Shonen

A Yuyu Hakusho fic
by Chester Castañeda

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others) are the rightful property of Yoshihiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV and St. Pierrot. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

Life is nothing but a moment in time.


Chapter 11: Setsuna


"Who made these photos?" Kurama demanded as he waved the leaflets at his prankster classmates.

"I don't know," said one of them, shrugging casually. He smoothed his cropped hair, smirking. "For all I know, it could be made by anyone. Maybe even by you."

"Don't give me that nonsense," Kurama spat, leaving his words hanging in the air of an unsaid threat. The entire group of delinquents hooted at Kurama's hostile demeanor.

"Or you'll do what, Minamino? Glare us to death?" a boy sporting unnaturally green hair and a nose ring scoffed.

"Maybe he'll turn into a fox demon, like what those Paranormal Club freakazoids keep saying," another boy-the one with the scrawny build and forgettable face-heckled.

"You don't get it, do you?" the cropped-haired boy cooed. "Nobody here is going to fess up on anybody. You won't find any stool pigeons here, Minamino. Just give it up; the invisible girl ain't worth it."

"Oh, I get it now!" Kurama chimed in, brightening up-although his smile did have an exaggerated quality to it. "You can't tell on each other, or else everybody will be incriminated; is that correct?"

"Yeah, whatever. What you said," the nearly skin-headed boy heedlessly snorted. "So remember Minamino: nothing happened. The last couple of minutes didn't exist."

"Oh really?" Kurama smilingly queried. "How about the next couple of minutes of this?" He suddenly held the prankster group leader by the collar.


"Chiho!" Yumiko called out angrily as she made her way towards the flamboyant schoolgirl. "How could you do such a thing to Midori-chan? You're supposed to be best friends! Have you no heart? How dare you let her get humiliated like that! What kind of friend are you?"

She stopped at mid-stride as Masami and the rest of Chiho's fashion brigade blocked her path. She simply pushed them aside. "All this because of your little argument last summer? How dare you betray Midori-chan's trust for such a flimsy reason! What you did was just the worst! You should be ashamed of yourself!"

"So unfeminine! Just what exactly do you want to prove, bowl head?" Masami questioned, grimacing. "What the heck are you talking about, anyway?"

"Maybe we should ask 'Shu-chan about it,'" the girl with the heavy makeup maliciously teased, eliciting a couple of giggles and titters from the group.

"Chiho," Yumiko addressed straightforwardly, totally ignoring all other... distractions, "we need to talk. Now."

"Don't believe everything you hear, Yumi-chan," Chiho offhandedly divulged. "I had nothing to do with this."

Yumiko looked at Chiho dubiously. "That's it? That's your defense? Is that the only thing you can say for yourself? Well, that sucks! Can't you come up with a better excuse?"

Chiho returned Yumiko's doubtful stare with her own half-lidded look. "I don't have to. I don't care if you believe me or not. What I say is true."

Yumiko was taken aback by Chiho's pledge before her eyes glinted in mute understanding. "So it was all this bitch's fault?" she stated, pointing her finger as Masami.

Masami stared disdainfully at Yumiko, her nose wrinkled in disgust. "You should watch your filthy mouth. Don't you know that it's rude to point?" She smirked. "Besides, you can't prove anything."

Yumiko resisted the urge to slap the Fashion Club's vice-president as she turned her attention back to the Fashion Club President. "I hate them for what they've done to Midori-chan, but you're no saint either. You knew all about your groupies' little plan, yet you didn't even give a damn. That makes you as bad as they are."

Chiho didn't even bother to react to Yumiko's accusation, all the while maintaining her mostly pokerfaced expression. But what did catch the gaudy girl's attention was the ever-growing buzz from her fellow classmates.

Yumiko quickly turned to where Chiho was looking, only to witness the last thing she expected to see.

Shuichi Minamino in a fight.


The cropped-haired boy wiped the trickle of blood on his lips as he made another enraged swing at Minamino. He again missed, getting a face-full of the redhead's palm for all his trouble.

'Dammit! I didn't know pretty boy Minamino was into martial arts and shit,' he thought, annoyed by how the fight was going. His whole body ached as the battle seemed to stretch on for eternity.

'Miyagi. Itou. Nueno. They're all down. Looks like this is just between me and Minamino.' The self-appointed leader of the prankster group cracked his knuckles. 'I won't let a fruitcake like him beat me!'

He charged at Minamino, shouting with primal rage. It was an all or nothing attack.

To his surprise, his punch and kick combo actually worked on Minamino for a change. The bully grinned. 'He ain't so tough after all.'

Minamino heedlessly grabbed the oppressive young man's arm and twisted it towards the latter's back. The delinquent struggled in vain.

"Minamino Shuichi-kun! What the hell are you doing? Let go of Mizuhara this instant!"

'Aaawww! It looks like I've tarnished poor little Minamino Shuichi-kun's permanent record. Too bad, since bug-eyed Isako has been giving Mister Perfect Student the heat since the first semester,' Mizuhara thought snidely. 'It looks like I've won in the end.'


"Ssshh. Don't bother screaming. No one can hear you."

Midori warily espied the silver-haired stranger before her, inspecting every aspect of him carefully. Her eyes traveled slowly over his slim, slender build draped in loose, pristine-white clothing, stopping briefly at his curved mouth and mischievous slanted eyes that were filled with mirthless intelligence just a while ago. 'He certainly is handsome. But what are those strange things hanging on top of his head?'

Midori screamed again as realization struck her.

The mysterious, golden-eyed man sighed. "You're wasting your breath."

"B-But those are fox ears!" Midori sputtered as she pointed wildly at the fantastic half-beast. "Then you must be some sort of fox creature; a kitsune, perhaps?"

"I am a youko," the supposed fox creature declared, smiling impishly. "I am Youko Kurama."


