"Come on, Shuichi, it's a sorority party! We were both invited, now lets go have fun." Kokoda said, pushing his brothers shoulder a bit.

Kurama simply chuckled. "I'm fine where I am, Kokoda. Go on and enjoy yourself. Besides, don't you think it'd be uncomfortable if your brother were there with you?"

"Oh, come on, Shuichi, the only reason I got invited was because they wanted you to come." Kokoda said, his tone holding a small amount of jealousy. The young man looked up to his step-brother of almost five years now, but he was also jealous. Shuichi wasn't just intelligent, he also had this odd ability to have people flock to him, whether it be his polite countenance , his good looks or his staggering intellect, he just seemed to be a magnet for attention.

Kurama sighed lightly, closing his book. "Kokoda, you can't keep comparing yourself to me, and don't tell me you don't. I am me, and you are you. You are your own man with your strengths and weaknesses, and you need to search them out instead of trying to convince me to do something so you can imitate how I do it."

The college freshman laughed lightly as he rubbed the back of his head. "Caught me red handed, huh? I guess you're right, as usual." He took a deep breath through the nose and regained his cheerful smile. "Welp, I'm gonna go have some fun. You sure you don't wanna come?" He asked. He wanted to make sure Shuichi didn't feel left out.

The former demon smiled at his step sibling. "I'm sure. I'll just stay in and read tonight. I have a few tests to study for tomorrow, anyways."

"Bookworm, as always. Ya know, you really should go and add some excitement to your life. There's more to life than books and tests, ya know. That's my advice."

"It is good advice. Now, here's another piece for you. There's a box of condoms on my dresser. Take some." Shuichi smiled as he watched his brothers face slowly begin a convincing imitation of a tomato. But, he obeyed his elders advice, walking to the bedroom of Shuichi's dorm room.

The fox demon returned to his book, his strong ears listening intently as Kokoda gave a quick goodbye before leaving. After Kurama was sure he was gone, he closed his book again, setting it down on his desk. He began to think back on his life, ending up in the Ningenkai, being born as Minamino Shuichi, going to school, learning how humans lived and how their hearts worked, his mother saving him as a child, resulting in his constant guilt whenever he'd see her arms, an odd feeling he still is not used to. Then, meeting Hiei, Yusuke, Kuwabara, all of the people who would become like a second family to him.

It was his plan after ten years to shed his human form and return to the Makai, but he had never expected to care so deeply for his human mother. Now, he was attending college, an idea of his friends. He had simply decided after the Makai Tournament that he'd stay in the Nigenkai only as long as his family needed him, but a conversation with Yusuke's now pregnant wife, Keiko, shed light on that situation.

'No matter how long it takes, or how old they get, your family will always need you, Kurama, just as Shiori will always love her little Shuichi.'

This memory made Kurama smile a bit, the redhead remembering Yusuke and Keiko arguing over whether to name their son after him or Yusuke's ancestral father, Raizen. Kurama suggested they name the child Raizen as this name would imply power and unwavering force, but also cool headedness and leadership. Keiko, who had never actually met the Mazoku, saw no problem in this, but Yusuke didn't like it. He said it would be the same if they named him after Kurama. As far as the young man knew, they had not yet decided on a name.

Kurama sighed a bit as he tried to collect his thoughts, the male grabbing a pair of headphones his step father had gotten him as a birthday present. They were high dollar stereo headphones that wrapped around the shell of his ear. He was tough on his earphones considering he normally only used them during his morning exercises. He found that American Hard Rock tended to calm his thoughts when he had trouble thinking about things other than battle while helping him to stay focused on his task.

In combat and in his adolescence as both a demon and human, he had no such troubles, but his growing human body had one downside that required the music. Puberty. And it was hitting the poor guy like a truck thrown by Sniper.

He did an excellent job of hiding it, as he did many things, oh ho, but he knew it was there, scarping at the edges of his mind, just like Yoko, constantly egging him on, encouraging him to 'get laid' as Yusuke would say. Thus, the loud music.

Can you lend me a hand?

Can you help me to see?

Can you reconcile this war inside of me?

Kurama leaned back into his chair as he let the music play, simply listening without listening. He began thinking about how peaceful his life had become since the Makai Tournament almost four years ago. He'd entered again with Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei, but, again, they all lost, though Yusuke and Hiei finally got the rematch they'd wanted for so long.

It's gotten rather… dull in this time of peace. I do wish something new would happen. I wonder if I should have gone with Kokoda. It would have been more fun.

