Rei says: Tah dah! Chapter 8! I'm happy with how this one turned out, even though I kinda wanted it to go in a complete opposite direction. I've been busy with last minute x'mas shopping an' stuff, so that kinda explains the thirteen-day wait for this chapter. I hope that I can get Chapter 9 up before Christmas...not that that actually might happen, but hey, a girl can dream, can't she? For this chapter I was listening to L'Arc-en-Ciel's 'Time Goes On'. Why did I say that? Well, I don't know. Just kinda saying it randomly. So anyways, leave a review, enjoy the chapter...and in case I don't update before Saturday, Merry Christmas!

Chapter 8

"I can't believe it…" Kana moaned, slamming her head down onto the table. "I failed this stupid art project…"

It was lunch, a few days after Kana's run-in with the rabid girls of Kurama's fan club. Yusuke and Kuwabara looked at her curiously.

"You couldn't have done that badly," Yusuke remarked, sipping some soda.

Kana, her head still on the table, used her hand to slide over a piece of cardstock paper. "See for yourself," she mumbled.

Yusuke curiously took up the paper, looked it over, and nearly choked on his last sip of Coke. Kuwabara peeked over his shoulder, and his eyes bugged out of his head.

"Dear God…it looks like a sock…" Yusuke said after a few moments of silence.

"I told you." Kana muttered, "It's not supposed to be a sock. It's supposed to be a dragon. We had to draw a 'mythical beast' for art class."

"Oh, I had to do that for art class too…" Kuwabara raised an eyebrow. "Hey, it kinda does look like a sock." He flipped over the paper to see the big '50' written sloppily with red ink. "Whoa! I did better than you…" He remarked, his eyes widening at the grade she had gotten.

"What'd you get, Kuwabara? I got an 80 on that thing…" Yusuke asked him.

He said proudly, "I got an 84."

Kana finally lifted up her head, and snatched back the paper. "All right, all right, I get it. It's a sock. I'm not a very good artist. Never was."

"And I agree totally." Yusuke said, nodding his head. He leaned over to her. "So, how are the fan girls?"

Kana shook her head. "I haven't seen them since they chased me down." She looked at Yusuke wryly. Ever since he heard about that incident, he hasn't been able to drop it. Apparently Kana being chased down by girls of Kurama's fan girls was incredibly funny to him.

"If I were you," Yusuke said, "I wouldn't have been running from them. I'd take 'em on, until they're the ones running from me." He grinned, giving a thumbs-up.

Kana sighed. "But that's 'cause you're you, Yusuke."

He nodded matter-of-factly. "Exactly." In answer, she smiled, shaking her head.

Kuwabara left to throw out his tray in the garbage. "Bell's going to ring soon, guys." He told them as he came back. Sure enough, the bell rang just then. Kana and Yusuke both got up, grabbing their bags.

"Great timing, Kuwabara." Yusuke said, patting him on the back. On the way out of the cafeteria he tossed his tray into the garbage. "Oh!" He whirled around suddenly. Kana stopped short. "Kana, I forgot to tell you. We're coming to your place tonight."

"And you were going to tell me this when?" Kana responded.

Yusuke waved his hands around in the air. "I forgot. I was supposed to tell you yesterday. We're going to explain everything today."

"You mean…"

Yusuke nodded. "Yep." He shifted his bag onto his other shoulder. "We'll be there around seven-ish. I'll be amazed if Hiei shows up, though," he said, referring to the other black-haired guy Kana's only seen a few times.

Kana agreed. "Okay, I'll see you then."

School had just ended, and Kana set her bag down onto the floor. She opened the fridge and grabbed a soda, leaning against the wall, thinking. They're finally going to explain everything. She sighed, lowering her head. They'd be here in a few hours.

She headed into her room, flicking on the TV. After flipping through the channels she settled on the crime drama she watched once a while ago. She sighed, her hands under her chin, splayed out on her bed. As Mr. So-and-So raised his gun to stop the criminal, she closed her eyes, nodding off to sleep.

BANG.

Kana's head jerked up, looking around wildly. An absent glance to the TV screen told her the crime show was over and now another show was on, this one a soap opera where some guy was crying on a nurses' shoulder. She looked at it weirdly, shutting it off after finding the remote under her bed on the floor. What time was it? She got off her bed, shaking off her sleepiness, and went to look for the source of the noise.

There was an odd shuffling noise from the kitchen. Kana slowly poked her head around the corner, trying to see who it was, careful to not make any noises. It was probably Yusuke or something…no big deal…

Her eyes widened. There, standing in the kitchen, was him. His hood was lowered, the white wolf ears clearly protruding from his cropped black hair. His amethyst eyes were focused somewhere else; he didn't see her yet.

Kana clamped a hand over her mouth, closing her eyes, her head against the wall. Her mind was racing, her heart was pounding. It was him. The wolf demon.

"Hiding, are we?" A deep voice murmured in her ear. Kana screamed, jumping sideways. The wolf demon straightened, his face etched with amusement. "No need to scream, dear, it's only me." He grinned, showing his fangs. "Don't look so angry, dear."

"I have every right to," she said, "you killed my father."

The demon made a weird clucking noise with his tongue. "Ah, back to that, eh?" He leaned against the wall, watching her every move. "He deserved it, don't you think? After everything he's done to you, weren't you the least bit happy he's gone?"