"Isako-sensei, I can explain," Kurama started.

"It's pretty simple, Isako-sensei," Mizuhara interjected as he extricated himself from Kurama's grip. "You know the school rules about fighting inside class. It's highly inadvisable for a student of such a prestigious school as Meiou High to engage in such behavior."

Mizuhara gestured towards the direction of his fallen but quickly recovering comrades. "Now, I don't know exactly what pushed Minamino to the brink of insanity, but my comrades and I, as you can plainly see, became the innocent victims of his misdirected rage. I can't speak for Minamino, but the fact remains that-"

"You're full of shit, Mizuhara! That's not what happened!"

"Don't you dare imply that Minamino-sama's the one at fault here, you asshole!"

"So you're saying that Minamino kicked your sorry ass?"

"Don't be so mean to Minamino-san, you big bully!"

"Quiet down, all of you!" Isako reprimanded as he motioned Mizuhara to continue, his face serious and grim.

The cropped-haired rabble-rouser coughed once before he smugly smirked at 'Minamino'. "I know you're going to do the right thing, Isako-sensei. Why, Meiou High's reputation as a prestigious and disciplined school will be in jeopardy once people find out about this.

Kurama wanted to say something, but thought the better of it once he saw Isako's insistent glare.

'Bye-bye, Minamino-kun,' Mizuhara jeered gleefully. 'Everybody knows that bug-eyed Isako is out for your blood. He didn't even bother to hear your side of the story. That's what you get for messing with me and my posse's fun.'

The History teacher inhaled deeply before loudly and derogatively admonishing, "What the hell kind of a cockamamie story is that, Mizuhara-kun?"

"Eh?" the cropped-haired troublemaker elucidated, completely baffled by the turn of events. "But I swear that I'm telling you the truth, Isako-sensei! You saw what Minamino did to us, right? He attacked us for no good reason and even knocked most of us down!" he pathetically whined.

"Minamino knocked you down?" Isako chortled. "Please, Mizuhara-kun. Do you really take me for a fool? Minamino-kun here can't even hurt a fly."

"It's true and I have the bruises to prove it!" came Mizuhara's sudden outburst. "Everybody saw what happened!"

"What the heck is he talking about?"

"What I saw was Mizuhara decking Minamino, not the other way around."

"It's the truth! Minamino sucker-punched me on the jaw and it still hurts!" claimed Itou, a rather portly young man that also belonged to Mizuhara's group. Unfortunately, instead of eliciting compassion from his fellow students, Itou's insistent declaration was met with sudden boisterous laughter. Even the ever-grim Isako was uncharacteristically chuckling.

"But it really does!" the overweight boy cried.

"He must have had a glass jaw!"

"You guys are really lame."

"If Minamino-sama really did fight, you guys will be lying on hospital beds!"

"Is this another one of your half-baked lies, Mizuhara-kun?" Isako reproved, automatically shifting from his momentary lapse of mirth to that of his more typical demeanor. "Normally, I'd rather have this settled in the classroom right now without the involvement of the administration. But you're all beginning to try my patience."

"But...!" Mizuhara protested weakly as he checked himself all over. Sure enough, there was no proof that he had been in a recent brawl; no contusions, no bruises, not even a reddened mark. He looked at his compatriots. It was the same for them as well. He still felt as if he was run over a truck, though. "I-I don't understand."

"Understand this. You're lucky if you get off with a warning," Isako admonished, scowling. "I really, really hate liars. But you're still lucky nonetheless. Why, if the principal ever heard about this-"

"Isako-sensei," Kurama suddenly interrupted, bowing politely. "With all due respect, I believe that Mizuhara-kun and the rest of his friends shouldn't just get off with a warning. In fact, I highly suggest that Principal Sasae gets involved this time."

"Oh?" Isako inquired condescendingly. "Why is that, Minamino-kun? Did these bullies hurt more than your pride?"

"No," Kurama said simply as he unfolded several of the leaflets he had reluctantly acquired. "It's because no one should get away with a sick practical joke like this."


"Youko... Kurama?" Midori slowly and tentatively repeated as she gazed upon the strange apparition before her. "Is this some sort of strange dream?" She resisted the urge to jump back in surprise as she caught sight of the majestic creature's silvery foxtails. 'H-He's beautiful.'

"How flattering of you to say that; I appreciate your compliment," Youko Kurama playfully thanked, making the bespectacled young schoolgirl jump back in surprise for real. "I'm sorry, it was rude of me to read your mind like that."

"It's all right," Midori hesitantly assured the youko. Her heart skipped a beat as Youko Kurama smiled at her, his slanted golden eyes shining.

Midori soon became self-conscious as the fox demon continued to stare at her face for a couple of more minutes. "What is it?" she asked.

The many-tailed kitsune LAUGHED daintily. Before the girl could protest, he had already taken off her thick eyeglasses, peering through them curiously. "Such strange, transparent objects. You humans have too much attachment for material things. It's as if you actually believe that you can somehow improve yourselves through them."

"Please give those back," Midori softly pleaded, pouting.

Youko Kurama tilted his head at the teenaged girl in askance. "But this object that's supposed to improve your vision doesn't really do its task well. Why do you still wear them?"

Midori quickly snatched the nonprescription glasses away from the youko's hand, blushing furiously from embarrassment and annoyance. But why was she feeling embarrassed and annoyed? Was it because this odd being had exposed her little psychological mask so easily and inadvertently? Or was it because she didn't want herself to be left exposed in fear of being humiliated?

The diffident young lass shyly looked up at the youko, hiding the lower half of her face behind her History notebook. His eyes glistened the same way it did before; without a trace of malice, accusation or... pity.

She put the notebook down on the concrete floor of the rooftop altogether as she stood up to face the mysterious entity. "Is this a dream? Are you a manifestation of my own madness that I've conjured up because of my wish to fade away?" she inquired pedantically.

