Disclaimer: Hey, you know Inuyasha? Yeah, I don't own it, but you still love me anyway... right??? RIGHT????

Thank you to the reviewers who reviewed (especially to MoonGodess2 who's review showed up in my mailbox at least 4 times)

I'm so so so so sorry for the delay. This chapter was so hard to type. This was probably the hardest chapter to type. I guess the ending always has the most pressure, so its always hard. But that wasn't the only problem. Well, first of all, my computer crashed a few times, and my internet was being shitty again. But luckily, I won't have those problems anymore. Sorry again. Now for the depressing news that you care about. People. I have some bad news, this is the last chapter!!! Yeah, doesn't that suck? I had fun with my first successful story. The first story I finished, and you definitely expect more stories from me. I already have an outline for 2 stories, 2 one-shots, and like a million songfics I might just post for fun. Okay, so please review this story. Please??

(Oh, and PS to people who are reading this, like in a few months or so, I still appreciate reviews, sorry I'm desperate for attention)

I'm not going to babble anymore. So here's the last chapter, Chapter 20. Enjoy it!

(PPS. This chapter is very short. Like I said, there is no way to make it long. So just enjoy the fact that I'm ending it.)

The Haunting of Youkai Castle

by Usagi Kurari

Chapter 20

"Run Kagome, Run!"

Kagome tried to run, tried to move at the very least, but her feet were glued to the floor. She just stared wide-eyed at the figure standing in front of her. It's eyes glowed an eerie red, and that was all she could see of its face, or of the figure for that matter. It's head leaned down towards her, and pretty soon, she could see straight into the hood. Suddenly, the eyes dimmed, and they became a red-violet color. Kagome could now see the face hidden in the darkness. Cloaked in the hood was a man. He looked like a normal human too. He had a round face, narrow eyes, thin lips, and she could see a strand of black hair dangling near his ear. She recognized the face. It was the face from the portrait.

It was Naraku under the hood.

Kagome looked up into the face, the eyes that had haunted her, mocked her from their home on the wall for the past few weeks. Naraku was behind all of the bad events that had happened. Her possession, the incident in his office, the deaths of her two friends, everything.

"I'm...I'm not afraid of you," she managed to get out.

"Why is it you look so much like that dead miko?" Naraku said puzzled.

"What dead miko?"

"Lady Kikyo."

Kagome shrugged.

An evil chuckle erupted from his throat as he grabbed Kagome's neck, and hoisted her two feet above the ground. "Maybe this is where my darling went." His large hands continued to crush her windpipes. As a result, barely any air was entering through her mouth. It just came out again in big gasps, chokes for air. She tried to move her hands and pry his away, but his grip was too strong. Her lungs were about to explode inside her chest. She thought it was over.

I haven't even said good-bye. She thought to herself. My mom, my little brother, Kaede...

Speaking of which...

Where was she anyway?

Suddenly, she could breathe again. Air was pouring into her lungs, and she realized she was on the ground again. Had Naraku given up?

Kagome grabbed her throat, gasping for air, and opened her eyes. Naraku was gone. What had happened?

"We distracted him," an unfamiliar, yet a very familiar voice said behind her.

Kagome suddenly became very alert, and jumped to her feet. She turned around, twirling her head, trying to find the source of the voice. "Hello," she called out.

"Hello."

Kagome turned around, and there stood Kikyo. Now being able to see her in person, she did look a lot like an older version of herself.

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but Kikyo spoke before she had a chance to. "Naraku has been distracted for a little bit," she said. "But you still need to find him."

"But where is Naraku?" Kagome asked.

Kikyo didn't say a word, just pointed up the stairs, and soon vanished.

"Wait!" Kagome called ou,t running towards where the past version of herself once stood. She was too late though, Kikyo was gone. Kagome sighed in frustration, and flung herself onto the ground. "What am I supposed to?" she said out loud to herself. She rested her head on her hand, and decided to finally go up the stairs. She walked up slowly, and cautiously up the stairs. What would decide her fate? It was waiting for her at the top of the stairs.

She reached the top of the stairs finally, and looked around. Where was she supposed to go now? She suddenly found herself looking at the empty golden frame that had once held the portrait of Naraku. She walked up to it, and placed her hand on the frame. It was as cold as ice, so she quickly removed her hand. When she faced her palm up to her, she realized it was covered in blood. She looked up at the portrait again, and screamed.

You're next. It said written in blood.

Kagome ran down the hallway to her left, and kept running. She turned down corridors, and into doorways until she was out of breath. Finally, she stopped to rest. Then she realized where she was.

