Chapter 7

Kurama opened his eyes and quickly shut them again.The morning light stung at his eyes as they shined through the petals of the Saukra tree. His body ached, his legs were stiff as if he hadnt moved them in many hours. He was sitting in the crook of the large tree he had rested in when he came here yesterday, the day he saw the woman and her friends. He looked at his watch, it wasnt a real watch, but one Koenma-dono had given him for his mission. It told him it was about 12:05 in the afternoon on the 27th, the day after he had arrived in the town. No doubt Yuskue and the others would arrive in a few hours. He sighed and laned back against the tree trunk. It was such a pleasant dream...almost real. But it was no doubt the effects of her seduction. He decided to no longer give the matter any thought, and hopped down from the tree. He landed without a sound and looked out twords the large shopping centre and even larger mall next to it. He was to met the rest of the team in the food court to discuss the details of the new mission there. Without a word he set off to wait for them, prehaps he would have a nice slad as he waited, or prehaps go look at the clothing stores.

"Man this bites!" Yuskue yelled as he walked down the large dirt path. "Why the hell couldnt we rent a car? I dont want to walk for 10 miles to get to this stupid town!" But his protests fell on mostly deaf ears, as Kuwabara and Hiei continued to walk, their duffle bags slung ver their shoulders. "Simple...none of us are able to drive a car." Hiei said with a sullen tone. "Yeah" responded Kuwabara "for one neither me or Urameshi have a lisence, and Shrimpy here is too short to reach the pedals." He made a move to tap Hiei onthe head, but hit nothing but air, Hiei having already moved about four yards ahead of them, a soft 'hn..' his only response. "Hey! Get back here!" Kuwabara yelled as he ran afer him, leaving Yuskue to think to hmself. He took this small moment of silence to go over what Botan and Koenma had told him. Apparently, this town was like a haven to most monsters and such. It was large yet out of the way. Most people there didnt mind seeing monsters or halfbreeds, as they were common here. One of the big ones that lived here was causing trouble for the spirit world and was to be dealt with, and if they found the time they were also to look into finding some girl that had crossed paths with Youko once before. It sounded like a boring week in dullsville to him. "URAMESHI!! Hurry up!" He walked a little quicker at Kuwabara's whining and decided any more attempts at thought would be a waste of time for now.

Kurama was standing before one of the many clothing shops in the mall, eyeing a lovly red yukata. He wanted to try it on, but decided not to. The others would show up at anytime, and he really didn't wish to keep them, let alone see him dressed up in a yukata. He chuckled softly and began to walk deeper into the mall. He noticed a small group of girl, all waering sailor fukus, were watching him wih great intrest. He smiled and waved at them, only to cause them all to turn slightly red and dissperse further away from him. He wondered why people acted like this twords him, but decided not to think about it anymore. He supposed it was just his 'charming looks' and nothing else. He had now arrived at the food court, and decidedhe really wasnt in the mood to eat. He ordered himself some tea from one of the cultural resturants, and sat himself near the end of the large area of tables. He had a clear view of all entrances, and would be able to see the group when they arrived. Somewhat complacent, he sipped slowly on his tea, wondering about the specifics of the mission. All he knew about it was that it involved a very powerful demon, one that had somehow escaped the Youkai world. On top of that it was one far more powerful than Tugoro ever was.

Katsumi yawned and looked at the people around her. It was he usual group of Neesha, Nikki, Skye, and Eric. There were two newbies in the group, friends of Neesha, but she hadnt bohered to remeber their names yet. She made a nte to get Neesha to tell her. The day was beginning to end, and as usual they hadnt actually bought anything. She didnt even really know how this became a ritual for her and the gang, which called themselves the 'Kawaii Kitsunes' when Nikki noted her features. Her feet hurt, her tails were dragging behind her, and she was hungry. "Lets go eat sumthin' im starved." The group nodded, as she knew she would. "okay everyone, Jan-ken!" yeled Neesha, and hey each threw out their hands. Eric threw rock, everyone else threw paper. "Not again! I always lose.." Eric said to his dismay, scheckng his wallet to se how much he could afford. Skye smiled and patted his back. "Thats cus all you throw is rock, next time try something else. You would be suprised the possibilties that are available to you if you let go the stone my man." He chuckled softly and led him twords the food court, the rest following him. They all decided on the Taco Hut, and Eric payed for it, his wallet now considerbly lighter than before. They found a large table, though sitting there was a single person with cup of coffee and bright red hair. Katsumi took the innitiative. "Hey...you mind moving so we can sit there? its not like you need those seats."

Kurama sighed softly once more, his finger tracing the lip of the cup. "Im afraid I have company on the way, and this is the best table to wait for them. He didnt bother to lift his head, though otherwise he would have gladly given them the table, but he supposed this was a time to be firm and not such a gentleman. But Katsumi only slammed her hand down on the table, causing the other people around them to jump slightly and look her way. She was making a scene and she knew it. "Listen you red haired pretty boy! I come here amost everyday, and everyone knows I always use this table! So scram!" But he didnt move, at least not in the way she wanted him to. He only scooted down a little looking at her and smiling. "There, now all of us can share the table, is this accetable?" He looked inot her eyes, recalling his dream, and doing his best to reman calm. She was taken aback slightly. He was cute, and strong willed. she had used persuasive pwers to make him move, ut he was unaffected, how odd. Rather than do anyhing else she simply huffed and sat down across from him. The rest of the group did the same, doing there best to sit on one side of the table to glare at Kurama, thoughthe two new people sat at either end of the table. Kurama simple did his best to not laugh at the sight.

Yuskue and the group looked at the entrance of the mall. As they were about to enter, the heard a loud 'yoohoo' from above. He rubbed his forehead in pain as he saw it was Botan. "What are you doing here Botan..." She smiled and hopped from her oar. "Im here on assignment of course. This demon is a special case and ou need myhelp in the matter." He shook his head and decided not to argue with her right now. He didnt want her here, but he would send her away after he had something to eat. "alright...lets go then." He walked inside, the others close behind him. He knew without a doubt they looked like the most out of place group in existence. Large dufflebags, Botan and her oar, Hiei and his sword, Kuwabara and his bad outfit. This week was gonna be hell.

sighs Wow, this was shorter than I thought it was. Im sorry it took me so long to get the next chapter, but me being the baka that I am, I typed up different versions of Chapter 7. I didn't get many suggestions, but the ones I did get were intresting. Some wanted a Katsumi to be forced to fight Kurama O Some wanted Katsumi to have to leave for an assignment o.o;; One even wanted Katsumi to die! . ; (I sense a dislike for Katsumi . ;;; ) But I decided to go with the one where Kurama realizes none of this was real. SO, it turns out his time with Katsumi was merely a dream (or was it a glimpse of things to come?)