A/N: Yes, well...despite what I said about reviews, I am going to go ahead and post up the next part of this little story. Let me know if you like it...or not...you know what I mean.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Manipulation

Chapter Three

Kagome jumped, again causing herself to wail in pain. What was Sesshoumaru doing in Tokyo, and why in the hell was he being so nice all of a sudden?

"Why are you here, Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha said what Kagome had been thinking.

Sesshoumaru laughed. "Calm down, little brother. It is not your place to ask the reason I am here when you barely know where you are anyway..."

"What do you mean?" asked Kagome's mother. Her family had been silent a long time.

"Fools!" Sesshoumaru chuckled, "Naraku has you under his thumb like little insects! He's poisoned the human and Inuyasha! Don't you see? Until the poison is lifted, it is he who has the upper hand. He's here right now...in your own time, girl, pretending to be one of the people who is supposed to heal you..."

Miroku and Sango jumped up quickly. "It is him!"

"Well, what can we do about it?" asked Kagome's grandfather.

Sesshoumaru blinked. "You? You can do nothing. To interfere with Naraku's plan would almost certainly mean death to you..."

"Well then, Sesshoumaru, what do you suggest that we do?" asked Miroku.

"Yes, Sesshoumaru...since Naraku is right here, what do you suggest we do?" Sango repeated angrily.

"I suggest that you get back to the time from whence you came. I am sure that meddlesome old woman Kaede will be able to help you, but if not, I have spoken to Kagura..."

"You spoke to Kagura? Are you two all buddy-buddy or something? That must have been how he did it! Inuyasha was right! That little girl...the whole thing was just some sort of trap..." Kagome gasped.

Sesshoumaru shrugged. "Do not worry yourself about it!" he snapped. "You need to get back. This time period is fragile. If Naraku attacks you here, he would kill thousands of others in the process!"

"And how do you plan on us getting out of here? You just said it yourself...Naraku is playing doctor..." Sango smirked.

Sesshoumaru pointed. "There is a window, and if need be, I will head Naraku off myself until you get back to our time."

"Window? We're on the third floor!"

"Inuyasha can land that easily...." Sesshoumaru nodded.

Inuyasha's mouth hung open. First, his brother had come to this time, and told them a whole bunch of useful information. Now, there he stood, about a foot from Kagome, suggesting that they escape while he bides time with Naraku? Maybe he had hit his head?

"Err...Sesshoumaru?" he cleared his throat.

"Get going before he realizes that I'm here, you moron," growled Sesshoumaru.

"What should we do?" asked Kagome's grandfather.

Sesshoumaru sighed. "Leave this place, but do not return to the shrine, for I fear that is how Naraku has managed to get into this time. Go somewhere else, and stay away for a few days. I will lure Naraku back to the feudal era, and then it will be safe for you to return."

Kagome's mother nodded. Souta sighed. "Will Kagome be all right?"

"I'll be fine," Kagome answered. "The wound will heal, and Granny Kaede will lift the poison. Everything will be fine..."

Inuyasha nodded, cradling Kagome in his arms. She groaned softly in pain, and he glanced at her worriedly for a moment before sliding the window open. He looked down at the ground below, and saw that no one was looking up. Nodding this time to Sesshoumaru, he jumped, landing safely on the ground only seconds later.

"We'll get back, I'll have Kaede lift the poison, and then, I'm going to go wring Naraku's stupid neck." Inuyasha threatened.

"Inuyasha..."

"Huh?"

"I want to help..." smiled Kagome, "I want to help you when you wring Naraku's stupid neck..."

Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh. "That's nice, but I'd like to keep your neck safe for the time being..."

"You will not go looking for him on your own, Inuyasha. I will come with you, and if you have a problem with that, I swear in the name of all things sacred and holy, I will..." she stopped. She was going to say 'I'll sit you to hell...', but she didn't want to risk sending them both into the ground.

"You'll what?" asked Inuyasha, suddenly interested.

"If I say it you'll fall down, and I don't want to fall with you," Kagome explained.

Inuyasha nodded. If that was the case, he was really glad she hadn't finished what she was saying. He let out a deep breath. They had made it to Granny Kaede's hut without getting themselves hurt, and as far as he could tell, both he and Kagome were aware of everything around them.

"Kaede!" Inuyasha called. "Sesshoumaru said he talked to you! We need your remedy!"

Kaede stepped from the hut. "I see ye have returned quickly. Thy brother told me you'd be coming. I've got everything ye need inside." She smiled, and led them into her hut.