She paid no heed to the strange white fog that began to envelop her as she continued her insistent questions, saying thoughts she'd normally leave unsaid and unspoken in the real world.

"Who are you really, Silver Fox? What do you want from an invisible girl whose only wish is to fade away?"

"Do not merely wish to fade away, Ohya Midori," the Silver Fox started, his expression a strange enigma of amusement. "A star never wishes to fade away."

What was the Silver Fox saying? "A... star?" the invisible girl asked.

The Silver Fox nodded smilingly. "To fade away is a star's greatest humiliation."


"So you used mind-controlling pollen on Mizuhara-kun and the rest of his cohorts?" Kaito queried as he walked next to Kurama in the mostly crowded corridors. "Clever. You were able to protect your reputation and your permanent record while still exacting revenge upon those delinquents. So very like the legendary Youko Kurama."

"Please, Kaito. In school, it's 'Minamino,' remember?" Kurama clarified as he looked over his shoulder worriedly. "I don't want the Paranormal Club to get any ideas."

"Yes, yes, Minamino-kun," Kaito offhandedly assured. "So what happened to Mizuhara and company? Did they get expelled?"

"They got punished, that's for sure. But they still kept on insisting that they merely rode on the bandwagon as the leaflets were distributed in the classroom," Kurama informed in a subdued manner. "I'm beginning to believe them."

"Humph. So that's why you need me?"

"That's right. So did you uncover anything?" Kurama asked sheepishly, adding a pleading, "Please, Kaito-kun?"

Kaito snorted disdainfully. "None of that '-kun' business for me, Minamino." He sighed. "In response to your question; no, it's a dead end. It wasn't one of us 'nerds.' We'd never do that to Ohya Midori. We feel a sort of kinship towards her, treating her as one of our own... and we'd never betray one of our own."

Kurama furrowed his eyebrows. "If it's not the pranksters or the nerds, then who can it be?"

"I know the answer to that."

Both Kurama and Kaito turned to see the source of the determined female voice.

Yumiko smiled cheerfully at the two boys, though the heavy flush on her cheeks was very evident. "Perhaps there's a way for me to help you two; right, Minamino-kun? Kaito-kun?"


"Masami was the one behind all this?" Kaito rhetorically asked in his usual monotonous nonchalance.

"Are you sure, Yumiko-san?" Kurama queried earnestly, the look of concern in his evergreen eyes obvious. "This isn't exactly the sort of accusation you can take lightly."

"I'm positive," Yumiko guaranteed. "Masami and her group of fashion rejects hated Midori with a vengeance."

"Why is that?" Kurama queried.

"Because Chiho gave more attention to Midori-chan than any of the Fashion Club members. The only reason they joined the Fashion Club in the first place was to be identified with Chiho. 'Coolness through association,' if you will; something that Midori-chan received from Chiho without any ulterior motives."

"So it's all for jealousy's sake," Kaito supposed. "But why now? Why not before?"

Yumiko let out a consigned sigh. "Just this summer, Chiho and Midori-chan had a major fight..."

"...Which gave them the perfect opportunity and excuse to get even with poor Midori-san," Kurama concluded, tight-lipped. "They mustn't get away with this."

"I know. But it's hard to tell on them since they're associated with Sasae Chiho, Miss Popularity of Meiou High and..."

"...Daughter of the Principal of Meiou High," Kaito finished for her.

"It's not fair!" Yumiko spat, slamming her balled-up fist on the table. "If only Chiho can just forget about her pride and forgive Midori-chan! The way she just took the high road and dismissively ignored the situation is enough to make my blood boil! Best friends shouldn't fight like that. I swear, once I get my hands on-"

Kurama suddenly held Yumiko's hand and squeezed it encouragingly, saying, "You must be really concerned for your friend's welfare. You're a really good friend yourself."

Yumiko blushed furiously, tongue-tied. "I... um... well... Minamino-san... you...!"

Kaito suddenly smacked his open palm in an exaggerated gesture of remembrance. "I almost forgot! I need to study for a big Physics exam. Sorry, but it seems that I've got to go. See you two later."

"Hey, wait!" the girl with the lengthy sideburns protested before realizing that she was still holding Kurama's hand. She quickly relinquished her grip, feeling uncomfortable with the awkward state of affairs. "Sorry."

"I didn't mind."

The pensive teenage girl's heart stopped for a fraction of a second. "R-Really?"

The "couple" fell silent for quite a while.

"Minamino-kun..."

"Yumiko-san..."

The pair stopped at mid-explanation as they both realized that they just chorused each other's names. They subsequently shared an embarrassed laugh over it. Yumiko was the first one to speak.

"I really appreciate what you're doing," she confessed tentatively, hastily adding, "for Midori-chan."

"I like Midori-san. I consider her as a friend. I hate what those people did to her," Kurama replied.

Yumiko fidgeted a bit. "I see." She took a deep breath. "But what about...?"

"I also like Yumiko-san."

Yumiko felt like she had just ascended to heaven.

"I wish that we can also be friends."

Yumiko quickly descended back to earth.

The dream-filled girl whose hopes were now hopelessly shattered again smiled wanly, visibly deflated; though she also, strangely enough, felt relieved. "I'd... like that, Minamino... kun."

The two new friends sat there in comfortable silence for a few more minutes. They afterwards heard the buzz of an excited crowd as students began gathering over one side of the cafeteria.

"What's going on?" Yumiko wondered before resolutely saying, "I'm going to find out."

"Yumiko-san, I don't think there's a need for us to-" Kurama soon realized that he was talking to thin air. 'I certainly wish that it's not another fight. My fight with Mizuhara and the others didn't really happen; I hope for the same circumstances to occur here.'

"Minamino-kun! Minamino-kun!" Yumiko worriedly called out as she suddenly emerged from the crowd. "You have to come over here, quick! It's Midori-chan!"


