A note about name confusion:
Umm I call human Kurama: Kurama in all the chapters that are about him because he thinks of himself as Kurama, however Youko has decided to start calling him Shuiichi now that they separated so I call him Shuiichi in all the other chapters. Because Kurama is Youko's last name. When Youko and Kurama were in the same body Youko would call him Kurama most of the time, but he would call him Shuuichi when he was eather mocking him or because he wanted Kurama to know he was being serious.
Chapter 8: Identity Crisis
Kurama woke up extremely sore and disorientated. He tentatively sniffed his surroundings, and immediately relaxed as he realized he was, in his own room and lying in his own bed. His fox nature could easily identify the smell of his own territory, and the familiarity of it put him at ease even in his half asleep state of confusion. He turned over onto his side and cracked an eye open to glance at his clock, growling slightly when his sore muscles did not want to obey. The room was quite dark, however with his night vision he could see no matter how dark it was with the exception of the darkness summoned by a shadow demon. That kind of darkness was artificial, created by the demons aura so it didn't exactly count. Kurama shook his head slightly, not wanting to think about shadow demons until he could at least get his bearings first. He squinted at the clock for a second.
'Four o' clock in the morning… damn how long have I been out?' Kurama counted the hours on his fingers. 'I got home around four thirty yesterday so…Almost half a day." He concluded, flopping back down on his bed and pulling the blankets over his head with an exasperated sigh. He was getting sick of being knocked unconscious; this made it twice in one day.
'So how the hell did we manage to get out of that one Youko?' Kurama asked, but he got no response.
"Youko wake up, we've been sleeping for almost twelve hours already." He mumbled. "Youko? Helloo? Wake up damn it!" Kurama groaned and sat up slightly. "Ugh, I don't have time for this…" he muttered irritation, deciding to use one of his meaner tricks to rouse the lazy old fox. He focused some of his spiritual energy, and mentally searched for the dark aura that was the fox, planning to give Youko a bit of a shock; something that the damn fox had done to Kurama on numerous occasions to get him out of bed. Kurama's eyes went wide with a sudden realization: the fox was gone. He was on his feet in seconds. He dashed across his room and flipped on the light, noticing for the first time that Youko's sent lingered in his room and Kurama had not transformed into the fox since Yusuke's tournament. Did that mean Youko was ok? Kurama focused on the scent and followed it into his closet. He blinked in surprise, wondering what the fox would be doing in his closet. Kurama shrugged slightly and opened his closet door sniffing for the source of Youko's scent. He was finally led to his laundry basket, he glanced down and soon found the source of the scent. Youko's weird white toga looking shirt and white pants were laying harmlessly in Kurama's laundry basket.
Kurama sighed in relief. "So where ever Youko is, he's ok." He glanced back down at the foxes clothes and laughed slightly. "And he's either naked, or he's wearing my clothes." He shook his head and sighed. "Stupid fox… I better go find him before he gets into trouble."
Kurama continued talking to himself as he hurriedly changed into a pair of blue jeans and a dark green sleeveless shirt. He dug around in his closet for his favorite black and gray wind breaker, cursing the ancient fox when he discovered it was missing. Finally deciding to just go without a jacket he pulled on a pair of socks and shoes, and quietly headed out the front door, careful not to wake his mom or his step dad.
Kurama stepped out onto the street and paused for a moment, trying to think of what to do next. He figured Youko would want to enjoy his new freedom by causing as much trouble as he possibly could manage. The old fox would constantly go into long tirades about how Yomi, his irresponsible second in command from the olden days, stupidly thought he had surpassed Youko Kurama the master thief. Youko would rant about how he was going to show snot nosed little Yomi who the superior demon was. Kurama assumed it wasn't unfair to presume that Yomi's castle was not a bad place to start searching for the vain old fox. Kurama had a sinking suspicion that the blind demon would not appreciate Youko's company.
