AN: I'm am so sorry that I haven't updated sooner. It's been almost a month since I last updated. But the good news is that the next chapter will be soon. Maybe by Friday even! So yay to that. I really like how this is coming up, though I wish it'd be better. Gald that people enjoy this story.

Kurama is a little more than alittle OOC.

"Yoko Kurama"
"Shuichi"

P.S. Kitsune Kit - Aoshi is a guy's name. I don't know what it means.

Kurama

Early morning light shined through the windows of Minamino Shuichi. Outside the air was crisp and cool. Adults and teenagers opened widows to enjoy the morning and appreciate the calmness before heading off to their full and busy lives. Birds chirped merrily and flew with enthusiasm. Dogs barked blithely and walked with their owners who jogged to keep pace with them. Cats stretched and yawned. Inside, Kurama lied on his bed, dressed for the day. He awoke with the break of dawn as he usually did, and could not fall back to the peacefulness of his dreams.

Sometimes he cursed himself for being a demon.

Never before had I understood how some people could just look at the ceiling for hours on end. It seemed pure pointless to me. Yusuke quickly comes to mind. Now I understood. The ceiling is the perfect place for thinking about thoughts that one could not find the answers to and thoughts that one would rather not think about. Hiei comes to mind.

Just a little slip of something sharp and shiny and things could be different.

I frowned at the ceiling. I've stared so hard at the white ceiling that I'm surprised that it hasn't turned a different color by now. Downstairs, I can hear mother starting to cook breakfast, father talking softly to her, and little brother stirring from his sleep across the hall. They are my family. I protect them. I love them. They love me in return. I would do anything for them, especially mother. She is the reason why I'm alive. Why I am still here. Her love for me and my love for her was what kept me here and not running around Makai stealing priceless items that I had no real use for.

But there are secrets that she must never know. I fear that she would not understand and be so willing to accept.

If I didn't know any better, I'd say that your "love" for your mother was unhealthy.

Yoko Kurama snorted.

I frowned. I do love my mother as a son would. For years, it was her. It was always been about her. Everything I did was to make her smile. To make her happy. I dedicated my life to be the perfect son for her. She was the only person that I needed. And I thought that I was the only one that she needed. Until my step-father came. He whisked her off her feet and made her happy in a way that I could never do. At first I was insulted by him for coming into our lives when we were perfectly fine and made it even better. It made me angry that I had to share mother's love with him. He was ningen. I could have killed him easily and made it look like an accident. Or suicide.

But after a while, I accepted him and the little brother that had come with him. That boy who bore the same human name that I do.

And then he came. He reacquainted me with the life that I had previously had. The life that Yoko Kurama was notorious for. He made me remember the things that I'd, he'd, loved to do. And I have to admit, I did greatly miss the profession that I had abandon for my human mother. But Yoko Kurama and Minamino Shuichi are two different people. Kurama is the demon and Shuichi is the human. Even with this truth, I am the one in dominance.

And for a while, I thought myself to be in love.

Hiei was dark, strong, and didn't care what ever path I chose. He was small, but fast. Arrogant but not stupid. He was a demon in every way and had a code that he stood by. I was fascinated by him. His wants, his desires, his need to become strong and superior and sometimes had a cantankerous attitude. His blood red eyes were always cold and kept everyone around him at distance. Hidden power lay dormant underneath his skin. He was a child that was not supposed to exist. For a while, I thought that I could not love another person as I loved him. He fascinated me. Made me second guess myself. When I thought that I knew all there was to him, what he was like, he always did something to make me rethink everything about him.

Your obsession with him made me sick. Now, can you stop reminiscing about him and start thinking about someone else? Someone more feminine?

I suppose that it was an obsession. A fixation if you will.

You were obsessed. Lust if you will.

But I was good at hiding my feelings.

Your obsession.

You will please stop that. Sometimes I feel insane talking to you.

Yoko Kurama didn't response.

Botan was special. I was attracted to her the first moment I saw her. She had the loveliest eyes that changed from pink to purple and showed whatever emotion she tries to hide. I loved her cheerfulness whenever the team was down or depressed. The way that she was always loyal to her friends and did anything that she could to help. Her eagerness and even her useless gadgets that never seemed to work. Even if at times she would just be in the way, her heart was always in the right place. What captivated me the most was her innocence. Her pure heart. Death was probably the best thing that happened to her.

