Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ People are Never Who They Appear to Be A Hanyou Story ❯ Neko-youkai New Life and Yamakaza’s School ( Chapter 8 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Fire Ninja Takashi
Neko-youkai finally wakes up! He's confused and has no ningen friends still alive anymore. What will he do?

Thank you to my viewers and PLEASE review.

Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Fantasy / Supernatural | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 04.01.2008 | Pages: 7 | Words: 12.5K | Visits: 176 | Status: Work In Progress

“Talking” `Thought”
Chapter 8
Neko-youkai New Life and Yamakaza's School
Neko-youkai couldn't go past those memories without feeling pain and forced himself out of his meditated state. He slowly opened his eyes as he heard an annoying beeping sound and a flipping of a page. He looked around until he saw Yamakaza sitting in a chair next to the bed with strange thing on her face (her reading glasses) as she read from a strange paper thing (a book). He took a deep breath as he closed his eyes and a scent in the air irritated him badly. His eyes shot opened and started to violently cough.
Yamakaza looked at him startled before taking off her glasses, setting them aside along with her book, and leaned over to help him sit up. She smiled at him and said, “Don't try to talk the doctor just took out the respirator pipe. So I got you an ink set and paper to use to speak.”
Neko-youkai opened his mouth to speak, but she pushed something on the side of the bed that made the head go up. She leaned cross him, without knowing that it made Neko turn a dark red, to pull a small table in front of him and set the ink and paper in front of him. He gave her a `you annoy me' look before he sighed and bent down his head. It was then something shiny was going inside his arm caught his attention. Yamakaza set the ink tray on the table and smiled at him.
He picked up the brush, dipped it in the ink, and wrote, `How long have I been in the cave?'
She put on her glasses to read it and said, “Four hundred twelve years.”
`What is in my arm?'
“It's an IV; it was used to give you the nutrients you needed for the past year.”
“Year!” he suddenly yelled in a raspy voice, “A whole year!”
The doctor, Amori, came in and said, “It's good to see you awake. I'll take out the IV and give you your check up, Mr. Neko.”
He was about to object to what Dr. Amori called him when he saw Yamakaza shook her head to stop him. He watched fearfully as the doctor slid a sharp object out of his arm and quickly replaced it with a piece of gauze then he taped the tape bandage tightly over the gauze. After Dr. Amori left the room when he finished his check up on him, Neko went to run his hand through his hair and stopped when it just stopped at the top of his neck. Yamakaza jerked back when she saw the anger look on his face as he realized they cut off all his hair. He glared at her and demanded, “What happened to my honor?”
“Y-your honor?” she asked confused.
“My hair! What happened to my hair?”
“I have no idea! When I came to visit you the day after you came into the hospital they had cut it all off. They must've not known about what it meant to you.”
He suddenly became teary eyed and cried out, “I lost my honor!”
“Oh, no . . . Neko-kun it's not that bad,” she desperately tried to cheer him up. “Can't you grow it back?”
“Yes it is and of course I can but it won't be the same!” as he began to cry. “Where's my katana?”
“It's at my home, don't worry.” `What've I gotten myself into?' she asked herself. `I should've known that his hair meant something to him. I totally forgot that was in his records.' She snapped her head towards him when he slammed the side table onto the ground spilling the ink all over the floor. He crossed his arms and turned to lie on his side. `Man . . . He really upset.' “I'll be right back. I'm going to get you something to eat,” as she got up to leave.
“Hn . . .” he grunted, still upset.
`Jeez, I never knew samurais would take their honor this seriously,' as she took the elevator down to the cafeteria. `Maybe it's just him that takes it this hard. Too bad I can't ask a samurai nowadays. I wonder what he'll do once he finds out he's one the last survivor of his martial arts.' She got into the lunch line and looked at the menu, `I wonder what I should get him . . . something with fish . . . I'll get him that.'
She ordered three dishes, one for him, one for her, and one for both of them to share. She went back up the elevator and into his room. She came in she found Neko still lying on his side until the smell of hot food reached him. As he sat up Yamakaza picked the table back up and placed the tray on it.
“I'm afraid I didn't know what you liked so I got you Ochazuke, I hope you like it,” she told him as she placed the soup on the table in front of him.
“ . . . How'd you know Ochazuke was one of my favorite dishes?” as he took hold of the spoon.
