On my way down the stairs to fetch Hiei something to eat, I heard mother talking to someone outside. I heard a girl's voice mention a fox and leaned out the door to see who was there. I saw Rei and Yamato Himura from school in the yard. Yamato-chan was talking to mother and explaining what happened and why they were there while Rei-chan was trying to coax the fox out from under my rose bush. When Rei-chan finally coaxed the fox out from under the bushes I noticed it was just a kit and ran to her.
"Where did you find him?" I asked her. She told me she had discovered him all alone under a trash can and he started to rub up against my chest.
"He likes, you Suuichi," Rei-chan told me. As I took the baby into my arms I noticed he was hurt, and suggested the girls come inside so I could tend to his wounds. Rei walked in beside me, but her sister seemed very nervous to enter the house, tripping over her own feet and smiling awkwardly.
I retrieved some medicine and bandages from the bathroom, along with a salve of my own creation and sat in the living room to repair the kit's injuries. Feeling a strong connection to the somewhat distant relative I was holding in my lap, I all but forgot I had left Hiei waiting for me upstairs.
The scent of the female fox on the kit was still very strong, and as I held him to me, the pheromones began to drive me wild. Even a mortal fox's odor was effecting me, and the urges I had been suppressing since puberty in this human body were becoming uncontrollable this year. I winced, it was difficult to maintain pleasant conversation feeling the way I did.
Hiei's POV-
Kurama had gone downstairs to get something to eat and drink. He told me he'd be back in a couple of minutes but after a small eternity of waiting he still hadn't returned. Getting frustrated, I went and waited at the top of the stairs to see what was taking him so long. To my disgust though, he was in no way getting me anything to eat, but rather sitting contentedly in his living room with two human girls. How, in the condition he was in, could that fox still find time to flirt.
"Baka kitsune..."
I felt somewhat annoyed, but even so, all the while I could feel Kurama's spirit fluctuating wildly. I turned and sat against the wall of the hallway, out of sight, and sighed. There was only one way to alleviate the primal instinct he had to breed, and that was a task I could not perform. Wrong species and wrong gender to ease his torment...
Rei's POV-
I heard him wince as he was tending to Tenshi's wound.
"Is something wrong, Suuichi?" He blushed.
"No, I'm all right," he told me.
"You don't lie well, Suuichi," I told him as Suuichi's mother came in with tea. I looked to Yami who stood there awkwardly, staring at Suuichi and told her sit down. I pulled her down and she continued to stare at him. "Yami, close your mouth, you look silly with it open," I told her as she snapped back to reality.
"G-gomen," she apologized.
Suuichi finished fixing Tenshi's wound as the kit laid on his lap and napped. Mrs. Minamino told him she was going to the store and that she would be back soon and he nodded. When she had left, I saw a flash of black out of the corner of my eye and suddenly there was a boy standing next to Suuichi.
"Kurama, what happened? What is taking you so long?" he commanded. The look on Suuichi's face said that he knew he forgot about someone and handed Tenshi back to me. He quickly turned around to face the dark haired boy that looked to be about my height.
"Gomen Hiei, I heard mother talking to a couple of classmates who had found an injured kit and I offered to help them," he told him as he touched his face gently. Yami looked just as shocked as I did to see this display of affection.
"Kurama, who are these people?" he asked Suuichi.
"Hiei, these are my school mates. The one holding the kit is Rei-chan and this is her sister Yamato-chan. Ladies, this is my lover Hiei," he said, introducing us.
"Hn," was all he could say.
"Hiei, don't be so rude" he told him.
"You're the boy who always waits for Suuichi after school!" Yami exclaimed suddenly, pointing at him. "You two are lovers!?" She looked about ready to burst, she's obsessed with shounen-ai couples and appeared to have hit the jackpot.
"Tell them to stop calling you that Kurama, I hate that name..." He said, glaring at my sister.
"Hiei's a bit antisocial..." Suuichi said, apologizing for his partner's rudeness.
"Why does he keep calling you Kurama?" I questioned, looking over the boy who stood protectively over our school mate and continued to glare hostily at us.
Suuichi looked back and forth at us for a moment, his mouth slightly open, apparently not knowing what to say.
"Hiei, could I speak with you for a moment?" He said, standing. "Excuse me, girls." Suuichi pulled him into the hallway and Yami and I were left wondering what was going on.
Yami's POV-
Though I knew it was wrong, that dark haired boy was of too much interest to me not to pass up listening in on their conversation. I couldn't believe, after all the thought I had put into wondering who Kurama's strange friend was, I had never considered the fact that he was hiding a romance from the other students!
I rose from my chair, sneaking quietly towards the hall.
