I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho, Read or Die, Azumanga Daioh or Fruits Basket (some of those who have read the 16th manga will recongize some of the dialogue). Again, Rioki Moondove (that's me!) does not own Sakaki, Hisami, Kurama (or anyone in his family for that matter), Kaitou, Kuronue , Maya, or Meiou Senior High School. I do own Sakura, Kurushimi, Rella J Sairen, Kcin, A-sensei, and anyone else that I might have forgotten. I will not tolerate any thievery of my story without permission in any shape or form... or I will sick Kuronue on you... maybe...

So yeah, I have excuses for the lateness of this chapter!

I went to college...

In another state.

I finished this at three o'clock this morning.....

They changed the lay out to up load things... It shall take awhile to get use to...

incarnationofvictory: Kuronue is Sakura's adoptive Father. He isn't her biological dad. As for who Sakura's mother (and father), they are Divines like Sakura, but they are already dead. Don't worry about the question of 'what are Divines', I'll explain it later. Promise!

(number of edits since posted: 5)

So here it is!

Part 1

Confrontation

Shuichi sighed. He couldn't think.

'Where is she?!' Yoko fumed in their mind. Sakura hadn't been there when he had left his mother's house this morning, nor was she at school when he arrived. He had searched the entire campus, including all the bathrooms and locker rooms, convinced she was somewhere. He was tense the entire time, sure that she would pop out of somewhere, scare him, and take a picture.

Now he was back in the Art room, staring (glaring) at the black butterfly in his rose portrait.

He sighed again, then huffed in anger at himself. Picking up the canvas, he switched it out for a blank one.

'Ok, Yoko, let's think this out.'

'Think what out?' Yoko was never helpful when he was this irritable.

'Something. Anything. We are stuck on something and-'

'-We need to get past it.' The Kitsune was upset, not stupid. He had Shuichi take a couple of breaths for him to calm their spirit down. 'Now,' he began almost cheerfully, 'what shall we work out?'

Shuichi dipped his paint brush into a color, not really realizing which one, and looked inwardly as his hand moved by instinct.

'The Kuroichou.'

Yoko sent Shuichi an image of him sneering. 'Right, that's what you want to talk about…'

'Well, it is.'

'Only a fool lies to himself, "Strawberry Shortcake".'

Shuichi stiffened at the nickname. Yoko chuckled, knowing he had hit a nerve.

'We like her.'

'We like who?' Shuichi tried to ask innocently. He didn't want Sakura, as zany as she was, involved in his world.

'Don't play stupid with me. Not only does it not work, it embarrasses me.'

'Fine!' He sighed again. 'I like her.'

'We like her.'

Shuichi blinked. Yoko didn't like a lot of things. Mostly puzzles, thievery, annoying Hiei, and Shuichi's mother. Only the love of puzzles and his mother was shared between the two. 'And Sakura…'

'But, are we allowed to like her?'

It was Yoko's turn to sigh.

'There you go with that human guilt.'

'Answer me this one question then.'

'Shoot.'

'What would happen if-' Shuichi's thoughts faltered, not wanting to imagine where they were taking him. 'What would happen if she died because of us?'

At first there was silence, and Shuichi thought Yoko had completely ignored him.

Then the pain struck. For a moment the red head thought he was under attack by some unseen force. But the pain came from within, from Yoko.

Their minds completely merged for a few seconds, and Shuichi now understood Yoko's anguish.

For Shuichi just the thought of those laughing eyes, no matter their real color, darkened in death was enough to make his heart clench in anguish.

But Shuichi was only 17. If such a thing did happen, it was possible (though unlikely) that he would get over it in time. There even might come a time when he liked a girl as he did Sakura. If Yoko didn't approve, Shuichi could find a way around him, maybe.

The pain that it caused Yoko alone made the Spirit Fox lose all pretenses. The Kitsune, on the other hand, was several thousand years old. He knew that girls, women, like Sakura didn't just appear every day. He might not be able to stand the agony of losing her.

And then there were the odds of them ever agreeing on the same girl again.

