I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh! Gx, Rosario + Vampire, Nura: Rise of the Yokai Clan, or any other franchises used in this story related to the for-mentioned or not. The events and people in this story are completely fictional and any resemblance to real events or people is purely coincidental.

A Not So Restful Spring Break

When the sun rose the next day, Jaden was overjoyed by the sight of the morning sunshine; it was the last day of school before the start of Spring Break, a day that rushed by him. He had chosen to wait to ask Mizore about the white ice she had made in her fight with Burstinatrix and see if she could replicate it on her on first. Kurumu was trying to forget her time with the spirits in the "hotel" formed by Jaden's Heart of the Cards, since they spent a good hour interrogating her until she desperately tried to break out of the "hotel" by using her tail to bypass the seal Burstinatrix had made. She only part way succeeded in her attempts and created a "peephole" though it that everyone could use to watch what was happening, which she was grateful for since it took the attention away from her.

The spirits in question weren't displeased with their meeting and had started to speak highly of Kurumu and Mizore as well after watching the yuki-onna fight their fellow spirit in what was becoming known as "Burstinatrix's Away Game". Even Burstinatrix had been impressed by her fighting spirit and abilities as well; while she still had a dislike of Mizore as a ravel for Jaden's time and affections she no longer had resentment towards her as a creature of ice and such beings in general.

Pushing aside thoughts of what had happened Jaden brought his mind to where he was now, boarding the bus to the human world with eager anticipation for the start of his vacation, he had been looking forward to this time of being away from the school and his job. He enjoyed spending time spending with his friends but the workload as the Captain of the Y.I.A department and the homework required of him to keep his grades up had him in need of a vacation.

"Man, it feels good to be free of responsibilities for a while." Jaden said as stretched his arms and boarded the bus just behind everyone else.

"Not completely free." Moka said, reminding him of the project they were supposed be to be researching for while they were on their trip two day trip to the human world.

"He, he, he, I see you're still in one peace kid." The diver said, making Jaden notice that it was the same one who drove him to the school at the start, "Maybe you've had enough of Yokai Academy, and plan on jumping ship today."

Jaden smiled as leaned over to the driver and said, "You know the academy wasn't as scary as you said it would be. Weird? Definitely… Scary? Not at all."

"Well, the year is young." The bus driver said before explaining that the tunnel could connect to other places in the world as they drove through to their destination.

x-x

As soon as the bus had stopped in a place guarded by "no trespassing" signs that labeled it as the construction site and the gang departed from the vehicle, "This isn't where we discussed taking them…" Ms. Nekonome said confused by the location.

"I thought it would be better for them to learn about the relationship between humans and yokai," the driver said as he handed a newspaper, explaining they should read up on events that had been happening and then lead the teacher away with promise of tasty fish.

In front of him was a field of sunflowers and behind him was the road leading into the nearby town. Everyone from the newspaper club was there except for one, Gin's grades had dropped far enough due to peeping and other such actions that he didn't have enough class credit to go with them, Kurumu was supposed to be in summer school with him but was skipping instead, and while not official members of the newspaper club Mizore and Tamao were tagging along as well. Gabriel and Sam were staying at the office to man the home front, but the two demons Scanty and Kneesocks refused to let their boss go on the trip without them there to protect him and wouldn't take no for answer. For the most part everyone was dressed the way they normally would except for Moka who was wearing a pink sun dress and a small white cardigan

"Okay, there's a shack over that way. Let's go inside there for now, I feel like that the plants are looking at us funny out here." Jaden said as he pointed at the run down shed a few yards away from them, trying to make light of the situation so he wouldn't freak out his friends but still unable to ignore the subtle rustling among the sunflowers

x-x

Once they were inside, Jaden read the news paper quietly until he found an article of interest. "Oh my god!" he exclaimed, making the group snap to attention, wondering what could make the duelist react like he did. "There's a gaming shop in the town that offers Duel Disk repairs and customization, sweat!" Jaden said, so giddy at the news in the article that he used one of his old catch phrases, as everyone else were shocked at how excited he was over something so unrelated to the matters at hand.

"There aren't that many shops that offer disk repair since Kaiba is so tight lipped about how they work, so you generally have to send it in to the factor for repairs or just buy a new one since it costs so much. I should check it out before we head back to the academy." Jaden said, mostly to himself, before returning to scanning the newspaper for news concerning the supernatural.

Never let it be said that the young boy who dreamed of becoming the King of Games was completely gone.

