Sango and Hiei closely followed Kurama up the stone steps back the way they had come. The soldier's seemed to be gone for the moment, but Kurama thought that they were probably waiting for them up ahead. He warned them to go with extreme caution. They could not afford to be caught off guard.

They followed Kurama down a long passage that was supposed to lead them to the Great Hall. Kurama suspected that there would be a welcoming party for them at the doors, so they hurried on silently, in hope's of having the first blow.

He was only half right. There were not many soldier's there. Only two, to be exact. They did not notice them right away, for Kurama had halted them in the dark shadow's.

' Why are there only two of them?' Kurama wondered.

' Maybe Kanzuka has a bigger welcome waiting for us once we fight them,' Yoko whispered.

' Possibly…'

' We ought to hurry fox!' came Hiei's annoyed voice in his mind.' The sooner we beat these two, we can get onto the real stuff! Weren't you just complaining that we had already wasted too much time?'

Kurama did not answer, but glared angrily at Hiei. Then he waved them forward for attack.

It was quick. Sango's boomerang caught them by surprise, which knocked them back against the door behind them. Hiei slashed one in two, and Sango slashed the other with her own katana. They were dead in little more than a minute.

" That was…too easy," Sango remarked, staring at the bloody demon's at her feet. " I have a bad feeling about this…"

" I agree," Hiei said, " Those demon's were far too easy."

Kurama bit his lip. " We have no time to ponder about it. We need to get going now. Just beyond this Great Hall is the Throne Room. That is surely where Kanzuka will be, and I'm sure Kagome as well."

Sango wasn't sure if this was wise, to rush on further without thinking more thoroughly about the problem, but there was no point in arguing. She knew Kurama would never listen; he was too worried about Kagome. 'Yet,' she thought, ' If Kanzuka wants the Jewel and he's in love with her, then why would her life be in danger?'

Hiei seemed to be thinking along the same lines because he asked Kurama that very question as they passed through the doors. Kurama didn't answer him. Perhaps it was because he himself was now struck with the thought that what Hiei said could indeed be true, or he just wasn't fully listening. In either case, he remained silent, leading them quickly down the Great Hall. As they reached the end, Kurama turned to take them through a nearby and unnoticeable door off to the side.

" Something isn't right…" Sango whispered. The only she response she got was a small nod from Hiei.

She was indeed right. Almost immediately, six masked assassins dressed in complete black dropped from the dark heights of the ceiling. Blood red eyes stared at then out of the mask's eye slits. They were lean, but muscular and evidentially very powerful. Sango stiffened and unslung her boomerang. Hiei grinned and drew his sword.

" Kurama!" Sango hissed, " We'll take care of these guys. You go on ahead and rescue Kagome."

Kurama was about to protest, but Sango shook her head. She gestured to the door.

' You need to go, fox,' Hiei said firmly, ' Like Sango said, we'll take care of these guys. They shouldn't be too hard. Go and rescue the girl!'

Kurama nodded. He didn't feel quite right leaving them behind like this, but they seemed to want it no other way. He was the one who needed to go one. She was most important to him. If anything happened to her, he'd blame it on himself for not going to her right away. Sango and Hiei were strong. They could take these guys on, no problem.

" Fine," he told them, " Just be careful, okay?"

" We'll be fine," Sango assured him. " Go and rescue Kagome."

He nodded and leapt over the assassins and through the door. They did not pursue him.

" Ready?" Hiei asked Sango.

" Yep. I'm always ready."

" I'll take the right, you take the left. Okay?"

" Got it."

" On three…one…three!" Hiei snarled at the assassins. Sango threw her hirakotsu and knocked her three opponents back a few paces. Hiei slashed at his three, but their speed was incredible.

' They're fast,' he thought, ' But I'm faster!' He came at them again, executing a complex series of attacks. When his sword came in contact with them, he realised that their armour was stronger than he expected.

' Mythril…' he thought. ' Great. That complicates things a bit, but no matter.'

