Virtual Reality
Chapter Seven
"Do you think we're out of Sesshoumaru's realm yet?" Kagome inquired, stopping and leaning lightly against a tree. She was tired of walking, and her feet were beginning to hurt. The cloth shoes she had on were not made for walking, unfortunately for her. How Inuyasha could stand traveling in bare feet, she didn't know. He probably had thick calluses on the bottom of his feet or something.
"We probably have a few more miles to go. His lands extend for longer than I ever expected," the inu hanyou replied, halting to look at her. His golden eyes instantly softened when he noticed her rubbing her feet. She couldn't quite take all the walking, even though it was only a game. He made a mental note to make sure to carry her for a while as soon as they took up traveling again. 'Besides, I like carrying her.'
"Now, why didn't your brother ever tell you that he was a taiyoukai in this game?" she wanted to know, curious. She didn't see why Sesshoumaru wouldn't have at least bragged a little. Taiyoukai's were rare and powerful, and being one was definitely something to be proud of. Personally, she would have almost preferred being a taiyoukai over a miko. She would have more than welcomed the high level of power a taiyoukai possessed.
"We don't talk much, probably because he's got his head stuck too far up his ass," Inuyasha answered nonchalantly. He didn't consider his relationship with Sesshoumaru all that important. They were only brothers. "If we do talk, we tend to get into little verbal spats. Nothing big though."
She sat down on the ground, crossing her legs and resting her palms on her knee as she made sure that her bow and quiver didn't pose a problem. "That's too bad," the miko commented, sympathizing with him. 'Does he talk to no one at home?' she wondered, feeling bad for him. "At least I get along with my brother okay. We usually don't fight."
Inuyasha shrugged and tucked his hands into his huge haori sleeves. He didn't see why she was making such a big deal out of his relationship with his brother, but he did appreciate her concern. It was nice having such a good friend. "I really don't care too much. He's annoying and a little too full of himself sometimes."
"Maybe you just need to get to know him," Kagome suggested, voice kind. She really wanted to help him in any way she could, even if it was only giving advice. 'He's helped me, so it's only fair that I help him.' "It certainly can't hurt, and you might just find out that he isn't as bad as you think." She smiled at him. "I thought you were a complete jerk when I first met you." 'I don't think that about him now though. Quite the opposite actually.' She mentally grinned at the thought.
His face fell. "Well, thank you, Kagome. I feel so much better now," he responded sarcastically. It irked him to think that she had considered him a jerk for a while; however, he was mad at himself, not at her. He sat down on the ground next to the raven-haired girl, crossing his legs. "So... when did you stop thinking I was a jerk?"
Her expression became thoughtful as her eyes gazed off into the far distance. "I'm not quite sure," she answered. "Sometime while we were waiting in Delphi for the Oracle to give us an answer." She shrugged. "That was when I really started to get to know you."
"Alright, so it took you about a week, huh?" Inuyasha sighed. He wasn't sure what answer he had been expecting, but that hadn't been it. Of course, he had been hoping that she would say only a few days, but he had obviously been wrong. "Why didn't you tell me what you thought of me earlier?"
"Because you were sweet enough to help me, and because you promised to protect me," Kagome replied softly, her expression kind. "I didn't want you to withdraw your promise because I acted rude or something towards you."
He raised an eyebrow at that. "But you could yell at me?" He chuckled in amusement as Kagome blushed.
"I guess I let my temper get the best of me." The miko looked over at him, feeling her heart strings tug at his handsome expression. Her blush deepened slightly as she realized something. 'I love him. I don't know how, but I do.' She smiled at him. "But if I remember correctly, you deserved it every time."
Inuyasha scratched one of his ears, the motion completely adorable in the miko's eyes. She loved his cute dog ears. "I don't think so," he retorted evenly, as if he wasn't even slightly annoyed with her statement, which he wasn't. He didn't see any reason to become angry. After all, Kagome was the best friend he had ever had.
Kagome was about to respond to that when she saw something that she hadn't been expecting in the least. She blinked, brown eyes full of surprise as a sky blue fairy flew up to her, fluttering in front of her face. "Inuyasha..." She pointed at the flying creature, unsure of what she was supposed to do.
