Kitty-chan: Whoa! No way! Another chapter! Yes, I am continuing this story! What a shock! Ok, sorry for the sarcasm bit. Just for the record, I don't own Inuyasha or anyof the characters from the anime. I only own Miirodi, Dev, and Kawaru. Anyway, I hope you like the second chapter! Byes!

Stuff with the (#) next to it is translated/explained at the end of the chappy.

"Kagome…"

"Inuyasha? Where are you?"

"I'm here."

"Where? I can't see you?" She looked around, but all she could see was the odd blackness that had been dubbed her wish.

"I'm here." He repeated, his voice echoing from everywhere around her.

"Inuyasha, what happened? Are you alright?" Kagome shivered a bit, though the air around her held neither coldness nor warmth. "Please." She breathed. She felt her hand longing to touch his cloak, to feel his presence next to her. Her voice was faint when she spoke again. "I need you close to me.

"I am close, Kagome."

"But where?" Kagome moved her muscles to spin her head, but the darkness was so complete, she couldn't tell if her head had actually moved. "I need you here. I need you to protect me."

"I will protect you…" She could hear a weak smirk in his voice. "I promise."

"Inuyasha! Where are you?"

"Now, wake up, Kagome. Wake up."

"Inuyasha, answer me! Where are you?"

"I said, wake up, Kagome. Come one. Wake up."

"Kagome! For heaven's sake child! Wake up!"

I know that voice. "Jii-chan(1)?"

"Yes, it's me. And thank the spirits you're awake. You've had us all worried sick. You've been asleep for almost two days." Her grandfather answered. Kagome found that her eyes were not yet prepared to open, and so kept them shut as he spoke. "Come on downstairs and get something to eat. You must be starving." She could hear the distinct sound of his socks padding across the tatami mats(2) as he left.

She opened her eyes. My room has carpet, not tatami mats. She managed to sit up and took in her surroundings. She was not dressed in her school uniform, as per usual, but rather, she wore the red and white garb of a priestess. Currently, she sat on a rather flat futon and a large kimono covered her as a blanket. Leaning against the wall next to her pillow was a large decorative bow and a full quiver of arrows. She looked about the room and found it typical of traditional hotel rooms. It was very simple, tatami mats covering the floor with a closet and a small table in the center. A window was above her head, but the only thing that provided the room light were the few small torches on the walls and the small lit candle sitting on the table in the center.

"Where am I?" She muttered to herself. She put a hand to her head and shook it a few times before openeing her eyes again, half expecting to see her real room again. "Jii-chan is here, meaning I must be at home. After all, he, Mom, and Souta can't pass through the hidden well. But this certainly doesn't look like home."

As she rotated her upper body slightly to look around the room pain suddenly shot down her left arm, originating from her shoulder. She pulled her kimono top down to see that her entire left shoulder was covered in tightly wound bandages, a few spots of red peeking through. The fact that the wound existed was not as surprising as the fact that she had felt the pain. The pain that had enveloped her arm just now was real, meaning that this was no dream. It was like pinching herself, though this method seemed to hurt more. She shook her head again and set her mind on trying to figure out where she was and how she got back to where Inuyasha and the others were.

She crawled off her futon and made her way out the sliding door and down the small hallway. She passed two other doors before finding herself in the main room. Her family was gathered about a large pot in the center, hanging over a fire pit. They each held a bowl in their hands, and all turned to stare at her as she entered. She stared back at them, not quite believing her eyes.

They were all dressed traditionally.

Souta smiled as she entered. "Finally got out of bed, Ane-sama?(3)"

Sama? Kagome paused for a moment. "Ne… where are we?"

Her grandfather and her mother exchanged a look and then her mother smiled warmly at her. "Don't worry, Dear. You're at home." Kagome stared at her for a long moment, her face quite blank. After a moment, she continued. "That demon gave you a pretty bad hit to the shoulder, but you're alright now. Come and get something to eat." She ladeled out a helping of the stew they were eating and extended the full bowl to Kagome.

Kagome looked to her shoulder, then back at her family before seating herself at the empty place. She took the bowl and stared down at the brownish liquid for a moment before her brother spoke from next to her. "The villagers from all three villages were really worried about you, Ane-sama. They were afraid you'd never wake up."

She paused. Villagers? Demons? "Mama… you mentioned a demon. Are there demons in this era now?"

The three of them stared at her for a long while. "Dear, are you alright? There have been demons in this land since time began."

Kagome stared at her bowl of stew. "And… we live in a village?"

