Kurama looked around his room awkwardly before he pulled out the chair by his desk, offering it to Momoko. The girl hesitantly sat in the chair and Kurama sat at the end of his bed while Hiei remained on the floor under the window.

"Well, I suppose I should start from the beginning." The red head said as he started to explain how he came to the human world.

He explained how he had planed to leave, but found that he had gotten attached to his human mother and stayed. He explained how the demon Eight Hands had kidnapped Maya and how he felt he was lucky that nothing had happened to her since they had spent much more time together.

"...I tried to use the pollen of forgetfulness on you." Kurama continued, "It's a partial amnesia. But it never worked on you."

"Wait, so you were going to just erase my memory of you?" Momoko looked at him in disbelief.

"That was the plan." Kurama said, "As I said though, for some reason it didn't work on you."

"Geez Shu... Kurama," Momoko sighed as she stood up, "If you were so worried about me why didn't you teach me how to fight?"

"T-the thought never crossed my mind." He said as he stared at her in surprise.

"Why? Cause I'm a girl?" Momoko asked defensively as she put her hands on her hips, "Hiei didn't even know me and he taught me how to fight!"

"Keep me out of this." Hiei grunted, turning his attention to her.

"It has nothing to do with your gender." Kurama said with a nervous smile.

He remembered a day when they were in grade school and Momoko had beaten up a boy who had told her she was stupid because she was a girl. The subject of genders had always been a subject that would easily make the human girl mad.

"I just wasn't sure if I would be able to protect you." Kurama said, instantly regretting he had.

"Protect me?!" Momoko exclaimed, glaring at him.

She grabbed a piece of paper from the desk, rolling it in a ball before she threw it at him.

"You should know me better than that!" She nearly shouted.

The small paper ball bounced off the boys head and landed in his lap as he blinked. Kurama snickered, the snicker quickly becoming a small laugh as he covered his mouth. Hiei arched an eye brow at the red heads laughter. Although Momoko was still feeling irritated, she couldn't help but laugh at the situation. Of all things, why did she throw a ball of paper at him?

They're crazy. Hiei thought as he looked from one to the other.

There was a knock at the door, a sound that made Hiei disappear. Shori poked her head into the room and smiled.

"I made something warm for you two to drink." She said as she walked in with the two mugs on a tray with a small plate of cookies.

"Thank you Shori!" Momoko beamed as the woman set the tray on the desk.

"I bet you still have a sweet tooth like you did when you and Shuichi were kids." Shori smiled.

"A-a bit." Momoko said as a small blush crossed her cheeks.

"Why don't you join us for dinner?" Shori offered.

"R-really?" Momoko's eyes brightened at the thought of a home cooked meal.

When was the last time I ate home cooking? Momoko thought, unable to remember.

"Of coarse," Shori nodded, "It will be nice, right Shuichi?"

"Yes," Kurama smiled, "It's been a while since you've had dinner with us."

"Okay, I'll stay then!" Momoko said with a grin.

Kurama smiled, it had been a long time since he had seen Momoko this happy. She seemed like her old self. Shori waved to the two teens as she left and made her way to the kitchen again. Hiei appeared in the room again and looked at the two.

"Your mom always had the best cooking." Momoko said with a smile as she picked up a cookie.

Kurama nodded as he and Momoko began exchanging stories of when they were younger. Hiei sat quietly and listened, taking a sip of Momoko's hot chocolate when she offered it. He had never seen Kurama look so amused; and Momoko, he had never seen her laugh or smile as much as she did now.

She has a nice smile, Hiei thought to himself as she watched the girl laugh at a face Kurama had made.

"…And then there was that time you got stuck in the tree." Kurama chuckled.

"I wasn't stuck!" Momoko exclaimed, her eyes wide as she put the mug down.

"Oh I'm sorry," He said, "I suppose you were just hugging that branch as if your life depended on it because you thought it was lonely?"

A small pout appeared on Momoko face as she tried to think of an excuse.

"Okay, fine, I was stuck." She finally said as she laughed quietly, "But hey that wasn't anything like the time you-"

Momoko was cut short by the sound of her cell phone ringing. Her smile disappeared as she stared at the ringing phone for a moment. Hiei glanced from the phone to the girl. He noticed that whenever that phone rang Momoko would start to act strangely.

"Momoko?" Kurama stared at her with a concerned expression.

Momoko picked up the phone and looked at the screen. The color slowly faded from her face as she answered the phone.

"Hello?" He voice sounded timid as her eyes darted nervously around the room.

She flinched at the voice on the other end but she never said a word. When she finally put the cell phone down she got up and bowed to the boys who stared at her in confusion.

"I've got to go, I'm sorry!" She said before she ran out of the room.

"Wait! Momoko!" Kurama quickly got up and followed her out of the room.

Hiei leapt out to the tree that stood outside Kurama's bed room. He didn't have to ask who could scare Momoko this much. He knew it was her step-father.

He thought back to a night when he had come to her room to find her crying, covered with bruises and dried blood on her face. The only thing that had stopped him from killing the man responsible was Momoko's clinging and her plea.