The hanyou stared at the fairy, just as surprised as the miko. 'Why is that thing here? We haven't completed the quest yet, and it's not like it can give me another quest, not so soon after my last one,' he thought.
'Perhaps it has the response to Inuyasha's email,' she mused hopefully. 'But then, why would it fly up to me and not him?' Something didn't seem right, and she began to worry.
"Kagome, your time limit on your quest has been changed," it stated. "The Shikon no Tama is due in two days."
"WHAT?" Inuyasha roared, grabbing the fairy out of midair. His golden eyes were slowly bled to red, revealing his anger. No one was supposed to mess with Kagome like that. "Listen up, you stupid light bulb. You had better be joking!"
The miko just stared at the glowing messenger in shock. She couldn't believe it; she couldn't believe it at all. The Elves had actually done something incredibly unfair to her. Not only had they assigned her a difficult quest to begin with in her second month, but they had also cheated Inuyasha on his time limit. 'And now they want to change the terms they set for me? I don't think so!'
"The Shikon no Tama is due in two days," it repeated, sounding like a faulty sound file. The voice was even a little monotone.
She glared at it, beyond furious. "You can't just go and change the due date any time you like!" she shouted angrily, brown eyes blazing like fire. "You said I had a year when I started this stupid quest, so I still have quite a few months left! Changing my time limit now would be completely unfair and wrong!! You just can't change it.. not now!"
The fairy didn't even look at the miko. "The Shikon no Tama is due in two days."
"Well, you can go back and tell those fucking Elves that they're a bunch of assholes and that I'm gonna kick their butts for being complete bastards once I've finished helping Kagome!" The hanyou shook the being in his grasp, trying to make sure it understood how serious he was. No one was going to get away with abusing Kagome like that, not while he was around. "Did you hear me?!"
The fairy didn't even seem to register that someone was yelling at it. It seemed that the light bulb had gone out. "The Shikon no Tama is due in two days."
Kagome buried her head in her hands, wishing that she would never hear those nine words again. The stupid fairy was being far to repetitive. 'I'm really beginning to hate those messenger fairies.'
"ARGH!" Inuyasha hurled the creature off into the distance out of anger, finally fed up with the constant repetition of the one phrase. He continued to fume and shout insults at the winged being until it vanished into the horizon. "Stupid daft light bulb," he muttered darkly, annoyance apparent on his face.
"For once, I agree with you," Kagome said, scowling. "The Elves are being bastards, and the fairies are dimwits. The stupid council has gone too far this time. When I bring the Shikon no Tama to them, I plan to give them a piece of my mind."
"And I plan to give them a piece of my fist." The hanyou cracked his knuckles, his golden eyes flashing dangerously. He could just imagine punching each and every member of the Elven Council in the stomach and watching them clutch at their abdomens in pain. For being such bastards, they deserved it. 'Those Elves have earned a severe pounding, even if it is only a virtual one.'
The miko sighed, letting go of the majority of her anger... at least for the moment. 'I really, really don't ever want to see a fairy again. If I do, I think I may just see if I can trap it in a pretty little glass jar and stick it on my windowsill as decoration.' "Well, if we only have two days, we'd better get going." She stood up, expression still unhappy. "Ready, Inuyasha?"
He nodded and moved in front of her, kneeling. "Get on," he ordered. "Your feet are tired, so I'll carry you for a while. Besides, we'll cover a greater distance if you get on my back, and we don't have time to waste."
Kagome smiled; she had absolutely no problem with letting him carry her. "Alright." She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and allowed him to pick her up. It felt natural as well as nice. She didn't want to walk anymore, and even though she was in a game, her feet still hurt. "Thank you." 'He can be so sweet sometimes.'
"You're welcome," he replied, feeling her rub her cheek against his back. He blushed at her strange actions. "Now, let's see how much distance we can cover before we log off for the night." They had already taken their break for supper about an hour ago.
Kagome tightened her grip slightly when Inuyasha took off at top speed, running across the fields faster than anyone else she had ever seen. The scenery became a green blur, leaving the miko nothing really interesting to watch. She wouldn't have minded gazing up at Inuyasha's face as he ran, but she was stuck on his back. His hair whipped about, but she had learned a while back how to keep from getting hit in the face with it. She just pressed the side of her face to the hanyou's back and let the silver tresses snap and whip about above her.
