A/N: Surprise! I actually got another chapter out the day after I updated. Consider it a fourth of July gift from me to you.
A couple things first. I cannot write Koenma, and at the moment, Yuusuke, so both are a little OOC. Please disregard it, it's just a little knowledge for a later chapter. Yes, it will become significant soon.
Also, an interesting thing, Yukii has changed to Yuuki, right? Well, the meaning changed, too. Instead of his name being 'snow', it's now 'courage'. Just something interesting that made me chuckle earlier.
April-nee-chan: You're there for me, and your ideas are neat! I use all of them that I can write with, and I'll help you if you ever need.
Kitsune Kagome: I actually have her reaction all planned out, but a few things are going to happen before then. Youko I'm going to have to figure out, but it'll be soon.
regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: It would make anyone mad. It makes me mad to think about it. But they had good intentions in mind, and they'll be getting their just rewards soon enough.
siren66: Is this alright for now?
Hoshiko Megami: I'm glad you liked it. I hope this one lives up to expectations, too.
AnimeMoonlightGoddess: That's alright. It just fits him while he's a fox. Or fox demon. Can't seem to remember at the moment.
Black Hands: I hope you like this chapter, too. By far, it's the fastest one I've ever written. Ever.
vixenia: I was actually planning on having him there. I don't know whether or not he'll react violently or just oddly, though.
Water Block: I've heard good reviews about Howl's Moving Castle. I actually read the sequel, and I want to see the movie badly. I think that Naraku is the easiest character to portray. I'm glad you like it. Koga I just stuck in because it seemed good at the time, and the youkai hospital was on a whim. Literally.
Kaggy-chan2202: I'm glad your so excited about it. Happy fourth!
silver pup: I think you should read Feelings For a Fox. It's really funny, and it's a Kagome is a kitsune one again. You did try nicely. I like people who make me laugh. Makes life easier to live, and gets my creativity going. I actually can't spell that well either. I use spell checks as often as I can. I actually got past my writers block for this, so I hope I can keep fooling it until I get past this one part I have an idea for that I can't wait to write. Fast enough for you?
Jjah-Jjah: I do? Well, that makes me feel bad. Don't know why, but it does.
Japanese words you may or may not need to know: Reikai- Spirit world. Makai- Demon world. -chan- honorific given to younger people or good friends.
Kagome slowly uncurled from her position on the floor. Her aching head forced her eyes shut and dizzyness began to build. She felt like she had a major hangover, and it wasn't made better when she remembered what had supposedly happened the night before. Hot demons and lost foxes, right.
Kagome laid back and flung an arm across her eyes. Had it all been a dream? Demons didn't exist, right? It was too farfetched to think about, but what about Yuuki running away? That wasn't a dream, and everything else happened as a result of the fox's escape trick. So maybe it was all real.
A slight weight on her stomach made Kagome stop thinking and lift her head up. It was Yuuki. He stared at his owner, his golden eyes seeming to peirce through her soul.
Kagome shot into a sitting position, which startled Yuuki. "I guess it was a dream," she said aloud, staring at her fox. "I mean, demons are only legend."
Youko practically covered his eyes. You'd think she would be a little smarter then that, he told Suuichi.
Suuichi nodded. Well, she hasn't been faced with something like this yet. You have to give her some credit.
Do I have to?
Yes.
Youko glared at his other half before backpedeling to avoid Kagome's attempt to rise.
Kagome shook her head and stumbeled into the wall. "Well, this is just peachy, isn't it?" Kagome's eyes crossed as she looked at Youko. "I just had the wierdest dream. Something about a really hot fox demon and the park."
Youko tripped and fell. A dream? She thinks I'm a dream?
Suuichi shook his head. She thinks your demon form is a dream. And a nice one, by the look on her face.
Youko glanced up at Kagome'sstar-struck face and blanched.
Kagome sighed. "If he were real, and I knew that I wouldn't get killed for it, I'd consider dating him." Kagome looked at Yuuki and straightened up. "Of course, I'd only stay in the relationship if he was kind, even-tempered and sweet. You know how hard it is to find a kind of guy like that?" Kagome continued to prattle as she walked into the kitchen and began to fix food for the both of them. "Harder then finding a rose hereabouts." Kagome opened a cupboard and pulled out a box of Cocoa Puffs. "I mean, is it too much to ask for a polite man that's not interested in either your body or your finances?" Kagome reached for a bowl and began to pour the cereal. "I've never met a guy like that. I mean, sure, it might get a little monotonous after a while, but it beats being worthless."
