InuYasha Fan Fiction / Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Seductive Embrace ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

After a three hour ride, the train that carried Kagome slowly pulled itself into the station, the sounds of the whistle alerting passengers and the people waiting on them of it's arrival. When the train had finally come to a stop, she grabbed her bags and made a beeline for the exit, not liking the confines of the car.

 

She stepped off the train, shielding her eyes from the sun as she looked over the crowd. She had no idea what her cousin looked like now since it had been at least five years since they had seen each other. Her search came to an end though when Kagome heard the voice of a female calling her name. She followed the sound of the voice, resting her eyes upon a girl more or less the same age as herself as she waved her arms at her. Kagome immediately noticed her long hair, but besides that, she looked exactly the same since the last time she had seen her. Kagome pushed her way through the crowd, and when she reached the girl, she set her bags down to embrace her in a friendly hug.

 

“Hey, Kagome. Wow, you haven't changed a bit!”, Keiko said as she eyed Kagome up and down.

 

“Neither have you, well except the hair”, teased Kagome.

 

“Yeah. Do you like it? I had it cut a few years back, but decided to grow it long.”

 

“It looks good on you.”

 

The girls continued with the mindless chatter as they made their way to Keiko's car. Once all the bags had been placed in the backseat they pulled out of the train station, heading towards Keiko's home.

 

“So, how's the restaurant doing?”, Kagome asked as she stared out the window.

 

“It's doing great. Dad wants me to take it over some day, but I really want to go to college. How bout you? Are you planning on going to school?”

 

“I haven't really given it much thought. I really don't know what I want to do”, replied Kagome.

 

“Well, take your time. I'm sure you'll find something that you want to do.”

 

Kagome nodded, giving Keiko the warmest smile she could conjure. After a few more minutes, they pulled into the driveway of Keiko's house. They grabbed Kagome's belongings, and after Kagome had been shown to her room, they met downstairs to eat lunch. When the girls had finally settled down to eat, Keiko informed Kagome of her plans that night.

 

“I'm sorry that this had to be on your first day here, but I'm supposed to go out on a date with my boyfriend…well, if he doesn't stand me up again”, explained Keiko, her eyes narrowing in righteous anger as she said the last of her words.

Kagome looked at her in surprise. “Why would he stand you up?”, she asked.

 

Keiko shook her head, willing the thoughts of what she would do to a certain spirit detective if he ditched her tonight out of her head to answer her cousin's question.

 

“Oh, it's not what you think. You see, it's because of his job. Sometimes he has to leave at the drop of a pin, and its happened more than once when we were supposed to have a date”, explained Keiko, waving her hands in front of her.

 

Kagome nodded her understanding, eating the last bite of her food.

 

“Anyways, what I was going to say is that I want you to come with us so you can meet him, and most likely his friends. All we were going to do is meet up at a burger place.”

 

“Oh, I can't do that. I don't want to be the third wheel and all, and as little time as you say that you get to spend with him, I don't want to intrude”, replied Kagome, trying to hide the fact that she really didn't want to go.

 

“Oh nonsense. His friends will most likely be tagging along anyway. Plus I would feel awful if you had to stay cooped up in here all night.”

 

Kagome put on another fake smile, nodding her head in defeat as she accepted the offer to go.

 

“Great!” exclaimed Keiko as she clapped her hands. “Plus”, she said in a whisper as she leaned forward, “If he's there tonight, one of Yusuke's friends is really cute and single.”

 

Kagome groaned inwardly, memories of her friend's futile attempts to get her and Hojo together flashing through her mind. But before she had time to refute the possibility of her wanting a boyfriend, Keiko had already began climbing the stairs to the second story of their house to phone Yusuke to tell him that they would be having company tonight.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Kurama hung the phone up, his lips curled up in amusement as the conversation with his partner replayed through his head. Yusuke had called, all but begging him to come with him and Keiko on their date tonight since she was bringing her cousin with her, and he didn't want to be trapped with two girls all by himself. Kurama had accepted since he had nothing better to do then sit and talk with Hiei, and that was if the hybrid even showed up.

