Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Keikendan no Tantei ❯ Unresolved Emotions (Andrea) ( Chapter 5 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

 

Seeing our team fighting four fights in a row the next day was enough to send anyone off the deep end. Me? Well, I was calm about it… that is; until I had to hear Yusuke's lip about Kurama and me.

 

“So, it's only about 10:30 AM,” he asked. I could feel his eyes on me. “Any plans?”

 

“I don't know what you're talking about, Yusuke,” I answered as calm as I could, although I had a feeling that I wouldn't stay calm for long.

 

“You know…”

 

As I looked at Yusuke, who gave a slight glance in Kurama's direction, I felt my face, which felt almost hot enough to fry an egg on my forehead. “Yusuke Urameshi!” I didn't mean to screech, but I had had enough. “How many times do I have to tell you?! Kurama's not my boyfriend!”

 

Keiko smacked Yusuke in the face. “Yusuke, that's mean!” she said at him.

 

“Then how come you're hanging around him so much?” Yusuke asked me, and that was when I said something I thought I'd never say.

 

“You're one to talk! Just because I'm around him doesn't mean I'm going out with him!” I took a deep breath, trying not to lose it. But as I was about to continue, I felt Kurama's hand on my shoulder.

 

“Yusuke, that was a very unwise thing to say,” Kurama said calmly. “Now, I want you to apologize to her right now.”

 

“I don't need his apology,” I answered, getting off the arm of the couch and headed for the door, my bag in hand. I had to get out of the room before I did something I'd regret.

 

I heard Kurama's voice from the couch, “Andrea, where are you going?”

 

“Somewhere where I don't have to kill a certain Detective,” I answered, walking out of the room and almost slammed the door. I hadn't meant to sound like that, but Yusuke was seriously ticking me off. The nerve! He actually thought Kurama and I were dating! What an idiot! I took a deep breath and felt myself shake as I took the stairs to the lobby. Maybe this would help me chill out.

 

Walking down step-by-step started to calm me down; I could feel some of my anger fading away. After I had reached the lobby, I headed to my right and found the gym. I pulled out my headphones and pulled them on as I opened the door. I found a balance beam and thought back to when I was a kid. I wasn't the best in my gym class, but I gave it everything I had. I went to the locker room and changed into my leotard, and then went back out to the beam.

 

As I started stretching, my mind wandered off. It was true that Kurama and I were around each other, but that was just because he wanted to protect me. I understood that perfectly; I know Kurama was looking out for me, although I wondered if there was a different reason than that. Like maybe there was another reason entirely… Come on, Kurama and I; we're not like that! Or were we?

 

Thinking that anyone could find me, which wasn't really a surprise to me how Hiei probably could or even Kurama, I went back into the locker room to change back into my street clothes and walked out of the gym and eventually out of the hotel. I walked a little ways away from the hotel and finally sat down under a tree. I felt the breeze blow through my hair as I took a deep breath. Maybe nature would help cool me down, and so far it was working. Whoever knew that nature would be so soothing? It felt like I was in a day spa-type place. I felt like I could fall asleep right here, under this tree. With all that I had to put up with, it was a wonder I was still awake.

 

Now that I thought about it, the air smelled different than earlier; it was a strange yet familiar scent. I leaned against the trunk of the tree and didn't pay attention to where the scent was coming from. I sniffed at my shoulder, trying to figure out what it was and where it was coming from. When I raised my head, the scent was slightly stronger, and oddly enough, it was almost like a rose garden nearby. As I looked around, I didn't see any roses anywhere. Where was it coming from? When I looked to my left, I jumped; it was Kurama… and he was sitting next to me.

 

“How long have you been sitting here?” I asked him, trying to calm my rapidly beating heart down. I really hadn't heard him sit down, much less even walk up behind me.

 

“Several minutes,” Kurama answered, but what made it really odd was that he wasn't looking at me; he was looking at the scenery. “Nice scene.”

 

“Yeah,” I answered, looking at the other trees swaying in the breeze. I had only known him for six months; I guess you could say Kurama was still full of surprises. I took a deep breath; thank God my heart was calming down. “How'd you know where I was?”

 

“I'm a demon, remember?”

 

At that, I turned to look at him and felt my heart in my throat. I got it; he locked onto my Spirit Energy. No big surprise. “Oh, I guess that was a stupid question, right?” I asked him. If my second question wasn't dumb enough, my third one sure was.

