Kyla: Okay, hopefully this chapter is a little bit longer than the last ones... I typed some of the next chapter into this one. I'll probably eventually try to combine at least two chapters into one each time, lol. Hope you likie! Review!
The Return of a Legend
Chapter Seven
"Adopted Big Brother"
by
Kyla
At the sound of her name, Danielle whirled around, and here eyes widened at whom she saw standing there... "Kurama!" she shrieked happily and rushed forward, throwing her arms around the redheaded yoko's neck in a tight hug.
"Danielle," Kurama spoke softly and wrapped his arms around the girl's middle, and he picked her up slightly, twirling around once then setting her back down, a wide smile stretched over his face.
"Oh, Kura!" Danielle sighed with a giant grin on her lips, "I've missed you so much! Both you and the others! I can't even begin to say how much I missed you!" she exclaimed hugging him still tighter.
"And we've missed you greatly as wel," Kurama replied quietly. He couldn't stop smiling as he hugged his "adopted" little sister.
Someone cleared her throat and drew the duo's attention to herself. "Um..." Amanda hummed with a nervous smile. "Hey," she said self-consciously and waved.
"Oh!" Danielle gasped, "Oh, I'm so sorry! Amanda, this is Kurama. Kurama, meet Amanda!" the kitsune quickly introduced the two to one another and pulled out of Kurama's arms.
"Nice to meet you," Amanda waved again from her spot, still a little nervous about this redhead. He seemed nice enough, but... She stayed at her spot where the portal had been not moments ago.
Kurama glided over to the wolf and gently took her hand in his, softly landing a kiss on the top of her hand. "It's a pleasure, Amanda," he greeted and added one of his charming smiles to try and make the girl feel more comfortable.
Amanda's face flushed a light red, and she giggled. "Well..." she murmured, clearly impressed and surprised to find such a... nice, charming--not to mention cute-- guy. "I like him, Dani... He's not the one you have a crush on is he?" she inquired with a small smile at her friend.
Danielle's face turned crimson, and she hurriedly stammered, "N-no! Kura's like my older brother! I don't like him THAT way," she babbled, and Kurama couldn't help but chuckling at her antics, her arms waving frantically in the air around her.
"Oh," Amanda's grin widened some at seeing Danielle so flustered. She shook her head, laughing lightly, then asked with a thoughtful frown. "Who's the guy you DO like? Because you know I have to meet him and see if he's good enough for my buddy."
"H-his name's Hiei," Danielle murmured with a small grin and averted her eyes shyly to the floor, a blush spreading over her cheeks some.
The dimensional kitsune suddenly sensed Kurama's aura drop slightly, like he was sad, and when she turned to face him, he, sure enough, had a tiny, sad smile replacing his earlier, happier smile.
"Kura, when do I... get to see the others?" Danielle asked, trying to avoid directly asking about Hiei. She was kind of afraid of what she might find out. Hiei might have fell in love with someone else, or he might've just forgotten about her all together, but when she heard Kurama's explanation, her heart fell.
"Yusuke and Kuwabara have been notified of your visit, so they are probably waiting at Genkai's temple, where you will be staying, to greet you" Kurama chortled some, earning a little laugh from Danielle while Amanda stood in a nervous silence behind Kurama. The yoko's laughter died away as he became serious though. "Hiei, on the other hand... We-we don't see him very often. He's been keeping to himself more and more. When we do see him, he seems to be getting thinner. He hardly talks to me and will not talk to anyone else... I'm... worried about him.. but now that you're here, I think he'll be fine. I'll try to find him as soon as I can, but first, let's get you two to the temple," he faked a smile and picked up both Danielle's and Amanda's bags.
"But... Hiei... why would he...?" Danielle was at a loss for words. She had thought he'd at least act like normal. If she had known this would've happened... Well, she didn't know what she would have done, but she could have tried to think of something to do!
Kurama paused in the doorway, his back to the two girls. Amanda saw how upset both Kurama and Danielle were, but she didn't really know what was going on, so she decided to stay quiet and let them talk, since they hadn't seen each other in almost a year.
"He missed you that much," Kurama answered, voice soft and quiet. "I regret forcing him back through the portal... Had I known he would suffer like this, I... would've just let him stay in your dimension. It would've been better for both you and him..." He sighed sadly, the floor drawing his gaze downward, back still to Danielle and Amanda.
Danielle walked around to stand in front of Kurama and hugged him, burying her face in the warm fabric of his shirt. "It's not your fault. You did the right thing by bringing him back to this dimension... This is where he belongs," she mumbled into his chest, her voice coming out muffled, but the redhead heard every word, and a small smile slipped over his lips.
"Thanks," the yoko whispered and returned the siblingly hug after setting down the bags. "You want to go see the others?" he asked quietly and felt her nod against his head.
"A-hem!" Amanda cleared her throat, wanting to lighten up the mood some, and when both of them looked at her, she grinned and ran over to them, slinging an arm around each's shoulder. "We going to just stand here all day!" she asked bouncing on her feet. "Let's go!" she urged and pushed them out the room. Kurama quickly snatched the bags back up and started down the hall.
"Follow me,ladies," Kurama bowed gracefully, gesturing to the right. He walked ahead of them, and Amanda and Danielle hung back because Amanda wanted to say something to Danielle.
"He's sooooo fine!" Amanda whispered frantically to Danielle as she latched herself on the kitsune's arm, dragging Danielle down the hall in her excitement.
Danielle burst out laughing, and Kurama, who, with his excellent hearing, heard what the wolf said, chuckled. "Oh, so... you like him? Maybe like a... crush?" Danielle whispered back with a sly grin.
"Huh? No... I'm just saying he's hot!" Amanda replied in a squeal and did a little dance while she was walking. Danielle thought, Crush... definitely a crush. She smirked and followed after Kurama with Amanda at her side.
Kyla: How was it? Not much happening yet in this story, but more will come, I promise! Don't forget to review!
