_________________________________________________


	
Shonen
A Yuyu Hakusho fic
By Chester Casta�eda
gab_ab@edsamail.com.ph
http://www.geocities.com/gabriel_abdiel/fanfiction.htm
http://www.fanfiction.net/read.php?storyid=814171
http://rakhal.com/florestica/abdiel

Our life is nothing but a moment in time.

A few more notes before proceeding:

< > indicates character thoughts
" " indicates character speech


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Chapter 11: Setsuna
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     <Disappear... I wish everyone would just disappear,> Midori thought
as she sat on the school rooftop in a fetal position, hugging her 
History notebook over her bosom protectively. 

     She hated being pitied... she hated seeing pity in the eyes of 
other people.

     She especially hated seeing the reflection of pity in her own
reddened eyes as she looked at a mirror image of herself at a nearby
puddle of water.

     There she was, sitting there, sniveling and wallowing in 
self-pity... and she hated the fact. 

     Midori's raw eyes stung even more upon seeing the pathetic image 
before her. She threw a few stray pebbles at the dirtied pool, 
distorting the mortifying visage.

     <I wish... I was the one to disappear... vanish, like the invisible
girl that I am.>

     Midori felt an eerie sense of deja vu.

     "Sometimes I want to disappear, sempai... I keep wondering if it 
would be better if I didn't exist."

     It was said by a particularly close friend's voice... the voice of
childish innocence that belied a mature and fatalistic viewpoint... the
voice of a special, gifted individual that was often flippantly referred
to as 'Minamino's little admirer,' just because he was familiar with the
red-haired boy.

     It was the voice of Shigeru Amano.

     Shigeru's statement... the one that now floated in Midori's 
psyche... was said in the very same place where the bespectacled girl
was currently occupying: the rooftop of Meiou High School's Science
and Technology building. It was a very special place shared by people
with two halves of the same soul.

     <The two halves of the same soul,> Midori pleasantly thought. She
and the freshman had often played with the theory that they were 
soul mates... that they were either siblings or family in a previous 
life. They even jokingly considered that they might have been husband
and wife.

     The mousy girl sighed in nostalgia. Those subjects were their usual
topics of discussion in their secret hideaway... just two friends 
sharing a common bond of anonymity and loneliness.

     How Midori longed for her fifteen-year-old friend to suddenly burst
in the open area and greet her in his usual affable cheerfulness and 
candid glee. How she longed to reveal the aching feeling of disgrace and
indignity in her heart. She wanted so badly to hold on to Shigeru, her
symbolic flotsam to keep her from drowning in the sea of misery... 
because she had no one else but him.

     She couldn't bear to go back to Mr. Isako's class... or rather,
she couldn't bring herself to go back to a room full of degrading eyes
staring back at her piteously. It would be too mortifying for her.

     Ayame... Minamino... worst of all, even Chiho... had the very
same look of pity in their eyes. She had no friends left... none that
could still look at her with honest respect and open admiration.

     None except Shigeru Amano. He was, to Midori, her only friend left. 

     Midori then chided herself for her selfishness and melodrama. She 
should think about Shigeru's own needs... after all, co-dependency was 
what their relationship was all about. 

     "Perhaps we could talk more about those poems he made after his 
grandfather passed away," the bashful young woman accidentally mused out
loud. She then felt a sudden, faint movement from behind her. 

     Could it be that her delightful young friend was hiding on the 
rooftop all along, not acknowledging his presence to her until the
very last minute in respect of her moment of agitation and depression?

     "Shigeru-kun? Is that you?" Midori called out as she surveyed her
surroundings curiously. She then called him by the pet name she 
chose for him... once a cruel, childhood insult, now a mere teasing
address between friends.   

     "Shinko-chan?"  

     "Wrong."

     The voice that said that... sounded different. It was cold, 
frightening, distant... everything which Shigeru's voice was not. As the
timorous young girl looked up, golden eyes that contained neither
compassion nor even a hint of mortifying pity stared back... cruel,
unmerciful eyes slightly hidden by sharp, silvery bangs that glinted in
the midday sun.

     Midori screamed until her lungs burned. 




***




     "Who made those photos?" Kurama demanded as he waved the leaflets 
at his prankster classmates.

     "Dunno," said one of them, shrugging casually. He smoothed his 
cropped hair, smirking. "For all I know, it could be made by anyone...
maybe even by you."

     "Don't give me that nonsense," Kurama said, leaving his words
hanging in the air of an unsaid threat. The entire group of delinquents
hooted at Kurama's hostile actions.

     "Or you'll do what, Minamino? Stare us to death?" a boy sporting
unnaturally green hair and a nose ring scoffed.

     "Maybe he'll turn into a fox demon, like what those Paranormal
Club freakazoids keep sayin'," another boy, one with a scrawny build and 
a forgettable face, heckled.

     "You don't get it, do you?" the cropped-haired boy cooed. "Nobody's
going to fess up on anybody... we won't be having no stool pigeon around
here. Just give it up... the virgin girl ain't worth it."     

     "Oh, I get it now!" Kurama said, brightening... though his smile
did have an exaggerated quality to it. "You can't tell on each other, or
else everybody will be incriminated... is that correct?"

     "Yeah, whatever... what you said," the near skin-headed boy 
heedlessly said. "So remember Minamino... nothing happened. The last 
couple of minutes didn't exist."
  