Her mother put a hand to her forehead. "Kagome-chan, are you feeling alright?"

"Do you think that cat demon's attack did more than just harm her shoulder?" Souta inquired, setting his bowl down. "Did it damage her memory, perhaps?"

"I don't know, Souta." She whispered back. "Honey, why don't you rest a bit before returning to your priestess duties? You're not acting like yourself."

"Priestess duties?" Kagome breathed. She stared down at the fire as her mother took her bowl from her. "It's as if I'm in the feudal era, but… I live in it."

"Kagome-chan, go get some rest and we'll see how your memory is then." Her mother helped her to her feet and ushered her down the hall and back into the first room.

Kagome was still for a moment after her mother shut the door, then wandered over to the window above the futon. How is it that Mama, Jii-chan, and Souta are in this feudal setting? Where's our shrine? Where's… everything? She glanced down at her bow and arrows. I'm a priestess in this time, but there have never been demons here before, why are they here now? She sighed and leaned her head on the windowsill. I don't understand any of this. Where am I? How'd I get here? And how do I get back? She looked outside and around the area surrounding her house. Off to the right, she could see a small village, maybe a quarter of a mile away, but other than that, there was no other sign of human life. The grass around the house was overgrown, as if it hadn't been cared for in a long while. It must've at least reached to the mid-shins. The area directly around the house, what would be the garden was overrun by brownish weeds and brown vines clung to the outside walls of the house and to the small fence that surrounded the "garden". But the thing that perplexed Kagome the most was the sky. She could not tell if it was day or night. There was a bright enough gleam from the sky to see well enough, but it certainly wasn't as radiant as the sun, nor was it dark as night. There was a greenish red glow to the sky and the clouds rolling across the sky were pitch black. Kagome got a strong sense of clausterphobia, even though the area she saw was sparsely populated even of plants.

A small presence in the back of her mind suddenly manifested, causing her to turn around. In the center of the small room was a magenta light, like a large spark from a firecracker. After a few seconds, it grew a little bit to take the form of a small person. The color around her melted away and Dev hovered in its place, her wings beating madly behind her, arms crossed, and a disappointed expressiong on her face.

"Dev! What are you doing here?" Kagome smiled. It was almost a rhetorical question. When Dev did nothing but glare at her, Kagome let loose the questions that were plaguing her. "What the heck is going on here? Where am I? Why am I here? How did I get here and how do I get back?"

Dev glared heavily at her. "'What's going on here'? Your wish is going on here! You are at home right now! This is what your wish has done!"

"Whoa!" She put her hands up. "Rewind! What do you mean 'my wish'? How on earth is my wish related to this…" she motioned out her window at the dead landscape. "… disaster!"

"How is it related? Your wish caused all this!" Dev cried back, waving her arms around.

"My wish caused it?" Kagome raised an eyebrow. "And how exactly did my wish to help eveeryone caused so much turmoil?"

"The only person you helped with that wish was Naraku! You've thrown everything out of whack! Houshi-kun told you to be careful when you mess with time!" Dev floated down to stand on the pillow. "Why didn't you listen?"

"Well… I thought that removing the Sacred Jewel from the picture would help anyone." Kagome squatted down on her haunches to look at her. "And… well why hasn't it?"

"Don't you get it? Naraku rules your world! Naraku has complete control over everyone and everything in this land! He basically rules Japan! And let's not rule out the possiblility that he'll eventually move on to other lands!"

Kagome laughed nervously. "What on earth are you talking about, Dev? About that you said earlier… how did my destroying the Sacred Jewel's influence help Naraku? And what do you mean 'he rules my world'?"

"Think about Naraku for a moment. Does he really need the Sacred Jewel to become stronger?" Dev tapped her foot impatiently.

Kagome paused and fully sat down, her legs tucked underneath her. "No… he only needs a steady supply of demons to absorb."

"Exactly. And, as for your other question, the Sacred Jewel's destruction helped Naraku by removing the most powerful resistance there ws against him."

"You mean Inuyasha-tachi?" Dev nodded. "It got rid of them? How would it get rid of them?"

"Don't you understand what's happened, Kagome-san? Inuyasha-tachi-(4)!"

"Kagome!"

"Jii-chan?" Kagome ran to her bedroom door and slid it open to see her grandfather waving his amrs from the end of the hall.

"Kagome! Get out to the Goshin Boku(5) now! The cat demon tribe has come back for revenge for the one that you killed a few days ago! Hurry!"