“Well . . . I just guessed. I also got Tsukudanifor us to share,” she smiled at him as she placed the plate on the table.
He looked startled at her as she began to eat her Nabeyaki Udon he thought, `Chikako-san and I always did this together. But this girl is like Chikako-san but yet not. She knows certain things that only Chikako-san would know.'
“Neko-kun, you okay? You haven't touched your meal,” she asked.
“Oh, yes, I'm fine,” as he began to eat and paused to ask, “What were those shiny things on your face?”
“Shiny . . . oh!” she picked up her glasses case and as she took them out she told him, “These are my glasses. I need to wear them when I read.”
He raised an eyebrow as one of his ears cocked to the side confused, “Why?”
“They help me see, I'm far-sighted.”
“Far . . . Sighted?”
“Yeah, it means I can see things far away very well but not things close up. The glasses are to help me see the things up close better.” She handed the glasses to him for him to examine. “Just don't touch the glass.”
Neko looked them over before he placed them on his own face and held them where his ears were supposed to be just like how he saw her do. They made everything all warped and made him dizzy. He quickly pulled them back and handed them back to her as he said, “I don't know how you can see with those.”
“Well, they're made only for my eyes and you must have perfect vision since being a youkai and all,” as she took her glasses back.
“It's not that perfect for being part youkai but it's perfect for being part ningen,” before he continued to eat his soup.
Yamakaza looked down feeling guilty and softly muttered, “Neko-kun . . .”
“Yeah,” without looking up from his meal.
“ . . . some of my family still believes you killed Chikako-san.”
He stopped eating as he looked over at her, “B-but why?”
“You never came back . . . some of the family believes you couldn't have done it and some think you did and have forgiven you and others . . . want you dead.”
“What do you believe? Because you wouldn't be helping me if you believed I killed your ancestor than,” he asked fearing her answer.
“Because I think you loved her too much to even think about laying a hand on her and I don't think you could kill anyone that you love unless they gave you a reason to. I already know how it feels to do that.” She saw him bow his head a little and saw him start to shake, “Neko-kun . . .”
“ . . . even after four hundred thirteen years,” he sobbed, “They still believe . . . I would do . . . something like that . . .”
“Neko-kun . . .” but instead of continuing with what she was going to say she embraced him in a gentle hug. To her surprise Neko wrapped his strong arms around her in return. `What am I going to do?'
“Thank you,” he murmured so quietly into her ear that she couldn't even hear what he said.
“What?” but before she could get him to say it again he turned back to his meal. She sighed and went back to her meal then suddenly stopped, “Neko-kun . . . if it's any constellation, because of what I'm doing for you and if my family finds out . . . well you know the consequences of this act for one like me . . .” Neko looked at her shocked. “Don't worry about me, I'm somewhat of a good illusionist in my family and I don't really care about the consequences as all as I prove you're innocent.” She stood up, grabbing her bag, and started to leave the room as she turned to say, “I'll be back tomorrow afternoon just stay here, okay?”
He nodded and watched her leave the room. He looked out the window and saw the new landscape of buildings and lights turning on as the sun began to set. He began to wonder if his youkai allies/friends were still alive.
 
Opal was walking down the street and saw Yamakaza come running out of the hospital as a gayish looking guy with flowers come walking up to the door. He waved to Yamakaza and she waved back as she continued to run down the street to her house. Opal looked at the boy again and saw he had the same body as a Yoko. It was then she noticed a faint outline of ears and a tail as he walked into the hospital.
 
Izu, looking as young as a ningen teenager with long hair of a setting sun starting to leave the sky as it gently laid on his lower back, went the front desk and asked the nurse there, “Excuse me, but what room Saigo Made Neko in?”
The nurse looked up and then looked at the folder as he said, “Let me see . . .” unknown to them Opal walked in acting like she was coming to see someone, “He's in room three-twenty on the third floor.”
“Thank you,” as he bowed and walked to the elevator. He got out and walked towards Neko's room. He opened the door and exclaimed, “Ne-chan!”
Neko looked at him and said sarcastically, “Great . . . out of all the people who could come and see me it had to be you.”
“I know you missed me as much as I missed you!”
“I really hope you're playing around . . .” as he looked at him dumbly.
“Ne-chan, you're as cute as ever!” Izu told him as he came over and hugged him.
“Izu-kun! Get off of me!” as Neko tried to push him away before finally chuckling. “You know I hate it when you do that!”
