For Love of a "Pet"
Chapter Twenty
"This is insane," Yusuke muttered, shoving his hands into his pants pockets. "We've looked all over the place. They're no where within a freaken five mile radius of the meeting place."
Kuwabara crossed his arms. "The least they could have done was leave some kind of trail for us to follow."
"Now, now. I'm sure they would have done something if they had been given the chance," Botan said soothingly. "After all, they were probably being watched."
"Kurama's smart," the carrot top retorted. "I'm sure he could have thought of something."
Yusuke nodded. "Yeah, like a trail of pretty flowers."
"Which would have been a waste of spirit energy that he might have needed for the upcoming battle," the ferrygirl pointed out.
"Oh, yeah." Genkai's student gave the girl a rather sheepish look. "I forgot about that."
Botan sighed. "We'll just have to keep looking." Her face suddenly lit up. "Wait a minute! I know what we can do." She pulled something that resembled a watch out of her obi. "We can use the demon compass."
Kuwabara looked down at the small device. "Hey, didn't Yusuke break that back during Genkai's tournament?"
"Yes, but this is the newer version," she cheerfully declared, grinning like an idiot. "We should be able to find they guys with this, no problem!"
"Unless they manipulate their energy," Yusuke commented blandly.
Botan hung her head. She needed to find the guys and take them back to Reikai, mainly because they had quite a bit of explaining to do. "Oh yeah..." She brightened back up again. "But the girls won't be able to. We can locate them!" Smiling, she turned on the compass, which instantly began pointing off to their right. "Let's go!" Without waiting for a response, she ran off, the boys at her heels.
Fifteen minutes later, the three heard piercing screams that sent shivers down their spines. The screams were female.
"Do you think that Kaline or Cassie...?" Botan cut herself off, unable to even finish the sentence.
Yusuke balled his fist. "For Loki's sake, it'd better not be them." He sprinted towards the direction of the screams, fearing the worst. When everything became silent, he powered up his spirit gun and continued walking, Kuwabara and Botan not far behind. The carrot-top already had his spirit sword in hand, the magical orange blade crackling slightly with energy.
"Hn. Fool."
They perked up upon hearing those words. "That was Hiei," Botan stated happily, clapping her hands. "Maybe they're okay."
"There's just one way to find out." Yusuke worked his way through another ten feet of trees, only to come out in a clearing, a Roman-style palace not too far away. In the clearing stood Kurama and Hiei, and the girls were with them. Kaline was in the redhead's arms, obviously unconscious, while Cassie was wide awake and clinging to Hiei.
"What happened?" Kuwabara inquired, looking all around him. The palace walls had a vast portion of a few walls taken out, and holes dotted the clearing, as if acid had eaten away at it.
"Do you become stupider as you grow older, or is it just me?" Hiei retorted, holding Cassie close to him. The instant the others had entered the clearing, she had begun to shake from complete terror. Her ordeal with Loki had left her with a basic fear of people... not that he blamed her. She wasn't scared of him or Kaline, but the fire demon wasn't too sure about Kurama.
"HEY! You take that back, shrimp!" the carrot-top ordered, storming up to shake his fist in Hiei's face.
In reaction, Cassie cringed and moved to stand behind Hiei, placing him between her and the tall human. "Don't hurt me," she whispered, voice soft, almost a whimper.
The koorime growled at Kuwabara, who was just standing there in shock. "Back off before I rip off your head," he threatened.
The carrot-top obeyed, if only because the girl looked so scared of him.
"How's Kaline doing?" Yusuke asked, walking over to Kurama, ignoring Kuwabara and Hiei.
"She is still unconscious, but when she was awake she was not doing good," the redhead replied, gazing down at the sleeping girl in his arms. Kaline looked so helpless, so meek in his arms, that he couldn't help but feel his protective instincts rise up. She had been through so much... none of which she had earned.
The brown-eyed male nodded in understanding. "You'd better take her home then."
"Actually," Botan interrupted. "Koenma wants to talk to Hiei and Kurama immediately."
"I'm taking Cassie home," Hiei retorted, glaring at the ferrygirl. Who was she to tell him what to do? "Tell Koenma that I had more important things to take care of."
She winced. "I understand, but um... Koenma insisted. If you don't show up, your punishment will be increased at least ten-fold. He's not happy about the fact that you stole that vial of water."
"I don't care." He turned to walk off.
