I've never really been one to point out evidence for non-canon pairings since it seemed rather silly to try and justify a pairing that wasn't canon in any way, shape, or form. I had trouble with that concerning Valgarv x Filia because people did not realize my reasons were meant to be purely humorous in nature. So I vowed never to do it again. However, since my OTP was made for just good old-fashioned fun, it doesn't matter if I point out a few "coincidences" as I like to call them. X3

This is probably the biggest reason I find it okay to ship the two of them together. They don't have canon romantic partners. Sure there are fan pairings for them involving characters from their respective series, but neither actually end up with any of them. Sylphiel is in love with Gourry throughout all of Slayers but the love is very much one-sided, since Gourry has pretty much dedicated himself to Lina. With Kurama there is the spectacle of Maya in the manga, but he eventually erases her memories and never speaks to her again. And Hiei? Well, regardless of the fact that the pairing is wildly popular, I don't think of them as canon. So therefore it is all right in my eyes to then pair Kurama and Sylphiel together since I'm not breaking up a huge canon couple. For example, a pairing that has become very popular lately in the YYH fandom is Kurama and Keiko. This... just doesn't work for me since Keiko is very much in love with Yuusuke as he is with her and they're the main YYH couple. I won't give you exact YYH ending spoilers but yea, they pretty much end up together and I can't see them with anyone other than each other. Pairings like this just don't cut it for me no matter how good the fanfiction is.

I don't know anyone who is more deserving of love than Sylphiel and Kurama. Both characters have time and again willingly sacrificed themselves for the ones they cherish and hold dear. Sylphiel was willing to put herself in danger to protect Gourry from Zangulus during one of their fights and Kurama didn't fight the demon whom he believed was actually his old partner Kuronue, despite the imposter's attempts at killing him. They also gave up the chance at love for the sake of those they cared for. It is no secret that Sylphiel loved Gourry, but in the end she does not make an attempt to go after him because she knew his happiness lied in a life with Lina. So she let him go because he would be happy even if it wouldn't be with her. Kurama in turn, could have had a relationship with Maya if he chose to, but he feared more for her safety since she would become a target for his enemies. So he let her go because she would be happy even if it wouldn't be with him. Am I the only one who sees a pattern? I could throw out more examples but I think my point is clear. They're both self-sacrificing and what better reward for them both than to find love in each other?

Before Shiori remarried, Kurama had been the child of a single parent just like Sylphiel. It's purely coincidental, but what sticks out to me is the love both characters have for their respective mother and father and how they strive to do the best for them. Kurama is the perfect son. He excelled in school with the highest grades in his class, he's always polite and well mannered, he cared for Shiori when she became ill, and he chose to remain by her side even though he could have returned to the Makai. Sylphiel in turn is the perfect daughter. Throughout the series, Eruk's influence upon her is seen in many ways. She is cultured, soft spoken, very giving to those around her, and she helped her father by cooking and taking care of their home at an early age. And of course she loves him unconditionally just as Kurama does with Shiori. Also, because Sylphiel went through the loss of her father when Kopii Rezo destroyed Sairaag, she would know how Kurama feels when he worries about his mother's safety being threatened by his enemies. And, (not saying that I want this to happen, heaven's no! o.o) if Shiori were to someday pass away, Sylphiel can give Kurama the comfort he would need because she had been there and went through the same thing. Their unbreakable love for their parents give Kurama and Sylphiel a strong common bond and I'm sure they would admire that quality in each other if they were to ever meet.

I intend to make this my strongest point so here goes in different parts:

a. They just go well together. Both Kurama and Sylphiel are practically the same personality type from what I can tell. They're not really extroverted, Sylphiel especially. She fits the characteristics of an introvert very well probably because of her sheltered life in Sairaag. Kurama fits it because he keeps to himself, though it's mostly for the benefit of others, or his duties as a spirit detective get in the way. For example, when the biology club begged him to join, he politely declined even though it's his best subject. This doesn't mean it's a bad thing they're like that, it's just one of the things I noticed they have in common and I tend to believe they would do better with someone like themselves rather than a person with an opposite personality type.

b. Another thing is that Kurama needs someone whom he can be completely honest with. Heaven knows he has a hard enough time keeping Shiori from finding out about his second life, but the stress would double if he had to keep it away from the one he is in love with. This brings to mind that he needs someone who isn't a regular human girl (or at the very least a human girl who doesn't know anything about Reikai, etc.). He needs someone who is used to seeing strange unnatural things or leads a less than ordinary life herself. Sylphiel fits that requirement perfectly. To her, her life may seem ordinary but she sees things that don't exist in Ningenkai such as mazoku, dragons, even chimeras like Zelgadis. These things don't make her bat an eye because they're the norm, whereas a normal girl would probably faint. So for her it wouldn't be such a big deal to find out Kurama is also a kitsune who controls plant life whereas it would be with a girl from his high school. Kurama needs someone who would love every aspect of him, not just his human side but someone who could also love the part of him he keeps from the world: Youko Kurama.

