There was originally meant to be one more scene in this chapter, but it seemed redundant after all the pep-talk that had been given by the other characters, so I decided to move the story forward a bit. The infamous Kirara scene didn't get cut, so celebrate, everyone. You know you want to.

I hope this didn't turn out too… well, fluffy. I didn't want that and I didn't want cliché. But it had to be emotional…anyway, this might be the last chapter with lyrics in a while. Enjoy.

I had this written long ago, but accidentally deleted it once and then ended up glad because of that, as it wasn't a very good scene initially. I decided against involving Karasu as much as he had been previously, though don't doubt that he'll be interfering a bit. I have the whole final battle scene planned out wonderfully, along with Youko taking centre stage again. You know he deserves it, heh.

Remember: your reviews make my day and encourage me to write faster! So keep them coming, onegai!

X X X

The sound of silence

X X X X X

Love of my life
you've hurt me
You've broken my heart
And now you leave me

Love of my life can't you see
Bring it back bring it back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know what it means to me

Love of my life
don't leave me
You've stolen my love
now you desert me

Love of my life can't you see
Bring it back bring it back
Don't take it away from me
Because you don't know what it means to me

- Queen, Love of My Life

X X X X X

Kagome, who had once again set out to search for potential clues regarding InuYasha's whereabouts, returned to her suite several hours later. She had the time to take a relaxing shower and change; her black clothes were by now drenched with sweat, both because of her nightmares and her own will to push her physical body to the limit. Again, her search had brought little to no result, but little was better than nothing. The traces were there – InuYasha was close by. He had to be.

Perhaps the finals would be the energetic surge needed to finally draw him out.

Dressed in the spare set of robes she had brought with her, she managed to tie her hair back into her usual ponytail with the customary white ribbon just as there was a rather loud and confident knock on her door. The priestess frowned slightly. She was hardly expecting guests. For less than a split-second, a feeling of dread passed through her. But the person at the door wasn't – and couldn't be – Kurama. There was not a trace of youki there, which was a relief. Besides, she hardly thought that it could be him, with that manner of knocking, and most demons usually didn't have the decency to knock.

Deciding that there was no need to reach for her weapons, which were nearly placed at her nightstand, the priestess opened the door to find a somewhat flustered-looking Kuwabara Kazuma standing there. of course, that expression – and his hand, ready to knock again – dropped as soon as she opened the door, replaced by less than his usual goofy smile.

"Um, hey, Kagome!" there was a hint of anxiety in his voice, but it was still Kuwabara – loud, cheerful and perhaps the slightest bit obnoxious. Definitely not who she had been expecting at the moment.

"Kuwabara-kun! I'm sorry, I wasn't expecting you… well certainly not now!" the priestess said honestly. And she had no idea what he might want to say to her. She knew that she had wronged him and the others in acting in a harsh manner when last in their presence, but, strangely, regret didn't find its way into her thoughts. Botan had deserved that, she thought with a grim satisfaction that almost frightened her.

"Yeah, well, I can't seem to find the guys and I guess no one's really worked up the courage to talk to you… can I come in?"

The priestess blinked before jumping out of the way – she had blocked the entrance without realizing it and it took another drop of anxiety she detected in the taller boy's voice to make her realize that. "Oh, sure! Sit down wherever you like. Can I get you something?" she added when Kuwabara found a chair at her table he seemed to be comfortable in. she wasn't quite certain how to act, not being used to entertaining guests of any kind.

Fortunately, Kuwabara shook his head curtly. "Nah, I'm not hungry. Wow, cool, you got a TV in your room." he said, observing her suite with a wistful grin, his attention distracted for a moment. "Ours aren't this big, either."

Kagome smiled in what she hoped was a cordial manner. Truth to be told, she had no habit of watching television. There was never the time or the will. "It's just the committee sucking up a bit to be polite, nothing too drastic."

"You've been at this tournament thing before?" Kuwabara asked with sudden interest. He remembered just how old Kagome had said she was, though the idea would certainly take time getting used to. She didn't look much older than Keiko, for instance, and certainly not as old as his sister, though he'd have to take care not to say that while Shizuru was around.

"Mm-hm." the priestess said with a nod, sitting down as well and smoothing out the edge of her robes. "Once or twice, but never for the whole thing. Mostly just the finals. I hope you're excited about those."