He scanned them quickly. Their armour seemed to be weakest around their calf's and ankles. Their necks were protected by a black neck brace. It was specially designed to protect their necks, but flexible to allow freedom-of-movement.

' If I can attack their legs, their speed will be diminished.' Hiei nodded to himself and attacked the ankle of the closest warrior. It was a deep cut. The warrior hissed at him and leapt for an attack, but his leg would not allow it. He fell on his face. Hiei slashed his legs to pieces.

The attack made him an open target for the other two. Busy with the one warrior, the other's attacked sides. Hiei screamed in surprise, then spun around attacked their legs. They growled in response.

Even thought their speed was diminished due to the wounds inflicted upon them by Hiei's sword, they were still determined to win. They skilfully scuttled around him. He was trapped in the middle of them. He smirked. ' These guys don't seriously think they have a chance, do they?' he wondered. ' Its so obvious that I outclass them.'

They came at him all at once, though their agility was down. He cut at their legs again. Two of them fell this time, and Hiei ruthlessly cut their legs off. Blood seeped around them till they moved no more. Just one left. He was just about to go in for the attack when he heard Sango wail out a blood-curdling scream of pain. Spinning around, he saw that she had killed one of the warriors but one of the two remaining one's stabbed her in her exposed side. Blood poured down her side. She sagged down, leaning against her Hirakotsu for support.

Hiei didn't really think. He raced over to her as the other two closed in one her. He slashed their legs, and ruthlessly chopped them off one of her attackers. Another stabbed him in the back. Hiei spun around and brought his sword down across the attacker's mask. It split and revealed a horrid looking face. Its nose was broken, his cheekbones smashed. His face was scarred. Only his eyes were still intact. Hiei noticed none of it. He slashed at the warrior and brought his sword right up to his chin. He slit the man's (if it even was a man) throat.

Only two left. One was again attacking Sango, who had somehow managed to get back on her feet. She was desperately trying to block the onslaught of attacks, but it was all she could do. She was far too weak to attack the warrior herself.

Hiei whirled around and started to help defend her. He caught her eyes for a moment. She looked surprised that he was defending her. He didn't waste any time, but tore his eyes away from hers. He attacked the warrior with complex moves which he only barely dodged. He kicked him in the shins. The warrior staggered and Hiei hacked it leg on and its mask. He brutally executed him in the same manner as the last.

Only one left. Sango was now battling it, but her strength was failing fast. Hiei joined her in the battle. He realised that he boomerang could dent the Mythril armour the assassins wore. It couldn't break it, only dent. He assumed it was because her weapon was made of strong demon bone.

" Sango!" he hissed, " Try and dent his armour with your hirakotsu. If you can, I'll be able to defeat him very quickly."

She nodded, indicating she understood. " I'll try…but I feel weak, so I'm not sure…if I can do much…damage…" Nevertheless, she took a deep breath, and whacked the assassin warrior severely. It cracked. Hiei kicked him where the crack was on his torso and then slashed it off of him. Underneath was a thin layer of leather, and his sword cut through it like it was nothing more than a blade of grass. He then stabbed the man in the chest.

Retrieving his sword, he dropped down by Sango's side. She was bleeding heavily. He had to stop it, or she would die. He looked around wildly. The armour worn by the six assassins would not stop the blood flow. It would seep through the chain mail. No. He needed cloth. He bit his lip, then tore off his cloak. He quickly tied it around her wound, stopping the flow. His cloak was thick and didn't soak through very quickly.

Hiei lifted her head. She opened her eyes weakly. She tried to smile.

" You're going to be all right," Hiei told her urgently, " Just hang in there. I won't let you die!"

" You're…kind…" Sango coughed. " I'll try to…stay alive, but…my strength is failing."

" You must stay alive!" he cried, " You can't die! Please Sango...hold on…"

" I'll try…Hiei…" She coughed harder. She struggled to sit up. Hiei kept his arm around her back for extra support. She looked up at him. She blinked then closed her eyes and kissed him.

