A/N: I know. It has been a long ass time and I am so sorry. I've had such a horrible time with my writing—I couldn't even write for myself. I tried; I can't tell you how many times I tried to write this chapter. I don't even know if I can call it writer's block, because I honestly haven't been able to write anything until now. I recently have been getting PM's from my readers asking if I am okay—I am. It's just that an important part of who I am has disappeared and I am struggling to find it. I am hoping that this attempt is well received and I apologize for any grammatical errors

Chapter 26

A swift wind rattled the forest, the branches of the trees swaying and bending beneath the spiritual force of it. The large group of Aokigahara refugees stilled and stared wide eyed in the direction of the holy mountain; all silent and unmoving until the wickedly beautiful Inuyoukai took a minute step forward before disappearing in a flash of demon silk.

Inuyasha, ever the word smith, jerked back and whipped his head in Miroku's direction, "What the fuck? What just happened? Where did that bastard run off to?"

Before Miroku could answer, Koga turned to the hanyou with a look of disbelief on his face, "Seriously dog shit? Could you seriously not feel it?"

At the look of true and clear cluelessness in Inuyasha's eyes, Miroku ran his hand across his face in exasperation and explained. "Kagome succeeded. In taking whatever was left behind when the Darkness escaped the mountain, the forest was purged of all traces of evil. The path is safe now and Sesshoumaru-sama went to retrieve our miko."

As an afterthought as he turned back in the direction of Mt. Fuji he added, "And no. We will not follow."

~oOo~

Kagome knew she was dreaming; she was witnessing the beginning of time through the eyes of the Light. She could feel it being born and truly, it was an indescribable experience to feel the pieces of you being put together. When she was finally complete, it was like taking her first breath after being under water for a little too long—and then an explosion of color. She could only describe it as a massive supernova inside of her, but instead of death it was followed by life. The Light was thrust into a newborn world and beside it, from the very beginning of time was the Dark. They were created with a singular purpose—to maintain the balance.

They were given an impossible task and while the world was still in its infancy, it was so painfully clear that it was easier for human and demon kind to turn to the Darkness than to seek the Light. The Light, who she could no longer see as something separate from herself, was filled with helplessness and sorrow as her sibling was slowly twisted into something she could no longer recognize. Kagome's precious twin was not inherently evil; what it had become was not what it was meant to be. Yet somehow outside forces had been able to mold the Darkness into a terrifyingly ugly thing.

Her denial had been instrumental in the Darkness growing in power. She had turned her back on what the Darkness had become in her desperation to find something of what it had once been. It wasn't until she was gifted a field littered with bodies in a grotesque display of her sibling's idea of art, that she finally admitted to herself that the Darkness could not be saved. Her heart break and fear had wrapped itself around her hope and love and turned it to ash.

The Darkness had massacred innocents for the Light and had proudly presented it to the only being in the entire world it could claim affection for. It was a twisted and cruel thing, but it treasured the Light. And the memory of how she had once loved and treasured the Darkness as it had her, was so painful. Kagome had every intention of dealing with the Darkness without mercy, but in finally admitting to herself that she was indeed the Light and the Darkness her twin, she was no longer able to distance herself from it any longer. She had sarcastically called the Darkness her sibling, but the reality was that the Dark was her other half. Her twin needed her and she would accept the responsibility of saving it.

~oOo~

Kagome awoke with a whimper of pain; she ached all over and while no amount of suffering could compare to the soul transference, she really fucking hurt. She had felt more pain in the last few days in the Feudal Era than she had in her entire life and she was getting damn tired of it. She forced herself to move off her side and onto her back, gritting her teeth when her body screamed in refusal to move any more than she had.

She realized she wouldn't be going anywhere just as she remembered where she was and what had happened. She was lying in the crater at the center of Mt. Fuji not only in pain, but freezing her ass off. And as she laid there, she remembered everything. She wanted to scream out in frustration and alone on a mountain was a damn good place to do so. And so, beneath the light of the moon she screamed—only the heavens witness to the sheer emotion that bled into her pained cry.

She let it all go in that one scream that had been building up inside of her for what felt like too many lifetimes. It wasn't just the physical pain or the way her skin felt as if it was being pricked by a thousand needles from the cold—she screamed out for the unfairness of it all. In the beginning of everything, she had been pieced together so lovingly and with such purpose. She had been a twin, but the Light and the Dark should not have been created separately. They were always meant to be one and because of some cosmic fuck up the entire world was going to hell and she the only one who could save it. So yeah, despite how others might condemn her for whining about how unfair it was, she didn't care. She deserved a good scream.

When even the echo of her cry had faded away as if it had never existed, Kagome was left panting in absolute exhaustion. She did feel a tiny bit better, but until the Darkness was defeated, she knew the weight she felt on her shoulders would remain. She had to now push aside her personal feelings and put together some kind of plan that wouldn't get them all killed.

She knew now what it took to merge the Light and Dark, but only on a minuscule scale—if that wasn't nerve wrecking enough, not knowing what the Darkness was planning was terrifying. The Darkness had spent countless millenniums trapped away plotting its revenge and she would be stupid to believe that it wasn't prepared for her in every way.