c. This brings in mind another point. Kurama is weighed down by his past deeds when he lived as Youko. He is doing all he can to atone for his life of crime but he may or may not fully forgive himself. He holds a lot of guilt for not being able to save Kuronue and for the scars Shiori received on her arms when she caught him from falling onto broken plates when he was a child. Kurama blames himself but he needs to be forgiven and healed. Who better to help with that than Sylphiel? Sylphiel is a healer through and through as she heals people both physically and mentally. Sylphiel is a prime candidate to help Kurama learn to forgive himself for his mistakes; she would see past his life as a thief and see him for how he lives in the present. His past would not matter to her and she would not condone him for what he did. It goes against Sylphiel's very nature to turn back on someone in need. She does not let people suffer no matter what. For example, if not for Sylphiel's help, Lina would have lost her sanity when she thought she killed a young child who was really a zombie. It really makes me question what effect Sylphiel would have had on Kurama during his match with Game Master and the aftermath of Kurama's decision.

d. This point coincides with part b. Another downside with having a regular human girl as a love interest is that she would be rather defenseless. This reminds me of Maya whom Kurama had to rescue once. Afterwards he worried about his enemies continuing to come after her so he erased her memories including the memory of her love for him. So this tells me that Kurama needs someone who can hold their own -- at least to an extent. Sylphiel might not be the greatest when it comes to offensive spells but she is the best when it comes to defensive spells and, if need be, she can cast the deadly Dragon Slave to hold off her enemies at least until reinforcements arrive. On the other hand, Sylphiel also needs someone who will want to protect her and keep her safe. It might be due to her sheltered life but I think one of the things Sylphiel looks for in love is security. In my opinion that is one of the reasons she fell in love with Gourry since he rescued her home from being destroyed and she then saw him as a great protector. If someone else were to rescue her, it would most definitely grab her attention and pique her interest so to speak. And Kurama isn't the type who would ignore a plea of help from a "damsel in distress" if he came across one.

e. They also have a connection with plant life. There is a difference since Kurama can control plants but Sylphiel has a deep spiritual connection with them, specifically concerning trees as shown by her bond with Flagoon, the holy tree of Sairaag. Now it may be just wishful thinking on my part but I believe Kurama would see that as a rare quality in a person and he would probably admire and/or respect such a talent since it's so close to his own. And Sylphiel has such a high regard for nature that she would see Kurama as a kindred spirit. And really, how could a girl like Sylphiel not fall for someone who grows roses? At the very least they can exchange gardening tips. ^_^

f. Now this is purely for amusement, but am I the only one who finds it ironic that Kurama and Sylphiel were both once "thieves?" Granted, Kurama stole a lot more than Sylphiel, but she did admit to stealing the Bless Blade and hiding it inside Flagoon. She was just too afraid to return it because she knew she'd be in trouble. I think Kurama would find that to be very endearing if she ever shared that with him.

Okay this is one of my more shallow reasons but I can't help it. Kurama and Sylphiel look pretty together. I've never been one to like Mary Sues but I always thought that Kurama should be with someone who was beautiful. Perhaps not as beautiful as him per se, but not someone who was real plain either. Sylphiel is in the middle. She is quite lovely in her own right but she's certainly not of the Mary Sue variety. As far as the color spectrum goes (hey I do like to overanalyze after all) they also match. I've seen this color-match theory used before with Lina/Gourry (red/yellow) and Zelgadis/Amelia (blue/pink) so I thought to use it with my pairing. In the anime series, Sylphiel's hair is seen mostly as a blue-ish purple color and one of the agreeing colors with purple is red, which is Kurama's hair color (silly I know, but it works since you need red to make purple). And it might be even sillier to use eye color as a reason, but it amuses me that they have the same eye color. And also they both dress very well. Eh, if you need anymore proof concerning this just look at the pictures. X3

Okay, this is purely delusional on my part but after Sylphiel healed Lina in the first season, she went through various belongings of hers from her childhood and came across a small stuffed animal. Now it's probably a stuffed cat, but the ears make it look like a fox and it's gray (which is close enough to silver to make me squee over it). But yea, this is the only silly reason without any logic I have for my OTP. ^^;

So there you have it, every possible logical reason I ship Sylphiel and Kurama together in one nice package. There's probably more reasons but they're more of the varierty that point number six came from and while they're amusing to Kit and I, it would be pointless to others. Plus I would have to look over all our RPG files and I just don't have the patience for that yet. @_@ So I hope this has sufficed you and answered some of your questions as to the method of my madness. ^_^