Surrounded by complete darkness was a little boy. He was lost in this eerie forest, without a clue on how to get back. But despite this, he wasn't frightened. In fact he was used to this since he was always surrounded by darkness as well as the mysterious creatures who roam it, though this particular blackness was different… because he was alone.

Looking around, he saw a hand stretched from a distance, reaching out to him. It was the only thing that stood out in this cold, dark forest. And upon seeing who it belongs to, his face immediately lit up and took the person's… the girl's pale hand that was as white and as cold as the snow itself.

He was mystified by her as her hair sways in the cold breath of the air, she leaned down at the boy, "there you are," she whispered, relief was seen in the way she smiled and spoke to him, "Rikuo-sama."

"Ugh.." Rikuo let out as he rises from his bed stretching both his arms upon waking up. He glanced at the clock that was just hanging by his bedroom door, then freaked when he saw what time it was. He immediately got dressed for school in almost a fast forward speed and went on his way, with Aotabo by his side to guard him, "Hurry Ao! We're gonna be late!" he hurried, almost running into a garbage can in the process.

"Yes! Waka!" Aotabo replied, taking it as an order as he began to speed up leaving Rikuo behind.

"AH! Wait! Not that fast!" he yelled, trying hard to keep up with the giant yokai's pace. But it being a nice day, and in his human form, he couldn't possibly keep up. He sighed and gave up calling him when he realized he couldn't hear him anymore.

Entering the gates of his school relieved to have made it in time, He saw Kana walking a few steps in front of him.

"Kana!" he called her happily. He smiled. It was always with her that he could really feel like a normal human being. She turned to him, joy was seen in her face as she smiles back at him and greeted, "good morning! Rikuo-kun!"

Arriving at the classroom, they were welcomed by their friends Maki, Torii and Shima, "Good morning." They greeted them back.

"LATE! We had a meeting and both of you are late!" Kiyotsugu yelled at them. Kana just stick her tongue at him and Rikuo just smiled at him apologetically, "sorry,"

Kiyotsugu snorted, "well, I guess it can't be helped!" he said with a sigh as he turns his back at them and walked back to his seat, " I'll have to repeat my informative explanation again during lunch! Be grateful!"

The three who was present during the said meeting all sighed in unison, dead beat. It was obvious that their meeting went on longer than expected, which made Rikuo quite thankful he just arrived

Shortly after they all sat, the teacher came in, "alright, sit down students," he ordered, "we have a new transfer student,"

This got everyone's attention. The teacher gestured towards the door, "you can come in now…umm miss…?"

The door slid open, "Keikain," she continued stepping inside the room and stood in front of them making a gentle but cold smile, "Yura Keikain,"

"Keikain is from Kyoto, and will be studying here due to some matters with family," the teacher explained as he looks around, finding a seat for the Kyoto girl, "Miss Keikain, you sit there at the near back beside Ienaga," he points at the vacant seat beside Kana, "anyway, take care of her,"

As the transfer student, Yura, walks to her seat; her eyes kept shifting to Rikuo. While he looks at the window, trying hard to ignore her suspicious glare.

It was lunch time and every one of the squad gathered at the roof to do their daily routine of eating and discussing yokai.

Kiyoutsugu stood up, took a long hard breath before he starts the discussion, he was about to speak when…

"Sorry I'm late!" Kana came in carrying her lunch, "I've brought someone with me!" she announced happily as she moves to one side revealing the person behind her, to everyone's shock, it was Yura.

Maki pulled Kana to her, "why did you bring her here? She'll be bored to death with Kiyotsugu here!" she whispered as they turn towards Kiyotsugu who already began talking. Shima and Rikuo tried their best to ignore him but it was Yura who listened to him intently, nodding her head in response to him.

At first they thought she was just being courteous and is forcing herself to listen, and to that, they salute her! But they were shocked when she started giving her own opinion and knowledge about yokai. Needless to say, they were dumb-founded.

'SHE'S ALSO A YOKAI MANIAC?' they all thought in unison.

"FINALLY!" Kiyo said, gratified, "A MEMBER WHO UNDERSTANDS THE IDEALS OF THE KIYO CROSS SQUAD!" he sounded a bit too grateful.

