Relationships

Yuusuke
What would a YYH site be without mention of the main character? Yuusuke is the loud mouth, obnoxious street punk with a good heart who defends the world from evil as the leader of the Reikai Tantei. Both he and Kurama have very similar interests (i.e. enjoying challenging battles), though Kurama uses his head and thinks rationally, whereas Yuusuke goes by the motto: "Shoot first and ask questions later." It was because of Yuusuke that Kurama became a Reikai Tantei. For his first case, Yuusuke had to retrieve the stolen Reikai treasures, which included the Mirror of Utter Dark that was held by Kurama. At first meeting the boy, Kurama sensed that if he told Yuusuke his reason for stealing the mirror, he would understand and allow him to use it. Yuusuke did understand Kurama's feelings but more than that, he knew of a mother's heartache and so he helped Kurama by offering his own life so that Kurama would not have to loose his. From that moment on, the two had bonded and fought side by side, the kitsune even betrayed Hiei to help Yuusuke defeat him in battle. Kurama is loyal to Yuusuke for what he did and repaid him. Yuusuke to is very protective of Kurama; he worries about Kurama in battle possibly as much as Hiei. They remind me of brothers, though Yuusuke tends to rough house more with Kuwabara, he does joke around good-naturedly with Kurama and vice versa.

Hiei
These two are pretty close friends but it wasn't until they joined the Reikai Tantei that we see how close they are. Before that they were merely partners and even then they had a rocky start. Hiei was mislead to believe Kurama had to do with a rumor that may have been a connection to Yukina's kidnapping and attacked him without question. They fought but Hiei was wounded before and Kurama nursed him back to health. They went their separate ways until Hiei came to Kurama and asked him to help him steal the Reikai artifacts. He agreed but only because he had reasons of his own to steal the artifacts. Kurama's level head is a good balance to Hiei's temper and they both often fight together. For example in the OVA there is a wonderful sequence where they both fight off a gang of demons together. Both demons have a silent understanding between them and look out for each other. Hiei most definitely worries about Kurama more than the others. It's when Kurama is badly wounded or Yukina hurt that we see Hiei become very upset. Kurama too worries for Hiei. Even though he lends a helping hand to everyone when they're injured or wounded, it's Hiei that he frets over. Kurama also has a great tendency to tease Hiei in his own special way to ruffle the fire demon's feathers but he gets his own in the end for Hiei makes snippy comments about his compassion for humans. Hiei once said that he teamed up with Kurama so he would never have to fight him, but he also trusts Kurama more than anyone, even enough to give him his teargem to give to Yukina at the end of the series.

Kuwabara
Kuwabara is an old rival of Yuusuke's who later turns into a Reikai Tantei and is one of Kurama's comrades. Though a bit of a goof, he has a good heart. These two are pretty close friends, sometimes as close as brothers, playing cards together, Kurama sticking up for Kuwabara, and Kuwabara being friendly (i.e. always tossing an arm over Kurama's shoulder). This tells us that he is comfortable around him and Kurama doesn't seem to mind the contact either. Kurama is probably the only one who doesn't underestimate Kuwabara or belittle his abilities. He was willing to help him train for the Ankoku Bujuutsukai. During that time, he did not go easy on him for he knew that Kuwabara could handle what he threw at him. When they first met, Kuwabara instantly liked Kurama though the same can't be said about him and Hiei. Kurama finds Kuwabara and Hiei's arguments to be amusing, especially concerning Yukina and the fact that the two males may one day become related.

Koenma
Kurama and Koenma are not very close. This is probably because they do not exchange much dialogue, and Koenma is wary of the once Youko thief, especially after watching him fight in the Ankoku Bujuutsukai. Kurama respects Koenma in his own way and doesn't try to oppose him, though he is not intimidated by his status as prince of Reikai and will call Koenma on it when he seems to be keeping something from the others.

Yomi
This relationship confuses me since I'm still not sure what to consider them. Before he became one of the three Makai lords, Yomi was one of the bandits who followed Youko Kurama and eventually became Youko's second in command. However, Yomi was reckless and often got himself and the band into trouble. This may have been one of the reasons why Kurama betrayed him and sent out an assassin to kill him, though it isn't certain. We are not sure what Youko felt for Yomi. However, his plan did not work for Yomi was only blinded. Yomi has a strange attraction to Kurama, wishing to have him fight in in the Makai tournament in his Youko form though Kurama does not grant that request. Also there seems to be an odd sort of respect between them, especially after Kurma's fight with Shigure when Yomi helped him off the battlefield. Yomi didn't even try to have revenge on Kurama for his blindness, just merely asked for an apology.

Kuronue
There is much to speculate when it comes to Kuronue for we do not know much -- if anything -- about him since he is not in the series. What we do know though, is that he was Youko Kurama's old partner in Makai. He may have been his best friend -- possibly more -- from what the movie indicates, having a good time with Kurama stealing riches. We're not sure when they became partners but it's obvious that Kuronue was an excellent thief if he was partners with Youko. Aside from Hiei, I think this is the person Kurama was closet to. It is more than obvious Kurama feels responsible for Kuronue's death for he was unable to fight the demon that mimicked Kuronue because of the grief and thoughts of letting his friend die a second time. But since they were such close friends, Kurama knew that this Kuronue was a fake for he did two things that Kurama knew Kuronue would never do and that was attack a person from behind, and throw away the pendant he always wore. The same pendant he gave his life to retrieve.

More to come!