"Aya!" Mum called when I got home. "You've been gone for hours! I was starting to get worried about you~! And - oh! What happened to your uniform?!"

"It's nothing." I replied absentmindedly. "I tripped and fell into some bushes on the way home. Knocked me unconscious, too. No, I don't need a hospital," I protested as my mother opened her mouth in shock.

Mum frowned at me discerningly. I kept my face impassive, making sure I didn't give anything away. "Okay," she said doubtfully, "just get a shower before bed. I'm sure we have some antiseptic in the bathroom -"

"MUM!" A girl's shriek split the air. "Tomo stole my doll again!" Tearing around the corner of the hall came a seven-year-old boy hotly pursued by his tearful twin sister.

"Aw, come on, Kiki! Don't be such a crybaby - Ulp!" Tomosuke's taunt was cut short as I stepped forward and picked the boy up by the back of his shirt.

"Hey!" He shouted, struggling and kicking the air. "Let me down, Aya!"

"No, sir." I replied calmly. "Not until you give the doll back to Kiyoko."

"Fine, FINE! Here, Kiki!" Tomosuke dropped the doll, and Kiyoko eagerly snatched it off the ground, running away before Tomosuke could be set free. I set Tomosuke on the ground, crouching down so I was eye level with him.

"Tomo, d'you mind telling me the golden rule?"

The little boy stared ashamedly a the ground. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."

I ruffled his hair affectionately. "Good boy." I stood. "Now, play nice."

Tomosuke grinned. "Kay!" He ran off in the direction of Kiyoko's room, but this time, it stayed quiet and peaceful. Mum smiled at me.

"You certainly have a way with kids. They don't obey me nearly as well. You're going to make a great mother someday."

I laughed. "Hopefully not too soon. I'd like to have some fun before that."

"Just don't make me wait too long for grandkids."

"It's a deal."

I was woken just hours later by crashing and screams. I shot out of bed. What the…? Our living room was totally demolished. There was a huge hole in the wall, and rubble everywhere. Then I saw the cause.

The demon from this afternoon towered over the rubbish spread about the floor. His expression, the extreme bloodlust in his eyes…He was out for a kill.

A movement amongst the debris. My mother, bloodied and bruised, lay at the feet of the demon. She struggled to get to me.

"Mum!" I made a move to go to her, but the demon stepped menacingly towards her. I froze. He stretching out a hand towards me.

"Give it back, or her life is forfeit." His voice was primitive, and guttural. I stepped back, shielding my chest.

"MUM!" It was the second time I'd heard that cry tonight. The little girl ran towards our mother. Tomosuke tore after her, shouting words or warning to his sister.

"NO!" I screamed, catching Tomosuke. I reached out for Kiyoko, but I missed, Tomosuke tried to squirm out of my grasp to get to his sister. I knew deep in gut that no matter what happened, I could not let Tomosuke go,

The demon, meanwhile, grabbed my sister around the neck. Before I could move, his grip tightened…And Kiyoko stopped struggling.

Something inside me snapped. Power surged through me. I don't remember much. I remember holding Tomosuke tightly against me, and I was screaming. There was bright white light everywhere and my body felt electrifying. Rumbling, roaring, then nothing. Absolutely nothing.

I was…Alive? I jolted awake, sitting straight up in the bed. Judging from the moon outside the bedroom window, I had been unconscious a whole day. This time, only Minamino and Hiei were present. They looked like they had been casually relaxing a moment before, but now, they were alert and making a point of not looking at me. I glanced down at myself. I was naked.

I flushed and pulled the sheet back up to my chin. I was suddenly very self-conscious of my scar. Had they seen? Why was I naked? Why was I…?

All at once, the memories of the previous event came crashing down on me. The demon destroying my house, seeking out the Demon Orb…Hurting my family…And gods knew what else had happened.

"Mum…Kiki…Tomo…Where are they? Are they okay?" Hiei and Minamino looked uneasily at each other. A moment later, Minamino sat on the bed next to me. He put one arm around my bare shoulders. I unwilling trembled slightly at his touch. But…It wasn't a bad feeling.

"Sasara, you brother, Tomosuke, is alright. He's in a coma at the hospital, but when he wakes up, the doctors say he's going to be just fine." I felt a wash of relief that was almost immediately drowned by a wave of fear. He hadn't said if Mum and Kiyoko were okay…"

"And…" I began, but Minamino was already shaking his head.

"Your mother and your sister…Didn't make it." His grip on my shoulders tightened. "I'm sorry, Sasara."