Eventually Jaden found an article which he read out loud for the others as they huddled close to him and read over his shoulder, telling making him somewhat distracted as he continued to read about a series of "spiriting away" incidents in the area they were in which was called "the Witch's Ranch".

"Okay, while I don't know how this all fits together, but I think we should look into it." Jaden started to say, but was interrupted by Yukari insisting that they should leave, showing them the tarot cards she used in fortune telling, "This is the human world! And all of my tarot cards are for telling a great calamity!"

"Okay, so we should up and leave because you're a scared wimp?" Kurumu snapped, Yukari had been complaining about an ominous future since before they had gotten on the bus and the succubus's patience had worn out, "You've been complaining about upcoming danger, but in the end all you can do hid behind the rest of us. You really are just a weak crybaby. If you're that scared you should just go home."

Yukari fell silent as she let those words sink in, making Kurumu regret saying what she did but as she was about apologize; the young witch swung her wand down making one of her signature wash pans hit the succubus in head as she yelled, "SHUT UP! YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND ANYTHING!" before she ran out of the shack.

x-x

As Yukari ran she remembered all the fights she had been a part of, while she had held her own in the little skirmishes against her friends, when it was serous she was nowhere to be found. So Kurumu's words really hit her where it hurt. But before she could brood on it for too long a cry for help shattered her thoughts.

Rushing over to see what was wrong; Yukari saw a young human woman in a ball cap at the edge of the sunflower field, trying to pull something out of the dense wall of green. "Are you… a witch?" the teen asked in amazement as she saw the hat on Yukari's head.

Mistaking the tone as one of revulsion and not seeing anyone in really trouble, Yukari turned around saying, "I thought I heard someone calling for help, but it was just a dumb human."

"Wait! My upper classman and I came here to investigate the strange disappearances, but we were attacked by these sunflowers! It's all my fault, I was the one how suggested it, so please help her!" the teen pleaded for help, drawing Yukari's attention to the fact that the girl in the cap was pulling on a human hand and that the hand belonged to a young woman who had vines attached to her forehead by venues flytrap like ends that were draining her off her bodies moister and vitality.

'What is going along here' Yukari wondered as she got closer to the pair, and received her answer when a giant plant creature jumped out of the flowers toward her. She recognized as a garigarious, or as it was also known the "biting plant", a monster plant with driven by the instincts of an animal and a huge hunger for meat.

'Is this thing responsible for the disappearances? Everyone who came here was eaten by this?' Yukari thought, realizing the truth behind the people being spirited away and then noticing that the giant plant's attention was fixed on her now. Realizing that she was next on its menu Yukari screamed defiantly with a shout "I'M NOT GOING TO LET MYSELF BE EATEN BY THIS THING!" as she used her magic wand to shoot bladed tarot cards into the creatures body, but soon the creature recovered and had started snarling at the young witch, who realized her attack hadn't worked in shock.

But soon the trouble went from bad to worse as more garigarious arose up from the field behind the child. 'Oh god, how many of them are there?!' Yukari thought in despair as she turned to look at the other creatures, making the mistake of taking her eyes off the one right next to her which garbed her making her scream, before the creature tried to bite down on her but was stopped by the other plants as they fought over their new food source.

'I told them this trip was ill fated. We shouldn't have come to the human world to begin with… and now I'm going to be eaten." Yukari thought as her body went limp with despair, 'I wish everyone was here to help me right now… Someone save me…"

"Wimp" Kurumu's voice echoed in the witch's mind as she remembered what the succubus had said as the plant swallowed her whole, "You really are just a crybaby."

Motivated by those condescending words, Yukari used her card magic at full blast, killing the plant and freeing herself.

"God damn it, why did I have to remember something like that? I am not going to let her make fun of me anymore!" Yukari declared when she had landed on the ground again, ignoring the human woman's cries of surprise and then started muttering magic words to strengthen her spell's attack power as she thought, 'The only reason my attack didn't work was because it wasn't powerful enough. In that case, I just need to harness my full magic for this spell."

'I CAN BEAT THE BAD GUYS TOO!' She declared unto herself as her tarot flew around her on tiny wings as they sliced through all the plants, destroying them once and for all. Soon Yukari was alone with the two human students, looking at the destruction she had caused with satisfaction as she fell unconscious, not hearing her friends approach.

"I told you guys that the plants were watching us." Jaden said as Moka picked up the witch and Kurumu retrieved her hat from where it had fallen onto one of the flowers apologizing to the unconscious witch for calling her a wimp and a crybaby, no one noticing the figure in the shadows of the sunflowers watching them until she head back to the ranch up the hill.

x-x

"A new witch on my hill?" an old woman's voice crocked, as the figure from the field told her what she had seen.

