Hello Everyone! I am soooooo sorry about the screw up with the first chappy. Tenia Verguenza. I am very, very sorry.

I would like to thank the following for their reviews-

WhitBlackKaySnape- thank you for bringing it to my attention, (bow) I am very grateful.

amarilis( )- thank you greatly for your support and review! I owe ya! COOKIES!

This chappy is dedicated for those two.

EGO-FEEDISM IS GOOD! I will not update unless I get 4 reviews. And so if you think its crap, give me ideas to make it better (no flame) and if you like it, let me know!

Chappy 4

Mayumi shivered. Her body was freezing from the rain right outside the window under which she sat, or maybe it was because of her fear. The ropes that bound her wrists cut into her skin. But that didn't matter, she were TICKED at Youko running from her and not coming back to save her. 'Don't demons have a BIT of a conscience?' She asked herself. The two men who had entered went through her house and she heard clunks and thumps of unidentified object. Suddenly they returned. They began conversing to themselves by her blanket-covered couch. "So, what do we do with the girl?" The short one asked. "Well…" said the other getting a digusting look in his eye. That look itself sent shivers down Mayumi's spine. They picked her up and brought her to the couch and sat her halfway down.

One of them cut Mayumi's bindings and threw her the rest of the way down on the couch. "So, girlie, how old are you?" One asked. She sat there and glared at him. SMACK! She clung to the side of her face as blood came from her split lip. "Again, girlie, how old are you?" Mayumi thought about telling him, then her rebellious side kicked in. She spat at his feet. SMACK! SMACK! She fell off the couch and to the white carpeted floor. Little drops of red now covered the pristine clean carpet. "I ASKED YOU A QUESTION, YOU INSOLENT WENCH!" He said as he kicked her in the side. His kick rammed her back into the hard part of the couch and she gasped in pain. (I've done that and it HURTS! Anyway, back to the story…) Mayumi grasped her side and groaned as she tried to stand and get away from the men. She got a few feet away before one grabbed her arm, wrenching it down with a jerk. She cried out in pain and again fell to the floor. Her arm seared with pain, the burning sensation spread all over Mayumi's body.

Blood was now all over her hands and the carpet under her bloody body. 'That's so disgusting.' She thought deliriously. Her body didn't seem to hurt as much after he kicked her in the stomach so that she were rolled and flipped onto her stomach. She just lied there, staring at the entrance to the kitchen. 'I hope Kurama is ok… that's were we cleaned dinner… it was so cool getting to talk to him…" Random thoughts kept floating through her head, when all of a sudden it clicked! "KURAMA!" Mayumi's voice could have shattered glasses as it swept through the house. All the pain returned suddenly as she coughed up blood, she tried getting to her knees, but one of them pushed her over onto her side. "So, who's this churana you are calling for?" They laughed at themselves while Mayumi's vision blurred with pain and tears. "Kurama." Mayumi's barely audible voice spilt from her lips with more blood as yet again they kicked her in the stomach.

"Hahahahaha-" sudden gagging noises filled your senses as the short ones laughs stopped abruptly. Mayumi moved slowly and painfully to see what happened. There stood Youko with his claws around the thief's neck. His golden eyes narrowed nearly to slits. A growl erupted from his throat. "What the H-" The other thief gasped as Youko threw the shorter one to the opposite wall and approached the tall one. He ran up the stairs that were next to him, and Youko started after him till he heard Mayumi groan. He was next to her in a flash. Looking over her wounds, trying to get her back to full concisness. He healed her a little, so she could breathe but there was little more he could do as Mayumi suddenly jumped up and pushed him down. Mayumi had seen a glint of silver in the candlelight and jumped up partially to push the fox out of the path of the speeding bullet.

It was a frozen moment broken only as a death seed cracked the thug's ugly head. Youko was kneeling with his arms around Mayumi's waist, her kneeling in front of him, a circle of blood beginning to form on the back of Mayumi's shirt. His eyes were wide, his breathing was harsh. Her eyes were open looking over his shoulder, where her head rested. Mayumi's body tensed and Youko brought her around into his arms like she was a baby. Mayumi's breathing became more labored, her heart was racing, his hands soon slick with blood. She looked into his now-turning-green eyes and smiled slightly. She were soon cupped in Shuuichi's arms. A sudden movement caught her off guard as he brought his head down to Mayumi's and wept on her chest. Mayumi painstakingly brought her hand to the back of his head and finished the hug. "You… you shouldn't have… why? WHY?" He shouted at her bringing his tear-stained face back up and looking her in the eye. "Be… because… you would… have done it… for me." This only brought more tears to his eyes. Mayumi was beyond his healing power, and that meant beyond any doctors healing power as well. He racked his brain trying to think of something, ANYTHING. She stiffened as another wave of pain bolted through her body. Here Mayumi leaned against a boy she adored and even loved, in the candlelight, and she was dying. 'How ironic' She thought, Mayumi was getting so tired. Mayumi, even in her delirium, knew what was going on. She were dying. It hit her like a wall of stones in the face. But Mayumi could not shed a tear now, she knew what the cause had been. To spare the life of one she… loved.

"Kurama, I…"

"Shhhh…" He whispered, bringing his finger to Mayumi's lips.

"No… I… I love you…" She fought out. His eyes widened in shock. 'So, she felt the same thing…' He thought.

"I'm so sorry…" Mayumi choked.

"No, I'm sorry. I should have told you, I should have kept you safe, now the one I love is dying! There's nothing I can do about it!" He shouted into the empty house, the storm was silent as if holding its breath. She smiled weakly, "What can I say,… love makes… you do crazy…things." Mayumi breathed. Kurama choke laughed, and tried to muster a smile. "I'm cold." She said almost silently. Kurama grabbed a blanket off the couch the two were now leaning against and wrapped it around the two of them. It was the last thing Mayumi saw as her eyes drifted closed, it was the end of the beginning.