Chapter Three- Cure Search

"Yusuke?" Keiko asked as she knocked on the bathroom door, a bag and Yusuke's hairbrush in the other hand.

"Come in," came the unfamiliar voice.

Keiko opened the door, entered, closed it, and stared at the teen girl sitting on the toilet lid and wearing a bathrobe. "Oh, Yusuke. You're actually beautiful."

"I know," was the soft reply. "But it just isn't me, Keiko."

"Of course it isn't." She put the bag down and unzipped it. "I've got pants, socks, shirts, panties, and a bra which might be a bit small."

"It should do until we get the right size, right?"

Keiko looked at her. "Kurama didn't tell you? We're going to search that house to find a way to turn you back."

"I don't know. I feel I looked pretty thoroughly before."

"It can't hurt to double check." Keiko headed for the door. "Go ahead and get dressed." She left the room and Yusuke looked in the bag. It was just as Keiko had said and there was a brand-new deodorant in there too. She sighed as she removed the robe and her underwear.

She emerged some time later in a pair of blue jeans, a sky blue shirt, and sneakers. Her long hair was held back with a ponytail holder she had also found in the bag. She was holding said bag and said, "We'll leave this at the door and I'll wash what I'm wearing before returning them."

"I know you will," Keiko said as Kurama led his girlfriend out the door and she followed.

It felt like déjà vu for Yusuke as she faced the run-down house, only this time she was a girl and had two companions with her. They entered the house and Yusuke led them to the basement with a flashlight in hand. She switched it on and shined it around the room. Her jaw dropped.

The tables were again full of filled beakers and tubes. How did they fill the table with more solutions so quickly? It seems impossible and yet I can't deny what I'm seeing.

"The creators work fast," Kurama commented.

Yusuke nodded as she approached a table. Her eyes swept the full containers, wondering if one of them was an antidote. She didn't dare sample any in case they transformed her into a hideous monster. "I wish we could confront one of the ones who made these."

"Consider it granted," came a rasping voice she recognized. She and the others whirled around to see a figure at least Kurama's height with scaly red skin, clawed hands, a lizard's tail, and a reptilian head. A white lab coat covered the hooded sweatshirt and pants. A pair of sneakers covered his feet. It was clear the demon did not have to hide his appearance now.

"You?" Yusuke gasped. "You made all these and made me a girl? Why?"

"I lured you here as a test subject. The liquids you and I disposed of was simply colored water, save for the one I threw on you."

"And I assume these are the real things?" Yusuke gestured at the tables.

"They are."

Yusuke seized him by the coat. "All right, pal. Which one is the antidote?"

"Antidote?" The demon laughed. "Yusuke, each solution is meant to permanently change the subject."

"Perhaps you could provide the recipe for the one you used on Yusuke. I may be able to devise an antidote for it," Kurama requested.

"I could but the ingredients are rare and thus the ones needed to reverse it are either rare or extinct."

"Regardless, I insist on a copy."

"Of course." He moved past the group once Yusuke released him. He gingerly moved beakers aside and said, "Ah, here we are." Yusuke saw a glint of glass and shoved her friend and boyfriend sideways as the demon swung an arm and the contents of the tube hit the floor harmlessly.

"You trickster!" Yusuke growled. "You were gonna change Keiko and Kurama too!?"

"I really just wanted the girl to find out if it would change a girl into a boy."

Yusuke clenched a fist and it glowed as her anger grew. She charged forward and slammed her fist into the demon's gut. He gasped from the force and flew through the air before smashing through the brick wall and landing on the ground outside. Yusuke smirked. I haven't lost my strength. Good to know.

While Yusuke admired her handiwork, Kurama went to the table the demon had been at to see sheaves of papers and snatched them up. Hopefully, a cure can be made, despite claims of its permanency. He tucked the papers away and nearly jumped when Yusuke screamed, "You're going to pay big time, pal! Your passport to Human World is gonna get revoked!"

Kurama face-palmed. "Yusuke, demons don't use passports to come here," he said as he and Keiko joined her outside where she had crouched in front of her attacker and had him by his coat. He didn't respond to her as he was unconscious; when he hit the wall he struck it hard enough to knock him out.

"I don't care," she snapped. "He screws up my life just because he likes to play God."

Kurama sighed. And there goes Yusuke being dramatic; more so as she is a girl now. "If the solution ingredients are as rare as he claims, destroying them would insure he cannot disrupt anyone else's life."

Yusuke stood and faced Kurama with a grim smile. "Yeah, you're right.." She brought her hand up, aimed her finger, and fired a blast that demolished the house. "Well, that's that and no recipe for the potion."

"Actually, I have them right here." Kurama patted his jacket pocket.

"You do? So, you'll be able to make an antidote?"

"I will certainly try, but first I will need to look the papers over."

"Of course."

"While you do that, I'll take Yusuke shopping," Keiko announced. "She needs her own clothes before she goes to work."

Yusuke grimaced as Keiko dragged her off. She never liked shopping and that certainly wasn't going to change just because she was a girl. I know some girls don't like shopping either. It's just I end up with a friend who enjoys it. Their first stop was a store for undergarments. It was, for now, only one bra and a couple of panties. She smiled slightly as they left. "That feels better. I can breathe easier."

"Not my fault you have a bigger chest," Keiko said in a low voice.

"Of course. Keiko, I will not wear a skirt or a dress for work."

"I know. I had a feeling you wouldn't." She led the way to a clothing store and helped Yusuke pick out clothes for work. She settled on black jeans, a green shirt, socks, and black sneakers. Keiko paid for them while Yusuke changed clothes in the changing room.

"Keiko, thanks for the help," Yusuke said as she fished her shop key out of her pocket.

"You're welcome. I'd love to go shopping again if there's no antidote."

"Sure," Yusuke answered neutrally. She didn't think another trip would be necessary as she had full confidence in Kurama being able to make a cure.

Kurama's eyes read the ingredients and then wrote the item to counter it. Once done, he looked over the list. He had initially looked at the other papers. They contained theories, diagrams of human or demon anatomy, and potion recipes. The recipes involved turning humans into demons, demons into humans, creating hybrids, or making demons or humans act like the other race. Good thing I took these papers. I will not allow anyone to use them like what happened to Yusuke. Hmm, the counter ingredients are just as the demon said: They are rare or extinct. I will not be able to make an antidote. Yusuke is female from now on. She is not going to like this and I will need to tell Mother about this and explain more than I had intended. He sighed as he stored the papers carefully and left the room.