Disclaimer: I do not own anything of importance in this story.

Chapter 1

Kurama sat at his desk after lunch, feeling miserable. There was a dull throb behind his eyes that was only growing worse as the day wore on and he was starting to feel a little shaky. His stomach was unsettled and he felt cold, despite the fact that he was starting to sweat. He asked to be excused from class and headed to the bathroom.

A wave of dizziness over came him as he reached the restroom and he had to lean against the door for support until it passed. What's wrong with me? he wondered, irritably pushing the bathroom door open. He walked over to the sink and splashed cold water on his face. He reached for some paper towels, drying his face off before he caught his reflection in the mirror. He froze. Wide, golden eyes stared back at him from within a too pale face. He ran his tongue over his teeth, feeling sharp fangs, and noticed his fingernails had turned into claws. Looking closely, he saw several small streaks of silver in his red hair.

Scanning the bathroom more closely, Kurama was relieved to find that he was alone. Turning back to the mirror, Kurama concentrated, forcing his body to become completely human again. He succeeded in hiding his demonic features, but it took quite a bit of energy to keep them concealed. He leaned wearily against the sink, breathing heavily, as he wondered what he should do. Returning to class is too risky-- I'm not sure how long I can maintain in this form. I can't go home-- how would I explain this to mother? This is obviously not a natural disease. I need to speak with Genkai, he decided, pushing himself away from the sink.

Instead of returning to class, he went to the nurses' office, easily convincing her to let him go home sick. Leaving the school, Kurama got in his car, grew and ate a few leaves that would help strengthen his body and drove to the shrine.

Parking his car at the bottom of the hill, he got out and eyed the seemingly endless stairway in dismay. For once, I'll have to agree with Yuusuke. Couldn't she have installed an escalator, instead? he thought, longingly, as he began the long climb to the top. His energy was fading fast and he had to rest often. His headache was now threatening to split his head in two and his stumbling steps were not helping his stomach any. Twice he had to stop and retch on the side of the stairs before continuing on. Not wanting to chance some ningen leaving the shrine seeing his demonic body, Kurama spared all the energy he could to maintain his human form. After what seemed like an eternity, he reached the last step, leaning to rest against the statue at the top of the stairs, gasping for breath. Looking up, he saw Genkai standing in the courtyard.

"You look like you've seen better days and your energy is so weak that I could barely sense you coming. Would you care to explain what you're doing here in the middle of the day, and why you're in such bad condition?" she asked.

Kurama smiled slightly at her bluntness, but the smile faded just as quickly. The trip up had taken its toll on him and his energy was completely depleted. He had no reserves left and he felt that he could relax now that he had reached his goal. His eyes closed as his body went limp, falling forward as he passed out. Genkai caught the unconscious teen before he hit the ground, noting with alarm that there were now silver fox ears sprouting out from beneath his red hair. His bangs clung to his face, slick with sweat and he was warm to the touch.

This isn't good, Genkai thought, shifting her grip on him and pulling his arm over her shoulder. With strength that belied her small size, she half dragged, half carried the comatose boy into the temple.

Yukina turned around as the shoji slid open, gasping in surprise when she saw the unconscious redhead. Genkai spoke before she could ask what happened. "Yukina, go lay out a futon in one of the spare rooms," the psychic said, carrying the kitsune down the hall. Yukina did as she was asked, opening the door for Genkai and laying out the bed. The old woman gently laid the redhead on it, studying him critically. Kurama moaned softly, tossing his head to the side, his expression pained and his breathing shallow.

Genkai laid her hand on Kurama's chest, closing her eyes in concentration. She felt for his energy, locking onto its unique wavelength and manipulated her own energy to match his. She powered up slightly, allowing some of her energy to flow into him. Being careful to not give him too much lest she send his body into shock, she removed her hand, opening her eyes as she did so. Kurama was still unconscious, but his breathing was stronger than before. Genkai sighed, feeling a little tired. "All right, Yukina. See if you can heal whatever ails him," she instructed, stepping back.

