Kurama sat in Yusuke's room.
"Here." Yusuke said as he handed Kurama a soda.
"Thanks." Kurama said and looked up to grab the soda.
Yusuke met his gaze and burst out in a new fit of laughter.
Kruama sighed and sipped the soda.
He was suprised they had made it back to Yusuke's house so quick. The detective kept breaking out laughing when his side-watching gaze fell upon the ears twitching on Kurama's head or the tail waving behind him. Especially the tail.
Kurama sighed again and touched the cold of the can to his forehead.
He felt awful.
"So, you gonna tell me what happen now?" Yusuke said and when Kurama looked up, he was glad to see the detective only break out in a lopsided grin as his eyes settled on Kurama. It was a start.
"What happened?" Kurama echoed and Yusuke nodded. Kurama closed his eyes and drank his soda. "I don't know."
"What?!"
"I don't know." Kurama confirmed. "I came upon Hiei casting some sort of spell...and then...." Kurama shrugged. He didn't elaborate on the pulsing darkness of that spell, the way it had surrounded both himself and Hiei like a living thing.
"But Hiei didn't get...he he...a tail."
One of Kurama's ears twitched. "I see." he said, trying to keep his voice pleasant. What had happened to the fire demon? Yusuke said he had left as soon as he woke. Was Hiei really OK?
"Sorry, Kurama." Yusuke said, but he was still chuckling.
Kurama just sighed. "It is probably just temporary. A side effect. There was a tremendous amount of youki in whatever spell Hiei cast. It must have brought my demon aspects to the surface."
"Yeah. Scary demon aspects like a bushy tale and little...he he he....ears."
Kurama sipped his soda and said ears twitched.
That's when Yusuke suprised him and said something very seriously. "What if it isn't temporary?"
Kurama looked out the window. He didn't answer.
"Hey, Kurama. You can stay here if you want."
"Stay?" Kurama said, looking back curiously at Yusuke.
Yusuke nodded and he looked surprised that the thought hadn't occurred to the fox. "Yeah. You can't go home like that...can you?"
Kurama let a moment pass before he replied. "No. I guess I can't." he said and thought about his mother. He would have to call her. She would wonder where he was when she found his bed empty in the morning. He would come up with an excuse. He always did. "Thank you, Yusuke." he said.
When he looked up, the Spirit Detective, for once, wasn't laughing. He had been watching the fox's face and the thoughts that had been as transparent there as day.
...to be continued..