InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ A New Dream, A New Destiny ❯ Chapter 2

A New Dream, A New Destiny

 

Disclaimer: YYH belongs to Yoshihiro Tagashi; IY belongs to Rumiko Takahashi; I'm neither, pity me!

 

Chapter Two:

 

Kurama walked with his classmate, Nakano Yuka, towards his dream girl. `Kagome,' he thought to himself, `Her name is Kagome.'

 

“Kagome-chan,” Yuka greeted the girl, “You need to meet my new classmate, Shuuichi-kun.” The girl with bobbed hair pushed Kurama forward slightly, in a none-too-subtle gesture to introduce himself.

 

For once, Kurama was grateful for the girl's pushiness, and stepped forward to introduce himself. “Minamino Shuuichi,” he greeted, though it took every ounce of willpower he had not to say `Kurama.'

 

Kagome stared back at him blankly, as if she didn't know what was going on, and Kurama felt slightly uneasy as a result. She bowed to him slightly and introduced herself as Higurashi Kagome, but the tone in her voice sounded bewildered, lost, and the bow was almost mechanical. He looked in her eyes and saw them slightly clouded over, as if she was lost in a distant memory rather than participating in the present. Kurama instantly decided he would stay at her side until she came back to her senses.

 

As their extremely brief introduction ended, the other two girls that had been waiting with Yuka approached from behind Kurama.

 

“Kagome-chan, you okay?” Ayumi asked, looking at her friend worriedly.

 

“Ah, don't worry, Ayumi-chan,” Yuka insisted, “she probably just needs to eat. Ne, Shuuichi-kun, come with us won't you? We're going to WacDonald's for lunch.”

 

He thought about it momentarily, but realized there was nothing else he'd rather be doing anyway. This was the perfect opportunity to spend time with Kagome, even if it was with her friends as well. He nodded and the group headed down to the shoe lockers.

 

As they were about to leave the school, Yuka stopped suddenly and turned back to Kurama. “Ah, sumimasen, Shuuichi-kun, I forgot to introduce my friends properly. This is Sakuma Eri and Touya Ayumi. Girls, this is Minamino Shuuichi.”

 

Each girl blushed slightly and bowed to the boy. He bowed back, and they all continued out the doors.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Kagome was in a daze. All the sound around her seemed muffled, underwater, and her vision was tunneled on the two people in front of her. Well, really, she was only paying attention to one of them anyway. The boy had long, crimson locks, cut in a way that reminded her of a foxtail. His emerald green eyes seemed to sparkle and hold her gaze as if he were trying to see into her very soul. His mouth curved gently at the corners as he drew closer to her.

 

Kagome's eyes narrowed when she noticed his mouth moving, but she couldn't make out what he was saying. She shook her head trying to clear whatever was clogging up her senses, but it only worked slightly. When she saw him bow to her, she bowed as well and gave him her name, figuring that was what he was doing. Things outside the focus of her vision blurred past and the sounds around her were merely white noise. Kagome's senses were so intently focused on the youki pulsing from the crimson-haired boy, she couldn't concentrate on anything else.

 

Absently, she realized her feet were moving. She was walking with her friends, and the red-haired boy she'd been thinking about most of the day. They were already leaving the school, yet Kagome didn't at all remember stopping at the shoe lockers on the first floor to change out of her school slippers and back into her normal shoes.

 

Still dazed, Kagome took inventory of her things. She looked down to see she was, once again, wearing her brown loafers instead of the white school shoes. She clenched her fists and felt the weight of her backpack straps over her shoulders. Kagome also noticed that she was no longer staring at the youkai-boy's face, but was now walking beside him, her friends a few steps ahead of them. She turned her head to her left to look at him, and felt that same twinge from before; the feeling that she needed to be near him and feel his youki.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Kurama felt as if he were floating next to her; nothing else existed outside of the two of them. He felt drawn to her, as if by a magnet; in fact, it was almost like something within her drew on his youki to pull him to her. Kurama felt her turn to look at him, and turned to meet her gaze, trying to search her soul for the answers to his questions. Why did he have such a strong feeling of being connected to her? How was it possible that she was the exact same girl from his dream? And what did all of that have to do with his assignment to find her?

 

This last question came to him almost as an afterthought, but once he thought it, he knew it was true. Somehow, he was connected to this girl, and she was connected to him. He was meant to find her, and not just for Koenma. So where did his responsibility to the assignment fit in?

 

As he was busy thinking all this, he didn't notice where they were walking until the other three girls suddenly came to a stop on the sidewalk. Coming back to reality, he realized they were standing outside WacDonald's. Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi were waiting for him and Kagome by the doors.

