Disclaimer: To be honest, I'm afraid of what could happen if I owned Yu Yu Hakusho. At least I can mess around with the character's head in Fanfiction. Anyways, all I own is my OCs and plot.

Recap: After a scary few minutes, Tsukino remembers everyone and agrees to go on the mission. She should have asked what the mission was before agreeing though, because now she is stuck with Kurama as they attempt to arrest a thief.

This Is How You Remind Me
Chapter Two
Bumpy Start to the Mission

Leaving Spirit World

Kurama was back within minutes, and we were each given a shoulder bag filled with clothes, food, a small bag of money, and a first aid kit. I felt a shiver run down my spine when the realization hit me as we stood before the portal with Botan. I was going to be stuck with him for who knew how long. Who knew what tricks he would try! And even worse, what if my curse acted up again!

Even though it was hopeless and I couldn't get out of the mission, I turned to Botan and silently begged her not to abandon me. Unfortunately, she mistook my message and patted my head. "Don't worry. You'll be back before you know it. Just don't do anything you'll regret with Kurama," she said before pushing me through the portal.

The trip was through the portal short but still intimidating. We paused for only a second in the space between worlds, and then we were falling just over the City of the Damned. Kurama seemed unworried as his energy increased signalling that he was using it. For a few moments, I allowed myself to fall beside him just to make sure that he didn't hit the ground. (If he had died, it would have been difficult to explain to Koenma.) I didn't have to worry though. Within seconds, he had stopped falling as he grew a pair of wings of his own. I opened my own wings and flew over to him, confused by the appearance of his wings until I realized that they were really just purple leaves held to him by vines to create a glider.

"The City of the Damned is where The Fox's Rose stole the Mirror of Desire from. It would be wise to look around before moving on," he muttered as he looked around.

I nodded and pointed to a small patch of forest where we could land.

It took Kurama a few tries to understand what I was trying to tell him, but eventually he understood.

Silently, we glided over to the forest. Once we were on the ground, Kurama allowed his plant to shrink back into a seed before leading the way to the city. The purple trunks and green leaves of the trees lined the path, and I felt myself longing for the trees in the parks of Human World. I hadn't seen the world for over a year and was impatient to get back. I wanted to see how everyone was doing and just be able to live my life without having to look over my shoulder in fear. After a moment of thinking about Human World, I shook myself from my thoughts. It was never going to happen if we didn't finish the mission first, I told myself.

Subtly, I looked over at Kurama out of the corner of my eye. He was silently staring at the path in front of us with a determined but thoughtful frown on his lips. His ears were moving around, alert for any sign of danger while his eyes betrayed nothing. Suddenly he stood a bit straighter and, without looking towards me, said, "Koenma told me to warn you that if would be unwise for you to use your energy in any way."

I raised my eyebrows to ask why.

He didn't even look to see my reaction but probably sensed it because he answered accordingly. "Your body is still healing from the beating you experienced at the prison. It wouldn't be wise to put more stress on it."

There was a slight sound of anger in his voice, but it was hard to tell if I had just imagined it or if he was angry. Slowly, I nodded. Even after Botan's healing I had been feeling weaker than usual, but I had thought that I would still be able to use my energy should I get into trouble. Silently, I thanked Yusuke and Kuwabara for teaching me some street fighting moves while I was staying with them. At least I had a back-up plan.

It appeared that Kurama wasn't finished speaking. As he pulled out a file from his bag, he added, "Also because I'm a well-known spirit detective, Koenma took the time to make me a new identity. You'll have to call me Kyou, and I'm from the North. We met at the Yami Inn while I was travelling to the City of Ghost and Apparitions."

I nodded, and he continued speaking.

"Koenma decided that it would also be a good idea to give you a new identity because everyone in the area where you lived thought you had died when you crossed over."

I nodded again, not really paying attention but wondering what my story would be.

"He's letting you make up most of the details, but the folder he has on you, in case any one asks him for a background check, says that your name is Tama, and you are from the East. Is that alright?"

I shrugged. It wasn't like I had a say in it anyways since I couldn't speak, and Kurama would be doing all the talking anyways.

He turned to face me, and I looked away. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw that though his face remained impassive, his voice was slightly concerned. "You dislike the plan?"

I shook my head and shrugged. I could care less about the plan just as long as I got away from him as soon as possible.