Once or twice meant at least a century – Kuwabara's math was good enough for that. But as she mentioned the battles, his face turned slightly grim. His initial enthusiasm about kicking demon but had long-since been eradicated. Now was when reality was setting in; the reality that they might not leave this scrap alive.

"I haven't been much excited about the fights in a long time. It's almost weird."

"I think I know how you feel." Kagome said quietly, but she was looking out of the window in a discreet fashion when he glanced up at her.

"Yeah, I guess so." But now was not the time to think about blood and gore and all that stuff. Besides, he liked Kagome's way of slaying demons. It wasn't the honourable one-on-one man-fight kind of thing, but then again, with the number of demons she was fighting, that would probably have taken centuries, to take care of them like that. "I never told you how cool that magic arrow thing you did before the first fight was! If Urameshi saw that his Spirit Gun could get beaten by a girl, I could've made him pretty miserable for a week at least!" Kuwabara said with a wistful grin. Yeah, he could still rub that into Urameshi's face later on!

It seemed that Kagome hadn't really looked at it that way – or thought of her purification powers as magic arrows. "I suppose…"

"Anyway, I came to talk to you… about Kurama, really." Kuwabara said, after returning to earth from the land of daydreams.

Judging by the way the face of the priestess hardened at the mention of his friend, it was high time that someone did. "Is that really necessary? I already promised to speak with him. I will be forced to eventually."

"Yeah, but you were being way too gloomy about it."

Kuwabara took a breath. He wasn't good at this kind of thing and he certainly wasn't about to start convincing the priestess about the power of love – which was strange, as he himself believed in it completely, bless Yukina for that. "Look, I'm not saying that I know too much 'bout the stuff you said about him being a dangerous criminal way back, but I know Kurama and he's definitely not like that anymore. I mean, sure, he gets kinda scary in fights now and then, but I don't think I know a more caring guy than him. So I guess what I'm trying to say it… you know what? I think you need to hear the whole story."

Of course, he hadn't been there when that had happened – that had been one of the few cases Urameshi had managed to pull off without him. But he had heard enough from the Spirit Detective himself and Botan, too, about how Kurama had intended to die for the sake of saving his mother's life. And ended up breaking into the vaults of Spirit World just because of that. now, if that didn't qualify as proof of him being a good guy, then nothing did.

He didn't really have much of a way with words and figured that Kurama could have easily spun a more thrilling tale than he did, especially since he was the one who knew the details of the whole thing. But of course, the fox demon wouldn't have boasted about something like this. So it was time someone did it for him. High time.

The priestess listened to the entire story silently, intently, though there was distinct surprise in her eyes. She hadn't heard this story before. At least not completely, it seemed. Good. That meant some good would come of this.

Once he was done, Kagome finally blinked a few times, as if awakening from a state of hypnosis. "I… thank you for telling me this, Kuwabara-kun." she said, more quietly than usual, but Kuwabara didn't really register that. "It means a lot to me."

So it had worked. Wonderful!

"Sure, no problem. You ok?" Kuwabara's grin froze for a split-second when he saw the moment of misery Kagome was having. "You seem pretty shaken by the story."

Misery. Self-loathing.

"It's just…" He is as he would have been, had be been born this way in the first place. He had sacrificed his own plans, his own intentions, for the sake of a selfless deed. His life, he was willing to lay it down for a human. "I will need to think on this for a while. And-and if it eases your mind… I don't think I'm as angry as I thought I was. I am angry, but…"

"Oh. Okay. Just thought you should know that before going all scary on him like you did on Botan-chan."

"I know." Kagome nodded, trying to get her focus back to the present. Her plan now had several distinct flaws in it. The most major one being that she didn't feel she could cold-shoulder Kurama now, after hearing this. "Thank you."

But Kuwabara wasn't exactly looking at her any longer. His attention was focused entirely on something on the floor to her right. In fact, she hadn't seen him this excited even when that little ice maiden, Yukina, had shown up at the tournament. It was almost unnerving.

"Is something wrong? You look…" Finally, Kagome bothered to glance at what had caught his attention, because the something had landed on her lap with a soft bounce and purr. "Oh, Kirara, you're back. Sango-chan is well, then, and Miroku-sama too?" Kagome smiled. She had made a habit of sending the nekomata to her friends to find out how their little honeymoon was going. And the nekomata dutifully had another note, written in Sango's tidy script, for her. "Thank you, I'll have a look at it. Kuwabara-kun, I… Kuwabara-kun? Are you feeling well?"

