Sorry about the lapse in updates, I had a couple school papers creep up on me, but it's all taken care of now. Thank you to everyone who's left a review! You guys make me try to stay on a regular update schedule, haha.

Sanae is aware that she was, at one time, an easy target.

She did things that made it easy for others to notice her or single her out, things that made people keep their distance. It wasn't on purpose, and it wasn't her fault, and over time she learned to be a little more careful, to keep more of herself inside, private, safe. Some things are almost instinctual now. Sanae pays careful attention to the way people look at her and does her best to be as invisible as possible. She wants to belong, of course, and at school, belonging means not sticking out or being too noticeable. She doesn't have to be well-liked; she just doesn't want to be an outsider.

So when a group of three girls makes their way over to her desk during a free period, Sanae is very careful, watching their expressions for any hint of malevolence. She's actually surprised when one of them, her hair in fluffy pigtails, offers a smile. "You're new, right?" she asks, "You don't seem to really talk to anyone much. Did you want to eat lunch with us?"

Sanae catches herself searching her words for insincerities that aren't there and tells herself to relax. "If you don't mind," she says.

The friendly girl with pigtails is Hiroko, and every time Sanae looks at her, she's reminded of somebody she knew before she ever heard the word Gensokyo. Despite this-or maybe because of it-she finds herself relaxing in Hiroko's presence and smiling at her outbursts and eccentricities.

"I'm new to town," Sanae says, "What are some fun things to do on the weekends?"

"Ghost hunting," Hiroko says in a surprisingly serious tone. Sanae blinks.

"I'm sorry?"

Sanae's classmate grins. "Nagano's got history on us," she says, "But we live in a town called Kaidan. Kaidan! How could we not have some weird stuff going on?"

Hiroko and her friends, as it turns out, are paranormal enthusiasts.

"We hear weird stories all the time," Hiroko says almost proudly, "There's a coffee shop downtown where they say you can hear a little kid's voice after they close and no one's there. And the bookshop a few blocks from here is supposed to be haunted, too."

"None of that stuff is nearly as cool as what happens here at school, though," Michiko says from Hiroko's right. She's just an inch or two taller than Hiroko with her hair cut short and has a pair of glasses that are constantly sliding down her nose.

"At school?" Sanae can't help but ask, "What happens here?"

"What doesn't?" Hiroko scoffs, "We've got pretty much everything, or so the stories go. Ghosts, youkai, portals to other dimensions, probably aliens, too. Right, Yumi?"

Yumi is the tallest of the group, towering over Sanae and most of their class, and is also the one who says the least. She gives a nod in response.

Sanae can hardly get a word in with the other two talking a mile a minute, but manages to ask, "I'm sorry, portals to other dimensions?"

"Yep," Hiroko says nonchalantly, "I can't verify that one, though."

"We call the weirdest things the Seven Wonders of Meiou High," Michiko says, "People have talked about the second floor hallway closest to the girl's bathroom, and the old garden shed behind the school for years."

"Have you guys ever actually seen anything, or just heard about?"

It suddenly gets quiet. "Well, no, I've never seen it," Hiroko says uneasily, "But that's just because I've never stuck around that late after school. That's when all of this stuff is supposed to happen."

Sanae smiles sagely. "I think ghost stories are kind of neat," she says, "But I've never really believed in that kind of thing. I'm not scared, so maybe I can check it out for you guys."

Hiroko's eyes widen almost comically. "Wait, you haven't even heard the stories yet," she insists, "It's seriously scary. You won't want to go anymore if you hear about it."

"We have pretty scary stories in Nagano. I've probably heard worse."

"Like the one about Sanae from Class 1-B?" Michiko whispers conspiratorially.

Sanae tries not to flinch. "Yeah. Like that one."

"I bet it's even creepier for you because you have the same name," Hiroko says.

She gives a strained smile. "Yep. Pretty creepy."