Izu let go and sat in the chair next to him as he handed him a bouquet of flowers, “I got this for you, thought it might cheer you up.”
“Thanks . . .” as he took them and suddenly looked towards the door “Quit your eves dropping and go away!”
They heard a woman yelp as Izu turned to face the door surprised. Izu got up and closed the door, he was sitting down when he saw Neko's scared look. “Neko-kun, what's wrong?”
“Izu-kun . . . is everyone I knew died?”
“No! Well . . . not everyone . . . some of our youkai friends are still alive, including your pack mother and your pack. But if you mean ningen well . . . you know ningens don't last long compared to us youkai blood.”
“Izu-kun, you were the Takashi merchant, what them after . . .”
“Well . . . it's hard for me to explain. It might be better if you read this instead,” as he pulled out an ancient scroll from his overcoat to hand to him, “There is one thing that the family asked of me if I ever saw you again. They asked that you forgive them for all the things that they said about you and it was wrong of them to blame you because of what you were. They realized this after you and . . . after the disappearance.”
“But that's not what Yamakaza-san told me.”
“The story changes as it's passed down to the next generation and some details are lost.”
“Izu-kun can you do me a favor?”
“Sure . . .”
“Can you ask the nurse to bring up my journal?”
“Of course,” as he placed his hand on top of Neko's head and rubbed his head, “Don't worry Yamakaza-san's a very nice woman. She helped prove my own innocents when I was wrongfully accused. You'll enjoy living with her; she has a little brother too. Gotta go, bye!”
“Izu-kun! . . . Living with her . .. what does he mean by that?”
  
Yamakaza suddenly found herself ambushed by several older, younger, and same level classmates when she was heading to her second class. One of the girls almost came right into her face as she asked, “Is it true, Manasha-senpai?”
“Is what true?” she asked as she backed away as she became very confused.
“Well is true that you have a guy that lived with wolves coming to live at your house?” asked an older classmate.
“Well . . .” `How do they know this? I only just put in the registration work papers this morning . . .' “He's still in the hospital and the doctors haven't given him the okay to leave yet.” `Unless Keko-san had told everyone, she was there when I turned them in . . . '
“Is he cute?” asked another younger classmate.
“Well . . . I . . .”
“Why are you asking her that?” asked Keko as she came up while her black shoulder length hair flowed behind her, a girl in the same grade as her and was her opponent in the student council elections their first year in high school. “She's never been on a date with a guy.”
“Hey! Don't you all need to get to class?” they heard Opal.
`For once I'm glad to see her . . .' thought Yamakaza as Opal got in front of her. It wasn't that far in the year before Opal was labeled `The Annoying Know-it-all Punk' and that soon made the other girls leave. “Thank you for that save, I didn't know how much longer I would last with those girls.”
“So you really are letting a guy stay at your house?”
“Not you too . . .” she groaned.
“Actually I'm just curious that a girl like you would bring in a man like that.”
`Well, I had to deal with deadlier things than him in my life.'
“Yama-chan!” they heard Izu yell as he ran to her.
“Oh no not him . . .” Opal mumbled.
Izu had been labeled the class clown and `The Guy Who Thinks He's a Girl or a Kid' on his first day of school but Yamakaza had helped him and soon had grown to like him very much, like a brother. “Yama-chan, we're going to be late for class.”
“Oh, right! See ya Opal-san,” as they walked the hall. Once they were in the fashion classroom Yamakaza said, “Thank you, Izu-kun, she was getting to me.”
“No problem,” then he whispered, “Besides you are helping my best friend.”
“I didn't know he was your best friend,” she whispered as she took out her sewing kit.
“Of course, but I don't think this is the place to discuss this.”
“Oh, right.”
  
Neko sat in the hospital bed looking out the window after he read the scroll Izu gave him which was now placed on the small table. He just couldn't believe that Minako, of all people, had never married instead she became a priestess for who knows what reasons. She had once told him that she dreamed of marrying a man who would love and let her be herself even though she was blind but he told her it most likely she never find anyone like that. Now it was obvious that he was right she found no one like that for herself and to her death she stayed that way.
`She died alone . . .' he thought. `She even changed her name after five years . . . guess she couldn't stand being around the family anymore.'
“Neko-kun,” he heard the nurse.
“Come in,” he called and sighed in displeasure as she came in.