Their pain combined had Kurama finding himself curled up in a ball on the art stool, holding his knees to his chest in an effort to keep his heart from smashing into a billion pieces and littering the floor around him.

'She's too close to us.' They thought as one. 'But can we push her away?'

And just to prove to them that they couldn't, a rerun of all the moments they had shared with her decided to go off in their mind. It was surprising that in just three days a girl had affected them this much.

Sakura laughing.

Sakura dancing in the classroom with Maya.

Sakura teasing him.

Sakura laughing at him.

Sakura talking to Kcin-

Shuichi's eyes, clenched shut in an effort to withstand the pain, flew open. The complete mergence with Yoko was broken as he took a shuddering breath.

Sakura talking to Kcin.

Kcin calling her Obasan.

Kcin with the Kuroichou.

Kaname saying that the Kuroichou had saved him.

Sakura getting a ride from Dr. Kamiya.

'If Kuroichou is known to have helped at least one of Sensui's old psychics-?'

'She could have helped more.'

In shock at his revelation, Kurama got up, splattering paint from his brush all over the floor and his pants. He somehow managed to keep hold of the object through his pain.

The canvas now had three rough images on them. One was a right blue eye with half a pair of glasses over them, nearly the exact shade of Sakura's blue.

The other two was a left blazing purple eye, the exact shade of the Kuroichou's and a Black Butterfly beneath the two.

'That explains it. That explains everything.'

The first thing she became aware of, other than the blackness that wrapped around all her other senses, was voices. Murmurings in the beginning, but they steadily grew louder until she could make out who was saying what.

"How could you let this happen?!" That was her father's voice. He sounded outraged. She struggled to move, to tell him everything was fine and that it was no one's fault but her own.

She was alarmed when her body didn't respond immediately.

"Sir, I didn't know. She didn't tell me anything. If she had, she knew I would try to stop her." Kaname's voice drifted to her, filled with worry and concern. And anger.

She blinked when she realized Kaname was probably angry at her.

She blinked again when she realized she could.

'Blinking. Blinking's good. Blinking doesn't hurt.'

"Kitten." Kuronue was by her side the second her eyes had opened the second time. "Are you-?" He stopped, realizing that that was a stupid question.

"How-?" Sakura swallowed in an attempt to help her dry throat. When it didn't, Kaname offered her some water that Dr. Kamiya, now known as Dr. Miyaka, just brought in. "How bad is it?"

"Multiple fractures and breaks seem to be the worst of it." The Doctor informed her as she grimaced. "That's after I stopped some massive internal bleeding. You're lucky to be alive."

"That's what the Doctor always says."

The group assembled smiled. If she was well enough to joke, she'll be fine. The Doctor left to check on his other patients.

"Battoman-sama, who did this to you?" Kaname was glaring. "And why didn't you fight back? What happened?"

Sakura blinked once more. Blinking was good: it didn't hurt your throat, it helped your eyes, and it was as easy and natural as breathing.

"Not everyone is the same, Kaname-kun." She said quietly.

Kaname seemed confused.

Kuronue understood though. His hand curled around the hand not in a brace, a sad look on his face.

"Why must you try to change people who don't want to?" He asked, almost inaudibly. He knew the answer before he spoke the question but he hoped something was different.

"If they didn't want to be 'changed', they wouldn't have called to me."

Kaname blinked, compression dawning on him.

"You let them do this to you? To save them?" He seemed as outraged as Kuronue was before. "Maybe you should leave-" He began, but then stopped short. "Would you have gone this far with me?" His expression had changed from anger to curiosity mixed with awe.

She lifted her head as much as she could without pain shooting up her spine.

"What do you think?" She gave him a soft smile.

'Sniper' drew in a deep breath, gave her a look of adoration and ran out of the room.

Kuronue and Sakura watched him go.

"Good job, Kitten. Now we can get that 'I made a teenage boy cry' 'Monster badge' you've wanted so much. I don't think we have to tell them he was crying out of happiness, do we?" He turned to find his daughter not listening. "You know, when I was your age and an elder was speaking to me-"

"-You would blow a raspberry in their face." Sakura interrupted.

Kuronue tried to glower at her, but his smirk ruined it.

