Rei says:
Guess what, everyone?
Rei finally got an iPod! Hooray!
So, I think, I might get a little lazier in typing chapters. I'll try not to, but I'm going to be more focused on figuring out how to get the iPod working than the upcoming chapters...but I have a good feeling about Chapter 15.

This chapter was actually going to be way longer. I was going to have the funeral in this chapter and everything else, but then I decided to cut it short. It's still five pages though...not as long as last chapter (eight pages) but it's still something.. I think the ending is cute, and I finally have something happen between Kana and Kurama, so hopefully it satisfies some of you guys. In order to get the fifteenth chapter up, though, I've got a little trick now. I was curious to see if I would get a response to this...anyways, I put it on the end of this chapter. So when you're done reading you'll find out.

-ahem-
Now...

Thank you to:
xxDream Theaterxx, Koji Jaganshi, Ayumi Fujiwara (Emily), 14thShrineMaiden, Pyree, AlexisANGRY,Konane Shadow Wolf, MikoHatome, Mike, fritz, Madhatterness, and Waffles for the reviews!
That's twelve people!
Reviews make me all warm and fuzzy inside and I love them. Keep them coming my loves!

Chapter 14

The week went by way too fast. The days seemed to melt into each other, until all that was left for Kana was Friday. Tomorrow would be her father's funeral, and then…then she would be leaving. No more apartment, no more high school, no more Yusuke or Kuwabara, no more Isuzu or Shiko…no more Kurama. She sighed angrily, running her hands through her raven black hair. She didn't want to leave. But nothing was really going to change that, right?

She grumbled to herself, banging her head lightly on a nearby wall as if that would stop her train of thoughts. Students rushed by her, some gave her weird looks, but she didn't care. She just wanted to go home and do...nothing.

"Are you all right?" Kana lifted up her head to see Kurama standing there, eyeing her oddly.

"No," she muttered in reply. "Friday's almost over. Which means, tomorrow is the funeral." She paused. Oh, crap. What does one wear to a funeral? Black, right? Somehow, she knew those black Tripp pants she had in her closet wouldn't quite fit the occasion. She grabbed Kurama by the shoulders quickly, and his eyes widened in alarm. "What do you wear to a funeral?" She asked, looking him square in the eye.

"A suit, I believe," he replied calmly.

"I meant girls, dummy."

Kurama stopped, rubbing the back of his head. "I'm guessing a dress, dark-colored, like black or navy." Kana's mouth dropped open. "Does that help?"

"Shit," she mumbled to herself. She groaned, grabbing strands of her hair in her fists. She doesn't have any sort of dress anywhere. She hadn't worn a dress in so many years...Dammit! How is she going to get a dress by tomorrow? Kana slunk down to the floor, hanging her head in despair. Kurama kneeled down next to her, watching her, not saying anything. "How am I going to get a black dress, Kurama?" She asked him. Not that he'd really know, but...it was worth a shot.

"You could ask Keiko, I'm sure," he replied. Kana snapped her fingers. Keiko! Of course. She'd definitely have dresses. Even black ones. She clapped excitedly, giving Kurama a quick hug, which made him blush. "Thank you!" She cried, feeling relief flood over her. Kana got up, holding out her hand to help Kurama up. He delicately grasped her hand and hoisted himself onto his feet, letting go uickly. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, pretending to look distracted.

"Keiko...Keiko..." Kana mumbled, looking around the quickly-emptying hallways. She suddenly whirled on Kurama. "Do you think we'll find her?" He shrugged in reply, and Kana went back to searching the hallways.

Keiko and Yusuke were coming down the hallway, and, without waiting, Kana took off after them, with Kurama following behind.

"Hi Kana, hi Kurama," Keiko said sweetly. Yusuke gave a big grin to the two.

"Keiko, I need to ask you a favor." Kana said, brushing imaginary dirt off her damned skirt. Keiko cocked her head.

"Sure, what is it?"

