Paper Voice
A YYH Fanfic
Chapter Eight
Author's Note: From this point on the story is completely made up by me.
By the time everyone reached the city and headed their separate ways it was getting late, Catherine, Katrina and Daiku were staying with Yusuke that night. As soon as they were in his apartment Catherine and Daiku crashed on Yusuke's bed and Katrina curled up on the floor against a wall opposite his bed. The next morning's when the excitement started all over again; Catherine woke with a yawn and stretched. She sat up rubbing her eyes and looked over to see if Daiku was up and screamed she tried to jump out of bed but got tangled in the blanket and landed on the floor head first. "Mrgh, Cat, shut up it's too early for you to be causing trouble," Katrina mumbled from the corner. Daiku shot up, "What? What's wrong are we under atta-"
"Daiku, is that you?" Catherine interrupted him.
"What are you talking about, of course it's me, why wouldn't it be?"
"Look at yourself! You look like you're... our age!"
Daiku looked at himself and grabbed the blanket quickly covering himself better; he didn't know how it had happened but somehow he shot up to 5'7" in the middle of the night and now his clothes don't fit and they must have... torn and fallen off in the night because he was naked now. Last night Catherine and crashed on top of the blankets too tired to care and Daiku had curled up underneath them, luckily. "Uh, Catherine, could you get Katrina out of here and ask Yusuke if he has any clothes I could borrow?"
"You sure you want us to leave?" Catherine asked perversely.
"Yes, I believe he's sure, Cat, now let's get out of here before we see things we shouldn't," Katrina said suddenly awake and heading to the door grabbing Catherine on the way.
"Awww, you ruin everything, Kat."
"Deal with it; hey, Yusuke, we've gotta little problem!"
Later that day, after Daiku was properly clothed, Yusuke said the girls should take Daiku out to get more to wear so he wouldn't have to share his clothes. Katrina and Daiku groaned because they agree: shopping SUCKS but Catherine couldn't wait to turn Daiku into a mannequin.
"Hey, Kat, do you think we should've invited your 'boooyfriend' to come with us?" Catherine teased as they left Yusuke's apartment.
"Cat, that joke is getting so old it's nearly dead. In fact it just croaked," Katrina replied.
"Ha-ha, very funny, see, Daiku, I warned you she sucked at comebacks; I've tried to teach her but she's un-teachable."
"Who are you talking about when you tease her?" Daiku asked.
"Kurama, the guy who looks like a girl the one with long red hair..."
"Oh, yeah, I can see her ending up with him; they would make a great couple. So, Katrina, why haven't you asked him out yet, you guys have known each other for a while now right?"
Katrina looked about ready to punch Catherine and Daiku both and then gave in, "okay, first off, he's not my boyfriend, I barely know him-"
"You've known him for almost three months..." Catherine interrupted.
"Two, I have a rule for myself when I get a crush on someone, I don't allow myself to have a crush on them until I've known them long enough to decide if I like them for who they are. And I repeat that I barely know Kurama, but yes... I guess I have a crush on him but I want the guy to ask me out. If he likes me then he'll ask me out, call me old fashioned but I prefer it that way and it means that I risk nothing if he doesn't like me."
"Stupid plan if you ask me, if you like him and want to go out with him you should ask him, if he doesn't like you then at least you'll know rather than waiting forever to find out," Daiku said.
"EXACTLY! I keep trying to get that through to her but she won't listen. I've even tried talking to Kurama to see if he'd tell me if he liked her but I wasn't able to find out," Catherine said.
The conversation took a swing into clothes and other things after that because they reached the store they were looking for. Catherine had Daiku model all sorts of clothes for her while Katrina buried her nose in a book praying it would all be over soon and they could find a book store to browse, her collection was already running low, Kurama had suggested some interesting books to her and she wanted to try and find them before anything else interrupted her life. Eventually Catherine's stomach growled and they headed to the register to buy the items Daiku and Catherine agreed on then left to find somewhere to go for lunch. Katrina decided to attempt to get back at Catherine so she said, "So, Cat, how's it going with you and Hiei?"
"I haven't seen him lately actually, of course I imagine he hates me, you know how he is and how annoying I can get, but I can't help it his hair is just so COOL! I love the way it defies gravity and has that white starburst in it, and he's fun-size! So I won't give up until I find another guy to chase around," Catherine replied giddily.
"Oh, that reminds me of the conversation you had with Gensu before we left and all the typical craziness happened I know he said more to you than what you told me. What was the rest of his conversation about?"
"I asked him why a hot young guy like himself was constantly pestering us and didn't he have a girlfriend to occupy his free time."
"Okay, well what else did he say 'cause your reaction was kinda funny."
"He asked if I'd be interested in being his girlfriend. I said no, then he asked if you'd be interested in his offer and I told him that I highly doubted it. Besides it wouldn't have worked out with the two of you being in different dimensions and your policy as well."
Katrina blushed at the thought of an older not to mention hot guy like Gensu showing an interest in her, even if he asked Cat first. "Hey, I saw that!"
"Saw what?"
"You totally blushed! Maybe I should call Gensu right now and see if his offer still stands, Hmm?"
"HECK NO!"
"Ah, so loyal to Kurama are we?"
"I didn't say that I... just... have... l-like you said I have a policy. I barely know Gensu and who knows what he's really like, the thoughts actually kinda creepy."
Daiku cleared his throat, "Um, terribly sorry to interrupt but I think I spotted an ice cream place across the street... if anyone's interested." Catherine barely checked the traffic before she dashed across the street and into the ice cream shop abandoning her friends for her favorite treat.
"Nope, don't worry about us, Cat, we could get hit by a car trying to chase after you, but don't concern yourself with us," Katrina said with a hint of sarcasm.
"Hey, Katrina, can I talk to you real quick, before Catherine notices we're not behind her?"
