Chapter 4: The Other Redhead

As we walked to wherever we were going, I felt like I was marching to a funeral. A funeral in which I was escorted to against my will. Kuwabara and Keiko walked In front of me, speaking occasionally in hushed tones. All the while, Urameshi was walking behind me not saying a single word. Every step I took seemed to add even more tension to the air. I still couldn't figure out where we were going.

We had been walking for what seemed to be twenty minutes with no end in sight. It wasn't that I was tired by the physical exercise. That actually didn't bother me. Although it would have been a little better if I wasn't wearing jeans and the almost dress like shoes I had ignorantly decided were a good idea this morning. Before I knew it, I realized where we were. The train station. How far away was this place?

"I'll go get the extra ticket," Urameshi said walking past me to the ticket window. When he came back and handed the ticket to me, my jaw dropped.

"No. I can't let you pay for this," I said shoving the ticket back at his chest and shaking my head. "That is way too much. I'll just go back and sit in the restaurant with Mr. Yuki," I said backing away. The amount that ticket had costed was out of this world. Someone as young as Urameshi had no business spending that much money on someone he didn't' know. He could be spending that on things like rent, bills, and school.

"Don't worry about the money. I have enough," he said with a crocked smile on his face. What the actual hell? What person his age was okay with spending this much money on someone they didn't even know? I knew that I something even had a hard time buying a meal at a fast food joint fir a friend, much less a train ticket that ran for this much.

"That's a crazy price! I will not let you pay for that," I said trying to have the sternest voice possible. I was not going to let this happen. "Here, take this." Digging in my pocket, I pulled out some random crumbled bills that I had mindlessly shoved there this morning. Thrusting them into Urameshi's hands, I tried to glare at him to show that I meant business.

"I don't want your money. I told you, Hanamura, I have plenty. So take the damn ticket, get on the train, and deal with it," was his reply. His stern gaze was much better than mine. I couldn't help but to feel fear in the pit of my stomach as his eyes held a horrible darkness in them. A darkness that showed the soul inside had seen a lot. Things no one should have to see. "Take. The. Ticket," he said through clenched teeth.

With my hands shaking, I reached out to take the ticket from his hand. As I grabbed the ticket, Urameshi also shoved the wad of cash back into my hand like it was a dead animal he had no intention of ever touching again. It was like he was truly disgusted at the idea of taking money from me.

The man at the ticket counter had clearly seen the interaction because he looked at me and chuckled. He must have known exactly what I was thinking when he pointed to a sign taped to the window. "NO REFUNDS. NO EXCEPTIONS. SORRY FOR ANY INCONVENIENCE." My face conjured another laugh from the man as he shrugged helplessly as to say he didn't make the rules, it was just his job to inforce them.

"Fine," I seethed. The feeling of the cash in my pocket was like a hot coal, burning into my leg with guilt. Maybe I could slip the money into Keiko's purse later. If Urameshi wouldn't take the money, I would make her take it and use it for something. The ring I had seen on her finger on the walk over meant the two probably had a place together or at least planned to move in together soon. Getting the money to Keiko would make me feel at least a little better.

The argument between Urameshi and I made things even more tense if that was even possible. Waiting for our train was absolute torture. Even the sounds of each of us breathing seemed to cause tension. When the train finally arrived, I had never felt more grateful in my life. Boarding wasn't a big deal seeing as we had no bags to bring with us.

I cringed when we finally made it to our seats. The seats were in the part of the train where you could slide the door shut to have privacy for you and your companions. It screamed money. There was no reason to get seats like these.

The train ride started out quietly. Keiko sat beside Urameshi who wrapped his arm around her shoulders. I was stuck sitting with Kuwabara, which wasn't a bad thing. I couldn't help but notice the way he made sure our knees did not touch by sliding all the way to the window.

The lull of the train made my eyelids start to flutter shut. Since I was a child, rides in moving vehicles always pulled me into a relaxed sleep. Maybe it was the repetitive, gentle movement like being rocked to sleep that would drag me into the comforting darkness. I didn't want to go to sleep, that was rude. I jerked up when my chin hit my chest. No. No going to sleep right now.

