Disclaimer: I've out of creative disclaimers so I'll just say, "I only own my OCs and the plot."


Recap: Kurama and Tsukino were separately approached and encouraged to join the war for opposite sites. Neither gave a concrete answer, and they started to travel towards the bar where Kurama would talk with Kioshi. On the way, Kurama's disguise pills started to lose their effectiveness meaning he had to take more of them. Also, the stress started to get to him causing him to act out of character and throw Tsukino into a lake. Because she was thrown into the lake, Tsukino regained the ability to speak Japanese. However, at this time, both their mating curses started to act up so Tsukino suggested a race. They did race but neither mentioned the wager when Kurama won. Finally, they got into the town with the bar, and now are only waiting.


This Is How You Remind Me
Chapter Seven
A Dangerous Side Effect

Bad Start to the Day

The day after I got thrown into the lake and regained use of the Japanese language, I was awoke by the sound of Kurama coughing. Actually, choking might be a better word to describe the noises he was making. I opened my eyes and looked around the new room I found myself in. The dusty brown wall-paper was peeling from the walls, but the beds were soft and comfortable. Kurama's was empty though, and I looked towards the second door in the room off to my left. From behind the closed door came Kurama's hacking.

Wondering if he had forgotten to take his pills, I grabbed them from the nightstand by his bed and walked towards the closed door. After taking a moment to knock, I entered and found Kurama leaning over the sink. He was shaking as he tried to contain the coughs, and his eyes were tired but slowly turning Egyptian blue. His fox ears were also shrinking, and his hair was turning dark brown.

He did not even notice my entrance as another wave of hacking hit him.

For a moment, I could do nothing but stand there and watch. Demons usually never got sick, and if they did, they rarely recovered for they were slain before any other demons could catch the disease. However, Kurama's problems were obviously caused by the pills he was taking.

As I took a pill out of the bottle in my hand, I felt a sudden stab of forbidding enter my mind. If the pills were what were causing the problems, it would probably cause even more problems to give him another one. On the other hand, humans who suffered from drug dependence suffered worse when the drug they were dependent on was removed from their system. Though I was sure Koenma and Kurama did not think of it that way, Kurama was dependent on the pills to keep his demonic energy high enough for him to remain in his demon form.

The pill still in my hand, I moved closer towards him. Gently, I placed my hand on his back and rubbed. I had seen Keiko do something similar when Yusuke was sick while I was living with them and hoped that it might help Kurama. To be honest, I failed to see how simply rubbing someone's back would help a person's cough, but for whatever reason Kurama's coughs slowly became less forceful.

Unfortunately, before he was completely cough free, Kurama suddenly jerked away from me, and his coughs returned. He faced me and covered his mouth as he coughed. Through them he glared at me, and I instinctually took a step back. "Get out of here," he said. Fear must have been obvious on my face because he added, "We can't afford you getting sick too."

I nodded and left the pills where he could see them before returning to the main part of the inn room and sitting on my bed. Taking out my book, I started to read, ignoring the circles that covered some of the pages. I finished four stories before he finally emerged from the bathroom only looking slightly better as his hair had stopped becoming red and his eyes green. His shoulders were still tense though, no doubt from the after-effects of the coughs. After I had left the room, his coughs had gotten much worse before they got better.

Wearily, he sat down on his own bed and reached for his bag. Once he had pulled out a slightly bruised apple, he said, "Did I wake you?"

I nodded. "Though I was going to wake up anyways." I paused a moment. "How long had you been coughing?"

He took a bite of his apple as he grabbed his bag and walked towards the door. "It's not important. I'll be back after I talk with Kioshi-san."

"Should I come?" I meant to ask if I could come to help. After all, I felt like I had done nothing this whole time. Each time, I talked to Rose I wasn't able to ignore my conscience long enough to capture her. Both my cat demon and bat demon blood agreed that it was a cowardly move to capture someone while talking to them.

Either he did not realize what I was actually asking, or he didn't want the help because he shook his head as he took a bite out of the apple. "The less he knows about you the better."