Within moments, she was completely relaxed, the virtual heat from his back feeling wonderful against the front of her body. A small smile on her face, she began to hum to help pass the time.
Inuyasha's ears rotated toward the wonderful sound coming from the person on his back. She really did have a beautiful voice, which didn't surprise him. She was just a lovely person all around. 'Does she know how amazing her voice is?' he wondered. "What are you singing?"
The miko paused, blinking in surprise. She hadn't expected Inuyasha to take such an interest in something so trivial as a simple song. 'He didn't sound annoyed though, which means that he probably liked it.' She smiled. "Just a song I found on the internet a couple months ago. Why do you ask?"
He was about to reply when his nose picked up the scent of demons... lots of them. "We are in trouble," he stated.
"How? What is it?" Kagome inquired, voice tinted with worry. She didn't like how she was constantly attacked. In her first two months on the game, she had encountered not even one demon or monster that wanted to kill her. Suddenly, right after receiving her quest, she kept running into so many things and people that wanted her dead. It just didn't seem right.
Inuyasha turned to face the direction he knew the enemy was coming in. "Demons."
"Are you sure it was a good idea to make sure that the head bird of paradise was given a quest to kidnap a miko and take her to the entrance of Soku-no-Kumi?" the silver-haired woman inquired, one of her pale hands resting on the edge of the reflecting pool. Soku-no-Kumi was a place she severely disliked.
The dark-skinned woman shrugged, her dark eyes tinted with mischievousness. "Perhaps it wasn't, but it's too late to change things now. I would like to see how Inuyasha reacts to Kagome being kidnapped."
The blonde walked over to the other two, her blue eyes tinged with worry. "I don't know what to think about this. If your plan succeeds, then our jobs will be complete. If it fails... then we'll have so much more work to do." She sighed. "It seems too chancy almost, but I have to admit, it was a good idea."
The black-haired woman snorted. "Of course it was a good idea," she retorted. "I've never had a bad one, and I know that everything will be just fine. You two just wait and see."
Inuyasha set Kagome down and drew his sword, the rusted blade quickly transforming. The miko notched an arrow, her eyes searching the area for any approaching demons. She saw nothing. The ground was bare of all animal life... even bugs.
"What's going on?" she muttered, frowning as she began to scan the skies. All she could see were fluffy white clouds and the blue atmosphere. "Where are they?"
"They're close," the hanyou replied, looking around for the enemy as well, but he had the same amount of luck--none. 'Something isn't right. I can smell the demons, and the scent's so strong that they have to be nearby. The only question is, where? Where could they possibly hide? Everything's too open around here, unless they can become invisible or something.'
"This doesn't make sense," she stated, taking a few steps to get a slightly different view of the area. Still, she could see nothing out of the ordinary. "Since you can smell them, they're obviously here, but where are they hiding? Underground, maybe?"
He growled. "I don't know, but I have a feeling the bastard Elves have something to do with this," he said, tone dark and rough. "Now I know they have it in for us."
"You're probably right," Kagome agreed, trying to send out her power so she could sense the demons. She failed miserably. "And I can't sense them at all, which isn't saying much." She sighed. 'I really, really wish my magic allowed me to sense demons. It would make my life so much easier, especially in cases like this when Inuyasha needs my help.'
"There's something really fishy about all of this," the inu youkai told her, lowering his sword to the ground. "But... maybe the demons are just trying to put us on edge or something." 'It's not like I can come up with a better conclusion.'
"That sounds logical," she replied, nodding her head in agreement. "After all, if the demons actually meant us harm, they probably would have attacked us by now." 'I hope that's the case here, because if we find out that we were wrong...' She didn't even want to think about the consequences, which the worst would most likely be death.
"Where are they hi-" Inuyasha cut himself off when fifteen demons came flying out from behind the clouds, revealing their hiding spot. They were ugly demons--creatures that were a mix of bird and human. Their wingspan was at least twenty or thirty feet, and the mouth took up most of the body; however, on top of the winged head, a human torso twisted and moved. One even pointed at Kagome.
"Get them!" one of the enemies shouted, speaking with the mouth on the human part of it.
Kagome instantly began firing arrows, trying her best to hit the moving targets. She did a decent job on her accuracy, but they didn't have much of an effect. Her purifying magic was useless against the new enemy. They merely hissed in annoyance every time a shaft struck them, pulling it out if it was close enough to their human arms.
