It's been a while. I know. I still have others to deal with, too. Right now I'm rotating all my stories. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Thanks to KiraraTwoTail and Half-Demon Cali for reviewing!

KiraraTwoTail: I'm ecstatic that you've decided to read this story! I'm glad you like it, too. I hope you like this latest chapter.

Half-Demon Cali: I'm guessing you like it? Let's see if this one leaves you speechless, too. XD

DISCLAIMER: I don't own InuYasha and I certainly don't own that 7up bottle on the table right now. Oh my God. Is that an OC I see with MY name on it? That's right! Miya belongs to me!

"I still don't get this 'teleporting' thing," Inuyasha said yet again.

Miya sighed patiently, finishing the marking of a large circle that surrounded both of them. She had used some chalk that she had somehow kept in her clothes. "Instant transportation between places. That simple enough for you?"

"Instant?" Inuyasha still didn't seem convinced.

"Yes. Instant." Miya was now marking the inside of the circle with elaborate symbols. "Now be quiet. I need to concentrate for this."

'How'd she learn a spell for teleporting anyway?'

"And that includes thoughts!"

Inuyasha jumped, not having realized that Miya could hear him. He resisted the urge to sigh with impatience and settled for merely shaking his head. With every passing second, Kagome was more in danger than before.

Another few minutes later, Miya got up from her kneeling position and dusted off her pants, dropping the remnants of the chalk as she did so. Before Inuyasha could open his mouth, she reached into her robe and picked out the bag of weird leaves she had bought earlier. She took out a branch with three leaves and dropped it in the middle in a small circle specifically there for it. After that, she took out a small vial with a whitish powder and poured only a small pinch into her hand, letting it drop onto the leaves.

She tucked the vial away. "All right. That should do it." She stood next to Inuyasha and shot him a reprimanding look. "Are you going to be quiet during this or are you going to think like crazy about how stupid this is?"

Inuyasha flushed; he hadn't realized how obvious his thoughts were. "It's not my fault you can hear my thoughts," he grumbled.

"No," Miya agreed, "but you can at least keep a handle on it. I haven't yet learned how to block my mind from receiving."

"I'll try," Inuyasha said grudgingly. "Are you sure this is safe?"

"Perfectly safe," Miya assured him. "Nothing can happen as long as I stay focused."

"And if you don't?"

"Well…let's just say that you'll be in two pieces."

Inuyasha had no time to say anything against it since Miya had already closed her eyes and was mouthing words that he couldn't catch. She had her hands out, palms facing the ground, and the hanyou could feel the air twisting and distorting right around them. It then extended to surround him as well so he was no longer seeing a clear picture of his surroundings, but rather a warped view where everything kept shifting.

He desperately wanted to think something but kept his mouth and mind locked shut, knowing that he couldn't risk having his legs here and his torso somewhere else. Something told him that wouldn't be pleasant in the least.

Then, so fast that he almost missed it if it weren't for his sharp eyesight, Miya snapped her arms together and into her chest as if cradling something to her bosom. His ears heard something deafening beyond the borders of the circle and he suspected—subconsciously so she couldn't hear—that if it weren't for the circle, they would probably be deaf.

And with an equally deafening but not quite deafening noise, Inuyasha promptly found himself in completely different surroundings. Bewildered, he twisted his head from left to right, examining the strange place they had ended up in.

It was hilly, woody, and there was a wicked view. There was also a mild breeze, stirring up his silvery-white hair and Miya's ponytail.

After taking stock of his surroundings did he realize that he should check if all his body parts had come along. A quick onceover revealed that everything was intact and in one piece. Even Tessaiga was in its sheath. Another look at Miya showed that she was also in one piece but swaying.

'Swaying?' Inuyasha stepped forward and supported her as she wobbled a little. "You okay?"

"Fine," she said, panting slightly.

"How are you gonna open the gate in this condition?"

"I can open it," she replied indignantly. "That was just a spell with a bit of my mind in it. In fact, opening the gate involves a spell, too. It's nothing that major. I just need to shove my mind behind it to fuel it, which explains why I'm out of breath." She had stopped wobbling so Inuyasha retracted his hand.

"Then you'll open it?" Inuyasha asked.

"Sure. Why wouldn't I?" Miya dug around in her robes and emerged with all the supplies she had gathered. "I just need to make one more sacred circle and place the required supplies in it and we're good to go."

"Glad to hear it." Inuyasha stepped backwards to let her do her work.

Once Miya was finished with yet another piece of chalk, she dropped almost the rest of the leaves, a few organs she had collected, and the bag she had bought a few hours (or was it minutes?) earlier into the small yet elaborate circle.

She clasped her hands together a few feet above it and looked straight at Inuyasha. "It'll work. And when it does, stick close to me."

Once more, Inuyasha watched her mouth form strange words. But this time, what happened was completely different. He stumbled back a step at the roaring noise assaulting his senses but tried to stay close to the raven-haired girl.

All hell had broken loose.

"Sango!" Miroku called. "Are you in here?"

