Lurking Danger

By: Cece Williams

((Disclaimer: Do I honestly have to say it EVERY time? Oh, okay. I don't own YYH, okay? Togashi-san wouldn't be too thrilled if I did. There.))

Yusuke: Did she get out of the way?

Cece: You have to read and find out.

Hiei: Same legend applies here.

Kurama: (looks around) Who ate all the Whoppers?

(Cece whistles innocently)

Kurama: Anyway, our last reviewer wanted to know what did "Reikai forbid" mean. Well, Reikai is Heaven, so it's literally "Heaven forbid."

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(Last Chapter)

Kurama had reached the other side and looked beside him. He blinked, not seeing Andrea next to him. "Andrea?" He looked around and his eyes widened in shock; she was still in the middle of the road, frozen!

As the car sped towards her, Andrea's consciousness kept trying to shove her out of the way. "Move it!"

Andrea was still in a shock. She wanted to move, but her legs wouldn't cooperate, and that frightened her more. "I can't! I can't move!" Her mental voice was screaming, frantic with what was going on… or rather, what was going to happen.

Kurama raced towards her through the thickening crowd, his heart thumping wildly in his chest. "Andrea, watch out!" he shouted, trying to snap her out of it.

(Now, onto chapter 4)

Kurama did not like the thickening crowd a bit. He had to get to Andrea before she was hit… if he could get there. Finally making it to her side, he grabbed her arm and pulled her out of the way as the car sped off. "That was close, right, Andrea?" he said, but heard no response.

His heart was thudding, once again, against the walls of his chest. Why wasn't she answering him? "Andrea?" he asked again and looked down at her.

Andrea had hit her head on the sidewalk, and her eyes were squinting, trying to open.

Still, Kurama couldn't be reassured until she opened her eyes, which she did. "Andrea, are you all right?" he asked her, worry already in the edges of his voice.

Andrea looked around, slightly out of it. Her blue eyes moved frantically and finally stopped when she saw Kurama's worried emerald gaze. "Anyone see the plates on the truck?" she asked him.

Kurama wanted to kick himself but didn't; Andrea was all right as far as he could tell, and that was all he needed to know. "Sorry, no I did not," he answered.

Andrea would've smacked a hand to her head, but at the moment, she was still in a slight shock. "I can't believe I didn't move."

The crowd had lessened somewhat; they were glad that the girl wasn't hit. Still, Kurama had his doubts that she was unscathed. "You were shocked," he answered, trying to calm her. "It happens."

Andrea blinked, feeling her limbs move again after the shock wore off. "I think I know who it was," she said, trying to lift her head.

Kurama slipped his hand behind her head. As he saw her squint her eyes shut, he knew he was right and shook his head. "Don't move. I'll help you up."

Knowing that nodding would probably hurt more, Andrea blinked. "I feel like something hit me," she answered.

Kurama nodded; at least the fall didn't mess up her reason. "You hit your head on the sidewalk," he replied. "It appears that the movie will have to wait." He watched as Andrea pushed herself up on the sidewalk into a sitting position. "My house isn't far from here; Mother won't ask too many questions if I told her you were injured." Kurama helped her to her feet. "Let's go."

Andrea held a hand to her head, trying to keep the dizziness out. "Okay," she said. Her first steps, though, were unsteady, at best. In fact, she had to lean against Kurama just so she could stand up.

Kurama shifted his worried eyes on her. "Are you sure you're okay?" he asked her, his voice mixing worry and relief. "I could take you to Yukina; she's visiting Kuwabara this weekend."

Andrea's head began to throb like several people pounding at a door close by. Her eyes didn't look any better; they were starting to get fuzzy and she covered her eyes. "I think I need a doctor," she stated to him.

It was then that Kurama's eyes turned worried all over again. "Are you sure?" he asked her, and as Andrea nodded her head, he felt her lean almost heavily against him. "Andrea?" He set her on a bench and looked around. "Someone call an ambulance!" he announced to the crowd.

While someone nodded and called 119/1/ Andrea tried to look up at him. It hurt slightly, but at this point, she didn't care. "I know who probably did this," she said, holding her head again. This time, the pain was almost unbearable.

"Yeah, me too," Kurama agreed with her, but as he saw her hold her head, he grew more concerned. "But don't move; you could get hurt more."

"It's kind of hard when you were knocked on the head," Andrea answered, and as the ambulance appeared, she saw a stretcher and grimaced; she hated those things. "I have legs, you know."

