Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this gentle adventure... especially for the one who's lost a lot of blood. A nod of recognition is bent towards Rumiko Takahashi for her creative prowess where InuYasha is concerned. All due respect is also offered to Yoshihiro Togashi, whose fervid imagination is responsible for YuYu Hakusho.

An Affinity for Foxes

- 13 -
Yonder Window

Kagome floundered through restless dreams, tossing and turning and twisting her blankets into knots. She was trapped behind a barrier, and no matter how desperately she called out to her friends, they couldn't hear her voice. I'm here! Please... I'm still here! She lurched into consciousness at a soft sound she knew by heart, the window sliding open. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she blinked at the shadow cast by moonlight on her bedroom floor. Someone was there... someone with peaked ears atop their head.

Joy flooded Kagome's heart as she untangled herself from her bedding and stumbled towards the figure silhouetted against the night sky. Her silver-haired visitor crouched on the sill, watching her with luminous golden eyes. "Inuyasha," she breathed, smiling through forming tears. Silence met her greeting, and her stomach took a sick plunge. "You're... not him."

"No," the stranger replied with a humorless smile. "That's twice you've mistaken me for someone you care about."

Her burgeoning apprehension faded as Kagome registered the scent of roses and the unmistakeable aura of kitsune. "Minamino-kun?" she inquired tentatively.

"I am called Youko Kurama," he corrected. "But, yes, I am he."

The kitsune teetered, reaching for her as his balance wavered. She didn't flinch when clawed fingers gripped her shoulder, but the awkward movement highlighted the fact that his other hand was pressed to his side. The coppery tang of blood assaulted her senses, and she gasped, "You're hurt!"

Kagome grabbed hold and tugged, and the injured youkai yielded, stepping from the sill into the room; he sagged against her, forehead dropping onto her other shoulder. "This body has its limits, and I've reached them," Youko managed, his words slurring. He sank to his knees, pulling her with him.

"K-kurama-san?" she whispered, but he was dead to the world.

- 14 -
Safe Haven

Youko clung fiercely to his transformation, knowing Shuuichi needed his strength. Urgent voices filtered through the haze—soft, feminine.

"He's heavy! Help me lay him down?"

"Kagome, what happened!"

"I don't know, but he's bleeding!"

Clothes parted, exposing wounds, and his limbs were to heavy to prevent it. Youko hated yielding to this body's weakness, though he was loathe to abandon it.

"It's not as bad as I thought. He's definitely healing."

"So much blood!"

Firm pressure staunched the sluggish flow. "Are there bandages?"

"I'll get them."

The kitsune hadn't realized his mind had wandered until a damp cloth startling him back into an awareness of his surroundings. Two women. Gentle hands. They were dressing his wounds, and... his head rested on Kagome's lap. Safe.

"He looks a little like Inuyasha," her mother murmured. "It must be the ears."

She hummed, and the cold fingertips that had been soothing away the pained creases on his forehead moved to trace a silvery peak before slipping down to massage its base. Youko rebelled against the treatment even as he relaxed into it.

"Who is he?"

"A friend."

"An old friend?" Mrs. Higurashi pressed.

"A new one," Kagome answered quietly, lending the scene a sense of déjà vu. "One with a secret."

"Fortunately, this is a safe place for secrets."

Youko's thoughts lingered on Kagome's misspent welcome, love shining in her eyes. Five centuries ago, if he'd learned of the Shikon no Tama and its power, there was no doubt in his mind that he would have pursued it. We would have been enemies... her blood on my hands instead of mine on hers. For Shuuichi's sake, he was grateful that the bond formed with this young woman was already strong enough to bear the truth. His instincts were correct where she is concerned.

- 15 -
Fine Line

In the hour before sunrise, the hand Kagome held flexed, and she lifted her head from the mattress to find golden eyes focused on her face. "Do you need anything?" she whispered.

"No... Shuuichi has been weakened, though," Youko replied. "Care for him."

Her brows drew together. "Aren't you and Minamino-kun the same?"

"Do we seem the same?"

She scrutinized Youko's visage for some similarity to her redheaded sempai, but the search yielded nothing. The kitsune in her bed appeared older—broad-shouldered, well-muscled, and possessing a richly-timbered voice. His features were sharper than Shuuichi's, and he proudly radiated all the power normally concealed deep within a youthful human frame. "No, you don't," she admitted. "But you are one person, right?"

"Yes."

She smiled softly. "Then, yes; I'll take care of you until you get your strength back."

He sighed unhappily. "Your kindness will be repaid."

"Don't be silly," Kagome gently chided. "What are friends for?"

"I am not your friend." Her smile faltered, and he rephrased himself. "I am not Inuyasha."

She blushed and mumbled, "I'm sorry I didn't recognize you at first."

Youko grimaced, and Kagome rose up on her knees, scooting closer towards the head of the bed. Reading the questions in her eyes, the kitsune merely shook his head, and in the next moment, what was happening became obvious. She'd witnessed Inuyasha's sunrise transformations on several occasions, but when Kurama's reversion ended, the shift was completely unlike the hanyou's. The lines of his face softened, the hands clutching the blankets slimmed, and the hair cascading over the pillows rippled into waves before red saturated each strand. "Amazing," she gasped.

Green eyes fluttered open, and Shuuichi murmured, "I'm sorry if I scared you."

"Scared for you," Kagome countered, once more reaching for his hand. "But never scared of you."

End Note: These three drabbles were written for the Live Journal community fanfic(underscore)bakeoff and their Secret Ingredient for April 2010—Yielding. The drabbles are 300, 300, and 300 words respectively. Posted on April 14, 2010.