1. Sometimes You Just Need A Girlfriend

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu Yu Hakusho or any of its characters. I also do not own any game characters or lyrics that I may also put in here. Thank you.

Chapter Thirty-Five: Sometimes You Just Need A Girlfriend

Peaceful.

That was how I felt the moment I stepped off the train and onto the platform of the Odakyu station. As usual, it was overflowing with fellow passengers and a tidal wave of awaiting passengers. I could hear the blaring of whistles and crescendo of conversations all around me. Several businessmen were discussing upcoming meetings and talking hurriedly into

cellphones. A baby was crying in the distance and the young mother was shushing the child with a quick lullaby. The air was dry and filled with the smell of exhaust, food from an

indoor food station, and waste from nearby trashcans. Yet, I was closer to home than I had

been in three months.

I could do without the smell of pollution, which was something that I immediately picked up after living in the countryside for three months. Being surrounded by this many people was

also an overwhelming feeling because I had only been around a set number of familiar people.

In fact, if it weren't for the burly guard ahead of me, I would have been swept away among the sea of travelers. Silently, I wished my guard was here to guide me among the masses, as he was a giant shield against pointy elbows.

Jet was on vacation. He informed me that he would stay in contact, via cellphone, when it

would be appropriate for us to head back to Genkai's temple. He reminded me to keep up with my stretches and try to work in some time for running. Otherwise, I'd be regretting it when

we went back to the temple to fit in some extra training for Genkai's approval. He was right.

Genkai would not be happy if I came back all stiff and sluggish. I'm not sure where I was going to work in some conditioning time, as Yusuke and Hiei would wonder why I felt the

sudden need to exercise. I was only supposed to train my mind, not body.

The only people who knew of my plan were Jet, Lena, and Genkai. Everyone else was ignorant and I hoped it remained that way. Eventually, Koenma would be added to my list when I

discussed my decision with him later on in the week. I prayed he would listen to my request and not brush me away because of his need for Hiei's assistance.

Arriving a day earlier than planned, I was to spend the day with the guards and –

"Woo-hoo," howled a vibrant voice from behind me. I glanced over my shoulder with a grin at the sight of Valon. She descended the train with eager eyes and a smile that blinded the

crowd. A dozen people regarded the tall, bronzed-skin woman and her red highlights with grim expressions. "Man, I can't wait to see the city! I'm a tourist, baby!"

Yes, Valon accompanied me home because she had a mission.

-Flashback-

"Karen, did you hear me?"

My eyelids fluttered open at Valon's intruding question. Silently, I regarded her with a lift of my eyebrow and she crossed her arms with a teasing scowl.

"What has you so preoccupied, Karen," she asked curiously. "You've had your head in the clouds for the past couple of days."

Quickly, my cheeks heated up and I tried to turn away from her probing black eyes. Valon

hardly missed a thing with those obsidians, as my actions were too slow to avoid the flicker of recognition dancing within her exotic eyes. Valon's lips stretched into a shrewd grin.

"Oh, I think I know. I bet it's that badass demon you're with – what was his name," she asked while tapping her chin thoughtfully. Avoiding her gaze, I looked pointedly at the passing

clouds. "I think it was hot as hell Hiei."

Casually, I waved a hand toward the sky. "I was actually thinking that the clouds look like

–"

"C'mon," she elbowed me in the side and I grunted at the jab. It kind of hurt. "I still can't believe someone like you is with him."

Hearing that, I frowned worriedly. "What do you mean 'someone like you'?"

"Well, I mean he's all dark and mysterious." Valon pushed herself up and wrapped her arms around her knees. "When I first saw him, I was like, he's one mean son of a bitch, but

extremely hot. Then, I kind of pieced together that you two were involved after you guys

disappeared for a while." Narrowing her eyes slightly, she stared down at me. "How did you guys end up with each other?"

I went back to watching the clouds. They really were developing into unique shapes. I easily spotted a cloud that resembled a chess piece. It made me think of the times Kenji would

demolish my army of white pieces in a game of chess. He would laugh insanely and demand I bow

down to his conquering kingdom.

"Karen," she whined at my silence. "You and Nessa are my only girlfriends, _ever_," Valon's face drew up into one of dramatic sorrow. "Enlighten me, Karen. My love life is in the

gutter!" She was screeching her words, uncaring if any nearby guards heard. "I haven't had sex for nearly a year!"

I cleared my throat discreetly at her outburst. Down below, a beefy guard looked up from

where he was standing at the bottom of the hill. I heard the training in the distance pause at her admission for a whole minute. It was as if the world went silent, in a type of

astonishment for Valon's 'the slump'. Valon didn't care. She defied silence of any sort, even if she were standing in a stadium full of thousands of people that suddenly went mute.

"I'm twenty-one years old and I'm in a dry spell. The least you can do is talk about your demon." She nudged my shoulder. "Hey, I know what's like to be young," Valon wiggled her

eyebrows suggestively and I eased away. "What's it like being with him? Who made the first move –"

At the insanely fast-paced questions, I sat up.

"What was your first kiss like with him? Was it rough like him? Does he like to bite – I bet he does, doesn't he?" She was grinning mischievously. I was ready to run for cover to avoid further embarrassment when she suddenly said, "Ooh! How _big_ is he?"

I staggered back onto my rear and this time my face went up in flames. "W-what," I asked dryly.

Suddenly, Valon was silent and I could see the wheels turning in her head. The bronzed-

skinned woman slowly lifted an eyebrow and I forced my blush away. Straightening my shirt, I avoided those black eyes of hers that were beginning to gleam brightly.

"Karen," she began quietly that it was an astonishing whisper, "are you a virgin?"

