AN: As said on my profile…. I haven't been able to write (for how many years????) But I'm finally going to continue (and hopefully finish) my fanfics. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inu Yasha. But I saw Sesshoumaru last convention and he was HOOOTT! 8D Teehee!

~Title: The broken Heart can be healed again, if not Sealed again.

~Chap: The Last card of manipulation?

* * * * * * * * *

Sesshoumaru hastened across the land. He had searched for Maku before but never found a trace of her. Yet, his cold had gone and he was able to perfectly smell his surroundings. He needed the miko to release Hea. And his brother. Last thing mentioned scared the hell out of him. He could just go home, back to his castle, and ask Kagome to remove the barrier from the cave. But what if she still hadn't recovered from her crush to his brother? If she found out that Naraku had plotted this all to happen, would she leave him? And more importantly, what would Naraku do if he found out Sesshoumaru had been involved in the freeing of Inu Yasha. Kill them?

"No, Kagome." He panted. He wasn't going to lose his family. Not know that he had just started living. 'with Kagome.'

His robes made danced around him when he came to a halt, spotting a silent figure in the distance. He just stared at her for a moment before he resumed on his way. The figure finally started to move and approached him eagerly.

"Not going to ask me how I'm doing? How impolite." The female youkai pouted.

"This Sesshoumaru-sama has more important things to do." He growled indifferently.

"I see. Business." Kagura just shook her head. How could this demon be sooooo uninterested. She was about to tell him her goodies! She could not wait to see the expression on his face when she told him what she had seen.

Yet he quietly ignored her and continued on his way. "Ignoring even poor little me." She stated and he turned around and glowered at her.

"If you think you could flirt with this Sesshoumaru-sama, think again." He snarled at her and she flinched if only for a moment.

"Yeah, I know. I've tried but I guess that me flattering you wouldn't have the same effect as it used to now that you have chosen your mate." She said trough gritted teeth.

Sesshoumaru narrowed his eyes at her. "Go back to your master, Kagura. And tell him to keep his little spies away from my dominions. I have done nothing to mortify him. We have a deal and that's how I intend to keep it."

Kagura rolled her eyes in amazement. 'idiot.' She thought whilst watching the taiyoukai turning around on his heels in another attempt to resume his way.

"Just to let you know, I saw someone you might be interested in. I believe it's a certain Miko you have encountered, well, what was it again……………. Seventy years ago." Sesshoumaru froze in his tracks and Kagura laughed out loud.

"Oh yes. Something with a massacre wasn't it. Poor thing got sealed away." With one short movement Kagura found herself in the hands of an angry Sesshoumaru who was about to slice her to pieces and who could barely compose himself. "Where?" he growled at her.

She smiled nervously. "With the filthy hanyou's priest and demon slayer. In a town nearby." She pointed towards the distance and Sesshoumaru growled in the back of his throat.

"You're not going to mention this to anyone!"

Kagura huffed when the taiyoukai let go of her and hurried off. "Course not." She whispered whilst rubbing her sore throat.

* * * * * * * * *

Hea watched with piercing red eyes as she saw a figure walking through the forest, inching closer and closer towards the cave. She hoped to recognize the figure being Maku, or Kagome, or even a fairy in a good mood. She found that it was another miko.

"Well, anyone of them will do." She growled. "if she can't do it, which I think might be just the case, she might as well search for someone who can, like Maku."

With the now hardly breathing Inu Yasha in her arms she began to whistle at the person inching closer to the cave.

The girl stood still and seemed to contemplate about what to do next. It was obvious she heard the sound.

"Stupid birds! Nasty insects." The girl screeched and shot an arrow towards Hea's direction, hitting a bird in the process.

At hearing that the whistling sounds had not ceased, Kikyu took another arrow and called for her soul snatchers who appeared by her side not more than a moment later. With the combined force of the soul snatchers and her purifying arrow she managed to hit the barrier that kept Hea and Inu Yasha as prisoners in the cave. The barrier gave away, it broke, and the arrow along with the soul snatchers banged into hea's face, finally stopping the irritating whistling sound. Kikyou sighed as she felt relieved.

"Finally some piece of mind." she murmured.

If she had been a youkai she might have smelled the nasty aroma coming from the inner depths of the cave, or the faint scent of Inu Yasha, but since she was just a dead miko with no knowledge of a cave being there and of its prisoners she massaged her temples before she continued on her way to Naraku's castle. She wanted to talk to him.

He had given up his disguise as Inu Yasha. Kaede, her dear sister, had accused him of being Naraku, which of course he was, and he had replied with a 'kukuku' and had disappeared from view. She expected that he would return but until today he had not. And it made her wonder why he had put so much effort into this plot of his.

He had disguised himself and had trapped Inu Yasha in a cave – of which she didn't know the exact location but she didn't care, she would take him to hell with her after she had completed the Shikon no tama. Why pretend to be Inu Yasha? Scare Kagome away? Make sure the group would fall apart? Kikyou was utterly confused at Naraku's sudden leave and she felt somewhat betrayed by him.

"That stupid hanyou." She cured. "He was just using me, wasn't he?" she looked up at the sky above her.

"As if I haven't been used and betrayed before in my life. So many times before."

* * * * * * * * *

Naraku groaned at the sight shown in Kanna's mirror. Kagura was betraying him? Well, that wasn't unusual. But still, it hurt him to see the demon talk to Sesshoumaru. He hadn't been able to follow their whole conversation as Kanna suddenly switched the image to that of Kikyou shooting an arrow and accidently destroying the barrier around the cave.

"Interesting for Hea to get stuck in cave." He growled at the unmoving Kanna.