The ice koorime took Genkai's place, standing next to Kurama, and laid her hands on his shirt. She took a deep, calming breath, relaxing her body and focusing her mind. A soft blue light covered him as she tried to heal the sickness that plagued the kitsune. Kurama's entire body tensed, thrashing around on the futon as an agonized scream was torn from his throat. Startled, Yukina jumped back, her concentration broken, snatching her hands away from his chest. The fox fell back limply as the healing light faded, his gasping breaths the only sound breaking the silence.

"That was certainly unusual," Genkai remarked.

Yukina stared at Kurama, not sure why her healing powers had caused him pain. Her eyes landed on Kurama's hands, noticing his claws had drawn blood from his palms. Picking up a cloth, she carefully wiped the blood off of the wounds. Without thinking, she laid her fingertips on the puncture marks to heal them, but almost immediately pulled her hands away, gasping in pain. Kurama's blood burned where it touched her skin and she quickly wiped it on her kimono, revealing blisters on her fingertips.

Genkai took her hand, studying it intently. Curious, she reached down, touching one gnarled finger to the red liquid on Kurama's hands. Nothing happened.

"Interesting," she remarked, staring at the blood on her finger. "It would appear that this is not an ordinary illness. It is my guess that Kurama was poisoned with something that is harmless to humans, but fatal to demons. That is why his blood, and probably any of his bodily fluids, burn you." She held her hand over Yukina's, healing the blisters. "I'd guess the only reason he's alive right now is because his body is not fully demon. The poison is attacking his demon side, causing the him to change forms."

"But, why hasn't he fully transformed to a demon, then?" Yukina asked.

"He's fighting against the poison by trying to remain human, as his ningen form has a stronger immunity to the toxin. If he fully transforms to Youko, we probably only have a few minutes, if that, to heal him before he dies." Genkai paused, considering something, before gesturing to Kurama's arm. "Go ahead and try to heal his hand, but be sure to not touch his blood," she instructed.

Yukina held her hand out, careful not to touch Kurama's, and tried to heal the wounds. A soft blue light enveloped the hand as the wounds closed. Kurama didn't stir.

Genkai nodded. "You can still heal his body, that's good. Poison needs to be neutralized before it can be healed. When you tried to heal it earlier, I would guess that it reacted to your demonic power and attacked Kurama's body in response." She sighed. "It looks as though we're going to have to take care of him the old fashioned way. Bring some cloths and a bucket of cold water," Genkai said, starting to remove his shirt.

Yukina nodded, healing Kurama's other hand before leaving the room. She returned, carrying the requested items. Kneeling beside Genkai, she dipped the cloths in the water before wringing them out and handing them to the psychic. The old woman laid one compress across Kurama's forehead, one on his neck, two on his chest and one on each arm. He shivered as the cold cloth touched his skin, but did not wake. Yukina noticed that there were now streaks of silver in his hair and a silver tail poking out from beneath his leg.

. . .

The day wore on, and Kurama's condition did not improve. Although he regained consciousness in the afternoon, his temperature would not go down, despite Genkai's and Yukina's best efforts. The fever made him restless; a feeling that the plants surrounding the temple mirrored, Genkai noted uneasily. It is not going to be pretty if he takes a turn for the worst, she thought, watching the plants moving agitatedly in the non-existent breeze.

Although Kurama did his best to hide it, the fact that he was in pain was obvious. He looked up as Yukina entered the room, offering her a slight, somewhat strained smile. It's strange seeing Kurama with silver hair and green eyes. Of course, silver hair and human ears is an odd combination for him, too, she thought, setting down the tray she had brought in. "Are you hungry, Kurama-san?" she asked, politely.

"No, thank you, Yukina-san," he replied, shaking his head slightly. He had caught the scent of soup before Yukina had reached the room and it made his stomach churn.

Yukina looked at him, large red eyes worried. "You need to eat. Just a little bit?" she asked, imploringly. "I made it just for you."