"Yes, Mistress Oyakata. Despite her youth she possesses very strong magic that let her completely destroy the plants that were entrusted to guard our priceless sunflower field," the woman's subordinate told her, causing her to smile under her callow.

"Well, well… How many years has it been since a real witch came to this place?" the old woman mussed to herself before she addressed the younger woman, "We must welcome this young witch, we are of the same blood after all."

x-x

When the young woman arrived at where the child had been, she arrived in time to see a car drive away. "Mistress… those two humans who made a mess in our sunflower garden, just left with our young kin's woman," she said as she watched from a tree branch and after a few moments Oyakata answered through a telepathic link, "…Well Ruby? Are you going to just let them get away with that? I've told you before… We witches look after our own kind. Make sure you get her to join us."

"But it looks like she has companions" the younger witch said as she noticed the other people crammed into the back seat and trunk of the mini-van.

"Hmph… They must be more humans. If they get in your way you may kill them." Oyakata replied and Ruby fell silent, sensing her hesitation the older witch continued to talk, "Right now, we need as many allies as possible. In order to protect this land… we must punish those lowly humans!"

"Bring that witch child to our ranch, my beloved disciple." The old witch ordered the younger one.

"… I understand mistress." She answered before she used a type of transformation magic to turn herself into a crow and flew off after the group with her magic staff in her new beak.

x-x

After they had the girls looked around the human cite in awe until Jaden spoke up, "Okay, we are now in the human world, there are two things I want to confess to all of you…"

"I was born in the human world," Jaden said, confusing all of the girls, "I am a naturally born human being."

"But boss, you said that you're an Umbralist!" Kneesocks objected and her sister franticly nodded and said, "Yes, you're always using those strange powers that are impossible for a human!"

"Umbralist is a career choice, not a species. Normally a spiritually aware human will make a deal with a powerful spirit, the old it is the better, who will teach them about the Umbra. But in my case, my soul has been fussed with Yubel on top of a natural affinity for the shadows. But make no mistake I am human even if I have become more than the ones passing us in the street right now." Jaden explained to the demon sisters before addressing the rest, "Which brings me to the second confession I want to make. I lied about my past to you, Yukari, Kurumu, and Moka. Haou was never a real a person, he was a persona I created when I lost control and was consumed by my own power, and waged a campaign of conquest that spanned across an entire dimension."

"Why?" Moka asked, Yubel had told her about all of that before but she had never let herself believe it, and hearing it from him was another matter, "Why are you saying this now?"

Jaden took a deep breath before he spoke again; it was the moment of truth.

"I have stayed at Yokai Academy because I believe that in the end distinctions like "Human", "Spirit", and "Yokai" are pointless and that people should be free to like who ever want and only hate on a personal level, if we have become friends like I like to think we have then you'll agree." Jaden explained with his eyes closed and his arms crossed, "But I could be wrong and the gap between our kinds may be unbridgeable, so I'll ask you now if that is like the case. If it is, I will stay here in the human world when the bus leaves to take us back to Yokai Academy."

Jaden was trying hard to keep the fear that his friends might reject him out of his eyes as he said, "I can go back with you, or I can stay here. It's you choice now."

No one spoke for a while until Mizore broke the silence. "I made up my mind along ago" the yuki-onna said as a small soft smile appeared on her lips, "I will fallow you into hell it's self to stay by your side. So if you stay in the human world I will stay with you."

"Succubae have long history of having humans as their destined ones." Kurumu said offhandedly, "So it doesn't matter what you are to me."

Scanty and Kneesocks shared a look and said in prefect unison, "Don't be ridicules. You will always be our boss, boss."

"Well this explains why you smell so human." Tamao said before she fixed the Umbralist who had changed her life with a smile and determined stare. "But you staying behind in the human world won't work for me. After all you still need to take responsibility for me" she said, making the girls suspicious about what she meant by "taking responsibility".

"I grew up in the bottom of canyon and was always taught that humans were the enemy." Yukari explained before she nodded, "…But if you're a human, not all of the human race."

Jaden smiled and said "Good"

x-x

Ruby flew over to the top of a building and changed back to her real shape as she landed and looked down on Yukari, who was still nervous about being in the human world, and the group she traveled with as she wondered how any witch could stand being in a human city as they walked down the street and eventually were swarmed by a crowd of date seekers, who trampled Yukari and separated her from any support when she was being approached by fat sweaty geeks who thought she was in cosplay.

