Chapter 13: The Fox's truth

Solaris: Late merry Christmas! Here's more of the insanity that is my story.

Kurama: Neither Solaris nor Foxglove owns YYH. Speaking of her, where is she?

Foxglove: *muffled sounds issue from nearby closet * SOLARIS! LET ME OUT OF HERE NOW! I'M WARNING YOU…

Kurama: So that's where she is. Solaris, explain yourself.

Solaris: Eh-heh-heh-heh-heh… On with the fic!

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"Okay, explain this to me again. How the HECK am I a fox spirit? And you, Shuichi, how?" Rose questioned.

"Rose, you can call me Kurama, not Shuichi. Now you know, so you don't have to call me by my human name." Kurama said.

"Fine, then, Kurama, how did this happen?" Rose asked. Everyone sighed. They had arrived just as Kurama had begun to explain.

"You are the reincarnation of Thorne, a kitsune thief. She was killed by her partner, Lexi, who is obviously Yuni's former incarnation. There's the easiest explanation I can give." Kurama explained patiently.

"Prove it." Rose said simply.

"How can you resist killing that stubborn woman, Kurama?" Hiei said.

"Must take a lot of patience." Yusuke nodded.

"Remember that time I found you in the forest? How you explained that you'd woken up there that morning?" Kurama said patiently. Rose nodded. She knew what a pain she was being, but she couldn't believe all this. She knew she'd been strange as a child, but she had never attributed it to this. "I had seen you by the river the previous night in your fox form. Youko came to talk to you, and you sort of snapped at him."

"Oh. I wondered why I was in the forest." Rose said sheepishly. "But it doesn't prove it!"

"Then how about this? You came by my house that same evening and for many afterwards. The only nights you didn't come were nights you were out of town or singing kareoke. You thought I didn't notice, but I did. And I have a witness. A certain Jaganshi who pretty much lives in my tree." Kurama stated. Rose looked over at Hiei, in open-mouthed shock. Hiei shrugged.

"Hn." (A/n: Translation: "So what? I have to be somewhere. Why not the tree?") Rose blinked, then laughed. Suddenly, her laugh turned into a gasp.

"I was watching you at night without even knowing? Oh my Lord, what have I done? What the HECK have I done? What the HECK was I THINKING!?" Rose cried, then ran to hit her head on a beam. Botan ran to stop her, but Kurama was quicker. He pulled her back by the shoulders and sat her down. Hiei walked up to her and turned his death glare onto her. She began to tremble. (A/n: When Hiei turns his death glare on, not even the toughest demon alive doesn't shake.)

"You were thinking he looked like Youko when he was asleep. And since he is Youko, you were partially right." Hiei said.

"Oh, God, I'm so gonna get BUSTED for STALKING!" Rose cried, then went to bash her head on the post again. (A/n: Aren't you getting tired of these? And I'd have put something in there that made her sound freaked out, but I've got to keep this G or PG at the most.) Kurama caught her again.

"Now hold on a minute. When did I say I was going to take you to the police? Answer: Never. So you're safe. See, this ought to turn out all right. Now, I just have to take you to see Koenma…" Kurama began.

"Uh, who? Never heard of the guy. Is he like some gang leader, 'cause if he is, you know, I have no desire to get wrapped up in a gang. Gangs and me are like oil and water. NO chance of us mixing in this lifetime." Rose declared.

"No, Koenma is the ruler of the Spirit World, and our boss. He's… well, you'll see when you get there." Yusuke said. Kuwabara had remained silent this whole time, and he finally spoke up.

"He won't kill you, if that's what you're worried about." he said offhandedly.

"Well, if you're sure I ain't going to die. I'm ready to go whenever." Rose sighed. Kurama smiled reassuringly at her, and nodded to Botan, who readied a portal. There was no way in Reikai, Makai, or Ningenkai that all 6 of them would fit on the oar. And it just made life easier.

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Solaris: Whew! The first chapter since Rose met Kurama that I can actually use his more familiar name instead of the human name. Thank God.

Foxglove: SOLARIS! WHEN I CATCH YOU…

Solaris: Hey, you're out of the closet. If you hadn't dissed Inuyasha, you wouldn't have been in this mess.

Kurama: I thought you said she was in there looking for a coat and she accidentally got locked in there.

Solaris: Uh-oh. Bye for now, readers!