Draco and I are back again!

"Hey, bimbo. You forgot the disclaimer last time." Draco said.

"I did?" (Goes to look at the last chapter.) "He, he, I did. Well, here it is! And, doing the disclaimer is my ever-faithful friend Hiei!"

"Do I have to say this?" Hiei growled.

"Well, I could give you back to Shannon…" I started.

"No! I'll do it. Cuthien does not own YYH, but she wants to, like all other girls in the world. Thank God none of them do." Hiei said.

Saiya-Flame-Urameshi: I left with a cliffy? I didn't really mean to do that… (Trails off on comment, confused.)

psycogirl234: You want me to tell you? Well, I can't do that… Just read and find out. It's in this chapter!

Last Time on CS: Crystal is fed up with her job, she has been left by her parents, and a mysterious voice has just told her to meet it behind the bar she works at to hear an offer.

In two days, Crystal had all but forgotten about the voice. Her schedule was so busy; she didn't have time for thought.

On the second day, though, a couple of people refused to leave the bar. Mr. Obnoxious finally told Crystal to seduce them and get them out of the bar.

The men wanted her to get in the car with them, but her bodyguard cracked his knuckles and they ran/drove off. He was a boy, not much older than Crystal. In fact, he might have been younger. The only intimidating thing about him was the look that was always on his face. He wore a green jumpsuit and had black, slick-backed hair. His eyes were brown.

"Out back. Now." He muttered, looking at his watch. Crystal shrugged and went around the building. It was almost completely back, except right underneath the outside light. Crystal stood under it, shivering. It was fall, and she wasn't in the best neighborhood to be in after dark.

Crystal sat down, folding her legs next to her, aware that her bodyguard was still there. He was whistling, a seemingly meaningless tune.

Crystal's mind went back to one of her more unpleasant memories. She had been walking down an alley, at night. It was darker than usual there. A man had followed her and knocked her unconscious. She found herself tied to the bed, naked, when she woke up.

He had raped her for a month, though it had seemed like years to her. Finally, she had escaped, taking an old jacket with her. When she reached her parent's house, she collapsed on the porch, sobbing. They found her there, later…

"Crystal?" asked the same soft voice she had heard two days earlier.

"Yes? What is it?" Crystal asked miserably. "It's dark. I want to go home."

"Now, Yusuke." said the soft voice. Something hit the back of her neck.

Crystal's last thought, before she blacked out, was 'What horrible thing shall happen to me now?'

She was hearing voices again. Crystal convinced herself she was at home and the voices were in her head. She sighed, and said "There was such a beautiful building, too. It must have been a palace."

The voices stopped. Finally, the soft voice spoke. "Are you awake, or talking in your sleep?"

"Oh, I'm awake, Voice Inside My Head. But I have seen a beautiful castle in my dreams, and I don't want to get rid of the vision yet." Crystal said.

"Hn. She's delirious. I know the baka had hit her too hard." growled a harsh voice.

"Hush, Hiei. She was only half conscious when we brought her here. Can you blame her for thinking this place is a dream?" said the first voice. "Crystal, open your eyes. The castle will still be there. I promise."

"But I'm at home. There is no castle there, only my room. My sanctuary." Crystal said.

"Your sanctuary from what?" asked the voice.

"What's your name?" Crystal asked.

"Kurama." said the voice. "Now, what is your room a sanctuary from?"

"Kurama." The name sounded nice to Crystal. "My sanctuary from the evil in the world." She shivered and clutched the blanket closer to her.

"What's happened to you?" Kurama asked.

Crystal shook her head. "Don't make me relive it. Don't what you want with me, but please, don't make me relive it."

"It's alright. I won't. Open your eyes. You still haven't seen where you are." Kurama said.

Crystal opened her eyes and blinked in the bright light. She was in a bedroom. Her furniture was in it. She stood up and went to the dresser. She ran her fingers along the top. "The symbol is gone." She murmured.

"What symbol?" asked the boy with the harsh voice.

"The symbol. It was on all my furniture. How could you not have seen it? Is this my actual furniture?" Crystal asked. Then she thought of them going through her drawers in order to duplicate her clothes and she blushed.

"No. Botan got duplicates." Kurama said.

Crystal turned around. She saw one man sitting in a chair beside her bed and another was on the window seat across the room. She guessed the one by her bed was Kurama. He had red hair and green eyes. Their eyes met, and Crystal thought she saw the eyes turn golden for a moment.

"Kurama, you said Shiara would be brought along. Where is she?" Crystal asked. She didn't even glance at the one by the window anymore, which suited him just fine.

The redhead chuckled. "She's fine. Follow me." He stood up. "Hiei, are you coming?"

"Hn." was the response.

"Fine." Kurama seemed to understand perfectly. He led Crystal out of the room. "Here." He handed her a key as they walked down the hall. "The bedrooms lock automatically."

He led her down a flight of stairs and to a giant room. Shiara was there, as well as Crystal's bodyguard from work.

"Crystal! You're awake!" Shiara yelled. She ran to give Crystal a hug. "What are you wearing?"

"Well, I sing at a bar part-time. What would you expect? A floor-length dress?" Crystal grinned wryly.

"Um, I would go back and change if I were you." Shiara whispered.

"I can't." Crystal whispered back.

"Why not?"

"One, some guy is still sitting on the window seat in my room. Two, I don't know where my room is yet." Crystal said.

