Let's see, this is going to be rather short, I fear. It's late, and since I was bad and skipped my classes today, I can't do it again tomorrow. Therefore, short chapter.

Although, I'm so very glad that there are people out there who are reading my stuff. Half the reason I've never really posted much before is because I felt people probably wouldn't be terribly interested in what my imagination throws at me. But apparently there are. Wai! You people rock!

Oh, and I know I've mentioned this before, but if you've got a copy of David Lanz's Cristofori's Dream, pop it on. It really makes this chapter a heck of a lot creepier.

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It seemed as if the very environment itself was attempting to block their way to the ruins of the old castle. Fog curled around them and obstructed their view of the trail. Several times they had to pause to get their bearings, even with the sharp noses of InuYasha, Shippou, and Kirara. The forest through which they traveled was dim, dappled light shone occasionally through the gnarled branches of the old pines.

They had left at a reasonable time from the old widow's house, and there in the village the sun had shone brightly overhead. However the further north they traveled, the cloudier the sky became. The mist had appeared just before they had entered the forest they now traveled through.

The journey was unusually quiet, for the forest was devoid of even the normal sounds of other creatures. Occasionally, a bird would cry far off in the distance but that was the extent of it. "I feel like I'm in a Kurosawa movie." Kagome said to herself. "A what?" Sango asked. "It's…a sort of way of theater in my time." She replied for lack of a better explanation. "Kurosawa is a well known master of it." How exactly did one go about explaining feudal era samurai drama to those living it daily? "So, they still have Noh and theater during Kagome-sama's time?" Miroku walked up to the two. "Yes, Noh is still around as well as many other types of theater." The conversation continued along this vein until InuYasha, who had been uncharacteristically quiet up until this point growled at them to shut up.

"What? All we're doing is trying to relieve this depressing atmosphere." Kagome narrowed her eyes at the sliver haired boy in front of her. "I'm trying to hear if there's anything out there in front of us and I can't do it with you idiots yakking away constantly!" "Idiots?! There's nothing out there! We've already passed this tree 3 times and…" her rant died off as realization of what she had just said dawned to her. "We're going in circles." InuYasha nodded. "We've been going in circles for a while now. It's this damned mist! It's throwing all my senses off. This forest is so damned quiet there's nothing to hear to tell me where we're going and the only scents are our own and the mist and pine." He growled and punched the trunk of the nearest tree in frustration. "Why don't we take a break for a little while? Maybe we can find our way better after that." Kagome cast a worried look at the hanyou. "Wai! Break!" Shippou began digging through Kagome's bag for the candy he knew was in there.

"InuYasha, are you alright?" Kagome approached cautiously, in a state like this there was no telling what he was libel to start doing. InuYasha remained standing straight up, bangs shadowing his eyes, fist firmly against the tree next to him. "It's not natural." "What's not?" "The mist. I should at least be able to smell something other than just it and the pine, but there's nothing else out there other than us." She looked around. "It is pretty quiet. Almost as if…" "Don't. Say. It." She blinked at the force of the words. "Okay. I'm kind of hungry, it should be about time for lunch. Why don't you come have some cup ramen?" He glared out into the mist. "I'm not hungry. I'll stand watch instead."

Kagome gaped. InuYasha was refusing instant ramen. Something was so entirely wrong here she didn't know were to begin. Not knowing what else to do, she returned to where Shippou had thoroughly excavated her bag and was happily munching away on Pocky and lollipops. She pulled out a box of instant yaki soba and moodily began preparing hot water. "Kagome-chan?" "Kagome-sama?" "He refused ramen." The monk and the demon exterminator gaped. Shippou's s lollie nearly fell out of his mouth. "Something is very wrong in this forest." Miroku observed. "There are no birds, no other creatures, none of the usual sounds of a forest. It's as if it's…" "Don't. Fucking. Say it." The growled out words caused a shiver to go down the spines of everyone in the small circle. "What's wrong with him? InuYasha's more grumpy today than usual." Shippou crawled next to Kagome, looking up at her with a lollie stick hanging out of the side of his mouth.

