I've had two terrible weeks, and this one isn't even over yet... I'd rather not go into the details, but there is the latest chapter...

Disclamer can be found in Chapter 1 thru Chapter 8... I think...

Please review!

Chapter 10

Saved By the Bell

"Crystals of Auras,

Crystals of Mind,

Grant me the power

To dreams redefine!

Be it romance or love,

Fear or blight,

Give me the power

Over dreams this night!"

Shuichi woke in a cold sweat. He didn't know why he awoke so violently or why he was sweating. HE was having a pleasant dream.

'Well I wasn't.' Yoko saw fit to inform him.

'A guilty conscience perhaps?' A voice in the back of their head said.

The hair on the back of Shuichi's neck stood on end. He didn't know that voice, did he?

Movement out of the corner of his eye had him turn his head sharply to the left, earning a 'snap' in his neck for his troubles.

There sat Hiei on Shuichi's windowsill.

"Hiei, you startled me." Shuichi finally said when his heart slowed down.

Hiei snorted.

'Maybe you picked that up from him, because you certainly didn't pick it up from me.'

'Quiet.'

"You fainted."

Shuichi blinked.

"Excuse me?"

"You're ears are fine, fox. You heard me."

"Care to elaborate then?"

"We went to the fair. We saw that woman." Shuichi didn't need Hiei to tell him who he meant by 'that woman'. "Kuroichou is her name, or so Kcin told us right before you passed out."

"Kuroichou… The black butterfly?" Shuichi blinked and then started to rub the bridge of his nose like a headache was coming on. Something in the back of his head told him that someone he knew had that name. Or he knew someone who would use it.

"Kcin and the Baka (Hiei's name for Kuwabara; means idiot) carried you home. Your mother was worried."

"What else did Kcin say about the woman?"

"Nothing."

Now Shuichi was sure that his ears were tricking him.

"You don't know anything else about her?"

Hiei grimaced.

"I was too…" Hiei trailed off for a moment before continuing. "I couldn't read her mind when she was there-"

'He was petrified on the spot!' Yoko recalled with glee.

'Hush'

"And I can't read Kcin's mind."

Shuichi just looked at him.

"He has a mental barrier. If I could break it down-"

"'If'?"

Hiei glared at him.

"If you won't shut up, I'll just leave. I have better things to do than make sure you don't die in your sleep, baka kitsune."

Shuichi sighed, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them his face was completely blank, ready to listen.

"The boy has strong mental powers-"

'So that's why he bothered to learn his name, his powers are strong enough to be a threat.'

Hiei looked like he was going to hit Shuichi but then remembered that hitting Shuichi didn't necessary mean hitting Yoko. He continued like nothing happened.

"If I did break it down, he would at least go mad or go brain dead."

Hiei looked Shuichi straight in the eye for what he said next.

"I know he knows you're not human. That's for sure, fox."

Shuichi sighed. Yet another person knew his secret that he wasn't counting on. Well, there wasn't anything that he could do about it now. He thanked Hiei, who left the moment the words left his mouth, and settled back into bed.

'What was your bad dream about?'

Yoko paused before answering.

'I don't remember… Do you remember yours?'

Shuichi opened his eyes to stare at the ceiling. He felt like he was on the verge of something very important.

'I can't recall either.'

'Odd… You're certain it wasn't a bad dream?'

Shuichi mentally nodded his head 'yes' to which Yoko responded with a mental frown.

'That's probably a bad sign.'

The Amethyst and Hematite merged (1) stone shattered in one of Sakura's hands while in the other her Moonstone (2) cracked.

'How foolish of me. If I was in his mind a few more seconds, I would have been swallowed even with the protection of the Moonstone.'

Her frown was very visible as she looked at herself in the mirror. She had changed out of her kimono, but her hair was still long. She pulled out a pair of scissors and cut her hair right then and there, taking care that there was enough hair for Oma to rearrange her hair into its proper length and shape.