“I brought you lunch,” as she came over and placed the tray on the table while she happily smiled at him.
“Thank you but I'm not hungry right now.”
She saw the scroll and started to reach for it as she asked, “What's this?”
Neko snatched it away before she had chance to touch it and said, “It's private.”
“Oh, I'm sorry,” before she left.
A few days later Yamakaza convinced the doctor to release Neko early as long as he stayed inside for the rest of the week. She knew that he would be bored but it would be better then staying coped up in the hospital. She waited by the elevator for him to be done getting dressed.
Neko got into a clean hakama that Yamakaza brought him and stuck his journal and the scroll in between the first and second layer of his clothes before he put on the sockets she also brought. He quickly left the room and walked to the elevator where he found Yamakaza leaning on the wall wearing strange clothes. She wore a shirt and pants that he seen a western wear one time but the western was a male.
Before he could ask she turned to him smiling and pushed something on the wall. Suddenly the wall next to her opened up as he approached her and he jumped back startled.
“Don't worry,” she told him.
He slowly walked over to her and followed her into the elevator. He looked around the small and turned when the door closed behind him. Then the room began to move downward and he started to freak out. It wasn't until they got out of the elevator was he able to calm down. Since Yamakaza already checked him out she led him to her aunts' car.
“Neko-kun, this is my aunt Kudaku,” she told him.
Neko studied her closely as she smiled at him. Her yellow eyes and purple shoulder-blade length hair didn't seem to go together or fit with her tall and slender body but her hair did contrast her face. As he bowed he said, “Nice to meet you.”
“Nice to meet you too,” she answered.
Yamakaza ushered him into the car and sat beside him as her aunt drove them home. It was cute to watch Neko press his face against the window as he looked at everything that passed by them. It was just like a little child moving to a new part of town, excited to see what it offered. They stopped at the house and got out except Neko who couldn't seem to figure out how to open the door.
Kichiro came out of the house to open the door for him and stared at him in amazement when Neko stepped out. He asked, “You're Neko-kun aren't you?”
Neko knelt down and nodded as he looked over him. The boy didn't seem that much older than Minako around the time he was bond inside the cave. His hair was black and had dark forest green eyes, totally different from his sisters (he can tell be their scents). He wasn't very tall about four eleven but Neko could tell that the boy would have great potential, that is if he would agree to train with him. Suddenly he felt a sudden presence behind him and without even thinking he was up in one quick move and had his fist inches from a girls' face.
She was bent back like a bow and that was the only reason he missed her. She looked at him and asked Yamakaza, “So this is the boy you're taking in. He's very feral, isn't he?”
“Opal-san,” Yamakaza answered in surprise, “What're you doing here?”
“I came to see your new friend . . . you two should get together,” as Neko pulled his fist back.
“What? I-I can't! I'm busy with-wait . . . why would you say that?” suddenly becoming angry.
“Well, just look at you two. You two would be perfect together.”
“And you're annoying,” Neko stated as he followed Kichiro and Kudaku to the house.
“Where do you think you're going?” Opal exclaimed as she went to grab Neko's collar. Instead she grabbed something invisible that made them all stop. `What the? What am I holding?'
Neko began to twitch as she continued to hold onto his tail. He really didn't know what to do, if he did he would either get himself in trouble with Yamakaza or he'll really piss off the girl. So he really hoped that Yamakaza would do something. Suddenly Kichiro was there holding onto a string while the other part was in Opal's hand and he said bluntly, “You're holding my yo-yo . . .”
She turned over her hand and saw it was a yo-yo, `But wait . . . he didn't have a yo-yo in his hand before. Then how did it get there?'
`Good thinking Ki-chan,' thought Yamakaza as she gave an invisible sigh of relief. Her brother was the only one she knew who could think of something that fast.
“Can you let go?” the boy asked Opal.
“Uh . . . yea,” as she let go.
Kichiro pulled his yo-yo back and turned to follow Neko into the house. Yamakaza jogged past her and said, “See you tomorrow.” She entered the house after Neko and Kichiro as she closed the door. She turned to Kichiro and said quietly, “Good thinking Ki-chan, now Neko-kun.”
He was looking around the kitchen as he asked, “Yea . . .”
“I'll show you to your room, you'll be sleeping in the same room as my brother.”
“Okay, lead the way.”