She looked over at the Half demon, her eyes sad. "I wish I knew, Shippou-chan. I wish I knew."

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Lunch was completed in silence; everyone was a bit touchier than normal and none so touchy as the half demon in the lead of the group. InuYasha had barely spoken two words all day aside from growled threats. And those growled threats were much more serious than normal. Kagome was well and truly worried, as was the rest of the odd little group. "This way." He nodded in the direction they had been heading earlier and took off. The others were hard pressed to keep up and the fog intensified suddenly.

"InuYasha!" Kagome cried out. "InuYasha were are you?" "Kagome-chan?" Sango's voice was right beside her, she held out a hand and felt the demon slayer grasp it. "Kagome, I'm scared! This stuff's creepy." Shippou hid partially under her hair. "It'll be okay, Shippou-chan." "Houshi-sama?" Sango called. "Housh-sama are you…AAIIEE!!" SMACK!! "Ahahaha…forgive me, Sango. I thought that was your hand." "WHICH PART OF IT FELT LIKE MY HAND?!!!!" Kagome sighed, relieved that at least most of the group was together. But one silver haired, stubborn half youkai was missing. "InuYasha!!!!" She called out again.

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InuYasha was lost. Really lost.  Not that he'd ever admit it. Fog surrounded him on all sides and he could barely see his hand in front of his face. And the others were no where around. Shit. I've done it now. She'll 'sit' me so hard I won't be able to sleep right for days. He twitched a little at the prospect.

Stupid rosary beads.

Stupid command.

Stupid Kagome.

"InuYasha…" His ears flicked forward. There in the distance. "Kagome?" He ran forward a bit. "InuYasha…" the voice called again. No. Not Kagome…but familiar. "InuYasha…" "Where the Hell are you? Who are you?"  "InuYasha…Over here, come."

He ran towards the voice, over a little. To the left, and then…The mist thinned and a figure was visible within it. He squinted, trying to make out details. "Who…?" "Here. Come here, Inu-chan." Golden eyes widened in horror as the figure approached and details became clear. "Please…no…not again…"

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"InuYasha!!" Kagome winced as her voice broke and cracked yet again. She'd been calling out for that idiot for what seemed like hours, her voice was nearly gone. Where was he?! "Kagome, stop. He'll hear us if he's around. You're hurting yourself." Shippou gave her the 'I'm-Ever-So-Cute-Won't-You-Do-As-I-Ask' look. "But, he…" her voice broke again. "Kagome-chan, Shippou-chan is right. He'll hear. Please, you're loosing your voice and need to rest it." Sango squeezed her hand reassuringly within the thickness of the fog. Kagome sighed and nodded. They continued trodding on within the fog.

Finally, it cleared just as the forest ended. And there, standing with his back to them looking out over the distance, was InuYasha. "InuYasha!" Kagome ran forward. "You jerk! What's the big idea running off ahead of us and getting lost like…" She trailed off as the boy turned to her. His golden eyes were…there was only one word she could come up with.

 Haunted.

 "InuYasha…are you alright?" She placed a hand on his shoulder. Still looking at her with those haunted golden eyes he pointed a little was out into the distance, where the remains of what must have been a once grand palace sprawled out. The entire right section was a charred ruin and the rest in various states of disrepair and abandonment.

"We're here."

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Woo…ever had one of those things that just kind of wrote itself? This did. Omigawd it was eerie. No clue where this was going, I just popped on Cristofori's Dream, started typing, and then bam. Here it was.

Oh, and if you're wondering about Kagome's statement on Kurosawa movies. Heh. I just watched 'Throne of Blood' in class. I blame that. Come to think of it. I blame it for the misty forest too.

I swear! There will be ghosts in the next part. I just had to get them here first.

So…want more? Review! It makes me write faster, since I'm obsessive over how many people will actually read my stuff.