Kurama staggered into the hallway, holding his bruised ribs. The cuts on his cheek where still bleeding freely, droplets rolling down his chin, matching the color of his tangled hair.

His first match should have been an easy kill, unfortunately, his human mother was used against him and Kurama was forced to hold back. It was only when the seed of the death plant took root in Karasu that Kurama allowed his body to move again.

He pressed his back against the cold wall, breathing heavily. Well, at least he was alone—-

"Hey, aren't you one of Kazuma's friends?"

Kurama cringed. It seems I spoke to soon.

A tall brunette appeared before him, her long hair touching just below her shoulder blades. The smell of heavy smoke hung around her like a thick miasma, and Kurama had to cover his poor nose with the bloody sleeve of his shirt.

"I am," he confirmed, "and you must be his sister."

"Shizuru," the girl intruded, eyeing him. "Looks like a pretty rough fight. You doing okay?"

Kurama forced himself to nod. "Yes. I'm quite alright."

"You don't sound like it."

"I assure you, I'm—"

Kurama stopped, his words dying in his throat when a sheering pain exploded just below his chest. He heard Shizuru hum and saw her pulling her finger away from his bloody body.

"Oh ya, your totally okay," she quipped, sarcasm dripping from her every word. "Sit."

Kurama blinked. "I beg your pardon?"

"You heard me. Sit."

A human was ordering him, Youko Kurama, around like he was some sort of child. There was a dark irony in there, somewhere. But standing was starting to take a toll of his body. So, reluctantly, Kurama did as the older Kuwabara sibling said.

"Pleased?"

Shizuru smirked. "Very." She wordlessly knelt down, rubbing her smooth fingers across his cut. "Does it hurt?"

"Only when you touch it."

The brunette arched an eyebrow. "Heel boy. I'm not trying to hurt you."

Kurama nodded, but refused to let his guard down.

"Relaxe," Shizuru urged. She looked around, hands on her hips. "There a doctor here?"

"No. I assume you've never been to a demon tournament before?"

Shizuru winked. "Got that right." She dug her hand into her pocket, fishing out a few bands aids. Kurama gave her a look.

"Kazuma gets hurt a lot. It's become a habit of mine to carry these around."

Kurama nodded. "Ah."

"Now sit still."

The former thief felt himself bristle. She was doing it again, treating him like some child— her fingers feel so soft.

The sudden thought shocked Kurama. Never before has he ever allowed himself to think about another female like that before. In that same aspect, he never let another female get so close to him (well, other than his own mother), but there was something about the brunette that forced Kurama to bite his tongue and sit still.

Like some submissive mate.

Another sobering thought.

Kurama pushes it away quickly.

"All done." Shizuru's voice brought the fox back to reality. She pressed the band aids against his cheek, smoothing them out.

"Thank yo-"

Before Kurama could finish, he froze, watching as the brunette leaned in and pressed a kiss to his injured cheek.

Against his will, Kurama felt his body heat up. This was becoming too intimate too fast.

Luckily, Shizuru pulled away as fast as she leaned in. "Think you'll survive without me?"

"Yes," was all the fox could muster.

"Good. I have places to be." She turned on her heel, and Kurama found himself enjoying the way her hair flew around, almost as if the wind was creasing it. Shizuru gave a lazy wave over her shoulder before disappearing down the hall.

Kurama leaned back, fingers tracing the band aids on his cheek.

Oh dear…