I know it's been forever, but here's chapter seven. I'll warn you now, but I have no idea when the next time I'll be able to update is because I'm moving into my dorm room tomorrow. I am going to continue with my stories though because I love them too much. Anyway, I gotta go pack so see you later and enjoy.

Chapter Seven: Froslass

Later that night, Aria woke in her own bed, half convinced that she had just dreamed up the whole Adia-Youko-Kurama thing, but then the memories of her life as Adia flooded her mind and she realized she had not been dreaming.

Quietly, Aria swung her feet out of bed and tiptoed to the door. She had to talk to Kurama. He probably was a little confused about this whole mate thing and Youko would not be happy that she had fully meshed with a normal girl. He was probably sulking somewhere in Kurama's head, driving him mad with his brooding attitude.

A small white furry ball tripped Aria half way to the room Kurama was sleeping in. Sweetheart meowed happily and rubbed up against Aria's face while the girl tried to figure out why she was face first on the carpet.

"Oh, Sweetheart!" She hissed shoving the small cat like pokemon away and climbing up off the floor. "Not now." Aria ignored the Skitty and continued on to the guest room, but nearly tripped again when her white puffball slinking in between her legs, never getting hurt herself.

"Dang it Sweetheart go awa-"

"This way." A small voice cried.

Aria looked around her for someone else hiding in the shadows of her living room. No one else was there. But then who was talking? Or was she just imagining it? She looked down at Sweetheart in disbelief and shook her head. "No." She said simply and continued walking towards Kurama's room.

"He's this way." The voice came again and Aria looked down to where she thought the voice was coming from. All she saw was her Skitty who looked up at her and then pointed out the front door with her nose.

Aria was reminded of the morning after she had found Youko on the beach, beaten and bloodied. Hadn't someone spoken to her then too? Aria shook her head again, no, she was just imagining it.

Aria quietly left through the front door anyway, holding the door open for Sweetheart who followed her silently. Kurama's red hair shone like a fire in front of the black green trees. He stood straight and still in front of the forest appearing to meditate or sleep on his feet. Aria stopped a few yards away and waited for him to notice her.

A breeze blew off the ocean behind her house ruffling the trees and cooling Aria and Kurama off in the hot night air.

"Did you sleep well?" Kurama asked softly but did not move.

"Yes," Aria said slowly walking forward until she was side by side with the fox. "Are you still mad at me?"

Kurama finally moved and looked over at her. Aria saw that his eyes had changed back to the green they were before, meaning Youko had given Kurama control again and probably gone back to sulk.

Then she saw the small amber rings around his pupils that bled into the green. "Are you talking to yourself?" She asked not wanting to intrude on some private internal conversation.

"Yes," Kurama said. "But it was starting to degenerate into an argument instead." He fell silent and both he and Aria stared out at the sleeping forest. Aria looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Kurama looked like he wanted to say something else. He suddenly turned toward her and she turned her head, acting as if she had not been peeking at all.

"Would you like to take a walk with me?" He asked quickly and gestured towards her house where the sound of the waves could be heard. Aria nodded.

Apart from the waves, the ocean and the sand were quiet. Everything besides Aria and Kurama had fallen asleep hours ago. They did not say anything as they walked. Aria did not really know what to say so she mostly watched the sand and the water as it surged past her feet. She had a loose grip on the slippers she had bothered to put on before leaving the house in her right hand and they waved back and forth with each step, threatening to fall into the water or damp sand. They were almost to the smooth clump of rocks that broke out of the sand, halfway up the beach, when Kurama spoke, making Aria look up.

"I'll still don't quite understand," he said slowly, "how you can be Adia as well as Aria."

"Well," Aria said as she took a seat on one of the water worn rocks, Kurama sitting next to her. "I'm not sure how to explain it really." She leaned back, her arms wrapped around one of her legs pulling it to her chest as she thought. "I was always the same person," She said hesitantly not quite sure if she was right or not. "It's just somewhere along the line, I got a makeover, a new name, and I forgot about who I was before. I still acted like me because I was, am me." She wondered if that made any sense.