"But that stupid nitwit!" He slammed his fist against the paper wall. "Did she just had to shoot an arrow? Her stupid insectofobia and fright for birds just freed my toughest opponent yet! It is a good thing that Kagome is still with Sesshoumaru." Naraku frowned at this and bit his fist.

If Inu Yasha was free again……… Sesshoumaru would have lost his excuse. Which meant that he would lose his reputation and Naraku would lose his 'helping hand.' He needed Sesshoumaru. Well, not desperately of course, but still, Sesshoumaru might prove to be useful to him later on.

Naraku recapitulated the situation once more. Sesshoumaru had mated with Kagome – 'good thing, this had separated the group and distracted Kagome of her shard hunt'. Naraku grinned at this. Kikyou had helped him finding most of the lost shards after that.

What the hell was he worrying himself about?

Everything was going perfectly as planned.

"Well, almost as planned." He mumbled softly.

He lazily extended a hand to Kanna.

"Let's go and fetch that ningen girl. She is the last card for me to play."

* * * * * * * * *

"AAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiihhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa."

It was Kagome who screamed out loud. She hung her head in defeat afterwards and pulled some strands of her. Then, just as quickly, she jumped up from her seat and grabbed a coat. "Jaken! Hurry your ass over here!" she couldn't help but be impolite and use foul language for she was too much awestricken with the whole situation. The little toad hurried over to her but she had already exited the front door.

"Lady Kagome, not so fast!" Jaken yelped. But Kagome didn't cast him a single glance as she called out for Ah-Un and jumped onto the creature's back. When Jaken finally reached her she lifted him up by his arms and placed him in front of her. The little youkai nestled close to her. 'She's smelling comfortably well.' And Kagome hurried off.

"Where is Sesshoumaru-sama when you need him?" she muttered softly.

* * * * * * * * *

Shippou hurried over to the clearing. "There's exactly the last flower I need for the cure. Maku-chan is really going to be healthy again. Just this last flower and we'll all be okay."

His eyes turned big at the sight of a flying Youkai approaching him and he yelled out in panic. "Noooo, don't eat me!" The creature seemed distract by this and, instead of resuming its course, advanced the poor kitten. Shippou fell flat on his back and held a good grip on the herbs and flowers he had collected for Maku's medicine. His eyes were firmly closed when he felt someone pick him up.

"Shippou?"

The voice was awkwardly familiar to him.

"Shippou! I thought I might never see you again!" He was hugged closely and he had to acknowledge that the scent of this person holding onto him was quite familiar as well. It was mingled with that of another person he knew vaguely. And there was something more to it.

Shippou shyly opened his eyes.

"Kagome?" he replied, voice full with unbelief.

She just nodded at him and he could spot the toad demon behind her, still placed on Ah-Un.

"Kagome!? You came back!" Shippou held his surrogate mother in a tight embrace and savoured the feeling. Kagome couldn't help but let a tear at the emotional encounter with the young fox.

"We thought something awful might have happened to you." The little one sobbed onto her shoulder, clutching her coat with his fists. Kagome could not help but sob loudly herself, upsetting Jaken who knew very little of emotions.

"Kaede told that Naraku had trapped Inu Yasha. And we were searching for a special gem to defeat Naraku and free Inu yasha and you and then Maku got hurt and now you came back!"

Kagome smiled at him tenderly and stroked his fur.

"I wasn't kidnapped, Shippou. Well, not really. I was with Sesshoumaru after Inu Yasha dumped me. I was going to come back for you. All of you." She whispered soothingly.

"all of us except Inu yasha." Shippou pouted.

"yes, but he's a jerk."

Shippou acknowledged the fact.

"But he did not do anything bad on purpose. It was all Naraku's setup. Why, kagome? Why would he do such a thing and separate us." He looked at her with big innocent eyes.

"To separate us." Kagome whispered. Realisation suddenly hit her and she tried to hide her panic.

"That was his setup all along. To separate us so we couldn't look for the Shikon shards! I've been such a fool!" she blamed herself but shippou patted her on her shoulder.

"You couldn't have stopped him Kagome."

"I could have returned for you sooner." She panted.

"No you couldn't. I bet Sesshoumaru wouldn't have let you." Shippou said looking brilliantly.

'Come to think of it I'd never asked Sesshoumaru in this past month to go back and visit them. I was too afraid of meeting Inu Yasha or Kikyou.' Kagome smiled softly at Shippou.

"Especially now that you are going to be a real mother."

"Eeck!" Kagome almost dropped Shippou to the forest floor and sweat dropped. "How did you know?" she yelped.

"Scent." He simply stated.

"I've just found out myself." Kagome stuttered.

"And that's why you came to visit us?"

"Actually. It's worse than that. Rin disappeared. Naraku wants to separate us. And now he took Rin!" fear shone in Kagome's eyes and Shippou, being the brave kitten he was, gave her a sharp nod.

"Let's go back to the village. I'm sure Sango and Miroku will be glad to help you out. Remember, kagome. We are your friends and we shall be your friends forever. We'll get through this. We'll beat that Naraku. I promise!"

GChibi: At last! I've been able to continue this masterpiece! Muahahahahahaha

Inu yasha: Yeps, She's lost her mind. Now we're sure of it.

Maku: Scary.

GChibi: And as I start to take up the thread (or whatever it is called in English XD ) I must say I was quite entertained by writing this chapter. Wait to see what I've got for you all next time!

Kagome: I'm what?

Sesshoumaru: *growling* mine!

Shippou: REVIEW you guys out there!

Sango: And let it be known! Gchibi has come back to life!

Miroku: our author has come back from the grave :D

Sesshoumaru: just review so I can have my pups,will ya.

Kagome: yeah, right