Disclaimer: I'm running out of creative disclaimers so I'll just say, I only own my OCs and the plot.

Recap: Kurama and Tsukino managed to find and gain the Kuro Shi Necklace as well as a pendant. However, between Kurama telling Tsukino to go to the inn she found and him giving the pendant to Kioshi AKA Death's Angel, Rose manage to pick-pocket Kurama. In the place of the necklace, she left a note promising that she would personally deliver it to Tsukino. Now, even though Kurama and Tsukino may have a new ally, they will have to work fast before they find themselves in the middle of a war between cats and canines.

This Is How You Remind Me
Chapter Six
Double Curses

A Visit from the Enemy

I couldn't understand why Kurama insisted on my going to the inn while he searched for Rose. It didn't make any sense to me since so far Rose had not tried to attack me. She even saved me from becoming a pancake at the Gate of Betrayal and then warned me about how Kurama supposingly used to be. However, Kurama acted like she was going to attack me at anytime. Perhaps he wasn't thinking about Rose though, but if he was thinking about other demons he probably would have allowed me to go with him. That way he would be able to keep an eye on me.

Regardless, if he was trying to 'protect' me from Rose, he was going the wrong way about it. As I was sitting down on my bed for the night and going through my bag for dinner, there was a tap on the door. Curious, I walked over and slowly unlocked the door, not removing the chain. I peeked out the door but saw nothing. With a confused look on my face, I closed and relocked the door.

"Kurama really doesn't tell you anything, does he?" a voice suddenly asked from behind me. "He could have at least taught you how to keep your inn room secure."

I quickly whipped around and found myself face to face with Rose. Instead of wearing black like the last time I saw her, she was wearing a tight blue tunic that accented her curves. It was obvious why Kurama had chosen to mate with her, and I found myself wondering why he could have left her for anyone else. Suddenly, I felt very self-conscious of my appearance and realized that I couldn't compare to Rose. That meant that Kurama probably wasn't interested in me now that he saw Rose again and saw her great beauty. The idea should have filled me with peace, but I felt disappointed instead to my distress.

"You okay, sis?"

I looked up from the floor where I had been staring to see Rose standing right in front of me with a frown on her face. Ignoring her question, I walked over to my bag and pulled out my book. 'Why are you here, Rose-san?' I asked.

"Just came to check in on my little sis," Rose replied.

I nodded and slowly sat down on my bed. 'But I'm not your little sister.'

She shrugged as she sat down beside me so she could read my words over my shoulder. "All bats are related. Besides, it's better than calling you little cuz'."

I showed no signs of agreeing or disagreeing as I reached into my bag again before tossing her a fruit and biting into my own. 'I would have thought that you would be out on a heist.'

She shook her head. "Nah. I've already got everything I need here."

'So why are you still in town?'

She frowned. "I already told you, I'm here to check in on you."

'So why didn't you just look in the window and then leave for the next heist?'

"Because I already have what I need. I don't have to steal anymore; now I'm joining the cats and I came to ask you to join me." She paused for a moment and then said, "And I also came to make sure that Kurama isn't being evil to you. I think he's caused more damage to the hearts of vulnerable girls than most boys cause in ten lifetimes."

I nodded slowly. 'I'm afraid that I cannot join right now, and you don't have to worry about me. I'm in no danger of falling for him. He isn't my type.'

Rose frowned. "We both know you are lying," she suddenly smiled, "unless you like his human form more and that's your type."

I flinched but tried to hide it as I circled some more words. I hoped that she hadn't realized that she had hit the mark. 'I have no idea what you are talking about. His human form may be cute but-'

Rose rolled her eyes but looked down at me in pity. "You are one of those girls that have to learn things for themselves, aren't you?"

I shook my head. 'I'm not interested in him. The only reason purebloods ever chase after mixed breeds or half breeds is because they only want them for pleasure.'

Rose nodded slowly. "Pervious heartbreak?" she asked quietly as her ears laid back.

I shook my head. 'Some of us actually learn by watching people around them.'

She nodded again. "Has Kurama tried to seduce you yet?"

My mind flashed back to the time when there was a slime ogre in my room and Kurama tried to comfort me. Not only had I learned that the topless hot signal was a topless Kurama, my curse also acted up. If it wasn't for some kids making a huge noise in the alley, we'd probably be mates. I had accidentally seduced him, but he paid me back just before a shape shifter sent by Oshiro told me where the trap I was to lead the Spirit Detectives into was. That however was to get information from me instead of trying to get me to sleep with him.

