Chapter 2: Fox in the City

Kurama's mirth evaporated and was replaced by panic. He was in the Living World! Taking a few breaths, he tried to think, but everything swirled around him in a whirl and he was left more confused than when he'd started. The same thought drifted back; where was Kuronue? Kurama was sure he'd been beside him when he fell. "Maybe it's a one demon deal," the fox thought dismally. If that were the case, Kuronue would be back in Demon World, probably panicking just like he was. "Okay, I'm in Living World, Kuronue's in Demon World, and as far as I know I'm trapped. This is great."

Kurama shook his head and took another, more meaningful look at his surroundings. If he were to return to the Makai, he would have to be here to do it. There were trees to the north and east as far as he could see. To the west lie—the demon raised an eyebrow—a large structure that humans were crawling all over. Next to it were a few benches and a fenced in area that contained animals. Kurama knew then that he wouldn't go hungry in this world. To the south was grass and a large sand pit with a net stretched over it. Taking a closer look, the fox recognized several more humans playing with the ball he'd found earlier, hitting it back and forth over the net.

"Now that I've got some idea of this place it wouldn't hurt to look around."

He didn't want any more encounters with humans like the previous one and decided to stay off the ground, moving silently through the trees instead. Leaping from tree to tree he worked his way northwest, sticking to the higher branches so no one could see him from below. As the animal enclosure and benches drew closer, he slowed his speed so the animals wouldn't panic and alert the humans of his position. Kurama found an overhanging branch that would provide decent shelter and seated himself on it to observe the humans. From what he could tell, children were swarming the structure he'd seen earlier (which had turned out not to be solid, but made of many boards attached far enough apart so the children could climb on them). Older humans watched from the seats, which were almost directly below him, and occasionally an old human would wander out and grab a smaller human child and lead them away.

"What is this?"

Casting his gaze around, Kurama saw a sign stuck into the ground by the animals and shifted so he could read it. "North Tokyo Park and Petting Zoo. Please don't feed the animals." So this place was a "petting zoo". For a moment the demon wondered humorously if it was the creatures in the enclosure or the humans that he wasn't allowed to feed. "Kuronue will think I'm crazy when I tell him. Maybe we can make our own 'petting zoo'." Kurama snickered as he envisioned his friend driving a bunch of weak demons into a cage and poking them through the bars with a stick.

"Hey, move along, the park closed fifteen minutes ago! You can come back tomorrow!"

The fox jerked to attention as a human voice, dangerously close to his hiding place, yelled at the other humans down below. Looking down through the green foliage, he could see a human female herding the children off the wooden structure and telling them, as far as he could guess, that they should leave. There were groans and cries from the children, but the female was firm and continued to inform them they could come back the next day.

"Who made her boss?" the fox demon growled, briefly entertaining the idea of dropping in and telling her point blank that he was watching the humans and that they could stay as long as they wanted. He decided it wasn't worth giving away his position and instead he continued to observe as she forced them away, more aware than he cared to be of the fact that she was young and pretty.

"Okay, that's all of them," the girl sighed. "They always want to stay late, but park rules are park rules." She tucked a whistle back inside her sports jersey and flipped her hair over her shoulder before following the other humans from the area. Kurama watched her go for a little longer than he intended before pinching himself and returning to reality.

"More importantly, what am I going to do for the night?" the fox muttered to himself, taking a hasty glance at the quickly setting sun, already nearly invisible behind the trees. It was growing dark and cold a lot faster than it did in the Makai. "I've got to find some food," he groaned as his stomach gave a hungry rumble.

Dropping from the tree to the grass below, Kurama put his senses to work, hoping there was an abundance of wild animals in the area. Those in the enclosure had been taken away, much to his disappointment, and he knew trying to ambush passerby wouldn't help much either. His fox nose picked up the scent of rabbit, and he took off after it, forgetting all discretion and hunting skills in his hopes to catch something. The animal heard him coming from about 20 feet off and fled, darting around bushes and clumps of grass. It found its hole and dove inside, leaving the very disgruntled demon to sniff and search around for any traces left behind.