"Sure, what's up?"
They walk over to lean against a building and Daiku slides down the wall, Katrina following his lead. "Um... does Catherine like it if guys ask her out?"
"Uhm, I don't know that's something you'd have to ask her yourself why, you like her?"
Daiku blushed, "Well, um, yeah, I guess I kinda do. But she'd probably never be willing to go out with me, I'm only fifteen, I'm a little kid compared to you two."
"Hey, she's eighteen yeah, but that's only a three year difference, I had a friend that was eighteen and she was dating a fourteen year old and they had a great relationship, plus she was taller than him. You might be three years younger than her but you're taller and could easily pass for an eighteen year old and besides I doubt that it's illegal for you to date an older woman. You never know until you try, so if you're really interested in her then you should ask her out."
"Well, yeah, I guess you're right, I should ask, I'll never know until I try. And you should do the same with Kurama, forget your stupid policy and ask him out, he seems like a nice guy to me, even if he turns you down I'm sure he'll do his best not to hurt you."
"Okay, we're talking about your relationship situation right now not mine, so I'm gonna go find a book store and you're gonna go ask Cat out. I've got my cell if you guys need me so... yeah."
"Thanks, Katrina."
"Onee-chan."
"What?"
"Call me Onee-chan, no one's ever called me that and I think it would be fun. I've tried to get my younger sibs into the habit but it didn't catch on and you remind me of my little bro. You not only look like him but you're cute and stupid about girls like him too," Katrina teased.
"Alright, thanks for the advice, Onee-chan. Ya know, if it's not too weird I might just stick with calling you that. See ya later, Onee-chan!" Daiku called as he crossed the street to ask Catherine out.
Katrina sighed and got up off of the sidewalk; she wiped off her butt and headed off down the street to see if she could find that book store Kurama said he loved. At Genkai's temple Kuwabara was following Yukina around like a lost puppy and she was laughing and enjoying his company. Genkai was in the arcade kicking Yusuke's butt at some video game or another as Keiko walked in with tea for all of them. Kurama was at work and Hiei was patrolling the boarder keeping an eye out for humans accidentally straying across. When Katrina entered the book store a tiny bell tinkled over the door and she inhaled the scent of old books and dust then headed off to find a quiet, secluded spot to make a phone call. Her talk with Daiku reminded her of how much she really missed her family, she had no idea how much time had passed between the two worlds but it felt like she hadn't contacted them in years.
Back at the ice cream shop Daiku took a deep breath and walked over and sat down across from Catherine at one of the outdoor tables. "Hey, Daiku, where'd Kat go? Did she get lost crossing the street or something?"
"She said she was going to find a book store but that she's got her phone if we need to call her. Um... can I ask you something?" Catherine had be watching her ice cream and licking around when it started melting but the tone of Daiku's voice made her look up at him. He gulped and blushed a little, the sunlight reflected off of a window and shone around Catherine making her look like she was glowing. "Woul- well... I mean... Uh... Catherine would... would you like to go out with me sometime?" he gushed. Catherine sat there for a second her ice cream starting to drip down her hand. Daiku started to think that asking her was a bad idea and mentally kicked himself, he sounded like a moron, besides why would she want to go out with a kid like him when she liked Hiei?
"Yeah, sure. How about right now? Katrina's at the book store and we can call her and tell her that we're going on a date and to not wait up for us. What'd you have in mind?" Catherine said.
It was now Daiku's turn to be surprised but he quickly recovered, "Uh, well actually I hadn't thought that far ahead, I thought you'd say no. Um... a movie maybe or dinner or just a walk in the park?"
"Sure."
"Sure to which one?"
"All of them, let's see what's playing if there's anything interesting we can go see it and if there's time we can go to the park before the movie and then to dinner. After that we can head back to Yusuke's and there ya go we had a full day."
"Okay, let's go to the movies then, I guess," Daiku said a little thrown off at Catherine's blunt and sudden idea.
In the back of the book store there was a little room with book shelves along most of the walls and a window seat with nice soft cushions warmed from the sunlight streaming in. Katrina walked over and sat down leaning against the wall, she pulled out her cell and stared at it, I should call Gensu and see if he can connect my call to my parents, she thought instead she put the phone back in her pocket and pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. She closed her eyes and relaxed in the warm sun trying not to cry because she felt she had no reason too. Yeah, she missed her family but she hadn't been gone that long and Gensu told them that they could go back home so it's not like she'd never see them again, but inside she felt like she did when she was little and spent the night with a friend for the first time: homesick.
"Oh, excuse me I didn't- hey, aren't you the girl from the park that caught my sister when she fell off the playground equipment?" someone asked. Katrina started a little at the sound of someone else in the room, she was sore and a little tired, she must have dozed off. Looking up she saw a handsome young man standing in front of her.
"You mean the little girl..."
"Karin."
"Yeah, Karin I remember, it's nice to see you again... uh, I'm sorry I'm terrible with names."
"That's okay I was rude and didn't give you my name last time we met, I'm Andrew, and you are?"
"My name's Katirna, it's nice to meet you, Andrew, but how-"
"Karin's not really my little sister I just call her that I've been baby- sitting her for most of her life so she's like a sister to me," Andrew explained before Katrina could finish her question. "Mind if I sit down with you?"
"Oh, no, that's fine, I was just thinking and I must have dozed off, it's really comfortable here."
Andrew sat next to Katrina, a little closer than she would have liked but she was against the wall on one side and she didn't feel like being rude and asking him if he would scoot over a little.
"What were you thinking about, you look like you might have been crying are you okay?"