"He also has important things to tell both Kaline and Cassie... especially Kaline," Botan added. "And he needs to tell you what Kaline's magic did to you."
'Shit.' Hiei looked back at Cassie, asking about her opinion with his eyes. She barely nodded, so he turned back to Botan and glared. "Very well. We'll go see him."
Kurama sighed. "Since we do not have a choice, I make an appearance as well."
Yusuke crossed his arms, frowning. "This is crap. Stupid toddler making the girls come. They should be able to go home."
"Yeah. They've been through enough," Kuwabara agreed.
Botan smiled. "Alright. Let's go."
"Koenma, sir. Botan and the others are back," George stated as he walked into Koenma's office.
"Thank you, Ogre. Send them in please." The toddler leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms, as seven people filed through the door. Botan came first, followed by Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama with Kaline, and Hiei and Cassie. Kaline was unconscious, and Cassie was clinging to Hiei, fear in her eyes.
"Would it be possible to make this meeting short?" Kurama inquired. "I would like to take Kaline home so she can wake up in familiar surroundings."
"I'll see what I can do," Koenma replied. "Now, first off, your opponent Gaea was a most unusual demon. She was so strong that no one could find a way to kill her, so she was imprisoned in a statue."
"Basically, none of your spirit detectives were strong enough to destroy her," Hiei translated, smirking.
The toddler frowned. "Not exactly. She went around murdering every male she could find, demons and humans alike, so there were many S class demons who wanted her dead. Unfortunately, with the Siren Sword in her hands, no male could get close enough to her to kill her. So, we did the only thing we could. She wasn't supposed to be set free, but you two were stupid enough to hand over the vial of water and then let Loki keep it."
"I had other things to deal with, in case you've already forgotten," Hiei spat out, tightly holding onto a trembling Cassie. "And you are supposed to explain about Kaline's magic."
Kurama nodded his head in agreement. "Yes, her magic puzzles me. I have never seen anything quite like it."
"I'm getting there. Be patient," Koenma retorted, muttering under his breath before continuing. "Kaline is half cat demon."
"She's what?!" Kuwabara explained. "Why didn't you tell us that earlier?!"
"Because it was supposed to be kept secret. Her parents wanted it that way," the toddler replied. "While her mother was a demon, her father was a human sorcerer. They both lived in Makai until demons and other sorcerers began hunting them down. That's when they fled to ningenkai with Cassie's parents, seeking refuge on Earth. I granted it to them."
Hiei growled. "That still doesn't tell me what her magic did to me."
Koenma sighed. "To be perfectly honest, her power enhanced a few of your abilities, but only for a short time. In a week, you'll be back to normal. As for Kurama... the effects her magic had on him will last much longer. In fact, I don't know if they'll ever fade. Her magic healed both of you, restoring your spirit energy in the process. She was the only reason you two were able to defeat Gaea. Without her, you two would have been nothing more than another notch on her sword."
"Hn. Whatever." The fire demon mentally shook his head. The ruler of Reikai was an idiot. 'I would have found a way to kill her. She wasn't that strong.'
"Oh... so how would you have dealt with the Siren Sword?" the toddler wanted to know, narrowing his eyes at the koorime.
"Hold on, what's the Siren Sword?" Yusuke inquired.
Botan decided to step in at that point. "Well, it's a blade that was forged a long time ago by a demon king for his favorite mistress. It was supposed to protect her from all males. No male can touch it, and the sword can produce a sound which renders all men helpless."
Koenma nodded his head. "Precisely."
"Well, isn't that just lovely," he muttered sarcastically. "Please don't tell me another evil demon has it."
The ferry girl shook her head. "Nope. I brought it back."
"Keep that thing away from me," Kuwabara declared, backing away from Botan. He didn't like the idea of the sword. Anything that could turn a guy into a helpless ninny was bad news.
Botan huffed slightly. "Oh, calm down. I'm not going to use it."
"I don't care," the carrot-top retorted.
Koenma frowned. "That's enough! Now, time to get back to business." He cleared his throat. "Hiei, Kurama, you two stole the vial of water from out of the Reikai treasure vault."
"Yes. And your point is?" Hiei growled back, glaring at the tiny ruler.
"Well, you will have to be pun-"
At that moment, Kaline began groaning, an expression of pain on her face. Then, she screamed, eyes flying open. She stopped screaming long enough to clutch at Kurama, tears on her cheeks. The redhead attempted to soothe her, but as soon as she caught sight of all the strange people in the room, she screamed again, panicking.
