Disclaimer: I own nothing here.

Cast of Characters:

Hatanaka, Hiroshi: (I don't know his name so I made one up! ~_^) The newlywed husband of Hatanaka, Shiori. The father of Hatanaka, Shuuichi. The stepfather of Minamino, Shuuichi, who is also known as Yoko, Kurama.

Hatanaka, Shiori: Formerly Minamino, Shiori. The newlywed bride of Hatanaka, Hiroshi. The stepmother of Hatanaka, Shuuichi. The mother of Minamino, Shuuichi, who is also known as Yoko, Kurama.

Hatanaka, Shuuichi: The son of Hatanaka, Hiroshi. The stepson of Hatanaka, Shiori. The stepbrother of Minamino, Shuuichi, who is also known as Yoko, Kurama.

Minamino, Shuuichi: Also known as the spirit fox Yoko, Kurama. The stepson of Hatanaka, Hiroshi. The son of Hatanaka, Shiori. The stepbrother of Hatanaka, Shuuichi.

Providence of the Divine

By: wolf demoness

Chapter One

It was evening in the Hatanaka family household when Hiroshi Hatanaka returned home with a surprise for his family. Hiroshi had recently married a woman by the name of Shiori Minamino. After a courtship of two years the man had finally worked up the courage to propose to the long time widow. It was a beautiful night the night he'd proposed. That night they'd gone to Shiori's favorite restaurant for dinner then the two had taken a moonlit stroll through the park. When the couple had reached the new water fountain built into a courtyard in the park's center, Hiroshi had dropped to one knee, taken the woman's hand, and asked her to be his wife. Shiori happily accepted and the two were married the next fall. Hiroshi, unable to choose a best man, split the difference and had his son and Shiori's son act as his best men. And so, standing in the very courtyard where he'd proposed, amid the falling autumn which had clung to the trees with a stubborn tenacity until that very day when they peacefully drifted down on the assembled wedding party, the two families were merged into one.

Now when most families merge there's usually some tension between the stepchildren and the parents. Usually there's some type of control issues that have to be dealt with, the stepchildren fight with each other and with the new parents trying to reestablish the social hierarchy in the household. Hiroshi had anticipated trouble with Shiori's son especially. The boy's father had passed before he was old enough to remember the man and for the last fifteen years it had been he and his mother alone. When Shiori had fallen ill he was left to himself and assumed the role his father would have taken had he been alive. The young man was fully able to care for himself and his mother, he was in every sense of the word independent and because he was such a well-behaved youth his mother never placed restrictions on him. She never questioned him on his friends, where he went, or what he did. He was left to his own devices most of the time, in a remarkable display of maturity for someone so young, he never seemed to cause any trouble or do anything questionable. Sure he would disappear sometimes, but he always called and he always seemed to have a very good excuse. Even the hooligans he'd befriended seemed to be reforming under his positive influence and Shiori was happy to let her son use his best discretion in dealing with them. Shuuichi was very independent and Hiroshi had anticipated difficulty in trying to get the youth to answer to him as a father after such a long period of independence. Since the youth was seventeen Hiroshi had planned to give him more leeway than his son, who claimed only thirteen years. But the boy seemed, not happy but content to allow the older man to lead the household and make decisions for the family as a single unit. It was puzzling to the older man, but he wasn't about to try fixing something that wasn't broken.

