Disclaimer: I own only my OCs and the plot.

Recap: Tsukino and Kurama are adjusting to the army life and both are having trouble. Kurama has been force to sit around and impatiently wait for an order to go outside while Tsukino has so far been unable to help the army. However times are changing as Tsukino is about to meet her next and final teacher and Kurama is allowed to leave the base for a scouting mission.

This Is How You Remind Me
Chapter Twelve
Learning Your Place

Night Ninety-Ninety One

The morning of the day Kioshi and I were to patrol our own borders we were less than impressed. Kioshi was fighting off a hangover while I was restless and wanted nothing more than to get to the cat base, find Tsukino and The Fox's Rose and finish the mission. For the first few hours of being conscious we did nothing but sit in our room. However, now it is nearing evening and we must make our way down to the bar where the pups, our appointed leaders for this 'mission', decided we would exit the base.

Because of the war, a soldier cannot always leave the base through the front door because should a cat see him or her leave they would know the location of the base. So to avoid that, when a demon is allowed to leave the base, they pick a location to dig, and the Black Demon Diamond wall is temporarily removed to allow the demon to dig out of the base.

For reasons unknown to Kioshi or I, the pups had decided the area near the bar was the best place to dig from so it is for that reason we are now making our way towards the bar. However, we have at least an hour before we need to be at the digging location so Kioshi and I decide to wander around the base.

As I catch sight of a familiar looking elder walking towards us, I can't help but feel that we should have stayed in our room until it was time to dig. We pause and bow before we start to walk by him, but he grabs my shoulder and tells Kioshi that he needs to talk to me and I will meet him at the bar later.

Not suspecting anything is amiss, Kioshi nods and leaves me to face the wrath of an elder.

"What are you doing here, yoko!? Warned you I did but you still come! Why?" he demands to know once Kioshi is out of earshot. "And where is the subject of your affection? Leave her not alone I hope!"

"Alone but safe," I reply.

"What reason have you for leaving her alone and in such dangerous times?"

"My own."

The elder's glare reminds me of a time when I was just a kit and learning the ways of Demon World and once more I hope that he has not seen through my disguise.

"Those are not enough to gamble her life," he sourly states.

"She is well," I argue.

"In what way and for how long, brainless kit?"

"She is well," I repeat, trying to ignore the restlessness that has become anger and guilt at the forced remembrance of our separation.

"Becoming not are lies."

"Neither are riddles, elder."

"You have become impulsive kit. Her love would do you good if you take it."

"This is not your concern as I am not your pup."

The anger in his face slightly fades as he sadly says, "Happiness for the young is an elder's concern. And happiness you have not without her."

"I soon will have it without her."

Anger once again appears on the elder's face as he glares at me through his good eye and stands over me to remind me of my place. "Foolish pup! Better she is then without one so full of lust, that she knows."

"Lust has nothing to do with it."

"Then why does she not draw near while you advance as she did once before?"

I frown. Does he actually know who I am? Or does he truly have me confused with another fox? And if he does know who I am, how does he know about the events between Tsukino and me while we were in Human World? "What are you saying?" I say slowly and deliberately.

The elder says something in a language I do not understand or recognize before he points at me and says, "Blind the humans have made you or stupid as you now fight against the higher power!"

Though it is horribly unlikely, I can't help but hope he has mistaken me for another. "I am not who you think I am."

"Sure you are, Ku-chan?" the elder mocks.

I try to keep the frown on my face despite my instincts willing me to be truthful to the dog demon who was once my mentor. "My name is Katsu."

"Forgotten not your teacher, Ku-chan, though it appears you have forgotten your mate," he says.

"She is not my mate."

"She is if not for your stupidity."

I glare at him and try to remain civil. Usually this is no problem for me, but the time in the base has made me restless, and the insults from Yusuke had made me crave a fight. "If it pleases you, please explain." I find myself forcing the words from my mouth in place of the words I would much rather say.

"Safer with you than with other men for shorter is her time than what you think."

My eyes narrow. "What are you saying?"

He just shakes his head and starts to walk away. "Taught you all I can, now find your own path."

I am about to run after him to demand answers when he suddenly turns and says, "One more thing, order rather than warn you this time I do, be wise with the young mixture not with your mind but your heart. Just as war is not a pup's game, neither is a female's heart. Good luck, young Yôko Kurama."

