Kurama took a deep, steadying breath and steeled himself before the immense doorway. It truly was an impressive entryway, carved from hard, unyielding oak and decorated with a Cimmerian mosaic depicting an epic struggle and a victorious war of succession. It was extravagant, opulent, and flamboyant, the perfect doorway fit for a king. It was too bad said king could not enjoy the magnificent splendor of this sight. What sad irony.

He hesitated on the threshold of the throne room, rallying his courage for what he was about to do. He willed himself to remain composed and still. Even through the door Yomi could feel any reaction Kurama made. Blindness, in turn, made him more aware of other things in his surroundings, things such as body temperature, blood pressure, and tension. He would need his calm mask now more than ever if he were to do what he had planned.

Yomi was just another shadow coming to life from his past in order to claim the price for his previous crimes. He knew coming here that he would be at the mercy of Yomi's dark machinations. He was ready to give his life to Yomi as payment for the wrongs he had committed.

He pushed the doors open and with grim determination walked, head held high, into the dimly lit chamber to await his final judgment.


Yomi sat rigidly on his luxurious throne. His hands were clawed, gripping the arms of the throne with enough force to dent it. He was seething, his fury radiating from him in mounting waves. His wrath felt like a torrential tempest, a surge of demonic energy charging the air around him.

The king had been thankful for his blindness for it had allowed him to ignore the signs of disloyalty woven around the fox. He had fooled himself into believing that this would not happen. He had been a fool not to see this coming, especially after what he had done to provoke it…

But that did not stop the anger…or the hurt that had engulfed him at this second betrayal. How could he do this to me…AGAIN! He screamed in his mind, his rage burning a path through his veins like acid boiling up from within him and reaching the surface, breaking through his poised and pacific demeanor.

He had trusted Kurama again, confident in his control over the wily fox with his chokehold on his human family. He had actually let himself believe that he had broken the demon. He had tamed the wild spirit fox. What an absolutely ridiculous notion. He had seemed subdued, submissive even, taking his orders and offering his wise and genuine counsel. He had never led him astray; never planted false information. He could have well and truly destroyed his kingdom from the inside out, and yet he had not done so. The only thing he had done was lull him into a false sense of security. He had been deceived by the truth, as only a master manipulator like Kurama could accomplish. He had played the part of the subordinate well, until the time to shed the guise arrived, the time when he showed his true colors. The untamed fox had bitten him.

How could this surprise him? Their alliance was hardly stable, for in it held the seeds of hatred, and Kurama, unbeknown to him, had grown those seed to full bloom. He had used blackmail to gain his allegiance, and Kurama had resented him for it. He was looking for a way out, a way to break the bonds that unwillingly bound him to the king. And he had found the knife needed to sever those ties, and once he did, he buried that knife into Yomi's back.

Yomi allowed himself a moment to muse on his past relationship with Kurama. He had always idolized Kurama, held him on a pedestal, above all others. He was devoted…but too impulsive to be obedient. Kurama had raised him, taking him into the band of thieves when he was very young and teaching him the art of stealing. He hadn't been a very studious pupil. He was young and careless, more interested with battle than with stealth. His thirst for action and blood had led many of his fellow bandits to an early grave. When the assassin had taken away his light, before he had ever suspected Kurama's betrayal, what he had felt most of all was abandoned. The band had been the only home he had ever known, and Kurama like a father to him. He had always rescued him at the last moment and welcomed him back with open arms. His words to him the last time he had come to his aid had rung in his head for a thousand years, "You'll meet a bitter end…"

But Yomi had not met his bitter end, not yet. He had survived, broken in both heart and mind, only to rise from the ashes, reborn better than he had ever been.

However, for all his boasts, Yomi never felt his blindness more keenly than when he stood in Kurama's presence.

The proper approach to the fox eluded him. Yomi gained power through superior strength, physically or mentally; he gained control by breaking others. But Kurama had stubbornly resisted. He issued threats and set brilliant gambits into motion, staying five steps ahead, but Kurama was always ten steps ahead. Where others failed and finally succumbed, bended to his will, he adapted and evolved with amazing flexibility to rapidly changing circumstances, even before he understood the advantages he seized.

