Hello. So the next few weeks are going to be killer, and I don't know when I'll be able to update, since I have 2 projects and about 3 papers due within a week of each other, plus one more paper a week later. This was my break, and when this get's posted, I'll be working on my Classical Studies project. Yay...

I was wondering if I should have anything between Ayame and Hiei, and I wanted opinions first. No, there's nothing like that in this chapter, but it would come up in one of the next few if there was. Let me know what you think, especially my loyal reviewers. If you just stop by and get this far, let me know what you think too. Your opinion matters to me too!

So please read and review, and hopefully I can update this or the JinOC sometime in the next few weeks. If I can't, I'm sorry. I shall make the next chapter extra long to make up for it! Thanks for sticking with me.

Chapter 9

The next few days went by quite uneventfully, to Kaori's relief. By the time the end of the week came, she nearly forgot about Konajiru's threat or the posse members.

Nearly. She still felt like someone would come around some random corner when she was alone, and there were still the occasional glares from Mayumi that she didn't even bother to Shuichi about.

"We should go to a movie!" Ayame said as the two girls walked through the hall, arms linked. "It'll give you a break. You've seemed tense lately."

"Yeah, sorry," Kaori said, smiling sheepishly. Ayame looked around, then lowered her voice.

"That stalker guy hasn't tried anything, right?" she asked. Kaori shook her head.

"Haven't seen him, and it's kind of creepy," Kaori said as they turned the corner to her locker. "I hope he's not plotting to kidnap me or something."

"Don't worry, Shuichi will come to your rescue." Ayame posed, legs apart, head in the air, and fists on her hips. "Your knight in shining armor will ride to the rescue, vanquishing anyone who dared stand between him and his beloved!"

"Puff your chest out a little more."

Ayame screamed, spinning around to see a smirking Shuichi with an arm around a laughing Kaori. "I need to puff out my chest to scare them away," Shuichi said.

"If you sneak up on them like that there's no need," Kaori continued to laugh.

"Just for that, you're buying my ticket for the movie," Ayame grumbled.

The trio headed into the theater after returning home to change. Kurama wore jeans and a blue shirt, while the girls wore matching purple shirts, Kaori's with a smiley face and Ayame's with a frown, and black and yellow plaid skirts with black boots. They got a few stares by people saw them enter, Kurama between the two twins with their arms linked with his. "You're making me look like a pimp," Kurama whispered as they sat in their row.

"Maybe we'll make a little money at this show," Ayame giggled. "That is why we got these matching outfits in the first place." Kaori snickered at the shocked looked on Kurama's face just before the lights faded black. The movie started after a few previews, and Kaori found herself relaxing as the action began. Being able to sit with Kurama and Ayame and watch a simple imaginary film put her at more ease than she had felt since she found out Konajiru was alive.

"What do you plan to do!?" the hero on screen said. The villain was by some large control panel, pushing buttons and twisting knobs.

"No one can stop my plan!" he laughed, pulling a giant red lever and making a laser-like beam shoot out of a whole in the sky. "This world is coming to an end!" Maniacal laughter filled the room, but continued even after the scene changed. People in the theater began looking around, while Kaori gasped, grip tightening on Kurama's arm.

"Kaori…" Ayame began, also clutching Kurama's arm. A dagger sliced through the screen, flying through the theater, hitting the projector and causing the movie to rip. Screams and panic filled the air as people ran towards exits.

"We have to get out of here," Kurama said, pulling the girls up with him, but a figure blocked their exit of the aisle, and one stood at the other end. In the panic to exit, no one noticed the shadowy figures that held the three teens captive in their row.

"Let us take her and you and your human friend can leave," the voice said. The tall man from before came walking through the now blank screen, the white light of the broken projector giving him an ominous look.

"No way!" Ayame said.

"You have no say in this, my dear Kaori," the man said with a smirk.

"Kaori?" Kurama said, then realization struck him. He whispered to the real Kaori, "They don't know which is which because your clothes match and your energy is hidden."

"Aya, can you fight?"Kaori whispered. Ayame merely smirked.

"Of course," she said. The two figures ran in both sides, and both girls charged back, punching them almost in sync. To Kurama and the demon's amazement, they took identical stances while they waited for them to get up.

"What kind of trickery is this?" the demon hissed. Kurama smirked.

"No trickery," he said, hopping over the seats until he was in front of the demon. "Tell Konajiru he can't have Kaori and stop coming."

"Who are you anyway?" Ayame asked, dodging a punch from the demon and kicking him in his side.

"Yeah, you never gave us a name," Kaori said as she jumped away from a kick and returned one of her own.