Kurama turned to look at the road again, and his shoulders subtly stiffened as he said, "Since we are travelling partners, it wouldn't make sense for us to be on unfamiliar terms. It would draw suspicion and cause problems."

I nodded as I looked away from him to study something in the top of the trees. It looked almost like another kitty-bat, but the shape moved before I could be sure if it was even a demon and not leaves.

He sighed and out of the corner of my eye I saw that he had stopped walking and was watching me. "Tama-chan, are you even listening to me?"

I stopped walking, wondering why he had called me Tama-chan until the reality of what he meant about being on familiar terms hit me. My plan had been to keep as much distance between us as I could, but, once again, Kurama was at least a step ahead of me. It seemed like nothing had changed from my time in Human World other than location and his appearance.

Annoyed, I ignored him and started to walk towards the city again, knowing that we had a long walk before me. For a moment, I debated flying. It would be faster than walking after all. The forest we had landed in was not far from the city (only a mile away), but we would have had to take a scenic route to avoid trouble. Even if I was to fly overhead there was no guarantee that there weren't other demons who could fly and attack me.

While I was walking and debating, Kurama realized that he wasn't going to get an answer of any form and quickly caught up with me. "I apologize for offending you, Tama-san," he said lowly, attempting to sound sincere.

I was tempted to be stubborn as my cat demon blood urged me to be, but my bat demon blood caused me to think twice. My bat demon blood was stubbornly screaming at me to work with him and get the job done. It was like having a shoulder devil and angel except instead of being told what to do, my blood was physically moving from side to side arguing. Even in my brain, the blood was moving around making the world spin. One can imagine how hard that made it to walk so it should come as no surprise that I managed to trip over nothing.

It looked like I was going to hit the dirt when one of Kurama's arms grabbed my arm and his other my waist and helped steady me.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

Even if I had a voice to reply with, I would have been silent. I hadn't noticed how much he had really changed. His eyes, which I had been avoiding, still had a bit of the humanity that he had gained over his time in Human World, but they also seemed far colder, distant even. His hair had not only changed colour but the style as well. In his human form, Kurama's hair stuck up at the back near the base of his neck even with his short hair. However, in his disguise, his hair fell flat along his neck. His hair was also much longer now. I had already noticed that his voice was deeper and more distant, but I had failed to notice the change in his energy. As I had told Botan before, his energy I couldn't feel, I had to sense, but then I could feel it slightly. It felt like a whirlwind of leaves. The energy gently hit you in waves and then fell to the ground, but as soon as the first wave fell, a second one bumped into you.

I suddenly realized that Kurama had put his hand that was holding my arm on my forehead and was frowning.

"You're warm," he stated.

I nodded, unsure of what else I could do. Slowly, I realized that Kurama was still holding me and tried to pull away from him. I only succeeded in almost falling again, and Kurama held me.

"Perhaps we should return to Spirit World so you can further recover from the beating."

I furiously shook my head, which only increased the dizzy feelings that my fighting blood had caused. Despite my cat demon pride, I found myself needing to lean on Kurama as he stared down at me.

"If you aren't well, we can wait to catch The Fox's Rose," Kurama said as he adjusted his grip on my waist, so that if anything attacked us, he would be able to support me and fight. His face was slightly red, I noticed. If I didn't know better, I would say that he was blushing.

I felt a blush starting to appear on my face when I realized how close we were, and I looked away. The last thing I needed was my curse acting up again.

"Tsukino-san, you're only going to be a burden if you insist on continuing."

I knew that he was only stating the facts, but I still felt angry at his implications about me being useless. Also, if we waited until I was 'well' again, we would probably never find The Fox's Rose, and I would be stuck with Kurama. In an act of stupidity, I pushed away from me and started walking towards the City of the Damned again. I tripped again, and Kurama caught me. Again.

"Tsukino-san."

I didn't have to look at him to know that he was glaring at me. It was probably a good thing that I didn't look or else I would probably still be in Spirit World. I shook my head determinedly, and tried to walk off again. When Kurama didn't let me, I tried to figure out how I could explain my thoughts.

"We can afford to wait to find her," Kurama said as stubbornly as I was acting.

I shook my head once again, no longer feeling dizzy as my cat and bat demon blood agreed that I had to see this through and I wasn't going anywhere.