 

Kurama walked out onto the patio, staring off into the sky as he watched the clouds pass over head. It had been a while since Koenma had summoned the spirit detectives, and although he usually didn't enjoy the interruptions, he had become quite bored. After his graduation, Kurama had immediately moved into his own apartment, wanting more privacy. The only downside to that was he hadn't really seen anyone in a while, outside of Hiei. He thought it was ironic, that he was so popular in high school, and had numbers of girls willing and waiting to date with him, and he was lonely. The only thing that kept him being completely miserable was the fact that he had Youko to talk to and Hiei. Deciding that he had had enough of sitting around his empty apartment, he slipped back inside, grabbing his keys

 

 

~~~~~~~~

 

 

 

Kagome sat on her cousin's bed, watching her as she pulled several outfits from her closest, trying to decide what she wanted to wear that night. The sound of the phone ringing captured Kaiko's attention, abondoning her clothes to grab the phone from her desk. Kagome halfway listened to her cousin, shifting uncomfortably on the mattress. She wasn't used to being indoors all that much, since she had spent most of her time since her return either in school or helping her grandfather with the shrine duties. Her gaze shifted from her cousin to the window, watching the trees sway lazily with the light summer's breeze. She turned her head back toward Keiko when she heard her name.

 

“Hey, Kagome, are you ok?”

 

Kagome looked at her, confused, before realizing that she had probably spaced out. She shook her head, plastering on a reassuring smile.

 

“Yeah. Sorry bout that.”

 

“That's ok, but if you need to talk, just let me know”, replied Keiko, a concerned look taking over her features.

 

“No no, I'm fine. I promise. I think I just need some air, that's all.”

 

“Great. That was a friend of mine, and she called to invite me to go with her and a few others to the mall. Do you want to go?”

 

Kagome quickly went over her options for an excuse for not going. She really didn't want to be trapped indoors with the swarms of teenagers that were bound to be at the mall.

 

“Actually, I think I'll just take a walk around the neighborhood, if that's okay. In fact, I noticed a park on our way from the station that looked inviting.”

 

Keiko shrugged her shoulders. “Well, if that's what you want to do. I'll give you the directions to the mall just in case you change your mind. We should be there for the next few hours, and then I'll meet you back here before we go out tonight.”

 

 

“Sounds like a plan”, replied Kagome, thoroughly relieved that the girl didn't push the issue any further.

 

 

After Keiko had written down the directions to the mall, she left her cousin's house, immediately heading towards the park that she had seen. After about a twenty-minute walk, she came to the edge of the wooded park. As she strolled through the park, she stopped, removing her shoes so she could feel the soft, cool grass under her feet. She continued walking, chuckling at the antics of a group of nearby children as they played tag, coming to a stop when she reached a grove of Sakura trees. She breathed in deeply, relishing in the sensations of being in nature. She approached one of the trees, taking a seat at the base of it, leaning back against the rough bark. She closed her eyes, falling into a mild meditation, but not too much since she wasn't about to leave herself vulnerable in unfamiliar surroundings. She immediately relaxed, letting her tension to slowly dissolve into the ground, opening her awareness even more to better absorb the calming energies surrounding her.

 

She hadn't been meditating for no more than five minutes when she felt a familiar tingling sensation began tugging at her senses. Her nose scrunched up in concentration as she tried to pinpoint what was setting her senses on alert. She knew what it was trying to tell her, but she hadn't felt this since she had returned to own era. “Impossible”, she muttered to herself, but as the feeling intensified, she bolted into a standing position, readying herself for what her senses were telling her.

 

A youkai was approaching, and a very powerful one at that.

 

 

 

 

Hiei leapt from tree to tree, so fast that if an ordinary human had actually seen him, they would have just guessed it as a trick of the shadows. He was slightly annoyed, having stopped at the kitsune's apartment, but he wasn't there. So Hiei started heading towards the next best place…Genkia's. He never made his presence known when he went to visit, but found that being in his sister's presence calmed his soul, though he would never admit that fact to anyone.

 

