Summary: The story of Kurama's life, from just before his rebirth as Shuuichi Minamino to his encounter with Yuusuke.

Warnings: Knowledge of Yu Yu Hakusho preferable. Rated for language and some adult content.

Author's Notes: The word "yuugou" refers to the blending of two separate entities. Kurama himself used the word to refer to his situation (comic #10, page 10). "Hakusho" literally means "blank pages," and is used to refer to a journal or diary. Japanese vocabulary can be found at the end of the fic.

Part II

His parents, the relatives, and the neighbors made such a big deal about his sudden and perfect speech that Kurama decided it was best to not reveal that he could read the newspaper if he so desired. He did not need the attention drawn to himself, so it would be best to simply function at the higher end of abilities for children Shuuichi's age. He also continued to be a quiet child, speaking only when addressed directly. Nevertheless, it was eventually known throughout the neighborhood that the Minamino boy was a genius.

Thus, the following spring, he was enrolled in a pre-school for gifted children. His parents hoped that he would find the experience exciting and challenging, and that he would finally make some friends.

Kurama hated it.

He was now forced to spend several hours a day with loud, rambunctious children, drawing pictures and singing silly songs with silly adults. By the time they were four years old, many demon races would already have been functioning as adults for several years. But human children were slow and uncoordinated and fragile.

"How was your day, Shuuichi?" his mother asked as he got off of the pre-school bus.

"Good," he lied, "We learned a new song and planted morning glory seeds."

Actually, the planting part of the day had not been that bad. It had felt good to be handling the seeds, even if he could not encourage them to spring instantly into a tall, crawling vine covered with wide magenta and white bugles. He had recovered about half of the demon energy he required to be able to function effectively, so he had been tempted to manipulate the seeds, but had restrained himself.

"I'm so pleased you're enjoying school," his mother smiled at him and took his hand, "I'm sure you're making many friends," she added hopefully.

"Sure," Kurama lied again.

"Is there anyone you'd like to invite over for a play date?"

"Not particularly."

"Oh, well maybe eventually," she sounded disappointed. They walked on in silence for a while. Then, his mother said, "Mrs. Nakata asked me to stop by. Would you mind if we did that now, Shuuichi? It won't take too long."

Nakata, the house where that very old man lived. Kurama had noticed the man staring at him from the porch several times. It had made him somewhat nervous.

"I don't mind," he lied once more.

So they ended up at the front door of the Nakata residence. A plump woman with short, curly hair answered the door.

"Shiori-san, and Shuuichi-kun, too! My, how adorable you look in your uniform!" the woman patted Kurama on top of the head. "Do come in!"

"Thank you, Ayumi-san," his mother said, and stepped into the proffered slippers. There were no slippers his size, so Kurama walked into the home in his socks.

They were led into the living area. Mrs. Nakata served them juice and cookies, then brought out a package and an album.

"My in-laws sent us a whole box of soba noodles, so I wanted to share them with you," she said, "and I finally developed the pictures you wanted to see."

"Oh, from your trip?"

Sensing that the visit could be longer than anticipated, Kurama wandered over to the open glass door and looked into the small yard.

"Shuuichi-kun, you can go ahead and look outside. Our cat is probably sunning himself out there."

"Thank you," Kurama responded, and stepped into the sandals sitting outside the door. They were too large, so he shuffled awkwardly out into the yard. He wasn't particularly interested in seeing the cat, so he stood under the plum tree and looked up at the sparsely blossoming tree. The tree wasn't entirely healthy. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to sense the tree's problem.

And he smelled death.

Kurama whirled around and saw the old man sitting on the tatami room patio. His grayish skin lay in deep folds across his hands and face, and the rest of his body was shrouded in an old kimono. He didn't move, and if his eyes hadn't been open and clear, Kurama would have thought that the man was already dead.

"What are you doing here?" the old man croaked out slowly.

"I was admiring the flowers," Kurama answered equally slowly.

"No, what are you doing here, spirit? Were you sent to get me?"

Kurama's breath stopped. He knew that some human's had a sixth sense. Or perhaps it was lucidity brought on by the nearness of death.

"I am not here for you..." he finally said. He took a step closer to the old man. He was curious. "What do you see?"

The old man squinted at him. "I see... energy...wild energy..." his eyes widened, "You are a demon child!" He struggled to stand, panicked. "You're taking me to hell!"

Kurama grabbed him by the kimono, trying to quiet him. If they hear... He didn't want to create a scene. There were already enough people talking about him regularly.

"Listen to me," he hissed, "I'm not here to hurt you." The old man continued to struggle.

In desperation, Kurama sent out his energy. He pointed to the plum tree and forced the man to look at it. The man gasped as the branches erupted in white blossoms. A sweet scent filled the air.

The old man stopped struggling and looked down at the boy in amazement. "You did that?"

"I'm not here to hurt you," Kurama repeated firmly, slowly releasing the man. A wave of weariness hit him. He wasn't yet ready to expend energy like that.

"Beautiful..." the old man sighed, his eyes becoming misty. "My wife loved that tree... Oh, Shima, I'm coming to join you..."