"Will someone please shut her up!?" Koenma demanded to know, covering his ears.
"Kaline, it's all right. They're friends," Kurama informed her gently, trying to calm her down as best as he could. It took a while, but she eventually quieted. She still violently shook though, tears in her eyes. She was scared; there was no doubt about that.
"Kurama, can you take me home now?" Kaline asked in a pitiful voice, her bloodshot blue-gray eyes searching his green ones.
"Um... well. I don't know if I can." He looked up at Koenma for an answer.
"He has to stay here for punishment, but Botan can take you home," Koenma informed the girl in a kind voice.
The blue-gray eyed girl instantly began to wail, hugging on even tighter to Kurama as she pressed his face into his bare chest. "No, no, no, no, no..." she mumbled in-between the sobs, her whole body shaking. The kitsune tried to comfort her, but she just cried even harder, thinking that she was going to be separated from him.
"Ahhh...." the ruler of Reikai immediately became flustered, unsure of what to do. He couldn't figure out a single thing to say to the crying girl, especially since she had been through so much. Not thinking clearly, he looked over at Cassie and Hiei.
"No," she whispered, shaking her head as moved behind Hiei, putting him between her and the toddler. She was determined not to go anywhere without her protector.
'This is just great. What in the world am I going to do? If I put the guys in jail for stealing, then the girls are going to be even more devastated than what they already are, and I don't want THAT hanging over my head. I have to punish the guys somehow though, but... if the girls won't leave their sides...' Koenma sighed. "Hiei, Kurama, what you did was very wrong, but you did it for the right reasons. I'll deal out your punishment later. I need time to think on it, so take those girls home."
Hiei looked shocked for a moment, but he quickly recovered, a rare look of gratitude in his eyes. "Time to leave," he informed Cassie, voice soft. She sighed in relief and left the room with him.
Kurama just hugged Kaline close, whispering sweet nothings in her ear as he left Reikai.
Koenma took a deep breath and let it out once the four were gone. "Father's so gonna kill me."
Hiei took Cassie to her house, finding the place marked off with police tape. He scowled at the yellow thing, and then used his sword to cut it. 'Stupid stuff didn't belong in her yard anyway,' he thought as he carried her inside. One part of the house (the guest bedroom) was marked off with more police tape, but he just ignored it. Instead, he took Cassie into her bedroom and laid her down.
"Please stay with me," she pleaded when he began to stand back up. "I don't want you to go. I don't want to be alone."
The fire demon couldn't say no to her, not when she was in such bad shape. Nodding his head, he put his sheathed sword on the ground by the bed and crawled under the covers beside her, cradling her against his chest. She buried her face in his shirt and slowly cried, her tears soaking the material.
Not knowing exactly what to do, Hiei whispered soothingly to her as he stroked her hair, praying to whoever would listen that she would be okay. He hated seeing her in such a sad state. She was the strong girl who dared slam the door in his face and who put up with his attitude.
"I was so scared," Cassie mumbled. "I thought that I was going to have to stay with him forever. It was so horrible..." Her tears began to come even faster.
"You're safe now," the male koorime told her softly. "I won't let anyone hurt you ever again."
"Promise?" She looked up at him like a child would look at an adult who had just said that he or she would stay up to protect her from the monster under the bed. It was one of the most trusting and heart- wrenching things he had ever seen.
He nodded his head. "Yes. I promise."
Kurama walked into Kaline's bedroom, the girl quietly sleeping in his arms. She had gone through so much, and he had a feeling that her quiet sleep wouldn't last for long. Nightmares would come, and he knew that he couldn't do anything to prevent them.
Giving a sigh, he laid her down on the bed; however, he couldn't move away from her. She had latched onto a long lock of his hair as if it were a lifeline.
"I'm not going anywhere, Kaline," he whispered, trying to remove his hair from her tight grasp. "So please, just let go. I swear that I won't leave."
Her eyes suddenly fluttered open. "Kurama?" She stared at him through half closed eyes, her grip on his hair relaxing so he could relieve his aching scalp.
"Yes, I'm here." The kitsune reached out with one hand to caress her cheek, finding it wet with tears. "And I'm staying here too, so there's nothing to worry about."
