Chapter 12: Lexi's back! Part II

Foxglove: Solaris is busy cooking and wrapping presents, Kurama's busy erasing my tape, so let me just say this: None of us own YYH. We only own Rose, Thorne, Yuni, Lexi, and the kareoke place. For good measure, we do not own any other famous song/place/item that may be mentioned in this story either.

Solaris: FOXGLOVE! RETURN THAT WRAPPING PAPER YOU ABSCONDED WITH BEFORE I SAY SOMETHING I'LL REGRET!

Foxglove: That said, enjoy the fan fic! ALL RIGHT, SOLARIS, TAKE A CHILL PILL!

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"We Three Kings of Orient are…" sang out Rose as she changed her cell phone ring tone to "Jingle Bells". (A/N: My cell phone has that, and Orient too. I have it set for Orient now.) "Much better." she smiled. School was out for Christmas break, and she was feeling better. Her dreams had lightened up, and she wasn't so freaked out when she dreamed it. Just as soon as she had set the phone down, it rang. She picked it up and answered. "Moshi Moshi?"

"Rose, it's Shuichi. Have you got a while?" came the voice of her favorite person (and really the only person she knew well.)

"Sure, why?" she asked, smiling happily.

"Well, you said before school let out you needed to go shopping, and I just wondered if you still needed to." he said. Rose stopped smiling and a gasp escaped her lips.

"Oh, NO! I thought I had forgotten to do something! Yeah, that'd be great! Thanks!" she said, turning off her computer and grabbing her coat as she spoke.

"I'll be there in about five minutes. Sayonara." he said. She hung up, threw on a pair of shoes and her coat , then spent about 3 minutes trying to find her scarf. Just as he walked up the sidewalk, she found it.

"Bye mom! I'll be back in a while, later!" she yelled as she ran down the stairs and through the door. She almost ran into him.

"Whoa, there, speedy. I have no desire to die." Shuichi laughed. The smile returned to her face and she laughed. His appearance had brightened her mood again and she was feeling much better. The store was crowded, not surprising since it was two days to Christmas, and Rose stuck close to Shuichi, holding his arm so she wouldn't get lost in the crowded store. All the stuff was finally bought and they emerged from the store to see the cloudy gray afternoon, which, as odd as it seemed, looked like perfect Christmas time weather to Rose. (A/N: Trust me, that's how most winter days look where I live.) Smiling and clutching the bags in one hand, Rose looked around, then walked over to a nearby café. Kurama, wondering what was going on, followed. It turned out that she was getting something to eat, and by the time they left, it was dark. She walked a bit behind him and looked around. Suddenly, something grabbed her by the mouth and pulled her into an alleyway. Rose bit the hand of her attacker and screamed "SHUICHI!"

"Rose!" he gasped, and followed her voice, which was now screaming like a banshee. Once he ran into the alley, he saw a familiar dog-like girl advancing on Rose. Rose had dropped the bag and was backing into a corner. Kurama blinked, then became Youko. "Lexi! Not nice to see you again. Now leave that girl alone." he said almost evilly.

"Why should I? After all, she killed my love. I want revenge!" Lexi cried.

"Where's Shuichi?" Rose said nervously. Then she fainted. Youko picked her up, and ran off.

"THIS ISN'T OVER, YOUKO! I'LL TRACK HER DOWN AND WHEN I DO, I WILL KILL HER!" Lexi yelled in frustration.

"Ugh…" Rose moaned when she woke up. She felt like she had a hangover, only she hadn't been drinking. She barely opened one eye, and saw Shuichi's beautiful red hair and gorgeous green eyes above her. Funny how I never noticed how green his eyes really are. Or how wonderful…she thought. "Shuichi, where am I? What happened, and where were you?" she said as she lifted her head. He put a hand behind it and let her lean back.

"You're at Gen-Kai's temple. This is going to take a lot of explaining, but I was there." he told her.

"Okay, one, I have no idea where I am, and two, how could you have been there? I didn't see you. All I saw was some crazy girl with dog ears and a tail and some silver haired dude with a fox's tail and ears." she said.

"All right. I was going to wait until the others were here to explain better, but I guess I'm going to have to. The fox guy was me. I am only Shuichi to the people who don't truly know me well." Kurama explained.

"What're you talking about, Shuichi? I know you better than my own mom. What's going on?" Rose questioned.

"Okay, Rose, please, keep a open mind. I am not a true human. I am the fox person. And my true name is Kurama. Youko Kurama." he said, sighing sort of.

"You aren't really human?" she gasped.

"And neither are you. You are truly Rose Thorne, a fox spirit thief, like me." he told her.

"I'm a fox spirit?" she gasped.

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Solaris: OOH! A cliffie! You'll like this!

Kurama: *to Foxglove * Say, you are letting her develop Lexi's character on her own, right?

Foxglove: *to Kurama * You sat there and erased my tape, of course I am!

Solaris: Oh, and please ignore my chapter misnumbering. I'm usually in a hurry.