At the question, I hung my head with a miserable sigh. "Why do you have to ask like it's a crime to be?"

"Really," she asked, taking my question as an admission. "You mean that hot demon and you haven't had sex yet?"

She wasn't going to leave me alone. Valon was persistent and knowing that, I flopped back

onto my back to glare at the clouds. "We're getting there," I finally said, seeing as she was determined to be these _girlfriends_. "I was just thinking that he's going to be in Demon

World a lot and I'm worried that I'm not as appealing to him as those," I tried to make my voice strong, but it came out in a murmur, "women over there."

Frowning, Valon grabbed my shoulders and lifted me back into a sitting position. We were

sitting side by side and staring down the hill where another priestess was sparring with a guard. Valon was quiet and I looked away from the priestess to pick at the grass. Perhaps

there were times Valon joined the silence, if there was something huge dancing in the air. My virgin ways must have been twirling about in the clouds like elephant ballerinas right now.

"Karen, you're beautiful." She half turned toward me, but I kept my eyes pinned to the growing pile of shredded grass near my left shoe. "Hasn't he ever told you that?"

_No_, I answered silently. I thought over her question while twirling a blade of grass. The only compliments he had made toward me were over that burnt stir-fry and that my hips were big. I don't think the last one was a compliment. Regardless, it was most likely the _only_ acknowledgment he would ever pay to my body.

_"As if," he drawled out, "seeing your body excites me, woman."_

Hiei had sounded like he meant all those words long ago. He had even regarded me with looks of disgust on a number of occasions, like the time we accidentally brushed too close to one another on the day of my test. The casual dress days for school when I had donned on

something cute were met by his critical eyes and comments that always made me second-guess my

appearance.

I don't know how he viewed me anymore. He was different toward me now than he was in the beginning, but as for why, I didn't know. I wondered what changed his views toward me.

Unless, he had grown tolerant to me, like one does toward a disgusting rodent that escapes capture.

It was hard to read Hiei. I never knew what he was thinking. Sometimes, I wished he would

tell me if he thought I was pretty. I was starting to feel like this ugly creature that was plastered to his side where he couldn't dislodge himself from, so he settled.

_Settled_, I thought grimly. _That is such an ugly word._

But he touched me. He kissed me. Surely, he had to find me somewhat pretty to want to keep pushing me toward sex. He even kept up our relationship when we had returned to Hakone.

Except, he was in Demon World now, which would provide him with plenty of opportunities to find another woman. I was stuck here in my world. If he found someone else, I could never compete.

I hadn't even heard from in three months. I hadn't seen him in three months. I didn't think

Hiei would answer any of my letters if I were to send any, so I kept from writing him. He had never tried to contact me either, which also kept me from trying to reach out to him. Three

months was such a long time – people change in three months.

What if he came back, saw me, and realized that he must have been completely blind to think of ever wanting to be with me?

Now I was starting to work myself up too much with all these questions and doubts. The negatives outweighed the positives in these flustered thoughts. I could be wrong. I was

usually wrong. He might think I'm pretty. He might not be settling. He might one day say 'hey, Karen, I think you're pretty, but yes, you still have big hips. I didn't lie about that'.

Why couldn't I think of myself with him without using words like might and maybe?

Sighing inwardly, I forced a smile onto my face and threw some grass onto her crossed legs. "Yes, of course he has."

Either I was becoming a great liar or Valon was easily fooled, because she grinned brightly. "See," she nudged my shoulder again, "so what's the problem?"

I thought of our first kiss. I had reacted so violently at the contact of his mouth that I

reared up and knocked heads with him. He kept massaging his head for the majority of the day whenever he would stop to gas up the bike. There was also the most recent time where I had

taken off my shirt. I had completely humiliated myself by stupidly offering myself to him when sex had not been his intention. He even laughed at me when I had thrown myself at him the time he was fixing his mark on me.

I just couldn't do anything right.

Lowering my eyes, I mumbled dejectedly, "I just don't want to disappoint him…" I left off 'again' as Valon would question the times I had disappointed him.

Sparing me a sincere smile, Valon patted my shoulder. "You're not going to disappoint him. The next step is – it just comes naturally." Twisting her lips thoughtfully, Valon asked, "how long have you two been together?"

The honest question caused the wheels in my head to spin furiously. I looked at my fingers, as if the slender digits could calculate the exact time of our odd relationship. Did I count

it from the time of the first kiss? Did I count it from when things started heating up? There was also that conversation we had in the forest before the fight in Tokyo. Was that the start to things? Blinking, I decided to use the time we left Tokyo. It gave me a distinct time

frame.

"Six months before I left for training," thinking of when we first met, I added, "but I've known him longer than that… over a year now."

At my answer, she spluttered in disbelief. "A-and you two never," she didn't finished her sentence. Instead, she shook her head with a grin. "That's amazing! You have him whipped, girl!" Eagerly, she grabbed my hands and gushed, "Karen, what was your first date like?"

Again, she stunned me into brief silence. The wheels in my head were trembling in overdrive.

I think a nut went loose and was pinging around like a bullet. The thoughts went blank. I couldn't recall a single date – because we never went on a date.

When I didn't say anything for a few minutes, Valon's grin turned downward. Uncertainly, she said, "you did go on dates, right?"

"Well, we uh," I searched for anything that had been akin to a date, "went to the movies one time."

"Really?" she asked with a raised eyebrow. How was it that she could buy my lie over Hiei calling me beautiful, but not the half lie about the date?

Blabbering, I eyed my hands. "I mean he took me there and everything. Actually, he was forced to take me to the movies," I waved my hand in an offhand manner, "but that's a long story. We ended up seeing only thirty minutes of the movie," I thought of Shizuru, "so I never knew how the movie ended. It was pretty good – the bit that I saw, I mean."

