Summary: For Mika, life is a constant struggle for survival. After some very unfortunate situations, she has isolated herself and is dangerously close to losing her sanity. That is, until she meets Kurama who turns her life upside down. But things begin to get out of control when it is discovered that she could have some strange connection to a mysterious legendary force that could be plotting a major takeover of all three worlds! Could her misery be nothing more that a cruel twist of fate or is this all connected to something even bigger?

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho; I do, however, own all the original characters and this plot. No copying!

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Angel's Cry

Chapter 1

"Stay Away"

15

The girl was now older and appeared to be in her mid-teen years. Her face was pale and worn with fatigue. Her big brown eyes were now dull, and her long hair was pulled back in a messy bun. She leaned her face against her fist and let out a yawn, the dress laid across the table before her unfinished. She couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Her head lowered to rest on her arms as she began to doze off.

"Mika?"

The girl looked up to see her boss staring down at her.

"Mika, may I have a word with you?"

"I-I'm sorry!" She shouted suddenly. She straightened up and picked up her thread and fumbled to thread her needle as quickly as she could. "I'm sorry! It will never happen again!"

"Mika, please, come into my office."

The girl hesitantly set down her needle and stood from her seat. She followed her boss through the busy workshop and down the hall into a large office.

"Mika, I've been meaning to talk to you---"

"Please don't fire me!"

"No, I'm not going to fire you, Mika. I just wanted to ask you a few questions."

The girl let out a sigh of relief. She sat gingerly in a seat and waited for the woman in front of her to begin.

"Mika, I was wondering if you were alright?" When she saw the confused look on the girl's face she elaborated, "You seem awfully tired lately. You also look quite thin. I've also noticed that you have some bruises..."

The girl avoided her boss's intense gaze and kept her eyes on her lap. She fiddled with her fingers and pulled down on her sleeve in an attempt to conceal the deep purple mark around her wrist. She heard a sigh from across the room, and she looked up.

"Mika, I know that you probably don't want to talk about it. But, I really need to know what's going on. I'm worried about you. Is there anything going on between you and Taro?"

The girl shook her head quickly.

"I see that lusty stare he gives you from across the room. Has he no shame? Why, you're only fifteen and he's in his thirties! It's disgusting!"

The girl did not respond. She continued to stare at her feet and fiddled with her fingers.

"I see. Well, Mika if there's anything you ever want to talk about, you know where to find me."

"Thank you."

"I think you should take the rest of the day off. Please, go home and get some rest."

"Thank you." The girl murmured as she stood and left as fast as she could. She hurried to her workstation, trying her best to ignore the man who stared at her from across the room. She hurriedly whisked the dress from the tabletop and slipped it over the mannequin's head. She gathered her supplies and dropped them into her tiny wicker basket and hurried through the door.

"Mika! Where are you going?"

She froze when she heard his voice. She turned slowly only to be met with the sight of a man walking towards her. Taro.

"Did she let you off early?" The girl just nodded and felt her skin go numb when he brushed against her arm and took her basket from her. "Is that so? Well, allow me to walk you home. We don't want something to happen to you, now do we?"

"No thank you, sir. Y-You walked me home all last week. I can walk home by myself this time."

"No, I will walk you home," he said as his lips curled into an evil grin. He watched as the girl stared down at her scuffed shoes. "Are you scared of me, Mika?"

"N-No," she squeaked as she started down the pavement with her eyes glued to the ground as she quickly thought of a plan to escape. She knew what would happen if he had walked her home again.

"Good. You shouldn't be."

It was ten minutes later when the forest came into view. The girl began to panic, realizing that as soon as she stepped through she and Taro would be separated from the outside world.

All alone.

Where no one could possibly hear them. Her heart began to pound as she went through her options. She could continue on her way home with Taro, and hope that he wouldn't try anything again; or she could run away and hide.

She glanced at Taro from the corner of her eyes. She remembered what he did. How he had turned into a monster before her eyes. How it had hurt so much. How she had been humiliated---how she had been so violated. She didn't want to feel that ever again.

"Whoa! Where do you think you're going?" Taro yelled suddenly as he latched onto the girl's arm. He pulled her towards him and stared down into her brown eyes that were wide with fear. "Trying to run away, are you?"

"Let go!" She screeched as she tried to pry her arm from his grip. He began to drag her behind him and towards the forest where her small cottage was. She began to struggle against him, blindly throwing punches everywhere, clawing at his arm, kicking his legs, even biting his arm, everything! But he did not seem to be fazed by her attacks.

"You know, you're really starting to get on my nerves." Taro muttered as he aimed a blow to her gut. She immediately kneeled over, the wind knocked out of her. He took the chance and picked her up, roughly slinging her over his shoulder.

