Kagome was led down numerous corridors lit only by torches. She decided that this palace would be much nicer if it was cleaned of the dust and if it wasn't so dark. She liked the tapestries very much. The architecture was amazing. It was so beautiful, yet so dark.
She soon entered a brightly lit chamber. The walls were decorated with the most amazing portraits, and many torches blazed along the walls. She even thought she saw one of Kurama. The chandeliers, however, we ignored and full of unlit candles, cobwebs, and dust. She walked along a red carpet toward the end of the hall where Kanzuka was seated on a golden throne.
He was dressed as finely as herself, with silver and gold. Bronze and copper colours. An ancient, yet probably lethal, sword hung at his side. His blue hair was tied in a ponytail behind him, with two pieces hanging beside his face. His blood red eyes gleamed. He made Kagome shudder.
" Welcome," he said graciously.
She did not answer.
" Please, come sit up here," he gestured to a second throne, beside his own. She did not move. His eyes narrowed. She still did not move. One of the guards prodded her forward.
" I will not sit beside you on a throne so fine as that," she replied coldly. With that, she sat down on the stone floor. Kanzuka frowned.
"As you wish," he said, " I wish for you to witness your love's demise."
Kagome looked over at him. " What do you mean?" she asked coldly.
He chuckled. " You do not know? All the better. He's here for you, to save you. Of course, he will not succeed. If he makes it here, he will fall to my blade."
Her eyes flashed. " He would never lose to someone like you," she hissed.
He smiled evilly, but said nothing more.
" What now?" Sango cried in despair.
" We go to the right!" Kurama said, " That will take us to the Great Hall."
" Fool!" Hiei cried, " The guards will expect us to go straight to the Great Hall. Some guards will be by the doors waiting for us, then more will come up from behind to attack us! We'd be surrounded! No! We must take the left!"
" I agree with Hiei," Sango said quickly, " It'd be too dangerous to get cornered now."
" But if we take the right," Yusuke said loudly, " Then we can do away with all the guards now and not worry."
" But we'd be cornered you fool!" Hiei half-shouted, " We don't want that! It would drain us of too much energy to fight off half an army!"
Voices were coming closer. Footsteps echoed through the corridors. Yusuke cursed.
" We've wasted time," Kurama seethed, " To the left it is!" With that, he leapt down the stairs leading to the dungeons. The other's followed him.
Only two guards followed them. However, before they could sound the alarm, the fell dead to Hiei's blade. He smirked, and then followed his friends down into the darkness.
Two guards stood in front of a tall, iron door. It was so dark, and they stood so still, that they seemed to be statues. There was a torch on either wall giving off dim lighting. Neither guard had yet noticed them in the shadows. Hiei stealthy slipped out of the shadow's and slashed them with his sword. They fell before they could cry out. He tried to open the door. It was locked.
" Damn," he muttered.
" It will not open that way," Kurama said quietly. " You need the key and you need to pass the test."
" Test?" Sango asked.
" What kind of test?" Yusuke asked.
" An eye exam," Kurama replied. " You unlock the door and then your eye is examined. If your eye is not in the system data, you will not gain entrance and moreover, the alarm system will go off. We'd be caught."
" So your eye would be in the system, wouldn't it?" Yusuke asked Kurama. " You are prince of this palace after all."
" It will be if Kanzuka did not remove it after I left," he replied, " But what does it matter? There's little reason to go in! We need to save Kagome!"
" What is we find something in there that can help us?" Yusuke snapped.
" Like what?" Kurama countered angrily. " Its dungeons! All you might find are prisoner's deprived of food, and some bones of prisoner's long dead! How could food deprived men and old bones help us save Kagome and kill Kanzuka?"
" We may find something," Sango said calmly, "Anything. You of all people should know never to overlook anything. The most precious things may be hidden in the most unnoticed and least thought of places. So couldn't the dungeon's hold something of immense value that could help turn the tide's of battle for us to win?"
Kurama's fists trembled. They were wasting time just arguing. He needed to save Kagome soon! Who knew what Kanzuka had planned for her? He glared at Sango, but admitted she was right. Still, he could not possibly see what they might find that would be of any use to them in their search to save Kagome.
Yusuke and Kuwabara bent down and examined the bodies of the guards. Sure enough, one of them had a set of keys. There were about twenty of them on the ring. Yusuke held them up.
" Which one is it?" he cried, " We don't have time to try twenty different keys!"