Valon scowled, "that doesn't count." She leaned in closer and I could smell her citrus-y

shampoo. "Did you two go on any dates," she asked fatally, as if we had committed a morbid offense.

I fingered the hem of my shirt. "What do you consider a date?"

"Did he take you anywhere on his own, just to spend time with you?"

"Yes!" I held up a finger with a bright smile. "We had lunch," quickly, my smile faded. We had had lunch in Tokyo after shopping for my school supplies. At the time, I hadn't thought of it as a date of any sort. If I had, I probably would have stammered out the question to

him when I asked if he wanted to get some lunch. Glancing at her, I dropped my finger, "but I asked him. I guess it wasn't really a date. I was just really hungry and he was my ride for

the day."

Valon set her hands on her hips and a dark aura rolled off of her in waves. "You're telling me," she peered into my face. Our noses were touching and I swallowed, "he's never taken you anywhere, at all, in the entire time you've known him?"

Well, Hiei and I had taken plenty of walks in Tokyo, Hakone, and Shirakawa-go. Most of the time, we never spoke on the walks, but Hiei wasn't big on talking. I searched my mind for anything in answer to her question, but most of the places we went to were forced on his

part. He had to take me to the library because Keiko insisted and I was freaking out about the test. We went to pick up my uniform in Tokyo, but again, that was forced. The movie we went to was never finished. I asked him if we could have lunch and he was annoyed at my

offer. I guess… we never did do anything like what Valon was implying. He took me to plenty of hotels on his own, did that count?

"No, no, no," Valon waved her finger agitatedly after another lengthy silence. I leaned away with wide eyes as she jumped to her feet. "You're gonna get your dates, girl."

Blinking at her question, I muttered, "I am?"

"Yes, you are," she fumed with an odd light in her eyes. "If he wants sex, he's got to work for it, especially with you! You're beautiful, kindhearted, amazing, and," she slapped my

arm, like it was my fault, "Karen, you deserve to be treated like a woman! You can't give him yourself yet, especially since he's going to be your first. I know he's good looking and all, but it sounds to me like you're giving him some nibbles when he hasn't paid up."

I blushed… but I liked the nibbles.

Maybe I should mention that he had saved my life a number of times and was probably expecting payment of a sort. Maybe I should have told her that we had already been living with one

another before we got serious. Maybe I should have said he's been waiting for a long time already – like months. Maybe I should also mention that we were mates, which was like

marriage, so having sex was kind of needed right now. I doubt mates date anyways.

Hiei wasn't the dating type. I almost laughed at such a silly idea, but my heart gave a

pathetic tug. He would never ask me to dinner. I would never dance with him. I'll never get any flowers from him, even if I loved flowers. Hiei wouldn't even take me to a movie. Movies may be a juvenile type of date, but I loved going to the movies.

I guess I missed out on all those romantic start offs to a relationship. It wasn't as if he

was withdrawing from me anymore. I couldn't even remember the last time he used a grunt as an answer for my questions. He even laughed a little whenever I did something stupid. I had been extremely happy when he responded kindly to me wanting to hold his hand. He let me touch his face without pushing me away with a glare. I also slept in his arms, which was something I

would never forget. His warmth, smell, and strong arms were a cage against the cold world.

I'm sure if I wanted a date, I could beg him to take me to the movies. He wouldn't have to do anything, just sit there while I watched and plowed through a ton of snacks. He wouldn't even have to buy me a flower, as I was satisfied with the sketchbook he had bought me (but he had also been forced to do so that time, too, or so he said). He could even take me to a prison, say that was his idea of a date, and I would be ecstatic because I was still with him.

But we just kissed and it went from there.

"He's um," I tried to find some defense for Hiei, "well, our relationship is kind of not normal. Hiei's a busy person and –"

"That's no excuse." Valon insisted with all the fury of an irate woman. "If he really wants it," she looked into my eyes, "trust me, he'll put in the effort. Your body is your own, so set some guidelines." She tilted her head and I could see thoughts flickering within her

eyes. "You know, he is the bad boy, I mean, man type, and you're kind of a soft woman."

My brows furrowed. "What do you mean?" I glanced down at myself. "You mean I'm not good enough for him?"

"The opposite, actually," she muttered under her breath so quietly that I didn't catch it.

Inhaling, she knelt in front of me. "No, but I think he's been with women that he didn't have to try with." After she said that, she looked a bit guilty. "I mean, not that he's been with a lot, or maybe –"

I wasn't upset at her statement. I knew Hiei was more experienced than I was and that he must have been with plenty of women before me. He knew what he wanted and what to do, which was

evident by how aggressive he acted toward me when we kissed. I was at loss of how to keep up.

He was my first in everything. I had no experienced except what I learned by trying to keep up with him. He made the first move in everything. He set the pace with every kiss. He was always beating me at the finish line before I even left the starting lane.

"It's okay," I assured her quietly. "I know he's been with other women. I'm a virgin, not stupid."

Valon chuckled at my words, but continued with a soft voice, "what I meant was that you got to make yourself so desirable that he'll know that he's lucky to have you. He should be

feeling that way now, but if not, well, we can change that, my friend."

There was a menacing glint in Valon's eyes and I leaned away with a raised eyebrow. "How," I whispered and the one word was like an ominous breath before one drowns.

"You got to be that one woman that he won't forget, so that every time he leaves, he's not going to ever see another woman but you. You got the looks, Karen, but I'm gonna help you

flaunt it." Valon grinned devilishly. The corners of her lips were literally curling before my eyes. "I'm not talking about flirting with other men. No, you're going to be dedicated to

him. Dress up for him and put yourself on display, but do it in a way that every other guy will notice. It'll make him realize that he should be lucky to have you. He should feel

breathless that you would even want to be with him." I was inching away as she leaned in

closer with every sentence. Her breath smelled like coffee, which was nice, considering what breath can smell like during the day. "Keep him second-guessing when he thinks you're going to be predictable, but stay in control."