She carefully wrapped up the cut hair to be packaged and, later, to be donated. Of course, that would be after she disenchanted it and made it impossible to retrace the hair back to her. She didn't want any Doctors, Witch or otherwise, to get a hold of anything of her abnormal self.

Sakura sighed when she saw the clock. A quarter to mid-night. She would take a shower in the morning, before walking to school. Now she would sleep.

Shuichi awoke to the sound of his bedroom door softly closing: His mother probably didn't want to wake him up. But why?

'You fainted, remember?'

'WE fainted, remember?!' Shuichi sighed and rolled out of bed reluctantly. His mother left for work early and he liked to be up to see her off, even though if he didn't he would have an extra hour of sleep.

While he was busy buttoning up the shirt of his school uniform, he looked at the large bruise that had formed on his chest. Yesterday he had gotten a mission from Koenma (Prince of Spirit world) before school had started. It was a simple enough mission- get this demon, make sure it doesn't get killed, make sure you don't get killed- but he had still gotten hit.

'But if we were at school at our usual time, we wouldn't have met Sakura-chan in the morning…'

'True.'

He gathered his homework from his desk, and left his room with his bag, all ready to go except for food.

"Good Morning Mother." Shuichi greeted her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Shuichi, you sure you want to be up?" Shiori put her hand on his forehead to check his temperature. She was a middle aged woman with black hair that she usually had in a loose tie and brown eyes.

"Yes Mother, I'm sure."

"Dear, if the boy thinks he should go to school, let him." Hatanaka (That's his last name, but I can't find his first), Shuichi's stepfather said when Shiori had her 'worry face' on. "Besides, the boy has a name to uphold, right son?" (Shuichi means 'excellence first').

Shuichi nodded as his younger stepbrother stampeded down the stairs. Amazingly enough, Shuichi's stepbrother's name was Shuuichi (confusing I know… I didn't come up with it… In the English version they changed his name in order not to create confusion, but I don't have the other name…).

"'Morning Shu-ani!"

"Good Morning Shuuichi."

(Can you tell the difference? Hint: "aniki" means 'Elder brother')

So their family had breakfast, Kurama avoiding the subject of why he fainted last night. He couldn't tell them, he didn't know himself.

'Maybe I should see a doctor…'

Yoko began to laugh.

'It's not funny. It could be serious.'

'I doubt that.'

Finally he picked up his bag and headed out the door.

Sakura was walking along the opposite side of the street.

"Battoman-chan!"

Sakura turned toward him, smiled, then waved. She looked at both sides of the street, then jay-walked to him.

"Good Morning Battoman-chan. 'Fancy meeting you here'."

"I could say the same thing, Minamino-kun."

"Have a good day Shuichi!" Shiori called from the house.

"Is that your mom?"

Kurama was suddenly filled with a sense of dread. Sakura, someone he knew not to be human, now knew where he lived and what his mother looked like.

Apparently his thoughts showed on his face.

"It's not like I'm going to kidnap her or something. Geez, Minamino-kun, you're so paranoid."

"I'm not paranoid if they really are out to get me. And just because I might be paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get me."

Sakura giggled and then sighed.

"I think, Minamino-kun, out of all the people I've met, I'm going to miss you the most."

Shuichi fell behind, again feeling dread.

"What?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder at him.

"What, you think I'm going to stay here forever? I pride myself in the worn sole of my heel. My family will move… that much is certain…The only question is 'when'."

There was silence, and Shuichi had to force himself to get over the knot in his chest to speak.

"Why are you walking to school, if I may be so bold to ask?"

"You may."

Shuichi waited for a moment.

"Why are you walking to school?"

Sakura blinked after a moment's pause.

"Oh, you want me to answer! Well, why didn't you say so?!"

He started to rub the bridge of his nose again.

Sakura sighed.

"My dad is really busy. He gave me a ride yesterday because he always gives me a ride on the first day of school. Usually I ride, but-" Sakura made a face "the people dad hired to move our stuff didn't know how to handle a bike properly. So it's in the shop for repairs." She grinned up at him. "If you're nice, I might give you a ride.

