A/N: Hi! Well, this was inspired after I played Naruto: Ultimate Ninja 2 with my sister, then remembering two books, and finally when I was washing my hands the idea formed! I just kept thinking, 'Darn, can Itachi heal himself? It'd be easier!' Well, no, he can't. So then I went on thinking about Bec by Darren Shan and Bless me, Ultima by someone else… The good news is that I still defeated my sister! LOL. Oh, and the name came after I read the entire fifth book in the Cirque du Freak series by Darren Shan (in twenty minutes). I just love it! Special thanks to my beta, Brokenshardsofmyheart99! On with the story!

Disclaimer: This will be my only disclaimer for the entire thing. I do not own YYH nor the things I mentioned above!

Heritage: The Path
Nights were hard around the healer's home. Each sunset brought forth demons that threatened to annihilate his assistant and himself. The conflict began when he was much younger, when he lived in the village. After his mother's death, he refused to let anyone else be slaughtered or die from an illness that could have been prevented. He devoted his life to the arts of healing.

"Fuck, they're still coming. I guess yesterday's little brawl didn't get through their shit-filled heads, huh?" asked the raven-haired assistant.

Emerald eyes opened to look at the momentarily deserted outside. The brightly lit fire extinguished in the fireplace without any aid. "They will keep coming, Yusuke. Their wish is to dominate us… And get their half-blooded prisoner back," the young redhead said nonchalantly. His eyes no longer sparkled with the vividness of youth nor hope anymore.

Yusuke lowered his gaze to the wooden floor. "You act as if I'm the cause of this!" he hissed. With clenched fists he looked at his savior.

"No." The young red-haired man stood up and walked over to Yusuke. His gentle-natured hands held his assistant's face lightly. "I rescued you long after I began my fight with them." He removed his hands and placed a kiss on Yusuke's forehead, a gesture of kindness rarely seen by anyone.

The assistant's face turned red. He pushed back his green-eyed friend with a scowl on his face. "Kurama, I'm not going to die. We always fight against them, and I'm always the one to drag your ass back here to heal!"

Kurama looked away from Yusuke. "Forgive me," he uttered without emotion nor meaning the words.

"Damn. You couldn't care less if you died. Sometimes you can be a pain in the ass, you know?"

The redhead nodded, making the once-imprisoned assistant groan for the thousandth time that day.
"They will be here in thirty seconds. You know what to do." Yusuke ran out of the safety of their humble home and straight for the wilderness. Kurama picked up his bow and several arrows. "May luck and safety befall our enemies…"

Yusuke launched himself at a demon. He grabbed the demon by the head and managed to snap it's neck. Quickly, he noticed a larger demon with reptile-like skin coming at him. The raven smirked and aimed his index finger at the him. "Bang!" he shouted. A spirit energy bullet was released from his finger and collided with the unfortunate demon. "Who's next?" With ease, Yusuke was able to slay every demon in his path. His agility and brute force were definitely the key to his victories. Turning around after killing a she-demon with wings, he noticed his slaying partner aiming and shooting his arrows. "Poor guy. I have this cool power and he only uses arrows. It's a shame that both his parents were humans." The raven-haired youngster grinned and continued his job.

Kurama panted. The demons didn't relinquish at all. It almost seemed as if they sensed his weakness on the full moon, which would not surprise the young healer at all. "I will… Not… LOSE!" he bellowed, releasing another arrow and piercing a demon to it's death. The green-eyed youth knew he was running out of arrows, but kept going further despite that.

The battle soon came to an end as the demons retreated for the night. As predicted, Yusuke carried Kurama back home. He discarded the bow somewhere around the house, laid Kurama down on his bed, and waited incase he was needed. He heard rain pouring before hearing his own name being called.

"Yusuke…" Kurama whispered weakly. Yusuke turned his attention to him. He awaited further speaking, but Kurama merely pointed at the window of his room. The raven understood at once. From the window, Yusuke was able to see a horse-drawn carriage coming to their home. Though Yusuke could see it clearly, he knew that there was no way his friend could have.

"Do you want me to let them in? They probably want to tell us to give them money for the tax… Again."

Shaking his head, Kurama answered, "Our help is needed."

Yusuke chuckled. "Your help. I'm no good at healing."

He sat up in bed and removed the covers. Kurama knew he was going to be needed soon. The knocking on the door alerted them both that their guests had arrived. They quickly made their way to the door and opened it.

"Please help my husband! He's going to die!" a very distraught brunette young woman pleaded.

Kurama eyed Yusuke, noticing his surprise and frown all too clearly. His green eyes fixated on the young aristocratic woman, whom trembled upon noticing his eyes. With a sigh he nodded. "Who mentioned my name to you, Princess?" Kurama asked, not really interested.

The young woman seemed shocked that he knew who she was. "H-how did…"

"Give me a name, please," the redhead demanded, ignoring his assistant's ignorance and failing tongue.

"Oh… Well, her name was Genkai…" Was the answer that almost made Kurama's eyes widened.

"Bring your husband in," he replied after a moment's silence. The young princess did as ordered. Kurama sat on a chair and started the fireplace. He heard Yusuke helping the princess with her husband. 'They are not yet… That must make him a prince. And Genkai…" His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed the young prince.

Rugged good looks, yes. However his dull ruby eyes made him appear more like a wounded kitten than anything else. Kurama noticed the weariness of the eyes, the well-toned body, and the rosy lips. What he almost missed were the other two people with them.

"My name is Kazuma Kuwabara, the driver and protector of the royal family and Princess Keiko," the orange-haired man said to Kurama with a low bow.

Another young woman with aqua hair looked at him before introducing herself. "My name is Yukina, Hiei's sister." Without fail, Kurama noticed how alike both brother and sister looked.

"What is his illness?" the green-eyed healer asked impassively.

"We don't know. The healer Genkai died before she could diagnose his illness," Yukina answered, tears in her eyes. Her protector could only put his muscular arm around her and let her cry silently.

Kurama sighed heavily. "Do you have her research?" In no time notebooks of her research were produced and handed to him. The redhead nodded at the notebooks before placing them down on a table, without looking through them. "Tomorrow I will begin. For now, either return to your palace or stay here." And with that the redhead left to his room.

Kurama overheard Yusuke telling them how tired they both were after fighting demons. And to not worry about the prince. "Master Kurama will heal him in no time! He's been healing since he could read… I think that was at age two or something. Just stay for the night! I'll take the prince to the patient's room and you three can have the house next to ours."

Green eyes closed. He undressed in the dark, leaving no piece of cloth on him. Kurama could feel his rage building up, along with several other emotions. His body shuddered. He looked out he window and sighed.

Without hesitation he drew his eyes to the mirror next to him. In it he saw the tattoo that tarnished his body. The green, unnatural ink ran around his upper left arm, shoulder blade, and into his back. It wasn't at all a design, rather just a line that spiraled and twisted to fit the curves of his upper body that contained it.

He bit his lip, drawing blood out. "I vowed…" Kurama laid on his bed, body exposed to the darkness, and fell asleep.

A/N: Many mysteries, ne? Should I continue? Thanks for reading!