A Midnight Chat

The room was quiet and still, dark as the night outside. The only moving thing in the room was a clock, which changed numbers with the passing of time. Its red glow brought like to the things lying around it on the table.

At that moment, the overhead light came on and someone entered the room. The occupant rushed in and quietly shut the door and then proceeded in unburdening himself. His coat was thrown angrily onto a chair and he ran a hand through his long red hair in aggravation.

"That is utterly the last time I go on a date arranged by Yusuke Urameshi." He proclaimed, as if he was making a solemn vow never to commit another wrongdoing as long as he lived.

In truth, his date turned out to be total bedlam. Every time Kurama said something, the girl took it the wrong way and would immediately start crying. And no matter what he said to make up for it, he only made it worse. The best thing he had done that night was buy her dinner and when he kissed her cheek when he lad left her at her door.

It could have been worse though, he thought. He could have gone on a date set up by Kuwabara. He shuddered at the mere thought of it.

Deciding it best to forget about it, he climbed out of his clothes, took a quick bath, dried his hair, and went about his usual nightly routine. But when he crawled under his covers like a snake, sleep didn't come to him. He just stared at the ceiling, awaiting the blessed drowsiness, but he waited in vain. Grumbling to himself, he threw off the covers, put on a clean a T-shirt to go with his red boxer shorts, and he went downstairs, thinking that maybe something to eat would help him go to sleep. It usually helped his brother, since he always heard him go downstairs some nights when he was anxious about something that as going to happen the next day.

He was very careful to be quiet, because he didn't want to wake anybody up. He never really made night treks downstairs, but when he did, he wanted them to stay secret. He didn't want anyone to think, especially his mother, that he was suffering from insomnia or something.

His feet pattered on the cold tile of the kitchen and with a soft click he opened the refrigerator. As he looked at the contents, his face fell. Nothing but healthy food. And he was in the mood for something a little junky, at least this once.

He pulled open the freezer and his face immediately lit up. A whole pint of chocolate and vanilla ripple ice cream. And the best thing was that it hadn't even been opened, which told him someone, obviously his stepfather, had bought it that day. Knowing that he would never be suspected as the eater, he grabbed the pint and a clean spoon, and proceeded back up to his room.

Smiling like a little child, he closed his door and plopped down on his bed, ready to enjoy his treat, when something totally unexpected happened.

Someone was knocking on his window.

Wondering who in the world it could be, he put the ice cream on his nightstand and headed towards the window. He looked out, but when he saw no one, he thought he had imagined it. As he turned his back to the window, he heard the soft tapping again. Growling under his breath, he went back to the window, opened it, and stuck his head out. He looked up, from side to side, and then finally down. Who he saw surprised him.

Usually it was Hiei, who was always looking for amore comfortable place to crash then the Makai. Sometimes it was Yusuke, whom having another fight with his mother, would usually head to Kuwabara's house or his. Hell, sometimes even Kuwabara was there, throwing a rock at the window, trying to find a place to hide from his sister.

But it proved not to be Hiei, Yusuke, or Kuwabara. It was Akira, a white haired, blue eyed, half youko, half ice demon. She was part of their little group for the same reason as Kurama and Hiei: to make up a debt to Koenma.

"Akira! This is a surprise!" Kurama said, the annoyed expression leaving his face. "Why didn't you show yourself the first time?"

"I just wanted to make sure it was you." She explained. "I usually don't by this way, but then I remembered what your house looked like the first time I was here and I decided to drop in on you. It's not a bad time, is it?"

"Of course not! Come on in."

The youko stepped away from the window to give the girl room to move. She swung in swiftly and silently, as was her way, and started gazing around the room. "It figures your room would be spotless."

"And your room isn't?" He asked, cocking an eyebrow at her.

She looked at him sarcastically. "You forget. I don't have a room."

The serious tone of the comment took Kurama aback somewhat, but he quickly forgot when he noticed that Akira was gazing at the ice cream that he had sitting on his nightstand. "I was just about to have a midnight snack. Would you care to join me?" He asked.