It had been all of a minute and already they had lost sight of Sango. Miroku was worried out of his mind; Shippo had stuck his head into Kirara's fur; and the youkai cat was sniffing the air in distaste.

"Sango!"

"What?" The familiar black-haired figure of the youkai slayer appeared, the fog wreathing around her body. "I'm right here, Miroku."

"Oh good." Miroku sighed in relief and took a step further, the fog instantly replacing the area where he'd been earlier. "I thought I'd lost you."

"Like you lost Shippo and Kirara?"

"What?" Miroku turned around but didn't see the two youkais. "But I could've—they were right behind me!" He turned back to Sango. "Sango, you've got to—" He stopped upon seeing that he was alone. "Sango?"

Kirara had stopped, confused. One moment Miroku had been there and the next the fog had just obscured him. Her nose wasn't working in this mist either, something which she hated. She was completely useless in terms of tracking and the quivering youkai—no offense to Shippo—on her back wasn't much use either.

She growled, trying to ascertain whether or not she was alone.

"Kirara?" Shippo peeked up to see he was alone except for the youkai under him. "Where'd Miroku go? And Sango?"

Kirara didn't say anything beyond a low rumble in the back of her throat. She took a few anxious steps forward before taking another backwards, unsure of whether or not to proceed.

"They're gone, aren't they?" Shippo asked nervously. "This was a bad idea!"

Then, a noise to their left distracted their attention; Shippo's breath came out as he realized who was standing there.

'It's so damp here,' Sango thought, trudging through the mist. 'And I can't see three feet in front of me. How do I know that there won't be a pit right before my feet before I fall in?'

"Hey, Miroku," she said aloud. "Do you think that there could be a pit right in front of us without us even realizing it?"

There was no answer behind her. Confused, Sango stopped and turned around. Her eyes widened as she took in the fact that no one was there.

"Miroku? Shippo?" Sango retraced several steps. "Kirara?" Her voice was raised in a shout. "CAN YOU HEAR ME?"

No answer came again. Her breaths became ragged as she realized that she was alone. Without rationalizing it through, the youkai slayer took off, hoping that she was going back the way she had come.

'Stay calm. They can't be too far, can they?' A noise stopped her short. 'Oh God.' Then she saw what had made it. "Wh—what?"

"How do you know which way you're going?" Inuyasha was trailing behind Miya, trying not to stray too far from her.

"With the amount of times I've been dropped in here, I have to know something about the area," Miya replied. "It's really quite easy if you know how."

"So how do you know how?" Inuyasha asked.

"I can sense the openings to some extent," Miya explained. "It's a talent I managed to achieve after a couple of years of just stumbling around in here and falling through different openings. They have…different flavors, if you know what I mean."

Inuyasha thought about his sense of smell. "I think I do."

Miya gave a sharp nod. "Right. If I want to avoid a world that I don't like—and there are quite a few—I memorize the 'flavor' and steer clear of it. The world between the mists has a bland flavor, so it's easy to differentiate between this flavor and the ones belonging to the different openings."

"But?" Inuyasha prompted, sensing that she wasn't finished.

"But even that isn't foolproof," Miya admitted reluctantly, stopping to look at Inuyasha. "Sometimes there are no openings. When that happens, you're stuck in here until one opens."

Inuyasha drew in a sharp breath. "And…what if you can't sense the flavors? What then?"

"Like your friends?"

"Yeah."

"You'll have to rely on luck then," Miya said soberly. "This place…has many tricks up its sleeve. If you somehow manage to survive those, you'll still have to stumble upon an opening by chance. That's what I did for the first so many times." She adjusted her bow and sighed. "And if you do manage to find an opening…you'll have to pray that it's a world where you can survive."

"So my friends?" Inuyasha had a dry mouth.

"Are in big trouble if they're in here," she said. "I can find them…but just keep hoping that they're in one piece when I do."

Miroku held his staff grimly in the midst of the fog. "Great. What do I do now?"

"For starters, monk, you can say your prayers," a familiar voice sneered.

"Naraku!" Miroku tried to find the source of the voice. "Where are you?"

"You won't be able to find me that way." Naraku's voice was amused. "I only came here to do one thing…"

"Which would be what?" Miroku said loudly. "Hide in the shadows like a coward?"

"Of course not." Miroku fancied he could see Naraku's devilish face in the clouds. "You'll see why. Right…now."

Immediately the monk felt a scathing pain in his right hand. Crying aloud in shock, he ripped off the sacred beads to see what was up with it. Or he meant to. Before his hand could touch the beads, the string holding them together broke apart, sending the beads flying everywhere. His robes started swirling and a howling wind threatened to suck everything in.

"Aargh!" Miroku clutched his wrist, trying to draw away from his own hand. "But…but it's too soon!"

"Too soon because you were never even able to tell that woman that you loved her? Or too soon because you weren't able to sire a son to carry on your quest?" Naraku's evil laughter echoed in Miroku's ears. "Your days are numbered, monk. Or rather, they were numbered. How many seconds will you last?"