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Kagome had figured out she was walking with her friends, and the fog had started clearing from her mind as she once more grew accustomed to the feeling of youki tingling across her senses. Slowly, step by step, she became aware of her surroundings again. Kagome followed her friends as they led the way to their favorite after school hangout.

 

They had agreed earlier to go to WacDonald's for lunch since they didn't have any at school today. Briefly, Kagome wondered what had possessed Yuka to invite Shuuichi along, but she soon realized it was a stupid question. Butting into her friend's love life was one thing Nakano Yuka could always be expected to do. Kagome figured it was another of Yuka's schemes for `helping Kagome find happiness.'

 

By the time they arrived outside the restaurant, Kagome's senses had completely cleared. Looking to her left again to see the boy there, she smiled shyly at him when he returned her look. She caught a glimpse of Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi watching the two of them with giddy looks on their faces, and turned her head down as she discreetly rolled her eyes. First day of school, and they were already trying to set her up with someone.

 

`Still,' Kagome thought to herself, `At least they've moved on from Houjou.' She was reminded of all the times her friends had tried to push her to date Houjou, and wondered why they'd suddenly changed targets.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

“Well, come on you two! Are you just going to stand there all day?” Yuka called to the two teens that seemed frozen in place on the sidewalk. Shaking her head at them when they only stared back at her, the short-haired girl gave an exasperated sigh, threw up her hands, and followed her other two friends into the fast food place.

 

Kurama offered his arm to Kagome, who accepted without thinking twice, and they followed Yuka into the restaurant. The five teenagers ordered their food and found a table. Luckily, there was a corner booth available, offering enough room for all of them to sit comfortably.

 

Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi watched the silent couple intently, amused at their apparent shyness. The girls soon realized they would have to take some initiative to get the conversation going.

 

“So, Shuuichi-kun, you went to Meiou Junior High as well?” Yuka asked.

 

“Hai,” the boy answered simply, neatly eating his burger and fries.

 

“We're all sixteen, how old are you?” asked Eri.

 

“I'm sixteen also,” Kurama answered, then asked a question of his own. “Did you all go to Takahashi Junior High together?”

 

Eri and Ayumi smiled brightly and nodded their heads. “Hai!” Ayumi answered, “And we were so happy we all got into Meiou High together. Honestly, we weren't sure if Kagome-chan would make it because of—” she was cut off by the very girl she spoke of.

 

“Oh, that's enough, Ayumi-chan. Shuuichi-kun doesn't want to hear about that.”

 

Kurama grew curious from her abrupt interruption, and was about to say that he really would like to know, but was cut off when Yuka took another turn to ask a question.

 

“What do you think of the new setup at school? Think this whole changing classes thing will catch on?”

 

Kurama thought for a second and answered, “If the students at Meiou catch on to it quickly, I think the government will strongly consider implementing it throughout the country. Meiou tends to set the standards for most other public high schools, since we're the top-ranking school in Tokyo and the surrounding area.”

 

Yuka nodded, “Ah, good point.”

 

“Do you have a girlfriend?” Ayumi burst out suddenly. Yuka and Eri gasped and put their hands over Ayumi's mouth, simultaneously trying to apologize to Kurama.

 

Kagome instantly blushed cherry-red, exclaiming “Ayumi-chan!”

 

Kurama merely quirked a curious brow at the girls as he took a drink. When he was done, he cleared his throat slightly and spoke. “Ah, it's okay, Kagome-chan, I don't mind her asking.” Kurama insisted, quite pleased at her blush.

 

Ayumi looked from her friends, to Kurama, and back, a nervous giggle escaping her. Then she spoke again, “So, do you have a girlfriend or not, Shuuichi-kun?”

 

Kurama shook his head, “Iie.”

 

“Even with all those girls at school after you, you really don't have a girlfriend?!” Eri exclaimed. “I know there are plenty of girls that would love to go out with you, Shuuichi-kun. A few of them were in my class and were talking about belonging to your fanclub!”

 

Kurama closed his eyes and flinched slightly at the mention of his fangirls, but his companions didn't notice. “Iie, Eri-chan, I don't go out with those girls at school.” He wasn't sure why, but he felt more comfortable around these girls. It felt right to use their given names to address them rather than their family name, like he did with most of the other girls. Sure, they still thought he was hot just like all the other girls, but they didn't seem to put him on the god-like pedestal his fangirls did. They were able to talk to him and treat him like any other person. Kurama liked that.

