It had been an extremely awkward and uncomfortable experience. I didn't stop blushing the entire time. Kurama hadn't so much as batted an eyelash while working on me. Made me wonder how many near naked girls he had treated in his so, so that a half naked one wouldn't even faze a teenage boy like him. Sheesh.
But now I was clothes in a t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants of Kurama's. Kurama had admitted that the dress had been the only girls' clothes he had had (again, I didn't want to know how he had gotten them). He promised we'd go shopping for clothes tomorrow.
When I awoke and got ready the next morning (wearing a pair of Kurama's jeans, a shirt, and jacket) Hiei was nowhere to be found. Kurama told me he had business to attend to and didn't further elaborate. We set out to shop.
First, we managed to get some new school uniforms for me. The school system was pretty generous when it came to things like houses burning down. Then, Kurama took me to what he claimed was the best mall in Tokyo. I didn't recognize most of the shops considering I had never been there, but I liked what I saw. When I saw a particular store I liked, Kurama dropped me off, saying he had other shopping errands to run, and he would be back for me in a little while.
Now, this was my kind of store! A sort of punk / goth genre. After several minutes of trying on plaid skirts, lacey corsets, black boots and many other things, I had found so much I liked! But, I already owed Kurama so much, so I shouldn't buy a whole lot. I stood there, trying to decide what to put back when a voice spoke behind me.
"Buy it all, Aya." Kurama stood there, calmly watching me.
"HUH? B-but no, I couldn't! It's so much! You've already done so much -"
"Well, if you're not going to, then I will." In a moment, Kurama had wrested the large stack of clothes from me and walked towards the register.
The clerk seemed delighted that we would be spending so much money, but at the same time she seemed unsure that Kurama even had that much. But, when she gave him the total (and WOW, that was one hell of a total) he whipped out a credit card without even batting an eyelash and handed it to her. She seemed a little more relaxed and ran it through.
I couldn't stop thanking him and apologizing to him as we walked back out to his car. "Relax," he said, chuckling, "I've got enough money."
I frowned. "How? How do you have enough money? Spirit detective doesn't exactly seem like the most glamorous of jobs, sir."
"Well, my father had an amazing job. He just kept putting money in my mother's and my savings accounts. Then, when he died, we also received a massive payment from the government. Both my mother and I are millionaires. Believe me, I have enough to buy you a decent sized wardrobe."
When we got into the car, I noticed a large unlabeled box in the back seat. Aha, so he had gotten something when I had been trying on clothes. "What's this, sir?" I asked.
"You'll see when we get home," was the reply I got.
Home. Until a few days ago, I had considered the middle class house in suburbia to be m home. Now, I was surprised to find that this university student's nicer house near the campus was seeming more and more like home to me. I would never have believed it possible before all this.
Kurama bought us ice cream at a vendor in the mall. We set our purchases down, and sat on the edge of a large fountain (I read the plaque. It was named after a poem called 'Autumn Whispers,' about leaves falling from trees in the wind. If I hadn't been so preoccupied with Kurama sitting very close to me, I would have very much liked to read it more thoroughly) in the center of the food court. I didn't even know they made watermelon ice cream. That shows you how much I know about the world of cold dairy treats. Still, it was delicious. After months of eating only lollipops as dessert, this was heaven. Kurama seemed to be getting a kick out of my enjoyment of the ice cream. I think I remember Hiei calling it something like…Sweet snow? Maybe. It had been cute.
So, considering how much pleasure I was getting out of the ice cream, imagine my disappointment when if fell off the cone on to the tile floor. And under my foot. My balance on the wall of the fountain was already unsteady, and this did me in. I slipped backwards, falling towards the suddenly very cold-looking water. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Kurama drop in own cone in surprise, and his arms flashed out to grab me. I felt his warm hands on my back only a nanosecond before he also lost his balance and we both toppled into the fountain.
I resurfaced about five seconds later, after inhaling what seemed like half the fountain's supply of good ol' H2O. Kneeling in the fountain, I clutched at the wall as I began to hack up my lung. Almost literally, it felt like. I felt Kurama patting my back gently. After I began to pant instead of cough, he asked me if I was alright. I just nodded weakly.
He stood, and offered his hand to me. I looked up, and instantly began to blush. It was amazing how the water clung to his muscular chest, and…I stopped myself before I could go farther, and took his hand. He pulled me to my feet, and we stepped out of the fountain, careful not to slip on all the water we were dripping on the floor.
"Sorry I pushed you in the fountain," I whispered, my voice a little hoarse from coughing.
"I was trying to save you from getting hurt." I looked up in surprise, and was met with his kind smile. "You're not hurt, are you?" He smile was slightly tainted by the concern in his beautiful green eyes. Strange…How he could be so worried about me…It felt odd. I smiled back, wildly hurrying to find a sarcastic reply.
"Would've ever thought sweet snow could be this dangerous?" Lame, I know. But Kurama chuckled. His smile faded quickly when we heard shouts from across the food court. Running towards us, to our displeasure (or maybe it was just Kurama's. I was feeling pretty blissful at the moment), were two of the mall's security guards. Fan-freakin'-tastic.
After being severely chided, we were allowed to pick up our purchases, and take the nearest exit out of the mall.
Once in the car, Kurama found blankets in the back, and set them over the seats so we wouldn't completely soak the car seats. On the car ride home, we talked. Just small chit-chat, but it was still nice. I could feel myself growing rather fond of this man quite quickly.
When we got home, I offered to help bring the shopping in, but Kurama flat out refused and carried it all in himself. He dropped the bags of clothes off in my room, then told me to dry off. I did so. My hair was mostly dry already, so I just toweled off and changed clothes, while I assumed Kurama was doing the same in his room. Then, to my surprise, he called me into his room. Sitting on the bed in front of Kurama was the mysterious box.
"Go ahead, Aya," Kurama said, gesturing at the box, "it's for you."
For me?! Sheesh! I don't care if he was a millionaire! This bloke was spending far too much money on me!
Kurama handed me a brand new pocket knife, claiming he had bought that for me too. I smiled at the rose carved into the bone handle and accepted it, knowing me wouldn't allow me to refuse it. With it, I sliced open the tape on the box and threw open the lid.
I had to rub my eyes to make sure I was actually seeing what I thought I was. Inside, tucked carefully amidst tissue paper was a shiny black laptop. The brand and model was what I knew to be the best and most expensive one available to the public.
I was ecstatic! But…How could I allow him to give this to me…? "K-K-Kurama," I stammered in amazement, "you really shouldn't have bought this for me!"
Kurama sighed, even though I could tell that buying it for me hadn't bothered him at all. "I know, but I wanted to."
An idea occurred to me. With this, I only needed some software, and I could start making my own money again! I no longer had a whole family to support, so I could do whatever I wanted with it. "Hey!" I said, "I'll pay you back, sir!"
Kurama stuck his face dangerously close to mine. "Oh no, you won't. I want to buy these gifts for you, Aya. Just accept that." With that, he smiled a sweet smile.
That smile made my heart jump into my throat and at once a terrible thought occurred to me: I was falling in love with Kurama.
The moment was interrupted by the ringing of the phone. When Kurama got up to answer it, I was able to breathe a little easier.
"Hey," he called to me, holding a hand over the mouthpiece of the phone receiver, "Yusuke says we have a new assignment. Would you like to come with us?"
Ah, at last, a mall scene...I had to use it, because I love shopping...And Aya has the same fashion tastes as me, for some odd reason...
Okay, so I wanted to add a few words about the fountain...
The idea is not mine, no. I got permission to use it from Autumn Whispers, who has it in one of her stories. I highly recommend checking them out!