     "Oh really?" Kurama smilingly queried. "How about the next couple
of minutes of _this_?" He then held the prankster group leader by
the collar.




***




     "Chiho!" Ayame called out angrily as she made her way toward the
flamboyant schoolgirl. "How could you do such a thing to Midori-chan? 
You're supposed to be best friends!" 

     She stopped at mid-stride as Masami and the rest of Chiho's fashion 
brigade blocked her path. She simply pushed them aside. "All this 
because of your little argument last summer? How dare you betray her 
trust for such a flimsy reason? What you did was just the worst!"

     "So unfeminine... just what exactly do you want to prove?" Masami
said, grimacing. "What the heck are you talking about?"

     "Maybe we should ask 'Shu-chan,'" the girl with the heavy make-up
maliciously teased, eliciting a couple of giggles from the group.

     "Chiho," Ayame addressed simply, totally ignoring all other...
distractions. "We need to talk."

     "Don't believe everything you hear, Aya-chan," Chiho said 
offhandedly. "I had nothing to do this."

     Ayame looked at Chiho dubiously. "That's it? That's your defense? 
Is that the only thing you can say for yourself? Well, that sucks! 
Couldn't you come up with a better excuse?"

     Chiho returned Ayame's doubtful stare with half-lidded eyes. "I 
don't have to... I don't care if you believe me or not."

     Ayame seemed taken aback by Chiho's avowal. Her eyes then glinted 
in understanding. "So it was all this bitch's fault?" she stated, 
pointing her finger as Masami.

     Masami stared down disdainfully at Ayame, her nose slightly 
wrinkled in disgust. "You should watch your filthy mouth, bitch. Don't 
you know that it's rude to point?" She then smirked. "Besides, you 
can't prove anything."

     Ayame resisted the urge to slap the Fashion Club's vice president
as she turned her attention back to the Fashion Club President. "I
hate them for what they've done to Midori-chan, but you're still the
worst. You knew all about your groupies' little plan, yet you didn't 
even give a damn. That makes you as bad as they are." 

     Chiho, for her part, didn't even react to Ayame's statement,
all the while maintaining her mostly pokerfaced expression. But what did
catch the gaudy girl's attention was the ever-growing buzz that 
originated from her fellow classmates.

     Ayame quickly turned to where Chiho was looking, only to see the 
last thing she was expecting to see...

     Shuichi Minamino in a fight.




***




     The cropped-hair boy wiped the trickle of blood on his lips as he
made another enraged swing at Minamino... again, he missed, getting a 
face-full of the redhead's palm for all his trouble.

     <Dammit... I didn't know pretty boy Minamino was into martial arts
and shit,> he thought, annoyed with how the fight was going. His whole
body ached as the fight seemed to stretch for eternity.

     <Miyagi... Itou... Nueno... they're all down. It looks like it's 
just between Minamino and me.> The self-appointed leader of the
prankster group cracked his knuckles. <I won't let a fag like Minamino
beat me!>

     He charged at Minamino, shouting in primal rage. It was an all
or nothing attack.
       
     He was then completely taken by surprise as his punch and kick
connected to Minamino's face and gut respectively, blinking in surprise.
<It... worked.> The bully grinned. <Hah! He ain't so tough after all.>

     Minamino suddenly grabbed the oppressive young man's arm and 
twisted it toward the latter's back. The delinquent struggled in vain.

     "Minamino Shuichi-kun! What the hell are you doing? Let go of 
Mizuhara this instant!"

     <Awwwww... it looks like I've tarnished poor Minamino Shuichi-kun's
permanent record... too bad, since bug-eyed Isako has been giving Mr. 
Perfect Student the heat since the first semester,> Mizuhara thought 
snidely. <It looks like I've won in the end.>
     



***




     "Ssssh... don't bother screaming. No one can hear you."

     Midori warily looked at the silver-haired stranger before her, 
inspecting every aspect of him carefully... her eyes traveled slowly
over his slim, slender build draped in loose, pristine-white clothing,
stopping briefly at his curved mouth and mischievous slanted eyes which 
was just a while ago filled with mirthless intelligence. <He certainly
is handsome... but what are those strange things hanging on top of his
head?>

     Midori screamed again as realization struck her.

     The mysterious, golden-eyed man sighed. "You're wasting your 
breath."

     "B-but those are fox ears!" Midori sputtered as she pointed wildly
at the apparent half-beast. "Then you must be some sort of fox 
creature... a kitsune, perhaps?"

     "I am a youko," the supposed fox creature said, smiling impishly. 
"I am Youko Kurama."




***




     "Isako-sensei... I can explain," Kurama started.

     "It's pretty simple, Isako-sensei," Mizuhara interjected as he
extricated himself from Kurama's grip. "You know the school rules about
fighting inside class. It's highly inadvisable for a student of such a
prestigious school as Meiou High to engage in such behavior."

     Mizuhara then gestured towards the direction of his fallen but
quickly recovering comrades. "Now, I don't know exactly what pushed
Minamino to the brink of insanity, but my comrades and I, as you can
plainly see, have become the innocent victims of his misdirected rage.
I can't speak for Minamino, but the fact remains that 

     "You're full of shit, Mizuhara! That's not what happened!"

     "Don't you dare imply that Minamino-sama's the one at fault here,
you asshole!"

     "So you're saying that Minamino kicked your sorry ass?"

     "Don't be so mean to Minamino-san, you big bully!" 