Kurama was starting to fall asleep when he heard something.

… my familiar…

The fox ripped his headphones off his head as he instinctively reached for the rose he hid in his long red hair, his aura springing to life. His sharp green eyes searched the room for anything out of the ordinary until it seemed that fate had heard his wish. A large green void opened in front of him. Kurama's dumbfounded expression would have had even Hiei rolling around holding his gut as he laughed. He'd been alive for over five hundred years and had never seen anything like this.

Come forth, my familiar!

That voice again. What and who ever it belongs to is expecting something to come through that portal. It sounds female. Kurama thought. He smiled brightly at the prospect of learning something new. Of a whole new adventure.

Well, I don't want to be rude and ignore such an obvious invitation. He began collecting some essentials as he didn't know when he'd be back, the nineteen year old male grabbing clothes, his seeds, obviously his rose and finally his combat uniform, the same he'd worn when he fought Karasu. He put it on quickly before hiding the bag of seeds in his hair with the rose.

He hefted his bag onto his shoulder and walked over to the portal before realizing he'd need to leave something for Kokoda and his parents. He wrote out a quick note saying he was fine and that he'd be gone for some time and that he'd check in when he could. He set the note on his desk before noticing the half box of condoms on his nightstand. He blushed lightly, but figured that it couldn't hurt. He grabbed the box and put them in his bag.

He smiled and put his mp3 player into the bag, headphones and all. He left the charger as he could simply charge the device with little to none of his spirit energy, a trick Genkai taught him. And with that, he stepped forward to the portal, lifting his hand and gently touching its warm surface, shouting as he began being dragged in.

…

Tiffania stood just in front of the little house she'd lived in with her mother for so long, her trusty sunhat in place to cover her elfish ears. Her big blue eyes watched the swirling green portal for any sort of movement at all. Her mother had taught her the spell for a familiar, but she hadn't told her what might happen. Her familiar was a representation of her own powers, so one had to wonder what it would be like. Maybe a badger, or a fox.

Tiffa shook in anticipation as she waited for her familiar to appear, her anticipation slowly turning to worry. Should it be taking so long them to appear? Oh no, what if they're hurt!? What if they don't want to- The portal began to shift and move, energy arcing off of it wildly, causing the half elf to yelp in surprise and hide behind a tree. The portal stabilized after a moment, the void seeming to open up and let…. A man walk out.

Tiffa couldn't believe her eyes. He was close to her age, probably a bit older with beautiful red hair that reached to the bottom of his back. He was tall, if not slight in build, but his shoulders squared off in a way that read 'strong'. If not for his muscles, he'd easily be mistaken for a very pretty young woman. But, with how he carried himself, he came off as more of a very handsome young man.

He had piercing, emerald green eyes that seemed to take in everything around him all at once with no trouble. And she meant everything. Which is why she began to internally scream as his green eyes turned on her. She froze in her place, then, her world went black.

…

Kurama rushed forward, clearing the distance between him and the girl in less than time than it takes to blink. She slumped into his arms, her sunhat falling off. His eyes widened a bit when looked at her rather pointed ears, but he shelved it for the moment, lifting her bridal style as he caught sight of the shack. That must be her home. He walked the short walk to the shack, pushing the door open gently.

Though Yoko did make an internal comment about it, Shuichi ignored the fact that he was carrying a very beautiful, well endowed young woman who, for some reason, was wearing a rather short, low cut sundress.

Her home was minimal, to say the least, a small bed in the corner, a fireplace in the center of the back wall, a bookcase opposite the bed on the other side. He laid her in her bed and covered her up as the wind was rather chilly and this shack was not insulated well.

He looked over by the fireplace, noticing that the wood in it had burnt down a long time before now and there were none beside it. "Well, it seems like I can do something, at least."

…

Tiffa awoke with a small groan, sitting up in bed as she held her head, though an absolutely mouth watering smell drifted into her nose. She shook it to try and clear out the clouds in her mind. Her memories rushed to the forefront so quickly it left her dizzy. Her face began turning red as she looked around for the man that had been summoned by her spell, the half elf girl squeaking and pulling her legs in as she saw said man walk into the shack, carrying a large stack of wood in his arms.

He smiled kindly, walking over and setting the wood down. Tiffa noticed then that there were two rows of wood, almost as tall as her. "Did-did you-?"

