A/N: DISCLAIMER: I'm going to stop doing the disclaimer because I think we all get I don't own Yu Yu or its characters by now. Not to mention it's common sense that a freaking 14 year old that writes fanfiction stories is obviously not capable of such awesomeness no matter how much she/he may want to have such a capability if that even made sense. END DISCLAIMER ~ I am SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO sorry about the long wait. I know I said I would have this up 2 days after Christmas last year but…I failed. Forgive me, I'll try to update sooner this time. School decided it would throw a crap load of HUGE projects on me, so it's been kind of hard to keep up with this. As a result I completely missed updating for New Years. If any of you readers (assuming I still have some,) would be so kind as to leave a review letting me know if you would still like me to post a New Year chapter or not that would be totally awesome. I do have an idea in mind, and it shouldn't take too long to write so I just need some feedback. Thank you all so much for sticking with my half-assed routine, and this story. I really appreciate it! On a small side note: 21's name keeps showing up as 21, so I'm sorry about that. I wonder if it will do it again this time… I would also like to thank Rinni 3 for the favorite and Buccitkatt for the favorite, follow and review they are much appreciated! I'm glad I could make a story with OCs that wasn't confusing for you! I was kind of worried that I was making it confusing so your review is very reassuring, thanks a bunch! It makes me super happy that you like it, even though you don't usually like stories like this. Somehow I start to feel somewhat special when I get reviews like that! I hope to live up to/continue living up to all your expectations everyone!

Last Chapter: After Katsune clears up an extremely dramatic misunderstanding in the school caused by Mitsuki, she finally gets around to explaining how she met everyone. What awaits next for our brave middleschoolers?

Ch 8

What Mother Said

A sigh escaped my lips as I walked down the sidewalk, my bag hitting against my legs each time one went forward. A voice faded into my ears, slowly becoming louder. "Kaho plays the violin, do you play an instrument?" I heard Daisuke ask, and my eyes focused. Now that my vision was less blurry I looked over to Mitsuki, who was apparently the one he was talking to. "Yeah I play the flute!" She smiled happily. "Really, you should play something for me sometime!" Daisuke said all too hopeful.

Later in PE class…

'Wednesday...it's only Wednesday!' I thought bitterly, and just then...SMACK. I could see nothing but red, and feel nothing but pain. Then, the offending attacker fell in my hands. 'Damn, of all the times to zone out!' I glared at the round red object in my hand, my face hurt. "OUT!" I heard the teacher scream. 'Did I just get someone out, on accident?' I asked myself a bit stunned. "Are you okay Katsune; you seem out of it today." I heard Shuichi ask, and I realized what was going on. "Uh, I guess..." I didn't want to worry anyone. What my mother said to me last night, in all honesty, was really bothering me. "I just have a lot on my mind." I smiled, but Shuichi wasn't buying it. "Alright, switch sides!" The teacher continued. 'Figures, he knows better than to just believe something like that; why does he have to be so damn smart, it's not fair!' I walked with the rest of our team, and made sure I was last in line. Shuichi noticed and let everyone in front of him go ahead, except for me since he knew I would just turn down the offer. "Katsune, what are you thinking about?" He frowned at me; obviously my plan to not make him worry, failed. I looked up at him sadly; he wouldn't be tricked so I might as well tell him. "It's something my mother said…" I waited; he was probably going to ask me at least one question. "How often do you visit her?" I dropped my head, "I usually visit every day. Since school is just starting it's been harder to do that. I couldn't visit her on Sunday, or Monday; I only visited her for a little bit on Tuesday night, being that I didn't have much time with visiting hours and all." I raised my head slightly, "She said something last night, and I'm not sure what to think of it…" I looked over to him, I could see sadness, but also curiosity. 'Should I tell him what she said? Would he even know what I'm talking about?' I thought, staring at the ground. 'He wasn't even fazed when I asked if he believed in demons; and when I told him I was half demon, it didn't bother him at all. He could know something.' My focus was ruined when the line had to move up. 'I can't tell him here, I'll tell him when we're alone.' I nodded to myself, and tried to muster up the courage to actually tell him when I could. "I'll tell you what she said later, I can't say it around anyone else." He nodded, and the rest of the class was just small talk between our group of friends. Mitsuki was tagged out, and was now running towards us. "I hate kickball, it's hard." She pouted; a few of us laughed, and others giggled (cough, Kaho cough cough.) She ran behind the line like all the others before her, and stood at the end. I realized Shuichi had gone when he stepped on home base. I smirked, 'I believe I'll take my anger out on the ball.' I stepped up to the plate, "Don't roll it slowly, I can kick without a handicap I'm not a child." My words were seething with anger. "Hah, whatever you say." The 'pitcher' said back. The ball was rolling fast and slightly over to the right, just the way I liked it. I put my left foot forward, and kicked with my right as hard as I could. The ball went flying through the air, and was seen going over the fence as I touched home. "This is why I never play sports with you Katsune." Mitsuki said, hoping to prove a point. I laughed nervously. "Yeah sorry, I'm very competitive." I tried to keep up a convincing smile, but for a split second it dropped which unfortunately was not missed by Shuichi.