     "Quiet down, all of you!" Isako reprimanded as he motioned Mizuhara
to continue, his face serious and grim. 

     The cropped-haired rabble-rouser coughed once before he smugly 
smirked at 'Minamino.' "I know you're going to do the right thing, 
Isako-sensei. Why, if word of this ever came out, Meiou High's 
reputation as prestigious and _disciplined_ school would be in jeopardy.

     Kurama wanted to say something, but was stopped upon seeing Isako's 
insistent glare.

     <Bye-bye, Minamino...> Mizuhara thought gleefully. <Everybody knows
that bug-eyed Isako's out for your blood. He didn't even bother with 
your side of the story. That's what you get for messing with me and my
gang's fun.>

     The history teacher inhaled deeply before loudly and derogatively 
admonishing, "What the hell kind of a cockamamie story is that, 
Mizuhara-kun?!"

     "Eh?" the cropped-haired troublemaker elucidated, completely 
baffled by the turn of events. "But I swear that I'm telling you the
truth, Isako-sensei! You saw what Minamino did to us, right? He attacked
us for no good reason and even knocked most of us down!" he pathetically
whined.

     "Minamino... knocked you down?" Isako chortled. "Please, 
Mizuhara-kun... do you really take me for a fool? Minamino-kun here 
couldn't even hurt a fly."

     "It's true and I have the bruises to prove it!" came Mizuhara's
sudden outburst. "Everybody saw what happened!"

     "What the heck is he talking about?"

     "What I saw was Mizuhara decking Minamino... not the other way 
around."

     "It's the truth! Minamino sucker-punched me on the jaw and it still
hurts!" claimed Itou, a rather portly young man that also belonged to
Mizuhara's group. Unfortunately, instead of drawing out compassion from
his fellow students, Itou's insistent declaration was met with sudden
boisterous laughter. Even Isako was uncharacteristically chuckling 
merrily.

     "But it really does!" the overweight boy cried.

     "He must have had a glass jaw!"

     "You guys are really lame."

     "If Minamino-sama really did fight, you guys will be lying on 
hospital beds!"

     "Is this another one of your half-baked lies, Mizuhara-kun?" Isako
admonished, automatically shifting from his momentary lapse of mirth to
that of a more characteristically grim demeanor. "Normally, I'd rather
have this settled in the classroom right now without the involvement
of the administration... but you are beginning to try my patience."

     "But..." Mizuhara protested weakly as he checked himself all over.
Sure enough, there were no signs that he had been in a recent brawl... 
no contusions, no bruises, not even a reddened mark. He looked at his
compatriots... it was the same for them as well. He still felt like
he was run over a truck, though. "I-I don't understand...."

     "Understand this... you're lucky if you get off of this with a 
warning," Isako said, scowling. "I really, _really_ hate liars. But 
you're still lucky nonetheless. Why, if the principal ever heard
about this...."

     "Isako-sensei," Kurama suddenly interrupted, bowing politely.
"With all due respect, I believe that Mizuhara-kun and the rest of
his friends shouldn't just get off with a warning. In fact, I highly 
suggest that Principal Sasae be involved this time." 

     "Oh?" Isako inquired condescendingly. "Why is that, Minamino-kun?
These bullies hurt a little more than your pride?"

     "No," Kurama said simply as he unfolded several of the leaflets
he had just reluctantly acquired. "It's because no one should get away
with a sick practical joke like this."




***




     "Youko... Kurama?" Midori slowly and tentatively repeated as she
gazed upon the strange apparition before her. "Is this some sort of 
strange dream?" She resisted the urge to jump back in surprise as she
caught sight of the majestic creature's silvery foxtails. <H-he's
beautiful.>

     "How flattering of you... my many thanks for the praise," Youko
Kurama playfully said, making the bespectacled young schoolgirl jump
back in surprise for real. "I'm sorry... it was rude of me to read your
mind like that."

     "It's alright," Midori hesitantly assured the youko. Her heart 
skipped a beat as Youko Kurama smiled at her, his slanted golden eyes
shining. 

     Midori soon became self-conscious as the fox demon continued to 
stare at her face for a couple of more minutes. "What is it?" she asked.

     The many-tailed kitsune giggled daintily. Before the girl could
protest, he has already taken off her thick eyeglasses, peering through
it curiously. "Such strange transparent things... you humans have too
much affinity for mere objects. It's as if you actually believe that
you could somehow improve yourselves through them."

     "Please give those back," Midori silently pleaded, pouting.

     Youko Kurama tilted his head at the teenaged girl in askance. "But
this object that's supposed to improve your vision doesn't really do its
task well... why do you still wear them?"

     Midori quickly snatched the nonprescription glasses away from the 
youko's hand, blushing furiously from embarrassment and annoyance. But 
why was she feeling embarrassed and annoyed? Was it because this odd
being had exposed her little psychological mask so easily and 
inadvertently? Or was it because she didn't want herself to be left 
exposed in fear of being humiliated?

     The diffident young lass shyly looked up at the youko, hiding the
lower half of her face behind her History notebook. His eyes glistened
the same way it did before... without a trace of malice, accusation 
nor... pity.

     She put the notebook down on the concrete floor of the rooftop 
altogether as she stood up to face the mysterious entity. "Is this a 
dream? Are you some sort of manifestation of my own madness that my mind
had conjured up amidst my final wish to fade away?" she inquired 
poetically.