"The Fox's Rose is bound to find something else to steal at a later date," Kurama said.

Not quite meeting his eyes, I tried to send him a message of 'And if she never steals again?' by narrowing my eyes and rolling them.

It took Kurama a moment to figure out what I was 'saying' but once he did, he sighed. "You aren't going to be swayed, are you?"

I looked over to the trees waiting for him to come to a decision. Regardless of what I thought, it was his opinion that mattered in the end since he could easily just drag me anywhere he wanted.

Finally, he sighed and released me. "Very well, we'd better hurry if we want to get any work done before dark."

I nodded and followed him, no longer having any trouble walking.

Kurama walked beside me and, after a few moments, asked, "How am I to address you?"

Bravely, I took his hand in mine to show that we should pretend to be close. I had expected that I would not be able to feel his pulse, but unlike normal demons, I could still feel his human heart beating.

Kurama stared at me for a moment before he nodded. We continued on our way to the city, but he didn't release my hand nor did he speak until we reached the outskirts of the city. Cautiously, he stopped walking, released my hand, and then said, "It's going to be too late to travel any farther tonight if we can't find The Fox's Rose here so we'll have to find an inn. Do you mind looking for one while I ask about The Fox's Rose?"

I nodded and started to walk into the city. Before I entered, Kurama grabbed my hand and quietly said:

"Meet me by the fountain in the middle of the city in half an hour even if you can't find an inn, alright?"

I nodded again and then started to wander around the city. It wasn't very different from the ones in Human World. Stores lined the streets with some houses in-between, but the colours were duller than the Human World ones. Perhaps it was only because of the hour though. Demons of all kinds wandered the streets either buying things or hanging out. Once or twice, I had to duck into the alleys to avoid getting spotted by any dog demons. Unfortunately, I was unable to find an inn.

Fifteen minutes into my search I was forced to turn around and head towards the fountain. I had hoped that I would find an inn on the way but I didn't. Finally, I arrived at the fountain, which was a cone of water erupting from a hole in the ground. Disliking the idea of getting wet, I tried to keep my distance. As I was dancing around the puddles caused by the fountain, I overheard Kurama's voice. I walked over to where I heard his voice and found him talking with an older looking demon with pointed yellow ears and a hunched back. It appeared that they were disagreeing because as I walked up the old demon was shouting:

"I'm on to your tricks, boy! You think that just because I was stolen from once that you can now just enter my house and take something!"

Kurama seemed to be on his last nerve as he replied, "If I really wanted to take anything, would I be asking for permission to enter your house?"

The demon could think of nothing to say, but then he spotted me. "You want The Fox's Rose?" he asked. "That's her!" He pointed towards me.

Kurama looked over his shoulder and spotted me. His eyes widened in surprised before they narrowed, and he turned back to the old demon. "You must be mistaken, that is my travel partner."

The demon refused to be told otherwise. "Don't think that changing your wings' and ears' colours will fool me," he shouted at me as he ran towards me. "Where is it!"

Kurama quickly moved between the demon and me, stopping the demon from attacking me. I noticed that his energy seemed to be increasing as he said, "Thank you for your time." Kurama turned, grabbed my wrist, and pulled me into a crowd of people. He then pulled me over to the alley and pulled out his rose whip.

While he was looking towards the roof, I glared at him, clearly demanding to be told what he was planning.

"We're going to enter the house through the roof, but we have to get up onto the rooftops first," he said as he flicked his rose whip so that it wrapped around something on the roof. "The rose whip is just to keep me balanced." The next second he had wrapped one arm around my waist.

I tried to pull away, but he held me close. "Tama-chan, I can't leave you here alone. There are probably demons who overheard that man's outburst. Do you want to find out what they might do to you?"

I glared at him but moved my arms so that they were linked behind his neck and readied for him to jump.

He tensed and then jumped. We were only in the air for a second, but it was long enough for me to realize that I could have just flown onto the roof. I felt like an idiot for realizing it only then and promised myself that I was flying on the way back down.

Kurama didn't even seem to notice as he walked over to a vent. He started looking through his bag for something. After a few moments, he pulled out a knife and started to open the vent. He almost had the cover off when he motioned for me to come over. "This is going to fall down, and I need you to catch it," he said.

