When Kurama finally woke up he found himself sprawled out on his bed, still dressed in his uniform. It was already late into the night and exhausted he sat up, holding his head in his hands. There were no odd dreams that time and for that he was thankful.
Slowly, drifting through the still night air he heard the straining notes of a haunting melody dance through the small crack in his window. Each note seemed to be heavy with tears that had never been cried, the notes weaving a feeling of misery around him. Quietly he made his way to the window to see where the noise was drifting from but saw nothing. Curious, he ventured out of the sanctity of his room and down the gray halls to find the door outside. With a soft push they opened and off under an old tree sat Narue, her thin form wrapped around an old cello, her bow moving gracefully through the air as the moon traveled above her.
Enchanted by the scene, Kurama just stood there barely out of the doorway, watching as she played the melancholic tune. The tip of her bow glowed dimly from the moonlight and he watched it traced through the air. Scratches laced the sides of the cello and it had defiantly seen better days but from the way Narue held it to her body he could tell she treasured it.
"Hm? So it was her playing…" a voice muttered below Kurama and he looked down, startled, to see Koenma standing next to him, an odd smile on his face.
"Yes, I didn't know anyone could play such a sad tune…" he replied softly, not wanting to disturb the girl.
"She plays from experience. Did you know she's a widow?" Koenma looked over at the redheaded boy and then just walked off, back to his office and the mountains of paperwork that just never seemed to disappear.
"A widow?" Kurama echoed and looked at Narue as she played the final note, ending on a minor chord the seemed to drip grief.
Her body damp from the dew, she looked over at the slowly rising sun, as dawn was just breaking. Pulling the cello closer to her body she sighed, wiping droplets of water off her face.
"A glooming peace this morning brings. The Sun for sorrow will not show his head," she muttered to herself but was surprised when she heard an answer come from Kurama, who stepped into her view.
"Go hence, to have more talk of these sad things; some what be pardoned, and some punished…" he trailed off for a moment when she finished the phrase.
"For never was a story of more woe than this of Juliet and her Romeo."
Narue stood up gracefully, leaning the instrument's slender neck against the trunk of the old oak and smiled at Kurama, grateful for the company.
"Romeo and Juliet… what a terrible tragedy," Kurama noted.
"Yes, but it's better to have loved and lost then never loved at all," Narue quipped, flexing the fingers that clasped the old bow.
"You play wonderfully," Kurama noted, waving his hand casually at the battered instrument.
"Thank you… did I wake you…?" she asked timidly, wrapping her arms around her waist, trying to pull some from around her in vain.
"No, no not at all, I was already awake when I heard your enchanting music."
Narue looked over at him with her bright eyes and smiled tenderly, a look of genuine worry crossing her tanned face.
"Are you feeling better… I mean… well… you just passed out all of a sudden," while asked him she slowly picked up her instrument with the care one would have handling a Ming vase and not an old, decrepit cello.
"Much better, I guess I was tiered," he replied, joining her as she walked back to her room, clutching the string instrument to her body with a peculiar sort of affection.
She nodded to him before stopping at her room and gently nudging the handle with her elbow to get it to open and slowly made her way in, resting the instrument against the corner's support.
"Thanks, sorry for bothering you," she added cheerfully and Kurama cast a quick glance over her room.
It was dimly lit room, little different then his own. The bed was shoved up against the far left wall, the sheets were crumpled onto the cool stone floor. Hidden in a shadowed corner was an old, batter trunk, various old hotel stickers were plastered onto the old wood and the metal bindings were beginning to rust. Scattered on the floor were old scrolls, some unfurled and ready to be read, an old script running down the thick parchment in fading black ink.
"You should pick those up," he motioned to the scrolls and she just sighed.
"They've stood the test of time for this long, a few day's aren't gonna kill 'em," she replied aloofly, placing her bow down gently on the old bedside table.
Kurama sighed and calmly began to make his way around the small space and proceeded to pick the ancient scrolls up, placing them carefully on the table.
"So… did you like my music? You said it was wonderful, but what do you mean by that?" Narue asked shyly, looking at him over her shoulder as she began to make her bed.