Kana didn't answer him, trying not to give him any satisfaction. Instead, she changed the subject. "Where's Aki?" Kana said, hoping to sound brave. Her hands were clenched into fists; they couldn't stop shaking.

"Well, we just get right to the point, don't we?" He said, slinking closer to her. Kana stepped backwards. "Aki's safe, inside. You don't need to worry." He patted his chest, where his heart would be. "He won't be coming out for a long time."

Kana shut her eyes hard. She had to be dreaming. Yes, this was definitely not happening.

"Oh, it's very real," the demon said, "I'm very much real."

Kana gritted her teeth. "Give him back," she said. "Give Aki back."

His eyes widened. "'Give him back', she says! Oh, but my dear, how do you give something you cannot?" He leaned in closer to her, and Kana could smell the scent of lavenders and old blood. "You see, I am Aki. We are one and the same." He cocked his head, his ears flicked back, listening for a moment.

"You're lying," she spat. He had to be.

He chuckled, turning his attention back to her. "Why would I lie? I have not the need for it." He waved his hands, which were long and slender, with pale cat-like nails. "You are a silly one." His eyes hardened, his former mood gone. He seemed to study Kana's eyes for a bit, and Kana was unable to look away from the amethyst gaze. "Ah, your eyes. Just like his, you know." His expression grew distant, and Kana tried to back up, wishing Kurama and the others would get here now. She crashed into her dresser, knocking over a picture frame. The sound brought the demon back. He ran his tongue over his fangs. "Now, let's get to business."

He put one hand delicately under her chin, lifting her face to meet his. "You have something I desire." He looked her over. "My love, why are you so frightened?" He said, looking at her with amusement. Suddenly there was a knocking from the door.

"Kana?" Kurama's voice was heard muffled through the door.

"Kurama!" Kana screamed, relief flooding over her. The demon snarled, slapping her across the face.

"Kana? What's wrong? Let me in!" She could hear Kurama jiggling with the doorknob, his knocks getting faster.

"I'll be back," he growled. "You got lucky this time." His face softened, and he traced the outline of her face with a finger, sending chills down her spine. "Until we meet again, love," he said, and just like that, he was gone.

Kana was unable to move, frozen in her spot. She trembled, still feeling the demon's touch, one hand touching the spot where he had hit her.

She heard a soft click, and the door flew open. "Kana? Kana, where are you?"

"I'm here," she called out weakly. She looked up, and saw Kurama standing in the doorway, looking at her worriedly. She felt her eyes well up in tears, and her vision grew blurry.

"You're so pale…'" he whispered, quickly closing the gap between them as he wrapped his arms around her trembling body. "What's wrong, Kana?" He asked softly.

"He was here," she whispered. Kurama's grip tightened, drawing a breath inadvertently. "Kurama, he was here."

He pulled away from her, his hands on her shoulders, his eyes studying her. "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"The demon, Kurama." She repeated. "He was here."

"I didn't even sense him," he said, more to himself than to Kana. "What did he say? What happened?" Kurama asked her quickly.

As Kana explained everything that just took place, she could see Kurama grow more and more worried. When she finished, he embraced her again, trying to calm her down.

"It's all right, Kana. You did what you could. You're safe now." Kurama murmured. She inhaled deeply, breathing in his soft scent of rose petals and cologne.

How long did they stay like that? Kana wasn't sure. But some time later she heard Yusuke and Kuwabara, and they pulled apart, looking at each other, a little embarrassed.

"Kana, your door was wide open." Yusuke said, stepping into the apartment. "Anyone could just walk in and…" He stopped and saw Kurama and Kana. "Hey, Kurama, you're here already."

Kurama turned to face him. "Yusuke, he was here. The demon just came for Kana."

Yusuke's mouth dropped open as it sank in. He then punched his hand. "Fuck," he cursed. Kuwabara looked at Kana, who still looked a little pale.

"You okay, Kana?" He asked. Kana nodded a little slowly.

"I'll be fine," she answered him, trying to reassure him.

"And I didn't sense him," Kurama said, "He must have been masking his spirit energy."

Yusuke was still incredibly mad. Kana could tell he was trying not to punch the nearest wall. "Koenma's gonna be so pissed to know we let him go again…"

"I'm sorry," Kana apologized. "I should have done something, maybe even stalled…"

Kurama turned on her. "Don't even. It's not your fault." Kana said nothing, but lowered her eyes, still feeling guilty.

"What went wrong today?" A voice, sounding bored, was heard from Kana's window. They all turned to see Hiei kneeling on one knee in the window.

"You're not going to like this, Hiei…" Yusuke said glumly. Hiei narrowed his eyes.

"What a surprise," he said, casting his red eyes to the ceiling. "What is it?"

Kurama turned to him. "The demon got away again. He was here before any of us got here. Kana had a run-in with him."

"Of course." He said, his tone was odd, it was as if he were trying to control whatever he was feeling. "Of course he got away." He cursed under his breath.

The few moments of silence that followed was broken by Yusuke cracking his fingers. "All right. Let's explain this all."

Rei says: Dun dun dunnn. I had a little trouble with coming up with things for Hiei to say. I kinda wanted him to show up, since he hasn't made an appearance since...what? The 6th chapter? Okay...well that's not so long ago, but yeah. '

Click the blue-box thing and leave me a review. You know you want to.