"Only half the time. The other times I actually listened."

"And that was only if the subject was interesting."

"What's more interesting than 'Monster badges'?" Kuronue teased, his hand squeezing hers.

She looked up at him.

"What time is it?"

He blinked.

"You're immortal. Why do you care what time it is?"

She gave him a disapproving look.

He sighed.

"You are also badly injured. Rest."

"You know what they say: 'No rest for the Wicked'."

This time the glower was successful.

"Look." Sakura shifted to be more comfortable in her hospital bed. "Miyaka can't watch me all day for one thing. For another, this place makes me ill."

Kuronue nodded, already knowing that she felt ill in such places when people looked at the possibility of death.

"If you wanted to get all patched up so you could be suicidal- the suicidal hero," he corrected himself when she started to look upset. "You shouldn't have written this." He handed her the note that had told them where to find her and when. The post script said not to get Ava's help. "What are you thinking?!" The several thousand year old bat Yokai was almost shouting now. "I thought you broke Ava out of a mental hospital, not the other way around!!"

When Kuronue took a breath to yell some more, Sakura said one word.

"Dad."

Kuronue looked at her hard for about a minute.

"I have to go to school, Dad. I need to confront her now or never."

He continued to look at her, but now his face was full of concern.

"No more crazy stunts?"

"You know I can't promise that."

"Call me before you do then?"

"Sure."

If he thought epiphanies where suppose to make everything better, he was sadly mistaken. Now, not only was he wondering where she was, but he was torn between worrying about her well being and worrying about her plans for him. She knew that he was a Kitsune, but the way she sneered every time she had said his old name made him positive that she was underestimating him.

'The real question is 'Is she our enemy?'

'If she was our enemy, why would she rescue us?'

'To use us for later. That's what I would have done.'

'Well, not all of us are thousand plus year old Kitsune who were master thieves.'

'It isn't my fault that "you" all aren't. But that brings up another question…'

'?'

'What is she?'

'Let's worry about that after the question of 'Where is she' is answered.'

A breeze came in through the window and Kurama took a deep breath.

'Kcin! GET HIM!!!' Yoko had Shuichi get up, but that was when the teenager took over again. He cleaned up the art room, ignoring the irritated Kitsune. 'Don't just stand there! GO!! GET ANSWERS!!!'

Shuichi sighed. He could tell that Yoko was going to be difficult today. And he knew that his less than swift place was driving the other nuts.

'FASTER!' the 1,000+ year old Kitsune decided to give Shuichi a vocabulary lesson of the foulest words he had picked up in his life when the younger half didn't comply.

'There he is!' Kcin was outside, apparently waiting for someone while looking worried. Before he could comment on it, Yoko let out a piercing mental shout of 'POUNCE!' This caused Shuichi to actually jump a little.

Kcin's head snapped (complete with sound effect) around to him, confirming Hiei's earlier statement of Kcin being able to read their mind.

'Your pouncing sucks, by the way.' Fortunately, Kurama knew how to guard his thoughts from unwanted 'listeners'. While quick to set up, it strained him mentally, so he didn't do it all the time.

'I'll be sure to work on that.' Shuichi replied dryly.

'Oh, please do! Then we can pounce Sakura and get some answers out of her.'

'Her aura makes you want to run, what makes you think we'll get any answers from her?'

'Her aura makes me want to run. Not you. That's why it is you pouncing, not me. So work on it.'

Shuichi sighed while observing Kcin. The other boy had seemed startled when he had come up.

'And no wonder with the way you're acting.'

Before Yoko could answer, Shuichi focused on the other boy.

"Ohayougozaimasu(Good Morning), Kcin-kun, if I may call you that."

"Um, sure. Ohayou. " Kcin turned back from Kurama to face the road.

An unsettling feeling settled somewhere in the vicinity of Kurama's stomach.

"Is there something wrong?" Even as the words left his mouth, Kurama knew that something was indeed wrong.

"Obasan-chan was attacked last night…"

He remembered how she had acted on the stairs yesterday and he knew she wouldn't have defended herself. Their vision swam for a moment on hearing that single sentence. The rest of it seemed to come from a far off place.

