Meeting in a Dark Hallway
By: Cece Williams
((Disclaimer: I don't own "YYH" and I don't intend to.))
Yusuke: If she did, though, she'd have to make Kurama less queer.
Kurama: (crosses his arms) You're hardly the standard for wild outbursts.
Cece: Anywho, this is my first one with an OC for this anime. I only own Andrea, so please R&R.
Kurama: Everyone, please keep reading and review at the end.
Cece: Uh, Kurama, I just said that.
Kurama: Oops.
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Andrea Stone, one of the Spirit Detectives that Koenma, the prince of the Underworld, trained, walked down the hallway, her blue eyes looking out in front of her. Her long reddish-brown hair was flowing behind her until she stopped and felt her chest, where her heart was pounding. "Why am I getting this weird feeling?" she asked to herself as she heard a noise from behind her. She took out one of her Spirit Arrows, placed it in her bow, and pulled it back as far as it would go as she turned around.
A familiar silhouette appeared in front of her. His long mane of red hair and his emerald green eyes weren't that hard for her to recognize whom it was. Kurama stepped out from behind her, his arms up in acute surrender. "It's only me," he told her in his usual calm voice. "Don't shoot."
Andrea's arm muscles began to calm down as she put away her Spirit Weapon and looked at him. Her heart, however, was still going crazy. "Damn, Kurama," she said, one of her hands on her hip, the other one still holding the bow. "You scared me."
Andrea knew that Kurama was a good guy and that he was trust-worthy. Part of the reason why she liked going on missions with him was because she liked the way he fought, calculating but yet graceful at the same time. The other reason was easier to see; they were good friends and classmates.
"You know," she continued, looking into his emerald colored eyes. "You could give someone a heart attack by doing that."
Kurama smiled, letting his arms go back to his sides and into his pockets casually. He really didn't mean to scare her, but on the other hand, he was glad she was prepared in case it wasn't him. His green eyes looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, I'll try not to do that again," he answered her.
"Don't worry about it; just give me a warning next time," Andrea replied back to him with a wink. She blinked her blue eyes and looked back in the direction, where she heard voices. "Something's down that hallway."
As he watched Andrea take a step into that direction, Kurama stayed put, looking at her concernedly. He knew about her being overconfident, and what that could cost her. "Be wary, Andrea," he said to her calmly.
She looked back at Kurama and nodded. "Hmm," she said, looking back in the direction she was just at. "Kurama, something's up; I think someone's headed our way."
Kurama took a step to match where Andrea was. "Yes, it would seem so," he answered her, keeping his eyes in front of them. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Andrea grab a Spirit Arrow and put it on the bow again. He loved how she was trying to put on a brave face while on the inside she was probably scared as hell. "Just stay next to me, all right?"
Andrea nodded, her eyes never leaving the dark hallway in front of them. "Heh, so you felt that, too, huh?" she asked him. When he didn't answer, she added, "I had a hunch someone was here."
From what Kurama could see, Andrea had been staring into the darkened abyss for about three minutes. He didn't want to disturb her concentration, so he kept silent, all the while keeping his eyes on the abyss as well.
Finally, Andrea looked at Kurama, who seemed to feel her eyes on him. "It's Karasu," she answered him in a whisper.
"My, my, aren't we observant?" Karasu appeared right in front of them.
Andrea simply looked at the figure in black, her blue eyes fixed in a steely glare. The expression on her face was one that Kurama didn't like that well. "What do you want, Karasu?" she asked him, her voice edged with sharp steel.
Karasu returned the steely glare what she had given him with one of his own. "What business is that of yours, little girl?" he asked her back.
Andrea's main response was her raising her bow and Spirit Arrow up at his head. "I'm making it my business," she said, her voice turning into a growl. "You have a problem with that?"
Karasu's eyes darkened at the tone of her voice. Normal girls in her position would have been screaming right about now, but she was literally defying him. "I might," he growled, walking over to her.
Before she could do anything else, Kurama had stepped in front of her. This surprised her; why was he in front of her? It didn't make much sense. "Kurama, what are you doing?" she asked him from behind him.
Kurama looked behind him and looked at her from the corner of his eye. "I know what I'm doing, Andrea; believe me," he answered her.
She nodded, putting away her Spirit Arrow and her bow. She knew better than to go against Kurama's words of obvious wisdom. She saw him in battle and she knew all too well what would probably happen. Still, she couldn't help but be half worried about him… okay, make that 75% worried about him. What am I thinking? she thought. I'm 2,000% worried about Kurama right now.
"Seems as though you're protecting the girl, Kurama," Karasu said, walking nearer to them. "I wonder why you're protecting her."
Kurama's emerald eyes darkened, unnatural for a calm person like himself. "Whatever the reason, it is none of your business," he growled slightly.
Andrea brought her blue eyes up at Kurama from behind him. "You sure you know what you're doing, Kurama?" she asked him. The look in her eyes showed that she was scared of what Kurama was thinking rather than what Karasu was planning. "Because, sweetie, I don't."
Kurama leaned his head back and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry; I won't try anything foolish."
Her voice acted the same way her eyes looked at the moment. "Foolish?" she asked him, blinking. "You mean, like, what you're doing right now? I mean, what does he want?"
"Who's to say?"