She was in front of that door. The door that she and Sango had come across in the beginning of their stay. Funny, there was no smell. Kagome took a deep breath, and decided to open it. She walked up to the door, and placed her hand on the knob. She slowly turned it, and pulled the large door open with all her strength. A blinding light filled the room, she couldn't see any of it. It made her eyes water, so she shielded them. Finally, the light cleared and she got a look into the secret room.

It was a bedroom. A simple bedroom. It wasn't that big. It had chests and drawers lining the walls, along with paintings which were covered in dust and cobwebs. The only other thing in the room was a large bed covered in white sheets. Kagome's face lit up in a smile for the first time in what seemed like years. The room made her feel so peaceful and tranquil. It made her forget all of her troubles and fears. She walked over to the bed, and moved her hand across the sheets. Surprisingly, there was no dust on any of the sheets. At least Totosai did something she thought to herself. Feeling tempted she sat down on the bed. It was so comfortable, she laid down in it.

This is great!

Then reality hit.

Why was it closed off then? There has to be a reason.

Kagome suddenly felt a chill run down her spine. Goosebumps popped their way to the surface of her skin, and she felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up on end.

Somebody's here. Somebody's in this room with me.

She quickly sat up, and looked around. She wasn't in the room anymore. She was just in nothing. Everything around her was all black. She was trapped in darkness.

She stood up, and walked around. "Hello," she called out. "Is anybody there?"She paced back and forth, calling out, but no one came to her aid. In frustration, she plopped herself back on the ground. How did I get myself into this mess?

Ohhhhh.

Not him again.

I know who is here with me.

Naraku is here.

He lured me.

Kagome stood up quickly, and shouted into the darkness. "Where are you, you piece of shit! Come out!" Did I just call him a piece of shit? That's not good.

Suddenly, a burst of wind came out of nowhere, and blew the girl off her feet. Where had this wind come from? She thought to herself. Opening her eyes, she saw something far off into the black. It was a small form. As time went on, it came into view, and it started to take the shape of a small girl. She was wearing a fancy kimono, had short dark hair, and had something in her hand.

Was that Kagura?

"She was one of the more faithful of the children," Naraku's voice echoed. Kagome got up onto her feet, and looked around for Naraku. Where is he?

Soft footsteps came from behind her. She turned around, and looked for the source of the sound. Finding none, she stared into the darkness around her. Suddenly, a hand touched her shoulder, and forced the girl to turn around. When she turned around, that was the last thing she saw.

She saw Naraku, totally bare, with a knife in his hand. In his chestshe could see many heads trying to force their way out.

"Kagome, Kagome," the heads called. They moaned and screamed, but Naraku just smirked. He raised the dagger, and ran it through Kagome's chest. She let out an ear-piercing scream, and fell to the ground.

"I won Kagome. I won,"

Kagome tried to force herself to keep her eyes open, but the pain was to great.

I'm so tired.

"Last stop of the day. The northern Alps of Japan. All passengers who are exiting the train, watch your step and have a nice rest of the day"

Where did that voice come from?

It was getting harder and harder to keep her eyes open, and Naraku started to fade away. So this is what its like to die? Kagome stared into Naraku's eyes, and closed hers....

...She opened her eyes with a jerk. They flew open, and she sat up, gasping for air.

"Last stop of the day. The northern Alps of Japan. All passengers who are exiting the train, watch your step and have a nice rest of the day," the conductor over the PA announced.

"Are you okay?" somebody said to her. She looked up into the eyes of a boy around her age. He had long silver hair, golden eyes, and had a cowboy hat on his head.

Inuyasha

"Yeah," she said back to the boy. "I'm fine. Just had a nightmare."

"Okay," the boy walked past her, and exited the train.

It was just a nightmare. It's not real. The castle is not haunted. Kagome gathered her suitcase, and exited the train, and looked around for Kaede.

Here it goes.

HAHAHAHAHA! I'm evil for putting Kagome through that again. Hehehehe

In case you didn't get it.. Here's the overall ending.

1) Naraku needed souls, so he used Kanna's mirror to help him collect souls. The heads in his chest were the souls of the children. He had collected them again.

2) The whole point of the ending was to show that not every story ends happily. I wanted to give off the impression that she was going to go through hell all over again. But you can also say that she was going to get cured, and find true love, or something like that. The story is a "IT's your opinion" story.

Here's the summary for my new story: The trials of Love and Death.

Summary: Escaping a horrible past of murder and abuse, Sango vows to never fall in love again. However, she meets up with Miroku, a boy who's life is about to come to a halt. Will Sango find love before its too late... for both of them?

See you soon,

Usagi Kurari