"How is the wedding planning coming along," I asked Keiko as she took a sip of her sugary coffee.
She sighed, "Yusuke hasn't been helping a lot. It's mainly been myself and my maid of honour working on everything. He just says 'that's fine, pick whatever makes you happy'. But this is our day – he needs to be happy too."
"He's happy he's marrying you," I smiled, taking a sip of my black coffee. "And speaking of your maid of honour – when will we have the honour of meeting her?" The bell to the coffee shop rang and Keiko's eyes lit up. A tall, thin, platinum blonde strode into the shop and behind the counter; she walked with unquestioned authority. Her hair had been tied loosely into a bun at the base of her skull.
"That's her," Keiko beamed as she watched the girl. She had begun to wipe down the counters and machines, her loose grey and pink ombre shirt fluttered as she moved like a whirl wind. "Clara," she called with a small wave. The girl was pulled from her cleaning trance before she returned the gleeful gaze and made her way to us. "Shuichi, this is Clara."
"It's nice to finally meet someone so important to Keiko to be her maid of honour," I said extending my hand.
She smiled shaking it. Her hands were soft like velvet and her shake was firm – practiced and professional. "It's nice to finally meet you as well. Keiko's told me a lot about you!"
Keiko must have noticed my surprise at her British accent. "We were pen pals during middle school."
"And we never stopped," Clara giggled, taking a look around the empty shop before taking the empty seat across from us.
"Did you just come here to help with the wedding?" I asked leaning forward. She interested me. If Keiko found such trust in her that she would tell her about us in the lightest of ways – she had to be special.
She looked uneasy for a second before answering, "I actually transferred here a few weeks ago."
"Your family must miss you a lot," I said taking in her large cerulean eyes. Pain flashed through them before she opened her mouth to speak.
"Yusuke and I are having a barbecue at our place tomorrow at six, you should come and meet everyone," Keiko interrupted. Keiko knew why Clara was pained.
"That sounds brill," Clara smiled as a small group of students walked in, "anything else you fancy?" We both shook our heads as she walked to greet the group. She seemed to glide across the tiles.
"I told her when she first got here that the boys will be all over her with that accent," Keiko giggled as she eyed her friend as she worked.
"What happened," I asked taking a sip of my coffee. Keiko frowned, staring at her coffee. "You're hurt by what happened too."
She sighed, "Her family was murdered two months ago." I eyed Clara from behind my cup. She still smiled brightly, and laughed loudly.
"Do they know who killed them?" I placed my cup back onto the table.
Keiko shook her head. "Something like this should be the last thing to ever happen to her. She's so sweet and caring. She always got in trouble back in London for saving others." I watched her from the corner of my eye. One of the boys had written his number on the back of their receipt and left it on the counter. She looked at the paper before chuckling, throwing it into the garbage and helping the next person.
"Clara – can you get the door," Yusuke yelled from inside. I smirked, he must be having trouble using their barbecue again.
"Hey Keiko – guess I'm your new flat mate!" Clara laughed from inside. The door opened and her smiling face emerged. "Welcome to the do Shuichi." She held the door open for me to pass through before she shut it. I could not help but smile at the outfit that she had chosen – it reminded me of my yellow battle outfit I wore on occasion. The sea foam green fabric with a black logo across the chest was cut low and sleeveless, falling just below her knees with slits up the sides to her ribs. She wore a simple pair of black spandex shorts underneath with a few gold anklets. Her hair was still pulled back, but this time into a high pony tail. "The mates are all 'ere!" She walked behind me as we entered the living room, and I placed the bowl of my mother's tempura I had carried on the counter-top. Kuwabara had taken his normal spot in the armchair facing the patio. I guess Hiei was not going to show up with Clara here.
"Hey Shuichi, have you meet Clara? She's hilarious!" Kuwabara laughed. Clara shrugged, sliding onto the sofa facing the television.
"Are you sure it's just not that British slang?" Keiko chuckled from the doorway to the patio. Clara looked towards the floor biting her lip. "Now who wants a burger?" Kuwabara leapt up and out the door.