Before I can say anything in reply, the two pups who will be joining Kioshi and I on the mission appear in the entrance to another tunnel. The moment they spot me, they demand that I head towards the bar for it is time for the mission to start. With no other options, I allow myself to be lead to the bar where we meet Kioshi. Within seconds, Kioshi's claws and mine are covered in dirt as we start to dig away at the soil and ready to return above ground once more. However, it will take many minutes for us to reach there if those pups do not help.

Kioshi has also realized this fact and is glaring at them coldly as he digs. Minutes into digging he mutters to me, "Think we can bury them under this stuff and make it look like an accident?"

I shake my head. "Unfortunately not."

"So we have to put up with three hours of this as well as however long it takes us to dig out?"

I nod.

Kioshi groans and struggles to move a boulder. "I knew I should have brought a bigger flask."

I say nothing but nod and help him move the boulder before returning to digging.

After ten minutes, the pups tell us to hurry up, to which we reply that we would if they would help us. Unfortunately, it appears they would rather be lazy than practical and continue to watch us dig until we finally break though the top soil. Kioshi and I are the first to climb through, and we stretch as we wait for the pups. It is a great relief to finally be with nature once more instead of just roots.

The pups are not as relieved and instantly order us to move out before falling back into whatever conversation they were having while Kioshi and I were digging. From the words I unfortunately overhear, it should as if they are talking about females. Kioshi offers me a drink from the flask he is carrying when he sees my displeasure at their topic, but I shake my head. At least one of us has to be alert and able to fight in case anything attacks us.

Soon the pups talk becomes even more graphic, and my resolve crumbles. Turning to Kioshi, I take the flash from him and quickly swallow the bitter liquid. Just as quickly as I took the flask, I hand it back to him before the pups can see. Now, mind pleasantly fogged, I am able to have a few moments of peace.

"Where's the smell of alcohol coming from?" the wolf pup says suddenly as he turns his nose to the air.

Which one of you mutts have been drinking?" the dog pup adds while he turns to us.

Biting back a sigh of annoyance, I reply, "Perhaps your nose is catching the scent from the base. We did dig out right beside the bar." Like you told us to, I mentally add.

They both shake their heads. "The scent is too close and fresh for that," the wolf argues.

"Then may be you're just smelling what you want and are too young to handle," Kioshi replies.

They both puff out their chest in an attempt to appear older. "Who says we can't handle a drink?"

Kioshi laughs. "The men who have been drinking the stuff for years. Now turn around and let's get moving."

"You can't tell us what to do!" the dog replies angrily.

"I believe experience tells us we can," I say as I look around. Something was off but I was unable to figure out what. Perhaps taking that drink from Kioshi was not the best idea.

The wolf pup laughs. "Yeah right. You two can't be that much older than us. You don't even have mates."

"Being mated is not proof of age," I say wisely.

The pups ignore me and say, "How old are you anyways?"

"Over 3000," I reply deciding that it would be wise to go say how old I was soul-wise rather than body-wise.

The two pups scoff. "I bet you're only 3001," the dog pup says.

Which is still older than you are by many years, I silently growl with a glare.

"And how old are you, bat?" the wolf pup asks.

Kioshi grins. "I lost count after 2000."

Both their eyes widen before they realize what their facial expressions are, and they try to regain their angry expressions.

In a foolish attempt to reclaim his dignity, the dog pup says, "Yeah? Well I lost count after-"

"Two months?" I ask.

He turns red and says, "Watch it! My father is one of the generals. He can have you killed."

I smirk. "Ah, so you are the son of the one who is indebted to me. I'll have to remind him that without my plans, the cats would have won a long time ago."

Again both of the pups stare and then glare. "Let's get moving," they say as they start to walk away.

"Finally a wise word from them," Kioshi mutters to me as we start to walk, but I do not hear him for something in the bush has moved, and I smell something.

"Do you hear anything?" I ask just to be sure that the drink is not affecting my sight and sense of smell.

He pauses for a moment before he nods. "Cat I think," he mutters. "How are we going to lose Idiot One and Idiot Two?"

I grin, cocky from the Wolf's Bane. "Allow me." I kneel down to the ground and will the vegetation around us to move towards the pups and tangle them in the foliage. "That will buy us enough time to get out of here," I say over the pups terrified barking.

Kioshi grins evilly and then turns to the forest. "Let's go then."

I nod and follow him into the forest. Finally some action.

