Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.

Chapter Twenty Three: Hunting

Demon! Monster! Contemptuous beast! Animal! Die demon!

"How are we supposed to find a dead priestess anyhow?" grumbled Inuyasha as he hefted the yellow backpack over his right shoulder.

Kaede sighed heavily. "I can find my sister, Inuyasha."

"But she's dead. Shippo, get out of the pack, there's nothin' in there you can get to."

"Of course she is dead since your friend Kagome is her reincarnation. It is the body that carriers her soul that we are looking for."

"Uh huh, but I tore that body up into itty bitty pieces. There's nothing left that couldn't be sucked through a straw."

"What disturbing imagery," Miroku commented.

They had only been traveling together for a couple of minutes and already Inuyasha wanted to ditch them. He sighed. Kagome would be ticked off if he abandoned them though. But they were so annoying and sooooo slow!

Shippo's head popped out of the bag, not even finding a piece of lint in the bag. "I had forgotten about that. That was actually a good question, Inuyasha."

Once again Inuyasha reminded himself that he wasn't allowed to kill his friends. Dang it.

"Need I remind you once again that what you are experiencing is not real? This is not only not real life as you know it, but it is also not truly a virtual reality game like you originally thought."

"Yeah yeah, jewel game, got it. But dead is dead. What will finding her remains do anyhow? Do we bottle 'em up and take 'em to Kagome?"

Sango rolled her eyes, "Honestly, Inuyasha, have some respect for Kaede's sister."

"Keh. Respect? Hey, I'm the one that was shot by her sister! And her sister is the one who almost killed Kagome! Soooo sorry that I'm not all choked up about hackin' her up!"

"Inuyasha!"

"Leave me alone, Sango," he growled, tightening his grip on the yellow bag. Every part of him was screaming to avenge the loss of Kagome. If it wasn't for his companions he'd be giving into that blood lust. He wasn't sure if he should be thankful to them or resentful. But if there was even the slightest chance of finding Kagome...

The silence that followed was thick. Group members walked sullenly and silently, each lost in their own thoughts. Would they ever find Kagome and Koga? Would they ever get out of the game? How are they supposed to eat now that Kagome isn't here to get food for them?

Kaede finally broke the silence.

"To answer your question, my sister's false body is still intact."

Inuyasha scoffed. "It ain't, old lady, you can trust me on that one." For a change he decided not to go into much detail. Demon! Monster! Contemptuous beast! Animal! Die demon! Seeing Kikyo dead in his head reminded him of what might be happening to Kagome. And right now he couldn't think about that. Not and keep sane.

"You forget, demon, that this is not reality. Have you not wondered why you fight hundreds of wasp demons that all look the same? Boar demons are all exact replicas in your battles, are they not? In THIS reality, in this game, bodies can not truly die. At least... the ones that belong here can not."

"So... even though Inuyasha shre... killed Kikyo, her body... reassembled?"

"Aye, Shippo. Something like that."

"Cool!"

Inuyasha cursed. "So I didn't really kill her?"

"Nay."

He cursed again. And again. "You mean none of the things we killed are permanently dead?"

"I believe that is what she is telling us, Inuyasha," said Miroku. Even though his friends all looked a little disappointed, he was glad that he hadn't actually killed anything.

"So we didn't kill anything at all?" whined Inuyasha. "They just keep coming back?"

"Yes, Inuyasha... you must get past that fact..." Miroku couldn't help but tease his friend a bit. Knowing he wasn't technically a killer made him feel almost giddy in relief.

"Then what happened to the other mikos?" asked Shippo. "If no one can die how can they be gone?"

Kaede's eyes twinkled. "You are a smart one, aren't you child?"

Shippo nodded solemnly. "Yes."

"A soul can not die here... but it CAN be absorbed. The souls, or pieces of the soul as it were, did not disappear, they merely merged to become one. Does that answer your question?"

"Yeah, that makes sense." He paused. "But what about the jewel thing? Supposedly the jewel came from Kagome, but if it came from her then how could we already be in it?"

Kaede stopped walking and rubbed her temples. "You are a curious one."

"Quit stallin' and answer the kid's question."

"Inuyasha!"

"Stop scolding me, Sango! You're not... you just can't! So stop it."

Sango's mouth shut. She wasn't Kagome.