My heart just about stopped as my world came crashing down. I stared up at him in disbelief, then looked down, clutching the sheet tighter to me. I couldn't stop shaking.

"No…" I hissed. "No, that can't be right. No!" I violently shoved Minamino away from me, mindful even in my sorrow to keep the sheet up. "You're bloody lying! Rubbish! They can't be dead! Bloody hell!" I was sobbing in between my words now. I thrust myself backwards out of the bed and consequently tripped over the tangled sheet. I hit the wall painfully, and gasped as the wind was knocked out of me. There was pure silence for a moment while I tried to catch my breath. Hiei came and stood over me, laying a comfortingly hand gently on my shoulder. I looked up at him through tear-filled eyes.

"It's alright to mourn. It's alright. But don't think that we're going to let you wallow in pity. You've got to take some action, whatever you choose for it to be. But for now, just grieve." With that, Hiei squeezed my shoulder one last time and left the room.

His kind words only served to make me tear up again. As my shoulders began to shake with grief, Minamino was suddenly there, whispering soothing words in my ear and holding me tightly against his chest. I accepted his kindness gratefully, and drew as much comfort from him as I could. With that, I made a silent vow to befriend this man, as well as Hiei, Yusuke, and Kuwabara, and somehow repay them for all their compassion towards me.

With that, another fateful night passed, this one with me held in Minamino's arms.

I awoke in Minamino's bed, feeling dull and numb with a massive headache from all the crying. I was alone in the room, of which I was grateful. The door to Minamino's bathroom was open and the light was shining brightly. Still clenching the sheet to me, I wandered into the bathroom warily. Empty.

He had set the whole thing, ready and waiting for me. There was a fresh towel, soap, undergarments in my size and a pretty black Lolita-style dress that would fit me perfectly (how he had gotten hold of the dress and the undergarments, I wasn't sure I wanted to know). There was even a black ribbon identical to the ones I always wore in my hair. I smiled slightly at his thoughtfulness, shed the sheet, and turned on the shower.

I got ready as best as I could with the resources Minamino had provided for me. I then wandered through the house, following the scent of cooking food until I finally reached a kitchen. At a small table in the middle of the kitchen, there were three places settings. Hiei and Minamino occupied two of them, but at the third setting was a full plate of food waiting for me. I didn't greet either of the two boys, but instead dug into the well-cooked food. I didn't have much of an appetite, but I knew I needed to eat if I was ever going to feel better about anything. Not to mention I hadn't even eaten for well over a whole day.

The pain of losing my sister and mother still throbbed fresh and agonizing in my heart, but like Hiei had said, I needed to move on. There were things to be done, and dwelling on the dead wasn't going to help anything.

"I bought this house because it was so close to the university campus. Since Hiei doesn't have anywhere else to go, I asked him to stay with me. But I'm not adverse to another housemate, if you're interested, Sasara:"

I listened to Minamino's proposal, closing my eyes for a moment to think about it. I knew that if my house even still existed, I wouldn't want to go there. There was really no other option I could think of. I just nodded. Minamino seemed to decide that that was an acceptable answer.

I laid my fork down. "Minamino…" He held up a hand to stop me.

"Please, call me Kurama. It's my real name. My demon name."

Kurama, huh? A demon name…Well Kurama was a better name than Minamino or Shuichi. Kurama it was, then. "Alright, fine. Just as long as you both call me Aya, and not Mouse, Sasara, or even Ayako. Do we have a deal?"

"Seems so."

"Anyways, I just wanted to say whatever it is going on with you guys that I've gotten involved with, I'm ready to listen now, if you want to explain it again. And whatever this is power is that I have, I want you to teach me to utilize it. I want to help you guys. I want to try to make sure that no one has to go through what I've gone through."

Both boys looked at me approvingly. Kurama's expression was unreadable, and Hiei seemed to have liked what I said.

"But…" I said hesitantly. "May I …May I see my brother?"

Minamino…No, Kurama…Nodded and immediately stood up. But, before he could say anything, Hiei shook his head at Kurama. "I'll take her." He offered. I blinked. I hadn't expected that. It seemed like a very un-Hiei-like thing to do. And from the expression on Kurama's face, I wasn't the only one who thought so.

Shortly after that, Hiei and I left on foot for the hospital.

Oh my gosh! I wasn't expecting such positive reviews from all of you! Thanks a lot, and I hope you continue to enjoy the story!

Warning: You'll notice Hiei beginning to act VERY unlike his real personality. Sorry. And there'll eventually be fluff. Lots of it.