I'm back, everyone! Oh, and as a side note to one of the reviewers, I re-read the last chapter, and I'm inclined to agree with what you said about there being too many Japanese texts. You were right- it broke up the story pretty badly. I'll still use the occasional word here and there (ex: osuwari, youkai, hanyou) but no more completely Japanese sentences, I was beginning to confuse myself. Thank you for the suggestion, and I'm all ears for any other you or anyone else might have! Here's the next chappie!

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"Kirara, we're getting nearer to the Dark Mountain, so start riding lower to the ground!" Inuyasha shouted up the fire cat youkai many feet above him. She did as Inuyasha asked, lowering enough so that she was beside the running hanyou.

"Why did she have to fly lower?" Miroku asked from his seat behind Sango (I know that sounded perverted, but there's no other way to put it cleanly that I can think of) on Kirara's back.

"Yeah, what difference would it make?" Shippo quipped from Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Two reasons: One, the lower we are to the ground, the less visible we'll be; we need to have as much of an advantage over Naraku as we can. And two, at the top of Dark Mountain is a natural poisonous miasma cloud, and I'm assuming that Naraku's own miasma has only made it more dangerous to anyone in it wake." He replied, willing his legs to go faster in order to keep up with Kirara. Sango nodded her head in approval of Inuyasha's reasoning, as did the other three companions of the hanyou.

Inuyasha gave one last heave of his legs before pushing off of the ground and becoming airborne, sailing over the trees easily. Kirara followed behind him without objection. He stayed atop the trees' highest branches, trying his best to ignore the squealing of the skittish little Shippo perched on his shoulder plate.

"Oi, Shippo will ya shut it?" Inuyasha finally said after the hundredth scream.

"It's not MY fault! I'm still just a kid, you know!" (I love it when he says that!) Inuyasha rolled his eyes at the kitsune. That just proves no matter how dire the situation may be, some things never change.

The group quickly sobered when they actually saw the foot of Dark Mountain. As it came closer, they all tensed at the aura the mountain held; a barrier of absolute impenetrable darkness that practically pulsed with miasma. Not as if you needed to sense the barrier to realize it was there; it displayed itself as a transparent purple and black swirling screen that seemed to encase the mountain in a perpetual orb of immense dark power.

"A barrier of absolute darkness…" Miroku murmured incredulously. He turned to face Inuyasha with a grave expression on his face.

"Inuyasha, do you think red Tetsusaiga could break through-" His train of thought was cut short when an ominous dark laugh surrounded them. It was a laugh all too familiar to the group.

"NARAKU!" Inuyasha yelled as he ripped Tetsusaiga out of its sheath. Though he couldn't actually see him, the hanyou was certain that his aura was the one influencing the barrier around the mountain. Sure enough, the evil hanyou revealed himself no further than three yards away from the group, for once not protected by his purplish pink barrier.

"So…you've come at last…Inuyasha."

"What did you do with Kagome? Where is she?" He growled, a venomous sting edging his voice clearly. Naraku chuckled dementedly, his red irises practically glowing with hatred and greed.

"If you knew where she was, you'd be spoiling all of my fun. Although, I must admit, courting her was so…" He left his sentence hanging in the air, leaving Inuyasha in an outraged stupor.

"You…courted…Kagome? YOU COURTED HER?"

And that, kids, brings us to the conclusion that Inuyasha is officially one very, VERY pissed off hanyou.

Naraku grinned wickedly, though chose not to answer that question directly. Rather than stand around and monolog like he normally does, he turned and began to walk towards the mountain's swirling barrier.

"She won't hold on much longer, Inuyasha…she's fading away…so what will you do when you can't reach her?" Inuyasha leapt after Naraku, raising the now pulsing red Tetsusaiga over his head. 'Nothing's going to stand in my way of saving her, especially not a fucking barrier!'

"Cut through, Tetsusaiga!" He shouted at the blade as he swung it down onto the barrier Naraku disappeared behind. Wisps of coiling darkness lashed out wildly around the blade though its barrier breaker held no effect. Inuyasha was pushed back forcefully away by the barrier. A low ringing was heard as the blade quivered and vibrated from its sudden rejection. He jammed Tetsusaiga back into his sheath hurriedly.

"KAGOME!" He lunged at the barrier, pressing his left hand to it, beating it with his right fist with all his might.

"Naraku, you sick bastard! Let me through! NARAKU!" He shouted, continuing to beat his right fist against the barrier. Electric sparks shot out from the barrier every time his fist connected with it, though he chose to ignore the sharp pains they caused him to feel. Gradually, his pounding slowed to an eventual stop, letting his hand simply rest against the barrier, parallel to his left about six inches above his head, which had hung low in defeat.

"Damn you, Naraku…" He mumbled just above a whisper. 'Not even red Tetsusaiga could break this damn barrier…how am I supposed to get to Kagome now?' His eyes widened when his lion's head broach began to glow a vibrant white, before he could stop himself, his hands slid right through the barrier as if it were nonexistent. He stumbled a moment, staggering through the barrier unintentionally so he could regain his balance. Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara all stared at him in absolute awe, blinking incredulously at the hanyou.