Like she had done to Kurama, Kana grabbed Keiko's shoulders, meeting her brown eyes. "I. Need. A. Dress." Yusuke just stared at her, partly from shock or disbelief. "For the funeral tomorrow," she explained. It took a moment for Keiko to process what she was actually saying.

"Um, no problem!" Keiko said, smiling. Kana sighed, hanging her head, letting her black hair fall over her shoulders. Problem solved. "Why don't you come home with me now, and I can help you pick out something?" Kana nodded, and the two girls started talking fast, walking down the hallway. Yusuke and Kurama hung back, watching them with an odd expression.

Yusuke yawned, putting his hands behind his head and rolled his eyes. "Girls," he said, shaking his head. Kurama just gave a shrug, smiling a little. Yusuke looked at him, one eyebrow raised. He grinned. "Well," he said, putting one arm around Kurama, "it looks like it's just you and me."

"No. I'm not wearing this."

"Oh, but come on, you look gorgeous!"

"No."

Keiko sighed, putting her hands on her hips. "Why not?" She said, looking at Kana, who was wearing a simple black dress with spaghetti straps that went a little too low. Kana shook her head, crossing her arms.

"It's a funeral," Kana said. "Not a party."

Keiko cocked her head and squinted at Kana, as if considering what she said. "I guess you're right," she said, and turned back to the closet to seach for something else. As she shuffled through some more clothes, Kana sat on her bed, eyeing the mess they made. Dresses littered the room, tossed casually onto the floor, the desk, even her bed. Keiko's room looked just like she'd imagined it. Pink.

"I don't have a lot of black," Keiko admitted sheepishly, picking up a dress, inspecting it, and putting it back into the closet. "We're going to have to work with what we have. It's a good thing you're almost my size." Kana nodded to herself, picking at the ends of the dress she still wore. Dresses were so silly. It was weird how there were people in the world who actually enjoyed wearing these things.

"Ah hah!" Keiko cried, holding up a dress for Kana to see, smiling from ear to ear. "This is perfect! You must try it on!" Kana took the dress,looking it over.It looked pretty, actually. And it wasn't totally out there like the dress she was wearing now. She sighed, agreeing.

"All right, I'll try it on," Kana said, getting up off the bed. She opened the door to Keiko's room. "Gimme a sec," she said, before disappearing into the bathroom next door.

Keiko waited until the door opened again, and her mouth fell open in shock. "Kana..." she said, her brown eyes wide, "you look amazing!" Kana blushed by the compliment, turning around for her to see. The dress was simple, black, and it fit her perfectly. It was demure and seemed proper for a funeral. "You definitely need to wear this."

Kana looked at herself, then back at Keiko. "All right," she said. "I'll wear it."

Okay, one problem solved.

Kana arrived back at her apartment, the dress Keiko lent her hung in the crook of her elbow, a pair of nice shoes Keiko had also let her borrowdangled fromher hands. She closed the door behind her, looking at the room silently. Most of her things had been packed, in bags or boxes. Unsure of what to do with Aki's things, she packed some of his stuff as well. The people who bought the apartment would be moving in on Monday...Kana's thoughts ran erratically through her mind. What would her aunt be like? She already had these images of some old hag with dentures and a knitting kit stuffed in her oversized purse. She shuddered. How weird would that be? Kana sighed. She had just gotten used to this dumb old place...

She draped the dress over a chair, setting her backpack down as well. So many things had happened in the course of two months. What if this new place, this new house she was going to, was extremely quiet and boring? Kana grumbled to herself as she changed into a pair of pajamas. Today was basically the last day she would really spend any time in this apartment. It made her sad to think of.

A knock at the door interrupted her thoughts. She got up slowly, going over to the door to open it. When she did, she saw Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and even Hiei standing in the doorway.

"Hey there, Kana!" Yusuke cried cheerfully. He stopped, raising his eyebrows. The others did the same.

"Why've you got pajamas on?" Kuwabara asked, looking at her oddly. Kana blushed, rubbing the back of her head awkwardly.