After a tiring game of kickball and a boring math class, it was finally lunch time, and I found my way to the table our group of friends was sitting at. "Yeah, when we went to the beach I got this awesome picture of Shuichi and Katsu-" Mitsuki stopped blabbing to Kaho when she noticed me approaching. "Hi Kitty, good to see yah!" I glared at her, but it still didn't stop her from continuing. "Well anyways, we were at the beach and they were talking. I decided to grab my phone, and then lightly pushed Katsune into him. Being the klutz she is she fell right into him, and as I had hoped they kissed!" She then pulled out her phone, right as Shuichi was walking over, and showed Kaho the picture. "AH! Mitsuki what the hell is wrong with you!?" I reached for the phone, but was stopped by one word. "Blackmail." Mitsuki said darkly, and I remembered her threat. "If you or Shuichi delete the picture, I will send it to both of you millions of times over, on anything and everything I can. You will also both set them as your wallpaper for your phones, or I will send the picture to the whole damn school and everyone else you, and I know." Mitsuki was ruthless. 'The threat just got worse.' I mentally sighed.

"Set it now, both of you!" I started to blush, the thought of everyone in our lives, and the whole school getting the picture, was not something I was jumping for joy over. I pouted, sorted through my pictures, and set it because I had no choice. Shuichi frowned, and was starting to look somewhat depressed. He too, had no choice but to do as she wished. "I will get revenge." I said icily. "Did she just blackmail those two?" Kaho asked. "Yeah, she definitely did..." Daichi answered a little surprised. "That picture is kind of awkward..." Kaho commented. "Really? Let me see!" Daichi demanded. "No." Shuichi and I said in unison. "Wow, complete and total synchronization, you two would make a good couple. You should just go for it." Daisuke suggested. The bastard, *cough* I mean um, the jerk just had to throw in his opinion. "Shove it lover boy." I glared at him, and he laughed nervously, afraid I might murder him. Then he suddenly came to a realization, "Wait, what did you just call me?" Kaho started giggling, and I was laughing my ass off. "I know you heard me." I choked out in-between laughs, while clutching my now aching stomach. He glared, "I don't love anyone." I just rolled my eyes. "Oh come on, like it isn't obvious." I said sarcastically, "You like Mitsuki, it isn't that hard to tell. Even someone with half a brain could tell." I smirked. He didn't fight back, he had nothing to counter me. I then looked over to Mitsuki who was blushing. I winked, encouraging her to take advantage of this chance. "Uh, er, um, I uh..." Her face got redder. Daisuke was waiting for her answer, expecting rejection. I looked between the two for a bit, and then Mitsuki finally broke the silence. "I-I like you too." Her face was now cherry red. I looked back over to Daisuke, who was looking quite shocked. 'And he says I'm the one with half a brain.' I rolled my eyes again. "Really, you actually like me?" Daisuke asked, very hopeful he heard her right. She nodded her head slightly. "Well, since we both like each other..." Mitsuki looked up, and a small blush coated Daisuke's cheeks. He cleared his throat, nervousness obviously showing. "Would you be my girlfriend?" Then she suddenly leaped at him, almost knocking them both over. "Yes!" She replied happily. Their embrace seemed to last for eternity. I was relieved to see that it all worked out, and that they were finally a freaking couple. 'I thought it would take ages for this to happen.' I smiled and looked over at Kaho.