"…She was hospitalized, but she wants to come to school anyway."

He suddenly felt hands on his shoulders and he found himself leaning forward.

"Are you alright?" Kcin looked closely at him. The freshman blinked, comprehension coming into his eyes. "She's going to be alright, Shuichi-kun."

"Where-" He started, but then a voice that was vaguely familiar rang out.

"Oy, you, shorty!" The speaker was none other than Rella J. She seemed to be trying to get Kcin's attention. But why-?

Kurama suddenly let out a snarl when it dawned on him who would be the most likely suspect in Sakura's injury.

"So, how's your 'Aunty' doin-HEY!" Rella J had been hoping to give the nephew a black eye to add 'insult to injury', as the saying went, when suddenly it was Shuichi whose fist was in her face and Kcin's hand keeping it from making contact.

The look the red-head gave her could curdle milk. For the first time in Rella J's short life she realized that she was living dangerously. The thought scared her.

"What's going on down there?"

'Oh dear.'

"You three, up in my office, right now." A-Sensei said from her second story office.

One of the golden rules of childhood is never tell. All three students, Kcin, Shuichi, and Rella J., stuck to this golden rule. They stood there mutely when A-Sensei asked them what was going on outside. When they didn't reply, she stared at Shuichi, who fidgeted under her gaze. Yoko took the stance of the golden rule, being the same rule that thieves used quite often. Shuichi, on the other hand, if circumstances were different and he wasn't bonded to Yoko, would have probably caved easily and told, just to not have his mother get a call home.

'I love her too, Shuichi, but a man's got to have his priorities. Stand up for what you believe in-'

'I believe in honesty-'

'Is that why mother doesn't know about me?'

Shuichi flinched.

'Touche'

'Thank you.'

"Fine." Kurama's head shot up when A-Sensei spoke. "You may all leave. But," She gave them a piercing look as they began to file to the door. "If I catch you three doing anything like that again, there will be harsh punishments for all involved." The gaze intensified. "Everyone."

Kcin sucked in his breath. Shuichi looked at him as they left the room.

"She meant Obasan too." He answered Kurama's questioning silence. Then he paused and looked around. "Where'd Rella go?"

Yoko began swearing when they realized the most likely place Rella J. would go if she had gotten punished (even if it was just 'almost punished') would be to go antagonize her latest victim: Sakura.

"You have a lot of nerve showing up here like that." A voice hissed next to her. Sakura moved one of the crutches so she could sit easier.

When Kcin hadn't come to assist her to class, Maya was happy to help. The other girl had hung around when Rella J. had appeared. The Empath was smart: she knew who had hurt Sakura. The new psychic was now torn between watching what happened and going for reinforcements. She knew she was helpless in a fight between the two.

Shuichi and Kcin suddenly appeared by the door, out of breath. Shuichi made a move to get Rella J. away from Sakura, but Kcin stopped him. Maya watched as Kcin shook his head 'no' at the red head.

The tension in her ex-crush was a sort of wake up call for Maya. Shuichi looked so composed all the time that it never crossed her mind that he might actually be dangerous to anyone.

The glare he was shooting Rella J. with made her shiver in fear. In one moment, the image she had for years of 'sweet', 'gentlemen' Shuichi was shattered.

'No, not shattered… maybe 'crumbled' is a better word?' The image was still there, but now it just had a darker edge, a promise of danger.

She had not been idle in the hours since she had realized her power. Sakura had given her exercises to do and Kcin was kind enough to help her with them. She had wondered briefly why she was learning so easily to which Kcin responded that her power was probably one of the most natural: being able to understand what others are feeling.

Kcin had taught her a lot of things yesterday. One was how to shield her mind from unwanted intruders and another to shield it from an over-load of emotions. It was now that she let down the shield so that she could feel the emotions in the room.

'Kcin is… angry, scared, concerned…' the list went on. She moved to her next target. Sakura had asked that when Maya read people's feelings that she try for the most human first so she wouldn't be overwhelmed.

'Rella J. is feeling triumphant, proud, overconfident… and frightened.'

