Chapter 5. Take Me Home
"Oh man! What time is it?"
Yusuke looked at her curiously and then glanced at the clock. "It's 11:30, why?"
"I've got to get home! If I don't get there soon my parents will wonder why I'm not up yet and then they'll go check on me, and then they'll see I'm not there, and then they'll think I've been kidnapped!" Andy continued to rant as she paced back and forth.
"But you were kidnapped," said a seemingly unconcerned Hiei.
"And thank goodness it was on a weekend! If I had missed school they'd think I was playing hokey and then all hell would break loose."
"That sure sounds like the Kurama I know," said Yusuke with a smirk. "Always worried about his parents and what they'll think. Well, of course in his case it's just his mom but you get my point."
"What do you care?" said Hiei. "They're not really your parents and you're going to have to leave them soon anyway to go back to that woman you call Mother."
Andy was quiet for a minute and looked down leaving them in an uncomfortable silence which Kuwabara soon broke. "Lighten up you guys. She may really belong in our world but she doesn't remember any of her time there. Up until a little while ago she thought she was just a normal human, we can't ask her to give up the life she's known here for the last 14 years just like that."
"Oh yeah," said Yusuke. "I hadn't thought of that."
"Oh Kuwabara!" cried Andy. "You're so understanding!" She then proceeded to hug him so tightly that his face turned purple from the lack of air; seeing this she quickly let go.
As Kuwabara gasped for breath Hiei looked at her quizzically, "Does this mean you don't want to come back with us at all?" He wouldn't admit it but he was scared, they all were. Could this be how they lost one of their closest friends? In another world without his memories, not even knowing all he meant to them? Hiei knew the others might not like it but he would get his friend back even if he had to drag this girl through the portal himself.
Andy thought for a moment, "Not right now, but this has all happened so suddenly I still need time to think about it. What if you decide to leave without me and then I get my memories back and then it's too late? There's a lot for me to consider."
"How about this," said Yusuke thinking quickly, "we'll stay here up to two months or until you get all your spirit power back and then ask if you want to come with us. You'll probably have gotten your memories back by then."
"That sounds great! But in the mean-time could you please take me home?" They breathed an almost invisible sigh of relief. There was still hope, two months would give Andy plenty of time to recover her lost memories, and if it wasn't enough they would just have to deal with that problem later.
"Fine," said Yusuke, "let's go to the parking lot."
They were soon all standing next to the old, beat-up car that Yusuke and his friends had acquired. Andy looked at it doubtfully. "How can you take me home in this? None of can drive, and you two aren't even old enough to." Never-the-less she sat in back next to Hiei as Kuwabara slid into the driver's seat with Yusuke on the passenger side.
"Don't worry about it," said Kuwabara. "I played a lot of driving games back home, when I drive you can barely tell I was never taught."
"What do you mean 'barely'?" But it was too late, he had already started the car and had them roaring down the road. Everything seemed fine until Andy saw the truck hurtling toward them.
"Kuwabara! We're on the wrong side of the road!"
He managed to swerve just in time and soon they were on the legal side of the road. "Sorry about that, I keep forgetting Americans drive on the other side of the road."
Andy was still trying to get over her terror, "I've known you guys less than two hours and already I've almost died." Then what Kuwabara had said registered. "Wait a minute, you guys are from Japan right? So why aren't you speaking Japanese?"
Yusuke looked puzzled. "You mean we're not speaking Japanese right now?" Andy shook her head slowly. "That's weird, I don't feel like I'm speaking a different language, it sounds like the same Japanese I've always spoken."
Andy thought about it for a moment. "Maybe in your world Japanese is English and English is Japanese, that's why we can talk to each other!"
"Right... let's just go with that." Yusuke then took out a map and started to try and figure out how to get back to the girl's house.
"We'll have to start your training soon you know," said Hiei. Andy turned to face him. "I suggest we start today." His voice was cold leaving no choice in the matter.
"Well," Andy said nervously, "as soon as I check in with my parents and eat something I guess we could get started." Andy felt awkward around Hiei, she wasn't sure how she felt about him. The other two were fun and easy to get along with but Hiei was a mystery. There was a very odd paradox of emotion because she knew him well from her show but she really knew him very little. At that very moment she felt his usual cold air coming toward her but she also felt a bit of warmth left over from their brief but private talk behind the motel, he had seemed almost sympathetic to her then.
"Do you have any woods or any large, private spaces near where you live?"
"Hmm, I don't think so. No wait, we can use the golf course!"
Hiei looked bewilderedly at her, "Golf course?" He was willing to do whatever it took to get his friend and comrade back but somehow he hadn't expected this as a first step.