For a second I was silent as I tried to figure out how to answer. 'Not really. He appears to have realized that I'm not interested.'

Rose frowned, and her ears stood up in curiosity. "That's not like him at all."

I shrugged. 'Time changes everything, demons included.'

Rose was silent as she looked around the room. "So is Kurama still out at the bar?"

My own ears leaned forward a bit more. 'The bar?'

She nodded. "I saw him at a bar talking to some bat."

'Did you talk to him?'

Rose shook her head. "No. He was probably asking for the best place to find a girl." She sighed in annoyance. "Idiot should be focusing on the war instead."

'The war?'

Rose nodded. "The bats have joined the dogs, and they are calling in the foxes. If I know Kurama as well as I think I do, he'll want to join the dogs and will try to drag you along."

I frowned but circled no words.

Rose's face became pale with a hint of green as she exclaimed, "Whatever you do, don't let him drag you to the dogs' side."

I raised my eyebrow. 'Why?'

Her eyes were slowly filling with tears. "Bats are perfectly nice to other full-bloods but to halfs," she paused a moment, "we are nothing but toys to be broken."

I frowned when she spoke no more. 'So? He won't let anything happen to me. He can't.'

Rose's eyes widened in surprise just as mine own did. Where had that sudden certainty in Kurama's abilities come from? I asked myself.

Before I could find an answer, Rose's shock had vanished into a look of pity. "It looks like you still have some learning to do, kitten." She stood up from the bed and moved out the door. "Talk to you later, sis."

I just nodded and took another bite of my fruit. There was nothing left to do but wait for Kurama to return and hear what had happened. To my utter shock, Kurama burst through the unlocked door half a minute after Rose had left. If he were human, he would have been panting because it appeared that he had just ran full speed to the inn.

"Why was the door unlocked?" he asked, his shoulders completely stiff and his hair turning red.

'I forgot to lock it,' I told him. It was half true; I didn't have time to lock the door after Rose left before he rushed in.

"The Fox's Rose was here, wasn't she?"

It would be a stupid move to lie, so I nodded my head.

This seemed to worry Kurama more. "Did she leave anything?"

I shook my head. 'Tired?' I asked.

He was silent for a moment before nodding. "I suppose my exhaustion is effected my head," he muttered.

'Running for a few days straight will do that to you.'

A small smile appeared on his face. "Perhaps." His smile vanished again. "She got the necklace from me somehow."

I nodded. 'We'll just try again tomorrow.'

Kurama's mouth twitched as if he was going to speak and then quickly closed his mouth. He nodded. "We'd best turn in. We'll leave first time tomorrow."

'You'd better take your pill now then so that you don't transform during the night.'

Kurama frowned as he sat down on his bed. "What do you mean?"

'Your hair is changing colours again. Did you take your pill this morning?'

Kurama moved a lock of his hair into his view and glared at it. "I took a pill this morning."

'You sure?'

He was silent for a moment before he reached for his bag. "Fairly sure but it wouldn't hurt to take another." Quickly so that he wouldn't taste it, he swallowed another pill, and his hair turned back to black.

The next moment, we turned into bed and slept until dawn. At dawn we disappeared into the horizon towards the next town. Our next target city was Nishimura, the capital of what used to be Raizen's turf. The trip took two days, the first of which was the most stressful known to demon and human kind. Everything went wrong. We got attacked again. Our bags got stolen so we had to get them back. The road was closed so we had to go off road. We got lost. It was a nightmare. Also, because we lost so much time we had to travel through the night. Finally, Kurama was having trouble with his pills. He had to take them every twelve hours.

Understandably, we both hoped that the second day of travel would be smoother. Slightly luckily, it did. Kurama had managed to calm down and wasn't as tense, but he had this look in his eye that suggested trouble. I didn't realize how much trouble his eyes promised until we were crossing a bridge.

We were half-way across when Kurama suddenly stopped. He stared out onto the water and quietly asked, "Tama-chan, did you ever overcome your fear of water?"

I shook my head because I was too exhausted to grab my book. Just because I could be nocturnal didn't mean that I could pull all-nighters very well.

Kurama nodded once he saw my answer, and followed me towards the water bank. Just as I stepped off the bridge, he suddenly grabbed my arm and forced me to turn towards him. A small smirk appeared on his face, and I tried to take a step back only to be pulled closer to him.