Maya blinked and turned her head slightly to look at Shuichi went she was hit with the feelings of two instead of one. She nearly stumbled both physically and mentally, but Kcin had managed to slip in and save her from both possibilities by grabbing a hold of her elbow and steadying her mind.

'You ok?'

'… yes.' Telepathic communication wasn't as easy as the rest and her answers tended to be jumbled with whatever she was thinking at the time, but Kcin seemed to be able to sort through the mess that was her mind. He had suggested she meditate every morning for two hours. She blanched at the idea, but he said that it would help her in more ways than one. Two hours until she got the hang of everything, then maybe one hour.

She turned back to the red head.

'He's- they're so… angry.' The rage radiating off of him almost had her backing up. He wasn't livid at her though, but at Rella J. 'and afraid…' Fear was fighting with anger at which one Shuichi should act. 'He's probably concentrating on the wrath within him to keep him above the ocean of panic he is in.'

The room was full of dread.

Except for one.

'Sakura is really calm-'

"What makes you so angry?" Sakura finally replied to Rella J.'s earlier statement.

Confusion came from Rella J.

"…Huh? You aren't going to preach to me, are you?" Rella J. paused as Sakura began to open her mouth. "-Whatever. You can take your preaching and shove it up your-"

"I'm not going to preach. Just tell me what's so irritating." Sakura interrupted.

"That's none of your damn business!"

"I think it is because you beat me up because of this anger."

Shuichi's fury intensified and Kcin had to use both hands to keep the red head from going after the other girl.

"Well, you for starters, little miss priss!" Rella J.'s lid on her emotions suddenly popped openlike the cork from a champagne bottle. "It's EVERYTHING you prick! G-d, you're annoying! It's everything okay?! Everything Pisses Me Off! Them!" She pointed to Maya, Shuichi and Kcin. "And them!" A wave to the widow outside to indicate the students milling around there. "And You!" Rella J. shoved her finger in Sakura's face but the spectacled girl didn't back down. "Everyone and everything! I Hate your G-D DAMN Guts! You just…. You all treat people like garbage, BUT YOU'RE JUST AS BAD! QUIT TRYING TO ACT LIKE YOU'RE ALL FRIGGIN' PERFECT!!"

She took a breath and suddenly realized that she was ranting. Embarrassment seeped from her as red colored her face. Her arm went back and- Shuichi made a move to intercept the move, but Kcin kept him back-

SMACK!

Rella J. slapped Sakura across the face hard enough to nearly knock off her glasses. Shuichi snarled and tried to get out of Kcin's hold, but the younger boy managed to take him to the ground and pin him. The antics of the boys were ignored by the furious Rella J. and the ever calm Sakura.

"Leave me alone. I wish everyone would just… go. Get out of my life. I'd be better off with YOU DEAD! DIE!" Rella J. picked up Sakura by the collar and slapped her again. "GO TO HELL!" Another slap. "DIE!" The Texan began to shake her prey. "You disappear! You fall apart!"

"You lie."

It was the first time Sakura had spoken since Rella J. began her rant. It stopped everyone.

"I think you want them to care. You want them to look at you, don't you?" Sakura tilted her head to the side to better see Rella J., the bandage around her head shifted by the slaps. "You want those people to want you, to need you. You want them to listen to you. To understand somehow. You want them to accept you." Sakura's collar slipped between numb and shaking fingers. "I think… you want them to Love you."

"SHUT UP!!!!" Rella J. screamed.

SMACK!

This slap sent Sakura sprawled across her desk and chair, her head hitting the wall hard. The spectacled girl's hand flew to her face, scarlet blood pouring from her nose.

The door flew open. Students had come when they had heard the scream. Rella J. whirled around to glare at them and they shrank back, afraid. She stormed across the room and out the door, leaving whispers in her wake.

The three observers now rushed over to the wounded girl, who was trying to settle back into her seat with a broken leg, one arm in a sling and the other hand trying to keep the blood from soiling her school clothes.

Before anything else could be said, Shuichi picked up Sakura like she weighed next to nothing and flew out of the room toward the nurse's office.