"Oh, I didn't know I'd cried, um... well, I haven't been here in Japan for very long my friend and I only got here a few months ago but... and I know this is probably stupid but... I already feel kind of homesick. Funny really since when I was younger I couldn't wait to graduate and move out and now barely three months later I want to go ho- home," Katrina's voice broke and she felt tears trickling down her cheeks. A warm, soft hand brushed them away as Andrew whispered, "Hey, hey, it's okay, don't cry... Its fine to be homesick there's nothing wrong with that. You'll be okay, you said you came with your friend right, so you're not alone and it's not like you can never see your family again right?"
Katrina nodded and took a deep breath but she couldn't stop the tears, the sadness was overwhelming and she couldn't hold it in. Andrew pulled Katrina's legs over his lap and gently positioned her so that she was resting her head on his shoulder, "It's going to be okay, you're going to be okay, just let it out if you need to, it's alright to cry." Katrina almost wanted to laugh just a second ago Andrew was telling her not to cry; now he was saying it was alright too. She felt uncomfortable being held like a child by a stranger but he was so warm and comforting to her that she relaxed and let her guard down. He leaned forward and gently kissed her forehead like a big brother or father, then he kissed her eyes and the tip of her nose. Andrew's lips softly trailed off her nose and down along her cheek... then before Katrina realized what was happening he was kissing her lips. She tried to pull back but the wall was behind her and he was preventing her from moving, Katrina panicked as she felt his tongue part her lips and enter her mouth. Biting down hard on his tongue Katrina tasted blood and felt Andrew pull sharply back.
"What was-" Katrina didn't get to finish because Andrew suddenly had her pinned beneath him on the window seat his lips pressed hard against her and his hands trying to explore up her shirt.
Katrina wanted to scream, to punch him, kick him, something but her mind wasn't connecting with the rest of her body and she was helpless and terrified when Andrew was ripped off of her and she heard him shout, "What the H*^&!" Katrina sat up just as Andrew was pinned to a bookshelf by another young man; a young man with long red hair.
"If you ever come near Katrina-chan ever again, I will not hesitate to-"
"Kurama?" Katrina asked as she spit Andrew's blood out of her mouth.
Kurama turned around still pinning Andrew to the wall and his glare changed to a look of concern, "Katrina-chan, are you okay?"
"Now... now I am wha- look out!" Kurama turned and was punched in the face by Andrew, he dropped him and Andrew took a swing at Kurama again. But Kurama was faster and caught his blow this time and twisted Andrew's arm behind his back, "I suggest for your sake that you leave immediately and never come back," he said in a polite but angry voice. When he let Andrew go he fell to the floor but scrambled up and ran out of the store flicking Kurama and Katrina off. Once he was gone Kurama turned back to Katrina and inspected her from where he stood assessing the damage done to her. "I'm alright, Kurama, I bit him that's where the blood was from. What are you doing here, Uh! Thank you for doing that I mean, I- I just froze he caught me off guard and I... I don't know what happened." Kurama continued to stare at her and she started getting self- conscious and blush then he asked if she would mind if he sat down. She nodded and he came over and sat a respectable distance from her, she wanted to curl up in his arms and cry again but felt that after what had just happened and that she didn't want to upset Kurama it was best to stay where she was at. The he startled her, "Would you like... a... hug, Katrina-san?"
"You... you can call me chan or just Katrina or even Kat if you want to... and... yeah, I'm not usually into hugs but, I could really use one right now. Thanks," she said as she scooted closer to him and he tentatively wrapped an arm around her and gave her a gentle and quick hug.
Paper Voice
A YYH Fanfic
Chapter Nine
A couple of months later Genkai called Yusuke's place while Katrina was reading and Catherine was in the shower so Daiku answered. "Hello?"
"Who is this?" Genkai asked she hadn't met Daiku yet.
"This is Daiku, Catherine's boyfriend, who's this?"
"Ah, so you're the brat's boyfriend, where is she?"
"She's busy at the moment who are you?"
"This is Genkai, now get the vixen or the brat but give the phone to one of them I don't feel like talking to someone I don't know, about things that are none of their business."
"Vixen? Oh, hang on," Daiku put a hand over the phone and called, "Onee-chan, phone, it's Genkai!"
Katrina put her book down and got up slowly, stretching and rubbing her tired eyes as she made her way to the phone; she took it from Daiku and said hello.
"Katrina, get Catherine and head over here now, you two have had enough time off now it's time to train some more. *CLICK*" Genkai said what she'd wanted and hung up the phone. Katrina sighed and put the phone back on the receiver then knocked on the bathroom door, "Cat, Genkai wants us at her place fifteen minutes ago!"
"NOOO!" Katrina heard Catherine screech, "I don't wanna go back for more training I thought we were done!"
Katrina ignored Catherine's complaints and headed back to their room to make sure all her things were packed; Catherine barged in with soaking, dripping hair a couple minutes later. Daiku was right behind her and asked, "Who's Genkai and why does she want you back for training?"
"Genkai is Yusuke's old friend/trainer and she's a slave driver when it comes to training!" Catherine whined.
"Aw, c'mon she's not that bad, Cat, besides she probably wants us back so she can teach us how to change forms and remain in control of ourselves."
"If that's the case I wonder how she'll go about it. Hey, how long do ya think she's gonna keep us this time? If it's very long do you think she'll let Daiku come and train with us?"
"Neh, I doubt she'll let Daiku come, I can't imagine her wanting to put up with another student, she's already got her hands full with you and Yukina lives with her and Kuwabara's always visiting. Training wise... who knows, Genkai's unpredictable."
"You mean we're going to have to LD, Cat? That's not fair; I want to train too..." Daiku's voice trailed off at the look his girlfriend gave him.
"Trust me, you do not want to train with Genkai, Daiku, you should ask Yusuke to train you if you want to train so badly. And it wouldn't really be a long distance relationship for you guys, since Genkai is only a two hour train ride from here," Katrina said.
