Aloha loyal fans! First I must say thank you for all your support and feedback, it really helps. So to thank you properly I have a surprise.....Kurama! Yay! The one you've all been waiting for. So read and enjoy...

Della's POV:

The rest of the week went by with agonizing slowness. My classes were okay and the teachers nice, except for my biology teacher who now had it out for me. Stupid jerk. I was happy to note that my Japanese was improving rapidly; immersion learning really did work. Awesomeness. The only thing that sucked was that Yusuke and Kuwabara hadn't been there since the first day and the other kids weren't too big on befriending me. Apparently everyone was scared of them, ergo, afraid of me too. Since I was a pretty introverted and shy person anyway, this meant that the only friends I had were ditching school.

Finally the weekend hit and I was free to go exploring, a.k.a shopping! Saturday morning I wandered the streets aimlessly, ducking into shops that caught my fancy and generally enjoying myself for the first time since arriving here. I began to think that maybe Japan wasn't so bad after all. It was nearing lunch time when I heard a deep voice calling my name. After turning around I saw Kuwabara and Yusuke walking towards me along with a brown haired girl I didn't know.

"Hey guys! What's up?" I called, relieved that I wouldn't be a loner anymore. I was starting to feel a little pathetic. The girl immediately ran towards me with a smile on her face.

"Hi! I'm Keiko Yukimura; I've been looking forward to meeting you Della. So how are you enjoying Japan?" I immediately knew that I liked this girl, she had such an open personality that it was hard not to.

"Well, I love it so far, but I was getting a little lonely." My stomach rumbled causing me to blush, "And hungry."

"Come on, my family owns a restaurant, we can eat there." Keiko proceeded to commandeer my arm and drag me to a little building tucked away from the bustle of the main streets. I knew I would never have found this place if it hadn't been for her, it was one of those local places that tourists rarely saw. I spent the rest of the day with Keiko and the boys, first having lunch and then wandering aimlessly. It was the most fun I had had since leaving California. I especially enjoyed the lessons I got from Yusuke on Japanese insults and trash talk, I had a feeling those would come in handy. Watching Kuwabara and Yusuke was hilarious, they argued about everything, which normally turned into shouting and insulting each other. I think the only reason they didn't start slugging each other was because of Keiko and I. While they argued and yelled, we talked about girl stuff and she promised to take me shopping soon. Which was a relief becasue nothing made me feel more pathetic than going by myself...except perhaps going with my mom.

It was just starting to get dark when we parted ways about three blocks from my house. "Don't worry guys, I'll be fine. I know how to defend myself." I pulled the can of mace from my bag with a wink and showed Kuwabara who was nervous about me walking home alone. Chivalry was good…in moderation. After promising to meet Keiko before school on Monday I turned towards home.

I had only gone about a block when I heard footsteps behind me. A shiver worked its way down my spine. Not good, I thought to myself as more footsteps joined the first set. Instinctively I knew it wasn't Kuwabara seeing me home, my hand reached into the bag for my mace. The streetlight above me flickered ominously before going out. When I looked up again, there were two men blocking my path. I continued walking towards them even as my heartbeat sped up, crossing the street wasn't an option because there was another man over there, he leered when he caught my eye.

"Hey there girly, why don't you stop and play with us?" One of the men in front of me yelled out. I simply ignored him, I knew basic self defense but there were five guys, there was no way I could take down five guys even with my can of mace. I decided to take my chances across the street, no sooner had I stepped off the curb than I was grabbed from behind and slung against the wall behind me. The blow stunned me and knocked the breath from my lungs, I also lost my grip on the mace in my bag. I was really screwed now, I thought as stars danced before my eyes.

"Aw I don't think she wants to play with us," one of the men drawled with a fake pout. One of his companions flipped out a knife, grabbed my throat, and pressed the sharp edge to my cheek. "I think we can fix that. What do you think sweetheart? Do you wanna play with us now?" They burst into laughter even as I tried not to vomit from their stench. What exactly did they have against water and soap?

"I suggest you let the lady go now," a cool, calm voice drifted out of the darkness. For some reason it reminded me of the canals back home, calm surface deadly current underneath. My focus was pulled away from my attackers and drawn to the owner of that voice. A boy around my age stood in a pool of light from one of the lamps that hadn't gone out. He had long red hair and wore a matching red suit, distantly I pondered what was it with boys and suits around here?

My attention was jerked back to the more pressing matter of the knife at my cheek. "Fuck off boy, you wouldn't want to get that pretty face of yours broken." They all laughed again, bathing me in the reeking odor of stale beer. "Now where were we…" the man with the knife pressed inward. As if they had never been there the men to his right and left disappeared in an instant. "Hey, what happ-" the man's sentence became a scream as the hand holding the knife was wrenched away from my face and twisted behind his back causing him to drop the weapon.