Hiroko gives an approving nod. "Well, if you're really serious," she says, "Then I would check out the second floor hallway first. At nighttime, when nobody's around, they say an apparition appears and walks around. She'll ask anyone she comes across if they think she's beautiful or not, and if you say yes-!"

"I think that's a different story," Michiko mumbles.

Hiroko frowns. "Oh. Well," she turns to Sanae, eyes sparkling with excitement, "You'll find out for us, right?"

Sanae nods. "Sure. I'll take a look next week."

And just like that, she ends up with a group of ready-made friends. Admittedly, Sanae is pretty sure their interest in the paranormal is what led them to her in the first place. She's been told that she feels just a little "off" compared to normal humans, part of the reason people tend to keep their distance. She's also willing to take what she can get, so she'll enjoy their company while it lasts. She's fairly skeptical about this whole "Seven Wonders" thing, but with the strange aura around Meiou, she has to start somewhere.

She's feeling significantly better today-she has a starting point for her investigation and people who willingly share the same air as her-and at the end of the day, she heads for the school gates with a spring in her step. "Did something good happen?" someone asks, and she spins on her heel in surprise, finding Shuuichi within a foot of her.

"Don't sneak up on me like that," she snaps, and he looks like he's trying not to smile.

"I called your name, but you didn't seem to hear me."

"Oh." Her face is hot with embarrassment; she hopes it isn't as red as she thinks it is. "Sorry."

"It's alright." He falls in step with her and they walk together. "I spoke with my mother, and she wouldn't mind if I was out a bit later than usual tonight."

"Your mother…?" the words slip out before Sanae can stop them. Family ties among youkai are a bit different than those of humans, and it sounds strange to hear Shuuichi mention his mother. Then she remembers his situation. "Ah, right."

Shuuichi's eyes narrow just a bit. "Did I say something strange?"

"What? No." She really hope she hasn't offended him.

"You reacted as though you were surprised I had a mother, though I clearly remember mentioning her to you before."

Sanae lets her eyes wander the sidewalk, unwilling to meet the harsh gaze she feels at her right. She's definitely offended him.

"Sanae," he says, "Is it really so hard to think of me as anything but a youkai?"

Honestly? It's not exactly easy. The wind priestess doesn't want to lie, but she doesn't want to dig herself a deeper hole, either. "I guess I'm a little old-fashioned," she admits, "Lines are drawn pretty clearly back home. I mean, yeah, there are people who are half or a quarter human, but there isn't a lot of intermingling. Humans stick with other humans, and youkai stick with other youkai."

Actually, things are a little less black and white, especially when it comes to herself and Reimu and the others; they probably spend a lot more time with youkai than their own kind, although those encounters aren't usually friendly.

"But I'll work on it," she insists, and actually looks at him, "I promise. I don't want to say insensitive things. I don't want to upset you. I want to be…."

More than friends. She swears she hears the words on the wind and her face flushes further.

"Someone you don't mind spending time with."

Shuuichi's expression is unreadable for a split second-Sanae holds her breath-and then he smiles. "That was quite a bit more honest than you usually are," he says, and even though she thinks it's a bit backhanded, she returns his smile nonetheless. "On the subject of honesty, I suppose I should tell you that my real name is not Shuuichi, though it's best you continue to address me by that name around our peers at school."

Sanae is surprised, though she probably shouldn't be. His human mother would have no way of knowing his youkai name, so of course he'd get another one. She feels strange, knowing she's been calling him by the wrong name this whole time. "Okay. What is it?"

He glances away, still smiling a little mischievously. "Kurama."

There's something about the way his aura moves when he says he name, like he's remembering something, memories both fond and bittersweet, a hint of pride. It's a name with a long history, triumphs and loss and power, and Sanae wants to know more.