Kagome slowly set down the cereal box. Her mind flashed to one of her old, possessive boyfriends. Her eyes glazed over slightly as she remembered how she had been treated. "I never want another one of those kind of relationships again." She closed the box and put it back into its place.
Spinning on the tiled floor, she jumped over Yuuki's laying body. His ears flickered slightly. Opening the refrigerator door she pulled out a carton of milk and a small bag of meat. "Then again, it is more exciting to go out with the bad boy." She unzipped the bag and piled bits of the meat onto a plate. "But like Sango quotes from her favorite movie, 'The girl flirts with the bad boy. She doesn't take him home.'" Kagome closed the bag, quickly rinsed her hands and poured milk onto her cereal. "It would be fun, though."
Kagome put the carton and bag back into the fridge and put the plate of meat bits onto the floor. Youko attacted the plate with a vengence.
I never thought I'd say this, Youko told his other while wolfing down his food as fast as he possibly could, but I think that I'm growing tired of steak.
Suuichi shook his head. After three days of nothing but, even I'd get tired of it.
Youko's mouth dropped open and little bits of chewed up steak fell from his jaw. I never though I'd hear you say that, of all people.
Kagome looked up from her own meal and saw Yuuki staring into his food. "What's wrong, boy? Too tough for his majesty?" she teased. Setting her bowl on the counter, she shoved another spoonful of her chocolate cereal into her mouth. Swallowing, she said "I'm going to get ready for work, alright? Souta should be here soon."
Kagome turned and did a double take. Did Yuuki just nod? Shaking her head, Kagome started towards the staircase. No, it was just her imagination. Animals understood words like 'sit', 'down' and 'no'. They didn't comprehend full sentences.
But as Kagome exited the room, she couldn't help taking another look to make sure it was just her imagination.
"You ungrateful peice of shit!" A loud slap rang out into the household as two children cringed and cried as the third was flung to the floor. "I told you to work on your homework, not go out to a doctor!"
Shippo whimpered and curled up as a belt fell onto his young form. "I had to," he chocked out. "The teacher told me to!"
The belt paused for a moment as the wielder contemplated the situation. She would be called handsome by many, if they didn't look too deep past her skin. The woman had a prominent nose that was a perfect match for her black eyes. They bulged slightly, which added to the children's imagination in the dark room. She was tall and thin, working during any spare moment and eating healthy if heartely at each meal. Her nails were perfectly groomed, and no hair dared to stray from their place in her neat bun. Maroon lips pursed as the belt was strapped back into place on her hips. She crossed dainty but muscular arms over her buxom chest and narrowed her eyes. "Leave. Now."
Without a need to repeat herself, Shippo and the two other children fled the presence of Doryoku in favor of the sanctuary that their shabby bedroom provided.
Shippo scrambeled up the rickety staircase to the attic, also known as the children's room, with a young girl and a slightly older boy following behind him. Each child carried marks of abuse, from the black eye that Chin-chan harbored to the raw stripes Shippo now carried on his back. The three children broke into the dusty air of the attic and worked together to pull the old staircase up and shut the trap door.
The young kitsune ignored his stinging back. It wasn't the worst he had suffered, but he knew that he would need to care for it soon lest it get infected. He'd had to watch Kanna with an infection once, and it was not something he would want to go through.
Finally, after much sweating and strain, the door clicked shut and the children were allowed a moments respite. Shippo's arm spasmed and he clenched at it. Kanna, her white hair knotted and scattered around her head, crawled slowly to her friend.
"Shippo?" she asked. "Your arm is okay, right?" Her voice was a mere whisper, rough and strained. It sounded like it should belong to a woman ten times her age.
Shippo nodded. "It's alright, Kanna. I'm just not used to using it so much." Shippo hated to worry Kanna. She had the most burden of all of them. She was so young, yet seemed trapped in a world where she was forced to act like an old man in order to survive.
They all had to act that way. They would be swallowed up otherwise. The floorboards creaked as Chinmoku slowly moved to Shippo's back. The shabby old room held naught but two beds that would be better off in a fireplace and a pile of cushions. Even the cushions, strewn about a corner of the room, had seen better days. Clothing lay piled in one corner, all meshed together even though most of it was girl colors or style. Blankets covered the windows from the biting chill of the night as makeshift screens.
