February 15

I've finally been able to settle down after a really tough journey. We've been traveling for a little over a day now to get home and we've settled down in another village to stay for the night.

Nearly a week ago, when I decided to leave to look for Inuyasha and Miroku, I went straight to Sango's house. She could immediately tell that I was extremely distressed and led me inside.

"Did you have another dream?" she asked when we sat on the couch.

"I'm not so sure that these are just dreams, Sango," I said. "Inuyasha was chained and was being hurt by someone. And Miroku…"

My voice trailed off and Sango began to get very worried. "What about Miroku?"

I hesitated as I tried to think of the best way to tell her what I saw.

It seemed to make her panic more though. She put her hands on my shoulders, the desperation in her eyes was apparent. "Kagome, what happened to Miroku?"

"The last thing I saw, he was alone fighting demons. There was a sword and a scream...it cut off before I could see exactly what happened."

Sango put her face in her hands and started to cry. I put my shaking hand on her shoulder trying to comfort her. "I didn't see exactly what happened. For all we know he's okay."

She looked at me with tears streaming down her face. "We have to go find them, Kagome. Do you know where they are?"

"That's the problem. The visions have been so vague about it that I'm not sure."

Sango wiped her tears and started to compose herself. "We can start with the village they went to. I know where it is. We can see if they know anything."

I agreed and we started to get ready to go. Sango put on her demon slayer outfit and gathered her weapons. We put together a small bag of supplies. Then we took the children and the cat to Kaede's house. She was surprised to see us geared up with our weapons and solemn looks on our faces.

"What's going on?" Kaede said when we got there.

"I know it's last-minute, Kaede, but would you mind babysitting for a few days?" Sango asked.

"Certainly," Kaede said, ushering us all in. "Where are you going?"

"We're going to go rescue our husband's," I replied. I gave her a brief summary of everything that had happened over the last few days and she was astounded and worried.

"My goodness, that sounds terrible. I hope you're able to find them."

"We do too," Sango said. She bent down next to her babies. "Be good for Kaede, my loves. We'll be back in a few days."

"Mommy, where are you going?" Mieko asked.

"Are you going to bring daddy home?" Midori said.

We had been trying to be as quiet about it around them as possible so as to not worry them but they were still quite perceptive.

"We're just going to pick up daddy and Uncle Inuyasha." Sango gave each of the kids a hug and kiss. "We'll be back very soon. I love you so much."

After saying goodbye to everyone, we got onto Kirara's back and continued on our way to the other village. We traveled as fast as we could discussing our theories of what was happening to Inuyasha and Miroku along the way.

We continued well into the night trying to get there as soon as we could but had to sleep at one point. When we finally did arrive at the village in the morning, we found the village headman and asked him about Inuyasha and Miroku.

"Oh yes, those two were extremely helpful," he said cheerfully. "Our village has been peaceful ever since."

"When did they leave?" I asked.

"They left days ago," he replied. "Should have been back home by now actually."

Sango and I exchanged a concerned look. "Do you know if there was any disturbance when they left? Anyone following them?"

The village headman said he hadn't seen anything and Sango and I left with our spirits even lower than before. We were out of leads until shortly after we left the village when an old woman came up to us.

"Are you women looking for a monk and a half-demon?"

"Yes, do you know where they are?" I asked. The woman was very old and gave off a little bit of a sketchy vibe but Sango and I were desperate at this point and any clue would help.

"I'm not sure of their destination but I did see a large group of demons around here a few days ago. The two of them were fighting. They were then taken away. I saw them go north."

"Thank you so much!" Sango said. We got back on Kirara and set off again. Even though we still weren't sure exactly where to go, at least we had something now and hopefully we would find more clues as we went on.

We traveled until sundown. As much as we wanted to keep going, we knew we would never have the energy to fight whatever was coming our way if we didn't sleep and eat.

We landed Kirara as we tried to find a place to camp out for the night when suddenly a man was running towards us. He looked afraid and injured. "Help! A demon!"

Sure enough, there was a demon chasing after him. Sango threw her hiraikotsu and the demon was destroyed. The man fell to his knees and I bent down next to him.

"Let me help you," I said to him. "I have some first aid supplies."

He gratefully allowed me to help him while Sango made a fire and started to roast some fish for us.

"What happened to you, sir?" I asked while I bandaged his wounds.

"It all started a couple days ago when I was returning home to my village," he said. "I ran into a man but he turned out to be a horrible demon. His name was...Byakuya. Yes, that's right, it was Byakuya."

Sango and I exchanged a look. We'd heard the name before.

"What did he look like?" Sango asked.

"He looked like an ordinary man, although a little flamboyant with his long hair and bright clothes. But he was a frighteningly powerful demon."

Our suspicions were confirmed. We knew it was Byakuya of Dreams, an old servant of Naraku.

"And what happened when you met Byakuya?" Sango continued.

"He threatened to kill me. But all of a sudden I was saved by a half demon and a monk."

I gasped. "A half demon and a monk?"

"Yes, both were very strong individuals. The half demon had this huge sword. They fought Byakuya and the half demon told me to run which I did."

