Previously…

"Don't give up! I'm sure there's another way to get you back to our time," Kagome said reassuringly.

But Alice couldn't help but feel that she would be stuck in this world for the rest of her life. Why did this happen? Was all she could think as she dropped down on her knees in defeat and hit the ground in frustration so hard that it made her hand bleed.

Chapter 5: Helpful Advice

Alice felt a light touch on her shoulder and looked up to see Kagome next to her with sympathy glowing in her warm eyes.

"What now?" was all the girl could manage to say as Kagome helped her up.

"Well, let's head back to the village and see if Kaede knows of anyway back," Kagome replied.

"Kaede? Who's that?" Alice asked with little enthusiasm.

"Kaede's the village priestess," Kagome responded, "She's very wise and I'm sure she'll be able to help you. She helped me when I first came."

"Let's hope so," Alice said as they began to walk back to the village.

Alice let Kagome take the lead and saw that Inuyasha slowed his pace to match hers.

"Don't worry so much," he said, "I'm sure Kaede can help. But the best thing you can do now is to stop being all sad and depressed, it doesn't help anyone?"

Alice looked towards Inuyasha in surprise before she smiled and said, "Yeah I guess so. Thanks Inuyasha."

Inuyasha blushed a bit at her gratitude before he picked up his pace to catch up to Kagome saying, "No problem" as he passed by Alice.

As the group made its way to Kaede's house Alice found herself thinking about the situation she was in. Well it can't be all that bad she thought as they walked through the village. I mean, at least I know someone here and it's quite peaceful in this village.

"Here we are," Kagome voice interrupted her thoughts as she looked up to see that they were back at the house Kagome had taken her to earlier to bandage her wounds. Alice was about to go in when a person stepped out of the house.

"What?" Alice said as she saw that the person standing in front of her looked exactly like Kagome. Oh great, now I think I'm seeing things the girl thought as she looked at the two Kagomes

"Hey Kagome! You're back," the Kagome that stepped out of the hut greeted.

What? This isn't Kagome's voice at all. It sounds more like a kid's voice Alice thought feeling her confusion grow.

"What's going on here?" she asked, "Why are there two Kagomes? Do you have a twin or something, Kagome?"

"Twin? What are you saying?" the Kagome with the childish voice replied looking at Alice innocently.

"Not twins? But you look the same! Aah this is so confusing!" Alice responded in frustration as she brought her hand to her head.

"Knock it off Shippo," Inuyasha growled as he walked up to the childish Kagome and smacked her on the head.

To Alice's amazement the Kagome Inuyasha hit disappeared in a flash of smoke, revealing a little fox kid holding his head in pain.

"What was that for?" the fox demanded as he glared up at his attacker.

"What? Oh great, as if this place couldn't get any weirder," Alice sighed as she saw the little fox kid who looked over at her with curiosity in his sea green eyes.

"Who are you?" he asked Alice.

Alice looked at the kid for a moment before answering, "My name's Alice, Alice Kururugi."

"Wow, nice name! My name's Shippo. Are you from around here Alice?" Shippo questioned as he jumped up on Kagome's shoulder.

"Nice to meet you Shippo, but no I'm not from around here," Alice replied.

"Oh, then where…" Shippo trailed off as he noticed Alice's clothes, "Hey! Are you from Kagome's world?" She nodded while Shippo continued, "That's so cool! Did you come from the well to? What's it like over there? Do you hang out with Kagome?"

Alice was about to respond when Kagome cut in, saying, "Shippo calm down a bit, you just met her and now you're asking her a ton of questions. Why don't you ask those questions later? Right now Alice needs to speak with Kaede."

Shippo looked up at Kagome and nodded before turning around to ask Alice, "Sounds like you have a problem. Well if anyone can help its Kaede."

"Wow, you seem pretty calm for such a little kid," Alice replied.

"Kid? I'm not a kid anymore, I'm an adult now," Shippo said irritably.

"Don't be such a pain Shippo," Inuyasha said as he picked up the kitsune by his tail.

"What did you say?" Shippo challenged as they both glared at each other.

"Knock it off you two!" Kagome commanded as she grabbed Shippo from Inuyasha's hands and placed him on the ground.

"Keh, it's not my problem that he's being a pain it the butt," Inuyasha muttered as he looked down on Shippo.

"Oh yeah? Well I at least showed up to slay the demons outside of the village, unlike a certain someone," Shippo retorted. Inuyasha glared at the fox before hitting him on the head.