Kurama rendered all of Yomi's schemes little more than stalling tactics. A thousand years later their roles were not inverted as he had believed. For all his patience and quick thinking, Kurama was still the master puppeteer, and he the lowly puppet.

If only Kurama would at least offer a concession, a compromise—any sign of submission, without an ocean of deception between them. Yomi's motives were simple: to have Kurama allegiance, his trust. Once he possessed that of the fox, all of his convoluted plans could be wiped away, the board cleaned, a new game started; once Kurama understood his intentions, he would be able to see through those threatening guises. They were only necessary for as long as it took to play on Kurama's level: to get Yomi's point across. Threats and deception were the languages of the fox, but it would seem that Yomi was illiterate and still just as blind to the fox's thoughts as he always had been.

He had failed to win the allegiance of the traitorous fox, and it has cost him dearly. He had lost country, crown, and throne because of this well executed coup. As much as it galled him to admit it to himself, Shachi had indeed been correct about Kurama and where his loyalties lie.

However, he was lying to himself if he did not admit that his own reckless and hasty actions had led to this conclusion. He had practically forced Kurama's hand on both occasions. He was so foolhardy and a danger to everyone around him, Kurama had to have him eliminated for his own good. He had been hurt, he had felt abandoned, betrayed, and lost, but he had understood what led him to seek out Yomi's death, and his grudge against him had dulled to a fine point. He had had this coming this time as well. He had bullied the fox into assisting him, threatening the death of those closest to him, though he'd never understood why they were. Then he put the last nail in his coffin by asking him to do the one thing he would never have done: kill one of his closest friends, Yusuke Urameshi. He had backed the fox into a corner, and he had shown his teeth.

He regretted these decisions now. Hindsight was the one sight he had not lost, and its vision was clearest of all. Perhaps, if he had been honest and open with him from the start, things would not have ended so poorly.

Kurama pushed open the doors, and Yomi couldn't help but notice the gracefulness of his strides as he entered the throne room. The tension in the air was palpable, and Kurama's state of mind was turbulent…too many warring emotions for him to decipher any. Kurama stopped suddenly as if the waves of his fury had created and invisible barrier. His hands were in his pockets, a gesture on which he often fell back. Body language suggested that he were unhappy with his actions, insecure in his own skin. It was a way the subconscious avoided the situation at hand.

Kurama had always been very good at hiding. If he didn't wish to be found, he wasn't. That is why it had taken Yomi so long to find the elusive fox. He had grown careless, getting involved with Spirit World and completing in the Dark Tournament. Rumors of the youko's return had spread from Hanging Neck Island like a plague, and it didn't take long for those rumors to reach his sharp ears. But Kurama was far better at hiding his emotions than his body. Yomi had never been sure what exactly he had been thinking or feeling. However, his blindness had allowed his other senses to heighten. He had practically become his own personal polygraph machine. He could hear the heart beat of anyone as loudly and as clearly as if his ear was right against their chest. He could feel the waves of heat emanate from their body, feel the pressure of the blood pumping through their veins, sense the smallest twitch of any muscle, catch any change in their respiration. He could even sense one's state of mind or even mood.

Kurama smelled as he always did of roses and death. A bittersweet scent that lulled the senses into a false state of peace before the owner of the scent took away your life in the most beautiful and ruthless of manners. However, Kurama didn't always kill in a quick and merciful manner. Sometimes, he cut you so deeply and laughed while he left our soul to bleed.

His breathing was slow and steady as was the beating of his heart, but Yomi could tell this was a conscious effort on his part. He was fighting hard to maintain his prized calm. Yet he stood there defiant, muscles tense, as always, as if the king were the one who betrayed him… and maybe he did. He had threatened his family, and clearly his loyalty to this Urameshi was stronger than anything he had ever felt for Yomi. A pang jealousy unwillingly stung him at this thought.

And then suddenly, Kurama knelt down on the cold, stone floor, head bowed.

Yomi felt his anger increase irrationally at this gesture. How dare he bow to him now? Was he mocking him, still thinking he were the superior of the two? He spat, appalled, "You were never the submissive subject, do not act it now!"

Kurama rose smoothly, head still bowed, eyes downcast. "I wished only to convey my remorse…"

"I have tortured and killed people for much less than what you have done…twice now," Yomi riled, his anger flaring to life in the presence of the one who had caused him so much pain. He demanded harshly, "Tell me what you would have done had our positions been reversed."