She nodded her head. "Okay." She was silent for a moment. "Um... Kurama?"
"What is it?" Kurama inquired softly.
"Could you please just hold me for a while? I don't feel safe for some reason." The broken look in her eyes tore his heart apart.
"Of course," he replied, climbing into bed with her, spooning his body against her. He wrapped his arms about her tightly, instinctually knowing that she would find the pressure reassuring.
"Thank you," Kaline whispered as she closed her eyes, snuggling back against his chest as she tightly clutched at his hands with her own.
"You're welcome."
"Will you be here when I wake up?" Her voice was soft and timid.
"Do you want me to be?" he inquired, unsure of exactly how she wanted him to respond.
"Yes, I do," she answered a split second later. She didn't want Kurama to ever leave her alone.
"Then I will. I'll stay with you as long as you want me to."
Kaline yawned softly. "Thank you, Kurama... for everything."
"Try and get some sleep. It might do you some good," he replied. 'It's not very likely because of the nightmare problem, but it is a possibility.'
"Okay. 'Night." Then, she fell fast asleep.
Kaline woke up with Kurama still holding her, his face buried in her hair. "Kurama?" she began, wondering if he was awake.
"Yes? Do you need anything?" he responded immediately. He had stayed awake all night, soothing her as best as he could whenever nightmares had plagued her. They had plagued her quite often.
"Well... I..." She cringed. "I feel dirty," she whispered. "I wanna take a shower, but... I don't want to be alone. Can you please come with me? Pretty please?"
"Of course," the kitsune replied, giving her a gentle squeeze. 'It's not like I could say no to you.'
Rewarding him with a smile that was a mere ghost of her old one, she climbed out of bed as if she hurt all over her body. Movements slow, she grabbed some clothes and then looked at Kurama.
Getting the hint, he climbed out of bed and walked with her to the bathroom. The instant he shut the door, Kaline turned on the water and stripped off the Chinese tunic of his that she had been wearing. She didn't seem embarrassed at all, unlike the old Kaline who would have blushed like mad.
Eyes pitiful, she tugged lightly on the redhead's hand. "Kurama?" She looked at the shower and then back at him, silently pleading with him.
"Okay." He lightly kissed her on the forehead before he stripped as well. 'Kaline's too scared to even take a shower on her own. The poor girl has been through so much. I hope that Loki is in the lowest level of hell,' he thought as he followed her into the shower.
Kaline instantly went to work on scrubbing every inch of her skin vigorously, having Kurama wash her back. She faced away from him the entire time, almost as if she was ashamed of herself. After washing her hair for the third time, she broke down crying.
"I still feel dirty," she said in between sobs. "Why don't I feel clean?"
Kurama wrapped his arms around her, making sure that his lower body didn't touch hers. He didn't want her to know that he was aroused. He knew that it wasn't right, but he really couldn't help himself. Kaline was nude, wet, and right in front of him.
"I don't know," was all he could think of to say. "You look clean to me." He tenderly kissed the top of her wet head as the hot water sprayed all over them. "Do you feel dirty on the inside or the outside?"
"Both, I think," Kaline responded with a sniffle.
They were silent for a while. Kurama didn't know what to say, and the light brunette was thinking.
After a while, she broke the silence. "Kurama... please, make me forget his touch. Even if it's only for a little while, I want to forget it all. Please..."
"Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it," the redhead promised, tone sincere.
Kaline turned around and cupped his face in her hands, her eyes just as pleading as her voice. "Can you make love to me even though I've been defiled? I'll understand if you don't, but I want to forget him so badly."
"Nothing could make me not want you," Kurama replied, his eyes not leaving hers. "But are you sure this is what you want? I don't want to hurt you worse than you already are."
She nodded her head, looking completely serious. "Yes. I'm sure. It's just... I don't want to force you to do any-"
The kitsune cut off her words by gently pressing a finger to her lips. "Trust me on this, you wouldn't be forcing me." He drew her body completely against his, showing her exactly what he meant.
Her eyes went wide for a moment, a reaction that he had expected. What he hadn't expected was her kissing him a moment later. Even though it was a rather bold move, her actions were still hesitant and timid, almost like she feared being pushed away at the last second.
Kurama gently kissed her back, trying to reassure her without the use of words. He made all his movements slow and deliberate, keeping his hands in check and waiting a few minutes before he deepened the kiss. After a moment, he drew away.
