" You fools!" Kisa cackled, " Your power is useless against me!"

" Damn you Kisa!" Yusuke shouted, getting in position to fire his Spirit Gun, " You WILL die!"

She merely laughed. Obviously, she didn't believe this.

' How can we defeat her?' Hiei wondered angrily, ' She's fast…we need to find a way to diminish her speed…'

Kuwabara threw a series of fast punches at her. Despite the fact that they were very accurate and that they all hit, she didn't seem to think much of it. All she seemed to get from it was a bloody nose and a bruise on her cheek. She sent a wind spell at him. Kuwabara slid backwards a slight bit, but he ran in for a fresh attack at once. He threw two punches at her chest and kicked her right knee.

She cried out in pain when his foot collided with her knee. At the same time, Yusuke's spirit gun hit her in the back. She howled in pain, and that's when it hit Hiei.

" Yusuke! Kuwabara! You guys gotta dislocate her knees and ankles!" he shouted, " That'll diminish her speed greatly!"

Yusuke grinned. " Right! She's going down!"

" Okay shorty!" Kuwabara called. Hiei scowled, but the comment pass. He had no time to deal with Kuwabara's stupidity.

Yusuke and Kuwabara both ran towards Kisa. Yusuke swore violently and gave her a high kick to her spine, causing her to cry out in pain again. Kuwabara dislocated her other knee. Hiei ran in, his sword raised.

Kurama pulled the rose whip ever tighter. Kanzuka frowned. The entire room swelled with dark magic. He seemed to summon every ounce he could, and thus broke out of the grip of the thorny whip. Gracefully, he back-flipped away and smiled mockingly at Kurama.

" Well now, little brother," Kanzuka said rather calmly, " You didn't really think that would do anything did you?"

Kurama did not answer. He scowled at Kanzuka.

" Now…let me teach you the true meaning of strength!" Kanzuka whipped out his sword. With blinding speed, he appeared in front of Kurama, brining his sword down upon him. Kurama used his rose whip to hold it off. The blade, however, was very sharp and started to cut through the whip. The noses of the two brothers were mere inches apart.

" Your true meaning of strength," Kurama spat, " Is much different than mine!" He kicked Kanzuka in the shin, then sidestepped to the right and behind. He looped his rose whip around Kanzuka's neck. The thorns dug into Kanzuka's flesh, causing his blood to slowly pour out, drop by drop. Evidentially, Kurama hoped to cut off Kanzuka's air supply.

Kagome watched the battle with wide eyes. He was here for her. He was defending her. Kagome felt special. She felt glad he was here for her. She felt guilty for avoiding him for so long, yet he still came for her.

' I'll never make the same mistake again…' she vowed to herself, ' I'll never avoid him again.'

She held back a cry of surprise when Kanzuka broke free of Kurama's attack. She wasn't fully expecting him to break free of it. She bit her lip. As much as she believed that Kurama could-would-win, she still feared for his safety. Kanzuka was very powerful. Kurama needed to be careful.

' He will be fine…' came Kikyo's soothing voice.

' I hope so…still, I worry for him…' Kagome answered her.

' Lady, you worry far too much,' Kikyo informed her.

' Its hard not too…' Kagome told her, ' I mean…you just told me I'm this Miko of Twilight…like…that's a really big thing for me to grasp. I don't even know what the Miko of Twilight is really. What my role is. And then there's Kurama, fighting for me…its very stressful, and makes me worry.'

' Listen…all will be explained soon enough. You must be patient.' With that said, Kikyo ended the conversation, leaving Kagome to dwell on these thoughts.

' Damn them…' Kisa thought with rage, ' How dare they? They think that by removing my speed, they will be able to defeat me? How wrong they are!'

Hiei brought his sword down on Kisa. She let out another deafening scream, but it was not one so much of pain, but one of summoning magical energy to her aid. Sure enough, despite her inability to walk, she could still cast spells. She threw her arm out at Hiei, and he was forced backwards with a gravitational spell. She used wind to send Yusuke and Kuwabara sprawling in opposite directions.