 

“No, it wasn't,” Kurama replied, turning his head to look at me. I blinked as he turned away suddenly. Just when I thought something was wrong, he turned back to me and smiled. It was the kind of smile that could melt an ice cap. “So, how's your hand? Are you still in pain?”

 

I realized that I'd been staring at him for about five minutes, and that wasn't normal. “Oh, it… it's fine,” I answered him. Wait a minute; was I stuttering? What's wrong with me?

 

“You know it's kind of impolite to stutter,” Kurama said, giving me a kind of weird look. I didn't know if he was teasing or what, but it was definitely chilling me inside.

 

This time, I looked away. I felt so embarrassed; I was staring at Kurama and stuttering to him. But it was something in his emerald green eyes, something mysterious. What was it? “I'm sorry,” I said, not really noticing my voice turned to a mouse-like squeak. Now I was nervous around him all over again. Why? But feeling Kurama's hand on my shoulder made me tense up even more.

 

“It's all right,” he said. His voice was calm, but it also sounded different. It sounded deeper, almost unlike him. “I didn't mean to humiliate you like that.” Now his voice was back to normal. Something was off with Kurama, but I couldn't really ask him outright; he'd probably clam up.

 

I turned around, and found, much to my surprise, Kurama was only about three feet from me. Our eyes met, and in about two seconds, I looked down at a leaf that had probably fallen from the previous year. As I picked it up, however, it crumbled between my fingers.

 

“Life is fragile, just as the leaf that fell from the tree the year past,” Kurama said, seeing the fragments of the leaf in my hand.

 

I blinked. Did he just quote a favorite poet I loved? “Let me guess, Robert Frost?” I asked him, expecting a nod.

 

Kurama shook his head. “Shuichi Minamino,” he answered.

 

I looked at him again. That was something I didn't believe. He made a poem almost out of thin air! “That's a nice poem,” I commented. It was a shocker to me. I didn't even know he was a poet. I saw Kurama's face start to flush slightly. I think I was embarrassing him. “Oh, sorry,” I apologized to him.

 

“Really, it's nothing,” Kurama answered. I think he was trying to get his face to go back to normal. Just as I was about to say something, a light growl came from nearby. Kurama looked back at me and chuckled. “Hungry?”

 

I blinked. It was my stomach; I hadn't eaten very much since a muffin this morning. I felt like laughing at myself; I thought it was a bear! “I guess so,” I answered just as my stomach growled again.

 

“Sounds to me that you are,” Kurama replied and stood up. He held out a hand for me. “Come on, let's head back.”

 

Grabbing Kurama's hand, I felt him pull me to my feet. I turned around and was about to say something when I felt something clip my heel. I felt myself falling backwards, so I closed my eyes and waited for my head to hit the ground, trunk, a weathered branch, anything. I did hit the ground, but softer. When I opened my eyes, they widened at the sight. Here I was, lying on my back in the forest, and Kurama just kissed me. Wait, he did WHAT? It's got to be a dream!

 

When my eyes darted to his arm behind my head, I knew right then and there that it wasn't a joke. I looked into his eyes, and I could tell he was shocked, too. Probably more than I was, really, I couldn't tell. Honestly, I didn't know what to think. Did he plan for it to happen? Was it an accident?

 

I felt myself separating from him. That was when I looked at Kurama, sitting on the ground only a few feet from me. He had turned away from me as if he were asking himself for something. I felt the air enter my lungs as I took a deep breath. I couldn't believe what had just happened. One minute we were having a conversation, and the next I find out that he kissed me. I didn't know what to believe at that moment. Did I do something wrong?

 

“I'm sorry.”

 

It was Kurama… and he was apologizing? I looked at the redhead, who had now looked at me. Or rather, looked at the ground. “W-what for?” I stammered out. I didn't know what Kurama was talking about. What was he apologizing for?

 

“I didn't mean for that to happen,” Kurama answered, although I thought his voice was really quiet.

 

I looked behind me and saw a tree root that was peeking above the ground. I blinked at the root; now it made sense. If he hadn't held my head, I would've been hurt, or worse. When I turned around again, I saw that Kurama had already stood up. I jumped to my feet and felt my heart shoot back to my throat. “Y-You saved me,” I managed to get out.