"Che, a two hour train ride and a mile and a half of nothing but stairs to get to her temple," Catherine chimed in. After a little more complaining and figuring out what she and Daiku would do Catherine packed her things and asked Katrina to dry her hair. Katrina sighed but warmed her hands and brushed them over Catherine's hair and when she was done Catherine looked like she had an afro. "Heh, oops, didn't expect that," Katrina giggled.
"What? What'd you- AH! Give me a brush now!" Catherine shouted, searching frantically through her bag for a brush.
"Aww, I like your hair better this way," Katrina teased.
"Shut up, we need to get going and you messing with my hair isn't going to get us out if here any faster."
Katrina and Daiku helped Catherine tame her hair and then the girls gathered their things and headed to the door; before they got there Daiku grabbed Catherine's wrist and spun her towards him into a kiss, a long kiss that turned into a lot of kisses.
"If you two are going to make out I think I'll just head off to the train station without you," Katrina said, rolling her eyes. She headed out the door and Catherine slowly pulled away from Daiku, "I'd better get going then," she said, "Keep in touch, visit every once in a while 'kay? Don't forget about your girlfriend."
"Tell Onee-chan I said bye." Catherine was at the door but stopped and turned to ask, "Why do you call her Onee-chan?"
"A couple months ago, you remember when we had our first date? I asked her for some advice and before we split up she told me to call her Onee-chan. She said I reminded her of her brother, why do you ask?"
"Just curious, hey maybe I should call her Onee-chan too, she is older and more mature than me as well, besides maybe it'll annoy her. Hey, have you noticed that she seems... a little more cautious when she has to go out by herself now? I've been concerned about that too, ever since we started dating she seems on edge more often than not, I wonder if it's because of us."
"I don't know, maybe you should talk to her about it you're her best friend after all."
"Yeah, you're right; bye, remember to visit and don't forget me!"
"Never in a million years, bye."
Catherine left Yusuke's apartment and found Katrina staring over the railing waiting for her, "Hey, I thought you'd be almost to the station by now, are you okay?"
"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I'm fine I just didn't feel like riding the train by myself, that's all. Daiku hogs you all the time so I thought I'd wait for you," Katrina teased, but Catherine could see in her eyes that Katrina was hiding something, her relationship with Daiku might be part of the problem but she doubted that. Katrina was always supportive and encouraging of Daiku and Catherine's relationship and she spent plenty of time with her best friend. And Katrina was usually all about being able to take care of herself because she hated feeling helpless, but lately she seemed scared of the world, and Catherine remembered that the day she and Daiku had had their first date she'd seen Katrina and Kurama together but not in a relationship way, it was like he was comforting her after a traumatic experience. Catherine had asked Katrina about it but she said she didn't feel like talking about it, and Kurama seemed to come over more often and spend time with Katrina, which was great but Katrina always seemed depressed around everyone lately.
When Katrina and Catherine were on the train Catherine inquired about it, "Katrina, is everything okay? You seem to be really depressed lately even when Kurama comes over to hang out with you. And he's been coming over a lot lately, I think he likes you, has he asked you out yet?"
Katrina had been reading her book but glanced at Catherine and quickly turned back to her book, it was a very quick glance but Catherine could see tears forming in Katrina's eyes. "Katrina, what's wrong? Will you please tell me, we used to talk about everything and now you've really retreated into yourself and your books, I can't help you if you won't talk to me?"
"I- I'd really rather not talk about it here," Katrina whispered.
Catherine understood that whatever was bothering Katrina was serious so she kept her mouth shut but gave her friend a strong hug and rubbed her back for a bit. At one point Katrina fell asleep and leaned against Catherine, some people gave the girls weird looks and Catherine glared at them and they looked away.
Katrina was still asleep when they reached the stop the girls needed so Catherine woke her and they got off and headed for Genkai's place. Catherine wanted to get Katrina to talk but she could see she wasn't ready so she waited until they were on the stairs leading to Genkai's before she asked again.
"Alright, Kat, it's time to talk. What's been bothering you so much lately?"
Katrina took a deep stuttering breath and said, "Okay, you have to promise not to tell anyone about this, Kurama is the only one who knows what happened and I don't want the other's to worry about me."
"I promise, we're best friends remember, I never tell anyone what we say to each other unless it's okay with you," Catherine replied and gave Katrina another gentle hug.
Katrina took another deep breath and then told Catherine everything that happened two months before after she'd run across the street to the ice cream shop. A few times Katrina had to stop and take a breath or wipe away tears and blow her nose but when she was finished telling her story she sighed with relief and smiled the first genuine smile in over two months.
"Wow, that's horrible, I'm so glad that Kurama was able to stop that guy before he did any more to you; Kat, I- I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you, if you'd come with us that wouldn't have happened to you. I wish I'd taken more notice sooner and helped you, I'm so sorry!" Catherine said giving her bffl a giant rib crushing hug refusing to let go.
"ACH! Cat, I... can't... breathe!" Katrina gasped.
"Don't worry we'll find this guy and I'll take care of him for you, he'll never touch another woman like that again!" Catherine vowed.
"Cat, don't, I was scared of him but thanks to you and Kurama; I think I feel a whole lot safer and better. No one's going to get to me like that again; but beating the guy up won't do any good. Now, we'd better get to Genkai's sometime today or she's going to make us train through the night," Katrina finished with a smile as she took off running up the steps.
"Heh, hey, wait up! You said Kurama's been helping you and that he saved you and gave you a hug, so does this mean you two are an official couple now?"
"You never know!" Katrina called back.
"C'mon, Onee-chan, if you two aren't a couple yet then I'm going to make you be a couple it's obvious that you two are crazy about each other so just admit it and give everybody what they've been waiting for. We can all see it; you guys are perfect for each other!"
Katrina stopped and Catherine nearly ran her over, "Wh-" Catherine cut herself off when she saw Kurama walking down the steps a little surprised to see them. "Hey, Kurama! So are you and Kat an official couple or what she won't tell me," Catherine called.