In fact the only tension in the house stemmed from the coincidence that Hiroshi's former wife and Shiori had both loved the same name and jumped at the chance to name their first born sons Shuuichi. A problem that caused some confusion in the household, but was easily solved by the instituting of nicknames. Little Shuuichi ended up being "kid" or "kiddo," which had the young boy less than thrilled. Of course his nickname was nothing compared to his brother who ended up being called "Red" most of the time. The older boy took it in stride though and refused to be ruffled by the slightly less than respectful sobriquet. Little Shuuichi, or "kid" as his father had taken to calling him when both boys were around, also fit into the family seamlessly. He had always wanted a mother, since his had passed on so early in his life. Shiori was a loving woman who was delighted to have another son, especially a little boy in the house. Her own son had always been independent and serious; even as a small child he was never the type to come to his mother with his problems or even a scraped knee for her to kiss better and tell him that everything would be okay. Shiori, who was delighted to be given the opportunity to play mother hen to little Shuuichi, doted on the boy and little Shuuichi was happy to let himself be mothered by the dark haired woman. Rather than becoming jealous as most teenagers would, Shiori's son seemed genuinely pleased by the affection his mother showered on the young boy. Hiroshi was greatly impressed with the teenage boy; he had a level of maturity that belied his age. He was intelligent, well mannered, fastidiously tidy, and polite. He was devoted to his mother and to Hiroshi's great relief put up no power struggle when Hiroshi moved into the house. He was a good son, the kind of son a man could be proud of.

The only trouble Hiroshi ever had with the boys was the intense hero worship little Shuuichi subjected his newly acquired brother to. Once Hiroshi even heard Shiori's Shuuichi talking his son out of dyeing his hair red. Despite all his cajoling and outright bribery Hiroshi couldn't get little Shuuichi to cut his hair for the life of him though. Shuuichi, the older Shuuichi that is, seemed happy to have his little brother with him. He treated the little boy as a part of the family immediately and spent time with him frequently. The boys would go shopping, out for ice cream, for a walk in the park, or the redheaded youth would help his brother with his homework. Little Shuuichi frequently stormed into his brother's room and took over the older boy's computer while he studied or sat and watched TV on the small screen in the older boy's room. Hiroshi couldn't believe how well the boys got along with each other.

Hiroshi was very proud of his family. They'd gone through a tough time and they'd dealt with it very well. In his opinion they deserved a treat, a little surprise. That's why Hiroshi had stayed late at work the last few nights, laboring to finish the projects he was responsible for so that he could take time off in the next week. He booked a little cabin in the mountains for the two weeks the boys would have their winter vacation from school. It was all planned, on the day that Shiori's Shuuichi had his last exam before winter break at Meiou High they would leave on a two-week vacation to the mountains. The resort he'd booked had indoor and outdoor activities; skiing, hiking, and snowboarding for those who wanted to spend the day outdoors and arts and crafts as well as games in the lodge for those who chose to stay indoors. It was with some excitement that Hiroshi left that night to return home. Shuuichi's last test was in four days time and tomorrow morning he was going to announce the trip to his family and get them started with packing for the trip. It would be their first vacation as a family.

It took the older man half of an hour to arrive home and when he did he noticed from his parking space in the front driveway that there was a light on upstairs. Shining from the corner window, through the closed curtains of his stepson's room there could be seen a dim light. Hiroshi shook his head and smiled. He guessed quite correctly that Shuuichi had stayed up late into another night studying. The dark haired man entered the house and locked the door behind him. The porch light had been left on in anticipation of his return and this he extinguished with the simple flick of a switch. Hiroshi carefully opened the door to the closet near the front door. He hung his coat up and removed his shoes, slipping on the soft padded slippers the family wore in the house. His briefcase he set in its appointed position. Knowing that his wife would leave something out for him he retreated to the kitchen where, sure enough, there was a plate awaiting him in the microwave. Opening the plastic contraption Hiroshi inspected the night's fare. His wife was an excellent cook, though his stepson sometimes outstripped her, but then Shuuichi always came up with the oddest recipes he'd ever heard of. A great deal of which involved small game animals, like doves and rabbits. Shiori was at a loss as to where her son had acquired his interesting taste in food; she'd never cooked anything of the sort. However, Shuuichi's meals, no matter how unorthodox, were always excellent and the family eagerly devoured whatever he set before them. Though, little Shuuichi had asked that no one tell him what he was eating until he was through with it, please.