"Because bats are cruel to half-bats?"

Kurama's eyes barely widened but made his confusion known. "Where did you hear that?" he asked.

Realizing my mistake and fearful that he might make a plan that would involve me talking to Rose and then capturing her, I lied. "My job at the Nishi Bar," I said quietly, looking at the floor. I never actually told him that I worked at a bar before meeting the others in Spirit World, but I had no doubts that he had learned about it somehow.

He seemed unsurprised by the knowledge and turned back to the door. "I'll be back in a few hours."

I was about to nod when I saw that his hair was changing colours again. "Kur- Kyou-kun," I quickly said as I stood up.

He turned to me, his face void of emotion as usual but his eyes slightly tilted in confusion.

I pointed to his hair. "You have to take your pill."

He frowned and took a strand of his hair in his hand. "I just took it," he muttered under his breath.

I frowned also. "Perhaps you should take another one."

He shook his head. "It wouldn't be wise considering how the last one sent me into a coughing fit."

My frown deepened. "But I thought that-"

Kurama's communicator went off before I could finish my sentence, and he slowly opened the mirror as if dreading what he would see.

"KURAMA!" I covered my ears as Yusuke's voice blasted through the mirror's speakers. "About time you picked up, Koenma wants a status report and… What did you do to your hair and eyes? Forget to take the pill?"

Kurama shook his head and leaned against the door, looking even more tired now. He looked over to me and silently asked me to leave the room.

I nodded and went to the bathroom. Turning on the water, I decided to take a bath since the dip in the lake made me smell fishy and feel slimy. Unfortunately, over the sound of the water and the solid barrier of the locked door, I could still hear Kurama's and Yusuke's conversation. Kurama gave a quick summary of the mission so far before addressing Yusuke's question about the pills.

"I already took my pill this morning Yusuke, and for whatever reason, it has only caused me ill-effects," Kurama was saying as I shampooed my hair with some of the shampoo that Botan had put in my bag. It was unscented for some reason, but I didn't mind as it got rid of the slime and fish scent.

Yusuke's loud voice cut through the door as if it wasn't even there. "You just don't want to admit that Tsukino-chan distracted you and you forgot."

"For the last time, Yusuke, I've already taken them."

"Then why is your hair have red highlights and look brown?"

"The pills seem to be losing their effectiveness."

"Or you aren't taking them."

"I already took the pill."

"You look tired. You getting enough sleep? Maybe you dreamed that you took the pill when you really didn't."

Kurama actually sighed. "Yusuke I-"

"Did Tsukino-chan see you take the pill?"

"No, she was asleep-"

"Then how can you been sure that you even took one?"

"Because I had a coughing fit right afterwards."

I could picture Yusuke's frown as he said, "Why would the pills give you a coughing fit?"

"I am unsure why." Kurama's voice trailed off as if he was falling asleep.

"Kurama, you okay?"

"I am fine, Yusuke."

"You sure don't look fine."

He didn't sound fine either. His voice though usually quiet and calm sounded half-dead. Quickly, I finished my bath and slipped on a bathrobe that Botan had lent me for the trip when I felt Kurama's energy suddenly decrease. At the same time, Yusuke shouted, "Tsukino-chan," as if he knew that I was able to hear him.

I instantly opened the door and found Kurama shivering like mad, and the communicator on the ground facing us. Yusuke's worried face stared through it. "What happened?" I demanded to know as I grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around Kurama.

Yusuke was frowning and his eyes wide. "I don't know. One second he was denying that he wasn't feeling well and then this… Wait a second, when did you learn to talk again?"

I looked over at Kurama. "Now is not the time, Yusuke-kun."

Yusuke nodded apologetically. "I'll go get Koenma. Maybe he knows what's happening."

I nodded and watched for a second as the communicator screen went black. Then I turned my attention back to Kurama. His demon energy was rapidly decreasing, and I didn't like the idea of giving him another pill. The only option we had was an energy transfer because even if his demon energy ran out, the change to his human form could kill him from the stress of the change on his weakened state.

