Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, and this story is not for profit, only for entertainment.

A/N: I apologize for the long interval between updates. I sort of... well, I didn't really have a plan, and I forgot I had this up and running. Ah well... I'm here and back to work again! Enjoy!

Part Three:
Kikyo

She wasn't running- there was no way she was going to act like she was concerned, or in a hurry. Calmly and cooly, just like always, just like a huge chunk of her soul was residing elsewhere (which, in fact, it was), she made her way to the barrier.

Standing in front of it were the traveling companions of the hanyou: a monk- she knew Naraku had cursed him with some sort of hole in his hand, a demon exterminator- she knew Naraku had destroyed her village, and a kitsune- connection to Naraku as of yet unknown.

"Kikyo," the monk said sternly, drawing the attention of the others to her. "What are you doing here?"

"I sensed Naraku," she said dryly. "Surely you realize that this unnatural wall before you belongs to him."

"Of course we realize that," the monk snapped. "We just watched Inuyasha and Kagome walk through it, but as soon as they were safely on the other side, this huge cliff-face appeared. I've tried everything I can, but nothing will get through it."

"I tried my hiraikotsu," the demon exterminator said, "but it didn't even chip off any rock."

"And I tried my fox-fire!" the little kitsune put in sorrowfully. "But the barrier is still just as strong as ever."

Kikyo looked at the formidable rock formation that, according to the others, had risen up just after the barrier had been breached. She knew Naraku was up to something, but she wasn't sure what. The others hadn't been able to get through, so obviously Naraku had no use for them in his plan. Whatever was inside this new barrier had been made for...

"Inuyasha," the group of shard-hunters heard her say. "This was a trap for Inuyasha."

She turned around to fiercely glare at them. "Did not one of you notice anything amiss? Did anything seem different from any other time you've faced Naraku? Why did you just let him walk in there- right into Naraku's trap?"

"Lady Kikyo," the monk said lowly, his voice heavy with defeat, "Exactly what would you have had us done?"

There was no reply. Tightly closing her eyes, Kikyo approached the barrier. Her hands were extended in front of her as she slowly made her way to the giant cliff. When she reached it, instead of feeling rock, or even anything, the barrier broke apart to let her hands through into the cool air that stretched beyond it. "It's solid," she said, "but only for objects. Naraku wants no living thing- especially someone that could help Inuyasha to get through. If you walk through, you will wind up on the other side of the protected area. Whatever Naraku's doing, he's made sure that there will be no interferences. Whatever he's doing, he's going to break Inuyasha once, and For All."

Kagome:

Inuyasha and Kagome still hadn't found each other. They were floating in an endless cloud of oozing, noxious gas, swimming along with the songs of screaming playing over and over in their heads. Both their voices had been lost from the sound of their own helpless screams, so there was no way to call to each other, no way to find that shred of familiar hope in the sea of displaced anguish they were forced into.

Inuyasha soon regained consciousness. He didn't know where he was, and any clues he may have been able to gather from his surroundings were lost to his fragmented awareness- able to sense only his pain. There was so much screaming. All around him, there were relentless, agonizing screams. It cut him so deeply. That much anguish threatened to push him off the brink into madness- his very sanity was taken away as he listened again and again to the suffering of other hopeless souls.

He tried to block out the sound, but to no avail. He could only float, and listen, until whatever had him in its hold decided that he was no longer of any value.

It happened sooner than he would have expected.

He was dropped off onto soft, grassy turf. When his eyes were finally able to see again, something registered as familiar. But he wasn't given the time to figure out what, because at that moment, he heard a soft whimpering.

"Kagome!" He cried, frantically sniffing the air for any sign of her scent.

She was only a few yards away from him, hidden from sight by a large tree. Her eyes were closed and her entire body was shaking. He could smell tears on her face, and he heard the sobbing screams that echoed from her lips. She was still caught in the enchantment, he realized. He yelled her name, asking again and again for her to wake up. His clawed hand gently touched her shoulder, and her eyes finally snapped open with a wild start.

"Inuyasha," she whispered. "Oh Inuyasha! You're safe; you're safe." She threw her arms around his neck, holding on tightly- as though he would disappear is she couldn't feel him.

"Do you remember?" he asked softly. "We had just crossed Naraku's barrier, and somehow... we ended up here."

Kagome looked around, trying to discern their whereabouts. "You know," she said suddenly, "this looks sort of like Kaede's village. Only... I don't know why, but it feels different."

Inuyasha agreed, and was just about to voice his own opinion, when he heard her gasp. He saw her trembling arm reach out and point to something behind him.

"It's... it's..." she could hardly speak her surprise- and trauma from their harrowing experience- was so great. "Inuyasha, it's..."

He turned, and saw what had nearly shocked Kagome into speechlessness. The time in wherever they were was obviously early, as the sun barely peeked above the huts in the village. And standing there, framed in a doorway was a man with long black hair who was obviously human. He didn't look very old, perhaps in his mid- to late-twenties. He was handsome, but there was nothing extraordinary about him at first glance. But what Kagome recognized, what Inuyasha himself recognized as he stared at the stranger, was an uncanny resemblance to someone else. Someone who wasn't human. Someone who only looked that way on a new moon...

A woman came out of the hut and stood at the man's side. Her face was still in shadow. "It's early," she said quietly. "The sun's only just rising."

She stepped closer to him, placing a small hand on his arm. She was only wrapped in a loose sleeping gown that looked rather like s misshapen sheet. But her face... Suddenly her face was illuminated by the early morning light. It was... But it couldn't be! Inuyasha and Kagome exchanged a disbelieving glance, before turning back to the couple before them. The woman... she looked alarmingly like Kagome. But it wasn't her. This strange woman looked exactly- down to the last hair- exactly like...

Kikyo.

The mysterious woman yawned again, and put her arms around the man beside her. "It's early Inuyasha," she said warmly. "Come back to bed."

And between the two tired, troubled visitors... there was only silence.

End A/N: I hope that surprised you! This idea is finally taking shape! Don't forget to review, please!

Love and PEACE!
-ADD

Preview of Chapter Four: "What do you think?" that hated voice spoke maliciously in his head. "This is the life you could have had if I had never interfered. Doesn't the very thought justfill you with... joy?" And then the voice laughed, in the most disgustingly cruel way he ever could have imagined. With the last ounce of strength he had, Inuyasha screamed. And screamed... and screamed... and...