I hissed, demanding to be released but he just removed my bag from my shoulder with his other hand. Then he removed his bag in the same fashion before throwing the two by a tree. It was then that I became afraid of what he was going to do.

He stared down at me with a look I had never seen in his eyes before, neither human nor demon. It wasn't a lust-filled look or perverted in the least. Instead, it was something far worse. He looked thoughtful and mischievous.

Before I could hiss at him again, I suddenly found myself being thrown onto his shoulder and carried like a sack of potatoes. Instantly, I started kicking and punching his back. He showed no signs of any pain or annoyance as he walked back to the middle of the bridge. While he walked, I cursed him in my head though I admit the curses were quite pathetic since I wasn't practiced in the art as Yusuke liked to call it. I quickly ran out of curses and started trying to think of why Kurama was acting so weird and how I could get away from him.

It was then that I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. His tail. If I pulled it, he might let me go. I was about to grab it when he grabbed mine.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you. I might get the wrong idea," Kurama muttered, amusement clear in his voice.

I turned slightly and bit his ear in anger.

He didn't even flinch but instead tugged my tail causing me to release his ear.

I was starting to wonder why I even liked the guy.

"Calm down, Tsu-chan," he said quietly. "We both need a bath and it will only take a second."

I started kicking and hissing again. Not in a lake that is way too deep! I shouted at him in my head.

"If you want, I'll even keep you in my arms to prevent you from drowning."

'Pervert!' I tried to say but it only came out as hissing.

"Remember Tsu-chan, you were the one who was giving me the wrong idea by biting my ear and wanting to pull my tail."

I blushed and was about to hiss at him again when I wasn't on his shoulder anymore. Suddenly, I was off his shoulder and barely keeping my balance on the edge of the bridge. (This one did not have railings; it was just supported planks of wood.)

Kurama watched as I tried to keep my balance.

I glared at him to give him a warning that if he pushed me, he was going to get hell from me. Unfortunately, he had the advantage, was not afraid of water, and spirit detectives are hard to threaten so my glaring was useless. He grinned at me and then flicked my forehead causing me to fall into the water.

Instantly panic filled my system as I tried to figure out where the surface was. A hand grasped my elbow and quickly pulled me out of the water. Without thinking, I grabbed the front of the person's shirt in a death grip. Slowly, I realized that the shirt was a light brown colour and part of a tunic. A very familiar tunic.

Dreading what I would see, I slowly look up into Kurama's worried eyes.

Without even a word, I pushed him away from me and started walking towards land. The water being up to my waist hindered my speed, but I couldn't fly because of my wet wings so walking was the best option. The sooner I was away from that jerk, the better.

"I'm sorry, Tama-chan, I didn't think that…" Kurama's voice trailed off as I gave him the finger over my shoulder. Yusuke had taught me well.

"Tama-chan."

I turned and glared at him over my shoulder. In my mind I said, Go to Hell while I hissed aloud.

Kurama's eyes widened and his jaw went slack in shock. Shock of what I had no idea. Surely someone had given him the finger before. In any case, I ignored him and kept wading through the water.

"Tama-chan," he said.

I wasn't in the mood to hear him say anything so I kept walking.

"Tama-chan," he said more urgently.

I ignored him as I grabbed my bag and started to look for some dry clothes. He seemed to be getting annoyed. Good, I decided, he was getting on my nerves too.

"Tama-chan!" he shouted.

I turned around and got drenched head to toe with water. The bastard had somehow managed to find a bucket and fill it without me knowing.

If looks could kill he would have been dead a thousand times over. I think he knew it too, but he kept pushing his luck. (Not that I could actually hurt him. Damn detective.)

While he grinned at me in that arrogant, regretful, and slightly hot way, I looked around for something to aid me in my quest for revenge. Unfortunately, I didn't find anything so I just grabbed my bag and started to walk back to the path. I would pay him back later, I promised myself.

Kurama seemed to realize that he had crossed some sort of line twice and quickly grabbed his bag and caught up.

"Tama-chan," he said.

I avoided his eyes and kept walking. First, he embarrassed me with all those flirty comments. Second, he threw me into the water and let me freak out when he found out that I wasn't over my fear. And finally, third, he apologized and then kept annoying me. The jerk.

"Tama-chan, please look at me?"

His voice sounded so heartbroken and pleading that I almost looked. I stopped myself just in time. It was just karma for throwing me into the water. Leave me alone, I said in my mind. To my surprise, I could almost hear the words come out of my mouth. I blinked in confusion. The only logical reason I could think of was that I was hearing things.

