Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha :(

Slight Recap!

"Inuyasha," said Shiori adamantly, while facing the oncoming blast, "Withdrawal Tessaiga from the edge."

"What?" he said "Are you crazy? We'll fall to our deaths!"

"You can question my sanity later, but right now I need you to trust me," she said sharply. "Release tessaiga."

Just as Bankostu's blast was about to strike, Inuyasha pulled his sword from the wall. The two of them dropped towards the jagged rocks below.

And now we'll continue with our story!

Bankostu's blast slammed into the wall and destroyed the entire ledge. Not only did they have a deadly impact to worry about, but it seemed they were going to be crushed by the falling rocks.

"Eck!" shouted Inuyasha as they dropped. "You better know what you're doing!"

"Oh Inuyasha," she said playfully. "I never know what I'm doing."

"What the hell's wrong with her? How can she be so calm right now?" he thought. "Wait….what's that?"

He felt a pulsing sensation in his right arm. The source of this sensation was none other than Shiori. Her body was glowing with demonic power. Her eyes drastically changed from lilac, to violet. Her Wavy hair transformed from frosty white, to jet black. Shiori's true form was finally restored. She smiled with deep satisfaction.

"Mount Hakurei's barrier has been broken and Naraku's miasma has corrupted the air!" She slyly announced. "I'm free!"

"It's about time!" said Inuyasha, in a panicking voice. "Now, fly us outta here! We're gonna hit the bottom!"

"What's your hurry?" she asked, while watching Bankostu.

Bankostu took advantage of the rock slide and jumped into the mist of it. He radiantly jumped from rock to until he was almost upon the falling pair. This time, he was attempting to directly slice the two with his halberd instead of using an energy based attack.

"This time I won't miss!" he screamed swinging Banryu.

"That's fine with me," she stated. "CURSE DEFLECT!"

She clamped onto Inuyasha as both their bodies lit up with Shiori's energy. Inuyasha squirmed from the sudden surge of power.

"What the hell?" he thought. "Her power…it feels almost like it's going through me…"

As Bankostu was about to make impact, he was hit with the curse deflect. His eyes widened as he was repelled up towards the cave ceiling. The cave was now crumbling more than ever. More rocks were dropping towards them.

"Uh, Shiori?" screeched Inuyasha. "Anytime now!"

"Oh yes, we're still falling aren't we?" she said credulously. "My, this is a long drop."

"Will you stop being cocky and save us already?"

Shiori smirked as they expelled upwards. She gracefully evaded falling chunks of mountain on the way up.

"I told you to trust me, Inuyasha," she lightly teased.

"Well, forgive me for thinking you're a little bit insane!" he said.

They made a beeline towards the opening at the top. If only they could escape the inside of Mount Hakurei. They had to get back on Naraku's trail. Shiori and Inuyasha were almost there. It was then that Shiori spotted Bankostu standing at the very edge of the opening. He was looking down at them—still alive.

"I don't know where you got your power up from," he hollered, jumping at them again. "But it's not gonna help you! I won't die so easily!"

He swung at them, but Shiori dodged it and flew back down. They landed on a lower ledge closer to the ground. Bankostu continued falling straight to the bottom. He tried to jump up from rock to rock again. It was much harder coming up than it was going down. He landed on a ledge across from Inuyasha and Shiori. The crumbling rocks slowly began to dwindle. Inuyasha attempted his windscar again, but Bankostu countered with his own attack. The 2 blast exploded in the middle and caused more debris on both sides. Inuyasha and Shiori jumped down, Bankostu did the same thing on the other side. Since they were already at the bottom, the drop wasn't a bad one.

"Geez, you're like a cock roach!" Inuyasha spat, once they all landed on the cave floor. "You just won't die!"

"Same to you half demon," said Bankostu charging for them with his halberd.

Inuyasha stepped to Bankostu with tessaiga. He managed to push him back. Shiori moved out of their way and over to the other side. Inuyasha and Bankostu intensely battled it out with each other. The jewel shards in Bankostu's halberd and body made it difficult to defeat him. Each time he swung Banryu, it lit up with the jewel's power.