Kagome, out of instinct, grabbed her full quivver and slung it over her good shoulder, then grabbed her bow and headed out the door, calling to Dev to follow. Dev flew after her, landing in her quivver as Kagome made it outside and looked around at the crowd of Cat demons swarming around the area. A few villagers (obviously from one of the three nearby villages) were fending off a few of them, using such weapons as spears and even a few swords. Those that saw her, brightened visably and fought all the more, renewed with hope. She took a few backward steps toward the house again before holding up her bow and grabbing an arrow from her quivver. She drew it to the string as a demon spotted her and started toward her, but her injured left shoulder would not stand the resistance of the bow and the weapon dropped the the ground next to her as she fell to her knees and gripped her now-bleeding wound. Dev flew out of the quivver to hover by her ear. "Kagome-san!"

"Ane-sama! Get your weapon! The cat demon's right in front of you!" She heard Souta yell. She could hear other random shouts of encouragement from unknown villagers, but her body would not move. She was rooted to the spot. She was not too sure if the pain in her shoulder willed her to remain motionless, or if it was the fact that she knew Inuyasha would not come to rescue her this time. Two clawed feet appeared in her vision, then the lower portion of a human-like creature as it squatted down on its haunches. A sharp hand curled around her chin and forced her to look up.

"Well, if it isn't the infamous Priestess Kikyo brought to her knees." The cat hissed. He was a brute of a demon, with a think strong body and glaring black eyes. His fur was orange red, almost as if it were on fire, with streaks of yellow running along his arms and legs. He wore a thin armor of types, covering his upper torso, exposing his belly, then covering his legs down to his feet. His arms were wrapped in metals protectors that stretched up to the backs of his hands, but stopped there, allowing his fingers free movement.

Kagome couldn't help but sigh. How can people even in this time period think that I'm Kikyo?

"The only Priestess Kikyo that lasted longer that you was the original Kikyo over 500 years ago. You're pretty impressive." He turned her head slightly, as if examining the contours of her face. "Can you imagine the reward I would get from Naraku-sama if I killed you? You're quite the nuisance." He smiled and turned her head the other way. "You know, there's a rumor going around the human villages that You're the human told of in legends. People think you are the human warrior. You know the old legends, right?" He jerked her head to face him again. "Your rebellion will end, My Lady. Naraku-sama cannot be defeated by any demon or human!

Kagome said nothing, trying to take in all that he said. One thing stuck in her mind. So… here, Kikyo is a title. They don't think I'm her, I'm just a Priestess that plays a role. Her mind lingered a few seconds on the "legends" he spoke of, but her thoughts were cut short as he released her chin to force her onto her back on the ground.

"Try all you want, Wench. Naraku-sama will not die!" He raised his claws to strike and both her name and her title were thrown from the vocals of all the villagers around her. But before he struck, she heard a soft, faint voice echo in a far corner of her mind.

Kagome…

"Inuyasha…?" Kagome breathed. As the claws came down, she winced, and squeezed her eyes shut, but no blow came. After a few seconds, she opened them again to see the last few cat demons retreating from the brilliant white light pouring from the Goshin Boku, crying and yowling. Once they were out of sight and the light began to die down, Souta, her mother and several villagers surrounded her, all inquiring to her well-being.

"Ane-sama, are you alright?"

"Ah… what happened?" Kagome sat up and put her hand to her shoulder again.

Her grandfather pushed his way through the small crowd and pointed her attention to the God Tree. "This tree has protected the family of the Priestess Kikyo for around 500 years. No one knows why, but it has protected this entire area from Naraku's hold since his reign began."

Kagome stared up at it for a long moment. This was surely the tree that had sat in her shrine in the unaltered world, but there was something different about it. She couldn't place it. The paper talismans hung around it just like always and it was as green as ever, even in this dead world, but still… something was different about it. After a few moments, her mother set her hand on her good shoulder. "How's your memory, dear? You grabbed your bow and arrows before coming out here. Do you remember anything?"

Kagome sighed and shook her head. "Sorry. No." She looked to the ground. It's not that my memory is messed up. I just don't have the correct memory for this world. I remember everything about the normal world, but I don't know anything about this one. Her gaze floated back to the tree as her mother began to explain the predicament to the surrounding villagers. I thought I heard Inuyasha's voice in my head right before the tree did that. I have to find him, but where is he now. He could be anywhere at this point.

"Kagome? Hello? Are you in there?" Kagome blinked as Souta waved his hand back and forth in front of her face.