Feverish, that was the word to describe him. And when Kagome gently placed Kirara on the table to get a better look at him, the line of control snapped and Kuwabara almost squealed – squealed – as he grabbed the surprised cat demon and trapped her in a hug that would have been crushing for any human being.

The second squeal was something that Kagome barely deciphered as: "Kitteh!" though it was much louder than that. Fortunately, though he spoke very quickly, Kagome was able to make out the rest of it.

"And she's got two tails, that's the cutest thing I've ever seen! Not that I'm saying she's a thing, but it's awesome! Her name's Kirara, then? You like cats, Kagome-chan? That's great!"

Quick questions directed at her, but it was clear that Kuwabara was too preoccupied with Kirara to actually expect answers. Fortunately, it seemed that Kirara didn't mind when treated gently. She hadn't gotten too much attention in the recent months, probably, so it was a change for her. But Kagome wasn't certain how the human boy would react to knowing that it was actually a demon he was holding.

"Um, Kirara isn't exactly a cat…" she trailed off. Kuwabara obviously didn't know or care. In fact, it seemed as if he had completely forgotten why he had even bothered to show up. Well, that was… fine? "Well… you can stay as long as you like, Kuwabara-kun. If Kirara doesn't object, you can go take a walk together, maybe…"

Kuwabara grinned brilliantly at her, petting Kirara again on the head, earning himself a meow of approval. "That'd be great! Thanks a bunch, Kagome-chan!"

X X X X X

It's just a game…

…one of you dies today…

Processing such information was not difficult, but surprisingly draining. The words, in the same superior voice that spoke them, would likely keep on repeating themselves in Kurama's head for hours. encountering two members of the enemy team in an otherwise deserted corridor had been anything but pleasant, especially considering the vulnerable position he was in. where were the days when he wouldn't even bother to sneer at such demons and destroy them with a single swipe of his whip?

Long gone, dead and buried. But the dead didn't always stay buried.

If it were not for the soft and familiar footsteps echoing in the silence behind him, Kurama would have likely stood in the same corridor for a while, processing the information again and again, calculating which one of them was likely the target of today and who was going to survive till tomorrow. Obviously, he was not their mark. Not today. But that didn't change the fact that he hated Karasu with a fiery intensity that was uncommon for him in an instant. He had been both careless and frightened – him.

As impossible as it was not to notice the steps behind him halting in a surprised stop.

How the priestess hadn't noticed that he was in her path, Kurama couldn't guess, but she had come too close to pretend that she hadn't seen him or to select a different route. There was no one else in the corridor and the only other way out was to turn back and leave the way she had come.

The sight of a familiar face was comforting, but Kurama, his mind already in the strategic mode, proceeded to analyze her expression immediately. She didn't seem shocked, merely surprised to see him there. She must have truly been lost in her own thoughts if she hadn't detected his presence long before he had noticed hers. Though she could hardly be blamed for that, he supposed.

She was armed, naturally, with both her weapons this time, but her movements weren't hostile. There was a smell of soap and pristine fabric around her, which unwillingly brought him an image that he really hadn't accounted for when thinking of her and water, but that was secondary.

Kagome bit her lip in a gesture of uncertainty of what to do, a dangerously enticing image, before apparently resigning on fleeing this time.

"Not here." she said, brushing past him hurriedly. Of all the possible interpretations, Kurama decided to take it as an invitation to follow her.

Of course they couldn't speak in the stadium. The last thing either of them needed was C-class demons gossiping about their history. That was a mental image Kurama really didn't need at the moment. It was nothing short of a miracle – and a sign of Youko's expertise in stealth – that that scandal hadn't leaked from Reikai years ago.

The priestess neither looked back nor stopped until they were far from the stadium, in one of the fields of the island. Some curious eyes had followed them for a while, but when nothing exiting had happened, they chose to leave it be. Fortunately for them, of course. Neither of the two would have hesitated to slay any eavesdroppers in that situation, as quickly as possible.

But even as they stopped, knowing that no one was near, knowing that they may speak freely, the only sound to be heard was the blowing of the wind, the grass bending under its force, and perhaps the distant sounds of birds flapping their wings when the breeze forced them to vacate their favourite tree.

They weren't looking at each other, not really; the priestess was deliberately looking at what was a thoroughly uninteresting patch of grass while Kurama studied her, weighing the possibilities of what she might say. She had been the initiator of this; it was only polite to wait for her to speak.