Suddenly, Kurama's arms were wrapped around my waist and he lifted me up before moving his arms so that one was under my legs and the other supporting my back. Not liking that position at all, I started kicking, and demanded to be released. Once more, I could have sworn that words came out of my mouth instead of hissing.

Kurama's voice cut into my hissy fit. "If you say so." Swiftly, his arms disappeared from my person, and I fell. Water came over my head again but this time I managed to hold the panic off long enough to stand up. Instantly, my panic turned to anger, and I wouldn't have been surprised if flames appeared in my eyes.

"KURAMA!

While his face turned into a sad smile, my own eyes widened.

"What the hell?" I quietly asked myself as my hands moved over my mouth. Somehow I had managed to learn to speak Japanese again. Slowly, I looked up at Kurama in wonder.

He nodded. "I'm sorry Tama-chan. It appeared this was the only way but at least you can talk now."

Anger quickly returned as I told myself that there were other ways he could have gotten me to talk. He didn't have to scare me or annoy me. And even then, he was lying about being sorry. He enjoyed torturing me like that. Or so I told myself. I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. His sad smile had disappeared, and his ears were laid back. He seemed really sorry and worried, and unlike the other times, his expression didn't change. His expression didn't return to his calm and distant one but remained worried.

I started walking towards shore. For some reason, Kurama felt it would be best to dump me in the middle of the lake. Thanks to my bat hearing, I was aware of Kurama slowly following. His guilt of scaring me was starting to make me feel guilty about not forgiving me. "Fine," I muttered.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his ears move forward and a small smile appear on his face once more. I also saw a mostly-full bucket of water right beside me. Hoping that Kurama wasn't as fast as I thought he was, I grabbed the bucket and threw the water at him. To my pleasure, the water hit its target, and I gave him a grin as I tried to ignore how his shirt was clinging to his chest.

"Payback," I explained.

His eyes were wide before they narrowed and then his smile turned into an evil grin. "Remember, I know how to swim and you don't."

My face paled, and I attempted to wade through the water faster. Because of my attempts to move faster, I almost fell face first into the water. Before that could happen Kurama's arms wrapped around my waist again as he pulled me close. I hoped he couldn't see my face blush.

"Want to go for a swim?" he asked me. "I could teach you."

I shook my head, not trusting my newly found voice to work properly with him being so close by.

"It will be fun," Kurama whispered into my ear causing my blush to deepen.

I shook my head again as I felt my curse start to rise to the surface. If he didn't let go, a repeat of the slime ogre incident could have happened.

Slowly, almost reluctantly, his arms moved from my waist, and he took a step away from me. He moved in front of me and did not turn to face me as he said, "Come on, we'd better get going if we are going to get The Fox's Rose." His voice lost its playful tone and was once again deep and distant.

I nodded and followed him back to shore. For a moment, I wondered why his personality changed so quickly but stopped myself. Thinking about him only caused my curse to act more. So I tried to think up a way to avoid looking at him until my curse was under control again. Instinctually, I knew that if I looked at him, it would be as bad as seeing a male demon in Hraru.

Silently, I wondered what made him so special that I acted this way around him. Sure he was nice (most of the time), polite, smart, sweet, handsome in both forms, graceful, understanding, comforting, and every girl's dream man but he also was a fox demon. Usually my cat demon blood would have killed me before it would let me yearn to be his mate. If it was any other fox demon it probably would have, but for some reason, Kurama made even my cat demon side want him. Why was he so special? I questioned myself. Was I the only one effected?

My thoughts came to a stop when I remembered Rose's warning. I wasn't the only one who was cursed to feel that way about him. If anything she had it worse because she couldn't get over him even after what he have- may have done.

For the second time my thoughts came to a stop, but this time they were stopped by the sound of the equivalent of a human conscience.

'You don't even know if what she said was true. Even if it was, that doesn't mean that Kurama hasn't changed. Rose herself admitted that twenty-four years had changed him. Maybe he won't blow you off,' it said.

Or maybe she is right, and he will, I replied.

'You won't know if you don't risk it,' the voice said.

As I followed Kurama down the road, I thought, 'Is it worth the risk?'

The voice was silent and allowed me time to think up a way to distract myself from the fox in front of me.

"Kur- Kyou-san?" I asked.

He half-turned as he replied, "Yes?"

"How about we race?"

I kept avoiding his eyes, but I could tell he was interested from his voice. "A race?"