"Ow! What was that for!" Shippo yelled.

"Inuyasha! Sit!" Kagome said in frustration, causing the named to immediately do a face plant into the ground where he was standing.

"What was that?" Alice inquired curiously, "What did you do Kagome?"

"Oh that? That was the power of Priestess Kaede. You see, Inuyasha has an enchanted necklace and whenever I say S-i-t that happens," Kagome replied, pointing to Inuyasha.

Inuyasha sprang up and glared at Kagome demanding, "Hey, what was that for?!"

Kagome politely ignored Inuyasha and turned to Alice saying, "Come on, let's go talk to Kaede."

Alice sighed as she, Kagome, Shippo, and Inuyasha entered the house. Once inside, she noticed an elderly woman sitting by the fire pit she saw earlier.

"Are you Kaede?" she asked as she walked up towards the woman.

The woman looked up at Alice before saying, "Aye, I am Kaede. Who are you?"

Alice told Kaede her name as they all sat down around the fire.

"By looking at your clothes I can see that you must be from Kagome's homeland," Kaede said as Alice took her spot next to her.

"Yes, I'm from where Kagome is from," Alice replied politely, trying to be as respectful as she could to the elderly woman seeing as she might be the only person who could help Alice get back home.

"No need to act so formal young miss," Kaede chuckled, "Relax a bit and tell me, what I can do to help you."

The girl explained her situation from when she fell through the mysterious hole in her shed to when she jumped into the Bone Eater's Well, not mentioning being attacked by demons and saving herself. She looked over at Kagome and Inuyasha with a warning glance that screamed Tell her about my powers and your toast. The pair stiffened before nodding their heads in agreement.

Alice looked back over to Kaede and concluded, "Inuyasha and Kagome helped me out, and we came here hoping that you would help me find a way back home. Can you really help me?"

Kaede looked to be deep in thought and Alice began to doubt whether or not she could really help her return home.

"Please Kaede, you're my last hope of returning," Alice pleaded.

"So you really want to go home that bad? I thought Kagome brought you here, I can see that I was wrong now," Kaede replied while looking up. "Your story is very similar to what happened to Kagome when she first came here. But it's strange that the Bone Eater's Well didn't bring you back to your time," the elder continued questioningly.

"Yeah, I know! I thought for sure that it would work," Kagome chimed in.

"Unfortunately I don't have the slightest clue of why you can't return through the well. Maybe you were brought here for a reason and whatever that reason is you can't go home until you fulfill it," Kaede said to Alice.

"I was afraid of that," Alice replied sadly, "But what do I do now? I don't even know where I'm going to stay while I'm here, let alone where I'm going to stay tonight."

"I'm sorry this happened, it must feel horrible," Shippo sympathized as he jumped over to sit near Alice.

"Yeah, I wish I could help you or something," Kagome agreed.

"Well it can't be helped I guess," Alice sighed, "I guess I'll just have to find out this reason why I'm here and figure it out, then I can go home."

"How annoying. One moment you're happy and the next you're all depressed. Make up your mind already," Inuyasha spoke rashly.

Alice looked over to him in confusion as Kagome scolded, "Don't be so hard on her Inuyasha! A lot has happened to her today, give her a break."

"Whatever, it's not like she'll die if she can't return home," Inuyasha snapped back, flattening his ears to his head.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped before Alice cut in.

"Kagome, its okay! Inuyasha is right I'll be fine it's just going to take some getting used to that's all," she stated, not wanting another fight to occur between the two.

"That's right, and for the time being you can stay here with Inuyasha and everyone else," Kaede said to Alice.

Alice looked over to her with surprise shining in her ice blue eyes. "Really! Thanks so much Kaede!" she said gratefully as she hugged the elderly priestess.

"What?! No way Kaede! It's too dangerous to bring her around with us, even if she does have powers," Inuyasha objected.

"Inuyasha!" both Kagome and Alice yelled at the same time.

"Powers? What do you mean Inuyasha?" Kaede questioned as she looked over at Alice who sighed.

"I might as well tell you since my secret obviously isn't going to stay a secret for much longer," Alice replied as she glared at Inuyasha who finally realized his mistake.

Alice explained to Shippo and Kaede about her powers, where she got them, and how she fought of some demons she encountered on the way to the village.

"What a strange gift you have. Do you mind showing it to me?" Kaede asked Alice.