"Let go!" The girl continued to screech as he entered the green maze of foliage before him. "Stop it!"

She let out a scream as she suddenly sailed through the air only to land painfully on the ground in a heap. She looked up and realized that Taro was now standing over her. She shook in fear as she scrambled to her feet but she was knocked back to the ground by the man before her.

"C'mon, Mika. I just want to have a little fun with you." He smirked as he pinned the girl's body to ground with his own. "It won't hurt this time."

"Please, Taro! Just let me go!" She cried, tears now welling up in her eyes. "Please, I don't want to do this anymore!"

He ignored her pleas as he reached for her shirt.

"No! Stop it! Someone help me!"

The young woman's eyes snapped open, her face drenched in a cold sweat. Her heart pounded in her chest and she looked around the dark room.

She groaned when she remembered how she had retreated to her corner when the rain had started earlier that evening. She must've been so afraid that she had flashbacks. She let out a sigh and stretched out on the floor. She was too tired to get up. She rested her head on her arm and closed her eyes, falling into a deep sleep.

~.~.~.~

Outside, the sky was painted an inky black as the rain fell to the earth, washing the ground of its impurities. Lightning flashed, illuminating the tiny country town for a moment before it was once again engulfed in darkness. All was still and all was quiet until---

"You won't catch me!" A deep voice called out through the night.

"Spirit Gun!" Someone yelled and suddenly a large orb of light blasted through the air and sailed towards a dark figure.

"Urameshi, you missed!" Someone else called out in the dark.

"Damn it, I can't see anything in this rain!"

Evil laughter could be heard over the loud tattoo of the rain, and it was soon followed by the rustling sounds of trees as the demon turned off the dirt road and into a dark forest.

"Don't let him get away!"

There was a loud 'oomph' and a thump. Someone had fallen.

"You fool! Get off of me!"

"Shut up, Hiei! I tripped!"

Lighting flashed and illuminated the dark forest for a spilt moment revealing to the small group their surroundings.

"Where did he go?"

Another fork of lightning flashed again. The demon was gone.

"Damn it! We lost him!"

"We have a very slim chance finding him in these conditions. I think that we should find somewhere to camp until the rain dies down."

"Yeah, Kurama's right. Let's get out of here."

Lighting flashed again illuminating the forest. Standing before the group of four men was what looked to be an abandoned wooden cottage.

"Hey, look! There's a house over there!"

"I think we can all see that, baka."

"You know what you little shrimp---"

"Shut up you two! Let's just go check it out and you guys can kill each other later!"

"I think we should knock first." Someone suggested and the sound of knocking against wood followed suit.

No answer.

The creaking of rusty hinges could be heard as someone slowly pushed the door open.

"Hello?" A male voice questioned. "We're sorry to intrude but we were wondering if you would allow us to remain here until the rain dies down?"

There was no answer.

"Let's go in!" A voice stupidly suggested.

"Look over there. There's a fire burning in the fireplace. Someone must live here."

"But they're not answering. They're probably not home. Let's just go in and wait until they come back!" The same stupid voice replied and loud footsteps could be heard as he crossed over the threshold of the house.

The rest of his allies cautiously entered the house, looking around for any signs of life.

It was the one with long fiery red hair that noticed the young woman sprawled out face-down on the floor. He hurried over to the young woman, dropped to his knees, and rolled her over onto her back.

"Miss?" He called out as he shook her. His allies rushed over when they heard his frantic voice. "Miss, wake up! Are you alright?"

She let out a groan as she began to regain consciousness. Her eyes slowly opened only to see a pair of bright emerald orbs staring back at her. She scrambled to her feet and fled to the other side of the room like a frightened animal. She reached down and lifted a rusted metal sword and held it awkwardly in front of her.

"Don't worry," the redhead coaxed as he slowly approached her, "We're not here to hurt you."

She glanced around and realized that there were three more men in room. She was outnumbered.

"S-Stay away from me!" She screeched as the redhead came closer. She swung the blade through the air in an attempt to frighten the young man.

The sound of metal clanging could be heard as the sword fell to the ground and before she could blink she was pinned against the wall gasping for air. A hand was wrapped tightly around her neck and something cold and sharp was pressed against her throat.

She looked down to see a boy with spiked black hair and ruby red eyes. He stared back at her, his eyes cold and shining with no emotion. She whimpered in fear and began to squirm, trying to free herself. The boy tightened his grip around her neck and pressed the blade of his katana closer to her throat.

"Hiei! Put her down!" The redhead demanded. "You're frightening her!"

The boy stared coldly at her as he considered the order that was issued to him. He frowned and released his grip on her. Without a word, he moved away from the young woman who lay on the ground in a heap gasping for air and walked over to the window sill and sat.

