NOTE: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho. If I did, I would be putting this story in the anime/manga, not here, no? I do however, own any characters that are not in the anime/manga, whose names are too numerous for me to bother listing right now.

Oh, wow. It has been FOREVER since I've updated this story, and I apologize profusely. I've just been way too busy with homework to even think about recreational activities such as this story. If you will ever forgive me, then please accept this extra-long chapter as my apologies.

Previously:

"When someone sends their soul into an unborn child, they have a very small window of time in which to do it. If they are but a moment too late, they child ends up with multiple persons inside himself. When Yoko sent himself into me, he was too late, and so he has to share the body with me, it's rightful owner. When Asuka sent her soul into the unborn child, it seems as though she managed to do it at the exact moment of conception, leaving no way for the soul meant for the body to get in. Therefore, there is no 'alter ego' to fight Riku; she herself is Asuka, not just a co-owner of the body Asuka resides in like I am to Yoko," Shuichi explained.

"Basically, I don't have multiple personalities. The only reason he does is because Yoko made a mistake," I translated.

"Asuka made a mistake as well, though. You should have ended up with your memories intact, but instead, you remember nothing about Asuka. Your mind was wiped clean during the body transfer. Or at least, the memories were locked away."

Chapter 26—Attack

I woke up early the next morning and dressed hurriedly, hoping that maybe I would be out the door before Shuichi got to my house. Nevertheless, he was waiting for me when I went outside. I stared at him for a long moment. "I really don't like you," I said after a while.

Shuichi just smiled and began to walk towards the Meiou High.

The day dragged on as usual. Once school was over, I met Shuichi at our usual place outside the front doors.

"I apologize, Riku, but I cannot train with you today. My mother has invited some of our relatives over for dinner this evening, and I must attend."

"That's fine. I guess I'll see you tomorrow. Have a nice night," I said. I then turned towards my house and started to walk home.

"However," Shuichi continued, following me. "That does not mean that I will neglect my duty to escort you home." He smiled amusedly as I glared at him. "Don't you enjoy my company, Riku?" he asked innocently.

"It doesn't have anything to do with your company; I love hanging out with you. I just don't like the fact that you think I need you to protect me," I replied hotly.

"But you do; you always have," he said softly. "And I'm not going to let anything happen to you, because you are as a sister to me."

There wasn't really anything I could say to that.

We eventually got to my house, and I threw my arms around Shuichi. "Thanks," I whispered.

"It's not a problem," he assured me before letting go and walking back down the short driveway.

I went inside and began to work on the vast mound of homework assigned to me. History, Math, and Science all began to run together in my mind as I worked diligently to complete the assignments. After about two hours of work, I was restless. I pulled on a sweater and went outside to go for a walk.

The fresh evening air was sweet and crisp. It burned in my lungs and chilled my face, but I was happy. I walked briskly down the road, past all of the houses in my neighborhood. I eventually came to the outskirts of town, where houses ceased to exist.

I eventually decided to turn back when I was suddenly rammed into—hard. I fell to the ground and the breath was forced out of my lungs, and I gasped. I had hit the ground hard, and I knew that I would have quite a few scrapes and bruises. I looked up to face my attacker, and my eyes widened in shock and fear at the sight.

A huge ogre with greenish-brown skin was near me, preparing himself for a second attack. He had sharp fangs and crimson eyes that were filled with bloodlust. He rushed at me a second time, and I rolled out of the way just in time.

I quickly leapt to my feet and took on a defensive stance, hoping that the ogre was weaker than he appeared. Shuichi had refused to teach me to fight, saying that there was no need for a woman to know such things when she had others to protect her. Even if I can't fight, I do know how to control my powers, I thought.

The demon rushed at me again, and I leapt out of the way, leaving a trail of flames behind me. As soon as I hit the ground, I spun and shot flames at him. I gasped when the flames had no effect on him. Great, I thought. The beast is flame-retardant.

The giant rushed at me again, and I prepared to leap away at the last moment. Just then, however, a flash of black and silver attacked the creature. The demon was cut in half, and its pieces fell to the ground with a sickening thump.

I blinked, confused.

Hiei turned and glared at me. "What did you think that you were doing?" he asked, his voice low and violent.

"I-I was going for a walk when the demon attacked me. I was trying to protect myself," I stammered pitifully.

"Didn't Kurama tell you not to go out alone?" He demanded.

"Well, not really. He just said that he was going to escort me to school and back. Thanks for saving me, Hiei."

Hiei snorted. "It was nothing. But we need to get you cleaned up before you go back home; you look terrible," he said, appraising the wounds scattered across my skin. "Let's go to Kurama's house."