 

Coming out of his thoughts, Kurama noticed Yuka was grinning widely at him. No, not just him; him and Kagome.

 

Yuka realized he was looking at her and quickly schooled her expression. “So, Shuuichi-kun, if you don't have a girlfriend and don't like the girls at school, what kind of girl are you interested in?”

 

Kurama wasn't expecting that question. He choked slightly on his drink before trying to stutter out an answer. “I—I—”

 

“Yuka-chan!” Kagome scolded. “That's none of your business!” Kagome gave her friend a warning look, knowing what direction the questioning was surely headed.

 

Yuka ignored Kagome, fully enjoying making the hottest guy in school squirm from her questioning. She grinned slyly at the couple beside her in the booth and asked another question. “Well, is Kagome-chan your type? I think she is.” She could already tell the two liked each other. They both must have realized it as well, but they seemed too shy about it for Yuka to stand. Things like this were much better to get out in the open right away. `After all, if they both like each other, what's the point of hiding it?' Yuka thought, doing her best to convince herself that was the only reason behind her actions.

 

Just as Yuka had expected, both teens blushed hotly and avoided eye contact with each other. `One more little push,' Yuka thought, before speaking aloud to her friends. “Eri-chan, Ayumi-chan? I just remembered we had plans to meet Houjou-kun at the health shop! Sorry, Kagome-chan, you and Shuuichi-kun will hafta do without us for the rest of the day.” Not waiting for a response, she pushed the girls out of the booth ahead of her and dragged them towards the doors with her, throwing their trash away as they left. Yuka gave one last, long, meaningful look to Shuuichi before disappearing through the doors with her two friends.

 

Kurama suddenly knew the whole purpose for his being invited to lunch, and couldn't help but chuckle. Kagome laughed as well, and Kurama asked amusedly, “You think Yuka-chan wanted us to be alone?”

 

“Not too subtle, is she?” Kagome asked, her blue eyes sparkling as she continued to laugh softly. Kurama shook his head, smiling at her. Kagome suddenly realized she was finally alone with the boy from her dream, and immediately grew embarrassed. She didn't understand how it was possible that he was the same boy, or why he was apparently a youkai, yet no one seemed to notice. Somehow, though, she knew she could get the answers she wanted from Shuuichi. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, finding that he was once again staring at her. She felt slightly unnerved at the intensity she felt from his eyes alone, yet found herself staring back just as intensely.

 

Kurama broke the silence soon, asking, “Will you go for a walk with me?” Kagome barely squeaked out her agreement before Kurama stood up, took Kagome's hand, and led her out the door after dumping their trash in a bin. He had no idea where he was taking her, but Youko's urgent insistence that they get more privacy had finally become too much for him to ignore.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Kagome felt the butterflies in her stomach again as she walked hand in hand with Shuuichi. It seemed they walked for hours as he led her down the sidewalk, past shops and restaurants, to a lush garden park on the other side of town. Neither teen spoke; Shuuichi seemingly intent on where he'd decided to take her; Kagome eagerly drinking in the passing scenery and relishing the feel of her hand in his. He continued walking, past the main gardens and rose bushes, into the woods. Kagome's reiki sent tingles through her soul as it reacted to a strange aura of youki in the woods. She wondered if Shuuichi knew where he was going, and started to ask. “Sh—Shuu—Shuuichi-kun?” she stuttered. It felt odd to call him that, even though she knew it was his name. Somehow, her dream had given her the impression that he had a different name. `Get over it, Kagome, it was just a dream. This is real.'

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

When they entered the woods, Kurama sent his youki to the plants, urging them to free a path for him and Kagome. In the past, there was an actual path through these woods from the gardens, but it had fallen victim to time and disuse and was now almost completely covered up by dirt and plants. Kurama felt the crackle of Kagome's reiki as it reacted to his youki, and grew even more curious about her.

 

`She must know I'm a youkai.' Kurama thought.

 

(She certainly is not acting like she does.) Youko replied. (Anyone that could feel the strength of our youki would not be this calm about being alone with us.)

 

`Logically, we shouldn't feel this at ease with anyone whose reiki is as strong as hers, either. The fact is that weare at ease, though. It feels great to be walking beside her. Like I was suffocating without her.'

 

Youko rolled his eyes at the boy, (Please, do not be so sappy when you are actually talking to her. I do have a reputation to uphold you know.)

 

`A reputation?' Kurama remarked dryly.

 

(Aa, not only am I the greatest thief in all of Makai, but my skills in seduction live on in infamy. Do not make me into some hopelessly lovesick fool.)

