Thanks for the update

Whaaaaaat?! OMG I love this new twist!!! What will sesshoumaru think when he sees her on the other side??

Wh...wha...what!? Omg what just happened?! The questions are mounting and now the theories follow. This was a wonderful chapter even if it did leave me with more questions. Very well done. Seeing Midori and Kagome fight for dominance is going to be interestingto say the least with Kagome's more dominant personality triats but Midori's dominant beliefs in the feminine morals she's been taught.  Meeting Katashi this way is definietley going to stir up some trouble for sure. I can't wait!

How cool! We got to see something from Kagome's POV. So this is where she's been the past three months, with the big baddie villain. Whew. I wonder what's going to happen to her now. I can see signs of Kagome in there, and I hope she won't let Midori and Katashi push her around. She wonders why she can't forget Sess, but is it really possible for anybody to forget his gorgeous mug? I don't blame her at all.

Anyways, great job as always! Thank you for updating during your vacation :3

[Usual disclaimer about story spoilers and constructive criticism]

About this chapter:

Oh what a pleasure to see an email about this update in my inbox! This has definitely made my afternoon. I was SO excited to see a chapter from this new Kagome's point of view, and what an awesome voice she has. I love her transformation, and I think  it's awesome that she's got "Midori's" voice inside her head too.

Makes for some complicated shiznits and dramatic situations, but the greatest shock was seeing that the one who saved her was Katashi!! We finally get to see his cameo, and I have to say that he isn't what I expected at all. What's this marriage he's talking about and how real are these memories he's trying to force on Kagome? Why is he so protective of her and what does he plan to do with her? Did Midori exist before Kagome? Was she possessed? Or is this just a trick?

Ooooooooo, so many questions and the plot just keeps getting more and more interesting! No matter how much I read of this, I'm just not satisfied. I always need more!

Wow, I totally agree with what the previous reviewer said. This is an amazing story and I've never read anything quite like it. The way you've portrayed Kagome is amazing. You are so talented and your writing style is impressive. Keep up the good work.  Cant wait to read more. 

[More disclaimers about constructive criticism and more warnings about story spoilers here!]

So I'm finally caught up on the entire story. When I finished reading it all, I had to take a moment and sip on my tea while I thought about all of this and where it might be going.

I've read boatloads of Sesshoumaru/Kagome stories in my day, including works that have been labeled as paragons for this fandom [Out of respect for authors all across the board, I won't mention the names of these stories as I believe it might be impolite to compare stories to each other in my reviews]. I've been the head of Sess/Kag C2's on FFnet, and I've been a moderator and community manager for RP and other such stuff in this fanbase. So when I tell you that I can say with absolute confidence that this story [and your writing] has risen to the top of that list in my book, you should take it to heart. We're only five chapters in, but I can already tell that this is going to be a classic. 

What you have here is a tale of epic proportions that revolves around a romance rather than the romance itself being the center of everything. For some, romance is a key factor, but I personally like it when characters take time to develop their bonds [blame it all on my DnD fixation]. It's too early to tell if this is going to be a slow burner or not, but I do think that if Kagome and Sesshoumaru ever did get together, it would be one heck of a slow burn. I hope that you'll take your time developing their bonds and their relationship because if you do, then what they will end up with is going to be even more incredible. 

Meanwhile, you've built a world for us that's believable and interesting. This is a sandbox I could get just as lost in as I did in the original Inuyasha universe. You've done a marvelous job introducing some original characters and even giving Kagome a bit of your own flare. I like it a lot! If possible, I'd like to see what's been happening to our original heroes Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha, etc. but I'm sure you'll reveal all that in time.

Of course, I can't leave a review without a theory of what's going to happen next so here are my thoughts so far: 

We have a wish gone awry somehow. A power source like the Shikon can't just go out like a light. I can get behind that thought proccess. So now we have these stones scattered around, and from what the dream Kagome said,I assume that these might contain fragments of her soul. This fits with the cannon because, more than once, we were pointed to the fact that Kagome's soul is enormous. If it's split up into these fragments, then I'm guessing that we will have to find all of these pieces before Kagome can be Kagome again. 

I can't wait to see how this plays out and the new types of Kagome that we'll meet. Will she retain the key elements that made her unique as an individual? Will she develop new elements that will help her grow as a character? And how will Sesshoumaru react to all of this? How will he handle this massive war? He's been gone for three months, too! That tells me that he was trapped in another plane/realm, maybe something out of time like the dream Kagome mentioned. I can see it happening. If the Well can manage it, so can the Jewel. It reminds me a bit of the darkness where Kagome was trapped after the series. 