"This is stupid!" Youko snarled, growling a few other curses as well. He hit his head against a tree in disgust. "Stupid animal, I didn't want to eat you anyway!" The fox's stomach betrayed him as it rumbled again, and he flopped down alongside the park path. It was nearly dark by then, the only light from the moon rising in the east. Almost the only light. As if on cue, all the lamps along the path flickered to life, exposing Kurama and nearly scaring him to death.

"How do humans stand this?" the demon grumbled from the safety of the tree he'd jumped into when the lights flashed to life. He settled against the trunk and closed his eyes, allowing the day's events to fully play out in his mind. He paused the memory when he first saw his shadow, back in Demon World. Kuronue had been at his side, he remembered seeing him when he knelt down. "You should be here right now Kuronue. That way we could terrorize the humans together."

Kurama smirked at the thought of his friend chasing humans in circles and soon fell asleep, the smile still visible on his lips.

Something awoke the nervous fox just before dawn. Looking out over the park, he saw something he hadn't noticed the night before. A road ran along the southern border of the grassy field, and out on the road were—Kurama gasped and had to grab onto the branch below him—large metal cages of different sizes and shapes roaring along, abiding to no form of laws. These "cages" made such a racket the fox had to plug his ears and search out a different hiding place. Taking to the air, he flew over the road and beyond it into (he was unaware of this at the time, of course) central Tokyo. Large buildings rose up on both sides of him, and Kurama immediately knew he'd made a mistake.

"Where the heck am I now?" he asked nothing in particular. He hovered for a moment to watch the activity below. People bustled back and forth, unaware of anyone but themselves as they hurried to work. Cars were backed up everywhere, honking mercilessly, and the combined noise was almost deafening for a fox's sensitive ears. "I've got to get out of here." He continued over the city for a few minutes longer until the noise died down and he could hear himself think again.

"I change my mind; the Living World's not exciting after all."

Kurama landed gracefully on top of a three-story apartment building and returned to people watching. It seemed to be mostly younger humans on the streets in this part of town, and he recognized the same uniforms on them as the kids he'd scared the previous day. Taking a closer look at the sidewalk, Kurama's heart skipped as he recognized the girl from the previous day as well. She looked different in a uniform, and he would have missed her completely if not for her long red hair.

"What's she doing in a terrible place like this?"

What was he doing in a terrible place like this? Kurama watched as she was joined by two boys and started to walk faster to lose them. One of the boys stepped in front of her and caught her shoulders, and the fox realized with a sinking feeling in his gut that they weren't intending to keep her company. The other boy tugged her bag from her shoulder and began to rummage through it, dropping the contents on the ground. Though she fought bravely, the girl was no match for brute masculine strength and only succeeded in tiring herself. Disgusted, Kurama growled as he watched the boys triumphantly remove a smaller handbag and take off running in the opposite direction.

"I'm the only thief in this city," the demon growled with a trace of pride, and he dropped to a balcony on the second floor of the building, waiting for the kids to run underneath him. Just before they passed beneath the balcony, he leapt in front of them, and the foremost kid slammed into him.

"Get out of the way," the boy snapped as he shoved Kurama and tried to run by him. The other teen had frozen, watching and hoping his friend wouldn't notice if he ran off. With his leg Kurama tripped the kid as he hurried past and allowed him to slide a ways down the sidewalk before picking up the handbag in one hand and the kid by his collar in the other.

"Picking on other men is one thing," Kurama snarled, his face inches from his victim's, "but when you sink low enough to start roughing up women it's a completely different matter." A fair display of fangs followed this statement. Kurama could the blind fear in the boy's face and dropped him on the sidewalk. The delinquent scrambled to his feet and took off, not even waiting for his accomplice, who hurried after his without even a backward glance. "Worthless human fools."