"The Silver Fox was right," Midori whispered to herself as she made her way over the Fashion Club's designated table, tightly clutching her History notebook against her chest.

"Midori-chan?" Masami inquired sweetly, a feral grin plastered on her attractive visage. "So you're finally back from the roof where you and Minamino-san's little admirer does... Kami-knows-what!" Murmurs of 'pedophile' and 'cradle-robber' followed the Fashion Club vice-president's declaration, as well as barely repressed feminine giggles. "Bug-eyed Isako sort of got pissed off when you didn't attend class just because of your little... boy toy." There was more spiteful laughter.

"I heard that there's a centerfold coming out...!" the heavily made-up girl blurted out 'accidentally,' covering her mouth after her embarrassing 'slip of the tongue.'

"I shouldn't fade away; not for the sake of these pawns of the Ice Queen," Midori faintly muttered as she came closer and closer to the group of girls.

"Who does she think she is, sashaying over our table like that?" the Chiho doppelganger asked irritably.

"Maybe she's going to try to bore us to death by reading some of buggy Isako's History notes," a wafer-thin girl laughingly suggested.

"Wait, girls. Let's hear what sweet little Midori-chan has to say," Masami impishly suggested. "What's on your mind?"

"A star should never fade away... should never be humiliated," Midori mouthed, the words nearly indistinguishable.

"A star? So you're saying you're like a... superstar?"

"She's gone crazy."

"What a weirdo."

Midori ignored the other girls' jeers as she extended her arm, her palm aimed at Masami's face. The self-appointed leader of the fashion brigade flinched, thinking that the usually timid girl was going to slap her. But when she realized that wasn't the case, she laughed out loud.

"Are you really that much of a geek that you've become this out of touch with reality? What are you going to do now, magical girl? Zap me with your enchanted powers to make me vanish?"

"That's right." Midori smiled. "Vanish."

Masami's clothes suddenly burst into shreds.


Masami covered herself desperately as she burst into tears and sobs. Wildly, she accused, "You really are a freak!" before wailing some more.

Yumiko looked at the bizarre occurrence with complete and open shock. "M-Midori-chan...?"

'How did Midori-san do that?' Kurama thought, dumbfounded. 'More importantly... why?'

Midori looked at the hapless, naked girl before her with a look of satisfaction on her face. She let out a peal of cruel laughter. "You're making quite a show of yourself, Masami-san. So how does it feel to be naked, humiliated, and mortified?"

Kurama quickly went over Masami's side, offering his overcoat for her to cover herself with while Yumiko cautiously approached Midori.

"Midori-chan, what happened to you?" she asked pensively. "What have you become?"

Instead of acknowledging her friend's query, Midori merely looked at Yumiko intently. The bespectacled schoolgirl gazed all around her; at each and every one of the students that surrounded her, peering straight into their eyes. She liked what she saw.

She saw fear in their eyes. She moaned in ecstasy, basking in their terror.

"I have become... a bright and powerful star."

Masami sobbed and blubbered on Kurama's chest as the red-haired boy tried his best to comfort her. 'Things are getting out of hand. How can it possibly get worse?'

"Minamino-kun, what's going on!"

Kurama cursed himself for thinking what he just thought as he turned to face the origin of the stern and cold voice with a feeling of inescapable dread.

"Principal Sasae."


"Minamino-kun, we have to do something! If we don't, Midori-san will be in trouble!" Yumiko pleaded to Kurama.

"I think things will be all right. We already told to Principal Sasae Midori-san's side of the story, and he seemed understanding enough. He merely arranged for a parent-teacher conference between Midori-san's parents and Isako-sensei." Kurama shrugged. "I don't see the problem."

"You don't understand. I'm not worried about Principal Sasae or Isako-sensei! I'm more worried about how Mister and Missus Ohya are going to react," Yumiko reasoned.

"I'm sure they won't believe all those rumors about Midori-san using magic or voodoo on Masami-san," Kurama reckoned.

"That's not it!" Yumiko berated. "The Ohyas are super-strict. Once they find out what Midori-chan did, they'll ship her out of Meiou for sure!"

"But that's too much! This is Midori-san's first offense, and she's even an honor student!" Kurama protested. "It would be unfair for them to do that. It wasn't even completely her fault."

"I'm afraid it's all true, Minamino-kun. That's why I'm asking you to stay after school to help me convince Sasae-sensei to revoke his decision for a parent-teacher conference. That meeting must never happen," Yumiko beseeched determinedly.


"That's absolutely out of the question. Now excuse me, I was just leaving," Principal Sasae said curtly as he closed his briefcase and stood up from his seat.

Yumiko gritted her teeth in frustration. 'After searching for you everywhere in the entire school campus, you have the audacity to do this to us?' To the administration head, she parroted everything Kurama had observed earlier, pleading, "But sir, this is Ohya-san's first offense, and she's even an honor student. The whole incident wasn't even entirely her fault."

"I know all about that juvenile prank with the faked nude photos. As a matter of fact, I've already given Mizuhara-kun and company and Masami-kun and company all the necessary disciplinary sanctions," the forty-five year old said tiredly as he rubbed his temples in exhaustion. "However, to compare that little practical joke to public assault inside school grounds is completely preposterous!"

Sitting on a nearby couch, Midori Ohya didn't even flinch at the Principal's words, all the while staring wistfully at the office's glass pane windows, completely lost in her own little fantasy land.

"B-But Sasae-sensei...!"

"Not buts. Meiou High School prides itself with high quality education and strict disciplinary standards. We didn't get our reputation as a respectable and prestigious school by letting delinquents run amok. Discipline must be maintained! Why, Ohya-kun actually got off lightly this time around."

"Midori-chan isn't a delinquent-" Yumiko retorted before she was quickly restrained by a certain Shuichi Minamino.