"But Shuichi has company today; we can't go over there," I contradicted.

"So you want to go back to your house looking like that? What would your mother say?"

I glared at him. "Fine." I turned and began the long walk to Shuichi's house.

"Surely you can go faster than that," Hiei said, sweeping me up and running.

"What are you doing!" I shouted at him.

"You're too slow," he replied simply.

Within minutes we were in Shuichi's back yard, climbing into his second-story window.

'Kurama, get up here now,' I heard the telepathic message Hiei sent to Shuichi. He made no effort to conceal it from me.

A few moments later Shuichi entered his room, a worried expression etched onto his face. When he saw me, the expression intensified. "What happened?" he asked.

"Your foolish friend decided to go for a walk," Hiei told him. "She was ambushed by a demon."

"Riku! Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Shuichi. I just have a few bumps and scrapes here and there," I assured him.

He looked at my tattered clothing. "'A few bumps and scrapes'?"

I blushed and looked at the floor. "I'm sorry, Shuichi: for bothering you here and for being stupid enough to be attacked. I came here because I couldn't go home looking like this, and Hiei insisted that you were the one we should go to."

Shuichi looked at me for a long moment, as if trying to decide what to do next. Then he quickly went to his closet and pulled out some jeans, a tee-shirt, and a jacket. He pulled a first-aid kit out of his dresser and ordered me to sit down on the bed. I did so, and he quickly started tending to the slight wounds on my arms and legs. "Are there any other injuries? On your back or side?" he asked when he was finished.

"No," I lied, ignoring the sharp pain on my right side, where the demon had hit me.

Shuichi sensed the lie. "Riku, tell the truth."

"I think there might be a small bruise on my side, but it's nothing, really. It probably won't even hurt unless I press on it really hard."

"Hn."

Shuichi raised an eyebrow before very gently brushing his fingertips over my right side. I gasped, then quickly tried to recover.

"That tickles, Shuichi!"

"Does it now? Hiei, is Yukina still staying with Genkai?" Shuichi asked.

"Yes."

"Could you go get her for me?"

Hiei turned to go, but I stopped him. "Wait," I said. "It's really not that bad, I promise. I'm just really ticklish."

"Riku, either tell me the truth or show me the wound," Shuichi said seriously.

My eyes widened in surprise. "It's really not so bad that I need someone to heal me. Sure, I'll be a bit sore for a few days, but it's nothing I can't handle. Don't trouble Yukina by insisting that she come all the way out here for that."

But Hiei was already out the window, running towards Genkai's dojo.

Shuichi and I sat and talked until he returned with Yukina. First, I recounted my encounter with the oni, and then we simply talked about random things until Hiei and Yukina showed up. When they did, Hiei went out into the back yard and Shuichi went back downstairs to give us some privacy.

"Show me the bruise," Yukina said gently.

I slowly pulled up the tattered tee-shirt I was wearing until the discoloration on my side was visible.

"That is worse than I expected," Yukina admitted. "When Hiei said you were bruised, I thought he simply meant a small bump, and I wondered why Shuichi had sent for me. But he was right to; this is bad." She put her hands over the wound and immediately a cooling sensation from her powers spread over the bruise, and then to all of my other injuries.

"Thank you," I said, already feeling much better.

"It was not a problem," she replied softly.

I grabbed the clothes that Shuichi had left out for me and quickly changed into them before sending him a telepathic good-bye as Yukina and I jumped out the window. I then said farewell to Yukina and Hiei before walking down the road towards my house.

"Where do you think you're going?" Hiei asked, stepping into my path.

"Home," I said, trying to figure out where I was supposed to be going. Am I forgetting something?

"You seem to have forgotten that the last time you went somewhere alone you were ambushed; we're going with you."

"Oh; right," I said, blushing. "How could I forget?"

"Hiei, if it's alright with you, I think that I will just go to Kuwabara's house to say hello," Yukina said. "I will see you later."

Hiei's expression darkened, but he said nothing. He just grunted and began to walk towards my house.

We were almost home when I decided to start a conversation. Hiei had been his usual silent self throughout the journey. "I think I'm going to ask Shuichi if we can go to Koenma's tomorrow," I said suddenly.

Hiei looked up at me. "What for?"

"Yeah. I think that I want my memories back now. I feel so helpless like this, being the only one of my friends that doesn't have a clue what's going on. I really want to know about my past. Who knows, maybe I'll learn something interesting."

Hiei didn't say anything for a long time, and I had decided that he wasn't planning on responding at all when he finally answered. "I think that that is a wise decision."

By this time, we were already at my house. I thanked Hiei for everything before going inside and going to bed.