Alright so this is a new story I'm trying out. I'm in the middle of writing more of it but I decided to post the first chapter to see what kind of response it gets. For those of you who read Caught Inbetween I'm writing the next chapter and will try to put it up soon.

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or the characters. The plot idea is partially mine and I got most of the descriptions for the characters from the wiki page. This is the only disclaimer I'm doing but it goes for the entire story.

Chapter 1: Average Day

Keiko woke up to the sound of the roosters crowing. As she got up and dressed she noticed what a beautiful day it was outside. She made a mental not to find time to sneak off. She wanted to visit her secret place later.

"Keiko are you up yet? I'm going to go collect some water from the stream if you wanna come!"

That was Kuwabara Shizuru, the owner of the house Keiko lived in. Keiko's parents both were killed by a disease that spread through the village so Shizuru took her in as both her parents were dead as well. Keiko had nowhere else to go and being only ten at the time, she didn't want to stay alone. Keiko feared being alone above everything else.

"Coming! Just give me a sec to get ready." Keiko called down the hallway so that she wouldn't be left behind.

"Take your time. We only have to be back before Kazuma wakes and you know how he is; he won't wake before the sun starts setting!"

"I heard that sis!" A gruff voice called out. "I'll have you know I'm already awake! And I always wake up before noon."

Kuwabara Kazuma. He was Shizuru's younger brother and one of Keiko's closest friends. When her parents died, he helped her move her stuff into her new room even though he was the same age as her. Now at fifteen, she saw him walk out of his room wearing faded blue shorts and a white shirt that had more stains than white. He had broad shoulders with a defined muscular build and a six foot height added on to that. She followed behind him as he turned the corner.

"Obviously you're awake or you wouldn't be making so much noise. You're only this grumpy when you wake up anyways." Shizuru commented as she spotted him then Keiko.

Shizuru smiled as she saw that Keiko was ready to leave. Shizuru barely resembled her brother. She was tall as well with a slim figure and a fair complexion. She had long hair but hers was brown while Kuwabara had thick reddish-orange hair in a pompadour fashion. Where Shizuru had a smile on her face and a carefree look in her brown eyes, Kuwabara's angular face was grimacing at his sister and his gray eyes showed his dislike. You could tell that he was not up this early by choice.

"Come on Shizuru, let's go. Kuwabara I'll make breakfast when we get back, ok?" Keiko knew she didn't have to always cook but she wanted to repay them for letting her stay.

Kuwabara turned and gave her a small smile. "I can't wait. Your cooking is definitely the best I've tried. I wonder if Boton is a good cook. Do you think she'd be willing to cook me something to try?" He sounded so hopeful she couldn't help but wonder how stupid he could be. No matter how many times her friend turned him down he didn't seem to get the idea that she wasn't interested in him.

Keiko sighed. "I don't think she can cook. See you later!" With that her and Shizuru closed the door and left. They grabbed the buckets that would carry the water and headed to the stream. As they walked they greeted other villagers starting up their work throughout the village. The name of their village was Sakura, a bright pink flower that grew on sakura trees. Keiko didn't know why the village was called that as no sakura trees grew anywhere close by but it was only a mild curiosity. The village had different groups of people but the important ones were the council, who worked under the village head, and the fighters. The fighters were well respected members of the community as they fought anyone who would attack the village. Some villages did get attacked by other villages and bandits but Sakura was small and out in the mountains. The only ones who ever attacked were demons.

Keiko paused in her thoughts as she came to this word: demons. Demons lived in the forests and mountains surrounding their village but for the most part they lived in peace. Every now and then a demon would attack but they were far and few between. That didn't mean Keiko trusted them. They only stayed to themselves because then the villagers wouldn't have a reason to hunt them. Anyone stupid enough to wander alone in the woods at night was free game for them. The fighters either used weapons or their spiritual powers to fight them. Spiritual powers were developed as a defense mechanism to fight the demon's powers but they were still rare and viewed highly. Sakura didn't have many spiritual fighters but they had a few. The top fighters in the village were Kuwabara and Keiko's best friend, Minamino Shuuichi. There were other people with spiritual powers but weren't that strong.

Speaking of Shuuichi, Keiko spotted him next to the stream collecting water. His long, vibrant red hair shone in the early sun as he looked up and spotted her. Even from this distance she could see his bright green eyes sparkle as he smiled. At one point she thought his beauty was inhuman, though she didn't realize how right she was at the time. Shuuichi was actually Kurama Yoko, a fox demon and master thief until one day when he was severely injured. He fled to this village and found his current human mother, Minamino Shiori. The embryo had yet to attain a soul so he was able to join with it and become her unborn son. He did this to get his strength back fully but when it finally did after ten years he decided to stay. He told me that being here taught him about love and because he had been raised by Shiori he felt that he owed her.

"Good morning Shuuichi. How are you and your mother doing?" Keiko asked him. Over the years his mother had weakened so he took everything on himself.

