May stares at the back of the boy she hasn't seen in a few days now. He's seated, staring into the darkness of the cave in which he received his final training from Genkai.

"May." his sorrow filled voice calls, sensing her presence there.

She steps forward, crouching down beside him. "Koenma told me I could find you here." she says quietly, taking a look at his face. She doesn't need to ask him how he's feeling.

"Yusuke, Genkai asked me to give you a message." she starts, making his glistening eyes turn to hers.

"You've talked to her?" he questions.

She nods in reply. She has indeed been to see Genkai before she passed on. It was a conversation that sorted out her feelings and now she hopes to do the same for Yusuke.

"She says, 'I really had to struggle, because you were such a poor pupil. I don't want to see your mug for a good while, so don't be coming over here'." May quotes directly from Genkai's mouth. When she told May to pass the message, she couldn't help but smile. That's Genkai for you.

"Also, she had a final request; 'Win', she said." May finishes, watching Yusuke hang on to every word.

"T-that old hag…" he stammers, new tears setting themselves free and rolling down his already wet cheeks.

He briskly wipes at them, gritting his teeth as a new form of determination settles in his mind. He jumps to his feet, surprising May. She looks up at him as he looks to the stars with a smile.

He takes a stance, pointing his finger to the sky. "Genkai, here is my reply!"

A tremendous amount of Spirit energy starts to whip around him like an angry wind. May quickly gets to her feet, staring at him in wonder. He's grown so much stronger. "I'll drive it all the way to the Spirit world!"

Finally he fires his salute to Genkai, shooting it off into the atmosphere above like a shooting star. It takes a long time for it to disappear from sight. Every being on the island must have taken notice to it as it illuminated everything for a moment. He exhales, letting his arms fall to his side as he continues to watch the light soar through the sky.

"Do you think it reached her?" he wonders quietly as May comes to stand next to him, following his line of sight.

She smiles slightly. "I'm sure it did." she nods, leaning closer to Yusuke as he puts his arm around her shoulders in comfort. "Loud and clear." she muses, whiping a lonely tear from her eye.

…

Later, May barges into her shared bedroom with a loud yawn. She barely manages to close the door behind her before letting herself face first into the sheets, releasing a deep sigh of contentment at the feeling of the expensive cotton underneath her fingertips.

Today has been hellish to say the least. She can't wait to drift of into a peaceful sleep. She can't even be bothered to change into nightclothes. However, there is one thing missing that is keeping her from doing so.

The bed dips next to her. Oh, there he is. She hums in pleasure as nails gently rake through her hair and over her scalp, her muscles turning to putty. This is nice.

With a tired smile she turns to look up at Kurama, only to get the shock of her life. She tumbles, head first, off the bed with a shriek. The notion is followed by an amused chuckle.

Holding onto her chest to keep her heart from bursting out at the surprise, May peers over the edge of the bed to see if her eyes aren't playing tricks on her.

Oh dear kami. Looking down at her with an amused smirk is a silver-eared fox demon. His amber eyes have her staring up at him baffled for a moment. "C-couldn't you have given me a heads up?!" she gasps finally.

He smiles crookedly as he gets to his feet, slowly making his way around the bed. "I would, but I didn't want to disturb you. You looked very… peaceful." Yoko finishes, crouching down before May.

She gazes at him unsurely, not sure how to act and he must've noticed because his expression turns as soft as can be for a dangerous ancient fox demon. He slowly reaches out; tilting May's head to have her eyes meet his straight on once his finger rests below her chin.

"Do not fear me May. It's only me." he urges gently. "I'm still Kurama, just in my original form."

She takes a moment to study his features more carefully. This form actually carries some of the same characteristics as Kurama's human form, but beside the obvious differences, his features are sharper and his skin slightly paler.

She raises a delicate brow, pursing her lips before blurting out, "What's your mother's name?"

"Shiori." he replies without a second thought, looking amused.

"Favorite color?"

"Green."

"Grade average?"

"Ninety-seven percent."

"Show off. Birthday?"

"December twenty-ninth."

"Where did we first meet?"

"Hospital."

"First date?"

"Haven't officially been on one yet."

"My favorite scent?"

"Me….?"

May flicks him on the forehead. "Nope, it's Honeysuckle."

Yoko sighs, rolling his eyes slightly. "It's unfair to ask me things you haven't disclosed before, but it is duly noted… Now, do I get your stamp of approval?" he asks, raising a daring brow.

"Oh alright." May gives in, before sucking in a breath when his large hands lift her to her feet as he rises. He towers over her form, his daunting presence leaving her weak in the knees. This takes some getting used to she realizes.

"So… you took some of that… juice huh?" she starts awkwardly. "Any strange side effects?"

"Not as of yet." he answers. "I haven't been in this form for long. Only just before you came in."

"I can't begin to tell you how much more powerful I feel… my heightened senses alone…" he explains as he saunters across the room towards the window, his tail swaying gently with each step. "This will be just what I need in the finals."

There is relief in his voice. May sits herself down on the edge of the bed, quietly observing him. It's no wonder he feels like that. His whole being oozes power.

"Do you think it will last long enough to win you a match?" she asks, making him shrug.

"Only time will tell. Why? Do you miss my other appearance? Is how I appear to you now not pleasing to you?" he asks, looking back at her over his shoulder with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

May's eyes widen, "W-what are you talking about? You look fine. Y-…" she cuts herself short when she noticed he has stalked back to her.

He lets a finger run over her bottom lip. "I was just teasing." he states in a breathy chuckle.

May huffs. Of course he was. If that isn't Kurama… She tries to suppress a yawn, but couldn't. She wasn't able to hide how tired she was. These past few days have been long and exhausting in every sense of the word.

"You're tired May. It's alright to go to sleep. Don't stay awake on my account." he tells her.

She shakes her head in reply. "No, it's fine. I can stay up until you're, well, your other self again. Just in case." she argues.

Yoko smiles down at her. "You've had a long day…" he starts, sweeping her off her feet before laying her down on the bed. He pins her down when she moves to sit up. "I want you to sleep, don't worry about me." he says resolutely.

He knows he has her when she sighs, her eyes already half-lidded. His lips twitch upward, before leaning down and capturing her lips in a kiss. When he releases her, her eyes are shut. "Goodnight." he whispers in her ear before draping the sheets over her form.

Thank you guys for the great feedback once again. And of course I have to give credit to HoneyBunnyLemon for Beta-reading. It's good to have someone fine-tune each chapter and filter out my silly mistakes.