Hiroshi chuckled softly at the memory and lifted the plate to replace it in the refrigerator. He smiled at the folded note he found underneath the plate. A love note from Shiori. Hiroshi stowed the paper in his pocket and began to move through the house, checking that all the doors were locked and the lights out, before he quietly walked upstairs to his stepson's room. A thin line of weak light spilled out from under the crack in the door. Hiroshi carefully opened the door and peered inside to see, just as he'd supposed, his stepson fast asleep, hunched over his desk, head pillowed on an advanced calculus text. The desk lamp behind the youth's head lit his long red hair, providing a halo of light around his sleeping face that emphasized his dainty, almost effeminate, features. Hiroshi felt badly about it now, but when he'd first seen the elegant, for there was truly no other way to describe him, youth he'd worried that the boy was "batting for the other team," so to speak. The boy seemed entirely too beautiful, and his long hair! Also, the pink school uniform that the youth was forced to wear didn't exactly scream masculinity. The redhead was polite and soft-spoken, graceful and impeccably clean in a way that was unheard of for the average teenage boy. It was mildly unsettling and the youth seemed to fit quite nicely into the stereotype. Not that Hiroshi had anything against gays; he just wouldn't know how to deal with that. However, shortly after meeting Shiori's son, he was disabused of that idea.

******

One night Shiori was working late and called to ask Hiroshi to stop by her house and check on her son before he went home for the night. When he go his fiancée's house he rang the bell and was greeted by the red haired youth and his female companion, whom, Hiroshi was fairly sure, was not supposed to be in the house. He raised an eyebrow mutely asking the green-eyed youth for an explanation. Shuuichi, blushing furiously, turned to introduce the two. "Hiroshi-san this is Botan," he said gesturing to the blue haired girl. What a strange color of hair dye she used, Hiroshi thought to himself. "Botan, this is my mother's fiancé," Shuuichi finished.

Botan grasped the man's hand and began to vigorously shake it. "Oh, it's so nice to meet you Hatanaka-san! I've heard such good things about you and Shuuichi. Little Shuuichi that is, not this Shuuichi." The girl said rapidly gesturing at the youth by her side. "Oh my, look at the time!" she exclaimed over her watch. "It's been a pleasure meeting you, sir. But I really must be going!" the girl bounced off the steps and began to run toward the sidewalk. She called behind her, "Bye Shuuichi! Don't forget about that assignment tomorrow!"

"Young Lady, do you need a ride home?" Hiroshi called at the rapidly retreating girl. "It's almost dark."

"Oh, no, sir! I don't live far away. I can manage. Goodbye! So nice meeting you!" She waved behind her as she disappeared down the street.

Hiroshi turned back to the boy on the steps. "A school friend?"

"Hai," Shuuichi looked down blushing.

Hiroshi smiled and slung an arm around the boy's shoulder. "How about I forget to tell you mother about this and you agree not to have dates over to the house when no one's around?"

"Alright," the youth said sounding immensely relieved.

"It's a deal then?" Hiroshi held out his hand.

Shuuichi took the proffered hand and shook it firmly, "Deal."

******

As far as Hiroshi knew Shuuichi had been true to his word. He's such a good son, Hiroshi thought to himself. The older man pulled himself from his memories and moved toward the sleeping youth. His most difficult exams were in a few days and he was putting in extra time studying. Overworking himself as usual. Hiroshi noticed how proud it made Shiori to receive her son's perfect scores from his school. And after spending several months in the same house with the two, Hiroshi had noticed that Shiori's son would do very nearly anything to make her happy, even if it meant studying himself into a stupor every night for weeks on end. To be completely honest Hiroshi wasn't entirely sure that that was healthy, but he was a newcomer to the relationship and it wasn't really his place to interfere, yet. If Shuuichi continued to work himself until he passed out at his desk every night though Hiroshi was going to have to do something about it. Shuuichi needed to think about himself sometimes, not making his mother happy. Though he couldn't really blame the young man. Shiori had been so ill for such a long time; she'd nearly died once. With his father gone, wasn't it natural for the youth to cleave to the only family he had left? But there comes a time when you have to let go a little. As far as he could tell the redheaded youth was getting between four and five hours of sleep a night. Hiroshi decided that he'd talk to Shiori if things got any worse. Shuuichi should be enjoying his youth; after all you're only young once, right?