I see. So, her native language is French. "Chop the wood? Yes, I did. I saw that your supply was low, so I took it upon myself to resupply you with some. Oh, and I also took the liberty of making lunch. I saw you had some vegetables and rabbit, so I made stew." He answered with a smile. He then proceeded to fill a bowl up with the aforementioned stew, handing it to the young woman.

She tentatively took it from his hands, realizing the smell was coming from the food, her belly rumbling in a very un-lady like fashion, causing her face to redden further as the handsome male merely chuckled. She's cute, I'll give her that much. Kurama thought to himself as he watched her sip a small spoonful of the stew, her eyes lighting up as she quickly devoured it.

He poured himself a bowl as well and sat on the floor in front of the hearth, simply sipping at it and watching the girl. She blushed when she realized she was being watched, her large blue eyes looking away from him. He'd discarded his upper body's uniform as he worked, finding the material was excellent for combat, but not repetitive manual labor. This did cool him off, but he quickly remembered he was in the presence of a woman, sliding his garb back on. Though, Tiffa had definetly seen enough. How well toned and muscled he was, while still being lean, and his washboard six-pack abs to go with it, even if various scars covered his body.

Coupled with his handsome face, bright green eyes, gorgeous hair and polite countenance, it made it very difficult to simply open her mouth and talk. "Wh-w-what's your name?" she asked, still looking away.

Kurama chuckled lightly. "You can look now, I put my shirt back on." She slowly turned her head back around to face him, her cheeks still red. "As for my name, I am… Shuichi Minamino." He told her his human name because… He didn't actually know why. He just thought it'd be better for her to know it instead of his real name.

She tilted her head in confusion, catching his moment of hesitation. She decided to not press him for answers, only returning to her stew. "My name is Tiffania Westwood." She replied, quickly growing silent as Kurama simply smiled up at her.

A good thing for the fox demon, as he had some of his own questions. Just one, actually. "Mademoiselle Tiffania, you were the one that brought me here, but what I don't know is why."

Tiffa set her finished meal aside, pulling her blanket up further to cover her body. "W-well, it was a spell my mother taught me just before she died. She said for me to use it on my sixteenth birthday to summon my Familiar, my guide through realizing my potential."

Familiar? Is that what I am now? Well, it's a bit of a career change, but it may be fun. "And you summoned me. What does that tell you, Mademoiselle Tiffania?"

Tiffa's face turned a darker shade of red. "That you're my Familiar."

Kurama smiled as he took the last sip of his stew, setting his bowl aside. "A sound theory." He took a look out the window, noticing the sun was about midway through it's setting process. "Well, it seems about time to get the last of todays chores done. What do you normally do right around now?" She looked out the window as well, noticing how low the sun had set.

"O-oh! Well, about now, I go and pick fruit and berries for breakfast in the morning."

Almost on cue, Kurama stood and walked over to her, causing the elf girl to squeak and inch away. The former thief simply smiled softly and extended his hand to her, the halfling tentatively taking it. "Let's get to work."

…

Kurama sighed a bit as he sat down, his back against the wall of the hut. He had a small smile on his face as the days work had been far more enjoyable with a bit of help. He found out a bit about this world as they worked, that's it's commanding force was magic over everything else and that they were currently on the floating island nation of Albion. He learned of it's dwindling resource, wind stones, which were what kept the island afloat. He also learned as to why Tiffa's ears were pointed the way they were and that she was, in essence, a half-elf princess.

He watched as she got to work putting the fruit away, saying she was more than capable of doing this task alone and that he had done more than enough. She hummed gently as she worked, a sweet, gentle tune he'd never heard, but for some reason, it sounded familiar, like a long lost memory.

He also asked her about the Familiar Summoning Ceremony. He figured there was more to it than what she was telling him and, like usual, he was right, but she simply blushed and gave him the quickest answer she could. "The contract of a Familiar is sealed with a kiss."

Kurama felt his face warm a bit at this, but the idea of it wasn't lost on him. A kiss was normally how you projected your own life energy into another, so it stands to reason it'd be the same with magic energy.

Tiffa was trying not look back at the red haired male, her face bright red in embarrassment as she kept thinking about what she'd told him about the contract. Why did I have to say it like that? He must think so badly of me now.

"Penny for your thoughts."

Tiffa looked up, a look of confusion on her face. Kurama laughed softly. "It's an expression from my world. It means I'd like to know what you're thinking."

"O-oh…"

"You were thinking about what you told me earlier, I wager?"

Tiffa bit her bottom lip and nodded mutely. She jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, turning to look into the smiling face of the man she'd brought here. "I won't push you to do anything you aren't ready for. You brought me here, so I'll stick around until you decide what to do. Sound like a plan?"