Finally, Kagome could take the silence no longer.

"You realize that unless divine intervention occurs, your chances are very slight." she blurted out, without looking at her companion. She said it quickly, her eyes downcast, knowing that if she stopped to comprehend her own words, she would likely lose all dignity and burst into tears. "But then again, you do seem to have a knack for getting divine intervention on your side." It wasn't a remark meant to sting, but it came out that way.

But Kurama knew that he had to proceed with the utmost care and ignored the slight bitterness in the voice of the priestess with all the tact in the world. Judging by her emotional state, there would be no second chances. It would have been better if she had simply started yelling.

"Kagome, Botan-san said you promised to speak with me. I ask that you merely listen to me." His voice was more than velvety, patient, soothing as much as he could make it sound without breaking the illusion. "It is true that I have concealed things from you, but only so that you would not be hurt by such a revelation."

"Hurt." Kagome repeated, with strange sharpness. "Hurt is what you call it? You mean you actually considered my feelings this time? That's unexpected." The way she said it, with uncanny cynical bitterness, surprised him. That stung, broke through his perfect act.

He drew a soundless deep breath to regain his composure. Speech craft was his mastery, and yet he imagined this was what a little boy confessing that he had broken his dear grandma's favourite vase might feel like.

"As discomforting as the complications we have been presented with are, the fact remains…"

"…that you've deceived me." Kagome didn't allow him to finish. Complications, he said. She would yet show him complications, unlike any he had ever seen before. "That, I could handle. But that you pretended to this extent… no. No! Do you realize how much I wanted to trust you? Do you?" the priestess demanded. Her resolution to be impersonal in this dialogue had dissolved completely. She felt all the hurt, as he had eloquently named it, pour back into her heart. Yes, she was hurt. "I have only had a handful of trustworthy people in my life and all of them because they were pushed into the circumstances!"

"I want you to trust me, Kagome." That such softly-spoken words could contain such strength was almost surprising, but from him, it was an expectation he could only live up to.

But when had she learned to scoff at sincerity, at apologies? When had cynism found its way into her thoughts?

"You have a peculiar way of showing it." Kagome said mercilessly. And she realized that there was a reason for it – that she, though grieving for him greatly, had also blamed Youko for a great deal of things. She had thought herself to be over such petty thoughts, but now that she had a chance to tell him all into his face – in a sense – she could hardly deny her will to do so.

That, for one, was a reply Kurama had been expecting.

"Suppose I had told you." he suggested. Having gone through this particular theory in his mind over a dozen times himself, he knew that it was a faulty choice. Telling her right away would have done neither of them good. "Would you have believed a perfect stranger with such an unlikely story?"

"I would have!" the priestess swallowed, catching herself at a lie. The honest answer was no. No, not at first. But surely… surely… "Eventually! There were signs that I tried to overlook… I would have noticed, but…" she was staying from her point. Shaking her head violently, she returned to it. "Eventually!"

"Which was why I intended to tell you everything before the semifinals." Kurama explained, watching her emotional fireworks with a patient, unwavering gaze. One wall down. How many to go, he dared not guess. "I had no idea that such a transformation could occur thanks to the Idun Box. But it now seems crucial to the tournament victory."

At last, the corners of Kagome's mouth lifted for a moment, but it was a gesture of sad pity, not joy.

"You speak of victory? Kurama…" She had said that they would win, once, but back then, she had expected their growth to be more rapid in comparison to the other demons.

"I dare not speak of loss. If I do, I might just start believing in the foolishness of hope and idealism."

And it was true. Baring his thoughts to her as if she were his own mind was not something he had intended to do, but having someone to pour his woes to wasn't all bad. Besides, she was perhaps the only one around who knew just how impossible the situation they were facing was. His melancholic smile was a mirror of hers, though the pity was absent from it.

"You've shown me that such things are not as foolish as I have believed them to be. I will now endeavour to cling to that supposition."

Entirely against her will, the priestess was touched by the sheer emotion of the words that could otherwise be considered mundane. She was remembering why she had ceased to hate him almost as soon as she had started to do so. It was impossible to hate this creature, this man, death in the incarnation of innocence, brilliant and beautiful when honesty shone in his eyes with a frightening intensity.

"What happened to strategy and tactics? That was your game, wasn't it?" She had to regain her ground, reform her plan. How was she to shun him when the voice of her conscience was screaming at her that he now spoke honestly?