Kurama felt around for the place where Makai and the human world met and pulled himself through quickly, hoping to find Youko before he could get himself into any fights. The thought of Youko and Yomi fighting made Kurama uneasy. Those two were powerful enough to do plenty of damage, to each other as well as anything in a hundred mile radius. A fight like that would certainly attract the wrong kind of attention from both of the Rekai and Makai rulers. Youko was wanted in both worlds. Kurama started heading in the direction of Yomi's castle when he felt numerous demonic auras closing in on him. He paused and looked in the direction of the closest one, and after a moment a tall, skinny demon with shoulder length purple hair appeared out of the tree line.
"I found another one." He called over his shoulder. "You're not supposed to be here, we're going to have to erase your memory and then we'll take you back home." He said to Kurama.
Kurama blinked in surprise, he had never been stopped by the border patrol before. It took him a minute to remember he was human, the only reason he had never been stopped by them before was because of Youko's aura. Youko was gone now. "I have business here; I'm headed up to Yomi's castle. I'm looking for a friend of mine, and I think he might be headed in that direction." Kurama explained.
The demon looked at Kurama in mild surprise; he did not often run into humans that knew anything about demon world. "You can keep your memory then, however I'm still going to have to ask you to leave. Humans are not permitted in Makai, its not safe here."
"I can't leave until I find my friend! Look, is Hiei with you guys? I need to talk to him." Kurama glared at the demon stubbornly, hoping he would be able to talk his way out of this. He was not in the mood for a pointless fight.
"Hiei is not here." The demon replied, looking Kurama over suspiciously. "He took a day off, I think he is in the human world somewhere. I can't allow you to stay here, however I can assure you we are quite skilled at tracking humans and returning them to human world. We'll find your friend."
"My friend is not a human, and I don't think you would have any luck finding him even if your search team was a thousand men strong." Kurama growled in frustration.
The demon raised an eyebrow at Kurama. "You're either incredibly gutsy for a human or incredibly stupid. You do realize that lord Yomi is of a species of demon that eats humans don't you?"
Kurama was once again forced to remember that he was in fact human. He had never in his life thought of himself as a human. This new realization made him feel fragile, and he wasn't quite sure exactly what it meant. Now that he was no longer Youko's avatar how much would change? Kurama opened his mouth to respond, but he changed his mind and closed it. Yomi ate humans. Kurama had always known that, but the fact never fully registered in his mind.
Kurama finally sighed, trying to shake off all the shock and stress swimming around in his head and clouding his logical mind. He had never been alone before, not even in the confines of his own mind. He pushed aside all his doubts and worries, trying to look at his situation logically. As far as Kurama could tell his power had not dropped in the slightest with Youko missing. He was just as strong, and fast as he had ever been, and there was nothing that could ever take away his skill and experience. The only difference that Kurama could see was that he could not call on Youko's form anymore, and he had sworn to himself during Yusuke's tournament he would never use Youko's form ever again. As far as Kurama could tell nothing had changed.
"I am aware of Yomi's dietary habits, however I must find my friend." Kurama said firmly.
"You are an irritating little-" The demon paused and looked back over its shoulder as it sensed another demon approaching at high speeds.
Kurama sensed the demon as well. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and curiously watched for it to appear out of the tree line.
"Oi, Jubei! Got another one eh?" called a tall demon with wild red orange hair, and a single horn protruding out of his for head. He was wearing a white shirt, similar to the one that Youko always wore, as well as a pair of gray pants. The demon smiled broadly, revealing large pearly white canines, and pointy elf like ears poked out from behind his hair. He strode casually into the clearing; and his eyes finally landed on Kurama, lighting up in recognition.
"Kurama how long has it been since I saw you last? What have you been up to since the tournaments been over eh? Ol' Jin here's been doing border patrol, and boy you wouldn't believe some of the weirdoes you find on these patrol teams! Most of em' just guys like me who didn't do so well in the tournament." The wind master seemed more than a little excited to see Kurama.
"Hello Jin, you seem to be doing well." Kurama vaguely wondered how the wind master managed to talk so fast without having to take a breath.
