I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho.
Again, I know I've been updating like rapid fire, just a friendly warning not to get your hopes up that this remains completely consistent.
Many of you do not know this, but this is like...a redemption for You're Not Alone, my other YYH story which I am greatly embarrassed for. A lot of people said that it was good. So I went back and read it, and I nearly made myself sick it was so bad. Haha...Then again I was a poor, thoughtless eighth grader....
Hopefully this story will be exponentially better. I appreciate feedback to make this goal possible. :D
We each sat in silence facing each other. No one had anything to say. I looked around the room, hoping someone, anyone - well, not Hiei- would speak up!
Kurama, shifting his weight in his seat.
Yusuke, flipping a coin and trying to catch it on his nose.
Kuwabara, watching Yusuke.
Hiei......
"Uh, guys? Where did Hiei go?" I asked, extremely nervous that the small, three-eyed demon had slipped away undetected.
Yusuke stopped his antics and perked up.
"Sound's like a game of hide and seek if I ever heard one."
"Oh cool! Can I be the seeker?" Kuwabara became very excited.
"Why is it that no one seems to care that there are two evil villains on the loose with a very dangerous substance?" I was bewildered by everyone's nonchalant attitude.
"Oh no, it's not that we don't care." Yusuke interrupted my thoughts. "It's just that situations like these have a way of landing on our laps first, you know? So eventually the bad guys are going to strike out on us first."
"Oh," I said plainly, unconvinced by his simple explanation.
"It is true," Kurama added in. "Trouble does have an impeccable way of landing on our doorstep."
I merely shrugged, to tired and hungry to argue. What time was it?
I lifted my wrist to my eye level and pulled back the sleeve of my sweatshirt. 4:00....already?
Feeling my stomach growl, I lifted my head toward Yusuke's direction. "Do you have anything to eat?" I asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Sorry, no. I usually grub off of Kayko for meals."
I heard Kurama mumble something like "How charming..."
"If you don't mind," I said, "I'd be more than willing to go buy some groceries real quick. I saw a market around the corner, I could stop in there real quick."
"Alright! Are you gonna cook for us?" Kuwabara asked excitedly.
"I guess I'm going to have to. I can't let my new spirit crew starve, can I?"
"That's a very thoughtful gesture," Kurama said, formally piping in. "When you get back, please allow me to assist you in any way that I can."
I smiled at everyone. Promptly standing, I made my way out of Yusuke's small apartment.
I sighed as I made my way down the steps of the building. I had been very tired lately, which was something I could not understand. Perhaps it was because I had stopped swimming? Swimming would always make me very energetic....It was such a shame I had to give it up...
I broke myself free of my reverie and stood in the courtyard between the three apartment buildings, trying to remember which way to go next. All the while, I edged myself closer and closer to the sidewalk until I was finally on top of it. It was somewhere along this street, but I couldn't remember where. Looking at both ends of the sidewalk, I shrugged and decided to take my chances with fate. I took a right, and continued down the sidewalk for a few minutes. I felt confident that I had chosen the right direction, as many of the stores and shops looked familiar to me.
After walking for some time, I began to get the feeling I was being watched. Casually, I looked behind me to investigate. Nothing.
Hmm...That's odd...
Who would be following me? Could it be the same person that was watching me last night? I shuddered at this thought, as I wasn't even certain there was someone watching me last night...
Even so, there was definitely someone following me now.
Catching the market in my line of vision, I darted for it. Once inside, the awkward feeling of being followed dissipated. Grabbing a basket, I hurried down one of the aisles. My plan was to grab something that seemed edible enough for everyone to eat and get the heck back to Yusuke's apartment. I didn't like this feeling I was having at all.
Pacing down the aisle, I tried to find something that would be agreeable for everyone.
After passing canned goods and packaged items that all seemed questionable to say the least, I found some pre-made meals that looked decent. Teriyaki with fried edamame... Whatever....It sounded fine to me. And no preparation necessary! Sorry Kurama...I threw five packages into my basket and, wanting something more, made my way down the frozen section.
After passing freezer after freezer of frozen soups and rices, I finally found something that sparked my interest.
I slid the door back and pulled out a package.
"Jalepeno poppers....." I read the title of the food out loud. It sounded very interesting, to say the least. Absentmindedly I threw it in my basket and continued to make my way toward the register.
After a few seconds of walking, it occurred to me that I had never heard the box hit the bottom of my basket.... I quickly looked in the basket, only to confirm my suspicions. The pre-made meals were all there, but the jalepeno poppers were missing. Slowly and cautiously, I lifted my head to investigate where I had been standing. Maybe I missed the basket and it fell on the floor?
But after lifting my head, I saw that this was not the case. In an instant, I began to feel myself get very aggravated. My face began to get very hot, steam might as well have been coming out of my ears.
The sight I was greeted with was something I half-expected. A small figure cloaked in black stood in the place I had been, white bandanna secured around his forehead, keeping back his spiky black hair. None other than Hiei, the grand thorn in my side. He was holding the box of Jalepeno poppers as though it was a diseased creature, an unmasked expression of disgust was plastered across his face.
"Hiei!" I whispered fiercely, beckoning him to come to me. He did, at his own leisurely pace. "What do you think you're doing?"
"Hn. You didn't really think I'd trust you to decide what we put in our mouths, do you? And-" He lifted the package at eye-level. "Judging from this it's a good thing I had my suspicions and acted on them. The better question is what do you think you're doing? Jalepeno poppers? They sound vile."
I snatched the package out of his hands and placed them in the basket. To ensure he wouldn't try to take them out, I laid my arm over the box.
"Why not? Come on, you have to try new things. That's how you live life."
"If I were then, to live life the way you do, it would be a short and unfulfillable one. You'd die at the age of twenty from eating a rotten piece of escargot."
"That'd be fine by me. I live to try anything once." And with that said, I stormed my way over to the counter. Hiei matched my pace and followed behind me.
I paid the man behind the counter, then turned to yell at Hiei some more.
"You know Hiei you really shouldn't-"
He was gone. Of course. Rolling my eyes, I made my way toward the exit of the market, to travel back to the apartment.
Everyone had completely devoured the food. As Hiei predicted, not everyone was keen to trying the Jalepeno poppers. In fact, it was only the combined efforts of Yusuke and I that enabled them to go so quickly.
Kurama gathered everyone's platters. I stood to protest.
"Amaya, you purchased the food." He said sternly. "The least I can do is throw them away."
I smiled and sat back down. I couldn't argue with that logic.
Kurama disappeared into the kitchen, then came back to the living room, where he took his place back on the couch next to Hiei.
"While you were out, we came up with a plan of sorts." He said. "If Sho and his leader have taken the liquid, the odds are definite that they plan to use it. And if they are here, then they plan to use it on humans. We are going to start up a patrol. We will split up into small groups and merely walk around the city, searching for and investigating signs of suspicious activity. Are we all agreed?"
Everyone nodded. Everyone, that is, except for Hiei. His cooperation and acceptance was implied.
With that settled, we sat back and relaxed, unknowing of what lay ahead of us tomorrow. We took this time as leisurely as we could, for we did not know when we would have another moment such as this.
:D
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