Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Vacation Time ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

Chapter Four: Graduations

Cassie's POV

Thursday...

My mother dropped me off at Kaline's house that evening. She thought that I was going to spend the night over there, which I was... after I had attended Kurama's graduation.

What was interesting was that Kurama was supposedly younger than Kaline. He had started school a year early, so he was still 17 while Kaline was 18 -almost 19. Though technically, he was still older than her since he had lived about 1,000 years in Makai.

Oh, the interesting things I had learned about demons and the spirit world... It made me wonder what else I didn't know about my best friend. I had already guessed that she had left parts out of her little story. I knew her well enough to assume that nothing really bad had happened, but the fact that I could tell when Kaline was not telling me something led me to believe that something... interesting had happened. She usually told me everything, so the change was rather strange. Of course, there was the possibility that she would tell me later. It wasn't like she was good at keeping secrets from me for very long.

Shaking my thoughts away, I went up to Kaline's front door and knocked. She answered the door almost immediately and ushered me inside.

"We need to get going," she told me, crossing her arms. "You were suppose to be here a half hour ago."

"Sorry, but my mom got talking on the phone," I explained, setting down my overnight bag.

Kaline sighed. "We'd better get going or we'll be late for Kurama's graduation. I do assume that's what you're wearing..." She looked at me in my nice black pants and pretty green shirt. She was wearing a dark blue, knee-length dress. It wasn't sleeveless, like most of her clothes were, and the neckline wasn't even as low as she normally liked it.

"This is what I'm wearing," I replied. "I'm comfortable in this." There was no way anyone would get me in a dress of my own free will. I had no problem dressing nice, but I always wore pants, never skirts.

"Okay," she said, then turned and looked down the hall. "Salova! We're leaving now!"

"Alright!" Salova, Kaline's guardian, hollered back. "Have a good time!"

"We will," Kaline shouted and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Here we go." As she said that, she began to slow and the scenery started to shift.

"We're here," Kaline said as we appeared behind a large building. "This is the school. Kurama told me a couple weeks ago that the graduation ceremony was inside the gym, so that's where we need to go."

"And you don't have a clue where it is, do you?" I inquired, even though I already knew the answer.

"Nope, but it can't be that hard to find," she replied, giving me a smile. "I can easily find Kurama."

"How?" I asked as I followed her down the hallway.

Kaline chuckled at something unknown to me. "I just can." She suddenly made a right turn and went through a doorway.

I chased after her and found myself in the gym. She had been right about finding Kurama, even though it seemed rather strange. Most people couldn't do stuff like that. I would have to get the real truth out of Kaline later. She would probably tell me once we had some time on our hands.

"See any open seats?" she asked me. "Preferably up close?"

I looked around, and saw two empty seats in the fourth row. "There," I said, pointing.

"Well, c'mon then," Kaline responded cheerily, dragging me by the hand towards the seats.

We sat down and proceeded to wait. Lucky for us, the ceremony began about five minutes after we arrived.

Everything was perfectly fine until the speaker came up. Right during the middle of his speech, Kaline began to giggle. I wasn't sure what was up with her. She was shaking with held-in laughter.

"Shush," I told her gently.

"Hiei... in tree... fell out..." she managed to get out.

I shook my head. She was talking nonsense. "Later," I whispered to her. "Kurama."

That was all I had to say to get her to stop laughing and pay perfect attention to what was going on. She loved Kurama, and would obviously never want to hurt his feelings. She probably believed that laughing during Kurama's graduation would hurt him, so she stopped what she was doing.

As the speaker concluded his speech, some girls behind us began to shout to someone named Suichi. I wasn't sure who that was, but it sure had Kaline ticked off.

"What's up with you?" I asked her as I clapped along with everyone else.

"Kurama's human name is Suichi," she answered, her anger just barely held in check. "I heard that a bunch of girls liked him... but I never thought that I'd see them." Her hands clenched and unclenched until Kurama came over to give her a hug.

"What'd you think?" Kurama asked her, smiling.

"I am so proud of you," Kaline replied, kissing him. "I loved watching you walk across the stage."

Behind me, the girls began to fume. "That's my Suichi!" a girl exclaimed, glaring at my friend.

Kaline rubbed a spot on her shoulder, eyes cold. "No one owns him," she told them coldly. "But I'm his."

"I don't think so," another girl snapped.

Kurama tried to say something, but the girls just told him to stay out of it while Kaline growled at them for being so rude.

I looked at the girls, then at Kurama and Kaline. Kurama's arms were still around Kaline, and he didn't look like he was going to move his arms any time soon.

"Why don't we go outside?" I suggested, not wanting to witness a fight. Since Kaline and Kurama were both demons, the girls wouldn't stand a chance in a brawl. "I want to take some pictures of you two under one of the cherry trees."

"But you didn't bri-" Kaline began, but I cut her off.

"C'mon," I pleaded softly, praying that she would just follow my lead.

Kaline finally caught on to what I was thinking and nodded her head. "It's probably warmer outside anyways." With a quick glare at the girls, Kaline went outside with Kurama and me.

I almost stopped right outside the door, but Kaline kept going until she stood underneath a very large tree. Kurama stood beside her as they both looked up. They were looking at something, but I couldn't figure out what.

"Ohhhh, Hiei!" Kaline called out sweetly. "Aren't you gonna come down and say hello or anything?"

"Hn," a male voice replied from somewhere among the branches.

Curious, I walked over to the trunk of the tree and turned my gaze upward. There was a boy up there. He looked no older than 16 or 17. His hair was black, and he had a sword strapped to his back. Wearing all black, he looked... demonic.