I counted to three on my fingers. "Congratulations!" Kaho and I said at the same time. "Usually people wait until their alone to ask that kind of stuff; it was a bit awkward sitting here right when it happened." Daichi commented. "Yeah, but when your put on the spot like that it's hard to avoid it." Kaho pointed out. I then took the opportunity to ask something I had been dying to know. "Kaho," She looked over to me. "Have you ever had a boyfriend?" I asked, a bit curious. "B-b-b-b-boyfriend!?" She asked blushing. "N-no, I've never had a boyfriend." She looked down, a bit embarrassed. "O-oh..." I said awkwardly. "Well have you ever had a crush on anyone?" She blushed harder, "Y-yes." My eyes widened, I wasn't expecting her to openly admit something like that in front of everyone. "What about you Katsune? Have you ever had a boyfriend?" She asked, and my heart skipped a beat. "I..." sadness washed over me, as my eyes glistened with tears. "Did, once." I frowned. Everyone except Mitsuki looked shocked. "I…don't really want to talk about it though." My heart was aching. "Sorry, I didn't mean-" Kaho started, but I interrupted her. "It's fine; it's not your fault I just..." My voice faded out, all I was focused on now was not letting the tears fall. Everyone looked at me sadly; tension building up, thickening the air. I let my bangs fall over my face, I couldn't let them see me cry; I couldn't let anyone see me cry. 'Crying is a sign of weakness. If someone sees me cry, it's over.' I took a moment to gather my thoughts, and steady my breathing. "I'll be right back, I need some fresh air." Then I turned, and ran for it. Leave it to Shuichi to follow me though, he's so concerned. 'In truth, I want him to follow me, and I want him to be concerned. But why, why do I care?' I ran around the corner of the building, and unexpectedly ran into someone. Said someone grabbed my shoulders, and I looked up to see who it was. "Lavi, what are you doing here?" Lavi smirked, "That's not very nice Katsune." I looked at him confused, "What do you mean?" The truth was, I was scared; no I was terrified, but I couldn't show him that fact or it would be over for me. "You just ran into me and you're not even going to apologize?" I frowned slightly. "I-I'm sorry, I wasn't thinking please forgive me." He smiled, it was a mixture of kindness and evil. "It's fine Katsune, I forgive you." A look of relief graced my face, but not for long. "You're too cute; I can't stay mad at you." My heart was beating hard and fast, and although I tried to hide it he could see I was scared. I couldn't hide it from him, he could see through my façade; and as if that wasn't enough, he had me pressed up against him. He could feel my heartbeat, so no matter what I did or said he would know the truth. He quickly wrapped one arm around my shoulders, still having a firm grasp on me; then with his other, now free, hand he lifted my chin to look at him. Tears were in my eyes, what was he going to do? "I won't bother asking you to be my girlfriend, because either way you will be mine." His grin turned devilish, he then grabbed me by the shoulders again and backed me up against the wall.

'This has happened before. No, something similar has happened.' I couldn't help it; I couldn't stop myself from crying this time. His hands slid from my shoulders, down my arms, and onto my wrists; he grabbed them tightly and slammed them above me. I let out a small cry in pain, "Lavi let me go! STOP IT!" I started struggling, trying to find one second when he would loosen his grip; that one instant when I could get free. He wouldn't have it though; when he felt me struggle he pushed my arms tighter against the wall. Shuichi, who had followed me shortly after I left, heard my scream. He sprinted towards where my voice had come from, and got there just in time. I glanced over at him, but Lavi didn't notice. I decided I would pretend I didn't either.