Principal Sasae harrumphed. "It's this sort of dereliction of discipline that's making me lose faith in the youth of today. It's the likes of you and my daughter that's...!"

"I'm sorry. We should have known better," Kurama cajoled apologetically. "You're right, Sasae-sensei. You're not in the compromising position; we are." The once proud youko bowed low in respect and reverence. "We're asking... pleading... for your kind reconsideration."

"Humph. You're always so good with pleading... Aren't you, Minamino-kun?" the middle-aged man scoffed. "Always pleading for reconsiderations on your constant absences, for example; and you're so polite about it too. Well, I say you already owe me too much to ask for another favor!"

"I think you're looking at this the wrong way, daddy."

Both Yumiko and Minamino looked at the office doorway in candid astonishment while Principal Sasae just stood from his spot in open-mouthed disbelief. Even the mostly unresponsive Midori turned to briefly glance at the source of the facetious voice.

"Oh, hello Yumi-chan! Minamino-sama, you're also here? You're just the nicest person, aren't you?" Chiho Sasae cheerfully greeted as she beamed at the stunned pair. She wagged her finger. "You guys are mean. You shouldn't have started without me."


"You're not going to browbeat me this time! You're exactly like your mother! Nag, nag, nag until she gets what she wants!"

"And you're a good-for-nothing father with a one-track mind! It's no wonder mommy had to set you straight every time!"

I never thought fifteen minutes could seem so long," Kurama discreetly remarked to Yumiko.

"Fifteen minutes? It seems like they've been going at it for decades," Yumiko hissed in kind. She anxiously glanced at the apathetic Midori, sighing worriedly.

"Fine, then," Chiho suddenly said in a firm and resolute enough manner to catch the attention of everyone in the office. "Listen here, daddy. I didn't come here to bail out Midori. I came here to," she licked her lips as she braved herself to continue, "own up to my responsibilities."

Principal Sasae looked warily at his daughter, as if not completely convinced with what he just heard. He rubbed his beard contemplatively. "Go on."

Chiho shrugged. "It's... all my fault. Masami used a fashion makeover program in one of the computers in the Fashion Club room... with my consent. I... should have known better. I was the one that drove Midori to do what she did and I take complete responsibility for it," she admitted composedly.

"Sooo... you're saying that you're wrong? Sasae Chiho, my pig-headed daughter, is admitting that she's the one responsible for this mess?"

Chiho rolled her eyes. "Yes, daddy."

"I never thought I'd see the day," Principal Sasae disclosed as he shook his head in wonder. "Okay. I revoke my decision. Ohya-kun is merely going to get a warning this time."

"Midori-chan is off the hook?" Yumiko whooped for joy. "Yes!"

Kurama simply smiled in relief, but he subsequently frowned at what he saw in the corner of his eye.

Yumiko hugged Chiho tightly, kissing her repeatedly on the cheek. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

"Now, now, Yumi-chan! Don't go lesbian on me now," Chiho cautioned, clearly ill at ease.

"I knew you wouldn't leave Midori-chan in trouble like that! You really are her best friend!" Yumiko cheered.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever," Chiho smilingly commented.

"However," Principal Sasae appended gleefully; a bit too gleefully for Chiho's tastes, "since you're so eager to own up to your sins, we might as well get started with punishing them. First of all, you're grounded; meaning no radio, no television, no anything..."

"But daddy!"

"Oh, and I have to hit you where it hurts the most! So no phone calls and definitely no boys."

"You're going overboard, daddy!"

"Don't worry," Yumiko grinningly ascertained, "at least you still got your two best friends. Right, Midori-chan?"

There was no response.

"She already left," Kurama disclosed as he grimly gazed at the open door.


"What happened?"

"The White Emperor was nothing but a mere pawn of the Ice Queen. I'm starting to tire of their shallow little affairs."

"But of course."

"I don't want you to fade away, Silver Fox. If there's anything I can do to stop it, then I will."

"So you'll do anything?"

"Yes. Anything. Anything for you, my Silver Fox."


"I'm so tired, okaasan," Kurama stated as he sat down on the floor, totally exhausted.

Shiori Minamino inquired, "Long day at school?"

Kurama nodded mutely. "I'm sorry, kaasan. I'm too tired to eat. I think I'm going to skip dinner."

"Okay," Shiori conceded as she began putting away the dishes, humming a silly childhood ditty as she went about her chores. "Oh, I almost forgot. I prepared the bathtub for you in case you wanted to have a relaxing hot bath."

"Really? Thank you. You spoil me at times, kaasan," Kurama expressed his gratitude in relief as he willed himself to stand up. He paused as he heard his mother's giggles. "What is it?"

Kurama's adoptive human mother waved him off. "Oh, it's nothing really. It's just that we sound more like a salesman and his wife than mother and son."

Kurama sweatdropped. "That's... really fascinating, kaasan."

Shiori tittered further. "You always get embarrassed so easily. Go upstairs and take your bath already. I'll take care of things down here."


"I still feel tired," Kurama noted as he put on his pajamas, plopping down on his bed unceremoniously. "Not even a hot bath in the furo is enough."

He exhaled. "Who would have thought that a day in school could be just as draining as a mission from the Spirit World?"

The red-haired boy lay on his back, staring sightlessly at the ceiling. For a change, his mind wasn't in shambles because of some dream concerning his love life, sexuality, or whatnot. In fact, the dreaded repercussions of his latest dream didn't at all manifest in any of his adventures the entire day. He rubbed his now slightly scarred wrist, which was sore and bleeding just this morning. "Though I don't want to jinx it or anything, I daresay that today has been a better day for me in the eerie dream department."

True, the karmic forces insisted that he suffer in another way, but he sort of preferred a strenuous day in school than yet another session of psychoanalytical second-guessing. Besides, everything worked out for the better. Midori was able to win her friends and dignity back-that was the important thing.

