AN: Some information about the story I think may be important to keep in mind:

1. This story is not AU, so any incarnations of Naraku and their magic (Kagura, Kanna and her mirror, etc.) will not be here, nor will Kikyo. Nothing personal, I'm just trying to write this as if what happens in the series didn't happen, which means Naraku doesn't have the power of the Shikon shards to create incarnations.

2. Mortals from the Sengoku Jidai (Sango, Miroku, etc.) will be reincarnated with different names (I firmly do not believe in coincidences of sharing a name with a former incarnation, even if it does make things easier), but to make things simpler, their genders will remain the same, and their habits will primarily be the same (though these souls have had five hundred years to mature and will not be entirely like their Sengoku Jidai counterparts). If you have any problems figuring out who is who, just ask (press the magic review button grins) and I'll stick up a list later on.

3. Any youkai from the Sengoku Jidai (Sesshoumaru, Kouga, Inu-Yasha, Shippo, etc.) will likely be different from who they are in the series, since, after all, they are five hundred years more experienced (though perhaps not wiser) than their past selves. (With the notable exception of Inu-Yasha, who's going to be stuck to the Goshinboku for most of those years. He could use the long nap, he's awfully cranky, ne?)

4. This is going to be considerably longer than any other story I have ever written, and apologies in advance for any confusion, as I'm making this up as I go along. Please point out any plot holes and other mistakes I may make.

And now that that's done with, on with the story!

Chapter One: A New Beginning

"God does not play dice with the universe; He plays an ineffable game of his own devising which might be compared, from the perspective of any of the other players, to being involved in an obscure and complex version of poker in a pitch-black room, with blank cards for infinite stakes, with a Dealer who won't tell you the rules and who smiles all the time."

- Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, Good Omens

- June 17, Tokyo, Japan -

Kagome had been fighting a migraine all day. Fighting it never helped, indeed, it often worsened the effect, and today was no different. She had wandered through school and the house heavily dosed with painkillers, deadening her senses enough to make her seem drunk, and now all she wanted to do was go to sleep. Reality, she knew, had different plans in the form of tests and annoying little brothers. And the strange tugging sensation she had had all day didn't look like it was going to end anytime soon. What a marvelous birthday this turned out to be, she thought to herself.

"Come on, sis, help me find Buyo!" Souta said. "I think I saw him go into the well house. And I don't want to go in there. Gramps will yell at me."

Kagome rubbed her forehead, trying to keep control of her deteriorating temper. "And he won't yell at me?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at the boy. "No, Souta, I have to study for this math test. It's important. Go find him yourself," Her attention returned to the book in front of her.

"Kagome," he whined. "You study too much. It's your birthday; you should be outside, sunning or something. And helping me find Buyo. He's your stupid cat."

"No. If you saw the cat in the well house, you can go get him from there. There's no such thing as a haunted well house." She forced her brother out of the room and closed the door behind him, locking it.

He banged on the door for a bit, then there was the sound of footsteps going down the stairs and the slam of the front door. Kagome sat back down at her desk. "I hate math. Stupid tests, stupid Souta. I need to study or I'm going to fail."

Looking at the textbook, the writing that had once been triangles and formula blurred together as her headache increased, and she instinctively curled up, trying to escape the pain. Underneath her hand, one side of her stomach began to grow hot, and she felt warm liquid running through her shirt onto her fingers. Trying to ignore the pain in her head, she opened her eyes to look at her fingers. She was bleeding.

"What in the world?" She pulled her shirt up. A red gash had appeared across her right side and was bleeding. As she watched incredulously, it began to glow with an eerie pink-white light and then the cut suddenly disappeared, with only a small star-shaped scar and still wet blood left. "What was that? Did I fall asleep studying and get into a dream?"

:: You foolish girl. ::

Her head snapped up from looking at the strange scar to look around the room. "Who's there?"

:: It might have been an unselfish wish, Kagome, but you have royally screwed up. You were supposed to go back. And now everything is different. Perhaps it is not all for the worse, but everything you changed, for better or worse, has been removed and history changed yet again. Do not screw up this time. Repetition of previous mistakes will only get you so far. ::

Kagome covered her ears with her hands and closed her eyes. "I'm going insane. First I start bleeding without ever getting hit, then the wound glows, then it heals, and now voices. Next come the hallucinations."

:: Shut up, open your eyes, and listen to me, little girl! I don't have time for your foolishness::

Kagome opened her eyes. There was that funny light again, this time hovering over her open textbook. If she stared long enough, she could almost make out eyes glaring at her. "Yup, there's the hallucinations. I'm certifiably mad now."

She could hear it sigh. :: Stupid human. I had hoped you would retain some of your maturity, but obviously everything has returned to step one. I will send someone over to watch out for you. Multiple someones, but those will show up as the time calls for it. So when the ball starts rolling, you will have some form of protection. Just try not to get into too much trouble. ::

Kagome was pretty sure she was either insane or dead. Why else would she be listening to a strange bright light that kept babbling on about protection and wishes and changes?

:: I am not allowed to interfere more than I already have, thanks to that stupid wish. Don't show anyone that scar, either. The right, or wrong, person sees that scar, they will figure out exactly what happened and you'll be dead before anyone can stop them. ::

Kagome did the only sensible thing she could think of. She fainted, her head falling towards the math book.

:: I can't stand mortals. Always fainting on me. :: The light disappeared.