I swallowed nervously.

Shaking her finger, she said, "Karen, always stay in control until you think he's been good. Give just enough, leave him panting, and he'll come back for more. You should have done this from the beginning."

"He didn't notice me in the beginning."

"Yeah," she stood and placed her hands on her hips proudly, "but that's before you met me. My virgin friend, you're going to blow his mind when you two meet again."

-End of Flashback-

Yusuke had meetings to attend in Spirit World, as he wanted to get them over with before I came home tomorrow. Keiko was supposed to be home, but she had an emergency meeting with a client. She was covering for a coworker and the client was an important businessman. Not

wanting to frazzle them, I assured them that it was fine. Anyways, we had time to catch up and we would see each other at dinner tonight.

So, seeing as how Yusuke and Keiko was busy today, entertaining Valon's mission sounded fun.

The first stop we made was Hakone. The guards waited around outside while we showered and

dressed for the day. We had traveled throughout the night and sleeping on a train was harsh on my back. I was purring at the onslaught of heated water that seeped into my aching

muscles. It was that little bit of heaven in my life. Hiei was the rest of my heaven that was burrowed down in the dirt. I was always going to have dig for that light.

"He's not home," I murmured after trying to call Kenji. "Oh wait, I forgot he's at school."

Valon didn't hear me. She was busy pulling all my clothes from the closet. She had two piles and one pile was steadily growing larger and larger. She was even rifling through my

underwear drawer, but appeared to be only looking at the articles. While she was digging around in my drawers, I crawled toward the piles at the end of my bed.

The larger pile consisted of jeans, shirts, and jackets. The other pile, much smaller, had

the few skirts, shorts, and dresses I owned, but hardly wore. I noticed she even had the two pairs of heels I owned sitting to one side of the bed. My other sneakers were in a pile on

the floor.

"Um, what do the piles represent?" I asked while fingering my jeans at the top of one of the piles.

Valon stared proudly at her work and pointed at the small pile. "These are what you're going to be wearing. I know jeans are great and all – trust me, I have more than you, but," she

shook out the sack next to her, "we're donating these."

I tackled the pile and pulled out my favorite jeans. "Not this one," I demanded. "It's my favorite." She nodded, but seeing another favorite jean, I reached for it. "This one, too, because it's kind of artistic looking – oh, wait! I like these! It has a lot of memories!"

Valon crossed her arms. "It's time to say goodbye, Karen."

Hearing those words, I knew she was right. I remembered the woman Kenji had hit on in Nikko

long ago and how much more sexy she appeared in her outfit, which had been similar to mine. I bet Hiei had been with plenty of beautiful women that dressed in the latest fashions. I kept thinking of all the time he would be spending in Demon World.

I wasn't changing my appearance because I thought he would notice me more – he was paying

attention to me these days without a regard for I what I wore. I didn't think Hiei was that

type of man to go chasing someone simply because of how they looked physically. Otherwise, he would have never spared me a second glance. Only, Hiei was working hard to keep me from

temple work and I was starting to feel guilty about going behind his back. Maybe, I can make it up to him by dressing up for him. It couldn't hurt to want to feel pretty, like wrapping up a bland present with fancy wrapping paper. The gift was more cherished with sparkly

papers.

I wanted the one month with him to be special before he had to leave again. I wanted to look nice for him when he came back home. And yes, if I could, I wanted just a few dates. I had

already decided to give myself completely to him when he returned, but a few dates couldn't hurt. I was already his – waiting had simply been my confusion to our relationship.

With a reluctant sigh, I let the jeans fall back into the pile. I stared glumly at my shoes, "wait, I'm keeping at least two pairs of sneakers." I snatched up my colorful sneakers with the designs sweeping the sides and familiar chucks with the zippers. "I'm not great in

heels."

"Okay," she said, "but heels are easy to work with and you're ankles look strong. Plus, heels are going to make your legs look killer. We'll work on it!" Smiling in pride at my refusal to take off running with my old wardrobe, Valon began stuffing clothes in the bag. "So, cleaning out the closet is the first step and yes, it is necessary. Removal of comfy clothes ensures

that you'll wear those cute outfits, but that little pile won't be enough…" I gave a little grin, "we're going shopping, aren't we?"

Valon's chin dipped toward her chest and she gave an eerie smile. Shaking my head, I joined her in ridding my old clothes.

Cain leaned his head back as he allowed the steam of the water to soothe his aching muscles. Eying the ceiling with cold emeralds, he was seeing the gold of the light soaring from that tiny priestess. His lip curled in disgust as he recalled the weakness of his body. The light had ripped through him, tearing through his veins like a thousand knives. His power had

dwindled – dwindled enough that he fled as if he were a weak demon.

If he had not been distracted by that decoy, that weak human bitch, he would have noticed the priestess zipping into the prayer room. Palei, the priestess he had captured, had not

revealed any of the rituals of the prayer room. He knew there were many and he had feeling

that his enemy was going to perform something within the room. He had seen brief glimpses of the images in the young girl's head, but glimpses were all she revealed. She was too young to focus on any one thing and he had tried to push through that by torture.

And he got carried away by her screams. Such a little girl with a loud voice provoked a

response from him that he hadn't felt since he began his hunt for the priestesses' souls long ago.

But he knew now.