"Good morning Keiko and I'm fine. Actually my mother is pretty good as well. She was even moving around this morning. She seemed to be feeling better and was in good spirits." He smiled as he stated this; his face glowing with happiness. "What about you Keiko? Good morning Shizuru."

"I'm good fox boy. My idiot brother actually managed to get out of bed all on his own this morning." Shizuru could be a little harsh when it came to her brother but I knew that she was just very protective of the only family she had left. Going out and fighting demons or fighting others in the village didn't exactly help her.

Shuuichi sighed, his head shaking back and forth as he responded. "I really wish you would stop calling me that. Nobody knows my true identity except you two and even that wasn't supposed to happen."

Keiko was used to this because ever since Shizuru met Shuuichi, she knew he was Kurama though not his reputation. Afterwards, she would always call him fox boy and Keiko never understood why until about two years ago.

Keiko decided to end the argument herself today. "Alright that's enough for today. Shuuichi you know she's not going to stop and Shizuru you should at least make sure no one else is around." Even though demons weren't necessarily hated, it would not be a good idea for everyone to find out that Shuuichi was one. They may not do anything but if the villagers attacked him she knew that he would kill anyone in his way before he fled. The only exception to this would be his mother because he could never hurt her.

After Keiko and Shizuru got the water they bid Kurama farewell and headed back home. If Keiko was lucky Kuwabara would have already got a fire going for her to start cooking on. As it turned out, he had gotten everything ready for her so she was able to start on breakfast immediately. After eating they all got to work on different things and the day passed quickly for Keiko. She did make it to her secret spot long enough to notice its beauty but then had to sprint back to the village before she was missed. Boton and her worked on sewing and fixing clothes so if she was gone too long her friend would worry. They both worked together and were co-partners on the shop they ran. In their free time they would teach some of the younger girls how to sew or different techniques that their mothers didn't know. Boton was great with kids as she had a very bubbly and happy attitude all the time. Keiko had seen Boton angry only once and it was not something she wished to repeat.

When she got back to the store she found Boton working on an outfit that a neighbor of hers asked her to make. She had long blue hair tied back in a high ponytail to keep it out of her face and Keiko could see her lovely purple eyes as she concentrated on her work. The only time Boton was ever quiet was when she was concentrating on a project. Otherwise you could almost never get her to shut up but Keiko liked that she wasn't scared to speak her mind. That was how they became friends. At the age of seven Keiko only knew Kuwabara and Kurama and she didn't have any girl friends. Boton was new to the area as she had just moved here with her grandmother Genkai, a strict old lady with faded pink hair. Keiko had only met Genkai a few times but she was nice enough if you got past her sharp brown eyes, her grouchy manor, and her snarky and sometimes harsh comments. But Keiko was getting off topic. Boton had just moved in and was exploring the village when she saw Keiko. She had gone right up to Keiko and started up her motor mouth. She could tell that Keiko was lonely and instantly decided that she wanted to be friends with Keiko and as the saying goes, the rest was history.

Boton finally looked up from her work, noticing Keiko was there for the first time. She started to squeal. "Oh my god Keiko! Where have you been? Some boys came in here and they were looking for you!" She winked as she said the last sentence. "Don't worry I told them you were busy in the back and couldn't take a break yet. You are so popular today!"

Keiko knew her friend wanted a quick answer so she responded with "I went for a walk. I just wanted to get some fresh air for a little. As for the guys thanks for covering for me." Keiko was glad she had missed that. Boton started talking and though Keiko was vaguely listening, she was in her own thoughts for the most part. She knew she should get married eventually but none of the guys here really caught her interest. 'Not that I haven't caught theirs' she thought to herself. Keiko, last name Yukimura was about average height with soft brown eyes and shoulder-length brown hair. She wasn't anything special to look at but the guys all flocked to her like children to candy. She was very intelligent and had many skills but she wasn't the best.

"Keiko!" A voice screamed at her and she jumped to her feet, startled by the loud noise. She looked around and noticed Boton was eyeing her. "Have you heard a word that I've said Keiko?" Boton questioned her, exasperated.

Keiko blushed as she realized she had zoned out and shook her head no. Boton wasn't too happy but let it slide as she repeated everything she had said. Keiko made sure to listen and by the time it was getting dark Keiko was exhausted. She had missed some work that she had to catch up on so she stayed later than Boton, promising to close up shop herself. When she got home she found that Kuwabara had cooked dinner and re-heated her portion for her. Finally after the sun had gone down and doors were locked, she went to sleep.

A few hours later she woke up to Shizuru shaking her and could tell from the look in her eyes that something was wrong.

Hey a few things I want to mention. First off I know Sakura isn't a very original name but I was too lazy to come up with something. If anyone wants to send me their idea, go for it though I may not change it. Also I want to apologize if Keiko comes off as a Mary Sue. I would like to know if she does so I can fix it. Lastly I just wanted to say that this is a test so I won't update the next chapter until I get five people either adding to their favorites/alerts or reviewing my story. Reviews are preferred but I can live with just getting on people's alerts. Thanks and review!