Gaaaahaah brain farts are evil. Sorry it took so long to update. I've been a busy bee lately and didn't have time to get to a computer (a lot busier than I thought would ever be possible). Though I made sure pen and paper were always handy. And now thanx to Ph34rTheEars, I have a sesshy plushie soo my time has been quite occupied as of late. But no matter I have more suspense and drama in store for you all.

::Fluffy::You all know she's just making up excuses, right?

::Me::WHAT!! Why you! What the hell would I be making excuses for anyway?!?

::Fluffy::Oh I don't know, your major case of writers block? It was the only reason you haven't posted as of late.

:::Chaos promptly wacks Fluffy upside the head::: You mister are on very thin ice. I'd watch what I say if I were you. With that said on with the show!

Disclaimer: no, contrary to popular belief (mine included) I do not own InuYasha. (Damn) :::stomps off in anger::

::Fluffy:: I just hate it when she gets like this. It makes my life a living hell trying to deal with it. :::sighs:::

Chapter Siete (seven)

They still didn't get it. They didn't believe him when he said Kagome was still alive. They thought the dream was his brains way of coping with the loss. Regardless, all three of them agreed that they had to go after Naraku for the rest of the jewel. And that meant a lot of planning would have to be done. But InuYasha was not one to sit around and plan, he wanted to go straight into action flying by the seat of his pants. He was itching to give Naraku what was so coming to him. But without a solid plan they wouldn't get anywhere near the Castle, even if they knew where it was. (At least InuYasha did)

"InuYasha! Will you quit pacing and help us?" Miroku said, annoyed by the hanyou's lack of attention. He knew InuYasha was antsy, they all were. But in order to make it to Naraku's castle they need to work together. And with InuYasha blatantly ignoring what little time they had to make this plan, Miroku was growing more and more impatient himself. Sometimes he wished he could have InuYasha's headstrong temperament, but with his mortal body he needed to be more careful then that. That's why they needed to plan, to make sure that there would be as little fatality as possible.

It was simple, all then had to do was storm the castle and save Kagome. But noooooo, Miroku wanted to plan every excruciating detail. If there is one thing he had learned from Kagome's school stuff it was that uncertainty principle Hiezenkawhosawhatsitz. Must remember there is always an X variable that would put a kink in all of your carefully laid plans. All of the sudden InuYasha stopped pacing. His ears were twitching wildly and his eyes scanned the horizon. Then he saw her, the X variable herself, Kagura, flying toward them on her feather. InuYasha immediately drew Tetsaiga in anticipation of a fight. But as usual Kagura was unpredictable.

"Heh, what are you here for, Kagura, another sound beating?" InuYasha called after her.

"Haha very funny InuYasha. I would soooo love to kill you, but no, I did not come here to fight, you half-wit."

"HA! Isn't that a bunch a shit. Heeeeey wait, I'm not a half-wit" 'Yup she's the X-factor alright. No telling what she's here for.'

"I've come to ask for a favor. Since your brother seems uninterested, I need you to kill Naraku."

"And what makes you think I would do anything for you. Killing Naraku is a given, but doing you in would be just as satisfying."

"Because without my help, you won't be able to kill Naraku. He has taken his weak spot out and without me you will never find it. Besides you wouldn't want Naraku to find out when you turn completely human now would you."

InuYasha's eyes widened in shock. She knew, Kagura had known all along and she didn't tell Naraku? What was going on in that woman's head?

"Blackmail Kagura? That's a new one. But I guess you're right, we will need all the help we can get," Miroku chimed in. He didn't like it, but they had no other choice. It could be another one of Naraku's traps so they would have to be wary of what Kagura had to offer. It was known that she despised Naraku and wanted him dead but she was always watched by him. He could have sent her just the same, to throw them off course.

"Miroku what are you, nuts? I wouldn't trust Kagura as far I can throw her. We don't need her help she's the spawn of Naraku fer Chrissake! Fer all we know he sent her here."

"I don't like it either but lets at least here what she has to say. It couldn't hurt," Miroku's logical voice broke the stir. An uneasy feeling still resided within InuYasha, like time was running out and Kagura was a major distraction. But Miroku was right, they need every bit of information they could get, even if that meant trusting in what Kagura had to offer. InuYasha finally stopped pacing and sat down inside old Kaede's hut, though he kept his guard on full alert just to be sure. Kagura told them about Hakudoshi and what happened after a priest cut the demon in half.

"The other half contains Naraku's hearts. If you destroy that infant you destroy Naraku,"Kagura said pointedly.

"And where are we supposed to find it, Kagura? Its not like Naraku keeps it just anywhere,"InuYasha retorted back. Its just like he thought, Naraku was trying to lead them away from Kagome and his castle. This was going to be a wild goose hunt and InuYasha would have none of it. If Kagome was in Naraku's clutches, that meant he still had a bargaining chip to play, so they had to go after Kagome first before ever attempting to go after Naraku's heart 'IF Kagura is telling the truth'. He would not risk Kagome again.

"Well if you must be so rude, it's inside Moryomaru"

Moryomaru, a demon they had dealt with before, and the outcome was not good. Born from various demons as an experiment of Hakudoshi's. And because of his mixed background, Moryomaru had all the different abilities of each demon within him. He could make his body as soft as jello to absorb a blow, or as hard as diamonds to ward of an attack altogether. Oh yeah, Naraku had chosen a real good safe for his precious treasure. And they were going to have to become expert safe crackers if they were going to destroy Naraku once and for all. But right now, Kagome was number one priority and InuYasha needed convince the others that she really was alive.

"Alright Kargura we'll go after Moryomaru, but first answer me this, Naraku has Kagome doesn't he?"

"InuYasha! We've been over this, she's dead! And the more you deny it the more it will hurt when you finally realize that she's gone!"

"Shut up Miroku! I know what I'm talking about. Naraku kidnaped Kagome and replaced her with a puppet, didn't he? DIDN'T HE!?!?" InuYasha banged his fist on the floor mat in frustration. God he was tired of being though of as incompetent and all that was about to be resolved.

"H-how did you know? His plan was flawless, how did you figure it out?" Kagura gasped in utter shock.

"That's all I needed to hear! I'll tell you later Kagura, that is if your still around."

Both Miroku and Sango were frozen in shock. They had not believed a word that InuYasha said, thinking that it was an invention of his own mind to cope with the grief. Shippo, who had secluded himself deep within in the recesses of his mind, poked his out from under his pelt at the news. His momma was alive. She didn't die, but she would if they didn't rescue her from Naraku.

"Well what are you guys waiting for? We have to go save Kagome!" Shippo's chipper voice interrupted the silence that had fallen over the room. He leapt onto InuYasha's shoulder seeing as how he was the only other person still able to move. They set off for Naraku's castle without even a look back to see if they would follow.

"Heeeey wait for us!" both Miroku and Sango called out to the blur in the distant horizon.

It took two days, and a few wrong turns to get to the place Kagome had described to him, but InuYasha made it nonetheless. He now saw the daunting task before him and it was going to take a helluva lot to get in and out in one piece. As he was contemplating how to go about rescuing Kagome, the front doors of the fortress opened. Creaking and turning of wheels could be heard as the huge doors swung outward toward the group. And Naraku stood there with an evil smirk on his face and none other than Kagome on his arm, looking lovingly up at him.

(A/N): tehe I know I'm evil but whatcha gonna do? This story is nearing completion and this by far was the longest chappie to date. But don't you worry now children, I've still got a few twists up my very large sleeve(it's the plot bunnies I swear! They keep tickling me to do eviiiiil stuff). Now go and review before a paraña come getcha!