They were harvesting energy from those temples to destroy him. It hadn't been enough, but he wouldn't be caught off guard again. His wounds would heal. The torn muscles of his abdomen

would stop howling in fury. His energy would return, this time faster than the two years he had had to wait. He had Palei's soul and he had an enchantress with great healing abilities. Still, it would take time.

They should be grateful for the time.

Lena should be grateful for the time. Seeing those cold colored eyes reminded him of the past, one that would always haunt him…

He heard the door creak open and he lifted his head up. A tall, robed person entered the

darkened room of the indoor hot spring. Cain's cool gaze eyed the stranger with disinterest as they approached him. He heard the soft clicking of heels and narrowed his eyes. Once the stranger, a woman, reached the edge of the spring, he watched feminine hands reached up to

the clasp of the robe.

"Are you my enchantress?" asked Cain coldly.

The robe pooled to the stone floor to reveal a naked woman with long, red hair and gleaming brown eyes. She stepped calmly from her heels and bowed her head. "Yes, my Lord," she

murmured huskily. "I am Ruka."

Cain almost smirked at the honorific, but refrained from doing so. "You're healing abilities were recommended. I hope you live up to such rumors."

Stepping into the hot spring, Ruka moved forward slowly. The water began boiling as her body cackled with her every step toward Cain. "I have spent years honing my skills, my Lord. I

will not disappoint you."

This time, Cain did smirk. "Pray you do not, Ruka.

I eyed my tall companion in horror. My eyelids were practically nonexistent with how wide my eyes went at the sight before my nose. "Do you want me to die of humiliation, Valon?"

Valon twirled the end of the thong around her index finger. "Yes, because death in these will be sexy, don't you think?"

I turned my head as the thong nearly brushed against my face. Sniggering at my inflamed cheeks, she used the thong as a slingshot and aimed at my head. I wrinkled my nose as I

caught the skimpy underwear. I threw the stringed underwear into the bin with an indignant huff. It smacked onto the piles of other on sale panties.

"What's the point of even wearing that when there's nothing there?" I asked heatedly. That thong was sheer, see through, and the back end was the thickness of dental floss. "If that was the last piece of underwear in my drawer, I'd go commando."

Hearing that, Valon asked lowly, "does Hiei go commando?"

I kept my face unreadable to her teasing question. Yes, sometimes, he did, but I wasn't about to reveal that to Valon. She would end screaming and the next time she saw Hiei, there was no telling what she would do to him. I knew he did because I did the laundry in Shirakawa-go.

Maybe demons in Demon World wore less clothing, as Hiei was always without his shirt, too. Of course, there was nothing wrong with him being shirtless… or sometimes, forgoing underwear.

He was a very confident man. He had every right to be with his sculpted body, gorgeous eyes, dark, husky, _sexy_ voice, steaming masculinity, and flaming lips –

Discreetly, I began searching for an air vent. It was getting a little hot in this lingerie department store. I found one near the back and tried to cool off from the images of Hiei. I had never thought so vividly of him until a few days ago. I was both nervous and excited to see him again. I hoped I didn't do anything foolish like faint in his presence.

Calm now, I returned to browsing the racks of fancy brassieres. I didn't mind being in such a store, as there were some beautiful bras on sale. I was happily carrying a few matching sets under my arm. I had found some decent sets that had whole pieces of underwear instead of

thongs or g-strings. However, it seemed the prettier bras came with those brazen materials. There should be equality among the gorgeous sets! I didn't mind fancy cut underwear, but at least give me some decent coverage. I wasn't confident enough to wear those types of panties in his godly presence. I could just imagine myself tripping and landing face first in while wearing a thong. It wasn't a pretty image.

A majority of my allowance money was finally being spent and Keiko would be proud that I was using it on clothes. I actually had no idea what to spend the ever-growing allowance on, as I had never needed anything these days. I wasn't stingy with money. I just never had access to a great amount of money that was supposed to be used for my own amusement. Now, it was

dwindling just fine and about time, too. My wallet had been bursting at the seams. Sometimes, I had to sit on the rectangular holder just to flatten it down.

Despite being a tomboy, Valon knew how to dress to impress. I was a little wary of what she would have me try on, but she had nice taste. Valon was very much like Keiko and piled

clothes into my arms while I staggered beneath all the weight. The dressing rooms became my

temporary house within each clothing store. Usually, I sat there, tried on dozens of outfits, twirled before her eyes, and sat there some more while she ran about the store.

The shorts I normally chose were tossed aside in favor of short shorts, but they weren't short enough to be indecent. I could handle them being slight above mid-thigh, especially after seeing a fellow classmate strutting around in her version of _short shorts_.

"_Now that's short," whispered Valon with a critical glare. "When the cheeks pop out to dance, that's a sign of too short."_

_I watched Mui, a girl that had been in my lab class, walking about the store. Mui's shorts were so short that the curves of her butt cheeks were showing. I would never be able to wear

anything that short. Mui was entirely comfortable in the denim and even bent over to retrieve a fallen hanger to show her confidence. She wasn't wearing any underwear. I don't think

underwear was made for something that short._

I tried on skirts and dresses for an hour. Most of the skirts were a solid color, because Valon said solid meant business – or something like that. There were a few playful skirts, like this one with the floral prints. I didn't think it was going to look nice, but when

paired with a white shirt, it looked pretty. The dresses were easy to wear. Valon said

nothing could go wrong with a sundress, because they were flirty and casual, yet elegant enough to pull off in a number of places. She was also trying to pick as many articles of clothing that would reveal my neck and shoulders.

"_A glimpse of the shoulders makes men think of boobs," explained Valon casually._

_I dropped the cute, off-shoulder shirt with a choked gasp._

Heels were to be my new shoes. I was prepared to hobble around and break an ankle in the

three-to-four inch heels Valon forced me to try on, but walking in the heels was a breeze.