 

`Who said anything about being lovesick?' Kurama replied irritably. `Stop bugging me so I can talk to Kagome.'

 

Kurama's internal conversation finished just as Kagome called to him by his human name. He glanced at her to see what she wanted, but saw her attention was no longer on him as they came to the spot he'd been heading for. Past the woods, the tree line broke into a small clearing, where a garden seemed to grow wild. It was obvious the garden used to get the same maintenance as the rest of the gardens, but it had been neglected for awhile.

 

Rows of rosebushes and various other flowers tangled with each other, a few benches were set up at strategic areas in the former garden, and a fountain stood in the middle of it all. Well, it used to be a fountain. Now, it was little more than a statue holding stale, skuzzy water. This clearing had been intentionally made specifically for this hidden garden, yet in the end it was abandoned. Ever since he'd found it as a child, Kurama had always thought of this as his special place. A place he could go that was just his. He'd always thought the garden was both the saddest and most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. Forced to grow in the middle of these trees where only a few people bother to come, then abandoned. But by that abandonment it slowly evolved itself into a natural garden and thrived. Somehow, this thought made Kurama feel even more connected to it.

 

Kurama heard Kagome gasp as they walked into the private garden, and looked at her to see her reaction. He thought he might see a look of shock or sadness, due to the state of the garden, but Kagome had neither reaction. Kurama watched as a big smile spread across the girl's face and she exclaimed, “Oh, Kurama, this is so amazing!”

 

Kurama stopped in his tracks when she said this. `Kurama? How can she know that name?' He quirked a brow at the girl and asked, “Kurama?”

 

Kagome gasped and covered her mouth with her hand. She hadn't meant to say that, yet the name had leapt from her mouth without a second thought. “G—Gomen, Shuuichi-kun, I don't know where that came from!” she exclaimed apologetically.

 

Kurama caught her hands up in his and said, “Kagome-chan, it's okay. Let's go sit down. There are some things I need to tell you.” He led her over to one of the side benches skirting the perimeter of the roses. Kagome took her backpack off and sat it behind her on the bench. When they sat, they turned towards each other so that only one foot touched the ground and the other leg was folded under them. They could see each other while they were talking this way, and they each leaned an elbow on the back of the bench, resting their head on their hand. They sat as mirror images of each other. “Kagome-chan, Minamino Shuuichi is my ningen name, but my real name is the name you just said. Kurama.”

 

“Your ningen name? So you are a youkai, aren't you? That is your youki I'm sensing, ne?” Kagome crossed her arms and glared at him, suddenly feeling apprehensive with the situation. She was alone in an abandoned garden with a strange youkai, one whose strong youki filled the forest around her.

 

“I knew it; I knew you could sense me. Your reiki is too strong to not pick up on it,” Kurama began excitedly. Youko couldn't stand Kurama's behavior anymore and suddenly took over their voice. “I am a youkai, a kitsune. And you, Kagome, are a miko, are you not?”

 

Kagome started standing up slowly, trying not to call attention to her sudden fear of him. “H—Hai,” she answered. “How do you know that?” What had she been thinking, getting herself in this kind of situation? `Just because the familiar tingling of youki makes me think of the past, and things that weren't meant to be? That part of my life is over, I have to stop dwelling on it! I might be in danger now because I can't let go. And with a kitsune, no less. How vulnerable do I have to be, to be taken in by a kitsune trick?' She glanced around quickly, looking for the best path of escape. She didn't know where the rest of the woods led, so Kagome decided to go back the way she'd come in.

 

“I can sense how powerful your reiki is… much stronger than I've ever felt before. You must be the miko I'm looking for,” Kurama answered the question she had asked him. “I have to confess, I was given an assignment to find you for Reikai. We suspect you are the reincarnation of a legendary miko and Koenma would like you to join our team of Reikai Tantei.”

 

Kagome's whole soul suddenly burned with a combination of anger and loneliness. A fire came into her eyes, making them appear a reddish-purple rather than their normal sapphire blue. “I. AM. NO. ONE'S. RE-IN-CAR-NATION!! I am KAGOME. KA-GO-ME. That's it. No one else!!!” As soon as she finished her outburst, Kagome made a run for it. She was almost to the line of trees that began the woods, when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her from behind.

 

Kurama caught her easily and held her gently but firmly in his arms, preventing her from leaving but not hurting her. Realizing this, Kagome stopped struggling for a moment as he laid his head on her shoulder and spoke softly, soothingly into her ear. “Kagome-chan... Kagome, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you, and you don't need to be so scared about being a reincarnation. It doesn't change who you are as a person. It just means you may have a stronger ki than some people, and in your case, you may have reiki powers as well.”

