Chapter 3: Secrets
Quickly gathering their things, the group obediently followed him. It was not a long walk to the hotel, for they reached it within ten minutes. They soon approached the front desk where they were greeted by an older man.
"How can I help you all today?" the elderly man smiled sweetly.
"Well, I'd like a million dollars, a mansion, umm…"
"Yusuke, please..." Kurama intervened shaking his head. "I do believe the man was being serious."
"Right, right. We're here to check in; it should be under Urameshi, party of four."
The man merely smiled and sweatdropped before turning his back to them. "Of course. We have your room ready and I have your key right here."
The group waited for him to turn back around and handed Yusuke the key to their room. He waved to the group, watching them walk over to the hall.
"So what is your room number? If they did it right over there at Reikai, then it should be the room next to ours." Suki looked over Yusuke's shoulder.
The kitsune, wise and clever as ever was quick to pick up on a certain word that had escaped her mouth. "Reikai?"
"Yeah, what did you mean by that?" Yusuke joined in, suddenly on the defensive as well.
Kuwabara merely gasped and did a wonderful impression of a fish out of water as he gaped at her and shouted. "They know!"
"Quiet baka, we don't know for sure." Hiei growled.
The tall young man they had met only half an hour ago mentally slapped himself. "What are you guys going on and on about this Reikai? She said Reiki, the travel company you guys came with."
"I distinctly heard Reikai." Hiei countered, ruby eyes burning into the newcomers.
He could tell they were hiding something, and he didn't like it.
Now she had done it... This meeting was not going too smoothly, at least not as much they hoped it would be with Reikai Tantei. Especially with a demon like Hiei, it was very hard to get anything past him.
Looks like it was time for a change of subject... at least not intentionally....
"Anou, Suki! Watch out!" Kurama warned.
But it was too late; she had bumped into the statue. It clunked against the wall before falling forward, taking her down with it to the floor.
"Ouch!" she cried in pain.
"Are you okay?!" Yusuke asked, bewildered by the fact that someone as clumsy as her existed.
"I can't move!" she said, trying to push off the statue that lay on top of her.
"I'll rescue you fair maiden!!" A certain carrot top shouted triumphantly, as he lifted the statue in one great heave.
Then he shouted in pain himself as he sprained a few muscles from doing such a thing. "Damn it that was really heavy!" He exclaimed small tears of pain in his eyes.
"You thought it wouldn't be you idiot?!?" Yusuke shouted.
"Um, not really?"
Everyone merely stared at him and sighed.
Kurama chuckled, making a swift glance at Blaze. It seemed that the kitsune still suspected something but decided to leave it for now. Instead, he bent down to help the somewhat dazed Suki up.
She graciously took his hand and stood. Hoping the "accident" was enough to make the boys forget what she had stupidly said earlier. However, the pain felt all too real.
Hiei glanced at her and then looked at Kurama. A wordless message told Hiei to save whatever he had to say for later.
Suki laughed nervously, looking back at Blaze. She scratched the back of her head, hoping her partner was not too disappointed in her for almost making things more complicated than needed be.
In response to the look, he shook his head slightly and frowned briefly showing that he wasn't entirely pleased with her behavior. Then he turned to the group once more. "Well, I'm sure you want to go and rest, it's been a long day for you guys, I'm sure. Our job is to escort you around, give you the royal treatment and whatnot. If you need us, our room number is 128."
"Yeah, just knock if you guys want to do something later." Suki added.
"Okay, sure. We'll keep that in mind." Yusuke nodded.
"Yeah! Let's check out the beach later!" Kuwabara stated, excitedly.
Hiei only shook his head and smirked. "I, for one, am going to rest. After spending all that time on the plane with him, I think I need a break."
Kurama chuckled at the comment and waved goodbye with one arm as they all headed towards their room.
"Rest well." Blaze called out before turning and heading into his own room as well.
"See you later!" Suki waved before she hurriedly followed after Blaze.
Once they were inside and the door was closed, the girl jumped onto the couch that stood at the center of the room. However, she looked at her friend, pouting.
"Don't look at me like that." He commented calmly, looking tired as he yawned. "Do me a favor and close the shades?"
"Okay...." she mumbled.
Hopping over the back of the couch, landing onto the floor, she walked towards the windows. She did as she was told and pulled down the shades. Suki then walked back to the couch and watched her partner from the side.
Comfortable with the thought that no one would be able to see, the tall young man touched the amulet that hung around his neck with the fire emblem.
If there had been anyone but Suki currently in the room, they would have certainly been surprised to have seen two large black bat-like wings suddenly materialize, protruding from his back as a long black speared tipped tail fell to the floor.
Blaze stretched his wings expanding them to their full span and then let them hang loose once more. He blew an annoying tendril of reddish brown hair from his light hazel eyes and stretched languidly onto the bed.
"Aww, now you're gonna' go to sleep, Blaze-niisan?" Suki asked with a pout.
To her, the transformation was very common. Only she knew of his secret and what he really was. So as he changed in front of her, it was no big deal...
