuYasha's sleeping form. She gripped the arrow and tugged. Nothing happened. There was no glow of residual power, just an arrow stuck fast into InuYasha's chest.
"Okay, I can do this," Kagome said. She rubbed her hands and blew into her cupped palms like she was cold. Only instead of warming them, she was concentrating on her purification powers. After a moment of determined focus and a wild prayer, she grabbed the arrow shaft and pulled.
Snap! She was sent tumbling backwards to the ground, the breath knocked out of her. After a moment of gasping she looked down into her clenched hand. The scraggly feathers poked out of one side of her fist, and broken wood, the other. InuYasha still slept pinned to the tree.
"No, no, no, no, no," Kagome scrambled to her feet and back to her place beside him. She patted at his face, trying to wake him up, but his head only lolled to the side.
"C'mon, InuYasha, wake up!" Kagome shouted in his ear. Nothing. InuYasha was still non-responsive. How did this work the first time? Kagome hitched her borrowed bow higher on her shoulder and pounded on his chest. "Wake up! Wake up! Wake- Ow!"
Her hand had come down on the broken end of the arrow shaft. The small puncture hole in the meat of her palm was bleeding profusely. Under her other hand she felt InuYasha's chest start to rise as he took a deep breath. Kagome looked up into InuYasha's gold eyes, still half closed and hazy from sleep.
"blood-" He murmured muzzily. "Kikyou-" Funny the way that didn't hurt as much as it used to. Being reminded of Kikyou just made her sad.
"No, InuYasha," Kagome said softly. "Kikyou died of her wounds."
A stricken look crossed his face for a moment before his lips twisted in a sneer that looked entirely feigned to Kagome. "Good, that bitch got what she deserved. She should have just given me the Jewel."
"Don't talk about Kikyou like that!" Kagome protested hotly.
"And who, the fuck, are you?" InuYasha demanded. "You smell like her."
"Well, I'm not. My name is Kagome," she informed him pointedly.
"Yeah, and what are you do doing here, Ka-go-me?" InuYasha asked mockingly. His eyes, however, flickered between the parts of the broken arrow, one in her hand and one still lodged in his chest.
"You really don't remember me do you?" Kagome asked, dismayed. She had figured that he wouldn't, but to come face to face with it was hard. Like she had lost her best friend. She had lost her best friend. Everything they had overcome, the closeness that had been forged in battle and persevered through the worse that Naraku had thrown at them was gone. She felt tears prick at the corner of her eyes.
"What? Why would I remember you? I don't know you!" There was a rising undertone of panic in his voice. He never did get the hang of dealing with crying girls. A small hysterical giggle escaped before she could stop it.
"Sorry. No, I know," she said, wiping her eyes. "It's just that the last day has been- really crazy. I think I'm trapped in the Shikon Jewel, and I-"
She cut herself off. If she was trapped in the Jewel, maybe she shouldn't let on that she new. But if she wasn't, maybe whoever was doing this wanted her to think that. Would it be good or bad for them to think their plan was working? She was starting to get a headache.
"The Jewel? Do you know where it is?" InuYasha's ears perked forward, hopeful and eager.
She stepped back, her hand unconsciously raised to cover where she used to have a wide ugly scar, where the centipede demon had ripped the Jewel out of her. If everything had started over, did that mean that the Jewel was back inside of her? InuYasha's gold eyes tracked her movement.
"You have it," he said.
"InuYasha, no-," she protested, backing up another step.
"The Jewel is mine. Give it to me!" He snarled and strained at the vines that had grown thick over him. The place where the arrow was still lodged through his chest started to bleed and stain the fire-rat cloth he wore a darker shade of red.
"Please, you don't know what it'll do to you," she begged. "It'll turn you into a monster."
"I'm am a monster!" He shouted and a massive wave of youki exploaded outwards burning the vines to ash and destroying the last of the arrow that held him bound to the tree. Kagome had to shield her eyes from the bright, terrible light.
When she looked back InuYasha was standing less than two paces away. His eyes had gone demonic red, and jagged blue slashes marred his cheeks. Kagome frowned. That wasn't supposed to happen while the Tessaiga was whole and still sealed away. Her eyes followed his triumphant gaze to his bloody hand clutching a dark and tainted Shikon no Tama. At the shock of it, Kagome could feel the pain in her side. It started as a dull ache like a pulled muscle, then it exploded into fire eating away at exposed flesh. She could feel the warm wetness of her blood pouring down her side and leg. Oh.
Everything went dark. Everything, but the Jewel glowing with a sinister light that illuminated nothing.
Game Over.