The child let out a scream as she let out surge of magic with her wand, making all the light bulbs in streetlamps explode an act Ruby could understand muttering, "I knew it… Human's and witches can't coexist", while the boy with two hair colors garbed her young kin's person and carried her down an ally and tried to claim her down.

Deciding it was time act she called out to the crows in the area and had them attack the group as she grabbed the young witch and whisked her away, unintentionally rending her unconscious by making her pass out from shock as she carried her away.

x-x

After a while Yukari's eyes refocused and she found that she was at the top of a building, and cross from her was an older girl around a year older as than most of the newspaper club.

"Hey… you're awake." Ruby said as noticed the state of Yukari before talking full at her, "So, how's it feel to be in a human city? You looked terrible back there young witch." She said as she turned toward her, letting Yukari get a good look at her appearance, taking specific notice of the sunflower and the staff with a magic stone her hand.

She had long back that she wore in two ponytails on each of her head while letting the rest fall naturally, and the clothes that she wore were very distinct, consisting a pair of gray torn stockings an old white skirt from a ball gown and her chest was covered by a black sleeveless top that was unraveling at her mid section which was covered by the same kind of material that her stockings were made of. Her outfit was accessorized by a black studded belt around her hips, a piece of leafing vine around her neck, a pair of white worn-out arm warmers, and a set of metal rings hanging around her left wrist while the right wrist was a black wrist band and two circlets that were much thicker than the ones on the left arm.

"The city doesn't have anything. No wind, no water, no flowers, and not even the smell of the earth and the green. Only human ego and greed are found here." Ruby said as she opened her pink-red eyes. "As a witch the only way to describe the city is pitiful, right?"

Hearing the words she had thought herself spoken aloud by the other witch, Yukari stared in awe at her until crow came down near her, making her cry out in surprise.

"Oh… Don't worry about them." Ruby said, referring to the many the same kind of black birds, reassuring the young witch that there was no danger "These crows are my friends, they're the ones who helped me get you away from those humans."

"What… what are you?" Yukari asked shocked by this revelation, only knowing of a few beings with connections to crows, even fewer of which had a good reputation.

"My name is Ruby" The older witch introduced herself, "I'm a resident of the "Witch's Ranch". I really wanted to meet you so I came down here into city."

"You should understand that humans are… the enemy" Ruby said as she turned back to look down on the city below her and explained "I've been living alongside human society so I understand that humans are powerless pitiful creatures that can't do anything but destroy. You should understand after coming here that witches and humans don't even need to communicate… and never did."

Yukari thought back to Jaden's confession about being human and what she had said to him, and held back from sobbing as she realized that neither of them where trying to understand each other as ruby continued talk.

"Those humans that give our hate to rise are planning to destroy the sunflower field and the ranch with it. So we need your help to fight back against them." She said as she handed the sunflower over to the witch child, who looked at it sadly as she asked, "Will you help us?"

The young witch said nothing but nodded "yes" once.

It was a simple action that made Ruby's face light up like a kid at Christmas. "Really?!" the raven haired teen exclaimed as she grabbed her in an affectionate embrace, overjoyed that her young kin's woman had agreed to join, "Yay! Now that you're one of us, let's be friends!"

"Hold on a minute!" Jaden said as he burst through the door leading to the stairwell down from the roof they were on and two others ran into him, sending them all falling down in a big dog pile but Jaden gave no sign of noticed as he talked to his young witch friend like nothing had happened, "Are you being serious Yukari?!"

"Jaden, why are you, Moka, and Kurumu here?!" Yukari asked in confusion while Ruby's eyes hardened at the sight of the people her mistress had told her to kill if they got in her way and asked, "You humans, how did you know that we were here?"

"A little bird told me." Jaden said as he pulled himself free of the pile and then held up a crow like the others except it had its wings bound its sides, which he released and it flew away very eagerly. With his captive released Jaden turned his attention to Yukari, "We overheard what you were talking about." He said, his hair over shadowing his eyes making the young witch assume that he was angry with her. The only time he had been upset with her was the time she had caused Kurumu's mind and soul to swap places with that spirit's, but even then he hadn't been truly mad at her, and knowing about his past she was scared to find out.

"Yukari," Jaden said, making her flinch until he lifted his head and showed that his eyes were apologetic as he held out his hand to her and said, "I'm sorry, I wanted you to like the human world since it's my home but I forgot to take your feelings in to account. Let's just forget the report and go back to Yokai Academy, we don't have to try coming to the human world until you feel you're ready."