"Thank you, Yukina-san, but not now. I... I don't think I can keep anything down just now and I'd rather not try," he said, closing his eyes, tiredly. He tried not to grimace as a sharp pain shot through his abdomen.

"If you won't eat anything, will you have something to drink?"

Kurama gave her a pained expression. "Yukina--" he began.

"Listen to me," the ice maiden interrupted. She picked up a cloth, wringing it out in the bucket and began wiping sweat off the redhead's face. "You're losing a lot of water, Kurama-san. You can go without food for a little while, but you need to drink fluids to replace those that you have lost."

Seeing the pleading expression on her face and feeling his parched throat, Kurama relented. "Very well. Just a glass of water, though. I highly doubt tea would agree with my stomach right now."

Smiling, Yukina picked up a cup from the tray, scooting closer to Kurama. He raised his arm to take the cup from her, but she stopped him, holding the cup to his lips. Although it was a little embarrassing, Kurama allowed her to help him drink, feeling too tired and weak to argue with her about it. He took a few tentative sips before deciding his stomach wasn't going to rebel and proceeded to drain the cup. She offered him some more, but he shook his head. "Thank you," he said, softly.

Yukina nodded, taking the tray and leaving the room.

. . .

Genkai sat on the porch, sipping her tea as the sun sank below the horizon. The plants had overgrown the stones in the courtyard, making the entrance to the temple look like a jungle. He's getting worse. It won't be too much longer, now, she thought, raising her cup to her lips once more.

Inside Kurama's room, Yukina knelt next to the futon, dipping the warm cloths in the cold water before replacing them on Kurama's body. She had lowered the temperature of the room considerably, but nothing seemed to be working. Kurama shivered, but said nothing, averting his amber gaze to the window. He knew it would not be long before his body gave out on him.

Yukina was lighting a small lantern when Kurama began to cough. It was just a small cough at first, almost able to be mistaken as someone clearing his or her throat. However, his coughing became worse very quickly, sounding as though he was choking. He rolled onto his side, pain clearly visible on his face as pink froth spilled out of his mouth, gradually growing darker in color as he coughed up more blood.

. . .

A tall blue ogre with yellow hair ran into Koenma's office, waving a paper around almost frantically. "Koenma-sama! Koenma-sama! We've got a problem!" he said, skidding to a halt in front of a large wooden desk.

The unstable stacks of papers on the desk wavered threateningly, but did not fall. The toddler sitting behind it just glared at George. "You treat every little problem as if it were an apocalypse! What is it this time? Someone stole your parking spot? Payroll forgot to sign your paycheck? Or is the vending machine out of chips, again?"

"This is serious, sir!" George yelled, slamming the paper down in front of Koenma, but not hard enough to knock over any of the stacks. "It's Kurama!"

Koenma skimmed over the paper, bored, until he realized what it said. "What?! Kurama's dying?!" he yelled, his pacifier almost flying out of his mouth. "But he's not supposed to die for another..." Koenma started counting on his fingers, but soon gave up, throwing his hands in the air. "A really long time! What's going on?!"

"I'm not sure, sir, but--" George began, only to be interrupted.

"Get Botan in here at once!"

. . .

Alarmed, Yukina realized that Kurama was fully demon. Remembering Genkai's warning from earlier, the ice koorime rushed forward, placing her hands on the youko's chest. His sweat burned her fingers, although not as badly as his blood had. She ignored it, concentrating on healing the kitsune. She vaguely registered hearing a female voice yell "Shotgun!" but ignored it. After what seemed like an eternity, Kurama's coughing subsided, changing to shallow raspy breaths. Opening her eyes, she noticed his hair was once again red and his claws were gone, as well. She sighed, gratefully removing her burned fingers from his chest as she sat back, shaking slightly from the adrenaline.

A few minutes later, Genkai entered the room, looking tired. "I assume we just had a close call, correct?" she asked.