Miroku grunted, trying to resist the horrible suctioning power of his Kazaana. It's not easy, though, when the thing doing the suctioning is your own hand.

'Is this really the end? After everything I've been through?'

"S—Sango? M—Miroku?" Shippo stammered. "Wh—what are you doing? Wh—why are you staring at me like that?"

Both of his friends were staring at him darkly, holding their weapons—Miroku's staff and Sango's Hiraikotsu—threateningly. In fact, it fully looked like they were planning on murdering the two youkais.

Shippo's tail started shaking like mad. "G—guys? Why—why aren't you saying anything?"

Both adults continued staring at them, their glares becoming darker. Sango even spread her legs apart, the arm holding her Hiraikotsu tightening.

Kirara then spread her legs, bristling furiously, snarling. She sensed that something was wrong, even though Miroku and Sango both smelled the same.

"Y—you're not thinking of throwing that, are you?" Shippo asked nervously, trying to stay calm but failing utterly.

Much to Shippo's alarm, Miroku also assumed a fighting pose, digging one hand into his robes for an o-fuda.

"Guys," Shippo pleaded. "What are you doing?"

Sango's eyes narrowed. "Youkai."

"Eep!" Shippo bolted upright, tail as straight as a stick—or as straight as its bushiness would allow. "I—I'm a youkai."

"And youkais die," Miroku said in a dead voice, drawing out the small pieces of paper Shippo had come to know so well.

What happened next sent both youkais reeling.

"Sango! Miroku! AAAAAH!!"

"K—Kohaku?" Sango let her Hiraikotsu drop to her side as she observed her younger brother in wonderment. "What…what are you doing here?"

The dark-haired boy stared at his sister out of cold eyes. "You didn't keep your promise," he accused.

"Wh—what are you talking about?"

"You told me you'd be right there. You lied. And I died. Alone." Kohaku's voice was cold, too.

Sango reeled back a step. "Kohaku," she pleaded. "You know that isn't true. I would've followed—believe me. I—I tried, remember?" She took a hesitant step forward. "Don't you remember, Kohaku?"

"You lied," Kohaku said again. "You left me alone. You're not my sister." In his hands was his infamous kusarigama, with which he had killed so many when he had been under Naraku's control. Now, Sango wasn't sure about whether or not he was free of the youkai's control or acting of his own free will.

"Kohaku," Sango pleaded again. "I am your sister. Don't you remember me?"

"I remember that you abandoned me," Kohaku said coldly.

"I didn't! I stayed with you until the end!"

"Then where were you in death?"

Sango was silent. "I…"

"Exactly." Kohaku raised his weapon high. "Goodbye…Sango."

"Kohaku!" Sango still had her Hiraikotsu in one hand but forgot it was there, instead running forward, tears streaming from her eyes. "Don't!"

A loud ripping noise rent the air and there was a thud.

"You say this world drives people insane?" Naraku was standing a small distance away from the Leader, idly watching the red electricity whip around the still unconscious Kagome.

"It has done much more than that," the Leader hissed, crouching over double in his typical pose. "It has killed people without lifting a hand."

"It doesn't have hands."

"Regardless." The Leader brushed that comment off with a wave of its hand. "Anyone who comes in here faces unimaginable horrors. It is much more than a simple curtain. It is…an aaart."

"Fascinating," Naraku said, sounding as if it was anything but that. "And this girl has defied your…'art'?"

The Leader hissed violently. "The girl is an abomination! Fifty years I have waited to wipe out her clan! Fifty years! And she is the last! The last and the most troublesome!"

"Indeed." It seemed oddly like Miroku in fact. "And she has driven you off?"

"She has learned the arts of navigating this world! Arts deemed sacred to the wraiths for millennia!" the Leader said, agitated.

"And can anyone else learn these arts?" Naraku asked.

"Of course not!" the Leader said, shooting Naraku a filthy glare out of its hollow eye sockets. "Only one with her talents and our abilities caaan."

"And what would her talents be?" Naraku was toying with the idea of absorbing her if she could give this wraith so much trouble. Perhaps those talents could also be useful in helping him deal with that hanyou…

The Leader grinned, which was a nasty sight to behold. "Perhaps that is something you should find out for yourself."

"Of course," Naraku murmured, his gaze drawing out to the far-reaching fog. 'And then again…perhaps this curtain will do my work for me by annihilating my enemies.' A small smile played at his lips as he thought of this.

I completely dove off track. I had only meant to have Sango and the group wander around a bit, Miya and Inuyasha meet up with them, and then they fight the big bad guys. Instead, I ended up with this: each one of them in their own personal nightmares. That's what happens if you let this story have its own way. (sighs) Oh well. This only has a few more chapters to go at any rate. First comes the resolution of their nightmares (which will NOT be gruesome--it's K+), then the climax, and then the epilogue. Easy, no?

In any case, I hope you guys enjoyed this latest chapter. There'll be more action next chapter. I have no idea when it'll be out. Just be patient, 'kay? XD REVIEW please!