Hiroshi smiled down at the sleeping youth. Suddenly he was very glad that he'd insisted on an early departure date and that he'd decided to work late every night this week. It was worth it. Shuuichi was working so hard he deserved, no he needed a vacation. Sighing softly, Hiroshi shook the redhead's shoulder until incredibly jade green eyes blinked open to blearily look up at him. "It's late," he said smiling down at the young man. "Why don't you get some sleep?"

Shuuichi sighed and pushed his chair away from his desk. "Okay, " he yawned wide then stretched and stood. Hiroshi and his stepson were about the same height, the older man being just an inch or two taller. Though that gap was fast closing as the redhead had grown a good three or four inches in the year Hiroshi had known him. The older man helped his stepson to bed with a hand lightly pressed to the young man's shoulder applying a gentle pressure to steer the still groggy youth toward his bed. Once the youth had crawled under his blankets Hiroshi said his goodnights and shut off the lamp in the youth's room before he left for his own room.

As he walked down the dimly lit hall he mused to himself. Shuuichi truly was an oddity. His vibrant red hair and jade green eyes were represented nowhere in Shiori's family, nor in her deceased husband's. Hiroshi would have thought that the boy had been switched at birth, but that Shiori had confided in him that she and her husband had had the baby tested when his red mane began to grow in. There was no mistake; Shuuichi was Shiori's son. A strange son. Beautiful to the point of femininity, one of the youth's pet peeves was that he was constantly mistaken for a woman. A mistake made all too easy by the youth's long red hair, fine bone structure, and distinctly curved hips. Hiroshi had suggested that he cut his hair, but by Shuuichi's reaction, you would think that he'd been spouting heresy. The youth was very attached to his long red mane. Shuuichi's slightly disturbing beauty made Hiroshi nervous. His blood began to boil every time he'd take his family out and catch a glimpse of lustful eyes following his innocent young stepson. Shuuichi never seemed to notice the attention he attracted and that made Hiroshi very nervous for the redheaded youth. The breaking point came when Hiroshi chanced upon his stepson walking home one night. As he was crossing the street to walk with the youth a rather drunken man stumbled out of a bar and into Shuuichi's arms. Shuuichi, being the considerate person that he is, tried to prop the man up against the building before leaving. Just as Hiroshi stepped onto the sidewalk to help his stepson deal with the inebriated man said man grasped the young boy around the waist and pulled him in for a kiss. Shuuichi forcefully pushed the drunk away and, with a snarl of disgust, turned to leave him lying in the gutter. He was rather startled to see his enraged stepfather standing right there. Hiroshi was a bit ashamed of it now, but his stepson had had to talk him into leaving the man in the gutter and walking home before he did something drastic. The only benefit of that night was that it seemed to impress upon the redhead that his stepfather cared for him and not just for his mother. Though they never told anyone of that night and they never spoke of it again, the youth was more open with his stepfather and actually began to engage the man in extraneous conversations rather than the polite, if somewhat forced, chit chat that had defined their relationship before.