When Kurama was standing just a couple of stairs above them he answered Catherine's question, "Well, I don't know that you would call us a couple, we have been spending more time together but I was..." he stopped and looked at Katrina with a question in his eyes, Have you told her about what happened? Is it okay for me to bring it up? Katrina nodded and Kurama went on, "I was helping her through a rough time, we weren't really dating but..." Kurama turned to Katrina again and spoke directly to her, "If you want us to be a couple then I am perfectly fine with that, I've grown to like you more than any girl I've meet in a long time. Katrina, would you be my girlfriend?"
Katrina's entire face turned a deep red and Catherine tried to contain a laugh but couldn't, "C'mon, Onee-chan, you've liked him since you met him and you said that you wanted him to ask you so just say yes!"
Katrina looked down and took a deep breath, "Yeah, yes, I would be honored," she replied. Catherine burst out laughing so hard she nearly fell backwards, "You two are definitely perfect for each other! You're both so formal in your questions and answers! HAHAHAHAHAH!"
Kurama and Katrina cracked up too as Katrina grabbed Catherine's shoulder to keep her from falling; when the laughing had settled Catherine said, "Whelp, I guess I'll leave you two lovebirds- I mean kitsunes- alone, here give me your bag, Onee-chan and I'll let Genkai know you're coming." Katrina blushed again but handed her bag to Catherine and walked up the steps to stand in front of Kurama. As Catherine walked past them Kurama pulled Katrina into a kiss and she blushed so hard her face burned my first kiss, she thought, well, my first official kiss.
"I'd better let you go so Genkai doesn't kill us; I'll visit as much as I can. Goodbye... Katrina," Kurama said, pulling out of the kiss.
"Bye, if anyone asks their curiosity can now be satisfied," Katrina smiled as she waved goodbye to her boyfriend.
Genkai wasn't happy to be kept waiting but she quickly explained what the girls had already guessed: they were going to train in their demon forms. "There isn't much that I can do to help you two with this but you need to know how to change form at will. When you have accomplished that your training will be over. . . Unless there's something else I need to teach you later." And with that Genkai left the girls to figure out how to change form on their own. "Well, I'm going to try and meditate in the woods, maybe the shadow realm will help you, Cat," Katrina said, as she walked towards the tree line, "Say hi to Yukina for me if you see her!" she finished as she disappeared. Cat heaved a sarcastic sigh and opened a portal into the shadow realm and stepped through it into total darkness.
After what felt like hours of nothing but floating in the dark with nothing happening, Catherine yawned and decided to check on Katrina's progress. She located Katrina's shadow and floated through it; she found Katrina still meditating in a tree but she was obviously having better luck than Catherine. Katrina had kitsune ears and a tail and her outfit and hair had changed too: her hair was in a single, long, braid down her back; she was wearing baggy cameo pants and a black tank top. Then Katrina slowly opened her eyes and Catherine saw that they were a deep scarlet. "Hey, Cat, how long have you been hiding in my shadow?" she asked.
"Not long I only just popped up to check on your progress, how long have you been out here? You look like you accomplished what Genkai expects of you."
"Hmm?" Katrina looked down at herself, "Oh, I guess I did, well it looks like you did too, your eyes are completely black and have shadows streaming out the sides of them, it's kinda creepy, and your outfits changed too."
"It has? Wait. My eyes are shadows now? COOL!" Catherine looked down at herself and saw that she was wearing black form fitting jeans and a black midriff top; her hair was up in a ponytail and her nails looked like they'd grown and were dipped in black poison.
While she was taking in her own appearance Katrina was doing the same thing, she felt her ears and tail and nearly fell out of the tree in excitement. "We look so cool!" the girls said in unison.
"I wonder if Genkai will make us stay since we managed to change or if she wants us to actually train in these forms." Catherine said. Katrina jumped out of the tree and Catherine offered her a ride through the shadow realm back to Genkai's, "I love ya like a sister, Cat, but there is absolutely no way I'm going into that place again."
"Suit yourself, it's getting dark and we're a long way from Genkai's," Catherine shrugged her shoulders as she sank into Katrina's shadow.
"What better way to test out my senses than in the dark?" Katrina replied, but Catherine was already gone.
Paper Voice
A YYH Fanfic
Chapter Ten
Catherine was having a delightful dream about Hiei skipping through a field of flowers lighting matches and set the flowers on fire with a giant goofy smile on his face*; when she was rudely awoken by a bucket of cold water being dumped on her. "HRAAAAAAAHHHHH! WHAT THE H-!" she screamed. Katrina dropped the bucket and ran out of the room laughing as Catherine jumped up and dashed after her. Then she slipped into the shadows and popped out of the floor two feet in front of Katrina; Katrina skidded and turned a corner heading out side. Catherine slipped into the shadows again and came up grabbing Katrina's ankle's effectively tripping her. She fell flat on her face and shouted a muffled "OW!" into the floor because she'd bruised her nose, rolling over she laughed at her angry friend. "I- couldn't hel- help it! Genkai told me to do it and who am I to argue with Sensei?"
"Coward..." Catherine grumbled, and started laughing as well.
"Here I'll dry you off if you'd like?" Katrina asked.
"Much appreciated, Kat. So let me guess, Genkai's got more training for us?"
"Actually no, she said the gang's coming over and she wants us to make lunch for everyone. Plus there's supposed to be some new guests she wants us to meet. She say's they're old friends of the gang's and that they don't know they're coming so we need to keep quiet about it."
Catherine groaned, "Fine, I'll cook but you have to clean."
"Deal! I hate cooking."
After Catherine was dry and dressed she and Katrina headed to the kitchen to get started they knew they were going to be making a big meal and they had a lot of work to do. Catherine told Katrina what pots and pans to get out while she found the ingredients that she'd need and once everything was set up she started making lunch. Since there wasn't anything else for Katrina to do until after the meal she grabbed a book and went up to the roof.
