Set at the end of the Four Saint Beasts arc, in the three days during which Yuusuke is unconscious.

Based on the fact that Kurama obviously cannot tie shoes, since he's never shown wearing shoes with laces.

Disclaimer: YuYu Hakusho still belongs to Yoshihiro Togashi

The Ties That Bind

…
Japanese:
tantei- detective
kitsune- fox or fox demon
Rekai Tantei- Spirit World Detective(s)
…

A day later, Kuwabara started to realize just what he'd gotten himself into.

First there had been that whole mess with Urameshi dying and coming back to life. Then there'd been the fiasco over the demon Rando. And now, instead of being dragged along as a bystander, Kuwabara found himself volunteering to join this insanity and defeat the Four Saint Beasts.

If this was what his sister had to deal with on a daily basis due to her powerful sixth sense, it was no wonder Shizuru was so weird.

They'd triumphed, in any case—himself, Urameshi, Hiei, and Kurama. He'd woken up in his bedroom to find that Yuusuke was still comatose, Hiei had left, and Kurama mentioning something about "cleanup duty." That apparently meant that the tantei's boss, the mysterious Koenma, couldn't be bothered to see everything through after the demons were annihilated.

Luckily, Kuwabara's parents wouldn't pry into why all these strange people were at the house, so he and Kurama set off for Sarayashiki Jr. High, where Botan and Keiko had last been seen. The girls were hiding nearby from the police, who were dumbfounded by all the unconscious teachers wielding a janitor's arsenal of weaponry. Keiko was practically crying in relief, as well as refusing to let go of Kuwabara, while Botan was still half out of it due to a hit to the head.

The two boys escorted them back to Kuwabara's house, where he dug out the first-aid kit. Keiko had nearly gone hysterical upon seeing the state Yuusuke was in; however, Botan had quickly reassured her that all was well, and proceeded to tell her some story that involved Yusuke, detectives, and hypnotism.

At about this time Shizuru came in, took one look at everyone assembled in the room, and declared that she was going back outside for a smoke.

Botan left soon after, saying that she needed to inform Koenma of their success. Keiko had departed as well, although she promised to return tomorrow, and issued stern orders for Kuwabara to call her the moment Yuusuke woke up.

This left him with Urameshi, who was unconscious, and Kurama, who was trying not to get any of his blood on the floor. The orange-haired fighter briefly paused to wonder why he hadn't brought it up sooner.

They bandaged him up, found him some clean clothes, and let him stay the night, rather than panic his mother should he return home in said injured state. So after two reassuring phone calls to mothers, they left Yuusuke on the bed and went to sleep on the floor, because they were simply too tired to care anymore.

So it wasn't until the day after the defeat of the Four Beasts that it was sinking in that Kuwabara had just officially volunteered himself for something that merited an "aw, crap."

He wasn't really worried about the demons and the supernatural, or the danger, or the job. To tell the truth, he was uncomfortable and nervous because he felt completely outclassed by his comrades. Despite all his boasts of power, he didn't really see where he fit in.

Urameshi Yuusuke was the toughest punk of Sarayashiki, Genkai's successor, and the boy-who-wouldn't-stay-dead. Kuwabara was just his runner-up with a more refined sixth sense. Then there were Hiei and Kurama, demon thieves on probation. From what he'd seen, Hiei was short, annoying, faster that should have been possible and/or legal, and had defeated Seiryu with no effort. Kurama was calm, mysterious, and deceptively deadly with flowers.

Heck, even Botan went about vanquishing demons with bats, oars, and other blunt objects!

…Kuwabara probably could have defeated Byakko for good the third time if Seiryu hadn't done it first.

Still, he had saved Urameshi's life, which was something to lord over the other boy. But everyone on their small, dysfunctional team would probably see him as an annoyance, yet drag him along on missions anyway.

Between himself, Shizuru, and Kurama, it had been a long and disturbingly quiet breakfast.

The red-haired demon had returned from the shower and was now sitting quietly against the bed, attempting to sew up the gashes in his poor, pathetic magenta uniform before they ran it through the wash again. He was surprisingly good with a needle, probably because he'd had to do this before, and didn't seem to mind Eikichi as the kitten playfully batted at the shirt's sleeves. Perhaps he felt Kuwabara's gaze, because he looked up, his green eyes meeting the other boy's, and set the mending gently aside.

"Kuwabara, do you mind if I leave for a bit? I'd like to reassure my mother in person that I haven't disappeared, but I'd need to borrow shoes and such, seeing as we haven't gotten all of my things clean yet."

"Sure, come on!" There it was a perfect excuse to do something! Kuwabara was a man of action—life always seemed less awkward when he was too busy to think. Glad to have a purpose, he led Kurama to the closet in the front hall and avidly hunted for suitable footwear.

He reemerged from the closet a minute later. "Shizuru's feet are a little smaller than mine, so these'll probably fit you well…" he trailed off as Kurama's face went from good-humoredly amused to decidedly blank and unreadable as he stared at the pair of sneakers.

"You know, I think my own shoes will be fine," the kitsune stated, turning around to look for them. "Really, I doubt the stains will be even slightly noticeable on black…"

Completely and utterly confused, the taller boy looked between Shizuru's sneakers in his hand, and the pair Kurama was searching for, and could come up with only two ideas. One dealt with feminine comments and other such insults to the boy's masculinity, but it was the other one he blurted out instead.

"Kurama, you do know how to tie shoes, right?"

Said demon stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "Nobody's perfect."

"But you can't tie shoes!"

This was… inconceivable. The great and feared demon thief, whom even Hiei had cautioned not to mess with, was lacking in a kindergarten-level life skill. In fact, he'd even gone through human kindergarten, so he had no excuse!

"Just… you're wearing them anyway. I'll tie them myself, so sit down," Kuwabara sighed. They needed him a lot more in the detectives than he'd thought. How did this Koenma except his group to survive when he hired criminals who couldn't even manage shoes with laces?

Kurama slid Shizuru's shoes on and patiently waited for Kuwabara to lace them up. His emerald eyes sparkled with something rather like playful mischief.

"I think that this has been a valuable reminder for me," he began, his eyes intent on Kuwabara's hands, "to be humble."

The streetfighter finished one knot and began on the other. "You mean embarrassed?"

"No." His red hair fell around his face as he shook his head. "Humility involves knowing when to ask for help," he grinned as he stood up, "but it also involves just sucking it up and accepting it gracefully when help is offered."

Kurama pulled the door open and stepped outside, but before he shut it behind him, he turned back to look at Kuwabara.

"Whether for better or for worse, you've tied yourself to the Reikai Tantei. So don't forget it."

…
Owari
…

-Windswift Shinju