Okay, another thing you should be aware of. I've spent two hours typing this update, word for word, just from looking at my lap top and copying what I wrote. This did not come off that portable drive, instead I was nice and actually re-wrote this since people are beginning to drive me up the wall about updating. I'm sorry it has taken so long but there were several bouts of writers block and now my drive is acting up. Just be glad this chapter is extra long so you get a bit of a bonus.

Anyway thank you to all those who truly love this story. You have no idea how hard it was trying to get my brain to start working again. And now that it is you people can stop bugging me.

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or Yu Yu Hakusho.

Pride vs. Power

Chapter 11

Kagome stood completely still as she calmly observed her team's first opponent, Team Rokuyukai. She and Kuwabara held the still sleeping Yusuke in between them and Kagome was, at the moment, unconcerned with this weakling team. From her position she could just make out their forms on the opposite side of the ring and from what she could see and feel their power was nothing. They were standing in their wing waiting to be called and Kagome could already feel their weak power levels. They weren't much, just middle class demons with hopeless delusions of glory, as most of the other teams here were.

Kagome scoffed under her cloak and began to grow impatient. Team Rokuyukai was nothing compared to the singular power of Toguro. Even if they could somehow manage to defeat her team, Toguro would rip their team to shreds with minimum power.

There were but a few demons on Team Rokuyukai with any real fighting power. The demon named Zeru, who had been arrogant enough to threaten the others last night had fairly high energy, however Kagome already hated him and wanted to see him dead. She'd heard his and that young boy, Rinku's, conversation as she'd followed them last night after that brief confrontation. They'd been discussing her best friend, Yusuke, attempting to decide whether they should rule him out as a threat. Kagome had been outraged. It was one thing for a grown demon to be so arrogant, but for a child who used yo-yos as his weapon of choice? Please, Kagome herself had been arrogant when she was younger; however she knew her limits and knew who to fear and respect. That young boy had no respect for anyone and thought he could beat everyone with his stupid tricks.

Kagome smirked under her hood. Rinku would find out one day why it didn't pay to be so cocky.

Curiously enough, Kagome thought she felt another strong demon aura coming from behind Team Rokuyukai in a darkened corridor and could just make out the shadowy figure of a very tall demon simply leaning against the wall. The man appeared to be swaying slightly on his feet and was that…booze she smelled? Kagome's delicate kitsune senses were offended by the smell even from way over here and she fought not to lift a hand and rub her nose in annoyance. That would be undignified.

"Greetings ghouls and ghosts, I am your lovely host, Koto, and I-."

"Put a sock in it!" Kagome called roughly, startling her teammates as well as the poor announcer. But Kagome didn't care. She hated that fox-girl already. Her voice was annoying and she was too stuck on herself. Kagome was impatient and wanted to get these first few fights out of the way so she could start planning on how to help Yusuke with the real threat.

She wasn't stupid. She knew Toguro was just looking for a good fight, one where he could use his full power. And for some bizarre reason, he had chosen Yusuke. Honestly, Kagome feared for her best friend, hoping he would be able to survive what was to come. She had no desire to watch one of her best friend's die. She'd already lost both of them once. She didn't want to lose them again….ever! And hopefully after this stupid tournament was over, she wouldn't have to.

"Just call the damn teams already," She demanded her voice low enough to disguise the fact that she was a woman. Of course her team knew, but there was no reason anyone else should at the moment. Beside her, Kuwabara was looking at her as if she'd lost her mind and Kagome simply glared at him, although he couldn't see her face.

"Uh, um, oh yes," Koto stuttered and then smiled again to save face, covering up all traces of dear. "You heard the man, let's call our first team, Team Rokuyukai!" The fans began screaming, yelling, and cursing as the other team walked out onto the field and joined Koto in the middle of the ring.

Kagome snorted. Just as I thought. They're all a bunch of weaklings….and much too arrogant for their own good. They will die today…it's just a matter of waiting.