"I hate the birds of paradise," the inu hanyou grumbled as he sliced one of the attackers in half, letting it fall to the ground in two bloody sections. The birds of paradise were relatively slow and weak, so he didn't have too much trouble with them. Unfortunately, they tended to work well in a group, which made killing them a little harder. Plus, there was so much more of them... not that he couldn't deal with them. He just preferred to have more even odds.
The miko swore darkly as another one of her arrows hit its mark but caused no damage. It seemed that she was just having no luck whatsoever, and that was something that she couldn't tolerate, for the main reason that she didn't want to end up hurt or dead, even in a virtual world. Praying that she could figure out her magic soon, she reached back to her quiver for another arrow. She was met with nothing. Her quiver was empty, which meant that things would only become worse.
Kagome groaned, quickly realizing that she was completely vulnerable without them. She was a miko without a weapon and without effective magic. 'This is beyond bad,' she thought nervously, biting her bottom lip.
The birds of paradise also noticed that she was helpless, five of them swooping down at the raven-haired girl, their bird claws outstretched and ready to grab her. Automatically, she raced towards Inuyasha, her protector and her friend. He was about twenty feet away, dealing with about eight of the enemy, some of which bore her arrows in their bodies.
"Inuyasha!" she shouted, praying that she wouldn't end up dead before she could reach him. She knew that he would save her from the ugly birds; all she had to do was get close enough to him.
The silver-haired demon turned, his golden eyes instantly falling on Kagome. She was in trouble, big trouble. An expression of worry on his face, he ran toward her as fast as he could, slashing at any demon that dared get in his way.
He was about five feet away from her when a rather big bird of paradise swooped down and grabbed Kagome, taking her into the air with it. The miko screamed for help, her brown eyes pleading. She attempted to struggle out of the demon's grasp, instinctively reaching down for the hanyou.
Inuyasha jumped as hard and as high as he could, trying to grab onto Kagome's hand. As he approached her, time seemed to slow down. Twenty feet away, he could see the worry in her eyes, the rich chocolate color whirling. The wind stung him, and the horrible smell the bird creature was giving off made his nose itch and his eyes water. It smelled nasty.
Fifteen feet away, he could hear the soft prayers she mumbled to the Japanese gods. Her voice was so beautiful but tense as well. His eyes bled to red when he saw how hard the bird of paradise was gripping Kagome. Its claws had actually punctured her skin, causing her to bleed. The red liquid easily showed up on her white shirt.
Ten feet away, the inu hanyou felt the down draft from the enemy demon's wings, which slowed his ascent. The nasty smell grew stronger, but he could also smell the miko. Her scent was soft and sweet, like cherry blossoms.
Five feet away, Inuyasha could see Kagome strain even harder against the claws to try and reach him, obviously ignoring how she made her newly acquired wounds even worse. Her dainty hand flexed and then stretched out, her whole body tight and stiff as she tried to close the distance between them.
Then, Inuyasha was within touching distance. He reached out his hand to her, his fingers brushing hers. Her skin felt soft and warm, but the sensation was fleeting. Before he could get close enough to grab her hand, he began to fall. He hadn't jumped high enough.
"Kagome!" he shouted as he fell back down to the earth, watching helplessly as the demon carried the miko away. "Kagome!"
"INUYASHA!"
The black-haired woman grinned. "And here's where things should become interesting," she stated, shaking out her long locks as her dark eyes drifted over to the other two females.
"I hope you are right," the blonde replied, chewing lightly on her bottom lip.
"As do I," the silver-haired female added.
The first woman scoffed at them. "You two are being silly. You know that I'm never wrong when I predict what will happen in the future."
The blue-eyed one smiled softly. "I guess you are right about that."
The pale-skinned woman went over to the reflecting pool and summoned up Inuyasha's image. "Let's watch and see."
Inuyasha began to run after Kagome, but the remaining birds of paradise stopped him, dive bombing him and trying to rake his body with their claws. 'I can't believe I let her get kidnapped,' he snarled at himself, swinging his sword to cut a demon into thirds. 'I promised that I would protect her, and I failed.'