"Yami, what are you doing?" Rei asked, petting Tenshi gently while she held him in her lap. I held up my finger to shush her and she shook her head, sighing. She probably figured I would be getting myself into trouble again, I was too curious for my own good.
I paused by the edge of the room and nearly held my breath to hear what they were saying, they were keeping their voices so low, I had to concentrate as much as I could to make out the words.
"Why did you come down here, I asked you to wait," came Suuichi's voice.
"You forgot about me, I'm hungry."
"Well now you've raised questions that I won't be able to answer, I go to school with these girls, it's not as if I'll never see them again."
"Adolescent females, just lie to them. They'll never know the difference."
I blinked, what a little jerk! Talking down to us like that... I would have been angrier if I hadn't been so intent on eavesdropping.
"I lie enough as it is, it pains me to have to keep up false tendencies with everyone I meet, especially to my own mother."
"You're the one who blurted out we were lovers, why are you getting angry at me." That last statement came out as more of an accusation than a question. What were they talking about? Why was Suuichi acting like his whole life was a lie, did he have some secret he kept from everyone?
"I'm not thinking straight, you can obviously tell that." Suuichi sighed and I could hear him sink down against the wall and come to rest on the floor. "What a mess I've gotten myself in to... My hormones are raging, I can barely concentrate on what I'm saying, it just keeps getting worse. My spirit's instincts mixing with my human blood is driving my body insane, I've been walking around school with my books over my groin for the past week hoping no one will notice."
Now I was really interested, what on earth was Suuichi talking about!? It sounded like the calm, straight A student I thought I knew was actually some kind of sex maniac.
"I want to help... But at least you can find comfort knowing it will go away in a few months."
"And then next year will be even worse.... I need to get it out of my system now. Perhaps Koenma would bid me leave to the Makai so I could find someone, anyone to mate with. I'm not picky at the moment."
"Hn..." There was a pause.
"What are you staring at?" I heard Suuichi ask.
"You really are a mess right now, aren't you."
"What?"
"You haven't realized one of those ningen girls has been listening the whole time?"
Uh oh... How did that little guy know I was there!? Suuichi shot around the corner and gaped down at me. I stood and bit my lip nervously. I had the bad feeling that when I thought I had only been innocently eavesdropping, I had actually been hearing something extremely private that no one but the dark haired boy was meant to hear. I had probably offended Suuichi beyond ever liking me, now...
"Hiei, why didn't you say something before letting me carry on like that!"
"I didn't think it was of any consequence."
Suuichi shook his head and held his face in his hands for a moment, trying to regain his composure. He ran his fingers back through his hair and looked at my sister and I firmly.
"I can see no way out of this, so you must promise to keep what I am about to tell you to yourselves."
Shiori's POV-
As I carried the groceries home from my quick trip to the convenience store, I thought of Suuichi and the pained look that had been on his face all day. I would expect him to be happy to see friends from school, but then again, he wasn't like other boys. Instead he appeared distant, uncomfortable. I wished I knew what was plaguing my son, and prayed he would be able to handle it while leaving me out of the loop.
He knew that I knew he had something to hide, yet be never speak of it. I love him too much to probe, and I suspects he loves me too much to hurt me with the truth. It's hard for a mother to know there are secrets her child can't tell her, but all I can do is wait, I suppose.
As I stepped up on the front step of our house, I saw a tall boy and young girl standing on the corner talking. I recognized them as Suuichi's friends, perhaps we were having more visitors? When I entered the house, Suuichi was looking tense, and that dark friend of his was there in the living room. I was shocked to say the least, to see the impish face I had caught in the corner of my eye so many times, whole before me. What had happened while I was gone? My son shot me an urgent glance, and I could almost hear him begging, 'No questions, mother, please.' I nodded and accepted, silently going to the kitchen to put the groceries away, I don't think the girls even noticed me, although I know the black haired boy did. I wonder what he thought of me, knowing I had finally caught him in the flesh.
Kurama's POV-
I informed the girls that what I was about to the them they had to keep to themselves, and they agreed. Hiei gave me a doubting look as I led them outside so mother wouldn't hear what I had to say. I feel bad for keeping secrets from her but it would kill her to know that I'm a demon in a human body.
When I had their word that they would not say anything to anyone I started my story. I drew in a deep breath and began. "Sixteen years ago I came to Earth with what was left of my spirit energy after I had become injured during a botched burglary. I was a fox spirit, and a thief by trade. I became a human son to my mother Shiori, my human father died years ago. My other name is Kurama, that is what Hiei calls me along with Yusuke Urameshi and his friend Kuwabara, whom you already know by infamy I'm sure. My mother doesn't even know about this and she is to never know. Is that perfectly understood? The only other human I have trusted with this information is Yusuke, and now you girls know as well, please do NOT tell anyone," I begged them.
