Rhythm: Don't own em! Wish I did!

Hiei: We're all glad you don't.

Rhythm *growls* No one asked you! *uses her (computer) mouse as a whip, smacking Hiei upside the head with the bigger end* Take that!

Hiei @_@

Rhythm *smiles triumphantly* Thank you to those who have reviewed. I really do appreciate it. :) *Hands out Hiei plushies* Gracias.

In Which Introductions are Made

The girls eyes opened and she sat up abruptly, immediately regretting it; her head swam and intense pain raged through her head. She placed her head in her hands, and emitted another low, "Owww." Once her dizziness passed somewhat, she glanced around the room. It was- not at all- familiar which worried her a little as she tried to remember what had happened. The fight... She vaguely remembered. Three guys jumping her. She gingerly brought a hand up to her forehead. Sure enough, there was a cut, though it now had small strips of medical tape across it which she assumed covered stitches. There were footsteps down the hall, that stopped in front of her door which slowly opened to reveal an older looking lady with pink (?) hair who gave her a warm smile. "Glad to see you've waken. I was beginning to wonder."

The girl wearily returned the womans smile, "Uh... Could you maybe tell me *how* I got here?" She paused, "My mind and memory is just a little-" She paused looking for the correct word, "Fuzzy."

"After the hit to the head you took, that's not really a surprise." The woman replied gently; she moved closer, gingerly lifting the bandage from the wound, checking it. "You were brought here after you passed out."

She was trying to piece things together.. 'Okay, so I passed out after getting my arse kicked by those guys. With horns.' She frowned, 'I must have hit my head *much* harder than I thought. Or maybe that part was a dream or hallucination?' "I-" She paused, "I'm sorry, I'm being very rude. My name's Aurora."

The pink haired woman introduced herself as, "Genkai." and they briefly shook hands. "Can you remember anything about your attack?"

"I... I remember some things. There were three guys. Knocked me around *real* good. I remember seeing red." She muttered the last part, then added, "I think I was either hallucinating or dreaming part of it though."

Genkai looked very doubtful, "And which parts do you believe that about?"

Aurora blinked, then looked at the woman as if she'd grown a second head. "They had horns- it sounds crazy but--" She answered bluntly- then she remembered the other two- The two that had helped her, the dark haired one with his katana; and the tall red haired man with his flower- then thorny whip. (A/N: I just can't even imagine someone pulling a flower out at a fight- even if you could turn it into a whip. Kurama: It does throw people off. ^_^)

"Sorry to be the one to break this to ya missy, you weren't dreaming or hallucinating. They most likely did have horns, probably fangs too."

Aurora frowned, her head throbbing again, she put one hand to her right eye, as she realized that Genkai really was *not* joking. The door opened again, and a cheery blue haired girl came bounding in. "Oh! She's awake! Hi!" She gave Aurora a big smile, "I'm Botan." She moved and sat down at the foot of the bed Aurora was currently sitting in.

"Aurora; nice to meet you." She looked over at Genkai, "So, how long have I been here?"

Genkai looked thoughtful for a moment, thinking. "You were brought in two evenings ago. It's now three in the afternoon." Botan said cheerily. "I'll go get the others so she can meet everyone, alright Genkai?"

Genkai gave a curt nod, and Botan was out the door in an instant. "Just so you know; the one who brought you in here has been quite worried about you girl. He's barely left your side."

Chapter 3- In which introductions are made

Before Aurora could reply, Botan was bounding back into the room, flanked by a freakishly tall orange haired guy; they were followed by several others. Botan opened her mouth to introduce everyone, but freakishly tall said, "Wow! She is cute!"

Both Botan and Genkai sweatdropped as the tall boy was smacked in the back of the head. An averagely tall black haired guy with really gelled hair came in. "Don't pay any attention to him; he's an idiot." Two other girls walked in behind him, one with brown hair and eyes, one with turquoise hair and red eyes. She blinked, 'Wait- Red eyes?' Botan began with the introductions. "Aurora, these are Kuwabara," The tall orange haired guy, "Yusuke," The gelled haired one, "Yukina," The one with turquoise hair, "Keiko," The brunette, "--And--" She looked over at the doorway which was currently being blocked by Kuwabara. She frowned at Kuwabara, "And the two that you can't see behind the idiot, you may recognize... Kurama, and Hiei." Aurora's hand clenched on her cover as she recalled the names- that was what the thing that had done the most damage to her had called the two who'd helped her. Kuwabara stepped aside to reveal the two that she'd seen the previous night. Her hand tightened on the blanket as she gazed at the two men standing in the doorway. Both were incredibly (inhumanly ^_^) handsome in their own right. The red head looked concerned about her, his green eyes studied her, seemingly taking in everything. Her face started to heat under his steady gaze, her stomach fluttering just a bit. His hair was really long, and he was very tall, though not quite as tall as Kuwabara. Her gaze went to the other, Hiei, whom was shorter- his black hair which defied ALL laws of gravity was held back with a white bandana. His face was impassive, cold actually, but his red eyes were focused oh- 'Waitaminute.' She thought, 'Red eyes again?' She looked closer. 'Red eyes.' She glanced at Yukina, they had the same eyes. She blinked again as she heard Botan say, "Guys, this is Aurora."

They all exchanged pleasantries, then Aurora's gaze landed once again on Hiei and Kurama. "Thank you." She said, her eyes expressing her deep gratitude. Hiei nodded his head once. Kurama's eyes widened. He looked in a word, surprised. He'd not expected her to remember that he and Hiei had been the ones present the evening of the fight.

Kuwabara came over to Aurora's side, grabbing her hand and saying, "Not to worry cutie! The great and powerful Kazuma Kuwabara will be here to protect and keep you safe!!"

The insides of Aurora's eyebrow's rose as she looked at the others with a look on her face obviously reading, 'Is this guy for real?!' Instead, she forced a smile, using her other hand to pry the one he held from his grasp. She lightly patted it, saying, "I appreciate that. But I really don't need..." He clung onto her other hand, completely ignoring her words.

Kurama caught her attention as he moved to Kuwabara, placing his hand gently on the orange haired man's shoulder. "Kuwabara, why don't you let Miss Aurora rest a bit?" he asked, "She still is after all recovering from her fight."

"Kurama's right." Genkai stated. "We should all let her rest. We can take her to speak with Koenma later or tomorrow." Her gaze turned to Aurora, "Gain your strength girl." she escorted the others out; though Kurama was the one who forced Kuwabara to release her hand; and he was also the one who led that taller man out of the room.

"Kurama?" Aurora said softly.

He looked back at her concerned, as he shut the door behind Kuwabara, "Yes Miss Aurora- Are you okay?"

She raised one hand dismissively, "I'm fine." then her nose wrinkled up, "But could you please lose the 'Miss'?"

He gave her a smile, "Gladly. Now what can I do for you?" He asked, as he gazed at her, taking in her appearance. She had shoulder length, dark blonde hair, and bright green eyes that glimmered with intellegence and humor. 'Not a bad looking ningen.' Youko whispered in his mind. He mentally shook the voice away, his attention trailing back to Aurora, "Questions I assume?"

"ONLY a few DOZEN." She replied, giving him a fairly sheepish smile, "Not to worry though, I will try to keep myself limited to just a few."

Next up== In which questions are asked.