Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction ❯ Vacation Time ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter Ten: The Beach

 

Cassie's POV

 

I was sitting at the beach, sprawled out on my towel and just enjoying the warmth of the sun. Botan, Yusuke, Keiko, and Yukina were playing with a beach volleyball, while Kuwabara was building a very pathetic-looking sand castle. Koenma was standing in the shallows, watching the ball bounce around, and Hiei was off a little ways and sitting all by himself. Jin and Touya were in the water, swimming and enjoying themselves. There were other people around, but not too many. The beach wasn't all that crowded, which was a little surprising. I had been expecting the place to be swarming with people.

 

When Kaline and Kurama finally came down from the beach house, I gave them a smile. Kaline laid out her towel and sat down next to me. She instantly began to put on sunscreen while Kurama went and joined Yusuke and the others.

 

"Hey, I almost forgot sunscreen," I said, rubbing the back of my head.

 

Kaline shook her head sadly. "Here, use mine." She handed me the bottle as she rubbed a large glob of the white stuff into her arms. "I wonder if anyone else remembered..."

 

"I don't have a clue. I'm assuming so," I replied. "I know that Botan and Keiko did. Their skin looked a little too shiny for them not to have done so."

 

"Did any of the guys though?" Kaline asked, rubbing the sunscreen into her legs and face.

 

"Not a clue, but can you get my back for me?" I pointed to the area I could not reach.

 

"Sure thing," Kaline said, doing as I asked. "So when did ya get the new swimsuit? I don't remember you ever wearing this one last year."

 

I was wearing a simple, orange and yellow bikini that tied behind my neck. The bottoms showed a lot of thigh, and the top was nothing more than two triangles, but it was comfortable. "I got the day I learned I was going to Hawaii. My mom took me out to do some late shopping."

 

"I feel very... modest sitting next to you," Kaline commented, smiling. She was wearing a one piece that matched her eyes. It was a little low cut, and the straps criss-crossed in the back.

 

"You d-" I cut myself off and pointed to a spot on her shoulder. "What happened to you? When did that happen?"

 

Kaline looked down at her shoulder. "Oh, this? That's where Kurama marked me. He just pressed his teeth there and used his spirit energy to make the teeth marks permanent. It didn't hurt at all, I promise." She was smiling and rubbing the bite-mark gently. With her eyes unfocused, I guessed that she was taking a nice little stroll down memory lane.

 

"So that's what Hiei meant by marking." I was a little surprised, but I quickly adjusted. I should have known to take the term literally. Kurama had actually made a visible mark on my friend, which was probably why she had given up wearing tank tops and such for the past year. She hadn't wanted anyone seeing it and asking questions that she couldn't answer... at least not with the truth.

 

"Hiei told you about marking?" Kaline inquired, looking at me with a slightly surprised expression on her face.

 

"Yeah. He said it was the demon way of marriage," I answered.

 

"Okay. I wasn't expecting him to tell you that... Actually, I wasn't expecting him to tell you anything at all." Kaline sighed. "Oh, well. There was no harm done." She paused for a brief moment. "Do you think that you can get my back now?"

 

I laughed, doing as she had requested. Kaline's mind had a habit of jumping from one subject to another in the blink of an eye. I didn't mind though. It just made the conversation with her interesting. When it was important, Kaline would stay on topic, but only if it was important.

 

"Are you actually going to get wet?" I inquired as I finished. "I think I'm going to now. I'm getting hot."

 

"Of course. I didn't come out here to sunbathe," she replied instantly, standing up. "Race you to the water."

 

"You're on!" I jumped up and began to sprint. Kaline gave me a little head start and then ran after me, easily catching up. We were neck and neck until we reached the water.

 

"Tie," Kaline proclaimed, wading out into deeper water. "Water's pretty warm. It feels good though." With a laugh, she began to float on her back, gently kicking her feet to stay afloat.

 

"You held back," I scolded mockingly. "It wasn't fair."

 

"You wanna get beat, then have a go against Hiei. He's the fastest one... I think," Kaline replied, moving so that she was upright again. "I'm not really all that sure." She tugged on one of her earlobes, thinking hard. Eventually, she gave up and shrugged. "Oh well. It doesn't really matter." Right then, she gave a little shriek as she disappeared underwater.