"If you want me to stop at any time, all you have to do is give the word and I'll do it," the redhead told her softly, holding her face in his hands. 'It would kill me, but I would do it.'
"I... Thank you."
With that behind them, Kurama proceeded to do what Kaline wanted, being as gentle as he knew how. The fair brunette seemed to appreciate it, and she responded like a flower opening to the sun.
Hiei was just about ready to nod off when he felt Cassie stir in his arms. She released his shirt that she had been clutching the entire night, her eyes opening up to stare into his. Unsure of what to say, the brunette remained silent. It was the fire demon who said something first.
"How are you feeling?" he asked quietly.
Cassie sighed. "Bad."
"Can you think of anything that will make you feel better?" He was willing to do anything if it would help.
She blinked, a thoughtful expression on her face. "Chocolate and The Matrix," she answered after a few moments.
"The Matrix?" Hiei repeated, sounding confused.
"It's my absolute favorite movie of all time," the girl explained. He nodded his head in understanding as Cassie began to crawl out of bed.
The fire demon pointed at her--his--clothing as he came up to her. "What are you going to do about that?"
She fingered the black material for a moment. "Do you want it back?" Cassie sounded sad, so he just shook his head.
"No. If you want, you can keep it." Hiei picked up his sword, quickly noticing her questioning look. "If I'm going to protect you, then I need to keep this close."
"Oh." The brunette felt a little safer when he said that. It reminded her of his promise.
Tentatively taking his hand, she led him to the kitchen where she grabbed a few bags of chocolate and a pint of chocolate chip cookie dough ice-cream. The next stop was the living room, where she set everything down on the coffee table and stuck the video into the VCR.
Curling up on the couch with Hiei, she settled down to watch the movie. The koorime placed one arm around Cassie's waist, using his other to eat the ice-cream straight from the container with a spoon. The teal-eyed female occupied herself with working her way through a bag of Reese's Peanut Butter cups.
Over half-way through the movie, Cassie reached out to grab another piece of chocolate, accidentally missing the bag and sticking her hand in the carton of ice-cream that Hiei had set down on the low table. She gave a small gasp, surprised by the cold, wet sensation.
Without thinking, Hiei brought her hand to his mouth and began licking off all of the ice-cream like a child would lick a popsicle. Half-way through the act, he realized exactly what he was doing. Eyes wide, he turned to look at Cassie, unsure of how she would react.
Cassie appeared content, her blue-green eyes partially closed. "You can continue if you want," she whispered, her voice barely audible. 'I missed this with Hiei. Even with all that the evil demon did to me, I still know the difference between Hiei touching me and HIM touching me. I want things to go back to the way they were before all this mess happened.'
A half smile on his face, he finished cleaning her hand; however, he just gently wrapped his arms around her after that, earning a sad look from the girl. "You still might be injured," he reminded her, giving a small mental sigh. "It'll take you a few days to heal."
"If you say so." She accepted that answer; however, she still sounded a little disappointed. 'Does he not want to touch me?'
"When you're better," Hiei stated, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"You promise?" Cassie looked at him hopefully.
The koorime nodded. "Yes."
When Kaline and Kurama finished, the kitsune shut off the water and grabbed two towels, one for himself and one for Kaline. She dried off and began to dress herself, throwing on socks, semi-tight black pants, and the Chinese tunic that she had been wearing earlier.
The redhead looked at her for a moment, about to say something, but he thought better of it and just shrugged. "If I'm going to be staying at your place for a while, then I definitely need to retrieve some items from my house... like clothes."
Kaline turned her gaze to him, fear in her eyes. She thought he was going to leave her alone, and that was one of the last things she wanted. It ranked right up there will seeing the evil, green demon again.
"You'll be coming with," he assured her. "It's kind of hard to protect you when you're far away."
She gave a small sigh of relief. "My car's at Cassie's house," the blue-gray eyed girl stated.
"Then we'll just have to go get it, won't we?" Kurama responded simply as he pulled on his clothes. "And we can check up on Cassie and Hiei at the same time."
"Hiei is at Cassie's house?" Kaline appeared a little surprised.
"I would assume so. When I last saw her at Reikai, she seemed to be as attached to him as you are to me." He gave her a small comforting smile. "Would you mind leaving now?"
She shook her head, her wet hair swaying slightly with the movement. "No. That's fine with me, I guess."