He, usually being very self conscious of his appearance around others, was totally comfortable around her and didn't mind her seeing him in his true form.
"Iie. Just resting, it was a long day for us too you know."
She seemed to be deep in thought before walking over to the bed. Looking down at him, she placed a gentle hand on his soft hair.
"Mind if I go over to their room and see what they're up to?"
He sat up and looked uneasy. "Why do you want to do that for? Leave them be or they will be even more suspicious of us."
"Hmph...you never let me have any fun..." she pouted once more.
In the room next door, where the four members of Tantei stayed, a somewhat serious discussion arose.
"I still say she said Reikai..." Hiei spoke suddenly.
"I heard that too....I wonder how she knew about it...it seemed like her partner knew also..." Yusuke agreed, nodding his head.
"Hey, ya' think they're part of Tantei too?!" Kuwabara asked, his voice rising slightly.
"Possibly." Kurama agreed making his statement sound even more intelligent.
"But if they were, why would they keep it a secret from us?" Yusuke countered.
"That is where the mystery lies."
"Let us stop the foolish act Kurama, both you and I know that her partner is definitely a demon, I could sense it since the moment he approached us." Hiei broke into the conversation.
"So could I, he seemed to be able to do the same with us as well."
"So, what do we do then?" Kuwabara asked yet another question.
"Well, for now we should just watch our backs. We don't even know who they work for yet. For all we know, they could be some assassins trying come after us..." Yusuke stated as he thoughtfully stroked his chin.
"Although, I wouldn't doubt it if she were a demon too..." Hiei shook his head.
"Now Hiei, just because she's a little....ummm..." Kurama tried to come up with an explanation.
"She's friggin' weird. But I wanna' know what she's doin' hanging around with a demon..." Yusuke smirked.
"Same here..." Kuwabara agreed.
"Besides, I know about a certain fox that she has her eyes set on..."
"Who?"
"Kurama knows, don't ya Kurama? I say we use that weakness of hers to our advantage." The spirit detective commented mischievously. "I mean come on, I'm sure fox boy here could get some information out of her."
"W-wait a minute Yusuke! I'm not so sure I want to put her through such a thing..."
"Why not? I say it's a good plan."
"Urameshi! I am ashamed of you! How could you even be thinking of doing that to a girl?!" Kuwabara stood up.
Blinking once then twice at the boy standing in front of him, Yusuke chuckled before responding. "Then what do you suggest we do? Besides, Kurama stole a lot of girls' hearts. What's so different about this one? She's still a girl."
"But it's different now, Yusuke..." Kurama whispered softly.
"How so? We don't even know if she's friend or foe! I mean that whole thing about keeping a demon companion is kind of weird."
Both Kurama and Hiei stared at him blankly.
"Well, it's different with you guys."
"I still don't like it! You can't dishonor a woman like that!" Kuwabara continued to defend his position.
"It's not like I'm askin' him to kill her or somethin'..." Yusuke heaved a sigh.
"Whatever you must do, I suggest doing it in a subtle way. Who knows what connections they have...it would be best for all of us if no one screwed up..." Hiei put his comment in.
"Exactly we must remain on our guard." Kurama nodded in agreement.
"Right right, I knew a nice normal vacation was too much to ask for." Yusuke replied, heaving a sigh. "So we still don't have a plan..."
"Well, I don't think that they know we have a clue about anything. Why don't we continue to act normal for now...at least until we can figure out a way to go about this..." the kitsune suggested.
"Just as long as you don't hurt the girl." Kuwabara added.
"Hn...fine..." Hiei nodded.
Suddenly, there was a knocking at the door. It startled everyone in the room as not even Kurama nor Hiei felt a presence.
"Who the hell is that?" Yusuke asked, quite loudly.
"Only one way to find out..." Kurama said, walking to the door.
He opened it to find...
"Hi, Shuuichi-san!" it was Suki.
"Hello...." He answered back with a warm smile as if their previous conversation had never occurred.
"What brings you here?"
"Do you guys mind if I come in? Blaze kinda' fell asleep and I had more energy than him....so, can I hang out with you guys for a while?" she asked innocently.
"Well I guess there's nothing wrong with that..." Yusuke started glancing at the others for approval.
"Who made you king, Urameshi? What if it bothered the rest of us?"
"Hiei..."Kurama commented, not liking his rude outburst.
"I certainly want her in! Come on baby." Kuwabara grinned, patting the spot on the bed next to him.
Taken back slightly by the difference in responses, Suki sweatdropped and laughed nervously. She leaned more towards the fox, not only enjoying his closeness but to hide from the disturbing boy on the bed. Kurama noticed this. "Don't worry. Please, come in..."
She walked into the room and sat in a free chair. The redhead closed the door behind him and found a seat for himself. Yusuke, on the other hand, did not take his eyes off of her.
"So, what do you think of this place so far?" she asked, trying to ignore the piercing chocolate-brown eyes.
"It's great! Especially now that I found you..." Kuwabara winked at her.
"Tell me something....Suki...." Yusuke spoke up suddenly.
"Yes?" she asked, caught off guard.
"One piece or two-piece?"