"Uhh… yeah. Sorry." Kagome looked down at him and got to her feet. The villagers began to disperse as Kagome headed over to the side of the house and sat down. She put her head in her hands and gave a heavy sigh. She sat still for a moment before a voice caused her to turn her face upwards.

"Kikyo-sama?"

In front of her was a young girl, no older than thirteen. One her back was a quivver of arrows and she held a bow in her hands that looked far too big for her to use. She bowed and sat down, her legs tucked underneath her. Kagome smiled weakly. "Who are you, young one?" Young one? Did I just say that?

The girl sighed and gave her a smile whose strength matched Kagome's. "I guess it's true what the others are saying. You really have lost your memory."

Kagome nodded. "Afraid so. I really don't understand what is going on around here." She gasped through clenched teeth and clenched her hand around her shoulder as it gave a pulse of pain. The girl stood.

"Kikyo-sama! Your wound must've reopened. I'll go get you some fresh bandages." With that, she ran off in the direction of her villages as quickly as she could. It wasn't long before Souta approached and sat next to her.

"Hey, Ane-sama. What happened back there? You froze up. Why didn't you attack that demon?"

Kagome stared straight ahead, once again staring at the tree. "I don't really know, Souta. I… I don't really understand what's going on since I apparently lost my memory. I'm not quite myself."

"That's true. But you should still have your instincts."

"Maybe. But maybe this is a sign my instincts were never really all that great to begin with." Kagome shrugged, her eyes still stuck on the tree. After a moment, she glanced in the direction the girl had run off in, then to her brother. "Souta, that girl who was here just a few minutes ago… who was she?"

"Oh. That's Miidori. She's from Shin village." Souta explain, standing and dusting off his pants.

"Oh." Kagome looked back at the path the girl had taken. "She held a bow and arrow. Why does she carry a bow and arrow when she's so young?"

"She's your heir."

"My heir?"

"Yeah. The Kikyo name has to live on, so Miidori was chosen to be the Priestess Kikyo after you." Souta explained, motioning in Miidori's direction as she appeared running toward them, her hands laden with medical supplies.

"Souta-chan!" Kagome's mother called from across the yard. "They need some help putting back together a house that the cat demons wrecked! Can you come help?"

"Hai, Mama!" Souta called back before taking off.

Miidori approached and bowed to kagome, dropping a few supplies as she did. Clumsily, she knelt down to try and gather them up, but only succeeded in dropping more. Kagome smiled gently and stooped to pick up the dropped items. "Oh, forgive me, Kikyo-sama." She appologized hastily. As soon as Kagome had the items, they both stood and headed into the house.

Kagome shook her head. "Don't worry about it. Souta said your name was… Miidori?"

"Hai, Kikyo-sama. I am to take on the job of Priestess Kikyo after you." Miidori nodded slowly. Kagome took note of the fact that her voice lacked a certain excitement. From what she had seen so far, the position of Priestess Kikyo was held in high regard. She would think that the young girl would be happy to except the position.

"Miidori-chan… is something wrong?" Miidori looked up at her, a questioning look in her eye. "You don't seem to be excited about taking the position."

Miidori looked down as they entered Kagome's room. "Well… I'm honored to be chosen as the next Priestess Kikyo, but…" She fell silent. Kagome made her way over to her futon and sat down as Midori unburdened her arms across the floor and began sifting through the items to find some fresh herbs and bandages. Kagome looked at her and decided to guess.

"You don't want to be a priestess?"

"Oh no! My dream has always been to become a priestess, but… I don't think I'mm good enough to be a Priestess Kikyo." Miidori sighed.

Kagome chuckled quietly, and removed the top part of her kimono, leaving her in the wrap that covered her bust and the wrap that bound her shoulder. "You don't think you're good enough? Well, you may not be now, but think about it… I'm not going anywhere any time soon, so you still have plenty of time to become good enough." Miidori looked up at her. "Don't worry. When the time comes, I'm sure you'll be just fine. They don't pick just anybody to be the Priestess Kikyo, you know."

Miidori shrugged. "No, I don't suppose so." She smiled a bit. "Thank you, Kikyo-sama."

Kagome waved her hand. "No need for such formalities, Miidori-chan. You can call me Kagome."

"Kagome?" Miidori repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes. That is my real name."

"Oh." Miidori blinked. "I didn't know that."

"Oh, really?" Kagome frowned a bit as Miidori began to unwind the soiled wraps around her shoulder. "I wonder why that is."