I'm sensing a huge conflict coming up with the other demon rulers, but I am wondering how Sess is going to balance dealing with that while still stopping Katashi. And Katashi: what a villain! A human who wields a demon weapon and has so much influence. I wonder what he'll be like. I want to see what drives him and what gives him so much power. I hope we can get to meet him soon.

Kagome has disappeared for the moment, but I'm sure that we'll see her again. I'm really intrigued by the child Kagome calling the grown up one "dark" and the "darkness" that Sess saw in her eyes. I wonder what this means for our heroine and how she'll fight that darkness in the future.

I'm sure that I'm not the only person who is amazed by this story, but I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the only ones who are abnoxious enough to leave such long reviews and theory crafts. I hope that that doesn't bother you, and if it does please let me know and I'll stop analyzing so much. I can't wait until you finish your next chapter, and I hope that the sickness you wrote about in your notes goes away fast.

-Thief

[More disclaimers about constructive criticism and more warnings about story spoilers here!]

Oh boy was this chapter a hunk of dynamite! I loved absolutely everything about it from the storytelling to the tension to the descriptions to the many emotional roller coasters I was taken on. Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! 

To continue my analysis of this insane plot: We've taken quite a step forward here. It seems like a plague has broken out in a certain area of Japan. This is something that neither the leader of the Relegation (Katashi?) or Sesshoumaru could have expected. This disease has turned this conflict into something more like a cold war, with spies running around and spreading rumors here and there. 

Jakken and Susumu take over here. I'm glad that you show that they aren't just a couple of useless servants. A lot of stories choose to portray Jakken that way [nothing wrong with that, but I like what you've done here]. They manage to find out some more information about this new faction for us. Apparently, they are already dug in to influencial areas of the human world. I'm guessing this is a bad omen for the demons, but we can't be sure of that yet. Just like we can't tell what Katashi is planning. 

We know, so far, that he's hunting for the stone. We know that the stone is something very powerful. And we also now know that the stones have some kind of direct connection to the child Kagome. There's something more to these artifacts though. I couldn't help but notice the descriptions of these "giant creatures" in the carvings that resembled gods. I couldn't help but see that you mentioned that there was a dog demon among them. Also, I noticed Sess's early on disdain of the Shinto religion and his mention that demons didn't believe in gods at all. I wonder how all of this is going to add up. 

The ending to this chapter was breathtaking and  I was in such a hurry to see what happened next that I decided to write this and the next chapter's review after I finished reading the whole thing. 

For those reading this review, there may be story spoilers ahead. Also, all of my words are written with the best intentions. I saw a couple of people give that disclaimer, so I will do the same.

It has come to my attention that I made pretty big dislexic typo in my last review. I meant to say "out of the frying pan and into the fire". This proves the theory that reviewing while having a series of martinis is not the best idea. That said, let's continue onwards and look at this mysterious chapter. Sorry for all analysis btw, but I enjoy theorycrafting about stories all the time. If I'm doing it for your story, it means that I'm wildly interested in the plot, so please take it as a compliment!

I'll be honest here - stories that have long spans of narrative aren't for me. I enjoy my huge action scenes and my dialogues. However, your narrative flows so well and so naturally that it doesn't even feel like tedious narrative. It's quite lovely, and I read it with pleasure and willingness. 

What we have going on here [as I understand it], is that the wish made on the Jewel didn't go quite as planned. At least, I have that feeling. Something else rose as a power source in its place. What that is, we don't know yet, but it's clear that it's something that might have been a threat in the past during the time of InuTaisho. 

What boggles me  is this stone. It seems like there used to be on in Osaka or somewhere in that area but now it's gone. Sesshoumaru knows that he has to find it before this Relegation and its leader, and from the clues we got, it seems like the Kagome-child can sense the stone's presence. Interesting. Now we have a treasure hunt, so to speak, that is time sensitive and a competition. But why can Kagome sense the stones? And she seems to know much more than she is letting on [the speech impediment doesn't help there]. 

I'm glad to see that Sesshoumaru at least sees her value now. Becoming reluctant traveling companions is better than seeing her as a burden or a curse. This last phrase was so awesome that it made me all squirmy and excited: 

And if Katashi is looking for the stone, then I will find him there - Sesshoumaru thought with more than a small dose of anticipation.I will not stop until I smear his corpse into the ground. Father once sought to destroy the artifact he seeks. Perhaps he even feared it being misused, but I - as the son that has surpassed him in every way - fear nothing.