Chin-chan helped Shippo to get his shirt off. Kanna ran to the clothing pile and uncovered a small, second rate first-aid kit. Shippo grimaced as Chinmoku laid a hand on his back.
"I think they'll be fine, but we'd better use some disinfectant to be sure of it." Kanna handed the older boy a dark brown bottle and a cotton swab.
Chinmoku poured the barest amount of hydrogen peroxide onto Shippo's wounds that he could get away with, and used the cotton swab to catch the droplets. Handing the swab to Kanna, Chin-chan began to bind Shippo's back with cream bandages.
Shippo hissed as his back screamed, but made no other noise as he watched Kanna place the precious swab into a small plastic bag. They had to use everything to the fullest extent, and of all of them, Kanna was the best at making sure the precious disinfecting liquid stayed with them as long as humanly possible. It had saved their skin more then once, and they wouldn't have another oppurtunity to steal more until the winter season. They were already running low, so every drop counted at the moment. Even the bandages that were bound to Shippo were second hand, having first been from when Kanna sprained her wrist at school.
"Shippo-chan," Kanna started as she crawled back in between Chin-chan and Shippo, "will you tell us about the doctor lady?"
Shippo nodded and pulled on an old shirt they had picked up from a trash can a year or so ago. "Sure. Do you guys want to sit on the bed?"
All three of them nodded and smiled. Standing, they all made their way to the best conditioned bed of the two and sat. Then Shippo began to tell them about Kagome, spinning the tail to make her seem like an angel sent from heaven.
Large golden doors opened to reveal a spacious office. On one end a large television screen covered the entire wall, currently showing a tall man with carrot-orange hair fighting back a pack of demons. On the opposite end rested a large oak desk piled high with paper. Behind the desk, in a large, red, rolling chair sat a young toddler with his head resting on short and stubby arms. The toddler wore a hat that looked too big for his head. The letters J and R were stamped into the fabric in bright red felt and clashed horribly with his bright blue pacifier that graced his mouth. This was the great Koenma, ruler of Spirit World and savior of mankind.
Or so he liked to think.
Yuusuke shook his head as he walked into Koenma's office. His hands in his pockets, he crossed the length of the room in moments. "Hey, toddler, I have something to tell you."
Koenma yelped and jerked up from his former position, his arms slamming onto the remote and involuntarily changing the channel on the wall-sized television screen. "Yuusuke, you can let me know next time you come in unannounced like that!" Koenma squeaked in a childish voice. As he rummaged through piles of Reikai documents, he added "And I'm older then you, so stop calling me toddler."
Yuusuke rolled his eyes as Koenma cried out at finding the remote. The screen changed back to the demon battle, and Yuusuke watched his old friend Kuwabara fight for a moment. "You've been promoted from baby, so don't make a big fuss about it."
Koenma narrowed his eyes. "You may not be a full time spirit detective anymore, but that doesn't mean I don't still have control over you."
Yuusuke snorted and turned to his part-time boss. "Right, and pigs waltz in the sky. You never controlled me, and both of us know it." Koenma opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Yuusuke's next sentence. "I found Kurama."
Koenma snapped his mouth closed. "Where is he? When is he getting back? I need someone to file away these papers..." he trailed, waving his hand at the pile on his desk.
Yuusuke pulled a hand from his pocket and rubbed the back of his neck. He really didn't want to say this, but he also needed to get him back for a prank Youko pulled a couple weeks before the last mission. "Well, he's...incapacitated, I guess."
Koenma looked at Yuusuke suspiciously. "What do you mean, Yuusuke? Your hiding something. Where is he?"
Yuusuke sighed and straightened up. "Remember the last mission? Well, Kurama went after some chick that was trying to get away in Makai, and was cursed. More like a spell, but a curse works just the same. He's currently living as a domesticated fox in some girls house."
Koenma's mouth dropped open and his pacafier fell to the ground, giving a half-hearted squeak. "What?"
Yuusuke resigned himself to the low task of keeping Koenma from going after Kurama's hide. It was the least he could do. After all, he still had ways of getting back at the fox.
End Chapter
Any questions? Comments? Suggestions? Please review!