     She paid no heed to the strange white fog that began to envelop her
and the uninvited guest she had as she continued her insistent 
questions, saying thoughts she'd normally leave unsaid and unspoken in
the real world. 

     "Who are you really, Silver Fox? What do you want from an invisible 
girl whose only wish is to fade away?"

     "Do not merely wish to fade away, Ohya Midori," the Silver Fox
said, his expression a strange enigma of mirth. "A star never wishes to
fade away."

     What was the Silver Fox saying? "A... star?" the invisible girl
asked.

     The Silver Fox nodded smilingly. "To fade away is a star's greatest 
humiliation."




***




     "So you used mind-controlling pollens on Mizuhara-kun and the rest
of his cohorts?" Yuu Kaito asked as he walked beside Kurama in the 
mostly crowded corridor. "Clever. You're able to protect your reputation 
and your permanent record while still exacting revenge upon those 
delinquents. So very like the legendary Youko Kurama."

     "Please, Kaito... in school, it's 'Minamino,'" Kurama clarified as
he looked over his shoulder. "I don't want the Paranormal Club to get 
any ideas."

     "Yes, yes, Minamino-kun," Kaito offhandedly assured. "So what 
happened to Mizuhara and company? Did they get expelled?" 

     "They got punished, that's for sure.... but they still kept 
insisting that they merely rode on the bandwagon as the leaflets were 
distributed in the classroom," Kurama said in a subdued manner. "I'm 
beginning to believe them."

     "Humph. So that's why you need me?" 

     "That's right... so did you uncover anything?" Kurama asked 
sheepishly, adding a pleading "Please, Kaito-kun?"

     Kaito snorted derisively. "None of that '-kun' business for me, 
Minamino." He then sighed. "In response to your question... no, it 
was a dead end. It wasn't one of us 'nerds.' We'd never do that to Ohya 
Midori. We feel a sort of kinship with her, treating her as one of our 
own... and we would never betray one of our own." 

     Kurama furrowed his eyebrows. "If it's not the pranksters or
the nerds, then who could it be?"

     "I know the answer to that."

     Both Kurama and Kaito turned to see the source of the determined
feminine voice.

     Ayame smiled cheerfully at the two boys, though the heavy flush on
her cheeks was very evident. "Perhaps there's a way for me to help you 
two? Ne, Minamino-kun? Kaito-kun?"




***




     "Masami was the one behind all this?" Kaito rhetorically asked in
his usual monotonous nonchalance.

     "Are you sure, Ayame-san?" Kurama asked earnestly, concern evident 
in his evergreen eyes. "This isn't exactly the sort of accusation you 
should take lightly."

     "Positive," Ayame guaranteed. "Masami's and her group of fashion 
rejects hated Midori with a vengeance." <Social-climbing bitches.>

     "Why is that?" Kurama queried.

     "For the simple reason that Chiho gave more attention to 
Midori-chan than to the Fashion Club. The only reason they joined the
Fashion Club in the first place was to be identified with 
Chiho. 'Coolness through association,' if you will... something which 
Midori-chan got without any ulterior motives." 

     "So it's all for jealousy's sake," Kaito supposed. "But why now?
Why not before?"

     Ayame let out a consigned sigh. "Just this summer, Chiho and
Midori-chan had a major fight...."

     "Which gave them the perfect opportunity and excuse to get poor
Midori-san," Kurama concluded, tight-lipped. "They mustn't get away with
this."

     "I know... but it's hard to tell on them since they're associated
with Sasae Chiho, Miss Popularity of Meiou High and...."

     "Daughter of the Principal of Meiou High," Kaito finished for her.

     "It's not fair!" Ayame said, slamming her balled-up fist on the 
table. "If only Chiho would just forget about her pride and help 
Midori-chan! The way she just took the high road and dismissively
ignored the situation is enough to make my blood boil! Best friends 
shouldn't fight like that. I swear, once I get my hands on...." 

     Kurama suddenly held Ayame's hand on the table and squeezed it
encouragingly, saying, "You must be really concerned about your friend's
welfare. You're a really good friend yourself."

     Ayame blushed furiously, tongue-tied. "I... um... well... 
Minamino-san... you...."

     Kaito suddenly smacked his open palm in an exaggerated act of
remembrance. "I almost forgot... I need to study for a big Physics exam.
Sorry, but it seems that I've got to go. See you later."

     "Hey, wait!" the girl with the lengthy side-burns protested before
realizing that she was still holding Kurama's hand. She quickly 
relinquished her grip, feeling uncomfortable with the awkward state of 
affairs. "Sorry."

     "I didn't mind."

     The pensive teenage girl's heart stopped for a fraction of a 
second. "R-really?"

     The couple fell silent for quite a while.

     "Minamino-kun..."

     "Ayame-san..."

     The pair stopped at mid-explanation as they both realized that they
just chorused each other's names. They then shared an embarrassed laugh. 
Ayame was the first one to speak.

     "I really appreciate what you're doing," she said tentatively,
hastily adding, "for Midori-chan."

     "I like Midori-san... I also consider her as a friend. I hated 
what those people have done to her," Kurama said in reply.

     Ayame fidgeted a bit. "I see." She took a deep breath. "But what
about...."

     "I also like Ayame-san."

     Ayame felt like she had just ascended to heaven.

     "I wish that we could also be friends."
     
     Ayame quickly descended back to earth.