The next morning just as Yamakaza got through the gates she was once again surrounded by girls and she really needed to get to the council room. Somehow the word got out about Neko coming to her house the other day. She tried to answer the girls question but they were going to fast and they suddenly stopped as they gasped.
She heard Shuichi ask from behind her, “Are you having some trouble, Yamakaza-san?”
She looked at him and answered him, “Sort of . . . if you can call this trouble.”
  
Hiei watched from on top of a school building as he studied Yamakaza. It was strange for him to see her acting like a school girl since he started to get her memories. She was a tough little girl back then and he wondered how she gone from that little girl to this, an average looking high school girl. He knew, from the recent memory that his Jagan took from her, an incident with her teammate/cousin most likely started to bring her down to this state. But he was suddenly distracted when he smelled a familiar scent intermingled with Yamakaza's scent.
Hiei could never forget that scent and it belonged to the one creature that always eluded him. He disappeared just as Yamakaza saw his shadow on the ground and when she turned looking up she saw no one.
`Strange,' she thought as she turned back to follow Shuichi to the council room, `I better send a message to aunt Kudaku.”
  
Neko was wearing a yukata, which Yamakaza found, as he helped Kudaku with the dishes when they both caught the message Yamakaza sent. He turned to Kudaku and asked, “Catch that?”
She looked at him stunned and nodded, “But how did you-”
“There's a reason why everyone called me `The Ninja Samurai' and one reason was because I trained with your families' ancestors.”
“Oh, that explains a lot!”
“So you have any protection spells, although I really don't think we need them, but it never hurt to have some.”
“Of course we do. We're always required to have them in our living areas. Just give me a second,” as she walked over to one of the walls and placed her hand on it. The wall lit up as reiki went into it and Neko felt the house being surrounded with a protection spell. “That should do it.”
“That is if the person you wanted out was on the outside,” said a deep voice.
“Kudaku, I'll take care of this,” Neko told her as he stepped in front of her and summoned his katana. “It's been awhile hasn't it `Shadow'?”
“About four hundred and twelve years to be precise,” answered the man, “and the name's Hiei.”
“I'll try to remember that,” he said dryly as he held his katana at his left side with his other hand held above the hilt and he stood in a defensive pose.
“Neko-kun . . .” Kudaku whispered bringing his attention to her, “You know this man . . .”
“Yes, he kept trying to catch me back before I lived with the pack and several times he would've had me if it wasn't for my mother.”
“Mother?”
“My pack mother, Kudaku-san you better stand back this guy is more powerful than anyone you'll ever meet.”
“I'm not here to fight you I'm here to talk,” Hiei told him.
“Well you missed your chance years ago. So let's leave it like that.”
“Even if your life depends on it.”
“Neko-kun, he's working with Reikai,” Kudaku told him. “You might want to here him out.”
“Fine, only because you asked me to. What do you want to talk about then?”
“I'm not going to tell anyone that I know where you are, for my own reasons,” Hiei told him, “But be warned there are three others that might not be as nice and your friend of yours about Jagans and that mind something thing she does.”
“Oh . . . no,” they heard Kudaku and then she suddenly yelled, “You better not-”
“What use would I have with those,” then he disappeared.
Neko became very confused and decided not to say anything about what just happened.
 
It wasn't long before Neko became bored and soon decided to clean the house. He asked Kudaku for what he need and how to use them soon as that was done he began to clean. He soon claimed that modern day cleaning was fun.
  
Yamakaza finally found the one place where none of her other classmate weren't allowed to go unless they took the class, her sewing class. Her teacher was very strict when it came to non-students coming into the classroom unless they were previous students coming to say hi. Now she was able to have some peace and quiet to make Neko's uniform. She had noticed on her first visit to the hospital that his body was developed weird and she decided to take his measurement to make his uniform. Making a boys' uniform wasn't hard and she was almost done.
She suddenly stopped when she heard Opal, “I need to talk to the person who gives the schedules! I'm not supposed to be in this class!” Yamakaza prayed that Opal wouldn't notice her but it wasn't answered. “Yamakaza-san . . . is that you?”
She turned around and smiled, “Yes . . .”
“What are you doing here?”
“I take this class.”
“You didn't tell me that.”
“You didn't ask.”
“Yama-chan! Look! I'm finished!” they heard Izu exclaimed as he came over with his outfit. “Opal . . . -san”
“I don't know you two anymore,” Opal told them as she walked away.