The young woman scrambled to her feet and scurried across the room. She collapsed in the corner and buried her head in her lap. "Don't hurt me! Please don't hurt me!" Her voice shook with sobs.

Her father's cruel face and Taro's lusty eyes floated across her vision. It was all she could see---all she could think of. She remembered how they treated her. How they had hurt her. She was terrified of that happening again. She was terrified that another man would hurt her.

"Look, lady," a boy with slicked back hair sighed as he sat in one of the ragged armchairs. "We're not gonna hurt you. There's no reason to cry, alright?"

"Yusuke," another said warningly. He was the tallest amongst the group with his ridiculous hair cut and beady eyes. "That's no way to talk to a lady!"

His friend muttered something under his breath before the room fell quiet. No one said a word for what seemed an eternity. The young woman continued to sob endlessly as the four men watched her with absolutely no clue of what to do.

It was the redhead who finally approached her. He crouched down beside her, not saying a word. He cautiously reached out and laid a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Miss? I hope that you don't mind me asking, but, is there something the matter?"

The woman's body tensed when he touched her, and she didn't respond.

"Is there anything that we could possibly do to make you feel better?" He questioned.

He struggled to keep his face clear of any emotion. The sight was heartbreaking as he realized how deeply her soul must have been wounded. What could she have possibly endured that could have caused to become this way?

She didn't respond but continued to sob endlessly. Her face was red as a tomato as she grabbed fistfuls of her hair and poured out her heart.

The redhead shifted his weight so that he was sitting next to her. He closed his eyes as he thought of what to do. For once he was lost for words or reasonable actions. He mentally cursed at himself before he reached for her.

Her body tensed when she felt his arms pull her close to him. A strange feeling overcame her. He was so warm... His touch was gentle as he embraced her, and a soft scent of roses enveloped her and had an instant soothing effect on her. She felt so strange...yet so safe---a feeling that she so desperately yearned for. He must have felt her uneasiness because he began to remove his arms, but, she turned and buried her head into his chest. She didn't want to let go of the security that she felt. Not yet.

He put his arms back around her. He could feel her body relax against his as her sobs grew softer. He could feel her tightening her arms around him, as if she were clinging onto him for her life. He looked down at her and frowned. He couldn't understand why, but it killed him on the inside, to see her fall apart. He could sense much more than fear resonating from her soul---so much that it was unbearable.

Slowly the woman's sobs reduced to muffled sniffles. The room was silent for before she reached up and rubbed her bloodshot eyes. She murmured something incoherent before she leaned her head against his chest once again. She closed her eyes as she took deep calming breaths and soon fell into a dreamless peaceful sleep.

"Finally she stopped crying. That was giving me a huge headache." The one with slicked back hair muttered as he leaned back in the arm chair. He propped his feet up on a rickety stool that he had found lying in the corner.

"You'll wake her up." The redhead scolded as he looked down at the young woman. She was still asleep. He carefully lifted the young woman into his arms and stood up. He looked around and noticed a flight of stairs on the opposite side of the room.

"Hey, where are you going?"

"I'll be back in a moment." He said as he climbed up the stairs and turned down the hall. He easily found her bedroom as it was the only room upstairs with any furniture. He set her down on her bed and covered her with the thin ragged blankets. They would fail to keep her warm so he took off the thin jacket he was wearing and laid it on top of the blankets across her chest.

He frowned as he glanced at the woman's pale face. From what little light there was, he could make out a scar on her left cheek and a painful bruise along her jaw. He shook his head and left the room to join his friends.

"Damn, what was her problem?" The same boy questioned. He ran his hand over his slicked back hair and rubbed the gel that stuck to his hand on the side of the chair.

The redhead took a seat on the worn couch and frowned, crossing his arms. "I'm not quite sure."

"Yeah, she seemed scared of us." The one with orange hair chimed in as he took a seat on the floor.

The redhead nodded in agreement. "I think that we should stay here for the night." He glanced out the window and frowned. "The rain doesn't look like it will stop anytime soon."

Everyone nodded at his suggestion and began to make themselves comfortable.

"We should take turns keeping watch for anything suspicious, too. That demon that escaped may be planning to ambush us. And this time he might come with friends."

"Kurama's right. So who wants first watch, hm?" The one with slicked back hair yawned and stretched out his arms.

"Not me!" The carrot-topped one responded.

"Well too bad! You've got first watch."

"What? That's not fair!"

"Our team is called Team Urameshi, right? That makes me, Yusuke Urameshi, leader. That means that I call the shots. And that means you have first watch."

"What!?! Get over here, Urameshi! I'll show you who calls the shots!"

The redhead shook his head and let out a sigh as his teammates continued to argue. He leaned his head against the couch and closed his eyes. He had a feeling that tomorrow would be a rough day.