Another demon came at him, but it quickly died as well. 'She was depending on me, and I let her down,' he thought darkly. 'I was supposed to keep her safe, to make sure she completed her quest.' He continued to berate himself as he killed the last few enemy demons. 'I know this is only a game, but if anything happens to Kagome...' His thoughts drifted off before picking back up again. 'I don't want anything bad to happen to her. I want to save her, and that's exactly what I'm going to do.'
Inuyasha glanced down at the hand that had almost grasped the miko's own soft hand. He had failed her, but most of all, he missed her. He wanted Kagome back at his side. 'I think I love her,' he suddenly realized, golden eyes widening. He almost couldn't believe it because it sounded so strange. He was in love with Kagome, the same Kagome that had annoyed him just a few months ago; however, things had somehow changed, and he wasn't about to question why or how.
"Hang on, Kagome," he called out as he raced off in the direction he had last seen the demon headed in. "I'm coming."
Kagome struggled as hard as she could, ignoring the pain to the best of her abilities. Because it was virtual reality, no extreme pain was allowed. That sensation was dulled to a certain extent.
She kicked her legs and attempted to pry the claws from her shoulders. The nasty demon smell made her eyes water, but she kept on struggling. She wanted free.
"Stop wiggling!" the demon ordered gruffly, his voice distinctly male. "You'll only hurt yourself more."
"Put me down!" she shot back, tone angry. "Put me down right now!"
"Sorry, but I don't think so," he replied. "I'm taking you to Soku-no-Kumi."
The miko paled. Soku-no-Kumi was the Japanese hell, a horrible place that no one could ever escape from. Any player who dared enter there died and was forever exiled from the game. "You can't do that! What are you? Insane?!" He struggling drastically increased. There was no way she would allow anyone to take her to Soku-no-Kumi.
The bird of paradise laughed, the sickening sound sending shivers down the female's spin. "Perhaps I am, but you were the one stupid enough to run out of arrows."
Kagome huffed, scowling. "I'm not stupid, you are!" she exclaimed. "And Inuyasha is going to kick your ass and then deep-fry it in oil!" She grasped one of the claws and pulled. "You're nothing but a wussy; you flew away from Inuyasha so quickly that I know you have no courage. I bet you're terrified of him!" She immediately found herself being violently shaken.
"Shut up, bitch! You know nothing about me!" the demon shouted, tone laced with hatred and fury.
The miko gasped in pain, the last bit of white on her shirt finally turning red from the blood. She bit her lip, trying to force her magic to hurt the demon. Of course, she failed.
"You are nothing but a chicken," Kagome declared with more bravery than she felt. "You can't even handle basic insults! What kind of a man can't take a demeaning, truthful statement from a woman?"
"I said to shut up!" The bird of paradise growled ferociously at her, the sound dark and menacing. He wanted her to shut up, and he was going to have his way. While his quest was to deliver a miko to the entrance of Soku-no-Kumi, the fairy hadn't said the miko had to be living.
"Why don't you leave her alone!" someone shouted.
Kagome felt something inside of her twist painfully, as if she didn't dare hope. Praying, she turned her head and saw Inuyasha running toward her, his sword drawn. Her brown eyes lit up, and her heart leapt with joy. He was going to save her!
"Inuyasha!" she cried out happily, smiling. 'I'm alright now! Inuyasha's here to save me!'
"You again?" the bird of paradise snarled, sounding annoyed. He hated people that wouldn't leave him alone.
"Let Kagome go!" the hanyou ordered, jumping into the air, heading straight toward his enemy. His red eyes revealed his fury as he advanced. As soon as he felt he was close enough, he swung his sword, aiming for the enemy's neck.
The enemy demon flew up higher, avoiding the attack. Fear filled him for the first time. The hanyou was a faster runner than he was flier, which was definitely a bad thing.
"Come down here and fight, you coward!" Inuyasha demanded, shaking his fist at the flying youkai. Of course, the enemy didn't pay him any attention.
The hanyou growled, sheathing his sword. He needed to move faster and be able to jump higher if he was going to rescue Kagome.
"Stupid hanyou," the bird of paradise replied tauntingly. He sneered at the smaller demon. "Do you honestly think I'm going to come down to your level?" He laughed. "I don't think so. Besides, I have a quest to complete. This little miko gets to visit Soku-no-Kumi."
