Kagome ran out of the village. She was not crying, Sango had made her too angry for that. Plus, she had no reason to cry. On her way to her Secret Training Area, past the Sakura Trees, she came upon Inuyasha.

" Oy! Kagome!" he called. She ignored him.

" Kagome!"

" What?" she hissed.

" Where are you going?"

" None of your business. Now leave me alone!"

" What's wrong?"

" You. You're what's wrong," she stated angrily. " I saw you again and let me tell you, I am no longer in love with you! I know you want to be with so why don't you go? Stay by that clay pot's side!"

He was stunned.

" You heard me! Now go!" she cried.

" But I want to stay with you Kagome," he said, hugging her.

Her heart softened but she did not hug him back. She pushed him off.

" No Inuyasha," she said in a softer voice, " No you don't."

" I do so!"

She shook her head. " Fine. But leave me alone."

Kurama did not follow Kagome. He didn't want her to think he was following her or something. Instead, he entered the house that he was sharing with his friends, beside Kagome and Sango's. Miroku was there, polishing his staff. Kuwabara was snoring loudly from his bed and Yusuke was staring out the window.

" Hey guys," Kurama said cheerily.

" Huh? Oh, hey Kurama," Miroku said, momentarily looking up from his polishing.

Kuwabara continued to snore and Yusuke didn't answer him.

The week passed. The last day came. Just before they left, Kagome put Miroku in charge of watching over Sango, who was still angry with Kagome.

" I don't want her doing anything like that again," she told him, " I expect you to take this seriously."

" I will," he promised, " I won't do anything to her unless it is to get a weapon or something like that away from her."

" Good. Now, we have to go. Good luck!" she hugged Miroku then slapped. " Keep your hands to yourself pervert!" she snapped.

The Well House

Kagome pulled herself out last. Outside, it was raining hard. You couldn't see the moon or stars because of it. She hated it when it rained at night, she was never able to get to sleep. It bothered her.

" Well, thanks for coming with me," Kagome smiled. " It was so nice to have some of my other friends there!"

" We should thank you for taking us," Yusuke said, " I got out of work because of you!"

She smiled.

" Now we gotta go," Yusuke said, " See ya later Kagome!"

" Bye!" she waved Kuwabara and Yusuke off through the rain. She turned to Hiei. " Bye Hiei! Thanks for rescuing Sango and watching over her! I really appreciate it!"

"Hn." He left following the way Kuwabara and Yusuke took.

" Take that as a 'your welcome'," Kurama informed Kagome.

" Okay…and thank you Kurama! You were always there for me!" she hugged him in a friendly way.

" Aww…no problem Kagome. If you ever need anything, I'm here for you." He pulled out a scrape of paper. " Here," he handed it to her. " If you need me, here's my number. I'm just across the street, but take it anyway. It may come in handy."

" Thanks." She smiled. Together, they walked to her front door. She waved goodbye and entered her house.

Kagome was glad to be home again, as much as she loved her friends. Sango's stupid idea on killing herself left Kagome very shaken and she needed to relax. Unfortunately, that was not to be.

Just as she was climbing up to her room, the phone rang.

' Who would be phoning me so late? I mean even Eri, Yuri, and Ayumi don't phone at ten at night,' she thought.

She picked up the receiver. " Hello?" she asked nervously.

" Hello Kagome," said a mans voice.

She froze ' How does he know my name?' she wondered in panic.

" Who are you?" she asked suspiciously.

" You will see," the voice answered, " Come to the park. Come alone. I wish to talk to you."

He hung up. Kagome held the receiver, still in a state of shock. She didn't want to, but she was too afraid to go alone. She whipped out Kurama's number. Quickly, she dialled it.

" Hello?"

" Hello Kurama. It's Kagome. I'm so sorry to bother you so late at night, but it's an emergency." Her voice was quivering. Kurama noticed that.

" What is it?" he asked, his own voice full of concern.

" Someone…a man…just called me… I'm to go to the park alone to meet him…now! I'm scared and don't know what to do!" Kagome wailed.

" Go and meet him," Kurama answered, " I'll come with you."

" But I'm supposed to be alone."

" I'll hide my aura and keep hidden. Even you won't know where I am, but if trouble arises, I'll protect you. Trust me."

" Okay….I'm leaving right now."

" Good luck. I'm with you."