I nodded and readied to grab the vent cover. Before Kurama was even able to put his knife to the vent cover again a voice drifted over to us.

"Replaced me so quickly, Kurama?"

Both Kurama and I stood and turned to face the speaker. It was like looking in a mirror. She was the same height as me, had the same hair, even the same eyes, only I liked to think my eyes were friendlier than hers. The only real difference was the different colours in our wings, ears, and tails. Her wings, ears, and tail were completely white.

She seemed amused but also slightly sad to see Kurama and me. "You could have at least waited to see if I was still interested before moving on," she continued.

Kurama appeared to glare at the demon. "Who are you?" he asked.

This seemed to hurt her even more. "I suppose your memory needs work. But then again, you were never one to remember the name of the girl you slept with." Her eyes looked over at me, and to my surprise, Kurama moved to block me from view. "I suppose this is your new toy. Still like the look of wings, I see?"

I couldn't see Kurama's face, but I could tell that he was irritated by the small talk even if he didn't sound like it as he said, "Answer me."

She sighed. "Everyone calls me The Fox's Rose now, probably because they know of our relationship, but I believe you named me Mikiku. So what's her new name?"

Kurama didn't answer her question but said, "I don't know who you are, but you aren't Mikiku."

She shrugged. "Time changes people. I mean look at you. Twenty-four years and you are as soft as those humans you protect and running around in disguises that fool no one. It's rather sad to think that I was once your mate. Perhaps it was a good thing you mistook one of our conversations and got shot." She sighed and stared at Kurama with mournful brown eyes. "I missed you," she virtually whimpered.

"I'll ask you again, who are you?"

The Fox's Rose- Mikiku- smiled sadly and suddenly appeared in front of him. She then disappeared off the edge of the roof.

Kurama spat and then walked over to the edge of the roof to look for Mikiku. His frown told me that he couldn't see her. "At least we know she is in town," he muttered before turning to face me. "Did you find an inn?"

I shook my head, slightly worried by how he would react in his angered state.

He seemed unconcerned as he nodded and walked over to the edge of the roof. I followed him and then jumped off the roof before he could say anything. I waited about a second before he was on the ground beside me. Then, we started to walk around town looking for an inn.

As we walked I thought over what Mikiku said. It probably wasn't the best idea because it started to fill me with pain. Unfortunately, at that time, I had still been hoping that maybe Kurama wanted me for something more than pleasure but that hoped had been destroyed. Mikiku had proved that hope false. One thing that slightly cheered me though was that Kurama didn't seem very interested in her.

Instantly after thinking that, I felt horrible. Regardless of his feelings for her, it was obvious she still had feelings for him. At the time, I felt some sort of fellow feeling for her. After all, we both cared for someone who didn't truly care about us. I wondered what it would be like to talk with her and almost wanted to speak with her. I wanted to hear her side of the story since I was probably never going to hear it from Kurama.

How wrong I was.

Day One

Yusuke and Kazuma always said that I was a girl magnet when we were teenagers, but I doubt they ever expected a girl to enter my personal space as The Fox's Rose just did. I had thought that it would be much harder to find her, but it only took half an hour. I could have waited though if it meant avoided Tsukino listening and the horror of The Fox's Rose's lips on mine.

(Note to self: Never ever let a girl enter my personal space ever again if I suspect that they are obsessed. The effects are not wanted in the least.)

Now, Tsukino is silent as we walked around for an inn, but it is obvious that she is thinking of what the thief had said. If she believes that demon, we are going to run into trouble. As I have said before, it was hard enough gaining Tsukino's trust in the first place. If I lose it, I'm worried about what I would have to do to regain it.

In any case, we have to catch the thief as soon as possible. I don't know how she learned of my relationship, for lack of a better term, with Mikiku, but I refuse to allow her to ruin Mikiku's good name.

Suddenly, I'm aware of Tsukino pulling on the sleeve of my shirt. I look towards her and notice that she is pointing towards the Hikari Bar, which is also an inn. At once I recognize it as the one where Mikiku worked. If that thief was speaking the truth, this would be the place to find her. Not feeling like talking, I nod to Tsukino, and we start to walk towards the inn.

We are just about to enter when a man in a flowing black coat exits smelling of cheap wine. He pauses in the doorway and studies us.

"A nice night is it not?" he asks with a slight Old England English accent.