Inuyasha nodded, carefully set Kagome down, and entered Kaede's hut. Kaede had already set herself to crushing various herbs, and had a small pot of water boiling over the fire. Inuyasha glanced at Kagome, helped her to sit down, and then took his own seat.

"How long will this take, Kaede? We have problems..." Inuyasha worried.

Kaede glared at him. "Be patient, Inuyasha! It will take a moment." She snapped at him.

"All right!" he groaned.

Kaede began to put the herbs into the pot, and a strong smell began to permeate the room. Kagome sniffed, and frowned deeply. "What's that smell, Granny Kaede?" she asked. "That doesn't smell right..."

"It's fine, child..."

Kagome looked down. Several unused herbs were lying next to the fire. She studied them. Suddenly, something important came back to her.

"These herbs will help with infection. That one there, with the white blossom, will cure almost any type of poison..." Kaede was explaining to her.

"What's that one?" asked Kagome, pointing to an herb with a small yellow blossom.

Kaede frowned. "That herb is not for medical uses of any sort. It is highly toxic. In that tiny weed there is enough poison to kill fifty strong men..."

Kagome gasped. "You can't be serious!"

"Aye child...I speak the truth..."

Kagome stared distrustfully at the weed on the floor. A single yellow blossom was visible on the end. She glanced towards Kaede, who had just finished stirring the same type of herb into the mixture she was making to 'help' Inuyasha and herself. She handed a cup to Inuyasha, who eagerly brought it to within drinking distance before Kagome could blink.

"Don't drink it!" she screamed at him, slapping the cup from his hands so that the mixture spilled all over the floor.

"Why the hell not?" demanded Inuyasha.

Kagome grabbed the weed with the yellow blossom, and stood, however painful it was to her. She stared at Kaede. "Something is wrong with her, Inuyasha. This weed is highly toxic. She told me once herself...yet she just stirred it into the mixture you were about to drink..."

That was when Kagome noticed them. In the back of Kaede's small hut, next to the worn out tatami mat she usually slept on, was a large cup. Inside the cup was a bouquet of very familiar flowers...

"Where did you get those?" she demanded of Kaede.

"Calm yourself, child! They were given to me by a child from the village just yesterday, after Inuyasha's brother paid me a visit." Kaede explained.

"Why did you put the poisonous weed into the mixture, then?" demanded Kagome. "You told me yourself it was capable of bringing down many people..."

Kaede stared blankly.

Inuyasha blinked. "Kagome, are you saying...?"

"I think she's been poisoned, Inuyasha." Kagome whispered. "Look...in the back of the room. Aren't those flowers familiar?"

Inuyasha stared. They did look familiar. They were the flowers that he'd seen the little girl give to Kagome. And if Kaede had managed to get a hold of the tainted flowers, then...

"Kaede, we're going to leave now..." Inuyasha picked Kagome up bridal style and slowly backed out of the hut.

"Where are you going?" demanded Kaede.

"Away from here!" Inuyasha yelled his reply as he jumped into the nearest tree outside.

Kagome groaned. "Don't hurt her, Inuyasha..." she frowned. "She's not herself..."

"I know that! But then again, we're not really ourselves either..." Inuyasha brought up a very good point.

"So what do we do now?" whispered Kagome. "I don't want anything bad to happen again. Just the thought of it scares me, Inuyasha. I don't want to hurt you..." she sighed.

Inuyasha shook his head. "You aren't going to hurt me. You remember what Sesshoumaru said? We still have one other option. It's just a matter of whether or not we can get to her before Naraku does..."

"Are you talking about Kagura?" asked Kagome.

Inuyasha nodded. "She's our last hope..."

"And you're absolutely sure we can trust Sesshoumaru? After all, Kagura is on Naraku's side, remember?" Kagome pointed out. "You're sure she won't try and impale us when we find her or anything?..."

Inuyasha seemed to think about this for a moment before he answered. "We don't have much of a choice in the matter right now, Kagome. We're going to have to trust that Sesshoumaru has actually talked to Kagura, and we're going to have to hope that she can reverse whatever it is that Naraku has done..."

"But Inuyasha...that makes me really uneasy. How do we know that Kagura didn't help Naraku do everything? She's like his little puppet..."

"We don't know," sighed Inuyasha, "but I guess we'll find out...as soon as we find her..."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A/N: Sorry for the long time between updates. Kind of left a cliffy, too, huh? Sorry about that! Anyway, I hope you review, and I hope you like it. I'll try to put the next chapter up sooner than I managed this one!