     The dream-filled girl whose hopes were now hopelessly shattered 
again smiled wanly, visibly deflated... though she also, strangely 
enough felt relieved. "I'd... like that, Minamino... kun."

     The two new friends sat there in comfortable silence for a few
more minutes.

     They then heard the buzz of an excited crowd as students began
milling over one side of the cafeteria.

     "I wonder what's going on?" Ayame wondered before resolutely 
saying, "I'm going to find out."

     "Ayame-san... I don't think there's a need for us to...." Kurama
soon realized that he was talking to thin air. <I certainly wish that
it's not another fight. My fight with Mizuhara and the others didn't
really happen... I hope for the same circumstances to occur here.>

     "Minamino-kun! Minamino-kun!" Ayame worriedly called out as she
suddenly emerged from the crowd. "You have to come here, quick! It's 
Midori-chan!"




***




     The Silver Fox was right..." Midori whispered to herself as she
made her way over the Fashion Club's designated table, tightly clutching
her History notebook against her chest.

     "Midori-chan?" Masami inquired sweetly, a feral grin plastered on 
her attractive facade. "So you're finally back from the roof where you
and Minamino-san's little admirer does... God-knows-what?" Whispers of 
'pedophile' and 'cradle-robber' followed the Fashion Club vice 
president's declaration, as well as barely-repressed feminine giggles.
"Bug-eyed Isako sort of gotten pissed when you didn't attend class just
because of your little... boy toy." There was more spiteful laughter.

     "I heard that there's a centerfold coming out..." the heavily 
made-up girl blurted out 'accidentally,' covering her mouth afterwards
for her embarrassing 'slip of the tongue.' 
 
     "I shouldn't fade away... not for the sake of these pawns of the
Ice Queen..." Midori quietly muttered as she came closer and closer to
the group of girls.

     "What does she think she is, sashaying over our table like that?"
the Chiho doppelganger asked irritably.

     "Maybe she's going to attempt to bore us to death by reading us
some of buggy Isako's History notes," a wafer-thin girl laughingly
suggested.

     "Wait, girls... let's hear what sweet little Midori-chan has to 
say," Masami impishly said. "What's on your mind?"

     "A star should never fade away... should never be humiliated," 
Midori mouthed, the words nearly indistinguishable undertones.

     "A star? So you're saying you're like a... superstar?"

     "She's gone crazy."     

     "What a weirdo."

     Midori ignored the other girls' jeers as she extended her arm, her 
palm aimed at Masami's face. The self-appointed leader of the fashion
brigade flinched, thinking that the usually timid girl was going to slap
her. But when she realized that wasn't the case, she then laughed out 
loud.

     "Are you really that much of a geek that you've become this out of
touch with reality? What are you going to do now, magical girl? Zap me 
with your enchanted powers to make me vanish?"

     "That's right." Midori smiled. "Vanish."

     Masami's clothes suddenly burst into shreds.




***




     Masami covered herself desperately as she burst into tears. Wildly,
she cried, "You really are a freak!" She then wailed some more.

     Ayame looked at the bizarre occurrence with complete and open 
shock. "M-Midori-chan...?"

     <How did Midori-san do that?> Kurama thought, dumbfounded. <More
importantly... why?>

     Midori looked at the hapless, naked girl before her with a look
of satisfaction on her face. She burst into atypical cruel laughter.
"You're making quite a show of yourself, Masami-san. So how does it
feel to be naked, humiliated, mortified... pitiful?"

     Kurama quickly went over Masami side, offering his overcoat for
her to cover herself with while Ayame cautiously approached Midori.

     "M-Midori-chan... what happened to you?" she asked passively.
"What have you become?"

     Instead of acknowledging her friend's query, Midori merely looked
at Ayame intently. The bespectacled schoolgirl then gazed all around 
her... at each and every one of the students that surrounded her, 
peering straight into their eyes. She liked what she saw.

     She saw fear in their eyes. She sighed in ecstasy, basking in
their fear. 

     "I have become... a bright and powerful star."

     Masami sobbed and blubbered on Kurama's chest as the red-haired 
boy tried his best to comfort her. <Things are getting out of hand...
how could it possibly get worse?>

     "Minamino-kun... what's going on!?"

     Kurama cursed himself for thinking what he had just thought as he
turned to face the origin of the stern and cold voice with a feeling
of inescapable dread.

     "Principal Sasae."




***




     "Minamino-kun, we have to do something! If we don't, Midori-san 
will be in trouble!" Ayame pleaded to Kurama.

     "I think things will be alright... we already told Midori-san's
side of the story to Principal Sasae, and he seemed understanding 
enough. He merely arranged a parent-teacher conference with 
Midori-san's parents and Isako-sensei." Kurama shrugged. "I don't see
the problem."

     "You don't understand... I'm not worried about Principal Sasae or
Isako-sensei... I'm more worried about how Mr. and Mrs. Ohya are going
to react," Ayame reasoned.

     "I'm sure they won't believe all those rumors about Midori-san 
using magic or voodoo on Masami-san," Kurama reckoned.

     "Minamino-kun no baka!" Ayame berated. "The Ohyas are super-strict.
Once they find out what Midori-chan has done, they'll ship her out of 
Meiou for sure!"

     "But that's too much! This is Midori-san's first offense, and she's
even an honor student!" Kurama protested. "It wouldn't be fair for them
to do that. It wasn't even completely her fault."