Yukina nodded and explained what had happened.

"I thought as much. From what you described, it sounds as though one or both of his lungs ruptured, filling them with blood. If you hadn't healed them, he would be dead right now," she commented, seating herself next to Yukina.

The ice maiden looked at her, confused. "But, what would have caused his lungs to rupture in the first place?" she asked.

"It appears the poison is attacking and destroying his vital organs. We can't neutralize it without the antidote and both of our healing abilities will be needed to keep him alive. I'll send Puu to get Yuusuke, although I doubt he'll be here until late tomorrow. Dimwit," Genkai said, muttering the last part to herself. She looked at the lantern sitting in the middle of the floor. "I have electricity, you know," she said, gesturing to the light switch on the wall.

Yukina looked away. "I know, but I thought... Well, Kurama has a headache and I thought the bright light might hurt his eyes, so..."

Genkai smiled. "That's all right. As long as you can still see what you're doing, it shouldn't be a problem."

Yukina looked at Genkai, remembering the fighting she had heard while healing Kurama. "Um, were you fighting down there? A few minutes ago, I mean," she asked.

"Yes."

"Was it the person who poisoned Kurama?"

"No. It was the plants around the temple," Genkai replied, leaning over and wiping the blood off Kurama's face. He didn't react to her touch. "It's because of Kurama that they attacked."

Yukina looked surprised. "What? He almost died a few minutes ago. Surely he wasn't using his power to--"

"You misunderstand me, girl. Kurama is a plant master and is acutely aware of any plant life around him at all times. This works both ways, as they are also acutely aware of him. When his life is threatened, the flora will try to protect him," Genkai explained. She wiped up the blood up off the floor, throwing the cloths in the wastebasket.

"That doesn't sound too bad," Yukina said.

Genkai snorted. "Unfortunately, the plants can't tell the difference between someone trying to hurt Kurama and someone trying to help him. They will attack anyone near him and not let anyone get close to him. And, as both our healing powers are maximized by physical contact, this makes it a little difficult to heal him," Genkai finished. She felt the temperature of the water, motioning to Yukina.

The ice maiden nodded, moving over and placing her hands on either side of the bucket. "So, in other words, someone is going to need to keep the plants out of the temple and away from Kurama while someone else heals him," Yukina said, removing her hands as she stared at the redhead, contemplatively. His breathing had evened out, although he was still coughing a little bit to rid his lungs of the small amount of blood still in them. Red flecks covered his lips.

Genkai picked up the last cloth, breaking the thin covering of ice to soak it in the now cold water. "Would you mind bringing some more cloths in here?" she asked, wiping the sweat off Kurama's face. Yukina nodded and left the room. Genkai ran the cloth down to Kurama's neck and across his chest, wringing it out with cold water in the bucket as necessary. A soft voice came from the window.

"He's not dead," Botan said, quietly.

Genkai jumped up, protectively standing between Lady Death and the defenseless kitsune. "Are you here to take his soul, ferry girl?" she asked, unconsciously falling into a defensive position.

Botan didn't seem to notice, her eyes filled with tears. "When Koenma told me Kurama was dying, I... I--" she broke off, running a hand across her eyes. She flew in through the window, dismounting from her oar, before making it disappear. She looked back at Genkai, relief filling her eyes. "I'm so glad the report was wrong!"

Genkai relaxed, kneeling again at Kurama's side and dipped the cloth in the water again. "It wasn't wrong. He was-- is dying," she said, simply.

Botan blanched, her eyes traveling back to Kurama's still form, noticing for the first time his much too pale complexion, his shallow, uneven breathing and the fact that he didn't have a shirt on. She turned away, blushing.

They sat in silence until Genkai looked up, listening to something only she could hear. She smirked. "It appears that help has arrived sooner than expected."

Botan looked at Genkai, not sure what she meant.

"Why is it," a cold voice asked from the doorway, "that I can smell the kitsune's blood?"

. . .

To Be Continued