Kurama looked at her with a green gold gaze. "But you have changed." He said.

Aria did not flinch under his stare. "As much as you did. The last time I saw you I would've sworn on my parents' grave that you would despise humans until the day you died."

Kurama smiled. "In a way I did. I was "killed" by a bounty hunter shortly after you died." He flinched at the word. "I was able to run to the human world and found a body." He explained.

"And here you are." Aria said bracing both hands on the rock behind her so she could swing her legs back and forth.

"And here I am." He said looking out at the moonlit water. Aria watched his eyes rapidly change shades as he stared out at the ocean, showing his internal struggle with Youko. Maybe he had more to say, she thought to herself as she pulled her knees to her chest and rested her chin on them. Maybe they're just continuing their argument from before.

"Kurama?" Aria asked suddenly curious. "What were you and Youko arguing about before?" For some reason she was afraid to look at him. She was scared that it had something to do with her, that he did not care for her like he had before. Like she had said before, living among humans had changed both of them. She for one was more then willing to pick up where they had left off, she had not changed that much. Kurama on the other hand had gone from the normal prejudice against humans to becoming one of them. Granted, that was one of the big things that Adia and Youko fought over, but what if other things had changed too?

"Well quite honestly we were arguing about what to do about us." Kurama said looking down at his feet.

"Us?" Aria asked her voice rising in pitch out of nervousness. She was terrified of what he was getting at.

"Yes," Kurama said nervous himself. "Youko wants to continue right where he and Adia where before she died." He said looking more then a little uncomfortable.

"Oh," Aria said, not really to live with anyone besides her mother despite having lived with the fox thief before. "And you would just rather…?" She asked, afraid he would say 'leave'.

"I think I would rather go slower then that." He said almost hesitantly.

It took a moment for Aria to understand that he was not leaving.

"Really?!" She nearly screamed in joy. "You want to stay with me? You're not going to leave?" She sat bolt upright on her rock and stared at Kurama with undisguised happiness.

Kurama laughed slightly at Aria's enthusiasm and took her hand. "Yes, I'll stay." He said and kissed the back of her hand. Then his smile disappeared. "But I will have to go back sometime. My friends will need my help if we're going to defeat Xryna."

That name struck a cord deep within Aria and she shivered. "Xryna?" She said trying to remember where she had heard that name before.

"Yes, we overheard that lord from Reizan's territory talking about him so he could impress someone or another. Remember?"

Aria nodded. "Yes, I remember now. He's the one that everybody hated, yeah?"

Kurama nodded. "So, what do you want to do?"

Aria looked at him confusedly. "About Xryna?"

"No," Kurama sighed. "About us."

Oh, Aria thought. "Well, will you still be here later today?" She asked trying to think of somewhere nice.

"Probably, I hope so anyway." He said and then gave her a suspicious look. "Why?"

"I was wondering if maybe you wanted to go look around the town or something. You haven't seen the city yet and I thought if we went out today and saw the sights, maybe you'd like to eat some place too." She said smiling sheepishly.

Kurama smiled back at her happily. "That sounds very nice." He said helping her down off her rock. A yawn ruined Aria's happy smile and Kurama suggested they get some more sleep before talking again.

On their way back up the beach, a pair of frost blue eyes appeared out of the dark, watching the two walk away with their hands still clasped together.

As Kurama and Aria settled back into their separate rooms, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei were chasing one of Xryna's henchmen. Well, to be perfectly honest, Hiei was chasing one of Xryna's henchmen. Yusuke and the Oaf were busy trying to get around the wall of fire that the small black clad demon had thrown up behind him to prevent the detectives from following. Of course Hiei had just kept going as if the fire was not even there.

Surprisingly enough, the minion did not seem that amazed that Hiei was still coming after him. But then again because of his time under Reikai command, it was fairly common knowledge that Hiei was a fire demon. Maybe the minion had just expected it.