Eventually his concern had spurred him to ask the teenage boy if he wanted to enroll in a martial arts class after school only to find that the boy was already studying under a priestess living on the outskirts of the city. Shiori herself was surprised to learn about this, but they were all delighted when a few days later the young man asked them if they wanted to observe a sparring session at the temple. It was a festive environment when they'd gone to the temple and met the diminutive priestess and saw her pupils practicing. Shuuichi fought a small black haired boy, who Hiroshi had only briefly seen in his son's presence before, while a boy with orange hair and another with greased back black hair sparred on the side. The orange haired boy, who he later learned was named Kuwabara, and the boy with the greasy hair, Yusuke, seemed to spend more time goofing off then sparring, though what they were doing seemed deadly enough. Shuuichi and the short boy, Hiei, were fighting with such intensity that Hiroshi wondered why the priestess didn't stop the fight. They looked like they were trying to kill each other, and the older man was slightly disturbed that his stepson was armed only with a leather whip while the smaller boy was slashing at him with a very sharp looking katana. However, the fight abruptly ended, with both opponents standing, at no signal that he could see. The two turned and wandered over to watch Yusuke beat Kuwabara into the dirt. When the orange haired youth was lying in the dust, head spinning, Yusuke laughed and helped him to his feet. Shuuichi rushed over to help Yusuke dust the stumbling youth off and began teasing him good naturedly, which the taller boy seemed embarrassed by, but forgot all about when a diminutive young girl rushed to his side. Hiroshi smirked at the obviously smitten look that crossed Kuwabara's face when the young woman with the rather interestingly dyed hair held her hands to his cheeks and asked him if he was all right. Hiroshi smiled at the obviously smitten young man and the girl, what was it with kids and hair dye these days?

The family returned home late that afternoon in high spirits and Hiroshi was convinced that Shuuichi could take care of himself in a fight, but he still worried. It was his duty as a father after all. Shuuichi was remarkable not only for his beauty, but he was intelligent and wise beyond his years. He seemed to have, as the saying goes, an old soul. Hiroshi was proud to the point of bursting the first time the redhead had introduced him as his father.

******

In the morning when the entire family was awake and gathered around the breakfast table, Hiroshi pulled a pamphlet for the lodge from his coat pocket and handed it to his new bride as he kissed her on the cheek in greeting. "I've got a little surprise," he whispered in her ear.

"What is it?" Shiori asked as she unfolded the paper. "You didn't?" she asked.

"Mmhhm," he hummed hugging her close. "What do you think?"

The two Shuuichi's exchanged long glances before Little Shuuichi jumped up and ran around the table until he could peer over his stepmother's shoulder at the pamphlet. "What is it? I wanna see!"

Shiori laughed as she passed the pamphlet to the excited little boy. "It's wonderful," she said turning to return her husband's hug.

"Cool!" little Shuuichi said as he flipped through the pamphlet.

"Do you like it, Kiddo?" Hiroshi asked.

"Yeah! When do we leave?" little Shuuichi asked practically jumping up and down in excitement. Shiori's Shuuichi held out his hand to the young boy wordlessly asking to see the pamphlet. Shuuichi handed over the thin booklet and the red haired boy's eyes widened when he saw the cover.

"Three days," Hiroshi said holding three fingers up to the boy. The older man turned to where his stepson was sitting at the kitchen table flipping through the pamphlet. "Like it, Red?"

"Yes," Shuuichi smiled up at his stepfather. "I've never skied before. How long will we stay?" The youth asked calmly.

"I've booked a cabin that sleeps four for two weeks. You boys will have to share a room though."

"That's fine. Isn't it Shu-kun?" the redhead asked his little brother, who nodded so vigorously in reply that he managed to make himself dizzy in the process and had to catch the table's edge to keep his balance. Hiroshi put a hand on the boy's back to steady him and the entire family began to laugh at the boy's antics.

"Well, go on boys. You're going to be late for school if you don't hurry," Shiori shooed the two out the door handing to each of them a sack lunch she'd packed.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: Hi everyone! I hope you've liked what you've seen so far and I want to thank everyone who reviewed. Sorry if I offended anyone, by harping on how effeminate Kurama looks, but funny story, the first time I saw Yu Yu Hakusho my cousin and I actually got into a disagreement about whether or not Kurama was a girl. Needless to say, I stand corrected and throw myself on the mercy of all the rabid Kurama fan girls. Please accept my humble and most heart felt apologies for any slight I may have inadvertently given our absolutely kawaii bishounen.