"What's up, Inuyasha?" jeered Bankostu. "You aren't offering much resistance. How strange, you're this weak, eh? Or is it that I've become stronger?"

"Bah, get real!" Inuyasha shouted. "Is that the best you can manage using the Shikon jewel fragments?"

Bankostu chuckled, "You have an answer for everything, don't you?"

They raced towards each other again and clashed with their blades. Shiori watched them from the sidelines, wondering if she should join in. Bankostu had 5 shikon shards in his body. They were all from his fallen members of the Band of Seven. Shiori, of course, had the remaining 2 shards.

"This fight is going nowhere," thought Inuyasha. "If only he were a demon. I could use my backlash wave and pulverize him. But I can't since he has no demonic energy. Naraku must've planned it this way."

Suddenly, Inuyasha ran towards his opponent. Bankostu anticipated his attack, and swung his gigantic blade. But Inuyasha had a plan; he sheathed up his sword.

"Iron weaver, soul stealer!" he shouted as he clawed at Bankostu's arm. Banryu was knocked from his clutches.

2 shards came popping out of Bankostu's body

"You bastard!" he hissed.

"heh," Inuyasha scoffed. "So you did insert some shards into your arm? Your head is next!"

Inuyasha charged towards him, but Bankostu avoided him and punched him in the gut. Not only was he skilled in swordsmanship, but he was also skilled in hand to hand combat. This wasn't going to be as easy as he thought.

"I see now," thought Shiori. "He hopes to rip all of the shards from Bankostu's body in order to destroy him."

Inuyasha was slammed down into the side of the pit. He hit the side with such force, that the entire wall began to shatter. Everywhere Shiori turned, there seemed to be more rocks falling down. The mountain wouldn't last much longer.

"Mount Hakurei's destruction is definitely due to Naraku's poisonous Miasma. Now that the barrier's been destroyed, there is nothing to protect this sacred place from his evil aura."

Bankostu slammed Inuyasha against the ground and stood over him.

"Will you take my fragments," he taunted. "Or will I rip your head off instead. I wonder who will be first!"

Just as Inuyasha was about to be pulverized, Shiori shot Bankostu in the neck with a purification ray. He was temporarily stunned. Inuyasha turned over her shoulder, Shiori was standing yards away from him. Inuyasha jammed his fingers into Bankostu's neck and removed his 2 shards. But because he still had a shard in his arm, he didn't die. Inuyasha kicked Bankostu back.

"Four down," he called. "Just one more to go."

"I'll kill you before you take this shard away from me," said Bankostu.

"You idiot!" responded Inuyasha. "Don't you understand? Naraku doesn't intend to let you live. No matter what he promised you!"

"Of course he doesn't. Naraku hopes to complete the entire shikon jewel. He'll eventually need Bankostu's shard back," Shiori thought.

"So, what of it?" dismissed Bankostu. "Originally the Band of Seven, as soldiers for hire, was heavily used by feudal lords. But when we became too dangerous, they hunted us down and executed us. That's why, with regards to Naraku, I was never able to trust him."

He pulled himself up and kneeled, "Besides, I'm alive again and I'm my own man. I'll kill anyone who gets in my way—even Naraku!"

The entire mountain began to shake. Shiori dodged more falling rocks. It was become harder to stand on the rumbling ground. Bankostu rushed over to Banryu and whirled it. Inuyasha stepped in and stopped it with tessaiga. This was it…..one of them was about to die.

"Come on hellhound," Shiori cheered in her mind. "Don't let me down. You can do this."

"If I was in your shoes, I would've taken the shard from my body without hesitation!" yelped Bankostu as they were caught in a grid lock. "Soft guys like you don't deserve to live! I'll kill you and take back all of the shards!"

Finally, Inuyasha emerged victorious in their game of tug of war. He forced the halberd out of Bankostu's hand. Horror filled his eyes, as his body was sliced in half. He dropped down on the cave floor—dead. Suddenly, the ground began to move, and the mountain was rumbling more than ever.