He turned to Kana, an appreciative smile spreading across his face, "Kana! Thank you for recruiting such a member! From now on, you are in charge of recruiting members on our squad!"

"No thank you." She immediately refused.

After eating, they spent their last minutes of lunch time just staying in the roof and relaxing, feeling the cold air.

Rikuo shivered, "it's cold,"

"Of course! It's almost Christmas after all!" Kana said walking towards him, smiling.

He turned to her, smiled back, and looked up at the blue sky. Then a flash of his dream came in him out of nowhere, about his childhood.

He rest his head on the iron bars and sighed

That same dream keeps repeating over and over again, though the end varies every dream. Sometimes it would end the moment he sees her, or when she found him just like this morning… and sometimes, when he was about to call her name.

It felt so real. The darkness that surrounds him, that eerie atmosphere he felt when he was alone… and the joyful feeling of being found… by that yokai… by her.

Though what he remembers the most was her warm smile that contradicts to the coldness of her skin, her voice, hair, and the way her figure stood out the most that night. But not her face, or her name… he wondered. 'What is her name?'

"-kuo-kun?"

"Huh?" he let out, snapping out of his thoughts, "what is it Kana?"

"Geez," she pouted at him, "I've been calling you all this time,"

"Oh, r-really?" he looked down, "I'm sorry,"

Kana stared at him, concern filled her face, "is something bothering you? You can tell me,"

He hesitated, but gave in anyway, "say Kana, when I was a kid…"

Kana tilted her head, "...what?"

"…do you know a girl who used to take care of me?"

"A girl who used to take care of you?" she repeated.

"It doesn't have to be everyday or during school!"

"What does she look like?" she asked, taking a peek at him.

He looked back down, recalling his dream, "a girl that has white skin and long hair" he described leaving the information about her being a yokai since Kana fears them.

"OH!" she said clapping her hands together, "that girl!"

"…that girl?" he asked, so she does know her, "you remembered her?"
She grinned at him, "yeah! I still remember, you were just 15 minutes late to coming home from school and she came running here," she chuckled at the memory, "she kept calling you 'WAKA', and even dragged us into finding you,"

Rikuo was speechless; he can no longer recall the said memory.

"And when we found you, she was ecstatic, she hugged you tightly…" she paused, recalling how delighted Rikuo was when he saw her. She remembered very well what she felt looking at them.

"Kana?"

"Ah? …right!" she stuttered, "then this big, scary guy who looks like he's in a gang went in, he was in rage the moment he saw her…"

He could guess by the way Kana described the 'scary guy' that it was none other than Aotabo.

"He kept yelling something at her saying…" she paused, recalling the memory, "something about her form?"

Rikuo's face paled, "w-what did she look like when you saw her?"

"Wearing a white kimono," she said bluntly, "why?"

"n-no, nothing, anyway Kana, I'm amazed you remembered all those things!" he said, changing the subject.

Kana flinched, "haha… I wonder…" she said, and then fell silent. Of course she'd remember it, it was the first time she saw Rikuo laughed happily. Somehow it made her question Rikuo's relationship with the girl.

The bell rang and so they started to walk back to their class.

Rikuo was still looking at the sky. Now he is sure that that yokai does exist, that his dream indeed happened. It was not a dream that he felt her hand was cold, her smile was real, and that she was always beside him. Now there's only the matter of knowing her…!

"By the way, Kana!" Rikuo called her all of a sudden, "do you know her name?"

Kana stopped and turned slightly to him, "no, I don't," she reluctantly replied him, " sorry."

THAT NIGHT—

Rikuo was silently watching the cherry blossom under the moonlight, gathering his thoughts. Thinking he should ask his grandfather about her...

"Rikuo-sama!" Kuromaru came flying behind him, "there have been trouble near the park, yokais are attacking humans…"

Still absorbed in his thoughts, Rikuo was about to tell them to take care of it but…

"About the humans involved…" Kuromaru continued, "They are your friends from school Rikuo-sama,"

Hearing this, Rikuo immediately took action, "I'll handle this myself then," he said as he slowly disappears into thin air to aid his friends.

Meanwhile, his friends in trouble, Kana, Maki, Torii and Yura are surrounded by vicious ayakashis. They began to fear for their lives.

"Tasty humans," one said, drooling at the sight of the four maidens

The other sneered, licking its lips in hunger.