The medic shook his head as he helped her onto the stretcher. "I'm afraid it's just procedure, ma'am," he said with a few others helping him pull the stretcher in the ambulance.

Andrea rolled her eyes and instantly regretted it. Her head now felt like someone had beaten it with a bat.

Sensing that maybe her ex would be at the hospital to finish the job, Kurama looked at the medic. "I'm coming with her," he announced.

The medic shook his head. "I'm sorry, sir," he answered him. "Family relation only." /2/

Kurama jumped in the ambulance anyway. Perhaps it was instinct to stay with his fallen comrade. Maybe it was something else entirely. "Forget that! I'm getting on!"

Andrea blinked at the answer Kurama gave. It didn't sound like him at all. "Okay, did Kurama get into the sake again?"

Her conscious rolled her eyes. "Kurama doesn't drink! You know that!"

Youko was almost as shocked as Andrea. "Wow... now that's a side of you I've never seen."

Kurama sighed inwardly. In truth, he didn't know where the words came from, either. "I blame you."

"Why?"

"Because you've been in my head since forever and had time to influence me!" Kurama gave Youko a look that would have meant "Duh!"

The light that was almost entering Andrea's eyes was bright enough to make them squint shut. The bump on the head was making things worse.

"You'll be okay, Andrea, I'm beside you."

But as Andrea opened her eyes again, her vision was getting cloudy, almost like walking in fog, trying to find the obvious voice in the haze. "Where are you?" Her voice was slightly freaked as she heard the voice but couldn't find the face behind it. That is, until she felt a hand on her head and turned.

"Right here," Kurama's voice was starting to sound clearer to her, and so did his face. "Stay awake. Don't want an early visit to Koenma, now, do we?"

Andrea blinked. Now the face was getting clearer, but only for a minute, as if she were nauseous. "That butterball?"

Kurama chuckled into his free hand. "Yeah," he answered. "Remember when you hid his pacifier from him?"

"He needed to stop sucking on that thing anyway."

"He's still a child, in their terms."

Andrea looked around the ambulance slowly. "Wonder what'd happen if Yusuke kicked him like a football."

Kurama chuckled and shrugged. "Probably score a field goal."

"And a sore tail."

Kurama couldn't help but laugh. "I'll bet my best dollar on that," he said.

At the same time the medic let them know they were at the hospital and got out, Andrea looked at Kurama again. "Think maybe we could steal his pacifier again and then have Yusuke kick him like a football?"

Kurama nodded his crimson head. "As soon as you're out," he answered.

"In that case, it'd be in a few hours..." As Andrea blinked again, everything now turned fuzzy, as if she were just waking up. She looked at Kurama's now blurry face.

His voice, however, was crystal clear. "Still blurry?" he asked her.

"Looks like Jackson Pollock," /3/ Andrea answered.

Kurama shook his head as he stepped out of the ambulance alongside his friend. "I'll let that slide because of the concussion."

Andrea was confused. What was he talking about? "What concussion? All I did was bump my head."

"Rather hard I might add," he added.

A doctor had run up to them. "Okay, what happened?" he asked.

And then the pain came back. "Aiii!" Andrea squinted her eyes shut again. "Think he could tone the voiceage down a hair?" Her head felt like it would split open like a coconut.

The medic handed the report to the doctor. "She's got a possible concussion to the back of her head," he explained to the doctor.

As the doctor checked her eyes, he noticed that Andrea's eyes were all right, but blurry. "Vision's blurry... okay, nurse, get her set up in recovery."

After twenty minutes of sitting in a chair, Andrea was almost back to her old self. "See? Take more than that to knock me down," she said confidently. Maybe TOO confidently.

Kurama nodded. She was almost back. "I see," he answered, sitting in another chair.

The doctor wrote something else in the folder before closing it. "Other than a headache, she'll be fine," he said.

Kurama felt relieved that it wasn't as bad as it sounded. "Arigato."

The doctor got up and shook their hands. "She can leave now," he said before leaving.

Andrea exhaled in relief. "Thank Enma."

Kurama looked at her and handed Andrea her jacket. "Shall we?" he asked her.

Andrea pulled her jacket on and nodded. "Yeah," she answered. "Any longer, and I'll probably freeze up like an icicle."

Kurama patted her on the head lightly. "I'll sign the release forms and we'll be gone."

Andrea nodded again. "Sure," she said, watching Kurama leave the room. She blinked, thinking of when Kurama had gotten into the ambulance. It didn't sound like him to do something like that. It couldn't be… nah.

Meanwhile, Kurama was on his way to sign Andrea's release forms. His emerald eyes looked deep in thought about what had just happened.

