Chapter 3
They were talking about him again.
No doubt about it.
At first Kurama thought it was just paranoia, but as the day lengthened, the spirit fox can say this with confidence: those middle age women were whispering about him, that group of teenage girls were gossiping about him, and even the old grannies were pointing at him.
"That's him."
A sigh.
"Isn't he just gorgeous?"
"Too bad he's taken."
"He's so sweet."
"His fiancé is so lucky to have such a considerate beau."
Kurama shuddered.
Surely they cannot be referring to him. He's still single and currently not looking.
Deciding to ignore the mindless chatter about him, Kurama continued on his way. Koenma had contacted him about another mission, and now he's heading over to Kuwabara's house for a meeting.
"Oh, if it isn't my favorite red head," Shizuru greeted when Kurama rang the bell.
"Good evening, Shizuru-san. Are the others here, yet?"
"Yea, come in," Shizuru stepped away from the doorway in invitation.
"Thank you."
Kurama entered and Shizuru closed the door.
"You're quite the talk around here?" Shizuru commented as they walked into the living room.
"Huh?"
"Kurama, you sly fox." Kuwabara accused as he threw an arm over the former thief's shoulders.
"Why didn't you tell us you were going out with such a hot babe?" Yusuke asked.
"Are you guys sober?" Kurama joked.
"We should be asking you that question," Shizuru thrust an opened magazine into Kurama's hands.
Kurama looked down at the screaming red headline across the top of the article: International Idol Hanasaki Aiyu ENGAGED! Below that was a picture of Aiyu at a press conference. Next to it was a picture of him, smiling. He recognized the picture as a crop out from a family photo. Off to the side a quote in orange read: "He's proposed to me already, except he didn't have a ring at that time. He wants to wait for me to graduate before we take our relationship to the next level." –Aiyu
World famous singer and idol Hanasaki Aiyu, with roots in the United States, Italy and Korea, and a fan base that spans worldwide is finally debuting in Japan! Aiyu declares her decision is solely for the sake of her fiancé Minamino Shuichi. After being abroad for years, Aiyu is finally settling back in her homeland…
The rest of the article was some made up junk about their non-existent secret love affair, some sappy crap about finally coming into the light, and other mushy lovey-dovey crap. The pages crumpled in Kurama's hand. He was not aware of the gold seeping into his eyes.
"Careful with that, Keiko loaned it to me."
"Oh," Kurama blinked, the gold slowly receded form his eyes and they returned to their original green color as the fox looked up at Shizuru, "My apologies," Kurama handed the magazine back to Shizuru.
"'S, okay," she mumbled and snapped the magazine closed. On the cover was a picture of Aiyu screaming into a microphone. He's never felt such a strong urge to wreak mindless havoc as he did at that moment.
"Hey Kurama, you okay man?" Kuwabara asked, feeling the tension vibrating from his comrade. He kept his arm around Kurama's shoulders as a silent form of support.
Kurama wanted to say no, "Yea, I'll be okay."
"I'm guessing you had no knowledge of this?" Yusuke ventured at the look on the fox's face. Kurama's bitter smile was answer enough. "So, who is this chick, you know her?"
"…She's a childhood friend." But Kurama did not elaborate more than that.
"Okay," Yusuke shrugged.
"If you buffoons are done then I would like to get this over with. I have more important things to do than to listen to you gossiping like human girls about the fox's love life." Hiei's sudden voice almost made everyone jump.
"Take that back you shrimp. I bet you just stalk Kurama around all day in trees," Kuwabara countered in protection of his manhood.
"Care to back up your claim?" Hiei challenged in a low voice. His thumb flicked against the guard of his katana. The blade unsheathed by an inch and gleamed menacingly in the fluorescent light.
"Let's get down to business," Yusuke cut in before another verbal battle could start. He held up a video tape from Koenma.
Hiei grunted in acknowledgement. The gleam of his katana disappeared back into the sheath. Kuwabara and Kurama nodded. Sensing the change in atmosphere, Shizuru headed out of the house for a smoke. Yusuke popped the video tape into the VCR and the team gathered around the screen. After a moment of static, Koenma's face popped up.
"Yo, I've got a new assignment for you."
A/n: Drop a review if you like it. :)