 

Kurama popped up out of the water, laughing hard, his eyes twinkling mischievously. He had obviously pulled Kaline under as a joke or prank. Teasing and jokes seemed to be a natural part of his relationship with my friend.

 

While Kurama was still laughing, Kaline came back up, sending water everywhere. "Kurama!" she exclaimed, surprise in her voice. "I can not believe that you actually did that."

 

I blinked, and then Kurama was gone, leaving a very smug Kaline. Something had happened, and I had somehow missed it. Kaline had dunked Kurama, and I hadn't even seen her do it. Man, she was fast.

 

Kaline gasped in surprise when she suddenly shot up into the air, coming back down to the water with a loud splash. Kurama was standing where she had just been, wiping water off of his face and away from his eyes.

 

"Do you two always act like this?" I had to ask, smiling.

 

"Of course," Kaline replied, coming up behind Kurama and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "It's so much fun, and it does help pass the time."

 

"I don't think I want to know what else you guys do to pass the time," I commented, giving it a double meaning.

 

"We talk," Kaline responded, totally missing what I had been suggesting. "We've gone on dates... Am I missing anything, Kurama?"

 

"I don't think so," he replied. "But maybe Cassie is."

 

"Huh?" both Kaline and I said at the same time. Neither of us could figure out what he was talking about.

 

"Are you going to ex- AH!" I suddenly found myself getting launched into the air. For a few, brief, exhilarating moments, I was airborne, and then I fell back into the water. Almost instantly, I was back up, laughing.

 

"Urameshi dared me, lass, so please doan't yell at me," a voice said rapidly in an Irish accent. It was Jin. He had been the one to toss me.

 

I smiled at him. "That was fun. You can do it again if you wish."

 

"Really? You doan't mind, lass?" Jin asked, the little horn in the middle of his head really poking out since his hair was all wet and hanging.

 

"Not at all, and my name's Cassie," I replied, looking over at Kaline and Kurama who were just standing there, trying to look very innocent. "You two knew that he was going to do it, didn't you?"

 

Kurama continued to gaze at me innocently, but Kaline smirked. "Yeah. I did. I could see him coming up behind you," she admitted. "And since I had to 'suffer' through the dunking and flying, I figured that you could too."

 

I growled at her, pretending to be angry. "You could have at least warned me."

 

"That's takes all the fun out of it though," she protested, giving me her most angelic smile.

 

I laughed for a brief moment, then turned back to Jin. "Can you throw me up into the air again? That was so much fun."

 

"Sure thing, Cassie," Jin replied. "Just stand on my hands..." He placed his hands down low, fingers intertwined, creating a basket for my feet.

 

"How about a contest, Jin, to see who can throw the girls highest?" Kurama suggested, holding out his hands for Kaline.

 

Jin nodded his head. "I will win of course," he said good-naturedly.

 

"I doubt that," Kaline countered, stepping into Kurama's hands.

 

"On the count of three," Kurama began. "One. Two. Three!"

 

With shouts of joy, both Kaline and myself flew through the air, quickly coming back down. When we had both resurfaced, Jin and Kurama were debating who had gone higher.

 

"Why don't you guys just try it again?" I inquired eagerly. "I won't mind, and I'm sure that Kaline won't either." I had really enjoyed being tossed in the air. For a brief moment, I had felt like I was flying.

 

With large grins, the boys did just that. Of course, they still couldn't decide who had won, so it was repeated a third time.

 

"We need an impartial judge," I stated, laughing. "Otherwise, this competition will never end."

 

"Who would ya recommend?" Jin asked, still smiling.

 

"I don't know... maybe Hiei. It's one of the most unemotional people I have ever met," I answered, shrugging my shoulders.

 

"I was thinking more along the lines of Botan or Keiko... or even Koenma," Kaline replied, frowning slightly. "Besides, Hiei might be biased. Kurama is his best friend after all."

 

"Or we could just go play beach volleyball with the others," Kurama suggested, his head turning towards the shore.

 

I followed Kurama's gaze to see that the others (excluding Hiei) were playing volleyball. The teams were guys against girls, and it looked like the girls were losing.

 

"I think that we need to go help Yukina, Botan, Keiko. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Touya, and Koenma are really pounding them," Kaline said, beginning to swim back to shore. "You comin', Cassie?"

 

"Of course," I replied, following her. I heard the guys right behind me, still debating about who had thrown his girl higher.