It gave me the chance to meet her.

My thoughts gradually shifted from Hiei to Botan. My heart, solely devoted to my mother, split to be with her. Not even Hiei made me feel the way I felt about her. There was competition for her heart, I knew. At first, it seemed like Yusuke might capture her heart. And then Kuwabara developed an enormous crush on her because of her beauty. But both had fallen in love with another. So that left Koenma.

The stupid baby king.

He is her best friend.

He was competition!

It doesn't matter now if he was competition or not.

We both fell into silence. Something unexpected happened. How would we know that Hiei would one day also want her? And that he'd get the chance of asking to court her? Botan was the last person on the list of people that Hiei would likely have any kind of romantic feelings for. Ever. They are complete opposites. Hiei despises people like Botan. He was irascible where Botan was carefree. Botan even seemed to be afraid of Hiei. The person that he should be courting should have been Mukuro. Not Botan.

I felt my eyes turn golden. Sighing, I closed my eyes and shook my head. Thinking about their courtship makes me angry. I tried to relax when I realized that I had clenched my fist. My body feels as if I was about to fight, even though I'm still lying on my bed. Again, I tried to relax and end up succeeding this time. I looked out the window to see children going out of their homes to go to school.

You're skipping school again.

I didn't answer him. Not wanting to go to class, I left home later than I normally did. Mother looked at me worriedly, but I assured her that everything was fine. After hours of walking around the city, I found myself walking the familiar steps to Genkai's temple once again.

You're never going to get anywhere in life if you continue to skip school.

Why do you care if I'm not at school? You hated it. Besides, the professors don't really care if I'm in there or not. Just as long as I pass, I'll be fine.

I reached the top of the stairs and stopped. The very air smelled of Hiei's warning to me. He knew that I saw them yesterday. It was only for a moment. To me, it felt like a moment. I didn't stay there too long. I was never looking for them in the first place. I was just walking around, not wanting to go to school then either. Didn't want to go to class much these days. I just wanted to find a clearing where no one would be there to bother me while I thought. About her. And him. Together. And then I saw them. And left as soon as I knew that he had caught wind of me.

They were smiling.

Becoming close.

And I hated it. We hated it.

And so, without another thought, I paid no attention to Hiei's markings and continued on to the temple. Only Yukina and Genkai were there. I don't want to think about Botan with Hiei. Together. Alone.

Ironically, I'm here of all places.

"Hello Kurama," Yukina greeted me with a soft smile as always. But there was something in her eyes that she didn't even bother to hide. It caught me off guard for a moment, but it was to be expected. It should have been expected. I was a fool to think that she wouldn't have this type of reaction to my presence. But any thoughts of the sweet natured Yukina being hostile was as foreign and absurd as the thought as Hiei and Botan having any kind of romantic feelings for each other.

And yet, they were somewhere in some unknown place developing feelings for one another. Probably they already do have feelings for each other.

And here Yukina was, flashing me a warning look for her brother's stead. One complete with the barest of glares that one could have while smiling good naturally. There was no mistake that the two really are twins.

She didn't invite me in. I went inside anyway.

For the first time, the company of Yukina was extremely uncomfortable. Her expression became impassive and her eyes regarded me with serious thought. How much of a threat was I to Hiei? I didn't give her the pleasure of fidgeting or acting tense. My body movements were swift, my attitude was affable as I could be, and my voice level calm while I spoke of things that were as unimportant as dust. Her response was few, just like her brother's. She never offered me tea. Not that I would have drank it if she had anyway.

As kind hearted as Yukina is, she is still a demon. Sometimes I think that Yusuke and the others often forget. I was, or am, intruding on his courtship with Botan. And as a demon and sister to Hiei, she would stop me from any further intrusion by any means. True that her race reproduces asexually, but Hiei couldn't. So it all came back to being who we are. Demons. In the end, our demonic nature will break through our human traits that we acquire for our friends' sake. To never let them forget who we truly are. Yukina wouldn't kill me. That much is certain. She's still too kind hearted for that. She would keep me away from Hiei and Botan for as long as she could. And she would poison me. She can't fight me. Yukina is not the fight type. She'd lose if she tries anyway.

