It's dark when I wake up, which isn't saying much for this time of year but still has me a little panicked. How long did I sleep? Is it still the same day? I leap out of bed, scrambling for the clock that I somehow kicked over while dozing. It's six at night, still the 29th. Thank goodness.

I get dressed in my warmest clothes, bundling up as best I can and wondering if I can't maybe afford a new pair of gloves when I realize I don't really have any way of finding Kurama…. If it's his birthday, maybe he's out celebrating it with his mom or some friends.

Sighing, I step out into the cold, immediately firing up. His house is probably the best place to start looking. Worst case, I just leave it on his doorstep or something. I think maybe we should get dog whistles for everyone.

Closing my eyes, I sweep the nearby area, looking for any unusual energy. Nothing but humans as far as I can sense, which really isn't very far. I open my eyes, feeling dizzy. Maybe I'm not completely recovered from earlier today. I'll have to be careful how much more energy I expend.

As much as I hate the cold, the town really does look beautiful covered in snow. It crunches under my feet, and I kick at some, sending it flying through the air. It glistens in the glow from the streetlights, and I sigh. Seriously, one of these days, the cold and I are going to learn to get along. Maybe Yukina can help me train to tolerate it better.

I'm about halfway to Kurama's house when I cast around for his energy. No sooner have I started reaching than I start feeling dizzy. My knees buckle, and I land in the snow, wondering if I'm going to throw up. It seems like a distinct possibility.

Taking slow, deep breaths, I shudder as my jeans get soaked from the melting snow around me. I'm too tired to get up, so I stay there, crouched down as I try to regain my head. Kind of stupid of me to think that a few hours of sleep would be enough to make up for two days without. My stomach rumbles too, adding insult to injury, and I punch the snow, melting it in an instant.

My flame gutters and then goes out, and all I'm left feeling is cold. That's when a hand falls on my shoulder, and I jump, looking up to see...Haruka.

"Are you okay?" she asks me, frowning.

I nod, forcing myself to my feet. She looks tired herself, and I wonder if she hasn't just gotten off a shift at the bakery. Standing here before her, I wish I could say something, anything to let her know it's me, Asaki, someone she might once have considered a friend. What kind of friend disappears for months at a time without telling anyone?

"Weren't you that girl with Shuichi the other day?"

"Oh, y-yeah," I say. "I'm actually looking for him now."

"He was just at the bakery I work at," she tells me. "I think he said he was on his way home."

"Really? Thank you, Haruka!" I grab her hand, squeezing it once before running off in the direction of Kurama's house. With my fire gone, the cold stings every inch of me, but at least I'm not on the ground anymore. Not expending the energy needed to keep me warm conserves enough for me to continue moving.

I'm not far from Kurama's when I spot bright red hair not too far in front of me. "Kurama!" I call, the cold air stealing the breath from my lungs. Taking another step, my foot sinks deep in the snow, and I fall on my face. "Dammit," I grumble, pushing myself up on hands and knees.

A hat falls on my head, and I look up to find myself face-to-face with the man I love. "You're freezing," he says, helping me to my feet, his hands gripping mine. After a moment, he slides off his gloves, holding my cold hands up to his face and breathing hot air on them.

I shiver at the feeling, my stomach doing backflips. He puts his gloves on over my hands, saying, "What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you," I mumble, still feeling warm from his touch.

"You've found me," he says. "Come on." He tugs me along after him, and I follow without complaint, wondering why I keep letting him drag me places. If it were anyone else, I would probably be concerned about how complacent I am, but it's Kurama. I trust him implicitly.

He takes me to his house, making his way past all the places I've been before and back to a room I realize must be his. He gestures me inside, and I stand in the middle of the room, shivering from cold and damp even as I look around.

It's very sparse, much like my own room. There's a bed, a desk, and a bookshelf absolutely covered in books, but other than that, it's empty. Kurama told me he'd decided to live in Living World, but after seeing this room, it makes me think he's deceived even himself. He's still just passing through.

"Where's your fire?"

"Hm?" I look over to find him shrugging out of his coat and scarf. He grabs the blanket from his bed, draping it around me, and I quickly slide out of my own coat to keep his blanket from getting wet.

"Don't you usually burn when you're outside in the cold?"

"Ah. Well, I apparently used too much energy with my top secret project. I'm barely standing," I say, grinning.

He runs a hand over his face, and I almost laugh at how exasperated he looks. "Was it worth it?"

"Yeah," I tell him, reaching into my pocket. I hold my hand out in a fist toward him. "Here." He cups his palms beneath my fist, and I drop the charm, my fingers just barely brushing his skin and making my heart sing.

He looks at the charm, eyes wide before holding it between two fingers and inspecting it carefully. "Asaki…."

