A Forest on Fire (KuramaxOc)

Ch 45: Foxfire

Yumiko hadn't spoken a word since they had left the Minamino residence the next morning. The text she had received still echoed in the back of her mind.

She had done her absolute best to remain polite, and seem calm in front of miss Shiori, and Kurama had assisted in that by using control to take a bit of the edge off from the blazing inferno within the girl's chest. The moment they had stepped off the train however, he had relinquished his grip, and she had fumed.

She dropped her things just inside the doorway of Genkai's temple without so much as a glance to what might as well have been her grandmother, nor to her student, who looked up from the plate of eggs he had been half-way through devouring long enough to glare her way.

Kurama tried to shake his head at the detective in warning, but it was too late.

"YOU COULD AT LEAST NOT LEAVE THEM IN THE DOORWAY YOU KNOW!!!" He shouted around the eggs.

Yumiko, who had been halfway back through the door, turned on her heels and hissed at him with pure rage. In that moment, Kurama thought the little fox had looked more like a demon than he had ever seen. She nearly slammed into Maru as she stomped out of the main room, and blinked at him once before grabbing the front of his shirt, and dragging the goat demon with her towards the beach.

Maru blinked at the sudden contact, and paled, shooting a bemused glance at the redhaired male before allowing the fox to drag him. Kurama released an exasperated sigh, and ran a hand through his hair as he spoke, drawing out a few echinacea seeds in the process.

"If Mako arrives, perhaps advise him to tread cautiously." He prompted, before following the two to the sands. It was going to be a very long day. Over his shoulder, he could hear muttering as the two returned to their breakfasts.

"Damned brat nearly bit my head off..." Yusuke muttered, returning to his eggs.

"She's certainly in a mood today... those boys would do well not to underestimate her." Genkai mused, then added. "I suggest you eat well, it will be your last meal for three days."

"THREE DAYS?!? HOW THE HELL IS STARVING ME SUPPOSED TO HELP ME BEAT TOGORO, YOU OLD HAG?!?

***

Kurama stared, mouth agape as Yumiko chased Maru around the sandy beach, a look of genuine panic on the male's face as he tried to dodge her claws in his goat demon form. Clearly she had no interest in waiting for the safety net of the echinacea plants before starting. Cautiously, he felt for their bond, and flinched, taking a step back at the roiling fury inside the little fox.

Maru shot him a desperate look, and he nodded, throwing his seeds in a wide arc into the breeze. The moment the seeds landed, the life-field rose. Maru stopped suddenly and hissed in pain as her claws sank into his chest.

"Shall we take the training wheels off then?"

He asked in a voice that did not belong to the goat demon's body. Kurama shuddered, and braced himself, feeding a steady stream of energy into those flowers. 'Caution, Yumi... are you sure you're ready for-' His thought was cut off by a vicious snarl both in mind, and in person as Yumiko yanked her claws free. Her eyes had gone bright blue, not a hint of green, and her ears and tail tip now bore the faintest black tips. 'She's shifting fully... how will you proceed, fox?'

Hiei's voice in his mind caught Kurama wholly off guard, as did the sudden presence beside him, and he realized he had been sweating.

"This isn't good... I don't think I could stop her if I tried, outside of command at least...." He thought for a moment as Yumiko snarled for Maru not to hold back. "If it comes to it, I'll use the bond to force sleep. Hopefully it won't... AH!!"