"Bet Kagome is glad to be gone so she doesn't have to put up with your bad attitude anymore."

Inuyasha dropped the bag and made a grab for the kit. "You better run, brat! When I catch you I'm gonna KILL YOU!"

Sango and Miroku stopped walking and began setting their weapons on the ground. They explained to Kaede that Inuyasha would be chasing the kit for a while and that they should take the chance to rest up while they had it. Kaede eased herself down beside the other two humans.

While Shippo was busy dodging certain death, Kaede explained to Sango and Miroku about the jewel. Yes, at the beginning of the game Kagome felt a jewel being ripped from her body. Yes, the jewel belongs to Kagome to protect. Yes, it was real. But what Kagome experienced was actually a memory of when the jewel was physically ripped from Midoriko.

"But she even has a scar," argued Sango.

Kaede shrugged. "Does she really? Or does she think that she does so she does?"

"That was... one of the most confusing sentences I've ever heard," Sango whispered to Miroku who simply chuckled.

"Remember, slayer, that this is not reality as we know it."

It wasn't long before Inuyasha showed back up with a bawling kit. After a few rude remarks the group began moving in the direction Kaede indicated. Along the way Miroku explained to the two demons what Kaede had said. They agreed that the whole thing was, indeed, confusing.

One thing that the group noticed after walking for a few hours was that there were no more random battles. For a bunch of people just itching to blow off a little steam, not guilt free, this was a great disappointment.

"Where are all the demons?" asked Shippo as he draped himself across Sango's shoulder so that he could play with Kirara's twitching tail.

"There is no need for keeping up the charade that this is a game, young one. So the game has ceased."

Sango cleared her throat. "Was all of this… the game… capturing all of us… was this just a big elaborate scheme to get Kagome?" Kaede answered with silence. "So we're just expendable extras? Kagome is the only one that matters?"

Inuyasha growled threateningly. "You better watch your tone of voice, Sango. It's not Kagome's fault."

The incensed demon slayer turned on him, angry. "YOU don't tell ME what to do. I can use any tone I want!"

Claws flexed.

"Everyone just calm down. Sango doesn't blame Kagome for any of this, Inuyasha. She knows it's not her fault." Miroku turned to Sango. "Inuyasha is being overly protective of Kagome. We're all upset about this. None of us are particularly happy to be pawns in this game." He took a breath and hoped he wasn't going to regret what he was going to say next. You can never know how temperamental dog demons will react. "I, for one, hate the thought that we were instrumental in bringing Kagome to Naraku.

Luckily the comment didn't cause the expiration date on his life to move up a few more notches. Inuyasha was looking away. He turned his attention back to Sango and saw her eyes lowered to the ground. It wasn't his intention to make everyone feel guilty, he just wanted them to stop fighting.

"Kagome would have hated to see us fight like this."

"Don't..." snapped Inuyasha with a suspiciously strangled sounding voice. "Don't you dare talk about her in the past tense."

"Forgive me. Of course I meant that when she hears about this she will not be very happy with us."

Naturally, as it happened every single time there was a discussion that even remotely indicated that Kagome might be d-e-a-d, Shippo began crying. Sango scooped him up in her arms and patted him on the head. Even Kirara tried to console him by meowing and touching his cheek with her soft paw.

It took a few minutes, but eventually the tears turned into miserable sniffing and snuffling. Inuyasha made a comment about wishing they had packed some tissues for all the weepy humans.

But Shippo did not stop sniffing. In fact, he began sniffing harder. He sat up quickly and darted off of Sango and leapt onto Miroku's head.

"Hey!"

Shippo turned to the group warily. "I smell something."

Inuyasha stopped walking and started sniffing. Then he started growling. He knew what the fox kit was smelling. Wolves.

What to do? What to do? If he tells Sango and Miroku about Koga coming towards them they would guilt him into not killing him by getting all weepy about Kagome again. It just wasn't right that they could use her name to get him to do whatever they wanted. It was worse than the stupid rosary. Manipulators, the whole lot of them.

But if he doesn't tell them that he can smell the wolves, and Koga, then he was free to go find him and put the the theory that they couldn't die to the test... on Koga of course. If it didn't work and he didn't live... well... tough noogies, right? He looked to Shippo, the only one who could rat him out. The kid looked like he was having a mental debate himself. Maybe he was remembering when Koga had caused Kagome to bleed... more than once. Maybe... just maybe... the kid would back him up on this.