"You know…" Kurama whispered, eyes still averted, head still bowed, heart still racing.

"Look at me…See what you have made me become..." Yomi demanded. The fox will not hide from what he did to him, he would not let him.

Kurama's eyes slowly slid to the king's face. "What I see before me is a man who was hurt, but worked through that pain and became more than anyone, especially I, ever thought he would become," Kurama said unexpectedly. His voice was smooth as silk, enchanting despite his evident distress. "I see a man who has learned patience, learned strategy, a king…a far cry from the foolish bandit he once was…"

This gave him pause. He was used to the smooth talking fox, of course. What he was not used to was the sincerity behind the words. He could tell when people were being dishonest. He could discern the tell-tale signs of a lie, the increased heart rate, the twitch of the eye, the tone of voice, the fidgeting of the body… But Kurama demonstrated none of these.

"You have betrayed me," Yomi stated simply, his rage still not diminished.

"I certainly don't regret the second…but I do the first…perhaps more than anything else I have ever done in my ….years of darkness…" Kurama stated earnestly. Yomi ignored his admission, still furious over the latest betrayal.

"Yet, you did it because you were certain that in that moment I'd never do a thing against you?"

Kurama shook his head in denial. "It was an empty threat to my family or you would have acted on it by now…considering what I have done. But I knew my life was in danger."

"So you betrayed me even knowing you could die for it?"

Kurama's eyes never left the kings face as he moved closer to the throne despite the danger in the air. Yomi stood, rising bonelessly from his sitting position.

"Your human body is so frail, I could break it…."

Yomi's large hand shot out, wrapping completely around Kurama's thin neck, but he didn't squeeze.

"Yes, you could…and it would be easy…it may even bring you peace for a time, but all too soon your anger will be spent. It will leave a bitter taste in your mouth, a hole in your heart that no amount of vengeance can fill, but if my life isn't enough…" he stated calmly to the furious former king, still, never moving to break free from his grasp, and though Yomi could not see it he could feel those wide eyes burning into his closed ones. He heard no deception in his words or in his heart. Kurama gently removed his hand from around his throat lifting it to his face as he took his other one. Yomi allowed Kurama to guide his hands, curious as to what he was planning. He had moved Yomi's hands so that his thumbs hovered over his eye sockets "… You could make us well and truly equals…Let me make amends for the sins of my past…Offer me atonement…Take away that which I have stolen from you… 'An eye for an eye' …Take away my light."

Yomi could feel Kurama's soft eyelashes against his skin as he closed his eyes. The pad of Yomi's thumbs came to rest lightly, gently, against his closed lids. He pressed down firmly on the smooth lids, testing his reaction, and listened as Kurama drew a sharp breath and stiffened. He was serious about this offer…he didn't move to loosen Yomi's grip nor did he struggle. He had resigned himself to whatever judgment Yomi deemed necessary.

Why would he do this? Why is he allowing him so far past his defensives, making himself so vulnerable, prostrating himself before the furious king? Was this the concession he had been looking for? Was Kurama admitting the cruelty of his actions and submitting to Yomi's revenge? What on earth could prompt this kind of reaction? Was it merely guilt? No, said a small voice in Yomi's head, the part that still cared about the traitorous fox. It hurt him to betray you, caused him pain to bring about your suffering with his own hand. And in order for him to be hurt by what he did to you, he would have to care about you.

And just like that he felt his anger wane, for it was an acid that did more harm to the vessel than the one unto which it was poured…only to be replaced by a longing ache. If only things could have been different between us.

"I'd rather crush the most gorgeous, fragile blossom than harm a creature such as yourself…" Yomi whispered softly, removing his hands from the boy's face and backing away.

Kurama released the breath he had been holding, and stared shocked at the man before him. Yomi could feel the general direction of his emotions: shock, awe, and a lack of understanding.

"You never raised a harsh hand to me even though I more than deserve your ire. I have given you every reason and opportunity to take my life…Why do you stay your hand?" Kurama demanded urgently. He tried so gallantly to keep his voice from wavering, but it broke slightly near the end.

"I'm showing you mercy…" he answered simply, not trusting his own voice to hide the emotions behind it.