"Your music was haunting, I wonder how you have learned to play so despondently…" but he knew why. He looked at Narue as she shook out the thick cotton sheets. He would have never thought a girl as young as her could ever have been married, yet alone be a widow, but Koenma had said she was… poor girl. It was only then that he saw the sad undertones that lingered in the girl's smile. It haunted her face just barely, the ghost of her emotions still lingering behind her eyes.
"Well, head back to your room and try to get some more sleep. Dawn has barely broken and there is another long day tomorrow," Narue dismissed him with a nod her head but he did not want to leave just yet.
"You're fighting Kazuma tomorrow, correct?"
"Yeah, I have a feeling that I'll get injured again…" she trailed off, trying to pull out a chain from under her shirt, and he noticed she was soon grasping onto a thick silver chain, and threaded onto it was an old iron key and was in the old Victorian style that no one ever saw anymore except at antique stores.
"Maybe it would help if you fought back…" he looked over at her and smiled encouragingly.
"Where's the fun in that? Besides, I'm used to it. My body can handle extreme amounts of pain, so don't worry," she winked at him.
He watched as she swiftly knelt down and unlocked the worn chest with a twist of her wrist. He noticed that she had fresh black gloves on and it seemed to be her trademark. Her hair fell over her neck to just barely cover the tan skin but as she moved her could see something was tattooed there.
"Well, thank you yet again, Kurama," she flashed a smile at him but he could see sadness that he had never noticed before and he sighed and nodded.
As he left her room he closed the door quietly behind him, waiting until he heard the click to give a somewhat depressed smile. He really didn't know that much about Narue and was beginning to wonder if maybe that was a good thing. Instead of heading to his room he walked to the small kitchen and heated up more water for tea…
Narue shoved the lid of the trunk up, revealing a deep black pit that seemed to go on forever. Stairs went deep into the darkness and shelves lined the sides. It was an old gift from friend and she sighed, leaning into it to place the scrolls on the shelves inside.
"Hn. What was that all about?" she heard a cold voice mutter behind her and it caused her to start, banging her head on the thick lid of the trunk.
"Ow! Ototou-san!" she cried out, glaring at the short young man who simply smirked back.
"You were playing your cello," he noted, handing another scroll to her to place on the various shelves.
"Yeah, so you heard… I'm sorry, it usually makes you sad… doesn't it?" casting a glance over her shoulder while brushing the dust that had rubbed off onto her from the shelves.
"No… I… Liked it…" he replied, his crimson eyes darting down to see the small label on the papyrus.
Narue gasped and then looked over at Hiei, cracking a mocking smile at him. "No! Hiei can't like ANYTHING!" the last words were playfully sarcastic.
"Hn. When did you get this scroll?" he waved it at her.
"What? Which scroll is it? And would you stop waving it around!" she cried out, snatching it from his hands.
"Hm? Oh… this one… I found it at the Demon Bazaar. Why?"
"You actually went to Makai?" he cocked an eyebrow at her skeptically.
"Not me. Why would I? They'd eat me alive… literally. No, I sent a friend of mine. She was more then happy to pick it up, so long as I paid her," Narue shrugged, putting it away. But she did cast one last glance at the label.
It read: Painting of the Ancients…
By the time the sun finally rose in the sky and the world was washed in the deep gold colors of morning, nearly everyone was in the training room… except Narue… who was sitting in her room, just staring out her window. As per usual, Narue has lost track of time and already an hour had passed.
Bored she finally decided it might be time to head down. She slowly unbuttoned her pale yellow blouse, her thing fingers fiddling around with small, mother of pearl buttons. Covering her slender upper body was a light, satin undershirt. Her tan skin was riddled with thin scars, lacing down her almost skeletal arms. Quickly she pulled on a soft cotton cap sleeved top and a fresh pair of soft khaki slacks that were once strewn across her bed's sheets. She traded her thick black boots in for a sensible pair of hiking boots and then walked out the door, flipping the light switch off as she left…
"Okay, what I don't get is just how bad of a fighter is our new trainer?" Kuwabara wondered out loud in the training room, causing his companions look over at him.
"What are you talkin' about now, Kuwie?" Yusuke asked while he looked over at his orange haired friend/fighting partner.
"Hm?" Was all that came out of Kurama who looked up from another thick textbook that he had "borrowed" from Koenma's library.
