Chapter 19: Tennis, anyone?

Solaris: Okay, I've stopped sobbing my eyes out and I've decided to do a more fun chapter than the last one. Foxglove, could you do the disclaimer?

Foxglove: * Reading the newest Vampire Chronicle book, Blood Canticle, which we don't own either* Sure. We don't own YYH.

Solaris: That's it?

Foxglove: Sure. What else is there?

Solaris: No funny remark, no snide comment, no declaration of how much you love Hiei?

Foxglove: *turns a page * Nope.

Solaris: Okay, now I know it was a mistake letting you read that book.

*****************************

Three weeks after Lexi/Yuni's death, and Rose still hadn't recovered. Kurama watched her go about her day, hardly ever looking up, and when she was called on to read, she read in an almost-perfect monotone. It was a week into March and getting warmer. He finally thought of a way to try and cheer her up.

******

Youko, too, noticed how deeply Thorne's partner's death had effected her, but not through day-to-day contact. He had noticed it the very night that Lexi had died. She hadn't been the same confident girl she always was.

*Flashback*

Rose's sad look was the first thing that Youko had noticed, without Hiei's point to the red haired fox girl. His eyes then turned to the human girl, Yuni, and he understood her tears. Lexi had been, at times, a pain to Thorne, but she was still her former partner, and no matter what, she always had a place in her heart. He sat at her side and let her sob into his shoulder. Even through her slight sobs, he could hear the swish of Hiei's cloak as he left. She sat on the ground, her long emerald green dress in soft folds around her knees, sobbing her brown eyes out into Youko's white tunic. He smoothed her soft red hair, trying to comfort her by telling her "it'll be all right". She looked up, even beautiful with her red-rimmed eyes and tears coursing down her face.

"I just lost one of my best friends. How will it be all right? Tell me. You've suffered through this before." she said, drawing in racking breaths.

"Yes, I know. Just live each day through, that's all you can do. Pretty soon, you'll be all right. Trust me, I know what you feel." Youko said soothingly as she planted her face in his shoulder again. "It's going to be tough the first few weeks, but I know you're strong enough to live through it. You've lived through a lot worse." He could feel her hot tears on his shoulder and wished he could take the pain out of her loss. Instead, he simply sat there, holding her as she cried. Finally, she returned to her human form. He followed suit. Through Shuichi's eyes, he watched as she walked home, calming herself as she left.

*end of flashback *

As he looked at the six passes in Shuichi's hand, he smiled to himself. If this didn't cheer her up, nothing would.

*******

"Rose?" Kurama said. She looked up a little sadly and shocked, in a sort.

"Oh, hello, Shuichi. What's up?" she asked.

"Oh, not much. Except I got six free all-day passes to the tennis court and I don't think they should go to waste. Yusuke, Kuwabara, Hiei, and Botan have already agreed to go, and I'm definitely going. So what do you say?" Kurama smiled. She laughed.

"So you're saying you want me to go play tennis with you all? Well, can't hurt to try it." she nodded. "Sunday, right?"

"Right."

"See you then!" she smiled as she hurried off to class. It was her first smile in a few weeks, and it really lightened his heart.

***********

On Sunday, everyone showed up carrying tennis rackets. All of them had things drawn or burned on them, which was a real surprise to Rose. Kurama's had a tiny rose burned into the wood just above the grip. Yusuke's had a small symbol for "Rei Gun" on the side. Kuwabara's had a kitten drawn on one side, Hiei's had a black dragon burned up the handle, and Botan's had an oar burned into the side. Rose laughed.

"What's so funny?" Hiei said menacingly. She laughed and pulled her tennis racket from behind her back. It had a small fox holding a rose burned on the handle.

"I thought I was the only person who did that!" she laughed. They went onto the tennis court and began to play. It was the most bizarre game ever seen. Besides the fact that there were three players on each team (Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Botan on one side and Kurama, Hiei and Rose on the other), the players were breaking rules that, had they have been playing varsity, would have gotten them disqualified forever. More than once, Kuwabara used his spirit sword to hit the ball back toward the other side of the court. Yusuke used his spirit gun once to push the ball back. Botan's oar came in handy several times to either hit the ball back or go into the air to hit it. Kurama stuck with the rules, as did Rose, but Rose's reason was that she couldn't manipulate her spirit energy well yet. Kurama just didn't feel like it. Hiei tried something so unorthodox that it almost stopped them from playing anymore.

"Tennis racket of the darkness…" Hiei began, about to use a darkness flame attack.

"NO HIEI!!!" everyone else yelled.

As it got darker, everyone remembered that they had to go somewhere else. Rose, Kurama and Hiei were the only ones left after a time, and Hiei decided to quit after a while, due to the fact that it was turning into one of "the most dull things on Ningenkai". Rose and Kurama played until the court closed, then Kurama walked Rose home. She took one step into her house and asked him to come in. "Something doesn't seem right here." she said. He nodded and walked in the house. Even though Rose's parents weren't home, the lights were on. It freaked her out a bit, then she saw the group of people at her kitchen table. The rest of the Reikai Tantei was there.

"Where were you two? Since you weren't at the last meeting, we decided to have it here!" Yusuke laughed.

"It concerns Rose anyhow!" Kuwabara said. So all of them sat down again and talked. By the time it was over and done with, it had been decided that Rose would undergo training at GenKai's during the weekends and vacations.