"Mercy…Mercy that I couldn't show you…" Was that shame Yomi heard in his voice? How he had changed in the dividing centuries. The old Kurama was merciless, ruthless. He had never felt an ounce of regret or shame in his entire existence. And yet, from the moment Kurama had entered Gandera, one thousand years later, he had been surrounded by nothing but a constant haze of guilt. Maybe they truly were different people now.

"I was a thorn in our side all those years ago; it is only fitting you be one in mine now," Yomi explained. How perfect an analogy that was. Kurama was indeed like one of his roses, beautiful but deadly. If you moved to pick his bloom, you would be cut by his thorns. "The only solution is for us to be side by side no longer."

"I have wronged you…I have wronged you in an unforgivable way, not only did I betray your trust, but I was too cowardly to execute myself what my depraved mind had conceived. What I did to you was evil." Kurama confessed, voicing the lament that had bloomed within him upon his arrival to his old ally's lands.

"Evil is a point of view," Yomi countered. For some inexplicable reason, he wished to reassure the forlorn fox.

"View is something you lack because of me…" Kurama retorted, refusing to be consoled.

Yomi had always viewed the world as if through a warped mirror, uncaring if his perceptions contained distortions. Strangely enough, when his light had been stolen, that mirror forever obscured, he saw clearest. "On the contrary, my view of the world is clearer than ever. I was blinded by greed and ambition. That was stripped away, leaving an unparalleled awareness. The only thing you have stolen from me is my ignorance and my rebellion."

"No, I stole your innocence, your passion…" Kurama was the one that was truly blind. He had told him that he bore no ill will against him for his lack of sight. What had hurt him was the betrayal, the abandonment, not what he had lost in the process. By returning to him, Kurama had eased some of the lingering pain.

But his hands were tied. Word of his second's betrayal had reached all of his subjects by now, no one before had lived to repeat a transgression of this magnitude…But then again, Kurama was the exception to every rule…He still admired him despite the hatred that had burdened him over the first betrayal…Still respected him after the pain of the second…

"This tournament is a way to bring back the fire that was once alight within me, and I have you to thank for making me agree to it," Yomi admitted. He was excited for this tournament. While he had decided to forgo the requirement of dismantling his territory, he was anxious for his warrior's spirit to reemerge.

"How can you bare no grudge against me, after all that I have done to you?" Kurama asked, confused. Yomi knew in his heart that Kurama never could have found it in himself to forgive him, if their situation had been reversed.

"Do you bare me ill will for what I have done to keep you here?" Yomi asked lightly, hoping to prove his point.

"No, you did what you had to; it was what I deserved…Though I notice that once I betrayed you, the demon that had been stalking my family vanished…" Kurama admitted, still puzzled by his lack of conviction with the threat.

"It was never my intention to harm them; I merely needed to give you incentive to be my advisor." It was true what he had said. He had played a dangerous game, relying on Kurama not calling his bluff. Had he left at the beginning, he would not have faced Yomi's wrath. But his poker face had been superb, and he had tricked the fox into working with and for him.

"I don't understand…" Kurama confessed, dazed by this revelation. It gave Yomi a twisted thrill to confuse the sharp witted half-demon.

"Lesser people than I have done more difficult tasks than this." He replied cryptically, hoping that Kurama could catch his meaning, catch his hint of forgiveness. Kurama blinked several times in wonder, mouth slightly agape.

"Break free from the chains of your past…your guilt, for I have shed my ones of hurt and betrayal, and when you cast off those shackles, then we will be equals at last," Yomi proposed, clasping Kurama's shoulder.

"I was correct about you after all, Yomi; you are indeed a far better man than I ever was," Kurama remarked, his voice warm with…respect?

Yomi smiled. "Because of you I have made myself strong. I was broken, but I did not shatter, and now I will never be broken again. I put you through much hardship in your time here. It wasn't my intention; I used to be very fond of you, old friend."

"It was never my intention to wound you, either, for I was fond of you, as well."

"I fear, I must banish you from this city all the same, do not take it personally. There will be a small public trail in a few moments, then you are free to leave," Yomi quipped, signaling to the guards that had moved to block the outside of the doorway. "I hope that I face you on the battlefield…as an equal."

As the palace guards entered and steered Kurama away, Yomi realized he now had what he had been pining for all along: Kurama's respect.