Eventually Catherine popped out of Katrina's shadow and said that everyone was showing up so it was almost time for lunch and Genkai told them to set the really long table. Katrina put her book in her back pocket and jumped down near the kitchen; inside Yukina and Catherine were already setting up and she joined them. Keiko and Botan came in a few minutes later and asked if the girls would like help and before they knew it the table was set and everyone was seated waiting to dig in. Keiko sat next to Yusuke and Kuwabara and Yukina sat next to each other the same went for Daiku and Catherine and Botan sat on one side of Katrina while Kurama sat on the other. Genkai came in and announced that the surprise guests had arrived and in came a little boy with stars under his eyes, a huge guy with a purple mow hawk, a red haired guy with a horn in the middle of his head, and a young man with silver hair and green bangs that looked almost plastic. Yusuke and Kuwabara jumped up and shouted a mix of names while Kurama smiled and walked over to say hello to everyone as well.
"Gin, it's great to see you again! Chu, you up for a fight after lunch? Hey, Rinku try not to kill Kuwabara; Toya it's been forever since we saw you, how has everyone been?" Yusuke asked. The reunion went on for a few more minutes before Catherine jumped up and shouted, "Hey, are you forgetting something? I slaved over an evil stove for hours to bring you men this feast and you're all totally disregarding it. I thought men followed their stomachs, you can have your lovey reunion AFTER we eat!"
Jin started laughing so hard he nearly puked, when he'd finally caught his breathe he replied, "Well, she's got a big mouth and a wit to go with it are you sure you ain't related to Yusuke?"
Katrina started laughing so hard she fell out of her seat as Catherine jumped up to shout, "How dare you compare me to that oaf! Everyone knows I'm a million times smarter than him, there is absolutely NO WAY we could be related to each other!" Botan leaned over and helped Katrina back up only for her to fall again as Jin appeared floating in her face. "Hello, there, and who might you be? Another red head to add to the group? I hope that your smart 'cause everyone knows that if your friend there's as dumb as Yusuke then Kurama and Hiei need someone on their side to counter the stupidity." Jin grinned from ear to ear, "By the way where is Hiei anyway?"
"I don't think Cat would be happy to be lumped in with Kuwabara and Yusuke. My name's Katrina by the way. And I have no clue where Hiei is, we haven't really seen him since Cat glomped him and started playing with his hair," Katrina replied still giggling and enjoying Jin's Irish accent.
Someone cleared their throat and Jin turned to see Kurama, "Would you please back away from my girlfriend so that she can get up, Jin?" Jin blinked startled by what Kurama had said but backed away.
"Ah, so the lovely little lady's already taken, that's too bad. 'Course I'm glad that you finally found yourself a girl, Kurama, how long have you been together?"
Kurama helped Katrina up and she was quickly glomped by an ecstatic Botan who shouted, "KATRINA I'M SO HAPPY FOR YOU!" Startled by Botan's outburst everyone went quiet and stared at her and the girl being crushed in her arms. "What do you mean, Botan?" Keiko asked.
"Katrina and Kurama are boyfriend and girlfriend now!"
"... That's not even the best part," Catherine said with an evil gleam in her eye. "You guys should have seen the-" Katrina jerked free of Botan's death glomp and clamped her hand over Catherine's mouth. "If you know what's good for you, you'd better lose that thought quick and never bring it up again," Katrina whispered menacingly in Catherine's ear. Yukina tilted her head in an adorable manner and said, "Should have seen what, Catherine-Chan?"
Catherine pulled Katrina's hand off of her mouth and finished, "way he asked her and she responded. It was priceless, you'd all be laughing so hard; man, I wish Hiei was here to telepathically show you guys cause just telling you isn't nearly as funny. But I can't tell you or Kat'll kill me."
"Aw, c'mon, Kat, lighten up and let her tell us. A funny story on Kurama's expense would be so worth it," Yusuke begged. Katrina went red in the face and Catherine took that as the okay to tell what happened. "Okay, yesterday Kat and I were heading up here to Genkai's when we ran into Kurama on the stairs. I started teasing him about how he and Katrina would make a great couple and wondering if he'd ever ask her to be his girlfriend when he said... and I quote," Catherine tried imitating the way Kurama had talked, "'If you want us to be a couple then I am perfectly fine with that, I've grown to like you more than any girl I've meet in a long time. Katrina, would you be my girlfriend?' and then Katrina said, 'Yeah, yes, I would be honored'" Katrina was red in the face as she glared at Catherine who just burst out laughing with Yusuke and most everyone else.
"Man, Kurama, I didn' know your speech habits were contagious!" Yusuke gasped as he laughed.
Botan scooped up Yukina, Keiko, and Catherine and started whispering a plan she'd just come up with, after lunch they had a surprise for Katrina. Catherine grinned when Katrina looked at her, "What are you girls planning?" she asked.
"It's nothing, Katrina-Chan, don't worry about it," Keiko replied as she headed to the table to eat.
Daiku grabbed Catherine's wrist and asked her if they were ever going to dig into the meal she'd prepared or if they were waiting for it to rot. Catherine gave him a quick kiss and they sat down and started eating; eventually everyone else joined them and lunch finally officially commenced.
As soon as lunch was over the girls scooped up Katrina and headed for the train station and the boys went outside to fight. Katrina immediately knew what they had planned for her and started fighting to get free and run for her life. "Oh, calm down, Katrina-Chan, we're not going to hurt you just get you some new clothes and maybe a makeover as well," Botan said.
