Disclaimer: I do Not own yu yu hakusho or any of it's characters

I followed this man down so many roads. I could feel that he was the kind of person that I would follow forever. I don't know why I felt like this. Maybe being secluded for so long made me more trusting, but I suppose that is backwards. I just felt drawn to him.

But, who was this Yusuke Urameshi? What was his significance? As if hearing my thoughts Suuichi said slowly,

"Well, um, whoever you are, I believe that I was sent to find you. It may sound strange, but you are in such danger. Can I ask you your name one more time?"

I turned away from him, scraping at my tender mouth. He just sighed, obviously oblivious.

"Never mind," he whispered as we turned down yet another road. This one was littered with children's playthings. I knew it was a "quiet" neighborhood.

"So why can't I know?" Suuichi asked me as he stepped slowly over a tricycle. He pulled me along with him, me daintily stepping over misplaced toys. The people here must feel like they are in a zoo.

Again to this poor man, I shook my head. Yes, I felt bad, but what can one do? I can't speak!

He motioned for me to say something and I looked at the ground. Maybe it was luck, but right there on the ground was a piece of chalk.

I jumped up excitedly, spinning in circles joyfully. Then I bent to the ground.

'My name is Alice,' I scribed. 'I am nineteen. I cannot speak.'

The man watched with such wonder, his eyes wide.

"Well, hello Alice," he said smiling, pulling my hand to get me to walk again alongside him. "Come on!"

We began at a more hastened pace, beginning on a road that was so quiet and peaceful that it seemed like a picture. This was our destination, this road, or better said a house on it.

We stormed through the street, passing slow cars with waves and Suuichi's charming smile. They all seemed to know this red head beauty. All seemed to like him. I was getting a good vibe from this man.

"We are headed to my house," He said, smiling at yet another neighbor. I nodded and this time he had no question to my silence.

His house was beautiful when we arrived at it. Two story and quaint, and silent. He said that he still lived with his mother, and that made me want to laugh. Again, I couldn't.

"Let's go in," he whispered as we walked inside.

The inside was even more beautiful than the outside. It was ornate, yet simple. I felt so safe here, and instantly crashed unto the couch. Well, after spinning in circles for a minute.

Suuichi watched me, then went into what I assumed was the kitchen. He returned with a pad of paper and a pen.

"I need everything you can tell me about yourself," he said.

I wrote down my name, and my age, again, then where I left and couldn't return to.

He tucked the paper in his pocket.

"Ok," He spoke with joy in his voice. "You can stay here for tonight and tomorrow, and then you can meet my friends."

I nodded, thinking that if Yusuke was anything like Suuichi, I wouldn't mind.

Kurama's POV

I led Alice to the bathroom and started a bath for her, and then contacted Koenma.

"Koenma, I think I have her," I said to him, and he asked me to give him her information. I described her, and he frowned.

"The Alice that we are looking for can talk. Did you meet this girl in the park?"

I nodded so that he could see in the compact, and he shrugged.

"Send her home," He commanded, then hung up.

I walked up the stairs to the bathroom and noticed the door was ajar. Looking in, I saw Alice standing before the mirror. She was dressed, and had obviously been letting the hot air out with the door open.

I pushed it open a little farther, and she jumped. Turning towards me, she put her hands on her face.

She wasn't fast enough.

I saw her mouth. I saw the wire, pushing through her pale flesh. The scaring and her mangled lips. I reached for her, but she turned away.

"Sorry," She wrote in the fog on the top of the mirror. I said it right after her, realizing that I couldn't just send this pitiful creature away.

She brought her scarf up around her ears and I stared at her beautiful eyes. She must have been stunning, and still was, aside from that mouth.

I leaned in close to her, embracing her, and my mind flashed with sudden fear. It wasn't conscious fear, but fear that ebbs when your body instinctively feels that something is wrong. I realized, it was the power in her.

"Whoever did this to you, why did they do it?" I asked her, knowing quite frankly she couldn't answer. I just wanted to see if she had any regret in her eyes. None showed. Somebody had hurt her for a reason she couldn't truly understand.

She was innocent.

Alice POV

He saw me. He saw my past. And he didn't run. He hugged me. And when he did, I felt something, like a release of power from within me. I was terrified.

But he wasn't.

He could look at me, without turning away. He could breathe around me. This was just too much. I really liked this guy.

The power between us radiated. I know he felt it. But what exactly was it?

Suuichi took my hand after our embrace broke.

"I wonder, what you are," He spoke, staring into my eyes. He pulled out a compact, and clicked a button within it.

"You get rid of her?" A voice answered. I felt appalled. Me?

"No," Suuichi spoke into the strange contraption. "Koenma, this girl has power. I can feel it."

The other line went silent. Then,

"Do what you wish," The voice on the other end, Koenma, commanded. Suuichi nodded and closed it.

"Well, Alice, we've got a trip to take," He said, brushing a hand across my scarf. His eyes wandered across it's polka dotted pattern.

"Does it hurt?" He asked mindlessly. I shook my head. I wanted to tell him that it didn't hurt anymore, but I could not.

"I wish I could fix it," He whispered. He pulled the scarf but I pulled away, reaching for my bag. I took out a syringe, and held it up for him to see. The more this day unfolded, the hungrier I got. After stabbing the needle inside me, I jumped, and then felt better as my hunger subsided.

He watched with widened eyes, and tried to slip the needle from my fingers. I put it back into my bag.

"That's how you eat," he noticed. "I am so sorry Alice."

I shrugged and pushed past him. We walked to a room that Suuichi said was mine.

"Here, is where you will stay," He whispered. He seemed to do that a lot around me. "I hope you like it."

I stepped inside, and instantly felt, at home…

Kurama's POV

I walked her to her room. It used to be mine, but I gave it up for her. She deserved it. Somebody had taken so much from her. This girl had me so entranced. Not so much in awe, but in pity. She was pitiful.

After she set her little bag down, I grasped her arm and pulled her into an embrace.

I wanted to kiss her. I wanted to feel the love of lips against lips.

But that was far away, if never coming at all. Not with her lips.

"I will help you, I promise."

How'd you like it? Review!

~May