Hiei flew around another corner. He was getting tired of running, not because it was wearing him out, but because the small demon in front of him seemed to avoiding a fight.

"Coward." Hiei mocked as he pushed himself faster, trying to catch up with the unidentified demon and force him into a fight whether he wanted one or not.

But as Hiei followed the demon down another dark hallway, he realized that it would not be necessary for him to catch up. The demon had trapped itself with a dead end hall and was futilely searching for an escape.

"Hn," Hiei smirked. "Turn around."

The demon stopped scratching at the brick wall; finally realizing that the only way out was behind him. Slowly the cornered demon turned around. Hiei still did not know who or what kind of demon he was looking at since he was covered in black from head to toe, like a ninja from one of those stupid human movies. Even the creature's eyes were covered, but Hiei doubted that that would impede his opponent's vision.

Quickly so that anyone else would have missed the motion, Hiei drew his sword and tossed his black cloak out of the way. He stood waiting for his opponent to draw his own weapon.

Slowly, almost hesitantly as if he did not want to fight, the other demon drew his own sword, a plain katana not that different from Hiei's. With another confident smirk, Hiei charged his opponent.

The unknown demon did not move until the last moment but did not strike back. Hiei glared at the black clad figure for ruining the first real fight he had had since coming back to human world.

"Fight back!" He yelled attacking again only to cut the air as his opponent moved and made a break for the hall opening. Hiei was faster though and quickly blocked the demons path, his sword pointed at his throat.

"Hn," Hiei said in disapproval. "That's it? I'm disappointed. I thought something like Xryna would have better judgment than to use a weakling like you."

The demon's body stiffened, insulted. "I'm surprised you haven't asked to see my face Master Hiei." The demon said. Hiei's usually stoic face cracked, just for an instant, in confusion. He thought he had heard this voice before, but for the life of him he could not place whose it was.

Hiei hid his confusion as quickly as he could. "Why should I care what you look like?" He asked still trying to place the familiarity of his opponent's voice. "It doesn't change anything."

Even with the thick dark clothe covering his face, Hiei was sure that the demon was smiling in amusement. "Are you sure?" Then the small creature quickly pulled off the black mask, showing Hiei his face for the first time. Hiei stared not bothering to hide his shock as he realized four things almost simultaneously.

Firstly, she was a woman.

Secondly, stranger than the first, Hiei knew her.

Thirdly, he had called her a weakling.

Lastly he was in trouble.

The next day Aria woke up to sun light slanting through her bedroom window directly into her eyes. She rolled over, nearly knocking Sweetheart off the bed as she tried to snuggle deeper into the cozy blankets and dream of the day before where it had just been her and Kurama.

"Come on Aria it's time to get up." A voice called.

"Alright mom I'm coming." Aria mumbled, not really knowing what she was saying as she reached over to pull the blankets higher over her head thinking of the nice lunch they had had at the diner near the park.

"Aria, I said get up." The voice came again sounding sterner then before.

Aria groggily lifted her head up out of the comfy nest of covers and looked at the door. "I said I'm coming!" She called towards the brown wooden door loud enough for her mother to hear her on the other side.

Sweetheart mewled happily as Aria shoved the covers away from herself, lest she get to cozy again and fall back asleep. The wooden floor was cool on her bare feet as she slouched towards the door. She caught a look of herself in the mirror and instantly tried to forget the bedraggled thing she had seen looking back at her with its hair thrown in all different directions like a pile of brown fluff. "This is what happens when you stay out too late with a cute guy." She thought as she shuffled out the door, her arms wrapped around her to try and keep off the sudden chill that had settled inside the house. Fall was coming sooner then last year Aria realized as she pulled a blanket off the couch and wrapped it around he shoulders.

