Maruken: I got TWO MORE REVIEWS!!!

Kuronue: * Hands her 5 pretty jewels*

Maruken: I WON THE BET!!! Yay!!People DID review! And I thought you were optimistic.

Kuronue: I WAS being optomistic. FOR MYSELF!

Maruken: Now to answer the nice reviewer's question..

Kuronue: * Runs to Maruken to suffocate her a 4th time*

Maruken:* Pulls out a REALLY big bow and some REALLY sharp arrows. Points her LOADED bow directly at Kuronue* Since I'm angry at you for trying to suffocate me AGAIN..... you can tell them your little weakness.

Kuronue: How do I konw you're really going to sho.... WOAH! * Ducks and REALLY sharp arrow flys by him* O.O Okay..... Ummmm, I can't s..w...i....m.

Maruken: What was that? I couldn't hear you..* Loads another REALLY sharp arrow onto her REALLY big bow.*

Kuronue: I can't....... I can't..... ALRIGHT, I CAN'T SWIM!!! HAPPY?!

Maruken: *Laughing her head off*

Kuronue: I hope you're happy MEAN reviewer...... OOOWWW!!!

Maruken: Bad bat, bad bat!! BAKAYAROU!!* Whacks Kuronue over the head with her REALLY big bow. Then begins to fawn over it, petting it.*

Scrunchie: Maruken does NOT own Yu Yu Hakusho.

Maruken: You, you're.. you're my sister's evil scrunchie!! Shi ne!!!

Scrunchie: I told you I would have my revenge!!

Maruken: You never said that...

Moring came early for Yamiko. The lashings from last night had pretty much healed and left only faded red lines. Recollections of last night were still clear in her head.

FLASHBACK

"Where were you?! Twilight's already over! You should have been back here BEFORE Twilight!" " I fell asleep! Okay! That's NOT as bad as you make it out to be!" Yamiko yelled at her father, the furious Alpha. "ASLEEP?! You fell ASLEEP?! Well then, to make sure you don't fall asleep in the wilderness again you'll just have to stay here, won't you?" He sneered at her. "Stay HERE?!! WHY would I stay HERE?!!" " Because you BELONG here! You're a mononoke hime! HIME!" The Alpha finally realized what he was yelling at her was going in one ear and out the other.

All of a sudden Yamiko felt a sharp stinging pain in her right cheek. Blood dripped off his ivory white claw, specked with wine red trails, and onto the floor in a rythmic pattern. As she thought this her face paled a little and she became tense, waiting, anticipating who this person was and what they might be bringing.

"Shinroku, please beat some sense into her. I would really like her to quit gallivanting around and disreguarding everyones wishes like some.. some..." " Youko slut?" Shinroku offered. Yamiko bit her tongue and seethed with anger at being called a slut. " Yes, sadly that was just what I was trying to say. Sayonara, I leave her to you." And with that the Alpha strode away, muttering something about insubordinate pups. " Arigato, Odaasan." She bit out through clenched teeth, each syllable drenched in sarcasm.

The elder mononoke swiftly slid his hand into a leather belt that hung around his waist, and it came out gripping the handle of a black whip. This caught Yamiko off guard. He effortlessly flicked the handle and the rest of the whip came crashing down upon her fleeting figure, tearing into the flesh on her lower left arm. She hissed in pain and clutched the wounded limb, pulling it close to her chest. Blue and green eyes darted back and forth, to his hand, the whip then his face, trying to predict his next attack. Soundlessly he manuevered the long, black length into an ark, aimed at her legs. This tactic, if successful, would render her imobile, both he and she knew it.

As the whip came at her again her mind formed a small stratagy, she waited till it was about two feet from her and back flipped a good eight feet away. " A whip?! Coward! What happened to hands on pain, including feet?" She taunted him as he drew his whip in a diagonal line, just licking the side of her right foot. "I grew weary of you trying to boil my legs off. I happened to need them." He nonchalantly answered. "You mean you got scared!" She continued trying to distract him jeers. In response he continued his assault with the whip. Unfortunatly he didn't remember the familiar pattern which her form was carrying out.

She took full advantage of this and used her two favorite katas in unison. The first, the Winding Stream, used to evade attacks. The second, the Reed Katana, which allowed her to bend like a reed, but cut like a blade as well. Both katas were excecuted almost flawlessly, and unnoticed. Yet after three blows hit cloth and flesh, he caught onto her attack stratagy and switched to defense.