Paper Voice
A YYH Fanfiction
Chapter Eleven
After much protesting and threats, the girls managed to get Katrina into a clothing store and trying things on for them. They ran into Shuzure while waiting for Katrina to come out of the dressing room and invited her to join in tormenting their friend. "Kat, if you don't come out here and show us how that dress looks on you I will be forced to come in there and drag you out!" Catherine called.
"Please don't make me come out, I look like a total idiot in this thing," Katrina whined.
"You have until the count of three and then I'm dragging your stuborn a-"
"Okay, okay, I'm coming out..." The door opened slowly and Katrina steped out hiding her face in her hair. The girls stood stunned for a minute then Keiko said, "Katrina-Chan, you are buying that dress and we will find an occasion suitible for it."
The dress was floor length, form-fitting, dark green, with only one sleeve on the left shoulder, the sleeve was a thin gauzy material that flowed down to Katrina's wrist and hung down a couple of inches. "You look beautiful, Katrina-Chan, I think you should dress up more often, now all we have to do are get you some shoes and fix your hair and you'll be so stunning that everyone will stop and stare in amazement," Botan said.
"Dang, Kat, I didn't know you had such a nice figure, you're always hiding it with loose clothing that just barely captures it," Catherine said.
"Can I change out of this now?" Katrina asked, "Hey, Shuzure, when did you get here?"
"Just a few minutes ago, so why are you shopping, I thought you hated it?"
"I-"
"She and Kurama are dating now and we wanted to update her wardrobe so she'd actually have nice things to wear," Botan interupted. Shuzure's eyes widened a little before she smilled and replied, "Well good for you, Kiddo, I knew you liked him. It was just a matter of time."
The girls dragged Katrina through a couple hours of shopping before she managed to slip away and head to the train station back to Genkai's. Everything they had her buy was back with them so she walked slowly enjoying the peace and the scenery; she passed a park on her way and smiled at the little kids playing.
"Tag, you're it!"
"Nuuh I said no tag-backs!"
"You can't do that when there are only five people playing..."
Katrina continued on smiling to herself as she remembered playing all sorts of fun games with her friends when she was little, hide and seek was her favorite because no one ever found her. Of course it was a little annoying when the seeker had found everyone and forgot about her. Frisbee was fun too, except for the one time a friend of hers threw the frisbee when she wasn't looking and knocked her tooth out, it didn't grow back until almost two years later.*
Reaching the train station Katrina waited and ended up having to stand for half an hour because all the seats were taken, when a seat finally opened up she let a lady with a todler have it instead. The lady smilled a thank you at her while she tried to settle her child down. Katrina sang a silly song to the crying child and he perked up immediately and started laughing; she sang, "My mamma, she gave me a penny, she told me to buy a henny... I did not buy a henny, instead I bought bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum. My momma she gave me a nickle she told me to buy a pickle... I did not buy a pickle, instead I bought bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum. My mamma, she gave me a dime, she told me to buy a lime... I did not buy a lime, instead I bought bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum. My mamma she gave me a quarter, she told me to buy some boarder... I did not buy some boarder, instead I bought bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum. My mamma, she gave me a dollar, she told me to buy a collar... I did not buy a collar, instead I bought some bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum. My mamma she gave me a ten, she told me to buy a pen... I did not buy a pen, instead I bought some bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum. My mamma, she gave me a five, she told me to stay alive... I did not stay alive, instead I CHOKED on bubble gum... bazooka-zooka bubble gum!" The toddler smilled and laughed and laughed and his mom smilled a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. I guess she didn't find the song that funny, Katrina thought, sorry ma'am, I didn't mean to offend you, just trying to help.
The woman got off at the next stop and her son said, "Bye-bye, funny lady!" and waved and grinned at Katrina; she smiled and waved back as the doors closed and the train headed off again. I wonder if anybody's noticed I'm gone yet? I should be almost to Genkai's by now. Katrina continued to stand even though there was pleanty of room to sit as the train moved on heading to the stop she needed; she started to doze off when the train came to a screeching stop and the doors opened and she got off.
Catherine looked around and asked, "Has anyone seen Kat?" All conversation stopped and the girls looked around, finally noticing that their friend wasn't with them.
"Maybe she went to the bathroom?" Keiko said.
"No, we left the clothing store almost an hour ago and got ice cream and it's been... what two hours now. Maybe she's at Genkai's, she probably left while we were procupied. Nothing to worry about when we get back we can make her do chores for making us lug around her stuff."
"I've got a better idea, why don't we make her do a fasion show for the boys? That's a suitible punishment, don't you think, Cat?" Shuzure said.
Catherine's face broke out in a huge grin and she whole heartedly agreed with Shuzure's plan, Yukina objected a little saying that it was mean of them but Keiko and Botan agreed as well and Catherine tried to convice Yukina to agree as well.
"Let's head back so we can make her do it after dinner," Keiko said.
"Keiko, I didn't know you could be cruel, I'd expect that from Botan-"
"Hey!" Botan protested.
"Hey, if the shoe fits wear it," Catherine finished.
Once the girls got off the train they were coming up with all sorts of ways to get Katerine back for ditching them and how to get the fashion show to work. They decided to save the green dress for last since they agreed it was the most stunning.
When Katrina got back to Genkai's she slipped into the kitchen, turned on her mp3 and started quietly singing along with the songs as she did the dishes. She was still working on them and singing a little louder when the guys came in from fighting, they all headed strait to the kitchen for drinks and Jin scooped Katrina up and she nearly broke his nose when she punched him. He dropped her and grabbed his nose, she landed on her butt with a hard thump and pulled out her ear buds. The guys were laughing and Katrina walked over to the freezer and pulled out some ice, then wraped it up in a washcloth and handed it to Jin. "Well, that's what you deserve for sneeking up on a girl like that," she said trying to hold back a smile.
"Your girl puches harder than Yusuke, Kurama, watch out, you don't want to get on her bad side," Jin said in a muffled voice.