"And what happened to the half-demon and monk afterwards?" Sango asked.

"I'm not quite sure. I certainly hope they were okay, they saved my life after all. But the fight took place north of here, on the way to the mountains."

We thanked him for the information and he thanked us for the food and first aid. His village was close by so we gave him a ride on Kirara but decided to go on our way to make up for lost time. We traveled as late as we could until we got tired.

Every night we spent out was restless and filled with deep worry about our husbands. Sometimes we talked about it but sometimes the fear became too much. That night I could hear Sango crying in her sleep. I was certainly no different.

I also had another vision that night. This one was just a brief flash but I could see Byakuya outside of some kind of fortress looking off into the night with his sword glinting in the moonlight. What's more, I could tell where he was. I knew the place, we had been there before. There used to be a mountain there.

When I woke up I immediately shook Sango awake. "Sango! Wake up!"

"Hmm? What is it?" she said, rubbing her eyes.

"Mount Hakurei!"

"Huh?"

"I had another vision. Byakuya is keeping Inuyasha and Miroku at the place where Mount Hakurei used to be."

That definitely woke her up. "Mount Hakurei! Great, now we have a destination. Mount Hakurei is a long ways away. We've got to get going!"

The sun was just starting to rise. We were both tired and weary from constantly worrying about our husbands but we had to get going. We had a very quick breakfast and then took off again. Neither of us had any idea what to expect when we got to the site of Mount Hakurei.

Eventually we arrived at the flattened expanse that marked where the old mountain had collapsed years ago after a fight with Naraku. However, when we got there, there was nothing out of the ordinary except a few demons floating around.

"If this is where they're being kept, where is everything?" Sango asked.

It wasn't immediately apparent, but with my spiritual powers, I could sense that the majority of the place was being protected by a barrier. I pulled out one of my arrows and shot it into the barrier. Sure enough, the barrier dissolved revealing a large, menacing-looking fortress being circled by hundreds of demons.

"Let's go," Sango said with determination.

We charged at the fortress fighting every demon that stood in our way. The only thing on our minds was finding Inuyasha and Miroku and getting them out of this scary place safely.

After fighting countless demons, we still hadn't run into Byakuya but found ourselves going down a dark corridor. It was kind of like a dungeon. At the end of the hallway, behind iron bars, there was a body on the floor.

"Miroku!" Sango cried.

We ran over as fast as we could and bent down on the floor outside of the bars. Miroku struggled to sit up when he saw us. He was covered in scratches and blood and bruises. "Sango? Kagome?"

"Miroku, darling, what happened?" Sango said, holding his hands through the bars. Tears streamed down her face.

"Byakuya, Naraku's incarnation, he's still alive. Trying to prove he can be more powerful than Naraku without the jewel." He groaned and I could tell there was a really bad wound in his chest.

"Miroku!" Sango sobbed. "Hang in there, it's going to be okay. I'll get you out."

"Miroku, do you know where Inuyasha is?" I asked, afraid that he was in a similar state.

"I think he's one floor above us," Miroku replied. "Byakuya separated us. I was surrounded by demons and fighting here. Byakuya stabbed me and trapped me down here. I could hear Inuyasha fighting somewhere else a while ago."

"Go find him, Kagome," Sango said. "I'll take care of Miroku, we'll be fine."

I was worried about leaving them alone, especially with Miroku in this state, but I also feared that if I waited too long I would be too late to save Inuyasha if I wasn't already too late.

I held my bow and arrow at the ready as I traveled through the fortress. The whole time I was terrified of what I would find around every corner. My heart pounded in my ears and my head snapped in the direction of every little sound. I found stairs and went up like Miroku said and I continued searching. I began to sense Inuyasha's demonic aura. Anana was right, I could spot it out of a million demons. It was different than usual; it was way stronger than usual although his purity was still there.

It led me to a room and that's where I found him. He was on his knees chained to a wall. Battered and bloody, he seemed unconscious and my heart sank into my stomach as I feared the worst. I ran over and bent down in front of him, noticing immediately that something was off about him. His claws were unusually long and sharp. When I lifted his face, his eyes were closed but there were stripes on his cheeks. I understood, his demon side had been activated at some point during this ordeal and was keeping him alive.

"Inuyasha," I cried. "Inuyasha, wake up! Please!"

Sure enough, when he opened his eyes they were red but as soon as he saw me, the strength of his demonic aura started to subside. "Kagome?"

"I'm here. It's okay." I put my arms around his neck and buried my face in his neck as I started to cry. After so many visions over the past week and spending every moment wondering if he was alive or not, I was relieved to be with him despite his condition.

"You shouldn't have come."

I lifted my head to look at him and noticed that his face had returned to normal. "Of course I came, Yasha. I knew something was wrong."

"It's a trap," he said. "You need to get out of here."

"I'm not leaving without you." I wiped the tears from my face and then tugged on the chains on his wrists. They were enchanted in some way, no wonder he couldn't break out. "We've got to find some way to get these off…"

Then I heard a chuckle from behind me; it was the same voice from my visions. When I turned around, there was Byakuya floating in the air behind me with his long hair in a high ponytail and his purple robes. The tetsusaiga was in his hand.