Suddenly the whip lashed out from behind her. Sharp pain and explodede from her back, created from the whip and the now reopened wounds inflicted upon her by her new friend, Kuronue. Her knees collapsed and hit the floor, clawed hands shot out to stop her fall. A howl of pain vibrated throughout her entire body. Blood splashed to the flood, coating her shadow in a thin coat of crimson. She willed her body to get up but she as she could muster enough strength, an oparick tipped boot came down upon her back, staining the boot a marroon like color.

Before she cold stop it a pained cry escaped her parched throat. Shinroku, in his ignorance, thought it was he who had caused her such tremendous pain. This boosted his already huge ego. He failed realize she only howled in agony like this when he straddled her back and repeatedly cut the whip flesh, many, many times.

He grabbed face and forced her gaze directly into his eyes. Cold, saphire eyes with the luster of obsidian. Even though Yamiko had the appearance of a seven year old, she had the glare of a fourteen yearold, someone twice as old as her. "So, vixen, how does pain feel, hm? Do you want more?" His clawed fist raised his weapon into the air and let it hover over the little wolf pup. However, she didn't move, her eyes still locked with his and her body remained stiff and rigid. Her posture didn't change and neither to her attitude. For th lack of answer she knew she would be punished, and she was right. A sharp sting cut into her lower left cheek, like a stripe, a deep red stripe, and her ears were once again filled with the rythmic pattern of dripping blood.

Since he thought he had broken her back, by the appearance, he thought of a very cruel way to torture her. "On second thought, vixen, I think you've learned your lesson," "you may now retire to your room." He looked down at her haughtily.I don't like this at all. Something's going on. If I get up he might declare it a joke and commence in toturing me again, and HE' s certainly not going to turn his back on me. So..

Despite her fear of she got up on wobbly legs and proceeded to walk away with a bit of a noticable limp in her proud stance. However she tageted Shinroku with all her senses, except sight, just incase he made any abrupt or sudden movements. Luckily, or as she thought suspiciously , she was able to make it to her quater without any harrasements or anything of the like.

END FLASHBACK

"I wonder why he let me go?" Yamiko thought aloud, actually, it was just a whisper. The clothes she wore were the ones from last night, so they were, ragged, torn and bloodstained. Since she was a hime, her closet A.K.A wardrobe had many varieties of clothing. However most of them were uncomfortable and really made her stand out, so she hardly wore any of them, some wern't even touched. Finally she decided on an outfit that knid of resmbled her last one. A hakama with turquiose hues and a kimono-like top with faded beige hues and a tanish golden obi-like sash. Once dressed, she decided to take a look outside.

Her sensitive nose tested the air and found it riddled with scents. Cooked meat, herbs and spices floated upo the breeze. Her room was placed near the kitchen purposely so Shinroku could beat her if she tried to steal. And the first few times his plan worked. Now, whenever something goes missing in the kitchen, she's blamed and had to be interogated.

Oh Kami how she hated that man! He drove her up the wall, trying to make her life a living Hell, and she was only 500! A pup! So she quickly and silently snuck out a secret window she'd created and walked down the dark and dank passage it lead to. Soon she was outside by a small village of ookamis and mononokes. "Good ridance." She muttered as she walked into the lush forest, overflowing with dense greenery. The scenery always calmed her nerves and put her in a semi- serene state of mind.

Kuronue: At least I'm not the only one with a messed up childhood.* Glances at Maruken.*

Maruken: *Currently engaged in a war with her older sister's evil, charred, mutilated, burnt and disembowled used-to-b-a-scrunchie-but-is-now-a-VERY- charred-mutilated-burnt-and-disembowled-piece-of-cloth. Maruken still thinks it's evil though.*

Kuronue: *Left eye twitching every other second* GIVE IT A REST!! IT'S DEAD MARUKEN!! DEAD!! D.E.A.D!

Maruken* Kuronue's VERY loud yelling blows scrunchie out of her grasp.* It's ALIVE! ALIVE I TELL YOU!! ALIVE!! IT JUST RAN AWAY! COME BACK HERE YOU @!@#$^&*&%#!#$^#@%$%$^%#$@%#^$#%@^%$&$*^%&(**&%(&(*&^%*^$(&%(*^&$#$*O&%^$(&$ *$^*%)*&%(&$!~!!!!!!!!!!!

Kuronue: I give........ I say this on behalf of her sanity and mine( Although she say her sanity was forgotten in a blender and poured down the garbage disposal when she was on a sugar high. I'm losiing my sanity people, do you know why? BECAUSE NOW I'M BEGINNING TO BELIEVE HER!!} please review. And arigato for those of you who have been! You're not forgotten!