Rei-chan nodded that she would keep my secret and we both looked to her sister for an answer.
"I-I promise," she stammered.
I nodded my thanks and went back inside. "Suuichi?" I heard Rei-chan call to me. I turned around to face her.
"Thank you for your help with Tenshi, I hope you don't mind if I bring him by to visit sometime. He took a liking to you," she told me. "I would love that" I told her as I headed through the door and the girls made their departure, obviously shaken.
Rei's POV-
Suuichi made us swear we would never reveal his secret and we agreed. He started his story and I felt my jaw drop at everything he had to say. I couldn't believe our lovable straight A student was a spirit demon who had been covering his true identity for sixteen years as a human. I'm not sure how Yami took it, but I know I was surprised.
As he finished his story he could see how shocked we were. As he turned and walk into the house I called out to him. "Suuichi, wait."
He turned around and looked at me. "Hai?" he asked.
"I wanted to thank you for tending to Tenshi. I was wondering if it was okay with you if I brought him over sometime. He really likes you and I don't want him to feel so lonely," I told him. He nodded and went inside.
I pulled Yami along to go home as Tenshi whine for Suuichi, missing him already.
"Shh, baby; it's all right. We'll come back soon so you can visit with him," I told the baby fox as I hugged him close to me. I turned again to see Suuichi looking out the window at us sadly. I nodded to him to reassure him his secret was safe and he left the window when he knew it was okay to do so.
Hiei's POV-
I think I surprised Kurama with the fact that I knew one of those ningen girls was listening to our conversation. His natural sensory abilities were suffering badly, he couldn't even smell a presence merely a meter away.
When he started talking to them to tell them his biggest secret I gave him a doubting look. As far as I knew, Yusuke was the only resident of this world that knew of Kurama's past, and though ningen, he had honor. What did these girls know of true loyalty? He assured me, though, that it was okay and that he could trust these ningens with his secret. I hoped his ability to judge character was not suffering as well...
His mother returned from the store suddenly and caught me standing next to her son. Kurama gave her a look that begged her not to ask any questions about why I was there or what was going on. I could see the surprise on her features but really didn't care. I know she's seen me walking with him and she probably cannot figure out where I go when he walks in the front door. I think she was astonished to see me there, actually, her so called 'good spirit'. I'd read her mind on occasion when I was sure she had seen me, to unravel the mystery of why my fox adored this woman the way he did. Never knowing my own mother, perhaps that type of love is beyond me....
But I accepted her, I had no choice. I didn't question her either seeing how it was her house, and even I know to respect someone when in their territory. She is allowing Kurama to share her home until he is old enough to leave and that's not long at all, I can wait a few more years... I think.
Kurama stepped back inside and I was trying to figure out if these girls could truly be trusted when I saw him look out the window at them, almost longingly. When he got a sign of approval from one of them he stepped away from the window and brought me back upstairs to avoid answering his mother's questions. He sat down on the bed, and I could tell he was distraught... but what bothered me most was, after all that, he still hadn't remembered to feed me!
Kuwabara's POV-
"I hope Kurama's home..." I mumbled. Then something started to bother me, as I got closer to his house, I started to feel these weird energy fluctuations, like something was going haywire. I was so focused on the crazy signals that I didn't even notice Keiko standing right next to me for like, five minutes.
"Kuwabara! Hello!" She waved her hand in front of my face and I snapped back to reality.
"Woah! Hey Keiko, sorry about that," I said, feeling kind of stupid for staring off into nowhere like that.
"It's ok," she said, smiling. Yusuke's girlfriend, she's pretty cute, but don't even think I like her or anything. Yukina is the ONLY girl for me, and besides, Yusuke'd kick my ass if he thought I was flirting with Keiko! We're just friends, so nobody had better get any funny ideas...
"You looked pretty spaced out just now," she said. "Are you getting one of your feelings again?"
"Yeah..." I said, looking over at Kurama's house again. "Something's up."
"Yusuke just told me the same thing over the phone, he's coming back from Genkai's already and meeting me at Kurama's house."
"That's where I was headed!" I said. So I was right, something WAS wrong with Kurama. But he's tough, even though he is kind of girly sometimes... Just don't tell him I said that. So what could possibly be wrong with Kurama?
"Well let's go together then," I said. "There are some crazy drivers out today, and it's my job as the great Kazuma Kuwabara to protect a girl in need!" I shouted, but when I held out my arm for her to grab on to, Keiko was already halfway down the sidewalk!
"Hey, Keiko, wait up!!"