"I am Kurogane," he hissed. "I will kill you for this behavior. Whether you are Kaori or the human, it matters not." He lunged at Kurama, who dodged gracefully, then spun out of the way of the sword. Kaori's demon pulled a knife and tried to cut her, but she caught his wrist and broke his arm, taking the knife and stabbing him in the stomach. Ayame was kicking the crap out of her demon. When he tried to pull a knife, she kicked it up out of his hand and smacked it down into his foot. The demon retreated, howling as Ayame back up towards Kaori, who met her back in the middle of the aisle.

"Get out of here!" Kurama called, continuing to block and dodge. He could sense Kurogane's energy rising and knew he'd have to use his plants soon.

"Not without you!" Ayame said determinedly. Kurogane smirked.

"Kaori!" he shouted, thinking he had figured it out, and fired a blast at her. Ayame stared in shock at the mass of energy coming at her. Kaori pushed her down out of the way, taking the blast while blocking most with her arms. She flew back into the wall, but didn't look too phased.

"Kaori!" Ayame shouted running back to her friend.

"Aha," Kurogane laughed. Kurama growled at him. "Looks like you can't keep this secret from her for long, Kurama."

"Kurama?" Aya asked herself quietly. Kaori stood and took Ayame's hand. "What's going on?"

"We need to get out of here, ok?" Kaori said, pulling her to the door, but it was locked. "Crap."

"We can't just leave Shuichi!" Ayame said. "Did you see that blast of energy?! That was crazy!"

"Shuichi can take care of himself," Kaori said, pulling her towards the other door to find the same result. "Trust me, ok? You just need to get out of here."

"How can you know-" Ayame froze midsentence, staring at Kaori. "Wait a second, how did you take that shot and hit the wall…" She looked over and saw a mini crater where Kaori hit the wall. "Kaori?"

"Get down!" Kaori dove on Ayame, dodging Kurama's body flying back into the wall. He was fazed for only half of a second, then jumped in the air as Kurogane's fist collided with where his head just was, making a hole in the wall. Kurama landed on the other side, putting Kurogane in between the girls and him.

Kurogane smiled as he stood, turning to Kaori, who held Ayame behind her. He charged at her, fist raised. Ayame screamed, and Kaori knew if she just put a hand up to block she'd slide back into Ayame, so she threw a fist too, colliding with Kurogane's.

The two were frozen for a minute, fists connected, both holding their ground. Then Kurogane used his demon speed to throw punch after punch. Kaori was forced to mirror his actions, though she slowly was being pushed back. Ayame too backed up until she hit the wall. There was only a foot or so between her and Kaori, and Kurogane didn't look like he planned on stopping. Suddenly, a whip caught his neck and jerked him off of his feet. He hit the ground and Kaori drove a fist into his stomach while Kurama's whip held him down.

Ayame stared in shock at what happened next. Kurogane began to glow and fired a blast at Kaori. She crossed her arms over her chest to block his punch while her energy shot up to defend against the blast. She was thrown up into the air and landed gracefully in front of Ayame. However, because of her energy, her ears and tails had come out, twitching agitatedly.

Kurama's whip jerked Kurogane up, who tore at it until he managed to get it off. He pulled Kurama at him, who was prepared for such action and punched him in the jaw, sending him back to Kaori, who roundhouse kicked him to the front of the theater, through the screen with a large ripping sound. The two stood panting, waiting for him to rise, but instead heard a chuckle. "I shall return," he said, then his energy disappeared.

Kurama sighed, his whip returning to a rose and he replaced it in his hair. "Are you alright?" he asked Kaori.

"Yeah, my energy blocked most of his," she said, licking a bruise on her forearm. She turned to Ayame who was staring at the two in shock. "Are you alright, Ayame?" The girl continued to stare, beginning to tremble.

"Kaori, your ears," Kurama sighed. Kaori looked up and her ears twitched again.

"Woops…" she said. She walked slowly over to Ayame, who looked scared of her. "Listen, I got a lot of explaining to do, but I promise that I'm not going to hurt you. You have to trust me, ok?"

Ayame looked at her best friend for a moment before nodding slowly. Kaori reached her hand out to help Ayame up, but the door got blasted in, making her dive to the ground as it flew over head. "Kaori!" Yusuke yelled, running in with Kuwabara, spirit sword ready. Hiei strode in behind them. "Are you ok!? Where's Kurama?!"

"Right here," Kurama said, shaking his head.

"What the crap Yusuke!" Kaori yelled. "You could've killed me! Did you think to call before shooting the door in!?" Yusuke stared at her for a moment in silence.

"Nope." Kaori rolled her eyes, then looked back to Ayame, who was staring at the glowing orange sword before her.

"Ayame, it's ok, they're friends," she said, trying to calm the girl down. Ayame merely continued to stare, then looked back to Kaori who tried to smile at her.

"Wait a second…" Yusuke said, just realizing there was a human standing before them. "Crap…Koenma's not gonna like this…" That was the last thing Ayame heard before she fainted.