"Oh yah I been put'en these skills of mine to work. These border patrols aint just here to keep humans outa demon world ya know. We keep all those crazy hotshots from invading human world too eh?" Jin continued chattering happily, and the demon that was harassing Kurama was getting more and more irritated.
"Jin do you know this human?" He asked.
"Of course ol' Jin knows him! This here is Youko Kurama!" Kurama flinched at being referred to by Youko's full name. "Kurama fought like mad in the dark world tournament, and he was Yomi's second in command when ol' Raizen died." Jin grinned wickedly when the other demon visibly paled at this new information.
"I-Im sorry sir, I had no idea…" the demon stuttered.
"It's not a problem, I assure you." Kurama said calmly.
The other demon nodded vigorously. "I umm… I should be going." The demon said as he made a quick exit.
"So Kurama, are you gonna tell me why your demon aura's off and run away eh?" Jin asked, slightly more serious.
Kurama wasn't quite sure how much he should tell Jin, but after a second he sighed and gave in. "That's a pretty accurate description of what happened actually." Kurama answered, continuing when Jin arched an orange eyebrow and offered him a big toothy grin. "Youko and I were separated somehow… He is free now and I need to find him before he manages to cause trouble."
"Ah, so the old fox is on the loose eh? Being cooped up like a fox in a hen house I'll bet he wants to stretch his claws. I'd like to come along, but I got work to do ya know. I'll tell the other patrols to stay off your tail though. Tell Yusuke that ol' Jin says hello." Jin said as he pulled the most comical expression he could manage.
"I'll do that." Kurama replied he said, turning to leave.
"See you another time fox boy!" Jin called after him.
Kurama nodded and disappeared into the trees, heading off towards Yomi's castle with all of his available speed. Several hours later Kurama decided he needed a break; the pace he had been keeping was difficult even for him. He was getting very close to his destination and so far he had not caught any trace of Youko's scent, it was making him uneasy. Kurama slowed to a walk and tried to get his breathing under control.
"My, my, my, what might have happened that you would run all the way here to see me?" The sound of Yomi's voce startled Kurama so badly he felt as if he had just jumped out of his skin. Kurama's emerald green eyes flashed dangerously, and he removed a rose from his hair and turned it into his favorite weapon with a flick of his wrist.
Yomi leaned against a tree with his arms crossed over his chest, with his long black hair graped over his shoulder. The demon lord had lost his sight many years ago, however his hearing was impossibly acute witch was evident by the fact that he had three pointed elf like ears on both sides of his head. He also had horns poking out of his thick mass of Jet black hair in an even single file line that went down to the beginning of his spine. Despite all of his unusual features, Yomi was quite attractive for a demon.
The blind lord smirked evilly, amused that he was able to startle the normally calm, collected Kurama. "You seem to be missing something boy… or should I say: some one. Where did my old mentor disappear to?" Yomi asked in his usual arrogant voice.
"I…" Kurama hesitated for a moment. "I'm not sure." He admitted.
"I see. And you assumed he would be coming to see me."
Kurama nodded, suddenly feeling like a child in the face of the powerful demon lord. The last time he met Yomi it was easy to ignore his intimidation tactics with Youko slinging insults at the blind demon from the safe confines of Kurama's mind. But now Kurama was already stressed out enough with his humanity slapping him in the face, and the old fox no where in sight, and now the blind lord looked a lot more intimidating than he did the last time they met.
Yomi closed unseeing eyes and sighed in disgust. "The fox is not here, I do not think he would be spending his first moments trying to antagonize me."
"Oh… I'm sorry to bother you." Kurama said, clearly hearing the irritation in Yomi's voice. He turned to leave.
"Wait. I am curious, how is it that a human avatar like your self is able to use demonic abilities even with the fox gone?" Yomi asked.
Kurama stopped and turned back to Yomi, thoroughly confused. "What?"
"Your rose whip." Yomi said flatly. Kurama's eyes lit up with sudden realization. "It is not a technique that can be performed by a human because it requires demonic energy to transform the rose." Yomi continued now that he was sure that he had the boys attention.
Kurama did not have an answer to this, so he gaped at Yomi wide eyed in disbelief.