Slowly, I reached towards his forehead. I had never done a transfer before, but Kuwabara had once told me how he gave Yusuke energy after Yusuke battled the fourth Saint Beast. The only difference from what I was doing now was that I was using demon energy and not life energy. It couldn't have been that different, I decided.

However, Kurama stopped me before I could do the transfer. He grabbed my arm before it touched his forehead and glared at me through tired eyes. "You are not to use your energy," he reminded me. He was panting slightly.

"We don't really have any other options right now," I replied trying to sound firm and not worried.

He did not listen and instead said, "Pills."

I glared at him. "They're what caused this remember?"

He slowly shook his head. "It will buy Yusuke some time to get Koenma, and you can afford to lose anymore energy."

I frowned. "Neither can you." Nevertheless, I quickly moved from his side and got the pills. Hesitating for a second, I finally gave him a pill, and he swallowed it. His hair became black and his eyes blue again the same instant he stopped shivering and panting. The forbidding feeling returned as he stood up, but I couldn't figure out why. He seemed perfectly fine now.

Kurama also seemed to sense something was off as he looked his hands over before reaching for his hair to pull out his rose whip.

The communicator suddenly beeped again, and a wave of relief washed over me. I had had a bad feeling that the moment he tried to use his powers something bad would happen.

We both turned to the mirror and saw Koenma looking out at us. "Yusuke said that there was a problem with the pills," he said calmly.

Kurama nodded. "For the past few days, the pills have only lasted twelve hours before I've had to take another one. Also following the pills, I have felt nausea."

Koenma's pacifier fell out of his mouth. "Why didn't you tell me this earlier!? Kurama, you have to stop taking those pills and back to Spirit World right now! If you start having coughing fits then-" He stopped talking for a moment and then added fearfully, "You haven't had any coughing fits after taking a pill have you?"

Worried about what the answer would cause, I looked over to Kurama to see his reaction to Koenma's question. His face was calm, his eyes shielded, but his shoulder tense as tense as Hiei's last nerve if Kuwabara was to be believed. "I have," Kurama replied.

Koenma seemed close to tears. "Please tell me you didn't take another pill afterwards then."

"It was our only option."

Fear turned to anger for Koenma as he started waving his arms around. "You could have done an energy transfer!"

Kurama calmly shook his head. "There was no one suitable around."

I felt a small bit of me cave in when he said that. He might as well have said I was useless on the mission because I actually was. I couldn't even help my teammate when he was in trouble because I wasn't 'suitable'. Most of our attempts had also failed because of me whether it was directly or indirectly. Realizing that there was no reason for me to be present during the talk, I started to walk back to the bathroom to finish getting ready.

"Tsukino-san."

I paused mid-step and turned to face Koenma when he addressed me. "Yes, Koenma-sama?"

His face was completely serious as he said, "Keep an eye on Kurama. He is not to leave the inn until I send Botan to escort you both to a portal back to Spirit World. Understood?"

I slowly nodded, and Kurama glared at Koenma.

"I do not need a babysitter," he told the prince.

Koenma nodded. "I agree, but you do need someone to keep an eye on you. Your body has built up a resistance to the pills. If you keep taking those pills, you might not be able to return to either your human or demon form."

"So I will become a hanyou," Kurama said slowly.

Koenma nodded. "And we both know that you can't afford that happening so it's best if you return to Spirit World so that we can find a substitute drug."

"Or until my body is no longer immune to the drug," Kurama added.

Koenma shook his head. "I'm afraid that is no longer possible. Your body has already absorbed too much of the drug. You'll be forever immune to it now."

Kurama nodded slowly, and a thought suddenly hit me.

"What about your plan?" I asked Kurama. "Can it be put off for a week?" I wasn't sure what the plan was, but I knew Kurama well enough that he probably had asked that person he was talking with at the bar to help us or something.