"Happy birthday!" I smile hugely, and he turns his surprised gaze to me. "It's an Inner-Flame Charm. Old Fire Demon stuff. Essentially, it'll serve as a good luck charm for you. I mean, that's what I was hoping. It's okay if you don't want it." I frown, feeling stupid as I look away from his bright eyes.

"It's incredible," he says, still looking it over. "How does the flame inside stay lit?"

"Oh." I feel my face grow warm as I say, "That's because it's mine."

"Yours?"

"Mm-hm." I pull my braid over one shoulder, fiddling with the end. "I took some of my Inner-Flame and put it inside, so it'll stay lit as long as I'm alive. If it ever wavers or goes out, then you'll know I'm either in trouble or...well, you know."

"Asaki, are you sure you want to give this to me?" I look up at him, confused, and he says, "This seems like a very important gift, something that shouldn't be given lightly."

"If you're under the impression I didn't think this through, you're wrong," I say, locking eyes with him. "I know exactly how powerful and special this is, and I understand that maybe it's hard for you to accept. Like I said, you don't have to. However, you're the most important person in my life right now, and I wanted to express that to you, somehow." I hold out my hand, raised toward the charm. "If that's not okay, I'll take it back."

He stares at my hand for a moment, and I realize I'm trembling. I can't believe I just said all of that, and I wish I could take back my words as well. His free hand finds mine as he says, "It's too late for that." He tucks the charm in his pocket, a strange smile on his face. "It's mine, for better or worse. I just hope you're prepared for the repercussions. I'm a dangerous person to be so important to anyone."

I nod, swallowing hard as I squeeze his hand. "We've been over this before. You don't scare me, Kurama."

Before I have time to react, he pulls me into his arms, and I gasp, my skin burning from his touch. He releases me after a few moments, smiling. "I can tell you're not afraid. You did willingly walk into a fox's den, after all."

I grin, taking off the hat he gave me and tossing it at him. "Not much of a den for a legendary fox bandit, is it?"

"I'm not sure what you were expecting," is his reply.

I open my mouth to retort when a weird feeling hits my stomach. "Shit," I grunt, throwing off the blanket. I don't have time to save his gloves as my body goes up in flames. Thankfully, I don't scorch the carpet or anything else in his room, but his gloves are completely toast.

The flames die down, and I stare at the ash I've left on his carpet, eyes wide. "I'm so sorry," I cry, panicked.

"Asaki, it's all right," he says. "What happened?"

"Some of my energy came back, though I don't know why. It usually doesn't just appear like that. I barely had time to not torch everything."

"Appreciated," he says, still frowning.

"I used to wake up in a bed of ashes when I was little," I tell him, frowning. "Made my father really mad, but I couldn't control it. I still can't apparently."

There's a knock at his door, and I hear his mother's voice from the other side. "Shuichi?"

Panicked, I change into human form, which is a huge mistake. My stomach lurches, and I fling the door open, pushing past a surprised Mrs. Minamino and practically diving into the bathroom where I hurl the contents of my empty stomach into the toilet. My face is hot, my body sweating, and I feel dizzy.

Don't black out. Don't black out. For the love of all things, don't black out. I take slow, deep breaths, managing to stay conscious as my stomach stops trying to heave out things that aren't there. I flush the toilet, slowly getting to my feet and making my way over to the sink where I splash my face and rinse my mouth out. That was absolutely awful.

Taking a deep breath, my body feeling weak and shaky, I step out into the hallway to find Kurama and his mother waiting. Mrs. Minamino steps up to me, taking my hands in hers. "Are you all right?" She leans forward, pressing her forehead to mine, and I close my eyes, disconcerted by her proximity. "You don't have a fever, but your skin feels a little clammy. Let's get you to sit down."

She takes me into the living room, and I take a seat on the couch while she sits beside me. "I'm fine," I say when she asks Kurama to make me some tea. "Really, I'm all right now."

"You still haven't eaten, have you?" Kurama asks.

"Probably a good thing, considering," I mumble, feeling really embarrassed. Everything about this situation is mortifying.

"Why don't you stay for dinner?" Mrs. Minamino asks. "We're celebrating Shuichi's birthday, and I'm sure he won't mind."

"Not at all," is his immediate response.

"Really," I say, holding up my hands weakly. "I don't want to intrude. I'm sure you just want a family dinner." The word "family" tastes like dirt on my tongue.

"Asaki, you're not intruding," Mrs. Minamino says, smiling gently at me.

"Think of it as another birthday gift to me," Kurama adds. "I would feel much better knowing you'd gotten some food in you before you go home."

Damn you. I just want to go home. Sighing, I nod. "All right."

Mrs. Minamino gets to her feet, clapping her hands together. "The usual, dear?"

Kurama smiles. "Of course." With that, she leaves us, heading into the kitchen. Kurama settles in beside me, his expression suddenly falling. "What happened?"