She smiled at him and said yes, so he crept back downstairs for another spoon. When he returned, Akira had taken her light boots off and was sitting on his bed, awaiting his return. He sat down beside her, gave her the spoon, and they both started eating the ice cream.

"So, why were you in my part of town?" Kurama asked, feeling the need to stop the uneasy silence that was filling his room.

Akira just shrugged her shoulders. "Just another one of my nightly forays. Staying in Makai is irritating, as is sleeping there, and I was looking for a good, quiet place to spend the night." And she took another bite of ice cream, ending her explanation.

Kurama's face had a puzzled expression on it. "Not that I'm trying to be rude, but why didn't you try Yusuke or Keiko's house?"

"You've never heard Yusuke snore. I walked in on him once and it amazed me that he didn't wake himself up! And I don't know where Keiko lives." Then she caught the look on his face and said before he could ask, "And don't even dream of asking me to stay at Kuwabara's. The guys is a menace to society."

The redheaded youko choked on his ice cream and laughed. Akira and Hiei both agreed with each other that Kuwabara was an asshole and an idiot. But he had never heard of Hiei calling him a 'menace to society' before. The whole thing was quite hilarious.

Akira looked back at Kurama's red face and smiled. I'm glad I amuse you."

"I-I'm sorry," he stuttered, trying to regain his breath. "It's just that I haven't had a good laugh all day."

The girl looked at him curiously. "Why not?"

"To tell you the truth, today was about as horrible as a day can get."

"Why don't you tell me about it?" She asked, popping another bite of ice cream into her mouth. Kurama didn't see a reason why he shouldn't, so he started talking.

"Well, Yusuke set me up with this girl from his school. From the way he talked she sounded very nice, so I agreed. But when I met her at the restaurant, she accused me of being late. So when I apologized she said forget about it and we went inside."

"She sounds like a flake, if you want my opinion."

"And I must agree with you. While we ate dinner, I tried to find something to talk about, but everything I said seemed to offend her. And every time I apologized she took it the wrong way and she would start crying." Kurama sighed as he remembered. "The way the people were looking at us… it was so embarrassing."

Akira smiled at him and laughed. "If that had been me, I would've left."

"I considered it. But since it would be rude, I stuck it out until I got her home. Now I shall try to set up my own dates instead of Yusuke."

"You're lucky." The youko, ice demon said, wiping her mouth. "Kuwabara could have set it up."

Kurama laughed, because earlier on in the day that was exactly what he had been thinking. Akira went on smiling at him and took another bite of ice cream. Kurama went to do the same thing, when suddenly he heard a door open in the hallway and someone headed towards his room. His eyes widening in horror, Kurama quickly stowed the ice cream under his bed, turned off his lamp, and shoved Akira under the covers behind his back.

To anyone who entered the room, it looked like he was sound asleep.

The door to his room opened and his mother stuck her head in, bringing the light in the hallway with her. She was wearing a pink robe with dark pink flowers on it, and her hair was pulled back into a ponytail. "Shuuichi, honey?"

"Yes, Mother?" Kurama said, looking as if she had woke him from a sound slumber.

"I didn't mean to wake you up, dear. I was just wondering how your date tonight went."

"It went fine, Mother."

"Alright, dear. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Mother."

The door closed and Shiori disappeared. Kurama waited until the all light went out and heard the click of his mother's door, signaling that she was back in her room with her husband. Just when he was sure, Kurama pulled back the covers, leaned over Akira, and turned the light back on. As he leaned back, he caught Akira's eyes and for a moment, neither of them moved.

He stayed over her for a few minutes before she whispered, "That was close."

The youko blinked at the sudden end of the silence and he sat back. He quickly grabbed the ice cream that was under the bed, and they both finished it up. Kurama went downstairs to throw the empty box away and to put the spoons in the dishwasher. When he came back to his room, he found Akira sitting on the sill with the window open, fanning herself.