"And now for our special guest team, Team Urameshi!" Koto called and Kagome began moving forward with Kuwabara, while Kurama and Hiei followed behind at their own pace. Of course the audience began booing and, calling them traitors and such and Kagome wanted to go up there and knock a few screws loose. Maybe later when Yusuke woke up. The two could have some fun pulling pranks on those weakling demons in the stands too chicken to compete. That would almost be more fun than fighting this team. Kagome hadn't realized she was smiling under her hood until her face fell, upon remembering that she really couldn't do that. Yusuke didn't have a clue about her true identity and any suggestions like that could set him on the correct path. Suddenly Kagome felt very sad…and very alone. She wished she could find someone to talk to here that would understand.

What the-? Kagome could have sworn she heard a few voice calling out to Yusuke. Her eyes widened and then narrowed, darting around the stands until they settled on three women sitting down and cheering. She recognized Keiko instantly and fought to keep her temper in check. The girl was cheering heartily for Yusuke, but her eyes were directly lustfully towards Kurama. Damn it. I knew she liked Kurama when we were younger, but did he ever listen to me? She growled, drawing some curious looks.

"What are you looking at?" She demanded coldly and Kuwabara averted his eyes while Hiei scowled and turned away. Only Kurama continued to gaze at her thoughtfully, but she shrugged it off. Kagome's eyes swept over the other two women, one of which had a very peculiar aura, similar to that of Kuwabara's. She was startled when the woman simply returned the look as if she knew she was being watched. She must have a fairly high sixth sense, Kagome thought curiously. It's even higher than Kuwabara's. Maybe she should be fighting instead. And all at once Kagome felt as if a small weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Maybe there was someone here she could talk to.

Kagome spotted Boton and an even louder growl escaped before she could stop it. Oh, yes she knew Boton from way, way back. Koenma had sent her after her mother when they escaped from Makai. Boton had been a little spy back then until Kagome had found and cornered the young deity of death. Kagome had threatened her never to return, lest Koenma be short one ferry girl. Boton had never returned. Kagome grinned. She might have fun playing with that one again. Suddenly this tournament was looking up.

Kagome shook her head and turned back to the situation at hand, casually observing the other team with a trained eye, searching for anyone that might actually pose a challenge.

Behind her she could feel Kurama and Hiei was they stood impassively and with just a hint of impatience. She could fell Kurama surveying the other team with calm, calculating eyes, no doubt slipping into his demon mode. Interestingly enough, his eyes seemed to land on her as well as she could feel it each tie his gaze was drawn back to her. Her eyes widened underneath her hood. Kurama was studying her just as much as the other team! She better be careful. She didn't want Kurama discovering her too early. She had to protect him and Yusuke for now and make herself as inconspicuous as she could.

Kagome smiled gently as she thought about her beautiful best friend. She wished she could have been there for him; see him grow up into the demon he was today. He was obviously very strong, although there was no way of telling how strong or how good he was until she actually saw him fight. She was willing to be he was pretty damn good by now.

He really hadn't changed much at all, at least personality wise. He was still as withdrawn as he used to be and he still had that habit of studying every person he came across. Of course he'd only done that as a defense mechanism when he was younger. Now he did it with the trained eyes of a veteran fighter. She was highly interested in finding out what secrets his training had brought him.

Kagome continued to observe the other team and zeroed in on the fire user, Zeru, noting he had one of the stronger auras on the opposing team. He was staring intently at Yusuke as if he were searching for something. Kagome effortlessly slipped into his mind, hoping to discover what it was about Yusuke he wanted to know.

I don't get it, he was thinking. Is he really not afraid of us…or is he just a moron?