"Inuyasha," called Shiori. "The ground! It's…."

"Trying to suck us in!" he finished. "The texture of the ground….it's not a ground! It's as if the entire cave was…alive! It's a huge wall of flesh!"

All of the sudden, tentacles splurged up from the mushy ground and seized. The more they struggled, the worse the situation was.

"They're pulling us upward." Thought Shiori. "Naraku!"

They were rapidly drawn upward and through the large opening in the ceiling. Shiori fought to break free the entire way up. But she couldn't move an inch. Inuyasha had been rendered unconscious. The opening was nothing more than an extended high cave ceiling. Shiori was hoping it lead to the outside.

"Inuyasha! Shiori!" called a voice.

It was Kagome! Shippo had transformed into a giant ball, and Kagome was sitting on top of him. There was no longer any ground for anyone to stand on. Sango and Miroku were floating in the air on Kirara. Inuyasha woke up when he heard Kagome's frantic cries for him.

"Inuyasha….Shiori…" echoed a dark voice. "Are you paralyzed? You are already stuck inside of me."

"Is that…Naraku?" asked Kagome.

Shiori looked above her head and saw Naraku's floating head looming in the darkness.

"Naraku!" spat Inuyasha.

"It's all over for you," taunted Naraku. "You did well to get this far, but none of your power is enough. It's too late. You will all die!"

"Vermin!" Shiori hissed.

"I see your standard form has been restored, Shiori," he said, laughing at her surprised expression. "Didn't think I was watching did you? Of course I was."

Sango attempted to strike Naraku with the hirakostu, but he repelled it back. The giant boomerang flew back at Kagome and Shippo, then back to Sango, Miroku, and Kirara. All of them were pushed back against the wall. The walls of Naraku's flesh entangled them.

"You don't get it, do you?" he questioned. "You are all inside of my body!"

"Then this wall of flesh, is Naraku's body?" asked Sango.

"The whole of Mount Hakurei is my body!"

"Inside of Naraku's body," thought Shiori. "I'd rather be in hell!"

….

Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Rin met up with Ah-Un. He was in the same exact place that Shiori left him. Even though he could've come after them since the barrier was destroyed. Sesshomaru turned his attention to the deteriorating Mount Hakurei. It was reeking with Naraku's scent. And also….

"Shiori…." He said quietly.

"Huh?" said Rin. "Did you just say Lady Shiori's name? Is she coming?"

Her scent returned back to normal. Since the barrier was now gone, the sacred air was tainted by Naraku. So the purification on her blood was lifted.

"She's with Naraku," he stated casually.

"She's been captured by Naraku?" Jaken inquired.

"Oh no!" Rin shrieked.

"Inuyasha is there as well," said Sesshomaru. "Along with those wretched humans."

"He can smell all that from far away? That's amazing!" Rin thought in her mind.

Sesshomaru looked down to Rin, "Stay here."

He turned to go back to the mountain. Jaken reluctantly followed after him.

"Lord Sesshomaru," called Rin softly.

He stopped walking and looked over his shoulder.

"Please, bring her back safely," she sweetly. "And good luck my lord."

He said nothing in response and walked away from her. She was safely with Ah-Un, and all of the Band of Seven was dead. Or at least, he couldn't smell any of them around. He hadn't for quite some time. Sesshomaru wondered if Shiori had anything to do with that. At last, they were done with those pathetic zombies.

"Shiori, you fool," he thought. "What were you thinking when you ran off into the sacred grounds? If you died in there, I'd have no way of reviving you. I wouldn't be able to get to your body…..How foolish of you. And now you're attempting to take on Naraku? I'll never understand you."

Jaken was slowly trailing behind Sesshomaru. The closer they got to the exploding place, the more afraid he became. He feared his life would be ended at any waking second. He was hoping Sesshomaru would let him return back to Rin.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" he called from afar.

Sesshomaru stopped walking and vaguely looked back at his servant.