Kurama's POV…

I ran out after Katsune about a minute after she left. I saw her run to the right through the window in the door, so I did as well. As I came closer, I heard her scream and ran quickly but quietly. As I arrived she noticed me, and glanced over at me. However she quickly looked away, so as to not draw attention to me. 'Now, how best should I go about doing this?' I wondered, devising a plan that would free her without harming her.

Katsune's POV…

I watched him out of the corner of my eye; just what was he planning on doing? His calculating stare was somewhat frightening. It was emotionless, completely void of any feeling; just searching for a way to win. Lavi started talking, his face merely inches away from mine. "Won't you just be mine; it would make this so much easier?" He asked playfully, almost as if he was expecting I would say no. 'He asked that just to tease me!' Then I got an idea, I looked at Shuichi through the corner of my eye, and he nodded; it was almost as if a silent message was passed between us. A defeated look took over all emotion on my face, and Lavi almost looked shocked. "F-fine…" Lavi gave a questioning gaze, he didn't look trusting. 'Then I'll just have to convince him.' I continued, "I give up, you can own me." He was about to continue his assault on me, and Shuichi looked ready to proceed with a backup plan. "Wait!" Lavi looked at me angrily. "Please, not here. Can't we do this somewhere else, a little more isolated?" I gave him the cutest puppy dog eyes I could. "Alright, I understand. Meet me here after school, I'll take you somewhere…secret." It took everything in me not to throw up. 'Here it is! He's going to let go of me.' I glanced over to Shuichi, letting him know his grip had loosened. Just seconds after he had let go, Shuichi knocked him out. Shaking I fell to the ground, my legs unable to hold me anymore. Tears streamed down my face as I stared at nothing. "Katsune, are you alright?" His voice was worrisome, and I nodded. "I-I'm fine, just a little bruised that's all." I smiled, but it didn't look very convincing. Shuichi took my hand gently, and checked for any wounds on my arm. He found a lot; my arms had been pressed hard against a brick wall, suffice to say me twisting in Lavi's grip cut them up a bit. Bruises were forming on my wrists, and I had no doubt that there would be some on my shoulders as well. I calmed down and ignored the pain, now was my chance to ask the question. "Tell me," He looked up at my face, and I continued. "Are you a demon as well?" He looked somewhat shocked at my question. "Why do you ask?" He used that sweet tone. The so sickeningly fake sweet tone, and for a moment I wondered how nobody else noticed it was, indeed, fake. "Because at the beach when I asked you about demons, you weren't fazed at all; you didn't even flinch at the subject and were so accepting when I said I was a half breed." I paused, maybe I was being too hopeful. "And when you knocked Lavi out, you didn't do much. Most people would need a wooden bat or something, you didn't need anything and it didn't even look as though you had to try very hard." He was frowning, and I wasn't sure if he had misunderstood or not; all he needed to know, was I wanted him to be a demon. He looked me over with that cold calculating gaze I saw before, and I couldn't help but get a little fidgety under his intense stare. I looked away, unable to take the pressure for very long.

