DISCLAIMER: I do not own any of the original Yu Yu Hakusho characters, or Evelyn Hunter. The latter is the sole property of Gina Leone, and the former belonging to Yoshihiro Togashi.

Chapter Two:

"I don't blame you for being you, but you can't blame me for hating it!"

Fuko opened her eyes to the sight of a few curious faces gazing down at her. She gave a shout and fell right off of the couch she was laying on.

"Still jumpy as ever…" Yusuke laughed. His laughter ceased when Fuko shot him an icy glare. The red-haired boy offered a hand to help her back onto the couch. Fuko ignored it and climbed up by herself, wincing at the pain in her side. She sat up and fixed a wintry gaze upon them.
"Um…perhaps it would be best to introduce ourselves…?" The red-head suggested. Yusuke nodded with a gulp.

"Yeah…right." He said. The red-head opened his mouth to greet her when Kuwabara stepped in front of him and took her hand. Fuko twitched. He was touching her without permission….

"I am Kazuma Kuwabara. Perhaps you have heard of me…" He began all gallant-like.

"I remember you. You're that guy my broth…I mean Yusuke would beat on all those years ago." Fuko stated. Kuwabara's demeanor fell as he stepped back with the air of a kicked dog. The red-head gave him a sympathetic look as he turned back to Fuko.

"Hello. I am Kurama. It's good to meet you." He said, putting his hand out. Fuko eyed it suspiciously. She reached out and took it; he didn't want to touch her without her say so. He gained a point. The guy with black hair made no move to introduce himself.

"Hiei…" The boy named Kurama sighed irritably. The guy (Hiei, apparently) glanced at Fuko. She blinked at his red eyes. Curious…

"We know who you are…perhaps you could shed some light as to your personality…?" Kurama requested politely. Fuko smirked. Oh, this would be fun…

"Well I've been considered kind of strange. I mean, that's what they told me. Like once I lit this old lady on fire…heh. She caught rather well…but then again, that six-year-old was rather flammable too…" Kuwabara's mouth dropped open in disbelief as Kurama's eyes widened ever-so-slightly in alarm. Hiei even looked over, though more out of intrigue than disbelief.

"She's lying." Yusuke sighed, "She's a bit of a compulsive liar at times." Fuko's eyes flickered.

"Care to further explain that statement Yusuke?" She asked, venom in her voice. Yusuke sighed, not wanting more conflict.

"Look Fuko, I know you probably don't want to be here…" He began. Fuko cut him off.

"Oh, I don't think you have the slightest clue, actually. Why? Because you don't seem to realize a few simple things. A. I hate this place…whatever 'this place' is. B. I hate the fact that I have no idea what's going on. And C…I hate YOU." She spat.

"Why do you hate me so much?!" Yusuke shouted.

"I could ask you the same thing, you ignorant bastard!!" Fuko shouted back. Yusuke blinked, not knowing what she meant.

"Let's end this now." Kurama said with an eerie tone of cool anger. Fuko shut her mouth and glared daggers at Yusuke. The situation seemed to be disarmed for the time being.

"I'll take Urameshi-chan to her room." Kurama said. He walked over to Fuko, gestured for her to come, and left the room. Fuko followed suit, but not before she slammed the door for good measure.

◊†◊

Neither Fuko nor Kurama spoke of the argument that had transpired earlier. Fuko had her gaze lowered to her feet as usual and noted the smooth marble tiling of the corridor. She looked around; there were doors on either side of the hallway with different things engraved on them. One had a dragon, on another, a fox and so on with different creatures. Kurama stopped at a polished oak door with a phoenix carved into it. It was looking behind its shoulder. Fuko wondered what it was looking at…

"I wonder what it's looking at." Kurama said abruptly, waking Fuko from the exact same thoughts.

"Maybe it's waiting for a friend that it left behind..." Fuko suggested, feeling a pang of sadness for her friend at Eve, back at Osaka Academy.

"Perhaps…or maybe it's simply focusing a bit too hard on a past it's left behind." Kurama said. He smiled at her almost knowingly. Fuko narrowed her eyes slightly.

"I see you have a gift for observation." She stated. He chuckled.

"That is simply what I think…after all, we are talking about the phoenix, aren't we, Urameshi-chan?" He said, the knowing smile still on his face. The smile bugged Fuko immensely. Just like Yusuke and the rest of his friends…

"Right." Fuko grumbled.