' Maybe…if I can heal my legs, I'll be able to defeat them quicker…' she thought. ' Yes. I must try.'

Akira watched from the sidelines. Strong as these people were, Kisa was still a formidable foe. He watched as she sent Hiei backwards and Yusuke and Kuwabara in opposite directions. Then, panic gripped him. She moved her hands to her legs, obviously trying to restore them. He gripped Sango's limp form tightly. He shook with anger as Hiei raced at Kisa yet again.
Hiei picked himself up almost at once. He raced back at Kisa who, he saw, was trying to heal her legs. He stabbed her back. She howled out in pain as blood poured out of her wound. Yusuke and Kuwabara were now closing in from either side. Kuwabara had summoned his spirit sword. Yusuke got into position for another spirit attack. Hiei raised his sword. Kisa, quite simply, had no where to run. She could do nothing. She herself even knew that. She shook with fear.
Kurama's tactic didn't work. Though the thorns dug into Kanzuka's neck, he somehow still had the strength to lift his sword. He cut at Kurama's arm, and nearly succeeded in cutting it off. How Kanzuka could achieve something when his back was to Kurama, he did not know. Still, to avoid the same attack a second time, he had to abandon his strategy and back away.

Kanzuka spun around. He glared at Kurama. Raising his right palm toward the ceiling, he muttered something in an ancient language. Kurama watched him warily. The room, which had been dimly lit to begin with, went almost completely dark. The torches were snuffed out by the magic that Kanzuka had summoned. The only light which remained untouched was emitting from Kagome herself.

Kurama saw this quickly out of the corner of his eye. She glowed. A pure white light outlined her shape. The white dress she wore seemed to be made of light. Kanzuka, on the other hand, noticed nothing of this.

The darkness seemed to eat away at Kurama. As he was not evil, it had a large effect on him, seeming to drain him of his energy. He felt weak at his knees, and sick in his stomach. His vision blurred. He collapsed to his knees. Kanzuka took this opportunity to attack. He raised his sword high. It glowed an eerie red colour within the thick, cold darkness.

" Now…you die!"

" KURAMA!" Kagome screamed. After Kanzuka slashed him lethally with his sword, it seemed to take an eternity for Kurama to fall. His eyes were wide, and his body went limp as he fell onto the cold floor. His hand let go of his rose whip. Kagome's eyes widened in horror. Hadn't Kikyo said he wouldn't die? Hadn't she said he'd win?

A tear fell down her cheek. " Kurama…" she whispered. 'I must do something to help him! He can't die!'

' You have the power to do so,' Kikyo told her, ' It is time to test your strength as the Miko of Twilight. Perhaps then you will better understand you role.'

' Yes…I will help him. I'm able to, so I will! He won't die just because he came to save me!'

However, Kanzuka had not fully killed him. Perhaps, if he had, he would have won the battle. Instead, he decided to take his time. He wanted Kurama to experience a slow, painful death. He wanted Kurama's death to be burned into Kagome's memories for all time. Then, everyone would know what happened to someone who Kanzuka hated. Everyone would know what happened to someone who got in his way. Everyone would know what would happen to those who opposed him.

Kurama was barely alive. He had little strength left. There was only one way left for him to win.

' Yoko…are you…ready?' he asked the silver kitsune.

' I'm always ready. Come now Kurama. Let me take over.'

Kurama nodded to him.

A thick silvery-grey smoke suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It seemed to cackle with thunder, and spark with lightning. It surrounded Kurama protectively, and covered him from view. Kanzuka took a few steps back, surprised at what was happening. He had not expected this to happen. Surely though, it could not complicate matters.

After a few moments, a dark figure appeared in the smoke. He was standing up quite straight, and seemed to be unhurt. His hair was long, and silvery. He wore white robes and soft, white shoes. He had pointed ears on his head, similar to Inuyasha's, Kagome noticed, yet different. They were more pointed, and slightly larger. His eyes were narrow and golden. He wore a cocky grin showing he was ready to take on Kanzuka with no trouble.

" Yoko Kurama…" Kanzuka spat out the name as though it were poisonous. " I did not expect to see you."