The girl had gathered her belongings and was trying to replace them in her bag, which was beginning to split at its seams, when Kurama stepped up behind her. She saw his shadow on the walk and jumped around to face him. "Thank you," she said with a small bow, then noticed the appearance of the man standing before her and gasped, dropping her school bag in surprise. "Are those real," she pointed at his ears, "or are they just for show?"

Kurama groaned inwardly, once again having his ears be the first thing anyone noticed of him. He was growing sick of people always making a big deal of them; they didn't look that strange. In the Demon World, lots of demons had ears or other animal parts. "You're not in the Demon World," he reminded himself, "just trapped in a realm of complete idiots." Kurama felt a tug on one of his ears and snarled as he grabbed her hand and twisted it at her side, his claws digging into her flesh.

"Ouch, let go!" The girl tried to act tough despite the pressure the demon had on her wrist and returned his glare with equal fire. Her attitude caught the fox demon off guard, and he released her hand. "You are a demon then."

"Yes I am a demon then," Kurama mimicked before realizing he'd just given himself away and mentally kicked himself for being so stupid. He saw the girl's eyes widen and really did kick himself. Catching her by the hair the fox pulled her close and addressed in a sinister voice, "If you know what's good for you you'll keep your mouth shut. Most humans I've seen have a real problem with that, and I can make it much easier for you." He flicked his claws across her eyes to see if she'd flinch. When she didn't, he let her go and growled in his famous way. She turned and hurried off, though not without stopping at the corner to glare at him, to which he returned with a dark snarl.

"Sassy wench," Kurama growled at her retreating form.

He took to the sky and flew from the city limits back into the country to the park he'd been in the previous night. Seating himself in the same tree, he continued to watching the human children, though without the usual interest or attention. This was where he'd seen her the night before, wasn't it? The fox shook her from his head with a curse. That human had the audacity to talk to him like that! "She's lucky I let her go," he growled. But the look of determination in her eyes nagged at him long after he'd grown bored with watching the humans.

Hunger drove the irate fox demon from his tree about an hour later. Kurama judged it to be about noon and the park was deserted. "Everyone else probably has something to eat," he complained audibly before dropping to the ground and sniffing around for animals. This time he kept his head and was able to easily pin down and kill a wild rabbit. He tore into it hungrily, oblivious of everything around him as he ate for the first time since arriving in the Living World.

"That sure wasn't much. I wonder what other kinds of things are around here," the demon murmured to himself. Youko tossed the rabbit carcass into a bush and stood up, allowing his sensitive nose to sample the air. There was something coming toward him, but it sure wasn't an animal. The scent was human…a familiar human. Youko groaned as he recognized the girl's scent. What was she doing there? "Probably wanting to eat outside," he groaned again and cursed his luck. If she found him she wouldn't ever leave. Kurama scrambled back into his tree and watched as she sat down on one of the benches and opened a lunchbox. The smell of turkey flittered up to his perch, and he fought his hunger by scratching into the tree trunk.

"She's doing this on purpose," he growled when his will shattered by the scent of meat. Deciding it was worth giving away his position for some food, Kurama dropped to the grass with a soft thump and leapt silently onto the other end of the bench. She looked up and saw him kneeling on the arm of the bench, smiled, and continued to eat without regarding him. After a few frustrating moments of sitting and watching, she finally spoke.

"So, this is where you've been hiding, is it? Not a bad place." She smiled at him again, and Kurama, instead of scowling as he had been, felt himself start to smile back, though he caught himself before she noticed.

"What was that?" he thought puzzledly. "I almost…" He shuddered at the thought of what would have happened had she seen him smile and shook the thought from his mind. "I saw you here yesterday," he remarked; it was truly the only thing he could think of.

"I work here after school," she answered. "So you don't have to guess, my name's Akiko. You're a kitsune, aren't you?"