Yukari teared up as she reached to take his hand, only to cry out as he feel forward with a large cut on his back.

Jaden felt pain sear through his back and was going to stand up but was stop by Yubel, "Don't move! I'm healing your injury right now but some of your bones were nicked by that attack. If it hadn't been for the armoring magic I added to your coat, you would have had some vital origins cut just now." She said, as her magic temporally paralyzed him to keep him from worsening his condition, making his attacker think she had killed him.

"No, Yukari. Don't fall for it." Ruby said, her voice and eyes carrying a silent rage while she smiled, as her transformation magic made six black crow wings with bladed feathers appear on her back, "Like I said before, humans are the enemy. And we should kill all our enemies, without any hesitation, right?"

"JADEN!" everyone said, Moka rushing over to his side and was the only one to see that injury was being closed by sutures made of shadow energy as Yukari tried to not to black out as her mind tried to make her body scream, cry, run and hide, stand and fight at the same.

"You don't have to have look like you're suffering, Yukari. They are just human, besides I'm going to be from now on." Ruby said, keeping her smile in place, until Kurumu charged at her for hurting Jaden in her human from, but was thwarted by her bladed wings which changed in length and size as she wanted.

'Yubel let me have control of my body back right now!' Jaden insisted, commutating with the spirit fused with his soul with his mind, but Yubel refused, "No, if you move now you'll open it up and start bleeding out again. I need more time to keep that from happening."

"…Stop" Yukari whispered in horror.

But Ruby didn't hear her and prepared to strike Moka down with her bladed wings, by piercing her heart and other vital organs in one clean blow, saying "I'll make this quick so you won't have to suffer" sincerely meaning that, she had her orders but she wasn't going to be any crueler than she needed to.

'Yubel, I need to be able to move right now!' Jaden mental urged, his partner but she insisted that he wasn't ready yet. "If I rush this too much I'll screw it up and paralyze your arm for good. I've almost finished with everything important and can finish the rest of the treatment later, but I still need another twenty seconds before I can let you get back up and fight." the fiend replied, but doubled her efforts none the less.

'We don't' have twenty seconds! I need to be up and running now' Jaden demanded as Ruby's attack neared Moka.

"STOP!" Yukari yelled as she dived into the way of Ruby's attack, making the older witch to stop the attack but it still cut the child a cross the cheek.

"Yu… Yukari!" Ruby cried out in horror before she folded her wings behind her as she moved closer towards her young fellow witch, stammering in shock and confusion she tried to ask why she would do that but was stopped when the child said in a horse voice, "If you don't stop now, I won't ever forgive you."

"These people are my friends" Yukari said as laid a hand on the raven haired teen, her eyes resolute as she said, "Even if it's another witch, I cannot forgive anyone who tries to hurt them."

'Your friends mean more to you than your fellow witches?' Ruby thought unable to understand such a concept as she said, "I can't accept this" quietly at first but soon screamed out her refusal of what was happening, "I CAN NOT ACCEPT IT AT ALL!"

Moka looked on what was happening and turned to Jaden, hoping that she could get him to wake up but saw that he was already opening his eyes, reviling Yubel's two bright colors giving way to a brown yellow which. 'Finally, took you long enough Yubel!' Jaden exclaimed in his mind as he stood up, releasing a black miasma that all of his friends recognized but was an unprecedented phenomena.

The witch stared at the young man in front of her in shock before she launched into the air with her wings, "That's impossible! I sliced deep enough to cut into bone, so if you're a human you should be dead!" she exclaimed, as all other people there were relieved to see him back up.

"SO WHAT ARE YOU?!" Ruby yelled as she attacked with Jaden, who sidestepped the assault, trailing as miasma behind him like obsidian smoke as he ignored her yelling, "ARE YOU REALLY JUST A HUMAN!?"

"Stuff like that is unimportant to me" Jaden launched himself into the air with his shadow skates and delivered a powerful straight fist into the Ruby's stomach, knocking the breath out of the girl and making her gasp in pain as she started to pass out thinking, 'Impossible. Witches are a noble and powerful race.'

'There is no way a human could take me out like this… What are these people really?' she thought as she fell to the ground.

x-x

Later Jaden had found the others, who had gotten separated from him and the others earlier, and found the way back to their hotel where he discovered that it was made in Japanese style and soon set up one of futons for Ruby, an act that had the majority of the group confused. But Jaden just raised an eyebrow and said, "If you think I'm going to leave her unconscious and defenseless, you really don't know me at all" and then returned to tending to the sleeping witch.