Disclaimer: I do hereby disclaim all rights and responsibilities for the characters in this gentle adventure... especially for the one who wants to come clean. 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 Thievery

- 22 -
Splitting Hairs

Kagome pushed aside her notebook, giving up on her token attempt at studiousness. "Can you tell me anything about your work?"

Kurama weighed the dangers... and there were plenty. However, the novelty of being able to really talk to someone was a temptation he couldn't quite bring himself to resist. There's no harm in discussion. Folding his hands over the university textbook he'd been reading, he said, "All right. Hiei and I have been assigned to secure a peculiar artifact."

"What is it?"

"A mirror."

Kagome's eyes sparkled with excitement. "Is it valuable?"

"It's apparently dangerous," he explained. "There are reports of it being used as a weapon; it traps souls."

She nodded slowly. "If it's anything like the one we encountered in the past, that's not all it can do."

Kurama straightened. "What did it look like?"

"Erm... about this big, round, set in a silver frame," Kagome listed, using her hands to describe the circumference. "Our enemy used it to see where we were and what we were doing."

The redhead's expression grew solemn. "That might explain our difficulties. We've been thwarted numerous times. It was as if they knew we were coming and removed the item well in advance."

"Like when you were ambushed before?"

"Yes," Kurama replied, his mind was racing through the ramifications. "I'll need to speak with Hiei and change our strategy."

Kagome pursed her lips, then ventured, "So your mission is to get back this stolen mirror before it can do more harm?"

His surprise over the question quickly turned to chagrin. She knows so much already; she may as well know it all. Kurama shook his head and replied, "Not quite. I'm not trying to steal the mirror back; I'm going to steal it."

- 23 -
Trade Secrets

"I need to tell you something unpleasant."

"Erm... okay."

"I am—or rather Youko Kurama is—an infamous criminal."

"Mm-hmm."

"With good reason."

"Mm-hmm."

"I've committed countless crimes... taken many lives. Mercilessly."

"I see."

"Higurashi-chan, you seem... calm?"

"Well, I kind of guessed that much. You told me there was a bounty on your head, remember?"

"So I did."

"You know, when I was in the past, I killed dozens of youkai."

"To defend yourself?"

"Yes."

"That's different."

"And let's not forget that because I shattered the Shikon no Tama, hundreds... no, thousands of lives were lost."

"You were indirectly responsible, perhaps... but I'm dangerous."

"To me... my family?"

"Never!"

"To human society... innocent people?"

"Of course not."

"Then I won't have to take you out!"

"I... wait, what?"

"You heard me."

"A token threat doesn't really..."

"I wasn't kidding."

"Higurashi-chan, I seriously doubt you would be a match for me."

"Then you're seriously underestimating me."

"...My past doesn't bother you?"

"I didn't know you in the past."

"But...?"

"Kurama!"

"Yes?"

"We're friends. Nothing can change that!"

"I apologize."

"For what?"

"Underestimating you."

- 24 -
Appraised Value

"So you're sort of like a cat burglar?"

"As a kitsune, I must take exception with your choice in terms."

"Do you like 'tomb raider' better?"

"Not especially," Kurama replied with a pained expression.

"Do you know how to pick pockets?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Child's play," he replied offhandedly.

"Can you get past modern security systems?"

"So far," the redhead admitted. "Doesn't it make you even a little nervous, harboring a thief?"

She laughed and pointed out, "I don't have anything you want to steal."

He propped his chin on his palm, a speculative look in his vibrant green eyes. "Are you so sure?"

Kagome gazed around the room as if assessing the worth of all the Higurashi household's worldly goods. Shaking her head, she announced, "Not unless you've become sentimentally attached to one of Grandpa's odd knickknacks? I'm sure he'd part with one of our token relics if you asked him."

Kurama shook his head with a wry chuckle. "You may consider yourself safe. Some things cannot be stolen, even by a thief of my caliber."

"Does that mean you do want something?" she asked, having caught the hint of wistfulness in his inflection.

Yes and no. As a thief, a broad streak of greed ran through his nature, however, he was also in a position to know the worth of the gift he'd already been given. A human friend who comprehended the enormity of his sins and did not flinch away—this was priceless. More? He vividly recalled the way Kagome had greeted him on the night she'd mistaken him for her hanyou. More was currently out of his reach. "Only what you're willing to give," he quietly replied.

End Note: These three drabbles were written for the Live Journal community fanfic(underscore)bakeoff and their Secret Ingredient for June 2010—Token. The drabbles are 292, 181, and 280 words respectively. This month, double points were offered to those who posted drabbles that were dialogue-only. That's why Chapter 23 is what it is. Posted on June 12, 2010.