The half elf smiled brightly, nodding, then her smile weakened a bit. "I just thought of something else. I don't have two beds."

Kurama had a devious spark light up in his mind, the young demon sliding one of his hands gently against the small of the young elf's back, leaning in a bit beside her head. "Well, I'm not all that opposed to sharing, Tiffa dear."

The cherry red coloring on her beautiful face was almost enough to have the fighter rolling on his back laughing. "Wh-wh-why would you do that?!" She shouted as Kurama backed away, laughing loudly.

"Be…" he started, but trailed off as he took in a gulp of air, finally stopping long enough to talk. "Because you're rather adorable embarrassed, Tiffa." She looked down, hiding her face in her hands. She looked up as she felt Kurama's hand on her head. "I apologize. I couldn't resist."

She gave a timid 'It's alright…' before the red head walked over to the area that Tiffa had her bed in, shifting somethings around with his 'master' watching on in confusion. He reached in to his hair, producing a small bag from his red locks. He sifted through it for a moment, mumbling about the right seed, then he pulled his fingers from the bag, showing a small seed in between them.

The young man blew on it before kneeling and pressing it into the dirt floor of the shack. Tiffa watched in shock as a massive leaf began to sprout from the earth. At full size, it was shaped like a plate with a chip in it. It was also about Kurama's length and three or four times his width. It also seemed very plush and thick as well as being close to the floor, a long, hollow stem rising up beside it in between him and her bed.

He turned and flopped onto the leaf, putting his arms behind his head as he relaxed into the plush plants' surface. He opened an eye to look over at his host, laughing lightly at the look of shock on her face. "Y-you know nature magic?!"

The former fox demon was confused for a moment before he remembered that elves were known for their powerful use of nature magic. At least that's what Tiffa had told him. He chuckled lightly. "No, I'm no mage, Tiffa. That little trick was one I learned a long time ago." He sat up in his makeshift bed, cupping his hands in front of him, a small blue orb of energy. TIffa gasped before she came closer, kneeling down to look more closely. "You see, this is my spirit energy, the energy of my very soul. I'm able to harness it at will. I can use it passively, like how I made the bedleaf, or defensively if I'm under attack. Even offensively if I want to retaliate."

He slowly closed his hands, extinguishing the energy orb. "T-that's amazing! I had no idea you were so strong." She said, a twinkle in her pretty blue eyes.

Kurama only chuckled. "What I do isn't anything a regular person couldn't learn. Yes, it can be very difficult for an average person to harness their spirit energy, but they can do it. Even you could if you put the time in."

He looked up to see Tiffania's hands in a similar position to what his had been in. He smiled as he saw her face turning red as she tried to do what he had. He gently placed his hands over hers, causing her to look up at him. "You won't get it in just a few moments, Tiffa, even if you have unusual talent."

She donned a crestfallen expression before Kurama patted her head. "I think we should get some sleep. We've both had a full day."

"B-but what about-"

"If you aren't ready for that, we can wait. I'm a patient man." He laid back onto his leaf, pulling the long stem that had sprouted up down to his mouth and drinking a clear, yellowish liquid from it. He looked over at her. "Would you like some? It's called Trauma Nectar." Her face screwed up in apprehension. "It won't hurt you as long as you don't drink too much. It's a useful liquid in small doses. It heals all but fatal wounds, restores your stamina, and can temporarily increase your strength in a large enough dose. In small doses, however, it acts as a sleeping aid." He gave a yawn as if he were confirming the validity of his claim.

The elf girl bit her bottom lip gently before walking forward. She summoned him here and he had done nothing to make her mistrust him, so why start? She sat on her bed and pulled the stem over to her, tipping it down to let a bit of the nectar slide out onto her tongue. She shivered at the taste. It was decadently sweet, but it wasn't overbearing. It reminded her of fresh honey, but with a more robust flavor. She was almost sad when she felt Shuichi pull the stem away from her.

He chuckled lightly. "That's enough. Much more and you'll be up for the next couple of days."

She smiled lightly then yawned, stretching her arms over her head. "You're right, that does really help someone to close out a good day." She laid back into her bed, shivering a bit from the cold before pulling her blanket up to her chest. "Goodnight, Shuichi."

He settled in, using his energy to wrap the leaf around his body. "Goodnight, 'Master'." He said playfully, not noticing the sleepy elf blushing brightly.

Tomorrow should be interesting.