I said this once, but here's a recap; if you haven't read A chance reunion, then I highly suggest it, because this fic will make much more sense.

Here's chapter two!! But first, I wanted to reply to some reviews.

First- Thanks to everyone for being so supportive about Karasu coming into the story. Like I said, I didn't mean to, but I love to drive Kurama crazy (if anyone hasn't figured that out yet)

Princess Krystal01- Er, I think I know what you're talking about with Hiei's Jagan. I heard it mentioned once in the anime, I think, but it's never been expressed in the Yukina-finds-out fics I've read before. So . . . maybe clarify for my poor mind a little bit.

Babble Queen- Hee-hee. I didn't think it was that funny when I wrote it, so that's probably why I didn't put general/humor, okay? The thing is, if I try to make it funny, then it's usually not.

Chisara Notell- You really think Hiei and Yukina are in-character? Wow. Thanks. (That's high praise for me)

youko-love- Well . . . This isn't really a romance, so I won't focus so much on the pairings as much as the plot. But, just so you know, this is non-yaoi (boy/boy romance) and there might be a little Yusuke/Keiko (depending on how often they come in) and probably Kuwabara/Yukina (just because that's kinda related to the plot in the first place.) But that's just as of now, it might change as the story goes on.

Hiei raced through the trees in the predawn gloom. He stopped only for a second when a dew-soaked branch of a tree threatened to smack him in the face, changing direction and leaping for the next over tree. He growled slightly at the swinging branch, and raced on. He stopped at a clearing, breathing faster than normal. As much as he hated to express any affection, especially when it involved the Ningenkai, he loved this peaceful clearing. There was no baka Kuwabara, no constantly shouting Yusuke, no order-barking Koenma, no over-hyper ferry girl Botan, and no people telling him what to do, or when to do it. Hiei walked over and sat down, his back against one of the trees. He sat there, breathing deeply, until he heard slightly muffled footsteps. He was about to leave when someone called out his name.
"Hiei!" Hiei turned around, surprised that it was a female voice that called him.
"Yukina?" Hiei stared at the girl. "W-what are you doing here?" Yukina smiled, and knelt down, pouring birdseed from her hand onto the ground.
"I thought I saw an injured bird here yesterday," she explained. "When I got near it, it hopped away into the woods. I wanted to follow it, but it was late, so I decided I should just come back in the morning." At this point she got up and brushed her clothes off. "So, here I am." Hiei nodded. "What are you doing here?"
"I-" Hiei broke off. "I like this place, a little bit. Not as much as the Makai, but it's nice for when I don't want to deal with other youkai. . . . " As his voice faded with the last sentence, Hiei realized that he was rambling. (There's something wrong with me,) he thought. Yukina smiled.
"Oh," she said. "I hope you don't mind me being here."
"No," Hiei said. "I just thought that no one else knew about this place."
"I only stumbled on it yesterday," Yukina said, trying to peer through the dense undergrowth of the forest. "I hope that poor little bird is all right."
"I'm sure he is," Hiei offered, although it sounded strained and unlike him. He kicked his feet against the ground as Yukina looked for her friend, hoping that one of them would break the silence. When Yukina didn't speak, Hiei took it that he had to. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth, unsure about what he was going to say.
"May I ask you something?" Yukina said, turning her back to the trees and facing Hiei. When he nodded, Yukina spoke, "Why are you always so . . . quiet?" The pause between the words gave Hiei the impression that was not what Yukina was originally going to ask, but he ignored the fact as Yukina went on. "You've never really spoken to me before, and when you talk to everyone else, you hardly string two words together."
"I just don't like the people I'm forced to talk to," Hiei said.
"Then you're not forced to talk to me?" Yukina's eyes were big, and she looked hopeful.
"Do you like me that much?" Hiei countered with another question instead of answering the one she asked. Yukina looked down at the ground.
"Does it bother you to be liked, even . . . considered as a friend?" she asked. This caught Hiei totally off-guard.
"You think of me as a friend?" he asked. She nodded. "I've never. . . . " Hiei then said something he didn't mean to. "I've been an outcast my entire life, up until now."
"An . . . outcast?" Yukina said. A spark of an idea popped into her mind. "What . . . do you mean?"
"I . . . was . . . damnit, Yukina, I was a criminal!!" Yukina was shrank away from the sudden outburst of anger, and a look of guilt and self- loathing crossed Hiei's face for a moment before he turned and fled the clearing, barely ruffling the calm trees. Yukina looked at the spot where Hiei had been a few moments before.
"It's almost like he wants me to hate him," she said to herself. She smiled when she heard a small chirp and looked over to see the little bird from the day before eating the birdseed she had offered. She knelt down and peered at its broken wing.