Taking My Place

I awoke the next day, worried and stressed but ready to prove myself useful to the army. After all, they had taken me in when no one would have, and they were my only chance to find Rose. So I quickly ate my breakfast and ran to the training room where I awaited my next and last teacher. As I waited my fear grew at the thought of what would happen if I failed this last test. Would I be forced to leave or would I join Neyuki, Neini, and their newly re-found parents as recruiters?

Before I could think of a logical answer to my question I was pulled out of my musing by the entrance of my teacher. Her brown eyes were filled with empty happiness as she closed the door and faced me. "Hey little sis," she said as she walked over.

I felt my mouth go dry as I nodded. In no way was I ready to face her at that point in time. I hadn't even thought of how I would explain the situation to her yet! Panic growing, I forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat caused by fear, bowed, and said, "Hello Rose-sensei."

"So you learned how to talk?" She nodded to herself with an empty smile still on her face. "Alright, if you want to be formal you can. Now before we get started on teaching you to heal, what happened to you all those months ago?"

I quickly thought of a lie. "Kurama-san and I had to leave and do something back in Human World."

She nodded, her eyes starting to ice a bit, though at the same time they softened as if she hated the idea that she liked Kurama but also loved the idea. "Speaking of the bastard, where is Kurama?"

I sighed. "Probably over at the dog demon base."

Rose stared at me, her eyes no longer icing over but now filled with understanding but even that seemed fake. "So he got to you too?"

I shook my head, knowing what she was referring to as her eyes stared at the scar of the bite on my neck. "No. This mark was not from him. I got it in a battle," I explained. I knew I couldn't say I wasn't sure what the mark was from or else Rose would think some other demon had marked me without my knowing. It just made more sense to say it was a battle wound since that probably was what it was.

"Then why are you on different sides?" Rose asked.

I looked at the floor to hide the pain the fight caused me. "We had a difference in opinion about the mission. He thought joining the dogs would be the best way. I didn't like his way of ending the mission and left."

"Mission?"

I sighed. It was now or never since I wasn't sure if I would pass her test or see her again if I failed. Even if I didn't have my words planned out, I had to take my chances. Taking a deep breath to calm my nerves I said, "Kurama-san and I were sent to capture you because you stole the pieces of the Forlorn Hope."

She nodded with a frown on her face. "Weird, I thought they wouldn't care about a hunk of glass."

I cringed. "I think they wouldn't have if not for another problem."

She stared at me confused so I explained about my adventures, starting with my time in Human World and ending with my fight with Kurama. I left out a lot of details about the fight and Kurama's and mine awkward friendship and toned down what happened at the lake which caused me to regain my ability to speak, but I was sure that Rose got the idea. I finished by saying, "Basically, the only reason we are after you is because it's the only way to get me out of trouble." I sighed again. "I finally figured this out a little while ago, and now I want to help you get out of this."

Rose continued to stare. "What do you mean?"

I focused on the wall behind her because I felt I wasn't worthy to meet her eyes because of the danger I had put her in. I had been in the Spirit World prison and that was not a place I would wish on my worst enemy. "I want to help you so that I'm the one who pays for what I did, and you are able to get out of this mess. After all, it isn't fair that you have to pay for my mistakes when you wouldn't have paid otherwise."

Rose continued to stare at me before her eyes appeared to soften. "That's really sweet sis," she said slowly before a grin appeared on her face and she quickly and enthusiastically said, "But let's not think about annoying foxes. Let's start learning to heal."

I nodded and started to listen as Rose explained about how you use your demonic energy to heal. In the back of my mind, I recalled Kurama telling me not to use my energy, but I ignored the memory. He had said that I couldn't because my body hadn't healed. That had been a while ago, and I was healthy so why couldn't I use my energy? I decided.

After a few minutes, she led me out of the room and towards the infirmary. As we walked, I once again admired the beauty of the base around us. However as we neared the infirmary the pleasant scents of the nature soon turned sour, and the sounds of the base also changed from the soft sound of the wind to moans of pain and dieing breaths. The air became stale with the scent of blood and sickness. Somehow, the dogs had managed to find a demon who used a poisoned weapon that caused disease to enter the victim's system.