"I would not take anything he says to heart. He's very similar to Yusuke – a great heart but a little dimwitted," I said to Clara.
She giggled, "I figured. But thanks. So, what program are you in?"
I smiled at her very normal attempt at making small talk, "Plant biology." Her eyes lit up, she must have been surprised by it.
"Keiko did always make you out to be the smartest," she smiled, taking a sip from her beer. "How was it that you and Yusuke met? Kuwabara I can understand."
I could not help but laugh. "He actually stopped me from making a horrible decision while my mother was in the hospital." She gasped, covering her mouth with a hand. "She's in perfect health now."
"Well, that's good to hear she's doing better."
"Shuichi – come get your food if you don't want it burnt," Yusuke yelled from outside. I nodded, moving towards the door as Keiko came out with two plates.
"Clara, my gorgeous maid of honour," she joked, giving her a bow and her burger. Kuwabara followed behind her.
"Awe, you remembered that I eat literally everything," Clara laughed. I entered through the sliding door and joined Yusuke beside the small black barbecue.
"Hey, Kurama. Can you sense that demon," Yusuke whispered. I nodded. "She's been sneaking around here since Clara got here earlier. You don't think?"
I shook my head, "her spirit energy is average for a human. I doubt it's because of her."
Yusuke let out an exasperated sigh, "That's good to hear. You like it rare, right?" I nodded as he flipped the burger onto a bun before handing me the plate. "I'll be in in a second. Just gotta turn this guy off." I returned inside to see Kuwabara staring at Clara's forearm.
"How'd you get this guy," He asked awestruck, "it's huge!" Keiko was already laughing, probably knowing the story all ready. I took the now empty armchair as Kuwabara was sitting on the couch, surprisingly.
"I broke my arm when I was sixteen," Clara shrugged, picking at her salad.
"And what were you doing to break it," Keiko mused, nudging her friend in the knee.
"Stopping a purse snatcher from getting on the metro," Clara replied quickly. The room went silent for a moment. "My arm got slammed in a door between me and him. I got a few screws in here, but he did get a broken nose and shiner from me though. If you pick on a little old lady – like hell I'm going to sit back and watch."
"Or a small child. Or any other person at all," Keiko continued with a smirk.
"What about that one," Kuwabara asked, pointing to a very pale six inch scar on her left thigh.
"Now that one's just funny," Clara giggled. "I would go tree climbing with my brother at the park near our house almost every weekend when we were kids. I had finally climbed the biggest, hardest one in the park – but I kind of fell when I got to the top and slashed open my thigh mighty fine." She shrugged. "What dumb stuff did we not do as kids?"
"It was very kind of you to offer to walk me home," Clara said as we left the apartment complex. "I hope that it's not too far out of the way for you."
"Not at all," I said, smiling down at her. I would not feel right to let her walk home alone with a demon around. Just in the off-chance that we were wrong. "Kuwabara seemed to really like you."
She laughed, "I hope. I've never been good at meeting people – or even making friends for that matter. To be honest, I was really scared when Keiko called me over yesterday to meet you."
"Oh?" She had not seemed frightened at all.
"Well, when I went to my first class – everyone kept bombarding me with questions like I shouldn't be there. 'Where did you learn Japanese?' 'Why are you in Japan?' 'Say something in English!' 'Your hair is so blonde – is it natural?' It was nice not getting any of those from you guys." I had to laugh. Clara stood there for a moment looking at me dumbfounded before she started to laugh at herself. "I'm sure you get that too, eh? 'Oh my god, Becky. Look at his hair. It's like – so red! And so long. Can I like, touch it?!'"
"Not as often now," I chuckled. "None of my mother's friends could believe that her son had red hair. We still don't know where it came from."
"It is very lovely though," She smiled. Her head snapped towards the small park as a small child let out a scream. "I'll be right back," She yelled over her shoulder as she ran into the park. Damn. It was that demon. I had been too taken with our conversation to notice that she was this close. And Clara was running right for her.