"Something's got to be up," Youko said to his human half.

"You too?"

"One: Why would her ex try and kill her if all he wanted was to take her back?"

"I believe it's called psychotic."

"'Psychotic?' How about... how did Yusuke put it? FUBARed?"

Kurama turned a corner. "I don't believe that is even a conjunction."

"Yusuke said it stood for 'Fouled Up Beyond All Repair.'" /4/

Kurama shook his head. "That's Yusuke for you."

"Seriously, though, he's messed up."

Kurama had to agree; why else would he plan to harm the woman he wanted to take back? "I believe he was aiming for us."

"I think I know why... which is why I'm finding that Death Tree."

"Left ear, to the right."

"Okay... got it. Now, to find that son of a jackal."

"That's going to be harder," Kurama thought as he arrived at the nurse's station. Behind the desk was a woman with an almost child-like face and looked to be a teenager but really in her late 20s. "Excuse me. Can I see the release papers for Andrea Stone?"

The nurse looked at Kurama and nodded. "Yes, ma'am," /5/ she said, handing them over.

While Youko was laughing in his mind, Kurama popped him again. "That is not even remotely funny!" he hissed mentally. He looked at the nurse with his eyebrow raised. "I'm sorry, miss, but I'm a man."

The nurse gasped and raised a hand to her mouth in surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, sir! I didn't know..."

Now that Youko had busted out laughing inwardly, Kurama now had a new toy, a Youko piñata. "It's all right," he answered, smiling casually. "Happens all the time." As the nurse gave him a pen, Kurama signed the form and walked back to the room, where he heard Andrea almost bust out laughing. He blinked as he peered in the door.

Andrea turned her head to the redhead at the door. "Another case on TV," she explained. "Guy walks into a bank and writes on a piece of paper that he wants the money. The teller tells him that the deposit slip he wrote it on was from another bank."

Kurama chuckled into his hand. At least Andrea was almost back to normal. "I've signed the forms, so you're ready to leave right now."

Once again, Andrea sighed in relief. "Good. I hate hospitals." As Kurama and her left the hospital, she finished the funny sight she had seen on the TV. "The really funny part about the case is that he goes to the other bank to rob it, and they catch him." While they laughed, Andrea took a breath. "I can't believe there are stupid people."

Kurama thought to him, "I can."

Youko rolled his eyes. "If you mean me, you're not funny."

"Halfway."

"Hey!"

Andrea looked at him. "So, how are we getting back?" she asked him.

Kurama stuffed his hands in his pockets. The same idea sounded like the best one at the time. "Could try roof hopping again..."

Andrea conceded. "Okay, just remember the rule: Drop me, and Mafia comes after you."

"She's a piece of work," Youko said to his human counterpart.

"Down, boy," Kurama answered inwardly before a smirk graced his face at Andrea. "All right."

"Oooh, and I thought I had that look by myself," Youko remarked.

Kurama rolled his emerald eyes. "Don't make me hit you."

Andrea giggled for a second at the smirk on his face. "So..." she said, composing herself. "Uh, how do you pull that off, genius?" She crossed her arms against her chest in a mock serious pose.

"There's a place a block away that's appropriate," Kurama answered.

Andrea nodded. She then added. "Okay, hopefully, no oncoming cars."

Kurama remembered the event that happened merely an hour and a half ago. "I hope not," he agreed.

"Well, let's go."

"This way," Kurama directed, walking down the sidewalk, Andrea close behind him.

When they had arrived on the roof, Andrea looked at him. "Oi... I thought I was cut out for this," she said, fighting the urge to look down.

Kurama watched as Andrea peered over the edge. "We can walk if you wish," he suggested.

Seeing the long way down was not a good thing, and neither was walking all that way again. "All these floors again?" Andrea shook her head. "Not a chance."

Kurama shook his head; he thought Andrea wouldn't want to walk all the way back down again. "All right," answered her, crouching down to let her get on his back again.

Andrea climbed on, wrapping her arms under his shoulders. "One question," she said to him. "When this is all over, can I hit Youko?"

Kurama nearly stumbled when he heard the question. He maintained his balance. "And why do you want to hurt him?" he asked.

Andrea gave Kurama a smile that could melt an iceberg. "Just wanted to see the look on your face," she answered him, giggling.

Youko laughed from inside Kurama's head. "A REAL piece of work, that girl," he commented.

Kurama sweatdropped. "Don't think I won't hit you later, or maybe tie you up in the Vampire Plant," he answered.

"In front of your girlfriend?"