"Sure," she replied as she held out her hand.

The symbol of a star in the middle of a circle went around her as a small flame came to her hand.

"I can do other things like heal and use water and wind to attack but I found that it's easier to control fire than everything else," Alice explained as she made the fire go in circles around the fire pit.

"Amazing," Kagome, Kaede, and Shippo all murmured, mesmerized as they watched the ball of fire dance above their heads.

"And I don't think I'm that much of a burden, Inuyasha," Alice continued with a little anger in her voice, "I can take care of myself, and it would be nice to explore this place while I'm here. I might even be able to get back home faster if I travel with you."

"I agree with Alice," Kaede added, taking her eyes away from the fire ball to look at Inuyasha, "If something should happen it would be best for everyone to be together rather than apart."

"Keh, whatever. She can come with us if she wants, but if she thinks that I'll be protecting her from every little demon that comes our way she has another thing coming," Inuyasha reluctantly consented.

Alice stopped focusing on the fire ball, which disappeared at that exact moment, and glared at Inuyasha. "Thanks but I don't need your help to begin with," she snapped.

"Hey, well at least we will get to know each other better huh?" Kagome chimed in, trying to distract Alice.

Alice looked over at Kagome and smiled gratefully. "Yep, I can't wait. Thanks for your help," she replied happily.

"Well then, why don't I show you around the village, since you're going to be staying here for a while," Kagome offered as she helped Alice up.

"Sure, I might as well. Maybe someone in the village might be able to help as well," Alice replied as she got up.

"Good idea," Kagome agreed as the two began to walk out of the hut.

Alice let Kagome introduce her to the villagers, who seemed to be happy to meet the girl. After that, the young priestess led her around the village, showing her where the store was and where the villagers grew their crops.

"Wow this is all amazing," Alice said as she walked around the village, "This place is so peaceful and everyone's so happy. I don't think I'll mind staying here for a while."

"Yes, with Inuyasha to keep this place safe from demons everything is so nice and peaceful here," Kagome agreed.

When Kagome finished showing Alice around they both headed back to Kaede's house and saw Inuyasha standing impatiently in front of it.

"We're getting nowhere," Inuyasha growled as they walked up to him.

"I know, but it's not like we have any clues," Kagome replied, "It would've helped if you saw anything strange when you got here.

"You mean other than those demons and Inuyasha?" Alice chuckled, "I think after meeting you guys nothing seems to be strange anymore."

"Hey do you know what's weird to me?" Shippo asked as he jumped up on Alice's shoulder, "Why couldn't you return through the Bone Eater's Well like Kagome?"

Alice sighed and looked at Shippo. "Maybe it was because I didn't use the Bone Eater's Well to come here so I can't use it to go back like Kagome," she explained.

Shippo nodded, "Well I guess that makes sense."

"If that's the case, then there should be something like the Bone Eater's Well where you first came to this world don't you think?" Kagome asked.

"It's a good plan," Inuyasha agreed, "All we have to do is go back to where you first woke up."

"The only problem is that I don't really remember exactly where that was," Alice stated shyly, "I was panicking so much that I didn't have a chance to really figure out where I was."

"Oh great. You're such a big help," Inuyasha replied irritably.

If only I could remember where I was then I could get home a lot faster. Alice sighed Things just seem to be getting more and more complicated around here.

"What now?" Inuyasha asked impatiently, "Alice here can't remember a thing and it would take days to find out where she could've been"

"I know it's frustrating but just calm down a bit Inuyasha. There has to be something... I wish I knew if someone saw where you were Alice," Kagome said as she looked over at the girl.

"Wait, I remember now! There was this group of people that chased me when I first woke up. Apparently they thought I was a demon, how rude!" Alice stated angrily.

"That's great! If we find those people then maybe they can tell us where they first saw you," Kagome responded excitedly.

"Yeah but we've already searched the entire village and I haven't seen them anywhere," Alice replied.

"Well then we'll just have to go to the next village won't we?" Inuyasha answered, "If I'm right it's Akebi Village."

"Great then lets get going," Alice answered as she began to walk towards the village entrance.

"Hold on, "Kagome said as she stopped the girl.

"What's the problem?" Alice asked as she tilted her head back to look at the young priestess.

"The road to Akebi Village is a long one and it's quite dangerous. Demons are everywhere on the road to the village and will even attack you when you're near the village," Kagome replied.

Alice turned around and smiled as she said, "Don't worry Kagome! I'll be fine. I have my powers to protect me remember?"