Inuyasha smiled. The kit looked like he came to a decision. With as much as he loved Kagome too, there was no way he wasn't going to take this chance to get a little revenge.

"It's Koga."

The RAT! I'm going to wring his scrawny little neck for this! I was so close to getting to kill him! Inuyasha glared at his companions who all brightened up at the mention of their friend's name. Every last one of them was a traitor in his book. Since he no longer felt like hanging out with the group he hopped up into a tree to watch.

It took longer than any of them figured for Koga to reach the group. When he finally did catch up to them he was slightly out of breath and flushed. Curious, Inuyasha crept to the edge of a low hanging branch and sat.

"Out of shape?" asked the dog demon snidely. A single finger from the wolf was the only reply he received.

"Hey Sango, Miroku, Brat." The wolf demon looked around. "Who's the old lady? And where's Kagome?" Koga sniffed the air. "I don't smell her anywhere." He growled threateningly at the group. "You didn't leave her behind did you? Are you crazy? She'll get killed!"

The wolf stopped his rant only when he saw every head bowed. Inuyasha's ears pinned to his head as the wolf demon dared to turn accusing eyes in his direction. They snarled at each other for awhile before Shippo spoke up.

"Your eyes look normal."

Koga blinked his pretty blue eyes dumbly as he faced the kit. "Huh?"

"Your eyes don't look funny anymore. You remember us?"

"Of course I remember you. What's going on? What happened to Kagome?"

Inuyasha huffed and leapt away as Sango and Miroku began filling Koga in on what happened since they arrived. He couldn't stand to listen to any of them anymore. They were wasting time with that fool. Once he reached a safe difference he sat on the ground with his back against a tree. I miss Kagome.

What's your favorite cartoon? What's your favorite pizza? What's your favorite season/ What is your favorite quote? Inuyasha's head filled with questions he never asked in their game. He let his head fall to his bent knees and drew them in close to his chest, wrapping his arms tightly around them. A Kagome-less life... he couldn't even imagine it. He couldn't allow himself to think of it. Yet the tears still came.

By the time the others caught up with him he had composed himself, all traces of emotion wiped away ruthlessly. Everyone looked like they had just been through a war. They were too slow.

"Pick up the pace, people!" yelled the dog demon. "We have to find the dead miko."

"Can't you at least refer to her as Kikyo?" asked Sango.

"Feh."

Miroku sighed and stretched. "We should find a spot to rest for the night."

"No."

"We're tired."

"No, Miroku. No stopping."

The monk glared at him uncharacteristically. "We will drop from exhaustion, Inuyasha. Sango, Kaede, and I are not demons. We don't have the strength or endurance to keep up this pace."

Inuyasha shrugged. "We're not stopping. We have to find the dead priestess."

"Kikyo."

"We need to get out of here," he argued, completely ignoring the irritable demon slayer's comment. "In case you have forgotten, monk, we have no food. None of us can buy food. Only Kagome could ever buy anything. If we don't get out of here soon we are all going to starve to death. Still want to rest for the night, MONK?"

Miroku took a deep breath. "Much as I would love to continue on, I don't see how that will be possible. We are, after all, only human."

"Miroku is right. We can rest for a few hours and then keep moving."

"I said 'no', Sango. I meant it." He stomped over to Sango and pulled the fire cat demon out of her arms. "Transform Kirara." With a meow the cat did as she was told. "Sango, Shippo, and Miroku can ride Kirara. Koga and I will take turns with the old hag."

"Kirara can't carry three of us indefinitely!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at Sango. "Fine! When she gets tired we'll let her rest while we all walk. But we go until she gets tired."

"What about when I get tired?"

Inuyasha ignored the wolf demon as he threw an outraged Kaede onto his back. It took a little maneuvering to get her on and still keep hold of the backpack. He ignored Koga's offer to at least take the bag. "Let's get moving!"

The travelers continued on throughout the remainder of the day and well into the night. All comments and complaints were ignored by their self appointed leader. Unless it was a lead on the dead woman they were hunting, he didn't want to hear it. It took a few hours, but eventually they realized that nothing they said was going to cause him to let up the brutal pace. It was Shippo who finally told them to leave him alone.

