This... may be a little odd O: I haven't updated since... this time LAST YEAR! OMG! I am SOOOOOOO sorry! I legit didn't think it'd been that long until I saw the 'last updated' thing and nearly had a heart attack! D:

Didn't mean to leave it this long! ZOMG, that's so dreadful of me! O:

Anyways... please excuse my lateness... like, extreme lateness and enjoy the next chapter... and please review...

Infiltration:

"What do you mean?" asked Shippo, detaching himself from Nozomi.

Nozomi frowned and replied, "It's... complicated. I know I can master this... gift, if I really try, but... but I don't think I have enough time to do so."

"Enough time?" repeated Kagome softly.

The blonde haired demon nodded. "Naraku knows how to find me, even through time. If I master my gift, I can evade him... but... there's not enough time to do so. I can determine when I travel and where I go because of the bracelet's power, but, I can't master it. It's still unpredictable. I aimed to be here just a few days after I left... that obviously didn't work very well."

"It's more than you could do before," stated Sango.

Nozomi nodded again. "That's true... but... I can't completely master my gift before Naraku finds me. The bracelet helped, but not enough. I need to eradicate it."

"How?" demanded Inuyasha.

"It's... complicated," said Nozomi, frowning as she realised she has said that exact phrase several seconds earlier, "I... can't explain right now. Please, just trust me. It won't hurt any of you!"

"What about you?" asked Shippo, concern seeping through his tone.

Nozomi smiled at Shippo. "I'll live," she said simply, "Look... I know I lied to you when we first met and I know that I haven't exactly been a positive person to have around... or a safe one, but I need you to trust me! I need your help. Please!"

Something in her voice must've reached the ears of the others, because Miroku, Sango and Kagome all nodded in agreement.

"I'll always help," said Shippo, reattaching himself to Nozomi.

"Keh," was all that came out of Inuyasha's mouth.

"Thank you. I promise that everything will end up fine... and one, possibly two, of Naraku's plans will be foiled."

"You don't need to convince us," said Miroku, "You already have."

"Thank you," repeated Nozomi with a dip of her head, "Thank you so much."

oOo

Within a few days the group was stationed outside an old castle in the middle of a rotting forest. The miasma was strong, and Kagome, Sango and Miroku were all wearing protective masks.

"Naraku is definitely here," said Miroku.

Nozomi shook her head. "It's hard to tell," she murmured, "I don't think he is… which works better for us."

"What do you need us to do?" asked Sango, looking down at the blonde half demon.

"Distract them," was Nozomi's simple reply, "I need to get into the castle but I can't if they know I'm there… I need a distraction to draw them to one side, while I sneak through the other side."

"What are you gonna do?" asked Shippo with a frown.

Nozomi sighed and stared at the castle. "What I should've done years ago."

Shippo's frown deepened but he didn't argue with her. He clung to Kagome's shoulder as she hopped on Kirara. "Be careful."

Nozomi nodded as she watched the others disappear around the other side, one lone tear sliding down her cheek. She was going to be careful, but she knew that her life would still be in danger. To destroy the time-travel, she might destroy herself. Nozomi sucked in a deep breath and starting edging her way to the castle as soon as the sounds of battle could be heard from the other side. She slipped into the shadows and entered the castle, knowing well that she might never see her friends ever again.