Let's see what else you have in store for us!

For those reading this review, there may be story spoilers ahead. Also, all of my words are written with the best intentions. I saw a couple of people give that disclaimer, so I will do the same.

In this chapter, we are introduced to an original character named Susumu. So far, he seems very interesting and judging by his cameo on your cover art, I'm going to assume that he is important to the story somehow. Kitsune are known to be tricksters just like Sesshoumaru notes. Does this mean that Susumu isn't forthright in all his actions? Does this foreshadow a betrayal to come? 

I love his interaction with the child. She adores him right away [who can blame her? i would too if there was a handsome kitsune in front of me] while  he clearly doesn't like her and is even afraid of her for reasons that we don't know yet. This brings about more questions, successfully pushing the plot along.

In the series, not much was said about the ruling of Japan's land in regards to Taiyokai. I'm interested to see how you handle this aspect. So far, your provided map and the way you've described a building conflict is pretty cool and believable. Now that an heir to one of these "kingdoms" has been killed, we've been thrown out of the fire and into the frying pan. 

Let's see what's up next.

For those reading this review, there may be story spoilers ahead. Also, all of my words are written with the best intentions. I saw a couple of people give that disclaimer, so I will do the same.

In this chapter, we have a strong beginning, middle, and end. Sesshoumaru is confused about what happened, and I don't really blame him. I mean heck, I'm confused, but that's perfectly fine because it prompts me to keep reading to find out just what's happening. We get to see Sesshoumaru hunt, a scene that was wonderfully described and had my heart racing. I felt bad for those deer, and apparently the little girl did too. Here we see a little bit of Kagome shine through: she's protecting the innocent despite all danger to herself AND she's stubborn about it. Great job highlighting that! 

Sess isn't immune to her adorableness, and I can't really blame him for that either. I want to know more about her powers and what she can do, and I still have questions about whether she's Kagome. We haven't gotten official confirmation about that yet. 

Conclusion: Great job with this chapter! I'm off to read some more down the yellow brick road...

So complex! Great writing and plot. More pls!

For those reading this review, there may be story spoilers ahead. Writing analysis is what I do for a hobby, so feel free to ignore the wall of text that will no doubtedly follow. Also, all of my words are written with the best intentions. I saw a couple of people give that disclaimer, so I will do the same. 

About chapter 1: 

Gripping. From the first word, I was hooked, and the feeling persisted throughout the entire chapter. In this chapter, we are first introduced to Sesshoumaru's point of view. I think that you write him very well. He has a strong, confident, and arrogant thought process that matches what you might expect from his personality. 

Continuing on, you weave so many small details into the ceremony that it isn't difficult to imagine what's happening. Most authors struggle with that, but from reading this chapter and witnessing your mastery of narrative and prose, I can tell that you've mastered this. 

I did not see the ending coming, I'll be honest. I couldn't have expected it, and the twist was so well written and placed that it really caught my curiosity and made me want to read more. Your description of the child was splendid, and Sesshoumaru's reaction to her was wonderful too. 

The final words leave us wondering about what's going to happen. They are powerful and striking, and they definitely set the scene for what's going to come. 

Based on your article on reviewing on both FFnet and WDC, I wanted to mention that you shouldn't need to worry that there aren't an insane amount of responses to your story just yet. If you consider the fact that this story has been up for just under 2 weeks and already has this many reviews, I believe it's a good sign. And that's not considering the responses I've seen on your pages on AO3 and FFnet. 

So keep chugging, keep plugging, and keep working hard. I know that there are many people that love your work who don't mention it because they're too busy, too shy, or other reasons [like reading on their phones]. 

Right now, I'm off to write a similar analysis for chapter 2. See you there!

You left so much riddles and I LOVE riddles

Just finished the whole thing. Dang. Give me more please! This story is so amazing. You have so much talent!

Why arent there more reviews for this? it reminds me of a published novel so good!!

pretty cool start. havnt read anything like this before.

Well damn. This was not what I expected, but don't get me wrong - I LOVE IT. I hope there's more twists like this to come. Now I'm wondering what in the world all of this means and how Sess is going to fight a war on so many fronts, so to speak. I can't believe that the other lords have the guts to stand up to him, but that's politics for you I guess...

I'm really loving this story, so unique! I can't wait to see where this will go... Your writing paints such vivid and beautiful imagery, I can't wait for the next update to see where I will be transported to next.

O__________O.....whoa....