'Though the strange thing that Midori-san did to Masami-san's clothes; I'm a bit curious about that,' Kurama admitted to himself. 'Perhaps she's just like Kuwabara-kun. She must have some sort of latent psychic potential that was released in that one moment of intense emotional stress and anxiety.'

Kurama yawned involuntarily; a curious human reflex that fascinated him to no end, since fox demons never had any need for sleep. 'Though the way Midori-san acted in the Principal's Office was very strange indeed.'

"Well, like I always used to say, 'Those thoughts are for another day.'" With no one to dispute or contend the factuality of his quote, Kurama surrendered to slumber.

Curiously, he had a dreamless sleep this time.


"What am I doing here?" Kurama exclaimed in alarm as he surveyed his environment. "What am I doing outside the house?" 'Is this... one of those strange dreams again?' he pondered.

Somehow he knew that it wasn't a dream this time.

For one thing, since the moment he woke up, he felt his senses become as sharp broken shards of glass. Alertness was never one of the things present in a hazy mind's dream, no matter how vivid it may seem.

His nocturnal sight lifted the veil of darkness, leaving everything under it exposed for his ready perusal.

His responsive skin felt the pinpricks of the coldness of the night not as numbing pain but as a means to feel the presence of everything and anything around him. From the heat of their excited breath to the humidity of their sweat, he felt it; all of it.

His sensitive hearing was able to pick up and distinguish every little sound around him; the most dominant sound of all was the agitated pounding of a human heart.

His smell-his keen sense of smell-was able to pick up the musky and metallic scent of...

Blood... and also fear.

He quickly checked his claws. Sure enough, that was where the smell of rusty blood emanated.

'Wait... Claws?'

He looked at a nearby glass window. A reflection of a silver-haired demon stared back at him.

Kurama searched for his center of calm, found it and used it to relax himself back into his human form.

Satisfied to see an emerald-eyed reflection that sported a thick, red-haired mane, Kurama made his way towards the doorway of the Minamino residence. He still had to find out where the scent of fear came from.

He desperately hoped that it was his own fear he smelled.

He gulped in trepidation as he gripped the cold handle of the metal doorknob. It clicked open. It wasn't locked.

The scent of fear became even stronger.

It also mingled with the rusty musk of blood.

Despite his earlier relaxation exercise, he could now hear his own human heart pound with renewed vigor. He opened the door cautiously, bracing himself for anything.

His blood turned cold at the sight.

Lying there, disheveled and wounded, was his mother.

"Kaasan! Kaasan!" Kurama cried out in panic as he frantically checked for a pulse. Thankfully, she was still alive, but the youko's earlier horror hadn't dissipated. "Are you all right?"

Shiori's eyes fluttered open upon hearing her son's voice. She quickly hugged her beloved Shuichi, frightened tears falling down on her flushed cheeks. "Oh, my son! Thank God he didn't hurt you!"

"Who did this?" Kurama asked darkly, ignoring the feeling of dread in his palpitating heart.

"It was a cruel, heartless monster!" Shiori declared passionately. "He was a silver-haired demon of some sort! I was so scared that he'd get you!" She wept on Kurama's shoulder, not noticing her son's present disbelief.

'No... Oh God, no.'

"Shuichi? What's wrong? Are you okay? Did the monster get you?"

Kurama backed away slowly from his mother, shaking his head in denial.

"Shuichi! What's wrong?" Shiori repeated, concern etched on her face. "Did that monster do something to you? Tell me, Shuichi!"

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," Kurama repentantly apologized. "I'm now a danger to you." He ran far, far away, ignoring the painful maternal echoes that haunted his ears, his mind, and his heart.


'How touching. You always did have a flair for melodrama, human,' a mocking voice in Kurama's head said. 'I'd applaud you, if I could.'

'Who are you?' Kurama demanded, though he already knew the answer.

'Please. Spare me your doubtfulness. It irritates me,' the mental voice tiredly and impatiently snapped. 'Don't ask a question you already know the answer to.'

'Youko Kurama. Or, at least, the Youko Kurama in my dreams,' Kurama concluded.

'Youko Kurama will suffice,' Kurama's alter ego said curtly. 'It's a tad hard to wreak vengeance upon the person who has hurt your loved one once you find out that that very same person is you; don't you think so?'

'Don't mock me,' Kurama said to himself.

'Why not? Have you forgotten that mocking an opponent is one of our... or rather my greatest weapons? It's all about understanding your opponent's behavior until you can completely predict his every move; psychological warfare at its best. It's basically making your enemy dance to the tune you're playing.'

'I don't like it,' Kurama insisted.

Youko Kurama mentally snorted. 'Of course you don't. It seems that you've forgotten how to be me. Or, to put it in a more dramatic way that you'll probably be more receptive to... you have forgotten how to be Youko Kurama.'

'Why are you doing this?' Kurama demanded.

'Of course you'd ask that. You're utterly predictable; but I digress. Let me put it in terms you can gleefully overanalyze for hours on end: You are the fading star. I am the burning star. My burning pride will overwhelm your faded sense of self. I will have my wish of a death fit for a star.'

Before Kurama could control himself, his body suddenly shifted form: a form with eyes that were cold, calculating slits of intelligence, and hair that glinted a metallic sheen under the lunacy of the moonlight.

"Ah. Much better," Youko Kurama drawled as he regained most of his other persona's motor functions. He subsequently began wafting through streetlights, trees, and buildings, seemingly flying over the multicolored splendor of the city after dark. "I suppose you're now wondering where I'm taking you."

Kurama did the mental equivalent of a silent glare.

Youko Kurama chuckled. "Touchy, touchy; but it's just as well." He licked his smooth lips in apparent exhilaration and delight. "You'll be surprised to know that Ohya Midori hasn't returned to the Ohya residence as of yet and is still in Meiou High School."