Slowly, the man's eyes closed, and Kurama felt the soul leave the body. He stood there for several heartbeats, looking at the body that was still sitting upright. Then he turned away and walked back to the glass door and entered the house.

"Oh, Shuuichi, I was just coming to get you. Did you get to visit with the cat?" his mother asked.

"No." He looked at Mrs. Nakata for a moment, then asked his mother, "Are we leaving?"

"Yes, let us go."

Later, back on the street with his mother holding his hand once more, he stated, "I met the old man."

"Oh, Mr. Nakata's grandfather? He used to be an artist when he was younger, I heard. He's quite old now."

"Yes, he was," Kurama responded. His mother looked down at him in puzzlement, then decided that she had misheard him. But when she learned the following day that the elderly Mr. Nakata had passed away, she remembered Shuuichi's words and felt a brief chill in her heart. She was afraid to ask, but she wanted to be certain.

"Shuuichi," she approached her son who, she noted with surprise, was looking through a book on botany. The book was opened to the section on plum trees. This boy never ceases to amaze me.

"Yes, Okaasan?"

"Umm, do you remember Mr. Nakata's grandfather?"

"Of course, I just met him yesterday." Despite herself, she smiled at his response.

"Well, he passed away yesterday..." she said hesitantly.

"I know."

She stared at her four-year-old son for a long moment. "Do you understand what that means?"

"His soul is no longer in his body."

She continued to stare at him, eyes widening. Then she realized something. "Wait, Shuuichi, do you mean that you know because someone told you before I just did?"

"No, he died while I was with him."

She cringed as he used the word "died," then felt the full force of the shocking words. "While you were with him? How...? What....? Why didn't you say something then?"

"He was already dead. He couldn't be revived." Kurama couldn't understand why the woman had such a horrified look on her face. He knew that all humans and most demon races didn't have the ability to possess another body after losing their original one. His race was one of the few exceptions. So there was nothing left to do once the old man's soul left the body.

For the first time, Shiori regretted her son's brilliantly analytical mind. She recalled the times she thought she had seen a coldness in his infant eyes and shuddered. And later that week as she attended the wake at the Nakata residence, she noticed the full plum tree that had been looking somewhat sickly for a few years. Her mind flashed back to an image of Shuuichi reading about plum trees, and she shuddered again without knowing why.

Shiori rested her hands against the low fence as she chatted with the woman next door. Her son was late again, so she had come outside to see if she could see him coming down the street.

"Your yard always looks so beautiful, Shiori-san. You must work so hard on it," admired Mrs. Watanabe.

"Actually, I don't do a thing. It seems to take care of itself," Shiori responded. "My son spends more time out here than I do," she added.

"Maybe he'll be a gardener when he grows up," the other woman suggested. "Although he's so bright. Maybe he'll be a doctor. He just started first grade, right?"

"Yes, he takes the train by himself now, although it's just the next stop over," and yet, he's been coming home later than expected, she added silently.

Shuuichi continued to be an enigma. His preschool and kindergarten teachers all said that he was a bright, well-behaved, friendly, and polite little boy who learned things the first time he was taught them. He played well with the other students, never showed anger, and was exceptionally calm. The teachers couldn't seem to praise him enough. Yet, Shiori knew how unusual these descriptions were for a child of Shuuichi's age. And there was the fact that he still did not socialize with children outside of the school setting.

"Shuuichi-kun isn't home yet? He must be hanging out with some classmates. I imagine he's very popular," Mrs. Watanabe commented.

Popular? Well, the teachers and the girls always seemed to love him, but some boys tended to resent him. And considering Shuuichi's own feelings towards his classmates, Shiori knew that her son was not socializing after school. So what did he do? Where did he go? He had given her reasonable excuses so far, but now, a month into the new school year, she was beginning to wonder about his after-school activities. What could a six-year-old boy be doing?

She decided to find out for herself.

The next day found her near the elementary school, hidden from view of the students as they came out of the front gates. She watched Shuuichi walk out alone and turn towards the train station. She followed him at what she decided would be a safe distance. When she saw him enter the crowded station, she hurried after him. She climbed up the steps, then realized that she didn't see her son. She turned around several times, worried. People shoved past her hurriedly.

"Were you looking for me, Okaasan?" a soft voice inquired.

Shiori turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Shuuchi step out of the shadows in a corner of the station.

"Shuuichi..." she began, uncertain of how to continue.

"I assume you came to pick me up?" the child stepped up to her and placed his small hand in hers.

"Umm, yes, I was on my way home from an errand..." then, since she had to ask, "How did you know I was here?"

The boy looked up at her briefly, then tugged her arm. "Let's go home."

Shiori sighed, then let him pull her among the crowd. She loved her fiercely independent and extremely intelligent son and trusted him to know how to take care of himself. She would simply have to learn to live with the fact that he was also a very private and secretive child. And she would have to let him be that way, as long as he remained healthy and seemed happy.