“But you said you never knew me to being with.”
“Shut it!” she snapped.
Suddenly a bottle filled with some chemical fell out of Opal's bag and onto Neko's uniform that Yamakaza had just finished. Yamakaza cried out as saw the chemical eating away at the uniform and yelled at Opal, “Why the hell were you carrying a chemical like this in your bag? You know what . . . just forget it!”
“I'm so-”
“Just . . . go . . .” she finally said calmly as she could.
 
Yamakaza walked into the house with Kichiro and both were very surprised to see Neko in the middle of the dinning room doing some sort of hand stand/pushup exercise. That didn't surprise either of them because Yamakaza sometimes did them but the fact that he was only in his fundoshiwas what surprised them. He only noticed them when he heard Yamakaza scream, “Oh Gods! I'm blind!”
He stopped in mid-push and as he looked at the floor he began to blush in embarrassment not knowing what to do. He stuttered, “I-I wasn't ex-expecting . . . you back so soon . . .”
“Just please put your legs down,” she cried as he heard the swift movement of her turning around.
He did so and wrapped a towel, he found, around his waist as he continued to look at the floor. He turned to the room he was sharing with Kichiro and said, “I'll go put something on.”
When he came down he saw that Kudaku was talking to Yamakaza in the living room and the younger woman looked down in what looked like shame and angry. Kudaku looked at him startled when she saw him standing at the doorway then smiled and said, “I'll be making dinner.”
Neko stepped to the side to let her pass and then looked at Yamakaza. He sensed that she was deeply hurt about what her aunt had told her and he felt like he should go to comfort her. He sat beside her and just as he was about to say something she said, “There are some memories that should never be revealed.”
He didn't know what to say but only stared at her in disbelief that she opened up so quickly.
“I'm the only one in my family that had killed at the age of six . . . that's the youngest age anyone in my family has ever killed. I've tried so hard to believe that I did it for a reason but I can't . . .”
Neko knew by the look on her face that she was holding back her tears and he decided to let her have release of her sorrow. It was the same way he let Chikako get through some of her hardships without anyone knowing. He slowly drew Yamakaza in his arms and had her head rest on his shoulder. She stiffened within the embrace as he said, “Eventually the small of thing will bring you down if you don't release them,” and if on cue she held onto his broad shoulder as she began to cry.
It wasn't a big thing for him to do this for her, he had done this many times to other members of the clan but somehow it felt different to with her. He felt protective of her in the way that only Chikako could make him feel. `Well, she is her reincarnation,' he thought and then saddened, `but she isn't her.'
They both jumped when the doorbell ring and Neko's reaction was far more different than Yamakaza's. For he turned into his animal form, an iriomote, as he jumped up onto her shoulders, and curled up around her neck shivering and puffing up as he hissed at the sound. She sighed and told him, “Neko-kun, it's called a doorbell. It's to let us know that someone's at the door.”
“Yamakaza-san! It's Shuichi-kun and Opal-kun!” she heard her aunt call to her. “They're here to meet Neko-kun!”
“Oh no . . .” she mumbled as she reached for him, “Tell them to wait right there.” She grabbed Neko by his scurf and instead of letting go he held on tighter.
At the door they heard Yamakaza start becoming increasing louder as she asked something, “Will you get off of me? Ow! Stop digging those claws into my shoulders!”
Aunt Kudaku looked at them putting on a nervous smile and said as she tried to sound casual while waving one hand up and down, “It sounds like she's having trouble with a . . .”
They heard a howl of a cat and Shuichi and Opal looked at each other. “Ahh!” then they heard a thunk of Yamakaza falling to the floor.
“. . . Must be that feral cat again. It must've gotten into the house. I'm sure she'll be fine-”
“Stop clawing me!”
“Don't you think she need our help?” asked Shuichi concerned as he tried to look into the house.
“No, she's dealt with lots of-”
“Say it and you're going to be in trouble,” they heard Yamakaza as she stood behind her aunt with her clothes and hair in some mess.
“Yamakaza-san! Did you get that cat?” as Kudaku turned around.
“Yes, I did. If you don't mind I need to go pick up some material for Neko-kun's uniform . . . again. Neko-kun's in the living room if you want to meet him.”