"Neither will be of much help to me now. Unless, of course, you would share your wisdom with me, if you know of a method to increase demonic power." Seeing the fingers of her right hand twitch, an obvious betrayal of her instinct to reach for the jewel, Kurama almost smiled. But the abyss he was standing before was deepening. If she believed that he was going to employ such desperate measures, perhaps this would be even beyond his skill. "I didn't mean that kind of method."

And her eyes were a little cooler, with a little more fear and dread. Don't do it. Please don't try to do it. "I know of no other of sufficient speed and I cannot give you this."

"I know." he said simply, averting his eyes for a moment to give her the chance to regain focus.

But Kagome would have none of it. "Stop this."

"Stop what?" He was just as confused by the barely noticeable tremble in her voice as he was by her words.

"This… this!" The priestess waved her hand around, gesticulating when words were insufficient. "You're yourself, but you're not! I-I don't know how to even say it!

Kurama frowned mildly. "I'm acting as I have done before, I believe. It didn't seem to bother you before learning…" She needed no reminder of that, not when they had progressed past that point. "I am as you knew me."

But that's the whole point, Kagome wanted to say. "I don't know you! Which one of you? I-" She shut her eyes for a moment. "This is too confusing. I knew this wouldn't work…" she muttered to herself.

It was those last words that were most threatening to the situation… and, if he was one to study his own feelings in-depth, his own peace of mind as well. He would have asked the priestess to clarify her words under different circumstances, but in a storm at sea, the origin of the tempest was unimportant; where to steer the ship was the question, the dilemma.

"Kagome, the only difference between us is that I feel an obligation to pretend to be nothing but an ordinary teenager back in Ningenkai for the sake of my mother's happiness." Kurama explained patiently, hoping that his expression betrayed nothing of his swift internal calculations. He had to count with the possibility that he wasn't going to convince her of the truth. "Were the decision up to my other half, such a sentiment would be quickly overridden by the wish to return back to the life of two decades ago. One which was supposed to include you, I should emphasize."

"I haven't the power to turn back time." Kagome had said out loud what she had listened to repeatedly over the years. "Things have changed. We have… changed."

"Yes, but you are still much the same." Not entirely the same.

"I'm still a fool. You've succeeded in proving that." A testament of change.

"You are trusting, but not foolish." It was what he had always thought but never said. There hadn't been the need. Now, there was. Saying all that should have been said in a previous life was crucial. "I have brought you suffering without ever wishing that. I would have you happy again, Kagome." Saying everything that should have been said, no matter how obvious it could have been to even the uneducated eye. "You were always most beautiful when you smiled."

Something within the priestess absorbed all those words with a ravenous hunger and insatiable yearning, but it couldn't quench the flow of something raw in the form of emotion from her soul.

"So I am to be happy that you… that you all… are likely going to die tomorrow?" she demanded. "I can't do a thing about it – again! And this time, I get front-row seats! Why did you return?" Kurama saw that she was on the verge of tears before she felt the dampness graze her eyes. "Why do you make me see you die?"

She was close now, her hands gripping and twisting handfuls of the fabric of his shirt, hair falling into her face, concealing her eyes.

"At the very least, we would be of the same Realm, briefly." The words were wrong, especially when their impact was seen when the priestess raised her face.

"I don't want you to die!" Her voice was choked for a moment and she was blinking a lot more than was natural. "Not again… and then, your mother… you would be missed. I-I heard from Kuwabara-kun what you did for her. And what Urameshi-san did in your place. You haven't changed that much if you're selfish enough to let that go to waste."

She was failing miserably at her plan. She wasn't sly, or cunning. Instead of pushing him away for both their sakes while yelling at him, she was literally pouring her heart out. In clichéd phrases. Ye gods, if she were alive, Kikyo would kill her for this.

"I would rather not die." The fox demon certainly had no death wish. A near-death experience once was quite enough for one existence and death in a human body, in an arena… there was little chance of pulling off a similar escape, especially when he was already in Ningenkai to begin with. He wouldn't survive a day in Makai. And Reikai was out of bounds. "I doubt I would be given the same clemency as Yusuke had been regarding escaping the jaws of death. And I still have several reasons to remain among the living, one of them being yourself."

The priestess wanted to laugh, but there was no happiness in her, even as she comprehended that he was repeatedly saying that he loved her.