By the time the morning sun peaked over the mountain tops, everyone was tired and cranky. What was worse, the only thing they could seem to talk about was food.

"Can't we fish?" asked Shippo once Inuyasha indicated that they could stop for a few minutes to rest.

"Nay, young one. There are no fish in these rivers. There is no game to hunt. There is nothing alive in this land except for the five of you." Kaede gingerly let herself down from the dog demon's back before he decided to dump her on the ground. She stretched her arms towards the sky as she tried to work out the cramps in her body from the ride.

"But I'm so hungry!" he whined pitifully. "I wish Kagome was here!"

Miroku eyed the yellow pack as Inuyasha set it on the ground and sat beside it. "If only one of us were able to use that pack. Is there any sort of spell you can put on the pack, Kaede? It is full of food."

The elderly woman shook her head sadly. "Only the girl can use it."

"What about Sango? She's a girl too." He moved to pull the pack away from Inuyasha to give to the demon slayer, but was stopped short by a sound that he had only ever heard before on a horror show with the rabid dog... He didn't need a translator to know that if he touched Kagome's bag he would lose some vital body parts.

"Nay, only Kagome can use the pack. It is hers and hers alone."

Making more pitiful sounds, Shippo crawled to the pack and climbed in.

"Oi brat, get out of there."

"But it smells like Kagome." Inuyasha snorted, but left the kit alone.

"How come Shippo gets to touch the sacred pack?" grumbled Miroku to the girl standing beside him. Sango hid her smile behind her hand.

Kirara shrunk down into her cute kitten form and immediately went to sleep. Koga dropped down to the ground beside her and laid down as well to steal in a few winks while he could.

But before the wolf demon could get in that first wink, he felt a pair of eyes staring down at him. He looked up to see Shippo staring at him intently from the inside of the yellow pack.

"Koga wasn't with us... so how did he survive without Kagome feeding him?" He turned his gaze onto Sango and Miroku as well. "And you guys weren't with us for the longest time. How did you eat?"

"Kid, I don't remember a thing until the day before yesterday." Koga closed his eyes and willed himself back to sleep.

Shippo looked at Miroku. "How did you eat?"

"I... I don't remember eating... at least not until I ran into you guys. What about you, Sango?"

The demon slayer shrugged. "I don't think I did. How did we not starve? I don't understand." She walked over to the elderly miko who was still stretching. "Kaede?"

Sigh. "What do you recall of your times before you met up with Kagome?" She held up her hand to keep Sango from answering. "You recall pictures and emotions. But did you actually feel anything? Are you so certain you were actually there? I know the visions you saw of your loved ones, but that is all they were."

"I don't understand..."

A hand touched Sango's hand. "You think I am touching you, but you feel no warmth. I also do not truly exist." She smiled and withdrew her hand. "You were correct when you said that Naraku used all of you to get Kagome. You were kept in stasis until you were needed, false memories were implanted. While out of the young miko's sight you were simply existing, learning your part to play and waiting. But now that she has gone you are existing on your own. That is why the wolf recalls you as friends once more. That is why you feel hunger and thirst. That is why your bodies will soon die."

"Cheerful, isn't she?" asks Koga with his eyes still shut.

"Yeah, a regular Polly Sunshine," grumbled Inuyasha. "Haven't you found that dead girl yet?" he yelled.

"No."

After letting the group rest for exactly one hour, Inuyasha hustled them along to keep them going. This time Kaede rode with Koga. The morning quickly turned into the afternoon and everyone's mood darkened. It wasn't until Kaede told them that she felt the presence of her sister... at last... that they felt a spark of hope.

They hunted for the priestess for hours since Kaede couldn't pinpoint an exact location. Since there was no more threat of demon attacks they felt comfortable breaking up to go searching.

It was Koga who finally found the young woman who looked like a slightly older version of Kagome. It wasn't the fact that Koga was the one who found her that irked Inuyasha so much, it was the fact that he was walking with her hand in hand back to the point that they had designated earlier as their meeting spot. The wolf looked entirely too cozy with her.

"Kikyo."

"Kaede."

"Doesn't that just give you the warm fuzzies?" asked Shippo.

"Oh yeah, they just ooze sisterly affection," agreed Miroku.

Fighting his desire to rip Koga's hand from Kikyo's, Inuyasha asked, "So we have her. Now what?"

"Now we pray for a miracle."