I nodded. "We've already lost a lot of time and walking won't get us anywhere so if we-"

"Alright but the race won't mean much if we don't wager something. After all, if I'm going to beat you, I might as well get something for it."

He sounded like he was just stating a fact, and my anger grew once again. Hadn't he heard that a cat's curse lasts seven generations? Or maybe he thought mixed-breeds can't curse people. I shook my head to get my thoughts straight. "If you win, I'll kiss you." My own eyes widened instantly when I realized that I hadn't suppressed the curse enough.

Kurama was silent for a moment before he nodded. "Very well, I will wager a kiss also so that you won't feel too badly if you manage to win."

I glared at the tree behind him. "First one to the next town wins."

"Very well but I have one condition. You must fly the whole time. If any part of your body touches the ground between the start of the race and the end, you instantly lose."

I nodded. There was no way I could win if I was running against him but at least if I was flying I had a fighting chance and with the wager in effect there was no way I would lose. I had too much pride on the line.

Silently, we moved side by side, facing in the direction of the next town. We count to three, and we are off. Neither one knowing what would await us at the next town or at the end of the race.

Day Nine

I had known that the stress was getting to me. The stress from yesterday's travels coupled with the failed attempts to capture The Fox's Rose were more than enough mental baggage, but I was also stressed about The Fox's Rose promise to give Tsukino the Kuro Shi Necklace. Unfortunately, like an immature kit, I allowed the stress to get to me.

Just like our counterparts, foxes demons are creatures that deal with stress by becoming mischievous and wanting attention. Earlier today, the stress finally got to me as Tsukino and I were walking over a bridge. I remembered her fear of water and wondered if she had managed to overcome that fear yet. At first, I was only annoying her for attention until Tsukino managed to make a noise that sounded close to Japanese. My fox side became curious and kept annoying her until she finally managed to shout at me.

Unfortunately, my mating curse started acting up, so I tried to flirt with her. I know that I must have seemed completely out of character towards her by acting like a human teenaged boy, but I had no control over it at the time. Also, the fact that she kept encouraging me didn't help. She looked very cute when she was blushing, and I just lost control.

Fortunately, I managed to get some control over myself before things got out of hand like the slime ogre situation. It was slightly painful to see how she was avoiding looking at me though, and I wondered why she was acting like that. Unluckily, those thoughts turned into other thoughts that caused me to be grateful when she challenged me to a race. That gratefulness quickly turned into curses when she wagered a kiss.

Did she have any idea what she was doing to me? Did she really want to encourage my advances? Had she any idea of the weapon she was giving The Fox's Rose to use?

Blocking those thoughts from my mind, I accepted. Now I am running down the road to the next town as Tsukino flies overhead. At first, I kept my speed matched with her and watched her fly over the road. After a few moments of running, I yelled up to her that she didn't have to follow the road.

She just grinned down to me, and I ignored the dim feeling of happiness that her smile caused. "I know," she said, "but when I win that knowledge will make the victory even sweeter."

Even now she is still flying overhead as I have let her believe that she has a chance. Deciding that now would be a good time to show her how wrong she is, I start to increase my speed. To my surprise and satisfaction, Tsukino has no trouble matching my pace. Yusuke and Kazuma did a good job teaching her. I continue to increase my speed until I find her top speed and keep my pace the same. For some reason, I dislike the idea of leaving her in the dust. Perhaps it is because though she is safe from other demons in the air, I want to be sure that no harm comes to her.

We continue racing for three hours, and I enter the town first. Tsukino nearly crashes as she lands, and I quickly take her into my arms to support her.

"I'm fine," she quietly mutters as I take her bag from her and place it over my shoulder.

"I know. We'll just get there faster if we travel this way," I tell her as I slowly scoop her up into my arms.

Too exhausted from the race to argue, she allows me to carry her to Nishimura, falling asleep along the way. Careful not to wake her, I walk to the nearest inn and acquire a room. I lay her down on a bed gently before laying down on the other one myself. There is no point waking her and planning an attempt. The Fox's Rose is no longer acting as a thief. The only way we can capture her is to join the war, but Tsukino will dislike that idea. Perhaps there is a way to get her to agree… But I'll figure… it out tomorrow… as long as my mating curse… doesn't act… up…

A/N: Wow. That's long. I hope you are enjoying this, and I'm warning you that I'm sorta making this up as I go again. Trying to copy and paste ideas of the plot into the story in a different order is kinda hard so if I forget something please let me know. Anyways, thanks to all the reviews and readers. See ya soon!

-d101