 

“I don't care,” she whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. This was just too much. The way he held her in his arms, the gentle voice he used with her, the zing to her senses as his youki traveled up her spine and mingled with her reiki. It all felt too familiar; reminded her too much of Inuyasha. He'd been this way with her a few times before finally telling her his decision to go with Kikyou. Kagome's tears burned her eyes as she refused to let them fall, and she swallowed thickly over the lump in her throat.

 

She started struggling again, but when Kurama let her go, she didn't run again. She simply turned around to look at him. She needed to see him; to try to read him. Narrowing her eyes at him slightly, she said accusingly, “The only reason you're concerned with finding me is because I'm possibly this reincarnation you're looking for! Why should I believe it when you say it doesn't change who I am?! If the only thing anyone's concerned about is whose reincarnation I am, they don't care about me as a person!!”

 

Kurama could hear the pain in her voice; the kind that told of old wounds and battle scars. `She already knows she's a reincarnation. She's probably struggled with her identity ever since she found out.' Instinctively, Kurama stepped forward and wrapped his arms around Kagome, comforting her. He laid his head on top of hers lightly and said gently, “That's not why I'm looking for you, Kagome. That was my assignment, but that's not why I needed to find you so badly.” He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her away from him slightly, so he could look into her once again blue eyes. “I had to find you, Kagome. I was destined to. I don't know why, but as soon as I saw that you were real, I knew we were meant to meet.”

 

At his words, Kagome shivered. She had a feeling she knew what he meant. Ever since she'd seen him on those school steps, she knew she needed to see him again; to be near him. “You said `as soon as you saw I was real.' What did you mean by that?”

 

Kurama shifted his gaze, his eyes cast downward and staring at the trees behind her as a blush crept across his face. “I… Well… I dreamt about you. I actually saw you in my dream, and when I saw you today at school I knew it couldn't be coincidence.”

 

Kagome's glistening eyes grew wide as he said this. `Did he dream the same thing as me?' Aloud, she asked, “When did you dream it?” She absently crossed her fingers, hoping she was wrong. That he hadn't had the same dream as her. That she still hadsome dignity left. She noticed Kurama's voice crack slightly when he answered.

 

“Last night.” Kurama's hand came up to her neck to ghost his fingers over the faint bruise there, remembering how the mark had come to be there in his dream.

 

The raven-haired girl paled, suspicions confirmed. They'd dreamt the same thing; she was sure of it now. They were connected somehow. But she wasn't ready for this. She'd finally started to become normal again, why did this have to happen now? “I—I had a dream of you last night,” she heard herself say. `No! Why did I say that? I don't want to be involved with any of this kind of stuff anymore!!'

 

“You did?” Kurama asked. `Was it the same dream?' he thought to himself, still pondering the mark on her neck a bit longer.

 

Kagome nodded her head as she pushed herself away from him. With each word she spoke, she backed up a step. “I—I just can't do this again. Not right now.” At the last word, she pivoted and ran full speed through the path Kurama had created in the woods. When he saw this, he started directing the plants and vines into her path. He got a sudden shock when a bright blue light erupted from the girl, impeding any further movement of his loyal plants. The youki moving the plants was dissolved out of existence, returning the plants to their natural Ningenkai form.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Kurama's trail of youki sizzled from the plants, all the way back to him, burning his fingertips slightly as it connected. It didn't travel through him, though. She had controlled it so it would leave him pretty much unharmed. It had, however, zapped enough of his youki to keep him from following her for awhile.

 

(There is no doubt in my mind that she is the miko Koenma wanted, Kurama.) Youko spoke sluggishly, feeling slightly drugged by the effects of her reiki `attack'.

 

`I know, Youko. The control she has on her powers alone suggests she's had training, as well. I wonder…' Kurama trailed off.

 

(…What happened in her past to cause this reaction? I wonder as well. She has obviously dealt with youkai in the past, though.)

 

`Indeed. Her recognition of our youki alone proves that, but she wasn't afraid to be alone with us at first. What changed to make her frightened so suddenly?'

 

This was a question neither had an answer to yet.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

At least fifteen minutes passed before Kurama could move to pick up her scent and follow her. He made sure to grab his free ticket in. The one sure bet he could think of as an excuse to chase after Kagome like this after just meeting her.