"Get behind me," Yura whispered to them, and they immediately followed.

"don't come near us," she threatened, "...or else,"

The ayakashis forced a dark laugh that seem to provoke Yura even more, "or else what?"

Ignoring the middle schooler's warning, they slowly approached them, taking one step after the other enjoying the girls' cries of help that seem to appeal to them even more.

"you asked for it!" she sneered as she takes a piece of paper with ancient Japanese characters written on it and called, "Shikigami: Tanrou!"

A huge haze then appeared from her and from them came a large wolf flying, attacking one of the yokais and trampling the others down on its claws.

The yokais slowly backed away from her, eyes full of fright and alarm, just as Kana, Torii and Maki are.

"Yura…" Kana mumbled to herself, "who are you?"

One of the yokais, cursed her under his breath and crept silently behind her as she battles the other ayakashis, attempting to attack her from behind.

"YURA! LOOK OUT!" Torii shouted, "BEHIND YOU!"

It was too late when she turned around, there was no time to summon another shikigami before it could attack her, she shut her eyes, bracing herself.

*SLASH

Yura Keikain's eyes flip open immediately at the scent of the yokai blood in front of her, she stared speechless before a man with long light and dark hair wearing a blue yukata.

"so you're an onmyouji," he said slightly turning his head to her, "I see,"

At the very sight of him, she right away knew what the man was…

"YOKAI!" she exclaimed as she summons yet another shikigami in her hand and shoot him, but he easily evaded the attack.

"Whoa there! I'm on your side," he said as he yet again slice another one of the ayakashis with his sword Nenekirimaru, "take your friends and go," he said in a serious tone turning back at the yokais around, "I'll handle this,"

Yura was confused, "why are you helping us?" she glared suspiciously at Rikuo, "and why would I believe a yokai like you?"

Rikuo smirked at her question, "because I owe you for saving them,"

This surprised Yura deeply, "a yokai—

"Now go!" he urged her forcefully.

Yura gritted her teeth. She doesn't want to take orders from a yokai of all things, but right now she needs to put her friends to safety. That is her top priority! She turned to Kana and the others, "let's go!" the others nodded and ran together

"don't let them escape!" a yokai ordered, and ran towards them, baring its claws at…

"KANA!" Rikuo yelled as she turns to him, curious as to why does that particular yokai knows her. He dashed to her front and killed the monster just before he could get to her, fearing that he might not be able to do the same since they are still many of them, "GO!" he yelled and they ran in the darkness with Rikuo guarding the direction they ran to.

Yura stopped for a moment and glanced back at him, she was astounded to see that the ayakashi who helped them was still facing their direction, "take care of them," is what Yura read through his lips. She cursed her useless self and continued running.

While Rikuo, who is now turned to the monsters in front of him, snickered, "didn't expect to be too many of you,"

The yokais attack and with him fighting them all at once, his back is widely open.

"RIKUO-SAMA!" a familiar voice yelled.

Rikuo turned to see the yokai about to launch an attack behind him turned to ice to his shock. Turning back, he saw all the ayakashis surrounding him were all frozen almost simultaneously. And the ayakashi jumped down in front of him and bowed, "I deeply apologize for my tardiness," she apologized.

Just looking at her hair and the way she was dressed already threw him in shock, black hair with a shade of blue at the top, wearing a white kimono and a pale white skin…

This girl is… the person in my dreams…

She looked up to him reluctantly, "oh, I'm sorry," she looked down at the ground, uneasy, "I guess the master doesn't know me…"

She is…

She forced a sad smile at him, "anyway, I am—

"...Tsurara" he continued

She stare her gold eyes at Rikuo, stunned that her master knows her, "Waka, you..."

He smiled gently at her, "you are… Tsurara, right?"

A shade of pink appeared on her cheeks and she beamed, "YES!"

Rikuo smiled back.

At last, I remembered her…

It's Christmas vacation! nyahahaha!

anyway, the first one really was intended to be a oneshot and i don't plan on continuing it! ^^"

So anyway, please have this story instead! I'm really pumped up for this vacation! so please cheer me on! WOHOO!

please tell me if you how like it! i'll be more than happy to continue! (though i already plan on continuing it hehe...)