 

When Kurama had looked at me, however, he looked back to normal. If he was hiding something, I couldn't tell. “I don't want to explain to your parents how you were killed,” he answered. He cleared his throat. “So, ready to head back?”

 

I nodded, though I was trying to cover my reddening face. Why was I blushing? All he did was save my life, and I'm turning into a tomato. Or was there something else for a reason? Something that I never thought of? I held my head; all of this was giving me a headache. Either that, or I was still kind of hungry. Maybe it was both. I looked up as Kurama grabbed my shoulder.

 

“That was just between us,” Kurama said, although it sounded as if he were whispering that in my ear, which made me shiver. I blinked; there was that low voice again! As I nodded, he and I headed back to the hotel. Sure, I wasn't going to say anything, but I knew Hiei probably found out by now. Damn! I knew that Jagan was something to be reckoned with!

 

We headed back inside the hotel, which was probably either a blessing or a mistake. With Yusuke around, it was a mistake. My mind went to think about that deep voice I heard earlier. It didn't sound like Kurama at all; in fact, I didn't know who that person was. But Kurama and I were the only ones outside; it didn't make sense. Within minutes, if it could sound like that, we were back to the room.

 

It was then that we saw Hiei sitting in the window. He looked over at us, almost as if we were on trial for murder. “I know,” was all he said.

 

“You know?” I hoped that playing dumb would make him drop the subject, but it didn't. Damn, he was good!

 

“You and the fox.”

 

I looked up at Kurama, who now had a look of shock on his face. I don't think he expected it, either. Then again, that Jagan WAS something to be reckoned with. I felt my heart beating faster. If Hiei knew, then that meant that he saw… I blinked. Oh, my God! He knew about the kiss! Now, I wanted to crawl under a rock. I didn't like where this was heading.

 

“What do you mean, you know about Andrea and me?” Kurama asked him, his voice almost as calm as usual.

 

I figured to just sit on the couch and try not to get involved. Wait, I WAS involved! What in the hell is going on? I think I was in hot water, and Kurama was about to have his goose cooked. Or in his case, his fox grilled.

 

“Don't play stupid, kitsune,” Hiei said from his perch at the window. “I saw you in the forest, arms around her.”

 

He DID know! I wanted to hide under the couch so bad! Damn it, why did Hiei have to use that Jagan of his? Now, what if the others found out? They'd never let us live that down.

 

“Don't worry; I won't tell anyone,” Hiei said, which was comforting. At least Hiei was the only one who knew about it, thank God. “But you two will have to do something for me.”

 

“Okay…” I raised an eyebrow. Knowing Hiei, it wasn't going to be easy…

 

“Keep that baka away from Yukina.”

 

…And that WASN'T going to be easy, especially about the fact that Kuwabara was following Yukina like a lovesick puppy. Speaking of Yukina, she wasn't here. “If she comes here, sure,” I answered, wanting to drop the subject before anyone else we knew walked in.

 

“Hn,” was all the answer we got before he looked back out the window.

 

I sighed in relief. Maybe there was a way to keep what happened with Kurama and me under wraps until it was over. But the problem was, how? How could we sort everything out before the others came back in? And how were we supposed to keep things secret? Just when I thought things couldn't get any worse…

 

“Guys! We're back!”

 

It was Botan, and that was never a good thing. I buried my face in my hands, attempting to buy a way out of this. Oh, I got it! Maybe if I were to act nauseated, maybe Kurama and I can get out of here. Though I really didn't mean to, but I did, I hit the couch almost with a thump and closed my eyes.

 

I could hear Kurama saying my name and felt him lean me against him. I opened my eyes, hoping to God that I was somewhere else. Unfortunately, I wasn't. I looked up at Kurama's worried face and blinked. That was something I didn't mean to have happen. “Sorry,” I apologized to him. “I guess I just felt dizzy there for a second.”

 

Just then, Shizuru had walked in. “She's looking a bit red there, Kurama,” she said, and that was when I noticed that my face hadn't calmed down. When I felt my face, it was almost as if I had gotten a fever. “I'll take her outside.”

 

I felt Kurama stand me up. “That'll be best for her right now,” he said, as I started to walk out, covering my face with my hair. I know half the group saw my face, but I didn't need the rest of them. When I heard the door shut, I looked up, I was in the hallway… but I was being led into Shizuru's room. After I had walked in, I noticed Botan walk in also, but that Keiko was also in the room. I had a sick feeling in my stomach; this was going to be one talk that I couldn't handle.