     "I'm afraid that what I've said is true... that's why I'm asking
you to stay after school to convince Sasae-san to revoke his decision
for a parent-teacher conference. That meeting must never happen," Ayame
said determinedly.




***




     "Absolutely out of the question. Now excuse me, I was just 
leaving," Principal Sasae said curtly as he closed his briefcase and
stood up from his seat.

     Ayame gritted her teeth in frustration. <After searching for you
everywhere in the entire school campus, you have the audacity to do
this to us?> To the administration head, she parroted everything Kurama 
had said earlier, pleading, "But sir, this is Ohya-san's first offense, 
and she's even an honor student. The whole incident wasn't even entirely
her fault..." 

     "I know all about that juvenile prank with the faked nude photos.
As a matter of fact, I've already given Mizuhara-kun and company _and_
Masami-kun and company all the necessary disciplinary sanctions,"
the forty-five year old said tiredly as he rubbed his temples in 
exhaustion. "However, to compare that little practical joke to public
assault inside school grounds is completely preposterous!"

     Sitting on a nearby couch, Midori Ohya didn't even flinch at the 
Principal's words, all the while staring wistfully through the 
office's glass pane windows overlooking the parking lot, completely
lost in her own little fantasy land.

     "B-but Sasae-san...."

     "Not buts. Meiou High School prides itself with high quality
education and strict disciplinary standards. We didn't get our 
reputation as a respectable and prestigious school by letting 
delinquents run amok. Discipline must be maintained! Why, Ohya-kun
is actually getting off lightly this time...."

     "Midori-chan isn't a delinquent--" Ayame began before she was 
quickly restrained by a certain Shuichi Minamino. 

     Principal Sasae humphed. "It's this sort of dereliction of 
discipline that's making me lose faith in the youth of today. It's the
likes of you and my daughter that's...."

     "I'm sorry. We should have known better," Kurama suddenly said
apologetically. "You're right, Sasae-san. You're not in the comprimising
position... we are." The once proud youko bowed low in respect and 
reverence. "We are asking... pleading... for your kind reconsideration."

     "Feh. You're always so good with pleading... aren't you, 
Minamino-kun?" the middle-aged man scoffed. "Always pleading for 
reconsiderations on your constant absences, for example... and so polite
about it too. Well, I say you already owe me too much to call in another
favor!"

     "I think you're looking at this the wrong way, daddy."

     Both Ayame and Minamino looked at the office doorway in candid 
surprise while Principal Sasae just stood from his spot in open-mouthed 
disbelief. Even the mostly unresponsive Midori turned to briefly glance
at the source of the facetious voice.

     "Oh, hello Aya-chan! Minamino-sama, you're also here? You're just
the nicest person, aren't you?" Chiho Sasae cheerfully greeted as she
beamed at the stunned pair. She then did her habitual mannerism of
wagging her finger. "You guys are mean. You shouldn't have started
without me."




***




     "You're not going to kowtow me this time! You're exactly like your
mother... nag, nag, nag until she gets what she wants!"

     "And you're a good-for-nothing father with a one-track mind! It's
no wonder that mommy had to set you straight every time!"

     I never thought fifteen minutes would seem so long," Kurama 
discreetly said to Ayame.

     "Fifteen minutes? It seems like they've been going at it for 
decades," Ayame muttered in kind. She then anxiously glanced at the
apathetic-looking Midori, sighing worriedly.

     "Fine, then," Chiho suddenly said in a firm and resolute enough 
manner to catch the attention of everyone in the office. "Listen 
here, daddy... I didn't come here to bail out Midori. I came here to..."
she licked her lips as she braved herself to continue, "owe up to my
responsibilities."

     Principal Sasae looked warily at his daughter, as if not completely
believing what he had just heard. He rubbed his beard contemplatively.
"Go on."

     Chiho shrugged. "It's... all my fault. Masami used a fashion 
makeover program in one of the computers in the Fashion Club room...
with my consent. I... should have known better. I was the one that 
drove Midori to do what she did and I take complete responsibility for 
it," she said composedly.

     "Sooo... you're admitting that you're wrong? Sasae Chiho, my 
pig-headed daughter, is admitting that she's the one responsible for
this mess?"

     Chiho rolled her eyes. "Yes, daddy."

     "I never thought I'd see the day," Principal Sasae said as he
shook his head in wonder. "Fine then... I revoke my decision. Ohya-kun's
is merely going to get a warning this time."

     "Midori-chan's off the hook?" Ayame whooped for joy. "Yes!"

     Kurama simply smiled in relief, but he then frowned a bit at what 
he saw in the corner of his eye.

     Ayame hugged Chiho tightly, kissing her repeatedly on the cheek. 
"Thank you, thank you, thank you!"

     "Now, now, Aya-chan... don't go lesbian on me now," Chiho said,
clearly ill at ease.

     "I know you wouldn't leave Midori-chan in trouble like that... 
you really are her best friend!" Ayame cheered.

     "Yeah, yeah... whatever," Chiho smilingly said.

     "However..." Principal Sasae started gleefully... a bit too 
gleefully for Chiho's tastes, "since you're so eager to own up to your
responsibilities, we might as well get started. First of all, you're 
grounded... meaning no radio, no television, no internet anything..."

     "But daddy!"

     "Oh, and I have to hit you where it hurts the most... meaning no
phone calls and _definitely_ no boys."