"Also, a few minutes ago you were running at a speed no human should be capable of over a long distance if at all." He added.
"I'm not a demon." Kurama insisted.
Yomi snorted with amusement at that remark. "You are not a human either." He said bluntly.
Kurama continued staring at Yomi disbelievingly, shaking his head. Kurama had been able to do these things practically his entire life, and he couldn't imagine what life would be like with out his heightened senses, his speed, and strength, or his control over plants. "Then what am I?" he finally choked out.
Yomi seemed to think it over for a minute before he finally answered. "I can't pretend to have a definite answer to that; however my guess would be that having a powerful fox demon living inside you for your entire life has warped you. You have a small amount of demonic energy flowing in sync with your human energy. Much like Raizen's whelp."
"So I'm part demon then?" Kurama asked tentatively.
"As far as I can tell, yes. You are part fox." Yomi answered, finally starting to get board. "As to where you can find that old fox, I suggest you search the human world. Youko has always been overly attached to that place." He brushed a large section of his long jet black hair away from his shoulder and turned to leave. "I suggest you make sure to keep the fox out my affairs once you find him." Yomi called back.
Kurama watched Yomi disappear into the trees, trying to absorb everything he had just heard. He was not quite sure how to react to the new information, a few hours ago he was not sure what to make of his humanity and now he was being told he was not completely human. Kurama finally came to the conclusion that this was indeed the most fucked up day of his entire life. After a minute of trying to process all the new information that was assaulting his brain he decided to put his multiple identity crisis's on hold, and started heading back the way he came.
Kurama made it back to the human world a few hours later, with no idea where or how to start his search. He wandered around aimlessly hoping to catch sight of the fox. The chances of catching Youko's scent were slim, there were too many overpowering smells in the big crowded city. Kurama walked up and down streets for hours with out any luck, and finally Kurama gave up and went home. He stood in front of the front door, and fished around in his pocket for his keys. He unlocked the door and tossed his keys on a small desk by the front door. Kicking off his shoes, Kurama flopped down on the living room couch and fell asleep, exhausted.
Kurama awoke about an hour later to the sound of the phone ringing. He groaned and obediently dragged himself over to the kitchen and answered it.
"Your son or daughter has missed one or more of his of her classes today. If you have any questions or concerns please talk to Betty Myers in the attendance-" Kurama hung up the phone and stared at it for a second, slightly stunned by his new schools automated snitch recording. He shook his head at the audacity and headed into his room, and sat down on his bed.
"So you finally decide to show up." A voice said from his window.
"Hi Hiei." Kurama said, relieved by the fire demons appearance.
"Hn." Hiei replied.
"I have been here for an hour or so." Kurama said.
"Where have you been?" Hiei asked.
Kurama sighed and stretched out on his bed, wondering where to begin. "It's a long story."
"You can start by telling me why the fox's aura is gone." Hiei said.
Kurama crossed his arms behind his head and looked at the ceiling as if it had the answers to all his problems. Finally he gave up and told Hiei everything that had happened since he and Yusuke ran into the shadow demon the previous morning.
Hiei seemed to think about everything he had heard before finally responding. "I don't like this. Who would bother separating you and the fox in the first place? What's the point? You should remain on your guard I doubt this is over."
Kurama nodded, and sighed. Another item to add to his list of things to worry about. Hiei was looking at him curiously, as if he was seeing something he had missed before. "What?" Kurama asked.
"I had never thought of you as a human before." Hiei said simply.
"Me neither." Kurama admitted.
"Hn. Stop moping fox." Hiei climbed the rest of the way through the window into the house and headed into the hallway. Kurama followed, wondering what his friend was up to. Hiei made his way into the kitchen and raided the freezer. Kurama laughed for the first time in a while as the fire demon sat down at the kitchen table with a large bowl pilfered of vanilla ice cream and a spoon. Hiei shot Kurama his famous death glare that had been known to make flowers wilt, and inanimate objects spontaneously combust. Kurama scooped himself some ice cream and sat next to his friend, still laughing lightly.