"Good luck my lord!" said a droopy eyed Jaken.

Sesshomaru walked back, bonked Jaken over the head, and walked back without missing a beat.

"Let's go Jaken," he said coldly.

Jaken lay in the middle of the pathway with huge bump on his head.

"Yes…Lord Sesshomaru," he said, in a daze.

"Shiori, don't you dare allow yourself to be killed by this vermin," thought Sesshomaru.

….

Naraku ripped the Shikon shards from Bankostu's corpse, as well as Banryu. Bankostu's body turned back to bones and graveyard soil.

"You bastard!" spat Inuyasha.

Naraku laughed, "What are you upset about, Inuyasha? Bankostu was directly defeated by you."

He sent his tentacles down on Inuyasha and ripped the shards from his lining. He then did the same thing with Shiori's shards.

"I'll take them all! The shards of the Shikon Jewel!" he bellowed.

The jewel shards swelled around his floating head. Then, a swirl of light shone directly below it. A new body was merging.

"Naraku's energy has dramatically increased…..it's purely demonic! I thought he was only a half demon. How can he posses such a demonic aura?" thought Shiori.

But Inuyasha wasn't convinced of this newfound power. He broke free of Naraku's tentacles and attacked him.

"Windscar!"

Naraku erected a barrier that protected him from the windscar. It bounced off him completely.

"Fool," he said. "You've endangered the lives of your friends! The windscar will continue to circle around in here until you're all cut up and destroyed."

Naraku seemed to release his grip on all of them. The windscar went towards Kagome first, but Inuyasha rescued her in time. It then bounced and aimed for Miroku and Sango. They shielded themselves behind Sango's hirakostu. Naraku seemed to release his grip on all of them. Shiori climbed further up the walls to avoid being killed by the windscar.

"Shiori," said Naraku. "Where's Sesshomaru? He hasn't abandoned you, has he?"

She gave him a dirty look before jumping out the way. The windscar returned in her direction.

"They will all die," he thought. "All of them. Only one thing remains."

Naraku suddenly floated up and burst through the ceiling. He was escaping!

"Oh no you don't!" cried Shiori. "Purifying blast!"

She shot at Naraku's barrier hoping to stop him. A small orb emerged from the bottom. Inside of it was a young wolf demon. The demon appeared to have been rendered unconscious. He sank down into the pits of Mount Hakurei.

"What in God's name?" said a stunned Shiori.

Kagome gasped, "It's Koga!"

"Koga?"

"It's that mangy wolf! Naraku was trying to absorb him for the shards in his leg!" shouted Inuyasha. He turned his attention to Shippo. "Take Kagome out of here. I'm going after him."

Shippo obeyed and turned back into a giant floating ball. Kagome hopped on top of him and floated up. Shiori took off after them. Clusters of miasma rapidly fell towards them. Shippo swayed to avoid them all and safely escaped through the top. Miroku, Sango, and Kirara quickly followed after them all.

"The mountain is collapsing!" said Sango, once they were outside.

They were now hovering above the exploding sacred mountain.

"Does this mean that Mount Hakurei is no longer necessary to Naraku?" pondered Miroku.

Shiori, Kagome, and Shippo were standing on the edge of a cliff. Kagome peered through the explosions, adamantly searching for Inuyasha. She clung to his robe of the fire rat.

"Where's Inuyasha?" she wondered. "He should've been out by now."

"What if he didn't make it in time?" said a worried Shippo.

"Here they come," said Shiori nonchalantly.

From the poisonous explosion, came the fleeting Inuyasha and Koga. Inuyasha had the wolf demon's arm around his neck and was jumping towards them. Koga was now conscious. Kagome and Shippo cheered with glee.

"Watch out!" cried Sango from above.

Just as they were about to be crush by a flying rock, Koga stepped in—literally! He stepped down on another boulder they flew under their feet and jumped out of the way. Inuyasha was whipped around as Koga rapidly sprang from debris to debris. They finally landed down where Kagome was. She sprinted towards them. Sango and Miroku also landed from the skies.

