Authors Note: Before I start the story, I would like to make a request.

To the reviewer walking up, please NOT review my story anymore. I do not like being called shallow, especially by someone who does not know me.

Now, on with the story!

Kurama didn't feel quite right about leaving Sango and Hiei behind to fight the assassins on their own, but they wouldn't have it any other way. He nodded to them, and then left them.

The hallway past the door was dark, lit only by torches every few inches. Kurama hurried down it, through the cold darkness, his footsteps echoing loudly in the empty hall. He had never remembered the hallway being so long. Perhaps that was only because he hadn't been here for so long. Either way, it seemed an age had passed before he stood in front of the large, golden door again.

He remembered it well. The family crest was embossed into the centre of it. He remembered how he had always felt to small compared to it when he was young, before he ran away. It brought back fond, faded memories of his childhood. However, now was not the time to be reminiscing. He had something to take care of first. Kurama took hold of the cold handle, and thrust the door open.

He stood there on the threshold for a moment. The Throne Room. Almost as large as the Great Hall. The floor was jade marble, one of the most rare types of stones in all the Makai. The walls and ceiling were also of the same material. The Throne stood up on a wide platform, reachable by three wide, shallow steps. The King's Throne itself was completely gold, inlaid with various jewels such as rubies and diamonds. The family Cloth of Estate, once a golden silk banner with the family crest on it, was now moth eaten and almost completely beyond repair. Heavy, crimson red drapes covered long windows. No light was in the room except for the torches along the walls. They lit up old tapestries and paintings. The chandeliers were not lit, and full of cobwebs.

Sitting on the King's Throne was Kanzuka, calmly watching him through blood red eyes. Kagome sat on the floor beside him (no doubt she'd had no choice in the matter), leaving the Queen's Throne empty. It, too, was gold, and filled mostly with lapis lazuli and various shades of sapphires.

" Kurama!" Kagome cried. Her voice, he noticed, was full of happiness, yet sorrow. He could not understand why.

" Kagome," he said, walking toward her and Kanzuka. He couldn't stop staring at her. She looked like a goddess in the white wedding dress, despite how simple it was. Kanzuka smirked.

" Kurama…" he said, letting it roll off his tongue slowly, " My younger brother. How nice to see you again. We have been waiting for you."

Kurama scowled. " How kind of you, Kanzuka," he replied coldly.

Kanzuka sighed. " If only you had agreed to steal the Jewel in the first place," he said, " Instead of foolishly running away and becoming a thief. If you had agreed, we would not be in this situation right now."

Kurama snorted. " You think not? We never got along. It was only a matter of time before we would have ended up fighting each other."

" Maybe…but what's done is done. Now…will you fight me, and die and honourable death?"

" I do not intend to die," Kurama hissed, " I intend to win, and save my kingdom, and Kagome. You are in the way."

Kanzuka scowled at him. " So be it." He drew his sword. Kurama recognized it at once. It was an evil blade his father had once come across called Tsu'kiko. Its blade was stained red with the blood of the countless live it had taken.

The two brothers got into their battle positions.

Kagome stood up. Tears fell down her face. He really did come. He didn't just abandon her. He had come to save her. Just seeing him again gave her strength enough to stand again. All the evil that was in this realm began to recede. She felt is back away. Her mind cleared of dark thoughts.

' This land…was too long in the control of a tyrant,' she thought, ' And that is why it felt so dark and affected me so deeply. With the return of the true King, the evil is being washed away, little by little.'

A surge of joy and hope bubbled up inside her. She dropped down to her knees, and clasped her hands together.

' I believe in you, Kurama,' she thought.

Kurama pulled out a rose from behind his hair. Kanzuka did not know his attacks nearly so well. He had never really witnessed them for himself. Nor did Kurama know Kanzuka's. It would surely prove to be an interesting battle.

" A rose?" Kanzuka laughed, " It will take more than a mere rose to defeat me!"

Kurama grinned. " We shall see…"

Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Akira raced through the halls, closely followed by many former prisoners. Most of them were Kitsune's since this kingdom was a Kitsune controlled one. Most of the court was made up of them. Due to their loyalty to Kurama and hate for Kanzuka, they were imprisoned and supposed to rot away in the dungeons and various other hidden chambers and unused towers.

Akira was a made a good general, barking out many orders, but it was obvious that he was not cut out for the job. Nevertheless, he ordered several of the rescued officials to search the rest of the Palace and free the rest of the prisoners, then proceed to the Throne Room. He, Yusuke, and Kuwabara would go there right away and meet them there.