I stiffly nod, preparing for a random burst of anger that usually accompanies the drink he reeks of.

Casually, he steps out of the doorway and towards us, stumbling slightly.

I stand my ground while Tsukino remains behind me.

"What are you doing out here?" he asks. "It's dangerous out here."

I do not answer but do not move either. It is not wise to provoke drunken demons; they have a tendency to become even more violent. Chu is a good example.

He moves behind my back almost as if he was going to circle us. I turn as well but before I can step in front of Tsukino again, he grabs her hand. Fear radiates from her, and she seems to want to pull away but can't. I'm just about to demand that he remove his hands when he says:

"Such a pretty girl you seem nine." He kisses her hand, and she flinches. When he pulls back, I see that he had bit her hand.

I gently but forcefully pull her away from him and step in front of her. Silently, I wonder why I seem so slow tonight as I growl at him. "Leave," I quietly order him. My voice promises pain if he does not listen.

He shakily bows, but I do not notice. My attention is turned elsewhere as Tsukino suddenly runs into the alleys. Worried for her safety, I run after her. Not only is she in danger of the usual predators, but if anyone mistakes her for The Fox's Rose again… My stomach clenches at the thought, and I try to find her scent through the maze of other smells.

I find her a few alleys away from the inn, silently shaking in fear. Slowly, I approach her as one would a wounded animal in shock. I sit beside her but she takes no notice of my presence. Suddenly, she turns to me, grabs the front of my shirt, and starts to cry. The scent of her fear is overpowering, and I notice that her hand is still bleeding. There must have been something in the demon's salvia that stops her blood from clotting.

Her crying continues, and I slowly move my arms around her, holding her close. "You're alright," I mutter to her as I hold her. "It's okay. Nothing is going to hurt you." My fox side starts growling at me to do more but I suppress it. One of the reasons I never transform into my demon form anymore is because my instincts were more powerful in it. Thank goodness it isn't Hraru.

She does nothing to show that she hears my words, but slowly, her sobs cease. She does not move from the embrace though as if she is scared that she will see that man again.

I do not force her to move other than gently causing her to lift her hand. The bite is still bleeding and appears to be still causing her pain as she tries to move her hand away. Keeping her hand in place, I start to lick the wound to remove the effects of the demon's salvia. Soon, it too stops causing her pain, and she looks away from my shirt. Her face is red, but I cannot tell if it is from crying or something else. Deciding to ignore it, I help her to her feet, and we continue on our search for an inn.

Unfortunately, we have barely moved three feet before we run into a pack of dog demons, three in total. They appear to be from the east due to their brown fur.

"Well, well. It looks like we have a traitor," the one in the middle says as the group approach Tsukino and me.

I keep my face impassive as I calmly state, "I am no traitor."

"A dog flirting with a cat is not allowed," the one on the left counters.

I frown. Perhaps my disguise is too good. "I am a fox." I grab Tsukino's hand and turn to walk in the other direction. We barely get two steps before I feel Tsukino ripped from my grasp. I turn and see that one dog demon is holding her while the other two pull out knives.

It had to be the drugs Koenma gave me. There is no other reason that my senses would be so slow to allow this to happen.

The final dog demon grins shows his fangs. "Since you don't care, you can just watch as we do own part in the war."

Tsukino is struggling and seems to be attempting to use her spirit energy to create a blast of light. (She must have forgotten my warning.)

Before she is able to, I will the grass under the dog demons' feet to become sharp as broken glass. Within seconds they yelp and release Tsukino from their grasp. I grab her arm and quickly pull her away from the scene.

"I think it would be wise to find get off the streets as soon as possible," I mutter to her once we are safely away.

She nods, and we walk off once more, not stopping until we find an inn and not resting until we are behind locked doors.

The first day of a mission is said to be the hardest. I can only hope that is true, and that the drugs allow my senses to work to their full potential again soon. If not, this mission will only become more difficult.

A/N: Ah, this feels good. The chapters are flowing better. It isn't a chore to write. All is right with the world… except for the part where Rose kisses Kurama. I'm not even sure where that came from. It just sorta happened, but I'm greatly amused by the fact that he spat right afterwards. Anyways, thanks to those of you who are reading and reviewing. Please continue to do so and I hope that you enjoy the story.

-D101