Yukina's manner was so unusual that even Genkai looked at her curiously. Though she never said anything. Most likely came to the conclusion that I had something to do with it. I declined her offer of tea. Yukina would have free access to it.

After about two hours that dragged, Kuwabara-kun came. His presence made Yukina relax a little bit. But even Kuwabara-kun noticed Yukina's change of mood.

"Yukina-chan, are you alright? You seem a bit tense. Are you sick?" Kuwabara-kun's voice rose and was thick with worry. He got to her side and put his hand on her forehead to check her temperature.

Baka ningen. What good will that do? She's an ice apparition. Her normal body temperature would be lower than any ningen's.

"Really Kazuma. I'm okay. You don't have to worry about my health. But thank you for your concern," Yukina told him softly.

"But you don't seem yourself!" Kuwabara-kun said. "So you must be sick!"

"Iie. I'm not sick. Just a bad day," she smiled at him. "But I'm glad that you are here."

I didn't hear Kuwabara-kun's response. Another voice in my head caught my attention.

Kitsune. Outside.

Getting up, I went out of the room without Kuwabara-kun's notice. Whether Yukina did or not, I wouldn't know. I didn't bother to check to see if she did. I went out of the house from the back. There was more room to move freely there. When I saw Hiei, I pulled a rose from my hair. He was alone. I cast out my senses for Botan. She wasn't anywhere near here. That was to be expected. Deep down, I had hoped that I would see even a glimpse of her. Even just her bright blue hair swinging away. Anything to get the burning image of her and Hiei together out of my head.

Hiei disappeared from where he was standing. I spun my Rose Whip in a fast full circle. It cracked in the air. Hiei came at me from the top. I averted to the left and snapped my whip at him while I did so. He disappeared before it even reached him. I followed him into the forest and threw a seed at him. He burned it out with his fire and vanished. Quickly, I did another full circle with my whip. It hit nothing but air. I checked my surroundings. I sensed nothing. I couldn't find him.

Impressive.

I had to agree. It was like he just left. But Hiei would never do that. Not during a fight. He wasn't a coward and this fight was more than about his honor. I ran deeper into the forest finding nothing of any evidence that he was there. Feeling someone come at me from my right, I saw Hiei's fist heading directly towards my face. I barely had time to block. With my arms protecting my head from Hiei's punch, I slid on my feet for a couple of feet. Before I stopped, everything went dark.

It was a pull. More than just an attraction. A force that made me want to see her. Be near her. To see her smile. To hear her laugh. To feel her warm presence next to me. To have her shadow touch mine. To drown in her sparkling eyes. I fell in love. That's why I didn't stay away. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to stay away from her. I fell in love with Botan. I had hoped that she felt something for me too. I thought that she did. Wishful thinking.

And wishful thinking is for fools.

When Kurama woke, it was dark. He was lying in the same place that he fell and blacked out. Hiei never moved him. Despite his loss, he smiled when he remembered Hiei's first swift punch followed by another that he didn't even see. From behind. Yes. Hiei was getting stronger. He touched his soft, slightly swollen spot behind his head, smiling bitterly. How much stronger? Kurama was almost afraid to find out. Somehow, he had the feeling that Hiei's power either rivaled or surpassed that of Mukuro's. Even his.

Turning his hands into fist, he brought them to the ground fiercely. Punching the ground, releasing his bitterness and anger, his eyes turned golden. His unnatural beautiful red hair threatened to change into a shocking white. Letting out a roar of rage and agony, he slammed his fists onto the ground for a final powerful bang!

He stared at the ground, not seeing it. All he saw was Botan. With Hiei. Together. That image burned into his sulk. Into his mind. Always there. No matter how much he screamed for it to go away. No matter how much he pounded his head on the unforgiving cold, hard earth to make it disappear. His forehead bruised, and then bleed. He slammed his head down harder. It still wouldn't go away. That haunting image. He slammed harder. A deep dent in the earth was formed. Blood went down to his nose, his lips, and still he hit his head.

With the last of his energy, Kurama collapsed to the ground and cried.