 

He trailed her across town and past Takahashi Junior High, losing the trail here and there, but soon finding it again. Finally, he came to the entrance of a Shinto Shrine. `Sunset Shrine…' he thought as he read a sign, `Higurashi Shrine! This is definitely where she lives.' Kurama paused for a moment, weighing his options. Shrines were supposed to be protected from youkai; but those protections hadn't been working lately as people let their reiki training fall behind. Kagome's reiki training was obviously not behind, but there sometimes were exceptions where even a working youkai barrier would allow the true-hearted to pass. Kurama held his breath and started up the steps to the shrine. He exhaled slowly as he continued up the steps and nothing happened. Finally, as he entered the shrine and stepped past the top two posts, he breathed normally once again. He'd made it.

 

He walked past the entrance, past all the shrine houses, to the house at the back of the shrine. Walking up to the shoji, he knocked on the door. There were sounds of scuffling behind the door before, finally, it slid open. There stood Kagome, a towel wrapped around her body and another wrapped around her hair. A little boy stood behind her, gaping at her.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

“Souta!” Kagome exclaimed to the boy, “I told you I would get it!! I was expecting—” she turned her head to see who she'd opened the door to… and the color drained from her once again. She gripped her towel tightly, making sure it stayed in place. `Shit, not him again. I thought for sure Yuka would come to check up on me after her little game this afternoon.' She griped to herself. `And, of course, he shows up just as I get out of the bath.' Kagome quickly slid the shoji back shut without so much as a word to Kurama. Then she ran upstairs to her room to get dressed. She knew he wouldn't go away just because she'd slammed the door in his face, and she at least wanted to have clothes on the next time he saw her.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

The shoji shut in his face so quickly that it caused a breeze that blew Kurama's crimson locks back. Admittedly, he'd been expecting some type of reaction like that. He hadn't expected, however, to be greeted with a half-naked Kagome in nothing but a towel. Composing himself to get the shocked, yet slightly-lecherous grin off his face, Kurama knocked on the door again.

 

This time, the door was opened by the little boy Kagome had addressed as `Souta.' The boy looked amused as he opened the door to Kurama. “You're here for Kagome-nee-chan, aren't you?”

 

Kurama smiled pleasantly at the boy and rubbed the back of his head with his hand. “Hai, if I could please see her? I need to give her something.” He held up the girl's forgotten backpack as proof. Souta let him in and offered him slippers to wear in the house. Then he led the older boy to Kagome's room.

 

Souta knocked on Kagome's closed door and called out, “Nee-chan, you've got company.”

 

The girl's muffled voice came from behind the closed door, “Souta, I'm not in the mood right now. Please just tell him whatever he wants, it'll have to wait.”

 

“Well, I can't do that,” Souta replied. “He's right here with me and he has something for you.”

 

Kurama heard Kagome growl and grumble something under her breath, though he couldn't hear what she said. Then she opened the door a crack to peer an eye out into the hallway. Her bright blue eye seemed to glow in the darkness of the hallway as Kagome trained it on Kurama, inspecting him. He held up her bag, his ticket in. She stuck her arm out the door, palm up, waiting expectantly for him to hand her the bag. He pulled it back and slung it over his shoulder, a smug look on his face that clearly told her, `You don't get what you want, unless I get what I want.'

 

Kagome rolled her eyes at him, opening her door wider to let him in. `Fine, he wants to play it that way?' She glared at him as he stepped into her room, “Just be forewarned, if you try to pull anything you'll soon regret it. I'm not the sweet little girl I appear to be.” If he had been looking at the moment, Kurama would've seen the dark shadow that crossed the girl's face at her next thought. `You have no idea what you're getting into.' Kurama wasn't looking, though, and sat down on Kagome's bed, putting the backpack beside him.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

Souta watched, wide-eyed as his sister closed the door to her room. `Nee-chan's in her room, alone, with a boy we've never seen before.' He stood outside her door, staring blankly at it as the thought sank in. Finally, he turned around and walked back downstairs. A grin spread across his face as another thought occurred to him. `It's about time she stops moping around about Inuyasha and moves on with her life.' He made no mention of his sister's visitor to the rest of his family as he made his way to his video game in the TV room.

 

~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~~~~~~~~~~*~

 

“Okay, what's so important that you can't leave me alone?” Kagome demanded of the fox on her bed.

 

Kurama slid her bag onto the floor and grabbed Kagome's hands, pulling her to him. “Kagome, what did you mean, you `can't do this again'? What happened to you? Please tell me, so I can help!”