Kurama knew that his mother was not happy with his answer, or the lack of one. But she seemed to truly trust him and would not press him on the issue. He sighed. He was going to have to make more of an effort to act like a proper human son. The truth was, as soon as he had the freedom to commute to school alone, he had taken to haunting a few secluded parks. He needed to get away from humans and their bustling life and simply sit among bushes or in trees and just be by himself. Well, he would have to limit those escapes somewhat.

Four more years. I just have to be patient for four more years. Then he could leave his human parents and try to find a random portal back to the demon realm. Or, he could establish a territory here in the human realm for a few decades until he was closer to his original level of power. That would be the safest bet, since he would still be weak by demon standards in four years. In a while, his human flesh and blood would finish absorbing demon energy and he would hopefully be able to shapeshift again, thus allowing him to take on his original form. And though his energy would still be lower than before, if he could survive another century, he could potentially build his power back to what it had been. He would just have to remember to return to the demon realm before he became too powerful to pass through the portals.

"Shuuichi," his mother broke the silence after they got off at their stop, "why don't we go do something fun this weekend? Just the three of us."

"Okay. What will we do?"

"Well, how about the amusement park? The fast rides frighten me, but your father will ride with you, I'm sure."

"Amusement park?" he didn't sound very enthusiastic.

"Or someplace else. Is there something that you want to see or do?"

The boy pondered for a moment. "Well, are there any shrines dedicated to Inari around here?"

Shiori stopped in her tracks and turned towards her son. Then laughed softly. Oh, Shuuichi, my dear enigmatic son...

They ended up taking a trip to Mt. Takao for a day of hiking. After taking 2 trains and a crowded bus, Kurama was feeling extremely anti-social and cranky. He still hadn't gotten used to crowds of humans. But as he stepped off of the bus with his parents, he felt immediately charged. There's a demon here. He looked up at the mountain and stretched out his senses. He would need to mask his growing youki or risk an unwanted encounter.

"Look, Shuuichi, there's a little shrine right there. Do you want to go look at it?" his mother asked.

Kurama glanced over and noted the wards draped around the trees. "No," he responded, then added with a smile, "I want to begin our hike." He wouldn't be able to approach it without dealing with the wards, and although they looked like weak wards, he didn't think he had the strength yet to destroy them. And this shrine was for a minor deity he had no interest in.

"Shuuichi, Shiori," his father called, "the trail starts over here." He started to walk down the path, and the other two followed.

There were many hikers out since it was a warm, clear day. The Minamino family climbed at a relatively steady pace, stopping occasionally to admire flowers or the view spreading out below them. Kurama enjoyed the fresh air and exercise, but felt a little uneasy as he sensed the other demon presence growing stronger. However, it did not seem hostile or aware of his presence.

The family eventually reached a clearing that gave them a grand view. And Kurama felt the demon just meters away. Who was it, and why was it leaving the humans alone? His curiosity got the better of him, so while his parents were rummaging through a backpack in search of the camera and binoculars, Kurama slipped away among the trees. He followed the other youki to a dark cluster of bushes. He walked around the bushes and determined that there was a tunnel or cavern hidden beneath them. Whatever was in there was in hibernation.

He turned abruptly... and dodged something that was launched at him. He looked up into the tree in front of him, and the branches twisted to grab the imp that was seated on the lowest limb.

"Hey, what the..." the imp struggled against the bonds.

"I don't really appreciate being attacked from behind," Kurama stated flatly.

The imp's eyes went wide. "You see me, human?" An imp, with its minute size and weak level of energy, was generally imperceptible to the human eye.

Kurama ignored the question and asked his own. "What is sleeping in there?"

The eyes opened wider. "Uhh, my master sleeps in there. And he is not to be disturbed."

The branches twisted tighter as Kurama repeated his question.

"My master is a dragon," the imp finally coughed out.

A dragon? How did a dragon get past... Oh.

"Your master has been here for a very long time," Kurama stated. Since before the spirit world put up barriers between the demon and human realms... A dragon that old is probably sleeping on some impressive treasure... So tempting....

He heard his human name being called frantically. He looked back at the bushes, making up his mind.

"Go," he said, releasing the imp, "but never attack me again."

"Then don't come near my master!" the imp demanded. Kurama raised an eyebrow. He wasn't going to agree to that... but he would leave the dragon alone for now. Maybe in another century...

He turned as his parents came rushing through the trees. His mother swept him into a hug. "Here you are! You had us worried!" she scolded.

"I'm sorry," he said, then after tilting his head at her, he returned the hug.

His father looked around. "Who were you talking to, Shuuichi?"

"Nobody. I was here by myself."

"Why did you come over here?" his mother asked, still in a scolding tone.

"I just wanted to see what was here," Kurama replied, then smiling as if it were an afterthought, released his hold and started to walk back to the trail, "Did you find the camera? Shall we take a picture?"

His parents looked at each other, then his father shrugged and followed. His mother stood there for awhile longer, watching Shuuichi walk away, then sighed and followed as well.

Japanese Vocabulary for Part 2

Tatami - a woven mat

Okaasan - mother (honorific "o" can be removed for "mom")

Inari - deity often represented in the form of a fox

Youki - demon energy/aura