FCL64: Hurrah! Chapter… seven!

Kiyoshi: You forgot what chapter it is?

FCL64: Only own Ayaka, with help from animegrlsteph.

Kiyoshi: You forgot what chapter it is.

FCL64: Here we go!

Kurama woke in a cold sweat. He felt like he couldn't breathe. But before he had a chance to gain control over his thoughts, Ayaka screamed.

He was out of bed, out the door and down the hall in seconds. He threw open the door and sat down on the bed next to Ayaka. He put his arm around her. She pressed her body next to his and sobbed, "Oh, Kurama."

Shiori appeared a moment later. "What's wrong?" she asked, sincerely worried about the girl she'd met only hours before.

"I dreamt…" Ayaka was still crying. "I dreamt of that night. That night he came for me."

Even in her fright Ayaka was being vague. Shiori hadn't a clue what Ayaka was talking about. Kurama knew exactly what she was talking about. Shiori thought she meant her father. Kurama knew she meant the bounty hunter.

Shiori stood there awkwardly for a moment, then said, "I'll go make some hot tea." She hurried out.

Ayaka pulled away from Kurama and looked up at him. "It was him, wasn't it? He was the one here earlier."

Kurama hesitated before nodding. "I dreamed of him too. All three encounters."

"Three?" Ayaka had recovered control of her emotions and was now calm.

Kurama indicated his human body. "I only escaped him in soul form. I was too weak to shift back. It's a miracle we escaped that one time. We shouldn't have."

"Oh, Kurama!" She threw her arms around him, trying to comfort him for the near-death experience he'd suffered eighteen years previously. "I'm so sorry. But why now?"

"We're together," Kurama answered simply. "He could have been following either of us."

"Kurama… how will we get away?" Ayaka is as worried as Kurama has ever seen her.

Shiori walked back in and set a cup of tea on the bedside table. "Is there anything else you need?"

"No, thank you." Ayaka took a sip of the tea. "Ow! Hot!" Kurama chuckled.

"Well, if there's nothing else, I'm going back to bed."

"Mom, I think I'm going to grab a sleeping bag and stay in here the rest of the night. Just in case…"

"Shuichi…"

"I'll leave the door open."

"I guess that's okay then…" Shiori left.

"Why do you need to leave the door open?" Ayaka questioned.

"Ayaka…" His voice held a warning, but she had heard embarrassment in his voice when he was speaking to his mother.

"Oh." She said, reddening slightly. The she repeated, "How will we get away?"

"We won't."

"What?" Kurama was never negative, only realistic.

"We can't escape him, Ayaka," Kurama said. "I thought you were dead until you showed up at my door. He said he'd killed you. And now he's found us again."

"But we have to try," she begged.

"Ayaka, I am not giving up. I just refuse to run from him. He'll find us again eventually. Besides, I have a promise to fulfill."

"What's that?"

"I swore on my life I would kill him." Kurama's eyes were dark, and he was seething with rage and hatred.

"But how?" It had been a long time since Ayaka had felt so helpless.

"I need to talk to some friends tomorrow." Kurama didn't mention any names, and Ayaka knew better than to ask. Not when Kurama didn't want to reveal something. Not when he was in this kind of mood.

The next morning, Kurama and Ayaka went to Yusuke's house. Keiko was there, trying to drag him out of bed. "You… need… to go… to work!" she grunted, pulling at his arm.

"Let me handle this," Ayaka said. She lifted her hand and flicked her wrist, and a considerable amount of water flew into the room and collided with Yusuke's face.

He sat straight up. "Cold!" Looking around and seeing that no one held any manner of dish, he added, "Who did that?" He was suspicious because a demon he had never met was in his house. Ayaka wiggled her fingers to indicate that she was responsible.

"This is Ayaka," Kurama explained. "She's an old friend and partner."

"Partner?" Yusuke asked skeptically.

"Does it really need further explanation?" Ayaka asked, smiling sweetly. Then she added, "You touch it, you die." Yusuke's hand had been inching toward the locket at her waist.

"How did you—I just wanted to look at it!" Yusuke protested.

"Yusuke," Kurama laughed, "Even the best pickpocket is no match for a master thief."

"Thief?" Keiko asked. "The water? This is something not only demonic but criminal as well. That's my cue to leave." She rushed out, not able to escape the otherworldly fast enough.

"What're you doing here, then, Kurama?" Yusuke asked. "I know this is more than just a social call."

"A little more than four hundred and fifty years ago, Ayaka and myself were working with… a third party. The third person was killed by a bounty hunter. The bounty hunter later returned for Ayaka's life, and mine. That was the fight I was injured and forced to flee in soul form. Hence this body." Ayaka marveled at how calmly Kurama related it all, but it pained her that he still refused to say Kuronue's name. "He's after us again. We need your help."

"Never thought I'd see the day when it was you who needed my help."

"I'm serious Yusuke."

Yusuke looked Kurama in the eye and immediately agreed. Ayaka looked into those same eyes and shivered. She saw the exact same thing as Yusuke. But it didn't hold any memories for Yusuke. So many memories.

It held more meaning for Ayaka than Yusuke could have imagined.

Reviews:

animegrlsteph: yes. I wanted Kyo to sound ridiculous, while simultaneously frightening. As for nearly crying because of Kuronue... there will probably be a chapter sometime in the future that does make you cry because it goes into that even more in-depth. Ugh. I'm not looking forward to writing that one. It'll be hard.

Foxgirl Ray: Great prediction! Glad you got that; I wasn't sure if I made it clear enough. Thanks for your review!