She doesn't get the chance to ask, though, because her gaze follows Shuuichi's-oops, Kurama's-when he appears surprised, and she finds Reimu at the bus stop, staring straight at them. Her dark eyes hold a similar intensity they have when the shrine maiden is done investigating, when she's found someone she believes is an instigator of an incident and has decided that talking simply isn't going to solve anything.

She isn't looking at Sanae, either.

"Reimu," the wind priestess says, quickly putting herself between the two of them as they draw closer. Kurama is sizing Reimu up, too, from the look on his face. The wind whips up around them, and it's not a natural breeze but a result of potentially violent energies clashing. Sanae can almost see their auras clearly, a red halo of Reimu's power forming behind her head, and Kurama's energy is crackling and whipping back and forth like the tail of an eager animal. "Reimu, this is Kurama," she says quickly, "He's the person I told you about. He can help us." Reimu does not back down, so she turns to Kurama. "Kurama, this is Reimu. She's the one I told you was going to Sarayashiki."

Kurama only barely nods in acknowledgement. Sanae glances between them nervously, watching for the first sign that one of them is going to move. She knew Reimu might be a little wary of Kurama if she could tell that he wasn't human, but she didn't think they'd both react like this. She fights the fear creeping up within that tells her to run, ignoring everything in her that tells her not to get between them, and holds her breath.

Kurama is the first one to relax. "I'm sorry," he says, a peaceable smile in place, "I'm afraid I mistook you for someone else."

Reimu's energy fizzles out to its normal unheightened state at the words and the tenseness loses her body when she realizes he isn't going to do anything, but she doesn't return his smile. "It's alright."

Sanae lets out a long sigh in relief. "Great," she says, "So, Reimu, how was your day?"

The shrine maiden shrugs. "Fine, I guess. I've been assigned detention tomorrow."

Sanae pauses. "Wait. What?"

"Today, one of my classmates was being harassed. The victim is someone who spoke with me on my first day, and I think she considers us friends, so I stepped in."

"Stepped in?" Sanae repeats.

Reimu nods. "I struck her attacker and warned him that I would not be so gentle the next time."

The wind priestess almost laughs, but she doesn't want to think that is okay. "Reimu, you got in trouble for it. You can't just hit people like they're youkai." She pauses and backtracks quickly. "I mean, wait, that's not what I meant. You can't hit people like they're youkai that are causing trouble." She glances nervously at Kurama, who cracks a smile. Safe. She sighs. "That's not okay here."

"But it was the right thing to do," Reimu insists, "He was scared, and he swore he wouldn't do it again. Even if I'm being punished, I know I made the right choice."

Sanae raises a brow. "How hard did you hit him?"

The bus arrives a moment later and the three of them board. Reimu finds a seat towards the back. When Sanae moves to sit across the aisle from her with Kurama, the shrine maiden shoots her a warning glance and Sanae decides not to rock the boat and sits with her friend. The bus ride is long and uncomfortable, with Kurama attempting to make conversation and Reimu pretending she's not uneasy around him, giving one-word answers while Sanae serves a go-between, asking for elaboration when one of them gives a response that's just a bit too cold. When they get to the stop closest to Genkai's, Sanae is the first off the bus and is happy to no longer be in a confined space between them.

Genkai is home when they get there and welcomes them with a nod and goes inside to make tea. "Good to see you again, Genkai," Kurama greets when they're all seated together.

"Hm," Genkai mumbles in response, "You, too, Kurama. Not to brush you off, but have you heard much from Yuusuke lately?"

"I'm afraid not. We've all been busy catching up on our class work since coming back from the tournament."

"You and Kuwabara might be," she scoffs, "But something tells me that dumbass is wasting time as usual."

Kurama chuckles. "Why, Genkai, it almost sounds like you don't trust Yuusuke to be responsible."

"Call me a cynic, but I just think there are some things he's never going to do right." The old woman shifts her attention to Sanae and Reimu. "And how about you two? How's school going?"

Reimu looks at Sanae and Sanae looks back with a frown, urging her to tell the truth. Reimu shrugs. "I have detention tomorrow."