I tried to focus myself on the scenery outside. Buildings were becoming more spaced out the farther the train traveled. When we had boarded, I had read the time on my ticket. When I had saw the time the trip would take, my eyes almost popped out of my head. Two hours was a really long time to be on a train. As the train continued to speed through the world outside, the rocking of the train became more and more calming like a mother rocking a baby to sleep. Eventually, I couldn't help but to be pulled into a gentle sleep.

The sound of breaks pulled me from sleep. My neck and back felt stiff from the way I had slept. When the thing I was leaning against moved, I realized it was a person. "I'm sorry," I apologized quickly as I jerked myself up. Looking over, I saw that his face was twisted into a face that the only way to describe it was a heavily discomforted scowl. There was no telling how uncomfortable that had just made him. Thinking back to the way he had seemed adamant to keep our knees from touching earlier only made me feel even guiltier.

"Kuwabara," I said looking at him. "I'm sorry I made you uncomfortable. You could have moved. I would have been fine," I said trying to give my sincerest apology. Kuwabara seemed like a nice guy, the last thing I wanted was for him to not want to be around me. He seemed to be willing to defend me from Urameshi.

"It's fine. It was the gentlemanly thing to do anyways," he said, a smile suddenly bursting across his face. His smile was so genuine, I couldn't help but to smile myself. "Come on," he said standing up. "Urameshi doesn't like to wait."

When Kuwabara stood, I realized the train had been at a complete halt for who knows how long. Standing up quickly, I followed Kuwabara as he exited the train. Being left behind not knowing where I was.

When we stepped onto the platform, I saw that our group of four were the only people who had gotten off at this stop. Taking a breath, I was pleasantly surprised with how… clean the air around me tasted. The sound of birds chirping and the wind blowing through trees was filling the quiet background. It was beautiful.

"Yo," Urameshi said grabbing my attention from my surroundings, "we don't have time to stand here doing jack shit. Time to go." When he pointed a thumb over his shoulder almost lethargically, I saw what he meant when he said we didn't have time. Before us stood a huge staircase that seemed to have no end. They were bordered by tall trees on each side which shaded the stairs from the brunt of the sun. During the summer the shade must have been the only thing to make the trek up the stairs bearable. Being the time of the year it was, the shade made the wind even worse.

The change of the seasons made the wind have a chill to it. We must have went up in elevation quite a bit for it to be this nippy. My thin coat wasn't nearly enough. The wind might as well been blowing against my bare legs with the little protection my jeans lender me against its attack. Beside of me, Keiko was visibly shaking. Her legs were bare to the wind as it whipped up the bottom of her dress. Not to mention that her as were also exposed due to the short sleeves. She had one arm wrapped around herself and the other holding down her skirt so it wouldn't blow up. In front of us, Kuwabara and Urameshi were laughing like the wind didn't bother them in the slightest.

Taking off my coat, I draped it over Keiko's shoulders. "Here," I said. "You need it more," I continued.

"Thank you, Akane," she said with a small smile.

"No problem," I said. Straightening out my shirt and trying to tuck it in a little more, I tried to keep from shivering from the new blasts of wind. If Keiko saw that I was cold, she would make me take my coat back, no matter how cold she was herself. The wind made my hair blow everywhere and smack me in the face. Whenever some of the small strands would hit my face hard enough to sting, I gave up with it. Grabbing it in my fist, I pulled an elastic band around it from my wrist. I knew it was inevitably lumpy and overall gross to look at, but it would have to do until we got inside.

The last section of the stairs was made by us all quietly. The slight chill must have finally gotten to Kuwabara and Urameshi because they started taking the stairs at a faster rate. I vaguely thought about taking the stairs as quickly as I could so I could get to the temple that I knew must be at the top of the stairs. As we had walked farther up the stairs, there were strips of cloth hanging on trees with writing on them I could not comprehend. Whatever was worshipped here was nothing I had ever been taught about before. The multitude and way the cloths looked made me assume it was some type of religious temple or something very similar. It must be a nice place if Keiko was fine with coming.