She had succeeded in absorbing just the tiniest bit of her twin and she hoped that if she prodded it enough, she might be able to find some insight to its plan without alerting it. The Darkness was nothing if not smart and though she knew it may use pawns to get what it wanted; it wouldn't hide behind them like the spider did. The only thing she knew for sure was that her friends, her son and her mate-to-be would follow her to the pits of hell and she refused to lead them to the slaughter. So, while she knew prying into the Darkness inside of her was risky, she would do so if it meant getting one up on her twin and keeping her loved ones safe.

She considered for a moment trying to tap into the Dark merged with the Light as she lay there, but as she was still in pain and freezing, she decided that perhaps it would be best for her to wait. She would much prefer to be safe and warm before she tried to peek into the mind of her sibling. She wondered if she would even get the chance to do so, because she was certain that at the rate she was going, she would freeze to death by nights end. She really didn't want to die alone even if going out at the center of a volcano was kinda epic. Kagome couldn't stop the dark thought that clawed its way to the forefront of her mind—was being alone after taking in the slivers of Darkness a foreshadowing of her future? Was she destined to walk alone into a possible eternity?

No sooner had she thought it, did she feel Sesshoumaru's massive aura reach out and caress her. She shivered and not from the cold. It was like the sun on her skin and though she couldn't move to greet him, she felt her own aura surge out to him in return. With just that touch she realized she was being ridiculous, because Sesshoumaru was a possessive youkai and he would not allow her to be without him for long. She was still learning him, but that much she knew.

She whispered his name a mere second before the Daiyoukai was on top of her, his hands flat on the ground beside her head. Everything from the dark sky to the snow-covered crater walls were blocked out by his golden eyes and cascade of silver hair. He had come for her and she truly was the luckiest girl in the whole damn world. She let out a small cry of relief when the first thing he did was shove his nose into her neck and proceed to sniff at her, trying to assure himself that she was okay.

Despite the oddness of it all she threaded her fingers into his hair as he huffed and puffed all around her neck and chest. She let her head fall back, baring her neck to him and delighting in his sudden stillness. She was a strong woman—it had taken far too long for her to realize it and she would never let someone make her feel any different. She knew what baring her neck to the Inu meant and she was confident enough in herself and in her belief that Sesshoumaru would never do what Inuyasha had done to her, to gift him with her submission. Doing such a thing for him in no way made her feel weak—in fact, she believed that submitting to the Inu was a testament to her strength. He wouldn't want submission from someone who he perceived as weak.

She didn't know him half as much as he knew her, but she instinctively knew that he would not take her gift lightly. She trusted him and she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he not only deserved her trust, but he deserved to know just where they stood. Her fingers clenched in his hair when he ran his nose slowly up the side of her neck and grazed his fangs along her jugular.

His voice was husky and pained as he whispered, "Oh my little miko, how you tempt me. If only you didn't feel like a block of ice, I would show you how much this one…appreciates, your gift."

While it was true that she was nearly hypothermic and yes, still in quite a bit of pain—no one, not even someone on their death bed could refrain from the smallest gasp of pleasure at the feel of the tongue that licked up her neck. With a small chuckle, the tease of a Daiyoukai moved off to the side and carefully wrapped her like a burrito in his mokomoko.

Sesshoumaru had unknowingly—or perhaps purposely ruined all males for her not just because his touch set her on fire, but because as he gently pulled her body into his arms as to not cause her pain, he showed her what it felt like for someone to be devoted to her. As her body slowly defrosted and exhaustion began to pull her into a healing sleep, she knew that she would fight to the very end not only for the lives of her loved ones, but for the future that she realized she so desperately wanted with the Inu who held her close.

~oOo~

'This is no dream,' Kagome thought as she looked upon her sibling for the first time. The Darkness was completely unaware that it was being watched as it stood on a cliffside staring out at the dark sea, the waves crashing violently against the rocks below. There was no emotion on the face of the body it inhabited—there was no fear, despite how it feared. There was no anger, despite its fury.

She could feel the turbulence of its emotions as if they were her own and she knew that the Darkness knew what she had done. She didn't know if the Darkness knew she able to watch it and feel it, but as the anger and fear drained away and was replaced by smugness, she knew that despite her small victory, it still felt much too confident. When it turned and her gaze followed, she knew why. Her hands lifted to cover her mouth and nose in shock and unbelievable fear as she looked upon an army to end all armies. The dead and the living—humans, demons, hanyous—men, woman and children. Thousands upon thousands, coming for the ones she loved and the Darkness…coming for her.

A/n: Well, there it is. I really hope you liked it. It was the reviews and PM's that I've received that helped me push forward and I want to thank you all for continuing to be fans of BTLOTM despite my absence. You guys are amazing. I appreciate constructive criticism and I would love it if you left me a review.

For those of you who are fans of my other stories as well, I wanted to let you know Tightrope is going to be revised and very likely renamed. In the Shadow of Her Soul is still a go, I have big plans for that story. My Ouran fic is a very dark story and was hard to write on a good day, but I have every intention of jumping back into that one as well. BTLOTM is my priority as it is my oldest and longest story that seriously needs an ending soon. I will try my best to get that done for you this coming year.

With all my love,

Inari