"He's right, Kagome. You shouldn't have come. Although I will say, it was easy to get you to walk into my trap."

"What do you mean?"

"Those visions you've been having? Don't tell me you haven't realized that I was planting those in your mind to get you to come here. Although, I guess you were so worried about your husband that you didn't notice."

So Myoga was actually right. The visions were being put in my mind to lure me into a trap. But there was still something I didn't understand.

"But Byakuya, why? Why are you doing this?"

"After you finally defeated Naraku, I thought I would be taken with him as his incarnation," he said gleefully as he circled us. "But I was expelled from his body and left on my own, weak and battered. I've been regaining my strength these past few years, sucking the power from demons and taking it for my own. I thought Naraku was weak, but I can do what Naraku couldn't and I can do it without the sacred jewel."

"So what did you need Inuyasha and Miroku for?"

Byakuya smirked. "Why not prove my strength by taking down the ones who destroyed Naraku? I will say, they put up quite a bit of a fight. I was impressed. I could have killed them, but I decided, why not get the group together? All I needed to do was lure their women here and I can take all of you down at the same time."

"You leave her out of this, asshole!" Inuyasha shouted at Byakuya, struggling against the chains again.

Byakuya laughed again. "There is nothing you can do, Inuyasha. Your strength has been greatly depleted and I have your sword. The monk will be dead from his wounds shortly. The demon slayer will die of grief if I don't get to her first. And you, priestess, I might not kill you." He flew over to me and ran his cold fingers across my cheek. It sent a disgusting shiver down my spine. "I might just take you for my slave."

Inuyasha growled and swiped at Byakuya with his claws but was again restrained. "Don't touch her!"

I kneed Byakuya in the gut and he stumbled backwards. "I would never do anything for you!"

"She's feisty, I see why you like her, Inuyasha," Byakuya said with another chuckle. "Very well, if you won't go with me, then prepare to die!"

He raised his sword but before he could attack, Sango's hiraikotsu flew at him and knocked him to the ground. The tetsusaiga flew from his hand and landed a few feet away from us.

"You leave them alone!" Sango said. She jumped off Kirara's back where Miroku was still sitting.

I took advantage of Byakuya's distraction and turned to the chains. They were enchanted with some kind of dark magic but I was sure I could use my spiritual powers to break the spell. While Byakuya was focused on Sango and Miroku and going on some spiel about how he was going to kill us all, I pulled out one of my arrows and shoved it into the metal of one of the chains. It dissolved into a shimmer of light and I did the same to the other one. Once his hands were free, Inuyasha pulled me into his arms. I sighed happily. It felt so good to be close to him again.

That feeling of bliss only lasted for a fleeting moment as Byakuya noticed Inuyasha had been freed and the tetsusaiga was on the floor. Byakuya dove in for the sword but wasn't expecting Inuyasha to have a faster way of getting it.

With one arm still around me, Inuyasha reached out his free hand toward the sword. "Tetsusaiga, come to me!"

The sword responded and flew into Inuyasha's hand before Byakuya could get it. Inuyasha put the sheath in his belt and pulled out the sword. Byakuya was now backed into a corner with Inuyasha's sword, my arrows, and Sango's hiraikotsu. He had expected to be able to take us down easily, but now seeing us prepared to fight him, he looked a little worried.

"Ha! I'm not afraid of you!" Byakuya exclaimed. "If you want to fight, then let's fight!"

And so the fight began. Byakuya definitely seemed much more powerful than the last time we had seen him. Even with the three of us, it was extremely difficult to fight him. At one point Byakuya had thrown the hiraikotsu back at Sango and she just barely dodged it. Then he also deflected Inuyasha's adamant barrage at us. Inuyasha immediately jumped in front of me and blocked the diamonds from hitting us with the sword.

Then I noticed something. There was a shining strip of light next to Byakuya. It made sense. Byakuya was still an incarnation of Naraku and if Inuyasha could get him into the miedo, Byakuya would face the same fate as Naraku and end up in the underworld for eternity.

"Yasha, do you see that?" I said to him.

It took him a moment but he finally picked up on it. "What is that?"

"Use the miedo zangetsuha," I said. "I'll make sure he falls into the miedo."

"Got it."

"Stop chatting over there!" Byakuya said. He raised his sword again. "The only thing you should be saying is your goodbyes!"

Inuyasha charged at Byakuya with the black tetsusaiga. Byakuya wasn't expecting that Inuyasha wasn't exactly aiming for him though.

"Miedo zangetsuha!" Inuyasha exclaimed as he sent the miedo blades through the strip of light. The miedo opened up behind Byakuya. Sango threw her hiraikotsu once more. Byakuya's arm was severed and his sword fell to the floor. I shot my arrow making sure that it would hit Byakuya with enough force that not only was he incapacitated, but he was thrown into the miedo and sucked in so that there was no way he cohld escape.

"No!" Byakuya shouted as he was sucked in. The miedo closed and Byakuya of Dreams was gone.