So I decided to write this story due to a request I received from a friend. We both really like Kurama as a character and were interested as to what actually happened to him before he was injured and turned into a human. This is my version, enjoy!

Wind drifted gently through the trees, sending leaves swirling down in elegant spirals. The sunlight glinted off the focused emerald green eyes. Kurama watched, and waited. The clearing seemed peaceful, but he had already leaned that danger had a quiet side as well. The wind shifted and Kurama stiffened. Was that moment on the edge of the clearing? His ears perked as he stared in astonishment at the sight before him. A blue fox the color of sapphires had wandered into the clearing. It was obviously a female, but fairly small still and thin, with large almost bat-like ears tipped in black. The female paused and scratched her neck with a hind leg, then glanced around the clearing.

Should I show myself? Kurama wondered. He didn't want to scare her, but she seemed so alone, just like him. As the blue fox's dark eyes finally reached his hiding spot, she merely paused and stared.

"Um…hello there."

Wow, thought Kurama, she sounds so…calm! He walked slowly out of the bushes, sun glimmering off his bright red coat, green eyes flashing.

"Hello." He replied, trying not to sound nervous. It had been a long time since he had actually had a conversation with one of his own kind, and he had never actually ever spoken to one who was female. What if she was really an enemy?

The blue fox shifted slightly, eyeing him with a somewhat uncomfortable look. "So…" She said, pausing.

"So." He responded. Kurama was just starting to realize that this girl didn't actually know how to start a conversation with a fox she had stumbled upon by accident and could be potentially dangerous. He waited calmly. She would figure it out eventually, plus he felt as though if he helped her she would never figure out anything on her own.

She shifted again, looking flustered and indecisive. "You aren't…um…a bad guy are you?" She asked, glancing at him uncertainly.

"I suppose it would depend upon your definition of a 'bad guy'." He said, looking her calmly in the eyes.

"Oh…" She said unevenly, but she relaxed slightly all the same. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to accuse you of anything. It's just…I heard they're thieves in the forest. And most of the rumors are of a fox…so…"

Kurama merely nodded. So people were still out looking for him then, good. He could use the stories about the forest to his advantage, no need to worry the girl unnecessarily.

She stared at him a moment then said, "What's…um…your name?"

"Kurama. Yours?"

"Rosuto."

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment, then- an explosion shook the clearing!

Rosuto screamed, as a tree started to fall towards her. Kurama leaped and managed to use his body weight to push both her and himself out of the way of the tree, but the entire forest seemed to be falling all around them. Kurama could hear voices in the trees. So, those fools have finally found me! Hoping they can kill me and take back the treasures I've stolen. Normally I could get away on my own but…

He paused and glanced at the fearful Rosuto. It was going to be a pain to get both of them out without some trouble, if at all, but he would just have to take that chance. He grabbed Rosuto by the scruff of her neck and launched himself into the trees, running with all the strength he could muster. The ground opened in chasms, snaking around and under trees. Kurama could see the edge of the forest now, he sped up.

"ARGH!" He growled, dropping Rosuto and jumping back in alarm, staring at the blue fox that had used her spirit energy to injure him so. He could feel his life slipping away…

"Why?" He asked, dumbfounded.

Rosuto merely sighed and started to lick his blood off her still dripping paws. That was when he saw it, a rose mark surrounded in thorns. A symbol of one of the most devious assassins' money could buy. He growled, but Rosuto just smiled.

"The only way to injure a fox such as yourself is to aim for the underbelly. In order to do so, you had to think I wasn't a threat. I didn't plan for you to try and save me in such a way, but it was most helpful indeed."

Kurama's vision was starting to blur.

"There's only one way left for you," she said, raising her paw for a finishing blow- "Die."

Only a little time left- with a last burst of his energy, Kurama released into his spirit form and shot away, almost to the entire other side of the forest. A vessel, I need a vessel! He thought desperately. There! A happy couple moved hand-in-hand through the trees, talking excitedly. From the way the human female held the males had and touched her stomach, Kurama surmised that the couple was preparing to have a child. It was his only chance, and a slim one at that… but if it worked, he could be back in his normal body in no time at twice the strength! Then he would make sure to come back and pay the assasins guild a visit.

And as he launched himself into the body of the human female, he couldn't help but wonder how this experience might change him…he would find out in time.