"What are you babbling about now?" Hiei muttered darkly, turning his crimson gaze upon the human.
"Well, just look what happened to her yesterday! She better fight me today or else I'll totally just walk off! What is Koenma playin' at?" He demanded, throwing his hands into the air for the added emphasis.
"Yeah, you do that!" Yusuke nodded over to him, pulling out a pack of cigarettes and pulling one out.
"Don't do that…" Kurama muttered weakly, he had already given up on trying to curb Yusuke's revolting habit.
"I say we'd be better off training her!" Kuwabara nodded his head at the final word.
"Hn. Don't talk about things you don't understand," Hiei muttered off as Narue poked her head into the room before finally walking in.
"Hello! Wow, you're all here early!" She called out cheerfully as she walked in.
"No, you're just late," Hiei replied calmly, smirking at the tall young woman.
"Same dif, jeez," she countered and then quickly turned around to look at Kuwabara and nodded her head politely.
"So… you use a spirit sword…" she waited, then shot an annoyed glance at the spirit detective and added, "Well… Am I right or am I left?"
"What?" Yusuke muttered.
"Big Friendly Giant? Are any bells a-ringin'?" Kurama just nodded his head slightly and Hiei just barely tilted his head forward to let her know.
"Riiiiiight…" She sighed. She was gonna have to really train these guy.
She cast her bright yellow eyes looked over at Yusuke and the cigarette that he was sucking on so content, letting the nicotine flow into his body. An annoyed look flashed across her face before she walked over quickly, her very movements seemed agitated as they were quick and rather rough before she stopped in front of Yusuke. In one swift movement she reached out with a gloved hand and pulled the cigarette out then twirled it around, letting the still smoldering butt brush against his lips and then finally letting it collide with his tongue.
"UGH!" Yusuke struggled to get away from her hands and finally succeeded as she let go, smirking at him with a surprisingly cold look in her eyes before catching Yusuke's fist before it collided with her jaw.
"Do…not… smoke… around… me…AGAIN!" she emphasized every word, each syllable laced with the infuriation that was coursing through her veins.
"You burned me!" Yusuke retorted, furious with their new teacher.
"Bravo… you smoke any where near me again and I'll burn something else that you don't want burned," she threatened quietly…
Trenity170: ACK! This chappy turned out a bit slow in the end!
Kurama: Then why are you apologizing?
Narue: Yeah, why not just re-write the chappy?
Trenity170: Hm? I don't really know… guess I'm just lazy! (laughs and shrugs)
Narue: Um… reader review responses! Kittyluv says " Kinnara and Tetsuo sound like really cool characters. Can't wait to hear more about them and what is up with Kurama."
Tetsuo: YAY! Kittyluv likes us! (hugs Kinnara who just sighs)
Trenity170: Yeah! Thanks for the comment! I really like the two, too! And you'll find out what's up with Kurama eventually, though if you figure it out before it's revealed I'll be pretty darn impressed!
Narue: Niana Kuonji says "Of course Hiei had a childhood, you dimwit! (Smacks Yusuke on head) his just sucked to all hell, though. Kinda like yours, only he killed the people after he beat them to a bloody pulp. But why DID Kurama faint? Did Narue drug his tea or something?" Hm…. (looks at reviewer shocked) I would never drug Kurama with tea! How cliché!
Kurama: Great…. Like Trenity170 says, you'll find out what's going on with me when the time comes…
Trenity170: Yeah… the plot for this fanfic is pretty intense… and wonderfully complicated. Anywho… Niana Kuonji also reviews saying "You still haven't told us why he fainted! I like Tetsuo, though, he's got a fun personality."
Kinnara: Jeez, no love for me! (fakes looking hurt) There is one thing you should know, everyone Kurama sees in his dreams has some kind of mental disorder (like extreme depression and such) due to stress… why, you ask, you'll find out!
Yusuke: HieiFan666 says "…interesting… I still haven NO IDEA what those dreams Kurama are having have to do with the story. But, I know it's going to be complicated. Plz update soon. Ja ne."
Trenity170: There will be hints on what the dreams have to do with the story coming up soon. In the meantime, the next chappy will be yet another dream and picks up where the last one ended! WOOT! Until next time, please review so I'll respond! Cheerio! (runs off to work on next chappy for Alternate Universe)