I'm just starting to type this chapter and I think there isn't much romance in this chapter either! I can't believe this! Forget it! I'm fitting the romance in this chapter even if it kills me. Ume and Hiei have had too much time in the spotlight. Although, I personally don't mind, but I bet my Kurama-loving friend does…Save me!


"Get up already. You look pathetic. Here." Ume handed Tsume a handkerchief and her necklace. "Sorry, I guess I kind of broke it." She looked over her shoulder and saw Ronin on the floor trying to crawl away (in the last chapter, I never put that he died, now did I?), looked back to Tsume, and she let out a sigh of annoyance. "I'll finish him…"

Ronin shot a ball of Spirit Energy at Ume.

"What the heck?" Ume got hit pretty hard in the stomach, but she was able to move out of the way enough so that the blow wasn't fatal.

"Next time you won't be so lucky."

"What? I thought you couldn't fight." Tsume was just as surprised as Ume was.

"You think with all the human money I own, and all the schemes I'm involved in, I can't fight? How else am I supposed to protect myself when my cheated clients get ugly?"

Tsume picked up Kurama and placed him in the corner of the room where, hopefully, his defenseless body wouldn't get hurt. "Ok, come on. Let's see how well you are at fighting."

She used her Lightning Arrows and shot some at Ronin. He knocked them away easily and shot a blast at Tsume. Ume jumped over Tsume and shot out her Wolf Claws and hit Ronin, as well as the ground he was standing on. The smoke began to clear and some blast shot from it and hit Ume.

Ume stood next to Tsume and suddenly her locket, which she had kept in her pocket ever since it stopped glowing, glowed again. "What's going on with that thing Ume?" Then, Tsume's gemstone glowed too. "You know what this means right?"

Ume nodded slightly. "But how can a locket…my locket…be a stone?"

"It must have been made out of the other half. Melted down, and painted or something so it'd look like a normal locket."

"Alright then, since you're the expert, try explaining to me how to get the two of these things together."

"That's the problem. The protectors of the jewels have actually get along, which we obviously do not." She said as she dodged a blow.

"Engulfing Darkness." Ume cried out as the technique went straight for Ronin. "That won't kill him, but it will keep him busy for a while. Now how are we going to solve this little predicament?"

"We can try to get along, but faking it won't work."

"Oh please, that's not going to happen."

"Why not? You were the one who said that you'd do anything for your friends! Kurama…I mean, all of them need your help!"

"Now tell me! What do you possibly know about me!"

"What do YOU know about ME!"

"I know enough! You are born into some family who protects some jewel. Basically it right!"

Tsume remained silent, and Ume was able to tell that she was right. "How would I know anything about you? What have you ever said? You pretend to act like the girl who's in the middle of everything, the girl who gets along with people, but all you do is tell nobody anything. You barely tell any of the other about yourself! I'm probably the only one who's noticed it!"

Tsume hit Ume where it hurt. "I…I…I cannot believe you just said that…"

"So what if I did?"

"It's just that…no one ever bothered to realize that about me. Hiei's probably the only other person who has noticed but he's never said anything about it. It's either that, or he just didn't notice as well…"

Tsume looked taken back for a second. She wasn't expecting Ume to remain calm about what she just said.

"Not even Hiei huh? You must be pretty good at acting." She laughed a bit.

"Hah. Not even." She stopped. "Those last couple of sentences, did we actually talk, and NOT fight?"

"Wow, that's scary."

They laughed more.

Abruptly, the two's conversation was interrupted by a loud explosion coming from the Darkness. Ronin had finally escaped and the jewel's glow grew stronger. They rose in to the air and combined (that was corny but hey, I had no other ideas on how they combined…) and turned into some kind of scepter. The staff glowed and landed right in between Ume and Tsume.

The two looked at each other, surprised they managed to get along at all. Ume smirked. "Enough standing around! I want this pest out of my hair once and for all." She grabbed the scepter and pointed it at Ronin, but nothing happened. "You're kidding! It's not even working without both people! What a rip-off!"

Tsume grabbed the handle of the scepter too and it blasted Ronin. Ronin lied on the floor, dead, finally.

