I'm baaack....hehe....well, how am I doing so far?

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Five Days later...

Kia stood in the kitchen, a too-large apron tied around her waist and neck. Yusuke was out with Keiko and Atsuko, his mother, was out drinking again. Determined not to be bored, Kia had decided to make cookies...her way of saying thank-you. So far she had greased the cookie sheet and was now mixing the batter. "It's so peaceful," she mused aloud, smiling. Once again, famous last words.

Outside...

"Ow! Stupid cat!" A voice howled in indignation.

"Perhaps if you didn't bother the cat, Jin, it wouldn't attempt to scratch you," was the calm reply.

The youthful redheaded youkai glowered at the diminutive Ice Shinobi. "It started it, Touya!"

Touya sighed. "Look. There's Yusuke's house."

Jin tested the door and discovered it was unlocked. "How nice of Urameshi to leave the house open," he remarked.

"Shouldn't we knock...?"

"Botan sent us! We have permission for stuff like this!" Jin pushed the door open and went in. Touya followed, shaking his head. "Urameshi!" Jin called out.

Kia froze and dropped her spoon into the batter. Someone was in the house...someone she didn't know.

"Urameshi! Where are youuu? We have business to settle, you know!"

*Oh, great. Yusuke just HAD to tick someone off...someone with a grudge, obviously.*

The footsteps grew closer. Then stopped. Kia released her breath in a silent sigh.

"You're not Urameshi!" The voice came from behind her.

Kia screamed, grabbed the nearest weapon (which happened to be the cookie sheet), and whirled, hitting the speaker with as much force as she could muster. He fell to the ground with a thud.

Keeping a firm grip on the cookie sheet, Kia examined her prisoner. Red hair, muscled body, odd clothes, a small fang peeking out from his mouth, pointy ears, and a horn in the middle of his vivid hair.

"No ordinary boy!" Kia murmured, kneeling cautiously.

"You're quite right. He's a youkai, as am I. Before you turn, I have no intention of harming you. Botan sent us."

The girl slowly turned. She looked into the slanted pale-blue pupil-less eyes of a short young man, also garbed in an unusual outfit...not to mention the blue hair and the green bangs. "Umm...who are you?"

"My name is Touya," he informed her. "My rash friend is Jin," he added, pointing to the unconscious form sprawled on the floor. "And you must be Satsukiame."

"Kia," she corrected automatically. She blinked. "Wait. You said Botan sent you?"

The Ice youkai nodded. "Yes. To protect you." He glanced at Jin. "Although, if you are as skilled with your powers as you are with that cookie sheet, perhaps you don't need our help."

Kia turned pink. "Oh, no..." She stared at Jin. "I really messed up..."

"You did what any girl would do if someone sneaked up on her," Touya corrected gently.

Jin groaned and sat up slowly. "Urameshi's punches got a lot harder..." He stared at Kia. "Unless that was you."

She nodded. "I...I'm so sorry!"

"It's all right," Jin assured her. "Touya always said my thick skull would come in handy one day."

Kia still stared at the floor, swamped with guilty emotions.

"Hey, come on lass..." Jin put two fingers under her chin and lifted it gently. Their eyes met.

There was a startled pause.

"Your eyes...are brown..." the youkai said at last.

"And yours are blue," Kia replied, puzzled. She sighed and stood up, brushing her hands on her apron. "Please stay, you two. I'm making cookies."

"Aye, I could tell, what with the cookie sheet-"

Touya clapped a hand over his friend's mouth. "We would appreciate that," he told Kia, smiling.

Jin nodded, still flustered. Those eyes...stirred something deep inside of him. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind.

"Hey...are you all right?"

Jin jumped up. "Fine! Fine, I'm fine!" he blurted out, aware that his face was turning the exact shade of his hair and that both Kia and Touya were looking at him curiously.

Kia shrugged and went back to work. The cookies had just come out of the oven, when Yusuke walked in. He stopped when he saw Jin and Touya, each munching on a cookie.

"Kuso! I forgot to tell Kia-"

That your friends were coming over?" Kia turned to face him, carrying a plate of cookies. "Want one?" She added, offering him the plate.

Yusuke grabbed three. "So, no problems?" he asked, his mouth full of cookie and chocolate chip.

Touya smiled. "Well, it seems Kia mistook Jin for a gang member and smacked him with the cookie sheet."

"All in good defense," Jin insisted with a straight face.

Yusuke shook his head. "Should've warned you," he said cheerfully. "Don't sneak up on her."

Jin grinned. "She made up for it with these cookies, though." He crammed another into his mouth.

"Save some for the others," Kia told them, smiling. "Or I'll have to make more."

"Nothing wrong with that," Yusuke told her.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Boys."

"Girls," Yusuke shot back. "Boy, am I glad there's only you and Keiko. I couldn't handle another one who hits like you two." (Need I say "famous last words?" Perhaps I'll make a list.)

*OOC*

Weeeell....I wonder what will happen next. As for you, my readers, you get a chance to tell me if Kia should end up with anybody and WHO! I'll try reading them with an open mind...