After a few minutes he sighed causing me to look up at him, "Yes, I am a demon." For a few moments, I couldn't shake off the feeling that I was dreaming. "Does that mean Shuichi isn't your real name?" He nodded, and I couldn't resist the urge to press further. "Then…" he looked over to me, I stared deep into his forest green eyes. After a pause from getting lost in his stare, I continued. "What is your real name?" I knew he probably saw the question coming sooner or later; what I didn't know, was if he was willing to answer. "Kurama." He said flatly, he probably didn't really want to say this kind of stuff right here; after all there is always the chance that someone is listening. My eyes widened at the name, and I asked one last question. "You mean, Yoko Kurama?" I could tell he wasn't expecting me to know that, and he was about to ask just how I knew. "It's what my mother said." His partially open mouth closed shut once again, and I continued my explanation. "Last night, she said 'poison' and I didn't know what she meant. When I asked her to explain, she then told me that she had been poisoned by a demon and that no human doctor would be able to help. I told her I couldn't just give up on her, and that I would find a way to heal her. The last thing she said before I had to leave was, 'Find Yoko Kurama, he can help.' And so I've been looking for Kurama," I paused, "You, ever since." His look softened, it seemed as though he became more understanding. "I'll help you." My head shot up in surprise, for a moment I was beginning to doubt he would help or even consider helping for that matter. "Thank you, Kurama." I smiled, as tears filled my eyes. He then helped me up, and we walked back to the lunch room. When we got there, we had walked into quite a scene. Mitsuki was pacing with a worried look on her face, and Daisuke was trying to calm her down. Kaho looked like she was about to cry, and Daichi was giving her worried looks; that was probably the first time, I saw him without a smile. I looked over to Kurama, slightly confused and mostly worried about them. It was then that Kaho started to cry. "This is all my fault!" She then buried her face in her hands, and sobbed. "Kaho, it isn't your fault! I'm sure they're fine." Daichi reassured her. It was then that I decided to approach. Everyone looked over to me as soon as they heard me. There seemed to be a moment where everything just froze. "Hey." I smiled and held a hand up. Mitsuki ran over to me, and yanked my hand down. "WHAT HAPPENED!?" She saw the bruises, and the very obviously cut up skin. "Nothing, I just fell when I was running." I tried to avoid an explanation. Daisuke stood up, apparently angered for some reason. "You don't get cuts like that from falling! Mitsuki was worried sick about you, the least you could do is give us a better excuse!" I frowned, he saw right through me. Kurama then stepped in, "It was Lavi." Silence, everyone eagerly awaited a further explanation. "I can't tell you exactly what happened, but when I reached her she was being held against the wall by him." Daichi looked confused, seemingly wondering if we were talking about the Lavi he knew. I decided I would clarify, and tell them exactly what happened. After explaining, everyone looked surprised. Daichi gave me a look of disbelief, and I couldn't blame him; he had never seen Lavi do anything like that after all. Then it occurred to me, "Speaking of, didn't we just kind of leave him laying there?" Kurama looked at me, giving me a somewhat amused look. 'I wonder, did he do that on purpose…hmm probably.' I smirked, "I see." Everyone looked confused, completely missing the silent message passed between us. And so, lunch ended. I would be completely wrong in saying it was uneventful; if anything it was too eventful. Of course, I suppose that it made up for the boringness of class. However, I just couldn't get my mind off of my mother. 'I hope Kurama, can help.' I stared absentmindedly tapping my pencil. "Katsune!" The teacher's voice was stern and slightly raised, which successfully earned an 'eep' from me as I jumped slightly. The class started laughing, and I just stared at my lap. 'Why me?' A blush worked its way across my cheeks; it was unnoticeable though, seeing as it was only a light rosy color. "S-sorry…" I mumbled. The teacher frowned, but continued the lesson. 'Must have heard what happened at lunch…' I thought miserably. The rest of class felt like it would never end, and I was afraid that Kurama might not be able to do anything. I watched the clock as each second ticked by, my head racing with thoughts of worry and doubt, then finally the bell rang. I immediately stood up and rushed out the door, Kurama following close behind. Together we rushed over to the hospital, and had finally arrived at the door to my mother's room. I looked over to Kurama, my Mulberry colored eyes once again swimming in a sea of deep green. He gently put a hand on my shoulder, and gave me a reassuring smile. I gave a small weak smile back, and turned my head toward the door. 'Please, oh please be able to help!' I thought, as I opened it.

Thanks for reading! I probably won't be spilling my deviantart account name for some time, (thanks to a certain game design project that is consuming my life at the moment.) So for those of you who might have the slightest bit of interest (though I'm seriously having my doubts that anyone is interested =_=) I'm sorry, you'll have to wait a while. Other than that, I wanted to let you know that I will most likely be responding to reviews via PM messaging (depending if it is possible to PM said reviewer due to their setting of course.) If I can't respond, or if anyone has any objections, I'll be posting my responses here as always. And just for fun I'm going to write one of my favorite quotes from Yu Yu Hakusho (which I obviously do not own.) "Hiei, I can't accept this. I value our friendship and all we've been through but…I'm not interested in you that way." – Kurama. Lol, I die every time I see that part, it's so freaking funny! XD