"Are you hot?" He asked as he came in. She said she was fine, but Kurama prompted her for a more honest answer. He kept asking her until she nodded, so Kurama dug around in his closet until he found an old button-up white shirt that he didn't wear anymore. He handed it to her and showed her where the bathroom was so she could change.

As he waited for her to come back out, Kurama sat on the bed and wondered at himself. He was actually having fun with Akira, the last girl he would have thought to have to have a good time with. At first, he had figured them too different to have anything in common, but now that he had spent this time alone with her, he found that they really weren't that different, despite their very different upbringings. And she was so much easier to be with. She made him laugh. And they had a few moments when he had first met her. He wondered…

Just then Akira came out, wearing his shirt and a pair of his shorts. The shirt was very baggy on her and the sleeves covered up her hands. "They're too big," she said shyly and blushed.

"They're fine," he said. "They make good pajamas. That is, if you want to stay."

She smiled at him and watched as he pulled out one of those unfoldable beds. He put it beside his bed and then he sat down beside her on his bed.

"Are you sure I can stay?" She asked. "I don't want to get you in trouble."

"No, it's fine." He said quickly. "I'll make sure to lock my door when Mother comes to check on me in the morning. Besides," he said, smiling, "I don't like the idea of you sleeping on the streets."

She smiled at him and then she started laughing hysterically. Kurama's face was furrowed in confusion as her face grew as red as his hair. "May I ask what is so funny?" He asked.

She wiped the tears from her eyes and stuttered, "There's… ice c-cream on your…n-nose…"

Then a smile graced the youko's face. She continued to laugh and when she finally calmed down she took a Kleenex, licked it, and wiped his nose. She had to lean forward slightly so she could see and before she could pull away, Kurama quickly kissed her lips.

When Akira drew back, she stared at him in shock. To be perfectly honest, he felt a little shocked himself. As he gazed into her eyes he suddenly felt like a great, big fool.

"I-I'm sorry, Akira. I didn't mean t-"

"No, no. It's alright."

She had a hand held against her lips, as if she was remembering the touch of his lips on hers. The look on her face no longer held shock, nor anger, but just something a little different. After all, this had been their first time alone together for a long period of time and that had been the first kiss either of them had shared. The first real on for Akira.

For a moment, silence settled on the room, neither one of them moving. Kurama suddenly gazed at his clock and he noticed that it was midnight; way past the time he usually fell asleep. He mentioned it to her and she quickly headed over to the cot and lay down, facing him. He turned off the light but he could still see her as if the light was still on and he could still see into the depths of her eyes.

Akira stared at him until his eyes drooped closed and the soft sound of his breathing telling her that he was fast asleep. Her heart had skipped a beat when he kissed her and she could still feel it on her lips and the fire that had shot through her when it happened. She could still smell him and she pulled the shirt to her nose, inhaling deeply. But then a thought occurred to her.

He would never like her, no matter how much she liked him. She was dirty after all.

That thought buried itself deep inside her mind and with a tear rolling down her face, turning into a small jewel, she fell asleep.

The next morning when Kurama woke up, he found the cot empty and Akira was predictably gone. He smiled when he saw that she had folded up the clothes she had used last night and the bed sheets were folded too. He smiled to himself and when he went to put the cot up, he discovered a note that had been hidden under the pillow. Gazing at it curiously he opened it, discovering Akira's flowing script.

"Dear Kurama, I'm sorry I had to leave before you woke up, but I didn't want to get you in trouble should your mother come in. About last night…I really had fun talking to you and that kiss…I didn't know what to think when you did it, but I'm not mad at you. I didn't mind it. Maybe we should get together and have another talk. At least you know I won't accuse you of being late or cry like a baby. I'll see you later. Love, Akira.

Another smile played its way onto Kurama's face, a broader one. He had thought she was angry with him, but now he knew she wasn't. But there was another thing that he was confused about. She actually wanted to see him again, along as they had been. Most girls he knew were content with one date, just so they could say that they had gone out with him. Still smiling to himself, Kurama took the note and put it in a drawer of his nightstand. The whole morning he was smiling, because he knew the next time he saw Akira, he would take her up on her invitation.