For a moment the fox just blinked at her. Kitsune? He remembered something Hyoga had once told him about shape-shifting foxes and shook his head. "I suppose you could say that, but I can't transform," he told her regretfully. "I'm a Yoko. Kurama." He dropped his gaze to the ground as she looked him over.

"I guess so. What are you doing in Tokyo?"

"Tokyo?" Kurama asked blankly. Where was that? He realized he must look pretty clueless at the moment and tried to make it look as though he was just asking a random question, but Akiko knew he was completely confused.

"That's the city you were in earlier. Tokyo, the capitol of Japan." She picked up a stick and drew a sketch of the four main Japanese islands in the dirt, marking Tokyo with a dot, but her attempts went right through the demon's head and out the other side. "Where did you come from if you don't know about Tokyo," Akiko asked, and Kurama swallowed. How could he explain the rift and Demon World?

"It's kind of a strange story. Demons like myself live in a different--" he stopped. He couldn't tell this human about the Makai. "Damn," he cursed silently, and instead glowered at the human who sat beside him. "Why do you want to know anyway?"

"Do you see many demons around here?" she asked, slightly irritated. "Shouldn't I be curious about something I don't see everyday?" She closed her lunchbox with a snap and stood up. "I was going to offer to show you around. That is, if you don't mind a human doing it."

Kurama could only stare for a moment until he regained enough composure to think straight. Man, she was almost demon-like with that temper. "I guess learning my way around wouldn't hurt, at least until I can get back," he agreed, as much as it irked him to admit a human was right. Feeling defeated, Kurama stood up and Akiko beamed at him. "This is nothing more than you showing me the city," he reminded her, but she was already on her way down the path, and Kurama had to jog to catch up. This human had a lot more fire in her than he thought.

They crossed the park in a matter of minutes, Akiko pointing out the different statues and landmarks around them. For the most part Kurama was able to follow what she said, though his main thoughts were on the contents of her lunchbox, which still contained food. He was just beginning to plan his first bit of thieving in the human world when they came up on a road and the thought was completely driven from his mind by the sight of cars.

"What are those things?" he asked, not caring how stupid the question sounded. They didn't appear dangerous, but Kurama had grown up in a world of demons, and even the most harmless looking things usually had sharp claws or fangs somewhere.

"Those are cars," Akiko told him. "That's how humans travel around." She took him by the arm and led him across the street in what she explained as a "crosswalk", and they watched from the other side as the cars roared to life when the traffic light changed. Kurama shuddered but kept his ground, anchored more by curiosity than courage.

"There's something else we should do," Akiko told him, and the fox immediately figured from past experiences that it wouldn't be any fun for him. She rummaged in her bag for a minute and pulled out a strange looking hat, which she clapped on his head without a word.

"What is this?" Kurama growled, and he tore the hat from his head to look at it. Turning it around in his hands, he saw lots of small symbols and designs of things he couldn't identify, though some looked considerably like animals he'd hunted in the past.

"That's a baseball cap. You need to wear it to cover your ears. I guess we'll just have to live with the tail." Akiko took the cap from his grasp and placed it again on top of his head and tucked his ears underneath it. "It's not that bad, really."

"I can't hear worth crap," Kurama snapped, but he had to agree it wasn't as bad as he originally thought. The brim of the hat shaded his eyes from the light, plus helped shadow his demon features. He realized then how out of place he must have looked standing on that street corner. Glancing at Akiko made him feel especially awkward. She was wearing a green skirt and matching long-sleeved shirt, both perfectly creased and ironed. Kurama looked down at himself and shook his head. "I must look like some kind of spirit or something," he chuckled to himself. Not many humans he'd seen dressed in all white.

Akiko watched the expression of the demon next to her with mild amusement. "He looks so confused and bewildered," she thought. "Sort of like when I first moved here." She chuckled as Kurama compared himself to the humans on the other side of the street and spoke up quickly, "I have clothes back home I can lend you so you don't feel so out of place."