'C'mon, Inuyasha. I know you can beat this clown. You're so much stronger than him,' Kagome thought, silently praying to the Japanese gods. 'Just please don't hurt me in the process.'
While the evil demon had been talking, Inuyasha had jumped into a tree to gain some more height. He grinned, knowing that the flying youkai wouldn't be able to avoid him again. "I don't think so!" The inu youkai launched out of the tree, baring his fangs. "Sankon Tetsusou!" He aimed the attack carefully, making sure to avoid the helpless miko. The claw attack separated the human part of the creature from the bird part, causing the demon to disintegrate.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome shouted in fear as the demon above her turned to dust and she began to fall. She closed her eyes tightly, praying that the hanyou would be able to catch her.
With a soft oomph, she fell into someone's strong arms. "It's alright now, Kagome. I got you."
She opened her eyes, looking up to see Inuyasha. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you," she told him. He was her knight in shining armor, and she had never, ever, been so overjoyed to see anyone.
"I think I get the idea," he replied with a smile. Then he gently kissed her forehead. "Now, what are we going to do about your wounds?"
"I need to clean them and if there are some herbs nearby that I could use, that'd be even better," Kagome answered, looking around.
Inuyasha began walking. "I can smell water. I'll take you to it," he stated. "As for the herbs, you'll either have to tell me what the look like so I can get them, or you're on your own."
She nodded in understanding. "Alright."
The blonde woman grinned. "Now that's just kinda sweet. He's taking care of her." She gazed down at the reflecting pool which showed Inuyasha helping Kagome as much as he could by carrying her and gathering the herbs she needed for a quick recovery. He even gave her his red haori overshirt to wear since her shirt had been ruined.
"See, I told you everything would be fine," the dark-skinned woman stated, crossing her arms. "You two worry too much."
"Perhaps we do, but you tend to not worry enough," the silver-haired woman replied. "Luckily, Inuyasha is strong and more than capable of looking after the miko."
"How much farther do they have to go?" the blue-eyed female inquired, sitting down at the edge of the pool. "How far away is the Shikon no Tama?"
"Just a couple of hours," the black-haired woman answered. "But they have one last obstacle to overcome before they do--the dark territory."
Kagome wrapped the red haori shirt around her body a little more tightly before she allowed Inuyasha to pick her back up. "I can walk, you know," she reminded him. "I didn't hurt my feet."
"You are still wounded," Inuyasha replied, beginning to walk. He didn't want to jar her wounds by running. "I don't need you to think you're all better already and hurt yourself all over again."
She sighed. "Alright." She paused. "Where are we though?" she inquired curiously, brown eyes focused on him. "I really didn't pay too much attention while the bird was carrying me.
"He carried you in the direction we were headed in, so we didn't lose time or anything," he stated. "The only thing that slightly slowed us down was the battle. I think we'll be able to make it to the palace by midmorning tomorrow if we go for about another hour tonight and then wake up early tomorrow."
"That sounds great." Kagome smiled. Suddenly, her bright expression faded as a horrible feeling came over her. The air around her suddenly felt like death and darkness.
Inuyasha noticed the change in her. "What's wrong Kagome? Do you sense something?"
She nodded her head. "Yes. Evil."
CotA: Sorry I took so long to update people, but I hope this chapter was worth it. And I think I explained everything thoroughly enough in this chapter. *crosses fingers* If I didn't, please tell me.
Zebez: Yes, please do... and the review responses are below.
Sess-chan: That was my line. *growls*
Xio the Dog Demoness: Thanks. I'll do my best on the updating thing.
Elen Liste Alda: Thank you for the compliment.
ArtemisMoon: *claps hands* Yea! You said I had a unique plot! I'm so happy. I've been working hard on this, so it's wonderful to hear that you enjoy my story. I've been working hard on Kagome and Inuyasha's relationship. It's been a difficult thing for me to develop, but I think I'm finally getting somewhere. And, yes, you're out of chappies. I do take pity on you, but I don't know how soon the next update will be. *shrugs* Sorry.
eruinichil: Why would Sesshoumaru hate his brother? They really don't even know each other, and they have no sword feud going on between them. They're more... indiferent towards each other.