The boy forced the man to his knees before meeting my eyes. "Are you okay?" he asked his voice as still calm and cool, his eyes were positively mesmerizing as they burned with anger. They were a crisp clear green, like spring grass, I could only nod mutely. "You're lucky you didn't hurt her, if you had, I would have had to kill you. As it is, I think this will be sufficient punishment." There was loud snap and the man fainted, his arm at an unnatural angle.

I was still staring at him when he moved forward and took my hand. "Come on, I'll walk you home. My name is Shuichi Minamino, don't worry, I won't hurt you."

For some reason I trusted him utterly, maybe it was his soft voice or his gentle hands or his ridiculously green eyes but I knew at that moment I would follow this boy anywhere. My hand tightened around his, "I know."

His smile brought an answering one to my lips. I followed him as he guided me way from the men he had incapacitated to save me. My own personal knight in a red suit, I couldn't wait to get home and tell Lucy about this. I didn't even care if I woke her up because that's what friends did when they had life changing experiences, right? Right.

"So what's your name? Obviously you aren't from around here or you'd know better than to go anywhere alone at night."

"Oh, duh, I'm sorry. My name's Della St. Clair, my family moved here from California. I've only been here for a week." I was still in some kind of shock I didn't know if it was from being attacked or from him. I think it was most likely him.

"Only a week humm?" He smiled at me again and my heart did a strange flip, we were still holding hands, "Have you made any friends?"

I gave him a shy smile, "Well, I have a few new friends at school and now I have you so yeah, I guess I've made some new friends." He laughed and I realized I really like the sound. Back home I was never really attracted to any of the boys but now I felt like I had taken a nose dive off the highest diving board available or a cliff. I was so waking Lucy up as soon as I got home. No sooner had I thought that than we were at my front gate. I opened it and walked to the front door with him.

Shuichi looked up at my house and smiled, "I live just down the street, maybe I'll see you again sometime Della."

"I'd like that." Normally I was very witty and articulate, now I just sounded like an idiot. An idiot who was very reluctant to give up the hand she was holding…

"I'll see you around Della. Good night and don't walk home alone again." He put the hand I gave up in his pocket and waved with the other as he walked way.

"Night! I won't!" I called after him. When he was gone I slumped against the front door and rhythmically banged my head against it. "Great job St. Clair, that was real smooth. You are such an idiot."

Kurama's POV:

For some reason I couldn't get Della out of my head. It was true that my human mother lived just down the street from the girl but I wondered why I had told her that. My privacy was of utmost importance to me and the location of my major weakness was a very private matter. That information in the hands of a human girl could mean disaster; somehow I couldn't care about that as much as I should have.

Technically I was supposed to be sleeping but every time I closed my eyes her heart shaped face appeared in my mind, along with her blonde hair and blue green eyes. She had beautiful and expressive eyes.

I remembered how I had felt when that bastard had pulled a knife on her. Rage burned deep in my stomach and I clenched my fist in the sheet. I should have killed them, they were unfit to live but for some reason the thought of Della seeing me as a killer bothered me. I shouldn't be thinking about her, I should put her from my mind. I had no place in my life for a girl, a human girl at that. I was not Yusuke and she was not Keiko.

A shadow moved by my window and I knew that my rest was over. I had been found. Rising I dressed in the clothes I had had on. I crept through the silent house to the kitchen. Where I left my mother a note as usual and snuck out the front door, locking it behind me. "Good evening Hiei, did you have fun on your mission?"

The fire apparition snorted, "Where have you been Kurama? You reek of human." I sighed; my best friend was never one for subtly or tact for that matter.

"Nowhere important my friend, now what do we have planned for tonight?"

"Some mission the toddler wants done, I swear one day Koenma is going to push me too far. I am not his lackey to command, unlike some." I knew he was talking about Yusuke but I let the comment pass. Deep down I knew Hiei liked the Spirit Detective.

As we walked down the street I glanced at Della's house and saw that it was dark and quiet. Most houses were at this time of night; sometimes I wished that I were simply one of the ignorant mortals, asleep in their beds. But those were not the cards Fate had dealt me and I could never be one of them.

Hiei snorted again, "Really Kurama. Getting sentimental in your old age?"

"No more so than you my friend. Now what is this mission about?"

And there you go, chapter three es fin! I might not update for awhile because I'll be in Hawaii, tanning and generally being warm. But then again I might not be able to resist. So consider yourselves warned.

Hiei: Shut up already and get on with it.

Muse: (Glares) Alright, anyway, R&R please!