"What?!"
The young punk laughed mischievously as he winked at her. "Come on, no secrets here, right?" He responded, putting slight emphasis on the word 'secrets'.
She knew exactly what the detective was doing. "Why? Want to try it on? If you're so concerned....it's a two-piece."
Hiei made an almost silent sigh, sitting in the small recliner by the window. Even if they were on a mission, he would always count on Yusuke to never be totally serious. Kurama, on the other hand, looked away, feeling his face grow quite warm.
"Urameshi! Don't spoil it for me!" Kuwabara cried.
'Oblivious as ever....baka....' Hiei muttered to himself.
"Nah, I think your clothes are too petite for me." He responded good-naturedly, not having expected his plan to work.
"So ...what now?" Kuwabara asked wanting to break the silence that had fallen in the room
As if thinking very hard, Suki closed her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. It was not long and Kurama was about to open his mouth to suggest something when he was suddenly cut off...
"I hope you boys remembered to pack your shorts..." the girl suddenly opened her eyes.
"I have mine on..." Yusuke stated, showing them the waist of his green boxers.
"Not those you doofus!" Kuwabara smacked him over the head.
Immediately smacking him back, the spirit detective then realized his mistake and gave a small laugh. "Oh yea...those shorts. Of course I have those too."
A chorus of agreement echoed across the room except for Hiei, but that problem could be easily fixed as buying a pair in one of the hotel's stores.
"We're gonna' go to the beach?!" The carrot top asked enthusiastically.
"Yup! But...I heard no response from Hiei-san over there! Ne, I say we hit the store first and get him a pair! Then we hit the beach!" Suki said, making a twirl in the air with her finger.
Hiei looked at her in disbelief, either terrified or annoyed. "Oh? And what if I don't want to?"
His piercing blood-red eyes seemed to be challenging her as he looked into her light blue ones. She only smirked, standing up from her seat and made her way over to him. She bent down slightly and smiled sweetly at him.
He continued to stare at her unfazed by her personality; which so far was no different from Botan's.
Well, Botan wasn't as clumsy.
But still, he was immune to the sweet looks and puppy dog eyes. "Well?" He asked challenging her once more.
He'd rather go to the store with Kurama or one of the other idiots, rather than go in a large group as if he was some child who didn't know how to buy clothes for himself.
"I wanna' help you buy one! Besides, you're so cute and little, you might get lost! Plus it's better to get a girl's opinion because well....you're guys...." she suddenly burst, quickly grabbing the fire-ice demon into a tight hug.
All of the other boys looked on in shock, not knowing how to respond to that. But it was not long before Kuwabara burst into laughter.
"Ha ha, look at shorty!"
"Wow, she really is crazy..." Yusuke stated, still in somewhat shock.
Kurama chuckled, receiving a death glare from the small demon.
Hiei was shaking with anger for the few milliseconds she held him before roughly pushing her off.
"I may not be as tall as the rest of you, but that does not mean I need to be babied!" He growled moving to another end of the room and far far away from her, angrily lamenting the fact that his katana was still in the luggage carefully wrapped with a charm Koenma had sent so that the metal detectors wouldn't pick it up.
"Eh, I wouldn't do that again if I were you...." Yusuke commented, noticing the look of pure anger and perhaps embarrassment on the minute demon's face.
"But I didn't mean it in a bad way...." pouted the girl.
"Hn...." was all Hiei said, glaring at her.
"It's all right, Suki-chan. It's just that he would rather not have anyone mention about his height." Kurama whispered, having suddenly appeared next to her.
'He called me Suki......chan?' she thought, falling into a dreamlike trance. Suki remembered when Blaze was teaching her Japanese, he being Japanese, taught her what it meant to call someone with the "chan" suffix. It seemed that she had totally forgotten about what had just happened.
"Wow..." Yusuke muttered.
"Uh-huh." Kuwabara agreed but not for the same reason. He was in his own trance like state staring at her dreamily.
Kurama merely stared at her blankly, wondering what had suddenly come over her.
"Um, Suki-chan? Are you okay? Hello?" the fox waved a hand in her face.
She quickly shook her head, coming out of her daydream. "Of course! What made you think something was wrong? Boys...anyway, let's get going!"
"Hey, let's get our stuff first. I mean, we gotta' bring our shorts and stuff..." Yusuke stopped her.
"Yeah, we still have to change." Kuwabara added in.
"Why don't you go get yourself ready first, Suki-chan? Then we will meet you in the lobby." Kurama added in. "Besides, wouldn't your friend want to come along too?"
"Oh yeah....I kinda' forgot my stuff. And of course, I wouldn't forget about him." she smiled.
Being the gentleman that he always wanted to be, Kuwabara leapt up from his spot on the bed and walked over to the door. He bowed as he opened it for her while he winked.
She laughed nervously but nodded as she walked out of the room. She heard the door close behind her and she began to head into the room she shared with Blaze. But something that she bumped into did not allow her to even make it to the door.
-To be continued….
A/N: Sorry about the long update… But don't worry, the time between postings will most definitely lessen.