"Mom?" She called when the older woman did not appear like usual. Aria poked her head in the kitchen, but everything was quiet. No Mom. "Mom?" She called louder this time as she wandered towards her mother's room. "Kurama? Is anybody here?" Aria did not find her mother in her room and Kurama was not in the guest room. Apart from herself and Sweetheart, the house was empty.

"How long did I sleep?" Aria asked herself quietly as she looked in the kitchen again, this time for a note or something that her mother might have left her to tell her what was going on. She saw the clock on the kitchen stove only said 8:30. So where was everybody?

A horrible thought entered Aria's head and she bolted outside to scan the woods for the demon she had seen standing over Kurama when he was wounded on the forest floor.

What if the demon had kidnapped Kurama or her mother? Or both? What if Kurama had gone after the monster who had taken her mother instead? What if they were hurt or unconscious or dying somewhere?

A rustle among the trees made Aria whirl around to see the fiend that had dared to do that to her family. But instead of the of a neon blonde man holding a lighting-like sword, a Froslass appeared out of the foliage.

Aria stopped in awe of the blue and white pokemon. The Froslass stared back at her with ice colored eyes that shone through the holes in the ice hard covering that surrounded her head and attached to her sleeve like arms. The feminine creature stared at Aria for a moment as if she was sizing her up.

Then she bowed.

Aria blinked confused by the Froslass's strange behavior. Pokemon did not bow to people, even their masters, they just listened and did as they were told if given an order, but they never bowed.

The small creature straightened and looked over Aria's shoulder at something before turning around and gliding back into the forest on invisible feet.

Aria turned around to see what the Froslass had been looking at. Kurama strode purposely toward her, looking determined about something. With one last look to make sure that the Froslass had really gone, Aria went to meet him halfway.

"Hey Kurama, you're never going to believe what I just saw."

"Come with me." He said ignoring her as he grabbed her hand and started walking, rather quickly in Aria's opinion, back towards where ever he had just come from.

"Hey what's going on? Kurama, where are we going?" Aria asked as she tried to keep up with the swiftly walking fox.

"Your mother found something on the beach this morning and she wants you to try and help her help it." Kurama said leading Aria down the steep incline that led to the part of the beach that had numerous tide pools in its rocky surface. Before she had reached the sand Aria saw her mother crouched over a long greenish creature. At first she thought it was wrapped in seaweed, but then Aria saw the whiter dress looking part of the pokemon that lay soaked and limp around where her feet should have been if she had had any.

"Well I guess this is just that kind of morning." Aria muttered to herself amazed that in the past fifteen minutes had already had the strange feeling that yesterday had had, except this was more normal when your mother's specialty was sick or injured pokemon.

Aria knelt next to her mother and saw the poor thing was starting to lose consciousness. Her red eyes had narrowed down to slits as Mrs. Cullen took care of the large bite some sea creature had taken out of her side. Kurama, not knowing what else to do, crouched down on the Gardevoir's other side. Aria was not that sure what to do herself. It seemed her mother had everything under control for the moment.

"Kurama," Mrs. Cullen said when she had done as much as she could before getting to her small emergency room near the back of the house. "Do you think you could carry her to the back room please? Aria why don't you go ahead first and open the door for him, I'll be right behind you."

"Okay Mom." Aria said standing up and racing up the rocky incline while Kurama lifted the green creature and took an easier way up to Aria's house off the beach.

After she had gathered her things, Mrs. Cullen stood to follow her daughter and guest when a bright splash of water behind her caught her attention. She turned around just in time to catch a streak of blue that was lighter then the rest of the water. Mrs. Cullen had seen that blue before but only in a picture back in school when she was learning the different kinds of rare pokemon. Shaking her head, Mrs. Cullen realized she had more important things to deal with then speculation and half imagined pokemon sightings. Quickly she scrambled after her daughter up the steep slope that led home.

Ta-da. Hope it wasn't too corny. Too be honest I was a little embarrassed going back over my previous work. I haven't looked at this in quite a while actually and hopefully I fixed the worst parts. Anyway, I hope you liked it and please send me a review. That would be cool.