We came to a branch and paused as Rose gently moved a huge leaf, longer than I was tall, out of the way to reveal the infirmary. She entered the infirmary without a care, and I slowly followed, almost gagging as the scents of death, blood, and sickness increased. Once we were fully inside, the leaf fell back into place plunging the huge room into a darkness that only the glowing plants from the ceiling pierced.

After a few moments, my eyes adjusted to the dim lighting and I saw that there were rows upon rows of beds that stretched down towards the end of the branch. Most of the beds were filled with a demon who was either bleeding and starting to be bandaged, sleeping, or moaning under the bandages.

The true terror of the war hit me at that moment, and I was overcome with the need to vomit. Why I felt the terror much stronger that time than when I killed for the first time, I cannot say. Perhaps it was because this time, I didn't have a shoulder to lean on or maybe I saw these cats as my family and their pain turned my stomach into knots. Or perhaps it was just the overpowering stench of death. Regardless, after a few moments of dry retching, which Rose ignored, I finally regain control over myself and followed her over to a bed.

After watching her emotionlessly heal two demons, it was my turn. I felt my knees become weak as I imagined what my energy may do if I messed up. I had already used it to fuel two attacks. If I had messed up, I might have accidentally caused the wound to worsen. For a second, I almost considered telling Rose of my fears, but then I saw her eyes in the dark. They were cold and calculating, slightly similar to Kurama's, but the hidden pain that would have caused her to understand or pretend to understand and the will to keep herself distant was missing.

Because I knew that she wouldn't understand, I swallowed my fear, and I walked over to a bed where a small cougar kitten lay. She was young, barely a year old, and frightened as the blood stopped following from the wound in her stomach due to her lacking of blood to bleed. Swallowing once more, I slowly took a breath to calm myself and spoke softly the child. I told her that I was going to heal her, but when that didn't seem to calm her, I started to tell her about outside. The sights, scents, sounds, and everything else and to my relief this calmed her as well as myself.

Once she was calm, I put my hand over the open wound. Careful to only let my hand hover and not touch the wound, I started to concentrate on my energy. A warm feeling surged from my chest and moved towards my hand. I ignored Rose's whispered instructions that were distracting me, and closed my eyes so I could concentrate completely on my energy and my desire to save the kitten's life. A feeling of familiarity passed over me, and my fears vanished when I realized I knew what I was doing.

Barely five minutes had passed before I started to feel dizzy, but I forced myself to continue. I had to finish the job or the cougar would be in more pain than she needed to be. After a few more minutes, I managed to complete the job, and opened my eyes to see that the cougar had fallen into a relaxing sleep. Without looking away, I took the bandages from Rose and wrapped the other small cuts I couldn't heal. Before placing the bandages on the cuts, I cleaned them, took some green healing goo from a jar, and rubbed it on the wounds. Then I bandaged them and allowed Rose to lead me out of the cat hospital.

"Healing takes more energy than fighting techniques do if you are wondering why you feel so drained," Rose said to me as we walked.

I nodded and tried not to fall asleep on my feet or fall from the branch as I tried to figure out the way back to my room. "Why aren't there more healers with so many wounded?" I asked sleepily.

Rose frowned as she tried to think of how to explain the situation. "Not many demons are… suited for healing. I'm only a part-time healer in fact. I don't have the patience to be about dying demons for very long."

I felt my head started to nod and forced myself to remain awake. Thankfully, Rose saw that I was about to collapse and allowed me to lean on her. Trying to keep my eyes open, I mumbled, "So do you think I passed?"

Rose smiled down at me, but the smile didn't seem to reach her eyes. Maybe it had been only my imagination. "With flying colours," she replied. "Tomorrow I'll hand you over to the infirmary, and you can start working. There really isn't anything I can teach you. The only thing you can do now is work on strengthening your energy so you can heal more people without getting tired."

I nodded, and this time didn't bother to raise my head again as I fell into a calming and dreamless sleep.

We find the cat intruder moving around the forest that covers the west side of the base. For a moment, we watch the cat move about as I reach into a small bag I had tied to my belt. (Before Kioshi and I left our room, I had used my energy to grow some herbal remedies and weapons so that if I needed a weapon I wouldn't have to give away my position by making my energy known.) While my eyes are still on the cat, I remove two black leaves, one of which I give to Kioshi. After motioning for him to eat it, I eat my own leaf and see the dark forest come into greater focus, and the numbing effects of the alcohol fade slightly. While I am thankful for the return of clarity, Kioshi is not as grateful.