They first entered the Great Hall, just as Sango, Hiei, and Kurama had done, not so long ago. In fact, to their great surprise, Hiei and Sango were still there. Kurama was no where to be seen. Sango seemed to be unconscious, slumped in Hiei's arms. He looked very worried about her, and hardly noticed them enter.

" Hiei!" Yusuke called, running over to him. " Hiei! What happened to her? Where's Kurama?"

Hiei looked up. " Kurama went on ahead," he said calmly, " At our request," here he gestured to himself and Sango, " To fight his brother. Sango and I fought six armed assassins with Mythril armour. She suffered a grievous wound and I fear for her life. My cloak cannot fully stop the blood flow. We need Kagome healing powers as soon as possible! Unless," he said coolly, " You can heal her, Akira."

Akira shook his head. " No. I cannot. I do not have the necessary herbs to do so. You will need to wait for someone like your Priestess with magical powers."

This seemed to frustrate Hiei, though no one asked him why he was so on edge about the whole thing.

" So…there aren't anymore warriors here?" Kuwabara asked, looking around quickly.

Hiei shook his head. " We took out the six of them."

" By saying that, you are quite wrong," Akira said in a grave voice. He pointed behind them.

Kisa stood there. She grinned and her eyes narrowed.

" Well, well, well," she said, " What do we have here? An escaped prisoner, a ragged human, a worthless hanyou, a little demon, and an uncurious demon slayer. What a pathetic bunch you are! I shall have much fun in destroying you each, one by one."

" You'll do no such thing!" Yusuke shouted at her. " You'll never win against us."

" You think not? I am far more powerful than you are! Two of your group are already weak from a previous battle, one who is unable to fight at all, or even defend herself. One of your group is an escaped prisoner who has not had much nourishment and will tire quickly because of it. A mere human and a hanyou have little or no chance at beating me."

She glared at them haughtily. " You cannot win."

Yusuke grinned. " We'll see. You're too full of yourself, so that'll make us win. Yo! Kuwabara! Hiei! You guys gonna help me beat her, or do I have to do it on my own?"

" I'm with ya buddy!" Kuwabara said eagerly. " Though, I don't usually consent to hurt girls."

" I will help you as well," Hiei said in a cool, almost angry voice, " Akira, keep Sango safe. She's too weak to defend herself."

Akira nodded and took Sango's limp form from Hiei.

" Ready boys?" Kisa asked in a mock-polite tone.

" Always ready," Yusuke grinned. Almost simultaneously, the three of them went off in separate angles to attack her. She jumped high above them, evading their attack. She was fast, but so was Hiei. He also jumped and slashed at her, causing her to make a hasty landing. Yusuke and Kuwabara both went in to attack her. Kuwabara punched her arm roughly, and Yusuke kicked her shins. She cursed and back-flipped.

" Not bad boys," she said, " But its gonna take a lot more than just that to harm me!"

That said, Kisa ran into the fray quickly. She slashed her red nails at Kuwabara, and dodged an attack by Yusuke. She evaded Hiei's sword twice in succession. She was fast, and she made it hard to get in many good attacks.

Kanzuka stared at Kurama's rose with evident amusement. He clearly did not see how a rose could be of any help in a battle. He watched Kanzuka brandish Tsu'kiko in front of him. Its blade gleamed in the dull light. Then, without any warning, Kanzuka came at him, sword raised.

Kurama sidestepped out of the way. He called forth his Rose Whip, and snapped it at Kanzuka. Kanzuka made no comment on what had happened to seemingly normal rose. Instead, he merely evaded it, and tried to cut it to pieces. One thing he had not realised was that it was far more flexible than his sword. Kurama easily kept him from cutting it, and soon caught Kanzuka. The whip lashed around Kanzuka pinning his arms to his sides, and the thorns digging into his flesh.

However, Kanzuka did not seem worried about it. He seemed quite calm, but perhaps that was just his exterior look. Perhaps, inside, he felt very frightened. No one would ever know. He never told anyone. Kurama pulled it tighter.

Kagome watched the battle with a sorrowful expression. Two brothers, fighting each other like this. Sure, it wasn't very uncommon. It happened all the time in history. Many younger brother would rise up against the eldest to seize the throne of their kingdom. Even Sesshomaru and Inuyasha fought over a mere sword.

But this seemed different. It was just about the kingdom. It wasn't just about her, or even a sword. It was something more. Something personal that only the two brother's could ever understand. It was an unnameable feeling, something that could be felt by anyone and everyone, but understood only by the two it was emitting from. Maybe even they didn't know they were giving off such a feeling. Maybe they didn't even know it existed or what it was called. But they were the only ones who could understand it, of that Kagome was sure.