"I wasn't asking for any," Kurama grumbled, still looking at his clothing in distaste. A small shimmer of relief flicked through him as a group of about four teenagers walked past him with out a second glance, all dressed in clothes stranger than his with their hair dyed wild colors.

"You're not the strangest one here, see?" Akiko chuckled, but she frowned when he flicked his tail at her irately. "We have to do something about that tail."

"Like what?" the fox askedd, clutching his tail protectively in his hand.

"I'll cut it off," Akiko joked, "and donate it to the museum for their animal collection." She gestured playfully at his tail as though she had scissors and was going to snip it off there and then.

"No you don't." Kurama bared his fangs and stalked off up the street. He was about to continue down the block when he noticed a pair of girls, not much older than Akiko, watching him from across the road. One was short, probably only about 5'5, and looked, in the demon's opinion at least, considerably like a mouse. He glanced as the other girl and felt his jaw drop. She was the exact opposite of her companion and twice as pretty. Her skirt extended only partway down her thighs and her shirt wasn't as loose as Akiko's across the chest. She flipped her black hair over her shoulder in a way that made Kurama drool.

"That's Rena," Akiko spoke up from behind him. "She's the most popular girl in our year. A bit of a showoff if you ask me."

"I didn't ask," the silver-haired demon said absentmindedly, still watching Rena and her friend continue down the street.

"Hello, are you there? That's Rena's power; every man who sees her falls under her control."

Kurama jumped and tore his eyes away from Rena's chest. Akiko was staring at him with a very knowing look on her face, and he made a point of avoiding eye contact with her until they had continued on to another intersection. "Here's an idea; I can take you down to the City Center Mall. That's the best place for a person new to Tokyo to go."

City Center Mall was not a good place to take newcomers and especially not a demon from another world. From the moment Kurama stepped inside he knew it would be by an amazing stroke of luck if he made it out alive. There were more humans inside than he'd seen in the past two days, and every one of them seemed to be going a different direction, not bothering to take a second glance at him. Akiko had convinced him it looked too strange and he had stuffed his tail inside his pants, where it tickled the back of his legs disturbingly.

"And you brought me here because..?" the fox asked, watching the people press into an elevator with a renewed curiosity. It was when Akiko began to lead him toward the elevator that the enthusiasm died. "There is no way I am going into that thing."

"One, it's called an elevator. Two, you will go in it, if for no other reason than to say you did." Akiko pushed him through the closing doors and into the elevator with dozens of other humans. They lingered by the doors, mostly because it was stuffy, but also for Kurama's benefit, who was looking at the surrounding humans with a sense of foreboding. "Don't be so nervous. There's nothing here that's going to do anything."

Forcing himself not to look nervous, Kurama took to watching the person next to him, who was listening to a CD player and paid no attention to the demon beside him. A pair of black cords hung from his earphones and trailed into the man's pant pocket. These cords entranced Kurama and he tugged one inquisitively. The earpiece popped from the man's ear and fell to the floor.

"What did you do that for?" he asked angrily and pulled his CD player from his pocket to reattach the cord. Glaring at the fox demon, he pressed the earphone back into his ear and tuned him out. Kurama glared back and growled darkly, revealing his fox fangs. The man dropped his CD player and screamed. "What are you?"

By now most of the elevator was watching the pair, and Akiko shook her head despairingly. The opening of the doors saved them, and she shoved Kurama out before anyone could say anything.

"That was real smart. Attract attention to yourself in a big place like this." She closed her eyes and prayed for patience as her companion ignored her to watch people walk by. "Listen, as hard as it is for you, try to act normal."

"Normal for a demon or a human," Kurama thought sourly. A department store window attracted his attention and a sly grin began to play over his features. There were some pretty valuable looking things in that window display. Akiko must have caught on, because she steered him forcefully in the opposite direction. Bustling through the crowds of people, the eccentric pair caught little attention as they made their way to the food court. The smells of different fried foods overwhelmed Kurama's sensitive nose, and he coughed and gagged.