" Oh well…weaklings never expect to see those who are superior to them," Yoko said lazily, " Or rather, they hope to never see their superior's. Much like you hoped to not see me, is that right? Are you not afraid of me then?"

Kanzuka gave a wild laugh. " Afraid of you? No! Why should I be afraid of you, who ran away years ago. It was the sign of a coward. I do not fear cowards."

" I am no coward," Yoko replied smoothly, " I merely left this court to get away from you. I thought we already went through this."

" Maybe so…yet to me, you are weak," Kanzuka retorted, " Yours skills are nothing to mine."

" We shall see, brother," Yoko said coolly. " We shall see."

Kisa lay dead, unmoving on the stone floor. She was defeated. There was no way she could have escaped. Both Hiei and Kuwabara slashed her with their swords. Hiei severed her head, as Kuwabara sliced into her abdomen. Yusuke hit her with his Spirit Gun a second time in the back. She was now merely a large pile of severed flesh and blood.

" With her gone," Yusuke said, " All we need to really worry about is Kurama, Kanzuka, and Kagome, right?"

Hiei merely nodded and walked over to Akira, who was still holding Sango. Her face was deathly white and her hands were very cold. He bit his lip, and watched her still face for any sign of change. Yusuke and Kuwabara sat down a few paces away, watching him. It didn't seem to click with them why Hiei was so worried about Sango.

Done for now everyone. I think the battle with Kanzuka will end next chapter, so I hope I write it well. I wasn't planning on having Yoko coming into the story, but here he is. I can't wait to write the next chapter, but it WILL have to wait until after my exams are done. So no more updates until after the twenty-seventh. And sorry for the short chapter.I want to save the last bit for the next chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Reviewer Responses

tbiris: Thanks.

Ryukotsusei: That's true. You think they would have much earlier on. Thank you very much. Hope you enjoy the rest of it.

Inu-babe666:Thanks. I will.

Nicnivin:Yes, very bad manners. LoL yes, I wanted to say more, but I held myself back. There was a lot more I wanted to say actually XP Thanks muchly. Enjoy the rest!

xxprincess-sakuraxx:Yep. Homework sucks. Oh well. Its almost done for two whole months (YAY FOR SUMMER) Okay, I will.

SunStar Kitsune:Kanzuka and Kurama? Yep, one will die, the other will live.

SilverShadowKitsune:Thanks! I'll update right away after my exams are over okay?

atth99:No problem. You're already done? LUCKY! I wish I was already done. Sure, sure. I'll probably read them when school ends though, since I'll have unlimited time then.

Ryu Sneaky Lil' Fox:Good luck! Hope it went well for you. Thanks muchly!

cookiiex:Thanks! Yep, it's a word. I'm glad you like it.

hayate:Okay, I will.

KitsuneMistressoftheYoukai:Thanks so much! That makes me feel a lot better. I don't know…it was an anonymous review, so I'll have to look into it. Why thank you : Makes me happy and hyper too.

renyun: Thanks. I will.

Inu-chan's luver: Thanks.

Jinenji:Thanks! Yep! Go KURAMA! Yep, nice Kikyo :)

nunofyorbiz:Yes, I suppose you're right. I'm just not someone who swears a lot XP So I don't put too much in my stories. I'll try to make his language more the way it should be.

kitsune of the blade: Okay! Thanks! I will.

WhiteRose-Kurama:Err…would you believe I don't know? XD I just needed a name for it, so I called it "Miko of Twilight", but I'm in the process of making a story about it up, so you'll have to wait and see. Sorry. Thanks, I will.

Kaoru the Slayer:Thanks! I will!

inukuramaRmine: Thanks! I will. Ja ne.

RoseFire-shadow666:Thanks. I will.

Kjinuyasha:LoL thanks. XD kk.

crimson whispers:No, don't worry about it. I forgive her, don't worry. I'm glad you liked the chapter though. Really, don't worry about it. No harm done :)

Drachengirl14:Thanks. Sure, once my exams are over, I'll check it out, okay?

pitbull123:Thank you! Glad you like it! I will!