"I wasn't expecting company," she admitted. "If you'll hold on, I can go change…"

They shook their heads, insisting it wasn't necessary. She shrugged, letting them in. Yusuke threw two boxes on the counter. Kana looked at them.

"Board games?" She said, incredulous. Yusuke nodded, and Kuwabara did the same. She looked over at Kurama, who shrugged, as if to say, 'wasn't my idea'. "How old are we again?"

Yusuke protested. "It'll be fun," he insisted, "something different, I guess. Even Hiei said he'll play." He grinned, looking at Hiei, who was nowshooting a dark glanceat Yusuke. "Isn't that right, Hiei?"

"I said nothing of the sort," Hiei retorted.

"You heard him, didn't you Kuwabara?" Yusuke said, turning to look at Kuwabara.

"Say something, idiot, and I'll kill you." Hiei threatened Kuwabara, glaring at him with pure distaste. Kana watched, wide-eyed.

Kuwabara pretended not to hear him. "I think Hamster-Legs did say something like that," he mused, tapping his chin with a finger. A growl passed Hiei's lips, which made Yusuke laugh. He crossed his arms, turning to Kurama.

"Why did I come here?"

The few hours they stayed at Kana's apartment seemed to pass quickly. To everyone's surprise, Hiei actually began to play one of the board games Yusuke had brought, until he found it too complicated, and proceeded to throw one of the game pieces across the room. Everyone took this as a sign to stop playing for awhile. They didn't really do much, but Kana was happy that they were there. It was at least nine or nine-thirty when Yusuke got up.

"We'd better get going," he yawned as he got up, stretching his arms. Kuwabara looked at the clock, agreeing. Hiei had already left, although how, Kana had no idea. She hadn't even seen him leave.

"All right," Kana said, getting up as well. She helped Yusuke put away the game boards and held them for him while they got their shoes and jackets.

"We'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Kuwabara said his voice sounding softer than it was. They knew the funeral was tomorrow. They weren't looking forward to it either, but just the fact that they were going for her sake made her that much more relieved about it all.

When she thought everyone had left, she headed into her room, opening the window. She rested her elbows on the windowsill and stared out into the growing dark. The wind that passed through gently brushed strands of her hair away from her face. She sighed, lowering her head, thoughts running through her mind that she'd rather not think about.

"Kana?"

Kurama's voice cut through the heavy silence, hanging suspended in the air between them. He was standing in her doorway, but she did not look back. Instead, she kept staring straight ahead. He didn't move. Moonlight poured through the window, casting an eerie shadow on the both of them.

"You know…" she started to say something else, but then faltered, falling into a silence again. It was a few more moments before she found her bearings. "I never thought I'd actually enjoy this place." She paused, but Kurama did not interrupt. "Even though all this crap has happened, with my brother and all, I really ended up getting attached to life here." She drew in a shaky breath, still staring ahead. "All my life, it seems like I've been running from something, and the one time I want to stay, I'm being torn away." She closed her eyes hard, and wasn't even aware of Kurama slowly approaching her while she spoke. Gently, he placed his hand atop hers, resting on the windowsill. His hand was warm, so strong in comparison to her cool, pale hands. Her breath hitched, and she raised her eyes to meet his. He returned her gaze, but in his eyes was something so sorrowful she had to look away again.

"I understand," he said quietly, not removing his hand. "I really do."

Those words meant more to her than anything anyone had ever told her. She felt tears well up in her eyes, but she was determined to not let them fall. If only he knew…she thought, her mind lingering on the past, something she had been dreaming of often lately. For once someone was there for her. She wanted desperately to believe him, everything he said, and just stay here.

She slowly let herself lean against him, resting her head on his shoulder. He did not move, he did not speak, and neither did she. Words unspoken passed through them, something only they could ever understand. Their eyes gazed solemnly out at the night sky, at the moon, veiled by hazy clouds.

"Thank you, Kurama."

Rei says:
Okay. I really want to see how close I can get to 150 reviews until the next chapter.
It might be asking a bit too much, but a girl can dream, can't she?
I apologise if I ruined the mood, by the way. -runs off into the distance-