     "You're going overboard, daddy!"

     "Don't worry," Ayame grinningly ascertained, "at least you still
got your two best friends... right, Midori-chan?"

     There was no response.

     "She... already left," Kurama said as he grimly gazed at the open
door.   




***




     "What happened?"

     "The White Emperor was nothing but a mere pawn of the Ice Queen...
but I'm starting to tire of their shallow little affairs."

     "But of course."

     "I do not want you to fade away, Silver Fox. If there's anything
I could do to stop it, then I will."

     "So you'll do anything?"

     "Yes...  anything. Anything for you, my Silver Fox."




***




     "I'm so tired, kaasan," Kurama said as he sat down on the floor, 
totally exhausted. 

     Shiori Minamino inquired, "Long day at school?"

     Kurama nodded mutely. "I'm sorry, kaasan... I'm too tired to
eat. I think I'm going to skip dinner."

     "Okay," Shiori conceded as she began putting away the dishes, 
humming a little childhood ditty as she went about her task. "Oh, I
almost forgot... I prepared the furo for you in case you wanted to have
a relaxing hot bath."

     "Really? Thank you... you spoil me at times, kaasan," Kurama said
in relief as he willed himself to stand up. He then paused as he heard
his mother's giggles. "What is it?"

     Kurama's adoptive human mother waved him off. "Oh, it's nothing
really. It's just that we sound more like a salesman and his wife than
mother and son."

     Kurama sweatdropped. "That's... really fascinating, kaasan."

     Shiori giggled some more. "You always do get embarrassed easily. Go
upstairs and take your bath already. I'll take care of things down 
here."




***




     "I still feel tired," Kurama said as he put on his sleeping 
clothes, plopping down on his bed unceremoniously. "Not even a
hot bath in the furo is enough." 

     He sighed. "Who could have thought that a day in school would
be just as draining as a mission from the Spirit World?"

     The red-haired boy lay on his back, staring sightlessly at the
ceiling. For a change, his mind _wasn't_ in shambles because of some
dream concerning his love life, sexuality or whatnot. In fact, the 
dreaded repercussions from his latest dream didn't at all manifest in
any of his meanderings the entire day. He rubbed his now 
slightly scarred wrist, which was sore and bleeding just this morning.
"Though I don't want to jinx it or anything... but I daresay that today
has been a better day for me in the eerie dream department."

     True, the karmic forces had insisted he suffer in another way... 
but he sort of preferred a strenuous day in school than yet another
session of psychoanalytical second-guessing. Besides, things worked out
for the better. Midori was able to win her friends and dignity back...
that was the important thing.

     <Though the strange thing that Midori-san did to Masami-kun's 
clothes... I'm a bit curious about that,> Kurama admitted to himself. 
<Perhaps she's just like Kuwabara-kun... she must have some sort of 
untapped psychic potential that was released in that one moment of 
intense emotional stress and anxiety.>

     Kurama yawned reflexively... a curious human reflex that
fascinated him to no end, since fox demons never had any need for 
sleep. <Though the way Midori-san acted in the Principal's Office
was very strange indeed.>

     "Well, like kaasan always says... those thoughts are for another 
day."

     With no one to dispute nor contend the factuality of his quoted
words, Kurama surrendered to slumber.

     Curiously, this time he had a dreamless sleep.




***




     "What am I doing here?" Kurama said in alarm as he surveyed his
surroundings. "What am I doing outside the house?"

     <Is this... one of those strange dreams again?> the youko pondered.

     Somehow he knew that it wasn't a dream this time.

     For one thing, since the moment he woke up, he felt his senses 
become as sharp broken shards of glass. Alertness was never one of the
things present in a hazy mind's dream, no matter how vivid it may
seem.

     His nocturnal sight lifted the veil of the night, leaving 
everything under it exposed for his ready perusal.

     His responsive skin felt the pinpricks of the coldness of the night
not as numbing pain but as means to feel the presence of everything and
anything... anyone. From the heat of their excited breath to the 
humidity of their sweat, he felt it... all of it.

     His sensitive hearing was able to pick up and distinguish every
little sound around him... the most dominant sound of all was the
agitated pounding of a human heart. 

     His smell... his keen sense of smell was able to pick up the
musky and metallic scent of...

     Blood... and also fear.

     He quickly checked his claws... sure enough, that was where the
smell of rusty blood emanated. 

     <Wait... claws?>

     He looked at a nearby glass window... a reflection of a 
silver-haired demon stared back at him.

     Kurama searched for his center of calm, found it and used it to
relax himself back into his human form. 

     Satisfied upon seeing an emerald-eyed reflection with a thick, 
red-haired mane, Kurama made his way toward the doorway of the Minamino
residence. He still had to find where the scent of fear was coming from.

     He desperately hoped it was his own fear he smelled. 

     He gulped in trepidation as he gripped the cold handle of the
metal doorknob. It clicked open. It wasn't locked.

     The scent of fear became even stronger.

     It also mingled with the rusty musk of blood.

     Despite his earlier relaxation exercise, he could now hear his own
human heart pound with renewed vigor. He opened the door cautiously,
bracing himself for anything.

     His blood turned cold at the sight.

     Lying there, disheveled and wounded, was his own mother.

     "Kaasan! Kaasan!" Kurama cried out in panic as he frantically 
checked for a pulse. Thankfully, she was still alive, but the youko's 
earlier horror hadn't dissipated. "Are you alright?"