"Well, really, only those who knew the Kikyo growing up would know her real name. Everyone else, like the children of the village and new refugees just call her Kikyo-sama or Priestess."

"Oh." Kagome nodded. "Speaking of the villages, can you explain to me a little bit about these villages?"

Miidori began to apply a few herbs to the threes deep gashes on her shoulder as she spoke. "Well, these three villages were formed soon after Naraku's reign began. It was a base, of sorts, for the rebellion against Naraku. There were branches of it, at one time, all across the land, but one by one, all the others were wiped out. These three villages were spared because of the power of the Goshin Boku tree. And so, the three villages became know as the Go, Shin, and Boku villages. Once it was found that the Goshin Boku protected this area from invasion at the hands of Naraku and his demons, humans began to come here. Most of the humans left in this land live right here in this village. Humans in the north, east, and west of this land are a rarity. There are those that live up there, but not very well. Most are thieves and bandits. Some even work for Naraku."

"Wow. So the Goshin Boku is everything to humans."

"Yes. It is our source of protection. Only this area and the western lands remain free from Naraku's grasp." Miidori finished wrapping her shoulder and stood. "We can feel the effects of his tyranny, but he does not control the area protected by the Goshin Boku."

"Ane-sama!" Souta was suddenly heard from outside. "The cat demons are back! Help!"

Kagome leapt to her feet and ran back outside, Miidori on her heels. They made it outside to see the grouping of people huddled together under the sacred tree. Miidori gripped Kagome's kimono from the back and wimpered quietly. Kagome scowled at the demons who were circleing the tree just outside its protective aura, pacing like caged tigers. Her mind began racing. I have to get Miidori-chan under the tree. I have to keep her safe. She's these villages' hope. I can't let that get taken away from them. She looked back and forth across the lawn, then glanced at her bow. My shoulder's not strong enough to support the bow, so I can't fire any arrows. She looked to the cat demons, then eyed a path leading out of town.

"Kagome-san!" Dev cried, flying up and landing on her shoulder.

"Dev? Where have you been?" Kagome put her hand on her hip.

"Talking to a few monks from the village. We need to do something." Dev answered, waving her arms.

Kagome nodded as Miidori pointed at Dev. "Kagome-sama… what is that?"

Kagome shook her head and knelt down in front of Miidori. "Nevermind. Miidori-chan, listen to me carefully. I'm going to distract the cat demons so they'll move away from the Goshin Boku. Once they're far enough away, I want you to run to the protection of the tree, understand?"

"But what about you?" Miidori inquired quietly. "How will you escape the cat demons if they all come after you?"

Kagome shook her head. "I'll be fine. I'm heading west, to where Naraku doesn't have control to look for some answers. Promise me you and the other villagers won't come after me?"

"What? But you'll-!"

"Promise me, Miidori-chan!" Kagome stated firmly. "You and the others are not to leave the protection of the Goshin Boku."

Miidori stared at her for a long moment before nodding. "I promise, Kagome-sama."

"Good." Kagome straightened and ran over to stand in the path leading out of the village. "Hey! Neko-youkai(6)!" The group of demons looked at her. "It's me you want, isn't it?" She paused, not really expecting an answer. She spread her arms out to the sides. "Then come and get me!" Immediately, the demons took the goad and headed for her. She turned and began running in the opposite direction, looking back long enough to see Miidori slip through the Goshin Boku's barrier into safety. Kagome ran as fast as she could, but she knew that cat demons would be extremely fast, so she only had a short amount of time before she was overtaken and attecked.

"Now what?" Dev cried, flying alongside her, her wings almost invisible in their speed.

"I'll think of something!" Kagome promised, panting heavily as she urged her body foreward. Sure, she'd think of something, alright, but would it be of any help to her? Currently, she could ontly think of one thing.

Inuyasha! Help me!

Kitty-chan: SO glad that chapter didn't turn out as long. Hope you liked it. READ AND REVIEW! PLEASE! I want to know what you think! Flames accepted.

Translations!

1- Jii-chan: Grandpa
2- tatami mats: Tightly woven and delicate mats that are used in the floors of most traditional Japanese homes and hotels.
3- Ane-sama: Older sister (high respect)
4- Inuyasha-tachi: Inuyasha and everyone with him (referring to Inuyasha, Sango, Miroku etc...)
5- Goshin Boku: God Tree (The tree that Inuyasha was sealed to)
6- Neko-youkai: Cat demons

Voila! Byes!