 

The other thing I couldn't handle? People getting mushy on me. Keiko handed me a handful of carrot sticks. As much as I wanted a pizza, this was better than nothing. “Thanks,” I said before eating one. I felt slightly better, but at least I didn't feel too much hungry.

 

“Okay, Andie,” Botan said, and God knows I dreaded that nickname. “Spill. Are you and Kurama going out?”

 

That was when I was snapped to attention. “WHAT?!” I nearly shrieked. What in the hell was Botan asking me?

 

“Come on,” Botan said in that bubbly tone that made me want to hurl. “I saw Kurama acting all concerned about you.”

 

“I hadn't eaten much, okay?” I was almost ready to bolt out of the room.

 

“Okay, we don't need to call any of the guys in here, do we?” Shizuru said, taking a draw from her cigarette.

 

Botan and I shook our heads. God knows I didn't need anyone in here. Especially a red-haired kitsune.

 

“Good.” Shizuru put out her cigarette in the ashtray and then sat down on one side of one of the beds.

 

“I don't see where you guys are getting at,” I said to them. “Just because my face was almost beet red when you showed up doesn't mean that Kurama and I are going out.”

 

“But who were you leaning against?” Botan was seriously driving me nuts.

 

“So Kurama was worried about me. Big deal. Some guys are like that, you know?”

 

“SOME,” Botan emphasized the word. “Looks like Kurama's in the `some' category.”

 

I blinked. I remembered the night we arrived at the hotel, how Kurama was a little different than when we had gotten on the boat. He was more like an older brother than a friend. I didn't know how different, but I was sure that it wasn't going to be the best kind of different. “Like a certain baby we all know Botan's got a crush on…”

 

When I looked at Botan, her face rivaled Kurama's hair. Payback was a bitch, wasn't it?

 

“Botan?” Keiko said, astonished. “You have a crush on Koenma?”

 

Botan was still blushing horribly. “You got it all wrong!” she said, a giant sweatdrop rolling down her head.

 

While they were carrying on, I walked out of the room. It sounded like the whole team knew I had a crush on Kurama! When will they get a life? Kurama and I weren't like that! Call it denial, but it was the truth! I heard another door close and looked in that direction. Speak of the kitsune himself; he had walked out of the room too! We looked at each other for a minute, and then I looked away. How was I supposed to admit to something that I didn't even feel? Maybe it was an accident; maybe that's what it was.

 

“You look exhausted.”

 

I turned and saw Kurama, who had now stopped almost three feet from me. “I do?” I asked. That was another stupid question, my mind screamed at me.

 

Kurama nodded. “Indeed,” he answered and walked to a window to look out it. I felt myself following him and looking out the window. It had already gotten dark; the stars were shining, the view of the ocean looked blacker, almost like ink, and as I looked at my somewhat reflection, I saw what Kurama meant.

 

My eyes were starting to look droopy. “What time is it?” I asked him.

 

Kurama looked at his watch. “It's about 7,” he answered. I could feel his eyes on me again. Now I felt like a fox in a hen house. “Do you want anything?” he asked me. “I was about to head downstairs…”

 

“To get away from the guys?”

 

Kurama smiled. There it was again, that smile that probably could melt the North Pole. “How did you know?” he asked me.

 

“Believe me, if you were in a room with three other girls, you'd want out of there, too,” I answered. I was honest; I didn't want to be around them anymore than Kurama probably wanted to be around the other Tantei and Koenma. “I guess we're in the same boat, so to speak.”

 

Kurama chuckled into his hand. “I guess so,” he answered. He had started away from the window. “Andrea, you never answered my question. Did you want anything?”

 

I felt my body tense up. Then, my head started to hurt; it felt like dozens of needles in my head. I brought my hand up to my aching head; it was a hunger pain, that was for sure. I felt Kurama's arm around me, and that made me tense up more. “What if someone were watching?” I felt panicky because I had a weird feeling that someone was watching.

 

“I'll think of something,” he answered and started to lead me down the stairs.

 

It felt like five minutes before we had gotten to the bottom floor. My head felt like it would split open as I felt myself being lowered into a chair. I figured a couple of deep breaths would help, but when I looked back up, I wished I hadn't done that.

 

Kurama gave me a weird look, but this time there was a lot of worry around his eyes. He handed me a bowl with a lot of green in it… a salad. That made some sense. “Here you go,” he said as I set the bowl in front of me.