“I thought-” her aunt started but stopped when she saw Yamakaza giving her a look that was her trade marked glare only known within the family that meant not to ask. Once she was out of sight Kudaku said, “I'm sorry about her, she gets like this sometimes. Don't worry she'll be fine. You can go right ahead to living room, Shuichi-kun.”
As she went back to cooking they both took off their shoes Opal asked, “You've been here before?”
“Yeah, last year I was asked by her teachers to give her assignments since I live close to her house,” he told her as he lead her to the living room.
When they came in they were surprised to see a young man that looked around the age of eighteen. He wore a slightly worn blue hakama with short light brown hair and as he looked at them they saw he had the most liquidity hazel eyes. He smiled at them and said as he bowed, “It's very nice to meet you, friends of Yamakaza-san. I'm Neko- . . . Saigo Made, Neko.”
“Minomino, Shuichi,” Shuichi answered with a bow.
“Hegareshi, Opal,” Opal answered without bowing.
Neko looked at her startled when she didn't bow and then remembered what Yamakaza told him about her. He studied her for a moment and said, “You look . . . familiar. Have we met before?”
“I don't think so . . .”
“I think we have but just where . . .” he mumbled as he held one elbow in one hand and the other went to hold his chin.
“So, Neko-kun, where do you come from?” Shuichi asked as he sat down.
“I . . . I really don't know. I got amnesia as a kid and I . . . I truly have chosen not to recover from it.”
“Why not?” Opal asked, “Don't you want to know what your past was like?”
Neko shifted uncomfortably and said, “No, because when I was little a man attacked me. And a man who took care of me said that if I was anything like my mother I wouldn't have allowed myself to be hurt if I didn't want to.”
His eyes became distance as he remembered that night he overheard Kuto and Kyochi. Neko was suddenly jolted wake as someone tackled him from behind and yelled, “Stop daydreaming, Ne-chan!”
“Izu-kun, get off of me!” Neko yelled as he tired to grab Izu. Unfortunately since he grew up with wolves his arms couldn't reach Izu so instead he flipped over and flung Izu off of him as Izu accidentally tore off the top of his hakama. “Thanks a lot Izu-kun! You tore the only set of clothing I can wear!”
Izu looked at the clothes in his hand then at Neko's bare muscular chest and he exclaimed, “You haven't changed on bit!”
“I'm going to kill you!” with that he jumped at Izu with a cat/dog like pounce.
“He followed me home,” they heard Yamakaza tell them; “there wasn't must I could do to stop him once I told him about his long lost best friend.”
Opal heard a `Ricky Martin'CD playing up stair as someone sang along with it. She went over to the stairs and heard that the voice was a young boy.
“My little brother likes American music,” Yamakaza told the other girl as she passed by her accidentally startling her. “He wants to be a rock star when he grows up.”
Shuichi just sat on the couch as he watched Izu and Neko rough-house on the floor. He had to admit that they looked like animals fighting over food. He began to chuckle until he smelled the scent of blood but not just any blood it was youkai blood. He thought it was Neko's until he heard Izu yell, “Agh! Ow! Neko-kun! You cut me!”
Neko stopped and backed away as he said apologetically, “Sorry . . .”
Izu looked at the wound on his chest and turned to Yamakaza whining as he began to get teary eyed, “Yama-chan! I need first-aid kit.”
She looked in and asked, “Why?”
“Ne-chan scratched me!” still whining like a child.
“Don't call me Ne-chan,” Neko yelled at him.
“Wahh! He's yelling at me!”
“He's such a baby,” Opal said.
“He just wants attention,” Yamakaza told her as she took out their first-aid kit. She came over and began to take out the supplies she needed to clean Izu's wound.
Izu took off his shirt and Shuichi and Opal saw a huge slash on his chest like that of a cat's claw. They were even more amazed when Yamakaza started to clean it expertly even though Izu was crying like a little baby. They turned to Neko and saw him roll his eyes as Kichiro came down from his room with his ipod in his hand. Kichiro saw that Neko hadn't noticed him so he placed his ipod on a table and started to sneak up on him. Just as he was meter away from Neko suddenly snatched him and had him in his lap tickling him.
Kichiro cried out as tears of laughter ran down his cheeks, “S-s-stop! Ahn! Y-you're g-going to ma-make me p-pee my pants!”
“Neko-kun, stop!” Yamakaza exclaimed as she turned to him accidentally hitting Izu's wound hard with the cotton ball of rubbing alcohol.