"I guess, but we should still get ready," Kagome continued as she lead Alice to a nearby shop, "Lets pick up some medicinal herbs, just in case someone gets hurt."

After buying a few herbs, Alice tucked some in her kimono's obi and gave the rest for Kagome to put in her bag. Once finished, the two returned to where Inuyasha waited at the village entrance.

"Are you guys ready yet?" Inuyasha growled impatiently.

"Yes as a matter of fact, we are," Alice snapped back.

"Keh, whatever. Let's get going already."

Alice watched as Kagome got on Inuyasha's back and let Shippo get on her own back as the group set off towards Akebi Village.

"This isn't so bad," Alice commented as she ran beside Inuyasha, "There doesn't seem to be any demons out, and it's such a nice day." Alice smiled as she felt the sun on her face and the wind in her hair.

"I wouldn't be so sure if I were you," Inuyasha growled as he came to a stop.

Kagome got off his back and readied her bow and arrows as she got ready for battle. Alice unsheathed her own sword and ran up to stand near Inuyasha and Kagome. When she caught up to the two, Alice saw three demons come out of the trees up ahead.

"Ready?" Kagome questioned as she pulled back one of her arrows." Alice nodded and the fight began.

Inuyasha easily killed the first demon with one swipe of his claws and Alice quickly followed his attack by sending a fire ball at the second demon. Two down, one to… her thoughts were cut off as she saw the third demon heading straight for Kagome and Shippo.

"Kagome! Shippo! Watch out!" Alice yelled as she ran towards the two, but before she could take one step she saw Kagome release her arrow, which immediately was covered in a pink light, and killed the demon with ease.

Alice ran over to where the two were and looked at Kagome. "Wow that was amazing!" she praised Kagome.

"Oh it's nothing," Kagome replied, feeling a little bit embarrassed. Alice laughed and the group resumed their journey to Akebi Village.

/././././././

"So this is Akebi Village?" Alice asked as the group finally arrived at their destination, "It's so pretty here!"

While Alice marveled at all the shrines, Kagome got off Inuyasha's back and walked up to her.

"Yeah, this village does have a ton of shrines. I've heard that it even has a temple," Kagome said as the two walked around the village.

"Did you say temple?" asked a village man who came up to the girls.

"Yes we did, do you know where it is?" Kagome asked.

"Yep, it's to the north of our village. Unfortunately, demons have been spotted around the area so no one goes there anymore," the man replied sadly.

"That's terrible! Hey, I know! We can get rid of those demons for you," Alice spoke cheerfully, "What do you think about it Inuyasha? Kagome?"

"Keh, might as well," Inuyasha replied reluctantly.

"Well then let's go!" Kagome agreed and they began to head towards the temple.

As they walked through the village and old man came up to them saying, "Can't get out of here either huh?"

"What? What do you mean?" Shippo asked the old man.

"Oh, I thought that since your clothes were different you weren't from here," the old man replied.

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with us not being able to get out of the village?" Alice questioned.

"It's because of the spider of course," the old man replied, "There's a huge spider demon wandering around the place, and everyone here is too scared to leave the village because of it."

"Spider? Yuck! I hate spiders," Alice spat as she felt a shiver go down her spine.

"I hear ya," Inuyasha growled.

"I don't think that's the problem here guys," Shippo interrupted.

"Yes, it's not just any spider too," the old man agreed, "The thing's huge and its web catches almost anyone who comes near.

"Gross," Alice shuddered, "This just makes me hate spiders even more."

"Don't worry," Inuyasha replied, "We'll take care of that spider right away. Do you know where it is old man?"

"Yes, the spider lives in the old temple north of the village. Ever since I was young I've heard that it lived in that temple, but only just recently it has been coming to the village and hunting the villagers. Because of this, most villagers are too scared to leave the village and risk an attack from the beast."

"Recently? That means that it didn't chase people before? How strange," Alice murmured as she got ready for the journey to the old temple.

"Yes, but before you kids go, be careful. This spider is no little demon that can be defeated easily," the old man warned.

"Don't worry, we can take care of ourselves," Inuyasha reassured smugly.

"Well take care of yourself old man," Alice said in farewell as they headed towards the old temple.

"Good luck! May your journey be safe!' The old man called after them.


Talk talk talk... That's all I seem to be doing so far in this game, minus the constant demons. (Beware the purple clouds! xD)

Please read and review~