"Shuichi! Jeroun! Kuronue! Karasu! Time for breakfast!!" The four youkai stumbled out of their rooms and down the stairs, to where Shiori was waiting with food. Jeroun yawned as he sat down and took the offered plate of toast, taking a piece for himself before offering it to Karasu. Kuronue couldn't help but notice that Kurama was glaring in Karasu's direction. Even Shiori was keeping her distance from the explosive youkai.
"I don't get it," Kuronue whispered to his partner. "What's so bad about this guy, besides the fact he mom-napped Shiori?"
"Oh, let's see here," Kurama whispered somewhat sarcastically. "He tried to blow me up, tried to rape me, nearly killed me and. . . . Well, what would you do?" Kurama stabbed his fork into his plate with such violence the utensil scraped across the plate with a loud *eeeeeee* The room winced.
"Shuichi . . . " Shiori began warningly.
"Gomen, 'kassan," Kurama mumbled. They all began to eat. Kurama shifted uncomfortably in the sounds of utensils scraping plates gently and people chewing, casting a glance over at Karasu. The crow noticed this, and looked up at Kurama. Kurama suddenly got the chills, a side effect of the case of paranoia that had overcome him since yesterday.
::Fox,:: Karasu's voice rang out in Kurama's mind. ::What is the matter with you?::
::Get out of my head, I am not listening to you, I am not listening to you,:: Kurama chanted, even closing his eyes in the hopes that Karasu would leave him alone.
::I am not going to kill you,:: Karasu said, moving an inch closer to the kitsune. At that moment, Kurama jumped from his seat, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"Shuichi!" Shiori yelped.
"Kurama!" Kuronue and Jeroun yelled together. Kurama jumped onto the table, spilling the leftovers from breakfast onto the floor.
"AH-HA!! CAN YOU SEE HIM?? HE'S PLOTTING SOMETHING!! HE IS!! I CAN SEE IT IN HIS EYES!!" Kurama jabbed a finger at Karasu, who backed away from the kitsune, thinking the poor redhead had gone mental.
"Kurama, really, I thought you were more sane than this," Jeroun said. Kuronue nodded and tried to pull Kurama off the table, only succeeding in getting smacked by Kurama's foot as the kitsune prepared to launch himself at Karasu in a full-bodied tackle.
"SHUICHI!!" At that moment, Kurama lost the momentum for his jump and landed with an undignified *thud* on the floor. Kuronue and Karasu helped Kurama up, the chimera offering Karasu a small smile, which the crow returned.
"Wuh-what happened?" Kurama asked. He didn't seem to notice Karasu was holding him on his feet. Kuronue prayed the kitsune's peace of mind could last until they got him out of trouble.
"Shuichi," Shiori advanced on her son, who winced. "What were you thinking?"
"He's mad, 'kassan, he was going to blow us up," Kurama said. Karasu opened his mouth to object, but Kuronue shook his head, his eyes darting from crow to fox, and sent a mental message to Karasu.
::Don't draw his attention to you, or he'll freak out again,:: Kuronue said. Karasu nodded.
"He was not, Shuichi," Shiori said. "That is no way to treat a guest."
"I'll just take him up to his room," Kuronue said. "He won't cause trouble there." Shiori paused, considering, and then nodded, while Karasu and Kuronue hauled Kurama up the stairs. I know it's a short chappie, but I didn't feel like writing anymore; I don't want the story to go by too fast. And I know, the sub-plot thingie with Kurama, Karasu, Kuronue, and Jeroun seems kinda pointless, but I'm working on it here. There's something planned for them. Tee hee. Anyway, I'm gonna leave it at that for now. Please review!