"Anyway, this is your room, the Phoenix Room. Named so for obvious reasons…" Kurama said. He grasped the polished golden knob and opened the door. Fuko blinked. The room was beautiful beyond words. The floor was polished marble (though if Fuko were to drop something, which she would, the floor would be most unforgiving). And there was a large phoenix in the center of it in red stone. The bed had a canopy and what appeared to be silk sheets. Fuko's eyes widened as she spotted a stereo with surround-sound and a CD changer sat on a white dresser that stood atop a red Chinese rug. A computer sat neatly on a desk in the corner on a similar rug. There were small fairy lights all around the room with either white or lavender shades.

"If you need any assistance, I'm down the hall in the Fox Room." Kurama said, smiling at her mouth-gaping in awe at the sheer glamour of the room.

"We need you to stay here until Koenma comes here, alright?" He asked gingerly. Fuko turned to him.

"Okay." She said, fingers crossed behind her back. Kurama smiled, and turned to leave.

"…I have one question though." He said, pausing in the doorway.

"Shoot." Fuko responded nonchalantly.

"Why exactly do you hate Yusuke so much?" He inquired. Fuko was silent. Kurama smiled serenely.

"You don't have to tell me. It's fine. That is most likely a question for another day." He left the room and shut the door behind him. Fuko surveyed the room further. In addition to a chair or two, it had a mini-fridge and a bathroom. She noted that if her escape attempts failed, at least she could simply live in her room and never leave. But that was a last resort. She had no intention of staying in…in…in wherever she was. She surveyed herself in the mirror, concocting methods of escape. She was tall with long brown slightly wavy hair, and grey eyes. She was a healthy weight; not too heavy, (though too heavy in her opinion). She gazed at herself sadly. She hated the way she looked. She wore a pair of blue jeans and a baggy black t-shirt with the HIM heart-a-gram on it. The shirt hung loosely; a few sizes too big, but that was the way she liked it. She shook her head. Now was not the time to critique the way she looked. Now was the time to escape. She walked over to the CD changer and dropped her messenger bag for a moment. She took out her CD book, and removed the Fall Out Boy CD; "From Under The Cork Tree". She put it into the changer and skipped some tracks, arriving at the song "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me". She smiled at the comforting familiar guitar. She blasted it so Yusuke and his friends couldn't hear her move to the window and open it. She looked out. It was a long way down, but she was right within leaping distance of a rather large tree. She took a deep breath as the lyrics started.

"I confess, I messed up, dropping 'I'm sorry' like you're still around…."
She took a deep breath and leapt out the window, reaching for the tree. Her nails grazed the bark, but it almost seemed to dance out of her reach. She missed, and plummeted downward.

"And I know you're dressed up, 'Hey kid, you'll never live this down!'."

†◊†

Meanwhile, back in the den, Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara talked amongst themselves. They heard music blaring from down the corridor.

"Jeeze, isn't she going to go deaf from that?" Kuwabara commented as Fall Out Boy sang,

"'Cause you're just the girl all the boys wanna' dance with.
And I'm just a boy who's had too many chances…"
Hiei wrinkled his nose at the lyrics, disliking the song instantly. Kuwabara blinked, and asked a question that just crossed their minds.
"Hey guys? Where's Kurama?"

◊†◊

Fuko sighed as she plummeted. She really didn't feel like dying this way…falling out of a tree to escape her brother and his stupid friends. She at least, had some consolation in the fact that she'd die listening to Fall Out Boy. She sang along,

"I'm sleeping on your folk's porch again, dreaming,
She said, she said, she said-"

She was suddenly stopped short as someone caught her about two meters before she hit the ground. She blinked, and looked up. It was Kurama. She scowled and finished the verse, singing it to him personally.

"'Why don' t you just drop dead?'"

Kurama gave the same infuriating smile.

"Now is that any way to thank me for saving your life?" He asked tauntingly.

"I'd prefer the ground, thanks." Fuko stated. He snickered, but did not put her down. He leapt up the side of the building she had just escaped (which was, in actuality, a castle). Fuko's eyes were wide. How the hell could he jump like this? He jumped neatly through her open window, setting her down gently.
"I advise you be a bit more careful when trying to escape, next time I probably won't be at the bottom to catch you." Fuko scowled.

"Fine with me." She spat. Kurama walked over to the window and shut it.

"I guess I'll trust you and not seal the window. But another escape attempt, and the team and I will be forced to take more…severe actions to keep you contained." He warned. Fuko cracked a wry grin.

"And I thought that I was a guest here." Kurama paused before leaving the room. He turned and smiled.

"You aren't a guest. You're a part of the family Urameshi-chan." Fuko gave a bitter laugh.

"No thanks." She said. Kurama laughed as well, though more in a mocking way.