"I'm so glad you guys are okay," she called.

Koga sprang over and held both her hands.

"Kagome, I'm so sorry we were separated," he said to her. "You must have been so scared."

Inuyasha clunked him over the head, "You bastard! Don't pretend like you escaped by yourself! It's not like I wanted to save you though, I just didn't want Naraku getting the jewel shards."

"Feh," spat Koga. "Well in that case, I WON'T say thank-you!"

"You mangy wolf!"

Inuyasha and Koga argued back and forth.

"Is this a regular occurrence?" she asked with disgust.

Kagome nodded, "I'm afraid so…."

"And here I thought Inuyasha and Lord Sesshomaru's fights were annoying," she said, crossing her arms. "This is a thousand times worse. It must be a canine thing. I've got to stop associating with hellhounds."

Inuyasha and Koga stopped their petty argument. They glared at Shiori.

"What did you call me?" they shouted in unison.

Shiori blinked, "look Kagome, they stopped fighting."

"Um, do I fall in the canine category," asked Shippo.

"Who the hell are you?" Koga demanded.

"I could ask you the same question," said Shiori indifferently. "But I just don't care."

"Why you—" Koga stopped, when She sharply turned away from him. "Hey! I'm talking to you!"

Shiori felt a sharp disturbance in the center of her being. She could sense that something was very wrong—Naraku! She could sense his energy coming from the once sacred grounds of Mount Hakurei. And although the sound was very faint, she could still hear it. It was the sound of the lost souls.

"Kikyo," she uttered.

"What?" said Inuyasha. He wasn't sure he heard right.

"Kikyo," she repeated.

Inuyasha looked in the same direction as Shiori. How did Shiori know Kikyo? But more importantly, how could he have missed Kikyo's scent in the area? Inuyasha ran after Naraku, while Kagome sadly looked on.

"I'm coming Kikyo!" cried Inuyasha.

"He knows her?" thought Shiori looking at Kagome.

Kagome sighed sadly as she held Shippo in her arms. Her eyes filled with sadness, and so did her heart. Shiori could feel it.

"The nerve of that mutt face," said Koga. "Running off like that."

"Kagome," said Shiori softly.

"Yes?"

"Was Kikyo the one who sealed Inuyasha to a tree 50 years ago?" she asked.

Kagome nodded slowly, "yes."

"Then he was that lover Kikyo spoke about. The one who was tricked, along with herself, by Naraku into betraying the other—was Inuyasha! But…Kagome," she thought.

She stopped her entire thought process when she sensed Sesshomaru going toward Naraku. Shiori quietly ran off.

"Where's she going?" asked Shippo. "Is she going after Inuyasha?"

"What does she know about Kikyo?" thought Kagome. "What's happened to her?"

….

Shiori raced to the tainted sacred grounds. She sensed that Sesshomaru wasn't travelling anymore. His energy signal was stationary.

"He's waiting,"

Shiori noticed Naraku's presence was gone. He must have escaped again. She could feel Inuyasha in his place. But she couldn't feel Kikyo's presence. She couldn't even hear the screaming souls of the dead. Sesshomaru was profoundly standing a few yards away from her. Jaken stood by his side.

"You've changed back!" said Jaken.

"What happened up there?" she asked.

"Naraku is even stronger than before, as expected." he said flatly. "He wanted to test his new power out on me."

"I know," she replied. "I've already encountered him. I meant, what happened with the priestess? You must have seen her there."

"That woman called Kikyo," he said slowly, "was killed by Naraku."

Shiori felt her body tense up, "She's dead?"

Kikyo couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be. But that explains why her energy signal seemed to completely vanish. Naraku succeed with killing Kikyo—twice. Shiori felt sorrow for the tragic priestess that she was just beginning to know. She felt sorrow for Inuyasha, who she knew was desperately searching for her. And she felt sorrow for the heartbroken Kagome, who watched as her love mourned over another.

"Naraku's main objective wasn't to kill any of us. His real intention was to destroy that woman."

