Chapter Three- Revelations
"Hey, Urameshi!"
"What's up, Kuwabara?"
"Have you seen Kurama lately?"
"No. Why?"
"I ran into his mom on the way here and she's worried. She says he left for America a month ago and he hasn't called or nothin'."
"I doubt he's in America, otherwise he would have told us. This sounds like a job for the trusty Demon Compass." Yusuke pulled back his sleeve to reveal the hidden compass. "Good thing Botan got it replaced after that deal with Rando."
"Well, turn it on!"
"After school, pal. Kurama can take care of himself. Besides, Kayco will have my hide if I skip again."
"Yeah, you're right."
"Okay. We'll meet right here after school."
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Following the compass's arrow, Yusuke and Kuwabara ended up in a run-down area of the city, south of their middle school. The poorness of the area greatly surprised the spirit detective. "Why would Kurama be in an area like this? I thought he would be at Genkai's."
"Maybe he's in trouble."
"Possibly. According to the compass, he's stationary. In fact, he's...over there." Yusuke pointed to a vacant house.
"Heh. How convient."
The beeping from Yusuke's compass became faster as they approached the stairs. Pounding up the flight to the second level, the compass emitted a long drawn-out beep. They found Kurama!
Shutting off the compass, Yusuke reached the top and noticed the sleeping boy nearby.
"Urameshi. Something about Kurama looks wrong. He's so pale."
Yusuke noticed that his friend was right. Kurama's skin was as pale as a corpse. As they drew closer, Yusuke placed his fingers on the sleeping boy's wrist. He frowned in concentration before pulling back, eyes wide.
"K-Kuwabara? Kurama's dead. I-I couldn't find a pulse."
"How can he be dead if he's breathing?"
Yusuke mulled over this question as he studied the pale boy. "Well. There is one possibility, but it seems impossible."
"And what's that?"
"Vampire."
"Oh, come on! Kurama's no vampire!"
"I am now," said a new voice.
The two boys looked down to see Kurama's green eyes wide open.
&&&&
Kurama's ears detected voices nearby. Intruders! He felt fingers touch his wrist briefly and guessed that they were vampire hunters. And ameteurs as well.
'They'll make a fine meal tonight,' he thought. He sensed that the sun had just gone down and he was ready to strike!
Slowly, he opened his eyes and was shocked to see Yusuke and Kuwabara standing over him. His hearing focused in time to hear Kuwabara declare that Kurama wasn't a vampire.
"I am now," Kurama spoke up startling his friends.
Kuwabara was the first to react. He quickly backed up, fingers held out in the shape of a cross. "Stay away," he warned.
Sitting up, Kurama laughed gently. "No need to worry, Kuwabara. I made a vow to not hurt my friends."
"That's good." Kuwabara relaxed and came back to Yusuke's side, who knealt down beside the bed.
"How did this happen?" he asked.
"The day I was attacked. You see, the vampire had some of my blood in his mouth when you attacked and he spat it onto my wound. His saliva had mixed with my blood."
"And it turned you?"
"That's correct."
Yusuke felt terrible. He tried to save his friend's life and instead he ends up cursing him. "I'm so sorry. I could have tackled him instead of shooting him."
"I will be alright, Yusuke. Though, I do wish I was truly dead."
"How about not drinking blood?" the taller teen asked. "You'll die then."
"I tried, but some kind of self-defense mechanism activates and I lose control of myself and start killing anyone in sight. I would rather kill consciously then unconsciously."
"Then, maybe a cure."
"I have yet to find one. Mostly, because I have resigned myself to this fate."
"No," Yusuke stated forcefully. "You're not giving up now. We'll find a way to cure you starting right now. Come on, Kuwabara. Kurama, you go ahead and kill a mugger or someone like that."
"All right." Kurama didn't want Yusuke to find a cure. Not in the state he was in, in any case. Yusuke was feeling guilty and guilt can drive a person to take extreme measures in order to solve the problem. Kurama did want a cure, but he wasn't going to keep his hopes up.