Why did Kurama choose to remain Human?

Question

Caution, contains spoilers.

In episode 108 when Kurama fought Shigure, he decided to remain human even though his powers are far more limited. He said he does not want his friends and mother to treat him differently. But when Yomi asked him at the end of the fight if he decided to abandon the form of Yoko for eternity, he said he never abandons anything.

• Does this mean that he decided to never to transform into Yoko?
• And if so, why does he have conflicting identities in the first place?
• Yoko is Kurama's original form.

Does he deny his past?

I know this is a bit of a complex question, but if possible, I want clarifications on everything I asked.

Answer 1

Very simple, he didn't want his friends/family to be affected by his change, but he wanted to still be able to tap into that power when he needed it.

Much like a super-hero's need to disguise himself so that people won't recognize him, they'd treat Peter Parker differently if everyone knew he was Spiderman.

Answer 2

It's because Kurama wanted to forget his past mistakes and continue living a new life as Shuuichi. He never abandoned his original form because he just wanted to change his life, and he met most of his loved ones as Shuuichi, so he also decided to live on that form. He won't abandon his original form. He started living as Youko Kurama and is known for it. He didn't enter in conflicting identities in the first place. It was needed for him to combine his spirit with a human so he could regain his powers. That's his sole purpose why he'd put his spirit into that of Shuuichi. But everything changed because of what his human mother did for him. He realized that his life changed and became better as he grew up as Shuuichi. And for the last question, he's still using his demon form but it's situational. It doesn't mean that if he only rarely uses his demon form that he's denying his past. He accepts all that he had done in the past but he really wants to forget his past mistakes because the Kurama that most of the people in his life knew is not the Kurama in the past, but it's the Kurama who seeks his true self, the one he had when he began living as a human.

Answer 3

I have given this a lot a thought because well - he is my favorite character and the insinuation of his complexity and intellect attracts me and - at least in the anime- I believe they do a good job of telling you only enough about his “true self” and past to leave you wanting more. Starting from the top: 1.) yes - at least that is his intention. Never to take that form or borrow Yokos power again- he wants his current self (Kurama - half human) to be strong enough - maybe even stronger- to protect the ones he loves.
“I don’t need an operation; I just need greater discipline” - paraphrasing what he said. 2. I believe this was REALLY triggered after the demon tournament and the potion usage. Never before does Yōko speak to “Suichi” in his umm... head. The box reversed time on him so that these two identities could speak to one another. Since this doesn’t happen after it leads me to believe that whatever his “current” mind is it’s a merging of souls and so only one voice in his head and that is just Kurama with the knowledge (complete) of his past but a greater attachment to his current life and body AND limitations. As he increases power after the use of the potion - he is shown to have the ability to take on his past phisical form and use those greater “Yōko” powers but his mind is still “Kurama”. 3.) he does not deny or abandon his past- he just wants to let his current state be his true identity without the guilt or shame of his past and his past strength. Before he wanted power for power and for himself. Now he wants power to protect- and he wants to become just as powerful in his own way (Current state Kurama way)