"Stop," I yelled running after her. Clara had taken a stance between the demoness and a small child, who at the intervention of Clara had run off down the street.
"You think you can take me, little human?" The demoness chuckled, licking one of her long ruby red nails. Clara did not eve flinch. Who, exactly, was this girl?
"Why were you trying to harm that child?" Clara glared daggers, dropping her arms.
The demoness laughed, "Children are the tastiest. But I guess you'll have to do. Lea's my name. The name of the one that's going to devour you." Lea lunged at Clara, who sidestepped her and used her elbow to hit her back. Lea glared at her, sharpening her nails on each other.
"Clara, get out of there," I yelled, joining her side. She turned to look at me for a moment, before Lea's fist connected with the side of her head. Clara swung back around and landed a solid roundhouse to Lea's collarbone.
"Damn human. Got yourself a demon as back up," Lea scoffed.
"Hey – be nice to him," Clara pouted, "After all, you're trying to kill me now, right?" Did this girl have a death wish?
"You should really be letting him protect you," Lea grinned, "You're nothing but a weak human with a good kick." Clara chuckled, running a hand through her hair. Lea took that moment to attack. I ran in front of Clara, blocking her reach.
"Shuichi!" Clara yelled with concern. "Get out of the way!" Clara pushed me out of the way of Lea's foot. It collided hard with her chest, sending her flying across the gravel. I growled as she began to stand up, coughing in pain - her legs were bleeding slowly from being torn up by the rocks. I could not pull out my rose whip while Clara was here, and that was going to make defeating Lea that much harder. "Run!" I watched in slow motion as Clara sprinted across the playground, leaping onto Lea's back and catching an arm in a head lock.
Lea screamed. "You're dead now little human!" She reached around franticly clawing with her trapped arm while she dug the other set of long sharp nails into Clara's side. She let out a pained cry but refused to let go. Keiko had said that she seemed to have a death wish with how far she would put her life on the line to save someone else, but this was ridiculous. She kept screaming for me to run.
I let a low growl slip through my teeth as I pulled my rose whip out of my hair, letting it crack hard against the concrete. I wanted to avoid any extra questions – but this was getting out of hand. Clara's eyes widened in surprise but it disappeared quickly when Lea grabbed a hold of Clara's hair and ripped her off of her back. She landed hard on the grass turf a good distance away. "Stay down." I cracked my whip and wrapped it around Lea's torso. She grabbed a hold of it and tried to pull me towards her. I pulled her up and slammed her back down. "Run back to Yusuke's," I shouted over my shoulder – but Clara was no longer there. I snapped my attention back to Lea, who was now on the defensive as Clara was throwing punches and kicks. Round house kick, left hook, crescent moon kick, right uppercut, double kick. Where had she learned to fight? And how was this girl able to hold her ground with a low B class demon?
"I will not leave a friend in trouble," Clara said through gritted teeth, landing a left crescent moon kick to Lea's chin.
I ran to her side and caught Lea in my rose whip, hiding the fact that I had pierced her heart, "nor will I." I placed my rose back into my hair with a sigh. How were we going to explain this to her? Clara's knees gave out, forcing her hard to the ground. "Let's get you cleaned up back at Yusuke's," I extended my hand for hers, she ignored it.
"I'm guessing this is the kind of fighting that you guys get into?" She pulled at the fabric of her shirt, frowning at the blood soaking into it from her legs and side.
"Yes."
She started to laugh. "No wonder Keiko said that there was no way that this would end." She looked up at me. I must have looked confused because she felt the need to explain, "I did this sort of thing all the time back home. Could never stand to see anyone getting hurt. Never have I been this cut up before though." She paused to laugh harder before stopping abruptly to cough in pain. I moved quickly to knell beside her, gently placing a hand on her back. Clara picked up the front and back of her long shirt, twisted them around her torso and tied them before hesitantly getting up. I kept my hand on her back and offered the other – she did not take it. She was taking this too well – she must be in shock. "Let's just go to my flat, it's closer than theirs – and I don't want to worry them tonight."