 

It was then that I realized that we were near the back of the hotel. We were at a table, which really didn't help much. “Thanks,” I said, before bowing my head. Far be it from me for him to guess what I was doing. After a second, I opened my eyes and met Kurama's somewhat confused look. “Bad habit, I guess.”

 

Kurama looked at me and raised an eyebrow. “I suppose all habits tend to be hard to break,” he answered.

 

“Yeah,” I agreed before eating. It felt odd. After eating one forkful of salad, I felt better. I didn't know if Kurama had a hand in it or what, but right now, I didn't care. “So, um, how's your mother?” I asked, hoping to cut the silence around us.

 

Kurama looked up, his nose with some dressing on it. “She's all right, thank you,” he answered. I couldn't help but giggle in my hand, which made Kurama blink. “What's so funny?”

 

I handed him a napkin. “Um, there's dressing on your nose,” I answered, touching a finger to my own nose.

 

Kurama took the napkin and wiped the dressing off. Now he looked slightly embarrassed. Okay, maybe not slightly. “I'm sorry,” he said in a low tone.

 

“You didn't know,” I answered. I didn't feel nervous around him at all. In fact, it was almost as if two friends just decided to eat alone without the pressure. Just the way it should be. I mean, why try and make a molehill out of a mountain? Or was it the other way around? I took a deep breath. I knew the fight was tomorrow, and that was something that I was hoping they'd win. “So, I guess we're both different.”

 

Kurama looked up at me, with no dressing on his nose this time. “What do you mean?”

 

“It's really kind of obvious,” I answered, and I knew that I'd have to explain everything. “Before my parents died, my birth parents…” I swallowed a lump in my throat. It hurt me to talk about them, but it hurt worse not letting the pain out. “They were arguing, day in, day out.”

 

“Why would they argue with you in the house?”

 

“The usual: Father would say that Mother was cheating on him. Mother would deny it, and then Father would force Mother for a DNA test of me. To see if I was really his child.” I lowered my head again; this time I felt like I was talking too much. I felt tears welling into my eyes.

 

“What kind of person does that to his own child?” Kurama's voice sounded softer, but I could tell that he didn't like my father's attitude towards me.

 

“Of course, I turned out to be his, naturally. Then he figured to get rid of her, so he killed her and then himself,” I finished, before pulling a hand over my eyes. I couldn't let Kurama see me crying. I had to be strong, stay tough around everyone. But why did it sound like I was breaking down in front of Kurama, the one person that I was so nervous around? I felt myself falling out of the chair, heard my name, and felt someone catching me. My shoulders were shaking and I felt the wall around my heart break down. “And I still blame myself for that.”

 

“You shouldn't do such a thing,” I heard Kurama's voice and sniffled. “You were not to blame for your parents' deaths.” I felt his arms around me, and that was when I felt like a fool. As I sniffled, he asked me probably the easiest question there was. “Andrea, are you crying?”

 

I nodded my head. “Yeah,” I said to him, though my voice was cracked. I had spent more than six years to build this wall around my heart, and it felt like hell when it was broken down. I could feel his fingers in my hair, trying to get me to calm down.

 

“It's all right,” he said, and then came something I never thought I'd hear. “Just cry until you feel better.”

 

That was when I looked up at him and saw that I was against his shoulder. I felt a couple of stray tears slide down my face. “Why?” I asked through my choked throat. And with that question came even more tears. I wished right then that I was dead. It felt embarrassing, but yet Kurama told me it was all right. I felt him pick me up and set me in a chair. After what felt like five minutes, he wrapped an arm around my shoulders.

 

“I'll take you back to your room, if you want.”

 

I nodded as he helped me to the elevator. Crying in front of someone was embarrassing enough, but in front of Kurama? That was worse. I felt like jelly, almost keeling over as I stood up. I dried my eyes and looked at the elevator, or rather in it. When it had reached our floor, I felt him help me out of it. I took a deep breath and looked up at him. “I'm sorry.”

 

“For what?” Kurama asked me, and right then, I didn't have an answer. What was my answer, anyway? For looking like a moron? After Kurama had opened the door to the living room-like place, I looked around and found no one there, not even Hiei. The last thing I felt for that night was my eyes closing and falling against someone. The last thing I heard? My name. Maybe sleep was what I needed. Maybe…

 

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