He ran through the park that rested on the outskirts of the forest that housed Genkai's temple, not paying any attention to the many ningens scattered throughout the area. At night, when the park was all but abandoned, he would lounge in the trees of this particular park, but not during the day, even though he was quite certain that he wouldn't be bothered. Although he could pass for a human when it came to appearance, and had done so on many occasions, many ningens steered clear of him, frightened by his dark and mysterious look, and that was the way he liked it. But he would not tolerate being around so many at one time, especially voluntarily.

 

He had all but made it to the edge of the park before it turned into an all out forest, when a certain ningen caught his attention. When he had first approached, she had been leaning against one of the many trees that resided in the park, her face contorted with what looked like concentration. But what really caught his attention was when she jumped up to a defensive position, facing his direction. He came to a halt, eyeing the girl suspiciously.

 

 

 

Kagome stood her ground, facing the direction that she had felt the youkai was coming from. It seemed to have stopped moving, and she continued scanning the trees in hopes of catching a glimpse of what, she didn't know. All she did know was that whoever was out there was definitely not human. She was swarmed with a variety of emotions, but mostly excitement. She had longed since her return to find out the destinies of her youkai friends, but had given up hope of their survival a few months after her return. She didn't recognize this particular youkai, but if there was one left, there had to be more, right?

 

 

Kagome visibly relaxed a bit when she noticed that the youkai wasn't getting any closer to her position. She wanted to yell out to it. Wanted to see with her own eyes the proof that youkai existed in her time, but knew that exposing herself was foolish. So she calmly gathered her shoes, slipping them on without taking her eyes off the area in front of her, before dashing out of the grove.

 

 

 

Hiei watched the girl's actions curiously. He could tell by her stance and demeanor that she had felt his presence, but how? When Hiei traveled though the city, he purposely masked his presence in case he ran across any ningens that held Kurabara's abilities. Even Kurabara couldn't detect him when he did this.

 

He inspected her more closely, but came to the same conclusion that he had when he had first glanced at her. She was a normal ningen by appearance. She wasn't ugly by any means, nor the most gorgeous female he had ever seen. Her blue eyes and pale face contrasted greatly with her ebony locks, giving her an almost ethereal look to her. He continued watching as those blue eyes scanned the area in which he stood critically, before she slowly moved to retrieve her foot ware. He couldn't sense any fear from the onna, but was surprised when he sensed…excitement? When the girl had finally disappeared from the grove, he continued on his way towards Genkai's temple, deciding to ask the kitsune about the onna's awareness of him at a later time.

 

 

 

 

 

Kurama quickly ducked into the park that was across the street from him, hoping to lose the mob of five schoolgirls that had been chasing him. Unfortunately it appeared that his reputation hadn't died with his graduation. He quickly darted behind a tree, wincing when the girls approached the park. They huddled for a moment before turning away from the park, and Kurama finally let out the breath he had been holding in a whoosh.

 

 

`Come on Shuichi, you know you love the attention' purred the all too familiar voice inside Kurama's head.

 

`Humph', he replied. `And no, you love the attention.'

 

`It's not my fault that kitsune's are attractive creatures by nature. If anything, it's your fault for not setting the baka onna's straight', he replied, giving Shuichi

the impression that he was pouting.

 

`You know just as well as I do that the only possibility of getting them to leave us alone would be killing them. You of all beings should know how stubborn females are.'

 

`Well, sounds like a plan. We haven't had a good kill in months' he growled, flexing his claws to show his support of the idea.

 

Kurama sighed. `You know just as well as I that we can't do that.'

 

`You're no fun. Go find Hiei so I can torment him', he stated with a frown before receding into the innermost sections of their body.

 

Kurama sighed once more, deciding that a nice stroll through the park was in order before he went out with his friends that night.

 

 

 

 