Kurama felt the cold dread from before manifest itself inside his psyche once again.

"Feeling anxious, aren't we? Well then, here's more. I was the one that woke up the human girl's psychic potential. Although her choice to rip apart her adversary's clothes as a show of her own self-importance was entirely her choice." The youko chuckled. "My, my. The human 'heart'-or rather, human emotions are oh-so-easy to control and manipulate."

'What sort of sick game are you playing?' Kurama telepathically shouted.

"This is no game. You're merely dancing to the tune I'm playing, Minamino Shuichi."


"Silver Fox!" Midori excitedly greeted as she got off her precarious perch on one of the railings of the Science and Technology building. "You came back, like you promised!"

Youko Kurama wordlessly grabbed Midori by the waist and kissed her passionately, much to Kurama's bewilderment.

"I have kept my promise," the fox demon softly cooed, "will you keep yours?"

Midori looked at the youko with clear, earnest eyes that shone through her thick spectacles. "My heart is ready."

A heavy fog suddenly enveloped them both as Youko Kurama extracted a special gray seed from his silvery hair.

'That's the-' Kurama started, before adding in panic, 'No! Don't use that seed, Youko Kurama!'

'It is now the beginning of the end,' the Silver Fox thought as he dropped the seed inside Midori's mouth. 'I will now have my star's death.'


Yusuke Urameshi rubbed his eyes sleepily as he heard an insistent tapping on the glass pane of his room's shut window. He grumbled incoherently, cussing like a sailor and then some as he checked out the ruckus.

"Some people are trying to sleep here. HEY, MOM! Is that you?" Yusuke groggily demanded as he began to lift open his window. "How many times have I told you that the spare keys are under the doormat, you lousy drunkard-" He soundly blinked.

Pink kimono. Blue hair. Really big oar/paddle/wooden object. It could only be one person-unless Yusuke's mother got really wasted in a nearby festival where people dye your hair blue for free and give you boat paddles as souvenirs.

"Botaaaahn?" the sleek-haired youth yawningly said. "What the hell are you doing here?" His demeanor immediately changed as his eyes snapped wide open in alertness. "Did you find out something about Munashii?"

"Um, not exactly, Yusuke..." Botan trailed off, fidgeting slightly in trepidation. "Lord Koenma has called for you. You have a new mission."

"Not at three in the morning I'm not!" Yusuke shouted incredulously. "Tell that pacifier-sucking brat to call me later! I'm a growing boy. I need my sleep!"

Yusuke would have shut the window in anger had he not seen the pensive look on the ferry-girl's face. "Hey, Botan. What's wrong?"

Botan bit her lip as her eyes shimmered. "Yusuke, about the mission..."


Kurama stared aghast at the deplorable scene before him. He addressed his alter ego in a soft yet disgusted voice. "How could you do this?"

The two personalities' shared face quickly changed its expression from open-mouthed shock to sadistic delight. "You have excelled well in pitiful human academics with your supposed keen intellect, but is your old youko common sense just as sharp or has it faded away like your dignity as a demon?"

'What do you mean?' Kurama addressed mentally, seeing that his other self had again regained control of his bodily functions.

"Figure it out by predicting what happens next in these series of events; I mess with your mind, I mess with the girl's mind, I mess with your mother, I mess with your mind some more, I mess with the girl... What's next, Minamino?"

'You mess with me,' Kurama answered.

"Close, but you're not quite getting the big picture," Youko Kurama derided condescendingly. "If that's all I wanted from the start, then I wouldn't have gone through the trouble of executing steps two to five."

'I thought you hated needless contemplation,' Kurama rejoined.

"This isn't needless contemplation, Minamino," Youko Kurama corrected. "This is my favorite step; the 'messing with your head' step. I may have grown addicted to it, seeing how you second-guess yourself twice as many times as you breathe."

'I think you wouldn't have gone through the other 'steps' unless you actually wanted to attract attention,' Kurama supposed, getting straight to the point.

"Bingo," Youko Kurama gleefully mocked, applauding. "Now you're thinking like a youko. That's exactly what I intended from the beginning. Now, whose attention could I possibly want by kidnapping a normal, albeit psychic, human girl?"

'The... Spirit World's?' Kurama ponderously suggested.

"Ah. You're thinking like a human again. I'm so ashamed," Youko Kurama berated, wagging a finger disdainfully. "You should learn to jump to the proper conclusions instead of going through each and every possibility until you've strayed far beyond the original point."

The silver-haired demon fox crossed his arms. "You do know the original point... Don't you, Minamino?"

If Kurama had control over his body right now, he would have gritted his teeth in annoyance and frustration. 'A star's death?'

"Not just any star's death," Youko Kurama stated in his distinctive deathly calm and coolness. "A death fit for a star; to crash and burn in full glory."

A large explosion suddenly rocked the entirety of the Meiou Science and Technology building as the only door leading to the rooftop literally flew open. A figure emerged from the smoking debris.

"Kurama, we need to talk; man to man."

Youko Kurama laughed heartily. "Then I thought, 'What better way to die than in the hands of a Class-S demon warrior?'"

'Yusuke...' Kurama thought in despair.


"Kurama?"

Yusuke stared at the... stranger before him. 'I don't like the way Kurama's eyes are glinting. Those eyes of his look more like Karasu's than his own. Even in his youko form, his eyes still never looked like that.'

"You shouldn't focus your one-track mind on such a tedious topic as glinting eyes," Youko Kurama mischievously admonished, startling the raven-haired young man. "Yes, I read your mind. Surprised? Don't be. I have long had this ability. Minamino was just too 'polite' to actually use it on you."

"Minamino...?" Yusuke dubiously repeated before he altogether shouted, "Munashii, you monster! First you possessed Kuwabara, now Kurama? You really are a gutless son of a bitch!"