I nodded, "How far are we?"
"Maybe twenty meters," Clara shrugged with a cringe as she started walking across the park. I shook my head as I followed close at her side. She lived in the small two story house right across from the park. "I keep a key tapped under the mail box if you ever need in." She took a key ring out of her shorts pocket and unlocked the door, using the door frame for balance as she walked up the steps to the foyer. I followed her in, my arms poised to help her if she fell.
"Do you have any first aid equipment," I asked as she led us into the living room. She nodded, walking a few feet with the wall as support as a wave of pain washed over her. I gently helped her to sit on the black suede couch. "Bathroom?"
"Second door on the left. Under the sink," She said with a wince as the blood started to spread farther into the fabric on her side. I moved quickly. When I returned with the kit, she had untied her shirt and held it tightly against the wound. She moved toward the kit.
I placed a hand on her shoulder to lay her back, "relax – I've got you." She paused for a moment before slowly leaning into the arm of the sofa, pulling her shirt off and shoving it into her lap.
"If I may," I started by wiping away the excess blood and applying an anti-septic, "why weren't you surprised by Lea being a demon?"
She cringed as the anti-septic stung, "Keiko no doubt told you about my family?" I nodded. "They were … killed by a demon. I don't know what he wanted, but he didn't even try to attack or defend against me. At first I wasn't sure what he was. Tall and burly with grey hair and long ram like horns. Now that I think about it – he was too muscular to even be a human." She winched as I began applying an ointment with a painkiller. "Sorry if this is weird, me being in my bra."
I shook my head, "as long as you're ok."
"So, are the others into that demon killing thing to?" She asked after a moment.
My jaw tightened. Demon killing thing? It sounded far too light hearted coming from her. "Yusuke was a spirit detective for the prince of spirit world – Koenma. Kuwabara and I were part of his team. Keiko is an unfortunate bystander. "
"What about that Hiei guy that didn't show?" She asked, pulling a pair of scissors from the drawer between the armchair and sofa.
"How much did Keiko tell you?" I nodded, measuring the gauze to cover where the nails had sliced.
She shrugged, "told me that you four fought in an underground fighting ring and won first prize. Yusuke's a private detective and he helped to stop a tunnel drilling operation, then went undercover for three years. Got hit by a car once, died, then came back. How glammed up did she make it?"
"Not very much actually," I replied, taping the gauze to her side. "We were all blackmailed into entering the Dark Tournament, a tournament where the winner's get any wish they choose."
"What did you all wish for?" She asked curiously.
I chuckled, "one of the business men who worked with a demon team killed the entire committee behind the tournament and the stadium itself. Kuwabara was the only one mad that he did not get his wish."
"Oh course," She laughed, only to cringe as her side convulsed. "So what else happened?"
I gently pulled her upright so I could wrap the bandages around her ribs. "Not long after we got back did we learn that someone had been working on making a tunnel that connected demon world with the human world. We managed to stop it, but only after Yusuke died and came back as a demon."
"Explain."
"One of Yusuke's ancestors was a demon king, Raizen. With that lineage, the demon 'gene' can hide until an heir is strong enough."
"And he's no longer a spirit detective?"
"No, after he became a demon, spirit world fired him." She chuckled as I finished bandaging her side. "Too tight?"
"It's fine. Thanks," she sighed. "Aren't your parents worried? It's almost midnight." She slowly stood.
"It'll be fine, they know if I'm with Keiko and Yusuke that we'll be long. We should get you to bed though, rest up." I offered her my hands as I stood with her. She ignored my hands and picked up the first aid kit.
"Go home. They're worried." She sighed, turning to walk down the hall. I frowned as she entered the bathroom, closing the door behind her. Why did Clara not like to accept my help? I reluctantly left her home, using the key under the mailbox to lock the door behind me.