" Give them here!" Kurama demanded. Yusuke dropped them into his outstretched hand. He jingled them around a bit, until he found a rather small key. He walked to the door and put the key into the lock. He turned it to hear a satisfying click. But the door would not open. Instead, a block from beside it started to glow an eerie greenish yellow. Kurama pushed it lightly, and a little machine was suddenly lowered in front of the door at Kurama's eye level.
" Please state your name, status, and reason for entrance," the machine said.
" Kurama Minamino, Prince and younger brother of His Royal Majesty Kanzuka. I wish to inspect the prisoner's."
" Please step up and have your eye examined Sir," the machine said.
Kurama stepped forward. There was another greenish yellow light, this time over Kurama's left eye, examining it. The whole group seemed to be holding their breath. It seemed to take an eternity.
" Accepted. You may pass." With that, the machine rose and vanished into the darkness above them. The glow on the stone faded. The door swung open silently. Kurama gestured for them to enter. He led them in, followed by Yusuke, Kuwabara, and then Hiei and Sango. They entered a hallway which opened into a larger chamber. The walls had cells. The little free space had bones of prisoner's chained to the wall. Sango bit her lip. The foul stench of rotting flesh filled their noses.
The room was dimly lit by something no one could quite name. It seemed to glow an eerie green colour. It was silent. There was no sounds coming from any cell. Surely they only thought that another was being brought a prisoner.
" This is all there is," Kurama announced quietly.
" We must save these people!" Sango cried. " We cannot leave them here! Some here still live!"
" They are suspended between life and death," Kurama retorted. " They are almost neither alive nor dead. They would be would be of little help to us. Besides," he added, " Most are not even human but demon's."
There came a small noise to the right. Sango hurried over to the cell and dropped to her knees by it.
" Sire…" the demon croaked in a raspy voice. " Highness…"
Kurama dropped down to his knee's as well. The demon was a fox demon. He was very thin, but his claws looked very sharp. He was laying on his side, exposing a very deep wound. Blood was crusted around it. His eyes were golden yellow.
" Who are you?" Sango asked in a gentle voice. She stroked the demon's head with her hand through the bars. She hoped it would calm him. He seemed rather tense.
" I am Akira," the demon answered.
" Akira…" Kurama repeated. " I believe I know you. You served as High Councillor, did you not?"
Akira coughed. " I did…But Kanzuka had me imprisoned when I failed to locate you, Highness…."
" How do you know I am a prince?"
" Your aura," Akira rasped. " I knew it when I felt it….that you had returned…"
Kurama nodded at Yusuke. He nodded back, then turned to the cell door. Then, he broke open the lock. It fell to the floor with a loud 'clang' and the door swung open easily.
" How long have you been imprisoned in here Akira?" Kurama asked.
" Seven years," Akira answered.
Sango gasped. " You poor kitsune," she said, " And you have survived this long. That is truly amazing."
" Lady…" Akira replied, " Some have been imprisoned for a far longer time than I and still have survived. We got very little food and water. We were to waste away here, but our loyalty to Prince Kurama kept us alive. Our hatred for Kanzuka fuelled us. We wish only to see Kanzuka die and Kurama take the throne."
Kurama said nothing.
" We would gladly fight for you…" Akira told Kurama, " But our strength is little. We would need someone to heal us. I would, but I have not the strength to even heal myself."
" Friend Akira," Kurama said, " I shall heal you, then please, help heal and rescue the other's who still live. We need all the help we can get. Your job will be to keep all the guards busy while I rescue Kagome."
" Ka…gome?" Akira repeated with a cough. Kurama slipped a small leaf into his mouth.
" She's…a priestess…a very important person to me," Kurama said quietly.
" He's in love with her," Yusuke whispered in Akira's ear.
" She'll heal you all," Sango told him, " When she is freed from Kanzuka. He kidnapped her. He loves her too. So once we rescue her, she'll surely heal you."
Akira nodded. " You love…a human priestess? A woman who purifies demons?"
" She's not evil!" Sango insisted. " She's my best friend! She travel's with me, a demon slayer, and hanyou Inuyasha, the Shippo, and Miroku! She helps demons like Ayame and is friends with Koga and the wolves! She feels sympathy for those who are in the control of another like Kagura is! She only defeat's those demons who are truly evil like Naraku!"
" The demon slayer is right," Hiei agreed. " We have all witnessed this. She is a kind and caring person."
Sango beamed at him. It was not like Hiei to give such praise, so she valued what he said about Kagome all the more.
" Still…" Akira sounded unsure. He sat up slowly as his strength returned to him.
" She is the guardian of the sacred Shikon no Tama!" Sango cried, " And even though that is her job, she loves everyone! She admires youkai and loves the hanyou's. You will have to meet her."