Eventually, after much searching and wandering, the two found another break in the barrier and carried the boys, who were STILL unconscious, through it. They found themselves in the middle of the park lake, near a bench and some bushes. They put down Hiei and Kurama on the bench. Soon after they threw Yusuke and Kuwabara into the bushes, they all woke up.

"Hey you two. Glad to see you're awake after what just happened."

Tsume nudged Ume's arm, signaling her not to tell the boys about what happened and Ume nudged her arm back and whispered. "Just go along with what I say."

"What did happen?" Hiei asked so tiredly, that it seemed like he was talking more to himself than the girls.
-
Yusuke and Kuwabara began to stir as well. "What the heck happened?"

They woke up just in time to hear the conversation going on between the 'dates.'

"The stupid waiter got the drinks messed up and gave you guys and the table behind us, uh…"

"…Wine! After a while, you guys passed out and we brought you hear and we just waited until you two woke up." Tsume finished her lie.

"Sorry, I guess we ruined the date." Kurama apologized.

Ume interrupted. "It's alright, besides, I doubt being set up like this was going to be fun. Isn't that right, Yusuke and Kuwabara?" she called out to the bushes.

"You two found out about that didn't you?" Hiei looked embarrassed to know two people who couldn't hide from two girls.

"Wasn't that hard, considering the fact that I did recognize them at the restaurant and that we found the two passed out in their booth." She gave a laugh. "But don't worry, we forgive you."

"Did you just say we?"

"Yea. Me and Tsume."

The boys, including the two in the bushes, looked amazed.

"How long were we out?"

"Oh come on Hiei. Tsume and I weren't getting along that badly." She looked up at the moon and finally realized that it was at least 11 P.M. "It's getting late, I should get home. Coming Hiei? After all, you're still supposed to stay at my place for one night. And it's raining later tonight and in the morning anyways." She grabbed Hiei's wrist and ran home, but before she left, she said something to Tsume, "How about we never tell the boys about what happened while they were out? Deal?"

"Deal."

The boys looked confused again.

"Bye Tsume, Kurama, YUSUKE, and KUWABARA!" she called out as she practically dragged Hiei home with her.
-

"This is completely your fault that we were caught you know that?" Yusuke whispered to Kuwabara.

"This was your fault you starting this whole thing, and making me come along."

"That plan worked didn't it? Tsume and Ume are friends now!"

Along the way she started shouting at him, "For running my whole entire night, you have no choice but to make it up to me by modeling for another picture (see story 1-chapter 11 for more details)."

"You're joking right?"

"Nope."

"I'm sorry Tsume." Kurama turned to her. "This wasn't much of a date was it?"

"It's ok. You were only trying to make me and Ume get along. And it worked." She smiled.

"Maybe we should go out again."

"Huh? Another date?" she heard a sudden snicker coming from the bushes and she kicked a pebble at the bush and hit Yusuke.

"More like something to show my deepest apologizes."

"Either way, I accept!"

"Alright. How about tomorrow night?"

"Ok! Just make sure Yusuke and Kuwabara don't tag along."

Kurama nodded. Tsume was being walked home by Kurama and she was excited about their next date…err…the showing of his 'deepest apologizes'.

They were halfway there when it started raining just as Ume thought. They ran and waited under a tree, planning to stay there until the rain's drizzling slowed down. As they looked up at the clouded night sky Tsume commented something about it. "Maybe the human world isn't all that great either. It still rains, it gets cloudy, and people do still get hurt."

Once again, Kurama already knew this but kept quiet and just nodded in agreement.

"No matter what world you go to, there will be problems there. Whether in Makai, or here. There are those who kill no matter what. Everyone kills, it's in their blood. That's probably the only thing every being have in common with everything else."

Kurama was moved by these words.He stared at Tsume face. She stared back. Their faces moved closer to each other until their lips were almost touching. Then…


Another long chapter. Once again there was little romance but the ending part made up for that. I'm so jealous of Tsume and Kurama, I should make Hiei and Ume's romance a little more…well…romantic… The next and final chapter will have more of it though, but most of it will be just normal junkies. I was planning on making this chapter the last one, but I still need to stick the romance in so lucky for you people, one more to go!