"What the hell was that leaf you just gave me, and what has it done to me?!" he hisses at me.

Once I am sure that the cat has not heard him, I reply, "Something that will allow us to think properly and allow us to catch whoever we are chasing, and don't worry. You can work on your hangover when we get back to the pups."

He glares at me but silently follows my lead as we move closer to the cat that is knocking on trees, obviously expecting to find some sort of hidden entrance.

We are about five metres from the cat before he notices our presence and starts sniffing the air and listening. Instantly, Kioshi and I cease all movement and wait for the cat to return to knocking on trees. However, the cat does not do this. Instead, he moves towards us, sniffing the air, and pulling out a sword as his green eyes search for signs of a patrol.

Suddenly, the cat stops in his tracks and jumps into a tree. At the same time, we hear the sounds of a conversation. A very familiar conversation.

Kioshi silently looks towards me and nods towards the sounds of the pups' voices. Without speaking or making a sound, he asks, 'Do we use them as bait?'

Equally as silently, I pull out the whip I had placed in my bag as an answer.

A grin appears on his face as he also pulls out his silver weapon and we wait.

Within seconds, the pups enter area where we are all waiting. They walk under the tree, and do not notice the cat. Waiting a second, the cat turns and leaps from the trees onto the pups. Kioshi and I do not move though. We wait until the pups cry for help as the cat starts to drag them away from the base. Then we burst from the undergrowth.

Startled, the cat releases the pups, turns tail, and runs. Kioshi and I give chase and within seconds have the cat tied up courtesy of my rose whip and Kioshi's scythe. With our blood barely even pumping, we return to the pups to find them as we left them. Scared and panting.

Knowing that the pups have lost enough pride for one night, we hand the cat over to them and order them to bring it into the base. They instantly are on their feet and are dragging the cat towards the front door as fast as they can. No doubt hoping that if they are fast enough the cat won't escape and attack them again.

The pups do not return after dropping off the cat so Kioshi and I continue to patrol the borders until the sun is almost at the horizon. Then we too re-enter the base to find the generals waiting for us at the entrance of the maze.

"Good morning, Katsu-san, Kiosh-san," they say when we are close to them.

We bow in reply and wait to hear why the generals want to see us.

"Shouta-kun and Daichi-kun returned to the base last night with some interesting news. Apparently, a cat attacked the base, and you two were nowhere to be seen. How do you explain this?" one general asks, a smile clear on her face showing that she knows what really happened.

"Is not a good warrior careful not to be seen until they attack?" I quietly ask.

They nod with wide grins which the light of the torches changes into smirks. "However, Shouta-kun and Daichi-kun have requested that they no longer work with both of you. So unfortunately, you will have to scout with only each other for back-up."

Kioshi and I nod and bow once more. "We will not disappoint."

They nod once more and turn to leave. "See to that and we shall see you in one month to speak of scouting."

We both instantly stand upright about to argue about shorting the wait, but the generals have already disappeared into the maze. Annoyed and defeated, we return to our room, and while Kioshi curses the generals under his breath, I am trying to think of a plan.

A month is far too long to ask us to wait. I need to get out of the base as soon as I can and find The Fox's Rose. What's more, I can't leave Tsukino alone. Who knows what trouble she has gotten into. How tainted she will be after all this. Also, if I don't find her and learn of her condition, Keiko will steal Yusuke's mirror and give me a piece of her mind. That would actually be painful with demonic hearing. Finally, I admit I'm starting to worry about her and looking at my compass has done little to comfort me for as Yusuke said, 'it does not give advanced warning.' Also, I doubt that the distance the compass shows is accurate because the value of how far she is from me has not changed. What's more, she is coming closer and closer to the third stage.

Because of those reasons, as Kioshi and I enter our room to rest, I decide that the next chance I have of escaping, I will do so. There is too much on the line to allow the members of authority to make my decisions for me… I have truly been friends with Yusuke too long but hopefully that will help me this time as I plan to break all the rules the army has created.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait.

1. Writing was evil.

2. I got a copy of Yu Yu Hakusho Tournament Tactics and got addicted to it.

3. Other personal reasons.

And 4. I'm having problems figuring out the plot of Into the Night and Look At This Photograph with make me worry about the future of this fic and put it off.

Anyways, sorry for the wait, thanks for reading and the reviews and I hope you are enjoying the story. I'll try to update sooner next time.

-D101