Genkai doesn't look surprised.

"She beat up some poor kid," Sanae says.

"I hit him once," Reimu insists. She pauses. "Twice, maybe. It was the right thing to do."

Sanae hesitates to agree. "There was a good reason. It just might be good to handle things verbally first before you jump straight to a physical response."

Reimu looks at her like she has two heads. Sanae knows why; it's almost a force of habit to go and attack a youkai with barely any words exchanged but a brief introduction or at least a few questions. Sanae knows because she's started to do the same thing. The only difference is that she'd never do the same thing to another human because that isn't how people do things in the modern world.

"I met some girls who are paranormal enthusiasts," Sanae says, "They told me some stories about strange things that supposedly happen around school. I think it's a good place to start investigating."

"You mean the Seven Wonders?" Kurama asks, "Those stories are old. Several of the teachers have been hearing them since they started working there. Although some of it is doubtlessly just folklore, there are a few things that I think are worth looking into."

"Great. You can come with." Sanae regrets the words as soon as they're out of her mouth. She glances at Reimu. "As long as you don't mind?"

Reimu stares hard at Kurama, who stares back.

Genkai lets out a tired sigh. "You might as well tell her, Kurama. I'm sure it'll be a little easier to work together if you two aren't watching your backs expecting the other to put a knife in it."

Reimu raises a brow, clearly expecting an explanation. Sanae glances at him, equally anxious.

Kurama doesn't look like he really wants to talk about it, but eventually, he relents. "Reimu," he begins, and she flinches when he looks at her like she's expecting him to jump across the table and attack. "Your family name is Hakurei, isn't it?"

She nods wordlessly.

"I've met a Hakurei before, a long time ago, and your face is almost identical to hers. You'll have to excuse my reaction to seeing you earlier. It brought back," he closes his eyes, "Unpleasant memories."

There's a lot more to this story, and Sanae is desperate to know, but this isn't so much about her as it is Reimu, so she lets her have the floor. "Unpleasant?" she repeats, "Is it because she went after you?"

"Among other things."

"I'm from a long line of shrine maidens," Reimu says, "They've all hunted youkai that threatened humans. You must have done something that warranted her attacking you." Sanae thinks she and Reimu need to have a talk about being tactful, but thankfully, Kurama doesn't seem too offended.

"In those days, I did plenty of things I'm not proud of now," Kurama admits, "So yes, it is understandable that a youkai hunter would have sought me out." Sanae thinks he has to notice the way she's been staring at him throughout the entire exchange, so he must be choosing to ignore it and not go into detail on any of the many things she'd like to hear more about. "However," he continues, "Things have changed. I'm not the youkai I used to be." He smiles a bit like it's a joke.

Like magic, the last of Reimu's coldness evaporates at the admission. "I see now," she says, "That makes sense." Just like that, he's apparently forgiven. The air loses all tension and Sanae feels like she can breathe easier now that nobody is on their guard anymore.

It's bizarre, she finds herself thinking, how quickly Reimu can accept that Kurama is changed despite knowing that he did something bad enough that it caught her ancestor's attention. She supposes it does make sense, considering how many reformed youkai Reimu has met and had a hand in converting to a more peaceful way of life. It almost makes her jealous. Here she is, still struggling to comprehend Kurama's situation as a youkai in human skin, and Reimu has warmed up to him after sitting down to chat. Now they're talking and Reimu is looking at him the way she looks at Suika or Aya or any of the others who she's ended up thinking as people rather than youkai, and Kurama is smiling at her a lot more genuinely like he enjoys her company. Sanae feels her face becoming warm, somewhat in embarrassment, somewhat in frustration, and a pang of jealousy tugs at her heart.

She hurriedly drinks her tea and excuses herself to the kitchen to put it away and lingers by the sink a moment longer, glaring down at the counter with eyes that glint gold like an enraged serpent for just a moment.