"Why would he go through all of this just to kill Kikyo?" she wondered.

"Naraku was but a half demon. It seemed that Naraku's heart yearned for her. And as long as he possessed a human heart, he would be unable to kill Kikyo," said Sesshomaru.

"He was in love with her?" she pondered.

"That is why he took refuge in Mount Hakurei after we fought him. He wanted to reconstruct his body—without a human heart."

"Naraku's rid himself of his human heart? He couldn't kill Kikyo when he was a half demon…because he was in love with her. That's why his aura changed. It's because he's now a full demon…..wait, where's his human heart? What's he done with it?"

"He challenged me when I showed up. He's stronger, I'll give him that. But it's only because he lost the part of him that was human. He went through great lengths to do so. How foolish of him…" he said.

"What do you mean?"

"His feelings for that woman….kept him from killing her. Weak, pathetic human emotions," he said, walking away now. "He should've been able to kill her without this elaborate scheme. But he was unable to because of his lingering feelings of love. Absolutely ridiculous…"

He stopped walking when he realized she wasn't following and looked over his shoulder. She was wistfully staring at him. Sesshomaru was astonished by the sad expression on her face. It disturbed him to see her in such a way. She gracefully walked toward him and stopped. For a second, their eyes locked. Jaken looked back and forth between the two of them. Shiori weakly smiled at Sesshomaru.

"You're right," she said. "His feelings for her were absolutely ridiculous….."

"Shiori…" he started to say something.

"Rin's waiting for us to return," she replied.

"What's going on here? Has the lord said something to upset the girl? She looks as though she could burst into tears at any moment. But Shiori's no sapling…" thought Jaken.

"I just can't believe Naraku was in love with Kikyo. That was why he had Inuyasha and Kikyo betray each other—he was jealous! But he couldn't kill her. Not until now when he disposed of his human heart. His love for her restricted him for awhile." thought Shiori. "It's the same thing with Reika and my father. She was jealous of my parent's relationship…..and killed my mother. She exiled me from the sacred lands and tried to kill me as well…..because I'm a product of my parent's love."

On the walk back, Shiori stayed 5 paces ahead of Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru walked calmly ahead of her. He stared intently at the back of her head. Finally, they found the rest of their party.

"Lord Sesshomaru and Lady Shiori are back!" sang Rin. "And Lady Shiori's back to normal!"

"Thank goodness she is," said Jaken. "I just couldn't get use to seeing her with that white hair."

"Well, that makes two of us," Shiori replied. "I never want to see that form again."

"Good, then we're on the same page," he said.

"Yes we are, Jaken," she said. "I thought that was clear from my previous comment."

"Don't you sass me woman!" he shouted.

"Yay! She must be feeling better now!" said Rin.

"The expression she had earlier…has vanished," thought Sesshomaru. "Just what was the meaning of that? She's appearing as though nothing happened at all."

"Where are we going now?" asked Rin.

"Obviously, we're going to find Naraku! Don't be so dull, Rin," said Jaken.

"You hardly have room to talk," said Shiori, placing Rin on Ah-Un's back.

"Wha….are you calling me stupid?" shouted Jaken.

"Yes," she answered simply.

"Why you!"

Shiori grabbed on to Ah-Un's reigns and led him, "We won't find Naraku again by standing around here. Let's go."

"Father, you said to accept my emotions. I'm trying to…but I don't know if I can. Love complicates everything."

"Why that miserable little lynch!" spat Jaken. "You can't tell us when to go! Only Lord Sesshomaru gives us orders of when to….ooof!"

Sesshomaru stepped on top of Jaken's body and followed Shiori. Jaken lay out in pain.

"Love makes people do outlandish things." Shiori glanced back at Sesshomaru. "Love….makes makes a person weak. I never want to feel as weak as I did at Mount Hakurei….. I can never allow myself to fall in love."

She tilted her head down and let her bangs cover up her face. She wanted to make sure that no one noticed the single tear that slid down her cheek.