All the training with Genkai had strengthened my ankles. All the training with Lena had

strengthened my legs. All the suffering I had undergone made me a little less clumsy. I had never been this steady in heels. I had never been this steady in my _entire_ life. Anyone

struggling to walk straight should seek out those two, hardcore women.

I couldn't help but give a smug smile once I made it around the store without faltering. No

wonder Keiko wore heels all the time! I liked being slightly taller. I also thought the fancy shoes were beautiful and made my legs look longer. Staring in the sales mirror, I smiled at

myself. I felt beautiful. The feelings of beauty made me want to twirl about, but that might be dangerous in heels. I was steady, not a professional.

But I also had a handful of flats. I wasn't going to strut around in high heels all the time, even if they made me taller. I even splurged on another plain, black Converse, as my other

ones were nearly dead. One couldn't go wrong with those old chucks! I was going for low tops this time since summer was coming and shorts would be common attire. I was tempted to

purchase another pair of Converse (Valon had gone to the restroom) but decided against it. I'd wait until next time.

"Here," Valon's voice cut through my musings. "You need this."

Seeing the article of clothing, if it was even considered clothing, I hissed, "_Valon_!"

Dangling upon the black hanger was a lacy lingerie set. The matching bra and panties were

nice, but then there were the garter belt and thigh high stockings to consider. I stared at

the violet brassiere that was bordered with black lace – and the rest of its matching pieces. The only normal piece of clothing was the stockings. They were a sheer black.

"No." I shook my head venomously.

She thrust the set into my arms. "It's on sale," she insisted with a growl. "These thigh high stockings will go great with those one shorts or that skirt, hell, even that red number you

got," her eyebrows wiggled comically, "or for special occasions."

"W-what the – Valon," we were both fighting to put the item back onto its display stand. "Hell no, I'm not wearing this!"

"It's just a garter belt, stockings, and matching underwear – and the underwear is

surprisingly not a skimpy g-string! These are the shit! A lot of women wear them under their skirts… this is just more lacy and sexy."

"Yeah and he'll ask 'what the hell are you wearing?'" I frowned murderously to match her narrowed obsidian eyes. Shoving the hanger onto the display rack, I whispered dreadfully, "he's going to laugh! He will!" I could just picture his criticizing eyes, "and I'll be

humiliated!"

"Every woman has one of these bad boys!" Valon placed a hand on her hip and bristled, "and let him try and laugh! No man would dare laugh if a woman strutted around in this sexy set unless she was eighty-years-old. This," she grabbed the set again and waved a hand over her body, "is one of our weapons to grace our luscious curves! We are queens when we wear this! I'm telling you! I doubt those demon heifers have any of these!"

Since the entire store was starting to stare at us with lifted eyebrows, I pursed my lips.

Grabbing the set from her, I tucked it under my arm to hide from view. I wasn't going to wear it! I was simply conceding to buying the set to avoid further arguments. Once I was home,

this lingerie was going to hightail it to the back of my closet where, hopefully, moths will eat away at it.

"And look at this cute, blue garter," she bounced after me and held up a package. Inside the package was a beaded, blue, floral lace garter.

"That's for brides," I checked my phone for messages while she we walked around the fancy underwear and little, skimpy outfits. I fingered the fabric of a nurse outfit. _Wow_, I

mouthed at the material.

"No, they even wear them for prom." She tapped the package against her chin. "Hey, why don't you wear this for him? Anyways, it's not as if he's going to know – it just keeps things

interesting. He might like it since its blue."

I tried to ignore her by replying to one of Keiko's texts.

"Attention, lovely ladies," announced the store's intercom, "as per the flyers, everything is now seventy-five percent off for the next thirty minutes!"

Out of nowhere, a herd of women came streaking through the doors. Valon gave me a push and I battled my way to the front counter to beat the earlier shoppers. One woman's pointy elbow

rammed into my right boob and I hissed in pain. _Dammit, that hurt_, I thought angrily. Using my training, I twirled, ducked, and sprinted around with my armload of underwear. In the

background, articles were flying into the air in vibrant colors. I thought I saw Valon in a tug-of-war with a rather heavy-set woman over a pink bra.

I had more than enough money for my stuff, but Keiko had drilled the importance of sales into my head with the ferocity of Mr. Yukimura when he was going on about seasonings. She would

never forgive me if I didn't take advantage of the bargained prices, especially over such

expensive underwear. Huffing, I dashed all the way across the store amid the sea of mad women and suffered a bruised hip from a large woman.

This was a war!

Kenji slouched into his bedroom with a tired yawn. Throwing his bag into the corner, he

stripped off his dirty shirt. He heard the housekeeper yelling down below about leaving now, but he ignored the woman with a grimace. It appeared as if his father had hired another

keeper while he had been away. Funny that his father notices when he needs a new keeper, but doesn't notice when his son vanishes for a few days.

Go figure.

He should hire a new son while he's at it.

Switching his stereo on, Kenji unbuckled his jeans and let the belt drop to the floor. The blast of the stereo drowned out the silence of the house. How can one drown out silence?

Well, one never knows how loud silence is until they're alone to hear it blazing. Any music was better than the screams of loneliness.

He had been gone for the past few days to train under a guard with several other human

guardians at a secluded compound. He wasn't official yet, but he was nearly there at the rate he was going. He was to be a temporary guardian, without a mark, until he could prove himself to a priestess of being capable of assisting them. However, he could still attend any temple and lend a hand. The volunteered guardians allowed for a constant switching of guards to help give breaks to those who needed time off.