"You can't choose family. Oh, and for future reference, from what I've seen of your abilities, why didn't you use your wind to cushion your fall?" He asked in an almost superior tone. Fuko looked down, beaten. She had no idea how. Her abilities with wind were restricted to blowing people away and running fast. Luckily, she had other abilities…but no one but Eve knew about those…
He turned and left, shutting the door behind him again. Fuko growled. Kurama was now an enemy and officially lost any points he had gained earlier. She scowled. She would escape, and that stupid red-head wouldn't be able to catch her, no matter how fast, strong, or intelligent he was. She reset the song and turned to the window again.

†◊†

Kurama opened the door and entered the den. Yusuke Kuwabara and Hiei looked up.

"Where were you?" Hiei inquired.

"Stopping Yusuke's sister from escaping." Kurama said with a nonchalant shrug. Yusuke smacked his head.

"Jeeze…" He muttered.

"I already warned her to cease her efforts." Kurama said.

"Like hell that would work on someone like her. She's going to escape anyway. I vote we use an electric fence." Hiei stated.

"I think an electric fence would be a bit harsh…" Kurama began.

"Not harsh enough.' Hiei mumbled. Kurama opened his mouth to protest when he saw a figure running toward the woods at high speed from out the window. He sighed, and looked at his three teammates.

"Set up that fence." He muttered, leaving the room.

◊†◊

Fuko sprinted, her messenger bag banging and colliding with her legs as she ran at top speed. She had managed to get onto the tree this time. It was most curious, because last time, her jump seemed to just fall short of it. She decided to ignore this strange occurrence, and focus strictly on running like a bat out of hell. She panted happy. No way anyone could catch her now…or at least, that was what she thought. She ran smack dab into something…or, rather, someone. She blinked after falling backward. She looked up to see, lo and behold….

Kurama. Again.

"Okay, you are really starting to get on my nerves." Fuko stated.

"I could very easily say the same thing." Kurama retorted.

"You aren't taking me back there." Fuko said defiantly. Kurama sighed. If she didn't like him now, she'd hate her after this…

†◊†

Yusuke, Hiei, and Kuwabara had just finished setting up the electric fence. It was kind of like the invisible ones used on dogs with collars. They just needed to get the collar on Fuko and they were set. There was a banging on the door and shouting from the other side.

"PUT ME DOWN YOU BASTARD!" Fuko's voice was heard screaming through the door. Yusuke was the one bold enough to walk over and open it. Kurama entered, an enraged Fuko slung over his shoulder. He looked at Yusuke.

"Do put the collar on." He panted. A few scratches were on his face and the others were fairly sure there were black and blues on his body from the way Fuko was flailing. Yusuke gulped and walked over to his pissed off sister. She looked at him and glared. In a lightening-like motion, Yusuke snapped the collar around her neck. Kurama then rushed to Fuko's room and practically threw her in. Fuko got up after dusting herself off, and glared daggers. Kurama walked coolly to the window and set something small on it. It was a seed… Fuko blinked. What the hell could a seed do? All of a sudden, as if by magic, the seed grew into vines that spread out all over the window, securing it. Fuko blinked.

"How in the seven hells…" She muttered. Kurama jostled the window, but it didn't even budge. He stepped away and gave an approving nod.

"Alright. Now the fence is a last resort. You won't be able to get past my vines." He said.

"How…did you?" Fuko blinked, still surprised. Kurama gave a taunting smile and left the room, locking it behind him. Fuko gave a twitchy smirk. Oh, if Kurama thought that vines would keep her inside, he had another think coming.

◊†◊

Kurama headed back to the den and collapsed on a chair.

"She's a handful, isn't she?" Yusuke commented, entering after him. He tossed Kurama a Coke, having come from the kitchen. Kurama caught it with ease.

"That would be an understatement." He replied, opening the soda and taking a swig.

"Well she won't be escaping anytime soon with our fence." Kuwabara stated proudly.

"How exactly did you three rig that up, by the way?" Kurama asked. Yusuke doled out the rest of the sodas.

"We hooked it up to our circuit breaker after we used an old invisible fence for a dog." Hiei said with a shrug. Kurama blinked.

"Exactly how many volts did you use?" He queried. The three of them shrugged. After the shrug, however, there was an explosion. Kurama twitched, not wanting to get up again. But as soon as he was about to, rise, the lights dimmed and then went back on. They exchanged nervous looks. A minute or two later, the door opened and Fuko stood there, hair frizzed out all over and charred in several spots. She staggered in and fixed them all with a death-glare. She decided to quote the Fall Out Boy song she had been religiously listening to that day. She took a deep breath, and shouted,
"I DON'T BLAME YOU FOR BEING YOU, BUT YOU CAN'T BLAME ME FOR HATING IT!" With this statement, she collapsed face first into the carpeted ground.

†◊†