Wow, I can't believe it's been a year since our last posting. We are terrible authors and I deeply apologize for the wait. Anyways, we are very excited to have the next phase to begin. Enjoy and please feel free to comment!
The door slowly creaked open and the girls were immediately greeted with darkness. Olivia, Eunice, and Vanessa exchanged nervous glances before grabbing each other's hands and taking a step forward. In the darkness of the hallway, none of the girls noticed the large puddles of water scattered across the floor that had been brought in by the occupants of the temple. Eunice and Olivia managed to keep their balance; Vanessa, however, slipped and went crashing to the floor, dragging her companions with her. In an effort to save herself, Olivia's leg flew out from underneath her, knocking over a very large vase. There was a very noticeable, audible crash.
The girls didn't dare get up, holding their breaths, trying to see into the darkness. For a moment, all was silent.
When nothing happened, Eunice whispered, "Is everyone alright?"
Vanessa let out an agonizing moan in response. Olivia quickly went over the events in her head and desperately tried to decide if they had time to pick themselves up and run before the residents came to see what the commotion was all about.
Too late. Before their eyes, five figures appeared before them, weapons in hand. A sharp blade made itself comfortable next to Olivia's neck—she let out a small gasp as the blade slightly pierced her skin. The lights turn on and a blue-haired girl stood against the wall, gasping like she had just caught up with the rest of the crowd.
"What in blazes is going on!" she cried.
The girls were too stunned to answer.
Vanessa simply cradled her hand, blood was still oozing from her earlier spill. Olivia glanced over at her wrist to see a bulge forming.
"Looks like it's broken," she thought grimly to herself.
"Who the hell are you and what are you doing in my home?" one of the figures, an old lady, asked the girls.
She was short, shorter than any of the girls at any rate, and yet she still managed to command an over-towering presence that sent a chill up their spines.
Eunice was the first to find her voice, squeaky as it was, "We are so, SO sorry! The door was just open and we just wanted to get out of the rain and—"
"Well you should have knocked," the short, spikey-haired boy interrupted curtly, with a hint of disinterest.
He had the irritated look of someone who had just found an inconvenient wad of gum under his shoe.
"We did!," exclaimed Olivia. "Look, all we wanted was to get out of the rain and find a little help. COULD YOU PLEASE GET YOUR GODDAMN SWORD OUT OF MY FACE!"
The short boy was taken aback, surprised by this sudden outburst. A tall, red-haired boy stepped gracefully forward. There was a suggestion of the scent of roses that moved forward with him.
"Hiei," he said as he gently, placing his hand on his short friend's shoulders, "your katana is only causing more problems."
Hiei glared at his friend, but obliged, sheathing his sword, "Hn."
Olivia let out a burst of air she hadn't even known she was holding, immediately smoothing her palm over the cut in her neck.
The pleasant smelling boy knelt down by the girls, "Please forgive him, but I have to say, you did take us all by surprise. My name is Kurama and you've already met Hiei."
Hiei turned his head to the side, his face is unamused.
The girls looked at each other. Well, they certainly liked this guy a lot more the one who'd threatened them with a katana. There was something soothing about the way he smiled at them, something that made them feel a little more at ease.
"Well," Olivia began cautiously, "my name is Olivia. And these are my friends Vanessa and Eunice. Like I said, we didn't mean to cause alarm. We are just a little lost and we needed to get out of the rain."
Vanessa suddenly let out another groan.
"Oh!," Eunice exclaimed, suddenly remembering their earlier slip-up, "You're hurt! We need to get you to a hospital!"
The old lady stepped forward, "No need. We can get her all fixed up in no time. Kuwabara, can you please bring her to the back room. Botan, you come with me."
A very tall, and obviously not-very-coordinated boy with red hair stepped forward, scooped Vanessa in his arms, and began carrying her out of the room. Eunice blinked at few times, noticing a slight blush gently formed across his cheeks, but kept her thoughts to herself.
The old lady turned back around, "Kurama, get those two into some dry clothes. The rest of you, clean this mess up."
"WHAT," burst another one of the boys, this one with a copious amount of gel in his hair, "Those three caused this mess! Make them clean it up!"
"Shut up, dimwit," the old-lady replied coolly, "You can either clean this up now, or I'll kick your ass later!"
With that, she and the blue-haired girl she had referred to as Botan left the room.
The gelled-haired kid turned to his friends, "I can't believe this! I nearly get killed today and now I have to clean up someone else's mess! Fine. Let's get this over with Hiei so I can get to bed."
Hiei gave him a little smirk, "Sorry Yusuke, but you are taking care of this on your own."
Before Yusuke could even blink and figure out what had happened, he was gone.
"What! COME BACK HERE YOU TRAITOR!"
"Yusuke," Kurama said, with a slight, playful grin on his lips, "the sooner you get it done, the sooner you get to go to bed.
Yusuke let out a few more groans, his face turning red (Eunice swore she saw steam coming out of his ears) and left to find a broom and a mop.
"Um…," she started quietly, a bit embarrassed, the way one often is after watching complete strangers fighting, "Sorry. It is our fault after all."
She paused a bit, glancing at the ceiling, "Maybe we could help you? Once we're dry and all, of course…"
"Right. Getting you girls dry is the priority. Now then," Kurama said, turning to the girls still sitting on the floor, "lets see what we can find for you two."
Kurama extended his hands and helped the two girls up off the floor and led them down the corridor.
"This place is huge," Olivia thought to herself.
She was already getting the feeling that they would have a difficult time navigating their way back to the front door. She glanced at Eunice, catching her eye—Olivia could tell that she was nervous without exchanging a single word. Olivia reached over, grabbing her friend by the hand. It was cold, but then again, so was hers. They past a door that was slightly ajar and Olivia couldn't help noticing the boy—Hiei, was it?—inside, sitting by the window. She didn't notice that Kurama had stopped walking, causing her to walk into his back.
"Ugh! Sorry about that."
Kurama smiled, "That's quite alright. We don't receive many guests, but we might be able to find you something in here."
The three of them went inside the room and immediately Kurama went digging through trunks until he eventually found some sweatpants and a couple of T-shirts that were way too big.
"These will have to do I suppose. I am sorry that they are not very flattering."
"That's cool," Olivia replied, taking the clothing from his hands, "I just want to get into something dry."
Eunice's expression lit up, "These are great actually! I usually wear stuff like this anyway."
She grabbed at the bundle that was held out to her, smile growing even wider at the touch of the fabric—it was as soft as it looked.
She wiped the drops of water from her glasses, "Um, when can we see Vanessa."
"Probably not until morning," Kurama replied.
Seeing the looks of concern on the two girls faces, he quickly added, "Master Genkai and Botan are very skilled healers. Your friend is in good hands so there is no need to worry. You both look very tired. Let me show you where you can rest for the night and in the morning, you can see your friend and I will show you around the grounds."
Hesitantly, the girls followed Kurama out of the room and down the hall once more until they reached a large, open room covered in tatami flooring. There was a large window to the right that let in the moonlight.
"There are futons and blankets available in the cupboards," Kurama said, a warm, inviting smile on his face, "You've had a very long day and now it is time to get some rest."
With that, he left them, closing the door behind him.
Eunice looked at Olivia, "Well, at least it stopped raining."
Olivia couldn't help smiling at her friend. "Let's get out of these clothes and go to bed. We need to figure out where we are and find a way home as soon as possible."
The two girls quickly changed into their dry clothes, pulled two futons out, and laid them next to each other. They crawled under their blankets, lying close to each other. As they laid, silently, in the darkness, they seemed to be sharing the same thoughts: where were they, who were these people, and what adventures awaited them in the morning?