Purple Witchy Angel: Yes, I updated. And why did it take you a while to get into it? I'm curious. Maybe I could improve the first few chapters some. And I see nothing wrong with getting a new muse... even if he is a really hot half demon. *grins* He's from my story Cursed Blood, and I plan to keep him around for a while. Hopefully I'll get him settled in and used to my routine before Sigmund decides to return.
kumiko-chan: *giggles* It's okay. I've gone for long stretches without realizing one of my favorite authors had updated.
Danielle: Cute, huh? Well, I think I'll take that as a compliment.
inuyasha-girly-2007: Naraku may make an appearance; he may not. I'm not telling. And I'm trying to confuse people where the three women are concerned. Who they are won't be revealed until closer to the end. Sorry. But I like to keep people guessing. *giggles* And I hope you finally figured out what you were supposed to see that man about.
ShadowHeart: Yes, this is it. This is one of my best stories, and I'm so proud of it. And I'm working on the battle scenes. They just aren't my thing. Fortunately, I usually become better with practice... lots of practice. *grins* And yes, more is on the way.
Pline: I believe you reviewed this chapter only once. And thanks for all the compliments.
Kim: No, Inuyasha didn't get run-through. And I don't believe the elves know Inuyasha is bad mouthing them. If they did know, they wouldn't care. Can you possibly imagine how many people insult them daily? They are the ones in charge.
erika: I will try to update soon. Promise.
Monomo * Tsukino: Kikyou was already added. She was way back in chappie... two I believe. She was the shop keeper with the kick-butt awesome necklace that gave Kagome the advice about the bridge to Greece and the warning about Yura.
Lady Icykimi: It's okay. I know that I'm not perfect, and spelling errors are normal for me. I just have a habit of missing them when I read through a chappie. You can point them out to me if you want to. I won't mind. Really. And I'm glad you were excited about Sesshoumaru as I was. He's one of my favorite characters.
Yanou: Ouch is right. And yes, the three women did know that Sesshoumaru and Inuyasha are related. They just wanted to throw a small kink in the works, so to speak.
Chibi Keiko: I'll try to put in a little more romance. Give me time.
Bloody Angel X: I'm glad I impressed you so much. This story is doing much better than my last one, and I'm rather proud of it... which is probably why I keep working so hard on it. And I don't think Sesshoumaru is going to make another appearance. Actually, I don't think you'll get to see him again until the third story. *shrugs* Sorry.
power2thepink: Sorry about him being a little OOC, but he hasn't exactly grown up in the Sengoku Jidai, and he has a different life, so his personality would be a little different. Plus, he has no reason to hate Inuyasha. Does that explain the slight change in his attitude?
inuyasha kagome2: Yeah, that was kinda cute. I liked that scene too.
sashlea: They get along okay. They're not bitter enemies, but they're not best friends either. They really don't know too much about each other. And thanks for pointing out my error.
Kittymui: Quite a bit will be explained when I reveal who the three women are, I promise.
Sakura onto Hitomi: *takes cookie and hugs Sakura-chan* Thanks! SUGAR! *eats the cookie* You have no idea how much I needed the sugar rush. So much stuff to do. *sighs* Oh well.
Knight Star: Why would they be mad? Sesshoumaru served his purpose.
drake220: No, I've never heard them called that, and no, I've never been to aff.net. And I think I catch your drift. And Sesshoumaru, Sango, and Miroku are all gone. You won't see Sango and Miroku until the next story.
Lady Rose Jade: Writer's block. I can certainly understand that. I have them often enough.
Bikutoria: The ambition and drive? It's just plain lacking. As for babies... People meet online, go to the cafes in the real world, and if they hit it off, things go from there. And yes, that is the last you're going to see of Sesshoumaru for a while. He probably won't appear until the third story at the latest. He might be in the second story. I'm not quite sure.
Dragon Man 180: Why would Inuyasha brag to his family? He rarely ever talks to them. Perhaps I didn't make that point all that clear in my story. *sighs* I hate it when I do that.
SilentSlayer: That would be cute, but I'm not sure if Inuyasha would do that. Then again... I maybe he would. He does have that unpredictable streak in him.
Samurai Amaya: I "have to" update, huh? *laughs* It sounds like you're interested. That must mean I'm doing something right. *smiles* And you'll find out who the three women are soon enough.
Something...: Long is right, but the thought-out, I don't know. And I will continue this.