Automatically, her mind took offense and she immediately wanted to come to her friend's defense. Her Yusuke wasn't a coward; he never had been, even when he was five years old. Yusuke never backed down in the face of a challenge, that's how he got so good at fighting. And he certainly wouldn't be afraid of this team. If they truly held exponential power levels Yusuke would already have felt threatened and would have awoken by now. She knew her best friend enough to know that. Kagome inwardly wished she'd been there to help train him. To say the least, she'd been shocked to discover all that he'd been through. Shocked, not surprised. Yusuke had a habit of trouble following him wherever it was he trod. And whatever it was he'd gone through to get to this point must have been intense. She didn't fault him at all for sleeping so long to regain his strength and spirit. Genkai must be a drill sergeant if she could get Yusuke settled down enough to actually pay attention to her. Kagome thought amusedly, glancing down at her sleeping friend. Yusuke had a real problem with authority. She snickered softly and snorted under her breath. Or she just beat it out of him.

Kagome came back to herself and easily slipped into the fire user's mind.

You should be careful whom you call moron, she warned emotionless. She watched as his head tilted up and glanced around warily before settling his eyes on her. Or you may find yourself regretting those words, you arrogant fool. Because of her mask and cloak, Zeru was unable to really identify her as the speaker so he turned away.

Kagome smirked and turned back to watch the proceedings as her arm tightened around Yusuke's slumped body. Her eyes widened as Yusuke mumbled something in his sleep. It was so quiet she almost didn't hear it, but she was sure she heard a "weakling"fall across his lips. Kagome quirked her head to the side, wondering if he was in as deep a sleep as she'd thought.

"I don't care how we fight these fights, just know that the outcome will be the same however you decide," Zeru spoke quietly when it was suggested that the fights be one on one. His eyes were directed into the back of Yusuke's skull as Kagome turned her back on the other team and began carrying Yusuke away. She growled at the rising of Zeru's energy, as if he were attempting to threaten Yusuke once again. Hadn't she warned him once? What a coward, trying to intimidate them by raising his demon aura. Sure, he had power over fire and it was very impressive…to some. However that damn demon had no idea what he was getting himself into challenging her or anyone else on her team to openly.

"We will be cautious with that one," Kurama murmured, knowing everyone could hear him.

"Hn," Hiei agreed while Kuwabara looked freaked and tried to rouse the sleeping detective.

"Hey...hey, Yusuke! Wake up!" He shouted and Kagome stomped over to him, throwing him away and placing her arms more tightly around Yusuke's shoulders. She sat down next to the sleeping boy and pulled him into her arms, not caring that she might blow her cover. She hated when people were rude and Kuwabara was by far surpassing rudeness. She was going to protect her Yusuke even from the yelling of another friend.

"Be quiet," she told him frigidly. "Yusuke will wake when he wants, not through any means you attempt. Now go, I want to see how you fight." She raised her energy as Kuwabara looked properly chastised. It took a few moments to process her last demand.

"You want me to fight first against a little kid?" Kuwabara asked dryly as he and the rest of the team watched the boy known as Rinku jump excitedly into the ring. When Kagome merely nodded Kuwabara could only sputter in protest.

"Go ahead, Kuwabara," Kurama urged, successfully breaking the rising tension. "I, too, would like to see what you've managed to learn out of our experience training together."

"It's probably not much, but even a weakling such as you should be able to take a child with such a weak power level," Hiei put in his two scents arrogantly. He and Kurama now stood a few feet away from where Kagome and Yusuke sat, leaning back against the side of the ring.

Yusuke leaned even more on Kagome and she fought not to purr. But she couldn't, no matter that he didn't know who she was and was currently in deep sleep. But it did feel very nice to have one of her best friend's back in her arms again.

"Whatever, shorty," Kuwabara growled, stomped away. "I'll beat him…'cause then I'm comin' for you." He grumbled all the way up and into the ring and Kagome gave a sigh of relief. Finally, she was going to see some action.

Suddenly something Kurama said flashed across her brain. "You trained Kuwabara?" Kagome asked, more like demanded, staring up and into the face of her best friend. Kurama gazed down at the hooded figure, studying her intensely with those cool, emerald eyes of his. That's when she noticed the question in his eyes and that his attention was directed to her arm which was currently wrapped around Yusuke's shoulders.