"Now, why are you off to school, Minamino-kun?"

Shuichi answered her with a sly smile.

"Hey! I answered you! It's only fair!"

"Well, I was planning to show you, but if you-"

"That's ok!"

Sakura yawned.

"Are you always this early to school?" 'This' was 6 am when school started at 8. The two weren't even at school yet, but it was coming into sight.

"Most of the time, yes."

"Then why did I bump-" Sakura stopped talking when Shuichi stopped walking. Nimbly, he jumped onto an overhanging tree and landed on a crouch looking down on Sakura.

"I had some matters to attend to before school." He reached down to give Sakura a hand up when she jumped, just as agile, to settle next to him. She flashed him a smile.

"Why are we up in a tree?" Sakura whispered.

"Because it's the only way to get to where we're going." he answered, as quiet as she. After a moment he continued. "Why are we whispering?"

She blinked at him.

"Would you prefer I YELL?!" Sakura's voice rose for the last two words and Shuichi immediately covered her mouth with his hand.

"Not particularly."

Sakura's eyebrow twitched when his hand didn't move. Shuichi sweat dropped and got up, offering the same hand he used to cover her mouth to help her up now. She glared at it and stood up on her own.

"Where are we going?" Sakura neither whispered nor yelled this time.

Shuichi held an index finger to his lips before climbing another, higher tree branch, Sakura following him. After a while of climbing and following, they made it to a limb that touched a window on the third story of the main school building. He made his way to it, and, just when Sakura was going to let loose a comment on windows and how hard it could be to open a locked one, Shuichi slid it open.

Sakura's jaw snapped shut with an auditable 'click'. Shuichi turned his head at the sound, but she just scowled at him. He gave her a small smile as he backed into the classroom and offered her his hand again.

'You just don't learn do you?'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean, that's the third time you've held out-'

Sakura took his hand and, after a moment of shock on his face, Shuichi helped her in.

'It never hurts to be polite… and to try again.'

Shuichi watched as Sakura quickly surveyed the room, taking in the closet, the stools and easels, both the tripod and H-Frame designs, checking for possible escape routes, where she could be attacked from, and the safest place in the room.

'Definitely not a normal girl.'

'That's what I've been saying.'

Sakura blinked. They were in the art room.

She turned toward him, a question already on her lips when he walked past her and lifted a sheet that was covering one of the canvases. There was a red rose the color of blood with water droplets that caught the light of the sun and glittered like diamonds.

Sakura stood in awe as Shuichi sat down on a stool and began to add to the picture: the background needed touch ups.

"I come in the morning because the fan girls don't know."

"And if you come in the afternoon, they'll know."

He nodded. Shuichi had found he had a talent for painting, and it helped him think when he was stuck on something. Like how to find out about this 'Kuroichou' woman, the best way to stop Kcin from reading his mind and erase his knowledge of Shuichi not being entirely human.

Kcin was easily dealt with: he could just ask Koenma for something like an item that would block his thoughts and get some incense that would make Kcin forget.

But-

"'Kuroichou'?" Sakura murmured.

Shuichi snapped out of his thoughts and whipped his head around to stare at Sakura. She blinked at his shocked expression then pointed to his painting.

"What? You didn't realize what you were painting?"

There, flying in the background toward the rose like it had half a mind to land on it, was a black butterfly.

"Black… an interesting color for a butterfly." Shuichi turned to Sakura as she spoke. "I like to call it the contradiction of the colors: in some cultures it means death, while in others life. It's not even really a color, but a lack of. In times of fear and uncertainty black contains the energy of the threatening unknown. In a positive state, black is seen as a restful emptiness into which anything may emerge and disappear once again. It is also mysterious, providing a sense of potential and possibility (3). The black stone, onyx, stands for the element of fire, and is suppose to enhance the steadfastness and determination of someone. It is a grounding stone, valuable in difficult or confusing times in our lives. Extremely helpful to people who are in the process of 'letting go' or releasing the past attachments to 'People, places, and things.'(4)"

She paused, waiting for him to say anything. He sat there, just listening to her talk, his mouth slightly opened.