"Fun fact," I mumble, swallowing hard. "Changing into human form requires a decent amount of energy. More than I rightfully should have had at that moment. On top of that, while my demon form can handle the crap I've put my body through lately, my human form happens to be quite a bit weaker. It hit me all at once, and…." I hang my head in shame, my face blood red.

Kurama brushes some of my hair out of my face, his fingers gliding across my skin, but I don't even have the strength to jump back. Instead, I look up at him, confused. "I know you want to go home," he says, his voice soft. "I know you're feeling out of sorts and unhappy, but I'm worried about you. Once you've eaten, you can go. And if it makes you feel better, I won't even walk you home, even though that goes against my better judgment."

I reach out a hand, poking his knee with one finger. We both stare at the point of contact, and I sigh. "Okay, Shuichi," I mumble, pulling my hand away.

"Other than that," he says, looking away from me, "I was rather hoping I could spend some of my birthday with you anyway."

"Could have gone better," I tell him.

"It could have been worse." I weakly punch his shoulder, and he smiles like the sun breaking through the clouds. It makes me feel a little better.

"I wonder what your charm looks like now," I say.

He pulls it out, frowning at the flame which has gone from a bright orange to a dull yellow. "Interesting."

"Maybe that means I'm sick." I hold out my hand, but he pockets it.

"I know what you're thinking," he says. "If I give it to you, I'm not getting it back."

Damn, he's good. "I didn't realize it would work like this," I say. "You don't really want something that shows you how I'm doing, do you?"

"You don't have a very good track record for being safe, so yes, I do."

"You're a jerk," I mutter, but his concern makes me happy.

"This might sound a bit tactless, but I have a question for you."

"I probably have an answer for you."

"Why don't your clothes get burned when you use your fire?"

He's right; that is a little tactless, but it makes me smile. "You know how I can make talismans and wards from pieces of my clothing? Similar principal. The longer I'm touching something, the less flammable it becomes. It's one of the reasons buying new clothes is hard for me, especially if I'm going to be in demon form a lot."

He nods. "That makes sense. I wonder if that works with people too."

Shrugging, I say, "Not a clue. That would be kind of hard to test considering two things: I can count on one hand the number of times most people have touched me, and I'd have to run the risk of burning those I care about, which I'm not interested in."

"Fair enough. Last question. Can you burn yourself?"

I look away from his piercing green eyes, digging a hand into my hair, grabbing it tightly for a moment as I nod. "When I first came here...after I left my father's I mean...I couldn't get Hide out of my mind…. All of the things he'd done to me. After maybe the second day, I burned all of the flesh off my body." I ball my hands into fists, shaking my head. "I thought if I got rid of any skin he might have touched, that would make me feel better. Cleaner."

"Did it?" he asks.

I nod. "For a little while. Eventually, I came to terms with the fact that as much of the scarring was psychological as physical...if not more so. But, for one brief moment, I convinced myself I was free of him."

"I'm sorry," Kurama says. "I didn't mean to make you think of painful things."

"It's not your fault," I tell him. "You had no way of knowing just how crazy I am."

"I don't think you're crazy, Asaki. Just...hurting and looking for ways to stop the pain." He sighs, reaching for one of my hands, gently uncurling my fingers from the fist I'd been making and running his fingertips over the marks my nails had bitten into my skin.

We stay like that for a while until Mrs. Minamino comes in the room. "Dinner's done," she calls, smiling.

Kurama and I get up, following her into the kitchen where I'm shocked, once again, at the sheer quantity of food. It smells delicious, and my stomach growls, making Kurama smile. "Jerk," I mumble as we sit down.

I eat really slowly, worried that if I don't, it'll come back up again. The conversation is light, and Kurama shows his mom what I made him, Mrs. Minamino making the appropriate oohs and aahs. Meanwhile, I find I'm having a hard time holding myself together. The two of them are really so sweet together, a doting mother and her loving son. A proper family, even without a father. It must be nice….

That's when I realize tears are streaming from my eyes. I try to wipe them away, but they won't stop. Shoot. What's wrong with me?

"Dear." I look up, surprised to find Mrs. Minamino standing beside me. She offers me her hand, and I hesitantly take it, glancing over at Kurama who gives me a slight nod. I can't read the expression on his face, but that's nothing new.

Shiori Minamino leads me into the living room, once again settling on the couch with me. She squeezes my hand gently before letting it go. "All right, dear. What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry," I squeak. "I didn't mean to-"

"Asaki." I look up at her stern tone of voice, eyes wide. Her expression is serious as she says, "What's bothering you?"

Sniffling, I whisper, "You and Shuichi are so close. You love each other very much, and...it hurts to see. I'm so...jealous." I almost spit the word, disgusted with myself for admitting as much. "I don't have anyone who cares for me like that, and yet here I am, messing everything up for you two. If I wasn't here, you guys would have just had a nice night." I take a gasping breath as a sob finds its way out of my throat.