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" the demon fox jeered. "I'm not possessed by the undead one, but he did help me get to this point. Actually, this is the first time I've felt like myself in years."

'Munashii helped him get to this point?' Kurama reflected in wonder.

"Well, if you're not Munashii, then who are you?" Yusuke pointedly asked. "You're definitely not Kurama. The Kurama I know would never stoop so low as to use innocent bystanders as bait to start a fight," the young man stated, remembering everything Botan had told him about the mission. "He's above that bullshit."

Youko Kurama chuckled candidly and merrily. "Are you referring to the 'Kurama' who constantly second-guesses his actions to the point of becoming an overbearing martyr of sorts? Then you must be thinking of Minamino Shuichi instead. Although you're right about one thing: I'm nothing like him."

Seeing the half-lidded expression of tedium and languor on the half-demon's face, the youko sighed, saying, "To put it terms that even you could understand," he gleefully chuckled, "I'm the Kurama that's willing to piss you off just to get the sort of fight I want."

"Ain't gonna happen," Yusuke adamantly stated. "I won't risk killing the real Kurama, even though you're starting to become a real prick." He cracked his knuckles. "I'm willing to compromise, though. How does 'beating you within an inch of your life' sound?"

The kitsune snorted derisively. "Nothing short of a full effort on your part will satisfy me. What I want is a fight to the death; nothing less."

"Now don't you start going all 'Sensui' on me!" Yusuke retorted. "It's not up to me whether you live or die. Nobody dictates to Urameshi Yusuke what to or not to do."

The golden-eyed youko shook his head in a display of consternation. "You're always like this: so reactive, so impetuous... so emotional. You always need someone to push you in the right direction, whether it's your other human companion, the fire demon, the old woman, or even your ancestor, Raizen." He sighed in dismay. "Very well; it's time for your proverbial push, mazoku."

The fog that surrounded the two combatants the entire time soon began to dissipate, making their surroundings clear for the first time.

Yusuke fell on his knees, dumbfounded. "How... How could you do this? Botan never told me anything about... this."

Before the two Spirit Detectives was a blissfully grinning Midori Ohya, the Tree of Thought Manipulation at her side, feeding greedily on her essence.


"You've seen the Janen Ju before, haven't you, Urameshi Yusuke?" Youko Kurama inquired smugly. "It feeds on people's bodily nutrients without them knowing it by means of thought and dream manipulation; hence its name. I've already used this particular plant on Toguro Ani during that little scuffle with Sensui, remember?"

"You bastard. How could you? She's just a girl!" Yusuke stared back at his opponent with a look of pure hatred. "How could you be so cruel?"

"Cruel? I did this girl a favor," the former Demon World thief reasoned, gesturing with a flourish. "Instead of living a life filled with misery, pain, and loneliness, she can now slowly and happily die in a world of make-believe." He then shrugged casually. "Don't you see the smile on her face? This isn't cruelty; this is mercy."

"Mercy?" Yusuke reiterated, grimacing as if the word left a bad taste in his mouth. "So you're doing her a favor by means of mercy killing? You goddamn BASTARD!"

"I will do anything to get a death fit for a star," Youko Kurama avowed enigmatically.

"Screw that; I really will kill you!" was Yusuke's seething threat.

In the blink of an eye, the teenage delinquent was already upon the personality-split youko.

'He's fast! This can only be the power of a Class-S demon,' the demon fox thought ecstatically, barely having enough time to react to Yusuke's barrage of fists. 'No. Not yet. This is not enough. His is only the power of a half-demon; he is not yet deserving of my attention. This won't do at all.'

Youko Kurama easily breezed through each and every one of Yusuke's punches the way autumn leaves floated gently on the cruel winter gale. "I can almost taste your anger, half-demon... and the burning force you gain by feeding on that anger. Still, it's not enough, I'm afraid."

There was a kick to the groin here, a muscle-tearing slash to the bicep there, and then a clawed stab to the gut in between the two attacks. Youko Kurama exploited all of Yusuke's openings. The reckless youth was caught completely off-guard, unable to defend himself from any of the demon fox's counterattacks.

Yusuke unceremoniously fell, becoming a boneless heap on the concrete floor. He cursed silently as he realized his dire predicament. 'I... I couldn't even touch him. Dammit!'

"Yusuke! Don't give up!"

Both Yusuke and Youko Kurama were caught flatfooted by the declaration, because the one who said it was Youko Kurama himself.

Or rather, it was said by Kurama himself.

"Yusuke!" Kurama desperately shouted as he briefly won out against his dual identity's mental hold on their shared body. "Remember that I... we witnessed all of your fights and know all of your techniques... and vice-versa! You can't be wishy-washy about this. Don't hold back on my account."

Yusuke lifted his head and stared back at his now 'conscious' friend, smiling.

Kurama's pleading expression was quickly replaced by an annoyed scowl from his alter ego.

The teenaged half-demon subsequently laughed out loud.

"Have you finally gone mad?" Youko Kurama mocked, though his face was still wearing the infuriated frown.

"Nah. You're just really funny," Yusuke said, wiping off the tears from his eyes. "You may think you have everything figured out and stuff, but you couldn't even stop my good buddy Kurama from making that outburst."

"Is that so?" the demon fox deadpanned, pokerfaced.

"Yep." The Spirit Detective leader pointed dramatically at the youko. "I won't fall for your trap; not while my buddy is still in there. Kurama will regain control of that body of his soon, just you wait and see."

'Yusuke,' Kurama thought smilingly.


To be Continued...

Next: The Silver Fox and the Dark Phoenix.

Note that I put in the title Shonen not Shonen-Ai. Shonen-Ai (male-male relationship) and yaoi are just not my cup of tea. This is dedicated to Chimamire Kitsune for giving me the inspiration to write this fic. Wherever you are, this is for you.

Ja ne!
Abdiel