She smiled, then continued.

"While the butterfly… aw, the butterfly. The butterfly in my favorite ancient language, Greek, is 'Psyche', which means 'soul' and 'breath' and now 'mind'. In Spanish, Butterfly is 'la Santa Maria posa' 'the Virgin Mary alights/rests'. The Germans thought butterflies were really witches out to steal their cream because the 'Schmetterling' would hover around milk pails, butter churns and such. In Russia it is 'Dushichka', which is derived from 'dusha' meaning 'soul'. In Mandarin, 'Hu-tieh'-"

"The word for 70? 'Tieh'?"

"Yes… thus the butterfly becomes the symbol of longevity. It also represents young men in love-"

"While in Japan it means young maidenhood or marital happiness. (5)"

Sakura gave him a half scowl. She did not like being interrupted. She placed her hand over his mouth to finish.

"'I do not know whether I was a man dreaming I was a butterfly,

Or whether I am now a butterfly dreaming I was a man.'" Sakura withdrew her hand with a look of triumph.

"Chuang Tse?"

"Yes"

Shuichi was opening his mouth to ask why in the world she knew so much, when there was a sound down the hallway. The door was closed, but by the noise they both knew it was the janitor. Shuichi instinctively grabbed Sakura and pulled her into the closet, putting his hand over her mouth to keep her quiet.

The janitor came in, looked around briefly, and walked over to the painting. Shuichi started to sweat. If he saw the painting, he would know that someone was here because of the fresh paint. It wasn't like he wasn't allowed, but he wasn't sure if Sakura was.

Sakura, on the other hand, was more interested in Shuichi covering her mouth for the third time.

'Should I bite him?... Naahh…'

A moment later a shiver went down Shuichi's spine as Yoko's laugh echoed in their head.

The sound of the school bell went off, signaling that the school was open. The janitor looked down the hall, and then turned and put the sheet over the painting without looking. He then left.

Shuichi breathed a sigh of relief, quickly removing his hand from Sakura's mouth.

"Was it really necessary to lick me?"

"Yes… I WILL NOT BE SILENCED!" Sakura said in a stage whisper, punching the air like Kurushimi (the girl's PE teacher if you've forgotten).

They both laughed, and Sakura opened the door of the closet. Before she took a step though, she was reminded that Shuichi still had an arm around her waist. She turned to tease him, but stopped short.

Shuichi Minamino's eyes were gold.

Well, not completely. It was more like a hazel gold: there was green around the outer edge of his eyes' irises.

But it wasn't just his eye color that stopped her; it was the feeling shining in them: loneliness. Without realizing it, Sakura's eyes reflected the same feeling of aloneness.

'He can't even interact with anyone the way he wants to. When he is around humans, he constantly worries if they will find out about him and if they do, will they reject him, or if they are in danger just by being around him. When he's around yokai, he has to worry if they will hurt the people he cares for on the human plane.' Sakura reached up to gently brush a stray strand of his hair away, and ended up cupping his cheek. He leaned into it, his eyes softening. 'Shuichi, why did you choose to stay human? Here you're all alone.'

Another bell rang, signaling zero period. They simultaneously jumped away from each other, blushing.

"I, um, have something to do before school starts… that's why I'm here so early." Sakura said, eyes downcast as she turned to leave the classroom.

Shuichi touched his cheek, still warm from Sakura's brief touch.

'I know why we're lonely, but why is she?'

'I don't know, but I get the feeling that she's one of a kind. Like the last of a kind.'

(1)Amethyst is the stone of the soul, while Hematite is the stone of the mind.

(2)Because of the way it travels through the Zodiac, Moonstone is considered a protective stone while traveling, especially at night or on the water.

(3) Taken from www(.)crystal-cure(.)com/black(.)html

(4) Taken from www(.)sobrietystones(.)com/index(.)html

(5) " " www(.)insects(.)org/ced4/etymology(.)html

Just take out the parentheses.