“Ahh!” Izu screamed as he jumped back.
“Oh sorry!” she squeaked as she turned back to him.
  
Neko walked outside the house for some fresh air when he suddenly smelled blood. He followed it the scent to the bush in front of the house. There sat Opal with her wrist slit open and she looked up at him surprised. Before she had the chance to move he grabbed her slit wrist with his right hand and held it in a tight grip to stop the blooding.
“Hey! Let go!” she cried as she tried to get free of his grasp.
He yanked her arm so it was between his own arm and the side of his rib cage. He tore a part of his sleeve off and wrapped the cloth around her wrist as he said, “Do you really think that you've gone through life just so that you can kill yourself?”
“Why-”
“Why am I helping you? It's because I've gone through this life and I once thought about killing myself! Believe me no good can come out of it! I've had my share of hardships and I got through them!” He finished tying the cloth and turned to her, “I recent lost lots of people that were close to me but I'm getting through it . . . Don't do this to yourself.”
“It's none of your business-”
“If you kill yourself. You're right it's none of my business,” as he let her hand go, “but you need to look on the bright side of things.”
  
Izu was last to go home that night and he was particularly tired with rough housing Neko. So he didn't notice the two youki signatures following himuntil he couldn't move his feet and was introduced to the ground. “What the . . .”
He looked up and saw a Yoko standing in front of him. The Yoko bent down and picked him up by his collar. He sniffed the air around him and wrinkled his nose in disgust as he said, “You're drunk!”
“Who drunk?” Izu asked dumbly.
The Yoko knew like any others of his kind that when they're drunk they spill out every secret they had but before he could get anything from him he heard the unsheathing of a katana. He looked around and finally found the source the man stood on the wall next to him not far from where he stood. The Yoko couldn't tell if the person was ningen or youkai and he didn't have time to ask for the man was only a distraction as someone else hit him in the back of the head. When he woke up he was ningen and was at his home.
It was about a week later when Neko came to school in a school colored hakama with Yamakaza. Everything was going well for them until they got onto the school grounds and then Neko started to freak out as the school girls started to surround them. Yamakaza tried her best to block them but it didn't seem to help for she could tell he was starting to panic.
“Please! Give him some space!” she cried as she stood in front of Neko. Suddenly she felt Neko's arm go around her waist and they shot up into the air as the girls cried out in awe. He landed on one of the one-story buildings as he held onto her as her little brother would when he got scared. She mumbled to herself and she placed her hand on her head, “Great . . . this is just wonderful . . .”
She looked down at the other girls and saw some of the teachers coming out of their rooms when they heard the commotion. She then saw what was even worse: Opal and Shuichi were just coming through the gates. She didn't know what to do but then she heard Izu yell, “Hey, Neko-kun! What're you doing up there? Don't tell me you're scared of a few girls!”
That seemed to trigger something in Neko's mind because he let go of her, turning to Izu, and yelled, “Like hell I'm not!”
“Then why are you holding onto Yama-chan like that? Oh wait! You're claustrophobic, aren't you? And you call yourself a samurai!”
“You come up and say that to my face! See what happens!”
“Hm . . . Nah! I'll just stay here and call you . . . a little cry baby!”
“That's it!” Neko suddenly jumped down, almost on top of Izu but he started to run, and he ran after him.
Yamakaza stood on the roof as she watched them run all across campus and sighed, `Great, I can get down but not without causing suspicion. Oh, well . . .' She looked for an empty spot and when she did she jumped down. She heard one of the girl yell as she was in mid-air but she landed gracefully even as her school bag slightly hit her head. She stood straight and dusted herself off as said, “I'll need to go catch my friend now,” and ran after the teens.
Ochazuke a large bowl of rice with or water or green tea poured over it. Broiled salted salmon, cod row, dried large or pickles are usually put on top. A little wasabi (Japanese horse radish) may be added.
Tsukudani: a preserved food made by boiling an ingredient, which may be fish, shellfish, a vegetable or seaweed, with sugar and soy sauce.
Yoko means fox demon.
-senpai means older classmate typically a senior.
Fundoshi is a loin cloth; the cloth goes between the legs and is tied in place by a string.
Iriomote is a wild cat only found in Japan on Iriomotejima.
I put in several names of songs in my story and I give credit to the artists by putting all their name, album, and name of the song.