 

Kagome stared down at his hands holding hers, and quickly jerked her hands away. It was too nostalgic a feeling. No, she definitely wasn't ready for this. “You can't help, it's over now. I—I can't do this. I… can't get involved with youkai again. Things are finally back to normal; I have my life back. I'm not giving it all up again just to relive the adventure. It's not fair for you to use your youki's effects on me to your advantage. Now, thank you for bringing my bag, but… please… leave.” She walked to her window, pulled it open in one swift motion, and pointed to it as his exit.

 

Kurama quirked a brow at her as he stood up. He walked towards the window and paused as he came up to her. “Kagome, I really do believe I was meant to find you. Whatever happened in your past, I have no idea, but I don't care. I would never use it against you. Please don't push me away so easily. There are many things you don't know yet. Obviously, if Reikai is looking for you, whatever responsibilities you have to them have not been fulfilled. Meaning, you still have a purpose for your reiki.”

 

Once again exerting a bit of control over his avatar's body, Youko dropped his gaze to the mark on her neck. Smirking, he traced the shape of his kiss on her. Really, it was barely noticeable, but it pleased him nonetheless. “Aside from the Reikai assignment, however,” Youko's slightly deeper voice spoke out silkily, “You are my goal now. I am drawn to you Kagome, and I know you are drawn to me as well. We shared a dream that was more than a dream, this mark proves it. That cannot be mere coincidence.”

 

Kagome looked at him, her mouth dropping open slightly in protest, but he cut off anything she might've said when he dropped his lips to hers. He held her face in his hands, running his fingers through her silky, though slightly damp, hair as he pressed more firmly against her. He wrapped one arm around the back of her waist, pulling her body against him as he coaxed her mouth open with his tongue. Kagome forgot about all her protesting and completely surrendered to his strong arms and delicious tongue. Almost as soon as he'd gained entrance to her mouth, however, he ended the kiss and leapt out the window. Kagome was left a puddle of female frustration as she once more got a taste of her dream boy. Only, this time, it was no dream.

 

Before he completely left the shrine grounds, Kagome heard him call to her, “Don't worry, Kagome.” And that was all.

 

`Don't worry?' she thought to herself. `Don't worry about what? Is he saying he won't tell them he found me? Those people that sent him to find me? I wonder what that's all about anyway…' she shook her head from her thoughts and went to help her mother with dinner.

 

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Kurama was walking home, hands in his pockets as he wandered nonchalantly through the streets. Suddenly, he felt the presence of a group behind him. He slowed down near a dark alley to meet them.

 

“Oi, Kurama!” a voice called out. “You were supposed to meet us after school. Don't tell me you forgot.” Yuusuke smirked at his friend as he finally got up to where he was on the sidewalk. There was something different about his friend, and though he didn't know what it was exactly, he knew it was something worth smirking over.

 

Soon, Kuwabara and Hiei were walking with them as well. Hiei was the first to ask, “So, did any of you find that girl?”

 

“Iie,” said Yuusuke.

 

“Iie,” Kuwabara repeated.

 

The three of them looked at Kurama when he stayed silent. Quickly, he replied, “Iie, I didn't find her, either.” Yuusuke and Kuwabara both nodded to his answer and continued onto the next topic: The fact that Kurama still had to wear the pink boys' school uniform that was required for Meiou Junior High. Both boys couldn't help but giggle over this fact.

 

Hiei, however, cocked an incredulous brow at his kitsune friend. Somehow, he didn't believe his friend was telling the whole truth. Considering the fact that Youko Kurama was the most notorious thief in Makai history, it was saying a lot if you could see right through his lies. Hiei was determined to find out what Kurama was hiding as soon as he got a chance.

 

End Chapter Two

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A/N: Gomen nasai! It's been forever since I updated, I know!! Those of you that may have been worried that I'd given this up, have no fear!! I've just been super busy and kept getting distracted from writing… anyway, I usually like to have two extra chapters written before I post an update, but since it's been so long, I decided to go ahead and give ya this one. I've had it written since I posted ch. 1 and still haven't finished ch. 3 yet, so it'll probably be another long while before I update again, especially now that it's summer and my 2-yr-old just got a lot of outdoor toys for his birthday. He doesn't want to stay inside for a second, lol!! Anyway, thought I'd actually take time for some real review replies this time.

 

Review Replies:

 

Ryukotsusei: Glad you think it's wonderful I'm continuing it, and that you're happy so far with my Youko ^___^ I went a lil hormonal with him in UA, so I thought I owed it to him to make him a bit more serious in this one, heheheh. ^__~

 

grapejellybean: I'm happy you're happy. ^__^ I will keep up the hard work, though it'll be a bit slow for awhile now.

 

katiepatie: Yay! You love it!! Thank you! Here's an update.