Her eyes grew wide upon hearing that. Of course, Karasu wanted to fight Kurama, but the final round of the tournament wasn't until the next day. And if he did want to fight him, why would he be stupid enough to fight him in front of her? Andrea brought her voice back, saying, "That coming out of your mouth is really starting to scare me." She looked from behind Kurama's shoulder. "Not as much as Mr. MiB over there, though."
Kurama smiled faintly, seeing that she was trying to make a joke even though it was a serious situation. "Fear is good in some aspects," he said to her. "But not to worry; I get the distinct feeling that if Karasu was going to try something, he would have done it already."
Her eyes narrowed as far as they would go, since she was a little upset that she could have just capped the guy and be done with it. She sighed softly. "Okay, I'll leave you to talk to the guy, since he wanted to meet us here," she answered him.
Kurama gripped her chin lightly in his hand and released it as soon as he did. He straightened to his full height and looked straight back at Karasu. "What do you want?" he asked him.
From behind him, Andrea let out a little growl; she was getting another weird feeling; this time that something was going to happen to him.
Karasu smirked and waved his hand nonchalantly. "I only wanted to be near you seeing as how tomorrow we will not be able to," he answered.
"The only one who's gonna be near him is gonna be me," Andrea growled under her breath from behind the redhead.
Kurama's mouth twitched and his emerald colored eyes glinted with a dark spark that if Andrea had seen, she would have lost her breathing. "Sorry; I have no intention of getting close to the likes of you," he answered calmly.
Andrea, on the other hand, heard how Kurama's facial expressions had changed. ~He sounds kinda pissed, ~ she thought to herself. Hearing his last comment, she smiled from behind him. ~Mmm, good comeback, ~ she added.
Karasu laughed darkly. "Yes, it's so obvious," he said, his voice turning dark and menacing. "Perhaps, though, I should get rid of that pretty girl behind you, hmm?"
Hearing the threat against her own life made her want to jump over the redheaded fox demon and choke the living hell out of him. Still, although she was tempted to do so, Kurama said he was going to handle it and for her to stay behind him. She grabbed onto the back of Kurama's outfit, her blue eyes with a bit of a murderous look in them. Even for her, they weren't the type of eyes she should be using in this predicament.
Kurama backed up and placed a protective hand upon Andrea's waist, keeping her behind him. His emerald green eyes glinted with a dangerous look. "You can sure go ahead and try."
Andrea's blue eyes lost the murderous glare and took a more scared and shocked look. What was he thinking? "Kurama, are you nuts?" she whispered into his ear, her frightened voice matching her scared eyes.
Inwardly, Kurama cringed but he didn't back down. He knew Karasu was strong, but they were equal in strength and in using their heads … literally.
Karasu laughed and backed off from Kurama and Andrea. "Don't worry, Kurama, I will take care of you and the girl in time," he answered. "No need to rush these things." He turned to walk away, waving as he did so.
Andrea could feel her heart racing inside of her chest. She took a couple of deep breaths to try and calm down, but she couldn't help but feel the least bit scared after what she had just heard. ~He's going to kill Kurama and me, ~ she thought, her heart racing.
Kurama watched Karasu until he disappeared into the darkness. He then turned around and grasped Andrea's shoulders lightly as to not scare her. "Are you all right?" he asked her.
Taking another couple of deep breaths, she looked up at him. "What does he want with you?" she asked him back, the fear in her voice remaining. Her heart kept racing for another minute or so.
Kurama shook his head. "I'm not sure, but I get the feeling we'll find out before long," he answered her. He then did something that surprised even him; he pulled her tighter in his embrace. "No more worries for me, though, hmm?"
The embrace surprised her at first, but she felt better knowing it was Kurama and no one else. She leaned her head against him, the frightened tears falling from her eyes. Her body shook due to her sobbing. "I can't help it; what if he tries to kill you, and…" She couldn't finish her sentence.
"He will no doubt try to do so," Kurama muttered his answer, still holding Andrea tightly against him. "But he will not succeed, for my will to survive is strong."
She wrapped her arms around him as tightly as she could, a move that she wasn't even certain if she was really doing it on her own, or if her emotions had taken over. "I don't know what'll happen if he did…" She looked away from him, the tears falling from her eyes double time.
"He won't, but if by some miracle he does, you will go on, Andrea," he answered. "You will live and know that I tried my hardest to survive for your sake alone."
Upon hearing his answer, she buried her face into his chest and cried; her arms wrapped tightly around him. "I don't think I could, Kurama," she answered him, looking up into his eyes, the tears sliding down her cheeks.
()()()() ()()()() ()()()() ()()()() ()()()() ()()()()
((What could Andrea possibly be thinking? How will Kurama react to her last statement, if he could respond at all? Find out in the next chapter!))
Yusuke: Man, where am I in this thing?
Cece: Later on, I promise, Yusuke.
Kurama: Good plots take time; since Cece is an authoress, she knows that all too well.
Hiei: Might as well say it in Kuwabara's language.
Cece: Good things come to those who wait.
Kurama: Anyway, read and review here.
Cece: It'll probably take a while, but I'm sure my friend and I are going to help out a lot here.
Yusuke: And PLEASE put me in there!
Kurama: (sweatdrops) And I thought Cece was bad on the chocolate.
Cece: (looks at Kurama angrily) What was that, Suiichi Minamino?!
Kurama: (cringes) Nothing.
Yusuke: (in singsong) Ooh, Kurama got busted!
Cece: (in singsong) I'll never tell.
Hiei: Any reviews are good as far as Cece's concerned. (looks around) And PLEASE bring chocolate!