Before Kurama could reply, Koenma said, "At this point in time we are thinking months."

Kurama's mouth became a grim line as he said, "Before we leave, I need to talk to someone."

"Take Tsukino-san with you then."

Kurama shook his head. "It's too risky."

Koenma's face turned slightly red in anger. "Kurama, you have to take Tsukino-san with you wherever you go and to be back in the inn in one hour. Understand? That is final!"

The next second the screen of the mirror went black. Kurama and I were silent for a minute after the mirror turned off before I realized that I was only dressed in a bathrobe. Though it was probably the wrong time to be realizing this, I started blushing and turned to go to the bathroom. Before I entered and without turning, I asked, "In five minutes, we leave to find the person you wanted to meet?"

He didn't answer, and I closed the door. Moments later, I appeared fully dressed in travelling clothes. Kurama was sitting on his bed staring at the ceiling with a frown on his face.

"Ready to go?" I asked quietly.

Kurama shook his head. "We don't need to bother."

I frowned. "Why not?"

"I sent a lower level demon to deliver a message telling Kioshi-san that I need more time. His reply should be coming soon."

"How?"

"There has been a small minor demon following us for a while. It's Hiei's way of keeping an eye on us. I merely asked him if I could use the demon, and Hiei agreed."

"How did you do that if-" I remembered the powers of the Jagan Eye. To a certain extent the eye could control humans and weaker demons.

Kurama seemed to realize that I had figured out the answer to my question and did not say anything until there was a knock on the window. Silently, Kurama moved with all the experience of a thief and opened the window. A demon entered the room and stood on the floor. It was about the size of a kitten but looked like a small female human child only with dragonfly wings for arms and gray skin. The creature was no older than a day, and yet they were using it for a messenger. Disgust erupted in my stomach, but I forced it back as I reminded myself that the small demon was safe as dragonflies were quick moving creatures.

The demon only stayed long enough for Kurama read the note and then write a reply. Then it disappeared outside into the day while we waited for Botan.

"Kiosh-san agreed to give me more time to think and told me to meet him at the Nishi in what used to be Yomi's territory when I have an answer," Kurama explained as I sat down on my bed. "I just sent a reply agreeing to his suggestion."

I frowned. "Are you sure that it's a good idea for us to go there? Sure it's been a year, and they probably think that I'm dead, but I don't really look different from when I left."

Kurama nodded. "However, you are also pretending to be my slave and will be wearing the cloak. For now we'll just wait and see if we even return."

"I'm sure that Koenma-sama will figure something out."

"However, the damage may have already been done."

I could think of nothing to say to that and fell silent as I started to read my book. The murderer was just about to be discovered when Kurama suddenly said:

"You disliked us having such a small demon act as our messenger?"

I didn't look up from my book but shrugged. "I just don't like the idea of putting an innocent in the line of fire."

Kurama nodded but muttered something under his breath that I didn't catch. It sounded like 'never insect', but I was most likely wrong.

We were silent until Botan arrived dressed in a dark purple cloak with a light violet hood with a cross on the cloth above her forehead. Her nose, mouth, and forehead were also covered but with a gray violet piece of cloth and her dress underneath was a dull pink. The whole outfit made her look like a druid or a fortune-teller.

Once my own cloak was securely on, and Kurama and I had our bags, we followed Botan into the day. I followed close behind Botan as we were forced to speak in hushed tones. Kurama kept an eye out for trouble as we walked. It was odd seeming Botan so focused. Usually she was bouncing off the walls, but today she was almost as calm as Kurama was.

"Koenma didn't mention anything that happened to you with us," Botan replied when I asked her why she kept asking questions about my wellbeing.

"He probably didn't want you to worry," I whispered. "I'm fine though. Kyou-kun was a good partner."

Botan nodded. "We'll be at the portal soon so keep close because it will close once we pass through so we have to go through as a group."