" Now Akira," Kurama interrupted, " The rest of you are to free the rest of the prisoners and take care of the rest of the guards. I'll go save Kagome!"
" I'm coming too!" Sango said defiantly. " She's my best friend! I have to come!"
Kurama shook his head.
" Please!" she cried, " I'll come anyway!"
" I also wish to accompany you fox," Hiei said. " Let the demon slayer and I also come."
Kurama sighed. " Fine. Come on. We've wasted too much time as it is."
Shorter than usual I know. I have so little time to write now, that its taking me a while to update all my stories X.X But anyway, did you like this? Tell me what you thought!
And since for some reason a few of you think Kanzuka is going to rape Kagome, I'll lay your fears to rest, and tell you no, he's not. What he wants to have happen is that she'll watch him battle Kurama and she'll see Kurama die. Thus, he'll marry her and then have a kid and stuff with her and also have the Shikon in his power making him pretty much invincible. But, we all know, that somehow the good guys will win, so don't worry about Kagome. She'll be fine.
Disclaimer: I own nothing. You should all know that by now.
Reviewer Responses
Ryukotsusei: Thank you. I will.
inuyuyu-16:Yep. Evil cliffies MUWAHAHA! Oh don't worry. Nothing bad will happen to Kagome.
xxprincess-sakuraxx:Yep, a lot huh? Yep, its taken me so long to write this much V.V Thank you very much and I will.
Ryu Sneaky Lil' Fox:Thanks. Yes, very long. School isn't helping either, getting in the way of my free time. Awww that sucks. I hate it when my computer gets a virus because then it makes it harder to update and I can never log onto MSN. Anyway, I'll update as much as I can.
SunStar Kitsune:She'll be able to. She's pretty strong after all. Still, I pity her, being kidnapped and all.
kitsune'sangelofflames: Thank you! I'm very happy to reply to you all because it really makes me happy that you guys actually read this and are kind enough to review it.
nunofyorbiz:Don't worry, she won't be raped.
dragontails:Thank you. I'm glad you reviewed. Inuyasha and Yukina are on their date. They have pretty much no idea that Kagome is in trouble. They'll be in it again probably after Kanzuka is dead and stuff.
Kitsune-Miko-Tenshi: Thanks muchly! I'm glad you like it. I will.
Red Skyies: I know! Its terribly sad, what happened to her. Well…Kurama is pretty angry with Kanzuka so he will be hurt terribly. Okay! I'll try to update soon.
tbiris:Yep. Hard, ne?
WhiteRose-Kurama: That's very good. I'm really trying my best with it. Err…I believe so. If not, I'll have her find out in the next chapter (I'll check to make sure). Good thing you brought that up. Yes, he is Kanzuka's younger brother. Well…the bracelet is just sort of an object that show's Kagome how much she truly cares for Kurama. It shows her that despite blood relations that one brother can be completely evil, but the other can be so kind and loves her for who she is. That's really all it is. Nope, its not enchanted at all. Thanks. I will!
RoseFire-shadow666: Yep, I will.
CrimsonEyes7806:LoL I love chocolate. I'm glad you like this. Wish I had more time to write it though.
kagome of the western lands: LoL yes, a little. I will.
Jinenji: Yep. Writer's block's suck. Lucky. I always have homework in math and French. Awesome! Hawaii! I hope you have fun there! I have a math test on Monday. It sucks. Thanks! I will!
XxInUcCeNtDeViLxX:Thanks! I will.
KitsuneNiBakaSareru: Thank you.
Easy-Company-506/101:Inuyasha is on a date with Yukina and Sesshomaru isn't really in this story. Yusuke is well, you know where he is now. XP I guess you know where all his loyalists are--In jail. Good points though.
Kjinuyasha:Yay! Good!
AunExisteAmor (nli):Really? I'm so glad you like it!
blah blah blah: Well, its not that stupid. I've had those thoughts lately, though its not totally me who's doing the avoiding. Someone else is avoiding me, and I don't know why and so I'm having thoughts similar to hers. But, that true too. Still, she's pretty depressed. I would be if I was her too.
atth99: Thank you. I will.
Inu-babe666:Thank you! I will!
Kami Princess Emaku:That's good. I will.
Hyper-Bitch: There was a lot of that already. I had to bring the action back.
godoflight:Thank you so much! I will!
shininingsilverkitsune:I know! So sad…
Black Rose Faith:Fury-chan! Hiya! Thanks and I will! Like this chappie?
sacaku:Thank you! I will.