"It wouldn't hurt you to come down," Kurama added. "Besides, it'll be hard to introduce you to Kaline's friend if you stay up there."

"Hn," Hiei replied, jumping down to the ground in one graceful move.

Since he was much closer, I could get a better look at him. His jet black hair had a white star burst of bangs that looked strange, but it suited him. His eyes were red, which I knew was unnatural, and he had a white headband going across his forehead. Despite how unusual he looked, I had to admit that he was cute. Short -not as short as me- but still cute. His clothes and hair fitted his bad-boy attitude perfectly. The expression on his face when he looked at me was... different as well. I had never seen such an expression before.

"Hiei, this is Cassie," Kaline said, gesturing to me. "Cassie, this is Hiei." She paused for a split second. "And Hiei, you'd better be nice to her. If you uncover your jagen eye, I'll be very... displeased. I don't want you trying to control my friend."

"Hn. I wouldn't even think about wasting my time on such a pathetic human," Hiei retorted, shrugging off the unsaid threat.

I decided to ignore his rudeness. "A little bit ago, Kaline said that you fell out of the tree."

"Yeah. And?" he asked, turning his emotionless look on me.

"Why did you? I'm assuming that there was a reason," I replied kindly. I was beginning to think that he had been the one Kaline had not wanted to talk about... the one she said that I wouldn't like. Truthfully, his attitude wasn't the best, but he did look very cute

Hiei turned his head. "Hn." He was being impossible to talk to, even though I was being perfectly polite. "Since this... ceremony is over, I'm leaving." With a small nod at Kaline and Kurama, he took off at an amazing speed.

"You probably need to get going as well," Kurama said sadly once Hiei was out of sight.

Kaline smiled at him. "You'll get to see me tomorrow. Don't forget that you have to come to my graduation as well." She was teasing him, and he seemed to enjoy it.

"How could I possibly do that?" he inquired, tweaking her nose.

I sighed, bored by the lovey-dovey show. It was nice to know that Kaline was so happy with the guy, but I really felt like a third wheel at that moment.

"Would you mind if we left now?" I asked, hopeful that she would say yes.

With a last kiss, Kaline stepped away from Kurama and nodded her head at me. "Let's go," she replied. "See you later, Kurama."

"Good bye, Kaline," Kurama responded, waving.

That was the last thing I saw before Kaline put her hand on my shoulder and teleported us home.

The next evening...

Kaline and I walked down off the stage, diplomas in hand. We were laughing, joking, and hugging our friends. All of us were so happy to be out of school. Not all of us knew what we were going to do with our lives, but we were free! Free from high school forever! We had survived it.

We talked for a while, reminiscing about all our fondest memories. Eventually, Kaline excused herself, probably to go find Kurama. After a while, I went to find her.

I found Kaline in the hallway, talking away with Kurama about something. Hiei was leaning against the wall nearby, adding his own pieces of information to the conversation every so often. He didn't look too happy, probably because someone had obviously forced him to wear something other than all black. He was dressed in black jeans and a blue muscle shirt, but he was still wearing his white headband.

"Hello!" I greeted them enthusiastically, hoping that Hiei would at least reply. He ignored me instead.

"Hello, Cassie," Kurama said, voice friendly. "How are things with you?"

"Pretty good. It's strange to think that I'm out of school... that I don't have to come here anymore," I responded. "But I believe that I will adjust quickly enough." My tone was bright, sweet, and a little bit silly.

Kaline laughed and Kurama chuckled. Even Hiei seemed to be slightly amused by my tone.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you that the plane leaves at nine in the morning tomorrow," Kurama told me.

"That early?" I inquired, amazed. "I haven't even finished packing yet."

Kaline shook her head sadly. "You are such the procrastinator."

"Yes, I am, but let's not forget that you are one as well," I replied.

"I am packed already," she told me, a smug look on her face. "I got it done yesterday morning."

"So miracles do happen," I commented jokingly, causing Kaline to roll her eyes in response. We joked like that so much.

"You are insufferable." Kaline gave a loud yawn. "I can't believe that I'm actually tired."

"Then perhaps you should go on home," Kurama suggested, planting a kiss on her forehead.

Kaline sighed happily. "I think I will," she replied. "Now, before you get on the plane tomorrow, you might want to remind Hiei that he won't be able to take his katana with."

Hiei raised one of his eyebrows, a doubtful expression on his face. "I am taking my sword with."

"No, you can't," Kaline informed him. "Airport security will throw a fit if you try to do that."

"Hn. I don't care what the stupid ningens do," Hiei retorted.

"You'd better," she replied, voice firm.

I decided to step in before it became a full blown argument. "Hiei, the security people have a job to do, and that is to make sure that no one takes any weapons onto a plane. I understand that you want to take your... katana with you, but that would not be wise. They would try to stop you from boarding the plane if you kept the sword with you, which would effectively keep you from going to Hawaii with the rest of us."

"Very well," Hiei conceded reluctantly. "I will not take the sword to the airport or the plane."

"Thank you, Hiei," I told him sweetly.

Kaline stared at me and Hiei in surprise. "Well, now that the little disagreement has been settled, I'm going to go on home." She gave Kurama a quick kiss good-bye. "Take care now." After waving at me for a brief moment, she disappeared.

"It's going to take me a while to get use to that," I said under my breath to myself.

"I'm sure that you will have no difficulties adjusting," Kurama told me reassuringly. "Now Hiei, are you ready to go?"

"Yes," he replied, walking over to Kurama.

Kurama laid a hand on the other male's shoulder and nodded his head at me. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye!" I said, and then the two were gone. "Someday, I'm going to have Kaline teach me how to do that." Whistling, I strolled out to my car, happy that the day had gone so well.