     Shiori's eyes fluttered open upon hearing her son's voice. She then
quickly her beloved Shuichi, frightened tears falling down on her 
flushed cheeks. "Oh my son! Thank God he didn't hurt you!"

     "Who did this?" Kurama said darkly, ignoring the feeling of dread 
in his palpitating heart.

     "It was a cruel, heartless monster!" Shiori declared passionately.
"He was a silver-haired demon of some sort! I was so scared that he'd
get you!" She then cried on Kurama's shoulder, not noticing her son's
present disbelief.

     <No... oh God, no.>

     "Shuichi? What's wrong? Did the monster get you?"

     Kurama backed away slowly from his mother, tears streaming down on
his cheeks as he shook his head in denial.

     "Shuichi! What's wrong?" Shiori repeated, concern etched on her 
face. "Did that monster do something to you? Tell me, Shuichi!"

     "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry," Kurama tearfully said. "But I'm now a
danger to you." He then ran away... far away, ignoring the painful
maternal echoes that haunted his ears, his mind and his heart.




***




     <How touching. You always did have a flair for melodrama, human,> a
mocking voice in Kurama's head said. <I'd applaud you, if I could.>

     <Who are you?> Kurama demanded, though he already knew the answer.

     <Please... none of your dithering again. It irritates me,> the 
mental voice tiredly and impatiently said. <Don't ask something you 
already know the answer to.>

     <Youko Kurama... or, at least, the Youko Kurama in my dreams,> 
Kurama concluded.

     <Youko Kurama will suffice,> Kurama's alter ego said offhandedly. 
<It's a tad hard to wreak vengeance upon the person that has hurt your
loved once now that you've discovered that the person is you... don't 
you think so?>

     <Don't mock me,> Kurama said to himself.

     <Why not? Have you forgotten that mocking an opponent is one of 
our... or rather my greatest weapons? It's all about understanding your
opponents behavior until you could completely predict his every move.
Psychological warfare and all that... basically making your enemy dance
to the tune you're seeing.>

     <I don't like it,> Kurama insisted.
 
     Youko Kurama mentally sighed. <Of course you don't. It seems you've
forgotten how to be me... or, to put it in a more dramatic way that 
you'll probably be more receptive to... you have forgotten how to be 
Youko Kurama.> 

     <Why are you doing this?> Kurama demanded to his youko self.

     <Of course you'd ask that. So utterly predictable... but I
digress. Let me put it in terms you could gleefully overanalyze for 
hours on end... you are the fading star. I am the burning star. My
burning pride will overwhelm your faded sense of self. I will have
my wish of a death fit for a star.>

     Before Kurama could control himself, his body suddenly shifted
form... a form with eyes that were cold, calculating slits of 
intelligence and hair that glinted a metallic sheen under the lunacy
of the moonlight.

     "Ah... much better," Youko Kurama said as he gained most of his 
other persona's motor functions. He then began wafting through
streetlights, trees and buildings, seemingly flying over the 
multicolored splendor of a city after dark. "I suppose you're now
wondering where I'm taking you."

     Kurama did the mental equivalent of a silent glare.

     Youko Kurama chuckled. "Touchy, touchy... but it's just as well."
He licked his smooth lips in apparent exhilaration and delight. "You'll
be surprised to know that Ohya Midori hasn't returned to the Ohya
residence and is still in Meiou High School as of yet."

     Kurama felt the cold dread from before manifest itself inside his
psyche once again.

     "Feeling anxious, are we? Well then, here's more... I was the one
that woke up the human girl's psychic potential... though her choice to 
rip apart her adversary's clothes as a show of her self-importance was 
entirely her own choice." The youko chuckled. "My, my... the human 
'heart'... or rather, human emotions are oh-so-easy to control and 
manipulate."

     <What sort of sick game are you playing?!> Kurama mentally shouted.

     "This is no game. You're merely dancing to the tune I'm singing,
Minamino Shuichi." 




***




     "Silver Fox!" Midori excitedly said as she got off her precarious 
perch over one of the railings on the Sci-Tech building. "You came
back... just as you promised!"

     Youko Kurama wordlessly grabbed Midori by the waist and kissed her
passionately, much to Kurama's astonishment.

     "I have kept my promise," the fox demon softly said. "Will you keep
yours?"

     Midori looked at the youko with clear, earnest eyes that shone 
through her thick spectacles. "My heart is ready."

     A heavy fog suddenly enveloped them both as Youko Kurama extracted 
a special gray seed from his silvery hair.

     <That's the...> Kurama started, before adding in panic, <No! Don't 
use that seed, Youko Kurama! I beg you!>

     <It is now... the beginning of the end,> the Silver Fox thought
as he dropped the seed inside Midori's mouth. <I will now have my star's
death.>




***




To be Continued...


Next: The Silver Fox and the Dark Phoenix.

Note that I put in the title _Shonen_ not  _Shonen-Ai_. Shonen-Ai 
(male-male relationship) and yaoi are just not my cup of tea. This 
is dedicated to Chimamire Kitsune for giving me the inspiration to 
write this fic... wherever you are, this is for you.

Disclaimer: All characters used in this fanfic (save some others) 
are the rightful property of Yoshishiro Togashi, Shueisha, Fuji TV 
and St. Pierrot. Don't sue me please, I'm very poor.

Ja ne!
Abdiel


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