The air was thick with human smells and distractions. All traces of Kagome's scent had vanished into the world without any trail leading to where it had gone. No street, no store, no building, contained even the slightest whiff of Kagome.

"Damn it!" Inu-Yasha's anger was rising. "Where could she have gone!"

He had come to an area where countless children played. Across the street from him was an ice-cream stand where a number of parents stood waiting in a long line the stretched and seemed to go one forever. As he watched, some of the people left the line to wander over to the park behind him and scoop up their disappointed children. It never occurred to Inu-Yasha that Kagome might have been in a place like this. Her mother had said she had gone to get "ice-cream", but he didn't quite understand what that meant. All around him were children and parents who looked all too eager to leave the heat of the park and find shade in the comfort of their air-conditioned homes.

After standing for what seemed like hours the wind picked up and contented sighs filled the heat scorched park. Simultaneously Inu-Yasha was struck with Kagome's scent. It was faint, but strong enough for him to follow. His hopes renewed, Inu-Yasha took off into the park. All around him people threw him curious glances, but other than that no one seemed to mind his haori, or long silver hair.

His feet slammed onto the innocent ground mercilessly; leaving no trace behind them. It seemed to him a miracle, though he would never admit it, that Kagome's scemt had found it's way to him. After three days it seemed likely to him that it would have been stamped out completely. It would seem that sometimes it paid to be wrong.

"Sachi!"

"I'm right here."

"Thank goodness. I thought something had happened to you."

"Did you find the light, Kagome?"

"No, not since I tripped and dropped it. Where did you find it anyway?"

"I don't know."
"Well stay close until I find it, OK? I don't want you to get lost."

"Uh-huh."

"Alright, now take my hand."

Kagome felt Sachi's small hand feel its way into hers. The room they were in was completely dark. There were no windows, even. Sachi, by way of a miracle, had some how managed to find a flashlight. Not so miraculous was how Kagome had released her hold on it when she had blindly stumbled into a box upon entering the room.

"Kagome?" Sachi's small voice came in a whisper.

"What is it?"

"I think I found the flashlight. It's right in front of you."

Now she really felt dumb.

Kagome quickly picked up the flashlight and turned it on. That light that flooded the room revealed little to her hopeful eyes. There were odds and ends scattered all about the floor. Books lined a tall bookshelf some feet away, and there was a table off to the side. Kagome headed toward the table. She could see some old papers and what looked like a notebook laying on it. Carefully, she picked up the notebook and flipped it open.

Woman's Notebook 1
Description: Notebook of a lost woman. Contains village rumors.
----------------------
I've heard rumors about the lost village before. Long ago, a massacre occurred on the day of a ceremony, and the village was wiped from the map. Twin Deities Statues in the forest lead lost people to the village entrance. Once you passed the gate however, you cannot go back.

The village eternally relives that night of death. The insane laughter of a woman is said to echo throughout the village. The only survivor of the massacre at the village was a lone woman.

Kagome shuddered at the last few words. One woman? If she and Sachi were indeed in the "Lost Village", was it truly a realistic belief to have that they would be free of it.

THUMP!

As the sound reached her ears, she whipped around to face the sliding door through which she and Sachi had entered the room. Her gaze, as much as she hoped that it would, did not penetrate the wood of the doors to see beyond them. She looked about frantically for some sort of weapon. There were no swords, bows, or any kind of sharp object with which she could defend herself with. As her eyes scanned the room, they feel on an old, antique looking camera. What can a camera do, she asked herself?

"Maybe I could blind them." Kagome muttered solemnly.

With a sudden crash, the sliding door burst open. Fueled by her fear, Kagome pulled the camera to her face and clicked the button on it's top. A bright flash filled the room.

"Damn it!"