One thing she knew for certain was that one these two brothers would die that night. Unlike Inuyasha and Sesshomaru, whom she was sure neither would ever end up killing the other, she knew these two would fight to the death. She fervently hoped that Kurama would win. She didn't want him to die. How could she live if he was gone?

' Do not worry yourself,' a voice spoke in her head.

Kagome was startled. ' What? Who are you? What do you mean, not to worry?'

' All will be revealed soon, Priestess. Who am I? You do not recognize my voice?'

'Kikyo?'

' Yes…'

' Are you here now?' Kagome asked, ' Here in this room?'

' No…the aura of this place is too strong for me and I cannot enter.'

' The how--'

' You can converse with me because of your special powers.'

' Special powers?' Kagome wondered.

' Yes…' Kikyo responded, ' You are no normal Priestess as you have thought.'

'…'

' It is true. Only the Miko of Twilight has such special powers. Only she can speak with her mind to the dead. Only she has very advanced healing powers, and a life span that changes to that of the one she loves. When that person dies, so will she.'

' Are you saying,' Kagome said slowly, ' That I am this Miko of Twilight?'

' Yes Kagome. Your skills have always been advanced, and you learned quickly. You are the Miko of Twilight.'

' And you tell me not worry,' Kagome said to her, ' How can I not worry about him?'

' You must know by now,' Kikyo said soothingly, ' That good will always win over evil. His Time has not yet come, and nor has yours. My Time has passed. Another in this room is about to lose his Time. It has all been pre-decided. You have nothing to fear for him.'

' Why are you…telling me all this now?' Kagome asked, ' Why have you not told me before?'

' You were not ready to know. Now was the time to tell you. Now, be patient and believe in him.'

Kagome nodded. ' I will…I do,' she thought to herself.

Like it? Sorry I took so long guys! I have to do a lot of studying this month since exams start on the twenty-second. And my culminating for math starts on Monday and goes to Thursday. I'm really nervous, and have been studying lately, thus I have a late update.

Anyway, in case you didn't understand any of that, (especially the Kikyo and Kagome part) it'll be explained in the upcoming chapters. If you want to ask about it though, go ahead. I just don't want to spoil it for you yet. And in case you wondered about Kisa, she never did die, I just forgot about her for a while XP

Disclaimer: I do not own anything.

Reviewer Responses

saiyanprincesscat: Nope. XDD Yeah, I don't like Hiei/Kagome much either. Really? Cool. I only have volumes one and three of the manga :sweat drop: I wish I had my exams already though. Stupid math culminating starts tomorrow…in fact I wouldn't be surprised if I get all my culminating in the next week. Thanks for the encouragement though! Yep, I love putting in suspense. Makes the story interesting, no? LoL I'm glad. XDD Good luck with your Biology!

Ryu Sneaky Lil' Fox: Thanks! Actually, though it is the last month of school, that's when they really start to pile the homework up. Culminating activities and extra work for exam preparation. Lucky! I have till the twenty-seventh still. Thanks! I'll try to update again before exams, but I dunno if I'll be able to.

Kjinuyasha:LoL yes. Thanks, I will.

Black Spell:I will! No, Sango won't die. So don't worry about her.

aloofanimegirl:Thanks! I will and I'm glad you like it!

KitsuneMistressoftheYoukai: Thanks! I will. Yep, they should be in every chapter now.

cookiiex: Thanks! I will.

nunofyorbiz: XP I'm sorry. I'll try to make longer chapters.

Jinenji: Wow that's a lot of work. My teachers are doing the same to us. So much work to do as well as studying for finals. LoL yes. He's so secretive and mysterious that its hard to portray him.

WhiteRose-Kurama: Thanks! Yes, I created the assassins for the story and no other reason. Yep. They will. Very soon actually. Hmm…well they don't really know what he might do to her since he's evil. Even though he's in love with her, he'll keep her hostage to lure them there, and he could anger them into coming quicker if he harmed her. So that's why they're worried about her.

SunStar Kitsune: Yep! It's the big fight between them now.

Child of the Silvery Moon: LoL I'm glad you liked it.

xxprincess-sakuraxx: I'll try. Homework gets in the way.

sacaku:Thanks! I will!

dawnstar28: Thank you! I'll try to update again before my exams.

china angel:Thanks! I will!

cindy:Thanks. I will.

inukuramaRmine:I will! Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying it!