"Please don't kill him Hiei!" Momoko sobbed as she shifted onto her knees on her bed, "My mom loves him. For some god damned reason she loves him and I'm scared of what she'd do if he was gone!"

"Look what he did to you!" Hiei growled, "Is she that stupid to let him do this to you?"

"I know it's not right and I know it's not fair," Momoko looked up to him, tears streaming down her face and mixing with the dried blood, "But I'm scared! Not for me but for her! Hiei she'd die if he left! She would kill herself!"

"You'll die if he lives!" Hiei barked.

He had started to turn when Momoko suddenly clung to him, bringing the two of them to the floor. Hiei growled as he sat up. Momoko's arms locked around his waist as she clenched her fists into his coat.

"Hiei please!" Momoko begged, "I just need to finish high school then I'm out of here! It's just a couple of years! If that's all it takes to keep my mom alive then I'll take it. Please Hiei! Please! Don't kill him! I don't want my mom to die! She's all I have!"

Momoko sobbed heavily in the fire demons lap as he sighed. You have me too… He thought as he looked down at her.

"Fine." He said as he lifted her off his lap.

He moved so his back was against her bed as he held her close to him. Momoko clutched his jacket as she sobbed into his chest.

"Momoko!" Kurama exclaimed as he ran down the stairs.

"I'm sorry!" She said as she slipped on her shoes.

"What's going on?" Shori rushed out of the kitchen and looked at the two teenagers in confusion.

"I'm sorry!" Momoko said again as she quickly ran out the door and into the snow.

"Momoko wait!" Kurama shouted as he started to fallow her, the snow melting into his socks.

He caught a glimpse of Hiei leaving the tree before he heard his mother.

"Shuichi stop!" Shori said as she stood in the door frame, "Let her go."

"M… Mother…?" Kurama turned and looked at her.

"Please come back inside." Shori said as she looked at her son with pleading eyes. "I think we need to talk."

When Hiei knew he was out of Kurama's mothers sight he dropped down in front of Momoko.

"Hiei plea-"

"Come on." Hiei said as he picked her up, "I can get you there faster."

"T-thank you." Momoko said as she clung to him when he started to run.

"Hn." Was his only reply.

Hiei began to jump from roof top to roof top until he finally landed at Momoko's door step. Hesitantly Hiei sat her down. He knew what would happen to her, it took everything he had to keep from killing her step-father, but he didn't want to see Momoko crying like she was that night she begged him not to do anything.

Momoko gave him a quick kiss on the cheek before she ran inside the house. Hiei blinked a couple times as he held his cheek in surprise. He quickly jumped into the tree as he still held his cheek. Why in the world did she just do that? He thought to himself.

A couple hours passed and Momoko hadn't come up to her room yet. Hiei sat anxiously in the tree, watching Momoko's window as he waited for the light to click on. There was a loud clatter in the house and the front door suddenly burst open.

"Get out of here!" A man bellowed as he shoved Momoko out into the snow.

"Mom please!" Momoko sat in the snow as tears streamed down her face. "Please don't let him do this!"

"You shouldn't have hit him Momoko…" A small voice came from the house.

"Mom!" Momoko shouted as the man came out into the snow.

The man grabbed her by the back of her uniform and dragged her through the snow.

"If I ever catch you around here again you'll be sorry you were even born!" The man growled as he threw Momoko onto the street.

Hiei gripped his sword, his teeth clenched as he held back the rage that swelled inside him.

"Mom do something! Anything!" Momoko sobbed.

The woman just looked away from her.

"Please!" Momoko begged, "Why are you letting him do this?!"

Silence was her answer as the man stormed back into the house, slamming the door behind him. Momoko sobbed in the street, the cold snow biting at her bare legs. Hiei appeared next to her and picked her up. Her lip was split open, but other than that she didn't seem to have any other bruises. Momoko clung to him as she sobbed.

"H-Hiei," She looked at him, tears streaming down her face, "What do I do? I-I don't know where to go…"

"I'll take you to Kurama's for now." Hiei said.

"Shuichi," Shori said as they sat at the kitchen table, "Do you know how Momo-chan got those bruises?"

"Well…" Kurama looked away for a moment, "I have a theory, but I don't know for sure."

"I think it was from her step-father." Shori said.

Kurama looked at his mother in surprise.

"I thought he would be abusive. It was just the way he looked at Momoko." She said as she looked sadly into her cup of tea, "When I tried to talk to her mother about it, she got offended and refused to invite us to the wedding."

"I see…" Kurama said. "She has been acting strange lately."

"I think it would be best if I called child-" Shori stopped as a knock echoed through the house, "Who in the world would be here at this hour?"

Kurama stood up and walked to the door. He looked out the peep hole then quickly threw the door open.

"Momoko!" He gasped as he saw the tears and bleeding lip.

"I-I'm sorry." Momoko said, trying to choke back her tears, "C-can I stay here tonight?"

"Oh my goodness!" Shori exclaimed as she quickly grabbed a blanket and rushed over to the girl, "Come in! Come in! What happened Momo-chan?"

"I-I got kicked out!" Momoko answered as she burst into tears. "Mom didn't e-even stop him!"

Kurama lead Momoko into the house and onto the couch as Shori wrapped the blanket around her.