Catherine and the rest of the girls walked in then and saw Jin on the floor with a washcloth and bloody nose, the guys laughing and Katrina doing dishes with her earbuds back in as if nothing happened. "What happened here?" Shuzure asked after the guys managed to settle a little.
"Jin snuck up on Katrina and she broke his nose," Kuwabara said and started to laugh again which started eveyone laughing.
"I knew Kat had a good punch but I didn't realize it was that strong now. Man, I'd better make sure not to warrent her fist, I goofed with her once when we were tweleve and she puched me so hard my arm when numb,* but that's nothing compared to now since she had training," Catherine said. Yusuke's stomach rumbled and Chu said, "Hey, are we going to get some dinner soon? And pleanty to drink as well!"
"Alright, Chu, we will make dinner but you guys gotta get out of the kitchen so we can make it, if you want to get drunk talk it over with Genkai first. This is her home after all," Keiko said shooing the boys out.
As the girls fixed dinner the whispered about the fashion show afterward, even though Katrina was listening to her music, on the roof while she read they didn't want to risk spoiling it. Katrina came in when the meal was ready and helped set the table, Yusuke came into the kitchen for a minute to make a joke about the women's role of the house and Keiko threatened to slap him senseless so that he'd miss the meal and he quickly dissapeared. Katrina went back to Genkai's game room to announce that dinner was ready and was nearly trampled as Rinku, Kuwabara, Chu, Yusuke, and Daiku ran to get to the food first. Katrina rolled her eyes and turned to follow Toya and Kurama to the dinning room. Kurama turned and took Katrina's hand, "how was your day out with the girls?" he asked as he bent and gave her a quick kiss.
"Sheer, torture, and I just know that they've cooked up some horrid plan of revenge for me ditching them." Kurama chuckled and brushed Katrina's hair behind her ear, she scowled a little and giggled, "I don't like my hair behind my ears unless I'm working or eating."
"I'm sorry, I just couldn't help it, you look nice with your hair back." Kurama was about to kiss her again when Genkai walked by and said, "Hurry up love birds before the meal's gone and you don't get to eat."
When the meal was over and cleared away, Catherine told everyone to head to the living room for a surprise, then she grabbed Katrina's wrist and dragged her to her room. "For ditching us and making me carry your stuff, your punishment is a fashion show of all the clothes that you bought, you will do this you're not getting out of it." Katrina ran for the window only to be stopped by Hiei, she skidded to a stop and fell. "What are you doing here?" she asked. He replied with his typical, 'Hn' and continued to block Katrina's escape. "I asked him to come, I thought it would be great for everyone to get to see him again, since he's hardly ever around," Catherine elaborated for Hiei.
"Oh, so you... How did you convince him to come, I thought he hated you?" Catherine grinned and wagged her finger, "This is about your punishment, now here," Catherine tossed a bag at Katrina, "change into this and come out into the living room and show it off."
Hiei went out the window and headed to the living room to be assulted by the love and excitment of the Baka crew waiting there. Katrina tried to fight some more but it only ended with the threat of more punishment so she finally did as she was told. Katrina changed quite a lot and had a perminent blush on her face from all the attention and embarassment by the time she changed into her final outfit, the green dress. "Gah! Cat, do I really have to go out there again, and in this? Please don't make me, I'm tired and still have the dinner dishes to wash," Katrina whined.
"Yes, you have to, it's the last one and then your done and you can do the dishes or go to bed or whatevery it is you feel like doing."
Katrina wanted to put up more of a fight, but she was too tired so she changed into the dress and was about to head to the living room when Catherine stoped her, "change into your demon form, you'll look georgous and everyone will be so stunned. It'll be the perfect end to the show."
Yusuke and Chu were arguing over who won their last fight while the girls were giddy with the excitement of knowing what was going to happen next and wondering how Kurama and the other's would react when Catherine came out and said, "Okay, I know you're probably all tired of seeing Kat hide behind her hair and blush and show off everyday clothing. Well now, you'll be glad to hear that it's the end, this is the last outfit she has to show you. Now, you should prepare yourselves, becacuse this is the best one and she's got a surprise for eveyone. So, with out further ado, here's Kat..." Catherine took a slight bow and moved so that Katrina could walk into the room. . .
The silence was so thick you could cut it with a katana, it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room in the collective gasp everyone took. Katrina walked out and stood in the middle of the living room staring at the wall behind everyone as they took in her standing in the green dress with her hair braided back neatly and her fox ears and tail twitching nervously.
"Wow," Rinku managed to break the silence.
"You look georgous, Katrina," Kurama said as he got up to hug her. She was blushing so badly she could feel her face burning. There were more comments about how beautiful she looked and complimenting Catherine on getting Katrina into her demon form to add to the beauty.
It took a few more minutes of chatter before everyone started to settle down and realize how tired they were, Katrina yawned and leaned on Kurama and smiled. Daiku turned on some music, that no one could figure out where it came from, and swooped Catherine into a dance. Kuwabara asked Yukina if she would dance with him and everyone soon everyone was dancing except for Katrina and Kurama.
"Would you like to dance?" Kurama whispered in her ear; she gently shook her head and yawned. Kurama scooped her into his arms and carried her to her room. Gently he laid her on her bed and took her shoes off, then pulled the blaket out from under her and over her, before he left the room he kissed her on the forehead and closed the door behind him. She smiled in the dark and drifted off to sleep ignoring the noise down the hall.
Author's Note: *true stories... from now on (to make it easier on me) if there's an * it means true story, something that really happened to me and my friend. Unless I post otherwise. And the 'dream' about Hiei in the last chapter was a crazy idea my friend cooked up as well, we were laughing so hard and I teased that if Hiei were real then he'd kill her because of that. Thank you for reading. If you like it or have anyting you feel like saying please let me know, I love chatting with new people. And I want to know what you think of my story. ^_^