Hiei felt something rise inside him. He had felt it before, only vaguely. It was never this intense. He never realised that he had such a soft spot for Sango before. He never knew that he had longed for her kiss…for her. He had never realised, until now, that what he felt for her was love.

After a moment, she broke away, smiled, and fell unconscious. Hiei held her in his arms, waiting for help to arrive. Hopefully, Yusuke, Kuwabara, Akira, and reinforcements would come soon. But for now, he would defend Sango with his life.

I am soo sorry I made you guys wait so long! I kept getting distracted from my writing, so it took a while to finish.

Did you like it? Somewhat shorter than my usual chapters. And before anyone tells me Hiei was OOC, I know he was a little. I tried my best to make that little love scene as in character for them both as possible, but its hard to do when you're working with a character like him. So I did my best with it, and I do hope you enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reviewer Responses:

CrimsonEyes7806: Yes it is. Thanks, and I suppose your right. LoL cool cool. Ja ne then.

atth99: LoL sorry for such a long wait.

SunStar Kitsune: Sorry, but its to get his point across. And yes, I did find it necessary. Don't ask why, I just thought so. Inu-chan can be worse though, if its any comfort :sweat drop:

Jinenji: Yes, its much better to do one at a time. That's why some of mine are collecting dust from lack of updates :pokes dusty stories: Hmm…you're right. I find it hard to do crossover's like that actually. But some people cam write them really well, so they should post them :hint post it when you're ready to…it'll be good I'm sure: Math is like…one of my main reasons for slow updates. French and English don't help. Tons of projects are piling up on me now, so my updates will be pretty slow. Thank you! Makes me feel special Hope you liked this chapter!

inuyuyu-16:Yes, they do. But they are necessary or the story would be boring. Aww hope you feel better! Thanks! Sorry for such a long wait for this one.

kitsune'sangelofflames:Thanks. I will.

Kuramasangel: I'll try.

Evil Toiler Paper:Thanks. I will.

RoseFire-shadow666: Thanks. Will do

XxInUcCeNtDeViLxX:Thanks. I'll try to do regular updates. How many chapters? I don't know actually. As many as it takes to finish this. I don't think it'll be more than forty, but I can't say for sure. We'll have to wait and see.

Tsuki-tora: Okay I will. Enjoy!

Ryu Sneaky Lil' Fox: Thanks! It is? Yay-ness! I will try to, but homework messed up all my plans for updates. I will! Good luck!

redskyies:LoL yes, that'll start in the next chapter. She could, but she doesn't have any arrow's with her or a bow, and I just don't want her to. I want there to be a battle between Kanzuka and Kurama. Make things interesting that way

WhiteRose-Kurama: I'm glad you enjoy it so far. Homework keeps messing up my plans for regular updates. Oh yeah sure he will. But, you gotta wait to see what'll happen. I'm not gonna give anymore details away yet.

shippomykit: Hmm…I guess so. I think so.

sacaku: Thanks, I will when I have enough spare time!

AunExisteAmor(nil): Thanks. I'll try. Depends on how much homework I have.

cookiiex:LoL I think I did. Did you like it?

Hyper-Bitch:LoL okay, I'll try to! Okay, I'll try to put some more fluff in.

Inu-chan's luver:Thanks.

ohiowriter:Thanks. I will.

saiyanprincesscat: Oh yes, they will. Nothing is going to happen to her (well…nothing hentai-ish at least). Yes, its hard to portray Hiei with emotions without making him too OOC. I think its impossible to not make him a little OOC since he's not my original character, so I do the best I can to keep him in character. LoL yes. I don't wanna think about exams. Mine aren't till the end of June, but that's coming ever closer X-X what really sucks is that the EQAO math test is before the exams X-X I'll try, but the story doesn't focus on them too much (I don't care for Kuwabara much but…they'll be in it again in a couple of chapters I think) Meh, I've thought of it, but I won't write one I don't think. I don't like the Yusuke/Kagome pairing. Actually, I don't even like him with Keiko (though I like Keiko herself). I prefer Yusuke/Botan. Thanks! Good luck with your exams!