Using a gun wasn't so hard. The recoil of his gun took time to adjust to, but was doable

after a couple of months. He had the energy to keep up with the conditioning the guards had set up for them. Years of training for tennis had paid up for this new training. His stamina made up for what he lacked in strength. If only he was brawnier. His speed was great, but he needed to be stronger. He was still working on his weight, trying to add some more bulk to

his frame, but it was taking time. He'd get there.

The gun he was issued resembled an UZI, but fired single shots as fast he could pull the

trigger. The energy blasts were powerful and effective against weaker demons. It'd take a few well-aimed shots for any demon that could effectively fight better than those in the C class could, but his was aim wasn't quite bad. Kenji liked to think that all those video games were worth playing for this moment in his life.

Grabbing a clean towel and his boxer briefs, he headed toward his bathroom. It was as he was passing that he noticed his calendar. He eyed the date he circled tomorrow. Underneath, he

had Karen's name written in black and the tennis match vs. Hiro marked, too.

School had started two months ago. Kenji didn't know why, but he kept up with school and

training. For some reason, he was hanging on to his education. He didn't care for school. Not one bit – yet, a part of him thought of his stupid father. How he would feel if he knew that he quit school? On another note, he thought of his mother. She would have cared. She had

always cared.

But he was quitting school.

He didn't need the system anymore. He was eighteen and intelligent enough to make his own way in the world. It was getting in the way of what he was committing himself to doing – helping the world. He wanted to help in any way he could, even if it was dangerous. He had his

purpose and he had never wanted anything more.

The fight in the temple at Nikko had haunted him for a few weeks, but he conquered the

nightmares. He never wanted to feel helpless, again. He remembered the death of the tall, unknown, SWAT member and the calmness of Kurama as he fought to protect him. He remembered

the look in Cain's eyes as he regarded him with disgust – something he had stepped on, like a cockroach. Kenji never wanted to be that weak again. He was going to fight for his friends

and his world. He was going to be more than just a weak human and prove his species capabilities.

Even if Koenma had suggested he tell his father, Kenji ignored the advice. Kenji didn't plan on telling his father. He was just going to leave. He'd be away for a few months once his

travelling schedule was fixed. He had his money withdrawn from his account and settled into a new one for when he returned. He'd find an apartment in Tokyo and live the bachelor life, as he had always done. He wasn't coming back home this time.

But, maybe he was just hoping his father would have noticed that he had been missing school days out of the week. Maybe he was just hoping his father would receive the phone calls from

his coach about the practices he had missed. Maybe he was just hoping his father would give a

damn.

Seeing Hiro's name, Kenji narrowed his eyes slightly. His tennis nemesis was always a sore spot and he did want one last match against the punk. Karen wasn't due home until the

afternoon and this match would preoccupy him for the morning.

It'd be nice to see the crestfallen expression on Hiro's face when he lost, too.

Whistling to the music from his stereo, Kenji slung his underwear over his shoulder and sauntered into the bathroom for a shower.

"I'm so glad you're home, Karen," breathed Keiko happily, as she nibbled on some meat. "You're going to spoil me."

I blushed at her compliment. Having cooked the meal in her place, I was relieved it came out well. I hadn't cooked a meal in months. "You bet I'm going to spoil you." I winked at her,

"just be aware that sometimes things might be too… crispy."

"You act like you've been starving since I've come home and started cooking." Yusuke shoveled back his bowl of rice and glared around the bowl.

Keiko pouted. "I have. You keep feeding me rice balls." She leaned toward me and whispered,

"Yusuke won't even let me set the table." Turning back to Yusuke, she said, "I need more than rice."

"I put a pickled plum in it," he replied.

Valon's eyes were sparkling with mischief at the couple. "The Great Urameshi cooking," she grinned at Yusuke, "you're not so tough after all."

Keiko lifted her chin. "He may act tough, but you should know that he once wore my yellow –"

Yusuke pointed a finger at Keiko with a murderous glare. "We do not speak of that incident. If someone," his eyes swiveled over to me, "hadn't have opened their mouth!"

Ducking my head in shame, I murmured, "I said I was sorry." I remembered back to my own

struggles with cooking. Giving Yusuke an apologetic smile, I decided to make amends for all the times I made fun of his meals. "I like the way you make onigiri. It's my favorite… thank you."

"O-o-o-h," he crossed his arms, "so now you thank me for all those times I slaved over the stove while you were studying. Thanks, but you're only several months overdue with the

gratitude, kid."

"Well, I said it with interest," I joked at his grumpy scowl.

Glancing at Yusuke, Keiko lifted an eyebrow, "but you don't need the stove for rice balls."

Valon was shaking with laughter at the vein throbbing at Yusuke's temples. Shoveling my food down, I hurried to eat in case an argument exploded. There was no telling what would happen when those two fought, especially around delicious food.

Luckily, they didn't start a food fight. I thought Yusuke being protective over Keiko was cute, not that I would mention such a thing. After all, I did value my life.

Sixteen weeks into her pregnancy, Keiko was the epitome of happiness. She was showing

greatly, but still managed to pull off the latest fashions. I doubt any amount of weight

could deter Keiko's natural beauty. If anything, she seemed more beautiful. I think it was her eyes. The soft browns had been sparkling all throughout dinner and were more prominent every time she laughed.

"Is this Kenji's new tennis schedule," I asked Keiko while putting away the leftovers.

Keiko leaned over to peer at the paper that was pinned to the fridge with a smiley face magnet. Recognizing the dates, she nodded. "Yes – oh, he has a match tomorrow!"

Glancing at the opponent, I murmured, "yeah, and against Hiro."

"He's been really busy lately," Keiko hung her dishtowel up, "sometimes, I think he's up to something."

I turned around with a frown. "What do you mean?"