Kurama hung up. So did Kagome. She was shaking, but she grabbed a coat and an umbrella. She opened the front door of her house and left the lights on, but locked the door. She raced down the front steps, careful not to fall. Kurama was on his front sidewalk, without an umbrella or anything. She smiled, then continued. He vanished from her view, but not she from his.

Kagome ran down the centre of the road--no cars were out on a night like this. The park was empty, as she knew it would be, and muddy. She waited. Her hands and feet were numb from the cold when a dark figure emerged from the veil of rain.

He stopped in front of Kagome. She stared at him. He wore a long, brown cloak, a hood covered his face.

" Ah, so you did come Kagome," the man said.

" Yes," she said, her face full of sheer determination, " Who are you?" she demanded again.

He bowed and removed his hood. He had blood red eyes and blue hair that fell to his shoulders, with a long piece beside each eye.

" My name is Kanzuka," he said, " Prince of the Makai."

" How do you know my name?" she demanded, acting every bit of the Miko that she was.

" I have watched you very closely," he said, " My spies have reported you to me. Kikyo is a faithful, unknowing servant."

" Kikyo!?" she cried, " You're controlling her? That must mean you controlled Urasue too!"

He nodded. " Of course. I need the Jewel and a miko with me. Not only was she beautiful, but she also had the Jewel. But then you showed up, with the shards of the Jewel. And you're so much prettier then Kikyo."

" You waited till I recreated the Jewel, didn't you?" Kagome asked, figuring it out. " That's why you want to see me now! You want the Jewel!"

He shook his head. " You are only half right. Have you not listened to what I have said? Yes, I want the Jewel, but I also want you."

Kagome was seething. " It makes little difference," she said,

" Because you will have neither me nor the Jewel. Naraku, another of your servants I suppose, warned me about you! Know this Kanzuka. You shall not win!"

" Lovely speech," he said with a chuckle, " But no matter what you say, you are powerless to stop me."

It was Kagome's turn to laugh. " Me powerless to stop you? You wish. I may be slightly weaker then Kikyo, but I promise you that that will change. I will not only reach Kikyo's level of power, but I will surpass it! With more then enough power to stop you!"

" We will see little miko." He bowed to her again and melted into the shadows behind him.

" I will be watching you!" came his voice from all around her.

" I do not care!" Kagome replied angrily, " Watch me all you want! You will not win!" She turned on her heel and ran out of the park and out into the street. Not long after, Kurama rejoined her, looking very upset indeed.

" Are you okay?" she asked him.

He nodded in a distressed sort of way.

" You knew him," she stated, seeing his look.

" Yes…"

" Tell me all you know. Please Kurama?"

He gulped. " When I lived in the Makai (he is a year older than me), he was the Prince of the Makai. I was a thief. He was a bloody ruler. He was lord over all the Makai since his father was too unwell to rule. Many demon's were very loyal to Kanzuka. There were precious few who were not. I was one of them. I tried to appear neutral, favouring neither side. That didn't last."

" Kanzuka summoned me to his palace. He told me to steal the Sacred Shikon no Tama. I told him it had been destroyed some five hundred years ago and turned to leave. Just because I would not…could not steal that Jewel for him, he has hated me. I am his sworn enemy and I will kill him. Then, a hunter came after me and I was born in the body of a human. That is why I am two different kitsune's. One weaker, yet still strong, one, and one powerful one."

Kagome nodded. " That tells me one thing," she said, " I must become ever more powerful. He is my enemy now as well and I must protect the Jewel from him at all costs. I will, as I always have, protect it with my life."

Kurama was surprised by her courage. It was a good thing that she had no idea about the other thing about him and Kanzuka. If would disturb her greatly if she did.

" You are very courageous," he told her, " It seems like only yesterday that you were just a normal girl…" he trailed, lost in faded memories.

She smiled. " Thank you." She blushed. How he remember those times was beyond her. She barely did. They were so long ago.

After a moment or two of standing in the rain washed streets, the two snapped out of it.

" We should get going," Kagome said quietly. " We don't want to catch a cold."

" No," Kurama agreed. Kagome raised her umbrella higher to cover both of them.

Kurama saw her shivering and put his arm around her as they walked. She didn't object.

The Next Day

It was dry the next morning, as though there had been no rain at all. Kagome looked out her window and sneezed. She had a small cold from the night before. She didn't feel any better when she saw Ayumi, Eri, and Yuri run up the Shrine steps.