When the top of the stairs finally came into view, I let out a sigh that I didn't know I had been holding inside of myself. Flexing my fingers in my pockets, I was excited to get inside to warm up. Keiko grabbed my elbow and practically dragged me up the rest of the stairs. The chill of her hand seeped through my shirt.

I could have never been able to imagine the temple that laid in front of me as Keiko pulled me up over the final step. Her hold on me had been the only thing that had kept me from falling onto my face.

"It's something, isn't it?" she said as she stood beside me. Her eyes held some odd form of pride in them to see my awe as I had looked at the temple. "Well, no reason to stand around in the cold," she continued. As she walked towards the temple, I couldn't help but wonder if it was real. When she finally stood at the sliding doors with one hand on them, she looked back at me. "Come on, Akane. Nothing to be scared of," she reassured with a smile.

Making my way up the four steps to the side of Keiko, I took a deep breath. Something about this place had made chills run up my spine. There was a feel to the air that made me slightly uneasy, but Keiko didn't seem to be affected in the slightest. When she went through the doors, I had no other choice but to follow.

A pleasant scent was the first thing I noticed about the room I had stepped into. Then I saw that it was more of an entrance. Hallways branched off in three directions, forward, right, and left. Slipping my shoes off like Keiko had before me, I hurried as to not be left behind. As we walked, I pulled my hair from the elastic and tried to brush it out with my fingers as much as possible. It might be a little poofy, but that was better than what it could have looked like. After turning left and going down a hallway past a few doors, Keiko opened a door.

Laugher immediately came to my ears. More of the delicious smell reached my nose as the door stirred the air. "Hey, there you guys are. We thought you had gotten lost," Urameshi said standing up from his place on the floor.

"It would have been better if you hadn't left us, you jerk," Keiko said. There wasn't real anger in her voice as she stepped further into the room. That's when I noticed the other eyes on me. There was a blue haired woman sitting on one of the pillows on the floor, pink eyes looking at me with clear confusion.

"Oh. Akane, introductions," Keiko motioned to the woman who was now standing. "That's Botan, a close friend of mine," she said smiling.

"Botan, that's Hanamura, Akane, a childhood friend," she gestured to me as she looked at the woman.

We both bowed at the same time. "It's nice to meet you, Botan," I said trying to sound friendly.

The confusion left Botan's face a little for a smile. "I'm Botan," she said, pulling me to her for a hug that I wasn't prepared for. "It's so nice to meet anyone who is a friend of Keiko's!" Her excited words were right in my ear. Her voice was bubbly, but not too the point of being unbearable. Releasing me from the hug, she looked at me. The confusion swam into her eyes once again, but it disappeared quickly. "I'm sure you are excited for some of Yukina's cooking. It will be ready any minute."

I was about to ask who Yukina was when I heard the door open from behind me. Turning around to see the face of the next person to join the little party, I was surprised by what I saw. They must have been just as surprised as I was.

It was like looking in a mirror. The white button up, jeans, huge green eyes, and the hair. God, the hair. I had only seen the color on myself. That unforgettable red. Even the cut was similar to mine, but this person's hair came down a little further down their back than mine did. I couldn't stop staring.

"Oh," the person spoke. The masculine voice surprised me. "This is interesting," he chuckled. When he walked towards me, it took everything in my power to not take a step backwards. "I'm sure this can all be explained by our good friend, Yusuke," he said with a wicked smile. "I," he said bowing pleasantly, "am Shuichi. But you may call me Kurama." The most mischievous smile I had ever seen before in my life spread across the face that looked so much like my own. My stomach rolled in unease as the mischievousness reached the green eyes with a cold glint.

Thank you to everyone who reviewed, followed, and favorited! I hope you all continue to read as the story develops. Most of the plot is already laid out in my planning, so I don't see there being many delays in updates. I would guess around a week or two apart. I would like to eventually have a set update schedule, which may happen once I start having chapters typed up in advance.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I, personally, see Kurama as a very mischievous person. Yes, he can be kind and caring, but I also see him as very cautious and likes to pick apart people who he doesn't know.