"Kurama, it is you who is being foolish now. I am a soul departed from Ningenkai. You are now bound to that world. Your involvement with Reikai notwithstanding, humans cannot be allowed to know all that you and I consider common knowledge. Things have changed. I'm not able to unconditionally trust you anymore." And, swallowing, she realized that it was the truth.

"I don't ask that of you. My wish at the moment would be different." Kurama paused. He didn't necessarily fancy using clichéd expressions to encase meaning into words, but there was no other way to fully explain the crucial point in less than an eternity. "I would have you love me."

"Kurama…" Judging by her expression, Kagome herself didn't know what to reply to that, though it likely wouldn't have been something akin to what he had just said. As much as she might wish to; she had hardened at least a little in the years of solitude.

"You've once asked not to deceive you any longer." he said, taking the wrists of the priestess, who released the fabric of his clothing upon the gesture. "I now strive to fulfil that request of yours."

Kagome remembered quite well how that had gone over last time. "I am trying to stay angry with you here. You could try to be more helpful."

It was a small victory that her behaviour had become less distant, less intent on maintaining a barrier, but it was no cause for celebration. "Unfortunately, we are at cross-purposes there."

"Only you would be able to speak of such things on the brink of death. Koenma…"

"I've spoken with him at some length." Kurama interrupted, forcing the priestess to look up at last. "I believe that he trusts me sufficiently to give his consent."

It was a move over the edge. Kagome took a step back, realizing that she was subtly being backed into a corner.

"But I will not give mine!" She couldn't… the plan, she had to think of how she wanted to root out Naraku and find InuYasha… weakness. She couldn't drag him into this, just as she couldn't interfere with the tournament. "You refuse to understand the core of the matter! Fifteen years ago, I thought this possible! But I was a fool! I'm no further to discovering the wish than I was then! Every day that this continues to exist further proves that I am a failure."

"Kagome… you were never a failure. " And when he spoke it like that, she almost believed it.

"I fail Reikai each time I cannot destroy the jewel. And if, by some miracle, I am rid of it…" That, she hardly even believed now. "Kurama, do you really believe that I have had anything tying me to life other than my own will to fulfil my task in the past years? I fully intend to claim what ought to have been mine."

It would have been foolish to believe she was being sentimental in her meaning. She meant something that had avoided her by pure chance centuries ago, before they knew of the existence of each other.

Death. Final, ultimate, unchangeable death.

"You are deceiving yourself. You will not die." Something in his speech darkened, his voice descending into a dangerous yet protective tone. In moments like these, it was easy to see that the ancient fox demon was the one moving the strings of the mortal soul he had claimed as part of his own. This was not persuasion; it was an ultimatum, almost a threat. Yet there was immense fear in it, fear of loss that Youko would have never admitted to feeling. "Reikai needs you. Your friends need you – the little one most of all, perhaps." Kurama's hands had moved to her shoulders, gripping them perhaps a touch too tightly. "And I will not allow you to make such a decision."

While he perhaps couldn't claim to need her the most out of the poor unfortunate souls that had grouped around her, Kurama believed he had earned the chance to be the one to stand at her side.

"You would stop me?" Kagome echoed. In terms of power, she could destroy him now without even moving a finger. That he could withstand her aura and proximity, let alone her touch, was a miracle in itself. But perhaps it was a testament of his sincerity and her love for him. In that moment, she hated her duty, which was to be realistic. She shook her head. "It is foolish to talk of such things."

A mild frown creased Kurama's brow, making him seem slightly more like his true incarnation. "I hardly believe caring for the fate of a loved one to be foolishness." But Youko wouldn't have used such words, certainly, even though, looking in his eyes, Kagome couldn't tell anymore.

"I cannot trust you." she said instead of an answer. Something buried deep within her would have sold the very jewel for those words fifteen years ago. "Therefore, I cannot believe you."

Two green eyes studied her more intensely than any microscope might. "What way of persuasion would be effective on you?"

He hadn't won the first round and he saw it, but he had passed the preliminary battle. "I… made a promise in this tournament." Kagome noted after a moment of internal deliberation. "That a champion of the winning team might do battle with me for the jewel after the tournament, if they wish to do so."

"Neither the Jewel nor death at your hands is what I hope to earn should we by chance win the tournament."

"I would not kill you. Perhaps it will only be a chance for us to speak properly. I don't know." And she didn't, not anymore. How to act or what to do. "I promise nothing."