"He's gaining some muscles. Not that anything is wrong with that," she waved her hand in an

offhand manner, "but he seems brawnier. Kenji must be doing some new exercise program." Keiko glanced around the kitchen to inspect the cleanliness. "Did you call him?"

"Yeah, earlier, but I'll see him tomorrow. He likes to turn in early before a match." Thinking of his match, I smiled hugely. "Are we going to see him?"

Placing her hands on her hips, Keiko lifted a brow. "Of course we are, since we're his number one fan base!"

I kept the little grin on my face while giving Keiko a hug. She swayed us slightly and I

inhaled her familiar perfume, like the time we first met after the long absence. "I missed you," I mumbled for the sixth time since she arrived home from her meeting. Her protruding

stomach made me bend awkwardly, but didn't bother me in the slightest. I couldn't wait until the baby was here to witness his mother's love.

"I missed you, too," she leaned away. "I kept thinking 'where is Karen when I needed her for my fat moments' and all I had was Kenji to comfort me. He's going to make some woman fall

madly in love with him, that boy," she said fondly. "I'm so glad you met Valon. She's such a vibrant young woman." Keiko smoothed away my bangs. "She's even pushing you toward fashion! I was wondering when you'd start dressing up! I thought Yusuke and sumo was dragging you away

from the fashion of dresses and heels."

"I dressed up sometimes," I defended myself. "I just prefer simplicity versus complexity."

Keiko's cheery laugh fanned against my cheek. Smiling, I leaned forward to her cheek goodnight. "Hopefully, Valon didn't use up all the hot water. Goodnight!"

Trudging upstairs, I was preoccupied with staring at the carpet, lost in thought, and didn't notice Yusuke barreling downstairs. My forehead smacked into his hard chest and I went

sailing backwards with a pained yelp. Yusuke caught me and set me back on my feet with his boisterous laughter.

"I think you dented my forehead," I grumbled with a grimace.

I guess the clumsiness would never truly leave me. I was born to disgrace myself. The

harshness of Genkai and Lena could not chase away the klutz that resided within my bones.

Yusuke chuckled, "still clumsy as ever, kid – and I think _you_ dented in my chest with that thing you call a forehead." He flicked his index finger against my forehead.

I tried to hold my glare, but his grin made me smile. He ruffled the top of my head. "Night," I mumbled as I continued up to my room.

Stepping into my room, I saw Valon dancing to the music softly echoing from the computer's speakers. She nodded her head at me while towel drying her shoulder length hair. Shaking my head, I gathered up my pajamas for a shower.

With a yawn, I crossed the hall and entered the upstairs bathroom. The upstairs bathroom was always better because the temperature set quickly compared to the shower downstairs. It was also a tub and great for taking bubble baths. As I was adjusting the water, the door creaked

open and a box went sliding across the floor. Furrowing my brows, I snatched up the box. Like the majority of the day, my eyebrows lifted in surprise.

"Valon," I hissed into the crack of the door that she left open. I held the bikini trimmer kit against the crack of the door and whispered, furiously, "what the hell?"

"Ooh," she cooed excitedly. "Try to make a heart! One time, I got mine bedazzled with a heart. I thought it was really cute."

"My lady bits aren't getting bedazzled!" Wrinkling my nose at the thought, I had to ask, "ew, does that hurt?"

Valon gave a mocking laugh. "What do you think they do – sew the jewels on?" She laughed

again and pressed my back against the door to push it close. She fought back with surprising strength. "You just stick it on like a fake tattoo. It's really cute."

"Che," I scoffed. "It sounds ridiculous!"

"Ooh," she poked her head through the crack of the bathroom, "try the landing strip to your virgin –"

"Goddammit," I slapped her head with the box as she howled with laughter. "Get out!"

"_Karen Urameshi_," yelled Keiko from down below. "Did I just hear you say a forbidden word? You know the house rules!"

Valon was pushing against the door while I shoved back with irate yell to Keiko. "I said 'God, that's a cute rabbit!'"

"Or try going all bare!" Valon enjoyed torturing me.

Gritting my teeth, I pulled the door open and Valon collapsed onto the ground. I sank down

beside her and put her in a headlock. With my other hand, I fumbled with the box to open it. "Tell me what design you want on your head, my dear!"

Valon struggled violently and jammed her elbow into my stomach. Grunting, I didn't have time to fight back as she twisted from my hold, knocked me onto my back, and straddled my waist. Her maniac laughter nearly drowned out the spray of the shower. She grabbed the trimmer and yelled, "I got it! The martini glass –"

I tried to fight the pin she had against my right wrist, but it was no use. However, she

probably wasn't expecting me to deliver a punch with my other hand. I was weak as hell, but even my knuckles could cause a grimace to a human. Rearing back, I let my fist fly into her gut. "Damn you!"

"_Karen!"_ This time it was Yusuke's voice and I scowled.

Valon's eyes widened and she hunkered over me. I expected her to curse, but she was gasping with unbridled laughter. I think she loved fighting because she was laughing so hard, drool was trailing from her mouth. I should have pushed her away to avoid being covered in drool,

but a few giggles left my lips in a strained gurgle. When she lifted her head, my entire body shook with mirth. Valon's face was turning a dangerous shade of red and she was squinting at me amidst her tears of laughter. My sides were beginning to ache, but I couldn't stop

laughing.

Even after the bizarre laughter and fighting, I allowed Valon to cuddle against me in bed.

Valon was a force of nature to deal with, but she was becoming an interesting friend. We were bonding – and not because she was clutching me to her as if I was a fat teddy bear or that

she was drooling on my shirt. No, it was the bond of another close friendship. I never thought I would have so many friends.

A/N: And thanks to **akasoeki** for reading through this! Thanks, girl!