"Of course," Kurama answered, blinking owlishly at her. "Just out of curiosity, but do you or did you know Yusuke?"

Kagome's insides froze. Boy was that direct. She hadn't expected that, but then again maybe she should have. Kurama had always been direct, even though his shyness often kept him from speaking up. And then again, what did she know about Kurama these days? For that matter, what did she really know about Yusuke? She almost wanted to cry. She didn't want Kurama looking at her this way, like she was a stranger. She wanted him to look upon her and see Kagome, only Kagome. She wanted him to look at her like he used to, like she was his whole world.

Kagome found herself telling a half truth. "No," she answered, surprised at how calmly she addressed the beautiful kitsune. "I don't know him." Not anymore. I don't know either of you anymore.

The crowd began cheering again and Kagome turned her attention off her love and whisked the tears away. She would not, could not cry right now. She couldn't afford to be weak. If anyone discovered who she was, it could ultimately lead to her team's demise.

By now Kuwabara and Rinku were already beginning their match, Kuwabara rushing Rinku and throwing a few punches to get the ball rolling.

"Well lets just hope your training pays off," Kagome murmured quietly, eyes widening slightly when she caught sight of Rinku's yo-yo's beginning to spin around his body. She shook her head at the boy's arrogance. It was even worse than Zeru's. Rinku was too young and cocky for a tournament such as this. Why, if he were up against anyone else beside Kuwabara, he would have been finished by now. He should have grown up a bit more before attending a tournament such as this one. Well, at least his power level is decent, Kagome thought. And unless Kuwabara has learned how to avoid multiple weapon attacks, he could very well lose.

Kagome continued watching throughout Kuwabara's match, a bit disappointed that the human boy was losing to such an arrogant brat. She wished she could have taken this fight just so she could slap that cocky look right off Rinku's smart mouth. Why if Shippo had ever acted like this, he would have found himself a very unhappy mother figure. He couldn't have sat down for a week, even with his demon healing. But this brat needed to be taken down a peg or two, have some common sense knocked into him. His smart mouth might very well be the end of him.

"How do you like this one!" The boy screamed as he held Kuwabara trapped with his yo-yos. "I call it "Around the World" What do you think?" He ruthlessly slammed Kuwabara head first onto the concrete cinder blocks, creating a few human size craters and cracked rocks.

"It's over," Hiei commented, unemotionally. "That fool is done for."

And for once, Kagome agreed with the tiny apparition. Unless Kuwabara had some kind of trick up his sleeve, he would lose this fight.

"Not necessarily," Kurama remarked. "There are still a few techniques Kuwabara has not shown yet. We shouldn't rule him out just yet."

"Oh?" Kagome questioned and Kurama nodded to her. She sighed. "Well, okay then. But can't this go any faster. This is so boring." Kurama chuckled at her and Kagome couldn't help but join in.

Anxious to fight then, are you?" He teased.

"Hn, its better than watching this," Hiei stated dryly. "And that fool, Zeru, hasn't stopped looking over here." Hiei smirked cruelly and his eyes flashed with animosity. "Kindly allow me to take him as my first opponent. His ugly face is annoying me."

Kagome and Kurama looked to each other in amusement and Kagome's eyes widened as her heart sped up in her chest, upon realizing, not for the first time, just how beautiful her best friend was when he smiled. It made her want to run into his arms, spill all her secrets, and taste that smile for her own. He looked absolutely delicious. Realizing she was staring, Kagome turned away glad her cloak hid the rising blush on her neck and face. It was still a bit weird looking at him now when she could still remember vividly what he looked like as a kid. But even then she'd loved him. For as long as she'd known him she'd loved him. And that night he'd kissed her so sweetly had changed her feelings for him in a single solitary moment. The moment his lips touched her, she'd known it deep inside her heart that Kurama was her soul mate. She'd gone from looking at him through eyes of a child with her first crush, to finally seeing him as her soul mate. And now she was gazing upon him as a fully grown demon and she still thought the same. Only now she was gazing at him through eyes of a woman in love.