"I'm going to carry you," he stated, receiving the okay from her before he picked her up. Giving her a small smile, he headed off to Cassie's house, the girl in his arms.
Kurama set Kaline down on Cassie's front porch, keeping one arm around her waist as he knocked on the door. Within a minute, the door opened, revealing Hiei standing there. The fire demon stared at them in surprise for a moment before saying anything.
"Yes? What do you two want?" the black-haired man asked.
Kaline whimpered, the sound barely audible, and scooted closer to Kurama. The fire demon scared her, even though she knew him and understood that he wouldn't hurt her. The mere presence of another male besides Kurama frightened her, and there wasn't a thing she could tell herself that could possibly change that fact.
"We're here to get Kaline's car," Kurama stated.
Hiei nodded in understanding.
"Hey, Kaline," a timid voice said from somewhere behind Hiei. Cassie stood a few feet behind the koorime, a weak smile of greeting on her face. Her eyes were wary and constantly flickering over to glance at the redhead's face.
"Hey, Cassie," the blue-gray eyed girl called back.
"You left some of your things here, as well as your car keys," the dark brunette reminded her friend. "I'll go grab them." Then, she left.
Trying to fill in the silence, the fire demon turned to look at Kaline. "How are you doing?" he asked.
She squeaked and ran behind Kurama, using him as a barrier. "Not so good," she responded after a moment, her voice filled with fear. The kitsune tried his best to comfort her, but he found it hard to reach her in the position she was in.
'She use to be so innocent, sweet, and fearless,' Hiei thought, giving a sad sigh. 'And now she's scared of even me.'
"It's alright," Kurama whispered to the girl, hoping that the comforting words would help her calm down. She only clutched at the hem of his pants and shook her head. She would have held onto the back of his shirt, but he wasn't wearing one. The only shirt that he had at the moment was on her.
Cassie returned right then with a suitcase and a set of keys in her hand. Standing behind the black-haired male, she handed both objects to him. Hiei just frowned and gave them to the fox demon, knowing better than to even try and give anything to the fair brunette.
"Can we leave now?" Kaline inquired, refusing to move out from behind her protector.
The redhead nodded. "If that is what you wish." He gave his friend and Cassie a soft smile. "I hope you are doing better the next time I see you." The dark brunette nodded in acknowledgment, expression still wary.
"Bye."
"See-ya."
Cassie and Kaline said the two farewells at the same time, smiling at each other afterwards.
Then, Kurama led the light brunette down to the garage, opened the large door, put the suitcase in the trunk of the vehicle, and pulled the car out. He knew that the girl was in no condition to drive, so he didn't even offer. She seemed to know it too, because she immediately went for the passenger's seat. Soon, Kurama was driving to his apartment.
Twenty minutes later, the kitsune pulled up in front of his apartment complex, turning to Kaline once he turned off the engine. "Do you want to go in with me, or would you rather stay out here?"
"I'll go in with you," she replied immediately, fear entering her eyes at the thought of being alone.
"Are you sure? We might run into some other people," he informed her.
"I understand," Kaline told him. "But I don't want to stay out here without you. Please, don't make me."
Kurama gave a small sigh. "Okay. C'mon. I'll just make the trip quick." He climbed out of the car, and the brunette did the same, relief flooding her system. She followed him into the building, down a few halls, up three flights of stairs, and into a room at the end of a hallway.
The apartment was sparsely decorated. The walls were white; the carpet, beige. All of the furniture pieces were neutral colors, and nothing hung on the walls. The only thing that pointed to the fact that the redhead did indeed live in the area was all the plants that were spread out in selective places.
When she went into the bedroom, she found another dull room. The only color was the dark green in the bedspread.
Kaline sat down at the foot of the bed, eyes following Kurama's every move as he pulled out two large suitcases and began to pack. Every time he left the room, she followed him like a shadow, unwilling to be left alone.
Once he was done packing the two suitcases, the kitsune turned to the girl. "Would you like me to pack some of my shirts for you?" he inquired, gesturing towards the tunic she had on.
The brunette nodded her head. "Yes, please. I would like that a lot." After receiving that answer, he pulled out a third suitcase and packed it as well.
"There. I believe we're ready to go now," Kurama informed her. "I should have everything."
Kaline grabbed one suitcase while the redhead took the other two. Then, they went back to the car, shoved the luggage into the trunk, and returned to Kaline's house.