Kurama and I nodded, and soon Botan was knocking on a door of an old building. It creaked open to show a bunch of ogres running around delivering papers. We held hands and jumped through; the portal closing behind us. Most of the ogres didn't even pause in their work, but a blue ogre with yellow hair and a tiger skin cloth came running over.

"Botan!" he shouted. "Koenma-dono also wants to see you in his office."

"I wonder what he wants now," Botan muttered thoughtfully before turning to me. "I guess we'll have to catch up later. See you Tsukino-chan."

I nodded and turned my attention back to the ogre who was talking to Kurama.

"Koenma-dono also wants you to go to the infirmary right now for blood tests. He says that we need to get as much of the drugs out of your system as we can."

Kurama nodded, and the ogre turned to me.

"Welcome to Spirit World, Tsukino-san."

I nodded. "Thank you. Is there anywhere I shouldn't go here?"

The ogre paused for a moment before saying, "The only place I can think of would be the vault."

"Where's that?"

The ogre frowned in confusion. "You don't remember?"

I tried not to think about the guilt that came as I remembered the last time I was in the vault. Under Enma's control, I had almost killed the detectives. Luckily, Hiei had been fast enough to stop me. "I have a vague idea from when King Enma was controlling me but I don't really know where it is."

The ogre was about to reply when Kurama shook his head. "There is no need, George. I'll show her. It's on the way to the infirmary."

George nodded. "Good luck with the tests then," he said before running off leaving Kurama and I in the middle of the Spirit World message base.

Kurama wasted no time and grabbed my hand before leading me down on of the many hallways of Spirit World. Soon we came to a huge green door that I vaguely remembered.

"This is the door to the vault," Kurama announced. "Behind it is a series of traps and pitfalls as well as many treasures. I would not recommend ever going in there unless you have a trained Spirit World staff member with you or an experienced thief."

I looked at him from the corner of my eye. "Like you?"

Kurama nodded. "Yes, like me." He was silent for a moment before he said, "Tsukino-san?"

I turned to face him.

"I'll find you once the tests are over, and we can talk to Koenma about our options for the mission."

I nodded. "I heard there was a library here. Where is that-?" Suddenly, I was grabbed around the waist and held tight. "Botan-chan!" I managed to gasp. The arms released me and I turned around to see that I was wrong. The person who had hugged me had brown hair not blue. It wasn't Botan; it was Keiko.

"You don't even remember your own not mother? I'm hurt," she said as she released me.

My eyes were wide in shock and confusion. "What are you doing here? You can't be dead yet."

Keiko grinned. "I'm not. I'm just here to drop off Yusuke's lunch."

I frowned. "Why does Yusuke-kun need a lunch? I thought he was only visiting Koenma-sama."

Keiko frowned. "You mean you don't know that the guys are-"

"Looking for an ancient recipe for Yukina that only Spirit World knows. No, I'm afraid that I forgot to tell you, Tsukino-san," Kurama suddenly said.

I had forgotten that he was still present and turned to face him. "Spirit World has recipe books?" I asked with a raised eyebrow.

He nodded. "Forty thousand in fact."

I frowned but could think of no reason for Kurama to lie to me so I accepted his word. "Do they need any help?" I asked Keiko.

She shook her head. "There's no rush and besides you, Botan, and me need to catch up." With a grin, she started to run down the hall. "I'll come find you once I drop this off to Yusuke."

I nodded and turned to Kurama as I took off the cloak. "I guess I'll give this to you to hold onto so that you can find me."

He shook his head. "I'd rather you keep it so that it doesn't get any germs on it from the infirmary. I'll find you by using Keiko's scent. Just try to keep out of trouble."

I nodded and started to follow the direction that Keiko had ran off in when Kurama's next words caused me to freeze.

"And thank you for your help."


A/n: There is chapter seven and in case my description of Botan's disguise didn't make any sense. It's a mix between the anime fortune-teller outfit she worn in episode 5 and the one she worn in the manga when she was telling Yusuke he was the new spirit detective. Anyways, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and thanks for reading and the reviews. I hope to hear from you and see you at the next chapter.

-D101