" Not them…" she moaned, flopping down back down on her fully made bed.

The doorbell rang. She had half a mind to not answer it, but they were persistent. Finally, out of sheer annoyance, she walked down the stairs. Kagome grasped the handle and pulled the door open with all her strength.

" Hiya Kagome!" Ayumi cried, hugging her. None of them mentioned how long it took her to answer.

" Hey Ayumi…" she said in a bored voice.

" You're coming shopping with us Kagome!" Eri exclaimed.

" Get your money!"

" But--"

" No buts Kagome. You're coming so you can be attractive like us. We still think you should dump your mystery man and date Hojo!"

" I am not going to date him. What don't you guys understand about that?" Kagome asked, annoyed. They still hadn't given up on Hojo.

" Oh Kagome…at least come shopping with us!" Yuri pleaded.

" We never see you anymore!"

" Well…" they would keep bugging her if she didn't and Yuri had a point. She sighed in defeat. " Fine. I'll go get my money. One sec."

She disappeared into the house and returned with her purse.

" Let's go," she said, locking the door.

Her friends were so excited as they dragged her down the stone steps and toward the downtown mall. Kagome was unaware of eyes watching her.

" Poor girl," Hiei remarked, " Being pulled around by her friends when it's clear she doesn't want to be."

" Those friends of hers look annoying," Yusuke commented. By the way Kagome was acting, it was clear they were annoying her beyond reason and she was trying to escape.

" Oh well, let's get to Kurama." Hiei said, jumping down the tree, closely followed by Yusuke, and Kuwabara who fell onto his face.

They ran across the street and Yusuke banged on Kurama's door. Meanwhile, Kagome vanished around the corner with Eri pushing her from behind and Yuri and Ayumi pulling her from either of her arms.

Kurama was quick to answer.

" Hello," he said. He was not sick like Kagome, which her friends had managed to overlook.

" Where the hell were you last night Kurama?" Yusuke demanded.

" Out," he said simply, " Why?"

" Koenma gave us another mission."

" Oh?"

" Yeah. We gotta kill this Kanzuka guy. He's after Kagome's Jewel, though Koenma doesn't know that. We didn't tell him anything about Kagome or the Jewel. Didn't think it would help our situation."

" It wouldn't have," Kurama agreed.

" Now answer me! Where the hell were you last night Kurama?"

" Out…"

" For no purpose?" Hiei smirked. " I know you better then that Kurama. You'd better tell us."

He sighed. They weren't about to leave without an answer. " I was out with Kagome."

Yusuke and Kuwabara gasped.

" Not like that baka's!" he snapped, " She got a phone call from a stranger last night. He wanted to meet her in the park. She was so scared that she called me up and asked me what to do. I told her to go and I'd stay hidden, ready to defend her if need be. She met Kanzuka and told him he'd never get her Jewel and certainly not herself. He's going to watch her now."

" Oh…how was it to see him again?" Hiei asked slyly.

He became angry. " He never saw me," he said angrily, " I wish only for Kagome's safety."

" So you didn't tell her?"

" Tell her what? Cause you obviously haven't told us!" Yusuke snapped.

Kurama shook his head.

" You'd better tell them, then Kagome at the right time," Hiei advised.

" Kanzuka and I are related."

" How closely?"

" He's my…older brother."

Yusuke and Kuwabara stood there with their jaws hanging open.

" You're….older…brother?" Yusuke repeated in disbelief.

Kurama nodded.

" That makes you a prince!" Yusuke exclaimed. " Why'd ya become a thief then?"

" Cause I hated my brother who hated me who banished me. I never wanted to return to court after that and I haven't since he summoned me to steal the Jewel shortly before I was born as a human. Don't tell Kagome. I'll tell her myself."

No answer.

" Look you guys," Kagome pleaded, " This is getting to be too much!"

" But Kagome!" Yuri wailed. " You so need some new jeans, skirts, shirts, shoes, swimsuits--the works!"

" I do not!" she replied, " I already have more shoes then I can possibly wear out. I never wear jeans. I have drawers full of shirts. My closet is full of skirts. My other chest of drawers is full of swimsuits."

" Oh well! They're all out of the fashion!" Eri said, shoving a pair of jeans into her hands. " Try these on!"

Yuri pushed her into a change room and Eri shut the door on her.

" You should come shopping more often!" Ayumi called into the room.

" Never again with you guys!" she shouted.