"I did say later."

Andrea patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry; I won't hurt him," she said, holding onto him.

Kurama chuckled and smiled, wrapping his arms under her knees. "I'm sure of that," he answered her and then started to roof hop towards his house.

During a short stop, Andrea ran a hand through her shortened hair. "I'm thanking Enma I don't have long hair," she sighed in relief.

"I don't know, long hair can be handy," Kurama answered before jumping again.

Andrea leaned her chin against his shoulder. "Not to me..." Her voice suddenly grew quiet, almost in a whisper. "Especially when he doesn't know the real reason why I had it cut," she added in her head.

"Do you?" her conscious quizzed her.

"To get away from Jason..." Almost after the words escaped her brain, her blue eyes widened and her hands tightened on his coat.

"I see the fall didn't mess your brain up."

"Can it," she told her conscious as she blinked.

Kurama jumped on a roof about a block away from his house. He wondered what had gotten Andrea so quiet all of a sudden. "We can swing down the tree if you want," he suggested. His answer was a shrug, so he jumped on the tree and landed on the ground with her hanging on.

Andrea, however, couldn't get rid of that feeling. In fact, it grew stronger when Kurama landed. "I've got a really strange feeling..." she thought.

Her conscious rolled her eyes. "Shake it off," she said to her.

"I can't. Something's about to happen," Andrea answered in her mind. The feeling was one that she didn't like.

"I have the same feeling. I hate it."

Andrea blinked her blue eyes, mostly from shock and possibly instinct. "He's around."

"But he doesn't have a aura! He's human! Isn't he?"

Andrea looked worriedly at the redhead. "Yeah, but something tells me that Kurama's in over his head," her mental voice took a worrisome tone, almost like a mother about her son.

"He's just being nice."

"And putting himself in the same trouble I'm in," she thought before she finally said something. "So... get tired?" she asked as she got off of him.

Kurama, in a way, was relieved he finally heard something from her. "Not much. I'm pretty used to this," he answered.

Andrea listened for a minute and heard nothing, which was starting to freak her out. "You know it's really too quiet," she commented.

"I just noticed that myself," the redhead agreed. They started walking to his house. "Think he's here?" he wondered to the Youko in him.

"He doesn't have an aura, but I wouldn't put anything past him."

Kurama had a weird feeling in his stomach. "I have a sinking feeling he's around."

Fear started to rise up in Andrea slowly. What if… "Think your mother's at home?" she asked him, a notable worry in her voice.

Youko looked at Kurama. "YOU'VE got a sinking feeling? Tell that to the worried girl next to you."

"I know she feels it too," Kurama thought before he answered her question. "She should be home now."

Andrea took a breath, trying to calm her pounding heart. "He shouldn't know about her, but I don't know." Her voice now sounded uneasy as they stopped by a tree only four houses away.

Kurama leaned against the tree and crossed his arms against his chest. He remembered the letter Andrea's ex-boyfriend had sent her; about if she didn't leave with him that he'd kill him. Maybe he would go after his mother, which was a big mistake on Jason's part. "He would stoop that far. She's a defenseless woman."

Andrea hated the fact that she couldn't let his mother know, and the thought made her head ache more. "We can't tell her anything, though," she said, but as she blinked, she held her heart, which was now beating wildly. "But something really worries me."

Kurama looked at her. He had the very same feeling, and usually, it wasn't good. "Same thing that worries me?" he asked her.

Andrea nodded, fear gripping at her chest as she took another breath. "What if, during all this time, he knows where we both live?" she asked, her voice now concerned for Kurama's mother. If that were the case, then his mother would be in danger and not even know it!

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(Is Jason lurking in Kurama's house? If so, with his mother inside, will she be harmed? Find out in the next chapter.)

Author's Notes:

/1/ 119 is 911 in Japanese… I think. I hope so.

/2/ That's usually the way it works. But since no one from her family's there at the moment, Kurama gets to go.

/3/ Jackson Pollock was a painter of abstract expressionism. Learned about him in Art Class in the 10th grade.

/4/ FUBAR was a term from "Tango and Cash," a movie with Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. I don't own it or the movie, unfortunately.

/5/ I'll be honest with you all; I thought Kurama was a girl when I started watching the show.

Cece: Ooh. That's a tough chapter.

Kurama: And a chilling cliffhanger.

Cece: Speaking of chilling, where's my Klondike?

Kurama: I don't know what you mean, Cece.

(Hiei lies on the floor, contented via sweet snow.)

Cece: I should have known. Anywho, review here.