"I'll show you." Shiara said. So Crystal followed her back upstairs to her room. "Where's your key?"

"Here." Crystal handed the key to Shiara, who unlocked the door. The man was still on the window seat. In fact, it looked like he hadn't moved at all.

"Hiei, get out." Shiara said. "Crystal needs to change."

"Hn." The man left. As he passed, Crystal got a good look at him. He was wearing a completely black outfit. His hair was black and stood straight up. But his eyes… Crystal had seen them before. Those crimson red eyes…

"Crystal? Are you listening to me?" Shiara was going through the closet and the dresser. "We have damage control to do now. Who knows what those guys are thinking?"

"Shiara? What day is it?" Crystal asked.

"It's Saturday. You've been out of it for three days." Shiara said, her head stuck in the closet.

Saturday… what was important about Saturday? Crystal pondered until she figured it out. Her parents had been gone for exactly four years now… since she was fourteen.

"Crys… I didn't know you had this." Shiara pulled a dark green dress out of the closet.

"I don't." Crystal said.

"Put it on. I want to see it on you." Shiara said.

"I hate dresses and skirts." Crystal said. They had always brought her bad luck.

"Please?" Shiara pleaded.

"Fine." Crystal slipped on the dress. It went down to her knees and tied behind the neck. The back was low, though.

"It's perfect." Shiara said. "Now some shoes to match." She went back to the closet.

"I don't know. It doesn't seem to be an every day sort of dress." Crystal said.

"We're on damage control, Crys." Shiara said.

"All the more reason to wear jeans and a t-shirt." Crystal stated.

"Come on. At least wear it long enough to stun all the guys downstairs." Shiara pleaded. "Besides, I just found the shoes to match."

"Fine." Crystal slipped on the heelless green shoes and Shiara pushed her onto the bed.

"Now, for make-up." Shiara said.

"That is where I draw the line. No make-up." Crystal said, standing up. She noticed as she did that the dress shimmered slightly.

They went back downstairs. All of the commotion stopped as they entered the main room. All the men stared at Crystal.

"Gee, thanks, Shiara. The damage control worked really well." Crystal said sarcastically. She went through a doorway that led to the kitchen.

She got a glass of water and sat at the counter on a stool. It was very quiet in the kitchen. Someone touched her back. She jumped and spun around. "Oh, it's you." She spun back around and focused on her glass.

"It's a dragon carrying a rose." Hiei muttered.

"You can tell? Most people can't. They think it's an eagle, or something else ridiculous." Crystal said. They were talking about a tattoo that was on Crystal's right shoulder blade.

"Why did you get that?" Hiei asked.

"Shiara came up with it. I thought it was cool and decided to get it as a tattoo when I turned eighteen." Crystal said.

"I like it." Hiei was looking at the bandages on his right wrist as if something was wrong.

Crystal leaned forward. "What happened?" She touched the bandages.

"Nothing." Hiei said. His voice was cold again.

"Well, if you ever want to talk, you know where my room is, even if I don't." Crystal said. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go change, again." She slid off the bar stool, grimacing as the dress went up before sliding back down. Hiei seemed lost in thought, though.

Crystal found her room (All by herself, yay!) and changed. Then she went downstairs. "Can anyone tell me where I could find a library?" she asked.

"Crys, I just proved that the Reikai Tantei exists, and you want to read?" Shiara said. "You are strange."

"I have some research to do." Crystal said. "I want to find out about something."

"I'll take you there." Kurama said. He got up and stretched. Then he led Crystal to the library. "What do you need to look up?" he asked as they were walking.

"A symbol." Crystal said. She was rubbing her left wrist, feeling the scars that were there. It was a nervous habit, and she didn't do it very often.

When they reached the library, Kurama said he would wait for her. "No. It might take a while. Just come find me in an hour or two. I'll be here." Crystal said.

Kurama pretended to leave, but he followed Crystal instead. She went to the symbols section and searched until she found what she was looking for.

Kurama strengthened his sight and read Rare and Unusual Symbols. Crystal sat at a table and flipped through the book, rubbing her wrist when she paused. "Crap." He heard her mutter and she closed the book. After she replaced it and walked off, Kurama took the book from the shelf. He had caught a page number and opened it to that page. It showed a symbol of three pointed ovals connected inside a circle. The book said that if it marked all of your furniture, a demon owned you.

Kurama closed the book slowly. Crystal was owned… by a demon. And who knew if it was a good or bad demon. She didn't even know.

'Hiei?' Kurama thought telepathically, but Hiei didn't reply. Kurama sighed and got up to put the book back.

"So. You followed me." Crystal said.

Kurama turned around. "Yes. I'm sorry."

"No one has ever trusted me. Why? Because I don't trust them?" Crystal asked. She sounded confused and upset. "Of course, you wouldn't trust anyone if you had been through what I've been through."

"What have you been through, Crystal?" Kurama asked softly. He frowned. She was rubbing her left wrist again.

"No. I can't go through it again. Never can it happen again." Crystal seemed to be talking to herself. "No!" she shrieked, and collapsed onto the floor.

Kurama picked her up and carried her to her room, before he realized he didn't have a key anymore. So he took her instead to his room.

I do NOT condone rape. I do not want you to go out and kidnap and rape someone. I also do not like suicide. Please don't try any of these.

Please review and tell me how you like it.

Signing off,

Cuthien