Japanese Snake: Casino Gangs is now POSTED! Go to my user page and look for it in my stories. It's just the first chapter, but at least it's a start, right?

To clear things up:

The mystery of Kikyou's death, mystery no longer. Kanna, sister of Kagura, made an agreement with Kikyou behind Naraku's back. Kanna agreed to kill Kikyou, since she wanted to die but didn't have the gall to commit suicide, and Kanna wanted a way to free her sister of Naraku and of the yakuza entirely. Kikyou did her part by preparing the paperwork for Kagura to "become" Kikyou once the opportunity arose, and Kanna killed Kikyou, letting her save face in front of the FBI.

Since Naraku is a shape-shifter, he took Kagome's form and poisoned/shot Inuyasha. When Inuyasha woke up with Kagome there, his demon instincts compelled him to attack his attacker, thus gouging partially the bullet-proof vest she had adorned.

Oh, and if you're wondering where the vest came from, refer back to chapter 13 when Kagome is going through Inuyasha's stuff before going to rescue him. "Kagome came across some more-than-helpful items and quickly put them on her person." This included the vest, as that was what I was alluding to in the first place. (I was never planning on killing Kagome despite some of the readers' brief fears.)

Naraku kidnapped Rin, using her to manipulate Sesshoumaru, Kohaku, to conquer the world, Miroku, to manipulate Sango, and Inuyasha, to get him out of the way.

I had someone ask how Naraku was able to kidnap Rin when she was so precious to Sesshoumaru…my answer? How did Naraku kidnap Rin in the series? Sesshoumaru does not necessarily have Rin under 24-hour surveillance, no matter how important she is to him.

Hojou was on Naraku's payroll, and was a part of the incident in Japan four years previous to this story (on Naraku's side)…maybe I should do a prequel?

Any other questions? Just review and ask. If you leave a signed review, I'll try to give you a personal response.

Since most of you are begging, I have started a sequel. I had the plot idea in my head before any of you asked for it. Title: Japanese Snake: Casino Gangs. Look for it in my stories.

Teaser:

Kagome held the serving tray in her right hand, maneuvering through the throngs of people trying to strike it rich through gambling. She finally found the table she wanted and set out the drinks, eyeing the four men around the poker table.

One of them was wearing a Rolex watch and based on the bulge in his coat-pocket, he was packing a pistol. What was this, the Old West? After a quick assessment of the remainder of the players, Kagome tucked the serving tray under her arm and strode off, keeping her ears open for any potential disturbance.

As she passed a table of drunken card players, Kagome felt one of the men feel up her backside, laughing with his buddies like the idiot he was. All Kagome could do was grind her teeth and bear it, or she would be fired this time for sure by Kouga's uncle.

Speaking of Kouga, he hadn't been around for a couple of weeks. Kagome stepped behind the bar counter and set more drinks on her tray, silently mulling over the possibilities of what could have happened to her fiancé.

The thought of marriage made her feel sick, but she didn't have the courage to tell him no after everything he had done for her over the years. Maybe if Agent Jidai had been around, things would have played out differently. As it was, Kouga proposed just as they arrived in Las Vegas, and the next day when she called her mom, she found out that Inuyasha had shown up at the shrine looking for her.

But that was two years ago and Kagome hadn't heard anymore from the FBI agent that had seemingly kidnapped her both physically and emotionally. If she saw the man again, Kagome didn't know if she would deck him or jump him. Maybe both.