"This place stinks," he commented disgustedly as a pair walked past them carrying a tray of hamburgers and fries. All around him were tables and chairs, most occupied by groups of people chatting excitedly. Restaurants created a semicircle around the tables, ending the hallway. Different colored tiles covered the floor, which was reflecting the ceiling lights.

"If you feel so strongly about it, you can wait here and I'll get some food," Akiko told him, pointing to a chair just outside the food area.

Kurama flopped heavily into the chair, the smell of food still lingering in his nose. He watched Akiko until she merged with the line waiting for one of the restaurants, and then turned his attention elsewhere. There were a few shops, the occasional pay phone, and….the fox sat up a little straighter and tried to look dignified as Rena and her friend pressed through the crowd toward him. She was staring right at him, he realized suddenly, and his heart did a small flip.

"Hi there," Rena greeted him pleasantly. Her voice was soft, like silk, but there was a commanding ring to it Kurama could only relate to that of a demon. "I saw you earlier but didn't get the chance to say hello. Are you new around here?"

The fox wanted to answer, but something stuck in his throat and he could only nod blandly. Rena smiled, and the fox demon felt his tail twitch even though he was sitting on it.

"I was wondering if you wanted to hang out with us. I'm Rena, by the way, and this is Kazumi." Rena gestured to her friend, who smiled timidly. Kurama glanced at her briefly before turning back to Rena, who was awaiting his response.

"Sure," he answered without thinking, and Rena pulled him from the chair and the threesome made their way back toward the elevator. It was then that Kurama remembered Akiko, but he couldn't do anything about her now. "She'll probably be mad for ditching her, but I might not ever see her again if this works out," the demon thought to himself. He stole a glance at Rena, who was walking a pace in front of him and again felt that twinge of nerves he got whenever she spoke to him. It was too weird that he felt this way about a mere human woman.

Kurama tagged along with Rena the remainder of the afternoon, paying little attention to anything other than her. Kazumi had left them, and the fox demon felt a shiver of nerves at the prospect of being alone with Rena, who hadn't hinted any interest in him other than wanting to be friendly. This part annoyed him, for he was sure it was an act to test him; he was already on the end of his discipline from resisting the urge to gape openly at her. When Rena had taken him into a part of the city he hadn't seen before, Kurama began to feel a little nervous.

"Where are we?" he asked, hoping his face didn't portray any of his worries.

Rena turned to him, and he saw plainly the desiring look in her eyes. He swallowed to calm himself as a scary prospect loomed in his mind. She had wanted to get him alone. Kurama growled at himself for being so stupid and for the first time wanted to get away, to be back in Akiko's company, someone he knew he could trust.

Rena took a step toward Kurama, working all the charm she'd acquired with men before him. As much as he hated to admit it, the fox demon didn't want Rena to leave him alone. He'd watched her all day with this on his mind, and now he had his chance. His senses of righteousness and desire battled within his mind in a way he hadn't ever felt before.

Rena was nearly upon him now, and it was that sudden realization that jarred the demon painfully from his thoughts with his mind made up. She draped her arms around his neck, and Kurama had to smile at her confidence and determination. Even though he had been expecting it, he still jumped when she kissed him and his mind reeled. Something compelled him to return her affection, though a voice in his head told him it would be foolish. He felt her passion and desire surge through him like fire. Taking sharp breaths every few seconds as their lips parted, the pair shared the sunset.

Sure, Youko wouldn't fall for a human like that, but…. It's a story, what can I say? See, I promised it would be better. Or not, maybe I have the totally wrong idea for this and Youko's completely out of character (he is, but there's not much I can do about that). If you're at least mildly interested to see what happens with Rena read the next chapter. Then you can leave and do whatever.