Kagome continued to walk through the park at a relatively fast pace, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds to ensure that nothing was following her. She could barely sense the youkai now, but she knew that it could come after her in a moment's notice. She was so intent on the area behind her, she didn't see the person in front of her, the side of her face colliding with their chest. She fell backwards from the impact, falling on her rear in a very undignified fashion, as she quickly shifted her eyes to the person in front of her. Her vision was filled with emerald eyes framed by flaming red hair. But the second thing that she noticed made her gasp.

 

 

 

Kurama had been so engrossed in his thoughts that he had not seen the small girl until she had collided, face first, into his chest. He tried to reach out to grab her before she fell, but the impact was too much, sending her crashing to the ground before his hands could reach her. He quickly made a move to assist the girl up, but stopped when their eyes met. She was beautiful, he would admit, but it wasn't her beauty that made him stop, but the strange look that she was giving him. Most girls that he would come across would either get all googly eyed and start swooning, or turn their eyes downward and blush, but this girl; she looked at him like he was a freak of nature.

 

 

Kagome continued to stare at the man before her. `What in the world', she thought to herself. The man looked completely human and felt human, but at the same time she swore that she could feel a youkai ki amongst his. But he was definitely not hanyou. It was like looking at a youkai and a human at the same time. Kagome quickly noticed the odd look he was giving her, and realized that she was probably giving him an even worse look. The man extended a hand towards her, which she reluctantly accepted. After she was back on her feet, she dusted off her pants before turning towards the man, bowing low in apology.

 

“I'm sorry. I wasn't looking where I was going. Thank you for helping me up”, she said in a hurried fashion before walking around the said man, not giving him enough time to give her a reply.

 

 

 

 

Kurama turned around, watching the girl in her retreat as her long ebony hair swayed with her rushed strides.

 

`That was a first' came the familiar voice in his mind. `I don't believe any female has ever looked at us in that fashion before.'

 

`Yes, that was odd. There is only one reason I can think of that would cause her to look at us like that, but that isn't very likely.'

 

Youko contemplated the thought for a moment. `Yes, it was almost as if she saw the both of us, wasn't it.' Shuichi remained silent, feeling Youko smirk in amusement. `We should follow her. We could definitely have fun with her.'

 

Shuichi pondered on the idea, but quickly shook his head. As much as he wanted to know what that girl had seen, he wasn't about to risk exposure just to sate his curiosity.

 

`Humph. We finally find a female that might actually give us a chase, but you throw the chance away due to the risk of exposure. As I said earlier, you're no fun!' Youko fumed, swishing his tail back and forth in their mind. `Besides, I want to do more than talk to her. She looked absolutely delicious' he stated, licking his lips for emphasis.

 

Shuichi rolled his eyes. `You think Hiei looks delicious. As a matter of fact, you're attracted to anything with a remote sense of beauty. Anyway, if we went and followed the girl, it would only scare her, and I really don't want to have to explain to mother why we were arrested for stalking a girl' he replied logically.

 

`Fine. But I still think that there is more to that girl than meets the eye.' With that, Youko retreated once again into the back of their mind.

 

Kurama shrugged his shoulders, turning back towards the street to head back to his apartment to prepare for the outing with his friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Kagome didn't slow her pace down until she had reached the street that contained her cousin's house. She couldn't believe the day's events. First she senses a youkai, then, not even five minutes later, she runs into another strange person. She still couldn't pinpoint exactly what that man was, and seriously had to fight back the urge to go back and interrogate him. But as the protector of the Shikon no Tama, she couldn't risk exposing herself to unknown youkai, even if they did feel somewhat human. She let out a sigh of relief when her cousin's house came into view, deciding that she needed a long shower, hoping the day wouldn't get anymore weirder.