"Oh man! What time is it?"
Yusuke looked at her curiously and then glanced at the clock. "It's 11:30, why?"
"I've got to get home! If I don't get there soon my parents will wonder why I'm not up yet and then they'll go check on me, and then they'll see I'm not there, and then they'll think I've been kidnapped!" Andy continued to rant as she paced back and forth.
"But you were kidnapped," said a seemingly unconcerned Hiei.
"And thank goodness it was on a weekend! If I had missed school they'd think I was playing hokey and then all hell would break loose."
"That sure sounds like the Kurama I know," said Yusuke with a smirk. "Always worried about his parents and what they'll think. Well, of course in his case it's just his mom but you get my point."
"What do you care?" said Hiei. "They're not really your parents and you're going to have to leave them soon anyway to go back to that woman you call Mother."
Andy was quiet for a minute and looked down leaving them in an uncomfortable silence which Kuwabara soon broke. "Lighten up you guys. She may really belong in our world but she doesn't remember any of her time there. Up until a little while ago she thought she was just a normal human, we can't ask her to give up the life she's known here for the last 14 years just like that."
"Oh yeah," said Yusuke. "I hadn't thought of that."
"Oh Kuwabara!" cried Andy. "You're so understanding!" She then proceeded to hug him so tightly that his face turned purple from the lack of air; seeing this she quickly let go.
As Kuwabara gasped for breath Hiei looked at her quizzically, "Does this mean you don't want to come back with us at all?" He wouldn't admit it but he was scared, they all were. Could this be how they lost one of their closest friends? In another world without his memories, not even knowing all he meant to them? Hiei knew the others might not like it but he would get his friend back even if he had to drag this girl through the portal himself.
Andy thought for a moment, "Not right now, but this has all happened so suddenly I still need time to think about it. What if you decide to leave without me and then I get my memories back and then it's too late? There's a lot for me to consider."
"How about this," said Yusuke thinking quickly, "we'll stay here up to two months or until you get all your spirit power back and then ask if you want to come with us. You'll probably have gotten your memories back by then."
"That sounds great! But in the mean-time could you please take me home?" They breathed an almost invisible sigh of relief. There was still hope, two months would give Andy plenty of time to recover her lost memories, and if it wasn't enough they would just have to deal with that problem later.
"Fine," said Yusuke, "let's go to the parking lot."
They were soon all standing next to the old, beat-up car that Yusuke and his friends had acquired. Andy looked at it doubtfully. "How can you take me home in this? None of can drive, and you two aren't even old enough to." Never-the-less she sat in back next to Hiei as Kuwabara slid into the driver's seat with Yusuke on the passenger side.
"Don't worry about it," said Kuwabara. "I played a lot of driving games back home, when I drive you can barely tell I was never taught."
"What do you mean 'barely'?" But it was too late, he had already started the car and had them roaring down the road. Everything seemed fine until Andy saw the truck hurtling toward them.
"Kuwabara! We're on the wrong side of the road!"
He managed to swerve just in time and soon they were on the legal side of the road. "Sorry about that, I keep forgetting Americans drive on the other side of the road."
Andy was still trying to get over her terror, "I've known you guys less than two hours and already I've almost died." Then what Kuwabara had said registered. "Wait a minute, you guys are from Japan right? So why aren't you speaking Japanese?"
Yusuke looked puzzled. "You mean we're not speaking Japanese right now?" Andy shook her head slowly. "That's weird, I don't feel like I'm speaking a different language, it sounds like the same Japanese I've always spoken."
Andy thought about it for a moment. "Maybe in your world Japanese is English and English is Japanese, that's why we can talk to each other!"
"Right... let's just go with that." Yusuke then took out a map and started to try and figure out how to get back to the girl's house.
"We'll have to start your training soon you know," said Hiei. Andy turned to face him. "I suggest we start today." His voice was cold leaving no choice in the matter.
"Well," Andy said nervously, "as soon as I check in with my parents and eat something I guess we could get started." Andy felt awkward around Hiei, she wasn't sure how she felt about him. The other two were fun and easy to get along with but Hiei was a mystery. There was a very odd paradox of emotion because she knew him well from her show but she really knew him very little. At that very moment she felt his usual cold air coming toward her but she also felt a bit of warmth left over from their brief but private talk behind the motel, he had seemed almost sympathetic to her then.
"Do you have any woods or any large, private spaces near where you live?"
"Hmm, I don't think so. No wait, we can use the golf course!"
Hiei looked bewilderedly at her, "Golf course?" He was willing to do whatever it took to get his friend and comrade back but somehow he hadn't expected this as a first step.