Kurama started a bit, curious as to why the masked woman, Bijin, was simply staring at him. In that moment he wished he could see right through that cloak and find out who she was. Something about her was so familiar, the way she talked, the way she moved. She almost reminded him of Kagome, but there was no way it was her. For one Kagome had no clue where he was and how to find him. Even with her connections there was no telling if she ever would seek him out. And who knows, maybe she'd moved on by now, found a new soul mate to love, a new best friend to make her happy. His heart burned with anguish at the thought and yet his eyes reflected none of those feelings as he gazed at this intriguing masked entity.

He wondered what it was about this masked fighter that caused him to ask so many questions. What were her reasons for wearing that cloak and hiding herself away? Was she running from someone? Was she a wanted criminal simply using this as a cover? Was she hiding from someone and if so who and why? For the life of him he couldn't figure out what it was about her that captured his attention.

He growled inwardly, forcing down his rising energy. He shouldn't be thinking about this masked woman. He should be thinking about Kagome, his Kagome, his soul mate. Kurama's eyes dimmed a bit, reflecting sadness and longing. He tilted his head to the sky, closing his eyes as he pictured Kagome the last time he'd seen her. She'd fallen to her knees in her driveway as he'd stared helplessly out the back window of his mother's car. Yusuke, too, had fallen with her and was embracing the young girl as both friends continued to cry as he'd disappeared.

Kurama glanced at Yusuke, still wrapped in Bijin's arms, a bit worried about his friend's lack of wakefulness. Although he appeared as calm as ever, he wasn't sure if he could do this without his best friend's support. The young delinquent would never know how grateful Kurama was to have a strong friend like Yusuke Urameshi. All the times he'd been strong and fought against evil foes, Yusuke had been right along with him, protecting him and watching his back. If it wasn't for Yusuke, Kurama would have been long dead by now after he'd attempted to use the Forlorn Hope to save his mother's life. He would have broken every promise he'd ever made to Kagome if he'd actually succeeded in finding death. It would have broken her heart for sure and it still would today, even though he was still alive.

"Thank you, Yusuke," he suddenly whispered. Thank you…for everything. He wasn't sure but he though Bijin might have over heard him, but he paid her no mind.

He shook his head and turned back to the fight, a bit disappointed in his pupil's lack of any tact. Kuwabara had finally gotten few up and was attempting to simply take the kid out using his fists. His eyes closed and he heard Hiei and Bijin sigh as Kuwabara was once again held aloft in the air.

Kurama's green eyes burrowed into Rinku's back wishing the boy wouldn't gloat so much. It made the boy appear like a fool, taunting his opponent and flaunting his meager powers. One day that kid was going to get into some trouble with that mouth of his. If this were back in the old days Kagome and Yusuke would have taken turns picking on the kid and 'humbling' him a bit.

"And that's the round," he heard Bijin mutter as Kuwabara slammed headfirst onto the grass outside the ring. Rinku's power was totally exhausted as Koto began the count and Kuwabara lay injured. Kuwabara surprised his three teammates when he got up and ran over to Yusuke instead of getting back in the ring. Koto called ten and the first fight was over.

Kurama heard growling coming from the masked fighter and was surprised to see how defensive she was of Yusuke as she clutched the teenager to her breast bone. Kuwabara was standing over both of them, Bijin clutching the delinquent close to her, trying to keep him away from Kuwabara's taunts and grabby hands.

And all at once Kurama grew quite angered. He'd had to sit back and watch as Kuwabara totally failed to beat an opponent which should have been easy to defeat, since he'd trained the human boy to be prepared for attacks like that.