"I think our armor lets us through!" He called over to the four. Reluctantly, Miroku stepped up next, drawing out his sapphire-hilted blade, holding it out hesitantly before him. No sooner had the blade's tip touched the barrier, the entire sword glowed just as Inuyasha's broach had done. The sword cut through the barrier like it was made of butter, and he too, was soon beside Inuyasha on the other side of the barrier. Sango walked up next, Kirara behind her owner, Shippo on top of Kirara. Soon enough, all five of the heroes were across the barrier. Miroku turned to Inuyasha curiously.

"How did you figure out how to use your armor, Inuyasha?"

"I…" What was he going to tell them? That he had fallen into despair at the thought that for once he couldn't reach Kagome in order to save her? That his armor somehow felt his love for her and granted him the power to pass?

There were many things that Inuyasha was up to doing or talking about with his friends.

This was not one of them.

"I guess I was just testing the armor's special abilities, and…and it worked." Okay, so it wasn't a complete lie, he had wondered if the armor could aid him if the red Tetsusaiga couldn't…but…that was before he tried using Tetsusaiga. He just left the part about Kagome out.

"Let's go; if what Naraku said was true, we need to get her away from him as soon as possible." 'And I need to kill him for doing such a thing to her, to MY Kagome!' He added silently, turning his attention to the mountain. The dark aura was fixated mainly ahead and to the left of where they were, so he assumed that was where Naraku was keeping Kagome.

"Miroku, can you feel that dark aura focused over there?" Sango pointed to the place Inuyasha was looking at, as if to read his thoughts. The monk nodded before sheathing his blade and making his way over to the dark cloud. Everyone but Inuyasha followed; he hesitated a moment. Sango sensed this, and motioned for everyone to wait a minute.

"Aren't you coming, Inuyasha?" Shippo piped from his spot on Kirara's back. The said hanyou hesitantly looked down toward his feet, shuffling them a bit nervously. He wasn't sure why all of a sudden, but he was beginning to have second thoughts about himself. He questioned his ability to save his Kagome, his strength, and what was required in order to save her. He wasn't sure he had what it took.

"Yeah…" He hesitated again.

"Well, come on, then! We can't save her just standing around like this!" Sango joked playfully, smiling sisterly at him. Inuyasha finally snapped his head up in frustration.

"How can you be so cheerful?" He said, desperation thick in his tone.

"We haven't even figured out exactly where Kagome is, Kohaku is dragged into this shit again, and Naraku is still a dark and threatening as ever!" He groaned in defeat. Sango and Miroku looked at each other, then at him. Miroku was the first to speak.

"Well, you gotta keep positive. Sure, things might not look so great now, but if we all stick together, it'll all be okay! You just have to believe in yourself!"

"Just…believe…" He whispered, shutting his eyes lightly.

I believe in you.

He felt himself drifting away from reality, following her voice, her aura, into this white light that seemed to let its glow encase the entire realm of wherever he was. He flew into it, temporarily losing his line of vision, though once it was cleared, he found himself floating above an old library of what appeared to be filled with everything from scrolls to books. Three stained glass windows were directly ahead of him, letting the sunshine spill lazily through its colorful array of designs.

His attention turned to an old woman, sitting delicately on a wooden chair beside a table with a burning candle set upon it. Her ashy grey hair was pulled back neatly into a bun, and she donned alight lavender top with a beige skirt that stopped at her ankles. She definitely showed her age. Beside the table, about a yard to the left was a spiral staircase that led to a second floor of even more books and scrolls lined up in shelves just the same way as the first floor.

He turned as a little girl, who looked no older than three, ran in as fast as her little legs could carry her, her two thick black pigtails bouncing with every step she took. She looked only about three feet tall, wearing a soft blue dress that stopped just at her knees. She stopped before the elderly woman and looked around the vast room with her round, warm hazel eyes.

Where am I?

Her voice was only audible to Inuyasha's ears, and even then he had to strain to hear her little voice, timid with shyness. She looked so much like Kagome- her aura just seemed to have the same calming effect as his Kagome's.

My child…

He watched her smile warmly at the woman. The elderly woman's voice was just as soft as the girl's, so he leaned in to hear the rest of what she had to say.

Long ago, there existed a pure and holy light…

Everyone loved the light… Every day, the people would bask in its warmth, and the children would play amongst its bright beams. Peace was the only thing that existed in the world…

But soon, people began to fight over this light… They all wanted it for themselves…

And darkness was born in their hearts…

Soon, the darkness became overwhelming, and it swallowed the light, and the world…

But there was still some light left within the dark realm…the light in children's hearts…it was the light in children's hearts that brought the world back from its eternal prison of darkness…

But the light still sleeps in darkness…

So remember, child…that if you have ever lost your way, seek out the light, the light at the end of the tunnel, for no matter how deep the darkness…a light shines within, alright, Kagome?

A blink later, and the aged woman left the little girl.

Kagome?

Inuyasha watched helplessly as the girl looked around, a lost, desperate expression on her young face. Her small body began to fade away, causing Inuyasha to reach a hand out to her, though he found he couldn't move any closer to her…rather…it was as if he was being pulled away, she vanished, and he was brought back into reality.

"Kagome…did you call me…?"