"Oh, Asaki." Before I have time to react, Mrs. Minamino pulls me into her arms, holding me close. My breath catches, but the way she's holding me makes me lose it entirely, and I break down, weeping into her embrace. She rubs my back while I cry, letting me get it all out.

When I'm finally too exhausted to cry anymore, she pulls away just enough so that she can see my face. She brushes some of my hair out of my face, giving me a sad smile. "You've been hurt so much, haven't you?" I must look surprised because she says, "It's in the way you carry yourself, like you're afraid everyone is going to try to hurt you."

I nod my head slightly, wishing I could deny it. Either I'm really bad at hiding it after all, or Mrs. Minamino is really perceptive. I decide it's the latter. No one else has called me out on it, though I'm sure Kurama can tell too.

"I can't take away the pain you've been through, but I want you to know that no one in this house will ever hurt you like that. You're a very dear friend of Shuichi's; he talks about you all the time. As for me...I've come to think of you like the daughter I never had." It's one thing to hear that from Kurama, but having the words come from the woman herself...I can barely breathe, I'm so overwhelmed.

"I'm very glad you're here with us, and I don't ever want you to feel like you're in the way because you aren't. You're welcome here any time, and I mean that." She sighs, letting me go entirely. "I know I can never replace your actual mother, may she rest in peace, but I hope you can at least think of me like a mother someday."

I cover my mouth with my hands as more tears start to flow from my eyes. "Mrs. Minamino," I whisper. I throw my arms around her neck, and she hugs me again, squeezing me tightly. So, that's what that feeling was. Everytime I just wanted to be around her or her smiles and thanks made me feel incredibly warm, it was because I was thinking of her like she was my own mother. I wanted to make her happy because I so desperately wanted a mother's love. Little did I know, she'd been trying to give me just that.

"Thank you," I whisper into her shoulder as she rubs my back once more. "Thank you so much."

"No, Asaki, thank you." She squeezes me tightly before pulling away. "Family may be flesh and blood, but that doesn't mean people who aren't can't also be part of that. Kazuya and Kokoda are part of my family too. And so are you."

I nod, smiling. "I'm glad."

"Welcome to the family, Asaki."

"I promise I won't disappoint you," I tell her, wiping my eyes.

She hands me a tissue, smiling. "I already know that. Now come on. I'm sure Shuichi is out of his mind with worry."

We get up, and I sigh. "I swear, I've cried in front of him so many times, I think he's given up on worrying."

"You may be surprised," she tells me as we head back into the kitchen. The table is clear, everything is put away, and Kurama is just finishing the dishes as we come in. "You see? He cleans really quickly when he's anxious."

"Mother," Kurama says, sounding, for maybe the first time since I've met him, exactly like the sixteen-year-old human he kind of is. Sighing, he dries his hands, looking at me. "Everything all right?"

I nod. "Yeah. Sorry about that."

He merely smiles. "I'm just glad you're feeling better."

"Me too. And now, I really should go home. I'm barely on my feet here." I frown, subconsciously reaching for a braid that isn't there. Sighing, I look up at Kurama, sheepish. "I don't suppose you could walk with me?"

"Of course."

We set off, and I change into demon form, feeling fired up. My energy is nearly back to normal, and I feel so much better than before that I skip a little as we walk.

"What did you guys talk about?" Kurama asks, smiling at my antics.

"Not a lot," I reply. "I mostly cried, and she set me straight." I give him an impish grin as I say, "I'm also pretty sure I accidentally became your little sister."

He frowns. "Is that a fact?"

"Mm-hm. Your mom said I can think of her like my mom too. Sorry, but you're going to have to share."

Sighing, he shakes his head. "I guess I can manage that." We walk along for a little while, and I find myself laughing. "Dare I even ask?" he says, sounding long-suffering.

"Can I call you nii-chan?"

"No."

His refusal is immediate, and I'm taken aback for a moment before I say, "Onii-sama?"

To which he replies by chucking a snowball at me.

A/N: I just want to note for anyone who might not know that "nii-chan" and "onii-sama" are different ways of saying "brother" in Japanese. I thought it would be funny to have Asaki say this to Kurama who is, naturally, not happy with the girl he likes referring to him as her brother.

This chapter has one of my favorite moments of Asaki vulnerability that she shares with Kurama: how she burned her skin off in an attempt to wipe away the memories of the pain Hide caused her only to realize the injuries are more than just skin deep. Anyone who's been emotionally scarred in some way knows it's not nearly so "easy" to erase the pain. Asaki has been struggling with that and is slowly but surely coming to terms with it. The scars might not always heal, but that doesn't mean you have to let them keep you down. They don't define who you are.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed Asaki's induction into Kurama's family, and thanks to Sidako, YukinaBlueRose, and AmericanNidiot for the reviews!