 

TheAlmightyAya-sama: Glad you like it, and that you appreciate the absent “netspeak.” I'm generally good about writing properly (or, at least, I try to be), but spending so much time online does tend to let it sneak in there sometimes. Gotta give props to my beta, 'seki, too since she catches a few slipups by me here and there as well.

 

kagome15: Sorry I couldn't update sooner, but I'm glad you like the story so far. ^________^

 

Fox Vixen: Ah, you loved it, eh? Awesome, here's the up'd. ^___~

 

Chinstrap: ……….hold on I need to stop laughing first……….*takes deep breath, relaxing as she roasts marshmallows over the flames* Okay, first I love how seriously you're taking this fanfiction deal. Especially this one that started as a simple lime one-shot to get out the Kag/Kur lime I couldn't write into my other fic. It just happens that a lot of people wanted me to continue it and I happily obliged. *looks at reviews again* Yeah… one bad review out of 21(not including e-mails and ICAF reviews), those look like good odds to me. So I Americanized the school, yeah it's unlikely and a nice little plot device so that Kagome and Kurama aren't automatically thrown into the same class but still have a chance to see each other, I'll admit that. It gets boring when they constantly happen to be in the same class in fics, and at least I didn't just jump in acting like all Japanese schools are just like American schools. That's not all the story's about, however, and neither is the fangirl thing, that's just something I threw into the mix for the hell of it. Seriously, I think that's actually believable anyway, especially with the way real fangirls fight over him.

 

Also, my plot is not even close to being revealed yet. Besides, however seriously you may want to take all these stories you read here or elsewhere, when it gets down to it, it's still fanfiction and meant to be entertaining, not scrutinized down to the last minute detail. I love when things are accurate, but it's nice when they take a detour sometimes as well. If you don't like it, don't read it, I don't care. There's plenty of others that want to and will. I bow to your obvious psychic powers since you seem to know exactly what's going on in this fic just from two little chapters. And as for the synchronized sex dream… well it wasn't sex and I haven't read Volpa's TMWI (don't know what that stands for either, though I'll probably check it out for the hell of it sometime in the next year when I have time). The devices I've used to set up the story probably aren't all that original, no (even though I've never read any fanfics that used them, but I'm sure there are some since there are thousands upon thousands of stories out there), but they're simply devices, not the main storyline. A lot of good stories start off with an idea similar to what you may have seen elsewhere. It's where you take it from there that makes it worth reading or not. Anyway, thank you for my first flame ever, it was ever so thorough which is why I thought it deserving of a reply. : p As for the avatar mixup, yeah I had that backwards in my brain, but it's fixed now. *does happy dance around flames, handing out s'mores to all the reviewers that disagree with chinstrap*

 

Kaggy-chan2202: Thanks for the review and the encouragement. As you can see, all chinstrap's review did is give me a great laugh and some flames for my marshmallows (too hot for oden now lol). Hai, I am so definitely continuing *salutes you*(lol), though the up'ds will be slow for awhile as I have a little boy running around crazy lately. Heheheh. Anyway, thanks again for reading!! ^____~

 

PerpetualBlueSky: LOL, I guess it's pretty desperate if you're resorting to begging for an update, ne? : p `K, here ya go. *pssst, I love Kag/Kur too ^__^

 

Houseki: 'Seki!! *glomps `seki* Thankies, thankies!! I know, how did I come up with this? I had no idea where it'd go from that one shot at first lol, but by the time our outline brainstorming session came I brought with me quite a few ideas to fit in, ne? You did help a bit, though, specifically with the… well… I can't say yet ^___~ (shhhhhhh) Anyway, you know I'll keep up the hard work, cuz if I don't you'll be on my ASS with that whip, lol! ^__~

 

Roses_Petal: Yayzies!! *head spins from all the ficlove* No worries here from chinstrap, but thanks for the added encouragement. Got ya hooked, eh? Hmm.. can't say I'm sorry lol, hope to have ya around for awhile as a reader. ^____~

 

puritygoddess: Ah, because we are evil and cliffhangers are fun! Muwahahahahahhahahaaa!!! (btw, love the *shaky fist* lol.. esp. since I go *shakes fist at “fill in the blank”* all the time heheh)

 

Sesshy81: There's more now!! You can come out of hiding!! Sorry you had to wait!! Gomen ne!! *pats your back* (Thankies for the review btw, lol)

 

SilverShadowKitsune: Ah interesting, hmm that's different. Coolzies. Hope this one's interesting as well. I'll really try to update soon!! But no promises. : p

 

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Please R&R!