"Kuwabara!" He suddenly spoke up, voice barely above a whisper, although malice was definitely present. He could feel Hiei start from his place beside him and the masked fighter's aura give off a questioning feel. Kuwabara was in the process of shaking Yusuke when Kurama spoke up. "Let Yusuke go, Kuwabara. I believe Bijin warned you once. You will not get another warning from me."

Kuwabara and Hiei were stunned by the forcefulness in Kurama's voice. No one, not even Hiei, had ever heard Kurama speak to anyone that way. It was as if Kurama were protecting Yusuke, yet what did Yusuke need protecting from? And why did Kurama feel the need to?

Suddenly the cloaked figure let out a chuckle, although it wasn't loud or malicious. "Sorry, sorry," she apologized, waving at everyone in a dismissive manner. She had over heard Hiei and Kuwabara's thoughts. So they thought they knew Kurama, did they? Well too bad for them, they hadn't grown up with the young kitsune boy. Well, at least Hiei hadn't. Obviously the two teammates didn't know the history behind her best friends' relationship with each other. Kagome speculated over why the two hadn't told anyone of their earlier acquaintance. It was obvious no one knew the two had been friends before whatever had happened to cause them to meet up again. That would mean she was never mentioned as well. That was okay with Kagome. That just meant they thought of their relationship as special and it made her feel loved even more.

Kagome stopped her giggling when a fighter on the other team hopped into the ring and, smirking, walked into the center of the ring. She observed him and started to stand before Kurama began moving in the ring's direction. "I shall take the next fighter," Kurama stated calmly.

Kagome nodded slowly, settling herself back against the side of the ring. "Have fun," she told him, eyes narrowed. "Don't leave the ring unless he's dead."

Kurama nodded and jumped into the ring. Kagome's arms tightened with tension even though she knew Kurama could take care of himself. He wouldn't need to exert any energy; this demon's energy was so weak. It was even weaker than Rinku's. But she couldn't help but worry over him. She wanted to protect him and watching him go off to fight was seriously wearing on her protective instincts.

"Careful 'Rama," Yusuke muttered in his sleep and Kagome couldn't help but lift a hand and run her fingers through his soft hair, watching the back of her red headed soul mate.

"Yes," she murmured. "Yes, indeed, be careful."

Okay, that is quite enough! My hands are hurting like the devil, you guys have no idea. Or actually some of you serious writers probably do know what I'm talking about.

Okay, just a few words before I leave you. As you can see there are quite a few characters I don't like. I don't like Keiko, Boton, or Rinku, as you can plainly tell. Some reasons being as I find Keiko's attitude annoying. Boton, I like sometimes, but mostly I don't. Something about her is annoying and I haven't figured out what it is yet. Rinku I loathe. I think he is an arrogant little bastard and I always will. He brags about his powers all the time, even in front of Kurama and Hiei who could whoop his ass in a fight. It killed me to go how the anime went as I'm trying to right by the Dark Tournament. There will only be three major fights that will be changed a bit and those won't come in until much later in this story so you have a while to go. Anyway, be prepared for some Keiko annoyances, though I probably won't be too bad to Boton. Shizuru is going to be Kagome's friend in this so they'll get along famously.

Also, when Kagome fights she'll basically be in place of Genkai's. So she'll be in every fight Genkai fought, except for when she is killed by Toguro.

UPDATE: Thank you all for being patient and reading and rereading this story. It means a lot to me that you still leave reviews telling me to get off my ass and write. Its going very slowly right now, mostly due to the fact that I try to update all my stories, not just a few, so updates come few and far between, I'm afraid. I would like to say my computer is working now and I am working on my stories. I can't tell you when this story will be updated, since I haven't even started on the next chapter for it. Please be patient a little longer, I promise you this hasn't been put on hold or anything. For any other details regarding other stories of mine, please go to my profile or my homepage. That will tell you everything in better detail, since some of my stories have been put on hold because of writer's block and lack of ideas.

Ja ne

Kura